Chapter Twenty-Two: The Siren's Call
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New Arrows Air Base, East Usea.
August 9th, 2019.
2100hrs.
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Pixy sighed as he took a seat on his bed, having finally found his cellphone. It wasn't too late to be calling, he decided. They didn't eat until five in Osean time, and it was only three so Emma probably wasn't too busy. He scrolled through his contacts before pressing the call button. The trilling sound that told Pixy that the phone was ringing lasted barely three seconds before someone picked up. Emma must have been waiting for him to call for some time, considering how she sounded when she picked up. Quickly, and perhaps mildly irritated, she said, "Finally! It's about time you called! Do you have any idea how long it's been? Days! And Cipher's been asking when you plan on calling every hour since then. I'm about ready to kill him."
He sighed, smiling slightly and shaking his head. At that moment, he was pretty sure that he heard an indignant 'Hey!' come from Cipher in another room. That told Pixy that everyone was still together for the time being. Once the summer was over, though, everyone would probably split up. There hadn't been another attack in Osea, so it was probably alright if everyone went their separate ways for the rest of the year. Pixy did appreciate his friend keeping an eye on his family until he returned, though. "Sorry, Em," he said to her. "Things have been pretty hectic these last few days. And I couldn't find my phone."
"That's because you don't know how to properly pack a bag," Emma said drolly. He could just imagine her standing there, likely with some sort of smirk on her face. Pixy opened his mouth to protest, wanting to insist that he did know how to pack, but his wife knew him well enough to know this and quickly added, "Rolling them up into a ball and throwing them inside with absolutely no order simply because you're in a rush is not packing, Larry. You have to plan these things out, and pack at least several days before you head out not on the morning you'll be traveling. We went over this thirty years ago and on the morning we flew to Aurick. I honestly figured you'd have learned this by now."
"Your way is too difficult. Mine saves time," Pixy said with a shrug, surprisingly relieved by the conversation. All of the stress of the last week weighed heavy on him still, but at least things were mostly okay back at home. Everyone could stop worrying, including him.
"Uh-huh. I'm sure it does." There was a pause before Emma's tone became softer and she asked, "So, how's Naomi doing? Didn't you say that they were transferring her out of that penal unit?"
Pixy hesitated. He'd been hoping to stay off the topic of their daughter for a little longer, but he knew that she'd inevitably come up. After all, she'd caused quite a stir in their family. For a while, her sister wasn't entirely convinced that she hadn't actually killed Harling. She was easily the most aggressive out of the three of them. And it seemed that she had only gotten worse after being locked up. So how could he explain this to everyone at home? He took a deep breath and began to explain everything as well as he could.
He went over Naomi's outburst, her anger towards them all (specifically him), everything about her commander and as much as he knew about the 444th, and about how she now sported a new haircut (Pixy wasn't really upset about that, although he was used to her hair being longer). Then he explained how she knew most of the story and their reasoning behind hiding her heritage. Emma listened intently, interjecting a few questions mostly to ask how she handled their revelation. She had handled it surprisingly well. Then he told her about how, earlier that day, she'd asked him if she could experiment with painting the wing of her own, new plane red. She showed him a sketch she'd come up with for the idea, and how it was noticeable but not as pronounced as his. How it faded into the gray halfway up the wing. Pixy had agreed, but only after hearing that she had done something to actually earn it. Apparently she took a missile for her wingman, Count, and made it back to base with half of her wing torn off.
Needless to say, Emma was extremely concerned when she'd heard of her daughter's misadventure but Pixy quickly assured her that Naomi was fine afterwards and even took time out when she was landing to buzz the control tower. "Okay…" Emma started with a deep breath of her own as soon as Pixy had finished. "That's…erm…well, it's different. Uh…verdammt…was zu sagen?" Pixy held back a chuckle. Now Emma was free to revert to speaking Belkan without worrying if Naomi was going to overhear. Emma was always better at hiding that part of her heritage. Pixy honestly hadn't cared if Naomi knew that he was Belkan. It mattered very much to Emma, however much she still cared for the country. "If you gave her permission to copy the livery and tweak it however she pleases, then why do you sound like you care so much?"
"I'm just worried that she's not taking it the right way," Pixy replied, though in all honesty it just kind of rubbed him the wrong way. "She's taken those stupid sin line things that they gave them and turned them into something else. They used to just be lines painted over their emblems and tail code, but she made it look like eagle talons ripping through something."
"But that sounds pretty cool," Emma interrupted. Pixy nearly rolled his eyes. For a fifty year old woman, she hardly acted like one half the time. Maybe that was just the joy of being Emma Foulke. She could be extremely mature and lady-like one minute and then joke about beating you upside the head with a wrench the next. Cipher once admitted that she worried him. Truth be told, she worried Pixy more often than not, but that was a completely different story. Maybe he just missed her and her strange sense of humor.
"It's not the three scratches that bother me, Emma," he quickly replied. "It's the wing. However proud I might be of making it back to base with that thing and however much I love that plane…well, the wing represents the same thing I've been trying to get away from all this time." Pixy paused, beginning to question why he even got involved in the first place. Every time he said he wouldn't get involved with something, his kids go off and get themselves in God knows how much trouble. Maybe he should stop thinking they need him to save them. Maybe he should go home, but who would take care of Naomi if he left? Her friends were here. Wiseman was here, though. Maybe Wiseman could do a better job than he could...
After pausing to gather his thoughts, his wife accepting the silence until he was ready, Pixy finally admitted, "I'm in over my head, Emma. I don't know why I even came in the first place. I'm worried Naomi's trying too hard to be a different ace, not making a name for herself. And somewhere along in this war she's going to lose herself like I did. I'm not even sure that after being in prison that she hasn't already. I can either stay here and waste my time trying to stop something that might not even happen or turn my back on her and let her figure everything out on her own…"
"You said you're worried she won't learn to be her own ace? And that she'll end up losing herself in this war like you did?" Emma asked, and he simply gave a quiet 'mmm-hmm' to answer her. She paused for a moment, and he could practically hear the gears in her head turning. She was always really good at giving meaningful, however clichéd speeches. Emma was much better at 'mushy' stuff than Pixy ever was. After a while, she finally spoke again. "Maybe you need to just let her lose herself. Think about it: you say you lost yourself fighting in the Belkan War, right? But you eventually learned from your mistakes and found yourself again through that. It took Cipher shooting your ass out of the sky to figure it out, but you did regardless."
"Well, yes—"
"Then let Naomi learn the hard way. Let her crash and burn to figure out that walking in someone else's shadow isn't going to get her anywhere. She can honor you in other ways, simply being a good pilot is good enough," Emma went on. Pixy was only able to sit and listen to her, realizing that she made a fair point. "Naomi's made her choice, so now see how far it gets her. See the recognition that it gets her. I think it's a simple psychological problem, to be honest. It's not like I'm an expert in these matters, but she's a product of her environment. She had to adapt to life in prison, and now she's stuck in the mindset that aggression is the only way to deal with something. I think in some way, without realizing it, she thinks that your story is something to aspire to. You have a name for yourself, both good and bad. Naomi is still stuck as 'Harling's murderer'. Thank God she didn't see what got leaked on the news…"
Both of them shuddered, remembering what the military had said about the situation. The news didn't cover it for very long since they didn't have much information to go off of. They knew it was an 'inexperienced OADF pilot' that pulled the trigger, and tried to fish for more information to no avail.
However, Emma didn't seem interested in changing the topic to something old and irrelevant at this point. Quickly, she started back up. "She sees your red wing as a symbol of pride, something she can embrace as her own and be happy about. The sin lines thing…it sounds cool, but I can see why it would cause some concern. I guess you could take it as a symbol of rebellion and breaking the chains. From what you tell me, the 'sin lines' were meant to shame them and dehumanize it, and now she's turning them into an identifying mark and kind of saying 'eff you' to her former commander."
