Chapter Quote:
"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies."
~Unknown
Chapter 15: The Stage of Apocalypse
Cipher
"Okay, I figured we could leave today off with a bang, especially considering I know which mission comes next in the documentary," I said as Elizabeth, Genette, and I sat on the porch with cartons of ice cream in our hands. The temperatures had cooled down enough that we weren't sweating like pigs just from stepping outside.
"Like we haven't the other days?" Genette snorted. "All missions end with some sort of bang."
"This one really does. Probably in the top three, but most definitely in the top five."
"Wait, wait, wait, a few stories ago, wasn't Janie looking into World With No Boundaries? What happened with that?" Elizabeth demanded.
"I'm getting there. If you two would stop asking so many questions, I could start the story," I teased. My niece and nephew gave me sheepish looks, but they stayed quiet, allowing me to dive into the story that would be the turning point of my career.
I sat in front of the television, watching the news to see what was going on back home. But the only thing the news talked about was the war. They showed some footage of me and Pixy flying. It felt weird to be a bit of a celebrity back home. People were wanting to know who the two pilots with the red wings were. Once in a while I even saw PJ zipping about in the background. It was cool. Definitely weird, but still cool.
A knock, in a rhythm that could only mean Pixy, rapped on my door. I shouted for him to come in. My wingman walked in with his hand over his eyes as he said, "In case Janie is in here and you two are-"
"Shut up," I retorted. "I wouldn't have let you in here if we were doing anything."
Pixy removed his hand. "I'm scarred from that day you know."
"You're not scarred from being shot down, but you're scarred from seeing an article of Janie's clothing?"
"Yes. While I know you two do cardio together, I don't want to see the evidence of it." His eyes roamed over to the television, watching the news. It showed us flying again. "Looks like you're famous."
"We're famous," I corrected.
"They're talking about you, not me," he pointed out.
"I still say we're famous, but I'll agree to disagree. So what's up?"
"We have a mission in a few hours. The briefing starts in an hour, but I wanted to talk to you about something first."
"Sit," I said, motioning for him to take a seat on the couch across from me. My wingman did as told. Just as opened his mouth, someone else knocked on my door. I recognized that one too.
Janie.
"Come in!" I called out. My girlfriend came in, shutting the door behind her, locking it, then coming over to us and saying, "I need to talk to you two. It's really important."
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"We intercepted two more messages from 'A World With No Boundaries'," she replied.
"And?" Pixy prodded.
"The first one mentioned someone called 'Cinderella', but we don't know who that is. The second one is a lot more difficult to translate, but we're getting there. I think that one may prove to be more useful. But by the tone and content of the messages that we've found so far, we've come to a rather… unsettling conclusion."
"You think there's a spy on base," I stated.
"We do. Or someone who is thinking of defecting to them. We need to find out who it is before they do, because they could cause some serious damage, especially if they've already decided to join the group. I'm hoping the second message will give us more direction as to who it is we're supposed to be looking for. Everyone loves the both of you. You're the pillars of morale for the Ustian Air Force now. Hell, even the army. So the reason I'm coming to you and telling you all of this is because I wanted to know if either of you have seen any suspicious behavior or if anyone has been acting differently lately? We'll look into them without having them figure out what we're doing. We don't want it spreading around base that we're investigating our own."
"What if it was one of us?" Pixy joked.
"Cipher wouldn't leave you or me, and you wouldn't leave Cipher," Janie said with a grin. "So I'm not worried about the two of you."
"I haven't noticed anything weird, but if I do, I'll let you know," I told her. We turned our attention to Pixy.
"Don't look at me," he said. "The only weird thing I've seen is PJ pouring milk into his cereal bowl before the cereal."
"That's definitely reason for investigation," I said in mock seriousness.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Janie said drolly. "I'll see you two at the briefing."
Giving me a kiss, my girlfriend left the room. My wingman stood up, starting to leave as well.
"Hey, I thought you wanted to talk?" I said.
He stopped and faced me. "Don't worry about it. I forgot what it was about. Now my mind is all on the traitor on the base. When I remember what I meant to talk to you about, I'll let you know," he replied. "See you at the briefing."
"Are you sure you're okay buddy? Listen, I'm don't like talking about anything going on, and you don't either. I respect that. But you've been off lately. I didn't want to say anything in front of Janie in case she got a wrong idea, but I just want to make sure you're all right."
There was a tic in Pixy's jaw as he debated with himself whether to tell me or not. For a brief moment, I thought he was actually going to tell me because his mouth opened up as if he was going to say something. But once more, we were interrupted by PJ coming into my room. He didn't have the decency to knock, but it was for good reason.
