(September 27, 2025, On the road, 0801 hrs. SRST)
Almost twelve hours after the fire dragon attack, the recon team of Sgt. Snow was escorting only a small number of young and elderly refugees from Coda Village to Alnus Hill. Though the Infinite Team went back to base early, Snow knew that they are out of harm's way and they can relax since they are within range of the UNF's defense network.
"Alright, we're almost there." Snow announced. "Kids, be careful once we arrived."
"Okay! Thank you for bringing us here." A kid thanked Snow and the latter nodded back in response.
"I was just wondering. Would the lieutenant get the refugee plan in working order?" The medic, Kurokawa, asked.
"Definitely he would." Snow assured. "He can pull it off."
Just as they are in the middle of the conversation, the elf girl suddenly woke up as if a nightmare took a hold on her. This surprised everyone in the vehicle.
"Morning." Kurokawa greeted her with a warm smile.
The elf girl was wondering what she was wearing. Almost two days ago, she was wearing a green dress. Now she is wearing clothing that is completely unfamiliar with the villagers but not to the soldiers in green. Just shortly after she noticed it, she saw a wall of grey in front of the vehicle. The green men knew where they are.
"Everyone, welcome to Alnus Hill!" Snow announced as every refugee was surprised with awe by the scope of the scenery.
(Village Tavern, 1658 hrs. SRST)
In a village tavern, the knights of the Order of the Rose were stopping by to rest in preparation for their long trip to Alnus via Italica. They have some thoughts of the food and drinks they were eating. They also overheard of news regarding the successful defensive against the fire dragon the day before.
"Few minutes ago, there was just calm here." Hamilton noticed. "Now they are talking about a fire dragon."
"Impossible!" Princess Piña said in surprise. "No one can do that. Most of our weapons in our armories are not effecrive. Grey, how's the food?"
"The food isn't that much good." Grey responded. "So does the drinks."
He then told the princess on what to do next before leaving
"Princess, we may have to find someone who knows more about our enemy in Alnus Hill." Grey advised Piña.
"Good idea." Piña agreed.
The knights then turned their attention to the the owner, who happens to be one of the evacuees from Coda Village. She felt a bit disappointed as she tried to spread the news about yesterday's events, much to the disbelief of some of the patrons.
"Those people here have no idea what I saw yesterday." The owner said to the knights in slight anger. "I saw them with my own eyes."
"What?" Piña asked. "What did you see?"
"Well...it's pretty hard to explain though." The owner replied.
"I believe you!" Hamilton responded with a silver coin and gave it to her.
"Oh thank you, young knight!" The owner accepted with excitement.
"Here is mine also." Grey continued with his own coin. "This is for your help."
"Okay then, tell us what you saw." Piña requested the owner.
"Well, the other day, they saved us! They had a magic weapon that look like a great iron cock, rode in mighty, unyielding weapons and they are wearing green! Some also wore gray helmets!"
"Anything else?"
"There are also iron eagles with them that shoots arrows and explode when hit!" The owner continued. "They also saved our lives and they have a name!"
"What is the name of those 'iron eagles' that appeared with them?"
"If I remember correctly, they are called by the men in green as the 'Infinite Team'." The owner revealed. "They also happened to be from an army called the 'United Nations Forces'."
"United...Nations...Forces?" Hamilton asked in confusion. "Is that they are called?"
"Yes." The owner continued. "Also, a lord is recovering nearby."
In a state of urgency, Piña asked her where he is.
"Can you tell us where he is now?!"
(September 28, 2025, Alnus Hill, 0815 hrs. SRST)
At the mess hall, Itami noticed the captain reading a section of a newspaper that was faxed just two minutes ago. He was wondering what Reaper was reading.
"Captain, what are you reading?" Itami asked with curiosity.
"Just reading a news report regarding a space elevator that just started construction." Reaper said while showing the article with a picture of an artist's depiction.
"You mean Lighthouse?"
"Yeah, that one." Reaper continued. "I can't believe that President Harling would support this by using some of the money freed up from the military budget. I would thank him for doing that."
"And that means that we're not going to rely much on rockets?" Itami continued. "I hope Comona won't be shutting down anytime soon."
"In the near future, yes." Reaper said his answer. "This would certainly ease up the burden of the ISS. Comona may be used for other launches."
Reaper then shifted to another topic. This time, it is for Itami.
"How's the discussion with the officers, Itami?" Reaper asked him.
