Ace Combat 6: Garuda's Angel

Chapter Nine: The Heavy Command Cruiser

Fuscum Sea

Above Glaiva Islands

"Attention all fighters, the Refueling Operation is still in progress. Maintain course and speed." Kristen was silent, preparing her emotions for the onslaught that was ahead. She hoped Strigon was amongst them.

Now she had to take John's place. "All fighters, prepare to engage. Intel indicates there are several other airships in this fleet that lend tactical support to Aigaion. And we don't have much time before the Estovakians counter-attack Warlock's position, so we will have to shut this thing down quickly." She continued to fly forward. Her mind contemplating the first time she meet John Renolds, when she saw him again at the air force academy, and finally, how he died.

"Talisman." Lanner stated. "You don't have to take up all this alone. We're with you till the end." Each of the pilots began to agree with Lanner, and all Talisman could saw was "Thank you, all of you." Kristen stated. True the squadrons, and their pilots, had their quirks. But each of them came through for each other. And Major Renolds' loss could not be any more harder on these pilots that what it was now. "I'm with you too Talisman." Shamrock said.

Kristen smiled and nodded at her side, to the person she trusted as wingman. Their lives were now in her hands. She had to command them, she had to lead by example, and she had to write the letters telling families that their sons and daughters would not be coming home. She followed Major Renolds to the Air Force Academy because she hated the fact that he left her for that, now she knew, he really didn't leave her, and he was surprised that she followed him to the Academy. When she arrived at the academy, he bet her that she couldn't keep up with becoming a fighter pilot. She never backed down from a challenge.

"All Squadrons, this is Ghosteye. We've picked up Aigaion. It's less than five minutes in front of you." Kristen looked into the distance and then started singing a song. 'A Brand New Day' She thought the title was. The strange thing was, she had her radio on and the rest of the pilots began singing also. It was mainly to calm her nerves, but it appeared that the song offered something else for these pilots to think about than the fact that this may be their last battle.

Finally, she saw it in the distance, and the singing died down. "My God, it is massive." One of the pilots mentioned. Kristen then spoke, "But it isn't invincible. It was made by man, It can be unmade." She then spoke, "All fighters, pick your targets for a missile volley. We're going to nail it from the front, and then from behind."

"Understood Major!" The Squadrons awknowledged as the fighters approached the Aerial Battleship. "Alright, fire on my mark." Kristen began to hear enemy comms as the squadron shot past six Estovakian Tankers. "Where did all these fighters come from!" The Stovie officer responded. Kristen smiled, "We're angels stovie-boy. We've came from heaven to send you to hell. Mark!" The Squadron fired a full barrage of missiles toward the aerial fleet. Explosions erupted on several of the fleet airships. "Arm all batteries, scramble Strigon team!" The Battleship's Commander stated.

"Yes, come out and dance with the angels Strigon. This time we settle the score." Kristen stated. "Shamrock Focus on those flak turrets on Aigaion's spine. I'll go after these ECM Aircraft." She approached one of the ECM Aircraft and fired at its nose. The first ECM array was down, she then broke off and came around to attack the Kottos again Taking aim toward its tail, she unleashed a hail of firepower on the Kottos. "Aigaion, we've lost our ECM!" The Kottos Aircraft responded.

Kristen overheard one of the Strigon Pilots speaking. "We're launching, get that out of the way." Kristen maneuvered her fighter just under the Aigaion, there was only one way they could launch fighters. The Stirgon's launched, one by one. She got a lock on one and fired a missile toward him. "Stirgon Twelve, Missile Right behind you!" The warning came too late. Kristen spoke. "Opps. Dammit, hit the fire missile button again. My bad, all my bad." She quipped. She began to tail one of the Strigons that had just barely launched. "C'mon, keep up with me you bastards. Lets see how you dance." She engaged the Strigons with the other fighters, and it seemed as if the Strigons were engaging in long drawn-out dogfights. Luring the fighters away from the Aigaion. "Squadron's don't get too seperated from each other." She said as she was dogfighting with one of the Strigons.

"Hold still you." She could feel the G's putting weight on her body. At some points, her body was completely weightless, and at others, she wanted to puke. She kept herself from dowing so, and finally she got a solid lock. A missile fired at the Strigon and it impacted near the tail. Sending the fighter careening into the ocean. She twisted to loose the Strigon that got behind her. Cutting her speed with the airbrakes until the Strigon appeared in her sights. Even without a gun lock. He was close enough to score a direct hit. She fired and the SU-37 before her began to fly apart. She preformed a barrel roll to evade the crumbling flanker. "That's three, six of them left."