"They've moved the briefing up. We need to get there now," PJ informed.
"We're coming," I said. The two of us followed the Crow Team member to the briefing room. Quietly, so PJ wouldn't hear, I told my wingman, "Tell me what's going on after this mission."
"Yeah," Pixy answered, his expression hard.
We entered the briefing room to find a few other teams there. Pixy and I took our seats up front which Janie had saved for us. Hammerhead dimmed the lights, cleared his throat, and began the briefing.
"There are still pockets of resistance holed up in the industrial city of Sudentor. Although fleeing, the Belkan army continues to fight back and are using the Waldreich Mountains as a final line of defense in an attempt to prevent our army from reaching northern Belka. For this mission, we would like you to assist the Allied ground troops by clearing the skies of enemy fighters. The South Belka Munitions Factory is located in Sudentor, which means the remaining troops, although few in number, are well outfitted. Head to the designated operations rendezvous location, at Point 203."
Hammerhead dismissed us. All the pilots in the room, including myself and Pixy, walked out to the hangars to get our planes. While we had no targets to help me decide which kind of special weapon to choose, I chose to go with XMAAs for both me and Pixy. Ground targets were typically easier to hit in comparison to air ones. They rarely moved as fast.
It didn't take long for us to take off and get in the air, or to reach the outskirts of the operation airspace. I was leading the troops while Pixy surprisingly chose to take up the rear rather than be at my six. It didn't bother me that he wasn't by my side because we could both hold our own no problem. What bothered me was that something was wrong with him and that every time he was about to tell me, we got interrupted. Belkans, and Belkan men in particular, rarely, if ever, shared what was bothering them. But whatever was on Pixy's mind was eating him up on the inside, I could see it. I wanted to help him.
"All right boys, you've reached the operation airspace," Janie announced over the radio. "We'll be keeping an eye on you from base. You shouldn't run into any trouble, but stay alert. Oh, and PJ? Iris says hi."
"PJ, don't even think about talkin' to your girl over the radio," Nikolai warned.
"I wouldn't do that during a job," PJ argued defensively.
"He can't even say hi back?" I asked.
"No."
"Wow. Harsh. Well, PJ, I'll tell her you say hi. Iris, if you're listening, PJ says hi. His leader won't let him talk to you for some reason."
I heard a feminine chuckle over the radio. "I can hear everything you all say loud and clear. And PJ doesn't have to say hi because I know he would if could. He has a mission to focus on, not me. It's fine. I'm here for research and reporting purposes only. Good luck out there boys."
Operation: Ravage
Location: Waldreich
Date: 06 June 1995
Time: 1450 hours
On the way to the hangar, figuring the chances of facing air resistance was higher than facing ground, I chose XMAAs as mine and Pixy's special weapons. PJ walked alongside me to the hangar since he was going on this mission as well with Crow Team. Pixy lagged behind, but I couldn't decide if it was because he didn't want to be around PJ or because of his morose mood.
Getting to the destination was quick and easy, and Crow Team took over the chatter today. Usually it was me and my wingman that did, but neither of us was really in the mood to be overly talkative. It felt weird, and something was certainly off about it, but I told myself it was because I just wasn't used to it.
"PJ," Crow Team Leader began, "don't even think about talkin' to your girl over the radio."
Iris was still on base and with some of the things she'd been witnessing, she'd been ordered to stay. Janie had pulled some strings so that Iris could be in the command center during missions rather than being locked up in her room. I also believed my girlfriend liked the company of another girl on base considering she was one of the very few around, and the girls that were on base didn't mix a lot. I could never figure out why though.
"I wouldn't do that during a job," PJ protested.
"And I wouldn't want him to," Iris said over the mic. "I can hear all of you loud and clear."
"Where's Janie?" I asked.
"Right next to Iris," my girlfriend responded. "How you doing up there?"
"It's weird being out here in the air rather than in the car," I mused, glancing down at Stier Castle as I flew over it. I remembered visiting that place as a kid with my family. That seemed so long ago now…
"Crow Team, do you read me? Head for Waldreich to take out any remnant forces the Belkans could have positioned out there," AWACS ordered.
"Yes, sir," Crow Team responded simultaneously. I hit the thrust, forcing my plane to go faster because the sooner we got to the destination, the quicker we could finish the mission and get home.
"Galm Two, what's the problem?" AWACS asked. I looked at my radar to see my wingman was more than just 'behind'. I could barely see him when I peered over my shoulder. On most days, I couldn't get rid of him. He was always nearby.
But not today.
