Chapter 38 – Closer to the Sun
November 29, 2010 1728hrs, November City, Osea
Shit! Alarms began blaring in my cockpit after that cocky bastard nailed me in one of my Raptor's engines. I was losing oil pressure at a steady rate and I only had a few minutes left in the air before I was forced into the ground, but I had faith in Kid. He'd get me out of here one way or another. I just had to hope that he was able to think of something in the midst of all this madness.
"Are you alright? You've been hit," said Grimm
"Ah, it's nothing big. I'm not wounded. I ought to keep this plane in the air a little longer," I said. In all honesty though, I was scared that I wouldn't be able to make it out of this alive. Lying was something I was really good at, so I tried to lighten the mood how I could. "Besides, planes are expendable, right, Kid?"
"I'd rather lose a plane than a wingman," he said and I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that he could still joke, even while wounded.
"Chopper, can you bail out?" asked Nagase.
"Well, that's kind of difficult right now," I said. I didn't want to crash my plane into a heavily populated city and have those people's deaths weighing on my conscience. On top of that, I had to worry about these damned Yukes killing someone as well. We were lucky that we were engaging them over the outskirts of the city so no enemy planes were crashing into any buildings and houses. I could've tried to bail out over there, but the rough terrain would've guaranteed my death. "There are still too many enemies in the air and there's nothing but houses down below. I can't leave this plane just yet."
"Can you still fight?" asked the Kid. Jeez, I was hoping you'd tell me to RTB or head somewhere I could bail out over.
"I'll stay up here as long as you need me, Kid," I said.
Even though I wanted this day to end and as much as I wanted solid ground beneath my feet, I had a job to do. These people were counting on me and I didn't want to let them down. On top of that I didn't want the others to die for my sake. I hated that the Yukes went this far to try and retaliate against us. And if I was going down, I was going to take as many of them with me. The last group of stealth fighters fell by my hands and I began to relax a little.
"That's the last of those guys. I'd better get out of this plane soon. Kid, do you see anywhere I could drop this plane?" I asked trying to hide my fear.
"Yeah, take it-" he began, but a Yuke fighter cut him off.
"Way to go, Captain! So where," I asked.
"The Stadium, Chopper, can you hear me? Drop it into the center of the stadium and bail out! Do you understand?" said Nagase.
I could sense the desperation in her voice and I knew that my death was going to bum the others out. As much crap as I've given them over the past few months, I thought they'd be a little less worried.
"Roger. Good Idea… gives me some hope that I just may make it. I'd better wait for the crowd to evacuate some more though."
I'm not going to make it… The stadium evacuation was proceeding too slowly and my plane was going to give out before it finished. I pretty much resided myself to death at this point and I was avoiding contact with the Yukes as best as I could. But then I began to hear something over the radio. It was full of static at first, but then I began to hear a voice.
"Captain Davenport, if you can hear us and if you want to survive and help your friends, I need you to listen carefully and do exactly what I say," said a woman's voice. "First lower your altitude and proceed towards grid 209568."
"Are you guys hearing this?" I asked the others, but I wasn't getting a response. "Kid, Nagase, Grimm, come in!"
"Captain Davenport, I need you to trust me. We've temporarily jammed your communications with the others so that I can instruct you. Please do as I say now!"
This whole thing seemed off. Someone was offering to help me without keeping the rest of the squadron in the loop. Even if they were the enemy trying to capture me, I wouldn't have been much use to them. "Alright, I'll bite. But if I die, I'm going to haunt the fuck out of you," I said.
"Good, hurry towards the location. I'm sending you a flightpath to follow as soon as you get there." I guided my Raptor towards the point which was over the southern end of the river that ran through the city. Once I got to the waypoint I noticed an F-22 fall into formation behind me and I thought that it was going to finish me off, but it just trailed me for a couple of seconds before I noticed that it began to spontaneously trail smoke. What's more I also saw that it had the same ID markers as my current plane. "Captain Davenport, guide your plane into the river and bail out."
"Why? What the hell is going on here," I demanded.
"I'll explain everything once I know you're out of your aircraft! Just bail out!" said the woman.
I was even more skeptical about all of this, but I was certain that I didn't want to die. It didn't take me long to guide my plane into the river and I pulled the ejection handle between my legs. I was worried that the thing wouldn't work, but once I heard my canopy blow I figured that I was only halfway there. It wasn't until I felt my harness tighten that I knew that I was going to make it. My seat launched me out of my doomed plane and I watched as the Raptor rolled over and sail into the river. There was no explosion and there weren't any civilians around either. The biggest relief of my life was when I felt the painful snagging of my parachute harness around my legs and groin area.
"Alright lady, I'm out. Time for you to keep up your end," I said into my radio.
"I'm sure you're well aware that your flight lead has some serious anger issues, correct?"
