Hey y’all.  I don’t really have much to say.  It’s been snowing here and I was going to go to my Tae Kwon Do class but the roads were too bad.  It’s a shame for I love to learn how to kick butt… in appropriate situations that is.

I can’t believe how long this story is!  It’s pushing thirty chapters!  By far the longest story I will have written.  Anyway, I hope y’all are enjoying the story so far!

Quote of the Chapter:

“A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.”

~Winston Churchill

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Solitaire

December 11, 2010

Blaze 

I was heading to the briefing room after receiving sudden orders to report to the there.  Naturally, I was the last one to arrive.  I quickly took my seat next to Genette.  Pops nodded to me along with Andersen before the briefer came in.  He started informing us immediately.

“We’re carrying out a reconnaissance mission in order to obtain photographs of the enemy complex.  After deciphering the code we received earlier, we learned that the mining facility in the forest area northwest of Belka is still active.  An early-warning radar network has been spread across the entire forest.  To reduce the probability of enemy detection, this mission will be carried out by a single aircraft.  Try to approach under complete electronic silence, evading radar and passive search techniques.  Flying at low altitude is an effective method of delaying or denying enemy detection.  You will receive instructions on your recon target from the Command Information Center upon arriving in the mission area.  The CIC will monitor you from a support camera.” –The computer showed the plane signal with my name below it-“Concentrate on slipping through the enemy radar net first.  Your plane in this mission will be completely stripped of weaponry.”

“Dammit…” I mumbled.  Nagase, Genette, Cassie, Grimm, and Snow heard me and snickered.

“Instead, it will be equipped with the necessary visual reconnaissance equipment.  There is a chance you may encounter the enemy, but your recon mission always takes top priority.  Once you take the photos, egress from the target area and return through the enemy defenses as directed.”

Operation: Silvereye

Location: Mt. Schirm

Date: 2010/12/10

Time: 1830 Hrs.

“I have a question,” I said raising my hand.

“Yes, Blaze?” Pops asked.

“Why is my plane going to be stripped of all weaponry?”

“Because I don’t trust you with weapons alone against the enemies you want to kill the most,” Pops said bluntly with a smirk.

Looking sheepish, I said, “You know me too well…”

Everyone got up and went to the hangars.  I let Nagase, Grimm, and Snow choose what airplanes they wanted.  They were going to be waiting for me in the west when I made my escape once I took the pictures. 

Meanwhile, I chose the Hawk, which was the training jet that we had used to escape from Sand Island.  Painted black, it looked like a little ninja plane.  Yes, I just called it a ninja plane.  And yes, I know I’ve probably gone mentally insane…

Shaking my head at my random thoughts, I hopped in and took off.

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Mt. Schirm…

I flew a couple thousand feet high in the air as I approached the radar network.  Soon, I would be heading down to a lower altitude to make it easier to navigate.

“Blaze, how you feelin’?” Pops inquired.

“Not bad,” I replied.

“Solo flights can be real lonely… but that’s what flying is all about, really,” Pops said.

“I don’t get it,” I said.

“You will in time,” said Pops.

Thanks for the clarification… I thought.

“Take a look at you search radar.  The enemy’s radar range is marked out by those circles.”

“Yes, sir.” I decreased in altitude until I was only a few hundred feet above ground.  I flew past trees that looked like one big, green-black blur.  The dark blue river below me looked like a mirror.

“Make sure you don’t enter any of those circles, and fly to the east,” Pops ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“The enemy radar’s coverage area is smaller at low altitude.  You want to see for yourself?” Pops asked.

“I already have, sir,” I answered.

“Keep your altitude low and slip past the radar to go in,” Pops told me. “This is strictly a recon mission so you will be unarmed.”

“I know, sir.  The briefing told me that,” I said.

“I felt I had to remind you,” Pops laughed. “So unfortunately, you won’t be able to destroy the enemy radar.  Sorry.”

“If I was armed, I wouldn’t destroy the radar, I’d be destroying the enemy,” I retorted.

“I know you would.  It’s best we keep you unarmed for this mission,” Pops said. “Maintain radio silence until you reach the destination.  I’ll then explain the target and how to photograph it.  Got it?”

“Got it, sir.”

“Make sure you don’t get caught within coverage of the enemy radar.  Good luck.” Pops told me gently. “We’ll go into radio silence in a moment.  Hang in there until the next transmission.” Then he cut off the mic.  Now I was alone…

For the first time, I felt truly alone even though I knew that Nagase, Grimm, and Snow were only a few minutes away from me if I was in a dire situation but how would I know if they would get to me in time?

