Chapter Twenty-Three: Two Birds, One Stone
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Erusean Air and Space Administration, Erusea.
August 13th, 2019.
1640hrs.
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The receiver on the old fashioned phone clicked as Mihaly set it back down, ending the call with the Erusean agent he was speaking with. After some subtle prodding around the EASA base, he'd managed to learn the name of an active Erusean agent that was currently working to undermine Osea's next operations. But Mihaly didn't care about what the agent was doing. What he did care about was Osea's most recent attack, and the fact that a pilot with three scratches on his tail and a red wing had shown up leading one of the flights that conducted the operation to destroy Erusea's resupply base in Snider's Top. However, it was an F-15 and not an F-2 that had been there, and the red wing confirmed some connection to the infamous Solo Wing Pixy.
From the photographs that he'd seen that someone managed to snap while retreating the marine base, it looked like this pilot had not only stylized his three strikes, but also gave the red wing a new look. It didn't reach the body of the aircraft, fading to gray halfway up the wing. The flying style was the same as the pilot from Yinshi, aggressive and fast, leaving his target little time to recover from the first blow before moving in for the second. Apparently this pilot also chose to fly through their northernmost platform, destroying it with some new laser weaponry. Mihaly found himself a little jealous of the fancy weapon, actually. It did a hell of a lot of damage in just a few hits.
The general let his mind wander for just a moment, wondering if Dr. Schroeder knew if Gründer Industries was working on any new weapons. It would work much better than the standard special weaponry that Mihaly was stuck using. Being part of the experimental squadron usually meant that they'd get several new toys to try out, be it aircraft or some ridiculously designed weapon. However, that was when there wasn't a war going on. Right now they had the drones as their main project, focusing on improving them with Mihaly's data rather than allowing him to try out anything new. But he was content with that. He got to fly and continue to defend his throne. The King of the Skies accomplished his feats without any aid. Not that it wouldn't be fun to fly with a weapon that had more...kick to it.
Mihaly shook his head, clearing his thoughts so that he could finish scribbling down the name and number of the Erusean double-agent in case he forgot. His codename was Glitnir, and he had told Mihaly that he also had an interest in this pilot. According to him, two of his comrades that were now presumably captured had this pilot under their command, and that they were supposed to continue gathering information about him. Glitnir said that once some things were confirmed and the file they had on this three strikes was updated, he'd send a copy to Mihaly so that he could look it over and learn just who his enemy was. It was only fair. The Osean military almost definitely had intel on him that — with the proper clearance, of course — Three Strikes could probably just look up whenever he wanted.
Not that it bothered him. Putting a face to the enemy was something many people did, and something most people needed. For others it made the 'bad guys' less intimidating. If they had a face, then that told you that they were humans like you, not mindless, faceless monsters. For some, it gave them closure and guilt for their kills. For others, it fueled their hatred and will to fight. For Mihaly, it was all a part of his process. He learned as much as he could about pilots he'd downed. Those that were documented aces, at least. It gave him motivation. It gave him understanding. More importantly, he thought he could honor them better that way. The longer they survived against him, the better.
Three Strikes seemed to have no face. He just had symbols. Mihaly wasn't afraid of him, but rather intrigued. Three Strikes was the only pilot in all of Mihaly's career that had managed to get a hit on him, with the exception of Yellow 13. However, that wasn't an official hit. Still, Three Strikes had skill, endurance, and obviously some sort of foolish courage to perform the stunts that Mihaly had either heard of or seen himself. The fact that already this pilot had made a name for himself instead of crashing nose first into the ground was surprising. Mihaly needed to learn more. And when the time came to face Three Strikes, he would be fully prepared. Nothing was going to get in his way at this point.
A knock on the door brought Mihaly out of his thoughts, but it didn't startled him. He turned to look at the door, figuring that it was one of his wingmen. Who else could it possibly be? Ionela or Alma, perhaps, but they had a distinct knock that was soft and had rhythm to it. This knock had nothing. It was just hard and quick. "Come in," he called out, neatly folding the piece of paper with the writing he needed on it. The door opened just as Mihaly closed the drawer in his nightstand, slipping the paper into it on top of the journal that he kept to document his sorties. As he turned around, he saw Wit standing in the doorway, a curious look on his face. Mihaly, ever patient with him, didn't allow Wit to bring up the scrap of paper or what Mihaly was doing. "I assume you came for something important?"
"Yes, sir," Wit said quickly in reply. "We need to prep for an operation. They don't want to send the drones in to intercept until they're sure of Osea's next move. Schroeder says they've taken too many losses recently. The IUN is launching another attack nearing Erusean territory." He stepped aside to allow Mihaly to exit, and shut the door behind him as the two quickly started down the hall. Mihaly barely glanced at him, picking up a brisk pace. Wit, ever confident in Sol Squadron's abilities, continued, "It should be an easy mission. It's that smaller squadron we've run into a couple of times before. All we have to do is chase them off and head home. No reason why there should be any complications."
"I know for a fact that I've told you never to underestimate your enemy," Mihaly said to him, withholding a sigh. "Their pilots are just as skilled as we are, if not lacking in any sort of teamwork. Ever since we came across them at Chopinburg, they've been more alert. It taught them a lesson as much as it did us. Expect complications and prepare for them so that you're able to counter or prevent them."
"Right," Wit said, almost seeming embarrassed by his own brief moment of cockiness. "Sorry, King."
Now Mihaly allowed a sigh. "I said not to call me that..."
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New Arrows Air Base, East of Usea.
August 15th, 2019.
1027hrs.
Pixy entered Wiseman's office with the major, closing the door with a sigh once they were both inside. Although he had enjoyed spending the morning in the air again, stretching his wings so to speak and confirming that his Eagle was indeed still as maneuverable as ever, he hadn't been too pleased with other outcomes. He'd gone up with Wiseman, Jaeger, and Fencer as his 'wingman' for the training they had planned. Naomi, Count, Tabloid, and Tailor were the subjects of said training. Even odds, more experienced pilots against almost equally skilled pilots, all of them flying the same aircraft.
At first, it was all going well. Naomi led the other three well for most of the fight. In the end, they all started to make more and more slip-ups. Count and Naomi, flying as number two and one respectively, refused to cooperate with the other as the fight progressed. Count broke from their formation, ditching Naomi and the others to take on Jaeger and Fencer by himself. He 'shot down' Jaeger and after about five minutes of chasing each others tails, he was ultimately knocked out of the fight by Fencer. Tabloid and Tailor followed orders well, but Tailor had the most difficulty with his timing. Pixy was worried at first that he'd crash right into Tabloid. Thankfully, Tabloid managed to prevent that from happening.
However, Wiseman and Fencer informed Pixy about Tailor's strengths and weaknesses and all three of them worked to separate him from Naomi and Tabloid when they all regrouped after losing Count. Pixy and Fencer split the two older, more skilled pilots away with some difficulty, and Wiseman managed to take on Tailor with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Tailor managed to evade for a few minutes before Wiseman eventually bested him in the fight. Fencer was eventually taken out of the fight by Naomi when she'd gotten on his tail to protect Tabloid, and she and Tabloid took on Wiseman and Pixy together. Tabloid was eventually out of the fight when he'd been fooled by Pixy.
That had left Naomi up against two pilots. She held her own for a long time, eventually managing to get a lock on Pixy. However, it was broken before the required time for it to count as a kill was reached when Wiseman came up on her six. With all of her wingmen gone, there wasn't anyone to cover her. She and Wiseman evaded for a while before heading after one another head on, taking each other out simultaneously. Of course, both were still flying and after the time was reached they simply broke off in opposite directions to avoid colliding with one another. But Pixy was still alive, marking it as a victory for them. After that they moved on to less exciting activities, Pixy having promised that he'd teach them some of his own special tricks in the air.
