Onboard the damaged Pilgrim, Captain Kei Nagase gathered the crew in the medical bay, the best currently open area to conduct a crew briefing. The remaining crew of roughly 30 were arranged around the chair she was sitting on, an IV rack attached to her. Kei's right arm was slung around her chest.

'54 dead. Vented atmosphere in most of E deck.' Her opening statement referred to the damage they had taken. 'Sergeant Stone, I commend you and your department for bringing most of our systems back online.'

'Thank you ma'am.'

'Contact from mission command came in today. We were targeted and hit by an Erusean warship. They believe we were fired on in error, but all things considered I don't believe that for a second. Doctor Hubert?'

'Hmm?' Hubert looked up from the folder he was reading.

'Two things. One, since Captain Davis and all of the other officers are dead, congratulations you are now the executive officer.' Some claps from around the room. Kei smiled. 'And two, were you aware of your country's intention for war prior?'

'Hard to say captain. There were prominent anti-Osea people in power when we left in 2012. But considering the regime change recently, anything's possible.'

'I'll take your word for it. Hell, most of us owe being alive right now to you.'

'Wouldn't go that far.' Hubert was being modest about it.

'Anyway. Current orders are to repair any critical damage and sit tight. The Osean Defence Forces are working on a plan to push back the Eruseans so we can get down via the space elevator. That is all.'

Twinkle Islands

Blaze, Snow, Mobius and Yellow were watching the news on a TV feed in the officer's mess.

'...and in recent news, the Osean Defence Forces have successfully rescued ex-President Harling from captivity in Erusean territory.'

Blaze raised an eyebrow. 'For the third fucken time.' Next to him, Snow chuckled

'His condition is reported to be stable.'

'Tough fella.' Yellow noted, sipping on a bottle of water. The door to the mess bay opened and in came one of the plane crew chiefs.

'Commander Williams, Commander Snow?' He asked, reading from a clipboard he brought with him. Blaze waved a hand and the chief came over. 'Sir, the Osean Navy called in. They're requesting the presence of both of you at Fort Greys Island.'

'That's a long distance for a Flanker and a Tomcat. Any IFR support along the way?' Blaze asked.

'A carrier might be providing tanking past Tyler Island. Past that, anyone's guess.

'Rog. Thank you chief.' The chief nodded and left the room. Blaze looked at Snow. 'If it's Fort Greys, situation's probably urgent. We better go.'

'Agreed. Navy's always urgent about this stuff.' The pair stood up. Before they left, Blaze offered a hand to Yellow.

'Thanks for having us, sir. And as an avid fan of Yellow Squadron, welcome back to the living.'

'Easy, and thank you.' Yellow shook his hand and went to finish his water as the Razgriz pilots exited the room and went down to the hangars. Since they had long since learnt their way around the base, it only took a few minutes to get from the mess to the hangar their aircraft were stored in.

Some minutes later, Razgriz 1 and Razgriz 3 shot up into the skies and banked east. Expected travel time was about five hours. Their flight plan would take them in between the gauntlet at Tyler Island and Gunther Bay.

Naval Station Oured

Oured, Osea

At full capacity, time taken to repair the damage to Vulture would take three months. Impressive for a supercarrier but still a lot of time for a war in effect. And before that could happen, various investigation personnel would have to find out the extent of the damage and figure out what caused it. A week in, someone had figured out that the damage was caused by an internal explosion. The investigation focused on checking rosters to see who was on duty in the magazines at the time of the explosion. Much of the weapon handlers were on duty at the time, killing most of them. One of the survivors had noted that he saw a pilot come into the area when he was shuffling a rack of AAMs to the flight deck. This led into another investigation, this time of the pilots then assigned to the Vulture. This turned out to be impossible from their position as all of the pilots who survived the incident were now either dead or assigned to other aircraft carriers in the Spring Sea. In the office of the leader of the investigation team, a handful of senior officers and Vulture's CAG, Commander Turnell.

'...Commander, can you name any pilots who you knew were not in the weapons magazine?'

'I know that Williams, Lieutenant-Commander North, Lieutenant North and Atkins were coming off a CAP rotation as the explosion happened, so it wasn't any of them. I was talking to Keith at the time in my office as well, so those five are safe.' The situation was like a board meeting.

'That leaves,' One of them flipped through a notepad to check the pilots roster. 'Davis from Panther, Edwards, Darach, Whitestone and Lennox from Razor and the rest of Hawk and Hammer.'

'Unlikely to be Talon,' Turnell interjected. 'The damage control chief mentioned something about her assisting with containing the damage.'

'And we can't question anyone from Hawk or Hammer Squads. Both were wiped out during the Farbanti assault.' The leader. He sighed and rubbed his face. 'Commander, prior to the incident did you notice any irregularities in any of your pilots?'

'Lieutenant-Commander Williams and Lieutenant Nicholas, but as I said Williams was still in the air at the time.'

'What behaviours did Nicholas exhibit prior?'

'After the war started, Nicholas changed. He was a fairly social person prior. But after, he became more reserved and secluded from everyone else.' Turnell explained.

'And what about Williams?'

