"Alright, I'll keep this short and to the point," Waller said as he logged into the terminal. "The sooner you're up in the sky, the better."
"Why the urgency?" Vortex asked.
"After what happened the other day, I don't like the thought of you guys being gone for any period of time. The Eruseans could send more fighters to sink us at any time," Waller explained.
"You worry too much, Waller. They can't sink Kestrel II," Charger chimed in.
"Actually, I agree with him," Domino said. "In fact, one squadron should stay here just in case the ship does get attacked," he suggested.
"Well, the mission shouldn't be that challenging, so I think that's a good idea. And since you so graciously volunteered, we'll have Meteor Squadron stay behind on this sortie," Waller said with a smirk.
"Great, nice going Domino," Onyx groaned.
Waller started bringing the briefing back on track. "Alright, here's the situation. Tomorrow, we're launching our second strike on the capital of Farbanti. Today, however, Nexus Squadron is going to be taking the former IUPF airfield that Erusea has taken over. With that base clear of enemies, Erusea's response to our attack tomorrow will be significantly delayed."
The map of Usea on the screen zoomed in on a section of the map northeast of Farbanti, and satellite images of the airfield appeared on the screen.
"With the radar site taken care of, you'll be able to get a lot closer before they see you coming, and we're going to use that fact to our advantage," he explained. "You'll be hitting them with maximum aggression, going in low and fast and taking out their defenses before they have time to react. However, since we don't have the ability to occupy the base, you'll just be withdrawing once the mission is complete."
"So, our plan is just 'go in, shoot them, and go home'?" Magic asked.
"I mean to be fair, that's basically what all of our plans are when you boil it down," Eva chimed in.
Waller ignored both of them. "This shouldn't be a difficult mission by any means. Intel reports that the airfield doesn't have much of a garrison. You should have this mission done in no time, so get out there and get it done already."
Nexus Squadron stood up and saluted Waller before walking out of the briefing room.
"Hey, so do you guys think that we're gonna actually be able to take Farbanti this time around?" Poet asked as they walked through the hallways of the ship toward the hangar.
"Well, since we actually did stuff to prepare ourselves this time, I'd say we at least have a better chance than last time," Magic said dryly.
"Yeah, I mean last time it's like they didn't even have a plan," Eva added. She was still bitter about that mission. After all, it nearly resulted in Lucky getting court-martialed.
"High command probably just saw us near Farbanti and decided to throw us at them I don't know what they were thinking," Charger said, nodding his head in agreement.
Vortex, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up. "There's nothing we can do about what happened before. All we can do is give the Eruseans hell and end this war early."
"Amen to that," Lucky agreed. "The sooner this war is over, the better."
While everyone seemed to agree that getting the war over sooner rather than later would be best, Eva wondered how easy that would prove to be. And also, what it would cost to get such a victory.
The flight, as usual, was awfully quiet. Although by now, Eva didn't particularly mind it; it gave her a chance to clear her head before she threw herself into the fighting. She looked down at her instruments, and as was the case the last time she checked, everything was just fine. The radar contacts at the airbase were still some distance away, but Nexus Squadron was quickly approaching.
"You're almost to the airbase," Waller told them. "Lower your altitude and increase your speed. Give these guys everything you've got," he instructed the pilots.
Vortex was the first to reply. "Roger that. We'll make sure they don't know what hit them," he said before accelerating forward and pitching his plane down slightly.
Eva and the others followed his lead. She switched on her afterburners and watched as the speedometer on her HUD climbed, and her altimeter fell. Finally, the targets at the airbase appeared on everyone's HUD. Just as Waller predicted, the base wasn't very heavily occupied. The only defenses at the base consisted of only a few AA guns and SAM sites, and radar stations were positioned at either end of the runway.
"There it is," Charger called out. "Let's go get 'em!" He sped forward toward the airfield.
Vortex chuckled a bit at Charger's enthusiasm. "Alright, Nexus Squadron. Engage!" he ordered. "Let's try and get back in time for lunch," he added lightly.
Eva set her sights on the control tower. The sooner it was taken out, the better. She placed her finger on the trigger, ready to press down at a moment's notice. The AA guns quickly noticed her and set her in their sights. Eva twisted and turned through the air, avoiding their fire and getting closer to her target. She found one of the SAM sites directly in front of her, and she was just about to temporarily switch targets to destroy it when Poet fired a single missile at it. With the SAM site down, Eva had a clear shot to the control tower. She found her lock and fired two missiles at it, bringing the whole tower down.
