Hello everyone. This is part 2 of the four part battle I've come to call the Islands Reclaimation. I hope you all enjoy the story and as always, please rate and review! Also, the re-write of the first twelve chapters is finished so now the story flows more uniformly. Check it out!
As always, music inspires me to write some areas. The air battles over Tall Plains and the fleet was the result of listening to 'Go Wildcats'; the fighter plane theme for Batlestations: Pacific for the Xbox 360. The song is on Youtube. Check it out when ya'll get the chance!
Plus for anyone wondering, the island battles, with the exception of Concurrent Skies, are taking place at the same time. Storywise, it was only ten minutes earlier that the Dante's Freezer forces deployed in their boats.
Also another big Thank you to Necron Dragon Lord of DA and Cameo 647 for the artwork of Thera. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I cannot find the words to express my thanks.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE, ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 22 Part II: Tall Plains
The escort carrier lurched suddenly to starboard as a particularly large wave struck the port side of the ship. Reyson found himself tossed from his bunk on board the Gandarewa and landed, hard, on the metal floor. Needless to say Reyson was quickly awakened by the feeling of cold steel slapping his face. The first thing he was aware of was three loose teeth, and feeling as if he'd joined his father for one of his drinking games; the second was the members of his squadron laughing at his epic faceplant.
As he picked himself up, he felt someone grab him and heave him up to his feet. The lilt in the voice told him immediately it was Jefferson.
"Well lieutenant, how'd you like your first and hopefully last taste of steel?"
Reyson spat, then glared at the smiling pilot.
"Tasted like shit, which is about what you look like."
This sent Jefferson and the rest of the squadron laughing again. The laughter was short lived as another wave, this one from the starboard sent both Rayson and Jefferson flying into the metal hatch to their quarters. As soon as Reyson stopped hearing bells in his head, the hatch opened up and in stepped Captain Barker. He took one look at Reyson and shook his head dismissively.
"Lieutenant, you mean to tell me you haven't gotten your sea legs yet, hells bells man, I'm a cavalry officer, and already I can handle the strongest wave and still remain standing. No matter. Lieutenant, I have just recieved your orders. As we are still many miles out, your squadron will be taking off and performing recon over the Tall Plains. Your mission is to look for any little surprises Dalon's forces may have hidden there and also to identify any POW camps Dalon may have in the area. Expect a moderate prisoner of war presence as Sir Kain has stated that several of his people are still captive. Once you locate the targets, you are to mark them on this map the Warfang cartographers made for us and then return to the carrier. If you are attacked, you have permission to engage enemies if you come under attack. For the purpose of fast recon and quick withdrawal, your P-4s have been upgraded by order of Lord General de Launces. They now have the M25A engine instead of the standard M10G engine. This means your planes can fly roughly 115 m.p.h. That's roughly 20 m.p.h. faster than the older model. Your wing takes off in ten minutes."
With that, Barker executed a perfect about-face, and stepped out of the quarters, his heavy boots making a loud thump, thump, thump as he proceeded down the hallway. Reyson turned back to the squadron and motioned for them to rouse themselves and then he too turned and stepped out of the room.
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Volteer woke up on the deck of the Sublime after sunning himself for a moment. He had insisted in coming here to Tall Plains for the sole reason to see the human weapons at work and see what they were capable of. Surrounding him were several dragons of the Southlands and the Dracocorps. He immediately began contemplating what the human's first move would be in this area. His thoughts were answered when the alarm over on the carrier the humans called the Gandarewa and as he looked over, he saw several people running about. The dragons on the deck also found their attention drawn to the noise. The atlawa, including Kain, came out on deck of the transport to see what was going on.
Flags went up along the mast of the bridge and a few moments later, the elevator lifted up several planes Volteer immediately recognized as those of the Havvers' human's squadron. Interested, Volteer took off and flew over to the carrier to see the preperations.
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"CONTACT!"
Came the shout of the mechanic as he pulled hard on the propellor on Reyson's plane. He cranked the engine on the first try and then Reyson pushed the throttle up to full power, only the strong cable attached to the rear kept the plane from flying off the deck prematurely. As Reyson was about to give the order, he saw Volteer flying over and hovering by the carrier with an interested expression. He then looked to the mechanic.
"Release the cable!"
The mechanic nodded and began waving a green flag at a small position that was embedded in the deck but away from the center line.
"Shooter ready? Set. FIRE!"
A red light flashed on the deck and the crew on deck ran back from the plane. A chain link released and the cable shot from the plane. The aircraft shot forward and launched straight from the deck. Reyson let the plane go forward for a moment, then pulled back on the stick and the plane began to climb rapidly.
Sparing a glance behind him, Reyson saw that Dexter and Jefferson were up as well and that the twins were on the deck prepping. He motioned for the wing to fly a C.A.P (Combat Air Patrol) until the twins were up. Then they'd break from the carrier and proceed to mission.