"I had my suspicions. What about it?"
"We've seen what he's capable of when his stress has reached its peak and it's not pretty. If you want him and the others to turn the tables on the Yukes-"
"…they need to think I'm dead…" I said.
"Exactly, we've set everything up for your death to be faked, but we still need you to play your part. Do you understand?"
I knew what the lady was getting at. Kid scared me more than a little within the short amount of time I've known him. When he told me the reason he joined the military, he aroused my suspicion to the point where I began to suspect he had friends in high places. I guided myself towards the street and landed in the middle of a deserted road while I thought about everything. The others were going to tear themselves apart thinking that they couldn't save me. Nagase would blame herself for this because I tried helping her only for me to end up like this. Grimm would try to stay optimistic about all of this and remember all the pranks and stupid bets we made with each other. He'd try to keep my memory alive and that's what would hurt him the most. Then there was Kid. I've never met anyone who was a determined and duty oriented as he was. Granted that he wasn't the most stable person I knew, but it was obvious that he cared for all of us.
"We've called back the allied fighters," said Thunder Blockhead over the radio.
"A little too late, man," I said glumly as I stared up at that chaotic sky. "There goes the radar. My circuits are toast."
"Look, forget about it Chopper, just bail out. Please, bail out!" begged Nagase.
"Okay, guess now's the time."
"This is Thunderhead. Captain Davenport, are you alright?"
Oh, now you care?
"Chopper, take it over the river," said the kid weakly and I pretended not to hear him.
"There's the stadium. I'm dropping the plane over there," I said. Off in the distance, I could see the Raptor that was following me turn towards the stadium and I ran to get a better view of everything after I took off my parachute.
"Roger, now get out," ordered Nagase.
The spot I ended up on was a footbridge that a great view over area and I could see the smoking Raptor pitching down towards the stadium. The others were too busy trying to fend off the remaining Yukes that were out to kill them. It amazed me how hard they were fighting just to stay alive, but it wouldn't be enough… unless they were pushed over the edge.
"I can't, the electrical system's all messed up. The canopy won't blow. The ejection seat's probably not working either," I said.
"You don't know that! Blow the canopy with your pistol and try the ejection seat!" said Kid.
"Don't give up, Chopper! Keep trying! Chopper!" shouted Thunder Blockhead.
Jeez, that guy annoyed the hell out of me. "I'm gonna miss that voice," I chuckled in my last attempt to be sarcastic and I took off my flight helmet.
"DAMMIT, DAVENPORT, GET OUT!" shouted Kid.
…I'm sorry, Captain…
The smoking Raptor nosed over into a steeper dive towards the stadium and I watched as a smoke cloud billowed up above it. When I looked back up into the sky, I could see that most of the Yukes had been shot down. I thought that'd be the end of it, but the sound of Yuke jet engines off in the distance made my heart skip a beat. There was another wave of Yuke fighters inbound and the others hadn't turned to engage them.
It was a good ten seconds before I noticed the Kid's plane turn towards them first. There were three quartets headed straight for him, but he shot all of them down like they were nothing. I knew the Kid was good, but I never knew that he was this good. Nagase and Grimm followed after him and mopped up the ones he missed. They were all out for blood and I didn't blame them. I'd probably do the same thing if I were them. But to be honest, the sight of them in this type of frenzy was terrifying. The way they flew wasn't human. I now understood why the Yukes called us, them, the Demons of Razgriz. We were all proud of that title. But now, it made me sick to my stomach.
"Captain Davenport?" I turned to look behind me to see a woman with shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, and a tight body approaching me. She was in her mid-thirties and was definitely my type of woman. It has to be the glasses. "My name is Director Abrams. If you would kindly follow me, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have for me."
"What the hell is going on?" I asked.
"As I said, if you'll please follow me, I'll explain everything. I'd rather not stand out in the open and risk a plane falling on top of us."
I followed the lady into a nearby building where she sat me down and explained everything that was going on. Our air defenses had been breached somehow and she believed that it was the same party that was involved with leaking our initial war strategy. This convinced me that Kid knew what he was talking about at the beginning of the war. Anyone would think that he was insane or a spy, but now I knew he was telling the truth. The only problem was that the whole truth was a bit too much for a guy like me to handle all at once. There was no way Kid was dug in this deep… then again he was full of surprises.
January 1, 2011 0828hrs, Oured, Osea
Blood ran down Choppers nose as I stood over him with my fists clenched. I had hit Chopper pretty hard after he finished telling us what happened to him and no one objected to what I did. Even though he still held his rank as a Lt. Colonel, Harkin knew that Rank didn't matter to me at the moment. In fact, he expected me to hit Chopper. No one said anything and they all just stood by in unapologetic silence as we all waited for Chopper to say something.
"You satisfied, Kid?" he asked as he wiped the blood from his nose.
