So this is the guy. That hotshot pilot with the Three Strikes emblem. The hero of the Lighthouse War.
"Nice to meet you, Mister…" I greeted him, before pausing after I realized I didn't actually know his real name.
"It's okay. Just call me Trigger. Everyone else did." Trigger grinned as he shook my hand. Heh, at least he seems like a chill guy.
"So you must be the pilot who saved the Lighthouse and allowed my spaceship to dock safely," Nagase smiled as she shook his hand as well, "It's an honor to finally meet you in person, sir."
"J…just doing my job, ma'am! The pleasure is all mine!" Trigger answered nervously. I could tell Nagase is making him flustered a bit. I can totally understand that. I mean, who wouldn't?
"Oh my God, you're that famous astronaut!" One of Trigger's lady friends spoke up excitedly, "Captain Kei Nagase! It's…it's an honor, ma'am!"
"Damnit, Húxiān, you look like you've just seen your childhood crush," Another lady, whom I recognized as Princess Cossette's mechanic friend we met at the Lighthouse, teased her friend before giving her a light punch in the shoulder, "This is a surprise, Nagase, but a very welcome one. Never expected you'd show up here. I thought you'd still be dealing with all that press with Cossette in Selatapura."
"Her royal highness is doing a great job taking care of the refugees at the Lighthouse, Miss Mead," Nagase replied with a smile, "I and my friends were actually planning to stick around and help her as well but she politely insisted that I take some time off since I just came back from space. I didn't want to turn her down."
"Sounds like Cossette, alright. That idiot, always pushing herself too hard." Avril smiled. Heh, she must be the only person I know who could address a royal princess this casually.
"Also, you can just call me Avril. No need for all that 'miss' nonsense. I don't do well with titles."
That prompted a giggle from both Avril and Nagase. I can't help but smile as well. I always loved seeing her lovely smile.
"Alright, I guess we'll go fix ourselves some drinks. You guys can join us later after you boys are done talking." Bartlett said to me and Trigger.
"Great idea. I could use some nice whiskey right now," Pops agreed.
"I'm right behind you, sir," Snow replied, "Grimm, you joinin' us?"
"Absolutely, Captain!" Grimm said enthusiastically, though I noticed that his eyes are fixated on a young brown-haired lady at the bar.
As we settled ourselves at the bar and finished our introductions with Trigger's friends, Trigger turned to look at us with a curious look on his face.
"So, Bartlett mentioned you guys a lot," He began, "Heard you guys were big deal pilots in the last war."
"Big deal pilots?" I frowned at Bartlett.
"Well, I ain't wrong, aren't I?" Bartlett said.
I chuckled. So apparently, Bartlett didn't mention to Trigger that I and my friends were actually the infamous Razgriz pilots. That info was supposed to be classified.
"Interesting," Clown spoke, "I and Knocker fought in the war back then as well but we never heard of you guys."
"Which squadron did you fly in back then?" Snow asked.
"Hmm, the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron, if I recall. Had to work with a hardass AWACS called Thunder-blockhead or something." Knocker answered, prompting my friends to glance at each other with confused looks on their faces. Of course, I couldn't believe what I just heard as well.
"The 108th? You mean the Wardog Squadron?!" I asked. Wardog Squadron was supposed to be us. When did these guys come from!?
"Yeah, we got assigned to it after the previous members were all shot down in Ceres Ocean," Clown explained, "I don't know much details, but I heard they were actually spies for the Yukes – you know, our enemies back then."
"Which is pure bullshit!" Knocker suddenly cut in, "The Demons of Razgriz will never betray our country. They saved our boys' hides multiple times throughout the war. The only people who would call them traitors are either idiots, or they're the actual traitors who framed them because they're becoming a threat."
Wow, where were pilots like Knocker on Sand Island back then? This guy is on point. We probably wouldn't have to flee the base and faked our deaths after Hamilton framed us back then.
"Captain, you're really a big fan of the Razgriz pilots, huh?" Brownie, the lady that Grimm was eyeing earlier, said with a smile, "Never saw you fanboying like this before."
"They were heroes, Brownie!" Knocker replied, "They started out as trainees, not unlike you and Trigger before. After Captain Bartlett here got shot down and taken POW by the Yukes, those nuggets were left to fend for themselves in surprise attacks one after another, but they managed to pull through and become the finest pilots in our air force. They deserved better than getting shot down like chumps and being called traitors."
"As I recall, it was you who shot them down, Captain Snow. They were supposed to be the best pilots in our air force back then. How did you even manage that?" Clown spoke up, looking curiously at Snow, who has an awkward smile on his face right now as he nervously glances at us back and forth like he's asking: Help me out, guys!
