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Chapter Fourteen: By a Hairsbreadth
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While the Hogosha struggled to get its remaining defenders into the air, Rei Fukai found himself flying through a hurricane of bullets. The wounded Type-V was still clinging to Yukikaze's six o'clock as though tethered to it, spraying armor-piercing projectiles at them.
"FAF unit, this is Ranger Two! You've got a bogey right on your six! Break away!"
"What do you think we're trying to do?" Rei shot back. "B-3, Yukikaze, requesting assistance!"
"Copy that! This is Ranger Four, I'm on my – Dammit, scratch that! Two bogeys on my tail! Gotta shake 'em off before I can get to you, B-3!"
"Damn!" Rei snarled, rolling hard right as the Type-V let loose another flurry of crystal bullets. The plane jolted as at least one connected with Yukikaze's left tail fin.
WARNING
MANEUVERABILITY 86%
"Come on!" Rei shouted. Although Yukikaze still had full maneuvering control, she was aware as Rei shoved her joystick down. Taking the hint, she dropped into a sharp, high-speed dive. The Type-V followed, its forward-swept wings swinging inward, giving it a narrower delta-shape as it roared down after them. Rei recognized the fierce violet pattern flashing on the JAM's cracked armor. Suicide run – it's using itself as a missile! Can't let it get too close….
As the jet-black water rushed up to meet them, and the JAM closed in from behind, Rei's eyes fixed on the altimeter. 100 meters … 80 … 50 … now! "Pull up!" he cried, yanking back hard on the stick. In response, Yukikaze's variable-slant wings tilted back, acting as airbrakes while pitching her nose up. The Earth fighter pulled out at the last possible moment, seawater spraying out from beneath her.
The Type-V wasn't so lucky. With its wings tucked in and engines screaming at maximum thrust, the JAM hit freezing ocean waves at supersonic velocity. At such speeds, the force of impact shattered its armored crystalline airframe like a dinner glass hitting concrete. A bright orange fireball erupted over the water, spewing propellant, steam and shrapnel into the air just a few meters behind Yukikaze's tail.
YOU HAVE CONTROL, Lt.
Rei took a deep breath, his heart still hammering in his chest. "Bogey dispatched! Returning to support Rangers."
"This is Hogosha to B-3! Rei, can you hear me?"
"Jack? When did you come out of retirement?"
"Five minutes ago, when they realized that you and I are the only ones who actually know how to fight JAM. Listen, Rei, there are nine of them left, and they're all after you and the other two fighters."
"No, Jack, they're after me and Yukikaze. I'm gonna go back and draw them away from the other fighters, then lead them away from the fleet. You've got to warn the UN, Jack: the JAM aren't using a Passageway anymore. They're right here on Earth!"
"No kamikaze heroics today, Rei. Hogosha is launching two squadrons of fighter-bombers. If you and the other two ADF fighters can lead the JAM back this way, within missile range of the STOVL's, then we'll handle them. Can you do that?"
Rei checked Yukikaze's status. "Some of our control surfaces are damaged. We may not be able to outmaneuver them for long. We're gonna have to come straight toward the carrier. Can you take them all out at once if we draw them in?"
"Flight control says so. Just lead 'em to us, and don't get yourself killed. Got that?"
"Roger. Make sure you roll out the welcome mat for us."
"Copy that. Just like old times, huh?"
"Old times? I've only been out of action five days, remember?"
"Heh, right. You're gonna have to teach me that time warp trick; it'd save me a lot of aggravation on long commutes."
"Only if you want to arrive five years late for your appointment …."
Yukikaze sounded an alert tone:
WARNING
TYPE II X 2
APPROACHING
"All right. Jack, I've got two of them closing in; I'll bring them right to you. Rangers, are you still out there?"
"Ranger Two, that's affirmative."
"Ranger Four, still breathin'. You got any bright ideas, Fairy boy?"
"Hogosha's sending up some STOVL's. Get the JAM to follow you, then lead them toward the carrier."
"This is Ranger Two. Say again? You want us to act as bait?"
"Heh heh! These alien bastards won't know what hit 'em! Count me in, B-3!"
"All right." Rei glanced at the HUD, which showed the two Type-IIs converging on him. "Catch me if you can," he muttered, then shoved the throttle control forward as far as it would go.
MODE
RAM-AIR
Pulling in her wings, Yukikaze reconfigured herself once more for high-speed flight, wings pivoting back from forward-swept to backward-swept configuration. Behind her, the pair of Type-IIs shifted their secondary wings into extensions of the primary one, reducing aerodynamic drag as they gave chase.
WARNING
MISSILE LOCK DETECTED
Oh no you don't, Rei thought. Hitting a button on Yukikaze's console, he released one of the two countermeasure packages at the rear of her fuselage. Chaff and flares filled the air in their wake, throwing off the JAM missiles' targeting. Just a few more minutes ….
"Ranger Four to Hogosha! Guess who's comin' to dinner …!"
"This is Ranger Two, I have two bogeys on my tail. Executing evasive maneuvers."
"This is Hogosha, we copy that. Reel 'em in, boys!"
As the chaff dispenser emptied itself, Rei's indicator light began flickering as the JAM tried to lock back onto Yukikaze. Rather than using up the last of her countermeasures, Rei rolled hard right, evading their pursuers. The alien fighters followed behind him, riding Yukikaze's slipstream…
…Straight into the path of the JDS Kashu's anti-aircraft guns. In typical machine fashion, the pilotless fighters had become fixated on their target. They had completely ignored their proximity to the UN escort ships. Having already dealt serious damage to them earlier, the JAM no longer considered them a threat.
