Alone…

Trigger sighed, glaring at the ceiling as he laid on the floor of his solitary cell.

He really hated this whole solitary thing.

What even was the point?

He wasn't learning anything, it just made him bitter, angry, and depressed.

He punched the padded floor.

All he could muster was rage and disappointment.

Then…there was Crimson.

While he hoped that they would never have to deal with Crimson One and his goons. Trigger knew now more than ever, they would be back. He had set a target on his back now, Crimson would be back for sure. Hell, they might even go rouge. Hunting Spare Squadron down to the ends of the earth. It wouldn't be the first time a fighter squadron did that.

It didn't matter anyways. Trigger knew what he had to do.

To protect his friend.

To protect his squadron.

He would fight.

Trigger sat up quickly.

That's right…he finally did it.

He remembered suddenly. Stumbling out of his cockpit after a tough training duel. He had almost crashed into the ground, he dodged to hard and stalled out. Still being new, he panicked.

His heart was beating a mile a minute as he sat on the tarmac.

He had heard the thud of boots behind him. Someone jumping out of their cockpit before they even finished shutting down their engines.

"Hey, Hey, come on you're okay, you're still alive right?" His flight instructor patted his shoulder gently. "You recovered, thats what matters."

"I…I….could have…" He swallowed hard. "I could have lost the plane."

"Kid I could care less about the plane! The thing is a piece of junk that has seen way better days. I care about you, you're way more important than any plane." He jabbed Trigger in the chest.

"But…Don't we fly…to protect Usea? From all threats? Internal and external?" Trigger paused, trying to find the words. "To protect the people and give our lives if need be?"

His flight instructor looked him in the eyes.

Then laughed, hard. "Look Kid, you're going to get yourself hurt with all those ideals swimming around in your head. You gotta focus on the battle you're in."

Trigger had tilted his head. "Well…then what do we fight for?"

His flight instructor had paused, then chuckled, a wide grin on his face. "That's for you to decide. Not anyone else, certainly not me. What we as pilots fight for is what drives us, you can move mountains, even change the world for the better. You may not know what you fight for yet, but when you find it…" he gave Trigger a light punch on the shoulder. "Let me know. Then we can have that rematch."

Trigger had looked at his shoulder, looked up at the beaming smile of his flight instructor. Then nodded slowly.

"Alright, good." He reached down and lifted Trigger to his feet. "Now come on, gunna give you a quick lesson about that pesky stalling thing. You never know when it can come in handy."

They had spent the next three hours practicing post stall maneuvers. It was grueling work, but the entire time his mind had been focused on one thing. What did he fight for?

A chuckle escaped his lips. He knew the answer finally, he had found something to fight for. Prez, his friend. Maybe even friends? He sighed, this was getting confusing.

He didn't want to get stabbed in the back again. Spare Squadron may be made up of criminals, but…that was the strange thing. None of their crimes were really that big. Technically, his was the greatest crime here. Though…most didn't care what he said still.

In the end, they were still his squadron, and while they may not have an official leader, Trigger was starting to get a suspicion that he and Prez were slowly becoming the de facto leaders of the squadron. It was a lot of responsibility though. He didn't even think he would ever make a good squad leader. He felt there were to many areas he wasn't good at.

If someone else could take the job that would probably be a lot better, but no one had given an actual order. So, nothing to worry about for now.

He sighed. It was lonely here.

He should probably get some sleep.

A loud thunk sounded from outside.

Trigger froze, as the door was slowly opened, he squinted against the light.

"Hey dumbass." Avril stepped into the cell. "Come on."

Trigger gave her a look. "How long has it been?"

"Barely an hour." She limped over and started to gently kick at his shins. "Come on, get moving, I wanna eat."

"Wait an hour?! That felt like at least three hours. Why the hell are they letting me out after an hour?"

"Good behavior? I dunno Trigger, come on. I wanna eat."

He tilted his head, but then shrugged. "Right then." He stood up slowly, understanding he would not get more of an explanation.