"Don't worry. I'll catch up," Pixy griped, his annoyance evident.
"This is PJ from Crow Team. Galm Two, is there a problem with your craft?"
"Nah… I'm just sad."
"Buddy, I don't know what's wrong with you today, but make sure it doesn't affect your flying. I don't want you getting shot down again," I joked.
"Shut up, Cipher," he snapped.
"Sorry," I laughed. "But in all seriousness, I don't want you getting shot down. I need my buddy to make sure I don't do anything too stupid."
"I have no control over what you do."
"If you do, I'm not letting you know that. Can't go around giving you a bigger head than you already have," I remarked. My wingman would've responded had Hammerhead not interrupted our bickering.
Mission Update
"Emergency transmission from Allied HQ," he announced. "A Belkan bomber squadron equipped with nuclear weapons has taken off for Ustio."
"What?!" PJ exclaimed. My bones went cold at the announcement. Nuclear weapons were always a threat, but I figured that if Belka used them on any country, another country would come to the destroyed one's defense with nuclear weapons of their own and drop them on Belka. It was a level playing ground with most countries in our world. But maybe Belka thought they were indestructible. Or maybe they thought this was the last thing to do to deter the Allied Forces from invading.
Hammerhead continued. "Enemy bombers are approaching this airspace. Galm Team, Crow Team, head to intercept."
"Crow One, roger," Nikolai responded.
"Crow Two, moving to engage enemy," Julian chimed in.
"I'll stop them," PJ declared confidently.
"Galm One, ready to engage. We can't let them get past us. We can't let them blow everything up," I growled. My mind flashed pictures of my parents, of my sister, and especially of my niece and nephew. They were just beginning to understand the complexity of the world. I didn't want to add living in a post-apocalyptic world to that list.
"This war would end if they blew everything up," Pixy said quietly.
I was speechless for a moment, unable to comprehend what my wingman just said. I prayed he didn't mean, that he only said it because the war was getting to his brain. If that was the case, I'd rather him turn in his wings than ever suggest blowing everything up.
"If we let them drop even one nuke, there's no stopping them," Julian pointed out.
"To hell with the Belkans!" An ally snarled. As much as I hated what the Belkans were doing, I didn't like my own allies criticising them. These soldiers were doing what they were told by their leaders, much like we were doing ourselves. I didn't agree with what they were doing, but I understood why. And I understood the consequences if they didn't follow through with their orders.
"We can't let them use those nukes!" PJ encouraged as we got closer to the enemies on radar. Crow Team had been well in front of me, flying fast in their Hornets, but my Eagle was faster. I zipped past them as if it were nothing, being the first to go head on with the enemy.
"Do whatever it takes to stop them," AWACS commanded. "Prepare to engage enemy. Five miles remaining."
I had just hit the four mile distance when PJ exclaimed, "I see them! Enemy fighters with nukes."
"I see them too. Engaging," I announced. I switched to special weapons, not wanting to get too close to planes that were carrying weapons that could literally disintegrate me. Plus I needed to make up for my wingman's lack of fight today, and the XMAAs were good at trailing the opponent while I went after other enemies.
"This is Eagle Eye to Galm One. Don't hold back this time. Shoot 'em all."
"If we weren't in such a precarious situation right now, I'd make a sarcastic comeback. And did that request ever get approved to be called Hammerhead instead of Eagle Eye?" I queried. Talking helped me keep calm, to prevent my nerves from getting the best of me when they really wanted to at the moment.
"No, not yet," my comrade muttered. I let him wallow in his anger while I locked on to a target in the distance. As soon as I caught up to them, they shot down towards the ground. Flipping my plane over, I dove after them, struggling to get a lock on them. As good as I was, these enemies were a challenge. More than any other ones I'd faced. I wondered who trained them…
Finally, getting annoyed that I couldn't shoot them down with missiles, I switched to guns and as they were pulling up, I let out a barrage of bullets, hitting the plane as it flew up and past me. It didn't last long, and was soon a fireball in the sky.
"We must carry out our duty," a Belkan said grimly. I wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, himself or his comrades, but regardless, his tone wouldn't convince anyone. But knowing what he was referring to, I couldn't prevent the shiver that went down my spine. To think that if I didn't succeed in this mission, I could not only be causing the death of thousands of people, but that I could be witnessing it with no power to stop? The thought of being completely useless in helping prevent the death and destruction made me sick to my stomach…
Getting a renewed sense of determination, I searched for my next target. During that time, PJ flew over me at an impressive speed, tailing an enemy relentlessly. For a newbie to the game, he was a fast learner and an impressive fighter. He would go far in life.