"I see your point," Pixy admitted with a sigh.
"That's good, but I'm not finished," Emma said, almost distractedly. It was like now that she was fired up, she didn't want to cut her speech short and wanted to focus only on what she was going to say next. So Pixy just let her keep going. She'd run out of things to keep adding sooner or later. "For now, you're only encouraging her. You've always been soft on the kids. Perhaps a little too soft. Stop acting as her crutch and let her figure things out for herself. Let her learn from her own experience, instead of trying to protect her from everything when she doesn't need it. She's twenty-one, not four. Naomi's a grown up now and she needs to learn to cope like one."
"You're saying that she's fine without me?" Pixy asked, but he already knew the answer. He'd just been denying it. God, why couldn't Emma be the overly protective parent? Wasn't the mother supposed to act like this, not the father? Hell if he'd know. It's not like he had a reference growing up.
Emma paused, almost hesitating in giving him an answer. "Well…yes," she said slowly after a while. "Look, I love the kids as much as you do, but I think it's time for Naomi to make it on her own. She's got her own battles to fight, and if you continue trying to fight them for her then you're going to hurt both of you."
"I guess I should never have come," Pixy said. He sighed, then thought back to the information he found out at Fort Grays. He'd call Genette and the others later to check up on that. He could leave, but he wasn't leaving Usea until he was sure that the Grey Men weren't going to make a comeback. "I'm going to be sticking around a bit longer, I think, Emma, but I might come back before this war is over."
"That's your choice. Honestly, you're getting too old for this, no offense. You should have just left it to the kids," Emma said. Pixy nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. His wife took a deep breath. "Well, I need to go start making dinner. We all miss you."
"I miss you too," Pixy said. "I love you."
"I love you too," Emma answered. "Good luck." And with that, they said a final good-bye and Pixy pressed the button to end the call, sighing and tossing his phone back into his bag.
He didn't like admitting that he was wrong. Perhaps it was the ever famous 'Belkan Pride' that kept it. Not pride for Belka, but just being a prideful Belkan. It was common. Most Belkans he met absolutely hated being wrong, likely why it was so hard for the country to accept that no matter how hard they tried they would never restore their country to its former glory. But that was a different story. Right now, he needed to find a way to be helpful to more than just Naomi. He was back in the action and he didn't really want to leave. Surely there was some way that he could help…actually, he had an idea.
Pixy had managed to somehow fly his old fighter to Usea, although he was a little rusty. But the point was, he was still an ace and he could still fly. And he knew a couple of tricks that the LRSSG might be able to benefit from. He'd have to talk to Wiseman, but maybe he could work to help train their pilots. After all, they had two that were assigned to squadron's but left on the sidelines. Tabloid, and then PJ's kid, Tailor. It honestly baffled Pixy how PJ actually survived that one day, but it didn't really matter. His kid was eerily similar to him, though. And yet PJ got on Pixy's nerve. Why would he want to teach his son, that honestly was the spitting image of him?
Okay, so the idea had some pros and cons. But if he played his cards right then it just might be able to work. That way he could fly again, Naomi could learn to grow as her own pilot, and the LRSSG didn't have to worry about anybody not being ready for combat. Emma would probably be mad at him for it, since she had the idea that he'd be coming back soon, but Pixy never said it was anything definite. What could it hurt? Sorry, Emma, he thought, standing up to head over to Wiseman's office before it was too late. But it's just too tempting an idea.
August 10th, 2019.
0500hrs.
Avril wiped some sweat from her brow and placed her hands on her hips, looking around the hangar at Strider Squadron's planes. Trigger's stood out the most, boasting a badass marking on the tail and a red wing on one side. Thankfully, neither really distracted from the other. Avril was still skeptical about the wing, and although it wasn't obnoxious or a direct copy-cat of Solo Wing Pixy's plane it was still enough to stand out. Of course, Avril knew completely that the three strikes would be what people would notice. She was a bit worried that her dumbass friend wasn't going to get the proper recognition thanks to the wing, but Trigger didn't seem to care about that. In fact, she could sleep easy.
After working from nine to about eleven, both of them had gone to bed. But the LRSSG's two squadrons were heading out in about an hour for an operation at Snider's Top, so everyone was awake and getting to work. The pilots that would be participating were grabbing something to eat before doing their final preparations, their company commander was going through and doing some brief inspections, and the crew of mechanics was left to do their job and make any necessary changes. Of course, Avril decided that she'd be generous and give each of their planes a bit of her own magic touch. They weren't scrap, so she had plenty to work with already and they would have probably been fine without her help. But now, these things had increased maneuverability, a higher top speed, and more durability. These things were indestructible without some effort put in from the enemy.
The special weapons that she equipped Wiseman and Trigger's planes with were interesting, too. Apparently it was an experimental weapon that Osea was working on with Gründer Industries back before and during the Circum-Pacific War. The Osean military decided to cut off ties to the company, but owned the patent for all of the weapons and aircraft that they'd been developing at the time. Avril wasn't very business savvy, but she knew that this meant only Osea could create and distribute the creations and Gründer was SOL. So Osea got newer, non-Belkan scientists and whatnot to help them develop laser weaponry. Avril suspected that Osea wasn't the first country to do this, though. Something told her that there was no way that Gründer Industries would give up something like that.
Regardless, the lead aircrafts of the LRSSG were equipped with a pulse laser weapon or whatever they called it. Abbreviated to PLSL, it was similar to a machine gun in the sense that it could fire repeatedly, however it had the power of a special missile and as a result it carried less than a machine gun could. Not like those hadn't been tweaked a little, either, though. In any case, Avril had to understand how they worked so she could explain it to Trigger whenever she finally decided to show up. It was exactly what it's name said it was, though. Pretty much just a laser gun. Much better than standard weapons, that was for sure. A couple of well placed hits could virtually cook the target whole.
Footsteps brought Avril away from her thoughts and her admiring of her handy work. She turned around, expecting Trigger and her squadron, but was instead greeted by Tabloid. He looked much cleaner now that he was out of the penal unit, and she had to get used to his new look. And his name. Everyone continued to call him Tabloid, even though his name was literally right on his flight suit. She wondered if he'd be bothered by her using his first name. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to call him Peter, though. It was a nice name, but she couldn't see him with it. Then again, Naomi and William weren't much better for Trigger and Count. And she'd keep calling them by their TAC names.
She figured she'd give it a shot, giving him a small smile in greeting as he approached her. "Well, good morning Lieutenant Hartmann," Avril said, stressing his rank and name so it almost sounded as if she was teasing him. It honestly sounded really weird to call him that. At least no one stopped using her name in addition to using Scrap Queen. She'd hate having to adjust to someone calling her Avril again.
It didn't seem like Tabloid was too bothered by hearing his real name. In fact he chuckled, almost awkwardly looking away and scratching the back of his head. He looked back up at her, finally looking well-rested instead of tired from being overworked. She noticed a cup of coffee in his hand, too. "Well, that's definitely going to take some getting used to," he said, never losing his smile. "Especially from you. Everyone except you, Count, and Trigger are calling me Peter and Hartmann now. It's crazy."
"Well, if it makes you feel better then I can stick to Tabloid," Avril said, hoping to give him some reassurance. They were all adjusting fairly well, but obviously some things would take some time. She may be seen as really cold and the opposite of a personal type of woman, but she could still worry about her friends. At least they were all together, so it would be easier to adjust. Even Avril was having a bit of a difficult time fitting in with the new mechanics. She felt like she knew her way around a plane better than they did, and she was more unorthodox in her methods than they were. They had even protested some of the adjustments she made to the squadrons' planes, claiming that it wouldn't work. She sighed. They would probably all stick to a strict military protocol, but when you're not official military then you have to change the way you think in order for your pilots to survive. "Can't say the others will do the same, though…"
"Eh, that doesn't bother me," Tabloid said with a shrug. "They've been switching between the three, actually. Same for Count and Trigger. Let me tell you, I had fun messing with Count last night. Whenever he'd least expect it, I'd just call him William to get on his nerves. I don't think he's a fan of his first name, honestly." Avril and Tabloid both laughed at this. Avril was pretty sure there was a king named William, so the fact that Count had the name was a little amusing. He was probably well aware of this, too.
