"Are we sure about this?" Axe asked, making sure his uncertainty about their plan was well-known. "Because I feel like this plan is absolutely crazy."
"Are we ever sure about anything?" Cora countered with a smirk. "Besides, we've got the ground troops following us," she pointed out, glancing at the three transport choppers trailing them. "If this airfield really is abandoned, then I don't see why we wouldn't investigate and try to grab what we can."
"Personally, I'm there's still a few extra planes there," Dodger added. "It'd be nice to finally get out of this damn jumpsuit."
"Yeah, I'm with ya there," Cora replied, nodding to herself. She looked over her shoulder at the left wing of her F-15C, which was still crudely painted orange from their time with the 262nd. "Maybe we'll get to fly something nice for a change, like F-22s."
"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Axe agreed. "A bit far-fetched in my opinion, but man, it would be nice."
Cora made another routine radar check and noticed their destination was rapidly approaching. "Alright, alright, let's cut the chatter. We're approaching the airfield. Rogue Squadron, get set to land. Choppers, be ready to follow us in and secure the area if anything goes wrong." Cora started reducing her speed and readied herself to lower her landing gear, and as she looked to her left and right, she saw that Axe and Dodger were doing the same thing.
Just as the patrol squadron described, a sudden gap in the treeline appeared, revealing a decently-sized airfield. Despite how big it was, however, it looked completely empty. Even as Rogue Squadron and the helicopters got closer and closer, there were no signs of any activity. Eventually, Cora and the others touched down on the runway, and their planes skidded to a halt. As they taxied over to the hangars, though, they began to see people emerging from the various buildings on the base to investigate them. As soon as Cora had her engines off, she was already climbing out of her plane, and the helicopters landed next to her and the others, unloading the troops they were carrying.
"Looks like this place isn't as abandoned as we thought," Axe muttered.
Cora chuckled as she looked around at the people watching them. "Doesn't really look like anyone's intent on starting anything. Let's go check out the hangars."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned toward the hangars and started fast-walking over to them. Axe and Dodger followed right behind her, as did a few soldiers from the helicopters. All things considered, this plan seemed to be going far smoother than it had any right to, but Cora was okay with that. After everything that had happened in the last few months, a lucky break was exactly what she needed. As she started checking the hangars one by one, however, she quickly found herself getting disappointed, as each hangar she looked at was empty. Cora's disappointment didn't last long, though. As she swung the door to the last hangar open, she smirked upon seeing four familiar aircraft.
"Well, I'll be damned," she muttered as she walked up to the planes. "Never thought I'd see these things again, much less up close."
"What are they?" One of the soldiers asked. "I don't think I've ever seen a plane like that before."
"It's some kind of experimental Erusean fighter. We've seen it a few times before, and damn, is it nimble," Cora explained, circling around one of the four planes and examining every inch of it.
"Heh. Looks like we came digging for silver and struck gold," Dodger remarked.
"Y'know what… I wonder if the pilot that flies these things is here," Cora mused. "Considering how much Diamond went on and on about wanting to kill him, it'd be so satisfying to drop him before she ever got the chance," she said, pulling her pistol out from its holster as if the pilot were standing right in front of her.
"Guess we'll just have to look for him when we secure the base," Axe said. "As for these planes…" he turned toward the planes as he spoke.
Cora smirked. "This is huge for us. With these things and our little secret at Galar Fortress, we'll be unstoppable. Usea won't know what hit it. Although…" her eyes went back and forth, inspecting the four planes. "We're probably just gonna have to have someone come back and get this fourth one later since I don't really see any way we can bring it out of here with us."
Just as Cora was about to continue her train of thought, another voice behind her caught everyone's attention. "Stop right there!" he demanded. Cora turned around to see an older man in a lab coat rush from the entrance to the hangars to practically jump between the Free Eruseans and the planes. "I'm not letting you take these things anywhere."
The Free Eruseans got one look at the man and practically broke out laughing. Dodger was the first to say what was on all of their minds. "And just who exactly are you?"
The man in the lab coat straightened his posture and tried his best to compose himself. "I'm Doctor Adrian Francis of the Erusean Air and Space Administration, and I'm the lead designer behind the XFA-30 Skyshard."
"Huh, so that's what this thing is called," Cora said as she looked past Doctor Francis and at the four planes behind him. "I gotta admit, she's quite a beaut."
"If you think you're getting anywhere near them, you're dead wrong," Doctor Francis spat. "I know who you are, terrorists, and there's no way I'm letting my life's work fall into your hands."
"What about that test pilot of yours? He here to rush to your aid?" Cora asked, looking over her shoulder in case he was actually there.
Doctor Francis scoffed. "I couldn't care less where he went. He took one of the planes and vanished. I heard on an emergency channel that the Blue Kestrel was out there, and given how obsessed he seems to be with them, I wouldn't be surprised if he defected to give to them." Each word he uttered was dripping with venom for the pilot.
'So that means Diamond probably has one of these things, too,' Cora thought to herself, continuing to look over the Skyshards. "Well…" she said with a shrug. "This has been fascinating, but I think we'll take these off your hands for you now."
Doctor Francis stood his ground. "Not a chance in your life."
"And you'd rather they sit here collecting dust for the rest of the war?" Cora countered. "At least this way, you can be satisfied knowing that they're being used for a good cause."
Doctor Francis laughed. "Good cause my ass. I'd rather die than let you get your hands on these Skyshards."