I took a moment to find my wingman. He was off in the distance, his plane flying lazily after an enemy who seemed to be flying just as lazily as him. The sight struck me odd, but I also reminded myself that they were miles away from me. The distance could be making them look like they were moving slower than they actually were. Besides, I trusted my wingman. He knew what he was doing.
I zeroed in on my next targets. Two planes flying side by side after one of my allies. Having no idea I was behind them, I chose to keep it that way. Grateful that clouds graced the area, I used them to my advantage, flying in them to stay covered. If the enemies saw me on radar, they most likely wouldn't be able to see me physically. I was counting on that.
I floored my plane after them while making sure I kept my cloud cover. They were seemingly ignorant to my approach because it was almost too easy for me to switch to special weapons, pull up behind them, fire, and take out two enemies in one fell swoop.
"Thanks Cipher," Crow Two said, sounding thoroughly relieved. "I owe you one."
"You owe me nothing. I'm just doing my job," I told him. "But if you want to help me out, take care of these enemy fighters while I get rid of these bombers. The sooner we get rid of them, the better."
"Roger that. I'm on it!" He veered away, hunting down the closest fighter. He seemed to be going after them with a bloodthirsty vengeance. Meanwhile, I set my sights on the closest bomber. I was coming at it perpendicular, but it was flying so slowly that I had no qualms in firing a missile at my angle. The hit was good, and we had one less bomber to worry about.
"Two planes, no… three planes are down. But this has no bearing on our plans," A Belkan said. The man sounded worryingly confident. Something had be done to take that confidence down a notch. Finding the next bomber a little ways behind me, I pulled my plane up into a loop. During that time, I passed an enemy fighter. On a whim, I fired at it while continuing my ascent upwards. I watched my radar to see if the plane disappeared, to see if I'd actually hit it.
It did.
One of my allies whistled. "Damn Cipher. You're gonna change the tide of this war all by yourself."
"I don't know. PJ is taking down these fighters like they're flies. And when the enemies see Pixy, fear is immediately struck into their hearts. He's scary like that."
"Pretty sure when they see you, they're like 'oh shit it's Cipher!' I know I say that but for different reasons," Pixy remarked.
"He speaks," Crow One remarked.
"I'm both flattered and insulted," I said. "You're very good at backhanded compliments."
My wingman didn't respond, slipping back into his unusual silence. Rather than bugging him about it, I focused on going after the bomber, taking out another fighter on my way there. It was starting to become too easy. Maybe it was because there were less fighters in the sky, or maybe it was because I was learning their style and unconsciously adapting.
"Warning. Change course immediately. Return to base or you'll get shot down," A Belkan warned, voice stern.
As I flew towards the closest bomber, PJ came over the radio and said, "The enemy's attacking each other?!"
"What?!" I exclaimed in confusion. Sure enough, as I got closer to the remaining enemies, one of the Belkans shot down an ally. While they were distracted fighting each other, I slipped in, locking onto a bomber and taking it out. The next one was perfectly lined up in front of me and although once more, I was coming towards it from the side, its speed made it an easy target. Or so I thought until a plane exploded above me, and I had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by debris.
"Eliminate anyone who attempts to interfere," one of the Belkans ordered. "They're no longer our allies. Don't hesitate to shoot them down."
"They're actually turning their backs on each other," PJ observed in shock.
"Let me tell you I'm glad I have all of you on my side. I know none of you would ever do that," I said.
"Don't worry about that now. Just concentrate on shooting down those bombers," AWACS insisted.
"This is perfect. Let's use it against them," Crow One decided as I locked onto a new bomber. I'd let PJ go after the former one I'd been aiming for.
"Way ahead of you," I replied.
"Of course you are," he muttered. I smirked ever so slightly.
"Take them out while they're still confused," Crow Two added. He was off in the distance going after the remaining fighters. I flew up behind the bomber I'd been tailing and took it out easily with some gunfire. There wasn't much left to do now, and I started letting the sense of victory sink in, little by little.
"Crow Team, take out the fighters that are left. I'm going to finish off these bombers," I announced.
"On it," they answered simultaneously.
"Crow Three to AWACS. There are too many crafts. Please identify the craft with the nuclear weapon," PJ requested. I thought the question was a bit useless because any of the bombers could've been the one with the weapon, and the fighters were too small to carry a weapon of the capability we were talking about. Or at least I thought they were. For all I knew, Belka had created a small enough nuclear device weapon that could be carried via fighter. I wouldn't put it past them.
"You'll have to shoot all of them down," AWACS responded. "To all units in the airspace. Stop the nuclear attack. Shoot down all Belkan bombers."
