Aquila Flight - Return and Recover (Interlude 0.5)

Allowing his fingers to slide down the side of the craft before feeling a subtle cold dart through the ends of his digits Leo turned all at once and began to stride over towards the others of the flight, the smile melting away, while approaching Knight buries his hands into the pockets on either side of his frame as if to warm them back up. Pausing there among them as he heard the tail end of the elaboration, remaining standing he turned to glance off back over towards the uno being fitted a couple times.

Otherwise Knight remained standing there in a seemingly composed manner, though as he stared off into the near distance it would look as though Leo continued to peer far beyond his prevalent gaze as if fascinated, thinking perhaps. Or trying intently not to. It was hard to attempt to read such evidently blank expression fixed across his features.

Sayoko listened carefully to the other female pilots speak their views, paying particular attention to the diminutive Miranda. The green-haired Jiyuuian exhaled once before adding to the discussion. "Understandable that the view is different from the perspective of a bombardier such as yourself, Bannings-san, versus the fighter pilots assembled. But as was demonstrated, with the right cover from us you are extremely effective at what you do."

LtJG Mochizuki paused a moment as she looked aside, a bit of nostalgia crossing her features as she spoke. "I've not always been a fighter pilot -- I was originally 'born' as a combat Nekovalkyrja, and fought many power armored infantry battles as part of the UOC Peacekeepers. It was only after Operation Dynamo and my reintegration into the IPG that I was eventually trained to fly such crafts as the Uno and Quattro as part of the Naval Detachment's Interceptor Division Orca Carrier group."

The veteran foreign soldier closed her eyes and leaned back against a convenient wall. "I'm known to be very effective in a first strike scenario, and at reconnaissance, but in any protracted engagement there are times when I... can lose my focus at a critical moment..." Sayoko opened them again, looking guilty to admit weakness existed in her. Virgil in particular would noticed from his time close to her last night that her hair seemed to lose some of its vibrant green shine for a split second with the confession. "The demons of Tange do not easily let go."

"Well, I can't top that." Virgil finally reappeared, having finished the work he'd been at earlier. The black smudge that'd once been on his fighter's fuselage was now transplanted onto both his rag and his uniform jacket. Never straying from accidental good looks, the pilot swept off his peaked cap and wiped the sweat from his brow with one hand, leaving what would only be described as a calculated mark. It was a thin black smudge, and everyone had seen how casually the young pilot applied it. But its perfect angle, the intersection with his brow, the fading gradient of it-- it looked like it had been applied by a make-up artist sending Virgil into a sexy mechanic calender photo-shoot. The boyish smile that accompanied it only intensified the disgusting effect of fashion magazine good looks as Virgil explained in a good-natured tone, "I guess, unlike you guys, I just do this because it's what I've always done. I grew up flying. My daddy owns a courier service back on Prime, and my sister and I used to race airbikes for fun on the side-- uh, before she got into the professional circuit that is."

Next was a look of pride from the handsome pilot as he explained, getting completely off the topic of 'self-introduction', "Sandy Canton, that was her. You might've heard of her before. She was bike number forty-five in the Prime City Thunder in YE 30, which she won. And then she drove under that number again in YE 31 during the Delsaurian Glassblast Cup. And, well," Having already took off his hat, Virgil was left to just twist in both hands as he added in a softer tone, "If you follow the sport, I guess you guys know how that turned out."

Leo's composure completely evaporated as he heard the story nearby, his body tensing so noticeably in between that a burp suddenly escaped him in the midst of the rapid recovery from the hangover with artificial stimulants, he did know how that ended... He did all to well know how that ended out and the people who benefited from it as well. Himself personally nothing to do with it but he knew that his kind were both a fan of the sport and It's greatest enemy. Leo would have sold his soul to have a chance at professional racing, eventually doing it in stead for his brother. But the people he had to deal with, the slimy community that rested just under the surface of their beloved adrenaline rush of a sport; it's face was grotesque.

The mans voice rose from his depths surprised at first "You gotta be fucking kiddin...." instantaneously afterwards realizing his mistake Knights reaching up and brushed a hand across his forehead, messing his own hair up slightly before looking back to lamb with furrowed brow, the mans blue eyes staring directing back towards the man, but also retaining that same spacey quality. "No... I know exactly what you mean, you never speak of the worst of it though, we all don't. Trust me on that, I'm sorry man we all loved her to death you fucking know it, she was great man a real beauty... And uhh.... " Felt his eyes becoming glossy at that instant he thought back suddenly on his brother, and how much it was his fault. Collin.

