AUTHOR'S NOTES: Back to Reaper Flight for this chapter.

Near Milk River

Alberta, United States of Canada

2 June 2001

"Reaper Flight, Sunspot. Composition and state?"

The sudden radio transmission, from an E-3 AWACS orbiting over the middle of Saskatchewan, startled Ruby. She realized she'd nearly fallen asleep. It was a beautiful day, and up here at 35,000 feet, GRIMM were not likely to attack. Of course, there was that Beringal…

"Sunspot, Reaper Lead," she sent back. "Reaper Flight is one F-22, one F-16, one A-10, one J-10. Fuel is…twelve thousand pounds." It was a little lower than she'd like for dogfighting; Reaper had to fly slow so Nora and her poor A-10—never designed for high speed—wouldn't be left behind.

"Reaper, stand by to copy." Ruby fished around in her flight suit for a marker, and leaned over to write on her kneepad. "Cardston reports heavy attack by GRIMM. Lynx Flight was sent to intercept, but they are heavily engaged by both ground and air GRIMM of unknown type and request assistance."

"Roger that."

"Cardston is at bearing 170, distance 70 miles. Lynx's frequency is 188.02." She jotted down the information on the clear plastic kneepad.

"Roger, advise Lynx that Reaper is on the way!" Ruby switched frequencies to the flight net. "Reapers, did you hear that? Flight check."

"Reaper Two, roger." Pyrrha was tucked in on Ruby's right wing, right where she was supposed to be.

"Three." Ren was laconic as usual.

"Reaper Four, let's rock!" Nora sounded more enthusiastic than usual, if that was possible. Ground GRIMM meant that she'd get to use the A-10 for what it was designed for.

Ruby rocked her wings, dropped her external fuel tanks—hoping they didn't land on some poor farmer down below—and turned to the left, starting a descent. She switched on her radar. "Ren, Nora, we're going to outdistance you. Join up at best speed."

"Understood." Ren would hang back to cover Nora, naturally. She would push her A-10 to the limit.

"Pyrrha, take the lead."

"Roger." The F-22 slid forward and past; the Raptor could outdistance the F-16 without even using its afterburners, and its radar was better. Ruby still commanded the flight, but Pyrrha would make the intercept.

Ruby accelerated, keeping an eye on the fuel gauge. They should be all right; Vulcan AFB was to the northeast now, but well within range. She could always call up a tanker if it got dicey. "Lynx Flight, Reaper Lead, what's your position? Coming to assist."

"Reaper! This is Lynx Two. I'm two miles north of Cardston, engaged with four Beowolves! I'm in deep shit!" The voice had the accent of western Canada; Ruby guessed it was a flight of CF-18s out of Cold Lake, far to the north. When even the Canadians think the lake's cold… Ruby remembered her dad telling her that joke. "Lynx Lead, Three and Four are down! Heavy ground fire!"

"Lynx, come southwest! Drag them towards us!" There was no answer. Ruby pushed the throttle forward; the F-16 went through the speed of sound with barely a shudder. Pyrrha edged out even further; the best range was 30 miles. They ate up the distance fast. "Lynx Two, come in!"

"Reaper, Lynx…" She could hear the strain in his voice, against the Gs he was undoubtedly pulling. "Trying…"

Come on, come on! Ruby bounced in her seat, as if she could urge Crescent Rose any faster. Now 40 miles. Pyrrha was accelerating well ahead now, the formation less important than closing the distance. "Reaper Two, tracking two targets," Pyrrha radioed. "Lynx, Raygun." That was a call to make sure she wasn't tracking on Lynx.

"Lynx Two, clear! Negative buddy spike!"

"Pyrrha, Fox Three." The F-22 was now far ahead, not much more than a speck, but Ruby saw two flashes of flame from the speck for a moment, then faint smoke trails. Pyrrha had launched at extreme range. Ruby checked her radar. 35 miles. She watched the radar, and finally it locked onto a target, well to the west. "Reaper Lead, tracking one."

"Lynx Two is hit!" Lynx called out, followed by a groan.

30 miles. Ruby pressed the trigger, and an AMRAAM shot from under her right wing. "Ruby, Fox Three!"