"Far from it," I said as I cracked my knuckles in preparation to hit him again. "I bet we'd all like to make sure we're not all dreaming."
"Yeah, I'd like to make sure you're real too," growled Kei.
"Same here," chimed Grimm.
Everyone in the squadron except for Danny and Captain Snow began to close in around Chopper.
"Hey, just keep in mind, I still out rank all of you! I'll demote your assess to PFC if you even think about laying a hand on me!" said Chopper.
"You know the funny thing is, under any other circumstance, you've might have had a point there. Except we've been disavowed and pronounced dead. What you do you think your parents are going to say to me when they find out that I lied to them," I growled.
"Knock it off, Kid. He's been through enough as it is," said Harkin.
"And we haven't?" I asked.
"Look, I know how you feel. I'd like to knock his ass out too if I were you. But right now we have to figure out our next move."
"Our next move," asked Grimm. "I thought the war was over?"
"Well, yeah, we have to meet the president so that we can discuss a few things," said Harkin. "We have a job offer for everyone, but the President wanted to ask you himself. Take a shower; eat something, shave, or whatever. We're heading out in an hour."
Harkin got out of his seat and headed to the back porch while everyone else dispersed. I went straight for the kitchen and raided the fridge so that I could have some real food. My ham, pepper, and cheese omelets never tasted so good and everyone else seemed to agree. After I was done eating I took a quick shower and got ready to head out. Everyone piled into different vehicles while I drove my car with Naomi, Harkin, and Kei. The ride was spent in silence up until we were halfway there. It was here that one particular thought on my mind had bothered me to the point that I needed some advice for once.
"Hey, Colonel," I began and Harkin looked at me. "Why did you join IOSS?"
"That's kind of a hard question for me to answer, but the short answer is that I had to."
"And the full answer?" I asked.
"It's probably the same answer you'll come up with," said Harkin.
"That's pretty presumptuous," muttered Naomi.
"Then why did you join, Miss Kobayashi?"
Naomi was about to say something, but she stopped herself. When she rescued me yesterday, I had a feeling that she had joined up with them, but now I knew for sure. Knowing her, she'd tell me to avoid making the same choice any way I could, but it wouldn't be that easy. If I were to join IOSS, I'd do it because I wouldn't be able to lead a normal life. IOSS would be able to give me a new identity in exchange for my services. I could negotiate with them for some kind of deal, but it wouldn't be all that I'd hope for. However knowing myself, I wouldn't just keep my head buried in the ground knowing my ass was still exposed. Not just mine, but everyone else I cared for. The threats they faced were the same for the rest of the world. And in order for them to be safe, I had to rid the world of that threat.
"We're here," announced Harkin.
I hadn't realized we had arrived. It was more like I was on autopilot while I contemplated what Harkin said to me last night in the hospital. Anyways, we had arrived at Bright Hill's main gate where Harkin flashed his ID to the guards. They let us all through and I drove up the driveway that led up a hill. On top of that hill was a large white building with numerous security guards patrolling the place with shoulder launched SAMs, assault rifles, and guard dogs.
We arrived in front of the building and were greeted by security guards dressed in suits. They led us into the building and went up several flights of stairs and down numerous hallways so that we could arrive in the President's office. He was gazing out the window with Prime Minister Nikanor as they quietly talked among themselves. Everyone from my squadron and everyone who was at the safe house stood at attention while the heads of government finished talking.
"I'm glad you're all here," said Vincent as he turned to face us. "As you all know, the war is officially over. But as I'm sure some of you now know, there is still a threat out there that seeks to plunge our world into ruin."
"Though the war is over, both of our countries are still dealing with infighting within our government and the public, especially in my country," said the Prime Minister.
"Is that the reason you haven't returned to Yuktobania yet?" asked Harkin.
"We're still receiving reports from the Yuktobanian branch of IOSS on the situation over there. It's pretty bad because our soldiers are still over there dealing with pockets of resistance."
"What do you need me to do?" I asked them and everyone else looked at me.
"Aren't you jumping the gun, Kid? You just got out the hospital last night and you're already asking to be thrown back into the fire?" asked Chopper.
"Why else would they call us here?" I retorted.
"We don't require your services today, Captain," said the Prime Minister.
"Your actions in the past couple of days have inspired a lot of people. The battle Sudentor has made international news as well as the destruction of the SOLG. Numerous countries are now recognizing the Grey Men as a threat to our global security and we've already been approached by several other branches of IOSS for us to counter them more openly."
"Sir, with all due respect, we didn't even know about the existence of IOSS or the Grey Men until a few weeks ago. How can we do anything against them?" asked Grimm.
"We're well aware of that, but what we have in mind is something that requires your skillset," said Vincent.
"What exactly did you have in mind, sir?" asked Kyle.
