Ace Combat: Broken Line (IC/Open)

by **Anowa** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:24 pm

Lt. Jason 'Tombstone' Cain
2Lt. Holly 'Fantasy' Clark

After refueling Paladin, things kicked off rather quickly. Morena engaged with zero prejudice, as the now defected shape and color of Ranger's F-14D meandered it's way around. Likely in the controlling hands of Zeeger now.

Jason had other problems currently. Specifically the two Bricks coming at him from nine o'clock low.

"Contact."

Holly replied, already in the act of firing,

Fantasy: <<Fantasy, Fox-Two, Fox-Two.>>

With the recent upgrades, the extra second of waiting for a lock on either craft was no longer required. Both missiles streaked towards their respective targets, and one of the F-4s replied in tandem, a moment before breaking just out of the range of the ASRAAM's detonation. "Break!"

Tombstone yanked on the stick, dropping countermeasures all the while. But they didn't help, the bright glow of the incoming missile's trail one of the last things Jason spotted before it impacted solely on the underbelly of the craft. A resounding boom ripping through the cockpit and the skies above the barren and frigid sea. The mirrors of the craft became alight with the fire of whatever was hit.

Hostile F-4:<<Splash one Merc. Thought that would be harder.>>

Holly immediately set to work, dropping everything, and priming the ejection. "Seat's ready Jason!"

Jason, doing whatever he was doing, obviously wasn't pulling the bolts and the ejection handle, "Negative, I still have pressure."

Holly was once again slipping into a rather thick accent, "Jason we're on fucking fire! We need to eject! NOW!"

Jason shook his head, seeming to press a few buttons on the dash with finality, "Negative!" a thunk resounded through the airframe, as the buddy pod -the now obliterated and flaming wreckage it was- dropped into the night, though the wayward spray of some fuel still stuck on to the craft for a bit longer before puttering out, "Hydraulic pressure's fine, fuel's fine, every threshold's likely been broken. Weapons?" A pause, "Weapons!?"

"Fine." Holly voice was shakey, understandable given the mere insanity that Jason had suggested, "I'm keeping the seats primed."

Jason didn't reply, simply pulling the now aching plane around. The F-4 that nearly ended them making a beeline towards Ranger and his merry band. Not today.

Jason pushed the throttle and kicked on the afterburners, within a few moments the craft broke mach two and started shaking a bit. As they got within range again, Jason eased up as Holly dumped a duo of AMRAAMs.

Fantasy: <<Fantasy Fox-Three, Fox-Three.>>

Jason spoke as the missiles trailed away, "Electronics likely got fucked, we can receive. But we ain't broadcasting. Save it for maneuvers."

"Copy."

Ahead the final F-4 involved went up in a ball of flame, as the first missile loaded it with shrapnel, and the second turned it into a flaming heap of metal hurtling towards the frozen sea below. The sound of it's munitions cooking off resounding through the night.

Kills:
F-4E (F2) x2

Loadout:
~~AIM-132 ASRAAM x0~~
AIM-120 AMRAAM x4
Drop Tank x2
~~Buddy Refueling Pod x0~~
Vulcan x578 API

by **Beiarusia** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:00 pm

2nd Lieutenant Mitsuko Kimura “Angel”
November 6, 1992 // South Atlantic

Reppu had succeeded in knocking the MiG-31 off the tail of Aguila, and although the two AMRAAM's had failed to score a kill the heavy interceptor had taken damage to its leftmost wing from the proximity detonation, enough so to force it back into a supporting role. Not that the pilot escaped notice. A MiG-25 was quick to retaliate, latching on behind the Gripen and loosing its own missile. The nimble fighter was only just capable of defeating the attack but in doing so had lost considerable altitude, and what more the plane had slowed to a crawl, leaving it nigh defenseless against the better positioned interceptor. The killing blow never came, however, as the MiG-25 was peppered with cannon-fire, 20mm rounds tearing into the wings and fuselage. The enemy plane remained airborne but had gone evasive.

<< Haruna's lost enough planes without you helping. >>

Angel grinned from behind her oxygen mask as she looked down to the cold ocean far below towards where the Gripen was still recovering. The F/A-18 was soaring high overhead, and to Reppu the plane would appear as little more than a silhouette against a partially full moon, a shadow that lingered for only a moment before turning to reenter the fray. The enemy interceptors were pressing hard, but Morena had thus far managed to fend off the advance. But although the mercenaries were doing well they, too, were being pushed to the limit. The enemy pilots were skilled, and slowly the momentum was turning to their favor. Tombstone had taken a hit as had Gunny. Angel was running interference and would clear Gunny's six o'clock, much like Null who had dropped low to assist Dragon.

The RWR sounded and Angel, acting on instinct, broke into a tight roll in an effort to defeat the radar lock, but the tone persisted. Twisting her head she soon spied the culprit: the F-14D. Zeeger. The Super Tomcat had matched her maneuver and was again painting the Hornet. Angel pulled back on the control stick, looping the plane up and into another tight arc, but again failed to shake the pursing bandit. The plane leveled out.

<< Enki: I thought you were better than this. I'm disappointed. >>

<< Fuck off. >>

There was only a low chuckle as the Super Tomcat locked on once more. Angel snapped into a flat scissors, confident that the Hornet could more efficiently bleed off speed or, at the very least, could present itself as a difficult target. Zeeger wasn't about to allow her such a luxury. Crossing, the Hornet was pinged with cannon-fire. The right vertical stabilizer was cut free and the plane fell into a spin, dropping several thousand feet before Angel could recover. She struggled to keep the Hornet on course as the RWR sounded.

The tone soon changed to a missile warning.

Angel pulled hard on the control stick, but the wounded Hornet was unable to evade as it had done before. With only seconds remaining before impact, a second F/A-18 flew into the missile's flight path, dumping chaff and pulling the missile away before its proximity detonation tore into the right wing. Null's aircraft shook off the light damage and stayed on course.

<< Null! Are you alright? >> No response. << I'm right behind you. Let's- >>

<< Null: Stay out of this. >>

<< But- >>

<< He meant to kill you. So please, stay out of this. >>

<< Enki: Coming to the rescue. How like you. Was starting to think you wouldn't- >>

<< Null: Shut up. >>

<< Enki: . . . >>

Null's voice was calm but with an underlying tension like that of a viper preparing to strike. Angel had never seen her flight leader like this, and to be honest she was taken aback. It was as if a switch had been thrown.

<< Enki: Very well. >>

The F-14D banked, pulling away and towards more open airspace. Null followed soon enough. Both aircraft fell away into the night and Angel, watching them go, had to restrain herself lest she go after them. This wasn't her fight. This wasn't anyone's fight but theirs. Null, a member of the famed 101^st, and the man that had been his friend since the end of the war six years ago. No matter who would win both would lose.

by **SaintB** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:53 pm

Kyraina wrote:
SaintB wrote: "Come on in Zach, I was just about to go look for you." Jones called back when hailed.

He sat at his desk going through a stack of papers, skimming over them and then writing into a ledger, trying to get all of it done before take-off tonight. When Steele entered he waved him in and pointed at a chair by the desk then without a word slid over a manilla folder containing an itinerary, a loadout for Garret's F-14 tomcat, and various maps and charts, "I need a second chair, someone willing to volunteer to go with me and try to find Jax. Its a long shot but I know what airfield he would have to have landed at. They may still be holding them there and I want to do a reconnaissance mission, you were the first person I thought of."

Zach listened and opened up the folder, and after Garret had finished talking, continued to examine what was given to him. While he didn't speak for several seconds, the look on his face wasn't one of shock or even surprise, but of concentration.

"I'll do it. I'll take any shot I can get of getting Jax back home, and not way of body bag. Based off this intel you gave me here, even with this loadout, we will have to do a Hi-Lo-Hi, Starting out High, going Low right before we get into range of Radar and on way back, and then going High again once we are in the clear. I might be able to pick us out a flight path based on the charts you included I might be able to plot us a course that takes away from alot of the concentrated AA and the fighter bases, only problem would be any aircraft up there with look down-Shoot down radar." Zach said as he looked up and at Garret.

"That's why we'll have two layers of ECM also. The ECM built into the fighter itself and an ECM pod both running at the same time. We'll also have two decoys to throw them off the trail. If you think you can plot a better course or altitude plan I'm down for you trying though." Garret said leaning forward; "There is a catch to this mission. We can't tell anyone, only you, me, and Null will know about it until we are across the border."

"Yuria especially cannot know." he said it with a joking tone but he meant it very seriously; if she found out she would be the only thing that could stop him.

Zach smiled and nodded before studying the Map of the AO and shook his head. "Only thing I can suggest other than your route is to fly upstream on these two rivers, but those two ravines are barely be wide enough for the Tomcat leaving us hardly any room for error. After the second ravine ends, it'll put us just west of our objective, and the rolling hills and trees in that area will hide our approach for abit, but it appears we have to skim the trees. So between the your path or mine it depends on if you want to fly map of the Earth with very little room for error or not. Also I wont be telling anybody about this, though it would be nice to have A SEAD Aircraft with us, but i should be able to keep us hidden with the ECM as this kind of goes with my specialty as a SEAD backseater. " Zach replied as he looked back up at Garret and pointed to the two ravines with one splitting off from the other on the map.

Jones examined the ravines on the map and photos and nodded, "If we have good enough visibility I can fly that, it will depend on if the moon is covered by clouds and how clear the atmosphere is though. Moonlight will be out only light source, terrain following RADAR and infrared will be the only other visual aids; mostly this flight will a lot of instrument navigation and good old fashioned counting."

