Embers of Hatred(Violence/Language/Blood)

Chapter 2

Claire walked into the hangar bay where the fighters were kept and she saw a technician working on one of them in particular. She walked over to the fighter and saw her name, freshly painted on it, before she knew it, she heard a voice speak up, "You must be the new pilot." Claire wheeled about and saw a Mus woman standing there, the woman had the insignia of a Lieutenant Colonel, "Yes, I am." The Mus extended her hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kari Fretheim, leader of the Falke squadron. You look a little green, but I'm sure you can handle yourself." Claire shook her head as she took Kari's hand and shook it, "I can assure you that I'm in good health." Kari smiled, "Green is a military term, Claire. It means that you're inexperienced. You've made high marks in the simulators, but things out in the field are far different."

Claire nodded, "I've been informed." Kari nodded, "That's good." Kari motioned towards a room, "Perhaps you would like to go meet the other pilots, they're currently in the lounge." Claire nodded, "What about you?" Kari looked up at one of the fighters, "I need to make sure that the mechanics did a good job on all of the fighters, Claire, as Squad leader, I'm responsible for the lives of everyone in my squadron." Claire nodded and walked to the lounge, she saw the other pilots through the window and walked in. One of the pilots, a male Mofeta turned and looked at her, "So you're the new twelve." Claire nodded, "Yes, I am." The Mofeta chuckled, "I'm Falke Two. It is an irony that I'm here." A Kani woman shook her head, "Don't pay Doroteo any mind, he and Yoshiro used to be enemies at one point." Doroteo spoke up, "Thank you Aliina."

Claire was curious, "So what happened?" Doroteo looked at her, "Where do I start?" Claire shrugged, "The beginning if at all possible." Doroteo nodded, "Did you know that the commanding officer has the nom de guerre of Grim Reaper?" Claire shook her head, "No, I didn't." Doroteo smile, "He has that particular name because of his reputation. One minute, you're relaxing at base, the next an alarm goes off. When you go to investigate. You figure out quick that there's a sniper out there, but by that time, it's too late, he's already packed up and left. As for me, I was riding in a jeep with my new commanding officer and his executive officer around the base, I was being given a tour, next thing we knew, the Commanding officer had been shot in the head. The driver sped up to try to get away, but the executive officer was shot in the head as well. The driver panicked and crashed into a wall, the impact killed him, but I survived."

Claire sat down in an empty seat as Doroteo continued, "I was scared, time seemed to slow down and I was waiting for my turn. Death never came for me, it wouldn't be until four years ago that I met the man who did that. When he came before me, I realized it was him, fairly immediately. I was frightened, but when he saw down, he placed his sword on the table. I knew what this meant from Kensei, he wanted to negotiate with me. It's how I got here." Claire nodded, "So you were asked to be here?" An elvish woman spoke up, "Hi, I'm Enaistiel Elertaur, I'm Falke Eleven. Doroteo is the only person here that was ever personally asked by Yoshiro to be here, and that's really only because Yoshiro felt guilty for scaring him to the point where he actually shat his pants."

Doroteo shot a glare at her as a male fairy spoke up, "I'm Falke four, Clovis Fortier, it's nice to meet you, Claire." Claire nodded, "Likewise." The introductions continued and Claire felt welcomed into the squad, it was nice for people who were considered the best pilots that the Raptors had to offer were so welcoming to her, despite the fact that she only had simulator training. Once all of the introductions were finished, Claire looked around, "So what do we do when we're not on duty, do we just stay in this area?" Enaistiel shook her head, "No, pilots are permitted to go anywhere on base, however, we're always on call. We live near the hangar bay in order to make it easier for us to scramble at a moment's notice." Claire nodded, "That's good. Though I do have one more question."

Kari walked in and sighed, "Going to have to put that on hold, Claire, I'm sorry. Listen up everyone, we've been given a mission to undertake first thing in the morning, one week from now. Yoshiro is having his people 'hack' into the database of the Fairies, so that we can have some intel on our foes. However, what we know about the extent of their territory, is that there's an old Mofetian fort in the way, it has been taken over by forces wearing Imperial Kitsune Armor and using the same kind of gear. We're going to have to soften up the defenses in order for the ground forces to be able to take it from our enemy." Claire nodded as Kari looked at her, "Claire, your fighter will be equipped with air-to-ground missiles, your job will be to take out enemy vehicles."

Claire nodded again, "Understood, Kari." Kari smiled, "We are not expecting any sort of anti-air resistance, though there might be some as the Mofeta have in the past been at war with the fairies. Anyhow, everyone knows their role from the last time, yes?" Everyone nodded and Claire nodded as well as Kari nodded with them, "Good, it would not do for my pilots to forget what they were supposed to do in the middle of the mission. Anyhow, you're all dismissed and free to enjoy the rest of the week however you wish. Remember, be here at 0400 hours in exactly seven days." Claire smiled slightly and stood up, "I think I'm going to go to the hologram room." Kari nodded, "Good idea, Claire, but keep in mind that you'll want to start going to sleep earlier, or getting some caffeine." Claire nodded, "I will." Kari smiled, "Good."

Chapter 4

Claire looked at the heads up display on her helmet's visor as she started her final pre-flight checks. Kari's voice sounded over the communicator in her helmet, "All Falke Squadron members, report." Claire heard Doroteo speak up first, "This is Falke Two, everything is reading green across the board, ready to take off when you are." Falke Three was next, "Falke Three here, everything checks out." Falke Four was the third voice, "Ready when you are, Falke Leader." Falke Five spoke up, "No problems here, boss." Aliina spoke up, "This is Falke Six, I'm standing by, boss." Falke Seven spoke up, "All systems are functioning in optimal condition, Falke Leader." Falke Eight then spoke up, "On your ready, boss." Falke Nine was the next one to speak up, "All systems are go." Falke Ten spoke up softly, "Nothing is malfunctioning, but my shield generator needs to be checked out when we get back." Kari spoke up, "Hold on Falke Eleven and Twelve, Falke Ten, what is the issue with your shield generator?" Falke Ten spoke up, "It's nothing serious, ma'am. I just can't realign my shielding. I'm stuck at full fore and aft shielding." Kari spoke up, "Alright, you're cleared to go. Falke Eleven, report." Enaistiel spoke up, "Everything is functioning normally." Claire spoke up, "This is Falke Twelve, pre-flight checks show that everything is working correctly."

