Cal woke up before his alarm had even gone off. There's no way he was going to allow himself to sleep in. With plenty of time to shower and eat, he headed down to the hangar to work on his RVF. Perhaps now was the time to test out some of the crafty devices that Bell-Casse had sent to the Azusa for him to use.
Cal spoke with the team mechanic for a short while, discussing the implementation of some of the new systems for testing. The two decided to work together to prepare his Valkyrie for the sortie simulation. Since missile packs were not going to be used, Cal opted to not carry the hologram nor the chaff. The flashbangs would have a similar effect without the ability to attract missiles. The two worked on installing the radome modifications so Cal could use them in combat as well. Masking or disguising IFF signals and fold-stealthing might come in handy.
Cal finished his preflight prep just in time for the squadron briefing. It was a small meeting that included only his team, Commander Junzou, and a few other key personnel in the squadron. The mission was simple: Defeat the other team. The battle zone was set right in the center of the rings of Coral-5.
Lieutenant Prince's team was prepped and ready for takeoff. The team had already discussed their strategy and were ready to tear into anyone who stood in their way. As the four Valkyries taxied into launch position, Cal saw the mechanic give him a thumb's up, telling him that everything was readied according to their discussion. Cal had brought a music player onboard and had already installed it into the speaker modules in the cockpit. He always loved listening to his favorite rock songs while he was flying for Bell-Casse. As the launching arms picked up the four Valkyries and placed them into position for takeoff, the comm lines were opened and heavy rock music played over the lines to play the team off. Even Lieutenant Prince smiled at the level of energy that his team was presenting, as they all cheered on the music. This was going to be a great fight.
The team of four launched from the Azusa and pulled into a tight formation while they traveled to the battle zone. Ozma of the Quarter was in charge of the officiating. He opened the comm lines to the eight ships that were going to participate in the battle. Cal had to turn off his music to hear the announcements. "This is Simulation 14, Team Pyrios of Helios Squadron versus Team Proteus of the Neptune Squadron. There are no missiles, but countermeasures are approved. The last team standing will be declared the victor. Good hunting!" Ozma barked. As the two teams entered the sanctioned battlefield, signals were sent out to begin the simulation.
Lieutenant Prince wished his wingmates good luck and they moved out to find their enemies hiding somewhere within the rings of Coral-5. Cal reminded his wingmates of the plan, "I'll be jamming our signatures to the best of my abilities. Let's remain in a tight formation so we'll be harder to detect. This should give us a slight advantage since our opponents may not see us before we see them." The team pulled in a bit closer, following Lt. Prince.
The battle started out with the typical "seek and destroy" routes. Both teams remained vigilant in the search for their opponents. After several minutes, Cal's sensor readouts began to alert him of the enemy's position.
Flying just above the ice and rock particles, Team Proteus remained in a tight diamond formation while they scanned the debris below them. They expected their opponents to be hiding somewhere in the rings.
Before any radar or visual identifications could be made by Team Proteus, they found themselves under fire coming from the other side of the rings. The lead VF was hit several times directly in the fuselage on the dorsal area. Orange paint splattered everywhere, indicating the complete destruction of the team leader. "Enjoy that new paint job, pal!" Cal mocked over the radio channels. The rest of Team Proteus broke formation to avoid getting hit, while paint rounds showered all around.
Ozma announced the disqualification, "Proteus 1, you're dead! Return to base immediately." The mortified pilot slowly peeled away from the battle zone to return home in disgrace. "Chalk up 1 kill for Pyrios 3; Lt. Wagner," Ozma noted over the radio.
On the Quarter's bridge, the crew watched the simulation. Jen was on duty at the time and heard Cal's name. Her shock and amazement became obvious as she instinctively spoke out in reaction, "Cal?" Unfortunately for her, the rest of her bridgemates heard her outburst. It was time to harass Jen about her connection with Cal again!
