Fire.

It was everywhere.

And everyone was screaming.

They were back.

This was not the first time the village had been attacked. Not even the first time this month. But this was worse than any time before. Now they were killing people.

The village elder had finally put his foot down and refused to appease the demands of the bandit leader, and this is was the consequence.

The elder knew there would be backlash, so he had begged and pleaded with nearby encampments to borrow any defensive weapons they might have, but it wasn't enough.

And now the village was burning.

Seth was only fourteen, but he wasn't a child today. He had seen horrors this day that would change him forever. But he had to put that aside and act quickly.

The elder's pleas for help had granted him the use of a Pteras, but the only man in the village who knew how to fly it had been killed by a mortar round. If Seth was to act, this was his moment.

Years earlier, an airborne squadron stopped in the village because their navigation systems had failed, and needed help finding their bearings. The villagers had taken them in that day, offering food and rest.

One of the pilots had offered to show the children the cockpit of his zoid. It was a Redler that day, but the Pteras cockpit looked very similar. Everything that pilot said to him was coming back.

Ignoring repeated cries from the adults to get out, Seth strapped in and closed the cockpit. Finding the starter button was simple enough, and as the engines spooled up he looked forward and prayed that there was enough space for him to take off.

He shut his eyes and pushed the throttle forward. Seconds later, he presumed he hadn't crashed, and opened his eyes. Seeing the chaos around him, he decided closing his eyes again would be a bad idea.

Instinct led his hands to the controls. He had a moment of panic when pushing forward on the flight stick made the Pteras dive toward the ground, but remembering the pilot's words made the controls make sense.

He saw a Command Wolf just off to the right, and decided that made as good a target as any. He felt the trigger under his finger, and lined up the Command Wolf in front of him.

But when he squeezed his finger, all that happened was the beep of some alarm. What was it the pilot said? Something about a safety...

There, next to the throttle, was the switch he needed. Now thunderous cannon fire sounded when he pulled the trigger and the Command Wolf before him fell as it was struck.

Reveling in his success, he pulled up and left towards a Redler that was bearing down on the village. His prey was quick... too quick.

Before he knew it the Redler was behind him. As tracer rounds flashed past the canopy he pulled the flight stick back and climbed. The Redler followed, and more cannon fire came from the enemy, this time striking Seth's Pteras. Flying up wasn't working, so he rolled right and cut the throttle. The Redler also rolled right, but overshot and flew in front of the Pteras, where Seth was now able to shoot it down.

As the rounds struck the Redler a wing was torn off and Seth's prey flew to the ground in a fiery arc, landing by happenstance upon an attacking Gordos. With that, Seth had now taken out a third of the attackers.

With this advantage, the village could start fighting back. With the zoids they had been lent they dispatched three of the bandits, while Seth took out another two Command Wolves.

Soon the second Redler was bearing down on Seth, and he was trying everything to shake it. Finally, he rolled inverted and pulled back, diving towards the ground. The Redler followed suit, trying to line up its guns. However, it wasn't as maneuverable, so it crashed into the ground while Seth's Pteras merely scratched its feet on the roof of a house.

In front of him now was a Guysak, already lined up in his gun sights. Sensing opportunity, he pulled the trigger, only to hear a dozen rounds fire followed by the audible warning that the ammunition had been depleted. Feeling there was nothing to lose, he pulled back on the throttle and pitched the nose up, swinging the Pteras's legs forward and smashing them into the Guysak's cockpit. On impact, the Pteras pitched forward suddenly, and Seth panicked as he tried to correct.

Looking back to see the wreckage of the Guysak and the mushroom cloud of the crashed Redler after he'd regained level flight, Seth did not see he was flying toward another Gordos, which presently had all its guns trained on him. At last, he faced forward to see the threat, but too late to react. He saw the muzzles flash and the tracer rounds fly towards him. He heard the shells smash into his fuselage. Then he saw the Gordos explode from missiles fired into its side. A pair of Shield Ligers finished it off with melee attacks, but not before a shell hit the right wing joint of the Pteras, and Seth passed out when he crashed to the ground.

