Shirogane Archangel 1. Flight A, Element A
Sumika Archangel 2. Flight A, Element A
Yuuya-Inia, Idar 1. Flight A, Element B
Meiya Archangel 5. Flight A, Element B
Sakaki Archangel 4. Flight B, Element C
Mikoto Archangel 6. Flight B, Element C
Ayamine Archangel 7. Flight B, Element C
Kasumi Archangel 3. Flight B, Element D
Tamase Archangel 8. Flight B, Element D
—
Yoroi Mikoto
05:29 AM
Soviet Б-01, boundary
"—mobile artillery. Watch out, get MSD." The thundering war wasn't fazing Kei in the slightest as she alerted Mikoto and the rest to the advent of another Platoon.
"—guided Shells! Guided Shells! 06, it's coming for you!"
"—thanks but my warning system already told me!" Chizuru might have just sent out her tip-off a tad bit too late.
Turning her boosters in full reverse, Mikoto dipped away just in time for the missiles to miss her chest armour and explode on the ground behind her instead. The set of F-4Es who fired the expensive tracking missiles pursued after Mikoto's Shiranui, likely demanding for her compensation.
"Yoroi, hold on a bit longer." To Mikoto's right, Kei was hunting after a similar F-4 with her halberd out. She was sure to get her kill a short while later, but that was the time Mikoto couldn't afford to spare.
"We're almost done here, Yoroi!" The same thing was happening to her left; Chizuru was busy duelling against the last F-4. She had succeeded in disabling one of the TSF's main arms, the rest will take just a bit longer though.
"Argga! Then just say I'm on my own!" Having trouble shaking her tails, Mikoto shouted half-jokingly half-angrily.
"Sorry, Yoroi! You gotta take them down!"
"Or you'll be fucked." Maybe what Kei said was much more accurate.
"Oh geez, thanks Kei-san!"
"…No problem?" As the use of sarcasm was a first for Mikoto, therefore Kei was confused by her use of never-before-seen attitude.
The only skill in Mikoto's inventory keeping her alive right then was her pure evasive maneuvers plus the XM3, neither of which she was short on, thus in her brain was not panic but plans. Plans on taking down her two chasers without being injured herself.
—
"…Yoroi, that was some Penny Tunes shit right there."
"Aaa -can't believe that worked!" Said Mikoto joyfully as she shot two dead Phantoms in the head.
"They got burned on your Jump Unit fuel… how did that even happen?" Chizuru too, was curious on the hilarious way Mikoto earned her kills.
"I just kinda improvised and spilled them on a low flight, had a good shot in and… boom!"
"Well, might as well report this now. —Element C to Arc leader. Egypt, Resheph Flight, liquidated."
"—Archangel 1, copy." Calmly, Takeru accepted Chizuru's update.
"By the way, what is Penny Tunes, Kei-san!?" Mikoto asked.
"Huh? That's… a… TV show, right…?"
"Waiiit, why you so unsure about it though?" As if her camera was a mirror, Kei reflected Mikoto's confusion perfectly.
"You don't remember…? The one with the bunny… I saw it as a kid."
"Hold on, hold on. You mean you saw it broadcast over national television in Japan?" Now interested, Chizuru became part of the talk instead of shutting it down.
"No… wait, I didn't… but… I kinda did?"
"Ayamine, I'm gonna test you for medications real quick, you mind?" Once in a while, even Class rep could make a funny joke.
"…It was like… I saw it elsewhere, can't remember the details… but it's true. I know it! I remember it from somewhere- it's just—!" Kei's rise in volume didn't go unnoticed.
"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, alright!? It's not like we don't believe you, just cool off, there's shit to do right now."
"Right, right… damn, my head hurts a bunch… can I shoot up some mo—"
The second half of her sentence was overshadowed by another alarm beeping in Mikoto's cockpits.
"Talk later, people! Additional arriving forces, reading shows to be… PLA… Bao-Feng Test Flight!" Then was a strange hesitation in Chizuru's voice as she spoke out.
"Our Yankee… said these ones are good."
"Yep, yep! I heard the same as well!" Recalling back to their briefing, 2nd Lt. Bridges did warn them of PLA's Jian-10 Platoon's skills.
"Doesn't matter, guys! They're only another team of four! Let's go get them!" Escalating the team's morale, Chizuru called for their Flight to meet the enemies.
"Roger, I want some Chinese dumplings to go."
"Let's take on these guys too! Hooay!"
Yashiro Kasumi
05:33 AM
Soviet Б-01, two klicks out
"—stationary sentry, firing on hostile F-15s." Naming herself by her role instead of Callsign, Kasumi noticed a perplex Miki gawking at her.
"—urr… you mean yourself, right, Kasumi-san?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Please just say Gun Sweeper next time." Kasumi said nothing back. The bunny girl didn't let it show, but she really adored using strange epithets instead of proper labels normally associated with whatever she talked about.
"Your status, Archangel 8." Moving on from their previous topic, Kasumi asked Miki.
"Oh, right. Archangel 8, scouting nearby area for threats… ah! I see two TSFs approaching your six, Kasumi-san! Models are F-16s! Hakke Security force! I'll designate them for you!"
"Noted, engaging marked targets"
The silent, motionless Mount Pylons suddenly jumped to life the next second, its Type-87s loaded with live 36mms and 120mm APs, bullets Kasumi had yet to use in combat as they were shunned for their lethality. Something deplorable during this mission.
So it was not surprising for those mounted rifles to start firing on the forthcoming Falcons with absolute accuracy, just barely missing the cockpits. Her two foes were directly disabled with only four fast bursts to the head, arms and stomach region respectively.
"Shots on target, E.K.I.A. Confirmed F-16 Fighting Falcon, quantity two." Said Kasumi to herself in the cockpit which only she resided.
"Miki struck down three F-15s! Is your area clear, Kasumi-san?" Kasumi's wingman also reported her successful kills. From the gist of it, it was the remnant of a disseminated unit.
Finally, the last lingering lone TSF jumped out of its cover for a final showdown. And then was denied such esteem when Kasumi mercilessly lid up its armour plating all over.
"E.K.I.A. Confirmed F-15 Strike Eagle, quantity one. Remaining hostiles on site, zero." Operating just like a machine, Kasumi reported the outcome to contend Miki's worry.
"Ahh, thank goodness, I only saw three from here." About five kilometres away, there crouched another Shiranui, Miki's. Both arms of that TSF gripped the trigger and the handguard of her long range assault cannon. Even though she just fired three consecutive shots rapidly, the barrel of her sniper was still ice cold due to the EMP rounds she used.
"Should we reposition, Miki-san?"
"Err, I don't think so. I-I mean, this's a good chokepoint, right? Large groups of TSF have to come from this way! And with Takeru-san's jamming, we'll always have the upper hand!"
The way she saw it, the sharpshooter's suggestion was most logically correct. They locked down a pathway between two tall Soviet buildings, if any TSF hoped to skip their area, it would surely be spotted by other members.
"Roger, Archangel 3 moving to low-profile position." Kasumi piloted her surface fighter off the beaten path where she became much harder to perceive.
"Soo… errm, Kasumi-chan. What does E.K.I.A means?" An arbitrary trivial was asked by Miki.
"Enemy killed in action."
"Ehh? Doesn't that mean those Eishis are dead!?" Miki got reasonably worried about failing their mission objective.
"Enemy refers to the TSFs, not people."