Now, with their sensors and targeting computers back online, the UN ships were ready to strike back. Bloodied but far from beaten, the still-burning Kashu let loose against its attackers. 50mm rotary cannons blazed away, shredding the nearest Type-II while its wingman tried to climb up and out of range.
RDY AAM
Still trying to evade the Kashu's guns, the JAM was caught by surprise as Yukikaze launched a medium-range air-to-air missile at it. As if computing the futility of its actions, the machine seemed to cease its evasive maneuvering. A split-second later, Yukikaze's missile and the Kashu's AA fire converged upon it, blasting the Type-II into oblivion.
"This is Ranger Four, the bogeys on my tail just broke off. Looks like they're givin' up!"
"This is Ranger Two, same here." Then, a moment later: "Oh, crap! B-3, look out! They're not giving up – they're all coming after you!"
Rei tried to remember how many were left. Six Type-Is and another Type-V? The Type-Is we could handle, but these new fighters… "B-3 to Hogosha, we've got seven units on our tail. We're bringing them straight toward you. Get those fighters ready!"
"All right, Rei. Be careful!"
This is gonna be close, Rei thought, gritting his teeth as he pushed Yukikaze's engines to their limit. Dropping down to just ten feet above the water, the screaming fighter used ground-effect to keep herself aloft, pulling in their wings as much as possible to reduce drag.
On the screen, Rei watched the remaining JAM closing in behind them. The Type-Is formed up into a spread-out delta formation, while the Type-V stayed back at the rear. The new dual-processor flyer apparently planned to use the less-intelligent ones to soften up its prey.
Not enough missiles to take them all down. It's all up to the ADF now. All Rei and Yukikaze could do was continue forward, as the Hogosha grew rapidly in front of them.
WARNING
MULTIPLE MISSILE LOCKS
DETECTED
"Tiger Leader, I've got a lock!"
"Viper Leader, locked on target!"
"Tiger Four, fox two!"
"Viper Three, fox two!"
A barrage of missiles streaked overhead, heading back the direction Yukikaze had just come from. Suddenly facing two squadrons of Earth fighter-bombers, the Type-Is scattered, their top priority switching from pursuit to evasion. As Yukikaze spread her wings and rose back into the air, Rei watched her radar screen with relief. One by one, red triangles winked out of existence. The JAM were being picked off by medium-range missiles.
All except the Type-V.
Coming about, Yukikaze turned to face the last JAM flyer. Stripped of its escorts, the alien craft flashed a bright crimson pattern. Rei interpreted it as a hateful scowl, directed at them. The JAM seemed to pause in midair, weighing its options while floating on its VTOL exhaust.
Yukikaze did not pause. Plane and pilot acted in unison: flashing their own scarlet pattern, roaring with engines and audio speakers, the composite life-form launched itself at its last opponent, arming its remaining missiles and locking them all onto the Type-V. Behind it, the Earth aircraft did the same, laser designators lighting up the forward half of the JAM with nearly a dozen green pinpricks.
Before Yukikaze had a chance to fire, the JAM's armor went completely black. With a sudden whoosh, the alien fighter vanished, icy Antarctic air rushing in to fill the space it had just occupied.
"This is Tiger Two. Did anyone else just see that?"
"Viper Five to Tiger Two, copy that. The damn thing just disappeared!"
Rei glanced down at Yukikaze's radar screen. A single red triangle was there: sixty miles away, fleeing the area at above Mach 4. Then the blip vanished again, completely out of range this time. "Short-range teleportation," he said on the ADF frequency. "It's leapfrogging away from us."
"Teleportation? You gotta be kidding me."
"I'm not. B-3 to Hogosha, can you track it?"
"That's a negative, B-3. The time between jumps must be too short for our long-range radar to register it."
"Damn coward! He just cut and ran!"
Rei sighed, his heartbeat gradually slowing now that the danger had passed. "All right. This is B-3; bogey last spotted headed northwest, grid bearing two-eight-four degrees at Mach 4-plus." It's running. That means it has somewhere to run home to, Rei decided. Otherwise, it would have just made a suicide attack or self-destructed.
LOW FUEL
"Jack, we're going to need to land in a minute."
"Roger that, B-3. You're clear to land. Rangers, how are you two doing out there?"
"Pretty low on gas ourselves, but we can wait. Hell, that guy deserves a medal for taking on all those JAM things! He must've downed at least fifteen of them by himself!"
"No kidding. For a second … never mind. I must have been seeing things. I didn't even know there was anyone in that plane when it took off."
Rei felt a little smile forming. Nobody but the most advanced CI on Earth, he thought to himself. But then she came back to pick me up. "This is B-3 to Hogosha, we're on approach. Stand by to receive us."
"Deck crew standing by. Come on home, Rei."
As Yukikaze made her approach back toward the carrier, Rei recalled some very similar words she had "spoken" to him, just a few hours earlier. Of course, the verb had been "go", not "come".
Rei glanced toward Yukikaze's cockpit camera. The violet lens gave a soft electric whir, meeting his gaze.
As long as I'm with you, Rei thought, I am home.
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Technology/Military Jargon:
STOVL = Short TakeOff Vertical Landing. Ideal for short runways – like a carrier without a working steam catapult.
Ship names:
Kousen = Guardian
Kanshisha = Battle
Kashu = Singer
Araijin = arai + jin = "wild" + "man"
(all from the English-to-Japanese translator at freedict[dot]com – any corrections would be appreciated, if needed)
By the way,
Yukikaze = yuki + kaze = Snow + Wind
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