As the sounds of shrieking engines died throughout the air around Air Base 262, so too did the wind, bringing a feeling of tranquility to the area. Inside the hangar, Eva let out a heavy sigh as she took off her oxygen mask. She sat still in the cockpit of her Su-35 for a moment, clenching her hand into a fist as she thought about Zero getting away. After everything he did, Eva was so close to finishing him off once and for all, but then Vortex stepped in. She grew even angrier once she had the realization that she might not get the chance again. Eva felt like she had to do something to get her anger out. As soon as she climbed out of her plane, she took off her helmet and held it in her hands. She felt like hurling it across the room but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she saw Vortex climbing down from his plane, and she marched over to him.

"Why did you stop me?" she demanded. "I could've shot him down then and there. All of the people he killed could've been avenged, so why did you stop me?"

At first, Vortex looked surprised by Eva's sudden aggression, like it was the last thing he possibly expected. He paused for a moment, thinking before his eyes eventually narrowed as he looked down at her. "And would that have made you feel better?" he asked, raising his voice with anger that Eva had rarely, if ever, seen from him. "Would shooting a damaged and retreating aircraft in the back have fixed anything?"

Eva scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What? You want me to treat him with honor? He's a mercenary, Vortex. You think he cared about Domino, or Torch, or anyone else he shot down? He did it for a paycheck. As far as I'm concerned, he lost the right to be treated with any sort of honor."

Vortex sighed heavily, leaning against the side of his plane. "Jesus, Diamond. Will you listen to yourself? I miss Domino, Torch, and all the others too. I've known them for years, but if there's anything that I've learned in my experience, it's that revenge doesn't change a damn thing. Not only that, but it just puts you in unnecessary danger." He paused for a moment. "Look, I don't know about them, but if I got shot down, I wouldn't want you getting killed trying to "avenge" me or whatever else you want to call it."

"I wasn't putting myself in danger," Eva defended herself. "He was nearly done for. I just had to finish him off."

"You threw yourself headfirst at an advanced experimental fighter. If that's not putting yourself in danger, then I don't know what is," Vortex said sternly. "Look, Diamond. You're a damn good pilot, especially for someone as young as yourself, but you've got to know where your boundaries lie."

"Stop trying to change the topic!" Eva snapped. "This isn't about me. This is about you and how you stopped me from finishing off Zero."

"No, this is about you!" Vortex countered in an equally aggressive voice. "Because I want you to realize that chasing after this vendetta isn't worth shooting someone in the back while they're retreating. I mean, why bother going through all this trouble? Is this what they'd want? Is it worth it?"

"You don't understand, Vortex." Eva felt her eyes getting watery, so she looked away to wipe them off. "When you, Charger, and Lucky were grounded to deal with Lucky's trial, and Magic, Poet, and I were put in Meteor Squadron in the meantime, I just…" She knew what she wanted to say. Still, no matter how hard Eva tried, she couldn't put any combination of words together that would do her thoughts justice. "I don't know," she finally said. She sat down on the cold cement floor, piecing the words together in her head. "When I was in Meteor Squadron, Domino put so much faith in me," Eva spoke only a few words at a time. "He made me his number three, and he sent me on that stealth mission alone. I just don't know why." She sighed, letting her head fall into her hands. "I felt confident in myself because of him. I probably wouldn't have taken on Zero in Farbanti if not for that," she explained. "I- I always wanted to ask him why he put so much trust in me, but… I never got the chance, thanks to that bastard Zero." Her hands tightened up into fists as her mind replayed that moment over and over. "That's why I want him dead."

Vortex's expression softened a bit. "Diamond…" he began before trailing off again. Eventually, he sighed and sat down next to her. "Look, I know how much it hurts to lose someone. Nothing I can say changes the fact that they're not coming back, and it hurts, but that also goes for you too. Meteor Squadron gave their lives so that we would live. If you get yourself killed chasing after revenge, then their deaths would be for nothing," he pointed out. "It's not easy to lose someone, but you'll get through it- I know you will."

Up until that point, Eva hadn't realized that she started crying again. She wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks and looked up at Vortex, smiling. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Vortex smirked and gave her a light pat on the back as he stood up. "Don't mention it. Come on, let's go. The others are probably waiting for us so we can do the debriefing."

Vortex helped Eva up, and together, the two of them left the hangar and made their way over to the base's main building. As Eva followed Vortex across the base, she noticed that the desert heat didn't seem as overwhelmingly hot as it did before. Although, that still didn't stop her from being caught off guard by the blast of air-conditioning that hit her every time she stepped into the main building. She even felt a shiver run down her spine as she made her way up the stairs with Vortex. Finally, they stepped into the briefing room and sat down with the rest of the squadron.

"Good, you're here," Gates said. "Let's get started." He booted up the briefing software. "We're still trying to piece together what exactly happened here, today," he admitted. "All we know is that we failed to carry out the original objective."

