Chapter 9: Surprise Attack!
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.
Vandread Ace
Nathan sits in the observation room watching 4 willing pilots do simulation training for the B-1R strategic bomber. The red-haired man is amazed at how fast they are learning despite the fact they haven't flown an aircraft from his time period but he has to give them credit on learning that the controls are identical to those in a Dread except the pilots will each have a separate set to operate with. Nathan stretches all this observation is making him tired and is about to leave when he hears the door slide open to reveal the female pilots standing there, he gestures with his hand to tell them to come in. They do causing the door to close and Nathan takes a moment to study their appearance.
The first one had crimson red hair that stopped in-between her shoulder blades, stood at 5'9" tall, medium tanned skin, hazel eyes that had some green mixed in, a slender yet toned figure, 32 C cup breasts and nice set of legs. Her clothing consisted of the same white and black flight suit Meia wore but lacked the shoulder and chest padding.
The second had bob-cut styled black hair, around 5'7 in height, pale skin, blue-gray eyes, an hourglass-shaped body, 38 C cup breasts and toned legs. She wore a black T-shirt, blue shorts and shoes.
The third had short blonde hair, stood at 5'6, pale skin as well, forest green eyes, athletic body, 36 C cup bust line and slender legs. Her attire consisted of form fitting black jeans, red tank top and running shoes.
The final woman had shoulder-length dark brown hair, was the tallest of the group at 6'1, moderately tanned skin, amber eyes, hourglass-shaped body too, 40 D cup breasts and toned legs. She donned a punk blouse, gray shorts and red shoes trimmed with white.
Nathan concluded that these fine ladies were young, ranging from 20 to his age of 24. If he was still single any one of them would make fine wives.
He cleared his throat, "Hello, ladies. My name is Nathan Brooks. Magno has selected you to fly the B-1R starting today hence the reason why you have been doing flight simulation training. I can tell by looking into your eyes, you have what it takes to fly the strategic bomber. Your names, please."
The hazel-eyed girl saluted, "I am Emily, the youngest of the group at 20 years old. It's an honor to meet one of the legendary Demons of Razgriz."
The second female introduced, "Akira is the name and I am 22, sir."
The third girl smiled, "My name is Amy and I just turned 21."
The finale woman stated, "Name's Sarah and I'm the oldest at 24."
Nathan folded his arms behind his back, "Excellent. Listen closely about the positions you'll have when flying the B-1R because I am not going to repeat myself. Sarah, you will be the pilot, Emily will be the co-pilot, Amy will be in charge of operating the offensive system and Akira will be operating the defense system. During combat, your callsign will be Black Eagle. Magno has also assigned you to be under my command, meaning that you'll recieve orders from me or one of my wingmen when I am not present on the battlefield. Are there any objections?" The four young women look at each other to see if any of them want to take orders from a man since they have been raised to think of men as mortal enemies but to Nathan's surprise they have no objections, in fact they seem ecstatic that he will be their leader.
They said in unison, "No, sir!"
The young Osean nodded, "Very well. For the time being, rest up or whatever you want but always remain on alert because the enemy can strike when you least expect it." They depart ways after that.
Grimm sits on the bench in the Nirvana's garden staring at the endless blanket of stars. He is awed by the various colors of the nebula that formed when a star about 10 times the mass of the Sun exploded as a supernova and judging by the brightness of the cloud, the explosion was probably a few weeks ago. He hears footsteps behind him and he had a feeling who it is. Turning his head around, he discovers it to be Meia. Over the past several weeks the Dread leader was still opening up to others bit by bit. However, the ones that she seemed most comfortable talking to was Razgriz Squadron.
Grimm greeted her in a friendly matter, "Hello, Meia. How are you doing?"
Meia replied, "I'm doing fine. Why are you sitting here all by yourself? I was expecting you to be with your squad mates."
The 19-year old said, "Just because we're a legendary fighter squadron does not mean that we have to be seen as a group everywhere we go. Please, sit down." The Dread leader hesitates for a moment before taking a seat next to him.
She asked, "Tell me. Why do you idolize Nathan so much?"
