Disclaimer: Ace Attorney and all characters are copyright by CAPCOM; I'm just a fan imitating. The stories presented are influenced by the multiple games as well as the comic (Manga written by Kenji Kuroda).

This story is set in a military AU. It is not intended as a commentary on the US Navy, nor is the US Navy affiliated with this IN ANY WAY. Come on, you know you've always wanted to see AA:JAG… Aside from the use of 'Judge Advocate General' this story has nothing to do with JAG the TV show. Otherwise it would've been a crossover.

Chapter 1

Grounded

Phoenix Wright sighed pointedly and adjusted his seat in the old movie theater. The chair was hell on his back. The rest of the squadron filled the seats, it was a relatively small Command—less than 300 people including the rotating cadre of students. The feature was standard Navy annual General Military Training—specifically, a very wince inducing production on sexual health. Complete with some very graphic pictures of various genitalia—mostly penises—festering with various STIs.

He glanced around the room full of bored looking sailors—maybe one or to whispering to each other, but most of them fighting to look like they were paying attention to the cringe fest projected on the movie screen. He looked up as the guy next to him, some other Lieutenant he hadn't met yet, got up for a head call.

It was a couple weeks before Halloween, chilly, but not unbearably so. There were threats of an incoming Nor'easter but right now the sky gave no inkling of rough weather. Not that he could see the sky locked up in this derelict movie theater like he was.

He shifted again in his seat, grateful that his old EWO, Larry Butz, had sent the package containing his brown leather service bomber jacket and various uniform items he'd left onboard the ship. Not that he'd had very much choice about it.

It had been just over a month now since he'd ejected from the F/A-18E when a missile had been exploded near enough to send the plane tumbling. Most of the rest of it was a blur, but he remembered that part. That and seeing the other plane torn up by the ship's Phalanx. He'd never forget that. That pilot wasn't long for the Navy now.

He put his hands on his khaki clad thighs and stretched his shoulders in an attempt to ease some of the ache in his lower back. Yeah, the force of those rockets on your NACES will mess you up. He leaned an elbow on the arm rest and lay his chin in his hand. These were the tedious things about the Navy that he wasn't very fond of.

It was nearly noon when they were released and the autumn sun was ridiculously bright after sitting in the theater. He had waited until most of the other sailors had cleared out—still self conscious of his injuries and unwilling to fight with the crowd. Phoenix placed the khaki garrison cover on his head and gave it a tug before sliding on his sunglasses. Then he stepped out into the October sun, looking around as he walked into the parking lot and noting the line of cars still waiting to get out.

"Hey Nick!" She rolled down the window of her dark blue Camry and smiled, "Where you headed?"

"Celeste, hi! I was just going back to the hangar," he smiled back, "going my way?"

"Yeah, come on," she was pretty, with dark hair and an easy smile, "wanna grab lunch?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he said and walked around to the passenger side and got in.

Lieutenant Impax was one of the handful of officers at the command who wasn't an aviator. So that automatically made Phoenix warm up to her. Being around the other pilots was a constant reminder of what he'd so recently lost.

No, Lieutenant Impax was the Admin Department Head, and this was her first time with a squadron. So she was kind of a nice break from all the "Airedales". Plus she had access to all the message traffic he was watching to try and discover his fate.

"I wish they hadn't done it out here," she said glancing at the car behind her as they inched their way out of the parking lot, "My last command let the department handle GMTs."

"Yeah well, welcome to our community," Phoenix quipped as he buckled his seatbelt.

"What do you want for lunch?"

"I don't know… I'm okay with the NEX…"

She made a face and then sped up the car as she finally exited into the road, "Do you like Pho?"

"Do we have time for Pho?"

"Nick, you make time for Pho," she said in an unwavering deadpan. Phoenix laughed and turned his head toward the window to gaze out at the utilitarian Navy buildings with their red bricks and carefully manicured hedges.

"Pho it is," he said.