"Our plan is to compose a combine an international task force composed of the best military personnel we have to offer," said the Prime Minister.
"Isn't that what IOSS is for?" I asked.
"IOSS's operations are highly classified as well as the Grey Men's. The Grey Men think that they've disrupted the alliance of our countries and that we'll remain at odds with each other from here on out. We want to show the world that our alliance is still as strong as ever in spite of the war. We've already shown what we could accomplish with the Arkbird, but it isn't enough," said Vincent.
"He's right. We must show that we are not just economic partners," said the Prime Minister. "It might take some time, but both of our government's loyalist officials are in favor of this motion."
"We'd be honored if you'd join this initiative. Of course you don't have to answer right now. You've all earned some time off. Enjoy the week off. That's an order from your commander-in-chief."
We all saluted and took our leave from the President's office. The other's followed my lead as I left to walk outside. I could feel their eyes on the back of my head as I stood in front of the building, gazing at the sky. They were waiting for me to say something like what my thoughts on this matter were or why they should or shouldn't join. I didn't know the right answer myself. Maybe I should've taken the risk and live with a target on my back, but I didn't want to fight for some stupid reason again. I thought it'd be nice to have some solitude, but as I began to walk to my car, the others began to follow me a little too closely. When I noticed this, I slowed my pace and they did the same.
"I forgot, the President still owes me another favor," I said and I headed back into the capitol building.
The others quickly followed me and I began to walk towards the president's office. However, when I went up the stair, I quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed a large cloud of mist around me. Everyone became disoriented and I used this moment to make my way past them and back out the front door of the building. I quickly called Harkin and told him what I did so that he knew that the President and Prime Minister weren't in any danger. However, that didn't stop the whole building from going on full alert and begin investigating any strange activity.
Anyways, I got in my car and calmly drove away from the building. The gate guards tried to stop me, but they soon received an all clear and let me through. I had to leave covertly because I knew someone wanted to stick with me to see what I would do next and I made sure that no one followed me. It was times like this that I preferred solitude over anything else in the world. It was just me and my thoughts as I headed towards the city of Eversole where I caught a ride on a ferry that would take me and my car to Canal Futuro. It was a peaceful ride on the ship and I was able to get a good night's rest for once. When I finally disembarked the ferry, I began to drive north.
I was following the interstate while I thought about what I would encounter once I reached my destination. As soon as I saw a sign that told me that I had reached Wesson's city limits, I felt myself gripping the steering wheel tightly. It's been nearly two years since I came to the city I grew up in. The people here were rude; the crime rate was nearly out of control, the military base had no real authority, and this place was boring as hell. Overall I hated this city, but I would never forget one particular summer I experienced here.
I continued to drive and I bypassed the city until I arrived at the edge of the great lake north of Wesson. The area was used as a grave yard and I parked my car so that I could get out and head towards a very specific plot on a hill. When I arrived, I looked down at an irregular shaped piece of polished granite that served as a tombstone. A wave of emotion swept over me as I sat down on the cold ground and gazed at the two names that were engraved on it.
"Hey, Miranda, it's been a while," I began. "So I saved the world again... me and my team anyways. They're a solid group of people and they stuck by me throughout the war that started in September. It was all another ploy by the Grey Men and no one figured it out until it was too late. Another thing that you should know about is that I ran into that fucker who killed our parents. I bet you're pissed that I let him go, but at least he knows not to come back. I don't know what you would've done if you were in my shoes, but at least I did a good number on him," I said and I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. "I got offered another job as a peacekeeper by the President of Osea and I'm not sure what I should do at this point. I'm tired of fighting and I bet you'd be too. But the thing that worries me the most is what'll happen if I don't. That's one of the things that I could really use your advice on. Should I pass the mantel on to someone else, or should I carry this burden for as long as I can?"
I continued to sit in silence and I closed my eyes so that I could meditate. I could've easily walked away from all of this and never look back. Some people might've been disappointed by this, but overall they wouldn't be able to do anything. The person who took my place was going to shoulder the heaviest burden in their entire life. However, this whole war against the Grey Men was partially my responsibility. They wanted me dead and they were still looking for me. They knew that as long as I was still alive, then none of their plans would ever run smoothly. The more I thought about all of this, the more apparent it became that I couldn't just sit by and let someone else do what I set out to do. And knowing Miranda, she'd take on this job to protect the people she cared about. As much as I didn't want to admit that Harkin was right when he said that the reason I would accept this job in the initiative was because I had to, I had to come to terms with it. This has to be some kind of cruel joke.
Someone couldn't have planned this far ahead in order for me to continue my involvement with the Grey Men, IOSS, or war in general. There was no way that all of this was planned. Everything just seemed too convenient for me to actually accept the initiative's offer. Maybe it was just perfect timing. I don't think I'd ever know to truth, but that didn't stop me from laughing at the fact that I was stuck between choosing chocolate flavored shit and shit flavored chocolate. Whatever the choice I made, I would be forced to fight no matter what.
