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Legendary Aces 2: Hero of Emmeria
Chapter 10: Selumna Peak
-Shimmering Death-
-Kye-
Catacombs, Gracemeria
0600hrs 11 February 2016 (Polaris/Ortara Time)
0900hrs 11 February 2016 (Gracemeria Time)
"What are you drawing, Mom?" Rei looked over my shoulder and stole a peak at my drawing. "It looks kind of like an F-22."
I had just finished the concept art of an aircraft design. In our last conversation over the satellite phone, my mother told me how they haven't made any progress on the XF-04. I couldn't do much to help from here, but I could draw a few concept sketches of an idea I had.
Having been on the design team for Paragon's next generation aircraft carrier, Solaris, I had solid idea that would theoretically put the XF-04 in a league of its own.
"What are those little circles?" She asked.
"They're just some decorations." I told her that, but in reality, they were something else. Even to my oldest daughter, I couldn't say what they are. Those little circles are taken from the Solaris, which itself is a black ops level secret.
"There are tail fins on the underside?"
I nodded. "Like this, when you need to bank to either side, the turning response will be much faster, and the yaw will be better as well."
"It will?"
"Yes. With fins on the top and bottom both working toward yawing, the yaw will be faster. Of course, the main thing is the improved banking ability. You know what the proper name for the fins are, right?"
"Vertical Stabilizers?"
"Right. Normally, the rudders on the vertical stabilizers are only used to yaw. They cannot help you bank, but with vertical stabilizers on the top and bottom, they can help in banking. For example, if you bank left with this, the horizontal stabilizers, or the tailplanes, would normally be the only thing that works to bank. The left one would angle so that its front is down and back is up, and the right one would be the opposite. With this design, that would still happen, but the rudders on the vertical stabilizers, or tail fins, will also help. The two on top will angle to the right while the two on bottom will angle to the left. Together, the horizontal and vertical stabilizers will make a circle with each angled toward the next. This will cause the plane to bank much faster."
"That's awesome!"
"And if I make the thrust vectors turn opposite directions as well, that would also increase the banking ability, though maybe it would increase it too much. If you only want to bank ninety degrees... with that much extra banking ability, it would likely cause you to overshoot your mark."
"It's so good that it's too good." Rei smiled at me with that remark.
"Yeah, too much of a good thing can kill you, after all." I said. "Can you bring me the satellite phone? I need to scan these drawings and send them to your grandma."
"Okay!" Rei ran off to the other room where we kept our belongings, what few we had. She returned almost as fast as she left.
"Thanks, sweetie." I patted her on the head as I took the satellite phone from her. Despite it being a satellite phone, it still had several capabilities that would put a smart phone to shame. It had a high definition camera that could take a picture in 8K resolution, or 33 megapixels.
With that, I laid out all of my drawings on the table and snapped a photo of all of them at once. I sent the picture to my mother and gave her a call.
"Kye! How are you?"
"We just talked a few days ago. Hey, do you remember when you said that progress on the XF-04 development has pretty much gone nowhere?"
"Yes."
"I sent you a photo of some drawings I made up. You should take a look."
"Hold on a second, I just received them. Let me send them to my monitor here." I heard some beeping over the phone then the sound of a screen turning on. "Got them. Hey... that's pretty wild. Vertical stabilizers on bottom? And the diagram of banking with all the stabilizers instead of just the horizontals... I think that might get somewhere. Those circles though..."
"Do you know what they are?"
"Yes, but how do you know about them?"
"I designed them on Isle Pandora two years ago."
"Kye, are you serious? You designed those?"
"Yeah."
"I see." I could hear the surprise in her voice. "That's amazing. But we can't use those. That technology is beyond top secret. Your Grandpa Charles and I are the only Osean Paragon officers that even know about the Solaris."
"Yeah, you'll have to clear using the pads with the Solaris development team on Isle Pandora. I was on that team for a short while, so you should be able to use my name to help convince them."
"Yeah, I hope so. I see the idea behind using them for a jet. That'll revolutionize..."
"Yeah, now hush. Just cut the drawings with the circles out and use the drawings without them for now. Each one with has a version without. Now I have to go, I don't want to run the battery down on this thing too much."
"Alright. Thanks for the help, Kye. I'm sure we can advanced the XF-04 with this information."
"Bye, Mom." I hung up the phone and glanced over at the door. Rei was waiting, holding both of our shinai. "My, my, you want to start early today."
Rei nodded at me and threw one of the shinai to me. "Come on, Mom! Let's practice!"
"Alright, alright. But let's go to the empty room so we don't hit or break anything."
Rei's swordplay skills had come a long way in the months that we've been here in the Gracemeria catacombs. When she's fully grown, she'll already be good enough to spar with steel blades.
-Talisman-
PFS Polaris
1215hrs 11 February 2016 (Polaris/Ortara Time)
"So what do you think?" Lily asked.
"About what?" Sky Kid asked in return.
"The Polaris. You know, my uncle is the skipper." She gave both Sky Kid and Stingray a wink, a gesture they were unsure of how to respond.
Lily invited over the two new squadrons our forces gained from the Silvat mission a few days ago. At first, they were reluctant to come to an aircraft carrier, but when they learned that a Lieutenant General had invited them, they took her up on the offer.
At first glance, it didn't seem like Lily was such a high ranking officer. She was talking a lot at the table while eating, though not with her mouth full, and was acting rather carefree. It was unusual to see her straying from her usual serious, proper, and polite attitude.
"Who are you and what have you done with my Lily?" I asked, giving her a suspicious glare.
"I locked her away, Princess."
Her calling me "Princess" earned a confused pair of expressions from our two guests.
"Uh huh... apparently there's still a trace of Lily in there... calling me Princess."
"Princess?" Stingray asked.
"It's a long story." I sighed. "Lily and Shadow have called me that since we were kids."
"Anyway, I didn't invite you two here for a simple chitchat." Lily said, suddenly serious. "How do you like your planes? The Mirage 2000 and A-10?"
"It's great!" Sky Kid instantly answered.
"I wouldn't leave home without it." Stingray added.
