Allessia

Yakutia, Federation Mainland

March 19th, 437 AC

11:18 AM Local Time

"Violet Squadron, Alessia on the nose," the AWACS said in her usual matter-of-fact tone. "Begin providing a window for allied aircraft to escape."

A flight of eight planes heading southbound, four VX-23s and four SK.37s, moved in a rigid formation, unshaken by the sea of hostiles on their radars. They all bore the Federation flag on their tails and the peacekeeping emblem in violet, along with a personalized symbol.

"Roger that, Skyline," Violet 1, otherwise known as Cap, replied. "What about the ground forces? Are we going to be providing them with a window as well?"

At first, Skyline's only reply was a sigh after a long pause. "We're stretched too thin as it is. If you can, go for it, but remember that covering our fighters' retreat is your main priority."

"Wonder if the guys on the ground know they're doomed because command thinks the air force is more important," Violet 8, callsign Doc, wondered.

"Cut the chatter, Violet 8," Cap ordered before anyone else could respond to him. "Violet 2, 5, and 6, form up on my wing. We're gonna keep those air cruisers busy. The rest of you take out as many fighters as you can. Remember, we're not here to secure air superiority. We just need to buy our allies time to escape."

One of the SK.37 pilots, Natalie Page, slipped into formation behind Cap. "Roger that, sir. I'm right behind you and ready to go," she responded to his order.

FEDERATION PEACEKEEPING SQUADRON VIOLET

CLOUDFALL AIR BASE

VIOLET 5

(WINTER)

"All allied aircraft above Allessia, this is the AWACS Skyline for Peacekeeping Squadron Violet. We're entering the AO now. If you wanna live, rally behind the Peacekeepers," Skyline ordered.

Natalie tightened her grip on the control stick and set herself up for an attack on one of the Anuras, climbing up to a high altitude to attack it from above. She switched to her MLAAs and waited for the airship's defenses to get within range. One by one, they all lit up red, indicating a stable lock. As she got closer to the Anura, Natalie started weaving through the hail of anti-air fire the airship was sending up at her before finally letting her missiles fly. Not a single one missed its target, leaving the Anura exposed for Natalie to pass right by and loop around to finish it off with STDMs and a machine gun burst.

"They're all over me. I can't break away!" a Federation pilot cried out.

"We can't hold out much longer," another one added. "We need to get out of here!"

"This is Captain Tarren. We've got tanks closing in all around us; we need air support, please!"

Skyline took a deep breath. "Captain, this Skyline. I regret to inform you that we are unable to provide air support at this time. I'm sorry."

"Please! Don't just leave us here," Tarren pleaded. "We'll die if you don't do anything."

"Dammit," Doc cursed. "We have to do something. We can't just leave them to die."

"We can't make a guarantee that they would make it out of the city, even with our help," Cap told him. "At least we can help the other aircraft break off."

Tarren scoffed. "Some Peacekeeper you are." His tone had shifted from desperate to venomous. "The blood of each man here on the ground is on your hands. I hope you realize that."

Natalie set her sights on a Littoria that was turning toward the retreating allies. This time, she attacked from below, firing standard missiles to take out the airship's CIWS defenses and then break off before smashing into it. As she looped around to make another pass, the SAM launchers on the Littoria opened fire on her. The alert in her cockpit started to get faster as the missiles got closer. Natalie pitched up into the sky before the missiles hit their marks, which sent them cruising off into the distance. She climbed higher into the sky before leveling out her plane and diving down toward the Littoria with a burst of MLAA missiles. Due to the angle that the airship was at from turning, some of the multi-lock missiles missed, leaving a pair of SAM launchers still operational. They fired another salvo, but Natalie shook them off with flares. She made a tight U-turn and found herself in a perfect position to finish the Littoria off, which she quickly took advantage of.

"That's another airship down," she reported as she watched the remains of the Littoria fall to the ground. "How ya holding up, Wires?" She turned her attention to Violet 6's VX-23, which was flying circles around an Anura.

"These Coalition bastards really aren't making this easy for us," he grunted as he made a sharp turn to shake off a missile.

"Violet Squadron, heads up," Skyline warned. "More enemy fighters are inbound. Intercept them before they can jump on our allies."

Natalie looked down at her radar and saw a flight of F/S-15s and SK.27s coming in fast, and without a moment's hesitation, she turned to engage them. She was about to fire another MLAA salvo at them but stopped when she noticed her ammo count. "Only got enough for one more," she muttered to herself. "I'll save it just in case." As Natalie headed straight for the enemy fighters, she switched back to her standard missiles and fired two of them at an F/S-15 before gunning down a second one. A lock warning started going off in her cockpit, but it was silenced when Violet 7, Hammer, shot down the plane behind her and flew past. Natalie was about to thank him when she spotted another enemy fighter coming up below him, which she promptly shot down with her machine guns.

"Skyline, how does our allies' retreat look?" Cap asked. "I don't know if we can keep this up for much longer."

"They're almost clear of the AO, Violet 1. Just hold out a little longer," Skyline answered. "Wait… what the hell?" The confusion in her voice was very apparent. "More enemy fighters incoming, but the IFF signatures are coming from the Republic of Albion. It's some kinda elite squadron- callsign Rune."

"What? I thought the Republic of Albion wasn't part of the Coalition. Are you sure?" Wires asked.

"What the hell kind of question is that? Of course, I'm sure!" Skyline snapped.

"We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to get our allies out of here. Violet 2, 3, and 4 form up on me. We're gonna engage these bastards and keep 'em busy. 5, 6, 7, and 8 get them out of here," Cap ordered.

"What?" Skyline asked in disbelief. "Cap, there's twelve of them. You four can't possibly hope to take them on by yourself."

"Getting those fighters out of here is all that matters," he responded aggressively. "We've lost enough men today, so just go!"

"Don't worry, Cap," Natalie assured him. "Once the friendlies are clear of the AO, we'll come right back to help-"

"Don't bother," Cap cut her off. "If we're not back by then, we're dead."

"Damn it, Cap!" Hammer cut in. "You can't just expect us to let you go and get yourselves killed, can you?"

"You can, and you goddamn will because I told you to. Now go, before it's too late!" Cap snapped.

Natalie waited for a moment, trying to think of what to say that might change his mind before ultimately giving up with a heavy sigh. "Violet 6, 7, and 8, let's go," she finally said. "We need to keep those fighters safe."

Once Natalie and the rest of Violet left with the allied fighters, an awkward silence set in. All she chose to hear was the humming over engines outside her cockpit. For a moment, she almost tricked herself into thinking that nothing had gone wrong, but that illusion was gone seconds later when Skyline broke the silence.

"Violet, we're a few miles out from Cloudfall. Prepare to land," she instructed. Her voice was shaky, all but confirming Natalie's suspicions.

Natalie sank into her seat. It was at that moment that the whole situation truly dawned on her. Not only was Cap gone, but that meant she was in charge of Violet Squadron, or rather, what remained of it. The only word she could manage to get out was, "Shit."