Operation: Daredevil
Location: Gunther Bay
"Hey, Dumbass! If you want to bring the world back from the brink, go to the lighthouse. You can see the future there!" - Avril Mead
The base commander enters the room with Tactician by his side. The pilots of the 22nd Fighter Wing cut their chatter and stand to attention. "At ease. At ease." The pilots all sit down as the base commander pulls up a holographic display of the recreation of Operation Customs Rejection. "I got a furious call from high command because of this. Luckily they weren't going to have me tried for incompetence; I have to thank you all for putting up a stiff fight and doing everything you can. Debriefing first, then hopefully the last briefing of this damn war."
"I remember hearing that for the last mission." Magician Squadron's leader murmurs
"And you f***ed up the last mission. You people lost against five pilots! FIVE! You got 4 minutes to explain yourself, Kaito." The base commander points at the holographic display, now broadcasting how Dere Flight folded Magician Squadron.
"Those weren't rookies. They outmatched us in skill and equipment."
"Neither are you, people. Where did you fight this war? In the hangars?"
"Sir. They had a growler. We couldn't get a lock on them."
"It says that you did and launched a full barrage but missed. Are you going to blame Grunder Industry for faulty equipment?"
"Sir…"
"Those are from Dere Flight. Ji barely held them off." Dress Sword stands up to vouch for Kaito, "No offense, sir, but compared to Polearm Flight, the entirety of Magician Squadron is greener than staring at a grass field in the morning with NVGs."
"What does that mean?"
"You see nothing but green."
Some of the other pilots chuckle at Dress Sword's analogy.
"You are saying I shouldn't have put them on combat air patrol? You telling me how things are run here, pilot?"
"No sir, but I'm simply stating the fact that Polearm is the only flight that could stand toe to toe with that menace. Magician Squadron's failure is to be expected if Dere Flight is their interception target.
The base commander looks back at the holographic display. The battle between Dere Flight and Polearm arm commences with blue and white arrows flying around, tossing little lines representing missiles. As Dress Sword stated, the base commander witnesses firsthand how Polearm Squadron barely pulled a victory out of the jaws of defeat.
"Kaito. Your squadron needs more practice. Unfortunately… We don't have that opportunity. Dress Sword, your flight needs to be more general purpose. Take a lesson from Sledgehammer before the next war Osea has to fight. Range Squadron, there isn't much to say. You people successfully destroyed the convoy running along Highway 93 and hampered the aerial capabilities of the enemy airfields within the AO."
The base commander pulls the focus away from Shilage and towards Gurther Bay, focusing on the space elevator. "The Radicals have gathered their forces around the space elevator and are intending to hold onto it. You give these war-hungry lunatics a source of energy. These f***ers are going to use it to keep fighting back. Can't let that happen, can we?"
"Yes, sir!" The pilots answer in unison.
"In response, Osean Southern Command is coordinating a full-scale combined arms amphibious operation with Erusean Conservatives to take down that bird and capture the space elevator. Our job is to join the saturation attack against the arsenal bird alongside our fellow airmen and seamen, codename Operation Daredevil."
"Has the source been verified?"
"Could be fake. That island isn't a very good spot to hold a last stand."
"I hear you. However, take a listen to this." The base commander clicks on an icon label on the Space Elevator.
"Hey Dumbass! If you want to bring the world back from the brink, go to the lighthouse. You can see the future there!"
"Dumbass?" The squadron leaders look at each other in confusion. They collectively shake their heads.
"Live broadcast by the new mascot of the 444th Fighter Squadron, Avril Mead. It's a message to all onlookers who want to end this war."
"Who's attending this mission?" Arquebus, the squadron leader for Range Squadron, raises her hand to ask the base commander.
"Everyone. LRSSG, Salamander Squadron, Gargoyle Squadron, Sol Squadron… If I had to list names, you would be here scribbling until both your hands go numb." The base commander pulls up a screen worth of names from all the pilots attending the mission. There are many well-known aces on both sides of the war written side by side alongside countless unknown pilots silently performing their tasks throughout the entire war. Today, they unite under one banner for the final battle of the Lighthouse War.
