Chapter 13: Pipeline Destruction
"Spare Squadron, Target is in radar range, you are weapons free. Good hunting, work off your crimes, come home." There was a slight pause, a sound of shuffling paper. "What the fuck? What…what is that? Continue with the attack I gotta call someone…" Bandog groaned and closed his coms.
Spare Squadron's broken formation slowly increased speed.
"Spare Fifteen, Trigger and Prez, engaging." Prez chuckled lightly as she flicked on the FCS. "Well, well, well boys, another ground mission. Looks like I'll be raking in all the kills once more." She stretched slowly, allowing her arms to go as far out as they could within the cockpit.
Trigger rolled his eyes. "Tabloid, Count, you're good to cover High Roller?"
"Copy that! We'll make sure he stays safe, I think I'm used to it after our last mission anyways." Tabloid sighed. "No more losses, can't take another honestly."
Count sighed. "I agree, we got lucky with High Roller, the irony there is annoying. We won't let him go down."
"I don't plan to go down either. In fact I'm willing to bet I might rack in more ground kills than Prez." High Roller laughed, his modified F-16 XL sticking behind Count and Tabloid's planes.
Trigger's eyes widened, looking over at the F-16 XL. "Really? Those are some pretty high odds High Roller."
Prez's eyes shone. "I dunno…High Roller might just be in the competitive mood, What'da say man? I got Twenty bucks here, most ground kills wins the pot?" She rubbed her thumb against her index and middle finger.
The coms are quiet for a moment, a slight muttering could be heard.
"Fuck it, make it thirty! Then we're on!"
Prez cheered. "Fuck yeah! You got a deal!"
Everyone started to laugh a bit.
Trigger shook his head, increasing their speed a little more. "Alright people, here we go." He could just barely see the oil facility in the distance now. "Stay safe, stick together, it's what Champ would want guys."
"What would you know Murderer?" Full Band scoffed. "Champ went down crying like a baby, I knew he was all bark and no bite." He chuckled, "The coward."
He sucked in a breath, his head shooting over to glare at Full Band's F/A-18F. "What The Fuck Full Band…"
Prez gasped, her hand balling up into a fist.
"You're one to talk! Running off with your tail between your legs! I think that would count as cowardly!" Tabloid hissed into his mic, his teeth grinding slightly.
"I wasn't running away. I was retreating."
"I can't say I blame you for that…it was hell…" Tabloid sighed slightly. "But, you better fucking lay off."
"Man I'm not in the mood for this shit today, I'm gunna blow some stuff up to let off steam." Full Band's coms closed.
"I'm going to deck him in the face so hard he'll be seeing sound." Prez growled deeply. "Fucking asshole on his high horse."
"Worry about it later Prez, we've got target in sight. I see a lot of oil tanks." Count cut in, a tiny bit of worry in his voice.
She nodded, tilting her head slightly. "Ummm…we've got naval forces too I think…Fucking hell."
"Nah…the boats aren't warships, there are plenty of buildings too." He chuckled slightly.
"Destroy everything in sight Spare Squadron. Burn every drop of oil."
"While I appreciate the simplicity of the operation…they do not look like military." Tabloid's voice was soft, almost hopeful.
"You think you look anything like military? Do not question orders, eliminate everything." Bandog cut out again instantly.
Prez tilted her head, tapping Trigger's shoulder, then pointing to two tanker ships south of the facilities.
He nodded slowly, increasing the throttle and diving slightly. No hard feelings, it was either the boats or their sanity being lost in solitary.
Prez didn't even flinch at the sudden drop. "Hey Count. How about you and High Roller take the buildings first, we'll handle these."
"Wait what?! Really? You do know those ships only count as one?" Count chuckled slightly.
She scoffed. "Yeaaaaahhh, I'm not worried." She took a deep breath, opening the bay doors grimacing behind her mask as she got a lock. "Fox Two." She dropped a LASM, quickly switching to the next "And Fox Two again."
Twin jet plumes bursted into life as the starfires rushed across the water.
Trigger watched as both missiles raced towards their targets. He felt guilty, these were probably just normal people.
Prez frowned deeply, "God this kinda shit makes me sick still…"
Both missiles impacted one after another. Twin explosions rumbling in the distance.
Trigger raised an eyebrow, getting ready to dive in and finish the ships off.
Until both tankers burst apart in massive explosions.
"Jackpot! Tankers are full of oil!" Spare 12, a new pilot whooped in excitement.
Trigger shook his head as burning oil started to spread throughout the bay. He was starting to feel a little sick himself, but he didn't have a choice. It was either succeed here or face punishment. He slightly smiled though as he banked right, heading for their main target. He caught a glimpse of the new F-16 XL dashing towards the first line of tanks.
"Here we go people!" High Roller's voice took over the coms, "Ha! I bet this is going to be awesome!"
"Just make sure you don't miss idiot!" Full Band lashed out once more.
"Heh, well, I won't open a betting pool for that, cuz the game would be rigged from the start."
Trigger chuckled as he watched, looking out for any planes that might be going for an intercept, "Why's that?"
AA guns opened fire, filling the sky with tracers.
"Cuz Avril hooked me up with guided bombs!" High Roller gunned the throttle, then left banked hard, he was on a straight shot over a whole line of tanks. "Three, Two, One…Bombs away!"
Time slowed for a moment, as High Roller's F-16 XL pulled up, releasing a full cluster of bombs. They spread out quickly, following guidance to their targets.
Within a single moment, part of the port of Artiglio detonated into a single roaring ball of flame.
"Woah! The show has well and truly started!"
"Damn thats what I call fireworks! Ha ha!" Full Band's excitement carried over the coms.
"Hell yeah!" Prez whooped, "I felt that in my teeth!"
A glint of light shone in the sky above High Roller.
Trigger slammed the throttle, pulling back on the stick. "Guys! Cover High Roller! We got incoming!"
High Roller dived down, firing off missiles and bombs at the two tankers still in port. "Well when boats don't attack, I could sink them all day!"
"Their cargo is just fish food now." Tabloid chuckled lightly. "Gotcha covered High Roller."
"Look at all that oil just burn up the sea!" Spare twelve spoke up again, riding on a high of excitement.
Prez gasped slightly as the G-forces hit, but she braced, riding them out with a grin.
Trigger locked onto the incoming aircraft, an F-15.
"Spare Fifteen, they're all yours."
"Thank you Bandog." He kept their current speed, then fired. "Fox Two!"
Growling filled the air.
Brownie's radio crackled to life, "Get the ships out of here before they're blown up!"
He rolled the Strike Wyvern slightly, expecting an evasion.
"They already are!"
"What?!"
"First volley was against the tankers! They're sinking!" There was a muffled thump from the radio. "Fuck! We have to get these fires under control!"
"There's no time to worry about that! Just go!"
"Skoll Four! Evade!"
"Negative, almost got a lock on that bomber."
"Skoll Four! Skoll Four! Evade god damn it!"
"Why wou-WHAT?" Both missiles slammed into their target within seconds, the F-15 burst into flames, falling towards the ground.
"Skoll Four is down!"
Trigger tilted his head slightly, wondering why the pilot hadn't even tried to dodge.
Prez whistled slightly. "Must have been focused on High Roller…"
"Ha! I've already been shot down once thank you! Rather not have that happen again."
Trigger banked again, watching as the rest of Spare Squadron started opening fire on the various AA emplacements and Oil tanks. Fires burning so brightly he could just barely feel the heat. He glanced around as they flew over the main fires.
"Fox Two, LASM away!" Prez tapped the trigger, watching as a starfire dropped out of the X-02 weapons bay. "Looking good….An-…Wait." She pulled up her visor, squinting slightly, looking at the wall of sand on the horizon. "Ummmm…Bandog…what the fuck is that giant…sandcloud thing to the north?"
"I've got more bad news."
"The fuck do you mean more?" Prez growled, watching as her target was destroyed, then detonated, taking the rest of the facility with it.
"The Megastorm Inessa Two that formed a few days ago is approaching our AO." Bandog sighed, the sound of paper being flipped softly carried through the coms. "You have…three to four minutes before it hits, when it does, visibility will be zero."
"No time to smell the roses then…" Tabloid sighed. "And I was saying that this was simple."
"A fighter pilot needs to fight, missions like this are too easy." Count chuckled, oozing confidence.
"You all need to keep your mouths shut before we get jinx'ed!" Prez growled into the mic.
Trigger glared at the wall of sand and dust coming their way for a few moments. "Right then…" He rolled the X-02 into a hard bank. "Prez! Targets ahead!"
