Azur Lane: Three Strikes

by Nighthawk6595

The Lighthouse War has ended, but what happens when Osea's Ace pilot chases after an unknown bogey and ends up in a new world? This one being of war and Shipgirls. A new adventure for Three Strikes has begun. (Rated T...for now)

22. Chronicles of Razgriz

Welcome back to the story, folks!

Last time, there was an intense battle at Midway as Azur Lane and the LRSSG rescue the Fortune Hunters who were on their way to Hawaii only to come under attack from Red Axis and Kaga who was defecting to the Allied Forces.

Thanks to the efforts of Strider and Cyclops Squadron and the fleets - they were able to rescue the stranded units and rendezvous at Midway.

That's when an Orgoi entered the AO flashing Osean IFF and upon close inspection and identification from the crew - it was clear that the Orgoi was piloted by Captain Alvin H. Davenport, an Osean Pilot who was supposed to be dead since he sacrificed himself during the November City Raid during the Circum-Pacific War.

But they were also being pursued by the Federation Intercept Specialists consisting of two Ace pilots and an aerial warship to boot. Thanks to the valiant efforts of Trigger, Maverick, Orishina and the Fortune Hunters - The Orgoi was able to make it safely to the rendezvous point and FIS were shot down.

But enough describing the previous chapter when a new chapter has started.

Let's dive right in!

---

Azur Lane HQ

Debriefing Room

1210 hrs

Upon returning to base, the transport was docked as its cargo was being offloaded, the privateer aircraft carrier was also docked for repairs considering that it had been in the heat of battle all morning while the Orgoi had touched down at the airfield as the huge aircraft had parked near a large empty hangar. All kansen involved in the operation were given a standard medical checkup from Vestal as the repair ship reported that they were good to go, especially the Mutsuki destroyers since they've been through a lot for one morning.

Once that was done, everyone, including those who didn't participate in the mission had gathered in the debriefing room as Trigger stood in front as he started the debriefing,

"Thanks to the efforts of both kansen and aircraft - the Fortune Hunters and the defectors have reached Oahu safely."

He soon brought up the photos of the transport's cargo, "The Leasath freighter was carrying a prototype aircraft called the 'XFA-33 Fenrir', this is a plane designed by the Democratic Republic of Leasath even after the country was left impoverished by civil war. The additional specs of this plane show that it's meant to be used for combat and its existence shows that Leasath's Commanding Officer, Diego Gaspar Navarro had planned to use this plane as his magnum opus, no doubt for his own ulterior motives."

The photos change to different angles of the Fenrir as well as its blueprints, "The Doc is currently looking over the data with Amelia's help since she was the sole survivor of that freighter."

The photos shifted to the Orgoi housed inside its huge hangar, "Thankfully the Orgoi we encountered today was confirmed as friendly due to the Osean IFF and with the assurance of our newest addition who came back from the dead - Lieutenant Colonel Alvin H. Davenport."

The Wardog pilot sighed, "Man, this is ridiculous, I was given a posthumous two-rank promotion after my 'death' and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel."

Queen Elizabeth glared at him and said, "You seem to not enjoy your promotion to that rank, Davenport?"

"I just have a bad experience when dealing with those who have the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Kid."

Elizabeth felt insulted, "Kid? Kid!! I am Queen Elizabeth, the super-dreadnought of the Royal Navy and you have no right to refer to me as Kid!"

Chopper figured, "I didn't know that you were a Queen, mainly because you look a bit short for one."

That's what made the Queen very angry - mentioning her height since Deutschland would always tease her about being the 'short, flat queen' and she always hated it. Elizabeth spent many times requesting for a retrofit to which she would be taller and not have a flat bust - but surprisingly it was always ignored.

But before things could escalate, Trigger stepped in,

"Lock it down, both of you."

Chopper understood, "Sorry about that, it's just that the Lieutenant Colonel I remembered was some asshole named Ford who made me scrub the toilets at Heierlark Base where I trained until I got transferred to Sand Island to serve in the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron."

The Queen realized, "That is your reason why you are not so fond of your rank?"

He nodded, "Exactly and when the last war started, our captain was shot down by a Yuktobanian Spy Vessel, so we lacked a proper flight lead with Wardog's number 4, Blaze acting as a temporary lead. The 108th was an Auxiliary Squadron, so 'His Highness' Lt. Colonel Ford was going to come down from the mainland and take over. He was approaching Sand Island while the airfield was under attack by Yuktobanian aircraft and attempted to land, which I called him insane for doing that and he was going to write me up - but he ended up being shot down by a third wave of fighters and bombers."

Elizabeth understood his reason for being at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and shrugged, "You are different from him since your rank does not determine your personality and at least you apologized, flyboy."

With the brief hostility diminished, Trigger continued, "Furthermore, the enemy air units we encountered today were from the Federation Remnant, a militant faction of the Pacific Federation's Air Force who went to ground after the Federation Conflict. It's most likely that they were sent through Crimson and Varcolac since they were involved with this faction."

Slash spoke, "That's surprising that the Remnant would appear like this."

Nathan pointed out, "Some of the gangs that my team and I busted had affiliations with the Remnant. It ranged from the Ragin' Cajun Gang, the Hollywood Knights and El Banditos as each base we raided with the SEAL Team detachment would always uncover documents with the Federation insignia - evidence of affiliation which showed what the gangs were doing for the Remnant."

Trigger asked, "Any information from these documents?"

"The gangs were supplying the Remnant with resources, planes and other equipment which meant that in busting up those gangs - we made a dent in their supply lines."

Betty figured, "Until Rodriguez and Sulejmani were hired by Red Axis - allowing them to obtain various resources."

Tex stated, "That airship won't be the last we see of them since they will have more of them."

Trigger nodded and said, "We would have to inform the Admiral about this development. But as for Kaga and the others, you all took a risk by leaving Red Axis because their fleets were hell bent on tracking you down. There is no doubt that Bismarck became aware of your involvement with saving my life from Crimson 1 during the attack on the base."

He glanced at the Mutsuki sisters, "All the while, you have grown attached to these destroyers which is why you wouldn't leave Kyoten without them."

The carrier stated, "I couldn't leave them there for Bismarck if she decides to interrogate them."

"Which was good since you didn't want any harm to come to Mutsuki or her sisters."

That made Kaga sigh, "I wonder how Akagi is handling my defection?"

"I think it would be best if I would explain how our sister is feeling."

It was at that moment that Amagi made herself known as her essence emerged from Trigger's body and manifested into her spirit form, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. Kaga, who previously encountered Amagi's spirit before, wasn't as shocked as the others, but she saw it surreal that she's looking at the spirit of her half-sister. But for the others in the room, Chopper whispered to Elizabeth,

"Is that…a ghost?"

The Queen stated, "Not just a ghost, that's the Sakura Empire's Battlecruiser Amagi."

Slash stated, "It's more than that since she has bound herself to Trigger."

Chopper realized, "Bound? You mean that she's inside him?"

Enterprise stated, "From the moment he showed kindness to Kaga at the ruins."

Once the whispering died down, Amagi spoke, "While you were all en-route to the AO, I was able to appear at the Shrine dedicated to me at Kyoten and I saw Akagi kneeling before my statue. She was confused and was questioning her decisions about the entire war since she did this in hopes of bringing me back."

Trigger realized, "Kaga's actions had made Akagi question herself and her plans."

The spirit added, "I couldn't reveal myself to my sister without the sirens knowing - but I could leave a little nudge. I carved a message into where my heart would be in the statue while she wasn't looking."

Trigger guessed, "You carved 'Follow Three Strikes' into the statue?"

"I did and I even left a message stating that my sister has to destroy the Project and she was considering it as a last resort. Before I departed, I whispered to her that if only she knew the truth about me."

The Ace realized, "That was a bit risky, but at least the events of today would make Akagi question her choices."

Kaga sighed, "If Akagi is questioning her decisions regarding the Orochi, then at some point - she may consider destroying it."

Amagi stated, "When I am resurrected, I would love to see the look on her face when I eventually set foot on the battlefield."

Those who understood this would share the spirit's sentiment since they have Amagi's Wisdom Cube and Amagi's spirit, so in a way - they can bring Amagi back to life anytime they want. But the spirit did explain that when the time was right and the Siren's hold on Akagi was weakened.

Afterwards, Trigger continued the debrief, "As for how we did - you've done well against the odds of aircraft, ships and enemy kansen. So in the meantime, you are free for the rest of the day."

But before he could dismiss them, the screen booted up showing the words, "Incoming Transmission From Pearl Harbor."

That caught everyone by surprise as Trigger realized that it had to be the Admiral as Enterprise looked at the datapad connecting to the comms array,

"It's Admiral Williams hailing us. Priority One."

The Ace knew that there's no turning down a Priority One order, so he said,

"Patch him through."

At that moment, the Admiral appeared on screen as he stated,

"Commander, I apologize for interrupting the debrief, but I have just seen your report on the Midway Situation. I'm glad that you were able to get the Fortune Hunters, the freighter and Kaga's group to safety. I also understand that the Orgoi was flown by another wayward Osean pilot…"

The Admiral noticed Chopper, "And I'm guessing that the pilot with the Elvis-Style hair is him?"

Trigger motioned to Chopper as the Wardog pilot stood up, "I will let him speak for himself. Davenport, you have the floor."

Chopper spoke, "Okay, my name is Lieutenant Colonel Alvin H. Davenport, TAC Name: Chopper, I was a member of the Osean Air Defense Force's 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron based out of Sand Island. I was originally at the rank of Captain until I sacrificed myself during the Air Raid on November City during the Circum-Pacific War of 2010 - only to discover that some alien girl with tentacles beamed me here at the last minute and was stuck in a pod for nine years. I soon woke up and discovered that not only am I alive, but thrown into a new world in the middle of a new war - but I recently discover that I was posthumously ranked as Lieutenant Colonel."

The Admiral was intrigued by how he explained who he is, "You were held by the Sirens for exactly nine years and it's currently 2019. I know you have many questions about what happened back in your world, but the Commander and any Osean or Erusean personnel will answer any questions you may have."

He soon spoke with Trigger, "But we had some unexpected visitors that got shipwrecked on the shores of Pearl - and I get the feeling that they might know you."

That made him curious, "What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean that some wayward people from your world may have stumbled upon another one of those Siren portals and ended up here."

Trigger was curious and asked, "Who are they?"

"There was a man who identified himself as Larry Foulke…"

That made Trigger pause as he heard that name before as he thought back to the moments where he would study The Belkan War as well as the pilots involved in the Ustio Air Force and the name Larry Foulke would pop up in most places involving the 6th Air Division which used mercenaries like his father.

When he learned that his dad was Cipher after the Alicorn Crisis, he looked up various names of pilots that fought in The Belkan War in the 36 hours before the Assault on Cape Rainy. During his investigation, he learned that Larry Foulke or rather - Solo Wing Pixy was his father's old wingman serving as Galm Team's Number 2, but would turn on him when the seven nuclear bombs dropped as Joshua Bristow of the OADF's Wizard Team would also persuade Pixy to go rogue.

Afterwards Pixy would join the terrorist faction 'A World With No Boundaries' and fought Cipher over Avalon Dam, calling back to the portrait he saw at the museum in Lumen. He even saw the documentary about the war and the interviews with the pilots who either fought or knew Cipher which included Bristow, who is in prison where he belongs and Pixy being last as he left a message for his buddy while he still fights on a different battlefield near a border.

He stated, "I know that name since he was a mercenary pilot for the Ustio Air Force's 6th Air Division, specifically the 66th AFU during The Belkan War under the name 'Solo Wing Pixy' because he landed his plane with only one wing and his callsign was Galm 2."

"He showed up here at the base and also had a young woman who was admitted to the psychologist because she was suffering PTSD from combat experience as she was revealed to be a fighter pilot - and I think that you may actually know her."

That caught him by surprise because he lost many friends in the war with the first being when he failed to save the life of his friend when he dueled against Mister X for the first time - at Chopinburg. He had a feeling about this pilot's identity, but it couldn't be possible, so he asked,

"Sir, who is this patient?"

It was at that point that he revealed the psychologist's report, including a photo of the patient. It was at that moment that Trigger was shocked at this as he recognized the brown hair, her face and her eyes as he immediately thought back to that day at Chopinburg,

"Golem 2, break off! I'll distract him!"

"I'll try…"

"Huh? A wingman?"

He remembered leaving the remaining UAVs harassing Gargoyle Squadron to Clown and Knocker while he went to assist a fellow pilot who had engaged an SU-30 with orange wingtips. He knew that it was where he first encountered Mister X as the old Ace was indeed pushing his flying skills to the limit and it was a miracle that his F-4E kept itself together while pursuing the more powerful SU-30. He was hoping to keep Mister X distracted long enough for his wingman to escape. He remembered those drones that bounced him as he contacted his wingman,

"Golem 2, there are two more UAVs in the area, have you left the AO yet?"

He remembered hearing her speak, "That pilot is a predator…the weak get eaten…"

"Golem 2, I know you're scared, but you need to get out of here. Knocker ordered you to avoid engagement with the enemy and get out of here."

But as he was evading the drones while trying to get Mister X in the line of sight, he spotted the F/A-18F as the old Ace said on Osean channels,

"Defending your friend was quite the amusement, but the show is over with this next shot. For a rookie, she wasn't a bad pilot."

He remembered seeing the Erusean Ace fire a missile straight at the F-18 as he heard his own voice echo,

"Brownie! Missile!"

The female pilot's voice echoed in panic, "Mage 2! Support! Somebody! Support!"

The missile struck the wing as the plane tumbled out of the air in flames as Trigger heard his own voice shout,

"BROWNIE NOOOO!!!"

He heard Mihaly confirming that she was down while he heard the ace compliment him for getting a hit on his plane while looking forward to facing him again - acknowledging Trigger as the better pilot among the IUN-PKF, despite the fact that he was classified as a 'hatchling.'

He remembered Knocker telling him that running wasn't in her DNA and that as a squadron leader, he shouldn't have let her out of his sight to begin with. But while this reminiscing felt like it went on forever, it was merely seconds for everyone else as Trigger acknowledged who this woman was,

"Brownie…she's alive."

The Admiral stated, "According to the psychologist's report, she has Post Traumatic Stress and would have a panic attack when it came to airplanes - even be reluctant to step aboard a plane."

Trigger figured, "Her encounter with Mister X really did a number on her mental state and I'm guessing that she bailed out in a panic."

"Even more so when it was discovered that she and Mr. Foulke encountered the Sirens in your world before entering a Siren portal because the fishing boat showed signs of battle damage consistent with Siren weapons fire."

It's concerning at best since Sirens were mainly targeting big freighters from Gründer because of the technology. But to hear that the Sirens were attacking a small fishing trawler is unheard of, but it could be a case of 'wrong place, wrong time' unless it had something to do with either Pixy or Brownie since the Sirens seem to be interested in humans from his world, that's why they 'saved' Chopper and Tabloid from death.

Whatever the case, they had to defend themselves and in turn - sailed into a Siren Portal with the exit point being off of Hawaii as their damaged fishing boat beached itself on the shores of the island. Trigger knew that with Pixy, it would be good to meet his father's old wingman face-to-face, considering what he did during the Belkan War.

But then there's Brownie - his friend, rival and one of Mihaly's first victims in the Lighthouse War. Until now, he had no idea that she was still alive, so he needed answers on why she wasn't able to contact any Osean forces in Usea after Chopinburg because after he joined the LRSSG, they would've heard something from one of the Osean and Peacekeeping Force bases, including Fort Grays. So he decided,

"Sir, I would like to request that Larry Foulke and Second Lieutenant Erica Brown be transferred to Azur Lane."

The Admiral figured, "I figured that you were gonna make that request since they came from your world. I'll see to it that arrangements are made to transfer them to your care. No telling that Lieutenant Brown needs a bit more treatment and encouragement from you to deal with her PTSD."

Trigger stated, "I'm looking forward to seeing her again since I still have her tags in my possession."

He pulled out Brownie's dog tags as the Admiral understood this as he nodded before adding, "Aside from your new guests, you all did a great job out there. Get some rest while you can as Admiral Hisashi has picked the window for the upcoming Bering Sea Operation - it will be in a few days after Christmas."

"Understood, sir."

"Williams out."

The transmission ended as he turned to his crew, "We're done here. Dismissed."

As they got up to leave, Belfast approached as she stated, "Commander, Doctor Schroeder has completed his inspection of the new aircraft that we have secured and wants to review what he found with you."

He nodded as he turned to the door as Enterprise noticed his silent state as she decided, "I'm going with him."

The Head Maid understood this as she stated, "Of course, but in the meantime I will ensure that the newest members have a proper meal after that battle."

As Trigger and Enterprise left the debriefing room to get to the airfield to see the Doc, Enty asked,

"Patrick, are you okay?"

Pat sighed, "She's alive…Brownie's alive…but I figured that she actually bailed out in a panic, but I was wracked with grief that I probably didn't notice that she bailed."

She pointed out, "You saw her battered plane disappear in the clouds before you went back to Fort Grays."

"How'd you know that?"

She slightly smiled, "That was one of the first dreams I had where I saw your memories."

"That explains it…considering that you have a bond with me, Shinano's ability to dream walk and Amagi's spirit being bound to me, it's no doubt that you would see my memories."

The carrier nodded and said, "You may need to catch her up on current events about how the war in your world turned out and the current situation."

"That's true, but her post traumatic stress needs to be addressed. She can't be returned to active duty until she can prove that she's not a liability."

Enterprise pointed out, "Despite being a repair ship, Vestal is actually a licensed psychologist."

That surprised Trigger and asked, "Really?"

"Before being sent here, she would be present in many Veteran's Affairs Offices and Hospitals to help vets cope with PTSD."

Trigger decided, "Then Brownie will have to spend some time with Vestal when she gets here."

That is something that they can both agree on as they made their way outside the building to see, much to their surprise - Illustrious and Prince of Wales waiting for them as the battleship spoke,

"Commander, Illustrious and I wish to accompany you to the airfield for this inspection with your permission."

Trigger asked, "What would your reason be?"

Illustrious spoke, "In all honesty, the many freighters and technology liberated from the Sirens were useful, but mostly aeronautical which proved to be a benefit with the utilization of jets into our rigging. But this Fenrir is something that would pique the curiosity of many since it would give us a bit of insight into how its technology works."

Trigger remembered, "Despite being the product of a depraved mind, it could still be useful considering what it was intended for."

They all agreed as they got into the car and drove off to the airfield.

---

Iron Blood HQ

Kyoten

1213 hrs

Bismarck's day just got worse when she was told about the losses sustained at Midway. They lost a whole fleet of Siren Mass-Produced ships and the Federation Intercept Specialists as the fleet assigned to capture Kaga were damaged by a saturation attack as both the traitors and the Rogue Orgoi were able to reach the Allied Forces.