The enemy was lucky I wasn’t armed.  I would shoot them down without any hesitation.  When I set my mind to something, I almost always succeed.  I felt somewhat jealous of the rest of my squad because they were all armed… of course they were also level-headed and sane unlike me in this current day and time.

I looked at my radar constantly, making sure I didn’t fly into one of the circles.  It made me think back to the mission where Nagase, Grimm, Chopper and I were escorting Mother Goose One and Grimm and I had been ganging up on Chopper.  He had been getting frustrated which made it even more amusing.

I also remembered how the transport captain never shut up.  He was as bad as Chopper except with Chopper, it wasn’t annoying.  It was freaking hilarious.

I had been so caught up in my memories that I nearly flew into an AA circle but I evaded it because I have ninja-like reflexes.  Okay, not really, but I do have good reflexes.

A few seconds later, the target came into view.  I hadn’t realized I had been going so fast.  I did a High G turn, making sure I didn’t stall in the process.  I stayed away from the base until Pops told me what it was that I was supposed to do.  I was also meticulously avoiding the AA system.  They’re nasty little devils.

Mt. Schirm was actually not that big. It was more of a hill than a mountain. 

“All right,” Pops said, “you’ve arrived over the target area.  Cancel radio silence.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied, still flying in dizzying circles.

“I’m monitoring your status with a low-resolution camera.  Something’s being moved from the mine entrance to that transport plane,” Pops informed. “Okay, let’s get a picture of the mine entrance and the transport plane in the frame.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, stopping my circles and aligning myself so that I could take a good picture.

“The camera’s triggered by the missile launch button.  Press it to take a picture,” Pops explained.

When I had all three targets in the camera’s range, I snapped a picture.

“Photo received,” Pops announced.  After a short pause, Pops said, “I see some 8492nd members, and some planes with the Yuktobanian Air Force mark on them.  The Belkans are sending aggressors posing as allies over to Yuktobania as well.  All right, let’s get a shot of both countries’ emblems next to each other as evidence.

“Roger that,” I said, turning my plane around so I could realign myself again.  As I was turning, I noticed the two planes exiting a hangar.

MISSION UPDATE

“Now, before the two planes take off, capture both of them in one shot.  Got it?” Pops questioned seriously.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Okay.  You won’t have many chances to take this photo, so concentrate.”

And concentrate I did.  Right after he said that, I snapped the picture.

“Photo received,” Pops announced. “This is just the evidence we need.  Nice work.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“They’re coming up after you.  Shake them off and return home,” Pops commanded.

“This is why you didn’t have me armed, isn’t it?” I asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

“You’re very smart Blaze.  Yes, this is the reason I didn’t have you armed because I knew they would come up after you and I knew you would want to engage them,” Pops admitted.

“Okay.  I was just curious to know.”

“Make sure you come back through the return line, all right?”

“Got it.”

I turned my plane and headed west at full speed.  No one would be able to catch me now.  The land sped past me at speeds that would give an old person a heart attack.  I didn’t pay any heed to the radar network.  They already knew I was here so why delay my trip back home by flying through the network when I can just fly over it?

“By the way Blaze, on the way back, you don’t have to worry about the enemy radar network.  You know that, right?” Pops asked.

“I do, sir,” I replied.

“Head straight home and don’t wander off.  Don’t forget that you’re unarmed.”

I looked down to find my hand on the guns button.  I think I had been pushing it…

“Takeoff complete.  Engaging the enemy,” A man from the Grabacr Squadron said.  My stomach dropped, my vision went hazy.  One of the men that were responsible for Chopper’s death was within my reach.  Of all times to be unarmed…

“Blaze, focus!” Nagase warned.

“The Grabacr guys are taking off,” A Belkan announced.

I clenched my jaw as I gripped the joystick, forcing myself to fly straight ahead and not turn around and shoot those bastards down.  They were damn lucky I wasn’t armed…

Three planes came into my view from head-on.  I didn’t panic; they were on my side.

“Good work,” Snow praised as he, Grimm, and Nagase flew past me.

“Thank you, Snow,” I said.

“Need a lift home, Ma’am?” Grimm asked politely.

“I would love a lift home,” I admitted.

“I knew you’d get back in one piece,” Nagase said cheerfully.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED 

“The enemy is withdrawing.  Our mission is a success,” Pops declared.

“Thank god,” I chuckled.

The four of us, in our sharp-looking black planes, headed back home.

When we arrived back to the Kestrel, we were relieved to be informed that we had a base with a runway and a whole hangar full of different planes.  We were most excited about the land runway since we were all sick of landing on the Kestrel.

I landed with ease followed by Nagase, Grimm, and Snow and then once we were all out of our planes, we headed to the briefing room on the Kestrel.

