Ace Combat: Broken Line (IC/Open)

[Kassaran]

Southern Sotoa
Operation: Evergreen
49th Tactical Mercenary Interceptor Wing
November Ninth, 1984; 0927 Hours

<Someone get him off of me!>

<Shit! I can't see him! I can't see him! Where is- Aaagh>

<They're coming too fast, someone get eyes on those fuckers, we can't see them. Where the hell are our fighters?!>

The morning skies over Southern Sotoa were streaked in flame and burning debris as the flight of four CF-105's came to blows with what they had originally been expecting to be just another wave of attackers in the northern regions of the territory. The actions on the behalf of the South Sotoans had been quiet enough to make the formation of what appeared to be slow-moving bombers be easy enough to track with AWACs and ground-based radar. Letting the bombers get deep within the territory, the 49th had been scrambled to intercept. There should have been no way for them to retreat, no way for them to pull out, and yet they did.

Panic was taking the skies as the first four members in the lead Flight seemed to be gripped in a vice from an unseen threat. There had only been twelve slow-flying signatures, but upon interdiction that number had rapidly climbed to twenty-four. As the flight of twelve Su-17's pulled away from the fight, the twelve Mig-23's pulled up and into the approaching Avro Arrow formation. Missiles dropping out and away from the floggers and happily tracking their way into the confused group of interceptors overhead. What had been only a routine interception had now turned into a fight for survival.

As his head turned to starboard to look over his wing as yet another missile seemed to lock onto his craft, Markus could only grimace against the pressure of his G-Suit squeezing every part of him in a giant vice to keep the blood in his head right there. Darkness seemed to tug at the edges of his vision, but the big bird that was the Arrow managed to pull out of the lock and the craft shuddered in the wake of the much larger Flogger that had just buzzed it. Slamming the stick hard right and snapping into a sharp aileron roll, Markus felt the restraints in his Arrow suddenly tighten as the cockpit sensors worked out what was happening and pulling back as he went inverted, he felt the shudder of another craft as it grazed his belly.

<Praeses to Chip, I got two over here! Pulling hard and over. Dropping to the deck, I'm bugging out!>

His craft shuddered as the G-Forces seemed to quickly add up in spite of his best efforts to nullify them. It was all he could do to keep pulling on the stick, hearing the missile lock warning blaring in his ears as the tone went from a throbbing pulse to steady. He slammed down his left foot on the port rudder pedal and slammed the stick hard left. It was all he could do to keep the small amount of food he'd had an hour before down, but it had the desired effect as the missile went flying past him and detonated too late to damage his craft. Proximity sensors on those missiles could be tricked if the exhaust wash was dropped on them in a hard counter-clockwise turn. At least, that was supposed to be the rule as he suddenly felt his stomach lurch in response to a sudden flash and violent shaking of another explosion.

He'd have screamed in fear if it weren't for the fact he'd been so focused on just staying alive, his face curling into a grimace that spread from ear to ear as he felt his skin seem to tug away from his nose. His face mask seemed to only get heavier as he pulled up and out of his dive, the craft only seeming to also get more sluggish as he managed to level it out over the deck. Letting his eyes scan his HUD, he read the altimeter at 100 and let his grimace falter into a smile for a moment before another pulsing tone brought him to the alert. He wasn't out of the shit yet and as he turned hard right, he could have sworn he'd heard that there shouldn't have been any infantry in the area.

The brief flash of a surface-launched man-portable anti-aircraft missile made Markus do all he could as he slammed down on the stick and forced his craft into a violent lurch down into the trees. Pulling up at the last second as he kicked the Arrow's control stick to the left and seemed to open into a barrel roll at just under the 200m no recovery altitude. He knew it wasn't enough to save the plane at this point as another pulsing tone signalled another MANPAD locking on, but if he could just make it to the river he might be able to-

<Chip to Praeses, I'm swarmed up here! I can't do it! There's too many! They're- No! God! Please I don't wan->

As he looked up into the skies behind his Arrow, coming out of the barrel roll, he saw a plummeting burning wreck also fall out of the clouds amidst a throng of pursuing fighters. Looking back towards the nose of his plane, he started as he saw the wall of trees suddenly spring up in front of him and threw up his arms as the gut-wrenching sound of metal shredding against wood filled his ears-

He drew in a deep breath as his eyes opened. He wasn't there anymore, South Sotoa was long behind him, that was all Pearsohn could tell himself to try and steady his rapidly beating heart. Blood rushed through his mind as he looked around the briefing room and realized that a group of officers was now entering. The noise that had brought him out was the clattering of a young woman's desk and chair as she snapped to attention. He smirked in response, but gave nothing more in regards to her. Nodding towards the entering cadre of liasons from the local military forces, he listened carefully to the following briefing.

It was the typical bullshit, the typical warnings, and most of all the typical pilots. This was Mercenary Flying, and he loved every second of it, but to say that he liked it was another matter altogether. His mind paid him reminder to that at all times and he let his head drop back as he rolled his neck side to side in and attempt to pop some of the kinks that had built up while he'd snoozed. Smiling at the cacophony of pops coming from the muscles about his neck, he straightened in his seat and stretched his muscles, letting his long legs kick out and also let loose their own symphony of gunshot-like cracks.

"I got a question, can we leave?"

[SaintB]

Finally from the back of the room Garret raised a hand, "Captain if I may? No question but I feel qualified to volunteer to take command of the second squadron unless you had someone in mind for that job already."

