Hello all! DemonLord here back with Wings of Chaos after an impromptu hiatus. Karmahhhhh and I would like to express our apologies, as we did not anticipate things to jump in the way and stop us from finishing this. Alas, life.
Karm would also like to add a glossary for some terms you may see in this chapter. This way, you can know what it means! This is probably going to happen every now and again as the story progresses.
Glossary:
AWACS - Airborne Warning and Control System
Fox Three - active radar guided missile
Angels - Altitude in thousands of feet
Did you read it? Good, because you're going to be tested on it later! ... Alright, you won't be.
Without further delay, here's Chapter Four! Enjoy!
"There are innocent people aboard that train! Hold your fire!" Blake shouted over the radio, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The rest of the flight continued their approaches on the target ahead as another voice echoed through the comms. A darker, and much colder voice.
"Those 'innocents' are nothing but liars, thriving off the exploitation of those beneath them. They follow the teachings of bigots and hypocrites, and deserve this fate no less than their ancestors."
The final plane lined up its approach. "All units, release missiles."
Dozens of white streaks filled the sky as a harsh metal rain fell upon the train.
Only one aircraft still held its payload. The only pilot who could not bear to pull the trigger.
…
…
…
Blake jolted awake at the sound of a banging on her door, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She found herself inside of her cell, no longer in the nightmare she had just relived.
"Let's go Belladonna! We got an emergency sortie and we need you ready now!" The gruff voice of Qrow broke through the doorway. Emergency sortie? There was only supposed to be a few training flights today. Opening up her door, Blake's sleep-deprived eyes could hardly make out the sight the older man walking away. Whatever was going on, Qrow was in a hurry to get to it.
Peering down the other end of the hall, both Ruby and Yang made their ways towards the hangars, looking just as confused as Blake.
"Ruby, Yang, what is happening?"
"I don't know," Yang slurred, clearly she wasn't a morning person. "But Qrow doesn't look very happy."
"Neither do you, Yang," Ruby joked, avoiding the smack Yang sent, "But whatever it is, it sounds bad. Come on, let's go." She jumped from her bunk after getting her boots tied and jogged down the hall. Blake followed, but only after making sure Yang didn't fall back asleep.
Blake was surprised at the energy the younger pilot held. Ruby and Yang clearly were different in many ways; personality was evident enough, but it also appeared that Ruby was the early riser of the two.
All while she thought this, Blake realized she had been practically dragging Yang through the halls, further proving her theory. She sighed as she let go of the blonde, letting her drop with a thud.
Yang bounced up after making contact with the tile floor, her eyes shooting wide. She pushed herself up and glanced at Blake, who had a small, yet cynical smile on her face. "You dropped me?" Was the only thing to escape Yang's lips.
"It's that or a water splash." Blake replied, "Come on, let's not keep Qrow waiting."
Yang agreed, rubbing her eyes, she stood up and followed Blake. Both girls eventually made it to the briefing room where Qrow, Ruby and Port were waiting. Ruby more patiently than the others. "Glad you could make it, ladies." Port said, "Please, close the door and we can begin."
Blake complied and shut the door behind her whilst Yang took her seat next to Ruby, who sat next to Qrow. Blake sat to the other side of Qrow. On the other side of the table sat Port and Mercury.
Port rose from his seat and took in a breath, "At approximately zero-seven-hundred hours, radar detected several formations of aircraft heading towards this base. Judging by the size and the fact that none responded to our hails, they appear to be unmanned drones. Not long after, our sonobuoys picked up a submarine entering the area around Patch, which we believe to be acting as the mothership for the UAVs. Your mission is to shoot down the drones and secure airspace above the boat until we can send a team in to capture the personnel on the vessel. We want this thing in one piece and the crew alive for questioning people! Any questions?"
Ruby was the only one to raise a hand. The colonel nodded, giving her the go ahead, "How are we supposed to arrest a submarine?"
