Episode 8: Battle of Crimson Aces
Kazumi and Mary are facing each other.
Kazumi instinctively knew that this opponent is different. While his two previous enemies are skilled, they are not quite in his level. But this one, he can tell that if he pulled his punch against this one then he will die. A true match, no, a superior opponent. To be able to shoot him from outside the targeting computer's range quickly and accurately is not an easy feat. And that was just a warning shot.
The moment Reiter was brought down by Kazumi, Mary decided to stop playing and disabled Arad and Chuck in quick succession. She would've wanted to finish them off but she only had time to disable them before moving on to the top ace. Too bad she didn't get there in time and Kazumi had brought Mikumo into his cockpit but that's fine. She already half expected them to fail in their first attempt. With the famed Delta flight and Kazumi the Bloodraven in the field, they are a powerful adversary. For now a taste on how Kazumi and the Delta fight is enough.
Shooting all of them down would be great but she figure she should just take what she can get especially since Kazumi himself could take on the other members of the Thanatos by himself. Ohh Mary is sure that by spec and skill Supplica and Stasis have a chance in beating him in a fair fight but Kazumi is a tricky opponent to fight. His tricks and maneuvers are what made him even more dangerous. His spec alone is already one of the best and added with his tricks, only the best of the best such as herself, Maximillian Jenius and Millia Jenius in their prime could beat him
"Thanatos 5 and 6, please receive Reiter and Supplice and help them retreat. Their units are damaged."
Marie commanded her reserve force who are, frankly, still little chicks in her eyes and would be eaten alive by Kazumi or even the other members of the Delta flight. They are good but they are still fresh and cocky. At least they listen to her.
""Roger that commander.""
The two newbies replied. By now the rest of the Walkure had dispersed and gone underground. Even if she decided to pursue them it will be pointless since Mikumo is with Kazumi. They'll probably retreat soon but before that, she would like to test Kazumi first. She's actually looking forward to this. She wanted to see if the special operative is as good as his callsign suggested. Defeating Reiter and Supplice confirms it but she prefered to test him herself.
Meanwhile Kazumi is still a little surprised by Mary's shot. More than that though, he's surprised that his opponent managed to shoot down Arad and Chuck. He knew the level of the Delta pilots and not just anyone could match them, let alone shoot them down. Worried about his new comrades, Kazumi call his commanding officer and wingmate.
"Major, are you alright? Chuck, do you copy?!"
"Ugh, we're fine captain. Be careful though. That rose unit is very good."
Arad warned. He and Chuck had got out of their crashed unit and rendezvous with the remaining Walkure members on the ground. He's currently being treated by Kaname while Freyja help Chuck. Kazumi immediately felt relief after hearing that they're alive. His relief is short-lived though when he jerked to the left, avoiding a hail of bullets from the enemy VF-29.
"Mikumo, I hope you're fine back there since things are about to get rough!"
"I will be fine. Kazumi, fly to your heart's content."
Mikumo told him calmly as she strapped herself to the backseat, knowing things will become even more intense. Kazumi smiled at her reply. He pushes the lever to the max and his unit began to gain speed with the 29 following closely behind him. Kazumi first try to see how far his opponent could keep up with him. He pulled up higher and entered the clouds with the 29 following closely behind.
Kazumi move skillfully as he weaved through the clouds. But his opponent could follow him without much trouble. The thrusters of both units move with precise control as the game of cat and mouse commence, their fingers nowhere near the trigger of their guns as they race across the sky, first getting a good feel on how each other ride the wind.
Suddenly Kazumi cut his main engine and lift his aircraft. The air current and the sub-thrusters pushed him back and now the situation has turned to Kazumi chasing after Mary. The two of them finally pull their trigger, Kazumi using his unit's rail cannons while Mary uses the 29's MDE cannons to shoot back.
The two of them always narrowly miss while still keeping up with each other. A test of their respective skill as both of them began to sweat with each narrow misses. Both of them shoot accurately and just maintaining their stalemate is not as easy as it looks as they both maneuver through the clouds, twisting and turning so suddenly that it's a wonder the G force from their maneuver did not kill them, or Mikumo.
The VF-29 then turn to gerwalk mode and position itself to fly backwards. Aiming all its ordinance at the red Siegfried, Mary unleashes her whole payload of missiles and barraging him with beam fires. Kazumi had to change to gerwalk mode to shoot down the missiles while trying to avoid the beam shots. Her accurate shots with her beam guns made dodging very hard. Kazumi is trapped. The beams had already grazed his wings and legs but he at least manage to make sure that nothing was cleanly blown off.
"Kazumi, behind us!"
Mikumo shouted. When the last missile was shot down, Kazumi turn around to see the black 29 in battroid mode already very close. He quickly switched to battroid mode just as the 29 slashed at him with its knife. Kazumi dodged low but the slash caught his extended gunpod attached to his weapon container in its arc. He detached the gunpod before it explodes. The 29 follow up by aiming its MDE cannons but Kazumi noticed and he knocked the 29 with a kick followed up by a shot with his remaining rail cannon at the MDE cannons.