"What would you two think if I said we can upgrade them?" Lily offered. I knew what she was getting at.
"I'm fine with the Mirage 2000. I don't need a different plane." Sky Kid said.
"That's not what I mean." Lily pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and unfolded it for the two to see. "Using X-03 technology, we can upgrade your current jets to have higher performance."
"What do you mean?" Stingray asked.
"We can add carrier capabilities, we can modify the engines, adjust the weapons systems, update the radar capabilities, and a few other things. We've done this to the F-22, F-15, F-14, and F-18 already. We happen to have modification plans drawn up for the Mirage-2000 and A-10, in addition to a few other aircraft. We can have them done in two to three weeks. In the meantime, you would have to fly your backup planes, assuming you have backups."
"Yes." Sky Kid said.
"Good. So what do you say? Would you like your aircraft upgraded with Paragon's X-03 technology?" Lily asked with a small hint of excitement.
"Is that okay? Can you just offer Paragon tech like that?"
I laughed and pointed at Lily. "You two are talking to the head of Paragon. Lily is the current Supreme Commander."
"Yes, but since I'm participating in this war as an Emmerian, I can't use my full powers as Supreme Commander, though I can still pull some strings. Upgrading aircraft is a relatively minor string to pull. Even Princess Yami has that authority."
"You make it sound like I'm low on the totem pole." I sneered.
"Lily, be nice." Shadow scolded. She shot Lily a glare so intense that it could almost burn a hole through a steel wall.
"Stop giving me that look. You make me feel as though I'll spontaneously combust." Lily whined. "Anyway, do you want your planes upgraded?"
"Definitely." Sky Kid said.
"Of course." Stingray agreed.
"Then it shall be done."
Windhover and Avalanche didn't as much as bat an eye at any of us. Those two were too busy pigging out on their food. I couldn't help but wonder where Marcus was. He usually ate with us, but today he was nowhere to be found.
I finished my meal before the others and left alone. I looked around, trying to find Marcus. I know I could have just called him over the intercom, but that was no fun.
Where could you be? I wondered to myself as I passed through the men's quarters.
I peeked into their changing room and glanced around, receiving strange looks from the men inside. I didn't see him. "Hey, have any of you seen Marcus Lampert? He's Garuda 2."
"No ma'am." One said.
"Any idea where I could find him?" I could tell the men were uncomfortable with my being there.
"No idea, ma'am."
"Damn. Well thanks... by the way, why are you boys so nervous?"
The single older man in there that wasn't acting awkward stepped forward. "To be blunt, ma'am, they're not used to women coming down here."
"Makes sense, I suppose, but still..." I sighed and turned my attention back to the rest. I held my hands behind my back and walked into the room, right up to one of the nervous ridden men. "ATTENTION!"
He stood at attention in an instant.
"Much better." I glanced around and noticed that only the older man was also standing at attention. "Are the rest of you too good? I said ATTENTION!"
Suddenly the rest of them straightened up.
"Good." I turned back to the older man with a smile. "I recognize you, Master Chief Petty Officer Mario Boveri. You're as humble as I've heard. It's not common for such a senior enlisted officer to be down here."
"I've never been one to take advantage of my rank. While on duty, you won't find another more fitting for my job. While off duty, such as occasions like this, I believe am no better than a Seaman."
"You're off duty in the middle of the day?"
"Yes, ma'am. I was sick a few days ago and am scheduled to resume duties tomorrow, but since I feel fine, I was planned on visiting the medical officer in about half an hour to be cleared for resuming duties today."
"I see. Your reputation precedes you." I turned my attention back to the younger men. "The rest of you... Grow up! This is not high school. Stop acting like a bunch of virgins and respond to a superior officer appropriately. There is no male or female at war, there are only soldiers. But since you all are so uncomfortable around a woman, how about all of you report to the gym at 1800? Will all of you be off duty by then?"
"Yes, ma'am!" All of them resounded.
"Good. Oh, and Mastery Chief Boveri, why don't you come and watch? I'd like you to be there in case we need pointers from a senior enlisted officer such as yourself."
"Of course. I'd be happy to help."
"Great. I'll see you all at 1800." I said as I walked out of the room and continued my search for Marcus.
"No fair." I moaned as I walked out onto the flight deck. I opened my eyes and felt a sense of irritation come over me. "Really..."
There he was, sitting on the edge of the flight deck near the catapults. He didn't look up when I walked up. I just sat down next to him and sat there in silence for a while.
"Hey, Talisman." He said softly. "Do you know if they're okay?"
"You're worried about Monica and Jessica aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I talked to Kye just the other day. They're both fine."
"I've had this gut feeling these past few weeks. It feels like something is wrong, but I don't know what."
Lily had told me to stay quiet about it, but I wasn't sure if I could with what he had just told me. "It's said that twins can sense when each other is in danger. Spouses can as well."
"I don't know if I believe stuff like that, but..."
"She was sick."
He sparked up immediately. "What?"
"In early December, she was admitted to a hospital in Gracemeria. A few strings had to be pulled to get her in, but she was allowed in. They found out that she had an extremely rare disease that would have eventually killed her if it wasn't treated. She was the third known case in the entire world." Marcus's expression grew bleaker as I continued. "The disease was curable, though, and she's already received the treatment. She's been recovering for a couple weeks now, and is expected to be released from the hospital in another week. She's already on her feet again and will make a complete recovery, as if she was never sick."
He sighed in relief. "Jesus, Talisman. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. But, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Sorry about that." I said. "I was ordered to silence on the subject. We knew she would make a full recovery, but we didn't want to burden you with any unnecessary worries while on a mission. Actually, I'm still not supposed to say anything to you about it, but my conscience wouldn't let me stay quiet."
"Well, you have my thanks for that." I saw a light smile on his face as he stared out over the water. "I think I'll sleep better tonight knowing that."
"Yeah." I reached up and stretched my arms. "Hey, I'm torturing some of the enlisted boys at 1800 in the gym. I'm gonna get Lily and Shadow to come, and you should, too."
"Yeah, that sounds like fun. What'd they do to get your attention?"
