I think this has my quickest update of this story since last summer.  Shocking, right?  Here’s a fun little question for you: What was Blaze’s original nickname before Kid?

Have fun :P  Here’s the next chapter.

Quote of the Chapter:

“I never complain about my missions, what I’m doing now is not complaining.”

~Chopper (from Acepedia)

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Reconciliation

Pixy 

Two days ago, December 19, 2010…

I watched as Blaze ran up to President Harling, whispering something into his ear and handing him a small slip of paper.  I could see Harling smile before stepping onto the helicopter and saluting the pilots that had saved our lives just a week and half ago.  It seemed like an eternity since then.  I must admit, being on the Kestrel was much better than being in Stier castle where the Belkans look at you, and you can just tell that they would kill you in an instant if they weren’t on orders to keep us alive.  They would’ve loved to kill me.  They all knew me personally.  I was a traitor to their country in their eyes…my country as well.  But if your country would willingly kill you for fighting for freedom, I don’t see how there would be strong feelings of allegiance right there.

“What’s that?” I inquired, nodding my head towards the paper.  Harling said nothing but he did give me a small smile.  I looked out the small window of the helicopter; I could still see the Kestrel.  It was rapidly disappearing as the helicopter flew over the icy landscape but I could just make out the shape of six figures: three girls and three boys.  Instantly I could see which one was Blaze because although the sky was overcast, her hair had this ability to act like a beacon in any light and you could find her without any difficulty.  Nagase and Cassie were next to her.  Snow stood behind Blaze.  He was easy to figure out because that guy was big… length wise, not width.  I couldn’t figure out which one was Genette and which one was Grimm because they were about the same height and they had almost the exact same color hair, a light brown.  I think it was Genette who was taller, but not by much.

I glanced at Harling who was conversing with the pilots.  You would think I would be nervous being right next to the President but actually, I was surprisingly calm.  Perhaps it was because he was so calm himself, or perhaps it was because I had been stuck with him in that castle for so long.  He didn’t act all pompous like a lot of politicians I had met, and I’ve met quite a few, including the notorious Waldemarr Rald.  I may be Belkan, and I know that Belkans should always want to serve their country, but after meeting Rald, I would rather serve any other country but Belka.  Rald is a psychopath that will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  He always gets what he wants.  I should say that a majority of the world’s population believes him to be dead.

I know better.  I don’t trust anyone to be dead unless there’s a body as proof.  The countries that had fought against the Belkans in the war fifteen years ago had searched relentlessly for Rald, but found nothing.  It was only recently that they stopped looking, claiming him to be dead, only about a year ago.  Harling had been against it, along with Nikanor and Yusupova (President of Ustio); however, the COA (Ceres Ocean Alliance: abbreviated as COA and pronounced like “cow.” Don’t ask me why we created an alliance with an abbreviation that is pronounced like cow…) were overruled and the search stopped.  Of course, that didn’t mean Harling had completely given up.  While Nikanor took the decision gracefully and didn’t argue any further, Harling secretly teamed up with Yusupova and together they created a top secret group of people from all branches of the military, Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines, and agents of the OIA (Osean Intelligence Agency) and UIA (Ustian Intelligence Agency).  I had been part of the operation since the beginning, being a part of the Ustian force; in total, there were fifty of us.  We were a small group but our determination and dedication was so strong that size barely mattered. 

We started to find leads that Rald was still alive, that he was hiding.  They were simple clues that could easily be overlooked, and they had been when the countries as one had been searching for him, but when we looked over the evidence we had gathered and checked, it was then that we started finding the real clues.  There had been reports of Waldemarr Rald look-a-likes all over Belka, but everyone that had been searching for him had dismissed it.  Well, we decided to look over them again.  Naturally, there were some photos that made us wonder how the hell people thought the person looked like Waldemarr Rald.  On the other hand, there were a fair few photos that had a man that resembled Rald.  We did a photo analysis on each one and we had five photos that were marked as the same person.  We started searching for him.  No one but our group, Harling, and Yusupova knew about our mission to find the guy.