He kept the hand raised just in case he was busy responding to questions or comments from anyone else at the briefing and his eyes locked on his squadrons CO. Nobody else seemed to be volunteering for that job so he decided he would do so before being voluntold.

[Beiarusia]

Capt. Aleksei Tallow “Null”
Koga Air Base, Seian

"Captain if I may? No question but I feel qualified to volunteer to take command of the second squadron unless you had someone in mind for that job already."

A volunteer, and as a bonus he looked the sort capable of holding his own. Null gave him the job with little question. "Consider yourself hired. We can decide who goes where after we're done here."

"I got a question, can we leave?"

Null looked around. Except for a few stragglers most questions seemed to have been asked. He had told them all they needed to know so there was little reason to keep them here any longer. They all had enough to take care of before sortie as it was. "If that's all then I don't see why not. Figure out where you're flying and be ready to leave, early rather than late. Anything else can be brought up front. Otherwise you're all dismissed."

[The balkens]

September 18, 1992. Koga Air Base, Seian

Well, it aint Sudentor but it will do. Yuri sighed as he was walking down the halls towards the briefing room. Late, fashionably in his eyes but he did little to care. Lieutenant Yuri Zubarev, Former Belkan Air Force and Ex-Estovakian Air force; the Latter he would rather not say. His uniform was from Belka as well as the rest of his flight equipment. he spoke the language fluently and went through a great effort to hide his Estovakian accent over the years. As Yuri entered the room, he noticed that the briefing was over. Great.....

Knocking on the door jamb to announce his presence, Yuri took off his cap and tried to look respectful but an old face caught his eye.

"Garret?" He asked, not expecting to see an old comrade here.

[Colony of Tribute]

With the meeting out of the way Bjorn stepped out of the crowded room and made his way to the Barracks. He grabbed his flight suit, and a flight jacket and took a quick shower. Feeling cleaned and refreshed he put on his flight suit, boots and jacket. He grabbed his Helmet off of his bunk and made his way back to his beloved Panavia Tornado GR1.

Walking into the hanger he was informed by the crew chief in charge of this hanger that his aircraft had been refueled and rearmed and was currently ready to be called out. Thanking the crew chief Bjorn walked over to his aircraft and began his inspection, finding nothing visibly wrong he opened the canopy and climbed into his aircraft from a ladder. He started the electrical system and did a basic systems check. Everything seemed clear so he powered down, and took a nap while awaiting the start of the mission.

[Relikai]

Nodding, Shimazaki Haruna packed her notes and map as she ran through the required loadout for her plane. Her map was highlighted with natural elevations and overwatch positions, possible locations for lookouts or AA positions. She has read enough during her stay in Koga AFB, that keeping an eye out for such positions are considered basic. Even if a radar lock-on warning was blaring into one's ear, it would help to be certain of possible locations to pull off accurate evasive maneuvers.

The briefing has gone through smoothly, with questions and answers being fired and replied quickly. A no-nonsense exchange of information, Haruna appreciated the moment when Mitsuko, aka Angel, responded to the question of perceived provocation by Saien. Her own nation being threatened, Haruna would have agreed that a show of force is required.

Seeing Null leave, Haruna quickly stood up and approached the big man, her 5ft 2in frame being dwarfed by the bigger man. As people filtered in earlier, Haruna had taken a look around, and as expected, she realised that she looked the youngest, and is one of the smallest in Morena Squadron. Probably the newest member in flying experience too.

"I-.. Sir. Shimazaki Haruna, callsign - Shinden, requesting to be under Flight One for our sortie."

[The United Remnants of America]

Lt. Aiden "Frosty" Kelly

Being dismissed couldn't have come quick enough. The man who requested it had a very familiar sound accent. Frosty wondered if he was South Sotoan like he sounded. Standing, Frosty rubbed his face and sighed, turning for the back of the room, and the door. Two hours to shower and change back into his flightsuit, which he hadn't even been able to wash yet. Awesome.

Looking up, whether unconsciously or not, Frosty's eyes were drawn to someone. He instantly recognized that it was the owner of the voice that had requested a flight leadership. He knew that because he'd flown with this man before. Frosty smiled and stepped to the side so he didn't block up the flow of exiting pilots. "Major Garrett Jones, 'ow the 'ell 'ave ya been, brother?!" Frosty gave an extremely sloppy joke of a salute before leaning in and wrapping his arms around Jones, giving the major a quick bear hug before letting go, chuckling to himself. "Man, I 'aven' seen ya since SoSo, mate! Ya goin' good? E'rythin' alrigh'?"

Even as he asked the questions, someone bumped Jones' shoulder. The movement drew Frosty's attention, and the Perfie pilot's face lit up even brighter, "As I live and fookin' breathe, Yuri! It's a reunion in 'ere! We're gettin' the 'ole boys back togetha, mates!" He resisted hugging Zubarev, however. The Estovakian always seemed less friendly, and tired as he was, Aiden decided getting cold-cocked by a wingman this early in the morning was not a way to start a patrol.

[Tayner]

"Well, if that's it." Dan said as the squadron was excused, he got up, and walked towards the door, following the guy in front of him. He nudged his way past someone who was late to the breifing. "All the mission is border air patrol." Dan said to the man as he passed him. He exited the building and walked over to the hangar to give his plane a once over. He entered the hangar, only to notice someone rustling around in the Cockpit of his Lockheed S-3 Viking. There were other people in the Hangar, mostly mechanics, so Dan felt safe to confront the intruder. He pulled out his Winchester fixed blade knife, and stepped up the aluminum stairs only to notice that it was Joker, his co-pilot.

