Archangel - Chapter 3: Archangel
Archangel looked down at the village coming into view before her. Soaring through the skies in her experimental flight suit, her jet-black hair fluttered behind her as she let out a sigh of relief; looks like she wasn't too late after all. Out of all the ringleaders in Sangvis Ferri, Archangel was arguably the most archaic-looking, evoking images of Cold War-era ground-attack aircraft when flying around in her full rigging.
Two long rectangular wings made of lightweight metal sprouted from Archangel's back, connected to her spine via a detachable interface. Additional smaller aerofoils were attached to the sides of Archangel's forearms and ankles, able to swiftly change orientation to provide her with excellent maneuverability. Two pairs of rockets attached to her feet and main wings traced condensation trails over the sky as they propelled Archangel along at hundreds of kilometres per hour.
Beneath her body she carried a long recoilless rifle, a cannon specifically designed to allow her to precisely land a variety of shells onto ground targets. The distant roar of her rocket engines high up in the air served as a rallying cry to those in the Mobile Task Force; to her enemies, they were a warning of impending destruction.
"Archangel!" Castle's surprised voice called out over the radio, "Thank God you're here!"
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Archangel replied, "Anything I can help you with?"
"Oh, I dunno," replied Castle, "How does blowing the shit out of all these Griffin dolls sound?"
"'Blowing the shit out of all these Griffin dolls,' huh," Archangel laughed, "Sounds like a plan!"
Archangel looked at the Griffin helicopter descending onto the basketball field. With a small adjustment to the angle of her wings and thrusters, she eased into a shallow dive as she increased the output of her rocket motors. As she accelerated, Archangel lifted her left arm to point her cannon at the helicopter as she begain calculating a firing solution in her head.
"Mobile detachment Rho-14, be advised," began Archangel as she descended towards the village, "CAS is inbound and imminent, danger close!"
"Welrod," tactical doll SVD said as she looked up into the sky, holding a hand up to block out the glare from the Sun. While keeping overwatch on the hill, she points at a small speck high up in the sky, "What is that? Is it a bird?"
"Distance, 3000… Altitude, 1500… Speed, 450…" Archangel listed as the village grew larger and larger in her vision. A gust buffeted her as she quickly readjusted her flight vector, smoothly controlling her wings and thrusters as if they were mere extensions of her body.
Back on the ground, Sophie turned her head to the sky; she could now hear the faint roar of Archangel's rocket motors in the distance. She operated alongside Archangel on the battlefield only once before, but the telltale sound of Archangel's motors had been burned into Sophie's memory, as were the scenes of utter devastation among the Griffin fortifications which lied in Archangel's wake.
"Hey, Acre," Sophie asked, "Have you ever seen Archangel in action before?"
"No," replied Acre.
"Haha, you're gonna like it!" Sophie grinned.
Meanwhile on the hill, Welrod squinted at the small object in the sky. "It's a plane…" Welrod concluded to SVD. That's strange, she thought, there aren't supposed to be any aircraft operating in Sangvis airspace. In any case, it must be pretty far away, judging by its small size.
"Target in range, firing solution acquired," Archangel declared as she dove towards the Griffin helicopter, "Safety's off, fire!"
Welrod watched in surprise as a single red tracer shot out from the unknown "aircraft," flying across her field of vision as she turned her head to follow its trajectory. She couldn't hide the shock on her face as M590's helicopter erupted into a massive ball of flame, Archangel's high-explosive shell penetrating its engine nacelles before igniting the aviation fuel within it.
"What the fuck?" Welrod demanded as her eyes flitted between the helicopter wreckage and Archangel, "Is that some ringleader?"
Panicked shouts began to appear over the Griffin radio channels as the Griffin forces tried to figure out what just happened. Three more explosions erupted around the cemetery perimeter one-by-one as Archangel roared overhead at blistering speed.
"Yeah, let's fucking go!" Sophie cheered as Archangel pitched back up, soaring high into the sky.
"Hold on, let me sync you to our battle net," Archangel said as she forwarded a set of encrypted communication protocols to the three SFMTF survivors.
Acre's heart raced as her tactical map began to light up with friendly markers. "Holy shit!" Acre exclaimed, "We're saved!"
"Archangel to all units, report in!" commanded Archangel in a clear, confident voice.
Acre couldn't help herself from smiling as familiar voices began to appear over the radio.
"All units, this is Dagger 1-Bravo!" declared a voice over the radio, "We are fast approaching the outskirts of the village and will have contact shortly. Rho-14, we'll form the main thrust of the assault and sweep through the village!"
"This is Scimitar 1-Delta," another voice reported over the sound of an engine, "We're on the road inbound from Point Zircon with a mounted HMG in tow. We're going to take a stab at that hill with cover from Archangel, try and divert their attention."
"That's right, give Griffin a taste of their own medicine!" Castle shouted, pumping her fist in the air.
"This is Longbow 2-Bravo," a quiet voice added in, "Alpha and I are in position, we'll keep the hill free of enemies for you."
"This is Scimitar 3 Actual of the 223rd Special Purpose Detachment, reporting." another new voice stated, seemingly in a helicopter, "We're in the air and will be dropping as scheduled."
"No way!" exclaimed Sophie, "Even the 223rd are here?"
"Couldn't bear to miss this special occasion," Scimitar 3 Actual quipped. "Listen up everyone! From what I've heard, these Griffin dolls have never met the MTF before, so it's time to make a good first impression! They hurt us, we pay it back tenfold! Time to teach these Griffin scum what happens when you fuck with the Force!"
Cheers erupted over the radio as various elements of the SFMTF converged upon the village.
Finally, Archangel spoke to Castle, "Of course, you are a part of us too, Rho-14. Are you ready?"
"We're battered, bruised, but we're sure as hell not broken!" smiled Castle triumphantly, "We're gonna see this one through, Archangel!"
"Yeah!" Acre and Sophie agreed in unison.
"Very well," Archangel concluded, smiling, "Looks like we're all present, then. In that case…"
"All units, this is Archangel! Commence Operation Unbroken Resolve!"