Fandom Nether Skies

[Kyero]

"The sky is a cruel lover. She blinds you. She chills you. She presents an open and defenseless environment where you cannot hide from those who hunt you... But it is the true Ace who can love the world she provides and embrace her cruelty with open arms, though this often means becoming just as cruel in the process."
​

"Soon I will ascend to the heavens and become what I have dreamed of for so long. My fear of heights will soon be extinguished, and I will become an Ace Pilot and make my family proud. Daisuke may be the favorite son, but he will not deny me my place in the skies!"
​

... Silence is thought of as golden, but to those waiting to engage in open warfare it is torture. The sounds of the plane engines began to dull until they faded to nothing. The clouds gathering around them was a bad sign as well. With a cruising altitude of around 5,000 feet, Kasumi took in slow steady breaths. Her own breathing was all she could hear. Her senses were as sharp as knives and her focus was on the horizon as she waited for that moment she knew was about to arrive.


The clouds gathered below, huddling near the ocean's surface like a blanket while they cruised high above. It was becoming a gray, lifeless sky around them. A slight mist began to rise as well, almost as if the approach of the enemy was causing the blood of Osea as a nation to run cold.


"Attention Firebird Squadron, form up and stay close." Daisuke announced.


Kasumi fell in line after a slight urge from Firebird 2, and she wondered why Daisuke was telling them to do this already. Was the enemy here?


... Yes, they were.


Blaze, the Mercenary pilot in the Black F-22 Raptor, dove down towards the clouds as the first of the enemy planes shot up from beneath them.


The two planes engaged, but the Mercenary easily outmaneuvered his opponent and filled the cockpit with bullets causing the plane to spin, arc downwards, and fall back through the clouds to a watery grave.


It was then that Kasumi's radar lit up like an overdecorated Christmas tree, filling with enemy signatures as if from nowhere.


"Where did they come from?!" She shouted.


"They must have been hugging the water to mask their signatures! Tricky bastards!" Firebird 2 called back.


"Firebird Squadron, engage!" Daisuke yelled.


The team responded in unison with a loud "ROGER!" All save for Kasumi, who was almost frozen in fear and responded two seconds after the fact.


The enemy was here. They were really here. The enemy planes began swarming the skies like an angry nest of hornets, engaging anything and everything in their path. Daisuke and the others wrapped around the edge of the now ever expanding furball with Kasumi close behind. It was all she could do to keep up. She'd done well on simulation, but this was reality and it was hitting her in the face like a ten ton anvil. This was no simulation. This was war, and now she was a part of it.


She had to physically slap herself hard in the face to snap herself out of the momentary fear induced stupor she'd been in. Now back in reality, she took a breath and followed her team as they trailed along the edge of the battle space. Daisuke ordered Firebird 2 to remain with Kasumi and keep her safe while he and the others engaged in the dogfight. Firebird 2 glued herself to Kasumi's wing, talking to her constantly to make sure she was all right.


Kasumi responded to her questions and pep talks, but still had trouble adjusting to the fact that her hands were shaking while holding the stick and her finger floating above that trigger. For almost thirty whole seconds, Kasumi's flight was unhindered. But then it happened. She was missile locked. Firebird two stuck with her and screamed for her to break in any direction except towards the dogfight. Kasumi did as ordered, with Firebird 2 hot on her trail as the missile warning showed her the incoming projectile on her HUD. It was fired from medium range, and the bandit responsible was hot on their tail.


This was Kasumi's first real test as a pilot of Osea. She was now engaged with an enemy pilot. A real human being chasing her down with the intent to kill her.


This was not going to be like they told her in training.

 

[Whisker]

As they approached the open ocean, the sun disappeared behind the clouds and covered the engagement zone in shadow. The winds picked up slightly, but nothing too serious so as to hamper conditions. A.J. checked his readings for the final time and lifted his visor from his face. In these kinds of situations, he had learned to place all of his trust in his eyes and in his gut instincts. Somehow he knew things weren't going to stay calm for too much longer.