"Alright, if I'm going to fight, then at least I'll fight for something worthwhile," I said as I got up off the ground. "I'll try to visit you as often as I can. I love you both. And Camilla, take care of your mother. Can you please do that for daddy?" These were the last words I said to them before I placed my hand on their grave and turned to walk back towards my car. But just as I was about to get in, Harkin pulled up in a taxi with a bouquet of roses in his hands. "You followed me, didn't you?"
"Not exactly," he replied. "I figured that this would be the first place you'd come to visit. Also, I was wondering why you went through the trouble of ditching the others the way you did."
"I didn't want them feeling sorry for me. Naomi's probably telling them everything she can without trying to reveal anything I don't want them to know," I said. "Sir, did you know that I was going to end up having to join IOSS or this initiative?"
"What do you mean?"
I laid out everything that was on my mind to Harkin and my concerns about my inevitable future. Judging by his reactions, none of this was planned by IOSS or anyone. This was just another idea that was inspired through me and my team's actions. They also used this as an opportunity to reel me into this initiative.
"So there's no way for me to go back into hiding?" I asked.
"My hands are tied, kid. IOSS is the only way for you to live as 'normal' a life as you can," Harkin sighed. "Look, Antonio, I never wanted any of this for you. Even when I baited you into joining the military, I was hoping that you'd never make the same mistakes I did."
"Why?" I asked. "Why would you go out of your way to do all of this for me?"
Harkin looked away and walked over to Miranda's grave so that he could place the bouquet of roses on it. "The truth is I guess I'm trying to make up my failure as a father. You, your mother, and your sister are the closest thing to a family that I have left. But the one thing I'm most certain of is that I'm afraid of losing any of you." If Harkin had told me this earlier, I would've been mad at him. The thought that he was trying to fill the position of my 'dad' was kind of weird, but I really appreciated him for it. As for his son and ex-wife, I actually felt sorry for him in a way. I could understand his son resenting him for not being there for him, but Harkin deserved a chance. He was a good man unlike my dad. "I know it's kinda funny for me to tell you all of this, but that's the reason I go out of my way for all of you. If anything were to happen to you, it'd probably be because I didn't do anything to stop it. This is the reason I fight. And if you were to ask me if it was worth," said Harkin and he looked at me. "My answer to you would be, yes; it's all worth fighting for."
When Lt. Colonel Harkin spoke words of wisdom, he knew just how to do it. Sure I was tired of fighting, but nobody was going to fight exclusively for my loved ones. This was true for anyone. I might not have thought about it before, but I saved a lot of people by doing what I did in the past. Maybe that's why I rose through the ranks so quickly. Anyways, I didn't have a doubt in my mind anymore about what I should do and I had my mentor to thank for it.
We traveled back to Oured the next day and spent the next couple of days doing whatever until we all met up to give our answers to the President and Prime Minister. Kei was reinstated into the OADF as a reserve. She decided that she wanted to pursue a career at Basset Space Center with the ultimate goal of rebuilding the Arkbird. She told me that she met up with her sister over the break and kept her mother in the dark about her survival.
Chopper was offered a position as an analyst for IOSS, but declined to assist with Osean veterans with PTSD as a member of the IOSS medical staff. He even got himself set up with a pretty sweet deal working with his parents. Needless to say, they were shocked and overjoyed when they found out he was alive. Chopper also went on to finish his doctorate in his field and tried numerous times to pick my brain with no success due to my lack of cooperation.
Hans continued to serve in the OADF as an instructor at Heierlark AFB once he got promoted to Captain. He was one of the more mellow instructors that proved to be more of a challenge for any of the others he worked with. He and Erica continued to date each other for a couple more years before they got married. Last I heard she was five months pregnant with a baby girl.
Erica landed a job at a University where she managed to advance the effectiveness of civilian airlines by making their planes easier to maintain while becoming more cost effective. She got in touch with me one day to tell me how she could ease Rico's burden with aircraft maintenance to which he was overjoyed.
Michelle pursued her interest in art to travel the world where she made a small name for herself. She would travel to the most exotic locations and would even send me and the others postcards with sketches regarding her adventures. She eventually settled down in Onslow, Osea and opened a hobby shop that sold everything from crafting materials to comic books. Naomi was one of her best customers because she was always buying fabrics from her through her website.
Kyle stuck with Michelle and got a job as a software engineer at a major cable company. He managed to pull some strings and hooked everyone in the squadron up with free high speed internet and movie channels. He would try his best to schedule group video calls with everyone, but there were always a couple people who missed out. These nights weren't as fun as when we all got to meet up in person, but we appreciated the sentiment behind them.