"Lynx Two, I gotta bail out," the voice came a moment later. "Fire in the cockpit." Then the radio popped as the connection was severed, followed by the wail of a beeper. Lynx Two had ejected.

"Pyrrha, splash two." Both Pyrrha's missiles had connected, the Beowolves taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of Reaper Flight. Ruby checked her radar, and swore softly. Her shot was going to miss. The Beowulf she was tracking was now running to the west. It had too much of a head start for the AMRAAM to close the distance. The fourth one was still game, however: it was turning towards them. She locked onto that one, decided to wait another few seconds to get it better in range—

"Pyrrha, Fox Three." Pyrrha was not going to wait. A half minute later, and the last Beowolf joined the others in being blown apart. "No bandits on scope."

"Ruby is clear as well." She switched back to Sunspot's frequency. "Sunspot, Reaper Lead, skies are clear. Scramble Jolly Greens. Will assume RESCAP."

"Jolly Greens are on the way, Reaper. Can you confirm no ground fire?"

"Wait one, Sunspot." Ruby turned towards the west and throttled back. This was not going to be fun. The best way to confirm there was no ground fire was to go troll for it, and the best way to do that was to play target.

"Reaper Lead, Reaper Two; allow me."

"Negative, Two. Assume RESCAP." Ruby descended below a bank of clouds and into a nightmare.

Cardston was a flaming ruin. Nestled at the base of the foothills rising to the spectacular Rocky Mountains, what was once a small farming community at the northern edge of the Montana Dead Zone was now dead itself. Green trees were smoldering trunks, houses were flattened. Ruby's mouth dropped in stunned shock behind the mask. She'd seen what GRIMM were capable of, but never like this. She dropped her speed even lower, despite the risk, just to see if there were any survivors. Then she jazzed the throttles, moving them up and down and causing her engine to surge. Beowolves didn't do that. Then again, Beowolves didn't do this level of destruction, either.

A flare went up in front of her. Ruby dipped a wing and saw a cluster of people waving frantically; in the middle was someone who looked like they were in a flight suit. Another flare went up, and she waggled her wings. "Sunspot, Reaper Lead! I have survivors on the ground! Need someone in here ASAP!"

"Roger that, Reaper; ground elements on their way. Will send additional Jolly Greens."

A new voice broke into the transmission. "Reaper Lead, Lynx Lead on guard. Is that you in the F-16?"

Ruby curved around. "That's a rog, Lynx. Are you with the crowd?"

"Roger that, Reaper! You've got some good eyes. Are the Jollies on the way?"

"Confirm, Lynx. Help is on the way. Hang loose. Reaper on station."

Pyrrha spotted the green parachute of Lynx Two just as it reached the ground. Luckily, the pilot had come down in a clear area. She orbited around him. "Lynx Two, Reaper Two. Come up on guard." She repeated it twice more before the Hornet pilot finally did. "What's your condition?"

"Reaper Two…I think I caught some shrapnel. Hard to breathe. Bleeding from the back, but not too bad…gonna try and get a bandage on it." She heard a cough. "Oh shit. Coughing blood."

"What color, Lynx?"

"Uh…pink. Kind of...frothy..."

Oh God, Pyrrha thought. He's been hit in the lung. "Stay still, Lynx. Jolly Greens are on the way." She paused to let the pilot talk, and then spoke again. "Jolly Greens, are you listening?"

"Reaper, Jolly Green 61, roger. ETA ten minutes."

Pyrrha acknowledged, and continued her circle, checking her radar, her fuel, and the sky around her. She could see the pilot below, on a small hill. "Lynx Two, talk to me."

"About what?" She heard more coughing.

"Anything. Just talk. Do you have a girlfriend?" Pyrrha had no idea why that occurred to her, but she had to keep Lynx Two conscious.

