A/N: Yay! Finally a new chapter, huh? I just finished writing Chapter 35 this afternoon, so naturally, I got right to work prepping this chapter to post here on .
Apologies to those of you who patiently wait for each new chapter to post. I've been very busy getting ready to go back to school, finding a job, and taking care of other personal crap. I'm glad that I finally decided to go back to school, considering the difficulty I am having in finding a decent full-time job. I figure since the economy sucks so bad right now, I might as well go to school and earn a degree in something. Once I'm done, I hope that the economy will be booming and I'll be able to get a job right out of graduation. I finally got hired to work part-time as a delivery driver for Domino's, so I am successful in getting, what I think, is the ideal job for a college student.
I've also been playing Alien Swarm quite a bit, but I will probably stop playing that after awhile. You should check it out! It's available for FREE on Steam, and it's pretty fun!
So, in a nutshell, that means that I will have a little less free time to work on my fic. I will continue to chip away at it as best I can, but please excuse me if I end up taking a few extra days between posting chapters. I would like to invite you all to favorite me as an author or this story. has a pretty bitchin system that will e-mail you when I, or any of your other favorites, post a new chapter. Alright, enough ado about nothing, enjoy! -(07/31/10)
The newly-emerged carriers began to launch their complement of fighters to engage the clustering Frontier capital ships and their escorting VFs. Thanks to both Captain Wilder's diligent planning and the quick, zealous reactions by the fleet's ships, each battlegroup was set up to defend the fleet from all three fronts. Zentraedi gunboats moved into position to deliver the initial blows to the two new enemy battlegroups before they could inflict enough damage to cripple the defensive capabilities of the fleet.
The Vajra carriers were targeted first and quickly eradicated, further reducing the Galaxy fleet's long range energy-based attacks that had been decimating the Frontier fleet from the beginning of the battle. Unfortunately, it was time to unleash the threat of tactical engagement through the power of their complement of VF-27s, and the arsenal of heavy particle cannons they carried. With firepower on par with the Vajra mecha-drones, each 27 had the capability of destroying whole cruisers with one well-placed shot from their particle cannons.
Luca's sensors began to alert him of the new incoming fighters. "Oh, God... here come the 27s! ...a lot of them!" "Let them come!" Alto said as he began to posture his VF to engage the fighters that even he had difficulty defeating in battles past. Ozma scoffed at his pilot's overconfidence, but even his own blood was boiling at the prospect of the fierce upcoming fight. "Okay, pilots! Remember everything I have taught you up until now. Your recent training has been in preparation for such an encounter... We'll show those Galaxy bastards that not even cybernetic enhancements can stand up to the very best skill and training of a pilot whose mind is free to make his or her own choices!" Ozma said as he pushed his throttle stick forward all of the way, "All units, Submarine Street!"
Ozma's habit of naming his squadron's fighter formations after Fire Bomber songs still has not gotten old. "Roger that!" they all responded and followed their leader into the heart of the formation of 27s. Before they reached the group of incoming fighters, a burst of energy in the form of a triple-helix passed nearby again on its way to its intended target. The Macross Quarter continued to fire its main cannon at every possible interval to further weaken the attacking armada. A handful of the 27s were caught in the brunt of the blast, destroyed immediately by the intense energy being carried by the blast. Further behind the Galaxy fleet's defensive line, a Deneb-class cruiser fell to the Quarter's long-range attack. The gravity wave rippled through both formations of VFs, disorienting most of the pilots, but giving the others a chance to score a couple of easy kills.
Ozma's position allowed him to remain generally unaffected by the Quarter's Macross Cannon's secondary effects. He licked his lips as he swooped in to place several rounds of projectile fire into each 27 he could come across. The pilots of those 27s may have been cyborgs, but even their cybernetic implants could not make them immune to the effects of the Quarter's main gun. The timing couldn't have been more perfect to enable Ozma and his pilots to fight the terrifying squadron of 27s on more even terms. The pilots then paired up to take on each remaining 27, using their skills and teamwork to overwhelm their enemies.
