A/N: This chapter isn't quite done, but I wanted to keep updated while I get at the transition and the following chapter. I'm really sorry if I haven't responded to any messages yet, I finally have some time and I'll respond after a rest!
.
.
.
«You're sure you don't want a wingman, Miss Shilage?»
"I'm sure, LT," Alma answered as she taxied the Rhino, running through the manual systems one last time. "Not like we're throwing live rounds here."
Her voice cracked a tiny bit. «You train with live ammo at Neucom?»
«Collins, don't be silly,» the UPEO boy cut in. «Mister Dision says that's a myth, always has.»
"And you believe that, Adams?" Alma joked. Manual seek was go, vision modes were go…
«…No way you'd use live,» Adams said, and when Alma heard his uncertainty she chuckled.
"We company aces have to get tough somehow, right?"
Lieutenant Adams didn't say anything to that. «Argh, you're probably just trying to psyche us out… Tower, Ash Two short of runway zero five.»
«Ash Two, cleared for takeoff runway zero five.»
«Cleared for takeoff runway zero five, Ash Two,» Adams repeated, and the engines of his S/MT Eagle flared as he gunned his throttle and soared into the air. He climbed high as he could once his gears and flaps raised, daggering up unlike Lieutenant Collins' steady rise; soon enough he leveled out, and now the tower spoke to Alma:
«Ash One, cleared for takeoff runway zero five.»
"Cleared for takeoff runway zero five, Ash One," Alma read back. Now she taxied onto the runway, tested her F-18's surfaces. All okay – so she ramped throttle steadily and climbed. She'd gotten used to the Delphinus' speeds, but this would do. Alma zoomed the AMS, found the nuggets on ranging scan: Collins waiting at a sane height at their start point, Adams orbiting a good three-thousand meters above her.
A Rhino would more than do for these kids.
Alma matched height with Collins, and spoke once she reached her start point: "Alright, refresher on the rules. You've got five minutes to kill me, and if you can't or you both go down, we start over. You get three tries. Got it?"
«Ash Two roger»/«Ash Three roger,» they answered in slight unison.
"Mark," Alma said, going to full throttle as she began her climb. Immediately she could see Adams burn past Collins and straight for her, gravity be damned (first strike); meanwhile, Collins headed for Alma's right, raising throttle but otherwise watching for Alma's first move.
An ambusher, and a VR bookworm trying to use him as bait. Definitely no war experience for either.
Alma tilted up as Adams careened towards her. She needed little angle to get him lined up: he was doing that work for her, going too fast to evade. Collins kept to her right, entering a diving turn to latch onto Alma's tail; meanwhile the radar hummed happily as Adams entered Alma's lock range.
"Fox Two," she called, and with a little curse of realization Adams rolled – quick but uselessly, the virtual missiles creating little HUD pings as the radar box vanished from his Eagle. Collins was just now climbing for her tail… Alma aimed left and barreled around her. She was over Collins when she saw the Lieutenant make a flat turn, apparently a panic turn when she saw Adams get tagged out. A fatal mistake, but they would learn.
"Fox Two," Alma said as Collins slipped into boresight, and her radar box vanished with the simulated impacts. Over a little quicker than she hoped, but longer than she expected. She waited for Collins and Adams to form up before speaking:
"You're been studying the '29 footage, Collins."
«Yes, ma'am!»
"But neither of you have been deployed, right?"
«…No, ma'am. Neither.»
"You both did well. Let's prep for next round, let me know when you're both ready."
Alma rolled, split away from Collins. Back to the start, now, and Alma turned a slow rising curve around her point, facing the two dead on as she leveled out. For a moment the lieutenants dithered; but then they came about, Adams forming element behind Collins. The pair rose, this time taking only a thousand meters' advantage.
Collins spoke for them, confidence in her voice: «Ash Two and Ash Three ready.» Good, they're working together. Using a separate frequency, too.
"Mark," Alma said, and the joust began again.
Alma throttled full, and this time so did Collins and Adams. They held steady, not diving, not turning; soon would come the time to split, and Alma seized the moment, putting a burst of afterburner as she dove to Collins' left. Both nuggets turned and dove for her – unfortunate, but expected. She rose and rolled over them, right into Collin's line (Adams was slowing for some maneuver, too late but good reflex for a rookie); Alma didn't need to watch shots to know Collins would go down, she just waited for lock, fired ("Fox Two," her voice was so sterile sometimes), and raised throttle, pulling into a diving turn. There was Adams behind her, committing to the dive with burners – very nasty habit, she would have to teach that out of him. She waited just a bit for Adams to level with her before starting her yo-yo, rolling up around again as he slipped ahead and past. But this time he sped up as Alma reached the end, leaving her aligned but out of range.
He learns fast! Good!
Adams dove into a hard turn, expecting Alma to follow; but she climbed, watching for his path, the potential moves. He was slowing into a rising turn to tail her, wary now of a head-on. Which of course would not do; Alma went low and started tracing his route, rather than directly pursue. The growl on the AMS grew deeper, the sound of the rookie raising his engines again in mistaken anticipation of a second yo-yo – she might not have had their frequency, but the moment Alma crossed below Adams, she could nearly hear him swear as he jinked.
