"All Systems Check. Status Green."
"Go Flight."
First Lieutenant Dahl's stomach lurched forward, as the crane dropped her large bird from the clutches of the Ship's artificial gravity.
She could feel the bird struggling against the grasp of gravity, shaking and creaking wildy as the craft was engulfed in flames, which was thankfully absorbed by the heat sinks.
She aimed the bird's nose pointing straight to the ground, before yanking her throttle with all her might to initiate a steady glide as the Altimeter's rapid descent slowly went to a crawl.
She made it.
She then decreased her speed, letting the others meet up with her to a finger four formation.
"Reaching the Capital. Let's show them not to mess with us."
She watched as she descended to at least below five hundred feet in altitude as she caught sight of the large city, and decreased speed to just that sweet line to barely break the sound barrier in the most loud and violent way possible.
Their engines screamed terror below, as Dahl banked her jet to a tight 180 degree turn around the target, the Administrative area of the nation.
She could see via her external cameras the scrambling ants below, trying to make sense of the multimillion dollar beast that roared at them above.
She then began to descend deep into the planet, as fast as the payload in her cargo allowed her.
They then left the city, heading deep south, soaring above the carnage below, as the pilots chose to remain ignorant as they simmered in the silence.
"Well, that was an appropriate use of our fuel." WOODY reported, his slow bored drawl adding more to his dry humor.
"Straight from Polaris Actual himself." DOUGHBOY replied, sighing.
"Aye, Capt'n."
The four Shrikes then punched through the sound barrier, afterburners glowing brighter than the charred skies as they closed the gap to their target.
Dahl watched below, seeing what only a few others only could through her optics.
A dying world.
She could see from her optics, Numerous flat plots of land dying in droves in front of her, their lush green chocked under the ashes of a dying world. She could see some houses burnt soot, occupants long gone
It was then their comms were immediately broken, as a curt, authoritative voice appeared.
"500 kilometers to target."
Immediately, all of the pilot's mind psyched as phase one of the plan commenced, as she caught the pilots of the element team began to prepare in their cockpits.
Then, Doughboy came in on the net.
If this goes well, steaks are on me."
WOODY chuckled.
"It's not if, it's when."
"WOODY, VELVET. Break off."
Dahl eyed at the support element, as VELVET looked back at her in her cockpit, nodding as she acknowledged the command.
"Copy. Catch you on the flip."
It was then DOUGHBOY smiled through his comms, as he charged forward.
"Now. Tallyho!"
"CLAUS. Let's wake up the neighborhood."
Dahl smiled.
"Copy."
The two jets in the element section banked to the right, before slowly deccerating to a cruising speed.
But the two jets on the lead section continued on their afterburners, the flat farmland below them morphing to a dark green leaves as they pushed through the limits of sound, scaring the critters below with the most fearsome predators of man.
Shrikes.
She looked over to the tactical map on her display, showing the marker, and the distance rapidly closing to their maximum standoff envelope for their payload.
Dahl was in the briefing room when they poured over the intelligence on the dragon. It was the first time she held real paper, and also how the dragon was created by gods.
But the Shrike was a machine that was designed to fight God.
"Time to Target, ETA 10 minutes." AirOps reminded them.
A notification popped up on her helmet, showing her datalink updated to a radar contact from friendly contacts. Dahl noted the large radar contact in a slow movement just north of her.
"UAV Taclink is synched with our targeting systems. They're painting the target's appendages. Fire when ready." FlightOps responded.
As they descended deep into the forest, Dahl could see several ruins overhead, covered in foliage. They were few and far between, but her optics could make out that they were buildings of some sort.
Something for MI to take notes.
She then tore her curiosity, as she turned straight for the target, focused as sharp as her plane.
Until a shrill snow of static pierced her thoughts.
"Shit. CLAUS. You read me?"
"Read you Three-by-Five, DOUGHBOY."
"Thanks. Radiation is screwing our comms. Whatever's down there's making the geiger counter think we're back at Mars or something."
She blinked, before grunting an affirmative, focused on warming up the AA missiles.
