Stonehenge, Provisional Air Base

Following the battle around Stonehenge, our fighters in the LRSSG landed in a small air field which was attached to the Turret Network facilities. In the past it had been set up and used for transport planes carrying supplies and equipment to the main base. After the destruction of the Arsenal Bird, our forces needed some safe spots to regroup. Like the Osean ground troops, Strider and Cyclops Squadrons had been beat up and exhausted in the intense battle. Many of our F-15s had taken damage and a lot of our munitions had been expended as well. It was uncertain if several of our planes would be in good enough shape to even make the return trip back to North Point. A few of our pilots had been downed in the air battle and forced to eject. We were glad we hadn't suffered any human losses, but our material losses looked significant. Wiseman and Huxian's fighters had been severely damaged and it was unlikely they'd be flying again for a while either. It was too bad Avril was still back at the base in North Point. Now was a time when we could have really used her magic touch. I imagine if she took a look at the current state of Count and my planes, we'd still get an angry lecture from her about all the trouble we make.

By the time our exhausted squadrons had parked our planes, we all gathered in the central hangers for an impromptu celebration. In lieu of any alcohol or beer bottles, we used what we had on hand: a case of assorted soda cans. To my surprise, the other pilots gathered around Wiseman and I to cheer while showering us withhandshakes and pats on the back. Lanza wore a wide grin on his face, "I have to hand it to you two. That was pretty gutsy… taking on the Arsenal Bird by yourselves."

"Tell me about it," Wiseman chuckled as he pointed over toward his mangled Eagle nearby, "For a minute, things were looking pretty hairy and I thought we were goners."

"To be fair, it was kind of a team victory today," I admitted sheepishly. As much as I was enjoying the safe reunion of the squadron right now, being the center of attention for public praise was always something that made me feel a little awkward.

"Oh come on! Don't be so modest Trigger!" Huxian grinned brightly as she threw her arms around my neck and greeted me with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, "You're our hero today."

"Oh… well maybe, I guess," I managed to stammer in surprise.

Being the only girl of our unit, of course Lin could get away with that. As my face grew red, several of our fellow pilots shared a hearty laugh at my expense, even Major Wiseman. Our commanding officer turned and glanced over only to see Count wearing a sour expression on his face. My wingmate was standing off to the sidelines wearing a frown with his arms crossed before Wiseman clapped him on the back, "Hey! Why the long face little chick? It's a party. What do you say?"

Count gave a half toast gesture with his soda can and muttered, "Congrats Trigger. Good work today."

I let go of Huxian and extended a hand to my friend but was surprised when he brushed it aside and turned to stalk off by himself, "Count? Hey... what's wrong?"

He turned slightly and shook his head, "I'm going to go find a medic around here. I think I need a little more oxygen or something."

That sounded like a lie and he seemed upset for some reason, but I didn't want to push him here either, "Count? Are you sure?"

"Yeah... get back to your party Trigger. You earned it," he said before walking off.

I shook my head quietly and couldn't help but feel a little troubled and upset myself. Sure, I knew Count could be a little arrogant and prickly at the best of times, but he was still someone I considered a friend and during a happy occassion like this, I didn't want to see him down. I felt Huxian take my arm and lead me back toward the other celebrating pilots, "Tom? Hey... is everything okay?"

"I don't know," I admitted before reluctantly going back to the festivities.

Erusean Air and Space Administration
Experimental Testing Facility

Early evening had begun to set in over the air base and Princess Rosa headed outside for a short walk around the complex after dinner. As they were located in a remote area in the middle of nowhere, there wasn't any real danger to Rosa going outside and wandering around for a little bit. Everyone at the facility even seemed to understand that someone in her position could feel a little cooped up and stifled in such an environment. It was looking to be a beautiful evening and Rosa was grateful for it. The sun had already begun to set and the orange light over the salt flats gave way to cooler blues and purples in the sky. As she strolled outside a short distance, Rosa paused and quietly looked up to the stars. For once, this was a nice moment of peace and solitude. She could be away from the constant presence of prying eyes, of politicians, and the ever present war that was going on. For now, it was just her and the open skies. She reached up for a moment and spoke, "Can you hear me?"