Reyson took a moment to look at the Tall Plains islands, they looked so beautiful and serene. A literal 'calm before the storm'. He knew that despite the islands beauty, there was a hornet's nest waiting beyond the clouds.
The roar of two more engines told him the twins had joined them. He looked to his wing and motioned for them to take a wedge formation and proceed to targets.
Dexter and Jefferson formed up on his left, the twins on his right. Of all the planes, Jefferson's blood red fury was the only one that really stood out. Jefferson had further cutomized his plane by painting an old phrase on his aircraft.
'Dominus mea est fortitudo', The Lord is My Strength.'
Truer words could never have been spoken or written. The saying was a popular religious saying that meant that all time ends, whether we wish it or not. The fact Jefferson put this on his plane was just another show of his strong religion and his beliefs. Nor was he the only one to have religious quotes on his plane. Reyson could count roughly eighty pilots he had trained with who had religious quotes of some sort on their planes, as if they were deterents for any misfortune. Reyson smiled slightly at the religious attitude of several members of the Aerocorps.
(Only with fear of death do many begin to believe.)
These were the words his father had told him back when Havvers was still a training officer for the Dragoons and the Launces guard. He allowed himself a few more moments to reminise before he saw the islands open up before him.
Reyson motioned for his wingmen to drop to a lower altitude to better view the island. As he pushed forward on the stick, the altimeter dropped from 380ft to 160ft. He then motioned for his wing to split up in order to cover more area. He went on alone towards a mountain range. As soon as he was clear of the first mountain, he saw a small internment camp on the plains below.
Taking a small pencil, he marked the location on the map and banked right towards the waterfall.
As he approached, he saw another camp, this one was smaller, however, it seemed to have twice as many prisoners as the other one. Reyson immediately knew what was happening.
(My God, they are herding the civilians together like cattle! This is monsterous!)
Reyson heard a low drumming noise and turned to see if a member of his squadron had rejoined him, however, what he saw was a black aeroplane with markings he identified as Dalon's crest. Wasting no time, he banked hard right and dove, loading his guns as he went.
The pilot of the captured Gnorc fighter was obviously experienced, as he followed Reyson's maneuver to a tee. He was trying to line up a clear shot on Reyson's tail!
Reyson quickly reversed his turn and rolled just as the fighter opened up with his guns. Reyson could feel the wind of the bullets pass close to him as they missed the plane entirely. He stomped hard on the rudder and brought the plane around. Despite the Gnorc aeroplane being made of what was apparently a lightweight metal, it was no match for the maneuverablility of the P-4.
Reyson swiftly brought his fighter in behind the enemy and opened fire. Bullets ripped through the air and smashed into the planes' left wing, tail, and engine. Smoke began pouring from the plane as it began to drop, spiraling as it fell. A few moments later, the plane impacted the ground and exploded.
Before Reyson could celebrate however, a loud shriek pierced the sky and gave him a sense of worry and dread. He turned to see three large bat-like creatures flying up from the camp to attempt an attack.
(An unknown enemy is worst than a known one,) Reyson thought, (I'd best get back to the carrier and report this new enemy.)
As he turned, he saw Brooks flying very fast in his direction with roughly six of the same creatures on his tail. As they got closer, Reyson could see figures sitting on the creatures as if they were riding them. At that moment, the twins appeared, diving from the sky and raking two of the three creatures on Reyson's tail. They shrieked once and plummeted from the sky, folding up like accordians.
The sight of this made the thr=ird one have second thoughts and, despite the obvious anger of it's master, turned and fled. However, the six creatures following Brooks were not as easily frightened. They swooped and attempted to latch onto Brooks' upper wing, however, nefore they got close, Jefferson was there, coming at an angle, firing as he dived.
He dealt grazing wounds to three of the beasts and severely wounded two more. The last one broke off it's attack and turned to face the new assailant. Jefferson's blood red fury screamed from the sky as he fired yet another burst at the incoming creature. The burst missed but it had the desired effect, the beast and rider both balked and fled, joining it's wounded comrades and slinking away.
As the wing rejoined, Reyson gave the signal to return to base. As they passed over the beach that was supposed to be the landing zone, Reyson saw what looked to be gun emplacements and possibly a minefield. Marking it on his map, he then turned right. Wheeling as one unit, the wing flew off to return to the carrier unaware that more of the creatures and several gnorc planes had taken off and were flying above them, following them back to the fleet.
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Volteer anxiously waited on the dragon-carrier for the scout planes to return and deliver the news of their scouting mission. He was chuckling also at the anxiety of the younger dragons. They were eager to take off and attack their enemy. One of them in particular, a young Southland dragon named Vizero, was partricularly vocal.
