-x-
Legendary Aces
Chapter 42: Bartolomeo Fortress
-Echoes of Battle-
-Talisman-
Campagne Airport, Brilliante Heights
1040hrs 5 December 2015
I couldn't stop thinking about the call a week ago. It was all I thought about. I even unintentionally distanced myself from everyone from getting lost in my thoughts.
I was in the middle of my daily workout, doing my one arm pull-up sets. I counted out loud as I went. At some point, somebody had approached me, but my eyes and ears weren't seeing and hearing my surroundings. In fact, my eyes were closed, and my ears heard only a mental replay of the call with Mom and Kye a week ago.
It wasn't until I finished my set and let myself down from the bar that I noticed someone had been standing in front of me. "Oh, hey, Daniel."
"Are you okay?" he asked. "You've been... odd this week."
"Oh, yeah. Never better. Why do you ask?"
"It's just... you haven't talked to any of us all week."
"Oh, uh..." I scratched my head. "I've just had something on my mind."
"Mind if I ask?"
I hesitated, but sighed and told him. "I talked to my sister."
He froze in his tracks. "You mean Lieutenant Colonel..."
"Kye Akari, yes. It was a short call, but it was enough to let me know that she's okay."
"That's fantastic!"
"Yeah. I was pretty happy when I found out."
"Was?"
"Still am, of course. So what's up? Do you need anything?"
"Oh, no. I just came out here to see you."
"For what?" I suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"I was planning on going to a diner in town tonight. It'd be nice if..."
I had to interrupt him. "Daniel, please stop. That drinking date last week was just for fun. We all needed that. But I can't do what you're asking."
He looked at me with confusion, but I didn't give him a chance to talk.
"We're at war right now. We can't afford to... well... we already have a lot on our plates now. Is it really a good idea to add this?" I wasn't sure what expression I was making, but it must have been convincing. He really stepped back and took a moment.
"Yeah. You're right," he finally said. "It'd be bad if we suddenly had unneeded worries while on a sortie."
I smiled at and hugged him. "Thanks. If it matters at all, I really do appreciate your thoughts."
"Hey, no worries. Maybe after the war?"
"You sure are persistent." I gave him an apologetic smile. "I make no promises."
"Fair enough."
"I'm gonna get back to my routine. Still got cardio to do."
"Want any company?"
"If you want, but you should know that my routine is a lot rougher than the Emmerian military standard."
"How much harder could it be?"
"I run about twice the speed and thrice the distance."
His eyes widened.
"I thought so. You'll need to graduate up to my routine over time if you want to keep up. See you later, Daniel." I did a quick warm up and took off, leaving my stunned admirer behind.
Campagne Airport, Brilliante Heights
1210hrs 8 December 2015
I had just finished my lunch in the mess hall and was about to get up to leave, but I heard a pair of army guys talking nearby.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"You didn't hear it from me, but I've heard rumors that we're moving to an aircraft carrier soon."
That sparked my attention. It had to be just a rumor. If it wasn't, how did a couple Army Corporals learn about something like that before me?
"No way."
"Yeah, everyone on base is supposed to be going, not just the Navy."
"Army and Air Force, too?"
"Yeah."
Could he be serious? I got up, walked over to them, and tapped on one of their shoulders. "Excuse me..."
"Hmm?" The closer one turned to me. "Oh, Captain Akari."
"You mentioned that we're all going to an aircraft carrier soon. Where did you hear about that?"
"I'm sorry, Captain, was I not supposed to know?"
"It's not that. This is the first I've heard of it. I just want to know what your source is so I can confirm it."
"Oh, well I heard it from my CO. I think he was told by your CO."
"Ghost Eye said that?"
"That's right."
"Hmm... thanks. I'll go ask him."
"Anytime, Captain."
I left my tray on the table and headed straight to the admin building. Ghost Eye had just come out of the conference room when I got there.
"Talisman, I was just about to come look for you," he said.
"For what reason? Is it about us moving to the aircraft carrier?" I asked.
"Yes, actually, but we need to cover something first beforehand. Do you have training for carrier takeoff and landing?"