"I lost a brother that same way in truth.. And I despise... those people, I hated all the people who took them away from us. BUT IN THE END"the pilots voice turning gravelly and almost demonic as Rachel comes to the surface of his mind and suddenly a wave of emotion jolted through him no longer able to stand it he twists and punches his fist into the crate closest to him with a dull crack as he bloodies his knuckles and growls like an animal briefly between gritted teeth, he was sworn to betray them, sworn to his hypocritical code of loyalty. What did it mean to be a soldier. And in truth had his idea of the warrior been a lie all along? Was the age of the fighting intellectual and philosophy a note of history by contrast to the criminal and reprobate that lead their society. He wished he did things differently, he wished he listened sooner, he wished he left with Rachel, why didn't he just... Stay? Leo thought within himself that he could never be anything more than a tool by that oath till he fulfilled the fair exchange of their trade. He was supposed to have died before this already he knew that, in the destruction of the fort, an agent that was to serve that singular purpose till the situation shifted as if by fate to drag him here; he could remain silent no more.

Trails of blood ran down the side of the crate Leo raised his hand back up and licked it off the corner where a scar stretched over his hand clearly where it had been split in a knife fight, he stood there suckling the blood off it and thinking back of the life that was earned in those streets, all that defined him and what happy times he had before this inevitable death that would grace him. A smile found his way across his lips now, at least it had payed for his revenge too in a way. Standing there looking absolutely out of his fucking mind the man soon turns to peer over towards them before

Why don't they just kill me, Knight concluded

"Blood for blood" remarked the irate lunatic like when the man first realized folly upon the air raid beginning back at Sentinel. In his heart burned the fire of a warrior and he made for a poor agent as lost as the man was. Having seen enough death and only thirsty for more conflict to celebrate entering the abyss as soon as the reds get what they want.

NSS Oracle, Hangar

Jayden had taken it upon himself to let those around him speak up, taking a slightly more passive role in the discussion and let things begin to grow as it should, organically. Those that had spoke up, they offered small pieces of themselves in a way that made each person vulnerable, it was like cutting away all the layers and revealing a soft core. And while Lilith had taken it upon herself to open things up for everyone, it was Jayden who needed to make the next move... the right move for his team. Of course, things didn't go as planned when Ensign Leo Knight decided to break his silence.

"I would suggest Ensign, that you get yourself straightened out quick and in a hurry before you find yourself locked within the Brig. Ensign or Admiral, you will conduct yourself in a manner befitting an officer or I will have you removed. Have I made myself absolutely crystal clear Knight?" Jayden had witnessed two officers out of line since the flight had assembled in the wee hours of the morning. The sharpness in his voice held an edge not unlike that of a blade.

It was then Lexi Winters had arrived from the medical center, just as Lilith had said moments prior, carrying a bag with different medicinal aids as well as bandages and such. "I thought this was supposed to be a simple discussion?" Lexi inquired with no direct target intended. She noted of Knight's injury and the look in his eyes read of someone getting ready to do something beyond stupid. "Commander, shall I call for security?" She needed to approach Knight and tend the wound, as was her job, but she didn't think to bring any tranquilizers with. It was also then she took note of LtJG Frost and his poor state once again. "Ugh... Are all the Aquilas just raging alcoholics?"

Edward had quietly observed the developing situation concerning Leo as he ran analysis on the mega weapon. He couldn't fathom why Leo was bent out of shape. He seemed to have gotten a lot of sleep the night before.

Some people just had a bad situation, Edward decided. He was lucky that life for him has always been pretty decent. He would have to think of something to lift Leo's spirits. It should be pretty eaay to think of something.

Seeing a small opening Edward spoke up as he handed the analysis to Happy, "Well, to be completely honest, that skirmish over Fort Sentinel embraced quite a few firsts for me. It was my first airborne assignment, first battle I have ever seen and well I was scared outta my gord. Seriously, I'm way glad you all were there to be honest.

I had only recently been granted flight clearance and my skill set and level was enough for me to get posted with you all. I'm eager to do my best and back you all up so please consider me a clean slate when it comes to this live action warfare."

It seemed like Edward was going to say more but Happy interrupted, "Jefe, you have an incoming call! Say's his name is Martinez. Sounds fishy to me, I'm gonna hang up on him."

"No! No, don't hang up on him you fuzzy rodent! Sorry all gotta take this, brb," Edward said moving away uaing his comms device. " Martinez, long time no see you old rascal! Just the man I wanted to blackmail.." Edward's conversation faded away as he put distance to take his call.

NSS Oracle, Hangar

Sayoko, ever watchful, found herself drawn for a moment more than expected to Virgil as he spoke of his past. She hadn't really take much note of it before, but the fellow pilot did seem... rather handsome in that moment. Unlike many others that tried to impress and create an image, he seemed to just have some natural gift for it, able to turn a grease stain into an apparent lady's dream. The Jiyuuian had keyed in largely on his personality and mannerisms as someone "safe" in the beginning, but perhaps she shouldn't always have to be so analytical about the man.

