When life give you lemons... Remind life that lemons are a cross between a sour orange... and a citron! So life never made lemons! WE INVENTED IT! - Emperor of Mankind

Slightly more serious note, life do be kicking my ass a bit but not entirely. I do technically have all the way up to the Waiapolo mountains written, just from here to there needs to be heavily edited. I will try to keep a semi-normal update cycle but no promises.

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444th Air Base, Zapland, Usea.

July 12th, 2019.

1830hrs.

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The flight home was quiet. To begin with, none of them usually spoke on their flight home and Mere preferred it that way given how the day was currently going. She looked around seeing the six remaining recon planes and it really just left a pit in her stomach. Even if they lost only one plane, that's still one less valuable pilot they had and McKinsey will just use it as a good excuse to throw them into solitary. To keep her mind busy and stop it from drifting towards thoughts like that, she continued to keep watch over the planes diagnostics. She couldn't decide if it was working as she watched their left engine slowly lose RPM as time ticked by and the oil temperatures rose. The Tomcat could feasibly fly with one engine, but that's a well maintained and not shot-up Tomcat. Tabloid added to her worries as he confirmed that oil was leaking from the plane. Reaching the base, most of Spare had already landed and kept their planes parked outside of the hangers. What was most interesting was there were a few fuel trucks near the taxiway. Following the ATC's orders, the non-damaged recon planes landed first followed by the rest of the recon flight while the damaged Spare kept a race track around the runway before it was their turn to land. Lamp went in first followed by Tabloid and then Trigger each a smooth landing. The ATC even notified them that the base commander was expecting all pilots to head to the briefing room for a debrief immediately after they've landed.

Down the taxiway they went, and Mere couldn't wait to get out of the cockpit of their plane. She kept an eye on their hanger as it finally swung around into view. Trigger came to a full stop next to Tabloid's plane and began the shutdown procedure. Mere already shut the radar off before the landing so she started to shut down her own workstation before popping the canopy. Glancing further down the runway, she saw Barb and Monkey, the Hangers 2 and 3 senior mechanics run over to check on two of the recon planes while Wrench and Bear were getting the junior loaders ready to refuel these two planes. Mere paused what she was doing and stared at the two F-15's as the two mechanics gave a thumbs up, the rest of the crew going to work refueling the planes, loading their cannons, and attaching missile racks to the hard points. Seems like at least two of them will be heading off somewhere. Hearing a ladder being pushed up to the Tomcat, Mere glanced over seeing Mouse giving them a thumbs up before looking over the Tomcat.

"Man, must have been rough."

"Was a bit bumpy… but not as scary as what I'm sure Queen's going to do to us when she sees these planes," Mere tiredly smirked as she pulled her gloves off followed by her helmet. She rubbed her face with her hands getting the sweat off before wiping them on her flight suits pant leg.

"She's already giving Lamp a stern talking to. This will uh... be a few long nights huh?"

"Long nights... Plus a few guest issues..." With a grunt Mere began to stand up from her seat and swung her legs over the edge of the cockpit with some effort. It felt like there were lead weights tied to each of her ankles. Taking her time to climb down, she heard the limping gate of Queen approaching from behind and she could already feel the wrath radiating off of her.

"Oi! The hell did you do to these planes, Wire!?" Queen yelled at her as Mere slowly continued down the ladder. "You can't just go out and trash them like this all the time! You're supposed to keep that dumb ass up front in check so you don't damage my hard work like this!" she rattled on when Mere was at the bottom of the ladder. Taking a final step off, her legs buckled a bit as she landed on the hard ground. Back peddling, she nearly fell if she didn't hit someone. With a light grunt she felt an arm catch her before she could fall further along with the clatter of some tools being dropped. Getting some feeling back in her legs she quickly regained her step and glanced at Queen who had caught her just then.

"Ah... Sorry about that," she tried to brush off while Queens anger turned to concern.

"You doing fine Wire? The hell happened out there?"

"Bumpy ride... just... I'll tell you later in detail," she brushed her off as she began to half walk, half shuffle into Hanger Four to drop her gear off. "Just need to take a seat...". With the adrenaline being burned off by the Zappland sun, all her joints and muscles hurt from the fight and all she wanted now was to get out of the flight gear and lay down. Setting her helmet on a crate near her locker, she began to slowly and methodically undo her gear letting it fall to the ground with a heavy clunk. Unzipping her flight suit she pulled her arms out trying to get some relief, but the Zappland heat had other plans. Leaning one hand on her locker for support she wiped her face down as today's events just hit her all at once. Rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger the weight of the situation finally came crashing onto her. Champ's gone, one of the new guys, Sinker, is gone, and they even lost a recon plane in the process all because of one guy. One. Guy. And both Trigger and her had to take him on. Well, really it was just Trigger doing the fancy flying while she was doing her best to support him. Her shoulders began to shake a bit as she realized that could have been her instead of Champ, or even Sinker if they were any closer. What if she and Trigger didn't-

Her thoughts were cut off when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder. Wincing, she must have twitched or something as the hand pulled back. Looking back, she was expecting to see Trigger but was surprised to see Count. Studying his face, she thought he might be mad at her for having to push some work onto him, but he looked concerned.