"I do," I replied. I was tempted to give a smartass response like "You have to ask?" while citing my family name and who trained me, but quickly decided that since I wouldn't want to hear that comment given to me that I shouldn't give it to him either.
"What plane would you be most comfortable flying while based on the carrier?"
"My F-15P, of course. It is capable of taking off and landing on carriers."
"Good. This is a better answer than I expected. Do you know where Shamrock is? I need to talk to him about this, too."
"He also has carrier takeoff and landing training. I read his file through and through after you assigned him as my wingman."
"Good. Would you mind forwarding the news about the move to him?"
"Sure, but I'm wondering about something..." I said. "We don't actually have any available carriers. What carrier are we going to use?"
Before he could answer, I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my waist from behind and a head resting on my right shoulder. Only one culprit could be behind that act!
"Hi, Lily."
"Hello, Princess," she said. "Do you really want to know what carrier you'll be using?"
"I would like to know, yes."
"Do you reeeeeeally want to know?" she repeated in an unusually seductive voice.
I reached back and tickled her sides. It took all she had to keep from bursting out laughing. She was stubborn, but I won.
"I give! Yami!" I tickled her so badly that I even got her to same my name without adding "Princess" to it. Win!
She let go of me as soon as I stopped tickling her. I turned around and held my hands up like claws. "Tell me, Lily!"
"Alright, alright." She leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. "You'll be using the carrier you trained on, of course."
"The Polaris?"
"That's right."
"Is Tony still the Captain?"
She nodded. "Uncle Tony was happy when I sent him his new orders. He's missed you."
"It's been nearly two years," I said. "I can imagine. So where's that sister of yours? Aliana is usually within arm's reach."
"You're mean, Princess," Lily said. "You know how she feels about her name."
"Yeah, my bad. So is she here?"
Lily pointed to my left.
"Hello, Princess." The black haired girl said in a voice so soft that I almost couldn't hear it.
"You sure have a knack for sneaking up on people, Shadow," I said.
Shadow bowed to Yami. "I apologize, Princess. I did not mean..."
"Hey now, I was kidding." I pulled her into a hug. "Have you been a good girl for Lily?"
Ghost Eye raised an eyebrow when she nodded at me. When I left go, she looked very annoyed, likely at the "good girl" comment.
-Liliana-
Campagne Airport, Brilliante Heights
1218hrs 8 December 2015
Princess Yami hugged Shadow. "Have you been a good girl for Lily?" I mentally sighed and watched as Princess Yami's CO raised his eyebrow. Before he could ask, I shushed and pulled him away leaving Princess Yami and my little sister alone for the moment. "You prefer to go by Ghost Eye, right?"
"That's right." He pointed at Princess Yami and Shadow. "What's...?"
"They've been like that since we were kids."
He was confused. "Yeah?"
"Oh, sorry. It's not a well-known fact. Shadow is my little sister. She's two years older than Princess Yami. The three of us grew up together, along with her siblings, Princess Kye and Prince Zen."
"I see."
"You heard Princess Yami say Shadow's real name, didn't you?"
"Aliana, wasn't it?"
"That's right." I glanced over at Princess Yami and Shadow for a moment. Princess Yami was acting like a goofball while Shadow was being quiet as usual. "She was teased about her name when we were young. When written down, her name resembles the word alien. She has always been quiet and reserved, so the kids from school thought she was weird. Mix that and alien... well she didn't like that much. Nowadays, only a few of us know her given name since she goes exclusively by her call sign."
"I can't say I blame her. I prefer my call sign as well."
"You can relate to her more than anyone." I sighed as I looked back at my sister. "It's sad. She has such a beautiful name."
"If I may, Liliana is a beautiful name as well."
"Thanks. Most people just call me Lily, though it is nice to hear my full given name once in a while. Anyway, I need to talk to you about the transfer. Have you heard of Captain Antonio Venturi?"
"Of course. He's a legend in the Emmerian Navy."
"Like many in the Venturi, Akari, Bartlett, and Ross families, he serves joint duty with Pandora and another nation, Emmeria in the case of many Venturis. He is an O-6 and serves as captain of the PFS Polaris."
"Won't this spark conflict with Estovakia's allies?"