"Finally." Avril's shoulders relaxed as she starts leading Trigger away from the solitary cells.

He followed quietly, keeping to himself mostly. He was impressed with how well Avril knew the layout of the Prison. Though, to be fair, he had heard the rumors, the ones that said she was the first prisoner brought here. The only one who had made an attempt to escape, some people said she had tried at least five times. Full Band laughed and said it was more like at least ten now.

They turned a corner, coming to a checkpoint. The Guard looked surprised, giving a tug on the leash in his hand. The black and brown furred dog looked at them and growled deeply.

"Nooooooo….Bad Clyde." Avril walked up and tapped the dog on its nose.

The dog froze, then whimpered. Looking down at the ground.

The guard laughed. "Ah, Scrap Queen. I see you brought the murderer with you."

"Yeah, we're going to the caf. Good behavior here for Trigger." She gave Trigger a slap on the back.

"I heard it was more a thing of how many kills they got." The Guard looked at Trigger. "Is it true you flyboys had to fight off a IUN ace squadron?"

"Ummm…yeah." He was confused. How did the guards know about that? Shouldn't that be kept under wraps due to the sensitive nature of that operation.

The guard just laughed. "Well damn! I thought they were just making that up. Thats the first time I've heard you say anything, so it's got to be true."

Avril dug into her pockets meanwhile, pulling out a dog treat. "Trigger and Prez are the most truthful here honestly." She held up the treat slightly.

The guard dog's tail started to wag slightly, they looked at the guard, who simply nodded. The guard dog instantly went from intimidating, to a puppy. Happily yipping and bouncing slightly as it's tail went wild.

Avril laughed happily. Having the guard dog do a few tricks before handing over the bone shaped treat. "Alright, good boy!" She chuckled slightly then looked to the guard. "Alright, we all good?"

The guard nodded. "Yeah, you're good, have a nice night."

"You too Jeff." She waved slightly, using her other hand to pat the guard dog's head.

Trigger raised an eyebrow at her, squinting slightly.

"What? I love dogs."

Which did nothing to explain how friendly the guard dogs were with her. There were only five guard dogs on site. But somehow Avril knew every single one by name. Trigger had dealt with them before. They were always vicious and angry around him. So how on earth did Avril, who had been chased down by the dogs multiple times, manage to get on their good side?

Avril led him to the cafeteria. Pushing open the doors with a chuckle. "Alright, I've got the dumbass, you two can stop whining."

Tabloid and Prez let out a cheer.

Count let out a small groan.

Prez glared across the table at Count for half a second then started to excitedly tap the spot on the bench next to her. "Trigger! Come here!" There were trays of food siting on the table, one at each seat.

Trigger watched as Avril quickly went over and sat down next to Count, she immediately started eating. He sat down opposite of Avril, right where Prez wanted him to sit.

She nudged his shoulder with her elbow. "Hey, hey! The foods actually really good for once, eat up."

Trigger looked down at the food, it just looked like the usual slop. A few slices of meatloaf along with some suspicious mashed potatoes with a thin gravy on top of it all. He looked at Prez, squinting slightly. This had to be a prank of some sort, the food was always shitty here, worse than a normal mess hall, or even MRE's.

"No It's not a prank, they actually did a good job for once." She took a bite of her own food, the exact same as his. "I'm serious."

He looked across to Avril, who was greedily wolfing down her own food.

Trigger frowned slightly, he didn't trust it. But he slowly and carefully took a bite.

It was…

Really good?!

He looked at Prez in confusion, then to Tabloid.

Prez just giggled.

Tabloid shrugged.

"Salt."

Trigger looked over to Count. He was carefully eating as well.

"They actually put salt in the damn food for once. Probably butter in the potatoes." Count ran a hand through his blonde hair, frowning slightly.

Trigger nodded slightly. "That's all?" He took another bite.

