Tired. That was the first word that came to Jacob's mind when he thought about everything that had happened over the last few months. He was tired of it all; the war, Doctor Francis, the blackout, it was all too much for him. This was also his longest contract by far, and he was starting to get fatigued by it. The situation did have at least one positive, though. After Expo City, Doctor Francis wasn't as hostile toward the mercenary as he used to be. Ever since Jacob "killed" the Blue Kestrel, the doctor had almost been downright friendly with him. Although, he chose to keep the fact that the Blue Kestrel wasn't actually dead to himself.

"Zero, please report to the briefing room ASAP," Commander Shay's distinct voice echoed through Jacob's room from the intercom.

"Huh. Been a while since they've sent me on any ops," Jacob mused aloud. "Wonder what it is they want from me this time."

As he made his way through the halls of the small base, he couldn't help but think about the last sortie. Specifically, he could only think about Vega Squadron going down. After shooting down Thorn, Jinx, and Watcher, he didn't want to have to watch another squadron under his command get shot down. After they suggested strafing the Blue Kestrel's parachute, though, he knew that they were no better than Miser. Much like the fact that the Blue Kestrel survived, Jacob knew he'd likely never tell Doctor Francis that he left the last Vega Squadron pilot to die, especially considering how good of a mood he seemed to be in lately. Besides, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Jacob smirked. After everything he'd been through to get to this point, he didn't even know what side he was fighting for. At times, he felt like he was outright helping the Oseans, but what felt strange to him was that the thought didn't repulse him. A few months ago, back when the war first started, Jacob knew that would've been the case, but somehow, he had changed so much in such a relatively small amount of time that being on the enemy's side felt right. At first, Jacob couldn't understand why. Then, he realized what it was: the Blue Kestrel. He only met her four times, and during each of those encounters, they were both trying to kill each other. At the same time, though, she felt more human than any other enemy he had come across. The more Jacob thought about it, the more he realized how much he regretted taking this contract. At the back of his mind, though, he knew what was done was done, and he needed to think about what to do next.

"Ah, Zero. Good," Doctor Francis said as soon as the mercenary stepped into the briefing room. "Let's get this underway."

"You seem more excited than usual," Jacob noted as he walked past him to sit down. "What's got you so giddy?"

"A chance to finally test the culmination of our work," Doctor Francis replied. "After all of the hard work, flight tests, and whatnot, we finally get to see the Skyshard in action as it was meant to be." His eyes shimmered, and he had the smile of a man who just laid eyes on his newborn child. "The best part is that since you've killed the Blue Kestrel, they can't interfere."

"I suppose that's true." Jacob did his best to fake a smile. If he wanted to keep the doctor from discovering his doubts, he'd need to try and keep up the charade for as long as he could. "So what've you got for me, then? What's the mission?"

"As I'm sure you could've guessed, the satellites going down has plunged all of Usea into chaos. A result of this has been several factions within the Erusean military breaking off and declaring independence," Commander Shay explained. "Naturally, we can't let that happen. For us to truly be the victors of this war, we need to emerge as a united Erusea, which means stamping out these rebellions as soon as possible."

"Lucky for us, we finally found one of these renegade factions," Doctor Francis stepped in. "They're calling themselves the Republic of Voslage."

"Voslage?" Jacob echoed. He had to make himself look as composed as possible, even if he wasn't on the inside. Once again, his contract was taking him to fight against his homeland as they fought for independence. Last time, he lost his wingmen and the pilots he called friends, now though he had nothing left to lose, or rather, that's what he initially thought.

Commander Shay nodded. "Correct. From what little intel we've received, they have a decent air force, probably the best of any factions that broke off from Erusea. Regardless, they won't stand a chance against the Skyshard." His hands curled up into fists leaning against his desk, and a smirk accompanied the fire burning in his eyes. "We want you to fly over there and crush them. Annihilate them. Wring every last drop of resistance out of them so that they may never rise up again."

By that point, the pure shock of the fact that they wanted him to go back to Voslage had put Jacob on autopilot. All he could manage to murmur as he stood out was a simple "Understood" before he left the briefing room and started toward the hangars.

