After returning to the air base proper, the pilots of Spare Squadron were herded back into a room adjoined to the hangers where Colonel McKinsey was waiting to debrief us on the action. As we gathered and stood around, he took a long moment to study a display screen which generated data which had been gathered of the skirmish in the air. He slowly looked up and regarded us with a hint of amusement, "Well I'll be damned. You lot all came back in one piece and chased off the enemy too. I'm not sure how I should feel about that."

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that to try and kill us sir," Count remarked before the colonel laughed and waved him off, "Don't give yourself too much credit out there. If anything, you guys owe your sorry asses to Trigger here."

He turned to look at me, "That was a crazy stunt you pulled back there son. Do you have some kind of deathwish?"

"No sir. It was a calculated risk," I said calmly, "I knew I couldn't beat those Su-33's alone, so I placed some trust in my new squadmates to assist, and they did."

McKinsey crossed his arms and studied me with a curious frown, "You're actually saying you were willing to trust these low lives out there, after everything you saw?"

"I wanted to survive sir. I think these guys do too," I answered.

I looked over to the rest of Spare Squad but they remained stone faced and quiet, making it hard to read their mood. Finally, the colonel gave a laugh, "Damn Trigger, I thought you were crazy already. I just didn't think you were delusional on top of it."

He raised a finger and idly walked by me, "Tell me this Trigger. What if one day in the future, I decide you might actually be of some use to me? Maybe I decide to order your squadron off on another sortie. You think the rest of these guys would be willing to place the same kind of trust in you?"

"I don't know Colonel," I said honestly, "I guess I'd be willing to find out. If that will be all?"

McKinsey snorted and waved us off, "Get out of here. Dismissed."

Some time later that day, I was allowed to take a shower and change before heading back to the messhall for dinner. I was tired, hungry, and the simple comfort of a hot meal sounded all the more appealing. Once there, I got in line, filled my plate, and headed out into the dining area to eat. I walked over to an open table in the messhall and stopped when I heard some of the people quiet down and listen to the television that had been mounted on a nearby wall. It was normally broadcasting one of the major Osean cable news channels. For the past two months, the majority of coverage had been devoted to chronicling every new development of the Lighthouse War as it had come to be called. How much of it was true and how much of it was simply just state sponsored propaganda, I couldn't be sure anymore. As the news report changed focus on a new subject, I could understand why everyone around me seemed to quiet down more.

There on the screen was the princess of Erusea, a beautiful young woman with blonde hair who wore an immaculate white dress. Despite the seeming grace and angelic beauty that she radiated, her words exuded an underlying defiance and hint of steel. She was calling for her fellow Eruseans to rally and stand up against the Osean Federation. The room listened intently as she continued with her impassioned speech, "For too long we have been subjected to humiliation and injustice at the hands of the oppressive Osean Federation. I urge you all to hear me… to stand up, and fight for a noble cause… one that will show that we were on the right side of history!"

The messhall full of rebellious convicts broke out into loud cheers, applause, and wolf whistles. It was easy to understand their sentiment. In some ways, it was hard to imagine that this young idealistic princess represented the "enemy" we were fighting. For those of us convicted criminals here, the words of the princess only put into question our own loyalties and who our real enemies were. Was Erusea really our foe? Or was it in fact the Osean Federation who had condemned us to this fate?

Humans fight for many reasons: resources, politics, religion, hell… even love. At the root of it all, we all fight for survival. However, it was the path which offered the better guarantee of survival that still remained uncertain right now.

In a way, I envied the princess a little. She seemed so resolute and sure of her cause to fight Osea. In my shoes, I wasn't even sure what my cause was anymore. My life had been completely turned upside down and now I needed to find a new purpose. It made we wonder if I'd even find it with my own "people" either. Was there any hope of redemption for my crimes? Or was survival the best I could only hope for?

I felt a hand clap my shoulder as I was joined by my cellmate. Tabloid glanced at the screen and gave a sideways grin, "Ah… Princess Rosa Cosette D'Elise. She's a real looker, isn't she?"

I gave a noncommittal snort before admitting, "I guess she makes a fair case for turning sides, doesn't she?"

Tabloid and I continued to watch her as a news reporter cut in over the rest of the speech earning jeers from the rowdy messhall.

"She's surprisingly well spoken," he mused aloud, "If the Eruseans needed a poster girl for their war machine to keep churning, then she's definitely it."

"I don't doubt that," I agreed with a nod, "I'm sure she's got half of the men in Erusea enlisting and pledging to fight for her."