"Eh, they were acting like stuck up virgins when I went down to their changing room."
"You went..."
"Yeah." I interrupted. "I was looking for you. I gave them a little bit of an earful about there being no men and women at war, only soldiers, and such."
"What are you gonna do to them?"
I jumped up and turned back toward the control tower. "You'll see!" I sang.
"Show 'em how it's done, Shadow!" I cheered.
"I didn't think this is what you had in mind." Boveri said.
"Yeah, I didn't either." Marcus added.
Shadow, Lily, and I were taking turns sparring with the young enlisted men.
"Well, I could add insult to injury by having Shadow, Lily, and I wear bikinis while we spar." I said. The three of us were wearing sweatpants and tee-shirts. We could have worn swimwear, but that probably would have been a little too much embarrassment for the boys. They were already doomed having to fight us in the first place.
"You in a bikini?" Marcus questioned.
I shot him a piercing stare. "Something wrong with that?"
"Oh, no no, nothing's wrong." He quickly tried to recover. "I just never took you as a bikini person."
"I'll have you know I look hot as hell in a bikini." I gave myself a thumbs up. "I'd do me."
That remark earned me strange glances from several people.
"What?"
Lily sighed. "If you think this is strange, you should have seen the kind of conversations she had with her sister when we were teenagers."
"Hehe... maybe we shouldn't bring that up." I said, hoping Lily wouldn't betray me.
"But you said..." I clapped my hands over her mouth quickly.
"Lily, don't make me tell them your weakness."
She froze as her skin turned as white as her hair.
"That's better. For a second there..."
I was interrupted by a loud slam. I looked back at the ring and saw that Shadow had just slammed the young man she was sparring with, if it could be called sparring.
"She's good." Marcus said.
Shadow gracefully jumped onto the top rope, did a front flip over the edge, and walked up to me. "Princess, am I done yet?"
"I suppose." I walked up to the ring myself and poked my head through the ropes. "Come on, you just lost to a girl half your size."
He just gave me an irritated glare and got out of the ring. After him, there was only one sailor left. I jumped in the ring and gestured at him to join me.
"You've got to be kidding me." He said. "This ain't right."
"It seems my point hasn't gotten across yet." I replied. "Just get in here and try to beat me."
He was reluctant, but he joined me in the ring. "Let's just get this over with."
"Go ahead."
"Ma'am, I prefer boxing, if that's alright."
I looked over to Lily and the others. "Lily!"
She tossed her boxing gloves to me without a second thought. The sailor I was about to fight grabbed a pair from one of the other sailors.
"First move is yours." I said.
He started with a fierce round of punches, though not a single one landed. I dodged some, blocked some, and redirected the rest. He threw in the occasional knee kick, but they were simple to avoid.
I occasionally threw a light punch back at him, not wanting to hit him too hard, but at the same time, I needed to get my point across.
The spar was going pretty smoothly, but after about two minutes, I suddenly felt a shock to my system. He hadn't landed a single blow on me, but the pain I suddenly felt wasn't from getting hit. It was a severe pain across my entire body. It didn't last long, but it slowed me down enough that I almost took a knee kick to the gut.
I acted on pure instinct. All at once, I both pushed down on his knee with my left hand and kicked off the ground with both feet. Before I knew what I was doing, my right foot was moving fast, headed for the back of his head.
Shit! If I hit him with a kick that strong, I might kill him!
I managed to re-aim my kick and slow my leg down some before hitting him. My blow landed across his upper back, and although it wasn't with full force, it still launched the sailor forward into the rope where he rebounded backward and fell flat on the floor.
"What... the hell..." He moaned as he slowly got to his feet.
I... I...
I collapsed to my knees.
-Shadow-
Princess Yami collapsed to her knees and looked at her hands as if she'd seen a ghost. I glanced at my sister, who nodded at me in return.
"We're done." Liliana said. She walked up to the ring, hopped over inside, and stopped in front of the sailor. She had him remove his shirt so she could examine it. "Nothing is broken, but your back is gonna be sore for a while. You should go get an ice pack and a heating pad for that. Alternate cold and heat."
"That kick was so hard. I've been hit pretty hard by some strong guys, but that kick was..."
"It probably felt something like getting hit with an aluminum baseball bat by a major league slugger. Go do what I said and don't speak a word of this. If you are asked, only say it was a training accident. Something like... A barbell fell on your back... that would probably have a similar effect." She glanced over at the rest of the sailors. "That goes for all of you. You'll say nothing of this to anyone. That's an order. I believe the message she wanted to get across to you is that there are no genders at war, only soldiers. You should take example of what she just did and remember that. Now go."
The sailors left in quick manor, leaving behind only Princess Yami, my sister, myself, Shamrock, and the Master Chief.
"Lily..." Princess Yami had tears in her eyes. "I almost... I could have..."
"What's the big deal?" Shamrock asked. I tugged at his sleeve and shook my head.
"Master Chief, can you go make sure that sailor gets to his rack and rests? He's going to need it."
"What in the world was that?" The Master Chief asked.
"It's classified." She said. "Just go, please, and don't say a word about what happened just now."
"Yes, ma'am." He responded. The Master Chief left without another word.
"Princess, please stand up." Liliana said. "I'm taking you to your rack."
"Lily..." Princess Yami muttered shortly before bursting into tears. She buried her face into Liliana's chest and cried.
Marcus had a look of confusion on his face. He didn't have a clue as to what was happening. Of course, it was a well-kept secret.
"Aliana." My sister called me by my first name. I expressed my discontent, but she was serious. "Take Marcus to somewhere private. Go to the Holo-Chamber and disable its network. You won't be interrupted or eavesdropped on there."
"Wait, what's...?"
"I will explain it when we get there. Please remain silent until then." I said as I grabbed his arm and led him away.
I quickly led him to the Holographic Chamber onboard and shut the room down completely.
"What is going on? What's the big secret?"
I turned to him and sighed before starting my explanation. "Have you noticed anything odd about us? About Princess Yami, my sister, or myself?"
"If we're talking about how you three just mopped the floor with all those sailors, then I suppose that could count. I'm more interested in that kick Talisman planted on that guy's back."