While Ozma and Alto led the charge against the incurring flight of VF-27s at the front line, the other two battlegroups did their best to stand up against the crushing power of the newly-emerged Galaxy groups and their VF-27 squadrons. On one side of the fleet, Frontier's Diamond Force used its superior teamwork to fend off the attacking VF-27s and their accompanying Ghost V-9 drones. This incarnation of the elite fighter group lived up to the name that was made famous in the Macross 7 fleet many years ago. Their ferocity had been seen before while defending the Frontier fleet from Vajra attacks and this battle was no exception.
"D-1 to D-2, I need your help in disposing of this bastard!" The leader of Diamond Force was engaged in a melee struggle with one of Galaxy's VF-27s and didn't want to take any chances on letting it get a lucky shot off. "Roger that!" his radio crackled. It only took but a few seconds before the 27 was cut in half by a shot from the VF-171EX's particle cannon. Having flown together for quite some time, these pilots could almost read each other's minds. Such synergy can only be accomplished by the right pilots and a lot of experience flying side-by-side with each other.
"D-3 and D-4, what's your status?" the leader inquired. "We're just now delivering the packages!" they responded. Two 171EXs flew through the Galaxy AA fire towards their targets. Finding a soft spot in the defenses of the carrier and one of the cruisers, their MDE bombs detached from under their wings and sped off towards their final destinations. "Bombs away! Hehe... I've always wanted to say that!" one of the pilots said as he pulled up and away from the carrier towards which he had been speeding. The AA guns on the carrier began to desperately fire at the two incoming bombs, but they eventually reached the extremities of their firing angles, unsuccessful in shooting them down before they impacted on the ship's hull.
Both pilots watched in their mirrors as the two capital ships instantly became engulfed by the dimensional rifts. The carrier began to implode upon itself, like an empty soda can being crushed by an immeasurable force. Despite being proud of their successful bombing strike, the two pilots began to feel a bit of remorse from having to use such terrible weapons against other human beings from a fellow colonization fleet. "It's a damn shame that we are forced to take such drastic measures just to protect ourselves from people whom we should be embracing as our brothers," one of the pilots remarked. "Well, they don't seem to hold us in the same regard, since they feel it necessary to sacrifice even their own people to destroy us. If you ask me, that's a sign of the evil in their hearts," another pilot replied.
Diamond Force's leader had to get his pilots refocused on the battle before they lost their concentration, "Whatever it is that drives them, we can find out after we are done fighting here. Get your heads back in the game, guys. This battle isn't done yet!" They began to engage another small group of 27s and V-9s just as the Zentraedi gunboat in their battlegroup opened fire on the last Galaxy capital ship remaining in the vicinity. A direct hit vaporized the cruiser, leaving only a few fighters to have to mop up.
On the Quarter, the news was good on one front and dire on the other. "Captain, the defense line on the port side of the fleet is collapsing! A small group of 27s and V-9s are heading right towards us!" Monica reported. In the distance, Frontier's cruisers were being destroyed systematically, allowing the Galaxy battlegroup to begin moving into the fleet's inner defenses. Since the other side had eradicated their opposing Galaxy battlegroup, Captain Wilder ordered them to reposition to intercept the incoming capital ships. Commander Ortiz had to do something about the impending threat of the incoming fighters, though.
"Pixie Team, you need to hold off the incoming fighters until we can reinforce our defenses. It will be some time before the fleet can reposition its capital ships, so you're going to just have to hold out for awhile!" he ordered. Each one of the three members of Pixie Team became both eager and hesitant at the same time. They loved the fact that they were going to really have to get their hands dirty to defend the Quarter, but upon realizing that it was going to be against 27s and V-9s, a slight sense of fear temporarily overcame them.
"Roger that, Commander!" Nene responded. She was the first to respond by boosting away from the ship to intercept the incoming fighters. Cal noticed her lack of apprehension and steeled his determination to do his job, no matter how dire the odds of his survival might be. Pixie Team was all that stood between the Quarter and the incoming battlegroup, until the other capital ships could move in to defend. "Come on, Will!" Cal said as he boosted off to join Nene in formation. Will's battroid stood up and pushed off of the Quarter's hull before switching to fighter form.
