All Along the Watchtower - a Modern Strike Witches Quest

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Take out the Vinogradov's CIWS, or at least do as much damage to it as you can. Focus on -
-[><] The laser turret

---

While the Kulakov's CIWS is still technically in action with the laser turret up and running, the Vinogradov remains undamaged, and you don't like that.

<<Felix One-Seven, once the other Super Hornets get in range, fire your own Harpoon from the opposite direction.>>

<<Wilco.>>

Meanwhile, you make for the Vinogradov.

Spoiler: Roll for CIWS dodge

Vino Accuracy: 52, 81, 51, 65, 37, 17
Vino Damage: 17, 59, 19, 79, XX, XX
Kula Accuracy: 74, 44, 39
Kula Damage: 68, 8, 13
Dodge: 2, 62, 32, 9, 65, 68, 40, 91, 30
Shield: 83, 73, 55, 83, XX, XX, 69, XX, 48
Accuracy: 87, 83, 90, 65, 66
Damage: 90, 89, 73, 34, 74
Vino Armor: 25, 12
Kula Armor: 26, 2, 73

You don't know how you managed to avoid so much anti-air, but you think you will never be so lucky again. After a series of very quick maneuvers, you send both the Vinogradov's and Kulakov's lasers back at them, shredding the Vinogradov's CIWS laser turret and the near Kashtan CIWS, and severely damaging the Kulakov's laser CIWS as well as one of its Moskit launchers. The Kulakov's CIWS may as well not be there at this point. More impressively, you punched a hole through its stern, causing it to slow down.

---

Kulakov: -87.5% on all CIWS rolls, damage to stern
Vinogradov: -66.6% on all CIWS rolls

---

Just in time for the Harpoons to come in.

Spoiler: Rollan for long-range Harpoons aimed at Kulakov

Accuracy: 82, 19, 62, 88
Missile Dodge: 61, XX, 55, 96
Damage: 58, XX, XX, 76
Enemy Jamming: 65, 38, 69, 43
Enemy CIWS: 11, XX, XX, 11
Enemy Armor: 29, XX, XX, 39
Enemy Luck: 21, XX, XX, 76

Spoiler: Rollan for long-range Harpoons aimed at Vinogradov

Accuracy: 41, 43, 57, 64
Missile Dodge: XX, 93, XX, 91
Damage: XX, 52, XX, 77
Enemy Jamming: 52, 10, 96, 43
Enemy CIWS: XX, 23, XX, 19
Enemy Armor: XX, 13, XX, 19
Enemy Luck: XX, 10, XX, 6

Many of the missiles fail due to the Neuroi's impressive jamming, but the ones that do not, do tremendous damage - especially to the Vinogradov. The missiles both strike at the bow and stern of the ship - the first hits the Kinzhal VLS and blows it and the bow off the ship entirely. The second hits near the midsection, under the smokestack. It blows the smokestack off completely and exposes the area of the ship beneath it - including the core, which is larger than that of the bombers or interceptors. The Kulakov is a little more lucky. Both of its missiles hit in roughly the same spot beneath the laser CIWS. The first does the most damage, completely obliterating the CIWS. The second hits a little closer to the bow and closer to the waterline. It doesn't do as much damage because the Kulakov had already taken a beating in that area, but it does expose the core.

<<Felix One-Seven, firing!>>

Spoiler: Rollan for Felix Harpoon at Kulakov

Accuracy: 23,
Missile Dodge:
Damage:
Enemy Jamming: 83 (Derp)
Enemy CIWS:
Enemy Armor:
Enemy Luck:

Sadly, Felix One-Seven's missile is jammed into uselessness, and it slams into the water dozens of meters away from the Kulakov before exploding.

<<Good hits. The cores are exposed.>>

The radio fills with cheers.

---

[ ] Go for the kill
- [ ] Kulakov
- [ ] Vinogradov
[ ] Let the Hornets deal with it, their CIWS is almost gone and their cores are exposed enough that they probably won't have time to regenerate before the Hornets get a clear shot
[ ] Return to the carrier
[ ] Write-in

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Go for the kill
-[><] Vinogradov

---

The destroyers are clearly on their last legs. Even with their impressive AA suite they just couldn't hold up to an attack witch and a swarm of anti-ship missiles. Now would be as good a time as any to put them out of their misery. And your Kedge is perfect for the job.

