Well, it seems that we're all going to have to wait until sometime next year for Rwby Volume 9. Not sure why the wait, but I do hope it's something worth watching, since I will admit the last few volumes leave some things to be desired.

Anyway, I am surprised none of you have figured out who the man in black that Ghira asked for help. A movie about them just came out recently and while the guy isn't the exact character from the movie or series they come from, I'd figured I would include them since they are such a badass fighter.

Secondly, I've been listening to duet, trio and quartet versions of a few Aladdin songs and I think I might want to watch the live action version of the movie, even though I prefer the Robin Williams version of Genie along with Dan Castellaneta's version of the blue boy.

I've also watched Akame Ga Kill, Kill La Kill, My Hero Academia and have started watching Log Horizon and they are very interesting in their own ways. Don't think this means I'll be doing stories on those series any time soon, I'm mostly focusing on stories involving Star Wars, Transformers, Gundam, Halo and Rwby. Since I like those series the most.

Anyway, onto the reviews.

Monster King: Thanks.

54godamora: True, but there will be plenty of changes in the next couple of chapters regarding a certain psychopathic scorpion Faunus. I think I know just the person to replace him. If we've got to wait for volume 9, so be it. It better be for a good reason.

Darth Cody: Trust me, you'll be surprised on who that figure is when the time comes, I hope.

Jack Smith1: You'll have to wait and see. If I want to contact you, I'll figure out on when to contact you.

Chaotic Skunk Demon: If I had a semblance, I honestly have no idea what I would want it to be. As for the kind of Faunus I would be, that's a good question. I'm not entirely sure, but I would have to go with maybe a wolf type or something like that. As for Sun, yeah, he needs to think before he speaks, especially to the father of the girl he likes.

42: It's a different version of a favorite character of mine from another series, which character, you'll have to wait and see. As for the Dark Saber, I honestly don't know right now.

Infinity Prime: You'll have to wait and see. As for the Inquisitor, I don't know.

Luffy L Deathwalker: You'll just have to wait and see when the time comes. It's not another Jedi, but its someone with sword skills equal to that of a Jedi, ones that use two sabers at the same time anyway. Zett being on Menagerie will help Blake out in the long run, especially with keeping tabs on the two Albain assholes. Guys like them need to die at the hands of a Predator, Golgo 13 or Doom Slayer. Yep, Galen and Qrow are racing to Ruby's aid, but who will get there first? You'll have to wait until the chapter after this one.

Spartan-626: Trust me, Zett will be a great help when the time comes. The mystery man will remain a mystery for now. Galen will be there to save Ruby when the time comes, like Ryan when he saved the other Lightspeed Rangers when they were almost destroyed. Don't know who this Fiona person is, but Salem's plans will be getting a dent in them. Just you wait.

Songs this chapter are 'Annex' and 'HRESVELGR' from Ace Combat Zero, 'Comona' from Ace Combat 4,

Reviews done, lets get this started.

Disclaimers are the same as before.

Chapter 51: Three Strikes

A destroyer from the Anima navy listed heavily to port as it sunk rapidly beneath the ocean waves. Its surviving crewmen in lifeboats valiantly risked their lives to pull those still in the water onboard. An explosion tore a hole in a one of the carriers, splitting it in two before the pieces slipped beneath the waves, sucking the sailors who couldn't escape in time under.

One of the damaged missile destroyers fired all its guns and missiles at the swarm of incoming Yellowjackets and Nevermores that swooped down and grabbed many of the sailors and flew off with them to parts unknown. A several patrol boats made a hard turn to port, firing their machine guns at the Grimm while more sailors scrambled aboard the patrol ships as smoke billowed from the damaged and sinking ships before they were sent to their watery graves.

Hovering in the air just ten kilometers away from the ships was one of the many war factories that had appeared all over Remnant. Bristling to the teeth with point-defense laser cannons, anti-aircraft cannons, air-to-air missile launchers, flak cannons and turbo lasers, this war factory had completely decimated the task force sent by the Anima council to eliminate the factory that possessed the most imminent threat to the Kingdom.

Their navy wasn't quite as large as Vale's or Atlas's and many of their ships were undergoing retrofits after many years of neglect, even sending many ships that weren't even fully repaired for battle. As a result, they were caught completely off guard when they were ambushed by enemy forces consisting of fighters and bombers launched from the war factory along with submarines and battleships that had greater firepower than they had ever seen before.

Roughly eighty percent of the taskforce was sunk by the surprise attacks, forcing the remaining ships to turn hard to starboard and head back to the naval base several miles away from the city of Argus. The captain in charge of the task force, looked through the binoculars from the bridge of the battleship that was leading the retreat, furious that he had failed in his mission eliminate the war factory that continued to spit out hundreds of war machines every day. The Mistral council was going to have a field day with his failure, he was sure of that.

As the remains of the Mistral navy retreated to a safe distance, the tactical droid overseeing the operations of the factory made a report to Maul and Salem who instructed the droid to continue production of their droid army while keeping an eye on the kingdom of Mistral, if their informant decided to betray them.

Back in Vale, at the base the clones and rebels were using. Mechanics and technicians worked diligently on the starfighters belonging to both of world groups while fighter jets either took off or landed on the airfield. Many of the plane's landing were greatly damaged from their engagements with both the Grimm and droids which continued to gain an advantage in numbers. Many of the pilots launching into battle were as the experienced called them 'nuggets', those who had very little combat experience and were flying F4's and F5's.