“The recon mission in the mining field was a success,” The briefer said in his usual monotone voice. “The images taken clearly show aircraft from the Yuktobanian aggressor squadron parked next to planes from the mysterious 8492nd Squadron.  We will continue to analyze the photographs you took.”

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Later that day…

Nagase

Blaze was quietly banging her head on the wall behind the POW we had taken from Stier Castle.  He was being an obstinate SOB and was driving us all insane.  Pops was doing the interrogation with Blaze, Andersen, and I in the room as well.  Genette, Cassie, Grimm, and Snow were all in the next room watching from the one way glass.

“What are the Belkans planning?” Pops asked for what had to be the twentieth time.

Once again, the prisoner, Jens Geller, refused to answer the question.  Instead, he countered with, “I bet you think we are all Fascists, don’t you?  Typical Osean thinking… Here’s a fun fact for you: some of us wanted to stop the nukes ourselves.  What do you have to say to that?”

“Well if that is the case, and you really want to stop the nukes, you can tell us what the Belkans are planning and we can stop them,” Blaze pointed out.  Geller looked at her furiously.

“You’re not a part of this conversation,” Geller snarled.

“She’s a part of this conversation as much as I and Captain Andersen are.  You will talk and answer to her respectively,” Pops said firmly.

“I forget that the Belkans have more of a patriarchy,” Blaze said, sounding amused. “You relegate your females to taking care of the household usually.”

“And what do you know about Belka?” Geller growled.  Blaze looked at him coolly.

“More than you think I do,” Blaze retorted.

“Oh really?” Geller laughed. “How is it I don’t believe you?”

“Ich weiß über Ihre Kultur, weil ich halb Belkan bin und meine Eltern haben mir und meinem Bruder unseres Erbes gut unterrichtet.  Ich verstehe den stolz, den alle Belkans besitzen; Ich zugeben, dass ich besitze und es verändert mein Urteil verursacht mir das Leben von einem geliebten Freund, der zufällig mein Verlobter... Ich bin mir bewusst, dass Sie im Belkan Krieg vor fünfzehn Jahren waren, und ich weiß, dass Sie den Terror gesehen haben, den die sieben Atomwaffen in das Leben der Menschen integriert.  Also, wenn Sie ernst sind, was Sie gesagt über die Atomwaffen zu stoppen wollen, Sie Ihren Stolz beiseite und sagen Sie uns, was die Belkans planen.  Wir wollen Frieden.,” Blaze said in fluent Belkan.  I only caught a few words that I recognized, mainly “Belkan” and “Atomwaffen” but the rest was a complete mystery to me.  Geller seemed stunned by Blaze’s sudden change of tongue.  Pops looked astounded as well.  He was staring at Blaze, as if seeing her in a new light.  Andersen’s mouth had dropped open a little.  None of us had known Blaze could speak Belkan.

“Don’t give me your petty lies about how your countries really want peace.  Not after you took half our land and Yuktobania plundered the rest.  All the rest of us just wanted peace.  All you really want is more oil and more bullets to fuel your Cold War with us.  I cannot wait for the day when I see Osea and Yuktobania get what they deserve,” Geller spat.

"Ich gehöre nicht zu spaßen.  Ich habe erlebt weitere Tragödie und Verrat und Blutvergießen erlebt, in meinen drei Monaten als ein Kapitän als Sie sich vorstellen können.  Ich bin krank und müde von diesem Krieg; Ich möchte ein Ende zu setzen.  Ich möchte keine mehr Menschen töten.  Ich musste gegen mein eigenes Land wenden, weil Ihr Land sah, war es notwendig, Osea und Yuktobania Grube gegen einander, wenn beide Seiten vom Kampf gegen erschöpft sind, Sie übernehmen können," Blaze said in a quiet, deadly voice.  Even Geller looked somewhat apprehensive at her tone.  Blaze excused herself from the interrogation and exited the room.  I stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.  Pops and Andersen seemed to feel the same way as me.

“Put him back in his room,” Andersen ordered, standing up.  Two guards came in and escorted Geller out of the room.  Genette, Cassie, Snow, and Grimm came in.

“What the hell was that?” Grimm asked quite innocently.  Everyone turned to Genette, expecting him to know the answer.  He looked apprehensive.

“We were taught Belkan our whole lives.  We’re quite fluent in it,” Genette admitted.

“Honestly Genette, like we don’t know this already.  Blaze very obviously displayed your fluency in the language.  I’m wondering why we never knew about this and what exactly it is that she said because Geller looked pretty apprehensive when she was done,” Cassie said.

“We never thought it was that important,” Genette told us warily.

