Video: Love at War

Chapter V - A Hero's Duty

A while later, Aerrow, Piper, and Radarr arrived at the Terra where Aerrow's ship was parked at. It was a smaller version of the Condor, just for the son of Lightning Strike. They safely landed on the edge of the Terra and drove towards the docks.

"Wow. It looks exactly like the pictures I've seen in the books!" - the girl said in awe as they approached the huge ship - "It's beautiful!"

"Books, huh? Guess my father is quite famous. Sometimes a little too famous for his own good." - the boy looked away with a worried expression.

Piper noticed that, which made her frown a little. Aerrow's father was fighting in the war at that very moment. She figured he was really worried about him. Even though when they first met he showed a lot of confidence on his father, she knew deep down he still couldn't help but hope he'd be okay. He might be good, but he was still a human. However, she somehow felt like giving him more confidence. Worrying too much wouldn't help.

"Well, I've read that Lightning Strike is the best Sky Knight in the world." - she drew his attention - "I'm sure he must be kicking some Cyclonian tail right now."

"Yeah, you're right." - he smiled at her.

Yes, worrying wouldn't help. Besides, she really liked the way he always flashed a grin at her. It made her heart skip a beat every single time. He made her feel safe and... Loved. Even though she didn't know if there was even a very slim possibility that he might think of her that way, she couldn't help but... Just daydream a little. That made her blush awkwardly. Oh, she was starting to act like a little girl immersed in some fairytale, wishing for a prince charming to come to her on a white horse.

She quickly looked him over, without him noticing. Well, he definitely had the armor, the charm, and the white horse. She glanced at his skimmer. What a magnificent white horse, by the way. Ah! Okay, now that was really a heck of drift. Back to reality, back to reality. Her inner 5-year-old girl had awakened, now she'd have to put her to rest again. She was a big girl now, she couldn't think such foolish things. She had to be mature, smart... And brave... Kind... Devoted... Handsome...

Oh! There she goes again! Impossible, there was no escape. But at least she was happy she had become that fond of someone so special like Aerrow. He was an amazing person, it was rare to find his qualities in somebody that young. She couldn't dream of what would become of him when he grew older. She wished all the luck in the world to him, and she hoped he'd be able to meet his father, well and alive, soon.

"Here we are, this ramp gives us access to the hangar bay." - Aerrow said.

Piper blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. Wow, was she grateful for having him to bring her back to the real world. If it weren't for that, she'd have been lost in her dreams all day long! She followed him and parked the heliscooter beside his skimmer.

"From here this ship looks a lot bigger than from outside." - she commented.

"Yeah. It has a different design from the original one." - he told her - "The ship is smaller, but each compartment has more space than normal because the walls are a little bit thinner. They're made from a more resistant material, though. That makes this ship faster and relatively more resistant than the original Condor." - he explained - "We've called it the Condor 2.0."

"That's impressive." - she said in awe - "What do you think it'll be like when you get to lead a squadron?"

"That's going to be awesome!" - he said excitedly - "Radarr is going to be my co-pilot, we'll have a wingman, a carrier pilot, a flight engineer..." - he imagined in his head what would his team be like - "And... I think there's a slot for a Crystal Mage too. If someone's interested." - he hinted.