Tyler Island Air Base, Usea
October 30, 2019

It was a cold autumn morning as the golden sunlight filtered in from the glass of the large hangar windows. The base's ground crews were already busy doing work on the F-22 fighters of Strider Squadron as well as the other allied aircraft which were gathering at the base. We had already taken in a few small flights of fellow Oseans who had been operating closer to Farbanti along with a number of fighters from some allied Usean states in the region. It was clear that our senior commanders were planning for a major operation, except the rest of us didn't know when or how yet. All of us were eager to launch an offensive on the International Space Elevator and crush the Erusean Radicals for good, but we knew that if we went for a knockout blow, we'd have to do it right.

I knew that a number of allied Erusean troops had already launched from some captured ships on the island and were making their way toward the Lighthouse. I knew Rosa had gone off to help encourage her people from the frontline and I couldn't help but worry for her, along with Tabloid and Avril who had volunteered to keep her safe again. I had no doubt they would, especially since Avril had struck up a little bit of a friendship with the princess as well.

In the mean time, those of us in Strider Squadron decided to distract ourselves from our restlessness by doing more combat prep. On that morning, I supervised one of the base's ground crews as they did maintenance work on the squadron's F-22s. I took some time to check my own aircraft and touch up the repairs made after my recent duel with Mihaly Shilage. It was at a time like this I realized I had been a little spoiled. The ground crew's work here had been good, but still not as good as Avril's. I never had to worry when I knew that she was working on my planes because she kept them in tip top shape and didn't settle for anything less. I'm sure part of it was her own pride and perfectionism in her work, but I also like to think that she always put extra work into Count and my planes because she wanted to keep us safe. I know she wanted us to have every edge we could muster in battle.

I gave a mild sigh to myself as I began to wipe down the canopy of my Raptor when I heard Huxian's voice call out from below, "Hey Trigger! Do you have a minute?"

"What is it Lin?" I said with my back still turned.

She gave a smile and waited with her hands on her hips, "You've got some very important visitors here to see you."

I slid down the ladder and turned around to meet Huxian along with two older men. My eyes went wide in shock and I felt my heart skip a beat as I recognized the commanders of my old fighter wing. "Clown? Knocker? I… what are you guys doing here?"

The leaders of Mage and Golem Squadrons stepped forward with broad smiles as they extended their hands and greeted me. My old squadron leader Clown clasped my hand and gave it a firm shake, "The same as you. We're here to end the war. It's good to see you again kid."

"Likewise sir," I grinned before I shook hands with Knocker next. The stoic blond leader of Golem Squadron graced me with a rare grin.

"I'll be damned Clown, our little hatchling's all grown up. We let him alone for a couple months and now he's a wing commander with captain bars on his collar."

Clown put a hand on my shoulder and regarded me like a proud parent would their child. He wasn't all that much older than I was, but he had always been a supportive mentor to me during my time in Mage Squadron. I had missed his reassuring presence on the battlefield and if I was being honest, I even missed Knocker's stern warnings about being disciplined and not being a show off. If anything, it was a little odd for me to be considered one of their peers now.

"We heard about your stint in the 444 and couldn't believe it when we heard about McKinsey too," Clown said with a teasing smile, "But considering how much trouble you get yourself into, I guess we shouldn't have been surprised."

"From what we've heard, you've had quite an adventure these last several months," Knocker noted, "It's hard to believe we're now working alongside our former enemies and now their princess has become an ally too?"

"I know it all sounds a bit crazy, but that's the truth," I admitted sheepishly, "If you guys are taking part in the next operation, I'm just glad I'm going to be able to fly with you again."

Clown scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Well, it'll be a little while yet since our official orders come in. If you've got some time to spare, we were hoping you could catch up and tell us all about your adventures. What do you say Trigger?"

Huxian patted me on the shoulder, "Why don't you go catch up for a little while with your old wingmates? I'll look after things here."

I gave a grateful smile to her and led my old flight leaders from the hangars, "Thanks Lin. Fair warning though, I might be a while. I know the guys and I will have a lot to talk about."

Spring Sea, en route to Gunther Bay
October 31, 2019

Early the next morning, the transport ship that was carrying a number of allied troops to the Lighthouse continued to make its way across the waters as the sun began to peek over the dark horizon. Avril Mead awoke in her small quarters that she shared with Rosa and she flipped on the lights before groggily looked around. To her surprise, she saw that Rosa was absent from the room. Perhaps the princess had been restless, or maybe she went to get some early breakfast? Avril gave a sigh and dressed in some warm clothes before leaving the room to look around. She could understand if Rosa was feeling restless. There was a lot riding on this next mission and everyone was putting pressure on themselves. Her younger friend had already been grateful that she and Tabloid had come along to help. While the princess could now claim to have little taste of battlefield experience, she was still far from her element.

Avril gave a yawn and headed toward the warmth of the ship's galley and found a few people already awake. At a nearby table, she found Tabloid sitting with a cup of coffee and an old newspaper. As she came over, he looked up in surprise and greeted her with a tired smile, "Avril. Hey. You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"Something like that," she replied sitting down with him. He poured her a cup of hot coffee and handed it to her, before she continued, "I was also looking for Rosa. You haven't seen her, have you?"

