Hi all! Sorry it took me forever and it will be a short chapter.

A small note: When I was planning and writing this, I have not watched halfway through season two, so some sequence may be out of order and/or random out-of-character moments. I will, however, make adjustments as soon as I manage to sit down and watch through all of the episodes.

05 WIND SHEAR

"Why didn't I see this?" Piper seethed.

Stork looked around cautiously as they made their way back to the Condor. "Pardon?"

"Later." Piper promised him, and then she paused in front of the entrance long enough to let the pilot deactivate the security for them. She stepped in after her second-in-command and waited for the laser trajectory to finish scanning them.

"Scanning completed. Foreign contamination and electronic interference not detected. You may proceed," Beeped the Condor's AI security.

Piper exhaled in relief. She was thankful that Stork took the initiative to install the security measure in every part of the ship eleven years ago. It burned a hole through their savings, but it was worth it. They cannot risk being bugged again. Piper then lead Stork into the Condor's meeting room and activated the signal interference before shutting the door. "I always thought that it did not feel right." She started.

Stork sat down in one of the chairs opposite her. "It's Cyclonis, Piper. When is it ever right?" He reminded her.

Piper ran a hand through her short mop of blue. "I know that, but it just bugs me why I didn't see this before. How come no one saw it either?" She then took a seat. "And why must it be us?"

Stork leaned into his seat and clasped his hands together. "We were there during most of the important events. However, the most important thing at the moment-" He waited for his captain to look at him. "Is what do we do now, captain?"

Piper's eyebrows flinched only slightly, a sure sign that only Stork had recognized that the captain has some ideas in order.

Limpet tapped her mentor's shoulder and pointed at the red bike parked in the hangar. "Uh-oh." She announced.

Junko followed her extended claw and felt his eyebrows raise in concern. "I wonder...?"

Zhayne eased his bike into a stop and warily studied the foreign vehicle. "What? What's wrong?"

"You'll see." Creep answered as he hopped off Junko's ride and nervously strode towards the bridge.

Zhayne curiously followed his crew mates, and as the door to the hallways slid open, he could hear the pilot's shout carrying through. He leaned in closer towards Limpet. "Should I draw out my weapon?"

Limpet shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary at all."

Junko then stopped in front of the door leading into the bridge, and faced the younger crew. "Alright, everyone. Just be cool, okay?" At everyone's nod, the wallop took a tentative step towards the door. The moment the door slid open, Stork immediately ceased yelling, Piper turned her glare away from the pilot, and between them, was an adult man with fiery red hair. He slowly turned to the newcomers and flashed a radiant smile. His emerald eyes glittered. "Junko! Limpet! Creep! Wow, it's good to see you again."

Limpet stepped towards the man and hugged him. Creep gave him a high-five, and Junko exchanged a firm wrist clasp with the human male.

"What brings you here, Kite?" Junko rumbled in his good nature.

Kite shrugged. "That's for your captain to brief you all."

Zhane stopped in his tracks. "Wait, you're Kite? The former Storm Hawks ballistics expert?"

The adult man turned his face to the younger male in the room. "That was five years ago, but the same." He shrugged. "And you must be Zhayne?"

"Yes, that would be me." The Amazonian beamed.

"Excellent!" The older man strode towards the adolescent and gripped his hand in a solid handshake. "I heard that you're quite the marksman, and also a brilliant medicine man to ever hail from Terra Amazonia. It must be exciting to be part of the team, yes?"

"It has been wild. I can't believe I finally get to meet you." Zhayne grinned. "You do have an amazing reputation."

"Tell me about it." Grumbled Stork from his station.

Piper shot her helmsman a warning glare. "Kite has been a valuable asset to the team."

"Aw, no." Kite waved his hand dismissively. "I had a brilliant captain - she utilized her crews' talents quite well."

"And let's hope that is the case." Piper let a smile slid onto her face. Behind her, Stork's face darkened slightly. "Into the meeting room, everyone." Automatically, they made their way towards the corner of the Condor, with Zhayne and Limpet in the rear. He took the opportunity to lean towards his companion.

"He's not so bad. What's with all the fuss earlier?" He whispered.

"Stork."

"What about him?"

She glanced at him and shook her head. "Later." Limpet promised him.

"So can you do this?" Piper looked up at Kite.

Kite drummed his fingers on the table and studied the map once more. "It will be difficult, but not impossible." He nodded. "All I need is just a certain pass and excuse why I have to take that route."

Piper grinned. "Shall I ring up some old favours?"

