Shattered Wings

by HorizonsOverMoonlitSkies

A gateway links the IS world to the Armored Core world. Two young men that can pilot an IS from the AC universe appear. Things for the IS Academy are about to get chaotic. With both worlds in a cold war, a sinister game of politics is at play. One with world changing consequences. Explores a grittier take on the IS and its origin, and what combat in this new age of war looks like.

4. Prologue-4

Pilots: Kaze Squadron, 3 Element Wing, Kaze 1 (Squadron Leader),

Kaze 2, Kaze 3.

Alpha Squadron, 2 Element Wing, Alpha 1 (Squadron Leader), Alpha 2.

Location: Unknown

Date: Unknown

Operation: Tranquil Flight

Absolute shock set into the 4 women who just watched their ally get beat down into the ocean as an unknown object rammed its way into her IS and sent her careening into the ocean's depths. Immediately Kaze 1 and Alpha 1 dived after her knowing that the IS wouldn't last long under the intense pressure of the ocean. The two squad leads set their engines to the max, both hoping that their shields and IS frames would be able to hold back. Both pilots lighting up the depths with their respective lighting equipment. Following a column of bubbles down they soon spotted a large IS flailing its arms and legs apart gently. The IS and her pilot were fighting for their life, only it seemed that as each second passed, less and less energy was there for both of them. The unknown squad leader launched her spear and penetrated the right arm of her wingman, doing her best to reel her in as if she were a large fish.

Noticing this, Kaze 1 swam her way into front of the IS and got to about the stomach level of the white IS. Wrapping her arms around the other pilot's stomach who was reeling in her ally, she lit her thrusters well past the limit and sent the trio rocketing from the oceans depths.

Up on the surface a different fight for survival was happening. The enemy AWACS had gone silent some time during the battle, and everyone had assumed that someone else had shot it down during the course of the battle. Such a mistake proved to be potentially fatal. Seconds after Alpha 2 had been knocked into the water, and a few moments after the two squadron leaders dived into the murky depths, Kaze 2 and 3s rwr had gone wild.

Having gone hot, the AWACS painted the two with laser precision, a few seconds later they detected missile launches from the general direction of the AWACS. Opting to drop chaff and flares when the missiles got close, both of them patiently waited. They were waiting for the missile's booster phase to quit before they took evasive maneuvers. Only the booster phase seemed to never end.

"Uhh… shouldn't that thing have run out of juice by now" a still shell shocked Kaze 2 asked her wingman.

"Well before….."

Most modern missiles had a short booster phase in which their engine would light up and propel the missile to its target. Eventually the engines would run out of fuel after a short time, after which the missile would glide its way to the target. Only this time, the missile that was heading towards them not only had its engines on the entire time, it was accelerating at an alarming rate towards them.

"Will that go hyperso-", Kaze 2 was cut off as another salvo of missiles registered on her rwr and radar.

"L-...let's get out of here" came from a panicked Kaze 3. The situation had long since changed and was no longer that of earlier where they faced conventional weapons they knew about. This unknown wild card had unnerved her greatly.

"What and leave the other three behind! Screw that!" Kaze 2 yelled back in anger. "If you want to turn tail and run like a coward, be my guest, but I'm staying back for her".

"No one said that we had to sit here, we can come back later after losing the missiles," Kaze 3 said.

"You don't even know what they are capable of, hell even the rwr marks it as unknown. Do you know what that means… It means that not even Tabane knows what that thing is. Those could be nukes for all we know, can we PLEASE get out of-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kaze 2 spit out like venom to the younger pilot. Her eyebrows furrowed, and face contorting with anger. The redhead's disheveled hair split angrily down her forehead revealing two eyes that looked like they wanted to murder someone. Her arm's gripping tightly onto the newly deployed rifle from the third internal weapon bay. A single angry tear trickled down from her left eye. "Get out of my sight" she added with about as much iciness as she could possibly muster up. Without their team leader present, Kaze squadron was rapidly losing any semblance of team cohesion.

Meanwhile the lead missile didn't stop accelerating, if anything it continued to pick up speed as it streaked towards the pair.

"Do you think she would want this, do you think she would want you to die. She always told us to put our lives first. And to take care of each other. We don't need to die for something as dumb as honor. We're supposed to be better than this" Kaze 2 yelled back in hopes that she could retreat with her friend. "Please, let's get out of here, I don't want to be alone again", tears now flowing freely from the now hyperventilating brunette teen.

Just a couple hundred meters from them, two IS units shot out of the ocean as they struggled to fly. Beneath them attached to a harpoon was a mangled mess of metal and wiring. The white IS had significant bends and dents in it, blood seeping through cracks in the armor as it bent inward and crushed and cut deep into the pilots skin and bones. The pressure of the ocean proved to be too much for the frame. Her butterfly wing frame was a tangled mess of metal, the fibrous string-like substances that were on the inside of the wings were now free flowing like wet spaghetti. Kaze 1 however seemed to be somehow in even worse condition than her. The fuselage of her IS had significant dents and cracks to it. The right side of the fuselage and wing had bent inward as if someone had punched it with immense power. The IS's fingers were a tangled mess, horribly bent in different directions. The torso section of the pilot's cradle, like the fuselage, had collapsed inward which effectively stabbed the pilot. The left wing had bent at a sharp 90 degree angle impaling her left forearm. A large amount of blood flowed from her nose and ears as if it were a red river. Like an Egyptian pharaoh, Kaze 1 had effectively been entombed in her IS, there was no chance of bailing out. If anything, any attempts would probably kill her.

