Chapter Three: Lessons on Life and Death
Ken sighed as he turned his eyes to the empty desert sky. It had barely been two months since Harlock had been wounded, and he was up and flying again. He watched as one jet landed on the airstrip; only one jet out of the whole attack squadron that had left earlier that day.
"What rotten odds. If it keeps up, there won't be anyone left here." Ken thought, chuckling when he heard McCoy mouth off at the just arrived pilot who had ruined his chance to sell something.
"Don't feel too bad, McCoy, you could always use the duds as bowling pins!" Ken shouted, getting an obscene gesture from the weapons supplier as a result.
"I don't think he likes you very much, Hidaka." Harlock said, grinning as he said that.
"Heh, I wouldn't be surprised. Just because I was a florist before coming here doesn't mean that my brain hasn't been used. The sidewinders he was trying to sell Shin were priced so cheaply that there has to be something up with them." Ken said, with a smirk.
"You must have good ears in order to have heard that." Saki commented, as usual seeming to pop in out of nowhere.
"No, not actually." Ken replied.
"Why do you say that?" Harlock asked, honestly curious.
"McCoy tried to sell those sidewinders to me earlier. I was suspicious about the price and refused." Ken said, getting an odd look from Saki as a result.
"There's going to be another mission at 20:30. Are you two coming for this one?" Saki asked.
"I'm game. Another day of playing 'clean-up' with the enemy forces around here will probably drive me insane. What about you, Hidaka? Are you coming along for the ride?" Harlock asked, showing an anticipation only a pilot like him could show.
"Why not? A little more money in the bank wouldn't hurt, if it'll get me out of here quicker." Ken said, as a stiff desert breeze blew around them.
"Good. I expect to see you take off." Saki said, then turned and left them.
Later, Shin, Ken, Mick, Harlock, and a pilot named Boris sat, watching the sun go down. Aside from the impatient grumbling in German from Harlock, there was silence between them. Each of them knew the risks, and were willing to take them. Then Ken broke the silence.
"Guys, be careful out there. I know this sounds stupid coming from me, since we're all experienced pilots, but I've got a bad feeling that several pilots won't be returning from tonight's mission." Ken said, quietly.
"That isn't unusual, Ken. Pilots die everyday here, so why should it bother you that a few more might die tonight?" Mick asked, curious as to why Ken seemed so uneasy.
"I think one of you might be one of them." Ken replied.
"Don't worry, Ken. I intend to get back alive. I'm not going to let this desert be my grave." Harlock said, as he casually leaned back in his cockpit.
"I also don't intend to die out here." Shin said, with quiet determination.
"And you guys know that I'm too damned stubborn to die out here!" Mick said, getting a much-needed laugh from his companions. The only one that remained silent was Boris.
"What about you, Boris? Are you going to return alive?" Ken asked, his spirits lifted by Mick's statement. Boris ignored him and shut the cockpit to his F8E Crusader.
"What's with him?" Ken asked.
"Never mind, Ken. Let's get ready to fly." Shin said, as they all returned their attention to the mission at hand. As soon as the sun's last rays had faded into nothing, Area 88 became a hive of activity. Jets were taking off and others were preparing to do so. As Ken waited for his turn to take off, he again turned his thoughts to his friends; what had happened to them? And if they were still alive, where were they living now?
"Okay, Hidaka, you can take off now." Harlock's voice said, rousing Ken from his thoughts.
"Right. See ya in the sky." Ken said, as he turned the jet's engine on to full power, then powered his afterburners. Within minutes, he was in the sky. He joined Shin's group and waited for Harlock to join them.
"Hey, Ken, did you hear how much money this mission is worth?" Mick asked, sounding almost excited.
"Yeah. Twenty thousand dollars is quite a bit of loose change, ne?" Ken joked, getting chuckles of agreement from his comrades.
"It is indeed. One could almost buy a new car for that." Harlock said.
"But how would we drive a new car in the desert? It would need to have four wheel drive in order to last any amount of time out here!" Mick said.
"Too true, Mick. Too true." Shin said, enjoying the conversation, even though they had a mission that was due to start at any moment.
"By the way, Shin, do you think we'll engage any enemy fighters tonight?" Ken asked, getting back to the subject at hand.