Many of these pilots didn't return from their missions and those that did return were scared beyond a doubt after experiencing battle for the first time, many of them leaving the air force. With these pilots leaving, their tasks were falling onto the experienced pilots like Colonel Bishop and Guts, who were able to convince some of the pilots who were about to drop out and return home.

Bishop and Guts couldn't blame them, especially considering that their requests for better planes were rejected by the self-proclaimed base commander, Lieutenant Colonel Orson Perrault of the Vale air force. A patriotic man and loyal to Vale, he like many other people saw that the Fall of Beacon was the result of the White Fang, who he had no respect for now or when they were a peaceful protest group. Every time that Bishop and Guts demanded new planes for the new pilots, he denied their request, stating that their current planes were more than enough, despite the numbers of unused Daggers, Strike Daggers, Rapier Wasp MK'2 and Longswords just sitting in the hangers.

Perrault claimed they were for the pilots coming from Atlas, but not a single soldier or pilot had been sent over due to people believing that Atlas would once again attack their ally. It came to the point that Bishop and Guts decided to take it upon themselves to train the newer pilots in flying the more advanced fighter aircraft, despite the threats from Perrault to revoke their officers' ranks. Guts and Bishop didn't care one bit, especially since they had the support from Master Fisto who agreed with their plan to train the newer pilots in operating the newer aircraft.

In recent operations, the number of 'nuggets' killed in action dwindled down to almost zero losses. Perrault was reprimanded by command for not considering the safety of his pilots and resulted in his demotion to Captain, putting Colonel Bishop in charge of the fighter groups.

With that issue taken care of, it allowed the personal at the airbase to focus on a situation developing in Anima. The War Factory that the Mistral navy failed to destroy was now moving towards one of the various air and sea transport routes that was sending supplies to Vale. If this factory was not destroyed, the supply lines would be cut to those fighting in Vale and force them to leave the city in the hands of the droids or in the case of the Grimm, their claws.

A plan was being finalized, but until it was time to launch the plan, all pilots were to continue conducting combat-air-patrols around the perimeter of their defensive line, this included the clone and rebel pilots who like the rest of them were pleased with the recent developments regarding Ahsoka.

After her talk with Trigger, she returned to active duty and had managed to save a few of the nugget pilots from death who owed her their lives. Piloting her ETA-2 again after a sixth month leave of absence not only helped her return to her old self but filled with a newfound resolve to fight in the name of her master all those years ago.

Her fighters color had been changed from red and gray to blue and gray, much like her new Mandalorian armor given to her by Bo-Katan as a gift for helping Mandalore during Almec's black market business venture. The armor featured a specialized and customized helmet fitted for Togruta's, breast plate, black bodysuit underneath the armor, gauntlets, a short blue skirt, blue leg guards and boots. The armor was also made from pure beskar, a sign of respect from Bo-Katan to Ahsoka.

As for her new lightsaber, she crafted a newer blue bladed lightsaber with the same hilt as her original lightsaber, using a blue crystal that Trigger had found when he was on Yavin 4. Her new blade soon clashed with Triggers own sabers as the two of them sparred in an empty hanger.

Both combatants attacked each other with powerful Jar'Kai attacks, proving to Trigger that Ahsoka's skills were still as strong as ever. "I knew that you didn't just sulk around feeling sorry for yourself during those six months. You were training." Ray observed.

"Kind of hard to train with two lightsabers when you only have one." Ahsoka remarked, countering an attack from the boy she loved, attacking with her own sabers only for Ray to backflip out of the way. Sheathing her new lightsaber, Ahsoka quickly changed her battle style to Shien while Ray sheathed one of his own sabers and adopted a Djem So attack stance. Both waited for the other to make the first move.

Ray moved first and dashed towards Ahsoka like a ninja, slashing at her legs only for Ahsoka to leap into the air and land behind him before attacking him. Ray quickly changed to the Makashi style of lightsaber combat, holding his blue saber like a rapier only for Ahsoka to get the better of him and knock his saber out of his hands. "Damn it! I thought if I changed up my style of combat, I might have gotten the drop on you. Guess I ow Neo a couple of Lien chips for that bet she made." Ray said with a shrug of his shoulders as Ahsoka deactivated her lightsaber.

"Wait? Bet?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, Neo and Pyrrha have been training in the Makashi form to counteract anyone who wields a weapon like a lightsaber, such as an electro staff or one of those swords some mercs carry. I picked up a few moves, but I mostly use that Soresu form when I have to face those with blasters seeing as I mostly used ranged weapons." He admitted, calling his lightsaber to him with the force.

"Maybe you should work on that form when you get back to the Rebellion. It would be best to learn a style or two to deal with those who wield lightsabers or other melee weapons." Ahsoka commented. "Neo told me that you once walked in on her wearing nothing but lingerie one time, did that really happen?"

"Yeah, that's a bit of a funny story. See, when she was working with Cinder and Torchwick, she liked wearing that stuff when she goes to sleep. I was trying to talk to her about an upcoming mission with the Galm Team and the rest of us from Remnant, didn't hear anything from the other side of the door and assumed that an imperial spy might have gotten her. Not wanting to lose her again, I barged in only to find her changing into her said clothing, which resulted in me tripping over something and landing face first between her breasts and ended up getting a slap across the face." Ray chuckled, putting a hand to his cheek where he got slapped.

