Chapter 3 – Corporate Loyalty

Mito lay in bed that evening, staring at the ceiling as she thought about what happened, the idea of sleep evading her better than any adversary so far…

Okay, that wasn't a new thing admittedly, she did that most evenings now, and if it wasn't that, it was trying to pretend that she didn't work for a murderous corporatocracy that eliminated anyone who they felt could damage their bottom line even if it was by only the smallest of margins, and that the people she flew with were perfectly alright with that, because they were paid handsomely for it…

Today though, had felt like a new for them, and that was even by General Resources standards. They had used weapons that were quite clearly stolen and aircraft that had been modified to only be trackable on the same frequencies as Erusean stealth fighters, to give the impression that what had happened was a hijacking that had failed and led to a catastrophic fire before the Eruseans shot it down, rather than the reality that it was a corporate sponsored murder of 345 people.

GR had to protect their stock price after all, so someone else needed to take the fall, she thought bitterly. That someone would never be the people who'd ordered it though – no, it'd be the Eruseans first, and if that failed (which it no doubt would), then herself and Asuna would be thrown to the wolves instead…

Which was they needed out, and sooner rather than later.

She sighed to herself – she'd only decided on playing ACES because she was bored, and now, here she was, General Resources' most trusted hitwoman. She'd always been a bit cynical about things, but if her younger self saw her now, she had no doubts she would be ashamed of herself…

She knew she was.

Knock, knock. The knocking was enough to startle her out of her own self-pity for a moment, long enough to answer back. "Who's there?"

"It's me." A male voice came from the other side of the door.

"Open." She told the door, and with a distinctly sci-fi swoosh, it did. "What can I do for you, Captain?" She asked.

Jet was probably one of the few people around her she still considered sane… and more importantly, safe to talk openly to – the rest had very much drunk the kool-aid, as the old saying went, and doubly so after Joe's death.

She wondered what moron had thought that "cash bonus for dead pilots and the heads of anyone attempting to defect" idea was a good one, because all it had done was bring out the worst instincts of many of the gamers that she had experienced.

"I heard about earlier."

"I didn't sign up for this. Yeah, I wanted to be the best flyer around, but… I dunno, being a corporate hitman leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Before he could answer, she gave him a look that told him to get his head out of the gutter, and that he knew what she meant.

"I get you, don't worry." He held his hand out to her and placed her hand into his palm. Had he seriously misunderstood the dynamic here, or did-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt something in his hand – a SIM card like device – being pressed into hers. Now very embarrassed, and flushing bright red, she hissed at him. "Couldn't you have warned me about that?!"

Almost as if he was ignoring her, he leant into her as if they were about to kiss… or as if he was about to whisper something into her ear. "They know we want out, Mito. Play along, and they'll think us acting suspicious is, well, you know…"

She knew damn well what they'd think – that the secret meetings, the suspicious conversations… they were all part of a secret relationship. She supposed that was probably preferable to being murdered as a traitor though, so she decided to play along with the act for now.

It didn't stop her from blushing though as he continued to make it look convincing for any spy cameras hidden about the place. "So, about earlier?"

"I just want you to be happy." He said, coding it as best he could on the fly. In plain terms, it meant that whatever it was would be a way to get herself and Asuna out of here.

"You'd give all that away for me?" She asked, doing her best lovesick puppy act. Even though she was just acting, she was genuinely apprehensive about this. If GR caught him helping, or any of them, for that matter, she had no doubts that would they'd done to Joe would look tame by comparison…

She didn't like him sometimes, admittedly, but enough to be okay with him sacrificing his safety for theirs? Was he actually in love, or was he just as far gone as the others, only in a different way, she wondered?

That thought was interrupted by a beeping coming from his pocket, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he sat back. "Oh thank god that's over."

"Huh?" She asked, trying to work out what the device in his hand was.

"Oh, it searches for bugs. Sierra rigged it up for me, but I was having to play the part till I knew it was safe to talk candidly." He explained. "Sorry about that."

Had that been Asuna, she would've slapped him to kingdom come, that much she knew. Luckily for him, she simply rolled her eyes and gave him a wry smile. "At least it was just that. I don't think that relationship would work too well if it wasn't, you know."

