Chapter Fifty: The Enemy
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Tyler Island, Spring Sea.
October 10th, 2019.
1300hrs.
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An entire hangar had been converted into some sort of temporary hospital type of area for the refugees they'd found and brought back, along with the number of injured Osean soldiers and the Erusean soldiers that had defected. When Naomi and the others landed and parked on the flight line they were immediately met by the sight of families with small children and a battered group of soldiers. But among them were several familiar faces, all of whom Naomi had worried they'd never seen again.
The first to break away from the group was Hans, having searched the crowd for Kathryn and immediately ran to where she stood next to his brother and his uncle. She turned, the motion catching her attention, and it was just in time for him to practically crash into her. His helmet clattered to the floor as he pulled her into an almost desperate embrace, which she immediately returned. She buried her face against his chest and dug her hands into the back of his shoulders like her life depended on that hug.
Naomi and the others kept their distance for a few moments, Beckett and Major Grimm all doing the same, allowing the couple to have their moment. A few things were said that were too soft for them to hear, and when they finally pulled away they remained close to the other. Hans cupped Kathryn's face in his hands, brushing away a stray tear she looked to be fighting back as well as taking notice of a few minor injuries. She said some word of reassurance and nodded, prompting him to lightly rest his forehead against hers for just a few seconds before he gave her a gentle kiss and they pulled away from each other.
Once their exchange was over, Clown quickly approached, giving Kathryn a hug just as well. A different level of intimacy between them than that of Kathryn and Hans, the embrace more like the kind of bear hug an older sibling or parent might give a younger sibling or their child. He made a teasing remark that Naomi and the others couldn't hear, but it prompted both Kathryn and Hans to crack a smile so she guessed it was an inside joke.
Naomi and the rest of the group finally felt it was appropriate to move closer, certain all the reunions that didn't need to involve them were over and done with. For Naomi, her father, and Tailor, they all had a connection to Kathryn as well, though in Naomi's case it wasn't a very strong friendship. For the rest of the group, they all likely wanted to hear what Beckett had to say following the operation.
"Glad to see you're still kicking. You really are hard to kill, huh?" Naomi's father playfully asked Kathryn as soon as he was in earshot, bringing her in for a quick hug that she was willing to return. "Are you holding up okay?"
"I'm not the one anyone should be worried about," Kathryn said, sucking in a breath as she glanced around the hangar. It wasn't as chaotic as it could have been. Scattered, overlapping conversations echoing around them along with a few small children crying while parents tried to shush them. Kathryn's expression was unreadable as she looked out at all of the people before her, nodding to them. "These people have been in a living nightmare for weeks. We had been lucky enough to avoid the Eruseans for a while, but…we were tempting fate."
"Just how long have the Eruseans had it out for anyone with Belkan heritage?" Naomi asked, looking around at everyone. They all looked like they'd been marching through a warzone for days. Covered in grime and mostly minor injuries, some of them looking as though they were barely able to stay awake.
"Well…we made quite a few friends but only a few of them seemed willing to talk much," Kathryn replied, her gaze settling on one specific family. An Erusean soldier and his wife and kids. He kept looking over at all of the pilots, Naomi noticed. "By my best guess, several weeks. Probably since that blackout."
"That's been almost a month," to Naomi's surprise, Tabloid's voice rang out behind them, and they all turned to see him walking towards them. He'd just come back in from outside, evident by the fact he was soaked from head to toe as a result of the downpour as that storm finally moved in. He passed off a crate he'd been carrying to one of the medics, which told Naomi he'd been helping move more supplies to the hangar all this time. He took a few steps towards them, continuing with a stone cold look on his face, "These bastards have been gunning down innocent civilians for almost an entire month?"
"Yeah," Kathryn said, lowering her gaze to the ground. "We saved who we could as soon as we found out, but…at that point, most of them were already dead."
Naomi's father narrowed his eyes on her. "How'd you get so many to trust a bunch of Oseans?"
"Like this," Kathryn answered in Belkan, her accent not exactly perfect but the word and pronunciation almost spot on. Almost everyone did a double take. Naomi didn't know much about Kathryn, just that she had some relation to her father's old wingman, so she had almost forgotten that she had any sort of Belkan ancestry. She shrugged it off. "At least, for the first generation immigrants. Thing is, some of them aren't even half Belkan. Some of them have more Erusean or at least Usean blood over anything else. Every single one of them is a citizen of Usea, no matter how you look at it, though."
Jaeger, for the first time since they landed, spoke up. "It's disgusting. To think what people are driven to do over blind hatred…"
"That's just the way the world is. No one will ever trust anyone at this rate," Naomi's father grumbled, crossing his arms. He echoed words he'd said years and years ago, in that documentary. Clearly the world just kept proving his point. "They'll never learn. Not even after seeing what happens."
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Húxiān asked, as soft as Naomi had ever heard her speak, as she glanced around at Osean soldiers passing by to either tend to their new patients or fetch supplies. Her expression was almost sad. "This place is still in chaos. I mean, if we have to keep fighting, who's going to protect 'em? And what happens when we can't even feed 'em anymore?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Beckett said, speaking up for the first time during the conversation. He began to walk forward, his gait even more uneven than usual. He almost stumbled, but Hans and Tailor both rushed to support him. His nephew got ahold of him first, helping him straighten up as he cursed under his breath and winced. "Shit…"
"Are you alright?" Tailor asked, and judging from the way he said it and the look on his face Naomi guessed that this wasn't the first time this had happened to him. But it was the first time any of the pilots under his command were witnessing it.
"I'm fine. I never should have tried flying out there today…I haven't hurt this bad in years." Beckett gritted his teeth and pulled himself together, taking slow and deep breaths as he did. He brushed it off as though nothing had happened, forcing a reassuring smile onto his face when he noticed Naomi standing there, staring at him, concerned. "Relax, I can still do my job. Just…remind me not to try and compete with you kids again."
