Peacekeepers…
Why was it always Peacekeepers?
He was a Peacekeeper once, wasn't he?
For some reason that thought sickened him now.
He used to feel so proud of that fact, that he had made it to the peacekeeper corps. He was younger than most of the other pilots. Hell, even Brownie was a year older than him. But he was so damn proud of that. He had finally turned his life around from going back and forth between ideas, trying to figure things out. To accomplishing something huge.
His sister was so happy for him.
He glanced at his radar.
Two red dots were approaching at rapid speeds.
Even then, he'd been through a lot. He'd fought against an arsenal bird, handled a solo mission rescue, survived everything he dealt with as a part of Spare Squadron and their numerous suicide missions.
To be fair, he had Prez for those.
But this….
He didn't know if he could handle this.
Even going at full throttle, he was nervous, his hands kept shaking, his usual high speed adrenaline was gone.
"Wait, wait! Trigger!" Prez shook his shoulder, "Did you say Clown? Like your old squadron leader?"
He simply nodded in response.
"What the fuck?! Why the fuck are they after us?"
"I…I don't know…" He tilted his head, staring at the radar as they got closer and closer. Why were they after him? Clown said something about taking the spotlight? But that wasn't possible, no one even knew he was here except Strider and Cyclops. So how the hell could he 'steal the spotlight'?
"Spare Fifteen! Trigger! The hell do you think you're doing?" Bandog's voice came through, wavering slightly. "Do not engage! I know you think you're hot shit and all, but there's no way we can fight that."
He sighed, pulling up his coms. "We're not going to have a choice Bandog…they're after me."
"Look Trigger I know you want to pro-…" He gasped. "What did you say?"
"They're after me." He sighed.
"Why would they be after you? I thought they were after Prez?"
"I don't fucking know!" He slammed his fist into the side of the cockpit. "I don't know!" He groaned deeply. "Fuck!" His mind was everywhere. Why were they here? Why were they talking about Crimson?
Prez quickly marked them as hostile on her radar. "I really regret not bringing AAM's right now."
"Damn it…" He leaned down, punching in a code to Brownie's old radio.
"Do you think the hatchling will cause problems?"
"It's possible. He's the only one I'm worried about honestly, the rest of them are write offs. Trigger shouldn't be to much of a problem anyways. We taught him everything, there's no way he learned new tricks here."
"Brownie might have taught him something Mage One, stay alert."
"Yeah, Yeah."
"Gladius to QRF, if they start causing you trouble, drag them towards our guns, we'll flak them up."
"Golem One, copy."
Trigger took a deep breath, trying to find what to say.
"Missile, Missile, Missile."
"Incoming! Multiple SAM's!" Prez growled. "Everyone! Pop flares and break!"
"Shit! You think they're mad I've replaced one of them as the joking asshole?" Count's Su-33 dumped chaff and flares, before climbing.
"Ha! Maybe you can ask them later! Though I'd bet they're not wanting to talk much." High Roller's F-16 XL rolled and banked, heading east.
"Fuck! Anyone got some anti-ship missiles left?" Full Band panted slightly as he banked hard, fighting against G-forces. "They're usually pretty effective against airships."
Trigger watched as four SAM's went flying by, all of the flares sending them haywire, either by spinning out of control, or just flying straight as they were overwhelmed by the countermeasures.
"Clown! Stop this! We're a part of the OADF!" Trigger snapped across the coms, directly to the old Mage Squadron channel.
"Ah, there's the hatchling." Knocker sighed slightly. "Look Trigger, just stay quiet and take the loss. There's only one way this will end."
"Yeah…Sorry Trigger, this is just the way things are. We've got to do something if we want have some glory."
Trigger frowned deeply…Glory? Thats what this was about? Glory?! What kind of glory did they get from taking down them? They were a bunch of nobodies!
Right?
"What…the…fuck are you talking about?" Prez's teeth ground together. "You want glory? You want fame? Go to the fucking front lines then! Go fight an actual battle then! Or hell you could have helped us even! Did you ever think of that? No! You didn't!" She growled deeply. "You can take your glory and fuck off."
"Ah yes, the mouthy Merc, Crimson told us all about you." Clown chuckled. "Look we don't need to tell you anything, this is classified info."
"Stop pushing their buttons Clown, we're here to do a job, let's get it done."
"Right, Right."
"IUN Forces! Break off and cease engagement! We are friendly OADF forces, we are friendly! Ah god damn it they're just ignoring me." Bandog's fist smashed against something. "Spare Squadron RTB ASAP."
Knocker sighed. "God damn it, guess I have to do this. Golem One to Gladius, take out the AWAC's on station."
"Copy Golem One, OADF AWAC's marked as hostile bandit." There was a single pause. "Solution locked, firing."
Prez gasped. "Shit! Bandog!" She opened up her own com channel. "Bandog! Jink! Jink!"
"What? What do you mean Jink?! This isn't really a maneuverable pla-"
Five missiles burst out from the Airship's hull, pausing for a moment as they righted themselves.
Then ignited the main boosters, climbing into the sky.
"Oh…shit…" Bandog sucked in a breath as alarms came through his coms. His pilot could be heard cussing up a storm. "Dump our chaff and flares! Now!"
Trigger's eyes went wide. "Fucking hell Knocker! What the fuck are you thinking?!" He growled deeply. "Leave us alone! We haven't done anything."