"Yup, you aren't my type either." He answered, clearly without thinking what he was saying. "Uhh, no offence?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, doing her best to seem menacing – something that worked a lot better in the air, she realised, as she'd long since figured she wasn't particularly imposing physically. "And that means what exactly?" She asked, watching as he squirmed…

She could see why Zeliska teased him sometimes – his reactions were pretty fun to watch, after all. "None taken." She told him, snapping back into her normal attitude. "You aren't mine either. Too… you know?"

"Uhh, ginger, tall, British… short sighted?"

"Male." She answered, and he seemed to catch on that time.

"Ohh, yeah." He thought aloud. "Understandable." He nodded, and thankfully, chose not to pry further into that comment. "Still, it does leave us one big question – how the hell do we get out?"

"If they think we aren't loyal, you know who they'll send after us." The Integrity Knights were General Resources' most trusted lieutenants – those pilots who hadn't so much drunk the kool-aid, as much as they eat, slept, and breathed for the company – and also, their most feared enforcers on an international level.

That, and the small number of them meant that you only ever saw one of them at a time, and they usually led the more local enforcer flight during that time, in this case, it would be a group she had encountered once or twice; the Laughing Coffin…

Which was a really cool name… if you were twelve and going through a phase. As she was not twelve, it was a ridiculously try-hard name for people who were dangerous enough without that factor.

Unlike the Integrity Knights, they were not completely fanatical for the cause, so much as they were complete psychopaths who only cared about getting paid to kill people. Easily manipulated, though, she'd realised as they would no doubt follow the money, regardless of who it involved betraying, which made her life a lot easier, because a bribe here and a bribe there meant they'd look away just long enough…

Long enough for her to stab them in the back before they stabbed her, hopefully.

"I think I know someone who can help us though." She gave a small smirk… and really hoped he hadn't changed his ID, as having a knight in shining armour sounded like a very useful boon right about now. "Jet, a question. Personal one, if you don't mind?"

It was his turn to look hesitant now. "Err, sure?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I want out, just like you?" He told her, though he said it more as if he was completely confused by the question.

"No, I mean why go to these lengths to help us get out? Why not just leave?"

"Because I'd hate myself for the rest of my life if I did. I'd be leaving everyone else to die for my actions."

Huh, that was closer to her thinking than she'd liked to have admitted. If she left in the dead of night, on her own, then she had no doubts that Asuna would have hated her for whatever was left of her life… until GR probed her for information, and then had her killed, anyway. Still, she wasn't going to let him know that… "So… it definitely isn't that you're in love with me, because…" She joked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself." He told her with a bemused look on his face and shake of his head, with her laughing along a bit.

"Well, is that all, Captain?"

"That's all, Reaper. Best get some shut eye and prepare for our mission tomorrow…" He told her with a knowing look as he left her room.

"I'd hate to be off my game, so yes." She responded to the empty space that had been her ally and let off a long sigh when he was out of earshot. She knew that if this went wrong, they were completely and utterly screwed to the point that death would be a mercy…

But if it went right, then maybe, just maybe, they would get their chance to take the fight to General Resources, and show them they were no pushovers – both individually and as a group…

That thought of mild optimism was the one she chose to focus on as she sat down on the bed and kicked her legs up, whilst she looked through her contacts, and spotted the one she wanted – Silver Knight.

She could only hope that he would be able to give them the assistance he owed her, else they were all screwed…

And there went the optimism, she thought as she closed her eyes.

/-/

The next day…

Kirito wondered what was going on that morning, as the base at Artiligo was at full alert from the looks of the things being moved about. Not only that, but Diavel had ordered them to meet in the briefing room as soon as they were awake and washed, meaning it was either very good news… or very bad news.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one on edge slightly, as both Eugeo and Ronye were pacing anxiously whilst they waited for Diavel, whilst Tiese was a little more collected, though similarly anxious; her hands cupped together, with her index finger tapping against the outside of her hand.

Eventually though, Diavel arrived, having clearly not slept and in a little bit of a state; hairs sticking out wildly of his long, blue hair, in stark contrast to his usually well-kept state. "Apologies for being late. A brilliant opportunity has come up, and we need to act now to take the best advantage of it." He told them as they all sat down. "Last night, we received a message from a General Resources channel, from a former colleague of mine. She says there are a small group of players who want our help to get them out, and if we do, they have agreed to join us in our fight against General Resources."

"Wait, small group? How many of them, sir?"