"It won't. I managed to parley with them. They still threaten to join the war if Pandora helps directly, but since the Polaris is a liaison vessel for Pandora and Emmeria, and manned mostly by Emmerians, they won't bother. They questioned me about the F-15Ps that Garuda Team is flying, but I assured them they were ordered by Emmeria before the war started, which is partially true."
Ghost Eye raised his eyebrow at me. "You sound like you're on a thin wire."
"I may be the Supreme Commander of the Pandoran Military," I said while gesturing to the five star insignia on the right side of my collar before pointing to the three star insignia on the left, "but I am also a Lieutenant General of the Emmerian Air Force. The Venturi family has called Emmeria home for generations, and so do I. I will not allow Emmeria to fall without a proper fight."
"Lieutenant General? I apologized for not looking at your insignia sooner."
I nodded. "Don't worry about that. I'm not surprised you didn't know, though. It came with the Supreme Commander position. I was a Captain in the Air Force beforehand. Shadow is also in both Paragon and the Emmerian Air Force. She has the same rank as Princess Yami."
"Interesting. When will the Polaris arrive?"
"In two days. Have you figured out what to do about the 15th Fighter Squadron?"
"I talked to that squadron's leader, Windhover, just a little while ago. His squadron has carrier training, but the F-16 is not capable of carrier operations."
"That could be problematic," I said. "If they aren't opposed to and are capable of flying F-18s, then it should be okay. The Polaris is carrying eight spare F-18s."
"They have F-18 training as well. In fact that's what they trained with for carrier operations. In that case, they will fly F-18s while stationed on the Polaris."
"Good, that's settled."
"I'm glad you two have that all figured out," Princess Yami said as she walked over to us. "I'll pass on the message. I have a scheduled training exercise with Windhover's squadron at 1300."
"I'll leave it to you then, Talisman," Ghost Eye said. "Is there anything else I can help either of you with?"
"I'm good," Princess Yami said.
"That's all," I said.
"Okay then. I have some paperwork to do, so if you'll excuse me." He turned around and headed for his office.
Princess Yami grabbed my wrist and led me outside. Shadow followed close behind. As soon as we got outside, she broke into a run and forced me and Shadow to follow.
"Princess?" I asked.
"Come on! I want you guys to meet the others!"
-Talisman-
PFS Polaris
0730hrs 10 December 2015
It didn't take long for the Polaris to arrive. It was docked at the nearest port, although it did take half a day to load up everything.
Windhover wasn't too happy about his squadron having to fly F-18s. I took note of that and took them down to the video conference room. After a short talk with my mother, she assured them that their F-16s could be modified to perform carrier operations. They weren't as disappointed about flying F-18s after that, though it would take about a month for the modifications on their F-16s to be completed.
Mom said that they could upgrade the F-16s in the same manner that they upgraded the F-14s, F-15s, and F-22s with the X-03 technology five years ago. I had to explain to Windhover and his squadron what all that entitled. Their faces were beaming with excitement by the time I finished.
Avalanche got wind of the modifications and came to ask if it would be possible for his planes, too. Since the F-18 was already carrier capable, Mom said it would be easier and faster to upgrade his plane.
She told us that she was sending a team that would be here by tomorrow and that the modifications would be completed by Christmas Day.
Just as we were leaving the video conference room the last time, Mom called again. She said it was private this time, so I had everyone else leave the room.
"What's up?"
"Go to your secure phone."
As soon as I picked up the phone, I heard both Mom's voice and Kye's voice.
"Hey, little sister!"
"Kye! Happy Birthday!"
"Huh? Oh shit, today's the tenth. Haha, I completely forgot! Well Happy Birthday to you too then! In two days anyway."
"Happy Birthday to you both," Mom said. "We usually wait until the twelfth... but since it's so difficult for us to talk right now..."
"So, I wanted to give you guys an update. All the kids are doing well, and Rei mastered a new sword technique yesterday."
"That's great! I can't wait to see her in action myself," I said.
"She'll surprise you, for sure." I imagined a smirk on her face when she said that.
"What about you and Monica Lampert?" I asked.
