Kirwin Island. 4:03 in the afternoon. December 8, 2010.
The Osean flagship (OFS) Kestrel sat idle in the waters, waiting for a new mission.
Naturally, seagulls were everywhere in the sky.
Helicopters and carrier-based fighter jets were littering the flight deck of the Kestrel here and there. Most prominently, two Huey attack/rescue helos sat within close proximity to an F/A-18 Hornet directly in front of the main tower.
At the top of said tower was the bridge.
And standing at the window overlooking said bridge was the captain of this proud legendary vessel.
Captain Andersen…
Genette noted quietly to himself, his camera trained on the man in question from behind.
The man who commanded the aircraft carrier Kestrel
and kept her afloat through countless battles.
At this description, Andersen finally turned to face Genette, revealing an aged, grizzled, and scarred, yet gentle and dignified face. He was smiling wryly at Genette's comment as he took off his Captain's cap and ran his hand over his snow-white hair.
"Nah," he said humbly and politely, yet with no small amount of humor in his voice. "I'm just a guy who's fought one losing battle after another." He put his hat back on and leaned forward slightly.
Genette seized the moment and snapped the photo.
However, since this war began,
this ship hadn't taken a single hit from enemy forces.
Osean Navy seamen milled about on the deck. One was playing a harmonica, letting a bluesy melody float into everyone's ears.
"This ship may be unharmed," mused Andersen to Genette, "but it pains me to see fewer and fewer pilots coming back every time we launch them out on combat sorties. Now the only pilot left is Capt. Snow, our squad leader." And he gestured down to the Hornet on the deck, where a young black man was checking out the body of the plane and making sure everything was in place.
"Nobody wants an aircraft carrier without aircraft, so we're just sitting idle here." Andersen sighed and looked back out the window.
Later, Andersen was standing on the helipad, speaking with Pops.
"At the end of the last war," Pops was saying, "I was assigned the mission of dropping a nuclear weapon on a city in my own country."
Andersen simply exhaled as he imagined how Pops must have felt.
"When I refused and went AWOL," continued Pops, "it was Capt. Bartlett who took me in. His nickname was also 'Kid' back then." Pops looked proudly back at Blaze, who had come up recently, accompanied by the rest of the Black Knights.
"He was a strange man…" reflected Pops as he turned back towards the water. "Fifteen years since the war and he never got promoted once."
A dark look entered Pops' eyes as he moved on to his next bullet point.
"In my country, there was a group called the 'Gray Men'. They're likely to still be around today. To them, I'm a traitor, and for the past fifteen years, Bartlett's protected me from them."
It was around that moment that a thought occurred to Pops.
"Speaking of which," he put forth as he turned to face Andersen directly, "you don't think the 'Gray Men' are involved with the disappearance of President Harling, do you?"
Andersen looked out at the ocean with a knowing smile.
"I've got an intelligence-gathering vessel in my fleet," he explained, "the Andromeda, that's capable of intercepting all forms of communications. Recently, it picked up a secret message transmitted in Belkan. That, Colonel, is why I called all of you here."
"All this intense flying's tough on an old body," chuckled Pops as he put his hand over his heart.
I'm certainly not as young as I used to be…
"From here on out…it's their time to shine."
Pops looked back at the Black Knights and smiled proudly. Blaze returned the smile and snapped a salute for good measure. The other six followed suit.
"Mmm," muttered Andersen in agreement.
"At ease," called Pops with a wave. Turning back to Andersen, he added, "But what'll we do about planes?"
In response, Andersen looked across the cove, to a nearby ship.
"We've captured a ship trying to smuggle aircraft from a South Belkan company into Yuktobania. Plenty of planes to choose from."
Pops gave an approving nod and turned back towards the Black Knights.
"Back to your devices, Knights," he requested. "We'll contact you when we have a mission—it shouldn't be very long."
"Before we do," responded Blaze, "may we have a word with you in private…Pops?"
Andersen gave a nod and walked off towards the tower, no doubt headed for the bridge.
"What's on your mind, Blaze?" wondered Pops.
"The others wanted to know why I seemed to change my tune midway through the escape…" admitted Blaze. "May I tell them who you are?"