There was a short silence that fell over them after this. Avril didn't take long to come up with a subject, though. She knew that he was on standby and probably wasn't going to be flying any time soon. He was stuck on the ground with the LRSSG's younger, inexperienced pilot named Tailor. He probably was not happy about this. Avril knew how bummed she was about being physically unable to fly, but Tabloid was capable and yet not allowed to. Avril considered herself a pilot as much as she did a mechanic, although she knew that the title was probably irrelevant now. She still understood wanting to fly and yet being stuck on the ground to watch everyone else do it. "Any idea when you'll be able to fly, too?" she asked him, changing the subject. "I know you probably feel a little left out."
"Well, I saw Wiseman earlier and we talked for a bit," Tabloid said. "He says that Trigger's dad is going to act as a bit of an instructor. We'll be training while Cyclops and Strider Squadron sortie. I guess he doesn't think I have the same training as Count and Trigger. I mean, technically I don't. Count flew an F-15 before he got sent to Zapland, and Trigger's flown three different planes and excelled at them, so I can understand them getting picked over me. I flew an F-16 before I got locked up and then I was stuck with that old Mirage. Doesn't exactly scream 'skilled pilot', I guess."
Avril scowled. It was a little unfair. She knew that Tabloid was just as able as the others were. Not to mention that he was the first one to stay behind and help Trigger with that Mr. X pilot over Yinshi Valley. Eventually Count managed to remove his head from his ass long enough to go back and help chase them off. But by then all the work was done. Avril quickly changed her expression, noticing that Tabloid looked mildly concerned. All three of them were her friends, although they all got on her nerves from time to time. Count was learning, and for all of his faults he was a good pilot. Before Trigger came along, he honestly was the best pilot out of the other Spares. Besides, Tabloid had a good point.
She took a quick breath and looked around the hangar, sensing the moment becoming awkward. "Well, I'm sure that they'll put you to work soon enough. I doubt they'd go through all the trouble of getting us assigned here just to give us nothing to do, right?" Tabloid nodded in agreement, and Avril, unsure what else to do, smiled and said in a bright tone that startled both of them, "Perfect! Everything will work out fine." Tabloid noticed the uncharacteristic cheeriness and she mentally smacked herself. She honestly didn't know why she was acting this way. It had to have been the lack of sleep. Sure, four hours wasn't bad, but she was used to more. She was about ready to kill Trigger for that. Movement at the entrance to the hangar caught her eye. Speak of the devil...
Tabloid, following Avril's gaze, turned around as Trigger and Count made their way inside the hangar. Count was actually having to walk at a faster pace to keep up with Trigger, who was taking surprisingly long strides compared to him. Well someone's ready to get going today, Avril thought, smirking. She kept her hands on her hips and nodded to the two of them, actually relieved to have someone besides Tabloid to talk to. It seemed that Tabloid, without realizing it, shared her sentiment. Once the two reached them, Avril said, "We were just talking about you two. Well…sort of."
"Oh?" Count raised an eyebrow. He eyed Tabloid with an almost playful glint in his eyes, fighting off a grin. "Hopefully nothing bad."
"Nothing too bad, at least," Tabloid replied cheekily. "I was just telling Avril here about how badly you snore in your sleep."
The girls blinked in surprise and chuckled while looking at Count, who immediately got defensive. "He's lying," he said quickly. Trigger crossed her arms and gave him an 'oh really' look, which he wasn't too happy about. "I do not snore!" he insisted, glaring at Tabloid. "You see, this is exactly why I didn't want to share a room with you. Because now you have the ability to make up ridiculous things about me and everyone just has to believe you."
"Isn't that why you're here in the first place?" Trigger asked him, furrowing her brow. They all looked at her and she shrugged it off. "Well, he made up a lot of ridiculous stories in Spare and most everyone believed him for a while, so he probably said something that was just a little too ridiculous one day before he was arrested, they figured it out, and he got locked up." Count's mouth hung open. Tabloid and Avril already knew what Count had done to get locked up, since he practically bragged about it 24/7. But for some reason, he only ever boasted about his kill count and flying and 'leadership' after Trigger got tossed in with them. Surprisingly, Trigger was almost spot on with her guess and she seemed to figure this out after looking at their expressions. She gave a sweet smile to Count. "I take it I'm not wrong. Well, anyways. Avril, what's new with our planes?"
She walked off, away and towards the fighters, Count still standing there with a look of surprise and annoyance on his features. Tabloid chuckled and gave him a pat on his back before following after Trigger. Avril shook her head, amused herself by the incident. She glanced back at the other two to make sure they couldn't hear before she said to Count, "I, uh…think she's got you figured out, Sir Count." And with that she turned around and limped after the others.
Count recovered with a quick shake of his head, scowling as he followed after Avril. "Yeah, she's figured me out," he said to Avril as he fell in step beside her, since it wasn't hard for him to catch up. "But it'd be nice if I could figure her out for a change. Sometimes she's just weird, and the only thing I know for a fact is that she's crazy."
"Well, if you want to figure her out then you've already started," Avril replied quietly. "She's a crazy, reckless, dumbass. Go from there." Trigger, although she was saying something to Tabloid, eyed the two of them with a barely noticeable smirk and a mischievous shine in her eyes. Although she was too far away to hear Avril and Count muttering to one another, the mechanic still could have sworn that Trigger had heard what they said. At the very least she had an idea of what they were saying. Avril chuckled and said to Count, "Yeah, even I don't understand her. You're gonna have your work cut out for you."
He said something under his breath in agreement, but Avril didn't hear him. And she wasn't about to ask, either, considering they were right beside Trigger now and she definitely could hear whatever they were saying. Trigger, thankfully, saved her from having to worry about the strange topic continuing by offering her own question, "Soooo…what are these things? I've never seen anything like them before."
"Pulse lasers," Avril replied. All three of them gave her a confused look, so she explained everything that she knew about them, from their capabilities, their history, even the range at which they were most effective (ultimately, Trigger would be in range to use the pulse lasers a good while before she could use the gun). After that, once she was sure that Trigger understood her brand new special weapon, Avril went over the changes she'd made to all eight of the planes. She didn't go into detail, arguing that the Scrap Queen kept professional secrets, but she did tell them that the enemy wouldn't know what hit them.
Count and Trigger eagerly thanked Avril, and she noticed the somewhat disappointed look on Tabloid's face. He hid it well, though, stating that he was happy that the LRSSG was going to be out there, getting the job done without any trouble. By then, Wiseman and the rest of the LRSSG pilots had made their way into the hangar. Avril, still being wary around Wiseman, gave him a curt nod in greeting. Count and Trigger, however, marched right up to him. Count was in a surprisingly good mood, too. And here Avril was thinking that she had at least one person in her 'I'm Not Worshipping The Ground Wiseman Walks On Club'. That was too long, though. She needed a better name. Wait, what the hell am I going on about?! God, I'm taking a nap after they leave...
"You two ready for your first mission?" Wiseman asked Trigger and Count as Strider Squadron filed out to their respective planes. Avril watched them go to their planes without giving Trigger a second look. Actually, they only gave her one look and it was a very suspicious look. One that Avril actually recognized as the same one she frequently gave Wiseman. Maybe she shouldn't be so quick to get upset for it, though. After all, it was only natural for them to not trust Trigger and Count. Or any of them. At least not immediately.