Of course, her focus shifted when he mentioned what sounded like a terrible tragedy with his sister in her racing career. Sayoko hesitated a moment, before touching Virgil's shoulder briefly to offer her condolences. It seemed something very comfortable and casual, the contact reminding them of all the hours they spent laying next to each other and embracing closely, sensations still fresh in her mind. "I'm... sorry for your loss Canton-san... but it sounded like your sister died doing what she loved and believed in. There is no shame in that life." The former Nekovalkyrja then glanced at his Uno he had been repairing, adding a rather interesting suggestion. "Perhaps you could paint her number 45 on the fuselage, so Sandy could race amongst the stars?"

It was probably the most positive thing Sayoko had said in some time, as Virgil's presence seemed to uplift her markedly. But the upbeat thoughts did not last as suddenly Ensign Knight reacted rather violently to the mention of airbike racing, beating on a container until his scarred knuckles were bleeding. Blood for blood, he said? There was something seriously wrong with him visiting violence even when not airborne, and unlike the inebriated Milo, Leo seemed to completely lack any self control while in that state. As the Commander disciplined him, the emerald haired agent instinctively shifted her position to draw closer to the arriving and vulnerable Nurse Lexi with her medical kit, even before she had actually mentioned security.

"Do you need me to restrain him?" spoke Lt. Mochizuki with a very serious tone to Miss Winters and Jayden to a lesser extent, indicating with a obvious nod as well in the direction of Knight. The commander probably knew she wouldn't hesitate to carry out the order if asked, as the safety of the flight right now was paramount.

Nero pulled his aircraft into the hanger and landed, he pulled Cipher from the plane and wiped the hard drives. He climbed out of the cockpit and gave a thumbs up to the mantanince crew. "Thanks for the bird chief!" Nero called as he climbed down from the ladder.

"No problem Cap." was all he said as the multiple technicians ran over to check on the status of the bird. He walked the halls headed back into the unoffical Aquila Hanger to find a huge mess. Nero should have expected this to happen, but he didnt think it would be this bad. Nothing got done at all. He strode in, his hostile armor still on and cranked the volume to max...

For the most part things had been fairly productive, or atleast it had seemed so with the Flight sharing a bit of feedback or insight into themselves, however it had most clearly looked like little to nothing was getting done with how scattered everyone appeared. "Commander, Cipher just pinged us... the Captain has returned, he's..." Lilith had started to tell Jayden when...

"What in the Fuck do you people think your doing!" Nero called as he removed his Skull helmet.

"We're discussing things as we were told to. Things got a bit... spirited, if you will, but I think we're moving in the right direction." Jayden said matter of factly. "Wasn't this what he told us to do? Have I missed something?" He thought to himself.

Nero strode into the room and looked around. As he stood thier Cipher informed Nero of all that happened and his face went from unapproving to pissed. "No Commander, what I asked you all to do was watch the battle. You all might think of this as busy work, but when I tell you people that you need to do something I am not saying it for my damn health. I don't do things for no reason. " He said pacing. "If you would have watched the film then you would have learned each others quirks in a fight. You would know what to watch for if your wingmates are in trouble. You would know how to work with their weakness and keep them from getting killed, and vis versa." He stopped pacing and looked at all of them.

"What... in the... fucking hell..." Jayden thought to himself. At first, he wanted to lash out back to the Captain for completely reading the situation wrong but he kept things in check and let it roll off of him to a point before responding to his Commanding Officer. "You gave us an assignment that isn't possible exactly as you planned. We don't have complete data from that battle. There are now four confirmed missing hard disks we can not pull data from. Lt. Donato is researching the Excelsior Array as we speak, while the rest of us are working on learning each other. We are working to accomplish
something to get similar results."

He turned and listened how the commander turned everything on its head. Nero relented. "Fine commander, I will give you that. BUT, that dosent excuse Mr. Donato of insubordination or the fact that Mr. Knight is DRUNK on my flight deck!" He said glaring at not only them, but everyone. "We are aces. ALL OF US. If someone steps out of line, it makes EVERYONE look bad." He then took a page from his fathers playbook. "You all were given a privilege to fly. It is not a right. If you can't follow the simplest of commands then you don't belong in my cockpits."

Jayden blinked. What was going on? It was like everything was in reverse. He was usually the harsh one, he was the one getting on people for not being up to snuff and here he was getting berated for something that he had absolutely no control over? His eyes narrowed as he was just about to open his mouth once again when a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Just let it go, Nero looks like he's trying to get himself together. There are worse things than this you know, far worse. Try not to get yourself thrown in the brig over him, ok Commander?" It was strangely soothing how Lilith spoke to him, and he alone heard her words. Jayden could have sworn Lilith's voice was more life-like, more realistic than before. Taking a second to collect his thoughts
once more, he offered a point that possibly would have pissed Nero off, but it was offered without malice or malicious intent.