He gave a nod and idly scanned a few headlines of the paper, "Briefly. I think she headed up to the top deck to get some air. She seemed a little preoccupied about everything coming up."

"How about you?" Avril asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Just doing what I can to keep myself distracted," he said with a faint smile as he put the paper down, "I figured I'd do a little light reading."

"Those current events look like they're a couple weeks old," Avril noted observing the date of the newspaper, "Pretty crazy to think we're actually doing this, huh? Laying siege to the space elevator?"

Tabloid leaned back in his chair and took a swig of coffee, "Even crazier to imagine we volunteered for it."

"Someone's got to look after the princess," Avril pointed out, "Don't you think?"

Tabloid chuckled, "Ah. I knew you cared. You're just a big softie after all."

Avril gave a sigh and rolled her eyes before she fixed him with a pointed look, "Hey Steven... can I ask you something? Back on Tyler Island, you said you had something important to tell me when we had a minute."

"Oh... right," Tabloid said shifting uncomfortably. He tried to think of a way to put it before giving a quiet sigh to himself, "Das leben ist kein ponyhof."

Avril raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was he just speaking in Belkan? "What?"

Tabloid grimaced, "I was just remembering an old expression from my folks. I means life is not a pony-farm... that it's not easy. I guess that's one way to get that secret out there."

Avril frowned, "What? That you can speak Belkan? Or that... wait! Back at the island with Georg! The concentration camps! It's all starting to make sense now. But you're Osean, aren't you?"

"I am," he answered, "But both my parents were originally from Belka, so…"

"You never told me that!" Avril exclaimed in shock, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I did. I only told Trigger but with the way things were going on Tyler Island, I thought it would be dangerous at the time, and that it might put you in danger too," Tabloid admitted. "I didn't want that to happen."

"Well why not when things started calming down? You were embarrassed?" Avril asked, "You didn't trust me?"

"No... it's not that. I was worried about how the rest of you would react, or if you'd think of me any differently," he admitted.

Avril looked him over curiously, "Why? Is it because of all those things people say about Belkans being known for their conspiracies?"

Tabloid snorted, "That's just a stereotype and you know it. You said you didn't trust Belkans before and I was worried that fact might hurt our friendship. I didn't want you think any less of me for it because... well, I wanted to tell you that our friendship means a lot to me. That's part of the reason why I'm here with you on this mission Avril."

Avril blinked in surprise listening to Tabloid's frank admission, "Steve... I don't know what to say. I care about you too and I don't think you're a bad guy or anything. I just... I wish you would have told me sooner."

"I'm sorry about that," he admitted as he reached out to take her hand, "But for now, let's just leave it at that. There's one other thing I'd like to say right now, but we should probably wait until after this war is over. Don't you think?"

Avril gave another quiet nod and remained sitting before Tabloid gave her hand a gentle squeeze and left the table. She had a feeling she knew what he was getting at, but Tabloid was also right. They could talk about that later. Right now, there were other more important things to worry about. Avril took a breath and left the galley to head to the top deck. Perhaps she'd join Rosa after all. After a talk like that, she probably needed some fresh air too.

Once she reached to top deck of the ship, Avril stepped out into the darkness of the cold autumn dawn. She shivered slightly and noticed that she could see her breath in the dim light of the sun as it began to appear in the distant eastern skies. The deck was quiet and there were few people about as Avril strode down the length of the ship. Eventually, she came across the person she was looking for, sitting on a small bench by herself. Avril smiled quietly at the sight of Princess Rosa huddled in a green airman's flight jacket. Judging by the patches and unit markings on the shoulder, there was no doubt it belonged to Trigger. As she approached, Avril noticed Rosa was looking at something in her hand which appeared to be a folded piece of paper.

"Morning Cossette. You're up early" Avril noted as she came to join her on the bench, "You mind some company?"

Rosa jumped in surprise and turned to see her visitor, "Oh! Avril. I'm sorry I didn't see you just now. I was just... lost in thought."

"I can see," Avril said glancing at the paper in Rosa's hands, "What's that?"

Rosa's cheeks flushed slightly as she handed the paper to Avril and saw that it was a folded up picture of herself from an old magazine. "I... uh, found that in one of the pocket's of Tom's coat."

Avril smiled and began to laugh, "Oh, this is great! I'm never going to let Trigger live this down."

She paused a moment to settle down before handing the picture back to Rosa with an amused smile, "I should probably explain this, Princess. That picture was given to Trigger as a joke from the other guys during his time in the penal unit. That dumbass claims that this picture of you is a good luck charm and has helped him survive several battles, so he always keeps it on him."

"Oh... I see," Rosa said with a slightly bemused smile, "I guess I should be flattered. I had no idea he thought of me that way."

"Trust me Your Highness, I know Tom has a lot of respect and thinks very highly of you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have offered a friendly hand to you when you first joined us, or gotten us to see that you weren't so bad either."

"I suppose you're right," Rosa nodded quietly while putting the picture away in a pocket, "If I can be honest... I think very highly of Thomas too. For one thing, he's helped to change my mind a lot about you Oseans. I admit I haven't quite met anyone like him before."