"She originally aimed at his head. It all happened in a split second. Princess Yami spaced out and acted on instinct. She managed to divert her kick to that man's back instead. If she had kicked him in the back of the head with the same amount of force, that man would be dead right now."
Shamrock's eyes widened. "What?"
"Tell me. You've noticed that we're different, right? You mentioned something about her eyesight in our last mission."
"Yeah, she said she could see the guy carrying the flag from... I think it was four thousand feet."
"What about her training habits? Have you noticed anything about that?"
"Well, she seems to run faster and a lot longer. And she does a ridiculous number of one armed pull-ups."
"You've went to the bar with her, too, right? Have you noticed how she never gets drunk?"
"Yeah. She said she has some ridiculously high metabolism and would get alcohol poisoning before getting drunk. What are you getting at?"
"Princess Yami, my sister, and I are different. We are not what you would call normal."
"I would call you fitness addicts."
"What I'm about to tell you is to stay a secret. You cannot tell a soul. Not your mother, father, wife, child, sibling... nobody."
"Okay..."
I took a breath and started my explanation. His eyes widened more as I went.
-Liliana-
Princess Yami cried in my arms. All it took was a split second. In that split second, she acted on instinct.
"Lily!" She said in between cries.
Poor thing. Your combat instinct kicked in.
I held Princess Yami tight as she continued to cry.
You are too kindhearted for an accident like this.
We sat there together for several minutes. Princess Yami finally stopped crying with her eyes red. "Lily..."
"Princess, are you okay now?"
"Yeah..." She muttered.
"What caused your instinct to take over?"
"I... I felt an intense pain come over my entire body. It lasted for a split second. When it stopped, all I saw was his knee. I..." She looked away. "I-I just acted. I didn't realize what I was doing until I was in mid-kick. I managed to divert it and slow it down a little... but I still hurt him."
"It's okay, Princess. He'll be fine. You didn't do any lasting damage."
She still had tears in her eyes, despite not crying. "What if it happens again? What if I seriously hurt somebody... or kill them?"
"You won't."
"But..."
"You won't!" I said adamantly. "You care too much to hurt somebody like that. You're too good to let yourself do that. Don't you see how you handled that just now? You didn't want to hurt him, so you were able to stop yourself."
"Lily..." She slowly raised up. "Thanks."
"Now come on. Let's go get a drink and a bite to eat. Take your mind off it."
"Yeah. That sounds nice."
-Briefing-
"Our forces have expanded. Estovakia's military forces in Anea will gradually start to diminish each time they suffer a loss in various areas.
"According to intelligence from our department of national safety, there's a section where enemy defenses are low near Selumna Peaks in central Anea. That section of land is an ideal route for our troops to take, in terms of topography and weather as well."
"We're going to use this route. It's a steep mountain path covered in snow, which is extremely difficult for our ground unit to advance through, and also renders it vulnerable to air attacks.
"Make sure to cover our ground unit, and if you spot any threats from the sky, eliminate them. Captain Akari, do you have anything to add?"
"No. With the lack of ground targets, and with the additions to our air forces, there will be no need for any advanced strategy. Decisions can be made on the spot by myself or Ghost Eye if situations arise that need attention."
"Well said. If an emergency happens to occur, deal with it in any way you see fit. Once we get past those mountains, we'll be in the center of Anea."
-Talisman-
Near Peaks of Selumna
1430hrs 12 February 2016 (Polaris/Ortara Time)
1530hrs 12 February 2016 (Mission Time)
"All set, Garuda 1. Disconnect."
I pulled away from the tanker and headed back to my spot at the lead of Garuda Team.
"All units, return to formation upon refuel." Ghost Eye called out.
Marcus had already refueled before me. Lily and Shadow took their turns right after and joined up with us once they finished.
"Now this is what I call a squadron!" Marcus said.
"Come on, it's payback time." Windhover added.
"Let's hit it." I said as I flipped over and sped forward.
"Gracemeria, dead ahead!" Sky Kid cheered.
-Talisman-
-Mission Start-
Peaks of Selumna
1445hrs 12 February 2016 (Polaris/Ortara Time)
1545hrs 12 February 2016 (Mission Time)
"Here we are..." I said. "It sure is quiet up here..."
"The Stovies are on their way. They're not stupid, you know."
"It wouldn't be fun if they were." I said. "Come on, let's go cover Snake Pit. Lily, Shadow, you come, too."
"You don't think we should split up into two groups?" Lily asked.
"Not yet."
Just then, distorted music played over the radio for a few seconds. "Zed Waters here with some great news. Rumor has it that our angels in from Khesed have joined up with the Emmerian military in Silvat. Oh yeah! They are charging in like rhinos, folks! I think a lot of positive things are about to happen!"
"Damn right." Windhover said.
"Warning. Enemy presence detected on radar." Ghost Eye reported. "They know exactly what we plan to do. All planes, assume attack formation."
"Roger that." I said. "Windhover, Avalanche, Sky Kid, I'm trusting you guys to handle the skies above our ground forces until we finish with the enemy coming from the north."
"Roger." All three said in unison.
"I can hardly see at thing and we've got mountains right below us. Watch your altitude, Talisman."
"Der."
"Did you just "Duh" me?"
"No I "Der'ed" you."
"What's the difference...?"
"Der is harsher. I could also say "Derka" or "Derp" or something if that would be better."
Marcus sighed over the radio.
"This is Snake Pit. Garuda, I'm moving in as close as I can to you to give the best possible support."
"Roger that, Snake Pit." Lily said. "Be mindful of long range attacks."
I took off toward the first enemy formation with my three fellow Garudas right behind me.
"Pick a target and smoke 'em." I picked my target and fired one of my AIM-120s. I don't know why, but he didn't pull up. He just flew right smack into the thing and exploded.
Idiot...
I spotted a formation of two squadrons further north and sped off toward it, leaving Marcus, Lily, and Shadow to deal with the remaining three of that last squadron. They didn't take more than a few seconds each, but that was enough time for me to get a few miles ahead.
