Chapter 6: Life or Death
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat.
Vandread Ace
Inside the Nirvana, an injured pilot is being rushed to the infirmary on a stretcher. That injured pilot is none other than Meia Gisborn.
Duero said, "Surface wound to the head, a ruptured spleen, fractured femur, severe concussion and 2 cracked ribs." Hibiki, Dita, a fellow Dread pilot and Grimm follow him.
Hibiki scolded, "You idiot! What in the hell were you thinking, trying to take on the new enemy all by yourself when there was an enemy plane right behind you?"
Flashback
The Nirvana and its crew find themselves engaged in another dogfight with the Harvesters near a gas giant about 5 times larger than Jupiter but what made matters worse is that they were fighting inside the planet's rings.
Blaze shakes off a missile from the MiG-1.44 he saw last week, to his surprise it's being piloted by the very person that he wanted revenge on.
Hamilton said, "Your piloting abilities haven't decayed one bit, Blaze."
Blaze told him, "So the Harvesters brought you back from the grave, Hamilton. I see you have brought Ofnir Squadron with you."
Hamilton smiled sinisterly, "Yes. I knew that they wanted retribution against you Wardog Ghosts."
Blaze fired back, "Sometimes I felt that you were jealous of our popularity that formed over the course of the war with Yuktobania that the Belkans orchastrated. You hoped that the two countries would destroy each other and Belka would reclaim the southern lands it lost during the Belkan War in 1995. You initially took us by surprise, seizing eastern Osean territory via blitzkrieg then you had the audacity to attack our northern lands, all that did was pissing us off. We fought back with ferocity and near ruthlessness, we were able to subside the advancement of your country's forces. However, our leaders knew that Osea alone would not be able to stop you Belkans so we decided to join forces with Ustio, Sapin and Yuktobania. With our combined strength we defeated you to the point where your decided to detonate 7 nuclear bombs on the border that divided North and South Belka."
The South Belkan sneered, "That's why I will make sure that you won't live to see the end of this war!" The F-15E Strike Eagle gets behind the MiG-1.44 for a heat seeking Sidewinder and once he hears the tone in his helmet, Blaze pulls the trigger. The missile follows the Flatpack's heat trail from the engines but Hamilton pulls around a piece of icy rock that made up the planet's rings.
The leader of Razgriz Squadron stated ominously, "You won't get away from me, Hamilton." Close by, his squad are engaging the Ofnir Squadron and their Su-35 Super Flankers.
Archer chases after Michael Heimeroth. They both try to get behind one another for a missile lock and Heimeroth fires an R-27AE but Archer shakes the missile off and retaliates with his MiG-29's GSh-30-1 cannon that the enemy flight lead avoids. The Su-35 baits Archer to follow it and the young Osean falls for it, Michael Heimeroth pulls around through the rings and fires another R-27AE but the MiG-29 changes into its robot form and shoots the missile down. Heimeroth expertly dodges the lethal 30mm rounds and retaliates with the Super Flanker's GSh-30 cannon, basketball-sized shells scream past Archer's canopy as he narrowly avoids them. Beneath his helmet, Archer bares his teeth as he watches his target fly past him.
Edge battles Ofnir 2 outside of the gas giant planet's rings, after shaking a missile off she takes evasive action again to avoid being shot down by the Harvesters' new weapon, a dart-shaped fighter with wings fixed in an X pattern. Edge narrows her eyes as she lines the enemy Su-35 up for an AIM-9 and fires once she gets a lock but the Super Flanker pops flares to divert the missile away. Edge closes the distance for the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon, the target evades while the rounds destroy an unfortunate cube-type. Edge looks around for her enemy then suddenly a missile warning tells her that an R-27AE is approaching from her 11 o'clock high, out of instinct she takes evasive action and eventually shakes the missile off. The two fighter jets approach each other head-on to see who'll flinch first and Ofnir 2 does, Edge pulls a hard right turn and switches to the AIM-120D AMRAAM. Gaining a lock, she fires the missile but Ofnir 2 releases chaff. The two prepare for another head-on approach.
Swordsman fights Ofnir 3 but wonders where the fourth member of the group is when he looks to his right, Swordsman spots Ofnir 4 and the dart-shaped fighter targeting Meia. He ignites the afterburners to rush to her aid and attempt to at least get one of the attackers' attention. He fires the Fulcrum's cannon and succeeds in changing Ofnir 4's attention towards him. Of course, he now has two Su-35s on his tail.