"You shouldn't push yourself. Go see one of the doctors," Naomi's father said, sounding almost irritated by his stubbornness. But when she looked over at him he seemed to have a sympathetic look on his face. Maybe even bordering on guilt, if she was reading him right. It wouldn't surprise her. It also wouldn't surprise her if he was unwilling to ever apologize and express said guilt. When Beckett didn't answer right away, he sternly said, "PJ. For once in your life, listen to me."
"There's no point. They have their hands full," Beckett said, almost like he'd rehearsed his response. "And besides, the debriefing –"
Major Grimm cut him off, crossing his arms. "That can wait, old man. At least go sit down and get some water if nothing else."
He looked around, to his other nephew, to his son, even to Kathryn, but none of his family was on his side. Defeated, he began to head towards some of the supply crates that had been emptied out and put off to the side, Tailor falling in step beside him. "I'll go with you," Tailor said. To Naomi it seemed they often had many compromises and brief arguments, if Tailor's response was any indication.
"Hey, that's great," Fencer said, cracking a small smile. He wasn't as energetic as he may have been under better circumstances as he said, "Maybe you can tell him what Jaeger told me. About you finally becoming a proper ace? I heard you shot down a few more bandits when Trigger went after those supply ships."
Beckett gave him an almost offended look that was instantly replaced by a smile, practically beaming with pride as he reached up and ruffled Tailor's hair. Tailor looked thoroughly embarrassed by the sudden fuss, almost shrinking away, but Naomi heard a light laugh escape him in spite of this as he sheepishly began to recount the events of the air battle to him. Naomi and most of the others watched the pair walk off, Naomi unable to keep from smiling a bit herself before she shook her head.
"Well, at least a few good things came out of this, I suppose," Naomi said, turning away from where Hans and Kathryn still stood, starting a conversation with her father and Major Grimm. Waiting patiently were all of Strider and Cyclops, unsure of what to do and standing there just waiting for some direction. She was once again reminded of Avril and Bandog, realizing they were the only two people she hadn't seen among the crowd. "Hey, speaking of, did any of you see Avril and Bandog?"
"I definitely haven't," Húxiān said, trying not to be too quick to point out her observation. Come to think of it, Naomi recalled her having scanned the room at least twice when they first landed. Húxiān looked over at Tabloid, likely figuring he would have been the first to have gone looking for them. "You got any idea where they are?"
"No, we got roped into helping unload the supplies and get the refugees settled pretty quickly," Tabloid said with a shake of his head, gesturing to his wingmen from Cyclops. Lanza and Skald all confirmed that fact, not that anyone doubted him. He went on. "Apparently this is only half of the refugees. Those without families were sent over to one of the other hangars to…umm…there's no easy way to talk about this…"
He seemed to be bordering on shaking with anger and trembling out of grief, so Lanza stepped in, hesitantly, taking a deep breath. He lowered his voice, right down to a whisper, to keep from anyone but them overhearing. "They uh…they wanted to retrieve some of the bodies of the civilians that our ground forces found. Anyone that was separated from their family has been…they took them to the other hangar in hopes of ID'ing them."
"Shit…" Count, who had also been unusually quiet all that time muttered out, the only one to voice any of the grief and anger the others were.
Naomi felt sick to her stomach. For every survivor they had here it seemed there were probably at least two or so of their neighbors that hadn't been as fortunate. She didn't blame the Erusean defectors for abandoning their own military. If asked to choose between service and killing her own family or neighbors she'd turn her back on her career in a heartbeat, absolutely zero hesitation in making that decision. She turned her attention away from the refugees, looking past her wingmen and outside at the torrential downpour. "Erusea has no right to pretend to be the victims in this war after today's shitshow. Killing civilians just because they can't own up to their goddamn mistakes…"
"They'll pay sooner or later," Skald said, uncrossing his arms, not making eye contact with anyone. "In the meantime, all we can do is try to fix the damage they've done."
With that said, he set off towards a group of Osean soldiers working to sort out and ration all food and supplies they had for the refugees, among other things that needed organizing. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was going off to do, and while they waited for Beckett to collect himself and for their other friends to return, the rest of them set about helping out in the hangar however they could. They only had so many people, and the Osean army guys seemed very grateful to have the pilots helping out. In fact, apparently they'd set Golem Squadron and Genette to work (the latter volunteered) in trying to clean up the HQ and the barracks so they could have better conditions for everyone.
The rain outside didn't let up one bit, and the thunder and lightning didn't seem to help set anyone at ease. Although it was still mid afternoon, several of the people here seemed relieved to be able to finally get some proper rest. Rest where they didn't have to keep their guards up. Or that should have been the case. But with the storm, it upset many of the children that had been through the ordeal alongside their parents. Cracks of thunder brought about screaming, sobbing, and whimpering as the parents tried their hardest to soothe them. If they were around when it happened, some of the Oseans did their best to try and cheer them up or keep them amused.
Naomi got to see a side of all of her wingmen that she'd never seen before, watching as they cracked jokes or made faces or tried to tell a story to any especially frightened or hurt children to allow their parents a moment for rest and treatment. She would have expected Jaeger to be good with kids, being a father and all, but she never would have expected the likes of Count and Tabloid to make up a ridiculously simple fairytale on the spot so one of the medics could stitch up a bad gash on a little kid's hand. Fencer, meanwhile, made silly faces and dumb remarks at his own expense to calm down a frightened toddler that had been startled by the storm. Even Húxiān had a surprisingly gentle side when she tried. All of them found some way to set these people at ease however they were able to, adults and children alike. Her father, Kathryn, and Hans even ended up pitching in.
By the time everything was said and done everyone had been handed water, food, blankets, and medicine and bandages if they were needed, and everyone was allowed a break. Naomi felt bad being handed out a water bottle after handing off things to everyone else. Like she needed to save her rations for the sake of these refugees or put it away in case it was absolutely necessary, but she knew that if anyone else refused to eat or drink she'd give them an earful, so she tried to set those concerns aside. Like Beckett said, they could cross that bridge when they came to it. Right now, though, they still had enough to go around. For the time being, at least.
