To Skies Unknown // An Ace Combat 7 Fanfiction

1 // New Beginnings

They always thought the skies looked pretty as a kid. The clouds always made different and unique shapes, and at night, the skies held bright orbs of light that dotted their childhood memories. At least... before Ulysses.

The massive asteroid scarred their world forever. For two entire weeks, the skies they looked up to were a storm of fire and ash.

A young pilot look out from the window of the transport chopper to see an island. On it, was a small coastal town neighboring their new posting, Fort Grays. The base itself wasn't much. Just a runway with couple hangars, with an adjacent harbor.

"Not what you're expecting, huh?"

They turn to the chopper pilot, who was glancing back at them.

"No. Not quite," they said.

The chopper pilot chuckles lightly.

"I'm sure it's not too bad. I mean, you kinda taught me not to judge a book by its cover."

"What do you mean?"

"A pair of hotshots one day, Emmeria's best aces the next. I'll be honest, sometimes your battle reports feel like something out of an action film."

"Right..." they sighed.

The man looked down at his attire. The flag of Emmeria could be seen with various medals pinned onto his suit.

"Why did you agree to fly me out here?" they asked.

"I feel like I should be asking you that question, Talisman."

"It's... complicated."

"War's not something you can just shrug off. It's always complicated."

"I guess you're right."

"For me, this Yellow Jacket wanted to shed his wings for a bit. At least until repairs in Gracemeria finished up."

The young pilot quietly nodded, as the chopper slowly began to descend towards the base, where he saw three people waiting by the helipad. One of them was a young man with a decent build, and dirty blond hair swept back neatly. He was conversing with another, older man with short brown hair, and a young lady with light brown hair.

"I guess this makes us even, right?" they asked.

"Hardly. I still owe you for your stellar work in Ragno." replied the chopper pilot.

The chopper landed with a light thud, and they opened the chopper door and stepped out onto solid ground.

"Consider us even, Richard. Thank you," they said, turning to the chopper.

"May the Golden King smile upon you, Talisman."

And with that, the chopper ascended, and he was alone with the three.

"Ah. There they are." said the older man.

"You must be Talisman." said the younger man.

"Trigger, now. Sir." the newcomer corrected him and extended their hand.

"Ah, apologies. I'm Captain Erholtz, leader of Golem Squadron. I'm also the flight commander for all the aircraft here on this base." said the blond, shaking his hand.

He gestures to the girl that stood next to him.

"This is First Lieutenant Mendez. She's my second in command."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said courteously.

"The pleasure is mine, Ma'am," Talisman replied.

He then gestures to the older man, patting him on the back.

"And this is Captain Edward. He's the leader of Mage Squadron."

"Nice to finally meet ya' in person, kid," he said gripping the newcomer's hand with a strong handshake.

"The feeling is mutual, sir."

"Polite, and skilled. You don't really see that many like this one coming out of Osea's academies, do you?" said Edwards, nudging slightly to his superior.

"We'll see about that soon enough. Come. We'll show you around the base." said Erholtz.

The three turned and beckoned him to follow.

They gave him a tour of the base, passing by the control tower, maintenance hangars, and training yard. But as they walked, they continued to converse.

"I'm telling you Erholtz, they're very talented. I've seen the reports myself. They're almost unbelievable."

"What did it say?" Mendez asked.

"It said they're the pride of their country. The guardian angel of Emmeria." said her superior.

Talisman halfheartedly chuckled.

"I'm sure they're just overexaggerating, sir."

"Why do you say that?" ask Erholtz.

"I just did what needed to be done."

"I think you've done a lot more than that, kid." said Edwards

"I would't say tha-"

"Flying through tunnels, fighting entire battle groups, killing giant superweapons... do you really think that's normal for a pilot?"

"Wow. When was this?" asked Erholtz

They sigh.

"The Battle of Ragno Fortress, Fort Norton, and The Chandelier."

"Damn..." said Mendez.

"Some pilots can only dream of being remembered for something like that..." said Erholtz

"That's not even a full list," said Edwards.

"To be fair, sir. I wasn't alone," said Talisman. "I had my wingman to back me up."

Their face sobered slightly. Captain Edwards didn't seem to notice. Eventually, they walked into the barracks, where they led the new pilot to his new quarters.

"Well, kid, I hope you like the accommodations. Your stuff is waiting for you inside," he said gesturing to the door.

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh!" Edward perks up. "I should probably mention, Usually we'd give you a day to get used to this place, but we have your first sortie with us tomorrow. Just report to the briefing room at 1600."

Talisman nodded, a small smile tugging at their lips.

"Yes, sir."