"Yeah, nothing else. It'd be even better if the meatloaf had some paprika and pepper in it honestly…I used to make a killer meatloaf. It used pickle juice." He chuckled slightly.

Avril froze for a moment and looked at Count. "Pickle Juice?" She laughed. "I'm sorry the great Sir Count says he can cook? Yet you're talking about using pickle juice in a meatloaf?"

Tabloid looked down at his meatloaf, then to his left at Count. "Okay Yeah, Sc-" He pauses. "Avril makes a good point. How the hell does that work?"

Count shrugged. "It gives it a nice flavor. You know, like pickles on a burger?" He frowns as he realizes something. "Wait…do any of you know how to cook?"

Trigger and Prez slightly raise their hands.

Avril raises an eyebrow.

Tabloid raises a hand slowly, his mouth opens slightly.

"No, noodle cups and toast do not count."

Tabloid's hand went down immediately.

Avril chuckled. "Well, that was unexpected." She looks to Prez and Trigger. "Is there anything you two can't do?"

Trigger raises an eyebrow. Not saying anything. He felt a little called out. This may be a prison, but it was a military base first, so he fit in well, as did Prez. As for what he couldn't do. There was a lot. About the only things he was good at was painting and flying. He wasn't the best cook.

Prez looks at him and nods. "Yeah…I feel the same." She frowns. "Honestly, I'm terrible at math." She giggled. "I know it's weird, but I'm so fucking bad at math."

Avril chuckles. "Really? Well damn, didn't expect that either. I mean I'm simple, I can't cook. At all. Noodle cups and sandwiches for life." She tapped her fist against her chest twice.

Count frowned heavily. "You know there's enough salt in those to turn your insides rotten right?"

"Look I can't cook, and I gotta eat. Noodle cups take five minutes to make, you can down it all quick, and then get back to work. Plus it's got water in it too for hydration."

Trigger chuckled as he ate. He was just happy to have good food for once. Along with welcome company.

"I…You know what I can't argue with that, I lived off of those when I was in school." Count mumbled slightly, then shrugged.

Tabloid chuckled. "I wouldn't mind some home cooking if you're offering Count."

"Would if I could honestly." Count scoffed. "Look, if we all make it out of here somehow. I'll throw a barbecue, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, the whole shebang."

Trigger froze mid bite.

Prez's eyes widened. "You promise?"

Count rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Look, I may be a fraud, but try to keep my promises." he held up a single hand. "I promise that if we make it out of here, I'll throw a barbecue."

Trigger's eyes widened. "Well shit…looks like we'll be busy for a while."

"You can't back out now Count! It's a deal." Prez grinned as she pointed at Count, standing up quickly. "We'll do our best to get outa here, if we keep up our good work, they'll have to give us pardons."

Avril raised an eyebrow at that. "So…am I included in this?"

Count looked at her in shock. "Of course! I can't be the only royalty included in this deal miss Queen of Scrap."

"I didn't pick that name and you know it."

"I do, but that doesn't change the fact that you are included in this deal."

Prez nods quickly. "We're all here on bullshit pretenses. We all deserve a way out."

Count points across the table. "Trigger's a murderer."

Trigger glared at him, pausing just as he had taken a bite… He left his fork in his mouth, splaying out the fingers on both hands before using his middle fingers to tap both of his shoulders. He shook his head, flipped Count the bird, then went back to eating. He had said it many times. He didn't kill Harling. Even if it was his missile or his guns that hit the plane, he never meant to hurt Harling.

Prez glared as well. "Count do I need to deck you?"

Count paled slightly. "No no no I'm good, I like my teeth where they are thank you."

"Good, then shut your trap." Prez sat back down finally.

Tabloid laughed lightly. "I hope I'm a part of this too. I don't wanna be stuck here either."

"You absolutely are Tabloid." Count sighed slightly, now that Prez was mostly off his ass. "You may be unexperienced as you said, but you're good at this, not as good as me of course."

Prez giggled.