Blaze said, "Meia, that new fighter is too fast to handle on your own. Combine with Hibiki's Vanguard, you'll have a better chance in battling it."
Meia fired back, "I don't need a man's help! I can handle this by myself!"
Blaze stated, "This isn't the time for stubborn pride, Meia! You're going to get hit at this rate!" It's like he is talking to a brick wall because the blue-haired woman ignores his advice and tries to handle the enemy on her own. However, the dart-shaped Harvest fighter uses the environment, its slender body, alarming speed and agility to its full advantage. The enemy shoots lasers from its "eyes" and strikes near the cockpit. The next thing Blaze hears is a scream on the radio before static noise takes its place. As the enemy prepares to deliver the killing blow, Archer comes screaming in with his MiG-29's cannon blazing to direct the enemy fighter away.
Grimm yelled, "Meia!"
Blaze alerted, "Nirvana, this is Blaze. Get the infirmery and a stretcher ready and send Gascogne's Reg ship out here. Meia's been injured!"
He heard BC gasp, "What? Meia's injured?" In no time, the Reg ship comes out and secures the damaged Dread. Razgriz Squadron escort it back to the Nirvana, the fellow Dreads keep enemies away from them. After landing in the hanger, Blaze sees a stretcher waiting so Archer helps Parfet open the cockpit to the damaged Dread once it's opened the young Osean's eyes widen in horror at the injured Dread leader. He and Blaze pry Meia from the cockpit and gently place her on the stretcher, not minding the blood from a bleeding wound on her head staining their g-suits.
End of flashback
Meia looks at the lights passing overhead as she is being wheeled to the ER. Her mind starts drifting back to her past, back to her Ohma and mother and the incident.
Duero sees the look in his patient's eyes and realizes that there's no time to waste.
He ordered, "Clear the Emergency Room!" The doors slide open and Paiway gasps when she spots Meia coming in. Her circlet falls off her face and Duero removes her chest and shoulder padding then unzips her flight suit. He doesn't mind the fact that she is now naked from the waist up because he knows time is of the essence. Duero places an oxygen mask over the injured pilot's mouth.
Meia said weakly, "Moth...er..." With Meia out of action, Jura takes command of the Dreads.
She ordered, "A team, switch to formation alpha one now and B team...um..." The enemy takes advantage of the chaos as the Dreads are either hit by enemy fire or crash into each other.
Barnette cried, "Get a grip on yourself, Jura! The formation you ordered is not working!"
Jura replied, "I know that! I know that!" Blaze's F-15E Strike Eagle and Hamilton's MiG-1.44 Flatpack fly past each other then both transform into robot form for close-range combat. The MiG-1.44 pulls out a pair of beam sabers and the beams take the form of a sword. The Flatpack speeds toward its prey and swings its close-range weapons but the Strike Eagle avoids before Blaze obtains one of the beam sabers after wrestling it out of the enemy's hand. Hamilton executes a diagonal strike that Blaze blocks then pushes him back. They both land on a big piece of rock and Blaze backs up as Hamilton creeps forward. The beam sabers clash once again and Hamilton ducks a blow that's aimed for his machine's head.
The dart-shaped fighter destroys a part of the Nirvana's outer shielding.
Belvedere informed, "We lost a part of our outer aft shielding!" The bridge personnel listen as distress calls flood in.
BC said, "To think that our enemy had the ability to create decoys." The people of Reg Central feel the stress of the situation until Gascogne appears.
She told them, "Calm down, girls. Panicking isn't going to help anyone so stay positive. What's our motto?"
They said in unison, "Send our friends out with a smile!"
Gascogne nodded with a smile, "That's right. Carry on now." Bart screams in pain as he feels every impact from enemy fire, BC grits her teeth as the relentless flood of distress calls keep pouring in. However, Magno's mind is focused on something else.
'Meia.' She thought.
In the ER, Duero said, "Paiway, adjust the oxygen saturation levels! Stabilizing Meia's condition is our top priority right now!"
The young nurse nodded, "Right." Meia looks back on her past again, this time focused on her mother.
In the back of her mind Meia hated her mother, thinking that she was weak. The Dread leader felt that if she became strong enough she'd be able to protect her mother but in the end Meia realized that her mother was protecting her.
