Chapter Quote:

"Memory is a way of telling you what's important to you."

~Salman Rushdie

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Chapter 4: The Northern Eye

Brian

One night, a spirited group made their way into the bar, chased out the sullen army grunts, and commandeered the place.

Even I knew who they were.

The patch on their sleeve was the mark of the proud air force.

A loud-mouthed, middle-aged man went around, announcing each pilot's results for the day and his running kill record. For those who exceeded five kills, a thorough toasting- and soaking followed. I believe it was their custom to call a pilot an "Ace" once he shot down five planes.

After completing the day's review, the same guy- the squadron adjutant- went on to announce, "And now, for our leader's results!" Everyone turned around to look at the quiet man who sat alone, strumming a guitar. I found myself drawn to the music from his guitar. "Our Yellow Thirteen bagged three more today, bringing his new tally up to sixth-four kills."

With a tentative smile, the man with the guitar turned to me and asked me to accompany him on my harmonica. I brought it up to my lips, and he started a new song.

I had finally found him.

But by some fluke, it was my father's favorite song, the one he used to play at the end of each day.

When Bryn finished reading the letter, I had a flashback of that night, staying in the bar until all the Eruseans drunkenly stumbled out of the bar. But Yellow Thirteen stayed behind a little while longer and talked to me, learning my name and how I learned to play the harmonica. Afterward, he walked me home to my apartment to ensure I arrived safely.

I remember wanting to hate him. I did hate him because he was the reason my parents were dead. He was a monster. But how could a monster be so nice? They couldn't. So was he one?

Deep thoughts for an eight-year-old, I know.

"How do you remember what you were doing at eight years old?" Felicity asked. "I can barely remember what I had for breakfast, and we only ate a few hours ago."

I shrugged. "Photographic memory?"

"That would actually make a lot of sense. What was the name of your dad's favorite song?"

"You've Lost that Love and Feeling by the Righteous Brothers. Can you believe it was Yellow Thirteen's favorite song, too?"

"You know, stranger things have happened," Bryn said. "Funnily enough, that's the song my cousin's husband sang when he proposed to her the second time."

"What happened the first time? Did she say no?"

"Oh no, she said yes. But then he was injured in battle and kept flying his plane, only landing it when everyone evacuated the stadium, but his canopy wouldn't open, so everyone believed he crashed and died, but he didn't, and it turns out he was alive but captured by the Belkans."

"Wait, that sounds like Blaze and Chopper, from what I remember from their interview."

"From what I remember." Felicity snorted. "You watched it so many times, you probably have it memorized word for word."

I glared at her but said nothing, unable to come up with a good retort because, unfortunately, she was right. I lost count of how many times I watched the Razgriz interview and the subsequent ones, but it was a lot. Certainly, more than I could remember, even with my fantastic memory.

"I'm talking about Blaze and Chopper," Bryn confirmed. "The amount of times they've died is unnatural. I swear they really are demons sometimes."

"How many times?"

"Chopper once, and Blaze technically died three times if you count her being shot down as Wardog, leading everyone to believe she was dead for a little bit... so four? Two of those times were literal. That's what happens when you've been stabbed in the stomach and then have a pregnancy complication."

"I'd say an angel is watching over her, but I think Razgriz- if it really exists- has decided she still needs to be around," I said. "Do you think you ever had an angel watching over you?"

"I don't know when Lucky died, but I'm positive it was before my last mission, and so I think he was. Part of me wondered if he was Yellow Thirteen because the day I shot him down was the last day I heard from Lucky. Or maybe he was in Yellow Squadron. I've never been able to find out." Despite her steady tone, I couldn't help but notice the sadness flicker in her eyes. I wondered if I could find out for her since my dad knew everything about Yellow squadron.

Deciding to change the subject, I asked, "Speaking of Yellow Thirteen, when do you meet him? What mission?"