"You may have noticed a few new faces in our wing. They had to, unfortunately, split the 19th Fighter Wing up and spread their remaining pilots among the 15th and us to fill our losses. Don't be shy. Say hi." The pilots transferred from the 19th stand to introduce themselves. There were nine in total. Four were assigned to Melee Squadron, while the remaining five were assigned to Magician Squadron as a replacement flight.
"There are also some Eruseans joining us," Ji stands up with Mayadere leaning against him,
"Dere Flight will be an additional flight added to Melee Squadron." Ji pats Mayadere's back, "Don't be shy. The OADF is now your new home."
"Uhm… Hi.." Mayadere waves at the Osean pilots from behind Ji's back, "I'm… Mayadere. The Erusean Ace who is seen piloting a J-20 and the flight leader of Dere Flight and formerly the Squadron leader of Far East Squadron." She nudges Ji to sit down after her awkward presentation while the male pilots cheer in excitement. As soon as Maydere sits down, Sadodere drags Qiang up.
"I'm Sadodere, Dere Flight's dogfighting expert. I'm also proficient with using HVAAs and EMLs. During Dere Flight's engagement, I was shot down and had to save this kid. He got his foot stuck in the ground after landing."
"Shut… up!"
Qiang growls for Sadodere to hush, but Sadodere pinches Qiang until he stops complaining; then, she dumps out the entire story of how she yanked Qiang's foot out from under a root. The other pilots wheeze and slap their legs while Qiang sits down, wishing he could turn to mist and disappear, while Sadodere bathes in the attention and acts as the host for the other members of Dere Flight to bounce off in their introduction. In their introduction, the female pilots recorded two official couples: Ji and Mayadere's relationship and Mao and Kuudere's. In addition, an unofficial CP between Sadodere and Qiang is registered, much to Qiang's disapproval. Meanwhile, the male pilots try their luck throwing pickup lines at the unclaimed girls. None of their attempts stick to Sadodere or Dorodere, as expected.
"Gentlemen. Ladies." Tactician clears his throat. The chaotic brief room quiets down, and the base commander again takes the floor.
"I'm glad the new members feel right at home here. Ladies, Gentlemen, Let's go roast that bird!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The base commander looks at his watch, "Time to fly. Operation Daredevil begins now."
"Magician Squadron. Begin your takeoff! Range Squadron, move to runway."
"Gunpowder Flight! Refueling complete! Follow behind Bow Flight."
"Get those B-2 Spirits out of f***ing way! Who said Phantom Squadron could get on the taxiway?"
"Control to Blade Flight, head for backup runway 92 and prepare for takeoff!"
"Clear a path! We need to get these AAM pods to Dere Flight and Polearm Flight!"
"Blunt Flight, you are clear for takeoff."
'Wish us luck, Control."
"IFF update on Dere Flight complete!"
"Cruise missiles are locked and loaded on Lancer Squadron."
"Blade Flight, takeoff."
"There is no Growler in our inventory!"
"Forget it! We don't need an ECM plane for this operation. Put Kuudere in a regular hornet. She will do fine! Now get her on the tarmac."
"Polearm Flight, taxi to runway 90 and prepare for take off."
Every plane at the airbase shuffles around the taxiway with the aircraft tugs chaotically. The control tower and air marshalls do their best to coordinate traffic, but congestions still occur regularly. The wrong squadron or flight cuts the line or gets stuck in traffic waiting for someone else to take off. Eventually, all the aircraft from the 22nd Fighter Wing, alongside a squadron of four B-2 Spirits and a squadron of 6 B-1B lancers, liftoff from an airfield near Anchorhead and fly southeast towards the space elevator.
"Melee Squadron. Roll call."
"This is Sledgehammer. All units present, over."
"This is Ji. All units present, over."
"This is Mayadere, All units present, over."
"This is Dress Sword. All units present Tactician. Over."
Melee Squadron spreads out into a finger four formation*, each flight taking up a v formation while in their finger position in the finger four formations.
"I see the couples have matching special weapons." Broadsword comments on Ji and Mayadere's weapon loadout. Both of them are using 8AAM missile pods.
"Need all the ammo I can load onto my bird for the duck hunt today."
