"Alright everyone, listen up! This is the moment we've been waiting for," Grayson bellowed as his voice, dripping with authority, echoed across the briefing room.
Avery felt her heart skip a beat. There was only one mission that would call for this many pilots and be something that the Commander treated with this kind of gravitas; it was time for them to take back Presidia. They'd been putting pressure on the capital for months now, but it seemed that it was finally time to move- to take back her home from these rebels.
"Last week, the first waves of reinforcements from the Federation mainland arrived in country- including the Federation Navy's 1st Battlegroup," Grayson continued as the map behind him powered up and zoomed in on Presidia. "Not wanting to waste any time in letting the Cascadians garrisoned at the capital dig in any further than they already are, our reinforcements opted to move directly into Presidia, and we followed them in. Overwhelmed by the sheer force closing in on them, the rebels were forced to withdraw from Presidia, which brings us to the mission at hand."
Grayson paused as he stepped to the side, allowing everyone to get a clear view of the screen as it focused on the city, orbiting around the edges to get a clear view of everything within its limits. The map was covered with an overwhelming amount of blue. Allied units on the air and in the port stretched out across the city, with only a handful of aircraft watching over them. Avery nodded to herself with satisfaction. This was what she expected of the Federation, and now it was time for these rebels to face the consequences of their actions.
"Although a vast majority of the CIF forces within Presidia managed to withdraw, there was still a sizable number of them that were cut off from any escape route and had to go into hiding, primarily within the vast systems of underground tunnels under the city. Our forces that took the city have spent the last week trying to root out the stragglers, but they've proven to be more difficult to get rid of than we initially thought," Grayson explained, returning to his usual spot at the front of the room to point out areas of interest on the map. "Now, they appear to be making a last stand, as they've come together and routed our forces at Presidia Air Force Base. Rebel aircraft are already on their way, and we cannot, under any circumstances, let them dig their heels in. We've already wasted enough time and manpower on Presidia. Everyone, your mission here today is to drive out the last rebel forces from Presidia, make sure they know that this city belongs to the Federation. Understood?"
There was a chorus of, "sir, yes, sir"s that swept throughout the room, but Avery made sure that her voice was among the loudest.
Grayson nodded in approval. "Good, then get to your planes. With any luck, I and most of the other command personnel will be there when you've succeeded. Dismissed."
Avery leapt to her feet as all of the pilots stood up and she quickly squeezed out of the briefing room, not even bothering to check if her squadron was still following after her. She couldn't contain her excitement anymore- although, in reality, it was half excitement to be back in Presidia, and half being fed up with Prospero. After spending just shy of two months in this place, she was certain that whoever came up with the idea of building an entire air base underground needed to be punished severely. She longed for the open skies that the skyscrapers would reach up to for eternity. She longed for the vast seas that stretched past the horizon. She longed to be home again, and now she was so very close.
"Sheesh, Glade, ease up on the gas there. Some of us are too old to be runnin' this much," Cutter said between heavy breaths as he and the rest of the squadron rushed to keep up with her.
"Oh please, talk to me when you start closing in on your 40s," Shepard scoffed, teasing his wingman with a jab in the ribs. "You've still got a ways to go before you can start pulling the age card, Jackson."
"Less banter, more taking off," Avery insisted as she scurried into the hangar. "C'mon, let's go, let's go, let's go!" she insisted as she started climbing up into her plane.
The two older pilots gave ASH a judgmental glare- as if she was somehow complicit in her almost contagious enthusiasm- prompting her to give them a confused shrug. "Don't look at me. This is all her- must be a Cascadian thing," she defended herself as she followed Avery's lead and began going through pre-flight checks.
By this point, Avery should've known better, but she just couldn't help herself. As she went through her checks one by one, she let her mind wander on things to come. After they took back Presidia, what would happen next? Surely, they rebels would start to run out of steam after losing the capital, so really, it was only a matter of time before this would all start winding down. All she could do was let her expectations run rampant as she thought about how long it would be before her life returned to some semblance of normalcy- months? Weeks? Days? Her heart felt like it wanted to break free from her chest at the mere thought of it. They were so close now, she could feel it, but at the end of the day, it wasn't going to get done by just sitting in a hangar. No, she needed to be the one to get things moving first.