"At the moment, we aren't sure. She expects two groups of aircraft, but she didn't give us an exact number."

"GR are suspicious then?"

"That's their default, Eugeo." Diavel answered. "You don't get that big without knowing someone's got the knives out for you, and are somewhere out of sight sharpening them…"

"And making sure those knives are in their back first, sir." Ronye added.

Diavel nodded, even though he looked uncomfortable at the implication. "Morbid as it sounds, she's right. The instant GR suspect something is wrong, they'll have the knives out – our job then, is to make sure the kitchen drawer is empty when they do." As he explained that, the holographic projector finally kicked into life. "We've drawn up a plan to divert their attention away from the likely exfil route; and we'll need all hands on deck for this one. I trust you're all there, Captain?"

Captain? Who was he on about, he thought, before the projection revealed a familiar bandana clad man; one with red hair and a rough-ish looking face and stubble…

"All here, Diavel. The 95th Fighter Squadron, or Fuurinkazen at your service." He answered, confirming to Kirito that it was who he was imagining it was!

"Klein!"

"Hey, Kiri-dude! Should've known you'd still be out here!"

"Err, Kirito-senpai? You two know each other?" Ronye asked, his wing woman taken aback by the informal introductions…

"Well, I certainly imagine this will make things easier…" Diavel told them with an amused look on his face. "So, ladies and gentlemen, here's the plans…"

Diavel went through the plans that the three groups would be following:

Group Alpha – himself, Ronye, Klein and Dale - would be configured for air superiority, to punch into the GR defence net and destroy any interceptors that might be sent after the defectors.

Group Bravo – the remaining members of Fuurinkazen - would handle the solar farm to the east, disabling as much of it as was possible without a full raid of bombers.

Group Charlie – Eugeo and Tiese - would have the toughest of the tasks – attempting to disrupt the Data Control Centre. The Data Control Centre, codenamed Librarian, was one of the secrets to General Resources' ability to wage war; an unprecedented understanding of the battlefield bought by a completely interlinked net of sensors on the ground, in the air and in space, controlled by a supercomputer of some kind.

No one had ever seen the supercomputer that controlled the Centres, and Kirito reckoned they weren't even cutting edge – they were beyond that, they had to be in order to not only take in all of the data, but to then interpret the data it was saying and release it to the humans in the loop in a way that they could interpret too…

He wasn't lying when he said he was almost in awe of the machine, even if it was being used against them… he was still him, at the end of the day, and he could absolutely appreciate workmanship when he saw it.

Or didn't, in this case.

/-/

"Black Blades to Samurai, looks like we're a bit ahead of you." Ronye called. "Kirito, suggest we slow down to 300 knots to allow Samurai to catch up."

"Understood, Ronye. Decreasing to 300 knots."

The valleys nearing the corporate border were something he'd never quite gotten used to seeing – they were absolutely massive, and easily large enough to fly aircraft through… yet General Resources rarely tried such a stunt.

It was one of many things he'd never quite figured out about how the business fought. They fought using tactics that would make most spies think were completely unfair, and they weren't above having prospective enemies meet unfortunate ends (or the concrete below them) in increasingly creative and bizarre ways that could only be conceived by a human in the loop.

The analyst who had been discovered dead inside a duffel bag, having supposedly locked himself inside during an auto-erotic asphyxiation session "gone wrong", something that the coroner had apparently ruled was "death by misadventure" being amongst the most egregious of examples, but there were plenty of others too…

"Samurai to Black Blades, we're a minute behind you guys." Klein told them. "Hey, Kirito, there's stories going around that you two saw the Reaper and lived… any truth to 'em?"

"Yeah, it's a long story though, Klein."

"Heh, never a dull day with you, is it, Kirito?"

"Boss, we've got radar signatures. Intermittent though, like they're flashing us…"

"How would that even work?" Klein asked.

"By turning on and off the radar at an increased level, it is possible they could be attempting to show up on our radar, whilst keeping off the enemy systems, without needing to use Luneburg lenses that would increase their radar cross section to both sides, thus allowing us to see them without a target being painted on them throughout." Ronye explained in a way that suggested she was reading up on this already…

"Damn, she's good."

"Yup, she is." He couldn't help but feel a degree of pride at the compliment towards his student and wing woman. "Ronye, anything on your scope?"

"I see the flashes too. Heading 175, on course for us."

