Griffin Aerial Defense
April 20th 2064
15:45
Dolls filed into the briefing room at the behest of Gentiane, who currently was organizing her notes and Intel with the support of G36. While this wasn't an uncommon occurrence considering all that has happened to the PMC up until this point, Gentiane was noticeably more worried than normal. G36 quickly scanned over the notes and started piecing together what was wrong. This wasn't going to be a normal home defense mission.
Squad Grizzly along with Maven and Expulse finally made their way into the briefing room, finding some space towards the back of the crowd.
"Gentiane looks less composed than usual…" M590 noted.
"We'll find out why soon enough." Grizzly replied back.
Gentiane took one last look over every thing she had laid out before firing up a large screen, displaying a two-dimensional top-down view of the base and the general surroundings.
She coughed into her hand, gaining everyone's attention.
"Reports from the Border Surveillance Corps and logistics teams say that a large amount of KCCO units from the north are heading towards this base right now."
The screen zoomed in towards the northern part of the map and displayed predicted enemy locations. On the side, references images of the enemies in question were shown along with their names, much to the aviators' delight, finally having the proper name for the green army men that they've been bombing.
"The forces are comprised mostly of Cyclops and Aegis units supported by Hydras" Gentiane paused for a brief second. "Along with those, there have been sightings of their Typhon tanks. Do not fight these head on. Rifle dolls, these will be your main priority if you happen to see one on the field."
The display highlighted three routes towards the enemies. "Echelon Two, you'll be handling the western operation area." A group of dolls that the pilots assume belong to Echelon Two nod their head.
"Echelon Three, you'll be handling the eastern operation area." More dolls nod their head, some albeit a bit more excitedly.
"Echelon One, Anti-Rain team, you'll be handling the northern operation area under sniper support from Echelon Four. Echelon Five are to provide sniper support to Echelons Two and Three where possible." Three sets of dolls acknowledge the orders.
"Echelon Six, assist Anti-Rain with removing any low level grunts before falling back towards the base and set up a defensive line."
Gentiane stopped, taking a moment to drink a bottle of water, provided by G36. The pilots noted that the dolls so far seemed unfazed by this, must be a normal occurrence for them.
"So far it seems like any other mission…" M82 said quietly.
As she finished her sentence, the view of the screen shifted from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and now there were a couple of air targets.
"And there it is." Maven knew that they were called in for a reason.
Gentiane resumed speaking. "Unlike before, this time the KCCO are sending aerial units, specifics aren't known but it appears to be two bombers along with two escorts."
This information got everyone worried, aside from the pilots. As far as everyone else was aware, the KCCO didn't have an air force of any kind, so to not only hear that the KCCO did in fact had aerial units but also bombers, came as a shock to everyone in the room.
"This however isn't your concern." Gentiane stated, before looking directly into crowd at the aviators. "Checkmate Team, can you up here?"
It was more of an order than a request, but the aviators complied anyways. The two walked up towards the table up front and next to Gentiane.
The commander closed the distance, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "I know you two haven't accepted my offer yet." She paused. "But you two are our only source of air-to-air power right now."
The two aviators looked at each other momentarily before looking back at Gentiane, who's facial expression was starting to show signs of apprehension. Technically speaking, the two weren't obligated to follow her orders, but after the short time they've spent with Squad Grizzly and in Springfield's café, they already knew their answer.
"Commander Gentiane." Expulse started, catching the woman's attention. "Checkmate Team has your back, on our honor as fighters." Maven finished.
Gentiane had a small smile as the duo gave their support.
"Maven and Expulse, you have my thanks."
"You can thank us when we get back." Maven replied. "Now if you don't mind, we're going to have to leave now."
"Of course, come back alive."
The duo gave her a thumbs up before making their way through the crowd and then breaking into a sprint towards the airfield. They quickly climbed up into the cockpit, breaking down their GAU-5As into two parts and shoving it back into the ejection seat compartment before putting their helmets and oxygen masks on.
Maven already switched the power on and started cranking the engines as Expulse lowered and closed the canopy. As the multifunction displays powered on, Expulse immediately began the INS alignment, thankful that he had updated the stored heading, allowing for a much faster alignment.
