As Web shot the first Ferir, the engagement began in earnest. The squadron of Ferirs and the Wargods began their clash, individual duels and conflicts breaking out, as massive machines juked inbetween one another, providing aid to their wingmates, and defending themselves from oncoming attacks, all while attempting to get into a kill-slot of an opposing MAS. While this happened, the Solace and its escort began battle with the enemy Coalition frigates, plasma fire, capital ship lasers, and railgun shells crisscrossing the battlefield as well. Pilots on both sides were wise to be careful while between the two ships, lest they accidentally be caught by a ship weapon designed to take on other ships rather than just AA weapons.

The Ferir's were quick to realize that they weren't up against everyday UEE pilots, and now that they were down three pilots, they were at a marked disadvantage when compared to the Wargods' now superior numbers. However, the Coalition pilots were no slouches either, combining their efforts, a group of them let loose a salvo or missiles towards one of the Wargods, firing at anyone who attempted to provide the fleeing pilot with aid, effectively singling him out.

"Shit, I've got missile lock." Came the desperate cry of Jenks, one of their anti-ship specialists, as he whizzed off erratically, trying to shake the missiles. Individually, Hammer missiles were slow, and easy to juke, but with 4 different missiles coming in from different directions, it was hard to pick which direction to turn. "Point defenses out of ammo! Somebody back me up! Somebody-" His voice was cut off and replaced with static as a large hammer missile struck the Gladiator in the shoulder, the missile tip breaking through his depleted shields, and the resulting explosion sending the Gladiator spinning, right arm blown off and cockpit breached. His thrusters had cut off, his reactor most likely suffered damage and shut down to prevent an explosion from killing the pilot.

It wasn't likely that Jenks was still alive, and if he was he either critically wounded or couldn't communicate. His biometer suddenly snapping off from the squadron HUD, likely due to damage to his suit from the explosion.

In revenge, Tommy managed to bring his Gladiator in close, and cleave through a Ferir with his beam saber, before taking a burst of autocannon rounds to his back, his shields shattering under a withering hail of fire as he pulled back to safety, suffering only minor damage.

The Wargods were down another pilot. To throw another wrench into the scheme of things, a fleeing Prosperity class vessel, its name plate identified it as the Agincourt, entered their local battlespace. The Agincourt's escort ships had been destroyed in a battle near their position, and the vessel was retreating to the nearest UEE vessel, the Solace, whose massive guns would be able to better defend it. Unfortunately, the Agincourt, brought with it another group of Coalition capital ship hunters and another squadron of Ferir II's, this time led by a Ferir III. the Solace and escort offering the lightly armed ship protection.

Comm chatter was growing increasingly desperate, and was finally punctuated by the sight of a massive, blue-white explosion, the core of the Ulysses space dock exploded as a flurry of Coalition plasma weapons sailed into it, the elevator buckling from the intense explosion and folding in on itself, as it began its slow fall to the planet below. The remaining UEE forces were in disarray. Some tried to regroup but were singled out by Coalition assault groups, others flat out fled the battlefield.

-All forces, this is Admiral Bishop of the 5th Fleet. The Ulysses station is lost, and Cerol is fallen. We have failed this day. All surviving forces, fall back to friendly space. We do the UEE no good by dying here.-

A series of flares shot out by Admiral Bishop's flagship signaled a general retreat back to UEE space. Though the flares didn't seem to slow the Coalition assault at all. If anything, the assault intensified, almost as though the Coalition fleet was attempting to wipe out all survivors. Capital ships fled and jumped, some leaving behind their escort ships, incapable of long range jumps, thus dooming them if they couldn't find another ship to dock with. Unfortunately for the Wargods and the Solace, fully 10 Coalition Cruisers stood between them and the retreating UEE forces.

Wargods, return to the Solace immediately, we're preparing to jump in 60 seconds. Get your ass in the hangar or you're being left behind. Came the voice of XO Rexer, punctuated by the explosion of their last escort ship.

All pilots be advised, the Solace and the Agincourt are retreating to UEE space via a route through the FEZ. We cannot hope to punch through this current force to meet up with the rest of 5th fleet. We'll have to go around.

A small timer appeared on the HUD of all the pilots. It counted down seconds from 60, which was the amount of time the Wargods had to extricate themselves from their current engagement and return to the Solace.

”Good save there Nata- Ah, um, I mean Jack!!” The boy stumbled, fumbled, and rolled over his own words in a stupendous fail at a congratulation, which somehow took priority over evading the oncoming fire from the Ferir currently following him like white on rice. But all good things must come to an end. Erwin’s frontal display lit up with notifications and subsequent markers to direct his gaze. Though the object- or as the pilot soon found out, objects that captured his attention were not headed for him, but towards a fellow squadron member who the youth quickly identified as Jenks. He readied the Zeitgeist to fly in front of the volley of missiles and draw them with whatever countermeasures left, may they be chaffs or his own MAS’ maneuverability, only to be locked in his current trajectory by a streak of 35 mm. Erwin shirked from the monitor at the very last second, refusing to register the white noise that now filled his eardrums. The youth flinched at the audible beep that denoted the fall of another pilot. He blanched to such an extent that the only thing capable of dragging him out of his current state was the sudden plume of alabaster cerulean that bled into the starry backdrop. Without even a second to breath, tumult poured into his helmet when the UEE forces succumbed to entropy and forewent any form of organization. Through the maelstrom of chaos, Admiral Bishop’s voice served as a bastion for the befuddled forces, but by no means did his wings carry any encouragement to the drastically dwindling supply of morale.

Erwin’s gaze trailed up to another sector of his monitor, now magnified by a quick flick of his finger to quell any disbelief. Thanks to the visual sign signifying their retreat, the Coalition’s gall only soared light years. The shit had hit the pejorative fan, and just in case enough salt hadn’t been rubbed into the wound, an ally ship seeking refuge with the omnipotent Solace had brought along a few more Coalition ships and another collection of Ferirs to join the fight. Already aware of where things were heading, the pilot tapped on his frontal display and set a waypoint for the only available haven in this vast cosmos, the Solace’s landing bay. ”On it, sir! Double timing it back to the hangar n- eep!” His shrill cry was drowned out by the explosion of the Solace’s last escort ship, although at the moment he was personally preoccupied with the detonations of shells exploding around him. ”Negative, I can not land! I repeat, I can not land! Got one hot on my tail, and it’s not letting up!”

Erwin knew full well the situation had boiled down to two simple elements: do or die. If he tried to gun it for the bay and push the Zeitgeist to its fullest, there was a slim chance he would make it. But it was a very, very slim chance. A minute number of tears fell onto the control board, completely unknown to the young adult. He sniffled and ran his jacket’s sleeve across his face to dry up his cuts, ”Fight now, cry later.” The resolve thought crossed his mind as he tightened his grasp, fingers firmly placed in the nooks. Even though logic was at play, it may have really been his own emotions that guided his hand.

With a lucid plan formulated in his head, the pilot yanked back on the control stick hard, sending the Light chassis into a backwards arc. While executing this maneuver, the MAS simultaneously fizzed out of reality with its existence enveloped in active camouflage. Maintaining his momentum, the Zeitgeist flipped itself over rightside up and barreled down on the set vector. With the knowledge of his MAS’ abilities already out there, the Ferir began to prepare itself for the imminent assault. Unfortunately, well, fortunately in Erwin’s case, the Zeitgeist beat it by time and sunk its dagger deep into the enemy MAS’ hull and plunged well into the pilot’s cockpit. After an attempt to retrieve the Acheron, Halcyon realized that the unwillingness to budge meant that his weapon was completely wedged within the chink. As enemy fire pounded against the dispatched Ferir’s back, the pilot took this as his cue to make a retreat. It was just in the nick of time, since he had exceeded the allotted time provided for the active camo generator. The Zeitgeist adjusted its angle and sped off back to the Solace.

His engagement with the Ferir was rather brief, and Erwin had ample time on his return because of it. In a hurry, the pilot relinquished control over his MAS to the magnetic intake system stock for most vessels. The Zeitgeist eased into its respective bay and rested on the ship’s floor. Aside from a few burn marks, the Light MAS was generally unscathed, despite the hectic skirmish it was just in. Inside of the mech, a twenty year old was in the midst of facilitating oxygen flow. With his eyes still locked on the frontal display, he autonomously reached for the control board and powered his MAS down. Even with uncontrollably shaking hands, the young adult managed to slip off his jet black helmet, which let out a faint ksssh as he broke the airlock. Erwin placed it to his side and once the cockpit finally creaked open to the melodic tune of electronic servos, inelegantly swung his legs over and left the Zeitgeist.

The kid stumbled forward as soon as his feet touched the cool metal floor. Normally, a medic crew would have abided by procedure and awaited his arrival, but given how orderly things were at the moment, it was pretty obvious why nobody had helped him up. Erwin sluggishly picked himself up from the ground and let out a low breath. There was no point in getting angry over it. The dead were just that. Dead. In retrospect, it was a fairly simple concept. But the visible distraught on the pilot’s youthful face would state otherwise. A usually chipper facade now painted a glum and remorseful complexion. ”Cry later.” He murmured as a reminder to piece back together his composure. Although he had already homed in on the position of those who were already docked, Freund waited for the remainder of his squad to come home before proceeding.

The battle raged on, their ship itself combating the enemy forces that approached. A stray shot from a Coalition ship lanced itself just around the arm of the Messer, striking a piece of debris from a destroyed MAS instead of her. It wasn't just the Ferirs that she had to mind. It was hard to maneuver while trading fire with other MASs, but the ship fire blocked openings she could've otherwise been able to take. The Wargods had superior numbers after they downed a few Ferirs though, so this particular engagement looked like a solid victory.