I engaged the next two squadrons, who actually broke apart and tried to take me on eight against one. I didn't let any of them get behind me, of course. I couldn't figure out why any of them were flying F-14s.
Did they draw the short straw or something? The F-14 isn't that bad, but the rest of these guys are flying F/A-18s. Doesn't matter. They'd get shot down either way.
"Snake Pit to all planes. High-speed aircraft detected. They're approaching this airspace at high altitude."
"Ghost Eye to Snake Pit. Keep close tabs on their movement."
Shit!
Each F-14 launched long range missiles.
Judging from that trajectory... They're heading right for Snake Pit!
I switched to my ADM, locked on to all eight F-14s at once, and fired. I didn't bother waiting to see if any of them hit, I just hit my afterburners and went after their missiles. "Snake Pit, evasive maneuvers."
"Roger that, I see the missiles incoming on radar."
I approached Mach 3.3, but was barely gaining ground on the missiles.
This will be a tricky move.
I set my weapons system to target the eight missiles and pulled down slightly. I locked on and fired my second ADM as I pulled down hard, giving the ADM a clear shot, so they wouldn't have to turn toward the targets.
The ADM missiles, being smaller, were able to catch up to the AIM-120s just a few thousand feet short of Snake Pit.
"Whew..." I said.
"Garuda Team, you saved our hides. Now help us drive out the rest." One of Snake Pit's escorts said.
I turned and headed back to the F-14 formation, or at least where they had been. My first ADM must have destroyed them.
"We finished them off." Lily said. "Your ADM attack left only three survivors."
"Ah, good."
"Don't breathe easy yet, there's another formation incoming." Ghost Eye reported.
"I see them." I said.
Before I could catch up to them, Shadow fired one of her ADMs at the incoming formation of six planes. She destroyed all six.
Just before I started to accelerate to catch up to the rest of my team, I noticed something black at low altitude.
That's a squadron of F-117s!
I couldn't see them on radar yet, but after I got slowly, I could see light blips on the screen.
"Garuda Team, go ahead and handle the next squadron. There's some sneaky Stovies trying to get past us at low altitude."
"I just picked them up, Talisman." Ghost Eye said. "It's a squadron of F-117 Nighthawks. It's Estovakia's ace squadron Dzhoker."
"They can be as ace as they want, but in an F-117s, they don't stand a chance against any competent fighter pilot." I said as I pass over the four and dropped my altitude to match. I shot them down with my guns in quick order before they could maneuver away, not that they would get far consider they were flying F-117s against my F-15P.
"Enemy formation after our forces confirmed down." Snake Pit reported. "Garuda Team, we appreciate the cover."
I glanced at the radar and saw that there were no more enemy planes to the north. My team had finished them off.
"Good." I took a look at my radar. "Snake Pit, how far away are those high speed, high altitude aircraft?"
"They're not in our mission airspace yet."
"Alright." I said. "I'll go after them once they get closer. For now... Seraph, Shadow, you two go hit those jammers southeast of here. Avalanche, you go, too."
Lily and Shadow took off ahead without another word.
"Roger that." Avalanche responded.
"Shamrock will assist Windhover and Sky Kid with covering our ground forces. I'll help, too, until the supersonic bombers get closer. Shamrock, be ready to come with me if I need you."
"Roger, Garuda 1." Marcus said.
"I just picked up an aircraft on radar, coming in high and fast! A wave of supersonic bombers!" Snake Pit reported. "They seem to be on course to Quox Battalion. Intercept those aircraft before they get in close!"
"Talisman, be careful when engaging them. They are flying in at an ultra-high altitude at Mach 3." Ghost Eye said.
"Don't worry about that." Lily said. "Our F-15Ps can fly higher and faster."
"What?" Avalanche asked.
"You'll see." I said. "Just focus on the mission for now."
"Talisman, I'm sending you a new operation tab for your radar to track the supersonic bombers. I'm linking it between you, me, and Snake Pit. It's marked Operation D."
"Roger that, Ghost Eye." I glanced at my radar. "They're still at the edge of mission airspace. Not close enough yet. I'm gonna cover Warlock until they get closer."
As soon as I flew over Warlock Battalion, their leader chimed in over the radio. "Well if it ain't Garuda! The enemy is focusing its attacks on us. Requesting an intercept."
"I've got a new wave of aircraft on radar. This must be a wave of attacks aimed at Warlock Battalion." Ghost Eye reported.
"This is Sky Kid. Target acquired. All enemy planes are going down. Right here, right now."
"Red Baron, roger. Visibility is terrible. Watch your altitude."
Marcus and I shot after the wave of aircraft with Sky Kid and his squadron right behind us.
"This is Seraph. Engaging enemy jammer aircraft."
"Enemy jammers are set to reduce our missile and radar capabilities. Watch out!" Ghost Eye reported.
I got around behind the incoming attacking aircraft and gunned one down before the others maneuvered away. Marcus and Sky Kid chased them down quickly. Sky Kid was really doing well. He improved a lot since a year ago when his squadron was assigned to Gracemeria Air Force base.
I'm glad he's with us again.
"We got fighters mixed in with the jammers. I'll take them out." Avalanche said.
"Roger that, Avalanche." Lily said. "Splash one jammer."
"Already?" Avalanche asked.
"Splash one jammer." Shadow mirrored.
"My radar's clearing up. Take out the rest just like that." Blizzard said.
"That rounds up the last few enemy A-10s." I said after hitting the last one with an AIM-120.
"Another one! New aircraft detected! Approaching Warlock Battalion at high speed."
"They're still coming?! All planes, hurry! Don't let 'em get near Warlock Battalion."
"Enemy bomber approaching Quox Battalion. This is not going well!"
I glanced at my radar. The supersonic bombers had just arrived where I wanted them.
"This is Talisman. I'm splitting off and heading to intercept the supersonic bombers."
"Roger that. I'll handle things here with Sky Kid and Windhover." Marcus said.
I hit my afterburners and climbed up to an ultra-high altitude. I leveled off once I reached seven five thousand feet and gunned it to full speed.
"Whoa..." Windhover said. "Just how fast is she flying?"
