Two weeks had passed since Osea brought down one of the Arsenal Birds. Eva and the others had been assigned a few small missions here and there, most of which they saw barely and combat in, but with each passing day, the more the pilots of Nexus Squadron started to get concerned about when they were going to be transferred back to Fort Grays. When Gates and Tillmin called all of the pilots to the briefing room, Eva once again felt a flicker of hope that today might be the day. As soon as she and the others walked in to see the usual briefing screen, though, she knew it was false hope.
Gates smiled as he saw everyone walk in. "Good, you're all here. Let's waste no time in getting started then."
"Uh, sir. With all due respect," Vortex spoke up before Gates continued. "My squadron and I were wondering when we'd be allowed to go back to Fort Grays. It's been quite a while since we've regained contact with allied forces, so we were curious as to whether there was some complication or not."
Magnum scoffed. "Grown sick of us, I see," she sneered. "Can't say I haven't missed the peace and quiet."
Eva was about to respond, but Gates spoke up before she got a chance. "Yes, I apologize for the delay. There's been a lot we've had to deal with, and working these requests up the chain of command has been difficult," he explained. "Rest assured, though, I am working on it. I can't say for sure how long it'll take, but I'll get it sorted out eventually," he promised, offering a reassuring smile to Nexus Squadron. "For now, though, we have a mission to take part in, and it's a pretty important one at that," he said, turning his attention back to the briefing screen.
Tillmin nodded as he stepped forward. "The time has finally come to liberate San Salvacion from Erusean control," he announced. "With the air defense network provided by the Arsenal Bird reduced, the remaining one is no longer able to respond to an attack on the city without jeopardizing the Space Elevator, which it's programmed to protect at all costs."
"This battle is going to be a massive undertaking," Gates continued. "Ground forces will move in from the north and the east. Our job will be to establish air superiority and provide close air support for the ground troops as needed. We've also made contact with a group of resistance fighters in the city, and the ground forces will be linking up with them during the battle. We need to make sure that the New City District, San Profetta Airport, and Old Towne District are all liberated from Erusean control."
"Remember, this is a crucial battle in the war," Tillmin reminded everyone. "If we're successfully able to capture the city, then that'll mean we have one less obstacle in our way to get to Farbanti. That also means Erusea will be fighting just as hard to keep in their hands, maybe even harder. This is going to be an intense battle across the skies and the ground, so be careful out there."
Eva jumped to her feet and started following everyone else out of the briefing room and to the hangars. In the past few weeks, since they had gotten back in contact with allied forces, every mission made her excited and nervous at the same time. Usually, she was just as worried as she was excited, but as Eva followed the others down to the hangars, she felt surprisingly giddy.
Magic, however, didn't seem as enthused. "At this rate, the war will be over before we're transferred back to Fort Grays," she grumbled.
"Is that necessarily a bad thing, though?" Lucky asked. "I'd rather meet back up with them in peacetime than have the chance of watching them die in a war."
"If we're there during the war, then that means we can help them if they need it," Poet pointed out. "I'd sure feel a lot better watching their backs than simply praying that they're ok."
"They could've died already, though," Magic said impatiently. "Maybe that's why it's taking so long to transfer us. They just don't wanna tell us they're gone."
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course, they're still alive," Charger chimed in.
Vortex nodded in agreement. "Mhm. I've known Knocker and Clown a long time. They're damn good pilots, and I trust that they'll be able to keep everyone alive."
Eva had a comment about Trigger in her mind, but she decided to keep it to herself. She knew that sooner or later, they'd be back at Fort Grays, which meant she'd be free to finally help him however she could. First, though, she had to survive long enough to get back, and that's precisely what she planned to do as she climbed up into her cockpit and began getting ready for takeoff.
"Rogue Squadron, our ground forces are engaged at the New City District. Resistance fighters are scattered throughout the city as well.," Crosswind informed the pilots. "Establish air superiority and support our ground forces as needed. Let's do this."
"Copy that, Crosswind. Rogue Squadron engaging," Vortex replied as he accelerated forward and dove into the battle.
Since most of the pilots decided to engage the fighters above the city, Eva decided to turn her attention to the ground. She quickly spotted allied ground units on her HUD as they fought between the high-rising buildings of the New City District. Not wasting any time, Eva lined herself up to pass through the district and between the buildings, taking out enemies on the ground as she went. Her first targets were a pair of SAM launchers. One, she destroyed with a standard missile, and the other, she took out with her guns. Eva then set her sights on a large group of tanks and APCs. She fired a standard missile at one of the APCs and tried to take out a tank with her guns, but as she passed over it, the tank remained in one piece. She thought about turning around to finish them off but instead decided to continue on her path and loop around after. Eva rolled onto her side, passing through a short gap between two buildings, and fired another missile at the AA guns below her. As she straightened her plane out again, she pitched straight up and went into a loop, preparing to go back and finish off whatever she missed.