Everyone on the bridge knew that the odds were stacked against them, but they began to hope for the best. After all, Pixie Team's failure meant that they would be in immediate danger of annihilation. "They saved the best for last, guys! The fleet is watching us, so we can't let them down!" Nene told her team in an effort to rebuild their confidence. Cal decided that he had to say something while he still had a chance, "I'm not going to go into any stupid speeches about how it's been an honor to serve with you guys, because that kind of pessimism will only get us killed. I will say, however, that each one of us has worked hard to get to this point. I don't plan on throwing that hard work away just yet." "Hear, hear. I'll see you guys on the hangar deck after this is all done," Will chimed in. With a deep sigh, each pilot accepted their fate, no matter what it would turn out to be.
The incoming Galaxy fighter group began to draw closer to their effective weapons range. Several of the Quarter's Cheyenne Destroids had unseated themselves from their fixed emplacements and fortified themselves at various places on the Quarter's flight deck to provide additional fire support. Their AA fire was timed just right to coincide with Pixie Team's initial munitions strike. Just as their salvo of missiles left their birds, the immediate space around them filled with the Destroids' projectile fire.
After several seconds of anticipation, the missiles began to hit their targets, supported by the AA fire from the Quarter. The strategy paid off with dividends as several Ghost and 27 fighters were hit and shot down. "Got em!" Will exclaimed. "Don't celebrate just yet..." Cal said in response. Pixie Team opened fire with their primary weapons and tried to hit a couple more targets before each wing passed each other. Will hit another Ghost, but no other Galaxy fighters were shot down before both groups passed each other at extremely high speeds. As was expected, none of the attacking craft engaged the pilots of Pixie Team, instead opting to accomplish their mission... destroy the fleet's flagship. Cal noticed the markings on the side of the lead ship as it passed by his RVF. "Oh shit, that's a 27-gamma! I want him!" he thought to himself.
"Oh, no you don't!" Nene said as she turned around to chase the lead 27. "Will, find a spot to pick these guys off. I'm going to take the leader. Cal, work your magic with these Ghosts, will ya?" Will acknowledged, but Cal didn't have a good feeling about this. "Roger that, but are you sure you can handle that guy? It's a 27-gamma, which probably means he's a squadron leader. He'll definitely be a handful for you to fight," he said. "Don't worry about me. Remember that we have to work as a team, so don't be getting all greedy on me, Cal!" Nene replied. Cal laughed at the fact that Nene could almost read his mind and his desire to take down the Galaxy ace pilot. "Acknowledged..." he said as he finished laughing.
On the bridge, Monica turned back towards Commander Ortiz to relay the news, "There are still several incoming fighters! They're just too many for Pixie Team to handle!" Ortiz clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I knew I shouldn't have entrusted them to get the job done..." he mumbled. Jen heard him and immediately whipped around to stare him down. She wasn't about to let Commander Ortiz talk that way about Cal and his team.
He saw her giving him a look of death and snapped his demeanor back to one with confidence. "Um... I guess I underestimated the size of the attacking force," he said. Somewhat satisfied, Jen slowly turned back to her console and continued directing the Destroid traffic as they moved around the immediate space near the Quarter. Ortiz gave his new orders to the bridge crew. "We're going to need to buy them some time. Transform the ship into Storm Attack mode and begin retreating towards the rest of the fleet to take a defensive position," he said as he looked to Captain Wilder for approval. A simple nod was all he needed to proceed.
Mena began to announce the ship's impending transformation and crews worked quickly to secure their immediate surroundings. Within seconds, her console indicated the ship's readiness. "All sectors are secure! We're ready for transformation!" she announced. Commander Ortiz nodded in response and turned towards the helmsman. "Bobby?" he said with another nod. Bobby turned forward and aggressively took his controls. "Here we go!" he exclaimed.
Nene furiously pursued the 27-gamma, but its speed was too much for her to be able to catch up. She opened fire with everything she could. Projectile fire, missiles, her anti-ship particle cannon; nothing could hit its target as the 27-gamma effortlessly avoided her fire. Fortunately, it slowed him down a little bit each time he was forced to adjust his angle of attack. Once he reached a more effective range, he began to open fire with his heavy beam cannon. Every couple of seconds, a lethal dose of energy discharged from his opened gunpod.