"I don't know. Our target is a supply base loaded with anti-aircraft missiles." Shin replied.
"I wouldn't worry too much about their jets. When they have ground to air missiles, they rarely call upon their air strike capabilities." Boris said, speaking up for the first time since the mission began.
"Boris….." Ken thought, not knowing that Shin was thinking the same thing.
"Now, standby to descend, gentlemen. We don't want to encounter any of those missiles, right?" Boris asked.
"That goes without saying." Harlock muttered, getting a slight snicker from his comrades for that remark. Moments later, they were within sight of their target.
"Okay, here's the moment of truth. Good luck." Harlock said, as he veered off and gained altitude, with Mick following suit. This left Ken, Boris and Shin on the direct course.
"Where're they going?" Ken asked, as he watched the two ascend.
"Doesn't matter. Keep your attention on the target, Ken." Boris ordered. With a nod, Ken did as he was told, unaware of what was going to happen next.
At the enemy control room, they were prepared for the attack.
"Enemy aircraft entering the perimeter at low altitude. Looks like they're doing mach one!" a man's voice said over the end of a radio.
"Impressive. Most impressive (please cue Darth Vader's theme here). They must be those mercenary pilots we've been dealing with of late. We can't let them come any closer! Release the Fang!" the superior shouted. His subordinates did as they were told.
"Fang released!" came the reply.
Outside, a huge, metal gate was rising from the sands like something undead. It came up so suddenly that the jets that were approaching the missile base were unable to evade and were torn to shreds between the narrow gaps.
Back inside, the soldiers were enjoying the sight of mercenary jets crashing after running afoul the 'Fang'.
"Ha! Serves you right, you mercenary pigs!" the superior said, gleefully, but he was not destined to enjoy the victory for long.
"Sir! Three enemy aircraft are inside the perimeter! They've made it through the Fang!" one subordinate yelped, in disbelief.
"What?! Th-that's impossible!" the superior shouted, in horror. But it was true.
"Of all the combat planes in the world, only the Crusader F8E can fly with its wings folded." Shin murmured.
"And it's a lucky thing for us, too. I feel sorry for the guys who didn't have this kind of plane tonight." Ken said, as they let loose their bombs onto the base. When they had finished, they finally turned around and started the flight back, leaving the base a fiery inferno.
"We did it!" Shin shouted, pleased at the job they had completed. It was just then that the remains of a jet fell past the three of them.
"What the………….?!" Ken yelped, looking up to see where the debris had come from.
"Man, am I tired." Mick's voice muttered, as his jet and that of Harlock descended and flew alongside them.
"You're tired? I can already hear a good glass of brandy and a somewhat soft bed calling me!" Harlock said, pleasurably.
"Hey Mick! Harlock! Nice work!" Shin complemented.
"Were you two defending us from above?" Boris asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah. We let you guys go after the big target, while we stayed high and caught some flies." Mick said, sounding somewhat pleased with himself.
"Yes. You three should thank us a little." Harlock added.
"No wonder………..It was you two who kept the heat off while we were coming in. No one attacked us, even when we were flying at low speed with our wings folded. I want to thank you, Mick, Harlock." Boris said.
"If that's the case, I think we should divide the twenty thousand dollars among the four of us." Ken suggested.
"No. We can't. The money will be split between three people." Boris said, calmly.
"Boris! We managed to hit this target base because of Mick and Harlock's help! If it wasn't for them, we'd be burning on the ground back there!" Shin shouted, angrily.
"Yeah! We wouldn't even be here to argue the point right now if it wasn't for them!" Ken said, also outraged by Boris' behavior.
"That's okay Shin, Ken. If he's gonna by such a stingy guy, then I don't even want the money. Besides, it's only a measly amount." Mick said, seeming a bit put off as well. There was a long string of curses in German from Harlock for an agreement.
"Boris, you can have it all, if that's your attitude. I'm not taking the money either!" Ken said, angrily.
"I'm not going to take any of it if it means ignoring the help Harlock and Mick gave us!" Shin stated, adamantly. The anger turned to shock when they heard Boris laugh, then start coughing.
"You guys are stupid, jumping to the wrong conclusion like that. When I said it should be split between four people, I meant between the four of you. You have three good friends to split it with, Shin." Boris said, with pain evident in his voice. All four friends sat back in their cockpits in shock.
