Three Strikes: The Pilot Who Ended the Lighthouse War
Disclaimer: the characters of Ace Combat 7 belong to its creators.
A/N: Takes place before: "Ace Combat 7: A New Beginning"
Location: Break Room, Selatapura Air Force Base, Gunther Penisula, Usea
Date: December 7th, 2019
Local Time: 2:47 pm
A man with dark-brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and wearing an Osean Air Defense Force flight suit was lying flat on a couch. The man was none other than Osean Air Defense Force fighter ace pilot and hero of the Lighthouse War, Trigger.
Just then, a Caucasian man with blond hair and wearing an OADF flight suit, walked in and holding two magazines in his hands.
"Hey, Trigger," The man who came in said.
"AH!" Trigger gasped as he quickly got up from the couch. He then noticed the man and recognized him. "Oh, hey, Count."
"Did I wake you up from a nap?" Count asked.
"Nah, I was just lying down for a minute," Trigger replied as he sat back down on the couch. "And ended up lost in thought about the Lighthouse War."
Count then looked around, "Where's Avril?"
"She's visiting Princess Rosa at the space elevator," Trigger replied.
Count sat down to Trigger's right side and spoke, "Speaking of the space elevator..." He then handed Trigger one of the magazines in his hands. "The GAZE Magazine Lighthouse War Special Addition has finally arrived."
Trigger took the magazine into his hands and looked at the cover. The cover showed what appeared to be Erusean Princess Rosa Cosette D'Elise in casual clothing looking up and the space elevator.
"Thanks, Count," Trigger said in appreciation.
"I think it was great GAZE was able to squeeze in a story about you at the end," Count commented.
"It is amazing that Osean reporter was able to write about me and do an interview with me even though he was bogged down writing another article," Trigger commented.
"It's amazing that, Albert Gennette, has interviewed famous fighter pilots before," Count agreed. "I read the article about you, and I have to admit, that was one heck of a story you told. And to think, you were a man of few words."
Trigger nodded, "Yeah, I was mostly on the quiet side during the war."
The two pilots laughed at this.
After the laughter died down, Trigger soon thought of something and got up from the couch he and Count were sitting on.
"Where are you going?" Count asked.
"I have this strange feeling something's going to happen, and I feel like I need to be ready," Trigger replied. "I'll be in the cockpit of my airplane reading the article about myself. If you see Avril, tell her where I am."
He then walked out of the break room.
Count, now alone in the break room, muttered, "Suit yourself."
Tarmac
A minute later, Trigger walked out onto the tarmac of the air base and toward his F-22 Raptor, which was sitting outside one of the hangers.
Trigger climbed up the ladder, opened the cockpit, and sat down inside it.
He then opened the magazine to the beginning of the article about him and noticed the entire left page was a photograph of the right tail of his F-22 just before he took off from the Osean aircraft carrier, OFS Admiral Andersen. The page also had the article's title which read, Three Strikes: The Pilot Who Ended the Lighthouse War. The page also contained the author's name, Albert Genette, along with the name of the man who took the picture, Seaman Robert "Billy" Bishop. On the right page, was the first part of the article, along with Trigger's two personal emblems: the wolf clutching a revolver in its jaws on the upper left side of the page and the claws with three scratches on the lower right side of the page.
Trigger soon started reading the article to himself.
"The Lighthouse War has been considered one of the darkest moments in the history of the Usean Continent and the Osean Federation, all starting with Erusea seizing the International Space Elevator, the Arsenal Birds protecting it, and most of the Usean continent. When most of the continent was swallowed up by Erusea and Mobius 1 presumed dead at the beginning of the war, many believed the continent would forever remain in darkness without a beacon of light to outshine it.
They were wrong.
Within the darkness, there was a beacon of light that would outshine it. That beacon of light was, Captain Trevor Garcia, an Osean fighter pilot who's flying style was similar to that of Mobius 1. Like Mobius 1, he was a man of few words in combat, highly skilled in flying, and has gone by an array of nicknames. Garcia's nicknames were Trigger, Osean Bigshot, Boss, and Dumbass. But many call him, Three Strikes.