While the 27's salvo sped towards its target, the Quarter could be seen changing its configuration in the distance. Using its powerful engines to accelerate away from the attacking fighters, and at the same time, moving out of the way of the incoming anti-ship munitions fire. A couple of the shots impacted upon the surface of the flight deck, causing the Destroids to scatter from their positions. The solid construction of the flight deck allowed it to absorb the high-energy blasts, but not before sending some debris flying out of the smoke clouds from the explosions. The particles harmlessly bounced off of the nearby Destroids, but it seemed to stoke their determination to shoot down the attacker. Each one of them turned their attention to the incoming 27-gamma, filling the space in front of him with a concentration of AA fire.
The 27-gamma quickly realized that his attack run had to be cut short, or he'd be shot down by AA fire. He pulled out of his attack vector and zoomed away to reposition for another run. However, Nene used this opportunity to close in to a more lethal range and opened fire upon him once more. This time, she was more than just a pesky mosquito to him and he was forced to engage her in an one-on-one dogfight. Suddenly, Nene's radio crackled a mysterious voice, "A Zentraedi pilot, huh? Show me what you can do!" The pilot of the 27-gamma broke his radio silence to hurl some taunts at Nene in an effort to enrage her. After the initial surprise of hearing his voice over the comm line, she confidently answered, "I'll be sure to keep your gunpod as a souvenir after this is over..." A scoff was all she heard in response.
"Sir! The Macross Cannon is done recharging. It's ready to fire again!" Mena reported. Commander Ortiz turned back to Bobby once more. "Bobby, hit the lead cruiser in that attacking group!" he ordered. "You got it!" Bobby responded. While still backing away, the Quarter used its arms to draw its weapon and aim it at the Deneb-class cruiser that just happened to be in front of the rest of the ships in its battlegroup. "Pixie Team, we're about to fire the Macross Cannon! Don't get hit!" Jen announced. Bobby immediately fired, sending the pilots of Pixie Team scattering out of the line of fire. The shot hit its mark and summarily ripped the cruiser in half before it exploded.
Fighting through the effects of the rapidly-expanding gravity wave, Cal gritted his teeth while he fought to retain control of his RVF's attitude. He continued to decimate the ranks of Ghost V-9s, using the electronic countermeasures specifically designed to deal with the unmanned fighters. Will finally found a nice perch upon an asteroid to set up camp and provide long-range fire support to his teammates. His first targets, though, were the remaining VF-27s that were still trying to inflict damage upon the agile Quarter.
Several of the fighters were shot down by the AA fire coming from the Destroids and fixed turret emplacements, but the Quarter's defenses were also taking collateral damage from the exchange of fire. One of the 27s strafed the flight deck of the Quarter, targeting as many Destroids as it could. The first two Destroids were hit and destroyed, but the rest of them reacted quick enough to dodge the incoming fire. Upon re-posturing, they continued to fire on the intruding fighter while it zoomed away to start another strafing run. Before it could get far, though, it was hit by the AA fire from the Destroid group and veered out of control and away from the ship before exploding.
"Pixie Team, we're getting pounded! You need to remove the threat from our aerospace immediately!" Commander Ortiz barked over the comm lines. As another 27 moved into position to strafe the deck, a hot blue blur punched its way through the VF, snapping its structure in half before it exploded. "Don't worry, Quarter, I'll have these guys off your back in a few more seconds!" Will responded. He found the other 27 circling around to begin its next strafing run and zeroed in before pulling the trigger again. His first shot sailed slightly wide, but the next one met its target. The immense kinetic force of the sniper round ripped its way straight through the body of the 27 and summarily destroyed the bird. A sigh of relief came out of Will as he realized that he had successfully cleared the Quarter of the immediate threat. He began to look for his beloved Nene, in the hopes that he could assist her in dealing with the 27-gamma.
A small salvo of missiles ejected from the sides of Nene's Queadluun and sped forward to deliver their warheads to the 27-gamma. "You're going to have to do better than that, I'm sorry to say..." he said to Nene as he changed to battroid form and began to shoot each missile down. However, it wasn't quite her plan to actually hit him with her missiles. It was a distraction to allow her to move in to melee range and engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Following a bone-jarring collision, both fighters began to grapple each other in the hopes that they could overpower the other and deliver a fatal blow. "Come on, Will... I'm counting on you!" Nene thought to herself. She had some confidence that her thoughts could be heard by the one she calls her own; a connection that seems to only be shared by people who are very close to each other.