"Ah, okay then. That's much better!" Scoring one hundred percent on her last QnA, Kasumi expressed no emotions of joy or sadness.
"Oh, another thing—" A warning appeared on Kasumi's monitor ahead of the rest of Miki's sentence.
"Not now. Sensors are captured inbound objectives. Miki-san, look to your three O'clock, eight hundred metres out." Promptly, Kasumi switched the topic entirely as she detected extra hostile forces closing in.
"Scanning! I got four identifications! …Oh, no… these are F-22As! US' Infinities Test Flight!" Kasumi didn't blame Miki for being a little surprised, the introduction of American stealth fighters could ruin many plans.
"Roger, do you have targets in sight?" Still, Kasumi acted tranquilly in the face of potential danger.
"Yes! I can only see three of them though!" The Raptors darting across Miki's retina was increasing in speed at an angle of fifty-five degrees east.
"Do you have a shot?" The same projection was shared to Kasumi, who also witnessed the F-22s.
"Yes!"
"Fire and then immediately move four-fifty metres sixty-seven degrees north of west within a timeframe of 2.3 seconds."
"Wha- wait, wait what?"
"Send the package. Now."
By Kasumi's command, Miki lined up perfectly one of the Raptor's glowing head and squeezed her trigger reflexively. A single bullet was already loaded in the chamber got ejected out the barrel at just below sound speed. The slug Miki fired was unbending, unwavering, unstoppable.
"Eh? I missed?" However, no TSF lost its connection in the next spilt second. Her bullet hit no mark at all and continued to fly aimlessly until it was brought down by gravity seven Kilometres later.
"I can't believe they dodg—"
"Archangel 6, evade now!" Miki didn't even think as her TSF picked itself off its feet and jump boosted almost parallel to the ground. It was because she heard Kasumi's call, the bunny girl never spoke louder than a whisper; so when she did, something was of utmost importance.
The following moment, the sheet of ice Miki sat just earlier exploded into a bright red. A hazy cloud of frozen dirt blown high into the air and slowly faded down, the shadow of an unseen Raptor paced over to where Miki hid seconds ago.
"UUWAAaaa! That was dangerrrous!"
"—Archangel 1, Element D have engaged hostile F-22As, Infinities. They have us marked, requesting support." When the cat girl lightly complained about her near-fatal experience, Kasumi radioed her leader for help.
"—Element D, negative. We have no reinforcements available, I can only disrupt their systems. Long range data-link hacking will conclude in fifty seconds, hold out until then." It seemed some time had to be brought before Takeru's rescue could arrive. While uncertain of their chances, both girls must do what it takes to survive.
"Copy, Archangel 3 starting assault." Kasumi clicked a few buttons to reanimate her Shiranui, an immediate sweep of her location was done after a short boot up. The LEDs embedded in the fighter's head acted as its eyes, searching for the subjects she had to clash against.
"Kaassumi-saan! I need help! They're gaining ooon meee!" In a truly panicking voice, Miki begged Kasumi to remove her shooters.
"Bait them to me, I'll take them once they're in range."
"Please don't miss!"
"I never do."
—
"…Fuck." For the record, Kasumi was a good girl. When Takeru taught her to properly express her emotions, he may or may not have done a terrible job at it.
Uncountable amount of both uranium bullets and signal interceptors filled the air as all four of Kasumi's cannons discharged all of their payloads continuously. This was her fighting style; often known in previous loops as the 'Lead Dispenser' (mostly by Takeru), she had seen her fair share of shredded targets done in by an unavoidable, contemporaneous wall of bullets.
Regrettably, the Infinities weren't on her list of confirmed kills. EMP, 36mm, 120mm and even her kitchen sink couldn't stop the advancing Raptors as they flawlessly danced out of harm's way. Each machine looking fabulous dashing past every missed round but deadly with every shortened metre.
They were closing in on Kasumi's pair, and it wouldn't look good for Kasumi's tombstone if it said she died of overconfidence.
"—retreat, retreat. Please run away, Miki-san."
"—I'm tryin— ugura! Really hard at doing that, Kasumi-san!" The Shiranui heading her way was being lid up by the flashing barrels of the Raptors, who were quite dedicated on bringing them both down.
"—Archangel 3 to lead, hurry with the support, please." One way or another, the sniper duos were somehow still alive by the end of a fifty seconds wait.
"—disengage hostile F-22s, Element D. All OS in your vicinity going down in five… four… three… two… one." On his mark, everyone in their immediate vicinity lost their intelligence update from shared data.
The Infinities' most essential advantage; their stealth capability was partly deprived when nobody got to use their mini-maps. Taking this erratic opportunity, Kasumi and Miki fled from battle when their enemies wasted some time being baffled by their disabled equipment.
—
"—Element D, can you confirm ECM quality?"
"Ye-yes! I lost my tails!" Takeru did his electric hacking magic and protected Miki from her pursuers.
"Alright, new orders. Arc 8 is to stay low for the time being and Arc 3 is to stalk the F-22 Platoon when they relocate. Think you can do that without being caught, Kasumi?
"Understood." Kasumi dipped her head to show consent.
"I'll tell you when they move, be prepared."
And now all there was left was to wait. Kasumi lightly danced her fingers over her sticks in anticipation, as soon as Takeru notifies her of the Flight's new bearing, she will silently tail them to wherever they were heading next.
"Heads up, they're exiting your AO."
"Archangel 3, dispatching."
Sharon Heim
05:35 AM
Soviet Б-01
"—all units report in, my data-link just went offline." In her just now blinded Raptor, Sharon surveyed her surrounding as her system flopped.
"—Infinity 2, I lost my fire controls. Weapons are non-functional."
"—Infinity 3, my guidance is down. Combat intelligence isn't coming through."
"—Infinity 4, sensors are dead, can't see expect for visual targeting."
Everyone in her team was suffering from variant complications originating from the sudden loss of their computing hardware, each problem varied from one another but all of them caused the test flight to lose their pair of targets.
"Ahha, they got us good. Cease pursuit of hostile units. Reset system, starting from Infinity 2, I'll go last." Her leader, Keith gave out order to restart their F-22s which was the only way of fixing it.
—
"—boss, that confirms it. This team matches up with what we have on tomorrow's objective." Having reorganized themselves, the Infinities were back to business before Guylos reported his assertion. Apparently he just got off a call with somebody, however Sharon was not allowed anymore details.
"Yeah, this makes things really complicated. Damn them collars, throwing this crap at this." Under his breathe, Keith was upset over some matter.
"—wait, what's going on? I thought this's unrelated to tomorrow's operation." Being as uninformed as Leon was, Sharon seconded his question.
"Turns out, these guys are not just your run-of-the-mill militia Squadron. This is unconfirmed but seeing from the wild-area jamming, Data-link based attack and that unit's movement, top-brass believe them to be the UN's A-01 Special Task Force."
"The UN… is attacking its own army base? How would that make sense?" Sharon wasn't the only one confused by the new reveal.
"I wouldn't know, although the high-ups are very sure that this team is currently in possession of the only other 94 Second model available."
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking. Who are the higher-ups here?" Leon; unhappy about the source of their information asked.
"The DIA suits are feeding us the intel. As far as we should be concerned, all they're telling us is true. At least for now when our interests still aligns." Huffing unpleasantly, Leon found nothing else to go on about.
"So that means they were the team during the 12/5! Oh, wow! I always thought the 66 Hunter Report was… well, exaggerated."
