is a Fan Fiction novelization of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War by bluebellwren and is a prequel to their story Three Strikes. The story follows a young Kathryn Hamilton as she and her squadron of fellow rookie airmen are thrown into war. She is unaware of the forces at work or someone close to her being part of it.Summary: As the Circum-Pacific War breaks out, Kathryn Hamilton finds herself burdened with responsibility and a legacy she never wanted. Torn between duty and expectations, she fights to protect her homeland and her allies as the ghosts of a fallen nation seek reckoning. Hailed as both heroes and demons, four wings must light the path to peace with an unquenchable blaze.
Note that any spoilers to Three Strikes should be marked unless revealed in The Demon’s Song.
This fanfiction contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: During her first operation Kathryn comments to Bartlett that she doesn’t need to be kept on a leash and that she can follow orders to which he calls her a good girl in a manner you would a dog. She can’t help but chuckle for walking into that one.
- Adaptation Expansion: The RIOs that are optional to have depending on the aircraft chosen in the game are now full-fledged characters in this story. They are Clown for Blaze, Dogma for Edge, Alto for Chopper and Arrow for Archer.
- Affectionate Nickname: Allen calls his sister Ryn when they are not arguing with one another.
- Age Lift: Genette, Chopper and Snow are slightly younger in this story then they are in canon.
- Brutal Honesty: Kathryn's brother lets her know that let her reckless behavior in the air is getting her into a lot of trouble and if she doesn't get her act together, she'll be sent home with her tail between her legs.
- Cain and Abel: Kathryn and Allen are already destined to come to blows later on in the story. They're already some tension between them. Although that is more to do with her reckless behavior in the air then any sort of conflict of ideals. At the moment he generally does care about her and wants her to succeed in her career.
- Character Tics: Kathryn has a habit of twist a strand of her hair.
- Childhood Friends: Kathryn and Hans have been friends since they were kids. When she, her brother and father moved out to a farmland that the latter bought. Hans was the only kid close enough to become friends with.
- Disappeared Dad: For the first five years of Kathryn’s life her father was off somewhere. Only year or less of that was him fighting in the Belkan War So, she was under the care of her aunt and uncle with her brother taking a supporting role for her.
- Gas Leak Cover Up: Perrault makes it clear to Bartlett and mostly to Genette that the loss of 16 airmen was the result of mid-air collisions, bird strikes and pilot error. Needless to say, no one on base is buying that cover story.
- Gender Flip: In the game Blaze is stated to be a man. Here Blaze is a woman.
- Heroic Lineage: Kathryn and Allen’s father is is the Demon Lord of the Round Table.
- Hot-Blooded: Kathryn is very gung-ho and a hotshot which gets her into some trouble. Which irritates her brother who was able to get her assigned to Sand Island by praising her skills, but she is becoming more trouble than she is worth if she doesn’t get her act together.
- Manipulative Bastard: Using cool headiness, professionalism and the right words Allen is cable of manipulating Perrault to do exactly what he wants him to do. He was able to get the General to go easy on Genette and see to it that Genette had his equipment returned saying that it could gain good PR from him by point out how past articles Genette wrote on the military were respectfully done.
- Military Maverick: Kathryn has a real problem with authority and following the rules which gets her into a lot of trouble. Her brother even calls her out on this.
- Missing Mom: In the first five years of Kathryn’s life her dad was off somewhere, and she and her brother were raised by an aunt and uncle, suggesting that something happened to their mother.
- Prequel: With this story being a novelization of Ace Combat 5, this makes it a prequel to the already finished Three Strikes which is a novelization of Ace Combat 7.
- Related in the Adaptation: There is no relationship between Blaze and Allen Hamiliton in the game. but in this story, Kathryn is Allen’s younger sister.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Kathryn did not get along with her old RIO, Dogma, for being by the book to the point she'd rather strangle him. He ended up getting reassigned to being Nagase's RIO because he didn't like being with her either for her reckless behavior nearly getting them killed. He is also the third RIO that she has gone through since Heierlark.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Allen doesn’t want war and it seems neither do those above him, but they see Osea and Yuktobania tearing into each as the only way for "proper" justice to be done.