"I'm fine, but Monica is the reason I'm calling. She's sick, and I don't know what it is. I need to take her to the hospital. The only problem is the Estovakians. They might look the other way for me since I'm Osean, but Monica is Emmerian."
"There's no telling, honestly," I said.
"Mom, can you talk to Liliana? See if she can negotiate with the Estovakians for Monica?"
"I can talk to her, but there's no guarantee the Estovakians will negotiate for..."
I had to interrupt them. "Can you two wait a couple minutes? Lily is here on the Polaris. I can call her down here right now."
"Do it," Kye said.
I gave Lily a call on her cell phone. She was down here in less than five minutes. She ran to the phone as soon as I opened the door.
"Princess?"
"Hi, Lily. I need a favor."
"What is it?"
"An Emmerian woman that has been staying in these catacombs with me is very sick. I need to take her to the hospital, but the Estovakians..."
"I understand. Who is the Emmerian woman?"
"Monica Lampert."
"She's my wingman's wife," I added.
"Do not tell him that she is sick," Lily ordered. "That's the last thing he needs to have on his mind while at war. Take her to the hospital anyway. If they don't let you in, try to convince them with your Paragon authority. If that still does not work, go to the Central Station and call my satellite phone. There's one man that may be willing to listen."
"Who?" Kye asked.
"Lieutenant Colonel Victor Voychek of the Estovakian Air Force."
"I know that name," I said. "He's the Strigon Leader."
"Not anymore. He was injured... by you actually... and was relegated to ground duty."
"He led the attack on Gracemeria! We can't trust him."
"We can, and we will. I know him personally. He's an enemy of Emmeria right now, but he is an honorable man. Just trust me on this." Lily was adamant about Voychek.
"If you trust him, so will I," I said.
"Princess Kye, go now. Take Monica to the hospital and do as I said if they don't let you in."
"Alright. Thanks, Lily. I'll talk to you all later." She hung up.
"I need to go as well. Yuko is wanting to play airplanes," Mom said. She ended the call, leaving Lily and me alone on our end.
"You know, you can be scary sometimes," I said.
Lily laughed lightly. "Can I?"
"By the way. You didn't wish her a Happy Birthday."
I caught her by surprised. "Oh. Opps. Well, if she calls later, I'll get that chance."
PFS Polaris
1300hrs 25 December 2015
"Merry Christmas!" I cheered after opening the door to the hangar containing the upgraded F-18s. Avalanche was overjoyed. "Just in time for our next sortie, too."
"Next sortie?" he asked.
"I just got word a little while ago that we have a mission in two days."
It was neat to present his upgraded planes as a Christmas present. It's too bad Lily and Shadow already flew home. I'm sure they would have been happy to see how Paragon's upgrades made a squadron very happy.
-Briefing-
The final remnant of Estovakian forces on this island is concentrated on Mt. Marcello in northern Khesed.
The enemy is mainly distributed throughout this mountainous area, with Bartolomeo Fortress as its center of operations, providing a variety of high level defensive measures and offensive might. This fortress also boasts strong anti-air capabilities.
Our ground unit in this mission is to split into two groups, to the east and west, along with an air unit mainly providing ESM, which gives us three units in total. Garuda Team, we need you to cover each of these units in whichever order you feel is necessary.
The situation will change depending on which turn a particular battle takes. You'll need to keep close tabs on the combat situation of each unit to successfully complete this mission.
Our forces on the mainland are scattered and desperate, doing all they can to protect our nation. We need you to help guarantee their success on this mission. And success on this mission is measured by how much support you can provide them with.
-Talisman-
-Mission Start-
Mt. Marcello 47'25'10"N 27'00'05"E
1331hrs 27 December 2015
"This is Ghost Eye to all planes. Initiate invasion of Bartolomeo Fortress."
"This is Warlock. We've got the west route to the fortress."
"Quox Battalion here. We'll advance from the east."
"This is Snake Pit, your electronic support plane. Moving to support ground forces."
"Garuda Team, I need you to provide back-up for each battalion. Begin operation," Ghost Eye ordered.
"Roger that," I said. "Before we begin, I need to give out assignments for our air support."