The involvement of the Fortune Hunters was unexpected, but they had a freighter containing what she assumed was high-value cargo which was why the siren ships moved in a way to try and capture it rather than sink it. It was a bit concerning since the ships had gone against the control protocol that Red Axis had implemented.

It would allow the ships to respond only to the orders of kansen, but she looked over the previous battle where Tirpitz defected and realized that when she attempted to surrender - the last Siren Heavy Cruiser attempted to open fire on Tirpitz before it was destroyed by a laser from Three Strikes in that Raven fighter.

Bismarck sighed when she remembered being told this and said,

"I did say that Tirpitz is a traitor, but I am glad that Three Strikes saved her."

"I guess you have some humanity in you after all."

That caught the battleship off guard as she looked around her office until she spotted a figure sitting near her lounge chair - it looked exactly like her with the same blonde hair, blue eyes and outfit. She was also holding a mug of beer as she said,

"After the many times that we've talked, you always show your ambitious nature. But deep down, you know that what you're doing is not right and our sister's defection should have opened your eyes."

Bismarck knew what she meant, "It doesn't change anything, I still believe that our best chance against the Sirens is to turn their own technology against them."

The lookalike asked, "But what about the use of those weapons that the Federation Remnant had built? Is this the right course of action for us?"

Bismarck paused and thought about it since she allowed the Federation Remnant to use Red Axis resources when she hired Varcolac and Crimson Squadron to take down Three Strikes. She knew at some point that she would have to question her decision. But after seeing a simulation of how these weapons worked and it did terrify her to see them in real life. She sighed,

"I admit, Zwei, that you are right. But I only hope that they won't use them, but considering Herr Rodriguez and Herr Sulejmani's mindsets - I may need to make contingencies for them. The last thing I need is a geothermal wasteland."

Zwei smiled, "I knew that you would have doubts about hiring them."

Bismarck stated, "The only other reason is to not only duel my sister in a naval battle, but also our old enemy - Hood."

"I see - a battle between sisters followed by a rematch with the Pride of the Royal Navy."

The Battleship was hoping to face off against Hood again, considering their historical past since they fought in the Battle of the Denmark Strait with Prinz Eugen and Prince of Wales. As her memory stated that the ship fired a precise shot penetrating the aft magazine, detonating both shells and torpedoes - splitting HMS Hood in two with only three men surviving the sinking.

The sinking of the HMS Hood had not only lowered the morale of the Royal Navy, but enraged them which brought a lot of attention to the German Battleship.

Bismarck remembered the various air and sea attacks on her historical self and the blow to the rudder via air-launched torpedo that sealed her fate. As a kansen, she remembered the memories of the Denmark Strait and even went as far as to visit the last survivor of the HMS Hood, Ted Briggs with Hood herself present.

Back in 2007, it was 3 years after her rebirth and Bismarck was visiting England for a meeting with the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow, but went with Hood to meet Mr. Briggs. When he saw them together, he said that it reminded him of that dreadful battle, but he had forgiven Bismarck for sinking his ship since it was a different time. The following year, Bismarck would return to England with Prinz Eugen in tow to attend Briggs' funeral as pallbearers alongside Hood and Prince of Wales - the four ships at Denmark Strait.

She knew that Zwei was right - there is a bit of humanity in her. But as she sets the Midway reports aside, she notices the datapad containing the picture of the pilot known as Trigger. She gazes at the pilot and sighs since this was the bane of her existence and she hates him, but at the same time, she's also curious. But Zwei figured,

"You hate him, but at the same time - you may love him."

Her face turned red as she said, "I don't love him, I'm just curious about him!"

"You can't exactly hide your feelings from me because I am technically you."

She propped up the datapad up with Trigger's picture facing her like a picture frame as she said,

"You are more like my guilty conscience."

---

Sakura GHQ, Kyoten

1217 hrs

Meanwhile at the General Headquarters of the Sakura faction of Red Axis, Atago, Fuso, Yamashiro, Yukikaze, Yuudachi and Shigure were in the living quarters after giving their report on the situation at Midway. The saturation attack had their riggings damaged and were currently being repaired, albeit much slower since Akashi defected.

As they sat down, they looked at the photos of the fleet that were taken during the battle as well as the air duel between Three Strikes and the Federation Intercept Specialists. Fuso stated,

"Two Ace Pilots and an airship were destroyed by three privateer pilots, a veteran pilot, an SDF pilot according to radio communications, the rogue Orgoi and Three Strikes."

Atago stated, "The way I see it is that he had those five accompany him to identify the Orgoi until it proved to be on their side. But each pilot was not only to acknowledge his orders, but follow them - especially him."

She pointed to the Fury, "Zachary is the leader of the Fortune Hunters and yet, he allows someone else to give him commands."

Fuso stated, "His family was well known for having military experience before going to the private sector of using their skills as combat pilots."

Shigure asked, "So he acknowledged Three Strikes as a Squadron Leader?"

"More like the Field Commander since Three Strikes gave the orders to the other squadrons and the shipgirls to cover the carrier, the freighter and Kaga."

Yamashiro spoke, "But since they spotted the Orgoi, Three Strikes had the Fortune Hunters and two pilots from Cyclops Squadron accompany him while the rest protected the fleet." She even pointed out the F-35C in the formation,

"But that one - is Maverick."

Atago knew this as she said, "I never thought of Maverick ever flying in the skies of battle again ever since the death of his RIO during a training accident until the second attack on Azur Lane."

Yukikaze stated, "So Three Strikes was able to have three pirates, a veteran pilot who feels guilty about his RIO's death and an SDF pilot as his temporary wingmen?"

"It goes to show how influential he is when it comes to the other pilots." Said the Carrier Junyou as she walked into the room.

Fuso noticed, "Junyou, we were actually wondering where you were."

"I was talking with August and Regensburg about their thoughts on what happened at Midway. They all shared their opinions about what went wrong while Odin felt ashamed for failing the mission. But I was able to understand that Three Strikes had gained her respect, but above all else, they all had the same feelings about one thing."

Yuudachi asked, "And what was it?"

The carrier pointed to the photo of the CFA-44 bearing the signature scratches of the Ace,

"Three Strikes is a Singularity. Go his way and you will make it - he leads the way."

---

Sushi Restaurant

Kyoten

1218 hrs

Meanwhile at the base's sushi restaurant, Takao was sitting with Shokaku and Zuikaku as they discussed the recent events of today over a dish of sushi. But there's also the embarrassing talk about Three Strikes and how flustered Takao gets when talking about him. As Shokaku says,

"The moment that Three Strikes and Azur Lane arrived, the battle seemed to have taken a new turn and not in our favor."

Takao recalled, "Atago told me that when they arrived to support the pirates and Kaga - it all changed since none of the ships could get a shot at her."

Zuikaku figured, "He was the defining factor in Azur Lane's victory at Midway, but I'm glad that he shot down the FIS."

Her sister spoke, "For that we can agree that Three Strikes did us a favor since I don't trust any Remnant pilots, not after what they did years ago."

Takao sighed, "I agree that Three Strikes did us a favor and no doubt that a small bounty from the Sakura Empire would be sent to him, but we all know that he is not in it for a paycheck."

Shokaku nodded and said, "He's a warrior in the skies and he does what he can to protect others. I also know that you have seen him in person and saw that he was quite the charmer."

The carrier giggled as the heavy cruiser's face turned red, "I don't know what's going on with me. First the thoughts, Atago's teasing, Three Strikes himself unintentionally flirting with me, the embarrassing moment of August Von Parseval walking in on me making out to a photo of Three Strikes and now the song."

Zuikaku asked, "Song?"

She pulled out a datapad and set it to a series of lyrics and depictions which showed comparisons with photos taken during various missions, "After the infiltrators escaped, I thought more about Three Strikes and for some reason - I saw images in my head and this song popped up in my head."

Shokaku read some of the lyrics,

"Je n'ai pas oublié,

les pensées nous souriaient,

En se balaçant,

dormait dans le berceau au vent vert.

En ce moment-là, j'ignorais le parent pour nous

Mais sûrement les pensées se donnaient la main ľune à ľauntre."

After reading the lyrics, she noticed, "It is the lyrics to a song or at least part of it. I also recognize that the lyrics are in French, but I did spend some time at the Iris Orthodoxy's GHQ in Paris, so I can translate it." She translated,

"The lyrics say,

I did not forget

Our happy thoughts

We slept while swinging through this emerald wind

At this time I did not know what our future would be like

But I'm sure that our thoughts were already connected hand-in-hand."

Takao was surprised by this translation from one part of this strange song. But then the word pensées came to her,

"'Pensées' means 'Thoughts' in French."

Shokaku nodded and said, "This song seems to have a peaceful concept behind it."

Zuikaku figured, "Then when it comes to thinking about Three Strikes, you seem to have the thoughts of a love struck schoolgirl aside from your serious demeanor."

The heavy cruiser's face turned red with embarrassment as her eyes turned to hearts just thinking about the pilot. After being teased by Atago about copulation, being hit on by Three Strikes and caught making out with a datapad containing his photo, Takao was definitely not her usual self because she takes her duties very seriously until Three Strikes arrived. Now she's imagining herself actually having a nice dinner with the pilot holding a bottle of wine which came from some place called 'Emmeria.'

She leaned over on the table as she said, "I am really embarrassed ever since the ruins, I try to keep myself composed through training, but everywhere I go - I see him. Then that Iron Blood woman caught me making out with a photo of him and it spread all over the base. Akagi had shot jealous glares at me, almost like she wanted him as well."

Zuikaku sighed, "Truthfully I believe that you can join the club."

She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a small wooden ADF-01 Falken as it was in its flight position as the ventral stabilizer was down. Takao asked,

"You too?"

The carrier sighed, "Yes and it was after the battle against Azur Lane's detachment when I almost had the Grey Ghost until he intervened with that plane. I swore vengeance on him as we left and for a time I meant it until I started thinking more and more about him in a more romantic way and even crafted this replica of the aircraft he flew in the second encounter, even carved the three strikes into the tail."

Looking over the Falken replica, it was as accurate as the hologram that was on the datapad and even possessed the signature scratches of the Ace. Zuikaku even confessed,

"Ever since the ruins and actual photos of him surfaced, I…I couldn't take it anymore!"

Shokaku giggled, "I did remember catching you 'playing with yourself' to a photo of Three Strikes."

Zuikaku's face soon went red as she laid her head down on the table in embarrassment as the white crane continued,

"Although you are not the only one who lost herself to her emotions, I do find Three Strikes a very interesting man who is able to not only lead his squadron and his fleet, but to have so many of us, shipgirls fawning over him. But most notably is Enterprise because she had shown to have changed because of him which I am okay with sharing with her."

Shokaku soon had hearts in her eyes as she began humming Pensées while Zuikaku grumbled,

"Why do we have these feelings about Three Strikes?"

---

Azur Lane Airfield

Fenrir Hangar

1220 hrs

The airfield was definitely seeing some activity when Nuggets were cleaning and maintaining the aircraft that came back from the recent combat sortie. The small birds worked hand in hand with the regular maintenance crews as they worked on fixing any collateral damage to the aircraft which worked well in the long run.

But in one of the hangars, Trigger stood with Enterprise, Illustrious and Prince of Wales as Dr. Schroeder stood by a table with a laptop and blueprints for the unique piece of aeronautical equipment that they recovered - the XFA-33 Fenrir. But also the Leasath scientist, Dr. Amelia was present as well since she was the sole survivor of the freighter and did extensive research on the Fenrir during the voyage to Hawaii because she was kept in the dark about the XFA-33 due to her position as a support researcher.

Trigger did a quick glance at the plane before turning to the scientists and asked, "So what is your assessment of this new aircraft, Doc?"

The Belkan Scientist read his assessment that he typed into his laptop,

"According to my analysis, Fenrir is a prototype aircraft developed by Leasath as you can already guess. But it's design is unlike anything I've seen before - not even the ADF-11F could compare to the XFA-33 in terms of design. But thanks to my new assistant, this aircraft's wings utilize a polyhedral delta configuration with bent wingtips, the stabilizers are a V-tail that almost look horizontal, there's the canards on the front of the craft, an open mouth-like pod beneath the cockpit which houses the frontal landing gear, dual air intakes as seen on most aircraft, thrust vectoring nozzles and a smaller power plant in between the nozzles that gives the aircraft VTOL capabilities."

Trigger was curious, "How did Leasath acquire the resources for this plane?"

Amelia soon spoke, "It was actually Navarro stealing the money in aid sent by Aurelia for food which he would use to spend on arms, utilizing the civil war as a front for arms sales. As for the resources, he acquired it from several different companies ranging from Neucom Incorporated, General Resource Limited and North Osea Gründer Industries."

Trigger recognized General Resource, "The GR Group? That's the company that those two PMCs were a part of and they tried to kill me on two separate occasions."

"The General Resource Guardian Mercenaries? I heard that they were formed to protect GR ships from pirates after the Continental War, but being contracted as assassins is a bit concerning."

Trigger sighed as he said, "Would it surprise you if I told you that it was the Van Dalsens?"

Amelia recognized the name, "Oh - those two, you've mentioned that one of them nearly made you crash during a training flight in one of the messages you sent me and must've been recruited by General Resource for their mercenary unit."

He did remember sending her the message and how they ended up getting kicked off base. It was no surprise that those two went into the private sector and were recruited by GR.

After dwelling on the past, he went back to the subject, "Now about the resources from Neucom, GR and Gründer?"

Amelia stated, "Navarro was gathering various resources from these companies since all three of them deal in weapons and experimental technology. Gründer has its South Belkan technology that was abused by the Erusean Radicals, Neucom has its prototype COFFIN versions of known aircraft in Expo City and GR has the materials to build this plane."

Dr. Schroeder concluded, "In a way, the XFA-33 is a culmination of Gründer, Neucom and General Resource all in one plane."

Trigger looked back at the aircraft sitting in the hangar, "I won't be surprised if Navarro's plan for Leasath involves this aircraft."

"That's where the other blueprints come in since Navarro was working with Aerial Warship technology, something that he no doubt 'borrowed' from Gründer and looking at the scale - it's going to be big. Thanks to Amelia's analysis, the prototype Airborne Fortress is to act as a means of seeing what it could do while the second fortress was meant to gather combat data in utilizing an optical camouflage system to conceal its presence from both radar and visual detection. In addition, Navarro intends to test various weapons with both aerial fortresses before testing it with Fenrir - mainly small scale versions of the Optical Camouflage System and Shock Wave Ballistic Missile."

Wales soon spoke, "A system like that could make it impossible for anyone to spot while a missile with that much power could wipe out an entire fleet in seconds."

The Belkan scientist sighed as he said, "I know since in 2010 during the Circum-Pacific War, a Burst Missile launched from the submerged Yuktobanian Submarine Aircraft Carrier, Scinfaxi had decimated the 3rd Osean Naval Fleet at Eaglin Straits, losing two aircraft carriers in the process. But an SWBM would most certainly have a devastating impact on an Aurelian Fleet should it be used against them."

Illustrious asked, "Aurelia? That is the country that neighbors Leasath?"

Amelia spoke, "It is and before I left Sentry Island on the freighter, Navarro would brag on the news about how Aurelia exploited Leasath during the Civil War. Only me and a group of others called BS on his remarks since Aurelia had sent aid to Leasath which Navarro stole and used it to spend on arms. He talked about a war for retribution against Aurelia for exploiting them, but I know that he's using my countrymen as pawns in his sick game."

Wales was disgusted, "A despicable war profiteer is what he is and would cause conflicts for profits in arms sales in order to grow his fortune."

Illustrious shared that sentiment, "He would gladly see his country's military give their lives for nothing while not helping his own country in favor of profiting from arms sales."

Amelia nodded and said, "I remember returning home from university as I was walking through a decrepit town, I saw an impoverished family, the couple were trying their best to provide for their children and my government didn't do a damn thing about it. I actually helped them out, using what I had to help the family. It was heartbreaking to see this family like this and how they were affected by the civil war and no government official cared. But the XFA-33 was the result of a depraved and selfish man who had no love for anyone, but himself."

She sighed as she gazed at the Fenrir, "As much as I would love to see this thing destroyed - it's also sparked my curiosity. The technology, the weaponry and its design are many things to consider when inspecting the Fenrir as well as considering the fact that three big companies have unknowingly provided the technology to build it, is astonishing."

Dr. Schroeder sighed as he stated, "When I was running Erusea's drone program, I did a lot of things that instigated The Lighthouse War because of the Radicals. But aside from the horrors that the drones brought to Usea, both manned and unmanned versions of the ADF-11F Raven were built as the Commander had shot the unmanned Ravens down, but tested the manned version in both a combat exercise and actual combat. I regret the actions I took to have it built, but I am astonished by the results of the aircraft's performance."

Trigger knew how they felt because despite the fact that planes like the Raven and Fenrir were built as a means to an end for a depraved man or faction - it's the technology that came with its construction. He stated,

"That's the ugly truth about super planes - they can be both deadly and impressive at the same time."

Illustrious pointed out, "But it all depends on who obtains these planes since I was able to capture the freighter that carried the Falken while I was en-route to Hawaii - it was the first super plane that was recovered from the Sirens."

The Belkan scientist knew this since he saw the mentioned aircraft in one of the hangars when he first arrived at the base which proved the theory of the missing freighters - the Sirens were after the technology from his home country and Fenrir was built with technology from Belka and Usea with Leasath paying for it. He stated,

"You're right, it all depends on how we use it."

Trigger looked at the Fenrir and then back at the scientists, "Is this thing combat ready?"

Amelia nodded and said, "Despite being just a prototype, it seemed like Navarro wanted it to be ready for combat, regardless of prototype status."

Dr. Schroeder looked over the logs regarding the XFA-33, "According to the data logs, this craft recorded only 24 flight hours for at least two flights before being loaded into the freighter."

Enterprise figured, "24 hours? It looked like it went through basic flight and combat maneuvers tests since that amount of flight hours were not nearly enough for combat, but enough to satisfy the designers."

Trigger knew this, "It means we're going to have to hold off on fitting it out for combat. But it will give more time to study it and its armament."

Wales nodded, "I agree since sending it out now would be foolish, but its stealth capabilities would provide a means of conducting a sneak attack."

That's when Trigger remembered his plans to attack Kyoten to damage or destroy the Orochi since he did come up with a few options for the aircraft that would be used for the mission. But if the Fenrir could be ready for combat, then it could be used for the mission.