Cal was locked in combat with a single VF. The two fighters were trying to out-turn each other in a full 360 degree loop. Cal's RVF was not handling the turn well because of the extra weight of his radome. He had to break the loop or be shot down, but Ensign Carter joined the pursuit to help her troubled teammate. "I got you covered, Lieutenant!" she said as she moved into attack posture behind the enemy fighter. Just as she pulled the trigger, she was hit by two paint rounds directly on the canopy, essentially blinding her and disqualifying her. "Pyrios 4, you're out!" Ozma barked over the comm line.
Cal was in deep trouble with two enemy fighters on his tail. It was time to pull one of his tricks out of his bags. He positioned his fighter to release the flashbangs so they'd get as close to the pilot canopies as he could place them before detonation. Cal pulled into a straight line for a brief moment as he released 2 charges to increase his odds for effectiveness. The pair of enemy pilots flew right into the flashbangs and by the time they saw the small particles moving towards them, it was too late.
The flashbangs erupted, completely saturating their cockpits with intense light and scrambling their headsets. Both pilots groaned in agony as their strained to keep their eyes open to keep tabs on their target, but it was too much to handle. Cal, seeing this opportunity, switched to battroid form, flipped over and planted 3 rounds on the fuselage of the leading plane. Sensing that he wouldn't have enough time to take the other plane without being hit, he flipped back into fighter mode and zoomed off to safety.
The trailing pilot regained his vision, only to see his teammate painted with rounds and no enemy target in sight. Cal's radar jamming concealed his position from the sensors of the trailing plane. "Proteus 3, you're out!" Ozma yelled. "Kill number 2 for Pyrios 3; Wagner."
The Quarter's bridge had turned into a cheerleading section. Knowing it embarrassed the hell out of Jen; Bobby, Mena, Lam, and Monica had all gathered around behind her and cheered the fight. "Your man's looking good out there, Jen!" Lam said. Jen couldn't take it lying down, "He's NOT my man! You guys need to cut it out..." Jen's face was beet red. The cheerleading section continued with their chants.
Cal opened up the radio to his team, "I'm going to hide it out in the rings to ambush anyone who comes by. See if you guys can lure any fighters near my current position." Lt. Price agreed. He and Ensign Bae were locked in a 2 on 2 with Team Proteus's remaining fighters. The two pairs of fighters swooped by each other in dual scissors maneuvers, taking shots at each other as they passed through each others' gun sights. Cal patiently waited for prey to fall into his mouth while he stayed out of sight of enemy sensors and visuals.
The two pairs began to make their way towards Cal's position, but Ensign Bae could not wait any longer. He wanted a piece of the glory too! In a desperate move, Bae left fighter mode and switched to Battroid, hoping the sudden move would surprise his attacker and he'd be able to get a quickshot off without chance of retaliation. Prince saw the act of desperation and pleaded Bae not to take a chance, "Ensign Bae, no! You have to remain patient!" It was too late and Bae flipped himself over to get into gunsight and was pelted by green pellets. "Aahhh!" Bae yelled.
"Pyrios 2, you're out!" Ozma announced. Lt. Prince was in a bind... with no wingman to cover him, he had to get those two fighters to Cal's position or he'd be overwhelmed. He was unwilling to compromise the advantage of the enemy not knowing where his wingman was. Prince desperately maneuvered to reduce gun zone time of his attacker. The other enemy plane was working his way around to the back to cover his wingman, expecting an ambush by Cal at any moment.
As the three fighters neared, Cal readied his ambush. He knew he'd only be able to get one of the fighters and he would have to somehow disable or distract the other one to allow Price to get away. As Price flew overhead, Cal used his verniers to produce a high yaw rate and released one of the flashbangs that were magnetically adhered to the outside of one of his engines. The spin produced enough force to fling the unpropelled flashbang towards the two trailing fighters.
The lead enemy fighter passed by the flashbang, but the trailing one fell right into it's path. Again, the pyrotechnics blinded the pilot momentarily, allowing Cal to get into an attack posture behind him and put him down for the count. The lead fighter realized that he was about to fall into gunsight again and erroneously pulled out of the turn he was engaged in. This was Price's opportunity to take a shot without retaliation.
