Written by: Gregory Weagle

Editors Note: Joe Macgee is (C) 1990 Disney and is used without premission. The writer has made no attempt to make money off this character and has agree to use this character with the upmost affection and respect to the Walt Disney Company and the TaleSpin team. All other characters are created by the writer itself.

Editors Note#2: Joe Mcgee is character from TaleSpin in the episode "The Old Man and The SeaDuck" and in this sa-ga he plays a deep role in teaching Maxim AeroStar how to fly and gives moral support for Maxim's diplomatic investigation into the tensions between Usland and Thembria.

December 6th, 1917

 The Great War was at its ultimate peak.... not to mention its ultimate suffering.....at its ultimate peak!

Nightfall looms over the ocean. It was nearly midnight and there was nothing but clear, blue ocean around all about. The clouds were quickly starting to cover the moonlight and the stars surrounding the black sky. A small white plane which looked like a makeshift plane of sorts; a C-11 plane number #017 was flying at the very close altitude to the sky. The small two engine plane was making excellent time and for the pilot this was the last flight in the last two days; his mission was to deliver a shipment of green beans. He was tired and completely fed up with this; but he knew he had to do it. For his country; for his people......for his own word.

The pilot was closing in on the coast of Jepang; a small island in which its government was joining the Airabus government in an effort to maintain peace and restore order in the country. The Airabus government declared war on Lyndon and later Usland after Airabus was found guilty of absues of power as a country. However; to this pilot; Airabus was the least to blame. The Usland government let Airabus get to an unreformed state that the tension broke long enough to force a massive war. The most digusting thing was finding out that he was drafted againest his own will with the threat of High Treason hanging above his head. He was lucky to only be delivering green beans to an hungry army waiting in Tikara; a makeshift camp town on the southern tip of Jepang. He wore a green sweater, green pants and a white scarf; he had a medium-build and a boyish-like face what hid his age which was about middle-age instead of being too young to fly.

"It looks like nothing can go wrong now....." he muttered under his breath feeling perfectly calm for the first time since this Great War. For once he felt proud. Once this shipment was done he would be able to rejoin his family and live with them; until he is needed again. But no sooner that he said that; the sound of a shot ranged within the area. Like a gun that went off. That was followed by a large pinging sound and a sizzling sound followed it within seconds. Like some sort of fire.....

"....I've got to stop speaking way too soon." He said feeling a clutch of panic as he realized that one of his engines was on fire and was sorching the internal stablizer that kept the plane in perfect alignment. With that gone the plane started to tilt onto one side. With no radio aboard (because someone could use the freq. to find his plane and attack); the middle-age bear superpilot had to think fast; so he remembered that he was able to restablize one engine by leaning towards the undamaged side of the plane engine. The pilot shifted his body towards that end putting more and more pressure onto that side. The plane's wing finally was able to be pushed back up and the plane began to regain a stable course.

Once he had the plane back into a stable alignment (which took an amazing amount of courage and strength); he felt good. ~I'll go to the Tikara Secret Base to repair the damage to the stablizers...This is just great! Why are people trying to make things more complex for me?~ he thought. However; his victory was in the end all for naught as he then heard a slightly more muffled sound of that same pinging sound followed by the same sizzling sound. The pilot soon discovered that the other engine was on fire and the internal stablizer was burned to a crisp within seconds. Without both stablizers; the plane would go into an uncontrollable tailspin; not to mention that the main propellor began to stop functioning. While the pilot was secured to his seat with a seatbelt; the seatbelt suddenly became fray. The superpilot realized that he was going to fall soon; so he said a prayer under his breath as the last line of safety was finally breached. The seatbelt snapped; causing the pilot to fall out of his seat and fall into the ocean; hitting the water very hard. The plane finally came to a stop by hitting a nearby rockface head on causing the internal propeller unit to be serverly damaged..

The sky was completely dark with black clouds now..... Looks like a rainstorm's comin! In more ways then one....

****

Moving to the secret base just outside of Tikara; one of the few towns that is fighting beside the Usland alliance in Jepang. The skies continued to darken even more; a sign of the evil behind the deadly conflict continuing. No one thought that the small country of Jepang would foolishly join the Airabus/Animea alliance; however the country proved otherwise. The place was an army campsite featuring about 100 tents . The two furries entered the fortress like tent camp and walked as quickly as they could ( considering that they were carrying a large amount of weight on their shoulders) towards the large pump tent in the middle of the makeshift army village. The tent was used to store food and medical equipment. The green pump tent is the largest tent of them all; proably because the fight has gone on for so long. It was also partly fulled with symbolic darkness as the rain started to fall as tiny raindrops not enough to cause much in terms of wetness. The inside of tent was very well organized with special place to put packages of bread, apples and other types of food in its rightful places. There was also a well-like pump where they could use to get 'fresh' water; although many has complained that the liquid tasted badly and some reported signs of sickness. By the way; those are the day where bottled water didn't even exist.

"Well; Pledge Mason. I guess war does have advantages after all." the black cat pilot spoke out towards the hippo pilot as he proceeded to place his packages of bread onto the specialized bread rack. The black cat pilot had an orange spot around his right eye and was wearing a white/brown flight jacket with a red poppy pinned onto his jacket. He is also wearing green pants and a brown triangle tunic cap. The grey hippo pilot had black hair and was wearing a red jacket, a white scarf tied around his neck and blue pants. He was considerably bigger (about 300 pounds at last estimate) than Durin; but wasn't the kind of person to really throw is weight around so to speak.