"Control tower is neutralized!" she reported.
"Good going, Diamond," Vortex praised her. "Keep it up everyone."
"Hey, it looks like we've got fighter's taxying onto the runway," Lucky announced.
"Well then, let's deal with them before they can get airborne," Magic chimed in.
Eva made a tight loop around and headed for the runway. "On it!"
She locked onto the first plane to reach the runway, an Su-37. The grounded fighter didn't stand a chance as Eva lined up a machine gun run, and a short burst was all it took to destroy it.
"Nice work!" Lucky beamed. "Now it looks like the rest can't take off, the wreckage is blocking the runway," he observed.
"Good. One less thing for us to worry about," Vortex said. "Now let's take out the rest of these defenses and go home."
"You guys better hurry up if you want any. Magic, Poet, and I have them all to ourselves over here," Charger said with a laugh.
"Here, you know what, I'm feeling generous today. I'll let you guys have some. I've taken out plenty already," Magic offered.
"You're too kind, Magic," Eva joked as she fired a missile at the last standing radar tower. "But I'll gladly take you up on that."
She made a hard turn to the right until she was fully turned around. With the last SAM site destroyed by Poet, all that was left was a single AA gun right in front of Eva. She watched as her missiles gracefully glided through the air until they made contact with their target.
"Waller, this is Nexus 1. The airfield is clear of hostiles," Vortex reported.
"Copy that head back to- hold it," Waller cut himself off and there was a brief pause. "Nexus Squadron, you've got enemy aircraft approaching your position at high speed, bearing 165," he warned them. "They're drones by the look of it."
"More drones?" Poet grumbled. "Just how many do they have?"
"Let's just deal with them," Eva said, already turning toward the new blips on her radar. "Besides, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting used to dogfighting with these things."
"Diamond's right," Vortex chimed in. "The sooner we deal with them, the sooner we can head back."
The MQ-99s were moving straight in a line, and at first, Eva thought they would be easy pickings. But just as she got within range to lock on, they all broke formation rather suddenly and engaged the six F/A-18s. Eva followed one of the drones on the outside of the formation as it went higher into the sky. She had a lock on her target, but she knew it would miss if she fired now. Instead, she elected to get closer, making it much easier as she fired a missile at it from behind. Eva broke off from the explosion and looked around for her next target. She quickly spotted Lucky tailing a UAV, seemingly unaware of the fact that three more were coming up behind him.
"Lucky, enemies on your six!" she warned him. "Don't worry, I'll try to get 'em off you."
She switched to her special weapons and fired a QAAM at two of the three drones. Both were unable to outmaneuver the missiles and were destroyed, leaving Eva free to focus on the last one. She fired a standard missile at the drone, but it couldn't find its mark and sailed right past the drone. She lined herself up with her target and fired a machine gun burst, but only a few shots found their mark. Just as she was about to pass it, she dropped her speed and did a high-G turn to her left, which resulted in her getting right behind the drone. She quickly finished it off with another machine gun burst and broke off to find another target.
"Thanks Diamond, I owe you," Lucky said, breathing a sigh of relief as he destroyed the drone he was chasing.
"Damn, four down already, Diamond?" Charger exclaimed. "You're on fire today."
"You should've seen her during the last sortie," Magic chimed in. "She was practically unstoppable."
Vortex chuckled a bit. "So, I've heard. Domino told me all about it."
Eva didn't reply. She never knew what to say when getting praise. The number of drones on her radar was quickly dropping, so she decided to help speed up the process. She fired another QAAM at a drone and spun around, making her way to the next closest target. She was still out of range, but Vortex beat her to it.
"Is that all of them?" Poet asked.
"Looks like there's one more heading for the airfield," Eva observed, looking down at her radar.
"That's no drone, it's a transport craft," Lucky realized.
"The people still at the airfield must've called in an evac," Vortex guessed. "Hold your fire. There's no honor in shooting retreating troops. Waller, we're on our way back."
"Copy that Nexus 1. Good work," Waller replied.
Vortex started making his way back to the carrier, and the rest of the squadron formed up behind them as they flew home.
The sun was beginning to emerge from behind the horizon, covering the water in shimmering orange light. The mess hall was largely empty, save for the pilots of Nexus and Meteor Squadron, who were all sitting with each other, joking and laughing.