“What did she say?” Grimm inquired.

“You’ll have to ask her that.  I’m not going to tell you because she wouldn’t have said what she did in Belkan unless she didn’t want everything she was saying to be known.  She’s more troubled than we think she is though,” Genette warned.

“What do you mean?” I asked worriedly.

“It means that Blaze is bottling everything up.  One day, it’s going to boil over and we need to be there when it does,” Pops said grimly.  Everyone nodded.

“I’m going to go see her and see if she’s alright,” Cassie said.

“No, leave her be.  When she’s in a mood like this, she doesn’t want to be bothered.  Let her calm down.  She’ll be her regular self tomorrow,” Genette told Cassie firmly, yet kindly.  Cassie nodded.

______________________________________

Grimm 

We left the interrogation room after that.  I headed to my room after walking Cassie to hers.  Nagase and Genette headed off to the crew’s quarters and Pops and Andersen went up to the bridge.

When I reached my room, I lay down on my bed, mulling over what had just happened.  I knew Blaze was part Belkan, but I never knew that she could speak Belkan, let alone fluently.  My eyes roamed carelessly around the room, not taking in anything… until my eyes rested on my flight suit with a bulge in one of the pockets.  I knew what was in the pocket.  I sat up and went over to my flight suit.  I took out Chopper’s wallet; I had forgotten I had it.  Blaze would want it.  Deciding to go against Genette’s warning, I pocketed the wallet and walked out of my room.  I walked all over the ship but Blaze was nowhere to be found.  There was only one more place where Blaze might be, that would be the Kestrel’s hangar in a plane.

Sure enough, when I looked in Blaze’s plane, she was there, staring out at the sea.

“Blaze?” I asked, alerting her I was there.  She turned her head around to look at me.

“Hey, Grimm.  Is everything okay?” Blaze inquired curiously.

“Yeah, I won’t stay long it’s just… I wanted to give you something,” I said, taking out Chopper’s wallet.  Blaze saw what was in my hand but if she recognized it, she didn’t show it.  Blaze got up out of the plane and climbed down the ladder so she could talk to me face to face.

“What is it?” She asked, looking at it.  I handed it to her.

“It’s Chopper’s wallet.  I-I took it from his room when I was escaping the guards at Sand Island,” I replied quietly.  Blaze opened up the wallet slowly.  Blaze opened the pouch where all the pictures were.  The little plastic cover tumbled out, showing pictures of Chopper when he was younger, a woman that looked like his sister, his parents, and Blaze.

Blaze covered her mouth.

“Thank you,” She whispered. “Thank you so much!”

“I just thought you’d like to have that.  I also didn’t want Hamilton getting his dirty- excuse my Belkan- dirty ass hands on that,” I told her.  Blaze smiled slightly.

“Me neither.  Thank you Grimm, really,” Blaze said. “I can’t thank you enough!”

“Just promise me one thing?”

“Yes?”

“Promise me that if something’s wrong, that’ll you’ll talk to me.  I may not have a solution if you tell me about a problem but I can promise you I’ll listen,” I assured her.  Blaze looked at me with an inquisitive expression.

“I promise,” Blaze said.  I gave her a smile before heading back to my cabin.  I heard Blaze climbing back up into her plane.

______________________________________

Blaze

I climbed back into my plane, holding Chopper’s wallet securely in my hand.  I was not going to lose it.  When I was settled in the plane, I looked at all the photos, mainly the ones of me and Chopper.  There was one of me and him right after we had announced that we were engaged.  Another one was a picture from high school when Genette and Chopper were graduating.  I was in the middle since I was the only girl in the photo and since I was the shortest.  The next was of me that Genette had taken on base.  It was right after my first mission.

I continued looking through the photos until I had looked at every single photo five times each.  I folded the photo holder back into the wallet and stared out at the gray sea, thinking back to the interrogation.  I should not have lost my temper like that.  I should not have said anything at all.  It helped that what I said was in Belkan so only Pops and Genette and Geller could understand what I was saying but I knew that I had given Pops and Genette some insight of what I was going through after trying so hard not to show how much everything was bothering me.  I was burying everything deep down in my soul to where I could barely feel at all.  It was the only thing that was keeping me sane.  I never knew why or how people could just bury their feelings and then not be able to feel at all… now I do. 

It was mainly the knowledge of knowing that Chopper was going to crash and that I didn’t do anything to save him that shook me to my core.  It was the worst feeling possible.

From now own, I knew I would have to keep my emotions and temper in check to make sure I never lost it like that again.

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And there’s the newest chapter!  I don’t know why it took me so long to write considering how short it is.  I hope you enjoyed it!  If you did, please review :)