By the time the pilots landed back at the base, it was very evident that everyone, or at least all the pilots from Nexus Squadron, were just as eager to get in contact with allied forces as Eva was. As Eva climbed out of her plane and onto the hangar floor, she looked around at the others who were doing the same. Despite how excited she was, though, she still felt a deep feeling of nervousness. No matter how hard Eva tried, though, she couldn't quite figure out why that feeling was there or how to get rid of it. She probably would've dwelled on it some more, but the others walking up to her distracted Eva from the subject.
"Ya did good work out there, kid," Charger said, patting Eva on the back. "I knew you could do it."
Eva rolled her eyes as she tucked her helmet underneath her armpit. "You know you don't have to keep calling me 'kid,' you know?"
Vortex shrugged as they made their way out of the hangar. "Perhaps, but where's the fun in that?" he asked with a mischievous look in his eye, something rarely seen from him.
"I still can't believe you did all that work by yourself," Magic chimed in. "Blows my mind."
"I didn't really think about it in the heat of the moment. I just… did it, I guess," Eva explained.
"Either way, you finally did what all of us have been wanting to do since this war broke out," Crosswind said as he joined them from the hangar where his E-767 was housed at.
Eva glanced over her shoulder at the hangars behind them as the group made their way into the main building. She spotted the three convicts, who were heading for their cell block rather than the base. Even from a distance, Eva could see Magnum notice her looking and shoot a mean glare at the young pilot before disappearing into the cell block. Eva sighed as she turned her attention back to the group she was walking with. Even though they constantly told her not to, she still felt responsible for Slipstream's death and their fractured relationship with the convicts because of that.
"Sooo do you guys think we'll get transferred back to Fort Grays right away or what?" Lucky asked, breaking a brief period of awkward silence.
Crosswind shrugged. "I guess that depends on how things are going for Osea on the front lines," he speculated. "You might end up being stuck here for a while yet."
Trench sighed. "I'm gonna miss you guys once you're gone," he said softly. "It was nice to be… appreciated, I guess." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his flight suit as they walked.
"Don't you worry, Trench," Poet assured him, putting his hand on the pilot's shoulder. "I'm sure Gates'll work as hard as he can to get you guys a pardon once this is all over, and if he can't, then I'll do everything I can to make sure it happens."
Crosswind nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't worry too much, Trench. If only one of you convicts were to get pardoned, it'd be you. Unlike the others, you've actually been a significant help throughout the war."
Trench smiled. "Thanks, you guys. I'm glad I was able to meet you all."
"Well, it's like I said. We don't know what the situation is like, so I wouldn't say goodbye quite yet," Crosswind reminded them. "I've got a sinking feeling that our struggles are far from over."
"Our struggles are never over," Magic added. "Seems like there's always some new bullshit for us to deal with. Sometimes our luck is so bad that I genuinely wonder if one of you broke a mirror over a black cat or something."
"There's no denying that things have been hard for us- all of us," Vortex agreed. "But this could be the start of putting all that behind us. I'm gonna be honest with you guys; I have no idea what to expect when we make that transmission, but I do know one thing. We've had our fair share of low points in the past few months," he looked around at everyone as he spoke. "And, not to jinx it, but we can only get so low before you hit bottom, and when you hit bottom, the only place left to go is up."
Charger smirked and gave Vortex a friendly nudge on the arm. "You ever thought about being a motivational speaker?" he teased him. "Could be a nice side gig if you ask me."
Vortex smiled. "Well, once we get back from this war, who knows? I might just do that."
Eva cleared her throat, trying to grab everyone's attention. "Don't you guys think we should probably, like… hurry up?" she asked, her eagerness beginning to tease out. "Commander Gates is probably waiting for us."
Vortex smiled, seeming to find her impatience amusing, but eventually, he gave her a nod. "Probably right," he agreed. "And I won't pretend I'm not excited to see what's about to happen, so let's get moving."