"Sounds good to me. We have a plan A and Plan B, well as long as nothing goes wrong before we go to take off. Now If you will excuse me, I need to go get ready for this, I'll be back in a few." Zach said as he stood and saluted, before exiting the room.

Garret "Shark' Jones and "Knight" Zach Steele
23:08 November 6, 1992
Koga Airbase, Seian

The two men had prepared for the mission by going over the procedure and plan one more time and then taking a four hour nap while the others held their training exercise. Since Zach was not on the list as a pilot and Null had excused Garret based off of his injury (so that he could be ready for his nighttime sortie) neither of them had to deal with that. The original plan was for Shark and Knight to take off at 9pm but one of the trucks in the supply convoy that carried the two decoys had a flat tire that held up the delivery; two whole hours later and the equipment was finally being fitted to the aircraft. The Tomcat only had about half it's fuel load for the first leg of the trip and was to meet with a tanker to top off both its internal and external tanks before they crossed the border but to do that they would need to be wheels up by quarter after. Shark was tense in the cockpit of the fighter and a little sore since he had been sitting there for more than an hour and a half by this point waiting for the damn trucks, the canopy was closed to keep out the frigid air and he felt a small amount of pity for the poor technicians who had to stand around in the frosty air while they had also waited but now they were at work attaching the equipment and doing a final walk around of the fighter before its secret sortie. Then suddenly the radio came to life with an unwelcome message <<Hangman 1, your mission has been cancelled. Morena Squadron is being called for a new mission over the South Atlantic and all available hands are needed.>>

Shark punched the side of the canopy glass and after a low long curse considered just taking off but from the back seat Knight seemingly read his mind and shook his head 'no' then gave the cut off signal, the mission was dead in the water so he answered the transmission, <<Hangman 1 to control. I copy, get me a full fuel load and an interception loadout of 4 and 4 Sidewinders and AMRAAMS.>>

The work crews would not be happy but it wasn't his fault that the enemy decided now was a good time to send a squadron in to wherever for whatever reason, <<Copy Hangman, Air Intercept package is incoming stand by, over.>>

Stand by? He'd been standing by for almost two and a half hours now... his response was to spool the engines down so that the fuel truck could come in.

23:46 The South Atlantic
The voice on the radio was Ranger! "Holy shit..." was all Shark could manage and Knight remained completely silent in his back seat. The Tomcat had nearly launched an AMRAAM at the bomber but the lock was quickly dropped and the target status changed to neutral as the pilot commented "I guess we are in the right place after all."

They both refrained from comment as the situation was explained and people exchanged words, mostly friendly but sometimes accusatory. When the enemy attacked though they both knew what to do and finally broke their silence, <<Hangman 1 to all call signs, I'll head to the ceiling, if anyone needs an assist call me up!"

by **The United Remnants of America** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:30 pm

Lieutenant Aiden Kelly

South Atlantic

11/7/1992 - 00:02

It was early morning, now. Aiden's original mark of fifteen minutes had been a mistake. It had taken fourteen minutes for Snowcat Flight to make radio contact with Morena, but in those couple minutes of radio contact, Snowcat had just listened to the chatter in silence. Something had happened. Sixty seconds after radio contact was made, a large blip appeared on the radars of the four planes. It had to be the Tu-95 bomber they were supposed to escort. As the flight of mercenaries approached, over the next thirty seconds several more blips appeared, confirming what they were hearing on the radio. A minute ago, visual contact had been made as Frosty watched an explosion flare in the distance directly ahead of him.

Frosty had let his oxygen mask hang loose, but now he strapped it in tightly, flexing his fingers and doing a final check on all his gauges and lights.

<<Frosty to Snowcat. It appears we have a conflict ahead of us. Prepare yourselves. Begin broadcasting on Morena squadron frequency.>>

<<Panther copy.>>

<<Talon copy.>>

<<Bear and Wolf copy.>>

Frosty then switched frequencies himself so he could contact his old wingmates.

<<Morena and Unidentified Bomber, this is Snowcat-1. We are on a course directly ahead of you and heading your way, distance one-hundred-ten kilometers and closing. I'd ask how copy, but it looks like your hands are full.>>

While Frosty was contacting Morena, the arrival of the new flight of mercenary planes had not gone unnoticed by all.

<<Cavalier Three to all. We have four new contacts. Distance One hundred kilometers and closing. They are not friendly, repeat not friendly. Moving to meet. Engage at will.>>

<<Cavalier Two to Cav Three, copy. Moving to engage.

Two MiG-31 Foxhounds broke from the fray, beginning a turn and burn towards Snowcat. The two ended up off each others' wing, increasing their throttle until they were moving past the bomber and towards the incoming mercenary flight. The had all but forgotten the Tu-95 in the run to engage, assuming that the defenseless plane would be easy pickings once the mercenaries had been put in their place: The ocean.

Aiden saw the movement on his radar, but looked up through his windscreen and saw nothing. What he wouldn't do to have an NVG set right now. "Shit..."

<<Frosty to Snowcat. We have two bogeys incoming without Morena IFF. Designate Bandit-1 and Bandit-2. Drop tanks and break stinger formation.>> His command was met with a trio of acknowledgements. Frosty looked to his right and flipped a switch. The slight vibration of explosive bolts resounded through his Thunderchief as two 1,200L drop tanks separated and fell from the jet. To his right, he watched Talon do the same. Behind him, he visualized Bear and Wolf's F-4E doing the same.

<<Panther, Frosty. Can't drop. Holding for munitions.>>

Frosty had momentarily forgotten Panther's Matra drop tanks had integrated rocket packs. He acknowledged the response and then initiated the split.

As one motion, Frosty's Thunderchief lofted high into the air, gaining altitude while to his left, Panther's relatively small Mirage peeled off. Talon's tiny jumpjet peeled to the right, taking the slowest turn while in the back, the F-4E ducked down low. In one moment, a tight-packed formation of four aircraft split into four. One of the Foxhounds broke left while the other broke right, leaving Frosty and the Tula twins without a frenemy to play with. To counter that, Frosty curled to his left and back down while the Tulas' aircraft spun right and up, both looping around as the Foxhounds came in on their prey. Frosty came in behind the MiG-31 that was behind Panther. The F-4 came in behind the Foxhound that was following Talon, effectively sandwiching both aircraft.

<<This is Talon, I'm spiked.>> A few seconds later, Talon spoke up again, <<Shit. Locked. I'm locked on!>>

<<Panther, I'm spiked, can't evade yet.>>

Frosty watched as he neared the Foxhound in front of him. The three aircraft were in a straight line, and it was only a few seconds more before Frosty was lighting up the Foxhound that was in turn lighting up Panther.

<<Bear has lock.>>

<<Frosty has lock.>>

It happened almost simultaneously. The Foxhounds each had a lock on Talon and Panther, and as one, they fired two R-73 missiles towards their targets. At the same time, Bear and Frosty both let loose with AIM-9 Sidewinders.

<<Bear, Fox Two!>>

<<Frosty, Fox Two.>>

<<Panther, dropping confetti!>>

<<Talon, can't evade!>>

Panther dropped chaff and put in a high-G turn to her left, trying to break the lock of the R-73 missile on her tail. The missile hit the cloud of metallic chaff and mistook it for the aircraft, exploding, the shrapnel of the missile only pinging harmlessly off of Panther's Mirage. Meanwhile, the Foxhound following Mirage had been attempting to get a second lock on Panther, and had tried to balance that with the missile lock behind him. He didn't manage his time well enough as Frosty's Sidewinder raced in an detonated, destroying the MiG's tail section, disabling the engine and hitting fuel lines. A spark set the fuel alight and the MiG exploded in a fireball, taking the pilot and WSO with it.

<<Panther clear!>>

<<Frosty, Splash Bandit-2!>> Holy shit, I got an air kill!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, Talon's slow Harrier was no match for the R-73's speed of Mach 2.5, over double the Harrier's max speed. Talon attempted to drop chaff to cloud his escape, but his Harrier wasn't fast enough to escape. The R-73 exploded before Talon had even had a chance to begin evading. Talon was close enough that the explosion of the R-73's 16lb warhead sent a shockwave through the Harrier hard enough that Talon's helmeted head was slammed against the side of the cockpit, knocking him out cold. Meanwhile, Bear's AIM-9 tracked hard on the Foxhound, who was smarter than his partner. He dropped chaff and pulled left before gaining altitude, trying to curl around the Sidewinder, but he didn't need to. The Sidewinder hit the chaff and exploded harmlessly, allowing the Foxhound to escape from the lock.

<<Bear, no hit, I missed! I think Talon was hit!>>

The Tulas could watch Talon beginning to spin out through their NVGs, something Frosty couldn't do. The Harrier had begun to corkscrew and lose altitude until the Harrier was pointing nearly directly down towards the ocean's surface.

<<Frosty, Talon, how copy? Talon! Talon, copy!>>

No response came. The Harrier was rapidly losing altitude now. Bear angled the F-4E so the Tulas could watch the grisly outcome for confirmation. The Harrier didn't slow signs of slowing until it hit the ocean's surface and Mach .7, crushing on impact. Lieutenant Jason Murphy had died on impact. There was a moment of silence for Snowcat as they digested the reality.

<<You killed my wingmate.>> The deep voice came over Frosty's radio. <<I liked Cav 2. You'll pay for that, Mercenary. I hope you can fly better than your wingmate can.>>

Frosty's hands tightened on his controls and he ground his teeth. <<Bring it, you bastard!>>

Kills:
Frosty: x1 MiG-31 Foxhound

Losses:
Talon

by **Tayner** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:03 pm

Second Lieutenant Dan
Over the South Atlantic Coast
Gunny

"Come on Joker, what 'ave we got?" Gunny asked.