And then somehow, how plan was found out, and one by one, we disappeared.  The first was a guy named Jackson Nuremburg.  We still haven’t found him.  When over half our group had disappeared, Harling decided to go talk to the leader of Belka, Prince Eric van Goth.  Yusupova was caught up in other affairs and was therefore unable to attend the meeting, so he sent me as an ambassador.

We left October 22, and that was the first time I had ever heard of the Sand Island Squadron.  I was listening to the chatter over the radio through my headphones and I could hear everything that was going on.  I started laughing at some points of the conversation between the pilots.  I hadn’t realized that I would very soon be meeting the people who would ultimately save my life.  There was some guy named Chopper but I knew he wasn’t on the Kestrel because I would’ve met him because I could tell he and Blaze had a thing for each other, if they weren’t already dating.

Then, when I was rescued by the Kestrel’s forces, I heard them over the radio again, but only barely because I was almost unconscious.

_____________________________________________

Two days later, December 19, 2010…

I was in the President’s house in his living room.  He had finally given in to his obvious exhaustion.  We had arrived secretly which was no small feat.  Guards were posted all over the grounds now, with AK-47s locked and loaded.  I wished I could join them instead of sitting around here doing nothing.  It was never like me to sit around and do nothing.  I even knew how to work an AK-47 because I had fought in the Usian Continental War, fighting against Free Erusea.  They were as bad as the A World With No Boundaries.

It was three in the afternoon as I sat there staring at the piece of paper Harling had given to me two days ago.  Actually, the paper was from Blaze because she had told Harling to give it to me.  On it was a phone number.  I didn’t think it was Blaze’s because even though she was very attractive, she was bit young for me.  I didn’t like to date girls that much younger than me.  Besides, from what I heard over the radio chatter when I was captured, she seemed pretty in love with that Chopper guy.

I reached for my cell phone.  Flipping it open, I dialed the number.  It rang three times before someone picked it up.

“Hello?” A deep voice answered.  I wondered why on earth Blaze had given him some random dude’s number, but on the other hand, the voice did sound strangely familiar. “Hello?”

I realized I had spaced out trying to figure out who this guy was. “Hello.  This is Larry Foulke.  An acquaintance of mine gave me your number.  I’m not quite sure why to be honest.”

There was silence.

“Hello?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yo buddy, you still alive?” The voice asked, sounding cool.  I dropped my phone unceremoniously on the floor from the shock of the guy’s sentence; it was very un-Belkan of me to have that type of reaction.  Hurriedly, I picked it back up.

“Cipher?” I managed to ask.

“I was wondering when you were going to call me,” Cipher said as if he talked to me every day.

“But how-”

“But how does Blaze know me?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s my niece, Genette’s my nephew.”

“She flies just like you, you know,” I said.

“Does she?  I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing.  How are she and Genette?  She told me that Genette was fine and that she was dealing with Chopper’s death but I don’t really believe that.”

“Who is Chopper?”

“He was Elizabeth’s fiancé.  He died during a combat mission: a flyby over November International Stadium.”

“I never knew that…” I said.  Poor Blaze.  So that’s who Chopper was.  No wonder she always had a faraway look in her eyes when she thought no one was watching.  No wonder her determination to shoot down the BAF was so intense.  Her fighting reasons had turned personal.

“She doesn’t like to talk about it.  She took it pretty hard…” Cipher said sadly. “So how did you meet Elizabeth anyways?”

“She saved my life, twice actually.  Mine and the Presidents.”

“That’s my girl,” said Cipher, obviously proud of Blaze. “What happened?”

I went into the whole story, how I had joined looking for Rald and how I had been sent as an ambassador for Yusupova and captured by the Belkans.  Cipher whistled. “Damn, Pixy.  What is it with you always ending up in those crappy situations?”