She shouldn't have had a chance to brace, but she knew Trigger was going to pull that fancy move, and rode it out. "Oh?" She readied two LASM's, letting the bay doors open as she felt the X-02 level out. She saw exactly what Trigger was referring to, a similar lineup of oil tanks, on the opposite side of the bay that High Roller had hit. "Ohhhh….well damn."
Trigger pushed the stick forward, pressing the X-02 into a slight dive.
Prez locked on to the furthest oil tank, fired, then one in the middle, and fired. "Missiles away, Fox Two!"
"Tracking…all Spare Squadron planes, stay clear of the western side of the bay."
"Copy!" Count's voice was calm.
"Copy that Bandog." Tabloid grunted slightly.
"Wait what…why?"
Both Starfires impacted into their targets.
Ka-Boom
Once more a wall of flame was kicked up into the air. A shockwave shook the air.
"Holy shit!" Spare 12 laughed. "That was huge! You sure you wanted to take that bet High Roller?"
"I think my odds are good."
"Umm…High Roller…." Tabloid clicked his tongue. "I think you're forgetting something."
"Eh? What?"
"Hang on Prez!" Trigger dived, rolling a little to bank right, then quickly pulled up before they hit the ground.
Prez gasped as she felt her stomach drop, get thrown to the left, then get thrown back as he pulled off the maneuver. "Shit! Thank you for the warning!" She glanced at the altimeter, her eyes widened and her head snapped to the left. Seeing they were flying barely a few meters above the ground. "What the everliving fuck?"
Tabloid sighed, "You forgot Trigger's kills count towards Prez's count."
"SHIT!" The sound of High Roller slamming his fist against his console. "Well he's going for a line of facilities…"
"Going guns." Trigger smiled slightly, and opened fire, burning through ammo as he let loose on the entire line.
The X-02 spat tracers across the ground in a line, watching as oil facilities and tanks burst into flames. Flying just a bit above the wrecks with a deafening roar.
He quickly banked left, spotted another grouping of oil tanks. "Fox two."
A slight thunk could be heard.
Prez quickly locked onto a grouping of facilities in the middle. "Missile away!"
Another gentle thunk as a Starfire dropped.
Both missiles roared to life, speeding across the sky.
He pulled back on the stick, pulling the Strike Wyvern into a long climb. He felt detonations shake through the air behind him.
"Another one's popped!"
"Burn, Bitches!" Full Band laughed heartily. "This is relaxing!"
"Are you guys all nuts? I thought at least one of you was sane!" Spare 3 chuckled nervously.
"This beats being stuck at the penal base!" Spare 12 grumbled slightly, albeit with a bit of glee as they dove down, firing a few missiles before pulling up. He whooped as two oil tanks burst into flames.
"It's like watching a fireworks display." Count sighed slightly.
"Kinda…fucked up fireworks display." Tabloid growled.
Trigger paused. A memory of Brownie…her disgust at even the possibility of civilian casualties, and Knocker's response. "Some would say…'That's just how war is these days.' But…I've begun to think those people are wrong." He leveled out the Strike Wyvern, taking in the view with a heavy frown. What the hell had Knocker even meant by all of that, the man never seemed to take thing seriously. They were supposed to be peacekeepers…weren't they?
Another oil tank exploded into flame, slowly taking the surrounding facilities with it. Throwing a few cars to the side with the massive shockwaves.
"Burn, Baby, Burn!" A spare squadron member laughed wildly.
Why was Clown so excited about the war?
Prez tilted her head slightly, "You doing okay?" She locked onto another oil facilty, sending off another Starfire. "We're kinda sitting up here."
He shook his head quickly, then looked back to Prez. "Yeah…it's just…all this…it's a lot."
She nodded slowly. "It is…it doesn't feel right, thats for sure. Desperate times though…if we don't do this…we'll be punished, or worse." She sighed. "I wish it was easier honestly."
"Spare Fifteen! EVADE!" Bandog's yell made them both jump.
Trigger banked a hard right, eyes wide as a missile alert made his ears ring.
Prez was braced already, "Shit! We've been spiked! Thanks Bandog!" She dumped flares, watching as the Erusean missile went roaring past them, following after a flare.
"Pay attention you two! Can't have you worried about ideals and morals up there!"
Trigger froze as those words bounce around in head. He took a moment to check his radar. "Gotta focus on the battle I'm in huh?" He leveled out, facing west, then slammed the throttle.
An F-15 followed after them. Guns blazing, but all of the shots went wide.
"Shit! I'll jam him!"
"No, no, I got him." He smiled, watching the F-15 in his left mirror. "You just focus on the facilities below."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "What? You sure?" She winced as a tracer flew by a little to close for comfort. She heard the lock tone ring out.
"Spare Fifteen, you are locked on, gunna fire?" Bandog chuckled slightly.
Trigger nodded to her. "Yeah, I got a surprise for him."
She paled slightly, but went along with it. "Fox Two, just for your Bandog." She swapped targets, and fired again.
Two Starfires screamed across the sky, growling as they dove towards their targets.
He smiled and banked a hard right. Then rolled into a dive.
The F-15 followed, rolling down into it's own hard dive. It started catching up, and fast.
Prez yelped, waiting for the next round of LASM's to load up. "God damn it Trigger!" Her stomach was somewhere far behind them. There were tracers everywhere and her vision was going dark at the edges. Trigger's training kicked in. She pressed her legs together, exhaled. "Hook." Inhaled. Lock acquired, missiles loaded, pull the trigger. Exhale. "Hook." Inhale. The dark started to fade away a little.
The X-02 was almost about to crash into the ground before Trigger pulled up.
The F-15 made the turn with no problem.
Trigger grinned as they flew over an oil tank. Watching as the red ring around it in his HUD suddenly disappeared.
Boom
A shockwave ripped up sand, dust, and debris, a fireball engulfed the oil tank, and the F-15 right above it.
The X-02 was pushed forward. Climbing sightly to get out of the blast radius.
The F-15 spun out, a wing missing, it rapidly turned before crashing into the ground as the rest of the facility went up in flames.
"Yeah! Thats the stuff Spare Fifteen! Go ape on 'em!"
Prez's eyes went wide as she watched the carnage unfold. Then looked back at Trigger in front of her. "What the fuck…How did you think that was a good idea?"
He chuckled. He brought up one fist so she could see it, then waved it twice. It worked…didn't it? No way he was going to complain, plus it saved them ammo.
"Oh for fucks sake…." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Fine, yeah, I guess it worked, but please, never again."
He nodded and shrugged, chuckling slightly as he brought the nose down a bit to open fire on a few oil tanks.
Tracers shot forward, ripping apart the large tanks and setting the oil inside ablaze.
"Trigger, you're just quietly plugging away! You think you're the only sane one here?" Spare 3 laughed, a little more loosely this time.
He yanked the stick back, pulling into a loop and a roll, then opened fire at what remained of the facility closest to the shore.
"Bandog was right, we're no proper military." Tabloid growled slightly, the stress of the situation building on him.
"Enough with the holier-than-thou act, Tabloid. We belong in the Penal Unit, Trigger you belong here even more than the rest of us. You know that, I know that, hell even Prez knows it murderer." Full Band snapped back. "Look at this! This is all that follows you!"
"SHUT UP! No one asked you!" Prez's fist smashed against the side of the canopy. "You're one to talk! Shit talking your friend after they've died! At least Trigger has the decency to fucking care about respecting the dead!"
"No! This is not about me! This is abo-"
"It's all about where you're from." Count cut in. "We all came from low places. It shouldn't be about what we've done. We all know that…look at our planes. The wardens made it abundantly clear what they think."
Trigger looked back at the three strikes on their wing fin as he slowed down, the variable wings opening up.
"Look, we're all missing Champ…he looked out for us. But this isn't the way to go about things. Do better Full Band."
The coms went silent.
"Ahem, I know you're all having a…tough discussion, but…" Bandog smacked his lips slightly. "Inssea Two will be entering the AO in three minutes."
"Shit we're out of time!" Full Band smacked something. "Damn clock doesn't fucking work."
"Take it easy Full Band." Trigger smiled slightly. "We've got plenty of time, this is how military ops go." He looked back to Prez.
She was glaring a hole into her console, fingers flexing into a fist then splaying out into a stretch.
"Something's on me, someone help me out here!"
She took a deep breath, then nodded. "Spare Three! Location?"
"Ummmm! Shit! Shit! Hang on!" There was a grunt. "West! West of the bay!"