... Or rather, it did look like a win to Nat. As the MAS pilots held each other at bay, the Coalition Ferirs were able to single out one of their allies while simultaneously blocking anyone that tried to help their comrade. Everyone on the battlecom heard his desperate cries as the missiles honed on the man with empty point defenses. Nat tried to intercept the attack as she had for Web, as did several others, but their strategy didn't give enough time for the worn-down MAS pilots of the Solace to respond before Jenks' voice was replaced with radio static. The resulting explosion was blinding in multiple ways.

Autocannon fire brought Nat's attention back to herself, the Messer having stalled as she watched one the anti-ship specialist's MAS spin lifelessly through the cold of space. She cursed herself for having made such a rookie mistake as several Ferirs shot at her. Out of the corner of her eyes, as she shot down a missle headed her way with the last of her AM ammo, Nat noticed Jenks' biometer disappear from the HUD of the MAS. She kept repeating in her mind that it was only normal to lose soldiers, that this was the course of war, but apparently she hadn't seen enough ally death for that feeling to go away. She wanted to rip the hole herself.

Nat unclenched her teeth, her jaw aching from how long she'd been stressing the muscles of it. A few deep breaths later, and her teeth were back to clenched. There was too much stress in her head to not channel it somewhere, and it wasn't going anywhere soon seeing as an ally ship had dragged their own group of Coalition MAS's into the fray. She wanted to scream into every mic she had, but she needed all the breath she had to keep moving. Besides, the comm channels were busy enough.

Looking around, there didn't seem to be much Nat could do. She was running low on resources, CQ engagement was risky with their numbers, and the tides had already started to shift away from the UEE forces. That third point was obvious from the collapsing space dock. After that happened, UEE forces either followed soon after or disappeared otherwise, leaving the Solace (and subsequently the Wargods and the Agincourt) with the rest of their problems. Namely, several Coalition ships and two groups of Ferirs. Nat's earlier optimism leaked away from her like a faulty fuel line, torn asunder by plasma weapons and autocannons. A message from the Admiral Bishop of the 5th, accompanied by flares, ordered all the remaining MAS fighters back onto the ship. She wanted to let out the breath she had been holding, but Nat forbid herself from doing so until the timer on her HUD hit 0.

Until that happened however, Nat had one thing left she could do: make it back onto the Solace. She cranked on the Messer's controls, veering away from her current engagement as her allies did the same. Of course, the enemy Ferirs followed suit and tried to keep them from retreating-- or better (for them), down one of them. This was made very clear when Nat noticed a Ferir she accidentally got too close to in her rush tried to stab through her weakened shields with an alloy knife. Luckily, the pilot was as tossed around as she was, so she was able to dodge the thrust. In response, however, the Messer drew its hybrid saber from its shoulder and took a quick swing at the Ferir. The plasma-edged blade skimmed along the surface of the Ferir's arm, only managing to do surface damage and pushing it away a bit. Fortunately, Nat wasn't trying to win any fights anymore, and she capitalized on the stagger of her enemy and dove past the Coalition MAS and towards the Solace's hangar. The time it took for the Ferir to clumsily resituate itself with its gun was enough for the Messer to veer out of any worthwhile aiming range, the Ferir having to make chase before it could make a good shot.

Nat felt herself lurching forward as her MAS made its way into the hangar, a sour sense of relief flooding into as she noticed the others making their way into their respective bays at the same time. As she started to switch off her mech in some weird panic, it took all her muscle control to keep her fist from slamming into the control-board. Once the airlock was set, Nat basically leaped out of the Messer, her knees wobbling a bit as she landed hard on the floor of the hangar. The twenty-five-year-old's helmet tumbled across the floor to the side as she slumped down to her knees, running her hand through the sweat-matted hair on her forehead. It would've looked she was crying if she hadn't gotten up a few seconds after and plucked her piloting helmet off from the ground, recomposing herself as she made her way over to the nearest human being. Focus on the living. She recognized said nearest person as Halcyon, or Erwin Freund.

Her gloved fist rose to lightly punch him in the arm, but instead, her hand just fell onto his shoulder. "Good to see you Freund," Nat whispered, unsure of what expression to make. They didn't know each other awfully well besides the basics, but the face of the kid, no matter how much she empathized with the distraught expression he wore, was comforting beyond belief. So... she decided on giving the boy a weak smile that betrayed the emotions in her eyes. Not everyone was back in the hangar however, so she kept herself from saying anything else in case she jinxed anything.

PROXIMITY-PROXIMITY-PROXIMITY

Web could do nothing but endure the blaring call of Old Crow’s incoming threat alarm as it filled the cockpit with its banshee call. His hands were locked to the control sticks of Old Crow, desperately trying to outmaneuver the approaching barrage of Coalition munitions.

The MAS’s directional boosters fired continuously in response to Web’s commands, deftly contorting the giant machine of war in an erratic dance of life and death. ‘Above’ him, the gargantuan form of the Solace illuminated the battlespace with bright lances of energy, as it exchanged salvo after salvo of fire with the Coalition capital ships. These flashes of color made the swirling viewscreens of Old Crow into some morbid caricature of rave lights making it nearly impossible for Web to continually orient himself spatially to the incoming missiles.

In the midst of it all, Old Crow’s Matchstick proximity guns had reset at least three times since the engagement had begun, with even their highly advanced tracking programming unable to compensate for both the movement of Web’s MAS, and the changing trajectory of the missiles. Even now only two of the guns had any ammunition remaining in their dedicated hoppers.

This shit will be over sooner than I would’ve liked, Web said in the back of his mind.

Then words so sweet that he could barely fathom their realism cut through the battlenet:

"I gotcha, Web!"

Nat’s declaration of impending salvation was quickly followed with the destruction of the missiles that were hot upon Web’s tail. Riding the shockwave, and with a flick of his wrists, Web managed to flip Old Crow around just in time to see Nat’s MAS shift from the dissipating explosions of the missiles, and into launching a barrage of her own towards an unprotected Ferir. A damn good shot.

“Thanks, Jack,” Web called out as he worked his MAS towards acquiring another target; there was no time to acknowledge his savior further. The battlespace was all but filled with approaching Coalition targets, and their accompanying fire.

Web worked to bring Old Crow’s battle rifle to bear, while at the same time keeping tabs on as many Coalition threats as he could. The battle had evolved into a mixture of MAS duels, dogfights, and longer range munitions exchanges, and it was nigh impossible to be aware of it all. Skill accounted for a lot in combat, but an engagement such as this came down to just as much chance for the individual pilot as anything else.

The cry of Jenks over the battlenet brought Web into a frenzy of searching his viewscreens. Illuminated missile tracks on his HUD crisscrossed in all directions, and Web only found the green bracketed MAS of Jenks just as the missiles detonated around him. Before Web’s eyes, his fellow Wargod disappeared in an all-encompassing ball of flame.

Web forced his attention away from his fallen comrade, the hatred welling in the back of his mind to plague him at a later time. Old Crow’s battle rifle got off a few ineffectual snap shots at Ferir’s close to where Jenks fell, just as the blinding blue-white flash of the Ulysses station’s core going nova blotted out the whole battlespace.

Web’s jaw fell open in stunned silence. For a time everything seemed to stand still in a surreal freeze-frame of doom and disbelief. The elevator attached to the giant platform buckled, framed by the blaze of Coalition plasma, and began its long and inexorable descent towards Cerol. The figurehead of the great UEE fortress-planet had just been lost.

The rest of the battle was a dim blur to Web. Admiral Bishop’s call to retreat was a distant buzz in his ears, and the call of XO Rexer to return to the Solace followed in an equally disembodied haze. What came next was fire, obsidian, and the skill born solely of desperation and instinct.

By the time Web was climbing his way down from the kneeling Old Crow inside of the hangar, he could barely remember how his feet had come to be on the metal decking. The MAS behind him popped and groaned, as the superheated directional surfaces, gun barrels, and heat sinks were at last given a reprieve.

Looking up, Web noticed two of his fellow Wargods standing together, not. Nat and Erwin. With his mind still fuzzy from the adrenaline and shock of the last engagement, Web tucked his hands into the waist pockets of his sweat-soaked flight suit. Making his way over to the two pilots, Web looked to each in turn, his face blank and slack. Web’s signature Mohawk was plastered onto his head, and his beard was matted to his jaw.

“Coffee.” He said to the two, his voice low and hoarse. “I could use some. You guys in?”

The young adult had his eyes glued to the tear marks stratified along his jacket’s sleeve when a light, but just as catching grip abruptly fell onto his shoulder. The only thing preventing the kid from leaping out of his skin and well into orbit was his ability to process information at a cursory rate. His head whirled around to instantly verify that it was indeed a familiar face to his side, which did more than alleviate the already tense pilot. Still, given how naturally startled he was, a faint yelp managed to escape his lips despite the comfort he felt. In all honesty he had expected playful punch and found himself staring at his teammate’s hand for a few extra seconds, each moment filled with just as must angst and remorse as the one prior.

It didn’t take an intelligence officer to conceptualize why he had received the greeting that he did. Nat also understood the gravity of their current state of affairs. In fact, she definitely had a far better understanding. In the past three months, he has picked up bits and pieces here and there. Through frontal conversation of course. Having never stepped outside of his morals, he would never do something as sly as to eavesdrop. Yet he was still new, and only had a minute fraction of the picture assembled.

It’s war. Everybody loses somebody or something. This was just Erwin’s first time experiencing the oppressive sensation that was lamentation.

”T-Thanks Natalie. Glad you made it back too.” It was rare to see his comrade in such a dispirited state. With that said, the kid could go the rest of his days- or if he was lucky, years without ever seeing the sight of a remorseful Natalie Vehrs from this point on. Aware of his frame of mind, Nat managed a meager smile that tugged at the corners of her face, acting independently of whatever emotions that currently painted her conscience. His voice still exhibited its usual sheepish tone, but there was a distinct strain to it. Perhaps he wasn’t bawling enough tears to fill a ship’s reservoir because reality had yet to sink in. His nerves had been entirely numbed by what felt like an equivalent to shell shock.