Grimm answered, "I wouldn't say idolize, more like respect. You see, the Captain had this special trait of being a squad leader. He always seemed to get us out of tight spots and keep our spirits up when we felt down. He also possesses phenomenal skills as a fighter pilot. He was able to shoot down all members of Grabacr Squadron by himself during our mission to rescue Captain Bartlett, Nathan's mentor. Snow called Nathan the 'Ace of Aces' because of his flying, even Nagase felt that she'd nowhere be as good as him. Have you ever wondered why Nathan is so skilled as a pilot, Meia?"
Meia shook her head, "No."
Grimm stated, "That's because he is the son of the legendary Mobius One."
The Dread leader again shook her head, "I have never heard of him. Who was he?"
The young pilot looked at the stars, "I don't know much about him myself. Information about Mobius One is spotty at best but I have been able to obtain some information about him. He was the most successful pilot ever to take the skies. His piloting skills are equaled to that of an entire squadron, which is unheard of. My guess is before he had to go fight in some conflict called the Usean Continental War in 2005, he married a woman and Nathan was born of that. Not much is known about what happened to Mobius One after the war where he fought against some extremists a year later. Some say that he retired from the air force and returned home to help his wife raise Nathan. It seems that this legendary ace's skills have been passed on to the Captain. I'm glad he is on our side because we would be in serious trouble if Nathan was the enemy." Meia tries her best not picturing the Razgriz Squadron leader attacking them. They both hear the alarm sound.
In her bridge control console, Amarone said, "The radar has picked up a swarm of enemy signatures."
BC ordered, "Put it on the main monitor." The bridge bunny does and the personnel gasp.
Magno narrowed her eyes, "So it's the Black Star Pirates."
Snow appeared on a separate monitor, "You know them?"
Magno nodded, "Yeah, we've had a few encounters with them. Unlike us, the Black Star Pirates raid an enemy ship, take what they want and then kill the crew before destroying the ship. To put it simply, these guys are heartless human beings. All hands to battle stations!"
Snow saluted her, "You got it!" The Dread pilots scramble to their aircraft but only half succeed in getting out to engage the enemy before the Nirvana is rocked by an explosion.
Ezra informed, "A pair of boarding shuttles have docked with our ship!" Elsewhere, Nathan finishes helping some engineers clear debris for his squadron to take off when Ezra alerts him to the enemy's presence on board the Nirvana.
Blaze spoke into the small radio in his ear, "Razgriz Squadron and Black Eagle, scramble immediately. This is not a drill."
Nagase replied, "Roger that, Blaze." Sarah and Emily run through a systems check as they wait for their turn to take off. Once Snow's MiG-29 exits the hanger, Sarah fires up all 4 of the B-1R's Pratt & Whitney F119 engines. Pushing the throttle lever all the way forward, the black aircraft starts picking up speed as it rolls down the hanger and into the battlefield with a payload of highly destructive Mark 84 General Purpose bombs. Gunfire and aircraft circling each other light up the darkness of space.
Sarah said, "Razgriz, this Black Eye. We have just taken off, give us a target."
Edge ordered, "This is Edge. The enemy's battleships are bombarding the Nirvana with their main guns. We'll keep their fighters off your back while you take out the battleships."
Sarah replied, "Black Eagle roger. Targeting enemy battleships."
Meia barked, "B team, cover that B-1R!" She gets a "roger" from the team and the Dreads from that formation move up ahead and engage the fighters, the path is soon clear for the B-1R to initiate its bombing run.
The latches holding the Mark 84 bombs release and the weapons penetrate the battleship's deck and unleash their devastating power within the bowels of the ship, spewing shrapnel that kills anyone who survived the explosion. The blast also rips open a massive hole in the vessel's port side. The B-1R drops another bomb, this time it detonates the ammo depot, ripping the battleship in half. Further explosions destroy the two pieces. The bomber goes after the next battleship.
Edge chases after an X-02 Wyvern.
