The sound of rustling leaves filled Lenn’s eardrums as he trekked up the winding mountain path, his teammates and the old lady who they helped walking besides him.

After a plentiful dinner, she wanted to show them a nice place to see the moon. Lenn tried to kindly decline, but the lady insisted, so here they are.

The place isn’t that far, and they were already almost there after ten minutes or so of walking.

“How old are you?” The old lady asked.

“Me? Oh I’m uhhh… around seventeen, I think.”

“Why are you not sure?”

“Just never bothered to keep track of it,” Lenn shrugged.

“My children are the same age as you when they left,” she told Lenn. “They left here twenty-two years ago, and I haven’t heard from them since.”

“Why did they leave?” Asked Lenn, but he already knew the answer.

Because of the war.

“Valkyria doesn’t have many young men at all, most of them went off to help the war effort,” the lady said, a hint of remorse in her voice. “My children were among those who left for New Asia. Twin brothers, always dreamt about flying jets since they were small.”

Lenn nodded, the old lady’s words making him think back to his childhood. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he brushed them away with his sleeve.

“What about Eden?” Lenn asked, tilting his head at the shy girl who followed them from a distance. Ying was walking next to her, and they seemed to be having a nice conversation. “Is she your daughter?”

“Ah no,” the lady chuckled. “I took her in as a helper for my restaurant, her parents left her behind after she was born. I’m basically her mother now.”

They had met Eden back in the restaurant, where she was called over to their table after the last guests had left by the old lady. She timidly introduced herself, and looked very uncomfortable sitting at the table with them until Ying started talking with her. After that, up until now, she was almost always around Ying.

“She’s only thirteen this year, so it’s normal that she’d feel a bit frightened around older, battle hardened soldiers like you.” The old lady said. “Though she is shy, she is so very sweet.”

“Battle hardened…” Lenn spoke those words over and over quietly.

Although it is true that they had been soldiers for much of their lives, they have never actually done much direct, gruesome, person against person fighting. It had always been machines piloted by people fighting against other machines piloted by other people. Lenn and his teammates have never even shot a person with a gun before, let alone murdered someone right before their eyes. It had always been a detached battle, a battle with enemies they don’t see, using weapons which they never touch with their bare hands.

They continued walking in silence, not wanting to disturb the sounds of nature which they only rarely got to hear. Back in New Asia, there weren’t many plants anywhere except the greenhouses.

Further and further up the hill they went, and soon they could see the entirety of Valkyria panned out below them. Compared to the shallow valley which it resides in, the town seems tiny, its dim lights almost fully hidden by the thick cover of trees. Across from them, at the other side of the village, sat the rocky overhang which is the aircraft hangar. Even at night, it is brightly illuminated by powerful spotlights, and every once a while a trading plane would come to land or lift off into the night sky.

The bright moon peeked through at them from between the clouds, a shimmering halo surrounding it. Sometimes it would disappear behind the clouds, and other times it would reappear.

“Is it often that pilots from Europa or New Asia visit here?” Lenn asked.

“Hmm… not that often, but more often than you’d think.”

“For what reasons do they normally come to visit?”

“To stay here. To run away from the war.”

“To stay here?”

“Yeah. A lot of the people here are ex-soldiers who have either finished their service or have defected from their city. Mostly from New Asia though. Ever since Europa started using clones we never really had anyone come from over there.”

“How come I’ve never heard stories of people running away?” Asked Lenn, tilting his head.

“Because they don’t want to hurt morale. If they told you such tales and stories, more people would begin running away to seek peace elsewhere. Truth is, the war is becoming pointless, and more and more people are beginning to actively oppose it. Those who oppose it sometimes just decide that they’ve had enough, and just fly away.” She halted her steps at a rocky outcrop halfway up the side of the mountain. “We’re there.”

They walked out onto the rocky outcrop, leaving the cover of the trees and entering below the starry night sky. Once again it struck Lenn just how pretty the night sky is supposed to look.

“What do you think?” Kang asked as Lenn joined him and Rei at the edge of the outcrop. “The stars, I mean.”

“It’s great.”

“Yeah…I know…right?”

“Yeah…” Lenn muttered. “You know, apparently many people here are soldiers who have defected and ran away from the war.”

“I don’t blame them…”

“How do you even run from the war?” Lenn asked, half to himself.

“You can’t,” the lady said as she walked over. “You can never truly be free from this war.”

“Well that’s quite pessimistic,” Lenn chuckled, glancing over at the little lady.