At least he was still able to process relief. Before he could follow up with his prior statement, Erwin instantly fixated his gaze in the direction of another arrival. His shoulders slackened slightly, but it still looked like they were attached to a plank running across his back. He expectantly traced Web’s figure as the pilot disembarked from his MAS and made his way over to his comrades. Unsurprisingly, he was also worse for wear. Under the intense lighting that lined the hangar roof, Erwin could practically single out every trail of sweat among the many that covered his face. The always amiable Web had been rattled by the turn of events, as any human being would be, regardless of tolerance.

He glanced between his two superiors mousily, thankful for the fact that they had survived the conflict, but any positive emotions were negated by the lack of mechs to follow. He couldn’t really tell what kind of expression currently painted his face, but surely the kid looked like he was about to burst into incessant weeping. As muffled explosions ringed off in all directions, the timorous pilot somehow maintained his footing. ”S-sure. Um, I mean, definitely Web.” A faint voice managed to utter chopped up words. Pained brown irises rose and met those of his teammates, ”And… thanks for making it back to us.” His vision remained on his comrades for a few brief moments before shifting over to the vacant landing bays behind them. Five designated areas laid barren. Just a few hours earlier they were filled with their respective MAS’s.

Erwin wordlessly moved past the two pilots and came to a halt after a few paces. He took in the sight in its fullest, accepting the five empty bays for what they were, and what they had become. The young adult mended his posture, leveled his chin, and in one deft motion, crisply saluted the desolate space. The reverberating sound of fabric barely managed to catch up with the swift movement. For a moment, it seemed like even the opposing fire bombarding the Solace had ceased in honor of this silent requiem. After keeping the form for a little bit longer, the black-haired pilot turned around and nodded at the two. His countenance still bolstered the dam that held back the flow of tears, but the unexpectedly soldier-like action casted a mature air around the kid, if only for a short-lived instant. ”I’ll gladly brew the c-coffee. You two deserve some R&R.” He offered politely, waiting for one of the two to take lead.

Natalie dropped her arm to her side when Erwin turned to her, realizing that it was probably a bit thoughtless to come up to her comrade from behind like that after what had just happened. As much as she wanted to be happy, glad that she and him and all the other survivors had made it back, Nat couldn't shake the misery. They had lost far more than just several members of their squad. They were the lucky ones, arguably. There were so many other deaths and losses happening elsewhere, and they just couldn't see it. But maybe, that was for the best. Witnessing the death of so many people you knew would be... something else entirely.

Taking a shaky breath, Natalie closed her eyes for a moment just as another UEE MAS flew into the hangar. The war that was raging outside of the ship made the relative quiet of the Solace's interior disconcerting at best. Distant rumbles and flashes filtered through her closed eyes and ringing ears. Lifting her eyelids once again, Nat was too tired wring out her balled fists as some of her sorrow turned into rage. With no outlet, the anger spread through-out her like a poison in her veins, weighing down her body.

It was almost comforting just to hear Web's voice bring up the notion of grabbing a cup of coffee as if they had just woken up from a bad dream and it would all be okay. "Maybe it will be," Natalie whispered to herself as she pushed a strand of brown hair on her sweat-covered forehead back into the bun she had pulled her hair into. She exhaled at what she had said to herself, unsure of what to actually think of it. "I would love some coffee, Web." Looking up at him, Natalie was sure that she would never witness the man himself Webber Darley shed a tear, but with how... damp... he was, it would be almost impossible to discern where the water came from. That was a good thing, considering how if he had, she would be afraid she would do the same. It was a good thing there was a known cry-baby among the group, seeing as it would at least be predictable coming from Erwin.

Speaking of Erwin, the youngest soldier in the squad himself offered to make the pot of coffee, asserting that she and Web deserved a break more than he did. It bugged Nat that he considered his emotional needs less than theirs, but then again, she wasn't his big sister or anything. Erwin was a soldier, an adult in his own rite, even if his little mental dam was a push away from leaking.

"Thanks for making it through that one," Nat said to Web, reiterating what Erwin had said a moment ago. The air felt a little too thick after though, so she made her way past Erwin and started off towards their living quarters. It was a temporary relief to get away from the hangars... Without even checking if they followed, she cracked the door to the closest thing they had to a kitchen. It was more like a lounge with a fridge and some other utilities, but that was far more than they needed anyway. As the brunette stepped into the room, filled with its familiar vague stuffiness, she ripped out the two clips hidden in her hair, letting her fall down overly-dramatically. The strands just fell back limply, so Nat shook her head to make it fall naturally to her shoulders. Normally, she would maintain a proper military appearance around her comrades, but for once, distancing herself from her job seemed far more enjoyable than keeping a professional air.

After brushing her bangs out of the way, Nat walked over to the counter and pulled out the god-send that was a a bag of instant-coffee mix. She was about to start it herself, but remembering Erwin had kindly offered to do it made the simple task seem like a terrible bother. Instead, Nat collapsed into a worn-out couch by the wall, and she almost cried when her back hit the cushioning. Being hunched over the controls of a MAS like that was surprisingly straining this time around.

Kicking back like that felt dirty however, when she reminded herself of the people still fighting for their lives out there. Sitting back up-right, she ran her hands over her face, wiping the sweat on the pants of her flight-suit. It wasn't worth changing out of it, considering the very real risk of having to engage in more combat soon. Hopefully... that wouldn't be the case.

Natalie decided right then that she would be grateful if they didn't have to fight anytime soon for now.

It seemed that as soon as Gerard took Yuu's weight, she collapsed even more, forcing him to lean a bit before he wrapped an arm around her to keep her steady. "Mon dieu madamoiselle," he muttered as he lifted her up slightly, "if you are going to rest at least do it in your bunk." A scant few moments later Trapp tossed his flask back, but not before taking a swig of the liquid. Out of reflex, he turned it up and as expected, only a single drop of liquor came out eliciting a sigh from him. "You could at least ask, Trapp," he said as his superior officer walked away, "I could even get your your own damn flask." Well, he told himself, its not like he had a finite supply. Leaning down, he heaved Yuu over his shoulder and began walking away. He'd probably have to stop off at the dormitory to tuck in the sleepy genius, but he should probably check out the Marauder afterwards. The fight with the Rosy of Ilya had really challenged the limits of the MAS and pilot, not to mention the damage the former had sustained. At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to apply a new coat of lubricant to stop that horrid screeching in the cockpit.

Gently, Gerard put Yuu onto her bunk and left her to rest before making his way over to his own. He felt an intense urge to collapse into it himself but instead kicked the flase panel that hid most of his stash. It wasn't that the UAE prevented him from having liquor stored as a soldier. Its just that they had a maximum limit to how much they could carry. He still really had to thank Maki for finding this false panel in the first place, probably left by their predecessors on the Lincoln, or a very disgruntled engineer. Resting the empty flask against the inner wall, he began sifting through the racked bottles, looking for the one half empty one he had...somewhere in there. At the same time, he was suddenly aware that he smelled of motor oil and burning flesh, or at least his flight suit did, and winced internally, remembering old memories which he had thought buried.

Web’s green eyes looked to Erwin, and then to Nat. A smile, weighted heavily with the reality of the utter defeat he and his comrades had just witnessed, lifted at the corner of his mouth. The expressed relief from his fellow Wargods at his safe return buoyed his spirits, and took the edge off his troubled mind.

“Things would’ve been a lot different if it hadn’t been for you two. Thank you for giving ‘em hell out there, and getting me out alive.”

His thanks to Nat and Erwin was punctuated by the continued sounds of rumbling explosions, and the rattle of the Solace as the ship continued to battle for its survival. It was a sobering backdrop to the exchange of the three pilots. Web noted in the back of his mind that the ship had to make its jump to UEE space soon, or his good fortune during the last engagement wouldn’t amount to anything.

That thought soured his expression.

Nat must’ve felt something similar, as she was the first to take up his offer and head for the hangar’s exit.

Web watched her walk away, noting the woman’s lithe, long frame as her sweat-soaked flight suit moved along with it. The wad of brunette hair held up at the back of her head was plastered irregularly along the nape of her neck, and the slumped edges of tired shoulders gave voice to a profound degree of exhaustion. Altogether, she looked as tired and disheveled as they all did—mentally and physically drained, trying to keep the reality of things at bay. Yet, if there was one person Web could think of that made the aftermath of combat look halfway-decent, it was Natalie Vehrs.

The sounds of actuators and the whir of electric motors from behind him took Web’s attention away from Nat. Looking over his shoulder, Web saw a pair of MAS support techs working quickly and efficiently to rearm, and run battle-ready diagnostics on Old Crow. Another sobering sight. At any moment the Wargods could be called out again, and even if the jump had taken them clear of immediate danger, the war was still perilously close.

Turning back to Erwin, he jerked his head in the direction of the hangar exit, and the promise of a little downtime. “Let’s go, kid. We need to rearm too.”

Following in Nat’s wake, Web made his way clear of the loud and stuffy hangar bay, and into the slightly less loud, and slightly less stuffy ‘kitchen’. On his way down the corridor, Web had unzipped the upper portion of his flight suit, and had tied the sleeves of the garment around his waist. The fabric of his black undershirt was completely wet with perspiration, but Web didn’t care. A little comfort was all the man desired.

Seeing that Nat had set out the instant coffee for Erwin to handle, Web knelt to rummage into the back recesses of the pantry. With only a few grunts and breathy curses, Web managed to find what he was looking for.

When he stood, he held a box of candy bars in his large hands. Ripping off the cardboard top, he tossed one to Nat, and then to Erwin.