"Two sidewinders and a full load of cannon rounds." Joker responded.

"That fucker is coming around for another run, we're too hurt to run. We're gonna 'ave to face 'er-"

"Bandit! Three 'o clock!" Joker yelled as a MiG broke off from it's previous engagement, and locked the Hornet.

"Chaff, flares!" Gunny yelled as he juked the plane as hard as he could to evade the missile. After the missile flew off course, Dan started looking around. "Look, the second bandit is coming around front, as soon as she crosses, lock 'em and hit 'em." Dan said as he pointed to an interceptor that was the culprit of the attack.

Joker << Fox-2 >>

Gunny watched as the missile impacted the rear of the interceptor, destroying the engine, and igniting the fuel.

Gunny: <<Hangman Five-Two, I got one MiG-31, a second is coming around. Over>>

While they were fighting off the second interceptor, Cavalier managed to gain some altitude and turn around, and started to lock the Hornet. Thankfully Joker was on top of it, and Dan had put the Hornet right on course. It was an unfavorable angle of attack, but there was no alternative. Joker let loose a few heavy bursts of cannon fire to give the enemy ace something to think about while he finished the missile lock.

Gunny: << We're locked! >>

Joker: << Fox-2 >>

The pilots watched as their last missile fell off the wingtip, and down into the ocean, it's thruster never engaging. "What the fuck!" Dan yelled as he started preparing to eject.

Gunny: << Hangman Five-Two, Missile's trash, we've gotta bail. Over. >>

"Hit it!" Joker yelled as Dan finally hit the eject button, sending both pilots into the air as the 17 million dollar aircraft glided away, and was impacted by a missile, obliterating the entire jet. Cavalier wasn't done yet, as he singled out a parachute's silhouette against the snow-white coast. A burst of cannon fire, and the parachute collapsed, sending it's pilot into the deep blue.

Cavalier: << It was a good try, merc. >>

Dan could only look down at the bracelet he wore on his wrist as he felt the weight below him fall faster and faster. He couldn't even scream or breathe as he plunged downward.

Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreau
The South Atlantic Coast
Joker

"You fucking bastard!" Joker shouted at the top of his lungs as he saw his friend's parachute riddled with bullets. "I'll fucking-" Joker was cut off by the pain in his back from ejecting, and a cough due to years of smoking. It wasn't long until his seat fell onto the ground, just off the icy coast. Joker cut his straps and belt off, and ran to his parachute.

He went over his gear, his flight suit which wouldn't do much to keep the heat out, a pistol, whatever good that would do, a small red handheld flashlight, and some boxed Seianese military rations, and his pocket knife. He would have to improvise if he didn't want to freeze to death.

Joker went to work, cutting fabric off the seat he ejected in, and the foam underneath, and layed it down on the parachute. After he got enough, he layed down on the parachute, rolled the cloth over him and his sides, and snuggled up, trying to fight the cold as best he could. He opened a ration, and ate the shitty beef patty and dried peaches. He sat tight, hoping he could keep his body warm long enough for a rescue chopper to find him, although he didn't count on it.

All he could do was watch as tracers and missiles flew above him off the coast, a deadly sight to behold, being watched from an even deadlier place, the frozen desert.

Kills: 1x MiG-31

by **Relikai** » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:08 am

Ansan General Hospital, Ansan

It was late, and most of the city has gone to sleep. Squads of military police patrolled the streets with local security volunteers, the city ordered to go dark after a certain time. Only specific buildings continued to run at full capacity, including the power plant, and the damaged hospital now housing over a hundred casualties of the Battle of Ansan.

Most were Seianese and Dorusian troops, wounded during the final push into the city core, although there were several Beiarusians who were too wounded to be shifted to medical camps. Although the thought of serving their enemies was preposterous to a portion of the locals, those in the medical profession practice a code of saving those who need aid.

"Patient stabilized as of two-three-five-five." The doctor said as he watched the man drift into sleep, sedatives going to work as the body continued to fight infection from taking over. Bullet wounds and shrapnel kill quickly or were obvious to the eye, but infection grew from within the body, responsible for plenty of 'sudden deaths' when medicine wasn't as advanced as today. The doctor continued to scribble on his board, assisted by a nurse nearby. Not any nurse, but a nurse he knew from the start of the war till this day, working as a team despite a temporary separation when Doctor Yoshima chose to stay in Ansan, treating and protecting the wounded till the end.

"You should get some rest." The nurse spoke, her voice soft and laced with fatigue with dark rings circling her eyes. It was the fifth day in a row where she managed to catch only short naps, working hard and pushing her body beyond her normal limits to help the severely understaffed hospital. Personnel were yet to report in full, with several choosing to stay with their families in safe zones until the war ended. Not all who were missing chose that however, for the war claimed not simply military lives but civilians in collateral damage. Ansan General Hospital reported a fifth of their staff wounded or killed by accidental fire or collateral damage, such as being shot while guiding wounded into the hospital, or a stray explosive going off at the most unfortunate time.

"Speak for yourself. It's been what, four days since you slept? I hardly caught any sleep and you've always been the one waking me up."

Truth be told, Takahashi Mayu was exhausted. She kept herself awake with a mixture of coffee, tea, the occasional shower and caffeine pills. What really kept her going however, was her conviction. The sight of wounded people, be it friend or foe, moved her beyond her selfishness, to the point where she'd choose to take extra shifts as long as she could work without a headache. Procedures lasting several hours were taken on without hesitation, Mayu standing at the ready with her tools at the doctor's behalf.

It seemed to fit into her current way of life, that whenever she removed her top to reveal the scars on her back, Mayu remembered how it felt like to be wounded, the pain from protecting someone. That these soldiers fought to extend their protection so people like her do not need to go through such pain again, the nurse would honor them, just like how she looked up to a certain mercenary squadron flying for Seian, and a specific person who she met personally during the early stages of the war.

How time seemed to fly, for the war seemed to be coming to an end with Beiarusia all but expelled from Seian.

"I'm going for a smoke, and a nap. Care to join me for some outside air?"

"Give me three, I'll change out of these scrubs."

Her scrubs were dirty, a result of an operation to cut the growing infection from the infantryman's thigh before it cost him a limb. Mayu staggered towards her makeshift dorm, feeling the stress of fatigue as her head thumped with a dull pain. Her vision was slowly becoming blurry, something she fought against by leaning on the wall and taking a sip of water before continuing. In the silence, she stood facing the mirror as she checked her body, her uniform in the laundry basket as a simple t-shirt and shorts served as her casuals and sleeping attire. The scars could be seen from the moonlight, wounds taken from an explosion several floors above her head.

She remembered that day, and she remembered the events that followed.

"The war should be ending soon, and we can all... finally.. go home." The man said as he flicked his cigarette to the side. Despite resisting the temptation to smoke, Yoshima eventually needed that extra kick to keep himself going. The same could not be said of Nurse Mayu, who simply stood by the side as the cold air whipped her hair to the back, her long mane finally free of her uniform and allowed to flow.

"Not many keep their hair long, find them too much of a hindrance. Why'd you keep that?"

"You're being talkative this night, doctor. Are you sure the fatigue isn't getting to your brain?"

"No, no. I'm serious here, although... you do look fabulous with that hair. No wonder..."

She turned away from the darkened city to face the doctor, who was similarly leaning on the balcony, his eyes staring at some point far, far away.

"No wonder?"

"Nah. Forget I said anything."

"We won't catch much sleep with questions unanswered."

"Fine... no wonder he came to fancy you."

"..."

Two pairs of eyes now surveyed the city. The quiet skies, the still streets. Only the occasional vehicle could be heard, it's low powered headlights providing little illumination as the soldiers continued to keep the peace.

"You mean Dan-san."

"Dan... or anyone. To be honest, if I met you earl-"

"You did, I know. But you know too, that night we evacuated. That was why you chose to stay, right?"

"I can't say that I was the honorable, altruistic man since the start of my career. I was an junior, but... yes. That night showed me my true calling. Where I really belonged."

Yoshima gave a chuckle, shaking his head at the impromptu confession he gave his partner right there. Perhaps the fatigue was really loosening his tongue, the feeling that he might drop anytime and never wake up again lowering his inhibitions. He did not want to leave the world with regrets, after all.

"I'm sorry, this isn't the time to say such things."

"Anytime is as good as this, Yoshima-san. After all, Morena... They are mercenaries, right? After they're done in Seian... they'll go to another place, or their nation of employ, right?"

"He will have time to drop by, Mayu. You do not have to worry about such things."

"That no one tell us anything about that unit except their actions... casualties... everything is kept in the dark..."

The hand grasped her wrist with a strong grip, snapping the nurse from the beginning of a possible tirade. The consequence of pushing the body too hard, one might be relegated to the mentality of a five-year old demanding rest and a break from the world of the conscious. Mayu took a deep breath, a hand moving to her chest as she controlled her breathing, before flashing the doctor a smile before looking at her wrist.

Her bare wrist.

"Ah, sorry." Yoshima said as he released his hand on Mayu. "I remember. You asked me how to string accessories during our first meeting here. Haha, you surprised me. I was just fresh from Koga, you know... anyway... have you managed to make good use of the notes I passed you?"

The nurse nodded, turning back to the night sky as she peered at the full moon. It was a quiet night, no planes, no gunfire, no sounds of war. Only the faint snores of the resting, the footsteps of doctors taking over their shift.

