Introduction: Foreign Winds
The Innocent
Crown Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise looked out of the window, watching the scenery underneath flit by through gaps in the clouds. The past few months had been taxing, with the more vocal members of Erusea's military proposing a violent response to the supposed infringement of Erusean sovereignty that the International Space Elevator supposedly symbolized. It wasn't helping that the drones that the new Erusean Air and Space Administration division was making was adding fuel to the fire. On one hand, Rosa was relieved that minimal Erusean lives would be lost if a future war was to happen. On the other, it gave the war hawks another pro to declaring war on Osea.
She sighed, wishing she could live life as a commoner once more. She hated how the pressure was on her constantly, the ever persistent need to prove herself competent to rule. Rosa didn't want to look weak in front of the masses, especially to the remnants of the old regime. Her family wasn't meant to rule anyway. That was supposed to be her uncle's job. All of that changed after the accident took place. She was brought out of her thoughts by a deep voice sitting across from her.
"Are you alright, Princess? You look a little pale. I can call for the doctor at the base?"
Rosa groaned inwardly. There he was again. Each time she tried to forget who accompanied her, he always reminded her of his presence.
"It's fine General, I seem to have gotten lost in my own thoughts again," Rosa responded, her trademark innocent smile in place. "I was just taking in the views."
The voice belonged to General Louis Auclair, one of the members of the Erusean military's High Command council. It was a remnant of the old Federal Republic, before the monarchy was reinstated. The common people believed that Erusea was only ruled by the King, when in fact most of the military followed the orders of the High Command. Fortunately, the High Command was split between the warmongers and the more conservative members who wanted to focus inwards and develop Erusea further instead. Slowly though, that resistance was waning, and the outcry for decisive action against Osea became stronger.
Currently, General Auclair was set to accompany the Princess on this excursion, for his own evaluation to the High Command. He took the military by storm, rising through the ranks on multiple commendations from various commanding officers and generals before arriving at a position in High Command. For some, this immediate rise to power was quite suspicious. For others, they looked up to General Auclair as a symbol of their country's renewed vigor and stance in the coming years. It was a sign that Erusea had finally moved on from the Ulysses crisis that had brought all of Usea to its knees.
The muted roar of jets cut off the response from Auclair as both of them looked out of the window. A formation of three F-14D Super Tomcats pulled alongside them, before two broke off and disappeared beneath their own aircraft. The F-14s were painted the usual gray, with Osean roundels, but had the EASA's stylized acronym on their tails. The tail codes also were Osean, along with the branch name: OMDF. The Osean Maritime Defense Force. One of the aircraft had unique markings on it. The nose had a stylized white cat hissing forward. The personal emblem on the tail had caught her eye before the aircraft had banked underneath their aircraft. A black silhouette of a shattered sword.
The cockpit of their plane wasn't very far from where the two of them sat, so they could hear the radio chatter quite clearly. A deep voice, with a clear Osean accent, crackled to life on their speakers.
"To the Erusean Liaison aircraft, this is Luna 1 of the Loki Air Base's 70th Experimental Squadron. We're here to escort you the rest of the way."
Their pilot clicked on his comms and responded in kind to the fighter.
"Luna Lead, this is Roseraie 1. Lead on to the air base, we'll follow."
"Copy that Roseraie 1."
As the jet besides them moved up forward and out of sight, Rosa caught the look of disgust on General Auclair's face.
"General, why did those aircraft have the Osean flag on them? If I heard correctly, the flight lead was also Osean."
"It's because they are Osean pilots your Highness," Auclair sneered with ill contained disgust. "The IUN-PKF thought it necessary to…integrate…some fighter pilots from Osea within our military in order to promote international cooperation during peacetime. All of them were supposed to have been rotated back to Osea, however it looks like this squadron didn't get the memo, or the EASA wanted them for something. Always leave it to Osea…trying to get into places they don't belong, all to show the world they're the ones at the top." He snorted and turned away, stewing in his own thoughts, which suited Rosa just fine. Auclair's words had sparked an interest in her.
Originally, the planned visit to the base was just a routine evaluation of their military installations. Since her father was indisposed, Rosa was sent in his stead as a form of practice for when she took over. There was also the fact that Ionela Shilage, and her younger sister Alma were also present on the base, which may or may not have played a role in causing her father to send her there. A soft smile played across Rosa's lips. She hadn't seen either in quite some time. As far as she knew, they were there to aid their grandfather, an old Erusean ace pilot by the name of Mihaly Shilage. He was participating in a test for the EASA, along with four others. Apparently, these three Oseans had some role in that test as well.