"Most all of us. Not all of us have the tried and true experience, respectful... Captain Nero Vega."

Nero let his expression soften. He looked back to Jayden. He knew that the Commander was trying his best to show Nero deference. "You are wrong Lt. Commander Jayden Solaris. It mostly falls on me. This is as much my fault as is everyone else.I have not been the CO that everyone needs me to be. That changes today." He looked to Jayden and nodded. "You are a great pilot," he turns to everyone else. "you are all great pilots, but like me, you all have much to learn. It takes more than raw talent to be an ace. If you all pay attention to what I try and teach you, then nothing will be able to stop you." He finished giving a tired smile.

He didn't know what had gotten into Nero, but it seemed like someone lit a match under his ass and things were going to be right. "Aye sir." Was all Jayden managed as he looked to the rest of the Flight. "So this is what it feels like to be part of the group, getting each other's backs..."

"Thank you Commander, now if you will excuse the CO and I, we need to take off our armor." Said Cipher from the speaker in the Hostile. Nero nodded his assent. "Right, I will be back in a few minutes." He said as he turned on his heels to return his hostile to the armory.

Leo stood in the depths of his fury for quite a few moments without really seeming aware of the fact that he remained there among others with the twisted smile, blood dripping from his hand and tracing down his flesh in branching streams before the passion that surged through him completed a cycle of emotions yet another time then dissipating into a lesser intensity; finding some semblance of control over himself Knight very abruptly seemed to regain enough composure to stop his chest from rapidly rising and falling in the pointlessly intensified depths of anger. The disturbed smirk fading away after only a short time.

Looking then over towards the Commander there was an instant where he questioned what he had done just a moment ago, retracing the thoughts that graced him before loosening the fist and opening his hand to peer down at himself almost quizzically before slowly looking back up all those who seemed perturbed by his instability, in addition to the fact that the others of the flight were chastised because he couldn't handle the thoughts he tried to escape even while suppressing them artificially. Things would be so much more easy if he hadn't ever left Sentinel; thought Knight in a sorrowful manner as he watched Nero walk away.

Things would have been so easy had he not known any of them.

Tucking the bleeding hand away into his pocket the pilots eyebrows appeared to twitch and scrunch closer to his glossy hues as he pushed his thoughts away, most of them. As he spoke the mans voice was almost overly tender, remarking to Jayden without making eye contact. "...I understand Commander, this is my fault" feeling an overwhelming urge to warn them, but knowing how they would hate him; how they would judge the way he had been all this time working against their interests for the sake of little more than his word, for all the weight it could possibly carry as it escaped from his lips when the other side of the exchange was betrayal. Knights lowered eyes watched the crimson contours his own blood decided to make as it trails and slides down the crate.

"I'm sorry" uttered Leo as he begins to look up then at the others of the squadron with azure hue, he meant that; really meant it.
"If you don't already have a copy of my flight data I'll have to ask one of the techs over there to send it your way I've seem to have lost my datajockey..." Things appeared to be going so well down at Sentinel learning how to fly, in the midst of this new task however the agent seemed to be utterly discombobulated and undone even before the mention of airbike racing. If he could just keep his mind off the past there was a chance Knight would be able to pretend nothing was wrong.

"But.. I'll tell you for free that my largest mistakes were using up an excessive amount of potential energy in the midst of atmospheric flight, spending altitude in overly aggressive predictable reactionary maneuver and abandoning our combat spread in favor of the ceiling that resulted from each fetal brazen engagement just before pointlessly lowering the shields.
Rachel already offered quite the lecture about it... I was trained better than this.
Might be an ace in the simulators, but I'm not a combat ace.
There are bold pilots; and there are old pilots.
But there are no old bold pilots
The man who spoke that to me is a corpse back at Sentinel. But I get the feeling he would have been as disgruntled by my performance in your unit as the craft provided is"

A slowly broadening blood stain appeared around the pocket he buried his right hand within, every so often Leo would gently squeeze it, the pain reminded him that for this very moment he was alive and among good fellows; for a moment his eyes half shut and he imagines that he wasn't their enemy. It was then that a much more mild kind of knowing smile graced the corner of his mouth.

Friends; thought Knight.
Forgive me

"Ah, right! Hostiles!" I'd almost forgot to check if they have Jiyuuian sized ones on this ship! Rising quickly from her spot near one of the planes, Miranda trotted after the armored Nero as he left for the armory. "Please wait, I'm coming too!"

Falling into step beside the Captain as they exited the cavernous facility and entered one of the Oracle's mazelike corridors, she couldn't help but cast an uneasy glance at her superior. Her impressions of the good Captain were of a dedicated, determined man and almost fatherly officer, but the towering bulk of Captain Vega's armored form and the somber atmosphere smothered any sense of last evening's cheer. Now he seemed cold and distant, the pale light reflected off his tinted visor giving him an inhuman, mechanical feel.