No sooner had they stepped away from the refugees than Bandog and Avril returned, Sarge along with them. Beside them was Long Caster, the three of them all soaked from the rain, speaking with Beckett by the entrance of the hangar. They appeared to be discussing something important, judging from the looks on their faces. Beckett glanced towards where Naomi and the others were crowding around, his son having joined them after a while, and then nodded towards them. Avril and Bandog said their goodbyes while Beckett set off with Long Caster back out into the rain, leaving them to their reunion. Their expressions shifted as soon as they saw them.
Naomi and Tabloid were the first two to move towards them, meeting them about halfway. Naomi hung back and let Tabloid be the first to hug her, something that seemed to catch just about everyone off guard, including Avril herself. He acted without even thinking, though Naomi had seen it coming from a mile away after witnessing Hans and Kathryn's reunion, as well as knowing her own planned actions. Avril returned the hug, but protested in spite of this. It was spoken through a surprised, tired laugh. "Hey, I'm drenched, you knucklehead! You're gonna get soaked!"
"Ah, well. Not the first time today, given the weather," Tabloid shrugged it off, stepping back and allowing Naomi to greet her next. Just before Naomi hugged her, she caught the faintest hint of a blush on Avril's cheeks from Tabloid's hug.
"You have no idea how relieved we were to hear your voice earlier," Naomi said, wrapping her arms around Avril, practically squeezing the life out of her as she gave her a bear hug. Avril returned the hug, giving her an awkward pat on the shoulder. After the two separated, Naomi leaned down to greet Sarge next.
As she did this, Húxiān straightened up after having already given Sarge a few scratches behind the ear in greeting. Bandog feigned offense as he watched the others greet Sarge or Avril before him, most everyone else giving him a handshake or smack on the shoulder over the affection the latter two received. "So no one missed me, then?"
Húxiān gave him a smirk. "What, you want a hug, too?"
"Pfft. Absolutely not." Bandog's simple scoff managed to throw just about everyone off, deflecting Naomi enough that she didn't try. Húxiān took pity on him, though, reaching out and pulling him into a side hug. It caught him off guard, but he didn't fight it. The second he caught Count, Naomi, and Avril all staring at them, though, he scowled and glared at them as soon as Húxiān released him. It was Count he chose to call out. "I'd wipe that look off your face if I were you, Count."
"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about," Count answered with a low chuckle, crossing his arms. It earned him an eye roll, but the subject wasn't pressed, likely because this was neither the time nor the place for their almost childish spats. At least they could go five minutes without wanting to kill the other, which was definitely progress.
"So, are you all feeling okay? Neither of you were hurt?" Naomi asked the two of them, looking them over. At a glance, they appeared to be alright. A little worse for wear maybe but not severely injured.
"We're fine. I'm pretty sure that after all that walking my leg's never gonna heal right," Avril said, placing a hand on her hip. Naomi glanced down at the brace on her leg. It looked pretty scuffed up after everything, though surely it must have still been doing something. Still, she was right, so much physical demand as a result of the war and a lack of physical therapy didn't exactly contribute to a speedy recovery. She shrugged it off. "But besides that we're fine. Physically, at least. Either way we're better off than all these people…"
"Hey, speaking of, who's the girl that ran at the tanks with that smoke canister?" Count asked. He looked over his shoulder at all of the refugees, things being quieter than they had been earlier. "A few more crazies like her and life down there may have been a tad bit easier."
"Not likely. I mean, what do you think would have happened to the refugees if you hadn't intervened? We could have had all the crazies in the world on the ground with us, it still wouldn't have saved our asses," Avril said with a shake of her head, keeping her voice low. "Erusea's military…some of their government…they saw what happened. And you can see it for yourself. There were little kids. The people here, in spite of everything, were the lucky ones."
"And that's exactly why I like the sky," Count said, taking a deep breath and huffing it out. "You don't have to see those types of things up…"
"I can't disagree, but unfortunately that doesn't mean it doesn't happen," Naomi said with a sigh of her own. She didn't like to think about what happened as a result of her actions, when the battle was no longer in her control. If it was ever in her control to begin with. The sad fact was that no matter what you did or where you were in a war, someone on the ground was paying for crimes that weren't their own.
They were all quiet for a few moments, until Jaeger cleared his throat and broke the silence, moving on to avoid further dampening morale. "The defecting soldiers and 'some of their government'...are they the reason Long Caster and the Colonel took off in such a hurry?"
"Something like that," Bandog said, and he and Avril exchanged a look. It was unusual for those two to have something they were unwilling to share with everyone, but it seemed no one but Naomi seemed to notice how suspicious it was. She kept her mouth shut, and he moved on before anyone could question them. She also noticed neither of them seemed at all concerned by the fact Hawkins wasn't around. "As well as some introductions. They needed to speak with some of them before they headed to the HQ."
"We should probably head over there if that's the case," Fencer said, yawning as he stretched out his arms, giving a tired grunt as one of his shoulders popped. "God, my body is killing me. I just wanna go to bed."
Reluctantly, all of them took their leave from the hangar, heading out into the storm still beating down on them. As Avril and Bandog already knew the layout of the base from being here before the blackout, they led the way. Most of the cleanup to the exterior of the base had been halted on account of the storm, since being out and about in a thunderstorm was a bad idea, so they had to be careful to avoid various piles of scrap along the way. Erusea's attack on the base had really done a number to it, having completely destroyed one or two of the hangars and some of the other buildings around base. What wasn't leveled was still damaged, save for some of the barracks.
Their walk was more of a light jog than anything, going by fast on account of none of them wanting to be out there longer than they had to. When they finally reached the main HQ, everyone filed inside, immediately greeted by frigid temperatures probably made worse by the fact they were all soaking wet. Naomi shivered, not sure whether she should be grateful that the AC was obviously still working or if she should be cursing it. To avoid having anyone slip and bust their butt, various rugs had been set up along paths they'd all be frequenting through the building and a 'Caution: Wet Floor' sign had been set up just in case anyone didn't get the message.