Out of the trio however, the IS that had taken the dive first had by far the worst amount of damage with no contest. The majority of the helmet had shattered inwards, only her left eye and portions of her left face were still obstructed by the helmet. Blood dripped from all over her face, in an ironic twist sparing everyone from the gruesome scene that it really was. In reality the internal body damage was far worse than it looked. The radome was a tangled mess of metal, a majority of it had been sheared off. What was left drooped down and pointed towards the pilot's head like a guillotine. The right support beam from the right pauldron was nowhere to be seen, the only thing stopping the mass of metal from hitting her was the overstressed left support beam from the other pauldron. All her arm and leg armor had essentially collapsed inwards and stabbed her limbs in thousands of spots, like sharp nails. Her legs, while also a twisted mess of metal and aluminum, were limp. The rear wings which housed her micro missiles simply didn't exist, claimed by the depths of the ocean. At the torso, where an octagonal radar system existed before, was nothing but the strut that had been there to hold it, only it was several inches deep into the chest of said IS pilot.

Blood, sweat, seawater, tears, snot and spit washed away part of her face and gave Kaze 1 the first look at her companion's face. Under the perforated armor was a light brown skinned woman of southeast Asian descent, with jet black hair that clung wetly to her face like a wet mop. Her brown eyes blended into her face as she struggled to look around.

"I….I..I can..fl..fly" came a whisper as the foot and arms thrusters of the IS leveled itself in a robotic fashion. The IS's AI system taking over for her maimed pilot.

"You're in no condition to do so" came from an extremely pained Alpha 1 who sounded like she was choking and drowning.

"You're one to talk" she stammered out with blood leaking out of her mouth.

"We'll get the other two to help you back, the good doctor will make you good as new" Alpha 1 coughed out as she watched the remainder of Kaze Squadron blaze their way towards them with flares trailing them. Their argument having apparently been put on hold.

The two oncoming pilots were flailing their arms, making obtuse and weird gestures and pointing off to the side, greatly confusing the three fatigued pilots who were all holding onto each other.

Having not been able to raise the other three pilots on any communications channel or method, Kaze 2 and Kaze 3 sped as fast as their machines would allow them, having disabled all safety parameters completely. All the while trying to give hand signals to the trio that held onto each other for dear life.

Warning power drain excessive, reduce speed. Warning power drain excessive, reduce speed

Warning power drain excessive. Warning system in danger, recommend return to safe usage of equipment. Warning IS frame damage detected, warning system damage, warning capacitor overload, warning shield system overloading. Purge immediatley, purge immediately. Warning: PIC regulator has suffered catastrophic internal damage. Warning cannibalization from the Absolute Defense System has overloaded shielding capacitors, purge immediately. Warning: IS core chassis has suffered catastrophic damage. Warning main bus error.

Just about every single alarm blazed through Kaze 2's mind, some she even didn't know existed. In a do or die moment she placed herself right in front of the missile that was about to smash into Kaze 1. The now well past supersonic missile smashed Kaze 2's sparking and now rickety IS. A scream filled the air as the missile made contact and detonated with far more force than any air to air missile the women had ever tanked before. Seconds later a loud thunk sound was heard as another unseen object smashed into Kaze 2's hip sending her careening and skipping across the ocean like a rock. A massive amount of shield damage had been done to her already damaged unit. Her left leg ceased to move. The only thing that had saved her from completely losing her legs was the IS shield system that had been overloaded with an obscene amount of shielding because the core had decided to cannibalize the power from the ADS. Something that had never been done or even conceived of before.

In an incredibly rare moment, the IS core saw and understood what her pilot intended to do. Given that both the pilot and IS unit are one when in use, the core's AI unit had decided to use that to her advantage and purposely took over for a moment and overloaded her system to shift all the power of the ADS to feed the power hungry shield system. So much power had been delivered in such a short time, burnt metal and wiring could be smelt as multiple subsystems were melted away.

Slowly regaining her conscience and composure Kaze 2 lazily stared towards the group that was rushing towards her. The two squadron leaders were barely holding onto the wings of Kaze 3, while she herself princess carried the severely disfigured IS of Alpha 2 who was now silently crying in pain. The adrenaline having apparently worn off. The entire group, barely hovering over the sea, were given no quarter as several of the other missiles that were chasing them erupted in blindingly bright white light that emanated an equally blinding blue seconds before fading out into the dark night. A whole score of sensory equipment had been blinded in just a single salvo.

Squinting hard Alpha 1 made her observation of the situation, "Whatever the hell that was, it wasn't just a fancy bright light. Half of my sensor's are down and my IS is struggling to feed me data '' in a panted and exhausted breath.