"But still good." He glared at Prez a bit. "Still everyone at this table, is one hundred percent in. We get out of this, I'll do a barbecue, promise."

Trigger nodded slowly as he finished his food. "We'll do our best Count, thanks. You're not bad."

"Well, come on now, I do my best." Count chuckled and winked.

"You're an ass sometimes, but you're not bad." Trigger pointed at him.

Count paled slightly. "Right…."

Avril put down her silverware. "So, if you all are going to play nice, I was promised a game of blackjack and some alcohol as payment for doing repairs."

Trigger froze for a moment, then looked to Prez.

She nodded slightly. "Come on." She gave Trigger a punch to the shoulder. "It'll be fun."

He bit his lip slightly, this was how everything went downhill. A simple card game and some drinks. Probably one of the best nights he ever had since he was a kid. Then Brownie was gone, shot down by some Erusean ace. An SU-30, he had heard the man's voice, it still haunted him. Then he was abandoned, everything went down hill from that blackjack game.

"Trigger? It's gunna be okay." Prez put a hand on his arm.

He looked down at her hand. In that moment he knew, his friend was trying to help him move past all the hurt and pain he had endured. "Alright." He smiled slightly. "But I'm dealing."

Count perked up a bit. "Eh? Why you?"

Trigger raised an eyebrow. "What…you think I'm not going suspect you of counting cards to get a one up on us all."

"I would never!"

Prez laughed in her spot next to the Strike Wyvern, the radio inside playing some smooth jazz from a local station. "You know Count, we probably shouldn't have trusted you the moment you said 'I would never.'"

Trigger and Avril burst out laughing. It turned out Count was a very good actor, as he had definitely been card counting the entire time, but it still took them two hours to figure it out.

"Well, well, well, looks like I can name myself as the Spare Squadron Blackjack Champion. I will collect my winnings." Count paused, remembering that the pot had been removed. "Right…I should go. Got to get some shut eye. Thanks for a good time guys." He turned and quickly walked out, whistling a simple tune.

Avril watched as Count made his way out of the hanger, shaking her head slightly. "All in all though, it was really fun. I haven't been able to play cards in forever." She chuckled as she put the cards away. She was still hanging around, however, Tabloid was…

"Hey…..Hey Trigger."

Trigger frowned as Tabloid's finger pushed into his cheek. "What?"

"Why….why…why are there three of you?" He hiccup'ed as he pulled his finger away.

"I dunno Tabloid, why are there three of me?"

Tabloid giggled. "Because you're just that good…." He hiccup'ed again as he wobbled slightly. "I….I don't feel so good."

Avril rolled her eyes slightly. "Well we now know who can't handle their drink."

Prez giggled. "Yeah…rule number one, never chug moonshine. I learned that the hard way forever ago."

"But it was so good…I think I'm going to be sick…" Tabloid groaned in discomfort.

"Hey! Hey! None of that! You throw up in my hanger you're cleaning it first thing in the morning. I don't care how much of a hangover you have." Avril pointed at him from where she stood, leaning against the X-02.

Trigger pated Tabloid's head gently. Still sipping at his own moonshine. Tabloid was right though, it actually was really good. It had actual flavor and went down pretty smooth. Slightly fruity too.

Tabloid reached for his cup almost knocking it over. "No no no, come on…" He finally got a hold of it, sticking out his tongue a bit as he pulled the cup up to his lips. He tilted the cup back a bit, then more, and more. Until he had the cup basically upside down.

Avril looks at Tabloid with concern.

Trigger raised a single eyebrow.

Prez looked like she was about to explode into laughter.

"Eh? It's empty!" Tabloid frowned deeply and shook the cup. Not even a single drop was left. "Where'd it all go?" He pursed his lips and looked at Trigger.

"You drank it all Tabloid." He chuckled lightly.

"Awwwwww…" He pouted, sitting there for a while looking sad as could be. Until he finally looked up at Trigger and spoke in the quietest voice. "Can I have more?"

"Nope." Trigger made a popping sound.