She had more Flankers to deal with., one managed to gain a hit on one of her squadron, and she began to tail that one. "Oh no you don't." The G's wracked her again as she maneuvered for a kill-shot. Finally, she noticed a flanker in the distance, heading right for her. She veered off and began to charge the incoming flanker. It fired a missile, Kristen rolled to evade it and settled her sights on the flanker. A missile launched from the Eagle and it hit the flanker's nose dead on. "Strigon Nine, Strigon Six? Where are you?" Kristen didn't respond, the demon within had taken hold. One by one, the number of Strigons were decreasing.

"My god, what is she? It's like we're fighting a demon out here." One Strigon noted. Finally, Kristen picked up radio chatter from the Aigaion. "Bring out the Nimbus." She checked her Radar. "Damn! Stay near the Aigaion, they won't fire those missiles nearby their own vessel. Kristen shot toward the Aigaion at full speed, and finally. The Aigaion launched. She evaded the explosions well enough, but more of the squadron were vaporized. "All fighters, stay near the Aigaion." She said as she forced two Strigon's into chasing her. Kristen set her sights on one of the Gyges Aircraft and sliped between its dual wings. The Strigon tried to do the same thing, but he was a little off and it resulted in the Strigon loosing his wings and spiraling to the ground. "Strigon 5!" Kristen then spoke. "Two left!" She began to push herself again. Until finally she got a gun lock. She fired her guns and the guns managed to hit the cockpit. The Fighter began to spiral out of control in a tailspin as its pilot was now deceased.

"One left." Kristen stated. She was loosing energy by the moment. She had engaged a great deal of the Strigons to cover the attack on the Aigaion, but even she had her limit. "Goodbye Demon." Finally, the last Strigon was shot to pieces. Shamrock moved to Kristen's side. "Talisman, are you still with us?"

Kristen took some deep breaths. "Yes, Shamrock, I'm here. Lets focus on Aigaion and the Aerial Battleships. All fighters, press the attack." As the battle was raging on, more fighters launched ordinance toward the Aigaion and its fleet. They were taking steady damage. One of the Gyges Aircraft finally burst into a massive fireball. Kristen approached behind one of the Kottos Aircraft and fired a missile into its engine block. Firing more rounds into the engine block, the Kottos began to fall from the sky. Toward one of the islands. "We're taking them down, attack squadron, turn up the pressure and they'll break soon."

Onboard the Aigaion, the commanding General couldn't believe what was happening. Strigon was defeated, A Kottos and Gyges was downed, and now the Aigaion was taking heavy damage.

"Sir! We've lost another Gyges, our remaining escort is reporting critical damage!" One of the officers stated. The General looked out the viewport. It was her. This Kristen Landsford. The Angel of Garuda. This was her doing, it was all her doing. The anger in the General increased, combined with desperation. He then spoke. "Deploy the Nimbus, destroy her! Crush her! Annihalate her."

"Sir! You'll destroy us too." The General rushed over to fire control. "I don't care!" He threw an officer from his post. "Yes, Time to die Garuda! Time to die Angels. Time to die Emmeria." He started launching nimbus missiles everywhere.

Kristen spoke, "God Almighty! Evade!" She evaded as the missiles were shot out everywhere. Some even impacted near the last remaining Kottos escort. "Aigaion, what are you doing! Hold your fire! Hol..." The last Kottos was destroyed. Kristen spoke, "My God, they're firing on themselves."

"Yes, Garuda, you will die. Die, die, die, die, die." The Crazed voice stated. Aigaion started firing missiles that homed directly in on Garuda One. Kristen evaded, but she still had several missiles on her tail. "Yes that's it. Time for a little return-to-sender." She turned toward the front of Aigaion and began to approach its landing bay. She shot through it with the burst missiles in pursuit. They all exploded in Aigaion's landing bay.

"No!" The crazed voice from Aigaion's bridge yelped. "This Airship is invincible! Invincible." Kristen moved around toward the front again. "You are a weak and pitiful Emmerian Dog. You are Pathetic!" The General screamed at the top of his lungs. "You are!"