"Okay… Got the mission update. You, people, have 12 minutes to clean up the airspace around the space elevator so the Osean Fleet and the other strike craft can launch a saturated attack against the arsenal bird. The Radicals got a considerably sized fleet of aircraft patrolling the area, but then again, those are probably all manned by rookies. Nothing you people can't handle."
"Thanks, Tactician."
"Just doing my job, Mayadere. No need to thank me."
"Tactician, no way you are the only AWACS in charge of supporting us in this massive furball?"
"You kidding? F*ck no. There are other AWACS. Long Caster will be attending. Sky Keeper will also be attending as support. I think an Erusean AWACS is joining us, but I forgot the callsign.
"If only it were Gal." Mayadere sighs, "Oh well, the best I can do is win the war for her."
"I heard what happened. Don't stress too much over it. Win the war for her, do what you can to make up for what happened and try not to get too hung up on it." Tactician comforts Mayadere over the radio.
"We could clear up her name once the war is over, build her a plaque and bring flowers for her every year," Ji joins in, "If you feel her haunting your dream, I'm here for you. In the end, only you are able to forgive yourself."
"What's with all this negativity?" Sledgehammer jumps into the conversation, "The past is the past. Mistakes were made. Let's talk about the bright future ahead."
"So, Miss Mayadere, when is the wedding?"
"What? That… Uhm… That's a bit too personal, isn't it, Mao?"
"Personal? We all heard your flirting and dirty talks to Ji over the entire squadron's frequency."
"Wait! YOU ALL HEARD IT?"
Ji awkwardly whistles while every pilot in Melee Squadron except for the four new faces replies with an enthusiastic yes.
"Think of it this way, now that you revealed your cards and staked out your turf, no one will take Ji away or try to flirt with you; anyone who doesn't want two AAMs jammed up their assholes, of course." Sadodere 'comforts' Mayadere through the intercom.
"It doesn't work like that… That doesn't help!"
"Awh, Dere Flight's leader is a shy cutie." Sledgehammer chuckles at the gap moe displayed by Mayadere, whose fog machine is working at overdrive.
"Ey, Ey, Ey. I'm going to get upset if y'all keep bullying my future wife."
"Finally going to start stabbing your brothers in the arm for a girl?" Ge chuckles, "I'm glad everything turned out great for you. When am I going to be a non-blood-related uncle?"
"When the time is right for him." Tactician answers Ge's question, "There is no need to pressure him."
"Just asking, though we all have a hand in this matter. You, Mao and Chan Zhang have the biggest hand. Nice performance, Tactician."
"Indeed it was." Dress Sword claps his hand while og members of Melee Squadron snicker at the comment.
"What happened exactly, Ji?" Kuudere and Dorodere decide to ask the victim.
"I will tell you, ladies, after we land. I want to watch Mayadere throw fists."
"Kuudere, please. You got to save me. She's gonna kill me if she knows." Mao begs Kuudere to forget about her question.
"Now I interested."
"Oh, f***..." Mao, Qiang and Tactician sit up in their seat as a hostile chill runs down their spines.
"How about let's talk about some other stuff?" Qiang clears his throat, "Is Far East Squadron considered an idol squadron in the EAF? The LRSSG is considered within the OADF. Everyone knows the name Trigger, Count, Huxian and… what was it; Right, Jaeger."
"Just us in Dere Flight. We are the Walkures* of the EAF! Except we kick mountains of ass in singing and aerial combat!
"Of course, the flower pot knows when it's being looked at," Chan Zhang voices his comments about Kamidere.
"Almost nearing the objective."
"Jesus Christ, Look at the amount of dots on the radar."
"Updating your IFFs right now… Also," Music starts flowing out from Tacticians AWACS and into the public frequency for the entire 22nd Fighter Wing.
"Whose' drugging up* the intercom?"
"Don't be a killjoy, Dress Sword."
"Never said I don't like the idea."
"I got the whole album abroad. Your favorite songs will cycle in eventually." Tactician reassures Dress Sword and other pilots their favorite single from Walkure will be played, "Now kick some ass and put up a good show!"
"Well said, Tactician. This is AWACS Sky Keeper. Tactician, I need your fighters to help deal with the Radical fighters approaching from the North."