"They were flying in training jets at the time, right Captain?" Pops cut in, "Captain Snow told me that those deserters were easy pickings because those training jets were no match for his F-14."
Knocker stared at Snow like he's not sure whether to be angry or impressed that he managed to 'shoot us down', but eventually he sighed and just raise his glass at him.
"Well, training jets or not, taking down the Razgriz pilots is no easy feat. I suppose you would be proud of that."
"What did you tell your boss back then, Captain? 'You'd better give me a medal for this later!', right?" Pops joked.
The funniest thing is, yes, he actually did get one. Snow got one shiny medal for something he never actually did while we never get anything for all the hard work we've done throughout the war. Hooray.
"Here's to the Razgriz pilots, then. The finest pilots our country has ever known…until I come along, of course!" Trigger raised his glass as we all did the same. Heh, someone's not being very modest.
"I used to tell stories about the Demons of Razgriz to my son all the time, you know?" Jaeger added, "They really were legends back then."
"Is there anything you won't tell your son about, dad?" Count remarked, which earned him a playful smack from Húxiān and a chuckle from Jaeger.
"To be honest, they inspired me to become a pilot in the first place. I always wanted to be a great pilot like them." Húxiān said.
"Well, wherever they are right now, I'm sure they'll appreciate that you thought so." Bartlett laughed as he glanced at us with a mischievous grin.
I could tell from the looks on my friends' faces that they were trying so hard not to smile right now. Hell, even I struggled not to grin as well. It's so ironic and frustrating that we – the Demons of Razgriz pilots – are right in front of those guys yet being unable to tell them who we really are.
"So yeah, about my first question," Trigger began, "which squadron did you fly in the last war?"
I stayed silent. None of my friends knew what to answer, and Trigger was staring at us with a suspicious expression. We must've been acting a bit too unusual earlier.
"8492nd!" Nagase suddenly blurted out, prompting me and my friends to simultaneously choked on our drinks, "We…we were flying in the 8492nd Fighter Squadron!"
Trigger was taken aback by her answer. To be honest, everyone did, even us.
"8492nd? What kind of squadron was that? I never heard of them before." Trigger asked.
"It's a reserve squadron, nothing important really." I said, lying through my teeth with whatever crap I came up with at the moment, "We flew in a few combat sorties if I recall. The first time was in Operation Wisdom, defending Apito International Airport when the Yukes launched a surprise attack, and later in Operation Desert Arrow. We were assisting our tank battalions to capture the Yuke airfield and oil refinery in Jilachi Desert."
"Yeah, it was pretty hot over there," Grimm quickly added, "I was sweating all over my cockpit!"
"Operation Desert Arrow, huh?" Clown nodded, "If I remember correctly, the Yukes somehow managed to bring a battleship into the battlefield, right?"
"Y..yeah. Absolute madlads, every single one of 'em." I said, resisting a cheeky smile. Of course, I had no idea what I was talking about. I vaguely remember flying in some operation with the word "Desert" in its name but I can't exactly remember what it was.
Chopper, I know you're laughing at me from above, you motormouth. You and your stupid coin toss.
"How the hell did they even manage to haul a freaking battleship into the middle of a desert without anyone noticing?" Avril noted, "Seriously, the Osean intel are pretty useless if you ask me. They can't tell where your enemies are until they're right on top of you."
"You can say that again." Knocker agreed. Count, Trigger, and Brownie sighed in agreement.
"So, what happens after that?" Jaeger asked.
"We…kinda didn't fly again until near the end of the war, really." I said, "The Osean forces already surrounded Cinigrad. By all accounts, we already won the war…at least until President Harling came back and revealed the truth to us that the Belkans were behind everything. We went to assist the coalition forces in assaulting the Grey Men's base in Sudentor. Apparently, some crazy bastards flew into the tunnel there and destroy the targets inside them, and the battle's over."
"Pilots flying into the tunnel? Now we're talking." Count said enthusiastically, "I thought Trigger and I were the only ones who could pull it off."
"Please, anyone can do it these days. It's not even that hard." Bartlett said, "In fact, I think we should put it into basic training course: any decent pilot should be able to fly through a tight, enclosed space at least once in their lives."
"Hey, not everyone can be as good as you!" Count retorted.
"He has a point, you know?" Trigger grinned, "You never know when you'll need to fly into a tunnel or two during sorties. It's a great skill to have, that's why you should keep practice it. Remember that stunt I pulled at Roca Roja?"
"Yeah, but you're already a nutcase, Trigger. What sane person would fly through a tunnel on a whim!?"
"Not to mention your first flight with us at Snider's Top," Húxiān added, "Like holy shit, Trigger! I saw with my own eyes that you flew into those gaps in the marine platforms and destroy the core pillars within them, multiple times! Even Wiseman couldn't do that!"
