Author's note: Needed to fix some inconsistencies that didn't match with canon.
Chapter one
Yustina Telep wasn't sure at what point during her career she could honestly say she'd adapted to the frantic reality of combat. The determination to keep pushing yourself well after your body's hit its limit, the mental strength to endure horrors set before you that no living person should see. War was a different kind of hell, but a hell none of the less. For anyone not hardened to the demands of being a Surface Pilot, or rather a soldier to their core, they would have had gone clinically insane. At times, Yustina felt she too could break from living in the constant, hellish nightmare. If not for the few threads she desperately clung to for her sanity she would have succumbed long ago. These threads were any man or woman in a Tactical Surface Fighter who would appreciate having in the thickness of battle.
Her senses within the tube-like cockpit of her F-16 were constrained to what was displayed before her eyes. The Direct Interface feed focused every bit of critical information needed to her. The thumping sound of her assault cannons firing in unison mixed with the whistling sound of flying shells and debris around, he clamor of her teammates shouting over the comm channel, and the statics and white noise...all of it were important to remember but secondary to the Beta charging at them from multiple angles.
"Come at me, you sodding bitches!" Rob roared over the comms, the barrel of his assault cannon spout fire and lead at the grappler-strain charging him on the right of their three-man formation. The alien fell, crashing into the dirt and trees.
"Wolf Three, pay attention!" Olivia was quick to rebuke him before Yustina could. Olivia's F-16 was back between the two in the kneeling position, her assault cannon ready to pick off anything that got in her cross-hairs.
Yustina swung her dual assault cannons to the left at a small group Beta advancing toward them.
"Focus fire, 11 o'clock!" She barked on the comms. Rob and Olivia adjusted swiftly and the three unleashed a flurry of gunfire that made quick of the nauseating mass of creatures. Grapplers fell with the leaded encouragement and the tanks that scurried under their bigger brethren popped like blood balloons. Viscera coated the trees and whatever modern architecture stood nearby.
The radar pinged with red as another group rushed at them dead on just as they finished off the last group. Again, Yustina shouted the command, and the formation adjusted to compensate. Another ping; a lone straggler charging from the right toward Rob's F-16.
"Wolf three!" Yustina called out. Thankfully to her relief, he was already on it. As in anticipation, Rob's F-16 threw its shield arm at the Beta just as it launched its pincer and parried the grappler's attack. He tucked within its reach, stuffing the end of assault cannon's smoothbore extension into the front the alien and fired a 120mm sabot, bisecting the grappler down the middle and piercing through trees and part of a building. Yustina and Olivia easily dealt with the other advancing horde of smaller strains.
"Rot in hell!" Rob spat as his F-16 rippled off the pincer arm from his shield, blood spraying from the corpse.
The 127th Storm Wolves were part of the 57th Battalion the UN 11th force could spare to aid the Imperial Japanese Army with Kyoto's evacuation. The 57th had suffered critical damage from their part of Operation Gwangju. While they suffered no causalities, the battalion was put into an intensive state of repair and only until recently were they declared ready to deploy.
The IJF had been eyeing the Beta nervously since the aliens made landfall on their island. With the help of the UN and the US forces, Defenses were reinforced and hardened around the capital as the invaders approached. Stopping them at all cost was paramount in every Japanese soldier's mind. The hope was that a hard-line of TSFs and zeal would somehow be enough to hold back the tide. It was not even close; It was an unmitigated disaster. The month-long defense of Japan's one thousand year capital cost the defenders grievously. The lion share of manpower the UN was able to muster after Gwangju had been lost, either KIA or rescued from the battlefield.
The night sky over the decimated Kyoto blazed with ordnance fire of all kind. Beta laser coverage had died down some time ago and now and then they would see the specters of American Tomcats flying overhead. The defense line composed of mainly IJF with sparse elements of UN on the outer reaches of Kyoto leading into the rest of Japan, fighting off the Beta tooth and nail. The plan: try to buy its decimated defenders time to evacuate.
The 57th Battalion had arrived that afternoon and split into groups to help reinforce spots in the line. 1st Lieutenant Yustina Telep with 2nd lt Rob Grants and Olivia Alexandria were stationed a Buddhist temple that still stood...somehow. With only adrenaline and resupply pods keeping them and the other defenders afloat, It was a continuous slug fest since minute one. No rest was given... never with the Beta involved.
"Bloody hell! Why are all the Beta just rushing our spot on the line!" Rob yelled in-between weapons fire.
