"There it is, Farbanti is dead ahead," Vortex said. "Alright everyone, let's give 'em hell, but remember to keep yourselves safe out there."
"Yeah. Let's try to shoot for no causalities," Domino added. "I don't want to see anyone pulling any of that 'heroic sacrifice' bullshit so watch each other's backs."
"Waller, we've arrived at Farbanti and we're engaging now. What's your ETA?" Vortex asked.
"We're not far behind," Waller answered. "We'll be there in about three minutes."
"Sounds good to me. Nexus Squadron, let's go engage these ground targets," Vortex commanded.
With that, he rolled onto his side and started heading for the surface, with the rest of the squadron right behind him. Eva set her sights on her first target, an APC, and started lining up the shot. She made a low and fast approach, like she did with the aegis vessels, and fired a single missile at it. With no time to react or counter, the APC didn't stand a chance and was blown to bits. Eva pulled up into the sky turned toward her next target. She came straight down at a SAM site directly above it, only to pull up at the last second as she destroyed it.
"Diamond, missile inbound, evade!" Poet's warning came immediately as her radar started beeping.
She looked down at her radar and saw a missile coming at her from another SAM site. The missile approached slowly at first but was starting to pick up speed. Eva watched as it got closer and closer, only to pull up at the last minute and move into a 180. The missile didn't have time to react and lost its lock, sailing off into the distance before exploding midair. With the missile off her tail, Eva set her sights on the SAM site that fired it. As with most ground targets, it didn't stand much of a chance against her.
"Thanks for heads up, Poet," she said gratefully.
"Don't sweat it," Poet replied, flying right over Eva's head.
"Hey, it looks like we've got some tanks moving into the park," Charger observed.
"Good eye, Charger. You wanna deal with them?" Vortex asked.
"Sure. Diamond, Magic, mind giving me a hand?" Charger questioned the two pilots.
Eva quickly located Charger's position and formed up behind him, and Magic did the same. "We're with you," she told him.
Together, the three pilots turned in unison toward the reconstruction park. A group of about ten tanks was moving down the road, and a few APCs and AA guns were accompanying them. Eva set her sights on the tank bringing up the rear, lining herself straight up with the tank and firing two missiles directly at it. The AA guns took aim at her and tried their best to bring her down, although they didn't have much success. Eva even managed to take one of them out with her machine guns in the same pass. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the others had the same success. All it took them was two more passes and the whole group was taken out.
"Vortex, enemies heading to the park have been taken out," Charger reported.
"Nice work you three," Vortex praised them. "Link back up with the rest of us. We're gonna deal with the targets at the Silver Bridge."
"Roger that," Charger replied, turning to regroup with the other half of Nexus Squadron.
"This is Kestrel II, we're arriving now," Waller cut in. "What's the status?"
"We're still dealing with a few pesky fighters, but for the most part, we've got air superiority," Domino reported.
"Good, keep it up and deal with those last fighters," Waller said, sounding pleased. "Nexus Squadron?"
"We're doing good as well," Vortex informed Waller. "I doubt they'll be able to put up a fight for much longer," he added.
"Good. Everything is going to plan then." Waller rarely showed this level of content in his voice. "All aircraft, continue your current objectives. At this rate, Farbanti will be ours by the end of the hour."
"Out of curiosity, Waller, have we heard anything from the Fort Grays Squadron?" Charger asked.
"They're engaging enemy aircraft in Chopinburg, but that's all I know," Waller told them. "They should have a clear route to the Space Elevator soon."
Eva felt a wave of relief rush over her. The thought of putting all of this behind her in just a few short hours made her jittery, but she didn't let that distract her from the job she had to do. As Nexus Squadron approached the Silver Bridge, Eva's eyes were drawn to a pair of missile boats heading for Kestrel II. She turned to engage them without hesitation. They were just outside of her range, but they still had some distance between them and Kestrel II, so she still had time. As she approached, she tipped her nose down to lower her altitude, putting even less distance between herself and the missile boats. They were small, but not very agile, meaning they didn't stand much of a chance against her missiles.
"Waller, this is Meteor 1. All enemy aircraft are down. The skies are ours," he reported.
"Excellent news Meteor 1!" Based on the tone in his voice, it sounded as if Waller had a grin from ear to ear on his face. "Stand by until Nexus Squadron completes their objective."
"Evidently, you won't have to wait for very long, because we just took out the last of the ground defenses," Vortex chimed in. "So, what happens now?"