Ahsoka then laughed at what had happened and thought back to what Neo said to her when they returned to Remnant. "You know, Neo bought me some lingerie when she went to one of the shops she visited when she was still working for Roman. She said, 'wear it when I think the time is right'. I think it had something to do when you and I confessed our feelings for one another. I'm not sure now would be the right time, but if it's not too much trouble, could I… spend the night with you?" she asked.

"You're still having doubts about your choice, aren't you?" Ray asked. Ahsoka did confirm what he said was true. "I understand. Believe me, I understand more than you know. I mean, Neo and I did share the same quarters on Yavin." He added.

"You two didn't…" Ahsoka questioned.

"Nope, we didn't. Neo is family to me and what you're implying isn't something I approve of. It was only because there weren't any quarters prepared for her. Plus, she was having nightmares about... what she could have done when she was still working for Cinder." Ray clarified.

"Well, that's a relief, I think." Ahsoka sighed, somewhat relieved. "Sometimes I think you two would be lovers in another lifetime." She added.

"If that were the case, I'd still be a happy guy. She is a looker." Ray replied playfully as they exited the hanger, only to get a hit on the back side of the head from his girlfriend.

The sun was already starting to set as the two made their way to Ray's quarters. It was a simple room with a bed, bathroom and shower. "You can go freshen up if you need to, you worked up quite a sweet during our sparing match and all that." He spoke.

"Thanks." Ahsoka replied and entered the bathroom after she removed her armor. Her black bodysuit clung to her body before she unzipped it and turned on the shower. The water drenched her body as she washed the sweet off her body. "Rex, I hope you are doing ok. I know you and the others went with Ruby, but there is still so much we don't know about who the enemy is. Someone must have given Cinder those droids and made a deal with the Empire, but who is it? Sidious wouldn't be using the droids, not with his legions of Stormtroopers and ships. It has to be someone else, someone who knows the droid army just as well as he did, but who is it?" she asked herself.

Running the bar of soap across her body and cleaning herself, Ahsoka wondered if Vader knew something about this. She turned the shower off and wrapped a tower around her slender figure before she picked up the clothing she brought into the bathroom. Her prosthetic hand, covered with artificial flesh froze up for a few moments before let the towel wrapped around her drop to the floor.

As for Trigger, he pulled out his scroll, selected the photos setting and scrolled through his pictures until he found the last picture he taken with his sister. It was taken during the 39th Vytal festival, just a year after Neo was reportedly killed. It was during the last day of the festival when the picture was taken, both going to the photobooth and dressing as soldiers from days gone by.

Only days later was Ray was informed that he would be training with the Galm team, something he was looking forward to ever since he read about their exploits and even met them after an airshow.

For months, he trained to be a pilot as close to the Galm Team's caliber as he could, becoming an aggressive dogfighter who was willing to put his life on the line to protect his wingmen. During one such training exercise, the Grimm had broken through their defensive lines and headed directly towards the city. His F14 was fully loaded with live ammo for its 20mm's and without a moment's hesitation, he went after the formation of Grimm and downed them all, emptying his cannons. That earned him the tac-sign of Trigger and the recommendation to test the S35.

When he finally earned his wings, it was shortly after his sister went missing. From what Qrow told him, Cinder attacked his sister and would have killed her had Qrow not saved her in time. Sadly, Qrow, Glynda, Ozpin and Ironwood didn't tell him about his sister's condition, and he spent months traveling the world looking for her, learning more about the tales of ancient, armored warriors who came to Remnant to hunt the Grimm while at the same time becoming more aggressive in his search.

Shortly before he left Remnant, he learned that it was Cinder who murdered his sister and that she was right underneath Beacon the whole time and not once did any of those who knew told him. Part of him was angry, the other part understood why they didn't tell him, but it couldn't do anything to heal his broken heart.

His desire for revenge nearly blinded him into doing something reckless, but even if he had gotten revenge, it wouldn't bring his sister back from the dead. "Amber, why did it have to be you who died that day? Why couldn't it be me? I'm the one who took all the risks, and I haven't even unlocked my semblance yet." He said to himself.

The door to the bathroom opened and out stepped Ahsoka wearing a satin bustier with garter belts attached to her satin stockings, silky satin gloves and satin lowers. "Wow, you look sexy." He whistled to Ahsoka who walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. "I'm sure with out a doubt that Amber would have loved to meet you. You're an angel." He complimented.

"I've never really worn anything like this before, so it's a first for me you know." Ahsoka admitted, her lekku darkening a bit at Ray's compliment. Both teens looked into the other eyes before they both leaned in and kissed each other with passion before falling onto the bed falling asleep a few hours later.

When morning came, dark clouds loomed over both the base and kingdom as Broadside knocked on the door to Triggers room. "Captain, Commander, we've got a mission briefing at 0835. Get yourselves over to the briefing room on the double. This is a mission you're not going to want to miss." The leader of Shadow Squadron called from the other side of the door.

As the clone left, on the other side of the door in the darkness, both teens rose out of the bad, semi-nude and quickly changed into their clothing before joining the other pilots in the briefing room. Taking their seats, everyone waited as Commander Bly along with Aayla walked into the briefing room as a holographic display of the war factory's current location was displayed in front of them. "Alright flyboys, this is a target we can't afford to ignore." Bly began as the image of the war factory was enhanced.