"All aircraft, prepare for a fight. I don't doubt GR are following them." He told everyone, configuring the onboard weapons system for a fight.

"Reaper One, we have them in sight…"

"Son of a- you've gotta be kiddin' me?!" Klein exclaimed. "We gotta fight the Reaper?!"

"Reaper One to Erusean aircraft, can you hear me? We've got aircraft pursuing us, and they aren't your usual slackers!"

"I see them! Two F-35s down low, one of them's the… Reaper." Dale said slowly, coming to a realisation. "Boss, ya know the defector? Did Diavel say who they were…"

"Ain't today full of surprises…" Klein muttered to himself. "The Reaper herself… is the defector."

"Yes, yes, it's very surprising… now help us get out of here please!" The Reaper told them off, and he scanned the radar for any signs of attacking aircraft, spotting a flight of four aircraft ahead of them by about 20 miles.

"Contacting on all frequencies… I know you can hear me Mito, surrender now and this does not end with your demise." Another woman's voice announced, with a far more formal and aggressive tone, though he recognised the underlying voice...

It couldn't have been… could it?

"Oh, go to hell, princess! You know exactly what GR will do to us if we stop now…" The Reaper told her pursuer.

"I am not the one acting out like a petulant child."

"No, you're just the one blind to the fact she's a corporate attack dog instead. Tell me, when was the last time you had your own thoughts, yesterday? Last week? Last year?"

The Reaper was living up to her name with those words, and based on the angry noises he could hear from her radio feed, she had well and truly hit a bullseye with them. "I shall not rise to your taunting, as I know I shall be judged fairly for my actions."

"Hah! Now that is rich!" The Reaper snorted. "Face it, you're their lap dog, and they'll throw you away when you're no longer useful, like everyone else…"

"Guys and gals, we've got more aircraft approaching… more stealth fighters. Wait, hang on…" Dale called out.

"They're emitting ECM frequencies, but we aren't being affected?" Ronye told them, her confusion clear at that. To be honest, his was only masked by the fact he wasn't talking… why were they emitting countermeasures to jam someone that wasn't them?

And who were they jamming?

"Solitaire Leader to Osmanthius Lead, stand down." Another voice told them, one that no doubt belonged to the flight leader of the approaching fighters. What exactly were they playing at though? GR weren't exactly known for calling their attack dogs off though – it was usually the complete opposite, if anything.

"What?! They are right here, and-"

"That is an order, Captain. Stand down or we will shoot you down." Now that sounded a lot more like General Resources, he thought. Shoot down your own if they dare not to comply with orders, and let the defectors go because of it.

"Damn it." The woman hissed, but before too long, and with the threat of multiple long ranged missiles thrown at her, she backed down and turned back towards the General Resources safe zone. "If you must have it your way… then so it shall be."

"Well that isn't ominous…" Klein commented, though he was interrupted before he could elaborate.

"Solitaire, you're late." The Reaper said, somewhere between joking and genuinely annoyed.

"Yeah, well, you left in a bit of a rush, we had to take a longer route to avoid the interceptors sent after you."

"Yes, I believe the phrase is "you're welcome", Reaper. We did handle those MIG-41s after you, after all…" Another pilot commented. "Luckily, their focus was on you, and so, the missing interceptors will be chalked up to navigational errors."

"Solitaire Lead to Erusean aircraft. Sorry about that, we're all here now."

"I am so lost right now…" Klein admitted.

"It was an interesting plan you had, with the radar signals." Ronye told them. "It's a good job we picked up on them, otherwise you would likely have received long range missiles from us as well."

"Hey, new guys and girls… are you the only ones to come?"

"Yeah, it was just us… why?"

"Ah crap. Flight of five on radar, boss."

"Confirmed, Kirito. Five fighters with intermittent signatures, range of fifty miles. I'd advise we consider them- they've locked me up!"

"Ronye!" He snapped into action, knowing that she could handle herself – he'd taught her well, after all, and she was a very good pilot anyway. "All aircraft, incoming bandits, get ready!"

"So much for safety…" Another pilot, this time a girl that sounded as if she was around his age, commented blithely.

Checking the Threat Warning System, he spotted the incoming signature of a pair of AMRAAMs and another pair of Adder-Xs, with no sign of the launch aircraft.