Mercury stepped up from his seat, "The sub is following the drones, which will eventually need to be recovered. As far as I'm aware, nobody has yet to develop a submersible aircraft, so it will need to surface in order to get her drones back. You will launch once the drones begin their return, and intercept the sub before it can recover them. We don't know whose ship this, but that's what we aim to find out. The sub is not a target, only the drones. Am I clear?"
All present nodded, fully understanding the urgency of their mission. "Good. Get suited, you're respective crafts are ready to go outside. One more thing: Not a word to anyone. You are starting your training early if anyone asks. Got it? Good. Dismissed!"
All four members stood up and walked out of the room, heading straight to the lockers. Qrow was oddly silent, something that fazed the sisters slightly. Even Blake noticed his unusual silence. Everyone, however, passed it off as his preparation.
Everything that has happened over the last few days has been sketchy to put it mildly. No one knew what was happening, and that's what was so unnerving. Regardless, it all boiled down to one thing: They were the soldiers, and they had to do what they were told, no questions asked.
And that was the negative to the ever so romantic life of a soldier.
Ruby and Blake had reached their lockers first, Yang opting to splash cool water in her face to fully wake herself up. When the blonde returned, she found that her sister had already unlocked and opened her locker for her. The one in question was now slipping into her flightsuit. Blake had finally pulled hers out and began to jump into it, as well as Yang.
Once again, Blake found herself impressed by the sisters. They were fast acting, Ruby more so. Yang seemed to be more of an 'act on instinct' type of person, whilst the former seemed to stay back, watch and react accordingly.
It didn't take the trio long to suit up, and they soon found themselves outside in the hangar. The colonel was true to his word and the flight crew had prepared their craft. The time was almost zero-eight-hundred, and the recon drones could still be seen, though now they had turned away, heading west.
"Alright!" Qrow called, "You know your objectives! Destroy those drones before they make it to the sub, and do not sink it! Qrow Team, load up!" With the command given, all of the squad entered their respective aircraft. The ground crews helped strap them in, the cockpit closed, sealing all four within their metal shells.
Once the engines got going, each member began doing their internal checks: Ventilation, radar, communications, all of the essentials. Then they began their taxi. Luckily for them, the control tower had made radar contact with the drones and had sent the information to the squad. Now they could make radar lock with the drones and fire missiles, instead of strafing them with guns.
The squad taxied to the runway. First up was Qrow, then Blake, Yang and finally Ruby. Qrow was serious about keeping Blake close. Blake also knew that if anything were to happen, heaven forbid, she would be thrusted into squad lead.
She didn't know what to feel about that. It wasn't the first time in her life that she had been so close to leading a squad, and most certainly won't be the last. But she still didn't like the idea; she never was a good leader, in her own eyes.
She shook the thoughts from her mind, what could possibly happen? They're taking care of drones! She turned her attention to the runway and saw Qrow's Phantom take off, which was the green light for her to begin her roll. Punching the thrust she began to move, picking up speed as she went. Eventually she found enough thrust to take to the sky and followed her leader. Her landing gear up, she turned to fly with Qrow, who was circling the island, watching his nieces take off.
Yang went up, and so did Ruby, both in short order. They all formed up and began their flight westward towards the drones.
Operation Jäger
August 28th, 2025
0930 Hours
Island of Patch
The boat was less than fifteen miles off of Patch's coast, whilst the drones weren't so lucky. There were three waves of four drones, each evenly spaced and closer and closer to the boat.
"Crow squadron, this is AWACS Huntsman," An energetic, speedy voice called over the radio, "Approaching first wave of unmanned drones, all bearing two-three-zero. Rubin you are cleared to engage the drones only."
Qrow was the one to reply for his team, "Copy that. You keep an eye on us from up there, AWACS." He turned his attention to his flight, "You got that nuggets?"
"Crow Two, roger." Blake confirmed first.
Next was Yang, "Crow Three, roger."
Finally, Ruby, "Crow Four, roger."
"The drones are split into 4 separate flights," Huntsman followed up, "two in each group. Remember, you are NOT to engage the ship. Understand?"