"You good? We've got a debrief to get to but you don't have to," he asked while Mere straightened up to look at him. "Like seriously, you look like you're about to fall over at any moment." Mere stood there quietly as she tried to choose her words and just shook her head.

"Truthfully, I'm in pain, I'm exhausted, and I will fall over eventually... but for now," tying her flight suits arms around her hip she began to make her way back out of the hanger. "I just want to get to the briefing room for that AC."

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Count began to walk with her still a bit concerned which she brushed off.

"I'm fine, I can keep going for a while longer," she mumbled as she continued on looking at the row of F-15's Queen and Quiet Mike were now inspecting. "Plus, I'd rather not go to solitary like this." She continued to walk her arms loosely hanging at her side as all she could think of was the nice chill air in the command center. If it wasn't for the thought pushing her forward, she would have just collapsed there on the spot. She looked around, not seeing Trigger or Tabloid anywhere. They must have gone for the debrief ahead of her she thought as she clenched her hands open trying to distract herself from the fatigue. Her stride momentarily slowed to a near stop as she observed the two F-15's rumble down the runway, armed and refueled, heading back to their base. She could only dream that it would be her one day but her sore tender shoulders brought her back to her current reality. Shaking her head she picked up her pace and entered the command center where the refreshing chill air lapped away at some of her aches and pains. Making her way into the briefing room, Mere saw that Tabloid and Trigger were in their usual seat while their guests were seated on the side. Scooting by, she plopped down in her seat and let out a sigh as she leaned back a bit letting the air conditioning ebb away the stress of today's flight.

Entwining her fingers in her lap, she kept her eyes shut making the most of her time here before she will have to go help Queen and the other mechanics with the repairs. She tried her best to tune out the hushed conversations the other convicts were having by breathing slowly. In, one, two, three, out, four, five, six. Another routine she copied from her uncles. Uncle Alex did this after a bad engagement and she found it helped her both getting through the academy and in many other situations she found herself in recently. It helped her focus her mind and calm her down. She only stopped when she heard the back door swing open. Opening an eye she saw McKinsey walk in followed by Bandog. Sitting up a bit with a light grimace she waited to see what the base commander had in store for them. But judging by how he was glaring at all the convicts, it won't be anything good.

"You returned without permission and all of you failed as escorts," he said coldly as his eyes glared at all the pilots present. "So how about you all rethink your value while in solitary? Take them away."

The guards began to grab the pilots near the edge of the group first taking Skunk, Weasel, Pick, and Full Band away before another group came for the rest. Mere let out a sigh as she looked at Tabloid who only shrugged with his fake smile on.

"We stick our necks out and be the rear guard. Guess that means you'll just get punished like the rest," he grunted a bit as a guard pulled him up out of his seat. Mere let out a pained yelp as the guard roughly grabbed her arm to hoist her up next. She looked over at the remaining pilots from the recon team seeing their bewildered expressions as all the convicts were being escorted out of the room leaving no one to give their thanks to. Mere looked to Trigger who only looked as defeated as her. Her hands clenched into fists as she was shoved towards the door and she thought if she was gonna go solitary, might as well give them a valid reason.

"Commander McKinsey, if you could give me a second of your time," Wiseman's deep voice carried through the room making even the guards stop to look at him.

"Well, well, what do you know," McKinsey's tone changed to a much more cheerful one as he looked towards the recon pilots. "Some real pilots made it back to base alive." He turned his attention to the guards that were standing still before he gave them a light glare. "Make sure the rest of the guards know to treat them well and feed them plenty. After all, I don't want the higher-ups to think of us as just a worthless penal unit, do we now? Gotta get a good report from you! Haahaa!" Mere's brow furrowed as she no longer wanted to deck the guard but also McKinsey as well. Then again, when did she not want to deck that pompous asshole? "Now then, what are you waiting for, take the convicts away to solitary."

"Commander, consider giving them a second. Bandog here seems like he wants to say something," Wiseman interjected again before all attention was directed at Bandog. He looked nervous at first and then surprised at the sudden attention he was getting before he straightened himself and cleared his throat.

"Um... Sir, about a few of the convicts," Bandog said a bit hesitantly as he glanced around the room before laying eyes on the six he was looking for. "Tabloid, Lampshade, Roofer, Count, Trigger, and Hotwire did their duty and didn't retreat in the fight. They did what they were told to do. I'd reconsider sending them to solitary."

"Is that so? I'd understand three of the pilots would be willing to do so, but the other two?"

"Trigger did his duty and fought off the bandit that broke through."

"I can vouch for that as well. I wouldn't be standing here talking with you Commander if it wasn't for their help," Wiseman added. McKinsey kept a cold gaze staring down at the prisoners before softening his gaze as he looked towards the recon pilots.

"I wouldn't want to get myself involved with these issues, Major. Especially not with Harlings murderer." Trigger scowled as he clenched his fists up at that comment. Mere looked down and reached over gently touching the back of his hand which seemed to make him relax a bit. "But I will review the combat reports and determine if what Bandog says is true. Guards, take the others away. You six, however, will be working in the hangers again to assist the mechanics." His stern gaze softened as he looked back to the recon pilots. "As for you, I can arrange for Bandog or one of the guards to show you around the base. Our mechanics will take a look at your planes and tell you how long the repairs should take. We will have you back on your feet and with your allies in no time."