"Okay, I know I said earlier I was going to hold off on the sarcastic remarks considering the circumstances, but really? What do you think we've been doing out here? Having a nice Sunday flight and sipping tea?" I retorted.
"That comment wasn't meant for you Cipher. It was meant for those who haven't been as engaged in the fight as the rest of you."
That silenced me because I knew who he was referring to. My wingman was still on the outskirts of the fight, trailing after the enemy plane that looked suspiciously like the one from earlier. I wanted to give my wingman the benefit of the doubt because he'd never given me reason to not trust him, but something was really off with him today. I just couldn't place what.
"Move according to plan," a Belkan commanded.
"No, please don't," I mumbled to myself, taking a glance at my radar. I could see two bombers left. Once they were gone, this mission would be done with. But the closer I got to the 'last two' bombers, two more appeared in the distance. So we had four left. I didn't let that discourage me though. Enemy fighters were practically non-existent now thanks to the Crow Team, so the rest of the mission should be easy.
I locked onto the closest bomber with my missiles, fired, then moved onto the next, not even waiting to see if it was a hit. I knew it would be. I did the same with the second bomber and focused in on third. Beyond that bomber was the fourth and final one, and beyond that was PJ, coming in fast towards the bombers. He was going to reach the fourth bomber long before I did, so I let him have it. I would take the third one.
"Stay airborne until we reach the destination point," an enemy stated. I fired my guns at the bomber I was locked onto; PJ was already taking care of the fourth. We finished them off almost exactly at the same time.
"All planes confirmed down! We did it!" PJ exclaimed enthusiastically.
"There's no job impossible for us mercenaries!" Crow One chimed in.
"Read 'em and weep, Belkans!" Crow Two piped up. I couldn't help the smile on my own face. It was mostly from relief than happiness from victory though. We had just prevented a nuclear attack. We had just prevented the death of thousands, possibly millions of people. My niece and nephew wouldn't have to live in a post-apocalyptic world.
My relief was short-lived.
"What the…" PJ began before I was blinded momentarily by a massive flash of light. When I could see again, that's when I heard the explosion. That's when my missile alert went off and stayed on. Thoroughly confused, I whipped my plane around to see what had just happened behind me.
I faced a massive, astronomically-sized ball of light. It was far in the distance, but I swear I could feel the intense heat from it all the way where I was. The white clouds that had covered the sky were now mixed with small, brown streaks. It looked like dirt, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why there would be dirt fifteen-thousand feet up in the sky.
Not unless…
No, it couldn't be. We'd shot down all the planes. We'd shot down whatever plane or planes that were carrying the nuclear weapon. Surely we hadn't missed one.
But it was also the only way I could explain why there was this gargantuan ball of light in the distance, why the dirt was this high up in the air, why communication had basically been completely knocked out, and why my radar was on the fritz.
An eerie silence had settled over the atmosphere. I could see planes darting around in the distance, all flying mercurial flight paths. I couldn't tell who was a friend and who was a foe. I couldn't even find my wingman. his signature red wing nowhere to be seen. Despite having allies all around me, I suddenly felt extremely alone. If I got into any trouble, there would be no one to call for help.
"This is Eagle Eye!" AWACS shouted, breaking the silence, albeit his words being extremely broken and slightly garbled. "All teams, damage report!"
"This is Crow Three! Negative! Unable to confirm the situation!" PJ answered immediately. Like our AWACS, his voice was nearly unintelligible as well.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Crow Two demanded.
"Damn it! My gauges are malfunctioning," Crow One informed.
"What was that light? Am I all right?" PJ asked worriedly.
"We're fine," I said, my voice strangely calm and steady.
"Cipher, why do you sound like that? What's going on?"
I wanted to respond to my friend, to tell him we just witnessed the explosion of a nuclear weapon. But I couldn't. Saying it meant it was real. Saying it meant we had failed. Saying it meant that we had just allowed the death of innocents. Saying it meant that there was nothing we could do now to stop it.
Maybe PJ picked up on what I meant by my silence, maybe he figured it out for himself and for the same or similar reasons, couldn't say it aloud like myself. Regardless, he stayed quiet too.
"Larry, can you read me?" a masculine voice came over the radio. It was quiet because of the interference, but I could still make out what was being said. The person was definitely familiar; it took me a moment before I recognized him as Wizard One, or Joshua Bristow, mainly because I remembered him greeting Pixy the same way when I first met the Wizard Squadron over B7R. "Your fairy godmother's here, Cinderella."