"May as well…" sighed Pops after a moment of thought. "They've been through most everything you've been through…some even more so. They deserve to know."
Blaze nodded solemnly and turned towards the crew.
"Black Knights," he introduced humbly, "say hello to Belkan Air Force Colonel Wolfgang Buchner…known at one time or another as Huckebein the Raven."
Nagase, Grimm, and Mobius 1 exchanged confused looks. The others gasped in recognition.
"You know who that is, Capt. Foulke?" queried Grimm.
"Just Pixy, please," answered Pixy. "Or Larry, if you really want to be formal. Anyway, you better believe I know of this guy. If not for Cipher, the title of 'Demon Lord of the Belkan War'…would have been given to this man."
"It was considered a great honor to learn from him," added Altman. "He was said to take on only the best and sharpest recruits at his own discretion."
"So he came to you to train you?" asked Nagase for clarification. "As opposed to the other way around?"
"And thus did his legend grow," answered Altman with a nod. "Pilots dreamed of even one lesson at his hands; many went their entire lives without so much as catching a glimpse of him. But everyone knew when he was flying—he was said to be able to fly in his sleep. Those who flew with him said his style resembled nothing so much as a raven circling a fresh kill."
"Hence the nickname?" finished Mobius 1.
"Indeed," confirmed Yellow 13. "He was a one-man blitzkrieg…not unlike Cipher. His combat capability by himself was said to exceed that of the entire Yellow Squadron...I was always trying to live up to his standard in my younger days."
"And that's what drove you to form the Yellow Squadron?" wondered Pops.
"It is as you have said…" murmured Yellow 13 with a nod.
"Well," finished Pops, "the days of the Raven are long since past. Huckebein may not be dead, but he's certainly not as young as he used to be, and as such…the skies are no longer his to rule. The torch has been passed…the Raven has given way to the Razgriz. These are the days of the Black Knights. May you rule over the shattered skies as I once did…with a just hand and an iron fist."
"Sir," chorused the Black Knights, saluting Pops once again.
"At ease," ordered Pops with a laugh. "Dismissed."
"Capt. Snow and Black Knight pilots," Andersen's voice came over the ship PA at that moment, "report to the briefing room with Col. Buchner at this time. Repeat…"
"Uh…never mind," noted Pops with a shrug. "Looks like we've got work to do."
"The Razgriz's work is never truly done," answered Blaze with a shrug of his own. "Let's rock."
Chapter 20: Ancient Walls
"All right," said Pops to the Black Knights in the briefing room. "If there aren't any objections, then I'll take command of this air operation." He then launched into the briefing.
We're launching a rescue operation for the President of Osea
within the principality of Belka.
The communications intelligence ship Andromeda
received information that President Harling is being held in Belka.
The location is an old castle positioned on the southern edge
of the border zone between Belka and North Osea.
Sea Goblin, our helicopter squadron,
will handle the direct rescue effort.
After securing the area, a helicopter will descend on
the castle and drop our infiltrating rescue squad.
It will station keep in the air while the rescue is taking place
on the ground and in the castle.
Your mission is to provide air support for the Sea Goblin's rescue operation
and destroy any opposing enemy forces.
Choose an aircraft for the mission from the Kestrel's carrier jets,
and prepare to launch.
Eight F/A-18C Hornets came upon the zone of engagement later that day.
Stier Castle, even in the state of ruin it was currently experiencing, was an imposing and impressive edifice. Situated on a cliff above Lake Edelwasser, it made for a surprisingly effective prison. At present, however, this prison only held a small amount of inmates.
Chief among them was Vincent Harling, President of the Osean Federation.
God… thought Blaze sympathetically to himself. How long has he been in this place? And under what conditions? I hope he's OK…
"Capt. Snow," informed Grimm to the pilot in question, who was directly in front of Grimm, "I'll be at your six o'clock. It's good to be flying with you, sir."
"It's been a long time since I've flown in formation…" remarked Snow.
"And not a moment too soon, I'd say," added Blaze. "If ever there was a mission when the Black Knights desperately needed their full strength, it's now. Today, we bring President Harling home…one way or another."
"We've got your back, Eddie," assured Mobius 1.