"Appreciate the help," Wiseman said with a grin as he reached his hand forward towards McKinsey. The base commander glanced down at it and seemed to force a smile as he took his hand giving it a firm shake. "I think we'll head down to the hangers for now. I'd like to check up on our planes if that's alright?"

"You may go where you please," McKinsey replied calmly before he turned to Bandog. "Bandog will go with you. You can head to the mess hall whenever and we'll set up some quarters for you as well." With a nod of his head, he turned and quickly exited the room leaving just Bandog, the Recon pilots, and the six convicts in the room.

"Well then... Looks like we just got a 'get out of jail free' card," Tabloid joked a bit.

"Well consider it a one time use. We can't have them here forever," Count huffed.

"I'm more shocked that he rolled over just like that. Was expecting him to just ignore you and throw us in solitary anyway," Lamp commented rubbing the back of his head.

"Hmph, do your job and you won't get thrown in like the rest," Roofer grunted while Trigger just shook his head.

"Still, he doesn't need to treat us like royalty to get a good report out of us," Húxiān crossed her arms with a scoff while Jaeger just sighed.

"And I appreciate you keeping it in while the commander was present. I might not like it any more than you do, but he's still a higher rank than you, Lieutenant."

"Either way, thanks. We can call it even now," Mere said as she stepped forward and looked between the recon pilots. "Let me introduce us. I'm Hotwire, quiet guy over there's Trigger, scrawny guy is Tabloid, Mr. Look at This Photograph is Count, tall skinny guy is Lampshade, and the stoic guy is Roofer."

The other members of Strider and Cyclops looked a bit surprised and confused as their gaze went to each of the Spare members when Húxiān scoffed.

"What, not gonna give us your real names?" She put a hand on her hip as she looked while the other member of Cyclops squadron that Mere didn't get the name of laughed a bit.

"That or their parents really didn't like them."

"It's an interesting way to get a unique child," Wiseman smirked a bit.

"Welcome to the penal unit, where who you are or what rank you have doesn't matter anymore," Tabloid shrugged. "Just how it works around here, that's all."

"More numbers on a spreadsheet to, 'atone for your crimes,'" Lampshade tried to imitate McKinsey's voice.

"Unless you're Commander McKinsey, you get no status," Bandog replied next, looking a bit disappointed. "Not that I mind being called Bandog. Just we got actual criminals here; a fraud, an anarchist, assaulter, car jacker, launderer, and a murderer." Bandog huffed while Count and Tabloid gave Mere a surprised look. Her eyes darted between the two as she put a hand on her hip.

"... What?"

"Assault? You are in because of assault?" Tabloid asked, a bit surprised, while Mere's jaw went slack a bit before she sputtered out a reply.

"Wha- Why not carjacking? At least it would fit my name," Mere scowled at the two. "Plus it's actually easier than you'd think…"

"Well, I don't really see Lamp here assaulting anyone any time soon. He's too kind for that," Count reasoned before leaning forward a bit with a smirk on his face. "Plus you threaten to deck us every other day. So, who'd you punch?"

"No one important," Mere crossed her arms slowly wincing a bit as her shoulders ached in protest. "But I know you will just keep bringing it up; one star."

"One star…? A Brig-" Húxiān's jaw seemed to drop a bit while the other Cyclops guy whistled a bit. "You punched a Brigadier General? Damn girl your squad couldn't hold you back?"

"Something... like that." Mere shrugged as she deflected the topic a bit more.

"Well either way, it's a damn shame you ended up here," the other older man, Jaeger, said, "And this goes for all of you. From what I saw at least, you all have quite some skill compared to the others. You've got the courage to do what needs to be done and have everyone's back. We really owe you," Jaeger looked at the six of them before he held out his hand to the group. "Now let us return some of that favor. Lieutenant Johnathan Jaeger."

"Major Patrick Wiseman," Wiseman also offered his hand with a friendly smile. "This is Lieutenant Stephen Blair, or Fencer in the air, and lastly-"

"Lieutenant Michelle Rae. Just call me Húxiān," she smirked as they all exchanged handshakes, if a bit awkward, when Roofer cleared his throat.

"So, your planes?" he quietly grunted.

"Ah, right this way, please," Bandog said as he headed for the door. "Ladies," he said curtly as he held it open. Both Mere and Húxiān gave him a weird look while Mere just snorted, walking out first followed by Húxiān and the other recon members. Count began to walk through sneering at Bandog who just scowled back. He let the door start to close on the other Spare members as he jogged a bit to catch up to the Recon pilots. What relief Mere felt while in the HQ was quickly burned away by the Zappland sun and the aches and pains the cold admin air were soothing returned in force. Letting out a sigh, she continued on leading the group of pilots down to the fourth hanger.

"So, you tangled with the escorts Mr. X had?" Húxiān asked as they walked and Mere shook her head.

"That would be Tabloid and Lamp that took those two on with Count's aid," Mere nodded her head back at the two in the back who were striking a conversation with Jaeger. "I'm just a lowly wizzo along for a ride. Not like those hot shots."

