Note: The physics behind this mission are all wrong! I did the math and I even had my physics professor cross check all of my work (Since no one knows the exact weight of the AC 5 SOLG, I assumed it was comparable to an aircraft carrier based on its size and density and what I've learned in school. The AC infinity SOLG looks bigger). The SOLG would've hit the ground in four minutes once it fell out of orbit, the damage to the city might not have been as catastrophic, that explosion at the end would've been a lot bigger, and Oured would've suffered damage from the falling debris of the SOLG's explosion and nuclear fallout! Come on, Blaze118! It's just a game. Yeah, I know, but at least make this stuff as close to science fact as possible. Anyways, putting my rant aside, I had to rewrite this and the next chapter of The Ribbon several times because I was never fully satisfied with how they turned out, partially because of my little rant. The holidays didn't help out either because I spent a lot of time with family. Now that all of that is out of the way, here is the next chapter of the story that put me on your radar. I used the AC Infinity SOLG mission for this chapter.
Chapter 33 - The Unsung War
December 31, 2010 0449hrs, Oured, Osea
Naomi drove me and Kei towards the freeway where we had landed last night. Kei was still sleeping and I figured that I should let her rest in the back seat while Naomi and I continued to reminisce about our time in Oured while we dated. The streets were empty and no one was out and about because it was New Year's Eve. Everyone was planning on taking it easy, but me and my team still had one last job to do. I still had no idea what our mission was and I was hoping that it'd be a simple patrol over the city, but I knew I wouldn't be that lucky. Anyways, we arrived on the freeway where we met up with Grimm, Captain Snow, and Lt. Colonel Harkin. They were all surprised to see Naomi and they began to ask her how she knew me. Harkin had to get them focused on why he called us here and he led us into a tent that was set up on the side of the freeway. We all took our seats and Harkin began our briefing.
"I know you all are tired, but we have an urgent situation that's been developing ever since you arrived last night. We need your help one last time," he said.
Harkin fired up a projector and displayed the orbital data of the SOLG. I knew it. After we destroyed the SOLG's core last night, the eggheads at Basset noticed that it had slowed down its orbit and was now entering deeper into our atmosphere. While I was looking over the data that was being displayed and after doing a bunch of complex physics calculations in my head, I determined that the damn thing was going to hit Oured. The data also displayed the thing's size and that shocked the hell out of me. I thought the thing was at least the same size as a C-5 because I remembered that it fired tactical nukes last night, but this thing was also capable of firing nukes with similar or greater blast yields to that of Fat Man and Little Boy (the bombs dropped on Japan in WWII). And after what I witnessed last night, all of Oured would be destroyed if that thing hit.
"The SOLG is expected to hit in just a little over an hour from now, but we can't attack it until it reaches an altitude low enough for you to attack. Oka Nieba will provide tactical…" said Harkin.
"Hold on," I interrupted. "Why do we need to attack it? Why can't we just attack it with cruise missiles while it's over Oured Bay?" I asked and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Because for all we know, those nukes inside the damn thing are still armed," said Harkin. "If those things went off that high into our atmosphere, it would cause an EMP large enough to shut down Oured causing an economic crisis and the fallout would blanket the whole world and destroy all life on the planet. Furthermore, we don't have any cruise missile launchers within range to hit it before the SOLG impacts the city. Fighters offer a more precise means to destroy the SOLG without setting off those nukes and you four are the only ones capable of launching soon enough to intercept it in time."
"We don't even have the fuel or ammo to do anything," said Snow.
"We have supply aircraft en route towards our location. They're bringing in all the supplies you'll need," said Harkin. You should just send them to destroy it. "Look, I know you're all tired. If there were another option, I would've taken it by now, but we need your help this one last time. After this, you're all free to take leave or retire if you'd like."
I felt my head sink when he mentioned retirement and Naomi noticed my reaction. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't. Grimm and Kei smiled at the thought, but Snow had a look on his face that said 'we could retire assuming that we survive this mission'. We all got up from our seats and headed out of the tent. I felt myself grow even more depressed and I separated myself from the others so that I wouldn't go spreading my negativity around. I ended up just leaning over the side rail of the freeway and looked over the city. It was calm. Birds began to chirp quietly and I could feel the breeze flowing. The warmth of my jacket made me feel a little drowsy, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't overcome. It was right then that I realized that I didn't have my flight suit on and that I had left it in my hotel room. Oh well. I continued to look over the city for a few more minutes until I caught the sound of jet engines off in the distance. Judging by the engine noise, I could tell that they were F-15Cs. Another minute passed before I finally had visual confirmation on four planes. They were coming in to land on the freeway and they were going to land one after the other. When the Eagles finally came to a halt, the pilots shut off the engines and got out. The first pilot made a beeline towards me while they still kept their helmet on. Based on the pilot's figure, I knew she was a woman. When she stopped in front of me, I could only look at her with a blank expression before I began to realize who she was by the smell of her body spray.
