"You wanted to see me, sir?"

A young man stood in the doorframe of Colonel Fauzer's office, standing solid as January ice. Even though his commanding officer was going to tell him to drop the formalities within seconds, as he always did when they spoke one-on-one, the young man remained at attention. After all, he had to be the one to set an example for the others that would soon look up to him, and that wasn't even mentioning the shadow he was forced to live under.

Colonel Fauzer was sitting over his desk, bent over what looked like a letter or a correspondence running down the entire page. Sitting to his left was a small commercial radio. A newscaster was chattering away about something both men had already heard about countless times in the last few hours before Fauzer promptly flicked the knob off and silenced the radio.

"Atkinson, good, you're here. Take a seat," Fauzer said, punctuating with a sharp exhale. His eyes only met the young man's after he finished scribbling one last sentence on the page and folding the paper up in a drawer.

Atkinson did as he was instructed, giving the older man a concerned look. "Has something happened?" he asked, glancing over at the now silent radio before returning his gaze to his senior officer.

Atkinson knew the answer before Fauzer uttered a single word. The bags under his eyes, his hunched posture, and the pain in his countenance told Atkinson everything he needed to know. It had gotten worse- a lot worse, he assumed. Finally, Fauzer gave a response in the form of a solemn nod.

"I need you to find everyone and get them to the briefing room ASAP. This is the real deal."

Atkinson flinched as if Fauzer had just slapped him. "S- sir, are you sure we should be going up there? I mean… with all due respect, it seems crazy to send up a bunch of trainees up against a threat like this." Under normal circumstances, he would jump at any opportunity to get in the cockpit, but with everything that had happened in the last few hours alone, he was anxious, to say the least.

Fauzer ran a hand through his short black hair. "I'll explain everything at the briefing, but regardless of the situation, you all are more than ready." He gave Atkinson a reassuring smile. "Besides, I need someone to lead the other flight."

"What!? Me? I- sir, you can't be serious!" Atkinson protested. "Please tell me you're not serious. Respectfully, this isn't the time for a training session." Should he be the one lecturing his commanding officer? Probably not. Still, Atkinson was in disbelief that he even had to ask himself that question.

"Relax, kid, deep breaths. Take it easy," Fauzer told him gently. "Trust me. I'm not just doing this out of desperation. Never in a million years would I send anyone up into something like this if I didn't believe with my heart and soul that they could handle it- same goes for you." He leaned back in his chair for a moment before standing up and meandering over to a shelf lined with various pictures. "Listen, Riley; I didn't choose you to be the one to lead these people randomly or because I was told to. I didn't do it because you're my favorite or even because of who your parents are. I chose you because I firmly believe that you are one of, if not the most, promising pilots I've encountered in my 20 years of service." He turned around to face the younger man again, looking down at him with that gentle reassurance he was so good at giving. "You've got this- all of you."

Riley wasn't entirely convinced. He tried telling himself to think like his parents would- not that he knew what they were like during their service. Even with the interest that he took in aviation when he was young, neither of them talked much about it, so when he told himself to think like they would, it was mostly his way of telling himself to just push on, and that's precisely what he did. He nodded to Fauzer and excused himself from his office, starting down the halls of Tyler Island Air Base.

Fortunately for Riley, he knew where all of the other pilots in training were since he was just with them before he got called to meet with Fauzer. The rec room was generally the place where they would all congregate to unwind and get away from the stress that came with training to be a fighter pilot. However, it had been mostly full all day, thanks to recent events.

Once Riley arrived, it didn't take him long to spot the others. Most of them sat at a round table, staring each other down in what looked to be an intense game of poker. The few who weren't in the game were watching from the sidelines. As per usual, Finn had coerced most of the chips to lie in front of him. Although, by some miracle, Maya was barely hanging onto a literal handful of her own, taking 'fake it 'till you make it' to an entirely different level.