"Heard you loud and clear, motormouth." From the dry tone of his voice, Qrow had dealt with several different AWACS in his time. An AWACS was an airborne early warning and control system, usually run by a large aircraft thirty-five thousand feet up and far away from the action. Never working with such an asset before, Blake found it nerve-wracking, but somewhat comforting knowing that Huntsman was keeping an eye on the situation.
"Hellooo!? Earth to Belle! You still watching my tail?"
"Y- yes sir!" Blake stuttered, caught off guard in her daydream. "J- just checking my gauges."
"Stay alert back there and keep your head on a swivel," Qrow continued over the radio. "As I was saying, Rose and Xiao Long will break off and engage the right group. Belladonna, I gotta keep my eye on you so you're with me."
"Crow 4, copy. Let's get 'em sis!"
As the pair of Tigersharks piloted by the sisters broke off, Blake turned her attention back forward. Her leader had begun to pull away, already heading for the left group of drones. Pushing the throttle forward, her own aircraft's engines spooled with a high pitched scream, pinning Blake to the ejection seat. It wasn't long before the first set of UAVs came into view.
"Predators, unarmed, nice and easy." Qrow relayed through the radio. "Alright kiddo, you're up. Don't go wasting your missiles, see if you can stick to guns for now."
"Roger." Blake dropped her visor down in front of her eyes, the gunsight coming into view as she approached within one thousand meters of her target. She lined up the gunsight
and pulled the trigger.
The Tigers dual twenty millimeter cannons roared to life and lanced a stream of tracer
rounds, amputating the drones tail and dropping it into an irreversible dive . Qrow opened fire on the second drone, the Phantoms cannon ripping into the airframe with precision accuracy.
"Good shooting kid, you sure you haven't done this before?"
Blake felt a pang in her chest when she heard that, but faltered for only a moment, "Beginners luck, sir." The two formed up just in time for Ruby and Yang to catch up with them.
"Last one's to the next wave loses!" Yang's voice called as both aircraft zoomed past. Qrow sighed, wanting to yell at his nieces, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he accepted the challenge, and he and Blake both picked up speed to catch up with their rogue counterparts.
Qrow knew that Ruby and Yang would make it first. He also knew that, at their current speed, they would overshoot, and barely put it any rounds. Blake also recognized this as their opportunity to one-up and shut up the sisters. Not an easy task in itself.
Just as they expected, both Ruby and Yang overshot the drones, Ruby not even attempting to shoot them. She leaned back in her seat and sighed audibly, "I knew I was going to do that, I knew it I knew it I knew it!"
Yang formed back up with her, "It's ok, we'll let them have these two, you and I will get the others."
"And let that be a lesson, nuggets," The older captain announced, "Never overcompensate anything, and never make a game out of it, either. War isn't fun, contrary to popular belief." As he finished, he and Blake both strafed the third group down.
Accelerating further ahead, two more fireballs began their descent towards the ocean accompanied by the echo of cannon fire.
"Crow Four, splash one!"
"Crow Three, bagged another!"
"Crow Four to Crow One, do these count towards our kill record?"
Qrow pondered the thought for a moment. Ultimately it wasn't his choice, if it was then the answer would be a definite 'yes' just because. "I'd say so! They're airborne, they count." A cheer was heard over the radio as Qrow smiled and sighed. It was amazing to him how simple and easy it was to make his nieces happy, despite how complex they both tend to be. "AWACs, boogey dope! What more do we have?"
"Crow One, AWACS counts zero drones. Standby for further orders."
"Great, even the AWACS bosses us around," Qrow muttered, loud enough for it to be picked up over the radio. Ruby snickered whilst lifted her visor to pinch the bridge of her nose. Blake shook her head. All three knew he was joking, but it was a bad one altogether.
"Crow Team, your new orders are to hold above the ship. Keep it in our waters and await patrol boats to move in for arrest."
"So now we gotta babysit a submarine?" Yang protested out of boredom, clearly looking for more action. "I thought we were supposed to be fighters."
Qrow was quick to shut her up "No, we're soldiers and we follow orders. Speaking of which, send a surrender request over to that sub, why don't you."
