Losing Heads
'"That the heck?! They were being pushed back, and now they're getting better? Dammit! Who are these guys?!"'
'"Get a grip! They just got reinforced by one pilot, that's all."'
'"That flying style is... HOLY SHIT! That's the Reaper! Reaper Iathan!"'
'"That legendary ace that those Sangarians were hiding? So this is where he ended up. I thought he died!"'
'"It's no mistake, that's him!"'
"... How far is the Retribution?"
'"Thirty minutes out. They need to refuel."'
"Then get Testament here."
'"Understood."'
The four planes of the Black Knights squadran flew tightly together, chasing their opponents relentlessly. They had taken out two planes, though the enemy pilots managed to eject.
'"Watch your fuel levels."'
Jacob warned. Vergil looked down at his console. About half an hour's worth. It wasn't much.
'"Thirty minutes to bingo. Let's finish this."'
'"Yeah, let's-... wait, they're breaking off."'
Sepheria had alerted them to something. Vergil was having that same gut-wrenching feeling within him once more. Something was not right.
'"Did we chase them off?"'
'"Kyle, shut up. Your mouth always gets us in trouble."'
'"What do you think, Fang?"'
Vergil did not like this.
"... Watcher, are there any disturbances on the radar?"
'"None... only the enemy planes retreating. Sector all clear."'
'"So we did it?"'
Really, Kyle needs to shut up. Vergil still did not think it to be over.
"Captain..."
'"Yeah, i know what you're feeling, kid. Knights, pull out."'
'"Eh?"'
'"Just do it, dumb ass."'
The Black Knights pulled off from the engagement, retreating to where their remaining forces were. But Vergil still knew something was not right.
'"That's odd... the radar is acting up."'
Watcher reported, which is never a good sign.
'"We may have in-coming. Knights, prepare for the worst."'
'"You got it."'
'"Understood."'
"..."
Then, the sky darkened. Once again, Vergil looked up to see that it was no cloud. A giant plane. This one was smaller than the one they fought over the capital, but it was not small by any measure either. If Vergil had to describe it, it looks like a spaceship. Its large wings supporting the large round body. It has two large rings that surrounds the main body, one in front of the wings, another behind. One more ring on the bottom, and probably one on top as well. But those rings looked different from that disc looking bottom on that first behemoth. These look like it was suspended, or attached on to the body by rods.
'"Holy, mother of god. What is that?"'
'"Again?! They appeared without warning again?! What the hell?!"'
Vergil did not like this one bit. And neither did their captain.
'"Knights, down! Get down!"'
The four planes lowered their altitude to anticipate the worst, but Vergil still thought something to be off. Then, those rings around the ship started to glow with a purplish type of light. Vergil swore he saw a spark. A spark?
".... BREAK!"
'"What?"'
Vergil, Sepheria, and Kyle broke off. But the captain was still on course.
'"Captain!"'
'"The steering is jammed! What the hell is this?!"'
'"Magnetic constriction lock-on.... charging sequence."'
'"... fire."'
The bottom ring crackled with live electricity, and a soon, a giant bolt of lightning shot out from the ring, striking BloodCall, Captain Jacob Iathan. The plane crackled with electricity, the frame bending in odd places, before it blew up. No sign of survival.
'"CAPTAIN!!!!"'
'"One down. Three left. Ten seconds to next shot."'
'"Thirty seconds to magnetic lock down recharge."'
'".... wait, in-coming unknown signals."'
Vergil slammed his hand on the console. Captain Jacob Iathan was dead. He was the man who taught Vergil, Sepheria, and Kyle the joys of flying. He also saved their butts multiple times. He was like a father figure to them. More like the father who disappeared on Vergil. He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill that monster.
'"Knights, retreat immediately. Your fuel levels are close to bingo."'
"No... I will get them. Knights, on me!"
Vergil pulled his plane up, aiming straight for that large plane.
'"Vergil! Come back!"'
'"He's lost it!"'
'"Target in sight."'
'"Is that guy mad? He's charging straight for it."'
'"... Let's hurry. Legion, engage."'
Vergil fired his machine gun at the giant ship, though it appeared that it had no effect. He completely ignored the warning sounds of his fuel tanks, going on a mad rampage. He fired continuously at the rings, until it appeared that it finally made a dent. But that was also the time he ran out of ammunition.
"Dammit!"
'"Fang! That thing is ready to fire!"'
Vergil saw it. The same glow. The same attack used to kill his captain. Now he couldn't do anything about it.
'"Pull out!"'
He couldn't. The stick was non-responsive. Some kind of system shut-down. This was it. That glow was unmistakeable. He was going to die. The ring was fully charged, and was about to shoot-
BOOM
The ring exploded. Vergil suddenly felt that the plane was back in control.
'"Black Knight pilot, Fang. Pull out immediately. We'll chase this guy off."'
A new voice. A young female voice. Vergil turned, and saw a squadran of fighters closing in. Five fighters flew in perfect formation. All of them were F-15E Strike Eagles.
'"Who-"'
'"We'll answer your questions later. Right now, head South. Our fleet is awaiting your arrival."'
Vergil did not know how to react, but he pulled out. Just as the five Strike eagles flew in, destroying the bottom ring with a missile barrage. That was when the giant plane started to disappear. The Strike Eagles made a tight turn, and fired missiles again, hitting the flying monster before it completely disappeared. The Strike Eagle squadron then flew close, joining with the Black Knights, or what remained of them.
'"This is Legion Squad leader, Magnus. You Knights sure know how to act crazy."'
That voice. He thought he heard that voice from somewhere.
'"Well, thanks for saving our hides. But where you guys during the invasion?"'
Kyle asked. True, these pilots had some skill that would have been useful during the fight of Raffeles.
'"We were guarding the Naval fleet. But we were also attacked. We heard about the capital, but we had it rough too. They came in with a giant plane as well. If we count them right, this enemy has three super planes."'
Magnus answered. Vergil thought something was off with that information. It wasn't complete.
"Four."
'"What?"'
"It is possible that the enemy has one more super weapon. They may be keeping it under wraps in case we manage to destroy those three that appeared."
'"You got to be kidding me. One more?!"'
Kyle sighed.
'"... I think you're onto something there, Fang. We'll discuss with the admiral once we land."'
Magnus said.
'"Wait, land as in, on a carrier?"'
Sepheria wondered. Vergil knew why she asked. She did not like carrier landings. Not one bit.
'"Yes. Why?"'
'"... Nothing."'
But Vergil has a question.
"Those Strike Eagles were not made for carrier deployment. How did you take off?"
'"Our fleet is not so normal in itself. Anyway, don't forget that we still have some of our islands."'
"... Right."
