Rouen Air Base
Normandy, Europe
May 1st, 437 AC
4:05 PM Local Time
By the time Jay and the others began to touch down on the runway, they realized that the base was considerably busier than when they left. Jay noticed several new fighters parked outside, along with four new transport planes. It wasn't until he taxied into Paladin's hangars and saw Knight's planes that he confirmed his realization that they had returned and brought more allies from the evacuations they were assisting.
"Looks like they just got back a few minutes before we did," Nyx said, nodding her head in the direction of Cyborg, who was still standing next to his plane with Tux, Shades, and Eagle. "He's probably telling them about the stupid stunt you just pulled." She reached up and gave Jay a more aggressive smack on the back of his head than usual.
Jay did feel guilty for putting Nyx through that ordeal, but he stood by his decision. "We didn't have a choice, Nyx," he said firmly. "If we didn't buy the others time to escape, they would've caught us." Once their Super Hornet had come to a complete stop, he began shutting everything down and threw open the canopy. "It was the only way we were gonna get out of there in one piece. Besides, we both did fine back there, so no harm done." He took off his oxygen mask and started climbing out of the plane.
Before Jay's feet even touched the ground, the group of pilots that had already landed, which now included Mustang and Jolt, began making their way over to him. "I hear you ran into some trouble out on sortie," Cyborg said.
"It was more than just 'some trouble,' Boss. They were Peacekeepers," Jay replied, tucking his helmet firmly into his armpit.
"So I hear, and yet you took on all four of them by yourself. Not only that, but you managed to win against them." Cyborg gradually began to smile until a chuckle escaped his lungs. "Congratulations, Samurai!" He reached over and clapped the other mercenary on the back. "Once we're done with our debriefing, we're gonna celebrate."
Jay took a step backward, staring at his leader with angered confusion on his face. "What? You're talking about celebrating?" he demanded. "How could you possibly think this is good news?"
"Samurai, you sent those Peacekeepers packing," Cyborg insisted, a smile still on his face. "You've proved that they're vulnerable, and now they'll think twice before messing with us again. That warrants celebration."
"Or I just kicked the damn hornets' nest! How do you, of all people, not seem to see the problem? I told you all this was a bad idea, and you didn't listen." He didn't expect them to understand where his anger was coming from, but he still felt the need to voice it anyway. Maybe there was still a chance, albeit a slim one, that they could still cut their losses and get out of here.
Even now, Jay was still struggling to wrap his head around what had just happened. He knew that sooner or later, he would have to fight Natalie- part of him was even counting on it. Why, then, was he still replaying the moment he saw her leading the formation in his head over and over again as if he was still there? Why was his heart pounding like it was trying to break out of his ribcage, and why did he feel sweat covering his whole body?
'It's just from the stress,' Jay assured himself. 'Your body just needs some time to process everything- to recover.' Letting out a heavy sigh, he pushed past the group and started toward the barracks. "Go ahead and do the debrief without me. I need to go lie down," he said without so much as looking back toward his wingmen as he spoke.
The moment he set foot inside the barracks, Jay could already tell that the whole building felt significantly more cramped than it had when he left earlier that same day. The personnel Knight and the others helped evacuate lined the hallways, most standing around aimlessly as they waited for instructions on where to go. Jay managed to briefly glance over at the mess hall as he slipped through the crowded corridors, and as he suspected, it was just as bad in there, if not worse. He was past caring at that point, though. He squeezed past one last cluster of people before slipping into his room, letting his hair drop down to his shoulders and practically falling onto his bed.
"Well, I suppose it had to happen at some point, right?" he murmured to himself, cracking a smirk as he stared blankly at the ceiling. The smirk quickly vanished, and he closed his eyes. "Dammit, Nat."
Even hidden behind his eyelids, he couldn't escape the fear he felt. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind replayed that dogfight, and he felt every emotion again as if he were experiencing it for the first time- the fear, the anger, the confusion. He felt it all, especially the confusion. Ever since Paladin had signed that contract, Jay's mind would constantly wander to Natalie. Did he want her dead? Did he still care about her? Sometimes, it felt like both, but the lack of any clear answer drove him crazy. Luckily, a knock at the door interrupted his train of thought just before he began to feel the thoughts of existential dread getting too close.