Turnell frowned. 'Williams is an odd one. When we were docked here back in May, he was a contractor mechanic working on old aircraft on the airfield.'

'I'm gonna stop you there for a second. A civilian?'

'You heard me.'

'And you also say that he is a Lieutenant-Commander. A reservist?'

'Sir, have you heard of the Four Wings of Sand Island? The 108th Air Force Squadron?'

'The Wardogs? Vaguely-' The officer stopped himself before continuing. 'Captain Williams. Wardog 1. Blaze. But he was declared KIA during an incident over the Ceres Ocean.'

'Or so the story goes. They survived. Blaze became that mechanic but took an unmanned Hornet and helped repel the attack. After our deployment order came through, he stayed with us.'

'This just got a hell of a lot more complicated then.'

Spring Sea, south of Usean continent

'No tanker here. Looks like we're running on our own.' On radar and ESM, there weren't any friendlies in the area. There wasn't anyone at all except for the F-14D and the Su-33M3. Blaze checked his fuel gauge. Just over halfway empty.

Fort Greys Island

'Sir, we've got two unidentified aircraft approaching the base from the west.' A radar system operator reported. An officer came over and checked it. Indeed two aircraft with no IFF active. The officer checked for friendly planes in the air. There were six aircraft nearby, two of which were returning. The other four were on CAP and tagged as Titan aircraft. Typhoons.

'Titan 1, Command Room, two unknown aircraft approaching the base from bearing 265. Intercept and ID.'

'Archer copies, moving.'

In the air above the base, Grimm and a group of three other pilots banked and went west to ID the two aircraft. 'Vulcan, Shark, go low and cut them off from below. Ash, you're with me.'

'Rog.'

'Copy.'

'Copy.'

Grimm and Ash climbed to intercept height at 10,000 metres while Vulcan and Shark dropped to 2,000 metres. They would ID and if necessary trap the fighters. Because of the distance between the base and them, at max speed actually getting into visual distance would take between 5 to 10 minutes. Grimm took the lead, missiles at the ready just in case. A few minutes later, Grimm saw the outline of the two aircraft in the distance. Even at that range, the major was able to identify them as a Flanker variant and a Tomcat. Grimm opened the public radio.

'Unidentified aircraft, this is Titan Squadron of the Osean Air Defence Force, state ID and intentions or you will be subject to lethal force.'

Some kilometres ahead, Blaze groaned and switched off his radio as a high-pitched electronic whine came through the headset mounted underneath his helmet. He cursed. In the distance he saw a pair of interceptors. Typhoons. This isn't fucking good, Blaze thought to himself. He was being jammed by something and now there were fighters ahead that weren't transmitting an IFF signature. Not taking any chances, Blaze rolled and dived to avoid anything that was coming his way.

Grimm saw the Flanker dive away from the fighters without giving a response over on radio.

'Vulcan, Shark, Flanker heading your way!' Grimm chased after the Tomcat that wasn't responding either. The two zipped past each other and Grimm got the information that he needed. An Osean F-14? He turned around and moved so that he was almost touching the wingtips of the Tomcat. The markings dictated that the F-14 was indeed Osean, and a navy one at that judging by the squadron emblem and letters on the tail. Grimm read the name underneath the lip of the canopy. CMDR Marcus Snow 'Swordsman'.

'Why aren't you responding…' There was clearly a pilot in the F-14 and they could see each other. Grimm set his controls to autopilot and raised both hands so that Snow could see them. He made hand signals. ITS ARCHER. FOLLOW US. Snow nodded and fell back a little to follow the Typhoon.

Below, Blaze saw the Typhoons in front of him on the chase. He almost swore, but quickly realised something. These aircraft had the typical Osean grey paint pattern. Blaze quickly popped a Cobra to drop speed and get close to the fighters. He saw one go behind him and the other formed to the right. Both bore the Osean flag. Friendlies.

'Major, the Flanker has stopped running.' Vulcan reported.

'What markings?' Grimm asked.

'Uhh, wait one.' There was a pause. 'Black paintjob with flames around the nose, Osean flag, some sort of squadron emblem, looks like your Razgriz marking.'

'Razgriz marking? Is there a name under the canopy?'

'Yes sir. Lieutenant-Commander Alex Williams, Blaze.'

Grimm smiled and looked through the floor of the Typhoon. 'He's friendly. Direct the aircraft to the airfield.'

'Will do.'

Blaze looked into the cockpit of the Typhoon next to him. The pilot was using hand signals. FRIENDLY PLANES. FOLLOW US.

Blaze nodded and swung behind the leading Typhoon. To his side, two more Typhoons and Snow joined him. Blaze instantly recognised the small emblem underneath the cockpit of the leader. A Razgriz patch next to a bow. Grimm. They must be based at Fort Greys Island, he thought.

'ATC, Titan 1, requesting landing permissions on runway 11-Right. Two aircraft without comms to follow.'

'Roger, Titan 1, permission granted, clear to land 11-Right.'

