A/N: So I realized that there's a bit of a plot hole in the AC7 Storyline I've been writing. I hope this patches that plot hole. Enjoy.

July 22, 2019

Night fell over Zapland, blanketing the base in an eerie quiet. The sweltering heat did little for the morale of the inmates or the guards. But even in the extreme heat, everyone managed to sleep.

Well, almost everyone...

"Oi, Tabloid!" Trigger swung the pillow from under his head and hit his bunkmate, causing Tabloid to bolt upright.

"Huh?! What is it? Air raid?!" Tabloid looked around and saw a pillow on the floor.

"No, it's not an air raid," Trigger replied from his bunk. "You were talking in your sleep. Again."

Tabloid swung his head down to look at Trigger. "What do you mean, 'Again'? How often do I talk in my sleep?"

"You've been doing it since that encounter with Mr. X, dude. It sounds like you're speaking Belkan."

Even in the darkness of the cell, Tabloid visibly paled. "Uh... Can you keep a secret, Trigger?"

"Sure. You're the only person I talk to here anyway."

"My name is Johann Grimm. I'm Belkan."

Trigger bolted upright, smacking his head on the bottom of Tabloid's bunk. Pausing only to employ a few of his favorite four-letter words, he eyed his bunkmate. "You're Belkan?"

"Yeah," Tabloid nodded. "I'm the youngest of three brothers. All of us served in the Osean Military too."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. They both served in the Circum-Pacific War. My oldest brother Wilhelm was in the Army. He took his GI Bill and went back to college. My older brother Hans was a pilot. I think he's desk-jockey in Oured now."

"What squadron did your brother fly with?"

"Uh... I think it was the Razgriz, if I remember--"

"Now you're fucking with me. Your brother was one of the Razgriz? And he couldn't keep your scrawny ass out of here?"

Tabloid laughed. "I don't think Hans even knows I'm in here. Or if he does, he doesn't care."

Further conversation was interrupted when a guard stopped in front of their cell and smacked the bars with his baton. "It's past lights out, Convicts. Go to sleep or you end up in Solitary."

Trigger waited until the guard was a safe distance away before grabbing his pillow off the floor.

When he got as comfortable as he could, Trigger asked a question of his bunkmate. "Hey, Tab. What do you think of the Scrap Queen?"

"Good night, Trigger."