Chapter 9

"I was shot down on May 30th, over Chopinburg. I was retreating from the AO with Gargoyle One, who was also damaged by the drones. We had taken a vector away from the battle, that intersected with Erusean territory, just enough that we might not have attracted attention. We weren't lucky, as you can guess."

Brownie's eyes looked past the group into the distance as she remembered the painful details. She owed it to Trigger to tell him what happened. The others she couldn't give two shits about. Not yet, anyway.

"There was an Su-30 that came from nowhere. I had seen it on the radar, but it had been heading in the direction of the drones, and I didn't think it would come after me. I was surprised when I heard Gargoyle One cry out in surprise. The plane was on him in an instant, firing and hitting home. I jinked right to retreat quicker, take a quicker route, but the Sukhoi was suddenly on me as well. You know what 30 millimeter rounds sound like hitting your airframe?"

The Osean pilots in the room nodded.

"Well, I heard that, panicked, and turned left. It was my mistake. The bandit fired a salvo of a pair of missiles. They hit the rear of the airframe square, knocking out most of my thrust. I knew that I was out of my league. I panicked and called out for you, Trigger. Obviously, you had your hands full. I don't blame you. I knew I was going down for good when I heard Mark punch out behind me."

"Mark?" Inquired Count. "Who's Mark?"

"He was my WSO. He was good on the weapons, but would shit himself if you so much as threw a ball at him. I still don't know how he was cleared to fly in the OADF. I realized there was no way I could survive, and punched out as well. My arm hit the edge of the canopy and was fractured. I knew it immediately."

Avril winced. She knew what it was like to be injured while flying. Brownie noticed her leg and understood the expression immediately. She decided she could ask Avril about what happened later.

"I deployed my parachute and went down. I was in the forest for about an hour before Erusean forces picked me up. They set my arm and then threw me in the back of a covered truck, next to Mark. We drove over the worst terrain for at least an hour. Then the ride was smooth for a while. They must have hit a road. They transferred us to another truck with more prisoners and then drove us to their prison. It took an entire day to get there."

"The prison was a hellhole. It stank of piss and there was always someone watching you. They had an Erusean doctor set my arm and then I was put into a cell with an old man. I thought that it was rather strange that they put me in with some guy, but it turns out he was a good man. I was afraid of him for the first week of my imprisonment."

"Days were stale. We were woken up around seven, then they'd march us all into a room for breakfast, then back to our cells. You were brought lunch, and dinner was also had in the common room. There was a lot of time to talk. It's all I did for months, talk and gamble. I even took up smoking for the first month."

That good a surprised look from Trigger. The do-goody girl from basic had taken up smoking? Prison really does change people.

"It was smoking that got my cellmate to talk to me. He asked me not to smoke, the first words he said to me since we were thrown in together. I ignored him for a while, but gave in after then. He helped me get through my withdrawals after I had stopped."

"What was his name?" Trigger asked.

"Oh, I haven't said it yet?" Brownie asked, to which a mumble of no's and shaking of heads responded. "It was Slevič. Turned out he wasn't a soldier, like most of the inmates there. He was thrown in for speaking out against the Monarchy. The guards told me to look out for his lies, so that just made me even more curious. Turns out he was an Erusean. He came from some area called Shilage, or something along those lines, and wanted independence from the rule of the King. He wanted the republic back that had been in power in the early 2000s, the one that fell from the Continental War. He had assaulted an officer for verbally insulting him. He said there was nothing he regretted more in his life. He was always talking about his granddaughters. He said that his brother-in-law was a pilot like me years ago. He was always interested in hearing my tales from flight school and the few missions I was on. I didn't like talking about them, but I liked him and his attitude."

"Slevič taught me a lot about how things were in Erusea. It's not the same as they were in Osea. There are big cities, and small towns, but the entire nation is very similar in each area. It's not like Osea, where the people from the far north and south have such different accents they sometimes can't understand each other."

No one noticed Seymour's surprised expression at the mention of Slevič, and he let Brownie continue.

"Over time, I began to feel for the soldiers who were guarding us there. Mark did not. One day, he acted up and attacked a security guard, along with a group of Osean soldiers and airmen. They were all shot at, and he got hit and died. They told me that he spit in the doctor's face as he was being sewn up, and refused to accept help from an Erusean. Serves him right, I guess."

Avril quickly remembered the time she tried to escape before mentally slapping herself. Why had she done that? She had a bum leg for goodness' sake. But she tuned back in to Brownie's story.

"Over time, more and more of us would listen to the Princess. She sounded so inspiring to the soldiers there, that some of us even began to like her broadcasts. Of that, I am guilty." Brownie let a sad smile creep over her face. "She seemed so innocent, so hopeful, that I'm surprised the war even ended. If I had a cheerleader like that, I'd never give up."

Brownie reached for her glass and took a swig of water.

"What happened afterwards?" Jaeger asked.

"Well, things kind of fell into a schedule afterwards, until about a week ago. Slevič suddenly passed in his sleep." Tears streamed down Brownie's face. "It broke my heart in two. My only friend in prison, and he was gone. I had no idea if the war was over, what was happening, who was winning. The world around me suddenly didn't matter. I had just about given up hope when John, my cell guard, unlocked the cell gates of everyone in the hall, before the warden announcing that they had just gotten word the war had ended. We were free to go if we wanted. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I stayed behind with the guards. John was the only other person I felt I had known in that prison."