"No way," I began. "How did you go from bitching about my flying to becoming an actual pilot?"
"Since the Lt. Colonel took us to North Point to train with him and his two friends," said Michelle as she took off her flight helmet.
The others of my flight took notice and they were just as shocked to see their RIOs climbing out of the cockpits of their planes. Erica dashed towards Grimm as soon as she laid eyes on him and tackled him to the ground in excitement. Michelle and Kyle went to talk with Captain Snow and Kei while Danny approached me.
"What do you think of me now?" he asked.
"You're still ugly as hell," I said sarcastically.
"Ha, your lass and I are tied for flight lead candidates out of the four of us. I guess we have you to thank for that."
"I think Rockford might be more qualified. If she picked up on my flying style after flying with me for a couple of months, then I think she out ranks you in adaptability."
"Oh belt up, you mug. Once you complete this mission, I'll be able to show you what I'm capable of," chuckled Danny.
I wanted to deck him for taking this as a joke, but I could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood. As much as I didn't want to think about what I was going to be up against within the next hour, I had to stay focused on my objective. We all continued to shoot the breeze while the ground crews refueled and rearmed our planes with the supplies our RIOs brought with them. It turns out that they had brought upgraded OSDs for our planes and we were now able to hold more missiles and gun ammo in our planes. Technology is a beautiful thing sometimes. After everything was ready, we continued to wait for the order to launch. Eventually I went back to looking over the city while I was leaning over the rail. Everything was still quiet and none of the citizens knew about the threat that was looming over their heads.
"You've got that look again," said Naomi as she walked up next to me.
"What look?" I asked.
"That same look you had when you told me about Operation Katina. It's like you don't know if you're going to come back."
"Anything can happen out there. You and I know that better than anyone."
"You think too much. That's one of the things that annoyed me about you."
"And I hated how loudly you snored," I said sarcastically and Naomi nudged me. "Sorry, but you know that's how I was trained."
"Yeah, but right now you have to focus on the positive. Besides, we expect you to come back in one piece."
I looked over at my team to see them smiling as they spoke with each other. Everyone seemed so carefree at the moment, but they knew what had to be done. When they noticed me looking at them they all headed my way. They wanted me to give them some words of encouragement, but I was terrible when it came to things like this.
"We all know what has to be done and we know what's at stake. I refuse to let those bastards mock us with their last attempt to destroy all that we've worked for. This might be our last sortie together, but it's not the end of our friendship and the camaraderie we've formed together. When we get back, dinner and drinks are on me," I said and everyone smiled one last time.
My team headed off to their planes while I took off my jacket and put my G suit on over my casual clothes. It felt weird like this, but in a good way. While I was getting ready, the other three began their takeoff preparations and soon began to launch. Here we go. I climbed into the cockpit of my Wyvern and began my preflight checks before the ground crews cleared out.
"Your final sortie…it's almost kinda sad, huh?" asked Harkin. "Alright, launch preparations complete." I saluted everyone as they stood on the side of the freeway while I throttled up and began my takeoff roll. Once I had enough speed, I pulled back on the stick to take off into the morning sky as the sun peeked over the horizon. "Good luck out there, Razgriz."
"Thanks," I said softly as I retraced my landing gear.
The rest of my team fell into formation around me and we all turned to head northwest. We were flying as fast as we could in silence towards Oured bay. I guess the reality of what was happening started to sink in.
"This is Oka Nieba. Hurry to the target area. The later you get there, the less time you'll have to attack the SOLG. The SOLG will descend to a vulnerable altitude in five minutes."
"The SOLG is falling!" exclaimed Grimm.
"We have to get to the SOLG, fast!" exclaimed Kei.
Thank you Captain and 1st Lieutenant Obvious!
"Captain," said Grimm suddenly.
"Blaze," said Snow.
"Blaze" said Kei.