She smiled. "Patience. Trust me, we'll get there. As for my next mission, this is what happened."
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Bryn

Miranda and I sat in the briefing room, staring out the window at the howling winds. A cold front had moved in overnight, and you could barely step outside without being blown all the way to Osea. If that happened to me, I'd say hi to my cousins: Elizabeth, Genette, and their uncle Jason. I'd never actually met Jason, only heard about him through the other two. He'd been a fighter pilot during the Belkan War, a mercenary. I always wondered if he knew the Demon Lord, the man who inspired me to become a pilot, but never got the courage to ask. Everyone probably asked him that question anyway. Maybe I could talk to Elizabeth and Genette about that...

I noticed Whiskey making his way inside, scowling at the weather, and I said, "I bet you twenty bucks he makes a comment about the wind."

"Whiskey never talks about anything but work. You're on," Miranda agreed, shaking my hand. The two of us faced the door a couple seconds later to see Whiskey walk in with the rest of the pilots behind.

"It's not normal out there. The wind must be blowing eighty miles an hour," he said, logging onto the computer. I held out my hand, and Miranda grudgingly handed me the money. Noticing, Whiskey asked, "What's that for?"

"Just a bet we had going on," I replied, smirking at my friend. She flipped me off in return. "So, what's the mission for today?"

"Sit down, and I'll tell you."

Obeying, I took a seat in front. Miranda went to sit with her squadron on the other side.

Whiskey loaded the briefing and began speaking. "The Allied Forces are retreating, and survivors are gathering at the northern point of St. Ark. However, the radar facilities atop Mt. Shezna provide tactical support to the enemy. As a result, our evac mission is in jeopardy. If our troops can successfully evacuate and regroup at North Point, they will become a formidable force in future battles. Your mission is to destroy the radar facilities on Mt. Shezna, thereby blinding the enemy and hiding our troop movements."

Operation: Whiteout

Location: Mt. Shezna

Date: 10 October 2004

Time: 1628 hours

"Well, that sounds easy enough," Miranda said, coming up beside me as I shot Lucky a text about my mission. I shoved my phone in my pocket before my friend could see what I was doing. I didn't have anything to hide from her. Still, sometimes I didn't want to talk about him to her, especially with so many people around.

"Don't say easy. Never say easy. Bad things happen when we say easy," I replied. We headed towards the hangar to get our planes.

"We're literally just destroying radar facilities and probably a few jets. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You're really asking for it, aren't you?"

"Probably. As long as we're not up against Yellow Thirteen, I think we're safe."

"Yellow Thirteen?" I repeated. I'd never heard about any pilots from Erusea, let alone this Yellow Thirteen person, but he had to be good if Miranda mentioned him.

"He's this super ace for Erusea. No fighter pilot can go up against him and survive. Rumor is he's looking for someone to kick his ass."

"He obviously hasn't met us yet."

Miranda threw her arm around me. "You're damn right about that. He couldn't handle us."

"Probably because you two talk so much," Murray joked. We both glowered at him, forcing him to sheepishly apologize and scurry off to his plane.

"I love having the power to do that," Miranda said with a blissful sigh.

"Don't let him hear me say this, but he might have a point," I told her. "We do have an impressive ability to talk non-stop."

"Like you're doing now," Whiskey interrupted. "You two better get in your planes before the Base Commander reprimands you. Again."

Saluting him our thanks, Miranda and I hopped into our jets and prepared to take off. She and her squadron led the charge, but I was close behind. I didn't have my own unit, but Halo team basically served under me too.

Given clearance to take off, I shot down the runway, quickly lifting in the air and falling in line behind my comrades. It didn't take long to get to the combat area.

"So, what's the wager today? Who's going to have more kills?" Paul asked when we neared the battle zone. "Angel or Ember?"

"I am not getting myself into that debate. Both of them already want to kill me after my comment earlier," Murray said.

I laughed. "Don't worry. We're not going to kill you here. We need you right now."

"Yeah, you need me here. What's to say you won't shoot me down after we win this battle?"

"Then you better hope you brought a coat. It's pretty damn cold outside," Miranda told him. I glanced at the snow-covered hills below us, glad to be in the warmth of my plane. It'd suck to have to eject out in this.

"Thanks, Captain. It's good to know how much you appreciate me," Murray responded sarcastically.