"This war has become stupid enough," Tabloid chuckled as we sat down to eat, "But I suppose there are worse things to die for, right?"

Before I could reply, I tensed up as I saw a new group of people approaching the table. It looked to be the rest of our flyers in Spare Squadron. Count led the way and seemed to hesitate a moment as well when he took a seat nearby us. The other Spares sat down with us and there was a long pause before High Roller pushed an extra serving of chicken my way along with a few bills of money.

The older man grinned, "As promised, and I figure I could cut you a few extra dollars too. You deserved it Trigger."

"Uh… thanks," I said carefully taking the food and the money as everyone began to eat.

In between bites of his food, Full Band mused, "You know… I have to be honest. That was some pretty gutsy flying you did back there Trigger. I didn't think we were actually going to survive that fight with those Flankers."

"For a minute, neither did I," I agreed, "But we did our parts and pulled it off somehow."

"Yeah… for a minute, we almost looked like a real squadron out there," Champ admitted before Tabloid raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, didn't they say they were going to throw you back in solitary for that stunt you pulled on the runway?"

Champ grumbled, "They're still going to throw me back in the cooler. Since McKinsey said we almost did a good job today, they'd let me eat first."

"Huh… we must be growing on him," Tabloid chuckled.

Champ ignored him and turned to me, studying the black eye he had given me, "Hey Trigger. Before I go, I still got something to say to you."

I looked up curiously and listened as he muttered gruffly, "I uh… good flying today. Just don't think you're all of a sudden going to beat me in a fist fight, okay?"

It was the closest thing I'd probably get to compliment from him so I nodded, "Yeah. Got it."

"He's right you know," Count chimed in, "You may have shown you're an above average pilot out there, but don't think you're suddenly hot shit either. For all we know, maybe you just got lucky today."

I gave a small smirk, "Maybe. I am curious about one thing though. You said something about being treated like a human being if I did something great in the skies?"

Count gave a dismissive shrug and scratched at his messy mop of blond colored hair, "If you haven't noticed already, no one's trying to take your food or throw any punches at you. It's the least we can afford you."

"Fair enough."

I nodded quietly and went back to eating while the others did the same. It was almost a surreal moment as our rag-tag squadron of scoundrels and rejects sat and ate together in relative peace. I'm sure there was still a long way to go before I fully earned the trust and respect of these guys. I still didn't even know what heinous crimes these men had committed to get here but I'm sure in time, I'd eventually find out. For now, I decided it was probably best to enjoy this temporary truce and the quiet moment of camaraderie that came with it.

Late that evening, we returned to our cell blocks and the guards came around for one final inspection before lights out. Once the cell block went dark and the halls grew quiet, I lay in my cot looking up at the small open air window which had been placed nearer to my bunk. Across the way, Tabloid had rolled over and lay quietly so I figured he was falling asleep. Despite my fatigue from the harrowing events of the day, I was unable to sleep and continued staring out the window. After a time, I sat up craned my neck to really get a good look at the outside world.

The base had gone quiet save for the sounds of summer locusts and crickets outside. In the absence of the moon tonight, I was treated to a small field of glittering stars lighting up the night sky. From here, the skies didn't seem so black and dark, but rather a shade of deep dark blue. I was suddenly pulled from my reverie as I heard the hushed voice of Tabloid speak, "Trigger? Hey, what are you doing over there?"

"I don't know. I was just... looking at the skies I guess," I whispered as I turned back around.

Tabloid reclined on his cot across the room from me and shook his head with a sigh, "Oh yeah? Did you find anything out there?"

I thought about it as I continued to look out the window to the night skies above. Out there was freedom from this hell hole I had found myself in. But even more, the skies above offered another kind of freedom. In the true skies, within the endless sea of blue there were no boundaries, no countries, and no meaningless wars to be fought. I had been given a taste of that again when I flew that sortie with Spare Squadron today. It was in my blood and I needed it again. I needed to fly again and even more, I needed to make sure this war ended in one way or another. Only then would the skies be safe be safe again for anyone and everyone. If Spare Squad was willing to help me do it, then all the better. But for now, I decided I'd do my part. Tabloid had asked me if I found something out there. Well, I did.

As I continued to gaze longingly out the window, I decided had found something after all. I turned back slowly to my squadmate and gave a quiet nod, "Yes. A purpose."

A/N:
To all the wingmen who've followed along up to this point, I just wanted to say thank you. This was my first attempt at an Ace Combat fic so hopefully you've been enjoying this little short story. Feel free to let me know if you liked it and thanks again for reading!