School Idols of the Lighthouse War
Chapter 21.3
Last Hope - Confusion
Húxiān: What's goin' on?
Alexa: Nozomi, Karin, and Mari, you're with me. Let's check it out.
Mari: Aqours 8 copies. Let fly in a bit closer to the planes up ahead.
Long Caster: Weapon use is prohibited.
Alexa: Understood. Hold your fire.
As they fly closer…
Ionela: What's going on?! Dr. Schroeder!
Count: Whoa whoa, there's a girl onboard?!
Nozomi: From the looks of it, yes!
Long Caster: He's not lying about carrying civilians.
Count: No, unless she's a soldier.
Alexa: Maybe.
And after that, they have been identified as transport and escorts.
Long Caster: We've checked footage. It does seem to be a transport with escorts.
Dr. Schroeder: I repeat! This craft is carrying civilians! We are not here to fight!
Alexa, Mari, Nozomi and Karin are now flying behind the escorts.
Ionela: Dr. Schroeder! Tell me what's happening!
Long Caster: I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but do not attack the civilian liaison.
Nozomi: We aren't.
As Alexa flies closer, Ionela sees Alexa's plane.
Ionela: Those are the aircrafts my grandfather told me about… the one with the scratches. And the ones are all itasha made aircraft with their names on it.
The A.I beam turns red on the escort fighters.
CF 10: There it is, the EASA liaison plane. They engage in witchcraft with Belkan technology. They're responsible for leading the military down the wrong path.
An Erusean Conservative fighter attacked and hit the Liaison plane.
Alexa: What the?!
Ionela cries out while the plane is hit.
Mari: (Satsuman) What was that?!
Count: Wait! Unknowns attacking the girl's plane!
Ionela: Alma! Hold on tight!
Count: Long Caster, Sohei, permission to engage?!
Long Caster: Negative!
Count: What?!
Long Caster: They could have been Osean fighters! ID them ASAP!
Húxiān: (Satsuman) Damn it!
New idents are now revealed.
Long Caster: ID complete. They're Erusean fighters. What the hell is going on?
Jaeger: Stay sharp!
Húxiān: Uh-huh.
Count: Right, I'm shootin' 'em down! Any complaints?
Transmission
Sohei: Permission granted, Strider 2. Attack!
All Strider pilots: Wilco.
Alexa: Strider pilots, engage the attacking aircraft! The School Idols and I will stay close to the transport with the escorts.
Jaeger: Understood. We beat 'em up.
Húxiān: You give me the opportunity, Trigger!
And by that, Jaeger shot down the first one.
Húxiān: Yeah, good work! Strider 3 has killed an enemy bandit!
Count: Mine! Firing!
Count fired his machine guns and tore the aircraft apart.
Count: Got that bastard.
Jaeger: Bandit destroyed! Well done!
CF 11: Careful! These guys are good! Wait. You don't think it's the Osean bigshots, do you?!
CF 12: I managed to get a glimpse of the three strikes!
Húxiān: I have something learned from the School Idols. Watch this one, Trigger. Or should I say, Alexa?
Alexa: You can say both!
Húxiān: Fair enough. Watch this!
Húxiān maneuvers cleverly and shoots the missiles, and it destroys the attacking Su-33.
Count: More coming in!
Húxiān: More getting in my way!
But then, 2 unknown missiles arrived and destroyed the enemy bandits.
Húxiān: Nice kill!
Count: Phew.
Long Caster: Targets destroyed, who shot them down?
???: That'll be us.
A Red F-2A and an emerald green F-14D arrived.
Alexa: Kanan-san! Dia-san!
Dia: Good to see you, Alexa-san! Miyafuji has called us and she sent me and Kanan to help you out. We refueled on the way too.
Alexa: Is Nico not with you two?
Kanan: Nico has been called to the SN Sakamoto immediately.
Alexa: I guess the entire group is all here.
Sohei: Nice work. All hostile aircrafts eliminated. The liaison is safe.
Long Caster: Wait…
Dia: Huh?
Something unexpected happened.
Dr. Schroeder: No! The escort fighter is…
Long Caster: What the hell? You've got to be kidding me! Liaison escort has a radar lock. They're targeting you guys.
Count: What the hell?! We were just helping them!
Kanan: I have a bad feeling about this.
Long Caster: Erusean aircraft, this is AWACS Long Caster. Do not engage the liaison. Break off now.