"Thanks, Jimbo," answered Blaze. "I'm gonna need all of you."
"Captain Snow," continued Grimm, "back in the first battle after the war began, Chopper…that is, Capt. Davenport…told me you yelled at him for getting in your way. I was still sitting reserve back then…"
A beep on the comms cut off any answer Snow may have been about to give.
"Do you read me?" called the voice of Pops over the radio. "You guys should have sight of the castle by now. Sea Goblin's gonna descend for an insertion, so can you take out the air defense batteries for them?"
"We'll lay out the red carpet, Colonel," assured Blaze.
"No worries, Huckebein," added Altman. "We'll do you proud."
"Take your time and be thorough," advised Pops, ignoring the title and nickname, though Blaze could almost feel the smile creeping across Pops' lips at their use. "You don't want to leave any standing."
"You heard the Colonel," ordered Blaze. "Let's do this right. All weapons free; divide and conquer."
As the pilots split off, another familiar voice made itself known.
"This is Sea Goblin. Is Capt. Nagase there?"
"Yeah," confirmed Nagase as she took out a turret on the side of the castle. "Your team rescued me from that mountain in the snowstorm."
"That helicopter ride was pretty comfy, eh?" queried the voice in a…rather suggestive tone. "Hey, you ever wanna transfer here, lemme know."
"Watch yourself, Sea Goblin," warned Blaze with a friendly chuckle. "You may have some competition in that area."
"Izzat so?" wondered the other voice. "Well, whoever lands her is definitely a lucky man."
I'd have to agree there.
"On another note…" continued the voice, "whatever happened to that motormouth? He's real quiet today…"
"He's, um…" answered Blaze with a mild stutter, caught off-guard at the mention of Chopper. "He's…no longer with us."
"Ouch…" breathed the voice, adopting a more sympathetic tone. "That sucks…I'm told he was a damn fine pilot."
"He was," cut in Nagase. "One of the best pilots with whom I've ever had the privilege of flying."
And she felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she finished speaking.
"I'm sure he'd be proud to see how far you've all come," assured the voice.
"I think so, too," agreed Blaze. "But it's all for naught if we don't complete our mission and end this war. Let's get back to that."
"Agreed," chorused Nagase and the voice on the other end. They returned to their respective jobs, all eight pilots laying waste to ground targets all around the castle and surrounding areas.
"It's a dismal castle," noted Snow as he looked towards it after having destroyed a row of gun emplacements behind said castle, "standing over a lifeless land."
It was right about that time that Pixy destroyed the final gun emplacement attached to the castle.
"All anti-aircraft fire suppressed," he reported, as Yellow 13 noticed a gunboat in the lake and sunk it.
"We'll continue protecting the helicopter and infiltration forces," informed Nagase as she saw Sea Goblin take its positions to infiltrate the castle.
"Nixie," instructed the squad leader, "you guys drop first and take up an overwatch position of the area."
As she watched the men drop from the helicopter, Nagase looked to the area behind the castle, where the very edge of a crater was barely visible.
"This is what the end of the world must look like…" she murmured sadly aloud. "Even the air over these lands is heavy from the memories of Belka…"
And indeed it was. If not for the crater at the edge of their vision, the scene would not have looked out of place on a Christmas postcard. The crater, however, gave the visual an eerie, post-apocalyptic tone and imposed a feeling of sadness.
"We'll be meeting the President himself," informed the leader of the Sea Goblin ground forces, a 10-year veteran who had fought through some tough situations. "Make sure you look sharp!"
"Boy, what a dreary place…" noted another soldier as he placed the breaching explosive.
"Man, why can't we be deployed to a tropical island for a change?" wondered a young rookie waiting to breach.
"OK," reported the explosive tech, "charge placed. Everyone stack up."
They got in line a safe distance away from the explosion zone and waited until the charge went off.
"Breaching!" called the leader once the way was clear. "Double-time; let's go!" They stormed into the castle and were greeted with a pair of Belkan guards, which quickly fell before their M4 rifles.
"Check your corners and stay on the move," reminded the leader. "We don't want to be here any longer than we have to. POTOF is waiting for us. Let's not make him wait any longer."