The Serious Peacekeeper sighed. "You've become a bit of a symbol Trigger. A omen on the battlefield it seems, the Eruseans have been talking about a Strike Wyvern with three lines." He chuckled. "Three Strikes."
Trigger raised an eyebrow, another nickname to add to the list perhaps? Maybe, Maybe. "What do you want from us Knocker. Is there any way you'll just leave us alone?"
Prez sucked in a breath, she had heard someone call them Three Strikes during the operation. But she didn't think about it before. Now that she had though…They really were unique in every way, from their plane, to their past operations, to the three sin lines that adorned their wingfins.
"Of course. Eject and let that plane fall into the ocean. You do that and we'll let you all go."
"What?! What is up with you peacekeepers and having us eject randomly?!" She huffed. "We'll just walk back to base and get a new plane, you realize that right?"
"Heh, well it's not that easy, we've got a Spec Ops team ready to collect you, take you back to IUN headquarters, we'll make sure you're properly locked up this time." Clown chuckled. "Permanent solitary for the rest of your days, for the both of you."
"What?" Trigger shivered at that.
Being alone?
Forever?
Fuck no! He wasn't a murderer! Why wouldn't they understand that?! Prez understood! Avril defended him on it before, and she would again. Tabloid was one of his biggest supporters too!
These people, who had never met him before they were forced to fight for their lives. They trusted him. He wasn't anyone important. He didn't want to be a hero. He just wanted to see tomorrow with Prez by his side.
That was the only thing that mattered.
Not glory.
Not pride.
Not strength.
Survival of his friends, and himself.
Prez would smack him if she knew what order was important in his mind.
Wait…
Trigger's eyes widened in realization.
Pride…
His mind filled with memories.
A bright sunrise.
A training plane clicking as it's engines cooled.
The smile on his instructor's face as they watched light pour over them after a long night of training.
"Aces?" A long chuckle. "There are three types of aces kid." He held up a fist. "Those who seek strength." His index finger slowly pointed up. "Those who live for pride." His middle finger slowly pointed towards the sky. "And lastly…those who can read the tide of battle." His flight instructor grinned wildly. "I prefer the last honestly. The others can be…manipulated quite easily."
He had asked what his instructor meant by that.
There was a sigh. "Just…something I had to deal with back in the day." He placed his hand on the single red wing of Trigger's training plane, a deep frown on his face. "We're meant to be better than that, even mercenaries. We should fight for what we believe in. Not what we're told to fight for." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as a frown formed on his face. "I'll tell you more another day."
He never mentioned it again, and Trigger never bothered him about it. He knew who his Instructor used to be. It was whispered throughout the training base. He never knew how his instructor felt about that. But he was never prideful, just a simple humble flight instructor.
Pride.
Thats why Clown was here wasn't it?
That's why he was so damn excited about the war. The thrill of combat.
Glory and pride.
Thats why Knocker was willing to let things such as civilian casualties just slide away.
And they blamed him for eating up all the glory?
What kinda of bullsh-
"TRIGGER!" Prez screamed, her fist smashing into his seat.
"Missile! Missile! Missile!"
The alarm screamed into his ears.
His eyes widened as he looked at the radar. "Fuck…" He slammed the stick left.
The Wyvern rolled.
Three missiles went screaming past. The forth, which was on a straight line to impact into them hit the tip of their extended wing instead, sending shrapnel and fire flying over the cockpit.
It would be fine for now, Avril was going to chew him out though.
"What the Fuck! Trigger! What's going on?!" Prez was panicking. "I don't want to die damn it!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" He banked right. Heading back to Count and Tabloid. He saw them barreling towards the peacekeepers. "I just…I never thought…"
"Hit confirmed Mage One. You got him."
"Hmm…he's not going down though."
"Must have been a non critical hit."
"Lucky bastard." Clown scoffed. "The next one will take him down for sure."
"I never wanted this…" He gasped for breath, tears rolled down his cheek.
Knocker and Clown…
They were here.
To kill him.
He trusted them once. It felt like it was years ago now. But he still trusted them to have his back. Even after everything, he never imagined this.
He saw the F-16 in his rear view mirror.
The enemy lock alert went off.
It would have been better if they had forgotten about him.
"Why the hell are you doing this! You're peacekeepers aren't you?" Trigger gritted his teeth, pulling on the stick.
The Wyvern pulled into a tight loop, attempting to throw the F-16 off it's tail.
Clown's F-16 stayed on their tail, following them perfectly through the loop.
"It's war Trigger, you know how it is, don't you?" Knocker snapped back. "Brownie knew, and she died a hero of this war."
"Brownie didn't want this war! She wanted to protect people! That's why we're peacekeepers! Right?"
"You're not a peacekeeper anymore hatchling. You're a disgrace to the entire IUN."
"Good! It's a failed organization anyways! I haven't even seen any peacekeepers on the front lines! Where the hell have you been?"
"That doesn't matter anymore."
"Yes! It! Does! We're out here putting our lives on the line! We're on the front lines! Not you! Not the Peacekeepers! Not even Crimson! Us! Civilians and innocents! What's your excuse huh?"
"Innocents?" Clown laughed, a deep gut wrenching laugh. "You killed Harling Trigger, you think that wasn't going to come back and bite you in the ass?"
Prez scoffed, jamming another missile that was on their tail. "Oh fuck you! I know Trigger didn't do it! And I wasn't even there! There's others out there, in the OADF who say the same thing, I'm sure there are a few in the IUN as well!"
"He was the closest."