The four fingers of Melee Squadron each go after a swarm of Radical aircraft. The sky turns into a free for all buffet as each flight tears into the Radical formation without mercy. As expected, most of the enemy aircraft are rookies who can't get a lock on Melee's pilots or shake a lock. Some put up a brave fight, breaking and diving until they are taken down by a well-placed missile or a long burst from autocannons; others go down in doves without making any maneuvers.
"Fox-3 Fox-3." Ji opens his 8AAM pods and fires eight missiles at a formation of Su-47s flying in a straight line in front of him. Only one manages to break down with the help of countermeasures. The rest all explode in mid-air.
"Honey. You missed one." Mayadere fires two dogfighting missiles and downs the remaining jet, "You changed so much since the last time we flew side by side. I remember back then you would hold back and spam LAAMs without a care in the world."
"Still do. Still do. You surprised me when you were using LAAMs against me last fight. You used to scold me for taking the fun out of a good aerial fight."
"I never realized whack a mole was so fun back then. By the way, two groups of Radicals. Su-35s and YF-23s. Take your pick."
"I will go long. You take short. Those don't look like brain-dead rookies. They got some moves."
"That makes the fight more fun, Xiao~."
"Can't argue with that, breaking."
Ji peels away from Mayadere and chases after the group of YF-23s dead ahead of him. He climbs up in altitude and dives on the YF-23s in a high-side gun pass. He downs two of the YF-23s and bites onto the tail of one of the remaining YF-23s. The YF-23 shakes around and drops countermeasures to avoid being shot down by autocannons or dogfighting missiles. Then, as Ji is too focused on lining up his sights, the enemy pilot yanks on the stick and turns towards Ji.
"Sh*t!" Ji sees the enemy pilot on his rear through the rear mirror and begins flying evasively, "Ge, Qiang, Chan Zhang, Mao. Need some help here. I got; Jesus Christ! I got two black widows trying to devour me."
"Moving the intercept, bring them to me." Ge finishes up a Radical Super Hornet and turns to help Ji. He spots the two YF-23s and begins his dive and slice turn. Once he gains enough speed, he points to a location Ji will be flying past and squeezes right behind the Radical jets. Both black widows fall out of the sky after being hit by a barrage of four AAMs.
"Your tail is free again."
"Thanks, those two surprised me. Still not used to fighting with 8AAMs."
"You had some problems, Darling? Are you hurt?"
"Other than a slight heart attack, I'm fine, Shen Hua."
"That's good to hear. Also, Xiao, what is with the decal on your new Tomcat? Why is there a skull on your vertical stabilizer?"
"That? That's my decal from the Circum Pacific War. Me and Mei Ling were part of VFA-103, the Jolly Rogers*."
"Ohhh! I know them, the pirates of the ONDF! You were a pirate?"
"You could say that… We did do a lot of commerce raiding above the Cere Ocean." Ji chuckles,
"Yo ho ho and away we go."
"Send these missiles and those ships will blow."
"For Harling we fight and the treasures they told."
"Never use a sparrow when you have a phoenix hanging below."
Mao's limerick made Ji and a few other F-14 pilots wheeze. Even a few of the Radicials listening on the open channel laugh out loud at the parody of a popular sh*tposting limerick* from a few months ago. The accent is also on par with what a stereotypical pirate sounds like.
"Dear god! There are so many of them." Dorodere clicks on her trigger, "Damnit! Out of autocannon rounds!"
"Oh f***ing hell! There are more Radicals arriving?" Tacitican exclaims to himself and orders fighters to intercept.
"Get into formation. We have the numbers!" Sky keeper orders the fighters fighting solo to form into ragtag pairs.
"This is AWACS Long Caster of the LRSSG. Arriving to support."
From the northeast, two squadrons of aircraft approach the lighthouse. At the lead of both squadrons is an F-22 with three scratches on its vertical elevator.
"Well, if it isn't the LRSSG, looks like our luck has turned. LRSSG, you will secure air superiority."
"That f***ing demon!"
"Kuudere! Engagement prohibited!
"I know, I know. We need all the firepower we can get. However… Tactician. Mind if you help me ferry a message?"
"Okay? This is the LRSSG's frequency."