"Intel suggests he's in the inner sanctum," reported the rookie. "What's the quickest way there?"
"Through the atrium, Ramirez," answered the leader. "Stick close and we'll get through this."
"Roger, Sgt. Foley," responded Ramirez. "Nixie, you got our escape route?"
"Affirmative, Jimbo," replied Nixie over the radio. "Radio when you have POTOF and we'll guide you to the exfil point."
"Copy," shot back Ramirez. "Corporal Dunn?"
"I count fifteen foot-mobiles in our path to POTOF," relayed the explosive tech. "Well-armed and armored. This won't be a walk in the park."
"Then let's get it over with and get back to our families, men," ordered Foley. "Move out."
"The wind's pretty strong," noted the helo pilot. "Don't let our rotors hit the castle."
"All right, guys, move out!" called the co-pilot to the remaining squad in the back.
"Hey, we got a line back here!" yelled someone in the back to a tentative soldier who was hesitating to grab the line. "Hurry up and jump!"
"Hurry up and get going before I start shooting somebody!" growled the pilot. Then he noticed something on his radar.
"Knights, this is Sea Goblin," he called to the other pilots. "An enemy ground force unit is mobilizing reinforcements."
"Roger," replied the voice of Pops, back on the Kestrel. "Intercept the reinforcements and keep them from getting to the fight. I'm counting on you."
"Got it," responded Blaze. "Grimm, you want to take one of the others and tend to that?"
"On it!" affirmed Grimm. "Cormorant?"
"I'm with you, Archer," Altman's calm yet tired voice replied. "Let's go." They retreated to the backside of the castle, away from the cliff, where, indeed, a line of gun emplacements was forming. They immediately set to work, raining metallic hell and death upon said line and patrolling the area to ensure it never truly got formed.
Nagase joined Yellow 13 in flying lake cover to prevent any gunboats from getting the drop on the helo.
This left Blaze, Snow, Pixy, and Mobius 1 to fly air cover.
"The stone structures inside the castle are quite impressive," reported Ramirez. "It feels like there's more than just our enemies lurking in this place…"
"Cut the chatter, Ramirez," ordered Foley.
"This door will lead us to the atrium," noted Dunn. "Should we go through?"
"Somehow, I don't think so," admitted Ramirez. "If this is our only way to the inner sanctum, they'll have every gun in that room trained on this door. Do we have an extra breaching charge?"
"Did you seriously just ask that question?" deadpanned Dunn. He opened his rucksack to reveal an absolute explosive gold mine.
"I have enough charges in here," he informed, "to breach every building in Belka, Osea, Yuktobania, Ustio, Usea, Erusea, and Kaluga combined, and STILL have enough left over to throw a party."
"Shiva H. Vishnu…" murmured Ramirez. "Overprepared, much?"
"Better than being underprepared," shot back Dunn.
"Eh, that's true," admitted Ramirez. "So I say we breach a wall and take them by surprise."
"Good idea, Ramirez," agreed Foley. "Just one problem…There is no available wall to us. This door is the only way in."
"Crap…" muttered Ramirez. "OK…how about we blow the door and use the sides as cover?"
"I got nothing better…" admitted Dunn.
"Admittedly, me neither…" concurred Foley. "OK, we'll do it. Dunn, plant the charge."
Dunn did as ordered.
"Pick a side, people," added Foley, who stacked to the right. Dunn and Ramirez took the other side.
The charge blew, and ten automatic weapons opened sustained fire.
"Ramirez!" yelled Foley. "Throw a flashbang!"
Ramirez chucked a small pipe-esque object into the room. It exploded and disoriented the Belkans inside for long enough that the squad was able to get inside and get some decent cover.
Foley threw some blind fire at the upper ledges of the room, sending the Belkans up there ducking long enough for Ramirez to get a look at them.
"We got five foot-mobiles up top!" he called over the gunfire. "I'm tossing a frag grenade!"
"Do it!" called Foley. Ramirez threw the grenade and ducked. The explosion took out three of the enemies up top.
Dunn seized on his opening and opened fire on the soldiers on the lower level. A couple of controlled bursts took out three more.
Foley, not to be outdone, lifted his own rifle and laid waste to the last two mooks on the top level.