"When are those humans going to get back?! I'm tired of sitting on my haunches and doing nothing!"
The distant drone of engines was the first sound he heard as the aircraft soon came into sight over the small sea that was between the fleet and the Tall Plains. However, his keen eyesight detected something else, something above the fighters. As soon as he saw bat-like wings and far in the rear, bright scales and more machines, he turned to Vizero.
"Looks like you just got your wish hatchling."
He turned to the bridge of the Sublime.
"Enemy incoming! Fighter, dreadwings and wyverns headed straight for us!"
The scouts immediately focused on the skies in front of the fleet, within moments, one of the watchmen on board the battleship Olympic had also spotted the incoming threat and sounded the alarm.
The call to arms was deafening throughout the fleet. For the first time, Volteer was witnessing how humans reacted to an attack. Needless to say he was quite impressed.
Humans wearing armor and helmets came running across the dragon deck and immediately set about loading their machineguns and flak cannons. The carrier Gandarewa had begun sending up the rest of her aircraft in an effort to protect not only the fleet but also the returning scouts. Her sister carrier Mount Chung was also sending scores of fighters into the air. Volteer and his dragons were about to take off when the captain of the Sublime came over the PA speakers.
"All dragons do NOT engage! We don't want our gunners hitting friendlies up there! Leave these foes to the fighters!"
Vizero immediately began sulking again, however, Volteer noticed he was watching the planes with an excited expression. This was the first or second time many of the dragons had ever seen the human flying machines called 'aeroplanes'. Volteer was interested as well to seeing how the humans flew.
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At the alarm of enemy incoming, Kain and his Atlawa soldiers rushed up onto the deck of the Liberty and saw the navy gunners take their places on the deck of the huge transport. As if at some unseen signal, all the AA guns on the destroyers shielding the larger ships opened fire upwards, sending flashed of red, orange, and causing small black clouds to appear in the bright blue sky. A few moments later, the larger ships and the transports opened fire as well. Kain and his soldiers, unused to machinegun and cannonfire, were momentarily deafened by the cacophany accompanying the guns. As soon as their hearing cleared up, the PA system of the Liberty came on.
"Attention! Attention! All Marines and Atlawa, man your boats! Deck crews swing the boats over the side as soon as they're loaded! We've no time for the recon report, it's now or never!"
There was a slight pause as the Marines and deck crew ran to their boats. Kain stepped up to a small boat with the number '016' printed on the side. A human came up and saluted.
"Sir Kain? I'm Petty Officer Ricketts, I've been ordered to pilot your landing boat in. This fellow here is Seaman Joshua, he's our gunner. If your men are ready, then let's board and be away."
Kain nodded sharply and jumped onto the boat, his warriors following right behind him. Ricketts and Joshua followed suit, Ricketts getting into the small box wheelhouse and Joshua loading the twin gun at the stern.
The deck crew were there in a heartbeat, and using levers and strong cables, the boat was lowered into the water. As soon as it splashed into the ocean, Ricketts pushed the throttle wide open and the boat took off.
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Reyson saw the tracers and flak shells beginning to fly up and he immediately looked behind him. Upon seeing the waves of enemies behind them, he blanched.
"Everyone scatter! Enemy on our tails!"
Reyson pushed his plane into a dive while the twins broke right and Brooks and Jefferson broke left. By the time they had dropped to 150ft, the other fighters from the carriers had reached them and were forming arial battlelines. There was only one problem that Reyson saw with the maneuver, most of the pilots here were still green and unused to combat conditions. Of the some one-hundred fighters they had, only thirty were considered 'veterans', the rest were all still rookies. Despite this, Reyson still liked their odds.
(On the up-side, Dalon's mercs are using captured technology so they shouldn't be used to it yet. The downside is that we have no experience fighting flying creatures. This land is just full of surprises.)
Reyson kicked the rudder pedal hard and the plane swung left, he stopped the turn when he was lined up with an enemy plane, a captured gnorc fighter like the others. Using the guide wires over the engine like a set of crosshairs, Reyson lined up his shot and pulled the trigger on his guns.
A spray of .40 caliber rounds impacted the fighter, tearing into it's thin armor and immediately rupturing the fuel tank. The plane exploded and fell, spiraling until it broke apart completely and hit the ocean waves below. As it splashed, Reyson saw the landing boats deploying and heading for the nearby shore.
(Damn! They must have thought we'd given our position away! Without the intel we have they're walking into a hornet's nest!) He yelled to the fighters in ear shot.
"Protect the landing craft until they reach the shore! If we lose them, we won't be able to take the island!"