Tabloid gasped slightly, looking at Trigger with pained eyes. "Betrayal. From my own wingman." He looked like he was about to cry.

Prez broke down into laughter. It was a high pitched, weighty laugh. Her lungs burned already, but she just kept laughing.

Avril walked over to Tabloid, grabbing him by the shoulder and picking him up to his feet. "Alright, you're done for the day Tabloid." She got his arm around her shoulder. "Hopefully he'll learn from his mistake here. " She started to walk him out of the hanger.

Trigger quickly got up. "Do you need help? I'd be fine to take him back to his cell."

"Nah, nah, it's fine. Thanks for the offer though." She chuckled. "If you helped, who would keep an eye on Prez dumbass?" She waved as she made her way out. "Thanks for the great night, I'll have the Strike Wyvern fixed up tomorrow. Have fun you two!"

Trigger stood there for a moment in confusion. "Eh?" He watched as Avril and Tabloid made their way out of the hanger.

Prez's laughter had died down into a simple wheezing. "Fuck…hehe…Oh that was great." She was doubled over, almost falling off of the crate she was sat upon. "Did you see his face? He looked heartbroken! Over some moonshine!" She giggled slightly and wheezed again. "Oh fuck…my lungs hurt." She kept giggling.

Trigger smiled slightly as he went over and joined Prez on the crate. He patted her back to distract her a bit, and keep her breathing.

It took a few minutes, but soon Prez had calmed down and was sucking in air, while letting it out in slight giggles.

"You good?" Trigger tilted his head at her, holding out a hand.

Prez took his hand and let him sit her back up. "Ha! Ahhhh, yeah, yeah, I'm good." She giggled more. "Fuck, that was hilarious." She looked at her own cup next to her, seeing that there was still some moonshine inside so, she took a sip. "He was right though. This stuff is good."

"I was thinking the same thing." He frowns. "I do not want to know how they made it though."

Prez giggled mid sip. "Oh hell no! Though it was funny to find out it was actually the guards who are making this. Not any of the prisoners. This place is so weird, right?"

Weird…was the only description he could give. Thrown into solitary for no reason. Let out an hour early. The guards may all be assholes, but Trigger realized that it was probably because the guards were also trapped here. No where to go. They were out in the middle of nowhere of Zapland. Hell last he checked there wasn't even a road that led here. The only way to reach the 444 base was by air or sea. He raised his eyebrows slightly in shock as his own thoughts processed.

Prez's eyes widened as well. She had been watching his face carefully. "Oh…Oh shit. You're right…No wonder the guards can be such assholes." She sighs. "We're all stuck here for the stupidest reasons."

"Hmm?" He looked at her with confusion, she seemed to know something he didn't.

"Yeah, I know." She sighs. "Turns out the rumors about how Avril got here are true, but it's worse."

"Wait? How?" He shook his head slightly. He had heard the rumors about Avril, everyone guessed that the reason her leg was all messed up was due to why she was here with the rest of them. It was theorized that she had gotten into a dogfight with an osean plane while she was flying a plane she had built herself. But the details were spotty.

"Avril told me, I asked." Prez shrugged. "She told me everything. She got put here for breaking wartime aviation laws."

Trigger squinted slightly, there was more to it, he motioned for Prez to continue.

She nodded quickly. "Five minutes after the war started. Five fucking minutes Trigger!" She growled slightly. "This entire operation is bullshit. We're not getting paid at all, and on top of it we're risking our lives." She let out a deep breath.

Trigger's hands tightened on the cup he was holding. This was how a country treated its own citizens? Why the hell were all these wars fought anyways? He looked to Prez, who was now looking out the open hanger door towards the sky.

She tilted her head slightly. "But…It could be worse."

"Huh?"

She looked back at him and smiled, a big toothy grin. "I don't mind risking my life with you, ya know?"

Trigger froze for a moment. His eyes widening in shock. "I…I don't mind either. You're a good friend."

