A/N: I got a few reviews on Blaze's background. I added that in to add an extra dimension to his character so as to put more of a discernable wedge between him and his superior officers. It'll especially come into play later in the plot as they become the Razgriz. Thanks for the reviews.

CH. 3: FIRST ENGAGEMENT

-24 Sept. 2010

The next day started at 0530 with breakfast. Nagase ran into Blaze, almost literally, right outside the café door. "Sorry," she said, "I didn't see you there."

"Don't sweat it," Blaze said as he pushed the door open for her. Nagase smiled a little at his generosity. Blaze fell in behind her and in front of Chopper in the breakfast line. He followed her to her table and sat sown next to Bartlett. "So," Blaze struck up conversation, "anything new on what happened yesterday?" He wasn't there for the altitude FUBAR committed by the command room and the AWACS "Thunderhead".

"No." Bartlett growled. Blaze knew the Captain had to be kicking himself in the ass over the incident. He liked Jack Bartlett; he was like an older brother to him. Bartlett stuck up for Blaze when he was at Heirlark and took him under his wing when the other instructors were reluctant to fly in the same formation with him let alone share a T-45 Goshawk cockpit. "And as far as the public is concerned the whole incident never occurred."

"Tell that to the families who'll be busy preparing funerals," Blaze grumbled along with his boss.

"Where are you from Blaze?" Chopper asked hesitantly.

"I was born in Webster along the border with the former South Belka," Blaze responded. "I was raised there until fifteen years ago."

"Fifteen…you mean the war?"

"Yes," Blaze groaned. "I mean the war." Nagase noticed the unsettling tone of his voice. He spoke of the war like it was something personal to him. "And I don't want to talk about it right now." He said finally as he focused his attention to his scrambled eggs.

'Something happened to him,' Nagase deduced.

At 0730 they were called into the briefing room. An unidentified spy plane had breached Osean air space. It was fired on by SAM (Surface to Air Missile) batteries and damaged. Wardog Squadron was tasked with intercepting the plane and bringing it in for a landing.

In the semi-coed locker rooms the pilots changed from their trousers and jackets and into their flight suits. Glancing through the slat partition from the female side of the room Nagase saw Blaze as he zipped up his survival vest. He then grabbed a black flight helmet and met her outside on the tarmac. As he donned the helmet she noticed the decals on it. From the central forehead around to the back and around to the ears was a silver and gray dragon. The angular head ran down along the forehead while the wings and talons wrapped around from the back to the ears just behind the jaws. Along the brow of the helmet, emblazoned in red and orange lettering was his callsign 'Blaze'.

'I wonder how he got that callsign. He may not answer,' she pondered to herself as she became more and more curious about the handsome aviator by the minute. "Blaze?" She finally spoke up as they neared the flight line. "How'd you get your call sign?" She noticed the same distant look in his eyes when he mentioned his family yesterday. "Uh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"I'll tell you tonight," he said, "after dinner." 'She seems understandable,' Blaze said to himself. "Good luck up there," he said to her as he turned to his plane.

"You too, Blaze," she responded as she followed after the Captain.

XXXXX

"You got that nuggets?" Bartlett asked his wingmen after AWACS Thunderhead gave them their orders.

"Wardog 2," Nagase responded, "roger."

"Wardog 3, roger," Chopper chimed in. Blaze tried to respond but the radio in his plane was a bit on the fritz. The end of Chopper's transmission had buzzed with static. Blaze smacked his radio and fixed the problem.

"Wardog 4, hello?" Bartlett's voice called out him. "Can you hear me, kid? You better be marking our tail, son."

"Sorry, sir," Blaze breathed into his mask. "I had a gremlin in my radio. I'm good now."

"Looks like your confident at least," Bartlett reassured him. "Don't get separated from me."

"Man," Chopper chuckled over the radio. "I'm glad you drew the short straw instead of me."

'Thanks, smart ass,' Blaze glared over at Chopper's plane.

"Second Lieutenant Alvin H. Davenport," Bartlett snapped at Chopper. "Zip it! You need a nickname too?"

'Captain was quick to stand up for Blaze,' Nagase said to herself. 'They really are close.'

"I respectfully ask to be called 'Chopper' sir." Chopper responded heartily. "I'm afraid I may not be able to respond to any other moniker."

"Hm," Bartlett hummed. "That does fit you well. I got a better nickname for you but I'll keep it to myself, okay?" Blaze allowed himself an unmistakable chuckle over the radio.

"Aw cut me some slack man."

"Target in sight," Blaze called out to the squadron as he spotted the spy plane just over the water. It was a TU-22RDM recce aircraft; a modified bomber aircraft originally used during the Belkan War fifteen years ago by Yuktobania.

"Tally ho, we've got company," Bartlett announced, "Let's go." They broke right and followed after the target. Blaze turned right with the Captain, staying glued to his trail. "You're forbidden to fire until I give the command, understand?"

"Perfectly sir," Blaze responded.

"Good boy." They hit their afterburners and raced up behind the plane. "Alright where's 'Motormouth' Chopper?" Blaze allowed himself a grin under his mask.

"Wha- That's your name for me?" Chopper stuttered.

"You've got a knack for comic dialogue. You mind sending a surrender request for me?"

"Oh no, please," Chopper declined as if he didn't get the idea. "Age before beauty."

"I'm real shy around strangers you know," Blaze knew this was Bartlett's way of tormenting Chopper for the short straw comment earlier.