"Go ahead, Talisman."
"Alright. Windhover, I want you to cover Warlock. I want one secondary squadron assisting you."
"Roger, Talisman."
"Avalanche, you'll be covering Snake Pit. You'll also have a secondary squadron assisting you. Show them how well your upgraded F-18X angels can dance."
"Roger that."
"As for Shamrock and myself, we'll be covering Quox Battalion."
"I'll follow your lead, Talisman," Marcus said.
"Use the Operation ID device when the battle gets too heavy," Ghost Eye added.
"Way ahead of you," I said. My radar was already set to Operation B for Quox. I reached over to the secondary radar touchscreen and picked eight targets. "Marcus, I'm sending you target data. Hit these with your ADM. I'll coordinate with mine and we'll sweep this first area out from under the rug."
"Roger."
A simultaneous ADM launch from us ended up in a near clean sweep of the first area in Quox Battalion's path. They didn't want to let us have all the fun, though, so they stepped up their game to finish off the rest.
"Quox, this is Garuda 1. We're going to hit some targets on up ahead to clear out a better path for you. Let us know if you need backup in the meantime."
"Roger that, Garuda."
I pulled up and hit my thrusters. As soon as I reached roughly ten thousand feet, I leveled off and took a close look at what targets were below.
"Use the Operation ID device when the battle gets too heavy," Ghost Eye called. "Your radar display can be toggled for each operation."
"Way ahead of you," I replied.
I sorted through the targets in Operation B and marked any targets that would prove dangerous to a tank battalion as important.
"Talisman, what are you doing?" Ghost Eye asked. "The screen I have for your radar is..."
"Yeah, I'm setting important targets to take out in Operation B. I'm almost finished." After I punched in the last few targets, I sorted through them for the ADM. One ADM in each area would be enough to clear out the strong anti-tank weaponry. "Shamrock, I'm sending some data your way. It will display our primary targets and will have specific target settings for the ADM. Have at it."
"I'm receiving the information. The targets for my attack are up ahead. Do you want me to split off and take them out?"
"Yes."
"Roger."
Marcus headed off to the third spot in Operation B. I stayed behind in the second spot and fired my ADM to clear the anti-tank armaments.
"Ghost Eye, how is each operation proceeding?"
"Warlock Battalion is approaching the first checkpoint now. Quox isn't to their first checkpoint just yet, but they are going at a steady pace."
"What about Snake Pit?"
"Avalanche is covering Snake Pit quite well."
"Good. Also, you saw how I was picking targets right? I want you to go through Operation A and use that pattern to mark targets there. Mainly, I want outlying targets that are out of range of bombing targets."
"Roger, Garuda 1. I'll have that data ready for you in about a minute."
"Windhover, did you read that?" I asked.
"Yes, we heard it all," he said.
"Good. You guys take out the bunched up crap and I'll come hit all the outlying targets with an ADM launch."
"Roger that."
Marcus flew by and turned around to fall into formation with me. "Good timing, Marcus. I want you to hover over Quox for a bit. Take out any choppers you see on the way back to them."
"On it." He broke off and destroyed a chopper within ten seconds. I watched two more vanish from the radar as he made his way to Quox. I did the same in the opposite direction.
"Both Warlock and Quox Battalions have reached the first checkpoint," Ghost Eye reported. "Talisman, your target data is ready for Operation A. I'm sending it now."
"Good. Can you send the secondary squadron that's helping Avalanche to destroy the ESM facilities in Operation C?"
"Already on it."
"Alright. Shamrock, I'm heading over to Operation A for a bit. I need you to cover Quox alone for a minute."
"Go ahead, Garuda 1. I've got this."
"Roger that." I headed back up to about ten thousand feet, turned toward Warlock Battalion, and flipped my radar to Operation A. I managed to reach targets from two areas with a single ADM. That was good since I needed to save as many as possible. I watched while eight targets disappeared from my radar, then a funny thought ran through my mind. I had to say something about it, but I made sure to fire my second ADM and finish off the outlying targets first, though. "Hey guys... this might seem a little out of place, but doesn't this kinda feel like a game of Pacman? Like we're Pacman and they are the fruit?"