"Now comes the fun part. We're going to radio the Erusean Military HQ and rub it in their faces that we won," Waller said.
Eva felt her heart racing. It was over, they had control of the capital. After what felt like months, they finally did it. All the effort they had put in had finally paid off.
"Erusean Military HQ, this is the OFS Kestrel II of the International Union Peacekeeping Force," Waller announced on an open radio channel. "Your capital is defenseless, surrender now," he ordered.
There was a long pause as everyone waited in silence, hoping for some kind of reply, but nothing came.
"Any Erusean forces that can hear this message, inform your superiors to surrender," Waller repeated.
Eva felt a strange feeling creeping up her spine as they received no answer yet again. Surely someone heard them, it was an open channel. The Eruseans had no reason to ignore their transmissions. At least, that's what Eva thought.
"Wait a second," Waller said, switching back to their radio channel. All traces of joy in his voice had vanished. "Meteor Squadron, one bogey approaching your position. They're coming in straight from the east at high speeds."
"One bogey?" Domino echoed. "Is it a drone?"
Waller paused before he answered. "Negative, I'm not sure what it is. Stay on your toes." Waller's voice now had genuine concern.
Eva looked down at her radar, and sure enough, there was one enemy contact heading straight for Meteor Squadron. Waller wasn't wrong, it really was fast, moving at 3500 km/h at least. After a few seconds, it was already almost to their position. Eva waited with anticipation to hear what would happen next. But after a few seconds, she wished she hadn't.
"What the hell? It's on my tail! I can't-." Domino's voice was cut off by static.
"Domino? Domino!" Torch cried out. "Domino's down, what the hell is this thing?"
Eva could hear the strain in his voice, but she didn't blame him. She had a hard time believing it herself. Domino was gone? Just like that? Although, she didn't have long to dwell on it.
"Meteor 3, he's behind you!" Onyx warned.
"He's too fast I'm hit!" More static followed the pilot's voice.
"Meteor 5, shake that missile!" Another voice cut in.
"Damn!" Another pilot cut off by static.
"Meteor Squadron, tell me what's happening damn it!" Waller barked.
"We're up against some kind of fighter. I've never seen anything like it. Meteor 1, 3, and 5 are all down!" Torch reported.
"Shit! Meteor 2, take up command. Nexus Squadron, support Meteor Squadron, now!" Waller ordered.
"You don't even have to ask. This bastard's gonna pay for killing Domino!" Charger growled, already turning toward the remains of Meteor Squadron. Vortex formed up on his wing.
"Alright, listen. Our goal needs to be to get between this guy, and Meteor Squadron. Charger and I will keep him busy, the rest of you, get Meteor Squadron behind you, and don't engage this guy under any circumstances."
"Roger that," Eva replied. "Lucky, let's go give Torch a hand."
"Right behind you, Diamond," Lucky replied.
The two pilots circled around Torch as he withdrew from the area, while Magic and Poet covered the other two. They were nearly to the carrier, when Eva felt her heart skip a beat.
"Damn it, I'm hit!" Charger said, a hint of panic in his tone. "My right thruster is out, but I'm still flying," he insisted.
"You won't be for much longer if you don't break off!" Vortex ordered. "Go, I'll lure him away from you."
At that moment, Eva felt a rush of emotions, and none of them were good. One thing was certain though. She knew what she had to do, whether Vortex approved or not. She had to try and help. She turned 180 degrees and switched on her afterburners. She could only feel herself get more desperate as Vortex spoke again.
"Shit, he hit me! My engines aren't getting any more thrust," Vortex reported.
Finally, Eva was in range of this mystery fighter. The second she got a lock, she fired two standard missiles. To her surprise, one of them hit, but the fighter showed no signs that it had any significant impact. The fighter pitched straight up into the sky, and Eva followed without hesitation.
"Diamond, what are you doing? Break off now! I told you not to engage." There was more concern in Vortex's voice than when he got hit.
"Just get back to the carrier, Vortex! I'll hold him off," Eva snapped. She refused to let anyone else die today. Not on her watch.
While Eva tried her best to match the fighter's movements to stay on their tail, it wasn't easy. This fighter was faster and more agile. They made an incredibly sharp turn to the right and looped around, getting behind Eva's plane and firing missiles as soon as they had a lock. Eva deployed flares to break the missiles' lock and made a high-G turn of her own, but it didn't get the fighter off of her tail. She kept herself going a straight line just long enough for the fighter to do the same thing. Then, she pulled the maneuver that she learned from Domino, dropping her speed and bringing her nose straight up. Just as she predicted, the plane flew right past her.