"Huntsman to Crow squadron, new radar contacts." AWACS came over the radio once more. "Vector two-eight-zero, angels six. Cancel current objective and return to friendly triple-A cover."
Vector two-eighty, the four remembered that axis all too well.
"They gotta be riding the border here, and who knows how many more are itching to cross. All aircraft return to base, now!" Qrow declared, not wishing to see any more nuggets go down. All planes turned around back to the base, and the chase was on.
The team formed up and pushed the throttle, their engines beginning to whine out of use. All the while four dots appeared on radar, moving fast. Clearly these were MiGs, fast, sleek and highly maneuverable aircraft; dangerous little buggers. Yang had looked to her radar and back to her team repeatedly, worried that they wouldn't make it. Her concern was proven correct when her radar lock warning began to ring out.
"AH! I'm not gonna make it! They've got a lock!" Not soon after the missile warning alarm rang out, "Oh shi-" Her voice was cut out as she juked hard right, avoiding both of the missiles that were locked on her.
"Enemy has begun an attack. Do we engage?" Blake asked while breaking formation, giving her a chance to cover anyone if needed.
Huntsman came over, strict and steady, "Negative. Do not engage. Return to base."
"Oh come on! Those aren't blanks they're firing!"
Qrow broke over the radio as he gained radar lock, "Shut your mouth and fire back!" He demanded. "Crow Three break off and cover four! Two, you're on me, we'll show them how it's done!"
"Copy, Crow Four engaging!"
"Copy! Crow Three, moving to assist!." Ruby announced as she maneuvered to intercept the tail Yang had picked up.
"Crow Two, engaging!."
"Crow Team, ceasefire at once and return to base!" Huntsman cried out, but his cries fell on deaf ears.
"Can it, motor mouth!" Qrow fired back, "We're not losing any more pilots!"
It wasn't long before Ruby had the first bogey in her sights. Yang continued to jink left and right, desperately trying to shake the pursuer. As she continued to line up the shot, Ruby took study of the enemy, a MiG-21 Fishbed. Ancient fighters from the days of the Great war, and clearly being piloted by an amateur. Tracers spewed from its nose, all missing Yang by a mile.
It didn't take long for the target to lock. "FOX THREE!" Ruby's plane rattled as a sidewinder screamed off the bottom rail, the pilot ahead having no chance. Banking left far too late, the missile struck the MiGs wing, detonating the fuel tank inside and leaving the helpless wreck to fall into the ocean below.
Yang breathed a sigh of relief. A few rounds had struck her wing, but nothing major had been hit.
"Saw you take a couple hits, you alright sis?"
Yang's ears perked at Ruby's voice over the radio, she stuttered as she tried to formulate a response, "Uh, y-yeah! I'm good! Nothing major, think I just got one or two in my wing is all."
"Be careful out here, Yang. I can't babysit you all day up here." Ruby joked as she broke off. Yang was about to argue that comment, but decided to save it for later. 'Babysit me!? Half of the time I still babysit her!' She shook her head and jumped back into the fight.
However, the battle raged on. It wasn't long before a missile warning pierced through Ruby's ears. Out of pure instinct, she slammed the Tigers yoke forward, dropping her into a sharp dive. The missile veered off harmlessly, but its fighter continued the chase.
"Yang, I've got one on my tail!" Ruby barely called, the g-forces battering her in the harsh maneuver. Yang turned behind her sister's aggressor, trying to put her piper (Gun sight) on the unknown. She had a missile lock, but launching a shot while in a turn would likely be trashed. Instead, Yang pushed on the stick ever-so-slightly and got her planes nose ahead, then launched a volley of bullets.
After a few tracers punched the enemy, a bright flame was seen across the body. The left wing fell off as the plane dropped into the ocean below, a fireball of a wreck. "You babysit me, huh?" Yang joked.
"Oh shut it!" Ruby cried, not letting Yang make anymore jokes. Her earlier comment came to bite her in the butt faster than she could imagine.