Suddenly a thought crossed Expulse's mind.
"Maven, what about the fuel tanks?"
The pilot took a second to respond.
"Too late to take them off, don't eject them. Don't know if we'll be getting replacements."
Maven turned his attention back to finishing his end of the start up process. He switched the On-Board Oxygen Generating System on and set the flaps to half downwards before turning on the RWR and quickly creating a countermeasure program. The team turned on the power to their HMDs, sending it through a self-test before it properly turned on, and then armed their ejection seats.
"INS aligned, ready to taxi!" Expulse called out as the page gave the OK.
Maven disengaged the parking brake, taxied to the runway and lined himself up. He throttled up to 100%, engaging afterburners, and pulled back on the flight stick.
Once airborne, Maven raised the landing gear and set the flaps to auto as they continued to climb up, leveling off at around at around eight kilometers in the air and started heading northwards.
Their comms started pinging before Gentiane's voice came over
"Checkmate One can you read me?"
"Maven copies, over."
"Good." Gentiane clears her throat. "Commander to all forces, engage and drive back enemy units."
"This is M4A1. Anti-Rain will handle the northern route."
"G36 here. Echelon 2 will engage from the west."
"Galil of Echelon 3 here. We have the east covered."
"This is WA2000. Echelon 4 will provide sniper cover for Anti-Rain."
"Lee-Enfield of Echelon 5. We'll provide additional support to Echelons 4 and 5."
"M1918 BAR, Echelon 6 will sweep the initial forces for Anti-Rain."
Both Maven and Expulse chuckled, a pang of nostalgia hit the two as the dolls called out their roles, reminding the pilots of their time in Gracemeria.
"Remember Checkmate, the bombers might be stealth so keep a close eye on your radar. Gentiane out."
Soon after Gentiane closed communications, the jet's RWR beeped twice.
"We got contacts dead ahead." Expulse relayed to Maven. "It's two SU-27s, Flankers, at angels ten and climbing, twenty miles." The WSO already started getting a lock onto the enemy fighters.
"SU-27s?" Maven questioned as he flipped the master arm switch to on, it seems like these two worlds shared the same naming for aircrafts at least. "Thought they would have something more advanced by now, keep an eye out."
Maven climbed to a higher altitude where the air was less dense, which would allow their missiles to fly longer. Unfortunately the enemy Flankers already had the height advantage.
The RWR started beeping rapidly.
"Shit, missile launch! Break!"
Maven rolled off to the left as Expulse dropped a couple off chaffs. The maneuver proved to be effective as the warning receiver stopped beeping.
Expulse switched his radar to TWS mode, locking onto the two enemy fighters simultaneously. "I got a lock-on! Fox-3, Fox-3!" The WSO called out as two missiles one by one launched off their jet towards the enemy fighters.
The SU-27s attempted to evade with countermeasures, but unfortunately for them, flares don't work on radar guided missiles. Their wings blew off as the missile made contact.
"Splash two, bandits are going down!" Expulse exclaimed, the reflection of the SU-27s going down in flames could be seen in his helmet visor.
"Good kill, good kill." Maven complimented his backseater. "Now let's find those bombers." The pilot resumed heading towards northwards.
"Would be a lot easier if we had an AWACS." Expulse said. "A competent AWACS I mean." He tacked the qualifier on as memories of their previous squadron briefly entered his mind.
"True, but let's not undervalue our own radar."
Expulse physically got closer to his display, trying to pick up the slightest hint of the bombers. The radar was starting to pick up faint signs of aircrafts ahead.
"Wait I'm picking up contacts!"
The WSO attempted to get a multi-lock on the stealth planes, but was having issue maintaining lock.
"Can't maintain lock, switching over to single target track mode." Expulse concentrated the radar onto one of the targets, successfully maintaining a lock this time.
"Locked on, it's a B2!" Expulse called out. "one o' clock low, thirty miles, angels twelve!"
"Alright, Fox-3!" Maven called out as he pulled the trigger this time, another AMRAAM shot off the wing.