Price transformed to GERWALK for a moment as he used the slower speed to turn his ship onto the enemy's trail. He reengaged as a fighter and closed in for the kill. The enemy pilot had to have completely lost his concentration, because he didn't even seem to try to shake his attacker. Prince planted several paint rounds on his target, ending the match.
Ozma announced the winners over the open comm lines. "Helios Squadron, Team Pyrios, congratulations! Please return to base for your debriefing," he said. Team Pyrios cheered over their team channel. Price and Cal traded high fives in battroid form and they charged off towards he Azusa to meet up with their teammates.
The Quarter's bridge was howling with cheers as they fell over Jen, rubbing her embarrassment all over. Jen was happy for Cal's success, though. She finally shrugged off the embarrassing looks and joined into the cheering. Maybe she'll get to see Cal again soon.
Team Pyrios celebrated their victory in the ship's galley after their debriefing. Lieutenant Price stood up to toast his team. "I just want to say that we did a great job out there today. We have ourselves an ace in the making here..." he said as he pointed his drink towards Cal. Everyone cheered at Cal's 3 kills. "I'll let you know when I hear about our next sortie. For now, it's back to the usual patrol schedule," Price said. Cal had his patrol in 4 hours and decided to duck out early to catch a few winks of sleep before his shift.
The evening sun had settled well below the horizon, obscuring it's life-giving light from Frontier City. Cathy, in need of someone to talk to, had invited Ranka over for dinner. Too tired to cook for two, she ordered Nyan Nyan to go and brought it home to share with Ranka. The two were relaxing in the living room, eating from the take-out boxes spread out on the coffee table.
"Ranka, I can't tell you how glad I am that you can make some time to visit. Even though he's only been gone a few days, I definitely wish I could see Ozma right now." "Is that why you invited me over?" Ranka asked. Cathy nodded and responded, "I thought you might be feeling a bit down because Ozma and Alto are out there somewhere. You and I both have someone whom we miss very much."
Ranka remembered how Ozma admitted to her at one point how much he really loves Cathy. Her thoughts went into the future, imagining Cathy becoming a part of their family if Ozma would quit playing around and put that ring on her finger. "Cathy? You said you miss him, but do you LOVE him?" Ranka asked. Cathy was confused at the question. She was sure that Ranka already knew about her feelings for Ozma. "More than anything," Cathy answered.
"I just wanted to hear you say it, Cathy. I love my Brother very much... and because he loves you, I also love you," Ranka said, slightly blushing. Cathy had never seen Ranka open up to her in such a way. Could it be because she misses her Brother so much, that she needs to release her feelings to Cathy by proxy? Cathy begins to realize that Ranka sees her and Ozma as the same person. Ranka desires to see them become one, through the union of marriage, no doubt.
Cathy was touched profoundly by Ranka's admission. She got up and knelt next to Ranka. "Are you saying that you want us to get married?" Cathy asked Ranka. Ranka's eyes were welling up with tears. "Cathy, you make him happy. I know my Brother better than anyone and I can honestly tell you that he's been so much happier having you by his side again. I don't want that feeling to end for him. Yes, I wish that you and he would get married very soon," Ranka said.
Cathy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She admitted to herself that she hadn't even considered marriage yet because she's been so busy with the endless operations and duties since the city was founded. Ranka is right. Even though Cathy has been working so hard, Ozma has always been there for her to make her feel better when she's had a rough day. Cathy also wants that to be a permanent thing.
"You're right, Ranka. I promise you, I won't let him get away." "Cathy, can I call you 'Sister'?" Ranka asked as she looked into Cathy's eyes. "Of course you can, sweetie," Cathy replied; her heart began to swell with love for Ranka. If she is going to marry Ozma, Cathy's going to have to look at Ranka as a real little sister. Ranka and Cathy gave each other a warm, loving hug, having reached a new level of understanding in their relationship with each other.