"Well, they're kinda uncomfortable with the refugee issue." Itami responded.
"Don't worry about them though." Reaper assured. "Once they learned about the fiasco back in 2019, things will be way different. You, Takeo, your allies and I will see the future we were fighting for."
"Thanks captain." Itami answered. "I may have little time for doujinshi but still, I have a sense of relief."
"Anyway, go check on the refugees with Takeo and Kurokawa." Reaper told Itami. "We need to see how they are doing."
"On it captain." Itami finished and went out to visit the refugees.
(Refugee site, 0821 hrs. SRST)
Itami, Takeo and Kurokawa entered the site as they saw children playing around and the elderly resting.
"Lieutenant, guess they are doing fine for now." Kurokawa said to Itami.
"Yep." Itami replied. "At least they are far from the battlefield."
"Itami, speaking of which, we may need to get to know them better by introducing themselves." Takeo told him with some advice.
"Looks like we may have to." Itami continued. "I better get Sgt. Snow on this one."
With Sgt. Snow and a clipboard at hand, they began to write down the names of the refugees and for some, their notable abilities, as they introduce themselves to Itami and Co.
"I am the sage, Kato El Altestan." The wizard introduced himself while standing beside Lelei. "And this is my student...
"Lelei La Rellena." She introduced herself as well.
"I'm Rory Mercury." The young-looking lady introduced herself. "I'm an apostle for Emloy, the god of darkness."
"I'm the daughter of Hodolue of the forest of Koan, Tuka Luna Marceau." The elf girl formally introduced herself. "And..."
She stopped short of her introduction nervously and Itami tried to talk to them using their language. Having difficulty, Takeo gave him the translation book.
"T-today, we make house o-outside." Itami slightly struggled to talk with the language. "Alright, everyone! Get ready! Go!"
"Itami, are you sure that your language lessons are working well?" Takeo asked with some doubts.
"All pilots of the Infinite Team, report to the briefing room." An attending officer requested the pilots via a loudspeaker. "I repeat. All pilots of the Infinite Team, report to the briefing room."
"So much for introducing each other." Takeo said with some regret. "We better get going."
The pilots left for the briefing room.
(Briefing room, 0915 hrs. SRST)
As with their first mission, Reaper and Akira was standing in front of the other members. However, it was not just a training mission that they had to hear.
"Alright, we have to explain something before we do our practice." Reaper announced.
He then stood in the center and began to talk.
"The reason why we called all of you here a bit early is because we want to share you some wisdom." Reaper started his speech. "Long ago, during our fight with the USEA Federation, both sides, them and us, have some intentions that may not sit well for the war effort. Some would try to use devastating weapons, such as the Aigaion, Scinfaxi, Excalibur, Stonehenge, SOLG, among others. Others would disregard their fellow allies' lives in exchange for bonuses of cash and other rewards."
"That's is why we have to tell you this." Akira continued. "You forged a bond with the refugees you saved a few days ago. If you can protect them from harm here, then you can help protect others in our world from dangerous disasters as well. That means doing whatever it takes to stop harm from reaching others. I know you have potential."
"Thank you very much sir." Itami answered.
"We also want to do our best to protect." Takeo continued with his response.
"So do I." Kuribayashi followed next. "I won't let anyone die like dog now nor tomorrow."
"Then let's begin." Reaper finished his discussion.
While the kids are playing outside, they saw the five 'iron eagles' roaring overhead as the fly for their training mission. Lelei, Kato, Rory and Tuka were surprised by what they are doing as the elf was trying to figure out who saved her during the fire dragon attack on her village.
(Resettlement site, 1023 hrs. SRST)
At the area in which housing will be established for the refugees, Kato and Lelei noticed some unusual machines digging the dirt out of the soil.
"What in the world is going on here? Kato asked.
"I guess they are building houses for us to reside in." Lelei responded with her conclusion.
"Good. Now we can get our stuff out of the carriage. I'm going to sleep now." The old wizard left to rest.
As Lelei was curious on how the machines work, she saw Tuka doing the same thing and began to go to her.
"Anything wrong?" Leilei asked Tuka.
"No." The elf girl replied. "If my father missed seeing something like this, I'm sure he'll feel disappointed. I'll have to talk to him later."
Their proximity within the machines brought the attention of some nearby UNF officers, who are supervising the construction.
"Miss, you have to move back please." The officer told the ladies. "It's dangerous here."