"Damn it man, what the fuck you doin goin trough my plain at 7:00 in the morning?" He said.

"Well, I know I missed the breifing, but I just got here, so I thought I'd check out 'ol Betsy." Jeff, or Joker replied al Dan sheathed his knife.

"I told you, we're not going to name her Betsy." Dan replied, hoping into the pilot's seat.

"Well, it's bad luck to fly an unnamed plane on a mission. Terrible luck." Joker said.

"How about Jenny?"

"No, too, generic."

"And Betsy isn't generic? How about Dixie?" Dan said.

"That's, actually not bad." Joker said. Dan pulled out a sharpie and wrote Dixie in a small font in mirror script on the glass dome over the cockpit.

"Is that good?" Dan asked.

"Perfect."

"Now, let's make shure we're not going to explode in mid takeoff." Dan joked.

"Alright." He said as they both checked over instruments and gadgets, making sure that Dixie was ready to patrol a border. Which wasn't really hard to prepare for. All they would do is haul hundreds of thousands of dollars flying around the countryside on some other guy's dime.

It was just like the North Point Air Guard.

[Empire of Donner land]

2nd Lt. Amabel Allard
"Knot"

Relieved to hear the words "Dismissed" from the briefing she stood up along with the others as they started to leave. Amabel adjusted her Baseball Cap and walked to the door. Being in the back she was one of the last to get out of the briefing room which she didn't enjoy preferring to get into the sky's as quickly as possible. Maybe she should start sitting in the front, but that wasn't her 'style'. She preferred to be in the back.

The mission still seemed Fishy to her. Again she blamed it on her nerves and shrugged it off but it hanged over her shoulder like a Vulture waiting for its prey to die of its wounds. It wasn't normal to her. But her thoughts interupted by the chatter of outside and around her as she pushed the door open to the hall way especially a certain fake accent which got on her nerves rather quickly. "Fucking Jesters." she muttered to her self as she left the Briefing Room and out of the hallway outside into what now started looking like day instead of the miserable morning that greeted her when she woke up.

Amabel, now thankfully away from the social interaction that was still around the Briefing Room, went to her own Room grabbing her flight suit off the window sill and putting it on. It was uncomfortable as hell sometimes but it prevented her from blacking out in High positive G turns. Amabel put it on and looked at the patch on her right arm. It was the symbol of the Aurelian Airforce in a circle and below it the words "22nd Aurelian Air Superiority Squadron." She still kept it around after all these years flying for different Merc squadrons. She remembered the F-14D Super Tomcat that she flew in the service with and the fur ball in which she used it in and afterwards fled inside with. She quickly removed the those thoughts from her head and focused on the now and the future. She wasn't about the past, not much of a fan at all really. Grabbing her Helmet she quickly left for her MIG-19.

Walking past the Hangars she saw the pilots working on their Aircraft and preparing, speaking to mechanics, rearming and refueling. The typical day at Koga Airbase it seemed. She passed a number of aircraft, the most notable being ones from her own Squadron, Morena, a name she would come to quickly aquaint her self with. She passed by F-15's, F-16's, a Tornado and even a F-84F. And then there was her Aircraft.

Her MIG-19 Farmer. What it lacked in speed compared to other Aircraft it made up for in Firepower with its three 30mm Cannons. It wasn't a F-14 by far in terms of technology but it would do for now, and with upgrades it could atleast compete with some of the 4th Generation aircraft around here, or atleast she hoped it could. She walked to the Aircraft and did some pretty flight checks looking around for any errors. This was one of the most boring parts about flying to her but it was needed. As she checked she whistled a war few tunes she knew from her service trying to keep her mind preoccupied.

[Beiarusia]

Capt. Aleksei Tallow “Null”
Koga Air Base, Seian

“That went well,” Angel remarked cheerfully.

Things had gone a lot better than expected. A few kinks here and there but, for the most part, it wasn’t as bad as Null had feared. He still wasn’t thrilled for his new posting, but with luck things would go smoothly from here on out. Of course, it all could go downhill at a moment’s notice, but Null was being optimistic.

The squad leader had only just left the briefing room with Angel in tow when he was pulled aside by the Major, held close as if he was a flight risk. The larger man wore a grimace that twisted his lips. “Don’t fuck this up.”

A final cold look before he was released and the Major was stalking off in the opposite direction. Angel made a childish face behind his back, using her fingers to stretch her mouth as she stuck out her tongue. She stopped as the enthusiastic 2nd Lieutenant was suddenly there in front of them. Completely forgetting the Major, Angel greeted the young woman. “Hiya!”

"I-.. Sir. Shimazaki Haruna, callsign - Shinden, requesting to be under Flight One for our sortie."

2nd Lieutenant Shimazaki. She seemed a bit out of her element, and more than a little green, but had dedication it would seem. Null wasn’t particularly keen on babysitting a rookie, but considering their assignment it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. He stepped up to properly greet the woman. “At ease. There’s a time and place for formality, and this isn’t it. Follow orders and you have a spot.”

“Taking the newbie for a fly along?” snickered Sewek as he and Zelenko passed by. He gave Haruna a brief look over as he went. “Little short for a merc. Aren’t there laws against child soldiers?”