After a few minutes to regain their composure, Cathy and Ranka entered into another conversation. "Have you heard about the fleet of Zentraedi who want to join our colony yet?" Cathy asked. Ranka perked up with excitement, "Oh yes! I'm so happy that we'll have a few more Zentrans around. It's so great to look at how Humans and Zentrans can peacefully coexist together, despite having fought such a devastating war against each other when the two races first encountered each other. It's like finding out about long-lost family members and reuniting with them."
Cathy put a more serious look on her face. "It's great that they want to join this colony, but I wonder if we're going to be able to accommodate their desires and support them as colonists. Our resources were being managed at a comparable rate to support slow expansion. This explosion of Zentraedi population is going to put those resources at a critically low level. It may be a long time before we can fully accommodate them," Cathy said. Ranka began to feel a little sorry for those Zentrans who just want to live in peace.
"I have an idea," Cathy said, "Why don't you sing a concert for them? They've been out traveling amongst the stars for so long, I bet they haven't really been able to enjoy a good culturing." Ranka was excited at the idea. "Of course I'll sing for them! Let me talk to Elmo and find out when we can do the concert," she said. Cathy smiled, "They're setting up a starport just outside the city of Laplamiz in preparation for their disembarking into the city once we've started to complete the first housings. I think we can get something put together for you to perform in just a few days."
The two objects of Ozma's affection reached an agreement on their next big plans. "A toast to our Zentraedi friends!" Ranka said, sticking out her chopsticks over the table. Cathy used her chopsticks to complete the toast and the two continued to merrily eat the rest of their food.
Ozma sat at his desk, shoveling food in his mouth using one hand, and holding a set of reports from his pilots in the other while he read them. The last couple of days have been hectic for him, but he seems to be determined to press on with the intense schedule he's had. The faster they finish their recruiting and training, the sooner they can begin with the second phase of their operation.
Klan stopped in to his office on her way to the macronizing chamber. "You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked. Ozma put down the reports and started to eat with both hands. His voice was muffled by the food in his mouth, "Oh yeah... I just wanted to see if you've run into anyone who's changed your mind about this whole operation's objectives." Cal entered into Klan's mind, but he's still a fledgling pilot. No way she'll mention him, lest Ozma suspect that she's showing attachment to one of the pilots she was just bad-mouthing the day before.
"The chicklings are growing," she replied. Ozma liked her answer better than the one she gave yesterday. "Did you see any of the battle simulations from today?" Ozma asked. Klan shook her head. Lately, she's been spending her time figuring herself out because of Bobby's and Cal's advice. "I've seen some talent out there, I'll admit. Your patrol partner had himself a helluva fight just a few hours ago," Ozma said, "I think I'm gonna have you and your sister see just how good he really is. I'll have something worked out by tomorrow. Have a nice patrol shift!"
Klan walked out of the office happy with these developments. She's going to have an opportunity to put that smartass Cal in his place. She'll teach him the meaning of what it is to be a chickling pilot. Maybe then he'll treat her with a little more respect... but she remembers the end of their last patrol. He already does.
Klan's red Queadluun skimmed the rings of Coral-5 as she traveled to her patrol area. Just as she began to anticipate her next encounter with Cal, his RVF appeared out of nowhere and performed a corkscrew around her Queadluun. "Goooood morning, Commander!" Cal called out over the comm line. Klan's first question that came into mind was to ask how the heck he got so close to her without being detected, but she didn't want to be rude. Maybe she was just too into her thoughts to notice her radar telling her of the incoming craft.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," she replied. She couldn't help but smile at Cal's overexuberance today. He must be charged up from his victory a few hours ago. Klan decided not to tell him of Ozma's plans. She'd like to see him surprised, that's for sure. It was an opportunity to see how he fights with his back against the wall.