“Now, these babies aren’t the rationed, synthetic garbage you get in the mess hall. No, my friends, I smuggled these in one of Old Crow’s maintenance hatches when I got transferred from the 42nd. This shit is real Earth chocolate, so don’t just gulp it down.”

He winked at them both.

Plopping down across from Nat, Web ribbed open the wrapper of his candy bar. He regarded the chocolate held in his hand for a moment, thinking upon just how absurd it seemed to be eating candy right now. Some would’ve considered it disrespectful to the memories of the recently fallen perhaps, but Web didn’t think of it that way. The Wargods had been through hell, just like the rest of the UEE navy. They did no one any good by basking in the ill-fortune that had befallen them. The living needed to live, and to have something to fight on for.

In Web’s mind, chocolate was as good a reason as any.

The Solace.
The Solace's hangar bay was filled with a sort of dulled commotion as techs rapidly moved to start rearming and repairing The MAS's that were returning. Thus far, several of the squadron had yet to return to the ship, and with the time till jump rapidly ticking away, the mechanics were rushing to clear the landing decks so the returning pilots could land. In quick succession, Sanders and the last of the Naginata fighters collided with the Solace's drag-cables, sets of emergency landing cables stretched across the hangar to reduce the speed of returning MASs. As quickly as they could, they walked, or in the cast of the fighter, taxied, to their slots, thus clearing the hangar for more pilots to land. The landing spaces were quickly cleared, as the techs prepared to catch the last two remaining MASs from the Wargods.

"Clear the landing bay!" shouted the deck chief, above the general din, his voice amplified by his ultra-light MAS's external speakers. "Steiner and Commander Simms are the last- What the fuck?!"

The deck chief and several other technicians dived out of the way as a shuttle barreled into the hangar bay, skidding and bouncing along the hangar floor before getting caught in the drag cables, forcing Simms to break off before he crashed into the occupied space. Steiner landed in the other sided of the hangar bay and threw himself out of his cockpit, not bothering to park his machine, shock clear even through the polarized faceplate of his helmet. He bounded across the hangar, tearing his helmet off of his head.

"What the hell is this?!" Steiner bellowed, as people began to rush out of the shuttle, its contents a mixture of non-military, and military personnel, it must've been an escape shuttle from the Ulysses, as the military personnel from the shuttle had the patches of Cerol's Defense Force MAS Division. The inhabitants of the shuttle breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some even began high-fiving one another as they congratulated each other on a safe landing.

At the same time, the lights began to blare red as klaxons sounded, and the hangar doors began to shut. ALL HANDS, PREPARE FOR FTL JUMP. ALL HANDS, PREPARE FOR FTL JUMP.

The kitchen-lounge had been relatively quiet, until Steiner, Sanders and the rest of the remaining Wargods suddenly burst into the lounge, sprinting for the room's comm-pad, the hangar's only communication link to the bridge.

"Delay the jump!" Sanders screamed, even before he managed to jab his finger into the comm-pad. "Commander Simms hasn't landed yet! Delay the jump!"

No can do, crackled the voice of Rexer through the comm-pad. The Solace needs to jump now!

"Thats bullshit!" Steiner yelled indignantly. "A damned escape shuttle got in the way! We can't leave Simms out there to die!"

If we stay any longer, we'll all die. Now watch your tone, lieutenant. came Rexers withering reply before the comm-pad abruptly shut off.

"Damn you Rexer!" Brit growled, as he slammed his fist against a wall. Moments later, their stomachs dropped and the ship lights flickered for a moment as the ship rumbled. They were in hyperspace.

There was a brief pause before the doors to the lounge opened again, and several men in pilot jumpsuits bearing "CPDM" patches on their shoulders walked in, all looking a bit ragged, but relatively relieved.

"Man, I'm glad we got here, we almost didn't make it!" One of the pilots said, with a chuckle of relief. "Hey kid, you got any coffee to spare?" he said, eagerly eyeing the pot of coffee Erwin was brewing.

Three days later, the relatively quiet ship jumped into normal space, where it encountered UEE contact for the first time since Cerol.

---

7th Squadron
Spaceport Haven

Built in the mined-out husk of a massive, ages old asteroid, Haven was a known romping ground for criminals, terrorists, and malcontents since before the war. It was a former huge mining station built, from which all that remained were twisting streets populated with homes, shops and warehouses. Haven's inhabitants were particularly lawless, even by FEZ standards. Territory within the asteroid is often controlled by the strongest gang in that local area and as a result, frequently changes hands. Destruction, reconstruction, and subsequent destruction of the original space station's design by war and power struggles have given way to haphazard expansion by whomsoever felt like building onto the station at that given point in time.

With the base devoid of materials to mine, it now served as a large spaceport for its host planet, Arias, a desert planet of relatively sparse population and little tactical value. The planet, while rich in ore, was prohibitively hostile, and commonly wracked with sandstorms, making mining expeditions onto the planet a costly endeavor for anyone, especially when pirates and mercenaries in the system were likely to try robbing any miner once they had finished.

Needless to say, the Lincoln's appearance in local space wasn't the most welcome. While Coalition and Empire ships were both present in the system, none were near the size of the Lincoln. A small contingent of FEZ ships immediately powered up and began approaching the Lincoln and its escorts, a mish-mash of haphazardly redesigned and re-purposed ships with weapons strapped to them. Alongside the ships were a flight of a dozen or so aerospace craft and MAS.

"Ships from Haven Spaceport approaching." a tech from the Lincoln's bridge called out. "5 Ships of destroyer ratings, weapons and shields spooled but not active. I count a dozen escorts, Hellio Fighters, and Gowser MASs. They're hailing us"

-UEE Ships- crackled a voice over the comms. -State your business.-

Before anyone from the Lincoln could say anything, another tech piped up. "Captain! Two jump signatures, incoming! UEE signatures!"

As he spoke, a pair of ships jumped into view, the stocky, squarish shape of none other than the UEE Solace, and a civilian-grade ship, identifiable as the Agincourt, a logistics ship.

"FEZ fleet weapons are powering up..! a bridge crewman said nervously.

-UEE Ships! What is the meaning of this?!- crackled the voice from the FEZ Ships, his angry voice distorted by the sound of static.

Alice sighed with relief when Maki shooed off the engineers. Following her to the store room, she stood and patiently listened while her wingman sat down. The way she explained how unnecessary use force would provoke proportionate retaliation made sense to her in particular. Suddenly Gerard’s insistence on mercy seemed slightly more logical. She didn’t quite understand Maki’s pathos yet, but putting it through a rational lense helped. Rules of engagement still applied, obviously, but inflicting excessive violence on the enemy would only cause the enemy to escalate in turn. So would a display of compassion invite compassion in the same way?

Maki also had a point concerning her desertion of her and Trapp back on Jehan. Alice needed the confidence of her fellow pilots, and abandoning them, no matter what strategic sense it may make, impeded the facilitation of trust between them. If her team couldn’t rely on her, then they wouldn’t be able to work together, just as she couldn’t be Maki’s wingman. Therefore, any programmed protocols that negatively impacted her relationship with her teammates would also hinder her ability to protect them and fight the enemy.

“I understand, Maki. I want to be your wingman, and I want you to be my wingman too, but you’re right, you need to be able to trust me. And that means I need to be someone you can trust. I don’t know if I can disobey my own programming, but if it means not abandoning you and betraying your trust, then I’ll try.

...And if it helps, I want to try to explain what happened on Jehan, because I’m not programmed to do that. I have a standard of efficiency I’m designed to follow, but there’s something...wrong with me. I don’t know what, but for some reason, I can’t process anger the way I’m supposed to; I get frustrated too easily, and it becomes difficult to control myself, leading to these inappropriate displays. My engineers are noticing these outbursts, and some are starting to consider wiping my memory and starting over again from scratch..."

She took a deep breath, anxiously fiddling with her fingers again. “I promised Dr. Santoro I would start controlling my anger, and she recommended physical activity as a form of stress relief, such as training or sparring with my team mates. I do have protocols in place to make sparring with me safe for organic partners, not that I could bring myself to intentionally injure any of my teammates even if I tried. So, ah...what I'm trying to ask is, if you’re willing, perhaps we could spar together as a bonding exercise…?”

Maki mused over the robot's reply for a moment. Sure, on a rational level she understood that Alice was an AI, and bound to her programming. If her code told her to avoid capture at the expense of her teammates, that she would have to do. Not that it made the thought any more comforting. At least the reassurance that she would try to avoid a repeat of Jehan was enough to dissuade the Japanese woman from pressing the issue.

"We all have a lot of anger, Alice. It's not about suppressing it in a fight. It's about channeling it, directing it in controlled amounts. Rage is dangerous if you let it take the reins. I mean, sure, physical activity helps, but it's not like you have a human brain with endorphins and stuff to help with stress release. I'd be more than happy to spar with you, though not right now. I'm exhausted. And your engineers might have a fit if we don't get you sorted soon." Maki added, getting off the crate and opening the door to find the lab geeks waiting impatiently outside her door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done. Fucking assholes." She bitched as she strode past them and ignored the head geek who was opening his mouth to protest. Was it too much to ask for some patience when dealing with pilots who just risked life and limb to keep their sorry asses safe? Even if they had made their peace, Maki was certain she'd never get along with Alice's engineering team if they kept up their attitude.

“Understood. We could all use a respite after today’s events. My engineers are eager to upload the Coalition data, and there’s this as well”, she pulled away some of the ruined fabric of the Coalition uniform she still wore, exposing part of her stomach and the small number of bullet holes in it. Out of the holes she did have on her abdomen, a navel wasn’t one of them. “I think it’s mostly superficial damage to the outer plates, but still should be repaired sooner rather than later.”