Unlike the SU-27s, the B2 didn't have much of the ways of countermeasures. While it did have the capability to jam infrared guided missiles, that wouldn't have any affect on a radar guided missile. Such as the one heading towards it now. The AMRAAM made contact with the cockpit, creating a large explosion as the bomber fell from the sky.
"Bomber is going down." Expulse called out.
He once again got a STT lock on the other bomber and pulled the trigger. "Fox-3."
Another AIM-120D launched towards the last target. Like it's brother, there was nothing it could do to evade the inbound missile. The AMRAAM hit the B2's wing, ripping it off, causing it to fall down towards the earth.
"Haha!" Both of the pilots cheered momentarily.
Maven opened comms to Gentiane. "Checkmate One to Base Command, all air targets are no factor."
"Good job Checkmate Team, you can RTB-" Gentiane cut herself off midway before switching communications channels, leaving the aviators confused on their orders now. Though their confusion would be short lived as she quickly got back to them.
"Mission update you two, the dolls need support. The enemy forces are larger than anticipated and the dolls are unable to keep up." Gentiane updated the two. "Forwarding target ID data now."
"Checkmate One, roger. Moving over to support ground units." Maven relayed as he descended towards the ground and made his way to the ground operation areas, switching. "Expulse, get the FLIR operational now."
"Roger that." Expulse said as he flipped the FLIR to standby, letting it warm up.
"Pilots, this is Echelon 3!" A slightly high pitched female voice belonging to Galil rang through through the aviators' comms. "Requesting support help now- P90, HOLOGRAMS NOW!"
Sensing the urgency that Echelon 3 were in, Maven immediately steered the plane towards their location.
"Checkmate one, acknowledging attack support request."
Maven's hand hovered over the two digital buttons for the GBU-12 and CBU-99. It was most likely too close to use cluster bombs but the GBU-12's were useless without the targeting pod.
"Maven, pod is still warming up." Expulse said. "Try going in for a gun run."
The pilot sighed at having to do a gun run. He switched to the ground radar and enabled the guns, setting the fire rate to low since they were going after ground targets.
"Checkmate one to Echelon 3, coming in for a gun run." Maven relayed as he flew low and lined himself up with the KCCO ground forces.
The moment the in range cue came up on the pilot's HUD, a burst of 20mm rounds shot out from the internally mounted M61A1 cannon. A fair amount of the bullets landed their hits on the target, doing considerable damage to the more softer ones, but the larger targets such as the hydra's were still up and moving.
"Hahaha that got a good amount of them." Expulse laughed as he peered over to see the aftermath of their strafe run. "Who needs an A-10 when you got this!"
Maven couldn't help but chuckle at the jab towards the oh so "beloved" Warthog.
"Can we get more support?" Echelon 3 came back over the comms, gunfire could be heard in the background. "There's still a lot of hydras!"
Maven turned to Expulse. "Status on pod?"
The WSO looked down at his MFD, the targeting pod had just warmed up.
"Pod is ready to go." He gave a thumbs up.
Maven faced ahead and started turning the plane around for another fly by. "Echelon 3 we'll be dropping bombs, get to a safe position."
"Echelon 3 roger!" The comms closed.
As Maven flew the F-15 in position for another strafe, Expulse got a visual of the hydras and placed the reticle roughly in the middle of the pack before flicking the laser designate button on.
"Lasing targets, get ready to drop the bombs."
Maven pressed the weapon's release button as the as the cue came up on his HUD, dropping just one GBU-12 onto the pack of hydras. The resulting explosion and blast tore the heavy enemies apart, much to the backseater's delight as he viewed the ordeal through the targeting pod's camera.
"We can take care of the stragglers on our own, go help out the others." Echelon 3's lead came onto the comms. "We all thank you!"
Both of the pilots smiled a bit at the thanks, before heading for the other operation areas.
A new voice pinged in, the pilots could hear the speaker had a distinct belkan accent, immediately recognizing it as G36. "Echelon 2 to Checkmate One, requesting a- SCHEISSE!" G36 was interrupted as bullet shots could be heard over the radio, with returning shots being fired back.
"Hey flyboys, could you do that thing with the bombs?" Another voice rang in. "There's a lot of them!"