Roughly twelve fighters, none of whom were part of his squadron, flew next to his wing and he began to dive. Looking ahead, he saw a wing, maybe twelve or thirteen, of those flying dragon look-alikes and ten fighters descending on the fleet of landing boats. Every once in a while, a gunner from the boats or the nearby destroyers would get lucky and hit one of them, however, they were simply diving too fast and too steep for all but the most expert of gunners to hit them. The only saving grace was that, unlike the true dragons, the wyverns didn't seem to have the thick armor-like scales, bullets and flak shells easily penetrated their thin scales. Furthermore, they had a large weakness, their wingspan was massive; gunners focusing on their wings ripped the thin wing membrane to shreds within moments of the rounds hitting them.
Reyson leveled out and began firing at the cluster of enemies, he saw his rounds clearly strike a wyvern and two fighters. One of the fighters had a wing break from the rounds impact and spiraled into the ocean, the other one was set on fire and shortly thereafter, exploded, shapnel from the exploding fighter impaled the wyvern through the chest and hit two others, their shrieks of surprise and pain was near deafening.
He then heard what sounded like men cheering as the fighters flew overheard and continued their merciless onslaught. The wyverns, apparently not used to fighting aircraft, and the pilots, not used to arial combat, scattered and flew frantically in every direction possible except that of the incoming Syllian aircraft and the up firing machineguns. A flak shell from a nearby destroyer caught a wyvern in the chest and completely caved it, sending a shower of wyvern blood and guts down onto the unlucky landing boat that was directly below it.
At that moment, a battlecruiser Reyson recognized as the Centurion picked up speed and began firing it's main guns at as high an angle as possible. Huge blasts of flak punctured the skies as the cruiser's massive seven and nine inch diameter shells exploded in mid-air.
As much as Reyson would have liked to see the first battle of Tall Plains end with no allied casualties, that was not to be the case. A rookie allowed an enemy fighter to get on his tail. Judgeing by the way the enemy was flying, it was apparent that at least he had spent some time practicing and refining his flying skills.
The enemy fighter closed distance and fired, the rookie's body was riddled with holes in the blink of an eye. He then slumped forward onto the stick and crashed into the ocean. Then another blow to the strike force as a poor kill on one of the rookie's behalf, sent an enemy plane into the destroyer Valiant; immediately smashing through the old wooden deck of the escort destroyer and blowing it in half.
Meanwhile, the enemy ace had shot down two more rookies. Upon seeing this slaughter continue, Reyson got mad. He pushed the throttle to maximum and engaged the ace. The term 'ace' was apparently deserved for this enemy as he had fifteen marks on his plane. Most of the enemy planes had one or two or none at all. This guy must have been one of Dalon's Titan Guard mercs. The Titan Guard, according to what he had heard from one of Gerald's lieutenants, were the first to get access to the stolen Gnorc planes and they had been ordered to crush any attempted Gnorc uprisings. Those fifteen previous marks were most likely gnorc rebel pilots shot down.
Seeing those marks clenched it for Reyson, come Hell or high water, he was going to down this son-of-a-bitch right here and now. He fired his guns, however, the enemy rolled to the left and evaded the attack. The ace then decided to add insult to injury and, while evading Reyson's attack, shot down another pilot. This one Reyson recognized as Felix Redden, a pilot who had painted his aircraft solid white with blue crosses.
Reyson spared a moment and saw Redden manage to glide his plane down into the water near one of the boats. He wouldn't be flying, but at least he was alive. He then immediately focused again on the enemy ace, who this time was picking a fight with one of Reyson's own wingmen: Jefferson!
Jefferson's plane stood out like a dragon in a washtub. Reyson turned to assist his comrade, diving low and fast to attack the ace from above and behind. As Reyson closed with the ace, he looked up, straight at Reyson and held his hands over his eyes. Reyson realized he had been flying with the sun at his back! Wasting little time, he pulled the trigger and prayed for a hit.
Bullet after bullet struck the plane. There was a sound like tearing metal and the plane's right wing and tail section tore away from the plane! Reyson could hear the ace cursing him and screaming at the top of his lungs until suddenly, a wyvern swooped down and grabbed the ace out of the plane and took off again.
Reyson turned to engage the wyvern, however, this one was wily and faster than it's brethren. He continued to dodge and jink as soon as Reyson got a bead on its tail.
(That bastard must be telling that wyvern what to do and where to fly!) Reyson thought as he continued his assault.
As Reyson became fixated on this one opponent, he didn't notice that he was nearing the coast, the shoreline AA batteries were already raising to 'welcome' him. Also he didn't notice his fuel gauge was dropping. Only the sound of his guns clicking break his concentration. He belatedly realized what had happened. He had expended all his ammunition chasing the ace, and he was almost out of fuel.
Banking quickly, Reyson avoided the waiting batteries and made a bee-line for the nearest carrier, the dragon-carrier Sublime. He didn't have the fuel to make a pass on either the Mount Chung or the Gandarewa. He would have to fly headlong at the Sublime's dragon laiden deck.