“But yes, I believe Dr. Santoro’s intentions are for me to alleviate my temper here in a safe and controlled environment so I don’t release it all at once on the battlefield. My neural model isn’t entirely based off the human brain, but there are some similarities.”

When Maki left, Alice could barely suppress a giggle at her dismissal of the engineers. She was right, they were assholes, but she could never call them that to their face… Unless she were able to veil it as an innocent attempt to relate to her teammates by emulating their speech and behavior. She put on a naive smile as she walked up to them.

“I am ready as well. Let’s go, fucking assholes. Did I say that right?”

Later

Alice sighed, carrying a bag over her shoulder as she made her way to the gym to meet with Maki for their sparring session. After her engineers were done with her, she messaged Maki, asking her to meet her at the gym. Her engineers finally got the data they wanted so badly, as well as made sufficient repairs to Alice’s frame. And in their excitement over the considerable accomplishments made today, including the delivery of an entire repository of Coalition research data, they even decided to overlook the spike in aggression levels from Jehan. But that’s the thing, they weren’t celebrating her success, but their own. Because they made her, they presumed that her achievements were owed to them and not her.

Even her obtaining her ace.

With the sudden diversion to Jehan after the Coalition’s surprise attack, Alice didn’t even notice that her kill count had officially reached 50. Not that it really mattered to her; it was what she was made to do. An arbitrary number didn’t change that, to say nothing of her growing exhaustion with killing. But just being denied her agency, even for something like that frustrated her. At least she would have steam to blow off for her spar with Maki. Speaking of which, she expressed Maki’s willingness to spar with her to her engineers. Dr. Santoro seemed relieved she would have an outlet, and while the others didn’t seem to care as much, they did give her a set of sparring pads to wear for extra safety. They may indeed be necessary, as her strength may be limited to safer levels for sparring, but her body still would not be as soft as an organic one.

Alice soon reached the gym and found Maki there waiting for her.

“Hello, Maki, how was your break? I hope you were able to rest and relax sufficiently.”

Maki's rest was fitful and intermittent. The MO had insisted on inspecting her to ensure she was in good health and psychological condition after her capture. It was more a formality than anything, since she had gotten no more than a few bruises in the battle. Her kill count needed to be updated, but that could wait until before the next inspection.

A few hours later after a good nap, Maki was back up and headed to the ring. It didn't take long for Alice to join her there, a few odd looks from the other crew members who were lingering around, not busy with the repairs or cleaning up. Before Jehan, they had seen her spar with the Captain; now, she was going to fight a robot.

Maki tossed a wooden staff over to Alice. "Ever held a melee weapon before?" The Japanese pilot asked, a grin on her face as she adopted a ready position. "Your engineers might have padded your frame but I'd prefer not to get injured after a battle." With a polite bow of respect, Maki adopted a ready stance and waited for Alice to do same, before testing the AI with a thrust to the face.

Alice caught the staff, showing off with a few masterful twirls as a smile grew on her own face.

“Indeed I have; I have the combined knowledge of many different forms of martial arts. I know that may be intimidating, but I believe there can be merit in practicing against an opponent you couldn’t possibly defeat.”, she giggled softly at her feigned display of arrogance, “And don’t worry. Even without my sparring protocols, I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally injure you. But I cannot guarantee this will not hurt.”

With that, Alice reciprocated Maki’s bow before taking a ready stance as well. The session officially started when the base of Maki’s weapon shot towards her. Alice quickly brought her staff upwards, deflecting her strike away and leaving a small opening. She retaliated with her own test attack, swinging the end of her staff towards Maki’s torso.

Maki was ready for the counter-attack. The opposite end of her staff was already swinging around and blocked it easily, her body absorbing the force of it easily. "Don't get cocky, tin girl. Experience is a great equalizer." Sure, processors and servos and machinery offered a lot of advantages against flesh and blood, but the AI tipped her hand. Knowing how martial art worked and having actually practised it were two different things.

Pushing the offending weapon away from her, Maki got in close where the android couldn't really use the staff effectively and hooked her leg around the inside of Alice's legs and shoved her torso with the length of staff. A body of steel was a lot harder to move and tip over, but the Japanese woman would settle for unbalancing her opponent. "You've fought enough battles with me to know my basic philosophy to fighting, Alice: fair fights are for suckers."

A mischievous grin appeared on the pilot's face and stretched out her hand to help Alice up. "Round two?"

Alice gasped softly as Maki suddenly came close, wrapping a leg around hers. Before she knew it her back thudded against the ground and she was staring up at the ceiling. She let out another giggle as Maki held out her hand, offering a second round. She really should have remembered Maki’s pragmatic attitudes towards combat, but the jury was still out concerning understanding versus experience. Alice had only around a year of active duty, but Maki wasn’t designed specifically for military purposes like her.

“You may have a point, but I am made to learn, and I learn fast.”

She accepted her hand, but instead of pulling herself back to her feet, she pulled Maki to the floor. Flipping on top of her, she pinned her to the ground with her staff.. Her strength may be regulated for safety, but she was still much stronger than the average organic, and while Maki had the advantage of experience and guile, Alice had her physical power.

“Does this count as a win?”

"If this were a sport, it'd be counted as unsportsmanlike conduct, but yeah, it's a win you cheeky bitch." Maki chuckled as she pulled her legs back between Alice and her, planting her feet on the robot's torso and kicked. Alice lost her leverage as the steel frame was pushed back allowing the organic to slide out from beneath the pin and scramble back to her feet, ready to fight again.

"Strength isn't everything." Maki managed to say with a smile on her face.

Alice managed to let out a laugh before Maki pushed her off. With her pin interrupted, she was able to escape and take her stance for the next round. Alice grinned, holding her staff at the ready. The first two rounds were just a warmup: testing the waters against each other. Alice’s strength and knowledge against Maki’s experience and cunning. Now that both of them had nothing left to hide, their third round should be a real fight.

“Certainly not, but it’s still something. That’s why we’re currently tied. How about this round decides the final winner?”, Alice suggested, idly giving her staff a few more flashy whirls

"Sure." Maki flashed her trademark maniacal grin. Even in spite of their previous disagreement, she was rather enjoying this little bout. By and large Alice seemed to have kept her strength in check. Her engineers had also provided some padding, though the Japanese pilot expected it was more to protect Alice's internals rather than her sparring partner.

Maki was the first to initiate again. A few noncommittal strikes from every conceivable direction, prodding for an opening and an hoping to land one or two punishing blows. Her movements were deft, agile and flexible. She was more than ready to defend against any counter attack or jump on any sign of weakness.

Alice grinned back as her partner started the fight. The sparring gear did not slow her down, so she was able to parry or evade Maki’s blows as quickly as she could make them, nor did she have to sacrifice that speed for raw power. She was actually quite impressed; even with her limited strength, a weaker foe would buckle under the force of her attacks, but not Maki. She was also quick enough to roughly match Alice’s movements. She would be pleased to admit that, perhaps because of their bond and familiarity with each other, along with Maki’s physical prowess, they were equals in a fight.

Alice’s technique was efficient, often using circular motions to preserve and increase momentum. When she blocked an attack from Maki, she would redirect the impact into a swing back at her. This began to lead to a stalemate, with neither of them able to land a hit on the other. Suddenly, instead of blocking the next blow with her staff, she stopped it by grabbing it. Alice was left with only one hand to hold her staff with, but Maki was momentarily unable to attack with hers held in place, so she made a wide, sweeping swing towards her.

Surprised to see Alice make the move before she did, Maki reacted quickly, closing the distance once more to minimize the amount of power the incoming blow would have. Even though the AI landed the hit, it was a glancing blow at best and now her opponent had returned the favor. Maki pinned the staff down between her arm and ribs, catching the android's arm as well as the two of them were locked in place. Unable to do really make an attack like this, Maki did the only thing that was an option left available to her.

She swung her head forwards and headbutted Alice.

She let out a small growl as Maki once again got the upper hand on her by locking them in close proximity. Not only did she make her attack useless, but now Alice was left unable to attack again as well. Before she could figure out how to escape, Maki’s forehead suddenly struck hers, and hard. She let out a yelp as her head was thrown back, and the sparring helmet that protected Maki from a concussion was suddenly flung off her head.

Looking back at where the helmet landed, Alice gasped when she realized that her head was left exposed. Turning to Maki, she huffed as she stepped back, using her strategy against her as she began to spin around, bringing her along with her. After a single revolution, she managed to release Maki, gently tossing her to the other end of the sparring ring, but losing her staff in the process. Immediately after, she rushed to her fallen helmet, haphazardly putting it back on before moving to recover her weapon.

Despite the momentum of the throw, Maki was quick to recover, and was closing the distance even as her opponent went for her dropped staff. A quick tap of her feet brought her own staff lifting off the ground and towards her hand. She aimed a blow right at the android as she bent to recover her weapon.

By the time Alice was able to grab her staff, Maki was already there, her weapon headed straight for her. But Alice was ready. She pulled her staff off the floor and into a swing. Her attack landed before Maki’s did, slamming into her side and hitting her to the floor. Only moments after did Maki’s strike land, smacking her in the side of the head with a loud thwack. In her haste to get her headgear back on, there were some spots left unguarded by the layer of padding, and somehow, Maki had managed to hit one of them.

For a second, everything was black as function to her optical sensors was disrupted by the sudden impact. When it returned, the sensory input was still temporarily distorted, and her sense of balance was failing too, leaving her struggling to stay upright. Not long after, she finally collapsed, mumbling slightly. Her faculties soon returned to normal, but she was still somewhat dazed. She slowly sat up and looked around, looking for her sparring partner.

“Ow...Maki…?”

The strike to her legs threw off her balance and while Maki landed a solid smack on Alice's exposed head, the Japanese pilot was thrown to the ground shortly after and had the wind knocked out of her. Her leg was kind of numb from the blow as well, so it took a while to get back up.