As expected, there was no response. Even if her deceased father could hear her, she didn't think he'd actually be able to answer her. In a way, the silly childish part of her hoped that she could commune with him a moment and ask the late King of Erusea what she should do. After his recent death, he had left the responsibility of carrying on this war upon her shoulders, but after these last several days, she was beginning to have inklings of doubt that chipped away at her resolve to see this war through. She was beginning to question more, and that scared her a little. For all intents and purposes, she had the weight of the country upon her shoulders and she was just just a girl. The memories of her old life of being a regular carefree high school student now seemed so far away, like some distant fleeting dream. And here she was, isolated in several senses of the word. That was until she heard the familiar sound of a barking dog.

Rosa turned around and saw her yellow golden retriever named Prince scampering out of the facility for a little bit of a free run followed by Ionela's younger sister Alma. The ten year old girl had been so starstruck by getting to meet a real life princess in their first meeting and even more when Rosa had allowed the girl to help look after her pet dog while she was visiting. Rosa gave a warm smile and greeted the canine as it hurried over and came to cuddle for a minute with his master. She had owned the dog for several years already and she had no idea how ironic it was when her family named it Prince. When she was still a commoner, her uncle had been elevated to Erusean royalty and she had not been expecting that she would eventually be raised up in her social standing too. In a lonely trying time like this, having Prince around was a comfort and a blessing.

"I'm sorry Your Highness. I didn't mean to bother you. I didn't know you'd be out here," Alma said apologetically while coming over to fetch the dog.

Rosa affectionatly scratched the ears of the dog and gave it a kiss on the head before giving the girl a kind smile, "That's okay Alma, and please... you don't have to call me Your Highness. You know my friends call me Cossette."

"Oh... wow. You'd really let me be one of your friends?"

Rosa laughed gently, "Of course. Your sister is already my friend and so are you."

As Prince idly snuffled around the ground nearby and pawed at some dirt, Alma took a moment to look at the stars with the princess. "Is something wrong?"

Rosa glanced to the young girl and gave a little bit of a forced smile, "Not really. I just came out here to do some thinking about some things."

"About the war?" Alma asked innocently, "I mean... it's something Ionela's always concerned about, and it's why Grandfather is still flying around."

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Rosa asked.

Alma nodded, "Sure. I don't like seeing him hurting and I think that really stresses my sister out too."

"I understand. And I'm sorry for that... for your grandfather and your sister," Rosa apologized, "I wish the war didn't affect them like that."

"Then why should we have a war right now?" Alma asked as she stroked the dog's fur, "You don't hate the Oseans, do you?"

Rosa balked a moment, "Well... no. I don't. I... it's complicated. Some days I find it a little hard to understand too."

Alma nodded, "Ionela says she thinks the war is probably because of a lot of greedy people and stupid politicians... err, no offense to you though."

"None taken," Rosa shrugged. In truth, she probably agreed with part of that sentiment. She knew there was a large pro-war faction of warhawks in the Erusean government and she also knew there were plenty of businesses and defense contractors making a major profit on the conflict. Initially, Rosa's belief in a clean war with a noble purpose felt so right. After all, wasn't the goal to assert Erusean sovereignty against the encoraching Osean Federation? She had thought so, until she realized how many people were dying now, and how scary the idea was of Dr. Schroeder's drones taking over the conduct of warfare.

Alma seemed to pick up on Rosa's discomfort and asked again, "You're sure you don't want me to take Prince back inside for you?"

Rosa gave a tired smile and shook her head in the twilight, "No, that's okay. Actually, I'd feel better if you stay a while longer."

Stonehenge, Provisional Osean Camp

Later that evening, I made my way outside the temporary barracks that had been set up and I walked toward the outer ring of the Stonehenge grounds. I walked up a set of stairs to the outer walls that circled the area and looked around. The sun had begun to set and it hung low over the horizon casting a warm fading orange light over the deserts. As darkness and peace set it over the sands, it was hard to imagine the ferocious battle that happened earlier today. In the far distance, the remains of destroyed vehicles from the ground battle sat derelict while the fallen UAV drones lay scattered across the grounds like a flock of giant dead birds. Even from my vantage point, I couldn't help but admire the silhouettes of the Stonehenge guns in the serene light, standing guard like ancient sentinels.

I continued to walk along the ring until I found the person I was looking for. I was told he went out this way to be alone and I planned to interrupt. When I neared, I saw Count sitting along the low wall looking glumly over the desert sands while smoking on a cigarette. He turned his head slightly when he saw me and looked back toward the sunset, "Well... if it isn't the Osean Big Shot."