"Why would you think that? The 66th Armoured Battalion was the most relevant team during the Japanese coup d'etat." A quick affront by Leon made Sharon meek her eyes and gaze back lazily.
"Uur, if you say it like that, anything sounds bad!" Sharon puffed her cheeks at Leon much to the others' dismay, maybe there was a better time and place for flirting, just maybe.
"Ahem! Moving on, the Hunter Report paired with the info recovered after the CIA's displacement claims that a single UN Japanese surface pilot hijacked the 94 Second from the CIA's Test Flight, returned to combat with the Japanese Shogun and was generally disruptive to their operation."
"Heh, the DIA don't like their Langley counterparts too, huh?" In a mocking manner, Leon understandably laughed at the CIA's failures.
"Another factor is these guys' movements. The UN recently invented a new Operating System titled the XM3 and traded it to us for… something else. It's said to increase piloting performances by a great margin. Funny thing is, we were supposed to field test the OS. But here it is, right before us in the hands of another team."
"So we can take their system after taking them out?" Sharon threw the right question to her Flight leader.
"Something like that. Now normally none of this would matter, but as luck would have it; our mission tomorrow is to recover the Shiranui Second Phase 3 from a UN team operating in Kamchatka, this exact team, actually."
"Huuh? We're supposed to hit them after they made their pickup? Then why're they here?" Leon confusedly asked.
"Best guess is the UN also planned its own course, probably had their team mobilize early and already got the package." All of a sudden, a mental light-bulb was lid in Sharon's head.
"Then that means this is our goal! If they're hitting us right now, both the Phase 3s are on site Along with the Russian Berkut!"
"Correct. The guys up top said if the Phase 3 is here, the Su-47 is here too. They delivered themselves right into the net so we are saved from an overseas trip, capture the Soviet espers of the Su-47 and one of if not both the Shiranui Phase 3. That's your updated order from command, people." Unenthusiastically, Keith no doubt repeated what was said to him for the rest of his team to hear.
"That means Yuuya is…" A connection was formed by Leon at last.
"Uh-huh, your old buddy is definitely here."
Cui Yifei
05:37 AM
Soviet Б-01
"—leave the small fries for clean up later! Bao-Feng! Break through!"
"—roger!"
As Yifei shouted her orders thrillingly for her Flight mates to hear, the Type-77 Battle Halberd in her Jian-10's hands locked itself with a Japanese PB wielded by the Shiranui opposing her.
"Aggra! I don't have time for this! GO AWAY!" When it came to brute force, Yifei's sword was destined to win nine out of ten. And just like her prediction, the Type-94 gave in first as its arms bent away from the pure power.
"Bao-Feng 2, Fox 3 on Bogey 1! Pin down the missile container! Melee's not a problem!"
Taking this spilt second chance, Yifei struck hard and fast towards the open chest of her opponent. Unfortunately for the Chinese girl, the Shiranui by some means jump boosted away from its death just in the nick of time, much to the displeasure of Yifei.
"Damn it…! Bao-Feng! Follow me and move up!" Nonetheless, having made room for her team, Yifei ordered everyone to continue advancing.
"Roger!"
Grasping this one chance where the an opening was smashed clear in front of her, Yifei charged her TSF pass the three 94s with an instant Rocket Boost. The shock in her stomach was nothing compared to reaching her destination minutes faster.
The rest of her team lined up closely behind her, streamlining on her tail for reduced air resistance. In the blink of an eye, the Four Chinese frames had already ditched their opponents in the dust.
"—Ane-san, you're overly excited about this, you know?"
"I saw him! He was there! Yuuya was right there!"
"Huhuhu, not gonna get through to that. Give up, Yahua."
"—yeeep, no chance, Ane-san is burning up right now."
"—aha… ahaha, I still don't get this…" Knowing the futility of attempting to speak logic at this stage, Yifei's subordinates all quieted down as their leader was in her moment of heat.
Surveying their AO before jumping into the action was the single best decision Yifei had ever made. On the outskirts of the Soviet Base, she saw an Element of units fending off two Test Flights. The marvelous maneuvers and breathtaking strikes could only be the work of one man, Yifei's husband.
"When we get on site. You all can have everyone left, but leave the Phase 3 to me, got that?"
"Roger~" Her team's joyful reply was of no concern.
She had already decided to forgive him for his affair as long as he listens to what she says from on now, so there was only a side punishment for Yuuya to suffer through before the two of them could reunite once more.
Shirogane Takeru
05:38 AM
Soviet Б-01, centre
"—Capt. Shirogane! We only have twenty minutes left on the clock! How's your process!?" In my ear, Bridges was shouting up a storm. His expression was worrisome in the most intended meaning.
"—I know, I know! We're almost done here, only a few more F-16s. We just have to get to the building and load in the VIP, how's your end?" As I stuffed another one of them 29s with my non-lethal 36s, the left gun in my machine's hands reported back empty.
"The Gripens and MiGs are almost dealt with. We can get some breathing room soon." Bridges and Meiya were of no assistance during that time, maybe in a few more minutes.
"—Arc lead to Element C, how's your side of things?"
"—urrga! Casualty! Ayamine's right arm is damaged, also damn eagles are everywhere! They saved up the rest of their security force! A Flight of J-10s just slipped us by, they're heading your way, be careful!" Class rep was having no fun time in her battles.
"Element D, Kasumi and Tama. Report." I checked up with the sniper combo next.
"—hostile Raptors are closing in on your position, Archangel 1."
"—Archangel 8! Massive numbers of enemy reinforcements inbound! Counting at least two battalions twenty minutes out! Our pickup is about to enter the Yukon airspace!" Kasumi and Tama both reported deleterious updates to our mission.
In conclusion, we were running a bit behind schedule with dudes coming from every angle. And it was probably my fault, I was overly optimistic about our chances considering the massive advantage we owned against their forces. Despite that, we still had victory well within reach. As long as I play my cards right, the checkmate was mine alone to enjoy.
"Attention, all units. New mission plan is as follows: my Element A will now breach the Soviet Barr—" What cut me off from giving out the rest of my orders was an interruption; an interruption in the shape of a 120mm.
Pulling straight back on my sticks, I barely avoided the payload as it sailed just harmlessly pass me by and exploded a snowy hill off in the distance. Following the trajectory taken by the shell, my view was led to nowhere as if the bullets heading for me were puffed into existence by magic
"Arrgga! What the hell! Who's…!?" Quickly leaping away from further danger, I transferred my emphasis to the display appearing above my retina. The mini-map still showed failed to detect anything in the form of a TSF or otherwise.
"Archangel 3 to 1, hostile Raptors in your immediate sector, please confirm visual." Then half-way through my moment of shock, Kasumi delivered news that was more awful in comparison.
From some distances away, my zoomed-in optic finally showed the images of two F-22As on fast approach. The loss of my intelligence gathering was almost certainly the fault of those stealth assholes, albeit I was one myself.
"You gotta report that waaay earlier next time, woman!" Recollecting myself as I regained my composure again. My YF-23 twirled out of cover and popped a few shots down range toward the American frames.
Looking down at my remaining munitions, the signal interceptors were low on the decline with second missed shot on those F-22s. My duel firepower of cannons was not doing a good enough job of slaying the Infinities. Their Eishis must had been skillful too, seeing as their pair danced around my aim and the returned shots were more accurate than most.
"Arc 3, your position." A bit of help was greatly appreciated at this point.