"That was a good strike." Maki commended Alice, getting and finding the AI seemed to have problems of her own. Could androids get dazed? That looked exactly like what was happening. "Let's just call that a draw." She added. picking Alice up. Her engineers might take issue with what Maki had just done to their precious project, but she couldn't care less.

Alice cracked a smile at Maki’s compliment, noticing a slight weakness in one of Maki’s legs, “I hope I didn’t hit you too hard…”, she said as she tried getting back to her feet, but was still slightly dizzy, and instead only fell again. Thankfully, Maki helped by picking her up.

“I can accept a draw…”, she giggled softly, “but if any of my engineers ask, is it okay if I tell them I won and leave it at that?”

"Heh. Tell them I dazed you and never annoy me again." Maki replied with a chuckle.

“Will do.”, Alice grinned, giving a thumbs up “Notwithstanding getting hit in the head, that was actually...fun. Thanks for letting me spar with you, Maki.”

"Any time, Alice."

"UEE ship,state your business." the voice said.

Alexis looked over the display and studied the FEZ ships. They were old models, certainly not enough to stand against the Lincoln and its escorts. But they weren't in the FEZ just to fight another battle. "This is Captain Marquis of the EENS Abraham Lincoln. We seek asylum from battle and request that we dock with-"

"Captain! Two jump signatures, incoming! UEE signatures!" one of the crew interrupted.

Alexis looked hurriedly to the two jump points not far from the Lincoln. She let out a gasp of surprise as the Solace emerged from warp. Then she immediately thought of what this might look like to the overly defensive FEZ. "Shit..." she mumbled quiet enough so that only Aston, standing at her side, could hear.

"FEZ fleet weapons are powering up..!" the crewman alerted.

"UEE Ships! What is the meaning of this?!" Alexis heard from the FEZ security.

Alexis gritted her teeth and spoke in return, "Stand down." she said in a calm tone, "Be advised. We were not aware of any other UEE ships converging on Arias. We are not here to fight."

The captain looked over to her communications officer, "Hail the Solace."

Shortly after, the holographic display changed from the local space to a person. The man was stern and straight backed. He looked like he took regulation way too seriously. The display crackled and blurred, Alexis raised a brow at the comms officer. He responded, "The comms array took some light damage over Jehan. This is the best we can do, ma'am."

Alexis nodded to the officer and looked at the blurry hologram, "Captain Powell, come in."

"Captain Powell is critically injured, this is his executive officer Adrian Rexer assuming command of the Solace until relieved." the fuzzy person of display said. He didn't move, his posture was entirely rigid and motionless. Even if Alexis couldn't see Rexer's face, she could easy picture his expression beyond the hologram. Hard and emotionless.

Alexis glanced over to the entrance of the CiC as Ardin walked in. He nodded once to Alexis and looked over the display. She looked back to Rexer, "What's the status on Cerol? Is the rest of the fleet behind the Solace?"

"Cerol is lost thanks to the Lincoln's early withdraw. Your MAS pilots would have been crucial to holding the line long enough for the 5th fleet to form a proper defense." that comment stung Alexis, she didn't show it though, "And the Solace was unable to retreat with the fleet while maintaining the defense of the Agincourt, so we had to warp to somewhere safe."

It was that moment when Alexis actually wished Ardin would interrupt and explain the reason behind their withdrawal. Apparently Captain Powell didn't feel the need to brief his XO on the Lincoln's sensitive mission and its VIP. Ardin didn't say anything, so Alexis knew she was going to have to take the blame for the retreat. Rexer continued, "To be blunt, Captain Marquis, I am disappointed. Your record suggests you would have managed to turn that no win scenario into something of a chance if you stayed. I get the impression that your record has been embellished."

Alexis rolled her eyes and spoke, her voice took on a new level of authority, "I should remind you, Rexer, that you are speaking to a superior officer. Step out of line again and I will petition to have you removed from command of the Solace."

Aston grinned as he heard that. The rest of the crew remained silent, it wasn't often that the captain took on the full amount of hard ass her rank provided. Ardin stepped onto the platform next to Alexis, Rexer took a step back in the display and bowed his head. "A- admiral! Sir! I didn't realize you were aboard the Lincoln. Reports had you missing in action after the Ulysses fell."

"Well here I am, Commander Rexer. And Captain Marquis is right, you are out of line. Correct yourself. You are neither captain of the Solace nor a peer to Lincoln's commanding officer." the admiral said. Alexis let out of breath of relief.

Alexis had to admit, even though she wasn't a huge fan of the future emperor, she was glad that he had a liking for her. Ardin glanced sidelong to Alexis and offered her an ambiguous look. Rexer spoke up again, "Yes, sir! My apologies, Captain Marquis. The battle above Cerol has been stressful."

'You don't know the half of it...' Alexis thought. She simply nodded to Rexer for formality's sake. The communications officer looked up from his terminal again, he had been handling the situation with FEZ security after patching through to the Solace.

"Captain, the FEZ has granted the Lincoln asylum and orders us to dock to capital bay twelve." he said.

Rexer looked off to somebody outside of the display and nodded, the Solace and the Agincourt must have been granted permission to dock as well. Ardin spoke up again, "XO Rexer, after we have docked, I am coming aboard the Solace. Now that the Solace has arrived, I think that you can be of great use for our mission. I will brief you in person."

Rexer nodded, "Understood, admiral. Should I be expecting captain Marquis as well?"

Alexis looked over to Ardin, this wasn't her call. The admiral eyed her momentarily before shaking his head, "No. She and her crew have earned a moment's respite. Dismissed, Rexer."

The man in the hologram nodded and the display returned to a view of the local space. Alexis sighed and looked to the helmsman, "Take us in to port, helmsman."

The captain turned to stepped down from the platform but stopped when Ardin took her arm. He leaned closer to her, "When there is a chance, I would like to speak to you in private, Alexis." he whispered. There was something in his tone that Alexis didn't like, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She simply nodded and removed herself from the bridge.

Alexis was headed out to find the 7th.

The rest of the journey to the FEZ had been relatively quiet. Maki assisted with the repairs where she could, or ran supplies back and forth between crews. With the number of casualties they sustained, her help was appreciated even if she was not exactly qualified for the job. Following instructions were simple enough, however. There were a few newbloods who were wounded and shell shocked, being put through two heavy fire fights in little to no recovery time. She comforted and encouraged them where they could, but they'd have to find the steel to temper themselves from within. There was only so much she could do.

She had forgotten exactly when she stumbled back to her bunk and fell asleep, but the Lincoln's dramatic entry into the FEZ was enough to wake everyone up. Nobody wanted to fight in the FEZ wounded and exhausted, but they might have to, Maki simply got up and washed up, yawning lazily. Alexis was a capable leader and had won her admiration not just based on tactics and how she led the 101st in battle, but how she led them out of it as well. Their Captain was more than capable of talking down a FEZ blockade.

True to her conviction, the stand down signal was given and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Rest and recuperation could come now, they'd have a brief respite while the Lincoln was being repaired. The FEZ wasn't exactly a tropical vacation, but at the very least the authorities kept the whole neutrality thing intact. Not that she'd be letting down her guard. "Accidents" could always happen. Tempers would be ready to blow at the slightest provocation considering the heavy fighting that had gone on.

Leave the war on the battlefield. Her father used to say. Maki took that advice to heart and lingered in the background as Alexis dealt with the FEZ bureaucrats, only approaching after everyone had disappeared. "So... got time for a drink, Captain?" Maki asked, letting her wily, sultry side slip out now that they had a moment of privacy. "Or has Ardin seen to that already?"

She let out a laugh. "Yeah, I heard. Gossip runs fast on the ship... does he know you bat for the other team?" She leaned in closer, not quite caring that others might see them as she whispered in the Captain's ear. "You do still kind of owe me a reward for getting my ace, I believe?"

Ari had carefully tended to the affairs of the Lincoln's crew as needed since the incident in the hangar. She had found some limited solace in assisting them as needed, initially she ferried supplies but soon she found herself co opted to assisting in the repair and maintenance of damaged MAS and Aerospace fighters. It turned out someone had heard she had a degree in Aerospace Engineering and figured she may be able to help with repairing the airframes, once given some on the job training. As ever, the girl once called a prodigy took to it with little issue, helping restore damaged craft to operation status. She found it helped some, working with machines, it made it easier to forget, if only for a time, the memories of shaky adrenaline rushes filling her in the cockpit, of MAS suits vanishing in a blast of plasma.

However, no amount of work could save her from the nightmares. At "night", she'd oftentimes find herself accosted by altogether unwelcome faces. The faces of enemy infantrymen and pilots, gunned down on the ground by the Astelion's eye lasers. They'd charge at her, howling for righteous vengeance, and every single time Ari would cry out, drawing her service pistol and firing, trying to hold them back. Every single time, she'd find that just as the herd began to thin, when it seemed she had hope, she'd see the gleaming visage of the Astelion above her. Its plasma cannons would heat up and fire, and she'd awake as the blast of heat wiped out the encroaching horde and the heat would wash over her. With her nightly rest thusly undone, she found she needed a project to dedicate herself to, as well as more active pastimes.

She found both in different places, thankfully for her. A pastime was found on the training deck of the Lincoln, where she practiced the infantry tactics and skills she'd learned long ago as part of training for the 101st with the aid of the Lincoln's marines. Despite her own misgivings concerning herself, she found she was at least accepted, if perhaps not welcomed, by the men and women of the Corps. She trained with their weapons and combat armor often when she'd run out of maintenance work on the pipeline, and it helped take her mind off things, to focus on something simple like the raw math for a perfect shot grouping, or the mostly harmless adrenaline of running an assault course with the Marines. It didn't help her sleep at "night", no Marines trained during her sleep cycle, but it was something to do during the "day".