The MDE cannons exploded and shook the entire VF-29 frame. Unlike his gunpod that can be detached, the MDE cannons on the VF-29 are a fixed attachment so it cannot be ejected. Kazumi use this chance to continue his attack using his rail cannon but the pilot of the 29 is good. Using the 29's shield, Mary block all the shots from Kazumi even as Kazumi got closer, protecting mainly the cockpit.
Kazumi suddenly switch his target and shot at the extra engines of the 29's super pack. The explosion ruined the 29's left wings and cause damage to the wing engine. Clicking her tongue in annoyance at not seeing the attack, Mary lift her rifle with her unit's right arm and began firing back at the ace pilot.
'He's as good as expected.'
'This guy… the commander is not joking, this one is good.'
Kazumi and Mary mirror each other's thought as they both struggle to gain the upper hand. They continue to shoot at each other in gerwalk mode, neither backing down even as damage began to build up on their respective units. Mary had purged all her super pack modules and had run out of missiles and she's down to her rifle and knife. Kazumi has some missiles left along with his knife and rail cannon. He needs to make use of them wisely if he wants to win.
'…now!'
Kazumi fired all his missiles at once when he finally got close enough. The advancing VF-29 change course backward and began shooting down all the missiles. But Mary knew what Kazumi is thinking. It's not very different from what she attempted before. Just as she expected, once the smoke clears, Kazumi came charging with his knife. She had prepared her rifle to shoot. But Kazumi did the unexpected. He cut through the first shot and stabbed her rifle just as she fired it.
The rifle exploded, taking both units' arm. Mary and Kazumi grunted as their units shook. The VF-29 was blown back as was the VF-31F but Kazumi forcefully engage his thrusters in one last gamble even if his unit doesn't seem to have anymore weapon. But Kazumi's unit can be as tricky as its pilot. As he got closer to Mary…
"Not yet!"
Kazumi shouted and he opened up a secret missile tubes on the legs. Mary widened her eyes as four micro missiles launched at nearly point blank range and slam into her shield, shaking her unit and blowing her arms away. Alarms are blaring everywhere on both units as now the two of them have lost all their weapons and their units have suffered extensive damage.
The two of them then stare at each other's unit with grudging respect, neither of them moving to resume their battle now that both of them had ran out of weapons. Kazumi actually contemplates on kicking his opponent till kingdom comes but with the level of skill the rose unit possess, it will be a bad idea. Suddenly the VF-29 hailed him with open channel. Still cautious, Kazumi answers in 'voice only' setting. The voice of a woman was then heard from the other side.
"Impressive, Bloodraven. I guess your reputation is well deserved."
"…who are you?"
Kazumi demands. Of course he doesn't expect her to answer with her real name. The very least he wants to know is her callsign, and his adversary does not disappoint.
"My callsign is Mary, commander of the Thanatos squadron. You can call me Mary. We will meet again, Kazumi Shinomiya."
The link was then cut after Mary said her piece. She transform her unit to fighter mode and fly away. After a few moments, Kazumi saw her ascending the atmosphere with two other units. The enemies are retreating. Kazumi took off his helmet and breathe out in relief. The toughest fight of his life had just ended.
"Are you alright back there?"
Kazumi asked. He's a little worried that Mikumo was a little shaken. Fortunately, she's okay.
"I'm… fine… Nice work, Kazumi."
Mikumo replied though her voice doesn't sound so well but at least she's alive and she is here with him which is all that matters. A bit of twisted stomach should not be a problem. Kazumi then felt an arm wrapped around him and look back to see Mikumo hugging him from behind.
"Thank you."
She said to him.
-Macross Quarter-class battleship, Macross Styx-
When the Thanatos squadron return to their ship, Reiter slams her helmet down onto the hangar floor and walk away in anger with the rest of the Thanatos squadron following behind. Mary though is still in the cockpit of her VF, watching Reiter. She knew about the woman's grudge on Kazumi but her anger doesn't help her at all. It just makes her an easy prey for the Bloodraven.
Mary took off her helmet, allowing her white hair to fall off to her back, her mask now not covering all her face but half of them just above her nose. The commander of Thanatos squadron thought back on the battle with Kazumi and her lips curved up to a smile.
She heard a knocking from her cockpit glass. Just outside her craft is a middle-aged blonde man, tall and scraggly wearing a mechanic's uniform. She opens her cockpit hatch and asked.
"What is it Jones?"
The chief mechanic of Macross Styx, Job Jones, doesn't look too happy with her.
"What the hell happened? Your unit is trashed completely. That's like impossible. Did you fly it through a mountain or something?"
Mary jump down from her unit. Now that she's seeing her craft from the outside, she had to admit that Kazumi really did a number on her. All weapons lost and massive damage to the right wing along with damages to the left wing. The legs are in no better condition with those narrow misses and the arms are totally gone. In short, her unit is totaled. A complete overhaul would be much easier than repairing.