"Why do you say that Durin Percy?" Pledge responded looking a bit cross. He couldn't believe anyone would see this so-called 'Great War' as having advantages or being 'fun' for that matter. This was an awful event; no one was safe or inmune from the terrible chaos, terror, destruction and death of the 'Great War'.

"Pledge?!" Durin asked; "If you didn't join; would you be recongized for your efforts to protect the world?"

"Is that the only reason? "Pledge said in a venomous tone as he put his basket of apple on the specialized fruit & produce rack. "First of all we were forced into this fight with charges of treason dancing above our heads." As he said that he made a choking motion above his head to symbolize the situation both he and Durin were in.

"Pledge; I..." Durin tried to reason with him but Durin looked more angry than ever. Sure they were great friends; however they have this type of 'tough love' among them. Durin was the more easy-going type while Pledge was the more serious-going type and that can be a recipe for flare ups such as this one.

"DON'T I ME DURIN!!" Pledge screamed almost assertively; "Second; war is not justified. It was never justified. All we are doing is delivering a bunch of packages to an effort to protect land doesn't even belong to us. And even if we do win; nothing will stop another country from declaring war."

"Look Pledge; I don't like this as much as you do. I'd love to go home and play with my daughter Lucy." Durin said concerned about the mental breakdown of Pledge;"However; if we don't stop this terror then nobody will. Then the war won't be about the destruction of the land; it would be the destruction of the furry race." he stopped to catch his breath before striking the message home;" Is that igorance worth it?"

"You're right Durin; it's not worth it." Pledge said sighing knowning full well that peace had indeed fail and this war was the last resort for Earthia; "The furries must be protected."

"And winning this war might be the only way to stop this trivial arguement." Durin responded with a bitter tone to no one. Durin hated war and just wanted to put a positive spin on an otherwise bleak picture. Sadly; he still didn't know how to.....

"Still"; sighs Pledge who was suffering from the passing away of his friend who died during the battle of Lyndon nearly a year ago;"I'm worried. I've heard that many people have died because of the impact from this war. If our mission is to return the bad news to the important other that their important other is not coming back ever again......" he paused for a moment thinking about him going to a house anywhere on Earthia; "What do you say to them?" he paused as he tried to picture the faces of the people who have lost their love ones;"How do you say it?"

"I don't know." Durin said as he soon realized that Pledge was getting nowhere; "Why do you continue to dwell on the negative? Let's change the subject."

Pledge agreed with Durin; nodding his head with approvement. The issue was simply too much to understand for him and yelling at Durin for his mistakes over compassion againest this war wasn't solving anything. This was the Great War and they were stuck in the middle of it. Durin for one time at least; came up with a good idea.

"For once I agree because I don't know how to either." Pledge sighs again as he speaks;" How's your daughter and wife doing?"

"She's been driven crazy by this war." Durin said in a less bitter tone; "Lucy; my daughter says she is scared because I'm never home." For Durin it has been over a year since he became a full-time worker for the Alliance; mainly because he felt that this attempt could finish the war sooner. He was proven wrong of course.

"That's the impact of war Durin." Pledge responded with a weak smile; "It'll drive just about anybody crazy."

"So your wife is also driven crazy by war hasn't she?" Durin asked almost knowing the answer after the tone of voice

"Yes. Although she understands why we're doing this." Pledge said shaking his head.

"You're lucky. My wife screams at me every time I so much as even mention the subject. She said that if she had it her way, she would take them..." Durin stopped speaking enough to see Pledge just outside the pump tent seemly looking for something or someone; "...Pledge?"

"Durin, I don't see Maxim AeroStar anywhere." Pledge said with a worried look on his face.

"Maybe he's late..... "Durin said looking equally worried since they both work for Maxim's small business company The AeroAvis, " The poor bear has been working too hard. 15 deliveries in the last two days."

"Maxim is not a normal bear. He couldn't sleep even if his life depended on it." Pledge said as he went back into the pump tent. He was still worried about the situation. With their back turned; Durin approched him for a moment to talk to him again until.....

"He better not be sleeping! Or he'll get the rap from me!" a loud voice backons as a brown bulldog wearing army gear entered the pump tent. He sounded like someone was barking orders like a real dog although he did know.

"General Stateman!!" both pilots gasped in horror. General Stateman was a bulldog both as a figure of speech and was also for real as well. His first name is Barry for those who know him informally.

"Do you have any idea how important that green bean shipment is?" General Stateman barked out. He didn't really act like a drill-sarge that much; he more or less acts like a pit-bull. He isn't really a big or tall furry by army standards; but his constant barking out order is what gives him the most authority as a general.

"No, General I...." Durin said sounding in panic.

"Well, this is Maxim's 16th delivery and once this one done; he's going back home." General Stateman barked out proudly for his _role model_ " He needs his rest. Besides; that shipment is important because.....well..... green beans are good for you. Makes men strong..."

"....and cocky too." Durin finishing with a smirk. Normally General Stateman would be completely off the wall barked so agressively about even the slightest comment that almost anyone within earshot would go deaf for at least a week. However; General Stateman had no time for such games.

"I heard that aviator!" General Stateman braking in an assertive tone " Tells me that you eat green beans everyday."

"I do not!" Durin reacted in a pretty selfish mood. For your information purposes only; Durin Percy does eat green beans..... once in awhile.

"Now that's a gas if I do say so myself." General Stateman laughed out. When someone tells you that your statement is a gas; you know that someone is lying.

"Told ya Durin!" Pledge said ribbing his buddy in the ribs. Durin simply blushed in acute embrassment.

