Chapter Two: Trading the Claws for Wings
Ken watched as the dark-haired man approached, wary of any sudden movements. He knew from experience that men such as these could change their policies very quickly if they saw what they didn't like. When he was about two feet away, he stopped and looked them over. Then he looked directly at Ken.
"You look like you've killed before." The man said, casually. Ken stiffened, but said nothing. He knew that if he spoke out of turn, he would be severely 'punished' by the burly brutes behind him.
"Come on. Since you're here, you might as well get out of the sun. The rest of your paperwork is inside." The dark-haired man said, as he started walking back into the base. Silently, Ken and Shin followed, not even daring to glance back at the ones who had brought them there. When they got inside, a blast of cool air hit them. Ken couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Whew………………..knew I shouldn't have worn black jeans!" Ken joked, trying to make light of the situation. The dark-haired man chuckled softly, and Shin cracked a tiny smile, but that was it.
"It isn't a good idea to wear tight-fitting, dark colored clothing here, that much is certain. On another note, I am Saki Vashutarl, commander of this base. You'll be getting your orders directly from me for the next three years………………if you can survive that long." The man said, as he handed them some folders and walked off.
"It must be one helluva war when someone needs to shanghai people from other countries to fill the ranks." Ken muttered, as he sat down and started on his paperwork. Shin listlessly agreed.
The next day, Ken got his first taste of flight. When Shin had walked him through the ins and outs of the controls, they took one flight to see if Ken could remember what he'd just learned. On the ground McCoy, the weapons supplier, covered his eyes several times when he'd thought that the two were going to collide in mid-air. Amazingly, Ken mastered the controls in a short time, but he knew, deep down, that Omi could have learned how to fly even faster.
"Not bad, lad. You did well for someone who has never flown before." McCoy commented, approvingly, as Ken removed his helmet.
"Thanks." Ken replied, then looked up at the sky, already dreading the next three years of his life.
"This is going to be worse than Weiss. Much worse." Ken thought, as the sunset painted the sky in hues of gold and crimson.
One Year, Ten Days Later…………….
"Shin! Save some for me, will ya? I want to go home too, ya know!" Ken shouted, as he and his friend vied for rights to the tanks below them.
"Sorry, Ken, but I have someone to go back to!" Shin replied, as he sent a shower of bullets raining down on the enemy tanks.
"Well, I do too! Only…………..I haven't met her yet! Give me a break, will ya?!" Ken again shouted, getting a chuckle from Shin.
"You could afford to lose six thousand dollars worth! You're keeping your debts paid better than I am!" Shin shouted, before he let two tanks have it. He got a grumble from Ken for a response.
"H.Q. come in. this is Zero-Zero Section, Shin Kazama and Ken Hidaka, over. H.Q., the insurgent's tanks are heading north from Point Three-Bravo in the southern sector. Over. Damn! They don't copy! This happens too damn often!" Shin growled.
"Damn straight. You'd think they'd get things straight down there by now! Sheesh! It's no wonder guys like us are getting shanghaied! They can't keep in touch with the guys they've got!" Ken muttered, as he and Shin finished their run and went back to Area 88.
"Another hard day finished, and yet another hard night awaits us. Saki's bound to have some sort of attack planned for tonight for his enemies." Ken said, as he and Shin landed, then got out of their aircraft.
"No doubt about that, Ken." Shin said, looking up as Saki approached them.
"Welcome back, you two. It appears that you both made a fortune today." Saki said, as he gave them a stern look.
"Yep. Of course Shin wanted them all to himself. Again." Ken said, jokingly. This got a slight grin from both men. As Shin and Saki talked about the meeting that was scheduled for that evening, Ken's mind wandered. Just where had his friends disappeared to before he'd been shanghaied? Were they even still alive? If so, then where would they turn up? Ken was jolted from his thoughts by Shin.
"What're you thinking about?" Shin asked.
"Just trying to figure out where my friends disappeared to, that's all. It's still a mystery to me." Ken said, as they went to McCoy's storehouse and haggled him with the prices of ammo for their jets. As Shin parted from him to go to his room, Ken sought the shade of the hangar and the companionship of another friend on base.
"How did it go, Hidaka?" a tall man with a scarred face asked, as he offered a cold bottle of water to Ken.
"It went all right. How'd your last run go, Harlock?" Ken asked. The tall German shrugged.
"Fair. I almost have enough money for a better plane. Are you still wondering what had happened to your old friends?" Harlock asked.
"Yeah. They would have gotten a good laugh if they had seen me fall for signing that contract. I always have been a bit of an idiot." Ken said, with a sigh.