A tear falls down the blue-haired woman's face.
Paiway gasped, "This is the first time I've ever seen Meia cry." The lack of Meia's presence on the battlefield continues to show as more Dreads are damaged.
Barnette told her blonde-haired friend, "You're not going to let things end this way, Jura! Jura!"
Jura finally snapped, "Don't ask me anything, you hear!" Hibiki navigates his way through the planet's rings, knocking one of the icy rocks in front of him away and narrowly avoids a Dread.
He said, "Man, this bites. Hey Dita, let's combine now!"
Dita blinked in surprise, "Uh, sure." She'd normally hear him call her something else but given the current situation, she understood.
Their machines combine to form Vandread Dita and the blue machine gives chase to the Harvest fighter, it soon gains a lock and is about to fire the cannons when the enemy suddenly swings around a rock, causing the two to gasp. They evade the object and spot Jura's Dread pulling up.
She said, "Nice flying there. Can't you do any better?"
Hibiki snapped back, "Shut up, why don't you find yourself useful and think of a plan!"
Blaze stated, "Hibiki! Jura! That's enough!" Though they can't see through the dark visor of his helmet, they could see that the Razgriz Squadron leader was not in the mood, "Snapping at each other won't help matters. Find some other way to blow off steam when this battle's over. Hibiki, return to the Nirvana for resupply and refueling." Hibiki salutes him and follows his order. Blaze then turned to Jura, "You should refuel and rearm as well, Jura."
The blonde-haired woman retorted, "I don't need a man to tell me what to do!" Blaze can tell that Jura is frustrated and had to find some way to vent it out.
He said, "I'm not ordering you, I am giving you advise." He closes the channel and blocks a vertical cut from Hamilton. The F-15E Strike Eagle kicks the enemy MiG-1.44 back.
Hamilton growled, "Damn you, Wardog Ghost!"
Blaze stated nonchalantly, "Your attitude hasn't changed one bit, Hamilton. Your country's hatred for Osea and Yuktobania flows through your veins like a virus."
Hamilton fired back, "What do you know of the humiliation that was inflicted on us?" He swings the beam saber vertically downward again but Blaze blocks it horizontally and electrical arcing ensues from the conjoined weapons. Blaze blocks a punch using his F-15E's free hand before leaping into the air and kicking Hamilton's MiG-1.44 from behind sending it into a hill with a mighty thud. Hamilton frees his machine and changes his Flatpack into jet mode and flies with the Strike Eagle in hot pursuit.
BC hears the voices of the Dread pilots yelling in confusion.
She said, "It looks like we have been taking Meia's leadership for granted. We neglected to properly train Jura in case Meia ever got severely injured."
Magno pointed out, "It's not entirely our fault, BC." The platinum-haired woman looked at her, "It is because that girl wouldn't allow us to, she insisted on doing everything by herself and refused anyone's help. From the moment I picked her, I knew it was only a matter of time before this day came. After the incident that changed her life, the eyes of society that had once looked at her with the highest praise now looked at her with cold stares. At that point she realized that she had nothing worthy to fight for. That girl insisted on punishing herself whenever she made a mistake, she just can't tolerate making them! I remember she used to say one time that she had nothing to fight for, when you let yourself become attached to someone you become weak. She wanted to be strong enough so that no one would have to go through the hell that she did." Meia continues looking back on her past.
It showed her Ohma telling the public of Mejale that she's leading a project that will help revolutionize their home world and that Meia became the cover girl for all the advertisements or magazines. It next switched to her placing her circlet on that she still wears to this very day. Of course, those days of happiness didn't last long. One day, an explosion occurred and Meia winded up having to be evacuated with all the other children. She screamed for her mother to join her, when her mother shook her head Meia said that she'd live with her. In the end, the evacuation ship left and this is where Meia's claustrophobia and fear of the darkness set in. Her mother wanted to fill the land with living things where people could enjoy the calming sensation of security and happiness.
The Nirvana's forces retreat for repairs and for the pilots to rethink their strategy.
Jura sat against a wall sobbing, "I can't do it. I...I don't have what it takes to replace Meia."
Gascogne approached and informed her, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Jura. Nobody here is asking you whether or not you can fill Meia's shoes. Try to take it easy and rely on others for help. Take a look around, nobody here has doubts about you. Learn what you can't do and what you can do, once you realize that everything else will come to you."