Cora felt her grip on her pistol tighten. She had come too far to return empty-handed, and she needed these planes. With the possibility that Diamond had one as well, she knew deep down that she would need every edge she could get. With a slight smirk, she raised her pistol and simply said, "If you insist." Then, a single shot rang out throughout the base, followed by an inconsequential thud.
Several hours passed, which the group of Free Eruseans primarily spent securing the base and making sure none of the other inhabitants would pose any threats. However, by the time they finished, the moon had risen, and stars blanketed the night sky. They all collectively decided that they'd rather not return overnight and opted to spend the night at the base instead. Before they went to sleep, though, Cora, Axe, and Dodger returned to the hangar with the four Skyshards in it. Then, they began to put their markings on, followed by those of Free Erusea, and finally, the broken chain that became a symbol of their freedom. As they took a step back to admire their handiwork, though, it felt like something was missing. At first, Cora couldn't put her finger on it, but then, as she glanced outside at their old planes, she realized what it was: the orange on the side of their aircraft. By that point, it had evolved beyond a way to humiliate them as convicts, and it became a symbol of their identity. However, rather than cover the entire left side of their planes again, they instead decided to simply work the orange coloring into the livery the planes already had, albeit only on the left side. Cora smiled as she looked up at the finished product of their planes. Things were finally going their way, and she could hardly wait to see how things worked out for them.
As dawn finally came, Rogue Squadron finally started getting ready to leave while the soldiers stayed behind to keep the base secure. As they all climbed into the cockpits for the first time, they were all dumbfounded by how complex all the instruments looked. Overall, though, they could still work their way around the basics, meaning they could get the aircraft running and in the air with little difficulty.
"Hoo boy, this thing really does move!" Dodger remarked. "Watching it fly is a whole different ball game than being at the controls."
"No kidding," Axe agreed. "There's so much shit here, and I don't even know what a third of it is."
"We'll have plenty of time to figure it out later, and I suspect we'll be needing all the practice we can get in the coming days," Cora pointed out. "So let's hurry up and get back to base. I'm sure the Commander will be over the moon when he sees what we found."
"I propose a race," Dodger said. "Besides, it'll give us a chance to see just how fast these babies can fly."
Cora smirked. It had been so long since she'd had the chance to let her hair down, so to speak, especially with any of her wingmen. The more she thought about it, the more she appreciated the change of pace. As she reached for the throttle, all she was, "You're on!" before surging forward, accelerating rapidly as the three planes raced back to base.
By the time the three pilots landed, the Commander was already approaching them. Cora couldn't help but smile as the confusion on his face became apparent once he got a good look at the Skyshards. "Pretty impressive, aren't they?
"What exactly is it?" the Commander asked. "Can't say I've seen it before."
"This is the XFA-30 Skyshard," Cora explained, gesturing to the three planes. "An experimental fighter that Erusea's been developing. We've come across it a few times over the last few months."
"So, I take it this is what was at the base?" the Commander presumed.
Cora nodded. "Yep. There wasn't really much else there, but the boys on the ground have it secure now. There's actually one more of these babies too, but we couldn't fly it back with us, so it's still there."
"Right, we'll send someone over to collect it later." Despite the wonderful news he had just received, the Commander didn't seem all that happy, and he looked more distracted than anything else.
"I thought this would be good news for you," Cora said, raising an eyebrow inquisitively in the Commander's direction.
"Oh, believe me, it is. It's just that we have… well, a situation and not a good one."
"What kind of situation?" Axe asked.
The Commander exhaled heavily. "One of the scientists that were here before we over the fortress is gone. Apparently, he and one of our pilots defected in the early morning," he explained. "We have fighters in pursuit, but we don't know if they'll catch him or not."
"Well, we can saddle up and go after him too," Dodger offered. "With these planes, we'll catch up to them in no time."
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but we need you here," the Commander replied, shaking his head. "From now on, I want you constantly on patrol. Specifically, I want you patrolling farther away from the base, so if any attackers are headed our way, we can see them further in advance."
"But, sir, if an attack comes from an area we're not actively patrolling, then we might not be able to make it back in time," Cora objected. "The battle could be already over by the time we return."
The Commander shrugged. "That's just a risk we're gonna have to take," he replied. "I'll keep you all updated on the situation as it develops, but for now, I have other matters to attend to. Be ready to go out on your first patrol in a few hours," he told them as he walked away.
At first, silence fell over the three pilots. Nobody knew what quite to say as they stood there. Finally, Cora spoke up. "Well, it looks like shit is finally reaching a tipping point."
"Yep…" Axe agreed with a sigh. "Hopefully, this'll all be over soon."
"Man, it's crazy to think that we're almost done fighting," Dodger realized. "We've come a long way to get here, haven't we? I just wish Slipstream could be here to see it."
Cora felt a sharp pang in her heart. When she saw that fourth Skyshard in the hangar, she couldn't help but think about Slipstream flying it with them. "Yeah…" she murmured in agreement. "But that just means we gotta make sure Diamond pays for letting him die."
"What then?" Axe asked. "Once this is all said and done, what do we do?"
"Honestly… Now that we have these Skyshards, I think we've got a serious chance of ending the fight for good," Cora said. "I think when we've finally ended all of this for good, we can… I dunno; take it easy- maybe even call it quits entirely." It was a nice thought, but more importantly, Cora was glad that she genuinely believed it, even if it was only a little. "Y'know what? Yeah. I think once we're finished with all of this, we can finally be done. For the first time in months, maybe even years, we can finally be… free."