"Wait so you were part of the crew that took on Mr. X?" Húxiān's eyes widened a bit. "Oh give yourself a little more credit for being able to keep up with that pilot."

"Who, Trigger...? Mmm... I guess I can take a bit of pride in that," Mere smiled a bit. "But we're not a crew... At least not in the typical sense. I've really only flown with him for the past few missions after he got sent here. Just... going through the motions."

"Really? Seemed like you two flew for a lot longer than that."

"Well," as they approached the hanger, Mere was looking over at the shot up Tomcat sitting outside the hanger observing some of the damage they will need to repair. "I won't be flying with him for a while..."

Entering, Queen was already busy with the other mechanics looking over the recon teams F-15's. Even High Roller was there working away under the guidance of one of the senior mechanics working away trying to pull off some parts of the damaged F-15. Roofer was the first to take the initiative as he walked on over to Monkey and was shortly followed up by Lamp. The recon pilots dispersed to go to their respective planes while Trigger went for Queen to see what he could do along with Tabloid. Count made his way over to the tool boxes looking for who knows what, leaving Mere at the front looking at a semi dismantled F-15. With a sigh, Mere rolled her shoulders grimacing a bit as she's got a lot of work to do.

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July 14th, 2019.

1300hrs.

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With her hands deep in the inner workings of the recon pilots, F-15's Avril let out a huff as she managed to extract yet another broken part they were gonna need to find in the moth pit, refurbish, and install. Handing it off to Bondo, there was one thing she was thankful for was the group of mechanics the base had accumulated. Avril knows it would be impossible to get these planes ready let alone all the planes they finished in a timely manner if it wasn't for their help. Yet she's got good company helping keep everything together and maintained. Leaning on her good leg she wiped her hands clean of grease as she began her inspection again to determine what else they'll need to try and find out in the pit. For the most part, the recon planes seemed largely intact and didn't suffer any drastic damage. Some cosmetic patches needed to be made and the damaged parts needed to be found, but other than that, their work was laid out nice and easy for them. At least she thought as she glanced at the table of growing broken parts.

Getting back to work, she didn't even bat an eye hearing the low hum of a turbine engine echo in the hanger followed by the squelch of tires hitting tarmac. Another supply plane she figured as she pulled another damaged panel off. After the initial inspection of the recon planes Avril had put in a request to have new engines sent to the base to replace the damaged ones in Cyclops 4's plane. She might be a miracle worker but a damaged turbine is a damaged turbine. There's only so much she could do before needing just a straight up replacement. They could find another engine to put in to get the plane back but she also figured she could lean on the fact the McKinsey wanted a good report from them from what Tabloid has told her. Speaking of, she thought as she heard the puttering of a golf cart approach the hanger entrance. Putting down a few tools, she started to limp towards the entrance to greet who she assumed was Wiseman and potentially another of the other pilots.

Out the hanger door she limped and saw Wiseman and Jaeger walking towards her. Wiseman was a well-built and very tall gentleman with a very friendly and cheerful demeanor. Jaeger was a few inches shorter than Wiseman and carried this gentle and almost fatherly energy with him all the time. She much preferred him over Wiseman's wingman, Fencer. He was as uptight if not tighter than Utah and she could barely stand that guy. Constantly asking and poking if and when a repair would be complete, if they could get a status update on how the repairs have gone. It'll be done when it's done. At least now that Utah's been locked into solitary she can get some peace and quiet yet now the recon team have just replaced that.

Wiseman greeted her with a smile before motioning back into the hanger before she could meet them outside. "Please, take a seat inside. Don't want to aggravate that leg of yours more than we have to." Giving him a nod, she hobbled back into the shade and sat down with a grunt. Stretching her leg out she relaxed a bit feeling some of the pain ebb away. Leaning forward, she watched as the two older pilots entered the hanger as well, their eyes looking over their planes before lingering at the multitude of panels that they've taken off as well as the parts table.

"Well, if you're here for an update, the majority of your planes are in good condition and all can be repaired. Of the few things that were destroyed, few were necessary components to fly. We can find, refurbish, and replace them but that will be two to three days depending on what we can find," Avril spoke up filling the two in on what's going on. She paused for a moment to study the two pilots' faces if they had any questions for her. Seeing none she continued. "Number four's plane will take longer though. Need to replace the number 1 engine. That will be a bit longer depending on what was brought on that transport that just landed. If there's an engine, then I can get her flying a day or two after yours are done. If we have to find one then it'll be closer to five more days here if we find a good engine to salvage."

"That long?" Jaeger asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I had the proper equipment and parts, I could get all four of your planes ready in four days tops. But I got what I got so you'll have to deal." She looked to Jaeger expecting to see some anger in his eyes but all she saw was surprise. Jaeger gave a slow nod as he looked to his plane when Avril saw a new opportunity. None of the other pilots have really told her what went down that day. The moods have been pretty sour since she's learned that both Sinker and Champ were killed, and no one's really spoke about what had happened there. Wire hasn't said a word to her and she hasn't had the chance to ask either as she's been cooped up working on the damaged spare planes and double checking the Viper and Super Hornet they have prepared. Whenever they were back in their cell Wire just climbed up and passed right out before she could even talk to her. The whole situation was bizarre, and she wanted answers to why this all happened. "Say, six of you landed here from what I saw and two of the other planes just took right off again leaving you four here. Some of our own pilots didn't make it back either. The guards said it was bad out there with some hot shot of a pilot flying with the Eruseans. How did you all make it out though?"