It was then that Eva finally got a good look at the plane she had been fighting. It definitely didn't look like any aircraft she had ever seen. It had a slim design and was painted white with an orange trim. What caught Eva's attention, though, was the emblem on its tail. It had two zeroes crossing with each other to make what almost looked like a strange eight.
"That must be your name then… Zero," Eva muttered to herself. "Time for some payback."
She fired a QAAM and followed up with a machine gun burst. Zero rolled as both attacks hit, yet they were still flying. As much as Eva hated them, she had to admit that they could definitely take a hit.
"Diamond, what's your status?" Lucky asked in a concerned voice.
Eva could feel herself panting heavily, up to that point she had barely even noticed. "I'm fine, for now anyways," she answered.
Suddenly, Eva was caught completely off-guard as Zero pulled the same maneuver she did, putting them behind her. Her missile warning went off as soon as Zero's plane straightened out. She rolled and banked right to evade the missile, but she wasn't fast enough. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard a loud crash on the right side of her plane.
"Crap, he got me. I'm hit!" Eva reported, feeling panic set in.
She went straight down and looped back up, trying simply to shake Zero off her tail at this point. However, almost immediately, she felt her plane was much less responsive to turns. Then, Eva heard a low humming sound that she instantly recognized as machine guns. She looked up and saw Lucky scoring several hits on Zero.
"What, you thought I was just gonna leave you here with this guy?" Lucky asked in an attempt at a light-hearted tone.
At first, Eva felt another wave of concern, worried that Lucky might get hurt too, but more than anything she felt relief. "I'm having trouble turning. Can you see any damage on my plane? How bad is it?" she asked.
"Diamond, I don't want to alarm you or anything, so just stay calm, but your right wing is basically gone," Lucky answered.
There was no way she could dogfight with one wing. "Shit, alright we need to get out of here," she said urgently.
"No need," Vortex cut in. "It looks like the fighter is withdrawing," he observed.
Eva looked around and realized Zero was nowhere to be found. She looked down at her radar and saw them going back the way they came.
"I wouldn't celebrate yet. Another, much larger, aircraft is approaching," Waller said.
"What else could they possibly have to throw at us?" Poet asked.
After a few brief moments, everyone got their answer. A massive white shape broke through the clouds. It was long and thin, lined with propellors. Everyone knew what it was the moment they saw it, but nobody wanted to be the first to say it.
"Is that…" Onyx tried to be the one to do it, but he didn't finish.
"It's the Arsenal Bird," Torch finally said.
Small white shapes dropped from under the Arsenal Bird's wings. They all stopped mid-air and spun before accelerating forward. They were MQ-101s, they had to be, and about 30 were heading right for nine pilots. To their surprise though, as the drones approached, they flew right past all of them, and instead made their way to the water.
"They're going for the carrier!" Eva realized. "We've gotta get out of here."
"No," Torch said decisively. "You guys go and defend the carrier. We'll slow down the Arsenal Bird."
"Are you crazy?" Charger asked, baffled that Torch would even suggest such a thing. "You won't even last five minutes."
"We're all still able to fly. Most of you are damaged," Torch said. "Besides, some time is better than none at all," he added solemnly. "Now go!"
After a moment of silence, Vortex was the one to speak. "Waller, you've got MQ-101s inbound. Nexus Squadron is on our way to get you out of here," he explained.
Eva had a hard time turning back toward Kestrel II with only one wing. She had to make an extremely wide turn, but Lucky stayed with her the whole way.
"Magic, Poet, you two need to hold those drones off. Charger and I will do what we can, but there's only so much we can do in damaged planes," Vortex ordered.
"Wilco. We'll do what we can," Poet replied.
Eva couldn't bear to watch as she saw the last three pilots of Meteor Squadron moving toward the Arsenal Bird on her radar. She knew what was going to happen, and she was sure they did too, but she couldn't bear it.
"What the hell is that, a laser?" One of the pilots asked.
"Meteor 4, evade, now!" Onyx cried out, but it was too late. The pilot's cry for help was cut off and replaced by static.
"Damn, Meteor 4 is down," Torch muttered. "Come on Onyx. It's just you and me. We need to buy as much time as we can."
Finally, Eva and Lucky regrouped with the others. Lucky broke off to help Magic and Poet with the drones, while Eva was just doing her best to stay airborne. Although, she still did what she could against the drones. As she made a pass, she fired QAAMs at two drones and made another long turn around.