"Agreed" came the weak response from Kaze 3 who had her back to the bright explosions. Suddenly another explosion appeared off to their right as thousands of pieces of shrapnel at near supersonic speeds clashed into the formation. A horrible screeching sound off in the far distance let the women know that another salvo of missiles had been fired.

Moments later another explosion appeared in front of their flight path, sending molten shrapnel towards them. Forced to change direction, they ended up having to double back in the direction of enemy gunfire. Whoever was shooting at them wasn't going to allow them to escape so easily.

"Damnit, how in the hell do they know where we are constantly, and why can't we see where those shrapnel munitions are coming from" Kaze 3 asked.

"A..A...AWACS" came from the stinging throat of Alpha 2.

The group had finally understood, the AWACS was acting as a fire control system, giving target and telemetry data to its allies using its immensely powerful radar. It was the only thing that explained why the only contact on the entire rwr system was a single AWACS hundreds of kilometers away. Whoever was getting the data didn't need to turn on their radar and make themselves known to the world.

Their enemy was nothing like the F15s and MiG 31s that they had dispatched with relative ease, if anything whoever was the one firing on them viewed them like how they had viewed the old generation fighter planes. Nothing but simple cannon fodder, whose lives and stories never mattered in the grand scheme of things. They were just the background characters to be slaughtered in her story.

"That bitch won't even let us leave! What the hell is her problem" came from an exasperated and tired Kaze 2. Sweat and blood marking their way across her face and neck. Painting her white skin with red watercolor like streaks. Puffy red eyes indicating that tears had recently flown from her eyes.

"Oh? How do you know it's a she?" came a slight laugh from Kaze 1 who had separated from Kaze 3 along with Alpha 1 and were now flying in formation around the largest IS, albeit just barely.

"I don't think anything but an IS can do this kind of damage. Whoever she is, she's getting a kick out of toying with us" came from a weary Kaze 3 who slowly tightened her grip on the injured pilot in her arm, drawing out a squeal of pain. "Ah.. sorry"

"So… um what's the plan you two?" Kaze 3 asked the two senior members of both squadrons. "I don't mean to alarm you, but at our current course, we are actually heading back towards them"

"...I just realized…..all of my navigational systems are down… no GPS, no inertial navigation, not even stellar plotting is registering. Not even radar, or acoustic systems, I'm completely blind" Came from the rickety IS of Kaze 2. "In fact none of my hypersensor's are working, I can barely see everyone after that last hit"

"Same here" both Alpha 1 and Kaze 1 said. Everyone turned to Kaze 3, putting her under an incredible spotlight the likes of which she had never seen.

"Wh...what are you all staring at"

"You're the only one who can see anything beyond visual range…...how far away is that AWACS from us" Kaze 1 said as she stared into Kaze 3's soul.

"Wait...wait wait wait, just what the hell are you planning" came from Alpha 1. Her tone indicated a degree of frustration and anticipation, as if she had figured out what Kaze 1 had planned.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but until we deal with that thing. We are never going to get out of here alive. Do you have any better ideas?" Kaze 1 responded as she began fiddling with her heavily damaged IS and its setting.

"Yeah, multiple of which don't involve us dying. We could split up, whoever's shooting at us, it's clear that there's only one person."

"You have absolutely no idea how many IS units they have. Unless you know of an IS that can launch that many missiles. I wouldn't make judgement calls on unknown information"

"And what charging blind is the right option? You said yourself, unknown. Do you have a death wish or something? Look, you might be new here, but from my experience knowing when to give up a fight is just as important as the fight itself. What do you think you're going to do? Charge up blind to the enemy with multiple half dead pilots, and one in a comatose!"

"What kind of leader are you! Abandoning your allies, all your doing is guaranteeing the death of someone else so that you can save your skin…...coward! You may not give a damn about the people who place their trust in you, but I am never turning my back on my team" Kaze 1 spit back, intense anger brewing in her heart as she couldn't comprehend how someone in a position of leadership, someone with the power of the IS at their disposal could be so willing to turn tail and cut loose so quickly the moment the hint of mortality presented itself.

"Dress up like the White Knight all you want, but you are nothing more than a little brat" she added as if to drive her point even further. Her eyes staring deep into the soul of the fully clad IS off to her left.

"Kaze 2! Can you not see out of your right eye!" came a shriek as Kaze 3's exclamation cut through two squad leaders who were in the middle of the staring contest.

"Wha..what are you talking about...I'm perfectly fine, don't make shit up"

"Stop lying! I've been watching you this entire time…..you keep drifting into my left wing…."

"My IS is damaged. What the hell do you want from me? Sorry princess but not all of us got off scot free without any real damage" the redhead shot back with an angry smile. "Unlike you, some of us actually put our body in the line of fire," she added with a cough.

"Then why do you keep turning your entire head to your right, towards me, everytime to make a course correction…."

Kaze 2's attempt at distracting her wingman having fallen embarrassingly flat.

"It's because your peripheral vision is nonexistent!" Kaze 3 drived home the point. Kaze 2 now hanging her head in shame and regret as she wasn't able to hide the full extent of the damage that she had suffered.

