Me again. I don't own H&K, Northrop-Grumman, the other planes, guns, companies, Ace Combat, etc. I don't any of it, but how cool would it be to own an F-15 or something, oh well a guy can dream. Here is the next chapter.

Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Storm

It was around noon and I just decide to place the picture of Mieke and me, which I have, in the nook beside my bed. I had to move some of my mystery, spy, and action novels and he MiG-21 bis manual. Mieke was sitting at her desk typing on her laptop while telling about her life like she promised yesterday. Not that I had a choice, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Listening to her talk about her life before the Luftwaffe was like reading a biography, but more interesting because the person was here to tell it to me.

"My parents wanted me to be a doctor or something like that, but I wanted to something else."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I don't know. I thought about writing, but from the beginning I knew it wouldn't bring me enough money to make a living." She said a little sadly in my opinion.

"Why are you here then?" I couldn't understand why she joined the Luftwaffe.

"The Wehrmacht was the only way I could see out and I thought flying might be fun."

I thought about that for a moment and said, "There wasn't a lot of money in my family. To have enough money to eat, the moment you turn 14 you get a job. My parents and I were so busy working we never had time to talk. I swear my mother could hardly remember giving birth to me sigh well I spent my free time reading on a hill that over looks the air base near Hoffnung. With no hope for college I signed on because the Wehrmacht offered the best pay and benefits for someone with only a high school degree. I also couldn't stay and be burden to my family." I said.

She looked around at me and said, "So both of us joined because we had very limited options."

"I guess so." I couldn't help, but smile. Really, her being here wasn't as bad as I thought. "Is that a story you're writing on your laptop?" I asked.

"Ja. I do it on the side and hope maybe I can get it published one day." She while typing away.

"Can I see?" I asked wondering what kind of story she was writing.

"Nein!" She shouted, while practically throwing her small body of her laptop.

"What are you writing?" I was a little confused as to why she was acting this way.

"Nothing!" She said in the same high pitch shout.

Sighing I decided to let it slide. "You want to get lunch?"

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We entered the common room and saw Krauss looking at a notice on the bulletin board. I also felt something on my back. Someone was hiding behind me.

"Hiding from Krauss, Mieke?" I asked.

"I don't like all his questions and I can't order him to shut up like you can?" She said from behind me.

"Hey Paul have you seen this!" Krauss shouted.

An official looking document was tacked on the bulletin board, it read, 'By order of Wehrmacht HQ, Dinsmark, as of March 16th, 1995, 12:00 a.m. all soldiers of the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe are confine to there assigned bases, shipyards, barracks, and air strips.' Krauss was saying something, but I wasn't listening. I could feel the bottom of my stomach twist into knots. Lunch forgotten I ran to von Klein's office, only vaguely aware that I was dragging Mieke behind me because she was still clinging to my back.

I knocked and entered his office. He was sitting at his desk, looking a something on it, and his officer's jacket was hanging on the back of his chair. I could see the handle of a gun sticking out a little from his jacket as well as the H&K Mk. 23 he was still wearing. A small thin pipe was sitting in an ash tray on his desk. (AN: I actually own this mentioned pipe, but I don't smoke. Funny, huh, it was my grandpa's and I keep it because I think it's knida cool, but I know better than to smoke) It was a dark and messy as usual, but a map of the Süden Belka, the bordering countries, and troop positions was on his work desk. A radio was playing some song on the edge of his work desk.

Everything so blurry and everyone so fake

And everyone is empty and everything is so messed up

Preoccupied with out you, can not live at all

While the world surrounds you, I stumble, then I crawl

"When? Who? Why?" I shouted at von Klein who hadn't bothered looking at me.

"Soon, probably before the end of the month, against Ustio and the land Osea took from us, and because the government said so." He said in a calm voice without looking at me. He was looking over the invasion plans.

"What are we doing?" Mieke shyly asked from behind me. She's still me behind me?

Also without looking up he said, "You'll fly an escort mission on D-Day of the invasion for a fighter-bomber that will attack a base near the Ustian-Belkan border."

Can you take it all the way

Can you take it all the way

When you shoved it in my face

The pain you gave to me

The radio was still playing (AN: if you don't recognized the song it's Blurry by Puddle of Mudd, theme for Ace Combat Five. Great song too.).

"What kind of planes are we escorting?" I asked.

"Tornados, older model Tornados to be exacted."

Everything is changing, nobody left that's real

To make your own ending let me know how you feel

Preoccupied without you, can not live at all

While the world surrounds you I stumble then I crawl

A small ding could be heard and noticed a boiling pot on his hotplate. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Ja." We both said.