But overall, it's going to be a long shot though since they still need the layout of where to strike the entrance to the hidden drydock and attack the Orochi itself. But this will be an option for the time being. That's when the Belkan scientist spoke,

"That's pretty much what we've learned about the XFA-33 and the schematics regarding the Airborne Fortress which makes me worried that Navarro might initiate a war with Aurelia, partially using technology from my home country."

The Leasath scientist soon stated, "One of my colleagues was an OIA agent working undercover, so Osea was aware of Navarro, but they can't do anything without giving him a reason to go to war with Osea. So we're going to have to put our trust in Aurelia's military and hopefully - an Ace to break through Navarro's Skies of Deception."

Trigger thought about it as he worked through it all and figured, "I know a few good pilots who can do it - but that's Aurelia's problem while our problem is ending this war before Orochi is deployed."

The Belkan scientist nodded as he said, "Agreed and with that being said, this concludes the assessment of the XFA-33 Fenrir."

"It's an interesting aircraft with a disturbing story behind its creation, but in the meantime, we should get some lunch before Long Caster gets a hold of everything."

They all agreed as they left the hangar.

---

Mess Hall

1225 hrs

Meanwhile, the other pilots and kansen had sat down for a bite after today's events since it was rough for the ones who were out there. But for Chopper, he wanted a decent meal after being in the grasp of the Sirens for nine years. The Wardog pilot was pretty much enjoying the first meal he had in nine years as he was surrounded by fellow pilots whether they're Osean, Erusean, Top Gun or Fortune Hunter. The kansen were enjoying their meal while speaking with the other pilots, most were asking about the mission, but some of the destroyers like the Mutsuki class were asking Jaeger about any stories he could tell.

But that's when Jaeger pointed out, "I have many stories to tell, but I want to know the story of the 'Four Wings of Sand Island' from the Circum-Pacific War."

That made Chopper nearly choke on his food when the older pilot mentioned the nickname that the Osean Army gave them. He looked at everyone and asked,

"You wanna know the story of my squadron?"

Mutsuki spoke, "Yes, we do since you came from a previous war back in your world and Mr. Jaeger also wants to know."

Count pointed out, "Yeah, so do I since the Four Wings of Sand Island were big in Osea's offensive into Yuktobania."

Tabloid stated, "But all of a sudden, the Four Wings disappeared after the fall of Cuik Fortress and the Osean Army was bogged down in taking Cinigrad, the Yuktobanian Capital."

Chopper pointed out, "Look, man, I was already dead when they took that fortress. But I will recount the time when the last war started…"

Avril spoke, "This I gotta hear."

At that point, Chopper had everyone's attention as he decided to tell his story,

"Okay, 9 years ago, I was stationed at the OADF base on Sand Island, a distant island off the west coast of Osea. I was one the rookie pilots transferred from Heierlark to train under the command of Captain Jack Bartlett, a bit of a hard ass, but he's a good leader."

Fencer asked, "You mean THE Captain Bartlett? The legendary pilot that they called Heartbreak One during the Belkan War?"

Chopper answered, "The very same and he got the name when a Recon Major in the Yuke Army broke his heart during the Belkan War. I bet you've all done your history homework on that."

He soon continued, "Anyway, I was with a few pilots who were on the ground one day and heard that a training flight at Cape Landers was ambushed by unidentified aircraft. We saw one instructor crash on landing because his plane was critically damaged and the only ones who survived were the Captain, a journalist who was observing from the rear seat of his F-4 and a female pilot named Kei Nagase."

Edge heard this and asked, "Wait, there's another pilot named Kei Nagase?"

Chopper noticed her and figured, "Yeah and also at first glance, you almost look exactly like her - her callsign was also Edge, too."

"I do?"

Chopper reached into his pocket and pulled out an old newspaper article showing four pilots, one was obviously Mr. Rock n Roller as he held a younger pilot in a headlock while pumping his arm up while the two other pilots, one was a man whose face was obscured by Davenport's elbow while the last pilot was a woman. As the number 2 of Ridgeback Squadron looked closely at the woman in the photo, she realized,

"She does look like me!"

Javelin spoke, "You seem to have a doppelgänger, Leftenant."

Omaha stated, "Well, this is an interesting thing to see."

Skald stated, "To be fair, during the Usean Coup d'etat, one of the pilots of the Scarface Squadron was named Nagase. I doubt it's the same person since she became an airline pilot for Air Ixiom."

Count asked, "How do you know that, Skald?"

He shrugged, "I know a thing or two about the Coup and when I boarded an Air Ixiom plane - she was the first officer."

Chopper sighed a bit and said, "The Kei Nagase I know would mostly keep to herself, but up in the air, she would always cover her flight lead which is why the Captain assigned her as Number 2 on his wing. After the ambush, he had us sitting alert and ready to go on a moment's notice. I was assigned as Wardog 3 and another pilot known as Blaze was assigned as Wardog 4 taking the tail position."

Nimi spoke, "Heartbreak One, Edge, Chopper and Blaze? Only four planes for Wardog Squadron?"

"We were an Auxiliary Squadron, but we still had our duties to carry out. First time we launched together, we were to intercept a damaged SR-71 and force it to land for identification. Strange, I know since the Blackbird has a reputation, but we soon encountered four high speed bogeys and despite the order to not fire - Captain Bartlett gave the orders to fire back."

Jaeger realized, "That's a violation of direct orders, but then again, Bartlett was known for doing things his way."

"He didn't want to see any of us die and that's also where I saw Blaze in action. It was amazing that he kept on the bandits and each one he downed, he moved onto the next, he scored at least five or seven kills and I found it surprising that a rookie pilot had already become an Ace. But also there was this Hawk training jet that attacked us as well, but Blaze shot it down and the Captain gave him the nickname 'Kid' to commemorate his efforts in getting them all back alive."

Jaeger spoke, "From what I heard, Bartlett's nickname was also Kid during the Belkan War."

Chopper figured, "Yeah and Blaze was also the Captain's favorite student, but he assures us that he cares about his students like they were his own children. As for the whole affair with the unidentified aircraft, it was all covered up which also meant that Blaze's kill score and Ace status were also covered up. As for Captain Bartlett, he was also a strange man because in the 15 years since the Belkan War - he never got promoted once and he believed that he was going to be stuck at Captain forever."

Ayanami asked, "Why?"

"I think it has something to do with his attitude and how he goes with his gut rather than following orders given by Thunderhead, our AWACS."

A few chuckles from various shipgirls had occurred after hearing the callsign of the Wardog AWACS. That's when Davenport recounted,

"Our next assignment was to shoot down a group of recon drones that were launched from an unknown spy vessel and we were able to down the drones before they got back to the ship. Afterwards, we got attacked by multiple bogeys and we had to abort, but those guys were running me down, so the Captain ordered us to start shooting. After downing all the enemy planes, the spy ship fired an AA missile at Nagase - only for the Captain to have the missile chase him and he was shot down. He would eventually bail out and we made the call to scramble the SAR Team, we were also told to return to base immediately to refuel and rearm - because Yuktobania had declared war on Osea."

Hüxian stated, "I was surprised to hear that they declared war since Osea and Yuktobania had been allies since the Belkan War."

Tabloid figured, "If I had to guess, there was a third party in both governments working behind the scenes, stirring up tension between Osea and Yuktobania and you get this result."

Lanza was surprised, "Damn, Tabloid."

"Avril said it best, I am an anarchist and conspiracy nut."

Nathan asked, "So why did they rush you to get back up in the air?"

Chopper stated, "At the same time of the declaration of war, Yuktobania had also launched an offensive on the Naval Base at Port St. Hewlett. We were assigned to protect the aircraft carrier Kestrel from the Yukes. While Thunderhead wanted Edge to lead the formation, she declined and gave the flight lead to Blaze while also being joined by Captain Snow from the Naval Air Force."

Skald asked, "As in Marcus Snow?"

"Yeah, his callsign was Swordsman."

Skald continued, "I've read that he was the squad leader for the Kestrel's air wings, but during each combat sortie, there were fewer and fewer pilots coming back with him until he was the only one left. Not much else is known about him with a rumor going around that he joined a top secret squadron commanded by the President. After the war, he was known for being a part of the crew that discovered the wreck of the Kestrel."

"Wait, that boat was sunk?!"

Skald nodded and said, "Took two sub-launched missiles to her starboard side and when the wreck was discovered, I heard that before his death, the retired Admiral Andersen had visited the wreck of his ship."

Chopper realized, "I didn't know any of that because I'm still a deadman, but during the raid, he was helping us in protecting the port and the Kestrel - he even yelled at me for getting in his way. But during the battle, a burning Yuktobanian F-5E crashed into the water and covered it with flames with people floating right there…"

Prez realized, "Just like Yokosuka…"

The Wardog pilot asked, "What?" The WSO sighed, "Years ago, my pilot and I were assigned to protect the Yokosuka Naval Port and the ships of the Maritime Self Defense Force docked in the harbor. During the battle, a burning enemy plane would crash and cover the water in flames while people floated nearby…it was terrifying…I couldn't take seeing that sight anymore."

"Damn, talk about coincidence and I still get nightmares about that sea. But after that, we had to cover the Kestrel's fleet as they broke through the Yuktobanian blockade to open waters. As for us, we were all back safe and I couldn't wait to tell the Captain once they plucked him out of the ocean - only to find out that the Captain had been captured, making him the first POW of the war."

Cleveland spoke, "So now you have Blaze as a flight lead?"

He shook his head, "Not exactly since Blaze was put as an 'Acting Flight Lead' which meant that unless he gets promoted - his position as Flight Lead is temporary. Later that night, we got word that 'His Highness' the Lieutenant Colonel was going to come down from the mainland and take over command. I was also going to relax for the night until I heard the air raid siren which meant that Sand Island was under attack."

Queen Elizabeth asked, "The air raid that you mentioned during the debriefing?"

"Yeah and during the air raid, Airman 1st Class Hans Grimm took Captain Bartlett's spare F-5E from the hangar and took off. We kept the enemy planes away from him since they seemed to be more focused on him than the base. Grimm was barely out of his pilot training, but he grabbed that plane to join in the battle and he was only 19 years old."

When Warspite heard this and soon spat out her tea - right in her sister's face,

"19? This Grimm was only 19 years old, barely out of his pilot training and he still went out into a real battle?!"

Indomitable spoke, "Was it Grimm's decision to strap himself into that plane?"

Chopper gave Queen Elizabeth a napkin as he said, "Yes, Grimm was 19 years old and he was in the hangar helping out the mechanics, but he chose to get in that plane because the situation was more desperate since he didn't see any spare pilots. But once he was up there with us, he really was a good pilot and Blaze commended him on his flying. He would be added to the Wardog Squadron with his callsign being 'Archer' and it was a good thing."

Maverick stated, "It must be nice to have a full four-man squadron."

"It was, it meant that we could be more effective and since Lieutenant Colonel Ford was shot down during the Sand Island attack, Kid was promoted to Captain and our next mission was where things went to Hell."

Bataan, who was sitting next to Maverick, asked, "How bad?"

"It started off as the easiest mission in the world which included a general mobilization of any plane that they could get their hands on - including us. Our mission was to escort three aircraft carriers Vulture, Buzzard and Kestrel to rendezvous at the inland sea. When the queens of the ocean made it to Eaglin Straits, we had it made in the shade since our air patrol was pretty much over, we had to hold position for the tanker plane above the Kestrel so we can refuel for the return trip and I grew anxious since everyone was starting to leave."

Hüxian spoke, "Sure, the easiest missions are often the most boring since your head is constantly on a swivel when doing a combat air patrol."

"That wasn't until we spotted several enemy aircraft on our radar despite the fact that we were supposed to be in the safe zone. We had Harriers and F-35s trying to sink the carriers, but thanks to us as well as Captain Snow from the Kestrel, we were able to repel the attack - until a ballistic missile hit the fleet."

Nevada was surprised since she asked, "A ballistic missile? Where did they launch that from?"

"Well, it turns out that the missile attacks were carried out by the underwater carrier, Scinfaxi, which was responsible for the aircraft attacking the fleet in the inland sea."

Wit realized, "So they weren't like a flock of Snowbirds."

Chopper nodded as he told the Voslagan, "Initially we did think that they flew in from far away, but the Scinfaxi was most likely nearby and launched two missiles at the fleet resulting in the loss of the Vulture and Buzzard as well as the allied aircraft that were below 5,000 feet - my squadron along with Captain Snow survived the first missile because we were outside the blast zone dealing with the planes packing Anti-Ship Missiles. As for the second missile, we made it by climbing above 5,000 feet. We were all able to survive thanks to our emergency climb to above 5,000 feet while the Kestrel survived via evasive action. But losing two aircraft carriers was devastating to our force since Grimm was devastated by the loss of those ships. As for us, we didn't have enough fuel to get back to base and with no time to get a tanker plane to us - we had to divert to Heierlark Base to refuel."

Count realized, "Damn, losing two aircraft carriers took a serious blow to naval air power."

Tabloid spoke, "But then again, Osea's carriers aside from the ones that were at sea, ended up damaged by Erusea's drone strikes on the naval ports on the mainland."

Jaeger stated, "With the carriers damaged, the only Osean Naval Air Power were from the carriers who were at sea or beached like the Andersen. But the way I see it, the carriers in the Circum-Pacific War fared better than we did."

High Roller sighed, "Yeah, talk about rotten luck for us. Trigger once told me about how he saw the Albatross on fire and partially submerged in the harbor at Fort Grays after the initial air raid."

The kansen were listening to how the Oseans compared the two wars when it came to losing their carriers. But among them, a certain white fox decided to chime in,

"I must admit one thing about losing your carriers. The island that you rescued us from, was where the Imperial Japanese Navy intended to take during the Pacific War as the historical selves of myself, Akagi, Soryu and Hiryu were to take part in destroying American resistance and aircraft carriers. But a series of incidents and dilemmas ended up with all four of us sunk to dive bombers in exchange for Yorktown's historical self."

Lanza asked, "Four frontline carriers in exchange for one?"

"It greatly reduced our air power and it was demoralizing as well."

Chopper spoke, "I wouldn't say that anyone drew the short straw when it came to aircraft carriers lost in wars since you shipgirls remember how you sank, no offense intended. But that disaster at Eaglin Straits was hell and it took the Scinfaxi to mess up our day."

He soon continued with his story, "When we arrived at Heierlark Base, we were surrounded by junior cadets who heard stories about us since we became the most experienced pilots in the war and our arrival to the base gave us the opportunity to tell war stories to the cadets."

He brought out the newspaper article again, "This article was made by that journalist, Genette and we got the name 'The Four Wings of Sand Island' which made us look like rockstars and all, but we were still just Captain Bartlett's nuggets."

Maverick stated, "Even so, those rookie pilots look up to you guys since you were on the frontlines. But they wouldn't know what a real battle is like until they are in the thick of it."

"Yeah, those nuggets were just that - rookie pilots who had never been in a real battle besides the training field with their instructors. But that's when our new orders came in - we had to take those inexperienced pilots back with us to Sand Island when we returned. But we sure had to thank Pops, our Chief Mechanic, for pounding basic fighter maneuvers into us, so we can lord it over all those nuggets."

Avril asked, "This Pops was a fighter pilot?"

Chopper shrugged, "Well, he used to fly fighter jets during the Belkan War, now flies freight planes and even mentors rookie pilots like Grimm."

Count figured, "So with your basic fighter maneuvers from Pops, your squadron could pretty much mentor those nuggets."

"Exactly, but while those pilots only had a tenuous grasp of flying, they had less training on midair refueling. This made us have to land at every base along the way back to Sand Island. We stopped at McNealy Air Force Base to rest and refuel, but we were directed to protect the nearby Space Center because the Yukes were trying to capture the base while the staff were attempting to launch an SSTO carrying the laser cannon for the Arkbird, a large maneuverable orbiting spacecraft built as a bird of peace."

Prinz Eugen sighed, "Ironic that the 'bird of peace' was to be used as a weapon of war."

"Tell that to Nagase since she knows all about the Arkbird - she was practically in love with it. But to hear that President Harling authorized to militarize the Arkbird was unlike the Anti-War President who was elected into office. But Blaze would state that Harling wouldn't have made the decision if not for the Scinfaxi."

Hipper figured, "So your President had no choice, but to deploy the Arkbird as a weapon."

"Yep, our job was to stop the Yukes from getting their airborne tanks to the Mass Driver. We used our guns to destroy the parachutes and smash the tanks into the ground while they were still up in the air. Afterward, the enemy abandoned the ground invasion and had several B-2 bombers fire cruise missiles to destroy the base. We took out the bombers as well as any deployed missiles while the space center's crew successfully launched the supply craft as it docked with the Arkbird."

Nimi was impressed, "The odds were against your squadron and yet, you were able to protect the launch facility with just four planes."

Chopper stated, "It's just how Wardog rolls and we were finally able to get back to Sand Island…only to discover that Yuktobania had launched an amphibious assault to capture Sand Island. Normally, the experienced pilots would be sent out since the Base Commander at McNealy barred the nuggets from taking part in the space center mission, but that stupid geezer Base Commander, Perrault had the nuggets accompany us in the defense of the base and we all agree that sending those rookies out there would be suicide. But to this day, I just wish the nuggets didn't take part in the defense."

Everyone knew what this meant as Hornet guessed, "The Scinfaxi was taking part in the invasion."

Skald glanced at her as he said, "Hey, I was about to guess that."

Chopper answered, "Well, you're both right, man. Aside from shooting down enemy aircraft and sinking enemy ships - that damn submarine was in the area launching burst missiles at us. But luck was on our side for once with the Arkbird using its lasers to shoot down these missiles. There was also a Patrol Aircraft in the area informing us of the Scinfaxi's presence and when it launched missiles. But when the sub launched more missiles, too much for the Arkbird to handle, we all had to climb to above 5,000 feet which we told the nuggets to climb before the Arkbird fired its laser on one of the missiles - but there were more still coming. We made it, but the nuggets were struggling to reach it…and when the countdown to impact reached zero…"

That's when Davenport thought back to that terrible day as he was back in his F/A-18 as he looked down at the F-5Es struggling to reach 5,000 feet. Soon enough, multiple flashes of light occurred as he heard the panicked cries of the nuggets,

"The Eject Handle's Stuck!"

"Wing's damaged! Losing Altitude!"

"Help!"

"No! I don't wanna die!!"

He also heard Grimm cry out, "They're all falling!"

He heard Blaze's frustrated voice, "Damn it, they should have never been allowed to takeoff with us!"

He heard Nagase's voice, "I agree with you, Blaze. Those pilots…I can't believe that we had to bring them to battle when they weren't ready."

That's when Blaze spoke, "Chopper? Chopper!"