The copperhead missiles were on the edge of their capabilities, but a fresh tracking of the target meant they could pursue Phase 1.
"Fox-Three." Both pilots reported, as they saw the smoke streaks running away to the target.
For a few seconds, Dahl decelerated her machine, as the missiles greeted the target's wings with their roars, with the beast unable to even conceive it,
Before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The monster screamed out, but it was drowned out as the jets roared above it, barely crossing the sound barrier once again, as they encircled it like vultures.
"Thing's riled up. It's all on you two."
Dahl felt her lunch threatening to throw out her lunch out as she pulled several turns against a tide of g-forces.
But she glimpsed the damage the Copperheads caused, as minimal damage to the wings, with a few tears on each sides, the dragon clenching it's teeth in pain, eyes raging at the two birds, as it looked around, trying to grasp it's prey.
Until she heard taclink notifying her for a missile lock, giving her a sigh of relief, as the element section squawked over the radio.
"Target locked. Warming up our payload."
A few seconds slowed to a crawl.
"WOODY, Rifle."
"VELVET, Rifle."
The two released their cruise missiles, purpose built to tear lanky hordes into shreds, upon a single large beast, causing both to be eaten in a thunderous explosion, rocking both lead birds in their fuselages.
Dahl chuckled, seeing the large impact decimate the trees around it, coating them in dust.
"Hit confirmed, waiting for post assessment strike." AirOps noted, a more jovial tone sprinkled in his voice.
But that sweet jovial tone was swallowed up by a bitter feeling, as the creature within the smoke still moved around, still clinging on to life like the numerous entrails around it's abdomen.
Dahl nearly lost her lunch as she saw the pitiful state of the creature, guts hanging out of it's ribcage.
"Tango is still live. Repeat, Tango is still live."
But wuth little to no hesitation, Dahl straightened her plane, then began to climb above againstnthe wishes of gravity's embrace, climbing to 20 thousand feet.
Then dived below, eying the throttle's options for a second, as her display immediately switched to two parallel lines flowing around her field of view.
"Switching to guns."
The Shrike's autocannon wasn't as sparkly as the Lancer, but it penetrated the defeated dragon all the same.
Dahl began to dive to the maximum weapons envelope of her autocannon, and let off a smooth burst of 30mm guns downrange.
"Guns hot."
But as she started her gun run, Dahl saw the dragon's eye sparked it dying flame, the dragon lifted it's head.
Dahl tried to force her body to evade, but even with her training, the dragon was faster.
So she increased her acceleration, passing through the dragon's haunting red fire.
"Fox-Four."
And pulled the trigger, letting out an ungodly hail of autocannon rounds that pierced through it's skin with ease.
She caught glimpses of the rounds punching through the dragon, hitting bullseye on most of the hits.
Even with a thousand feet in the air, a large groan ruptured through her plane, followed by a thud.
Dahl took sweet breaths into her oxygen supply, as several long seconds passed by, before AirOps came on net with the words she wanted to hear.
"Saber Flight, tango neutralized. I repeat, tango neutralized."
She forced out a laugh from the breaths, earning her a coughing fit, as she regained control of her body. She could vaguely hear other members of the formation cheering.
She looked to her side, seeing DOUGHBOY looking worriedly past his visor.
"You alright CLAUS?"
She gave a okay sign, as she glanced all over her computer for a quick diagnostics check.
"All Systems green, DOUGHBOY." She noted.
It was then the element section caught up with the two, with WOODY squawking his arrival.
"Don't pull that cowboy shtick again. Nearly scared us to death."
"Copy, WOODY."
"Let's head back upstairs."
Then as they regrouped to their original formation, they proceeded back northeast, back towards the capital as part of the final phase of the plan. Gunboat diplomacy, the Air Group commander noted.
But as they tried to pierce through the speed of sound, determined to herald their victory in the engine's cries, the skies above them immediately darkened, as clouds tried to block them off, thunder crackling in rage inside of them as it tried to box them in.
"Uh, FlightOps, There's a storm brewing. And it's stirring up fast."
