Date Time: 1st December 2097 A.D, 1650 hours.
Location: Rome, Italy
Weather: Clear Sky
"Eagle Actual, be advised that there are multiple-"
The line from the command center cut off.
"Come again, Valkyrie? Valkyrie?" Murdock's Squadron Leader, Vega 'Trailblazers' Dunn reached out.
The other end of the line was still silent. With the weird high-altitude fog appearing out of nowhere and the scrambled radar, Murdock had a feeling that shit would hit the fan soon.
"All Eagle elements, radio check by flight number. Respond in sequence. Over." Vega ordered.
"Eagle Flight 2, Out."
"Eagle Flight 3, roger. Out."
"Eagle Flight 4, all clear. Out."
"Confirmed. Inter-planes communication is still working, but something's jamming our long range comm and radar. Look alive." Vega informed.
"Wilco/Affirmative." Murdock and the pilots replied.
"Guardian 1, I want you to maintain close formation." Vega ordered.
"Copy, Eagle Actual." A loud humming approached Murdock.
"Can you break through the jamming?" Vega asked.
"We are working on it. ETA 3 minutes," Replied Guardian 1's female pilot.
Screeching cut through the air, muffling through his headphones. The unmistakable sound of Scrin Stormriders.
"We have Stormriders inbound. We are outnumbered 5 to 1." Guardian 1 informed.
No way they had flown into a trap. It was the Scrin scrambler inflating their actual number, Murdock denied.
"This is Eagle 1-4, I got a bogey on my six, high. Your orders, Actual?" The other flight commander asked.
"Hold your fire." Vega commanded, "Guardian 1, status?"
"We are still working on it."
Their screeching grew louder and more intense. Beads of sweats began to pool on his forehead. Faint purple glows began to penetrate the fog in every direction, growing brighter and brighter—
"Scatter! Scatter! Scatter!" Vega commanded.
The squadron broke formation at the same time as the Scrin opening salvo. Most of the shots missed but a few that did connect to Murdock's aircraft. Fortunately, his Orca Firestorm energy shield module held firm but Murdock lose sight of friendly aircrafts.
"Shit! Guardian 1 is down!"
Murdock could barely see dim orange-ish fire belonging to the Guardian 1 as it spiraled down towards the ground below. The Stormriders then swiftly closed the gap before adjusting their flight path to match the squadron's vector, effectively wedging themselves within the formation.
Murdock frantically locked his missiles on the Stomriders. The alien spacecrafts simply float away before he could fire. Without Guardian 1 powerful communication arrays and computer co-ordinating the squadron, using autocannons risk friendly fire when they were relying on the individual on-board AIs to see objects in front of them. The AIs were already under pressure helping pilots execute evasive maneuvers and bypass Tiberium blanket radiation for squadron communication.
Vega should've ordered the first strike and Guardian 1 would still be flying! Fuck!
"To all Eagle elements, sustain vector toward point Delta. Eagle 1, Eagle 3, and Eagle 4, form up on my wing. Spread out and draw their focus away from mand is scrambling for reinforcements." Vega commanded.
How the hell Vega knew reinforcement would come through the comm jamming?
Before Murdock could call on Vega's bullshit an affirmative, the faint purple glow of the Stormrider on his tail through the fog signaled another salvo, prompting him to execute a barrel roll. The plasma grazed his energy shield.
Then, a pair of faints purple glows appeared in front of him.
"Gun! Gun! Gun!" A stream of tracer fires from above obliterated them into purple-colored fireballs. Murdock had no idea how the pilot was able to see through the fog, but before Murdock could mutter a thank you, his savior's aircraft erupted into a pale fireball.
"Eagle Actual is down!"
Murdock's mouth went wide. He didn't expect Vega to be shot down so soon.
Doubt seeped in. They couldn't win this fight. Reinforcement wouldn't reach them before they turn into burning wreckages.
No, the people back home depended on him. This was no time to panic.
"This is Eagle 1-2, I'm assuming command of the squadron. Protect my tail and focus on the primary objective." Murdock commanded.
"Copy."
Most of the Stormriders were focused on the rest of the squadron instead of him. Lucky him. He could break action given that there weren't many plasmas fired at him. But how can he lose the Stormriders pursuing him? Their aim was becoming more accurate.
Think brain, think!
Flying low could help evade the enemy using the terrain, aerial warfare 101.
They were in Italy. The fallen nation bound to have mountains or tall man-made structures transmuted into Tiberium that could be used. However, the anomalous fog rendered the ground below practically invisible. There was a way, it'll make him light up like a Christmas tree for the alien targeting system, but he couldn't think up of a better idea.