"You may not be able to see anything, but I've been watching your head bleed this entire time"

"It...I-...It's my ha-"

"It's not your damn hair! Stop lying! You need medical attention right now…...you..you...can be saved…..we can still save you" Kaze 3 quipped, with more concern in her voice for the woman in front of her than the one in her arms. The course of battle slowly dragged out everyone's ugly side in the face of survival.

Kaze 2 had never felt more useless or embarrassed in her life. Her attempts at hiding her injuries had not only been ratted out, but she was now garnering sympathy that one would give an injured child.

"I'm fine" she tried to reply, only she slurred her way through the response like a drunk. Drool and blood slowly edging out from the left side of her lips.

"Captain, we need to prioritize the people we have an actual chance of saving" came from a Kaze 3 who slowly and gently raised the woman in her arms, sending a clear message across.

"..."

"Enough! We are not leaving anyone behind! Do I make myself cle-" The crashing sound of water interrupted her as the heavily damaged IS of Kaze 2 dipped into the water momentarily. Slowly regaining her positioning like a drunk woman who had just walked into a stop sign, Kaze 2 leveled herself. Her eyes staring off absently into the distance.

"She's losing too much blood too fast" came in a deep sighing voice from Alpha 1.

"A moment, just give me a moment" Kaze 2 whispered out, as if she had been stranded on a desert for days on end with no water to satiate her parched mouth.

Multiple bright explosion's once again blanketed the sky as the missiles that were fired earlier reminded them that there was still someone actively out there trying to kill them.

"Alright here's what we are going to do-" the blonde of Kaze 1 addressed the others in a commanding voice only to get cut off by the familiarly irritating voice of Alpha's only conscious member.

"Look, I have people waiting for me, people who need me. I am not throwing my body in a suicide charge for someone who wants Tabane to bump her name up on the rankings….. I couldn't care less about the IS or anything other than getting back home to my loved ones right now. Give me back my wingman and we can go our separate ways"

"You can't" came from a downcast Kaze 3, her worldview of the gallantry of IS pilots slowly shattering like a glass pane that had just had a rock thrown through it. "I am the only one who can navigate anything, you can't get anywhere without me" she replied in a cold voice, each word metaphorically stabbing the intended target.

"So you're also trying to get me killed? I thought out of everyone here you'd be the one to see the reality of the-"

"Shut up…. I..I….can't take anymore of this. Talking about people as if they were a burden to be dumped in the ocean. What's happened to all of us? I've been the one holding your friend the entire time, I don't even know her name."

"Here's what we are going to do", she continued. The words coming out of her mouth continually shocked not only the entire group but even herself. "I am going to hand off your friend to Kaze 2, the two of them will set way on straight heading back to safe territory".

Kaze 2 began to move towards Alpha 1 and began to rip some of the fluorescent wires from the white IS while continuing her plan.

"The two of you will set off in the direction of that AWACS. I will join you after a few minutes to make sure you don't follow them" she said as she began to tie Alpha 2 to Kaze 2; both their machines and PIC doing their absolute best to autostabalize themselves. A barely cognizant Kaze 2 nodded her head in defeat, as she finally accepted the uselessness of her situation. It was funny, for as much she teased the younger pilot, Kaze 2 was now the one dragging them down, while Kaze 3 played the role of the hero who emerged at the critical moment. In her fantasies, it was always the other way around, the supposedly timid and shy Kaze 3 would be the damsel in distress, that Kaze 2 would heroically swoop in and rescue because there was no one else who could step up to the plate.

A shrapnel bursting round smashed its way through the air, missing its target as the explosion only lightly further damaged the heavily damaged women. The psychological effect being far greater than the physical impacts of ball bearings, sharp metal and heat that lathered their units.

Picking up the pace, Kaze 3 finally finished securing the two in place. "We can do both of our plans, if she shells those two" Kaze 3 motioned over two the two heavily damaged IS frames of the second elements of both squadrons. "We will be completely free to attack that damn plane, then we can get away from here. Plus we can attack from different directions, splitting her fire even more."

"How do I know you won't turn tail and run yourself?" Alpha 1 asked insultingly.

"Because you two will be flying together until I link up with you two again. And unlike you. I want…..no I'll make sure all of my teammates survive tonight" Kaze 3 added as she got up into the mask of the heavily damaged unit that was leaking blood. Kaze 1 subtly smiled as her young pilot had used her superior as a bargaining piece/hostage to get her way. 'She's growing' she proudly mused in her head about the young brunette.

"Fine, point us in the direction" was the only reply.

.

.

.

Linking back up to the two heavily damaged squadron leaders, Kaze 3's engines were lit to their max, painting the cloudy dark skies with a line of yellow and orange.

The trio now head towards the lumbering AWACS in the distance. The plan had gotten significantly more complicated, halfway through the flight Alpha 1s radio communications system died completely. Originally the plan was for the three of them to split up and approach the enemy plane from different directions when Kaze 3 returned, but now they had no choice but to all approach the plane together. With no way to communicate with others, and no navigation systems, Alpha's squad leader was now at the complete mercy of the other two next her; especially now that they had already set off and were well within their journey. If she wanted to see daylight ever again, the warm sun on her skin, the sounds of birds and cars in the morning, hear his sweet voice; she would have to make sure that the two dragging her through this suicide mission lived.