They talked for ten long, agonizing minutes until the Jolly Green arrived. Lynx Two's voice got weaker and he was slower to respond. Pyrrha still kept him talking, cajoling him, yelling at him, snapping at him to drag up where the pilot had gone to college, what his hobbies were, what his favorite football and hockey teams were. Finally, the rescue helicopter arrived—Jolly Green was a misnomer, as the UH-1 was painted bright yellow—and Pyrrha watched as the pararescuejumper went down the cable with a stretcher, and carefully loaded Lynx Two into it. Both Jolly Green 61 and Lynx Two thanked her, and as more helicopters headed towards Cardston to pick up the survivors, Reaper Flight rejoined for the short flight to Vulcan. It took a moment: Ren and Nora orbited west of the city for a few minutes, and missed Ruby's first check-in. Then they two left the burning ruins of Cardston and headed northwest.

As they flew back, they were informed that Lynx Two had died in the helicopter.

Vulcan Air Force Base

Vulcan, Alberta, United States of Canada

2 June 2001

Ruby postflighted Crescent Rose, wishing Chief Vogelmord was there, but she wouldn't see him until they reached Japan. The base mechanics helped, and then she signed the Form One. There were no gripes with the aircraft, and only the single AMRAAM needed to be replaced.

Once she was finished, she grabbed her helmet bag and a duffel from the luggage pod, and joined the rest of her flight, whose postflights had been even shorter. They walked down the flightline; Vulcan was a bit more austere than Hill or Beacon, and unlike the forested hills of Beacon or the close Wasatch Range of Hill, the area around the base was mostly flat, rolling wheatfields. Only in the distance were the Canadian Rockies.

The walk to the equipment room was made in silence. Much like nature, Ruby abhorred a vaccum, and even the death of Lynx Two—it occurred to Ruby that she never even knew the man's name—could not stop her from saying something. "I'm going to grab some dinner and try out their chow hall. You guys coming with?"

Pyrrha smiled tiredly. "I think I'll go work out for bit. I'm not really hungry."

"Okay. Nora? Ren?"

Nora opened her mouth to say something, but Ren interrupted her. "No." His voice was cold and angry. Ruby jumped a little at the snarling tone. It shocked her, more than even Cardston's ruins. Lie Ren didn't get angry. Nora glanced at Ruby apologetically. They stored their flight equipment, but Ren and Nora hung back as Ruby and Pyrrha left.

"Ren…" Nora began.

"You saw it, didn't you." It was a statement, not a question.

"I don't know what I saw."

"Quit lying!" Ren exploded, then stopped himself. He turned and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Nora," he said after a moment. "I shouldn't have said that."

She leaned against a cabinet, her back to him. "Ren, it can't be the Nuckalevee. That thing was destroyed after Kuroyuri."

"That was before unification. The Chinese government might have lied."

"Why would they?" Nora asked.

"To save face."

Nora sighed. "Okay, look. Maybe it's another Nuckalevee. That would explain the level of damage, and the tracks we saw. But that thing's not exactly small, Ren! Why didn't we see it?" She gave it some thought. "I guess it could've been hidden in the hills or something. But it can't be the same one that destroyed your village. It can't. That was almost twenty years ago."

"We should go look for it."

She turned and poked him in the chest. "No, Ren. Let the locals take care of it. We've got a mission, remember?" She saw the look on his face and poked him again. "Ren! It. Is. Not. Our. Mission! Getting the bastards that killed our friends is our mission." She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Now let's go see what kind of hovel they assigned us. Then you can rip off my clothes and screw me until I can't feel my legs."

A ghost a smile flitted across Ren's face. "Aren't you hungry?"

She kissed his lips. "Mm-hmm. I could put some Ren in me right now."

He rolled his eyes. "You're horrible."

"Mm-hmm."

Ren and Nora went to the Visiting Officers' Quarters. It wasn't bad, even if the furniture was a little out of date and the air conditioning was noisy. Neither minded. Later, lying in bed, naked and awake while Ren slept next to her, Nora stared at the ceiling. She wondered if she'd made Ren forget the Nuckalevee.

Ruby ate alone. Since she was in the old Canadian provinces, there was a Tim Horton's on base, so she tried a BLT and a maple donut. It left an odd taste, but it filled, and Ruby headed back to the VOQ. Seeing a sign for the gym, she changed course and walked in, and froze.

"Hey, listen. I hope you don't mind that I recorded this in English. My Greek's pretty lousy, and your French…well, it's perfect, like everything else, but if you're listening to this, Ren and Nora are there too, I bet, and they don't speak French. Well, Nora does, but she only knows how to say hors d'ouvres.