Von Klein placed three bowls of instant noodles on his work desk. Mieke who was no longer hiding behind and sitting in a chair next to me started eating. I started too.

"I believe you wanted to know the plans when I am able to tell you, right?" He asked after stuffing his meal down in 5 seconds. I nodded while chewing a mouth full of artificially flavored chicken noodles. (AN: ever had them, they make nice quick meals.)

He propped his boots on the corner of his desk, leaned back in his swivel chair, and gave a small, tired frown. He said seriously while looking at us, "At 0630 hours air and artillery will open up on all borders. At about 0700, one force will attack south at the 'Round Table' and seize the resources there. The main force at 0715 hours will attack the seceded Republic of Ustio and another will protect from attack coming from the Kingdom of Sapin. With most of the Osean Defense Forces rushing to the Round Table another group will reclaim Heierlark from Osea at about 1100 hours."

"What day?" I asked.

"I haven't been given an official date yet." He said quietly.

"You know though, they haven't officially told you, but always hear from else where first, right?" I said, he always seems to know.

He was silent for a while looking at his boots. "The 25th is my guess."

Mieke sighed and then said to me, "Maybe I should have been a doctor like my parents wanted."

I gave her a weak smile, "Too late for all of us to charge our minds now."

"Join the club, we got T-shirts" Von Klein said to our surprise.

"Eh?" We said together.

"I'm from Osten Belka near the Ustian border. Well, when I was younger there was no Ustio and I didn't have a lot of options, be a miner, a militia fighter, or a soldier. Fight the mountains, fight against the government, or fight for the government." He said with a small tone of sadness.

In Osten Belka there was a lot of fighting. The mountains made it hard for the government to control because militia fighters could run and hide so easily. Fighting lasted for year between the communist, facists, federalist, and anarcists. It ended with the secession of Ustio, but left the east very poor and in ruin. Most people lived as miners, but news of shootings continues to come from that area. (AN: That is all fictional, my idea.)

"You fought in the Osten Revolt?" Mieke asked a little shocked.

"Ja." He whispered, "I fought. I was a spy of sorts; even then, at age 9, I was good at collecting intel. I used it to protect my follow fighters. I watched over them…"

"Like a shepherd?" Mieke interrupted. 'Of course' I thought, 'his call sign is Shepherd, a guardian of a herd, someone who watches over and protects.'

He raised an eye brow in surprise, and then gave a nod with a small smile, "Ja."

"… uh… does that mean you're our shepherd now?" Mieke asked sounding both nerves and hopeful.

We were now in our room. Well, Paul was in his bed reading again and I was taking a shower. It felt nice to have warm water flowing over my body. Looking down I sighed seeing my small form. 'Men had always ignored me because of my small figure' I thought with a surge of anger, 'they always looked at the girls with C and D cups'. Bastards.

I step out of the shower and dried off. I wiped some of the fog off the mirror and looked at myself. 'There are guys out there that like petite girls, where are they?' I wondered and then my shoulders drooped and I hung my head. My two brothers, dad, and now Paul were the only men in my life. Oh well, its not like I'm here to meet men.

Stepping into my white cotton panties I thought about that fact that I'd always was too shy to talk to boys in high school, or beating them up for feeling up my skirt. My legs were the only thing that men seemed to fine 'desirable' about me. I picked up my bra from the counter on top of my clothes. 'Why did I have to be such a late bloomer?' I though while looking at the small A cup. Sighing I pulled it on, noticing it was getting a little tight. 'Maybe I'm growing into a larger size' I though hopefully. (AN: Do I have to change the rating to M for this description?) I pulled a white T-shirt over my head, then my light-grey button shirt, and finally pulling up my flat grey pants. I thought about putting my flight suit half way on and tie the sleeves around my waist, but decided against it.

Stepping out of the bathroom I saw Paul looking through the stack of novels on his desk.

"Something wrong?" he asked looking at me for a moment.

"Nein?" I said not wanting to share my problems about my body slow and unfairly late growth.

He grinned and in a mocking imitation of me he said, "Liar."

"I don't want to talk about" I was too tired. I looked past Paul and out the window. I was would have been darker out if it wasn't for the runway lights and flood lights. Paul found a book with the title 'E is for Evidence by Susan Grafton' and pick it up. (AN: real book and author, read it if you like mystery books, but start with A is for Alibi.) He turned around, took two steps, and slipped on something. He fell on his ass and whatever he slipped on landed on his head.