Murdock flicked on the switches, activating all sensors onboard. Sonar, infrared, all of them screamed at the ground. The AI used the data from the sensors to cast the surrounding environment onto his neural link.
A blasted barren plateau of rock laced with veins of Tiberium met him. On the horizon were massive formations of pure Tiberium that have welled up through the surrounding Earth, casting a sickly emerald glow on the surrounding terrain. Only then Murdock saw his salvation—a former city block veiled in Tiberium.
A risky plan formed in his mind.
"Eagle Actual here. I'm shaking the boogeys off so I could break action. Keep the rest tied up," Murdock relayed his plan.
"Roger. Godspeed, Actual." Responded other pilots. A distant explosion punctuated the line.
Murdock banked hard to the right. The afterburner to his modified aircraft was activated and he went supersonic in a matter of seconds. The sudden speed caught the aliens by surprise, giving him a head start but the Stormriders quickly regained pursuit.
"Roger. Godspeed, Actual." Responded the other pilots. A distant explosion punctuated the line.
Gravity bores down on him and the aircraft. He trusted the airframe to endure, but gravity squeezed his human body with overwhelming pressure. The weight on his chest made each breath a struggle. His vision dimmed. Murdock summoned every ounce of strength to stay conscious. It paid off as he met the Stormriders' rear.
Murdock unleashed the autocannon, scoring a few hits, but it wasn't enough to disable the energy shield. The Stormriders changed from high-speed to an eerie standstill mid-air. In mere milliseconds, they were once again on his tail.
The fuckers were maneuvering without the fucking concept of inertia! It was unfair! InOps archive didn't warn them that the bastards could do this!
"Eagle 1-11 and Eagle 1-12 are down." Came the voice from another plane.
"Fuck!" Murdock shouted. He was screwed.
A Stormrider appeared in front of him flying in the same direction with its cannon glowing purple, but it didn't fire. It was taunting him, baiting him to fire.
Firing his cannon would only result the aliens violating the laws of physics to evade his shots. Frustrated, he engaged the afterburner again and send his aircraft hurtling towards enemy, gambling on the Firestorm module to shield him from the collision.
Before his aircraft collided, the Stormrider erupted into purple fireball. Shockwave sweeping Murdock's aircraft with a judder. He looked at the around, just in time to witness star lights descending from sky with incredible speed, leaving trails of luminescence they strike down the alien with pinpoint accuracy like bullets.
Chilling silence ensued, until a crackle pierced the airwave, "This is GDSS Isaiah to Eagle Squadron, do you copy?"
"This is Eagle Actual, we copy." Murdock replied.
"We have your air corridor covered."
Murdock released the withheld tension with a long sigh before replying, "Copy. Thanks for the assist. All call sign Eagle, report status."
"Eagle 5-1. Still breathing. Missiles and ammunition are low."
"Eagle 4-2. Weapon depleted."
No response from the other planes. Murdock assured himself that it could've ended far worse. He continued, "Copy all. Form up on me. We are Oscar Mike to Point Delta. Out."
"Affirmative."
Murdock's radio buzzed again with another male voice on the line, "Valkyrie to Eagle Actual, do you copy?"
Murdock replied, "This is Eagle 2-1, acting as Eagle Actual. Go ahead. Over."
"Eagle Actual. What's your status?" Command asked.
"Eagle Actual is green, but Eagle 5-1 and 4-2 are low on ammunition. The rest are downed. We are headed to Point Delta ASAP," Murdock reported.
"Understood, we'll send SAR team once that sector had stabilized. Be advised that HIGHCOM had dispatched the First Fleet to secure your air corridor."
Murdock doubted that there were survivors from the crash sites since they were in Red Zones. Regardless, he replied, "We already made contact with GDSS Isaiah."
"Copy. Keep us updated on the situation. Out."
"Copy Valkyrie. Out."
Just when Murdock thought there wouldn't be more clusterfuck, blinding light dazzled his vision.
"Eagle Actual, we detect high energy readings coming from the Threshold. You are inside its energy radius. SITREP?" Valkyrie demanded.
"We are green, Valkyrie, but how in the hell are we affected by the Threshold? It's miles away!" Murdock asked. Panic shook his voice.
"We don't know, Eagle, we advise you to steer away." Valkyrie ordered.
"All Eagle, change vector to Point Alpha, activate afterburner." Murdock ordered.
"The energy readings are rising. Steer away, Eagle, now!"
Murdock immediately snapped. "The hell do you think we're doing!?"
The rumbling from the Threshold grew deafening, drowning out the radio. Despite his plane speeding past the sound barrier, Murdock had a feeling they wouldn't escape in time.
"Valkyrie, I don't think we can-" His words vanished as light engulfed him.