The lights flickered and the vibe of the building reminded Naomi a bit more of Zapland than she liked. Which made sense, considering its history, but that didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to be bothered by it. At least there was no McKinsey here, and she certainly wasn't Harling's murderer. Not anymore. Though looking back on all of those memories, she reasoned the time she'd served hadn't been a total waste. Something Count, Tabloid, Avril, and even Bandog all proved. Maybe even the rest of the LRSSG, too. It was hard to get past that, though, so she chose to shove it as far back in her mind as she could.
As they finally reached the briefing room, they were greeted by Long Caster, who looked like he had only arrived a few minutes before them, Genette, her father, and Golem Squadron. Aside from Tailor, the other three pilots from Mage Squadron and Beckett were nowhere to be seen. Naomi figured they'd be along shortly, likely still helping out back at the hangar, so she chose not to worry about them too much. Everyone exchanged brief and quiet greetings as Long Caster worked to fight with a computer and the screen the base had, trying to connect the system and make it easier to work with.
The room wasn't as well lit as it probably could have been, having few windows that all had the blinds drawn and fewer lights to work with. A lamp at a desk off to the corner was the best source of light they had at the moment, making the room feel more like personal quarters than a briefing room if not for the rows of chairs, all sitting at differing angles. Naomi, Strider and Cyclops Squadrons all took one of the frontmost rows, Tailor sitting across the aisle with Golem Squadron. Knocker quietly questioned him about the rest of Mage's whereabouts and Tailor told him what he knew.
Before any conversations could really take off, the door opened not even five minutes after and Clown led the way to where Tailor sat, Hans and Kathryn walking hand in hand behind him before the three of them took their seats. Genette got to his feet from where he sat at the back with Naomi's father, moving to the seat just behind Clown so he could speak with all of them. He checked on Kathryn and Hans first, and then Tailor, as the last two had landed after he'd come here to help clean things up with Golem. Naomi didn't pay attention to anything that was said, choosing to lean back and rest her eyes for a moment.
She wasn't sure how much time passed before Beckett finally arrived, alongside two people Naomi couldn't recognize. Beckett ordered them to stay put and they both kept to themselves, sitting in the far back. A man in a torn, bloodied up suit and a young woman with blonde hair that kept her head down the whole time. It was hard to see her face, and Naomi wondered if she was too scared to look around at any of them. She seemed young, far too delicate to be caught out here, if the once elegant dress she had on was any indication.
"Good, everyone's here already," Beckett said, drawing everyone's attention to him as he tried to keep a steady, normal pace in spite of his clearly aggravated injury. Anyone that made a move to stand up was immediately motioned back down. "Stay seated, don't get up on my account. Long Caster?"
"Just a moment, sir," Long Caster answered, already well aware of what Beckett intended to ask. The screen at last displayed the data on the computer, their map centered on Tyler Island with their base pinpointed. The blue light from the screen helped light the room up some more, and Long Caster gave a relieved sigh. "About time…we're ready to go, sir. Everything's in order."
"Alright. I'll try to keep the debrief…well, brief," Beckett said. He paused, looking like he needed to collect himself, shifting weight off of the leg that was bothering him. "All of you performed excellently today. Good work in keeping our allies safe during their retreat, in destroying the supply ships, and not to mention saving those refugees. We're not in any position to start celebrating, however."
"You tellin' me we can't rest easy yet?" Húxiān asked.
Footpad sighed, his eyes closed, keeping his head resting against his fist. "Well, I guess we should have seen that one coming."
"Didn't we clear out the Erusean forces, though?" Lanza asked.
"Well…unfortunately, you're both correct. We did secure the base and most of the Erusean forces have been wiped out, from our best understanding. The ones that still remain are hardly in any condition to put up any kind of fight," Beckett explained, sounding hesitant and tired the more he went on. "There's a lot to it, I'm afraid. They know those supply ships and their fighters are gone, which means they know where we are, which means this island isn't safe. Now, I know you're all starting to fray from this stress. A lot has been asked of you. But we need to think of a plan."
Everyone looked at Naomi. They knew their goal, which offered some of a plan. Destroy the Arsenal Bird, take back the space elevator. But after today's fight, it was more of a question of 'how' rather than what. She crossed her arms. "We'll figure something out. But whatever we do, we should make sure those refugees stay safe."
"She's right. They don't have many people on their side," Tabloid said, quick to agree. "There's nowhere safe to send them right now. We're all they have."
"I understand. We'll do what we can for them, whatever we must. But we need a long term solution for all of this," Beckett said, mostly thinking aloud with the last comment. He pulled up the chair from the desk in the corner of the room, pulling it towards him and taking a seat before he went on. "In the meantime, the faces you see around you now are the only friends we've got. Take a good look. Dismissed."
All of them got to their feet, but something about what Beckett said made Naomi stop for a moment. She looked around at everyone else, everyone already taking up their own conversations, and then she looked to where Count stood beside her, staring at the map on display. She had no idea where the thought came from, but she reached out for his hand in some search of reassurance. At first she thought to completely intertwine their fingers, but that idea was too bold even for her, so instead she lightly wrapped her index and middle finger around his, gently pulling his hand towards her with those two fingers.
Naomi was certain as soon as he reacted to the touch, looking over at her with an almost startled expression, he was going to pull away from her. But to her surprise, when he moved his hand, it was to brush the rest of his fingers over hers, lightly running his thumb along the back of her hand. Her heart was racing and she didn't know what had possessed her to reach for his hands like that. Immediately second-guessing every life choice she had ever made leading up to this moment, she gave his fingers a light squeeze and pulled her hand back, feeling like her face was on fire. In any other situation she would have thought she was a drunken idiot, but there was no one but herself to blame.
They both cleared their throats awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. Naomi prayed no one had seen that, already feeling like she was going to die from embarrassment. But by now the others had started to file out, saying something about getting something to eat or something like that. Naomi was about to hurry after Húxiān and the others, but Beckett called her back, and the second she heard the colonel call her name she almost jumped. "Trigger, hold on a moment. There's something I want to speak with you about."