Adams fell wonderfully into position, and once more Alma said "Fox Two", blowing him away.
"Again," she told them. "Much better. Now focus on keeping each other alive."
«Ma'am, you say that like we won't even get a hit,» Adams grumbled. And that tone was unexpected, made her giggle. He wasn't breathing like he should, that was two strikes… but that frustration, that was undoubtedly life!
She smiled. "Training or not, you're gonna have to earn your kills."
«Ma'am?» Collins asked.
"Hm?"
«Can we use your frequency this time?»
Another handicap, sounds interesting. "Sure," Alma said. "And you can call me Chief, you know."
«Yes, Chief!»
Collins and Adams were forming back up, Collins again taking lead.
«Ready?» Collins asked.
«Ready,» said Adams.
«Ash Two and Three ready!» Lieutenant Collins near-shouted.
And one last time Alma said: "Mark."
The pair zoomed at her this time, not daring to let Alma ambush them again. Once they were about three seconds out from her, they split level above both her flanks, immediately confessing their strategy but at least permitted to perform it: Adams to her left, Collins to her right. Not diving, just waiting above to make her pick. She had to see more from Collins, she'd have to mess with Adams this time.
Alma rose to her left, readying for the merge when Collins spoke. «Chief?»
"Hm?"
«Do you have a callsign?» she said as she proceeded to curve into Alma's tail. No throttle noise on the AMS: the Lieutenant would watch them fight and then try to poke Alma out of position.
"Not now…" Alma said, "But in the EAF they called me Clover." Adams kept up their game of chicken, sticking head-on; he came closer and closer, but not yet in range. "You?"
«'Tail',» Collins responded. «Since I'm always on someone's ass.» Adams entered lock range, and instantly he popped off two missiles for a lark («Fox Two!» loud and a tiny bit nervous), switching to the sim guns when Alma didn't veer off then. And still she drew closer, the bullets nowhere near close enough to hit… eventually she split hard towards the horizon, drawing a thankful sigh from Adams as he turned towards Alma's Rhino. Collins kept up: «Why – hhaah – why 'Clover', ma'am?»
"Four's bad luck," Alma answered easily. She might not have been behind him, but unfortunately for Adams she wasn't quite in his line, either – she turned only enough to dodge, making the Lieutenant cross over her, then Collins. Now he and Chief Shilage danced a spiral along the horizon, Adams descending and begging his Eagle to just pull up and reach her, Alma ascending and watching him zip helplessly past. He was braking, to his credit.
"Still with me, Tail?" Alma asked while she looked up towards Adams.
«Yes, ma'am!»
Alma curled behind the Lieutenant. He lay under her boresight, radar box going red as if approving the shot; but now the AMS rumbled throaty, Collins making her move. Time to slow down; Alma fired once ("Fox Two") while dipping into a sharp climb. There was a little curse from Adams as her shot landed.
«…Huh?» Collins grunted as she followed. «Rook, back me, she's climbing.»
Alma started braking. "Rook? The piece or the bird?"
«Because he's new,» Collins – no, Tail – responded (still full throttle, no need for cobra). «The cool guys –» Alma stalled towards the earth and Tail winced as she tried to follow – «ugh, they don't get cool names, right?»
«Wait, you think I'm –»
«Later! Get her now!»
Alma gradually aimed towards Adams, let the turn push her deeper into her seat; he fired an early salvo again, immediately rising when she replied with another lone shot. Tail had now gotten Alma in her sights, but was still far away; she was about to bounce from Adams –
When his Eagle began a drift. He was angling for her. His plane – his body – fighting the air and the earth and his own force to get a bead on her. He fired. He fired again. Whatever their fate they did not hit but he held down guns and she felt his nervousness become fear even as the rounds struck home and –
Alma grinned.
Corner up then into him. The trick butchered his airspeed he'd have to dive. Reached the apex of the climb now the turn and Adams was still diving Rook was still diving he recovered from the dive into horizon run all afterburn and not a thought to escaping her and his fear was good and human she launched her missile what was Rook what was Adrian but no time he wasn't evading
Her missile 'slammed' into Rook, and his box vanished again in simulated death.
Alma was breathing. She noticed she was breathing, now that it was just Tail behind her. Finally approaching lock range, the radar warning popping amidst Alma's HUD...
But no time.
«…Damnit,» Rook said in a little grumble. «Time's up.»
«Are you kidding!?» The radar warning vanished as Tail glided past Alma, and as she fell in behind her the Lieutenant sighed. «Sorry, Chief…»
"No, you did well. Very well."
«But… we didn't kill you. Right?»
"Maybe not," Alma replied, "but one of you survived. And together, one of you hit me." Her lips. Her lips were dry. She licked them and looked behind:
Two Eagles against clouds set black by sunset.
"You'll both be great," she said with a faint smile. "Let's get to base."