October 2nd, 2025

It’s been years since Operation Free Dove, but I still remember everything that happened afterwards.

The international media fallout from the attack on Canerest was enormous. Conspiracies claimed that this was the Empire’s doing, covertly commanding the Radicals or whatnot. These theories were publicly ridiculed by the Empire, and they were quick to send relief aid to help.

About two years after the war, both sides published the casualty numbers of the war. I looked into it, and here’s what I found:

• 12.3 million total deaths due to the war.

• 1.3 million of them were Allied Forces personnel.

• 4.3 million were Imperial Military personnel.

• 6.7 million were civilian or non-military personnel.

Many cities like Menisat, Norigrad and Ubisan City were lightly damaged. Canerest was nearly wiped off the face of the Earth and New Grace was wiped off the face of the Earth.

Three dozen major military bases across both sides were destroyed. The Allied Forces suffered heavy casualties and the Imperial Military was almost completely destroyed.

At about the same time, the Allied Forces stopped occupying Astea and relinquished hold over its cities. There were televised parades in every city celebrating what they called “the true end to the war.”

Crucible 1 was made legendary due to his actions in the war, just as Maestro said. He got a proper nickname to fit it. “Legend.”

Crucible Squadron itself became famous with him. According to the history books and online articles, we “turned the tide of the war and were the reason the Alliance prevailed.” They said that many lives were saved because of our actions, and while that’s true, so many still died.

The nightmares didn’t stop. I went to a doctor, and he diagnosed me with PTSD. I went to see a therapist, and that helped. I also tried group therapy, going with other military veterans that had similar issues. It never fully went away, but it got better. I still wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat every now and then.

As for Stronghold, I went to her funeral to say goodbye. She had a lot of relatives, and a family of her own. Her wife didn’t know me well and didn’t recognize me. I thought about saying something to her that day but didn’t. I said my final goodbyes to Stronghold there. Told her I would make good on telling her story.

I made sure the entire world knew her. I published a book. I talked about her in war documentaries and news interviews. I made her actions known to everyone who would listen. Soon enough, the entire world knew about her and how she sacrificed herself to save so many others.

They made a statue of her in Canerest, right at the spot where the airship crashed. When Canerest was fully rebuilt, I went to visit it. It was amazing, showing her standing tall and proud, as a separate statue of her aircraft soared upwards. The statue’s podium read this:
  

                                                              Jessica “Stronghold” Grace.

                                                        January 6th, 1992 – June 4th, 2017

               The ace pilot who fought to defend the innocent in the face of impossible odds.

I left a nice bouquet of roses at the base of the statue before walking away. I didn’t really feel like I had anything to say that I hadn’t already said to her.

Canerest, though damaged, was rebuilding, healing its wounds. I saw people standing around the statue. Observing. Some people came to visit. When I visited a few years later, those same people were there, but they had brought their children with them. They were showing them the statue and telling them her story.

All these people I saw around me wouldn’t be alive without her. She sacrificed her life so that everyone else could live. She sacrificed her future to make one possible for them. She was a hero, and she would forever be remembered as one.

So… what’s the lesson here?

Every war memoir has a lesson, so what’s this one?

Well, I’ve thought about it a lot when writing this. So here it is:

Wars will test us.

They will test our morals.

Our ethics.

Our values.

It determines what you are willing to do. For yourself. For others. It shows what you are willing to sacrifice for one of the other. It shows your true colors. In war, the best people are willing to sacrifice themselves for something bigger than themselves. For others. For a cause they believe is right.

Stronghold didn’t have to crash into that plane. She could have left the airspace. Fled to preserve her life. But she didn’t. She crashed into that plane to save the lives of the innocent around her. She never knew them, but she knew they didn’t deserve to die. She sacrificed herself because she was willing. She was the best person I ever knew.

She was tested and did the right thing.

Not everyone will be like this. There will be those who only look out for themselves. Those who sacrifice others to save themselves. Selfish. They represent the worst of us.

It is a choice. The choice determines who you are and what you will do in critical situations. Only a few will rise above selfishness. Only a few will be better.

We can choose to be better.

If we are to survive as a species, or as a people, we must be better.