Kuudere tunes to the correct channel, "HEY TRIGGER! F*** YOU! I hope you rest in piss after this battle!" She quickly switches back to Melee Squadron's frequency.
"I'm going to be in a lot of sh*t after this battle. Long Caster will hang me for letting you insult trigger like that."
"Attention, hostile aircraft approaching the AO. Magician and Melee, intercept immediately!"
"Sky Keeper's orders. Come on, let's get to work."
"My god, there is a lot of them…"
"To all those gathered here, regardless of your country. This is headquarters of the Osean Army Southern Command. Wait… You can forget that designation. We are a coalition formed exclusively for the sole purpose of taking down the Arsenal Bird! Wait until we are ready to strike the Arsenal Bird in unison."
"And when is that?" Sledgehammer asks Tactician.
"In eight minutes."
"This is Skoll Squadron and Rigel Squadron of the EAF. We are here alone. Entering your airspace, Long Caster."
"Understood… Tactician! Tell your boys to turn around. Those are allies!"
"Melee Squadron, Magician Squadron. Don't engage the Erusean Fighters ahead. They are friendly! Updating your IFFs now."
"Polearm, moving to intercept new targets."
"Follwing right behind you, Ji~."
"This is Sol 2, Republic of Voslage are also moving to rendezvous. There's only one squadron though."
"It's Mister X's crew!" Sadodere exclaims, "All the superstars of the sky are here. There is no way those radicals will win!"
With the help of the reinforcing aircraft, the coalition makes quick work of the Radical aircraft in the AO and arriving to the AO. After about five minutes, the coalition was hunting Radical jets trying to escape the space elevator.
"Okay. Time to take a bit of a breather. Ammo check."
"Blade Flight out of ammo, leaving the AO."
"Blunt Flight, two aircraft still combat capable."
"Polearm Flight, all aircraft combat capable."
"Dere Flight, all aircraft combat capable."
The aircrafts that are low on fuel and ammo or beaten up badly in the furball quickly break away and head for the mainland.
"So, Tactician, have you been keeping tabs on the score?"
"In this mess? Give me a break. I never started counting."
"My bet is I got more kills than you, Xiao~." Mayadere teases Ji
"Really? Wanna bet? Loser is bottom for our first time~."
"Woah Woah Woah! That's way too much at stake here." Qiang and Ge urge Ji to rethink his bets.
"That's the fun part. No balls if you pull out!" Sadodere and Chan Zhang stoke the fire from the side.
"Bring it! One additional rule,"
"Say it, darling."
"If you have to eject, your kill resets to zero."
"Fine. I accept. Starting now?"
"Of course." Mayadere claps her hands, "Ladies, count for me."
"Sure thing, boss."
"Ai, Ai."
"Pin that cocky boy to the bed, Mayadere!"
"Tsh.~" Ji dismissively chuckles, "Gents, keep track of my score."
"You got this, guardian angel!"
"Sure thing, flight leader."
"What bother? You win either way,"
"Shut up and count, Chan Zhang. You are…"
"Alert. Missiles launched from the Arsenal Bird! There are helios projectiles! All aircraft, stay clear of the blast area."
"I marked the blast radius on your radars. Get of there if you are in it!"
Ten seconds to impact."
"That's too close for comfort!"
"Three two one, Impact!"
A purple orb erupts in the air with an intensity that rivals the sun. The pilots flying just out of range shield their eyes by instinct as the light penetrates the thick visors on their helmets.
"Woah! I felt that in my teeth, Xiao. Dear god…"
"I felt that explosive wave vibrates through my body. Hey Tactician! Any more incoming?"
"Long Caster says stay vigilant."
"Okay."
About a minute later, Long Caster sounds the alarm. This time the helios are changed to airburst type. This time it takes out ten fighters from the coalition.
"When is the arsenal bird going to enter the AO?"
"Roughly two minutes."
"Warming, helios projectiles incoming!"
"For f*** sakes…"
After another two minutes of flying aimlessly and dodging the Arsenal Bird's AOE attacks, multiple B-2 Spirits, B-1B lancers and a couple of B-52 Stratosphere Bombers arrive with their weapons bay opened.
"Ten seconds to united attack on the Arsenal Bird!"