"Our intelligence has confirmed that the war factory you are looking at is now directly over our supply lines from Anima. Supply ships carrying ammunition and medical supplies are stuck in port and need to leave port as soon as possible. The problem is the war factory is protected by a large amount of anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, ranging from the latest Atlas anti-aircraft cannons and point-defense laser cannons." One of the air-force officers explained. "An attempt by the Mistral navy to destroy one of the factories failed, as they didn't count on the enemy naval forces. Eighty percent of their forces were wiped out and the ships were forced to retreat back to their base."

"However, they did provide us with information essential to our success." Aayla pointed out. "Scans of the war factory indicate that it is powered by a large gravity dust generator allowing it to move across the world without the need for an airship. It is also protected by a powerful deflector shield that can withstand dust-based weaponry. However, it is not unbeatable. All Y-Wings are being loaded Ion Torpedoes which will drain the shield and allowing the use of conventional weaponry." She added.

"Our biggest concern is the enemies' defensive forces. In addition to the naval forces, the factory is protected by hundreds of droid fighters and Yellowjacket's. Getting past their defenses will not be an easy task. Fortunately for us, Colonel Bishop has come up with a plan." The officer inputted before said colonel stood up.

"As General Secura said, all Y-Wings are being loaded up Ion Torpedoes to drain the shield faster than it would with laser cannons. That is true for the Y-Wings from the Clone Wars. Rebel Y-Wings have been loaded up with Proton Torpedoes to finish of the factory once its shield is down. All fighters will be assigned to eliminate as much of the enemies' defenses as possible before the bombers make their attack run on the factory." Bishop explained before the hologram of the factory was replaced with a weapons pod hologram. "All F22's are being equipped with weapons pod carrying our new XMA8 multipurpose missiles. Once you are within range, hit the fire button and the missiles will streak towards their targets, perfect for large groups of hostiles. Anima Dagger Kai's and Viper MK'2's will be assisting us in securing the air space and eliminating enemy naval power with the Viper MK1's, Wasp Kai's and F35's. Hitman Team of the Sicario mercenary group is said to be operating in the area and should provide us with support for this operation."

The Remnant pilots murmured to each, having heard stories about this team of mercenary pilots before Bishop continued. "General Fisto will oversee the bombers while I'll lead Garuda 1 and I will take command of Strider, Cyclops, Mage, Golem, Gargoyle and Skeleton squadrons. We'll launch a probing attack on the factory and see if they have anything else lying-in wait for us. We'll engage the fighters while Commander Tano and her squadron assist the forces attacking enemy naval vessels. All new pilots are forbidden from taking part in this operation. You're still rookie pilots, and we can't afford to lose anymore of you. All other pilots will engage the enemy reinforcements the station will be calling for. Wheel's up at 1000 hours. We've got a long flight ahead of us, be ready for anything." Bishop finished as all the pilots stood up and exited the briefing room.

Three hours later, a massive coalition of F15's, F14's, F22's, F35's, X-Wings, ARC-170's, Z-95's, F-20s and Y-Wings accompanied by Ahsoka's ETA-2 and Kit's Delta 7 were flying over the ocean on a direct course to the war factory. They were soon joined by a large formation of F15 Dagger Kai's, the Anima built version of the F15 Dagger with the same specifications and firepower as the basic dagger, F-1 Viper and F-2 Viper Mark 2's.

The twin engine, single seat F-1 Viper was developed for close-air support, ground attack and anti-ship combat. With a top speed of one thousand and seven hundred kilometers per hour, it was ideal for attacking enemy armored columns or ground based hordes of Grimm. Its weapons consisted of two internally mounted 20mm cannons hold eight-hundred rounds per gun and seven hard points, four underwing, two wingtip and one centerline hard point. The wingtip hard points of the Vipers each carried two air-to-air missiles while the four underwing hardpoints carried air-to-ship missiles.

The upgraded version of the Viper, the F-2 Viper Mark 2 was built as a single seat multirole fighter to replace the aging F-1. Compared to the original Viper, the Mark 2 was slower than the Mark 1 but had a capacity of nine hard points, two of which held the planes sensors and much like the rest of the aircraft, had two 20mm cannons holding one-thousand and two hundred rounds per gun. Half of the Mark 2's were fully loaded with air-to-air missiles while the other half only carried two air-to-air missiles and the air-to-ship missiles.

The marine blue F-2's and the desert green and brown F-1's flew at top speed heading directly towards the enemies' naval forces, the pilots of the planes ready to fire their long-range missiles at their targets. Just seconds before they reached striking distance, a formation of enemy fighters launched from the war factory were detected by the massive strike force. Seeing the impending danger, Colonel Bishop ordered all F22's to arm their XMA8's and form up wingtip to wingtip before a literal wall of missiles streaked towards the incoming fighters, blowing them out of the sky. "All aircraft, engage the enemy! Anyone carrying anti-ship missiles, head towards the targets and sink them! We've been compromised!" Bishop ordered.