“Piss off,” spat Angel. To Haruna she extended a hand. “Don’t mind him. I’m Mitsuko, but you can call me Angel.”

Null was mulling over whether or not to confront Sewek but caught sight of Zeeger as he exited the room. A flight mechanic, Zeeger had been attached to Morena to oversee the wellbeing of their aircraft. The squad leader motioned him over. “Get the Eagles prepped. Light loadout.”

The man nodded. “Consider it done.”

Null watched the man depart before looking back over to Haruna. “I have to take of some things. Angel here will help you along if you need it.” A brief nod and he was on his way.

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Dan
Callsign Gunny
Pre Mission Check-Up

"Alright Joker, you got her armed and fueled?" Dan asked.

"Got her armed, Gunny. Gotta ask one of the grease monkeys to fuel us up." Joker replied.

"Alright. What type of heat we packin?" Dan asked.

"Two AGM-65s, two Mark 83 bombs, Six CBU-100 Cluster bombs, and some rocket pods. Enough to destroy a small fortress, and a tank column."

"Copy. I want as much fuel as possible. The employer's footing the gas bill." Dan said.

"Aye. I'll get a mechanic to get us ready to go." Joker said, as he hopped out of the cockpit of the S-3 Viking and asked a mechanic to top off the fuel tank. After they were successfully fueled up and ready to go, they just sat there, with some time until the mission was ready.

"Well, Joker, I gotta go grab some personal effects from the barracks. Watch the jet. And don't scratch the paint, she's brand new." Dan said, ans he climbed down the stairs and went to go grab some things from his bunk in the barracks. He entered the main building, and grabbed his flight gear, which was basically a vest containing maps and the like on the AO, a M1911 that he usually always carried on missions, his water canteen, binoculars, and his pocket knife. Of course he wouldn't need any of this inside the cockpit, but if they got shot down, every item he had would be vital to his survival. Finally, he grabbed his plain white flight helmet, that had his callsign in print over the left eye, a North Point Air Guard emblem on the backside, and his old squadron number centered on the back of the helmet, on the bottom. He also grabbed a pair of his Aviators, his trusty shades that he wore when he was honorably discharged from the NPAF. He tried to push that out of his mind, mentally preparing for the mission, even though it didn't take much preparation.

Joker already had his gear on in the plane, since he figured if he missed the breifing, he would at least be ready to go for the mission. Dan returned with his gear, and sat in the pilot's seat. They usually made small talk, maybe even cracking a few jokes. Daniel met Joker a couple years back when he was visiting Sapin during leave. After a few drinks in a air force bar, they managed to get along fine. Little did Dan know that Joker was in his senior year of College, but it didn't matter, because Joker was in one of those Air Force colleges. After Joker graduated, he went into to the flight schools, but somehow didn't get into the military and instead flew cargo for a little bit, until Dan dropped by one day with an interesting proposition. Next thing they know, they're getting ready for a mission in the 13th Mercenary squadron, hauling about 5,000 pounds of munitions, trying to intimidate some country for control over a little pice of land.

"Y'know, what could possibly go wrong? The Beiarusians aren't stupid enough to shoot across the river, and we're not stupid enough to cross the river, so all it should be is flying up and down a river, giving the finger to the Beiarusians, and getting flight hours and a massive amount of cash, for literally flying around the countryside. Seriously, nothing can go wrong." Joker said.

"Shut up asshole, have you ever heard of something called Murphys Law?" Dan said.

"No."

"If anything can go wrong, it will. Trust me, something will happen, and we're gonna be bombing Beiarusian military installations by the end of the week, and sinking enemy submarines not long after." Daniel replied to Joker.

"Nothing's ever that easy, is it?"

"Nope."

[The balkens]

snip

"Aiden? Well, aint this a surprise...." Yuri gulped as he saw one more former ally from his past. He had hoped to see some old friends but two in the same place? How convenient.

[Gvozdevsk]

With the briefing over, Liora left the briefing room. She had no real reason to stay. There was plenty of time to get to know her squadron mates and now was just not the time to talk to unfamiliar people. Maybe after they've been through a mission together she'll be able to talk to them. But it was still something she was not excited about. Liora was terrible at introducing herself and starting conversations with other people, and for that reason she usually tended to wait for someone else to speak to her, rather than actively trying to talk to people.

Instead of staying near the briefing room to talk to some of the other pilots, Liora immediately made her way outside to the aircraft. She made her way to her Mirage V, which was currently being attended to by ground crews. One member of the ground crew noticed her and came to talk to her.

"Are you 2nd Lieutenant Cohen?" The ground crew member asked. There were Sergeant chevrons on his sleeve, so Liora assumed he was in charge of the crew tending to her aircraft.

"Yes, but you don't need to call me by my rank. It's not a real rank," Liora replied. "And I see you haven't armed my plane yet, so give me four Sidewinders and two JL-100 rocket pods."

The Sergeant nodded and went back to his crew, telling them to go get the weapons Liora asked for. She then walked around the aircraft, making sure everything looked good externally. The plane appeared to be freshly painted in its desert camouflage paint scheme, which looked a little out of place in this environment. There didn't appear to be an external damage either. She didn't want to check the cockpit just yet, that would wait until she was closer to launch time. Instead, she went back to the barracks to grab some things she didn't have time to get before the briefing. These were her g-suit, flight helmet, some maps of the AO, and her Jericho 941pistol.