Grimm, Blaze and Snow approached the airfield from the sea. In the port nearby there were quite a few vessels, including a grounded carrier, the FCU Navy vessel Albatross. Others included the carriers Kestrel and Hubert. Grimm touched down first, followed by Blaze and Snow touching the ground at the exact same time a few seconds later. Vulcan, Shark and Ash touched down a minute or two after the ace pilots. They pulled over to some open-air hangars at the edge of the runway where a lot of other Typhoons and F-15Es were parked. They stopped in one roughly in the middle of the cluster. Blaze removed his helmet and powered down the Su-33 as someone on the ground chucked some chocks underneath the wheels. He opened the canopy at the same time as the other two. The orange-haired Grimm came out first, followed by Snow and then Blaze. They convened in the centre.

'Been a while.' Snow called out. Grimm smiled and waved to the two.

'When they told me to expect visitors, I wasn't expecting you guys.' Grimm high-fived Snow. Alex stretched his arms and walked over.

'Barring some jamming coming from a cheeky Erusean fucker, that was pretty uneventful.' Alex noted. 'How goes being a squad lead Major?'

Grimm shrugged. 'The colonel caught that flu that was going around last year. I'm acting CO until whenever he gets back.'

'Answer the bloody question.' Alex said while chuckling.

'Four KIA, one pretty badly banged up. Some of my newer recruits are showing some promise though.'

'Some of?' Snow asked, cracking his neck.

'Vulcan and Ash for two. Mythic is another, but she's probably somewhere else right now.'

'Hmm. Well, we're here now. What's the deal?' Snow.

'Dunno. I wasn't told anything.' Grimm slung his helmet to a loop on his survival vest. 'You better check in with the base commander. Follow me.' The trio exited the hangar and walked across the taxiway to the main group of buildings. A group of pilots were coming out of the building and across to the 242nd hangars. They saluted Grimm as they passed. The latter returned the salute. Other than them, there was a distinct lack of other pilots or RSOs.

'Where is everyone?' Alex asked Grimm as the latter led them into a series of hallways.

'At a court-martial.'

'The entire goddamn wing?'

'Oh, only one guy's being testified against.' Grimm ran a hand through his hair. 'Trigger. Blue-on-blue incident yesterday.'

'Intentional?'

'I'd be surprised if it wasn't. There weren't any hostiles near the guy he shot down.' They came to a halt near a wooden door. The base commander's office. Grimm knocked.

'Come in!' A deep voice boomed from the other side. Grimm opened the door and motioned for Alex and Snow to follow him in. The commander was standing at his desk, reading something. He looked up a second later. 'Evening Major. I take it this is Captain Williams and Commander Snow?' The commander looked like the complete opposite of Sand Island's old base commander, Colonel Perrault. This guy looked physically fit, intelligent and judging by the condition of his office and demeanor as to which he met the three, relaxed. He also had a complex tan.

'Well, Lieutenant-Commander now, sir.' Alex recognised the man. The leader of a squadron he and the Wardogs had worked with during Operation Backhaul and Stray Sheep, and later on as the Razgriz during Glory Horn.

'Take a seat, lads.' The colonel said. Alex and Snow walked forward and sat down on some office chairs arranged at the front of his desk. Grimm excused himself and left, leaving the meeting to the three in the room.

'I didn't know the marines were working with the IUN, Dylan.' Alex said something before anyone else could.

'And I didn't know dead aces were working with the Navy, Alex.' Colonel Dylan Cook replied in kind. 'I'm not going to ask how you ended up out here, so let's cut to the chase.'

'Well, we're listening.' Snow leaned back a little in his chair.

'I've got good news and bad news-'

'Bad news.' Alex said instantly.

'Alright. Alex, your squad was wiped clean during Lighthouse Keeper. Lieutenant-Commander Davis was the only survivor and she's currently recovering in the ICU.' Alex sucked in but nodded. 'Marcus, Hubert will be transiting back to home for repairs and to pick up some new pilots. You'll probably be out of the loop for a while.'

'When does she leave?' Snow asked.

'1100 hours tomorrow.' Dylan replied, cracking his shoulders.

'So if Panther is down, where does that leave me?' Alex was confused. Without a squadron, he could either be reassigned to another squadron, be left to his own devices, or yeeted out of the military for good.

'Good question. Have you heard of the penal unit theory?'

Alex frowned. 'Remind me again?'

'Convicted felons being assigned to suicide missions not suitable for regular units.'

'Are you implying that I'm a criminal?'

'Oh, christ no.' Dylan put his hands up and shook his head. 'Any prison units need guards. This particular squad, the 444th, made a formal request for you to join as an advisor.'

Oh no. Ohhhhhhh no, Alex thought to himself. 'You know what. Fine. I'll transfer over.'

'Easy. I'll contact Colonel McKinsey later to inform him that you'll be shipping over tomorrow.'

'Shipping over? Where the hell are they based?'

'A fake airfield over at Zapland. The area's heavily contested by the Eruseans, but the place attracts attention away from regulars.'

'Riiiiight. Well, if that's all I'm going to take a piss, get something to eat and sleep.' Alex stood up, turned around and left. Snow and Dylan watched him leave.

'Nice to see he's still headstrong.' Dylan noted.

'You have no idea.' Snow replied.