Chapter 18

 EIGHTEEN

“Attention, Gargoyle Squadron. Babel. Babel. Babel”

Trigger was tired, angry, and confused. He hadn’t been dogfighting for more than a few minutes, but he felt like he had run a marathon. President Harling was in a captured Erusean Osprey and heading out to sea where a carrier strike group would be awaiting him.

Trigger looked over his shoulder and saw seven plumes of smoke from what he presumed was Gargoyle Squadron, a group of Maritime Defense Force Tomcats.

He watched as six of the missiles were intercepted by the Arsenal Bird Liberty’s MQ-101 Unmanned Combat Vehicles. One lone missile exploded on the exterior of the Space Elevators windbreak.

What the fuck are they doing? Trigger thought to himself.

“Sky Keeper, What the hell was that!” Knocker demanded.

“Gargoyle Did their job!” the AWACS replied annoyed.

Trigger rolled his F-16 to reengage into the fight. His aircrafts PESA radar was next to useless in the furball they found themselves in. He quickly rolled through what weapons he had left.

Two Sidewinders, three 120’s, and 400 some odd rounds left on the Gun. Fuck Trigger thought to himself in frustration.

“I figured, but why weren’t we informed?” Knocker demanded

“The IUN Can’t Coordinate between Branches, as usual.” Clown said pragmatically.

The frequency was clogged with radio traffic between the multiple squadrons involved. Trigger was only half able to follow the situation unfolding.

Trigger rolled in a mile behind an Erusean MQ-99. He adjusted the radar until it had a lock and he fired one of his AIM-120’s. “Fox Three!” Trigger called out.

Trigger watched annoyed as the missile ‘went stupid’ and sailed harmlessly past the drone, which then made a hard banking turn towards Mother Goose One. 

Trigger was getting slower in his reactions. He wasn’t used to any furball lasting for as long as this one had. He was already loosing at the OODA Loop against the Drone’s computer he figured, He had long since tuned out the sound of his Viper’s radar warning receiver, and only occasionally took notice of the jet’s ‘Bitchin Betty’ reporting the deployment of chaff and flares. Trigger slammed his throttle forward into afterburner and switched over to the gun. Within a second the weapons computer had locked onto the Drone and was plotting the aim point for Trigger to put his pipper onto. With a brief squeeze of the trigger on the side stick, Trigger was greeted with a fireball as the drone was torn asunder with the cannon rounds. Trigger grinned watching the wreckage tumble towards the bay, belching fire and spewing smoke as it plummeted. 

“Mother Goose One Hit!” Clown yelled frantically over the net. That had caught Triggers attention. He looked frantically to his Data Link; He could see multiple Drones had converged on the lone MV-22’s position.

Trigger could hear the AWACS desperately trying to communicate with the wounded aircraft. Staying in Afterburner, Trigger rolled the Viper over and pulled into a hard turn towards the Osprey. He could see Clown quickly engage and dispatch two of the drones tailing the plane, causing the rest to scatter away.

 “This is Mage 1, I have Mother Goose One in my sight. Cabin fine, but the cockpit isn’t looking too good.”  Clown reported.

The AWACS once again called to the ailing plane.

“Sky Keeper, should we continue providing cover for Mother Goose One?” Clown asked.

“Of Course!” The AWACS replied annoyed.

Trigger had pulled up on Clowns wing, “Lead, I have your wing.” Trigger reported over the frequency.
Trigger took a closer look at the Osprey, He could see from his vantage point it was trailing something, and one engine appeared to have been severely damaged.

Clown made a gentle bank towards the escape vector, acting as a signal for the former Osean President’s aircraft to do the same. To Triggers surprise, The MV-22 had instead rolled into the opposite direction and had made a heading back towards the Space Elevator.

Wrong way Dumbass! Trigger thought as he evaded the oncoming aircraft.

“Mage 1, you have this?” Trigger asked annoyed.

Clown rocked his wings and turned around to follow the Osprey.

 

Trigger rolled back into the fight once again. He found another Drone, an Osean made MQ-101, switching over to the AIM-9 missile, he waited for the high pitch squealing tone before he fired the missile. The jet shuttered and Trigger had pulled away from the Attack, watching satisfied as the missile flew true and detonated, sending the drone crumbling to pieces.

 

Trigger turned his attention back towards Harling.

“We can’t protect our objective if it sticks around here!” Clown said quickly, his voice betraying a twinge of fear.

“Now’s not the time to freak out, fellas. We’ve still got a job to do, so let’s do it! Keep your mind focused!” Knocker reminded them. Trigger could even hear the apprehension in the normally cool-headed group commanders voice.

“The UAV’s are approaching Mother Goose One!” the AWACS reported.

“Let’s go Trigger!” Clown ordered.

“Right. Mage 2, engaging!” Trigger shouted. He put the circular reticle for the Sidewinder over the furthest UAV. I’ll just mop the rest up with the gun and Winchester out. He thought.

Hearing the positive tone, he pressed the weapons release button.

***

Trigger awoke in a cold sweat. It had been a few months since he had had that dream. It felt so real to him.

I guess that was almost a year ago now. Trigger thought to himself, catching his breath.