Quincy was looking down at his cards, which he kept as close to his chest as he could manage while still being able to see them. "Alright, I think I'm gonna… raise." He pushed more chips toward the pile in the center of the table. The smirk on his face grew ever-so-slightly larger.

Sitting to his right, Violet rolled her eyes. "Do you seriously think you're fooling anyone, Quinn? You're such a shitty bluffer." She followed his lead and raised.

Quinn tried his best to force down his grin. "I assure you, Violet, I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Besides, I'm in this for the fun of it. That's your problem- too competitive."

Violet scoffed, putting her cards face down on the table and watching as Maya folded. "If you're about to insinuate that I don't have enough fun, don't even try. I can be plenty of fun- like as I call your awful bluff and win the pot." She flipped her cards over with pride. "Try beating that straight."

Quinn looked down at his cards, which were still face-down on the table. "Well, I guess that's pretty good." He shifted his gaze between his own cards and Violet's hand. "I wonder if it's better than this?" He flipped his cards over to reveal a full house.

"I- but how… what!?" Violet asked in disbelief. She started laughing. "No, no, no, no, I refuse to believe that you managed to trick me like that."

Quinn was smiling from ear to ear as he pulled the pile of chips in the middle toward his own stack. "Believe it, Violet. You just got played! I feel like a goddamn mastermind." He looked over to Finn. "Is this what it feels like every time you win? Because this is a feeling that I could definitely get used to. It might actually be worth developing a gambling addiction for."

"Excuse you, just because I enjoy playing poker more than other people doesn't mean I have a gambling addiction," Finn defended himself.

"Oh, don't kid yourself, Finn. You live for the thrill; admit it," Griffin chimed in as he watched from the sidelines.

"Hey, at least I live my life instead of watching others," he teased the other man. "You'd probably be spending your whole life watching if you could."

Griffin shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Well, there's nothin' wrong with being a spectator in a world with too many players."

Luke let out an annoyed groan. "If you two are quite finished talking philosophy, can we get back to the poker game, please? We ain't getting any younger here."

"Sheesh, calm down, dude," Nina said, spinning her chair around so that she sat on it backward, resting her chin on the back while she watched the game resume. "It's not like the game's going anywhere anytime soon."

Riley cleared his throat. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…"

"Oh, come on, Riley!" Max protested, throwing his hands up. "The game was just getting good."

Riley smirked. "Didn't you guys say that when I left, too? In fact, I think I specifically remember Griffin saying, "Don't take too long, Riley. This game's just starting to get good," as I was leaving to go talk to Fauzer."

Finn waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, quiet. Nobody asked you, Riley," he said in a jesting tone. "What'd the boss want, anyway?"

The smile on Riley's face vanished as he remembered what they were about to do. "He wants everyone to report to the briefing room. It's urgent."

Finn grabbed all the cards and put them in the deck, shuffling them for good measure. "Guess we'll just have to finish when we get back," he said as he stood up.

"Heh, right, like we don't all know that you're just gonna win anyway," Max remarked.

Finn looked back at him with a smirk. "And that's exactly why I said we'll finish it when we get back."

Riley hung back and waited for everyone to slowly filter out of the room before bringing up the rear. He still wasn't entirely sure what was about to happen, but he at least knew better than they did that it wasn't going to be pretty. All he could do was look at all of them and hope that they could just make it back from this in one piece.

"Everyone here? Good." Fauzer reached down for the computer in front of him and brought up the briefing software on the big screen behind him as the pilots made their way into the briefing room. "I'm sure that by now, we've all heard about the ongoing crisis with everyone's COFFIN aircraft. I'm sorry to say that it's gotten much worse." A map of Usea displayed itself on the screen behind him as he started pacing back and forth along the front of the room. "At twelve hundred hours, all of the COFFIN aircraft in Expo City began to activate without anyone at the controls. They started laying waste to the city without discrimination immediately after they took off. Our forces stationed there tried to stop them in conventional aircraft, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers against them. They were forced to evacuate everyone, command personnel included, and make their way here. They also sent a broadcast across all UPEO channels for everyone else to do the same."