That's when he realized that it wasn't from his memories, it was everyone who was listening to his story that snapped him out of it. He apologized,

"I'm sorry, it's just that I still hear those nuggets crying out for help as they fell victim to those missiles."

Tabloid stated, "It seems like your Commander only saw those nuggets as pawns. They were untrained in combat, had their hands full with just keeping their planes in the air and they were struggling to reach 5,000 feet."

"You know from the way you put it - they were sacrificial pawns in that fight. If it were the Commander at McNealy, he would bar them from taking off, but that bloated dumbass of a Base Commander allowed those kids to throw themselves into a battle and our job was to ensure that they come back alive - we failed in the personal objective."

He continued, "Afterwards, we had to weave through the missiles and continue attacking the ships which I called Thunder-Blockhead nuts for suggesting it!"

Jaeger pointed out, "I heard that at some point, the amphibious assault was thwarted."

"That was because the Arkbird contacted the Patrol Plane and requested a datalink from a sonobuoy that the plane dropped. Afterwards, the Arkbird shot a laser in the ocean, damaging the submerged Scinfaxi, causing the monster sub to surface. Which gave us a chance for some payback for everything that sub had put us through. Upon seeing the sub, I figured that the demon had finally revealed itself."

Ayanami asked, "Demon?"

"Yeah, there were legends of a Demon that was both a Dark Demon and a Great Hero. That black hunk of metal fired missiles that rained death from above since it was described as steel rain. But we couldn't dwell on it, we had to destroy the sub which was launching aircraft from its rear launch bay, mainly F-35s and Harriers. We were lucky to be carrying Anti-Ship Missiles, so we used them to destroy the Anti-Air weapons on the sub, its burst missile launcher and the bridge. The Arkbird fired its laser at the sub again, ripping a massive hole with Blaze landing the killing blow, sinking the Scinfaxi."

Oklahoma asked, "How did you feel when you saw it go down?"

Chopper stated, "Satisfied, knowing that the underwater carrier is no more and that the Yuktobanian Navy retreated after the sub sank. But at the same time, we had to get to writing down condolence letters to the families of the nuggets. Man, those were hard to write down while trying to be as understanding as possible."

Jaeger sighed as he said, "I know how that feels since Wiseman, the former Cyclops 1, Hüxian and I wrote down condolence letters to the families of the five pilots we lost during a return flight from reconnaissance. Trigger's predecessor - the original Strider 1 was shot down during the initial reconnaissance while the others were shot down after they were pounced on by UAVs and Sol Squadron at Yinshi Valley during the return trip."

The family man glanced at Wit, "Sound familiar?"

Wit spoke, "It does sound familiar because Seymour and I were there to support Mihaly, but there were times where we lost people before we became an experimental squadron when it comes to losing a wingman under your command, it's always the flight commander that has to write the letters of condolence to the families. But from how you described it, it seems like you took equal responsibility."

Chopper agreed, "We were the most experienced pilots of the 108th, so it made us the flight leads for a group of rookies and like I said - the nuggets should have never been sent out there to begin with. But afterwards, Yuktobanian activity was silent for several weeks, but we had to patrol the northern coast near Akerson Hill and an AA Defense System. But that's where we encountered a damaged C-5 Galaxy under the callsign: Mother Goose One."

Avril recognized the name, "Usually Mother Goose One is for the President's aircraft. You mean to say that the cargo on that plane is…"

"Yep, it's President Vincent Harling who gave himself the nickname of 'Cargo' just to make it clear that he was the important man on the plane. We didn't hear him until after Blaze and Nagase guided his plane through the AA System because it didn't submit a friendly IFF signal to the defense system, mainly because of some Top Secret Mission to the neutral country of North Point. After we got through the AA System, we engaged several Yuke aircraft until we heard a commotion aboard the transport via radio, followed by a gunshot."

Tabloid realized, "There was a spy in the crew?!"

"There was and Harling contacted us afterwards which meant the spy killed the captain and wounded the co-pilot before being taken out. The president was in the cockpit while a secretary named Tommy was holding the controls which the president confessed that his secretary had never flown a plane before."

Ning Hai spoke, "There was an old saying that goes 'First Time For Everything' which would apply to the secretary in the pilot seat."

"Yeah, but the transport was losing power and altitude, so the President had to make an emergency landing which I pointed out that the ground was full of electric generator windmills. But we had to destroy the windmills directly in the transport's path. The Yuke fighters that we encountered were either shot down or fled the AO when things didn't go their way which meant that the area was clear and we got that transport down safely."

Avril was curious, "Why was Harling even on a top secret mission anyway?"

Chopper answered, "Well, he actually talked about his reasons after Nagase questioned him about using the Arkbird for the war - his reasons were to put Osea on even terms with Yuktobania and he was trying to get to North Point to hold peace talks in neutral territory. Afterwards we were relieved by the arriving 8492nd Squadron who provided support until the transport plane's crew was rescued."

Jaeger was confused, "8492? I've never heard of the 8492nd."

"We gave our report to Sand Island about this squadron as well as the squadron leader - Ashley Bernitz."

Tabloid realized, "Bernitz…I know that name. He was a pilot in the Belkan Air Force and the leader of the Grabacr Fighter Squadron. There were even rumors that Osea recruited some Belkan aces after the war to strengthen the Air Force - an Aggressor Squadron composed entirely of Belkan Aces - the 229th Tactical Fighter Squadron."

Chopper realized, "Wait, you're saying that the 8492nd Squadron were actually Belkans?!"

"Well, that was a rumor for some time and plus, I know about it since both of my parents were from Belka. So I did some digging into the legendary Belkan Air Force and the parts where Osea recruiting Belkan Aces would pop up as well as the 229th Squadron. They were a squadron of four F-15S/MTDs, piloted by Belkan Aces and not much else was known about them."

Chopper figured, "It all makes sense now."

Nathan asked, "What made sense?"

"After Akerson Hill, a series of events had occurred, first being the real reason why the enemy targeted the Space Center - enemy agents smuggled explosives onto the supply ship during the attack which would destroy the Arkbird's power generator - rendering it immobilized, Osea launches an amphibious assault on the Yuktobanian mainland which was a stupid idea and I nearly blamed the President for authorizing an escalation of the war. But lastly, when we were preventing the Yukes from withdrawing from the peninsula, I heard Bernitz on the radio ordering all 8492nd units to 'proceed as planned.' Next thing we know, a frantic Yuke soldier was talking about Osean planes attacking a civilian complex - an engineering university within our AO. Afterwards, they fled and we were the ones that Central Command was pointing fingers towards."

Tailor spoke, "So they pulled you from the frontlines and to Central Command?"

"Yeah and we tried to convince them that it was the 8492nd Squadron - only for them to say that the 8492nd doesn't exist. But now it makes sense - they don't exist because 8492 was just an alias, the 229th were a Belkan force mixed in with Osea and I think those fat cats at Central Command are not even aware of this aggressor force."

Avril sighed, stating, "There has been some scrutiny on the Belkans because they seem to always sneak around behind the scenes. But putting the pieces together in regards to what you went through at Akerson Hill - the 8492nd Squadron had actually kidnapped Harling which escalated the war into having Osea launch an amphibious assault."

"Exactly, the whole operation was crazy from start to finish since the President was looking to hold peace talks at North Point. But after we helped the President's emergency landing, it was the 8492nd that took our place which in term allowed him to be captured. I'm no journalist, but it really did smell rotten."

Tabloid stated, "I wouldn't be surprised if the warmongers in Osea appreciated an escalation of the war like that."

"Trust me on this, man. President Harling made a lot of enemies - mainly the military officers who resigned because they didn't like his Arms Reduction Plan. That journalist, Genette, told me once that they had started to return to Oured when the war escalated."

Jaeger figured, "That is suspicious, but that attack on the University had also caused the Yuktobanian military to carry out attacks on Apito International Airport and a chemical attack on Bana City."

"Oh, that city, we were at Bana while another squadron was defending the airport from enemy commandos. We actually flipped a coin for this mission and were assigned four Mirage-2000D Attack aircraft armed with Neutralizer Bombs. Our mission was to drop the bombs on the gas sites to spread the Neutralizing Agent across the city. Afterwards we had to chase down the Yuke Special Forces Unit responsible for the chemical attack while preventing them from getting away by destroying the helicopters that were trying to pick them up and it's hard to fight an air battle when you only have machine guns while your enemy is packed with missiles. But we pulled through and scared the terrorists so much that they surrendered while also making sure that a patrolman finished his job so he can go home to celebrate his daughter's birthday."

Jaeger, upon hearing this part of the story, remembered that video call he made to his wife and son as they celebrated Erich's birthday which took place before Operation Magic Spear. The family man is hoping that once they find their way back home - he's giving his wife and son the longest hug they've ever had. He's been teaching these hatchlings how to fly, but he has a life outside of the military being with the mother hen and his own hatchling. But aside from the wholesome memories of his family, he heard one of the destroyers ask,

"What happened next?"

Chopper stated, "Well aside from destroying a Yuktobanian Weapons Factory while having to do a synchronized attack on the radar sites before destroying the plant. We heard news of our beachhead being attacked by ballistic missiles from the Hrimfaxi."

Tex asked, "Hrimfaxi? The Scinfaxi has a sister-ship!?"

"Yeah and it was stationed in the icy waters of Razgriz Straits in Anea - a neutral continent consisting of three countries: Nordennavic, Emmeria and Estovakia which were all neutral. But the Razgriz Straits in Anea did give me a bad case of the chills."

Tirpitz, who experienced icy conditions, asked, "Is it because that you would be flying in the northern seas?"

"No, it's because that northern sea is where the Demon of Razgriz came from."

The Osean and Erusean pilots paused when they heard the mention of the demon, even Prez since Trigger told her about this. Edge asked,

"What is the Demon of Razgriz?"

Chopper stated, "Well, the demon is sort of a creature that appears in a story that is called both a Demon and a Hero - said to rain death from above and die - only to return as a great hero. I would notice my Nagase writing something down in a red book that she had and she was remembering something such as 'The Princess couldn't feed the Dove that day, she was too sick' and I recognized that line from 'A Blue Dove For The Princess' which I would remember that the Demon of Razgriz was responsible for getting the Princess sick."

He chuckled as he said, "I know because my grandma used to tell me ghost stories when I was a kid and I would be too scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, fearing that the demon would be there in the darkness."

Some of the pilots and kansen would chuckle a bit since he would probably wet his bed on purpose because of these ghost stories.

After that, Hornet spoke, "So the Hrimfaxi was trying to emulate the legend of the Demon. It is stationed in the northern sea named after the creature that dwells there and it was raining death down on the allied beachhead."

"Yeah, but we had a plan to catch the sub by surprise. We had to egress at low altitude, maintain radio silence to launch a surprise attack while the sub surfaced because it was rendezvousing with a supply sub to restock its missiles. When we reached the picket sub net, Blaze sank a picket submarine, catching the sub fleet by surprise which, like an idiot, thought it was the Hrimfaxi, but Grimm asked if I looked at the ship identification chart."

Avril chuckled, "You're a dumbass, you know that."

Chopper stated, "Hey, I was in the moment you know and since our cover was blown, we had a minute before the Hrimfaxi could rig for an emergency dive, but we swooped down on them first and damaged the sub as it was diving. The damage caused it to lose the ability to launch missiles underwater, having it surface to meet us. It launched its missiles and UAVs to stop us, but we evaded these attacks and hit the sub while it surfaced, but when it attempted to dive to avoid us, we heard a frantic sailor call out that we damaged the ballast tanks."

Cleveland stated, "Without the ability to dive, the submarine is a sitting duck."

Chopper agreed, "It is, but it still packs a lot of firepower, it wasn't until the Hrimfaxi launched a burst missile - heading our way. So we had to climb to above 5,000 feet and wait for the missile attack to end, but that damn thing wouldn't stop firing, almost like it was desperate to shoot us down. I heard the Yuke sailors on the radio cry out that the Razgriz story was true - calling us demons while others claimed that it was a tall tale. It was only after we finally sank the Hrimfaxi, we heard communications between Yuke HQ and the sub stated that it appears that they were up against Razgriz itself. They figured that Blaze, Nagase, Grimm and I were the real Razgriz, not the sub."

Ayanami figured, "In a way - You became one of the Demons of Razgriz."

Betty chuckled, "Whaddya know, Boss - we've met a real Demon."

Nathan stated, "Well, he doesn't have horns or a tail, but he did become a demon by sinking those two giant subs."

Count soon asked, "So are we Demons as well?"

The Razgriz Demon asked, "What do you mean?"

Count pulled out a datapad and booted up footage from a pilot's helmet camera, "This footage was from the Head Up Display in my flight helmet. In this footage, it was September 14th and we were tasked with hunting down a rogue Erusean Submarine called the Alicorn. It was huge, probably larger than the two Scinfaxi-Class submarines, it was also captained by a psychotic Erusean officer named Matias Torres who had two nuclear weapons onboard with the intent of dropping them on Oured on September 19th, believing that it could end the war."

Chopper recognized that date, "That's when the Continental War ended, I did my history homework on that."

Count continued, "The thing about this sub is that it could operate like a carrier, has a pair of railguns and a giant rail cannon."

"Railguns and a rail cannon? How would he think that dropping a nuke on Oured would end the war?!"

Count stated, "Just watch…"

The video played as it showed as the cockpit of an F-15C as it shot down a UAV over the Spring Sea as they heard Trigger's voice,

"Positive hit on the MAD! I've found the Alicorn!"

The camera looked to see an F/A-18E with three scratches on the tail skim across the water as it pulled up as a TGT reticle appeared in the water designated as Alicorn. Long Caster in the recording stated,

"Confirmed! Strider 1 found the Submarine Alicorn!"

There were cheers amongst the squadrons as Count said in the recording,

"We're not done yet! Give her the finishing blow!"

At that point, four Osean ships fired the ASROCs at the submarine's position as four explosions went off. As the F-18 and F-15 flew over the site and turned - they saw the bow of a monster emerging from the sea. To Chopper as he watched the recording, he felt a sense of familiarity with this monster as he saw it fully surface - the images of the Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi flashed in his head as Hüxian's voice said,

"Alicorn spotted! It's surfacing!"

As the pilots and kansen saw the Alicorn, they had various looks of shock and surprise as Elizabeth said,

"Bloody hell, that monster is huge!"

Ark Royal stated, "I agree since it is larger than any of our ship modes or any other ships in comparison."

Cleveland and her sisters, Columbia, Montpelier and Denver were just as surprised about this submarine.

Hood nearly dropped her cup of tea upon seeing the submarine emerge from the sea.

The submarine kansen that were present felt terribly small in comparison when they saw the Alicorn as Archerfish spoke,

"I can't believe that a submarine like that could exist and the fact that it could launch aircraft like a carrier is mind blowing."

Shinano stated, "I have seen this submarine while traversing through the Commander's dreams. He was particularly enraged when he found out that it was targeting Oured - the Capital of Osea."

Archerfish looked at the Sakura carrier, "You must have been shocked to see it."

"The image of that submarine still haunts me to this very day. Nothing could compare, not even the short service that this one had in historical life."

The Eagle Union submarine remembers that since Joseph Enright, the commander of her historical self, was the one who sank the historical Shinano. But just seeing the Alicorn brought terror to both Hunter and Hunted.

As the footage went on, the Alicorn's railguns fired at the Osean fleet, sinking two ships while the other two disengaged. But as the pilots in the recording were surprised that they haven't sunk it, Trigger's voice was heard,

"The ASROCs may have damaged it, but it's now up to us since we backed them into a corner!"

That's when a familiar voice came on the recording, "Trigger's right! All aircraft attack the Alicorn! Follow up on Trigger!"

The aircraft soon attacked the Alicorn as the submarine fired its SAM launchers and AA guns. But that's when the Alicorn began utilizing the railguns for Anti-Air combat, so if anyone was locked in by the railguns, they have to increase their speed and run as Count stated,

"If one of those railguns hits us, we'll be torn into a million pieces!"

That's when that wise voice stated, "They'll be looking for aircraft as well. Don't flutter about!"

As the F-15 paired with the F-18 with direct strikes on the Alicorn, the Super Hornet wrecked the starboard gun as the submarine began to dive.

As it submerged, Chopper stated, "That thing looks exactly like the Scinfaxi, how is this an Erusean Submarine?!"

Skald stated, "There was an article from a magazine that mentioned the Alicorn. It was built by Yuktobania as a 'Super Scinfaxi' submarine in a dockyard in the city of Okchabursk in Yuktobania during the last war - it never deployed. After the war ended, Yuktobania sold the submarine for scrap as a symbol of strategic disarmament post-war. But the company which Yuktobania sold it to, had it refurbished, modified and put it up for sale which would eventually lead to Erusea purchasing the Alicorn."

Lanza spoke, "Damn Skald."

"Hey, we've looked into the Alicorn's history during that crisis."

Chopper was surprised, "So Yuktobania had this thing in its dockyard during the war, never deployed it, sold it for scrap after the war, but the company had put it up for sale and was purchased by Erusea? How is it that no one discovered this ship during the war!?"

Jaeger stated, "There were no Osean forces near Okchabursk since the main force focused on taking Cinigrad rather than securing other Yuktobanian cities."

"That seems to make a lot of sense, man."

The footage soon continued to where the sub surfaced and launched aircraft as the LRSSG had to engage the enemy aircraft while trying to attack the submarine. It wasn't until they spotted the barrier drones launching and deploying their EM Barriers much to Chopper's surprise that there were shields. After a few times of timing attacks to hit the Alicorn as it surfaced - its jamming system activated as the F-15 and F-18 closed in and destroyed the jammer as well as bombing out the remaining ballast tanks. It was at that point that they heard the defeated voice of Matias Torres,

"We surrender…"

They all recognized this voice as Torres announced, "This is the Submarine Aircraft Cruiser Alicorn, we surrender! Stop shooting!"

Chopper realized, "He's surrendering to you?"

Count stated, "Jaeger and Long Caster would accept his surrender, but the rest of us thought otherwise since that was a conman talking, but Trigger was cautious about this surrender."

The F-18 in the footage flew past the heavily damaged submarine as Trigger's voice spoke, "Alicorn, this is Strider 1 of the Osean Long Range Strategic Strike Group, Captain Torres, please confirm your surrender."

The Erusean captain answered, "We will surrender. We are currently making preparations to be disarmed."

It was at that point that the voice of David North, an OIA Analyst, spoke on the line, confirming that the terminal guidance over Oured was jammed, so his shot would miss the mark. Until Torres told them a story about his achievement as a Gunnery Officer when he sunk an enemy ship that was 30 kilometers away in the middle of a storm.