Kari spoke up, "Control, do we have clearance to launch." Caladwen's voice spoke up, "Falke Squadron is clear to launch from the Hangar. May you all return safely." Claire nodded, she was nervous, this wasn't like the simulators, despite the fact that they used psionics to make seem realistic. She knew for a fact that this was the real deal, she watched as one by one, her fellow pilots accelerated their fighters down the runway and she sighed as it came for her turn to do the same. She disengaged her fighter's brakes and pushed forward on the accelerator. She looked around as the hangar moved away from her and her fighter continued to accelerate. After gaining enough speed, she pulled back on the stick and as her fighter entered the skies, she raised her landing gear. She quickly found her squadron and fell in formation with them, quickly checking on her hydrogen fuel supply.

Kari's voice spoke up, "We'll reach our objective in roughly fifteen minutes, everyone remembers their roles from the briefing?" Everyone spoke up an affirmative, including Claire. Claire watched as Kari's face appeared on a monitor, "Claire, you'll be with Sigmundr, he's Falke Nine if you remember, you're in his flight." Claire watched as Kari's face was replaced by Sigmundr's, another Mus, this one with a heavily scarred face, "I hear you're part of my flight now, don't worry, kiddo. I'll take care of you. Our job is simple, we have ground forces at the ready, just out of range of enemy detection. Falke Leader and her flight are taking out hardened enemy positions like bunkers and pillboxes, Falke Five and his flight are engaging any anti-air positions. We're taking out enemy combat vehicles, we would like to capture supplies if at all possible, understand?" Claire nodded, "Yes, Sir." Sigmundr shook his head, "It's First Lieutenant out here."

The fifteen minutes passed and Claire followed Sigmundr and the rest of the flight towards their objective, Sigmundr spoke up, "Weapons hot, do not fire unless you have a lock. Engage targets at will." Claire nodded, "Roger!" Claire broke off from the main group and switched her weapons from safe to hot, weapons fire erupted from a tower not far from her position and she watched it splash harmlessly off her shields, she watched as suddenly an explosion erupted from the position and Aliina spoke up, "I got your back, Falke Twelve!" Claire nodded, "Thank you." Claire switched her weapons from her twin pulse cannons to missiles as she cycled through her targets and watched as a Kitsune tank came up. She piloted her fighter to the point where she had a straight shot towards it and decelerated it. She held her finger steady on the trigger, until she heard the beeping become a steady tone and her heads up display tell her that her missile was locked on.

She pulled the trigger and her fighter lurched slightly as the missile launched from the missile bay of her fighter, she watched as the glowing orange ball streaked across the night sky. Time seemed to slow down for her as she came to the realization of what she did, this wasn't a simulation, this wasn't an exercise. This was real, she had just doomed people to die and her heart sank down into the pits of her stomach. As she watched the missile connect, time started to flow normally again from her perspective, "..." Enaistiel spoke up, "Falke Twelve has a confirmed kill." Claire didn't speak, she didn't deviate from her flight path, she was in shock. Enaistiel spoke up, "Falke Twelve, is there something wrong with your fighter?" Kari spoke up, "Lieutenant Prideaux? Is everything alright?" Claire couldn't bring herself to speak, every fiber in her being wanted her to run from this, to go away from the battle. To return home.

Enaistiel spoke up, "First Lieutenant, permission to link up with Falke Twelve and return her to base. Her fighter is okay and she's physically fine, but her medical scanners are stating that her mental state has deteriorated severely." Kari sighed, "I was afraid this was going to happen, Falke Eleven, you and Falke Twelve return to base. Falke Twelve, report to a therapist immediately after landing, that's an order." Claire didn't snap out of her catatonic state and Enaistiel sighed, "Claire, I know that you feel horrible about what you did, but you can't set things right unless you snap out of it. We're your friends and we want to help you." Claire closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, "This is Second Lieutenant Prideaux, I'm returning to base. I'm sorry." Claire adjusted her flight path back to base, and she saw Enaistiel's face appear on the monitor in front of her, "Claire, I'm going to escort you back to base, and when we land, I'm going to take you to a doctor, alright?"

Claire nodded, "He was right..." Enaistiel nodded, "I know, Claire. Our first battle is always the hardest on us. You take the lead, I'll follow you, that way I can make sure everything's alright." Claire nodded slowly, "Thank you, Falke Eleven." Enastiel shook her head, "Claire, you can call me by my name, we're no longer in the combat zone." Claire frowned and looked down and away, she wanted to take off her helmet, but knew that she couldn't. She saw Enaistiel's fighter come close to her's and she saw her give a thumb's up while hearing her speak, "We're your friends and allies, Claire. We're always going to be there to help you." Claire spoke up, when time had slowed down for her, she saw bodies escape the tank, she watched one of the soldiers who escaped in time catch fire and flail wildly as he burned to death. It made her sick to her stomach and she wished she had looked away, but it was too late, "Enaistiel... thank you." Enaistiel nodded, "You're welcome, Claire."

Chapter 6

Yoshiro sighed as he continued work for the day, it was late evening and he was sitting in his office, reading over the report when he heard the knock on his door, "Come in." He watched as a male Paard walked in, "You should see this, sir." The man handed over a datapad and Yoshiro took a look at it, "Ah, her mind decided to protect itself. We handle our first kill in different ways." The man looked at him, "I tried looking through her medical records, but I couldn't find any." Yoshiro sighed, "Shit, they must have used her birth name on the records." The man tilted his head, "Birth name." Yoshiro sighed, "I thought I was thorough in redacting her files." The man looked at him, "Redacting!? You redacted her files, is she even a her to begin with!?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yes, she is. She has made the full transition and I expect you to treat her with the respect and decency that all living things deserve." The man looked at him and folded his arms, "So she's a freak." Yoshiro stood up, "Hand me your rank insignia." The man looked at him, "I have my own opinions." Yoshiro walked around his desk, "You can hand me your rank insignia, or I can tear it off of you." The man got into a fighting pose and Yoshiro shook his head, "Fucking idiot."