“Yeah, tell me about it.  My arm is still healing but I get the cast off in a few weeks thank God.  So tell me how you’ve been… buddy.”

I heard Cipher chuckle. “Pretty well, I’ve just been lying low these last few years, moving from one place to another.  I’m kind of paranoid about the Belkans finding me and trying to kill me.” I snorted. “How about you?  I mean besides almost being killed twice… and having your arm in a cast… and being hunted by the Belkans again?” Cipher asked somewhat sheepishly.

Good ole Cipher.  He really reminded me of Blaze at that moment because she did the same exact thing when she was asking questions and forgot to add something, where she would ask the main question, pause, add something, pause again, and repeat.

“I’ve certainly had better days but I’m all right for the most part,” I said.

“That’s good.  Have you been flying lately?”

“No.  You?”

“Haven’t been up in the air since December 31, 1995.”  Naturally, I knew that date as if it were my birthday.

There was an awkward silence between us as I sighed.  Being around the Ustian forces for so long had made me more like them and less like a Belkan.  I didn’t like that feeling. “Not our best moment.”

“We were trying to kill each other… well, I wasn’t but…”

“I was mad, Cipher.  I hardly remember anything from that day… what happened to your wingman?  I mean, I know he lived but he didn’t seem inclined to talk to me when I met him.”

“PJ?  You met him?  Well, he managed to bail out before your laser seared his plane into nothingness.  He was in the hospital for a few months from head trauma but he’s fine.  He’s living happily in Ustio right now with his wife and kids.”

“Yeah.  I met him.  An interview about you with this reporter named Brett Thompson.  Long story… What about you?  Where do you live?”

“Southern Osea but I’m in Oured right now.”

“Why?”

“Pleasure.  Thought I would see the capital for once.”

“I didn’t realize we were so close,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just outside of Oured.  I probably shouldn’t be telling you this…”

“Why?”

“I’m with President Harling at his house.  He’s planning on taking back the government,” I said, just deciding it was Cipher and that I could trust him.  I had always been able to trust him in the past, so why not now?

“Tell Harling I say hi,” Cipher told me.

“Why?  Do you know him?”

“Yeah.  He’s been helping me keep hidden from other governments.  I owe him big time.”

I saw Harling come down the stairs, looking more refreshed but still tired. “Listen, Cipher, I have to go.  I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Yeah, all right.  Stay alive, buddy.”

“You’re the one that has to have protection.  I should be telling you that.” Cipher laughed but said nothing. “Stay alive, buddy.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!”  Cipher hung up.  I was grinning.  It was good to be talking to the practically the only friend I ever had.  I was never really a people person.

“Who was that?” Harling questioned, yawning.

“An old buddy of mine,” I replied.

“Cipher?”

“How’d you know that?” I asked, trying to hide my shock.

“Educated guess.  Listen, I’m forming a plan but I need you to agree to it,” President Harling said.

“Sir, you’re the President of Osea.  You could do anything you wanted,” I pointed out.

“I know, but that’s not how I like to run.  I like to give people choices.  My plan involves inviting a person to join our cause, however, although you might not mind conversing with him over the phone, it might be different in person.”

“Are you suggesting we involve Cipher?” I inquired, dumbfounded.  I mean sure, I enjoyed talking to him on the phone but what if he was only being nice to me over the phone.  Knowing my shitty luck, he would knock me out the minute he saw me in person.  Honestly, I wouldn’t blame him.

“Yes.”

_____________________________________________

December 22, 2010…

Blaze 

I knocked on Geller’s door with my shoe, concentrating on not spilling my tea and his coffee; his muffled response told me I could come in.  Balancing his coffee on my arm, I carefully opened the door.

“Here, take it before I drop it,” I ordered.  Geller got up and took the coffee cup from me gratefully.

“Thank you, Miss Blaze,” He said, sitting down on his bed.  I shut the door and sat down in my chair.  I had designated it my chair because I sat there every single time I came to visit him.