Aside from Fauzer's briefing, the room was dead silent. It was so quiet that Riley could hear the slight rustling of Max's flight suit as he moved to scratch his chin. Nobody at that base thought they were going to be even remotely involved in this crisis. And every single trainee sitting in that room reached the same conclusion almost simultaneously; if they were being briefed on a mission to help, then things had gotten worse than any of them could have imagined.

Fauzer looked up at the map with a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, we've managed to confirm the worst. The forces from Expo City, including UPEO Commander Gilbert Park, have been destroyed. Although I'm sorry to say even this isn't the end of the bad news." He bent over the computer once more, and eastern Usea was shrouded in red. There was also an arched red line in the waters between Tyler Island and southern Usea. "It appears that this unknown force hijacking our planes was able to hear our comms because they set up a blockade around Tyler Island. Any forces heading our way have been shot down."

Violet was the one who said what everyone was thinking. "Sir, are you saying that-"

"As far as we know, you all may be the last hope UPEO has," a new voice behind them finished the sentence, causing everyone to turn around and see Delegate Clarkson. The man had impeccable timing, having shown up just yesterday to talk with the pilots in training and then getting stuck with them on account of the growing crisis. "Things are bad, I know. This is a lot to take in, and it's putting a lot of weight on your shoulders," he said as he walked up to the front of the room, eventually standing beside Colonel Fauzer. "But this is what UPEO is all about. Ever since its conception, this organization has been ridiculed for its indecisiveness. They call us a paper tiger, saying we haven't done enough to stop wars. Now is our chance to prove them wrong. Now is our chance to fight for the peace we need in this world. This island is the final bastion of UPEO and the values we represent. We can't let it fall- not as long as there are people that need to be protected."

"And that leads us to why I called you all here today," Fauzer explained as he walked over to the computer. He displayed a topographical map of Tyler Island and the surrounding area before standing to the side of the large screen behind him. "With most UPEO forces destroyed, it appears that our unknown foe is tightening the noose they put around our necks. Half the aircraft that were blockading us are beginning their approach while the other half are headed north for Usea proper- likely to engage the small pockets of resistance around the continent. Judging by what we can see from the radar, they're primarily using UPEO aircraft with a smaller number of General Resource planes and the odd Neucom fighter. They're coming in at a wide angle, so we'll have to split up to take them all. Griffin, Maya, Luke, and Max, you'll be flying with me in Bastion Squadron. Finn, Quincy, Nina, and Violet, you'll be flying with Riley in Citadel Squadron. We'll work our way toward each other and meet the main force from either side, catching them in a pincer attack that will hopefully catch them off-guard. Any questions?"

Luke raised his hand. "Just the obvious one; how in the actual hell are you expecting us to do any better than the entirety of the already trained UPEO pilots?"

"Well, first of all, everyone else was caught off-guard by the attacks. We have an advantage because we know they're coming, but more importantly, I have faith in every single one of you that you have what it takes to succeed. You're all only a few weeks away from graduating anyway. Just have a little faith, and we'll all get through this just fine- I promise," Fauzer said, letting his eyes meet those of every pilot sitting in front of him. "Now come on, let's avenge our fallen comrades."

Everyone followed the Colonel out of the briefing room as Clarkson wished them luck on their way out. Riley stayed toward the rear of the group, hoping that seeing the others as they walked might instill him with some measure of confidence. Unfortunately, most of them seemed about as on edge as he was, if not even more so. Still, they all knew that this was something they didn't have a choice but to do, so once they got to the hangars, they climbed up into their Typhoons one by one and began starting up the planes.

Riley fastened his oxygen mask over his helmet and took in a deep breath. "Citadel Squadron, sound off."

"Citadel 2, ready for takeoff," Finn was the first to respond.

"Citadel 3, ready for takeoff," Quinn followed suit.

"Citadel 4, ready as I'll ever be," Nina replied with as much confidence as she could muster.