"Geez…testing, testing. Attention unidentified aircraft, set your course for our beacon immediately." They raced past the plane, Blaze buzzing right above to cockpit to get the pilots' attentions.

"Good." Blaze and the others broke and turned back to the plane.

"Uh, we will direct you to the nearest airfield. Lower your gear if you understand."

"I don't think he understands," Blaze commented when he didn't see the gears come down.

"Attention," Thunderhead came on the radio. "We have more high speed bogeys inbound. Approaching unidentified aircraft vector 280, altitude 6,000. Hold your fire until further orders."

"Crossing the pond to fly cover for their spy plane huh?" Bartlett said to no one in particular as the flight turned to intercept the bogeys. "Now there's a fighter pilot worth his wings. Enemy inbound bearing 280, head on! You're not to fire until say it's okay, got me?"

"Got ya, boss," Blaze responded to his mentor and CO.

"Good boy."

'What am I?' Blaze asked himself, 'A lap dog?' They formed up in a line abreast formation with Blaze in the middle just in front of and below the Captain. Blaze tracked the bogeys on his radar as both formations raced towards each other. From the display he made them out to be MiG-21's. He looked up as they came into view. He saw a missile fly out from the lead plane towards Bartlett's and tracers race form the other planes. Blaze braked hard and turned immediately.

"Heads up!" Chopper yelled out. "They're firing on us!" He just had to state the obvious. Bartlett threw his missile off as Blaze turned around and lined up behind the lead fighter.

"Wardog Squadron," Thunderhead came on the line, "weapons safe. Hold your fire until further orders."

"Bullshit!" Blaze swore as he got a lock on the plane that fired on Bartlett.

"Oh come on!" Chopper shouted to Thunderhead. "Those aren't blanks they're firing at us out there!"

"Shut your mouth and fire back!" Bartlett ordered as Blaze loosed a sidewinder.

"Ten steps ahead of ya boss!" Blaze said as his MiG vaporized in a ball of flame.

"Captain Bartlett, this is Thunderhead. You are violating direct orders."

"Shove it!" Bartlett growled. "I'm not going to watch anymore of my pilots die! We're going to shoot them all down kid."

"Gladly," Blaze said as he maneuvered behind another MiG.

"Wardog weapons safe!"

"Edge, fox two!" Nagase fired on a third MiG, destroying it with a sidewinder. "Bandit down!"

"Blaze, fox two!" His second sidewinder leapt from his wing and impacted the MiG on the starboard wing, sending it tumbling to the ocean below.

"Hold your fire!" Thunderhead ordered in futile.

"GRRRAAAGGGGHHH!" Chopper groaned as he evaded the cannon fire from a MiG on his tail.

"You ain't gettin' away," Bartlett said as he bagged the bandit behind Chopper with a sidewinder.

"Four more bandits inbound hot!" Blaze said as he turned to engage. Nagase was closest and flew along behind him as he raced towards the bandits. It was going to be two on four.

"Wardog, I ordered weapons safe, hold your fire until further orders."

"Oh shut up!" Blaze shot out as he fired his nose cannons into the cockpit of the lead plane as he flew through the formation.

"Edge, fox two!" Nagase fired on the second plane, turning it into scrap as she did the same stunt as Blaze.

"Edge!" Blaze called out to her. "You've got a bandit on your six! He's firing, break right!" Nagase turned hard as the tracers fell short of her plane. She jinked and turned to evade.

"I can't shake him!" Nagase screamed as she continued to evade the bullets.

"Head for the deck!" Blaze told her as he got behind her bandit. "I'll get him." Edge broke hard and dove as the bandit climbed to evade hitting her plane. "Blaze, fox two!" The sidewinder leapt from under the wing and blew the MiG in half. "Bandit down, you're clear!" he called to her as she climbed back up.

"Blaze! You're six!" Nagase cried out as she saw a MiG line up on him. A half second later the missile alarm went off in his cockpit. What Nagase saw next she thought was impossible. Blaze broke upward and rolled, leaving sharp contrails, throwing off the missile and leveled off right behind his attacker in the blink of an eye. Their planes missed colliding by mere feet. He hit his thrust to stabilize his plane right behind the last bandit.

"Sayonara!" Blaze said as he let his last sidewinder loose and destroyed the last MiG. "Picture clear!"

'He's…amazing,' Nagase said as she formed up with him. The two of them had just bagged a combined kill score of seven fighters with Blaze getting five of them and becoming an ace right then and there.

"All unknown bogey aircraft destroyed," Thunderhead reported as Bartlett and Chopper formed up as they headed back to base. "All aircraft RTB."

"This is your Captain, can you hear my voice?"

"Crystal clear, sir," Blaze said as his muscles relaxed.

"Good, looks like we can all hear each other. You all alive?" As if he had to ask. "Alright, good work nuggets. Wardog 4, you still following us? Well, to commemorate the fact that we all made it out of that battle alive, I'm gonna let you keep your nickname. From now on, I'm gonna call you 'Kid'. Got it? Good."

'Am I supposed to feel honored by that?' Blaze asked himself.

"Man, I swear," Chopper groaned at the light heartedness between Bartlett and Blaze. It was as if he was treating Blaze like a little brother instead of a subordinate.

'Blaze…' Nagase said to herself as she looked back to his unscathed plane. 'Who are you?'