"Oh, Shut up." Kristen stated as she launched her last missile at Aigaion's cockpit. The Missile burst through the cockpit and took the general by surprise. An explosion erupted from Aigaion's Cockpit as the entire Airship began to be consumed by secondary explosions and trailing smoke. Kristen surveyed the damage to the airship.

The Aigaion began to descend toward the ground, smoke and fire trailing it, and debris breaking off. Finally its left wing broke off. "Back to the sea you go." Shamrock said. "May you rest... in quiet slumber."

Kristen watched, the thing that she hated the most, fall into the ocean. This machine of war drove her from her home, separated her from the people she loved the most, and took away her life for just war. She hated it. "Burn in hell you bastards." She could only say. "C'mon pilots, lets head back for San Loma."

Kristen's F-15 powered down to the cheers of the soldiers outside. More than a few shouts of joy could be heard, as well as the whistling from several members of the crowd. "Talisman, you did it!"

Avalanche stated as he rushed over to Talisman, all she could do was smile. "Yes, 'we' did it" she mentioned, making sure the entire squadron got the credit. After all, it was what Renolds would do. "Hey, we all saw it, you were the one that got the kill Talisman." Shamrock stated.

"The kill belongs to us all pilots!" She grabbed one of the champagne bottles that Sky Kid ran up with. "Viva Gracemeria Baby!" She shouted as she shook the champagne and opened it. Several other pilots opened the rest of the bottles and began downing them.

Kristen walked through the hanger, filled with coffins, bearing the Emmerian Flag. She walked toward a podium and stepped on it. "We are here to say goodbye to the men and women who gave their lives so that we could live our lives in freedom. I knew these men and women well, some of them I didn't know very well, others I barely knew at all. But what bonded us together was the common cause we were fighting for. What personified us was our loyalty to each other. Upon this airfield, we will erect a memorial here to those who sacrificed their lives for our cause. I will now read the names of those who will adorn this memorial." She picked up a clip board and began reading names. She wanted this task, so she'd remember everyone who fought here till her last day. She felt that it was her duty to say every name. "Lt. Martin Anderson, Captain Feilx Bartholomew..." She finally got to one of the names she knew well. "Major John Renolds..." She continued on, and it was not easy to say the names, but it was her responsibility.

"This is Diane Fielding with Breaking News." The reporter stated.

"Today, Emmerian Forces defeated the Estovakian Aerial Fleet. Compsoed of several large airships, along with the Estovakian Aerial Carrier and Battleship Aigaion. This news was greeted with jubilation by both the Yuktobanian and Osean governments. As well as the Emmerian Government who has officially announced that the war in Emmeria has turned against the Federal Republic of Estovakia."

The News caster continued. "The Squadron credited with the Aigaion's destruction is the twenty-eight Fighter Squadron, also known as Garuda team, which has proven to be the premier squadron of the war in Emmeria. Morale has skyrocketed in the Emmerian Military as Aigaion's destruction has put the Emmerians on equal terms with the Estovakian Military."

"In wake of Aigaion's Destruction, The Osean Federation, once again, has called upon Estovakia to remove its forces from Emmeria and approach Emmerian officials for cease-fire talks. Military Analysts note that Emmeria's Military strength will gain momentum with the recent liberation of San Loma."

"This is Diane Fielding for OSN News." The Reporter Finished.

"This is unacceptable General Sokovich!" One of the Generals stated in a yelling voice. "It was you who suggested that Aigaion would 'deal' with this, now Major, Kristen Landsford. Now she has destroyed Aigaion, along with half of strigon team, and it is because 'you' underestimated her!"

General Sokovich spoke. "Relax, this is a setback, but we still have other plans moving forward that Major Landsford would be powerless against. We still have 'it'."

"No... It's untested. Chandelier is not ready. We don't know what will happen if we use it." One of the Generals stated. Sokovich responded. "Perhaps you're right, but Chandelier is a backup solution to the Emmerian problem. We still have the 'neutralizer.'"

"No.. We can't do it! If we do it, Osea and Yuktobania will not keep their silence. They will come an invade! Both of them! Our people will rebel if we use bioweapons!" Sokovich spoke, "Silence!" He roared. "Find out everything you can about Major Landsford. Even she has a weak point, all humans do. We can use that to bring her down. We'll destroy her, everything she is, everything she values, everything she holds dear."

"Yes... General Sokovich."

Author's Note: Next Stop Ragno Fortress. Might take till Friday