"Ah... not a bad strategy. The question is, though, is it going to pay off?" the 27-gamma pilot casually asked. "We'll see in a moment, won't we?" Nene smirked. Off in the distance, Will locked onto his target and pulled the trigger. As if he had anticipated their strategy, the 27's pilot reacted to the incoming sniper fire by thrusting backwards. The maneuver allowed him to pull Nene's Queadluun into the line of fire just as the sniper round barreled into their position. Time seemed to slow down when Will saw that his shot was about to hit his significant other, instead of the cocky 27 pilot. "Oh shit! Nene!" he gasped.
The sniper round lanced the backside of the Queadluun, nearly splitting the structure of the power armor in half. The engines and exhaust ports shattered from the glancing blow of the sniper round, sending a cloud of debris spraying away in the direction of the sniper round. "Hmph..." the 27 pilot scoffed as he let go of Nene's Queadluun, floated backwards a bit, and unloaded a handful of missiles from the rear of his battroid. Without even waiting to see if they hit their targets, he flipped his battroid over and transformed to fighter mode to deal with the other menace.
The missiles impacted onto Nene's Queadluun and Pixie Team's channel carried her screams over the airwaves; a blood-chilling sound for Will and Cal to hear. "Nene, Nooo!" Will yelled as he watched her Queadluun disappear behind several explosions. Cal turned his attention away from the Ghosts he was still engaged with to see the commotion going on off in the distance. He turned forward again and gritted his teeth in determination to finish his job and move to try and save his teammates.
Will struggled to put aside his concern for Nene's well-being, resisting the urge to leave his sniping position and expose himself to the 27's pilot. "Goddamn you!" he exclaimed over the comm line. The 27 was heading directly towards the asteroid upon which he was perched. "Don't think that I didn't know about you all this time. You weaklings think that you can sneak around undetected and engage me from the shadows?" He said. Will ignored his taunts and began to open fire on the incoming 27, hoping that his high-speed rounds would hit their mark. Showing his skill as a pilot, the 27 made himself into a very hard-to-hit target, using various maneuvers to avoid Will's sniper fire.
The 27 dipped below the edge of the asteroid, leaving Will's line of sight for just a moment, before he reappeared directly in front of Will. His position was just out of the line of fire of Will's sniper rifle, and he drew his gunpod to place the fatal rounds into the sniper battroid. To his surprise, the 27 pilot was met with a salvo of missiles fired from Will's battroid while it was in its prone position. To avoid them, he had to quickly back away, opening fire on Will while the missiles sailed closer to him. Will reacted to the incoming fire by rolling his battroid to his right and firing with his sniper rifle again several times while on the roll. The combination of his missiles and sniper rounds nearly hit the 27, who was very surprised by the counter-attack.
"Ah! Very good! You are much better than I thought! I'm beginning to enjoy fighting with you guys. It will just make my victory even more glorious!" the 27 pilot said to Will. The 27 transformed to fighter form and left a cloud of chaff in his wake, attracting the missiles away from his bird. "You haven't seen anything yet, asshole!" Will exclaimed as he took off from his perch to chase the 27 down. His burning hatred began to overcome his sense of logic and he sought to engage the enemy pilot in open space. It was a decision that he would come to regret, as this was not Will's strongest area of combat.
"So foolish..." the 27 pilot taunted. He turned around to charge directly at Will and opened fire with his gunpod. Will continued to fire his sniper rifle, while skillfully weaving his battroid through the incoming fire. Both fighters desperately tried to hit their targets, but once they moved very close to each other, their final shots left their gunpods before they passed each other in open space. "Gotcha!" the 27 pilot said. Will turned his battroid around to watch the 27 fly away from him, "What are you talking about? I didn't take any-" His sentence was interrupted by several small explosions coming from his VF. His engines sputtered to remain running and alarms began to sound in the cockpit, alerting Will of the crippling damage done to its internal systems.
Will's battroid listed out of control towards the Quarter's position way off in the distance, but he was too far out of range to depend on the AA fire to protect him from the 27's finishing blow. "I'm sorry, Nene. This is all my fault..." Will mumbled to himself. A faint voice returned his apology, "It's okay, hon. He was too much for us, but we certainly did give him a run for his money, huh?" "Nene! I thought you were gone...!" Will replied. Nene's Queadluun was very badly damaged and derelict, but she seemed to have survived the impact of the 27's assault.