Cinderella? Why did that name sound familiar? Who had I just been talking to about that name? I racked my brain while listening to the conversation, hoping it would it cause me to have a revelation. I was also wanting to know what the hell Wizard One was talking about and what my wingman had to do with it.
Speaking of my wingman, Pixy was suddenly coming up behind me at breakneck speeds. But for once, I didn't feel safe knowing he was at my six. Instead, I felt on edge, and I wanted to know why every part of me was telling me, no, screaming at me, to get away from him.
"How can you say that after what just happened?" Pixy snapped.
"Today is your lucky day, Larry. Like your birthday," Bristow said, way too calm considering the situation. I hadn't liked him the first time I met. Now I hated him.
"And you're here to pull me off in a magical carriage… to hell I suppose…" Pixy shot past me and rapidly started disappearing into the distance. Impulsively, and probably stupidly, I hit the thrusters and chased after him. He was my buddy, and if he was in trouble, I wanted to be there for him to help get him out of it.
Finally, unable to stand the unknown, I demanded, "Pixy, what's going on? What's he talking about?"
"Buddy… I've found a reason to fight," he replied after a moment's hesitation. I couldn't quite place his tone. It was half firm, half disappointed.
That's when my missile alert went off.
"What the- why are you engaging me?!" I questioned, panic rising in my chest. I jerked my plane upwards to get away from my wingman. "What the hell is going on?!'
"Cipher! It's… he… Cinderella!" Janie's voice came over the radio, cracking and garbled. Despite most of her words being cut out, it was easy enough for me to figure out what she was getting at.
Dread filled my bones as the scale of the betrayal hit me. The only reason I was functioning was because I knew if I didn't continue flying, I was a dead man. If I was dead, I wouldn't find out why my friend, my buddy, my brother, had done this to me. I had too many questions to die right now.
"Galm Two! What are you doing? That's not the enemy! Cease fire!" AWACS ordered frantically. It was no use though. Pixy was practically on top of me. Every time he got a missile lock on me, I evaded, and every time I evaded, he would get another lock on me a couple seconds later. I'd always wondered who would win in a fight if we were pitted against each other. I guess I was going to find out now. And if this battle continued the way it was, I knew how it was going to end. I knew I wouldn't be the victor.
I dove down towards the ground, only pulling up at the last second to avoid becoming one with the earth below. The landscape had a lot of hills and jagged rocks for me to hide behind, making it harder for Pixy to get a lock on me.
"Repeat! Galm Two! Cease your attack on our unit at once!" AWACS barked. Once more, Pixy ignored the warning, and AWACS came back on, saying, "Warning! Enemy reinforcements detected."
Oh great…
"Reinforcements?!" PJ exclaimed in exasperation. "From which squadron?!"
SU-27s appeared on my radar, at last four of them. Most likely there were more. Fury momentarily tore through me. Fury at the situation, fury at not realizing sooner I was being betrayed, fury that I'd just witnessed the murder of who knows how many innocent civilians.
That fury pushed aside any other feeling inside of me. Switching to special weapons, I locked onto the first two SU-27s and fired. I didn't even check to make sure the missiles would hit. I just wanted to take out every enemy I could before they left the area. I barely noticed when the two planes I'd fired at disappeared my radar. I was too focused on shooting down the jamming aircraft and the three other SU-27s in front of me. Still using special weapons, I locked on to two of the fighters and fired, not really caring whether or not the missiles hit. I wanted to scatter them because they were stronger together than they were apart. Maybe I was lucky, maybe it had been a good shot, but both targets disappeared. That left the jamming craft and the last fighter. I followed the same tactic I'd used the last two times. Like the last two times, the gamble worked.
Mission Accomplished
I searched for my wingman's signature red wing. To my surprise, he wasn't too far away. I floored it after him, determined to get him. He must've seen me approaching on radar because he said, "This is where we go our separate ways."
"No, because if we go our separate ways, the next time we fight will be as enemies. I'll be forced to shoot you down. Please don't make me do that." To make my point, I got a lock on him, but he didn't try to evade.
"You won't shoot me down, buddy." His voice remained steady, but if I wasn't mistaken, I could hear the slightest undertone of apprehension. "But if you're going to, then take the shot now. You won't get an easier shot than this."
My finger hovered above the trigger. He was right. If I fired now, he wouldn't be able to evade the missile. I was too close behind him, in too good of firing range. But no matter how much I tried to force myself to pull the trigger, I couldn't fire. I couldn't shoot him down. Because some small part of me, albeit a very loud part of me, kept saying he wasn't all bad.
I disengaged, no longer locked onto Pixy.