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Volteer watched as the planes drove off the attackers then returned to the carriers to refuel and rearm. He counted eighty-four of the original one-hundred landing safely, meaning sixteen had been lost. One of the missing he noted, was Reyson's plane. He scanned the skies looking for any sign that he might still be airborne. As his eyes passed over the bow of the dragon-carrier, he saw him. Reyson's plane was coming in low and fast. After a second of confusion, Volteer realized what Reyson was trying to do. He was landing on the carrier! He turned immediately to the dragons on deck with him.
"Plane coming in! All dragons aloft!"
The dragons looked at Volteer curiously wondering why a human plane would try to land on a dragon-carrier. Volteer narrowed his eyes and repeated what he had said, then he turned to the Sublime's bridge.
"Pilot coming in! It looks to be a crash landing!"
What the humans lacked in draconic character that made up for in reaction time, precision, and emotion. As soon as he said the magic words 'crash landing', the humans had sounded the aloft siren and the captain ordered the wing to clear the deck immediately.
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Jefferson watched as Reyson flew towards the now vacant deck of the Sublime. The constant sputtering of his engine told everyone he was out of fuel. As he neared the deck, the plane's propellor stopped turning. Without engine power, Reyson was going to have to make a glide landing, a maneuver that had been said was an emergency maneuver only. The sailors on the dragon-carrier had run a cable between the two anchorchains and capstans to act as a 'brake' for the incoming plane. Jefferson prayed that Reyson's plane would catch it.
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Reyson's heart had sank when the engine cut out on him, yet when he saw a cable being run from the starboard side of the Sublime to the port side, he felt hope again. He angled his plane lower, hoping either the landing gear or the bracket on the tail would catch.
He saw the prow of the ship pass, then his wheels went over the wire. Reyson prepared to say his prayers when a sudden jolt flung him forward into the plane's rudder, forcing the plane's wheels down hard. As he shook off the shock of being thrown into the panel, he realized he had stopped; the tail bracket had caught the cable!
The plane had gone from a gliding speed of sixty miles per hour to zero in three seconds. Reyson leapt from the cockpit to a celebratory cheer from the deck crew of the ship. He looked toward the Gandarewa to see it steaming toward the Sublime. He reached back into the cockpit and grabbed the map he had prepared and prayed it was not too late.
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The landing boats advanced slowly through the water. Without the recon maps, they were forced to use whatever beachfront looked the least defended and the easiest to get ashore. It had been a while since the aeroplanes had forced the enemy to retreat and morale was high among the landing forces. Even Kain was laughing alongside his warriors. He also had another reason for not worrying, most of the soldiers under his direct command were Turncoat trained rifleatlawa. Kain himself didn't carry a human weapon, but he did not begrudge those who chose to carry them.
(A weapon is a weapon.) He'd told Gerald the day he'd requested to train some of his soldiers in human combat tactics. (As long as it doesn't turn around and bite me in the tail you can teach them whatever you want, just so long as they use these skills to liberate our home.)
These atlawa with him were the quickest to learn how to use the new human weaponry and were as Gerald had put it 'the best of the best of the atlawa'. Well, Kain was sure that this battle, this landing, would test that theory.
As they appraoched the beach, Kain stepped toward Ricketts and asked how close they were.
"About fifty feet more sir, we'll deploy when I can see sand under the boat. That way we don't have to worry about anyone drowning by accident."
Kain nodded and looked toward the atlawa in the boat.
"Brothers! Today we right a great wrong. It has been over a month since Malefor's dogs drove us out of our homes. Now we come today to liberate that which is ours! Today is a day for victory and for triumph. We shall not falter, we shall not relent, we shall break upon them like waves upon rock. Let this be your battlecry: Not One Step Back! Fight the enemy wherever they are! To Victory!"
The atlawa began cheering as Kain finished. Even the Marines were invigorated by the speech and the shore where they were to deploy grew closer and closer. The morale boost added to the emotions of the soldiers. This was their home and, as they had heard one human put it, come Hell or high water they will suceed!
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Volteer and the dragons flew hurredly toward the shoreline where the landing craft were headed. As soon as Reyson had shown the map to the Sublime's captain and had sent the map over to the other carriers, Volteer and his wing had taken off, hoping they could catch up to the landing boats and shield them somehow from the emplacements on the beach.
Bright flashes suddenly erupted from the shoreline and Volteer the landing boats. Artillery shels were landing in and amogst the boats. Some were flipped upside down by a wave created by a near miss, some had been blown to splinters by a direct hit. Few boats had actually made it to shore and those who had deployed were huddled on the shore taking cover from the bombardment wherever they could.