"Come on, that was one time, Torch!" Charger quipped. "Are you ever going to let me live that down?"
Torch shook his head with a smirk. "Nope. It's too funny of a story."
Charger waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, well you don't have much room to talk. Since apparently, I have to remind you of the time you told our CO to kiss your ass."
Vortex practically died of laugher. "I remember that!" he said, wheezing. "Oh my god, he was so mad at you. It's a miracle you didn't get NJP'd on the spot."
"I'm gonna be honest, I cannot see you doing that, Torch," Onyx chimed in. "But the thought of it happening is just so funny."
"You know Vortex… If my memory serves me right, I believe you've got plenty of embarrassing stories in your name," Domino grinned.
The eyes of each Nexus Squadron pilot lit up, eager at the thought of hearing an embarrassing story about their squadron leader.
"Well now you've got to tell us at least one," Lucky said. "You can't just leave us hanging like that."
Domino looked over at Vortex with a mischievous grin. "Now that you mention it, there is one story that I think Vortex would love if I told you."
"Nexus Squadron and Meteor Squadron, please report the briefing room," Waller unknowingly interrupted them over the PA.
"Huh, saved by the bell I guess," Domino said, nudging Vortex's shoulder. "I'll tell you guys when we get back."
With that, all twelve pilots stood up and made their way to the briefing room.
"Today is the day," Waller said. "We're gonna end this damn war."
He powered up the terminal, which was announced by the three beeps that always accompanied it. The map of Usea covered the screen, and the terminal quickly synced with the satellite data, displaying friendly and enemy territory.
"After Erusea's declaration of war, we lost many of our aircraft carriers. However, we're not the only one that made it out. The aircraft carrier Vulture was also at sea, however, it lost all of its aircraft.
A dot on the map appeared in the waters of Eastern Usea labeled "Vulture".
"Today, we are going to be half of a two-pronged attack on Erusea. The Fort Grays Island Air Base Squadron will be linking up with Vulture and reclaiming the Space Elevator in Gunther Bay. Although, they will first be seizing air superiority in Chopinburg to secure their route."
A small dotted line started moving from Fort Grays Island to Vulture, and then the Vulture started moving southwest to Gunther Bay.
"While they're securing the Space Elevator, we're going to be launching our attack on Farbanti," Waller continued as the map zoomed in on Farbanti. "The strategy is the same as before. Meteor Squadron will maintain air superiority while Nexus Squadron engages targets on the ground. We will also move Kestrel II as close as we can to provide additional covering fire. With the capital under our control, as well as the Space Elevator, Erusea will have no choice but to surrender." Waller paused for a moment. "However, we recently received new intel. As you're all aware, Erusea has been dispatching MQ-99 UAVs in their attacks against us. Now, we believe they have a newer, more advanced drone, the MQ-101." A picture of the new drone appeared on the screen. "We also have reason to believe that the unmanned airborne aircraft carriers, Arsenal Birds, have been captured by Erusea. However, it's unlikely that they have them combat-ready. When they are, though, it is likely that they will be carrying these new drones. All the same, be on the lookout for MQ-101s, but don't let them stop you. Now, everyone to your planes. We've got a war to end."
Both squadrons of pilots stood up and saluted the Captain before filing out of the briefing room. However, as the last one out, Eva noticed heard something behind her. She briefly turned around and saw Waller humming some sort of tune. She recognized the sound, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. Regardless, she turned and headed out the door, quick to catch up with her squadron.
As soon as the elevator took them up, Eva and Lucky taxied to their positions and waited for the signal to launch. As her engines spooled up, Eva couldn't help but feel a sense of closure. It felt like it had been weeks since the war began. She couldn't wait to go back home. Her mother was probably worried sick, but at least she'd have plenty of stories to tell.
"Nexus 5, Nexus 6, you're cleared for takeoff. We'll see you in Farbanti," the Control Tower told them.
"Roger that Tower," Eva replied. "We'll try to save some action for you guys," she added with a smirk.
And with that, both planes shot forward off the catapults and into the sky. They got into formation with the rest of the two squadrons, and with their landing gear up, engines primed, and missiles ready, they headed to Farbanti.
Author's Note: Well, in the words of Solo Wing Pixy: It's Time. The moment you've all been waiting for is nearly here. It may take a while since I have a lot to do here and I want to get it all right, but rest assured, I'll be as quick as I can. In fact, as you're reading this, I'm probably writing right now, so keep your eyes open.