Nene chuckled, "No, but I'm not going to last much longer out here like this. I can feel my body beginning to lose its warmth." Will began to fire his VFs verniers in an attempt to float to Nene's damaged Queadluun. "Hang in there, Nene. I know that we'll get out of this somehow..." he replied. After a few seconds, Will's VF neared Nene's Queadluun and he reached out with his battroid's arm to grab a hold of her power armor. Suddenly, the 27 reappeared right behind Will and drew his gunpod to finish him off. "Aww... how touching! I'm sorry, but I just can't allow you two to live any longer. You know... it's my job and all to eradicate all of you without mercy. I'll just do you the favor of sending you both into the afterlife together!" he laughed as the gunpod charged up to release the finishing blow.
Out of the corner of the 27 pilot's vision, he saw sudden movement and reacted by turning his aim towards the incoming threat. The gunpod discharged, but Cal's RVF quickly rolled to avoid the blast and he tackled the 27 away from Will's and Nene's disabled fighters. "You talk too much!" Cal yelled. His battroid cocked back its fist and he applied the pin-point barrier to it, causing a glow to emanate from the hand. An aggressive thrust towards the 27 and Cal's melee strike began to head towards its target with haste.
A quick, controlled vernier thrust and the 27 dodged to the side to avoid Cal's melee strike. The 27 wrapped its left arm around Cal's battroid's arm, giving him a firm grip on the RVF. "You guys are like cockroaches. Once you thought you've killed them all, here comes another one! I don't know how you managed to avoid my sensors, but I will soon take care of you as well," the pilot taunted once more. He raised his battroid's right arm and ejected the combat knife hidden under its hull. The blade glowed with the energy of the pin-point barrier while he began to swing it directly at Cal's RVF.
Cal deflected the incoming strike with the shield on his battroid's left arm, using his own pin-point barrier to reinforce its heavy armor. Knocking the knife out of the 27's hand, Cal used the same maneuver to wrap his own left arm around the 27's right arm. The two VFs had a firm hold onto each other and they both seemed to stare directly at each other, like two pit fighters locked in battle. "Hmph... You seem to have some skill as well. You guys are really making this the greatest day of my life," the 27 pilot said. "Well, I wouldn't call yours a 'life'," Cal remarked, "I feel sorry for you Galaxy soldiers, not having the ability to think for yourselves. If I had a choice between having my mind enslaved and death, I choose death. Life was not meant to be restrained. Free will is what gives life its variety and its ability to innovate and flourish."
The 27's pilot thought about Cal's statement for a moment, but he was convinced of the superiority of his way of living. "We've all attained a higher level of consciousness by joining the Galaxy hive mind. In time, you will all submit to our way of life and join us; willingly or not," he said. Suddenly, the laser cannon on the 27's head pivoted forward to open fire on Cal's RVF. Cal had to react fast, or he'd be pelted with laser fire. He flipped his throttle stick 45 degrees to switch his battroid to GERWALK form and pushed the throttle all the way forward.
Still clinging to each other, both VFs spun in a circle very rapidly, with the 27's laser fire emitting from them in a spiral. Eventually, both pilots let go of each other and Cal switched to battroid form. Both VFs faced each other as they careened away; each one ejecting a salvo of missiles at the other. The missiles all collided with each other, filling the space between them with a cloud of explosions. Unable to detect Cal's RVF with his sensors, the 27 pilot began to wildly spray his gunpod fire into the cloud, hoping to hit something. Unknown to him, Cal had already begun his next attack and had flown around the pyrotechnic cloud, out of the 27's immediate sight.
The 27 spun around a couple of times with its gun drawn, while it tried to visually locate the RVF's position. Suddenly, it was engulfed from above with a spray from Cal's gunpod fire. The 27's gunpod was hit and knocked out of its hands before it exploded. Using its shield to deflect the rest of the incoming fire, it seemed to come out of the strafe maneuver otherwise unharmed. However, Cal was not quite done inflicting punishment on the ace pilot. He switched his fighter to battroid form and thrust both of its legs onto the body of the 27, sending debris flying away.
