A/N Hello again everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter and the opening to the AC6 section of Wings of Freedom! I basically doubled my word count from the original chapter after rewriting it, so that was a blast! This story is already getting close to 200k words, which puts it at almost the halfway point to my biggest story ever, the 70+ chapter Akame ga Kill story "A Different Path" that, if you know the series or like it, I highly recommend reading because I think it's pretty good! #ShamelessSelfAdvertisement
With the time that I have I'm going to try and hammer out as many chapters as I can before I go back to school, which by then I hope that the schoolwork won't be as aggressive (don't have to take German anymore since I finished that, thank god!) and so that I could still work on this for you all! :)
Anyways, that's it for right now, the ideas I have for WoF are still plenty, so I won't leave you hanging! Please, leave a favorite and review, and if you know anyone else who loves Ace Combat and likes reading AC fanfics, please do not hesitate to contact them and send them over! I'd love to have their thoughts and opinions on this, and maybe they'll like it too!
See you in the next chapter!
Chapter 37 - Vitoze Aerial Defense
On the Brink
"Every now and then, I'd tell my daughter the story of the night some years ago. A night when the sky was radiant with shooting stars. That night, your father and I made countless wishes together..."
Melissa thought to herself as she walked along a muddy dirt road, rolling some luggage behind her alongside dozens of other refugees fleeing from Estovakian control. After taking a bus all the way from Gracemeria with these people she knew not by name or by face, they were being escorted by a column of Emmerian tanks and soldiers towards a bridge.
Her body was moving solely on auto-pilot, because her mind was millions of miles away. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about what happened to have caused such a travesty from occurring.
An asteroid called Ulysses came into Earth's orbit and disintegrated into millions of pieces, which poured down onto the land below across both Usea and Anea. As the people of Gracemeria watched the shooting stars that night, fragments from the asteroid rained down on their eastern neighbor, Estovakia, damaging a great deal of their infrastructure and devastating their economy. Soon after, the news reported that their nation had fallen into a civil war—one that would last for years.
Eventually, the internal strife was brought to an end when "The Generals" came into power. In the midst of hardship, the citizens of Estovakia were convinced that the only way they could recover as a nation was to rely on a military government led by these "Generals".
But now...they had invaded Emmeria, their peaceful neighbor who only wanted to help, and had driven back their military all the way to Khesed, an island far to the west.
"I wish...we could go back to then...before all of this...before…"
Melissa stopped herself from thinking any longer, and just continued to walk forward with the other refugees for fear of breaking down into tears yet again. Ever since that they had come across the twisted remains of her daughter's school bus in their flight from Gracemeria, she felt soulless and empty.
For a brief moment her eyes lifted up from the road and her feet to see the tanks parked close by to a bridge that crossed a river they were approaching. A tank operator was standing atop the turret of one of the tanks, megaphone in hand, barking orders at them.
She didn't blame him for doing so. They had to keep moving, or the Estovakians would catch up to them. All they could do was keep moving forward, no matter how tired or weary they got.
"Move! Move! Let's pick up the pace people!" ordered the soldier, pointing towards the bridge. "There's a train still runnin'' on the other side of the river! She goes all the way out to the edge of the border! We've gotta blow this bridge before the enemy gets a hold of it, so move it or lose it, people!"
There was a black column of thick smoke rising from something off the road, something Melissa could not yet see as she shuffled past the tank with another refugee next to her. Once she got past, her head mindlessly glanced over out of sheer curiosity to see what the source of the smoke was. It was the twisted wreckage of a fighter jet that had been shot down, most likely as it was trying to retreat with their air forces, or attack them, she could not tell.
She stopped for a moment to look further at the jet, and her eyes noticed a hint of color that was present on what was left of the nose. Some writing, it seemed like, something written in bright yellow.
Melissa.
It was her name.
Fate had not yet decided it was done with Melissa, giving her the broken image of the jet that her husband had flown since the beginning of his career in the Emmerian air force. Her husband had left for work that day with the same loving smile he always gave her. His angel had been blessed with her name, but even that did not stop the hand of death.
Melissa's knees gave out on her and she slowly collapsed to her knees, unable to keep herself standing upright. Then came her hands, sitting there on the cold hard concrete road on all fours, her eyes frozen on the jet. What remained of her heart was now completely shattered. Her whole world was shattered.
"Hey, Miss, what's wrong?" asked the tank operator, setting his megaphone down. "You need to keep moving."
His words fell on deaf ears, so he frowned and got down off the tank, going up next to her to see if he could get her to move with his words again.
"You need to get up Miss. We can't stick around for any longer."
Again, Melissa refused to move. Her body had completely shut down on her.
The man frowned again before he noticed where her gaze was and followed it, all the way to the jet that he and his crew had seen on their approach to the bridge. He squinted to see what she could possibly be focusing on and saw the name painted onto the nose, along with the image of an angel right beside it.
He felt his throat tighten up and he realized what the problem was. He got down onto a knee next to Melissa and put an arm on her back, sitting there next to her for a minute or so in silence before he rubbed her back.
"We have to get you going Miss...you can't stay here. Come on, I'll help you up."