Spoiler: Rollan for Kedge

Accuracy: 91, 90
Damage: 95
Jamming: 61, 54
Enemy CIWS: 0
Enemy Armor: 2

With a scream and a shower of white shards, the Vinogradov is laid to rest, its core destroyed. The Kulakov attempts to fire off a Moskit in a last ditch attempt to do some damage, but Felix One-Seven strafes it with gunfire as it readies its turret.

Spoiler: Rollan for gunfire

Accuracy: 85
Damage: 91
Enemy CIWS: 0
Enemy Armor: 11

It, too, sheds its Neuroi hide in a shower of shards, and the Moskit pops from its launcher, inactive. You pass over the rapidly sinking destroyer's deck and fire at the Moskit as you pass.

Spoiler: Rollan for accuracy

Accuracy: 18
Rounds expelled: 32

You almost leave yourself with only one belt as you pepper the deck, launcher, and the missile's engines, but fail to hit anything explodey.

Doesn't matter, the Neuroi are dead.

<<Felix One-Seven to Bonneville. Enemy ships sunk.>>
Cheers fill the radio, louder, longer and more varied than before.
<<You idiots.>>
<<Bonneville roger. No further Neuroi presence detected within radar range. You'd better come in and land. You too, Dekabrist, Cipher, Empress>>
<<You think they would announce their presence so brazenly if they were going to settle for one measly frigate?>>
<<Da.>>
<<Wilco.>>
<<Roger.>>
<<No, this time they won't rest until your planet is an empty husk.>>
You head for the carrier, watching as the two destroyers bubble and groan as they slip beneath the ocean - for a second time. For a moment you think you can see blood leaking from the Kulakov's bridge, but the moment passes and you are too far away to tell blood from oil by the time you look again. It makes you shiver nonetheless.

---

After circling a few times to let the Hornets land, you 'touch down' on the carrier. Landing vertically is a lot easier than taking off vertically, though you still welcome the padding the Liberion Navy provides around you as you come down. Some witches would consider it patronizing. But you don't think there's anything patronizing about safety, especially for a witch such as yourself without much ship landing training - though the Yeager's enormous size makes it stabler than the destroyers you practiced on. It would take a tsunami to rock this boat.

There is an announcement over the radios, but the roar of a landing Hawkeye drowns it out.

It is 11:30 AM.

What will you do?

---

[ ] Go to your quarters. You could use a nap after so much combat.
[ ] Go to the galley. Flying burns mana, and mana burns calories.
- [ ] What will you eat? (Write-in)
[ ] Go to the library and check the internet.
- [ ] News - see if it's leaked yet
-- [ ] Regular news sites
-- [ ] Imageboards
--- [ ] Reddit
--- [ ] 2ch.hk
--- [ ] /int/
-- [ ] SV
- [ ] Other internet stuff
[ ] Go to the lounge. Play vidya
- [ ] Write-in
[ ] Go to the gym. Never too young to get swole.
[ ] Stay on deck, find out what was announced
[ ] After-action report (Can be combined with Quarters, Galley, or Library, though Library will cause it to take longer)

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] After-action report (Can be combined with Quarters, Galley, or Library, though Library will cause it to take longer)
[><] Go to the galley. Flying burns mana, and mana burns calories.

---

If whatever the announcement was was important, you'd probably hear it again once you were inside the carrier. Your stomach rumbles loud enough for you to hear it over the roar of landing aircraft.

Food. Food food food food food food foooooooooooooood.

You quickly go down with the deck elevator and park your Strikers as the thought of consuming food fills your mind. At a brisk walk (but not too brisk, you don't want to trip over bulkheads and you can't go too fast without bumping into people) you make your way towards the nearest cafeteria.

Your prediction is right - an announcement is made over the radio, and it sounds like the one you couldn't make out while on deck.

<<To everyone and anyone currently aboard this ship, this is the Captain speaking.>>

You nearly trip over a bulkhead due to you going too fast and not paying enough attention to your surroundings. Nobody nearby noticed.

<<As you may have heard, earlier this morning aircraft and witches launched from this carrier engaged and destroyed several groups of Neuroi making their way towards this battle group. We do not have confirmation, but it is my opinion that these Neuroi were most likely what sank the Varyag.>>

Cheers once again throughout the ship, but most clearly from in front of you. You're close to the cafeteria.

<<However,>>

Oh for the love of.