Nathan said, "She's right, you know." They looked to see him standing there holding his helmet, "I know it's hard being a squadron leader, knowing that every decision you make determines whether the mission will end up in success or failure. You should make decisions that you feel are right. When I first joined the Osean Air Force I was wondering if I had what it takes to be a pilot. I was taken under the wing of a veteran pilot named Jack Bartlett and he had faith in me. Over time, I became his favorite student and whenever I had my doubts he would tell me to stay positive and don't ever doubt myself. While on a training mission, me, Nagase, Chopper and all of the other nuggets were the victims of a surprise attack by enemy fighters. Bartlett ordered the majority of the rookies to lower altitude while we went after the attackers. He didn't know that hostiles would be waiting for them at the designated altitude he sent the rookies to, after the surprise attack was over the man blamed himself for what happened to the nuggets. I told him the same advice he gave me and Bartlett and I have been friends ever since. He even praised me, telling me that I have become one hell of a squad captain. I make decisions what I feel are right, we all make mistakes. Learn from them and grow, Jura." He turns and walks away from the two to search for Grimm. He has a feeling where he might be at.
Gascogne smirked, "He knows what to say when the need arises." Jura wipes the tears away as she understands the meaning behind the young man's words.
Vandread Dita is held by a pair of grappling arms on the Nirvana.
Hibiki said, "Man, all this sitting around is annoying!"
Dita cried, "I wonder if Meia's gonna die. If that happens..."
The Tarak teen explained, "There's something my grandpa used to say to me. You can worry about things all you want but that doesn't mean you will get an answer every time, what's important is that when it's all said and done you got through it. Were you the person wanted to be?" He turned to her, "I know you're concerned but Duero will do everything he can to make sure that Meia doesn't give up. The only thing that matters right now is protect the ship and the infirmary, don't you agree?"
The redhead looked at him with a smile, "You're right, Mr. Alien. Thank you." Hibiki feels a warmth going through him from the way Dita smiled at him. Of course, he tries to cover it with some excuse.
He said, "Well...I'm sure she would say something like that if she were here."
Jura contacted them, "Listen up, everyone. Change the frequency of your barriers and beams, follow the data pattern I am sending you. We will protect ourselves from our own fire that way."
Hibiki grinned, "That's right, we still have a card to play!"
Nathan finds his wingman sitting on a bench outside of the ER, his helmet next to him.
He called out, "Worried about Meia, Grimm?"
The 19-year old snapped his gaze upward, "Oh, Captain! Uh...well..."
Nathan chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not here to scold you."
Grimm said, "I am concerned about Meia, Captain. I dread to think how the other pilots would react if they were told that she died."
'That's not the only thing, Grimm. You're falling for her, I can see it in your eyes.' The Razgriz Squadron leader thought.
Grimm asked Nathan, "You think she'll pull through?"
Nathan replied, "I have full confidence in Duero and Paiway, Grimm. Come on, we're needed back on the battlefield." The young lad stands up and the two start walking to the hanger, Grimm looks at the doors before putting his helmet on.
Inside the ER, Duero and Paiway look at Meia's CAT scans.
Duero informed, "The problem we have currently is the Paksis fragment that entered her wound. It's starting to invade her brain cells, creating reactions of its own. I don't know how long her spirit will last in the confusion that's attacking her central nervous system." Her mind flashes to more memories of her past.
One such memory involved her mother telling Meia not to hate her Ohma, saying that she's unapproachable sometimes but she would help those in need but it's because of this that Meia's mother fell in love with her and the reason why Meia was born. Her mother next said that Meia would understand one day when someone important showed up in her life. Meia, well her younger self, said that she didn't want that if that person got hurt because of her. Her mother assured that falling love in with someone is a wonderful thing because you become strong since there is someone to fight for. Meia retorted in that she would become weak because of it and asks her mother if she realized whose fault it is that they feel this way. In her heart, Meia regretted saying those words and hoped that she would get the chance to apologize one day.
In the realm of the living, Duero notices her vital signs changing and not in the positive way.
He spoke to her, "Hold on, Meia! Don't give up! Live, please!"
'I don't want to.' She thought.
The Harvest fighter's lasers penetrates another layer of the Nirvana's shields and hits the left wing.
Belvedere exclaimed, "Port side has been hit! The ship's starting to tilt!"