“Sorry I haven’t been able to come visit you.  We’ve been receiving messages from my old captain and we’ve been trying to figure out where he is exactly.”

“Your old captain?  You have not always been captain?” Geller inquired curiously, taking a sip of his coffee.

“No, it’s a long story though.  Anyway, so how are you?”

“I am well.  How are you holding up?”

“I’m good.” Geller raised his eyebrow, telling me he knew I was lying. “Okay, fine, I’m still upset that we had to destroy the Arkbird but I know it had to be done.”

“That is what I thought.”

“You’re worse than my brother,” I retorted.

“What do you mean?”

“He can always see when I’m lying just like you.”

Geller just grinned before excusing himself to go use the bathroom.  I started to think about everyone else and if they could tell I was lying and that I was fooling myself into thinking I was a fantastic liar.  The thought didn’t settle well with me but I knew it was a possibility.

I let my eyes wander around the room.  There wasn’t much to see except the water and frozen land outside through the porthole.  My gaze lazily drifted past his dresser and it was then that I saw a piece of paper, photo paper by the looks of it, underneath it.  Glancing at the bathroom door to make sure he wasn’t coming out, I grabbed the photo.  In it was a woman, late twenties or early thirties, with raven hair and startling green eyes.  She held a small girl in her arms, probably only about four.  The girl looked just like the woman.

“Where did you find that?” Geller snapped, snatching the photo out of my hands.  I hadn’t even heard him come out of the bathroom.  Damn…

“I found it underneath the dresser… who are they?” I asked softly.

Geller sat down on his bed, staring at the photo.  His hands, I noticed, were slightly trembling. “My wife Rowena and my daughter Helena.”

“They’re both beautiful,” I told him.

“I love them so much.  I miss them terribly…” Geller placed the photo on his nightstand and stood up to stare out the window. “I met Rowena in high school.  She was a sophomore, I was senior.  The first time we met, we hated each other and would pick on each other constantly.  Then I graduated and when I came back two years later, she rear ended me because some car slammed into her car.  The only thing we had was whiplash from the entire thing.  Anyways, it probably wasn’t the best time for me to ask her out on a date but I did and she accepted.  After that, everything just sort of clicked.  We were married two years later.  Helena was born a year and a half after we were married.”

“How old is Helena?”

“Four.  She’ll be five in January.  I wish I could be with them right now.  Rowena… she is sick and I am not sure if she is going to make it.”

“Would you mind if I asked what is wrong?”

“She has cancer.  It is the second time she has had it.”

“She’s so young to have it already, not to mention twice.”

“I know and that is what scares me.  The more it returns, the weaker she gets, and I do not know when her last day will be.  But when that day comes, I want to be there with her… but now, I do not know if I’ll be able to.”

I was silent, not sure what to say.  Geller looked so forlorn looking out the window that I could hardly stand it.

“I’ll be back,” I said suddenly, leaving the room.  Geller looked bewildered but said nothing.  I headed straight to the bridge where Pops and Andersen were.  Thankfully, when I got there, they were alone.

“Pops?  Captain Andersen?  May I speak with you?” I questioned, shifting uneasily from foot to foot.  I was probably going to have my head ripped off for what I was about to propose.

“Yes, Blaze?” Pops replied.

“I wanted to make a proposal but you need to know that background of my reasoning first.  What do you know about Geller besides that he’s in a part of the Belkan military?”

“We know he was part of an operation to create some military software.  We’re still trying to figure out what software it is.  We also know that he’s married, has an only child, and has a sister.”

“Did you know his wife has cancer?  For the second time?” I asked quietly.  Pops scrunched his eyebrows at the new information.  Andersen bowed his head.

“How old is she?”

“I think only about twenty five or twenty six.”

“That’s horrible.  I feel bad for him.  So was that what you wanted us to know?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell us, what is your proposal?”

“I wanted to ask your permission before I told Geller but I would like to do an interrogation on record and in return for him giving us correct and truthful answers, we will let him call his wife and daughter.”