<<Thirty minutes ago, we received reports of Neuroi appearing elsewhere in the world, and in far greater numbers than what we have faced here. Ten minutes ago, we received satellite confirmation of the presence of a hive forming over the Syrian region of the Osman Empire, and a second, smaller hive appearing directly over Sana'a, which the Britannian government had lost all contact with six minutes prior.>>

Well that is certainly big news. As you open the door to the cafeteria, the normally noisy room is eerily quiet.

<<Further reports have come in since then, with hives being confirmed over northeastern Kongo and South Nubia, eastern Afghanistan, southern Gao, the eastern Colombian coast, western Aztlan, the western Amazon, and in Britannic Burma along the Vietnamese border.>>

Very big news. The majority of those are in highly populated areas. Most countries may have anti-Neuroi plans that are best summed up as 'nuke it until it goes away' but that's a hard sell in populated areas.

<<There are also reports of Neuroi appearing in the Bering Strait and far northern Siberia, though these are as of yet unconfirmed. We will provide you with more information as it comes in. Let's just hope... the damage isn't too severe when this is all over.>>

After getting a submarine sandwich with lots of meat, you sit down and quietly begin your after-action report. Some people notice you and point to you as if aware that you were one of the three active witches in the entire world (you know of) to have killed a Neuroi.

You look up at them. You return to your writing.

You look up again. They are still watching you.

---

[ ] Ignore them. You have sandwiches to eat and reports to finish.
[ ] Check wing pylons for fucks to give.
- [ ] Write-in
[ ] Ask them to stop staring
- [ ] Paragonly
- [ ] Renegadely
[ ] "What?"
[ ] Tell them about killing the Neuroi
- [ ] Be short and to the point.
- [ ] Be detailed
- [ ] Embellish like a corrupt politician
[ ] Write-in

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Wave at them, then go back to the sandwich and reports unless they have something to say.

---

You wave at them dismissively with your sandwich as you continue to write out your report, which goes rather smoothly. A few of them try to walk around and look over your shoulder to watch, but you ignore them.

-----------------------------
Perspective hijack LOL
-----------------------------

Spoiler: Introducing!

Anastasiya Olegovna Polikarpova. Nineteen year old Lower Regimentary of the Orussian Air Force, from Saint Petersburg. Works as a model while not in active service. Hates paperwork but deals with it because of the pay that comes with her rank.

Name: Anastasiya Olegovna Polikarpova
Ability: Electricity Atronarch - Works identically to the Atronarch birthsign in TESIV, except Anastasiya has her own stores of mana as well. Put simply, she can drain the energy from objects around her, with a maximum range of 100 m, and release it as a thaumoelectric charge, similar to Torrere.
Strikers: Sukhoi Su-24M2
Armament: Kord heavy machine gun, various missiles, bombs, and grenades
Familiar: Polar bear
Religion: Atheist
Appearance: Link
Last Deployment: Syria
Kills: (Air|Land|Infantry|Sea) 3|36|237|0

You are now Klava's commanding officer, and you are in hell. News of the Neuroi being back got out before even North China's iron censors could stop it, and now it's everywhere. Orussian news has predictably gone apeshit over it, with the news of a young Orussian Witch being one of the heroes of the battle making them go even more apeshit. And that has made the Orussian Aerospace Forces go infinitely more apeshit. And that means what it always means. Paperwork.

Every attack squadron in the Federation wants her in their unit, it seems, the League of Nations can't decide whether to put her in a 50x squadron or not, and the Orussian Aerospace Forces can't decide if they'll let them put her in one or not. So they've left it up to you, her commanding officer, to decide. Obviously they couldn't let her decide, she's not even old enough to vote. Obviously they couldn't let your superiors decide - or, hey, have the Orussian Aerospace Forces decide for themselves! That would be logical. They deal with this level of paperwork on a daily basis. They have secretaries for this shit!

You spread out the papers in front of you that will determine where Klava will go for her first real combat assignment. Against Neuroi. Боже мой!