"Excuse me, sir?" Miranda began with a small cough, suppressing a shudder at the suddenly-colder surroundings. As it was, it already took a measure of her will to not quail at the helmet's faceless gaze. "You seemed to know Phantom Flight personally, especially their leader. If it's not too much of a bother, may I ask how?" Focus on the man, not the armor...

As Nero walked, he noticed that Miranda was following him. When she asked her question, it was Cipher that spoke up first. "Lt. Bannings, I wouldn't ask..." He tried to say before Nero cut him off.

"Stop Cipher, it's okay." He sighed. "It's a long story Lt. Back when first started out as a pilot, my squad and I were had fought with Diomodies and his flight multiple times. On our last flight, however, my squadron..." he took a deep breath. "My squadron was wiped out. Including my girl friend." He flashed back to her final moments. The fireball, the explosion. He stopped and turned to Miranda. "After my squad was wiped out, I... let my rage consume me. I killed Diomides and most of his flight for what they had done. Well, so I thought." He added.

He started to walk again. "That day, I lost my entire family and saw the terrible things that can happen if I let my rage consume me. I vowed to never let that ever happen again. Which is why I am so protective of you all."

NSS Oracle, Hangar

Lexi looked to Sayoko as the IPG pilot immediately came to her aid in regards to Leo's excessive emotional outburst. There was definitely something deeper than just drugs or even perhaps bipolar tendencies that seemed to have a hold on Ensign Knight, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"No... Lt. Mochizuki, I believe Ensign Knight has calmed down enough for me to treat his wound. I wouldn't mind a watchful eye, just in case."

She threw Milo a glance and approached him first, reaching into her bag to retrieve an injection of stims and low dosage pain meds for the coming hangover he'd have to suffer with. "We really have to stop meeting like this." She whispered to Milo as she jabbed his non cyberized arm with the syringe.

With that, she stepped away from Milo, nodded to Sayoko, and carefully considered Leo before going over to take care of his hand that he chose to let ruin his uniform.

NSS Oracle, Hangar Bay

With a long, drawn out, and very pained groan, one Milo Frost was yanked quite uncomfortably back into the land of the living, casuing the said person to let out a lengthily curse as a veritable tsunami of pain crashed into him. "Goddamned son of a motherfucking whore...."

The Nepleslian then looked around, clutching his head as he did so (due to the agonizingly painful headache that had just blossomed in it) - and felt his jaw drop, for thanks to his half-conscious condition it wasn't the Aquilas he saw scattered around him.



Instead, it was the Talons.



N-n-n-no....th-that's impossible.... His normally-eloquent speech shaky and raw, Milo called out "M-Maverick? Rogue? Iceman? W-where the fuck have you guys been all these years?"


Then he caught sight of Lexi and, for the first time in years, smiled upon seeing her. Not one of his fake, charisma-filled smiles mind you - an actual, heartfelt, honest-to-god smile. His voice cracking ever-so-slightly, Milo - his eye tearing up and with a tone vastly different from usual - asked "E-Em...Emily? I..is t-that you, m..my love?"

Inside the hangar.

Jo watched quietly while first Nero and then Milo were taken care of. She kept her own opinion to herself. She sighed softly, though, and walked off a ways from the others, going to another area with boxes that didn't have anything dangerous in them. She sat and murmured, "Jethro, could you get me that footage, please?" She plugged in an earpiece so she could hear it in one ear as she watched the fight.

Jayden took a deep breath as he considered the state of things, how even in the simplicity of down time things couldn't possibly be expected to go smoothly. Jo had spoken up once at the beginning of the discussion but had been strangely quiet in a situation where anything but was needed. Of course, when looking at everything that was going on, why would she speak up? He looked to her from all the others in the room as things seemed to begin to sort themselves out as decided he wanted to hear from her. "Ensign Cigaro, do you have anything you'd like to offer? Perhaps another perspective as one who isn't expect to be able provide the answers." His aim was to encourage her advice despite her being viewed as a greener pilot.

Jo looked up when Jayden spoke to her and she swallowed before looking around at the others, not quite sure how she could put it without ruffling some feathers, so she shrugged a bit and said what she was thinking," I'm looking over the footage of the fight. From what I can see, we all are a bit green. Not because y'all don't know how to fly...but we had no sense of cohesion. It was like we were all thrown into the deep end without any sense of knowing who was where and when. We had a lot of near misses, but even I could see that it was just pure dumb luck."