"This combat area is within enemy airspace. Keep an eye out for bandits," warned SkyEye. "Use vector 180 to return home after destroying the target. Remember, a safe return completes the mission."

"You hear that, Captain? Ember? A safe return completes the mission. Means if I don't return, the mission fails," Murray said.

"Oh no, it only refers to captains," Miranda replied. "So you're shit out of luck."

"Damn it..."

Flooring my engines, I shot past my companions, taking the lead. Looking at my radar, I announced, "Bandit approaching. You got it, Angel?"

"I see it. You go on ahead. We'll get this," she said. But as the plane approached, I took a gamble and locked on, firing missiles at it. Both hit, destroying the bandit, and causing Miranda to bitch at me for showing off. I told her to get to my level. Pretty sure she flipped me off, even though I couldn't see it.

"This is Shezna Radar One. Bandits approaching vector 135."

Were we picking up enemy transmissions again?

"One of our planes was hit!" an enemy exclaimed. "Keep an eye on those escorts."

That answers that.

"Two more planes, Angel. I take one, you take the other?" I asked.

"You going to follow through on that this time?" she countered. I confirmed I would as I shot missiles at one of the incoming planes. I refrained from firing my guns at the other one, allowing my comrade to get it in one swift swoop.

"Engage hostile aircraft and keep them from the radar," an enemy commanded.

As if on cue, a radar station appeared on the apex of a hill. I dropped an XSDB (Advanced Small Diameter Bomb) on top of it, effectively eliminating the target.

"Target destruction confirmed," SkyEye said.

"Let's do this!" Paul exclaimed.

"You get any more excited, you're going to crash," Murray told him. Halo team had finally caught up to me as I took on the first cluster of radars. I'd dropped another bomb on them, but it only damaged the buildings. Miranda followed closely behind me while her wingmen circled the sky to protect us from any enemy fighters.

I turned my plane back around after my first run, setting my sights on the remaining radar. Miranda took the one that was two hills over. We effortlessly destroyed them, causing Murray to go, "Yahoo! Good going!"

"Yahoo should remain a search engine. Not an exclamation of joy coming out of your mouth," Miranda quipped.

"Now that's just rude. Is it pick on Murray day? Is this payback for earlier?"

"Do you really need an answer to that?" I asked.

He sighed. "This is going to be a long mission..."

"Radar One, do you read me?" an enemy inquired worriedly. Quiet fell over the radio for a few moments, causing the man to say, "Shezna Radar One's gone silent!"

"Ember, that was supposed to be mine!" Paul said after I destroyed a bandit coming at me.

"Well, I'm heading to the next target area, and it was there, just waiting for me to shoot it down. I couldn't resist."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Any planes that slip past me on the way to the next area, you can have."

"Gee, thanks."

"Or you can get ahead of me and fire on them. But you have to catch up to me first."

Paul snorted. "Not all of us are lucky enough to have planes as fast as the Raptor."

"Get to my level, and one day you will."

"Your level is impossible. I'm not as good at sweet-talking as you."

"She can sweet-talk anyone but a guy she likes," Miranda said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who do you like?" Paul demanded.

I groaned. "No one. I'm just shit at flirting in general when I like a guy. Let's just focus on the mission."

"As much as I'd like to interrogate you about this potential love interest, I agree," Paul said. "Target confirmed on the summit."

"Target acquired," I replied, noticing it in the distance.

"Radar Base Two at vector 290. Four miles," SkyEye informed. I closed in rapidly on the location, switching to special weapons and launching an XSDB. I proceeded to swerve away to go after an enemy fighter, going back to missiles and firing at them. I destroyed the plane. Turning back around, I found out my bomb annihilated a majority of the radar base. Only a few targets remained. While I fired on them, Miranda took care of the two fighters above, watching my back. Sometimes I wondered what I'd ever do without her.

Quickly wiping out the rest of the station, SkyEye said, "Target destruction confirmed."

I didn't know why he had to announce it every time. I knew I'd destroyed it, and so did my comrades. Considering we were the only ones out here, there was no one else in need of the information. Maybe SkyEye just liked the sound of his own voice.