"What the hell is tiny thing?" He said angrily. He pulled something white off his head and held it in front of his eyes. The color drained from his face and his green eyes grew wide in shock as he realized he was hold one of my other bras.

"TINY!" I shouted in a rage. How dare he call my bra, call me small! How dare him when I was brooding over my 'development'! I drew my right hand back in a fist and thrust it forward. He only saw it coming before it happen and he had no time to duck.

POW! BANG! I punched him in the face and sent him flying into the wall by the window. 'Ah' I thought, 'take that you insensitive… wait did I just… I just hit.'

Paul wasn't moving, a small trickle of blood came out of his nose. I screamed. "Oh my god I just hit a superior officer! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I panicked. Paul groaned and started to raise his head a little, I ran to him immediately. He looked at me not recognizing me, his eyes were out of focus and he was still too disoriented.

"Paul, are you okay?" I said, trying to sound sweet and covering my panic. Suddenly, his eye slide into focus showing fear and backed away from me. "Get away from me!" It took me a few moments to understand him because of his bleeding nose and panic. I gently place a tissue, that I got from his desk, on his face to wipe some of the blood away. At first he recoiled, but once he decided I wasn't going to hurt him, he let clean him up a little.

"Sorry." I said.

He was quiet for a moment and then, "Why?"

I stood up and sat on the edge of my bed, he sat in his desk chair. "Paul?" I said looking down at my feet, "Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Huh?" he said clearly very confused. Who could blame him?

"Like I said before, people always looked down on me for my small size and I don't just mean my height." I said hanging my head, but looking up at him. His expression had shifted from confusion to something serous. "Anyways" I continued, "when you pick up my… you know and you called it tiny it just… and in the bathroom I was thinking about being made fun of being a late bloomer and ignored because of it and… I don't even know what I'm saying now…" I said looking down again. Paul was silently observing me, and then he turned around and started looking through his books again.

"When I was in high school I wanted to be a physiologist, but nobody had the money to send me to college so that dream died. Anyways, even though I can't be one, I still read about physiology." He said while looking around his desk. He pulled out a book from underneath a stack and handed it to me. "Here we are, this should help."

"Understanding and Solving Inferiority Complex? What will that do for me?" I said reading the title out loud.

"Here, listen, 'an inferiority complex are not uncommon in children trying to live up to perceived standards set by parents or old siblings, people who live under overbearing employers or superiors, teenagers who arrive start puberty at a late stage in their lives' sound familiar." He said sounding a little amused. He handed it to me and then climbed the ladder to his bed. 'I guess it couldn't hurt… hurt? Hurt… uh… oh yeah?' I thought.

"Paul?" I said nervously.

"I'm not mad because I understand you've got a problem, but didn't Herr Oberst or Herr Major tell you not to take anything I said too personally?" He said.

"Er… Ja." Silence.

"I spent my time working and never spent much time thinking about girls or what attracts me so I can't really answer your question." He said carefully. "To be honest, I thought you being here would kill me and maybe I right. You were just someone there, not any more important than my other wingmen. I never really thought much about your appearance, I try not to think of you as a girl, and it's just too stressful for me. Aside from trying to give you more personal space I haven't treated you much more different until we somehow became 'best friends', whatever the hell that means." He said this all thoughtfully.

"It means we help each other out, tell each other our problems, and be there for each other during hard times." I explained.

"I guess I'll need keep you when the war starts." He said jokingly, but somehow without any real humor.

"I'm a little scared." I confessed.

"Is that why you hit me?"

"Nein. That's a different problem." I said looking at my chest, admittedly the uniform did hide what little I had, but then again being in tight sleazy uniform wouldn't look very professional.

"Herr Hauptmann von Klein said the back in the Osten Revolt the worst was before a battle. 'The calm before the storm' as he called it." Paul said sounding a little sleepy. It was getting late.

"Try and sleep were gonna practice tomorrow" he said, paused for a while thinking and then, "…… if it makes you feel better… I do think you are…"

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Er… cute." He said very quietly.

I smiled and thought, 'he can be sweet sometimes.'

"Danke."

"What about me?" he asked.

"Guten natch." I said very quickly.

"HEY! That's not fair!" He said annoyed, but I ignored him and went to sleep.

To Be Continued

Aaawww. Aren't they cute together. I laugh at myself a lot because I love violent movies and games, but I'm still a sucker for this stuff and now I'm writing this stuff. If my friends could only see me now, hee hee. I'm still open to ideas. Tell me what you think.

Respectfully

J. H. Kamiya