DOUGHBOY waited for commands from upstairs, but that steeled patience was broken as a spew of garbled words came through the air in a storm of static, which isolated them.
"We can probably punch through." Woody noted, voice disintegrating in the rough snowstorm of static. Velvet nodded in approval.
"Doughboy, lets go at twenty-k feet. Place is giving me the-."
It was then comms were buried under a thick hail, as the rage of the storm somehow got into comns, piercing the eardrums of every member.
Until, the static storm's rage morphed itself into a snarl, as it called out to each and every member.
"You will all pay."
"Tuck tail, now." DOUGHBOY commanded immediately.
No one objected. And everyone immediately threw their afterburners to hyperdrive, hitting speeds twice the speed of sound as they scraped above the heavens.
Until a large strike of lighting struck Dahl's plane.
Dahl eyes caught her flight screens, her tactical display, and her communication systems died quickly, leaving her helpless as the bird began to drop in the air, stalling as it descended violently to the ground.
"Mayday Mayday." She called out, but against the huge pileup of G-forces against her, it was little more than a whisper.
Without hesitation, she ejected, seeing the capsule began to eject from the dead fuselage, and the stalling stopped, as the chutes began to break the momentum violently.
Dahl sighed, and felt her pistol.
Dahl then grunted, as she felt the capsule hit the ground. From her cockpit, she could see a curtain of mist covering the glass, obscuring her view from her surroundings.
She eyed the numerous screens across her cockpit, the computers that gave her bird the edge was now nothing more than paper weight as they greeted her with dead black screens.
Dahl sighed. There will be a mountain of paperwork on her station, after she was sucked out from all life.
She then felt the small dogtags around her chest, hopeful that SAR could pick up it's RFID.
Without a doubt, Dahl pulled the handle, releasing herself from the confines of her capsule.
The world around her was a sea of dark green that surrounded her vision for miles, over taking everything, with even the light barely penetrating the tree cover. Not even the brown trunks were safe, as the large, curved wood was being wrapped around thick stems that infected every other tree, entertaining in curves as each trunk split off into branches
And the cherry on top was the thick curtain of mist that seeped in, reducing visibility to a few hundred meters, numbing the noise to be as dead as a doorknob.
She had no IR, no optics to speak of. She felt her instincts nagging her to go back into the capsule, fearing the creatures hiding behind the curtain of mist.
Trying to soothe the nagging feeling in her head, she immediately grabbed the paracord above her, trying to pull the parachute above her, as they were entangled by several branches
As the triple parachute gave way and fell to the ground, she could hear the flapping of birds, tearing apart the realization of how similar the world was,
And as he laid eyes on the bird's glowing eyes from grotesque and strangely lovecraftian forms, how alien it all was.
She continued on, shoving the parachutes in the cabin, and eyed the emergency pack in front of her, grabbing the extra M109 magazines, and the emergency radio, and several flares.
She tuned to the Emergency Frequency, and pressed the transceiver.
"Mexico City, Mexico City, this is Saber 0-5."
But the static snow turned into a manic hail, before it somehow stopped entirely.
She cringed as she could hear a whisper in the static.
Sighing, she attached the radio to one of her pockets, before grabbing her M109, cursing silently she wished she had a bigger rifle.
She wished she was back in the carrier.
She wished for a lot of things.
She saw a couple of glowing jellyfish like creatures rise across her vision, letting out blue and white splotches in front of her. Training told her not grab it, but she did, feeling how fuzzy they were on her hands.
A rustle in the bushes.
Nearly missing a heartbeat, Dahl aimed her pistol at the bushes at her left, using the pistol's Iron Sights, as she steadied herself at her target, her hands gripping tightly on the foam grip. She strained her sense to grasp at anything that would be a target, and waiting patiently.
It was an old man and a girl, looking at her cautiously as they emerged from the bushes. Dahl didn't lower her sidearm, instead observing every inch of detail they had on them.
Both wore floating clothing that looked like what mages, yet they were more faded and disheveled, as but their eyes were still sharp looking distrustingly at her.