"You're in a good mood. Did you manage to sneak a pretty girl into your quarters last night?" she asked. She already knew the answer, but tried to play it off with a distracting question as if she didn't know about his successful simulation. Cal laughed and denied any such activity. "I got to whoop up on some poor saps from the Deimos. They didn't know what hit them," he confidently stated, "This 'chickling' has some kills under his wing already!" Cal blasted off at full throttle, daring Klan to follow him.
Klan took the bait and entered into pursuit of Cal's RVF. The Queadluun's engines had no problem catching up to the 171. Cal saw this and dipped into the rings to see if he could lose Klan. Maybe then, she'll start to show him a little bit of respect... as much respect as a 2nd lieutenant like him deserves from a lieutenant commander, anyways.
After about 45 seconds of maneuvering, Cal shot up out of the rings into a climb to see just how far ahead he was able to manage to get himself. He switched to Battroid and turned around to count the time it took for Klan to catch up. "One, two... Two and a half seconds!" he said to himself. Klan smiled at his development as a pilot, but she had a thing or three to show him in the skills department.
Having reached the center of their patrol zone, Klan ordered Cal to stay nearby and just leave his sensors on active scan. After several minutes of visual scanning, Klan could see Cal's battroid nodding to some kind of beat. "What the heck is he doing?" she asked herself. Yet another weird quirk of his is piquing her curiosity. She opened up the comm line to ask and had her ears bombarded by a seeming cacophony of loud musical instruments. "Wagner!" she yelled. Cal turned off the music. He knew he might be in trouble. "Listening to music while on duty is strictly forbidden! You know that!" she barked, "What would happen if someone needed to contact you about something important or you didn't hear your sensors alerting you of incoming enemies??"
Cal knew he'd upset her and frantically searched his mind for a way to make things right again. "You're right, I don't know what I was thinking," he replied, "I'm sorry." "I have to write you up for that infraction, you know," Klan said. Cal felt like crap because he'd screwed up and is going to be reprimanded for his mistake. "I guess Lieutenant Prince is a little more lenient about it," Cal thought to himself, referencing the instance before their battle simulation some hours earlier.
The next couple of hours were silent and seemed like forever. Cal wanted to talk to Klan, but he was concerned that she was upset with him again. All of a sudden, he realized that he's making concessions for Klan. His thoughts are focused on making sure she's in a good mood. What's up with this concern he's starting to show? Is it because he's found someone who knows what he's been going through since Marie's death, or is it because he sees her as a role model pilot? Or is it both? These questions begin to dog Cal as the two continue to spend time on duty together.
After returning from his patrol shift, Cal sat in the galley eating a meal while reading off of a tablet in front of him. He looked for information on Klan's past to find out what kind of service she's served and clues as to what happened to her in the past to make her so bitter. Although she's shown some lenience to him since they found out about each other's personal losses, Cal couldn't help but find out more about what makes her tick. After all, she's the pilot he now desires to match and/or beat some day. Cal quotes a famous proverb from The Art of War. "Know your enemy," he thinks to himself as he continues to read on with a grin on his face.
Little does he know that Klan has the same ideas, despite being confident in her ability to defeat him in a dogfight. Ozma arranged for her and her sister to take on Team Pyrios the following day. The news was more than welcomed by Klan and she decided to spend a little extra time giving her Queadluun some tender loving care. She needed to show her best, and no freak mechanical failures were going to get in her way.
That night, Lieutenant Prince informed his team of their upcoming match. "They won't tell me who we're up against, but my guess is that it's going to be Skull pilots. This is going to be our chance to show those guys that we can stand our ground against them," he said. Cal and Kyung were close to retiring for the night and the two talked incessantly about the sortie. Cal felt like he had to tell Kyung of his mistake, since nobody seemed to point it out yet. "Kyung, I want you to promise me you'll exercise more patience out there. You got yourself shot because you couldn't keep it together long enough for one of us to help you out," Cal said. Kyung had already beat himself up over it a bit, so he wasn't very verbose in his response over it. "I know, Lieutenant. I know. I'll definitely keep that in mind out there tomorrow," he responded.