The restaurant she chose was near the base in one of the ubiquitous strip malls that hung like barnacles to one of the several military bases in and around Virginia Beach. It was small, family owned, and Phoenix liked that. It was nearly deserted too.

They sat across from each other at a small booth made of laminate covered particle board. Phoenix must've frowned as he took his seat because Lieutenant Impax looked up at him in concern.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah," Phoenix waved off her unease, "As long as you're not planning on a long lunch."

"I'm sure someone will lose it if I'm not back before too long… These guys still want adult supervision."

Phoenix chuckled politely and glanced up as the waiter arrived with menus and took their drink orders.

He'd landed in Norfolk a couple weeks ago, following a brief stint at Bethesda after spending three weeks recovering at the military hospital in Sigonella. Celeste Impax had been the first friendly face at the new command. Especially after a couple days of back and forth with the officer detailer, trying to find a reasonable spot for a grounded pilot. Phoenix had that feeling of disconnect weighing him down so it had been nice to meet Celeste Impax that first day. He was still unassigned as of yet, while he completed his check-in and indoctrination. He still had no idea what they were going to do with him.

"Do you like summer rolls?" she asked interrupting his thoughts.

He shook his head in reply, "I don't think I've ever tried one."

"I'll get an order if you eat one," she smiled at him and he could feel a nervous tension building in the back of his mind. You're going to have to let her know…

"Okay," he said absently and stared pointedly at the menu in front of him.

Please don't make this weird…

They were still giving their orders to the waiter when those guys bustled in through the door in a cacophony of laughter. Phoenix turned to look at the wall in the opposite direction. There were three of them clad in their green flight suits and nomex jackets, laughing as if they were on display. They sat noisily at a table near the window and continued their inane banter. Phoenix took off his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair, and didn't even look up when the waiter brought their drinks.

"Friends of yours?" Celeste asked, eying the group sidelong as she sipped her tea.

"What?" Phoenix tried to act like he hadn't noticed them, "Oh, the pilots? There are a lot of pilots around here."

"Yeah, we're like four blocks from a Master Jet Base," she laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Phoenix said and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"Got any plans this weekend?"

"Ah…" Phoenix was still watching the trio of Naval Aviators surreptitiously, "No not really. I was looking forward to laying around in my underwear and playing some X-box."

"Oh…" she was probably starting to notice his distraction, "That exciting, huh?"

Phoenix met her eye then and scratched his head sheepishly, "I'm still settling in."

One of the pilots got up and walked past them and Phoenix turned away pointedly as he passed. Celeste laughed at him.

"You do know them," she teased.

"No I… Maybe, I wasn't really—"

"Nick, what's up? You seem very nervous all of a sudden."

"Nerv—I'm not nervous," he forced a chuckle, but she didn't seem to be buying it and eyed him suspiciously.

"Is it a rival pilot or something?"

"A rival—what?"

"Like Iceman and Maverick?" she started to laugh.

"I thought you were cool," Phoenix said giving her a mock glare.

She rolled her eyes and laughed but the waiter showed up with a heaping plate of bean sprouts and herbs before he could offer a reaction. The soup came next in large white bowls effectively shutting down the awkward small talk.

Phoenix split the wooden chopsticks provided and then rolled them in his hands. He watched her squeeze lime into her pho and didn't notice when the other guy slid into the booth next to him.

"Phoenix Wright," Matt Engarde said lazily and nudged him. Phoenix glared at him.

"Oh, hey Matt," he said, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"They got you in uniform and everything… What could they possibly have you doing?"

"Oh… um…"

"He's just checking in, bud…" Celeste was giving Matt a dark look.

He turned to look at her and grinned, "Who's your friend, Nick?"

Phoenix looked at her and started to answer, but Celeste spoke up first, "It's none of your business flyboy."

Matt was startled for a moment and then grinned again, "Oooh a little spitfire…."

"Hey Matt, we were just trying to have lunch… maybe I can hit you up some other time?" Phoenix glanced between the two of them feeling embarrassed and anxious.