"I wouldn't say that you're an idiot, but I would say that you let your hopes get the better of you." Harlock said, as he watched some more jets take off.
"Why are you here, Harlock? Were you tricked into it as well?" Ken asked.
"No. It's more like a family tradition. The men of my family go off to war to learn its art. Then, if they survive, are they allowed to return home. It's a cruel lesson in life, but every family has its way of teaching, I suppose." Harlock said, then stood and stretched.
"Meeting time. I wonder what Saki will have us do tonight?" Ken mused, as he and the German pilot entered the briefing room.
"I don't know. His eyes never give clues as to what he has in mind. I have a feeling that there is more to this war than is first seen on the surface." Harlock said, as he took a seat apart from the other pilots and turned his gray gaze to the front.
"I guess so. But what could the Commander be hiding?" Ken wondered, as the meeting began. As Ken looked over the sea of faces, he spotted Shin standing with an American pilot that had just arrived on the base. Shin had a grim look on his face, and Ken could guess what he was thinking.
"He's tortured even more than I am by this. He has someone he wants to see so desperately but he can't return to her until either time passes or he earns enough to leave. What a rotten deal!" Ken thought, as Shin announced that he wasn't going on the mission to destroy a missile base and that he was going to accept the five thousand dollar fine for not going.
"Does anyone else wish to disobey this order?" Saki asked, looking a little put off by Shin's audacity.
"I think I'll remain here too, Saki." Ken said, getting an unreadable look from Saki as a result.
"I will sit out as well, Commander." Harlock also said.
"Why do I even ask?" Saki muttered, shaking his head as he did so.
"Saki! I'm not going either!" Bowman, a rather shifty pilot among them shouted.
"Bowman, you only have two thousand dollars in your account. Think again." Saki replied, with a reproving look at the pilot in question.
"Shin old pal, can I borrow three grand off of you? I'll pay you back, I promise." Bowman said, with a pathetic smile. Ken rolled his eyes; he knew what was going to happen next.
"No way, Bowman. Go and meet your maker." Shin replied, coldly. Ken ignored Bowman as he made entreaties to him and watched as Harlock glared stonily at Bowman from his corner, just daring the lying pilot to try and ask him for money with his eyes. Then Saki turned his attention to the American pilot.
"The new pilot……….uh………Mick, is it? What do you have to say for yourself?" Saki asked.
"I'm not going either." The American replied, much to the amusement of the other pilots. Through all the jeering, Ken could hear Mick chuckling as well.
"Seems as though we have a fourth. Now we have a small taskforce of our own." Ken thought, as the meeting was called to an end, and the pilots left, leaving the four to pay the fine.
"What a fine quartet of fools we look." Harlock said, with a cheerful glint in his eye.
"Yeah, but if Shin's thinking what I'm thinking, things are about to get moving around here." Ken said, as they came out of the building and looked up at the clear, starry sky.
"I must agree." Harlock said, as he looked out across the moonlit sands. Almost as soon as they had finished talking, the alarms started blaring.
"Enemy formation approaching! Enemy formation approaching!" a voice shouted through the intercom.
"Off we go, then. Good luck, Ken!" Harlock shouted, as he climbed into his jet.
"Good luck!" Ken shouted back, just as Harlock's plane left the runway. He, Shin and Mick weren't far behind. Once again the dance of life and death played itself out over the airfield and the four returned. But Ken noticed that Harlock was slow to get out of his jet.
"Hey, are you all right?" Ken asked.
"Ken………………….help me out of here, will you?" Harlock asked, ignoring Ken's question. Ken scrambled up the ladder to his friend's side. He gasped in horror when he saw what condition Harlock was in. His shoulder was bleeding profusely from the bullet wound that was now there.
"Hang on! McCoy! Call for the medics! Hurry up!" Ken shouted, almost frantically. He could hear Shin and Mick below him, as they also tried to help. As painful as it must have been, Harlock didn't moan once as his friends helped him get back down and onto a waiting stretcher.
"It'll take more than this to keep me from flying. I'll be out for a while, but I'll be back." Harlock said, with a pained smile.
"And we'll be counting on it." Ken said, as the medics arrived and whisked the wounded pilot away.
"I understand you four defended the base. Nice work." Saki said, as he approached them.
"Well you know we always take the better paying jobs, as you know." Shin replied, for them.
"Yes, well………..it looks as though I will be giving you three a new mission on the day after tomorrow." Saki said, grimly. So it was that another night passed in the base known as Area 88. What would the next day bring? And would it shed new light on Ken's mystery?