Chapter Eight: Thunderous Evolution
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Somewhere in the Sweetwater system…

"They wasted three of our pilots?!"

"Y-yes, sir…"

"Oh, for the love of…all right. Tell Reevan to go out in that jacked-up Glaug of his again. Nobody screws around with us!"

"Right away."

"Oh, and one other thing…tell him to find out where that squadron's base is, and LEVEL IT!!!!!"

"Understood. Is there anything else you require, sir?"

"Uh, yeah…send this message to my mom, will you…?"

On Sweetwater, Tommy and John were getting ready for another practice run…but this one was going to be a little different…

"So, what's the big deal about this one, John?"

John laughed. "Remember how you kept saying that if we had better fighters, our combat record would be a lot better?"

"Yeah. Wait a second…are you saying that…?"

"We're moving on up, Tommy! Take a look!" They were right outside a hangar. Inside, however, wasn't the usual group of VF-1X-Plus aircraft. They were still in the same color scheme as their Valkyries, but no Valkyrie had forward canard wings like these aircraft did.

"VF-11 Thunderbolts!" cried Tommy. "We finally got Thunderbolts! This is great!"

"VF-11C 'Bolts, to be exact. All of them are C models. You won't have to be stuck in a Brownie anymore, my friend."

"Awesome. It's hard to believe that the U.N. Spacy is phasing them out for the VF-19, seeing them here."

"Maybe someday, we'll get our hands on the -19. But for now…these are our birds."

Tommy smiled, but then took on a serious expression. "Who's going to train us?"

"I am."

Tommy looked at him. "What?"

"I flew the VF-11B for a short time. The difference between the B and C models is pretty negligible. About the only major difference is better communications and navigation systems. The flight controls are exactly the same."

"…All right. So, Coach, when do we go?"

"…Now."

Once airborne, Tommy was nearly in heaven. He and the rest of Blue Flight went through their training program, firing at air drone targets, ground-based targets, and basically getting a feel for the new layout. Eventually, they were finished on the range.

"So, Tommy…" began John, "…how do you like the Thunderbolt?"

"It's great. Much, much smoother ride than the Enhanced Valkyrie. Controls respond a lot quicker, too."

"I thought you'd like that part. Well, we're done here…except for one thing. All aircraft, descend to the deck and go to Soldier mode." They all followed suit, landing on the arid ground in their humanoid forms.

John's Thunderbolt held up its gun pod. "All right, people. I want you to see this." He pressed a button on his control stick, and a blade extended out from the bottom of the gun pod. "This is the anti-armor bayonet. Perhaps the single stupidest thing a VF-11 pilot can do is forget that this is there. This little devil will save your life more times than you'll want to admit. Now, these are blunted training blades, but the real deal will go right through the chest armor on a Renegade. Whenever you've got a bad guy in your face, do not hesitate to give him a nice poke with your blade."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Tommy. "So, what are we going to practice on?"

"…Me."

All three pilots got a weird look.

"What?"

"You're nuts, Lead."

"John, what if something happens?"

John chuckled. "Relax, relax…these are the training blades, remember? Besides, I'm…good. So, who's up first? No, wait…better yet, why don't you all come at me at once? I dare you!"

"John…this is really stupid," said Tommy.

"It's also part of the official training, believe it or not. Now, come and get some!"

"All right, Lead. You asked for it," said Blue 2 as he deployed his bayonet. His Thunderbolt rushed John's, and attempted to deliver a stab. John's aircraft almost casually parried the attack and countered with a pod swing, a stock to the head, and then a trip with the pod's barrel, knocking Blue 2 over.

"Oh, come on. That was too easy! You okay, 2?"

"…Yes. No damage…"

John sighed. "Maybe we should go with the baby steps first. We're going to play it this way: One person is going to receive attacks from two others, going against one at a time. I'll tell you when to switch. Cool? Okay…Tommy, you receive first."

"What? Me?"

"I wanna see how you are on defense, man."

"All right…" Blue 2, his aircraft back on its feet, stood across from Blue 3 with Tommy right in the middle. Tommy was sweating bullets.

"This isn't going to be very fun…"

John smiled. "All right. Blue 3, you attack first. Ready…GO!" Blue 3 immediately attacked Tommy, slashing with the blunted bayonet. Tommy tried to defend with his own blade, but kept mistiming the parries and getting struck by the blunt blade. He eventually tried using his anti-projectile shield to block the hits, but that only provided some help. After a few more seconds, Tommy's fighter was knocked to the ground.

"GAH…damn it!"

"That's okay, Tommy. Good idea using the shield to block, but you've got to be able to parry a blade with a blade because the shield isn't as maneuverable as the gun pod."

"Right…right."

"Let's try it again. Tommy?"

Tommy frowned. "Hold on…!" John laughed.

"Okay…GO!"

"Hey, wait, I'm not ready-AAH!"

Meanwhile, at the base, Kina was back at work. This time, she was assigned to use one of the powered armors modified for heavy lifting jobs.

"Oh, boy…I really hate these things, Aivea."

"Why? Claustrophobia?"

"Not so much that as the thought of having a fusion reactor strapped to my BACK. Would you want to wear a nuclear missile?"

Aivea sighed, and chuckled. "You worry too much, Kina. It could be worse. These could be military armors."

"Yeah, at least I'll never have to get into one of those things." They walked their armors forward.

"So…you said you met that Rickenbacker guy," said Aivea.

"Mm-hmm. Pretty cool guy, though he doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence."

"He had enough to strike up a conversation with ya," Aivea reminded her.

"Point taken." She laughed. "You wouldn't believe how much that guy can tolerate my…y'know…"

"Clumsiness?"

"Yeah."

Aivea laughed. "You were carrying him, and then you dropped him, didn't you?"

"What? No! No, of course not! …Yes," she said with her face bright red.

"Kina, Kina, Kina…you just can't get a break, can you?" Aivea clucked her tongue sympathetically.

"Oh, actually, I think I might've just gotten one."

"Huh? What makes you say that…because you made a new friend?"

"That…and my armor's legs aren't moving anymore. I'm stuck!!"

Aivea sweatdropped. "Oh, Kina…"

Back in the desert, Tommy was finally making headway. Blue 2 was attacking this time. He swung at Tommy twice, and then tried a lunge. Tommy parried the strike, then countered with his own blade. Blue 2 managed to parry, but was knocked off balance. Tommy saw his chance. He struck Blue 2 with the blunted blade and then with the stock of the gun pod, knocking 2's Thunderbolt over.

"Switch!" said John.

Blue 3 attacked now, trying to knock Tommy down. Instead, Tommy locked his gun pod with 3's, and shoved him backwards. 3 then made a hard rush towards Tommy. Tommy again blocked the strike, and countered with a few slashes. He finished the combo with a hard swing, knocking Blue 3 over onto Blue 2.

"3, get the hell off me!"

"Sorry, jeez!"

John laughed. "Okay, okay, that's enough of that. I think you're set, Tommy. As for you two jokers…you're going up next."

"Hey, John, can I talk to you for a second?" said Tommy.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for having faith in me, man."

"No problem. Just as long as you also have faith in yourself."

Tommy smiled. "I copy, Lead."

"Okay, Blue 2, get in the middle. 3 and 4...don't kill him."