Now they were back on the ground, free for the rest of the day. Pixy grunted with effort as he sat down, sighing with relief. He was a little tired after the fight, real or not. At least now he knew that he hadn't lost his touch. But, he was nearly 'killed' by his own daughter, so one could argue that he actually had lost it and was just in denial. Who could say for sure? Pixy knew he couldn't. He sighed, taking a look around the room, finally settling on staring out the window at the sky. "That wasn't the worst mock battle I've ever seen. Things were going fine until Count was out of the picture, come to think of it."
"He was supposed to be covering Trigger," Wiseman said, his voice containing just the slightest hint of annoyance. "Those two work together well for the most part, so long as they're in agreement. The second Count doesn't like an order, he zips off to do whatever and leaves his squadron for dead. One of these days it's going to get him killed for real." He sighed, skimming the file that had been placed on his desk. "We have an operation coming up, too. Briefing is tomorrow morning and we have to spend the rest of the week prepping for it. After that, well...I'm not sure what we're going to do. I'll have to see how things play out. Overall, I need a good way to get Count's head out of his ass."
"Eh, give him time," Pixy said with a shrug. It's not like Count was his favorite person in the world, and he'd only known him for a few days. But from what he could see the guy was arrogant, over confident, and stubborn. Naomi had stuck up for him a day or two before when Pixy brought him up, claiming that he could be pretty loyal when he wanted to be. Pixy, however, didn't see it. At all. He was a good pilot, though. Pixy would give him that. He just needed to stop being an idiot and learn to work together with his teammates instead of always trying to outdo them. Wiseman knew this, as he'd already mentioned it before. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually. He's an ex-con, so I wouldn't expect him to change after just a few days."
"I know that," Wiseman replied. "I was just hoping that he'd improve a little before we went up again. He's getting...better. All of my pilots have been troubled in some way or another, but I managed to get them to talk to me. But with Count it's like he's set up a wall and refuses to let anybody in. He's prickly and outwardly hostile towards just about everyone." The major sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hands. "And it's not just him. I'm a little worried about Trigger, too. It's like she's got a death wish. Too reckless, and lacks the right amount of teamwork. She doesn't enjoy trying to move in sync with anyone for too long and likes doing her own thing, but she managed well enough with the platform. Still, both of them are too confident with themselves and independent in the air. On the ground I can't tear them away from their friends for too long, but in the air it's like they avoid their allies on purpose."
"To help build trust in the air, you're going to have to build it on the ground first," Pixy pointed out, recalling time spent with his own allies on the ground and how it improved their performance and teamwork in the air. "I can't do anything for Count, but you could talk to Naomi and the rest of the former Spare crew and ask them to make an effort to reach out to him. Maybe Long Caster and Jaeger could try teaching Naomi a few things about teamwork, too. Fair warning, she's incredibly stubborn when she wants to be."
He shrugged, flipping the file detailing the next operation shut and sliding it away. Wiseman paused, tapping his index finger on the top of it thoughtfully before he leaned back in his seat. "Worth a shot. But I'd like to try reaching the two of them on my own first. And if push comes to shove then I'll see if the others can make a connection or something close to it. All in all, I can't blame them for being wary or independent after the mentality they had to develop in the 444th. I stand by my belief that they all need one another, though."
Pixy nodded, realizing that he had a good point. "You might be right...some people just need a bit of a push to realize it, though."
Wiseman chuckled, a grin spreading across his face and he nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes they do..."
"So, it sounds like the next operation is going to be pretty big. I mean, judging from how many days in advance you're giving the briefing," Pixy said, changing the subject away from the foolishness of the younger pilots. In truth, he was actually hoping to find out what the plan was. At least it would make him feel a little more involved. Besides, he could be able to offer some advice for them depending on the mission. Without a word, Wiseman handed him the folder and allowed him to look it over. He was surprised, to say the least, closing the folder and nodding slowly. "I was right."
"Yeah, it isn't gonna be easy," Wiseman said with a blank expression. There was some concern that showed through in his eyes, though. "Our formation is going to stay the same. If all goes well, it shouldn't be a problem, but I don't want to run the risk of losing Tabloid or Tailor so they're staying at the base. I should probably talk with Trigger about it some more, considering that she faced one of those things. Hell, we might just find out the damn thing is indestructible."
"Well, the Arsenal Birds were developed by Osea, so they're probably armed to the teeth. Not to mention that Gründer Industries is tight with Erusea. Chances are they improved its defenses..." Pixy said thoughtfully, going over everything he knew about it in his mind, picking out the only useful parts he could think of. "Stonehenge is pretty powerful. I...er...knew someone that served in ISAF during the Continental War. That thing sounds pretty powerful. I think it'd be more than a match for that stupid, giant drone."
Wiseman nodded in agreement. "Oh, we don't doubt that. And apparently the team assigned to restore the railgun actually found a way to modify it to their needs and give it an extra kick just in case. I'm just worried about my men going up against that thing. Erusea's been modifying all of their drones, not just that prototype that we were chasing down. These things are a massive pain in the ass to deal with, and I don't want to lose anybody to them. Knowing Trigger's history of recklessness, though...well, she's too unpredictable. I trust her to lead, but I don't trust her not to continue with that borderline suicidal mentality that she seems to adopt every time she gets in the air."
Pixy shrugged. "I don't know how to help there. Like I said, they did what they needed to survive prison. I'm not saying I'm not concerned, but you could actually use that to your advantage if you really needed to."
"If I can find a way to use it to my advantage, then believe me..." Wiseman said, his expression and tone turning serious, "...so can the enemy." He leaned back in his chair again, and both men went quiet after that. Pixy had been trying to avoid thinking of that, but he couldn't deny that Wiseman had a point. But neither of them seemed to know a way to get her to change. Or to get any one of them to change. Wiseman sighed after a while. "I wasn't trying to worry you. I don't know if it'll work, but I can try talking to Long Caster about trying some of the tricks we did with the others to turn them into team players. Even now, that's debatable, but they became more reasonable. If nothing happens during this operation, then I'll drop the idea, but I might have to take the tough love approach before long."
"By all means, be my guest," Pixy said, chuckling slightly. "You're their commander. The call is yours to make."
"I have a few ideas." Wiseman's lips curled into a small smile. "But only if she or Count pull some stupid stunt out there."
"From what you tell me and from what I've seen, it sounds...more than likely," Pixy agreed reluctantly. He didn't want to think about his daughter doing stupid, reckless stuff in the air, but the truth was that she did. Hell, that's where most of her reputation seemed to be coming from. But sooner or later, she could get herself hurt or killed. Wiseman understood this as well as Pixy did. They could only sit there and pray that Naomi figured that out before it happened.
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August 16th, 2019.
0731hrs.
"Any ideas what this is all about?" Tabloid asked as he and Avril walked alongside Naomi and Count on their way to the briefing room. Their breakfast had been interrupted and they were all told to report immediately for a briefing of some sort. Naomi was actually surprised that they might be having another operation so soon. Then again, the LRSSG probably needed to keep moving in order to reach the Erusean capital at a reasonable time. Wait too long and they might lose their chance, giving Erusea more time to prepare for any attacks on their capital.
Bandog, walking behind the four of them, was the first to answer Tabloid's question. "Whatever it is, it probably is going to mean more work for the ground crew. I heard a rumor floating around that whatever this is about is going to play a big role in the push to Farbanti. Which means all of your planes are going to need extra maintenance so they can hold up, so all in all, you pilots get to go and have a good time blowing stuff up and the rest of us get no credit once again."
"What are you complaining for?" Avril asked him with an irritated huff, glancing over her shoulder at him. "As if you do even half of the work I do. I have to monitor you the entire time, like you're a freaking toddler or something."
"Oh, so you frequently throw wrenches at small children then?" Bandog asked with a sneer, recalling a recent event and demonstration of Avril's incredibly short temper.
Avril smirked slightly, whereas the other three all burst out laughing. Just a few days before, the day after their last mission, when Avril was trying to show Bandog how to work on aircraft and fix damage done to them in a battle, Avril had taken her eyes off of him just a moment to go and speak with someone about needing to order some new parts before long and Bandog had accidentally ruined what they'd been working all morning. Naomi and Count had been talking nearby with Tabloid, Húxiān, and the rest of Strider Squadron when out of nowhere Bandog comes sprinting past them and they see a wrench fly across the hangar at him. Everyone found it hysterical, including Sarge who woke up from her nap just to bark and get in Bandog and Avril's way.