Volteer gathered his energy and fired a bolt of electricity straight at the nearest battery. The bolt hit the metal barrel and arced to another gun and electrocuted the crews of both guns. The heat from the arc also detonated the half-loaded shells in the breeches and also detonated any nearby ammunition. An entire section of artillery went up in flames as several boxes of shells exploded. Despite the majority of enemy artillery being silenced the machinegun emplacements were still raking the beach. As Volteer's lightning quick mind began to devise a way of attacking the guns, a large explosion impacted one of the entrenched guns. Volteer turned and saw one of the battlecruisers and two destroyers approaching in perfect formation. Immediately he realized what they were doing; the ships were going to beach themselves so that they could support the forces on the beach!
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With the help of the crew of the Sublime, Reyson had his plane back on the Gandarewa and was back in the air only a few minutes after Volteer took off. Now he and the full complement of aircraft from both carriers were headed for the beach at full speed. Reyson all the while was praying they were not in time to see a massacre on their hands.
The first thing the pilots heard that told them they were close was the sound of cannonfire and machineguns. Reyson dove below the clouds and prepared for the worst. What he saw however, was the landing forces advancing steadily up the beach. Ariel support from the dragons and naval support from a trio of beached warships was clearing them a path through the minefield and razorwire. Reyson looked at his compatriots and yelled.
"Let's not them have all the fun! All squadrons dive and engage the enemy!"
In answer, all the planes turned in perfect formation and as one, dove toward the enemy trenches near the river and fields just outside of the beach. The sound of machineguns ripping through the trenches filled the air. As soon as Reyson had cleared the trenches, he heard a familiar sound. Looking up, he saw more captured Gnorc fighters, except these were not painted silver as the other gnorc fighters had been, these were pitch black, Dalon's ensignia of a blood red vulture's claw emblazoned on the wings and fuselage. These were Dalon's Titan Guard pilots, Reyson was sure of it. And right there in the lead was the ace he had shot down earlier. His plane was the only one that bore eighteen marks and was also numbered, a bright red '13' was emblazoned on his plane. Reyson turned to the fighters around him.
"Enemy above! Enemy above! All fighters engage!"
The Syllian fighters all began to climb and meet the enemy, while the enemy fighters began to dive. As soon as they reached a halfway point toward their enemies, both sides opened fire. Reyson immediately saw his bullets strike an enemy fighter and also, out of the corner of his eye, saw the ace down one of the veteran pilots on his left.
Reyson wheeled his plane around and began to fire at the enemy ace. His first shots going wide and luckily striking another enemy. His second volley caught nothing but air. One bullet from his third volley clipped the right wing of the ace's plane; the ace looked back and cursed at Reyson.
(Yeah, I've got your attention now don't I you bastard!) Reyson thought as he squeezed off some more rounds. These hit the plane but didn't seem to do much damage.
He rolled left and tried to reaquire his sights on the ace, however, the enemy pilot was swerving left and right, diving and climbing trying his damned best to try and get Reyson off his tail, Reyson however, stuck to him like glue. Only a near collision with an enemy pilot who decided to perform a 'suicide dive' to save his leader broke Reyson off.
The suicide pilot crashed into a hillside. Reyson looked and cursed, he'd lost the ace!
As Reyson wheeled around to find him, he saw his target engaging a plane it took him a second to recognize as Dexter's plane. Reyson gunned the throttle and flew as fast as he could to Dexter's aid, however, he was forced to roll when three enemy planes attacked him. Thankfully Jefferson was there and he was able to shoot down one and force the other two to retreat. As Jefferson pursued those two, Reyson went back towards Dexter. He was shocked at what he saw.
Dexter's plane was riddled with holes, worst, it looked like he'd been hit. The ace was mercilessly pumping rounds into the plane. As Reyson approached, the ace broke off, however, the damage was done.
Reyson maneuvered his plane to get a look at Dexter, who Reyson thanked God, was still alive. Suddenly, a burst of bullets from the ace struck Dexter's engine. The bullets ignited the fuel and the plane caught fire!
The fire moved quickly fro the cowling to the cockpit where Dexter was sitting. Reyson got his plane as close as he dared.
"Dexter! Jump onto my wing! Hurry!" Dexter turned and looked at Reyson forlornly.
"I..I can't Rey! Th..the bastard got me in the back! I c..can't move my legs to c..climb out!" Reyson's expression turned to one of horror as the fire reached the cockpit.
Dexter, like so many other pilots didn't have a parachute as they were too bulky. As the fire reached his torso, he began to scream. Reyson thought fast of what to do, but before he could act, he saw Dexter reach for something. Reyson had a sick feeling he knew what.
"Dexter don't! Don't do it!"
The flames had now fully engulfed the cockpit. Reyson could not see what Dexter was doing, but he heard it.
A sharp 'bang' pierced the air. The sound of a revolver being fired. Dexter's plane began to fall away. As it nosedived, the weakened planes began to fall apart. Reyson could see Dexter's lifeless body fall from the cockpit and plummet down into the river below. The wreckage of the plane crashed not far off, exploding in a ball of fire and setting the nearby tall grass on fire.