"Haha, it kind of does, except I feel more like a ghost and my target is Pacman," Avalanche said.
"It kind of does," Windhover added.
"I dunno, with the ADM it kinda feels like MS Paint on the computer when I use the ADM," Marcus said. "I feel like the eraser tool."
The radio went silent.
"Oh, come on, you can't tell me you've never played around with Paint on a computer."
I laughed. "Maybe."
"It feels more like a game of war to me where we have to destroy all the targets and advance to our objectives," Ghost Eye chimed in.
"Spoil sport," I muttered.
"Hey, at least I can play Pong up here while you do the fighting," he added.
I was both speechless and jealous at the same time.
"That's cruel, Ghost Eye," Windhover said. "Not to mention unfair."
"If it makes you feel any better, I just won another game. I also have Galaga."
"Galaga!" I shouted suddenly. "That's it!"
"Oww, my ears," Avalanche half cried.
"Whoops. Sorry! But Galaga! That's what dogfighting feels like to me."
"Keep it up and I'll start playing Galaga. I'll even patch it through to your second screen, Talisman," Ghost Eye said. "Cut the chatter."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Warlock and Quox Battalions have both just reached their second checkpoints. The mission is going as planned. We're over halfway to the objective."
"Warlock Battalion is under attack. Moving to provide cover," Lannar reported.
"I'll back up you, Lanner," I said
"No need," she said. "Not a man in the sky can touch me."
"Good thing I'm the only other woman out here, eh?" We shared a brief laugh. "Hit 'em hard! I'm heading back over to Operation B."
"Whew, I shook that one off somehow," Marcus said.
"What? What's firing at you?"
"Garuda 1, one enemy squadron has strayed from Operation C and entered Operation B airspace. Shamrock is currently engaged."
"Roger. I'm heading over there." I hit my afterburners and broke Mach 2 in under ten seconds. I saw the squadron in question. "Marcus, see if you can get them to fly in a straight line for a second. Either directly toward me or away. Preferably away."
"On it."
As soon as they straightened out, I switched to my AIM-120s and fired four simultaneously. "Fox Three."
One missed its target, but Marcus got around behind it and finished it off with his guns.
"Enemy electronic support aircraft sighted. Roger, proceeding as planned."
That was an enemy radio transmission!
"Garuda Team, two more enemy squadrons are heading for Snake Pit. Avalanche is going to need some help."
I found the incoming enemy squadrons on my radar, but four of the eight targets suddenly dropped off. I smirked as I realized what it was. "You sure about that? I think Avalanche has it under control."
"We have it under control, but we can only hold them off. We can't turn the tables without a little extra help," Avalanche said.
"It shouldn't be long now." I said.
"You're in the clear now, actually," Ghost Eye said.
"We're at the objective point," Quox Leader reported. "Quox Battalion, everyone okay?"
The radio exploded with a resounding "Yes".
"Roger that. Garuda Team is moving to assist Avalanche and Snake Pit."
"We've made it to the objective point," Warlock Leader reported. "Mission accomplished. Thanks for the air support."
"Windhover here, moving to assist Operation C."
"Roger, Windhover," Ghost Eye said.
The ESM facilities were already taken out. The secondary squadron did well in destroying them. We could focus solely on the dogfight now.
"Garuda 2, all weapons free. Use your specials and ADM as you see fit," I said.
"In that case..." He launched an ADM almost instantly. He took out an entire enemy formation and half of another.
"Nice. Six out of eight."
Between the combined efforts of Avalanche, Windhover, and Garuda Team, the airspace was quickly sanitized of all fighters.
"This airspace is secure now. Couldn't have done it without you," Snake Pit said.
"Enemy elements have been shut down throughout mission airspace," Ghost Eye reported. "All planes, move on to take the enemy fortress. Ground units, continue engagement."
"Roger. Talisman, it's time to mop the floor." Marcus said.
"Damn right," I replied. "Let's see how to divide up the targets here..."
"Eight unknown enemy fighters have been detected. Eight enemy fighters approaching!" Ghost Eye reported.
"A reaper's emblem! Those are the aces who attacked Gracemeria!" Marcus said.