Even though she didn't want to, Melissa allowed herself to be helped to her feet by the tank operator and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, her eyes were taken away from her husband's jet and handed back the handle for her luggage. She took one glance at the tank operator, who with a tiny smile managed to speak volumes to her and sympathize with her loss, before she rejoined the refugees on their march towards salvation.
Once she and the refugees got on the train, they were on the road or the rails for a whole two weeks, before finally arriving at a refugee camp at the border, far away from Gracemeria. The people she saw posted on the lists posted on the cork boards were completely unknown to her. The other refugees kept themselves relatively sane by gathering around a single handheld radio at the same time, every day, to listen to the broadcast.
Even though the station is broadcasting out of Gracemeria, occupying forces have taken complete control of the airwaves.
Melissa happened to be walking by the table where the radio was located, a handful of people standing around it listening to what the broadcaster had to say. She paid no attention to it, turning towards the stairs to start climbing them one by one until she reached the midpoint in the flight of the stairs and sat down, holding her face in her hands.
"...And although newer parts of the city have suffered considerable damage, the castle and significant section of the old quarter have escaped relatively unscathed…"
The announcer went on to speak about how the castle had been robbed of all the priceless antiquities and objects, much to the displeasure of the people listening.
"As the Estovakian military, it is our sworn duty to govern this crumbling nation, and get it back on its feet, starting right here in Gracemeria. I've found a group of street children in front of the Central Station here, where the area has literally been reduced to a slum. Step on up here little girl. What do you have to say about all this?"
"Go dance with the angels, mister!"
The announcer gave out a sharp cry after the little girl spoke, mostly from a fierce kick in the shin, but that didn't matter as much as the voice itself. Melissa's head slowly raised up when she heard the voice through the radio. Her ears were not deceiving her.
"That voice...that was my daughter...Matilda! My daughter is alive!"
- Gracemeria Grand Central Station, Gracemeria -
- November 22nd, 2015 1050 hrs -
In the days since the Emmerian retreat from their capital city, Gracemeria had changed from a bright, joy-filled place to live, to a dreary, practically lifeless husk. The weather of the day didn't make the sorry state of Gracemeria any better. Hardly anyone walked the streets any more, even if it was to just go grab a coffee with a friend, or to see the city and enjoy the atmosphere. The only reason why anyone would go out was to shop for the basic essentials.
Other then that, the streets were mostly empty, save for the Estovakian soldier or two that were on patrol in accordance with their occupation.
Gracemeria Grand Central Station, the hub of all railway traffic to and from the capital city to the rest of the continent, was no exception. Usually bustling with people walking to and fro across the platforms from the trains into the station or vice versa, it was now empty and desolate, save for the handful of Estovakian soldiers inside. Not even the trains were running, because of the lock-down the city had been forced into.
The silence was disturbed when a single train pulled into the station, the soldier standing on the island platform closest to it walking to the door as it came to a halt. With a hiss the doors were opened, and the single lone occupant of the front-most car slowly stepped out with the assistance of a cane.
The man was somewhat past his prime, dressed in a military uniform with a Lieutenant Colonel's markings on it. Along with his cane, he had a silver metal briefcase handcuffed to his wrist resting upon a rolling luggage case.
This man was Lieutenant Colonel Voychek of the Estovakian Air Force. He had been the leader of the elite squadron who joined the invasion of Gracemeria days prior after the missile attack had devastated the city's defenders.
"To think that at such a pivotal moment...I'd receive a leg injury from that crash…" he thought, glancing down at the leg he favored less. "And now...I've been relegated to ground duty as an intelligence officer for the Air Force."
He glanced up when sunlight struck his face directly despite there being a roof over the tracks, only to find a giant gaping hole was the culprit. It was from a bomb or missile, he didn't know which.
"It would seem the city's resigned to it's fate beneath the Estovakian flag…what a pitiful sight."
Voychek noticed the flags of his country hanging from the building he could see through the hole in the ceiling, and after a few moments he lowered his gaze and continued walking forward. He was thankful deep down that the city itself, for the most part, was relatively left unscathed from what he heard after the invasion had finished.
He eventually walked out of the station, leaving it entirely for the street outside, and was met by only a few people who were out doing things he did not know what they were doing. Their expressions held no happiness or joy, and they looked like empty shells that were merely operating with enough sense to be able to walk without running into things. Their eyes were blank, and their expressions blank.
Once outside, Voychek went and found a little cafe that seemed to be open and sat down at one of the vacant outside tables, resting his briefcase on top and resting his cane against his luggage next to the chair.
As he sat there with his hands resting on the briefcase, unbeknownst to him, something slowly crept up from out of his view towards his luggage. Once it was close enough, small hands wrapped around the side carrying handle and tugged on it slightly, pulling it ever so slowly away from the side of the chair, as if testing its weight. When it determined it was light enough, with a yank the luggage was pulled away quickly, Voychek's cane falling to the ground with a loud clank, alerting him.
Voychek whirled his head around, prepared for the worse, but he only saw a small boy running away from him with his luggage hoisted over his shoulder.
"Go dance with the angels!"