"I see him." Trigger maxed the throttle, focusing on the HUD. "Spare Three, enemy fighter on you, fly east, over the AA. Head towards our general location."
"WHAT?!"
"Just trust me."
Spare 3 staled for a moment, before popping flares and maxing out their afterburners, heading over the center of the bay.
The F-15 followed after him, trying to weave through the AA fire. Flying through a cloud of thick dark smoke.
Trigger watched the F-15 disappear, "Here we go!" Pulling back on the the stick, he pushed the X0-2 into a climb, before looping around, finding the F-15 right in front of him. A lock tone rang out. "Fox Two." He heard the growl of the missile, and punched the throttle. Heading into the same cloud the F-15 had just exited.
A growl…
Then an explosion ripped through the air.
Prez clicked her tongue. "Gunna need to finish him off."
He nodded her way and pulled back on the stick, climbing through the smoke. He still had the F-15 selected on his hud.
Brownie's radio crackled to life. "Where the hell did that plane go? Anyone else see em?"
"Which one sir?"
"The one with the three lines?"
Trigger pulled back on the stick again, looping into a dive. Bursting out of the smoke, with the F-15 in his sights. "Gotcha."
"Captain! Evade!"
Trigger dove down on the F-15 from above, guns blazing. Bullets ripped through the fuselage and wings.
"Shit! Damn that…Three Strikes!"
The radio went silent.
Then a ball of fire.
The F-15 plummeted to the ground, a white parachute appearing above the black smoke and roaring flames.
"Well, that wasn't to bad actually compared to your usual tricks, thanks Trigger." Prez whistled as she watched the white dot float down to the ground. Her lock tone rang in her ear. She pulled the trigger.
A light thunk was heard as the X-02 launched another LASM, cutting across the sky with a streak of white.
It paused.
Then dove down into an oil tank, detonating.
Prez frowned, "Still doesn't feel right though…"
"Something does feel off…" He checked his radar, then looked around. "Everyone check in."
"Been busy, almost out of bombs actually…but nothing to crazy that I couldn't handle." High Roller chuckled. "Gunna roll the dice, see what happens."
Tabloid grunted and cussed. "Just…In the middle of a fight here…hang on."
A fireball burst in mid air over the water.
"There we go. I'm alright, craziest thing here is the moral dilemma we've been served."
"You can say that again…though they are shooting at us." Count grunted slightly, "Well, I'm doing alright. I'm out of LASM's but, I shot down three enemy planes. How about you Full Band?"
There was just static.
"Full Band? You there?"
"Fuck you Count. I know you don't actually care."
"Huh, guess he's fine."
Tabloid gave an annoyed sigh. "Hey Trigger, Prez, Why do you think this stupid war keeps dragging on?"
"Here he goes…" High Roller sighed slightly. "It's been a while."
"It's all because countries exist. Shouting that and throwing a rock is what got me in here."
Trigger choked on air. That was just as bad as Avril's story, but it made sense. Tabloid couldn't fly before all of this.
"Well you have free meals and a warm bed, you should thank our good citizens." Bandog snarked back.
"I am one of those 'Good Citizens' Bandog!" He snapped back.
"A world without borders…What a sight that would be." Trigger sighed slightly.
The coms went silent.
Prez stared at him in slight shock. "What…what do you mean?"
"A world without war, famine, poverty…where people can work together for the betterment of each other." He looked over the burning wreckage and tracer fire. "What would we do for that? Tabloid isn't wrong though…at least thats what my old instructor used to say."
"Huh…well I like your instructor then. Hopefully we can meet him one day."
"Stop wasting time yapping! One minute remaining, dust cloud is entering the area of operations. Finish your work if you want to stay out of solitary!"
"Well shit…I bet it'll be a close one. Bombs away!" High Roller dove straight down suddenly. Releasing the last few bombs he had, then pulling up.
Each bomb spread out slightly, smashing into oil tanks, ripping everything apart in bursts of flame.
"The oil tank! Shit! There's no way we can extinguish it!"
"Try anyways! We've got sixteen people trapped in there! We're screwed if this entire place goes up. What the hell is the air force even doing?! Have they even shot down a single plane?"
Trigger sighted a final oil tank, diving down with guns blazing. He watched as tracers flew through the air. Then noticed the red circle around the tank in his HUD. "Shit…" he pulled up, watching in his rear view as the tank detonated.
"Why are we getting hit after reinforcements came?"
He quickly glanced back at Prez.
She smiled and shrugged. "Should have been faster on the Trigger."
He rolled his eyes as they leveled out, watching the few remaining Erusean planes start to retreat.
Brownie's old radio crackled to life once more. "Protect the fuel storage! Thats what the Anti-air guns are for!"
"Fuel storage is gone! So are most of the AA guns!"
"Damn it! Someone get the airforce to get them out of here!"
"Thirty seconds remaining, wrap it up people!" Bandog cut through.
"They're leaving, something about…three lines? I don't know! Either way, we're on our own!"
"Dust storm is almost here, get ready to move!"
Tracer fire slowly stopped filling the air, leaving the muffled sound of sirens and the glow of the flames slowly consuming the area.
"I dunno what they were keeping in there, but it's all ashes now." Count sighed slightly. "I have no idea how I feel about all of this either."
"Looking good Spare Squadron. Megastorm Inessa Two is about to arrive. Most of the facilities here are gone, all major targets were taken out as well. We only missed a few tanks of oil, but all the plants for processing are gone. Give yourselves a pat on the back."
"Well, that wasn't to bad. I'll take jobs like this any day." Full Band chuckled slightly. "See, I'm doing fine. That was an easy mission."
"Right! Bring out the trucks!" The old radio crackled to life again under Trigger. "Make sure their routes are split! Take every drop of fuel you can carry!"
He sighed. "Full Band…"
"What Murderer? You gunna provide judgement that you have no right to give?"
Trigger watched as multiple trucks started driving off…towards the storm.
Prez groaned, knowing what was to come. "You jinxed us."
"Eh?"
"It looks like some oil tankers loaded with oil are getting away." Bandog sighed slightly. "HQ saw them on satellite, burn down everything that turns up."
"Right…copy that." He turned up the throttle, chasing after a line of three trucks. Even from the sky he could see soldiers standing on top, reading weapons.
"They're insane!" Full Band growled.
"Nah…it's a good idea…in fact I'd bet this was part of their plan the moment we attacked." High Roller sighed slightly. "Bandog…we don't have to go…into the storm right?"
"You do…there's already multiple trucks in the storm. Anyone who refuses to go after the targets will be punished with solitary, or worse." He sighs. "Thats not even my decision, that's all HQ, they're watching this mission very closely."
"Shit…Scrap Queen is gunna kill us."
Prez sighed as she tapped the trigger, dropping two Starfires. "Yeah…she definitely is. This is going to suck. Fox Two."
Both fell for a just a moment before igniting, screaming through the air together, splitting off at the last moment, one going for the lead truck in the line of three, the other going for the one in the back. The first two trucks disappeared in a ball of fire and smoke, the second was hit by the impact of the missile, it shuddered, shaking off a few soldiers trying to ready an Anti Air launcher. Seconds later the truck exploded, sending a shockwave of fire around it.
"Three down already people. Keep it up." The sound of papers being rustled and answering a com message came over from Bandog's side. "Oh damn it…"
"Ummm…Why are they popping on and off radar?" Count's confusion settled in quickly.
Sure enough, the red dots were showing up for a few seconds, then disappearing. Trigger sighed. This already was going to be tough enough.
"Sand clouds." Bandog sighed. "Sand breaks up here and there. Thats when radar picks them up. If you detect something, strike fast."
"Staring at my radar and trolling? This is not my style." Count growled slightly, he dove down at another truck making a run for the storm. "Any advice?" He fired a missile.
"Even in sand, you can lock on if you get close enough."
The Truck burst into a ball of flame.
"Are you sure you can trust that intel?" Full Band snapped back.
"It's all I've got."
"Easy for you to say!" Spare 12 sighed, "And this was so easy before."
Trigger turned back, "Prez, you mind handling the radar scanning?"
She was looking at the wall of sand and dust to their right. She sighed and nodded. "Yeah…yeah I can." She slowly pulled up the radar, zooming out to the maximum range.
"You guys do what you want, I'm going off by myself." Count sighed. Banking away and heading north.
"Okay, if you think that's for the best…" Tabloid mumbled slightly. "This is a megastorm right? Doesn't that mean there will be heavy crosswinds?"
"I'd bet good money on that, cuz that's how it's looking! Be careful!" High Roller sighed. "This'll be tough."