---

[ ] Keep her in an Orussian squadron
- [ ] Siberian Far North expedition - have her join in in the search for the source of the Neuroi in the extreme northern reaches of Siberia
- [ ] Bering Sea expedition - Have her join in the joint Liberion/Orussia/Farawayland expedition to find the source of the Neuroi in the Bering Sea
-- [ ] Keep her in the Su-24
--- [ ] ...but make her someone else's subordinate
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-25 squadron
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-34 squadron
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-30 squadron
[ ] Put her in a 50X squadron
- [ ] 50X West Africa [To be based in Diori Hamani International Airport, Niamey, Gao Republic]
- [ ] 50X Central Africa [To be based in Old Entebbe International Airport, Entebbe, Britannic East Africa]
- [ ] 50X West Asia [To be based in Erkilet International Airport, Kayseri, Osman Empire]
- [ ] 50X Southwest Asia [To be based in Asmara International Airport, Asmara, Kingdom of Abyssinia]
- [ ] 50X South Asia [To be based in IAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, Islamic Republic of Indoscythia]
- [ ] 50X Southeast Asia [To be based in Chauba Air Force Base, Dibrugarh, Republic of Hindustan]
- [ ] 50X Central America [To be based in Air Base No. 5, Zapopan, United Aztlan States]
- [ ] 50X Caribbean [To be based in Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Colombia]
- [ ] 50X Amazon [To be based in Porto Velho Air Force Base, Porto Velho, Federative Republic of Amazonas]
-- [ ] Keep her in the Su-24
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-25
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-34
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-35
-- [ ] Transfer her to an Su-30SM
-- [ ] Write-in

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Put her in a 50X squadron
-[><] 50X Caribbean[To be based in Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Colombia]
--[><] Transfer her to an Su-35

---

You sigh to yourself. Just because you hate paperwork doesn't mean you should fuck over your subordinates out of laziness.

No, you're going to fuck your superiors over by sending the only Orussian witch with Neuroi combat experience that isn't dead, in a retirement home, or conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic just about as far away from Orussia as you possibly can. And you're giving her the Super Crane. Take that Putin.

You sign (in triplicate), initialize (also in triplicate), and help yourself to some totally nonexistent scotch (in triplicate). Now, you just have to wait for her to give you her after-action report before you drop your little bomb on her. You help yourself to a little more...

-----------------------------
End perspective hijack
-----------------------------

"-and that's my report, ma'am."

You place the paper on your CO's desk as you finish relaying its contents to her, then awkwardly not fidget while remaining standing. Nice and professional. You could smell cheap booze on her breath, and hoped you both could pretend you could not.

"Sit down, Junior Lieutenant. I have some big news for you. Well, several 'big news'."

You sit down. You know where this is going. With your first combat kills being against Neuroi, all of Orussia will want to know about you, and the Orussian military will want to make use of you. Interviews by Russia Today, BBC, al-Jazeera, etc. Paparazzi. A Liberion college education. Oh, and freezing your arse off in either Siberia or the Bering Sea chasing after Neuroi. But it's worth it.

"Say goodbye to your Su-24s, you're getting the Su-35."

Not what you expected, but it sure as hell is a step up from the light bomber. One of the fastest non-interceptor combat Strikers in the world, and one of the most maneuverable. Not the T-50, but you didn't expect it anyway - prototype testing is accelerated for no man or witch. Besides, the curved stealth shielding of the T-50 looks weird.

"You're also being transferred to another squadron."

Of course. Anastasiya's squadron doesn't fly Su-35s after all, so it's only common se-

"You're being transferred to 50X Caribbean."

What.

"You'll be picked up by a C-17 in an hour, which will take you to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, then refuel over the South Pacific, then curve around to take you to Caracas, where you will be based."

What.

"I know, I know, why not just fly straight there, well, a straight path would take you directly through what is currently the Southern Aztlan Neuroi Hive. And you need to pick up your Strikers in Pearl Harbor anyway."

What.

"Well... that's.... basically it. I guess. You have an hour of free time. Just know that it's an in-air landing."

Oh now that's just uncalled for. You are certainly capable of in-air landings, but they are far from fun. Liberion's current president said it best back during the Cold War when she said it was 'like jumping out of a plane in reverse'. Not fun.

Your commanding officer leaves without another word for parts of the ship unknown (she didn't say), nearly bumping into the door as she leaves you alone.

---

[ ] Emergency Spanish practicing
[ ] Library
- [ ] Find out everything you can in one hour about Caracas
[ ] Find a place to obtain news
- [ ] Watch said news
[ ] Don't freak out
- [ ] DON'T freak out
[ ] Quarters
- [ ] Hour-long power nap
[ ] Find your CO
- [ ] Ask her who else is in 50X Caribbean
[ ] Write-in

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Find your CO
-[><] Ask her who else is in 50X Caribbean
[><] Say goodbye to squadron mates
[><] Emergency Hispania practicing.