The next day brought the biggest opportunity to date for Team Pyrios. After easily dispatching the pilots of Team Proteus two days before, their skills were being recognized and put to the test. The four pilots waited in their Valkyries just outside of the engagement zone. Cal was playing his rock music over the team's comm lines to help get everyone charged up. Seems like they've started using it as a superstition since it brought them victory last time.
Ozma entered the battlefield onboard Kanaria's Monster. He had set up an observation station in one of the empty seats inside of the cockpit, so Kanaria could pilot while he focused on observation of the battle. "Simulation 22, Team Pixie versus Team Pyrios. This will be a two-on-four match; same standard rules apply. Begin!" Ozma barked out over the open comm lines.
Cal shut his music off and Team Pyrios entered the engagement area. Lieutenant Prince opened up with the battle strategy, "Listen up! I've heard that Team Pixie is as tough as they come. I don't know who the pilots are, but that name is probably used to throw off your expectations. No mistakes while flying, please. These pilots will eat you alive the very second you screw up. If we can work well as a team, we have a chance at taking these two pilots out. Good hunting, men!" The team acknowledged his words as they headed to the planet's rings in formation.
Hiding out somewhere amongst the ice and rock particles, Klan and Nene waited patiently for their prey to show themselves. "Nene, you can do whatever you want here, but leave that RVF alone. He's mine," she ordered with an evil grin. "Can I ask why you want to take him on alone?" Nene asked. "Let's just say he needs to be put in his place and I want to be the one who does it," Klan answered.
Nene had positioned herself to be able to see out of the debris field and turned off her flight systems, relying only on her eyes to spot the incoming fighter team. Like a hawk spotting its prey, she noticed an unusual source of dim light steadily moving across the field of debris. Looks like their targets have been seen. "Klan, let's go," she said, taking the lead through the rings.
Already, Team Pyrios was at a disadvantage. They'd been seen and have no idea where their enemy is. Although his sensors hadn't detected anything yet, Cal's pilot instincts were telling him that something bad was about to happen. He rolled over to get a visual spot check on the debris field passing by below the team's formation just in time to see the muzzle flashes of their enemies already firing upon them. Cal broke his formation before his teammates even knew what was going on. "Watch out!" he yelled as he banked away to avoid the incoming fire.
It was too late for Lieutenant Prince. He'd been hit by the barrage of paint rounds and was immediately disqualified. Cal, Ensign Carter, and Ensign Bae were already down a man and in the gunsights of two ace pilots. Carter and Bae skillfully weaved through the fire to join Cal on his escape route. "Okay guys, follow me," he ordered. Cal's two wingmates closed formation and followed Cal in to an attack posture. Three is more than two, so he decided that he would try to reduce their numbers through the attrition of gunfire.
The three pilots pulled into a dive towards their two enemies. Sensing the incoming move, Klan and Nene took refuge behind large particles to avoid the incoming fire. As they watched the formation move closer on their radar screens, they made their counter attack and reemerged into line of sight. The five fighters traded barrages of paint rounds, hoping that some would hit. Each pilot furiously weaved through the fire of their opponents to emerge unscathed.
As the two groups passed each other, Cal recognized the bright red Queadluun. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that he was locked in combat with the very pilot he sought to exceed. Klan and Nene entered pursuit of the fighters that had just passed through them. "Break formation!" Cal ordered as he split away from his two wingmen and went to hide in the debris field. As planned, Nene chose to pursue Carter and Bae while Klan followed Cal into the rings.
Nene moved in behind Ensign Bae's VF and proceeded to fire upon him when he entered gun zone. Ensign Carter swooped over Nene and put the Queadluun into her own gunsights. Ensign Bae fought with himself, trying to remain patient and trust that Ensign Carter would prevent him from being hit. The three fighters performed acrobatic maneuvers, following each other in a perfect line. This encounter may take awhile before anything is resolved. Ensign Carter's rounds were being effectively dodged by Nene and she just couldn't seem to get Nene to peel off of Ensign Bae's six.