The man whisper-shouted at her, telling her in a string of mixed letters that were switched and broken beyond her comprehension.
She knew they spoke a close variant of Latin. That was in the mission briefing, but she didn't understand any of it, so anything coming out of them would be a garbled mess of mixed letters that were blocked by her ears/
To put salt on the wound, her armor didn't have an automatic translator, and that didn't even work.
So she instead relied on gestures. She gestured a question,
But instead, she was violently grabbed by the older man with surprising strength, almost losing strength on her pistol. She ordered the man to stop, but even as she nearly lost her footing on the wide foliage on her feet, the older man continued to force her around.
"Hey!" She cried out, wrangling herself of his grip. "Stop that!"
Until a large thump behind her broke all of that, causing her to turn around, seeing it looking straight at her.
The first thing she noted was the skin, as from afar, she could see it looked like the vines, with more died out wood texture that wrapped around it's body. It's ears were long and pointy, as it was aimed towards her, as It crawled on top of the capsule, each step cracking the heat resistant glass, staring at her with predatory eyes.
Even though it didn't have eyes.
And she felt the skin crawl on her back as she saw several of those creatures looking at them as well, causing her legs to finally move on their own, even as she felt being ripped apart, as she saw the two pushing her deeper into the forest.
But she knew deep down, they were correct. The site was compromised. The SAR bird was no going to land here, even as the forest began to turn dark.
She then was thrown deep into the ruins of a building that was made from brick, as the two grabbed every single breath desperately.
Dahl looked around, seeing the wide expanse around her in this cavernous space, and the rows of endless peons that sat empty, their stone cold facade greeting her with silence.She saw the towering colums at its sides wrapping around the walls on top like wines, between them large windows that seemed to hold quite intricate designs. above her, were several chandeliers that mostly hung above, sharing a space with a domed ceiling that had been carved with so many natural shapes.
And she stood at the center of it all, eyes straining to take in all the dark and empty space void of life in this once great hall, crafted not by machine prefab modules, but by care from once great being, yet its timeless beauty of design destroyed by a once great force.
"What a day, huh?" Dahl mused to herself.
Her training kicked in, telling her to focus on the mission than the fate of the damned, but her curiosity hungrily devoured every intricate detail.
She slowly brushed her glove against the stove carvings and thick faded paints on the barriers, trying to read the story in the art caked in centuries of dust, as it showcased a large figure with a ball of light in one hand, and the other, was a planet.
She then moved further deep into the dark hallways, away from the two people who were whispering garbled, as she trained her eyes on seeing the vines of flowers that glowed in the darkness, giving light in place of the lamps whose flame long extinguished flames.
Which gave her at least adequate illumation for her sidearm, as she aimed it directly into the darkness in front of her, following the vine branches as they grew older and larger, eventually leading it to her source.
The first thing she noted was the skin, as from afar, she could see it looked like the vines, with more died out wood texture that wrapped around it's body. It's ears were long and pointy, as it was aimed towards her, as It crawled on top of the capsule, each step cracking the heat resistant glass, staring at her with predatory eyes.
She was entranced by the beauty of those glowing tulips, beckoning her to delve deeper, seeing how the flowers greeted her warmingly in their glow.
Until she met the other eye gazing at her, it's sunken iris lacking any fire in them.
"Shi!-" She cried out, stumbling back, Until she realized the vines wrapping around her hands, holding her in place and its thick branches gripped her wrists tightly under the numerous thorns around them, constricting her like mere prey
She screamed, hearing the faint footsteps rushing behind her, but that was little comfort as she felt her bones fracturing as if the protection offered kevlar fiber in her suit was nothing.
Until it suddenly slackened its grip, it's thorns not digging into her skin. Dahl looked up.
And saw the girl holding a carving knife, staring back at her.
The shock then finally turned to pain as Dahl felt her wrist again.
She then said something to her, before turning to the vaguely human mass, before grabbing the flowers with careful ease.
As Dahl lay on the floor, reaching for her trauma first aid, she saw the girl poking at her.