Once he arrived at the hangar with all of his flight gear on, Jacob started pacing back and forth through the room. Everything had already been flipped on its head within the last few months, but now, he felt like he had no idea what to do. After what happened last time, he swore he wouldn't go back to Voslage. Everywhere he'd look, he would get reminded of his darkest moment. Not only that, but the way Commander Shay spoke about suppressing their revolution made Jacob's skin crawl. If he carried out this order for him, then how would he push it next. At the same time, though, Jacob knew he couldn't just refuse the order.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked up as determination took hold. His eyes looked straight ahead at the door to the hangar, and he uttered one word, "No."

Money be damned, he was done playing this game. He knew what he needed to do, but what made him hesitate was the question of whether or not it would work. He dismissed any fears in his mind with a shake of his head as he looked back at the five Skyshards parked in the hangar. Not only were they incredibly effective weapons, but they were also substantial bargaining chips, and he knew that. Jacob tried his best to steady his breathing as the realization that he was actually doing this settled in. He climbed into one of the Skyshards and began taxying onto the runway. He only knew of one Osean base in the area. He didn't know if she'd be there, but he had to try and find her. With the Blue Kestrel wielding this power, he knew Erusea would lose for sure. Gradually, he picked up speed, and the Skyshard lifted off the ground. At first, he started flying west toward Voslage. Once Jacob was out of sight from the base, however, he took a long loop around and headed east as he made his way to the coast.

"Been quiet recently," Eva remarked as she looked around with a content sigh. "Gotta say, I'm starting to enjoy it."

Lucky, who was next to her as they strolled around the base outside, looked at her with a lighthearted chuckle. "Y'know, I remember you practically itching to go out on sorties when we were on the Kestrel II. You were basically vibrating with energy when Vortex took you up for the first time," he teased her.

Eva couldn't help but giggle upon seeing Lucky's infectious smile. "You weren't much better if my memory serves me correctly," she quipped back, reaching for his hand and interlocking their fingers.

At first, Lucky's only response was a shrug. "Still, I think it's safe to say that you've mellowed out quite a bit. That's why I find a bit of irony in you enjoying the fact that we haven't had any sorties in a few days."

"Well, I guess I was eager back then because I hadn't seen war yet- hadn't seen the death it causes," Eva murmured, her tone gradually dropping along with the mood of the conversation. "Every time we go up there," she nodded at the infinite stretch of blue above them with no clouds in sight. "It's a chance that I lose any of you, so I've learned to appreciate the moments here on the ground."

"Hey. Putting aside the fact that we have probably the best pilot I know leading us, we've been through a hell of a lot already," Lucky pointed out, looking ever so slightly down at her with his smile that warmed Eva's heart every time without fail. "Even if we didn't have you to lead the way, I'm sure we'd be able to make it through this just fine. I mean, just think about what we've gone through already. We went up against an Arsenal Bird and its army of drones twice. We went to San Salvacion, deep in enemy territory, and shot down an elite unite while rescuing a deserting officer. We flew through a ravine to attack, and later destroy, a top-secret facility. We've flown some of the most harrowing missions in this war. You don't have to worry about us." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tight.

Despite the comfort that Eva felt being pressed up against Lucky, she still knew she had to watch over them. "It's my job to worry," she said, recalling what Vortex told them before they went out on their first combat mission. "That's just the way things are."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. A gentle breeze swept through the air, tugging at Eva's hair, but she didn't mind or even seem to notice. All that existed to her at that moment was herself and Lucky. She had gotten lost in his eyes too many times to count, and this was one of those times. It still baffled her that one person could be so optimistic, even after going through so much torment. That was one of the numerous things she loved about him.

Eventually, she smiled and reached up to briefly kiss him on the cheek. "God, how do you always stay so cheerful?"

Lucky kept his gaze on her. "It helps when I get to be with you pretty much every day."

Eva was about to call him out on his cheesy answer when she was interrupted by an announcement over the PA that echoed around the base. "Attention all personnel, clear the runway for an unscheduled landing ASAP. Repeat; an unscheduled landing is in progress. Please clear the runway."

"Unscheduled landing?" Eva echoed, looking around in every direction, trying to figure out who or what was landing. "I thought Mage Squadron already came back from their patrol."

"Maybe it's Gorgon Squadron," Lucky speculated. "Wait, look!" he pointed toward a single shape in the sky that roughly resembled a plane.