"See? I knew you couldn't do it," he remarked, pleased that he'd been right.
I pulled the missile trigger.
The projectile missed my buddy's plane by a hair's breadth, but that had been my point.
"Considering that your first and final warning," I growled. "Next time we meet in the skies, I won't hesitate."
Pixy didn't respond, as we both veered away from each other, going opposite directions. So many emotions coursed through as I did so that all I felt was numbness. Sooner or later, one emotion would beat out the others, but so far, the hurt, the betrayal, the anger, the disbelief, the loss, they were all equal with one another, neutralizing each other's effects.
"All enemy planes are down. Return to base," AWACS ordered. Then, mostly talking to himself, he added, "They've all gone insane."
The ride to base was totally and completely silent. No talking ensued with between us pilots or from base to us. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own thoughts, too wrapped up in the shock of what all had just happened.
Janie was waiting for me in the hangar when I landed. She didn't say anything, she didn't take hold of my hand. She could sense that I needed space. We walked quietly to the briefing room where Hammerhead gave the debriefing. As he took his spot behind the podium, he seemed to have trouble finding his voice. He pretended like he was having technical issues, but I knew better. Finally, he began. "We were unable to confirm if the enemy squadron you engaged was equipped with nuclear weapons. We don't know all the details yet, but multiple nuclear detonations have been verified within the Belkan border. It is also unclear whether or not Galm Two, who disappeared during the mission, is still alive. We will continue our search efforts, but at this point, there's not much hope. Our communications network is still down due to the nuclear explosions. Remain on standby until conditions improve."
The lights flickered back on. I left before anyone could stop me. Getting in my car, I drove to the most remote bar I could find. I would get a cab back to base. I just needed to get away from everyone, and let myself process everything.
The bar I ended up at was small. It's dark wood, dim lighting, and near empty atmosphere perfectly suited the mood that currently resided within me. I ordered a double of the strongest whiskey they had. The bartender looked me up and down, taking in my haggard expression and my flight suit, before nodding and grabbing a bottle of the shelf. He handed the drink to me, and when I began pulling out my wallet, he stopped me by saying, "It's on the house. Thank you for your service."
Inexplicably, the gesture, as small as it was, made a knot form in my throat. After everything I'd been through today, it was nice to know that kindness still existed in the world. But it also caused me to realize just how severe the betrayal I felt was because that feeling finally took over. Giving the man a grateful nod, I made my way over to the bar in front of the window. Rain pelted the windows, and I watched the drops trickle down the glass.
I kept replaying every interaction I'd had with Pixy the last few weeks, and the more I thought about it, the more I began to see the signs that had led up to today. Like the most recent time we were at B7R, and Bristow and Pixy had a brief conversation about getting out of this 'dead-end job'; and during that same mission, him arguing with PJ. It explained the hard look on his face after thr briefing on our Hoffnung mission; his other argument with PJ; his 'damn them all' comment at the end of that mission. It explained his change in personality. At first I thought it was the war getting to him. I only now realized it was because he had started to defect a long time ago. I couldn't help but wonder if that chat he wanted to have with me earlier today was about everything going on in his head, if he had been wanting to talk to me to see if defecting was the thing to do. Maybe if we'd had that conversation, he wouldn't have done what he did.
But nothing would come of speculation. Everything had happened. I couldn't change any of it now. One day, in the future, we were going to meet again, in the skies. Of that I was sure. I just prayed it wasn't any time soon. I needed time to get past this before I faced him again. I needed to view him as an enemy rather than as an ally, a buddy. But what if that never happened?
My thoughts were broken when I saw a car pull up in front of the bar. A bald, buff man stepped out from the vehicle. His sights settled on me, and he gave me a sad smile. It took me a moment to register that it was Hammerhead.
But he wasn't alone. Janie got out of the passenger's seat. PJ and Iris got out of the back. How did they find me?
The four of them walked in, taking their seats next to me. Janie laced her fingers through mine. I found myself gripping her hand in an attempt to control my emotions which were threatening to explode. I didn't want any of them to see me lose my cool, especially in a public setting. They were going through hell too. They needed someone to be strong. As captain, I needed to be that person. I could wallow in my grief when I was alone.
"None of us saw it coming," Hammerhead said quietly.
"He was my wingman. I should've seen the signs. I should've recognized the change in personality," I replied.
"He made up his mind. None of us could've changed it."
"I don't think that's true. He wanted to talk to me earlier today. Before the mission. I can't help but think he was hoping I could convince him otherwise."
"Or maybe he wanted to convince you to join his side."