Alright, man. Keep it together. The weather is on your side. This is nothing compared to Hierelark. Trust Alexis and you'll get through it alright.





As he thought of her, he turned his head once to look behind him to where her F-4E was trailing behind. She was so close to his plane that she could very well be his shadow. Feeling reassured despite her silence, he turned back around and kept his focus in front. Down below, Sand Island was coming into view, a narrow corridor that seemed somehow lifeless despite the threat closing in.


I thought Sand Island was a trainee Air Force base. Where're all the pilots? Are we the only ones out here?





Granted, they were supposedly receiving backup from the carrier fleet but it didn't look as though they had arrived yet. Frowning, he glanced down at the radar and double checked the IFF. They definitely seemed to be the only group out there of any consequence. As he gazed thoughtfully at the instrumentation, one hit suddenly came up followed by several others all at once.


The enemy had finally showed their hand.


Cursing internally at being caught off guard, he jumped onto the radio while simultaneously grabbing hold of the side stick.


"Fae, keep on my wing and take heading 070. We've got to get out here before we fly right into the horde."


Indeed, they were closing fast and running out of room. He kept in formation long enough to see the lead planes dive before following suit himself, the f-16 rolling over belly up and diving downwards towards the ocean while turning to the heading he had chosen. At about 2000 feet, he righted himself and got on the throttle heavy once more. Around the same time, his missile warning light came on to alert him to a long range missile that was closing on him fast from the side. He increased his speed even more and made to try to out turn it while looking behind him to track it's location. The bandits responsible were still further back, but he wasn't taking chances of getting drawn into that fight. As the missile overshot him from below, he released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He took a moment to wipe the thin sheen of sweat from his brow before hopping on the radio which was already filled with cross chatter from enemy and friend alike.


"Talon 2 engaging."





@Kyero @too much idea

 

[yoikes]

A friendly plane approached them, and from afar Alexis recognized the plane as the one flew in the runaway the day she graduated together with everyone else. The veteran pilot called him "Blaze". But it's weird, what is he doing out here all alone? A recon unit?


As they approached the Sand Island, AJ kept on talking or trying to start a conversation with her. Alexis is not in the mood to talk, she doesn't want to spend her energy on some empty chit-chat. Plus, the sight is really beautiful to see. The blue sky, and the ocean beneath them. But the clouds. God, there's a lot of clouds coming this way. It's a perfect cover for the enemy.


And then there's a loud explosion from the front, and her radar showed hostile signal from all over the place. Ten, thirty, and it goes on.


AJ gave her an order seconds after that. "Fae, keep on my wing and take heading 070. We've got to get out here before we fly right into the horde."


"Got that, Wildcat." Alexis replied, and followed AJ's movement. She don't them to be separated amidst the chaos, that's not in the plan. But then her warning alarm lit up, she knew that it means that a long range missile is locked on her. What kind of missile, Alexis don't know, but judging from AJ's movement she knew that he got locked too.


Without saying anything, Alexis accelerated and raised her altitude followed by a sudden sharp turn, trying to shook the missile away from her back. The alarm went quiet, Alexis doesn't see the missile passing by her but she doesn't really care as long as it's no longer targeting here. It took her a while to realize that she got separated from AJ. The comm is chaos, and all around her fighting has already begun.


It's war. A real war, kill or to be killed. Victory or death.


Alexis gripped side stick.


"Talon 3, engaging." Alexis announced. "Wildcat, what's your position?"


@Whisker

 

[Kyero]

"The sky is a cruel lover. She blinds you. She chills you. She presents an open and defenseless environment where you cannot hide from those who hunt you... But it is the true Ace who can love the world she provides and embrace her cruelty with open arms, though this often means becoming just as cruel in the process."
​

"Soon I will ascend to the heavens and become what I have dreamed of for so long. My fear of heights will soon be extinguished, and I will become an Ace Pilot and make my family proud. Daisuke may be the favorite son, but he will not deny me my place in the skies!"
​

((Will add Blaze's stuff in later))

​

It was mayhem.