“Blaze, what you are proposing could be dangerous to our cause.  He could send a secret message and then we could be destroyed,” Pops pointed out.

“I know, that’s why he’ll have a limited time to talk to her and I’ll be present when he does talk to her,” I argued, trying to keep the pleading out of my voice.

“I don’t know Blaze…” Pops said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Please, I don’t think he will do anything to give away our whereabouts.”

“Are you getting attached to Geller, Blaze?” Andersen inquired calmly.  His question shocked me, more from the absurdity of it than Andersen insinuating that I liked Geller.

“No!” I declared vehemently.  In a calmer tone, I added, “It’s just that I get where he’s coming from.”

Andersen and Pops looked at each other.  A telepathic message seemed to pass between the two.  Hopefully they weren’t agreeing to put me in a mental institute…

“All right, you can do this Blaze but I caution you, what you’re doing could easily be the death of us.”

“I know.  And if something happens to us because of what I’m doing, I’ll take full responsibility.  Be in the interrogation room at 1500 hours.” I turned on my heel and walked out of the room to go get Geller.  He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling but turned his head when he heard me approach.

“Where did you go?  You ran out of here like a cat out of hell,” Geller said.

“Bat, not cat,” I corrected.  When Geller looked at me blankly, I added, “Bat out of hell.  I ran like a bat out of hell.”

“Oh.  All these idiots confuse me,” Geller said, shaking his head.

“Idioms, not idiots,” I corrected again.  Geller swore in Belkan. “Listen, I didn’t come to correct you on the Osean language.  I came to get you because you’re going to the interrogation room.”

Geller jolted up on his bed, his eyes ablaze with fury. “Is that why you went running out of here?  So that you could get me in the interrogation room?”

“Yes and no.  Yes, I’m the reason you’re going to be interrogated.  No because I made a deal with Pops and Andersen and if you answer our questions truthfully, and we’ll know if you do or don’t, there’s a surprise for you at the end.”

“What kind of surprise?” Geller queried warily.

“Something I know you want to do but I can’t tell you just yet because we need your full cooperation.  Do you agree?”

There was a long silence; I was worried that he was going to refuse, but with a certain amount of irritation in his voice, he agreed.  I breathed a sigh of relief and told him to follow me.  We walked through the winding corridors to the interrogation room with guards in front and behind us.  Pops and Andersen were outside waiting to greet me.

“Blaze,” Pops and Andersen said, nodding their heads.

“Sirs,” I replied, saluting.

“At ease Captain; Guards, escort Geller into the room,” Andersen commanded.  With a look of reproach aimed at me, Geller let the guards take him into the room.

“Let me do the talking.  He won’t expect me to be the only one interrogating.  Besides, he’s more comfortable around me,” I informed, staring directly at Pops.  For some reason, Andersen’s ice blue stare at the current moment was making me uneasy.

“All right.  You seem to know what you’re doing, but please, don’t make us regret this,” Pops told me, a certain amount of pleading in his tone.

“I promise.” I walked into the interrogation room.  Geller didn’t even bother to look, already expecting Pops or Andersen… or both.

“I will only talk to Blaze,” Geller said furiously.

“I know you’ll only talk to me,” I said, shutting the door.  Geller snapped his head in my direction.

“What is all this about, Miss Blaze?  What do you want to know?”

“I want to know about this software you designed for the Belkans.” I started walking in circles around the room.  My nerves, along with a sleepless few nights, were giving me the jitters and it helped me to be up and about.

“It was top secret software.” 

“What was it used for?”

“They did not tell me what they would be using it for, just that they needed something that was practically impossible to decode.  I did as they asked.  I and the people I gave it to are the only ones who know how to use it.”

“Who are they?  And who are the people you gave it to?”

“My bosses are the ones who ordered me to make it.  I do not know who it was for though.”

“Geller…”

“I do not know!” Geller declared heatedly.

“All right, I believe you.  Tell me, do you know about the Belkan Nationalist group called the Gray Men?”