But that's when the flight deck opened up, revealing the Alicorn's horn - the rail cannon as Torres's intentions were clear to David and told Trigger to stop them.

It was at that point that several barrier drones activated as he weaved through the barriers and fired his missiles which struck the barrel of the cannon, jerking it down as it fired - only for David to assure them that the shell will miss.

At that point, it was obvious that the Alicorn had no intention to surrender, so all aircraft attacked the submarine as Trigger was going after the base of the rail cannon. But during it all, the submarine sank stern first as the bow rose up because the captain ordered the aft trim tanks to be flooded to raise the boat's bow to give the gun the elevation it needed to reach Oured. Afterwards, Torres stated,

"Don't you see, Three Strikes? Ten Million lives will be saved at the cost of a mere million lives!"

Trigger rebuked, "You're a liar, Torres! You just wanna kill people in my home city!"

"Then indulge me, Student of The Grim Reaper…Demon Lord's Spawn!"

That caught them by surprise when he said that as Count stated,

"Honestly, he was announcing it over an open channel claiming that Trigger is the son of the legendary Demon Lord."

Torres's voice continued, "Oh yes, I know exactly who you are: You are the son of the Hero of the Belkan War, trained by the Ace that sank my ship at Comberth Harbor! Like them, you have the ability to kill me and my crew! How is that any different?!"

Trigger's voice in the footage sounded a bit hesitant about what Torres said, but answered the Captain's question,

"Unlike you, I don't steal nuclear shells with the intent of using them on a populated city like the Belkans did! Unlike you, I do what must be done in combat for the safety of my country and unlike you, I don't go rogue with the intent to commit a terrorist attack!"

That was very noble for him to say that since in combat, the law of war forbids attacks on civilians as Chopper remembered hearing the 8492nd attack the Yuke College at Dresdene which was a violation of the laws of war and yet, Wardog was blamed for it. But the fact that this Captain was looking to drop a nuke on Oured, like he was mimicking the Belkans as Torres even said,

"I have a powerful boat, a powerful gun and powerful ammunition with a precise aim! Sprinkle a little death and the formula is complete! Don't you see the beauty of what the Belkans did? The death of 12,000 people with seven nukes led to the end of the Belkan War and I intend to do the same with a larger body count!!"

"You're nothing more than a mass murderer and you will only end up escalating the war! I'm letting you get away, Torres!"

The insane captain stated, "Then truly indulge me once more, what makes you and I any different!? You're willing to kill 300 men on this boat to save a million? How is that any different!?"

The Ace answered, "Here's my answer for you to take to the bottom of the sea!"

From the perspective of Count's helmet, he saw Trigger's F-18 make one last pass, firing a missile at the base of the rail cannon, pulling a kulbit before dropping his guided penetration bombs at the core. The bombs hit as Trigger leveled his plane as the result of the bombs had destroyed the rail cannon.

Trigger's confirmation caused everyone, including the ones watching the footage to cheer until they heard a mixture of crying and laughter in the footage as Count was with Trigger flying past the Alicorn as several explosions began erupting around the submarine. The crying and laughing was from Torres as he shouted,

"Don't you see?! One Million! ONE MILLION LIVES! HehehehehehehaHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Soon enough, the Alicorn blew up from the Rail Cannon as it split the ship in two. The many shipgirls had cheered with seeing the Alicorn sink as the LRSSG felt nostalgic about hunting and sinking that giant submarine. As the two halves of the submarine sank beneath the waves, an underwater explosion occurred, shooting a geyser of water into the air which to Chopper was how the two Scinfaxi-Class submarines went down.

After hearing David North make his poem about the world awaited a hero to keep the torch aloft, banishing the darkness, the planes soon dove towards the water before pulling up and into the skies as various Osean forces cheered,

"We won!"

"They did it!"

"Yahoo!!!"

"Salute the Osean Big Shots!"

"Bravo!!"

They were chanting 'Big Shots' on the radio as another asked,

"Can you hear these cheers? Don't tell me you can't hear them!"

The footage ends as Chopper stated, "It was wild to know that Erusea had this submarine and yet…it was built by the Yukes to be a successor to the Scinfaxi."

Count stated, "It was, but the things that it could've done with the Erusean Navy had it not mutinied could bring more casualties to Osean forces, especially the showdown at Farbanti. But now to my question: Are the LRSSG demons for sinking the Alicorn?"

The rock n roller had thought about this and decided, "Well, we didn't find out more about this moniker until Nagase told us, she was shot down during a POW rescue mission in the middle of a snowstorm. The next day, we found her, signaled the rescue team and escorted the copter to her - where she was holding a few Yuke soldiers captive while protecting the wounded gunship crew that crashed trying to rescue her the night before. But we were called the 'Demons of Razgriz' as the force that sank Yuktobania's most powerful submarines which was what she learned from the soldiers that she captured."

He soon answered Count's question, "But to answer your question is that since that black hunk of metal had more firepower as well as the ability to try and nuke Oured until two squadrons weave through its defenses and hit it where it hurts - with the squadron leader landing the final blow. Yes, you guys are more than just Big Shots - you are Demons."

Lanza figured, "I guess that Torres was up against Razgriz itself."

Ayanami was curious about this legend as she herself is often referred to as 'The Demon' but to know that four pilots sank two formidable giant submarines was surprising and be referred to as the Demons of Razgriz. But the fact is that Chopper is one of these demons and even stated that the LRSSG would be considered demons for sinking that monster of a submarine. But the thing about what the Osean pilot had said was that the Demon of Razgriz would use its power to rain death from above and then die - only to return as a great hero.

The destroyer realized one other aspect to being the demon - she also be a great hero, only to realize as she said out loud,

"I could never have a title that I couldn't live up to."

Chopper heard her and said, "Hey…Ayanami is it? There was an army unit that took part in the Jilachi Desert Invasion who figured that the name of Razgriz would be good for their unit, but immediately shot it down because of that reason."

The destroyer stated, "It's because many in the Sakura Empire would refer to me as 'The Demon' because of my historical involvement in the Indian Ocean raids and Solomon Islands. But after my rebirth, I realized that I didn't really like fighting and it was Trigger that ultimately gave me the strength to break away from Red Axis, even after the painful shock from Kaga at the ruins."

The white fox sighed and said, "I meant to apologize to you for my actions at the ruins. But at that time, I was blinded by my vengeance until Trigger showed compassion despite being my enemy which opened my eyes. It was then that I realized that he was different."

Davenport asked, "How exactly did you change your mind about him?"

"He temporarily treated the wounds after he shot me."

The pilots were surprised by this as Count asked, "Wait, Trigger was groundside?"

Javelin took over, "He personally took part in a rescue mission for the infiltration team which included Lady Shinano and Akashi."

Tabloid spoke, "I was there since I was in a coma and they wanted to get me to safety."

Avril looked at Steve, "You were found at the enemy base?"

"By Akashi since she took a wrong turn, saw too much and tried to free me."

Tabloid was already briefed about what happened to him after he was awakened from his coma. Kaga stated, "Our mission was to track down the infiltration team and get Tabloid back. Trigger was flying a transport copter as a means of rescuing the team. It was when he returned with the team that we fought and I nearly killed him - only to realize that he shot me. But instead of leaving, he took a med kit and treated the wounds…"

She pulled out a pendant containing two bullet shells covered in dried blood, "He removed them and treated me long enough so I could get back to Kyoten. But I was puzzled by his actions until a new emotion overshadowed my own vengeance - it was love."

Count was dumbfounded, "Wait, you're saying that just because he shot you and treated your wounds, all of a sudden now you want to marry Trigger?!"

The white fox paused for a moment before saying, "Yes, it is exactly what I intend because of his act of kindness."

She even added, "But I know for certain that some shipgirls in this base have feelings for him as well and I would gladly welcome to share him with them."

Unbeknownst to the others was that Trigger, Enterprise, Illustrious and Prince of Wales were listening in from the other room. They heard Chopper's story, Count's helmet cam footage of Operation Fisherman and Kaga's intentions. But the Osean Ace knew better that the Sakura carrier wouldn't have defected for him, but it was only half of her reason and she did it because she wanted to stop Red Axis.

As for Enterprise, when she heard that Kaga wanted to marry Pat, she reminded herself of Hornet's desire for him, but agreed to share him. The Grey Ghost also made it clear to Trigger at the bar that if anyone was going to 'do' him - she would be the first. That train of thought made the hearts in her eyes glow even more as she felt herself heat up.

For Illustrious and Prince of Wales, hearing Davenport's story did bring some insight into the carrier and battleship since the new pilot had been through a lot which was nine years ago. Four planes being the force that sank those two giant subs and became the Demons of Razgriz as well as stating that Strider Squadron were indeed Demons by sinking the giant super submarine.

As for Trigger, there was no denying that this is The Alvin H. Davenport and it was evidently clear from his various stories because those were the various battles that he looked up when researching the Circum-Pacific War. He may be a fighter pilot, but he likes to study history which was important considering that he had to study the history of this world while also learning about the wars that took place in this world, mainly the eras of which the historical versions of the kansen came from.

Trigger whispered, "Davenport had definitely been through a lot nine years ago. He was one of the Four Wings of Sand Island - the squadron that sank those two giant submarines, worked with his wingmen to get through difficult challenges and press on through and through until he 'died' at November City during an Yuktobanian ambush above the stadium where the Vice President was doing a speech, only to be saved by the Sirens and from his description from before - it's Observer."

Enterprise was concerned, "Just like how Tabloid got here. But this was a long time ago, I can only imagine what she was doing to him while in the care of the Sirens."

Illustrious had to guess, "I could only imagine that it was quite terrifying for the poor man.

Trigger figured, "There was definitely no way to talk about him without mentioning that he was quite the motormouth."

Prince of Wales asked, "A motormouth?"

"He loved to talk all the time during missions."

Illustrious sighed, "I can imagine that he would be told to be quiet all the time."

That's when they heard Chopper speak, "At the time of the November City assignment, we still didn't know what happened to Captain Bartlett since he wasn't in that POW camp that we assaulted and was listed as MIA. I just hope that after my 'death' at some point the Captain would've resurfaced."

That's when Trigger decided to make his presence known as he opened the door and entered while saying,

"As a matter of fact, he did resurface because he was with a group of Yuktobanian citizens, mostly college students and intellectuals who were organizing a resistance against the Yuktobanian Military Regime during the war. After the war, Captain Bartlett was promoted to Colonel Bartlett, at least his 15 year drought at Captain had ended."

Chopper and the rest of the crew were surprised that Trigger was listening in on his story. But Chopper was surprised to hear that his former flight lead was promoted after 15 years since the Belkan War. But he asked,

"Wait, how do you know about this?"

The Ace chuckled, "From Bartlett himself when he visited my dad's motorcycle shop in Oured after I was accepted into the OADF."

Chopper realized, "Huh? That makes sense and you mentioned a Yuke Resistance - I guess those guys were mad at their wartime government, right?"

"Yeah, they were mad that a coup d'etat led to the imprisonment of Prime Minister Nikanor as the country went to full scale war. Bartlett was with the resistance when they found the Prime Minister, he would later infiltrate a nearby airfield, steal an airplane and escape with the Prime Minister."

Chopper was surprised to find out that the Prime Minister was imprisoned by his own government, but rescued by Bartlett during the later stages of the last war. That's when Trigger stated,

"Colonel Bartlett told me all about his students, including you - Motormouth Chopper."

He laughed, "Yeah that definitely sounds like that tough, but caring Captain because he called me that because of my knack for comic dialogue."

They all laughed at that since it was true that Alvin H. Davenport had a knack for comic dialogue which was the reason why he sent the surrender request to the Yuke SR-71 at Cape Landers. But the Wardog pilot was also curious about how his teacher was able to escape with the Yuktobanian Prime Minister since there would no doubt be aircraft, ground forces and defensive positions at the airfield and asked,

"About your story, I'm sure the Captain had one hell of an air support."

Trigger stated, "He did - in the form of four black bodied planes watching him from above while raining death upon the obstacles in his path."

"Let me guess - those four black planes had something to do with the Razgriz right?"

Trigger nodded as he said, "Correct. These were the Aces Of Razgriz - they are four black fighter jets hunting down the true instigators who tried to stir hatred between Osea and Yuktobania. The President would call them 'our brave pilots' in his televised speech with Nikanor."

Avril spoke, "I've actually heard that these fighters came from the Kestrel and when she was hit by two sub-launched missiles, the ship was sinking so fast that the last plane barely made it off the deck since Andersen ordered them to launch despite his ship sinking. Those four fighters had black bodies and red tails - they would end up winning the war."

"And afterwards - the Aces Of Razgriz disappeared like ghosts and any information about their identities was deemed classified by President Harling until he announced in 2013 that the document about The Belkan Conflict as it was sometimes known, will be made public in the year 2020 to give the world time to heal from the last war - this document includes the identities of the Aces of Razgriz."

Tabloid spoke, "There were rumors that the Aces of Razgriz were really those Sand Island pilots, but the last record of them was on December 7th 2010 when they were shot down over the Ceres Ocean by carrier planes from the Kestrel while trying to escape after being accused of being Yuktobanian Spies. But who's to say the aircraft that shot them down had staged a false death?"

Jaeger asked, "How are you so sure about that, Tabloid?"

The ex-con stated, "The Sand Island pilots were the center of the army's strength after Cruik Fortress when all of a sudden - they were branded as enemy spies and were shot down while trying to flee. Then came the reports of black planes destroying Yuktobanian troops for the resistance, shooting down an elite squadron in a ravine, blowing away an airfield for the resistance, then these planes were involved in a sea of chaos between Yuktobanian and Osean ships. Then came the Battle of Sudentor where several officers, soldiers and pilots of Osea and Yuktobania rallied behind these four black F-14s because of the televised words of both the President and Prime Minister."

Tirpitz had a thought, "If the Demons of Razgriz were shot down and killed, yet they had returned - that makes them the Ghosts of Razgriz."

Chopper figured, "The Ghosts of Razgriz? That sounds like my wingmen did fake their deaths and I can bet that the pilot who shot them down was Captain Snow which meant that they probably were working behind the scenes to fight this Belkan conspiracy."

Lanza stated, "Well, maybe that document will shed light on the Razgriz mystery since it will be declassified next year."

They all agreed that when the document regarding the Belkan Conflict goes public, they will finally have an understanding of what was going on behind the scenes of the Circum-Pacific War, including the identities of the Aces of Razgriz.

As for Maverick, upon listening to the whole story, he came up with a conclusion,

"The Razgriz are Aces, Demons and Ghosts, they fly like great pilots bringing hope to their allies, they are demons to the enemy for their devastating attacks and disappear after the war was finally over - like ghosts. You are practically an Ace, a Demon and a Ghost."

Chopper asked, "Why?"

"You're an Ace for being a good fighter pilot, you fought through the toughest battles and downed a lot of aircraft - even flew an airship like that Orgoi recently. You are a Demon because you were involved in sinking those two giant subs which proved that you and your squadron were the real demons. You are a Ghost because you sacrificed yourself to save civilians, but those Sirens got you before you crashed, you are now here in our world and these guys see you as a ghost."

Chopper realized this as he said, "You know what, you've got a point."

The Wardog Pilot turned to Trigger and said, "I can be a big help for you guys in fighting this current war and I'm looking for some payback to that tentacle girl for stuffing me in that pod. But what I'm saying - I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, just say the word."

Trigger approached Chopper as he and the Wardog pilot shook hands as he said, "Welcome to Azur Lane, Chopper."

---

Ace Combat Universe

Sky Kid Bar

San Salvacion, Usea

1450 hrs

Meanwhile in the city of San Salvacion, a group of people gather at the local bar to catch up on current events, mainly the recent war and the latest news regarding the strange activities on the ocean.

The four that were in the bar included the astronaut Kei Nagase, the man in the Razgriz jacket, an older dark skinned man and the younger man of the group. Nagase sighed,

"It was a long seven years in space, but it was worth the risk in preventing another Ulysses. But I was able to come back to you, Blake."

Blake, the man in the Razgriz jacket stated, "It was tough for me and the kids, just sitting outside on a clear night looking at the stars knowing that you're up there. Alvin was even wondering if you were ever coming home while Mei spent her time reading your completed version of 'A Blue Dove For The Princess' imagining that you are by her side reading it with her."

Kei felt guilty about it because she left her husband and kids to fend for themselves while she went off to prevent another Ulysses. But she's here now and she wants to make the best of her return, she guessed their age,

"The twins are 6 at this point?"

"They're going to be 7 next month."

The younger man sighed as he whispered to the older man, "I wouldn't be surprised if Blake and Kei decide to take a second honeymoon."

His companion stated, "They would need it - spent seven years apart and they would need a second honeymoon."

Blake said, "Grimm, Snow, we heard that."

The four chuckled at that as Kei figured, "A second honeymoon does sound like a good idea, isn't that right, Blaze?"

Blake or Blaze, stated, "It does since we do have some catching up to do."

The astronaut giggled, "You flatter me with your charming personality, honey."

Snow stated, "That's always been a thing with you two, you always do tend to be intimate at times."

Blaze stated, "It's just how it's been for us ever since we set foot on the Kestrel all those years ago and Kei was breaking down over everything that happened to us."

Grimm pointed out, "You also took on your mother's maiden name to honor your uncle who died in the Belkan War."

"Right, Blake 'Blaze' Beckett, nephew of the Knight of Osea, it's because I look up to him a lot since my mother would tell stories about him, even Alexander would tell stories about him."

Snow stated, "It's mostly because of his secret."

"I know who he really was and his reason for walking away from flying. But he didn't want anyone else to know who he really is because he was never one for attention."

Grimm spoke, "You would sometimes refer to him as your Uncle despite not being related."

Blaze understood this as he replied, "My mom would say that Uncle PJ would refer to him as his brother and his death over Avalon had hurt him badly, but he knows how to hang in there."

Kei held her husband's hand as she assured him, "He may not be blood, but your family has supported Alexander throughout the years and the motorcycle shop is a result of that deep friendship. Your family has long since forgiven him for not doing more to save your uncle, but he's still family - we even made him and his wife the godparents to our children."

Blaze looked at his wife and smiled, "Thanks Kei and from the moment that you wanted to be my wingman a little longer - I figured that we would be more than just wingmen."

"We should've been on a flight back to Osea, but with the strange activities going on - we're practically stuck in Usea."

Snow spoke, "No kidding, we couldn't get a flight out of San Profetta Airport back to Osea."

Grimm had something to say as well, "I heard that a Royal Escort unit lead by the squadron that ended the war encountered something - which nearly killed the Princess of Erusea, had they not stopped it - afterwards that pilot with the three lines chased after a fleeing aircraft and then disappeared. There were no signs of a ditching. No floating debris. Nothing."