"Come in!" Jay called out as he sat up, tilting his head to either side until his neck popped.
A moment later, the door opened, sending a wave of noise crashing into the room thanks to all the commotion inside before Jolt slipped inside and shut the door behind himself. "Hey, Samurai." He meandered a few feet further into the room. "You doin' alright?"
Jay shrugged nonchalantly. "Just, uh… just tired, I think." He rubbed his eyes as he spoke. "These past few weeks have been nothing but stress, and I guess this Peacekeeper shit was just a bit too much for me." He didn't like how easy it was for him to spit out half-truths without so much as batting an eye.
Jolt sat down on the bed next to Jay, following his gaze to a specific tile on the floor. "Yeah. I can understand that. This has all been way crazier than I ever would've imagined. Truth be told, I'm starting to think you might've been right about taking this contract." He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts like he was resetting a typewriter. "Anyway, I just wanted to, uh, to thank you, I guess- for dealing with the Peacekeepers like you did, I mean. I don't know if we would've made it out if you didn't cover our asses, and if I'm being totally honest with you, I doubt I would've been able to make that call in your position."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Jay reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Mainly because it was kind of a stupid move on my part," he added as he managed to force out a small chuckle. "I just…" He rubbed the back of his neck as his voice trailed off. "It's hard to explain, I guess- if there even is an explanation at all. Could've just been instincts kicking in. Really, I just feel kinda guilty for dragging Nyx into that with me- speaking of, do you know where she is?"
"Last I saw her, I think she was heading over to the sims," Jolt replied. "Looked pretty pissed from what I saw."
Jay raised a curious brow. "The sims?" he echoed. "I think I oughta find her and apologize for today." He stood up, stretching his back. "Thanks for the talk, though, Jolt. I appreciate it." He gave his wingman an appreciative glance.
Jolt shrugged as he stood up. "What're friends for, right? I'll catch you later," he said, giving Jay a small wave as he left.
With the room once again to himself, Jay grabbed a hair tie and pulled his hair back again. On his way out of the room, he stopped as he briefly caught a glimpse of his reflection out of the corner of his eye. It was only then that Jay noticed the bags around his eyes and the way his posture slumped ever-so-slightly compared to how he usually held himself. He tried to straighten himself up, not paying much attention to how convincing it may or may not have been before going back out into the base to look for his WSO.
When Paladin first arrived, the simulators were originally being housed in one of the hangars, but as more and more pilots began to pile up, they had to be moved outside to give the actual planes more hangar space. Because of this, it didn't take long for Jay to find them once he stepped out onto the base. Jay couldn't look into the small pods to see which one Nyx was in, but he could tell thanks to the screens on the outside displaying the simulation. Nyx already had some rudimentary flight training before joining Paladin. She had made a point of improving over time. Still, despite that, it was clear from the way her plane wobbled, the way every maneuver felt like a question instead of an answer, and the way she hesitated before each shot that she was probably the least-experienced pilot on the base. Jay was so engrossed in watching her simulation that he was almost startled when she stepped out.
"Did I really screw up so bad you want out of the back seat?" he asked, only half-joking.
Nyx avoided his gaze, only adding to the guilt he felt. "Needed some way to vent, and I couldn't find my guitar, so I settled for this," she explained. "Besides, I don't think I'm ready to take up the mantle of Templar 5 quite yet." She finally cracked a smile.
"Look, I- I wanted to apologize about today." Jay continued to avoid eye contact, worried that facing her would just make him feel worse. "I wish I could explain, but I just… can't." He punctuated his sentence with a heavy sigh. "I shouldn't have put you through that, though, not without asking, at the very least."
"I think I kinda understand," Nyx replied. Another pang of guilt struck Jay as he knew whatever explanation she was about to give was far from the truth- all thanks to the double life he felt he was living. "It was just one of those things that you couldn't really explain, but you knew deep in your gut that it felt right? I know that feeling. In fact, I know it quite a bit." The corners of her mouth fell again. "Look, I won't pretend I'm not kind of pissed at you for that stunt, but we're fine, the others are fine, and like Cyborg said, you sent a message when you sent those Peacekeepers running, so all in all, it's not like there was any harm done."