Lelei was wondering what he meant but a smell brought her to a nearby tent which was preparing food with the aid of another machine. In the tent, the men was preparing vegetables for lunch. Lelei then turned her attention to an unusual vegetable a soldier was peeling.
"This is daikon raddish." The soldier said while showing the vegetable at his hand. "Daikon."
"Daikon?" Lelei wondered.
"Yup, daikon." The soldier affirmed.
(1102 hrs. SRST)
With the food prepared, Lelei, Kato and the other refugees were presented with a good variety of food at the table which made them happy. Snow and Kurokawa were there to check on them.
"Okay then, time to eat up." Kurokawa said to the refugees.
"Il...Raqua..." Snow said to start the meal.
The refugees began to eat the food the soldiers prepared and they were amazed by the taste.
"It's delicious!" Kato shouted with joy when he took a bite on a piece of bread. "The bread is amazing! It's soft! It's so soft!"
"Daikon. Bread. Spoon and fork." Lelei murmured while familiarizing with the food and utensils she was given.
While Kato was sharing his fondness for the bread, he noticed Lelei not eating even a single grain.
"Huh, Lelei. Why aren't you eating?"
"Some of the soldiers always said something before eating." Lelei explained.
"Let's...eat." Lelei declared quietly.
(North Pacific Ocean, 1632 hrs. AKST)
A UNF task force was launched from their ports in North America and the Western Pacific, searching in the waters for a deadly weapon in possession of the USEA remnants. The weapon, known as 'Gleipnir', brought trouble to the UNF after one successful operation went horribly wrong. In that operation, it fired a shockwave ballistic missile at a UNF air unit that was just finished with close air support. Only three aircraft escaped the blast.
"This is UNF Pacific Third Fleet, we are commencing search for Gleipnir." The Third Fleet's commander announced on the radio.
"Aknowledged Third Fleet." The First Fleet commander replied. "Proceed with the mission at hand."
For some time, the fleets searched for the aerial fortress, using their radars and binoculars to locate it but failed to do so. This made some of the officers frustrated.
"When are we going to find that damn aerial fortress?" One annoyed officer asked.
"Don't know." The First Fleet commander responded. "We have to keep looking. Second Fleet, report your status."
"We are currently in search for the target." The fleet's commander radioed in response. "No hostiles at this time."
"Copy Second Fleet."
"Preparing to move to...uh, wait. Hold on."
"Give me a sitrep." The First Fleet commander requested.
"I'm hearing a noise." The Second Fleet commander answered. "Tracking it now."
The ships of the Second Fleet started to arm their weapons and began to track the source of the sound.
"What's that?" The commander asked cautiously.
Suddenly, one of the crew members saw a tear in the sky, revealing a matte black airframe behind the cover. The sailor then radioed what he saw.
"Look! It's the Gleipnir!"
Immediately after announcing his discovery, the Second Fleet opened fire at the Gleipnir.
"Don't just stand there, attack!" The First Fleet commander ordered while his fleet and the Third's started to arm their long-range missiles. "Target the Gleipnir!"
"Commence cannon fire! Hit it with everything we've got!"
"The SWBM can't reach us here but watch out for conventional ordinance!"
Suddenly, the Gleipnir began to emit a blue glow at the bottom of its airframe, aiming directly in the middle of the Second Fleet.
"Look!" The commander shouted. "The disk on the bottom, it's starting to glow!
The Gleipnir released its charge and exploded in the middle of the fleet, sending a large shockwave in a large radius.
"What's it gon..."
Radio static was only heard in the First and Third Fleet's communications as the stunned officers were shocked by what they saw.
"The ships under the Gleipnir just disintegrated!" The commander reported.
"What the hell was that?!" The Third Fleet commander asked with the same shock.
"Second Fleet, do you read me?!" The First Fleet attempted to contact the devastated Second. "This is the First Fleet, come in! Come in!"
The Gleipnir disappeared in the skies immediately after.
(Unknown Village, 1717 hrs. SRST)
At a monastery, Princess Piña was visiting the room where the alleged lord was recovering. When she opened the door, she was shocked by what she saw.
"King Duran!" She called him while he was in his bed.
"Princess Piña?" Duran replied with some pain. "What brings you here?"
"I heard that a man of high birth is recovering from his injuries here and he has the information regarding our enemy in Alnus." Piña continued. "What do you know about our enemy?"
"I can't tell you!" Duran rebuked the princess.
"What?!"