As the engine on her F/C-16 roared to life, she let the canopy seal itself around her. Her eyes wandered across the hangar, landing on each of her wingmen's planes before she was confident. It was time, and she was as ready as she could ever be. One by one, they taxied out of the hangar and onto the runway, speeding off into the sky and joining up with the other squadrons as they set a course for Presidia- for home.
"All aircraft, be advised, you've got bandits inbound from bearing triple zero; it's a mix of rebels and mercs," North Star warned, wasting no time in getting to work once the dozens of Federation fighters entered the AO. "You're gonna need to split up here. Surfside, Azure, and Aqua, maintain your current vector and assist the ground forces with the Air Base. Alchemist, Marine, and Locksmith, push bearing 340 and intercept those bandits. All aircraft, engage. It's time to take this city back!"
Avery brought up the rear for her squadron as they fell in with the other two squadrons, flanked by F/C-15s on one side and SK.27s on the other. Slowly but surely, the hostile aircraft directly in front of them appeared on her HUD. A flight of Cascadian MG-31s led the charge, with a squadron of F/E-18s and a mixed flight of mercs not far behind. Avery took a deep breath in and out as she reached for her master arm switch. The fight for her home was on.
"Longsword Actual to all ground elements, we've got air support closing in, so now's our chance to push the offensive," the familiar voice of Major Ackers ordered. "Sable and Headwind, push up through the concourse and take the hangars. Everyone else, we're clearing a path right down the main runway."
"Keep an eye on those terminals. I bet they've got snipers watching out the windows for us," one of the soldiers warned.
"Use the tanks as cover and keep an eye out for any AT that'll pose a threat to them. Our flyboys'll deal with any armor they've got." another replied.
"Approaching bandits," Shepard announced as he led the three squadrons in toward the Cascadians coming in with the sun to their backs. "Locksmith engaging."
"Alchemist engaging."
"Marine engaging."
Avery thumbed her weapon selection until the MLAAs strapped under her inner four wing pylons were itching for a lock. Shepard and the other flight leads sent out a volley first, and six missile trails streaked in unison toward the group of fighters. Countermeasures followed immediately afterward as the bandits took evasive maneuvers. As the Federation pilots all broke off to chase after their prey, Avery stayed the course; her vision locked on the MG-31 at the edge of the formation, pulling as hard as the airframe would allow to notch the missile headed their way. Luckily for them, it worked out, and the missile lost its track. Unfortunately, however, Avery was ready for them to put their nose back on her. Her first MLAA shot out, and the Foxhound had already bled off too much speed to get away. Moments later, a fireball erupted where they once were, and Avery's plane gave a satisfied beep in recognition.
"These bastards sure got here in a hurry," Padlock remarked as he dove in behind an F/E-18. "How'd they get this many fighters so far past the front lines on such short notice?"
"Probably spent all week planning this," Cutter guessed. "God knows there's probably plenty of 'em that'd rather die a thousand times over than let Presidia fall."
"Well, scopes are showing just one more group of hostiles coming in- same bearing as before. They're still a ways out, though, so I'll let you know when they're closing in," North Star told everyone.
"Then let's take the rest of these bandits out and go help the others with the ground forces while we still can," Avery insisted, pulling hard left toward a mercenary F/C-16. The merc rolled onto their side and twisted around, drawing sharp contrails to meet her head-on. Fearing a mid-air collision, Avery let out a short burst of her gun before rolling over and flying knife-edged past the other F/C-16. Her hands moved instinctively, yanking back on the stick to pull straight up and back around. Her eyes stayed glued to her target the whole way, watching as smoke poured out from its exhaust. This was her chance. Both her body and her airframe protested heavily, but she persisted through it, turning as hard as she could to put her nose back on the rapidly decelerating bandit. Her heatseekers growled eagerly, practically begging to be let loose, and she obliged. The STDM on her left wingtip flew off the rail, curving effortlessly through the air toward the F/C-16 riddled with bullet holes.