Needless to say, Bandog was being extremely wary of Avril whenever she had a wrench in her hands. And Count would not let the situation go. He'd been bringing it up every chance that he could in an attempt to embarrass Bandog, but after a while it seemed that their grouchy guard dog was starting to pick a little fun at himself. Although his jab was mostly directed at Avril, so maybe it was just the situation as a whole. Who could say for sure, honestly.
The laughter died down as they reached the door, and Naomi opened it for the others to enter. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm sure the two of you will do a splendid job with helping us prep as always." Count and Tabloid said something in agreement as they stepped past her into the room. Naomi grinned as Avril and Bandog passed her, adding to them, "Just try not to dent our planes whenever you decide to have another wrench throwing contest."
Avril rolled her eyes and followed Tabloid inside. Bandog scowled and added in his regular, angry tone, "Trigger, do me a favor and try not making anymore jokes without seeking help from a professional first."
"Professional what?" Naomi asked, furrowing her brow as Bandog stepped inside with Naomi close behind him. The door clicked shut behind her. "You mean, like a professional comedian?"
"No, a psychiatrist," Bandog replied dryly as he took a seat behind the four of them. He scoffed. "I swear, Trigger, you could pass as a blonde more than Count could."
Count frowned and shifted in his seat to look back at Bandog. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Actually, I take that back," Bandog replied, stifling a laugh at Count's reaction.
Count knew very well what Bandog meant, rolling his eyes and settling back into his seat as Naomi sat beside him. For a few moments he looked her up and down. She looked at him, silently asking what he was doing. He started to smile, and then chuckled slightly. "Nah, Bandog's wrong. You couldn't pull off being a blonde. I mean, just because you've got the stereotypical intelligence level of one doesn't mean you'd look good with the actual color."
Naomi smacked his arm, glaring over her shoulder at Bandog (who looked quite satisfied with himself), making her annoyance clear. "I'm tired," she argued, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "The coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet, so don't expect much from me until it does..." Her three friends chuckled softly to themselves, with Avril shaking her head and trying hard to fight off a smile.
After a few minutes, they were joined by everyone else. And by everyone else, Naomi was pretty sure it was literally every single person on that base, regardless of their jobs. Or at least as many as they could fit in the room, with some of them having to stand up instead of sit with their coworkers. It became crowded quickly. Strider and Cyclops Squadron sat at the front, with Avril sitting on the end just because she wasn't planning on moving and she glared at anyone that looked like they'd try and make her sit with the rest of the ground crew in the back. There were a few doctors, a couple of the civilian contractors that were stationed on the base, and most of the ground crew that worked on or near the planes. Part of her wondered if any of them would be going along on the operation. If they were, then it must be an important mission. And probably one that they were expecting to possibly get ugly.
Before long, they were joined by Wiseman, Long Caster, and Commander Hawkins. The base commander looked around the room as the massive screen they had displayed the Usean Continent highlighting the territories under allied control and the areas still under Erusean control. "Sorry to call everyone here so last minute, but I needed everybody prepared ahead of time for the operation," Hawkins said to them, and all background chatter ceased as they gave him their undivided attention. "You may be well aware that our counteroffensive operation has begun to change the course of the war, all thanks to Strider and Cyclops Squadron. However, the western part of the continent and the area around the space elevator still remain under Erusean control."
The map centered on the 3D Space Elevator on the screen and showed the little arrowhead Arsenal Bird patrolling the area. It was Wiseman's turn to speak, looking over at the commander for permission before he did. "Now, as you all may know, this is because they have those damn Arsenal Birds controlling the skies around the Lighthouse," he said. "Which is why this operation is so important. We're going to use Stonehenge to conduct a long-range attack on the Arsenal Bird. Hopefully we can clip its wings for good. Now, you all know about Stonehenge. You can read about it in any history book. In addition to helping destroy the asteroid, Stonehenge was also utilized by the Erusean forces as a weapon in the Continental War."
"However, the majority of the artillery is out of action after an air raid by the Independent State Allied Forces, or ISAF as they're better known," Hawkins replied. The map now displayed an image of Stonehenge, also showing photos of magazine covers from around the time that Stonehenge was being constructed off to the side as the map circled around the massive facility. "When that happened, the main base was being repaired from damage caused by the asteroid, so it managed to escape the bombardment. Erusea believed it to be useless after the attack, and has left it abandoned for a good fourteen years by now. But the Osean Army has been conducting repairs in secret, and they've managed to reactivate its base systems."
It zoomed out of Stonehenge, showing the area surrounding it and it showed several allied squadrons moving in from various positions. Wiseman continued for the commander. "And once the preparations are complete, it should be able to fire again. They've already made several upgrades to the railgun in question, which means it has an extra boost just in case. We've maintained contact with the Army and the officer in charge of the repairs, however they're unable to confirm whether it can be fired more than once. In other words, we're probably only gonna have one chance to bring down one of those invulnerable Arsenal Birds, so every bit of help during this mission counts. We're going all in on this one plan, so we need cooperation from everyone."
Naomi narrowed her eyes, remembering all of her recent experiences with the Arsenal Birds. All of them had been a pain in the ass to deal with, and nearly all of them caused the death of several allies. She raised her hand, and Wiseman and Hawkins nodded for her to say something. "What about the Arsenal Birds defenses? The drones, those stupid Helios missile things Erusea developed, or even the stupid shield that the Arsenal Birds have already built in. For one, all of the missiles that hit it do absolutely nothing to damage it. Any aircraft that get caught inside of it are gone within a matter of seconds. I've seen it happen myself, and it isn't pretty. And even with damaged propellers, the damn thing still flew away from the fight and was operational within just a few days. The likelihood of this actually working and us taking no losses are...well, the odds aren't exactly in our favor."
"Have a little optimism, Trigger," Tabloid said to her, trying for a small, reassuring smile. Naomi didn't return it, not liking the idea of possibly losing anyone to the drones. But Tabloid continued regardless. "We've all been up against worse odds before. Besides, I'm sure they've thought this through."
"He's right, Trigger," Wiseman said, and both of them turned their attention back to the front of the room. "But Stonehenge was and still is a powerful weapon. Even if it does deploy its shield, a shot from Stonehenge might be able to tear through it. Our biggest problem is going to be the Erusean military. They've already detected our movement, and we've received word last night that they've begun marching on Stonehenge. We've had to hurry our pace along, but that doesn't mean that it's any less thought out."
For the first time during the briefing, Long Caster spoke up, "The Arsenal Bird is closing in as well, but if everything goes according to plan then we should be able to shoot it down before it reaches the operation area. This means that we'll be able to reduce our own casualties, hopefully stopping it before it sends in any drones to intercept. Also, from what we've heard, only one of the Arsenal Birds was equipped with Helios. As it was a newly developed weapon. It's a 50/50 chance, but it's doubtful that they'd risk sending in the one with all their special new upgrades in."
"We've set up several strongpoints we call 'Menhirs' around Stonehenge, in order to protect the facility from any advancing Erusean ground troops," Hawkins went on. "Provide them with air support, all while keeping air superiority."
Wiseman nodded. "Our mission is to protect Stonehenge until it can shoot down that monster bird," he said. The map zoomed away from Stonehenge and showed the area around the space elevator. "If we manage to shoot down even one Arsenal Bird, it'll significantly reduce the scale of the enemy's air defense network." The large circle shrunk for reference, reducing it to only the area over Selatapura and Gunther Bay. It didn't open up the Lighthouse, but it would make it easier to get there.
"Stonehenge is currently our only way of bringing down an Arsenal Bird. Missing is a luxury that we cannot afford," Hawkins said, wrapping up the briefing. "I want everyone prepared for a rough fight. In addition to the pilots of Cyclops and Strider, I'll be personally selecting a few doctors and other ground crew to head out tonight, before the enemy ground forces cut off our approach. Dismissed." The screen circled around their operation area, showing the predicted locations of a few enemies and highlighting their allies.