During the frequent times when sleep was stolen from her by nightmares, Ari would sit up and do something productive with that degree of hers. At first, she'd called up the specs of the Astelion and began thinking of an upgrade package for her, little things like how to squeeze in an extra millimeter of armor without impacting speed or how to reduce the charge time of the cannons by one tenth of a second. However, finding those improvements didn't help, only calling her mind back to the time she spent in that very MAS, and the bloody work she'd wrought within it. Instead, then, she found herself working within untested territory for herself, trying to design a new MAS. Progress was understandably slow, of course, as designing the frame for an MAS was altogether different from designing any other Aerospace craft. However, at least progress was being made, and it gave her something to eat away at time. Perhaps one day it'd be a good enough design for submission to some such production firm to consider creation. For now, however, it was little more than a thought exercise and half-formed blueprints laying on the bunk she ostensibly slept in.

Of course, it didn't take long for the maintenance men she would work with to note her lack of sleep, or indeed the Marines she trained with either "Listen Ell-tee, you need to get sleep when you can, you'll never get enough otherwise." They'd say, or "Now listen, I know I'm no pilot, so far be it from me to judge ya, but shouldn't ya get some shut eye? Ya got bags under your eyes the size of the Lincoln!" Everytime, she'd reply with a "Thank you for your concern! I'll try to get more sleep.", and everytime she'd at least humor them by attempting to sleep, if only so she wouldn't be a liar, but the outcome was always the same.

By the time they were docking at the FEZ, it had dawned on Ari she hadn't come into contact with the rest of the squadron overly much since the hangar bay. It wasn't quite that she was consciously avoiding them but...well she didn't want to bother them. She was just The Rookie, the green-as-grass pain in their ass they didn't want to be bothered with. Astelion said as much every time he got the chance, and Ari most assuredly believed him, though she didn't want to do the asshole the service of telling him that. No, she'd just quietly remain in her proper place, assisting maintenance, training when she had the chance, and working on her project. She knew they probably didn't want to have to deal with her any more than they had to, that Maki and Gerard were likely just being polite and tactful in their kind treatment of her, or perhaps worse they treated her thusly because they believed her a child to be babysat, not a pilot or even a pain in the ass to deal with.

Yes, she was rather sure it was one or the other, and she didn't much care for either option. So, she would ensure she was there when they had to do battle, as was expected of her, but until then she'd try to remain out of sight and out of mind, at least for now. She'd also come to another resolution, that she should request a transfer out of the 7th to a different squadron. That would leave them down a machine, to be sure, but even that had to be better than babysitting a rookie. As the ship's loud speakers announced the all-clear to board the FEZ station, Ari decided it was a good time to discuss this with the Captain. As such, she went in search of her, supposing correctly she'd be near one of the vessel's airlocks. This didn't surprise her, what did surprise her was seeing Maki right beside the captain as well. Biting her lip, Ari hurriedly turned to flee from the pair before either noticed her, pulling out her 'pad to submit a request for a meeting to the captain, noting her consideration of a transfer in proper military notation, electronically, as opposed to the in-person request she'd planned. It was less ideal, to be sure, but that was alright for the moment. After all, she had the whole time they were in the FEZ to get the transfer request submitted and approved, and from there she could leave behind the Lincoln, the 7th, the Astelion, all of them before the Lincoln's next combat deployment. Perhaps they'd resent her for it, perhaps they'd be grateful, perhaps they'd not even notice until time came to deploy. No matter what though, surely they would be glad, glad to finally be free of the troublesome rookie that had plagued them since Cerol.

Alice was made for war, so with the intermission from combat since Jehan, she was starting to get fidgety. She could spar with Maki, but maybe it wouldn’t be bad for her to start participating in non-combat activities. Thus, she began to volunteer with the Lincoln’s company like some of her fellow pilots had been doing. Her knowledge of engineering was mostly limited to MAS technology, but she reasoned that the crew could always use an extra pair of hands, especially powerful, metal ones like hers. Unsurprisingly, many of the crew members were puzzled by her presence, but some seemed like they were starting to warm up to her. Helping out the Lincoln’s crew also gave her ample opportunity to interact with the ship’s other female personnel, but if there wasn’t one thing worrying her, it was bound to be something else. She couldn’t make sense of this new curiosity with women, but more frequently she found herself wanting to seek their company. Just the other day she had become flustered when a crew member complimented her after lifting a heavy object. She couldn’t determine if these reactions might compromise her primary functions, but she wanted to at least understand them and what they meant.

Suddenly she was reminded of Ariana. She hadn’t seen her often since Jehan, nor had the others of the 7th in fact. Perhaps it might be better that way. It was obvious that Ariana was still traumatized by the horrors of combat, and even though only Maki and Trapp had witnessed them, sometimes she had the feeling that she somehow knew about what she herself had done on Jehan. Even if she didn’t know about it now, Alice didn’t want to think about what would happen or what she would think of her if she did find out at some point. Despite this, Alice remembered one of her first interactions with Ariana. She told her a story from when she was a civilian, about an intimate experience with a young man she was infatuated with when she was a student. She had tried to explain her emotions at the time in a way that Alice might understand, but maybe now she might be able to understand what she was feeling now.

Ariana had also been working extensively with the crew, so her first thought was to try and ask them where to find her. She was told it seemed like the second lieutenant was looking for Captain Marquis, so that pointed her in the right direction. Eventually, she found Williams running down a hall. When she looked in the opposite way, she found Nishizumi in more than close proximity with the captain. Her head tilted slightly for a moment before she remembered they deserved their privacy, and she quickly turned around and left them alone. She soon caught up with Ariana, finding her writing something on her data pad.

“Ah, um, hello Miss Williams...How are you? The rest of the 7th has not seen you often recently.”

"You know I'm always on my best behaviour... unless it's time to be very naughty." Maki replied with a cheshire grin on her face as she walked with her Captain to the officer's lounge. Even with her reputation as a pilot, the Japanese woman saw no point in starting fights in a neutral zone against other men who had not fired a shot at her. Yet.

Maki could see that Alexis was fatigued. No doubt bureaucracy and dealing with Ardin had severely worn out her patience. A few looks came their way, two women with fearsome reputations and equally intimidating beauty - even if it was tarnished somewhat by battle weariness. The lounge was fancy, and there was a clear divide between the UEE and Coalition, with some other random civilians interspersed throughout. So it was just pure luck that the only free table they had to take was beside a bunch of Coalition officers.

Maki shrugged and took a seat, ignoring the glares. She ordered a beer for each of them, not wanting to take anything harder since they had to get back to their duties soon enough. Besides, she met Alexis because of a bottle of beer. Well, sort of. "How things have changed." She began, reminiscing with a wry smile as she regarded the redheaded Captain she was in love with. "We first met because I took a beer bottle in the head, back when I was a newbie in the Raiders and you had just been given command of the 101st's third team." Maki couldn't recall if she ever told the captain why she had taken that bottle in the face, even if Alexis had seen the fight that caused it.

She lifted her glass, careful to lower her voice so the Coalition morons beside them wouldn't be too provoked by anything she said. "Now you're captain of the Lincoln and I'm a member of the 7th, drinking in a lounge in the FEZ. All within the span of the same war. To think both our careers started back on Centauri." She chuckled. She moved her hand to brush a lock of Alexis' hair, looking in the eyes of the first member of the Lincoln's crew she had met. Truthfully, not that much time had passed, but it felt like a lifetime ago when they had been on Centauri. When things were simpler and she didn't have to worry about flirting with a superior officer.

"I tease and I rib you constantly, but I wouldn't have anyone else my captain, O captain." Maki added with a chuckle as the hand brushing Alexis' hair booped her on the nose. "No one else could have gotten us out of Jehan alive, much less risked coming for Trapp and I. So in response to your earlier comment, I don't think you'd bat for the boys because no man could ever measure up, and their egos are too fragile to handle that." She joked, finishing her beer as a familiar song came on over the jukebox.

She met her captain's eyes, and a playful smirk cross her lips. "Dance with me?" Maki asked, stretching her hand out and inviting Alexis to join her on the floor.

Ari jumped slightly when Alice suddenly turned up behind her, and quickly turned to face the AI, locking her 'pad to hide the just-completed message to the Captain. "Ah, hello Alice, you startled me a tad. Ah, uhm, I'm fine, just fine, I guess the rest of the 7th has just been doing other stuff..." Ari trailed off with a nervous giggle, knowing full-well that if anybody was going to catch on to her attempt to quietly transfer out of the 7th it'd be Alice. Ari was going to miss Alice, she was always nice and her naivete was both endearing and funny. Minutely shaking her head to clear it, she added "Oh, um, just call me Ari...we're teammates after all, right?"

“Ah, my apologies, Ari, and indeed. I am glad to have you as a teammate, and a fellow member of the 7th.”, Alice notice Ariana seemed unusually protective of her pad, but she did not get a good enough view of what she was writing, so it must be something private. She did not want to press the subject, at least for now so instead she just smiled. “Yes, it has been quite...boring since we’ve arrived, but still, it seems as if we have been seeing you less often since Jehan. Are you okay?”

"Ah..y-yeah, I'm fine. Just had trouble sleeping is all, busy helping fix things with the crew and what not..." Ariana trailed off, sensing she needed to move the conversation along. Thankfully for her, the FEZ station provided a perfect opportunity. She gestured to the nearby airlock that the Captain and Maki had gone through, saying with false gusto, hoping to distract the AI from her personal problems "Hey we should go check out the station! I'm sure there are cool places in there."

“Yes, I’ve also been doing what I can to assist the crew, and Maki as well.”. Alice was somewhat surprised by Ariana’s suggestion. The station was neutral territory, something she had not really ever encountered before. She would be lying if she said she was at least a little curious, but something about Ariana’s body language seemed to indicate she was trying to change the subject away from herself. “I mean...I suppose...but if you are having trouble with sleep, we should also visit the sick bay. After all, your health is important.”