Nothing happened. But then…
Dr. Schroeder: Can you hear me on this channel, Osean and Satsuman aircraft? Those escort aircraft are drones! They are currently being operated autonomously.
They are not being controlled by anyone! They are flying on their own volition!
Alexa: Belkan technology! Of course!
Count: What?!
Long Caster: In that case, we have no choice but to shoot the aircraft down.
Dr. Schroeder: Unfortunately, yes.
Transmission
Long Caster: We did what we could. Weapons free. You are cleared to attack the escort.
Count: *sigh* Wilco.
Húxiān and Jaeger: Wilco/Understood.
Alexa: Copy. Aqours 3rd years, eliminate the escorts.
Mari: Got it!
Kanan: Understood.
Dia: Hai!
Strider and the Aqours 3rd Years attack the A.I. controlled aircraft.
RGU 3: Can't abort the MQ-99's launch! Our commands are overridden!
RGU 5: They must be accessing it remotely! Which unit is behind this?!
Kanan, Mari, and Dia shot down the enemy escorts.
Count: Hey, it's not our fault they won't listen to reason. Why build something like that? Whoever did this is the king of all dumbasses.
Dr. Schroeder: …Maybe he meant to build something else entirely.
Alexa: Who exactly?
Count: Additional hostile inbound! Great timing…
Húxiān: That's not cool!
EASA Aircraft Captain: More drones headed this way!
Dr. Schroeder: No… the escorts must have used its remote activation right to gain more allies. Cleverley…
At the same moment…
AWACS Argus: This is AWACS Argus. Those who can hear us are now our allies.
Your new orders are to dispose of Édouard Labarthe.
The Osean Army officer with him is an imposter.
Alexa: Nozomi, Sohei! Go check on the helicopter carrying Labarthe!
Sohei: Roger, Strider 1. Nozomi, let's check it out!
Nozomi: Muse 8 acknowledges! Heading out!
Nozomi and Sohei fly back to the helicopter carrying Labarthe, while Alexa shoots down an haywired drone.
Kanan also shot a drone down.
Kanan: My first drone kill! Yay!
Dia: I got one too!
Long Caster: 5 bandits remaining!
Mari: Okay! Let's keep it up!
Kasumi shot a drone down.
Long Caster: Four bandits left!
Karin took out an enemy drone with a QAAM.
Long Caster: 3 bandits to go!
Húxiān shot down a drone.
Húxiān: I might want some of my own, Alexa!
Alexa: Looks like you have the touch!
Long Caster: 2 bandits left! Show them what you got!
Mari destroyed a drone.
Mari: One drone for me to be eliminated!
Long Caster: One bandit to go!
Alexa: The last one is for me! Fox 2!
Alexa's tracking missile destroys the last drone.
Alexa: Gotcha!
Jaeger: Strider 1, that's what I like to see! Another story to tell my boy.
Alexa: You got that right, Jaeger. Have you made a book for it?
Jaeger: Nah, I'll tell him personally. But, maybe you're right.
After all of the drones are down…
Long Caster: Would you look at that? My scope is clear of all rogue unmanned aircraft.
All hostiles have been eliminated.
Nice. The general's helicopter is flying safely outside Anchorhead Bay.
Allied aircraft are moving in to continue the escort. Let's leave the rest to them.
Count: All "hostiles," huh? Pff...
Alexa and her plane do a spiral, while using her last chaff.
Alexa: That's all. Strider Squadron, come with me. I'll bring you to the base where I've been working.
Jaeger: The Sakamoto?
Alexa: Correct. You'll see it first hand.
While doing that, she called Nozomi and Sohei on the radio.
Alexa: Muse 8, Sohei, do you see the chopper?
Nozomi and Sohei are flying south to check.
Nozomi: We have it on radar. Hold on...
Meanwhile on the chopper...
Karl: General, the Osean aircraft is here to pick us up.
To the approaching Osean aircraft...
Labarthe: Posing as Army? Elaborate.
Karl: They stole our sealed orders. I should be a piece of cake.
Were you sent by the General Staff Office?
On Osean F-16 fired a missile.
Osean Helicopter Pilot: Missile! Missile! I can't--
The missile shot down the helicopter carrying Labarth and Karl on it. Both have been perished.
Nozomi: (Satsuman) What in the?
Sohei: Strider 1, bad news! Labarthe and the chopper are down!
Alexa: I see. Return to the Sakamoto! Let's get out of here!