"Yes. I forgot how it looked like tho." Mayu whispered, her mind drifting to the sight of a man she missed. "But... I'll be looking forward to seeing it again."

by **Anowa** » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:48 am

Lt. Jason 'Tombstone' Cain
2Lt. Holly 'Fantasy' Clark

Gunny: << Hangman Five-Two, Missile's trash, we've gotta bail. Over. >>

"Find them."

Holly didn't need anymore incentive. Someone had just taken down two of their own. And Jason knew more than anyone what it was like to bail in conditions like this. Even if they landed on dry land, they might as well be dead anyway.

It didn't take long to find the now engulfed Super Hornet, it's payload cooking off within. "Three o'clock, high. MiG-31 trailing close."

"Copy. Prep single launch."

Holly shuffled a few buttons on the dash around. AMRAAMs were prepped to be fired one by one. The duo of thunks echoed through the air frame as Jason finally dumped the fuel pods. Immediately it seemed to be more responsive.

Jason pulled back on the stick into a climb, as the throttle was pushed forward, "Let's gut this fucker."

Cav-1:<<Another merc to play hero hmm? Tell me, what makes you think you'll fare better?>>

the Hornet crew's sole response was an AMRAAM. Streaking towards the target like a bat out of hell. But with the telltale signal of chaff and flares, Jason knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

Cav-1:<<Straight to business then. Fair enough.>>

"Cocky motherfucker." Jason rolled the craft as the MiG turned to intercept. His mind blanked back to training, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the mainstay Stovie craft at the time. The Foxhound was one of the worst dog-fighters to come out of a Yuke factory. Rate of climb was shit, 5G load maximum compared to the F/A-18B's 13Gs, big and heavy. All it had going for it was speed, and in a turn fight that was useless, he couldn't outrun a missile anyway.

The airframe shuddered as Tombstone pulled in behind the larger craft. Through NVGs and through the tracers lighting up the sky it might as well been coated in reflective vests. He pressed the fire on the vulcan, lighting up a beam of tracers into the plane's center mass. It shuddered before peeling in another direction, Jason followed, easily capable of maintaining a tail so long as nothing fucky happened.

Another AMRAAM peeled away from the wing, as the missile warning within the cockpit warned them of the Cavalier's wingman coming to help. Pumping the throttle down and dumping more countermeasures, Jason maintained his course. The upgrades they'd gotten had so far not failed them... At least not in the sense it was their failure. The previous hit they took was seen and reacted to too late for an effective countermeasure dump. Regardless, he pressed on. More tracers beamed into the night sky, some finding their target, most not.

The Foxhound slowed, it's airframe and fuel issues as a result of being regularly perforated, another missile warning and another dump of flares and chaff. The resounding boom giving them clarity for a moment or two. Holly fired the third AMRAAM, it flew true, nailing the engine shroud of the MiG. it began to trail a hefty amount of smoke before the sole engine was all that was left running. The craft was no threat, and certainly wasn't in any condition but to simply limp home.

Yet they remained on his tail. Jason was not one to simply let a man like this go. Only to come back and wound his squadron again. Kill them off one by one like Gunny and Joker, leave people wounded like the nurse Dan visited all the damn time, leave the squadron even less prepared for the coming storm. Kill even more people that Jason trusted, considered friends and fire forged family. So he presed that button down, and tracer bore a hole through that Mig, setting it alight and leaving it a burning husk that drilled towards the ground.

But from within the ashen and metal tomb rose it's controller. Trying to do the same as Joker and Gunny had done a few moments prior. Tombstone blasted past him. Before circling around, he lined the crosshairs up on the bastard's chute, finger resting on the trigger. But he hesitated, his finger relaxed, and the craft angled down the slightest. He pushed the thottle to full, afterburners glowing. They broke mach two.

"Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'." And in that moment, blood and viscera caked it's way onto the front of the Hornet's canopy, before quickly being wiped away by the sheer wind force.

"Next target."

Holly replied in a rather subdued tone, "I think Garret might want to get paid today Jason. We should RTB anyway, we don't have much munitions left. Hardly enough for a defensive role even."

Jason paused, before angling the craft towards home with utmost speed, wanting to get back the friendly airspace without getting shot at again. Holly on the other hand keyed the mic, hoping someone would get something from them.

Fantasy: <<Hangman 3-2, munitions low, we are RTB. Over.>>

Kills:
F-4E (F2) x2
MiG-31 [Cavalier-1] (F4+ACE) x1

Loadout:
~~AIM-132 ASRAAM x0~~
AIM-120 AMRAAM x1
~~Drop Tank x0~~
~~Buddy Refueling Pod x0~~
Vulcan x114 API

by **Ubaria** » Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:14 pm

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & Maria 'Outlaw' Ferrerio
Over the South Atlantic

Cavalier pressed the attack from the rear in a relentless fashion, still a ways off, the Foxhound managed to retain the Falcon in it's sight-line even though in any other situation, the F-16 would be able to outmaneuver the heavier MiG any day of the week, the Interceptor pilot knew his plane better however and managed to push the bucket to it's very limits to keep Aguila under constant radar lock, the pressure was mounting and the additional MiG coming from the side kept the Falcon inside the killbox with sporadic bouts of cannon fire, harassing to give his wingman an easier kill.

"How is he still behind us!?" Maria emphasized more than a little hint of panic in her tone of voice, her eyes wide in horror were transfixed on the Foxhound in the rear mirrors, awaiting the tell tale flash of a missile launch, though it never had the chance.

"It's Reppu!"

The recognizable silhouette of the Gripen stood out even against the darkened night sky, it roared past after launching two successive missiles that bore down on the member of Cavalier flight rapidly. Unfortunately, neither missile scored the kill yet one detonated close enough to damage the Foxhound with a concussive blast, forcing the enemy to retreat and his wingman to break off now that the Falcon was free one pursuer.

<< Muy bien! Thanks for the assist Reppu, i owe you. >>

Victory was finite. Talon had gone down. Lieutenant Murphy had been with Morena out the outbreak of war and furthermore had been part of Ghost flight for some time before being transferred to Snowcat upon request, now he lay at the bottom of the antarctic. If that wasn't all, Gunny and Joker only a few moments later fell prey to the Foxhound that had disengaged Noel just previously, he didn't see the impact nor did he see any parachutes, only the dull silver form of the Hornet as it continued it's present course now unmanned.

<< Fuck... Get S and R out here ASAP! >>

Survival on the ground was unlikely, in the ocean even more so. There was little in the way of shelter or resources in such a hostile place, death would approach in mere hours, perhaps even minutes. Whilst searching for any sign of the Hornet pilots, a MiG-25 had begun burning in a curve, lining up the Falcon within lock parameters, the warning tone gave Noel the incentive to look up for the assailant.

"Where?"

"Four 'O-clock. MiG-25 in missile range!"

The grainy night vision did well to pick out the black blotch, the Foxbat was turning hard to keep the Falcon within its sights but didn't need to do so for long and had snapped off an IR seeking missile before turning away. The move was bold, the missile had been launched at an angle at the front of the plane which prevented the seeker head from acquiring a decent target picture, it was easily defeated by a string of white hot flares falling away into the cold night. Without a cannon as an option for close dogfights and without the distance to acquire another lock, the MiG pilot broke a hard left and passed across the Falcons nose almost inviting it to give chase.

One hard turn later and soon enough the twin exhausts of the Foxbat loomed into view, burning a twisting trail across the sky, weaving and bobbing about knowing that it now had become prey, however the Falcon followed with little trouble and it wasn't long before it attained a positive IR lock.

<< Fox Two, Fox Two >>

A pair of Sidewinders departed the Falcon at speed in a staggered nature, almost instantly starting to curve to keep up with the rolling Foxbat which at the first sign of missiles, had deployed a stream of flares that defeated both missiles, each one veered off course and was lost to the night. Still with a pair of Sidewinders left, Noel would try again but this time with the cannon, rather than risk the same tactic twice in a row, first he would need to give the MiG some breathing room, such rapid maneuvers quickly bled energy.

<< Going to guns >>

Sensing a lapse in the pursuit, the MiG tried for a breakaway and began angling upwards in a bid to escape, presenting almost a full flat target, a larger surface area for the cannon rounds to land on.

<< Guns, Guns, Guns >>

Tracers lanced forward in a constant stream that rose, then dipped towards the departing MiG in its bid for freedom, it wouldn't make it very far. A few rounds missed at first yet the rest impacted almost squarely with the top side of the steel fuselage, dissolving the precious innards of the plane and ultimately, blowing the entire left hand portion of the plane off when the structure gave out from the stress, moments later the pilot departed in a similar fashion.

<< Bandit is history. >>

Kills:
2x F-3 (MiG-25 "Foxbat")

Ordinance:
Vulcan Cannon - 350x 20mm API rounds
1x AiM-120 (Mid Wing Pylons)
2x AiM-9 (Outer Wing Pylons)

by **Kyraina** » Thu Mar 09, 2017 1:02 pm

1st Lt. Zach "Knight" Steele. Backseat of Jones' F-14D

Knight shook his head as he tried to clear it of Emotions, but was unable to do so, but soon something else found his attention as he looked at his radar screen.

"Shark, We have One going for the Bomber. Appears to be a MiG-31. Bearing down on west side. They are Almost in Missile range of the Bomber. They are to Focused on the bomber, and Paladin. Well, since the Bait is set how about we feed the Shark? We are in recommended distance for AMRAAMs, but outside of Range of Winders and Guns. Would Recommend closing Distance, and..." Zach was saying as he glanced at the radar screen again. "Shit, We got 2 MiG-25s coming in behind us, most have skirted around the furball. Well let's show them what a Shark will do."

