The First Sortie [Voice]

[yellowthirteen]

[There’s a brief sound of static, and a gust of wind.]

…This is a priority two distress call. I am extra-vehicular and need an extraction immediately. Repeating, this is Yellow 13 sending a priority two distress call. I’m without my gear in the snow. No sign of my plane anywhere. Presence of the enemy is unknown at this time.

[Another gust of wind tears through the recording, followed by a very audible shiver.]

Can anyone read me? …Just where am I?

Comments

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

[Thirteen pauses to think how to explain this.]

Think of aircraft as large, metal birds. The type of airplane I flew are like the small, agile birds. Like swallows.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, that much I could assume. Or close enough, at least.

I meant spending so much time in the air. Our world has Rhieards, which are... I'm not sure how to describe one, to be honest. A bit like a wide log with handlebars and footholds, generally a light blue, on which you sit. You don't have to pedal as you would with a bicycle... It propels itself?

[A slight laugh, and she shakes her head again.]

But I've never ridden one. They came into creation years after my time.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

[Thirteen smiles.]

Once you really get a chance to fly, it's... unlike anything else. You may never want to leave the sky.

...But, Miss Martel, how could you know about an invention that came after your time?

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

[She knows what it's like to fly. She actually has wings of her own, real ones, all she had to do was summon them with the power of the crystal at the base of her throat, but... she never did spend all too much time using them. She'd always felt wrong, using them needlessly when others didn't have them to begin with. Plus, it sapped her mana, to use them for too long. So at his description of flying, she just nods appreciatively, not wanting to really explain all that at this point. Especially because the next question is kinda loaded.

After he asks, she thinks of the best way to explain.]

When I was killed, my brother ensured that my soul be fused to a great and powerful tree. When said tree was reborn thousands of years later, I awoke as the guardian of said tree.

[That wasn't entirely accurate, but it was close enough, and 100% fact would take tons more explaining.]

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

[Thirteen reclines back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest.]

I must say, that is difficult to believe.

But, I'm in no place to disbelieve it. ...Because I'm dead. Or I should be.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

As should many, here.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. This is... all very confusing. There's nothing like this back home. All of this is like it jumped from the pages of a fairy tale.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry as well. I suppose telling tales of my world isn't too helpful. Have you any questions I might answer? To clear some of the confusion.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

Do not be sorry. You simply answered a question I asked. And you've been very generous to me as well. Thank you.

...Though I do have to ask one thing. Are there truly many people here of fantastic origin?

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

And many of modest origin as well. It's a very mixed group.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

Seems I'll have a lot to learn here.

[Thirteen reclines back, looking more relaxed than he ever has so far.]

...But I'll have plenty of time for that.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

Indeed. If I can help in any way, you'll let me know?

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

Of course. Thank you, Miss Martel. You're very kind.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, muchly so. If you'd like, you're free to stay until you've found somewhere to stay. We've sleeping quarters in the back.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

That would be perfect. While I'm here, if you need me for something, make sure to ask.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

Unless you'd like to go rest now, pleasant conversation is always welcome.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

[He nods, but closes his eyes.]

I've never been much of a conversationalist. ...But for you, I'll try.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

Tell me about your world, then. If it's no trouble, I mean.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

It's a world of many countries. And many wars. Though so many of us hate them, it seems an inevitable tragedy of our nature.

...And then there was Ulysses.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

Ulysses?

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

Ulysses was an asteroid that fell from space. The world's powers knew it was to come for several years, and built many countermeasures to try to destroy it. Ulysses itself was big enough that if struck our world, the world as we knew it would end, engulfed into a never-ending nuclear winter.

[A pause, and a deep, but almost relieved sigh.]

That's not what happened. My home country Erusea helped construct a railgun battery known as Stonehenge meant to shoot the asteroid down as it entered the atmosphere. Six years ago, on third of July, 1999, Ulysses made planetfall, but before Stonehenge could engage it, the asteroid shattered into thousands of fragments. Stonehenge still destroyed many of the larger fragments, but... hundreds of smaller pieces broke through.

The world goes on, but 500,000 people died that day on the Usean Continent alone. Hundreds of thousands more were injured. Farbanti, the Erusian capital, was struck directly with a fragment, sinking a whole district into the sea. Millions worldwide were displaced. ...It was the greatest natural disaster in the history of our world.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

That's horrible...

[But she doesn't want to let him dwell on the sad on his first day.] But far better than the alternative, for certain.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

Yes. It was the beginning of hard times for Erusea and other nations. But we were thankful that we were alive, and that the world did not end.

But... Ulysses itself is responsible for at least one war, probably two. The Usean Continental War, where I served Erusea, started in 2003.

As for the second... hard to say what those damn Belkans were thinking. And if Ulysses even played into their decision.

[martelandmany.livejournal.com]

I too lived through war, though it was a single long one rather than multiple shorter ones... An experience I'd care not to repeat.

[yellowthirteen.livejournal.com]

That's now a sentiment I will agree with. Though I did not see the horrors of war up close from the cockpit of my fighter, I lost many people who were important to me.

But... I cannot claim I was noble enough that I did not want to fight. I still remain proud of my squadron and of our skill. We were the best. And we made Erusea proud.

But now my days of defending the skies are over. Peace is a welcome change.