"Certainly an interesting way to introduce yourself to your new squadron, I'd say," Jaeger said,
"Wow, Trigger. I know you're good, but this is a whole another level of awesome." Brownie spoke in awe, "I really wish I could be as good as you."
"What can I say? Just doin' my job." Trigger smiled, before turning to Clown and Knocker and nodded at them.
"Alright, Blaze, you and your friends had your fun." Trigger announced with a large grin on his face, "Now tell us the real version, please."
Wait, what?
"I mean, nice try with the story, really. Gotta hand you that," Clown said, "But you got the names of the operations wrong. The mission to defend Apito International Airport was actually Operation Emerald. Operation Wisdom was the one about the nerve gas attack in Bana City. I know because I was there. I was part of the squadron dispatched to disperse the gas while you guys were dealing with the attack on Apito Airport."
Before I had a chance to counter, Knocker continued:
"Also, that mission in Jilachi Desert where that Yuke battleship showed up? That was actually Operation Desert Blitz, not Desert Arrow," He explained before chuckled, "I was flying one of the allied planes back then. Had a chance to see you guys in action yourselves. I was just wondering why your voices sounded familiar, it's because I've heard them before."
Just my luck, the two guys I've talked to just so happened to be those that I've already crossed paths with yet I never realized it. It's easy to forget that we weren't fighting alone in the battles back then.
"And the only way you could know about the Grey Men is because you're aware of their conspiracy weaving behind the war all along," Trigger added, "My good friend Avril here crossed paths with a Belkan scientist and…what was his name again?"
"None of your business, dumbass," Avril said, "But yeah, I had a chance to talk with him and he told me all about the Grey Men and their attempt to sow conflict in the last war. It's not exactly common knowledge, you know? The only way you could know about it is that you actually knew all along that they existed."
"You said you were at Sudentor. You knew about the Grey Men. You knew that someone flew into the tunnel to destroy the targets in it, and Bartlett described you guys as 'big deal pilots' like he had seen firsthand what you're capable of," Trigger continued, "It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."
I glanced around looking at my friends, who just sighed in surrender, while Bartlett just chuckled with a stupid grin on his face.
"Told ya, kid. They'll figure it out sooner or later."
Something tells me this was probably what he wanted all along. Hell, that's probably why he brought us here in the first place!
Well, at least the only people who knew the truth are those guys, and they seem to be decent enough fellows.
"I think it's time we tell them, Blaze." Nagase said, "After all these years, I don't think anyone's going to care anymore who we really are, plus it's nice to be acknowledged for real after so long."
"I agree, Captain!" Grimm added, "Especially since we're all ace pilots, right? It's not every day you get to meet and exchange our stories with others who are like us."
"Yeah, I always wondered what you guys have been through before I joined you as well," Snow said, "You never really tell me much about back then."
"It's your call, Blaze," Pops said, "Speaking from experience, a pilot's life can become more meaningful when they find others that they can talk to as equals. It could give you new perspectives in life that you might come to appreciate later."
Heh, somehow I think deep down, Pops was finding all this somewhat amusing for him. After all, he is the Belkan top ace in incognito, a fact that so very few people are aware of. In a way, I and my friends are in his shoes right now.
Except there's nobody to hunt us. No war, no conspiracy, no one that we need to hide our past from.
I suppose it's alright.
"Well, Trigger, you won. Looks like you and your friends will get to know the real Razgriz, after all," I began, trying to think of the best way to start my story. Heh, I wish Genette was here.
"So, you see, nine years ago, there was this distant island called Sand Island. Most of us were stationed there: me, Nagase, Grimm, and this guy called Chopper…we're all Bartlett's nuggets in the Wardog Squadron. Our first flight together was in pursuit of an unidentified stealth plane. A simple mission, really. Just track the plane down and force it to land. Nothing too exciting."
Strange, it felt like déjà vu right now. This all reminded me of that day at Heierlark Air Base where Chopper told our tales to the nuggets over there. It all happened a long time ago now, but I can still remember it like yesterday.
God, how I missed that feeling.
"Well, needless to say, we got quite a lot more than what we bargained for…"
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Author's note: Sorry for the long delay since the first chapter! I know I promised to finish the fic by last week, but I've been too occupied in looking for a job and got distracted by other things that I didn't really get around to write it until now, and to be honest, I find it somewhat more difficult to finish this chapter than others. I made the mistake of adding too many characters into one scene that I don't know which direction I should take, so I kept rewriting it again and again. It's a significant change from my previous fic where there are only two or three characters in the chapter where I can focus on them better. Even in this final draft, I'm not really satisfied with it, to be honest.
There will be the next chapters, don't worry! But I plan to split all those characters up into smaller groups where it can be more manageable so I can tell the story better. Look forward to it! And thanks again for reading! :)