Kasumi did her best to avoid the enemy on her tail, but they were sticking with her like glue. Firebird 2 was with her, helping to cause trouble for the pilot at their tail, but she wasn't doing anything to help Kasumi such as shooting the pilot down. It was almost like she was waiting for Kasumi to do something about it. Kasumi was still in a mild panic, her adrenaline rushing and her mind racing a thousand miles a minute trying to figure out what to do.


In the heat of combat, her first taste of real combat, Kasumi's brain went blank. It was almost like the cockpit became a prison of foreign symbols and hieroglyphics. Nothing made sense anymore. The only thing that made sense was the stick, turning her plane, banking this way and that to avoid incoming bullets and the occasional missile aimed at her tail. At least she was lucky enough to dodge this far. But apparently, Firebird 2 had had enough. She banked hard off and away, leaving Kasumi to dodge the enemy behind her alone.


At lest that's what it looked like to Kasumi's panicked mind. In fact, Firebird 2 circled around and locked onto the enemy behind them before taking him down. It was almost as simple as that for her. As a veteran, and an Ace herself, Firebird 2 was not one to be trifled with and she made that quick kill look so easy. She took her place beside Kasumi, and hopped on the comms.


"You're going to have to do more than evade if you mean to survive this Kasumi. Get your mind out of panic mode and get in this fight!"





Kasumi would have liked to do that, but she didn't know how. She wasn't prepared for this. All of her training, all of her eagerness to serve, and all of her previous confidence in her skills as a pilot had disappeared. It was like she was a completely different person now that real combat was surrounding her at every turn. But Firebird 2 was right. If Kasumi wanted to live, she had to shake this and get a grip on herself.


Kasumi turned away from the battle space, flying out to the open water with Firebird 2 on her tail.


"Where are you going Kasumi?!" She demanded.


Kasumi put her plane on autopilot once she leveled her nose and closed her eyes. She took deep breaths, remembering her martial arts training and meditation exercises to help calm herself down. It took a moment, and Firebird 2 yelled at her a bit more before Kasumi opened her eyes and resumed control of her craft. Banking hard around, she headed back towards the battle space.


"What the Hell were you thinking?" Firebird 2 demanded.


"Sorry. I had to clear my thoughts. I think I'm ready now." She responded.


"You'd better be. I'm not going to clean up after you again. If you get a bandit on your tail, you're taking care of them. Got it?"


"Got it."


With that, the two women flew back into the thick of things. Kasumi stayed further out to the edge of the furball, but kept her eyes on both the sky and the radar to make sure she was clear. As she flew around, she saw an enemy beginning to veer into her path flying the same direction she was. They didn't seem to notice or care about her being there, so Kasumi decided now was as good a time as any to put herself to the test. She flicked open the missile trigger cover and took her weapon systems off of "safe," which she'd forgotten to do earlier. Once she attained a missile lock, the enemy began banking away to evade her.


Kasumi pushed the throttle, rocketing forward in order to keep pace. This pilot knew what they were doing, and twisted and rolled to keep her from maintaining the lock. However, luck was on Kasumi's side. The enemy pilot nearly collided with another plane, causing their craft to swerve uneasily which was Kasumi's opening. Almost unconsciously she slammed her finger down, releasing the first missile in her arsenal out at its target. By the time the enemy plane had regained perfect control, it was too late. They banked, but Kasumi's missile struck the right wingtip, exploding and taking most of the wing with it. The plane began to spiral out of control and Kasumi watched warily until it crashed into the ocean below.


... She did it. She actually did it! She shot down her first enemy and lived to tell about it!... So far.


"Nice work Kasumi. When you make a kill, it's a good idea to announce it. You remember how?"





Kasumi nodded, even if nobody could see.


"This is Kasumi, callsign Angel. Splash one enemy fighter!" She announced happily.