Every second they flashed across the sky, the intensity of enemy fire and missiles got stronger. It seemed that while fast, the missiles had trouble making snap adjustments when they got close to the final booster phase. At that point the missiles became glorified bullets with extremely limited maneuvering capability. With two IS units dropping chaff and flares, jinking as hard as their decrepit machines would allow them, and a high degree of luck they were able to dodge the missiles. Soon they were able to settle into a pattern and system whereby, Kaze 3 would call out the direction and range of a missile when it was close to its final booster phase. She and Alpha 1 would drop their chaff and flares while Kaze 1 boosted off in a random direction, forcing the missile to track onto her as she was the easiest target. Through pained grunts and movements, Kaze 1 expertly dodged the supersonic missiles. At the deck, for the missiles it was hard for them to track Kaze 1 with absolute certainty as the ocean waves that were slamming into each other confused the onboard guidance system for a precious few moments. Those precious few moments that she desperately looked for, all but separating Kaze 1 between life and death.

As the last salvo plunged into the ocean's depths missing its deadly mark, Kaze 1 reformed back onto the duo who were flying parallel to each other.

"How much longer until we are in range to fire that big missile of yours" came from a tired and annoyed Alpha 1, despite not being the one to have to dodge the actual missiles, the lack of any radar system unnerved her as she could only rely on her eyes in the dark night sky. Her arms at this point drooped down as the fatigue was getting to her both mentally and physically.

"We've been in effective range for the KS-172 for a while now, but I want to get closer to guarantee a hit. I have a feeling whoever we are fighting more than has the capability to shoot it out of the air" came from a Kaze 3 who was now the commander of her little foray into the jaws of the enemy.

Fwoosh

An artillery round had come in, whizzing over their heads, detonating and peppering the ladies as they began to leave the safety of the ocean surface and streaked for higher altitude.

"They wouldn't even have to land a direct hit on it… just fire one of those rounds in the general direction, and it's game over" Kaze 1 added in agreement.

The sky had all gone silent, save for the engines of the three IS units that were currently racing with murderous intent to the defenseless jet in the distant sky. The screeching sound of the missiles had come to a sudden stop. Not wanting to dwell on the topic for too long the squad of three took whatever good fortune came their way without questioning it.

Tense silence passed in the air as they waited for the next artillery shell to land around them. Unlike the missiles, the shells just made a whistling sound just before detonation, predicting where they were coming from was impossible, doubly so in the currently cloudy night. Staying alive on a wing and prayer, they weathered the artillery the best they could. The closer and closer they got to the enemy AWACS, the more rapid the fire got, they soon noticed that the fire was coming in from a higher and steeper trajectory than before.

'Such parabolic motion, that IS must be incredibly far away. Beyond the horizon even.' Kaze 3 mused as she was starting to think and act like a seasoned battlefield commander. The current situation forced her to grow up rapidly as an IS pilot.

"I don't even want to know the caliber of that weapon" Kaze 1 absentmindedly said out loud, cutting the internal thoughts of the other two.

"It's not the caliber that's concerning me, it's the accuracy of those shots" Alpha 1 offered.

"Yeah…..those shots are coming in at a parabolic trajectory. Almost all sniper based IS platforms shoot essentially straight. She's using plunging fire…..and still hitting us pretty hard. Well beyond visual range, she must be doing an intense amount of calculations to be able to be so accurate. Especially the direct impact that hit Kaze 2. Explains why those solid shots aren't fired in constant rapid succession. I have a feeling that she may even be beyond the horizon in terms of distance and engagement." Kaze 3 said, vocalizing her thoughts.

"She has potential…. could you imagine the amount of damage she could do at the Mondo Grosso if she tried out for it" Alpha 1 mused out loud. Making a reference to the first international IS tournament that would put different Infinite Stratos units from different countries against each other, with the winner being given the title of Brunhilde. Such a tournament effectively determined who the strongest IS pilot was. With the first Mondo Grosso starting its tryouts, women from all over the world flocked to prove their metal.

"Absolutely nothing about that IS looks like it conforms to the Alaska Treaty" came from Kaze 1 who began to think about how many violations of said treaty would be needed to make an IS like that.

The Alaska Treaty was the result of the White Knight Incident, in which multiple ballistic missiles were launched at Japan from a questionable source. A lone single fully clad white IS took to the skies and used a massive sword and particle beam to single handedly destroy all the incoming supposed nuclear ordinance. After defending her homeland, the world's military forces launched an all out attack to apprehend such a weapon, only they were completely obliterated. The most shocking fact of the course of the battle however was that there were supposedly no casualties reported. A feat in itself harder than simply destroying your enemy with little regard for their life. Just as fast as she had come onto the battlefield, she disappeared from the world in equal urgency. Never to be seen again. With Dr. Tabane Shinano and her team's powerful new IS, the course of warfare was irreversibly changed. Conventional thinking at the time had dictated that such a powerful weapon would lead to a total destruction of the world if set loose in armed conflict. Thus the Alaska Treaty was born, effectively prohibiting it to be used in military operations against other nations. Any new information or discovery about the IS had to be published to the world, and seeing as Japan housed the creators of the IS; they would be forced to create the IS Test Pilot Research and Training Facility. Known in its simpler form as the Infinite Stratos Academy or ISA for short. Every nation but one was admitted into the treaty, the mysterious nation that appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the Pacific during the 70's was denied access to both IS cores and eligibility into the treaty. Such opposition was only possible due to the IS creators themselves forcing world governments to unilaterally exclude the country that served as a gateway between two different worlds, with the promise of more IS cores that would be distributed throughout the world. In the face of such a promise, the world simply didn't care and greedily took their deal, effectively allowing the lone country to be used as unwilling test subjects for their new IS units.