Both of them nodded in answer to Wiseman's question, but Trigger gave a nervous laugh and added, "I, er…heh. I'm a little nervous, though. Being in command of an actual squadron." Count huffed in annoyance at this and Avril saw him roll his eyes and scowl. Someone wasn't happy about Trigger's promotion.
"Relax. You'll do fine," Wiseman said with a reassuring smile. He turned to Count. "About time we go and get ready. What do ya say, partner?"
"Yeah, whatever," Count replied, clearly irritated. He looked back at Tabloid and Avril, and then looked to Trigger. "I'll see you guys later. And, umm, try not to be too jealous if I get the top score." Trigger shook her head and smirked at him as he turned and followed Wiseman and the rest of Cyclops Squadron back outside, where the sun was only just starting to come up, which made it hard to see them once they disappeared from the light of the hangar.
Trigger watched them go before taking a deep breath and turning back to Avril, making her way over to her plane. "Well, thanks for the upgrades, Avril. I'm sure we'll need them out there," she said, biting her lip nervously.
"Oh, stop worrying so much, you dumbass," Avril nearly snapped at her. Aha! You see, that's much better. Maybe you just need a cup of coffee. Very, very black coffee. "You'll be out there, showing all those guys how it's done just like back in Spare. Just don't wreck the plane, alright? I spent the last two hours working on this thing, so if you mess any of it up, I swear to God that I will kill you. As slowly as I possibly can." It was an empty threat, both of them knew that, but Avril still would be upset if Trigger messed up the plane. Especially after all the work they both (but especially Avril) had put into it. And, she would be a little upset if Trigger got shot down. Avril kind of cared about her, as stupid as she could be sometimes. She cleared her throat and tossed her wrench onto a tray she had nearby. "Well, you better get going. Have fun."
She was aware of Trigger watching her leave with a stupid looking grin on her face. Avril didn't care. Right now she was going to get that coffee that she desperately needed before she ended up giving someone a hug or something. Now that wasn't a pleasant thought. She glanced over her shoulder briefly just as everyone had climbed into their respective planes, but then turned her attention back on the path that she was taking. It wasn't like she had a bad feeling about the mission, but Avril didn't trust the LRSSG as far as she could throw them right now. Wiseman was a little…too interested in all of them for her taste. As if he was just looking for a pet project.
Although they were all treated much better, Wiseman and the others still seemed to think that they were — in some way — superior to Tabloid, Count, and Trigger. Avril, not so much, since she wasn't flying with them. Maybe they hadn't noticed it, but there was definitely some tension. Avril had a hunch that the first mission was not going to be easy for Count and Trigger. Their new wingmen would probably make it as difficult as they could, on purpose, just to see if they were really worth investing time in.
Snider's Top, Northern Usea.
0900hrs.
"Trigger, you're callsign is Strider 1. You'll be in charge of Strider Squadron. Count, you'll be Cyclops 2. You'll be under Cyclops 1." The sound of Long Caster reminding Naomi and Count of their new callsigns was nearly drowned out by the sound of blood roaring in Naomi's ears. Flying in a real formation again was exhilarating, and she swore that she could feel the rumbling from all eight of the fighters as they made their way into the operation area. Naomi and Wiseman were leading the way, their wingmen forming a line on their wing. Naomi, off to her left, had Skald, Jaeger, and then Lanza. Wiseman, on his right wing, had Count, Fencer, and then Húxiān. They were flying in what almost looked like a V formation, except that having both Wiseman and Naomi at the front turned it into more of a U in Naomi's opinion.
Naomi was a little nervous about flying with them. She was concerned that Skald and Lanza might give her a hard time. In just a few hours, she'd become painfully aware that she was younger and less experienced than they were. But as far as she could tell, she and Jaeger were the aces in the squadron. Skald and Lanza were out on their first real mission with the LRSSG as well. Maybe there wasn't anything to worry about. Of course, she and Wiseman were carrying a mostly experimental weapon and what if it just decided to stop working in the middle of combat? They'd be screwed. But there was the return line…they could just cross it and get a new special weapon, right?
Her worries were outweighing the previous exhilaration that she felt, but thankfully Long Caster interrupted her thoughts with a faint chewing sound followed by a quick apology once he had swallowed. "Sorry, you guys, but I'm gonna eat while I work. My judgement goes fuzzy when I get too hungry."
Although the others were unfazed by his comment, Count and Naomi were taken by surprise. He was…eating while working? Count was the only one to voice his surprise, "How can you talk about food? We're about to go take on an enemy fleet and you're eating a sandwich while you work?" Naomi felt a little jealous. Now she wished she'd had more than just a bagel to eat for breakfast, but she knew that they'd be back to base in time for lunch so it didn't really matter.
Long Caster didn't answer Count, instead he said, "Be sure to head back to the return line if you need repairs or fuel. Aircrafts need to eat too in order to be effective." There was a crunching sound that followed his sentence and it sounded as if he was eating a sandwich or something. They didn't have a whole lot of time to worry about that, though, since they were already approaching the enemy fleet. It was in visual range at this point, just sitting there waiting for them. In all honesty, they could have just gone right past them and gone and beat up the enemy platform immediately, but it was on the way and also in their way. Wiseman didn't break formation, though, so Naomi stayed where she was until Long Caster radioed them, "Alright, guys. We have a visual confirmation of the enemy fleet. You're all cleared to engage."
"Wilco. Let's go," Count said eagerly, clearly itching for a real fight.
"Hold up, Count," Wiseman said, holding his position. "I'm gonna let Strider 1 lead the charge and Cyclops will follow. Trigger? You ready?"
She was surprised to hear him offer her the opportunity. Being her first day leading Strider, after all, but he seemed willing to trust her. "Uh…yes sir! Roger that," she said, craning her neck to check on her wingmen behind her. Looking straight ahead again, she took a deep breath. "Strider Squadron, you heard the man. Engage." The four planes went ahead of Cyclops Squadron and then broke off from the main formation, changing direction to target the enemy fleet.
In spite of their compliance with her order, Skald quickly voiced his doubts before they started the attack. "So we're supposed to follow you just like that? I heard you were spectacular, Captain. At least with your last squadron."
"Yeah," Lanza agreed with his friend. "I don't want you slowing us down out there."
"Ease up on her, you two. Today's our rookies' moment of truth. Give her a chance." Naomi was grateful that Jaeger had come to her defense. It was understandable that they'd be having some doubts. Of course, Jaeger sticking up for her confirmed her suspicions about Wiseman's reasoning behind keeping Jaeger with Naomi. Not that she was complaining.
Figuring that this was the best way to prove that she could take charge, Naomi took a good look at the targets on her HUD to decide the best approach. Strider Squadron was making the first run, and then Cyclops was joining the fight, so the first hits they made needed to be worthwhile. There were several ships lined up, literally any of them making for a good target, but the largest one was the one that Naomi was concerned about. The Erusean's aircraft carrier, right in the middle of the fleet, just waiting to be sunk. At this point, the enemy realized that they were being attacked, and she could already figure out that the carrier would be launching its aircraft as soon as it could. She had to act fast, quickly doing the math in her head. They'd be able to sink it in one go if they all cooperated.
"Okay, Strider Squadron. Listen up," she said to them, and once she was sure she had their undivided attention, she gave them her plan. "I want you three to line up behind me single file. We're going to dive and hit their carrier head on one at a time. Fire everything you can and pull up. If all goes well, it'll be me or Lanza that finishes it off. Everyone got it?" There was a pause before Jaeger confirmed that he understood, then Lanza, and then Skald. They did as they were told and the four planes dropped their altitude and made a low, fast approach. Naomi fired two missiles as soon as she got a lock on the carrier, then pulled up sharply. Skald did the same after her, then Jaeger, and then Lanza. Naomi pulled up and back around, diving straight down to deliver the final blow. One more hit from a pair of missiles took care of it, but not before the fighters were launched off of it. They could deal with them later.