Ramirez was about to do the same to the last two soldiers on the bottom when some gunfire came from up top, and the two men dropped to the floor in front of him.
"Sorry we're late!" called another voice from the top level. The three looked and saw two other familiar faces.
"Sandman!" called Dunn. "You and Frost missed the party."
"So it seems…" admitted Sandman as he and Frost rappelled down to meet the others.
"I told you we should have moved faster, bro…" joked Frost as they landed.
"Can it, Westbrook," shot back Sandman as the groups came together.
"You OK, Derek?" wondered Ramirez, shaking Frost's hand.
"All good, Jimbo," answered Frost, "now I'm on the ground."
"Let's find POTOF," urged Sandman. "This place gives me the creeps."
"Amen to that…" nodded Foley.
"I've got multiple hits on my radar," informed Nagase. "Enemy aircraft inbound."
"Fighter jets?" sighed Pops over the radio. "Don't tell me they've got their own fighter jets, too…"
"That's affirmative," responded Nagase. "They're definitely fighters."
"Guess they used the money from Osea and Yuktobania to supply their own forces…" mused Pops. "Just protect that helicopter."
"Hey, fighter jets!" noted the pilot of the Sea Goblin helo. "Where were they hiding those?"
"Doesn't matter," answered Mobius 1. "They won't even so much as touch your paint. Eddie, you want in?"
"I'm with you, Big Daddy," answered Blaze. "Let's get 'em." The two ISAF veterans raced off to cut the encroachers off at the pass. Each attempting to out-fly the other at every turn made for a spectacular display…and a hopeless situation for the Belkan fighters.
In easily his most impressive display yet, Blaze ended up chaining Pugachev's Cobra to itself three times to take down two missiles and a plane towards the end of the dogfight.
"Blaze," praised Snow, who had been watching with Pixy, "that was some AMAZING combat flying!"
"I don't even know how I do half the stuff I do…" admitted Blaze.
"I do," answered Pixy. "Cipher taught you well…almost too well. You have an uncanny knack for getting yourself out of trouble that I've only ever seen in him. The both of you are almost like cats."
"Maybe…" shot back Blaze. "But I should be dead at least six times over…"
"You're here now, aren't you?" put in Mobius 1. "And you can still fly like a Demon Lord. Put that to work for you and let's do what we came here to do."
"President Harling!" cried Foley as they came upon the man locked in a cell in the inner sanctum of the castle.
He looked up and saw them.
"Sea Goblin?" he asked in a tired voice—he obviously hadn't slept much recently.
"That's us, sir," affirmed Frost. "We're gonna get you out of here. Sandman, bolt cutters?"
"Got 'em," answered Sandman, passing the bolt cutters to Frost, who cut the lock off and opened the door. Harling stumbled to his feet and moved to the custody of the squad.
"We're near the outer wall of the castle, if I remember correctly…' murmured Dunn. "But these walls are too thick for my charges…"
"No problem," interjected Nixie over the comm line. "I got this." And he switched over to the fighters' channel.
"Pixy?" he called.
"This is Pixy," was the answer he heard. "What do you need?"
"I need you to break down a part of the castle wall for us," he requested. "The boys need a quick way out."
"Is the President safe?" queried Pixy.
"POTOF is in hand, and in one piece," reported Nixie.
"On my way, then," promised Pixy. "Mark the section to be destroyed with colored smoke."
"Look for the yellow," answered Nixie, and threw the colored smoke grenade towards the section of wall closest to the inner sanctum.
"Fellas?" he called back to the squad. "You guys might want to take the President back a few dozen steps."
"Got it," replied Foley. "Everyone back up! Fighter's gonna breach the wall!"
The six men retreated up the stairwell and waited.
Pixy let loose one of his LASMs and it tore the wall to shreds.
"Wall is down, Sea Goblin," he reported. "Bring the big man home."
And so they did with no further interruption.
"So Andersen's realized what's going on behind the scenes, too, right?" wondered Harling as the filled helo pulled away from Stier Castle, with the Black Knights close behind.
"It certainly seems that way, sir…" muttered Blaze.