Amarone added, "Sections 3 through 5 have also suffered damage." BC can only stress out more as she rests her hand against an empty bridge control console.
Hibiki appeared on a monitor, "There's no use in getting stressed out about this. I got a plan I'd like to try."
Magno stared at his image, "And what kind of plan would that be? A suicidal one?"
Hibiki replied, "Nothing like that. Besides, when this battle's over I better expect one heck of a meal prepared for us."
The pirate leader smiled, "If your plan works then you can eat until you burst."
Blaze said, "Show me what you have learned, Hibiki."
The Tarak teen grinned, "That's a way I would like to go. I promise you won't be disappointed." He gives them a thumbs-up before his image disappeared.
Having fresh ammo added, Razgriz Squadron returns to their battle with Ofnir and Hamilton.
Spotting Hamilton closing in on the radar, Blaze hides behind an icy rock when the MiG-1.44 nears the object the F-15E Strikes Eagle leaps up in robot form and beam saber ignited, forest green eyes glowing brightly. Hamilton gasps and transforms his Flatpack and barely blocks the attack in time. Blaze suddenly swings his beam saber violently, causing the MiG-1.44 to skid back a few feet. The F-15E Strike Eagle leaps into the air and rapidly descends, aiming to drive the beam saber through the enemy's chest but the Flatpack rolls out of the way and changes into jet mode yet again.
Blaze said in boredom, "This again? You have to come up with new tricks, Hamilton." He pursuits his opponent.
Edge arms a Sidewinder to shoot down Ofnir 2, the missile tracks the heat from the engines and soon becomes loud.
She called out, "Edge, Fox Two!" The AIM-9 screams to its target but Ofnir 2 releases flares. The Su-35 executes a right turn and gets behind Edge for its GSh-30 cannon, Edge immediately takes evasive action. Performing a somersault, her F-15E Strike Eagle gets on the Super Flanker's 6 o'clock and Edge arms another Sidewinder. Ofnir 2 hears the missile warning and leads the heat seeking missile towards a cube-type and breaks left so that the cube-shaped enemy gets destroyed instead of him.
The Dreads form up on both sides of Vandread Dita in preparation to carry out Hibiki's plan.
He said, "Alright, tighten your seat harnesses everyone and let's take our enemy out with one shot." Inside the Emergency Room, Parfet hooks Meia up to a device that they hope will break up the Paksis fragment inside her skull.
She stated, "We only have one chance at this. If this doesn't work, Meia won't return to the woman we know." Once everything is set the engineer turns the machine on and she, along with Duero and Paiway, watch as Meia screams in agony until she suddenly flat lines. Shocked, Parfet automatically tries to think up some other way to bring the Dread leader back to them.
The Nirvana's forces wait as the hostiles rapidly close the distance and when the distance reads 900, they launch their attack.
Vandread Dita uses the gauntlets on its forearms to deflect the lasers as the Harvest fighter tests the blue machine's armor. It was strong but it's just a matter of time before it gives out.
Dita said, "I can't take it!"
Hibiki told her, "Don't give up now, the fun is about to begin." Extending its arms out, the cannons detach from Vandread Dita's back and interlaced with its gauntlets then Hibiki fires the weapons in all directions, the beams bounce off any friendly Dreads and this creates a giant swarm of lasers that destroy every Harvest unit in their path not even the dart-shaped fighter could outmaneuver this.
The personnel on the bridge look on at the fireworks display.
BC said, "What a crazy idea, deflecting his shots off our units' shields!"
Magno smirked, "Half baked one, yes. A damn good one at that, you bet."
Outside of the blast zone, Blaze descends from Hamilton's 2 o'clock high and arms an AIM-120D AMRAAM and upon gaining a lock, he fires. The advanced medium-range air-to-air missile zooms in and obliterates one of the MiG-1.44's tail fins. The cockpit of the Flatpack vibrates violently from the impact and Hamilton struggles to restore control of the aircraft.
Meia finds herself in a grass field. She feels no pain or fear, just peace and harmony. The blue-haired woman believes that she can finally rest.
Her mother said, "You must not give up, Meia." Meia shot to her feet when she saw her, "I didn't have the courage to step out into the world like you or your Ohma. My dream was a create a haven, one where you can feel peaceful when you came home whether you were happy or sad, full of energy or tired. A place where I can greet you with a happy 'welcome home' no matter what kind of day it was."
