I do not own Saber Rider or Seijushi Bismarck, don't sue me.

Chapter 4: Confrontation

April is heading towards the garage where Fireball tends to work on his vehicle. She walks in and practically walks right into Kevin. "Oh, I'm sorry," she states as she looks around for her friend. "I wasn't fully paying attention," she adds sheepishly.

"Let me guess, you're looking for Fireball?" Kevin asks while looking her over.

April nods. "I need to have a talk with him," she replies, a hint of anger in her voice.

Kevin chuckles, "Let me guess, you heard he was with some other girl?"

April looks taken aback. "No. It's something more personal. Now, have you seen him or not?" April asks, becoming more agitated.

Kevin shrugs. "I actually just got here. I've not seen him since yesterday afternoon."

April sighs. "Any idea where he might be? I've really got to talk to him."

"Have you gone into the garage yet?" he asks.

April shakes her head. "I was just about to," she replies.

Kevin nods. "Well, come on, you can just come with me, if you're fine with that." He leads her down a hallway and into the garage. "Fireball, you in here?" he calls out when they enter, his voice echoing. A thump, then the sound of metal hitting the cement floor followed by cursing is his reply. "I'd say he here," Kevin states, obviously amused.

"Why the Hell you gotta sca-" Fireball starts to say, only to stop when he spots April. "Oh, I didn't realize you were with him," Fireball says quietly, looking at April.

"We just happened to show up at the same time," April replies.

"I've got a few things to check on, I'll be back afterwhile," Kevin says, feeling the tension building. He turns and quickly heads back the way he came, closing the door after him.

"So, um, how'd you manage to escape your confinement?" Fireball asks light-heartedly, attempting to ease the tension. "It's been what a month now?"

"I'm at a point that I've got to wait for the new guy my father has coming," April replies, looking around to see if she can see anyone else nearby.

"New guy?" Fireball asks, obviously interested.

April nods. "Yeah. some guy from the English Federation Colonies. Supposedly the youngest to ever become one of the Queen's Elite," April replies with a hint of sarcasm. "I also heard he is the son of the Senator there, so I'm sure this will be fun. A spoiled rich kid."

Fireball chuckles. "Did your dad choose him?"

"That's the worst part. He did," April says obviously disgruntled.

"Maybe he's not as bad as you think. I don't see your dad choosing someone because of social status," Fireball states.

"I suppose so," she says glumly.

"So you just came to rant about being stuck with some strange rich guy?" He asks with a grin. His smile fades once he sees her expression darken.

"No, I came to talk about you, Shinji," April replies quietly, her eyes meeting his. "Can we go and sit somewhere a little more...private?" she asks.

Fireball nods. "Um, is my apartment okay?" he asks hesitantly.

April nods. "That will do just fine," she replies in a tone that makes Fireball more nervous.

They head upstairs and he leads her into his sitting area. "Care for a drink?" he asks, trying to avoid whatever it is she wants to discuss.

"No thank you," she replies with a shake of her head. "Please just come and sit. We need to talk," she says with her voice breaking slightly.

Fireball nods and reluctantly goes and sits across from her. "So, what is it you want to know?" he asks flashing her a smile.

April sighs and then claps her hands together, trying to formulate her thoughts. "How serious is the trouble you're in, Shinji?" she asks quietly, and then watches him for a reaction.

He stares at her in shock for a moment then swallows hard, "Your father said something?" he finally asks after a long, deafening silence.

April nods. "Said you have one more chance," she replies.

Fireball just nods slightly, not bothering to deny the truth in her words.

"Why?" she asks simply.

He stares at her and starts several times to refute her, but can't come up with anything. "I don't know. I don't like being bossed around I guess," he finally states.

"That's not an acceptable answer, Shinji. This is serious. You could go to prison!" April states, her tone becoming urgent.

He sighs. "I'm tired of everyone expecting me to be my father," he finally says, his tone becoming agitated. "I'm not him! I never will be!" He punches the cushion beside him as if to emphasize his point.

April stares at him in shock. "They know that. They just wan-"

"They just want me to be him, April," he says coldly. "All I hear is how great a man he was, how he sacrificed himself for all of us to stop the Outriders in the first war. They don't know what it's like..." his voice starts to break. "My mother might as well have died then too. She was never the same. She could barely stand the sight of me, said that I reminded her of too much of him." April starts to say something, but he presses on, not allowing her to interrupt, as if he's got to let all of it out, now that he's started. "She killed herself, did you know that?" April shakes her head, unable to speak from shock. "She overdosed on pills. I don't know all of the details, just that she left me to live here. I was already in classes when it happened. I thought your dad would have told you. Anyways, I got behind, and one of the teachers told me to push on and become a man. I had just lost the only other family I knew, and he acted like it was nothing! So yeah, I smarted off. I suppose that marked me, because things started getting worse. All I would hear is how much better my dad did on this and how he could do things so much better. I'm not him! I don't want to be him. I am who I am. Flying is an outlet for me, and it has gotten a little better since I was accepted into the pilot training program, but we got another instructor, and he seems to know that I've had problems and wants to make me quit, I think. I just - maybe I should quit, and just race. At least then I can make my own decisions and be my own person. I don't give a damn what my parents would think of me. They aren't here. I'd only miss you," he adds the last sentence as barely a whisper.