"Nice to see you too," I answered with a frown before sitting down beside him on the wall.

"Did you need some air from the big party still going on?"

"Actually I came to check on my wingman here," I said.

Count scoffed bitterly, "Ah. How very gracious of you. I wonder if they'll bump the great Trigger up to wing commander for it."

"Will you cut that out?" I replied in annoyance, "Dude... what is your problem?"

"What is my problem?" Count laughed sarcastically, "What is my problem? You really have to ask? I've got a problem with you! You're my problem!"

I stared at him for a moment, "Me? What the hell are you talking about? If this is about the mission today..."

"It's not just about the mission today," Count growled, "I can't stand the fact that I'm busting my ass and doing my best to pull my own weight around here and everyone else just seems soooo in love with Trigger. The pilot with Three Strikes is so great! Oh, he can't do any wrong. Let's heap on the praise and make him a squadron leader while we're at it."

"I didn't ask to lead Strider Squadron," I answered defensively, "And I didn't choose to take on the Arsenal Bird today either. I just did what I was told, because it had to be done."

Count scoffed again and took a drag of his smoke, "You know, I should have seen it sooner. Even back with Spare Squadron, everyone just seemed to gravitate toward you and do what you said. It kinda pissed me off. I guess it still kinda does. Shit... I can't get any respect around here. Not from Wiseman. Not from Lin. And now you..."

"So that's it, huh? You're jealous of me?" I argued back while shaking my head, "I don't know about everything else, but if this is also about Huxian, then you shouldn't be mad at me. I mean, sure she's cute and all but I'm not interested in her like that."

"It's not just about that," Count snarled in frustration, "Listen, just shut up Trigger. Forget it, okay?"

We fell silent for a minute and calmed down before I spoke again, "Listen... I never meant to step on anyone's toes or pick any fights. I think you know that. Come on Count, we've worked together in past missions! I thought we were buddies here. Talk to me."

"Buddies? Hah..." Count scoffed again, "I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you forget about me in the middle of a fight. You and Strider Squadron are too busy wowing everyone and wrecking Erusea's shit. Me? I'm still stuck under Wiseman and treated like some dumb hatchling who doesn't know how to fly."

"Count, you know I don't think that about you," I said but he wouldn't hear it and only seemed to grow more irritated.

"Yeah, well... tell that to Huxian and the rest of our fighter wing. They seem to think I'm just some clown that managed to tag along and is probably trying to ride on your coat-tails."

I gave a long sigh, "So what do you want me to do?"

"Just don't do anything," Count grumbled, "I don't need your pity right now Trigger."

I grew a little more irritated at that and sat up straight, "So that's it? That's how you're going be? You're going to act like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum?"

"Yep. Looks like," Count answered petulantly.

I nodded, "Yeah... okay. Fine. Go ahead and be a self centered asshole. Go ahead and forget everything we talked about back in Zapland. Sit here and feel sorry for yourself. I never asked for any of this either and I'm honestly flying by the seat of my pants half the time. Once you decide to get your head out of your ass, then I hope we can talk because I'm trying to be your friend here and listen to you when no one else is."

Count turned slowly and looked at me before tossing his cigarette in the sand and blowing smoke in my face. He got up and walked away leaving me fuming by myself on the wall. As angry and annoyed as I was with him right now, I also felt bad. He was my comrade and my friend. I wanted to help him but I couldn't do anything about it if he was going to be this way right now. I gave a deep sigh and looked back out toward the skies wondering what new troubles lay ahead on the road to Farbanti. For now, that was all I could do.

A/N:
Just wanted to give a quick thank you to all of you who have been continuing to read and review this story. I've appreciated all your interesting and thoughtful comments, and I've also loved some of the other weird and semi-insane reviews people have left too. For those who have voiced a desire for more divergence and uniqueness in the battles, I hear you and understand what you're saying. I think that's a pretty fair suggestion so I'll work on improving on that front moving forward. If there's one thing I admire about you guys in the AC fandom, it's how passionate people are and how much they know their stuff.

And for the romance shippers out there, don't worry. I also have something in mind for Trigger later on. If you're curious about who I ship for this story, I'm just going to say right now that my OTP is Trigger x F-22A Raptor. ;)