Meia cried, "No, you weren't the weak person mother, I was! I didn't have the courage to understand others, I was scared to show how I felt. I was afraid of not being liked."
Her mother said softly, "You are a woman with a gentle heart and strong willed, Meia. Please don't blame yourself anymore, you have nothing to fear. Open your heart to others, no one can live alone. Go back to the place you belong where people who are important to you are asking for you to come back." Meia hears the voices of different people until she hears the voice of Blaze and what he said to her.
His words were, "You are weak, not physically but emotionally. You have experienced something traumatic in your past that has caused you to become who you are now. Strength can only be achieved by accepting your weaknesses. That is why I advise you to sit this recon mission out." Meia begins to understand the meaning behind them. He wasn't ridiculing her but getting Meia to realize that she isn't perfect and by accepting her weaknesses, she would be able to become strong.
Two doors appear in front of her and both were calling to her.
The one to her left offered Meia a chance to find eternal rest and free from all of her torment and worries but in unending darkness. The door to her right offered Meia the chance to keep living and experience more hardship and pain but in light itself and have the support of those close to her.
The Dread leader makes her decision and chooses the door of living.
She slowly opens her eyes to see the lights of the ER above her and then Parfet and Paiway look at Meia with tears.
Paiway said, "You came back! Thank god we saved you!"
Meia exhaled with a smile, "Oh, stop it you two." She reaches up to feel her forehead but doesn't feel her circlet and starts panicking until Duero showed it to her, cleaned and ready for her to wear it.
He soothed her worries, "Don't worry, it's right here Meia. This is something pretty important to you, isn't it?"
Meia replied, "No, it's actually a lesson." Hamilton and Ofnir Squadron retreat from battle before the Ghosts of Razgriz can finish them off. They sustained damage in one form or another like Ofnir 3 being inflicted with engine damage or bullet holes in Michael Heimeroth's left wing. Razgriz Squadron watches them with the beam saber in the lead F-15E Strike Eagle's hand shutting off.
Archer urged, "Come on, let's finish them!"
Blaze ordered, "No, let them go."
Swordsman argued, "Why? This is your chance for retribution against the man who framed you."
Blaze stated, "We'll meet again, that I know. Hamilton will bring Grabacr Squadron at our next encounter, Swordsman. That way they will be shot down as one big family since Hamilton was trained by Grabacr." His radio beeped, "Blaze here."
Parfet said, "I have good news for ya. Meia has come back to us!"
Archer sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."
Blaze smiled, "That's wonderful news, Parfet. We're returning to base now." They land in the Nirvana's hanger as the salvage crew recover any valuable remains from the battle to complete the B-1R.
The Nirvana departs from the gas giant and at the moment, nearly the entire ship is quiet except for a few.
BC types in a bridge control console.
Ezra rubs her growing stomach as she looks at the endless blanket of stars in the ship's garden. She is relieved that they have survived the battle and that she can live to see the day of her baby being born.
Duero does a medical log with a sleeping Paiway behind her.
Meia sits on her bed wearing a nightgown that is surprisingly pink and her circlet once again resting over her left eye and face. She can't find herself to sleep so she puts her flight suit on and walks around until she enters the cafeteria where she spots plates stacked upon plates and bottles littered the tables. Earlier the crew had a massive celebration for winning the intense fight with their enemy. Normally she wouldn't stand for this as it was a breach in discipline but she lets it slide for today because she feels that they deserved it and they won without her help. She walks up to Hibiki, who is bare of his jacket.
Magno said, "They all did their best out there today."
Meia turned to see the aged pirate, "Oh it's you, captain."
Magno placed Hibiki's jacket on him, "It's ironic. He's the exact opposite of you, expressing his feelings when need be but he's won everyone's hearts and right underneath our noses. You two are very much like each other, Meia the only difference is whether or not you express your feelings."
The Dread leader said, "Captain, I..."
Magno asked with a smile, "Meia isn't it time to find some forgiveness, for yourself that is?"
Meia blinked in surprise, "I don't know."
Her superior closed her gray eyes, "I understand that it's not easy but it is a step in the right direction." The pirate leader turns and exits the cafeteria, leaving Meia to contemplate on what Magno said. She then realized that she needs to see one more person.