"Hopefully I never have to use this," she said to herself as she slid the pistol into the holster on her leg. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared to have to kill a man at close range, it was more not wanting to use the pistol because she hoped to not be shot down and put in a situation where she would need to use it.

With all of her gear now in order, Liora went back out to her plane. It was now loaded with weapons and the ground crew were just finishing putting fuel in it. She did another walk around of the plane before stepping into the cockpit. It felt familiar, but it definitely wasn't the same as the Kfir she had flown back home. She did a quick check of the systems and everything seemed to be in working order. Now all she had to do was wait for the mission to start.

[Relikai]

Haruna was slightly taken aback by Sewek' comments, and found herself at a loss for words. Thankfully, Mitsuko was on hand to fend off the verbal attack. Haruna has never been conscious of her body, especially in places which are most noticed by males. The only issue which has appeared over recent times was taller men simply knocking her over in university, although their reactions seemed to make it intentional rather than accidental.

Nodding, Haruna slowly extended her hand to take Angel's, as she acknowledge Null's acceptance of Haruna into his flight. Seeing him leave, Haruna turned to Angel, who was still smiling at her. Slightly taller than herself, Haruna could recognise Angel as a fellow Saienese pilot, as well as the slight accent in her voice as they spoke in the common language of aviation.

"Shimazaki Haruna, but my first name is Haruna, as named in Saienese. Thank you for your help, Angel, it's... a little hard being accepted as a real pilot even though I'm part of the squadron. I'm on my way to arm my plane, would you like to follow?" Haruna asked, her voice quivering as she seemed nervous about letting another pilot see her ancient relic so quickly. What am I thinking? I know that it won't be a secret forever... but letting another see the plane which cannot load missiles, right now? So soon? As a bead of sweat trickled down her brow. Angel's nod brought forth several feelings - One of relief at being accepted, another of dread that she would have to reveal her plane to someone right now.

---

"...four one-thousand pounders, four five-hundred pounders. Also, three hundred rounds of ammunition for each machine gun. There are six fifty-cal Brownings. I ran the latest test yesterday, they're working fine."

Haruna passed the dossier back to the crewman, who nodded, signalling for the listed armaments to be loaded onto the Thunderstreak. Ruffling her hair, Haruna turned to Angel, who was finished with her F-15. A magnificent plane which inspired her to take up the path of aeronautical engineering and a career in the military, Haruna always dreamt of flying such a machine, one of the best that she'd seen.

"Nice plane you have there, Angel. I'm sorry I cant say the same for mine. I'm... working hard to ensure I'll be flying something better next time, and will be counting on you for air cover..." Haruna said, her eyes lowering slightly.

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Daniel
Callsign Gunny
Koga Airbase

Dan was sitting in the cockpit when he noticed another Airman going about their business with their aircraft on the other side of the hangar. He recalled the face from the breifing room earlier, and decided he would meet some other people in the squadron before the mission began.

"Joker, I'm going to make friends, watch the jet." Dan said.

"What am I? Your personal valet? Since I got here I haven't gotten out of the chair." Joker jokingly replied.

"Well, who's fault is that then?" Dan said as he exited the cockpit and went to meet the fellow airman. He drew near to the MIG and waved at the pilot. He got within speaking distance and introduced himself.

"I'm Lieutenant Dan, the pilot of the S-3 Viking over there, and one of your fellow airmen. Nice to meet you miss..."

[Empire of Donner land]

"I'm Lieutenant Dan, the pilot of the S-3 Viking over there, and one of your fellow airmen. Nice to meet you miss..."

2nd Lt. Amabel Allard "Knot"

Amabel was just checking the right Aileron as the Man came into the Hangar. Her head snapped up as he spoke looking at him and he Identified himself has Lieutenant Dan who's Aircraft inhabited the Hangar next to hers. She looked at him closely trying to recognize him and remembered him from the Briefing. He was with the other one who he called Joker whom she could only assume was his Co-Pilot of some sort. "My name is Amabel Allard, 2nd Lieutenant, if ranks even matter around this place, nice to meet you." She said plainly. "Call me Knot. Because up there that'll be my name so you better memorize it while you can." She rotated her Flight Helmet towards him 180 degrees showing a Knot on the front of it over the Visor "Welcome to my little part of the Base." She said holding her arms out looking out at the sheet metal that surrounded it and allowing her arms to flop back down. "I'm from Aurelia, you?" She asked making small talk. She was never good at this whole social thing.

[Launfal]

2nd Lt. Alexander Rudolf "Fenrir"

The briefing has ended. Alexander had listened quietly to the questions and answers thrown around the room. Most of them were good questions and he would have asked them himself if they didn't spill it. That was his preferred method after all, for somebody else to ask the questions. It also confirmed that they were competent. Better than having only hot-heads in cockpits, he remarked to himself. He noticed the fiery looks from the Major during the briefing and ignored it to the best of his abilities.

Alexander stood up and exited the room, being one of the last pilots to exit. He noticed some of the pilots chatting as they were old friends. It is natural of course for some soldiers -mercenaries to be exact- to find themselves in the same unit. You have to pray though that you were on the same side of the gun muzzle.