A nearby Estovakian soldier saw the theft and he immediately blew his whistle while giving chase after the young boy, his rifle jostling from the shoulder strap as he threw it over his back. Considering he couldn't chase himself because of his injury, he sighed and resigned himself to hoping that he would get his clothes back at some point. As he was leaning down to pick up his cane, another boy had snuck up from his left and attempted to steal the briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, something the boy hadn't seen.
Once he felt the tug on his arm, Voychek turned back and grabbed the handle with both hands, not intended to give the boy any chance, and tugged harshly back. The suitcase was ripped from the boy's hands and he fell on his rear, the lieutenant colonel giving him a harsh scowl that was enough to make him run away.
"You will not be so lucky with these documents…" he thought as he rested the case back on the table, rubbing his wrist slightly. "What a miserable city this must be with their children in such a state."
He slowly shook his head out of pity for the Gracemerians for a second before he leaned back down to pick up his cane and rested it this time on the table as well, wanting to ensure no more of his belongings were taken from him.
After resting for a little while after the long train ride to the city, he decided to find a ride that would take him to a landmark he expressed interest in going to once he had seen it briefly from the sky.
Gracemeria Castle, the oldest structure in the city, a landmark he remembered was the seat of power for one of Emmeria's oldest kings, the one who united the lands and established what the country was today during medieval times. Once he was dropped off by the main entrance, he thanked the taxi driver, but got no response whatsoever as he drove away.
Voychek, not really offended by the Emmerian's lack of manners towards him, turned and walked towards the castle's front entrance, briefcase in hand. The castle was deserted, and for a reason that actually hurt Voychek's heart. He had always appreciated history, and was rather fond of it. But upon entering the castle, he found the interior utterly looted beyond recognition. Dozens of pieces from Emmeria's ancient times had been removed, with very little left behind in their original spots. Countless years of history, gone.
Broken glass from display cases that protected more valuable or ancient items littered the ground, and he could only imagine what kind of things were there. Perhaps this was done in order to protect them from the Estovakians, from Voychek and the foreign invaders coming into their lands. Regardless of the reason, he hoped that the items taken were at least safe, and hopefully one day returned to the castle.
He found his way to the throne room and like the rest of the castle, it too had been practically emptied out of everything that laid within the chamber. His cane strikes echoed off the empty walls as he walked up to the throne, which now stood empty, without its king to watch Gracemeria upon it.
"Even the ancient armor of their king is gone, without a trace…"
He stopped before the steps leading up to the throne and bent down, picking up one of the large Dobicas resting on the lowest steps to look at it. Offerings to the king, he assumed.
"I'm going to have to relay this unfortunate news back to my superiors...they were rather fond of these antiques."
Voychek ran his thumb across the face of the coin for a few moments before he looked back up at the throne and flicked the coin out and onto the top level of the elevated platform, the coin bouncing once and rolling towards the right front leg of the throne, bumping into the golden lion and spinning till coming to a rest.
He then turned around to leave the castle, reminding himself that he had a duty to his country to perform as an intelligence officer. It was time to go to work.
- Campagna Airport, Vitoze, southwestern Khesed Island -
- 36°13'27"N, 26°30'35"E -
- November 24th, 2015 0911 hrs -
The mood in the room was tense. After fleeing all the way from their capital city, with Estovakia hot on their heels, the Emmerians had taken up refuge in the city of Vitoze on Khesed Island, easily the farthest piece of land away from their capital as you can get. Their whole country had been overrun by the Estovakians, more or less, with only pockets of resistance left to fend for themselves because the main force had been pushed back so far.
Talisman was sitting next to Shamrock in their impromptu briefing room, a boardroom in the airport main terminal that was converted into a makeshift military command post from which they'd launch their counterattack.
"More like a defense then a counterattack…" Talisman thought as the holographic B.C.S loaded up, their Base Commander from Gracemeria who had come with them all this way their briefer.
The Estovakians had pursued them all the way to the city, and they were eager to stamp out the resistance once and for all by eliminating them here. If they couldn't beat back the attackers, then any hopes of liberating their home and Gracemeria were lost.
"Shit, this has got me ancy…" murmured Windhover close by, Talisman chuckling a little.
"That's why you've gotta stay cool, man. We can do this, I know we can."
Before they could say anything else the room's lights were darkened by Ghost Eye, who stood by the door, and he crossed his arms, the universal sign for anyone that knew him to quiet down and listen.
"A large scale formation of Estovakian bombers is heading towards Vitoze, the city here in the Brilliante Heights that we're taking refuge in on the Island of Khesed. The enemy is plotting to storm Campagna Airport, where our military is stationed, to stamp us out and put an end to this thing." started their Base Commander, his tone laid-back sounding, but utterly serious. "Enemy bombers are approaching Vitoze from the north. Our advance team estimates they'll be above the city in about fifteen minutes. Air units are to cooperate with our radar facilities and resume operations. An enemy takeover of Vitoze would mean the ultimate destruction of our country Emmeria, and of our Emmerian people."
Avalanche raised a hand once he had ended, expecting questions to be asked, and he nod his head to allow him to speak.