"Ah, that? I sent the two undamaged planes back to deliver what intel we had and to reinforce our base. Wouldn't do much good having two perfectly good planes and pilots grounded here," Wiseman explained.

"And it might not look like it but all nations have a couple of great pilots in their own rosters," Jaeger spoke up next. "Though the Eruseans might have a smaller roster, combining them with the drones makes them a much more deadly force. Without the support from you guys, I don't think we would have made it out with as few casualties as we did."

"Really?" Avril asked suspiciously. "From what I've seen it seemed like most of the pilots left you. Wouldn't be the first time they chose solitary over putting their life on the line."

"Truthfully some of them did. That AWACS of yours said he was sending back the damaged ones, but I doubt that," Jaeger shook his head. "But a few did stay behind and help us in the end. Two at first but one by one more followed after them before they drove the enemy back."

"So a handful of them actually did their job for once," Avril put a hand on her hip.

"That and you've got one hotshot of a pilot amongst you. Took on Mr. X all by themselves."

"Huh... Interesting." That was certainly something she wasn't expecting to hear. From what she was putting together it sounded like they just overwhelmed the enemy by their numbers. It was strange as if for one of these dumbasses to stay behind and cover their retreat but to then bring five others with them was strange. What was even stranger was how one of them even went in alone to take on an ace, Avril didn't really know why this bothered her so much. Maybe the resentment for her father was playing a role since he died fighting as the rear guard. Yet she was still curious who would even do that. "Thanks for the information. Explains why most of our planes came back shot up like that. I need to get back to work now too if you want to head back to your base in a timely manner."

"Much appreciated," Wiseman nodded to her and turned back to climb into the escorting cart. Jaeger gave her a nod and joined him as well while Avril got off the crate to see them off. Walking to the door Jaeger had taken his seat when Wiseman looked at her. "One more thing. I know our planes are the priority by your commander but try to look after your pilots' planes. Some of the support showed some amazing skill and determination. Keep an eye on them. I'd keep my eyes on them," he smirked as he tapped the side of the golf cart. The guard assigned to escort them started the cart and drove away probably back into the air-conditioned HQ. Avril watched them leave before glancing at the planes parked outside of the hanger. It honestly is a strange sightseeing two F-18E's parked on each side of a MiG-25. They moved those planes out to make room for the damaged planes inside. Since the F-15's were taking up all the space in Hanger 4, Trigger's and Tabloid's planes were moved inside of Hanger 3 to be worked on in the shade along with Roofer's Flanker. Her eyes then lingered seeing the nose of Tabloid's Mirage poking out of the hanger. Out of all the planes to come back he was shot up quite a bit yet a lot of the major components were fine. Either he possesses some great skill in flying or he just got extremely lucky, she thought that it might have been him who did it.

Picking at some dirt under her nail she pondered the thought when more movement caught her eyes. It was one of their trucks returning from a parts run into the pit. Taking a few steps back, she watched the truck come in with a few of the mechanics and prisoners in the back. The guard remained in the driver's seat while the inmates jumped out the back and began to bring each part in one by one. Wizard popped out of the passenger seat and the two made eye contact. He just gave her a smirk and a thumbs up as piece after piece of engine parts came out of the back, yet her attention was elsewhere as she watched Tabloid help move the parts. Rubbing her thumb against the side of her index finger, a plan was forming in her head. He was one of the few that didn't get thrown in solitary and the damage on his plane was quite severe; could he be the one?

With all the parts unloaded, the guard drove off with the truck while the other prisoners dispersed. Wizard went in to start his cleaning and inspection of the replacement parts while Tabloid stuck around a second gulping down some water. Seeing her chance, Avril limped towards him. At least from this angle he seemed tired and worn but that changed when he heard her uneven gate approach him. Turning to face her, he gave her a cheery grin.

"Well, does the Scrap Queen need something from this lowly subject?" Tabloid joked a bit. "I can assure you this is the finest scrap we could find in the pit. Only the best for our guests."

"Funny," she responded blankly. She crossed her arms looking him over a bit.

"So uh... You need something then?" he scratched the back of his head as he tried to read her back, but he wasn't getting too much out of her. Shifting her weight a bit, the corners of her mouth curled up a bit.

"Need is a strong word. Commander McKinsey wants these F-15's in top condition ASAP. In order to meet this goal, I'll need to put in overtime to get them done. I was wondering if you'd be up to helping out tonight. Everyone else is either busy with repairing the base's damaged fighters, locked away in solitary, or would really do more damage than good." Avril explained as she put a hand on her hip. "As a reward, I can share a bottle of whisky I won off a bet with the guards and some of Skunks taffy."

Tabloid began to rub his chin and nod his head a bit as he considered the deal. His eyes moved around a bit as if searching for something when he spoke up again. "Tempting. Very tempting. Just one question: why me?" His grin faded a bit as he looked at Avril. "Not exactly the greatest mechanic here. Why not someone more qualified like Hotwire or Roofer?"