"Hmph, good to know all that hard work we did was for nothing," Magnum muttered. "We went up against all those planes for no reason, essentially?"

Major Tillmin nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. What I'm more concerned about is why the APS Unit wasn't in the convoy and why it was going in the direction that it was." He drew a line from San Salvacion going in the direction of the lone transport. "Their route would take them somewhere to the east part of Usea, but I don't know why. There's nothing over there of any significance."

"If your intel on this convoy was wrong, is it possible that all of your intel is compromised?" Crosswind asked.

Tillmin shook his head. "No, I doubt it. This feels like it's a part of something bigger. I just can't tell what." He scratched the top of his head. "Besides, most of my intelligence is targets that are very significant to Erusea. It's hard to fake that."

"There's also the matter of that experimental fighter you guys came across," Gates pointed out. "Is there anything else you know about that?"

"No, I know as much as Castor Squadron, I'm afraid. Quite frankly, I didn't even think that they existed. Although, the fact that you were able to repel him successfully is somewhat reassuring," Tillmin said.

"Either way, it'll be something that we need to be cautious of all the same," Gates reminded everyone. "We don't know when they could show up or where, so we'll have to treat every operation as if they could be on their way."

"So, what's next, then?" Neutron asked.

"Major Tillmin and I are still putting together a detailed plan of action, so we're not 100% decided on what the next target is going to be. We'll notify you as soon as you're needed, though," Gates explained. "For now, you're dismissed. Go ahead and get some rest. You've earned it," he added with a smile.

Reed let out a heavy sigh of relief as he practically fell into a chair in the mess hall. After a long day of flying around and dogfighting, some time to unwind was always appreciated. The chair he was sitting in wasn't very comfortable. It was hard, cold, and it was built in a weird shape. At the same time, though, being able to sit down anywhere felt incredibly relaxing. He could feel the tension in his muscles slowly fade away. Suddenly, he heard voices coming from the mess hall entrance, which were gradually getting louder. He looked over to see who it was and saw Castor Squadron coming in.

Neutron quickly spotted Reed and smiled, giving him a friendly wave. "Hey, Charger!" he called out as he and the others came over to join him.

Reed nodded as they sat down at the same table as him. "Hey boys," he greeted them. "You here to take it easy as well?"

"Yep. Figured we'd knock a beer or two back to celebrate making it out of that mess of a furball," Bouncer explained. "Care to join us?"

Reed shook his head as soon as he heard the mention of beer. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass on the alcohol. I had some bad experiences with it in the past, so I avoid it wherever I can." He crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned back into his chair. "I'm just gonna sit back and take it easy."

Neutron shrugged as he took the cap off the bottle in his hand. "Suit yourself." He and the others brought their bottles together and took a drink.

"So, how are you guys settling in?" Reed finally asked after a brief period of silence. "I imagine it's a bit different here than you're used to."

"Oh yeah, things are definitely different here," Mesa said. "Not to mention it's so much hotter here than it is in San Salvacion."

Threes chuckled as he took a small sip. "Yeah, no kidding. I swear, I feel like I'm gonna melt out there."

"Well, yeah. I don't know what you were expecting from an airbase in the desert, dumbass," Bouncer teased him, giving him a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

"I think the most interesting part of settling in here has been the people," Neutron finally answered. "Especially those other pilots," he added.

Reed nodded. "Oh yeah, I get what you mean. The convicts are definitely an uh… acquired taste, to say the least," he explained. "If I'm being honest, it feels a bit weird to be asking you guys how you're settling in when my squadron were the ones settling in not even a month ago," he admitted.

"Really?" Neutron asked, seemingly quite surprised by that fact.

"Yep. Originally, we were stationed on the Kestrel II in the Spring Sea, so we were away when the war broke out," Reed told them. "Since we were so close to Farbanti, command sent us to try and seize control to end the war early, but the mission went ass-up, and the Kestrel II sank. After that, we just flew east until we eventually found this place."

"Man, that's crazy," Threes said. "How'd you even make it out?"

"In all honesty, I have no idea," Reed admitted with a shrug. "I'm just glad Vortex was the one leading the squadron and not me. Quite frankly, I don't know if I'd ever be able to lead this squadron- not sure I could handle the pressure."

Neutron shrugged as he took a sip. "Yeah, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with the job." He glanced at the rest of his squadron. "Plus, keeping these knuckleheads alive can feel like an impossible task at times," he added with a snicker.

"Ah, you worry too much, Neutron," Mesa said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We're able to take care of ourselves."

Neutron chuckled. "Riiight. I'll believe that when I see it."

For about another hour or so, Reed sat with the rest of Castor Squadron and passed the time telling stories and joking with each other. It felt nice. The last time he remembered having casual conversations with people not in his squadron was with Meteor Squadron back on the Kestrel II, so he gladly accepted the change of pace, hoping that he and the others would be able to experience it more soon.