---

You race out of the door to find your CO. She can't possibly expect you to be satisfied with so little information. Well, normal people can't possibly expect you to be satisfied with so little information, but she usually is.

At least she usually answers you when you press for more information. Usually.

"U-uhm! Podpolkovnik Poliparkova!" you call out as you finally spot her - heading for the nearest cafeteria.

"Yes, mladshiy leytenant?"

"Who... else is in 50X Caribbean?"

She smiles. "Why, those Liberion witches you were with earlier, of course!"

Of course. Well, it makes sense for them to be put in 50X squadrons. Hell, it even makes some sense to put them in the same squadron as you, since the three of you have combat experience against Neuroi with each other.

"Well, what about the others?"

"Others?"

"You know... the rest of 50X Caribbean?"

"Oh! They haven't been finalized yet. But I assume they will be when you get to Caracas, and they should arrive throughout the following week."

Oh lovely.

"Will that be all, mladshiy leytenant?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiles, then walks off back towards the cafeteria. You don't think you'll be getting anything more out of her, and head to the quarters that had been assigned to your squadron aboard the Yeager. Upon opening the door you are immediately tackled by eight Orussian teenage girls.

"Ah! Marya, Agata, Ruf, everyone! Yes, I will be going... yes, Venera, I will be sure to send pictures as often as I can, no Zoya I don't think they'll let me send rum to you through the mail, yes I will ask, you can make rice and beans at home, Nika! Yes, I will try to find a recipe. No, Sofya, I can't do that, it's illegal!"

Before you realize it, fifteen minutes have gone by saying your goodbyes alone. That leaves you maybe thirty-five minutes to get ready for a mid-air landing!

You quickly (but politely) manage to pull yourself out of the room and make your way to the library, where you pull out your phone and begin to practice your Hispanic with a handy language-learning software.

Spoiler: Rollan for language

T=30
Efficiency roll: 9

You try to concentrate. You really do. But while checking an article you read about yesterday, your phone notifies you about the battle trending on Tumblr and Twitter (at once) and, well...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon enough, you are in the air, in your Su-24 Strikers for what will likely be the last time, and staring at the opened cargo bay of a Liberion C-130J Super Hercules, while trying desperately to avoid not being blown away by its wake. It isn't too hard. It's just like trying to land in a Siberian winter. Wait, that is hard. That is very hard. Inside, you can see Eli and Ruya sitting across from each other, their Strikers stowed further into the cargo bay in front of a number of large crates, both marked 'FOOD NONPERISHABLE'. Rations, probably.

---

[ ] Sit next to Ruya
[ ] Sit next to Eli
[ ] Sit next to neither

[ ] Talk about...
- [ ] Small talk (Write-in)
- [ ] 50X Caribbean
-- [ ] Caracas
- [ ] Their careers so far
- [ ] The Neuroi
-- [ ] The battle earlier
-- [ ] Coming battles
-- [ ] Other (write-in)

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Sit next to Ruya
[><] Talk about...
-[><] The Neuroi
--[><] The battle earlier

---

You carefully fly into the Hercules' cargo bay, touching down with your wheels. Mercifully the bay door immediately begins to close, and the roar of the engines becomes more distant. You slide out of your Strikers carefully and stow them away, managing to avoid losing your balance as the large transport plane banks to turn.

The seats are small, red, and very uncomfortable looking. This was not an aircraft designed with comfort in mind for its passengers. You sit next to Ruya, who is currently listening to music on an mp3 player. You can just make out what is playing on it. Whether you'll get any conversation out of her is doubtful.

"So," you start, aiming for some small talk, "about the Neuroi today. Were you aware they could take over sunken ships?"

"I knew they could take over ships," Eli said, "didn't know they could take over sunken ships, let alone repair the damage on them. Or control the weapon systems. I guess that's what those bombers were circling over that bit of water for."

"Some sort of Neuroi healing ritual?"

"Maybe. Though I don't think making them move several hundred knots faster under than over water counts as 'healing'."

You nod, taking it in.

"What I want to know," Ruya said, "is why those bombers didn't aim straight for the carrier first."

You shrug. "Panic?"

"Can Neuroi even feel panic?"
"I thought they were drones or whatever."