While the IS was barred from military use, it was only barred for military use against parties involved in the treaty. Furthermore, military grade IS units were legal so long as they weren't used in military operations against treaty members. The irony was not lost on the writers, and with a single nation being left out, it really was the perfect clause. Plausible deniability to continue development of WMD grade IS units.

Multiple thoughts ran through the ladies' heads as they wrestled with the fact that a nation that wasn't allowed to have an IS, somehow now possessed one, and was now actively using it in a military capability with extreme proficiency. One perhaps even surpassing the legendary White Knight herself.

"I foresee a destroy or capture mission in our future" Alpha 1 said, turning her head towards Kaze 1 who simply nodded and smiled in agreement.

"A what?" a perplexed Kaze 3 asked, darting her head back and forth between the two senior IS pilots.

"Nothing you need to worry about kid" Alpha 1 smirked in response, her sense of arrogance and superiority returning back to normal levels.

"When people do things to Tabane or try to upset the balance of the world, Tabane will send us to deal with the IS unit that's….disrupting the peace shall we say. Not everyone thinks that they are beholden to the Alaska Treaty. Certain less than savory organizations think they are above and beyond the rules of society." Came from the other senior lead who explained to her younger pilot as if she were a caring teacher. "We're all part of Tabane's whims now, this is what it means to be the best of the best" she said as she smiled at the younger pilot.

"You two can have your mom and daughter's day out after we finish this. How much longer to the launch window"

"43 seconds to the optimal point. Once this thing is fired, I don't think any woman on this Earth can stop this. I don't even think they have anymore missiles left"

As if to spite her, multiple blips on her rwr opened up, with blaring warnings. Multiple missiles soon appeared on the radar system as they streaked for them.

"Take her and get that damned missile off, I'll draw as many away as I can!" Kaze 1 yelled as she sped full speed towards the largest group of incoming warheads.

"R...Right… stay safe out there"

Kaze 1 flipped on her back and shot a large smile towards the 2 IS units that were getting smaller and smaller.

As the two approached the launch point the missiles streaked in with impossibly high speed, the duo dumped the last of their chaff and flares. For a moment it seemed as if the plan had worked as a group of the missiles streaked on by, wobbling their IS units about as they blasted between them. However the two of them had horrifically misjudged the situation. The missiles had split into multiple groups and detonated all around them, boxing them in between all of them. Bright flashes of white and blue light filled the sky, screams of pain could be heard as the two had their eyes bleached by the sudden white light. It was as if they were inside the sun for moments on end. They had fallen right into their enemy's trap without realizing it. Kaze 3 having regained her vision momentarily, immediately set full speed towards the designated launching point as more and more of the blindingly bright missiles detonated all around the two of them. At this point she simply closed her eyes and waited for the IS's audio system to tell her when she was at the launch window.

With closed eyes, she could feel the heat of the explosions as she streaked right through them, the only things her closed eyes showed her were the intense flashes of orange to black then back to orange once again. It was as if someone had been turning a flashlight on and off against her closed eyes. Ignoring the sounds of explosions all round her, the damaged hypersensor elevated all noises around her without accurately filtering anything. Waiting for a single word to come, and against the backdrop of heavy explosions it came. A single word masked, almost as if it had been whispered by a drowning voice, but she heard it.

Shoot

Shoot

Shoot

Immediately the weapon's bay door swung open, crashing against the dilapidated wing that housed it, revealing a nearly 7 meter long missile.

Clunk

The clamps holding it in place simply released their grip allowing the large missile to fall towards the Earth. Seconds later the immensely powerful engine set off streaking sharply upwards into the sky. The rear end of the missile, lit like a rocket headed towards space, blasted through the speed of sound on its way to Mach 3.

The lumbering four-engine behemoth that was the Russian export AWACS desperately began to drop chaff and flares as the final moments of life began to tick down for everyone on board. As soon as the secondary motor on the missile fired, everyone's fate had been sealed. The missile detonated above the right wing, ripping it clean off the aircraft. The engines separated from the wing as they violently tumbled away towards the Earth below them.

The 50 kilogram warhead ripped a massive hole at the center of the fuselage, with the right wing gone the doomed aircraft had gone into a violent roll. With the wing snapped right off, and the massive warhead, any semblance of structural integrity that the plane had went up in flames as the aircraft broke up into two sections. All sorts of machinery, equipment and bodies tumbled out of the aircraft towards their deaths. The lucky ones had died on impact.