Naomi sat there, staring at the screen until almost everyone was gone. Strider Squadron stood nearby, out of her way so that she could see the screen. Cyclops Squadron, who'd headed up front to speak to Wiseman, glanced her way with some sort of concern. She didn't exactly blame them. She wasn't happy about the plan, and as much as she wanted one of those stupid birds to just drop out of the sky, she didn't want to lose any more of her friends. Naomi looked away from the screen, over to Avril, Tabloid, and Bandog, who were speaking with Commander Hawkins. They'd probably find a way to weasel themselves into the mission somehow, with a convincing argument as to how valuable they could be.
If Hawkins refused to allow them to head out tonight, then it meant that Naomi only had to worry about those that she was flying with. She didn't want to worry about them getting killed by the Erusean troops on the ground, should Stonehenge's defenses fail and their air support not be able to help them. Sure, she knew that all of them were good enough to prevent that from happening, but the worst case scenarios were all she could think about.
Her thoughts were interrupted by someone tapping on her shoulder. Naomi looked away from Hawkins and the others to find out who thought it was a good idea to butt in. She was met by both Count and Wiseman standing side by side, Count looking a little more annoyed and simultaneously concerned in comparison to Wiseman. Count was the first of the two to start speaking. "Okay, I'm the one that's supposed to have the sour expression 24/7," he said with an irritated sigh, that Naomi could tell was fake. Wiseman could too, biting back a smile. Count went on. "What's got you so riled up?"
"None of you have been face to face with the Arsenal Bird," Naomi said quickly, her expression softening. She wasn't angry, so much as she was worried, and she let it show now that she was confronted about it. "The first time you see that thing, it's terrifying. Impressive, but terrifying. If at least more than fourteen planes weren't a match against that thing, what do you think eight are going to do, huh? And if Avril and Bandog go along to handle any damages we get during the fight, then I've gotta worry about them too and—"
"They aren't going," Wiseman interrupted her. She blinked in surprise, looking over her shoulder in time to catch the somewhat annoyed and disappointed look on all three of them as Hawkins murmured something. She looked back at Wiseman and he gave an understanding smile. "The ground crew going along aren't any of your friends. They might not be on par with your Scrap Queen, but they know what they're doing and they've been in situations like this before. Hawkins already had some people picked out before you all joined us. We've had this set up for at least a month, now."
Both Naomi and Count remembered the reconnaissance mission, and the LRSSG returning through Yinshi Valley. All along with what Full Band had said about them 'investigating the ruins' or something like that. They were investigating Stonehenge, likely also trying to find the gap in Erusea's defensive network. It didn't make perfect sense, but at least that explained everything that Full Band dug up. And also why it was important that the information wasn't leaked. And also the fact that it was already leaked, thanks to the fact that McKinsey was being bought out. All in all, the conspiracies seemed to have come full circle and Naomi didn't know whether to be impressed, pleased, or worried. No telling what other information was floating around out there.
Neither of them said anything about it, and neither of them were going to. Wiseman looked between them as if he already knew what they were thinking, sighing. "We all made sacrifices to get this far, and to not act on it would be pointless. If we're going to try then we need to try. Everybody will have each other's backs out there, and we're all going to make it home safe and sound." He looked around at the nearby Strider and Cyclops pilots, all lingering nearby but not saying anything. It seemed as if we was waiting for either agreement or protest, but neither came and he gave a satisfied nod. "Perfect. Now let's go. We've got a lot to get ready for."
Yes. Yes we do...Naomi thought, rising from her seat and taking one last look at the mission display. She realized now that if they shot one down now then it would save them more trouble and casualties in the future. And least she'd be taking care of half of what she considered the 'responsible party'. For Brownie...
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Stonehenge, Hatties Desert.
August 19th, 2019.
1009hrs.
They all set out early in the morning to reach the desert, armed to the teeth and ready for just about anything. Allied forces were already preparing to engage the enemy forces, and the Eruseans were more than ready to face them. Through the radio chatter between their allies, the sound of a siren could be heard clearly in the background. Whatever the reason for the siren was unknown to Naomi. Could simply mean that the facility was being operated, or maybe it was a psychological thing. She wasn't well-versed in that sort of thing, but sirens always brought an instant reaction and Naomi suspected that it was because they always meant danger. Or perhaps it literally meant danger in this situation and it was a way of telling everyone to get their ass in gear because their lives depended on it.
All of the railguns stood in a perfect circle, and all but one of them was facing the ground. Even from where the two squadrons were making their approach, you could see the obvious damage done to them. One of them, set up near a massive mark in the ground from the impact of an asteroid fragment, was facing the sky. Several trucks and massive cables were set up nearby, and it was being protected only by a single cluster of vehicles that Naomi guessed were one of their Menhir units. Sure enough, they were marked as such on their HUDs.
A voice suddenly sounded over the radio as soon as Long Caster announced their arrival. It belonged to a woman, sounding very mature and straightforward as she spoke, "It's about time you arrived. We've heard good things about your squadrons. Let's just hope that they're all true..." Naomi was a little offended by the woman's words. Did everyone doubt them, or did they just not trust rumors they'd heard, however positive? She didn't have time to think about it much longer, since they were radioed by the woman again. "Attention, all defensive and air support teams. In order to get my program up and running, what I need most from you is time. As long as you can provide me that, my program will bring down the Arsenal Bird."
It was then that a much friendlier voice came along, sounding more lighthearted and patient than his companion. "You don't always have to get straight to business. Some introductions are nice once in a while, y'know?" the new voice said to the woman. He sighed, but it wasn't out of annoyance but rather an exaggerated, comical huff. "That lovely voice belonged to Major Deanna McOnie. She's in charge of everything down here. I'm Warrant Officer Lehmann, a specialist. We are now commencing the operation to destroy the Arsenal Bird. Good luck out there, you guys."
"I know I've said this before, but it's gonna be a long fight. Don't waste any ammo," Wiseman advised them. "We'll split up and attack. Trigger, keep an eye on Strider Squadron. Make sure everyone gets home safe."
"Roger that, Wiseman. Planned to do that anyways," Naomi replied, taking a quick look around before she and the rest of Strider Squadron broke away from Cyclops Squadron and made a dive for the enemies facing Menhir 6. As they made a low approach, everyone got a good look at the massive railgun as they shot past it. There were four targets, sitting there just waiting to be picked off. Without missing the opportunity, the three planes behind her spread out beside her and all four of them simultaneously got a lock on each of their targets. And once Naomi gave the order, they all fired and the targets were destroyed.
As they all circled around, searching for their next targets, Húxiān remarked, "So this is Stonehenge, huh? Bigger than I imagined. Uglier, too." In spite of her comment about its appearance, it seemed like she was at least somewhat impressed. And it was hard not to be.
"Yeah," Skald said in agreement. "But look at that mess of cables. They're using generator trucks to run it."
"If that's the case, then are we sure that thing's even gonna fire?" Count asked with a scoff. "Seriously, I mean how old is it?"
"Actually, younger than everyone here," Naomi replied. "It's...what? Twenty years old?" She took a look at it before turning her attention back on supporting Menhir 6. "Not to worry, Count. Weren't you and Tabloid telling me to be optimistic? I'm sure it'll fire."
"If it doesn't, then our luck's run dry," Wiseman said with a sigh. "I'd get prayin' if I were you. Now do me a favor and lighten up a little."
"Well, if it works, it'll bring down even an Arsenal Bird," Lanza put in after a sigh, opting for a more positive approach to the situation.
"Big 'if'," Fencer put in. "And it'd have to actually hit."
Naomi rolled her eyes, pulling up from an APC that she'd just taken out. "Gee, Fencer, that's the spirit. Didn't Wiseman ask us to lighten up?"
"I wasn't negative about it," Fencer countered, sounding rather cheery. "In fact, I'd actually say I'm the most cheery person here. Well, next to Lanza, but he's almost never in a bad mood."