"Currently thirteen hundred metres out, on station in five seconds." At least Kasumi wasn't getting slammed down.
"Arc 2 and 3. I'm authorizing specialized combat enhancement. Do your Pra—" For god knows how many times today, another bombardment cut me off at a crucial point. My unit almost took a hit on its right booster if not for the fact that I was already dodging shots from the Raptors.
Surface jumping high into the air, the scanners outside my TSF just reported the presence of four PLA J-10Xs belonging to the Bao-Feng Flight. Their leading unit was furiously chasing after my ass with its sword raised and after-burner turned to its max. Based on Bridges' details, whoever commanded the Bao-Feng was a personal friend of his.
"Arc leader, repeat your last." From somewhere my eyes were blind to, a ray of shells fired with the goal of striking down the Chinese were avoided nicely. Kasumi's Shiranui provided covering fire as I back further off from combat.
"What did you just say, Takeru-chan!?" Sumika did a rocket jump as well and were on the same plain as the rest of us.
We three took a defensive formation by compulsion against both forces aiming their rifles, a short standoff between our three factions quickly turned to a two-on-one in the defender's favour. Bao-Feng and Infinities had their guns at the ready, so did we as neither side moved anymore closer into firing range of the other.
"All units, listen up! Element A plus Archangel 3 will continue engaging with hostile units by the Russian barrack. Element B will secure the outer perimeter and link up with Flight B heading for the LZ, so will Archangel 8." This plan must be solid in comparison to the rest, as this was the final stand.
"Roger!"
"You two, I'm leaving this immediate combat zone to you. You have permission to activate Prafka or whatever it's called, no limiters will be placed as long as you two stay safe, got it?" Desperate times calls for desperate methods, and no matter how I hated to admit; the time for a trump card was now.
"Archangel 3, roger. Preparing injection." Kasumi bent down and pulled out a pouch from a pocket in her control seat.
"Yaay! Finally, finally! Watch us and be impressed, Takeru-chan!" Happily satisfied, Sumika had her syringe filled and ready to go.
"I never have seen this Prafka or whatever in action so I don't know how much I can depend on it. But what I do know is how much I can depend on you two. So go out and crush everything… prove to me, just how much your love is worth." Quietly, I muttered the last lines of encouragement.
"Yes, sir!" Both girls answered with a firm salute, not a hint of regret or waver emitting from either one's eyes.
"I'm leaving my back to you now, as I have done before and like how I will for the rest of eternity."
Cui Yifei
05:38 AM
"—hey! You stealth zoomies! Identification!" There existed no reply for a bit longer than acceptable after Yifei's demand was posted.
"—United States Army, 65th Combat Training Battalion, Infinities Test Flight." Yifei took a second to contemplate just how terrible her luck was.
The four Jiānjí shí xíng belonging to her Platoon hovered closely to the Americans, both had their frontal view set on the intruders, but their rear camcorder watching the other team for sudden movements. Even if they happened to share the same objectives, it didn't mean they must cooperate.
"So it really is you people, huh? We're PLA's independent Test Flight, Bao-Feng!"
"If I remember correctly, 1st Lt. Cui, right?" The same mature male voice was transmitted to Yifei.
"It's Captain! Capt. Cui now!"
"Then I apologize, Captain. As we're not free right now, I suggest we work together and bring down the invaders together. My element will follow your command." The Raptor pilot recommended an idea Yifei had herself, however being first brought up by their side made the deal look that much more suspicious.
"Heh, whatever you're gonna try, it ain't working, got that?! What're your callsigns?!" Still, having US's best Third-Gen stalling the Berkut and Type-94 sounded great, especially considering that will give her plenty of time to go after Yuuya.
"Infinity 1 and 3." The F-22 painted itself and its wingman for Yifei to recognize their names.
"Bao-Feng 1 to 4." So she did the same for her side.
"The number advantage is on our side, Captain. I recommend for you team to attack head on and we'll flank from the sides, our stealth capability is on par with theirs."
"Alright, that plan sounds feasible! The 94 Second is a melee type I'll take care of it! You people can have that Su-47 since it's probably what you're here for anyway!" Enlivened, Yifei had zero interest in the Scarlet twins. Instead, it was Yuuya she wanted more than anything else.
"If that's the case, you should go chase after its owner right now."
"Huh? Wait-wha—!" For maybe a blink when Yifei took her focus off her monitors, the Phase 3 had somehow decided to hightail out of that combat area.
"Are you KIDDING ME!? YUUYA!" Uncaring whether the Americans heard her scream or not, Yifei boosted full force after escaping prey.
"—Ane-san! Hold oon!" When the cries from her Platoon had reached her ears, Yifei long since shut out any irreverent distractions standing between her and Yuuya.
Charging straight in there without a care for the world, the curved arc sketched by her sword through the air was like no other. She pushed forward bravely against the immeasurable quota of gleaming bullets and combustible shells as they blocked her path forward.
When its rifles were not fulfilling the need of stopping Yifei; her foes, the Scarlet twins threw away their guns and ejected the Soviet's iconic Motor Blades to face her in CQC. With his escape covered by the twins, Yuuya slipped away right before Yifei's vision.
"AGrrra! Scarlet Twins! Outta MY WAY!" No reply greeted her from the TSF she locked blades with. Two chainsaws were stuck on her Type-77, both units pushed strenuously against the other in hope of earing an edge to chain their next strike into.
Yifei didn't care for the battle raging on between her team and the remaining Shiranui at all. In reality, she completely forgotten the existence of her reinforcements until a 120mm forced the Berkut to pull away in fear of exploding.
"Bao-Feng 1! Don't neglect your advantage! Work with us and we can take'em both down in no time, then you can go after the Phase 3 all you want."
"Nuuua, fine! You guys can keep the 94 pinned with your firepower. —Bao-Feng Flight! Surround that 47 and hit it!"
"—alright, roger!" Energetic as ever was her subordinates.
"Infinities, copy." The Americans never knew how to have fun, anyway.
Facing her foes once more, Yifei burned with fury at the thought of coming not even second on Yuuya's choice of female companions. All faults were instigated by the Scarlet Twins, and revenge right now would go great with Yifei's soon-to-be victory.
"Damn you Commies… if it wasn't for you, Yuuya would've never left!" releasing her stored resentment unreasonably on the twins, Yifei again armed herself with a halberd and a gun in her attempt to perpetually separate her husband from his mistresses.
Yuuya Bridges
05:41 AM
Soviet Б-01, outskirt
"—area cleared, negative hostile presence detected. 2nd Lt. Bridges, well done, now activate a sector pulse reaching outwards with a radius of nine hundred metres."
"—I swear, you're like a more demanding version of 1st Lt. Takamura." Unfitting for him, Yuuya actually complained about his company.
"Are you unsatisfied?"
"Haa… no, I'm just trying to not think too much about anything right now."
"It must be strenuous to struggle against your former allies, you have my condolence." Mitsurugi was implicit to Yuuya's dilemma.
"I'm not here to regret my decisions, Second Lieutenant. If they have to go for Cryska to come back… well, that's just unlucky."
"Great resolve comes from the heart, Bridges. I respect your ability to withhold your own hesitation for love… unlikely as it comes, perhaps I could also learn something from your behaviour."
"Huurm… how about you not saying that out loud?" A soft giggle from Inia caused Yuuya's blush to deepen in colour.
"Huhuh, there is nothing to be ashamed about your feelings, Bridges. Granting that Takamura drew the short end of this stick, there is no fault to be placed on you personally."