Naomi stopped and turned towards him, raising a brow. Count, Tabloid, and Jaeger lingered nearby, while Tailor and her father remained where they sat, everyone else leaving and briefly looking over the two strangers that were doing their best to remain unnoticed. Avril and Bandog had stopped to talk to them. But Naomi's attention was mainly on the Colonel. "Is something the matter?"
"There's someone I think you…well, we should talk to," Beckett said, getting to his feet and slowly making his way towards where Avril and Bandog stood, careful to avoid tripping over Sarge, who had laid down in the middle of the aisle. Naomi followed after him, the only explanation she received being, "Our friends made some friends of their own among those refugees. If you could call these particular guests that, anyway."
The strange man, looking like he needed to go to a hospital rather than be up and about like this, muttered something to the woman as he noticed Naomi and Beckett approach. He stood up only after she did, following her cue. Naomi finally got a good look at the girl. Though it took a moment to recognize her, between the frizzy, disheveled blonde hair and the fact she was practically covered head to toe in dirt. The offwhite dress she wore was torn and stained by dirt, grass, and even some blood.
Avril and Bandog stepped aside, Sarge hopping to her feet to reluctantly follow, and they allowed the young woman to join them in the aisle. She kept her head low, avoiding eye contact, but regardless of her lack of confidence she seemed to make an effort to carry herself the way someone of importance might. Her movements were slow, deliberate, and after only briefly hesitating she seemed to steel herself and lifted her head to meet Naomi and Beckett's gaze. And it wasn't until she spoke that Naomi finally recognized her.
"You're…you're Three Strikes, correct?" she said, clearing her throat and clearly trying to look more confident than she actually was. Naomi didn't answer her right away, just stared her in the eye. When no answer came, the woman tried using her name, voice almost shaking from nervousness. "It's Captain…no, I'm sorry. I heard the others call you 'Major'. Major…Naomi Foulke, yes?"
"Right," was the only thing Naomi found it in herself to say, narrowing her eyes.
Behind her, she heard the others react with confused murmurs as they recognized the voice. Even catching her father curiously watching the exchange. Tailor sounded like he had scrambled to his feet and done a double take as soon as he heard her speak. He let out an audible gasp. "Holy shit, is that really…"
Beckett sent him a glare over his shoulder that caused him to trail off. Everyone was watching them now, causing the atmosphere to become awkward. The girl swallowed her nerves, glancing around before she spoke again. It seemed difficult for her to keep going, but she did. "I…I am –"
"I already know who you are," Naomi snapped, and she didn't mean to. Or at least she didn't think she meant to. She recognized the voice better than she recognized the face. The woman that stood before her was the same woman that had been speaking on seemingly endless broadcasts at the start of the war, preaching about Osea's violent nature and crimes all the while they issued drone strikes over a structure built on land that didn't even belong to them. Maybe it was hardly her decision, but after the day she'd had Naomi didn't care. "You're the Princess of Erusea."
"Rosa Cossette D'Elise, yes," the Princess's eyes lit up slightly and some of her anxieties seemed to fade as a small smile formed on her face. She completely misread the situation. Awkwardly, she tried to keep the conversation going. "I'm sorry, I should have guessed you already knew who I was. I've heard…a lot of things about you, it's a rather long story. I know you've been through a lot, but I hope –"
"You hope what? That we can be friends?" Naomi interrupted her once more, scoffing. She wasn't sure where this anger was coming from. The thoughts of Harling, of her wingmates from Spare, of Wiseman, the drones, Mr. X, the refugees…the children killed by Erusean conservatives. Just about every root of this war could be traced back to Erusea. And this woman was the face of Erusea. She may as well be their ruler, the way she encouraged her people to fight. Her comment caused the Princess, as well as everyone else, to give her surprised looks. Naomi never broke eye contact with the Princess. "Do you think you can just stand there and pretend that nothing happened today? Over the last several months, even?"
"No…no, that's not what I…I know there's been bad blood, but after everything I've seen…" the Princess seemed to be stumbling over her words, bordering on panicky. She took deep breaths. "I want to do what I can. To help you win this war."
"Ah, so now that you're in over your heads you suddenly want peace, is that it?" Naomi gave a dry, humorless laugh. Absolutely nothing was funny about this situation. "So we're supposed to just pretend that half your people aren't trying to completely destroy my country and the other half aren't going around executing civilians with Belkan bloodlines?"
"Hey, Trigger, ease up," the voice was Bandog's, seemingly stunned by what was unfolding. Both women ignored him.
"I…I'm….no, no, I'm not ignoring that at all," the Princess stuttered, tears starting to swell in her eyes. "We both want the same thing! I– I just want to talk, please!"
"Do you think that 'talk' is going to fix this mess? Do you think 'talk' is going to bring those children back to life?!" Naomi raised her voice, moving to take a step forward. The Princess stepped back, but Beckett grabbed Naomi's arm and held her in place, her father getting to his feet as well. Naomi stopped, yanking her arm free and taking a deep breath. She kept her voice level as she went on. "I am done paying for your mistakes. I am done fixing your mistakes. You wanna talk? How about you go preach your bullshit to every family ripped apart because of this pointless war."
Naomi roughly shoved past her, heading for the door. She heard footsteps behind her, and before she could open the door to leave, the Princess called out to her. The girl's tone of voice had completely changed, pushing down any hesitancy. "Major…not a single person has died at my hand. However, your entire identity revolves around the soldiers you've killed. Is that not what makes an 'ace'?"
"Do you think that I'm too stupid to realize that?" Naomi demanded, whirling on her and taking a few steps towards her, feeling angry enough to walk right up and deck her. The Princess took a step back at her reaction. She knew she struck a nerve. This time Naomi's father grabbed her arm as her voice gradually rose to a shout. "You don't get to preach to me, and talk down to me like you're innocent! You don't get to act like we're not on the same level. I accept that I've killed people, but this war is not my goddamn fault! You may not be the one pulling the trigger, but their blood is on your hands! Oseans and Eruseans! You get that? All of this is your fucking fault! You aren't any better than me!"