Nobody said much after that, trying to focus on eliminating the enemy. Cyclops Squadron was keeping the enemy fighters at bay, while Strider Squadron continued to go from ground unit to ground unit, taking care of the Erusean takes and anti-air weaponry. Wiseman was going all out with his pulse lasers, but Naomi was holding back with using her own. They inflicted a lot of damage, and they'd be useful, but that was precisely why she was conserving them. She needed them in case they had to actually go against the Arsenal Bird. Nothing ever went exactly according to plan, and chances were that the Arsenal Bird probably wouldn't wait for a long range attack to come to it. In fact, it might just intercept them in an attempt to eliminate the threat before there was one.
So Naomi kept using her missiles, and machine gun. Avril and Bandog worked hard to increase everyone's missile load so that they'd have some extra firepower in the battle. Well, Avril did most of the work. Bandog suggested it, but beyond that Naomi was pretty sure that Avril kept him as far away from the weapon's system. She didn't trust him to do a good job, and she probably still didn't trust him in general. But they'd done a pretty good job. Everyone had enough to last through the battle, for sure. Hopefully.
"Long Caster, this is Menhir 5. Enemy tanks dead ahead. Requesting close air support," came the voice of one of the commanders of the ground defenses.
"Menhir 5, request for close air support confirmed," Long Caster replied, sounding once again as if he was talking with his mouth full. Naomi didn't find it annoying, just confusing. Did he ever stop eating? And just how bad was his judgement if he didn't have something to eat? As with just about everything else she thought about during a fight, Long Caster interrupted it with a quick order, "Strider Squadron, provide cover for Menhir 5. You've all got it, right? If not, then we can send Cyclops in to help out as well."
Naomi took a look at her radar and the targets displayed on the HUD. It didn't look like much, and if they were quick about it then there shouldn't be any trouble with it. "Don't worry, Long Caster. They're busy with those fighters. I think we can handle it," she answered, preparing for a quick approach on one group of enemies. Skald stayed close to her wing, and Lanza and Jaeger split off together to handle a different group. "Strider 1 to Menhir 5. I'd cover my ears if I were you, boys. This one's gonna hurt."
The four F-15s made a low, likely incredibly loud approach, firing missiles and their machine guns at everything they could get a lock on. Within a matter of minutes, nearly all of the enemy tanks, SAM sites, and APCs were wiped out by their attack. The commander of Menhir 5 let out a chuckle. "That oughta show them," he said. "Not too bad. I think we've got it covered from here. Much obliged for the air support." The commander then addressed his men, "Our job is to defend here, that's all. Now that the air support's softened the enemies up for you, why don't you go and earn your paychecks now."
"Major McOnie, what's your status?" Long Caster asked, checking in with the major and her team.
Distractedly, and most likely not even to them, Major McOnie answered, "Powering main system. Cold boot. Skipping sequences 47 to 97..."
Lehmann stepped in to give a definitive answer, since none of them had understood a word of what the major said. "Activating. We just need one shot. Afraid that's all I've got for ya."
Skald and Lanza both took down an enemy MiG, practically cornering the enemy aircraft and going after it like a pack of wolves. Naomi and Jaeger paired up to take on the enemy pilot's wingman, taking turns firing at it. One missile from Naomi, one from Jaeger, and then a third missile from Naomi to finish it off. Strider Squadron formed up again, pulling around to pick out the next place they'd attack. One of the Menhirs did it for them, though, radioing them all, "This is Menhir 7. We've linked up with ground and air support and are ready to drive the enemy back! Hoping for some air support as soon as you're ready."
Just as Naomi was about to give the order to move in on their location, Count called out the arrival of a new group of targets, "Additional hostiles inbound! Great timing..."
"Bombers! Bearing 190!" Long Caster confirmed with an urgent tone. "Stonehenge won't survive a bomb run. You have to stop them."
"Menhir 7, you've got a lot of tanks closing in on your position," Naomi said to them with a sigh, noting that the enemy was closing in on them from three different positions. "Can you guys make it until we get back?"
"Allied aircraft, don't worry about us. We can hold off for a while," Menhir 7's commander replied. "Just go and take out those bombers before they shut down our party."
Cyclops and Strider Squadron both pulled away from the fight, heading out to meet the bombers head on. They closed in faster than expected, their fighter escorts moving to loyally defend them until their payload could be delivered. Naomi, Wiseman, Count, and Skald each took on a bomber, while the rest of their squadrons worked together to separate the enemy fighters from the bombers. Húxiān was the first to score one of the fighter escorts, downing it swiftly with a spray of gunfire. Jaeger and Lanza worked together on one of them, keeping him away from his wingman before finishing him off. The pilot ejected safely, Strider 3 and 4 careful to dodge his chute to allow him a safe descent. Fencer took care of the last fighter, clipping its wing and sending the Rafale down in a spiral. Once again, the Erusean pilot ejected with no problems and followed his plane to the desert floor at a slower, safer speed.
Count pulled up and circled around to get himself positioned on his bomber's tail, and with a careful missile shot he downed the large aircraft. Wiseman was quick to finish off his, and then Skald and Naomi. The bombers weren't any trouble now and Stonehenge was safe. In the meantime, it seemed that the soldiers working to get the railgun ready to fire were completely unaware of the danger they could have been in. Lehmann casually announced to them all, "We've only got 60% green. We got 30% yellow, 10% is red. That's...I figured we'd have made more progress than that."
"Well, it has been rusting away out here for the past twenty years. I'd say a few glitches are to be expected," McOnie answered, sounding surprisingly accepting of the information and not too surprised by it. And she stated why, so Naomi guessed that the woman had a point. "Hurry and verify the reds and yellows. And hurry it up. We don't have all day!"
They didn't focus for too long on what McOnie and Lehmann had said, simply acknowledging it and moving on to find their next target. After being silent for a few minutes, Menhir 7's commander called out for them, "This is Menhir 7! We're getting overrun. We need reinforcements."
"Menhir 7 is hot. Let's go give 'em some help," Jaeger suggested, and Naomi and Wiseman both led the way, with their wingmen following close behind.
They all got a good look at just how bad things were for Menhir 7, able to see some smoke from their allies' side and rapid gunfire coming from the enemy's forces. Naomi dove for an enemy tank, turning it into nothing more than a pile of burning metal before furiously gunning down an APC and then pulling clear of the ground. They just kept coming, refusing to let up on the Osean forces. If Stonehenge was so important to them, why did they not think to capture it before Osea got their hands on it? It didn't seem that they were aware of Osea's plan until recently, and now they were making a desperate attempt to catch up and stop them. It was Skald that pointed this out as a squadron of A-10s began to close in on Stonehenge. "Dammit! The enemy's going all out. They're getting desperate...guess this operation is every bit as important to them as it is to us."
"I've got some bad news for you guys. We've got more bombers incoming. You have to intercept them," Long Caster said with a sigh. "There's just no end in sight...they keep coming..."
Cyclops and Strider hurried up to finish off the hostiles pinning down Menhir 7, with Naomi eyeing her radar to figure out how much time they had until the bombers would reach Stonehenge. Scanning the ground, she didn't see any other enemies bothering the ground unit. Skald and Fencer had taken out the enemy A-10s, returning with their squadron. Menhir 7's leader gave a sigh of relief. "That's the last of the enemy reinforcements. For now, anyways. I'm giving my men a 15-minute vacation. Sorry, but I need a short breather myself. I'll just be here stitching on my lost limbs, but I should be back before lunch."
"What did you say?" Count asked in surprise, sounding a little disturbed by the comment. Naomi and the others found the morbid joke a little funny. Dry, perhaps not meant to be funny, but Naomi thought Count's reaction made it even better.
"Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't joking..." Naomi answered with a tired chuckle, already tired from flying back and forth to deal with the enemies. "I'm gonna go get those bombers...sick and tired of this shit."
"Tell me about it," Húxiān huffed in agreement. "It's like goddamn whack-a-mole out here. I'm already exhausted!"
"Grit yo' teeth and fly, you two," Wiseman said to them. "Remember that the fate of the whole war depends on this mission! Just try and think like the enemy. You should know what their next action is."