Yoshiro allowed the man to throw a punch and grabbed him by the arm, keeping it extended as he punched the elbow, breaking the man's arm. He then let go and clicked his tongue, a blade pierced the man's other arm and Yoshiro walked around the man, grabbing both arms, "Cuffs." The man looked at him, "I don't have any cuffs you tranny lover!" Yoshiro looked at the guy, "By Amaterasu I wish I could just kill you now and stop your bigotry." Lilah put handcuffs on the man and Yoshiro called out into the hallway, "Security, I got someone for the brig!" Yoshiro grabbed the man's hair and spoke into his ear, "Before you swung at me, I was going to dishonorably discharge you for your hatred and bigotry of other soldiers. The only reason you're alive right now is that the laws of our nation forbid me from killing you, from this point forward, you are stripped of all rank and position and forbidden from ever serving in the Raptors again, I will release you from the brig when the war is over, am I clear on this." The man spat on Yoshiro's boot and Yoshiro growled, "Am I being clear!?" The man looked at him as two guards walked into take him away, "You'll regret this."

Yoshiro scoffed and looked at the blood on his uniform, before he walked back to his chair and looked at Lilah, "Thanks, Lilah." Lilah nodded, "You're welcome, Yoshiro." Yoshiro sighed, "I hate people like him..." Lilah nodded, "I know, Yoshiro, I know." Enaistiel's voice spoke up, "Excuse me, am I... am I interrupting anything?" Yoshiro looked over at the door, "Nah, come in and don't mind the blood. One of our soldiers decided to be a bigot, neither of his arms are entirely functional anymore and he's going into the brig." Enaistiel nodded, "I wish there were less people like that in the world." Yoshiro sighed and closed his eyes, "I've met the entire gamut of those kinds of people. My nakama's father was and still is a racist prick, joke's on him though, he lost his job a while back ago." Enaistiel nodded, "Nakama?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I don't want to talk about him, anyhow, what can I do for you, Enaistiel?" Enaistiel frowned, "I want to know why Claire cannot remember the mission." Yoshiro nodded, "Claire had repressed memories of war in the past. I've gone over her entire medical history, believe me, it's a thick file. Then again, she came from an imperialist nation, who declared war as often as I take a piss."

Enaistiel blinked, "I've never heard it put that way, but alright. I didn't know she came from such a horrible place." Yoshiro nodded, "People were frequently publicly executed. It was a horrible regime, you joined... shortly after we were hired to topple it, I believe." Enaistiel nodded, "Yes." Yoshiro sighed, "She also lived in a region where homophobia and transphobia were not only common, but rampant and celebrated. As was ignorance of other cultures and Xenophobia. Her family was always cast as outsiders, because they were an interspecies couple. Claire..." Yoshiro was unsure if he should share this information, "Claire's a transwoman, who happens to love women, who happens to be born of two different species and cultures, and her parents are from two different planets. She was always hated and abused there... it's no small wonder that when she got the chance to flee, she chose to join us." Enaistiel nodded, "So she wasn't born a woman?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, she wasn't. As per her request, I redacted her files after finding and taking them from her home nation. I thought I was thorough, but... I guess not."

Enaistiel nodded, "So the reason she's repressing her memories and rewriting new ones in their place is...?" Yoshiro's hand closed into a fist and Enaistiel looked at this, "You don't have to say anything, I got the message." Yoshiro spoke up, "She wasn't an only child, her siblings, her older siblings were executed before her very eyes for not joining the military against their will. The leader of the regime was a monster and forced children to watch their loved ones die before their very eyes to instill fear of him in them. He also did other things that I don't want to talk about... he was... did you know that we were hired to capture him?" Enastiel shook her head, "No, I didn't." Yoshiro sighed, "We were. I was personally contacted with the job. Once the dust settled in the capitol city, I got my hands on all the records the guy kept, he was an egotist and I had never been so horrified in my life. I ordered him brought into the same room as me and told him that his people were going to have a trial for him. He was scared. One week later, he was found guilty, I was his personal executioner. I still remember the look on his face when I put my gun to his head."

Enaistiel gasped, "But you didn't kill him, right?" Yoshiro nodded, "I killed him, I could've done any number of things to him, but I knew it wouldn't have changed the past. I shot him, right then and there, in the head. I can never bring back the dead, I could never undo what he did to Claire, but what I could do was give Claire and what remained of her family a chance at making a new home for themselves." Enaistiel nodded, "I... I had no idea that she had gone through so much." Yoshiro nodded and then Enaistiel frowned, "But why are you telling a second Lieutenant all of this?" Yoshiro shrugged, "None of it's classified, anyone that wants to go look for it can find it. But most of all, you asked. Claire will recover, or she won't. The mind is a tricky thing. Enaistiel, I'm forbidding her from going on sortie until she at least goes to a therapist and a psychiatrist. It doesn't matter to me when she does it, just I refuse to allow her to risk her life until something is done about this situation. As the base commander, I'm responsible for all of you."

Enaistiel nodded, "Sir, permission to stay behind with her?" Yoshiro placed his hand on his chin, "On what grounds?" Enaistiel frowned, "She seems to respond best to Kari and myself, and since Kari is our squadron leader and has apparently already told Claire that I stayed with her while she was 'sick', it would help her mental state." Yoshiro nodded, and picked up his datapad, "Permission Granted, Enaistiel. It warms my heart to see my soldiers looking out for each other, especially in their times of need. It reminds me of... nevermind." Enaistiel nodded, she knew better than to press the subject, "Thank you." Yoshiro smiled and adjusted some settings on his datapad and put it down, "Is there anything else I can do for you, Enaistiel?" Enaistiel shook her head, "Not that I can think of." Yoshiro nodded, "I appreciate you coming down and talking about this, remember, Claire doesn't admit it yet, but she thinks of you as a friend. I see the way she looks when she's around you. She's happier around you." Enaistiel nodded, "Thank you, sir. Permission to leave?" Yoshiro shrugged, "You don't need my permission. Go on, go to your friend." Yoshiro watched as she left and then went back to work.

Chapter 8

Claire sighed as she was tired of spending time within the hologram chamber of the base, she had been going through therapy for the past few weeks and had been getting flashes of memories of that one day, however curiosity compelled her to head down to the hangar. As she walked through the hallway, she began to wonder why so much had changed and what was going on. However, she ran into one of the Kitsune Royal Guards, "Excuse me." The Guard looked at her and she watched as his hand balled into a fist, "Damned half-blood." Claire heard Yoshiro clear his throat, "I'm not going to stop this, but if you strike her, I give her full permission to break your arm, starting from the shoulder." The Royal Guard looked back and spat in Yoshiro's face, Yoshiro looked at Claire, "You might want to move out of the way." Claire did so as she watched Yoshiro rush the guard and punch him in the face.