"Anyway; thank you for the shipments. Our men will be nourished to the gills very soon......" General Stateman said from being proud ".... when Maxim arrives with the green beans...." changing his tone to serious.

"I wonder if Maxim had engine trouble." Pledge said wondering if he sucessfully changed the subject.

"Oh come on Pledge...." Durin said giving encouragement to their friends " This is Maxim AeroStar; the greatest pilot in the world."

"Then why doesn't Maxim fight the air force team where Ramon is right now?" Pledge argued back to Durin.

"I said that Maxim was the best _pilot_ in the world; not the best _fighter_ in the world." Durin said.

"You should also know that Maxim hates bloodshed....." General Stateman's ranting stopped when another furry ran rumpshot into the pump tent; breathing heavily. The orange cat was wearing a green army overcoat with green pants and was followed by a white rabbit wearing a blue cloak with a blue coat and red coat. He also wore sliver glasses.

"GENERAL!! FUZI IS HERE!!" Lt. Weagle shouted as he tried to catch his breath after running. General Stateman looks at Fuzi Nakasaki like he was about to kick a digusting habit. It was a well known fact that Fuzi is not part of the alliance even though he is a close friend of Maxim's. And Fuzi was certainly againest this war and is trying to convince on his own the Jepang government to stop helping the Airabus dictorship. However; Fuzi's nationally had painted him as a villian in the eyes of the alliance. Racial and Origin charges are the result of failure to reconcile.

"What is this?? Some joke Lt.?" General Stateman barked.

"No General Stateman sir!!" Lt. Weagle responded loudly and he was huffing and puffing like he ran the hundred mile run without realizing that furries cannot handle that distance.

"Wait a minute! You're the famous pilot Fuzi Nikasaski." Pledge noticed him right away; "He's againest the Jepang government's decision to support the Archduke. He's *cool.*"

"Look aviator, just because he believes that what the Jepang government is doing is wrong doesn't make him *cool.*" General Stateman shouted out putting the same amount of puff behind the word as Pledge did.

"Is he always this uptight?" Fuzi asked partly confused and partly fearful for General Stateman's shouting.

"Yes; it's usually the green beans....." Durin said proudly right within earshot of General Stateman.

"Durin..... close your mouth..." Pledge said as he tried to put his hand over Durin's mouth. However; Durin moved out of poisition and it was too late anyway. General Stateman heard the comment full-blast.

"I'll ignore that little comment aviator."; General Stateman said firmly before noticing that Lt. Weagle was huffing and puffing with such powerful strength; "Will you stop huffing and puffing? We don't need to make news that a cat would huff & puff and blow the pump-tent down!"

"Sorry, General; but we got a radio message from Fuzi that a small airplane has crashed into a rock a few miles from our site." Lt. Weagle responded managing to catch his breath long enough to say anything. General Statemen wasn't surprised and was pretty upset that someone would update him on every single death in the battle when done as directed may and proably will kill you.....

"Not another one!!" General Stateman barked out tired of listening to every death;" Lt. this is war, death is not avoidable!! Why do you keep telling me every single death?!"

"But General..... Fuzi says he saw some green beans floating on the ocean...." Lt. Weagle said which pointed to the fact that this wasn't just some fighter pilot or solider: it was Maxim AeroStar. General Stateman seemly started to sweat.

"MAXIM!! He couldn't have?" Durin responded in absoulte shock.... He had known Maxim for many years and not once was involved in a plane crash.

"I don't believe this...." Pledge responded in the same shock and to him the same way Durin was thinking. Not to mention; both saw General Stateman sweating even more; something the agressive general rarely did in the face of death. Fuzi had to convince General Stateman that this was not a lie; even if it was insentive of him to do so; and even if he was still trying to understand why there is stigma attached to him for being a resident of Jepang.

"General.... " Fuzi said honestly and fairly " This is important. I'm a friend of Maxim Aerostar.... He is the greastest pilot in the world. That's why I returned to base to....."

"Lt.! Find Private Recon, Reckon and General Ted and tell them to go to the secret dock. I'll be joining them soon. Fuzi.... go with them!" General Stateman said geninuly concerned. It was one thing for a fighter to die because you expect that is something that isn't just to begin with. However; for a pilot who was only trying to avoid violence and deliver aid in victory of this war; this was inexcusable.

"Yes Sir!" Lt. Weagle and Fuzi Nakasakai said at the same time as they both exit the pump tent and head to the serect dock outside of Tikara.

"Durin, Pledge...." General Statemen barked turning to focus on Durin and Pledge;" You two return to the S.S. Wesdon and inform the commander that his best pilot is lost at sea. Understand?"

"Yes General!" Durin and Pledge responded still in shock.

"Farewell aviators! Your service to this effort was very good." General Stateman barked as he exits the pump tent and prepares himself for the rescue mission.....or the recovery mission. Pledge looks straight at Durin and starts to finally remember parts of their conversation that they had earlier on about having to go to someone and tell them that someone had in fact died.

"Well; Durin?" Pledge asked hoping that Durin had remember earlier in the talk back.

"Well, what?" Durin asked still not believing that Maxim was dead; but judging by the response.

"Remember what I said earlier?" Pledge asked again reminding of how earlier on they talked about how they might at one time during this war have to tell someone that someone wasn't ever coming back.

"Yes Pledge. This is going to be a long night." Durin said in a partial state of alert and a partial state of grief.

"Longer than you think....." Pledge said sighing as he walked out of the pump tent and a 15 minute walk towards his plane. Durin walked out towards the exit as well; following Pledge in equal steps.