"Aircraft carrier Njörðr sunk! Nice going, Strider Squadron," Long Caster praised them, and there were some triumphant cheers from the rest of Strider.
Naomi couldn't help but give a satisfied grin as she looked around for her next target, also keeping an eye on her wingmen. They were still following her. For now, at least. Cyclops Squadron maintained their altitude for a moment before Wiseman gave the order to spread out and attack. The rest of Strider Squadron did the same, with Jaeger going off on his own and Lanza and Skald pairing up to take care of the enemy fighters. Wiseman, in the meantime, took very little time sinking a frigate that was at the edge of the fleet. Naomi, not too fond of flying close to the water, pulled up and circled around. She was at a regular and safe altitude, still able to lock onto the ships below without worrying about crashing into the sea. However, when she fired her missiles at an Aegis vessel, both missiles missed their target. In fact, it looked like they were just blown out of the sky.
"What the hell?" Naomi blurted out, genuinely confused about why two missiles that should have hit ended up just vanishing. "Er…Long Caster, any idea why I didn't hit the target? I had a perfect shot!"
"The enemy Aegis vessel is intercepting incoming missiles with their CIWS," the AWACS promptly replied. "You'll have to counteract CIWS with a low approach or use them out of their intercept range." Unfortunately, Naomi quickly realized that the latter wasn't an option in this case. The LRSSG seemed to love pushing her out of her comfort zone. First fighting wind in Yinshi to provide an escort for them, and now flying close to the water and risking crashing and drowning in the ocean. Okay, so she was a tad dramatic about it. She just didn't like the possibility of being trapped. In anything. In any way.
Just suck it up. Naomi bit back a frustrated groan and circled back around. She got a good distance away before she made a dive, pulling up shortly after hearing the automated 'Caution! Pull up!' in her ear. Once her plane was level, she adjusted her altitude just a bit more and once she got a lock she fired two missiles, and came within gun range just before they hit. However, the ship was taken care of by the missiles and Naomi pulled up, clear from the explosion and the risk of dying. It looked as if she'd done the trick, the CIWS unable to stop the missile before it hit.
Long Caster was quick to announce the destruction of two ships, one from Naomi and a missile cruiser that Count had destroyed. "Aegis vessel Hœnir and missile cruiser Skaði have been destroyed. Well done, you two."
"Heh. Thanks," Count said smugly, clearly not bothered by any praise he had received. After a pause and after he presumably took a look around for his next target, he made an observation. "I think we've sunk most of the enemy fleet, but it's hard to tell because of all the smoke."
"Cyclops 2, stay sharp!" Wiseman advised him quickly, likely so he wouldn't drop his guard because of the lack of visual on the targets and get himself shot down. "Half of the enemies are still around and they're going to give you a hard time. Work by the numbers, Count."
Naomi heard him sigh, but he didn't argue with their leader. She didn't have the time to worry about that, deciding to make another low approach and take out the other Aegis vessel in the Erusean's fleet. Getting a bit more confident, she went through with her plan and made a dive before pulling up, flying straight at it before firing right before she would have hit it, pulling up and performing a victory roll as she climbed and the ship blew up from the impact of the missile. It was sunk and once again she was free of having to make a low approach. There were only two ships left, and then they could move on to the platforms in the north and the one in the valley. If they had enough time (and with the way things were going, they would) then they'd be hitting both of them.
"Aegis vessel Freyr is sunk!" Long Caster replied through another mouthful of food. Naomi was kind of getting used to his eating. Honestly, she envied the AWACS crew, sitting up at high altitude just getting to munch while they work. Must be nice.
Count let out a cheer at the announcement that brought her mind away from food. "Hell yeah! That thing was huge!" For once he actually sounded genuinely excited and happy. Not often that he sounded like that, and Naomi realized how strange it was when it actually happened.
"Don't get cocky, Count," Wiseman reminded him, although not sounding upset with him. "You're a hunting dog. We need to keep working to soften up the rest of the enemies." Naomi, as she circled around in search of where to attack next, saw Cyclops Squadron briefly regroup on Wiseman and do the same thing as Naomi, and after a while she was also joined by her wingmen. The two squadrons surveyed the area like a bird of prey looking for it's next meal. Wiseman quickly took charge. "There's two ships left. Strider Squadron, you handle the destroyer and Cyclops will get this frigate on the edge here."
With that, the two squadrons split. While Naomi made a dive for the destroyer, Skald — to her surprise — followed her down and Jaeger and Lanza tangled with the fighters and attack helicopters attempting to keep them from their job. Cyclops Squadron did the same, with Wiseman and Count both making a move on the frigate while Fencer and Húxiān worked against the fighters. Naomi wasted no time, making a dive and firing a missile at the destroyer. Skald hit it again and Naomi quickly pulled up and back around to deliver the final blow. On the other side of the now destroyed fleet, Wiseman and Count had finished their own task. Lanza chuckled, "Destroyer sunk. Nice job you two"
"The Njord fleet has been destroyed. Time to take care of the supply bases," Long Caster told them. Everyone let out a chirp of 'wilco', 'roger', or in Count's case 'righto', and the two squadrons all got back in their previous formation, heading full speed to the north to take care of the smaller base first. It would be the quickest to deal with, and from the set up that Naomi saw it would also be the easiest. Actually, if you worked it right then you could take most of it out in one go. Actually, that gave her an idea. A stupid idea, but one that she was going to try nonetheless. As they approached the platform, Long Caster informed them of it without fail. "You're approaching the marine platform. Enemy fighters are taking off. Eliminate them with extreme prejudice before they can threaten the mission."
"Wilco. We'll swat those flies down into the drink," Wiseman said, likely through a sly grin.
Naomi did a quick observation of the marine platform. It was perfectly straight along the area that supported the runway and connected it to the control tower and whatnot where they had set up CIWS and AA guns and SAM sites. A plane could fly right through it and she had this new special weapon that might be useful. She took a quick look around. Wiseman was looking for the best place to attack the platform, scouting around the edge of it and picking off a few SAM sites before they could target the others while everyone else began to destroy the fighters that had already taken off as well as some that were still taxiing on the runway. Naomi carefully flew through the gap head on between two of the supports to see how much room she had to work with, then circled back around to enter on one end, switching to her special weapon. Grinning, she said, "Hey, Count? You remember the second operation I was with Spare, when we attacked that base in Roca Roja?"
It was a few seconds before Count answered. "What? Of course I remember it. What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
"Remember when I flew into that tunnel to wipe out the enemy fighters and everyone thought I crashed?" Naomi prodded casually as she lowered her speed, carefully adjusting her altitude to make sure that she flew through the platform instead of into it.
"And everyone thought you were crazy, which you were. Why do you ask?" Count answered, suddenly sounding suspicious. He must have seen what she was about to do. "Trigger, you better not be doing what I think you're about to do."
Her grin widened. "If you thought that was crazy, then tell me what you think of this." Everyone must of been too busy or too confused by the conversation, since they didn't say anything. Alright, pulse lasers. Let's see what you bad boys can do. Without any interference, Naomi's plane flew between the platform, no difficulties or crashes what so ever. However, she started firing the lasers before she entered, taking out the first support core, then the second, and third, all the way down the line at full speed before flying out the other end, the platform collapsing section by section behind her. She pulled up and around, whooping triumphantly now that she was clear of the collapse. She watched as it fell into the ocean, crushing the tankers that had been floating beneath it in a splash of white from the water and a brief explosion from the ship.
Everyone around her began to chatter over one another, sounding either shocked, confused, or excited. "What just happened?" Long Caster demanded. "Is everyone okay?" It seemed that his concern had been because of the chatter, unable to pick out what the pilots were saying and concerned that someone had been taken out.
