Last time, we saw that Trigger and his fleet were able to rescue the infiltration team as well the defectors. Trigger not only beat Kaga in a 1-on-1 fight. But he also treated a gunshot wound that he gave her which made her question her quest for vengeance.

As for Ayanami, she intended to surrender herself until Kaga shocked her unconscious, but they were still able to rescue her after that. But now they had the data on Orochi and the Mental Cube.

To Taliats: I am aware that it was unlikely that a 9mm round was able to penetrate a kansen's skin like that. Which is considering how they are more resistant to bullets than humans, I mean they can probably take the A-10's Gatling Gun for a few hundred rounds. But let's just say that Trigger got lucky.

But now the aftermath of this mission!

Azur Lane HQ, Docks.

The next morning.

The various ships that were anchored at port were being serviced by the manjuu, even some of the repair crews on the modern ships were receiving help from those little birds as they helped out with repairing the hull damage on the Anzio, Kidd and Dewey.

But what remained anchored and undamaged was the USS John C. Stennis. The large supercarrier never received a single hit from the enemy during the battle. As for Trigger, he was with Enterprise, Javelin and Laffey as they stood before a man who was gazing at the Nimitz-class supercarrier. Enterprise knew who this was since she had served with him before,

"Captain Norman, the man who commanded the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and kept her afloat through countless battles against the Sirens."

The captain sighed as he turned, "No, ma'am, I'm just a guy that's fought one battle after another."

Javelin spoke, "Captain, we have actually heard about you. When your strike group was on patrol in the Atlantic, your scout planes discovered a Siren Scouting Fleet off the Royal Islands at the same time as the Royal Navy, but instead of immediately attacking, you chose clever tactics. This allowed the scouting fleet to believe that they were not spotted until the Royal Navy ships attacked. The fleet initially had no air cover whatsoever which the sirens believed until the Stennis launched the strike planes and surprised both sides. You didn't lose a pilot in that ambush."

Norman sighed, "I did, the ships and planes of the strike group were able to sink the fleet as well as assist the Royal Navy Battleships. As for my ship, she was unharmed, thanks to the screen from both air and sea. But before that patrol, it pains me to see fewer and fewer pilots coming back from combat sorties. The squadrons that were in the battle were among the few active pilots that we had left."

He looked at Trigger, "But thanks to you and your fleet, we didn't lose a single pilot during that battle. No one would want an aircraft carrier without aircraft."

Trigger stated, "My old company commander once had us sortie with the goal of a 100% percent survival rate. Your pilots weren't playing the heroes after all. Survival is paramount."

"They knew their orders after all. But it also came to my attention that you picked up two defectors and a POW."

His attention was drawn to the massive Yamato-Class Carrier along with the Akashi-Class Repair Ship and the Fubuki-Class Destroyer anchored in the harbor as Trigger stated, "It's true sir, Shinano wished to join us in the fight against Red Axis. Her ship's large flight deck could carry up to 250 planes while in ship mode. As for Akashi, during her interview, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time and feared for her life after she discovered Project Orochi and the Siren Leader whom Akagi was collaborating with. She even freed a comatose man that was in a tube and went with the team willingly to save her skin. As for Ayanami, I think her defection is genuine since she would have no reason to lie to us. According to Sheffield's report, Ayanami had asked about me and refused to fight. Right now, she's resting in the clinic with Ark Royal standing guard."

Norman asked, "You do know how attached she is to destroyers, right?"

"I am well-aware, but Ark Royal can control her urges since she embraced me when I returned. Deep inside, she's really a nice person without her destroyer obsession."

Norman chuckled, "I'm guessing that she trusts you since the kansen exhibits affectionate behavior towards a person that gains it. I would never think that a pilot running this base was suitable. But the way you and your fleet handle things and how you are able to command and protect your fleet - you are the tip of the spear in this war. Wherever you and your fleet goes, the Stennis and her air group will have your backs."

The two commanding officers shook hands as Trigger stated, "Thank you, Captain."

Once their hands parted, the captain said, "There's still much to do and I need to check with the Captains of Dewey, Kidd and Anzio. It has been a pleasure meeting you, Commander."

The captain soon left the dock as he made his way to the dry dock where some of the modern ships were docked for repairs.

After that, Trigger looked at the three kansen and said, "Well, we not only got new allies, but we also have the information about Project Orochi. It's strange that they are building it, which means that ending the war is a top priority. But in the meantime, we should get some R and R." He looked at his secretary, "Enterprise, I want you to enjoy yourself today, no anticipation for the upcoming battle, just take a day off."

When she heard him say that she immediately had an image flash in her mind about her and her sisters just lying on the beach while enjoying ice cream. Which was a memory of a happy time which was a month after their rebirth where they learned to have fun like humans. It would be three months before she would enter into a drone-like state, plagued with the pain of seeing her sisters sink during the historical battles.

But thanks to Trigger, those happy memories were returning. She even had a thought of her and Trigger just lying on the beach together just enjoying the peaceful weather. That's when she heard the giggle from Little E echo in her mind. She saw the little girl appear briefly on the docks with a bright smile on her face before vanishing. She nodded and walked off to enjoy herself.

Javelin was impressed, "I must admit, ever since you arrived, Enterprise has been more lively. She's smiling more and seems to enjoy your company."

Trigger stated, "Enterprise has had a lot of pain throughout her historical life, she experienced pain, loss and loneliness. She would set off on nonstop suicide missions, even on a damaged ship. Truthfully, she and I are not so different."

Laffey was curious, "How?"

"I also experienced the pain of losing someone dear to me, many times. I lost a friend of mine to an enemy pilot during a failed two-front offensive. The second time was during an operation to destroy an enemy base, we were bounced by drones and I lost two pilots, one of them being a gambler. The next one was in a craggy valley in a thunderstorm. One of my wingmen, a hothead, attempted to dogfight an enemy pilot - whom I realized was the same pilot who killed my friend. After he downed my wingman, I went after him and chased him off solo. The next one who went down was by a partial accident since there were drones disguised as allied aircraft on the IFF. We formed up as the AWACS tagged me and my wingmen as friendlies. Now after the last drone went down, one wingman was pursuing a supposed last bandit and downed it - only for it to be an ally as the AWACS tagged that one as an enemy."

Javelin was surprised, "What do you mean by partial accident?"

"Before being transferred, I talked with the AWACS operator and he confessed that he didn't mean to do it, but he reacted because the pilot acquired classified data."

Laffey was surprised, "He made your wingman kill him?"

Trigger nodded, "And the pilot who became my number 2 feels bad about it."

He soon added the last loss, "The last loss I faced was in the middle of a battle to liberate a capital city and that same enemy pilot showed up with his whole squadron. I was able to down the escorts which all ejected safely while I shifted my focus to the leader. My company commander decided to act as a lure to keep the ace occupied while I try to shoot him down. I only managed to damage him until he fired a missile at my commander and was shot down - he didn't survive."