"Mach 3.5." I answered. "These bombers will be dealt with very quickly."
"Splash jammer three." Shadow reported.
"Splash jammer four." Lily added soon after.
I reached the bombers quickly and circled around behind them.
They're not flying at full speed. There's eight of them.
I switched to my ADM again and fired. The XB-70s accelerated in hopes of outrunning the missiles, but my ADMs were too fast. Each one hit their target.
"Splash eight XB-70s." I reported.
"A second wave of enemy bombers has penetrated our airspace!" Snake Pit reported. "This one looks on course for Quox Battalion, too!"
"Roger that." I found them on my radar and turned toward them. "I'm going to head them off now."
I didn't get the opportunity to fly at Mach 3 or higher. I relished the feeling.
"My radar hasn't cleared up. Are there still jammers out here?" Avalanche asked.
"Splash jammer five." Lily said. "Yes, but there's only one left. All of the enemy escort fighters are converging on it, so we'll need to clear a path."
"I'll fly around behind them." Shadow said. "Seraph, Avalanche, distract them."
"Roger." The two said.
"Enemy bombers approaching Quox Battalion." Lanner reported right as I circled around behind those very bombers.
There were eight, here as well. They took off at Mach 3 before I could fire, but I caught up quickly and fired my ADM. "Splash eight more XB-70s."
"A Third wave of enemy bombers has penetrated the airspace!" Snake Pit reported.
"Don't these guys ever quit?" Quox Leader said. "All tanks, spread yourselves out or they'll take us all out at once!"
"Quox, I'm shocked." I said as I turned toward the third wave. "You don't trust me to shoot them down?"
"Oh, right. With you on the job, we don't have to worry about a thing." He recovered.
"Splash final jammer." Shadow reported.
"My radar is all clear. All jammers are down." Avalanche said.
"Quite a feat under those conditions." Blizzard added.
"Shadow, Avalanche, let's round up these last few fighters and join up with Garuda 2 and the others."
"Roger that."
"Enemy bomber approaching Quox Battalion." Saker reported.
"I got 'em." I said. I was about twenty seconds away from them. I circled around behind them, but since there were only four of them this time, I didn't even bother with an ADM. I just gunned them down. They tried to escape, but they couldn't outfly me. "Splash four more XB-70s."
"Druid, what's your radar look like?" Quox Leader asked.
Druid whistled over the radio. "All clear! That's awesome! Garuda saves the day again."
"This is Snake Pit. I can confirm that all supersonic bombers are down and none are on their way."
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Blue Max cheered. "That was a little too easy."
"It's not over yet. Keep your eyes open." Sky Kid said.
I headed back toward the main group. Everyone had converged around Warlock and Quox since that was the only place left for enemies to attack.
The others shot down more of the attacking aircraft before I made it back down there. There were a few enemy squadrons left, but they didn't approach. There were too many of us for only a few stray squadrons to even think about.
"As smooth as always, Garuda. Thanks for the cover."
"...Roger! All forces ordered to evacuate. Break away from the airspace."
That sounded like an Estovakian.
"What the... The rest of the enemy aircraft is starting to back off." Marcus said.
"Well they won't get far! The chase is on!" Avalanche added.
Right then, something caught my attention. "What are those?"
"I've got something on radar." Ghost Eye reported. "That's odd... Multiple small objects flying at slow speed through the airspace."
"Whatever. Small, big. Bring 'em on." Sky Kid said.
"Other aircraft are... wait a minute. Warning! Cruise missiles incoming! All planes break!"
"What?!" Marcus asked.
Cruise missiles? Where the hell...?
I saw one of the missiles detonate at a lower altitude.
They look like...
"Missile hit at three o'clock! All aircraft stay sharp. Look out!"
"Those are the same missiles used to wipe out Gracemeria." Marcus said. He was right.
"The Nimbus is unstoppable. Aigaion, continue to engage." An Estovakian ordered.
"Marker Drones are all active. Sensory level above positive." Another Estovakian said.
That must be the Aigaion person.
"All planes, cancel offensive and retreat." Ghost Eye ordered. "Garuda Team, escort our planes out of there."
"You gotta be kidding me!" Marcus said. "How are we supposed to defend that?"
"Their missiles are being guided by observation planes. Shoot 'em down and the attack will subside. Each missiles estimated range of impact shows up on radar. The observation planes should be located right in the center of that range. Garuda Team, shoot down those observation planes. You've got to hold out until all our forces have been safely evacuated."
"Got it." I said. I engaged the closest drone and quickly shot it down.
"Splash one drone." Lily added.
"Ten observation craft remaining." Ghost Eye reported.
"These guys are unmanned."
Right as I turned toward another drone, I saw a jet black plane fly by and destroy it.
I recognize that. I've seen it in a picture.
"Seraph, Shadow, head's up." I said. "Bogey near my position. Come check it out."
"I see it." Lily said. "What is that doing here? They're playing a dangerous game."
"Do you think they are involved?" Shadow asked.
"I sure hope not."
It was a ZF-1 Apollyon.
That's a VOID aircraft. Unique shape. I wonder how good it is.
"We've lost Marker Drones 01 and 04. Revising the pattern of 03 through 09." The Aigaion Estovakian said.
"Splash drone." Shadow said.
"About half of the observation planes have been destroyed. Keep your guard up." Ghost Eye reported.
"I can feel the explosion all the way down here." One of the Emmerian ground forces said.
I spotted another observation plane and shot after it. The VOID aircraft wasn't engaging any of us, so I decided to leave it be for now.
"Ghost Eye! Have those planes evacuated yet?!" Marcus asked.
"Not yet. Evacuation's still not complete." Ghost Eye said. "Five observation craft remaining."
Shadow, Lily, and I each destroyed one right before he reported that five were left. I spotted another one and took off after it.
"Don't stop, you idiot! Do you wanna die?!" Another of our ground units called out.
"Splash another drone." I said.
"Same here." Marcus added.
"Three remaining." Ghost Eye reported.
"So that's Garuda... How could they fly through such an explosion?" The ground unit said.