(Annex starts)

Ahsoka took her fighter into a dive towards the ocean below her with the Anima fighters and her squadron following suit. As they dived for the ocean, she spotted a few droid submarines rose to the surface unleashing a volley of anti-aircraft fire, filling the air with flak and knocking several fighters out of the sky. "Blue Leader to all pilots, use your guns on the submarines! Hit them before they dive again!" she instructed the other pilots, pulling the trigger on her controls sending a barrage of cannon fire towards one of the subs which exploded after several hits.

The faster F-1's followed suit with a burst of cannon fire that sunk several incoming patrol boats before they were forced to pull up and avoid crashing into the water. "All F-1's and F-2's, enemy fleet is three kilometers ahead. Hit the throttle and get into firing range. Release your anti-ship missiles once you're in range and then pull out. You guys only have two air-to-air missiles and guns for combat. Not enough for this long of a fight!" Bishop ordered over the radio. The pilots of the Anima planes acknowledged Warwolf 1's orders and kicked in their afterburners.

The exhaust of their afterburners echoed all around the ocean as the droid ships came into distance. "Fox 1!" the pilots shouted and hit the fire button, launching their anti-ship missiles directly towards the enemy battleships which detected them and opened up with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire. The anti-ship missiles slammed into the bridges of the enemy battleships, sending them to a watery grave but not without a cost.

Half of the F-1's and F-2s were shot out of the sky by the surprise attack of the Yellowjackets that managed to flank them. Some of the pilots that were able to eject ended up getting carried off by the hybrid Grimm/droids. "Anti-ship ordnance has been delivered; enemy ships have been sunk. All Viper pilots, get your asses out of here and back to base. Load up for air-to-air combat if you want to get back in the fight!" Bishop told the pilots over the radio.

The Viper's that had sunk the enemy battleships were quick to climb to five thousand feet and head back to base, but before they could even exit the combat zone a series of explosions destroyed more of the retreating Anima pilots as half-a-dozen Lupus-class missile frigates that had just came from the war factory. "Ghost Eye to all planes! Enemy missile frigates have just entered the combat zone! I repeat! Enemy missile frigates have just entered the combat zone! They've just shot down some of our retreating allies! They must have been resupplying at the war factory!" Ghost shouted over the radio.

"We didn't notice!" Trigger responded with sarcasm, unleashing a barrage of laser fire at a formation of Vultures that were heading for the bombers. "Colonel, we need to eliminate those frigates fast! I'm making an attack run!" he told Bishop, banking hard right and getting on the right flank of the missile frigates before launching a proton torpedo. The torpedo streaked towards the frigate, causing its shields to flicker before a barrage of cannon fire finished it off. "One frigate down, but the others have wised up and started to target me!" he shouted urgently.

Luckily for him, Ahsoka and her squadron had targeted one of the other frigates and sent it plummeting down to the ocean below. "Two frigates down, but it still doesn't explain where these droids came from or who is controlling them! I though the droid army was shut down after the Empire came into power!" she voiced in curiosity.

"Perhaps the order for the droid army to shutdown didn't reach the droids on Remnant." Kit hypothesized. "It would stand to reason that the droids that crashed on this planet were unable to receive the shutdown order and were in a standby phase until someone found and activated them."

"Wouldn't a tactical droid of some kind be the one to keep the droids from shutting down? General Kota mentioned something about Super Tactical Droids or something." Ray questioned, firing his fighters cannon at the third missile frigate, which exploded into a massive fireball before its wreckage hit the ocean below.

The other three frigates were still pounding the massive strike force when suddenly, a volley of gun fire slammed into the rears of each frigate, destroying them. "What the hell was that? Who got behind those ships?" Trigger questioned out loud.

(End song)

He soon got his answer as flying from behind the now destroyed frigates was an MG-29 with a dark grey dorsal surface, blue underbelly with black stripes running down the center fuselage and invasion stripes on the wings, an F15 with a grey body and black disruptive streaks and an F14 with a three-tone grey and woodland camouflage, black nose and light grey underbelly.

All three of the incoming planes bore emblems of a monarch butterfly, blue and black chain and a red and black clown. "This is the AWACS Galaxy of the Sicario Mercenary Corps to all allied fighters. Sorry for the delay, we ran into some trouble on the way and had to resupply at one of the bases in Anima. Hitman Team is on station and ready to provide support for the allied fighters. Colonel Bishop, take your squadrons and hit the factory, we'll handle things here for now." The incoming AWACS operator instructed over the radio.

"Warwolf 1 copies. Garuda 1, Strider 1, Cyclops 1, Gargoyle 1, Skeleton 1, Master Fisto, proceed to the target. Blue Leader, stay behind and assist our allies against the fighters. I think we've already delt with what was at the war factory." Bishop ordered the other pilots, just as the F-1's and F-2's that had retreated earlier returned with the newly arrived Hitman team, eager for some payback.

The fighters under Bishop and Kit's command immediately raced off towards the war factory as Galaxy sent orders to Hitman team. "Alright Hitman Team, you guys are officially on the clock now. Give these metal heads hell and show them what a real pilot can do!"

"Hitman 2, copy!" Peter Kennedy, callsign Diplomat acknowledged.

"Hitman 3, copy!" Evelyn London, callsign Comic acknowledged as well.

Their flight leader, known simply as Monarch said nothing, but his weapon system operator did. "Prez here, Hitman 1 acknowledges your last, Galaxy. Monarch is just getting his grove on. By the way, when is my F-20 going to be ready?" Robin Kuo asked.