A white fortress spanning hundreds of meters emerges from the thick layer of clouds surrounding the space elevator. Its immense size and the altitude it's flying at cast a dark shadow over the artificial island built for the space elevator. It lives up to its name. Ji counts at least 50 dots clustered on both of its enormous wings, the MQ-101s this behemoth carries to kill its foes.
"Holy… I never seen anything like this before." Qiang drops his jaw.
"So… This is… The arsenal bird… Dear god…" Mao swallows his breath.
"Do we even have enough ammo to take that thing on?" Kuudere murmurs to herself.
"F*** this! Have fun, goodbye!" Kamidere breaks away from Dere Flight and heads for the mainland, claiming she is out of juice for her TLS.
"Coward…" Mayadere makes a spitting sound, "Don't panic. Something that big only serves as a target for everyone. Give it all you got!"
The bombers drop their cruise missiles; The warships launch their SAMs and anti-orbit missiles at the Arsenal Bird. The jets carrying LAAMs target the super weapon and fire everything they have. The coalition launched a hail of missiles so thick it blocked out the sun on its way to the target. The combined firepower should rip the Arsenal Bird sheet by sheet with each explosion and render it nothing but a rain of scrap in mid-air. Fate doesn't talk in theoreticals. An azur color circle floats above the Arsenal Bird as the missiles draw closer. The coalition's aircraft feel an intense wave of electrostatic interference.
"WTF is this sh*t?"
"LOOK! LOOK!!"
To the horror of every pilot and sailor, the circle expands into a blue energy sphere that surrounds the entirety of the Arsenal Bird. The missiles smash into the energy shield, and they collectively create a black dust cloud around the Arsenal Bird, which flies through it with its shield fading in and out of existence.
"Oh no…"
"We are more f***ed than a king without a male heir."
"Hold it together, Ge. Don't retreat unless high command gives the order. We got trigger on our side and every ace in the EAF that is still alive."
"Warning, multiple bibs detected on radar."
"Melee Squadron. Weapons hot! Take out these f***ing drones!" Ji speeds ahead with Mayadere close behind him. The 11 remaining aircraft split up and dives into two swarms of 20 Erusean Drones. The drones deploy countermeasures while turning and diving like the missiles chasing them. They complete high G turns enough to snap apart every aircraft chasing them. As such, only a combined total of 8 drones are shot down.
"If only Dress Sword were here!" Sledgehammer rocks back and forwards in his Su-34 until two fatal missiles kill his engine, "Sh*t! I'm bailing out!"
"Same here! My bird can't take it! The other Blunt Flight member also bails out after the drones set his plane on fire."
"Oh, Mei Ling. Please save my crew in this sh*tstorm!" Ji dives into the clouds with a string of drones on his tail.
"F***! F***! I'm hit, I'm hit! I'm going to make it! Ejecting now!" Chan Zhang's panicked screaming fills Ji's ears. He could picture Chan Zhang's plane torn apart by these soulless copies of some ace pilot. He knows he will have the same fate if he isn't careful. Ji dives down to the surface and pulls parallel to the water. The drones fail to pull up in time due to signal delay caused by the thick clouds and plunge into the water. Ji lets out a relieved sigh, which is immediately sucked back when he sees the charred remains of the Osea destroyers and cruisers capsized in the bay.
"All aircraft. We can no longer commerce with the second saturation attack."
'No sh*t! The entire fleet is on its way to the bottom of Gunther Bay!'
"All aircraft, Separately engage in direct attacks!"
'They want us to do what?' Ji yanks the stick and tries to get a hold of Tactician, "What does HQ want us to do?"
"Shoot at it, individually!"
"Are they nuts? We can't even hurt that thing in a group, let alone ourselves. What's their game plan?"
"Uhm… Uhm…"
"Answer the question, Tactician!"
"THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT IT! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?"
Ji nearly crashes into the arsenal bird from underneath after losing his mind for a couple of seconds.
"SON OF A…"
"Hon. Yelling at the boy won't solve anything." Mayadere takes out a drone on Ji's tail and flies next to him. She gives Ji a thumbs up before continuing, "If they don't have a plan right now, we will carry out our plan at the moment."
