CH. 9: HEIRLARK

-30 Sept. 2010

The Heirlark Air Force Flight Academy, also know as The Ice Box, sat not far from the arctic Aurick Bay. This was where the Osean Air Force trained its fighter pilots along with its tropical cousin Sand Island. It sat in the former state of South Belka. In fact, it wasn't too far from Webster, where Blaze was born. When they landed the four Sand Island pilots didn't know that a certain news article had beaten them there.

Blaze was the first to spot it pinned to a peg board outside the class lounge. "Oh, boy," he whispered to Nagase. He pointed her to the article written by Genette.

"The Four Wings of Sand Island," it read. The picture for it was appropriately comical. Chopper was front and center with Grimm in a head lock as he flexed his right arm.

'Typical cockiness for Chopper,' Blaze commented. Blaze's head was totally obscured by Chopper's elbow in the picture and Nagase was off to side giving the Chopper pose a death glare. "Chopper's not going to shut up for a while." And he didn't. The moment they set foot in the lounge they were assaulted by a human wave of eager cadets.

"And here he is young aviators!" Chopper announced like some ridiculous game show host. If he weren't flying jets Blaze could easily picture Chopper doing exactly that; he was perfect for the job. "Our brave baby Captain!"

"Don't pay attention to what he says, nuggets," Blaze barked as he leaned up against the hearth behind Grimm. "He shoots his mouth off more than his missiles." The cadets chuckled at that and even Nagase allowed herself a grin as she stood on the opposite side of the hearth.

"So anyway," Chopper continued whatever story he had going. "Kid here just swoops in and takes the bandit down!" He chuckled as the flashed Nagase a toothy grin. "He's always got his eye on her, you know."

'Oh, Jesus,' Blaze shook his head as he looked over at Nagase who held her head low.

"Then, out of nowhere another bandit pops up behind him and fires a missile!" Chopper continued. "But Kid is not to be taken lightly, man. He does this crazy ass roll skimming the bandit's cockpit and blows him right out of the sky! I swear man; he had to be close enough to tell the pilot's shoe size!"

'I'm outta here,' Blaze said to himself as he headed for the coffee stand. Nagase followed him.

"He's enjoying this a little too much," Nagase said joining him at a table.

"How can you tell?" He sipped at his coffee.

"And there's another thing!" Chopper yelled out pointing at him. "Kid, every time I see you you've got a cup of coffee in your hand! What's up with that man?" The cadets chuckled as they eyeballed him.

"I think I already mentioned this to Nagase," Blaze responded. "I've got JP-5 grade caffeine running through my veins. How else do you explain my expert flying?" The cadets laughed as Blaze returned the flak.

"Oh, yeah," Chopper added, "He and his honey bun wingman are always hanging out."

'Give it a rest, Chop,' Blaze groaned as he threw his head back in exasperation. Nagase rubbed her head in her palms in embarrassment. She also did this to hide her very noticeable blush.

"Well look who we have here," a deep and unnerving voice startled Nagase from behind her. "If it isn't Bartlett's gift to military aviation." Blaze raised his head and saw one of his old instructors, the ones who would've thrown him to the curb if Bartlett hadn't stepped in.

"Hello, Duke," Blaze replied. "I don't suppose you'd want to grab a seat?"

"No thanks, Lieutenant," Captain Eric Duke replied. He was a big and dark guy with a very scary voice. Nagase was instantly uncomfortable, feeling a creepy and primal fear grip her. "And it's Captain Duke to you." Now Nagase really started to dislike him.

"Actually I'll have to correct you on something," Blaze said pulling a fax sheet from his pocket. He handed it to Nagase. "I was given this when we landed; I was going to save it for a surprise when we got back to base. But…" Nagase opened it and was just starting to read it when Duke snatched it from her.

"I'll take that darling," Duke chuckled at her making her skin crawl. That creepy, beneath the skin vibe just got worse. "What the hell?" This drew the attention of Chopper and Grimm, along with the cadets. "'Captain'?"

"That's right," Blaze grinned. "You don't out rank me anymore, Duke." He turned back to Nagase. "My bars will be waiting for me when we get back to Sand Island. I bet old Perault is having a nervous breakdown."