I didn't know why they were calling out to me at this point. But then I thought that maybe they were just nervous about what I was thinking. I was scared that we wouldn't be able to stop this thing from hitting the ground, but I couldn't let them know that. I still had my doubts about everything we now faced, but it was my job to keep my team's spirits up.
"Just another day at the office. Blaze, engaging," I grinned sadistically as I put on my oxygen mask.
"Roger! Archer, engaging."
"Roger. Swordsman, engaging."
"Roger. Edge, engaging."
I adjusted my heading so that we were now headed straight towards the SOLG's decent point. It was at an altitude of 72,000 feet, the Wyvern's service ceiling, and we were already approaching Mach 2.5. The boom of the sound barrier breaking went off only a couple seconds after we hit our afterburners and we were forced back into our seats as we sped to meet the threat of the SOLG. What if we don't make it in time? What exactly is this thing capable of up close? No, I can't think about this right now. I have to focus on getting to the decent point first. The feeling of being pressed into my ejection seat felt different than before. It was like I was being bombarded with the hopes and prayers of the people who knew what was going to happen if we failed. We only had one chance to stop this thing and I was going to do everything I could.
"These fighters are defiantly the Razgriz," said a familiar voice over the radio.
"Blaze!" shouted Kei. She knew who was speaking and I knew it as well. I pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area ahead, but I couldn't see anything.
"Oka Nieba to the Ghost of Razgriz, new enemy planes on the radar. It's a double Belkan formation—Ofnir and Grabacr."
I kept scanning the sky around me and eventually I caught sight of the Belkans. They were all flying Su-47s, but these ones were modified. The Su-47 was a dangerous adversary even in the hands of an average pilot. But seeing as how these guys weren't the average pilot, we were going to have our hands full dealing with them. Our fight with Grabacr lasted around seven minutes and the SOLG was going to hit within four minutes. We didn't have time to deal with these losers and I felt my inner doubt grow. No, it'll only take forty-five seconds (my fastest was around ten on Expert).
"Waste 'em," I said to the others as I switched to my AMRAAMs.
My team opened up our formation and acquired locks on all eight of our targets. They all attempted to scatter to break our locks before we let loose our missiles. Sixteen missiles flew towards each of them, but none of them hit their mark. The entire formation was thrown off and I was able to see clearly just how clouded their judgment was. They didn't have any coordination between them and that was one of our many advantages. The four of us bored into the enemy formation with our guns blazing at each other. Several cannon shells ripped into my fuselage as I attempted to climb above them. One of the Grabacr pilots was the first one to follow me and I was able to see the hatred in his eyes when I looked back at him.
"We will restore the pride we had 15 years ago!" said one of the Grabacr pilots.
"It's time to settle this evil ravens!" said an Ofnir pilot.
Evil…?
"Captain Chopper… if you're here, please look after us," prayed Grimm.
"Keep going! Our mission is clear!" shouted Snow.
"Don't fight by yourself. Take them two-on-one," said the Ofnir leader.
"Captain, two enemy planes on your six!" exclaimed Kei as she evaded one of her attackers.
I looked behind me again to see another Su-47 fall into formation behind me. They were dead set on killing me, but they had forgotten the basic principles that any combat aviator adhered to when fighting. They were both too close to me and this made it easier for me to roll under them and get behind them. The trailing Belkan filled my gunsight first and I fired my gun into his cockpit. I could hear him screaming over the radio as my bullets ripped into the metal around him and into his body.
"So they think the same moves will work twice? Swat them all down," said the second Belkan as he pulled a Cobra maneuver in an attempt to get behind me.
I didn't bother to try and get away from him because I saw another fighter going after Grimm from below. Grimm flew past my eight o' clock high with his attacker following closely. I pulled into a climbing left turn and Grimm dove to try and clear Kei's six while she attempted to shake off Ashley. I quickly fell in behind Grimm's attacker and acquired a lock on his plane. He was so focused on Grimm that he didn't attempt to evade my missile when I sent it his way. His reaction wasn't what I expected from a pilot as prideful as him.
"Let us be blessed with glory as we cross the gates of hell," he yelled before his entire plane went up in flames.
"We will realize the victory that has been denied us by a traitor!" yelled another Ofnir pilot.
"Rise, my fallen brothers, rise up with the power of your hatred!"
"Shut the hell up!" shouted Snow.