Matt continued to stare at Celeste, but he nodded absently, "Sure, Nick… Maybe you can tell me more about your friend later, too?"

"Matt," Phoenix glared at him.

"Um, yeah," Matt stood to leave, "we gotta be back anyway. Enjoy your lunch."

He was out of earshot when Celeste let out a groan, Phoenix was staring into his bowl poking the clumped noodles with his chopsticks, "Hey, I'm sorry… I…"

She flipped her hand dismissively as she stirred her soup, "You couldn't have known you'd run into your friends here."

"I don't know the other guys, but Matt and I were in school together… We were just on the same ship too."

"I thought you said your ship was still underway?"

"Yeah, she definitely is… but Matt left early… to um… to transfer."

The excuse of food was enough to quell the conversation after that, and Matt made no move to interrupt them again. They finished and paid and Matt gave him a nod as they walked out of the restaurant. Celeste seemed terse as they got into her car and they buckled in and headed back to base with no conversation.

She parked in the designated parking near the hangar and unbuckled her seatbelt then hesitated. Phoenix was watching her anxiously as he unbuckled his seatbelt too.

"Hey, I'm sorry that—"

"Don't be," she opened the door and got out, "You didn't do anything."

He stepped out of the car and stood looking over the top of it at her, "That guy's…. I mean he's…"

"He reminds me of my ex," she said and slammed the car door, "Come on, we better check in before someone sends a search party."

Phoenix smiled and adjusted the garrison cover he was wearing, Celeste slipped hers on and started walking toward the hangar.

It was a Friday afternoon and the admin spaces were quiet and nearly deserted. He only loitered for a few minutes before going to look for his sponsor.

Lieutenant Gonyea had been assigned as his sponsor on very short notice—no one had known he was coming. He was a nice enough guy, a flight control officer that had spent his first six years in the Navy as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate. He was maybe four or five years older than Phoenix, but treated him like some FNG that just got winged. So Phoenix wasn't very keen on spending a great deal of time with him.

"Oh hey, Wright," Lieutenant Gonyea said, "I was just about to call you."

"What's up?"

"What do you have going on this afternoon?"

"Nothing… well, I'm supposed to go to the clinic for a physical therapy evaluation—but not til two."

"Awesome," Lieutenant Gonyea stopped him before he could enter the cramped office, "XO told me to introduce you to Chief Tigre, he's in charge of the students. I guess Lieutenant Schick flew out to take your spot on the carrier. So they've been without a DIVO for a while."

"Okay," Phoenix said with a slight frown, Lieutenant Schick would be taking Engarde's spot—not his. But he didn't feel the need to explain it to this guy, "Lead the way."

Lieutenant Schick's office was down on the first deck—which was nice actually. Phoenix's knees and back still felt the effect of the crash, the ejection and the subsequent surgeries. So it'd be nice to limit the amount of stairs he'd have to climb.

Chief Tigre sat at the Lieutenant's desk with a stack of paperwork in front of him. He looked up at them as they entered, glaring as if they'd insulted him.

The Chief stood and hitched his pants and then held out a hand to greet Phoenix.

"Sir, Chief Tigre," his voice was deep and gravelly. They were of like height and the Chief had a shock of spiky black hair—just like his. Phoenix smiled.

"Afternoon Chief," he gave the Chief's hand—which nearly engulfed his—a firm shake, "Lieutenant Wright."

"Pleasure to meet you—"

Chief's response was drowned out by Lieutenant Gonyea's laughter, "Oh man, you guys could be brothers."

Phoenix frowned and studied the Chief, they were about as similar as a bison and a stag. Except for the hair. He had to give Lieutenant Gonyea that.

Chief was frowning at Lieutenant Gonyea, "Is that all, sir?"

The other Lieutenant was still laughing as he nodded and left them alone. Chief Tigre sat back down shaking his head and grumbling.