He wasn't expecting an Ensign to be so... blunt and straight to the point. Nor did he expect her to matter of factly sum up her thoughts without faltering. As Jayden pondered on her response, he considered some of the points she made and then decided to ask her to give more. "I would have to agree that we were in trouble from the get go. To expect any force, regardless of how experienced they may be, to act as a cohesive unit mere minutes after coming together is sadly unrealistic. What would you have done differently if you could change one thing?" A small smile crept onto his face as he tried to push her just a little more.

Jo chewed her lip and thought about it, looking down at her datapad once more, she replied, "I'm not sure it'd just be one thing...but what sticks out most was that it took too long for all of us to get into the air and figure out a plan. Of course, it is to be expected...I mean...none of us had a chance to really work together before now...right?" She kept her gaze on the datapad for the most part, though giving flitted glances at the others, not too sure on their reactions.

It wasn't too shocking she noted that leadership was an issue during the battle over Fort Sentinel, though Jayden still felt it a bit of a pill to swallow. "I understand your concern. I think we all went out there needing to prove something... the wrong something. I can't speak for anyone else, but I can say that I took too many risks and didn't support the flight enough." He looked away from her, around at those still there during the discussion but not meeting any of their gazes. Had hell frozen over? Was Jayden actually humbling himself and admiting mistakes? Even Lilith wondered what had gotten into him.

Jo nodded and blushed some as she murmured, "I know I made a lot of mistakes myself..." Jethro cut in and added, "We all did. Though the AIs were meant to be copilots towards you lot, even our calculations were not as accurate as they should have been."

"Why is she blushing? Is it due to embarrassment, or is it something else?" Jayden wondered to himself instead of focusing on her words. When Jethro chimed in, Jayden began thinking back over how Lilith was more focused on his and 'her' interactions. However, she spoke up before the Lt. Commander had a chance. "I know for a fact that I had not taken care of my Commander and the rest of the flight as a whole. I believe it to be a flaw within my personality matrix." Lilith offered, though the last part of her statement was very much a lie, one Jayden silently picked up on.

"You weren't as bad as you think Jo. Not singularly. But we all were even worse than we all thought. All of us together." Jayden said to Jo, but addressing the flight at the same time.

Jo shook her head and chuckled a bit, "I won't say I was the worst, for we all did rather awful. But I know that I failed even with the fresh training I had. We hadn't quite graduated to the real weapons before that attack." She gave them a small smile and shrugged once more, looking back at the display on her datapad.

"At least I know I can give sound advice in a pinch, eh?" He offered, trying to lighten things up a bit. Heck, she even got a smile out of him.

Once more, a blush forms on Jo's cheeks. This time not from the embarrassment she had felt for what she failed to do, but from the small teasing he did towards her. She nodded and said softly, "Yes. That you can."

"Perhaps we should open the floor once again?" Again his inquiry was directed at her, but was meant to address everyone as a whole.

Jo nodded once more, her gaze riveted on the datapad as she said softly, "Yes. Perhaps we should." She was rather interested to see what the others thought as well, and hoped that those who were not quite focused were able to become more so now.

"Martinez, long time no see you old rascal! Just the man I wanted to blackmail," Edward said playfully into his comm devices. "Listen, buddy, pal, amigo...I need to call in that favor you owe me."

"B-Blackmail?? Hey man... I told you long ago we weren't supposed to talk about those pictures..." Martinez could be heard shifting nervously in his seat.

"Marti! I wouldn't actually let those pictures get out. But man, we had such a blast that night pulling that crazy prank. Really, I just wanted to get you going," Edward said with a chuckle. He had moved a pretty decent ways away from the other in Aquila Flight. He never really hoped that he would have to call in any actual favors to his former colleagues in Intelligence but this new weapon changed things. The weapon was amazing and yet terrifying in a world where things like EMP were easily combated.

"Ugh, please don't remind me. I still can't drink that stuff anymore. Where did you even find that shit?" Martinez gagged a bit at the thought of such delicious yet vile alcohol.

Edward laughed out loud reliving that night. "You know that I have always been good at hilarity causing procurement." Edward heard the sobering barking of his, apparently, returned Captain. He even heard his last name used in anger which, as he learned when he was young, is not a good sign at all. In a much more serious tone, "Listen, Marti, I do in fact need a huge favor. Like grande. As you know I was transferred to that new flight being formed, the Aquila's. By now you might have heard what happened at Fort Sentinel..." Edward drifted slightly in remembrance.

"Ah yes, Aquila Flight... Oh." Marti paused thinking over the news he heard and what information he had. "Wait, you guys survived? We haven't heard anything about survivors from Fort Sentinel! Holy shit Eddy, I forgot that you were there!"

Edward tilted his head as he considered the word not being run through Naval Intelligence. With a shrug he continued, "Well, as you didn't know, I will remind you that you still don't yeah? So I'm calling cause I need energy levels for all known weapons in our database. Let's pretend I also mean those I don't know about." He took a few moments to peek out over some boxes to see what the flight was up to and as he thought, it wasn't much. He went back to his conversation.