At first, Eva couldn't recognize what kind of plane it was. As it got closer, though, she began to realize. "Is that… what I think it is?" Her suspicions were almost immediately confirmed as the plane flew over their heads and touched down onto the runway, slowing down bit by bit until it came to a complete stop. Eva's face screwed up into a look of anger and determination as she simply muttered, "Yes, it is," before striding down to the plane. The same plane that Zero flew.

At first, Lucky didn't realize what was going on. When he finally put the pieces together, though, an expression of horror plastered itself onto his face not because of who or what had just landed at their base but what Eva was going to do to them. "Diamond, no!" he called out to her as he ran to catch up.

Eva ignored him. The only thing she paid attention to was the plane that had just landed and the pilot climbing out of it. She squeezed her hand tight as she thought about her knuckled making contact with the man's jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor. Step by step, she got closer to him until she was finally within striking distance. Eva raised her arm up, but when she tried to bring it back down on the mercenary that had caused so much grief for her, she felt resistance. Then, she realized Lucky had grabbed her arms and was holding her back.

"Let me go!" she growled, trying unsuccessfully to try and wriggle free from his grasp. "I'll knock his teeth out. I'll make sure he never flies again!"

Lucky grunted as he struggled to keep her restrained. "That's exactly why I'm not gonna let you go, Diamond."

"Stand down, Lieutenant Kidd. That's an order." Eva flinched as she heard Commander Knight's voice behind her with more authority than she had ever heard from him before. David was standing next to him as well.

Eva took multiple deep breaths before she finally stopped struggling so Lucky could release her. "You know who this prick is, don't you?" she asked Knight, pointing at the man who stood before them. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"I would tell you if only you'd let me," the man interrupted them. Everyone turned to face him, and he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. "My name is Jacob Perry, callsign Zero. I was hired by Erusea to be the test pilot for their newest fighter: the XFA-30 Skyshard," he explained, gesturing to the plane he arrived in.

"Skyshard?" David echoed before anyone got a chance to speak up. "What are its capabilities? What's it like?" he asked as he started circling the plane.

Knight loudly and deliberately cleared his throat to keep the conversation from carrying on any further. "You can look it over later. What I want to know right now is why a mercenary hired by Erusea is at my base."

"Well, it's just like I said before I landed: I want to fly for you and put an end to this war," Zero said as his gaze rolled over each person standing in front of him. "And as a token of my good faith, I offer the Skyshard for the Blue Kestrel to fly because I've seen what she can do firsthand, and behind the controls of this thing, she'd be unstoppable."

"Nope. No way. Not a chance," Eva said almost immediately. "Not gonna start flying with this prick."

"Eva, I think we should at least give him a chance," Lucky responded. "If he wants to make up for what he's done, who're we to stop him?"

Deep down, Eva felt herself agreeing with him, but she made no signs of showing it. "I don't give a damn. Think of all of our friends that this piece of shit killed. Think of all the times he tried to kill us. I don't care what he thinks; that's not something that can be easily forgiven."

"There are still four other Skyshards at the base I came from," Zero interjected. "I can tell you where those are, too. The base is practically unguarded. It would be like taking candy from a baby."

Commander Knight sighed. "We'll decide what to do with him later. For now, we'll put him in one of the holding cells. As for the Skyshard…" he looked up at the superplane. "Nobody touches it until David says so, understood?"

After a long silence, Eva nodded and responded with a quick, "Yes, sir." Lucky did the same. She knew Lucky was right about the fact that he needed a chance to redeem himself, but what she was struggling with deep in her mind was whether or not he deserved that chance. The case could be made that Zero was responsible for the Kestrel II sinking, and that was a lot more lives on his hands than just Domino and Meteor Squadron. What made Eva hesitate, however, was her pondering what Vortex would do in her position. She knew he'd give him a second chance. It didn't take any thought whatsoever to know that. Now, she had to decide if she would do the same.

As a pair of MPs came and escorted Zero away, David followed the Skyshard as one of the aircraft maintainers taxied it into a hangar, and Knight went back into the command building, leaving Eva alone with Lucky once again. Considering how well they knew each other by now, it didn't take much for him to see the distress she was in. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and they stayed there. Eva lost track of how long they were there for, as she was too busy thinking about the predicament she now faced.