"Got one on radar! Moving!" Count chuckled slightly. Barreling north at high speeds.
Prez watched as red dots flashed across the radar for mere seconds before winking out. She already saw a pattern. "Trigger!" She tapped him, then made a hand signal, "Head east! They're in a loose crescent formation! If we start at one end we can loop around. Cut them off!"
"Copy that, thanks Prez." Trigger nodded and smiled. She really was the best at this. "Spare Fifteen, engaging."
"Spare Eleven on your six. I'm coming along! You know what I say, Stick with Trigger." Tabloid's Mirage came into view their rear view mirrors.
Prez chuckled lightly. "And you'll make it."
Trigger smiled, pulling back on the stick, cutting the engines, pulling their Strike Wyvern into a twisting Kulbit. Slamming the throttle back to full, then heading east at full burn. Heading for a point Prez had marked.
"Damn! That truck just vanished into the dust!" High Roller ground his teeth.
Trigger squinted slightly, seeing High roller's F-16 XL bank away from the clouds.
"Chase it down Spare Seven!" Bandog snapped at the gambler of Spare.
"Chase what down! They're just gone!" High Roller snapped back. "I'm not flying into that storm just to follow them! This is bullshit!"
Prez clicked her tongue. Leaning forward to tap Trigger's shoulder. "Straight ahead." She sat back in her seat, checking the radar as she marked a point. "Follow the road. Once you get that first one, the next should be northwest."
He nodded, taking a deep breath. "This is going to suck…"
"Lets just hope Bandog is right about getting close to them."
They dove into the storm.
Trigger almost instantly had the stick ripped out of his hand as the winds slammed into the fuselage.
Prez let out a yelp of surprise.
The Strike Wyvern shook and bucked as Trigger fought against Inessa Two, this wasn't like Yinshi Valley. He could barely see anything, let alone where the wind was going. Plus, right now, he had to fight against it.
"There!" Prez pointed just a little to their right.
Deep in the dust and sand, was a small flash of what seemed to be brake lights.
"Copy, I see it." He banked left, letting the wind take them, before looping back around, fighting against the crosswinds at full throttle. Gunning it for where the truck should be.
Finally, a red single dot, and a lock tone sounded in his ear. "Fox Two!"
Even through the howling wind, cracks of rock and sand hitting the airframe, he heard the growling of a sidewinder.
It quickly disappeared into the storm, the growling just barely heard.
Trigger chewed on his lip. This was it, seeing if they could even fight down here in this soup.
The growling stopped.
Seconds later, a bloom of fire and shockwave shook through Inessa Two.
"Tanker truck destroyed. Make sure you wipe them all out!" Bandog sighed slightly. "We can find them and take them out, thank God."
"On our seven!" She marked a red blip on the radar as it popped up for a few seconds.
Trigger flew into a tight loop, tempted to pull a post stall maneuver, but deciding against. Watching as a rock smacked into the cockpit. He hissed as the canopy got scratched. Leveling out the Wyvern as they started trolling for their target.
"Nothing but sand and rock…Nice place to build a prison, don't you think?"
"We can toss you in as soon as it's up Spare Twelve" Bandog groaned slightly, "Tsk, anyone else got confirmed sightings?"
"I saw one for a second, but I've lost it now." Full Band sighed. "How on earth do they expect us to do this?"
"Well it's either find them or solitary, your choice Full Band." Count chuckled.
Trigger kept scanning the desert floor through the dust. Determined to find something.
"Below us! Below us!" Prez growled slightly, "Shit!" She winced as an RPG went flying by them, quickly caught up in the wind.
He winced, pulling them into a slow loop, letting the wind resistance hold them up in the air for a few precious moments.
Then dove.
Enough time had passed to the point that the two trucks had gone past them…perfectly into Prez's crosshairs.
"Hit em Prez!"
"Hell yeah! Missile away!" She pulled the trigger, listening as a Starfire missile was released.
It ignited seconds later, shooting at almost supersonic speeds right for the two tankers. It impacted into the ground between the two in a ball of fire.
Fire and shrapnel engulfed both trucks. They burst into flames, oil and fuel burning as it was scattered by the shockwave.
"Woo! Two more down! Next one is coming up! Straight ahead!" She watched as a blip showed for half a second. "Another to the south west after that!"
"Damn! Trigger and Prez already got six of them!" High Roller whistled. "I'm in danger of loosing here."
"Take that!" Count's voice crackled over the coms. "Damn it! The wind is messing with my missiles! Gotta find this tanker…again" He sighed deeply. "Fucking hell."
"Eyes like a jackal, Trigger" Tabloid chuckled, keeping his Mirage just above the storm as he followed the X-02. "They pave desert highways nicely you know? People drive fast to avoid bandits in the desert."
"Really now…it's that common out here?" He smiled slightly as he searched.
"Oh yeah! I thought you were from here…"
"Nah, it was the east coast Tabloid."
"Ah. Right then…Ooop! We're coming up on it!"
Tigger frowned slightly, not seeing anything. Just dust and darkness. His hand twitched to push on the throttle, but he made sure the Wyvern stayed at a steady speed. The last thing he needed was them shooting past another grouping of tankers.
"There…" Prez pointed over his shoulder, right at a glint of light just to their left.
He banked slightly, making sure to roll with the storm, his eyes followed the road. He pressed the trigger.
Tracers lanced through the storm, cutting into the road, then lancing through a tanker, then another, and another.
For a mere second, Inessa Two was pushed back by fire and flames.
"Vehicle down, the rising smoke marks their graves."
"Nice sentiment Bandog." Count chuckled slightly. "Still trying to find the one I lost."
"Wait…They'll run outa gas…right?" Full Band cut in. "So…why are we chasing after them if they'll just end up trapped in the desert?"
"They've got trailers full of fuel!"
Full Band scoffed, "Trucks don't run on jet fuel."
"I heard diesel engines can." Tabloid hummed slightly. "Though that does leave the question of how they would fuel themselves…"
"Quit yapping and hunt down your targets!"
"Ahhh! Fine! Fucking guard dog making us do all the hard work."
Trigger banked left again, heading for the last area where Prez saw the next group of three tankers.
"Spare 2…Count! Where the hell do you think you're going? You're approaching Erusean Territory! Return!" Bandog sounded…panicked. "Turn around immediately!"
"Just following orders to find tankers. Plus, I though we were already deep in Erusean territory? So how about you go chew on a bone?"
"Oh no…" Prez hissed slightly. "Shit!" Multiple blips showed up on just the edge of their radar range.
"Spare Squadon, a new enemy is approaching. Bearing Three, Five, Zero from the reference point." Bandog sighed. "Working on identifying them now."
"Three…five…What? Where?!" Spare 3 sputter sightly. "I don't know what that means!"
"North! They're coming from the north! Did they pick up Count's aircraft?" Tabloid clicked his tongue.
"Wait a sec, don't go blaming me!" Count sputtered slightly. "I was just trying to follow orders!"
"Identified, they appear to be Erusean drones."
"More UAV's?! Come on! Why are they always after us?!" Prez clicked her tongue, "Why is everything always after us?"
"HQ, we have incoming bogies, requesting permission to RTB." Bandog had left his coms open, the sound of a fist being slammed into a desk could be heard. "What?! You're joking right?"
A pause.
"Fine, Fine…But they aren't going to like it." Bandog sighed deeply. "The mission stays the same: Destroy the tankers."
"There's no way we can chase the damn tankers now! They're coming!" Full band cried out.
High Roller's fist could be heard smacking into his thigh. "You're out of your goddamn mind Bandog!"
"He's right! A cat doesn't have enough lives to carry out your orders." Full Band snapped back.
The AWAC's sighed. "Look I tried, it's going to be tough but it's the only option we have. Do your duty and take out those tankers."
"Not very motivational Bandog…"
"That's enough of that Prez, I'm doing what I can." He sighed. "Take out the tankers, then we can all go back."
"Tsk, fine…we'll do what we can then." She tapped Trigger's shoulder. "One mike to contact with drones."
"Copy." He nodded. "Tabloid, you're in charge of keeping the drones off our back. Alright?"
"Hehe, yeah, I think I can do that." He backed off a little bit more. "You should be alright in that soup, but I'll keep you covered."
"Thank you Spare Eleven! Best wingman ever." Prez smiled slightly, then paused. Something was itching at her. She suddenly switched over to weapons again. "Hold on…" She listened as the weapon bay doors opened.
Trigger looked back for half a second. "Huh? What?"
