Just over a week had passed since Cora and the others met up with the so-called "Free Eruseans," and to her surprise, Cora didn't mind them as much as she thought she would. In fact, she was even growing to like them, even if it was just a bit. Granted, she still didn't believe that much in their cause, but she could at least empathize with it, mainly because the more time Cora spent around them, the more she came to realize the Free Eruseans were a lot more similar to her, Axe, and Dodger than she first thought. The irony that she and the others had more in common with the Free Eruseans than she did with the other Oseans like Nexus Squadron wasn't lost on her, but she didn't much care. Making Diamond pay for Slipstream's death was still her top priority; siding with Free Erusea just assured them that they'd have a future once the war was over.
Something else that Cora appreciated about the Free Eruseans was that they acknowledged her talents. When they were with the 262nd, Commander Gates was the only one who seemed to think they had any potential, even if he didn't want to do anything with it. With Free Erusea, however, they were quickly rising to the top. Some even thought the three of them were the best pilots they had, which Cora wasn't entirely sure about, but she'd gladly take the compliment all the same. She was also confident that Axe and Dodger enjoyed the attention, and she didn't blame them for it. After spending so long being neglected and cast aside as convicts, it felt nice to finally get some recognition. And as the three pilots of Rogue Squadron made their way to the briefing room, they set out to get some more.
As soon as they opened the door, the Commander finished his conversation with another officer and flashed them a smile. "Ah, Rogue Squadron. I'm glad you're here." He nodded to the chairs as a gesture for them to take a seat. "This is all time-sensitive, so I won't keep you here for too long."
"What's this all about, sir?" Cora asked as the Commander made his way over to his computer and logged into the briefing software.
"First of all, I want you to know that I'm putting you in command for this operation," the Commander explained as the map of Usea appeared on the screen. "You three have really stepped up this last week, more than I ever thought you would, and I think you're ready for some more responsibility, so don't let me down."
Cora smiled. She hadn't been expecting the news at all, but she would gladly accept it. "Thank you. We won't disappoint," she promised. "Now, what's the mission?"
The Commander zoomed the map in on the south-eastern coast of Usea. "Green Squadron reported what appeared to be a carrier strike group while out on CAP," he began, plotting a red dot on the map. "Upon further inspection, they concluded that it's Osean. They're currently heading east, likely to one of their bases out there to resupply them."
Cora narrowed her eyes at the map. "Fort Grays most likely," she speculated. Aside from the fact that it was the only Osean base this far east that she knew was still occupied, it was also where she was most likely to find Diamond and the others, so she had to do her best to try and convince the Commander to go there.
"Yes, that's very possible," the Commander replied with a nod. "For now, though, we just want to make sure that they don't get wherever they're going. That's why you, White Squadron, and Cyan Squadron are going to scramble and sink that carrier group."
"Should we be worried about any hostile reinforcements coming to back them up?" Axe asked.
"With the communications down, I doubt it, but it'd probably be best to be careful all the same," the Commander replied. "Now, as I said, time is of the essence, so you'd best get going."
Cora nodded as she stood up and turned around to leave the briefing room, and Axe and Dodger followed right behind her. As the three of them speed-walked through the halls toward the hangar, she felt a feeling she couldn't describe at first. Then, she realized what it was: purpose. For the first time in a long time, Cora knew what she wanted and how she would do it, and that felt good. As she stepped into the hangar, she decided that regardless of what happens with Free Erusea, she would try her hardest to make sure they all got out ok.
After putting on all of her flight gear, she stopped for a moment to look at her F-15C that had gotten her through so many battles. Any markings that once indicated the plane was Osean had been crudely covered with white paint and had the Free Erusea emblem put on top of them. Unfortunately, the orange paint that covered the entire left side of their planes wouldn't come off no matter how hard they tried. Luckily, though, the sin lines on the tails came off without any issues, and Rogue Squadron used that new space for a new emblem: a chain, half white and half orange, being broken in half by the knife on their old emblem. It represented the fact that Cora couldn't quite wrap her head around: they were free.
Now, she was going to go back up into the sky with the only two people she cared about and use that freedom to fight for what she wanted so desperately. The three of them may be free, but Slipstream never got to get a taste of that freedom. For that, Cora was determined to make Diamond pay for his death, and as long as the other two made it out alive, she was willing to do just about anything to make sure that happened, but the time for that would come soon enough. For now, she had a mission, and after glancing back at the others to see them climbing into their planes, she decided to do the same and get ready for takeoff.