"Please don't remind me." Durin said in disgust;" Oh Maxim!"  The sky was growing even darker and rain was falling even harder now.

****

It was really coming down hard.........But to a certain general; it wasn't just raindrops.....It was two hours later and for General Statemen it seems to be one hour, 59 minutes and 59 seconds too late. Losing his green beans was bad enough for him; losing a great friend was even worse; much worse. He _was_ suffering greatly. It was a long walk towards towards the salvage tugboat since it pretty muchs means that no one would have lived in that crash. Death was not proud for the General. General Statemen along with Lt. Weagle and Fuzi Nakasaki boarded onto a large tugboat docked at a secret wooden dock just a half-hour walk from the camp. General Stateman notices that Durin and Pledge's planes were gone; meaning that they had already gone back to the Battle Carrier Wesdon to inform Commander Wesdon that Maxim was dead. This would frighten Stateman for the first time considering that he was slow to do so. Only death can frighten the most toughest of men. Besides them; two twin soliders nicknamed Private Recon and Private Reckon were with them. Both are brown Gators wearing blue suits and were not wearing their rank-in-file, standard hear gear.General Statemen was also greeted by a brown hawk called General Ted who was wearing a navy blue suit with numerous badges and metals; who was commander of the Search, Recover & Rescue ship and considered the second in command to the Wesdon Navy. The massive tugboat pulled up its anchors and sailed away towards finding the plane known as #17.

"PRIVATE RECON!! PRIVATE RECKON!!" barked the General nearly causing Recon and Reckon to have a heart attack. General Statemen was best known to be very crabby; particually with these two. Private Recon and Private Reckon were known for making mistakes and taking breaks when they shouldn't. They were just not solider material; however, they were part of the squad thanks to the Usland House of Commans for using the dangerous War Measures Act. The last thing Recon & Reckon wanted was to be convicted of High Treason.

" Yes General!?" they both said with the element of fear painting their faces as both private rank-in-file soliders boarded the tugboat slowly.

"WHERE ARE YOUR HATS?!" General Statemen barked. However; he then had this thought. There was no point in yelling to anyone right now; the sooner that this is done, the sooner General Statemen can start to express his grief. He didn't want to believe that his best friend was gone.

"Well sir, I...." they both said with a clutch of panic.

"Never mind solider! Just keep an eye out for any oil slicks...no matter how minor!" General Statemen ordered.

"Yes; General!!" Recon and Reckon said at the same time without question.

"Also watch out for debris; that'll be the first signs of the plane!" General Statmen added to the order in one quick motion. Recon and Reckon seperated going to their lighting posts given by order of the General just before the two privates went onto the ship. General Statemen's fist became even tighter now.

"Sir; you are more uptight than usual. It's not losing the green beans; isn't it?" General Ted said trying to calm the Army General down a bit. However; all he really did was shake Statemen even more.

"No it isn't General!" he barked once again.

"Look; why are you so uptight about losing a pilot? You've been losing pilots and men before....." General Ted responded; in a pretty tentiative mood.

"GENERAL!! NO DEATH IS ACCEPTABLE!!....."; General Statemen roared getting the attention of everyone expect the two twin privates who seems to be confused;" Besides, this is not just another. This is a role model..... for children and people in general."

"General; if you keep yelling like that you're going to kill yourself. Stress is not a healthy thing to pack in...." General Ted chimed in again trying to calm the General down. General Statemen walked towards the front of the tugboat looking at the sky seemly talking to himself.

"...... Maxim was a wonderful man, one of the first pilots in the world. He was the first pilot to fly a solo flight between Wesdon and North Point (read: The North Pole in real life.) He improved Usland's relationship with Thembria and stopped the Airabus goverment from causing a physical conflict between our superpowers. Thembria is as you know; helping us in this war. Trained by pilot legend Joe Magee and Joe considered him as his best student." General Statemen said seemly to himself.

"I know.... Joe's method of training pilots was turely strange and original; but highly effective." General Ted chimed in. However; General Statemen continued to walk towards the front of the tugboat finally looking down at the darkness of the water; the rain pouring harder and harder. Lucky for Statemen; the winds were surprisely light for a violent rainstorm. Still; it didn't matter to him; he was still talking to himself.

".....Ahem. Sadly; Maxim has been tormented as of late. Most people around the world were angry over the fact that Maxim would only accept delivering aid to our soliders and innocent civilians and that only because the goverment threathened charges of High Treason. He means it when Maxim said that he hates this war.....ANY WAR!!" General Statemen barked out staring directly as General Ted like a snake ready to pounce on his vicitm with his venom "He believes that no war is just...... I don't blame him. I don't like war at all."

"You can count me in on that General. Maxim was always a shunner when it comes to bloodshed. He was always worrying about his family all the time. I cannot say I blame him... Speaking of family; your wife called you from headquarters six hours ago." General Ted said to remind him that Stateman's wife Anne Stateman had recently contacted Commander Wesdon's office againest orders from her husband Barry.

"I told honeybunch not to call during wartime!" General Stateman barked knowing that she was going to give her his; whatever it was; "What did she say to me?"

"It doesn't sound good for you General calling her 'honeybunch'. It seems that this war has impacted her so much. She actually demanding that you leave this life....."; General Ted paused to catch his breath and take the full force of General Stateman's wraith;"....or she'll leave yours!"