"Hey, Mace Squadron. You see that plane that just flew overhead? The one with the bird on their tail? That's the Blue Kestrel," Eva heard the familiar voice of Captain Garth say over the radio. "As long as we stick under them, we'll be just fine."
Another man scoffed. "Right, I'll believe when I see it."
"Well, if that's the case, you'll see soon enough," Garth replied. "I know I sure as hell did," he replied with a chuckle.
Eva weaved between the buildings of the New City District once again, destroying one ground target after another. With every kill her system reported, she felt that they were one step closer to ending the war, and that made her feel good. As Eva pulled away from the city, she circled back around in search of another target to chase after. She was about to go after a pair of Typhoons on their own, but Crosswind stepped in with some new information.
"All units, we've got enemy reinforcements coming in from the east," he advised everyone. "They're moving into the Old Towne District. Stop them before they can get too dug in."
"I'll take care of 'em," Eva offered, already turned toward the new group of hostiles on her radar. "Anyone wanna give me a hand?"
"Sure, let's go," Magic said, forming up next to Eva.
Together, the two pilots flew full speed into the Old Towne District. Two squadrons of enemy fighters were among the Erusean reinforcements, but the others came to help not long after and kept them busy. Eva turned her attention to a group of rocket launcher trucks moving in a single file line, which made it even easier for her to pass over them with machine guns, destroying all of them in one pass. Once they were out of the way, Eva turned her attention to an incoming missile alert. Without wasting a second, she dropped her speed and looped around. After that, it didn't take her long to find the SAM launcher responsible for firing at her. The missile it fired tried to replicate the turn she made but lost its lock about halfway through. With the missile off her tail, Eva dove down and destroyed the SAM launcher with a missile of her own, as well as the radar tower next to it.
"Hey, look over there, next to the Sky Kid Café," Garth called out to the other ground units. "It's the resistance fighters. Let's give 'em a hand."
Eva turned around to face the next closest group of targets she could find and finally set her sights on some tanks moving down the main road of the district. She fired a pair of standard missiles at the first one, destroying it instantly, and went after a second one with her guns, only narrowly destroying it before she had to pull up and loop around. As Eva pulled up after destroying the remaining tanks, she finally realized what had been nagging at her ever since she and the others arrived at San Salvacion. Every other time they had been to the city, they were there out of desperation. It was a last resort as they were pushed back on their heels. Now, though, they were actually liberating the city. They were making some real change in the war, and, more importantly, they were gaining ground. Something about that just made Eva feel nice.
"Crosswind, this is Warlock 1. The enemy lines in the Old Towne District are crippled," Garth reported. "We should be able to finish them off from here. Tell the Blue Kestrel I said thanks for the air support."
Eva chuckled. "You can tell me yourself, sir," she said as she circled around the district, taking out two more AA guns as she went.
"All aircraft, the remainder of enemy fighters in this airspace are taking off from the San Profetta Airport," Crosswind informed the pilots. "Take them out and secure air superiority," he ordered.
Eva looked over in the direction of the new aircraft appearing on her radar and turned to face them head-on. Magic followed behind her after finishing up with the ground targets she was going after. Eva first set her sights on a squadron of F-35s that were just taking off. It was one of her favorite planes, second only to the F-15, so she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as she let loose a salvo of 6AAMs on them. Most of the planes managed to get airborne fast enough to evade, but the plane at the rear of the formation was not so lucky. Not wasting any time, Eva chased after the Erusean fighters at full speed. She fired a pair of standard missiles at another F-35 as she bolted past, just barely able to get a glimpse of the plane going down as she turned around to deal with the rest. By that point, however, the remaining two planes were already going on the offensive. The one leading the formation fired two missiles at her before pulling up and looping back around, while the second one tried to come at her with their guns. Eva deployed countermeasures to deal with the missiles and turned toward the second plane, firing a single 6AAM at them as they came at her head-on. Without any time to react, the third plane went up in flames. Finally, the last F-35 passed over her with guns, scoring a few hits. Eva turned to follow after them, but by the time she finished turning, her target was already turning away. She and the F-35 continued to twist and turn around each other, but they would always be just out of each others' reach. After about a minute of chasing each other around, though, Eva finally got lucky and landed several solid hits on the F-35, causing them to make a mistake which she quickly took advantage of by firing a standard missile to finish them off.
"Warlock 1 to Tucker 2-4, requesting artillery fire on the enemy APC formation up the street from us," Garth requested. "One of the resistance groups tagged 'em with a blue smoke canister."
"Roger that. Target location received," Tucker 2-4 replied. "Ordinance is inbound, aaaaand… impact!"
"Good hits, Tucker 2-4," Garth reported. "Much obliged for the fire support. Now we shouldn't have much stopping us from getting to the Military Headquarters."