"Bullshit! Bull and SHIT!" She growled deeply, gritting her teeth. "That is the most asinine excuse I have ever heard in my god damn life! And I grew up with way to many siblings! And a Twin! But that bullshit is the stupidest excuse I've ever heard!"
Trigger rolled, popping flares as a missile alert blared in his ears.
A growling sidewinder wizzed by at sub sonic speeds, it's white contrail covering the cockpit for a brief moment.
He pulled the X-02 into a climb, trying to get around Clown, trying to not freak out and fight.
He watched as Tabloid and Count charged at Knocker's plane, guns blazing.
They were trying to say something to him, but he couldn't hear it over his own heartbeat.
"Come on Trigger! There's only one way this can end!" Clown laughed.
Trigger felt his stomach drop and twist.
What the hell was going on?
"Count! Tabloid!" Prez's panic was gone, replaced with fury. "Be careful damn it!"
"We will! We will don't worry! The others are watching over Bandog right now, they took a few hits. We're the only ones who can keep this other jerk off your back!" Count grunted. "We're not loosing anyone else remember!"
Suddenly, the sun disappeared, as a massive shadow loomed over them.
Tabloid swallowed audibly, "O-oh…Fuck…"
Trigger had never trained in anti airship combat, the IUN was one of the only ones who had a fleet of the craft. So the sudden feeling of panic was understandable.
He had a moment to note that the behemoth had Crimson's livery with the red butterfly symbol.
Then it opened fire.
Tracers and AA filled the air around them as every single gun on Gladius turned on them.
Trigger rolled into a hard right bank, hitting a high-G turn as bullets slammed into their fuselage. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Prez growled again, popping flares for them as a SAM came at them from an unexpected angle. "What do we do against this?!"
Trigger took a deep breath. He had to focus on the battle here and now.
"Who the fuck brings an airship to a dogfight?" Count snapped and grunted, pulling his own high-G turn, then gunning it for the coastline. "This is just overkill."
Tabloid scoffed slightly. "Man they really want us dead. This feels more like a hit." He banked away, following Count.
Trigger's eyes widened.
Tabloid was right.
This wasn't a battle.
This was an assassination attempt, just like with Harling, wasn't it?
Overwhelming odds, out gunned, everyone in a panic trying to survive.
He banked into a high-G turn, stopping it before the turn got too rough. Watching as a sidewinder whipped past the cockpit, growling angrily.
"Alright! Anyone got any ideas before this airship turns us into swiss cheese?" Count grunted again. "Fuck! I just took some hits!"
"You alright?" Trigger held his breath.
"Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine! But we need a plan!"
"The storm! Head for the storm!" Prez leaned forward, pointing over Trigger's shoulder. "We saw the drones hide in it! We can do the same!" She started typing away. "Tabloid! Count! Pop flares, dive down, and meet at these coordinates! Go! Go! Go!" She sent over the info.
Count choked slightly. "Um! Are you sure?!"
"Yes! We'll create a distraction! Now go!" She pointed again, not that Count could see.
There was a small moment of silence.
Then Count's SU-33 and Tabloid's Mirage dumped chaff and flares, then dropped straight down.
Trigger looked over his shoulder, pulling into a half loop, then rolling the Wyvern, making themselves a nice juicy target. "So…distraction?"
Prez grinned wildly. "Ohhhh yeah!" She heard the lock tone in her ear. "Bruisers, away."
Trigger's eyes widened at that. "Wait what?!"
There was a slight thunk below his feet.
He looked straight down.
Another thunk.
Through the smallest crack of light coming up from the taped over hole next to his feet. He saw a burst of flame. Looking up into his hud, he saw each of the airship's engines marked as targets. "Oh shit…"
Both Starfires roared across the open sky.
Clown charged at them, gun blazing.
Trigger growled and rolled, dodging tracers as he did.
Prez didn't even finch at the sudden maneuver, carefully focusing on her two LASM's. "Come on…Come on…" She bit her lip slightly.
Both missiles bared down on their target, they were flying straight and true, twin arrows arcing across the sky.
"Gladius to all hands, incoming, brace for impact."
"Yes! Haha!" She cheered, watching as Gladius turned slightly, preparing for the impact of the missile. She stuck her hand up, flipping the bird.
Tracers lanced through the sky.
They could feel the sound in their bones.
Brrrrrrrrrrt
Gladius' CWIS opened fire, tearing both Starfire missiles to simple shreds within a single second.
Prez's eyes widened, then hardened, glaring at the airship as if willing it to burst into flames. "Damn it! I've only got three of those left!"
"We'll figure it out later!" Trigger slammed the throttle, pushing the Wyvern into a dive. "We've got to go!"
Prez gasped slightly as the G-forces hit her, causing her stomach to drop…drop…then disappear.
The air screamed.
They were over three thousand KPH on their speed.
"Woah! Shit! Get back here Trigger! I know you're eager to get home, but we're done here yet!" Clown chuckled.
Prez growled deeply. "Eat our collective asses Mage!" She popped flares just for the added effect to her words. They had plenty to go around.
"What the fuck…" Knocker gasped. "How fast is that thing?!"
"Faster than we thought…thats for sure…" Clown huffed. "Let's get after them!"
Trigger waited carefully, not wanting to give away Prez's plan until the last moment. If they dove into the storm unprepared, they could be smashed into the ground. Luckily, he was already very familiar with Insessa Two's strength. Clown and Knocker though? Oh they would have to make a decision.