"Citadel 5, ready to roll," Violet reported.

Riley looked back at the four Typhoons behind him- his squadron- before turning his attention to the other five to his left. "Citadel 1 to Bastion 1, we're all good to go, waiting on you."

"Don't worry about us, Citadel. We'll be right behind you," Fauzer assured him. "Just get up there and make me proud, but above all else, don't forget to come home. That goes for all of you."

One by one, Riley and the other Citadel pilots taxied onto the runway, flames pouring out behind them as they climbed higher and higher into the sky. None of them uttered a single word, though. They needed those last few moments of calm to process everything that had happened- along with what they were about to throw themselves into. Behind them, Fauzer led the others to their objective, and slowly but surely, the two flights of aircraft began splitting away from each other.
Riley glanced down at his radar, and finally, he saw the swarm of contacts headed their way. "Heads up, we've got bandits on radar," he announced to his squadron. "Here we go." He lowered the visor on his helmet and did whatever he could to ready himself. "Citadel Squadron, engage."

Thanks to their advanced radar tracking, the bandits made the first move. A wave of missiles screeched through the air toward the pilots-to-be as they went defensive. Chaff filled the sky, and their evasive maneuvers paid off. Now, it was UPEO's turn to go on the offensive. Riley locked up a Super Flanker on his radar and waited for them to start evading. Sure enough, it began to pull hard to the right, moving for a head-on with Riley.

"Gotcha," he murmured, squeezing down on the trigger. A single LAAM shot forward, and by the time the Super Flanker was head-to-head with Riley, it was already too late.

Riley pulled straight up into the sky before he looped back down, hoping to get the drop on one or two bandits before they could react to him. However, this ended up being wishful thinking on his part, as his radar soon warned him of three bandits climbing up to meet him. Fortunately, they were too focused on him to notice Quinn coming up behind them, splashing two before they could get away and giving Riley the perfect opportunity to dive down and finish off the last one with a pair of STDMs. Using his momentum, he banked hard to the left, making a long curve through the sky before locking onto an F/A-18U. Another LAAM flew off his wing and made contact with the bandit shortly after.

"Citadel 1, this is Bastion 1. We're engaging the enemies on right flank. What's your status?"

"We've made contact as well, sir," Riley reported, scanning the furball around him as he checked up on each of the pilots under his command. "There's a lot less bandits than I thought there would be, though. We're dealing with them pretty easily."

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth, Citadel 1," Fauzer told him. "We're beginning to move toward the main force. I advise you do the same."

"Roger that," Riley replied as he fired off another LAAM. "We'll be there."

"Am I the only one that thinks this is going a bit too well?" Violet asked. "I mean just look at how many of these bandits we're taking down. These are the same planes that decimated UPEO in the span of a few hours."

"Could be they're just exhausted. After all they've been at this pretty much all day," Finn speculated.

"Man, you guys worry too much. We're kicking their asses- that's all that matters. Now let's finish 'em off."

Against his better judgement, Riley set aside his worries and pulled right. The others gradually formed up behind him, and before long, Fauzer and the others appeared on his radar. They were distant, but still there. The only thing between them was the dozens of hostile contacts coming straight from the north, at least four times what either squadron faced on either flank. Riley did his best to calm his nerves. This was it.

"Alright, Citadel, we see you. Time to drive these bastards away," Fauzer said. "I hope you all saved your strength because we're just getting started. "

"Bastion 1, I don't know if you're gonna believe this, but these guys were actually asking for more- or Quinn was at the very least," Riley replied, feeling his lips curl into a slight smirk.

Fauzer chuckled. "Really? Well then, Quincy, you're about to- oh shit! Spiked already? Bastion, evade!" he ordered. Any lightheartedness that was once in his voice was already gone as he moved to defend his pilots.

Riley pushed his throttle all the way forward, lighting his afterburners as he sped toward the incoming hostiles. "Hang on, sir. We're almost there to help."

"Wait, that Flanker. I've seen it before. It's Lieutenant Hirose's… and it's headed right for us! Max, evade now!"

