"I wonder how much longer this is gonna go on," Magic wondered aloud.
"Hm?" Eva asked, looking over at her. "What do you mean?'
"Just… everything, I guess," Magic answered. "This whole thing. Like, sure, we've been doing alright against Erusea, but where's it getting us?"
At first, Eva's only reply was a shrug. In truth, she hadn't given the question much thought. She had thought about it from time to time, but it wasn't like she was losing any sleep over it. "I guess we're just gonna keep holding out until our allies push further west and regroup," she finally said. "And in the meantime, if we're able to wreak havoc on Erusea, then so be it. At least, that's how I see it."
"What if there aren't any friendly forces left, though?" Magic asked. "It's been over a month since we got here, and we still haven't made contact with anyone. We could be the last of the Osean forces on the continent for all we know."
Eva paused. For a moment, she wasn't sure what to say. "Yeah, you've got a point," she admitted. "It's honestly a bit frustrating. I just want things to go back to the way they were, but I guess the chances of that happening are slim to none. Especially when we can't seem to find this facility that's jamming our transmissions."
Magic nodded in agreement. "Mhm. In the end, it all comes down to that one facility. If we can just get rid of it, then we can contact allied forces, but as long as it's still up, we're stuck here."
Eva let out a frustrated sigh. "It just aggravates me to think that we could be out of here with probably barely any effort at all if we just knew where it was."
Before Magic got a chance to reply, Poet appeared in the doorway to their room. "Hey, Tillmin and Gates called a briefing," he informed them. "Tillmin said time was of the essence, so we might wanna hurry."
Eva and Magic stood up without another word, following Poet out of their room and toward the briefing room.
"So what exactly are we here for that's so urgent it can't wait?" Slipstream asked impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You'll see in just a moment," Tillmin assured him without looking up from the computer screen as he loaded up the briefing software.
"However, before we begin with the briefing, there is one quick thing I want to address," Gates stepped in. "Since Castor Squadron has fewer pilots than Rogue Squadron, we decided that we're going to try and even things out a bit. Slipstream, Diamond," he turned to face the two pilots. "You two are going to be moved into Castor Squadron as Castor 5 and 6 respectively, for the time being, anyway."
Eva looked over at Slipstream to try and gauge his reaction to the news, only to realize he was doing the same thing. She tried to figure out what he was thinking about, but the only emotion Eva could gather from his expression was indifference. In all honesty, Eva wasn't quite sure what to make of Slipstream in general. He didn't seem as overly aggressive as Magnum or Axe, and he wasn't a coward like Dodger, but at the same time, something about him just bugged her, even though she couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"Are you sure we don't need more moved over?" Lucky asked. "That's still nine pilots in Rogue Squadron versus six in Castor Squadron."
"It'll be fine," Gates assured him. "It doesn't need to be perfectly even. Besides, their skill will make up for it," he added with a smile before looking back at Major Tillmin. "Are you all set?"
Tillmin nodded as the briefing software appeared on the large screen in the front of the room. "All set," he replied. "Now, let's make this quick. We don't want to waste any time." He highlighted the two Arsenal Birds that circled the Space Elevator. "By now, I think you've come to realize what one of the main threats to our operations has ended up being: the Arsenal Birds. Specifically, though, Justice's Helios airburst missiles are making things difficult for us. Their long-range capabilities allow them to strike us pretty much anywhere."
"So, lemme guess… we're gonna take out Justice?" Magnum guessed.
Tillmin shook his head. "No, that would be far too dangerous with our current resources," he explained. "However, what we can do is keep them from getting any more accurate." He turned around to face the computer again and zoomed in on an area west of San Salvacion. "In a few hours, Erusea is going to be launching a satellite from Sierraplata. This satellite is meant to help improve the accuracy of Justice's Helios missiles. Naturally, we can't let this happen, so you need to get over there and stop that launch."
"So what's the plan, then?" Vortex asked. "Is there any specific way we have to go about this, or are we just going in and blowing shit up?"
"Well, for the most part, you are going in and blowing shit up, but you're doing it in a certain way," Tillmin answered with a slight hint of amusement in his voice. "Not far from the satellite launch facility, there's a series of IRBM silos. We don't actually have any way of neutralizing them. However, Rogue Squadron will be heading that way and engaging any enemy forces present while Castor Squadron takes out the satellite facility. This way, most of the enemy reinforcements should go the IRBM silos instead of the satellite facility, which will make it easier for Castor Squadron to fend off the reinforcements that they have to deal with."