Naomi nodded, but didn't say anything as she and Strider intercepted the enemy bombers. Jaeger, Skald, and Lanza intercepted the escorts and kept them off of Naomi while she picked off the bombers one by one. It wasn't difficult, and she was honestly working as fast as she could so they could have just a few moments of rest. But the break was short lived, and Count called out to everyone, "More hostiles are advancing towards Menhir 6 and Menhir 7. Ground forces haven't noticed yet!"
"Let's take out the enemy while our friends are still on their feet," Húxiān said with a more positive tone than she'd had the entire mission. Actually in the most positive way that Naomi had ever heard from her. Cyclops and Strider split up, with Cyclops Squadron heading to assist Menhir 7 and Strider Squadron making a move to support Menhir 6. No sooner had they all engaged with the other enemy ground forces did yet another group of bombers appear on radar.
"Dammit...we've got more bombers incoming," Long Caster informed them. "They're high! Altitude 8,000, bearing 150!"
"The enemy's going all out, aren't they?" Jaeger asked with a sigh.
"More hostiles? Fantastic!" Count chirped, but there wasn't any sarcasm that Naomi could pick up on. In fact, he sounded back to his regular, cocky self. "My score's just gonna keep climbing!"
Wiseman sighed. "You'll never learn, will you?" he asked, mostly to himself. Count didn't answer. In fact, he didn't seem to hear him, which was odd considering how he talked back to Wiseman. Maybe he just didn't care. Whatever the reason, their commander didn't dwell on Count's kill competition for very long. "Those bombers aren't going to take care of themselves...I don't want to risk leaving Menhir 7, though. Count! You're staying here with me. Quit chasing after Strider Squadron!"
"Bombers are closing in," Long Caster warned. "One of you figure out something before Stonehenge takes any damage! They're coming in fast."
"Shit!" Húxiān spat as Naomi and the others waited for Wiseman to make a decision. Chances were that one of them would move to intercept and the other would handle the ground forces. Both Menhir 7 and 6 were looking bad, and leaving either one of them for too long was a bad idea. "I wanna go smack those bastards down but the boys below are hanging on by a thread!"
"She's right, Wiseman," Naomi pointed out, almost in annoyance as she wiped out an APC. They were spreading out their attacks, making it difficult to focus their attacks on a specific group. "Do you expect us to chose?"
"Strider Squadron, Menhir 6 can make it a few minutes without heavy air support. You four get those bombers now!" Wiseman called out quickly, having gone over his options as much as he could. "Cyclops Squadron, split up. Count, you and I will take Strider's place and protect Menhir 6 until Trigger gets back. Fencer, Húxiān, you two continue defending Menhir 7. Don't let up on the enemy and don't let your guard down!" He and Count split off from the other two, quickly flying over Stonehenge and making a fast approach. They split up to cover separate sides of Menhir 6's problems, Wiseman taking out a tank and Count eliminating an AA gun as Naomi and Strider Squadron began to climb to intercept the bombers.
Continuing to get frustrated by the enemy attacking in waves, sending them back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth, Naomi went straight for the lead bomber. By the time the fighter escorts moved to protect their precious bombers, Naomi was already working on taking care of the third bomber. There were about five or six in total, all of them making a feeble attempt to defend themselves by trying to match her gunfire. Unfortunately for them, they weren't a match for her F-15 and all of them met the same fate. Instead of staying to fight, their fighters turned tail and retreated from the airspace, not too thrilled about the idea of facing the superior squadron.
Wiseman and Count, in that time, had been forced to handle more enemy A-10s that were approaching Stonehenge and threatening their allies, leaving Menhir 6 defenseless. Naomi quickly pulled around and then dived for the ground unit, that had stopped responding. Most of them were either dead or too busy returning the enemy fire in hopes of staying alive a little longer. She spotted two tanks at the front. Not a problem. She gunned one down and fired a pair of missiles at the other, rolling as she pulled up and scanned the area for any other hostiles. Two more...an AA gun and a rocket truck. Both of them destroyed within a matter of seconds. That'd teach those bastards...
"Oh, baby, we're saved!" a soldier from Menhir 6 cried out happily. "Whoever's flyin' the bird with three lines, I'm buying you a beer later!"
Naomi grinned, but didn't say anything. She was going to hold him to that offer, though. There was some more chatter from the soldiers of Menhir 6 and a few of the other units that Naomi heard. "Wait a minute...the three lines? You think it's that pilot we heard about? The one that those Erusean pilots we captured from Roca Roja were babbling about?"
"It's gotta be him," the commander of Menhir 5 answered the soldier under his command. "But did you see the wing? You guys don't think that pilot from the Belkan War is back, do you?"
"Not likely. I mean, well...you never know..." someone else replied. "But why would the LRSSG hire a mercenary? Maybe they're related?"
Naomi ignored them as she circled around Stonehenge with the rest of her squadron, checking for any other enemies. There didn't appear to be any in the immediate area, so the eight pilots were allowed a short period of time to catch their breath, but all of them remained on edge and ready to face more enemies once again. Admittedly, Naomi wasn't correcting the ground troops that continued to call her a guy because she wanted to see their reaction when they found out that she was...well, actually a 'her'. Besides, she actually didn't care too much about it, having other priorities than snipping at someone who didn't know she was a woman.
Major McOnie gave a frustrated groan suddenly. "Railgun power supply is...dammit! The numbers aren't going up!"
"Bypass the auxiliary condenser," Lehmann said. "That should work."
"C'mon, dammit!" McOnie shouted at whatever it was that she was working on.
"Come on, baby, be good. We need you..." Lehmann added to the computer in a much friendlier, gentle voice. "We're almost there. Allied aircraft, we're doing everything we can to fire as quickly as possible. Shouldn't be much longer, so just buy us a little more time until then."
"Ha!" McOnie suddenly cried out, and the high-pitched cheer made Naomi flinch. She...was not expecting that. "Power level is at 80%! You think we should take our shot?"
Lehmann likely shook his head. "Patience. We don't want to waste everyone's hard work. Let's wait to 100."
"I guess you're right," McOnie admitted. "Let's give the fire control systems one last check while we're waiting."
Cyclops and Strider's break was rudely interrupted when more targets appeared on radar. Long Caster was quick to warn them. "Enemy rocket unit coming from the southwest, and helo-borne assault from the northeast! They're planning a direct assault on Stonehenge. Stop them!"
"Let's split up again," Wiseman suggested, sounding as tired as Naomi felt but nevertheless taking charge of the situation. "Trigger, take whichever way you like and Cyclops will handle the other target."
"Okay. Strider Squadron will handle the rocket unit," Naomi announced, heading in the direction that Long Caster had given them.
"It's all yours, Trigger. Lead the way and eliminate the enemy," Wiseman said in response as he led Cyclops in the opposite direction. "Cyclops Squadron, we've got the helos."
"Roget that," Count said quickly.
Strider Squadron closed in on the rocket unit with time to spare, before they were able to fire. It wasn't as large as Naomi was expecting, only having about eight trucks, all ready to launch but all being the easiest target out there, with only one SAM site to target enemy aircraft. Her wingman jumped on the unit after she took out the SAM site and one of the trucks near it. They could all handle it on their own. In the meantime, Naomi was going to move on to more exciting things instead of waiting around a bunch of targets that would be wiped out within a matter of seconds. Picking up speed, she withdrew from the area and made her way towards Cyclops Squadron to help them with the helicopters that they were currently working to take down. "Strider 1?" Jaeger called out to her as she flew off, but she didn't answer him. Her three wingmen remained where they were, not following after her and focusing on wiping out the rest of the rocket unit.
Before anyone realized what had happened, Naomi had downed two of the remaining six helicopters, leaving everyone confused by her suddenly swooping in out of nowhere. Naomi let out a victorious shout, but the others didn't share her enthusiasm. "What the hell are you doing, Trigger?!" Count demanded, flying alongside her after he'd taken out his own helicopter, leaving Wiseman and the others to finish cleaning up. "You're supposed to be taking care of the rocket unit!"