Ari hurriedly shook her head, waving her arms out in front of her as if to ward off the suggestion. "No no, thats fine, I don't need to see the doctors! They have more important things to worry about than a little insomnia. It's fine, I'm fine, see!" Ari did a quick spin, as if to display her youthful vitality, saying "I could get in the Astel-...well you know, my MAS, and fight right away!" Ari was a little concerned for herself now, after all she hadn't expected uttering the word 'Astelion' to bring her nightmares back to the forefront of her mind, but it had, and she could only hope she could think of a good enough lie to convice Alice she'd just briefly derped out or something to that effect.

Alice stared at the display before her for a few moments, blinking once. “...I’m sorry, but I believe we should take you to a doctor…”

Ari sighed, saying "Don't worry about it Alice. It's not anything the doctors can help with, just....nightmares." Shaking her head fiercely to clear it, Ari continued "The best thing for me is to get my mind off it." At that, she gently tugged Alice towards the airlock, saying with a slightly forced smile "Come on, let's go look around. After all, this is a good chance for you to meet some civlians!"

“Nightmares?” From Jehan, obviously. She must have been seriously traumatized from that day. Not that she could blame her, but if she was having nightmares, then she should try to see a doctor about it. Alice didn’t know too much about human psychology, so she didn’t know the best way to approach something like, nor could she recognize if Ari’s claim was a legitimate method for coping with trauma. It didn’t help that Ari was trying to coax her to go to the station. “But...okay, but when we get back, we need to talk about these nightmares you’re having.”

Muting a sigh, Ari nodded and said "Alright Alice, when we get back I'll tell you about them. But until then let's try to have a bit of fun! There's all kinds of things to do in the FEZ, y'know, though we'll have to avoid picking fights with the coalition guys on the station, so we've both got to behave ourselves!" That said, Ari began more determinedly pulling Alice along until the pair were through the airlock and on the station. Assaulted by unfamiliar sights and smells, Ari took a moment to get her bearings before saying "Let's go find some stores Alice! We can get you some pretty clothes to wear around when you're off-duty."

Clothes? Off-duty? Alice wasn’t sure about this. For one thing, it’s not like she had any money to buy anything with, let alone the fact the she wasn’t even sure if she was allowed an ‘off-duty’ in the first place. But if it helped Ari, even if by just taking her mind off her nightmares, then Alice would entertain Ari’s idea. The biggest problem would be avoiding combat with any Coalition personnel. Maybe as long as she didn’t see any uniforms or badges it might be okay?

Oblivious to Alice's inner struggle, Ari lead her on deeper into the station. Civilians were all around, but not just them, also personnel of other UEE ships and Coalition sailors and Marines. The two groups didn't mingle, staying away from each other and glaring angrily between each other. Ari made sure to keep a tight grip on Alice as they moved, eventually ducking into what appeared to be a small botique. Quickly looking about within, Ari indicated a rack of blouses, saying "You should pick one out! You'll look so pretty with something other than a uniform on....not that you're not pretty with the uniform, thats not what I'm saying, you are pretty in uniform too!" Ari burned bright red, thinking to herself "Oh I hope she doesn't get the wrong idea from that!"

Alice made an effort to avoid looking at other people as Ari guided her through the station, not just to lessen the chances she might she any Coalition soldiers, but she was just nervous in general. Saying this was not at all a familiar environment to her would be an understatement. She was surrounded by soldiers and officers like normal, but it was understood by all parties that no combat was to take place here. The concept itself wasn’t hard to wrap her head around, but actually participating was another thing.

“Ari, I don’t have funds to buy anything with…”, not that she would mind if she did. The clothes did look nice. But even if she did have money, she didn’t expect she might ever wear it. She was sure it did not meet the dress requirements on the Linc- wait. “Pretty?”

Ari mentally sighed, Alice had indeed noticed which meant this now warranted an explanation, not that it bothered her too much."Yes, you're really pretty Alice. You've got a nice face and pretty hair, I'd even say you're prettier than I am! Anyway, don't worry about money, I'll buy the clothes, I've got a bunch of money leftover from college, so go ahead and pick somthing out! You deserve it!"

Alice simply stared, not quite sure how to make sense of this information. No seriously, what the hell? For some reason it felt hard to move and several conflicting thoughts started racing inside her head. She quickly shook her head to clear her head, sighing “I...no, Ari, I need to ask you about something, okay?”

Ari cocked her head curiously, saying "Well, alright Alice. What's on your mind?"

“When you first joined the 7th, you told me a story about this boy you were attracted to. Could you tell me more about this concept of attraction? When did you first start having those feelings, what were they like, and how did you understand what they were? And you were a student, you surely had homework and other obligations, so how did you deal with them?”

Ari furrowed her brow, confused by the seemingly unprompted nature of these questions. As such, she tapped at her chin and thought for a moment, saying "Well, attraction is when you find another..appealing. Usually because their body looks good and their personality is appealing. I first started being attracted to boys when I was fourteen, they felt...nice, I felt warm around them and I'd feel so nervous, but in a good way. I knew because....well I just knew I suppose. I wanted to spend time with them more than I wanted to do other things. As for how I dealt, well, time management I suppose. I talked to them at school, while I was doing homework, and often as soon as I was done with it. It's just..priorities. Does that make sense, Alice?"

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense…”, she thought to herself for a few moments before realizing she needed an explanation for her question. “O-Oh, um, I assume you’ve also noticed Maki’s...interactions with the captain. I became curious, and I believed you would be able to best explain the context…”

"Ah...that makes sense." Ari replied with a nod of understanding. The Captain and Maki were indeed rather clearly...close. Ari's eyes briefly widened in a flash, then, as she realized the implications of that. Maki may see Ari's message appear, or even get told about this by the captain! For a moment Ari paniced before she thought to herself "Don't worry about it..I'm sure Maki won't try to talk the Captain out of this. After all, she got captured because I wasn't fast enough, she must not like me much." The thought didn't much reassure her, after all she didn't want Maki to dislike her, but at least it calmed the panic.

Alice almost didn’t notice the look in Ariana’s eyes as she contemplated what she said. Something was obviously still worrying her…

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about whatever is troubling you?”

Ari scratched at her chin for a moment before slowly saying "Well..." Should she mention it to Alice? It wasn't like the other pilot wouldn't find out, after all Alice could almost certainly access the messaging system and find out on her own regardless. That in mind, it was best Ari mention it herself and try to convince Alice to support her. "I suppose I should mention it...I uh...I've requested a transfer, Alice."

“T-Transfer?” Were her auditory systems still malfunctioning from being whacked on the head by Maki, or did Alice just hear her say she requested a transfer from the 7th? Why would Ari want to transfer? She seemed like she was fitting in well, despite Eric’s misgivings. “But...why transfer…?”

Yep, there was the question Ari knew was coming, the why of it all. She had to explain this in such a way that Alice accepted this..."I'm...not good enough Alice. I couldn't save you, Trapp or Maki, I couldn't help above Cerol, I couldn't help fight the White Knight. I'm just dragging the 7th down...and they'd be better off if I was gone."

“I...don’t believe that’s true at all.”, Alice countered, “It is not your responsibility to ensure everything goes perfectly. Statistically speaking, perfection is unrealistic. At Jehan we were literally ripped from hyperspace and forced into combat against admittedly superior weapons, and the choice to abandon Cerol was not yours. All of this notwithstanding, your performance so far has been consistent with what one would expect of a pilot of the 7th MAS Team. And as far as I understand, Eric is the only one...skeptical of your place in the team, but fortunately, his opinion does not necessarily represent that of the entire team.”

Ari shook her head and sighed, saying "Alice...McKnight got his MAS badly broken over Cerol, and he wouldn't have if he had a better wingman. A better pilot could've done more over Jehan than I did. I'm just a rookie, me even existing is dragging the 7th down...and I don't belong here. Alice...do you really, truly think I...belong in the 7th? That some...fresh out of training pain in the ass who can't even keep her lunch down when she sees the product of her work belongs with people like you and Trapp and Maki? You're all so...amazing, legends and pilots who have every right to hold your heads up with pride....but me...I can't do anything Alice."

“False. There are infinitely many things that could be prevented by just as many hypotheticals, but it is simply not practical to consider all of them. Consider that you were a better pilot, and as a consequence, neither Trapp, Maki, nor myself had fallen at Jehan. I would have never recovered the valuable data from their research outpost, and Trapp would have not commandeered their experimental MAS.”

“Also, notoriety is acquired, not intrinsic. The 7th didn’t start out as legends, not even me. We gained our status over time, through repeated battles together.”

Ari sighed and anxiously toyed with the fabric on her uniform, a nervous tic she'd picked up in basic, quietly replying "You have a point I guess...but still, do you think I belong here? I can't sleep after Jehan, I lost my lunch when I saw a dead man, and I can't even stand up to Eric...that doesn't sound much like a good pilot to me, Alice."

“I’ve never seen anything to suggest otherwise. And yes, those are certainly problems, but that’s why I’ve been suggesting you see a doctor to help you. Eric, well, that’s not that important. What matters more is you as a pilot, and if Eric persists in antagonizing you, he will surely suffer admonishment from Trapp, Captain Marquis, or both.”

In a way, Alice's persistent defense took most of the wind out of Ari's principal argument for the transfer regardless of actual merit to it, which she also possessed in spades. Ari could hardly believe Alice was so determinedly arguing against the transfer, essentially the inverse of the expected outcome. This brought a small smile to her face in spite of herself, and she chuckled, bringing her hand up and patting Alice on the shoulder, saying "Well...I don't know if I agree with you yet, but thanks for the vote of confidence Alice. I appreciate it."