Wiseman was quick to put their AWACS controller at ease. "Everyone's fine. Strider 1 just flew right between the platform. She destroyed the structural supports as she went. That's remarkable skill…" The last part was muttered, and it was clear that she'd made a good impression on Wiseman with that stunt. However risky it was, it took care of most of the platform. There were only a few parts left standing, but nothing that the squadrons couldn't take care of.
"Holy hell! Was that for real?" Fencer asked with a chuckle after he had gotten a good look at what had happened and the aftermath of the destruction.
"Impressive," Húxiān put in. She seemed like someone that wasn't easily won over, so Naomi actually appreciated her praise.
"I've never seen someone pull such a reckless stunt!" Skald said, sounding both impressed and actually startled by the events that had just unfolded. Jaeger and the others laughed at his reaction. The only person that didn't join in was Count. In fact, he hadn't been cheering at all.
"I've sent the data. Make like Trigger and serve up a sandwich," Long Caster ordered, sounding pleased and even a little proud of what Naomi had done.
"Righto," Count responded, pulling around after downing an Erusean Su-33. The platform's supports were now highlighted on their HUDs, with only three left to take out before the platform was complete. As they all prepared to take on the remainder of the enemy supply base, Count announced to them, "Just a couple more hits and that platform is going down! I call dibs on the final shot!"
"Cyclops 2, stop fluttering about and stay glued to my ass!" Wiseman snapped at him, sounding frustrated by him just zipping off whenever he felt like it. Naomi noticed that, in spite of the squadrons splitting up and engaging in separate attacks on different parts, Skald had remained close by her in case she needed support. Count, however, didn't stay near Wiseman.
In fact, Fencer was actually the one taking Count's place covering Wiseman's wing. And Cyclops 3 pointed this out to him as Count reluctantly flew alongside the two of them, allowing Fencer to break off and provide Húxiān with some support. "Around here, we don't make other people do our job for us. It might have been every man for himself where you came from, but it's not like that here."
Count groaned in frustration. "Stop treating me like a newborn chick!" he snapped at both Wiseman and Fencer, but Naomi suspected that it was mostly targeted at Fencer. "I've shot down my fair share on enemies, you know."
"Chirp, chirp, chirp little chick," Wiseman teased him with a soft chuckle. "Just stick with your mother hen and you'll get back to the roost safe n' sound."
Count sighed at this, but he didn't say anything else as he and Wiseman both targeted the structural support to the section of the platform that housed the enemy control tower. Wiseman seemed to enjoy making good use of his own pulse lasers, going all out with those things. Jaeger and Lanza allowed Naomi and Skald to take their place with the enemy fighters to get in on the platform action, the same going for Fencer and Húxiān. The two platforms were side by side. Jaeger and Fencer attacked first, managing to get one missile each past the enemy CIWS on their respective targets. Húxiān and Lanza took a bit of a risk, flying through the remaining part of the platforms on separate ends, firing a missile while they were between the gap and taking out the remainder of the platform, pulling clear of the explosions.
"Nice work!" Húxiān cheered as she momentarily flew beside Lanza, both observing the destruction that they'd caused. The two broke away from one another to assist their own squadrons in eliminating the remaining fighters and a few small ships in dry dock
"Platform purge confirmed!" Long Caster called out. "You just put the meat in between those buns and that burger's well done!"
"Weren't we serving a sandwich?" Count asked, his voice a bit higher than usual when he asked the question. It was clear that he was confused by Long Caster's sudden mention of a burger. Naomi wasn't confused, so much as she was getting hungry.
"I'm happy to eat both," Long Caster replied simply, almost sheepishly, in fact.
"Whatever you say, man…" Count said with a sigh. "You people are weird."
"I mean, I don't mind the talk about food over the threats for solitary. But now I'm hungry," Naomi said as Strider Squadron formed up behind her and Cyclops behind Wiseman. They were back in their original formation as they adjusted their course to get to the valley platform. Her wingmen all laughed at the comment, and she was glad that they found it amusing even though she wasn't really joking. Part of it was true. No threat for solitary was nice, and she was very hungry now.
"Well, if all goes well then maybe we can have a nice victory dinner," Wiseman said through a smile. "Long Caster, do me a favor and pick out which restaurants around the base we said we liked the best. I'll let you pick it out."
"I'd be hurt if you didn't. Roger that, Major," Long Caster said, chuckling. There was a pause before he told them, "Continue on to the valley platform like we planned."
Near the entrance to the valley that contained the platform, the mountains around them and the water along the edge was covered with snow and ice in spite of it being the middle of August. Naomi never realized nor did she ever really stop to care about just how cold northern Erusea was. In Osea they had all four seasons year round in the order they were supposed to happen in, except in the Bana region where it was beach weather year-round. Even in places near North Osea it was actually hot in the summer. Naomi had a good feeling that it wouldn't be long before cold weather made its way to New Arrows, and they'd be in for something better than temperatures in the mid eighties.
Skald's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Trigger, I've been meaning to ask you something since we took off. What are the marks on your plane?" At first, he paused, and Naomi was going to explain the wing and the tail, but Skald then added, "I know what the wing means, but what about those three lines? They look like scratches."
"Just a little something I thought up," Naomi replied with a shrug. "Avril helped me with them last night. What do you think?"
Before anyone could answer, Count offered his own opinion. "I don't like 'em," Count said quickly. "They're too much like sin lines. I'm glad mine are gone."
"What are those?" Húxiān asked curiously. It was then that Naomi remembered that only Wiseman was aware of the sin line situation. Bandog hadn't explained it to the rest of the LRSSG pilots that had stayed at Zapland, only to Wiseman. There hadn't been any reason to explain it, and nobody asked about it.
"Nothing," Count said with a sigh. "It's in the past."
They didn't have time to linger on the subject any longer as they closed in on the resupply base. It was more spread out than the first one was, with eight separate platforms that Naomi knew she couldn't take out in one go. It had heavier anti-air defense and helicopters buzzing around to protect it. Fighters that had managed to slip through the first two attacks were also flying around, ready to protect the last remaining base. They all remained in formation as Long Caster radioed them. "We're near the valley platform. Give it the same beating you gave the other one."
"We're supposed to smash up that whole thing?" Count asked with a scoff. "At least the first one made it easy for us."
"Hmm…you're right, Count. That'd be a bit of a tall order," Long Caster said thoughtfully. "For this one, just destroy the boats, aircraft, and AA weaponry."
Naomi was a little disappointed. It wasn't as satisfying to just destroy those targets. Besides, Erusea could still make use of it if it was standing. That almost defeated the purpose of the mission. Wiseman must have thought of this too, since he immediately gave his own order. "Nah, let's do what the chick said."
"Whoah!" Lanza chuckled. "Roger that!"
"Here's how we're gonna do this one," Wiseman said, taking charge of both squadrons. Naomi didn't mind. She wasn't really sure what the best course of action would be for this one anyways, since the anti-air was harder to get through with this platform. "Cyclops 3 and Strider 3 will pair up and take care of the enemy fighters. Cyclops and Strider 4 will deal with the boats. Count, you're with me, and Skald you stick with Trigger. We'll attack each side of the base at the same time. It's tricky, but we can fit through the gaps even if they're tighter than the first one was."
"There's no way in hell this craft can do that," Count said incredulously. "That order is just insane!"
"You've followed orders crazier than that, Count," Naomi reminded him with a sigh. "Come on. If we work together than we can get this over and done with faster. Just trust him."
"Whatever…" Count muttered.
Jaeger and Fencer broke off to engage the enemy fighters, with Jaeger (being the older and more experienced of the two) leading the way. "Strider 3, engaging!"
"Cyclops 3, engaging!" Fencer added and both of them met the enemy F-14s head on.
"Cyclops 4, engaging!" Húxiān shouted as she and Lanza broke off and made for the ships in dry dock.