"I nearly died when they had us go into a plane again." Brownie looked far into the distance. "I don't know what will happen when it's time for us all to go home."

The group allowed Brownie to stay anywhere in the hotel she wanted, and to Avril's chagrin, she chose to room with her and Trigger. Trigger assured her that there was nothing between himself and Brownie, but jealousy is a strange emotion that doesn't like listening to reason. Shot down and traumatized or not, she was going to let Brownie know that Trigger was strictly off limits. Surprisingly, her chance came the next day when Brownie initiated a conversation about it.

"So, you and Trigger are a thing?"

"Yes." The answer was curt and to the point.

"You know you don't have to worry about me stealing him."

Avril didn't know if she was ready to believe Brownie or not.

"Trigger spends a lot of time with you, especially recently."

"In his defense, he did think his once best friend was dead for five months."

"Once best friend?"

"Oh come on, it's clear who his best friend is now."

"Count?"

"No, it's his girlfriend."

There was a silence.

"You mean me? Why would his best friend be his girlfriend? Also why do you think that I'm – "

"Oh come on. You two are so obviously a couple. You sleep in the same bed. He talks to you more than anyone else. He didn't even talk to me that much when we were training together. It is so plain to see that he's only got eyes for you, sister."

Avril looked down, somewhat ashamed.

"Hey, it's natural to get jealous. I'll see if I can room somewhere else tonight to give you two some private time," Brownie added with a wink.

"Listen, I'm sorry, Brownie. I shouldn't have gotten so protective."

"You're forgiven. Here he comes!" Brownie gestured over Avril's shoulder.

Avril turned to see Trigger and Count walk up, laughing about something. She let her boyfriend come to her and wrapped him in her arms.

"You two okay?" Trigger asked.

"We were just clearing up a misunderstanding." Brownie explained. "Hey Count, can I stay with you and Húxiān tonight?"

"Uh, I'm fine with it. Let's ask Húxiān." Count said, and the two pilots left Trigger and Avril alone in the their room.

"What happened?" Trigger turned to Avril.

"I got jealous," Avril admitted. "I thought you and Brownie were trying to be a thing, so I confronted her about it. She said she's just glad her friend is alive. You know, she's letting us have the room to ourselves tonight."

"Will she be okay with it? I thought Count and Húxiān needed some time together, so that's why I haven't thrown anyone else around their room. Also, why are you jealous of Brownie? I've only got eyes for you."

"Just one more night with us, Trigger. Brownie can stay tomorrow. It feels like there's a kid in the room."

"Getting shot down really messed with her."

"I know."

"Maybe Jaeger knows how to deal with her."

"Who's he rooming with again?"

"I think he's got one of the boys from Salamander. Maybe we should ask Seymour to join him. I'm sure those two can keep an eye on her."

"And the guy from Salamander?"

"I'm sure someone will take him in, it is our last night in Selatapura."

"What?"

"You didn't hear? The LRSSG is flying out tomorrow afternoon. Erusean refugees at the space elevator have been contacted by Yuktobania's foreign ministry. They have agreed to take them in."

Avril looked out of a nearby window. "We should let Rosa know."

"You know you don't have to come with us. I'm sure one of her officers has told her."

"I want to, I haven't seen my home airfield in months." Avril thought about what her boyfriend had just said for a second. "Wait, how did they get in touch with Yuktobania so quickly?"

"I heard some private company sent up a bunch of space-planes with the capacity for a satellite array-style communication system. 'New-com' or something like that. They claim that they can stop a similar communication collapse from happening if the craft are actively avoiding space debris."

"Let's hope so." Avril rested her head on Trigger's chest, pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, Jaeger, Seymour, just who I was looking for. Can I ask you two a favor?"

"What is it, sir?" Seymour responded.

Trigger didn't feel good making this decision. But, it was probably the best for Brownie. He looked the two elder pilots in the eye. "I need you two to room together, just for tonight. I am also going to put Brownie with you. She, um…"

"She's still traumatized from the incident with Mihaly and prison. It's keeping her up?" Seymour guessed.

Trigger nodded. "I thought, you two, being the eldest of the group, would know best how to deal with her." He didn't feel right, pushing that poor girl away. "If you two would rather not keep an eye on her…"

"Definitely not something I'll tell my son about, but if it helps her, it helps her."

"You and Avril planning something tonight?"

"Um, yes, we are," Trigger said sheepishly.

Seymour and Jaeger immediately understood what was happening.

"You two kids have fun," Jaeger said. "Don't worry about Brownie. We've got experience with children, and this won't be nearly that complicated."

"She'll be safe with us," added Seymour.

Brownie wasn't entirely happy with being separated from her friend, but the two guys he put her up with both reminded her of her father. They both had kids, so they were trustworthy. Plus, Trigger had vouched for them.

That night, Brownie had just tucked herself into bed when Seymour came with his phone out. He called Jaeger over and told them of his plans for tomorrow involving Trigger and Avril. They three in the room agreed it was a great idea.

Rooms away, the couple made love for the second time of their lives, and it was just as magical as the first.