"But anyway…look, Ren and I have been exchanging cells before we go out on missions. Y'know, just in case. And I've written a letter for my folks, but you…they might not give you a letter, since we're not related or anything. Not yet, anyhow. But…heh…maybe soon, huh?"

Ruby fell against the wall of the corridor to the gym. It was Jaune Arc's voice. There was no question. Her heart pounded. It couldn't be Jaune. Jaune was dead.

She crept forward, came up to the doors, and listened. "Well, maybe I'm just saying that because…well, you know," Jaune was saying. "You know, Pyr…it felt like so much effort just to progress a small amount, when you were training me, all those nights. But I hope I made you proud. I've never met someone so determined to make someone better. I've grown so much since we started training. And I know…this is just the beginning. Pyr…I…I…I want you to know that I'm just happy to be part of your life. Somehow, Pyr…I'll always be here for you. And…ah, hell, I'm gonna say it…I love you. Weiss would say I'm a sappy idiot, and she's right. But I do. Anyway, this is a silly message, and if you're listening to it…it probably means Nora found it, and she's playing it to make fun of me. Which I totally deserve for recording some stupid message, like I'm gonna die or something. Yang says only the good die young, so I'm gonna live forever. But anyway…yeah."

Ruby felt her eyes fill with tears. It was a voice she never thought she'd hear again, saying what amounted to a farewell she never thought she'd hear. Then she heard a thumping noise, and Jaune's voice began to repeat itself. She opened the door silently, and glanced in.

Pyrrha was in workout clothes, her hair tied back in a ponytail, and wearing boxing gloves. She was slamming her hands into a punching bag. As Ruby watched, Pyrrha punched even harder, her teeth bared in hate, sweat pouring down her face to stain the front and back of her halter top. Then the green eyes suddenly flicked in her direction, and Pyrrha stopped. She reached out to a boxing ring that stood in the middle of the empty gym and punched a button on a phone. "Ruby?"

"Pyrrha?" Ruby walked into the gym. "Was that…"

"Jaune? Yes." Pyrrha mopped her face with a towel.

"He left you a message?"

"Yes. He and Ren exchanged phones, just in case something happened to them." She drank from a half-full water bottle. "Can I help you?"

"I just…I heard Jaune's voice."

"I can play it again, if you like."

Ruby walked to the ring and pulled herself onto the apron of it. "Sure. But what are you doing?"

"Working off some frustration."

"You've been here for an hour."

"I have a lot of frustration." Pyrrha began punching the bag again, ducking as she did so, as if dodging punches. She began delivering side kicks to it as well. "Hit the button," she puffed.

Ruby found the right one, terrified that she would accidentally erase it, and played the message again. It repeated the same words. Pyrrha began to punch and kick harder. By the time the message ended, the bag was swaying dangerously on its chains.

Ruby stared at the phone for a long time. She wiped her face, then looked up at Pyrrha. "Does that help?"

"Yes." A hard punch. "It helps." A left cross. "It helps a lot." An uppercut that would have broken the jaw of a living being. "It fucking helps because I'm fucking tired of fucking losing people!" A kick that nearly caused the bag to break from its chains. Pyrrha stopped the swaying, leaned against the bag, chest heaving with exertion. "I'm so tired, Ruby. I'm so tired."

Ruby slid off the apron and hugged Pyrrha, much like Ren had hugged Nora. "We got to keep going, Pyrrha."

The other woman was silent for a few minutes. "I know," she finally answered, and smiled at Ruby over her shoulder. "I'm all right. I'm not going to hurt myself, Ruby. I will never do that. Not as long as that bitch Salem lives. I will see her at my feet, I swear to God." Ruby did not like that tone. Pyrrha's voice was brittle, bitter and angry. The silence stretched longer, and finally Pyrrha said, "Ruby, you're still hugging me."

"Oh, sorry." She let go and stepped back. Then she unzipped her flight suit and stepped out of it. "Didn't bring any workout clothes, but there's no one here but us girls, so…you don't mind if I'm running around in my skivvies, do you?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Not at all." She pointed to a bench. "Gloves are over there."