Expulse adjusted the targeting pod to where Echelon 2 was fighting. "Hey Mav, we got a bunch of soft targets, might want to use the CBUs if we can."
Maven hesitated for a moment at the suggestion of cluster bombs when friendlies are this close but decided it would be most efficient.
"Echelon 2, fall back if you can, we're going to use cluster munitions."
"Verstanden." G36 came back. "Echelon 2 fall back!"
"Oh oh let me get this on video for Grifchan!"
The pilots looked at each other in bewilderment at what the last voice said but quickly shrugged it off for more pressing matters. Maven selected the CBU-99s from his weapons stores page and began diving towards the abundance of foot soldiers. He roughly lined up the impact line with the enemies before releasing two cluster bombs and pulled up to avoid being caught in the blast. The munitions split open mid air, spreading multiple bombs over the battlefield, causing explosions across the area.
"Bombs were effective Checkmate One." G36 spoke. "We will clean up the rest."
"Understood we'll be on standby." Maven replied back.
"Danke." G36 gave what the two assumed was a thank you. "Echelon 3 get back to- MDR get off your phone, we're still in combat! And schwester, can you snap Vector out of that daze of hers!?"
The aviators both raised an eyebrow in amusement at the interaction before flying back around to the operation area. Anti-Rain and Echelon 4 didn't need any assistance and had wiped out their share of enemies from what the pilots could see.
"Echelon 3 Reporting in" Galil's voice came over the radio. "All enemies in our sector have been cleared!"
"Echelon 5, No more KCCO in my scopes." Lee-Enfield reported.
"Northern area is clear as well." M4A1 confirmed.
Gentiane's voice came back. "Enemy forces have significantly decreased and no new contacts. Well done everyone."
Various sounds of cheering came over the radio as the dolls celebrated the victory. The pilots started turning back to return to base, a single beep on the plane's RWR interrupted them however.
"Uh Maven, we got a SU-35 heading right towards us at our six." Expulse relayed what the warning receiver was showing.
"Fucking- god dammit." Maven sighed and flew back around towards the inbound Flanker. "Disregard what I said earlier, dump the fuel tanks, I'm not taking any chances."
"Poopin' fuel tanks." An audible thump was heard as the WSO jettisoned the tanks. "Let's hope that Gentiane gets us some replacements."
"Maven, Expulse, what's going on?" Gentiane requested, confused as to why the pilots started returning to the battle space.
"They're not quite done with us yet." Maven replied. "Also if you could, some extra fuel tanks would be nice."
"Wait what-" The channel closes before Gentiane could question any further.
"She's not gonna be happy when we get back." Expulse chuckled before getting a lock onto the SU-35. "Flanker at our twelve o' clock, fifteen miles and closing, angels seven."
"Close enough for a sidewinder." Maven said, a growling tone filled the cockpit as the pilot switched to the AIM-9Xs. The growl was quickly replaced by a steady high pitch tone as the Flanker got within range of the heatseaker.
"Fox-2!" Maven called out as he pulled the trigger, the sidewinder instantly shooting off towards the enemy plane. The Flanker in response however popped a considerable amount of flares and rolled off to the right, confusing the missile and caused it to miss and it went for the flares. The SU-35 banked back left before firing off it's own close-range missile, sending F-15's RWR into a frenzy.
"FUCK, MISSILE LAUNCH! BREAK LEFT, BREAK LEFT!" Expulse yelled, already dispensing flares to ward off the inbound missile. Maven rolled over and went into a high-G turn, attempting to make the missile burn as much energy as possible. Fortunately the maneuver paid off as Maven saw the missile fly downwards pass the canopy thanks to the flares. Maven rolled back towards the SU-35, flying head first towards it.
"Aaand merging, merging!" Expulse called out as the two jets passed each other. Momentarily it felt as if time had slowed to a crawl for Maven as he looked up to the adversary, the enemy pilot returned the gaze. Maven swore he could have seen a fierce glare behind the enemy's helmet and he returned his own.