The Wyvern is an experimental aircraft that shares an uncommon design with variable geometry technology with a forward-swept wing configuration. As the aircraft accelerates, its wings and vertical stabilizers fold inward to reduce air drag and retract to their normal positions once the aircraft slows down. The X-02 is powered by two tri-dimensional thrust vectoring ERG-1000 engines, providing the aircraft with a maximum speed of 1,050 km/h. It's armed with a machine gun of unknown design and AIM-9X Sidewinders. The drawback of this design is the Wyvern's light armor. A perfectly timed missile strike can shatter the plane.
However, that's easier said than done because the X-02 she is chasing has an experienced pilot behind the controls. The F-15E Strike Eagle struggles to keep up with the faster opponent and even when Edge comes close to gaining a missile lock, the enemy fighter takes evasive action. The X-02 performs a somersault to get behind Edge's 6 o'clock for a missile lock. Edge hears the missile warning and jinks right, popping flares to divert the AIM-9X Sidewinder away from its target. After shaking the missile off, Edge enters gun range and fires the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon scoring a few hits in the Wyvern's frame. Realizing that his fighter jet has been hit, the pilot attempts to retreat for repairs but he before can ignite the afterburners the Wyvern is destroyed by an AIM-120D AMRAAM.
Inside the Nirvana, Blaze prevents a female Black Star pirate from stabbing him in the heart. He normally would never hit a woman but looking into this woman's soulless brown eyes he concludes that these invaders must be stopped. The 24-year old thrusts his knee into the pirate's stomach, making her drop the knife and Blaze connects with a right hook. Recovering from the blow she runs at him for a high kick but Blaze blocks it and counters with an uppercut that sends the opponent stumbling back. Rubbing her chin, she gives Blaze a heated glare then charges again but soon stops when she feels something thrown into her chest. Looking down it's revealed to be her knife and it struck where her heart is, if she has one. She winds up dying from massive internal bleeding and Blaze senses that the others need help.
Elsewhere, Barnette fires her Desert Eagle at a pair of fairly armed male soldiers. While they lacked body armor, they made up for it with sheer numbers much to the dark green-haired woman's frustration. She fires her last round and a male soldier takes this opportunity to quickly close the distance before Barnette can react, knocking her down and aiming his shotgun at her head. Before he can pull the trigger a fist comes out of nowhere and sends him back. Turning her head around, Barnette discovers the savior to be Blaze wearing a pair of MMA gloves.
He walks up to her and kneels down to check for any injuries when he finds none, he offers Barnette a hand. She takes it and Blaze pulls her to her feet.
She gritted her teeth, "That was my last clip. Damn it!"
Blaze offered, "Why don't you get up close and personal? Fighting with your fists can be every bit as lethal as any gun."
Barnette smirked, "I was thinking about that. I'm second behind Meia when it comes to hand to hand combat." Placing her Desert Eagle back in its holster, Barnette cracks her knuckles and dashes towards the attacker, delivering a roundhouse kick that snaps the pirate's neck.
Blaze said, "I'm quite fond of kicking someone's ass with my bare hands when not in a dogfight with them." A smirk appears on his face as the two fight the raiding party.
The B-1R finishes picking off the last battleship.
Sarah cried, "This is Black Eye requesting new targets."
Edge barked, "There's an assault carrier launching those boarding shuttles. That ship is your next target." Sarah checks the number of bombs remaining and sees that they have enough for this next bombing run.
Weaving through anti-air fire, the B-1R soon flies over the enemy assault carrier and drops the last of its Mark 84 bombs. Just like with the battleships they punch through the deck and explode in the interior, leaving huge gaping holes the ship is destroyed by a massive explosion that lights up the surrounding area.