The debris and particles in the area around Klan and Cal were covered in paint rounds. Frantic dogfighting kept adding to the mess, the longer it went on. Klan was hot on Cal's tail and he was doing everything he could to try to shake her. "Here, chicky chicky chicky," Klan called out over the open comm lines as she stalked her prey. Cal couldn't believe the audacity of Klan's taunts in the heat of battle. "You will take me seriously!" he said as he performed a rather gutsy counterattack. Using a large piece of rock as a springboard, he switched to battroid mode, reversed direction and headed back towards Klan to engage her in melee combat.
Klan was surprised at his move and reacted quickly to disarm Cal before he could get any shots off. Cal's gunpod drifted off out of his reach with a sweep of the Queadluun's arm. At this point, Cal is completely on the defensive, unable to fire on Klan. As Klan reached for his arms to hold him in place, he reacted by knocking her arms up, used his verniers to spin the battroid around and delivered a roundhouse kick to Klan's chest. The red Queadluun slammed into a huge rock, and Klan struggled to regain control of her power armor. The shock was enough time for Cal to grab his gunpod and open fire on Klan as she fought to remove herself from the impression she made into the rock.
She was successful in freeing herself just as the paint rounds from Cal splattered on the impression she left behind. Cal's window of opportunity to attack had closed, and he transformed back into fighter mode to speed away, dodging Klan's paint rounds. Klan had put a huge grin on her face as she continued to pursue her target. She's enjoying the fact that Cal is giving her a good fight.
Nene was still sandwiched between Ensigns Carter and Bae and needed to resolve the conflict soon, or risk being hit by a lucky shot from Ensign Carter. "Enough playing around," she told herself as she put her game face on. She waited for Ensign Bae to make his first mistake so she could take him out and begin her focus on Ensign Carter.
Ensign Bae had done well this far to not lose his patience, but he was still an inexperienced pilot. Unknowingly, he made a move that Nene was able to identify the moment he started to break his current route. "Gotcha!" she said to herself as she locked her target and fired. The red paint rounds hit Ensign Bae on the left engine and rear fuselage. "Pyrios 2, you're out!" Ozma yelled over the comm.
Nene broke into the debris field to try to get the drop on her pursuer. Ensign Carter blindly followed her target in. Using her Queadluun's superior agility to maneuver around the rocks, Nene tried to coax her pursuer into executing the same moves with an inferior machine and far less flying experience. Nene's gambit worked as Ensign Carter had to switch to GERWALK to avoid slamming her Valkyrie into a large chunk of rock. The sudden deceleration gave Nene plenty of time to loop around and paint her target with several rounds on the top of the fuselage. "A bunch of fledglings," she chuckled to herself. She sped off to see how her sister was doing.
As Nene approached Klan's position, she could see Cal's RVF holding his own against her sister. It became clear to her why Klan chose to single him out. Following her sister's orders, she remained out of combat range and only chose to observe. Ozma opened up a line to Nene to ask her the reason for her hesitation to help her wingmate. "Nene, why aren't you engaging?" he asked. "Klan ordered me to leave the RVF for herself. I guess she knew what she was doing. I'm surprised she hasn't put him down already," Nene responded. Ozma started to understand what was going on. He acknowledged Nene and closed the channel.
"It looks like Klan has found someone to occupy her attention," Ozma said to Kanaria. She was already smiling at these developments. "Is this the pilot you've had her patrolling with the last few days?" Kanaria asked. "Yup. I had originally planned on pairing her with him as punishment for her lack of insight into the mission's objectives, but it looks like we've found ourselves something of a diamond in the rough," Ozma replied. He remembered his encounter with Cal on the base a couple of weeks ago. At the time, he didn't think much of the fledgling pilot, but there was something that he detected in Cal... confidence. It goes a long way as a pilot.