"Mh."

Eli continued. "Well I certainly hope they do feel emotions, because it'll be a lot easier to fight something I can scare than a mindless drone."
Hurry along. I cannot hold them off forever.
You all laugh, though it's not the most joyful of laughs.

---

You eventually land in Hickham AFB, which is really little more than an extension of Honolulu International Airport. The weather is a balmy 24 degrees Celsius, and the three of you briefly part ways as you wait for the C-17 to finish filling its cargo bay.

You yourself are led by a group of Orussian Air Force personnel and workers for the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, which manufactures the Su-35 as well as the Striker variant. They lead you into a large hangar full of boxes, Striker parts, and some assembled Strikers.

Speaking of assembled Strikers, they gesture to a group of nine Su-35 Strikers lined up in a row.

"You may pick any one of them, junior lieutenant."

---

[ ] Option 1 [Enemy gets -20% detect rolls over Land]
[ ] Option 2 [Enemy gets -20% detect rolls over Sea]
[ ] Option 3 [Enemy gets -20% detect rolls over Cities]
[ ] Option 4 [Enemy gets -20% detect rolls over Coasts]
[ ] Option 5 [Enemy gets -15% Jamming rolls]
[ ] Option 6 [+10% Damage, Armor, Random chance to ignore enemy Accuracy rolls]
[ ] Option 7 [+10% Accuracy, Shields, Random chance to ignore enemy Luck rolls]
[ ] Option 8 [+10% Dodge, Accuracy, Random chance to ignore enemy Armor rolls]
[ ] Option 9 (Write-in or link)

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Option 8 [+10% Dodge, Accuracy, Random chance to ignore enemy Armor rolls]

---

You select the one furthest from you, with the white leg holes, royal yellow wingtips and underside, and greyed out topside camouflage.

"An excellent choice, junior lieutenant. The batch that one came from did particularly well in batch testing. Go ahead and try it on."

You momentarily wonder what will become of the other Striker units as you do so. Thought of anything besides these Strikers these Strikers these Strikers soon leaves your mind however, because holy frick these things are well fit. They feel as if they were custom made specifically for you.

I guess the move towards taking thigh, knee, and shin circumference measurements paid off.

"Would you like to do a test flight?" the chief KnAAPO representative asks. As if the answer wasn't painfully obvious by the look on your face. Fuck, these Strikers are so comfortable.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, just lean forward."

He deactivates the latch holding you in place, and your Strikers immediately swing out their landing gear.

"In Landing mode, these Strikers automatically swing out their landing gear at a certain angle below a certain altitude. There's a switch on the left Striker unit that activates it, and a backup on the right one."

You taxi for a minute or so around the hangar, easily maneuvering about - though there's no debris to worry about. Liberions are very careful to ensure their runways and hangars are free of anything that could be sucked into an aircraft's intakes - though you doubt Strikers have to worry much about that.

"So what say you? Want to take them up, see how they fly? You have time for a little practice while the C-17 is loading up."

---

[ ] Yes
- [ ] Gentle flight - like a nugget taking to the air for the first time, nice and easy
- [ ] Do a few loops and hard turns to see how it handles
- [ ] All-out - this thing has thrust vectoring and supermaneuverability as a fighter, let's see how it does as a Striker
[ ] No

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Yes
-[><] Do a few loops and hard turns to see how it handles

---

The last 'fighter' Strikers you used were Aero L-39s. Still, you feel confident enough with your flying ability to not take it... too easy on these Su-35s. And certainly you are confident enough to fly them here and now.

"Of course."

You roll out of the hangar and onto the tarmac. There is a gentle breeze, and the sky is cloudless apart from a few puffy cumulus humili scattered here and there.

<<Tower this is Dekabrist, requesting takeoff clearance.>>

<<...clearance granted. Will you be needing a runway?>>

You smile.

<<Negative.>>

You shoot straight up into the air with-oh my, much more thrust than you anticipated, and soon find yourself well above the clouds, boosted higher still by the cloud's updraft. You twist your body to level yourself out an-wow.

By their nature, all Striker units are technically thrust vectoring, in that the movement of a witch's legs direct where the exhausts point and thus the thrust. Even so, some Strikers handle better than others, just like their full-size counterparts, and some modern Strikers have thrust vectoring built-in to their exhausts to further increase maneuverability.