"SHE'S ALWAYS DEMANDING! "General Stateman barked hopelessly. His wife was a very demanding lady; of course Stateman was always a ordering person himself. Pretty much a good combination couple,"It's always wash the dishes, wash the laundry, cook the supper, Yak, Yak, Yak. I cannot even have a nice conversation with her without being uptight." You sometimes wonder if Anne was wearing the pants of the family; or Anne was a mother and Barry was the whining son. Still; this war was breaking them up not their differences or lack thereof.

"Durin was wrong... It's not the green beans. Its...."; General Stateman looked to see Lt. Weagle speaking when he shouldn't have ;"....something else."

"Lt.!! Get back to your assigned watch!" General Stateman barked back finally snapped out of his self-inflicted zombie-like stare.

"Yes General!" Lt. Weagle obeyed and returned to his assigned watch without question. Stateman was growing impatient and walked towards Fuzi Nakasaki who was cleaning his silver glasses with paper towel. Fuzi put the paper towel in the trash can and saw General Stateman looking more and more impatient.

"Fuzi?! Get over here! I don't see any plane around here!!" General Stateman barked at Mr. Nakasaki. Stateman couldn't understand why he was even joining forces with a person from Jepang. He wasn't part of the alliance and the only reason why he is alive is because he works for Maxim's AeroAvis company. This issue has driven General Stateman nuts. However; General Stateman had to know if Maxim was gone; or Fuzi was turely a traitor and Maxim doesn't know it.

"Focus the spotlight _on_ the water. You'll get better coverage that way." Fuzi said quickly noticing that the spotlight's light was not even showing up on the water or anywhere near the water for that matter.

"I thought that we did....."; General Statemen fumed and looked at the spotlight and found out that Private Recon and Reckon were sitting on the opposite ends of the tugboat with the searchlights off and were doing nothing." RECON!! RECKON!! What are you doing?!"

"Having our breaks..." Private Recon said proudly.

"...As you said." added Private Reckon.

"I'LL GIVE YOU THE BREAKS!!" General Stateman barked to the near point of actually screaming; "NOW MAN THOSE SEARCHLIGHTS....NOW!!"

"Yes General." Private Recon and Reckon muttered in disgust claiming they thought that they deserved their lunch break. The two turned on the searchlights without question.

"And stop that worthless mumbling private sailors!" barked General Stateman toning down his noise; " It.... gives me a nerve itching....." he then started staring at General Ted and he was looking back partly in fear of General Stateman's barking;" General Ted?!"

"Yes General?" General Ted said sweating out of control. General Stateman was so agressive that even the most fearless Generals actually fear him.

"You look over this side...... Fuzi?! You look over the other side. Lt. Weagle?! You look over the back side. I'll take the front." General Stateman said firmly.

"Yes, General!" all parties obeyed without question and they took their positions. General Stateman walked to the front quickly and looked out at the spotlight which Despite all the trouble that General Stateman was having with those two privates; they so far haven't made a mistake that has costed lives. Still; the fact that Private Recon and Private Reckon were not solider material made General Stateman reflect on the public prespective on government. The War Measures Act was starting to take its toll. While many people did support the act because it was a patroitic duty to do; it still doesn't excuse the fact that the Usland government made no attempt to reform the Airabus government; thus causing the war in the first place. General Stateman started to look at the water as Private Recon shoned the searchlight near the area where he was looking out. Suddenly; Stateman thought he actually saw something important. He turns around and looks directly at Private Recon who was starting to yawn a bit.

"RECON!!" General Stateman barked;" Shine that searchlight over yonder." He pointed to the water about one quarter of a mile ahead of him which it looked like he saw something.... green; ".... There!!" Private Recon obeyed without question; although he was muttering something under his breath. He still felt that he and his twin brother deserve a break in order to sleep a bit. They haven't had rest in the last three days.

"It looks like a green bean sir. And look there, there are more green beans." Fuzi Nakasaki said without question. General Stateman knew that they were on the right track. Prehaps Fuzi isn't a traitor after all.....Prehaps....

"RECON!!" General Stateman barked again; "Shine the searchlight forward..... I think we'll find that plane now." Recon once again obeyed without question although he was still digusted over a lack of a proper break. Recon shined the light further into the distance and it revealed what almost everyone feared: A huge rockface and to its own right side was a partly smashed up seaplane that was to everyone's surprise still was floating on its own platoons. The twin engines showed massive signs of fire damage although they were only partially damaged. The most worrysome is that there was no pilot (dead or alive) in the plane meaning that the poor pilot must've drowned by now or is completely missing. As Lt. Weagle was surveying some of the damage with Fuzi; General Stateman was sweating. ~It cannot be him!~ he thought bitterly even though he knew that this _was_ Maxim's plane.

"Looks like it was number seventeen plane that crashed sir!" Lt. Weagle pointed out looking at the wing section of the plane which was labelled in black duct-tape numbers '17'.

"NUMBER SEVENTEEN! That's....... MAXIM'S PLANE!! Noooooooooooooooo......." Stateman screamed out knowing that it was all over for him, his voice cracking at the last second and kneeling down feeling completely helpless;" Maxim was right; this war is stupid!"

"General? Are you okay?" General Ted asked even though he was partly feeling the pain General Stateman was feeling right now.

"General Ted?" General Stateman asked silently; partly in shock; partly depressed.

"Yes sir?" General Ted quietly spoke.

"You go into the radio room. Tell Colonel Allen in Tikara to release a salvage boat to our position. This is going to be a long night." General Stateman said with his voice cracking repeatly.

"Yes General." General Ted said without question as he ran towards the radio room quickly. General Stateman wished General Ted would simply slow down.