“It’s true.” She gently shook her head. “This town was founded by people who tried to run from the war. They boarded a transport plane, and flew towards the horizon with the cover of night. Both cities scrambled fighters to intercept them, but once the fighter pilots realized they were running away, they joined in as well. Instead of intercepting them, they flew escort alongside. And by the first light of dawn, they were far away enough that they could see the vast unbound blue of the ocean at the edge of the horizon. But there was no where they could go. For there wasn’t a single corner of the globe, except the safe haven within the walls of the two cities, where there isn’t lethal levels of radiation. Perhaps in another ten or twenty years, some places could be fit for living. But at that moment, they could only fly in circles until more interceptors caught up.”

The lady paused, staring up at the moon.

“One by one they were shot down,” she continued. “In blazing balls of torn metal they fell. But some survived, and they built up a civilization of their own. Two of those people were my parents, and they gave birth to me a few months after they landed. Well…landed against their decision.”

“So it is true…” Kang mumbled after a moment of silence.

“What is?”

“The tale of how Valkyria came to be. A bartender in the town told us. We didn’t believe him back then, and he didn’t really believe it either.”

“Well it is. When I was born, this place was a few wooden shacks. I watched with my own eyes as it grew into the prosperous trading town that it is today.”

Ying came over as well, Eden hiding behind her.

“They look scary…” Eden whispered, peeking her head out from behind Ying.

Ying smiled. “Yeah they do but… I promise you they aren’t as scary as they look. Except for that short one.”

“Oi!” Kang exclaimed, causing Eden to quickly duck back behind Ying.

Ying chuckled, gently turning to the side to expose Eden. “I promise they aren’t scary.”

Slowly, with darting eyes, she looked up at Lenn who stood closest to her.

“Are you Lenn?” She asked quietly.

“Yeah. Did you Ying tell you about me?”

Eden nodded.

“She said you fly those planes,” she mumbled. “What is it like?”

“Well it’s…cool? It’s fun. It’s makes you feel free and powerful.”

“Does it let you feel like a bird?”

“Uhh…? Yeah?”

“Wow!” She exclaimed very quietly, her eyes suddenly sparkling in the moonlight. “I want to fly like a bird as well!”

“Well maybe when you grow older…” Len sighed.

“Can you take me up in one of those fighter planes with the big glass bubbles?”

“Uhh…”

“Can you ummm…” she stuttered, struggling to get the words out fast enough. “Can you teach me how to fly?”

“I…Uh…I…”

Seeing Lenn’s apparent distress, the lady stepped in.

“It’s getting pretty late, huh?” She asked rhetorically. “Let’s go home, Eden.”

“But…”

“Let’s go home.” She said again, more sternly this time.

Eden pouted her lips, but obeyed and walked away.

“You four should go back soon as well,” the lady said, turning to leave. “Young men like you need sleep to grow strong.”

And then she left with Eden, leaving Lenn and his team alone on the rocky outcrop below the silver moon.

“She reminds me of me when I was younger,” said Rei, looking at the fading silhouette of Eden. “All that energy, all that urge to take to the skies.”

“Weren’t we all like that?”

“Sure… I still remember on my tenth birthday, when I saw that poster in front of my school’s gate, and decided that I was going to become a fighter pilot. Even though military service isn’t mandatory for those living in the upper layers, I still enlisted when I got old enough.” Rei turned to look at his teammates. “I wish I was wiser back then…”

“Are you saying that you would have rather not become a pilot?”

“Nah… I never know what would happen if I didn’t see that poster. But it’s just that…” he sighed deeply. “Being a pilot is nothing like in the propaganda posters. There is no glory or fame, heroic sacrifice or legends. Fighting is nothing like what it looks like in the movies. There is nothing romantic or awesome about war.”

“What makes you say that?”

“When I joined up, I thought that the people who were KIA or MIA were heroes who gave their lives to protect our city. I hated our enemy so much I would smile and laugh each time one of their planes went down in flames. But now after everything that has happened… after meeting our enemies face to face… after being shot down ourselves. I just can’t treat everything the same way anymore…”

He stopped talking, apparently having gotten to the end of his chain of thought. They stood there in silence as the moon hid itself behind a blanket of clouds.

******

Lenn got up quietly from his cot, feeling around in the darkness towards the door to their room. His teammates were all already sound asleep, but he for some reason wasn’t able to make himself fall asleep.

With as much care as possible, he closed the heavy wooden door behind him and gently stepped down the stairs. He hoped that a walk around the little garden could make his mind settle down somewhat.

“Lenn! How come you’re still awake at this hour?”

Takeshi’s voice startled Lenn as he was walking down the stairs. He looked around and saw Takeshi sitting alone at the dining table, a little glass of wine in front of him.

“Sorry…just having some insomnia.”