Prez grinned, it was almost feral, there was a light of mischief in her eyes. "Well if you can't catch up, I might want to warn you ahead of time. Things might get a bit…Bumpy." She giggled.
He yanked the stick.
The X-02 suddenly pulled up out of the dive, smoothly gliding above the water. It's engines roaring as they gunned it for the shore, and Inessa Two.
"Shit! They're going for the storm Clown!"
"What? You expect Trigger to survive that? No way, that megastorm will tear them apart." The Mage leader laughed.
Prez laughed as well, it was a maddened unhinged sound, she was sucking in gasps of air between each cackle. "Ohhhhh! Hahaha! Man! You are a funny one!" She snickered slightly, almost like a high pitched hiss. "You really don't know anything about us, do you?" She glared at the quickly approaching wall of sand. "We've been taking so many risks…just to stay alive."
"What does that have to do with anything girl?"
She chuckled. "You'll see."
Darkness enveloped them as they were swallowed by Inessa Two.
Trigger was completely prepared for the winds this time, and rode them out, heading deeper into the dust. He released a shaky breath. Looking over his shoulder, he made a quick 'Okay' symbol with his hand.
She nodded back. "Yeah, I'm good…you doing alright?" She tilted her head, eyes full of worry.
He froze, turning back slowly to make sure they didn't fly into the ground.
Was he doing alright?
He didn't know…truthfully, he didn't. How was he supposed to react to this? He was the quiet one. Though he had been talking a lot today it seemed. Maybe it was growing on him?
The radar glitched for a moment.
He glanced down, watching as Mage 1 and Golem 1 started to troll around for him. He just needed to make sure they were never directly on above, and he would be good. The Wyvern's speed would make it easy.
That didn't distract him from the questions bouncing around in his head every second.
Why?
Part of his brain wanted to say fuck it, let the rage inside him just take over and billow out. Make Clown and Knocker go down, kicking and screaming, begging for mercy.
The other part of him…had a question.
He opened up his coms again, sighing. "Clown…"
"What do you want murderer?"
Trigger winced at that, it still hurt, so, so much, to hear that from his former squadron leader, he hissed slightly. "Why did you have to come back?" Closing his eyes with a deep breath, he listened carefully. "Why did you have to make this personal?"
Clown's breath hitched slightly over the radio.
He went for it. "You brought me onto Mage squadron to cover your own ass! To fill a spot! Do you know how much pressure I was under because of that?! You play things so carefree and chill, but you always sounded off when I asked if I was doing okay. I did everything I could to prove that I belonged there. That I deserved to be a Peacekeeper." He took another deep breath, opening his eyes and feeling the tears he was holding back just gush out. "Even when Brownie said I deserved to be there, I just felt like something was wrong."
"Don't you dare bring up Brownie now! She died because of you!" Knocker huffed, "Now stop being a coward and com-"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE PUT BLAME ON ME!" Trigger felt ever fiber of his being snap, his fist smashing against the Wyvern's canopy. "Brownie died when she did because none of us could help her! I wanted to go with her! Who wouldn't be up in arms to defend their best friend?! But I had a job to do!" He sucked in a breath as he sobbed, he barely felt Prez's hand on his shoulder. "I've gone through every…single…possibility of what I could have done…but she's gone, Brownie is gone. I've accepted that. So don't you dare put the blame on me, when you could have done so much better."
"You mot-"
"SHUT UP!" He snapped again, tears still flowing down his cheeks. "Just shut the fuck up!"
Clown cut in quickly. "This doesn't change that you were the one who killed Harling Trigger!"
"I didn't! I don't know why you wouldn't listen to me! You of all people should have listened to me! Should have trusted me! You were there for me when Brownie died, you got me to focus on what needed to be done, I still had a job to do. But what happens when I supposedly mess up once, what do you say? 'He was the closest'" Trigger growled deeply, blinking away tears. "Why would you do that? And Knocker…you just…let things happen, you didn't do anything to stop the IUN, hell you punched me in the face…for a mistake? What kind of squadron leaders were you? What kind of friends were you?" Trigger laughed slightly, emotions going haywire. "Ha…ha…ahhhh." He wiped his eyes, then paused, slowly reaching up to put his hand on Prez's, gently squeezing. "I'm trying my best to not take this personally…But I am. Especially since you seem so determined to kill not just me, but all of Spare Squadron." He coughed slightly, his throat ached from how much crying, yelling, and talking he had done. "Look…just leave us alone, claim your bounty, say we died. Just…let us go home, and leave us alone."
There was a long pause.
Sand and rocks slapped against the X-02's fuselage, the wind of Inessa Two howling just outside.
Sometimes scrap of tankers could be seen rolling across the ground, they were close enough to see it.
A sigh broke through the silence. "No…Can't let you go Trigger." Knocker chuckled sightly, it was something rarely heard, and this just sounded…broken. "I'm sorry kid. It's just the way the world works…there's people up there that want you gone. We took the job."
Trigger gasped, sucking in air then quickly releasing it. "Damn it…" He kept trying to breath, but all he could get in was short gasps. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist into the canopy again. Trying to just calm down and breath.
Prez squeezed his shoulder.
He froze. Everything stopped as he focused on Prez's hand on his shoulder. Slowly, he finally turned to look at her.
She slowly took off her oxygen mask, looking at him carefully. "Hey…we'll make it through this…promise."
"Yeah…I know…you've got my back…don't you?" He blinked away some remaining tears, curious for her answer.