Nozomi and Sohei break off and left the airspace.
And at that moment... on the EASA liasion plane...
???: There are three scratches...
Pilot: What does that mean?
???: The tail of that plane.
The Liaison plane left the AO.
Some minutes later, Alexa, the School Idols, and the rest of Strider Squadron landed to he Sakamoto. Count and Jaeger are a bit surprised about this big ship. But they let it slide.
Debriefing JOSTF
Jaeger: In order to respond to the attack on the base, Cyclops has scrambled after being on standby.
We'll have to wait here in the Sakamoto once our planes are ready.
Oh, and Labarthe is dead.
Count: What did you say?
Jaeger: Apparently, he was shot down by another Osean aircraft after he left the area of operations.
I mean, I know it was chaos, bit still.
At any rate, the sealed-order operation has come to a close. We have no idea about a plan for going forward.
All we can do for now is watch our own backs.
Húxiān: What's with the commander of us?
Jaeger: He's staying in his room on the base where we at. He's still alive since we can hear him crying.
Alisa: Also, Miyafuji has also decided to create an Joint Osean-Satsuma Task Force under her command. Welcome aboard, Strider Squadron.
Count: We're joining the Satsumans? Damn! That's cool!
Húxiān: I'll still have dance battle with Lanzhu to deal with.
Debriefing Ended.
Rosa's Transport, close to Tyler Island.
21:13 PM
While still flying, the transport of the Princess has arrived on the air space of Tyler Island.
EP 1: We have reached Tyler island. Preparing for a landing.
ERG 1: We are almost there, Princess.
Rosa: I can't believe what just happened at the continent. Ravaged by the civil war.
ERG 1: We know.
And at that point. Gunfire deflected on the plane.
EP 2: Taking small arms fire!
EP 1: SAM launch! Hold on!
The transport got hit and is losing altitude.
EP 2: We're losing altitude! Prepare for impact!
The transport crashed on a beach area. Some of them have survived.
SN Sakamoto, Spring Sea.
23:00 PM
1 October 2019.
Jaeger: You all here? Good listen to this news.
OBC News Live
Osean President: "Citizens of Osea, we have declared a state of emergency.
There's something up Erusea and Belka. The Belkan hardliners have acting all-out agony behind the construction of the space elevator.
We have yet to identify the situation and the source of the Lighthouse War, the Gray Men are trying to weaken our nations and forces.
They have been following this man who wanted to give us a tast of Belka's revenge.
Erusea doesn't realize they served this man. He brainwashed these soldiers, including the Erusean King.
We have yet neutralized the princess and abloished her manipulation.
There has been a tragedy behind Belkan witchcraft, the man is identified as Dr. Schroeder Robinach's grandfather. Pf. Scherald Robinach.
He's the man behind the chaos of the current conflict, and wants to destroy the entire world for ruining Belka's sovereignty, which we would never do.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have an traitor among the mankind.
Stand by for further updates."
Breaking news from SHK.
News Anchor: Good evening on SHK Newsline. I'm News Anchor Yuzuriha from Atsuki, Satsuma.
The president of Osea has released a statement of an enemy of the mankind. Revealing that this man wanted to destroy our world for ruining the sovereingty of his own home, Belka, to regain the lost ground of South Belka to be back to it's original nation.
Pf. Scherald is clinging on a ideal to return the world back in the old world order.
News live offline.
Jaeger: That's all what it said.
Everyone was shocked that one Belkan created so many chaos for Osea and Erusea.
Honoka: Yu-chan? Do you have called Miyafuji about this?
Yu: I did. She is gathering intel and evidence of the Belkan involvement in Erusea.
Shioriko: Also, she told us that the Satsuman delegates and some Spec-ops members are going to Belka to find out about Gründer's involvement. As well as in Erusea.
Karibuchi: I will process the evidence if she come to the Sakamoto.
Alexa: I guess, we are all busy now.
Húxiān: So, what next, Alexa-san?
Alexa: For now. We'll watch and follow the trail, for now.
End of Chapter 21.3
The situation in Erusea is gone worse than they thought.
By now, the LRSSG and the School Idol Air Division are now an Joint Osean-Satsuman Task Force.
This task force, created by Miyafuji after this mission, will now find the true mastermind behind the Lighthouse War.
As for Yuzuriha, check her video in Etra-chan saw it channel on Youtube!
See you all next time and a Happy Easter!