"If only we coulda shot 'em down at Gracemeria." Marcus said.
"Splash a drone." Both Lily and Shadow reported together.
"Just one left."
"We've almost made it. Hang in there!" That same ground unit soldier said.
"Splash final drone." I reported.
"All operation planes are down. Well done, Garuda Team." Ghost Eye said.
"...I guess we managed to pull it off." Marcus said. "We've gotten do something about those missiles, or there won't be a Gracemeria to get back to."
"Hmm." I said right as the ZF-1 flew over us. It swerved back and forth in front of us before flying off at a high speed.
"Yami, Shadow, I recognize that insignia!" Lily suddenly shouted. "That was a member of the Archdemon Squadron."
"What? Are you serious?" I asked.
"Both of you, place your hands flat on your second screen and follow the instructions." Lily said. "I'm sending authorization codes to both of you."
"For what?" I asked. My question was answered as soon as I placed my left hand on the screen.
It read, "Restriction Lock System, input Release Code."
"Oh." Lily's code came through and the screen turned from green to blue.
It read, "Restriction Lock released."
"Alright, let's go. We can't let that plane get away."
"Garuda Team, where are you going?" Ghost Eye said.
"I'm sorry, Ghost Eye. This is Paragon business. Do not try to follow, any of you." Lily ordered.
I hit my afterburner, but it responded differently this time. The second I hit it, I was pushed back tight against my seat. I accelerated from about eight hundred miles per hour to twenty eight hundred in less than ten second. I didn't stop accelerating until I reached Mach 4.2, or a little over thirty two hundred miles per hour.
"Wow..." Ghost Eye muttered.
"What's going on?" Marcus asked.
"Those three are flying at Mach 4.2." Ghost Eye reported.
I heard a collective "What?!" from just about every pilot left behind.
We gained some ground on the ZF-1, but just before we got in range to launch AIM-120s, it sped up more.
"It's faster than us." Lily said.
"Dammit. Mach 4.2 is our top speed!" I said.
"It's dangerous, but there's an override for the automated speed limiter." She said. "We could theoretically push it higher, but..."
"There's a limiter? But we already released the lock."
"It's in place to prevent us from flying any faster. The F-15P uses the same engines as the X-03. In theory, the F-15P can fly as fast as the full speed X-03."
"Mach 5.1?" I asked.
"Right."
"Then let's have at it." I said. I looked on my blue screen and saw a small override button in the top left hand corner. I pressed it and another message popped up with confirm and deny options.
It read, "Activate Override?"
"Yami, don't! There's a reason the F-15P is limited to Mach 4.2!"
I ignored her and confirmed the override. My speed increased up to Mach 4.8, but ceased to go higher. I still couldn't catch the ZF-1.
"It's flying at Mach 5." Lily said.
"Damn it." I cursed. Just then, my speed started declining and my plane started making something of a moaning sound. "What the..."
"Yami, turn back immediately. Head back to the others."
"Roger..." I said. My speed declined to about Mach 2.5 as I turned around and I couldn't maintain my altitude, so I had to drop to twenty thousand feet. My speed kept dropping slowly until I reached our allies.
"What just happened?" Ghost Eye asked. "And don't say Paragon business."
"That mystery plane just now was from another organization that still remains secret to most of the world." Lily said.
"Hey, Lily, I've dropped to about five hundred miles per hour and my speed is still declining. I can't speed up or maintain altitude."
"You pushed your plane too far and fried the circuits going to the engines. That plane is not made to handle the full power of those engines." She said.
"So what can I do?"
"You'll have to bail out."
"No way."
"You don't have a choice." Lily said. "You better do it before you lose too much airspeed. With your circuits burnt, your engines will shut down if they haven't already."
Just as she warned me about them, they shut down. "Yep. There they go. Hey, Warlock, can you come pick me up when I bail out?"
"Sure thing, Garuda 1." Warlock Leader said. "You can ride with me until a chopper comes to get you."
"Alright. I'm gonna try to get as close as I can without dropping this thing on top of you."
I found Warlock, bailed out, and pulled my parachute. My plane went flying down into a bank of snow. It exploded on impact, unfortunately.
Such a waste.
I aimed pretty well. I floated down right in front of Warlock.
Their leader jumped out of his tank and ran up to me. "Well if it ain't Garuda! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little carried away."
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay. I owe you too much for your excellent cover! Can't have you getting discharged before I can pay you back."
"No need to worry about that. Besides, I could use a ride."
"Right this way." He said.
"Ghost Eye to Warlock Battalion, have you collected Talisman?"
"Roger, Ghost Eye, she's with us."
"Good. I've already called for Yellow Jacket to come pick her up. They should be here soon."
"I'll let her know."
His tank had just enough room for me to sit down next to him inside.
"So, it's probably gonna be a bit before your rescue chopper catches up." He pulled out a thermos from his bag. "Want some hot chocolate?"
I smiled at him.
-Post Mission-
"Thanks to your great cover, our troops were able to get through the Peaks of Selumna with only minimal damage suffered. But our unit is within range of enemy cruise missile attacks for this mission. We're doing all we can to gather intelligence on the invasion and are mulling strategy options.
"Wait for the order to come in."
-Layla-
Osean Paragon Base
1700hrs 12 February 2016 (Polaris/Ortara Time)
0100hrs 13 February 2016 (Osean Base Time)
"Kye's design is really gonna speed this up." I said. I was on the phone with General Friedmann. "And with using the Energy Pad technology she designed for the Solaris, the FX-04 will likely be unrivaled."
"That's good to hear." Friedmann said. "I'll be more than happy to deliver the data myself. I'll be there in about six hours. It's too bad she didn't finish her prototype jet engines."
"We can add that later in an upgrade. I'll see you in six hours."
"See you then, Lieutenant General."
I hung up the phone and decided it was time to tell my development lab second and third in commands. I looked around at their usual hangouts, but they were nowhere to be found.
Where the hell...
After checking their usual hangouts, I headed to the underground Development Laboratory, or DevLab for short. There were actually seven labs down there, each with their own purpose. I had a gut feeling that those two were in one of them.