"Cyclops Squadron was outnumbered. Strider Squadron had the advantage with the rocket unit," Naomi replied heatedly, not taking kindly to how ungrateful he sounded. "They didn't need my help."
"Neither did we!" Count shot back, raising his voice slightly.
"I helped you out! Whether you needed it or not, maybe you could act a little more grateful, Lieutenant!" she replied, raising her voice as well and stressing his rank as if it made any difference. It was the first time she'd ever done that, and although she initially felt bad for it, Naomi was too frustrated by Count trying to argue with her to care for very long. Stonehenge was still safe, so what did it matter what group of targets she took on? "Both units are eliminated. Stonehenge is safe. I wouldn't have left Strider Squadron if I didn't think they could handle it."
Count started to say something, but Wiseman immediately cut him off. "That's enough!" he snapped, and there was a faint clicking sound that was either Count's mic cutting out or his teeth as he snapped his mouth shut. Wiseman sighed in frustration. "Now you want to pull a stupid stunt like that, then fine. Do what you like, Strider 1. But you better keep our friends safe. You and I are going to be having a talk about this, later. You understand that?"
Naomi mumbled a 'yes sir' and went quiet, wanting to shoot Count's snarky ass out of the sky right then and there. Maybe it was a bad idea, but it got the job done faster, so why was he making such a big deal about it? It's not like he'd never pulled stupid stunts before. As ruffled as Naomi was, he said, "I told you I should be number one, Wiseman."
"Well, if Trigger screws up then you will be," Wiseman muttered, the rest of the squadron all staying quiet and keeping out of the argument. "Now everyone drop the subject and get your heads back in the mission. I hear another word about it and whoever brought it up won't be flying for a week, you all hear me?"
And that was the end of it. Strider Squadron had finished their job and the area was free of any hostiles. They all got back in their formation, making sure that Stonehenge really would be safe until McOnie was ready. Within a few minutes, the major finally contacted them again. "You've given my program a lot of the time it needs," she said to them, taking a deep breath. "Stonehenge will be ready to fire shortly. Once it's within range then we should be ready."
"Stand by," Long Caster said quickly. "I'm picking up something on my radar. The signal is massive...oh shit. It's the Arsenal Bird!"
Not too far away, barely visible against the sun, the massive Arsenal Bird had closed in on their position. Falling away from it were the drones it carried with it, falling out and unfolding their wings in midair before pulling up and zipping around with more maneuverability than a standard aircraft had. They had no formation, no order, just a pre-programmed mission to destroy anything marked as an enemy. Unfortunately, that meant that it would probably be moving on Stonehenge and firing everything they possibly could at it.
"I have visual," Wiseman said. "Arsenal Bird confirmed!"
"It sent in its little pawns to back it up, too," Naomi snarled, readying herself for a fight. She was low on missiles, but she still had the pulse lasers. She wasn't ready to use it just yet, though.
"Here they come!" Count called out with a growl that matched Naomi's. Their spat from before was forgotten by both of them as everyone worked together and began picking off the UAVs one by one. They fell quickly, not having time initially to evade. That didn't mean that they weren't learning fast, figuring out quickly that they were going to have a hard time getting past the human pilots that were extremely unhappy with their sudden appearance.
McOnie understood that the urgency of the mission had increased, and they had to work quickly if they actually planned on going through with it. "Okay...closer the target, fewer the variables," she said, mostly to herself. "How long until we can fire?"
"Firing in sixty!" replied one of her assistants.
"You hear that?" she asked them. "Keep us safe until then!"
From then on out, radio chatter was nothing but sheer chaos, with the ground units struggling to protect the themselves and Cyclops and Strider trying to take out the swarm of UAVs that kept coming and coming. The Arsenal Bird wouldn't deploy all of its drones, though. It would probably keep some ready to go until it absolutely needed them. Although the drones were going out at a steady pace, they were beginning to slip through and target the vehicles near Stonehenge. In the mess, Naomi was losing sight of her allies, catching brief glimpses of them through the smoke and drones buzzing around. Skald was staying close to her wing. Jaeger and Lanza were attempting to keep a perimeter. Count was covering Wiseman, and Fencer and Húxiān were meeting the targets head on as they came towards the others.
"Fire-control system inspection complete. Radar error correction is good to go," Lehmann said quickly, focused on his job. Someone said something in the background to him. "What do you mean Josephine's not responding? She's right outside in the survey vehicle. She couldn't have lost connection...unless she...someone get out there and check on them! Now!" Chatter after that was simply the engineers confirming different things, announcing that they had thirty seconds and that they were ready to fire when the time came.
Naomi's missile warnings were blaring, and it seemed that as soon as it stopped it picked up again. Skald was loyally covering her tail as she fought, taking down any UAVs that tried to fire at her. She heard another warning, and it abruptly came to an end, followed by a faint explosion from behind her and Skald grunting from the impact of a missile hit. "Skald!" Naomi cried out as she realized what had happened, twisting around in an attempt to see him. He was trailing smoke, and another hit from a missile would kill him. Oh shit... "Strider 2 has been hit! Skald, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he replied. Naomi couldn't figure out what to do next. Could he actually land? He had no choice, really. But she didn't want to risk sending him off without cover and the UAVs taking the opportunity to finish what they started.
Wiseman wasn't about to take a risk by keeping him in. "Skald! Stabilize the craft and get out! Lanza, cover him so he can land!"
"Roger!" Lanza called out, and both aircraft withdrew from the fight.
As the final countdown began, Naomi downed a UAV that was chasing Count, and he returned the favor within a few seconds. Wiseman narrowly avoided getting hit, evading the missile and performing a high-G turn to get behind his attempted killer. With one shot, the drone became nothing more than a flaming pile of debris, falling almost as fast as it could fly. Their attacks continued, everyone covering one another and waiting for the countdown to reach zero. Just as they reached five, Lehmann immediately called out, "Halt the countdown! Now! We've lost the target!"
"Gone?!" Count scoffed. "The stupid thing is flying in the open!"
"The survey data isn't updating," one of the engineers said. "No response from our spotter. Someone went out to check on them, but..."
Lehmann sighed. "Survey vehicle down...dammit..."
McOnie stammered in disbelief for a moment, before she composed herself enough to say, "Those vehicles were Stonehenge's eyes. Without those...I'm...I'm sorry. There isn't anything more I can do."
As ready to claim defeat as everyone seemed, Lehmann took a deep breath, sounding as if he'd just gotten an idea. "Don't give up yet, Major. We still have sensors," he said optimistically. Everyone was confused for a moment, so he explained, "Our eyes. The oldest sensors in the book."
"What are you scheming?" Count asked them. They seemed to focused on their own conversation, though.
"Major?" Naomi prodded, rolling to the side to get free of a missile lock.
"They're too unreliable! But..." McOnie paused, and everyone on the ground let out their own protests against the idea. The major didn't care, though. It was a plan and it seemed she'd be taking it regardless. "Attention, all personnel! We have a change in the mission! We will now be using direct fire to shoot down the Arsenal Bird!" To the pilots, she called out, "Listen! Attack the central propellors. If you can destroy them then it will slow the Arsenal Bird down. If you wait too long, then it'll be out of range and there won't be anything else we can do. Hurry!"
"Strider 1! Cyclops 1! Pair up and attack that propellor!" Long Caster ordered them. "Everyone else, defend Stonehenge from the UAVs!"
"Wilco," Wiseman answered, pulling out of the fight with Naomi following close behind him. "Jaeger, you take the lead!"
"It's readying its APS," Long Caster warned.
"I'm going," Count suddenly declared. "The propellors are too much for Trigger alone."
"Ugh! You damn glory hound!" Húxiān yelled at him, making it clear that she wasn't in the mood for any of Count's attitude at that moment. "Just do your friggin' job!"
"Count, we need someone who can take down those UAVs," Wiseman said with a more patient, level-headed tone. "It's up to you."
"He's right, Count," Naomi answered. "We've got this under control."