Cal could hear the pilot groaning from the impact over the comm lines, but he still was not done. Pushing off of the 27 with his battroid's legs, he left a little "gift" for his opponent in his wake. The 27's pilot watched Cal push away from his own VF, but his vision was immediately assaulted by the white-hot magnesium flare from Cal's flashbang countermeasure. "Argh! You son of a-" the pilot groaned in pain. His headset was being pounded by the EMP effect of the flashbang, as well.
Anticipating Cal's next move, the 27's pilot switched his VF into fighter form and zoomed away, leaving a cloud of chaff behind. Indeed, Cal had unleashed a salvo of missiles to finish off his opponent, but they were immediately attracted to and detonated by the chaff. Cal switched to fighter form to pursue his opponent and try to finish him off before he regained his senses again. "Ugh... I don't know how you're doing it, but you've definitely got some tricks up your sleeve. Perhaps I slightly underestimated your combat ability, but I will soon show you the superiority of my own skills," the pilot struggled to say.
"It's called 'innovation', jackass. Being able to think outside of the box is something that you will probably never be able to do as long as you remain cybernetically connected to the minds of others," Cal replied. He closely followed the 27, firing his gunpod at the elusive bird. As the 27 pilot began to regain his sight and hearing, he responded back to Cal's statement. "Since you're going to preach about your actual inferiority, I will show you what cybernetic enhancements are capable of doing," he said as he began to perform high-speed maneuvers in an attempt to lose his opponent. Cal accepted his dare and closed in to pursue at high speeds.
In the distance, the two battlegroups of capital ships began to enter each other's firing range. The space between them was immediately filled with projectile fire, attempting to destroy each other through attrition. The group's remaining Zentraedi gunboat fired its main cannon at one of Galaxy's cruisers, instantly destroying it and a few of the fighters that happened to be in the way. Nene and Will floated through space together and watched the fight raging on far from their position.
"Will?" Nene asked, looking for a response from her one-and-only. "I'm right here, Nene. Just stay with me... I'll get you home soon. Doesn't a bed sound nice right about now?" he asked. Will had used his battroid to grab onto Nene's Queadluun. His verniers were occasionally firing to adjust their direction while they slowly drifted back to the Quarter's position. "We're almost to the Quarter, so hang on just a bit longer." "Will... did you forget that I'm not micloned? You're going to need to get me to a Zentraedi ship if you're going to save me!" Nene replied. "Shit! You're right..." Will gritted his teeth and looked up towards the Frontier's battlegroup that was beginning to pass them by. He didn't want to tell Nene that the trip would be longer to get to one of the Zentraedi ships, but something had to happen soon to get her some medical attention.
Fortunately for them, a squadron of Nousjadeul-Gers flew nearby and hailed the two crippled fighters. "Wow! A Queadluun and a VF-25 together? Do you guys need some help?" Will quickly replied to their inquiry, "Yes! She needs medical attention now! I can't take her back to my ship, so I'm trying to get her to one of yours." A small subset of the Zentraedi squadron detached itself from their formation to retrieve them. "Roger that! We'll come and give you guys a push..."
Somewhere closer to the raging battle, two vapor trails weaved in and out of the asteroids at extremely high speeds. "Come on, you can do it!" the pilot of the 27-gamma taunted. Cal was gritting his teeth at his apparent inability to pursue his opponent. "I told you that you were inferior!" the radio taunted again. "Alright, that's it... you want to take it to another level? Let's do this now!" Cal said as he punched a couple of buttons on his console. He stopped his VF's forward progress just as several items detached from the ship's hard points.
Cal had still not yet used his MDE bombs, and their bulk was continuing to weigh him down. Both bombs snapped away from their moorings and gently floated away. From his back, the radome detached itself and drifted off. Inside of the cockpit, Cal let go of his controls and pounded his fists together in front of his chest. A couple of quick movements and he had popped all of the joints in his fingers and then replaced his hands back onto the control sticks. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go!" he said as he boosted off towards the waiting VF-27.