That kill was just what she needed to boost her confidence and help herself shake off the fear of her first battle. It was now almost like a sparring match. Her opponent had been an unknown, but now that she'd seen and felt what they had to offer the mystery dissipated and they became much clearer and easier to look at as enemies that needed to be taken down. Kasumi stuck with Firebird 2, continuing to stay out of the main furball while still keeping their eyes peeled for any strays which they could bring down.








Blaze's first target was down. He didn't look to confirm. He knew that pilot was down.


As the rest broke through the clouds to engage, he dove straight down towards the water to evade incoming missiles. As maneuverable as they were, they couldn't arc 90 degrees down to follow him. Just before hitting the water he killed his propulsion, pulled back on the stick to lift his nose, and kicked the throttle. The effect was like something out of a movie, with his plane slowing down just before hitting the surface and sending him skimming forward. A few stray waves tickled the bottom of his Raptor, but otherwise did nothing to hinder its movement forward.


By this time, he had his eye on the first target on his mental checklist:


The Leviathan Squadron of Yuktobania, an Ace Squad nearly on par with Osea's Dragon Squadron, was in the air this day.


Their Captain and lead pilot was the most dangerous of the bunch, and Blaze had encountered him once before. In an aerial joust, the two pilots had locked horns and Blaze emerged victorious. But the Ace pilot had ejected before his plane hit the ground, and he lived to fly another day. Now the bastard was back, and sporting a new ride: A highly modified and very dangerous F-15E Strike Eagle.


This was going to be a rematch to remember.

 

[Whisker]

AJ checked his radar carefully.


“Below you. I’m coming up.”


He began to pull back on the sidestick but stopped abruptly as his missile warning lights flared again. He quickly pulled out of his climb and turned right in the hopes of preventing a lock on, his plane spiraling into a barrel roll before stabilizing once more. The missile warning lights were temporarily silenced and gave him time to look over his shoulder where two planes were closing in. He couldn’t tell exactly what make they were from the angle, but he did know that they looked to be just as maneuverable as his own.


“Fae, cancel that. I’ve got two bandits on my tail and closing fast. I’ll put on the speed and try to give you a good angle to engage.“


He hoped that if she could at least get one off of his tail, the other would lose focus and allow him to force an overshoot in which he could go to guns. After all, in this situation, he had little else to do but to play to his strengths.


But he had to get through this first.


As he expected, the two enemy planes closed in and the lights screamed at him as he plied on the throttle to bring them out into Fae’s sight. He had only about a 5 second window before he was forced to maneuver into a sharp turn in the hopes of dropping the enemies speed so that Fae could get his back. It was about after the second time he turned that he realized that he had no moisture in his mouth and that sweat was dripping into his eyes. The fact that this was real was hammering home faster than his heart which was racing as though he were in a marathon.


Come on … Where are you, Fae?





@Kyero @too much idea

 

[Commissar Darman]

The flight was silent for quite some time after his talk with Hammer. It seemed nobody wanted to break the silence. After around 15 more minutes of flying. The flight lead broke the silence.


"All right boys and girls. it looks like our friends have made contact with the enemy. And it sounds like they might need some assistance, So heres the plan..."Pausing to let everyone process and let them mentally prepare.


"Our birds are some of the fastest in these skies. We will change altitude to 10,000 feet and when in visual range, dive into the swarm. ECM, it is your job to mask our approach until we are right on top of them. Hit them hard and fast and use you speed to disappear into the clouds before they realize what happened. After that, break up and follow the orders of your squadron lead."


Climbing to 10,000 feet, Tako could make out flashes of light directly ahead of their formation.


As if on cue, the flight lead kicked in his afterburners and shot ahead of the formation with the rest of the flight following suit. saying a quick prayer, Adrian punched his throttle and engaged his afterburners like the rest so to not fall behind. glancing at his instruments He was happy to see that his ECM pods were indicating green. Screaming towards the dogfight, Adrian could feel his craft shake. It was honestly a truly terrifying and invigorating sensation as he raced towards his certain death most likely, but honestly he didn't care. He was having the time of his life zooming through the shy as fast has his craft would allow with a whole formation just meters from him. Within seconds at full throttle, The formation came within firing range and the sound of a lock-on tone screamed to life in his ear as two enemy aircraft chasing a friendly fell into his sights.