By the standards of an aircraft, the Su-24, brick as it is, handles pretty well, and responds pretty quickly to your inputs. By a Striker standards, it is poor, but not the worst.

By aircraft or Striker standards, the Su-35 is telepathic. You may as well have been flying an actual Su-24 in comparison.

You slalom around clouds at speeds your old Strikers could barely turn at. You perform a loop at speeds the Su-24 couldn't reach in a vertical dive - albeit a very large loop. You roar down an unused airstrip at just under Mach 1 - you were about to go supersonic before tower control yelled at you.
OOC: Retconning your transport to RAAF C-17 because superior range = fewer fuel stops; changing 'stop for fuel' to 'stop for more cargo'
It's just so much fun.

Eventually however, you hear over the radio that they're about finished reloading the C-17. You were at around 17,000 meters at the time, testing how high you could go without losing too much stability.

<<Very well then. Dekabrist, coming in for landing.>>

You roll onto your back and pull a gentle split-s towards the deck, decelerating as you level out at less than 100 meters and coming in for a landing not far from the C-17, where you see Eli and Ruya standing rather close to each other, watching you as you land. Eli has a couple of straws in her hand.

"What is that?"

"Drawin' straws," Ruya says. "We'll be escorted by a Super Hornet to the extent of its range to the southeast, then refuel and head in a northward curve to Caracas." She pulls out a smartphone, pulls up a map application, and draws a rough map of the flight path:

Spoiler: Rough Map

"And the straws are for...?"

"The flight distance from the refueling point to Caracas is around 5,300 miles," Eli says with a small cough. "Well over any of our flight ranges, or the flight range of the Super Hornet - and the Navy doesn't want to send up any more tankers than it absolutely has to. So we'll be taking turns. And the only fair way to decide who gets what is with straws."

She holds the straws in her fist out for the three of you to pick.

"Long straw gets the first turn, middle straw gets the middle turn, short straw gets the last turn."

---

[ ] Straw 1 Long
[ ] Straw 2 Medium
[ ] Straw 3 Short

 

[Zoosmell]

---

[><] Straw 3 (Short)

---

You grab a straw, Ruya grabs another, and the two of you pull your straws out of Eli's fist.

Unless the one in Eli's fist is shorter than it appears, the straw now in your hand is the short one.

"Looks like you got the jungle leg, Klava," she says. "Let's go, then. Cargo plane is waiting."

The three of you climb into the back of the C-17 as its engines start up, this time with you sitting next to Eli.

Spoiler: Cargo bay

There is much less room than before, most of it taken up by weapons and ammunition crates, though a few of the ones you can see contain food as well. Apart from yourselves, there's a number of Australian and Liberion personnel onboard. You obviously don't recognize the patches of any of them, but Eli says that most of them are engineers, with a few infantry and supply here and there.

"Is the situation in Colombia really that bad?"

"Weeeeellll, that may be part of it. But most of it is - officially at least - Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base just isn't big enough to serve as a major air base for very long. So they plan on using Simon Bolivar International until they can build a bigger one... unless these Neuroi are total pushovers. Either way they'll need engineers... and a fuckload of anti-air."

"But Colombia is not so badly off that it needs so much outside help to defend its own capital... does it?"

Eli smirks. "Karlsland had one of the most advanced air forces in the world when the Second Neuroi War broke out, and Moscow was the most heavily defended city on Earth. That didn't help them very much then, did it?"

"..."

"And we're not the only ones heading there, either. They're probably sending more cargo planes from Liberion to Aztlan, Colombia, and Amazonas right now. And if I know our president, she'll be drawing up an executive order to shift everything over to wartime production that she can. Hell she may even try suggesting food and gas rationing, though that may have to wait until after the election if she wants a chance."

You are half-tempted to mention something about Liberion culture's obsession with food, but decide against it.

---

[ ] Keep talking
- [ ] with Eli
- [ ] Talk to Ruya instead
-[ ] Change subject to
-- [ ] Small talk (Write-in)
-- [ ] 50X Caribbean
--- [ ] Caracas
-- [ ] Their careers so far
-- [ ] The Neuroi
--- [ ] Coming battles
--- [ ] Other (write-in)
-- [ ] Write-in another topic
- [ ] Make the comment anyway
[ ] Take a nap
[ ] Check phone
- [ ] For news
- [ ] For texts/calls
- [ ] Other
[ ] Write-in