Nathan stands in the hallway outside of his and Nagase's room, the rest of his squad have retired to bed but he can't find himself to sleep because he had a lot on his mind like what will they do once this war with the Harvesters is over. He feels that there's no way in hell that either Tarak or Mejale will accept them and there is very little chance they'd be able to go back to their own time period. The 24-year old sighs as he felt that they will confront those problems one at a time. They still have a long way to go before reaching Tarak/Mejale territory to think about what to do.
He senses someone's presence behind him so he turns around to see Meia standing there but the look in her eyes didn't show contempt.
He said, "Hello, Meia. I wasn't expecting you to be up and about. It's good to see you chose to live." He gives her a friendly smile.
Meia felt nervous in fact, she feels a bit guilty about what transpired between them last month.
Meia cried, "I came to apologize."
Nathan raised an eyebrow, "Apologize? For what?"
Meia told him, "For the recon mission last month. I should've followed your advice and stayed on the Nirvana, I almost got you and the others killed because of my pride. Plus, I insulted you, Nagase and Chopper after the mission."
Nathan waved it off, "There's no need to apologize, Meia. Besides, I kind of blew up myself."
The Dread leader calmly explained, "But I want to. Please, hear me out. You are one hell of a fighter pilot and know how to lead a squadron."
Nathan smiled, "Well, thank you. You're an awesome pilot and squad leader yourself. I assume you will be taking command of the Dreads again?" He saw her nod, "Good because I think this will be the only time those ladies will take orders from a male like me or Hibiki." Meia gathers her courage on what she is about to ask him.
She wondered, "Nathan, can you tell me what Chopper was like?"
The Osean cocked his head, "Why do you wanna know?"
Meia answered, "Call it as a way to get to know you since we are part of the same crew now."
Nathan explained, "Okay. His real name is Alvin H. Davenport, Chopper was just his callsign. He was a close friend of mine, in fact all of us in Wardog/Razgriz Squadron were close friends. He was loyal and incredibly skilled in flying a fighter jet. His radio chatter would occasionally drive you nuts but he was cool. He was a fan of Rock n' Roll music, he had a collection of them. We saw some of the most intense missions but we wouldn't see the end of the war together because on November 29, 2010, we were performing a ceremonial flight over November City in Osea for a war speech when enemy fighters targeted the stadium with intent on destroying it. Sometime during the dogfight, his aircraft sustained damage that would later prove fatal. After downing the enemy fighters, a flight of F-117 Nighthawks came in to level the stadium but we were able to shoot them down though it came with a price. In deciding to wait for the people to evacuate, Chopper's electrical system to his fighter became so bad that it prevented him from ejecting. His last words were that he was going to miss AWACS Thunderhead's voice. Me, Nagase and Grimm watched in horror as his plane crashed into the middle of the stadium and we knew that he was dead. One last wave of enemy fighters was detected and something inside us just snapped in the wake of seeing Chopper crash, we shot them down with ruthlessness. When allied reinforcements arrived, the mission was over. Davenport received a posthumous two rank promotion to Lt. Colonel, outranking the rest of us since we were still Captains at the time of our 'deaths.' He was 29 years old when he died." Tears fall from his eyes as he told Meia that painful memory.
Meia said, "I'm sorry."
Nathan wiped the tears away, "It's alright. You know, I sense that Grimm is falling for you, Meia."
The Dread leader's eyes widened, "What?"
The 24-year old nodded, "Yep. He was concerned about you and how the crew would react if you died. Who knows? Maybe you and Grimm will become a couple." A blush appears on Meia's face when Nathan thought that they would make a great couple. Perhaps with Grimm's help, Meia might change her view on men in general.
'Me? In love with a male?' She thought.
Nathan stated, "Of course, it's still too early to know for sure. When you feel you are ready, you should confront him. I'm going to bed now. I hope we're on more stable ground in terms of relationship." He enters the room behind him and the door shuts.
Meia walks to her room, along the way she thinks about what Nathan told her about Grimm falling for her. Maybe when the time is indeed right, she'll ask him herself.
A/N: Chapter 6 done.
Here, Hamilton and Ofnir Squadron fought with Razgriz Squadron and narrowly escape being shot down.
Nathan told Meia about Chopper and they both apologized to one another about their behavior from the recon mission last month.
He also told her about Grimm falling for her.
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Stay tuned for chapter 7.
Vader 23A