“Haha, no need to apologize,” Takeshi chuckled. “They teach you to be too obedient in the military nowadays.”

Lenn could only smile wryly at Takeshi’s words.

“Come, have a seat.” Beckoned Takeshi, waving his hand at Lenn.

“No thank you… I uhh…”

“No no, trust me, some wine makes sleep come much easier.”

With a small sigh Lenn sat down across from Takeshi, who took out another glass from a cupboard and poured Lenn some wine.

“This is the finest wine from all the way over in what used to be Italy.” Said Takeshi, carefully putting the bottle away.

Lenn picked up the glass and took a large sip. The bitterness of the wine made him furrow his eyebrows, but the sweet and sour aftertaste left him feeling relaxed and comfortable.

“Mr. Takeshi…” Lenn said after a moment.

“Yes?”

“Why…are you going to such lengths to help us?”

Takeshi looked at him for a moment, sighed, and put down his glass of wine.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt too much to tell just you…” he mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a selfish reason really… One which I’m not very proud of either. Promise me that you will not tell anyone about this.”

“I’ll see…”

“It’s because of Ying.”

“What about her?”

“I’m almost certain, that she is my daughter.”

Lenn’s words got stuck in his throat. “I…I’m sorry?”

“Back when I was a pilot, I met a charming young woman in a town near the sea.” Takeshi continued. “We got on pretty well. Fell in love, you could say. I was only stationed there for a few months, but I guess that was enough time.”

“For what?”

“After I returned to New Asia, I got a letter. A letter from her telling me that she just gave birth to our child. A beautiful baby girl. I wanted to go see her, but I never got the chance because of my duties as a pilot. I sent her a letter, promising her that we would get married after my retirement.”

“And then…?”

“Several years went by, I became a Captain, and another letter came. This time, from the Captain in Europa. Back then he was still only a pilot. The letter told me that my fiancé’s town was attacked, destroyed, wiped from the face of Earth. But luckily, he may have found my child in the rubbles of my fiancé’s house, alive, and put her on a rescue vessel bound for New Asia.” He chuckled. "My best friend murdered my fiancé... Fate is truly cruel."

“How did he know it was your child?”

“We used to communicate a lot back then, so he knew I had a fiancé and a child in a far away village. He realized it was the same village my fiancé lived in during briefing for the mission. And plus, he told me that the child’s face looked like mine.” Takeshi paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before continuing. “When I found her in a hospital, I knew instantly that it was my daughter, and brought her under the protection of the military academy. From then on, I’ve never heard a word about her. Mostly because I didn’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to look at her. I didn’t know what to do with her. I hated her for surviving while the love of my life died. I saw her as the devil, the devil who brought suffering into my life. But for some reason I couldn’t bear to hurt her. I couldn’t bear to see her so helpless and weak. That’s why I made her join the military. Because I knew that way, I would never need to care about her ever again. And that way, she could be strong and fight for herself.”

Takeshi chuckled again.

“I lied…” he sighed. “I never was able to fully forget about her. I kept track of as little as I could, but I still kept track of her. I made sure she was put under the command of a Captain who I could trust.”

“Captain Yuki?”

“Yeah… I would much rather she be placed under me. But by the time she graduated, I already retired. Only after that, was I able to fully let go of her. After I knew she could live on her own. That is, until you four came to my little shop during the New Years celebrations. When you said you belonged to the 45th heavy fighter squadron, I realized that Ying might just be my daughter. Of course, I didn’t recognize her at the time. But I was fairly sure of it.”

“So what did you do?”

“Nothing. I did nothing.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t want her to know. She seemed happy. I didn’t need this little detail to get in the way of her life. And I’m not going to let her know this now either. Letting you four stay in my house is the absolute most I would do to help.”

“Is that the only reason you’ve been helping us?”

Takeshi nodded.

“You certainly are a very good liar, Takeshi.”

He didn’t reply.

“Well…I’m going to bed now. Good night. And thank you for your kindness.”

“You’re welcome.” Said Takeshi, leaning back in his chair.

“What if no one comes to take us away?” Lenn asked as he walked away.

“I’ll find you four a job and you can live out the rest of your lives here, without me.”

“And is that the most you will ever do to help us?”

“Yes.” Takeshi replied cleanly, without hesitation. But deep down Takeshi knew, that too, was a lie.

*****

Early the next morning, they were awoken by a loud knock on their door. The next moment, Takeshi stepped in, a wide smile on his face.

“I have good news!” He said energetically. “I have received word that a New Asian military plane will be coming to pick you four up! It should arrive in an hour or two, so pack your stuff and get ready.”