"Attention all aircraft, you're approaching the target. Enemy fighters are taking off as we speak, so engage all hostiles and clear the scene," AWACS informed them.
Cora looked down at her radar and confirmed his statement. AWACS already flagged all of the radar contacts in front of them as hostile, so now it was just a matter of taking them all down. Compared to the missions she had gone into with Axe and Dodger with the rest of the 262nd, this was child's play, and based on the fact that the other two were already hitting their afterburners and going straight for the fighters taking off from the carrier, she presumed they did too.
"Right, the three of us will deal with any of the fighters they have. Cyan Squadron, focus your fire on those ships, especially those missile cruisers and Aegis vessels," Cora ordered.
"Roger that, Rogue 1. We'll get it done," Cyan 1 responded as he led the other three F-2As in his squadron down to the sea.
Cora looked over her other shoulder at the squadron of five MiG-31s. "White Squadron, try and draw the enemy's fire away from Cyan Squadron. We'll do the same. Use that speed you have to your advantage."
"Roger that," White 1 replied as she and her squadron gradually accelerated until they reached full speed.
"Heh, you seem to be fitting in well," Axe remarked with a chuckle.
Cora shrugged, even though he had no way of seeing it. "What can I say? It's just like old times."
"You mean back before those pompous assholes showed up out of nowhere and basically stole the squadron from you?" Dodger said, making sure his discontent for Nexus Squadron was on full display.
"Yeah, plus a little bit like life before all this," Cora added. "But that feels like it was years ago by now."
"I definitely know what you mean there," Axe agreed. "I can barely remember what life is like outside of this."
"Well, that's why we're doing all of this," Dodger pointed out. "The sooner this damn war is over, the sooner we can be done with it all."
"War's not over yet, boys," Cora reminded them. "We've still got a few battles to fight, like this one, so let's stay focused."
After Axe and Dodger gave a brief reply, Cora focused on the enemy fighters. By now, an entire squadron of Super Hornets had taken off from the carrier, and a second one was on its way up. Luckily, Cora was close enough to let a salvo of 4AAMs fly. All four missiles shot forward and found their marks, leaving only two planes left for Axe and Dodger to finish off. Suddenly, a radar lock warning started blaring, and without thinking about it for a second, Cora deployed countermeasures and pitching straight up to loop around. By the time she straightened her plane out, however, the Super Hornet that fired at her was already turning away from her and going toward one of the pilots of Cyan Squadron that just sunk a cruiser. Without hesitating for a second, she pushed the throttle as far forward as it would go and came within a few hundred meters of the enemy fighter. They tried to evade as best they could, but Cora already fired a hail of machine-gun fire at them before they could make any significant movements, sending them spiraling to the ocean.
"Phew, thanks, Rogue 1. I owe ya one," Cyan 3 said with a relief-filled sigh.
"You don't owe me anything. Just focus on dealing with that fleet.," Cora replied before turning away toward the rest of the F/A-18s that were taking off.
"30% of the enemy fleet has been destroyed," AWACS informed them. "Keep it up, and we'll be done in no time."
"Any signs of reinforcements?" Axe asked as he shot down another Super Hornet.
"Negative, Rogue 2, or at least, I'm not seeing anything," AWACS replied.
"Nearly halfway there. Just stay focused, and we'll be fine," Cora said.
By that point, all of the carrier's Super Hornets had taken off, and a squadron of Su-33s was on the deck. Cora tried to swoop down and take them out before they could take off, but the wave of anti-air fire coming up from the carrier forced her to break away before she could get a clear shot off.
"Hey, you guys just about done with those missile cruisers yet?" White 4 asked with an annoyed grunt. "Having all these missiles on my ass is starting to get on my nerves."
"Well, the damn aegis vessels keep taking out our missiles before they can get close," Cyan 1 explained before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm gonna get in close, try and take these pricks out before they get a chance to respond."
Cora watched as one of the F-2s dove down until they were only a hundred meters above the ocean and flying straight toward the last aegis vessel. All of the ships' anti-air guns were unleashing a hail of bullets in their direction, but none of them landed any hits. Before they had a chance to fire an anti-ship missile, though, AWACS's voice grabbed everyone's attention.
"Warning, warning! Unknown air contact approaching at high speed; ETA five seconds," they warned. "I don't think it's an aircraft."
"Cyan 1, break off now!" Cora ordered as she and everyone else did the same, scattering in every direction to ensure they didn't get hit by whatever was heading their way.