Without saying another word, everyone made their way into the main building, through the winding hallways, and up the stairs until they reached the briefing room. Gates and Tillmin were already there waiting for them, and Gates smiled as soon as he laid eyes on the pilots.
"Congratulations, everyone!" Gates said, extending his arms with a smile. "You finally did it, and I couldn't be prouder of you." He paused as he looked over the group and frowned. "Where are the others?"
Crosswind shrugged. "They didn't want any part in it, I imagine," he said casually. "They went straight to their cell block once we got back."
"That's a shame," Gates said. "I would've liked for them to be here with us when we finally did this. Thought it'd be nice to do it as a group." He turned around with a shrug and went back over to his computer. "Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. Let's do this, shall we?"
"This is it," Eva whispered to herself, hoping to steady her nerves. "It's time."
Gates sat down at his desk and started moving through various programs until the sound of static started coming from his computer, indicating he was using some sort of radio communication. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Gates asked as he tried to sort his way the static to find an actual sound.
Eva's heart skipped a beat as a voice on the other side actually responded. "This is Osean High Command," the voice identified itself. "Who is this?"
"This is Lieutenant General Clinton Gates. Base Commander of the Osean Air Force 262nd Penal Unit," Gates introduced himself. "Authentication code is 6-1-1-8. I have a lot to explain, and I have urgent intel."
The voice on the other side hesitated for a moment before they spoke up again. "Roger that, give me a moment. I'm going to transfer you to another line," they explained.
"This is Vice Chairman Edwards of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," a new voice stated. "Lieutenant General, you haven't been reporting in for months. We assumed that Erusea destroyed your base during their advance. You have a lot of explaining to do."
"Don't worry, sir. I can explain it all," Gates assured him. "I'll try to summarize as best I can, but you'd better prepare yourself for a long story."
"I'm all ears," Edwards replied, clearly intrigued by what had happened to them over the past few months.
"Well, firstly, when Erusea first attacked, we managed to fend them off, obviously," Gates began. "However, they still tried to bomb us continually. We tried to contact High Command, but Erusea had a jammer in place blocking our transmissions. No matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find it. However, since my base was near San Salvacion, I decided to try and get in contact with Major Aaron Tillmin of the Erusean Military. He was an old friend of mine, and I suspected he might be looking to defect. That was when my pilots came into contact with Nexus Squadron from the OFS Kestrel II."
"The Kestrel II was sunk during an attack on Farbanti back when the war first started," Edwards said. "We've had all the pilots and crew members marked as KIA since we heard the report."
Eva froze as soon as Edwards finished speaking. It didn't take long for the realization to dawn on her that she and the rest of her squadmates were dead as far as the world was concerned. Trigger was going through his problems, thinking that she died. As Eva went further and further down this train of thought, she was suddenly mortified by the realization that Osea probably sent a letter to her mother saying that she had been killed. Her own mother probably thought she was dead. The more she thought about it, the more it weighed down on her like a bunch of stones in her chest.
"They were the only survivors. They managed to get away when the carrier sunk," Gates explained. "To make a very long story somewhat short, we pulled Major Tillmin out of San Salvacion, and we've been using his intel to carry out various strikes against Erusea. I've been keeping detailed logs of all these missions on my files, but that's the basics. Today we finally destroyed the jamming facility that's been blocking our communications, so now that we're able to contact you, we're reporting in. Should we make preparations to move east to regroup with you?"
Edwards waited for at least a minute before answering, apparently thinking long and hard on the decision. "No," he finally said. "In a few days, we're going to be undertaking a crucial operation to shoot down one of the Arsenal Birds. Your current position works very well for us. For now, standby where you are and await further orders," he instructed.
"Uh, Vice Chairman? If I might get a word in," Tillmin chimed in. "This is Major Tillmin. If you're looking to shoot down one of the Arsenal Birds, perhaps I could help plan. Most of my work with Erusea involved the Arsenal Birds, so I have information that could prove valuable."