"Something feels…" Then, she heard a lock tone, she looked up, seeing that one of the tanker groups had appeared on radar.
Ka-thunk
A starfire dropped out of the weapon's bay and ignited.
She looked down to see that she had pulled the trigger. "Huh…well then…Fox Two."
The tankers disappeared off of the radar.
"Wait? Say again Spare Fifteen, did you state Fox Two?" Bandog's confused voice came over the radio.
"Copy. Fox Two."
"On what?"
An Explosion rumbled through the desert.
"Three tankers down, thats good, right?" She chuckled lightly.
"Haha! You can't run from us!" Spare 12 laughed. "Nicely done Prez!"
She didn't say anything, just slightly staring at her own hand, she had acted before she had even realized it.
Trigger banked the Wyvern right, heading north west, looking for a few tankers he saw on radar before.
"Keep going everyone, burn it all!" Bandog sighed happily. "We keep this up and we'll be heading home before you know it."
Another explosion appeared in the air.
"Contact! Drones are here!" Spare 3 grunted. "I've got one on me!"
"Fuck! Hang on Three! I'm coming!" Count hissed slightly.
"I ain't loosing to no drone!" Full Band growled deeply. "Lets get this done!"
Trigger grit his teeth as the storm pushed against the X-02, with the high crosswind they weren't getting anywhere. "Fuck…Tabloid!"
"Yeah?"
"We're coming up, cover us." He slowly pulled back on the stick, letting them climb out of the dust, back into the clear sky. "We're heading north."
"Copy that." Tabloid waved his Mirage's wings a bit, banking slightly to allow the Wyvern room to maneuver. "Drones incoming though. Three of them."
"Brown out! I got no Vision!" High Roller sputtered and growled. "How the hell have Trigger and Prez taken out so many already! You can barely fly in there, let alone see!"
Prez groaned. "God damn drones…hell of a day to not bring AAM's." She booted up the ECM, "Might as well be annoying to them."
"Can you even annoy a machine Prez?" Tabloid chuckled.
"Dunno, but I'm sure as hell going to try." She started throwing up countermeasures at the three drones.
Each drone shook a little as they were hit with five different countermeasures all at once.
"Engaging!" Tabloid's Mirage boosted forward, rushing the confused MQ-99's.
Trigger slammed the throttle into full gear, waiting for his lock to kick in.
The Drones recovered, quickly engaging, firing missiles and tracers quickly at the pair of planes.
Tabloid rolled, firing a few shots at the middle drone. "Locked on, this one is mine!" He passed the drone, then banked hard, looping around and chasing after his target.
"Copy that." Trigger grinned as the other two drones went by, quickly looping by to get on his six.
"Shit!" Prez threw even more countermeasures as the radar lock warning beeped in her ears.
Trigger weaved their Wyvern through the sky, waiting for his moment.
"Missile, Missile, Missile."
"Spare Fifteen! Incoming!" Bandog cut through the rest of Spare's chatter.
Trigger pulled back on the stick, hard.
The Strike Wyvern's nose went straight up, the engines cut out, and flares went everywhere. For a precious few seconds, the Wyvern became a floating ball of light and fire.
The incoming missiles went haywire. Trying to find their target through the ECM countermeasures and flares.
Both Drones froze up…and flew right by.
Trigger grinned at his radar, pushing the stick forward and kicking the engines back into gear.
The X-02 dove into combat once more. Engines screaming as they caught up with the MQ-99's instantly.
He heard the lock tone and fired a missile, then another.
Both sidewinders growled as they were released, roaring across the sky.
He pushed into a roll to the right, waited a second for the crosshair to line up.
"Get him Trigger! You've got the nose on him!" Prez's eyes were bright as fire.
He did just that, and with a squeeze, sent tracers arcing across the sky.
Each and every shot hit, ripping the Drone in half down the middle, it glided for a moment, engine dying out and sparking. Then, the drone fell, and detonated.
The second drone rolled, easily dodging the first missile with it's quick maneuvers. But the AI hadn't taken into account the second missile being boosted by Prez, and rolled right into it. A burst of flame and shrapnel took a huge chuck out of the sleek drone.
A third explosion ripped through the sky behind them. "Spare Eleven! UAV eliminated! We got one guys!"
"Nice shot Tabloid!" Prez cheered.
"Thanks! Heading back to you!" He let out a deep breath. "That went well."
"Yeah, now we just gotta find that one that was around here…" Trigger frowned, banking a little to head more north, He knows saw two tankers pop up on their radar around here. The question was just where were they now?
"Wooo! Ha ha!" High Roller let out a sigh. "Shook the bandits off! Ha! Even they can't see through the dust!"
"Ah…Just like regular clouds! Easy to loose your lock in there." Spare 12 hummed slightly.
"You heard em' Three! Dive for the clouds!" Count grunted. "Damn it! Why won't you lock on!" his fist could be heard slamming against his controls.
"Right! I'm going! Shit!"
"Yeah this isn't looking good, I'm getting out of here." Spare 12 huffed slightly.
"Have you forgotten what happens to deserters? I'll send you out to dig up landmines with your bare hands." Bandog growled through the mic. "Do not test me, Twelve."
"Fine! I'm sticking around. I'm sticking around! Jeez." He groaned slightly. "Hey guys, you know why that political offender jackass is still alive, don't you?"
"Trigger?" Full Band hissed the word through his teeth.
"Yeeeep." Spare 12 made a popping sound over the coms.
"Ha! Saved by a murderer, how Ironic!" Full Band chuckled slightly.
"Higher chance of living with him." High Roller sighed. "That's just how it goes."
He rolled his eyes at that, he tried his best, but the whole…stick with Trigger thing was getting weird. Though…he was getting used to bei-
A red dot appeared on his radar.
Dead ahead.
He pushed the Striker Wyvern into a screaming dive. Well…it wasn't really the engines screaming.
"Motherfuuuucker! God damn it Trigger!" Prez gripped her seat tightly as she resisted the G forces.
He rolled, adjusting the Wyvern slightly, then pulled up slightly, diving into the storm, going with the wind. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark dusty gloom.
"Annnnd there goes Trigger." Tabloid chuckled slightly. "Should be fun."
"Shit! I took a hit!"
"Full Band, head my way, we'll push the drones back together."
"Right, right, I'm on my way Tabloid." Full Band grunted. "God damn drone went guns on me."
Trigger's eyes scanned the storm carefully, he knew those two trucks were in here somewhere…there had to be a… "There it is." A road. He rolled the X-02 so they were just to the left of the road, fighting against the wind made things slow, but he angled the nose to the right, using the force of the storm to their advantage.
"Three! Three! Get out of there! The drones are hiding in the storm too!" Count ground his teeth slightly. "Fuck!"
"Damn it Alright!" There was a sound of struggling, then a yelp.
"Three?!"
"I'm okay! I'm Okay! Just got my wing clipped, thats all."
Dust trails.
Trigger quickly licked his lips, taking a deep breath through his nose.
"Those trucks can't be all terrain, they should be close to roads." Prez was quietly mumbling behind him. Marking points as new targets showed up.
A lock tone rang in his ear.
He fired a missile, switched to the next target, then fired another.
Both missiles dropped barely a second after the other, growling through the storm as they ignited and charged across the open road.
Then, everything disappeared as the storm strengthened, pushing harder than before.
Trigger fought against the push and pull of Inessa Two, wanting to confirm the kill.
A distant boom shook the sands back for just a moment.
"Trigger trashed a target!" Tabloid gave a proud grunt.
"Woo!" Spare 12 jeered. "Fuck you Erusea!"
"Trigger again!?" High Roller groaned. "Damn it! I'm going to loose for sure."
Trigger pulled back on the stick, chuckling slightly. A win for Prez was a win for him, so he'd take that. They rose out of the storm with a bit of a struggle as the winds tried to push them back down.
"You guys are celebrating, but I don't hear anyone saying all targets have been taken down." Bandog sighed. "There's five to go people, hunt them down!"
Full Band whistled. "It's really burning! Thats some primo jet fuel! Can see it from all the way up here."
Trigger banked left once more, heading west, there were five more tankers on the west side of the AO, and he knew they were going to be a pain in the ass. They were rarely showing up on radar now.
"Nah, jet fuel doesn't ignite that easily, that was standard gasoline." Tabloid scoffed. "It's strange though…some of them detonations have been different, what the hell are they even transporting?"
"How about taking targets down instead of flapping your gums?" Bandog huffed slightly. "You have five remaining people! Take them out!"
"Right, Right, sorry dad. Spare Eleven, trolling away." He chuckled slightly as he followed the X-02.