Born in Oured on March 23rd, 1998, to Kendra Garcia and an unknown man, Three Strikes, who prefers to be called by his first nickname, Trigger, took up an interest in flying when he was just eight months old. At the age of 18, he joined the Osean Air Defense Force as a mechanic. But at age 20, he would climb into the cockpit and take to the skies. One year later, he would join the 508th Tactical Fighter Squadron, a.k.a Mage Squadron and take part in his first combat mission on the first day of the Lighthouse War over Fort Grays Island intercepting Erusean bombers and fighters. In the aftermath of the mission, Trigger became an instant celebrity. While he was flying with Mage Squadron, and on a later mission, he crossed paths with the legendary Erusean pilot, Mihaly A. Silage, for the first time, though the two pilots didn't engage in combat with each other.
Later, during Operation Lighthouse Keeper, Trigger's celebrity status was stained when he allegedly shot down and killed former Osean president Vincent Harling during the operation to rescue him from the space elevator.
After the failed mission, Trigger, was court-marshalled and sent to the Osean Air Defense Force penal unit, the Air Force Base 444th Squadron, a.k.a Spare Squadron, in Zapland in Eastern Usea. There, he would earn the nickname, Three Strikes, because of the three white lines painted on the tail of the plane he would fly in the squadron. Trigger and Spare Squadron would go on to carry out missions that would later pardon them for their crimes. It was during his time with Spare that Trigger would meet Silage, again, and engage him in combat for the first time.
After being pardoned, Trigger was transferred to the Long-Range Strategic Strike Group and became the leader of the 124th Tactical Fighter Squadron, a.k.a Strider Squadron. He and Strider, along with the rest of the LRSSG, would go on to perform missions that would turn the tide of the war in Osea's favor. Missions such as destroying the Erusean Njord Fleet at Snider's Top; defending Stonehenge so said super-weapon could be used to bring down the Arsenal Bird, Liberty; destroying IRBM (Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile) silos; and sinking the rogue submarine, Alicorn."
Trigger then turned the page and noticed a photograph of him taxiing to the runway at Fort Gray's Island Air Force Base in his F-16C Fighting Falcon on the first day of the war on the top left page with more of the article underneath.
The Osean pilot continued reading.
"Trigger would later lead the LRSSG, on the mission to seize the Erusean capital of Farbanti. There, he would cross swords with, Silage, for the second time. But, during their second dogfight, and before Trigger could defeat the Erusean pilot, the satellite network went down, enabling Silage to escape.
Shortly after seizing Farbanti, Trigger lead Strider Squadron on a mission to Anchorhead Bay to protect defecting Erusean general, Edouard Labarthe. However, the mission ended in failure when Labarthe's CH-47 Chinook was shot down, but not before Labarthe revealed the truth about Harling's murder: the missile that downed the V-22 Osprey carrying Harling was really fired by an Erusean drone equipped with an Osean Identification Friend or Foe transponder, or IFF.
Trigger and the LRSSG would later go on to rescue Osean forces stranded on Tyler Island and destroy a couple of supply ships used to resupply the second and final Arsenal Bird, Justice. Among the Osean forces on Tyler Island were members of Trigger's old squadron from Zapland who were transferred to the island. They were originally going to be stationed at the airport and use the planes there, but things didn't go as planned and ended up fighting a ground war instead of an air war.
Sometime later, and low on supplies, Trigger and the LRSSG flew to Silage Castle, which was being used as a supply depot for the state of Silage, which broke off from Erusea after the sat network went down and raid it for supplies. It was during this raid Trigger would cross swords with Mihaly A. Silage for the last time and defeat him in combat.
Sometime after the raid, Trigger and the LRSSG joined a coalition of Osean and Erusean conservatives aimed to take down the second and final Arsenal Bird and retake the space elevator from Erusean radicals. But after the coalition accomplished its mission, two highly advanced drones, each possessing the same flying style as Silage, flew in and shot down most of the coalition forces. Only a few pilots of the coalition, Trigger among them, were able to retreat and find refuge aboard the abandoned Osean aircraft carrier, OFS Admiral Andersen.