"Do we have an idea of what kind of forces they have with the bombers? Fighter numbers, anything?"
"Currently, no. Expect the standard issue Estovakian fighters that we encountered over Gracemeria, and enough of them to protect the bombers and attack independently as well."
Talisman rocked back and forth in his chair again before he raised a hand as well. "What about those black fighters? And do we know if we're going to get hit by those missiles again?"
Their Base Commander shook his head again, obviously a little frustrated with the lack of important information they needed and his inability to give them proper answers.
"That we do not know either, unfortunately."
"Damn…" said Shamrock. "We're just going to have to adapt then."
Their commander turned off the B.C.S and clapped his hands together, Ghost Eye turning the lights on.
"We have no time to lose. Pilots, get to your planes, and intercept the enemy at once!"
The pilots swiftly left the room and jogged through the airport terminal to the stairways that led outside to the tarmac, their jets already ready and waiting for them outside thanks to the grounds crew staffed with both military and civilian officials.
Talisman reminded himself to thank everyone who had helped their military after they returned from the mission, giving a wave to some of them as he and Shamrock went to their planes.
"Talisman, I almost forgot!"
"Huh?" Talisman stopped next to his jet and turned around, Shamrock running up behind him.
"After all of this, I never really had a chance to introduce myself."
Shamrock raised a hand up with a smile, Talisman grinning and doing the same in order to shake hands with his wingman.
"Marcus Lampert, but you can call me Marcus, Talisman." he said. "And you like to be called Talisman?"
"Yeah, just easier for everyone." Talisman replied with a laugh. "Come on Marcus, let's head up. We've got a job to do."
Marcus nod his head and he ran around Talisman to go to his F-16C, Talisman watching him for a moment before grinning to himself as he climbed up into his jet.
"I should try to see if he can get an F-15E like me, that way we'd match."
Once he was settled into his jet he went through the usual checks before he and Marcus started up their jets and were the first to taxi out onto the runway, Windhover, Avalanche, and the rest of the Emmerians not far behind.
"Garuda 1, you are cleared for takeoff."
Talisman started to fly down the runway, gaining speed quickly, with Marcus hot on his tail. As they were taking off Ghost Eye, who had took off from another airport runway, connected to them and the rest of the pilots to inform them of the situation.
"Those bombers have passed through the mountains and are still on course for Vitoze."
"Let's try to meet them before they get within range of Vitoze everyone. Once you're in the air, form up around myself and Shamrock." ordered Talisman once he and Marcus were up and away from Campagna.
"Roger that."
"Wilco."
The rest of the Emmerian pilots were soon airborne and with Marcus and Talisman at the tip of the spear that left the airport behind, Ghost Eye flying high above them, to meet the approaching enemy in the rolling green hills of the Brilliante Heights the city of Vitoze was nestled in.
"If during the battle you need to resupply, you can return to base at any time to rearm your aircraft." informed Ghost Eye.
He was silent for a few more moments before the first wave of enemy bombers and their fighter escorts appeared on his long range radar, his team doing their job to update the radars of their pilots so they knew what was coming ahead of time. Ghost Eye was sure the same was being done by the Estovakians, and deep down he hoped that the enemy AWACS they encountered over Gracemeria wouldn't be there to hamper their forces with that crippling ECM attack.
"There they are boys, the first enemies are on radar." said Talisman with a grin. "Let's get this thing done, alright? All together now!"
"Ghost Eye to all squadrons. Garuda Team, you and Windhover Squadron will attack enemy bombers before they reach the city. Avalanche, your squadron and the other pilots will provide them with cover by attacking the bombers' escort squadrons."
"Wilco, Ghost Eye. Look;s like you're with us, Windhover. Hope you can keep up!" challenged Talisman, Windhover laughing.
"I'm confident we can do that and more, Talisman!"
"Yeah!" added on Lanner, with Saker cheering in the background.
"We'll do it together, Windhover, Lanner, Saker." said Marcus while smiling. "May the Golden King smile on all of us!"
Marcus' words sparked a cheer among the Emmerian forces around Vitoze in the hills, both air and ground, Talisman grinning ear to ear before he snapped on his oxygen mask cover and got himself ready for the coming engagement.
"This territory is all we've got left. Garuda Team, everyone, it's in your hands."
With that, Talisman, Marcus, and the Emmerians encountered the enemy bomber force and their escort fighters, the Estovakians ready for them as the Su-27s flying with their bombers were already in a defensive formation.
"Enemy aircraft spotted. Escort fighters, do your duty." ordered an Estovakian officer from a Beriev A-50 AWACS flying out of the combat zone. "This is our chance to wipe out the Emmerian military once and for all."
With the two opponents poised to fight with their forces, they met all at once and entered a grueling dogfight over the Brilliante Heights, where everything was to be left out onto the table. The Estovakians were ready and willing to end Emmeria's military, and Emmeria was throwing everything that it could muster to prevent that. The future of the conflict hung in the balance.