"God damn it…these tankers haven't shown up for a while honestly. So this is probably old…just head north west." Prez pointed ahead and to the right. "They'll be somewhere around there."
He nodded, gently turning the Wyvern so the nose was pointed directly north west.
"Trigger! I need support! Now!" Count grunted. "Three and I are getting a little overwhelmed. Gah! Damn! I can't lock onto these fucking drones! But I've taken down two."
He looked around, then checked his radar. Three and Count were fighting three to four drones near the coast.
"Enough with this Trigger bullshit! All aircraft! Destroy the tankers!"
"Let's just leave him to it! He'll be fine!" Full Band scoffed. "Count always says he's the best. Plus it's not like Trigger would be able to do any actual saving."
Prez turned her head and glared at Full Band's F-18. "Fuck you Full Band!"
Trigger rolled and banked left, hard. Smashing the throttle into full gear. In the far distance he could see a few missiles flying through the air.
"Three! Break, Break, Break! Incoming!" Count screamed into the coms.
Spare Three climbed into the air, rolling slightly. Almost getting out of range of the missiles.
Then another trail appeared, zipping up.
An explosion ripped through the blue sky.
"Shit! Cha-…Allied aircraft downed by a UAV!"
"Pipe down and keep your mind on the mission Full Band!" Bandog snapped back. "Damn it!"
"No no no no! Come on Three! Eject! Eject!" Count's voice hitched slightly. "We're not loosing another one!"
"Hold on…." Prez squinted slightly, watching as Spare Three's plane plummeted towards the ground.
There was a moment of crossed fingers and panicked breath.
A white parachute appeared over the coastline.
"Spare Three, ejection confirmed, looks like he'll be okay. Storm should carry them to the coast." Bandog let out a breath. "Thank God…"
"We gotta get those UAV's!" Tabloid growled. "We're getting torn up!"
"The mission's become way to dangerous…" High Roller sighed. "Damn it Count, why'd you have to drag us into this shit?" His F-16XL was moving to join Count's SU-33.
"Shut the hell up! This has got nothing to do with me." Count sighed. "Fucking hell…" The sound of him punching his console filled the coms. "Why…Won't…You…Lock On! Damn it!"
"Count! It's alright! You did your best! He's okay." High Roller sighed. "We have a mission to complete."
Trigger growled. Flipping the X-02 into another hard bank, flying north west once more. "Back to trolling." He didn't like this at all, he knew something was missing earlier, and now that itch was starting to come back. Why deploy the drones now? These were just MQ-99's, not the Arsenal bird's fast MQ-101's. But they were in the Bird's AO, weren't they? Prez double checked eariler, they knew MQ-101's would be a threat. So why the 99's?
"I'm going after those drones!" Count growled. "I've got plenty of ammo for my cannon. That'll have to do."
High Roller sighed. "I'll come along, make sure you don't get into to much trouble."
"Thanks, I'll need the help."
He didn't like it at all. Things were fishy. Why not deploy the drones earlier? Why protect the tankers? Hell an even better question was why he was currently hunting down the tankers! It was basically a drop fuel in the long run, barely enough for a squad of drones. The operation should have been written off as a win at this point. They should be heading back to base. Not…this. He grunted as a strong gust of wind threatened to push them back down into the storm.
Prez growled deeply behind him. "What the hell is going on…what are they hiding?" She glanced over at him for just a moment. Shaking her head. "Don't look at me, you have more experience with opening of the war than anyone at Sicario."
Damn, there goes that theory. He shook his head, but was glad to see that he wasn't the only one. Something still didn't seem right.
"Target! Target! Spare Fifteen confirmed radar contact! Straight ahead!" She grinned behind her mask. "Go Trigger! Go!"
He slammed the throttle once more, diving into the storm, feeling waves of sand thrash against the Wyvern as they cut through the chop. He scanned carefully, seeing a flash of dark asphalt that he quickly zeroed in on, turning towards and following the desert road.
"You know, I don't think anyone ever expected bandits to have supersonic jets huh?" Prez giggled.
"Missile!"
"Eh?! Where?!" She started looking around carefully.
Trigger looked at his radar, there was nothing, no sign of an incoming missile.
"Missile!"
He looked around quickly. He couldn't see anything around them in this soup.
"Incoming! BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!" Prez yelled right at him, already popping flares.
Trigger pushed the X-02 into a quick roll. His eyes widening as a SAM ripped through the air right by them. Barely missing the cockpit by a few feet, then quickly disappearing deep into the storm.
"Holy shit that was close…" Prez let out a slow breath, but almost choked on air as the missile alert started going off. "What the fuck! Incoming SAM! Why the hell is Erusea protecting fucking fuel trucks with SAMs?!"
He shrugged slightly, but pushed into another roll, turning it into a dive. "Dunno…"
A SAM soon came bursting through the storm, but it wavered, loosing it's lock and just flying straight through the air.
"But…they just gave away their position." He grinned as they flew over the ground, banking around small cliffs and crags. His eyes slowly scanning as they moved at high speed.
Nothing
Nothing…
A plume of dust being quickly ripped away by the storm.
Three targets appeared on radar.
"There you are…" He grinned, gritting his teeth as they rocketed forwards.
The missile alert went off in his ear again.
"Shit!" Prez bit her lip as she threw up countermeasures.
Trigger watched as a SAM launched from a APC following two tankers. Just before the stick was almost wrenched out of his hands as Inessa Two showed off it's strength.
The missile was instantly swept away, smashing into a nearby cliff and detonating.
He grinned, locking onto the first Tanker, fighting against the wind, he let loose with a stream of bullets.
The first half went wide, but as the wind calmed down slightly, they zero'd in on their target.
The APC burst into flames as it's payload detonated.
"Fox Two!" He fired a Sidewinder, switched targets, fired another.
The first tanker exploded into a ball of fire.
He smiled and pulled back on the stick. Pushing them into a small climb, determined to get out of the storm before things got too hairy.
"Spare fifteen, target destroyed."
"Thank you B-"
Ka-boom
Trigger grunted as his eyes were almost blinded by the bright blue light that filled the cockpit. Blinking slightly to push back tears that formed. Then there was a sharp crack and a hiss, then pure burning pain, as something ripped through his calf. "GAH! Fuck!" He grit his teeth, hissing as he looked down the at the small hole under his feet. He let go of the stick, smacking the autopilot button.
"Huh?!" Tabloid gasped. "Trigger?! Prez? You okay?"
"What was that explosion?!" Count's voice was barely a whisper. "That was huge! There's no way that was just gas!"
"Trigger?! Trigger! Talk to me!" Prez's voice was full of worry and panic. She unbuckled herself and quickly leaned over the seat. "Come o-…" She froze, finally hearing the whistling noise.
There was a hole in the fuselage.
There was blood…
A lot of blood. "Trig-…Trigger?"
He finally glanced back at her, seeing her eyes. "First aid kit…" He knew it wasn't the right time, but damn him if he was going to bleed out.
"Eh?! Right! Right!" She looked around, finding the kit under her seat and tossing it to him.
"Spare Fifteen! You're heading to far north, turn back!"
"Shut up Bandog!" Prez growled. "Trigger's wounded!"
"Shit…"
He slammed his foot over the hole, making a somewhat temporary seal. "I'll be fine…" He ripped the first aid kit open, pulling out a roll of medical tape, gauze, and a package of clotting powder.
Prez burst forward. "You don't look fine, Dumbass!"
Tabloid laughed slightly. "Oh what'd he do this time?"
"He's taken a shrapnel hit! He's bleeding." She grit her teeth.
The coms went dead silent quickly.
"Shit…"
"I'll be fine Prez! Tabloid keep any drones off our back!" He ripped his pant leg open, hissing as the wound was exposed.
"Right! Right! Copy!" He quickly moved to shadow the Strike Wyvern, Full Band still following.
Trigger ripped the packet of powder open, quickly sprinkling the contents on. Oh god did he forget how much this shit stung. "Fucking Fuck! Grrrrrr!" He grit his teeth, whipping out a sheet of gauze and wrapping it around his wounded calf. He made sure it was nice and tight. He reached for the medical tape with one hand.
It wasn't there…
He panicked slightly, Did it get sucked out? No it couldn't have, the hole was too small. There was a tap at his shoulder. His head snapped back, trying to keep himself from freaking out more.
Then found small sheets of medical tape being handed to him by Prez. "Here."
Calm was all he found in her eyes.
Calm was all he felt now.