"Maybe they heard we'd be here, Only logical reason. We are kind of famous." Olivia jabbed at their situation as more grapplers, mixed with tanks, advanced at them.
"Shite! Why did I have to be popular with these assholes?"
"Just imagine them as girls, Wolf Three."
"Sod off, Four!"
"You two knock it off!" Yustina barked over the line, like a mother to her two children. "Keep the local channel clear!"
She primed a canister round, letting the distance between the horde and them cook as the other two laid down fire. Satisfied, she pulled the trigger. The canister round exploded overhead and showered projectiles down on the beta below. Tanks fell immediately, a few grapplers collapsed to the dirt with shredded legs. Some of the Beta survived and attempted to move on by succumbed to their wounds. Yustina was to fire another round at another charging group when multiple IJF TSFs, Gekishins, and Kagerous, swung around from the sides and engaged the aliens with assault cannons blaring and melee halberds swinging.
"Storm Wolves, take a breather! We've got your backs!" The portrait of the IJF lead unit popped it on her display.
"Appreciated, Razor Wing!" Yustina swiftly responded. "Wolf Three and Four, take a breather and report!" She called out.
Both 2nd lieutenants Rob Grants and Olivia Alexandria chimed in.
"I have two magazines left," Olivia stated, her cheery demeanor belaying the grimness of the situation. Her bright eyes framed by her suntanned features.
"Same, but I'm almost out of 'big boy' rounds, Wolf Two," Rob reported. "I'm surprised we have this much ammo left. Things normally go to shite fast for us."
"Maybe lady luck is giving us a wink?" Olivia suggested playfully.
"Oh, why do you want to curse us like that?" The man palmed his forehead. "Its bad luck to say that kind of stuff in the middle of a battle."
While the two went back and forth, Yustina checked her reserves. She operated the support arm by her F-16' shoulder to switch out an empty mag for a fresh one.
"Speaking of which has anyone heard word from the others?" Rob pointed out.
"Wolf One and Five are further along the north. Their vitals are still green." Yustina reminded him.
Rob's face twisted with annoyance," I know that. I meant the other squadrons. I haven't seen anyone from the Black Knights or Steel Fists since we landed."
The point gave her pause. It had been too long since they heard from the 227th or the 163rd. They were defending points well out of the normal communication range.
"They're veteran units; they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. Just focus on the now, Wolf Three." Yustina remarked.
The other merely frowned, his otherwise somber, dull expression complemented by his gray combed hair twisted even more. "Roger, Wolf Mama. "
The portraits flickered off. Yustina sighed, taking a moment for herself and relaxed in the seat as the support arm finished. She wiped away the sweat from her forehead, her blonde-ashen bangs getting muffled by the exterior material clamped around her hand. Her gaze drifted to the picture of her family within the different cockpit, only to be captured by the buzz of her communications tack.
"HQ to Wolf 2." A Japanese voice broke over the line from IJF HQ.
She readjusting her posture in the seat."Wolf two HQ, I read you loud and clear." The translator picked up on the woman's language and converted it into proper English.
"Wolf 2, take your flight and reinforce the defense line at these coordinates by Lake Biwa. We are adjusting the defense perimeter inward to assist the evac teams." Her hud brought up a map of the region and a designated way-point
"Roger, HQ. Wolf two out!" Yustina affirmed.
As Yustina relayed the orders to the other two and quickly opened a channel to Razor Wing.
"Wolf Two to Razor Wing. We're moving up the highway now."
"Roger, we'll stay here for a bit and cover you. Make sure our people get out!"
"Roger! Godspeed, Razor Wing!"
The wolves shifted back and engaged their thrust pylons to elevate and cruise at travel speed. The IJF that stayed behind filled the gap in their absence. The TSF's ability for travel was a Godsend when the skies were clear. Yustina thought to owe thanks to whoever allowed them that privilege tonight. The three came low for a landing by a train station by the highway midpoint between Kyoto and the lake. The center point of the defensive line where the bulk of the IJF forces dug in.
Beta corpses littered the ground throughout. The insurmountable numbers of their enemy left the battlefields layered with their own dead. So much so that unless it was a fresh battle or the area was wide enough, distinguishing human casualties that weren't TSF units between the fields of flesh was difficult. As the three began to set themselves into position. Yustina caught sight of the visage of a TSF beneath the corpse of a destroyer class Beta...an F-16. Normally the sight wouldn't phase a battle minded pilot in the heat of battle. But the glimpse of the squadron emblem gave her enough pause; The battered image of a black knight on horseback framed by both sword and shield crossing in an X beneath it, the 227th.