Naomi and Skald split off and took the right half of the marine base, with Wiseman and Count taking the other half just like Wiseman said they would. Switching her weapon to the PLSL and the target on her HUD to the core, the four planes carefully flew between the thinner gap and fired at their targets, with Skald and Count having to use regular missiles. Four of the eight platforms crumbled and fell down to the ocean, one of them taking out yet another tanker. Erusea really should have had better foresight than this and known when to set off. In fact, only one ship actually was managing to escape. Lanza was quick to point it out so that he and Húxiān could take it out. "A ship's trying to escape from the lower part of the platform. It actually managed to survive."
"Yeah, but it looks like we caught 'em by surprise," Húxiān said confidently. "Lanza, you get the last frigate on your end. I'll take care of the tanker and start with the remaining ships."
"Roger wilco," Lanza chirped as Húxiān flew past the platform and quickly destroyed the tanker. Once Lanza was finished with the frigate, he joined Húxiān to handle the rest of the destroyers and frigates in dry dock.
"Half of the platform is destroyed," Long Caster informed them. "Just a few more hits. Stay cool and keep piling on the heat!"
"We're almost done. Time to stick a fork in it!" Jaeger called out as he downed an F-2 with a perfect, well placed shot. Naomi quickly pulled around for another attack, Skald following her. They took out two of the platforms together, and Wiseman handled one more. Count rolled to evade a missile and then recovered to finish off the last platform.
"I'm the chef this time!" Count quickly announced, making it absolutely clear that the final shot was his this time. With two missiles released, he banked to the left to join Wiseman and the platform he targeted went down. By now, any fighters were starting to withdraw and Jaeger and Fencer let up on their attacks, understanding that the enemy wasn't about to put up a fight now and was giving in. That secured Osea and the LRSSG with a victory.
"Nice work! That takes care of both of the platforms!" Long Caster said as the two squadrons once again regrouped and returned to their original positions, heading to the return line and back the way they came. "The operation is complete. I doubt the enemy will recover from this one. And the new recruits certainly pulled their weight. You did great out there. Wiseman, I think tonight's the night we finally open that bottle. And, to celebrate the mission going well and the fact that we've taken zero losses, I've taken the liberty of ordering a big dinner from the Italian bistro near the base, so the wine will go well with it. You all earned it."
"What's Italian?" Naomi asked, furrowing her brow. It sounded familiar, but she didn't know where she'd heard it from.
"Oh, it's from a small Anean country called Italia. You may not know this, but all the good pizza comes from that place," Long Caster happily answered her question. "Trust me, the food from this restaurant is absolute heaven. You'll love it."
"Well, today was a good day. Learned a lot, too," Lanza said with a relaxed sigh. "I think I finally understand the new boss's style."
"Our other newcomer is a…unique character," Fencer added about Count with a stifled laugh, and the others sounded as if they had to do the same.
Count let out a frustrated sigh. "The old squad was bad, and I guess it's gonna be no different here," he said. "You know, I could really perform if I only had some partners I could trust."
Naomi found herself a little offended that he hadn't considered her, but to be fair he might have just been referring to those he was flying with in Cyclops Squadron. They were working together, but he was under someone else. And she had a feeling that Count was going to have a harder time adjusting after being semi-in charge and allowed to do his own thing without a real leader to hold him back and offer some organization. Naomi wondered if only Count was having a hard time fitting in, or if Avril, Tabloid, and even Bandog were also finding the change difficult and frustrating.
Wiseman didn't seem bothered by Count's comment at all. "No need to worry! I got your back," he said in a cheerful, even playful way. "Just relax and do your thing!"
"Gimme a break!" Count exclaimed exasperatedly, perhaps even a little embarrassed.
Naomi laughed with Wiseman, but the others were quietly sniggering to themselves. Wiseman was honestly acting like Naomi's dad used to when she and her brother and sister were a lot younger. It was refreshing to have a commander like him, and she honestly hoped that Count could fit in, in spite of all the joking that he seemed less than fond of. This was a good squadron, and a welcomed change to Spare Squadron. After destroying those platforms, she was honestly ready to just relax for a few days and spend some time with their new squadron.
New Arrows Air Base, East of Usea.
1800hrs.
After the debriefing was finished, everyone sat outside of the hangars at some folding tables and chairs that Long Caster pulled out so that they could enjoy dinner outside. He had driven to the main gate to pick up their food and returned after everything was set up, carrying a bottle of expensive wine in one hand and an extremely large plastic bag in the other. Long Caster set the bag on the center of the table and all of the pilots greedily swarmed around it with paper plates and disposable cups to get what they wanted. Although Naomi wasn't much of a wine person, and neither was Count, she and him decided to try a small amount anyways. Naomi honestly preferred beer, but Long Caster insisted that the Italian food was best with the wine and she didn't really want to disappoint her new AWACS.
After a while, Avril, Tabloid, and Bandog had heard of their return and their own little pizza party and Wiseman welcomed them into the group. Naomi's father had already been there, having taken a group picture of their squadrons after they'd landed to commemorate the moment. Wiseman was currently showing it to Naomi, holding his smartphone's screen so that she could see the surprisingly high quality photo that had been taken. He was very proud of them and how it turned out. "I'm gonna upload it to my computer tonight and order a couple of copies of it plus some frames," he was telling her.
Naomi looked up at him, surprised, and observed the photo again.
Wiseman was in the center, with a mile wide grin and one arm slung over Naomi's shoulder. Next to her free arm, all of Strider Squadron was positioned, each in their own pose. Lanza was glaring at Skald as Skald (much taller than the rest of them) attempted to keep him out of view of the camera and the two were engaged in what looked like the start of a fist fight. Jaeger was laughing as he stood between the two of them, keeping them apart like a father with his two sons. Wiseman's other arm was wrapped around Count's neck in a side hug like with Naomi. Count, in the picture, looked really pissed off by the fact that it was being taken at all. Even more by the fact that Wiseman was hugging him. Beside Count was Húxiān and Fencer, the former moving to punch Fencer's shoulder because of him having attempted to photobomb her with the ever classic bunny ears and she was having none of it.
"You take photos after all of your missions?" Naomi asked as she took a sip of her wine, no longer taken off guard by the fruity taste that it had followed by the somewhat sour aftertaste. She wasn't used to it, but it didn't taste bad. In fact, she could even enjoy it.
"Not every mission, just the ones with the most positive impact on our squadron. Especially when it's a hatchling's first day," Wiseman answered with a smile, cutting off his phone and shoving it into his pocket. "I like to document things like this. It's a little weird for a guy like me, I'm sure, but it comes from my parents. Every time there was a big event, they'd take a family picture. And once they passed away I looked through the photos and remembered good things that I'd have otherwise forgot. Around here, my squadron is like my family. Both Cyclops and Strider. We've all come a long way together, which is probably why they've been giving you and Count a bit of a hard time. You two did a good job, but it takes a while for them to accept someone new into their family."
"I guess I can understand that. So, you trained all of them?" Naomi asked, glancing towards the table. She and Wiseman were standing just outside the hangar entrance since Wiseman had gone inside to inform the mechanics that they were welcome to some pizza as well as to retrieve his phone. Naomi had gone to see what was taking so long and he offered to show her the photo. The others were all laughing and talking in extremely loud voices, so it carried over to them. Not that it was too far away.
Wiseman nodded. "All of them. Well, except Jaeger. He was transferred here, already trained. In fact, he taught me a thing or two when he was under my command." He took a sip of his own drink, having switched to water after his first cup of wine. The major nodded to the table. "That's why I assigned him to your squadron. He taught me how to lead, and he taught me what it was like to listen to my squadron and figure out what they're best at. You did good today, but you need to know their strengths. Jaeger is better at air-to-air, and Lanza's pretty good at surface attacks. He likes flying low. Skald's pretty well-rounded and he's always got your back. Remember that, too. Your number two is the one you need to rely on the most in a battle. They're your buddy. Your best friend. Just ask your dad."