Alexander walked briskly towards his room. He needed to prepare himself for the upcoming mission. Upon arriving to the room, he changed from plain black short-sleeved shirt, his white camouflaged pants into his green flying suit with a menacing looking wolf patch -Fenrir- on his arm. Alexander didn't bother to shower or wash-up because he did already so before the briefing. His hand slid into his flying suit pocket and fetched an old black and white picture in protective plastic cover. He took the picture tentatively out of the cover and inspected it. It was a photo of his passing uncle and him posing in front of the Saab Tunnan. His uncle was grinning and Alexander was smiling as well, which is a rare sight in its self. Alexander slowly dropped his hand to his side. His other hand was slowly taking the shape of a fist. Those bastard Aurelians will pay, Unclehe thought fiercely. I swear to you.

He stood there for sometime while the light from the window shatters engulfed his back, drawing shadows on the floor of the room. If anything else, it made his appearance more frightening.

Slowly, he returned the picture to its cover and then to his pocket. Looking at a small disk in his room, he opened a drawer and picked up a map showing up the details of the area they will be patrolling. Alexander studied the map with complete focus taking into consideration what info did they have in the briefing. After he finished, he put on his SV-2 Survival Vest, checked his Glock 23 pistol and put it in its holster. He grabbed his black flying helmet with his fenrir insignia and got out of the room.

Heading to the hangar, he needed to tell the tech staff about the armament layout he decided upon. He has already asked them to fuel his aircraft and check the systems. After they finish their work, he will make the final checks on the aircraft. The layout he decided on will be two 300 gallon drop tanks on stations 3 & 4, six Mark 82 iron bombs (on two TERs) on stations 2 & 5 and finally a pair of Sidewinder AIM-9M for self-defense. The General Dynamics (GAU-12) 5-barreled Gatling cannon would be installed underside the fuselage with 300 rounds.

After he finished issuing his requests to the technicians, he felt that he had nothing better to do and decided to wait by his aircraft. He found a non-occupied wall which he leaned against and put his helmet on an empty tray. He looked at his watch. There was quite sometime before launch. He contemplated his AV-B Harrier II in its arctic camouflage with its gaping air intakes on both sides resembling the jaws of a mythological monster from fairy tales. Deep in thought, he barely took notice when a fellow male pilot walking from the S-3 Viking aircraft towards another female pilot who was working on checking her Mig-19. The female pilot was whistling softly some tunes that did sound very familiar to Alexander but he couldn't place his finger on it. He didn't know the true names of the pilots and just preferred to know their call signs. We might not know each other for long after all, he thought.

They did talk for a while, Alexander was not interested in hearing their small talk. However, he did hear a specific sentence that he couldn't ignore,

"I'm from Aurelia, you?"

[SaintB]

With the briefing over and him confirmed for the CO of the second squadron Garret intended to make his way up to Captain Tallow to discuss some of the mission details in more depth but as he started to make his way to the front of the room he was intercepted by an old ally.

"Major Garrett Jones, 'ow the 'ell 'ave ya been, brother?!" Frosty gave an extremely sloppy joke of a salute before leaning in and wrapping his arms around Jones, giving the major a quick bear hug before letting go, chuckling to himself. "Man, I 'aven' seen ya since SoSo, mate! Ya goin' good? E'rythin' alrigh'?"

With a laugh Jones returned the hug and patted his old squaddie on the back before letting go, "I've been just fine. After fighting aparthied with some of the money I made in the war I bounced around a bit. My dumb ass got a cushy job over in Levant for the last couple of years but then I took a leave of absence to come rattle some sabers here in Sien with you. How about you man? How've the last five years treated you?"

Before Aiden could answer a man pushing his way into the room through the crowd of leaving pilots bumped into him, he didn't think anything of it until he heard another familiar voice

"Garret?"

"Shit! Yuri!" he gave the man a genuine smile and offered a hand to shake.

"All we are missing is Longwei and the gang is all here! Listen guys, I'm the second squadron CO for this operation and I could use a couple of familiar squaddies. You guys up to it?"

[Ubaria]

The briefing was over quickly and so Noel madeway for the door, scrawling a few notes on a pocket notepad as he went, his first intention was to find the mess hall and consume a copious amount of food because his last meal had been a bowl of salad a day or so ago before he left Sapin, his stomach had been growling the entire way through the breifing and he had tried his best to mask the sounds made by his gut, to a varying degree of success.

The messhall itself wasn't that large, only a few rows of seats flanked either wall and the center isle led up to a small counter with a rather stout foreign gentlemen manning the place. Needless to say there had been quite a commotion when Noel had ordered two large plates of bacon and eggs along with four rounds of toast smothered in honey, a large hot chocolate and a can of some strange soda, it seemed like the place had been rather stingy with its portions up until Noel insisted he have more beans with his egg, the cook did nothing but babble in some strange language and throw his arms around in an act of protest, though Noel got his food in the end, after a heated debate, now the man was staring at him from across the room, Noel stared back as he pushed a whole slice of toast through his teeth, honey smattering the corner of his lips.

As he ate, Noel started to make his own personal plans for the mission ahead and assumed the other pilots were going to do likewise, he had already acquired a map of Seian, granted it was a tourist information map that held little tactical value, but it was a map nonetheless. Koga AFB had already been circled in red pen, quickly Noel circled the general area of Tokage River Valley and shaded in the border with Beiarusia, along with some exclamation marks, he then started drawing possible flight routes in and out of the AO if things went south. He hummed an unnamed tune as he went, taking a rather large gulp of still luke-warm hot chocolate, washing that down with a swig of soda, not the most appealing combo but he had to get his blood sugars somehow.