Trigger remembered that day at Farbanti which was the 14th anniversary of the ISAF Victory, when the Osean forces were about to take the Erusean GHQ - until Sol Squadron showed up. He saw how skilled those pilots were and despite shooting them down, Trigger admitted that they weren't bad pilots and was also glad that they managed to eject. As for Mihaly, he was a tough one and he was called the 'King of The Skies' for a reason since he was able to evade before Trigger could get a good shot. Wiseman opted to act as a lure which allowed Trigger to get a missile hit on Mihaly until after clearing the ruined city that the old man shot Wiseman down. Trigger was shocked since he was one of the best pilots that he knew and Count was struggling with Wiseman's death since at first, he didn't like him, but overtime Count had warmed up to company commander. When ordered to take command of Cyclops Squadron, Count was panicking until Jaeger convinced him that the duty of command was Count's to assume since he's number 2.

Javelin was shocked, "That was horrible to see a commanding officer go down…"

"It hit my friend Count hard since he was the company commander's number 2."

Laffey asked, "Count's another codename?"

"It is and he proved himself to be the best wingman to be called Strider 2 and my best friend."

Javelin realized, "So you and Enterprise are not so different after all."

He nodded as he stated, "She knows that now, but in the meantime, we still have someone to visit at Vestal's Clinic."

Vestal's Clinic

Ayanami's room

Ayanami enjoyed the pizza that the Royal Navy Carrier had given her last night, but she was curious,

"When is he going to speak with me?"

Ark Royal stated, "I actually received word that he was on his way here."

"He is not the only one, Ayanami."

Ark Royal turned to see none other than Shinano enter the room. She was surprised to see a kansen like her until she stated,

"Calm down, Ark Royal. I had come to assess Ayanami's roommate and to awaken him."

The carrier remembered that the Sakura Destroyer wasn't the only one in the room and blamed her destroyer obsession for making her oblivious. Shinano walked over to Ayanami and said,

"I believe that this belongs to you." She reached into her kimono and pulled out a very familiar model which the destroyer recognized, "My model…you had it?!"

It was indeed Ayanami's F-22 model, complete with the Three Strikes. The same model that she worked on at the restaurant at the Sakura base. She was surprised to see it again, soaring proudly from its stand with the three strikes shining bright. She accepted the model from the Yamato-Class carrier as she stated,

"I'm glad to have this back."

"The model has sentimental value considering that you went through the trouble of adding the three strikes to it."

The carrier soon moved towards the comatose Tabloid as she placed her hand onto his forehead as the destroyer asked, "What are you doing?"

"I need to enter the dreamscape once more since Vestal managed to use her abilities on his cerebral cortex and the hippocampus of his brain which the sirens had tampered with in order to keep him repeating the memory where he was crushed. All I need to do is to finish the memory and discover how he came here in order to awaken him."

Ark Royal was surprised to hear this, "That was medical talk and you can awaken him?"

"I may be a battleship-turned carrier, but I learned a lot from both the dreamscape and the waking world. Vestal is also the best repair ship in the Eagle Union and she was surprised when her abilities worked on a human."

Soon enough, Trigger, Javelin and Laffey entered the room as he heard Shinano's plan for waking Tabloid,

"Shinano, I have faith that you can wake him."

The carrier smiled as she said, "I will bring him back to the waking world, Commander."

Soon enough, she placed her hand on Tabloid's forehead as she closed her eyes and entered the dreamscape once more.

Trigger soon noticed Ayanami looking at him as she said, "You seem to know this man, he…he was your friend?"

Trigger stated, "One of many…"

Javelin spoke, "I noticed how shocked you were when you saw him. It was like you saw a ghost."

Ark Royal spoke, "I read the report that Akashi found that man in a tube at the Orochi dry dock and she was determined to save him. You were determined to bring him back to base after learning that he was there."

The Osean knew for certain that he would have to tell the story about his friend. So he motioned everyone to take a seat. Javelin and Laffey sat with Ayanami while the Royal Navy carrier sat on the opposite bed. Trigger sat in a nearby chair as he started,

"His name…is Lieutenant Steven Pope, TAC Name: Tabloid. He was a member of the 444th Squadron under the callsign, Spare 11."

Ayanami noticed, "The squadron number is under the unlucky number 4?"

"Huh?"

The destroyer stated, "In the Sakura Empire, the number 4 would mean death. So it seems like your former squadron was a suicide squad."

Trigger shrugged, "In a way, it was. But…it was a penal unit and I was sent there for a crime I didn't commit."

The kansen were surprised by this as Ark Royal asked, "How could someone send an innocent person to a suicide squad?"

"A one-sided court martial looking for a scapegoat since I was accused of assassinating a former president which I did not."

He went back to his story, "Tabloid was the political offender since he threw a rock through the window of a government building which landed him in the penal unit."

Laffey realized, "An anarchist?"

Javelin sighed, "I shouldn't be surprised that this man was an anarchist since some can be unpredictable."

Trigger nodded and continued, "He was essentially a wild conspiracy theorist when I was sent there, always ranting on about how citizens and soldiers are just pawns. He even pointed out how battle doctrines work which he said, 'Something happens, they tell you what to do next and they pretty much know when pawns like us will die.'"

Ark Royal sighed, "Anarchists are so annoying. If I ever see one try to brainwash a destroyer with those dangerous ideas, he will get bombed by my swordfish bombers."

Javelin and Laffey saw the seriousness in Ark Royal's voice since despite her obsession, she's also very protective when it comes to destroyers. She may act like a creepy stalker, but her attitude shifts when she sees a destroyer in trouble and she can be scary like that.

Javelin asked, "If he was a political offender, why did you consider him as your friend?"

He answered, "Overtime, he saw how I was able to lead the squadron. At a bombing mission when the drones bounced us, he got behind me as he said, 'Stick with the best if you wanna survive' which did work since he and Count, who was Spare 2 at the time continued with our mission."

Laffey asked, "Count was also a convict?"

Trigger shrugged, "Convicted of Fraud, nothing too special."

He continued, "As for Tabloid, we were able to complete our mission. He even stuck with me and defended an allied squadron from enemy fighters while I handled the leader during a thunderstorm.

He soon thought back to the moment when Spare Squadron formed up against the enemy drone fighters, "Remember when I told you about how my old squadron was ambushed by drone fighters faking our IFF?"

The two destroyers nodded as Trigger continued, "While we were trying to evade their fire, the idea to form up on me was Tabloid's since not only was I flying the XFA-27, but I was the only aircraft with three strikes."

Ayanami glanced at the comatose man as he slightly moved before turning back to Trigger, "It was actually a smart decision for him to make."

The Osean nodded, "It is and truthfully, it was Tabloid that coined the catchphrase regarding me."

Ayanami stated, "Stick with Trigger…"

Soon enough, a weak voice spoke, "And you'll make it."

They all turn to see in shock that now awake and slightly sitting up, was Tabloid. He looked around and asked,

"Hey, Trigger. So is this heaven?"

The ace pilot smiled, "No it's not, you're very much alive."

The man sighed, "Well, at least I managed to survive."

Trigger chuckled, "You're alive enough for Avril to kill you if she sees you again."

The man noted, "Right, I forgot about that." As he got his surroundings down, he asked,

"So what happened? Where are we exactly?"

"But first, how are you alive? The last time I heard about you was that you were crushed by a falling drone at the Lighthouse."

Tabloid sighed, "It's a long story."

Shinano stated, "But I have seen it and I believe that you should see what he went through as well."

Trigger nodded as the carrier stood between the two as one hand was on the shoulder of both pilots as she stated,

"Relax Commander…" He was able to relax as Shinano's powers activated as he entered the dreamscape of his friend.