"The Bloodraven did a number on me."
Now Jones had a thoughtful look.
"The Bloodraven. So he's that good?"
The VF-29X, Perceval. Based on the YF-29B used by Harvamal, the unit was fine tuned to the point that it has superior performance to any other units in existence. These units are designed to be piloted by cybernetically enhanced pilots just like the VF-27. The 29X is a bleeding edge machine in terms of performance with its four engines maximized to allow for the greatest amount of thrust possible. To see such powerful machine be totaled by a VF-31 that should be inferior in performance even if it is customized just shows the amount of skill possessed by the enemy pilot.
Or is it really just skill?
"Bloodraven is a powerful adversary. I will need my unit upgraded if I want to win. It's a close match today and I don't want this to happen next time."
"Hmm… I'll see what I can do."
"Kay. I better go talk to Reiter."
"You do that."
Mary then left Jones to do his work with the mechanic scratching his head on what to do. As she got out of the hangar, Mary continue to think about the pilot that had pushed her so far. Although Reiter already has a claim on him, Mary would prefer to be the one to shoot him down herself. After all, aces of his level are not easily found. After changing to her normal officer outfit, Mary went straight to the bridge.
"Mission failed huh? That's unusual."
Captain Joseph Omer of Macross Styx said to Mary from his position on the captain's seat. Mary ignores the light teasing. He knew as well as she does that the Delta Flight is not an easy opponent and this first battle is just to measure the capabilities of each Delta pilot.
Mary did not expect such intense battle though. She had to confess that she got excited when she battled Kazumi. She's one of the best pilots in the whole NUNS, easily on the level of aces like Max and Millia. Not many could match her skill, especially since she's a heavily modified cyborg which allows her to control machine of the highest performance that would've killed any other pilots.
But Kazumi not only keep up with her even when she pushed herself to the limit but they can be said to be evenly matched. Today's battle is their victory as far as objective is concerned. Now they can be prepared for their real attempt in getting the Star Singer.
"On the contrary, Joseph, I would call this mission successful."
Mary replied to the captain with the biggest smile he had ever seen coming from the woman.
"For the first time, we're not hunting some small fry. We're hunting a treasure guarded by a bloodstained Raven. After years of working behind the scene hunting small fries, a worthy opponent for Thanatos has finally appeared."
The captain chuckled at the commander's response. That he could agree with. Their target this time is not guarded by some average ace but one of the best in the business. Those with him are also the best there is. He had watched the battle from the bridge and even his blood is boiling in excitement. He's in a good enough mood to even forget about his missing helmsman. He then issued an order to withdraw. Time to prepare for their next surprise.
Reiter's moaning fill the entire room as she passionately made love with her lover. Reiter is a young woman with long curly brown hair around 23 years old. She has a pair of cybernetic eyes and the person with the least amount of cybernetic implant in her body among the squadron. She has a scar that ran diagonally across her face. She could've had it removed but she kept it as a reminder of what happened to her.
The man who she is kissing passionately is a handsome young man one year older than Reiter herself with black hair and a pair of mismatched blue and green eyes. He is the ship's helmsman, Alan Madison, and their relationship is the worst kept secret aboard the ship. Reiter lay on top of the man after making love and satisfaction fills her expression as she snuggled close to her lover, all frustration about her defeat gone in favor of savoring the pleasure of each other's body.
"I love you."
She whispered to Alan's ear.
"I know."
The man envelops her in a hug as she lay sprawled on his chest. She continue to lay there comfortably until sleep claim the two of them after hours of making love with each other. As Reiter closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was the picture on her desk. It was a picture of her younger self in Harvamal uniform making a peace sign together with the rest of her squadron. Beside her is her squad leader whom she had just encountered earlier that day. The man she hated most of all. Staring at the camera beside her is Kazumi Shinomiya wearing the uniform of the group he betrayed.
-Aether-
With his machine totaled by the enemy commander, Kazumi will have to wait a few days until his unit can be repaired, though it would be easier to just replace the whole thing if his unit was like the standard units. Unfortunately his unit is so heavily customized that customizing a new one will take an even longer time. He won't be flying again anytime soon while his unit undergoes repair.
He's on the ship's observation deck after getting an earful from the mechanics though not just him. The rest of the Delta Flight's unit suffers extensive damage. His unit is still the most damaged though and it is the first time in years that someone actually manage to push him to that point.
"Thanatos squadron huh."
Kazumi uttered the name of the squadron that faced them. He had not heard of them before but that's probably because they're a highly classified black ops unit. All of them are high-class pilots but their commander, the one called Mary, is on a level of her own. It took him all his skill to match her and to be honest, he doesn't want to fight her anymore. It's mentally taxing and physically demanding.
But…
Kazumi saw Mikumo, Arad, and Kaname waving at him, telling him to come join them for dinner. Yes, if they want to take her away then he will fight them He will fight Mary as many times as it takes. He will shoot them down. Because protecting her is his job and he will not fail her, not when she put her trust on him.