Claire didn't want to be part of this fight, so she walked away from it. She sighed slightly as she entered the lift and looked at the directory, "Hangar, please." The lift quietly moved to the proper deck and then the doors opened, as she walked out onto the deck that the hangars were on, she sighed slightly as she walk into one that felt extremely familiar to her, but she couldn't explain why. One of the technicians spoke up, "Lieutenant! I wasn't aware that you were going to come down here." Claire nodded slightly, "I decided to come here of my own volition, I've been getting flashes of memories that I don't seem to recall." She saw a Mus on the other side of the hangar, who she knew as Kari, talking to an elf she knew as Enaistiel. The two of them looked at her and she waved slightly as she walked over to a particular fighter, something had been added to the nose. Doroteo walked over, "That's a Kill mark, something pilots have put on their fighters to keep track of their kills."

Claire nodded, but didn't think this was her fighter, until she saw what else was painted on the side, "Lt. Claire Prideaux." Almost instantly the memories of that day flooded to her mind, she remembered the body burning, she felt sick and started to throw up on the floor and Doroteo grabbed her shoulder, "Hey! Are you alright." Claire nodded and wiped her mouth as Kari ran over, "Get Yoshiro down here! Claire's memories have returned!" Claire sighed as she looked at Kari, "I killed people. I was the one that fired that missile and I was the one that ended those lives." Kari nodded slightly, "I know, Claire, believe me, I know. I was there." Claire sighed, "Why didn't any of you tell me?" Kari looked away, "Because we were ordered not to, we were afraid that it might harm your recovery." Claire nodded, "Thank you."

The doors opened and boot steps were heard, Yoshiro walked into the hangar with Lilah at his side. Kari looked at him, "Sir, I would rather discuss this with you alone." Yoshiro shook his head, "Claire, I want to speak with you." Claire nodded and stood up straight, saluting Yoshiro who shook his head, "Put your hand down, for right now your rank and position are temporarily stripped." Claire looked puzzled, "What do you mean?" Yoshiro sighed, "You're the only person that we've ever trained here, the Raptors pulled people from already established military units, so we don't normally deal with cases such as yourself. As such, I'm going to give you a choice that I wouldn't give anyone else." Claire shook her head, "I don't want special treatment." Yoshiro folded his arms, "I'm only doing this because you are a special case. A rookie, in a mercenary nation full of veterans."

Claire looked away, "Fine..." Yoshiro looked to Lilah, "I need the datapad." Lilah handed him the datapad and Yoshiro handed it to Claire, "This is a letter of resignation, anyone that wishes to resign may do so, but they have to sign one of these. I was going to allow you to, if you so choose, walk out of the base without doing so and joining your wife." Claire shook her head, "My wife is in Kitsune Territory, Commander." Yoshiro sighed, "I'd much rather not be called by rank, but if you're going to call me by rank, my rank is General." Claire nodded, "So why are you offering me this?" Yoshiro shrugged, "You remind me of myself when I was much, much younger. I stood at the same crossroads you did, and I chose to join with the Paladins, but I was forced to walk the path I walk today.

Claire shook her head, "No one is forced to walk the path they walk. They choose to do so." Yoshiro nodded, "Claire, now that your mind has accepted your first kills, you will find it easier to accept the fact that you will have to pull the trigger. However, it will always make you sick to your stomach, you will never get used to the fact that you do it, and you will never get over the sights that you see when you're on the ground. You can ask anyone here, they'll tell you the same thing. The question is, do you choose to keep walking down this path, knowing what awaits you, or do you choose to leave the military and go home to be with your wife." Claire shook her head and handed Yoshiro the datapad, "I'm staying with you guys. My wife isn't safe as long as Aiko is out there."

Yoshiro nodded, "Then I will no longer treat you like a rookie, Claire, you are a full fledged Raptor from this point forward. You will find that you will no longer get any formal training unless we get new equipment, but if you would like to use the simulators, then you are free to do so." Claire nodded slightly, "I understand." Yoshiro sighed, "I don't normally do this. I usually have Caladwen do these sort of things, but I feel like you've earned this." Yoshiro started to use the datapad and readjusted Claire's rank, "Unlike the Humans, we only have one Lieutenant Rank. You're hereby promoted to Captain, Junior Grade." Claire nodded, "Thank you, sir." Yoshiro nodded, "I promise you that we will stop Aiko. Believe me, I will not rest easy until I've seen her corpse for myself."

Chapter 10

Yoshiro was startled awake from his sleep by an alarm and watched as a soldier wearing Kitsune Military livery entered his room, before a red spot formed on the soldier's neck, Lilah appeared behind him and he nodded towards her, "Thanks, Lilah." Yoshiro grabbed his pistol off the nightstand and shot a guy behind her, "Now we're even." Lilah nodded, "Get dressed, we need to get you to the armory." Yoshiro simply got out of bed, "I think that I can manage in just my smallclothes, we're a paramilitary organization, Lilah." Lilah nodded and she turned her face away a little, "I know, just..." Yoshiro sighed, "Fine, I'll get dressed, for you." Yoshiro walked to his closet and quickly threw on a uniform and Lilah nodded, before the two of them headed out of their room and down the hall into the armory, where soldiers were gearing up. One soldier in particular spoke up, "Sir, you shouldn't be fighting."

Yoshiro grabbed his armor and put it on, enjoying the draconic aesthetic of it, "Of course I do, tell me, are the Dragon Combat Augments ready?" The soldier nodded, "Yeah, they're in the hangar bay with the fighters." Yoshiro nodded, "Get the people trained to use them in the hangar, you'll know them by their heavier than normal armor." The soldier nodded, "What about you?" Yoshiro grabbed his sniper rifle from the locker and strapped it to his back as he placed his pistol into its holster and pulled out his sub-machine gun, "Simple, I'm going to go out there and kick these assholes out of my base." Yoshiro closed his locker and turned to look at Lilah, "Let's go." Lilah nodded slightly as Yoshiro walked out of the Armory, "No doubt that their main force didn't get this far in, let's go say hello."