Kite leaned into his seat and folded his hands behind his back. "Naw. There are privileges to being a high-class merchant, don't you know? Also, I might be in time for the bazaar in the neighboring terra." He pulled out a thin root from his satchel and began tucking it between his lips. "I'm more concerned about other matters, though."

Zhayne, Limpet and Creep looked up at him. Junko was still going over the map. Stork rolled his eyes and draped an arm lazily over his seat.

Piper crossed her arms. "Such as?"

Kite balanced the root between his teeth. "My crew. While they hold you all in high regard, a few might get cold feet once I drop the details of the route."

"How will that be a problem?" Piper folded her arms.

"There is a superstition going about - the Storm Hawks has a talent for attracting trouble." Kite shrugged.

Stork grunted. "You don't say."

The redhead lifted his hands. "Look, my job is to ferry some merchandise between terras, and success in delivering them also means that my crew will be fed well. When our mission is to cruise very close to this maelstrom," He pointed at the map. "There is a forty to seventy-five percent chance that something might affect our salary or even our lives."

"So are you going chicken now?" Stork sneered.

"Heck, no." Kite shook his head. "I am all up for throwing myself into the storm and see how long it can handle me, but my men have families they'd want to come home to. Most of them are the specialists who make sure the ship runs."

"That is why I've taken careful measurements to make sure everything will go smoothly." Piper tried to assure him. "If everything goes well, we might get some information."

"I've no doubts about your strategy and plans, Captain." Kite raised an eyebrow. "But if information is all that you need, we could always prowl the surrounding terras and poke about."

Piper shook her head. "Rumors have very little value in the court. We just need a strong evidence to support my suspicions."

Kite nodded once. "Alright. I guess I could try to dangle some carrot in front of them. However," He leaned forward. "The only way we could do this is we travel through here," His fingers traces along the map. "And dock on this terra for a day and night to restock our supplies. That should give you all enough time to take off to investigate what's brewing in that little corner. It should be about three to four hours flight to get there."

Junko nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Limpet turned to look at Kite. "Will your men notice us taking off?"

Kite smiled at the aquanos female. "I calculated that if we travel within twenty-five to twenty-seven knots, we might reach this terra just before nightfall. My crew would want to scatter for food or lodging by the time we dock."

"But won't they notice an empty parking bay in the morning?" Creep asked.

"Eh, I have ways to keep them busy." The man shrugged. "Even if they do, I can cover for you."

"Alright then; when we dock on that terra, we'll stretch our legs for two or three hours, refuel the ship and check for repairs. We'll leave after the sun goes down." Piper declared.

"If I may ask, Captain?" Zhayne waited for Piper to nod. "What are we looking for?"

Everyone turned their head to the captain of the Condor. "The eye of the storm." Piper replied.

11 years ago.

There is a saying – "you forget what you learn". However, too few understand the meaning of it, since there are many theories behind the strange proverb. But she understood it, at least by her experience. And now, she has every reason to forget the deep gash riding up her left thigh. She needed to- the lives of every free citizen of Atmos depend on it.

Since her scooter had crashed earlier, there is no way but to make a run for it. But she can't, at least not like this. Besides, she will be an easy target if she tried anyway. She quickly scanned the skies and found what she wanted. She fumbled with the device on her wrist and quickly punched a button. "Finn! I'm on the west side of the walls!" She waved her free arm and retracted it just before a small energy blast fly by it, but not just before catching Finn's attention. He quickly got rid of the offending Talon who also caught sight of the crystal expert, although he felt a slight remorse when he saw the soldier go down into the wasteland.

Finn punched a button on his bike. "Piper? What happened to sticking to the plan?" He hollered amidst the whizzing of projectiles and screaming around him.

"No time! Clear the path for me!" She said urgently.

He made a round and made a mental count of obstacles in front of her. Plenty, he summarized with a sigh. "Say please and I'll do it with a smile!" He radioed while reloading his crossbow.

"FINN!" Screeched the radio.

The sharpshooter took a short breath and gripped tighter onto the handles. "You owe me a dozen sandcakes for this!" He yelled into the radio and then proceeded to make a nosedive. Finn shot at a few of the Talons and whizzed past them. "Man, did you guys really graduate military school?" He taunted along his way.

Piper exhaled in relief when the Talon gave chase to the blur of blue. She pushed herself off the column and dashed off as fast as she could towards the other end of the wall. Suddenly, an explosion went off from her right, forcing her to tumble quickly to the opposite side. She pressed her body as tightly as she can of what's left of the Cyclonian parapet and peered to the side. Automatically, she extended her staff. Three Talons have seen her, and are diving in with their weapons out. She had no choice but to face them, since the sky is already burning with so much chaos and every help has his or her hands full.