Dreamscape,

Operation Daredevil

Selatapura, Usea.

As the air battle was going on against the Arsenal Bird, Avril, Tabloid and Georg were helping the refugees escape into the underground tunnel. Due to Cossette destroying the location markers, the elevator shut down which not only disabled the elevator's ability to transmit microwaves, permanently disable the Arsenal Bird's shield, but it also cut off the control mechanism for the drones. As a result, various drone fighters, including MQ-101s were now crashing into the sea until at least two of the 101s were heading straight for them as Avril shouted,

"Look out, the drones are falling!" She realizes, "The refugees! Everyone calm down, you wanna get yourselves killed!?"

She saw that two men were running towards Alma Shilage who fell behind as she yelled, "Georg, Tabloid!"

Georg yelled, "I can't leave that girl to die!"

"All right, get her and be quick about it!"

Tabloid stated, "Got it!"

The former 444 pilot ran and grabbed Alma as he ran the distance back to the tunnel entrance with the little girl in his hands as Avril and Ionela, the girl's sister waited with the rest of the refugees. But he was about to reach the entrance when he saw that a drone was heading for him, so he reacted by pushing Georg out of the way as he threw Alma towards the others as the drone crashed on top of him…or so he thought. Before the drone crushed him, he found himself falling through a portal as he hit the floor.

"Ow…"

Once the pilot got to his feet and noticed that he wasn't dead since he saw the pieces of the drone come with him until the portal closed above him. He looked around and noticed the advanced tech in this room,

"Whoa, I don't know where I am, but I don't think that this is any good."

"Oh? After we saved your life?"

Soon enough, he turned around to see the Siren Leader floating over him as the tentacles of her rigging loomed towards him. As Tabloid saw this, he stated,

"I've seen enough Hentai as a teenager to know where this is going!"

He still had his Mk.18 Mod 1 with him as he raised it up at the siren. She smiled,

"Is that the way to thank me for saving you?"

"Yeah, you saved me, now you can send me back so I can help my friends."

The Siren smirked, "Oh no, we actually need you for our project."

Tabloid rolled his eyes, "Great, you now want me as a subject for some twisted space alien experiment because I'm very certain that you have cooked up some sexual experiment for me, I know how this works and I am not interested."

The Siren sighed, "Oh, I always hate it when a specimen seems to get things right."

She soon struck as Tabloid used his gun to shoot the tentacles, but he was one man as the tentacles overwhelmed him and brought him close to the Siren as she licked her lips,

"I do love a human that can fight. You will most certainly be useful for what we have planned."

She soon grabbed his face and forcefully kissed him as he struggled against the siren before he went limp. She released him and smiled as she licked her lips,

"Humans are fragile, but you are not like others and you will be a great specimen. Perfect for our plans for this ark."

It was at that moment where the Siren did things to him, performed tests on him until she placed him in that tube before handing him to Red Axis. It was after he was in the tube when Tabloid was rendered comatose.

It was there that the former 444 pilot remained, to be used as a test subject for the Orochi until a lost repair ship arrived and took notice of him. When she was caught and Sheffield broke her cover, the repair ship grabbed a wrench and broke open the tube, freeing Tabloid in the process.

Vestal's Clinic

Trigger had left the dreamscape as he was shocked to know what happened to his friend. That Siren, what she did and what he had endured under her care. It was horrible as Tabloid stated,

"Yeah, I was molested by an alien."

Trigger sighed, "That alien was a Siren, they're the ones that are threatening humanity as of now."

Tabloid figured, "I did notice that I was on a different Earth since those foxgirls who that 'Siren' spoke to had mentioned their faction and there's also a different foxgirl that woke me from my coma."

Shinano nodded, "I was glad to have done that, Mr. Pope."

"Well I'm glad to finally be in the real world. At least I don't have to be repeating the same memory over and over again. That Siren seemed to take pleasure in performing those acts on me."

Trigger made it clear, "And we're going to stop them."

That got his attention as Tabloid asked,

"Stop them? Well look at you, Trigger. Ready to kick some alien ass. If you're fighting a war, you're going to need an army or a really great team because I'm looking for some payback."

Trigger said, "Well, I actually do…" He told his old friend about the kansen, Azur Lane and how the ship girls in this port are under his command. He also explained how the kansen work and how they fight. After processing the information, Tabloid asked,

"Wait… you're telling me that you are commanding a fleet of ships in the form of girls?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds crazy for a pilot. But I can command a fleet as well as I command a squadron and I want you onboard, Steve. Are you ready to take to the skies again?"

Tabloid smirked, "I never thought you'd ask."

The two soon shook hands as Trigger said, "Welcome to Azur Lane, Strider 5."

Ace Combat Universe

OFS Admiral Andersen

Farbanti, Erusea.

As the LRSSG prepared for the moment where a portal would be found with the help of the E-767's radome, Count was looking over the pattern of ship disappearances that High Roller had provided.

He figured that portals had appeared since the end of the Lighthouse War and some appearances were out in the Spring Sea. But soon enough, he heard a familiar voice speak,

"Welcome to Azur Lane, Strider 5."

Count recognized that voice as Trigger's since he knew that voice anywhere. Either he was going koo-koo or he really did hear Trigger's voice, but one thing stood out as he thought,

'Strider 5? Azur Lane? Is that some kind of group? What does he mean by that?'

But soon enough, a pinging noise came up on the radar as the anomaly detector had a positive hit. The others gathered and saw that it was indeed a portal, but there was also a small fleet of ships guarding it.

Húxiãn spoke, "A portal!"

Lanza stated, "That's our gateway to finding Trigger."

Skald noticed, "But that fleet is going to give us trouble."

Jaeger sighed, "Things don't always go perfectly."

Tailor spoke, "Nothing really does, look at Tyler Island."

Fencer noted, "Like it or not, this is what we are doing, right?"

High Roller stated, "Exactly, we need to take those ships out and get through that portal and I can bet that Trigger is there waiting for us."

Wit spoke, "I owe him for saving my life."

Seymour stated, "Wherever you go, we go."

Hermann spoke, "He is someone to guide us."

Roald added, "A beacon of light to show us the way."

Avril nodded as she stated, "Trigger may be a dumbass, but he's our dumbass. We go through there, we find him and bring him home."

Long Caster stated, "Then we know our objectives. We need to hit that fleet hard and get through that portal."

Count nodded as he stated, "Okay, we also know the location of this portal." He activated the map as it centered in on the coordinates of the portal which placed it - 20 miles west of Farbanti. He stated,

"Long Caster, get to your plane."

He turned to the crew of the carrier, "Prepare the ship for departure. We're going through that portal!"

Azur Lane HQ,

Restaurant

After clearing them from the clinic as well as ensuring that Ayanami's defection was genuine, Trigger had taken Ayanami, Tabloid, Javelin and Laffey out to lunch. As they got their food, Trigger saw how the three destroyers interacted with each other which was pretty wholesome. He also saw the newest member of Strider Squadron, now donned in his new flight suit with the Strider emblem on his shoulder, just digging in as the ace guessed that Tabloid hadn't had a decent meal for a long time.

Javelin noticed, "I see your friend is enjoying his meal."