Justin stayed in the OADF, but decided to keep his feet on the ground. He was handling logistics over at McNealy AFB and even worked with Kei on several occasions regarding work on the Arkbird's redesign and construction. Even though the nature of the project wasn't for the military, it greatly benefited the combined efforts of Yuktobania and Osea in this project. He even let it slip that this project was a precursor to something even greater.
Captain Snow retired from the military altogether, but it wasn't enough to keep his feet on the ground. He became a police chopper pilot in Shelton. The crime rate there was moderate but it mostly consisted of grand theft auto. I heard that his car was stolen as well and he flew for twenty hours straight trying to find it. When he did, the thief turned it over without a fight because of Snow's size.
Danny stayed in the OMDF and was now flying himself. His RIO was fresh out of the flight school and would bitch about how erratic Danny's flying was. It made me smile knowing that he was finally getting to experience how it was to fly with some prick in the back seat screaming in his ear.
True to her agent's word, Naomi lost her music career and wasn't able to renew it. After the news had spread throughout the world, she eventually fell off the radar. No one knew what happened to her and numerous investigations were conducted by concerned fans. It didn't take long for anyone to assume that she was dead, but that was far from the case. She was living a normal life under her real name and went back to her old job at a PR firm. She still had her position at IOSS, but she was very careful with choosing her assignments unlike me.
Everyone was happy with what they were doing. I on the other hand was traveling all over the globe, hunting any leads on the Grey Men. Exposing my true identity to the world like this wasn't really something that a wise man would do, but then again I was still a kid. When I wasn't traveling, I was hiding. No one was able to keep track of me for long and I couldn't keep in long term contact with anyone. The Grey Men knew better to go after them to get to me because I had uncovered so many vital pieces of intelligence that acting on a single one could severely cripple them in one way or another. The only reason I didn't do it was because it would throw the world's balance out of order again and IOSS wouldn't have been happy, but they knew I would do it if they tested me which was why the left my mother and sister out of their retaliation. The only catch was mom and Amanda had no idea what I was doing and I rarely got to see them. This was one of my least favorite parts of the job.
A couple years had passed since the war ended and I had managed to take some time off from globetrotting to visit Wingfield, Osea. When I got to my destination, numerous cars were parked in the circular driveway and I had to park on the curb. I got the box of materials out of the trunk of my car and headed towards the front door only to be greeted by a butler with a British accent.
"May I help you, sir?" he asked.
"Yeah, Chopper is expecting me," I said and the butler raised an eyebrow at me. "Alvin is expecting me."
"Oh, Mister Castillo, I hardly recognized you with your goatee and longer hair. I thought military regulations required you to keep your hair short."
"I'm not exactly part of the military," I replied.
"Oh, my mistake, sir," he said. "Anyways, everyone is already here waiting for you. Right this way, sir."
The butler led me through the house until we got to the back patio. It was strange seeing everyone from the squadron again. Everyone had changed a little from the last time I saw them, but Grimm seemed to have changed the most. He was more muscular and I thought it was because of all the lifting he did with his three month old daughter and it looked like he'd gotten taller.
"Kid?" asked Chopper as he looked at me.
"Who you calling 'Kid', Alvin?" I retorted.
"Whoa, you look so much manlier now."
I felt myself blush because this was the first time someone didn't actually comment on how young I used to look. It took me a while to grow out my patchy facial hair to get a good enough goatee, but I wasn't as happy about that as I was to grow my hair out again. I was allowed to work in my own element and no one could say anything about it.
"Thanks, I guess," I said as I ran my fingers through my hair. "Is everyone else here?"
"Yeah, they were wondering when you'd show up. I tell ya, Nagase wouldn't shut up about how she couldn't wait to see you again."
"I was not!" I looked over towards the gazebo to see Kei talking with Michelle, Kyle, and Chopper's dad, Paul. "I was just wondering if he was still out of the country."
"Well, I'm here," I said sarcastically and everyone headed my way to greet me.
It was great being around everyone I flew with, but more people showed up later. Major Bartlett, Nastasya, Pops, Genette, Rear Admiral Andersen and his wife, Brigadier General Harkin, Naomi, my mom, Amanda, and a lot of others showed up to our gathering. We all mingled with each other for the rest of the night. Chopper was insistent that I man the grill after someone brought up the cook out on Sand Island before the attack on November City. I didn't mind it, but some people just had to complain that a steak shouldn't be cooked well done. How can anyone complain about the juiciest well done steak they've ever had?! After everything settled down I found myself sitting alone on a reclining lawn chair, gazing up at the night sky again. The nostalgic sense of camaraderie among us was pleasing. But the choice I had to make tomorrow was bothering me and I didn't want to bring anyone else down.
"Are you alright?" I sat up and looked behind me to see Kei standing there with two beers.