"Should be ready when we return to Atlas. Focus on the mission at hand, Prez! Cleared to engage all hostiles!" Galaxy assured her before the three-man flight headed into the furball.

(Comona starts)

"Let's see how much these assholes pay out!" Comic said playfully, diving after a pair of Tri-Fighters that were heading after their allies going to take out the factory. The tone signaling, she had missile lock rang through her ears as she closed in on the enemy fighters. "Hitman 3, Fox 3!" she called out as four XMAA's left the rails and streaked towards the droid fighters.

The droid fighters didn't notice the missiles in time before they exploded into flaming bits of metal and circuitry that plummeted towards the ocean below. Banking her plane hard right, Comic lined up her gunsights on a Yellowjacket heading directly towards her and pulled the trigger. A quick bust from her twin 20mms sent roughly about a hundred or shells into the hybrid Grimm, which spiraled out of control and slammed into a friendly Scarab, taking both out of the fight. "Damn, these new Grimm Hybrids are ugly as hell! Who's the bastard who made these things? Mustache face?" she joked as she scanned for new targets.

"I don't think Jacque would go as far as to create a hybrid using a Grimm as a basis. Trying to capture one of those things is basically a death sentence. Besides, it wouldn't do much good since they would probably die from the procedure." Diplomat chimed in, desperately trying to shake off several Vulture droids that were on his tail and trying to fill his plane full of lasers.

Weaving in both directions to avoid getting his ass shot off, Peter pushed his planes after burners to full power before diving down towards the ocean below him. The Vultures gave chase, launching their concussion missiles towards the number 2 of Hitman team, who instinctively deployed chaff and flares to confuse the enemy missiles. The missiles deviated from their target and harmlessly hit the ocean waves as Peter pulled his aircraft up from its dive just in time to narrowly avoid crashing into the water.

Some of the Vultures weren't so lucky and destroyed themselves the moment they tried to pull up at the last minute, but for the ones that did they looked around to see that their target had vanished from their optics.

Before they could rejoin the battle, the fighters were riddled by 30mm cannon fire that destroyed many of them while damaging a few of them, which trailed smoke before skidding on top of the ocean surface and then rapidly sunk. "Hey Galaxy, how much do you think these things will pay out? I just downed twelve of them now." Diplomat confirmed, pulling his plane into a climb and rejoining the other pilots.

"That's a load of bull and you know it, Hitman 2! You downed five of them and seven of them crashed into the ocean!" Galaxy corrected.

"Hey! They were still destroyed, so that means I get paid for them, not my fault that they don't know when to pull up." Diplomat quipped before he leveled out and fired his four long-range missiles at four Yellowjackets directly ahead of him. His four missiles shot from the rails and streaked towards the Grimm, but just as they were about to make contact the hybrid Grimm deployed countermeasures much like he did earlier resulting in the missiles homing in on them instead! "Uh, Galaxy. I think the Yellowjackets have countermeasures." He reported.

"Say again, Hitman 2. The Yellowjackets have countermeasures!?" Galaxy asked aloud.

"I'd know chaff and flares when I see them, Galaxy! Guess that explains why some pilots aren't doing these buggers!" he snarled, pushing his planes twin-engines to full power before he pulled the trigger and fired his cannons. "At least I don't have that problem with cannon fire!"

The aerial battle continued to wage on as both the droids, Grimm and pilots continued to clash with one another. A Dagger Kai sped after a Yellowjacket before riddling it with bullets. A pair of discord missiles exploded behind a Viper MK'2, spewing out Buzz droids that sliced into the electrical systems of the plane, sending them and the pilot to a watery grave. Strangely enough, no other Grimm were drawn to the fear and panic of the Remnant pilots.

Monarch took notice of this as he sped after a pair of Tri-Fighters. "Hitman 1, Fox 1!" Prez shouted over the radio as he fired his short-range missiles at the Tri-Fighters, turning them into junk piles that sank to the bottom of the sea. Cannon fire zipped past the cockpit as Prez craned her neck and spotted the attackers, four Vulture droids.

"Monarch, break left!" she shouted to the mercenary pilot who did just as his back seater instructed him. Their F14's airframe strained against the G-forces as they broke hard left and got behind the droid fighters before a burst of cannon fire slammed into the droid fighters, sending them down like their comrades before. "Nice shooting, Monarch." Prez praised.

Monarch said nothing as a blast from a Yellowjacket slammed into their aircraft. The damage wasn't fatal, but it forced him to break off his attempts in going after a Scarab fighter. Thankfully, he made up for it by launching all his XLAA's. "Fox 3! Fox 3!" Prez called out as the long-range missiles locked onto an enemy and streaked towards several enemy fighters, blowing them out of the sky.

"Looks like Monarch's still got the touch." Comic praised as she flew past Ahsoka's fighter, gunning after a pair of Vultures.

Ahsoka smirked, not wanting to allow herself to be shown up these mercenaries, pushed her fighters' engines to maximum power while R7 diverted power from the Ion cannons to her fighters' shields, a feature added shortly after the Fall of Beacon.

A flight of Vultures flew past her cockpit chasing an allied Dagger Kia and she instinctively gave chase. Her fighter was faster than the Vulture droids, allowing her to quickly close the gap between her and the fighters. Once in range, she pulled the trigger and her laser cannons roared to life, ripping through the droid fighters as if they were made of wood. Another group of fighters flew right through her path before they too were gunned down by her cannons.