1st LT. Jax "Ranger" Bradford. TU-95 Bomber

Ranger kept calm as he and the others listened to the radio chatter, and his hands tighten on the Yoke of the Bomber.

"Ranger?"

"Yeah Skull Kid?"

"We Have One Bandit in bound straight towards us."

"Copy that.........."

Paladin 1-2: <<Ranger, Paladin 1-2. You have One bandit in bound, appears to be 1 MiG-31, We Are Moving too Engage. How Copy?"

Ranger: <<That's a good copy Paladin 1-2, Ranger out>>

About that time the missile warning started flashing and making noise, so Ranger broke the bomber to the left, while Skull Kid Popped Chaff and Flares. there was a small explosion and the sound of Shrapnel hitting the body of the bomber, but everybody reported back fine, but the Alarm was still on so Ranger reverse direction, bringing the Bomber back to its original direction, and then the missile warning stop.

Paladin 1

After they told Ranger they were going to engage, a missile appeared on Radar and headed towards the bomber, bUt Paladin was already committed to turning around and engaging the MiG 31. Paladin 1-2 told 1-1 that the Bomber was in the Air and the 31's missile had been trashed.

The SU-30 sped towards the 31, who in turn broke off their attack on the bomber to engage the new threat. Both Planes sped at each other and both opened up with cannons, but both aircraft had only scored minor hits as the sped pass each other, but Paladin 1 was already preforming a J-turn to come up behind the 31.

Paladin manage to complete their turn before the 31 was even half way through its own, so Paladin let two of its missiles fly knocking the MiG-31 out of the Sky.

Paladin: Kills: 1x MiG-31
Ammo:
50x 30 MM HEI-T rounds
Bingo Missiles

by **Prosorusiya** » Sat Mar 11, 2017 4:35 pm

<<Dash: Shark, I see them! I'm on their tail!>>

Nonna swept her MiGs wings as far back as they would go, and slammed on the afterburner. The MiG-23P's R-29 engine sent shock diamonds rippling through the clear night sky as her fighter strained to keep up with the ever enlarging dots of the twin MiG-25s engines. Mach 1.5, Mach 1.7, Mach 1.8... Nonna clenched against the growing Gs, as the edges of her vision blurred.

She gulped a breath of air, and forced her self to stare at the cherry red points of light in front of her, till they had almost become one. Guns? No, they were moving too fast. She stared down at her control stick, pushing it into a dive on the enemy aircraft, as a framilliar tone filled her ear. R-60s... are... the only way!

<<Dash: F...Fox. Two! Two!>>

The heat seekers spiraled away from Nonna's fighter, but exploded harmlessly in the Foxbat's exhaust trails. Quickly, she rolled her fighter, avoiding the resulting shrapnel.

These were the times Nonna wished she still had her Flagon, it would have been able to get her closer to her quarry. Still, the old bird would have fallen apart if she'd pulled the same maneuver, and for that she owed the boys at Mikoyan a bottle of kvass.

by **Parcia** » Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:39 am

Dragon

He yanked up on the stick a little too hard, pulling some 6 Gs and causing the edges of his vision to blur. As he leveled the plane out, he took a look around, Reppue was saved, the Bear looked fine, even in the hairball. He searched around and caught the explosion as Nona's missiles went off behind the Foxbat and keyed in to the mic.

<<Dragon: Dash, make him turn, get him slow and I'll intercept>>

He banked the Viper hard to the right and rolled in to the inverted before diving to close in on the Foxbat as it lead Nona on.

He thumbed the master switch over and selected the single Sparrow he had left, hopefully this one wasn't a dud.

by **SaintB** » Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:29 am

Kyraina wrote:"Shark, We have One going for the Bomber. Appears to be a MiG-31. Bearing down on west side. They are Almost in Missile range of the Bomber. They are to Focused on the bomber, and Paladin. Well, since the Bait is set how about we feed the Shark? We are in recommended distance for AMRAAMs, but outside of Range of Winders and Guns. Would Recommend closing Distance, and..." Zach was saying as he glanced at the radar screen again. "Shit, We got 2 MiG-25s coming in behind us, must have skirted around the furball. Well let's show them what a Shark will do."

Shark glanced down at the scope to see the two MiGs closing fast. Outrunning a 25 even in his Super Tomcat was not an easy proposition; they were faster and could climb higher than he could. To escape he would need to let them close and then out turn them before they could fire. The R-31 would just have to wait... "Prep chaff and flares, we can't outrun them so we'll have to out maneuver them which means they might get a shot on us."

A voice came on the air with a message for the crew of Hangman 1,

Prosorusiya wrote:<<Dash: Shark, I see them! I'm on their tail!>>

<<Dash: F...Fox. Two! Two!>>

Missiles were launched from the Aardvark at the two MiGs who now had to break away from the attack made on them; freeing up the Shark to engage the 31, "We're clear, get me an AMRAAM, we'll take a shot to get them off the bomber and then close for a kill, its risky but I can't think of a better plan."

Knight just queued up the weapon and designated the MiG-31 as a target and Shark gave chase, "When we got tone fire." he ordered as he pointed the nose at the enemy fighter heading for the escape plane.

As if he were his namesake blood lust rose up in the pilot, a predatory instinct took over as he homed in on his future victim and waited for the solid tone that would herald the death of one more lesser predator but this wasn't to be his kill. Suddenly the SU-30 escorting the bomber was in the way just before Knight could pull the trigger. The two fighters exchanged cannon fire and Shark had to evade to avoid getting hit by shells and shrapnel. Paladin's fighter was a sharper turner and was carrying less fuel and was on the R-31 before the Tomcat could even get its nose back around and a pair of missiles finished it off, "Damnit! We had them!" he nearly shouted into the headset as he looked around for a new target, he hadn't fired a shot in anger for weeks, or in fact, been paid in weeks because of his damn bum leg and his fighter's instincts were taking over, "There, right there, one of the MiG's that tried to sneak up on us is separated from his wing and squirting out. Mark him, give me two 120s!"

Chasing down a retreating enemy was not his style but he didn't think they were running away; they still had a full weapons load and possibly a lot of fuel left over and would certainly return to the outskirts furball to find a target. Getting the Tomcat in position to fire was easy for a pilot like Shark against the MiG but catching it would be a difficult proposition. As soon as the first ping on its RWR came up the pilot did the predictable thing and opened the throttle then began climbing, hoping to clear the range of his attacker but the the powerful RADAR of the Tomcat combined with the advanced avionics of the AMRAAM missile meant he could never escape the incoming attack, but it didn't mean he couldn't evade. With a clear tone Shark pulled the trigger on his first shot in what felt like forever, <<Shark, Fox 3.>>

The AMRAAM left the Tomcat's undercarriage and fell back behind the fighter that launched it before the engine ignited and the weapon rapidly climbing past the fighter on an intercept course that put it at nearly 90 degrees vertical. At the range and trajectory the missile would actually climb to nearly 25,000 meters and then drop down from above to make its attack on the MiG. It was only visible for about a second before hitting Mach 4 where it would be impossible for the eye to perceive. With one away Shark immediately began working on a second missile lock; the way the two were flying it wouldn't be the most difficult task to evade the weapon that was already launched and he wanted to ensure the kill. The pilot of the MiG-25 pumped chaff countermeasures and rolled his aircraft then nosed down back toward the deck; the missile warning had distracted the pilot enough that he didn't notice the RWR pinging again until he had evaded the first missile and now it was too late, "I got you now."

<<Shark, Fox 3.>>

All Shark had to do was slow his fighter a bit and decrease his angle of climb then the second missile was away as soon as the nose of the Tomcat was in position and it was safe to fire, this one had plenty of room to track it's target it and set itself on an intercept path that intersected with the MiG dead center before it was even able to dive below Shark's vision, fifty pounds of high explosives and fragmentation obliterated the fighter entirely in a mass of flames and scrap metal.

<<Splash one MiG!>>

"Ok, Knight, get me another target. That was too easy."

by **Relikai** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:03 pm

Second Lieutenant Kanzaki Yuria, 'Reppu'
South Atlantic

<< Haruna's lost enough planes without you helping. >>

Reppu: << Hah. It's hard to even if I tried. >>

The pilot smirked into the helmet as she turned to see her chaser break off the attack. Memories flashed back of a similar incident, only that the target was a much more capable fighter than an interceptor, although the dynamics and handling of Reppu's plane remained largely similar. Engaging her engines, the nimble Gripen twisted in the air as Reppu placed her sight on the retreating MiG-25, testing the MICA missile's ability to track and hit targets behind the plane with a thumb on the button. Reppu was confident, that in the cold air of the South Atlantic, the heat-seeker would have no trouble in acquiring the interceptor, especially after it just tossed out a bunch of flares.

Reppu: << Scarecrow Five, Fox Two. >>

The smoking Foxbat stood no chance with the missile tearing into it, Reppu exhaling as she saw the flash, nodding her victory. The Gripen fell into a barrel roll, Reppu gunning forward as she scanned her radars and settings. Some misalignments here and there, but the Gripen was doing alright. Perhaps the colder conditions of the South Atlantic affected a couple of readings, for the Foxbat wasn't where Reppu plotted it to be, otherwise she would have been confident of taking it down by herself.

Heck, it's almost like Reppu was cheating, engaging interceptors in a nimble dogfighter in close range.