"Why does all this have to do with her? Did something happen to Yui or whatever?" All Mitsurugi did was shaking her head mockingly.
"…Density, density. A measurement word, take it however you will, 2nd Lt. Bridges."
"What you even—" His sentence was then broken, enormous tension made Yuuya pause his mouth.
"AH-AH-Ahhh…! Y-Yuuya! Something… something's trying to get inside my head!" That moment, there existed no distraction which could draw away Yuuya's attention. Inia perspired heavily; the pain-filled gaze she emitted transferred her suffering in its entirety to him.
"Inia! What's going on!? Hang on, just hang on, okay!?" The ensuing trepidation was not easy on Yuuya's mind. As knowledgeable as he was on matters with the espers, he simply couldn't help Inia with an injury on a non-physical plain.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, I-I-I'm fine… Yuuya. Thanks to Trista and Sumika… they synced me in to their projection… so others like us can't intercept my signal… but it hurts… it really, really hurts." Unsure of her meaning, Yuuya was lost for an orthodox way of helping her.
"2nd Lt. Sestina, is there anything to be done which can ease your pain?" Calmly over the radio, Mitsurugi asked.
"Urraaa...! No… haaa-haaa, not really anything…" Inia said rigidly, her irregular breathing was tired and burdensome.
"Then I shall pray for you to overcome this agony, Sestina. Bridges, allow her to rest."
"Yeah… give me full control, Inia. You just stay healthy, alright?" Accepting Mitsurugi's proposition, Yuuya gently patted Inia's head from behind.
"Okay… there's one more thing though, you need to… get him for Cryska, right? There… look there." Weakly pointing the camera out in a distance, Inia tagged three passing TSFs seemingly uninterested in the Phase 3 and Type-00.
"Wait… those are…" Following her hint, Yuuya zoomed in to confirm the movers just outside his detection range. From here, it was too far away to even identify what faction the trio of surface fighter belonged to, only their models could be barely distinguished.
"It's Sandek and more of us, Yuuya. The black one… that's his." And there was a black painted Su-47 guarded by two white ones.
"Inia, you can tell from here?"
"The other two… I never met them before, they are designed differently. Their goal is to shutdown others, others like me." Taking an even closer look, the three Berkuts made no move to come in range for engagement. They simply idled in place, unconcerned by the vicious battle going all around.
"So that's him, you sure about this?"
"Absolutely, I can't sense him directly, but those two know it's him."
"Thank you, that's really convenient for us. —Idar 1 to Archangel Lead, we have confirmed visual on HVT Captain Jerzy Sandek. Permission to engage?" Next logical step was to call Shirogane on his opinion.
"—Granted. You go get him, Bridges."
"—please hold, Archangel 1. 2nd Lt. Sestina is greatly fraught under unknown influence by the HVT's protection detail. I am against sending Idar 1 to combat." That was a vital detail almost missed entirely if it wasn't for the samurai girl.
"Okay, makes sense. Idar 1, you been denied permission to engage. I'll personally grab his ass and get Barchenowa back. Element B will continue defending off any intruders to us." Pulling Yuuya and Inia out was the most sensible choice of them all.
"Copy that. I'll tag the fighter for you, it's a black Berkut. —2nd Lt. Mitsurugi, are you coming?" Ending connection with the team captain, Yuuya went back on the line between him and his Element colleague.
"—eyes up, Bridges. What do you see?" Confused by her random request, Yuuya followed Mitsurugi's tracker and noticed at least two dozen dots of flashing light even further away than the Su-47s.
"Ah, shit. Hostile reinforcements, they're here too early, damn it!"
"I believe not, our combat timer has ticked for much longer than we have realized." Still unworried, Mitsurugi stated her view cleanly.
"—Archangel Lead, update. Hostile Su-27s inbound, counting at minimum one Battalion." This information also must be passed on to Shirogane for his analysis.
"—for real? That is no good. There's another group heading in from the south. Change of plans, Idar 1. I'll apprehend Sandek and bring him to the Soviet barrack, you can deal off them south-side support." The man's speech was funny and all over the place as always, even for Yuuya who only met him not a day ago.
"—what role do you have in store for me, Archangel 1?" Adding herself to the conversation, Mitsurugi had separate jobs to do.
"Archangel 3, return to the north centre of Б-01, Arc 2 and 3 are fighting to secure the barracks. Help them."
"Understood, Captain." Mitsurugi respectfully accepted her order. Shirogane ended the connection since he had nothing else to say.
"May fortune guide your path to victory, Bridges. I shall waste time no longer." Already dashing off, she offered Yuuya words of courage.
"Un-huh, you too, Mitsurugi. Go get them." Yuuya couldn't afford to waste anymore time, his mission must be done ahead of the clock. Cryska's life hung on the balance, his effort to bring about true happiness couldn't be wasted here.
"Inia, you okay now?"
"Ahhha, I'll have to rest for now, Yuuya. Sorry for not lasting." The esper in his care was still feeble from the mental attack she withstood.
"That's okay, you should take a nap. I can handle this." Gradually picking up speed, the Shiranui leaped away from its Element buddy as Yuuya stepped harder on the pedal.
"I believe in you, Yuuya. Cryska and I… patiently await our tomorrow." Drifting away, Inia made her last words known clearly then fell asleep.
"You will have it; I won't leave this place without it." Talking only to himself now, Yuuya promised once more the fragile future for everyone in his heart.
Kagami Sumika
05:40 AM
Soviet Б-01, centre
"—is this… really the limit, Kasumi-chan?" Sumika bitterly mumbled into her microphone. It should had been all but a revelation for her, yet she was still upset by the lack of ability she possessed.
Outnumbered and missing backup, Sumika scarcely eluded the aerial scan by the F-22s. She was forced to conceal herself in the heavy ECM as some fighters flew her by, only their shadows overlaid on top of the Su-47's crimson paintjob.
"—I'm sorry, predictions indicate disabling damage to be unavoidable in ninety-seven seconds." Sane as she always was, Kasumi replied.
Archangel 3 was just south of Sumika, the exact distance was one hundred fifty-two metres measured by their Data-link. Kasumi too hid low, out of sight from the patrolling Jian-10s. Her unit was still undamaged for now with only scrapping messing up the decoration. However, Sumika understood the same situation will not stay for long; it cannot repeat itself anymore.
"…Ahaha, your math is getting bad, Kasumi-chan. It should be ninety-eight point five-three seconds." Calculation on two after the decimal point was possible for the supercomputer in Sumika's head.
"I apologize."
"No… I'm sorry for wasting our time like this, even though we're so short on it."
She got cold feet right before the activation of Prafka, as many often do when faced with a major predicament. The power was so sweet, the strength she would gain from it vastly outshined what she was capable of doing on a regular basis. With Prafka, Sumika and Kasumi would be unstoppable. They both knew.
"It's okay, Sumika-san. We did our best, let our other selves do the rest."
But that wouldn't be her power, she thought the last minute before plunging the needle into her neck. Whatever amazing power she would receive from the effect wasn't hers. It belonged to the Russians, after all. If this loop ended in failure like every other one before it, she would be made to forfeit this gift she sought after for so long.
"Are you not scared of the change, Kasumi-chan? You don't have to like it because I do."
So Sumika tried, she tried her best along with Kasumi at defeating their foes using own their skills; it wasn't enough, nowhere good enough to eliminate a Flight of J-10Xs and an Element of Raptors. All that had led to now, this pitiful moment when the pair fled from combat.