"There's a lot of crazy things going on man, things are real... hush hush with the 78th since the incident at Fort Sentinel. So this favor you're asking about, it's gonna cost you. I mean I have to be sure you're not just going to blackmail me again, but sure I can get you some specs and things." Marti starting clicking away as he spoke. "That weapon... is it really as, you know, destructive as they're saying it is?"

"Bro, I saw it, got a whiff, it...was...awesome...ly horrifying," Edward said with equal parts awe and fear. "It was gigantic, all encompassing. Really, I will owe you anything but I have run a few tests already on everything I can pull at my location and so far, I can't get near it. I need the extra info to extrapolate a working energy theory and possibly a counter."

"I want to geek out about it... I really do, but I just can't imagine being that close to it and living. I mean... you're like a legend Eddy!" Martinez coughed as someone walked by, hoping they didn't hear him. "I... uh, yeah. I'll try to get as much information to you as I can. I can't believe I'm talking to a living legend... man..."

"I'm no legend, I just live by the simple philosophy, WWHD. What Would Happy Do. Thanks Marti, this information will be a huge help," Edward said as he prepped his datajockey to receive the new information. He would integrate the readings directly into his existing calculations and run the cross references. Hopefully it would give him something to show the rest of Aquila.

"Happy, man... Happy is the man! Well the squirrel, you get what I mean. But I have something you're really, really going to want to see, early reports coming in saying that Aquila Flight is responsible for the destruction of Fort Sentinel. Not sure how we have that information, but I'll see if I can squash it for you. I don't think you guys would destroy a base."

Edward's mouth hung open in shock, his eyes flitting around quickly as he tried to process the new information. He stammered, "Des..destroyed Fort Sentinel? No way! We were protecting it! I have it on good authority the true attackers were some other shade of Nepleslians. I'm not sure what we are up to at this point but they might have been in the purple family of colors. Possibly a subtle Fuchsia or perhaps Magenta. Either way, someone is feeding some very wrong information to HQ. This is not good."

"Eddy, buddy, something doesn't add up. The evidence found is saying there were bombs strategically placed around the base, and that the inspections were signed off by one Lt. Commander Jayden Solaris only a day prior. Isn't that your XO?"

"It is. Man it is. Listen, we know that some sabotage went down but one of those things sabotaged was Solaris' Uno. That wouldn't make sense if he were behind it, though it would be a great cover. Either way, listen, we were NOT behind this and we will find out who it was. Please send those readings Marti, I owe you. I have to get going. Miles to fly before I sleep and all that."

"I got you Eddy, you were one of us. Analysts don't usually get to do what you're doing. Gotta be the legend man, that's your mantle right there. WWHD! Keep your eyes peeled for the files. They... uh, won't come from my usual... well, you know."

"Yeah don't worry, I will look through your mom's messages to me," Edward chuckled and continued,"We used to always joke that behind every good soldier is a great analyst. Your proving it now my friend. Ciao"

"WHAT?? My mom messages you? That's cold man... Ciao."

Edward put his comm device away and sits on the cold deck not even thinking and just starts plugging away at his datajockey. The calculations on screen are staggering as it seems Edward is almost keeping up entering new calculations almost as soon as the computer finishes. Both human and computer brains are basically feeding off each other in deep layer upon layer of calculations.

"...I see. I'm sorry for your loss." Miranda's heart went out to the man, she could scarcely imagine life without the comforting thought of her extended "family" back on the Harmony, for Captain Vega to not only lose his entire squadron but to have their deaths trumpeted in front of his face by the one responsible was a cruelty she couldn't even begin to fathom. For him to reign in his thirst for revenge long enough to pull the Aquilas out of Fortuna spoke volumes of his strength.

"...your squadron, you must have loved them so," She murmured as she gave him a sympathetic smile, her gray eyes drifting to the Aquila Flight unit insignia emblazoned on the Captain's armor. What insignia once sat there, she wondered to herself. and what was its story?

Looking up at the taller figure, Miranda locked eyes with a faceless visor that somehow wasn't as scary as before. "if it's not too much of a bother, I would like to know how they lived."

Nero reached the Armory and started to take off his suit when he heard Miranda. "Thank you Lt. I did."

He sat down and listened to Miranda's next question. Nero looked down, contemplating for a moment, then smiled. "Back during my days as a Marauder, my CO was a very serious man. It was funny we he actually tried to be relaxed. My girl friend Namoi said that his flight stick was shoved firmly up his ass." He said laughing. "We were a close family. When we finished a successful sortie, we would go out drinking. That was how Namoi and I got so close." He smiled, thinking back to the good times.

"I loved Naomi. She was so... well everything. She was an amazing pilot and seriously smart." He sighed, "I had planned on asking her to marry me." Nero held up his hand and flashed an engagement ring. "I never got the chance to ask, so I kept it to always remind me of her."