As she searched for another target, R7 beeped in alarm as something landed on her ship. That something, was a dozen buzz droids that were about to saw their way into her ships systems, but they never had the chance to do so as Ahsoka opened her canopy and blasted the droids off her ship with the force. Closing her canopy, she returned to fight, but felt like something bigger was lying in wait for them.

(End Song)

Meanwhile, the fighters attacking the war factory had successfully determined that the War Factory wasn't hiding anything, aside from the docked banking clan ships that were being loaded with new droids of all types. The factories defenses erupted to life as the fighters got closer and closer to the target, shooting down several fighters and bombers.

"Warwolf 1 to all pilots, hit this thing hard! Launch Ion Torpedoes!" he called out over the radio to the clone Y-Wings who hit the fire button and launched their Ion Torpedoes at the factory, knocking out its shield and allowing the rebel Y-Wings to launch their proton torpedoes at the factory, slamming into its superstructure. One torpedo hit the reactor and sent a chain reaction throughout the entire factory, causing to erupt into a fireball as it fell to the ocean below. "Warwolf 1 to Ghost Eye, factory has been taken out and we are RTB." Bishop reported.

"Copy that, Colonel! Get yourselves out of… wait a minute. New contact approaching from the Lake Matsu region! Scratch that, it's a very large contact!" Ghost Eye called out as appearing from the clouds was a massive flying wing with two large tail fins for steering, six engines spread along the dorsal surface of both wings, a large bulge in front of the craft which was assumed to be the bridge and bristling with weaponry ranging from anti-aircraft guns, air-to-air missile and air-to-surface missile launchers and Atlas Airship class laser cannons. "Oh shit! That's one of Atlas Flying Fortress Type Airships! They were retired forty-years ago! What is one of those monsters doing here!?" he questioned.

The massive airship's air-to-air missile launchers unleashed a volley of air-to-air missiles at the fighters, blasting many of the fighters out of the sky. "Warwolf 1 to all craft, retreat from the combat zone! We don't have the firepower to take this thing down!" Bishop exclaimed as a missile exploded on his right, damaging his aircraft. "Damn it! Gut's I took a hit in the right wing! I don't know if I can make it back to base!"

Before Gut's could reply, Trigger's voice came over the commlink. "Garuda 1 to all aircraft, retreat to base. I will deal with the Flying Fortress!" Ray spoke, turning his X-Wing back into the direction of the massive Airship.

"Sir, with all due respect, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!? That thing is roughly the size of an Imperial Cruiser, and it has more firepower than your fighter has! You really think you can take that thing down on your own?" Broadside questioned.

"He won't be doing it alone!" Ahsoka proclaimed as she flew alongside Triggers wing. "We don't need anyone else to die here today, Trigger and I will deal with this craft. Just get yourselves back to base and repair your aircraft!"

Naturally, a lot of the pilots protested this idea and wanted to take a shot at the Flying Fortress, but after doing an ammo count, they decided against a suicide run and headed for home. Not all the pilots left, Hitman Team stayed behind with Ray and Ahsoka, after returning from their resupply run. "So how are we going to take this thing down?" Ahsoka asked.

"Each engine of the Flying Fortress has an engine output of one thousand, three hundred and fifty kilos of thrust, giving it a greater flight range than most airships. It's heavily armed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat operations and was equipped with the latest laser cannon technology Atlas had when they were built. Some scientists in Atlas said it would help defend the Kingdom, but the council didn't agree about its first strike capabilities. This thing is said to be able to destroy an entire city when loaded with bombs, nothing would be left standing after it attacked." Ray explained.

"Doesn't exactly help us." Comic stated.

"Yeah, no shit! I studied the schematics of this monster in the event this thing was ever seen again. Some assholes stole the damn thing a few years back when it was undergoing upgrades to deal with the increasing Grimm threat. As for taking this down, it might be upgraded with who knows what kind of tech, so for now we focus on eliminating the weapons on this thing while R5 runs an analysis." Ray added. Just seconds later, a swarm of droid fighters exited the Flying Fortresses hanger heading right towards the five pilots. "Lucky for us, we have some droids to keep us company. Weapons free!"

(HRESVELGR starts)

The swarm of enemy fighters quickly launched their attack on the five pilots, forcing to break formation as anti-aircraft fire from the massive airship filled the sky around them. Monarch, Comic and Diplomat were quick to climb to an altitude higher than five thousand feet before they leveled out and dived towards the Flying Fortress.

Arming their multi-lock on missiles, they waited until they were in range before firing their missiles at their targets, the airships weapons. Triple A fire bracketed their planes as they continued to dive towards the enemy vessel, before pulling up at the last second and narrowly avoided slamming into the massive weapon. "Prez here! We took out some of their weapons, but we don't have enough missiles to take them all out! Where's that analysis!" Monarchs back seater demanded.

"R5's working on it as fast as he can! Just give him more time! But we have a bigger problem! I just plotted this things course and it's heading right for Mistral! We need to stop this thing!" Trigger exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us that before!?" Comic shouted, firing another salvo of missiles towards the enemy airship and destroying another batch of its weapons. "Damn it! We need back up!" she snarled. No sooner had she said that Galaxy had picked up three X-Wings coming from above.