Yoshiro ran down the hallway and found himself ducking into a different hall as the hallway he was in lit up with weapons fire. Lilah was in the other side of the intersection and Yoshiro nodded as he lowered his pisonic barrier to allow himself to use his magic, switching the active element to fire. He peeked out to see what kind of armor they were wearing and smiled as he threw a fireball at one of them. The Kitsune quickly caught fire and started to panic, firing his weapon in all directions, forcing the allies of the Kitsune to turn on him and give Yoshiro the opening that he needed. He moved out from the corner and slowed time from his perspective, taking aim at each of the different kitsune, and shooting at each and every one of them. When he was through, he stopped dilating time from his perspective and ducked behind the same corner as Lilah.

Lilah nodded and the two of them ran down the hallway when Yoshiro heard Enaistiel call out, "We're pinned down!" Yoshiro noticed his father run to the opposite corner and the two of them looked at each other, before nodding and entering the corridor that Enaistiel's voice came from. Suddenly the area became flooded with weapons fire, forcing Yoshiro, Akira and Lilah to take cover. Yoshiro heard a voice behind him speak, "We were trying to get to the hangar, but these people intercepted us. We haven't suffered casualties yet." Yoshiro turned to see Claire standing behind him, "Yeah, I don't think my father and I will be enough soldier to get us out of this mess. You guys know where I can find some gre..." Yoshiro heard an explosion and looked out the door of the room he ducked in to see Akira looking back and shrugging with a grenade in his hand.

Yoshiro gave a thumbs up, and peeked out of the door to see that the grouping of soldiers were mostly dead, there were a few survivors and they immediately focused their fire on his position. Yoshiro ducked back into the room and sighed, "Mind throwing that one too, Dad?" Akira nodded and activated the grenade, chucking it at the soldiers, killing the rest of the unit. Doroteo's voice spoke up, "Ironic it is that you came to save us." Yoshiro nodded, "Dad, you bring up the rear, pilots, you stay in the middle, I'll take point." Akira nodded, "Taking charge, I see." Yoshiro nodded, "I'm the commanding officer, so I'll accept responsibility for my pilots." Yoshiro continued through the corridors, when he reached the hangar and noticed that an enemy unit was already in the hangar, "Shit!"

Akira nodded, "I'll go in there." Yoshiro started to protest, but Yoshiro walked in, suddenly he heard screaming within the hangar and wondered what his father was doing in there. As Yoshiro took a peek into the hangar, he noticed Akira running between soldiers at a speed he had never seen his father move before. It was at least twice as fast as any kitsune he had ever seen in his life, and Akira was killing the soldiers with his bare hands, he noticed the morale of the enemy forces drop as they came to realize that all the rumors they had heard of Project Kawal were true and they were up against him. However, Yoshiro noticed one of them taking aim at his father and he took his sniper rifle off his back and took aim at the soldier, shooting him in the neck and forcing the shot to miss his father.

Once the hangar was empty of all enemies, the pilots started to move in and Enaistiel looked at him, "Thanks, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded, "I'm going to go help out the ground forces, you concentrate on getting in the air. They're here to kill you guys and me, to try to lower morale." Akira nodded, "Thanks for the save, by the way." Yoshiro nodded, "I'm going to occupy one of the guard towers and search for their commanding officer, mind covering me?" Lilah spoke up, "I'll come as well." Yoshiro nodded with a smile, "I wouldn't have it any other way." As Yoshiro ran out the hangar bay door, the fighters took off above them. He watched as the morale of the enemy forces started to drop and he quickly found a guard tower and entered the door.

He quickly ran up the staircase and entered the watch tower, where he saw a single enemy soldier within it. He motioned towards the soldier and Lilah walked over and silently slit the soldier's throat. Yoshiro nodded with a thumbs up and set up his sniping perch, "Keep an eye out for the enemy soldiers." Lilah nodded as Yoshiro zeroed in his scope and looked down it. Yoshiro was looking for someone with an obvious rank insignia, knowing the arrogance that Aiko had. As he looked through the enemy forces, he couldn't find any one in particular. After a few minutes, he was about ready to give up and just start thinning the enemy numbers when he found his target, a colonel. Yoshiro lined his sights up and squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt of hard light into the colonel's head. The realization that not only the pilots were active, but the Grim Reaper was alive was enough to cause Aiko's forces to retreat, if not outright surrender.

Chapter 12

Claire finished up her pre-flight checks before looking out the cockpit of her fighter, Yoshiro's face appeared on the screen in front of her, "Falke Squadron, you will be assisting the ground forces. This will be a special operation, the structure is to remain undamaged. As such, I am heading out with the ground forces as a sharpshooter. Though I haven't lived in this area for the longest time, I'm accustomed to sniping within the woods." Claire nodded and she heard Kari's voice speak up, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Yoshiro sighed, "I'm bored of being behind a desk. They also made an attempt on my life, I want to do this." Kari's voice sighed, "Alright, sir, but what's the real reason?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I'll tell you when we capture this installation." Claire nodded slightly, "Major, are we cleared for takeoff?" Kari's voice spoke up, "Ground forces, are you in position?"

A voice spoke up, "Yes, Falke leader. We're ready to start the operation when you and our sharpshooter team get ready." Clare hit the ignition on her fighter and the entire squadron flew out of the base, she raised her landing gear and switched her weapons to active, swapping her chosen weapon from pulse cannons to her air-to-ground missiles, "Enaistiel, do you think that everything will be okay?" Enaistiel spoke, "Of course." Kari called out, "Spread formation, this isn't a Kitsune structure, so it might have some anti-air defenses, I don't want the entire squadron to get caught in the fire." Doroteo called out, "Shit! Something's got a lock on me, I'm breaking formation!" Doroteo's fighter moved out of formation, none too soon as a missile blasted through where he was at. Claire looked at this as Falke Eight chased after Doroteo's fighter, she heard the pilot's voice speak up, "Doroteo, fly in a straight line."

