Chapter Five: The Old Soldier's Fire
The scream of a jet engine was a usual sound on the base known as Area 88. Ken watched as Shin and a few other pilots tested some new jets for the base's regular air force.
"Those regulars are lucky s.o.b.'s. They get the pick of the finest aircraft on the field." Harlock said, as he admired the new jets from where he stood.
"Heh, I know the feeling, Harlock. They are a fine looking bunch of war machines, have no doubt about that." Ken said, grudgingly admitting that he was also a little bit jealous of the regulars.
"The F-15 Eagle………..one of the finest warbirds this world has ever seen." Harlock said, smirking as Mick joined them.
"Yeah. State-of-the-art kill power. I'd clean up in no time with this baby." Mick said, as he patted the side of one of the jets with his gloved hand.
"Unfortunately, they only bought enough for the Asran Regular Air Force." Shin said, as he also looked longingly at the jets.
"What a sorry bunch we look, ne?" Ken asked.
"Yeah. Like a bunch of kids in a candy shop. Personally I prefer women to jets." Another voice piped up. Ken stiffened; he knew that voice!
"Youji!" Ken shouted, as he turned and gaped at the grinning blonde.
"Good to see you too, Ken." Youji said, as his former colleague nearly knocked him over in order to shake his hand.
"When the hell did you get here?!" Ken asked, as Shin, Mick, and Harlock watched the reunion in amused silence, not noticing when Saki joined them.
"Just today. Where's Ran and Omi? Do you know?" Youji asked, in turn. Ken shook his head.
"Don't you? I thought for certain that you would know where they are!" Ken said, as Youji shook his head.
"I haven't seen either of them in almost a year. You're the first one I've seen in all that time." Youji replied.
"I see……………..Anyway, these are some of my new associates. Youji, meet Harlock, Kazama Shin, and Mick Simon, the terrors of Area 88." Ken said, as he introduced each member of the self-proclaimed task force to Youji.
"Pleasure to meet you, gentlemen. But who's the dark-haired guy with ya?" Youji asked, even though he had a knowing glint in his eyes.
"Shit! Saki!" Harlock exclaimed, voicing his surprise at finding the base commander standing there listening to the conversation.
"Well, that is certainly the first time I have ever heard you curse in a language I could understand, Harlock." Saki said, with an amused look on his usually stoic features.
"Come off it." Harlock muttered, as his companions laughed at his expense.
"I can see that this is going to be interesting." Ken muttered, as Youji found his place in the closely knit group.
"Getting back to what we were talking about, it seems that the only one who can use one the Eagles is you, isn't that right, Saki?" Harlock asked, as all attention shifted to the base commander.
"Yes, that is true, but I wouldn't want to fly one." Saki replied, with a sigh.
"Do you only like to fly the stuff you're used to, even if it isn't the latest?" Morris, the eldest pilot on base asked, as he entered the conversation. Saki smiled slightly and nodded.
"You can't afford any delays during combat. If you don't hit the enemy first, you're dead." Saki said, gravely. Harlock nodded and murmured his agreement. Morris chuckled.
"That's a real Saki statement." Morris said, unaware when Ken gave Saki a scrutinizing look.
"Even after all this time, Saki is still a mystery to me. What is he hiding? There's always something troubling him." Ken thought, as the grim look remained in Saki's deep blue eyes, even though he was sharing a light moment with men he deemed his own. He returned to reality when Mick yelped.
"What's up?" Ken asked, as all attention turned to Mick.
"Some insect hit my face." Mick muttered, as he rubbed the side of his face.
"An insect?" Youji and Harlock asked, at the same time, then glared at one another.
"It's a locust." Ken said, as he picked up the insect and held it up for his comrades to see.
"A locust? In the middle of the desert?" Shin asked, as confused as the rest. Even the grim look in Saki's eyes lifted for a moment to reveal his confusion on the matter.
"I wonder how it could survive out here? There are so few plants out here for it to eat." Youji added.
"Let me see that." Morris said, then added, "I used to have a crop-dusting job, so I know a little about insects."
"That's a surprise." Shin said, looking up when Saki walked off, shaking his head.
"Apparently doesn't like bugs." Harlock said, chuckling as Saki turned and gave him an odd look. Then, before anything more could be said, a brilliant flash lit the desert, and a huge billowing cloud rose from one of the other airbases nearby.
"W-what the hell?! It's a mushroom cloud!" Mick yelped, as horror crossed the faces of his fellow pilots.
"It's over in the direction of Area 81!" Harlock said, his voice finely edged with tension that was only heard just before a battle.
"Alert! Alert! This is an alert! Combatants who can make a sortie stand-by immediately!" a voice shouted through the intercom.
"My god, what's going on here?!" Youji asked, his face pale and his body trembling.
"I think I know……………." Ken thought, as he remembered what he'd learned in school about nuclear warheads.
"This is not an exercise!! Anti-government forces have used a nuclear missile! Area 81 has disappeared!! Repeat, Area 81 has disappeared!!" the dispatcher shouted, the desperation becoming chillingly clear in his voice.
"Well, boys, it's time to go to work. Let's hope fortune smiles on us today and lets us live." Harlock muttered, as he rushed off to get to his plane.
"I hope it does." Ken muttered, as he watched his companions (with the exception of Shin) get into their aircraft and wait to take off.