She smiled, it was a smile full of passional and love. "Always Trigger." The smile disappeared…replaced by a scowl. "I've got a plan now anyways." She reached down and cut off the open channel, switching over to a much more secure one. "Tabloid, Count, you still kicking?"
"Uhhh…yeah…I think so…" Tabloid was the first to respond, sounding a little shaken. "Is…is Trigger okay?"
"Yeah…I'll be okay…" He felt a slight twitch of a smile.
"I'll be fine once we take these fuckers down…what was it Trigger said when he took down that ace over Roca Roja? 'Crash where I can't see'?"
Trigger tilted his head. "I said that?!"
"Yeah…you don't remember? Come on someone back me up."
Prez sighs happily. "Yeah…yeah you did say that dude."
"See! Told yah. I'll have to ask more about that later. Now…Prez, what's your plan?"
She grins, "Well I'm glad you asked. These guys really want us dead right?"
Tabloid releases a shaky sigh. "Yeah…They do…"
"So, Trigger and I are going to be bait." She chuckled darkly.
Trigger shivered slightly, but nodded, he could deal with being bait, just as long as Clown and Knocker didn't say anything too close to home.
"While we do that…I want you two to stay down here, the moment one of those two planes come over you, attack them from below and behind."
"Ohhhh, Okay, I like your thinking Prez…" Count chuckled as well. "What about the airship though?"
She grinned, her dark chuckle becoming a full blown laugh. "See…the moment the other plane is outnumbered, I think our dear Gladius will come rushing in to the save the day. At that moment, we'll all charge the bastard airship from above and below. Aim for the engines."
"My FCS is still fried…I can run diversion against the airship from the other sides." Count growled. "It's the least I can do."
"Huh…this…isn't a bad plan actually." Tabloid laughed slightly. "Oh my god…we might actually make it out of this! Hell this might buy time for the others to escape too."
"Did Bandog's plane get hit?"
"No no they evaded what they could, Full Band and High Roller got a few of the missile to go after them instead. Just glancing hits, but enough that we thought it would be best if they stayed with him."
Prez groaned. "Fuuuuuck…Avril is going to kill us."
Count sucked in a short breath. "Yeahhhhh…yeah she is. We might need to make it up to her later." There was a slight pause. "What should we get her?"
"Chocolates…Probably a lot of chocolates."
"Really you two?! Right now?" Tabloid's voice went up a few octaves.
"What?! Count makes a good point, we've gotta get her something nice or we're dead."
"No no, you're dead, I make sure to stay on her good side." Tabloid laughed slightly, voice heavy with stress.
"I mean do you know what it feels like to get smacked with a wrench? She has one mean right hook." Prez giggled slightly.
"Again! I make sure I stay on her good side! I don't need to worry about wrenches. I've got enough on my plate as is."
"Yeah…thats true…" She sighed, focusing on Trigger for a moment.
He had his head tilted in thought. "Count…don't you owe us a barbecue down the line?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll do something for her then…for now…" He watched his radar, carefully scanning, He was done trying to figure out Clown and Knocker's ideals, he was done trying to talk to them. Whoever wanted them dead was smart, sending his old squad leaders after him. People he may have once looked up too…he couldn't remember now. It felt so long ago. Even though it had only been about almost 2 months. He shook his head slightly.
He had more important matters to worry about.
Flying around with all these ideals in his head was going to get him killed.
Get Prez killed.
He frowned deeply at that, deciding that wasn't going to happen. "You ready?" He looked back to her, wanting to make sure she was alright.
She nodded fiercely. "Yeah! Lets get'em." She started pulling up a few countermeasures on her equipment.
"Right then…" He watched carefully, as Clown's F-16 passed by them on his radar. While Knocker's F/A-18 was heading west. "Spare Fifteen." He put his hand on the throttle. "Trigger and Prez." He slammed the throttle forward. "Engaging." Then pulled back on the stick.
Within seconds they were shooting out of Inessa Two like a bullet. Climbing as fast as they could, ripping through the sound barrier.
Trigger heard a lock tone, and let loose.
"Clown! Bogey! On your Six!"
Growling filled the air, two sidewinders dropped from the X-02's bays, and tore across the sky.
"Ah shit! Trigger got the drop on me!" Clown's F-16 dipped down and rolled, popping flares as it did.
Flares spread out everywhere, brightly burning through the open sky.
Trigger cursed his luck, they weren't going fast enough, he blind fired a burst of tracers, hoping something would hit.
Clown's F-16 spun around in it's dive before climbing back up in a long loop.
"Damn it!" Trigger cursed his luck again. He tried to make a high-G turn without making it to harsh on Prez, But without the extra speed…Clown was on them again.
Tracers flew past the cockpit.
Prez took a deep breath, rage billowing out of her like a furnace. Things were getting rough, they had taken a few hits, the airship was already moving in on them, and Knocker was turning towards them as well. "Fuck it…" She opened up the OS and started typing. "Trigger."
He looked at her in his right mirror. "Yeah?" he panted slightly.
"I want you to go all out."
"What?!"
"Go all out." She kept typing away.
"But what abo-" He looked over at her, his face filled with worry.
"Don't worry about me! We don't do this and we're dead!" She gritted her teeth and pushed her legs together.
"You could get hurt! I don't want to do that!"
"But…We need to survive this…don't we?" She smiled at Trigger. "I still want to go have a…normal day with you…as friends, without worrying about this stupid war. Without worrying about being tossed in solitary…I just want a choice in my life again…Don't you?"