He really did hate dealing with stealth fighters – the assholes could fire off a salvo of missiles, and disappear into the radar picture before you could really react, and dealing with them was an exercise in patience; waiting for one to slip up and close just a little too close for the stealth to become degraded or for the Mark One eyeball to be able to pick them up…

That, or wait until they ran out of long-range weapons, and had to resort to close in combat to deal with you, at which point you could turn the tides on them…

Unfortunately, that meant surviving the barrage of fire that up to six long-range AAMs could be, not to mention the threat of multiple aircraft attacking in multiple directions at once…

"Looks like the princess bought back up…" The Reaper commented, as her Lightning banked around steeply.

"Uggh, the one time she chooses to take our advice and ask for help… and it's when she's trying to kill us!" One of the Solitaire fighters called out.

"Did you seriously think of me to be so stupid as to not believe something was amiss?"

"Was sort of hoping you might be, yeah." Klein answered.

"Insolent fools!"

"Gotta give ya credit, this is gonna be the most fun we've had in a long time…" One of the attacking pilots laughed. "Shame we gotta kill ya, but a man's gotta do what he's gotta do to get paid, right?"

"Oh crap, it's them…" That wasn't good, if even the Grim Reaper herself was terrified of whoever they were…

"Mito, aren't they…"

"Yeah, they're Laughing Coffin."

"That's a bit rubbish, isn't it? Laughing Coffin, who came up with that?" Klein answered, clearly unimpressed by the attackers.

"Yo, Blondie, what's your plan, we'd hate to step on your toes here…" One of the attackers, the leader of the Laughing Coffin, asked, although it was clear just how insincere he was with that.

"The Reaper is mine. Handle the others."

"Umm, I've not missed something, have I, Mito?" The same girl as earlier asked. "But since when was Alice a member of Laughing Coffin?"

Wait, that was her, after all! And she was one of General Resources most feared fighters… because nothing about this was easy, was it; he thought bitterly.

At least he could tell Eugeo she was okay, he thought to himself, thinking of any kind of silver lining to this… as difficult as that proved to be.

"She ain't one of us, Asuna." The leader called again. "Nah, but orders are orders, ain't they? Means being stuck with her for this job…"

"Whew, just about missed…" Klein called out, and he watched an AMRAAM plunge into the clouds below them. "Hey, guys and gals, I see one of them… bright gold F-35 off my nose?" He asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I see it too." He answered, looking at the gaudy colour scheme on the stealth fighter. You know, an aircraft designed to be hard to spot… not as obvious as a target on a range. With bright gold as a base colour, with royal blue highlights across the wings and twin tails, he wondered if whoever flew it had a death wish, or genuinely didn't understand how stealth technology was supposed to work…

Either way, she was fixated on fighting the Reaper and her wingman, which left the other four to the rest of them. Eight against four should have been a far fairer fight than it was proving to be, the attacking aircraft having done a really good job of backing them against the wall, as it were.

None of them had the room to do much in the way of maneuvering, as any maneuvers took them into each other's ways, and that would be a more effective way of killing them off than any air-to-air missile, should they collide…

"Kirito, I might have an idea. Request you cover me and keep his aircraft locked, senpai!" He wasn't sure what Ronye was planning to do, but he agreed, and took a pot shot at one of the attacking fighters – now aircraft he could identify as Su-57M Felons – using an Archer-X.

The heat-seeking missile stood little chance of connecting with the encroaching fighter, but he had the advantage on carrying weapons – his Su-35SM was a big aircraft, and he had chosen a full loadout of six Archer-Xs, and six Adder-Xs for today's mission. The Su-57M, on the other hand, was a fully stealthy design, and so, was constrained to internal carriage in stealth mode – a pair of R-74 Archers, and a quartet of R-77M Adders – meaning he could afford to expend ammunition on follies like that, whilst the Felon couldn't…

"Ronye, Fox Three, Pitbull!" He glanced over as a pair of Meteors flew straight off the aircraft, in a ballistic trajectory. What was she…

Ohh…

Now that was a tactic he could get behind!