"I was just thinking," I said as I took one and Kei sat on the chair next to me. "After all this time away from each other, we can all still gather like this and talk like the past two years of distance hasn't affected our group."
"Well we did fly through hell together. I think something like that is impossible to forget," she said. "Hey, Blaze-"
"I'd appreciate it if you never call me by that name again," I interrupted. "I've left all of that behind me."
"…yeah, I guess I can understand that… I just wanted to know why you didn't retire."
"That's kind of a complicated question. It'll take some time to answer that."
"We've got all night," said Kei smugly.
I gave her an annoyed glare before I sighed and told her the reasons I stuck with IOSS. When I told everyone my thoughts on joining President Harling's initiative, everyone said they'd follow my lead no matter what it was. However, they weren't too thrilled when they heard I was going to stick with IOSS. Kei didn't want to accept this because she thought I'd turn into a warmonger of sorts. The others were afraid that they'd never see me again, but here I was continuing to make a difference in the world. My work focused more on espionage, but that was dangerous enough as it was. As much as I wanted to tell the others about this, I couldn't.
"My job isn't something I really enjoy, Kei, but someone has to do it," I said.
"I know. It's just that… I was supposed to be your wingman through all of it," she replied.
I wanted to go off on her because of all the grief she used to give me on my integrity within the group. She meant what she said about going through hell and back with me, but I couldn't understand how she would do that if she didn't fully trust me. "Then why didn't you?" I asked.
"... I was scared that I'd see you die," she said softly. "I'm still scared that you won't come back from one of your missions and it'll be all because of me."
You left me because you didn't want to see me as a monster! "I'll survive… I always do."
"You don't know that," she muttered.
"Well, if you feel so strongly about it," I began as I got up from my seat. "Then make sure that I do. You have three days to make you decision, Major Nagase. But you better make damn sure that you don't regret it." I left Kei alone with her thoughts and headed back to join the others under the gazeebo.
"Hey, Major, what's up?" asked Erica.
"I was just wondering what your final thoughts on this task force were," I said.
"I'm for it," said Kyle. "The thing that bugs me though is that announcing it to the public is going to draw a lot of attention, both good and bad."
"You'd think that they'd have it ready a couple years ago. I wonder what took them so long," said Michelle.
"There was still a lot of red tape that prevented our governments from getting it off the ground. But I guess the pressure you've been putting on them is beginning to finally pay off," Nastasya said to me.
"You know, I get that this task force is supposed to unite the world, but haven't we already done that with IOSS? Why are we going to dump more money into a task force when we already have an international peace keeping organization?" asked Chopper.
"IOSS's roles are only espionage and sabotage. They're not equipped to fight large scale battles," I said. "This task force is really just another way to showcase our alliance with each other."
"Seems to me like you think this is just a waste of assets, Kid," said Major Bartlett.
"It sort of is, but I'd rather have Yuktobania's military support in the future should anything go wrong," I said. After what I've found out, we'll need it.
"I pretty sure we won't need to use the task force in the future, but I do like the idea of a stronger alliance," said Grimm.
"You're still as optimistic as ever, Grimm," muttered Chopper.
"There's nothing wrong with that. I bet you could learn a thing or two from Captain Grimm, Lt. Colonel," said Nastasya.
We all chuckled at her comment and carried on with our conversation. It wasn't long until Kei joined us and we all continued to talk about miscellaneous topics. It was like we were all on Sand Island again, but this time we had better food. We've all come a long way since then and it seemed like it would last forever.
June 28, 2013 1218hrs, Oured, Osea
Everyone one in the squadron and a handful of others had finally given their answers to President Harling's personal request to join his task force. Almost everyone agreed and we underwent a ceremony to officially join with other members of Yuktobania and Osea. There were some familiar faces and others who were unfamiliar, but we were all there for a common goal.
Today was a whole lot different. The others had left to their new duty stations while I remained at Bright Hill to oversee a council meeting regarding the creation of the taskforce and the Osean defense budget. It came as a shock when I found out that Sand Island AFB was going to be shut down as a gesture of trust between Yuktobania and Osea. The base's operational budget would now be used to fund the taskforce while the harbor facilities would be used to bring in tourist who wanted to visit the smaller islands around the base.
"Mr. President," asked several reporters simultaneously, but Vincent picked only one of them. "Even though all countries involved have pretty much recovered from the Circum-Pacific War, why are most of the records, regarding the conflict, still classified?"
"Is there something specific about the war that the majority of the people want to know?" asked Vincent. Smart man…
"To be completely honest, sirs, the question that almost everyone wants answered are the ones regarding the Aces of Razgriz. The records that have been made available to the public suggest that those four pilots have been shot down and killed on December 7, 2010. However there has been a lot of speculation about the survival of these pilots. They were believed to be the ones who stopped that UFO from destroying Oured in 2010. If they are in fact the same people, what have they been doing between the time that they were shot down and the end of the war?"