Trigger sighed. "Yeah…I do…I wanna have a da-…" He bit his lip, realizing what he was about to say…maybe there would be another time for that. "A normal day…Alright, fine. You sure you're gunna be okay?"
Prez grinned, double checking her straps. "Ohh hell yeah. I've been practicing techniques to prevent G-lock." She winked, pushing her visor down over her eyes.
He leaned back slightly, taking another deep breath, he opened the coms. "Clown…"
"What now…Murderer?" Clown sneered across the coms, chuckling slightly. "You ready to accept your fate?"
"Surrender or retreat. Final warning."
"PFFT! HA! As if you're in any position to say that Trigger! Look you're going down, we have our orders. We have a job to do."
"Well…So do I…I have to survive." He double checked everything, making sure he was properly strapped in. "Don't say I didn't warn you Clown." He closed the com channel, then looked back to Prez. "You sure about this?"
She nodded her head quickly. "Don't keep a girl waiting Trigger, lets do this!" She grinned, pulling up ECM and pushing every countermeasure she had to the max.
He heard it, like a staticky buzz in the back of his head, bearing down like the weight of a monstrous beast slowly emerging from it's lair.
"Gladeus to QRF, Mage, Golem, be advised, we're seeing heavy ECM coming from the target."
"Doesn't matter Gladeus! I'm on his ass, nothing he can do to shake me, it's only a matter of time." Clown chuckled, so sure of himself.
Trigger bent his neck to the left, then the right, feeling it pop and release all the tension. He pulled back on the stick.
Then cut out their engines instantly.
Prez braced. "Here we go…" She could feel the grin spread across her face.
In a sudden push of G forces. The X-02 stopped on a dime. It was such a sudden move he panicked, thinking the Strike Wyvern would rip itself apart. He felt Clown's F-16 roar past them.
Clown gasped, "What the F-"
Trigger released the stick, punched the throttle, watching as the nose dipped down, then opened fire.
Tracers ripped through the sky, smashing right into Clown's F-16 as he flew by.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Clown gasped, the sound of tracers ripping through armor filled his coms.
Trigger could see the impacts spark and tear through the fuselage. It wasn't much, but it was something. He grinned widely, pushing the X-02 into a left bank, twisting them around, and gave chase.
Prez giggled slightly, enjoying the rush of adrenaline as the Wyvern cut through the air. She saw Trigger trying to lock onto the F-16, she strengthened the lock herself, and pushed their systems a bit to try and increase their range.
He got the lock tone once more, waited a moment, then released two missiles.
Both sidewinders ripped through the air, their contrails arcing as they chased after Clown.
"Mage One! Missile incoming! Jink! Jink!"
"I see it! I see it!"
Both sidewinders closed in, gaining on the F-16's tail faster and faster, they were so close to impacting.
Clown banked right, hitting a high-G turn right at the last moment. His F-16 hitting the G-forces with ease as both sidewinders zipped by. "It's going to take more than th-" He gasped, realizing something as a distinct shape could be seen above his cockpit.
He had fallen into a trap.
Trigger cut the engines, hitting High-G's with a post stall maneuver. Turning faster than Clown could ever hope to.
The Wyvern spat fire across the sky.
"Damn it! I'm hit!" The Joking Peacekeeper yelled in shock as bullets ripped into his plane, something burst internally, warnings started going off as a fire suppression unit released foam, stopping a small fire before it could spread. "I didn't teach him how to do that! How the hell is he pulling off PSM's so well?!"
Knocker gasped. "Shit! I'm on my way." He banked hard, heading east. "I didn't teach that to Brownie, you sure you didn't teach him?"
"Since when can I pull off a post stall maneuver like that KNOCKER?!" Clown's alerts were ringing through Brownie's old radio. He banked into a high-G turn and charged straight at the X-02, guns blazing.
Trigger rolled a bit, firing back wildly, trying to get Clown to back off.
Clown kept coming. "COME ON!"
He smiled, seeing as they were getting closer and closer, and pulled back on the stick, cutting off the engines. Their speed crawled to almost a stop as they were hit with the G-forces of their action.
Clown flew right by.
"Stop trying to take the credit for everything! Trigger's just better than you! Accept it assholes!" Prez growled, every ounce of fury she felt put into words. "Now then…Crash where we can't see. You're out of the fight."
"Missile! Missile!"
Trigger's head snapped to the left watching as five SAM's came flying at them.
"HA! You're done for now!" Clown laughed.
He smirked, he still had his oxygen mask on, but he could tell it was a sly, smug smirk.
All five missiles hit Prez's ECM like a brick wall. Each one froze up and almost stuttered in mid-air. Trying to lock onto the X-02.
He hit a high-G turn and dodged around them, watching as each missile passed by almost harmlessly. Glancing in his mirror, he saw Prez brace herself against the turn perfectly. She had caught on fast. He was proud of her for that.
"What the fuck?!" Clown growled slightly.
"Hang on Clown I'm almo- Shit!" Knocker's F/A-18 suddenly rolled as two missiles shot up from the depths of Inessa Two.
"Come on you Peacekeeper son of a bitch! How about a real fight?!" Count laughed as his SU-33 climbed into the air, guns blazing.
Trigger smiled. "Thanks Count, Tabloid, keep em busy." He turned to look at Gladius. "Prez…you ready?"
"Ohhh hell yes! Whats the plan?" She cracked her knuckles.