A dull roar brought her eyes back out of the window, as the F-14 with the sword emblem banked back to take up a position on their wing. Rosa watched with wide eyes as the Tomcat drew up close alongside them. She could see the pilot's helmet in the cockpit, along with a strange machine in the seat behind him. The plane was so close that she could finally make out the lettering on the emblem.
Caliburn.
The Wanderer
"Hey Caliburn, keep your eyes up. No theatrics, this is the Royal liaison aircraft. We don't want to cause an international incident just because the Princess was scared from you flying too close."
The voice over the radio caused Leo to grin. Classic Hans. Always trying to keep things as problem free as possible. The three of them had just come up on the liaison aircraft, and were flying in formation. Leo and Hans banked underneath, before hands took the rear and Leo pulled up onto the other side of the aircraft. He clicked on his own comms to respond.
"Archer, I know full well who's on that aircraft, thanks. I'm pretty sure she won't throw a hissy fit just because I gunned the engines too hard. Relax." A sigh was heard over the radio, before their flight lead, Marcus, started to talk.
"Archer, Caliburn, I'm trying to radio in the pilot. Cut the chatter for a minute, will you? I won't be able to hear him over your constant yammering."
Leo and Hans grew silent, and waited for Marcus to finish.
Alright, we're done. Time to escort Her Highness over to the base. I'm taking point, both of you form up on either side.
Leo snorted. "Her Highness". What a joke. She was probably some pampered city brat from Farbanti. "Wilco, Swordsman. Caliburn, forming up."
He smirked as he gunned the engines a bit, and banked underneath the liaison aircraft once more, going as close as he could before leveling off on the other side. A flash of blonde hair from one of the aircraft's windows drew his attention for a second before he concentrated on flying again. Having made his point, he drew away, putting some distance between the liaison aircraft and his own jet. Hans and Marcus collectively sighed in disappointment.
"Kid, are you trying to get us screwed? Osea and Erusea have enough tension as is without you trying to personally give their princess a scare." Marcus sounded weary, knowing that it likely wouldn't put a dampener on Leo's attitude.
"Relax Marcus, it's just a bit of fun. Besides, I'm pretty sure she wasn't scared. Probably." Leo shrugged, even though he knew there was no one to see it. He'd most likely get chewed out by Hans when they landed, but Hans always got himself into a fix over the smallest things anyway. He was already on edge about not being able to return to Osea yet. Something about the EASA needing a few more months to finish whatever experiment they had needed them for.
The rest of the flight back to base proceeded normally, with Leo reigning himself in. The three of them joked back and forth, talking about random things just to pass the time. When they reached the base, they made an orbit around the airbase while the liaison landed, before requesting landing themselves.
Leo made his own radio check with the tower after Marcus and Hans had landed. "Control, this is Luna Three requesting landing."
A voice with a significant Erusean accent sounded back over his headset. "Luna Three, you are cleared to land on runway zero-nine-center. We had the liaison's pilot check in while they were landing. He signaled out your aircraft as the one that pulled the close flying stunt. Keep in mind to not do it again Luna Three, your position at this base is precarious enough as it is without you doing things to jeopardize it."
Leo sighed. It seemed that it was too hopeful to think the pilot wouldn't have taken note of his little stunt. "Roger that Control, I'll keep it in mind."
He finished the final orbit of the base before lining up with the runway and descending towards it, decelerating his aircraft. The Tomcat's landing gear deployed and the tires hit the runway with a screech before the aircraft rolled to a stop. Leo popped the cockpit open, and jumped out of the aircraft. The ground crew approached and started speaking with themselves in rapid fire Erusean, frowning at his display of unprofessionalism. Using a small vehicle to tow the aircraft into the hangar, they withdrew, pointing at tablets in their hands and at the machine in the second seat of his aircraft. The Copro. It was meant as a substitute for a WSO on two-seater fighters. At least, it was supposed to. Right now, the units installed in Luna Squadron's Tomcats were only meant to gather flight data as they flew in mock dogfights against their sister squadron, Sol. Almost all of the five Sol pilots flew Su-30M2s, with a Copro in the backseat. The leader of Sol Squadron flew a Su-30SM, which was the only plane on the base that had the next step of Copro added to it. The artificial intelligence tech.