"Wire's been... Busy lately. Haven't really seen her or been able to talk to her with the work she has with the other planes. Roofer just has an odd work ethic. His work is good and he's a fast learner, but the second it's past clock out time, he's out. Can't budge him a bit." Avril gently shook her head as that man's work ethic still confused her.

"And that somehow makes me your third choice?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You know your way around an aircraft and can follow orders pretty well," she replied with a smirk. "Your repairs aren't bad either. None of them have failed yet."

"Tempting. Mighty tempting..." Tabloid crossed his arms as he went into thought. He looked at the plane and then back at Avril who hadn't taken her gaze off of him. There was a light twinkle in his blue eyes as he grinned and shrugged. "Ah why not. Certainly sounds more entertaining than losing to a game of poker against Roofer and Utah."

"That's because you've got a shit poker face," Avril rolled her eyes.

"Long game. I'm playing the long game to lull you all to a false sense of security, just you wait," Tabloid smirked. "So, when should I swing by? I won't be getting chewed out for being past curfew, will I?"

"I can get a work order and put you on the list. Let's you stay up later than usual," Avril explained as she started to limp over to the table of parts. "Guard should bring you here around 2100 so don't be busy."

"Got it, I got it. It's a deal then. And I'm holding you to that drink. I'll fetch us some mugs from the cafeteria as well," Tabloid smirked as he walked out. Avril watched him go and she couldn't help but think he's a strange one. She worked well with Wire for the most part as they share similar interests and are sort of a match. Almost too much of a match as both keep each other at an arm's distance. Wire hasn't gotten too personal with Avril and Avril kept it to a working friendship. Of all the other inmates she'd thought she'd get to know, Tabloid wasn't exactly at the bottom of the barrel but nor at the forefront of her mind. Smirking to herself, she quickly put her work face on again as she limped towards Wizard to see how things were going.

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2100hrs.

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Avril was out by the front of the hanger leaning against the door and staring up at the night sky. Stars dotted the sky while the cool night breeze blew through the air base. Even with the headache Cyclops' and Strider's planes were giving her, she could relax a bit in the cool air. Hearing the rhythmic footsteps approach the hanger, Avril glanced over to the source seeing the scruffy light brown hair of Tabloid being escorted in by a guard. Looking a bit closer she let out a light mental sigh of relief seeing Sergeant Patterson escorting Tabloid into the hanger. She had a slight worry that one of the stricter guards like Jesselton would do their job to a T and watch over them the whole night.

"Good, didn't have to hunt your ass down," Avril said as the two walked up to her while Tabloid looked a bit hurt.

"What, you thought I'd skip out on you?" Tabloid chuckled as he flashed her a smile while Avril rolled her eyes as she tossed the wrench she had in her hand at Tabloid. It hit his chest with a light thud, but he didn't drop it.

"If it were me, I'd probably dip," Patterson said while Avril stuffed a hand into her pocket and threw a Ziplock bag over to the guard. Catching it he nodded his head seeing the jolly rancher taffy inside. "No funny business now and I trust you both that McKinsey won't hear a peep of this?"

"And get thrown in solitary? Have a good night, P," Tabloid gave him a wave as the guard just smirked and left the two alone at the hanger. How relaxed some of the guards still baffled Avril. First, they give multi-million-dollar weapons of war to convicts and then they trust them and leave them alone in a workshop full of nice and pointy tools in addition to fully functional planes. Hearing Patterson's footsteps fade away from the hanger, Avril nodded her head inside for Tabloid to follow. Limping over to one of the toolboxes in the hanger she flipped it open and pulled the top set of tools out before grabbing the stashed bottle of cheap alcohol inside. Tabloid raised an eyebrow as she set it down on one of the boxes and took a seat noting how about a third of the bottle was already drunk.

"Well, so the myth that all mechanics are alcoholics is true. The Scrap Queen can't work without a bit of liquid courage running in your veins?" Tabloid chuckled as he took a seat on the opposite crate and produced two mugs. Avril just rolled her eyes at the comment as she rested her leg.

"Well, some dumbasses keep bringing back damaged planes giving us mechanics greater and greater headaches to work with," Avril rested her elbow on her good knee as she leaned forward. "Mirages don't grow on trees Tabloid. Would make my work a whole lot easier if they did."

"It would make lots of things easier," Tabloid put up his hands in defense. With a light smirk, Avril reached over and uncapped the bottle before pouring the two of them a drink.

"If anything, I was thinking of drinks first then work. It's how the mechanics I learned under did things, down a few beers, shoot the shit, and then work their ass off..." Avril reasoned as she took a cup while Tabloid bobbed his head in agreement grabbing his own. "Oh, and you can just call me Avril. The whole Scrap Queen thing gets old after a while..."

"What about Queen?" Tabloid asked as he took a sip of his drink. His eyebrows scrunched up a bit as he swallowed and swirled his cup before raising it a bit contemplating what he just drank. "Wire calls you that."