Kei was concerned about it because that pilot was responsible for giving her spaceship a place to dock at the space elevator. But Grimm continued,

"But later on, I heard reports of a Joint Fleet of Osean and Erusean ships departing from Farbanti and they were no doubt expecting action."

"Well, you've heard right, Grimm."

That was the voice of a new occupant who entered the bar, he was a grizzled man in an OADF uniform with the rank of Colonel on his shoulder, but these four knew who this man was as Blaze spoke,

"Captain Bartlett."

"It's Colonel now, but it doesn't mean that you can address me as such. But it's good to see you all again and Nagase - I figured it was best for me to come to Usea myself to welcome you home. Sorry for being two months late."

Kei assured her teacher, "It was nothing really."

Bartlett soon got to the point, "Anyway, Grimm wasn't wrong about the Joint-Fleet because an Osean SR-71 was overseeing the fleet and took these images."

He set down the photos on the bar as they looked at them which shows the fleet engaging an enemy fleet of ships with black coloring and strange highlights. But beyond the enemy fleet, there was a swirl of purple and red clouds as more ships came out of it.

Snow was curious as he said, "Jack, I understand that they are engaging the enemy, but what exactly are we looking at?"

Bartlett stated, "Aside from the hostile ships, the Joint-Fleet was making a beeline to those clouds - almost like that was their objective. Radio communications confirmed that the cloud swirl is some kind of portal, like in the science fiction movies."

Grimm figured, "So a Joint Osean and Erusean fleet would blow through a fleet of hostile ships for that portal to take the flight to them?"

"Most likely, but the other reason, according to the radio communications, is that they were trying to find the pilot with the three strikes - their flight lead."

Blaze was about to say something until he heard something echo in his mind, it was a voice - a familiar voice,

"I can be a big help for you guys in fighting this current war and I'm looking for some payback to that tentacle girl for stuffing me in that pod. But what I'm saying - I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, just say the word."

"Welcome to Azur Lane, Chopper."

Blaze was soon confused when he heard the voice of an old friend, considering that he's been dead for nine years. But he heard a second voice in that echo, he recognized it as the voice of the pilot with the three strikes - Patrick James Cross. But the way that Chopper said about getting 'payback to some tentacle girl for stuffing him in a pod' and Pat welcoming him to 'Azur Lane?' What does that mean? That wasn't until his teacher's voice snapped him out of his trance,

"Hey Kid, you alright?"

Blaze shook off that trance as he said, "I'm fine…it's just I swear I thought I could hear Chopper's voice."

Snow stated, "Blaze, I know you still feel bad about him, but you know Chopper's…"

"I know, I know…but the way he talked seemed like he was still alive and I also heard the voice of the pilot with the three strikes, welcoming Chopper to Azur Lane…I don't know why that came up, but something doesn't seem right."

Bartlett was concerned about this revelation, but decided, "We'll have to figure it out later, but it's best we should go back to Osea. I have arranged for all of us to fly to Oured. Hopefully we'll be home by Christmas."

Grimm was surprised, "How were you able get a plane when we couldn't even get a regular flight back home?"

The Colonel chuckled as Blaze figured, "Her?"

Bartlett answered, "Her."

Kei stated, "Now it makes sense that she would be involved."

Colonel Bartlett replied, "What can I say? She's got a vast number of contacts."

There's no denying that since Bartlett's lady friend was a lady with connections for a reconnaissance major. So it's not surprising that she would be able to get a private jet from Osea to Usea and back. But as they thought about returning to Osea and Blaze's premonition of hearing both Chopper and Trigger's voices, Grimm realized,

"It's almost 2020 - so at some point next year is when the document will go public."

Blaze understood this, "You're right about that and when that document goes public - so will our identities. People will know what we did in the last war, who we are and we will be asked a lot of questions."

Kei knew this as she said, "Seven years in space and I return home for people to discover my role in the last war. It's going to be a shock for my colleagues when they discover what I did."

Snow stated, "You're not the only one, Kei. I was part of the sea-salvage crew that located the wreck of the Kestrel. I was the one who piloted the submersible to the wreck site with Andersen, so he can gaze upon the wreck of his ship knowing that despite everything that happened when his ship went down - he launched us off safely so we can get to Sudentor. I can only imagine how my buddies in the salvage company would react when they realize my identity as a Ghost."

Grimm figured, "I left the Air Force after the war and took a few jobs as a private pilot, even took up gliding as a sport. But still, people are going to look at us differently when our identities go public."

Blaze looked at his companions and said, "I still remember when President Harling called all of us to speak with him, which was close to the end of his term. He stated that despite our efforts, there would be no medals to honor us, no promotions or recognitions as the valiant, brave and courageous soldiers that we are, that our identities as the Razgriz would be classified as we are sworn to secrecy. He considered it to be a seven-year order not to disclose any information about our activities during the war until 2020 when the document goes public."

Kei remembered that meeting, "That was before I left for my mission to the asteroid belt - the twins were only 10 months old when I left, but still I feel bad for leaving them."

Blaze assured his wife, "I still read your books to them as bedtime stories and I show them those recordings of you reading your books. They do miss you a lot."

"Then I will make the best of being back home and I will make an effort to be a part of their lives."

Bartlett soon said, "Nagase, if you're concerned about catching up with the past six birthdays, don't be since you being home is all your kids really need."

Blaze looked at his mentor and said, "That's surprising coming from you, Bartlett."

"Hey, I care for you nuggets like you were my own children."

Blaze stated, "We're not nuggets anymore since we did save the world nine years ago."

The three Wardog pilots agreed to an extent since it was Bartlett's training that they remembered being the reason why they were still up in the air during all those battles. Marcus Snow was in the Naval Air Force, but his training is what got him through the burst missile attacks that sank two carriers and killed half of his men. When he was flying as a wingman as Razgriz 3, he finally knew how his men felt when under his command which in turn, helped Snow show his resolve to fly as a wingman - to avenge his men.

Snow had a lot of respect for Bartlett, but also knew about the Belkan War Vet's shyness which he apologized for not introducing himself to the former Naval Air Force Captain during Operation Crossroad - the mission where the former Wardog pilots meet Bartlett again.

All five of them have indeed been through hell, for Blaze, Kei, Grimm and Snow - they faced that hell in the air while Bartlett was on the ground coordinating with the resistance and sending information about the Grey Men's intentions to the Kestrel.

But he definitely saw how the Yuke military had usurped control of the country by imprisoning Nikanor in a coup. But his actions as well as the OFS Andromeda, an Osean landing ship retrofitted as an Intelligence Gathering Ship in the Kestrel Fleet, allowed Harling to be rescued, the nuclear weapons sealed within the Yering Mine at Mt. Schirm, the resistance successfully dismantling a tactical nuke without any interference, the Arkbird destroyed before it could attempt its nuclear attack on either Okchabursk or Osea, the rescue of the Yuktobanian Prime Minister and the location of the Grey Men's base of operations in Sudentor.

After that reminiscing, Bartlett stated, "I have to admit that you all practically saved the world nine years ago and it also appears that my nuggets are all grown up - especially you Kid."

Blaze chuckled and said, "That was your old nickname during The Belkan War."

"I know and the reason I gave you my old nickname was because I saw something within you. I believed that you had the potential to be one hell of a squad captain - and I was right. You had Nagase who flew by your side and protected you from the enemy, mostly because she failed to protect me, even when I made the choice to take that missile. I even heard about what you did when she got herself shot down over enemy lines - you took command of the rescue operation and fiercely protected the rescue team when you found her."

Blaze felt embarrassed, "You heard about that? My emotions went haywire because we had to return to base without Kei. I felt like a failure, I just felt so distraught…so damn angry that she was out there in the middle of a snowstorm in enemy territory. I nearly damaged a disc from Chopper's rock n roll collection during my emotional breakdown until I sat at the foot of the couch where Kei would usually sit in the crew room. Once I was…stable, I finally noticed that Genette was reading Kei's book, but I must admit for a journalist, the guy practically knows an emotional breakdown when he sees it. He also reminded me that the others need me to keep myself in check because while Kei was gone, I had to make sure that Chopper and Grimm knew that they could still rely on me as a squadron leader."

Grimm spoke, "I remember that night after the debrief, you were silent and depressed on one side, but the next thing I saw that you were angry, crying and yelling 'God Damn It' while punching a nearby chair. I had to admit that I was terrified of approaching you at that point and I saw you on the floor at the foot of the couch with Genette talking to you. After you personally called us to the briefing, you were much calmer than last night and personally laid out the details for the rescue operation - the Base Commander was actually a bit frightened when he turned over the briefing to you."

Blaze remembered that, "In my emotional state, I persuaded him to hold the briefing to the rescue operation in the morning which I would personally brief the details - I stated that I didn't care if he would court martial me for insubordination or not, all that mattered was rescuing Kei before she was captured by the enemy."

Kei stated, "When you told me about that after I was released from the medical center upon my return to Sand Island - I never realized how much you cared about me."

Bartlett guessed, "That's when you two had a secret relationship going on, right?"

Blaze stated, "It was a secret known to no one besides Chopper and Grimm, up until Chopper's death and us becoming fugitives."

Snow spoke, "You two couldn't pull the wool over my eyes since I know a secret romance when I see one. But like you said, you three were now fugitives after being falsely accused of espionage. After the war and we had to go into hiding, the most notable time that all of us were together was on the day of your wedding. I still have the photos from it as well."

The five former pilots were enjoying the reminiscence of their past since they were practically legends in the Osean Air Force. Bartlett went through the Belkan War, got shot down over B7R, met the Belkan Ace who would later be known as Pops, got through the Round Table and made it back to the allied frontlines where he convinced the allied forces that Pops was on their side. Afterwards, he would serve as a flight instructor at Sand Island, believing that he would be stuck at the Captain's rank forever because of his tendency to disobey orders for the safety of his trainees.

As for Blaze, Kei and Grimm, they were all Bartlett's nuggets - his students, but they pulled through after Bartlett was shot down, met Captain Snow from the Naval Air Force, saved the Kestrel on numerous occasions, sank the two giant Yuke submarines, lost Chopper in the November City air raid, uncovered a Belkan conspiracy, fled from Sand Island after being branded as fugitives, faked their deaths with Snow's help, rescued Harling, stopped the actions by the Belkan Grey Men, rescued Nikanor, reveal the truth about the war to both countries and thwarted the Grey Men's efforts of using V2 to enact their vengeance by destroying the SOLG.

The four pilots are the Ghosts of Razgriz and by the year 2020 when the document goes public - their identities will be known. But Blaze pointed out,

"It's sad that Harling was killed in the recent war in Usea - his Osprey shot down by a missile while trying to protect the Space Elevator. It's also unfair that the escort pilot was falsely blamed for it, even though he only used his guns to destroy the UAVs near his craft."

Bartlett asked, "Alex's kid? Don't remind me. The whole trial was just a one-sided affair as all defense was thrown out. But with Nastashya's help, we got the trial results and gave it to Vice Chairman Edwards of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and let me tell you this - the man was not happy with how the trial proceedings were handled and contacted Fort Grays for what really happened that day. Both squadron leads testified that an Osean Super Hornet was the one who killed Harling - not the F-4 Phantom flown by Alex's kid. Edwards would later contact the Penal Base where the kid was being held and he was also recommended by the 122nd Tactical Fighter Squadron because he saved their lives. The kid was proven innocent and was exonerated by the Osean Air Force - this pilot would later become the Three Strikes."

Snow stated, "I heard that Erusea built drones to look like Osean aircraft which was what was used to assassinate Harling."

Bartlett agreed, "When General Edwards contacted the Penal Base, it was right after a mission to the Waiapolo Mountains where the 444 Squadron encountered drones that mimicked Osean aircraft - both markings, craft type and IFF."

Kei put the pieces together and said, "A drone variant of the F-18, flying Osean markings fired at the transport copter carrying Harling while firing it in a way that it would look like another Osean plane shot him down."

"A perfect trick by the Eruseans and a way to scapegoat the kid for something he didn't do."

Grimm realized, "Just like what the Grabacr tried to do with us by attacking the engineering college in Dresedene."

Blaze sighed as he said, "Yeah, those bastards tried to make us look like we were attacking that school. God…just hearing the frantic voice of the Yuke soldiers and painful cries from civilians on the radio was horrifying. But the Grabacr succeeded in making the Yukes conduct terror attacks at Apito International Airport and Bana City, but we stopped them at Bana by capturing their special forces unit."

Kei remembered seeing the root of the attack on Bana and Apito, "The Grabacr did indeed stir enough hatred to warrant the attacks on the airport and the city - but we were able to stop the attacks and prove our innocence."

"I just wish they could have done that for Pat to prove his innocence. But instead, he was sent to that Penal Base where he had to fly suicide missions where he is practically expendable."

Bartlett added, "I actually know the squadron leader of the 122nd, he went by the TAC Name: Wiseman and forwarded that recommendation to me for review which would mean that a convict could receive a pardon for his crimes and be reinstated to active duty. I was shocked that he told me that the con in question was the kid and Wiseman would tell me that he flew with determination to protect the reconnaissance unit from both drones and the Erusean Experimental Squadron. The fact that he drove a skilled Erusean Ace away to protect the recon group and his determination to protect his wingmen proved that he was innocent even though the official story said that he was 'The Murderer of President Harling' which I wouldn't believe."

Blaze stated, "In all honesty, Jack - only an idiot would believe the official story."

"Exactly, that's why I did what I did in order to prove that there were errors in what happened at the Lighthouse. That's why General Edwards became suspicious of the whole case - because I told him about it and we worked to find the truth."

It was incredible for the four to know that Bartlett would work behind the scenes with his Yuktobanian girlfriend and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide evidence that an innocent pilot was wrongfully sent to a suicide squad. But the actions lead to Trigger being proven innocent and the International Union Peacekeeping Force's Court Martial was brought up on charges for wrongful imprisonment and denial of right to counsel.

Bartlett knew that after this, Trigger was transferred to the LRSSG and became the Three Strikes because he always has the three scratches on the tail of his plane.

Blaze had enough of the reminiscing and decided, "I guess it's time for us to get to the airport, so we can head home."

Kei agreed, "I'm looking forward to seeing the twins."

Snow figured, "I think we have had our share of war torn countries and battlefields."

Grimm stated, "Even though this city was a tipping battle in the Continental War."

"It was."

That voice was spoken by the young woman tending the bar as she continued, "This city was the point of no return for Erusea. Initially, San Salvacion was a neutral city at the start of the Continental War until Erusea occupied it. But there were a number of civilians working underground, sending information about the Eruseans to the ISAF - my family were members of the resistance around the time my father owned this bar. But on some nights, the elite fighter squadron that guarded Stonehenge would commandeer this bar and tally kill scores - however one pilot would sit in that booth over there."

She pointed to the empty booth in the corner, "The man who would usually sit there, was the squad leader and aside from his wingman being at his side, even on the ground, he always seemed to be looking for a worthy opponent to test himself against. He would sometimes talk about a training session with his old instructor when he brushed his plane with his instructor's plane in flight which was a sign that he was skilled."

Blaze was curious about this woman since she was knowledgeable about what happened during the Continental War and asked, "How do you know this?"

"I was working as a waitress during the war. Like I said before, my father owned the bar when I was a child and I would help out as a waitress. So I did overhear the conversations between the pilots, but as a member of the Resistance, I eagerly awaited the ISAF counterattack on the mainland. I told a friend of mine, who was living with the Erusean pilots at their base - a repurposed freeway, that we will run them out. But he could tell that I didn't mean it from the bottom of my heart - he could tell that I had a crush on the squadron leader because he saw me shoot jealous glances at his wingman."

Kei figured, "You're talking about the Erusean Ace, Yellow 13 and his wingman, Yellow 4."

The barkeep nodded and said, "I am, Thirteen had captured my heart, but Four had the absolute trust as his wingman. When I planted the bomb on Yellow Squadron's runway, I planted it near Yellow 4's plane and upon detonation, Yellow 4 suffered light shrapnel wounds from the explosion, her plane's engine was damaged and in need of a replacement. They never had time to fix her plane because of the reports of the ISAF attack on Stonehenge which they all scrambled to intercept. Yellow 4 went up with the others in her damaged plane, she went up in her plane that day and never returned."

Grimm stated, "That was when Mobius 1 destroyed Stonehenge, I also read that Yellow Squadron arrived late."

"They did and that fighter shot down Yellow 4. But upon returning, Thirteen was a different man, he was in mourning although he never openly showed his sorrow. The only keepsake he had of his wingman was a handkerchief which he found in Yellow 4's quarters. My friend said that Thirteen had recounted when he and Four met, how he trained her to become a fighter pilot and my friend realized how those words weren't directed at him - rather Thirteen was keeping a precious memory alive by speaking these words to him, even the hint of perfume on the handkerchief was another reminder of his wingman."

Blaze, remembering the Rock N Roll collection that he 'inherited' from Chopper, simply said, "That sounds familiar."

"Afterwards, he would sit alone in that booth and point out a newspaper praising the Ribbon Fighter that destroyed Stonehenge and he said that 'even among the enemy there are men like this. Not all of them are despicable bastards who rob our wings through cowardly sabotage.' I winced at those words when he said that and I could also tell that - he knew that it was me who planted the bomb on their runway, leading to Yellow 4's death."

Snow figured, "But he didn't confront you in the middle of the bar."

The barkeep stated, "No, it wasn't until the Liberation drew near the city, I was out during the blackouts trying to plant laser transmitters for detonating explosives, but I got caught and was being chased by Erusean soldiers. It wasn't until after I lost them that I stopped near a parked car to catch my breath until the driver stepped out of the car - it was Yellow 13. He knew it was me, I realized that he wasn't as oblivious to my actions as the other Erusean occupation forces. I didn't know what to do since I was terrified as he was staring me down until my friend appeared around the corner yelling 'Get out of our town, you fascist pig' and Thirteen's face twisted so painfully asking, 'Do you hate us that much?' but neither of us couldn't utter any reply. Afterwards he said, 'Go' and released us."

Snow had a thought, "He was still reeling from the loss of his wingman and to know that the face of the enemy whom he hated belonged to someone close to him. When your friend caught up and denounced him, despite his apparent friendship with him, the Erusean Ace was definitely hurt by this until he released you."

The barkeep understood this as she continued, "After the Liberation of San Salvacion, my friend and I fell in with the routed Eruseans and followed after Yellow Squadron because we wanted to see if Thirteen was able to face the ISAF Ace. We followed the squadron to Farbanti where we witnessed the fateful duel between Yellow Squadron and a single ISAF F-22 Raptor, bearing the Ribbon Insignia. Despite the odds being against the ISAF Ace, numbers didn't seem to matter to him and one by one, he downed each plane until it was down to Yellow 13 himself. It was tense to see a battle between Aces, both planes dueled through the skies above us as it looked like Thirteen had finally found his equal - a worthy opponent."