Immediately, Cal could feel the difference in performance from his RVF, now that it was much lighter than before. He was now able to match the 27's movements on an even level while a wicked grin crept across his face. It had been quite some time since his piloting skills were challenged like this and he was satisfied that he was able to fly so well against the fearsome 27-gamma, which was piloted by an ace. The occasional spray of gunpod fire was met with yet another high-speed maneuver; to which Cal had to react quickly, or he'd lose his target.
Each turn thrust Cal's body in the opposite direction with immense force. The EX-gear and Inertia Store Converter system had met their limits and were allowing the intense g-forces to finally reach the pilot. Cal would groan as his body fought with the g-forces. The blood in his body was being thrown in different directions, along with his lungs having difficulty drawing in air. Cal could only hear laughing in his radio; probably in response to his own labored breathing and groaning.
"See? You might be a good pilot, but your body is too weak to handle this level of combat!" the 27's pilot chattered. "Shut up! I'm doing just fine!" Cal grunted. However, with a couple more high-speed turns, Cal's RVF lost control and began to careen off into the distance, spinning on all axes. Inside of his cockpit, several alarms were going off to warn the pilot, but Cal's eyes were closed and he was teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. As if it was second-nature to him, his hands continued to operate the control sticks in an effort to stop the spinning and regain full consciousness.
The computer responded by changing the VF to battroid form and assisted him by firing several of the verniers multiple times per second. It eventually returned its attitude control back to human levels. Unfortunately, Cal remained motionless in his seat; fighting to regain control of his own body. He could only hear the 27's pilot laughing uncontrollably at him. "Now you know the amazing capabilities of having a cyborg body. It's too bad you won't live to ever experience it!" he said. The 27 approached Cal's derelict RVF with its right hand glowing from the pin-point barrier being applied to it.
With a forward thrust of his arm, the battroid's burning hand charged directly at Cal's battroid's chest, near where the cockpit was located. Something inside of Cal caused his consciousness to snap back into action and he opened his eyes just in time to react to the incoming death blow. The battroid whipped both of its arms upward and grabbed the 27's arm to stop its attack. Cal strained with his controls, trying desperately to move the glowing hand away from his VF. He could hear the actuators and the physical structure of his RVF groaning under the pressure that was being applied by his attacker.
Slowly, the 27's hand moved closer and closer to the cockpit of the RVF. Once it got close to the body, the pin-point barrier on the hand began to chew away small pieces of the RVFs armor; right at the point nearest to the location of the cockpit. "Ha ha ha! You're something, you know that? Every time I think I have you, you do something to get out of it. Unfortunately, nothing is going to save you this time!" the 27 pilot announced.
Just when Cal began to accept that the 27's pilot was right, a mechanical glowing hand punched right through the chest of the 27. Debris flew forward and began to pelt Cal's RVF while the glow faded from the 27's hand. "Now's the chance to say your famous last words," the radio crackled. The mysterious mechanical hand then turned and gripped one side of the hole it had created and strained to pull the torso of the VF in one direction, while a second hand pulled the lower half in the other direction. Within microseconds, the VF-27 cracked in half and the lower and upper torso sailed left and right in opposite directions. "You've got to be kidding me...!" the 27's pilot screamed.
Where the 27 once was, a red Queadluun now floated. "Not bad for your last words, but I only give it a six out of ten..." the voice responded. The pod hatches opened on each shoulder of the Queadluun and a pair of missiles sailed to each side; impacting on the remains of the 27 and pulverizing them into tiny pieces. Cal watched in amazement. He was certain that it was all over for him, but it seemed that the most unlikely of people had arrived in time to save his life once again. "I think that one puts me in the lead of how many times we save each other's lives, right?" the radio sounded.
Cal's heart was racing as his ears finally recognized the voice on the other end of his radio. "Holy shit! If it isn't the Half-Pint! I had no idea you were keeping count!" "Well, of course I was! How else am I going to be able to claim my prize when this is all over?" Klan responded. Both pilots laughed at each other; so happy to be reunited again. However, the fight wasn't done yet. The battle raged on in the distance, with both sides hoping to claim victory soon before too many losses were incurred. For the moment, though, Klan reveled in the fact that her decision to take the Rasa prototype from the Eksidos turned out to save Cal's life. It didn't matter to her the consequences that she was going to have to face for her brazen actions. It was totally worth it, no matter how bad it was going to be.