"Do you think I don't know that?!" The Princess practically sobbed through her screams, balling her fists and looking a mix of furious and desperate. She shoved aside the man, who had put himself between her and Naomi with a murderous look on his face, and stared at her through tears. "Do you think I don't know I'm no better than you are?! I've made so many people suffer because of my words…and my complicity. If I had just spoken up or had the power to do something sooner we wouldn't even be standing here. But you're all I have left! I can't end this war on my own! We have to work together or…"
"You don't even know me. And I don't want to know you," Naomi kept her voice dangerously low. The room was dead quiet, save for the Princess' sharp breathing as a result of her sobbing. Naomi felt her father's grip on her arm loosen. "When I end this war it won't be to further my career. Or to cover my own ass. And it sure as hell won't be won alongside you. I'm not losing the rest of my friends for your sake."
The Princess sucked in a sharp breath, almost a gasp, as everyone stared at Naomi with differing levels of shock. Even her own father looked at her like he didn't even recognize her. No one tried to drive the argument on, so she took her leave, spinning on her heel and yanking the door open. Before it shut she heard running footsteps, someone catching the door and chasing after her into the hall. She recognized Count's voice echoing behind her as he took off after her, his voice laced with concern and confusion, "Trigger!"
Naomi ignored him, not once pausing or looking back.
1635hrs.
They all watched Count and Foulke move to follow Trigger, but the latter hesitated and remained in place while Count took off down the hall after her. Avril and the others stood there dumbfounded as the door slammed shut. The entire outburst and argument had escalated so quickly, before anyone could be talked down. While Trigger wasn't exactly off and neither was the Princess, Avril didn't think either one of them should have said what they did.
That new commander, Colonel Beckett was the first person to find his voice, staring wide-eyed in Foulke's direction. "What the hell was that?!"
"Hey, your guess is as good as mine," Foulke responded, almost bristling as he took on a defensive tone. He looked more worried about her than Count did, and that was saying something. "You can't expect stress to not weigh on someone after all this. She has every right to be angry."
"She has every right to be angry, she has no right to take that anger out on someone above her," the voice of Henri spoke up, his tone challenging. It would be foolish to expect him not to side with the Princess. But that comment rubbed just about everyone the wrong way, Avril included.
"We aren't citizens of your country, friend, you two aren't above a single person in this damn room," Foulke almost snarled at him. No one could argue with him on that topic. Aside from Colonel Beckett, everyone here was more or less an equal. The Princess may be a princess, but she wasn't theirs. Foulke shoved his hands into his jacket pocket, keeping a straight face. "You aren't better than any one of us. Your pointless titles and supposed authority mean nothing here. And if that's how you feel deep down, then maybe Naomi is right…"
"Pixy…enough," Beckett said, drawing in a breath, trying to keep another argument from breaking out. He pinched the bridge of his nose, flicking a pair of striking eyes – one blue, one brown, the first thing Avril noticed about him – around the room and landing at last on Foulke, before he turned to the Princess. "Clearly we've all had a very long day. Once everyone has a clear head, we'll give this another shot. Your Highness…on behalf of Major Foulke, I apologize. We do want peace, I assure you of that."
The Princess said nothing, not even nodding her head, keeping her eyes on the ground. Beckett didn't wait long for an answer, glancing at Henri and figuring it was best to leave her be. He started for the door, limping from what Avril guessed was an old injury. She saw no signs otherwise. Bandog looked down at the Princess and exchanged a look with Avril before he turned to follow, lightly pulling Sarge's leash to get her attention so she would follow. Tailor followed, slowing as he passed the Princess, and not long after that Foulke left.
The door shut behind them, leaving only Avril and Tabloid and Henri and the Princess. She was aware of Tabloid walking towards her, stopping just beside her. All Avril could do was keep looking between the door and where the Princess stood shaking, barely holding herself together. Who was she supposed to help? She wanted to go after Trigger, but she felt like she couldn't say anything to calm her down at that moment. Like she'd just make matters worse. While she barely knew the Princess, she'd grown fond of her. She reminded her of Trigger, in some ways. They were vastly different people. But as they loudly pointed out, they weren't any better than the other.
Feeling Tabloid's arm brush up on hers on accident before he took a step to the side, Avril couldn't help but ask him, "What happened to her? It's like she's a totally different person…still a hothead, but…I don't know, where'd that lovable dumbass go?"
"She's still there, deep down. You just caught her on a bad day," Tabloid said. He knew what had happened with them better than Avril did. All she could do was guess what happened based on Wiseman's absence and Trigger's new command. And two new squadrons. But he didn't exactly let her in on what he knew. "Honestly? I can't say I blame her for reacting that way. 'Hey, thanks for fighting through hell, now meet the politicians that caused it'! How would you expect us to feel? And how is she not supposed to take what happened to those civilians personally?"
"It wasn't completely the Princess' fault," Avril argued, both of them keeping their voices low in hopes the Princess wouldn't overhear. "Neither of the Erusean factions are acting under their monarchs' orders. She had no idea this was going to happen."
"But the point is, she created the rift that allowed it to. So once again, the blame gets pinned on people with no control over their heritage because of vague, stupid misunderstandings," Tabloid said, the tone of voice he took sounding almost as angry as Trigger had. Avril looked over at him, trying to read any expression, but he just stared blankly ahead. "All the while the people either play dumb or innocent or pretend that it's justified. I'm not saying the Princess doesn't genuinely want to right these wrongs, but that doesn't make her any less a player in this game."
"It was Belkan technology that was used. You know, it's not like they aren't known for their conspiracies. In desperation…" Avril trailed off. She wasn't going to justify any of the crap she'd seen, not even to play the devil's advocate. But it was too late. The words never should have come out of her mouth.
"Pfft. And there we go. Trigger said it herself. We have to pay for the actions of others, all because of our blood," Tabloid said with a scoff. And finally the pieces clicked together in her head. Why he thought the way he did and why he was so quick to agree with Trigger. He headed for the door, brushing her hand off when she tried to stop him, reaching out without thinking. He shrugged it off, seemingly trying to remain upbeat, though his tone of voice said otherwise. "But hey, guess we really oughta get used to it, huh? Maybe it'll turn out to be one of our 'conspiracies'..."