"Welcome aboard, sir," Chief smiled at him and waved him over to a chair in front of the desk, "Glad to have you."

"Thanks Chief," Phoenix said as he sat down, eyeing the stack of papers in front of chief.

Chief started collecting them together and set them aside, "Just critiques from the last class that graduated. How are you doing?"

"I'm good, Chief," Phoenix gazed around the room, it had very little decoration and a lot of utility. It was almost like being on a ship.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"They said you'd ejected from a plane," the Chief leaned forward with a look of incongruous curiosity on his broad face.

"Oh," Phoenix scratched his head, slightly abashed, "Yeah, it was kind of a mess."

Chief's curiosity intensified into a kind of awe and he stared. Phoenix leaned back in the chair and frowned in reply.

"So Chief, ah, Tigre," he looked around wanting to avoid the weird stare Chief was giving him, "I was told this is the training Division?"

"Oh yeah," Chief said and grinned, "The student division. So we's gonna be handling all of the students coming in from NACS in Pensacola mostly. We get some that are new to the community or have been out of rate for a while, but it's mostly students. So they're young and stupid."

Chief laughed boisterously at his own words, "Nah, they're good kids. But I'm sure glad to have you, sir. When Mister Schick left, I was left on my own. I had a decent LPO last month, but he graduated, so it's been tough trying to wrangle all of this."

"Oh," Phoenix frowned and then tried to hide it, "So we're doing administration, mostly?"

"They're students sir," Chief said, "Some of them are still figuring out how to Navy."

Phoenix stayed in the office with Chief for the next half-hour or so until he had to leave for his appointment. This was part of his development as an officer, right? So maybe the fates were telling him to take a step back and Navy a little more.

They had a locker room downstairs and he changed into PT shorts and hung up his khaki's. He pulled a sweatshirt on over his tee shirt and went around to the back of the building with his helmet in hand. He placed it on his head and secured the strap under his chin before unlocking his bicycle.

The clinic was in the main part of the base, away from the flight line and hangars. It was quiet when he entered still breathing a little hard from his zip over on his bicycle. He had his CAC out as he approached the counter where a Corpsman in a Marine uniform was sitting back and playing on his phone.

Phoenix flashed his CAC at him and the kid popped to his feet, "Sir, afternoon sir!"

"I have a an appointment at fourteen—with physical therapy."

"Got it, sir, have a seat and they'll call you back."

The appointment went better than he'd expected, the doc seemed to like that he was using his bike—that would keep up the strength in his legs and promote healing. His back was another issue. He wheeled his bicycle into the corridor and stood it up in the elevator. Now that he was alone again, the worry and concern came flooding back.

He wanted to talk to Miles, but he'd have to wait until Miles was secured from duty. They'd made it into the Seventh Fleet now—the other side of the world. He may or not be able to call because of the time difference.

Phoenix wheeled his bicycle into the apartment. Stan, his old roommate, had moved the rest of his things out a couple of weeks ago. Phoenix had his stuff delivered last week. So the place was starting to feel like his place again.

He leaned the bike against the wall just inside the door and turned on the light. A lot of his things were still boxed up, because he was still in pain most days, but he was making progress.

At least he wouldn't have to be out and about for a couple days. He still wasn't done mourning, and being surrounded by Aviators and Aircrewmen was going to be a challenge. Almost everyone he was close to was deployed too, so he felt isolated despite the familiar surroundings of Virginia Beach. He was like a bird with broken wings—grounded until they were sure he could be healed enough to fly again.

A/N: Welcome back! Thanks for reading!

So yep, that was Chief Tigre-lol...

Then Celeste Impax and Matt Engarde—I gots plans *grin*

At first I ws worried that there'd be this long recuperation and maybe some soul searching in store for Phoenix, and there's maybe a touch of that—but no! The show must go on! Like Mighty Wings, this story will alternate between Phoenix and Miles, POV.

Again, I love the feedback, but this is happening whether anyone likes it or not!

(I really do mean that in a nice way)