"Congratulations, Blaze," Nagase patted him on the shoulder.

"But, no saluting every time I enter a room." Blaze grinned heartily.

"Well damn it all," Duke shouted as grumbled the fax up and dropped in onto the table. "I hope your happy, you Belkan punk. Why don't you just take your mail order stripper here in the closet already?" Wrong thing to say with Nagase's three wingmen in the same room. Blaze rose up as Chopper marched over pulling Grimm with him.

"Look tough, junior," Chopper whispered to Grimm. He folded his arms as he and Blaze gave Duke death glares. The timid Grimm did his best to look mean as he stood behind Chopper.

"You're gonna want to leave this room right now, Captain Duke," Blaze growled as anger burned in his eyes like the fires of hell.

"Yeah," Duke may have been a bouncer before he joined the Air Force, but he knew that Blaze was a tough fighter on the ground as well as in the air. And with the muscular Chopper there as well he didn't let his ego get in the way. He marched out of the lounge but not before ordering the cadets back to their quarters.

"What an asshole," Blaze said before he waved Grimm and Chopper to sit down. "You okay, Nagase?"

"Yeah," she whispered. Duke's comments to her were not anything new; she had run into many sexist officers, including Perault. But comments like the one Duke made still hurt.

"The bastard is just that, a bastard." Blaze said rubbing her shoulder as he sat down. "I wouldn't expect any self-respecting woman like you to feel any pity or friendliness with that jerk."

"No argument here, man," Chopper agreed. "Sure I may tease Nagase sometimes, but it's just that. I don't really mean it."

"Thanks…you guys," Nagase said as she reached for her coffee but instead pounded the table. "I just…hate it when men treat me like some kind of sex object!"

"Well I guess you and me have something in common," Blaze said.

"Men see you as a sex object, Blaze?" Chopper gasped. "You're not gay are you?"

"You're an idiot!" Blaze shot back causing chopper to recoil. "I'm saying some officer's treat both me and Nagase like shit on a stick. With her it's because she doesn't have a 'Y' Chromosome. With me it's because I inherited my father's Belkan ancestry."

"Oh…" Chopper said as he realized his folly. His face turned as red as an apple as he stood up. "I'm, uh, just gonna go find a place to, uh, crash for the night. Yeeaaah. Come on, Grimm." Hans Grimm shook his head as he stood up to follow Chopper.

"Not the sharpest tool in the shed is he?" Nagase said as she started to relax a little.

"No," Blaze agreed. "He's not."

'Blaze is right,' Nagase said as she watched him sip his coffee. 'We do have that in common. We've both experienced hostility in our careers.' She continued to watch him read the newspaper article and sip his coffee. As she did so she began to feel her heart pace quicken and the temperature in her chest rise. Had she found a kindred spirit in Blaze? A man she'd know for only a week? She didn't know it then, but her relationship with Captain Hannibal "Blaze" Ingram was only just beginning.

XXXXX

Chopper and Grimm crashed in the food court adjacent to the lounge while Blaze slumped sideways in a lounge chair and Nagase plopped down on a sofa. Nagase had a fitful time trying to sleep. No matter what position she was in she just couldn't fall asleep. She sat up on the sofa and rubbed her face in her hands. 'What's wrong?' She asked herself. 'Why can't I sleep?' She looked at the clock, 0005 hours. It was well past midnight and she still wasn't asleep.

She then heard soft snoring to her right. She looked over and saw Blaze in a comical position lying across the lounge chair. She had never seen him sleep before and realized that, despite his slightly gruff and cynical nature and his aggressive behavior in the cockpit, he looked so serene when he slept. Absolutely peaceful. He curled up in his arms as he tried to stay warm since his wool blanket had fallen to the floor.

Nagase stood up and covered him back up with the blanket and made sure it wouldn't fall off again. "Uh," he whispered in his sleep. "Mom…dad…" tears began to form in his eyes as he no doubt recalled his tragic past. Nagase gently wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"Shh," she whispered softly in his ear. "You're a fighter pilot and you're flying at ten thousand feet, completely free. Just like a bird." She recalled their conversation on the flight line the other day. She spoke softly to get his mind focused on something more pleasurable. "Shh." The tears stopped as a small smile appeared on his face. "You're free as a bird, Blaze." She gently brushed his hair as his breathing slowed. She then let out a yawn as she stood back up. She pulled another chair against his and leaned back in it, covering herself with her blanket. She was asleep within seconds.