"I can't get away! I-" Riley was helpless to do anything but watch as the blue Super Flanker maneuvered flawlessly onto Max's tail and gunned him down.

"Max? Max! Dammit," Fauzer cursed. "Bastion 5 is down. Everyone, disengage from Hirose's Flanker. I'll deal with it. You all focus on the other planes."

"What? But… sir I can't just let you do that by yourself I can-" Riley tried to offer before his superior cut him off.

"I don't want any of you going near this plane. It's too dangerous," Fauzer ordered. "Now go!"

Riley took one last look over at Colonel Fauzer, twisting and turning through the sky with Hirose's Flanker before turning his attention to dozens of other bandits headed their way. The Colonel was right about one thing: they still had a job to do. They were outnumbered at least four to one, but any choice the trainees had in the matter was waived the moment they climbed into the cockpit. Now, it was time to fight.

Riley and the others fired off LAAMs toward the bandits headed right for them, forcing the first wave on the defensive and giving them time to close the gap. A few of their missiles managed to hit their targets, but Riley wasn't so lucky. Now he was diving in on a MiG-33 as it tried to evade. He shot off a few bursts from his gun once he was in range, but the Fulcrum SS was just barely out of reach. Hoping to put himself right on the bandit's tail, Riley rolled away to the left until he was fully inverted. Then, he yanked back on his control stick, pulling Typhoon downward in a loop and putting his crosshairs right on the MiG-33. One burst was all it took to send it spiraling down into the sea below.

Just as Riley was about to report his kill, though, a missile warning sent him into evasive maneuvers. A quick glance at his radar confirmed his fears: even with all the kills they had just made, the UPEO pilots had barely made a dent. "There's too many!" he decided. "Bastion 1 we need you."

Fauzer's initial reply was a grunt of distress as he made a sharp turn through the air in his dogfight with the Su-37. "Just- agh… just hang in there!" he assured his pilots. "This battle's not over yet."

"No but it's about to be!" Nina insisted. "They're closing in all around me. I need help!"

Riley broke off from the bandits going after him and turned toward Nina without hesitation. "I'll be right there. Just hold on!" he assured her.

"Easier said than done," she replied. "Dammit, no!" The static that punctuated her distress sealed her fate.

"Shit, this bastard hit me!" Fauzer cursed. "I'm still in this, but not for much longer, I don't think."
"I'm on my way!" Riley replied. He tried as hard as he could to steady his nerves, even though he was mostly unsuccessful. This time, he was going to make it.

"No, Riley! Disengage, that's an order!" Fauzer snapped as he rolled away from a burst of tracers coming from the blue Flanker.

"Don't worry, he's not alone," Finn assured him as he formed up on Riley's wing. "We've got your back, sir."

The two UPEO trainees got closer and closer, they had a visual on the two dueling planes, but they were still out of range. Fauzer's Typhoon was leaving behind a trail of heavy smoke with every maneuver it made. Meanwhile, Hirose's Flanker moved effortlessly and gracefully to keep up with the damaged aircraft. It made one attempt after another to finish Fauzer off, but he was doing everything in his power to keep himself in the air. Finally, the Flanker had its opening and took it, firing two STDMs toward the Typhoon. Both were a direct hit.

"Colonel!" Riley shouted. "Bastion 1 is down. I say again, Bastion 1 is down!"

"What?! What the hell are we supposed to do then? " Quinn asked.

"Well, we can't back out now," Violet pointed out. "All we can do is fight our way out."

All the frantic voices over the radio had started to blur together for Riley. His eyes were locked on the part of the ocean where Fauzer's plane disappeared. After all of the confidence he instilled into the young pilot, he was gone- just like that. What chance did he have against all these planes? What chance did any of them have? After all, he could barely keep his focus on the battle.

"Riley, look out!" Finn's shouting finally broke him out of his trance.