I came up to the door for DevLab One. That lab was just used for general research by various members of my dev. team. DevLab Two was used for the development of the F/X-15 Paragon Eagle, or F-15P for short. It's currently not in use.
I passed the first two doors and continued down until I reached the doors for DevLabs Three and Four. Three was the lab used to develop the X-03 Dragon, and Four was the lab used to develop the F-22X Raptor, which served as a precursor to the X-03 Dragon. Three is currently in use to advance the X-03 program until it exits the experimental program, which wouldn't be too much longer. Four is no longer in official use, but a certain pair still use it to tinker with the F-22X.
DevLabs Five and Six are further down a ways. Five is currently used for development of the XF-04. Six is not in use at the moment, but has been setup for a second XF-04 lab for modifying another fighter similar to how we built the F-15P from the X-03.
DevLab Seven is at the far end of the hall, and is off limits to everyone. Kye uses it for who knows what while she's here and is adamant that I restrict access from everyone. She's even asked that I don't go inside. I could overrule her if I wanted, but I had no reason not to trust her.
With my guess that the two I was looking for were in DevLab Four, I opened the door and was greeted with loud music. I recognized the song right away. It was Don't Look Back by Boston.
Yep, they're in here.
I stepped through to the top of the stairs inside and closed the door behind me. I sighted one of the two I was looking for. He was sitting in a chair working on a laptop wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
"York!" I hollered. He didn't hear me. The blaring music was drowning out my shouts. "York!"
Dammit...
I made my way down the stairs and snuck up behind him. I cuffed my hands around my mouth and hollered next to his head. "YOOOOORRRKKK!" I startled him.
"Ack!" He fell out of his chair and looked up to see who had yelled at him. He sighed and hit a button on his remote to mute the music. "Oh. Hey, Layla."
"I assume Chizuru is around here somewhere?"
"I'm back here!" She hollered from the other side of the lab. She was out of sight, but I heard metal clunking around, confirming her position.
"What's up?" York asked.
"Something came in. I need you two up top in my office."
"Can it wait about thirty minutes? I'm just about done here." He said as he turned back to his tinkering. It looked like he was working on the weapons system for the F-22X. He had a laptop uplinked to its onboard computer.
I grabbed his ear and pulled. "Now."
"Oww!"
"Now?"
"But..."
"Now!" I commanded.
"Alright, alright! I heard you, we're coming!" He said. "Keep your panties on..."
I raised my eyebrow at him.
"That last part wasn't for you, Layla." He pointed to my left, where Chizuru was now standing, clad in a red bikini.
"Wha... H-Hey!" Chizuru blushed.
I sighed. "Is it really that hot to you two?"
"It is back there where I'm working." Chizuru said. "Yorkie was helping me back there..."
"And she said she was so hot that she was gonna lock the lab door and strip down bare. That's why I said "Keep your panties on..." to her a second ago."
"I swear, you two." I sighed again. "You're as bad as my kids when they were kids. Come on. Get dressed and meet me in my office."
"We'll be right there!" Chizuru said.
About ten minutes later, York and Chizuru waltzed right into my office.
"Ever heard of knocking?"
"You told us to come up here." York said.
"Doesn't excuse you from knocking." I said. "Oh, come on, don't give me that sour face, I'm just messing with you."
"Yeah, yeah, this better be important. I was working on the weapons system for the XF-04."
"And I was trying to fix something on our F-22Xs..."
I pulled up Kye's drawings on the large screen behind my desk. "How's this?"
Chizuru looked at the screen in awe, but York wasn't impressed.
"What's so special about the..." He paused for a moment as it sunk in. "Oh... I see. Why the hell didn't I think of that!?"
"Because you're special, Yorkie." Chizuru teased.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say..."
"I believe this just might be what we need to complete development on the XF-04." I said.
"What are those little circles? Decals?" Chizuru asked.
"Energy Pads."
"The hell are those?"
I unlocked the bottom drawer of my desk and pulled out a packet. I handed it to York and opened the locked door at the back of my office. "That's a briefing packet. Energy Pads are classified technology developed on Isle Pandora. That packet will fill you in on the details. Go inside and take a look. Come to the video conference room when you're finished."
"Roger that." York said as he and Chizuru went into my back room.
I picked up my phone and gave Allison a call.
"Yes?" She answered in a monotone voice.
"Come on, Allison, you can speak in more than one tone you know."
"..." She didn't say anything.
"Go to your video conference room in about fifteen minutes. I have something to discuss."
"Can we not do so right now?"
"There are important visuals." I said.
"I'll be there."
"Alright, talk to you soon."
She hung up the phone without another word. I sighed.
My sister... but I love her.
York and Chizuru joined me in the conference room just as the fifteen minutes passed.
"That was... something else." York said, not sure how to word his thoughts.
I called Allison on the conference monitor and soon, she and one other appeared on the screen.
"Hey." I said.
"I brought Mare with me. I assume that's acceptable." Allison said.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"York, Chizuru." Mare muttered, barely loud enough to hear.
"Mare..." York said in return.
"How have you been, working with the Demon Lord?"
"Oh, just fantastic! I feel closer to hell already. How is it with the Grim Reaper?"
The two earned raised eyebrows and rolled eyes from Allison and me.
"Just peachy!"
"Guys..." Chizuru interrupted.
"Right... right... We'll shut up now." York said.
"Alright then." I said. I sent an image of Kye's drawings to Allison. "Take a look at this."
As stoic as Allison was, even she couldn't refrain from allowing her eyes to widen at the discovery. She even smoke in a normal tone. "This... it's incredible."
"Yeah. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. We're going to need a little extra help on this, though. How soon can you two get here?"
"How much time does it take for an X-03 traveling at Mach 3.5 to fly from my base to yours?" Allison countered.
"I'll see you soon then."
Mare waved just before Allison cut the call.
"Get ready, for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode."
(A/N) The new characters that appeared in Layla's (Cipher's) narration, York Ross, Chizuru Minamoto, and Evelyn Mare Knight all belong to York2016.
Edit 26-June-2016: Trimmed Author's Notes, story marked complete.
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