"Hey, Flyboy! Wake up!"

Seth opened his eyes to see a pair of soldiers looking down on him.

"Well, that's lucky. He's alive!" said one of the soldiers.

"Wha-?" Seth murmered. The light was very bright, and his hand felt heavy as he shielded his eyes.

"We saw the battle on scope as we rode in," said the other soldier. "You tore those bandits a new one. We never figured you were just a kid."

"Go tell the LT he's awake," said the first, and the second one left as instructed. "Come on out of there and take a look at your handiwork, kid."

The soldier helped Seth climb out of the cockpit, and he could see the wreckage that was once the Pteras he was piloting. The wing that had come off was a hundred meters away, and the one that hadn't was folded under the body, which had much of its body panels stripped away as it skidded on the ground. Miraculously, the canopy and cockpit were intact, explaining how he survived.

But the wrecked Pteras was nothing to the carnage wrought to the attackers. Not a single zoid was left standing, save for the military Ligers and a Redler flying above.

"Six downed enemies in one flight," the soldier said, smiling. "You'd be halfway to Ace status if you were in the army."

The shock of the scene was finally sinking in for Seth. "I just... I just didn't want them to keep killing people."

The second soldier returned with his superior, a very clean cut man with black hair and a very straight posture.

"Is this the pilot?" the superior asked.

"Yes sir," said the soldier who stayed with Seth. He had abandoned the friendly tone he had used with Seth. "Village elder said the local with piloting experience was killed by a mortar strike early in the fight, and so this kid jumped in the cockpit and took off. ...You've seen the result for yourself already, Lieutenant."

"Tell me your name, boy," the Lieutenant instructed.

"Um... Seth," he answered. "Seth Riker."

The Lieutenant studied him for a moment, then looked at the crater left by the Redler Seth had forced into the ground.

"Where are your parents?" the Lieutenant finally asked. Seth didn't want to answer.

"Sir, if I may?" the soldier interjected. The Lieutenant glanced at him, which must have been approval. "Conners and myself spoke to the elder as we waited for the boy to come around. Turns out the boy's father was a deadbeat and split early, and his mother was killed in an accident several years ago. He spent the time since drifting around the village. No one single person can claim to be his guardian here."

"Is that the case, boy?"

Seth nodded.

"How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen," he said, standing up straight and looking the Lieutenant in the eye. As much as Seth didn't want to talk about his family, he also didn't want the soldier to speak for him again.

"How long have you spent on your own?"

"Six years," Seth answered promptly.

The Lieutenant contemplated him again. Then he addressed the soldier, "Sound like he's emancipated to you?"

"Not for me to say, sir. Basic didn't cover this."

"I imagine it didn't," said the Lieutenant. He then turned back to Seth and said, "You want to fly for us, kid?"

"What?"

"Attend Officer School in the capital and we'll put you in a cockpit."

"...Sir?" the soldier said.

"Sargent, take a look at that crater, over there. Can you fly a Pteras and down a Redler without shooting at it?"

"Not that I've been able to manage so far, sir."

"You've got the talent, kid. You just need training, which you can get at Officer School."

"Lieutenant, a word?" the Sargent said, and approached the Lieutenant. He then spoke in a hushed tone, so Seth had to strain to hear. "Sir, I'm aware of the cost of Officer School. That was the reason I enlisted; my parents couldn't afford tuition."

"Sargent, just because you couldn't figure out a way in doesn't mean he's not allowed. There's a charity fund for at-risk youths set up by the bleeding hearts in the council. I'd say the boy qualifies." The Lieutenant then dismissed the Sargent and turned back to Seth, "Tell you what, kid. You become a pilot, and I will personally guarantee that this village will be placed under military protection."

The Sargent gave the Lieutenant a stern look, but didn't press whatever issue was on his mind.

"What do you say, kid?"