"Thank you, everyone," Harling thanked everyone who was listening. "I appreciate your efforts…By the way, pilot, your voice sounds familiar. Are you…the pilot who guided me through the missile field all that time ago?"
"One of them, sir," confirmed Blaze. "Former Osean Air Force Captain Edward Jonathan Randolph, callsign Blaze. Captains Nagase and Grimm are here, as well."
"I thought so," replied Harling with a chuckle. "Looks like I owe you another one. But…did you say former…?"
"Long story, Mr. President…" answered Nagase. "We'll explain it back at the Kestrel…"
Mission accomplished.
President Harling was safely retrieved.
"And thank Jesus for that," quipped Blaze as the debriefing moved forward on the Kestrel.
The President is showing some signs of fatigue,
but in general, his condition is good.
"Questions?" asked Blaze. Not a word.
"Good work today, people," he praised. "Dismissed."
When we got word of the President's return
and ran up to the bridge…
…he was smiling and chatting with
Pops and Capt. Andersen.
And Harling looked better than ever as he talked with the two grizzled veterans with Genette and the Black Knights watching proudly.
Apparently he spent his days confined in the old castle,
looking at the seven ground zero craters right out his window,
which served as the border between the two countries
of North and South Belka.
At a break in the conversation, Harling looked at the Black Knights and gave a sharp salute with a proud smile. The eight pilots returned the gesture.
In the end, the Osean Army couldn't take
the Yuktobanian capital, and the war began to bog down.
For Belka, who challenged the world to battle,
but were crushed by the twin powers
of Osea and Yuktobania,
there could be no sweeter revenge.
They had created the hatred between the two countries,
hoping that the war would eventually exhaust them both.
The military officials on both sides
were playing right into their hands.
The intelligence vessel continued to intercept
the Yuktobanian Army's communications.
One message, from Air Force Traffic Control,
contained a string of mysterious numbers.
Latitude, longitude, a date and time,
and one more set of numbers.
The President had the answer.
"Well, how about that…?" murmured Harling in surprise as he looked at the coded message. "These are the numbers of votes I won in my presidential elections. Huh…This is from the first time I won, and here's the number from the election two years ago. This message was meant…for me."
The coordinates marked a location
within North Belkan territory.
The date…was tomorrow.
The squadron from Sand Island
became the President's personal airfleet…
even as the official reports
continued to state that they were shot down and killed.
This was their new emblem.
And Genette managed to capture a perfect shot of it, painted on the side of one of the carrier aircraft, all of which had been painted glossy black with red vertical stabilizer flares, much like Grimm's old Black Widow.
It showed a profile shot of Razgriz looking determined, and wearing a jet-black helm with black wings protruding out the back. Orange ribbons flayed outward from the banner underneath the demon's face, and a blood-red border surrounded the green and black of the emblem background. The visible text on the emblem read as follows:
The Ghosts of Razgriz
Razgriz Air Command Squadron
A/N: OVER EIGHT YEARS AND THEY'RE FINALLY OFFICIALLY THE RAZGRIZ OF SAND ISLAND! HALLE-FRIGGING-LUJAH!
But I've still got eight more chapters to get through, so I can't celebrate yet...
Still, any faithful readers I might have left, rejoice! We're finally into the last stretch of the story!
TBC...
Next: Solitaire
It's been two years since the reunion on the beach.
For the women who experienced it...life could not be better.
Then, one day, they receive an invitation to perform for the royal family of a distant land.
However, an old foe has a close eye on the proceedings...
and wishes to steal this throne for himself.
Can love conquer all once again?
Or is the tiny village doomed...to be wiped off the map...
...and our heroines along with it?
Featuring music by:
Firefall
Luca Turilli
Dream Theater
Stan Bush
Pink Floyd
Metallica
The Eagles
Savage Garden
Starring the voice talents of:
Jodi Benson
Paige O'Hara
Casey Gallagher
Josh Gad
Jonathan Groff
Santino Fontana
Fred Tatasciore
Eric Bauza
And featuring:
Kristen Bell
Idina Menzel
Infinity Entertainment Presents...
An Insanity Works Production
A Luke Lynch Story
Mermaid and Beauty 2: Out of their Shells
Coming soon (read: eventually)...