Emily said, "Black Eagle here. Target has been eliminated, returning to base for rearm." The crew hear the missile warning and Sarah jinks the bomber left while Akira pops flares to direct the enemy AIM-9X Sidewinder away. Failing to score a hit with its missile, the enemy X-02 Wyvern fires its machine gun at them the B-1R executes a barrel role to avoid the rounds. The bomber next dives when Emily spots an R-27AE screaming towards them and obliterates their attacker. Swordsman flies by them and both him and Sarah exchange salutes. After being fitted with AIM-120Ds the B-1R returns to battle, ready for more action
Barnette throws a punch that her next male opponent avoids and twists her arm in a hammerlock but then the dark green-haired woman slams him onto his back via snapmare then drives the heel of her thigh-high boot onto his sternum, causing the man to clutch his chest in agony. Another pirate pins Barnette against the wall and she mentally gags in disgust when she notices him checking her out with a sick, perverted look in his eyes. To further add to her chagrin, the fool gropes one of her breasts. Cocking her leg back, Barnette drives it into the man's privates and once she is free she throws the hardest punch Barnette can deliver knocking some of the pirate's teeth out not wanting to give the enemy a chance to recover, the Dread pilot throws a savage roundhouse kick that sends her opponent rolling across the floor.
She glared at the others while bellowing, "Bring it!" Blaze dons a comic look of surprise as she dismantles half of the boarding party by herself.
'Holy shit, she's nuts when angry. Better not piss her off.' He noted to himself with a twitching eyebrow.
A few minutes later, Barnette towers over a pile of battered, beaten and painfully moaning pirates. She takes deep breaths to get her anger under control again then turns around to spot Blaze looking at her in disbelief then looks over her shoulder to spot a female Black Star pirate slowly raising her arms to snap Barnette's neck.
He warned, "Barnette, behind you!" The dark green-haired woman instinctively thrusts the back of her fist into the foe's face, probably resulting in breaking the pirate's nose. Turning around, Barnette executes an uppercut.
Barnette returned her gaze to Blaze, "We better go help the others." Blaze nods and the two run down the hallway to assist other crew members.
An X-02 chases after Meia desperately trying to gain a missile lock but the Dread leader takes evasive action every time she hears the missile warning. Pulling a hard right turn, she closes in from her enemy's 8 o'clock low and rapid-fires her Dread's lasers that rips the Wyvern apart like a piece of paper.
Archer weaves through an enemy frigate's AA fire and drops an unguided bomb on one of the ship's gun turrets, trashing it on impact. He immediately pops flares when he receives a missile alert and fires an R-27AE in retaliation, scoring a kill.
Somewhere among the Black Star Pirate fleet, the personal on board the flagship watch as the Nirvana and its fighters hold their ground against them.
A radio operator stated, "30% of our Wyverns have shot down! 4 battleships, 1 frigate, 5 destroyers and 2 assault carriers have been destroyed as well!"
The captain said, "Prepare to fire our ship's Photon Particle Cannon at full power!"
The commander turned his head, "But sir, it's only been fired at 50%! We don't what will happen if it's shot at maximum output!"
His superior glared at him, "I'll tell you what will happen. The Nirvana and its Dreads will be vaporized! Now ready the cannon, that's an order!"
The radio operator nodded, "Yes, sir. Begin charging process." The middle of the ship's bow opens and parts to the sides, revealing the weapon. Energy particles begin collecting inside its massive barrel, initiating the charging process. It only takes 10 minutes for the cannon to reach full power.
On the Nirvana's bridge, Belvedere whipped around, "Captain, I'm detecting a massive energy buildup from the enemy's flagship. It appears to be some kind of particle cannon and it's aimed towards us!"
Magno's eyes widened, "What? Warn all of our aircraft and take evasive action, Bart!" A moment later, the Photon Particle Cannon opens fire and the beam travels at Mach 4.
Meia alerted, "All units, evasive maneuvers now!"
The pilots responded, "Roger!" The Dreads, Vandread Meia, B-1R and Razgriz Squadron evade as they see the beam rushing towards them but some aircraft from both sides get caught in its line of fire and are instantly vaporized. Dita stares in horror at the sight.
Edge gasped, "My god, to think that they'd have such a weapon capable of this kind of destruction. Swordsman, Archer, return to the Nirvana with me to replenish our special weapons. Ezra, I want you to find that flagship's location and transmit the coordinates to us. Also run an analysis of that cannon"
Ezra asked, "What are you going to do?"
Edge said, "We're going to destroy it."
The gentle bridge bunny exclaimed, "By yourselves? That's suicide!"
