Rouen Air Base
Normandy, Europe
April 24th, 437 AC
8:50 PM Local Time
"Are we there yet?" Jolt groaned.
"Oh, don't even you start with that," Cyborg replied with a grin.
"We've been flying all day, though," Jolt protested. "I just wanna get some sleep."
"Even though he does sound like a literal child, I do kinda agree with him," Nyx chimed in with a teasing voice. "I mean, we have been flying for a while now. Surely we're getting close, right?"
"Don't worry. We're almost there," Stallion assured everyone. "Shouldn't be much longer than 10 minutes."
Jay looked ahead of the group and saw a faint yellow hue, contrasting with the deep blue night sky. With each passing moment, it got brighter and brighter until he could clearly make out what exactly it was. It was the lights coming from the city of Rouen, the capital of Normandy. Soon enough, Jay could see the faint figure of tall buildings on the horizon, signaling an end to their long trip. Even Jay had to admit that he was excited to get on the ground again, but he wasn't exactly eager about what followed.
"In fact," Stallion added after a moment of silence. "We should probably let them know we're coming." The AWACS operator paused as he presumably made some adjustments so he could speak to them. "Rouen Air Base, this is AWACS Stallion of the Paladin Mercenary Corps. I know we're a few days early, but we're here and coming in for a landing. Are we clear to make our approach?"
"Oh, thank God you're here," a woman said in a distressed voice over the radio. The sound of some sort of commotion in the background was easy to hear. "We're under attack! A squadron of fighters came in at low altitudes, and they're wreaking havoc on the base. We can't scramble fighters to intercept because they'd get blown up while they're taxying."
"Holy shit, you're right," Stallion muttered, already hard at work. "I've got eight contacts on radar. IFF has them marked as a Federation recon squadron, callsign Scythe."
Jay let out a silent exhale of relief, letting himself relax for a moment once he knew that it wasn't Violet Squadron. Although, deep down, he knew that the chances of running into them eventually made it almost a guarantee. All the same, he still took a moment to celebrate the minuscule victory.
"We can't let them get close to Varonis. Templar Team, you're on point," Cyborg ordered. "Keep them away from us and shoot them down. Knight Team, we'll stick with Varonis and Stallion in case any of them slip by Templar."
Stallion gave the situation an annoyed sigh. "Great, looks like we're gonna be cutting it close on fuel again. Try to make this quick, Templar."
Jay felt his heart pounding in his chest as the eight hostile VX-23s appeared on his HUD. "Well, guess there's no turning back now," he muttered in a low voice. In actuality, he passed the point of no return a long time ago, but it was at this moment that he would finally be putting himself back on the Federation's radar after five years. They might not know it's him at first, but Jay knew perfectly well how capable the Federation was when it came to finding answers to their questions. He took a deep breath in and out to steady his nerves before glancing back at his squadron behind him. "Templar Team, engage," he ordered as he turned his attention back to the hostiles.
After clearing any doubt from his mind, Jay switched on the afterburners and sped toward the targets at full speed. Nyx already had the SAAs ready by the time they were in range, so he focused on what appeared to be the lead plane and hit the firing switch. The semi-active missile shot out and sped toward its target, just as Jay expected. What he didn't expect, though, was for the VX-23 to slow down to a near-complete stop and turn at a far higher rate than he anticipated before speeding off in a new direction, avoiding the missile entirely.
"What the hell kind of physics-defying bullshit was that?" Nyx asked as she watched their target closely.
"AOA limiter," Jay answered, already turning to follow the VX-23. "In the hands of the right pilot, it allows them to do some crazy shit." That was something he knew from experience. Back when he was a Peacekeeper, he managed some impressive maneuvers with them. He even used it to come close to beating Cap in a one-on-one dogfight.
"Well, what are we supposed to do against that?" Mustang asked as he broke off from the formation and chased after another fighter. "How are we supposed to bring them down if they can pull shit like that."
"They slow down when they make their turns. That's our chance to hit them," Eagle chimed in.
"Exactly. It's a small window, but if anyone can do it, it's us," Jay agreed. "Now, let's chase these Feds off."
Jay broke off from the flight lead and looked for another target. Once he finally saw one that was close enough, he pulled back on the throttle and turned to match their path. Rather than taking a chance with another missile, he got in close and tried to hit the VX-23 with his guns. He managed to score a few hits, but the pilot zipped away before he could finish the job. By the time Jay followed his target's initial turn, they were already in the middle of another one as they tried to get behind him and Nyx. A moment later, their missile alert warning started to go off. Jay deployed flares almost immediately and started trying to get the VX-23 off their tail. Jay pitched straight up and started to loop around, but he stopped about halfway through when he saw another bandit in the middle of an AOA turn. He quickly set them as their target and fired two STDMs at them, followed by a machine-gun burst to finish them off.
"Ugh, really? We're getting bailed out by mercs?" Someone, presumably on the ground, asked in an annoyed tone. "Are we seriously that desperate?"
"Are you saying you don't want the extra help, Sergeant?" another man, older than the first, asked. "Because if you want, I'll gladly send you out there so you can take your chances with the Feds."
Jay smirked at the exchange, but he didn't say anything. He and the others were no strangers to their clients harboring a dislike of mercenaries. By now, Jay knew better than to try and convince them otherwise. Besides, if his experiences taught him one thing, it was that actions speak louder than words, and soon enough, they'd all be singing a very different tune. After all, that's how things went in the Asean Republic.
"Samurai, missile coming at us from the right!" Nyx called out.