He nodded in thanks, gently taking the tape and carefully pressing into place to hold the gauze nice and tight.
"So…anyone got a guess what the hell that was?" Count growled slightly, grunting as he engaged a drone.
"Dunno…But…I've seen it before. Back in the beginning of the war…there was a transport that exploded the same way. Haven't seen it since." Trigger hissed once more, securing everything inside of the first aid kit. Then handing it back to Prez
"It was like a star just appeared." Prez rubbed her eyes. "Fuck that was bright." She placed the kit back where it belonged, and got strapped back in. Giving a thumbs up.
"You can't sick around forever, find those targets!" Bandog's voice didn't have much bite, just worry. "I don't want to loose anyone else here."
"Hang on Bandog, just gotta seal this." He reached down to where Brownie's radio was.
"Weapons system is acting up! I can't fight like this anymore, I'm breaking off. Sorry…I tried." Count sighed sadly.
"There he goes running away! And he is the one who drew the drones here." Full Band laughed.
"Say what you want, Full Band, at least I tried." He sneered back.
Trigger picked up the roll of duct tape Avril had given him long ago. Ripping off a few strips.
"Hang on, Spare Two. Checking details…damn it…I know she tries her best but that Scrap Queen could at least make sure the OS is up to date…" Bandog sighed. "Yeah, I'm getting errors for everything except the guns. He's telling the truth, go ahead and be our rear guard Count."
"I'll keep an eye on him." High Roller sighed. "Could be worse, right?"
"Yeah…yeah. The rest of you lot! Keep it up! There should only be a few more."
Trigger slapped the strips of duct tape onto the hole in the floor, stamping them in place with his boot. "Eh, good enough." He put the tape back in it's place, then gave Prez a thumbs up. "Let's do it! Spare Fifteen, engaging!" He pulled the Strike Wyvern into a loop, rolling at the apex, heading south west.
Prez took a deep breath. "Trigger…when we get back you're going to medical, asap."
"That's if Avril doesn't kill me first…I think we took some hits from that explosion elsewhere…" He sighed. "Still, lets get this done, and head back."
"Right, right, that's going to be tough, especially after we teased her so much about Húxiān and her." She started watching her radar screen with careful precision.
"Where the hell are all the drones?" Full Band muttered slightly.
"Chasing us! At least a few are!" Count grunted. "We're doing fine though."
"You're doing fine!" High Roller muttered some curses. "Scrap Queen's gunna kill me!"
"Hahahahaaaa…yeah, you're right, I'm good as dead too when we see Avril." Count sighed.
"There should be one up ahead Trigger…" Prez pursed her lips slightly, taking in a slow breath. "Somewhere in that storm…they're getting close to escaping I think."
"Spare Fifteen! Radar contact! Below you!" Bandog's voice snapped them out of their search. "Two Bogies! Drones!"
Two Sleek MQ-99's burst out of the dust of Inessa Two. Guns blazing.
"Shit!" Trigger rolled quickly, banking around the tracer fire. A few shots peppered their fuselage.
Prez heard the missile alert in her ear and popped flares. "Fucking hell! Where were they?!"
"In the storm!" Tabloid quickly dived, guns blazing.
The first MQ-99 was riddled with bullets before it could even react, it hung in the air for a moment before dropping back into the storm.
Trigger cut the engines and pulled back. He heard the drone zip by at high speed, then finished the PSM by pushing on the stick, and kicking the engines back to life. He locked on, and fired.
Growling sidewinders ripped through the sky, chasing after the drone.
The MQ-99 paused for a moment, then quickly flipped around, turning back towards the missiles and flew right by, dodging the sidewinders by inches.
"Damn! This one's fast!" Prez growled. "And tricky, it's trying to break through my ECM!"
Trigger banked quickly. Giving chase as the drone zipped away. He locked one once more, and fired.
Another sidewinder dropped out of the weapons bay, cutting through the sky.
The drone popped flares and banked.
Just like Trigger wanted.
Tracers ripped across the sky from the X-02's cannon. Shredding the nose off the MQ-99.
The drone sputtered, gliding in the air as it's brain was ripped out.
Then it fell, spiraling towards the ground.
Trigger banked away. "Shit…that wasn't fun."
"What happened?" Count's voice cut through the almost silent coms.
"There were drones…in the storm, they were hiding out in there. Strange tactics for an AI really." Prez shivered slightly. "They just seem to get smarter and smarter as time goes on."
"Damn, that's how they got Three…Be careful, alright?" Count chuckled slightly. "Gotta have someone to test my skills against." He was trying to be his usual self, but it was obvious it wasn't fully working. He just sounded depressed.
"We'll be careful. Especially since someone took a hit from some shrapnel…still don't know how that happened, we were pretty high up." She sighed. "We'll see, only a few more to g- There!"
Two radar blips showed up.
Trigger banked the X-02, hard, turning until he saw the blips on his hud. He maxed out the throttle, skimming the top of Inessa Two's winds and dust.
The blips disappeared.
He had their general location though.
Prez paled as she felt the storm's power under her boots, ripping and roiling like tea kettle. She had trouble believing that they were diving in like it was nothing. She took a deep breath as she felt the Strike Wyvern sink into the storm once more.
Trigger glared through the dust, following another road hidden between tall cliffs. Determined to find his target.
Suddenly, he was locked on. He pulled the trigger.
A single sidewinder dropped from the Wyvern and shot off.
Wind and sand pushed the missile around, but it did it's best to stay true.
The Truck turned around the corner.
The APC behind it fired off a SAM.
The sidewinder smashed into the cliffside, sending stone and sand flying down into the road.
"Damn it!" Trigger rolled and banked, dodging the missile and following the truck. Pressing against the storm at the perfect angle so the Wyvern basically hovered in place. He got another lock and fired.
It was straight shot down an narrow road.
He pulled up. Ignoring the APC. He didn't want to get caught in another blast like before.
He felt the explosion in his boots.
"Thats a lot of fuel up in smoke, but there could be more hiding somewhere. Should be two." Bandog let out a deep breath. "Keep it up you two."
"That cheers me up. Not that I give a rats ass." Full Band scoffed.
"You sound like you know something…want to share?" Tabloid's voice was dripping with malice.
"I don't just give intel away for free."
Prez just shook her head. She was going to beat some sense into Full Band as soon as she could.
Trigger kept them climbing for a bit, then leveled out. "Alright…where's this last one?"
"Last saw it in the west part of the AO. It was moving west too…So, try looking around." Bandog covered up his mic, a muffled muttering could be heard. "Try the center in between the norther mountains and the coast. Smack dab in the middle."
"Thats a large area…but it's something, thanks Bandog." Prez sighed, double checking the radar, then pointing out the area to Trigger.
"You're welcome Spare Fifteen."
Trigger gently turned towards the west, getting away from the previous kill as fast as possible.
"High Roller! Break!" Count grunted.
"Copy!" High Roller let loose a few muffled curses. "Damn, you think after we took down five of these things they would fucking quit!"
"They're not human, they don't need to worry about anything we would."
Trigger squinted slightly…a feeling taking over. An itch told him that the last two tankers were just ahead. But…he didn't want to go diving in…something prevented him from doing so. Instead, he turned back to his WSO. "Prez."
"Hmm?" She looked up from her console at him. "Sup?"
"Get ready to fire." He turned back, looking through the dust of Inessa Two.
"Oh! Hell yes!" She grinned wildly and pulled up her weapons, the bay doors opened, two Starfire missiles ready to fire.
They waited.
Watching as the sand and dust rolled in waves underneath them.
Slowly, the area they were watching thinned out, the desert sands becoming clearer and clearer.
Two blips appeared on radar.
"Fox Two! Volley away!" Prez mashed the trigger.
Both Starfires dropped, then ignited, cutting across the sky.
The trucks disappeared into the storm.
Trigger smiled, he watched as the missile dove into the storm. He could still see the red circles, denoting the detonation range of each missile at it's impact point.
He bit his lip. Waiting.
It still felt like something was off. Every moment of this mission had felt like something was off. He was worried it could b-
Blue light filled the sky.
Everything shook as the power of Inessa Two was pushed back for a single second.
Then…
As quickly as it came.
Megastorm Inessa Two swept the explosion away.
"Spare Fifteen, targets eliminated." Trigger let out a deep breath, taking a moment to watch his radar as the remaining drones paused, and retreated.
"Understood…HQ sent a message, that was the last one. All Aircraft, return to base. Do not chase after those drones. Lets just get out of here."
Prez took in a deep breath. "We're okay…fuck…"
"Burning up all those tankers will starve their drones for a while."