Leo tugged off his pilot's helmet, brushing his hair back. Walking off the runway towards the main building, he saw the liaison plane parked there, the blonde girl he saw before standing on the exit stairs. She was looking towards his jet, and soon looked towards him. They locked eyes for a moment, before she looked away, smiling at two young girls who ran out of the building. He shrugged and kept walking, joining his squadron mates by the entrance.
Hans saw him approach first and started to clap slowly. "Well, well, well. Would you look at who's here. Finished gawking at the princess?"
Leo shook his head and gave him a light punch on the shoulder in response. Marcus laughed at their antics before gesturing at them placatingly. "Hey, cut it out," he said, still chuckling. He glanced at his watch before looking at Leo with a serious expression. "You ready? It's your turn again to get up there for a round against one of Sol's guys. It starts in half an hour, so you might want to prepare."
Leo nodded and looked towards the Sol hangars. "Aye, I'm ready. By the way Marcus, you have the name of the pilot who I'm flying against in this? The only ones they put me against are Roald and Wit. Am I still dancing with them?"
"No," Marcus said slowly with a frown on his face. "You're not flying them. Apparently, someone on Sol wanted to fly against you and put in a request. That EASA head researcher, Dr. Schroeder, approved the request. Something about testing the capabilities of Copro."
Leo's eyes widened. "You don't mean him, do you?" Marcus nodded.
"Yeah…King himself wants to have a round with you. Given that Hans and I were taken down within a minute, try and last as long as that. He might have it in the bag, but that doesn't mean you can't try and give him a run for his money."
Leo shrugged, and gave them his trademark smirk. "Ha, both of ya are getting old. I'll give that old man a good workout." His face turned serious again as they all looked at the doors to Sol's hangar opening. A black and orange Su-30SM wheeled out, before stopping. The crew for the fighter along with a tech crew for the Copro started to run some final tests to make sure everything was all set. The three of them walked off to Luna's hangar, before Leo stopped for a second, feeling someone's eyes on him. He turned his head back and saw the princess watching the three of them with a shocked expression on her face, along with King's granddaughters. Ionela was whispering something to her in Erusean while flicking her glance to him occasionally. Leo snorted and turned his head back. She probably just broke the news that they were Osean, if she couldn't tell from the markings on his fighter. He took a deep breath, and his gaze hardened as his Tomcat was wheeled out of the hangar. He had bigger things to worry about.
The Innocent
Rosa stared at the retreating back of the Osean pilots, while Ionela talked to her. Alma was quiet as always, holding her stuffed bear. She frowned and held up a hand to stop Ionela's rapid fire whispering. "You're telling me that's him? The one that flew for the IUN in Bulgurdarest?"
Ionela nodded her head in response. "Yes, that's him. Even Grandfather was impressed when he read the action report. Not only did he stay behind to cover the rear, he also took missiles for a few civilian planes that were trying to flee."
Rosa looked at him once again, shocked. He stopped for a second and turned back around, staring at her with that gaze again. His purple irises made it all the more unnerving. Once she got over her surprise over the sudden stare, she opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped as he turned back around. Ionela smiled at her and shook her head.
"He doesn't really talk to most people on the base," she said softly. "The most lively I've seen him is with the others from his squadron. Everyone else is treated in the same detached manner." A set of footsteps interrupted their conversation, and Ionela's grandfather made an appearance. A rare smile graced his rough features, if it could even be called a smile. It was more of a slight curl at the corners of his mouth. He was in his flight suit, with another man carrying his helmet for him. The other man wore a flight jacket with the Voslage patch, along with a patch for Sol Squadron. He quietly went ahead to the aircraft while Ionela's grandfather greeted the three girls.
"Greetings, Your Highness," said Mihaly Shilage. A man who was an exemplary ace from the last war, and had also become a sort of surrogate grandfather to Rosa. She smiled brightly at him, and hugged him tightly. Mihaly chuckled softly before drawing back and holding her shoulders. "You're all grown up from the last time I've seen you Rosa. It's been a long quite a long time."
Rosa let out a warm laugh and shook head. "It's only Rosa, Grandfather Mihaly. None of that royal title formality, I get enough of that at the capital. It makes my head spin as it is, I'm glad Father let me visit you all out here." Mihaly nods once and steps back, greeting Ionela and Alma in the same fashion.
"In any case, you came at an eventful time Rosa," Ionela started to say, before Alma interrupted her enthusiastically.
"Grandfather is going to fly against the Oseans!" Alma's enthusiasm caused Mihaly to smile again and he patted her head fondly. Ionela was not as enthusiastic and frowned at the display.