"Shit, we're taking artillery fire!" Ackers cursed as the echoes of a loud boom faded into the background. "Someone, get a fix on those bastards before we lose our momentum."
"I think I see 'em- bearing 040," North Star called out, marking them as HVTs on the radar. "Azure, divert to neutralize the threat before it's too late."
Avery looked down at her radar. Her eyes flicked rapidly between her own position, the artillery, and Azure Squadron. The thought entered her mind almost immediately, and her brain was quick to try and dismiss the idea, but it was too late. She was already turning to take them out. "No need, Azure. You guys just stay there and help the ground forces. I'll deal with the artillery."
"What? By yourself?" ASH asked in disbelief. "Glade, what the hell are you thinking?" She tried breaking off from the Cascadian F/E-18 chasing after her, hoping to regroup with her wingman, but she couldn't shake them and instead had to turn deeper into the furball.
Avery lit her burners, speeding closer and closer to the target. "Don't worry. I've got this," she assured her, despite the fact that she didn't have remotely as much confidence as she was letting on.
North Star scoffed in response. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Locksmith 6. Those bandits are closing in fast, and when they do, they'll be right on top of you. Although, maybe that's what you're hoping for," he sneered.
'Just ignore him,' Avery told herself over and over again in her mind, biting back a retort with all the willpower she could muster. 'You'll prove him wrong in the end.'
One by one, the ground targets started appearing on her HUD, and Avery wasted no time in getting to work. Setting one of her screens to the targeting pod hanging under her intake, she slowly maneuvered it until it locked onto one of the two AA guns guarding the artillery. Once the first MLAG flew off its pylon, she didn't even bother watching it all the way to the target. Instead, she lined up the shot on the other AA gun. Tracers lit up the sky as her target started leading their shot, but it was already too late. The second MLAG flew effortlessly to its target and hit it dead-on, leaving all of the artillery defenseless- for the moment, at least.
"This is Headwind 2-3, we've taken the hangers, but these damn rebels have us pinned down!" one of the soldiers reported with gunfire blaring in the background. "Longsword, if you guys could link up with us to drive these assholes back, that'd be a huge help."
"Say no more. We're en route," Ackers responded without a moment's hesitation. "Thanks to our air support, we're almost to your position. Then all that's left is to take the control tower, so just hang in there a little longer!"
"C'mon, everyone! These merc pilots ain't special. Let's push the offensive and drive them outta here," Cutter insisted as he looped around to get behind an SK.27.
ASH chuckled. "Hey, as long as you can keep up, old man," she taunted him.
"Oh, that does it," Cutter replied, letting out a laugh at his own expense. "If you think I'm so old, then I guess I'm gonna have to show up a young whippersnapper like you by getting more kills."
"Hey, you're the one who said it- not us," Pad insisted, coming to ASH's defense. "Maybe you just oughta accept that you're gonna be on your way out in the next couple years."
Shepard cleared his throat deliberately. "You do realize he's not the oldest one in the squadron, right? Besides, we're short a pilot- in case you'd forgotten."
Avery allowed herself a small smirk. "Oh, please, don't worry about me I'll be…" she paused, allowing herself to strain under the g-forces as she dove closer to the ground to pass over the artillery. "I'll be just fine." Almost immediately after the words left her mouth, though, she found herself regretting them as five F/C-15s appeared on her HUD, vectoring straight toward her.
'Gotta be quick,' she told herself silently as she readied her guns. 'This'll be cutting it close even for me.'