Archer stated, "You don't know our accomplishments, Ezra. We survived burst missile attacks while we attacked and sunk the sister subs Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi. We're used to this so have faith in us, we won't die. I promise." They return to the Nirvana to refuel and replenish their weapons then take off again.
Meia ordered, "Jura, you and C team keep enemy fighters off Razgriz Squadron's tail as they approach the flagship."
Jura said, "Understood, Meia. C team, follow me!" They stay true to their order, diverting the X-02s' attention to them instead of Razgriz Squadron.
The 3 black aircraft hit the afterburners, weaving through anti-air fire until the enemy flagship enters their line of sight.
Ezra cried, "Edge, I have completed my analysis of the enemy cannon like you requested. Apparently it's called the Photon Particle Cannon that utilizes photons and focuses them into a beam of highly destructive energy, the total amount of destruction depends on the intensity of the beam. At 50%, it can destroy a space station. At maximum output, it can wipe out an entire fleet." She can hear Swordsman whistle from the information she is dishing out.
Edge asked, "How long does it take for the cannon to recharge before it can be fired again?"
Ezra replied, "About 15 minutes tops. You three better hurry because you only have 6 minutes until that thing can be used again." Meanwhile, the B-1R acquires a lock on 4 Wyverns and fires a pair of AIM-120D AMRAAM, explosions occur right upon impact.
Blaze and Barnette help the uninjured bring wounded crew members to the infirmary that's quickly filling up when Blaze senses an enemy's presence behind him so he slams his elbow into the person's face then whips around to make eye contact with the leader of the raiding party. He spends the next 4 minutes blocking and countering attacks then with an uppercut, he sends the muscular man onto his back.
He asked, "Who gave you our location?"
The pirate taunted, "Why should I answer to the Ghost of Razgriz, hm?"
Blaze said, "Because I'll put a bullet in your leg if you do not answer me." He gives him a stare that promises immeasurable pain if he doesn't talk.
The pirate spoke, "It was Hamilton who gave us your location. He promised us a substantial reward if we pushed you to your limits."
Blaze demanded, "Where is he? Tell me now while you still can!"
The fool said, "I don't know, Ghost of Razgriz. All I can say is that you better watch your back because he'll be throwing more surprises at you."
The Razgriz Squadron leader pulled out his M9A11 pistol and pointed it, "Hamilton, huh? Thanks for the help, asshole." He pulls the trigger and the gunshot echoes throughout the hallway, scaring crew members who scream upon hearing it, fearing that a fellow crew mate got killed. Putting his pistol in the holster, he and Barnette resume aiding the injured.
After taking out the enemy flagship's AA guns with their cannons, Razgriz Squadron gains some distance then hit the afterburners for their attack run. Edge can see the barrel starting to glow indicating that it's now or never. Edge leads the attack with her F-15E Strike Eagle, Archer and Swordsman follow in their MiG-29 Fulcrums and they release all of their bombs at once then pull out. The bombs set off a chain reaction that redirects the collected energy into the barrel but the force of it is so powerful that it actually sets off large-scale explosions within the ship then its reactor detonates, turning the vessel into pieces of space debris.
Edge said, "Nirvana, this is Edge. Enemy flagship has been destroyed, mission complete. Returning to base" The Dreads follow them in and later that day, a little funeral service is held for the Dread pilots that perished in the battle. Dita winds up crying in Hibiki's chest, much to the young lad's confusion but he comforted her by holding her and rubbing her back.
Although they lost some excellent Dread pilots today, the Nirvana crew were able to dodge a bullet this time. But they know that the Harvesters are still lurking out there in space and have to remain on alert until the end of their journey.
A/N: Chapter 9 done. Here, the Nirvana crew run into a rival space pirate group that Mejalians know. Like I promised, the B-1R had its first dogfight and the crew witnessed why Razgriz Squadron is famous for destroying superweapons.
Also, it's been revealed that Nathan is the son of Mobius One.
Got Armored Core 5 Tuesday and just completed Story Mode today. The game's pretty cool if you are a fan of the franchise.
Read and review.
Stay tuned for chapter 10.
Vader 23A