"Fine," Edwards replied. "Lieutenant General, the three of us will arrange a meeting tomorrow to discuss the intel you have. We can make a plan from there. Understood?"
"Crystal clear, sir," Gates responded. "So our current orders are to stand by where we are?" he asked to make sure he had everything right.
"Affirmative. Make sure you have everything ready for tomorrow, and while you're at it, send all your mission reports to High Command as well," Edwards told him before hanging up.
Gates took a deep breath as he leaned back into his chair. "Well, that wasn't quite how I expected that to go," he admitted.
Crosswind smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned up against the wall. "And what were you expecting? A medal of honor with your name engraved onto it?" He spoke with a heavy dose of sarcasm in his voice, but the look on his face made it clear that he was joking with the commander.
"Regardless of what we expected, this is still a good thing," Vortex reminded them. "Not to mention the fact that we're about to go on the offensive. We've all done good work here, and if you ask me, I think we should celebrate."
Gates smiled as he stood up. "You know what? You're right. I think a bit of celebration is in order." He started leaving the room and gestured for everyone else to follow him. "Come on, let's head down to the mess and grab something to eat."
As Eva followed the others down from the briefing room over to the mess hall, she couldn't help but think about the convicts again. Although, as much as she felt guilty for not getting them to join the celebration, she was still sure that she wasn't going to even attempt to get them. Especially considering they had tried to kill her a few weeks ago. Regardless of her feelings, she didn't bother bringing it up with the others, as she knew that, aside from Gates, they likely wouldn't feel the same as she did.
When they all arrived in the mess hall, they pushed a few tables together, and all sat around each other. After that, they just passed the time joking around, telling stories, eating, and even having a beer or two. It was a nice moment for Eva, as she hadn't felt this genuinely relaxed and at ease in a long time. It also served as a nice distraction from all of her worries at the time.
Suddenly, Gates stood up and loudly cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Everyone, a quick word, if I may." He paused, taking a moment to look around the table at each person with a soft smile on his face. "It truly does my heart joy to see us all here, enjoying each other's company. However, I think we should also take a moment to honor those who didn't get to make it to this point. Let's start by simply naming all those we've lost."
"Captain Waller," Vortex was the first to speak up.
"James," Crosswind added. Eva remembered the story he told her after she thanked him for saving her with a touch of sadness.
"Onyx," Lucky said next.
"Neutron, Bouncer, Threes, and Mesa," Major Tillmin spoke up.
"Domino," Charger chimed in.
"Torch," Poet said.
Eva sighed. "Slipstream."
Gates nodded once everyone finished listing names. "Now, let's think about all that these people meant to us and remember the happy memories we shared with them," he said as he lowered his head.
Everyone else did the same, presumably reflecting within their minds about all the people they lost and how that loss affected them. Eva took a deep breath and decided to do the same.
'I don't know if you thought we were as close as I did, but I like to think that we were at least starting to share a bond,' Eva thought to herself. 'Either way, I still hold myself accountable for you not being here anymore- same goes for the rest of Castor Squadron. I just wish there was something more I could've done. I guess… I don't know. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Even if I didn't admit it at the time, you made me laugh more than once, at least on the inside, so thank you for that. I just wish I didn't screw up with the others by failing to keep you safe, so I hope wherever you are, you're still making wisecracks to your heart's content.'
Evidently, Eva wasn't doing as good of a job concealing her emotions as she thought since Lucky, who was sitting next to her, gently put his hand on her shoulder and gave her his signature cheery smile. Although, that wasn't something Eva was going to object to. Lucky always had a way to make her feel better. He had a way of making her feel safe that very few others were able to do, and that was something she really appreciated about him, among other things.
'This is it,' Eva decided in her mind as she looked around the table and the people sitting at it. 'I'm not losing anyone else. If it's the last thing that I do.'