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28th of January, 2030 ; 1600 hours.
Tasha had said she wanted to take a detour and see the Space Elevator for herself. Which got no objections from Ray, or anyone else. It had been awhile since he last saw it, too. Half a decade at least; when his older brother took him to see it with their parents. It was a frequent trip they took, at least every month or two, if everyone could make it.
Adopted older brother, but still. Ray never took too much thought about the adopted part. He had been adopted himself just years before his older brother. Though now.. Ray doesnt know much about what theyre all doing. In a weird way, he hopes theyre worried about him.
No, hes sure they are.
The detour had soon became an impromptu mission, as Joker flight helped get rid of two boats with UAVS on them, though the third one had released the drones before Rex could get to it and Joker flight had to go after them before they reached the top of the elevation point.
Seeing it up close like this, as the four planes circle around the outside of the large building reminds him of a story his brother told him. Or, a few, really. Saving it, and thus, likely the future generations of pilots.
Tasha’s voice breaks through the comms once more.
“Sorry if im out of line, but are you the princess of Erusea?”
The lady on the other line responds in kind, sounding a little surprised by the question.
<<“Oh no, Pardon me if I gave the wrong impression. I have a background in digital comms, so I was asked to be messenger.”>> She says, continuing.
<<“Seeing how there are four of you, you must be Wings and his comrades.”>> She hums. Rex is nearly surprised her tone didnt change immediately, considering his sullied reputation. He wont be complaining, though.
‘Thats right. The man with no allegiance, the one maligned by the entire world.’ His former flight lead, Cope, speaks. Ray had gotten used to him, too. Though he’s still really unsure why he’s stuck dialoging in his head.
A bit dramatic, Ray thinks in amusement. Probably not the entire world. There are still people who believe in me. Even outside the Endurance and her crew. Both as Rex and as the guy outside the cockpit.
The woman speaks again, cutting through his thoughts.
<<“I have a message for you from Rosie Falcinelli, the chairwoman of our autonomous zone.”>>
…The princess? Or, well, former princess.
Regardless. A message to Joker flight?
La Chanteuse, as Ray (barely) remembers, relays the message sent by her boss.
<<“Please accept my heartfelt thanks. Your deeds have inspired a trust that transcends national boundaries.”>>
Ray smiles under the oxygen mask.
The team of four had made their way around the space elevator by this point. But Ray slows his aircraft, and pushes the comm button.
“This is Joker 1. Youre welcome for the help.”
Baxter, and subsequently, the other two Joker pilots, are surprised by the sudden comment from their flight leader. It was usually them, and by that Baxter means literally anyone else doing the talking and responding when it came to things like this. Coster had been more talkative than Rex.
“Rex?” He asks.
Tasha shares the same sentiment. “When did you get so chatty, Ray?” She teases.
Ray ignores it. “Miss Chanteuse, I have a small favor to ask.”
A round of more surprised “huh?”s come from his squad mates. The other line goes to reply but he continues before they can.
“Someone I know comes to visit the space elevator sometimes— every month or so, hes also a pilot. Im sure your chairwoman, Miss Falcinelli knows him.”
His tone unknowingly grows a little more fond. Ray knows he’s letting himself slip. But, if he can just get the message out…
“Tell the guy with the weird three jagged lines on his 22 that Zey says hi.”
He pauses for a beat.
“And that he now owes him 100 zollars. …If you could relay that to him, it’d mean a lot to me.”
Theres a silence that stretches for longer than Ray would’ve liked.
‘Thats the most I’ve heard you talk since we met, kid.’ Cope snorts.
The other side finally lets out a small sigh, audible over the radio.
<<“After the quick help you’ve lended us, it is… hard to deny you. I will see what the chairwoman says. Please, give me a moment.”>>
The other side promptly goes silent. Rays teammates, on the other hand, are the opposite.
“I think thats the most ive ever heard you talk so far, Rex.” Coster huffs out a small laugh.
“Right?! What was that about?” Tasha agrees, a giggle bubbling out of her as well.
“Im more curious about who you’re relaying the message to, Rex.” Baxter interrupts, the same amusement in his voice, but a tinge of curiosity as well.
<<“Ahem…”>> Dealer clears his voice over the comm, attempting to remind them all to get on with it.
“Hey, dont tell me youre not curious too, Dealer.” Tasha huffs.
The AWACS lets out a defeated breath of air.
<<“Alright, alright. But… only a little. …Dont feel pressured to answer, Rex.”>>
It’s Ray’s turn to sigh. He’s already taking a risk by asking Ms. Chanteuse to relay a message for him to him. Ah, no, would it really be a risk to tell the rest of Joker flight? Ugh. He must be overthinking things.
“ah, uh, well.” Ray chuckles sheepishly. He leads the four down a little closer to the ground, passing over the neighborhoods around the space elevator.
“…That would be my older brother.” Ray says. The four begin circling the lower part of the large structure, waiting for the other sides response. Ray hopes theyre making this quick.
His older brother was half the reason why most of Rays personal file was redacted. His other half were his parents. But that wasn’t important right now.
“Hes a pilot for Oseas air force right now.” The flight leads them up as the four slow.
<<“Ahem.”>> Shes back again. Ray feels a bit of relief fill his chest. <<“The chairwoman says that while we, nor she, can promise anything… we will see what we can do.”>> She finalizes, taking a breath.
Ray laughs warmly in response, “Dont worry about it. Thats enough to make me happy. Hes hard enough to pin down anyway. Wouldnt surprise me if nothing comes out of it.” His voice feels rough, now not from disuse, the opposite, in fact.
Rays F/A-18 does a barrel roll, like an extension of the weight that feels lifted off his shoulders.
Dealers voice cuts through the chatter once more. <<“Alright Joker flight. Mission completed. Lets get back on track, shall we?”>>
…Ray had almost forgotten they needed to get back to the Endurance.
And for the last time, La Chanteuse’s voice comes back over the comm.
<<“Right. Have a safe flight, dear flyers. And thank you again.”>>
Baxter is the one to respond this time. “Roger. Switching channels.”
Tashas cheery voice cuts through the comm again as they all switch back to their encrypted comm channel.
“So, Ray…”
The four jets yaw to the direction they were originally supposed to be heading, climbing altitude — back home to the old lady.
Ray takes a breath. And warmth settles in his chest. He hadnt been able to get a call in to his parents ever since he became Rex. He was eager to get word to them.
Agh.. his throat was a little sore now. He hadnt talked like that in awhile.
He waggles his plane in response to Tasha. Coster chuckles. “Back to it, Rex?”
A laugh from Baxter and Tasha as well.
“Aw! And here i was getting used to the chatty Ray.” She sighs dramatically, pitching her nose up and turning upside.
“I think after that, it’ll take a bit more to get the same out of Rex again.” Teach adds.
’Older brother, huh? Its no surprise everyone else is surprised themselves. Even the XO couldnt get clearance to un-censor a lot of the things blacked out.’
Ray looks out to the stretching sky below and above.
“Yeah.” He says to the man in his head.
Ray lets a breath of amusement out of his nose. “Im not ashamed of my last name. But even if its been.. two decades and before i was born, since then, itd probably be pretty inconvenient if someone recognized my parents.”
‘Huh. We arent so different, me and you.’
Ray has no idea what that means. Not yet, anyway.
“Youre too cryptic for a guy that lives in my head rent free.”
“..Also, i didnt think we were that different.” Ray retorts, gaining an echo of a chuckle from Cope.