Once more, Riley was powerless to do anything but watch as the blue Super Flanker killed another of his comrades. Only this time, it was worse, as Finn sped forward and broke in front of Riley. The missile slammed straight into the other Typhoon, leaving Riley head-to-head with this Su-37.

"You," he muttered. "This is all your doing." His grip on the throttle tightened, and he pushed it as far forward as it would go. "No matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, no matter what happens to me, I'll kill you," he snarled.

As if they could hear him, the Su-37 responded by firing another missile at him. It was an acceptance of Riley's challenge. This time, though, the UPEO pilot was ready and went on the defensive. Flares dropped from the Typhoon as he pulled left. The missile went wide, and the plane that fired it followed close behind as it turned into a circle to chase after its prey. The fight was on.

"Ah! I'm hit," Maya cried out. "I need help, please!"

"Hang on, Maya. I've got you," Luke assured her, already moving onto her wing.

Riley looked in Maya's direction once it was clear for him to do so. Her plane was trailing smoke, but it was still airborne. All the same, he wasn't going to lose anyone else. "Maya, pull back and withdraw to the airfield. Luke, cover her," he ordered before focusing on the blue Flanker once more.

Another missile alert echoed around in Riley's cockpit, and his fingers moved to deploy countermeasures instinctively. He looked over his shoulder as he made a hard right turn. His adversary was coming in behind him and closing fast. Seeing an opportunity unfold in his mind, Riley deployed the airbrake and made another turn. His speed bled off rapidly, and as the blue Flanker followed behind him, it couldn't slow down in time. The moment he saw his target in front of him, he lowered the airbrake again and lit his afterburners. He squeezed down on the trigger, and a hail of gunfire shot out from his plane. A few rounds hit, but it wasn't enough to do any serious damage.

"Oh god there's so many. Griffin, I could use a hand here! Griffin!" Luke shouted.

Griffin was silent for a moment. "I- I… there's so," he stammered.

"Griffin! I need you!" Luke snapped.

Finally, Griffin turned toward the two distressed UPEO pilots, flying toward them as fast as he could. "I- I'm coming!"

But it was already too late. "They're all-" were the last words Luke could get out before a pair of EF-2000Es descended upon him like locusts.

"Luke!" Griffin cried out before firing a pair of LAAMs at the two fighters before they could do the same to Maya.

"God dammit! We're dropping like flies here. Riley, we need to withdraw!" Quinn insisted.

"We can't withdraw!" Riley snapped back as he made another turn to mimic the blue Flanker. "If we do, they'll just follow and shoot us down before destroying the base."

"Quinn, bandits on your tail! Shake 'em off!" Violet warned, already moving to assist.

"No, no, no, dammit!" Quinn cursed, launching countermeasures as he did his best to evade. Violet managed to shoot down two of the planes chasing after him, but it wasn't enough. A Berkut came up from below with guns and didn't stop firing until his plane exploded.

Riley had a perfect view to watch the whole thing happen far beyond his range. This had gone on for long enough. If he was going to die, then he was at least going to take this asshole with him. It took all the strength he could muster, all the willpower he had, and all the determination left inside him, but he got in as close as he could to the blue Flanker and fired every single missile he had left. The blue Flanker pulled off every maneuver they had, but it wasn't enough to stop one of his STDMs from making contact. They were still flying, but they were trailing smoke and heading north. In fact, Riley had to do a double take upon realizing that all of the bandits were heading north. They were retreating.

"Holy shit, we did it!" Griffin exclaimed. "Now's our chance. We need to pull back."

"No," Riley insisted. "It's not over until that bastard is in a million pieces."

"What? Riley are you insane!?" Violet snapped. "There's only four of us left. Not to mention, you're out of ammo. WE. NEED. TO. GO."

It took all the restraint Riley had left not to go full throttle after the retreating hostiles. "Fine. Everyone, pull back," he ordered as the four UPEO trainees limped back to Tyler Island. They'd beaten the odds and won the battle, but nobody felt like celebrating. All they felt like now was dead men walking.