"It doesn't matter. We have to win no matter what, the time left is short now." That was never closer to the truth.
The freedom to select was gone; that right will be consumed for all those who cannot achieve victory. Sumika couldn't allow it to come to pass. In the face of her one and only lover, the 00 unit masked a brave and cheerful demeanor who thought little of taking other's lives when demanded.
"Why… did I have to turn out like that? All I ever wanted was to be happy with Takeru-chan… I… didn't always like killing."
Despite her fake outlook, truth was that Sumika did care. She hated bloodshed just as she always did, even before becoming the android she was now. Yet the Sumika currently was deprived of that innocent self. She couldn't help but enjoy the shower of gore as bodies fell to the earth with a lump thud, that delight was what she breathed for.
"But you do, and that's okay too. Takeru-san said so."
No more reluctance, no more hesitation. Sumika had to kill others down to an inch of their lives. As long as they don't actually die, she could do anything she fancied.
"You're right… I have to accept my urges. This's who I've become." The 00 unit exhaled deeply, her mental burden finally released. The path to true victory was laid out with corpses, corpses Sumika must fabricate herself.
"Let's go, please bear this lust with me, Kasumi-chan."
"Make it feel good for me too, Sumika-san."
In sync with one another, the syringes had their plastic covers removed and the needles examined for sharpness. The two injectors in both girls' hands functioned as intended when Sumika and Kasumi stabbed themselves in the necks decisively, knowing this to be the right thing to do.
With a push of the nozzle, Sumika watched intensely as the piston ejected a thick-liquid like serum into her prosthesis bloodstream. The pain was little in contrast to what Sumika had suffered ages ago, a light prick on her skin at best. Belatedly, the entirely of the needle became hollow, all of its drug infused into Sumika's body.
"Ahh-haa… Ka-Kasumi-chan…! How d-do you feel?" The breath caught in her throat was expected, the pain will soon be washed away and replaced by something much better.
"…I'm— fine. We should start." Wearily, Kasumi answered.
"Yes, we have dedicated everything for the sake of Takeru-chan… you should rest now, I promise… this feels really good."
Jerzy Sandek
05:41 AM
"—my apology, Kapitan. Inia rejected us completely; she wouldn't answer to our calls." The gloomy expression of one esper was hidden well as to not be observed. Sandek however, knew she wasn't too happy over the broken link.
"—it matters not. If she refuses cooperation, we have no choice but to end it here. What cannot be controlled holds no worth." Sitting in his own Su-47E, Sandek couldn't help but be disappointed in the outcome.
He wanted to have her back, the one that got away. Inia Sestina was still to this day the second strongest esper, beaten only by the brightest of them all. She should have been an easy target, without Cryska Barchenowa's help, a single esper couldn't withstand the influence of Sandek's new tools.
His espers had tried it, to manipulate the defected doll via telepath. What they suffered was a failure to communicate, Sestina simply didn't respond back. Either she heard the message and declined a reply or the thought never made it through, both were the same now.
"—sir, what are we to do about the remaining enemies? They have dispersed."
"…It wouldn't be much of a threat with the UN forces and our backups on their way anyhow. We will repel all hostiles within close proximity to Б-01, everything else the UN can deal with." By his command, the twin Berkuts lid up back to life.
"Yest, ser."
—
"—Komandir Sandek! The 25th Battalion, Tuman from Anaktsuvk Base just arrived! However, they're taking massive casualties from a hostile unit!" A few minutes down the line, as Sandek and his group were almost within reach of the Soviet base, a call for help made by their Command Centre was transmitted to Sandek's comms.
"A single hostile? What model is it?"
"It's an Unknown, sir! One of the two we couldn't identify!" By this point, news such as this should be all but relevant to Sandek's cause.
"Where is the unit?"
"It's… headi— right ove—you, sir—" There was something present in close contiguity which ruined his comms. That was the Unknown giving their 25th Battalion trouble, this unit was close.
A single machine soared through the sky, another dozen chasing in the shadow of the first. Rapid flashes from the discharge of metal shells lid up the firmament like an American holiday, everywhere visible explosions big and small dominated the atmosphere. Relentlessly, the lone craft fought off overwhelming odds with nothing but a pair of rapiers.
Despite its disadvantage in number, that one TSF still was in control of its combat. By watching the overall movements of their fight, Sandek could tell this frame was fighting to reach his own position.
"—Lisitsa 1 to Anaktsuvk 25th Battalion, Tuman 1, do you copy?"
"—Lisitsa 1… Kapitan Sandek!? You've taken to the field personally?!" To uninformed soldiers, Sandek hadn't flown since his days as a Major.
"Yes, this situation demands special attention. Now what is your status?"
"We have been engaging this hostile fast mover for minutes now, sir! It's just too nimble and agile, my men can't get good shots on target!" Often, surface pilots skilled above the rest found it easy to evade against larger numbers of enemies during a dogfight. However, to remain unharmed when targeted by a whole Battalion was on the ridiculous side of things.
"Have your men pull back and regroup on me, I'll take over the chain of command."
"Da."
"—Komandir! Someone… something just activated Prafka! It's… Trista, sir! But it's different, very different from Cryska and Inia!" That, Sandek had no idea was happening.
Newly appeared hope for Sandek's little calculation. 2nd Lt. Sestina couldn't fulfill what Sandek sought after, perhaps the returned property was more capable than she was. Before him there was a gamble, a bet the Russian was willing to take.
"Idar 2 and 3, return to base at once, interact with her and attempt to interfere with their Prafka. I will manage this unit here, however be ready to provide support."
"Yest, ser!" Immediately, the esper controlled Su-47s darted back to their home. Sandek waited until they were out of his view before boosting to the skies and joining the action.
Shirogane Takeru
05:42 AM
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! There yooou-go!" They were just everywhere, why did these assholes not show up when we sortied for the hives again?
Information leak was almost impossible to purge on a scale the size of our invasion. Thinking about it now, stopping their reinforcement from arriving sounded so much easier out of sensei's mouth.
My YF-23 spun splendidly through the air with glorious evasive maneuvers to dodge the immeasurable incoming shots, metal of all types was the only view available for my eyes. However, constant tension had kept up with me nonstop and was wearing me down considerably.
"Hnnnnm! Ahha-haaa… soo tired, gotta shoot up…" After yawning loudly, I clicked a couple buttons on my suit to inject some stimulants into my bloodstream. All they did was keeping me awake anyway, no point in letting others know.
By the time my mind sharpened on the dozen of surface fighters around, something had changed about them. They were conscious now, no longer blindly rushing in to their early death, instead this team of Su-27s started to hit me with strategies. Actual, viable military strategies.
They backed away into a defensive position, forming a half-circle with me in the centre. Another shower of depleted uranium had me backing away from the tactical kill zone it created, the sudden rise in precision and coordination of this team compared to their acts minutes ago had a day and night difference.
"—you guys' delivery of brains just arrived or something!? Why use tactics now!? Just let me slice you up!" Being the asshole I was, I openly taunted my attackers over the public channel. Maybe acting like an absolute prick could throw them off their games, never know.
"YOU THERE! Motherfucker in the black Berkut! Jerzy Sandek, right!? Sit tight and we'll have a talk once these dipshits are dealt with! Don't be in a hurry, GOT ME!?" If I had to pinpoint one reason why the Russian Battalion suddenly got so skillful. My money was on their new leader, Sandek's guidance, especially after his Su-47 was detected by my radar.