A bitter taste formed in her mouth at the thought. Who was it? It was someone she knew. For now, she pushed it aside and focused on relaying both her teammates into place. Neither Rob nor Olivia had noticed it and it would only serve to distract them by bringing it up. But, the question lingered in her mind if the rest of the Black Knights met a similar fate.
"Same as before! Wolf Three, upfront with me! Wolf Four, the rear!"
The three acted, moving separately but together in swiftness. Yustina and Rob linked up with the rest of the defenders providing much-needed firepower. The front line was consistently hammered by continuous waves of grappler and tanks with supplements of destroyers. The ferocity dealt by the IJF defenders held them at bay, like a lone water barrier against relentless crashing waves during a storm. When assault cannons ran dry, they switched to melee halberds. When halberds broke, they resorted to combat knives. When the knives dulled, they bodied the enemy.
Yustina expended the rest of her canister rounds into the horde before she and Rob took to the offensive. The pair of Wolves knifed through their numbers targeting the exposed meat behind the destroyers charging forward, trampling over the fallen and ramming through trees with no slow down. A few well-placed shots in their exposed fleshy backs were enough to end them. Olivia remained in the back with the other defenders expertly taking out targets.
And as if anticipating the overall stress of the IJF, the waves flexed. Yustina heard the whine of her radar picking up increased numbers. And she saw the silhouettes dancing in the shadows briefly lit up by shell fire well before Rob shouted: "Big bastards on the horizon!"
The towering, overbearing visage of the Fort class strains marched down in lanes over the treetops. Their long, needle-like legs piercing into the ground as they moved.
"Wolf Four, swing around from my opposite! Move!" Yustina ordered and maneuvered her machine to go. Rob followed suit.
"Roger!"
The pair of F-16s broke hard into a jet-powered dash towards the nearest Fort class. Several TSF from the defense line volunteered themselves in dealing with the new menace before they got too close. The sight of a Fort class was a terrible horror by itself; their colossus size betrayed their speed and how dangerous they were. Many pilots fell victim to their whip-like stingers, even experienced ones. But they weren't difficult to take down. Yustina and Rob dipped and weaved as the target whipped its stinger repeatedly at them. Yustina could feel the stinger getting within inches of her machine a few times; Fort-class Beta they were that accurate.
The pair broke off tackling a flank each to see which the alien would focus. It chose Rob. As Rob's F-16 dodge and weaved with the stinger trying to stay ahead of its projected path, Yustina swooped high above the Fort as it turned to face him, and exposed its back to her. She switched over tot he smoothbore with sabots chamber and fired the remaining shots into the in-between flesh of the Fort. The creature lurched wounded, its attacks paused. Rob's F-16 came around overhead and fired another sabot round close to the neck region. The monstrosity collapsed, crushing anything underneath it.
The other friendlies fared with varying results. They swarmed at the Forts as best to their abilities, applying tactics to take down the giants as swiftly as possible. Some of the towering Beta fell, but not without a price. Some pilots met their end at the point of an acid tipped stinger. Their deaths only served to embolden the IJF even more. The pair of wolves swooped around in prep for the next target. Just as she was about to relay orders, a pair of familiar blips appeared on radar from the north.
"Need help, Wolf Two?" Their flight lead popped on the hud, Captain Adam Brinson.
"As always, Wolf One," Yustina returned with an appreciative grin. "Glad to see you two are alright."
"Yeah, same. We've been busting our asses here." Rob's portrait interjected. Olivia did as well. "Glad to see your both still healthy!"
"Sorry for the wait." Wolf Five's popped in on the side, 2nd lt Ryouma Toroyama "We were busy dealing with our own eager quests. Not even the Beta stood a chance against the fire of our passion!"
"Pride before the fall, Wolf Five." Yustina told him.
Ryouma merely grinned widely with his whites, brimming with the usual fire in him. "Confidence is everything, Wolf Mama."
Yustina interior groaned at that nickname. Both Adam and Ryouma's F-16s swooped down toward a Fort from the sky at max speed. Adam drew the attention of the Fort's attention while Ryouma, melee halberds in hand, darted through slashing the gaps in the Fort's armor, zipping all around the alien until it collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Together now with Adam and Ryouma, Yustina and Rob continued in taking down Fort strains, grinding their numbers down.