Reppu: << Scarecrow One, Scarecrow Five here. Any instructions? Otherwise I'll continue to provide overwatch for our big Bear here. >>

Kills -
MiG-31 Foxhound
MiG-25 Foxbat

Weapons -

3x Sidewinders
1x MICA
27mm Revolver Cannon, 120 rounds.[/quote]

by **Kyraina** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:11 pm

1st Lt. Zach "Knight" Steele

"Alright Shark, let me see here. Oh here we go, we have a another 31 sneaking up behind the bomber, i think it was the one that took some damage earlier, as it was heading Northwest, now heading southeast to try and get a lucky shot at the bomb..........Shit! Two missiles imbound towards Ranger. Shark get that bastard."

<<Ranger, Paladin. This is Knight. Y'all have missiles heading right for y'all, I repeat y'all have missiles inbound.>>

Knight watched on the radar as the two craft did their best to evade. He saw one missile trashed by the flares and chaff of both Ranger and Paladin, but the other was still making a Beeline for the TU-95, and then impact. To his surprise the bomber was still on the screen and unchanging in altitude and speed.

Knight: Ranger Are Y'all fine there?

Inside Knight felt the anger boiling up but was doing his best to remain calm, and was slowly losing the battle to his anger.

"Shit Shark, that 31 is coming back around for the kill on Ranger and the others on that bomber."

1st Lt. Jax "Ranger" Bradford

Ranger and the others had heard the radio call of the inbound missiles, and both him and Paladin took evasive action, trashing one but not the other missile, as it impacted the tail gun turret.

Everyone onboard the bomber said they were all right as Ranger and Skullkid had fought to keep the bomber level and at its current speed. Both then heard Knight's voice over the Air again.

Ranger: Yeah, we are good here Knight. Just bruised, and we lost no one as as the tail turret is remote-controlled from up here in the cockpit. We have some damage, and Yaw is a little slow now but otherwise we are green.

by **The United Remnants of America** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:22 am

Lieutenant Aiden Kelly

South Atlantic

11/7/1992 - 00:05

Frosty and Panther were on each other's wing as they turned and headed to reinforce the surviving third of Snowcat Flight. Ahead of them on their radars, they could see the MiG-31 Foxhound close in with Bear and Phantom's F-4. From where Frosty was, he could see the intermittent tracer fire between the the two aircraft, indicating a dog fight that had closed to cannon fire.

<<Panther, hold fire. They're too close, I'm afraid we'd get Bear and Wolf, too.>>

<<Roger.>>

<<Bear, Frosty, break at best chance and come for us, we'll cover.>>

<<Copy, Frosty.>>

Though it was difficult to see in the night sky, The F-4 made a hard turn and curved away from the Fouxhound in an effort to run away. The F-4's engines burned hard, shoving the Tula siblings hard into their seats as they pulled away from the Foxhound. While it was in an effort to get away and to tap out of the fight, the advantage would now go to the Foxhound as it leveled out and nosed after the F-4, quickly getting a lock.

<<Frosty, we've been locked!

<<Bear, hold course, jink when he fires. We'll cover.>>

As predicted, the Foxhound snapped off an R-73 missile towards Bear and Wolf's tail, The F-4 let off flares as Bear jinked the F-4 left and then right to try and confuse the missile's lock with the flares. The R-73's lock broke as it lost the Phantom's heat signature in the flares, and exploded into them harmlessly. The Foxhound through all this hadn't changed course, instead using the Phantom's maneuvering to close the distance and open up with its 23mm cannon. Glowing cannon rounds lanced out and met with the Phantom's left wing, peppering it with holes.

<<Frosty, we're taking cannon fire!>>

Frosty grit his teeth. He wasn't about to lose two more of his friends.

<<Bear, pull up!>>

The F-4 immediately turned straight up, gaining altitude as Frosty and Panther neared. The Foxhound was concentrating on his prey and took the bait, turning up as well, unknowingly exposing his belly to two aircraft he didn't notice paying attention to him.

Frosty grinned at the MiG-31's exposed underside appearing on the radar. "Got you now, fucker." They'd closed in close enough that Frosty and Panther were within cannon range.

<<Panther. Cannons on my mark.... Mark!>>

Panther's dual 30mm cannons opened up in short, controlled spurts while Frosty held his thumb on the trigger of his own 20mm Vulcan. Panther's first bursts fell short while Frosty was wide to the left, so both corrected their aims. The next bursts from Panther hit the Foxhound's wings while Frosty's white line of tracer fire walked its way up and to the right into the fuselage of the Foxhound. The impacts of several rounds of cannon fire immediately took their toll on the doomed MiG-31 as it started to lose altitude and spiral away. Frosty didn't know he'd actually hit the cockpit with his fire and turned the inside of the aircraft into a mess of circuitry and human flesh.

Bear and Wolf's aircraft leveled out as the immediate threat was gone. They'd been saved by their wingmates.

<<Splash bandit. Confirm kill?>>

<<Kill confirmed.>>

<<Morena, this is Snowcat-1. We splashed two bandits. Will be forming up on the bomber.>>

With that, Frosty turned towards the Tu-95. Apparently they'd been hit, but were good, so they definitely needed the backup. Panther and the Tula's F-4 had formed up on either of Frosty's wings and slightly behind, forming an arrowhead formation rather than the original diamond formation Snowcat had been in when they'd arrived on-scene. With the death of Talon, or Snowcat-3, Bear and Wolf had been moved up in the flight's order. Most likely on the next sortie, their Snowcat-4 callsign would be changed to match their new position as third in the flight. They were a couple minutes out from the bomber, but then they'd be able to cover Ranger.

by **Beiarusia** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:04 pm

Major Aleksei Tallow “Null”
November 6, 1992 // South Atlantic

<< Enki: No holding back. >>

The pair had distanced themselves from the primary engagement. Null was leading with Zeeger close behind, the F/A-18 having fallen into a solid radar-lock that held strong regardless of the textbook evasions that typically would dislodge such a threat. The Hornet could outmaneuver the Tomcat, however, the damage to the wing had left the plane with a notable disadvantage as the distance between the two shrunk rapidly.

Null grit his teeth as the G's pressed him down into the seat. The RWR went silent for only a brief moment before sounding once more as the Tomcat followed into the maneuver, wings folded open, threateningly close to finding a gun angle. The two aircraft leveled out, Null immediately rolling into another maneuver that stressed the already damaged wing. The Tomcat followed. A quick burst of tracer fire tore after the Hornet, missing, but forcing the plane to readjust to a less favorable position that was open to further attack. Null couldn't trash the lock and was forced evasive as the missile zeroed in. Flares were dumped and for several long seconds the world was upside-down and inside out as the Hornet twisted to its very limits, its pilot doing all he could to stay conscious as vision gave way to blackness. The Hornet flattened out, several thousand feet lower than where it had begun as the missile detonated harmlessly little more than a kilometer off course. Any relief was short-lived as the Tomcat moved to intercept.

<< Enki: Not bad. You Dorusian dogs can fly, I'll give you that, but I'm only getting started. >>

The Tomcat pressed the offensive. Null pulled back into a climb, full afterburner, sacrificing fuel for speed as the enemy plane came within gun range. The Hornet maintained a tight arc, enough so to avoid being strafed, but was unable to shake the Tomcat as it followed seamlessly into the maneuver, radar again painting for a target. The Hornet rolled into a Split S before looping into another climb, peaking, and then banking down into a long curve. The RWR sounded for several antagonizing seconds before Null reversed his angle to initiate a Flat Scissors. The Tomcat followed willingly. The two pilots crossed, banked, and crossed again, bleeding speed at the risk of stalling in an effort to find or else maintain the better position. Slowly the Hornet was finding the advantage. The Tomcat extended itself, going wide and bringing its gun pipper across the fuselage of the Hornet on the next pass. Null had anticipated as such, having witnessed the very same gambit used against Angel only minutes before, and so twisted in order to present the smallest target possible. The tracers rounds failed to find their target and the Tomcat was now at the disadvantage. Null was now giving chase.

Zeeger broke into a hard maneuver, diving for a much needed boost in speed before pulling up into the sky, but for every maneuver the Hornet matched it and then some. A frantic game of cat-and-mouse in the cold night sky. Failing to outmaneuver the Hornet, the Tomcat simply relied on its speed, giving its all to break free of the pursuit, but stubbornly the Hornet remained at the six o'clock, its radar tracking each and every movement. A too wide turn was all that was needed.

<< Fox One. >>

Two missiles dropped from the Hornet to chase after the Tomcat. Evasive actions fooled the first, but not the second. The missile struck just behind the joint of the leftmost wing and fuselage, shredding the metal and leaving a deep wound that trailed smoke for several moments. Null stayed on target, ready to launch a third missile, but it was unnecessary as the structure soon gave way, the wing disconnecting from the body in what would be the Tomcat's final moments. The fight was over.

A low grumble could be heard across the radio. It grew into a small laugh that ended as quickly as it arrived.

<< Enki: You killed me... but it doesn't matter. I did my part. I won. You dogs will pay in blood for what you've done, for your sins, and nothing can change that. >>

Another laugh that quickly gave way to an uneasy silence.

<< Aleksei, you were alright... for a Dorusian. I hope you know what you're fighting for. >>

The radio went silent. Moments later the stricken Tomcat hit the water. There was no attempt to eject, no will to face the harshness of the bitter sea below. Zeeger, the turncoat, was dead, and Null was hollow in his victory.

<< Bannik: All enemy planes confirmed destroyed! Continue with the escort. A refueling tanker is on approach for rendezvous, top off and make way for Vostok Air Force Base on current bearing. Naval assets are en route for search-and-rescue. Good job out there. >>

06:31 November 7, 1992 // Vostok Air Force Base, Dorusia

"Are you okay?"