[Tayner]

"I'm Lieutenant Dan, the pilot of the S-3 Viking over there, and one of your fellow airmen. Nice to meet you miss..."

2nd Lt. Amabel Allard "Knot"

Amabel was just checking the right Aileron as the Man came into the Hangar. Her head snapped up as he spoke looking at him and he Identified himself has Lieutenant Dan who's Aircraft inhabited the Hangar next to hers. She looked at him closely trying to recognize him and remembered him from the Briefing. He was with the other one who he called Joker whom she could only assume was his Co-Pilot of some sort. "My name is Amabel Allard, 2nd Lieutenant, if ranks even matter around this place, nice to meet you." She said plainly. "Call me Knot. Because up there that'll be my name so you better memorize it while you can." She rotated her Flight Helmet towards him 180 degrees showing a Knot on the front of it over the Visor "Welcome to my little part of the Base." She said holding her arms out looking out at the sheet metal that surrounded it and allowing her arms to flop back down. "I'm from Aurelia, you?" She asked making small talk. She was never good at this whole social thing.

"Knot, that's a nice name. In the air I'm Gunny." He said. "My buddy, Jeff goes by joker. I'm from North Point, an He's from Sapin" He said. "I can't help but notice that there are way more fighters in the squadron, compared to strike aircraft." He said, trying to continue the conversation.

[Colony of Tribute]

Bjorn woke up from his short nap and exited his aircraft admiring the munitions he had set onto his aircraft, even if he wasn't supposed to be engaging any targets during this mission.

He walked around the aircraft once more doing another pre-flight check. He sat down on the stairs and studied the map of the Area, and possible flight paths. He looked for areas that they could try to ambush them in, as-well as nearby land features. He would need this information especially if he got shot down higher power forbidding.

He folded the map up and put it into his breast pocket on his left side. He inspected his munitions once again.

His Panavia Tornado GR1 was outfitted with two 27mm Mauser cannon with 180 rounds per gun, two AIM Sidewinder 9L/M AAMs, eight Mk.13/114 slick tail GP bombs, and a Sky Shadow ECM Pod.

The perfect set up for a multi-role aircraft expecting little to no resistance. Approving of everything he had seen so far Bjorn decided to go grab some food at the chow hall, and began his walk over there.

[Beiarusia]

2nd Lt. Mistuko Kimura “Angel”
Koga Air Base, Seian

Angel was finishing up final checks on her aircraft. An F-15C, courtesy of the FRD air force. Standard issue save for a few personal touches to the paint job. Atop the grey undertones was a thin white stripe on each wing as well as the angel sigil on the plane’s nose, left side and opposite her squadron identification number, 04. Null’s plane was similar but without the additional stripes. His number was 13.

Zeeger had joined her and Haruna in the hangar, sent down to prep the aircraft for sortie. She and Null would be going up with four AIM-9’s and two AIM-120’s each. Modest but with some versatility. No drop tanks.

“Everything’s looking good,” Zeeger told Angel, the pilot poking around inside the cockpit. Satisfied, she clambered out and made the hop down, stumbling but catching herself at the last moment. The mechanic moved to catch her but was thankfully unneeded. “You sure you guys gonna be alright?”

She waved off his concerns. “We’ll be fine. Just a simple patrol. Should be back before lunch.”

Zeeger nodded and packed up, he and the others moving to oversee the other aircraft on base. Angel watched him go before sauntering over to Haruna who just so happened to be stationed in the very same hangar, her steps exaggerated and as cheerful as the smile she wore.

"Nice plane you have there, Angel. I'm sorry I cant say the same for mine. I'm... working hard to ensure I'll be flying something better next time, and will be counting on you for air cover..."

A faux display of shock. “ What? You have an awesome plane! Rugged. Could maybe use a fresh coat of paint, but I’m sure it flies just fine. And don’t worry. We’ll have your back.” She grabbed the younger girl by the shoulders. “So cheer up, kay.”

---

Capt. Aleksei Tallow “Null”
09:28 September 18, 1992 / / Koga Air Base, Seian

Null stepped out and onto the tarmac. He was dressed in his flight suit, dark and with FRD insignias stitched into his chest and sleeve, his name, Tallow, among them. Under his arm was his helmet, black and glossy, a shared feature among those of the 101st Reaper.

The morning had been spent going over the dossier, a quick glance to familiarize himself with his new squadron, or at the very least memorizing their names. That had been followed by a quick breakfast and final preparations with the Major, much of which could be summarized as don’t fuck up. That had taken longer than expected.

Running just behind schedule Null was now crossing over to his hangar. Zeeger should have already prepped the Eagles so there was little worry, and with luck the others were making final checks now. The runway, small as it was, was alive with various personnel going about their duties and with the dull roar of aircraft already spooling up. Sewek could be seen across the way, his EF-111A moving out and onto the taxiway. The 2nd Lieutenant waved to the Captain before making a rude gesture. Null didn’t bother to return the favor.

Angel was already in her Eagle, Haruna on the opposite in with her Thunderstreak. Zeeger was making one last round. Zeeger gave the squadron leader a thumbs up. Angel, catching the gesture, was soon waving happily to her wingman. Null nodded and climbed into his own aircraft. A quick check of the systems and he was good to go.

He radioed in to to air traffic control.