The next day, Trigger would launch from the Admiral Andersen, along with a few remnants of the coalition, and single-handedly destroy the two drones before they could use the space elevator's transmission capabilities to send their data to drone manufacturing plants across the continent and extend the war for an eternity.
After the war, Trigger and the LRSSG were assigned to protect the space elevator, along with the refugee camp that was established at the base of it, from future attacks."
Trigger turned to the right page, which had a photograph of him attacking the oil tanks at the Artiglio Port in an F-15E Strike Eagle with three white lines painted on the tail on the bottom of the page and continued reading the article.
"I have had the honor and privilege to interview this brave warrior.
Genette: So, Trigger, what inspired you to become a pilot?
Trigger: When I was eight months old, I was looking out the front glass door of my house in Oured, when I saw an F-16 flying overhead. My uncle Joe, my mom's brother, told me it was an airplane. A minute later, the F-16 flew overhead, again. This time, I pointed up at it and said my first word."
And what was your first word?
Airplane. (Chuckles) And wouldn't you believe my mother, Kendra, was the one flying that plane? That's a coincidence I'll never forget.
What was your first time flying like?
When I was five years old, my uncle took me up in his North Emmerian P-51D Mustang for the first time and it was a great flight. And I experienced my first barrel roll during that flight as well.
Why did you start out as a mechanic before becoming a pilot in the OADF?
My mother wanted me to know aircraft inside and out, so she insisted I'd become a mechanic and spend at least two years being one before climbing into the cockpit.
How were you able to master flying various fighter jets in just a few months when it would normally take years?
I'm a very fast learner. It was this ability that enabled me to master an array of aircraft in a short period of time. So, whenever anyone asks me what planes I can fly, I say to them, 'I can fly anything.'
How did you feel on you first combat mission?
I was a little nervous, but I had to brush it off and focus on protecting Fort Grays Island from the Eruseans. And to this day, I find it amazing I was able to single-handedly down a lot of the bombers and their escorts and that my ammo could replenish itself for some time in the air."
Trigger then turned the page, saw a photograph of him in an F-15C Eagle dueling Mihaly A. Silage above Silage Castle on the upper left page, and continued reading.
"Kinda like something out of a video game. Strange, isn't it?
How did you end up with your first nickname, Trigger, and why do you like to be called that?
I earned the nickname, Trigger, because I am quick with one. I learned how to use a gun when I was five years old. At age nine, I achieved first place in my first shooting contest. I would go on to win many more shooting contests from then on. I also went on hunting trips with my uncle and his friends. I grew so used to people calling me Trigger that I didn't like being called by my real name anymore, which my mother still does.
What gave you the idea for your emblems? The one with the wolf clutching a revolver in its jaws and the claws with three scratches?
The first emblem was inspired by an orange & white Northern Inuit my mother used to own, along with his favorite chew toy, which happened to have been a revolver. Coincidently, the dog's name was, Trigger. Sadly, after I completed my flight training, Trigger died of cancer. My first emblem was to honor his legacy.
As for the second emblem, I wanted to keep the three white lines I received from Spare Squadron on my plane after being transferred to the LRSSG and found a way to do so.
Why did you have three white lines painted on the tail of your plane while you were with Spare?
In Spare Squadron, each plane the inmates flew had one to three white lines painted over the decals of the previous squadrons the pilots were in before being sent to Zapland. Known as sin lines, the number of lines indicated the severity of the crime committed by the respective plane's pilot. While the other squadron members had one or two lines on the tails of their aircraft, I was the only one with three. Because of the number of lines on my plane, I earned the nickname, Three Strikes.
I understand Captain Kei Nagase of the spaceship Pilgrim One said that she salutes the pilot who gave us all the future. How does it feel to be that pilot? Do you consider yourself a hero?