Trigger said, "It's been a long time since he had a decent meal."

Ayanami understood, "After what the Sirens did to him, he deserves a nice meal."

The Sakura destroyer was going to take a bite until a certain narcoleptic bunny snatched it. Laffey was teasing her as she continued snatching her food until Ayanami had enough as a utensil war had ensued. Javelin was trying to defuse the situation only while Tabloid slurped a bowl of ramen.

Trigger had defused the situation when he knocked away the utensils that the two destroyers were using with a timed butter knife throw when their weapons clashed. But as that went on, Ark Royal was sitting nearby as she took a sip of her tea before eyeing not only the destroyers - but Trigger as well. She smiled as her nose bleeds,

"Perfect…he's a perfect man."

At this moment, Ark Royal, a carrier who has an obsession with destroyers, had the heart eyes for her commander. That wasn't until Belfast and Illustrious arrived as they noticed that Ark Royal's nose was bleeding, but Belfast noticed the heart eyes as she jotted down Ark Royal's name on her list.

But it wasn't just those two kansen, it turns out that Edge was there as well, looking to speak with Trigger.

The female pilot saw the man she was looking for and walked over to them, just as the destroyers calmed down. Once Edge got close, Laffey noticed,

"Single Line Lady?"

That caught Trigger's attention as he turned to the woman as he asked, "Is there something I can help you with, Lieutenant Kei Nagase?"

He knew her name from the dossier that Major Herbert provided, he also recognized the name because it was the same name as the astronaut who saluted him at the end of Operation Hush.

He silently remembered when the Princess held a Welcome Home event for the crew of the spaceship Pilgrim One as they docked with the Space Elevator. He remembered being called up by the Captain as she saluted him once more for bringing her and her crew home.

As the crew went to join their waiting families, he saw the Captain embracing a man with a jacket that looked like it had the symbol of the Razgriz on the shoulder. He saw the two look at him as he heard the man said,

"You are A Great Hero...just like the Razgriz."

Razgriz...a character that's both a demon and a hero really cemented what the man had said.

But the fact of the coincidence is that Edge's name was Kei Nagase was surprising for the Osean Ace. The woman spoke,

"Commander, I want to ask about our squadron's presence on this base. I asked Slash when we were leaving, but he directed me to you."

"Well Lieutenant, I actually contacted Admiral Williams about your performance during the rescue mission and how you supported the allied fleets and the EW Aircraft in the diversion. He was impressed with the Ridgebacks and how they supported both kansen and allied forces during the mission. I was impressed as well, so I requested for the 19th Tactical Fighter Squadron to be transferred to this base."

The Lieutenant was surprised since most people hate her squadron for their reputation for looking down on mercenaries and kansen. But truthfully, it was only the actions of Slash's predecessor until a siren drone blew him out of the skies. Lieutenant Nagase knew that the Major was working to paint his squadron in a new light and now they are part of the Azur Lane Forces led by this Ace Pilot. Nagase spoke,

"Wait…you mean…"

Trigger nodded as he showed her the transfer documents with a stamp confirming it, "Admiral Williams gave me the official confirmation of the transfer and as of now, Ridgeback Squadron will be stationed at Azur Lane HQ."

That caught her as she realized that her squadron would be serving under the command of an Ace Pilot and would be alongside the shipgirls in combat. Trigger continued,

"Slash agreed with the transfer and since this is where the upcoming counterattack will be staged - we need ships and pilots that are currently in the pacific."

Javelin spoke, "And besides, you are going to be in the heat of things in the next couple days, Leftenant. But out of combat, you are in what is essentially paradise."

Nagase realized, "I…I must admit. It really is beautiful here and a good place to relax after a sortie…"

Laffey pointed out, "You're showing your feminine side, Single Line Lady."

She was shocked at this destroyer's assumption as the female pilot blushed. Trigger stated,

"No need to get worked up like this. You have plenty of ways to blow off your stress. Even sitting out on the beach is a nice way to relax. This is the best place to be stationed right now."

"I…never really thought about that. I mean, you are different from other pilots."

"Lieutenant, this is a phrase that my friend over here said which gave a lot of pilots hope for survival."

Tabloid, who had finished eating said, "Stick with Trigger and You'll Make It."

Azur Lane Base,

Shopping Plaza

While combat and relaxing are well-known for those on base, there's also a shopping plaza along the shoreline. The Hai Sisters had taken it upon themselves to open a few shopping stands for either food or souvenirs from their home country. As for Akashi, the little repair ship had opened her own store and was provided with a merchant's license as items were shipped there.

Akashi had many items available for both humans and kansen since the base was no doubt the hottest fronts now. The cat has been to many military stores around the Eagle Union like the Naval Exchanges, Air Force Exchanges and Commissaries. So she used the smaller cats she had to stock her shelves with necessary items for her store. But she thought about one thing,

"Despite my store, I'm still considered active duty, nya."

But until plans for this counterattack are finalized, she's free to open her store. But she also stopped by the Hai Sister's food stand for a bite before she got there which she found tasty. But as she thought about the food of the Dragon Empery, she was unaware that a certain carrier had entered her store.

Enterprise was looking for ways to enjoy herself on a day off until she had the thought of hanging out with her sister. Hornet was onboard until the heat was getting to them, so Enterprise opted to go get some Sea-Salt Ice Cream and the Hai Sisters directed her to Akashi's shop.

As she looked around, she noticed that Akashi was in a trance until she asked,

"Excuse me?" That snapped the small cat out of it as she noticed,

"Oh, Enterprise! Welcome to my store, nya! What would you like to purchase, nya?"

"I was looking to buy two sticks of Sea-Salt Ice Cream since Ning Hai said that you had some."

The Sakura repair ship remembered a cold shipment and a mini freezer behind her counter as she pulled out the two sticks as she said,

"Two Sea-Salt Ice Cream for just 6 gems, nya!"

The carrier was about to pay when she noticed something on the desk - it was a box which had a familiar advanced aircraft on the cover. She recognized it,

"Akashi, you have a model ADF-01?"

The repair ship looked and realized, "Yeah, a manjuu found it on one of those freighters and dropped it off here, nya."

"I actually want to buy it."

The cat was amused, "The price would be 20 gems, but as a secretary you can get a discount, nya."

"What is the discounted price?"

"10 gems and with the ice cream, your total is 16 gems, nya."

The carrier nodded as she paid for her items and left. As she stepped outside, she saw Hornet leaning against the building as she said,

"So that cat's shop does sell ice cream."

Enterprise stated, "It sure does." She handed her sister the frozen treat as they unwrapped it and began to eat as the sisters stated,

"Salty…"

"Yet Sweet."

The two laughed as they walked down the road towards the beach. Hornet noticed the ADF-01 box,

"Isn't that the plane that the Commander was flying during the second battle?"

Enterprise showed her sister the box as the blonde carrier noticed that the image was a red Falken instead of the black body on the actual craft. She asked,

"And Akashi had this in stock?"

"It was delivered from a manjuu that found it on one of the Gründer freighters. It seemed like they were transporting more than just actual planes."

Hornet smiled, "But model plane kits for collectors."

Enterprise laughed as Hornet took notice of her sister's mood and noticed that she was more positive and smiling more often. The blonde carrier knew that this was the big sister that she remembered, she wasn't acting like a gloomy and brooding drone, but a human being. She noticed,

"You know you have changed, right?"