He checked his datalink and kept the IRST selected to point at the defending Felon, having figured out his student's plan. She was using the datalink set up between their aircraft and the weaponry to allow his aircraft, which had its nose pointed towards the attacker, to paint the target until the Meteor's onboard radar could gain its own lock on the Felon…

It didn't take long before that was the case, and the first missile found its mark, spraying the unlucky Felon with debris, and making it an even easier shot for the second one. That second Meteor delivered the killing blow, tearing the starboard tail surfaces clean off and sending the Felon into a flat spin into the clouds…

"Hah! Guess you ain't half bad!" The leader, far from showing anger at the loss of one of his flight, laughed. "Yo, Blackie, if ya get out of this, you and the kid can fight me one on one!"

"Get lost, creep!" Klein shouted, as his Typhoon broke out of the way of another AMRAAM…

"Oi, Blondie, quit playin' with your food already!" The leader called out, now clearly getting frustrated. "Ah, fuck it. Boys, leave her be, we're on fumes here…"

"Get back here!" Alice shouted, recognising the severity of her situation – she was about to have ten aircraft closing on her, all of whom were very annoyed at being herded by her and her lackeys…

"Sorry missy, but we ain't dying for you. Get some other sucker if ya want cannon fodder…"

"Osmanthius, you are to fall back with them. Do not disobey this order, Candidate…" A new voice came over their frequencies, interrupting all transmissions… "Reapers, Solitaire, do not think this is over. We do not tolerate disloyalty at General Resources…"

"She's leaving!"

"Hooo boy… this ain't over, is it?" Klein asked, a sigh telling him that he was dreading the rematch they would inevitably have.

He didn't blame him there, because he was dreading it just as much, if not more so. Next time they'd be fighting Alice, he would almost certainly have Eugeo with him, and he couldn't predict what his partner would do, but he imagined that he would struggle to keep that edge they needed in combat – Alice was his blind spot, he knew that much, and she always had been.

To know they were not only enemies, but that Alice was actively going after them?

He wasn't sure how he was going to bring that one up… it wasn't the type of thing that could be slipped easily into conversation that their long estranged best friend was now a bad guy and that she would inevitably come after them.

Oh, for the simpler days when it was just General Resources trying to kill them… at least it wasn't personal then.

"Captain Klein, you are aware they have been trying to actively kill us since we arrived, right?" Ronye pointed out, and Kirito stifled a laugh at the fact she was learning the art of bantering off them pretty quickly.

"She's got a point, boss. This ain't exactly new territory for us."

"You are really unprofessional; you know that right?" Asuna sighed, almost annoyed that they'd rescued them.

"Don't knock it if it gets results, that's my motto." Klein audibly shrugged… somehow.

"Kirito to Diavel, we've secured the package and are on route to Artiligo now."

"Yes!" Diavel threw his fist up into the air… an action that was caught by the radio before he quietened down slightly. "Erm, yes… excellent work, Black Blades, Blue Roses, Samurai. Thanks to your actions, we may have just saved our frontlines. The operation to disrupt the Data Centre was a complete success, and we have reduced their power generation output as well… so, I think a night off is in order for all of you!"

/-/

That evening was spent doing something that they hadn't really had much chance to do since they arrived… which was to unwind, and not have to worry about the next mission. As it had stood, at least one of them had been alert status every night for the past three weeks, and to be sitting around idle now… it just felt weird to him.

"Kirito, relax." Eugeo told him, rolling his eyes. "Jeez, you're like a coiled spring, you know?"

It must have been bad for Eugeo of all people to be telling him to relax… and he did realise that he was sat in such a way that looked like he was about to leap up and run to his aircraft.

This Alice thing really was playing on his mind, wasn't it?

"Soo… the Reaper was our defector?!" Both Eugeo and Tiese had been shocked almost into silence to hear that, and to be quite honest, had they not had bigger problems, it would have hit him far sooner than it actually did.

Which was about forty-five minutes after they'd landed, and whilst he was in the shower.

"Yeah, I think we were all really surprised by that!" Ronye said, finishing her drink. "I think it's been one of those days though – everywhere we go is a twist to the story."

"Maybe they'll be writing songs about us." Tiese joked as she took a swig of her drink. "Well, you guys anyway. All we did was divert fire for a pair of bombers and cruise missiles…"

"Don't sell yourself short, Tiese. You had an important mission as well; with that Data Centre disrupted, it's going to take a couple of days for GR to know what's really happening…" He told her. "That's probably more important than a group of defectors…"

"I suppose so." Tiese agreed reluctantly, before another group joined them – Klein's flight.