"And what exactly should we expect, then?" Neutron asked.
Gates was the one to answer. "The same things we've been dealing with this whole time, I suppose," he speculated. "MQ-99s, standard fighters, or perhaps one of the Arsenal Birds. Nothing you haven't dealt with before," he added with a smirk.
"There's one more thing that we should address," Crosswind spoke up. "Because of the comm jamming, I'll likely only be able to communicate with Castor Squadron since Rogue Squadron will be outside my range." He looked over to Vortex. "In other words, you guys'll be on your own, so be extra careful."
Vortex nodded. "Don't worry, we will be," he assured the AWACS operator.
"Remember, time is of the essence here," Tillmin said. "They'll be launching the satellite soon, so let's get moving."
The pilots all stood up and filed out of the briefing room one by one before heading down the halls and over to the hangars in one big group.
"Hey, Diamond." Lucky gave Eva a nudge on the shoulder as they walked. "You sure you're all right with this? I mean, we've always had each other's backs, but now… you're not gonna have us with you."
"It'll be fine, Lucky," Vortex assured him before Eva got a chance to respond. "I know she can do this. That's why I specifically recommended her to get moved to Castor Squadron."
At that moment, the situation reminded Eva of when she was temporarily moved into Meteor Squadron back on the Kestrel II. She couldn't help but wonder if her conversation with Vortex after their last mission had anything to do with his decision, but she didn't ask. All she could do was hope that she didn't have to deal with the same situation again. Losing a former squadron once was bad enough. She didn't want to have to go through that again.
"Well, kid," Charger said as he patted Eva on the back. "We'll miss ya out there, but go give those Eruseans hell. We'll see you after the mission."
Eva smirked as she climbed into her plane. "Don't worry, Charger. I'm sure you guys'll have plenty of fun without me." She slid her helmet over her head and secured her oxygen mask as she prepared herself for takeoff.
Eva took a deep breath as she saw hostiles start to appear on her HUD. "Contacts sighted," she announced. "Let's get to business."
"Castor Squadron, engage," Crosswind ordered. "Let's get this done quick."
"Feels weird to be in a different squadron," Slipstream admitted. "Been in Rogue for so long that anything else just sounds weird to hear."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Eva agreed. "Although, quite frankly, I've been changing squadrons so much in the last two months that I'm starting to get used to it."
"Ah, don't worry. It's just like Commander Gates said: it's only temporary," Neutron assured them. "You'll probably be back with the others in a few weeks or so."
"In a few weeks or so, I'm hoping that we're out of here," Threes chimed in. "Don't know how much more I can take of that damn desert."
Bouncer scoffed. "I think that's being a bit too optimistic, Threes," he advised him. "If I had to guess, I'd say this war is gonna carry on for a while longer."
Slipstream snickered. "Don't worry, you get used to the heat eventually," he told Threes. "Granted, it may take a few weeks… or months, really. Your mileage may vary and all that."
"Faaantasic," Mesa muttered sarcastically. "Just what I wanted to hear.
"Alright, Castor Squadron," Crosswind chimed in. "Let's cut the chatter and get to work."
"Roger that, Crosswind, Castor Squadron engaging," Neutron replied.
Eva throttled up and dove down to make a pass over the ground defenses surrounding the facility. She started by taking out two SAM launchers with a pair of standard missiles, followed by a quick machine-gun burst to take out an AA gun. As she pulled back up into the air, a missile alert started to go off in her cockpit. Although Bouncer quickly destroyed the SAM launcher that fired the missile, the missile continued to trail after Eva. She pitched up higher, going almost straight up into the sky before rolling onto her side and going into a loop just before the missile hit her. Since it wasn't able to hit her, the missile lost its lock and flew straight into the distance, allowing Eva to straighten her plane out and make another pass over the facility. She fired two standard missiles at a tank and took out a pair of AA guns positioned next to each other with her machine guns.
"Heads up, you've got Harriers taking off from the facility," Crosswind advised. "You might wanna take 'em out before they interfere with the mission."
Eva looked down at her radar and quickly turned toward the direction where the Harriers slowly lifted off the ground. "I've got them," she announced, readying the LAAMs she had equipped.
"I'll go with you," Slipstream said, forming up next to her.