"I HAVE BUSNIESS TO DISCUSS WITH YOU! HAVE MY CARD!" He responded nothing back as assumed, the man had his repetition to keep up, I guess. Still, it wouldn't matter anyway as long as I can get rid of the rest.
It was often said hunters could be categorized into two types. The ones who stealthily sneak up on their prey and make a clean, painless kill on their first try; or those who intentionally toy around, letting themselves be known and turn the entire hunt to a fun game.
Speaking personally, what is a hunt if there isn't a chance at missing? Enjoyment always comes from beating the other party in a fair fight, going for one-hit-K.O is just lame.
"Ah, fuck me. I'm outta time." With that said, there is also a proper period for everything. And dicking around all day wouldn't look good on my resume.
Back on track, finally out of patience with frolicking around these assholes, I discarded both of my near empty rifles down to the ground. The Mount Pylon which carried my trusty pair of swords jerked upright and awaited my dragging of their steel.
With a sword in each hand, there stood nothing capable of stopping me any longer. I was determined to bring an end to this entire nonsense and return home for my afternoon tea. So as a sign of the engagement's gravity, there was one last thing left to do before going ham on some Russians.
To ensure maximum efficiency and minimum loss of time, I had to adapt a fighting skill I sometime rather forget. Throwing both swords high up in the air, my Phase 3 boosted after it as the Soviets chased me down with bullets per usual.
"Urrga, shit this's unpleasant as hell though." Again, my remark was for myself alone.
I caught the halberds, two of them in total with my machine's palms. Other than holding them in reverse which would be unnatural and irrational under normal circumstances, there was nothing wrong with my stance. However, literally backstabbing dudes with icepick grip was probably the only skills I picked up when observing the end of the world.
"You want some fucking Japanese Spirit, huh, MOTHERFUCKERS!? Come get some!" Every goddamn time I destroy people with this posture, that smug looking prick's stupid ass face always pops into my head.
Nonetheless, seeing how angry I got from the memories of being kinda NTRed did fuel my piloting skills to even greater heights, allowing me to slice apart the Soviets like a lightsaber through many… whatever those furries in the trees were called.
Cui Yifei
05:44 AM
"—Infinity 1 to Bao-Feng 1, negative result from scanner."
"—Infinity 3, same story." Sighing to herself, Yifei wanted to blame the Americans for their terrible detection ability.
"—Bao-Feng 1, roger. We're not seeing anything either. You guys can continue patrolling Area G-10, keep the 94 busy if you see it." Still, she could only do that if her team had actual progress to show for.
"Roger."
Almost a minute now, the Targets they were skirmishing against suddenly retreated without a trace. At first Yifei believed they just ran away in fear of combat, however in that case they should be seeing movements instead of absolute silence.
"—all units, search pattern Echo. Watch your backs."
"—understood!" The rest of her Flight answered in unison.
Their previous tactic worked wonders on the Element of TSFs, The Shiranui was a long-range type and the Su-47 was a melee centric fighter. Surely a deadly combo when put together, However Yifei's side also had players for that role.
The Raptors were able to constantly outrange the 94 with their advanced targeting system and better mobility, while Bao-Feng's J-10Xs had the integer supremacy over the Berkut flying solo. Honestly, what was Yuuya thinking putting only a pair of surface fighters on the duty of stopping her? He'll at least need an army.
"—Bao-Feng 3 to Bao-Feng 1. I'm picking up TSF readin— Arrga! Wha-the—!"
"Huh? Huh? Bao-Feng 3, report your status! Bao-Feng 3!"
"Hooh! That was pretty close! The Berkut, Ane-san! It reappeared by me!" Just a bit north of where Yifei was, Wang updated her on the presence of the Berkut.
"Copy that! All units! Rendezvous by Bao-Feng 3 and let's get rid of them Ruskie twins!"
"Roger!" With herself in the lead, Yifei flipped on her boosters to the max and charged ahead for her husband's courtesans.
"Wai— did you guys see that? My optics just acted up."
"Yeah, same."
"Uh-huh, a flash of statics, it was." All three of her teammates criticized about something Yifei missed.
"What're you talking about?"
"You didn't see it, Ane-san? My screen got disoriented a lot for a sec." Yifei had her eyes elsewhere when the event happened and was not looking closely.
"Whatever, probably ECM jammers. Focus on the fight ahead."
"Roger."
"Infinity 1 to Bao-Feng, we have spotted the Shiranui. It is also heading for your marker." Just on time too, the American joined back in their channel when he got something to report.
"Ane-san, something's weird about this one. It's… just standing there, nothing shooting at all." Half way to her location, Lee added a bit to her debrief.
"Can confirm, the 94 is also holding fire." Similarly, Infinities also found their target to be passive.
"Are they trying to reset the engagement? So they're finally taking us seriously then, huh!? All units, box them in and prepare for combat! Be careful to whatnot new countermeasure they thought up!" It wasn't confidence Yifei fuelled herself with, she truly believed in her team and to a certain extent, and the Americans.
"Roger!"
—
Exactly five hundred metres forward, there hovered two TSFs devised by different nations of the globe. Opposite of them was six more surface fighters constructed by another two unique countries. The entire bunch stared intensely at the other party through their optics, smallest movement would result in an all-out firefight instantly.
"—Bao-Feng Flight… we gotta respect the enemy. Draw sword!" Almost any movement.
What the Su-47 did was one simple act; it dropped the pair of Type-87 Assault Cannons it had been using until now. As the rifles fell out of favour from their owner and were replaced by another ejection of two Motor Blades, Yifei realized the intention of the crimson machine's pilot.
More importantly, Yifei also wished to personally beat the crap out of those two Soviets who stole Yuuya from right under Takamura, who stole him from her where he should have belonged.
"—aha, Ane-san is being personally confronted~ I see! Maybe we shouldn't bother her duel?" The tease of her team; Lee, made a joke at Yifei's expense.
"Don't even think about ditching, 04! I'm not here to fight for honour! I'm here to punish the thieves!" That was a perfect justification for Yifei's actions so far.
"Ara… then it's my ba—"
"Hostile's moving, Captain. Something's… off about it." Until the Infinities Lieutenant reminded her, Yifei nearly forgot she was in a serious combat situation.
Staring back at the Berkut and Shiranui again, something did appear strange about how the two frames were starting to behave. Within the spam of maybe twenty seconds, the duo of invaders would twitch their bits and pieces of TSFs. The tail fins, shoulder vanes, Jump Jet stabilizers and some other awkward gestures were performed by the Berkut and Shiranui alike.
The Su-47 brought up both of its arms and acted confused by what it saw in its hands. No, that wasn't it, Yifei discerned; the Soviet unit was studying its chainsaws. Using the eyes of its head compartment, it inspected the blades equivalent to how a real person would examine their weapon. It was indeed unsettling to the extreme.
Same thing happened with the Type-94, the rifles it had in its grip were flipped up and around its fingers; the way it spun both rifles was eye-catching, Yifei admitted. Passing from one finger to another, thrown lightly into the air and caught with the other hand; almost like a conjuror, how it handled its guns.
"Infinity 1 to Bao-Feng 1, I recommend we engage now, before those pilots attack first." A realistic suggestion knocked Yifei out of her daze.