Qrow called over the radio, "We got another wave inbound. Everybody, form up!" With that the squad moved towards the next wave of unknowns. The four rejoined formation and headed in the direction of these new enemies, still weary from the sudden shock of open war.
The next wave appeared on radar fast, indicating another formation of MiGs. The agile aircraft was a formidable foe in the last war, and seeing as they're fighting their airborne rival from the same time, it made for an interesting fight. As the next wave came into visual view, a hail of bullets ripped through the sky. The team broke formation in an attempt to break contact. It worked, and the group pulled into attack formation, though scattered.
Yang was the straggler and the enemy pilots knew it. Two jumped on her six and gained radar lock. Yang began a hard left turn in an attempt to break free. She tried calling for help, but the G-forces against her body made it difficult, if not impossible.
"Belladonna!" A familiar voice hailed, "Let's go clear Three's tail!"
"Oh, did the rock 'n roller take the trail position, today?" Qrow asked with a chuckle, "You kids play nice over there, I'm going to teach our resident enemy flight-lead why it's only polite to reply in kind." With that he broke off, leaving Blake and Ruby to handle the other two bogeys on Yang's tail.
"Yang, on my count, fly straight for a moment, then break right, ok?" Ruby called. Neither Yang nor Blake understood where she was going, but they were both intrigued. "Blake, let me know when you have missile lock."
Ruby waited for the tone to sound as she joined in the high-G turn. Blake was finally able to see where Ruby was getting with her plan and internally kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier. Finally Blake heard the high-pitched tone from her radar, indicating that she indeed had a lock. "I got it!" She called.
"Alright, Yang… One… Two… THREE!" With that, Yang broke her turn and flew straight long enough for her teammates to fire a missile at their respective targets. For the two seconds Yang had stayed steady, her two pursuers had followed but hadn't realized how close Ruby and Blake got. Because of that one faux pas, Ruby and Blake were able to get a lock, get close, fire away and destroy them without letting their missiles fly for too long. In an instant Yang's tail was cleared and half of the enemy wave went down.
"Good shot!" Ruby cheered, "Another for the kill record!"
"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself, Kid." Qrow called, "Got one dead in my sights..."
The third MiG flew just past their views, Qrow in hot pursuit. The enemy fighter was clearly without a wingman, and desperately trying to escape the phantom stalking it from behind. In a last ditch effort to turn the tide of the chase, the MiG ahead banked hard left, exactly what Qrow wanted him to do. The cannon mounted on the Phantoms belly spewed hot lead in the Fishbeds path. With no time to react, the pilot flew directly into the fire in front of him. The old aircraft stood no chance, and quickly disintegrated from the stream twenty millimeter rounds.
"...and he is out of this fight. Last one looks to be running, mind taking him out number Three?"
"It would be my pleasure!" Yang affirmed, as she tried to find the last bogey. When she finally found him, it appeared as though he was trying to get away. She sped up and began to pursue. "Almost in range…" She switched to her other weapon, a long ranged air-to-air missile, known as the Sparrow. It's terrific range and accuracy was perfect for this very scenario. She gained lock and pressed the trigger, "Fox three!"
The Sparrow trailed across the sky, it's speed unmatched. In mere seconds it caught up to the retreating bogey. He attempted to juke the missile, but turned the wrong way. The Sparrow ripped through the MiG like a hot knife through cheese… Very explosive cheese… And erupted into a massive fireball.
"Nice work, Crow team. Picture clear, all bandits down." Huntsman declared. "We still have a warning, however! Keep your heads on a swivel!"
"Copy, Huntsman. We'll keep an eye out here, you tell the base to get out here and arrest that boat!" Qrow declared.
"Erm, Copy. We'll get on it." Huntsman stuttered, clearly not used to that type of verbal abuse. "We'll have the team there in a few moments."
The team formed up, but kept a steady distance apart. The radar warning was still going off, which means that somewhere someone had a lock or was trying to attain one. The only problem was that there was no aircraft around…
'Maybe it's not an aircraft.' Ruby thought. She banked her aircraft, her heart nearly stopping at what she saw below.