"Hush Alma, it's nothing to be happy about!" Turning to her grandfather, she fixed him with a hard stare and a frown. "Please, think of your health Grandfather, the last time you flew a few weeks ago, your coughing fits got worse."
Mihaly's face grew stoic and he looked towards the aircraft being prepared, lost in his thoughts for a moment. "In any case," he started, facing Rosa. "Dr. Schroeder should be outside in a moment. He'll lead the three of you to the display room, where you can watch the engagement as well listen to the communications. Both the Osean squadron and my own will also be there."
Right on cue, an immaculately dressed man in a lab coat and glasses walked outside, bowing slightly to Rosa.
"Welcome to the EASA's Loki Airbase, Your Highness. My name is Dr. Alexi Schroeder, and I am in charge of the EASA's research and development at this airbase." His tone was strangely flat, not very expressive. It was as if he was constantly analyzing everything around him in a detached manner. His Erusean was also concise and flat, lacking the natural melody of the language.
Rosa gave him a small curtsy in response. "Hello Dr. Schroeder, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am quite interested in viewing this live exercise myself. Grandfather Mihaly mentioned a display room?"
Schroeder beckoned them into the building, Mihaly nodding at them one last time before going over to his aircraft. Schroeder led the way through the halls to the display room, a spacious area with a multitude of displays showing images from all angles, on the ground and the skies above. General Auclair was already present, sitting in a seat, watching the displays intently.
On one of the screens, Rosa could see Mihaly climb into the cockpit of his aircraft. In a screen next to that one, a feed was showing a different hangar front, this time with the three Oseans in front of one of their aircraft. Rosa turned to Schroeder with a curious look on her face. "Which of the Oseans are going against Grandfather? I assume it'd be their flight lead, correct?"
Schroeder just shook his head with a slight grimace on his features. "No, unfortunately that's not the case. Mihaly wanted to go against the youngest one personally, even though I advised him against it. That kind of data would be useless for our experiment, Mihaly outclasses him with years of experience. He's not going to last more than thirty seconds for each round."
Rosa frowned and looked at the pilot climbing into the cockpit. Him? Even with his performance in Bulgurdarest, what did Mihaly want with a novice pilot like him? She assumed the callsign for the pilot was Caliburn, since that was what had been on his emblem. The name was strangely familiar, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before. Caliburn gave a thumbs up to his fellow Oseans, before the cockpit closed, and the engines started up. The Oseans entered the display room after a few minutes, sitting on one end near a communications dashboard, with Sol Squadron following behind them and sitting at another dashboard. Schroeder took the girls to sit at the main panels with General Auclair. He turned on the radio and started to speak.
"To Sol One and Luna Three. We will now begin final launch checks before proceeding with the exercise. Our technicians will run some tests on the Copro to make sure it gathers data on this exercise properly. Once they finish, you shall proceed with the launch procedure as directed by the control tower."
A voice sounded over the radio in Erusean, with a semi-noticeable Osean accent. "Luna Three copies. Can't those guys take care of this camera thing in the back faster?" Rosa could almost hear the amusement over the radio, causing a small smile of her own to form. A Sol member shook his head in annoyance and started muttering about Osean upstarts. One of the Oseans, the taller one with dark skin let out a chuckle and shook his head, before using the radio on his own dashboard, responding in Osean.
"Settle down Caliburn, you're not even in the air yet. Let the techs handle their stuff at their own pace."
A sigh was heard over the radio before Caliburn responded in a cool tone. Wilco Swordsman, standing by for final launch preparations.
Mihaly's voice sounded over the radio next. "Sol One, Copro checks complete. Control, requesting launch clearance."
As the tower gave Mihaly instructions and the all clear, she watched in awe as the Su-30SM roared across the runway before arcing into the skies. Mihaly's flights never ceased to amaze her. He always flew with this fluidity, a grace that she couldn't properly describe. It was like the sky was his home. Caliburn was next, the tower giving instructions before everything was good to go. The Tomcat roared across the runway, before it pitched up sharply, almost stalling out the engines. For a few heart stopping moments, the jet almost fell back to earth. The two Oseans frowned and watched, the redheaded one rubbing the bridge of his nose. The engines roared louder, and the thrust from them finally propelled the aircraft upwards, the craft rolling in a near vertical climb, the contrails streaking from its wings. Rosa let out a breath that she'd unknowingly held watching that daring display.