Just as Eva was about to question which target to after next, a radar lock warning seemed to answer the question for her. She sharply turned away out of instinct, and as she looked over her shoulder, she managed to get a good look at her pursuer, an F/A-18F. The Super Hornet fired a missile at her that she just barely managed to evade. Eva tried various turns to shake it off, but nothing she was trying seemed to work. She was just about to try and get behind it with a kulbit when a pair of missiles crashed into it, knocking the Super Hornet out of the sky. Eva looked around to see who was responsible and quickly saw Charger loop around past the kill.
"Thanks for the assist, Charger," Eva said gratefully. "I owe you one."
"Ah, you don't owe me anything," Charger replied dismissively. "Let's just get through this battle."
"Crosswind, the ground forces are closing in on the Military HQ. One more push, and we should have the city under our control," Garth reported.
"Roger that, Warlock 1," Crosswind replied. "We've almost established air superiority as well. Let's get this done so we can- hang on. New bogies comin' in on radar. Looks like their air power is making one last push."
Eva glanced down at her radar and saw a group of about Twelve aircraft coming in from the west. She turned to face them without hesitation, but something about the situation felt off to her. She couldn't quite figure out what it was until Crosswind spoke up again.
"Wait a minute. I recognize the radar signature of the plane leading the formation," Crosswind realized. "It's that experimental fighter from earlier!"
Eva felt her grip on the control stick tighten. Now that Zero was here, all she could think about was this mission being a repeat of their mission to take Farbanti, and she refused to let that happen. After losing so many people in the last few months, she wasn't going to let anyone else, especially not a petty merc like Zero, kill any more of her friends. Without saying a word, Eva switched on the afterburner and went straight for Zero.
As the two pilots flew straight at each other, Eva decided not to fire missiles but to get at him with machine guns instead. However, Zero did opt to fire missiles, so she only got a few light hits in before she had to break off so that she didn't get hit. Once the aircraft from both sides caught up to the two pilots, a furball quickly broke out. Eva didn't care, though. All that mattered to her was bringing down Zero. Once the two pilots passed each other, they both made a circle in opposite directions to turn around and hit each other again. Eva tried to fire a pair of 6AAMs at him, but they didn't launch in time, and she had already lost her lock by the time she did. She kept her eyes on Zero as she turned around to face him, and just as she was about to get a lock on him, she saw Zero turn away sharply as a missile came up behind him, followed by the one that fired it: Vortex. Together, the two of them took turns chasing Zero into the other's sights so they could get a missile shot off on him.
"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Lucky asked as he turned away from the MiG-29 he destroyed and over to a new target.
Eva didn't realize what Lucky was talking about at first. All she could hear was the missile alerts going off in her cockpit and the heated sounds of the raging furball. It wasn't until Zero chased her to a lower altitude that she finally heard it. Very faintly, Eva could hear singing coming from down on the ground. More prominently, though, she heard the chime of bells ringing throughout the city. Hearing those sounds filled Eva with determination as she spun around and held her finger on the trigger. Tracers spewed out from the nose of her plane and pinged off of Zero's airframe before he made a sharp turn away, only to get chased after by Vortex.
As Eva and Vortex chased Zero all around the city, the battle around them slowly began to quiet down. What struck Eva as off, though, was that as the battle continued to wind down, Zero's movements seemed to get more and more sloppy. Eventually, she just chalked it up to him growing more and more tired as the battle went on. Although, once the thought crossed her mind, she had to admit that she was beginning to feel worn-out too. As Vortex chased Zero high into the sky, Eva moved to cut him off at the peak of his arc. She fired a pair of missiles at the experimental fighter and pulled away before Zero could get a lock on her. She looked over her shoulder to watch the missiles she fired, and to her surprise, they both hit their marks. Zero was still flying, but he was trailing smoke, and he had turned back in the direction he came from. Eva switched on the afterburners to catch up with him, and for a long moment, she had a solid lock and a clear shot. She was about to pull the trigger when she remembered Vortex's words to her. Taking a deep breath, Eva turned away, losing her lock on Zero and allowing him to retreat safely as she joined the rest of her squadron.
"Holy shit," one of the ground units muttered. "Was that for real? That was the craziest fight I've ever seen."
Garth laughed. "I told you so. The Blue Kestrel is somethin' else."
Eva heard Magnum mutter something under her breath, but it was too quiet for her to hear.
"Are we all clear, Crosswind?" Charger asked.
"Affirmative. The Erusean forces still in the city have issued their formal surrender," Crosswind reported. "We finally did it! San Salvacion is free from Erusean control!"
Cheers broke out among the Osean soldiers, and some of them even started joining the citizens in song. Eva was tempted to join in for a moment, but she decided not to in the end. Instead, she and the others flew at a low altitude in formation and flew over the entire city. Eva couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she heard the singing below accompanied by the rhythmic chime of the bells. They finally made a statement to the Eruseans, and they didn't have any plans on stopping now. The pilots circled the city one more time before turning back toward their base and heading home.