She grinned even more at that. "Sorry if I'm getting a little to sappy. I think it's the moonshine. She set down her cup, then stood up slowly. She made her way over to the hanger door. "I grew up in a place just like this you know?"

Trigger stood up as well. "How so?" He squinted slightly.

Prez chuckled. "Okay not on an airbase. But the area itself." She slowly unzipped the top half of her flight suit. Shrugging it off her shoulders and letting it fall to her hips, the belt keeping the rest in place. She stretched slightly and took a deep breath. "Right by the ocean. Nothing else around, you could always see the stars like this." She smiled as she looked up at the sky. "I would always spend time on the beach, just…staring at them. Just wanted to reach out and grab them." She shrugged off the white tank top she was wearing.

Trigger quickly averted his eyes.

Prez burst into laughter. "I'm still wearing a bra dumbass." She wadded up the tank top and chucked it at him.

Trigger jumped slightly as the tank top hit him in the chest, turning to glare at her. She was well built, all the mechanic work and fighting kept her in good shape, the black sports bra she wore proved that even more. She had freckled shoulders that Trigger had never gotten a good look at before. But she made a good point, in the military, sometimes no one cares about what you're wearing, you just gotta get comfortable. He shrugged slightly at her, he didn't know what she was up to.

She rolled her eyes in response. "I miss that beach. I miss the feeling of ocean air. I haven't been back home in years…to busy." She took another deep breath, tasting the salt on the air. "Most of the money I made doing mercenary work went back to my family. My choice of course. Never told them I was a merc…just a plane mechanic. I'm sure they know the truth now…hopefully they got to make the patio deck they wanted." She looked back to Trigger. "Hey, come here." She held out her hand.

He slowly walked over and took her hand gently.

She pulled him along, out of the hanger and into the dark tarmac, only illuminated by the stars, and a crescent moon.

It was, amazing. He felt his breath stop. He grew up in the city, light pollution and skyscrapers everywhere. He was lucky if he saw a few stars each night. There was one time, late at night, he saw what seemed to be a shooting star. He was…barely ten? He remembered rushing over to his father, excitedly telling him about the shooting star. His father had told him it was just the Arkbird. This was completely new.

He had seen pictures taken by satellites of different parts of the world at night, showing all the lights and spread of humanity across Strangereal. He remember that was one of the first times he thought about becoming a pilot. This was on a whole other level. The whole sky was alight with life. He had no idea how long he had stood there, until Prez squeezed his hand.

She looks around a bit, staring into the night sky, eyes wide with curiosity. She pauses and points. "There! Right there!"

Trigger looks up at the sky curiously, not seeing what she's referring to.

She rolls her eyes and tugs on his hand. "Come here."

Trigger leaned over and down a bit, putting his head against her shoulder slightly. Then he saw what she was pointing at. Off in the bright sky, a single, red, light. He squinted slightly. "Is that…"

"Mars! It's Mars!" Prez smiled as she squeezed his hand. "I just remembered that it's the time of year where it would be getting close enough. If we had a telescope we could see it better…it sucks too…I was really excited to see the conjunction of Mars and Mercury."

Trigger looked at her, he was sure they could do something to make sure that she didn't miss it.

"Nah, don't worry about it, it was back in June." She rolled her eyes slightly. "Was busy with other things." She frowned for only a second before it was overtaken by a smile. "But this…" She pulled Trigger closer. "This is nice."

Trigger looked at the night sky. Stars shinning brightly, the moon a sliver of light. It made him wonder what it was like up there, the infinity of space. He glanced down at his hand, still held with Prez's. She was still smiling. He looked at her and squeezed her hand. "Thank you…for being my friend Prez."

She grinned. "Same goes to you. Thanks for having my back."

He nodded, then looked back up to the sky. They would be free of this one day. He could feel it. Then, they could spend every day like this, just enjoying the company of friends. No Prison. No threats of solitary. No war.

But for now, there was comfort in the future. Even if it was in skies unknown.