The two fighters started turning towards each other, careful not to bleed too much energy, entering a one circle fight. They would cross in to each other multiple times, with the SU-35's nose closing more into an optimal firing position each time to the dismay of the F-15 duo. In a last ditch effort, the two's world went upside down as Maven rolled over and pulled into turn, trying to retain as much speed as possible. It proved to be the correct choice as the orange streaks passed by their canopy and wing, none of them fortunately landing.
"Sweet Christ! Tracers by our wing!" Expulse cried out.
The SU-35 flew over the F-15, unable to stick to their six, which the Maven graciously took advantage of, turning the dogfight into a two circle. Maven switched to guns and attempted to line the crosshair on his HUD up to shoot the Flanker down. But in a move that the two should honestly have expected, the SU-35 abruptly raises it's nose directly up, causing the F-15 to overshoot as the Flanker stalled mid air before dropping back into a normal position.
"Fucking hell! Maven!" Expulse had an idea cross his mind that could possibly help them come out of this fight on top. "Bring the fucker down lower, down lower!"
Maven mentally facepalmed himself for not coming up with that sooner and rolled off, flying down towards the ground, the SU-35 followed, turning the one circle fight into a two circle rate fight, though the Flanker was noticeably slower than earlier. The two fighters started flying around in circles, attempting to get their noses on the other's tail. Normally this would be an easy win for the Flanker, however the cobra maneuver from earlier bled off a lot of energy and made it significantly harder to get the nose on the F-15 without going into a stall.
The F-15 pilots on the other hand were gradually getting their nose closer to the SU-35, already switching to guns ready to shoot the enemy jet down. Maven started cashing in some of the speed they had built up and started pulling into a high-G turn.
"Come on we almost got him." Expulse said, getting more antsy by the second.
Maven didn't respond, breathing heavily as he kept pulling the nose up.
"Come on Mav- DO IT NOW" Expulse started yelling frantically. "DO IT NOW! SHOOT THE FUCKER DOWN!"
Maven yanked the stick back and pulled the trigger, a burst of 20mm shooting out the cannon as the crosshair went on the Flanker, hitting and tearing a wing off, sending it spiraling downwards.
"AHAHAHA!" Expulse started manically cackling in the backseat. "GO DANCE WITH THE ANGELS ASSHOLE!" He flipped the bird to the downed SU-35.
Maven shared the same sentiment but leaned back in his seat as his nerves started finally calming down.
"Splash one bandit" He said as he did a single finger gun motion.
It took a couple of minutes for the two aviators to come down from their adrenaline fueled high. Maven started flying towards the base, in need of a well deserved rest.
Expulse started chuckling again, although more grimly this time. "You think Gentiane is gonna neck us for shutting down comms like that?"
Maven groaned, having forgotten he had done that in the heat of the moment. "Let's pray that she's in a forgiving mood when we touch down."
The WSO let out a snort, fully expecting to get chewed out for their misconduct.
"Checkmate one, requesting permission to land, over."
"Runway is clear, permission granted Checkmate one."
Maven lined the F-15 with the runway and started to begin the landing procedure. Lowering their airspeed to around 250 knots, lowering the landing gear and lowered flaps, beginning to descended onto the runway. A thud was heard as the jet landed and started slowing down, employing it's air brake to generate more drag before coming to a full stop.
"Solid landing Checkmate." The doll in charge of handling their air traffic complemented. "The commander wants to see you two in her office immediately, she didn't look to pleased." The last part was said with a pitying chuckle.
Both of the pilots groaned as Maven taxied the plane towards the parking area, mentally preparing for the lecture that Gentiane was going to hurl at the two. Maven parked the F-15 in a free space, shutting down the engines as Expulse raised the canopy before the two unbuckled themselves from their seats, making sure to the disarm the ejection seats. The aviators hopped down from the cockpit, took off their helmets, buckling it to one of the various straps on them and began walking towards Gentiane's office.
The trip was quiet and uneventful, neither of the pilots in a mood to make small talk as the air of dread loomed over the pair with each step they took. They soon reached the double doors that led to Gentiane's office. Oddly enough there were no dolls along the journey, but that thought took a backseat as Maven reluctantly knocked on the door.