"Also send a telegram to Colonel Willy. Commander Wesdon must know what has happened. He's going to have my head for this." General Stateman said concerned. To him; this was his fault. All he cared about was getting this war over at whatever the cost instead of fighting to get the government to come to its senses about drafting people who were just not solider material and wouldn't be useful in war anyway. What was he thinking to thrust Maxim into a practice that was just simply wrong? While it was unlikely for General Stateman would lose his head over this; still he had a patroitic public who would be rethinking the thought of losing their role model. General Ted stopped to approve of General Stateman's command.

"As you wish sir." General Ted said as he closed the door to the radio room. General Stateman felt relieved that he closed the door; but that wasn't saying very much.

"RECON!!" he barked which this time showed signs of crackling; trying to sound like he was totally in control of his emotions. He failed that test completely.

"Yes General?" Recon asked.

"Turn off that searchlight! I've seen enough of this.... Once its turned off; you and Reckon are dimissed." General Statemen said peacefully. He couldn't yell right now; the grief was simply overwhelming. This was symbolic of the war. The greatest pilot in the world was gone and wasn't coming back to his family. He thought about his wife: prehaps it was time to heed her opinion and leave his life..... if she hasn't already left his.....before his soul leaves him for good.

"Thank you General." they both said proudly.

"Don't ever mention it again. And remind me to report you two to the Commander when we get back." General Statemen said really not in the mood to yell at anyone at the moment. This gave a false sense to Recon & Reckon that their mistakes would sit well with the Commander.

"Commander Wesdon isn't going to like this. This must of been an engine failure...." Fuzi said. This crash he has seen before and many times; engine failure is usually the cause. However; Fuzi should've known better on this day to keep his emotions from ballooning and making conclusions without proof.

"No kidding!!...."General Statemen stopped as he hear the word 'engine failure'. His first thought was that Maxim was in too much pain that he decided to kill himself by sabotaging his own plane. ~ Perish the thought!~ He knew Maxim and his mechanic Oniz for years. She [Read: tomboy] would never intentionally sabotage the plane. Maxim loved life and would never think of destorying himself. His blood pressure was rising now and he found his latest trigger for anger. "ENGINE FAILURE MY EYE!! I've known Maxim AeroStar for a long time. He always check and double checks his planes. Why would he kill himself? I don't believe that Maxim would allow engine failure just because he hated this war. Somebody must've wanted him real bad." Statemen was breathing heavily now; his voice really cracked under the pressure of grief.

"Then what could it possiability be? Sabotage by a rouge member of war prehaps General?" Fuzi asked in fear. General Statemen's voice has the ability to fray the nerves of anyone; even those who are are able to take someone's excessive barking and screaming. Fuzi took off his glasses and took out another piece of paper towel to wipe off the fog inside his silver glasses. He couldn't see very well. He blew air into the inside glass and used the paper towel to clean out the fog. Fuzi found a trash can stored onto the ship and placed the paper towel into the trash.

" I don't know. Once we get the plane back to headquarters; we'll find out the cause of the crash." General Statemen said voice still cracking under the pressure of grief.

"Now I wonder about Maxim himself...... Oh my....." Fuzi stated as he saw something near the sight where he was watching out. It looked like a hand floating in the water. Could it be.......

****

  A few hours later; Durin and Pledge's planes arrived at the Battle Carrier Wesdon; one of the largest battleships in the world. Built in 1897; this carrier was 750 feet wide by 1200 feet long by 190 feet high. It carrys at any one time more than 1000 people and can carry up to two years worth of supplies and two months of food. [slight pun] It is the center of operations for the Jepang offensive to restore peace and to convince the Jepang government to cease its figual bondage with the Airabus dicatorship. This is where many people heard that they would be placed into a battle in which they might never return and yet have no choice because the alternative is that they never return. B.C. Wesdon was a beatuiful piece of technological design... However; the beauty of this historic carrier would be soon shattered by the events that would soon happen as Durin's Viper CT-15 and Pledge's Viper CT-16 landed on the landing strips with no room for error onto the battle carrier. There were no furries on the docks as they were either fighting battles elsewhere or working from within the battle carrier. For Durin and Pledge however; everything including their reputations were on the line. For Pledge; he felt gulity that he should have warned Maxim that he was clearly doing too much even though both he and Maxim were fully againest this war while Durin felt sad that he would never see his best friend again. To him; Maxim was the reason why he got an important job as a flight instructor and later as a cargo pilot. Before you would know it; Durin and Pledge jumped out of their planes and began the longest walk ever on this wonderful boat.

"How are we going to explain this to Commander Wesdon? You know how dependant he is on Maxim. Can you imagine this?" Durin asked Pledge looking worried.

"The big question is how are we are going to be able to talk to Commander Wesdon?" Pledge answered knowing that Commander Wesdon was a very busy man and important news would be hard to come by.

"Yeah." Durin said as he and Pledge enter a door leading through a long and winding hallway towards Commander Wesdon's office. Halfway through the corridor they spotted a white leopard wearing a navy blue suit. He was considered Commander Wesdon's second-in-command and leader of the Wesdon Naval Force. He hails from Polande.

"Colonel Willy?! Umm.... we're here to see Commander Wesdon right away." Pledge said proudly although that seemed pretty fake.

Colonel Willy wasn't quite convinced; "What are you doing back here? Can't you see that Commander Wesdon is busy right now?"

"Well," said Durin trying to choose his words carefully if that was possible with him;" we have returned from our shipment to Jepang and we are awaiting further orders from Commander Wesdon."

"Yeah; we would like to tell him something important, very important." Pledge said in a follow-up word.