I looked towards my two o' clock low to see him raining bullets down into another Su-47 before he threw his plane back into a tight Immelmann turn and send a missile into a second enemy fighter as they came at each other from head on. Any of us would've been able to avoid those attacks, but this just showed us how unfocused these Belkans were.
"Grabacr, Ofnir, you're hatred is slowing you down," said Kei and she swung in behind the last Belkan who was tailing me.
When she did, I saw that Ashley was still glued to her six. There wasn't anything that I could do from my current position, but Grimm found an opening to force him to break off his attack. With Kei in the clear, she continued to press her attack. Even though I knew I was in good hands, I wasn't just going to sit by and keep myself exposed to this danger. I pulled another high G barrel roll and got behind my attacker as well. Kei Managed to cripple his right engine with her gun before she peeled away to deal with Ashley and I finished off the Belkan with a missile shot that sailed through the Su-47's canopy. Grimm broke off his engagement with Ashley once Kei arrived and began to run loops around in a crazy waltz with two of the remaining three Belkan planes. Snow swooped in to provide support, but he arrived a little too late. Grimm had already fired a missile at one of the Belkans as he tried turning towards Grimm and he finished off the other with his gun. The last Ofnir fighter tried to dive on Grimm, but he overshot his mark and Grimm quickly reversed his direction to latch onto his tail. The Ofnir pilot tried to throw Grimm off, but he wasn't even able to complete one maneuver before he received a sidewinder up his tailpipe.
"Don't think you've won this! This isn't over yet!" he shouted before his Su-47 erupted into a bright fireball.
The only enemy left was Ashley and Kei was dug in. She was lock onto his tail and showed no signs of letting up. He was throwing his plane all over the sky in order to gain the upper hand, but it was no use. In a final act of desperation, Ashley pulled another Cobra turn in vain. Kei reacted quickly by throttling back, lowering her flaps, and pulling her air brake. She was still in position behind Ashley and calmly acquired a solid lock on him.
"I… I never thought you'd be this good," said Ashley as he watched Kei's missile fly towards him.
None of us watched as Kei's missile blew Ashley's Su-47 to hell. Instead, we all fell back into formation and began to speed towards our objective. It only took us forty-three seconds and we only have three minutes left. Even though we had just killed eight people and a nuke carrying satellite was about to slam into the planet, everything felt peaceful. I couldn't hear the wail of my engines or the sound of my own breath and I wasn't as tense as I was when we took off. The beat of my own heart was the only thing I could feel right now and it felt great. We were alive. When facing the certainty of death, a person can think about the strangest things. I don't really know why anyone would think about the things they do at this point. Maybe it was because they wanted to think about all the choices they've made in life. Maybe they wanted to enjoy what little time they had left. I don't know. In my case, I'd always stop to take a moment to soak in the world around me. I made some pretty brash decisions in the past. But in the end, I never regretted anything.
"I see light to the east," said Kei softly. "Morning's coming."
I looked over my right shoulder to see that she was right. The sun had now risen even more, but it was still below the horizon. A gentle smile formed on my face when I saw the others looking behind them as well.
"Our night flight is over," said Grimm. "I can't wait to see it, the most beautiful sunrise ever."
"And the sun will continue to rise, now and forever," said Snow
The sun's never looked so beautiful like this. Will you stay and watch it with me when it sets? My mind began to wander and I felt myself thinking about some of the past moments of my life where my fear of uncertainty gripped me and how it vanished when everything was over. The fear of not making it through this mission didn't bother me anymore because I knew we would. I had my friends with me. The people I trusted the most were here supporting me.
"I just remembered, my birthday's coming up next week," said Grimm.
I chuckled at his sudden realization. "See, aren't you glad you're still alive?" asked Snow.
"I bet my mom will be happy to see my brother come back home from Yuktobania."
"You oughta go make her happy too. We're almost done here," I said softly.
Family is one of the closest things you can keep to your heart.
We only want you to be happy.
I always come back, don't I?
The thought that I might be able to see my mother and sister again made me start choking up. This was the second time they thought I had died and I didn't want them to worry about me any longer. I wanted to tell both of them that I loved them one last time and tell them how much they meant to me. They were the only family I had left.
"Captain, I want to thank you," said Snow suddenly.
"Captain Snow?" I replied.
"Flying as a wingman again, I now know how my men felt."
We got your back, Kid.
Relax; he knows what he's doing.
I'd follow you into hell if I had to, son!