"Like what? The APS is on at all times right now! Nothing we have can get through it! Even if we could, nothing we carry can scratch more than paint off that damn fortress."
"We can take out the drones and increase the chances that Sol Squadron or the LRSSG could shoot it down." Kuudere answers Ji question, "Buy time for a miracle."
"Okay… Let's go with that plan." Ji opens his switches to his dogfighting missiles, "Bring it! You faceless soldiers!"
"That's the Ji I know. Let's dance like the old days."
"Lead the way, Shen Hua" Mayadere and Ji fly side by side toward the cloud of drones returning to the arsenal bird. They down three drones each before turning away. To both of their surprise, the drones didn't turn to chase them. After a few evasive maneuvers, the drones continue on their original flight path back towards the Arsenal bird.
"I bet they must be out of missiles and shells!"
"That means the Arsenal Bird must drop its APS for the drones to dock!"
"Tactician! Rally up any survivors nearby! Converge on the Arsenal Bird! The shield is about to drop!"
"How do you know?"
"A big swarm of little triangles needs their mommy to feed them fuel and ammo! Of course Mommy is going to open the door!"
"Okay! All aircraft converge on the Arsenal Bird."
The blue energy shield around the Arsenal Bird flickers. Once, twice, the blue energy shield dissipates into the blue background and the drones race to dock like students racing for the cafeteria at lunchtime.
"Lock on, you-- HOLY SH*T!! EVADE!! EVADE EVADE!!" Missiles lift off from the Arsenal Bird in clusters of eight and turn toward the incoming attackers. Ji's VWS blares louder than before as he sees six missiles flying toward him from his sides and rear. He spams his countermeasures while breaking right as hard as he can. He feels the explosive impact of one of the missiles rocks his jet.
"Going down! Going down!" Mao and Kuudere yank on their ejection handle and escape their jets before they explode in mid-air.
"What f***ing firepower did they put in this thing when they built this?" Ge, Qiang and Dorodere brave through the missiles and return the favor. "Yes! Knocked out two launchers and two side propellers."
"Wait! The blue circle! The APS is being deployed! Break! Break!"
The blue energy shield covers the Arsenal Bird and absorbs the coordinated attack. This time, it doesn't even flicker. In addition, all the surviving drones, roughly 30 or 40 of them, are now descending on the coalition's formation. The surviving pilots dance around the Arsenal Bird, waiting for the shield to drop again; however, this time, it refuses to do so. Instead, the drones that have expended their ammo will continue to circle the skies to deceive the ally formation while new drones join the furball through guide rails set up on the ground under the direct command of the Arsenal Bird.
"When is that shield going to lose?" Strider 2 complains over the intercom
"Never. The orbital elevator will continuously supply it with power." Sol 2 replies with a pessimistic tone.
"Then what should we do?" Strider 4 raises her voice
"Calm down! I will think of something."
"What are you going to do?"
"Tactician. Can you destroy the wireless power charger from the outside?"
"Negative Mayadere. You could end up destroying a vital part of the space elevator from the outside and render it inoperable."
"Damn shield! Just go away!" Strider 2 curses.
"Stop caring about protecting that old dead man's legacy. We will be buried with him if we don't do something fast, Tactician!"
"Be gone!"
"I don't have the layout of the space elevator, Dorodere. I don't know what you should target other than just shoot at the space elevator! There are about a few thousand refugees under it, and I'm not going to be the one responsible for ordering you to kill them by accident!" Tactician claps back, growling at Dorodere.
"Disappear!"
"Gone cuckoo, Count?" Strider 4 asks his partner.
"Away with you!"
The blue energy shield flickers once. Holes begin to form and quickly spread out like mold on bread. The energy shield dissolves in front of everyone.
"What f***ing wizard does the LRSSG have?" Qiang exclaims in utter disbelief.
"Ha? Just what kind of magic did you work there, you asshole?" Strider 4 breaks towards the Arsenal Bird.
"It wasn't magic. It's a scam. Now is our chance! Do it trigger!"
"I had about enough of your bullsh*t. You slow white ugly brick with propellers! Die!" Sadodere released her rage with the EML launcher mounted under her Super Hornet. Its mighty sting destroys one of the main propellers and an AAM launcher.