Colonel Willy eyes lit up and that was followed by a nod with his head.Colonel Willy realized that Maxim wasn't here and looked puzzled. Usually it was Maxim who came here first before these two aviators; however, he then saw that it was Durin and Pledge. They completed their mission it seems. And they did say that they had something important to say to the Commander. Commander Wesdon did request Colonel Willy to let anyone enter if they had important news.

"Why didn't you say so? Commander Wesdon would be pleased about this latest turn of events. I'll take you to the Commander." he said.

"Thank you Colonel." Pledge said to him.

"Your welcome....Come this way please!" Colonel Willy said seriously in his usual naval emotion as he leads Durin and Pledge to the end of the hallway. Durin and Pledge were all too familiar seeing this part of the battle carrier. Durin, Pledge, Maxim, and countless others all met Commander Wesdon to be informed that they were drafted to help in the war effort pretty much againest their will. In a very short time; Colonel Willy and company were finally at the end of the hallway bordered by two double-doors made of solid assertive steel which leads in Commander Wesdon's large quarters; much like the Commander himself: very assertive.

"Do you think knocking on the door is such a good idea?" Durin said timidly. While Commander Wesdon was not nearly as aggresive as General Stateman is; he is considered a very assertive man and his huge size can scare even the most coruagous of pilots.

"Why are you so concern about every little thing? Please control yourself." Pledge said trying to keep calm.

"Commander Wesdon doesn't have a door bell. Besides; I wouldn't want to get Wesdon mad..." Colonel Willy said with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"I'd rather let the hurricane strike now than later." Pledge say calmly. To him the sooner that he tells the truth to the Commander; the better off the world would be. Although the pain of losing your number one will be just that... very painful.

" Okay; but that's you decision not mine." Colonel Willy speaks as he knocks on Commander Wesdon doors; "Commander Wesdon.... Durin and Pledge have returned from General Statemen's camp. The goods have been delivered sir."

"Excellent! Both pilots are dismissed until further notice. Thank you for your service to the Great War!" a voice beckons proudly to the three furries. He sounded very pleased at the latest turn of events. While Durin and Pledge would love to be back home to their families; the haunting news still had to be told. Colonel Willy realized that too.

"Commander! Durin and Pledge have also returned with important news." Colonel Willy shouted back outside the door. While the double-doors were fairly thick; they were still thin enough in order for the Commander to hear Colonel Willy's voice.

"Look; tell them that I'm very busy right now. I'm trying to remoblize our troops to Europe. Thembria has ordered that they need more resources, Maxim is still upset over all this...... " The Commander soon struck a thought; Durin & Pledge were on the same aid team as his number one Maxim. The news must have been concerning Maxim. Prehaps it was best to talk to them even if only for a limited amount of time. "Durin & Pledge? Something important? Sorry Colonel Willy..... Enter please!!"

Colonel Willy opens the door and lets Durin and Pledge enter the large Commander room. It had a large solar panel window where Commander Wesdon looks out to reflect on the depressing life given to him. The only object around was a large wooden desk and chair with the desk littered with dozens of file folders and papers. Looking outside is a golden bear wearing a silvery/navy blue suit filled with at least ten different metals and badges. He is large in size and fairly tall. His hat was on the desk. Some people also know that he was a former resident of Animea; one of the considered rogue countries fighting alongside the Airabus dicatorship.

"You're dismissed Colonel Willy. I'd like my privcy with these two pilots." Comander Wesdon said firmly as he turns around to see Colonel Willy with Durin Percy and Pledge Mason. But no Maxim was to be seen in Commander Wesdon's eyes... ~I wonder where Maxim is?~ he thought.

"Thank you Commander." Colonel Willy said as he exited Commander Wesdon's war room.

"Welcome back aviators! Report!!" Commander Wesdon asked in a firm but proud voice. ~He must be late with the green beans! That's my fault; I've worked him too hard!~ he thought proudly.

"Well; here goes nothing....." Durin said giving Pledge a nudge. " [_You_ tell him what happened, Pledge.]"

"Well.....Commander......sir...." Pledge said trying to choose his words carefully. Commander Wesdon was starting to get impatient. The mess of papers pretty much said it all for him. Commander Wesdon was very busy and he rarely 'kids' around if ever at all.

"Could you please get on with your report right now. I only have a limited time to speak with you. Lots of things to do you know..." Commander Wesdon said firmly. He was not like General Statemen in which people would actually fear him; he is very assertive.

"We managed to deliver all the goods that General Statemen wanted Commander." Pledge stated proudly getting the good news out of the way right away.

"Including the green beans?" Commander Wesdon asked cracking a smile. If Maxim was successful then he could dismiss Maxim AeroStar and he could go back home for a few days to meet his son again. Until the next shipment is needed of course.

"Well that's what we wanted to tell you...."; Durin said almost shaking; not knowing what to say;" The green bean shipment never made it...... Maxim's plane crashed into the ocean." Pledge looked directly at Durin: ~So much for trying to say in properly.~ he thought not knowing the Commander's next reaction.

Commander Wesdon couldn't believe it. His best pilot was gone for good?.....~No way; No how!~ he thought bitterly.~ This cannot be true. It cannot be ture!~....."WHAT?! THAT'S....Impossible! This cannot be........" Commander Wesdon screamed in a state of absolute denial; " Maxim and Mecha (Read: Oniz) checked and double-checked that plane. He must be late with the shipment. That's what happens when you do 15 deliveries in 48 hours. It tires the best man out."