"When those anti-aircraft guns started firing at us, a couple of rounds hit my plane. I caught one of them in the chest…………I think it got a lung. The others…………..went into the engine." Boris gasped, as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. There was stunned silence from the four; they couldn't believe what they were hearing. After a moment, Boris began speaking again.
"It's nice to have friends like you………….the older you get……………the more you realize that real friends are the ones who'll risk their lives for you……….." Boris said, then coughed again, bringing up more blood from the back of his throat.
"Boris………………" Ken murmured, feeling tears beginning to form in his eyes, but refusing to let them fall.
"But you only find these friends when one of you…………..is about to die. That's war…………that's life. It's sad………having your friends die around you………………and ending up being alone. So I…………..didn't want to make any friends……….Whenever I sleep in a dark room……………my friends, the faces of my dead friends……….appear one by one. They say 'Hey Boris, how are you doing?'…………….Now I guess its over…………..It seems that I'll finally be able to rest in peace………………" Boris trailed off, as his jet began to lose control.
"Boris!!" Ken cried.
"Boris! Pull up! Pull out of it!" Harlock shouted, desperately.
"Come on, Boris! Pull up!" Mick said, as the jet continued its downward fall.
"Shin…………..when you go back…………….please turn off the lights in my room……………" Boris said, speaking for the last time.
"BORIS!!" the four men shouted at once, vainly trying to get their comrade to pull up. But then the inevitable happened; Boris' plane ran out of sky, and plowed into the desert below, exploding on impact. When they finally arrived back at Area 88, the four pilots descended from their aircraft and faced one another. From what Shin could tell, they were each effected in some way by that night's events; Harlock looked haggard and worn, and his eyes were haunted. Mick was sadly shaking his head, and Ken was wiping his eyes with his flight suit's sleeve to dry them of tears.
"I think each of us have learned something tonight. And it was a hard lesson." Shin said, as the three men nodded in agreement. It was then that Saki walked over to them.
"Good work, you four. The enemy troops retreated from the front line once you destroyed the base. They can't get supplies from there anymore." Saki said, as the four turned to face him.
"I guess that's a good thing." Ken said, softly. Saki nodded, gravely.
"The number of aircraft used in this sortie was fifteen. Of these, eight have not returned. The next operation will take place the day after tomorrow." Saki said, before silently dismissing himself. The mood was lifted when Mick spoke up again.
"Now I've got a bone to pick with that little weasel, McCoy." Mick grumbled.
"Oh? Did he sell you some defective equipment?" Shin asked.
"Yeah, I bought some of those cheap sidewinders, but……….." Mick said, interrupted by Ken next.
"They didn't explode, right?" Ken asked, amused by this bit of news.
"Ha! Oh, they exploded all right!" Mick said, with a sarcastic laugh.
"Then what's your problem?" Shin asked, confused.
"There was something wrong with the fuse, and it exploded before it hit the target." Harlock said, with a wry grin.
"The damn thing blew up when it was three hundred feet away! What a rip-off!" Mick shouted, angrily. Later, when everything had calmed down, Shin and Ken went to Boris' room and found one of the maintenance men there, taking the sign down from the door. Beside the door, was a box filled with Boris' personal belongings.
"Is this all the stuff Boris left behind?" Shin asked.
"Yes, but we don't have any address to send it to. It looks like we'll have to keep it at headquarters." The maintenance man said, sadly. With nods of understanding, both Ken and Shin went into the now empty room and looked at the light that hung from the ceiling.
"Good night, Boris." Shin murmured, as they both walked out, turning out the light as they went. As Ken entered his room again, he glanced at the single picture on the bedside table. It was a photo of himself, Youji, Ran, Omi, and Aya before they had all parted ways.
"The older you get, the more you realize that real friends are the ones who'll risk their lives for you." Boris' voice said, in his mind, as he gazed at the faces in the photograph.
"They were my friends…………….and I hope we'll meet again someday…………" Ken murmured, as he turned off the light and lay down on his bed. In his mind's eye, as he drifted into sleep, he saw Boris reuniting with his friends, their laughter and welcoming shouts echoing across the shadowy expanse of his dreams.