"Ground crew, prepare each plane immediately with air-to-air missiles for anti-missile combat." The dispatcher said, his voice shaky with fear.
"Saki! Was the missile used against Area 81 an ALBM or an IRBM?!" Shin asked, as he and Ken rushed to catch up with the commander.
"I doubt that the anti-government forces have a plane capable of launching an ALBM. So my guess is that it was an IRBM." Saki replied, his usual grim look replaced with something that was akin to worry.
"What happened to the base's anti-air missiles?" Ken asked, as he listened to the chaos around him, and wondered deep down how in the world he'd gotten into such a situation.
"Our radar is completely out of use. They might be jamming it somehow." Saki said, as a dire warning was issued from the tower about the possibility of a missile attack on the base.
"Sorry Shin, Ken, but we've got to try and shoot down that missile." Mick said, as he, Harlock, and Youji prepared to leave.
"That's okay. Don't worry about it." Shin said, as looks of understanding passed between them. They knew that the chances of success were slim, but they had to try. Saki watched as the five men said their farewells, knowing full well that this could be their last day. They all turned and looked when disaster struck once again; at first there was the usual sound of a jet screaming down the runway, then they heard the sound of the engine choking off and the jet careening wildly off to the left, exploding upon impact with the ground.
"Locusts……………….." Saki muttered, as he and the two grounded pilots watched in silent horror as a huge swarm of the insects descended into the airspace of Area 88. Nearby, Ken could hear some of his fellow pilots going mad from their hopelessness; they couldn't take off because of the swarm, and they couldn't stay at the base because of the threat of the nuclear missile.
"Caught between a rock and a hard place." Ken thought, all of the remaining color draining from his face when he saw just how many locusts there were. Then, amidst the chaos, one voice shouted something that Ken would remember for the rest of his life.
"Hurry up! I'm going to take off!" Morris shouted, as he raced over to his Texan.
"Morris! Don't do it! You'll crash too!" Shin shouted, voicing his and Ken's concern.
"Don't worry, I have an idea!" Morris replied, as he got into the cockpit of the North American T-6 Texan, and prepared for take-off. With courage only an old aviator could have, Morris took off.
"What is he up to?" Ken asked.
"He'd said something about clearing the runway. But how does he intend to do that?" Saki mused, as a hard wind kicked up around them, blowing his long hair back away from his face.
"He's spreading gasoline on the swarm!" Shin yelped, as he pointed out what the older aviator was doing.
"He intends to burn the locusts off of the runway………….Brilliant!" Harlock exclaimed, from his cockpit (he, Youji, and Mick were still awaiting take-off, by the way).
"You go, Morris! Nothing can extinguish the old soldier's fire!" Ken cheered, as he got a thumb's up from Morris as he turned to make another pass. Yet, before he could, the inexplicable happened; the engine in the old plane suddenly died, and sent it careening away. It crashed in a fiery inferno just a few yards away from the airstrip.
"MORRIS!!!" Ken and Shin both cried, in horror. Near them, Saki watched with a haunted look in his eyes, then shuddered slightly and forced himself to look away.
"He did it! The runway is clear!" Youji shouted, as he and his fellow pilots closed their cockpits and prepared for take-off.
"Ken, Shin, get on those planes." Saki ordered, as he motioned to two of the Eagles.
"Thanks Saki." Ken said, before they both could dash off. Saki laughed mirthlessly.
"If you want to thank me, do it when you've shot down that missile." Saki replied, with a hint of command in his voice. With a nod, both men rushed to the planes. Seconds later they were all airborne; with Ken behind Shin, and Harlock, Mick, and Youji behind him.
"Air-to-air range, on!" Shin said, as he broke away from the group.
"The enemy missile is at a distance of ten thousand feet." Youji informed, all seriousness now that he was in the air.
"Just like he was when we were members of Weiss." Ken recalled, just imagining the shining wire of Balinese looping itself around their enemy's neck.
"Thanks Youji." Shin replied, then murmured, "Morris……I will charge your fighting spirit into these missiles."
"Take 'em out, Morris." Mick added. With a determined look on his face, Shin released the missiles that would save Area 88.
"Missiles launched!" Shin shouted, as the twin missiles arced away from him and at the incoming enemy missile. Seconds later, there was a brilliant explosion in the sky, signaling to those on the ground that the nuclear missile had been destroyed.
"The missile has been destroyed. The emergency's over." Ken said, getting an almost relieved-sounding response from the dispatcher.
"Roger that. Well done, Shin. You saved all our asses that time!" the dispatcher said, getting some amused chuckles from the weary pilots.
"Not that he'll be getting any reward for it, though." Harlock muttered, hinting at what he really wanted to say.
"I heard that, German." Saki's voice muttered, from the control room.
"What?" Harlock asked, as silence pervaded over them.
"I think he got your meaning, Harlock." Ken said, jokingly.
"Damn." Harlock mumbled, with false anger in his voice. Shin sighed and shook his head; he had certainly acquired a strange bunch of friends in this arid place, and they were truer than any he'd ever had before.
"Heh, thanks for your support, guys, even though you didn't do anything up there." Shin said, with a short laugh.
"No problem. Maybe next time we'll get some action. For now, be glad it was only a missile that came at this base." Youji said, casually. As they all descended from the sky again, Ken felt as though he'd found a piece of himself that day. Even though Morris had paid the heavy price, Youji had finally reappeared, and that made all the difference.