"But; Fuzai contacted General Statemen to inform that Maxim's plane number 17 crashed into the ocean." Durin said trying to show evidence but soon realized that he had none. Commander Wesdon couldn't believe that they got their information from someone from Jepang.

"I told you not to trust him. We must be careful about people who are not part of the alliance...." He said seriously. Even though Fuzi was againest the Jepang offensive; he wasn't considered part of the alliance because of his nationality. Still; Fuzi was one of Maxim's legendary 12 pilots and Maxim figured that Mr. Nakasaki's services were necessary to stop Jepang from making the Great War even worse than it already is.

"Commander Wesdon!! Commander Wesdon!!" Colonel Willy said as he suddenly barged in unannounced and without knocking on Commander Wesdon's front door. It was againest Commander Wesdon's orders to do so. Colonel Willy was out of breath however; so Commander Wesdon decided to choose his words more carefully trying to keep his seriousness in check; he didn't want to lose anyone else by something as preventable as a heart attack.

"First you insist on knocking on the door before you come in and now you decide to barge in without premission from the number one commander in the free world. When will you make up your mind?" he asked quite nicely.

"When he stops eating those green beans?" Durin said thinking Commander Wesdon was making a funny. The Commander's seriousness quickly turned to rage. He couldn't tolerate anyone who felt green beans were a creation of evil.

"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW!!" He screamed and pointed his finger straight at Durin and Pledge;" I'm tired of these petty insults!! Pledge, you and Durin are dismissed!"

"But sir?" Pledge said trying to plead his case.

"GET OUT NOW!!" He shouted driving his fist down on the desk almost ready to use his hat as a weapon. He couldn't stand anyone who was againest eating something that was good for you.

"Yes sir." Durin and Pledge said quietly as they both left Commander Wesdon's office quickly. Colonel Willy closed the doors quickly. Pledge wasn't impressed with Durin's actions at all. They decided it was best to tell Maxim's siblings about it. They would believe it since they were the people who were againest this war.

"I told you that insults are not going to win the Commander's heart. Learn to keep your opinion to yourself." Pledge said with an angry tone.

"But I wasn't expressing an opinion...." Durin said trying to defend himself from his biggest critic of this outfit.

"Durin; I'm going to get you help before you destory yourself." Pledge said as he and Durin walked back in the long hallway towards their airplanes; bound for Wesdon no doubt.

Back in the office of Commander Wesdon; it was Colonel Willy's turn to take the wraith of Wesdon's venom. Commander Wesdon didn't like being insulted. He also loved green beans and couldn't understand why people hated them so much. Maxim loved them and he was the greatest role model in the eyes of many that he has helped.

"I'm surrounded by insults over something that is good for you. Now Colonel Willy! Why have you returned?" questioned Commander Wesdon as Colonel Willy tried to keep himself from trembling in fear from Commander Wesdon's relentless barking.

"I just got a telegram from General Statemen and General Ted; it's.....very bad news." he said reculently speaking on the last three words. Commander Wesdon was even angrier now. To him; this was a blood war; not to expect death was considered lying to thyself so to speak.

"What did you expect! No news is the only real good news." he barked again as he grabbed the paper with a considerable amount of force and starts the skim through it. However; rage would quickly turn to sorrow. He couldn't speak anymore as he continued to read it. It took nearly a minute before he finally speak. Colonel Willy put his fist againest his chest gently and said a prayer under his breath.

"Oh my....no......this cannot be happening to us..... Colonel Willy? Please leave me...." Commander Wesdon said as he fell back to his wooden chair and looked like the end had ended for him.

"I'll inform Gregory sir.... he must know...." said Colonel Willy as he walked slowly out of Commander Wesdon's office also shaken.

"Yeah; you go do that........ I'm sorry Maxim; for being so blind...... You were right..... This war is stupid; even if there's no turning back now...... What was Usland thinking?" He said as he put his faces in his hands. He couldn't shed tears; he couldn't cry. The toll of conditioning prevented him from doing so. It didn't stop him from being very sad. However; Commander Wesdon knew he had to be brave.... the Commander had an obligation to tell the public the truth behind what will prove to be a long bout of pointing fingers and fear-mongering. He also had thoughts about the government of Usland; who in Maxim's mind were the cause of this war; the failure to reform the Airabus government was the cause of the bloodshed. Prehaps the Usland government was still jealous over Maxim's 'dangerous' editorials.......To Commander Wesdon it made no difference now. Maxim was dead and this war was the blame. He took the phone off the holder and started to dail the number to the press. They must know.....

"Hello? Yes this is Commander Wesdon here..... Prepare the presses... I have very bad news...." Commander Wesdon said in a brave voice. He knew what was about to come. He wondered as he laid the piece of paper down how he would be able to face Maxim's son. He called war a barbaric practice which should be outlawed and in its own original way; Wesdon couldn't blame him.

Such is the 'Impact of War'........

The small piece of paper reads as follows:

 ~

Telegram from General Ted on General Stateman's behalf:
 
12/06/1917 H23:20 
To: Commander Wesdon
RE: Bad News
 

I regret to inform you that the C-11 plane number 17 has crashed into a rock face at 2315H at 47N 130E 3'17". The pilot has not been found at this time; but it doesn't look good. The official cause is not known at this time; however, the engines are charred to indicate that a fire may have disabled the engine and the stabilzers.

We'll keep you posted on further development as soon as possible.

General Stateman is feeling very low right now and I fear that our governments and the military forces will soon be hearing from the AeroStar family; so be prepared for anything.

 
General Ted 

~

++++ End of Introduction ++++