In all of my time in the air, I've never really flown as an actual wingman. During my time as Mobius 1, I was never responsible for a keeping a flight lead alive. In fact, the only person whose life I was responsible for was my own. I never knew what it was like to have several people watch my back not just because it was their job, but because they cared about me. I've only known a couple of people like this, but it was now that I realized that my team was among those who felt that way.
"I vowed to myself that I'd never lose another flight lead," said Kei. I was now looking back at her and I could see her looking at me as well. "And that's what's kept me flying up to now. So please, please Blaze, let me fly as your wingman just a little while longer."
There was only one other person in the world who said something similar to me and I felt myself become even more relaxed than I already was. I meant everything to Kei at this point in time and I wasn't going to let her down. Kei meant everything to me as well, but so did Grimm, Snow, Harkin, and all the other people I've become close with over the years. We had only each other to depend on and we were going to see this through to the end.
"Fly with me forever," I said sincerely. "I want to thank each of you for all that you've done for me."
I'll always be around to help out.
You didn't expect me to leave all of this to you, did you?
Thank you… for everything.
I could see them all smiling at me as we got within visual range of our target. It was still a ways off, but it was coming into view fast. The calm feeling that we were experiencing was fading and we now knew what we'd be up against. Just another day at the office...
"The SOLG has fallen to an altitude low enough for you to attack," advised Oka Nieba. "I know you can do this. Destroy it!"
"We gotta stop that thing, Grimm!" said Snow.
"I know," he replied. "Captain Nagase…"
"Yeah," said Kei confidently. "Blaze, let's go!"
"Alright, guys, let's bring this son-of-a-bitch down. Oka Nieba, any suggestions?" I asked.
"I received a datalink from your guy "Pops", with the SOLG's structural details. The SOLG's outer shell has a rotating accelerator. The only way you can attack its core structure is through the gaps in this accelerator. That's bad news. This'll be tough," said Oka Nieba.
"It's falling… It's so huge," said Grimm unsure of our success.
"We gotta destroy it! Don't let it hit the ground in one piece!" said Snow.
"Shoot the panels," advised Kei. "They should break off easily."
"Razgriz, use your guns to take out those panels. Clear off any and all obstacles so that we have a clear shot at that thing's core," I ordered as we swung in behind the SOLG.
We each took position at the SOLG's two, five, eight, and eleven o' clock and began to let loose on the solar panels with our guns. They broke off easily and we soon found out that this wasn't going to be as easy as we thought. Debris began to fly off the SOLG as we continued to attack it and it was slowing down our attacks, but that didn't stop us from breaking all eighteen of them.
"All SOLG solar panels destroyed," announced Oka Nieba.
"Well, this is getting a little more encouraging now," said Snow
Large trails of fire began to bellow out of the SOLG from the small amount of damage that we inflicted and we had to trail even further behind our target to stay out of the danger. Well that takes care of them, but we still have to destroy the core. The core was being blocked by the four giant arms that were connected to the rotating accelerator. If we wanted to get a clear shot at the SOLG's core, we'd need to break off those arms.
"That's the SOLG's core component…" said Kei. "You can't hit it by just firing at random."
"Captain, we need you here!" said Snow hoping that I could offer some kind of advice.
"Watch the rotation timing and you should be able to hit it," said Grimm.
"We have to aim through that? This is like threading a needle."
This is going to take too long. "Oka Nieba, I need to know if those nukes in the SOLG's arms are inactive. Can you advise?" I asked.
"I'm still receiving the data from Pops. According to what we have so far, the nukes will only arm once they reach a specific velocity. This was a precaution Osea used in case that thing broke apart in orbit. They didn't want the radiation to contaminate the atmosphere during reentry," he replied.
They could've used my idea from the beginning, but now cruise missiles wouldn't make it here in time!
"Razgriz, target those arms so that we can get a clear shot at the core!" I ordered.
"Blaze, wait!" shouted Oka Nieba and I soon found out what he was trying to tell us.
A beam of red light shot out form the side of the SOLG's arm and tried to slice through my plane, but I managed to snap roll to the right and out of the way before it could slice me in half. The others saw what had happened and began to evade the lasers that were targeting them as well.
"Was that a laser?!" exclaimed Kei.
"The SOLG has a defensive system used for clearing debris while it's in orbit. There are dozens of them placed along the barrel and arms," warned Oka Nieba.