They sit in silence for several minutes. April wipes the tears from her face and takes a breath to compose herself. "Have you tried talking to my dad?" she asks quietly. Fireball shakes his head. "Why not? He might could help you. He knows you're a good pilot, he told me so. Maybe he could get your superiors to back off a little."

"I don't need coddling, April. I'm an adult," Fireball retorts, sounding a bit more angry than he intends.

"You're barely sixteen, Shinji. This has been a rough time, you need someone to talk to. Talk to me, I'll find time for you. I care about what happens to you," April says then stops, afraid she has said too much.

He looks at her and shakes his head. "This is my fight," he says pretending he didn't hear the last part of her statement. "I don't want to drag you into it. Please, just stay out of it." He stands up and starts for the door. "I need to get back to work. I have a race tomorrow."

April nods and stands up, heading for the door. "I'll try and come, okay?"

He nods and tries to avoid eye contact. "See you later."

She heads down and they part ways as she turns back towards the command center, he turns towards the garage.

"Ms Eagle, there you are. I've been trying to find you." Elise says as she sees the commander daughter, stopping when she realizes that she is upset. "Whatever is wrong, Ms. Eagle?" she asks hesitantly.

April takes a breath. "It's nothing. I just needed some air, is something wrong?" she asks becoming better composed.

Elise shakes her head. "The young man has arrived. Your father has him in his office and sent me to fetch you."

"Young man?" April asks confused.

"That one from the English colonies. Captain Rider, I believe was his name," she replies.

"He's already here?" April asks in a near panic. Elise nods. "I thought it was tomorrow. I guess I should run and change before going to daddy's office."

"I wouldn't take the time. They've been waiting for an hour," Elise replies.

April looks nervous. "Great. I'm sure this will go well."

"You'll do fine, Ms. Eagle," Elise says placing a hand gently on April's shoulder in a show of support. "I think you only missed the formalities anyways."

"Thanks, Elise," April says offering a weak smile. They head off, arriving a short time later at the commander's office. April knocks and is told to enter. She takes a breath to calm her nerves before entering the room. Her father and a young man sitting across from him stand up in greeting as she enters. After closing the door behind her, she comes up to the desk and stops next to the stranger. "I apologize for being late. I lost track of time, sir," April says casting an apologetic look to her father.

He father offers her a kind smile. "I was beginning to wonder if your were hiding inside one of the engines, Elise had such a hard time finding you."

"I was chatting with a friend," she replies. "I just didn't realize how late it was."

He nods, accepting her statement after studying her face for a moment. "Well, I want you to meet Captain Richard Rider," he says, nodding towards Saber.

"Hello, Ms. Eagle," Saber says offering a small smile and his hand in greeting.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, Captain Rider," she replies as she takes the offered hand and shakes it.

"Please, take your seats. We have a lot to discuss," the commander says and all three sit down and begin a lengthy discussion.

Sometime later, they are heading to their quarters when April sees her father heading towards her. "April, we need to talk," he says.

"I'll see you in the morning, Ms. Eagle," Saber says and she nods before he continues on to his quarters.

April unlocks her door and she heads inside, her father behind her. "What's wrong?" she asks.

"Shinji has left Cavalry Command," he states.

April drops down onto her couch in shock. "What do you mean he's left? He was kicked out?"

The commander shakes his head. "No, he went AWOL. One of his associates went to find him and he was gone, as was his vehicle. He reported it to his CO, who in turn told me. I've talked to Lance Corporal Kevin Nolan, he said last time he saw Shinji, he was talking to you."

April doesn't bother to hide her shock. She nods slightly. "I saw him about lunch time. I wanted to talk to him about his...problems."

"Did you?" he asks.

"Yes. He told me why he was getting in trouble. I told him to talk to you, but I didn't promise anything. I thought it would be good if you heard both sides of the story and that maybe you could offer him some advice. He said he was going to get ready for a race tomorrow. Last I saw him, he was headed back to the garage where he keeps his vehicle."

"When was this?"

"I was coming from his place when Elise found me," she replies.

Commander Eagle sighs. "I don't know if I can keep him from getting in trouble now. I wish he had come to me before it got to this point. I think we're going to need him."

"If we can find him, maybe I could convince him to come back and face some sort of consequences? I'll tell you everything he told me, daddy. It might help his case," April replies.

"Let me make some calls, and then I want you to tell me everything. Meet me in my office in an hour."

"Yes, sir," she replies and her father leaves to make the calls.