"TERA!" Icarus shouted crossly, glancing around, hoping his voice sounded menacing.

"What? I'm not on a runway, am I?" He found the plane halfway under a collapsed shade canopy, her expression revealing much more pain than she was letting on otherwise. Struggling to get out from under it, it was clear she was somehow tangled in the beige fabric.

Icarus grinned in amusement. "How did you manage to get stuck there?" He carefully took a piece of the canopy in his mouth, pulling gently to try to get the wreckage off of her.

She winced a little, still trying to get herself out of the situation at the same time. In all actuality, she was only ensnaring herself more. "...he said don't go near the runway, so I didn't," she said simply. "The stupid canopy just got in the way."

"Hmm?" He couldn't hear her, and he was too concentrated on his task to read her lips. "Stop struggling." He managed to get her wing out of the tangle, but he was too afraid of hurting her to continue.

Tera rolled her eyes, annoyed. Even if one wing was free, everything else was still stuck. Not to mention the canopy was also cutting off airflow to her engines, which made it worse. Attempting to move forwards, she ended up dragging the canopy itself a little bit, finding that it was caught on her tails more than anything. "This is the most pointless thing ever invented," she growled, turning around to see if a different movement could get the fabric off. It didn't.

Moving to tug the fabric from her tails, he almost wanted to laugh. "You say that now, but just wait until there's no shade and your black paint soaks up more heat than you want."

"That's why I liked being silver," she said bitterly. "At least I didn't have to worry about overheating then. Or wondering if people even realize I'm a girl or not."

"You'll get used to it," he said dryly, "Well, I hope you do. I still hate this camouflage." He managed to pull the fabric from one tail, "The downside of being a military plane."

"And there's an upside?" Tera tried to refrain from hissing out of pain - she really wished that Tony hadn't replaced her tails. Even if it would've probably hurt worse if she had to go back to having only one.

Finally pulling her free, he sighed. "Tera, if there isn't an upside to being a military plane, then why would anyone be one? I get to train hundreds of planes, and I get to serve my country and world around me. I have friendships here on this base and all around the world because of this job… and better yet, I'm accepted here. I'm half deaf, and yet I have a place here."

"Sure. Hakuna matata and all that crap." Her eyes glinted an eerie red again. "You knew where you were going to end up. They didn't drag you into a hangar and convert you into a jet. No one said you were going home when you weren't."

"I knew what was happening to me, yes, but it wasn't what I wanted. They did drag me -kicking and screaming- to get me here, but it was for the better. I didn't know it then, nor did I accept it, but it was for the better." He almost sounded defensive.

"How the heck is any of this better?"

"Only time can answer that question," he stated elusively, "but sometimes life takes you places you never imagined… the key is to be open minded." If not for his size and status on base, he might have been afraid of her glitching eyes. Even so, they worried him, and reminded him heavily of Alpha. "Now, I know you don't want to, but I'm going to pull Tony over here so that he can look you over. You've got a few good dents there, and you're still not used to your new wings or tail."

Her eyes instantly turned blue again, leaving her disposition hazy and rather unfocused. An attempt to start her engines led to the realization that she was out of fuel… she'd already used the small amount she'd been left with. "No… don't… I'm fine. It took me a week to get used to it last time."

Icarus nudged her gently towards the hangar. "Tera, I don't particularly like Tony as a mechanic either, but you need to relax." He was glad that for the moment she wasn't fighting. "You can't just up and fly immediately after an accident like yours."

His luck was not to last. The plane put on her brakes. Full force. "Why not? I've done it before," she hissed, her eyes flickering red again. "Can't we hold off?"

"...sure," Icarus gave in, "but only for a while. You still need to be monitored, because there are still health and condition worries."

"But I'm not broken anymore," Tera still protested, even if she was admittedly less defensive than before… partially because she didn't have the strength to be. She turned her attention to the rest of the base, her vision distorting every time she attempted focusing on anything in the distance. "...this place is really different from before… I don't even know where my dad's old hangar is…"

Icarus softened some. "I can show you, if… if you want. It's just used as a trainee hanger, now, though."

The plane paused for a second. "I don't care... I'd rather see it."

"Then follow me," he said, moving at a pace he hoped wasn't too vigorous for her. There were a few turns they had to take, but soon enough they arrived to Jake's old hangar. Icarus still couldn't help but feel bittersweet when he was around it - it housed a lot of good memories, but always came with the shadow of death. "There it is," he stated, "We can go inside if you'd like, but… I know it won't be at all like you remembered it."

Tera had fallen silent shortly into the journey, just trying to keep up with Icarus at first. Even when they had arrived, she didn't have many words. Instead, she went ahead of the Thunderchief, looking over the hangar for herself. Like he said… it wasn't home anymore, even if it was in the same spot with the same tree beside it. Rolling over to the door, she nudged it a little with her nose. "...what type of trainees are they gonna put here, anyway?"

"Lately we've got a lot of F-35's coming in," he said casually, "and Nighthawks. I mean, we get others too, but they've been less common."

She tensed at the mention. Nighthawks were creepy. And she didn't even know what F-35s were. They were probably creepy too. If they were stealth planes, anyways. Pushing the hangar door open the rest of the way, she was surprised to see a plane in the building. A Nighthawk, of course. Her eyes flickered, scattering light through the darkened hangar. The other plane had eyes that glowed similarly… but they were an eerie shade of yellow. It put its visor down when it noticed that the door was open.

"Um-" Tera stammered, her eyes fully changing to red. "Sorry, I-"

The plane turned towards her, "Unknown. Identify yourself." Its grating metallic voice was unlike anything she'd ever heard before.

Tera shivered in fear, shifting slightly on her landing gear and moving back a little. "Wingston. Tera."

"Wingston," it repeated. The Nighthawk took interest, even if its monotone disposition suggested otherwise. "Identify your rank."

"I'm not even gonna stay on the base! I was just looking! This was my dad's old hangar!"

"You are a military apparatus. Identify your rank."

"I DON'T HAVE ONE!"

"HEY," Icarus interfered, "Screech. Stand down. She's with me. She just got here and she isn't drafted yet, we're working on that. In the meanwhile, don't pester her." He didn't like Nighthawks either, especially not when they were in the air, but on the ground he had no fear. "Got it?"

Screech turned slightly towards Icarus, pulling his attention away from the other plane to comply with the order. "...I obey," he said curtly, quickly but methodically leaving the hangar before he could be scolded more.