The four of us began to target the laser domes that were on the arms and we quickly dispatched them. One of the beams grazed my left side of my plane, but it didn't do any real damage. The others were just as tied up as I was as they began to weave through the lasers and the debris that was falling off the satellite as we targeted the base of each arm. The arms each had four laser domes and I thought those were just a pain in the ass to deal with, but then I saw more beams coming from the SOLG's barrel. Can this get any more stressful? Snow was the first one to cause enough damage to one of the arms before it finally broke off from the SOLG due to air resistance and the rotational force of the accelerator. He then began to focus making out jobs easier by attacking the laser domes that were scattered around the rest of the SOLG. Kei was the next one to destroy an arm and she soon joined Snow while Grimm and I continued our attack.
I was the last one to finish, but more lasers began to activate and more fire began to spew out of the already wounded SOLG. The thing was now forty miles away from Oured and I began to worry that we weren't doing enough damage to this thing. Grimm and Snow continued to run interference while Kei and I regrouped to finally attack the SOLG's core.
"Oka Nieba to the Ghost of Razgriz, more enemy planes on radar. They don't appear to be coming to your aid."
We all began to scan our radars, but we couldn't see anything. I ordered Snow and Kei to continue their attack on the SOLG while Grimm and I provided cover for them. We still couldn't see the inbound enemy fighters. The surrounding airspace was too dark to get a good view of anything, but the rising sun was beginning to illuminate everything. It wasn't long until I caught a glint of light off towards the north and saw that a dozen of white Su-47s were inbound to try and stop us. Are they insane?! Grimm and I quickly acquired a lock on them with our AMRAAMs and fired as soon as they were within range. I could see them scattering off in the distance to evade our attack. Only three of our missiles hit and we closed in to try and engage them. We were coming in from their eleven o' clock low and pulled into a sharp climbing right turn to get behind them. They must not have seen us because we managed to down another four of them once we got behind them. From where I was, I could see that the flight lead had finally spotted us when I saw him look back, but he didn't bother to engage us. Instead, the remaining five fighters continued to speed towards the SOLG while they tried to throw off our aim. Our missiles hadn't reloaded yet and I was able to shoot down the trailing enemy plane when he pulled into a high speed left bank. Grimm managed to bag another one when he tried to go into a dive. The remaining three fighters tried to continue their run towards the others, but they quickly bit the dust as well because they flew in a straight line. As soon as they were out of the way, we quickly regrouped with the others to attack the SOLG's core.
"Edge, how's that core coming?" I asked urgently.
"We're tied up with another group of fighters that came in from the west. Swordsman and I can't get a shot off!" she said. I saw Kei and Snow's IFF signatures appear on my HUD along with several enemy signatures.
"Captain, we have to help them!" shouted Grimm.
"Focus on the SOLG, Grimm! That's our main priority right now!" I ordered.
Kei and Snow were weaving all over the sky as they avoided the enemy attacks. They were still flying within close proximity to the SOLG and Kei and Snow were making full use of it to try and throw off the enemy planes. The lasers were targeting everything without discrimination and they shot down a couple of the enemy planes. It wasn't long until the enemy fighters noticed me and Grimm and came after us while we attacked the core. The top right and the bottom left ones had been knocked out and we hadn't even started attacking the remaining two.
We were dodging missiles, bullets, debris, and lasers all while trying to clear off each other's tails and destroy a WMD that was now twenty-five miles from Oured. I was weaving all around the SOLG in an attempt to throw off the enemy planes. There were a total of five of them trailing me and they were doing more damage to the SOLG than they were to me, granted that they weren't able to hit me. Three of them got hit the falling debris or they crashed into the SOLG. This gave me an opening to attack some of the lasers, but I soon realized that I didn't need to worry about them just yet. The lasers began to fire on every single plane in the air. The enemy planes were being shot down by the thing they were supposed to protect. Maybe it thinks of us all as debris. It didn't matter any longer. The enemy fighters were being thinned out and I was now clear to attack the remaining two core units. With the accelerator's arms no longer blocking our shots, we were now had a clear shot at our target.
"Guys, focus on the SOLG! We can't waste any more time here!" I ordered.
"We're still too tied up," said Kei.
"I'm used to desperate situations, but this is the worst!" shouted Snow.