"Tabloid, wait, I didn't mean –" Avril was cut off as the door was more or less slammed in her face. Well, it felt like it had been. She wasn't trying to justify what had happened, and she certainly wasn't going to throw those people or her friends under the bus to stick up for someone she hardly knew. She didn't want to side with anyone in this situation, but in Tabloid's eyes she may as well have stabbed them right in the back. Under her breath, she cursed herself, "Dammit, how stupid could you be…"
The Princess, who had been silent for so long since Trigger stormed off, spoke again. "They're right…"
Avril blinked, then tried to reassure her. She awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stop it, you shouldn't take responsibility on your own. Trigger's just…I promise, she isn't like this all the time."
"You should have just left me to die. I've caused everyone so much trouble…I'm so stupid," the Princess began to tear herself down, jerking herself away from Avril's hand. Her eyes were puffy and red, with tears still streaming down her face. She looked like a mess. Hardly like a Princess. She kept speaking through worsening sobs. "They're right! God, they're all right about me...this is all my fault, all of it…"
"Your Highness…" Henri tried to comfort her, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder with some hesitance, but she smacked his hand away. Quite literally, fully smacked his hand away, with an audible sound from it. He immediately recoiled, apologizing as if he'd overstepped his boundary with her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have –"
"No! Oh my God, Henri, no, I didn't mean to do that, I just…I didn't think, I –" the Princess cupped her hands over her mouth, looking absolutely horrified by her every action, looking between the two of them. She slowly backed up, both Henri and Avril trying to find the words to tell her to stop, but she spun around and took off just as everyone else had done, trying and failing to hold back her sobs as she did.
Avril felt completely helpless after everything that had just happened. To have three different people, two of them hurting for the same reason, and not being able to do a damn thing about it. Trigger likely wouldn't listen to anyone, she seriously doubted Tabloid had anything to say to her right now, and she didn't even know where to start with the Princess. All of this was completely out of her control, and she had no idea how to fix any of it.
Although she seriously doubted she'd have much luck, she set off, saying to no one other than herself, "I need a damn drink…"
1645hrs.
Naomi had no idea where she was going. That didn't stop her, but it did mean that once her head cleared she'd be thinking about how stupid she was for storming off. She'd come this far, she could look back and cringe later. Only thing she did know was that sooner or later she needed to get outside. It felt like the walls were closing in on her. Everyone that she passed gave her a wide berth, but she still felt cramped and overwhelmed.
Count had been following her the whole way, once or twice she was aware of him trying to get her attention, but she chose to completely ignore him. Right now, she didn't want to be bothered, not by him or anyone else. Not even her own father or either of her friends, even though all of them couldn't do anything but sit there and listen to her scream at the Princess. She shouldn't have lost it, but they should have known better than to bring someone like that in there after the day she'd had.
At that moment, she wasn't even sure they were right to trust Labarthe if his men were willing to do this, and she wondered if it might have been under his direct orders. He knew full well it was 'technology borrowed from the Belkans' and 'no different from magic or alchemy'. Maybe she didn't exactly disagree that drones were bad news, but to kill civilians over it? That was a completely different story. If Labarthe ordered this, maybe he deserved to die. Naomi felt immediate guilt at thinking that, recalling that he'd been nothing but polite and respectful when speaking to her, even knowing her family history. But what if that was an act? That's what these people did. They lied. More so than Belkans at this point.
Between acting like victims in this and pretending they owned the whole damn Usean continent, and that the Lighthouse was some unforgivable act of violence against them. No, the only acts of unforgivable violence was the gunning down of civilians and their psychotic drone project and the fact they allowed their pilots to shoot down retreating, damaged aircraft. Naomi was no saint, and that was exactly why she sure as hell wasn't going to sit there and be lectured as though that Princess was any better.
Naomi had heard a few of her speeches. She may have preached peace, but she encouraged actions in the opposite direction. Pawn or not. The only reason she wanted peace was because she didn't want to take responsibility for her actions, no other reason. Naomi clenched her fists, not about to be used to make some monarch look good to the public. She was sent to jail just so her own military looked good to their country. In the end, every action to those people was just a show.
"Trigger! Wait up!" Count's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, keeping his distance as she kept a brisk walking pace, only jogging every few paces. She could hear his footsteps the whole way, completely aware of him following her. She sucked in a breath and ignored him, hearing him let out a frustrated groan and halt his march after her. She thought he was finally giving up, then he said her name – her given name, not her TAC – in a way she never wanted to hear him say it. "Naomi! Goddammit, would you please just talk to me?!"
Naomi felt her throat tighten, and she spun to face him, taking a few steps towards him. He stood there, staring at her, his expression faltering just a moment as though he second guessed his decision. But he seemed too frustrated to back down now. She wasn't going to either. "What the hell is there to talk about?! I chewed Her Royal Highness out, big deal. She's not my damn ruler."
"I don't care about who you chewed out, I care about the fact you completely lost it back there!" Count snapped back, his anger overriding any concern that may have been in his voice. Naomi had no doubt it was there, though, she just didn't care. She was the one that was supposed to worry about him. This was her problem, not his. "I mean, have you gone insane?! You almost went full murder mode in the air, then you yell your head off at someone that just wants to help? C'mon, the hell was that?"
"You think she gives two shits about peace with Osea?" Naomi shot back, holding back a scoff. "She said it herself! All of us are nothing but killers in her eyes anyways, me especially. Soldiers are less than nothing to her! When all is said and done, every bit of this blame gets shifted onto the Erusean soldiers, not onto the people giving the damn orders!"
"I find it hard to believe that girl ordered anyone to do anything," Count huffed out, crossing his arms.
"Oh, what, you've completely fallen for her phony charms, too?" Naomi said, this time unable to hold back her scoff. It was a low blow, she wasn't even sure why she said it, but she couldn't stop herself. Everyone else was completely enamored by her, it seemed like she was the only one not looking at her through rose-colored lenses.