The silver haired woman stated, "I have."

Hornet smirked, "And I can only guess who was responsible."

Enterprise's cheeks went red as she had that thought come to her mind. It was true that she changed because of the actions of Trigger as well as her interactions in her dreams as she witnessed his story. Hornet asked,

"So what did you see in the dream?"

She knew better than to lie to her sister since she did tell her about it, "It's about a False Sinner's Time in Hell."

"Oh?"

She explained what she experienced in her dream when she witnessed Trigger's time in Spare Squadron as well as the growing friendship with both Tabloid and Count. She also told Hornet about meeting Shinano, seeing Trigger facing off against Mister X as well as that asshole of a commander that cares more about his career than his pilots and also used Trigger as a means to advance said career. But she also spoke of the Vice Chairman who figured out Trigger's innocence and was going to bring the court martial up on charges of denying the right to counsel and false imprisonment. Hornet was disgusted by the ego of that commander and the court martial's ignorance of sending an innocent man into a suicide squad. But she was glad that he made it through and was pardoned. Hornet figured,

"To think he went through it all, being sent to die so an unfit commander can reap the benefits of having an ace pilot in his band of misfits. If I see Trigger, I will tell him that I know. He's a great commander who has looked out for us and like I pointed out, he's handsome as well."

Enterprise suspiciously asked, "Have you been flirting with him?"

Hornet's face went red as her older sister figured out what she was saying. She said,

"I'm not the only one that's doing this. New Jersey intentionally had his face against her breasts as she embraced him after the mission."

Enterprise sighed at this since it's no secret that some of the ships were flirting with Trigger, whether it was for a tease or they were serious since love letters have been showing up in the Commander's Office. Shinano even spoke about how the Sakura and Iron Blood Ships talked about Trigger, even hearing Takao's outburst during the mission had reinforced the fact that some of the Sakura and Iron Blood ships like Akagi and Prinz Eugen wished to copulate with the Ace of Azur Lane.

Even the two Yorktown Sisters were experiencing these thoughts of their commander, but it was because of him that Enterprise and Hornet were spending time together and the fact that both sisters wanted to be with him.

Enterprise sighed, "It seems as though we have competition…"

Hornet smirked, "But hey, I'm not above sharing him."

That soon hit the Grey Ghost as she went red.

Submerged Standing Stones

40 miles west of HQ

The submerged standing stones were used as a staging area for the Dec. 7 attack, but now as a lone foxgirl sat a good distance away from the island to avoid detection, she continued to question her opinions on a certain pilot and how he reacted.

Kaga sighed as she sat on the stone, hugging her legs to her chest as she continued to watch. She wasn't on any mission - she was here on her own, waiting for him to appear in the skies. At first she saw him as a devil that needs to be slain at all costs, but now he is a guardian angel protecting his fleet as well as knowing the true enemy. Ever since that mission yesterday, she had questioned herself about her anger towards him and he still helped her with the gunshot wounds.

But she went back to thinking about the significance of Project Orochi, a superweapon designed to look like a siren ship. She knows that Akagi wants to complete the Orochi, but without the Mental Cube, it's impossible. Kaga knows that the goal of Red Axis is to turn the siren technology on the sirens themselves, but with the emergence of Three Strikes, is it even a good idea to use it now?

The white fox said to herself, "If the leadership and skills of one pilot are greater, then maybe we should get behind Trigger. The peculiar aura surrounding him seems like an instinct, but that aura extended to the blue-winged Eagle from my vision."

Her vision saw the F-15C with blue wings flying through what Kaga recognized as a ballistic missile site, diving into the underground portion and destroying certain components on the inside before pulling out. But the Eagle wasn't alone as it was joined by an F-16 as she heard the pilot say,

"Now the war's finally over!"

She heard the Eagle pilot sigh, "A World With No Boundaries will have no choice but to surrender, we just have to make sure they do surrender. December 31, 1995 will mark the end of this war. So what's next for you after the new year?"

The excited F-16 pilot said, "I got a girlfriend back at the base! I'm gonna propose to her when I get back!"

"If she says Yes, I can wish you well since your old squadron were teasing you about her. You deserve to have a happy life with her, Pat."

"Thanks pal, I even brought flowers for the proposal! If she does say yes, maybe you can be my best man…"

Soon enough, the AWACS spoke, "Warning: Unknown Target Approaching at High Speed! Break! Break!"

The Falcon soon moved to the left in front of the Eagle as a bright pink beam which Kaga recognized as a laser was heading straight for it. She heard the pilot cry out,

"Dang It!!" The laser hit the Falcon as it was sent tumbling down towards the ground as the Eagle pilot shouted,

"PJ!" There was no response as the pilot shouted,

"EJECT ALREADY, PJ!!" There was no response as the burning plane crashed as the pilot tearfully said,

"PJ! NOOOO!!!!" As the pilot was fighting the urge to cry, Kaga felt the aura of pain, loss and fear as she heard him say, "How? How am I going to explain this to her?"

Soon enough, the unknown target made its appearance as the ADFX-02 Morgan appeared with a white body, red right wing and a laser cannon on its back. She heard a voice from the plane say,

"So, have you found a reason to fight yet? Buddy?"

The Eagle pilot's mood turned to anger as he said, "You've now given me a reason, Pixy!"

That was her vision when the Eagle appeared in her head. The Sakura carrier figured that it was the end of a war and the wingman, PJ was going to propose to his girlfriend until he was killed by this 'Pixy' character. The way that the lead and Pixy spoke meant that they knew each other.

Soon enough, she heard jet noise as she saw two aircraft flying around the outskirts of the island. She saw an aircraft that she recognized as a Dassault Rafale M, a carrier-based fighter from the Iris Orthodoxy. The fighter wasn't armed with anti-ship missiles which mostly presents a problem for many kansen since a single missile can sink a mass-produced ship. She also noticed that the emblem was a winged newspaper on the tail.

But what caught her attention was the lead craft - she saw the XFA-27 fly around as the Rafale followed behind. Kaga knew it was him because of the recognizable marking on the tail. In the past, she would have ended him right there when his guard was down, but the white fox is not going to kill him. As she watched the advanced plane perform a cobra, she couldn't help but wonder,

"I think about him in a different light and I see that Eagle with the blue wings. What connection did that Eagle have with Three Strikes?"

"You're here as well?"

That voice surprised the carrier as she looked to see Kawakaze as the destroyer shared the same stone that Kaga was on. The wolf girl looked up at the passing team,

"It seems like Shinano had awoken the human and it seems like he is now Trigger's wingman."

Kaga knew that the man they had was comatose, but after Azur Lane escaped the island, it seems like the Dreamwalker managed to wake him up. But she asked the destroyer,

"Why are you here?"

Kawakaze stated, "Like you, I am also here on my own since Lady Nagato is unaware of my absence. I am also observing the movements of Three Strikes…since Shinano had shown us a lot about him."

The fox sighed, "I wish to know more about him, but I received a strange vision of a pilot who is not Three Strikes. But I have no idea who it is and the only indication was an F-15 with blue wings."

The wolf asked, "Blue wings?"

"I don't know how it relates to Three Strikes, but from the date, it was set 24 years ago on New Year's Eve."