Doroteo did as she asked and Claire watched as the pulse lasers struck the missile, detonating it prematurely and both fighters escaped unharmed. Sigmundr spoke up, "They have anti-air missile launchers and from the looks of it, they're from before the lot of us were born." Akira's voice spoke up, "They're Type Thirty-Sevens. They're designed to detonate almost when they're right on top of the target, get within the shields and do some serious damage. My team is moving into the base, cover me, son!" Yoshiro's voice spoke up, "Hold on a second... aaaaaand... now, move in!" Claire spoke up, "What are we supposed to do, they have anti-air weapons and we don't have any counter measures. Our job was to take this place, without damaging it." Yoshiro's voice spoke up, "Your lives are important, weapons free, but only against the anti-air weapons."

Claire nodded and Sigmundr spoke up, "Alright, third flight, let's go. Kari, I can assume that you have our backs?" Kari's voice sounded over the radio, "Of course." Sigmundr started flying towards the installation and the rest of the flight, including Claire followed suit. As she got within range, she started to cycle through her targets before finding one of the anti-air missile launchers and she waited for her missile to find a lock, she fired the missile and called out, "Falke Twelve, Fox Three." As her fighter lurched slightly from the missile launch, she watched as the missile lanced towards its target, slamming into the missile launcher and destroying it. She started to feel bad for the person in the missile launcher when Yoshiro chimed in, "Type Thirty-Sevens are autonomous."

Claire nodded when suddenly there was a steady beeping in her cockpit, "Shit! They're trying to get a lock on me!" Claire immediately broke formation and suddenly the beeping became a steady tone, "Dammit! They got a lock!" Enaistiel's fighter started to fly towards her's and Claire looked at her screen, "Finish the mission!" Kari spoke up as she watched the missile fly towards her fighter, "Enaistiel, break off." Kari's fighter rushed into the path of the missile and suddenly, Claire watched as the canopy popped open and the seat fly into the air, not long after, the fighter was destroyed by the missile. Kari's voice spoke up, "Doroteo, you're in charge until I can get back into the air, you hear me." Doroteo nodded, "Aye, ma'am." Claire sighed, "Why?" Sigmundr's voice spoke up, "All anti-air missile defenses have been eliminated." Kari's voice spoke up, "Simple, machines can be replaced, pilots can't. I was trained for this situation, Claire."

Yoshiro spoke up, "Soldiers, move forward and capture some land so that we can get our pilot out safely" Claire spoke up, "Is there anything else that we can do right now?" Yoshiro sighed, "No. Unless you would like to use up fuel. However, this place does have a hangar." Akira's voice spoke up, "Handling that now, Yoshiro, by the way... this place was mostly built during the war, but there are some curious design choices in here that were from after the war." Claire nodded and then Akira spoke up, "Alright, the hangar bay is open, feel free to enter, most of the enemy forces in here are dead. They seemed to trip some internal defensive mechanisms which seem fairly recent considering when the war ended." Yoshiro sighed, "We get it Dad, you fought in the liberation war." Akira chuckled, "Anyhow, come on down. Yoshiro, you can move your team into the base." Claire nodded slightly and sighed, wondering how Kari was doing, when Yoshiro spoke up, "Major, let's go."

Kari's voice spoke up, "Hold on, I'm getting unstrapped from this thing." Claire followed her squadron and lowered her landing gear. When she got into the hangar, she stopped her fighter and sighed slightly as she deactivated it and took off her helmet, "So this is what a Menschilche installation looks like." Akira looked at them from the ground as Claire opened her cockpit. Akira smiled, "I forgot you kids have never seen the inside of one of these things. Used to fight in them all the time, that takes me back." Doroteo sighed, "The menschilche were responsible for the enslavement of our race." Akira nodded, "Yeah. However, this particular base is asking for my son and won't accept taking me for an answer..." Yoshiro spoke up over the radio, "I"ll be there in a few minutes, don't worry."

Chapter 14

It was early morning and Claire sat in the cockpit of her fighter, she remembered the briefing quite well. This was a mission to destroy a supply camp of Aiko's, and that they would be working closely with Fairy forces. As a fairy fighter approached her own, a picture appeared on her screen, "Raptor Squadron." Kari's voice spoke up, "We're Falke Squadron, you're the Fairy Squadron that we're rendezvousing with, right?" The figure on the screen nodded, "Yes, we're Arbre Squadron. We'll be working closely together on this operation." Claire nodded, "It's good to know that we won't be alone on this operation, perhaps we could end this war quickly, once and for all." The fairy shook his head, "I was alive during the last war Aiko kicked off, it's not going to end until she's dead. The supply base is coming into range now, what are the status of your ground forces?"

Basilio's voice spoke up, "Ground forces here, we're ready to move in and finish the job when the air forces make their run." Kari spoke up, "We got one shot at this." Claire switched her weapons from her pulse cannons to the dumb bombs she had stored in her fighter. A reticle appeared on the heads up display of her helmet. As her fighter came into range, she switched her weapons to armed, "This is Falke Twelve, Pickle!" She pressed the trigger on the stick and her fighter shuddered at the release of the munitions. She watched as the dumb bomb traveled towards its target, before exploding on top of a fuel dump, igniting the hydrogen inside that's used for fusion reactors, "It's a hit, and by the looks of it, a drastic blow." Kari spoke up, "Nice hit, Falke Squadron, release!" Calls of Pickle came over the communicator and explosions rocked the supply camp.

The fairy spoke up, "That was a lucky hit, Captain, Junior Grade... though most militaries in the Alliance just call that First Lieutenant." Claire nodded, "Thank you." Basilio spoke over the communicator, "I uh... I don't think there's going to be anything left, half the shit in that base was just immediately destroyed by Falke Twelve's bomb, and whatever's left was destroyed by the rest of the squadron... I'll check though." Caladwen's voice spoke up, "That will not be necessary, Basilio, the entire place has been wiped out." Basilio sighed, "Alright, permission to return to base?" Caladwen spoke up, "Yes, Falke Squadron, Arbre squadron will handle the next operation, return to base to refuel and get rearmed." Claire nodded, "Yes, Sir." The Fairy spoke up, "Don't worry, we'll... wait a second, there's a fighter on my radar and it's using an unknown IFF."