- Anfang, Northeastern Belka -
- 34°38'06"N, 236°52'24"E -
- November 24th, 2015 2325 hrs -
It was late at night in Belka, and the coastal vacation town of Anfang was silent and peaceful. Businesses were mostly closed, save for some of the bars that were open for the night owls that were out with their friends. Other then that, the city was in a perfect state of tranquility and silence.
Since the town's involvement in the Belkan War almost twenty one years ago, the city had made quite the comeback and had returned to what it once was, and even grew as well.
Anfang was also the home of a certain ace who had revealed his identity rather recently to the world at large, in a video that was shown at the end of President Harling's speech about the publication of the documents pertaining to the Circum-Pacific War of 2010. Belka had taken quite a hit after that, because of a few officials that wanted revenge, but after a hard look at themselves, the government and the country as a whole changed itself entirely.
Belka had become a republic, the Belkan Republic, with an entirely new governing body modeled similarly to Ustio's, since the two nations were once together under one flag. Since then, Belka has regained its status among the nations of the world as a cultural and technological center, full of bright minds and talented individuals that strive to make the world a better place.
Relations had improved greatly too, between Belka and all of its neighboring countries, so much so that President Harling of Osea, who had taken office for the third time in a row since first becoming president in 2004, could see how much the country had changed since the days leading up to and during the Belkan War. As such, he sought to finally burry the hatchet between Osea and Belka, and to the satisfaction of many who felt it was the right thing to do, he formally returned the state of North Osea back to Belka, becoming once again the southern half of Belka and finally reuniting South and Nord Belka after so many years of being apart.
The Belkan Republic was whole once more, and the Osean continent was experiencing an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity.
That certain ace wasn't there at the moment, but his loyal wife was still awake, finishing up some last minute things for her work on her laptop before she closed it up and leaned back into her couch.
"How could you mess something up so easily…" sighed Elizabeth as she put her arms above her head and stretched.
The TV in the living room was set to one of those music channels, playing some soothing piano that acted as background noise while she had been working. She looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before she heard some light footsteps coming down the stairs and she looked over, seeing the face of a small child peeking between the railing at her.
"Jasper...what are you doing up?"
"I'm sorry, Mommy...I couldn't sleep.." the little girl said, a teddy bear in her arms.
Elizabeth smiled before she motioned for her to come downstairs. "Mommy's done with work now, so you can sit with her."
Jasper smiled and climbed up onto the couch, curling up next to Elizabeth and resting her head against her belly, Elizabeth smiling softly at her daughter. Her hair she had inherited from her father, dark brown, which had grown a little in length with her bangs starting to cover part of her face.
"Mommy...when will my baby sister come?"
"In a couple of months or so, Jasp." she replied with a giggle. "I'm just as excited as you are."
Elizabeth used her other hand not around her daughter to rub her pregnant belly, well along and close to starting her seventh month of pregnancy. Earlier that year in May, when her husband had been home for some quality time with her and Jasper, and after being away from one another, sex was bound to happen.
"I think we were fucking like rabbits then…" she thought to herself with another giggle. "It was only a matter of time before I got pregnant again, and the news came when he had already gone back to Estovakia. He was so upset he wasn't here to see it in person."
Jasper and one of her small hands started rubbing her mother's belly too, nuzzling her cheek against it. Elizabeth rubbed her shoulder and the two sat together like that for a brief moment, just enjoying one another's company.
"Mommy...when will Daddy come back home and stay?"
"That question…"
Elizabeth flinched a little at the innocent question that came from her daughter, but one look down at her, her four year old daughter, she could tell immediately that she had been thinking about that question for quite some time now.
"She has so much of her father…" she thought as she sat Jasper up and turned to look at her, opening her mouth, then closing it.
"Your father...he's a unique kind of person, Jasper. You see, he...he's someone who enjoys his job very much. I've known him for many years now, and I could always tell that when he was on the ground, he never really felt truly at home."
"Then...where is Daddy's home?"
Elizabeth smiled and lifted Japser up into her arms before standing up, walking to the sliding glass door past the kitchen and going out onto the back patio to look out at the coast of Anfang and the starry night sky above.
"Up there, baby. In the sky."
"In the sky?" Jasper looked up to the stars, looking at them for a few moments. "But isn't it lonely up there?"
"A little bit, but you see, for your father and so many like him, it's lonely, but in a good way. You're up there by yourself, with nothing but the world below you. You feel free...like nothing can hold you back...it's an amazing feeling."
Jasper thought about what her mother said before she turned her head back round and looked at Elizabeth with the same fairly innocent expression on her face, the one that had an inquisitive look to her eyes.
"Will Daddy ever come back down to us, though…? I miss him…"
Elizabeth's heart hurt at what her daughter said, and she hugged her there under the night sky, stroking her hair and closing her eyes as she did.
"He will, Jasper...he will. Your father is many things, but above all, he cares and loves his family with all his heart…you...me...and your baby sister..."
Jasper closed her eyes too as she hugged her mother back, her head resting atop her shoulder, nestled against her neck.
"I want to hug Daddy again…"
"Me too baby, me too…"
They stood outside in one another's arms for a few minutes in silence, before Elizabeth heard the soft snoring of her daughter and her weight get a little heavier. She opened her eyes and smiled as she carried Jasper carefully back inside and took her upstairs to her room, which was full of posters of jet fighters and little tiny plane models that they had bought for her.