"Damn it. These guys are definitely more agile than the last drones," Magic exclaimed. "I've already taken several hits."
"Same here," Poet replied. "In all honesty, I don't know if I'll be flying much longer."
"Just hang in there everyone," Vortex said urgently. "We're almost out of this."
"What's that light coming from the Arsenal Bird?" Onyx asked suddenly.
"Quick, break off now!" Torch cried out.
"Shit, I'm breaking up!" Onyx's voice was replaced by static, just like all the others.
Torch sighed heavily. "Meteor 6 is down. The arsenal bird as some kind of shield. I can't get close," he explained.
There was a few more moments where everyone was silent, focusing on whatever it is they were doing, for most, staying alive.
"I just wanted to say," Torch spoke up again. Eva could hear an alarm in the background. "It's been an honor flying with you Nexus Squadron."
The static that followed his voice confirmed his fate, and the rest of Meteor Squadron along with it. They were gone, all of them. Eva felt herself taking incredibly shaky breaths. She still didn't understand how everything went so wrong in such a short amount of time. They were just about to take the capital, and now they had lost half their pilots, and all but one of the others were damaged and barely flying. Little did Eva know, that it was about to get worse.
"Waller, look out! Missiles are headed your way." Lucky's voice jolted Eva back to reality, and she watched with horror as he dove down to the water and took a missile for the carrier. He managed to stay flying, unfortunately, several other missiles found their original target.
"Kestrel II just took several missile hits," Waller reported.
"Waller, we need to go now!" Vortex insisted. "We're all flying damaged, and I don't know how much longer everyone's going to be flying."
Eva could feel her heart pounding in her chest as everyone waited for Waller's response. "No," he finally said. "It's us the drones are after. We'll draw them out to sea, you six need to leave, fly away as fast as you can."
"What are you talking about? Where would we go?" Charger asked.
"The airfield, go to the airfield," Waller answered, alarms blaring in the background. "This isn't up for debate, so move! All hands, full speed ahead, get us going out to sea!" he bellowed.
Vortex let out a heavy sigh. "Everyone, form up on me, we're withdrawing," he said begrudgingly.
The six banged up planes did their best to get into formation, with Eva having to bring up the rear, and they all headed northeast. Thanks to Waller, and everyone else aboard Kestrel II, they were able to slip away without resistance.
"Nexus Squadron, do me a favor," Waller said.
"Yeah? What is it?" Vortex replied.
"Win," Waller said decisively.
After another minute or so Eva heard Waller's voice again, only this time, he was humming. It was the same tune she heard him humming after the briefing. She looked over her shoulder, hopeful that perhaps they made it out alright. Instead, she saw a chain of explosions across Kestrel II's hull, and finally, one large explosion directly in the center of the ship. Kestrel II, the ship that had been essentially been her home for a month, was now being swallowed up by the sea. It was then that the gravity of the situation truly weighed down on her. They started out with a whole aircraft carrier, and now, all that remained was six pilots, all in damaged planes. All of Meteor Squadron died in one operation, as did their hope of ending the war. Eva could feel her heart pounding, her hands sweating, and she hadn't noticed until now that she had been crying. She felt like she could barely breathe, but she didn't say a word to the others. They just continued on in silence, because they all knew what just happened: they lost.
Author's Note: Well, here we are. Kestrel II has been sunk in the longest chapter so far. There are still two more chapters until the official end of the first act, so stay tuned for that, but I wanted to thank each and every one of you for staying with me on this journey. It truly means a lot that you all enjoy this, and I hope the rest of the story is just as engaging for you.
As for this chapter, I find it funny that as I started I was worried it would be too short, and now it's my longest chapter to date. I rewatched the sinking of Kestrel I about a dozen times for inspiration (it was quite painful). Also having the extended mix of Two Pairs on while writing the dogfight scene made it so much more intense. As for Zero, I'm sure you're all curious as to who they are, so I hope their character is interesting for you. I've got big plans for them. Finally, for those who were wondering, no, I don't intend for Solo Wing Diamond to be a thing (there's only so many parts of a plane I can have fall off, and I wanted her to get off the worst out of everyone in Nexus Squadron.) So anyway, that's enough ranting for one Author's Note, at least for this one. Hope you guys enjoyed the story, and remember that your feedback is always appreciated, it always makes my day when I see new reviews so if you feel like it, go ahead and drop one.