"You all did good work today," Commander Knight said the moment all of the pilots were in the briefing room. The smile on his face and the way his eyes shone were a rare sight from him, but that just made it all the more apparent how good this was for them. "Soon, the satellite will be in orbit and fully operational, and then we'll have systems back up and running along the eastern coast of Usea."

"Will we be able to contact High Command?" Footpad asked as he and the others sat down.

Knight's first response was a shake of his head. "Not until they get things running on their end. For now, though, we at least have operational IFF, which is a massive advantage for us. All we need to do now is figure out what our course of action will be."

"And do we know what we're planning in regards to that?" Eva asked.

"Nothing solid yet, but for now, it's not like we have any sort of rush," Knight replied. "If something comes up, we'll let you all know, but we're in a holding pattern for the moment. Be on your guard for anything."

Magic scoffed. "Right. As if we do much of anything else these days," she muttered just loud enough for Knight to hear.

Knight looked at her with an understanding smile. "I know things have been crazy this last month, but soon enough, this'll all be over, especially with this mission done. Now, why don't you all go ahead and get some rest?" His eyes drifted over the group of pilots that slowly started to file out of the briefing room, and he called out, "Actually, Lieutenant Kidd, I'd like a quick word with you, please."

Eva stopped and nodded to Lucky and the others, signaling for them to go ahead without her, before turning back around and walking back over to Commander Knight. "Of course, sir. What is it?" She already had a feeling she knew what this conversation was going to be about, but she decided not to lead with her suspicion just to be safe.

Rather than look at Eva, Knight kept his eyes on the group of pilots moving single-file out of the briefing room. It was only after the light gray door creaked shut that he finally shifted his gaze to the young squadron leader. "I want to know how Zero did out there." If his straightforward tone didn't convey his curiosity well enough, the glint in his light blue eyes certainly did the trick.

Eva rubbed the back of her neck as her chest heaved in and out just once. Not a single word left her lips, despite her best efforts. Her mind was another matter entirely, though. She felt as if she were writing and revising an entire essay in her brain, even if she knew it would only come out as a few sentences. Finally, she wet her lips and spoke. "Well, he's undoubtedly a good pilot. That much is clear. He probably got one of the highest kill counts of anyone on the sortie," she began. "Plus… he saved Lucky's life. I'm still not sure what kind of person he is, and I intend on talking to him to find out, but… he's got a good heart. I know that for sure. He could've just as easily continued with the mission or said he couldn't get to Lucky in time, but instead, he went out of his way to help- to save him."

Knight tilted his head. "So… are you giving me your approval of him?"

Eva wasn't sure if she knew the answer to that at first, but it only took a few seconds for her to reply with a nod. "I trust him, and even if I may not have believed it at first, I do think he's out to make things right, so yeah. I approve."

Knight's expression of curiosity turned to one of happiness. "That's good to hear. More pilots, especially of his caliber, will only make us stronger." For some reason that Eva didn't understand, the commander had some interest in Zero, and even though she didn't know why, she planned on finding out.

Eva dipped her head to Knight. "I sure hope so," she admitted. "With everything we've gone through in this crazy time, we could use all the manpower we can get our hands on." Her eyes shifted from the commander to the window behind him. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. You're dismissed," he told her. Knight gave her an understanding smile. "Take some time to relax. You've earned it."

"Thank you, sir," Eva replied with a quick salute. "Although, if I'm being honest, I think you've earned a rest more than any of us with all that you do."

Knight chuckled. "You need not worry about me, Lieutenant. You don't get as far as I've come without learning to operate on just a few hours of sleep," he joked before meandering over to his desk and sitting down. "Go on, now. I've still got quite a bit of paperwork to finish up."

Eva obliged his request and stepped out of the room, moving the door back into position behind her as slowly as possible to minimize the noise it made. Then, she turned around and took a deep breath before walking through the halls. By that point, she knew her way around Fort Grays far more than she ever did before she left on the Kestrel II. Although, that didn't help her much when she had no idea where the person was looking for was.

Rather than wander around the base aimlessly until she happened to run into Zero, Eva started to make her way over to the barracks. Even though she kept her eyes open for the former mercenary all along her walk to the barracks, she didn't see a trace of him anywhere. That didn't concern Eva, though, as she suspected she'd figure out where he was in a moment. She stopped in front of a shut door and rapped her knuckles against the door. A moment later, Charger appeared in front of her.

"Ah, hey, kid. What's up?" he asked, leaning against the open metal doorframe.

Eva slipped her hands into her pockets. "Have you seen Zero anywhere?" she asked, glancing down either end of the hallway as if he were standing right there. "I need to talk to him."

Charger stood up from his lounging position against the doorframe and nodded out the window behind Eva. "Last I saw, he was headed toward the port. Don't know why, though," he explained.

"The port?" Eva echoed, following Charger's gaze out the window. "What would he be doing there?" Her eyes narrowed as she felt her suspicions take hold. If he planned to sabotage, the port would be the best place for it aside from the hangars. She needed to get down there right away. "I've gotta go," she told Charger, turning away before stopping herself. "Actually…" she said as she faced him again. "You wouldn't happen to know where Lucky is, would you?" Eva needed to talk to him too, but only after she dealt with this issue with Zero.

Charger's answer was only one word. "Hangars."

Eva smiled and gave him a nod. "Great. Thanks."