Dammit! I was getting fed up dealing with these assholes that wanted this thing to hit the ground. Out of frustration, I broke off my attack on the SOLG to attack the enemy fighters. I was positioned at the SOLG's ten o' clock when I decided to chase after an enemy plane that was attacking Kei when she flew under me from my three o' clock. He didn't see me until I had already begun to score hit after hit on his plane with my gun. As soon as he was taken care of, I pulled back up to continue my attack on the SOLG, but that's when I saw that another Su-47 was climbing up to meet me from my six o' clock. He overshot his mark when I pulled a high G barrel roll in the middle of my turn and threw him off. A missile shot was enough to bring him down once I was able to get behind him. Kei and I were now clear to continue our attack and Snow and Grimm had finally gotten an upper hand on all of the remaining enemy fighters thanks to the SOLG's remaining laser turrets.
"Razgriz 2-1, keep them busy for just a little while longer and this thing will be destroyed," I ordered.
"We got it, Captain!" replied Grimm and he and Snow began to chase after the enemy planes even more aggressively.
Kei and I took up positions around the SOLG to continue our attack. I fired every missile that I had on the core I was targeting, but my Sidewinders were getting confused by the even bigger fire contrail that the SOLG was creating. Not only that, but my AMRAAMs were getting caught in the flames as well and some of them were destroyed before they could even hit their target. Nevertheless, Oka Nieba was able to confirm that we had destroyed the core units after Kei and I had dumped a majority of our missiles into it.
I thought that would be the end of this damn thing, but I was wrong. The SOLG was still holding its speed and trajectory towards Oured and showed no signs that it was going to slow down. If we had any hope of stopping it, we had to break it down even further, but how? I only had two sidewinders left and plenty of ammo for my gun, but that wasn't going to be enough.
"We're still not doing enough damage to stop it, but…" began Kei.
"…But we're the only ones who can," said Grimm.
"Captain, I'm out of missiles," said Snow.
"So am I."
"Me too," said Kei.
"There's nothing else we can do," said Grimm.
"Did we at least alter its course?" asked Snow.
"No, it's still headed for Oured," Kei said glumly. "Razgriz 2 to Oka Nieba, we've inflicted some serious damage on the SOLG, but it's still headed for its target."
"…Roger Razgriz, you did your best. Get out of there before you get clipped by anymore of that thing's debris."
"We're not done yet!" I shouted.
"There's nothing else you can do. Get the hell out of there!"
"I've still got two missiles left, so I can still do something. I'll crash into the side of this thing if it means stopping it from killing anyone!"
"Blaze…"
I was looking carefully over the SOLG as it continued to fall. It was now twelve miles from Oured and it was only getting closer. I was desperately scanning the SOLG's barrel in the hopes that there was a chink in this thing's armor that I could exploit, but I couldn't see anything. It wasn't until I fell behind the SOLG that I remembered that it was an oversized railgun. Maybe I can destroy it from the inside…
"Oka Nieba, is the SOLG still primed to fire another warhead?" I asked.
"Be advised Razgriz leader, the SOLG was ready to fire the V2 warhead when you destroyed the core last night. The warheads are not armed, but the frame that is holding them together is another missile by itself. If you destroy that, is should cause a big enough explosion to blow the SOLG from the inside."
"Wait, what about you? Won't you be caught in the explosion too?" asked Kei.
"I'll make it," I said.
"But, Blaze…"
I ignored Kei as I lined up to enter the SOLG's barrel because even I thought that I wasn't going to make it. As I looked down the SOLG's barrel, I could see that the only way out of the SOLG was in the way I came. If I could, I would've tried to lock onto the warhead from the end of the SOLG's barrel, but my missiles didn't have the range. Here we go again. I could hear everyone shouting at me, begging me not to do it. I took off my oxygen mask so that they could see me smiling at them one last time. If you're going to die, kid, you better have all the right reason to do so. I pushed the throttle forward and headed into the SOLG. Ahead was my target and I could see the MIRV missile just sitting there, menacingly. The flight towards it reminded me of how I flew into Megalith to destroy the last MIRV missile that was set to target every major capitol city on Strangereal. Harkin managed to pull through for me and save my life that day when he got the launch doors open at the last second.
I've accepted the inevitability of my death numerous times and I was scared every time. However, I had this gut feeling that I'd get out of here in one piece. I wasn't worried about anything at this point in time; though I'm positive the average person wouldn't feel this way. Just another day at the office… I was finally within range of the MIRV missile and I now had a solid lock on it. My missiles flew out from under me and flew towards the warhead. They both struck the thing and I saw that some damage been done, but the result wasn't what I wanted. It was still sitting there and soon I began to see that it had loosened a little. A few more seconds passed and I saw that the warhead was starting to buckle from all the wind resistance. I have to loosen this thing up even more. I carefully maneuvered my plane so that it was scant inches above the base of the SOLG's barrel before I began to fire my gun where the warhead was lodged at the base. The explosions of my 25mm cannon shells shook my target until it became more unstable until it finally became dislodged from the barrel. I thought it would just slide out of the barrel, but a large explosion caused it to break apart and come tumbling towards me. However, I could now see the sunrise at the other end of the barrel.