"So… we good?" As Jay offered his hand to the WSO, he finally managed to make eye contact with her. Instead of the pensive or disappointed look he expected, he just saw his friend, and for that, he was truly relieved.
Nyx chuckled. "Gonna take a lot more than that to drive a wedge between us, Sam'. Like it or not, you're stuck with me." She gave him a playful punch on the arm.
"Hang on, back up, back up… Sam?" Jay echoed, smirking at the nickname of a nickname. "Where the hell'd you pull that one from?"
Nyx shrugged. "I dunno, but I think you're stuck with it now," she teased him. "Now come on, I wanna see if Cyborg's gonna keep his word on that celebration he promised."
Vilanski Air Base
Scania, Europe
May 1st, 437 AC
4:49 PM Local Time
Even as the sun began its descent behind the horizon, the hangars and the surrounding area were almost dead silent as Violet Squadron came in for a landing. The only people Natalie saw were the ones guiding her and the others into the small hangar cleared out for them. Her mind was moving too fast to realize any of that, though. As she leaped down from the cockpit of her SK.37, the only thing on her mind was moving toward the VX-23 adorned with scorch marks whose engines just sputtered and died. As the canopy opened, its pilot meekly crawled out, gingerly placing a foot on each rung of the ladder next to his plane until he was sure both feet were securely planted on the ground.
"Hey, Doc, you alright? You hurt at all?" Natalie asked, securing him even further with a hand on each shoulder as the others followed her. She could feel just how shaky and inconsistent his breathing was, and she didn't envy him one bit.
"I, uh… I- I think I'm fine… yeah." He tried to steady his breathing with a sharp inhale and exhale. "But shit, that was scary. It- It was the sound more than anything- a bang, a crack, and a boom all at once. I thought I w-was gonna die then and there."
"You aren't gonna die, though. You're right here. You're alive and well," Wires reassured him. He gave his wingman a warm smile. "Bet you're glad you taught us how to deal with scenarios like this now, eh? You need anything? Water? Food in your stomach?"
Doc nodded, not saying anything at first until he realized he needed to give more for his answer. "Both, please."
"There ya go. Good man," Skyline said with a smile. "Why don't you come on into the plane with me and take a seat? It'll probably do you some good to get off those feet of yours for a bit."
Feeling his breath gradually return to its average pace, he managed a brief laugh. "Yeah, no kidding. Thanks, guys, especially you, Winter. You gave up the mission for me. I guess I owe you big time now, eh?"
Natalie shook her head. "Nonsense. You woulda done the same. All that's left to do is stand our ground when Myers surely blows his lid." She glanced over at Skyline's FC-8. "Speaking of which, we all should probably head inside so we can call him. Might as well rip off the bandage now."
Hammer sighed. "I'm sure this is gonna be fun," he said about as sarcastically as he could say anything.
Violet Squadron piled into the FC-8 and sat down around the radio station. It felt like everyone still on board was holding their breaths until Myers answered with a curt, "Skyline. It's about time. Give me a SITREP."
"Sir, we're at Vilanski right now. We had to make an emergency landing after Violet 4 took some severe damage in the fight. Once we're all repaired and refueled, we'll get back underway."
Then came the question all of them feared. "And the Samurai?"
Natalie took a deep breath as she once again prepared for another shouting match with the man she feared more than anyone else. "Escaped, sir. He stayed behind to cover his squadron's retreat but managed to slip away after hitting Violet 4."
"So what I'm hearing is that you blew our one chance at catching this bastard before he gets a chance to do more damage? Kill more soldiers?" Myers retorted. "I thought you all could handle this. You're my best pilots. How did he get away?"
"Sir, with all due respect, you weren't there," Natalie defended the group. "His movements were… incredible. I don't even know where a merc would've learned to fly like that. Do we have any intel on who he is?"
"Federation Foreign Intelligence is digging now, but so far, they've turned up nothing- don't try to change the subject, though," Myers snapped. "Once you're all back here, I expect to see you in my office. As for the Samurai… it appears we're going to have to turn to Plan B."