Rather than turn away to evade, Jay faced the incoming missile head-on, only he pulled back on the stick and climbed up to a higher altitude. The incoming missile didn't have enough time or maneuverability to catch him and time, so he got away safely. A moment later, Jay and Nyx were flying inverted and went into a reverse loop. They flew straight at the ground before pulling up behind the VX-32 that fired the missile. The Federation pilot tried to get away using their AOA limiter, but by the time they started to pull away, Jay and Nyx had already hit them with two STDMs and several solid hits from their machine guns.
"Eagle, you've got a bandit coming up behind you," Jolt warned Eagle, who was in hot pursuit of a VX-23 that was already trailing smoke.
Eagle groaned. "Can you take care of 'em for me? I've almost got this one."
Jay thought about going to help, but he didn't want to make that area any more crowded than it needed to be. Besides, he knew that Eagle and Jolt could take care of themselves just fine. With that in mind, Jay hit the afterburners and headed away from the fight. Once he and Nyx were far enough out, Jay turned them around and picked out the target that was farthest away. Nyx set them as their primary target and fired a pair of SAAs, noting that they were starting to run low as she did. Jay switched to MLAAs as the first two missiles continued to seek out their target, and he kept them right in the center of his view, and Nyx fired a salvo as soon as they had four marks in range. One of them finished off the VX-23 they fired their SAAs at since only one hit, and the rest all missed completely.
"Got that bandit off your tail, Eagle," Jolt announced. "Now you owe me a drink," he added with a smirk.
"Yeah, whatever," Eagle replied dismissively. "Thanks for the help, though."
"We've only got two left. Let's finish 'em off," Mustang reported as he went straight for one of the last VX-23s.
"Boy, that merc with the samurai emblem sure is tearing things up out there," the first man from before remarked.
"Heh, if you still think we're being desperate, then we can always just let them go after they're done," the older man replied shrewdly.
Now that there were only two planes left, the remaining Federation fighters went on the defensive, and with two planes from Templar on each aircraft, their odds were looking slim to none. Right away, Mustang and Jolt got several good hits on their target, but they were struggling to finish it off with all the maneuvers they were pulling. Meanwhile, Jay, Nyx, and Eagle had yet to land a single hit on the one they were chasing, but they planned to finish them in one run. Eagle pulled ahead of the VX-23 and tried to grab their attention. Eager to even the odds, it didn't take long for them to take the bait. Jay didn't go after them right away, though. He waited for a moment, trying to make it look like he was going after the plane Mustang and Jolt were chasing. Eventually, Jay slipped in behind the VX-23 and hit them with a pair of STDMs. The VX-23 zipped away thanks to their AOA module, and Jay was about to follow them, but he paused when he realized that both of the remaining Federation pilots were flying away. Both of them left a trail of smoke behind as they headed east, disappearing into the night.
"Looks like they're running away with their tails between their legs," Eagle remarked with a chuckle.
"Hmph, they better run if they know what's good for 'em," Nyx added. "Are we clear, Stallion?"
"Looks like it. Those two are already pretty far away, and they're the only ones on radar," Stallion answered. "So, I'll say this again: are we clear to land, tower?"
"Affirmative. Make your approach, and we'll guide you down. Then you can get situated."
As everyone landed one by one, Jay couldn't help but notice how different the base looked from the ones back in the Asean Republic, especially Thunder Island. Everything just seemed newer, more polished, even in spite of the fact that they had just been under attack. Plus, the lights from the city not far away made the environment so much more different. The hangars were also among the things that stood out between the two bases. Jay and Nyx were climbing out of their Super Hornet when they realized how neat and organized everything was.
"You see all this, ladies and gentlemen?" Cyborg asked with a content sigh. "This is what you get when you finally start climbing up the ladder."
"Excuse me." Jay recognized the voice as the older man from earlier. "I trust you're the Paladin Mercenary Corps?" he asked as he walked into the hangar. He was tall, about six foot one, and had a full head of gray hair.
Cyborg stepped forward, walking across the hangar to meet the man halfway. "Indeed we are. You can call me Cyborg. I'm in charge of this group," he introduced himself, shaking the man's hand. "And you are?"
"Colonel Aaron Verreaux. I'm the base commander here, and I'll be your liaison for the duration of your contract with the European Coalition," he explained.
"If you don't mind me asking," Stallion chimed in. "What exactly were those Federation pilots doing this far west?"
"From what we could gather, they're a long-range strike group. The working theory is that the Federation caught onto our plan and sent them to try and cripple the base since it's a key part of our strategy," Verreaux explained. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions about what you'll be doing here, and I'll be more than willing to answer them. However, I sense that you all could use some rest, so why don't you get situated, and we can talk in the morning."
It took nearly an hour, but Paladin finally got to a point in their unloading process where they could get some sleep, which Jay was very grateful for. The day dragged on and on, yet at the same time, it felt like barely any time passed at all. All he knew was that his body was saying it wanted to sleep, and Jay agreed. He and Eagle were once again sharing a room, and the two of them were finishing putting away a few things. Jay idly rummaged through his bag, looking for nothing in particular until he felt a cold piece of metal in his palm. He pulled it out and saw his peacekeeper pin staring up at him. Jay let out a heavy sigh as he tightened his grip on it. That pin was a reminder of everything he feared about taking this contract, a grim reminder of his past that he's been trying to avoid for five years. Looking down at it, Jay knew that he would have to come to terms with it sooner or later, and more than likely, he'd have to face Violet Squadron again. His fears started to manifest in the thought that it would also be possible that he would have to come clean about his past. Regardless of how much this conflict scared him, he knew that the others would have his back, which made him feel a little better, at least. Jay once again buried the pin in his bag and laid down, shutting his eyes as he drifted to sleep.