Kaze 3 watched in horror as the bodies fell out of the aircraft one by one. She saw absolutely no parachutes, every single person she saw, would be someone who would die momentarily. Their lives ended so quickly. She hoped to see some parachutes, or for a miracle, the realization of the consequences of her actions, her plan, sinking into her stomach like a boulder. She was visibly sick, her stomach slowly churning as the broken hypersensor began to pick up screams from the doomed airmen. She had finally understood the reality of war, how fragile life could be, how the literal floors and walls of someone's life could be taken away by the simple push of a button. She came to understand why the writer's of the Alaska Treaty were so fervent in their beliefs. All of a sudden that paper became immeasurably more valuable to her than ever before, clinging to it as if it were a shield that would protect her from the jaws of death. She promised herself that day that she would never take another person's life, this one mission alone had her spill enough blood for more than one lifetime.

For the first time in a while, everything in her IS was silent. While missiles continued to streak past her and detonate in hot white flashes, the world almost slowed down for her as she stared at the fruits of her labor. As if to spite her in one final moment, her hypersenor's autotrack feature locked in on a young woman and zoomed in on her as she peacefully tumbled to the Earth. The woman looked no older than the 19 year old of Kaze 2. Her blonde hair that ended at her chin fluttered gently about, as a single tear crossed her soft white cheek. The hypersenor cruelly zoomed in even more, the young woman held up a picture of what was presumably a loved one or family. Apparently wanting to be connected to the one she cared the most about in her last moments. Seconds later she disappeared under the cloud cover into the waiting watery grave, never to be seen again; to be forgotten and written off as a casualty of war. The world would move on, and for billions of people, her life would have been like it had never existed. Just like all the pilots they had killed today, unknown and forgotten, forever stuck in the background. Her peaceful, tear stained, face scarred itself deep into Kaze 3's mind. She knew that whoever was in that photo, would never be able to see her again. She was simply gone forever. Never had she wished for an afterlife more in her life.

'She probably left with a smile…..and now whoever was waiting for her won't even be able to see her body' Kaze 3 thought with intense guilt as she tried to turn away from the horrific scene wrought by her hand. 'She never even fired a gun at us…. and now she's dead…...she died because she touched a computer in a plane…..'

The irony and reality of warfare slowly sunk harder into her heart, as she knew that the real enemy, the one that had been shelling her and her friends, should have been the one to die, not this woman. And in all reality, whoever they were, would probably get away scott free. Whoever that sadistic pilot was, she had probably never even seen or cared about anyone from the doomed plane.

Kaze 3 learned a gruesome reality of war on that day, the supporting elements in war, the ones other than grunts, were just as valid of a target. It wasn't just the soldiers with guns on the front line who were marked for death, and in this case they weren't even the primary target of the plan. Afterall to kill a giant, go for its legs.

The IS may have been the undisputed queen of the battlefield, but that didn't change the fact that in war, people had to die. If people couldn't kill the IS themselves, they'd go after the next best thing, normal flesh and blood people. All the power armor in the world would never be able to bring back a fallen comrade.

All of a sudden a whizzing sound went over her head at incredible speeds, followed by the horrifyingly familiar sound of metal smashing into something. She whipped her head to look at a dazed and half blind Alpha 1 who had just taken the full brunt of an artillery round. Instead of crumpling against the shield or airbursting into shrapnel like the other rounds. This one simply detonated on contact after a small delay. The explosion threw the lifeless body of the white IS down. While Kaze 3 had escaped the trap the enemy had set with the flashbang like missiles, Alpha 1 was not so lucky. Having taken all the shots meant for both of them.

Burning at maximum speed towards the squad leader, she caught the freefall lifeless body. The smell of burnt flesh flooded their way into Kaze 3's nostril who almost threw up. Multiple pieces of Alpha 1's armor concaved inwards, any gaps in the twisted and mangled armor was filled with pools of red. Her arms and legs bent and contoured in horrible directions, one which would only be possible with a lot of broken bones. In her mind there was no question, whoever Alpha 1 had been in the past, she was just that, someone who only existed in the past. There was absolutely no way she had survived. The last bits of the IS shield shimmered a light white blue before completely disappearing. Kaze 3's arms suddenly got heavier as the PIC of the woman in her arm went offline, indicating to her that the woman's IS in question had just completely died. All she had in her arms was a lifeless hunk of metal.

With the mangled woman in her arms, Kaze 3 used her radar to find a Kaze 1 who was flying erratically dodging a swarm of missiles. With tears and a heavy heart, she finally linked up with her squad leader. The ordeal was over, and a brief respite fell over the ladies as there were no radar contacts or anything on the rwr.

"Did you do it!". Her leader asked.

"Y...yeah I did it" she replied.

"What happened to her"

"Direct impact, just like her teammate. I…..I don't even know if she's still a….alive" came a whispered breath.

"I think we could all use a break and some bandages at this point"

"Mhm"

"Don't go silent on me just yet you" Kaze 1 said as she slung an arm over the shoulder of her younger compatriot. As the two were about to make their way back to Kaze and Alpha 2, the painfully annoying sound of an rwr chirped back to life. The letter U with an underline through it encased in the shape of a diamond appeared on the system.