"Ember, hate to break it to you, but you missed the radar," Miranda said.

"I did what?! How the hell did my missile not decimate that thing?" I groaned. "What's that thing made of?"

"Don't worry, I've got you covered." I turned around to see Miranda shoot a missile at close range and take out the radar. Suddenly my alarms started blaring.

Mission Update

"Fighter squadron here," Paul began, "mission accomplished."

"SkyEye here. Radar facilities confirmed destroyed. All aircraft, take vector 180 south."

"We all alive? Good," Miranda said. "Hey Ember, I told you that'd be easy."

"Yeah, yeah. One day, your words are going to bite you in the ass," I retorted.

"But not today!"

"Mobius One, perform landing check. You are cleared to land."

The interruption forced me to focus on landing my plane safely. How I'd ended up on an aircraft carrier, I'll never know. While I'd performed exceptionally well on the test for it, I still hated landing on them.

Slowing down my plane, I leveled out. If I was too high, I'd miss the carrier. If I was too low, I'd crash, and it'd be bye-bye Ember.

No matter how many times I did this, I still tensed when I landed, but it was perfect every time, including today. The control tower operator even said, "Nicely done, Mobius One! Go and prepare for your next sortie."

Oh god, I hope there's not another one today...

Mission Accomplished

As my plane was lowered into the hangar, Whiskey came on and debriefed us on the mission. "With their radar out of commission, the enemy's command and control is degraded. The evac and regrouping efforts are proceeding as scheduled.

"I expected more from that if I'm being honest," I said.

"Me, too," Miranda remarked. "You'd think after saving our allies from being seen by the radar, we'd get a little more credit."

Paul came on. "How much fame do you two want?"

"Enough that gives us more money than we're making. I've racked up quite the phone bill," I admitted, omitting the reason behind my extortionate bill. Lucky was worth it, but I'd be damned if I didn't say my paycheck paid the price of it.

"Write a book," Murray suggested.

"I'm a fighter, not a writer."

"But, are you a lover?"

"I'm still in an armed plane, you know."

"Fighter it is."

I grinned. "Smart boy."

I waited for Halo Team to be brought into the hangar before getting out of my plane. The five of us headed to the mess hall to get something to eat. Flying always gave us an appetite, and today was spaghetti, which was one of the better food days on the ship.

Paul, Murray, and Gary walked ahead of Miranda and me, the former two deep in conversation. Leaning in close, Miranda asked, "Did Lucky respond?"

"Oh, shit! I forgot to check!" I exclaimed, scrambling to grab my phone.

A text from him waited for me, and I hastily opened it, reading: Good luck! Love you!

Unable to hold back my smile, I sent him a response back, saying I'd returned safe and sound with only my patience for my friends in jeopardy. It made him laugh, and we decided to talk on the phone later after I ate to avoid me getting 'hangry.'

"Aww, he said he loved you!" Miranda said, clasping her hands together. "I'm calling it now, you two are getting married."

I shook my head. "You're delusional. Come on, let's go eat."
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Present day...

Brian

"Have you met the Demon Lord too?" I asked, unable to hold in the question any longer.

"I did. I actually flew down to for Chopper's proposal to her with my cousin Talisman and met him for the first time. We stay in touch, but I'm not as close to him as I am to Blaze. She's kind of the glue that holds us all together," Bryn said.

"I'd love to meet him one day."

She began laughing. "Would you like to meet my entire family?"

"Yes. Yes, I would," I admitted unabashedly.

"He'd probably forget how to speak for five minutes if he ever did meet them in person," Felicity said. "He'd be so star-struck."

Bryn grinned. "Would he drool a little?"

"Probably."

"I'm right here, you know!" I protested.

"We know." Felicity smirked at him, then glanced down at Mobius, who was pawing at her. "I'm going to take him out. I think he needs the bathroom. I'll be back."

Felicity and Mobius left the kitchen. Ember and I discussed the battle some more as I barraged her with questions. I asked a lot about Miranda, wanting to know how they knew each other. Apparently, they'd attended college together, although Miranda was a couple years older than her. However, they'd been stationed on the same carrier and had become an unbeatable pair throughout their time together.