Vincent wasn't permitted to answer this question fully for security reasons and the same went for Prime Minister Nikanor. The world was in a delicate state right now and disclosing all of that information would put a lot of important people in a difficult position. But knowing Vincent, he had the right words to keep everyone at bay for a while.
"The world may not seem like it, but it is still recovering. Those men and women that formed the Aces of Razgriz were not the only ones to accomplish great feats of success during the war, but not everyone realizes that. I understand everyone's yearning to know about the war and our governments have decided to release the information sometime in 2020," he said and everyone he was addressing in the room began to murmur among themselves. He had to say something in order to inspire them to be patient and focus on the peace we had achieved. "We must let time shed light on the truth behind this conflict. In the meantime, the world has already begun to head down a new path. And this path shall go on, as long as the blaze of fire that shines through the darkness is not extinguished."
I smiled at the President's words because I knew that he was a great leader. Sure, there were people who wanted him dead, but he had one hell of a security team watching over him.
"Hey, Major," called one of his body guards. "It's almost time for you to head out. You don't want to keep everyone waiting now, do you?"
I took one last look at the President and got off the rail of the balcony I was leaning on to head out of the building. The sun was shining brightly and a cool breeze was blowing though the city. It was a wonderful day to be alive right now and I was going to enjoy it. My destination was several miles away, but I decided to walk while put in my earbuds and played the music on my phone. Everyone I saw along the way was smiling and I even got to take a closer look at wall that had a bunch of graffiti on it. It made me smile when I saw words of peace and prosperity. If only all of humanity could unite under these ideals. This thought was on my mind up until I arrived at my destination at the CDAC base. There were no planes on the flight line and all the ground crews were in the hangars.
"Hey, Major," I heard Rico call out from one of the hangars. He still had that goofy looking smile on his face when I turned to look at him. Some things never change. "Everyone already left without you. I was beginning to think you went AWOL."
"Yeah, well, there are times when I like to enjoy solid ground beneath my feet," I said as I walked into the hangar and got my flight gear. "You're not gonna give me a ration of crap for not wearing a flight suit are you?"
"As long as you don't crash my bird, I don't mind your jeans and t-shirt. Just make sure you bring her back in one piece," he said and he pointed me towards a jet black F/A-18E.
A bittersweet smile formed on my face as I donned my flight gear and looked over my plane. The Razgriz emblem on the vertical stabilizer was standard for the group and here I was without them. I'm never going to hear the end of this. I got in the plane, fired up the engines, and taxied onto the runway. As soon as I got clearance from the tower, I throttled up and began my takeoff roll. Lifting off into the clear blue sky on a day like today was the icing on the cake. Even though it had been only a week since I last flew, I missed it. However, flying alone was no way to experience this feeling.
"It's about time you showed up. I was about to lead us over Oured in a missing man formation," said Kei over the radio. I looked over to my left and saw her fall into formation on my wing.
"I was beginning to think you didn't want me flying with you again, Kid," said Chopper as he fell into formation as well.
"It wouldn't be the same without your banter, Chopper, but it feels great to be doing this with all of you again," said Grimm.
"Yeah, but I seriously hope you don't fly like you normally do, Skip (skipper)," said Michelle.
"Oh come on, it's the Major we're talking about here," said Erica.
"Try riding in the same plane with him," muttered Kyle.
"Just remember the world is not at war, you mug," said Danny.
"If you're too scared to join him, you can always join the rotary wing," teased Naomi.
"Alright everyone, settle down," I said and the remaining eight planes of the squadron joined the rest of us. "We've got a long flight ahead of us and I plan to enjoy the view. This is what peace looks like and it's our job to make sure it stays like this, you got me?"
"Aye, sir," said everyone in unison.
"Alright, let's go," I said as I pulled into a climbing right turn into the sun with everyone else in tow. I didn't know what the future held for us. The possibilities were as endless as that wide blue sky.
The End
I want to thank every one of you for reading my first fan fiction and for all of your comments and reviews. Like seriously, it warms my heart knowing that there was a group of individuals out there wanting to read more of my work and I also appreciate how patient you've all been with my updates. You guys are the only reason I decided to keep writing. I plan to write more in the future and I'm also going to continue my other work in progress, The Ribbon. If you haven't checked it out yet, I suggest that you do so that you can get a better understanding of Antonio's life as Mobius 1 and how it all ties into The Aces of Razgriz. But hey, you don't have to. For those of you who are already reading it, I'm not sure if you're receiving the update notifications because I haven't. I'm still working on it so check on it once in a while if you haven't received the notifications. Anyways guys, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all again for reading my first attempt at an Ace Combat Fan Fiction. You all are so awesome. Thank you.