"Hey Trigger, you still alive?" Pixy asked over the commlink as he, Cipher and Neo dived towards the enemy firing their four laser cannons at the enemy airship. "You didn't think we were going to just let you comeback home all on your own now, did you?" the three arriving X-Wings pulled up from their strafing run before they formed up alongside Trigger's craft.

"Actually, I was thinking why I didn't ask for you three to come with me. Trust me, I am grateful for the assistance, I just only wished I asked for it before I left the base." Ray said playfully just as R5 finished his analysis. "Analysis shows that the airships weak spot is the reactor directly above the main hanger. A couple of proton torpedoes should send this thing to the junk pile where it belongs. Problem is that it's moving fast towards Mistral! We have only ten minutes before it's out of range!" he explained as fire from several droid fighters slammed into his fighter, draining his shields. "Damn it! I took a hit; I lost a stabilizer! R5, lock it down!"

His copilot did as they were instructed as the newly arrived back up continue to engage the swarm of fighters. Cipher, Pixy and Neo were able to down an entire squadron each with their tactics while Monarch and Comic fired the last of their long-range missiles at the airship's massive engines, destroying them and slowing the massive war machine down. "I know this thing has no shields, but this is thing is really starting to piss me off!" Neo snarled as she dived in for another strafing run on the airship.

Cipher, Pixy, Ahsoka and Diplomat continued to engage the enemy fighters, but the more they shot down more of them arrived to take their place. "We don't have a lot of time left; we need to sink this thing now!" Ahsoka stated, downing another four enemy fighters with her cannons.

"Ray, listen! We need to create an opening so we can get a shot at the reactor. Form up on my wing and follow me in. I'll dive from twelve o'clock high and use my torpedoes to create an opening then you take out the reactor with your torpedoes!" Neo explained.

"Sounds good to me! Let's send this thing crashing into the ocean!" Ray agreed and climbed until they were directly over the enemy airship. "R5, divert power from the rear shields to the from deflector shields! We're going in!" he instructed his copilot. R2-KT did the same for Neo just as both starfighters dived towards the enemy airship as its remaining weapons bracketed them with fire.

Switching to her targeting computer, Neo waited until she was almost on top of the enemy vessel and fired all six of her torpedoes at the spot where the reactor was located. The six projectiles slammed into the designated target location, causing a massive explosion that exposed the airships reactor. "Trigger! It's all on you!" Neo exclaimed as she pulled up from her run.

"This one's for Amber!" Ray declared and dived towards the airship. AA fire continued to bracket his fighter, but his shields continued to hold strong as his targeting computer counted down the distance before he fired. "FOX 3!" he called out as his four torpedoes rocketed towards the reactor. The warheads slammed into the reactor, causing a chain reaction that ripped the massive airship in two, sending what was left down into the ocean below.

(End song)

"Flying Fortress is down! I say again, the Flying Fortress is down! Nice work all of you! Hitman Team, RTB and head back to Atlas. We got a job for that Schnee bastard." Galaxy snarled at the last part as the three planes turned into the direction of Atlas.

"Time we head back to base as well. General Kota's got a mission for us sometime soon and it's going to be a real scorcher of a mission. Commander Tano, good to see you again and we'll give your best to General Plo." Pixy said before the Galm Team's X-Wings headed for the upper atmosphere.

"Ahsoka, I'll take good care of your boyfriend. You just don't go dying on us, ok?" Neo teased before she followed the Galm Team.

"Guess this is where we part ways. But I have a feeling we'll see each other again, Ray. I think Yang is going to be going after Ruby and she'll need all the help she can get." Ahsoka said, albeit sadly.

"Don't worry. We will see each other again, I promise. Until then, may the force be with you." Ray assured before following the other three X-Wings. Once he reached the vastness of space, he watched as the others made the jump to hyperspace and was about to do the same when a transmission from Bo-Katan was picked up.

"Hey kid, we need to have a talk. I'll meet you at the rebel base and thanks for delivering that gift to Ahsoka. She earned it." Bo said to him, before Ray jumped into hyperspace.

And chapter is finished.

For those of you who are curious, Ahsoka's custom Mando armor was inspired by SentinelPrime8 artwork and costume he made that his little sister wore for a picture on his Deviantart account. I took a liking to that idea and figured it would be nice for her to wear something with a little more warrior motif then her usual attire.

The lingerie idea was my own.

As for the Flying Fortress, it's the XB-0 Hresveglar Heavy Command Cruiser from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War and an Atlas weapon. Bet you can all guess how Salem got her hands on that thing. The Dagger Kai, Viper, Viper MK'2, Wasp Kai are the F15J, F-1, F-2 and F-4EJ used by the Japanese Self Defense Air Force.

Now before I forget, something about today.

Twenty years ago, nearly three thousand people were killed in a single day on US soil when terrorists hijacked four commercial planes and flew them into the Pentagon and World Trade Center, beginning the War on Terror. Like many of you, I was too young to understand what happened that day but looking back now I am grateful for the first responders and the service dogs that saved the lives of those who were trapped underneath the rubble.

Please offer a moment of silence and if you are near any memorials for the people who died, place a few flowers at the memorial. It is the right thing to do.

Anyway, please read and review and I'll see you all next time with a return to the main story.