"We'll never know. As difficult as it is, we can't keep speculating about why this happened or the 'what ifs'," Janie said gently. "Pixy made his choice. All we can do is accept it, allow ourselves the time to grieve the loss of a friend, and then move on."
"I'm going to face him again. Before this war is over, he and I are going to face each other."
"And you won't be alone when you do," Janie promised, squeezing my hand assuredly. I gave her a small smile. The bartender came over in this moment, pouring my whiskey in my glass. It was on the house again.
For the next two hours, we chatted. Well, the others did. I kind of just sat and listened, not really saying anything unless a question or statement was directed at me. I got pretty drunk, not even going to lie about that. But I held myself together.
Right up until I got into my car.
Janie was driving us back to base as she'd had nothing to drink like PJ who drove Hammerhead and Iris back. They'd already left, but Janie was taking her time get situated in my car.
"How are you doing? Really," She asked, turning to look at me, her hand resting on top of mine. The alcohol, mixed with everything that had happened today and Janie's gentle touch, sent my emotions over the edge. I couldn't help the tears that formed in my eyes. I tried to explain everything going on in my head, but no words could possibly suffice to do so. Janie seemed to pick up on that. She said nothing, but kept her hand on mine the entire ride back to base.
I was grateful that no one was in the lobby when we arrived because I really wasn't up to talking to anyone. Upon entering my room, I just kind of stood there, unsure if I wanted to sit on the couch, lay down on my bed, or hit something.
"Do you want me to stay tonight? Or do you want to be by yourself?" Janie queried softly. I turned to look at her. But rather than saying anything, I leaned down and kissed her. I needed a distraction, and I think she picked up on that because she wrapped her arms around my neck as I lifted her up and carried her to the bed. Needless to say, the distraction worked, and at least for a few hours, any grief or thoughts about what had just happened left my mind.
Present day…
Elizabeth and Genette stared at me with wide eyes. I realized I'd been talking for at least two hours. They seemed to be in a stunned silence. I decided it would be a good time to play the rest of the documentary and allow them to gather their thoughts.
The screen was black, but the date '6 June, 1995' appeared in white letters Brett Thompson's voice began talking. "June sixth, nineteen-ninety-five."
The sound of an explosion came and the screen turned white, fading into video of the nuclear detonations.
"I was still in school at the time," Brett continued. "But I'll never forget the images I saw on the news that day. The Belkans set off seven nuclear explosions on their own soil."
The next video was from the news with the caption 'Estimates of over 12,000 dead: Images of the nuclear explosions in the Waldreich Mountains'. It showed an ominous, black, mushroom cloud towering over everything below it. I knew that far off in the distance, my comrades and I were flying, having a front row seat to it all.
"Maybe their old, militaristic leaders couldn't stand the idea of Allied Forces invading their land… And declared to the world that the land to the north was the Holy Land of Belka," Brett said before the next video appeared. It was a map of Belka with seven yellow dots showing appearing to show where the detonations had occurred. "According to official records, more than twelve-thousand people died."
Another, different video of the explosions appeared, this time capturing two or three in one shot. Brett went on. "It was a grand self-sacrifice that engulfed all. The only thing remaining was the desolate landscape."
The next image appeared; a silhouette of a father holding his son's hand with the bright, white light of the explosion in front of them. Brett queried, "How did the people of Belka feel about what they saw? And what did he think of it, when he looked down on it from the sky?"
The documentary switched to Pixy who recounted the mission, but he kept it brief and kept any explanations to questions short. It almost seemed to me that he didn't want to talk about it. He certainly wore that 'I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it' expression that I knew all too well having worked with him for so long.
"So he really did betray you," Elizabeth said.
"Betray?" Genette repeated. "He stabbed you right in the heart. Like screw stabbing you in the back."
"Did you ever find out why?"
"No, not really. But I've come to believe that whoever got him to join A World With No Boundaries was extremely convincing or slowly brainwashed him. I'll probably never know. I've accepted that," I told them.
"I'm so sorry… I couldn't imagine any of my friends doing that…" Elizabeth remarked.
"I hope you never have to experience that. Now, I think it's time we all go to bed. We'll continue with the story in the morning."
"How am I supposed to sleep after that?" Genette asked, more to himself than anyone in particular. The three of us got up, heading to our respective rooms. My mind was reeling from the story today. I hadn't talked about that particular mission since the day it happened. I avoided it now for the very reason that I avoided it back then.
It hurt.
Even to this day, that betrayal still hurt. And unless I ever got an answer about why he did it, it would always hurt. That was the truth.
All I could do was accept it.
Okay, a long chapter since y'all waited so patiently. I hope you enjoyed!