"Enjoy the combined barrage of the Vipers and Rapier! On you, Ji."
"Fox-3!" Ji launches his final barrage with Mayadere and Ge. He detaches his 8AAM pods and watches the 20 missiles tear off the armor plating of the Arsenal Bird, setting off four fuel explosions that reveal parts of its skeleton for all to see.
"Putting your phoenixes' safety pin around my ring finger would make for one hell of a badass wedding, Xiao~. Especially in front of this."
"That would be. Definitely."
One piece by another, the coalition tears the Arsenal Bird apart with whatever they still have. Ultimately, Three Strikes would deliver the fatal blow that snapped the superweapon in half. The Arsenal Bird folds itself to the right before dropping into the ocean like a sack of rocks. The water columns released by the impact jump a couple of dozen meters above the surface of the sea before returning down. Cheers erupt from the radio, Erusean and Oseans together, celebrating the end of hostilities after fighting a pointless war started by some Radicals with Belkan technology.
"All units! RTB!"
If only the war could end so easily…
"Caution! Two Bogey's approaching the space elevator! Heading 49, Angel 2.5, unknown aircraft type!"
"It's firing! I'm hit!"
The two new unknowns descend on the survivors like sharks. They gobbled up everything in their paths with their TLS and missiles without a second thought. Their unusual silhouette gives them an edge against every fighter still in the air, and they pull off high G maneuvers that even the most skilled pilot would call broken. Most pilots stood no chance… Only a hand full escaped, broken and battered.
"I'm hit! I'm hit! Ejecting!" Mayadere yanks on her eject handle. The canopy blasts open, and the rocket motor underneath her seat sends her out of the burning jet. The sensors onboard set her falling upright before automatically detaching. The parachute will automatically open in the next 2-3 seconds, and her slow descent should begin; should begin. Ji watches in horror as her parachute bag, and the parachute inside get tangled up, failing to deploy.
"I need a plan, Tactician! My future wife is dropping like a coin thrown off the space elevator."
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Geez, thanks a lot." Ji dives toward Mayadere, "Can I manually adjust the rocket thrusters midflight with the new ejection seats?"
"I think so! Yeah! You can make slight adjustments! I can also remote control it to help you adjust it."
"Good enough." Ji buzzes past Mayadere at full speed. He yanks the plane around at a safe distance and flies towards her.
"You got to time this very carefully. One f*** up, and she will be coated over your canopy!"
"You don't need to tell me that." Ji shifts the plane away but still runs parallel to Mayadere.
"Shen Hua. I won't run away this time!"
'One… Two… Three…Four… Five… NOW!!' Ji ejects from his plane just went it flies past Mayadere.
"What happened next, Mama?" A young girl about six years old reaches to hold her hand. Shen Hua reaches down to pick up her daughter and lets her sit on her lap. It's been seven years since the lighthouse war. She was no longer Mayadere but Shen Hua. Ji is now officially Xiao. He is no longer her wingman for sorties but a wingman for her and her only until the end of her time. As Xiao promised, he took her to Oured and the two married the following year with all of their comrades attending the wedding. It's a miracle everyone pulled through the final battle.
Now, she sits on the living room sofa, staring out of a luxurious apartment at the Yarrow River. Xiao is in the kitchen, preparing their favorite dish.
"Yeah, Mama, what happened?" A young boy around the same age as the daughter tugs on her shirt. She pats her son on the head with a smile, "Give Mama some time… Hmmm, Daddy grabbed me from behind and opened his parachute. I was scared to death by your dad's reckless actions. I kinda scolded him in mid-air. Then I kissed him and thanked him for saving my life. We drifted to the ground, and a photographer took a picture of us together just before we landed. It's a very famous photo titled Coalition."
"COOL!! I wanna be like Papa when I grow up! So I can find someone like Mama to take care of." Mayadere giggles at her son's cute comment and kisses him on the cheek. "Don't be like your dad when you grow up. You could end up getting hurt very badly."
"Then what happened, Mama?" Her daughter looks at her wedding photo with Xiao. Xiao also delivered on his other promise. He did put Shen Hua in a Qi Pao when they finally married.
"Then the Princess of Erusea officially ended this war of Ours."