Null had been lost in thought and hadn't noticed Angel approaching. She stood before him, flight suit unzipped with the upper half tied around her thin waist, peering down with a look that was a mixture of both concern and exhaustion. There was enough space on the bench for the two of them but she remained standing, several moments passing without a word being said between them. No words were needed.

The squadron had crossed Antarctica after joining with the aerial tanker that had followed Snowcat, landing at Vostok Air Force Base, the largest and, for a time, the southernmost military base on what was formerly the Dorusia/South Sotoa border pre-1986. The stolen Tu-95 had barely made the journey intact and very nearly crashed on landing. Emergency crews were waiting, and the injured (including Ranger and Skull Kid) were quickly transferred to the nearby medical center for treatment. Paladin was taken by the MP's for questioning; everyone else had been given the morning to themselves until such time that a debriefing was ordered. A naval vessel had gone to search for Gunny and Joker but no word had come in yet regarding their fate. Null had wanted to see Ranger and Rowan (Skull Kid) but simply couldn't face them just yet. Too much was on his mind. He needed a moment to compose himself, to think, away from the praise of a job well done that was undeserved. Angel was the first to come to him in his secluded corner of the clinic. Night had given way to dawn, as evident from a nearby window, and the day was looking to be sunny if not pleasantly warm.

"I'm fine," he finally answered. He would be, eventually, but not today and maybe not tomorrow.

Angel couldn't help but to frown. It was clear that something was on her mind and that she was uncertain on how best to approach the topic without simply blurting out whatever it was that she wanted to say as she normally would.

Another few seconds passed in silence.

"I didn't hate him." Null was looking at the ground, staring at nothing in particular save for the blue and white tiles, his head resting atop clasped hands. The words weren't forced, or even thought out in advance, and simply were said as if reading from a memo, level and with little inflection. Angel merely listened. "I'm sure he had his reasons, and I can't judge him without knowing why he did what he did. Last night, I wasn't sure if I could kill him, and I fully expected to die had we crossed paths."

"But...?" Angel asked, giving voice to the pause in Null's thought.

It was subtle but Angel took noticed of the tension in his words. "He tried to take something important away from me."

by **Relikai** » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:39 am

Second Lieutenant Kanzaki Yuria, 'Reppu'
Vostok AFB, Dorusia

To say that Yuria was feeling awkward would be an understatement, as she sat in the cockpit of the Gripen, looking around a foreign land which she has not visited since her time as a formal pilot in the Seianese Air Force. She sure hasn't visited Vostok in her life, Yuria spending her time in the factories of Dorusia with mechanics explaining to Ryusei the specifications of their craft which would be sent over to Seian. What made things worse was that she wore everything related to the SAF in her flightsuit, the tank top underneath, and even her identifications. She wasn't even formally registered with Morena, but hopefully her service with Haruna and the plane being registered under them could shield her from inquisitive eyes.

Stepping down the ladder, her flightsuit similarly done as Angel's, Yuria felt the cold bite into her arms. She was still shaking from her earlier exercise, as well as the thrill of combat where adrenaline coursed through her veins. Despite the earlier worry, there was a deeper concern which Yuria would need to address upon reaching Seian. The Gripen's engine bled out too much speed during her evasive maneuver, causing her to lose both speed and maneuverability for the bandit on her six to line her up for a shot. If not for Angel, Yuria would have a fifty-fifty chance of escaping unscathed although the pilot was a hundred percent sure of escaping the interceptor. Sabotage was out of the question as Yuria herself checked the engines, but were the parameters of these engines specified for Seian's warmer weather? The other planes did not appear to possess such an issue however, nor did the other Gripen in the squadron, leading Yuria to believe that this particular Norden-designed engine could be the cause of such an issue. The northern country was still undergoing a technological revival, and that the Gripen originated from that country was nearly a miracle in itself.

It would be something she'd need to look at, especially if this was a defective engine.

She spotted the other Morena planes landing, her bare arms moving to secure her hair into a simple ponytail. Despite her being slight unused to the cold, Yuria could appreciate the change of climate once in a while. It wasn't everyday that she could enjoy natural air-conditioning. A smile formed on her face as she saw a certain Tomcat nearby, although the thought stayed for a mere second before a cold wind chilled her a little. Deciding that the nearby cafeteria would be a good place to find something warm, Yuria headed over that way, stretching her sore arms while ignoring a stare or two for a nice hot cup of sweetened coffee.

by **The United Remnants of America** » Fri Mar 31, 2017 2:33 am

Liuetenant Aiden "Frosty" Kelly
Vostok AFB, Dorusia

Dorusia was not the most fascinating place to be, but it was better than the icy wastes they'd been flying over a short time ago. The members of Snowcat flight had been silent through the rest of the flight and even after landing. The four remaining pilots had stood together in a moment of mourning for Jason Murphy. There were search and rescue crews out looking for some of the other pilots, but Aiden knew that if they found Talon's wrecked Harrier, there wouldn't be a survivor in there, only a corpse. Aiden had passed around a bottle of Perfanesian brandy for each pilot to have a drink as they said a few words before breaking up. The Tula siblings had mentioned going to get a bite to eat, and Liora had mentioned she was going to hit the showers before passing out in her bed. The way she'd looked at Aiden had made the older pilot uncomfortable for some reason, but he couldn't place it. Aiden shrugged it off, though, because he thought that maybe he'd just been imagining it.

Aiden, rather than eating or sleeping first, had his mind set on meeting up with an old friend, but in order to do that, he needed to find him. Aiden came upon one of the ground crew when he was walking towards the nearest building to him, which looked like a mix between a cantina and a mess.

"Oi, grawndie. Y'knaw wheh Garre' Jawnes is?"

The ground was looking over a missile on a track, but looked up when he heard Aiden calling out to him. "What?" The ground crew pulled an earmuff off, obviously not understanding the first time.

"Majuh Jawnes. D'ya knaw wheh 'e is?" Aiden grinned while speaking, knowing he was intentionally thickening up his Perfanesian accent, as he always did when he wasn't flying.

The ground crew attendant stared hard at Aiden through sunglasses, translating in his head before nodding slowly, "Yeah... I have no idea, merc."

Aiden nodded and waved as he began to step away, "Awright den, hav'a nice day, grawndie." Aiden was determined to find Major Garret Jones, and as Aiden walked towards the mess, he expected to find someone who knew where Jones was. After he found Garret, he planned to hunt down Markus. If he could find Amabel or Tombstone along the way, then that was a bonus, but Aiden was focused on his friends the grizzly vets.

Aiden missed them, and he was pretty sure someone owed him a damn drink for his work out there over the ocean.

by **SaintB** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 5:40 am

Garret "Shark" Jones
South Atlantic

Shark stayed behind the main body of the flight to loiter around the combat zone and search for Joker and Gunny before the rescue team could arrive. He wasn't going to give up hope so quickly and he wasn't going to call this a win even if the enemy had been defeated and chased away. Trading two squad members for two others was NOT a win under any circumstances and a loss was not a result that Jones would take sitting down. He would fight to make this a win however he had too...

More than once he spotted what he thought was a chute in the ocean only to discover that it was actually just an ice flow caught in the currents and nothing more. He didn't have long before he wouldn't have enough fuel to make it to Dorusia and the tanker that rest of his team was heading for wouldn't linger long waiting for one damn mercenary so he gave himself a half hour. Just 30 precious minutes to find something... anything at all. It was nearly time to go when some debris floating in the ocean caught his eye and the pilot swept in to get a good look at them - finally a lead, "You see that Knight? 11 o'clock. It looks like a nose cone from an F-18!"

It wasn't a pilot but the conical black shape floating in the ocean was a clue that rescue could use to narrow down a search area and expand their chances of finding someone - hopefully. Shark took it in as close as he safely could and started to orbit the area to see what else he could spot. He could get the fighter closer if he wanted, much closer, but then he would put his aircraft at risk from a sea swell or an updraft that could push him right into the ocean and it wouldn't do for two more of Morena's finest to be in the frozen drink below. But from here he could clearly see that shape of the debris and the slick of oil glistening in the light night moon... and also a tell tale white patch, the Ace of Spades just as the nose cone finally upturned and sank below the depths of the ocean, "You saw that?! You fucking saw that right Steele? Tell me you saw that emblem!"

by **Tayner** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:25 am

Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreau
South Atlantic

After all was said and done, Joker watched as enemy planes, or at least what he thought were enemy planes, be shot down one by one as the stolen Beiarusian bomber escaped with escort. At least the mission was successful, so Gunny and Joker wouldn't have died for nothing. It didn't take long for Joker to see that one aircraft was sticking around. It flew around, and took up a search pattern, probably looking for the sign of survivors.

It didn't take long for it to draw close, presumably finding debris, and it started circling not too far away from Joker's position. Out of the parachute cocoon he was huddling for warmth in, he took his pistol and fired it into the air, emptying the clip. The red tracers flew up into the air, hopefully getting the attention of whoever was flying around. Joker pulled his arm back inside the blanket of the parachute, shivering now with some of the heat he built up lost.

It didn't matter though, Joker was sure he alerted his guardian angel, and that rescue would come soon. He just had to hold out a little longer, he didn't survive the battle of Ansan or Gozen to die freezing in the seventh circle of hell on earth.

by **Kyraina** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:38 am

1st Lt. Jax "Ranger" Bradford

Jax had passed out as soon as the bomber came to a stop. He was loaded up into a stretcher and taken to the hospital, where it was determined that while he had several deep muscle bruises, and bone bruising, that other wise he was fine. Some of the others weren't so lucky with injuries ranging from bruises to critical.