They bothered him. Having brought it up to the Air Bases flight surgeon, he was assured it was normal, just the brain’s way of decluttering itself. Every time he had had one of these memories it left him feeling worse for wear. He was just glad that Cossette wasn’t present any of the times previous he had them.

He got changed out of his fatigues and decided to clear his head with a walk around the palace grounds.

 

The interior halls of the palace were massive, and just as ornate as the guest room. He did some reading the day previous that said the Palace had almost 800 individual rooms, along with a 45-acre private park attached.

As Trigger made his way alone down one of the exterior hallways, he watched the moonlight shine in through the windows, almost as bright as search lights in the darkened hall.

***

The ground proximity radar was screaming at him.

He felt detached as he guided the Eagle through the canyon. The insertion plan to the AO was certifiably insane, the LRSSG was all in Agreement, however it also carried the highest chance of success compared to other more traditional plans.

The Cape Rainey Air Base was a perfect foot hold position for the Air Defense Force to start launching probing attacks into Farbanti ahead of the main invasion force at only 700 miles from the city. Off the shore sat a collection of Osean Fast Attack submarines filled with supplies to establish a forward operating base. However, before that could happen, Osean Marine Corps ‘Basilisk’ Team would have to secure the base, and to accomplish their mission required the LRSSG to provide the Close Air Support mission.

 

Trigger glanced to the side for a heartbeat, he could see the cold stone walls towering over him, It reminded him too much of the unpleasantness of the Yinshi Valley.

Well at least there’s no thunderstorms. He thought.

 

The canyon opened briefly and was filled with high intensity search lights. Trigger prayed the Intel was correct and they were automated and only tuned to search for Helicopters.

***
His heart was racing again.

Weird he thought to himself. Operation Werewolf was a rousing success, most of his dreams consisted of those missions that ended poorly. Mostly surrounding operations Giant’s Step, Two Pairs, Dual Wielder or Lighthouse Keeper.

Trigger continued his self-guided tour to clear his mind.

Nearing Cossette’s quarters, he started to hear a faint noise. Following the sound, he could make out what was a piano. The music was fast and aggressive, yet still having a sense of elegance about it.

Trigger quietly stalked his way through the rooms heading towards the source of the noise.

He paused before a closed door, Cossette’s room? He asked himself. Certainly the right part of the Palace. He listened intently through the door. He was taken aback with the different movements of the song, The main melody coupled with that of a supporting melody. The song transitioned from a rapid staccato to a driving but smoother chorus.

He turned and sat down, resting his head against the door. The door creaked slightly betraying his presence.

The Music stopped suddenly.

Trigger started to crawl away from the door before he heard a voice call out “Is that you?”, Cossette’s.

Trigger stood up and opened the door, instead of a bedroom, he was in a smaller room illuminated only by the moonlight. He could see the walls were covered in bookshelfs and in the center sat Cossette behind a grand piano. Her night gown almost glowing from the ambient light surrounding her.

“So what did you think?” She asked.

“I didn’t know you played piano” Trigger replied sheepishly.

Cossette smiled “Its not one I’m terribly good at. I prefer to sing more than play. Never quite had the ear for it.” She said dejected.

“We could argue about that. You sounded great!” Trigger s.

“Thank you Trigger, that means a lot.” Cossette sighed.

“Rough day at work?” Trigger asked worried,

“Something like that. I hope I am not the reason your awake.” Cossette replied, the smile disappearing from her face.  

Trigger grinned. “Not this time. But hearing you play I can’t say I’d be disappointed to wake up to that. What was that piece called?”

Cossette furrowed her brow “Démêler I think? Im not sure what the translation is to common however. Its one I learned back in school.” She admitted.

“Can I hear another one?” Trigger asked.

Cossette thought for a moment, and a slight smirk returned to her face. “Sure. I will play you one of my favorites. Azalea.” She said with a determined look on her face.  Trigger noticed that she didn’t have any sheet music to play off of for either song.

He watched her hands as she played the song.

It started quickly, her hands flying across the keys as she played. The sound and melody progressed in volume and complexity until reaching the crescendo. It ended with falling chord progression culminating in a final note that hung in the air momentarily.  

Trigger clapped at the conclusion of the performance, Cossette bowed and giggled at Trigger’s over the top reaction.

“Thank you Trigger. Just a lot has happened today, and I just needed somewhere to vent. Piano always seemed to help my mother so I figured it was worth a shot.”

“What happened?” Trigger asked. She walked over to him and took his hand.

“It’s, not really easy for me to explain, and I don’t quite understand it well myself. It has to do with succession and such and my cabinet is just on my back with it now since we’re back in Farbanti.” She explained.

Trigger nodded, embracing her in a hug. “Its Ok dear. Whatever it is, I will be there for you.” He whispered to her.

She looked up at him, he was lost in her brilliant blue eyes in that moment.

“Trigger, do you think you can sleep with me tonight? I just need you right now.” She admitted.

“Of course. Whatever you need.” Trigger replied.

***
Trigger watched her as she slept by his side, using his arm as her pillow. Her sleep was restless, and he could hear her mumbling as she slept.

“Three Strikes”

It caught his attention, he looked down and saw her face had contorted into a frown.

Am I hearing things? He asked himself.

A second later Cossette’s face had relaxed and returned to normal.

Guess I’m not the only one having trouble sleeping. He thought to himself before drifting off to sleep once again.