She was truly her daddy's little girl, and as she laid her down in her bed and pulled up the covers, she looked at a drawing taped to the wall next to her bed. It was a crude drawing, since it came from a four year old, but it was unmistakable of what it was. It was Jasper and her father, flying together in a jet, both of them smiling with their little stick figure bodies inside of the cockpit.
Seeing that, and putting it together with what her daughter had said, planted a seed inside of Elizabeth's mind as she got up and went to the door. She flicked off the lights and slowly closed the door, making her way downstairs afterwards back to the TV.
Elizabeth sat down and relaxed on the couch once again, leaning forward to grab the TV remote and change the channel to the news.
"Wonder what's on...just a quick glance before I head to bed…"
The first thing she saw when she turned on the news was a live video stream of an aerial battle taking place in the hills next to a city she didn't recognize the name of. Vitoze it was called, and according to the broadcaster, it was where the military of Emmeria was making it's last stand against the dominant Estovakian military.
"That's where he is, Anea…"
She gripped one of her sleeves as she watched the news feed, jets in the air bursting into flames as they were shot down, and that seed in the back of her mind began nagging away at her more and more.
It got to the point that Elizabeth couldn't handle it any more and she quickly turned off the TV while closing her eyes, hugging her belly with her other arm.
"I can't sit by anymore...I want him back...for myself, and our children…"
Elizabeth then stood up and grabbed her cellphone off the table, went into her contacts and selected a number among them to dial up, hoping that they were still awake on the other end. She held the phone up to her ear, hearing the dial tone ringing back to her as she waited for the person to answer.
"Come on, please, please…" she whispered. "Please pick up…"
The phone rang for a few moments, and she was about to give up and end the call before the dial tone ended and the sounds of someone picking up the phone came through, followed by a male's voice.
"Hillenberand."
"Erich? Erich, it's me, Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth! How are you? It's been such a long time!" laughed the man on the other hand, Elizabeth smiling at his voice.
"Yeah, it has, and I'm doing fine. I'm sorry neither me or Alek haven't called you in a while. And I'm sorry that I'm calling you so late, but I just had to."
"Hey, don't worry about it, I always enjoy talking with you guys. How's Jasp?"
"Fine, just fine...and I'm actually pregnant with our second child…"
Elizabeth blushed and smiled again when Erich laughed out loud and congratulated her enthusiastically from the other end of the line, wishing her good luck with her pregnancy.
"How'd he react to it? I bet he wished he was there!"
"He did...but...that's exactly why I called you...it's about Alek…"
Erich was silent for a moment after she said this, and Elizabeth could practically see Erich's big, confident smile turn into a concerned look.
"What happened? Is he okay?"
"Yes, I'm sure he's fine, you and I both know he can take care of himself. And Nicolai and James are there with him too. The problem is that...you've been watching the news, right? About what's happening in Anea?"
"Yeah. I have. He's there, ain't he?"
"He was there before, during the civil war...and I just talked with him a few days ago...he's still there, because he and this other person named Lorenz were searching for something, and...and I don't know if this war is going to turn into something like the other's he's been in, and-"
"Whoa, whoa, Elizabeth, slow down, breath! Take it easy, you shouldn't be getting stressed like this if you're pregnant!"
Elizabeth bit her lip and realized that she was on the verge of tears, a hand coming to her mouth to cover it as she bit her lip and breathed slowly to calm herself down. She couldn't prevent a single tear from rolling down her cheek, but she was able to relax somewhat, enough to be able to talk to Erich normally.
"P-Please...I'm worried for him...I want him to come home, or at least know that he's okay...we want him back, Erich…and I don't know what to do..."
"...I'll go."
Elizabeth's eyes widened when she heard those words, but she wasn't able to process them at first and asked him to repeat himself. When Erich did, she was beside herself and didn't know what to say.
"But Erich, you're-"
"You're talking to a former BAF pilot, Elizabeth. What I got taught at the academy doesn't go away that easily. I've got a buddy of mine that can help me get to Anea, without having to fly commercial, since I doubt that would be the smart idea. Don't worry Elizabeth, I'll find your husband and figure out what's wrong. What you need to do is stay positive and keep Jasp happy for me, alright?"
Elizabeth closed her eyes and she could imagine the grin he was giving her when he said that, confident and sure of his abilities like always. There was a reason why he and her husband were able to get along so well after meeting up again after the war.
"Please...thank you, Erich…"
"You got it. Don't worry, Phonix is on the case."
- Brilliante Heights, Vitoze, southwestern Khesed Island -
Talisman and the Emmerians had shot down at least a dozen Estovakian bombers and even more escort fighters, but still they were getting hounded by the Estovakians with their seemingly endless supply of forces. The smaller Emmerian force had started out strong, but again were being progressively pushed farther and farther back, to the point Vitoze had sustained damage from the air battle and their ground forces weren't able to keep up with their AA defenses to protect the city.
The situation was growing worse by the second, and Talisman could see the endgame coming from a mile away. Something had to be done, and fast.