Blaze pointed out, "That was on September 19th, I heard that Yellow Squadron tried to regain air superiority over the capital, but were shot down by the ISAF Ace, Mobius 1."

The young woman nodded as she continued, "Yes, Yellow 13 would be shot down by Mobius 1. The only thing that survived was the handkerchief that once belonged to Yellow 4 since we saw it flutter down from the sky where Thirteen disappeared as it still had the faint scent of perfume. Afterwards, my friend and I decided to bury the handkerchief in an unmarked grave with only a tree stump to signify the grave. We didn't know if it was to be Thirteen or Four's grave as their memories blur together as one. After we said our goodbyes to both pilots, we went back to San Salvacion as Yellow Squadron's runway became a local highway again."

"You seem to have been through a lot during the Continental War since you were just a child."

She added, "I was a member of the San Salvacion Resistance while my father and my family gathered useful information from enemy customers - I was the saboteur since no one would expect a child to be capable of such things."

Snow asked, "How did your friend find out about your involvement if he spent most of his time with Yellow Squadron?"

"It was an accident that led to him discovering the Resistance. He used to live with his uncle after his parents died when Yellow 13 shot down an ISAF plane, causing it to crash by the cape of the lake where his family lived. His uncle was a taxi cab driver until the Eruseans enforced curfews on the city, hurting the taxi cab business and all his uncle could do in his depressed state was drink while scorning my father for doing business with the Eruseans."

Kei sighed, "I can imagine your friend's grief, having lost his family and his would-be guardian was depressed because the occupation forces had cut off his source of income. But what happened to his Uncle?"

"He vanished for unknown reasons, whether it was by force or of his own volition - he simply just disappeared. My friend would spend most of his time with Yellow Squadron like he was a part of them. One night, we allowed him to sleep here after the bar closed and our activity upstairs had woke him up. He went upstairs and caught us working on coordinating with other Resistance members all over the city, my father and the others were going to interrogate him - but I stepped in and protected him from them because of his tender age with me being a little older than him."

Blaze figured, "But despite your friend finding a haven among the enemy, he also knew the Resistance and he wanted to see it all. You went with him to follow the Yellow Squadron to Farbanti to witness the final duel between Mobius 1 and Yellow 13."

It was true as the barkeep told her story about her time in the Continental War. That this bar would host the Yellow Squadron and their leader, Yellow 13. They say that the walls of a building hold many stories, but it's sometimes the people who lived through it all who tell these stories. The barkeep's story did give the Razgriz pilots some insight into how things were during the Erusean occupation of San Salvacion. They were also curious about what happened to her friend, a young boy who lost everything, befriended Yellow 13 and witnessed his final duel with Mobius 1. Blaze asked,

"What became of your friend?"

The barkeep smiled and said, "He still lives in the city, helps me out with running the Sky Kid Bar, but I remember seeing him write a letter, recounting his story to send to him - Mobius 1. He's also into aviation and wishes to become a private pilot - he's also not too keen about the idea of drones being used for combat."

Bartlett stated, "None of us are and this recent war had drones written all over it."

"That should hopefully open people's eyes about drones."

Kei stated, "I hope so since they nearly caused a drone apocalypse before my spaceship docked at the Space Elevator."

Snow reminded everyone, "But we owe it all to the pilot with the three strikes, we wouldn't be here if not for him."

The barkeep agreed, "All of Usea saluted him for ending the war and I've heard that Erusea has been undergoing a path to recovery - thanks to the Princess."

Bartlett nodded and said, "The Princess does a good job, even though she was manipulated by the Radicals. But she's looking to build a better tomorrow to slowly pull away from war and bring peace which is what Harling wanted."

Blaze stated, "And it was the Three Strikes that made it possible."

They all agreed as the five pilots decided to go as Blaze stated,

"Well ma'am, I think it's time for us to go. Thanks for telling us your story."

The barkeep smiled and said, "I appreciate that you all liked my recounting of my time during the last war. But then again - San Salvacion's liberation started in this very bar, thanks to the useful information from the Erusean customers."

Grimm spoke, "I think you should also add the Lighthouse War to the city's history."

She agreed with the Razgriz pilot, "It was occupied by the Eruseans for a time until Osea launched an attack against Erusean forces in the city."

Bartlett spoke, "That operation had a 75% attrition rate for our side because those damn Arsenal Birds were also calling drone strikes down on our guys."

"But Osea did manage to shoot down that monster bird via Stonehenge which I find ironic because it was used by the Eruseans as an Anti-Air weapon, but now Osea used it on that monster bird."

Snow figured, "At least it did got an Arsenal Bird as its final kill before resting in peace."

"I can agree on that sentiment since it was used against Erusea and once that bird was downed by Stonehenge, Osean forces surged into the city and drove the Eruseans out."

They couldn't agree more about the results of Operation Dragon's Breath which was an operation to use the final Stonehenge turret to shoot down an Arsenal Bird. Osea was repairing the final turret and using generator trucks to run the turret along with surveyors to act as Stonehenge's eyes.

Colonel Bartlett knew the two specialists responsible for bringing the turret online since he actually had Major McOnie and Warrant Officer Lehmann paired for the mission. He knew that the Major was an expert in implementing an advanced program into something as archaic as Stonehenge. As for Lehmann, the Warrant Officer was a specialist in getting the cannon up and running, even insisting on waiting until the system was 100% ready before taking the shot. Bartlett read the report which stated that when their spotters were down, Lehmann had the idea of using manual control to destroy the Arsenal Bird, relying on the LRSSG to slow the monster bird down by destroying the central propellers.

Thanks to Three Strikes, Stonehenge was able to fire, punch through the APS and destroy the Arsenal Bird.

The domino effect was that with one Arsenal Bird destroyed - the defensive area around the Space Elevator was significantly reduced - allowing Osea to counterattack, liberating various Usean territories and independent nations - including San Salvacion.

The barkeep stated, "The mayor is definitely going to put this in the record of fighting that has broken out in the capital. But hopefully, we will get some peace for the next couple of years."

Kei said, "I hope so because I would hate to see another war where this city is caught in the crossfire."

"Yes, one can hope."

As the five pilots left the bar, the Barkeep sighed as she pulled out a picture which showed herself as a young girl, a young boy along with a man and a woman wearing the uniform of the Erusean Air Force. She sighed and said,

"I'm glad you had a copy of this photo since it means a lot to both of us. I'm also certain that Mobius 1 got your letter and your reasons for writing to him - to give your side of who Yellow 13 was. How his presence had brought Thirteen unexpected joy to have a worthy opponent."

She soon blushed, "Maybe I should call him up to see if he can play a tune on his harmonica for me."

---

Outside the Skykid Bar, Bartlett and the Razgriz pilots were walking down the sidewalk to a waiting hummer as the Colonel asked,

"You know about the disappearances of those freighters affiliated with Gründer?"

The four pilots remember the name of the weapons manufacturer who's president was a secret Grey Men member who tried to reunite North and South Belka while plotting revenge against Osea and Yuktobania - instigating the Circum-Pacific War.

They also knew that the drone technology that caused the Lighthouse War was from Gründer which meant that either directly or indirectly - North Osea Gründer Industries was responsible for the recent war. But Blaze stated,

"Some of us had heard about the disappearance of those freighters."

"Mainly because those freighters were carrying various technologies out of Usea - and sightings of those strange ships were reported by these freighters before their disappearance. But it's clear that they were attacked, commandeered and went through portals like the one in the satellite image."

Snow asked, "This means that whoever those ships are affiliated with, now has Belkan technology?"

"Don't know, but a fleet of Osean, Erusean and Usean naval ships spotted a fleet near the northern coast escorting a freighter. Don't know what they were doing with that freighter, but the enemy fleet wasn't going to let them have it. It was lucky that the joint fleet had the Osean Carrier Vulture and the Usean Carrier Fort Grace because with the close air support - we were able to sink the escorts and capture the freighter."

Grimm asked, "Why are you telling us this?"

Bartlett chuckled as he moved towards the door of the hummer and said, "Because the plane that's going to take us back to Osea came from that freighter and we also found a survivor. At first glance, she looks like a kid, but she's more than just a kid."

He soon opened the door as he told whoever was inside, "You can come out now."

After he said this, a young girl stepped out of the car, she had dark hair and brown eyes, she wore what looks to be an oversized coat over a shirt and skirt with socks and sandals. The young girl spoke,

"Hello, I am Zuiho and I'm a light aircraft carrier of the Sakura Empire! I was aboard the freighter when I was rescued by the joint fleet in the northern coast."

The Razgriz pilots were confused by this girl since she claims to be a light aircraft carrier - but she's obviously human. Grimm asked,

"How are you an aircraft carrier?"

Zuiho realized, "Oh, I forgot about that since Bartlett-San wanted it to be a surprise. Well to answer your question - I'm a kansen, a living embodiment of a historical ship from eras past, reborn through the thoughts and memories of humanity."

Blaze asked, "But how were you reborn as what you are and what is the Sakura Empire?"

The light carrier explained the use of Wisdom Cubes and how the cubes started to appear after a similar Ulysses disaster. She explains her rigging and how she was one of many kansen in various factions in her world as well as the identity of the faction which those unknown ships were affiliated with as Kei asked,

"Sirens?"

Zuiho nodded and said, "We were fighting the Sirens in our world for years and they were the ones responsible for causing trouble in your world."

Snow asked, "But what were you doing on that ship when these Sirens attacked?"

The light carrier stated, "We were transporting a decommissioned passenger aircraft from the Royal Islands of Britain to the Sakura Mainland of Japan as part of an outreach program regarding aviation enthusiasts. The Sirens attacked, captured the ship while I hid and somehow went through a Siren portal to the Northern Usean coast."

Bartlett finished, "That's when we rescued her from that Siren fleet and brought the freighter to port safely. The kid gave us a little rundown about the passenger jet that the freighter was carrying and suffice to say - it's a supersonic jet airliner."

Blaze asked, "A Supersonic airliner? I mean I've heard about Supersonic airplanes like the Valkyries being utilized for high speed bombings and launching cruise missiles. But no one has seen a supersonic airliner in 20 years and I have only seen them in books."

Zuiho figured, "I'm surprised about that because back home, the plane is famous for its supersonic flight."

Kei asked, "You said that it was decommissioned?"

"I did, but the mechanics at the airport are bringing it online since it came with a flight handbook and manual."

Bartlett figured, "It may seem like a museum piece, but it was still a fully functional aircraft. But still, we're all going to get to the bottom of this Siren problem when we get back to Osea."

Zuiho stated, "I may have to explain myself to your central command about myself and the Sirens."

"Which is where an Osean Squadron led by Strider 1 is currently fighting in your world."

The Sakura kansen soon recognized that callsign and asked, "You know Three Strikes?!"

They were surprised that she recognized the nickname of the Ace of The Lighthouse War as Blaze said,

"We know of him since he ended the war and ensured that Kei's Spaceship docked with the Space Elevator safely. How do you know that?"

"While I was in the Royal Islands, I heard about a conflict going on in the Pacific, the biggest ocean in my world between the Allied Forces and the Red Axis, a faction consisting of rogue kansen from the Sakura Empire and the Iron Blood of Germany. The Red Axis were gaining ground until Three Strikes appeared and soon enough - the Allies were on the offensive - even shot down an Aigaion Command Cruiser while covering an allied fleet near the recently liberated island of Wake."

She looked eager, "So this is where he came from."

Snow asked, "Why did these kansen go rogue?"

Zuiho knew that they were still asking questions and answered, "It's because of the use of Siren technology - even the mass-produced ships that have been causing trouble. The fleet that captured my freighter was not affiliated with Red Axis, but whatever the Sirens are up to - it has both worlds involved."

The Razgriz pilots knew that they were getting into something big with Zuiho around because they now know that the Sirens were responsible for everything going on. Especially when the little girl mentioned Three Strikes, it became clear that he's still bringing the fight to the Red Axis and the Sirens. But aside from that, the events that lead up to this moment where the Razgriz pilots meet Zuiho also shows that something was amiss with what's going on.

From the missing Gründer freighters, the Attack on the Princess of Erusea, the Disappearance of Three Strikes, the Osean/Erusean Assault on a Siren Portal to the Rescue of Zuiho, there was definitely something going on about this and if it were to come down to it - then The Aces of Razgriz would have to fly in the skies of battle once more.

Bartlett spoke, "We should get to the airport soon and we'll discuss this more while on the flight to Oured."

They agreed and all got into the hummer as they drove off to San Profetta Airport.

---

Azur Lane Universe

Azur Lane HQ

Crew Quarters

1450 hrs

The crew quarters were really peaceful, even though the various kansen would rely on their own barracks, but they would utilize the base's crew quarters as a middle ground between the Eagle, Royal, Iron, Sakura and Dragon barracks.

The best part that they can hang around with the pilots which at this point - High Roller, Chopper, Count, Hüxian, Payback, Betty, Javelin, Ayanami, Laffey, Z23 Nimi, Hornet and Hood were playing a game of Poker as they exchanged funny stories.

Betty spoke, "You know when Nathan used to gamble - he practically lost his clothes. Boss had a walk of shame back to the barracks afterwards. I'll add 5 to the pile."

Javelin chuckled as she stated, "I do remember a time when Cygnet had lost her clothes and had to rely on a swimsuit that she had recently bought until she eventually found them…and surprisingly, Ark Royal had nothing to do with it despite how she is with destroyers."

Hood added 10 to the pile, "If I also remember correctly that Nathan's gambling habits were what led to your encounter with Thibodeaux and the Cajuns."

Betty sighed, "He ended up betting and losing the carrier - despite our warnings. But we eventually took the carrier back from the Cajuns in the attack on their base."

Nimi guessed, "Was that the reason behind the Cajun Operation?"

"It turned out that the Navy was already moving in on the Cajuns, but couldn't pinpoint the location of Thibodeaux's base. Boss had bet and lost the carrier to Thibodeaux on purpose because Tex hid a tracking beacon before the bet was made. When Thibodeaux's boys took the carrier, the beacon sent out a burst to the Navy - pointing us to his main base of operations in Sea Haven."

Hornet chuckled, "He fell for the oldest trick in the book."

"Yep, it was what led us and the SEAL Teams to attacking Thibodeaux's hideout. As soon as the SEALs had a foothold on the base and reinforcements arrived - the Boss broke off and landed his Fury on the dockside runway where Thibodeaux was waiting for him. The Boss wasn't taking any crap from him, so with a swift punch - he knocked him off the docks and fell into a waiting Zodiac where the SEALs had Thibodeaux in custody. Nathan even went as far as to steal Thibodeaux's F2Y Sea Dart - the only jet-powered seaplane."

Chopper asked, "He had a jet-powered seaplane?"

Hornet pointed out, "I was actually part of the reinforcements during that operation and we found out that the Cajuns had stolen the plane from the San Diego Air & Space Museum in California. The amount of work that was done on that plane to turn it from a simple prototype used in the 50s to a fully operational fighter jet was questionable because the Cajun's were a gang of criminals."

Count spoke, "That's when they found the documents showing that the gang had ties with this Remnant group?"

Betty stated, "Correct. It would explain why the Sea Dart was fitted into a fully functional fighter jet."

Hüxian asked, "What happened to that plane after it was recovered?"

"After Command did a thorough examination, the Sea Dart was boxed up and shipped back to San Diego."

Hornet stated, "In my opinion, the plane was back where it belonged when it was sent back to the museum."

Chopper figured, "Considering that it's a prototype from the 50s with a unique function, it really did belong in a museum."

Payback asked, "So Chopper, any other stories?"

The Wardog pilot stated, "Well, there was the Jilachi Desert where we had to cover a squadron of bombers and a tank battalion trying to move in on two fortified enemy positions: A Field HQ and an Airfield."

Betty asked, "Which target were they assigned?"

"The Bombers had the HQ while the tanks had the airfield. Hell, we were getting support requests from all over the AO that Grimm felt like a waiter in a packed restaurant."

Hornet said, "That's a tough job to do since the bombers and tanks were relying on the support of your squadron."

Chopper added a few more chips to the pile as he continued, "Well, the Yukes were sending out fighters and flak guns for the bombers while the Osean tanks had Yuke attackers, bombers, helicopters, an AC-130 gunship, four X-45 attack drones, two Yuktobanian B-52s and Vulcan bombers. Some of those soldiers thought they weren't even supposed to deploy any planes - meaning our intelligence was wrong."

Hood stated, "That was an overwhelming force that you were facing."

"Yeah, but we were able to get both bombers and tanks to their targets as the HQ became a pile of rubble and wreckage. The airfield was claimed by the tank battalion and I thought I heard the voice of Grimm's brother, who's a soldier in the Osean Army praising his brother for being in our squadron."

Hüxian asked, "He has a brother?"

"Yeah, he is a soldier and has been making his way through Yuktobania since that landing operation at the beginning of the month. We were hoping to have Grimm find his brother's position on the battlefield, but he stated that there was no time to pick favorites because everyone needs our help, so everyone down there is his brother."

High Roller stated, "Smart thinking for him, considering the situation."

Chopper continued, "But after the bombers took out the HQ and the tanks took the airstrip - Thunderhead informed us of the presence of an Enemy AWACS. We had to shoot it down to maintain air superiority over the battlefield. But upon reaching the boss's position, there were two AWACS planes, a Tanker Plane and a large presence of Yuktobanian aircraft."

Nimi realized, "You were outnumbered by those planes."

"We were, but they were coordinating with the AWACS and being refueled by the Tanker - those were our targets despite being harassed by those fighters. But that's when Blaze surprised me - he didn't seem to care about numbers and focused on downing the escorts while we were dealing with the major targets. But when a few bullets from his plane scored multiple hits on the tanker - it turned into a fireball."

Hornet figured, "He must've hit the fuel tank since those planes have extra fuel stored for midair refueling."

"He did and that tanker went down in flames. But we still had to deal with the Enemy AWACS and Blaze was relying on his machine guns since he ran out of missiles, but he was able to shoot down those planes as the Yuke planes turned tail and ran."

Count stated, "That was when the Osean Army set off for Cruik Fortress which stood between them and Cinigrad."

"Yeah, but that large aerial force that the Yukes had was another flaw in our intelligence. It's almost as bad as what happened in November City! The Yukes had penetrated far in and their timing was spot on when the people in the stadium started singing after we did a ceremonial flight over the stadium."

Betty asked, "Singing?"