“Of course.  Everyone in Belka knows who they are.  They are legends.”

“Do you know if they still exist?”

“Of course they do.  They have always existed, but they choose to show up at certain times, such as during the Belkan War.  They are participating in this war as well, that I am sure of, but I am not sure of what part they are playing in this whole affair.”

“Do you think they are the ones who are using your software?”

“It would not surprise me. A group as radical and determined as them would do anything to keep their plans safe.  Having an almost impenetrable software would be a good way to achieve that.”

“I haven’t been telling you everything about our missions because I could not know what you could be trusted to know.  During the first mission after we took you as a POW, I went to Mt. Schirm and saw the 8492nd Squadron.  What I found out was that Grabacr were pretending to fight for Osea while Ofnir was pretending to fight for Yuktobania.  The second mission after we took you POW, my squadron and I were sent to stop the Belkans from taking nukes out of the tunnel.  Unfortunately, we were too late to stop them from taking a nuclear weapon but we were able to seal off the rest.  I know not all of the Belkans want to fight against Osea and Yuktobania.  I know many of them want peace.  I know that many Belkans are against using nuclear weapons.  I also know that you are one of those people.  So let me ask you this: if we somehow found a software that we could not crack, would you be willing to look at it and see if it is yours?” I looked him dead in the eye.  His gaze did not waver when he replied, “Yes.”

“And would you be willing to help us crack it if the time came?”

“Yes.” There was just a little bit of hesitation in his answer, but he looked sincere in his answer.

“Thank you, Geller.  Let me go talk to Pops and Andersen real quick and then you can get your surprise.”

Geller nodded as I exited the room.  Pops and Andersen opened their door and looked at me with a look of… respect?

“Can he have his call?” I asked seriously.  Pops nodded as Andersen handed me a portable telephone for Geller to use.  I smiled as I entered the interrogation room again.

“Here,” I said, handing the phone to Geller.

“What is this for?” He asked, flipping the phone over in his hand.

“Call your wife and daughter.  I apologize when I say I have to be present because I am sure you would like the conversation to be private but we have to make sure you are not sending a secret code of our whereabouts and you have only five minutes.”

Geller stared at me. “You are allowing me to call my wife and daughter?”

“Yes, sir.”

“God bless you,” Geller murmured before dialing the number with shaking hands.  I felt myself smile as I sat down across from him.  I stared at the table, wanting to give him the little privacy he could have, and started counting down how much time he had left on the clock.

He spoke in Belkan.  I figured he would.  While many Belkans spoke English, they preferred not to when they were with conversing with natives.  I could hear a hysterical sobbing over the phone.  I heard Geller tell his wife and daughter he loved them, that he was being treated nicely, even as a POW.  He sang a short song to his daughter; I could hear her laughing and clapping along to it.  He told them he wasn’t sure how long it would be until he was able to see them again but that they were in his hearts.  He asked Rowena how her cancer was; apparently, she was getting better, that the chemotherapy was helping.  The timer I had reached five minutes and I alerted Geller his time was up.  It shocked me to see his eyes sparkling.

“I must go,” he told her. “My time is up.  I will speak to you as soon as I possibly can.  I love both of you so much.”

His wife and daughter tearfully said goodbye before hanging up.

“You okay?” I questioned softly.

“I am now.  Miss Blaze, you are an angel,” Geller said.

“That’s ironic seeing how I’m the leader of the Razgriz.” Geller grinned. “Time to go back to your room.”

Geller stood up; we walked to his room in silence.  By the look on his face, he seemed pretty happy.

“Good day, Geller,” I told him.  He returned the saying and I headed back to my room, for the first time in a long time, feeling pleased with myself.

_____________________________________________

Okay, I decided to end it there.  It seemed like a good place for a chapter that didn’t have mission in it.  Besides, if it had had a mission in it, this would’ve been a very long chapter.  Please review!  They mean so much to me!  As long as they’re not flames though.  Also, no review=no update!