Schroeder turned on the radio as the two aircraft started to circle each other in a large orbit over the base. "Luna Three, Sol One, this exercise will consist of three engagements. The Copro will handle evaluation of whether one wins or loses the engagement. Archange, Caliburn, you are cleared to engage."
Like arrows from a bow, both aircraft snapped their noses to align with each other, neither pilot shifting from the head on collision. Almost in unison, they both rolled and broke away, just moments away from collision. Time after time, they did this, neither pilot calling for guns or missiles, both just testing the other. Mihaly started to break later, pulling ever closer to Caliburn's F-14. Finally, they both broke away, with Caliburn trying to find Mihaly's tail. The Su-30SM lazily looped over it and the nose dipped downwards sharply.
Mihaly's voice cut sharply from the radio, focused and calm. "Guns."
A beeping noise was heard, before an automated voice gave a breakdown of the engagement as the two pilots broke off and started to slowly circle each other once more. "Engagement one, winner is Archange," a female voice said. "Simulating effects. Gun bursts would have torn through Caliburn's cockpit, resulting in the pilot's demise. Total engagement time: Twenty seconds."
The Sol members smiled at each other while the Oseans had a defeated look in their eyes. Schroeder's face didn't give much away, but his eyes were twinkling in amusement.
"That engagement could have been ended sooner, if Mihaly didn't test him at the start. These last two will be quick now that Mihaly's gotten a feel for this pilot," Schroeder said smugly. "Ace in a day or not, that Osean is still wet behind the ears."
Marcus shot Schroeder a dirty look and turned on his radio. "Easy Caliburn, take it slow. You have two more shots at this. Focus, and learn from this."
The automated voice started again. "Pilots, get ready. Start of second engagement. Archange, Caliburn, you are cleared to engage."
The two aircraft made only a single pass this time before trying to find each other's tails. Mihaly took his pace slower than last time, and Caliburn seized the opportunity. Sliding in behind Mihaly, they chased one another before their flight paths leveled out.
"Fox 2, Fox 2!"
Mihaly's voice was simultaneously heard as his aircraft rolled and broke downwards.
"Flares."
Caliburn didn't let up and followed Mihaly's aircraft, both weaving in and out, contrails intersecting. Periodically, Caliburn would call for missiles, and Mihaly would counter with flares. The timer slowly ticked upwards, with Schroeder glancing at it with a frown every few seconds.
Suddenly, the Su-30 pitched up, bleeding speed. The Tomcat streaked in front of it, and the hunter became the prey. A perfectly executed Cobra maneuver put Mihaly right on Caliburn's tail. He chased him for a few seconds finding an optimal firing line.
"Guns."
Instead of hearing a beeping noise, a shrill note was heard as everyone watched the Tomcat roll and break with a sudden movement, the sharp arc throwing the firing line off.
"Gun bursts did not connect, continuing engagement."
Rosa watched with wide eyes as Caliburn's flying became more refined, less snappy and more fluid. Something had shifted since the first engagement. This time, Mihaly had to push his aircraft to match Caliburn, before calling for guns once more. This time, the beeping tone was heard and Schroeder exhaled.
"Engagement two, winner is Archange. Simulating effects. Guns burst would have connected with the engines, leaving aircraft crippled. Slight probability of exploding in air, but the pilot would have a chance to eject." Everyone listened closely for the final piece of information. "Total engagement time: One minute."
Marcus and the redheaded Osean let out a loud whoop, before Marcus called over to the same Sol squadron member that was muttering before the start of the exercise. "How's that for fancy flying Roald? Even you can't last that long against King." Roald frowned, choosing not to respond to that.
Mihaly sighed over the radio, before his disgruntled voice sounded out. "Swordsman, don't call me that. To Caliburn, well done. I did not expect that jink. Let's see what you come up with this time before I shoot you down."
Everyone grew silent at Mihaly's declaration. There was a tone of finality to it, as if Mihaly was just stating the weather for the day. It was a fact. Rosa bit her lip, and waited for a response from Caliburn, but none came. The two continued to circle, waiting for the voice to call a start. A hand gripped Rosa's and she looked to her side. Ionela had a concerned expression on her face. That last engagement would have probably taxed Mihaly's body. Pulling a maneuver like that was not easy. Her attention was pulled back to the screens as the voice sounded out once more.
"Pilots, get ready. Start of final engagement. Archange, Caliburn, you are cleared to engage."
AN: Please leave a review if you can, feedback is always appreciated, especially constructive criticism!