It was nice of Nagase to say that I have given us all the future. But in spite of that, along with my exploits and all the praise I've received, I…"
Trigger looked to the next page to see a photograph of him in his F-22 Raptor with Arsenal Bird, Justice, going down in flame near the space elevator on the upper-part of the page, and continued reading.
"...don't consider myself a hero, let alone one who gave all of humanity the future. I consider myself nothing more than just like any other pilot; a person who flies a plane.
Out of all the moments you've experienced during the war, what had to have been the most memorable of them all?
During Operation Hush, the last drone I had to destroy flew into the undersea tunnel, which led to the space elevator. When I followed the drone into the tunnel, I was afraid I was going to hit the walls and crash. There were also doors randomly closing while pursuing the drone. Heck, one closed right in front of me! I was very lucky to avoid crashing into it and maneuver into the open tunnel to the right of it. My wingman, Count, who was flying with me through the tunnel, suspected the drone may have been operating the gates after hearing static in his headset whenever a gate closed.
But flying through the tunnel was not as scary as flying through the space elevator's windbreak. What was scary about that was, not just the possibility of hitting the walls of the windbreak, but also the three elevators within the windbreak.
Having to navigate through all those tight spaces is something I'll never forget. I actually find it more memorable than crossing swords with Erusean pilot, Mihaly A. Silage, or Mister X as everyone in the LRSSG, including myself, call him.
Speaking of Mihaly A. Silage, what do you think of him?
I have to admit, he's one heck of a fighter pilot. Hard to believe he's been in service longer than any pilot in any military in history I've heard of. Even though I admire his flying style, I can't believe he had a hand in developing those two super-drones, which tried to create a never-ending war, and killed a few of my friends just so he could keep his wings. That has got to have been the most selfish thing any fighter pilot would ever do. But in spite of all the things he did, I did feel remorse after I shot him down. I mean, he was just an elderly man who wanted to live life to the fullest while he still could. The last thing I recall hearing from him was him admitting his wrongs and told me to put a stop to the drone production, which I did.
Out of all the planes you've flown, which one was your favorite to fly?"
Trigger then turned the page and saw a photograph of him in his F-22 flying in formation with the remnants of the Osean-Erusean Coalition Air Force at the end of Operation Hush on the upper half of the last page of the article.
"Out of all the various aircraft I've flown in the OADF, I liked flying the F-22 Raptor; it has more bells and whistles that come in handy in a dogfight. And I must admit, it was the best choice of aircraft for the missions to take down the final Arsenal Bird and destroy the two drones with Mister X's abilities. Had I flown any other aircraft during those two missions, I don't think the Lighthouse War would ever have ended and we wouldn't be having this interview.
I understand you come from a family of fighter pilots who've flown in the Osean Air Force; can you tell me about them?
"My mother and uncle both fought in the Belkan and Circum-Pacific wars. After the former war, my uncle left the air force while my mother continued flying. But when she became pregnant with me, she was grounded from flying and put on maternity leave. After she gave birth to me in '98, she went back to flying and my uncle watched over me in her absence. During my mother's absence my uncle taught me how to stand up for myself, among other things. Including how to use a gun.
When the Circum-Pacific War broke out, my uncle reenlisted in the OADF. Because of this, along with my mother going off to fight in the same war, I ended up staying at a friend's house.
While my mother survived the war, my uncle wasn't so lucky; he was killed in the second attempt to take Cruik Fortress from the Yuktobanians.
I understand you were raised without a father. Did your mother ever tell you about him?
My mother never told me much about my father. When I asked her about my father, all that she told me was that he was special. When I asked further, she ordered me to drop the subject and not question my uncle about the subject. I don't know what's her deal. But regardless, I do intend to find out who my father is.
What do you plan to do after retiring from the OADF?
I'm not sure yet. But for now, I will continue flying.
Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up this interview?
Yes. I have a message to those who go into combat with the fear they wouldn't make it.
And what would that message be?"
Trigger smiled and read the last part aloud, "Stick with me and you'll make it."
He then closed the magazine before placing it on the plane's dashboard just as he heard a C-17 land on the base's runway.
The End
A/N: I decided to write a story detailing the article Trigger was reading about himself.