"Well Clown is out of action, so they won't be very distracted…" He slammed the throttle to full. Gladius was dead ahead, the orange glow from it's engines perfectly contrasted against the blue sky. "I've got an idea though." He pointed at the airship dead ahead. "Just lock onto the engines. I'll tell you when to fire."
"Copy." She nodded, arming two LASM's.
The Wyvern's weapon bay opened up. Both Starfires ready to be unleashed.
"Target is inbound on attack vector! Mage One! Golem One! Intercept!"
"Little busy right now Gladius!" Knocker grunted, a resounding boom echoing through the coms. "Damn it! I thought Trigger was the only good pilot they had?!"
"Hahaha!" Count laughed, snickering at the end. "Oh hell no! We've been doing all your work for you! We've been going up against aces, drones, and the odds. We've learned from experience what the battlefield is like. What about you?"
Clown grunted. "Still trying to get this damage under control, you're on your own Gladius."
There was a pause of static.
"Fine…All hands! Brace!" Gladius started to bank west, firing a salvo of missiles and opening fire with AA.
Trigger tilted his head slightly. Something felt…familiar about this.
He pushed the X-02 into a roll, dodging past a missile as it froze up from the heavy ECM, barely able to track.
Where did his plan come from?
He dove past a burst of AA fire, pulling back up to his attack vector, building speed.
He had a plan…a rather good plan now that he though about it. But…
Another missile shot by, easily dodged by a quick high-G bank, then another to get him back on track.
Prez grunted slightly behind him. Keeping the ECM going.
Where did he come up with this plan from? It felt…familiar almost like the time…
Brownie…
"Arsenal Bird…" He felt like an idiot, but he grinned. He should have just charged the damn Airship first thing, it was just a smaller arsenal bird with half the firepower and no drones.
"Target is almost right on top of us! QRF support! Support damn it!"
Trigger watched as they got closer and closer. Biting his lip slightly. "Wait for it…"
Prez's finger stayed on the trigger, they were in range, but she wasn't going to release any missiles until Trigger told her. "Come on…"
He saw the CWIS suddenly turn towards them, this was the exact moment he was waiting for. "Hold on!" He yanked back on the stick.
The CWIS opened fire, desperate to swat the offending Wyvern out of the sky.
But it wasn't there anymore.
And there was too much interference from the ECM to tell where it had gone.
Trigger grinned, pushing the X-02 into a roll, then banking down into a dive. His leg screamed in pain as he hit the high G-forces. "Hit where it hurts Prez!"
She gasped at the sudden change in direction. But grinned when she saw exactly what Trigger had done, he was right in the Airship's blind spot. "Ohhhhh man…I miss the payout on ships." She tapped the trigger twice. "Bruisers…away."
Thunk Thunk
He pulled back on the stick a little bit, pulling them out of their dive and into an arc.
Right in front of the Airship.
He grinned, "Come on…take the bait." He watched in his rear view mirror as the Airship's CWIS spun up and turned towards him. "Perfect."
There was silence.
Then a small roar.
"INCOMING!" Brownie's radio crackled with static.
Boom
The port engine of the Airship burst into flames as the first Starfire missile ripped into the armor plating, shredding the engine, a wing, and part of the fuselage.
Ka-boom
The second engine detonated in an even greater explosion tinged with orange as the cordium inside reacted to the extreme pressure.
"Woooo! In your face you peacekeeper assholes!" She laughed. "Thats all me bitches! Haha!"
There was sigh from Brownie's radio. "We're going down…Everyone…to the lifeboats."
With it's propulsion gone, the airship began to list on it's port side. An orange glow coming from the holes in it's fuselage, an occasional explosion breaking through.
"Oh my god…How?" Clown's voice came through, broken and breathless, as if someone had beaten him to a pulp. "That was a full blown veteran airship…how?"
An explosion rumbled in the distance.
"Got em!" Tabloid cheered. "One engine gone, the other is smoking!"
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?! We're better than this!" Knocker struggled to keep his F/A-18 airborne.
"Nah…you're not." Count scoffed. "Once again…a couple Peacekeepers beaten by a few criminals." He chuckled. "It's a good thing no one knows about us right? There's no way anyone would believe this. But it'll be a hell of a story for us to tell."
Knocker's plane was pouring smoke and fire, slowly descending as the Serious Peacekeeper struggled with the controls.
Trigger opened up a coms channel again, adrenaline still coursing through him. "Clown…Knocker…You're beaten. Go home. We're not here to take heads. Just…leave us alone…Please."
There was silence for a moment.
Knocker's plane turned east, heading for IUN territory.
Clown's F-16 had disappeared.
They were safe, for now, they could go back to base. They could rest. They could repair their planes. They might even get some free time to themselves. He would spend his with Prez. He was going to need a lot of time with Prez…
Brownie's radio crackled.
Laughter poured out.
Almost insane, desperate.
"Trigger…You…you BASTARD!"
His eyes widened. "Clown?"
"I'm not beaten yet! I'm coming for you! I'll take you down!" The Peacekeeper's breath was ragged, ripping through the coms in bursts of static. A warning alarm coming through. "It's my responsibility! If I take you down…I'll be a hero!"
Trigger's head whipped around, looking for any sign of the F-16.
"I…I don't see him at all!" Prez scanned carefully, searching for any sign.
There was a flash of orange.
He quickly glance down, but let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he watched the Airship crash into the desert. Lifeboat parachutes being carried towards the ocean by the winds of Inessa Two.