"Either or works for me," Avril shrugged as she took a sip as well and choked down the rather bitter liquid. Not the finest drink she's ever had but at least the taste matches the bottle. Cheap liquor is cheap. But she really didn't mind the Queen nickname. Hotwire initially tried to have Doc stick as apparently Avril sounded like someone from a game, she played but that was vetoed quickly. Avril said she could call her by her name yet she started calling her Queen after a while. She couldn't remember if she said it was from the same game but it fits as the hangers were her kingdom, and her subjects kept wrecking her gifts to them.

"Well then, so you said that your teachers used to shoot the shit while drinking?" Tabloid smirked a bit as he took another sip of his drink. "Been a while since I've had a good conversation. Count ain't exactly the most sociable one. I'm guessing it's the same with you and Hotwire?"

"She's been keeping it more of a working partnership so not really. She's been quieter since she started to fly though." Avril swirled the contents of her cup a bit. It's true that she's been coming back more tired and has been taking more naps while working. It must be rough running a double shift of flying and then straight to working in the hanger.

"I for one can say I'm exhausted when I get back from missions," Tabloid let out a sigh. "That or it's the sun that's just sapping my energy. I do miss the colder temperatures back home..."

"Where're you from?" Avril adjusted herself in her seat to get a bit more comfortable on the crate while Tabloid leaned back against the hanger wall.

"November city. Born and raised there for all my life," a light smile spread on his face. "Used to live just a few blocks away from the river that ran through there. God, I wish I could just rip this flight suit off and get in that river to cool off after a mission."

"You've been there your whole life?"

"Yeah. Kinda got a little sick of the place but... Well, if I didn't stay there, I wouldn't be where I am..." he grinned a bit before leaning forward. "Well, not the whole being stuck in a penal unit while also being sent on suicide missions... Meant joining the Air Defense Force. I still remember that day heh..." his shoulders eased up while his eyes softened as he began to reminisce. "It was just four planes that did the acrobatic fly over of the stadium during the vice presidents peace speech. Four planes to defend the sky. They took on wave after wave of enemy fighters that somehow got through the air defense network."

"Wait, I remember hearing about the attack in November City. You were there?" Avril raised an eyebrow looking at Tabloid and his grin only widened.

"At the stadium itself if you'd believe me. But I do miss the place. You'd get the best views of the place by the river even if it gets rather unbearably humid in the summer. Ah if you ever visit, I could point you to one of the greatest pizza parlors in town! Three generation of Emmerian's run the joint, so you know it's genuine." he let out a laugh and rubbed his belly. "Ah, damn it, now I'm craving some pizza... Well, enough about me, where you from?"

"Me? All over Osea," Avril nodded her head a bit. "Military family so we had to move around a bunch. I've been to Bana, Oured, Aurick, you name it. Never stayed in one place for too long. Two or three years and then we'd move again before I settled back in Bana with my grandfather." Running her thumb along the rim of her cup she let out a dry laugh. "If it were up to me I'd never move again yet the government decided that they should ship me across to another damned continent entirely."

"Tell me about it," Tabloid let out a light laugh as Avril gulped down the rest of her cup. "Never been a fan of how our government worked." Tabloid let out a light sigh before leaning forward again grabbing the bottle and gave Avril a refil. She wasn't too thrilled nor really was much of a drinker, but the conversation was nice, and she still needed to work Tabloid up to get the information she wanted. A little bit more drinking should open him nice and wide, and he was making it quite easy for her. Tabloid turned out to be quite the chatty person and seemed to be in the know for a lot of strange topics. Must of been how he got his tac name with how much random information he had. The conversation somehow turned to the novels that he's read asking Avril if she's read or heard of any of them. They mostly were the classics and he rarely mentioned anything too new, but he surprised her when he mentioned some old children's series he read back in high school.

The closest thing Avril could relate to are the numerous manuals she's poured through while learning how to work on planes. She still would enjoy a book or two once in a while, but she'd never call herself a bookie. In the end she just kept quiet and nodded as he kept talking watching as the bottle became emptier and emptier as time went by. She just needed to wait a bit longer when the opportunity presented itself. She managed to steer the conversation back to some stories revolving the last war and planes when she brought up why Tabloid joined the air force to begin with.

"Ah, that actually loops back to the November City attack. I'll tell you what, that panicked mob was something else. People shoving each other to get to the exits faster, the roar of jets overhead, and the explosions... In that sea of chaos, only four fighters were dancing in the sky. They fought off an enemy outnumbering them tenfold all the while protecting us. It all felt like a fairy tale watching the burning Yuke planes coming out of the sky when one of the allied planes started to fall out of the sky and toward the stadium." Tabloid began to use his hands as he recounted the story one hand angled down and smacked into the theoretical stadium. "The pilot and WSO punched out last minute to protect us civilians from harm. A few minutes later the two had come out of the stadium, a man and a woman, the man's arm draped over her shoulder. His pant leg was a red with blood. The woman carried him over to some medics and I'll tell you I've never seen someone with such determination. I'm sure if there was another plane ready right then and there she'd go back up there and join the fight! Haahaa! Her determined face is something I'll never forget. Even when one of those brave defenders went down, the remaining three only seemed to lash out more aggressively against the encroaching enemy. To the amazement of everyone on the ground four fighter pilots managed to push the enemy back. It was then and there that I had the thought that could have been me up there. Very next day I hit up a recruiter's office and started my enlistment" Taking a sip of his drink he smirked and glanced at Avril. "Heh... Thinking back now she honestly looks a bit familiar... Can't exactly place why..."