"The air defense network won't hold much longer!" exclaimed Marcus. "What do we do, Talisman?"
"Follow me Marcus, we're making a play."
He gunned it forward and Marcus stayed hot right on his wing, the two pilots breaking out of the encirclement that they were forced into and started going on the offensive, to help their forces regain the advantage.
"Look at Garuda Team, they've opened the path for us! We gotta follow through!"
The Windhover and Avalanche squadrons, putting all their cards on the table, followed behind their leaders and began pushing back with reinvigorated strength against the Estovakians. They downed fighter after fighter, the bombers left defenseless to attacks from their flanks by the Emmerians.
"We're starting to do it! We're pushing them back!" yelled Talisman. "Just keep pushing, don't hold back! If we stop now, Vitoze is toast!"
While the Emmerians were going all out, high above the action, a pair of fighters were watching from above, their focus solely on the Talisman as he flew and weaved through the Estovakian pilots.
"See anything worthwhile, Cipher?"
"Yeah...I think Lorenz' intel was right, Emmeria did have a hotshot up their sleeves. And look at how his allies are around him. Look familiar?"
"Like how Nagase, Grimm, and Snow were with you during the last war?"
Cipher chuckled a little and nod his head, before he looked at a picture of Elizabeth taped to the inside of his cockpit and let out a slow, steady breath. Nicolai, his trusted wingman since the start of the Estovakian Civil War, heard the breath and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew what that meant when he heard that breath, he had heard it so many times before during the civil war, it was the method Cipher used to calm himself down before diving into any fray occurring.
"Getting a closer look for yourself?"
"I need to confirm if he's the one up close and personal. You don't need to come down to help me, I'll be fine." replied Cipher, Nicolai chuckling.
"Alright then. Stay safe then."
Cipher grinned a little before he dropped his altitude rapidly, speeding down towards the battle below. This was going to be the first battle he had participated in since the end of the civil war, and that adrenaline rush instantly hit him in his downward descent. It was time to have some fun.
"Fox 2! Ha! Got him!"
"Nice job Lanner!"
The Emmerians, thanks to Talisman and Marcus providing the breakout from their encirclement, had once again regained the initiative and were pushing back the Estovakians farther and farther away from the city, enough to where their bombers couldn't even get close enough before they were shot down.
"It's no use! We can't get past them!"
"Dammit, we had them!"
Estovakian pilots were dropping like flies and they were getting more and more frustrated with their inability to finish off the Emmerian forces, especially when they had the numerical advantage.
"We've lost the advantage, we need to retreat from the airspace." said their AWACS. "The Emmerians have won this time…"
"This is Galm One...I'll cover your retreat."
"Yeah, we did it! They're running!"
"Hold up everyone, don't celebrate yet. New enemy on radar coming in hot from the same attack vector as the Estovakians." informed Ghost Eye.
"A single fighter?" asked Windhover, snorting. "What is one fighter going to do for them?"
"So...I hear you guys have a hotshot in your ranks."
Windhover's voice turned silent when the voice entered their radio channel, a phenomenon that's been reported to happen sometimes when there's a vast amount of jet fighters in the sky around one another. Talisman didn't know who the voice belonged to, but for some reason it seemed so familiar to him.
What was even stranger was how indirectly the unknown pilot referred to him, since he was sure that's who he was talking about.
"Yeah, so? If you're trying to win, it's no use. We've already won."
"Not while I'm here."
The lone fighter then emerged from the haze and charged straight at Talisman from out of nowhere, launching several missiles at him and forcing him to disengage quickly off instinct.
"Holy shit! Who is this guy?!" he thought as he quickly accelerated upward, the pilot sticking right behind him.
No matter what he did to shake the guy off, Marcus even trying to get him off his flight lead's tail by spamming his machine gun at him and firing missiles too, they couldn't lose him. Talisman glanced back to try and see just what kind of fighter jet he was dealing with, and saw almost a mirror reflection.
It was undoubtedly an F-15 that was chasing him, a closer look that he made within a fraction of a second telling him it was the first model, an F-15C, but something was off about it. It looked different, modified even. How or why an Estovakian would be flying an F-15C was beyond him, at least for a few short moments before he noticed the navy blue colors on its wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
In an instant his whole world flipped upside down. What was he doing here? What was a legend doing fighting for the Estovakians?
"Garuda One! Are you-"
"Stay back, Marcus!" shouted Talisman after pulling a harsh G-force maneuver. "Don't get close!"
"Talisman?!"
He grunted when Cipher grazed parts of his left wing with his gun as they blew by one another, the skilled mercenary performing his own sharp turn to get right back onto Talisman's tail.
"Everybody, stay back, or you'll get shot down!"
"Garuda One, what is the problem?" questioned Ghost Eye. "Who is the unknown fighter?"
Talisman grunted as he pulled a high-G turn to try and catch Cipher off guard, but he expected the maneuver and countered by rolling away, some bullets Talisman fired just barely missing his fuselage.
"It's the Demon Lord...the guy from Ustio!" he exclaimed. "It's the Demon Lord!"