Reyson watched the plane burn for a moment, then he caught something. Something that sounded like laughter! Enraged, he turned and saw the ace flying almost right on his wing also watching the plane burn.
Reyson kicked the rudder hard and attempted to ram his plane into the ace's, however, the ace climbed and dodged it, still laughing.
Reyson was now seeing red, he wanted to kill this bastard, not just for Dexter, but for the others this sonofabitch had murdered as well. He banked hard left trying to get into position behind him. The ace kept doing acrobatics and laughing all the way. Reyson then realized what the ace was trying to do.
(He's trying to get me to expend all my bullets in a blind rage! This guy is smart, however, I'm smarter!)
Reyson climbed until he was over the pilot, then dove. The ace merely yawed his plane out of the way. What he didn't see was Reyson drawing his own revolver.
Reyson passed the ace's plane and took a potshot. The bullet was lucky and struck the engine. Surprised, and somewhat enraged, the ace rolled right and began to pursue Reyson. Now it was Reyson's turn to spring a trap. He changed his course and headed for the beached warships.
As soon as they reached the beach, the ace was almost on top of him. The destroyers opened fire with their AA guns, startling the ace. This gave Reyson the chance he needed. He wheeled his plane left and came in behind the ace as he dodged a flak burst from the cruiser.
Reyson got as close as he dared and squeezed the trigger. Bullets from his gun walked up the fuselage and two of them struck the ace in both his shoulders. The ace's arms went limp as he could no longer fly the plane. Reyson flew up and alongside him. The ace, arrogent to the end, smiled and began to laugh until Reyson leveled his revolver at him.
"You should have stayed on the ground!"
Before the ace could answer, Reyson fired all five shots left in his revolver point blank. The first round struck the ace in the face, shattering his goggles and exiting through the back of his head, the second, third, and fourth shots went into his neck and jaw, the fifth went into his heart. The ace leaned forward and his body pushed the stick forward. Reyson watched as the ace's plane spiraled and fell until it finally hit the beach and exploded.
As Reyson looked below, he saw Dalon's forces in complete retreat. The atlawa, Marines and dragons had stopped just outside the Atlawa steelement that Dalon's mercenaries had turned into a POW internment camp. Reyson noticed the plains nearby were flat and the grass was low. He brought his plane down and landed smoothly on the field. As he cut off the engine, one of the Marines ran up.
"Lieutenant! Thank God you're here! The enemy forces here have surrendered yet the Atlawa insist on killing them all; please hurry this way!"
Reyson leapt from the cockpit and ran to catch up to the Marine. As he reached the gates to the city, he saw several of Dalon's soldiers on the ground, on their knees, with their hands behind their heads. Most of them wore terrified expressions and glanced between the furious Atlawa, the Marines who were, by the looks of things four seconds from leveling their weapons on their allies, and the neutral expressioned dragons, only the Syllian dragons showed any from of expression, some were with the Atlawa, others shared the Marines point of view.
As Reyson arrived he could hear the Atlawa telling the Marines to get out of the way, he could hear the Marines telling the Atlawa to stand down. Volteer was observing the situation with some degree of both worry and concern. As soon as it looked like one of the Atlawa would act, Reyson drew his revolver, now reloaded, and fired two rounds into the air, startling everyone and getting them to look at him. The Atlawa and dragons with confusion, the Marines and Dalon's troops with aprehension.
"All of you need to calm the hell down! Now!" When Reyson saw he had everyone's attention, he nodded and holstered his revolver.
"Now then, Sergeant, can you please tell me what the hell is going on here? If I recall we are all supposed to be on the same side, right?! Or did I miss something while keeping those dreadwings, wyverns, and whatever the hell else up there from killing every single one of you?"
Kain stepped forward, his face red with rage.
"These soldiers here our your enemies as well as ours right? Well then why are your Marines protecting them?"
One of the soldiers in Dalon's uniform got up.
"We are not with Dalon's combat forces! Some of us are with him forces, yes, however, the rest of us are not!"
The voice sounded familiar to Reyson, he turned and looked at the man who had spoken. Recognition flashed across his face.
"Nathaniel Sharps, that you?"
The man looked at Reyson and smiled.
"Yeah, it's me. Well Reyson, it's been a while." Kain looked comically at Reyson, then to Sharps, and then back to Reyson.
"You know him?" Reyson nodded.
"This is Captain Nathaniel Sharps, formerly of His Royal Majesty's Marine Corps. Now he is one of the top agents in the National Intelligence Task Force or NITF. When he says he's not with Dalon, you can rest assured he means it." Reyson turned to Sharps.
"So old friend, what brings you into this war?"