"That thing must be made out of titanium and bad luck " Kaze 1 chuckled as she pulled her arm back and leveled herself. Catching her breath, she stood tall and proud while taking in a deep breath.

"W...why can't we get a break….why do they…..they still want to fight….don't they know how many people died today. And they still want to go after us….For what!" Kaze 3 began as she started crying. "What even is the point anymore!" She yelled while hyperventilating. Her flustered cheeks turned a shade of red as her eyes puffed out.

"Go…..and don't wait up for me"

"Wha…..what ar-"

"You heard me, take her and get to Kaze 2. I'll handle our uninvited guest."

"You can't be serious, she'll kill you. I-I promised that no one would die in my plan…..and I already broke it. I-" Kaze 3 as she gestured to the limp body in her arms.

"Come-on kiddo, have some faith in your 'big sis'. I may not be the White Knight, but I'd like to think that I can hold my own. And besides, I don't plan on dying. I just need to buy you enough time"

"But-"

"Besides, if we all go together we would make for a juicy target"

"Y..yeah I gue-"

"...This is the moment I've been waiting for in my entire life. My golden opportunity…...its presented itself, it's just waiting to be grabbed. Won't you grant me just this one thing?" Kaze 1 said as she looked towards the direction of the oncoming unknown IS. The wind slowly blows away her hair, giving her an angel-like presence in the eyes of the downcast Kaze 3.

"Is life really worth living if you can't do the things that make you feel happy, the things that make you feel fulfilled? You once told me that you would rather live 50 years in love, rather than a miserable 100 years. I chose to pilot this IS so that I could be the best version of myself that I could possibly be. To prove to the world that I am someone worth remembering. "

"I can't run away right now." she continued. "I promise you, I'll come back. Don't you trust me?". Her face went soft, the ends of her mouth stretched to form a gentle smile.

"Promise…...promise me you'll come back. That you won't stay any longer than you have to"

Putting her hand on Kaze 3's shoulder, "I promise you, that I'll comeback"

"One day this will all be a great story won't it….one that we can tell to others?"

"Heh….never thought you'd be one to trade bar stories" Kaze 1 chuckled in response.

The thought of the occasionally timid Kaze 3 swapping stories at a bar as if she was a battle hardened veteran with the women around her. She had to admit however, that after tonight, after all the experiences she had. Kaze 3 was no longer fresh blood, she was truly a veteran, one that deserved to tell and swap those stories over a cold drink with the ladies. The flight lead of Kaze Squadron felt proud of the woman that Kaze 3 had become. The edges of her lips separated further and further apart as her faint smile grew at the young brunette.

"I'm proud of you, I hope you know that. Don't get hung up on someone the likes of me alright. You're everything an IS pilot should be and more."

"Thanks" came a mumbled response. "Thanks for everything captain."

The two smiled at each other. Genuine smiles, beamed on both their faces as they stared intently at each other, trying to engrain the image of the other in their mind forever.

Kaze 1 was the first to turn her back and make her move.

"I'll be back, I promise" she said before parting ways.

'I'm sorry….sorry for betraying your trust. Breaking a promise for such a selfish reason. But it's okay. You two have grown a lot, I couldn't be any prouder of the young women you've become. You don't need me anymore, it's time for you two to carve your own path. This…this was just an inevitability. I'm just glad I could have been a stepping stone in your journey. Just forgive me please.' Kaze 1 thought as she left Kaze 3 behind, going in the opposite direction of safety.

'I'm a complete failure' was the only single thought that flashed itself on repeat as Kaze 3 watched Kaze 1 disappear into the dark night. The familiar glow of her IS disappearing as if it were sucked by a blackhole.

"I'll see you on the other side" they both silently whispered to themselves. Both of them knew that they were only lying to each other when they made the promise.

A/N:

And I'm back. This was certainly a longer chapter to write through. Though it did feel good to move through the story and some what set the tone and setting a bit more. There will be one more final prologue chapter (it will be shorter don't worry) before we jump straight into the main story. So stay tuned. I am also planning on creating shorter side stories to add to the plot to help flesh out background characters or events. Things like raids/espionage activities between the two worlds. AC missions that took place in the past or present in the world of the AC. Whether or not they include the main cast depends on the story itself. All the stories would just serve to add to the world building, kind of like a side quest. You don't need to play them to beat and understand the game, but they are fun. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for what you would want to be explored in these side stories.

"Will there be a Nine Ball", the concept of runaway AI is something that will definitely be explored and built upon, wheatear in an IS or AC, advanced AI both good and bad is always fun to write and explore.

"How dead will the AC world be", In terms of destruction and destitute, expect to see a situation where the world is slowly recovering hundreds of years after Kojima contamination. Nation building is on the slow uptick at this point and people are finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. However it won't be a green paradise that's for sure. People in general will still struggle, but not to the level of "if I step foot in this area, the molecules from my body will be stripped off".

"Will there be mercs" Of course, with new real estate opening up humans are gonna do the most rational and best thing. Kill each other over it while making a quick buck. But in all seriousness, mercs/ravens/lynxs will be a part of the story both in the AC world and IS world. Living space is a reality that many people, corporations and even countries are willing to send people to die for in this world.