"It also seems like you've accomplished that dream. You must be quite the pilot if you've made such an impression on those recon pilots," Avril smirked as she leaned back a bit as she looked Tabloid over. "Quite the show you put on from what I've heard. Flying into those thunder clouds to save them."

Tabloid's smile slowly faded as he shifted in his seat a bit. He started to rub the lip of his mug as he stared into the ground. Tapping a heel against the ground he nodded a bit. "I remember that day well. Feels like it was yesterday. Well... It was a few days ago, heh," he laughed to himself a bit and he seemed to hesitate. He was a lot stiffer than he was earlier and much less animated when he continued.

"Amidst the swirling clouds, a fighter squadron was trying to help its allies reach safety," he began to narrate as if he was some omniscient being watching it all unfold. "Trigger held back at first giving me and Lamp top cover while we dealt with the anti-air weaponry before he even joined in mopping up the rest. It's quite something seeing a large plane like a Tomcat dip in and out of those giant rocks."

"Sounds like he's pretty foolish," Avril commented as she tried to keep as neutral as possible.

"Well, yeah, I thought so too," Tabloid let out a light laugh, "I mean I might have done that if the weather was better than it was but to do that with another person in your back seat? I could never." Sitting up a bit straight he got back to the story. "But suddenly, a highly skilled enemy fighter squadron appeared and jumped on the recon team, picking them off at the edges. One by one our planes fell right out of the sky!"

Avril raised an eyebrow seeing how energetic he was. He was quite distant when he started but he got quite excited when it was time for the hero to swoop in and save the day. He did say earlier that he admired the courage others had to step up in a situation. It's a perfect set up for Avril to get what she wanted. Leaning back she let a small smirk slip. "I suppose there was nobody around that was even more foolish to go to their aid then," Avril said as she picked at some dirt under her nail. "So you simply watched things unfold from a distance."

"Well... Yeah," he replied curtly. Avril tensed up and looked over at him before she turned to face him more directly. "Roofer was the first one to jump in under orders from Bandog. I heard that Hotwire was dealing with something with Trigger when the two suddenly jumped onto the bandit. Honestly I've never heard her so angry in my life... Trigger and Hotwire flew into the storm and took their leader on without any hesitation. It was insane I'll tell you... But... then again who would've ever thought that I'd also just go and follow him straight into the enemy squadron. Well... To be fair Lampshade also followed me in so I had some reassurance but... Still, I don't know how we managed to survive and get back with as few casualties as we did. Then Count came back to give Lamp and I a hand. I'm sure all of us were out of our minds."

Avril didn't know what to say. An ace pilot just flew in taking out three allied planes like it's nothing and these five pilots just flew in to take them on? They must have been terrified pushing themselves to the edge of their ability just to survive. Studying Tabloid he seemed much more tiered than he was earlier. He was staring off into space a faint smile on his face before he downed the rest of the contents of his cup. So it wasn't him, it was Trigger that did that. Avril wasn't expecting of all the pilots it was Trigger to take on the ace pilot alone. Well... he did have the help of someone in the back seat. But Avril didn't think he'd be the one especially since how he acted normally. A president murderer doesn't fit the hero type yet there he was playing hero. What's more surprising was how well both Wire and Trigger were working. Avril herself wasn't a fan of Harling for a multitude of reasons yet she never is too open on it. She noticed that Wire was bummed and absent minded after the news of the former president's death made it way to this base and she didn't want to ruin that working relationship she had with her. Maybe she's seen something in Trigger that Avril hasn't seen.

"How are you doing now? You've had a few days to think about the mission."

"Me? Well, a bit shaken up still if I'm being honest. Nothing like seeing the Grim Reaper and then deciding that you want to pick a fight with him," Tabloid let out a chuckle. "Well, maybe not the Grim Reaper. I swear if I see an F-22 with a ribbon on the tail tagged as an enemy, I'm just pulling the eject handle..."

"As any pilot should when facing a legend like that," Avril let out a light chuckle.

"Grim Reaper, Demon Lord of the Round Table, the Razgriz Demons from the North Sea, I don't care how brave you are, I'm not messing with them... But," Tabloid shifted a bit and straightened a bit. "I do feel a certain sense of pride. A bunch of misfits and convicts like us getting the praise from some bigshots in the air force. And this is all thanks to Trigger."

"He really is foolish isn't he?" Avril asked with a small smile.

"Yup!" Tabloid let out a light laugh as he raised his empty mug in the air as if giving him a toast. "Both of them are! That crazy pilot and a crazier WSO that climbs in with him!" He let off a laugh again before they fell into silence. With no more alcohol nor any candy left Avril was the first to get up.

"Well... Thanks for the discussion. Now then, onto the third act," she smirked a bit as she grabbed a wrench and tossed it into Tabloid's lap. He fumbled with it a bit but managed to catch it before looking at it.

"Work your ass off?" Tabloid asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Bingo. Now come on, we've got a lot of work to do." Avril limped over to her tool box and picked it up as she looked at the Eagles and the table of parts they had prepared. It will be a long night.