Suddenly, the Condor rammed into the three Soldiers before they could even land on the building. Stork yelped in terror and quickly punched a button. The stunned Talons were easily dealt with giant wipers, and Stork resumed maneuvering his beloved Condor away from the pursuing Cyclonian armada close behind him. He veered immediately when he saw an oncoming energy bolt and let it hit the armada. It did not do much damage to the monstrosity, but at least one of it engines was affected. Still, there is the shooting Cyclonian frigate in front of him. "Of all the ships in this battlefield, you have to shoot this one!" He wailed as he pulled the steering up.

Remembering to thank the small change of luck, Piper quickly scampered to the entrance of the building. Luck is all they need to end this. But then, there is another saying – "Luck favors the prepared".

Either by fate or destiny, they weren't prepared for that day.

Piper sat up in her sheets and found herself entangled in them. It took her a moment to steady her breathing and find the floor. In the next minute, she found herself pacing on the deck of the ship. She rounded a corner and spotted two figures sitting on the Condor, staring out into the night.

"It was that bad?" a male voice asked.

A female voice hummed. "I wouldn't know." She shrugged. "But I did keep waking up to their shouting match. I don't really know what it was mostly about, but I have a suspicion that Stork doesn't fully trust him."

"How come?"

"I was only fourteen, but if I remember," She pulled herself into a sitting position. "Stork was shouting something about him being a bad influence to our captain. Kite was transferred off the next day, and I think it was on Stork's order."

"No way." He sat up as well. "He could do that?"

"Stork is the second-in-command, so he can make calls in the captain's... absence." Limpet pointed out.

"But why?"

"Back then, I wouldn't say Kite was a bad person; just... wild."

Zhayne turned towards his companion. "Define that."

"I don't really like to paint people in bad light, you know." Limpet scratched behind her ear. "But Kite did continue to visit and help us out whenever he can, and he's somewhat mellowed down over the years. It's bad to burn bridges, said captain."

The marksman opened his mouth to speak, but he clicked it close again. He nodded and returned to stargazing. "I wonder what they are doing now?"

"Who?" Limpet leaned most of her weight onto her knee.

"My sisters."

At that, Piper decided to quietly walk away. She padded through the hallways of the Condor bare-footed and soon found herself staring at a certain door. The woman slipped into the room and stared at the empty bed. She then heard a light rap on the door, and turned to find her pilot staring back at her.

"I'll be heading back to my room soon." Piper promised him.

Stork stared at her, and then shifted his gaze to the bed before her. After a while, the merb stepped into the room and sat on the floor with his captain, and they both stared at the bed together.

"Stork?"

"Hm?"

"I miss him."

"...We all do."

Piper leaned onto her knees and turned her head towards Stork. "You were right about me."

Stork peered at his captain suspiciously. "Which one?"

8888

Piper shoved Stork away, her mind furiously trying to string her words together. "This is my life!"

"And you are our captain." He tried to reason with her. "Please, Piper. We need you."

"And what about my needs?" She waved the empty bottle of liquor, missing his head by an inch. "Everyday it's Piper this, Piper that! Everyday! No one would listen to me, no!"

Stork pried the bottle out of her hands. "We're here. We'll listen to you. You just need to start talking to us again."

"Hah!" The young woman wrestled for the bottle, and Stork could scent the strong alcohol wafting off her. "What good will that do? He won't come back!"

"And neither will chasing every redhead you see." Stork quickly flung the bottle out of the window and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Piper, please. You and Junko are the only ones left of my 'family'. Don't destroy yourself."

Piper's bloodshot eyes glared at him defiantly. "Says the person who destroyed my chance of happiness."

"Listen to yourself." Stork gritted his teeth. "He's not Aerrow, and he never will be. Tell me, what would Aerrow say if he sees you like this today?" A moment later, he felt a sharp slap on his cheek. He blinked the stars out of his eyes and stared fearfully at his captain. Without warning, he suddenly found a sobbing woman on his chest.

"I miss him." She wailed.

Stork nodded, and awkwardly patted his captain's head and led her to her chambers, where she soon fell asleep.

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Piper got up and patted the pilot's shoulder. Stork watched her exit, and then shook his head. "Must be a bug." He muttered.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know how I'm doing. Comments and constructive critiques will be fully appreciated.