When Felicity came back in, she shook snow out of her hair and said, "It's a bloody blizzard out there. I don't know if you'll be able to get back to town, Bryn. Is your suitcase at your hotel?"

"No, it's in my car. I didn't book a place. There were enough Bnbs open, and I figured I'd just walk into one."

"You're welcome to stay here," I offered. "Both of you. If it's a blizzard, you shouldn't be driving in it."

"I wouldn't want to intrude. I've already caused enough trouble today, showing up unannounced and all. Besides, I don't know if your dad wants a stranger staying in your house," Bryn replied.

"I have Felicity with me, so I wouldn't be alone. And if I tell him who you are and why you're here, I'm sure I could convince him that it's okay. Let me call him and explain the circumstances. Excuse me."

Before she could argue, I darted to my room, dialing my dad. He picked up on the first ring and said, "Hey, what's going on? You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I just had a question," I said.

"What's up?"

"I have a friend here who I don't want driving in the blizzard that is currently raging outside. I offered to let her stay here, but she doesn't know if you'd be okay with it."

"If you're talking about Felicity, you know I have no problem with her staying the night."

"It's not Felicity, but she's here also. I've told her she can stay too. But is it okay for my other friend to stay as well?"

"Who is it? Do I know them?"

"Technically," I replied, cringing. How was he going to react to the bomb I was about to drop on him?

"So, remember that letter I sent to Mobius One? The one I never heard back from?"

"... Yes. Did you finally get a response?"

"Even better. Mobius One herself came. She's here. In our kitchen. Regaling Felicity and me with her missions. It's amazing!"

My dad said nothing as my words sank in. He'd heard of Mobius One, and previously being in the Erusean Air Force, he'd fought her before. The news was, understandably, shocking.

"Dad?" I prodded, hoping I hadn't put him in his early grave with a premature coronary. "Hello?"

"I'm coming home," he eventually said. "I'm booking my flights now. I don't know when I'll be there because everything's canceled because of that damn storm."

"Okay," I said. "Is it okay if she stays here then?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Try and get her to stay as long as possible because I need to meet her."

"You're not going to kill her, are you?"

"Of course not. I need to meet her to see if she can help me regain the blank spots in my memory about the war. Does she know who I am yet?"

"No, I haven't told her. I've kind of been worrying that if she does, she'll leave."

"Smart. Keep it that way. I'll tell her. I'll see you soon, kid. I love you."

"Love you too, dad." We hung up, and I went back downstairs, deep in thought over my dad's words. He'd lost a lot of his memory after being shot down. Dad regained most of it, but there were still some blank and fuzzy spots he'd yet to recover. Quite a bit of those memories were from the war and his childhood. He didn't have any pictures of himself as a kid because his parents died during the war, and he couldn't remember any friends. Well, all but one, but he couldn't find them no matter how hard he tried. Dad assumed, sadly, they'd died in the war. All he had left of them was a photo of them as kids that he'd had in his pocket when he was shot down.

"So, what'd he say?" Felicity asked.

"He said you're both absolutely welcome to stay. Besides, even if he didn't, I'm pretty sure neither of you could get out of my driveway. How much snow is out there?" I peered at the backyard through the patio doors. "That looks like a foot. Easily."

"Yeah, and it looks like the storm is showing no signs of stopping. In fact, it's decided to stay right on top of us according to the weather channel," Felicity said, scrolling through her phone. "We might be here a few days. Good thing I have extra clothes in my car."

"You do?"

"I always come prepared."

"And that includes stuff for a sleepover?"

"Of course."

"Are all girls like that?"

"Maybe not with clothes, but we usually do come prepared for a lot of things," Bryn said. "Where would you like me to sleep?"

"Let me go grab your suitcase, and then I'll show you your room," I offered. Smiling, she agreed, and the three of us went to her car. However, all I could think about was my dad and his reaction, and if Mobius One really held the key to unlocking the rest of his memories.
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