Kawasaki realized, "1995…it had to have been an ace before Trigger's time."

Kaga was curious as to why she was seeing a past ace and what it has to do with the object of her curiosity. She saw the two planes perform a mock battle as the Rafale attempted to get on the lead's tail, but the lead craft used evasive maneuvers and got a radar lock as the Rafale evaded the mock missile as it did a quick-flip which in Kaga's mind briefly saw the Eagle and Morgan appear in her vision before coming back. The two planes soon attempted a jousting attack which the lead plane got the lock first as both planes passed each as the term she noted was called 'playing chicken', that wasn't until she saw an image of the Eagle and the Morgan passing by each other as the advanced plane looked critically damaged.

These flashes became more sad as she gazed out at the ocean and her vision had changed to the sight of a lake, but she knew that it was actually the flooded ballistic missile launch site. What she saw sitting on the shore next to a tree was a piece of wreckage with the Crow Team insignia and standing before it were a man and a woman, both looking at the wreckage with sadness. She can sense regret coming from the man and loss coming from the woman as she sets a bouquet of flowers at the site. But as she looked closely at the woman, she noticed something off about her. It was mainly due to the woman's stomach as it appeared to be big as the woman clenched the man's hand. It became clear to Kaga that the woman was pregnant.

She would also notice the man crouch down and place an insignia patch next to the wreck as he said,

"I'm sorry, PJ. If only I could've done something different…then you would've been alive."

As he rejoined the pregnant woman, he sighed, "It doesn't feel right, it should have been him standing with you, not me."

The woman asked, "I know that it feels wrong that we ended up together after Patrick died. But remember what I said when you broke the news about him?"

"You were in tears when I broke the news. But when I was about to leave, you took my arm and said, 'Please don't leave me alone.' I never thought it would be like this."

Kaga saw the woman place the man's hand on her belly as she said, "And now, the result of those words and our New Years trip to Belka."

The man soon smiled as he said, "And I believe that I know what to name our kid."

Soon enough, Kaga noticed the blue stripes cover the man as the vision ended as the sight of the island returned.

Kaga sighed, "It's hard to believe that a few days ago I wanted him dead. But now, I don't want him to die."

Kawakaze looked at the carrier, "Lady Shinano called him a singularity, he who inspires others to follow him. Those that follow him believe that they will make it."

"And his admirers have expressed their support for him."

The destroyer nodded, "They have and it came to my attention of my own opinion regarding Project Orochi."

Kaga was curious, "Oh?"

"Truthfully, we know little next to nothing about the Sirens and some tend to have ulterior motives. But I don't think that giant ship was worth the risk of what they are planning. Which is why I believe that Project Orochi…should be destroyed."

Kaga understood what the destroyer meant, but truthfully, Project Orochi was because of Akagi's hidden desire and bargained with a siren to fulfill that desire. But the real question is will that tentacled harlot uphold her promise since they tend to have other motives.

But due to her sister's hidden motive, the white fox had memories of her with Akagi and another kansen that looks like her dear sister, but looks more mature as she held an umbrella. But this morning before she set off to the standing stones, she drifted into those memories, she heard that kansen look directly at her as if she was communicating with her as she said,

"Follow the Three Strikes, for my heart lies in him."

Azur Lane Airfield.

As the two planes touched down to the crowd of interested ships of the base, Trigger and Tabloid were glad to be flying with each other again and Trigger was glad to have a wingman once more.

He gave Tabloid the callsign 'Strider 5' since he already has a #2 for Strider Squadron. But as the two planes parked near the hangars and got out, the gathered ships and pilots were impressed by the way they moved and figured that this was how when two ace pilots duel each other. But for Trigger, it would remind him too much of a story about the Duel over Avalon Dam - the painting that his father showed him at the Belkan War Museum in Lumen, North Osea.

But because of Tabloid being Strider 5, Trigger felt homesick, he often wondered if the others took notice of his disappearance. But there's also the siren presence in his world since his squadron destroyed a siren aircraft carrier to protect the Princess. He soon followed a fleeing drone into a siren portal and ended up here. If the LRSSG knows that he's here, then he could have faith that Count and the others could find a way here as well.

He could only imagine his friend's reaction to seeing Tabloid alive…but he does know a certain mechanic will throttle the Belkan for mourning him.

As they walked away from their planes as the Nuggets wheeled them back into the hangars, Trigger asked,

"So, is it great to be flying again, Steve?"

The new Strider 5 stated, "I'm a little rusty, but it's great to be flying again."

"It was amazing as always, Commander!" That was said by Javelin as she approached the two pilots with Laffey, Unicorn and Ayanami.

The Royal Navy destroyer spoke, "The way that the two of you flew together, it was spectacular."

Laffey stated, "It was great."

Unicorn spoke, "It was great seeing you fly, but to see you fly with a wingman was truly amazing! Two aces flying as one!"

That made Trigger remember an incident over Sierraplata, when the IRBM launched from a hidden silo, they were suddenly bounced by three members of Sol Squadron. Trigger ordered Jaeger and Lanza to withdraw and Count to go after the missiles while he kept Sol Squadron distracted.

He did manage to down Hermann and Seymour, but Wit proved himself to be a very capable pilot since he was able to get on his tail multiple times. But that wasn't until Count showed up after destroying the missiles as both Trigger and Count gave Wit the Strider Squadron treatment by matching each other move for move before downing him.

Then there's Mimic Squadron, when Lanza was hit by their missiles and forced to retreat from Anchorhead, Trigger and Count covered his escape as they engaged those bats. When Count noticed that those bats were attempting a pincer attack, he worked his charms on one of them as one bat came after him as Trigger pursued.

After downing Mimic 1 Rage, his sister, Mimic 2 Scream was practically going from crazy, from bonkers to Psycho as she fired missiles nonstop as the two ran her down together with Trigger dealing the death blow.

Thinking about his friend and wingman really did make him miss his squadron. But truthfully, Tabloid would complete that squadron. But no need to brood on that, he spoke to the young kansen,

"Tabloid did some flying in the past, but he hasn't been in the cockpit for a while."

The new Strider pilot stated, "And I haven't lost my touch and Trigger has become an amazing ace pilot."

Unicorn shouted, "Big Brother has done a lot for us!"

That caught his attention as the lieutenant turned to his new commander with a smirk, "Big Brother? I guess she's now your little sister, Trigger?"

Trigger shrugged, "She was shy when we met, but she warmed up to me as it went on."

Illustrious approached as she spoke, "If I recall, Unicorn fell asleep on your lap when you were having dinner with us, Commander."

Trigger remembered seeing the young girl using his lap as a pillow while Illustrious, Wales, Enterprise, Belfast, Elizabeth and Warspite watched. He remembered carrying the sleeping light carrier to her room with Illustrious by his side and how the very next morning, Unicorn and Trigger were throwing paper airplanes to determine which one went further. Although one of them ended up flying into the cabana which also ruined Elizabeth's morning tea by landing directly into her cup.

As that went on, the Nuggets and the Manjuu were pulling out the ADF-11F in order to make way for the XFA-27 as Ayanami took notice,

"What plane is that? It looks similar to the plane you flew before."