XXXXX

-31 Sept. 2010

The next morning Blaze woke up to find the face of an angel on Earth just inches from his own. She was still asleep. 'God she's so beautiful,' Blaze said to himself as her listened to her soft breathing. Her lips were so close to his and slightly parted that he could barely resist the urge to explore them. Instead he moved slowly to get up. As he did so she moved in her chair and her blanket fell away, giving a partial view down her tank top for Blaze. 'Oh, great,' Blaze said to himself. 'Now I'm hooked on her again.' This time he couldn't help but gently brush her hair out of her face and behind her ears.

As he did so Nagase slowly woke up and opened her eyes. Blaze quickly recalled his hand and looked away. "I, uh," he started to blush as she sat up. "I wasn't…uh. Sorry to wake you."

"No, you didn't," Nagase said as she gathered her composure. "I, uh," she was nervous with the situation as well. "Er, hmm. We've got to take the nuggets back to Sand Island, don't we?" So she decided to change the subject.

"Yeah," he went along with it gladly. "It's going to be a pain in the ass though. They haven't practiced in flight refueling so first we'll have to stop at Henderson Naval Air Station, then at Jackson City Air Base and then McNealy before we can get back to Sand Island. Damn."

"Yeah."

XXXXX

-03 Oct. 2010

And it was. The nuggets were barely able to fly their F-5s on each leg. Chopper made the comment that the four experienced aviators could lord their better training under Bartlett and Pops over all the nuggets. Blaze considered that as an understatement in the first degree. He was actually afraid to send these nuggets into combat when they hadn't even finished half of their training. The only reason Chopper, Edge and Grimm had done so good was that they were already down at Sand Island learning advanced tactics. Chopper and Nagase were at the top of their class and Grimm was a promising replacement pilot who was working with the mechanics at the time.

But, he studied well and Blaze was eager to pin fresh gold bars on his collar. The promotion to Second Lieutenant was mostly ceremonial but Blaze believed that Archer deserved it and had earned it in spades.

The squadron hop scotched from Heirlark to Henderson. They rested for the night at Henderson before continuing onto Jackson City and then McNealy. When they arrived several of the nuggets planes as well as Blaze's plane had to be serviced overnight by ground crews.

The next morning, while the nuggets socialized among themselves the four experienced pilots huddled around a table playing poker.

"I'm not looking forward to having to order these kids to fight," Blaze said as he folded on this round.

"Me neither," Chopper agreed. "Two nearly botched their landings."

"Yeah, you don't want to tie the world record for the lowest recorded flight," Blaze commented darkly.

"Do you really think we'll have to do that?" Nagase asked as she placed her bet.

"Sadly, yes," the Captain responded. "At least until the transfer of the east coast squadrons are finished." He looked over his shoulder at the nuggets wondering how many faces would disappear before the war ended. He prayed there would be none but the likelihood of that was slim. "When they do have to fight I want each of us to lead three of them and keep a close eye on them. Hopefully we can break them in easier that way."

"Captain Ingram?" A Tech Sergeant called out when he entered the lounge.

"Here," Blaze said standing up.

"The Commander would like to speak with you, sir," the sergeant said leading Blaze out into the hall.

In the commander's office Blaze was briefed on the imminent launch of Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) that day. The SSTO would be transferring a high powered laser module to the Arkbird in an effort to counter the threat of the Scinfaxi. "Because all my fighters were lost at Eglin Straits," the Colonel, much more athletic looking than Perault, explained, "I need you and your three wingmen to fly the Combat Air Patrol for the launch."

"Yes, sir," Blaze responded. "Are the remaining pilots I brought to remain grounded?"

"Correct, Captain," the Colonel responded. "They're still kids and I don't think they're ready yet."

"I agree, sir." Blaze snapped to attention. "We'll take off immediately."

"Good hunting, Captain. And don't screw it up." They exchanged salutes and Blaze left to rally his three wingmen.