Chapter 20

The first thing Matt was aware of was the pain. After he came to, he could still feel the dull ache in his stomach and the ringing pain in his head. He slowly opened one eyelid.

It was daytime. He was in some sort of a small cave, and beyond the cave mouth he could see woodland. He began to try and sit up but the pain spread to his ribs and he was forced to lie down again.

"Relax, Keeler. You're in no shape to move right now."

Matt turned and got a good glimpse of his rescuer for the first time.

"…Seven? Blaze? Is that you?" Matt asked weakly. Blaze's flight suit looked a mess. Charred and burned away in several places, the whole thing looked like it had been stuck in an oven and left to burn, despite its mild fireproofing.

Contrasting with the flight suit though, was Blaze. He didn't have the slightest sign of any burned or even singed fur. It looked like he had just found the suit and put it on.

"That is correct." Blaze offered Matt an opened ration bar. "You don't have any permanent or even long term damage on you, despite the battering you received. Mostly just deep cuts and bruises."

Matt took the ration bar and bit the end off. "Thanks for helping me out back there. I owe you one."

Blaze seemed unfazed. "We are still on an enemy planet, you know." The being swept his blaster up into his hand and stood. "You stay right here, and don't try to get up. There's a blaster under the rock on your left. I'm going out to check the perimeter."

"Hey Blaze, I just wanna know…"

"Not now."

And then he was gone.

He sure can be creepy. Thought Matt. Was it my imagination the night before, or did he really set fire to that soldier? What's he hiding?

Matt took a better look around the cave Blaze had chosen for shelter. It was just small enough to fit the two of them and provide adequate protection from the wind and rain.

And patrolling guards.

Blaze had done a decent job setting up the place. Matt realized why Blaze was so adamant on him staying down. Despite the lack of light, he could make out a tripwire just inside the mouth of the cave.

Matt inspected his injuries again. This time he sought his reflection in his knife. Blaze had cleaned away most of the blood on Matt's face, and had used the sleeve of Matt's torn flight suit as a bandage for his right arm.

Well, I may as well do something to wait. Matt decided. He gnawed at his ration bar, whittling it away slowly. Long after he had finished, Matt began whistling, then when he got bored of that, he just lay there, thinking silently.

Matt endured two hours silence before Blaze returned.

"Nobody's been through here recently." Said Blaze. "From what I gather there should be a small air base twelve miles east of here." The pilot resumed his place at the end of the cave. "And as soon as you get better, we're setting off."

"We're going to hijack fighters?" Asked Matt.

"That's right." Replied Blaze. "And the sooner we get off this rock the better."

Matt nodded. Silence reigned supreme again.

"Um, Blaze, would I be right if I thought you set fire to that goon with you bare hands last night?"

The creature didn't reply.

Keeler just kept on going. "Yeah, cause, I mean, it was pretty freaky, and all. I, uh, just wanna know."

Blaze glanced over at Matt momentarily. "Doesn't matter. Now get some rest."

What is with this guy? Matt decided to try one more time. "It does matter. Man, you are an Enigma! If you could just…"

"Now look just shut up already." Blaze cut in. "I don't need to deal with this during a survival situation. Leave it alone."

Matt clammed his mouth shut. I had to get stuck behind enemy lines with THIS guy. All right, I'll respect your request, for now. But sooner or later, I WILL find out about you. Matt let himself slowly drift back to sleep.

Bill hated the formal uniform he was wearing. It was tight; it chafed, and was both hot and heavy.

Worst of all, he was forced to wear it on occasions such as these.

Most of the crew was gathered in the halls and large rooms of the ship. Many were in the superstructure at the aft, and the bridge crew were standing in ranks behind the Admiral. So it was, all over the ship. The crew members standing at attention, in their best dress uniforms, except for those in pressurized suits out on the launch deck.

They had just placed the last coffin on the deck, and were strapping down for the maneuvers that were about to take place. Many of the 114 coffins on the deck were empty, simply there to represent everyone who had died. Throughout the fleet, other crews of other ships would be doing the same. Off the bow, Bill saw the battleship Harton silhouetted against a large brown-blue planet. She was sporting several large holes, the first testimony to the ferocity of the battle at Macbeth.

The second testimony was about to take place.

Bill was on the bridge, as Commander of all starfighter forces in the fleet. An OK signal beeped on the Admiral's comlink and he pressed some buttons on the PA system.

These words will be transmitted across the fleet. Bill thought. Make them count.

The Admiral cleared his throat and began speaking.

"The world you see before you is Katina. For many of you, it is your home. For the rest, it is the world we have sworn to protect to our utmost.

One week ago, we found ourselves caught in a confrontation intended to destroy this fleet. The opponents we faced planned it so that they could strip this world of its defenders.

As defenders, each and every one of you has done this fleet proud. We fought our way out of that trap, and have survived to fight another day, so we can keep protecting this great planet.

However during that struggle, many of our friends, our family, our comrades, died fighting to help keep us alive. We honor them today and forever.

Through battles won and lost,

On land, sea, air and space,

These courageous heroes fought.

Now they have earned their rest,

As soldiers, sailors and pilots, they died for our dreams.

May their souls never be forgotten,

And may their legend live forever."

The Admiral backed away after having recited the memorial verse, and Bill took up the position next to the comm. With 'Saviors of Katina' being played over the PA system, he read, one by one, the names of the dead from the fateful battle, careful not to mispronounce any names or even cough. One hundred and fourteen names were read out, crewmen and pilots of the Archangel who had not survived. By the end of it, Bill's voice was raspy and his throat was sore. He finally stepped back, beside the Admiral.

The lion looked up above the heads of his bridge crew and puffed out his chest.

"Bridge Crew, Salute!"

As one, everyone on the bridge snapped into the salute position as an automated program began taking place in the ship's computers. The carrier dropped away from under the coffins, and began to decelerate. To Bill's eye the coffins began to shoot away towards Katina, though in fact the carrier was continuing to slow down and begin reversing. Every ship in the fleet was doing the same, and Bill saw multitudes of coffins, each shrouded in a Katinian Flag, emerging from the bows of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, from every corner of his view. As the first of them began entering Katina's atmosphere, they began to glow, and as they descended they became brilliant long white streaks before completely incinerating.

All on a final parade, going out in a blaze of glory.

To someone on the ground, the hundreds of streaks would have made for a dazzling meteor shower. From the bridge of a wounded carrier, it was the truth of war. One thousand lives taken away because of a power-hungry army that thought the Lylat System would be a good target.

As he watched score after score of coffins reach their fiery end, he recalled something Wally had said just before they deployed.

Well Wal, you said it. Never again. No more War, for you, ever again. Rest easy, ol' buddy.