She narrowed her eyes, picking out Skald from the group before she flicked to Count. He was finally starting to loosen up, even just a bit. The wine probably relaxed him a little. Naomi glanced at Wiseman, and then looked towards the sunset in the distance. "If that's the case then why did you fly with Count as your number two? Don't get me wrong, he's a good friend and a…well, he's a pretty good pilot, but he's not someone who likes following orders in the air. He's not a team player."
"That's exactly why I chose him to fly on my wing," Wiseman replied. Naomi blinked in surprise and looked at him, raising one eyebrow. He explained, "Most flight leads would take one look at the way Count acts, deem him a problem child, and throw him to the bottom of the pecking order and make him work his way up. But I trusted Count today in hopes that he'd do the same. And with some prodding he managed to figure it out. Now, I'm not expecting him to turn his act around after one operation. The choice has to be his. He has to want to fit in and he has to want to be a part of our little family. He'll realize that he has to trust other people."
He looked at Naomi and then gave a soft smile. "Count doesn't realize it yet, but he relies a lot more on you and the rest of your friends from Spare Squadron than he probably cares to admit. That's why I requested them to be assigned to us. You've made your own little family and you can help one another with the change. All of my pilots came to me with someone from their previous unit except for Jaeger. Skald and Lanza were from the same squadron. Fencer and Húxiān were from the same base. And every single one of them was just like Count. Nobody wanted to invest the time to help them and overlooked their skill because of their attitude."
"So how'd they realize that they fit in here?" Naomi asked him.
"It took a while, but Jaeger and Long Caster helped them out. It wasn't long before they realized that they were just…what's the best way to put this? Hmmm…opposite sides of the same coin, if that makes any sense." Wiseman said and Naomi nodded quickly. It did make sense. Wiseman expanded on it anyways. "Once they realized that, whether they liked it or not, they were in the same boat and had common ground considering their situation, they managed to work together and now they'd probably go through hell and back for one another." He paused. "That's another reason I asked you to lead Strider. You're a good pilot, but I was also hoping that it would give you a chance that you didn't have…and that maybe you could help your friends. You, Count, Tabloid, Avril, and even Bandog all came from a situation that we can understand but not relate to. Without one another, you'd probably crumble."
Naomi didn't answer him. She cared about them, but she knew that they could have all gone their separate ways and forgot about each other in a heartbeat. To say that they'd all crumble without each other was pushing it. "I doubt that," she said with a sigh. "Avril can take care of herself. Bandog hates everyone. Count hates everyone just as much. Tabloid's friendly enough to move on if he was ever transferred. I…" Naomi paused, realizing actually how much she would miss them if anything ever happened. She missed Brownie, but losing people came with war. She wasn't entirely sure she was actually over that, yet. At last she finished, "I'd be fine. I'd be upset, sure, because they're my friends, but I'd make it with my new squadron."
Wiseman smirked. "I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. I've seen how close you all are. Especially for a group of convicts. And I know how much they really do respect and trust you. Maybe not so much with Count or Bandog, but from what Tabloid tells me it seems that you held them together. And I think in a way they probably held you together." Naomi looked at him skeptically, not really sure how to respond. He shrugged and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "But who am I to say that, right? Now, c'mon, Trigger. Let's go get something to eat before the pizza's gone."
She didn't argue with him, and the two squadron leaders quickly walked over to the table to join the others. When they arrived, it seemed they were back on the subject of teasing Count. "Oh, so Jaeger's gonna teach our hatchling how to fly, eh?" Lanza asked loudly once Wiseman and Naomi reached the table, clearly walking in on the middle of a discussion about the mission. Wiseman grinned and chuckled while the others laughed, walking around the table to sit beside Long Caster.
"Hey, knock that off, would you?" Count snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at them. He glanced at Naomi as she took the empty seat on the edge of the table beside him. While the others recovered from their laughter at Count's expense, he gave Naomi an irritated look. "And just where were you all this time? I could have used some help."
"I was chatting with Wiseman about the mission today," Naomi replied casually. She looked around the table and smirked at him. "And I think you handled it just fine."
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, both of them turning their attention to Jaeger as he settled the group down. "Okay, okay, I've got a story for ya. It's about a great war hero…" Jaeger said, and everyone went silent. Except for Count, who muttered something that sounded like 'oh good grief' under his breath. Naomi held back a smile and looked at him for a moment, finding his sour expression actually a bit amusing. Jaeger went on once he was sure everyone was listening. The first line instantly got Naomi's attention, though. "There was once an Erusean ace known as the King of the Skies. Every pilot he faced in training said pretty much the same thing: 'Scary'. Even though he was their ally, they knew the true fear that an animal feels when it is being hunted by a predator."
Naomi was reminded of that Mr. X pilot, and she had a pretty good feeling that's who Jaeger was referring to and shuddered at the thought, feeling her blood boil a little bit. Count, however, was not impressed. "What about people that faced him in an actual dogfight?" he challenged.
"No pilot came back alive," Jaeger replied after a pause for effect, glancing around the table at the others. Tailor was sitting in stunned silence, actually appearing to be in awe.
"Yeah, I'm not sure I buy that," Count answered, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.
"That's because it's not entirely true," Wiseman put in. He nodded to Jaeger, crinkling his features. "Go ahead and tell 'em the rest of it, Jaeger."
Jaeger shrugged, finishing off his pizza and wiping his hands and face before he was ready to continue. "The Osean military gathered as much information on him as they could. Enough to find out his real name and that he was later assigned to an experimental squadron after disappearing for some twenty or more years. Not that he needed much of a squadron. Due to the fact that he was the leader the squadron, he gained the nickname…Mr. X." Of course Naomi's suspicions were true. "And only one pilot that we know of engaged him and survived," Jaeger said with a quick look around the table. Naomi was aware of everyone looking her way, and she felt like she'd been caught in the headlights.
She didn't shrink away from all of the sets of eyes on her, straightening up instead. "If they have him, then why do they bother with the drones? I mean, they have an ace up their sleeve. Literally, in this case."
"From what we've heard, he's supplying their drones with the data they need. That prototype we were chasing down was programmed with his flight data. Although we were hoping to capture it and study it closer, it's probably a good thing you shot it down," Wiseman said through his own mouthful of pepperoni pizza. He swallowed. "No idea what else they're planning. And they switch between sending out an actual squadron to intercept them or just try it with the drones."
"So keep your eyes peeled, Trigger," Jaeger said darkly with a slow nod. "You never know when that experimental squadron might show up." Naomi looked at Count, who rolled his eyes and looked between her and Tabloid with a 'yeah right' look on his face. Of course, to be fair, it did sound like Jaeger was telling them some campfire horror story instead of actual story. He was a good storyteller, though. He knew where to pause in the story, and when to use a more subdued tone. It might have been effective…if they were all five years old. And it was very clear that they weren't.
Wiseman nearly choked on his water at the closing line that Jaeger chose to use. "Pfft! Jaeger, she knows that better than anyone," he said. "She's one of the few with the skills to face Mr. X and live to tell." The older men chuckled at this, but it seemed to bother Count.
"That ain't funny," he said, but there was some uncertainty in his eyes.
Everyone around them shrugged it off, not seeming to care much about the somewhat depressing story. The night continued, with Jaeger finishing telling the others about the battle that day before they moved on to discuss various other things. Fencer was trying to see if anyone would be able to guess what their next operation might be, but they didn't get very far with that. Although Naomi and even Count let loose and had a good time, Naomi was thinking about what Wiseman had said to her and remembering her responsibility. It also explained why Lanza and Skald had been so doubtful of her capabilities. But they all seemed fine now, and Naomi was positive that she and the others from Spare would be the best of friends with the LRSSG pilots in no time at all.