He turned the ring around his finger and stood. He didn't want to dwell to long on it. He changed into his duty fatigues and grabbed his cane. "Let's get going Lt. Bannings. The others will be waiting on us." He said giving her a slight smile.

NSS Oracle, Hangar Bay

The green-haired Jiyuuian came to attention with a bit of a start, saluting Captain Vega when he suddenly appeared in his imposing Hostile. Hearing Nero's strong words from the speaker of the suit, accompanied by the deadly gaze of the armor's faceplate, they echoed those of a man she greatly respected from her distant past. Far from being agitated by the admonishing of the flight as a whole, Lt.Mochizuki was in fact heartened by it. This was the Captain that the flight needed right now, a warrior made of steel and fire -- not the moping and limping mess she saw behind closed doors after his run in with the ghosts of his past. A flight of strong wills such as theirs needed an even stronger will to keep the reins on it, and whatever happened out there in space seemed to have unlocked that spark in Nero to begin to regain her respect as a leader. The Captain no doubt could see this in Sayoko's emerald eyes that before watched him go with a but of worry and pity, now were filled with a steely gaze -- he knew the former Nekovalkyrja would gladly follow him into the jaws of battle once more with Phantom Flight. She surely had a few of her cat-lives left for the task.

Sayoko also couldn't help but overhear bits and pieces of Lt. Donato's conversation not too far away with her sensitive hearing. The part that stuck out at her was what seemed like the destruction of Fort sentinel being pinned on them rather than the Reds? Another very suspicious development, indeed, that caused her to question the chain of command further as Nero had done. Someone wanted them to disappear.... badly, but who was it, really? She needed to find the right time to confer with Virus about this development and her own data she had collected through other means. There was no telling how they would next be targeted, and she had to be ready to foil those plans when they appeared.

Covering Lexi as she ministered to the less than battle-ready members of Aquila Flight, the Nurse's injection seemed to spark something in the inebriated Lt. Frost. From the way he spoke and reached out to her, Sayoko immediately recognized what was going on. Flashbacks, old comrades... she had been there many times where the present had been hard to separate from the past. All the psychologists that tried to untangle the PTSD mess she was following Tange, one of the only survivors of her Tenshi no Yoru platoon.

"I think the combination of drugs is triggering a flashback. Those must be the names of his former comrades," commented Lt.Mochizuki to Lexi with the tone of one who is intimately familiar with such things. Even though they had gotten off on the wrong foot at first impressions when he nearly shot at her, a part of the Jiyuuian's heart went out to the Nepleslian ace and she extended a hand to help him steady himself.
Hopefully it too would not trigger a more unpleasant memory like before.

NSS Oracle, Hangar

"E-excuse me?" Lexi turned around, looking at the person who seemed to be lost within another time and place. "I'm quite sure you're mistaken, Lt. Frost. There, to my knowledge isn't an Emily anywhere present within this room, and for your sake I would hope there's not someone on the ship you've... entertained yourself with that I bear resemblance to." The venom that dripped off her words as she spoke them was enough to drop a horse.

She looked to Sayoko and shook her head, not knowing if the Jiyuuian had any prior knowledge of her run in with the newest addition to the flight. It was something that pretty much gave away the fact that she had almost succumbed to Milo's charm, something she really didn't want to dwell on. With a deep breath she collected herself, then regarded Sayoko, "I would hope that's the case and not... the alternative."

Jayden shook his head, failing to contain a bit of a snicker, which drew a bit of a glare from Lexi before she realized he was the target. A bit of a blush darkened her features as she kept her mouth closed, reaching Leo and doctoring him up.

Knight watched the exchange and unconsciously he couldn't help but have a slight smirk spread across his lips, as the woman approached with clear intent on covering up the bleeding hand Leo withdrew it from his pocket steadily, four narrow lines across his knuckles where they had been split open when punching the crate. Having heard the abrupt change in those around him Leo focused intently down upon Lexi for a brief moment as he uncurled his digits, trails of blood rolling between the fingers; a few crimson droplets falling to the floor of the hanger again before his blue soulful hues regarded the reaction upon Lexi before speaking tenderly from his depths without seeming to retain much of a filter in this state of mind.

"We might not have much time left" Started the course voice of Leo before elaborating further in a surprisingly calm manner after having vented his rage.

"Spend it conveying the most genuine form of empathy and kindness. If I could change one thing about myself, it is that I've no control over reactions to things which gazed upon in a manner of hindsight; I wish had been so very different. Sometimes... We can't rely on empathy in truth, but as people we have always been able to rely on love. The border between understanding another and lending your heart out to them isn't always blurred, when that is so; it should be. You should go speak to the Lieutenant, I'm fine."