"Not all of them," I said. "The SU-47s are new, but the SU-33s are Strigon fighters. The F-22s are familiar as well. I caught a glimpse of their emblem in Gracemeria. The F-22s are the Pegas Squadron. Their leader is the most dangerous one out of all the fighters in front of us. He's Major Lucijan Markovic, call sign Pegas. In the Estovakian Air Force, he is second only to Lieutenant Colonel Voychek and Major Pasternak. You definitely want to let me handle the Pegas Leader. The SU-47s are new, but I do know the emblem. They are the Kentavr Squadron. I don't know as much about them, but do not underestimate them. Not just anyone gets to fly SU-47s."
"Everyone got that?" Ghost Eye asked.
"Roger," everyone resounded.
I immediately shot after the Pegas squadron. Pegas's wingmen were easy to shoot down. None of them lasted more than ten seconds each, but the Pegas Leader was another story. He was good.
"What is your name?" I didn't recognize the voice. "Emmerian fighter, what is your name?"
I hesitated, but reluctantly answered. "I am Captain Yami Akari of the Emmerian Air Force, call sign Talisman."
"Akari? I recognize that name. You wouldn't happen to be related to the Legend?"
"I am. She is my older sister."
"Your pedigree is impressive, and you are no different. I see you are good. Beyond Voychek and Pasternak, I've never fought anyone that can keep up with me."
"I've fought a few pilots like this. I don't mean any disrespect by this, but I'd have to say they were better."
"Who are these formidable aces?"
"One is my mother. You would know her by her call sign, Cipher, or you may have heard of the title she earned in the Belkan War twenty years ago, Demon Lord of the Round Table."
"I have. And the others?"
"My aunt. She's the former Ace of Aces and my teacher, Mobius 1."
"Impressive again. It's a shame you won't get to fly with them anymore."
"I don't know about that. Flying with three of the top four ranked Pandoran aces has done me a lot of good."
"Is that so? I am the one with the lock on, you know."
I held a laugh in before kicking into a High G turn. I pulled up hard, released my air brakes, and killed my thrust for a second. Just as I was vertical, I hit my afterburners with my thrust vectors at the most extreme angle to push the tail end of my plane forward while the front was facing up. This force my plane to flip quickly. Pegas could only watch as I performed the High G loop. I was behind him in the blink of an eye, and quickly filled him full of holes.
"A post stall maneuver in an F-15? Impressive."
"No, that wasn't a post stall maneuver. It was a flip utilizing the advanced thrust vectoring on this plane."
"I see. Tell me. What exactly is your rank in Pandora?"
I didn't want to answer him since I didn't want my Emmerian friends to know, but my honor as a fighter pilot wouldn't let me stay quiet. "I am ranked number four in Pandora, behind only the Legend, the Grim Reaper, and the Demon Lord."
"You're already a legendary ace," he laughed just before his plane exploded. He ejected in time, and I could see him pointing at me. "Miss number four, can you hear me? I'm on a short range radio, so only you should be able to."
"I can."
"I have family in both Emmeria and Estovakia. I didn't choose this war, but orders are orders. I believe you can be the hero this country needs."
"I'd like to talk more if we can. The army will pick you up as a POW."
"I'll talk with you anytime you want, Miss Hero. Just know that honor will not permit me to discuss sensitive information about my country."
"Fair enough."
I took off toward my next target
The radio was almost silent for a short while. The only voices I heard were that of the enemy.
"What the hell..." the Kentavr leader muttered shortly before I sent him spiraling into a fireball.
"What kind of monster..." one of the Strigon fighters said, but was interrupted as I took him down as well. The other Strigon pilot didn't say a word before I shot him down.
By the time I cleared out the enemy aces, most of the enemy ground forces had been whittled down to almost nothing. Two ADM launches finished them off.
"The enemy fortress is under our control. Nice work, Garuda Team," Ghost Eye reported.
"Garuda Team, you guys work too hard. You're stealin' all our thunder!" Saker said.
"Yeah, especially with that one move," Avalanche added.
"Yeah, Talisman, that was amazing!" Lanner said.