Trigger noticed and motioned for the nuggets to bring the Raven towards them as the small birds towed the large aircraft until it was positioned in front of the kansen. Trigger explained,

"This is actually the ADF-11F Raven, it's far more different from the Falken that you have seen. Gründer Industries built two variations of this plane: Manned and Unmanned. The manned model is the one that we have and it could be used as a multi role plane despite its classification as a fighter. I have yet to fly this plane since it was found aboard the freighter that the Hai Sisters captured."

Ayanami was surprised to see this new advanced jet as the other kansen, sailors and pilots saw this new plane being presented since the Sakura Destroyer saw the nuggets pull it out of the hangar. She saw its design was similar to the ADF-01 as far as it goes, but it lacked the twin vertical stabilizers. The destroyer figured that the canards were the stabilizers which was an odd placement for an advanced jet. She looked at the open hangar which revealed the other two as she said,

"Those two were also found along with the Raven fighter?"

Trigger nodded as he pointed out, "We've been conducting capture operations for freighters bearing the Gründer symbol since they have advanced technology in the aeronautical department. All accounts state that these freighters were escorted by Siren fleets and no survivors were on board."

He frowned, "We had to bury the freighter's crew when we brought it back to base."

Ayanami noticed that look as she realized that the crews aboard those freighters were dead. Illustrious spoke,

"We…we did find the remains of the captain of the Falken freighter and it broke my heart to see the torture inflicted on a human."

Ayanami felt a bit of sadness when she heard of this news. The kansen were reborn to fight the Sirens and protect humanity. But to hear about humans dying is unsettling for the Sakura destroyer. So she said,

"If we do find another freighter, let's hope there is someone on board to save."

Trigger stated, "We all feel that way and I'm glad to have you here at the base."

Laffey spoke to Ayanami, "We all do, now we can be friends."

The Sakura destroyer recognized the friendship between these kansen and their commander. The whole thing about Trigger was because they believe in him, his command, his aura and his ability to protect his fleet. It made her realize that joining him wasn't a bad idea.

As for Trigger, he would notice how Javelin and Laffey smiled with Ayanami while Illustrious had her hand on Unicorn's shoulder with a caring smile. He also noticed that Tabloid had made a new friend as he saw his wingman interact with a smaller kansen. The girl has calf-length blonde hair tied in messy twintails by a brown disk-like furred hair clips with blue linings and a few white hair clips on her bangs, and an ahoge on top of her head. She has brown eyes and blue markings on her cheeks. She wears a white leotard-like open-sided dress with black linings, she wears a furred choker, a white puffy detached sleeves with black patches, bands and cuffs, she wears a white thigh-high legwear with blue & black bands and blue-colored electric designs and brown shoes with white fur. Trigger recognized this girl as the Eagle Union's Destroyer Eldridge.

That girl's historical self had an interesting history since it was believed to have taken part in a top secret experiment involving cloaking technology. It was widely considered to be a hoax and since her rebirth, Eldridge has been known to send out a few sparks. Her history is actually what fascinated Tabloid since he knows that it was something out of science fiction, but that's not out of the possibilities. The two became friends as he talked about what he went through and what happened when that Siren had him.

As Trigger saw the bright smiles on the faces of his fleet, something caught his eye. His gaze was drawn near his KLR as he saw what looked like…a dark haired foxgirl…and yet, she wasn't Akagi.

This woman has waist-length dark-brown hair tied in a low ponytail and has fox ears on top of her head, she has purple eyes with orange eyeliner and has brown fox tails. She wears a black choker with a yellow-colored badge-like ornament around her neck, she wears a red haori with black accents over a black kimono dress with white frills, red accents and a crane design, a black metal plate with red accents wrapped around her waist over a gray metallic sash and red obi, dark-brown pantyhose, black geta and brown bridal gauntlets. She also carries an oriental umbrella in her hands.

She smiled at him and said, "My faith is with you, you can end this war."

After that, she simply faded away which confused him. After that, he looked at Ayanami,

"I must admit, you are a brave girl despite not wanting to fight."

Ayanami smiled and said, "I don't like to fight, but as long as you're up above, then there is hope that this war will end and I will fight by your side in order to end this war."

Sakura Main Base

1800 hrs

As Kaga and Kawakaze returned, they went their separate ways in order to make it look like they hadn't left. The destroyer left to rejoin Nagato while Kaga decided to wind down as she questioned her previous motives. So she decided to relax in the onsen or open air bath.

As she sat in the hot water, she began to have thoughts about the object of her curiosity. Even went as far as to imagine him sitting next to her, looking at her with those eyes, letting her know that she's safe. She remembered the datapad regarding the information about him, but seeing him in person, his compassion to heal the gunshot wounds and his drive to protect those under his command had opened her eyes as her body began to heat up and not because of the water. She felt an instinct ignite in her as she felt an urge in her pelvic region as she fought the instinctual urge of her thoughts on the pilot. But during all of this, she was unaware of an unexpected guest,

"Oh, this is where you have been, dear sister."

Kaga turned to see Akagi, wearing nothing but a towel as she stepped into the water, set the towel aside and sat beside her. She noticed,

"It seems that you don't want him dead now."

"After that mission, I want to know more about him."

Akagi had a smug look as she asked, "You seem to also have a desire like I have regarding this pilot."

Kaga's face went red as she said, "Sister, I would never…"

The dark haired foxgirl stated, "You would since it is in your body language. It seems like I have competition from my own sister."

Kaga felt embarrassed by this as she sunk herself into the water out of embarrassment until Akagi spoke,

"There has also been a development…"

Kaga asked, "What development?"

"It seems like the leader of the Iron Blood is coming to the Pacific due to Three Strikes. But she has also hired two mercenary squadrons."

That shocked Kaga since the Iron Blood have been present at the base, but Prinz Eugen was the commanding officer of their faction, but because of Trigger, they are getting the mightiest battleships who lead the Iron Blood. But there's something that made her worry, "Mercenary Squadrons?"

"They have a unique history and they saw the prospect of taking down Three Strikes as a means to better themselves."

Kaga curiously asked, "Who are they?"

Akagi gave her a datapad which had the information as her eyes widened at the emblems.

One was the emblem of two demonic werewolves back to back while the second emblem was four crimson blades like a crown as Kaga realized,

"She hired those maniacs! Is she insane!?"

Akagi was taken aback by her sister's reaction, "I didn't expect you to say that."

"You should have, don't you remember what they tried to do in Tokyo?"

Akagi remembered, "How the leaders of the squadrons attempted to turn the city into a crater? How could I forget about that and both squadron leads are on the Sakura Empire's Most Wanted List."

Kaga sneered, "So she intends to collaborate with Wanted Criminals to take down Trigger. They are the deadliest Ace squadrons that we have known and many human pilots who attempt to capture or kill them have met their end."

Akagi nodded as she said, "And they are not afraid to put innocent civilians in danger. But could Trigger really be a match for them?" She was concerned for the safety of the ace pilot when she spoke.

When her sister asked, Kaga reached behind her and brought out the wood-carvings of the F-15C with blue wings and the F-22 with the Three Strikes that were previously sitting on the ledge behind her, "From what I have seen, he will take them down and he would also be doing the Sakura Empire a favor."

That's when she saw a vision of the two planes flying side-by-side and facing off against those criminals in battle.