"Woohoo! I'm still alive!" Spare 12 laughed. "Oh my god that was a close one."
"Huh…'Stick with Trigger and you'll make it.' worked like a charm…" Fullband chuckled slightly. "Never thought it would…"
"If you think thats all you need to survive, you might as well get your last rites now." Bandog sighed. "We're getting it rough out here."
"Exactly, that was all dumb luck."
"Wait, you were in earshot Count?" Fullband hissed slightly.
"Must've been straining to hear from high altitude!" High Roller laughed. "Bet he's all comfy up there." Sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Count let out a snort of amusement, High Roller was right next to him. They hadn't gone anywhere.
"Seems you've learned nothing in the sky, Count." Bandog grumbled. "We've got nothing but bad luck."
"Well, yeah. It's not like there's anything I can learn from Trigger." It seemed it was Count's turn to be sarcastic.
Everyone burst into laughter. Even Trigger found himself chuckling.
They had survived everything.
The traps, the anti air, the drones.
They survived.
He just hoped things stayed that way.
The coms crackled, as an out of breath voice came through. "Hey…guys…It's…Phew. Spare Three! It's Spare Three…can you hear me?"
"Three! You're alright!" Count's voice went up a pitch in shock. "Please tell me you're alright."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm…fine…just a bit shaken is all."
"Spare Three, good to hear you! I've got bad news though, we sadly can't deploy SR teams this deep in Erusean territory. Do you see any transportation you can steal." Bandog's voice was filled with relief.
"Ummm…hang on." There was a moment of silence filled with rustling cloth. "Jeez…we really did a number on this place."
"Wait…Spare Three…are you in the target area?"
"Yeah, what's left of it…I kinda landed in the water, luckily away from all the burning oil. It's completely abandoned though…like, there's no one here anymore. They all left I think. Oh shit hang on there's a jeep." More rustling, then a smash, then another. "Oh my god…HA!" The sound of shattering glass came through the coms. "They left the keys in the ignition. What kinda idiot does that. I never even got this lucky in my heyday."
"Ohhhh right, you got caught stealing a car, thats how you got here, isn't it?" Tabloid chuckled.
"Yeeeeep, I had to, was living in the outskirts, had to get money somehow." There was the sound of a door being slammed shut. "What?…Oh…my…god…You guys will not believe what's in the back of this thing. Ha ha!" The coms were quickly filled with the sound of an engine starting up.
"I'm gunna say money or gold." Bandog chuckled.
"Thats what my bet would be on." High Roller snickered.
"Nah…MRE's, water, and it looks like enough fuel to go all the way across Usea." Spare Three kept laughing. "Welp, I'll see you guys later."
"Hey Three." Full Band cut through. "What's stopping you from just running away. Why are you even talking to us?"
There was silence for a while. "Nah, I'm not going to, I've been on the run before. This is the best chance to get out I've ever gotten. I get a full pardon…and I have piloting experience I can use. So I'm coming back!" The sound of a revving engine quickly filled the coms.
Then a cursed whispering.
"I…I just need directions."
"Spare Three, head straight east, following the coast, there's an old road that'll take you to a friendly outpost. It's about two to three days drive away. We'll send word ahead."
"Huh…thanks Bandog, you know, you're not that bad sometimes."
"Don't let it go to your head Three, stay safe, and good luck."
"Copy that! Don't wait up for me guys!"
"Good luck Three." Trigger smiled. "And good work today, get back safe."
"Copy that captain!" Three chuckled some more, then the coms went silent.
Trigger stared at his radio for a moment.
Captain…
Prez tilted her head. "Huh…guess that does make us the unofficial squadron leaders huh?" She grinned at him.
He looked back at her, rolling his eyes, but couldn't suppress the smirk that showed even behind his mask.
"Told yah you'd be good at this." She winked back. Then paused, tilting her head and squinting slightly. "What the…"
Trigger turned back, he was getting ready to bank east to head home, but now…something wasn't right, he felt it in his gut. "What?"
"There!" Prez pointed over his shoulder. "What the fuck is that?"
He squinted a bit, tilting his head to better follow where she was pointing. "I don't…"
There.
In the distance.
Just over the horizon.
Almost a speck in his vision.
Something that looked like a glider over the ocean.
It's four wings merging together into two, orange motes of light trailing after it.
"Umm…Bandog?"
"Whats up Fifteen?"
"What the hell is that aircraft to our south…over the ocean?"
"Aircraft? What aircraft?" Bandog could be hear quickly sitting forward. "Trigger the hell are you talking about, there's nothing on radar over the ocean!"
Prez growled. "Bandog we're not messing around, there's something over the ocean directly south of our position."
"What the hell do you mean 'Something'? Either it's an aircraft or it's a bird!"
"It's an aircraft…I think."
"Yeah Bandog they aren't making that shit up, I see it too." Count hummed slightly. "It looks like…no…no way."
"Okay the he-…hold on." Bandog paused for a moment. "Something just showed up on radar."
Prez took a deep breath.
Trigger gripped the controls tightly, meeting up with the rest of Spare Squadron so they could link up with Bandog's plane and return.
"IFF confirmed, it's an IUN patrol. They're a little off course, but that's alright, I'm just going to hail them, let them know about the drones." He took a deep breath. "And…make sure the fucking IUN can't say we don't identify ourselves to their planes."
Trigger's blood ran cold at that. "Wait Ban-"
"Incoming IUN Patrol, respond. This is Air Force base Four, Four, Four Squadron, we are currently pulling out from a completed operation. We are RTB. Warning, there are still drones in the area. Repeat, hostile drones in the AO. Advise you head south then to your current objective. Copy?"
Silence reigned for a few moments.
Trigger glared at the speck in the air.
Prez shivered slightly as her spine felt cold as ice. She just wanted to be left alone…was that too much to ask?
"Copy that Four Four Four, we were just about to finish up here anyways, thanks for the tip… adjusting heading south." The patrol, consisting of a single blip on their radar started to head south.
Prez let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, gently releasing her hands from her controls. "Fuck…that was stressful." She glanced down at the radar. And watched…as the single blip then used their momentum to turn north. Straight towards Spare Squadron.
"Uhhh…IUN Patrol…you have moved into intercept course! Disengage immediately! We are a friendly OADF unit! I repeat we are friendly!" Bandog started to breath rapidly.
"No no no no, come on, turn around, turn around." Prez was breathing in and out rapidly, her eyes glancing back and forth between the controls in front of her, her radar, and the speck in the distance. "Please, please dear God turn around."
"This is the IUN gunship Gladeus…we are responding to the attack in the sector, Deploying ORF fighters. There is no negotiation here criminals, you lost that chance long ago, Crimson sends their regards."
"Oh shit…Shit! Not again! Spare Squadron! Scatter! We have a Littoria Class battlecruiser bearing down on us!" Bandog slammed his fist. "IUN Gunship Gladeus! We are friendly! Cease engagement!"
"Full power to engines, we'll catch them and take them down. QRF, Eliminate all bandits in the current airspace."
Prez growled. "They're not listening…God damn it! Leave us alone!"
Two new blips appeared on the radar, taking up formation as they deployed, Brownie's old radio crackled to life once more.
"Well, Well, Well, Golem one…"
Trigger's blood went ice cold, a shiver ran up his spine. "No…"
"Why don't we show the higher ups that we get wet, wild, and do dirty, dirty things!"
There was a tired chuckle. "Copy that Mage One. Let's show Crimson One what's what."
"Right…I gotta clean up my mess here. You're getting to good Trigger. Gotta make sure you don't take the spotlight, I'm sure you'll understand. If you don't…well…you'll have plenty of time to think about it."
"Clown…" Trigger ground his teeth as his hands gripped the controls, knuckles going white. Of course it was him, the man who brought him into Mage Squadron. The man who abandoned him and left him to rot. The man who he once put his trust in as a squad leader was here.
He slammed the throttle.
He knew the music.
It was time to dance.
So this chapter took...a long time. And I was wondering why. Turns out it's over 12,000 words!
Dear lord...
I still am wondering how I did that. It's officially longer than Long Day. Which is saying something honestly. XD
Those of you who have played Ace Combat 7 a lot may have noticed that a few lines were switched around to other characters. Most noticeable is the "I belong in the Penal unit." From Tabloid, which just, did not fit him at all in the game, and 100% doesn't fit him here. So I changed things around.
Thank you so much to you all for reading! And thank you for all your reviews, love reading them! ^^
Next month...well, some old friends have some issues to work out. See ya then!