Eva locked onto the closest enemy Harrier and fired a single LAAM. Slipstream did the same, and they both veered off the left. Just before their missiles made contact, the Harriers started accelerating, causing both LAAMs to barely miss their targets. Eva looped around and fired two standard missiles at one of the Harriers at the back of the formation, and Slipstream did the same. The remaining two slip up, breaking off in opposite directions before pitching up higher into the sky. Eva followed after the one that went to the right, firing a few quick bursts from her machine-gun whenever her target was in range. Finally, she got a clear shot and finished the Harrier off with a single missile.
"All Harriers neutralized," Slipstream reported as he shot down the one he was chasing. "Do we have anything else incoming, Crosswind?"
After a brief pause, Crosswind finally spoke up. "Yep, we've got MQ-99s inbound," he reported. "They're coming in from bearing 230."
"Mesa, go with Diamond and Slipstream and deal with those drones," Neutron ordered. "After they're gone, that should be all the reinforcements we have to deal with."
"On it," Mesa replied as he, Slipstream, and Eva turned to face the drones head-on.
As the three pilots headed for the group of ten drones, Eva started to wish that she brought her 6AAMs instead of her LAAMs. She watched as the distance between them and the drones quickly decreased before finally firing two LAAMS at two different drones. Slipstream and Mesa both fired their special weaponry as well. It was hard to tell whose missiles hit and whose didn't, but half the drones went down while the rest kept flying. Eva fired a single standard missile at another drone, but it quickly jerked to the left, evading the missile with ease.
"God damn, I forgot how nimble these little shits are," Eva muttered as she turned to follow after the drones.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Slipstream agreed. "I can never really get a solid hit on them."
"I'd only ever been on their side up until recently. I had no idea how hard to hit these things are," Mesa chimed in as he twisted and turned to follow after one of the drones.
Eva instinctively made a high-G turn as soon as she heard a missile alert coming from her cockpit. When the alert kept going, she eventually just deployed countermeasures and pitched up. Eva looked over her shoulder to get a good look at the drone that was following her. After a few seconds of making several small maneuvers to see how it reacted. She straightened her plane out and waited for the drone following her to do the same before putting herself into a cobra maneuver and dropping behind the drone to take it out with a quick missile.
"Man, these AA guns are a pain in the ass," Bouncer grumbled.
"No kidding, I can't get close enough without them trying to fill my plane with bullet holes," Threes chimed in.
"Just keep at it, boys," Neutron encouraged them. "We should be done in just a little bit."
"Ah shit. Looks like you'll be done sooner rather than later," Crosswind informed the group. "The satellite is launching!"
As if on cue, Eva felt a low rumbling. Suddenly, a rocket started to come out from the ground, getting faster and faster as it went into the sky.
"Is it that it? Did we just lose?" Slipstream asked as he and the others circled around the facility.
"Not yet. There's still a chance. If you guys are fast enough, you might be able to get it before it reaches orbit," Crosswind told them.
Without so much as a second thought, Eva throttled up and climbed straight into the sky, following the satellite. "I'm on it!" she assured the others.
She fired two standard missiles, but they weren't at the right angle and ended up missing. Eva felt the air getting thinner as she climbed higher into the sky, but all the same, she didn't break off. She kept her finger ready to fire machine guns as she got closer to the satellite. Her breathing got heavier, but she finally got within gun range and held down the trigger. She landed a few hits but quickly realized that she didn't have much longer to take it out. Finally, Eva fired off another two standard missiles and broke off. She only nearly avoided the explosion as she dove back down to the ground.
"Nice going, Castor 6," Crosswind praised her. "Erusean satellite confirmed down."
"Good shit, Diamond," Neutron chimed in. "I was starting to get a little nervous."
"Ah, Diamond usually comes in clutch at the last minute, so I was only slightly nervous," Slipstream teased her.
"Hang on, I've got an incoming transmission from Rogue Squadron, but it's really patchy," Crosswind told them. "Gimme a second, and I'll try and clear it up."
The voice started as nothing but static at first, but slowly, Vortex's voice became clearer and more audible until the words he was saying were crystal clear. "Crosswind, this is Rogue 1. We're pulling out of the AO now. Hope you guys are done over there," he reported.
Crosswind chuckled. "You've got some nice timing, Rogue 1. We just finished. Let's link up and head back together."