1st Lt. Zach "Knight" Steele

Knight had been looking around when he heard Shark say something about the nose of a F/A-18, Zach then saw it too and not to far off, what appeared to be the wreackage of a Harrier Jump Jet.

"Aye, I See it too Shark, and 100 yards east of that nose cone is some floating debris of a harrier it looks like. Why don't we go see if there is a body by the harri..........Jones I have tracers west of us. Divert course and see if we can spot something like a chute setting on that ice over there."

by **Tayner** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:37 pm

Lieutenant Commander Artyom Chicotat
DFNS Kurgan
South Atlantic Sea

Earlier in the night Artyom, the commander of the Kurgan, had spotted an enemy bomber. The ship remained outside of the fight, watching the battle erupt. The crew watched from their battle stations as they saw one plane after another shot down, helpless to aid the mercenarys in their endeavor above. The Kurgan was only a radar ship, and her only weapons were mounted HMGs for protection against hostile boarding parties.

However shortly after the Kurgan was called upon to search the seas for any pilot that may still be alive. After an hour, one of the mercenary pilots who stuck around to look for one of their own radioed in a new search area. The ship changed course, and soon enough they spotted a parachute on the coast.

"I need four crewmen. We're going to head ashore and search the area for survivors." Artyom said as they lowered the life boat. The captain and four men set ashore on the cold beach to investigate what they had discovered.

Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreau
South Atlantic

"I found someone!" A voice over him said. "You speak Osean?" The figure asked.

"Y-Yeah." Joker said. "It's just me h-here." He continued, shivering.

"Don't worry, we're with the Dorusian navy, we're going to get you out of here." The man said before summoning his fellow seamen. "Commander, I found him wrapped up in his parachute." He reported.

"Let's get back aboard the Kurgan and continue the search for others." He said before he got on the radio. "Get some blankets and warm food, we've rescued a survivor." He radioed over to the ship while they pulled Joker aboard the life boat and brought him to the ship.

The sailors treated him nice, they wrapped him up in blankets, and set him in the mess with some warm tomato soup. Joker still had the chills deep in his bones and muscles, but he was getting better. He had managed to hold out long enough to be rescued. It wasn't long until he was introduced to a cot and he happily fell asleep under the layers of sheets and blankets. When he woke up, he gathered that the Kurgan had been searching for a little while longer before they returned to port.

Joker thanked the crew, and he was turned over to a military transport inbound to Vostok Air Force Base. Shortly after he was shown to his barracks where he simply collapsed in his bunk, and tried to go to sleep.

He was greeted with bad thoughts.

Second Lieutenant Dan
October 12, 1992

It was just after the Batte of Amerastu valley, just after Dan and Mayu said their goodbyes. With the way the battle went, and the way the battles before went, he had written a small note just incase something bad happened. The piece of notebook paper sealed in a small white envelope was soon handed off to Joker, someone he trusted.

"Incase something bad happens." Dan simply said as he held out the envelope to Joker which was addressed to a certain Seianese Nurse.

"And if we both get-" Joker started to ask.

"We won't." Dan said, and Joker took the envelope and tucked it into his pocket.

Dear Takahashi,

If you're reading this, something bad has probably happened to me. I probably didn't get the chance to say that I love you, or the chance to ask you out on a proper first date, and I'm sorry for that. I've had a special place for you in my heart ever since I met you in Ansan General Hospital, and I want you to know that. The thought of defending Seian, defending you, is what kept me going. I'd like you to remember the good times we had, and to keep being the outstanding nurse you were when you cared for me.

Love,
Samuel

Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreau
Vostok Air Force Base, Dorusia

Joker held the sealed envelope in his hand, it's delivery being onee of Dan's final requests. Joker was done with it, losing friends, losing family, all the loss. He would resign in the morning, and find his way to Ansan as soon as he could. Then after taking care of business there, he'd be heading back to Sapin, where he'd return to life there. A nice little house on a hill is all he'd ask for, a calm retirement from piloting in war zones.

by **Ubaria** » Sun Apr 09, 2017 2:45 pm

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & Maria 'Outlaw' Ferrerio
Vostok AFB, Dorusia

Aguila had stayed on station for as long as fuel would allow, but the rapidly diminishing tank soon fell dangerously low into reserves and so, he was forced to exit the combat zone and link up with the fleeing Beiarusian bomber and its entourage headed back to Dorusian territory, luckily they had the support of a tanker which ensured that all planes would make it to the home plate. Joker and Gunny however were still MIA, the chances didn't look good either and Noel had a sickening feeling in his gut that both of them would not be returning alive.

"Bastards" Noel sucked in the cool Dorusian air through clenched teeth, rousing his hair with an outstretched palm. Despite the minimal loss compared to the Beiarusian force, the victory felt hollow with the loss of Gunny, Joker and Talon. Ranger had made it back alive despite overwhelming odds and as Noel cast a gaze out to where the TU-95 was parked, he spotted various figures being offloaded onto stretchers and one of which was the man himself.

Following the hustle of medics, it didn't take long to locate where they had whisked Jax and after blagging his way through the Dorusian medical staff, Noel, followed by Maria, slipped into the ward where he was being treated. Waiting until the medics had finished doing their jobs, Noel shuffled himself over to the bedside.

"How are you holding up there Lieutenant?"

by **Kyraina** » Mon Apr 10, 2017 1:46 am

Ubaria wrote:
Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & Maria 'Outlaw' Ferrerio
Vostok AFB, Dorusia

Aguila had stayed on station for as long as fuel would allow, but the rapidly diminishing tank soon fell dangerously low into reserves and so, he was forced to exit the combat zone and link up with the fleeing Beiarusian bomber and its entourage headed back to Dorusian territory, luckily they had the support of a tanker which ensured that all planes would make it to the home plate. Joker and Gunny however were still MIA, the chances didn't look good either and Noel had a sickening feeling in his gut that both of them would not be returning alive.

"Bastards" Noel sucked in the cool Dorusian air through clenched teeth, rousing his hair with an outstretched palm. Despite the minimal loss compared to the Beiarusian force, the victory felt hollow with the loss of Gunny, Joker and Talon. Ranger had made it back alive despite overwhelming odds and as Noel cast a gaze out to where the TU-95 was parked, he spotted various figures being offloaded onto stretchers and one of which was the man himself.

Following the hustle of medics, it didn't take long to locate where they had whisked Jax and after blagging his way through the Dorusian medical staff, Noel, followed by Maria, slipped into the ward where he was being treated. Waiting until the medics had finished doing their jobs, Noel shuffled himself over to the bedside.

"How are you holding up there Lieutenant?"

1st Lt. Jax "Ranger" Bradford
Jax woke up but kept his eyes closed as it took him a second to figure out who Noel was talking to. He shook it clear, opened his eyes, set up, pushed the covers off himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed before standing up to shake the hands of Noel and Maria. Jax was in just shorts and no shirt so the many bruises on his body was visible including a nice shiney black eye.

"Good, but call me Jax, Bradford, or even Ranger. Heard enough of my two ranks to confuse the living hell out of me, will have to remember by real rank when I get back to Osea after this war is over, any way no broken bones just some deep muscle and bone bruises. Wasn't a guest long enough to get the full broken bone massage. Any way thanks for helping us out of a pickle back there. Now how are y'all holding up?"

by **Beiarusia** » Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:44 pm

2nd Lieutenant Mitsuko Kimura “Angel”
12:17 November 8, 1992 // Vostok Air Force Base, Dorusia

"He tried to take something important away from me."

Angel, flustered, had stood before Null without so much as a thought on just how to respond, and no matter her desire to speak, to break the tension between them, the words would simply not come despite being right there on the tip of her tongue. It was another long moment of uneasy silence before Angel could find the willpower to say anything at all, but by then the moment had passed, and the pair was interrupted so as to be returned to the realities of the world.

"Major Tallow. I've been hearing good things," the greying man had said upon stepping into the conversation. A good deal their senior but not weak with age, with a full beard trimmed to a sharp point and dressed in such a manner to showcase his authority.

Null stood at attention upon recognizing General Zhikov with Angel following suit seconds later.

Zhikov was a hero of the civil war many years ago, leading the Federalist to a decisive victory that would shape the country for decades to come. Even today the various generals held considerable power within the elective government, but amongst them Zhikov was the defacto leader. Charismatic but with all the makings of an apex predator, the man could lead the people with his ideals, or crush his enemies with his armies, always one step ahead no matter the circumstance. Some would consider the government of Dorusia to be corrupt, dangerous, or even wayward by modern standards, insults made all the more common by the Verusean War six years ago, but despite this the country was showing progress and the people were content. Mostly. Regardless, it was as it was and nothing was bound to change in the foreseeable future.

That had been yesterday, and Null had since been busy attending to matters related to both Morena and the 101st, leaving Angel to mull over her thoughts and decry her inaction when the moment had been opportune. She was back home, Skull Kid was back safe and sound, as was Ranger, and things were generally good barring a few exceptions, but a dark cloud hung over her nonetheless. She could only mope in her ideations, and to those around her it was obvious that the woman was in an uncharacteristic bad mood. Even worse was the simple fact that not even she knew what she wanted. Not entirely.

Having slept in, and having been allowed to sleep in as reward for her contribution to the war effort, Angel was late to breakfast and so substituted lunch instead. Not that she was hungry. Still, she needed to eat, and so begrudgingly chewed her food at the backmost corner of the mess hall.

The perfect time to consider the terrible outcomes of the various scenarios in her head.

Ace Combat: Broken Line (IC/Open)

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