There was a brief pause until the door opened, revealing Gentiane whose face portrayed no expression. The two walked in, standing in front of her desk as the commander closed the door and took a seat behind her desk, placing her elbows on the desk and intertwined her fingers together, much like when she had interrogated when they had first arrived.
The room was dead silent, neither party uttering a noise. Both Maven and Expulse occasionally glanced to each other in worry, something that both of them knew Gentiane picked up on as she stared the two pilots down with a perfect poker face. The tension between the pilots and their commander only grew thicker with each second that passed.
Until a long sigh left Gentiane's mouth, taking the aviators by surprise.
"I don't know if I should reprimand you two for cutting connection during battle." She rubbed her forehead. "Or to commend you for engaging and beating an enemy when you were at a disadvantage."
"How about the latter ma'am?" Expulse said, making a small joke.
A small smile appeared on the woman's lips as she leaned back, considerably less standoffish.
"I think that's what the dolls would want too." She paused momentarily, the smile grew slightly wider. "Most, if not all of them sung your two's praises you know."
The pilots looked surprised at the news
"Not that I can blame them, I may not be a plane person, but those were some impressive moves the two of you pulled up there."
Evident confusion was clear on the faces now, definitely not expecting the debriefing to lead to this.
"Ah right, you wouldn't know but the footage of your "air show" has been making the rounds among the dolls." Gentiane continued. "The Grifchan forums have also spiked with activity, you two might want to check up on what's being spread there."
"Ma'am?" Maven finally opened his mouth. "Neither of us know what this 'Grifchan' is."
Gentiane mentally chuckled at how neither of the pilots seemed to want to accept the praise. "Forgot about that, I'll have one of the dolls get you up to speed."
She placed a hand on her chin before looking at Maven in specific. "Perhaps Grizzly since the two of you seem to have a surprisingly good chemistry."
The pilot in question didn't even bother refuting the commander's observation, and definitely was not going to acknowledge the backseater who was looking over at him with a shit eating grin.
Gentiane observed the two for a moment with a hint of amusement before adopting a more professional pose in her chair. "Alright, I already received a proper debriefing from the dolls so unless there's anything else either of you want to add, the dolls are celebrating in the café."
Both the pilots took a moment to think.
"Ma'am" Maven started. "Would I be correct in assuming that aerial combat isn't a common occurrence?" He remembered how the dolls looked out of their comfort when the aerial targets came up in the briefing.
A sigh left Gentiane. "Yes, this is the first time we've seen the KCCO use jets." She paused for a moment. "We're not sure where they even got them from."
"So we're in the dark when it comes to how advanced their fighters are?" Maven inquired further.
"Unfortunately so." Gentiane said apologetically.
"I see..." Not the answer he wanted to hear.
Seeing at how the aviators had nothing else to say, Gentiane spoke up. "If that's all you two are free to relax, some of the dolls on reserve will handle rearming and refueling your plane, including spare fuel tanks as you so nicely asked." The last part was said with a tint of sarcasm, making Maven and Expulse sweat drop.
"Sorry about that, heat of the battle and uh..." Expulse tried finding the words that would make them look less bad.
"It's fine, the other plane looked like an appropriate threat for you two to behave like that. Just don't make it a habit."
"Understood ma'am." Both of the pilots said simultaneously.
The two started walking out, but Gentiane remembered one last thing before they could fully leave. "I almost forgot but GSh-18 wants both of you to see her soon, she wasn't pleased with the stunt you pulled off."
"Alright, we'll see about that." Expulse said as he left through the door.
"Have a good evening ma'am." Maven said as he took his leave with his backseater.
"You too."
Maven closed the doors and let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding.
"Well, that could've been worse."
"Way worse." Expulse snorted, the two started walking towards the café. "Was fully expecting to get lectured about protocols and other bureaucratic shit like before."
"Guess we got lucky, though..." Maven trailed off for a second. "That Grifchan stuff doesn't bode well for some reason."
"Neither does that GSh girl, I think I have an idea about how that's going to go down."
"Oh yeah? Do tell."
Expulse let out a small laugh. "I bet it's going to be about how we should avoid pulling such tight turns because health and other shit."