He had to admit, he'd never actually met the wannabe samurai's flight – having only met Klein on the first day, offering him a short dogfight to test his mettle, before giving him some pointers on how to improve…

Pointers the man had evidently took to heart, given how he flew earlier.

"Mind if we join the men and women of the hour?"

"Go ahead!" Eugeo told him with a welcoming smile. "So, you and Kirito know each other?"

Klein sat down next to him, on the opposite side of him to Eugeo. "Ehh, we met on the first day. Kiri-dude saved my skin, to be honest… probably saved all of our skins, actually. Those lessons ya gave me, I kind of worked them into a training manual, made sure we all knew at least that much before we did anything else… and well, we've not lost a single pilot. Touch wood."

"Wow!" Tiese was genuinely impressed by that, and he could understand why – very few, and he really did mean very few, flights were still in their original line of battle anymore. Even Tiese and Ronye had lost friends in their original flights, and so to see one still fully intact, even now?

That was something Klein should have been proud of himself for, as a leader.

"So, Kirito, any ideas what's happening with the defectors?"

"Diavel said they're being shown the ropes for how to use our equipment, and Liz is stripping the COFFIN systems out of their aircraft, so they can fly without risk of GR interference. After that, they're joining us apparently."

"I think we could all do with our loads being lightened a little, so I'll be looking forward to it, especially if… woah." Klein paused mid-sentence as he looked away, and for a moment, he couldn't work out what was with the sudden stop… lag wasn't a thing here, was it?

Then he caught on as he looked over at the bar, and saw the woman standing there – silver hair that ran down to her shoulders, and a vest that showed off enough that he felt uncomfortable looking at her for more than a second…

And based on the way Tiese and Ronye looked both in awe, and completely deflated at the same time, he imagined he wasn't the only one caught off guard by that. "I am going to go and get a drink, if anyone wants one…" Klein asked, though the look on his face almost screamed "say no!".

One of his squadron members, Dale if he recognised the voice right, groaned as Klein walked up to the woman. "Anyone would think it's been years since he saw anyone attractive…"

To almost everyone's surprise, the faux suave act that Klein put on actually seemed to work, and he and the woman sat down, talking… "Huh, that's a turn out for the books." He said to himself.

Almost out of nowhere, Eugeo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kirito, can we go talk somewhere?" He nodded and followed along to a secluded corner of the bar – by a bookshelf full of books that contained precisely no information and served purely to decorate the room. "Something's the matter, I can tell."

"It's nothing."

"Kirito, it's got you wound up like a jack in the box. It's clearly not nothing."

"It's Alice." He said, looking away awkwardly.

"As you keep telling me, it wasn't our fault she left…" The way he phrased that made him sure he didn't fully believe it yet, but he certainly found it more convincing than he had used to.

"I found her."

"What?! Where?!" He could imagine that Eugeo was ready to go and start looking for her himself, had he not been here...

"We fought her." He told him quietly. "She didn't seem like herself though… much, I dunno, angrier, almost."

"We haven't seen her for six years, Kirito. People do change, and especially at our age…" Eugeo pointed out.

"Not like that, they don't." He rebuked. "And now, we're gonna have to fight her."

"Did she know it was you?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe if she knew it was us, she would snap out of it?" Eugeo asked, more hopeful than he'd seen in a long time. "Or maybe she'd switch sides like everyone earlier?" It was a very long shot, he knew that much, and probably not one that would pay off. He'd heard Alice's conversation with the Reaper, and it really did seem like she believed in General Resources' narrative wholeheartedly.

"Maybe. I'll talk about it with Diavel, see what he thinks. He knows a few people who might be able to get a message to her, anyway."

He could only hope that was the case, anyway, otherwise he would have to face a possibility he didn't want to face – that Alice had truly changed, and that the girl he and Eugeo had been friends with was a different person altogether now. One that was far more aggressive, and one who was out for the blood of those who she perceived as having betrayed her…

/-/

Alice found herself storming through the corridors at base X-25, both livid and frustrated at the failure of that mission.

It should have been so simple – intercept a defecting aircraft and destroy them. Instead, it had become far more of an angry furball that led her to having to confront her feelings, that the people defecting were people she worked with, and if not liked… then was at least acquainted with.

People she did not want to kill, despite her role as a Candidate.