A voice cried out, "Arbre One! You got a lock on you! BREAK!" Claire watched in horror as a missile lanced out from the unknown fighter, Arbre One's fighter moved, but it wasn't in time, the wing was hit and blown clear off the fighter, causing it to enter an unrecoverable spin. She watched in horror as the fighter slammed into the ground and then a figure appeared on the screen in front of her, the left half of his face was burnt, a cybernetic eye glowed red where the normal eye used to be, "Enemy squadron, I suggest that you retreat from this area, effective, immediately. Do not get any funny ideas, I'm not alone." Claire spoke up, "Who are you?" The man scoffed, "That's none of your business, Falke Twelve, now leave my territory before you end up like your friend there." Claire was overcome with anger, but Kari spoke up, "Falke Squadron, Arbre Squadron, let's bug out and return to base."

Claire closed her eyes and Enaistiel spoke up, "I know you're angry, but you can't last against these guys, we're low on fuel and we're ill-equipped for air-to-air combat." The man spoke up and removed his helmet, revealing that he was a full blooded Kitsune, "You, with the angry Amber eyes, what's your name?" Claire turned her fighter to retreat from the battlefield, "Claire Prideaux." The man smiled, "My real name has been forgotten, but I was given a new name to go with my new identity. I'm Daejien Vulpes, leader of the Hawk Squadron, I hope you will channel that anger in our coming battle, I wish for you to give me a proper battle, and a proper death." Claire sighed, "I will give you no such thing." Daejien smirked, "Oh? Fine then, but remember, when our upcoming battle happens, you'll have no choice."

Claire shut off the screen and continued to fly away, Kari's voice spoke up, "Caladwen, Aiko has fighters, led by some person named Daejien, can you give us any information about this guy?" Caladwen spoke over the communicator and Claire turned on the screen as information started to pour in over it, "Not a whole lot is known about this man, except for he's a mercenary like us, but works for the highest bidder and is too unstable to have even been considered for the Raptors." Kari nodded, "We encountered him." Caladwen sighed, "Yes, Arbre One is dead. He got his share of bloodshed. He used to be a fairly stable person until a botched ejection caused him to lose half his face and his entire left arm, he was proclaimed medically dead for near ten minutes before he was resuscitated."

Claire spoke up, "He told me that I would fight him, that he liked the angry look in my eyes." Caladwen sighed, "He's targeted you, Claire. He'll call the entire squadron off you and even shoot his own allies if they target you, all just for a dogfight against you, he's crazy. But he's also a death seeker. Problem is, none of the people who have engaged in a dogfight with him have succeeded, though he has been shot down a few times." Claire sighed, "Then I'll just have to aim for the cockpit then." Caladwen sighed, "Watch the path you walk, Claire. This anger you're feeling right now is justified, but... you don't need to seek revenge." Claire shook her head, "He's the kind of person those imperialists used gleefully on civilians, back where I come from. This isn't about revenge, this is about preventing what happened back home from happening again."

Chapter 16

Yoshiro sat in his office, working on the briefing that he would be giving later that week, it was finally time to end this war, once and for all. He looked at his datapad and picked up his coffee, sipping it. He closed his eyes and sighed, "This isn't what you would want, my nakama... but it's what I want..." He placed the datapad on the table and smelled his coffee, taking in the rich aroma as he did so. He opened his eyes upon hearing some noise on the outside of his office, a voice saying, "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" Yoshiro grabbed at his gun when the door flew open, revealing Emiko on the other side, looking rather pissed off, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yoshiro." Yoshiro took his hand from the weapon, seeing who it was, "Why are you here? You know this isn't a place for civilians, even if they're deities!"

Emiko angrily stormed over and grabbed Yoshiro's pendant, and then placed her hand on Yoshiro's head, "Shut up and listen to her!" Suddenly Yoshiro found himself in a realm he wasn't aware of, he looked around, "What the... am I dead?" Katriina's voice spoke up, "No, not yet." Yoshiro turned to look at her, "But you're here and this isn't a dream... how am I... here?" Yoshiro looked at his hand and then back at her as she sighed, "You managed to annoy Emiko so much that she got tired of your shenanigans, to be fair this whole thing about revenge isn't like you, and it worries me. I've been following you ever since I sacrificed my life for you, I've been watching you ever since that day. You've always fought to protect people, even if you didn't know them or didn't care about them. You still fought for them."

Yoshiro looked away, "When Rogelio was murdered... that changed..." Katriina looked at him and folded her arms, "Is losing one man really worth all of this, you formed your own military nation and pretty much made a total ass of yourself, Yoshiro. Rogelio wouldn't have wanted this, you're right about that, he doesn't want this. You chose this path, knowing what it would bring." Yoshiro nodded, "And I intend to see it through, Katriina. I could justify my decision with the fact that Aiko's a threat to people, that she's more dangerous than I am, than anyone I've ever faced before... but in reality, I just want to cut her fucking head off and put it on a pike for the entire fucking world to see for what she's done to me." Katriina nodded, "That's the problem, what happened to the man that took my baby sister in as his own daughter."

Yoshiro thought back to Mariita, "She'd be ashamed of what I'm doing... I suspect they all are. I know Mom is... I'm fairly certain Reiko is. Dad thinks he does a good job of hiding it, but I see the way he looks at me. He's afraid that I'll walk down the same path that he did when he was younger." Katriina looked at him, "Despite all of this, you choose the path of revenge... yet you haven't allowed yourself to be so consumed, that you'd kill everyone in your path." Yoshiro shrugged, "I was trained by the Paladinic Order. Even if there is no one around to witness my deeds, no one around to hear about it, even if no one will ever know. I'll know, if I've done the wrong thing... because one thing I've learned is to always be honest with myself, to never lie to myself, because that brings on disaster."

Katriina nodded, "You're wiser than I have given you credit for... I saw what you did with that prisoner, in case you were wondering. You could've kept her locked up, no one would've blamed you, but you released her and the entire group on the grounds that they leave the war for good." Yoshiro nodded, "Could've done a number of things, but... those children, they deserved better than this life I had chosen for myself. I watched men, women and children die... I once held a child as he died on the way to the infirmary... that kind of shit changes a person for the rest of their life. It's something you never forget. These kids are lucky, their main weapon are guns... none of them will ever know the look in someone's eyes as they die from their weapon going through them. Honestly, I hope they never do."