The enemy submarine was directly under them.
"Oh crap! They're down below, too!" Just as she called a series of flashes came from the back of the vessel, and warning alarms screamed through their helmets. A swarm of almost a dozen missiles raced towards Qrow team, leaving little time to react.
The team broke formation as everyone violently maneuvered, waiting to see if the missiles could be evaded. The projectiles followed their every move, hell bent on bringing down the squadron in one brutal strike.
"Team, deploy countermeasures!" Qrow yelled, not willing to lose the last of his trainees, or family. "Use every last one of them!"
Flares and chaff littered the sky, missiles detonated and deadly shrapnel filled the air. Ruby pulled into a harsh climb before rolling to the left, a missile passing only a few feet by her canopy before detonating harmlessly ahead.
Yang, having used the majority of her countermeasures in the dogfight, had to resort to more drastic maneuvers. Her plane rolled and bucked, the damaged wing rattling with every twist, threatening to fail at any moment. As the effects of G-LOC began to set in, Yang closed her eyes and accepted her fate, ready for the missiles to hit and for everything to end before it even began.
A loud THUD, followed by a harsh shake in the aircraft proved otherwise. Yang peered over the seat, catching a glimpse of the two missiles colliding behind her. "Cr- Crow Thr-Three. I'm clear…" Yang stuttered over the radio, reeling from her second near death experience in only thirty minutes.
"Crow Four, clear as well over here!" Ruby followed up, having dodged the last of her tails. "Damn, two is still in trouble!"
Blake was not so lucky. She broke into a hard right turn, the g-forces weighing her down. She started to turn left, hoping that a swift change in directions would throw her bane off. She wouldn't lose it so easily, however, as the SAMs continued to track her.
Closer and closer it got, with Blake weaving in and out repeatedly in a desperate attempt to lose it. She had begun to accept her fate as she feared she would not lose it. Just as she prepared to take a hit and eject, she noticed something, a flash. She turned around and saw a Phantom behind her, flying the same path as she was. Just then, it broke and dove left, the missile following.
Qrow jumped behind Blake to take the missile lock off of her. He flew into a barrel roll, trying to shake the bastard of a missile behind him, but to no avail. In a flash, a large BOOM was heard, as Qrow's Phantom started trailing smoke. "Captain!" Blake called, trying to see if her flight lead was OK.
"Hey! Cut the waterworks! I'm still here!" Qrow hollered, annoyance in his voice. Whether he was annoyed at the missile he just took, or the circumstances around this whole day was yet to be determined. "Ah, I'm losing thrust and altitude. I think I'm gonna bail out here, not sure how far a Phantom as old as mine without tail wings can go, but I don't want to find out. Scramble the search and rescue teams and prep my spare plane."
"Copy that. Huntsman, did you get that?" Ruby asked.
"Affirmative. Base is currently scrambling."
"Alright, good. Crow One, bailing out!" With that, Qrow's canopy blew open as the rocket beneath his seat turned on, flying him above and away from his doomed craft. His parachute opened and he slowly began to fall to the ocean below.
"Alright everyone, form up on me!" Blake called. She, as Crow Team's number two, was now thrown into leadership. Though deep down she felt out of place. She never was a leader, as much as she wanted to be one. Her teammates, on the other hand, they seemed like leadership material. Ruby more so than Yang.
Speaking of which, the aforementioned pilots formed up to Blake's left and right, keeping up a patrol. The watched as Qrow slowly fell. He seemed like he was flying rather than falling, almost enjoying the parachute ride down.
"Crow team, red alert! Return to base for refit immediately!" AWACS Huntsman called once more. "We have an emergency sortie, all planes are needed!"
"Are you kidding me!? We can't just abandon the captain!" Ruby yelled, wanting to watch over her uncle. Outside of an aircraft, even the most seasoned pilots are vulnerable. Including Qrow.
"Negative! Let the rescue team handle him! The enemy just declared war on us!"
(Karmahhhh) Well that took much longer than we had hoped. But all in all, there it is. The beginning of the war with an unknown enemy.