Without waiting for a second longer, Eva started running toward the port. As she passed by the hangars, she thought about going to see Lucky first, but she knew what she needed to do. 'After all that…' Eva thought as she continued sprinting toward the docks. 'After fighting alongside us. Was it really all just a lie? A trick?' Part of her wanted to believe it wasn't true. She wanted to be able to have Lucky's optimism for a change and see the good in people, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't think of any other reason why he'd go to the port. When she finally arrived, however, she stopped, and her entire perception of the mercenary shattered.

By then, the sun had already begun its descent below the horizon. A few hours ago, it was one of the busier areas on the whole base. Now, it was nearly empty, and sitting on an even more desolate part of the pier, facing the ocean with his legs hanging off the side, was Zero. He was hunched over and had his face in his hands, and as Eva approached slowly and quietly, she could hear the faint sound of crying.

Although, a few seconds later, Zero noticed her coming up behind him and quickly tried to make it seem as if nothing was wrong. "What are you doing here?" he asked without taking his eyes off the ocean in front of him.

"Looking for you," Eva answered, keeping her voice as steady as possible. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the spot on the pier.

Zero's only response was an apathetic wave of his hand, and Eva sat down next to him. "You here to send me back to that cell?" he muttered bitterly.

Eva shook her head. "No- the opposite, in fact," she replied, cracking a faint smile. "You really did well out there today, and I think you proved yourself." Her smile vanished, and she looked down at the water. "Plus…" she still had a hard time believing that she was saying these words to Zero of all people. "You saved Lucky's life, and you have no idea how much that means to me." She rested her hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to look her in the eyes before she told him, "So thank you, Zero. I mean it."

The pain in the former mercenary's eyes seemed to dissipate, and for the first time since she had seen him in person, he smiled, if only slightly. "I'm just glad I was able to do something right for a change, something I know deep down that I can look back on and be proud of. Haven't felt that in a long time… since Voslage." The last two words he spoke were barely a murmur, and his smile vanished.

"Voslage?" Eva echoed. "What do you mean?"

Zero didn't respond for a moment. Instead, he adjusted his position, bringing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. "A few years after the Free Erusea uprising in 2014, there was an insurrection in Voslage- an Erusean province… and my home," he finally explained. "I was hired to put a stop to it. Only, I wasn't alone back then. I still had my squadron with me. Eventually, they decided that they felt different about the insurrection. They defected to help the enemy, but I stayed with our contractors, and I don't think I regret any decision I've made in my life more than that. I thought… I thought by committing to the contract we were hired to do, I'd be showing some sort of honor, but I was wrong." He closed his eyes, wincing at the thought of a painful memory. "And it took me having to shoot down my friends to realize that. They- er, the people who hired me for this contract, wanted me to go back to Voslage. Apparently, they declared their independence during the blackout. They told me to crush them, bring them back into Erusea, and… and I just couldn't, not again." Zero took a deep breath and looked over at Eva. "That's why I left. That's why I came here- to you."

Eva didn't know what to say. All this time, she thought of Zero as a heartless killer, interested in nothing but the money. Now, though, she saw him for who he really was. "I think you made the right choice," she finally said. "I know I've been… Well, a bit of a bitch, truth be told," she admitted plainly, cracking a smile as she attempted to lighten the mood. "But I think you did the right thing in coming here." She paused before adding, "Vortex would've liked you, I think."

"Vortex?" Zero repeated blankly. "Who's that?"

"My squadron leader, or rather, he used to be," Eva replied. "He was a great guy, but… he died at Expo City."

"The Su-37 pilot," Zero words came out like a heavy sigh. "Diamond, I-"

"Listen, Zero," Eva cut him off. "I'm gonna be honest with you: I still don't forgive you for Vortex's death, even if you didn't kill him yourself, you're partly responsible. Not to mention everyone else you've killed that I was close to." She could see Zero's head lower in shame, so she quickly got to the point. "However, I can tell that you genuinely want to make amends for what you've done, and I'm not gonna stop you from doing that. Besides, we'll hardly be very effective in combat if we're at each others' throats the whole time, so how about we do this right?" She extended an open hand to the pilot. "What do you say we start over? I'm Eva Kidd. You can call me Diamond."

Zero smiled and shook her hand. "Jacob Perry, Zero," he replied.

Eva looked up at the sky as it continued to get darker. "I suppose I should be getting back. I've got some other things I need to do." She stood up and looked down at Zero. "You coming?"

Zero shook his head. "I think I'll stay here a bit longer. Not often I get to enjoy views like this," he said, gesturing to orange sunlight reflecting off the still ocean surface.

Eva shrugged and walked away, heading back toward the main part of the base. A cold breeze swept through the air, wetting her eyes as she carried on. The chill was getting more and more frequent, a telltale sign that winter was coming. Eva always hated winters as she grew up, and the only thing that made it bearable was spending Christmas with her mom. Now, though, she feared she wouldn't be home in time for another celebration. Her thoughts about the weather soon vanished, however, as she approached the hangars. The thought of seeing Lucky's smiling face drew her closer, but the memory of being forced to almost watch him die stopped her. It was for that reason Eva needed to talk to him, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring her feet to move toward the hangar. Each time she tried to take a step forward, she heard what she believed to be her last desperate cry to Lucky, and it horrified her. Finally, Eva let out a defeated sigh and turned toward the barracks. She'd tell him eventually, but right now, she wasn't strong enough.