She was held to a higher standard than all of these other pilots, and yet she could not find it in herself to land the killing blow out there. She had fought Death, and Death had stayed in the fight after she had…

What a disappointment.

"Alice, are you okay?" She turned around quickly, startled by the interruption to her own thoughts. "Sorry, you looked a bit…"

"Oh, it's just you, Selka." She chastised herself for jumping at the sound of her own little sister. "Apologies, today has not been a complete success…"

"Something went wrong?"

"They got away." She said quietly, in the hope that no one would hear her. It was not fitting for a Candidate to show weakness when faced with adversity…

It was not wise to do so either.

She knew what happened to Candidates who did, and she refused to end up like them.

"So did you though." Selka smiled at her, and she found herself offering a half-hearted smile at her younger sibling. "That's got to count for something."

"Yes, no thanks to those bloody idiots. They left me for dead whilst they ran away…" She spat back bitterly. Thanks to them, she had another motto for life now: "Never trust a mercenary".

"Oh come on Blondie, if ya will lie to cover your own ass, at least put some element of the truth in there."

The man stood there was someone she had otherwise only known by name and voice, and to see him in the flesh… well, it was certainly a surprise. He was almost handsome, she would say, with strands of dark blonde hair falling over his tattooed face, but his eyes told a very different story – those of a man who enjoyed the killing just as much as enjoyed the payment afterwards.

A man whose name fit him perfectly – Vassago; a devil known as the Prince of Hell.

"I take it you must be Vassago." She stated, and the man shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothin' getting' past ya, blondie. Well, except for those traitors, hey?" He grinned and she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"I could have dealt with them, had you not fled like the yellow streaks you are."

"Hah, says the girlie who charged into a ten on one dogfight in a stealth fighter – a bright gold one at that – whilst my guys stood off from 'em." Alice winced at the valid criticism – her F-35 would have been a far more potent fighter, had she kept her distance, and fired on them from there. "Face it, you're only still here 'cause they didn't kill you whilst your back was turned… or did ya not tell the kid that, huh?"

She fought back a shouting match with the insufferable brute and turned on her heels instead, bringing Selka with her.

"Goodbye, Vassago. Let us hope we never meet again." She told him as she walked off towards her room.

She meant it too, she hoped she would never have to work with those cretins again… but knowing how this war was going, she was far from optimistic on that one.

Still, she hated that he had a point – by all rights, those Erusean fighters should have killed her there and then… but they didn't. She lived to fight another day, and yet, something felt off to her, almost like the flying of one of them – the pilot in the black Flanker – felt familiar to her.

It was the right kind of reckless to be him, perhaps, but that left her with more questions than it answered simply: what were they doing here? Had they followed her here? Was it just chance, meeting again like this?

Could she pull the trigger on them when they came face to face next time?

They had been friends in the years gone by, but she had no way of knowing if they even remembered her. It had been long enough that most people would have simply moved on by now, surely?

She had to find out either way, and she had an ace up her sleeve there. "Yui, bring up all footage and communications with that black Flanker, and send it to my quarters."

"Yes, miss Alice." The artificial intelligence told her as they walked back to her quarters. With any luck, she would have her answer by the end of the day, and she would know once and for all, if that was Kirito.

And if it was, then she knew that Eugeo wouldn't be too far behind.

Despite her mood, she felt a faint smile come to her face. "Umm, Alice? Is something the matter?" Selka asked, now somewhat concerned by her sudden change in mood.

"I think we may be due a meeting with some old friends, Selka… let us hope they remember us too."

{Author's Comments}

I think this chapter is actually longer than the first two combined... so yay?

Regardless of my ability to write for England sometimes, I'm still not 100% on how I'm going to proceed with this. It almost certainly won't have a regular upload schedule, much like An Englishman in the Glocken, but I do have ideas for where I'm going with this. The problem I come to is to draw this one to a satisfying end, because unlike ACES, where I have a planned ending... I kind of don't here.

I can say with certainty though, that this won't end up anywhere near as long as ACES - which is looking like it'll end on fifty chapters. This will be lucky if I make fifteen on it.

Watch me now end up with another fifty chapter story, now I've said that.

As always, if you're enjoying this, follows and favourites are always welcome, as is leaving me a review, and I do have a Discord for the ACES fics, the link is here: https: double slash discord dot gg / NVZMbuKG38, if you want to ask me any questions about this.

Signing off, Midland 2541.