"What?" She asked in between a series of pants, eyes narrowing at her.
The girl pointed at her helmet.
Dahl narrowed her eyes, but eventually did.
With one hand, Dahl released the locking mechanism for her helmet, before gesturing the girl to remove it.
The girl complied, taking it off.
Dahl raised her eyebrows as she saw the girl looking puzzled at her, entranced.
She then handed her a thermos of some kind, dropping on of the petals, gesturing her to drink it.
Dahl nodded, unable to resist as she pressed her lips against the thermos, drinking the hot liquid that immediately left a taste similar to green tea.
A sweet feeling flourished within her, as she felt the warmth ubinding her from the pain in her wrist, relaxing every twist and pain inside her.
It was then she felt a powerful pain burning across her, constricting her, unable to even cry out once more.
She then watched as the two argued, with the eldest being visibly agitated and confused, before slapping the younger one.
Dahl felt anger shocking her, but she couldn't move, as the two argued over something about 'haryo'.
It was an eternity before the older man turned to her.
He yelled at her in a barrage of garbled sound interspaced with letters, until she picked up "Saderan?"
Dahl shook her head.
"North American."
The older man looked at her confusingly, before pressing his fingers on his lips.
Dahl immediately noted what he meant.
The older man backed off, walking to the windows, as Dahl struggled catch every breath to her burning lungs.
Until she felt a warm sensation on her chest, hich caused her to look at the white haired girl, who sang a soothing song that unraveled the twisted lungs.
Dahl could finally feel her legs, and immediately stood up, as she continued to walk into the large doorway as the two gingerly disappeared inside.
"Woah."
She lowered her pistol, seeing the cavernous room that filled her vision under the glow of her night vision, revealing towering bookcases hugging the walls, nesting countless books dipped in dust as time passed through them, and in the middle where showcases with glass that were surprisingly untouched, and as pristine as ever, their interior showing objects that surpassed such beauty and anomaly.
The resplendent chandelier that held above in the center of it all was surprisingly active, but had also been invaded with overgrowth by a bunch of those same veins, giving it a very syntony feel.
Most of the books were ruined from countless years past, but for a library were completely sparse in number, in comparison to the crystals that adorned the room, which the two were entranced in.
She scanned the books, but was surprised to read nothing. The paper weren't blank, but it was as if she couldn't read it. The contents were blurred, unable to be read.
Defeated, she looked over to the crystals, who lost their shine long ago and were buried in years worth of dust.
Searching around, she saw a few still shining bright, speaking in warm beautiful colors.
She pressed into one, feeling the runes grooved into the crystal.
Something happened here. Something wrong.
Aside from the loss of knowledge, the room was still a untouched crypt. But aside from that, she still had to leave soon from the two mages. She looked over to the showcase, the thing still sturdy, holding a bunch of old books, A bunch of gems, and a elven monster.
Dahl caught it in the reflection of the showcase.
Everything she saw in this place was of beauty from one thing to another, but thing was anything but. A vile thing wearing a pound of rotting skin that perverted it beyond belief, wrapped and punctured in the veins that surrounded this mansion. Dahl could even see it's teeth, jagged and even from afar, rotten with decay and death.
Dahl gulped, and unsaftied her pistol, causing the creature to chitther in excitement and jump.
Without a moment to lose, She turned,
And dumped the entire clip on to the monster in pint point accuracy.
The monster screamed as chips of the bark like texture broke off as the small flechelettes barely penetrate it.
A fact Dahl immediately took to heart as saw the creature jumped towards her.
Until a gust of powerful wind made the creature crash into the bookshleves, immobilizing it.
Dahl turned, seeing Leilei using her powers.
The young girl screamed something at her, but the Pilot didn't need a second to comprehend.
Both of them ran out of the hallway, hearing the creature crying out in a bloodcurling scream.
They immediately went outside, startling the old man, who stared at them with confusion.
Even as Dahl aimed her pistol,
A shout caused the creatures to heel, becoming docile.