"Yeah, yeah that's good. You two will keep the turret at bay and we can deal with the brawler. We'll try to give you the Russians alive, but don't cry too much if things go ugly."
"…Understood." Wordlessly, all the defenders agreed to striking first and asking questions later.
"Go one three… one… two—"
With her gun at the ready and CIWS right behind it, Yifei had to blink her eyes as dictated by the limits of any human. So she did, one blink; it was shorter than a second later, her entire worldview changed.
"Hold on, hold on! Picking up incoming Soviet Su-47s—!"
"WATCH IT! IT'S MO—"
"—AAH—!"
"Evade! HURRY!"
"MOVE! MO—!"
Chaos, in the blink of an eye. Everything crashed and burned so quickly, Yifei missed all of the details when her senses caught up to her surroundings.
Amongst them, the Su-47 stood. Twin Motor Blades stuck into the heads of two TSFs as the continuous sawing noise echoed repeatedly in Yifei's ears. She felt the turn to her left took longer than a year, so slow in comparison to the hostile TSF. Her two teammates, Bao-Feng 3 and 4 were killed on the spot. The chainsaws cleaved down, through the cockpits and left the frames in two halves.
"What… was that…? Linmei? Yuhua?" If a uniformed person was to answer her question, it was simply be the Su-47 Berkut. Yet, in Yifei's mind, this monster arrived without invitation all too fast. The destroyed corpses of her team members scrapped slowly off to the earth, leaving the girl more traumatized than ever.
Dead; both of them. Two Chinese crafts cleaved clean apart by the emotionless chainsaws, right down the middle of the cockpit.
"AAAHHGA! YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH! HOW COULD YOU!"
Inconceivable, no matter how she hated the Scarlet Twins for taking him away, she still believed in her humanity that murdering the pair of Russians never once crossed her mind. Sure, they weren't the best of friends by a long stretch; but Yifei never wanted to see someone she fought alongside with dead.
Striking fast and hard, her first instinct after coming out of shock was to return attack. However, it went nowhere; Yifei couldn't avenge her team this easily. The fatal razor made no connection to the Berkut's armour, it had already leaped away in the time it took her to focus the rage and strike back. Utilizing a full reverse boost, that murdering TSF backed away to the side of its companion.
"FUUUCCK! Bao-Feng 2! Switch to CQC coverage support! Infinites! Keep that 94 at bay! It gets in my way when I tear that whore apart; you ain't getting off easy, assholes!" Until now, Yifei was determined to end their meaningless lives. Rational and furious altogether; she couldn't forgive the twins, then again, she also couldn't forget her training.
"R-ro-roger!" Wang was bewildered by all the events going on at once, she only answered stumblingly.
"Infinity 3! Open fire, open fire! —unidentified white Su-47s! State your unit and purpose immediately!" That was also something she missed, the white painted Berkuts which entered their arena that moment, were they friend or foe?
"—Soviet Idar Flight to PLA and US Army, we are tasked with terminating the hostile units. Who is the highest in command currently?" It didn't matter in the slightest what more of those Ruskies wanted, if they were providing assistance, then surely there were chores to be done.
"—that's me! Capt. Cui of the PLA Bao-Feng Test Flight! If you're here to help, connect your data-link with us!"
"It is completed, Capt. Cui. Awaiting orders." Emotionless, it wasn't abnormal for creatures of the same species to behave like one another, but hearing them all sounding the same already left a bad taste in Yifei's mouth.
"FUCK it all! I don't trust any of you pod people more than the next! Provide long-range bombardment with the Americans; leave your traitor to me! I swear I'm going to slice her to pieces!"
"Captain, that's not who you think…" One of the two Russians started a sentence she didn't finish.
"What was that!?"
"Do not mind me, Capt. Cui. We'll follow your plan accordingly." While the Soviets obviously wanted to say something, the Chinese girl had better things to consider than her undelivered idea.
"UUWGGA! These fucking little shits! Thinking they're so high and mighty! WHY!? You didn't have to KILL THEM!" Death closely followed the shadow of any soldiers. Yifei was no stranger to the loss of friends. But this wasn't how it supposed to be, being killed here, by the hands of betrayers hurt so much more than dying honourably in battle.
So she surged forward, seeking vengeance under the context of protecting Yukon from invaders. The fight had begun; dangerous beyond measure was their scuffle. Yifei was determined to kill off those Twins. Because as of that moment, the battle just switched from a duel of skill to a savage fray of life and death.
"It didn't have to be this way! You both were already gone! WHY COULDN'T YOU STAY AWAY?!" Storming forward, Yifei could only get even for the dead. Scarlet Twins decided to start this bloodshed; she must end it here and now.
There stood Yifei's new nemesis coloured in a red paintjob, its purple LED tubes embedded to certain parts of its armour radiated beams of marvellous light. Never before had Yifei been able to feel the killing intent of another so clearly. Just like herself, it wished for the Captain's blood so much that air surrounding this Berkut was mangled to something completely inhuman.
In fact, the thirst for blood of that Su-47's pilot was so strong; it leaked out and became visible to the naked eye.
Rays of manifested clouds formed around the Berkut, four distinct bursts of substance shot out behind it. Like the ageless cape of a gram reaper, the cloud of energy was also black to the brim. Analogous to wings, the uncontainable smoke wavered and flapped to bring about death for every inch of ground it covered.
"What…!? You're using a smokescreen here!? How much do you want to mock me!?" Deep down, she didn't truly believe it to be artificial gas contained by a canister. The sensation just wasn't there for that to hold true.
If the monster in front of her wasn't intending on striking first, she sure was hell wouldn't hold back. Her plan was to fire off a quick burst from her rifles and dart around the TSF; after all, she'll just improvise until they're both dead.
Yifei's eyes were set on her hated target ahead only.
Before Yifei was in range, however, the Berkut acted first. Instead of an offensive push or defensive stance, all it did was lifting both arms to its head and shrieked. A mouth less mechanical TSF shrieked out, but it wasn't anything like the voices of humans. The sound counted as a soul-wrenching howl of vicious pleasure, Yifei could feel the joy its pilot relished from its bloodthirsty desire.
Then an explosion of the already abundant energy blasted out, originating a wave of coloured cloud in all directions. The Su-47 leaped up, dreadfully fast with its Motor blades outrageously sharp. Yifei jerked her sticks in to the side, any fear she underwent was overshadowed by a stronger anger.
The Berkut became invincible; its ambience covered out the moon. So Yifei wished to kill tonight's eclipse, as revenge to their long-lasting rivalry.
—
Shirogane Archangel 1. Flight A, Element A
Sumika Archangel 2. Flight A, Element A
Yuuya-Inia, Idar 1. Flight A, Element B
Meiya Archangel 5. Flight A, Element B
Sakaki Archangel 4. Flight B, Element C
Mikoto Archangel 6. Flight B, Element C
Ayamine Archangel 7. Flight B, Element C
Kasumi Archangel 3. Flight B, Element D
Tamase Archangel 8. Flight B, Element D
—
Author's note
Someone called me out for the Yukon arc dragging on, you sir, are absolutely correct. Hey, I'm no J. R. R. Tolkien, you can't expect my story to be good in the first place, and The Lord of the Rings is fucking long too.
Anyway, I'm not a good writer so the current arc is giving me problems. It is finished though, so just bare through a few more chapters, sorry people and thanks for reading as always.
BETA done by chad001. Once a guy in a wheelchair stole my invisibility cloak, I let him get away for now, because he can hide; but he can't run.