Cal began to realize that this fight was not going to go his way if he didn't do something drastic. It's time to put the flashbangs to use. Cal tried to formulate a plan quickly before he was overwhelmed by Klan's assault. He decided to leave the debris field and try to draw Klan into the effective range of a dumbfire flashbang, hoping she doesn't see it. Unfortunately, Klan reacted very quickly to his decision to climb out of the field and intercepted his route, blocking his escape path. Cal had no choice but to engage in a melee struggle with Klan. He transformed to battroid to defend himself once again with physical attacks.
Whenever she's engaged in melee combat, her first instinct is to attempt to disarm her target and force the pilot to do something desperate, leading to a mistake. She goes after his gunpod again, successfully wresting it out of Cal's battroid's hand. She tosses the gunpod aside as she prepares to move in for the kill. She opens fire on Cal and he is forced to try to block the incoming fire with the shield on his arm. At this point, he has no choice but to fling a flashbang at Klan and hope that it disables her senses long enough for him to recover his gunpod.
As he whips around into fighter mode, he leaves the flashbang behind while he speeds away. Klan, who was still moving towards Cal to apply the pressure, notices the small metallic particle floating towards her. Her pilot instincts tell her that there's something not right and she closes her eyes as she sees the shell break to reveal the surprise inside. Her helmet radio begins to fill her ears with unbearable noise, but she's able to squint through the light just enough to see Cal make a break for his gunpod. "Oh, no you don't!" Klan yells as she struggles to target the area in front of the gunpod.
Cal's zealous pursuit of his gunpod becomes an extremely dangerous gambit. Reaching for the gunpod, he anticipates his next move, not expecting any incoming fire for at least another second or so. Just as he is about to grab the handle, Cal's arm is hit by red paint rounds. He turns just in time to see more rounds heading his direction. The rounds reach their target, covering the front of his battroid with red paint.
"Pyrios 3, you're out! Team Pixie is the winner!" Ozma announced. Ozma sat back in his chair after having been sitting on its edge for the last part of the fight. Even his blood was boiling from the intensity of the fight. On the Quarter's bridge, the cheerleading section consoled Jen of the loss. Once again, she vehemently denied any connection to Cal, shooing off her harassers.
Cal sat motionless in his cockpit while his battroid floated aimlessly through space. He was so close to defeating Klan, but yet so far away. He wasn't going to hear the end of it from her. Like clockwork, Klan opened up the comm lines to Cal to gloat. "Still a chickling," she said in a taunting voice. Cal worked to get his pride under control. He realized he just spent quite a long time locked in battle with one of the best pilots in the NUNS and was just barely defeated. Cal turned back to the viewscreen to respond to Klan. "I may be a chickling, but I almost had you," he replied.
Klan was shocked at the audacity of his statement. She knew inside that she did have a hard time dealing with Cal, but she was not about to give him any encouraging words. "Almost had ME? You never had a chance," she replied. Cal scoffed at Klan's words and left the battle area to rejoin his teammates waiting on the sidelines. Klan realized she slightly admired his resilience in battle. This guy has talent.
On the Azusa's galley, Cal sat alone at a table reading up on the technical specifications of his RVF and the Queadluun Rhea. "It's no wonder I can't keep up with her. The 171 just doesn't have the structural strength to pull the kind of maneuvers it takes to match that machine's abilities. If my machine is inferior, I'd have to outpilot her. If I can't outpilot her, I'll have to outsmart her," he says to himself as he begins to think of a way to beat his new nemesis.
Just as he begins to formulate his plans, the rest of Team Pyrios dropped their lunch trays next to Cal and cheered at him. "That was an amazing fight!" Kyung exclaimed. "You took on the Nephilim and gave her a real run for her money," Theresa said. Frank Prince was a little jealous of Cal's success. "I bet they're really giving you a good look at joining their squadron after that battle," he said while slapping Cal on the back. "I only wish I didn't get shot down so soon into the fight," Frank continued.
Although Cal was a bit disappointed that he lost, his teammates' words helped to cheer him up a bit. At least they recognized his accomplishments, unlike a certain Meltrandi pilot he knows...