Dahl looked up to the several elves on top of the roofs, bows aimed at her.
And where the main creature was, a dishelved girl looked at her with rage,
And her eyes caught the locket wrapped around her neck, similar to the one wrapped around the creature's neck.
"Come."
She grabbed her to stand up, as if the heavy armor Dahl was wearing didn't existed, before Dahl could question it, she immediately walked in a random direction in the weeping mist without saying a word. Dahl fixated on the elf as it deconceptualized into a simple, shrinking form on her optics, her train of thought crashed and burned, leaving her instincts to take the wheel.
Dahl's legs catched up to her, quickly closing the distance thanks to that weird drink, but the elf still continued a brisk pace, with a speed as undamaged as her tight expression. They quickly traversed through the wilderness, a hulking armored beast and an elf, through the large trees that dominated the wilderness, and every so often, showed a piece of ruined architecture that was washed out by from the soil. The boots trudged at each long minute they took.
Soon, the trees turned to large stacks of stones stacked on top of each other. She looked at them, fixated on what they meant as she could see numerous of them behind the curtain of mist, causing her to nearly stumble against the ground.
The elf continued without a word, disinterested. Not even as the trees gave way to more stacks of stones did she stopped, nor as more and more fragments of great works from a bygone age did she seem indifferent. She didn't even sound any discomfort from her bare feet.
Dahl cranked up her optics, but the thick curtain of the weeping mist was replaced by the grim snow of static. But she could just make out a figure in front of her.
He wore faded resplendent clothing that was tattered and degraded as his body, his long, elegant staff now used as a cane. Yet he walked towards her with youtful intent, like her late grandfather once before, warmth in his body, a contrast to the cold gaze of the elves around him.
Yet he stood taller than the elves beside him, wearing more tribal clothing, brandishing spears towards her with firm grip on all of them.
"What the hell is this place?" She whispered under her breath.
"- reminder." The old man replied with a corroded voice.
Dahl heart jumped. How could he have heard that? She was sure that her comns were sealed.
"...okay." Was all that she could muster.
Dahl watched as the man turned, her helmet boring deep his sunken eyes as it wildly looked at her HEBA flight suit.
"You killed the dragon, I see. You and your, fighter jets?" he asked, the last word laced with uncertainty.
Dahl nodded, eyebrows raised.
Who was this guy? How the hell did he speak English?
"Yes, sir. Killed the thing with them. Though, I expected a different kind of surprise." She looked around, seeing the countless stones stacked on top, that now stood all over the empty fields like eerie figures in the mist, sending her veins ice cold.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man pressed his fingers on his chin, and smiled.
"...Just an old mage."
She then thought of the rest of them, thinking about the surprise party the rest of the airwing would have, with CAG Taylor breaking out the good wine. And probably the footage of her gunning down the dying beast.
But the elves didn't seem to mind, far from it, as they saw it as a warm presence.
It was then the elf instructed the rest of them to lower their spears.
As she stood there, dumbfounded, she watched as the older elf did a dogeza in front of her.
She widened her eyes, feeling uncomfortable as around her, as an audible gasp echoed to the legions of elves, even the old man and girl.
And without a second later, she watched as all of them knelt before her with extreme respect.
"Thank you for killing that beast. You had no idea what it did to my people. With this, I give you my word."
He man proclaimed, tears down his eyes.
Dahl merely smiled and nodded.
The Dragonfly's landing gear touched the ground gingerly, with the ramp opening to the squad of pararescue escorting the three individuals with them.
As the ramp began closed, she caught the entire elf tribe staring at the ship, like it was a messenger from God.
She then took a closer look. Some of them were old, frail. others were at their mid thirties, or at least looked like it. but only a handful were actually young.
Dahl wondered what caused such a dip in youngsters, and how that connected to the ruins she saw.
And their huts and other works were pale imitations, devoid of the complexities and ingenuity the ruins had.
But she merely closed her eyes, wiping it all away, and hoped that those Nebraskan steaks were reserved for her back upstairs. and as she saw the young girl at her side, hoped that they could spare her a second helping.