Null: << This is Capt. Tallow. Morena is making its final checks. >>

Koga ATC: << We read you. Clearance for take-off will be granted shortly. >>

Null dialed in to the squad frequency and hoped they were listening in.

Null: << This is Null. If you’re hearing this I take it you’re ready to go. >>

[Launfal]

2nd Lt. Alexander Rudolf "Fenrir"

"I'm from Aurelia, you?"

Aurelia? World is such a very small place

Alexander lifted his eyes slowly to the speaker of these words; the female pilot from Morena squadron. He thought first his ears were deceiving him but he was sure that he heard it. He heard it . There is no question about that.

A lot of emotions were railing inside him; anger, relief, curiosity and rapture among others. For a moment, anger swelled up inside that he unconsciously grasped the side of the tray beside him so hard it squeezed. However, all of these emotions died down and only one remained; the emotion of the hunter who has finally found his unsuspecting prey. Fast enough, he regained his composure before anybody noticed anything unusual.

Alexander studied the female pilot intently, she was of medium height and weight with brown hair that was uneven at its end probably due to rough treatment. She seemed socially reserved just like him though not on his level. He heard the other pilot calling her "Knot" so that must be her callsign. Knot, Alexander thought, fitting name for a fitting person and probably a fitting end.

He caught sight of one of the technicians waving at him, signaling that his aircraft fitting was O.K. Alexander brushed the thought of "knot" out of his mind for now. There will be time to think about this, he thought, I have all the time in the world. Hurrying over to his plane, he nodded to the technicians and thanked them. He made a fast tour of his aircraft, looking for any defects. Feeling content, he hopped into his cockpit and checked all of the systems. All systems were green and no warnings were apparent on his MFDs or instruments. He checked the communication systems and familiar voice came out.

This is Null. If you’re hearing this I take it you’re ready to go.

[Rupudska]

Capt. Aleksei Tallow “Null”
09:28 September 18, 1992 / / Koga Air Base, Seian

Null stepped out and onto the tarmac. He was dressed in his flight suit, dark and with FRD insignias stitched into his chest and sleeve, his name, Tallow, among them. Under his arm was his helmet, black and glossy, a shared feature among those of the 101st Reaper.

The morning had been spent going over the dossier, a quick glance to familiarize himself with his new squadron, or at the very least memorizing their names. That had been followed by a quick breakfast and final preparations with the Major, much of which could be summarized as don’t fuck up. That had taken longer than expected.

Running just behind schedule Null was now crossing over to his hangar. Zeeger should have already prepped the Eagles so there was little worry, and with luck the others were making final checks now. The runway, small as it was, was alive with various personnel going about their duties and with the dull roar of aircraft already spooling up. Sewek could be seen across the way, his EF-111A moving out and onto the taxiway. The 2nd Lieutenant waved to the Captain before making a rude gesture. Null didn’t bother to return the favor.

Angel was already in her Eagle, Haruna on the opposite in with her Thunderstreak. Zeeger was making one last round. Zeeger gave the squadron leader a thumbs up. Angel, catching the gesture, was soon waving happily to her wingman. Null nodded and climbed into his own aircraft. A quick check of the systems and he was good to go.

He radioed in to to air traffic control.

Null: << This is Capt. Tallow. Morena is making its final checks. >>

Koga ATC: << We read you. Clearance for take-off will be granted shortly. >>

Null dialed in to the squad frequency and hoped they were listening in.

Null: << This is Null. If you’re hearing this I take it you’re ready to go. >>

Shinobu sat in the cockpit of her F-16, adjusting her gloves as she listened in to the chatter on squad frequency.

<<This is Hound. I am ready to launch as ATC directs.>>

Her crimson Falcon was loaded out with a mixed assortment of weaponry, befitting its multirole status. A pair of AIM-9M Sidewinder Mikes on each wingtip, a AGM-65D Maverick-D on each center wing pylon, and an AN/ALQ-131 electronics warfare pod on the fuselage pylon. She didn't expect to use anything but the EW pod, but it was better to be prepared than unprepared, especially for combat.

[Empire of Donner land]

"Knot, that's a nice name. In the air I'm Gunny." He said. "My buddy, Jeff goes by joker. I'm from North Point, an He's from Sapin" He said. "I can't help but notice that there are way more fighters in the squadron, compared to strike aircraft." He said, trying to continue the conversation.

"Yeah, seems were a mixed up bunch." She said replying to him as she walked around to the nose of the Aircraft. "North Point is a nice place, went there for a vacation when I was younger." She said as she checked the Air Intake one last time. The roaring of engines and Aircraft beginning to Taxi told her it was about time to go. "You should get back to your Aircraft, I'll see you in the Sky." She said coldly and then put on her Helmet and began climbing into the Cockpit of her Mig-19.

The Electronics were somewhat upgraded to keep up with the times but nothing too major. Other than that the Aircraft was otherwise completely Stock. She began to start up the Aircraft flipping the switches and rotating know around her. She made sure her Gun sight was activated and working with the Radar aswell. Soon fuel and other liquids in the aircraft circulated around like a Heart was pumping it forward. The engine took in air and the Jet began to push the Aircraft into the Sun the light reflecting off the Metal of the aircraft mostly around the White tips of the Wings and the Nose. As she did this she noticed someone who was just now getting to their aircraft, almost as if they were waiting outside her Hangar or something. She watched him as she taxied but otherwise stopped paying attention when she was approaching the Runway.

Knot: << Knot here, Ready to fly. >>