"TRIGGER! PREZ! ON YOUR TWELVE!" Count's scream ripped through the coms.
The world moved in slow motion.
Trigger slowly turned his head. Seeing a smoking F-16 barreling towards them at high speed, gun blazing.
"If I'm going down Trigger! You're coming with me! We've still got that Spec Ops team down there waiting for you!" Clown laughed more.
He moved to roll the Wyvern, fire off a missile, and bank away. But he froze.
His actions would kill Clown…was he ready for that?
Everyone called him a murderer.
In the eyes of the law…in the eyes of entire nations, he was the one who killed Harling.
He was sure he had killed countless Eruesans as well.
But he knew he wasn't a murderer.
He was a soldier.
A Peacekeeper.
A Prisoner.
Forced to fight in a war that was engulfing an entire continent once again. One of the few who actually signed up to fight.
His eyes blurred at a memory. Clown, a smile on his face, showing Trigger around Fort Grey's just after they arrived. Excitedly talking about how another new Peacekeeper had just joined their sister squadron. How he wanted to introduce her to him so that they wouldn't feel left out from the veterans. Reminding him again to keep his actual skill level on the down low, as Clown had fudged some numbers so that Trigger could get fast tracked to full Peacekeeper as soon a possible. He hadn't even seen the 'fudged numbers' so there was nothing to worry about there. Clown told him the same thing, don't worry about it, rest, introduce yourself to everyone and take it easy. They were out in the middle of nowhere.
He remembered what Clown said just before he met Brownie for the first time… "Just relax. You can worry about work later, don't worry about your 'duty to Usea' either, we take things easy out here. Make a few friends. Stick close to me, and before you know it. We'll be raking in the medals and promotions for what a good job we're doing."
Those who fight for Pride…
He had to protect Prez…but he couldn't kill his old friend…he didn't feel rage he normally felt when it came to Clown…he didn't feel the burning need for revenge. He felt cold…cold and empty.
He had to choose…kill his old friend…or save his best friend.
He went to pull the trigger…and froze again.
The answer was right there!
He willed his finger to move. It stayed stuck in place
Save Prez!
He tried to pull the trigger once more, tears streaming down his face.
But…he couldn't do it.
He was frozen in shock.
Why did he have to make this decision?! What did he do to deserve this…this torture!
He…
He had to make a choice. Didn't he?
There was no easy way out of this. Clown would keep coming for them. He had to take down Clown's plane. But…there wasn't really a non lethal option there.
"What do I do?" He was just asking himself out loud. Just to confirm this was…all really happening. A single tear rolled down his face.
Clown's laughter rang in his ear.
He tried to pull the trigger. He really did…but… "I can't do this…"
A chuckle rung through the air behind him
"Don't worry Trigger…I got your back."
His eyes widened as he turned around. Just in time to see Prez pull the trigger.
She had her visor back up. Eyes filled with rage and malice, but when she looked at him it softened slightly. "Roll!"
He did as he was told, without even looking, he pushed the stick to the side, sending them into a perfect roll.
For a moment everything was quiet.
Then a massive crunching noise came from his side, a screech of metal being torn apart. He turned slowly towards the sound, looking out the canopy, just in time to see Clown's shocked face staring back at him.
The F-16 had a Starfire LSAM sticking out of it's intake. The plane was riddled with holes and scrapes, the Mage livery was basically gone. It was a shell of what Trigger remembered.
He heard Clown's voice for a single moment, a simple, small confused noise.
Right before a massive ball of fire and shrapnel consumed Clown's F-16. It hung there for a moment, fire rippling throughout.
Then gravity caught up.
No parachute appeared as the wreckage fell to the ground.
Knocker let out a gasp of air. "What? You…You killed him! You Murderer!"
Prez let out a tired sigh. "That…that's just how war is these days…Isn't it? Did you expect this to end differently? To be bloodless? Someone wasn't going home tonight Peacekeeper. How could you know who it would be?"
Static filled the open channel
She would never get the answer to her question.
Knocker's F/A-18 finally gave out.
A Parachute appeared.
Pure white over the all consuming sand clouds of Inessa Two.
Prez was right.
No matter how anyone thought this was going to go, someone was going home with blood on their hands.
For once.
He was glad it was him.
He had a promise to keep.
He reached back, taking Prez's hand in his. His lip quivering as tears kept flowing down his cheeks.
She squeezed his hand. "Hey…It's okay. We're safe now." She smiled at him, her face lined with worry. "We're Okay. I'm okay. We did it! We survived!"
He nodded slowly, gasping for breath, trying his best to calm down. He felt blood run down his leg, but didn't bother with it. He was just…so, so tired.
He hoped Clown was in that special area of the afterlife for pilots…Flying forever. A part of him realized as well, that it could have been Prez and Him there after today.
But they made it.
He was okay.
Prez was safe.
That made him smile.
Plus…
He wasn't ready to see Brownie again yet. Not yet.
So...yeah...Emotions are a bitch and a half.
Major writer's block aside, I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out. I always wanted to have Trigger meet up with Clown and Knocker somehow. This just worked out perfectly. Throw in Gladius from Clear Skies and it just came down to how much this would break Trigger. And how pissed Prez was. I'm really looking forward to the next few chapters as we'll be laying out some groundwork for what comes next.
Thank you all for reading and thank you to those who review this story. I always love reading people's comments.
And thank you to everyone for all the support. I never expected this story to get this many views and have so many people who love it and look forward to it. It's a huge moral booster. QQ