"As if. She's not my type," Count snorted, as if she just made the worst joke ever. This whole day felt like some sick joke. He shook his head, continuing without missing a beat. "I already told you, I don't give a damn about who you yelled at. What I'm worried about is the fact you went completely ape shit at the drop of a hat! What is wrong with you?"
"You've been fighting the same war I have! Did you find some way to magically forget about all the shit that happened?! 'Cuz if you did I'd love to be let in on the secret!" Naomi said, laughing but it wasn't funny at all. Really, she wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to do that. Anger was the only thing she could express that felt justified or even earned. "We have gotten this far and I'm not going to have a spoiled, literal princess swooping in trying to play the white knight and sweep all the shit her country has done under the rug! At least I can admit I kill people for a living. What has she done to take responsibility?"
"That girl ran at a tank to save those refugees, I'd say that's a step in the right direction," Count fired back. "You want so badly to end this war. You act like you're going to do whatever it takes to finish it, then you turn your nose up at a golden opportunity because you don't like who's offering it!"
"That's not it at all! That doesn't even come close!" Naomi felt herself raising her voice more, if that was even possible. It wasn't true. She wouldn't accept help from any Eruseans right now after what they'd done. "Next thing I know you want me to waltz up to Mr. X and get all buddy-buddy with him! 'Hey, I know you killed several of our wingmen, but maybe we can put that behind us, whaddya say'? Pfft. Bet that wouldn't be ridiculous at all."
"I'm not asking you to become best friends with her!" Count practically growled, gesturing out with his arms in exasperation. She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off, raising his voice so she couldn't talk over him. "I'm just worried about you! I'm worried because you snap out of nowhere! Get that through your thick skull! Make whatever decision you want, but at least make it with a level head so you're not scaring the shit out of me!"
Naomi stared at him for a few seconds, her breathing almost as shaky as his. She felt like he'd just kicked her right in the chest. Eventually she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head, looking away from him. "God, why am I even fighting with you?"
"You scare me. You probably scared Avril, and Jaeger, and everyone else in that room," Count said, no longer shouting. He didn't move from where he stood, and she didn't look at him. "You have every right to be angry. I'm angry, too. I know it's not your style, but you could at least hear people out before you go flying off the handle."
"I am doing the best I can to keep everyone together. Making calls so that I don't lose any of you. That's my job," Naomi said, her voice shaking either as a result of anger or her attempts to keep from crying. She was angry. Not depressed, angry. Livid. Furious. There weren't enough words to describe it. "My job, not yours. Mine."
"If you think fighting off a willing ally is going to keep us safe, you're wrong," Count told her, straight to the point. "It's just going to create a bigger rift. More problems."
"You don't have to like the decisions I make. All that matters is that you all are still alive," Naomi insisted. She felt herself starting to calm down, just slightly. Not enough to back down. "We can end this war. And we can do it without the lives of my wingmen being pawns in another person's game."
"Look, I don't care what decision you make, okay? I'm done arguing with you," Count said, taking a few steps towards her. She didn't move away, and she still didn't look up at him. "Just stop bottling your anger up. I did that, I still do it, and it sucks. You're the only one we can turn to now, you know that. But there's someone you can turn to. So once you calm down and think, and you make your decision then, I'll support you. I'm your wingman. That's my job."
Naomi stood there, frozen in place, considering his words. She couldn't look up at him, she would have broken even further than she did. He stayed for only a few seconds, sighing when she said nothing to him. Right before he left, he lightly pressed his lips to the top of her forehead, taking a deep breath and hesitating just a moment before he gently kissed her there. A soft, tender gesture that however brief made her relax. She might have reached out for his arm to keep him from leaving her, but by the time she was able to move again he had already set off down the hall.
Her mind was racing, but slowly, little by little she felt the fog in her head begin to clear. Count was right. She couldn't make a decision like that in the heat of the moment, based solely on the anger she felt as a result. And being angry at the Princess wasn't going to fix anything, not any better than empty words and apologies would. Something like that took work, but she still didn't know if she was willing to work with the Princess. All she wanted was to avoid losing anyone else and avoid playing any pointless games. But if doing that meant that she lashed out like that, then she needed to consider if it was worth it.
The whole argument, both with the Princess and with Count was becoming a blur. All she could think looking back on it was that she wanted to kick herself for it. She hated feeling like that. This constant anger that she kept locked away throughout this whole war, without any way to make it go away or anyone to blame it on. It was just there. And when she couldn't control it anymore she felt miserable. She thought she'd feel better getting it out, but instead she felt worse. There was a cure to it somewhere, she just didn't know where or what it would take.
But first thing was first, Naomi needed fresh air. She wasn't ready to make a decision. But she was ready to think.
Author's Note: OKAY umm. Wow, we've hit the fifty chapter mark, which is crazy to think about, but here we are. The chapters following Homeward are all scenes I've wanted to write for the longest time now, this one included, so they've come surprisingly easy to me. Hence the almost regular updates! No, I'm still not going to commit to a schedule because I will immediately fail to keep up with it RIP.
First thing's first, the argument in the first scene. To any fans of the Princess please don't come at me for this chapter. I'm not going to pretend I have a bias for her or against her either way, I'm very incredibly neutral about her if anything (my issue as far as lore is concerned lies more with Erusea than her, but I'm not here to unpack that), but given the circumstances I don't want her and Trigger to be instant besties. This is going to take time.
Also, here is the first and likely last (well, last for this fic anyways) time the language gets that severe. Choice words were needed, that one felt right in the moment.
Second, this is unrelated to the chapter, but to anyone who isn't aware I've started an Ace Combat 5 novelization since I've been making good progress with Three Strikes. Updates are probably going to end up being more irregular and random than Three Strikes, but there's still something. Not much yet, but something, if anyone is interested or hasn't read it already.
All of that aside, thank you to everyone still sticking with the story all of this time! Hopefully the next chapter won't be too far behind!
I hope y'all enjoy and take care!