I was now given a small opening, but I had to fly through a bunch of debris that could send me spiraling into the wall. The chances of me getting out of here were slim because the debris was flying at me in such a tight space. It was like I was flying down the barrel of a shotgun. With no other options left, I manually folded my wings and flew into the oncoming danger. As I pressed forward, I felt a very familiar sense of concentration envelop me. All I could see was red and I could feel my heart pounding inside of my chest. My eyes caught sight of everything single detail and I was already plotting my flightpath. Everything slowed down and I carefully continued to fly through the debris field. Barrel rolling through the SOLG's barrel would be terrifying, but I felt more alive than ever before. Everything was passing by only millimeters away from my plane and I could feel myself smiling as I pressed forward. I wasn't the slightest bit scared, but my shaking hands would suggest otherwise when I looked at them after I cleared the SOLG's barrel. I guess it could've been the fact that the flames had engulfed my plane for a split second before I got to a safe distance. When I looked in my mirror at the SOLG, I could see that the barrel had broken off into several smaller sections, but the rotating accelerator was going to land short of the city.
I couldn't believe it. I was still in on piece and the SOLG's course had finally been altered to the point where it would crash harmlessly into Oured Bay. Not only that, but the others didn't know that I had made it out alright. I could hear them crying over the radio and I tried hailing them, but I wasn't getting through. All I was getting was static and my radar was having trouble picking up anything. The explosion had knocked out a couple of my other instruments, but I was still airworthy. I began to do an inflight check and I even fired a few rounds from my gun to make sure it was working. I'm glad that's over. I undid my oxygen mask and slouched back in my seat. The thought of my next move began to come to mind. When I thought about it, I figured that I should look for my team for a few minutes before I headed back towards the nearest available airfield. I kept my head on a swivel to see if I could catch even the slightest hint of where the others were, but I couldn't see anything. After a couple of minutes, I caught a glint of light towards the southeast. What is that? I was about to pull out my binoculars to get a better look, but the sound of several jet engines surrounding me stopped me and I looked to see that it was my team. They were all shocked to see me, but I didn't waste any time signaling them that my radio was out using hand signals. But at the same time, I told them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
Everyone began to scan our surroundings carefully and I still had my eyes glued towards the Southeast. I was laser focused on that area in particular and it soon paid off. Another subtle glint of light was enough to make me pull out my binoculars and I was able to get a better look at the object. It turned out to be a red aircraft with a black underside and my eyes widened in realization when I was able to make out the plane's design. It looked similar to the one Green flew when he attacked Camp Curtis, but this one looked more advanced. At first glance, it reminded me of a mosquito. The three areas that stood out on this aircraft were the two bulky engines, the cockpit, and its underbelly. The plane's nose was long and pointed which allowed it to reach high speeds while allowing for less air resistance. The cockpit didn't have a canopy. Instead, it looked like it had several holes around where the pilot sat and the plane also had a single long vertical stabilizer under it. What the hell is that?
I continued to look at it through my binoculars and I saw that the nose of the plane broke into two parts. The top section lifted up to reveal a white object inside its mouth and I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew it couldn't be good. I fired my gun to quickly get everyone's attention and told them to take evasive action using hand signals. They didn't waste any time asking questions and we all broke off in different directions. No sooner did we break did we see a beam of white light shoot towards us and go after Grimm's plane. He tried his best to avoid it, but the light severed off part of the forward swept section of his left wing. The light only lasted a couple of seconds before it subsided and I continued to try and get my radio to work so that I could communicate with the rest of my team, but nothing was working. In the end, I ended up kicking the side of the cockpit several times before they could hear me.
"Grimm, you okay?" I asked.
"I'm alright, Captain. What in the world was that?" he replied.
"Good, you're still alive."
"Who the hell is this?" asked Snow.
"I'm an old friend of your Captain. I was worried that he sacrificed himself," said Green.
Next chapter: The Dance of Ōkami and Kitsune