"Hang on, hang on. I've almost got it," Cyan 1 promised. A second later, they fired an anti-ship missile and tore away, but by then, it was already too late.
Suddenly, a massive explosion lit up the sky and sent out a shockwave that Cora could feel violently shaking her plane. Even in the aftermath of the blast, it took her a few seconds to get her bearings again, but when she did, she realized that Cyan 1 was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell was that?" White 4 asked, going right back into the fray as if nothing happened.
"My guess is some sort of burst missile or something, maybe a railgun shell," AWACS speculated. "I'll send you the predicted impact zone if I see any more headed our way, but for now, just continue with the mission."
"Since when did the Oseans have tech like that?" Dodger asked as he gunned down an Su-33.
"I don't think that was Osean," White 1 said. "It looks like whatever that thing was, took out some Osean fighters too," they pointed out.
"We can worry about what it is later. Right now, let's just finish these bastards off," Cora ordered, turning to face the last two F/A-18s and firing a pair of 4AAMs at them. "Cyan 2, command is yours now. Avenge your flight lead in any way you see fit, preferably by sending these punks to the bottom of the ocean."
"They only have a few fighters left," AWACS informed them. "After that, it's just a matter of sinking whatever's left of that fleet."
"Roger that. Don't worry. We'll deal with these guys quickly," Cora promised, already cutting back on the throttle to match the maneuvers of the Su-33 she was chasing.
The Flanker tried its best to outmaneuver Cora, and it even managed to get away for just a moment, but in the end, it was just that: a moment. As the Su-33 turned away, she jerked the control stick to the right and pulled back on the throttle. She fired a pair of standard missiles at them as soon as she saw them, but the first one didn't lock on in time, so it ended up flying off into the sky, leaving her no choice but to get in close and finish them off with guns.
"All aircraft, be advised; more projectiles inbound!" AWACS warned. "Sending the predicted impact zone."
Cora looked down at the red circle on her radar that she happened to be directly in the center of and hit the afterburners. At that moment, she didn't care what direction she was going, as long as she was getting out of danger. As AWACS started counting down until the time of impact, she gritted her teeth. She had nothing more she could do but watch as she just barely got out of the explosion's range in time. Even then, she could feel the heat against her back, and it was at that moment she realized that they were cutting it too close.
"Right, that's it. "This isn't worth it. All aircraft withdraw from the operation airspace," Cora ordered.
"What? Are you serious?" Dodger asked in disbelief. "You really want us to run away now?" At first, Cora thought that was ironic coming from him, but then she stopped and realized that it was a testament to how far he had come.
"Look, we've already shot down all their pilots, and the only ship with the actual carrier is a single frigate," Cora pointed out before adding, "Besides, we already know where they're going. If push comes to shove, we can just try to hit them again before they get there."
White 1 let out a heavy and exasperated sigh. "Fine, we're pulling out."
Cora nodded to herself, feeling a sense of satisfaction in knowing that they were all safe. "Good. We'll keep you guys covered." She paused for a moment before breaking the silence that followed. "Remember, better to live and fight another day than to die before your time has come."
The Commander exhaled sharply and turned to face the screen. "Well, I'm disappointed that we didn't get to sink that carrier, but overall, I think you all did good work." He turned around to face Cora. "Magnum, I especially think you made the right call in ordering the retreat when you did."
Cora dipped her head. "I just wanted to make sure we all made it out of there." She hesitated for a brief moment before saying what was on her mind next. "Besides, with the trajectory that they're going at now, we can pretty much confirm that they're going to Fort Grays. Just let us launch an attack on them, and we can settle this once and for all."
The Commander stroked the slight stubble resting on his chin and started to pace back and forth around the front of the room. Finally, he said, "We'll launch an attack tomorrow, but you three won't be part of it. I have a more important task for you."
Cora opened her mouth as she tried to voice her objections, but the Commander cut her off with a simple raise of his hand. Regardless, she still wanted to try and secure a spot on that mission. If they were going to attack Fort Grays, then that meant Diamond and the rest of Nexus Squadron would likely be there too, and she wanted to be there to shoot them all down, but the Commander looked at the three former convicts with an understanding smile.
"What I need from you three is to help us find the source of these long-range attacks," he told them. "This is important, so that's why I'm entrusting you with this. Until we can get a fix on who this is and what they're shooting at us with, all of our operations are in jeopardy. Understood?"
Cora still didn't like it, but she knew better than to argue. "Understood," she replied with a nod.
The Commander smiled. "Good, now go ahead and get some rest. It's starting to get late, and you've all earned it."