Count gave a reluctant sigh. "Trigger, do not fubar this!"
"I don't plan on it," she muttered in response. After what felt like ages, she and Wiseman were finally at the altitude of the Arsenal Bird, circling around to get behind it. At that moment, it released its remaining drones to intercept them, making one almost final attempt to hold them off until it could deploy its last defenses. Wiseman engaged the UAVs, while Naomi switched to her special weapons to attack the propellors. Thankfully she'd saved them up until this point. Unfortunately the UAVs were determined to take hits for their big mama bird, many of them getting in the way of the lasers and going down. Some of them managed to break through, though. Naomi had to continue pulling up and circling back around, either to evade an incoming missile or to avoid crashing nose first into the very thing that she was attempting to destroy.
"Cyclops 3, missile incoming!" Húxiān called out to Fencer, but Naomi was too far away to see what was happening.
Fencer let out a grunt of frustration and pain. "I've been hit! I have to eject!" He had more than enough time to punch out, his plane likely beyond saving from the moment it was hit. Unlike Skald he wouldn't have had time to attempt to land. His transmission cut out, and they could just barely see his chute in the distance.
"Long Caster, send a request for rescue," Wiseman said, downing two UAVs with his own lasers. "Conditions look grim. Expect some injuries."
They continued with the attack, Wiseman taking some time out from targeting the UAVs to take out a couple of sub-propellors in hopes of slowing it down even more. After a few more hits, going back and forth between the main propellors, Naomi managed to destroy both of them. Their spinning ceased, and they slowed to a stop, smoking. Naomi moved on to the rest of the propellors just for good measure. "This is for Brownie, you worthless son of a bitch..." she said under her breath, eliminating the rest of the sub propellors and pulling away, noticing that it wouldn't be long before its shield went up in one last attempt to defend itself. Like it was struggling to catch its breath.
"That takes care of the main propellors. That thing isn't moving anywhere," Long Caster announced to them. "Good work."
"Nice job, Trigger," Wiseman said to her as they began to shoot down the remaining UAVs in hopes to buy Major McOnie some more time. The Arsenal Bird wasn't going anywhere, but its drones could still move.
Húxiān let out a sudden gasp over the radio. "Shit..." Naomi heard her curse under her breath.
"Cyclops 4 has been hit!" Long Caster called out. "Are you alright?"
There was no answer at first, and Naomi was worried that Húxiān had crashed, but no one had said anything about it. After a while, Húxiān had caught her breath and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. We can't afford to lose any more allies. I can keep fighting."
"Knock that off!" Wiseman snapped at her. "Push yourself and you're dead. That's what we can't afford. Get back to base, Húxiān."
Naomi was at first worried that Húxiān would do the very thing Brownie had done, attempting to keep fighting with a damaged aircraft. She prayed that her new friend would have more sense than that, and after a pause to consider Wiseman's order she finally broke away from fighting alongside Count and Lanza. "Wilco, over," Húxiān answered tiredly, getting free of the remaining UAVs and leaving them to the rest of the squadron as she made her way to the formerly Erusean base that was next to the facility. Skald would be on the ground waiting for her, and it wouldn't be long before they retrieved Fencer and got him fixed up, too. She would be just fine. Naomi let out a sigh of relief.
Just as the Arsenal Bird's shield shot out in a bright purple glow that faded to an electric blue, Naomi and Wiseman pulling clear of it to avoid getting caught inside, Lehmann called out to them, "Power level is at 100%!"
"We've done our part," Naomi said with a shaky breath, her and Wiseman getting out of the way of the bird so that Stonehenge's shot wouldn't take them out with the massive drone. "Stonehenge, if you're gonna shoot, now would be the best time to do it!"
"Understood!" the major replied. "Beginning final countdown...ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five..."
"Adjusting angle!" Lehmann announced as the countdown continued.
"...three...two...one...FIRE!"
Both McOnie and Lehmann cried out the final order, and at that moment the rusted old railgun let out a thunderous gunshot for a moment it looked as if the sky had been sliced in half by something as Stonehenge fired. The Arsenal Bird, disabled and unable to evade, sat right there as it was hit. The blue shield was pierced, and it dissipated from around the drone, unable to protect it any longer. Naomi was pretty sure that the deafening explosion as the shot made contact with the Arsenal Bird. It snapped in half like a tree branch in a heavy storm, letting out what Naomi would have described as a pained, metallic groan as the crippled bird fell to the ground. As it did, Stonehenge powered down, and the massive barrel of the railgun appeared to follow the Arsenal Bird down as it fell.
At last it hit the ground, and the wreckage was further ignited from the impact of hitting the ground. Another loud explosion, a burst of flame and smoke, and then every other sound was drowned out by cheers from everyone still in the fight. "Alright we did it! WOOO! HOT DAMN!" shouted the commanders of the Menhir units simultaneously, having been witness to the entire display. Like all of its drones, the Arsenal Bird had been destroyed by the Osean forces. Naomi gave a satisfied, loud cheer of her own as she and Wiseman both dived and flew over the burning wreckage of the fallen bird as if mocking it.
Count, Jaeger, and Lanza circled around nearby, all five of them rejoining one another and getting one last look at the Arsenal Bird before they turned away from it and started back towards the ruins of Stonehenge. Just as the Arsenal Bird had been destroyed, never to fly again, Stonehenge had also met its fate that day. Something that had once been an enemy to Osea and ISAF forces during the last war in Usea had been used to aid Osea in destroying the Arsenal Bird. And now it would never fire again, remaining in the Hatties Desert for the rest of time as nothing more than a relic and reminder of history.
"So...is it really over now?" Count asked hopefully, taking a deep, shaky breath. All of them were exhausted from the long morning.
"Yes! Yes it is! Reporting mission success!" McOnie said excitedly. "Lehmann, this victory belongs to you. That was a good lesson on the importance of manual control. I would have thrown in the towel had you not pulled through. That was some good thinking."
Lehmann chuckled. "I appreciate the compliment, but today's MVPs are the LRSSG!"
"I'll say," agreed Menhir 7's commander. "Especially those two lead birds. They're the Osean Big Shots."
"We can win if we follow them!" cheered a soldier from Menhir 5. "Let's hear it for the Osean Big Shots!"
"You mean the Osean Big Shot..." Count corrected them as he and Wiseman flew low around Stonehenge. He sounded too tired for any real edge to his voice, but Naomi recognized the way he was talking. It was Wiseman that he was referring to, from what she could tell. And it was clear to Naomi that he was jealous of the attention that the two of them — especially her — were getting from their allies. She recalled her lashing out at him earlier, when she'd stepped out of line and went after Cyclops' target and felt a pang of regret and sadness, but she didn't say anything to him.
Wiseman wasn't concerned about Count's sudden shift in attitude. In fact, none of them except for Naomi were bothered by it. Wiseman chuckled. "Looks like we're on the offensive now. Ha! The enemy's defensive range dropped along with that Arsenal Bird."
"That just means more pie for us," Long Caster said through a smile.
"Are we gonna eat the whole thing?" Jaeger asked, a hint of mischief and amusement in his voice.
"The brass is always hungry for more," Long Caster answered him. "They've got a bottomless appetite that rivals mine, even!" Everyone laughed at Long Caster's comment. Even Naomi forgot about Count's prickliness long enough to enjoy it. "But enough about that. You've all got a party waiting for you on the ground. Get some rest now before the counterattack."
As they all turned to head for the base, Naomi took one last look out towards the pillar of smoke in the distance. She thought about Knocker, Clown, and Boggard. And everyone else from Fort Grays that would have loved to see the Arsenal Bird go down. She wondered how they were doing, and then cursed herself for not trying to contact them. If they heard about this, they'd probably lose their shit. But they'd be proud of her for sure. Brownie would be too. Now if Naomi could just have a one-on-one match to take down Mr. X.
Only one Arsenal Bird was out of the fight, though, but that was good enough for the LRSSG. For the time being, at least. Sooner or later they'd have to face its sister in order to take back the space elevator. And Naomi would be just as ready and willing as she was today.