Her radar warning started beeping, but she just needed to get a little bit closer. She was lined up perfectly and couldn't afford to make another pass. Just a few more seconds now- 3… 2… her cockpit started blaring a missile launch warning at her. Just one more second, and she was finally in range. She squeezed down on the trigger held it down. One by one, the artillery units blew up and bit by bit, the missiles fired at her got closer. As soon as the last one was destroyed, Avery yanked back on the stick, pulling up as hard as she could as her hand reached for the countermeasures. Chaff and flares lit up the sky and she turned to face the bandits head-on. Her odds in a five-on-one weren't great. She only had one chance. All three of her remaining MLAAs flew off their pylons, and each of them hit their mark with ease.
'C'mon. You're almost there. You've almost got your home back,' she assured herself. 'Just two more.'
She'd come too far to stop now. She'd seen these rebels who flipped her life upside down being driven out of her home. She wasn't going to let two F/C-15s stop her. As they turned in opposite directions to box her in, Avery pulled up higher into the sky, waiting for the sound of her cockpit's missile warning to return before inverting and pulling down, dropping chaff and flare behind her as she went. Once her tail was clear, she quickly turned to face the one on her right, firing her last STDM as soon as she had a lock. All that was left to do was take down this last bandit.
Avery deployed her airbrake, letting herself bleed off more and more airspeed until she could see her adversary about to pass her. Then, with all her might, she retracted it again and slammed the throttle as far forward as it would go. Her F/C-16 lurched forward just as the Cascadian eagle overshot her, giving her a perfect window to gun them down. Just as she was letting her nerves settle, though, another missile lock quickly snapped her back to reality. Evidently her STDM had missed its mark. She reached once more for her countermeasures, only to find a dissatisfying click in response. She was fresh out. Her heart felt like it was trying to break free from her ribcage, but she didn't let it stop her. After cutting the throttle, Avery pulled hard to the right, setting herself perpendicular to her final target and dove as close to the ground as she could manage. The missile tried its best to keep track of her, but eventually, it lost its mark and crashed into the ground instead. Now all she had to do was get this bandit off her tail. Pulling her throttle back halfway, Avery let her speed drop and turned toward the city. She weaved in between the tall skyscrapers reaching up to the sky, flew over the streets she knew so well, and rolled this way and that past any obstacle in her way. Sure enough, she found herself on the last F/C-15s tail, and the best part was that they didn't even seem to realize it. They tried getting out over the sea, hoping to get a visual on her, but all that did was give her a clear shot without worrying about collateral damage below. A quick pull of the trigger later, the last Cascadian fighter disappeared beneath the sea.
"All enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed. We've finally got air superiority over Presidia," North Star reported. "Longsword Actual, what's your status?"
"North Star…" Ackers began, already sounding downright ecstatic. "Presidia Air Base is ours." There were several cheers in the background of her transmission. "Any Cascadians still here are either surrendering or leaving for good this time."
Avery pulled up above the city, circling around as she took in the view. "We… we did it," she murmured, almost in disbelief of the sight she was looking at: a Federation-controlled Presidia. "By the Dust we actually did it! We took back Presidia; I'm home!"
"You're god damn right we did!" one of the soldiers on the ground replied. "That'll show those damn rebels not to mess with us."
A series of beeps sounded off over the radio, indicating a broadcast across all Federation military channels. "This is Commander Grayson to all Federation callsigns in Cascadia: Presidia is back under Federation control- repeat, Presidia is hours," he announced. "All aircraft in the AO, good work. Command personnel are inbound from Prospero and should be entering Presidia airspace shortly."
"Heh, that certainly was… one hell of a battle," Shepard remarked, breathing heavily. "More importantly, it looks like everyone's still up."
"Now that sounds like a reason to celebrate, if you ask me," Cutter chimed in.
One of the other pilots chuckled. "Hell, I say we keep the party going all night long! We've definitely earned it, I'd say."
"Hey, flyboys, why don't you start landing?" Ackers suggested. "Then we'll really get this party started."
Avery quickly circled back around, waiting for their turn on the runways. The whole time, though, she couldn't take her eyes off of Presidia. When the fighting started almost two months ago, part of her thought that she'd never see her home again, and yet, here she was. She felt several tears starting to roll down her cheek but quickly wiped them away. She could be sentimental about all of this later. For now, it was time to celebrate.