Sharps indicated the peopel behind him.
"They do. Some of these men are with Dalon's forces as medical corps. The rest are an interesting story. These men here are actually the same as me, spies, only they work for other nations. The tall man here to my left is Lieutenant Colonel Dietrich Feinster, spy master for Praetorian Empire, this man here is Captain Jaques LeRue of Anozira, and this is Major Zachran Meuller of the Tellanian Federal Intelligiance Agency."
The Marines had glowered when they heard a Federation spy was in front of them, one soldier had even tightened his grip on his rifle. The Federation spy noticed this and stepped forward.
"Lieutenant Havvers, may I assure you and the Marines here that the Federation has an interest in stopping Dalon as well? Our countries have a long and bloody history, however, our new council only wishes peace with our neighbors. The Slayer Corps, who you have noticed escaped your nation's attack in Schildhaven and grudgingly sided with Dalon, are the traitors and warmongers who still wish to combat your King at every turn. I know that my words may ring hollow, especially to the dragons who the Slayer Corps was originally created to eradicate. But I assure you I speak only the truth."
Before Reyson could speak, Colonel Feinster spoke up.
"Yes, yes, yes, we are all very aware of the reason the Slayer Corps was brought into existance and of this gallant band's continuous run ins with them, however, are we not forgetting something of the utmost importance? We must get the intel we've recovered to James de Launces immediately. The fate of not only the Southlands but also our nations rests on him getting these papers." Volteer and Kain looked interested.
"If they concern the entirety of the Southlands, why not habd them to me, after all I am the most brilliant of the Guardians, well, since Ignitus' passing." Feinster shook his head.
"No, I do not mean to disrespect you Guardian, however, only a mechanist like James could have any hope of decrypting Dalon's codes and understanding these papers. We have to take these directly to him. Where is he by the way? From what my nation knows of him, he is never one to willingly stay out of a fight, he prefers to take part in them."
Reyson then explained the battleplan for dividing the forces, while the majority of the forces would stay and push Dalon's frontline back from Warfang, the special landing units would split up and take back the islands.
"James is currently on the dragon-carrier Arkibus and is heading for the island the locals call Concurrent Skies. According to the maps, it is the island that is closest to Dalon and is the furthest behind enemy lines. If we had a submarine nearby we could take you there, however, we have yet to set up the patrol routes for our S-class subs. We would ideally like to take you with the fleet, however, we are needed here until the island is completely secure." Feinster frowned.
"So we are stuck here until James returns? Blast it, this intel cannot wait. Plus there is the risk of the Kraken being put to see." Reyson looked at him.
"What's a Kraken?"
"It is a submarine Dalon built based on preexisting Praetorian models. This submarine is larger than your S-class and is much more solidly built. It is capable of reaching speeds of 25 knots surfaced and 11 knots submerged. Furthermore, the sub, when surfaced, can actually hold it's own against a destroyer thanks to it's four cannons stationed around the conning tower, which by the way doubles as an aircraft hangar. Dalon has built a stealth carrier capable of launching only five planes, however, can you imagine the confusion there would be if those subs were deployed soon? Not to mention Dalon still has the majority of his naval reserves still in Gnorc Harbor. There have been no major sea engagements yet. If you wish to destroy Dalon's hold, the Navy must concentrate on the enemy patrols. Get me to a transceiver; I was able to copy a number of patrols. When and where they'll be."
Reyson nods and the spies and medical officers are escorted away from the gates. Kain watched them go, sighed heavily, then, wonder of all wonders, he smiled.
"We were forced to flee our homes in disgrace. Now we have returned. However, this is not the end of our envolvement. The Atlawa will continue to aid you humans until this Dalon is forced from this land." Reyson nodded and thanked Kain for saying such. They were interupted however, by a messenger arriving. He looked tired and very out of breath.
"Sirs, a message from Colonel Alenkov. Dante's Freezer has been taken."
A deafening cheer went up from the assembled Marines and Syllian dragons. Reyson looked toward the setting sun and smiled.
(Two down, two to go. Father, I hope you don't do anything reckless at Boyzitbig.)
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There it is everyone, Chapter 22 Part 2. Now then, next chapter, Boyzitbig, prepare for one helluva fight. Sorry for the long while for the update, my father was in the hospital; his pacemaker had burned out on him. He's alright now, he's back at the house with a new pacemaker.
Also, for those of you wondering, I didn't mention this in the last chapter, but some of the carriers are named after actual dragons in mythology.
Also yes, I did base the Kraken description in part of the Japanese I-400 Sentoku submarine, I wanted to include something that shows how far Dalon is willing to go to achieve his goals. Plus these subs will play an important part in a later chapter. Also brace for naval and submarine combat in upcoming chapters.
I also wanted to show that despite having superior technology and training, the Syllian forces could still suffer casualties.