"Can't you see?" The king explained. "The Empire was defeated before the allies even done so and we never even set foot on the enemy! The reinforcements that your father promised didn't arrived!"
"I already heard that the Empire lost the battle in Alnus!" Piña replied desperately. "Why did you say that?"
"Our enemy is not them!" Duran warned her. "The real enemy enemy is behind us! Your father is trying to take us out!"
"Please, your higness!" Piña pleaded. "At least give us some help!"
"If you want to know the enemy there, go to Alnus Hill and see it yourself!" Duran told her.
Piña left the room and went outside the monastery to meet up with the other knights, including Norma, who just recently arrived at the village.
"We'll send an order not to send our knights to Alnus for now." Hamilton advised Piña.
"I know." She responded. "But we have to see Alnus for ourselves. Norma, order our knights to head for Italica."
"As you wish, your highness." Norma accepted.
(September 29, 2025, Alnus Hill, 0702 hrs. SRST)
At the area in which the allied armies launched their ill-fated assault more than a week ago, Lelei was checking the ground looking for any unusual items. She noticed something that caught her eye. A dragon scale was found lying on the ground and she picked it up, but the scale she was holding has a potential value that could be exchanged for a large amount of gold coins. This prompt Lelei to get Tuka and Rory to come to the site.
"What is that?" Tuka asked with curiosity.
"It's a dragon scale." Lelei explained. "But this one is not a usual type of scale. It comes from the dragons in the Imperial stables."
"What?! Those scales fetch a high price in the markets!"
"I know." Lelei calmed Tuka with further explanation. "That means that we don't have to sell ourselves to survive."
"And come to think of it, I think we may be on to something." Rory said.
"Listen, the nearest market to sell these is in Italica." Lelei said to the girls. "We might find someone who can put a value on those scales."
Tuka and Rory nodded and the three began to pick up as many scales as possible in order to sell them in the market.
(Mess hall, 0812 hrs. SRST)
Itami was busy updating his mobile game in his phone. When it finished updating, he began to feel excited on the new features that was part of the update.
"Can't believe that they have signal here." Itami said to himself while Kurokawa and Kuribayashi went near Itami to tell him something.
"Umm...lieutenant?" Kuribayashi asked him but he didn't respond.
"Alright, let me see here."
"Lieutenant?" Kurokawa tried to do the same.
"New e-mails. Better open them up."
Kuribayashi had enough and he slapped Itami in the face just to get his attention.
"Owww...what was that?" Itami asked.
"Do you think I'm that dumb just to call you?!" Kuribayashi shouted with frustration.
"Umm...no?"
"Good. That is what I want to hear."
Kurokawa then began to tell Itami something.
"Listen, some of the refugees are going to a nearby city to sell some dragon scales" She explained. "There asking us to help."
"You sure?" Itami asked her. "Because we have a deployment order coming up and I think the city is the first place to fly by."
"Good then. We need some eyes in the sky."
"I'll tell the others." Itami responded.
(Headquarters, 0901 hrs. SRST)
In the situation room, General Stoner, one of the officers assigned to lead the task force into the Special Region, was busy in his desk when an lower-ranked officer came inside to tell him about something.
"Any events regarding hostilities?" Stoner asked.
"Negative sir, at least not in here." The officer responded.
"Okay then, continue."
"Due to what happened in the Pacific, the generals are discussing a recall order for the Infinite Team in five days time." The officer explained. "We are in need of experienced pilots to reinforce our forces in the area and Colonel Voychek has confirmed that the last location of Gleipnir was in Northeastern Russia."
"Aknowledged, I'll inform the Infinite Team about this." Stoner said to the officer. "However, they still have to finish their observation mission. Inform me if there are any changes in our current available units."
"Yes sir." The officer concluded while he saluted.
(On the road, 0930 hrs. SRST)
As the three girls, Tuka, Lelei and Rory, are carrying their haul in a convoy led by Sgt. Snow, the Infinite Team was in the air doing their observation mission.
"You think they will be alright, Dragon?" Reaper asked Itami.
"Yes captain." Itami assured him. "They'll be fine."
"Considering that the scales are of high value, I would say that they did that to make a living for the refugees." Akira explained. "Even if we have plenty of supplies, this might give some strain for both of us overtime."
They continued staying close to the refugees as they head for Italica.
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. Expect that for sometime.
Anyway, the chapter has a few interesting additions, including a reference for the upcoming game, Ace Combat 7.
Hope you enjoy.