The mood among the Emmerian pilots instantly shifted to terror when the identity of the new pilot was revealed. A legendary ace with no equal was fighting for their enemy, something that none of them would have ever thought possible.
"Let's see how well you fare in that jet of your's…" said Cipher as he continued to relentlessly pursue Talisman.
"Shit, this guy's skill is insane!"
Talisman tried every single maneuver in the book that he knew, even some that he wasn't even sure existed in any book, but Cipher still maintained a close distance behind him. He felt as if Cipher was toying with him, like a predator would with its prey. Sizing him up, judging what it would take to bring him down.
"Like hell I'm going to let myself get shot down here!"
He gripped his flight stick tightly and let his gut takeover, his maneuvers becoming far more sharp and tight, as if he had flipped a switch inside his jet to release all the limits put onto it. Cipher could immediately see the change when it happened, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling when the tables started to become far more even then before.
"After so long...I got you."
To everyone's surprise, Talisman began to hold his own against the Demon Lord, matching him move for move in the sky. It was almost as if they were mirror matches—two sides of the same coin.
"I'm not gonna let you win here! It doesn't matter if you're the Demon Lord, I'm going to win for my friends, and my country!" shouted Talisman as he twirled his jet around a missile.
Talisman then pulled back hard on the flight stick and cut the engines, his plane almost freezing in the air and flipped around at a 45° angle, and fired a missile almost point blank back at Cipher.
To his displeasure, Cipher shot it clear out of the sky with a well placed burst from his machine gun, the two pilots soaring past one another in a momentary respite from the intense dogfight. Talisman was ready for Cipher, his adrenaline pumping at the maximum, but nothing came. No missile alerts, nothing.
"I've seen enough."
Talisman turned his jet around and looked just in time to see Cipher retreating from their airspace, his aircraft ascending up towards another jet fighter flying higher up then the rest. Once they linked back up, they and the rest of the Estovakian forces fled the airspace in a rapid manner, so much so that Talisman didn't even know what to think in that moment until Windhover blurted it out.
"Holy shit! You fended off the Demon Lord! Talisman, you're a god!"
"I...I did?"
Avalanche and Windhover laughed at Talisman's temporary obliviousness to what he had just managed to do, until he too finally realized it and fist pumped. "Fuck, I did!"
"There he is!" laughed Lanner. "Yeah, you did!"
"That was incredible, Talisman!" exclaimed Marcus enthusiastically. "You did it!"
He formed back up with Talisman in a sort of victory lap over the Brilliante Heights as the Emmerians cheered at their victory. They were able to hold on to the last bit of territory they had left and put a stop to Estovakia's plans to wipe them off Emmeria entirely.
"All Estovakian forces have been either shot down or have retreated. I have to say you all handled things well."
"Sheesh...heapin' all that praise on us has got me a little too red in the face to go back home." said Avalanche.
Ghost Eye grinned to himself inside of his plane and leaned against a monitor inside, making a smirk that he knew they couldn't see while shuffling some paper in his hands.
"Roger that Avalanche. I'll just report you as gunned down and missing in action."
Ghost Eye's unexpected joke got a laugh out of everybody, restoring the mood back to a more jovial one like they had before Cipher's brief appearance. Avalanche was the only one not to laugh.
^^^^Debriefing Message^^^^
The enemy bombers have been intercepted. Enemy aircraft around the Khesed perimeter have been significantly weakened. Our forces have taken advantage of this opportunity to arrange a swift counterattack. We will also take note of the appearance of the "Demon Lord", who appeared near the latter half of the mission. We all know who he is, what he's capable of. We will take precautions in future operations in the event that the Demon Lord makes another appearance. We'll be expecting the best of you.
- Somewhere in the Emmeria Countryside -
- Several Days later -
"My daughter is alive somewhere in Gracemeria...I have to find her."
Melissa had left the refugee camp a couple of days earlier with her luggage in tow, saying goodbye to the people she had come to at least somewhat know on the train ride there before. Some thought she was crazy to go back, others admired her for her courage to do so.
What they thought of her didn't matter. The knowledge that her daughter was alive and well somewhere in Gracemeria was enough to keep her body going, even when her feet were aching and sore beyond belief. She had been walking for days, rolling her luggage behind her, sticking to the roads since it will end up at the capital later on down the line.
As she was walking, she remembered the bridge that she had to cross a few weeks earlier and at first she was worried about it. How was she going to cross the river without a boat? It was too deep for her to swim across either, she would be swept away.
Those thoughts however were pushed aside when to her surprise, she came across the very bridge she herself crossed with all those refugees, completely untouched.
"Didn't that soldier say that they had to destroy this bridge before the enemy came?"
Her question was answered when upon crossing over the bridge she founded the smoking ruins of the very tank she walked past two weeks prior, some stray birds perched atop it, watching her as she went by. By the time she reached a farmhouse she faintly remembered walking by, her legs had grown numb and her body was aching from walking, to the point she had to drop to her knees just to try and rest.
It was then she heard a vehicle drive up and brake just a few feet behind her, the horn honking twice. Melissa's eyes widened slightly and slowly sat up, before turning her head around to see the occupant of the vehicle.