The younger princess seemed a little sheepish from her own glowing admiration of the pilot and she decided to leave it at that. Avril smiled and decided not to tease her any more about it. After all, she had just had a similar kind of discussion with Tabloid earlier and was in no position to give Rosa a hard time. Avril decided to change the subject and got up to slowly amble out toward the railing on the deck. In the far distance, she could see the silhouette of the Lighthouse tower over the horizon. From there, the majestic structure seemed to connect the earth to the very heavens themselves.

Avril gave a sigh, "Take a look at that. It looks like a singe rope hanging down from the sky. Do you know how far the end of that rope reaches?"

Rosa looked out over the horizon to see the shape of the Lighthouse which was several hours away by boat. As she fixed her eyes on it, her expression grew much darker and more somber. After a long pause, she answered Avril's question, "Outer space."

"And at the end of that rope is limitless potential for mankind itself… at least it was until this stupid war erupted," Avril mused thoughtfully.

Rosa wrung her hands slightly and continued to look at the approaching structure, almost with an expression of dread and remorse. After another long pause, the princess spoke up in a solemn voice, "That's the other thing I came out here to think about. Because I believe that rope might be connected to a very faraway source of conflict and strife. Even before the war, the whole world was falling apart while President Harling was trying to rebuild it. I often wondered… what was going though Harling's mind when he was trying to destroy the very thing that so many people were sacrificed in order to create?"

Avril turned slowly, surprised by the sudden change in the tone of their conversation. "Hmm, that's not the way I heard it. What I heard was that Harling sacrificed himself to protect the tower from an incoming missile."

Rosa stood up and joined her female comrade at the railing to look out over the dark sea ahead of them, "Oh? I was told he tried to fly his aircraft into the tower to destroy it."

The sounds of the waves pounded gently against the sides of the boat as they continued steaming along. Avril gave a thoughtful sigh, "Then I wonder which story is true, Your Royal Highness."

"I don't know," Rosa admitted honestly with a shrug.

"When it comes to which story you perceive, I guess it's sort of like a mirror, isn't it?" Avril asked. She normally wasn't one to get all deep and philosophical, but given the circumstances, the comparison seemed apt.

"Yes... I suppose it does," Rosa said quietly, "One that reflects your values, your culture, and the things within your soul. But at the moment, the only thing I can see is darkness."

She paused as Avril turned and looked at Rosa. The younger woman wore a slightly distraught look on her face while she looked back up toward the horizon, "Right now, that tower is the source of all this chaos, misery, and death. I think that thing should be destroyed."

Avril remained silent and simply stood beside Rosa watching as the sun continued to rise. In several hours, they would be arriving near Gunther Bay. For now, there was nothing left for Avril to say, but she made a mental note to send one more message later, one she hoped would resonate with all those who would hear it.

Tyler Island Air Base, Usea
October 31, 2019

Early that morning, the joint air forces of Osea and our Erusean allies gathered at the base's HQ for an important briefing. We had all been expecting a meeting like this, just not so early. I gave a small yawn and gave some morning greetings as I took a seat with Clown and Knocker to one side of me while Count and Huxian took seats on my other wing. With the added numbers of pilots, the briefing room felt a little more cramped and the senior officers who were present all seemed a little more on edge than usual. Long Caster marched up to the main display board at the front of the room and called us all to order as the lights began to dim.

"All right, let's get the briefing started. A little while ago we received some communications via the partially restored general network. This is what it contained. As predicted, the Erusean Radicals have gathered around the space elevator. One of its many functions is that of a source of energy. Give the warmongers a powerful energy source and you provide them the luxury to keep on fighting a war. As you can see today, people from Osea, Usea, and Erusea have all joined forces to stop this dangerous faction and more should be arriving in time. The primary objective of our coalition fighter group will be to establish air superiority around Gunther Bay and take down the last Arsenal Bird in a massive saturation attack from the air and sea. While we do that, our ground forces hidden on the captured Erusean boats will secure the space elevator from the Radical aggressors."

Count raised a hand, "These communications you were talking about... have the sources been verified? They could be fake."

Long Caster almost smiled as he displayed one such communique, "I'll let you be the judge of that Lt. Morris. One such message we got was one I believe was meant for you and Trigger. Take a look at what's written at the end: Hey dumbass, if you want to bring the world back from the brink, come to the Lighthouse already. You can see the future there."

Huxian couldn't help but laugh quietly, "Dumbass, eh? That sounds awfully familiar."

"It certainly does," I agreed with a grim smile. Right now my thoughts were focused squarely on Tabloid, Avril, and Rosa. "Our friends are going to be headed right into the teeth of that storm and they're going to need our protection from above. Right now, I'm thinking we go roast that damn Arsenal Bird. Who's with me?"

I could hear several other Oseans voice some spirited agreement while all of the pilots from Strider Squadron added some very vocal support for the idea as well.

Long Caster nodded slowly and looked up to the room of fired up pilots, "Then it looks like we're all on the same page. It's time to fly guys and most importantly, it's time to end this war. Good luck pilots. We're all going to need it today!"