"But he has the aspects of a True Ace…" She gazed at the Three Strikes and smiled, "And an equal warrior, who defeated me in battle which in turn makes him worthy. Even if there are others who see him like I do…I will become one of his brides."

As she said that, Akagi saw that Kaga who had given up her vengeance against Azur Lane's Ace - now had hearts in her eyes for said Ace.

Sakura Base

Iron Blood Barracks

1900 hrs

To say Prinz Eugen was not happy would be an understatement, she was absolutely furious with the Iron Blood leader's decision regarding the two squadrons meant to destroy Three Strikes. As she gazed at the terminal with an irritated look, she stated,

"Your decision to ally yourself with proven psychopaths will put innocent lives in danger!"

The woman on the other end spoke, "You brought up Three Strikes as a threat to our operations. We cannot obtain and study the Siren Technology if Three Strikes ends up destroying it. These two squad leads were anxious to face him in battle when I made the offer and they accepted, despite their reputation. They will bring him down and secure Red Axis' superiority over the pacific. When Azur Lane's Ace is gone, we can salvage more siren technology in order to defeat them, this is the only way to save humanity. Do I make myself clear?"

Eugen stated, "Ja, but no matter what you think…those two squadrons cannot be trusted. You cannot use these criminals so you can further your own research! How are we going to save humanity if we put innocent lives in danger?!"

"Enough! We will speak about this when we arrive. Auf wiedersehen."

The transmission cut as the heavy cruiser clenched her fists at this decision as Z-23 was worried about her senior as she was leaning over the terminal head down in distress. The destroyer asked,

"What is she thinking?"

The heavy cruiser stated, "Siren Technology…it's always about siren technology when it comes to her. She hires two Most Wanted Criminals to bring down the Ace of Azur Lane so she could obtain more technology to defeat the Sirens."

Prinz Eugen soon sat on the floor, "I don't know how long I can go along with this. She often said that our best chance against the Sirens is to turn their own resources against them. But involving those two lead pilots, who are professional criminals, is a huge mistake. I…I can't go on following a leader willing to hire those psycho pilots who would most likely put innocent civilians in harm's way, over obtaining this technology."

Nimi asked with a hint of shock, "Are you saying?"

Prinz Eugen declared, "I'm done with Red Axis!"

"WHAT?!"

That was from another kansen who has semi-long blonde hair tied in short twintails and has an ahoge on top of her head, she has green eyes and a mole under her right eye. She wears a gray military uniform with black, white & red accents, a white accent-red collar, armpit cutouts, red folded sleeves with a black & white crossed design over black sleeves, lion-designed buttons, and red & black straps, red miniskirt, black thigh-high socks with white accents & crescent designs, gray loose boots with red & gray folds, gray & red gloves with a black band and an iron cross collar. That is Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen's older sister. She asked,

"What do you mean 'done?"

The white-haired cruiser spoke, "I cannot work with Wanted Men who harm innocent civilians and almost level cities. Remember what they almost did in Tokyo before the JASDF drove them off?"

Hipper understood, "They nearly unleashed a weapon that would have made Trinity look like a firebomb. But hiring them to take down Three Strikes doesn't sit right with me."

Nimi had also expressed her disdain, "Ever since Three Strikes appeared, I have been questioning my loyalties to the Iron Blood. What I saw was that he was the stronger combatant and considering the last mission, he was willing to be there personally to rescue those infiltrators."

Hipper stated, "It does make sense since he is a better pilot and a symbol to gather around. There have been many who talk about him, even the resistance wishes to reunite the Iron Blood with Azur Lane due to Three Strikes."

The white haired cruiser stated, "Three Strikes…Trigger is who the Iron Blood should be following, that plane he flew is highly advanced since it possessed that laser weapon which wiped out our mass-produced ships. He's also a skilled Ace Pilot who is a symbol to everyone under his command."

Hipper stated, "You may be right, the Iron Blood is known for picking the strongest."

Eugen assured her sister, "And Trigger is definitely the strongest."

The blonde cruiser stated, "If you're done with Red Axis then I am, too."

Nimi reluctantly stated, "So am I."

The destroyer gave her senior a datapad, "And we have a means to let them know that we now stand with Azur Lane."

The heavy cruiser looked at the datapad and saw that there was a siren fleet escorting a captured Gründer Freighter in Red Axis territory. She was surprised by this as both her sister and her junior were joining her in this silent resignation. They knew that they were leaving this island because of the actions of their leaders. They also have a mission of their own: Destroy the Siren Fleet, bring that Freighter to Allied Territory and turn themselves over to Azur Lane.

The three Iron Blood kansen also have faith that with Trigger, they could be able to bring back peace between all four factions and unite them once more. But as she smiled at this and the concept of restoring peace, she heard a song play from the datapad as a female voice sang,

"The Journey Begins,

Starts From Within,

Things That I Need To Know."

A/N: That's a wrap! We got the aftermath of the rescue down as Ayanami and Tabloid adjusted to their lives on the base. As for Kaga, she began to see the duel over Avalon and a Legendary Ace Pilot's sorrow for his lost wingman.

Ayanami got to see the ADF-11F Raven as she pointed it out as the Nuggets were rolling it out of the hangar.

Also the Ridgebacks have been transferred to Azur Lane HQ because of their role in the rescue mission.

Tabloid also befriended Eldridge as the little destroyer saw the former 444 pilot as an interesting man.

Count even sensed that Trigger inducted a new Strider Pilot as they discovered a portal near Farbanti.

Time for a fun fact: In Azur Lane, there are these little bird-like creatures called 'Manjuu' which handle the day-to-day operations and are frequent in both Azur Lane animes and the games.

In Ace Combat, there's a small bird character called 'Nugget' as he is displayed on many emblems. He was introduced in Ace Combat Infinity as a mascot character and featured on many emblems in Skies Unknown.

In this story, the Manjuu handle the naval duties as well as painting the planes while multiple Nuggets handle aircraft maintenance and positioning. Sometimes those birds would get into a fight, but it's just them.

As for the Red Axis, the Iron Blood Leader is now coming to the Pacific and has hired two dangerous squadrons to deal with Trigger. According to Akagi, Kaga and Prinz Eugen, they are dangerous criminals who nearly conducted a terrorist attack on Tokyo until the JASDF drove them off.

Due to the circumstances, Prinz Eugen, Nimi and Hipper decided that they were done with Red Axis since this faction decided to align themselves with criminals.

As for Tabloid's name, it's actually an homage to Sir Perfluous' Skies Unknown Storyline. The names of the pilots were introduced in the second story, 'Triple Threat' which focused on the LRSSG story.

This was also before the DLC story of the Alicorn, so keep an open mind if you noticed how it was skipped over.

In any case, his stories were essentially one of my favorite Skies Unknown storylines on the site.

And yes...Trigger did meet the two Aces of Razgriz when the Pilgrim One crew were welcomed home and he didn't know it.

As for the heart count, I haven't posted this in a while. Time for the heart count:

Eagle Union: Enterprise, Hornet.

Sakura Empire: Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku.

Royal Navy: Belfast and Ark Royal.

Iron Blood: Prinz Eugen.

So what will the counterattack have? What are these two squadrons? Will the LRSSG be able to reach the portal?

Find out next time!

Nighthawk Out!