Maven laughed and sighed. "I hope not, never liked health related lectures."
The pilots soon found themselves in front of the café/bar area, the sounds of dolls being loud penetrated through the doors. Expulse and to some extent Maven weren't a stranger to celebration parties after an operation, but the information that Gentiane gave them earlier was lingering in the back of their minds.
Neither of them wanted to feel, as one of the older squadrons put it, "a couple of movie stars."
Their need to unwind took priority however and they entered the café. The room was jam-packed, the dolls were having a good time as many laughs, yells and a drinking contest between some of the dolls that looked yuktobanian to the pilots. The two found refuge at the bar where there were a couple of seats left. Springfield noticed the pilots and made her way to the counter.
"Looks like the men of the hour have finally arrived." She made her introduction.
Maven more so than Expulse looked exasperated at the indirect compliment.
Springfield's smile widened. "Anything I can get you two?"
"Something that'll get me drunk quickly please." Expulse said.
"I'll take something sweet with no alcohol." Maven said as Springfield turned to him.
"Alright, I'll surprise you two." She turned around and went to a cabinet, searching for what drink would best suit the pilots.
She didn't take long and swiftly grab two glasses, pouring two drinks and handed them to the duo with that patented smile of hers. The pilots smiled back and thanked her, she left to tend to the other dolls, making sure they weren't getting too rowdy.
"Well buddy," Expulse held up his glass. "To not getting our asses shot down today."
Maven snorted. "Cheers to that."
The two clinked their glasses before downing their drinks in one go.
Maven's head snapped to his backseater. "Wait I don't think you should drink that in one go."
Unfortunately he was too late, a faint blush already rising up to the WSO's face. "Nahh it'll be fine man." He waved his pilot off.
A couple seconds of silence past between the two.
"Actually" Expulse started, already feeling the alcohol kicking in. "that shit was kinda strong not gonna lie."
Maven only sighed.
Though his attention would quickly shift away from his backseater as a weight fell on his back and arm around his upper torso.
"Heyyyyy."
The pilot turned his head and was greeted with Grizzly, who was clearly shitfaced and had too much to drink.
"You were like, reeaally cool up theree." She was slurring her words-
Wait, wasn't she a doll? Alcohol shouldn't affect them right? Maven made a mental note to ask about this later. Grizzly continued to praise the pilot, using her free hand to mimic his F-15 and made cheesy sound effects with her mouth like she was a child.
"You gotta let me fly with you one dayyy" The T-doll gave the pilot the dreaded puppy eyes.
"Uhh" Maven glanced towards his copilot for help, except that the man in question was face down on the bar counter dead asleep.
Thankfully salvation for the pilot came as M590 walked up to the two and started prying Grizzly off of him.
"Grizzly, stop harassing Maven."
"I'm not harassing him!" She clinged onto the poor pilot even tighter, much to his embarrassment.
"Grizzly, you're making a scene…" M590 was becoming increasingly exasperated with her supposed squad leader.
"No he's warm!"
Maven silently wondered what cardinal sins he had committed back during his career in the air force to deserve this. Was it just god finding another way to fuck with him ever since he left his previous squadron? Or was it something to do with the tents that were marked as third party?
"MDR, stop recording!" M590 walked towards the doll in question who had her flip phone out recording the inebriated T-doll hog the pilot.
From what little he knew about MDR, he could gather that the footage would be used in some unfavorable way.
It was to do the yellow tents he decided.
But despite that, looking around the bar and seeing the dolls act no different than his fellow pilots back in the air force.
"Hey RO, look! It's the guys that makes that metal thing fly!"
Maybe this isekai bullshit would turn out for the best.
"SOP-II stop!"
Assuming he wouldn't be accidentally strangled by the doll hogging him right now, that is.
Originally I did this story for shits n giggles and now here I am hesitating to publish this because of my perfectionist nature.
Next couple of chapters might take a while to get out since I haven't thought about how to actually tie this into Isomer, but I'll figure out something, I don't have any intentions of dropping this story.
That aside, hopefully this was somewhat coherent and enjoyable.