The battle rage on what seemed longer than what it was. Despite the best efforts by the Storm Wolves and the IJF, they could not push back the tide indefinitely. The Beta was ceaseless, dulled to their losses, and the ferocity of the humans' defenders. Ammo reserves began to run dry, and the number of friendlies steadily began to decrease. The sea was slowly battering the barrier down.
The Storm Wolves had congregated to a central point on the line providing concentrated defense when the IJF HQ broke out on all channels.
"Attention all units! Evacuations have completed, retreat along the primary escape routes asap. Coastal bombardment will commence in t-minus 240 seconds!"
"You heard the lady! Move!" Adam gave the order.
Already the IJF forces were pulling out. Yustina held back a bit as the other wolves were making their leave providing them cover with the remainder of her ammo. As Olivia's F-16 its way out, Yustina urged her machine to turn and follow...and was met with an unexpected shift in weight, and her F-16 buckled onto one knee. Yustina bore it the sudden drop with a grunt. Immediately damage readouts popped up her hud; the left knee joint gave out.
'What the hell...' Was the only Was the battle wear on her machine becoming too much?. She found little time to ponder as her senses alerted her to a charging grappler class. Yustina urged her machine back, the thrust pylons igniting enough to push her away from the grappler's claw swipe...and then a second later her elevation dipped. Her F-16 hit the ground hard and skid against the dirt at an angle, knocking over trees. She quickly cut the thrust before the TSF could finish its imperfect circle, slamming into a halt. Yustina desperately scrambled to urge her machine up and level her assault cannon as the grappler came at her again, ignoring the new error window.
Not waiting for a target lock, she held the trigger down and fired whatever was remaining in the mag. The barrel pitched high and the grappler's head like appendage exploded in a gush of blood. The alien staggered, stumbling swinging its pincers around trying to hit its mark. She cursed, completely out of ammo she ditched the assault cannon and switched over to grab the combat.
"Hold on I got you!" Olivia's F-16 swung around from the side, placing herself between Yustina and the grappler and fired in full auto center mass and putting the alien down for good. As more grappler strains appeared, the other wolves came in to assist. Ryouma came thundering down overhead with a war cry and impaled one grappler with his sword. Rob swung around Yustina's right side, feinting its claw swipe and punched his shield in return. The explosive charges near the end exploded, shredding the creature into bits.
"Wolf Two, are you hurt?" Adam landed by Yustina's machine.
"I'm fine!" Yustina returned, calming herself down. "I don't know what happened."
"Can you fly?"
Yustina checked the log, finally reading the error message logged by her system."Negative. My left jump unit gave out!"
Adam's dropped his TSF's shield and extended a hand to her. Yustina urged her machine's hand to do the same and she felt her entire TSF pick up. Adam curled an arm under the shoulder. Rob caught on and did the same with the other, mumbling under his breath, "bloody hell... It's one thing after another."
"We'll figure it out later. Let's just get the hell out of here!" The Captain barked.
"I couldn't agree more!" Yustina added, feeling the weight of the machine being ferried off into the air. Even with the fortified suit providing the needed protection against the G's lifting of the forces at work on her body was still significant. The other wolves joined shortly after, and the last remnants of IJF completely withdrew with the last transport from Kyoto far enough away. The total forces congregated into a flock and flew eastbound along the designated escape route.
Yustina flipped the cameras over for a quick backside view, and slowly counted the time down until bombardment commenced... what else could she do at that moment. Right on queue, space, the former line they and the IJF held so dearly erupted in a concentrated fire of naval ordinance. Bodies of Beta flew up in the air, scattered and ripped apart by vengeful naval fire. The shells slowly moved into the heart of the city and peppered it. Several large explosions occurred tearing apart whatever structural integrity it had left to sunder. It was certainly too big for navel ordinance to cause. The sight wowed her. There was mention about the defenders rigging whatever ammo stores were left to explode.
"Damn. I can almost feel the shock waves from this distance," Rob commented. "They had that much firepower left in Kyoto? What a bloody waste."
"Yeah...it truly is." Olivia ceded somberly.
A soft sigh emitted from Ryouma's end on the channel. The video feed framed head hanging low, eyes shut, to moment for what was most definitely a significant loss for him and the rest of his countrymen. Yustina relaxed against the seat, just happy that they made it out in one piece. She then began to bring up the error logs to recount what had happened.