"Why didn't you tell us you were ranked so high in Pandora?" Windhover asked.
I didn't answer at first, but just as I was about to, Marcus spoke up first. "Hey, Talisman, are you okay?"
"I never mentioned my rank in the Pandoran ranking because I don't want to be a celebrity."
"Pfft, you think we'll treat you different?" Windhover said.
"You've got another thing coming if that's the case," Avalanche added. "Come on, let's head back. Drinks are on me tonight."
"Wait, does the ship even have drinks?" Windhover asked.
"Yeah, the Polaris has a bar and everything," I said. "It's pretty restricted for who can use it, but yeah, there is one. You've gotten get cleared to have the next day off to go to the bar, but I don't think that'll be too much of a problem. Right, Ghost Eye?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you've all earned a day off."
The radio exploded with cheers.
"Hey, we should invite Warlock and Quox Battalions over to the Polaris for a drink, too," Avalanche suggested.
"Hey now, the bar isn't 'that' big," I said.
"Haha, no worries, we can all go out for a drink once we get to the mainland," Warlock Leader added.
"I'll hold you up on that, Warlock," Marcus said.
"You bet."
"Alright, alright, everyone. Return to base," Ghost Eye said.
-Post Mission-
We have successfully retaken Bartolomeo Fortress. With the successful execution of this mission, Emmerian forces have regained complete control of Khesed Island. A plan to retake the mainland is now in the works.
We're about to get into some serious combat.
-McKnight-
Emmerian Landing Ship
1418hrs 23 January 2016
Our post at the iron bridge was shot to hell by enemy aircraft. Those ever-so-helpful choppers were nice enough to wait until the last second to come bail us outta that death trap. The three of us are all that's left of our company.
Sergeant Donnie Torch is our driver. He never knows when to shut up. Sergeant Kevin Hobsbawm, who never says a damn thing, mans the gun. And I'm Sergeant Louis McKnight, the captain.
Since we're all sergeants, we had to draw straws for the captain's seat. And the winner is yours truly.
I'd live sweet and easy on this island for the rest of my days if I could. The flyboys on the other hand are workaholics. They drove a whole mess of enemy troops off this rock. And that's why we're holed up in this damn landing ship playin' five-card stud. I don't know what those flyboys are trying to pull, but this is the worst landing operation I've ever heard of.
I threw down my four aces and a joker, giving me the best possible hand, a five of a kind in aces, and trumped their tens and eights full house and six high straight.
I always knew Donnie had sticky fingers. Apparently he was robbing banks before he joined the service. What an idiot!
"Come on, just hear me out," Donnie said. "About five years ago, before I joined the military, I was digging a tunnel straight towards Gracemeria's central bank when..."
Donnie says the Estovakians haven't been able to get the safe open yet. He also says he dug an underground tunnel that got him within a few feet of the vault. Is this guy for real?
But if he really dug a tunnel that close to the vault, I just want to know one thing. What the hell are we still doing here? Once we're back on the mainland, we've gotta get to that bank before the Estovakians get their filthy paws on our loot. What've we got to lose?
-Talisman-
PFS Polaris
1648hrs 24 January 2016
"What a damn mess!" I almost screamed. I was in the Operations Room with Ghost Eye trying to work out a plan for the upcoming landing operation. "They made a nice detailed assault plan for the ground forces but just lumped us into one group and said to cover it all. First they take a month to prepare the ground forces and come up with a plan for them, then they conveniently forget about us?"
"That's how it goes," Ghost Eye said. "I've gotta say though, this really is a mess."
"We have three big operations in the next mission. Even with Windhover and Avalanche both having their planes upgraded to the F-16X and F-18X, we don't have enough people to cover all of this. These operations are just too big for two squadrons and a team of two."
"Could we have one squadron cover the Marigold fleet, one squadron cover Warlock, and have you and Marcus cover Quox?"
"That's not enough, though. Maybe we could have one squadron for Marigold and one for Quox, but that's only three experienced pilots per squadron. The secondary squadrons have gotten better, but not enough to make up the difference. AHHH! This is frustrating!"
"It sounds like you need a helping hand, Princess," a familiar voice called from behind.
"Lily!"