Katriina nodded, "So you're dead set on killing your half-sister for killing Rogelio?" Yoshiro nodded, "For Anastasie, this war is about taking back the temple of one of her deities and protecting her people. For Masaru, this war is about reuniting the Kitsune kingdom. For me, it's about revenge, that's all it ever was." Katriina nodded, "Then get revenge, but you will find that it doesn't satisfy you." Yoshiro nodded, "I'm aware, Katriina. But Aiko has to die, it doesn't matter by whose hand, I would just much rather it be my blood soaked hands, than by the hand of someone young and innocent." Katriina smiled softly, "Even as far into darkness as you are, you still think about other people, you still fight your battles so that no one else has to." Yoshiro nodded, "Someone will have to eventually, might as well be me, right?"

Katriina nodded as she started to fade away, "Emiko is bringing you back to the land of the living." Yoshiro found himself back in his office and looked at Emiko, "Why'd you do that?" Emiko frowned, "Because, my great-grandson, she was complaining to me constantly. I guess it doesn't matter. She says that you've chosen your path and nothing is going to take you from it." Yoshiro nodded, "When Aiko is dead, I plan on walking away from this. I want to explore... to go beyond our planet and find new worlds." Emiko shook her head, "You're drawn to combat by the blood that flows through your veins, you are the son of Kawal and nothing will ever change that, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded, "Then perhaps I can stop fighting wars like this and start fighting the right battles, battles to truly protect people, instead of kill them." Emiko smirked, "That's the spirit."

Chapter 18

Akira walked upon the grounds of the holy Fairy tower, as the wind blew, he knew exactly what was about to happen as he gripped his weapon. He sighed slightly as he looked around at the soldiers that were behind him, as he looked to the west, he saw the Fairies, as he looked to the right, he saw the Kitsune Army, in front of him was Aiko's army. He noticed that the enemy soldiers were terrified by their motions, but he watched as they brandished their weapons anyhow. Akira felt a great sorrow as they did so and he sighed, "I could end this, Masaru." Masaru's voice spoke up, "Very well then. Authorization of Kawal, approved." Akira looked at the enemy soldiers and called out, "I'd put those weapons down if I were you." One of the enemy soldiers spoke up, "Aiko will kill us if we do." Akira sighed, "Retreating is your only hope of escaping unharmed. Do you really want to fight and die for her?"

Akira watched as one of Aiko's soldiers pointed their gun at him, but when they fired, the shot whizzed pasted his head. Akira shook his head and bent his knees slightly, "That was a terrible mistake." He took off running faster than any normal kitsune could, his durability allowing him to continue to shift positioning as he did so. As he ran up to one of the soldiers, he grabbed them by the neck, lifting them clear off the ground before wheeling about on his foot and throwing them into another soldier and continuing running as he took aim at another soldier, shooting them in the shoulder. He called out as he changed direction to run parallel to the wall, "I'm sure you've heard stories about me! The rumors are true!" Akira looked up at one of the lower rooftops of the building and smirked as he jumped up onto it.

The soldier was stunned, but lifted the weapon anyhow, Akira moved out of the way just before the weapon was fired and rushed in with startling speed, grabbing the younger Kitsune's arm and breaking it, painfully, before tossing him off the roof, knowing that a fall from that height wouldn't do any damage to the younger kitsune. Akira heard shots splash against his shield as he heard a Kitsune cry out, "Kemono! Kill the kemono!" Akira closed his fist and used his magic for the first time in a while, overheating their weapons almost instantly, "Watashi wa anata no saiaku no akumudesu! Watashi wa Kawal gozen, nai tan'naru kemono gozen!" As Akira turned around, he saw the two Kitsune drop their weapons, immediately and start running as Akira smirked slightly, knowing that at least they wouldn't die.

Akira heard something large head his way, and was surprised to see a Karhu of all things rushing up the stairs. He dodged out of the way of the bear anthro's charge and turned around to face him, "Didn't you hear me earlier, I'm Kawal." The Karhu roared and then look at him, "Kawal is a myth made up to scare young people like me, old man. You will die with the rest of your army?" Akira smiled, "Then please, permit me to shed my equipment." The Karhu nodded, "Fine, if you wish to be cocky, I will be glad to rip you limb from limb after you rid yourself of your armor and weapons." Akira threw his weapons off the roof and then removed his armor, throwing it off and calling out, "Clear out the tower, but do not storm the roofs, capture any of Aiko's soldiers that you can."

The Karhu looked at Akira, "You think that's going to matter, we'll defeat your little coalition. You however, will die by my hand." Akira shook his head, "You will never touch me, child." The Karhu growled and rushed at Akira, "Let's see who will never touch who!" Akira moved out of the way and punched the Karhu in the gut, causing the much larger creature to double over, "I told you, kid. I AM Kawal." Akira moved out of the way and turned as the Karhu recovered, "You're stronger than a normal kitsune, I'll grant you that, but... I'll still kill you!" The Karhu rushed at him again, this time Akira moved out of the way and sharply elbowed the Karhu in the spine, "Are you going to listen to me, or will you die before you get it through your thick head. I've killed your kind before with my bare hands."

The Karhu roared and slammed his fists into the ground, before turning around and swiping at Akira, who moved out of the way, and grabbed the arm. Akira violently and swiftly twisted the arm with enough force to snap the tendons in the wrist. He sighed slightly as the Karhu's arm fell limp and the Karhu looked at him, "What the fuck are you!?" Akira looked at him, "I told you already, twice. I am Kawal." The Karhu looked absolutely scared of him, but rushed at him anyway. Akira had enough of this particular soldier's shenanigans and rushed into the Karhu's charge, bending down and using the momentum of the two to throw the Karhu over his shoulder and onto his back." Akira slammed his foot on the Karhu's chest, "I have torn your arm and bruised your spine and ribs. If this fight continues, I will break your neck. Give up, now."

The Karhu decided that this would be a great time to claw at Akira's leg, but Akira lifted his leg out of the way and slammed it down onto the Karhu's hand, "Now I have broken your other hand, sulk away in defeat or die, those are your only two options. Personally, I'd rather not kill you, but if you give me no other choice, I will." The Karhu started to move back towards the edge, sheer terror in his eyes, "I can't believe that you're real! I thought you were just a myth." Akira turned around, "Because I allowed Kawal to become a myth, I chose to live the life of Akira. But remember my mercy today, because in the past, I've killed hundreds of your people, with my bare hands. Now go!" The Karhu picked himself up and fled as Akira looked up and heard the roar of engines, "The air battle is about to begin."