"Yeah, they were singing 'The Journey Home' which has a peaceful soul to it. It was after that moron of a Vice President had finished his speech in regards to stating that the audience was filled with anger against Yuktobania - but they were singing in solidarity with Yuktobania down there. But as we were flying over the stadium, suddenly we saw aircraft bearing the markings of the Yuke Air Force targeting us."

Hood suspiciously asked, "How did they know when to attack or how did they get through your air defense system?"

"I don't know, but we all suspected that someone was leading us into a trap. Nagase compared it to sending someone to die in a sacrifice."

Hüxian stated, "Trigger mentioned that McNealy AFB tried to scramble fighters, but someone crashed on takeoff - blocking the runway. It was just four planes against an entire attack force of Yuktobanian fighters."

"Your flight lead is obviously a historian since he was correct on that, but we had six minutes until reinforcements arrived. When it was close to the six minute mark, I was about ready to pass the baton - until we heard the voice of Bernitz on the radio claiming that our situation was merely a drill."

Betty angrily said, "A drill and the allied planes bought it!? You have an air battle above a stadium filled with innocent civilians and they claim that it was a drill?!"

"Yeah and since Tabloid mentioned that Belka may have been working behind the scenes, the Grabacr tricked the Osean planes into thinking that it was a drill and activated an ECM - in order for the Yukes to overwhelm us."

Payback stated as he added two more chips to the pile, "These guys are sneaky bastards for moving behind the scenes. But I wouldn't also be surprised if the warmongers in your country collaborated with them."

"That's true since I heard that the stadium staff angrily said that they can thank the warmongers for all this."

Chopper continued, "After a while, there was a flight of Yuktobanian F-117 Stealth Fighters inbound to the stadium, either to strafe or bomb the stadium. But we didn't want to see what they were going to do, so we had to shoot them down, but unfortunately for me when I was pursuing a stealth fighter, I let my guard down and a Yuke SU-27 fired a missile at me - I was struck by that missile, but I wasn't wounded."

Laffey asked, "Was that…"

"Yeah, that was the point where I was going to die, but I had some hope that I could bail out safely. Blaze knew two places where I could drop my plane: The River and the Stadium. But I kept flying until the evacuation was complete, Nagase was covering me while Blaze and Grimm took out the remaining stealth fighters. But by the time that the allied planes were called back - my plane was a mess, I lost the radar and circuits were toast."

High Roller asked, "Ejection system went to shit as well?"

"Yeah, even though Blaze told me to ditch in the river, my course was already set for the stadium and I was rapidly losing altitude. I thought it was it for me until I found myself taken from my plane before impact and captured by that girl with the tentacles - Observer."

Hood stated, "That is quite the story, Davenport. But it also proves that the Sirens were meddling in the affairs of your world by bringing you here."

"Yeah and I'm looking to settle the score with those Sirens."

Ayanami smiled and said, "We will defeat the Sirens, but in the meantime…" She showed her hand, "Full House!"

Everyone was surprised by this as some moaned while Nimi muttered,

"So much for that Four of a Kind that I had."

High Roller pushed the pile of chips to the Sakura destroyer,

"I'm impressed by how well you play this game and I thought that I was lucky. Anyone up for another round?"

They all agreed to another round of Poker as Trigger walked into the room as he held his phone as he said,

"Yes sir, I'll be sure that Vestal is treating her well."

He hangs up as he sighed which caught everyone's attention as Count asked,

"The Admiral?"

"Yeah, he called to check if the two pilots that were mentioned in the debriefing got here safely. It was nice to meet up with Brownie again, but she's still a bit shaken after her experience against the Sirens."

Payback stated, "I can imagine that since from what you said - you were both rookie pilots in your unit and she got shot down while you were trying to save her."

Trigger sighed, "I'm glad that she's alive, but it will take some time before she's ready to strap into the cockpit of a plane again. So until we know that she's fit for duty, she's grounded until further notice."

Betty said, "Well it's for her own safety when you think about it."

Hood asked, "But what about Larry Foulke, the man mentioned in the debriefing?"

Trigger stated, "Aside from what I said in the debriefing, he was a mercenary pilot who fought in the Belkan War for the Allied Forces as part of the Galm Team. There was much to know about him since the most notable moment in the war were the nuclear explosions, but before that there was the allied bombing of Hoffnung, an industrial city that supplied half of the Belkan Army - it was an inferno when that happened."

Payback asked, "Something went wrong?"

"The Allied Bombers were carpet bombing the city even though it was initially a precision bombing raid."

Betty realized, "They were just bombing everything that moves, I mean that's something that the Boss and I did to one of the Hollywood Militia Bases, but those guys were Federation-Funded Thugs, not civilians. I can imagine that the military forces were in disarray."

"What I read, the Belkan Army was in full retreat to abandon Hoffnung, ignoring any civilians who were trying to escape as the bombers finish setting the city ablaze and this had a definite effect on Pixy which lead to him turn on Cipher during the nuclear detonations in the Waldreich mountains."

Nimi asked, "He went rogue?"

"He did and went missing for months after the peace accords were signed until December 25th when a terrorist organization called 'A World With No Boundaries' bombed the city of Lumen where the accords were signed, on Christmas Day and Valais Air Base where the Galm Team was stationed. Cipher and his wingman, PJ went after them since he was assigned as Galm 2 after Pixy went rogue."

Laffey asked, "So they were hunting terrorists?"

"Yeah, A World With No Boundaries consisted of top officers in the Belkan Military as well as pilots from Belka, Sapin and Osea. It was reported that two Sapin aircraft were escorting an enemy heavy command cruiser, but they were shot down by the Galm Team, including the gunship. It was also the first time in months that they heard from Pixy since he sent a coded message to the Galm Team after shooting down the cruiser which was…"

"Yo Buddy, Still Alive?"

That wasn't Trigger who said that, rather the man behind him as he entered the crew quarters. The man had matched the description that was shown in the debriefing, most of the pilots and kansen have done their homework when it came to who this man is. They pretty much shouted,

"LARRY FOULKE!?!?"

Larry stated, "I guess they were surprised to see someone like me, kid."

Trigger chuckled, "All according to plan."

They were all confused by what they meant until Count realized,

"He was waiting outside the door the whole time while we talked."

Pixy nodded and said, "You're right about that."

"And you waited for the right moment to enter and make your appearance known to us…"

Pixy stated, "I already introduced myself to the rest of the crew, but noticed that you guys were missing."

Javelin spoke, "It was High Roller that talked us into a game of Poker."

"A good card game, I used to play Five-Card Stud with a few members of the 6th Air Division during the war in our downtime."

"Oh, that was the earliest form of Poker…"

Pixy stated, "Even sat down for a regular Poker game when we had an extended break from missions and a nice way to pass the time."

The two pilots soon sat at the table as they joined in with the next round of Poker.

---

Vestal's Clinic

1500 hrs

Vestal was looking over the reports from the psychologist at Pearl regarding her new patient. She looked at the young woman sitting on one of the cots as she gazed out at the port and to the airfield as she could make out the silhouettes of the planes parked near the hangars. Honestly, the repair ship didn't know who had the idea to put a window that looks out to the base in her medical clinic, but it did give Vestal a sign of peace whenever she had a bit of free time - it's now something that her patient is next to as of this moment.

As she set the datapad aside, she approached the woman and asked,

"Lieutenant Brown, how have you been feeling since coming to the base?"

Erica Brown or Brownie looked at Vestal, "I'm a little shaken up by the fact that I'm in a world where historical ships are reborn as girls and that we encountered an alien menace that nearly killed us."

Vestal stated, "The Commander was the same way when he first appeared during the bombing raid on Point Mugu - none of the defending aircraft were lost to Siren aircraft as the bombers were shot down by the allied fighters."

Brownie asked, "Trigger did that?"

The Repair Ship nodded and said, "I know the Flight Commander in charge of the unit at Point Mugu, his squadron wouldn't have been able to stop the bombers if not for the Commander - he was also a Captain when he first arrived."

Brownie sighed and said, "From what you say, he's definitely improved in flying and also protecting his wingman."

That's when another voice spoke, "It was mostly because of you."

They saw Orishina entering the clinic as Vestal asked, "How long have you been eavesdropping?"

The Sakuran woman stated, "Long enough to know what his drive was."

Vestal had a feeling what she was talking about as she turned to Brownie, "It was Trigger trying to make up for his failure to protect you when you were in trouble."

It was at that moment that Brownie found herself back in the cockpit of her F-18 trying to struggle against the SU-30 while an F-4 Phantom took it on. But even with the enemy fighter tied up, her hands were frozen in fear, she couldn't maneuver, she couldn't even try to escape the AO until her missile warning went off. She heard Trigger's voice warning her of the missile as she begged for support until it struck her wing.

Her plane was on fire, her panel was dead and engines were out. Her plane was falling rapidly towards the Chopinburg Rainforest as she reached the ejection handle between her legs. But as she pulled, all she could do was scream as her canopy blew, her seat launched from the doomed plane as it blew up before her eyes.

Remembering that terrifying day made her clench her head as she said,

"Please…not that again…I don't want to go back to that day…"

But before she panicked, Vestal and Orishina each put a hand on the Osean pilot's shoulders - letting her know that it was going to be alright. The SDF pilot stated,

"It's okay, you don't have to think about what you went through. But it also gave Trigger-San the drive he needed to be better."

Brownie realized, "I was the reason why he became a guardian of his wingmen? Why?"

Vestal stated, "By failing to protect you, he pushed himself to always keep an eye on his wingmen and on us, shipgirls whenever we go out on combat sorties. He was even able to convince a reckless carrier like Enterprise to stay out of combat with a damaged rig - but she disobeyed orders to save her sister, Hornet. He found it admirable, but that wasn't an excuse and he suspended her for it."

Brownie stated, "Honestly, I agree with Trigger's decision on suspending her from combat sorties."

"At least it gave that reckless girl time to clear her head while I repaired her rigging. It was about time that even the Grey Ghost needed to be brought down a peg or two - but his decision was because of not wanting anyone to end up like you."

Orishina stated, "Back then, he didn't even know that you were alive."

The Osean pilot was surprised to hear how much Trigger had improved since their time in the IUN-PKF and had made it his goal to ensure that his wingmen come back alive, she had no doubt that her old Flight Commander would be proud of him.

She had to remember that during her time as a POW, all she could hear was of Three Strikes, some Erusean soldiers wouldn't say anything else besides the plane with the three lines on the tail. She kept hearing about it and wondered what it meant until a sympathetic Erusean soldier told her about the pilot who was the spearhead of the Osean counterattack - it was before the camp she was in was liberated by Osea and she was rescued. After the blackout occurred when everything plunged into chaos in Erusea, she ended up separated from Osean forces and met Larry. Overtime, she became friends with the old mercenary pilot, but he knew that she was going through post traumatic stress whenever she steps into a plane.

That's why after the war ended, they were aboard Larry's Fishing Boat just for her to get a feel of what flying was like on the ocean. Planes would have to deal with the strong wind currents that can blow them off course which a boat would have to do the same for the ocean, sailboats would get blown off course due to strong winds. There were the navigation systems that both pilot and sailor would have to look into in order to plan the destination and a boat can maneuver in a way to evade an attack - just like a plane.

Brownie actually remembered Trigger giving her a book about a civilian sailor who took part in an evacuation effort of a place called 'Dunkirk.' This sailor had a son who was a pilot in the Air Force who would be killed in action early in the war, which nearly brought back her experience with Mister X until she kept reading. When she got to the part where the sailor was on his way back with over a hundred soldiers - he would be attacked by an enemy dive bomber and followed a piece of advice that his late son had told him. The sailor waited at the last possible moment before turning his boat as the bomb released from the plane missed as it splashed harmlessly off the starboard side. This made Brownie realize that just as a boat would dodge an air-dropped bomb using clever skills - a plane can avoid a missile with the quick thinking of the pilot.

But still when Brownie realized that she was the reason behind Trigger's drive to protect his wingmen, she was astonished - even more so when Trigger told her that he not only dueled with the Orange SU-30 that shot her down - but actually chased him off solo over Yinshi during a thunderstorm, nearly got him over Farbanti until the communications blackout occurred and finally shot him down over Shilage Castle.

She was definitely astonished that he was able to down that demon, but he reminded her that the old pilot, Mihaly, was no demon - just a man who was desperately trying to keep his wings. He recounted what Mihaly had told him as his X-02S was going down in flames, that the only ones that mattered to the old Erusean Ace were his two granddaughters. She remembered Trigger telling her how ashamed that Mihaly felt and wanted him to not only put a stop to the drone production - but to also save his granddaughters. Brownie actually felt sympathy for the old Ace and remembered Trigger stating that the two girls were all that Mihaly had left of his family.

Brownie did hear that the refugees built a settlement at the base of the Space Elevator and saw a picture of two girls helping out with the settlement. She kept that paper with her and she was surprised that it survived the whole skirmish with the Sirens since she showed it to Trigger and he pointed out the two girls as she can remember him saying,

"Those two are Ionela and Alma Shilage - Mihaly's granddaughters. Ionela has always cared for her grandfather's wellbeing and was concerned about the amount of Gs that his body was going through since intense flying is tough on an old body. As for Alma, she was by her sister's side for most of the war, but she enjoyed being with her grandfather. Our duel over Shilage Castle left him crippled and unable to fly ever again. The guy was stubborn about never being able to fly again, but I recalled what he told me after I shot him down. He gave me an order to stop the drones and save his grandchildren - which we did. His survival, but loss of wings meant that he could be there for them because they were the only family he had left. That cranky old man got the picture and knew that I was right."

Brownie's experience with Mihaly was the reason behind her PTSD and slight fear of planes. But hopefully she will conquer this fear and be able to jump into the cockpit once again. Although when she got here via helicopter, she was trying not to panic because she was in a helicopter. When she got off at the airfield, she was uneasy when she saw four dark gray SU-30s, minus the orange wingtips parked at the base, but Trigger's words convinced her that Sol Squadron were allies. But still, she sighed and said,

"Trigger has made a lot of new friends since Chopinburg and even though he didn't know that I survived - I'm glad that he is what he is."

Orishina blushed and said, "He is a worthy leader and someone I can feel safe with when he's around. The many other shipgirls on this base feel the same way."

Vestal sighed as she admitted, "Guilty as charged since he brought a reckless girl like Enterprise in line and if he was able to do that - it meant less time I spent with Enterprise and more on other riggings."

Brownie figured, "I guess you girls seem to have the hots for him."

At that point, both Pilot and Kansen's face went red as it seemed as if the Osean pilot had figured them out.

---

Azur Lane Comm Center

1600 hrs

At the communication center, situated in the Command Center of the base, Royal Fortune was checking a datapad while also using the comm terminal as she spoke,

"Are you serious about this, Admiral?"

"Positive. It seems like your friends from Tempesta were on standby on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal." Said the voice of Admiral Williams.

"I gave them specific instructions to wait until I send the message. Why the change of plans?"

The Admiral stated, "I can only think of one reason for the sudden change."

The pirate kansen's face darkened as she realized, "Trigger?"

"Trigger."

That's when Royal Fortune decided, "I need to get a message out to the fleet and let them know that I have arrived in Azur Lane. Did you get the roster of ships in the Tempesta Fleet, sir?"

"Already got it, you have the Star Wayfinders of Amity, Fancy, Golden Hind, Mary Celeste, Dolphin and Portsmouth Adventure while the sole Nebula Guardian is Ganj-i-Sawai."

Royal Fortune acknowledged the roster of the Tempesta detachment and said,

"Okay, roster confirmed. Preparing the 'message in a bottle' sir."

She's a pirate ship, but since her rebirth, she did learn a few things - like how to work a modern message system over a secure channel, hence why she's in the comm center. She typed in the message on the terminal to send to the fleet as she typed,

"Contact Established With Three Strikes.

Alliance With Azur Lane Confirmed.

Pacific Detachment, Sail To Hawaii ASAP.

Allied Submarines On Patrol Near JBPHH.

A Blinking Periscope Will Be Challenge, Deploy Blue Flares As Countersign.

Royal Fortune Out."

When she was done, she sent out the message as she said to the Admiral, "They will be receiving the 'bottle' shortly, Admiral."

"Good work, Royal Fortune. Rear Admiral Blake has three submarines from COMSUBPAC patrolling the area and will keep their periscopes open for the Tempesta fleet."

The pirate ship nodded and said, "I'm looking forward to when they arrive."

"Williams Out."

The call ended as Royal Fortune leaned back in her seat as she sighed because she recognized the names of those Tempesta ships - mainly Golden Hind, Mary Celeste, Fancy and Ganj-i-Sawai,

"I hope that flyboy is ready for those four since most of us can be more provocative than other kansen. But if this goes wrong, then those girls could end up draining him dry every night…unless Enterprise gets in the way."

Royal Fortune knows better than to mess with Enterprise…but she also knows that where Enterprise goes - the Black Dragon would be there as well. She smiled as she brought up a bottle of rum as she said,

"I feel pity for those sorry sods, even Golden Hind would tremble before the might of the Grey Ghost and the Indomitable Black Dragon."

She took a swig of the rum as she got up and walked away while whistling her sailing tunes.

---

This was definitely a long chapter for me to work on.

But Azur Lane, the Fortune Hunters and the LRSSG would hear the forgotten chronicles as told by one of the Demons of Razgriz - Alvin H. Davenport.

Meanwhile in San Salvacion, the remaining members of the legendary Razgriz Squadron were reflecting on the old days while Blaze and Nagase knew that they had some catching up to do, especially since she had missed a lot in her family's lives.

I did add the fact that Blaze and Nagase had fraternal twins - a boy and a girl. The son's name is Alvin because Blaze named him after his fallen wingman and Mei got her name because Kei wanted it to mean something to her.

It also seems that the Sakura Light Carrier, Zuiho is now in the Strangereal World along with a decommissioned supersonic plane. She has also met the Ghosts of Razgriz, even though she is not aware of the story for now.

On the Red Axis side, it seems like a lot of kansen of started to express that they have feelings for the Ace of Azur Lane, even Bismarck as she is constantly visited by her guilty conscience - Zwei as she constantly tries to justify what she is doing, but fails as she keeps the datapad that has Trigger's photo propped up as a desk portrait.

Now we have Solo Wing Pixy and Brownie at Azur Lane. We did see her remember that day and when Trigger visited her in Vestal's Clinic after she arrived.

Sorry for not having a full blown reunion between the two since I took way too long on this chapter.

And with the most recent Tempesta Event, I might as well add a few Tempesta ships to join up with Azur Lane because of Three Strikes.

Suffice to say is that some of the girls from Tempesta are more provocative than others. The designs of the recent Tempesta ships add a bit of weight to this theory - take a look at them in the game when you have spare time.

But all I have to say is…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(Well Post-Halloween)