"Paladin 2, Fox2!"


"Paladin 1, Fox2!"


"Warhawk 3, Fox2!"


"Couger 2, Fox2!"


"Warhawk 1, Fox2!"


....


"Paladin 4, Fox2!" Adrian nearly yelled as he added his own sidewinder to the growing mass of hot ordnance from the carrier group. Watching as the missile flew true, Adrian saw only a glimpse of a firball as his Phantom streaked past. Listening to the radio chatter, it seemed that out of all the missiles fire, only 8 were confirmed splash downs. but that was still 8 down and they were already climbing and out of the immediate danger. Taking that half second that he just shot down another plane, Adrian didn't really know how he should feel right now. He felt guilty for just killing a man, but at the same time felt exhilarated all with that subtle sense of dread of being killed himself. but all that would have to wait, As according to plan the formation broke into three as each separate squadrons went to engage their own separate targets. Turning back around, Tako stayed close to Paladin 2 as they stayed high searching for a good target.

 

[yoikes]

“Below you. I’m coming up.”


Alexis kept her plane steady, waiting for AJ to come to her when he said something else.


“Fae, cancel that. I’ve got two bandits on my tail and closing fast. I’ll put on the speed and try to give you a good angle to engage.“


"Goddammit." Fae cursed, and dropped her altitude. She grabbed her stick and push it downward and occasionally glanced at her radar as she head toward AJ's location. A plane got shot down above her, Alexis watched as it burned and fall to the ocean. There's no parachute, the pilot didn't make it out. She kept going, and soon she found AJ trying to shook off the two enemy plane who are closing behind him. Seems like the enemy doesn't want to waste any missile, and waited until they have the perfect opportunity to shot him down. Like hell she's going to let them do that.


So Alexis flew past a cloud and turned, positioning herself behind AJ's chaser. She flipped the cover and put her thumb above the red button and making sure that her weapon system is activated. She bit her lips, as her system still trying to lock on the enemy planes. She can do this. Just press the button when it says lock on, both the plane got hit, she get her two plane out of a hundred and AJ is saved.


There's a soft beep when the system finally locked on to the targets, and Alexis pressed the button.


[[Gonna fix this tonight, type it in a hurry]]

 

[Whisker]

The seconds slowed and felt like hours. The planes hadn’t achieved missile lock yet on his weaving craft, but it could come at any second. His hands on the flight stick were slick and he clenched down harder to prevent his hand from slipping off and potentially putting his plane in a hazardous position.


Suddenly, he heard an explosion from behind him and he chanced a backwards glance to see the shattered wreckage of what appeared to be a MIG falling towards the ocean below, pieces and parts jettisoning from the rear in a cloud of smoke. The second plane he’d been tailing was veering off and there on its tail was Fae. She’d done it.


“Goddamn, I’m glad you showed up. I didn’t know how much longer I could’ve played with those guys without ruining the shot. I owe you one, Fae.”


Feeling much better now that the damned alarms were silenced, he whipped up into a lag roll in order to catch up with both Fae and the craft she was tailing. Now it looked like the enemy was getting a taste of their own medicine.


“Too close for missiles; I’m switching to the pepper.”


He waited until he had it lined up and then fired off on the guns. They struck the target who immediately tried to go for a guns defense in order to escape. Used to wild maneuvering, A.J. followed through and kept a little ways back to prevent himself from overshooting the target. He made sure to keep himself a bit apart from Fae so that their craft wouldn’t collide as they chased the same desperate target up ahead.


“Alright, I’ve had about enough of this shit. Firing.”


He went on the guns again and this time was successful. The craft blew smoke and sputtered before going to take a dirtnap … or well, sea nap … in the ocean.


A.J. smiled weakly for a few moments, then attempted to hastily rectify his relief. The battle wasn’t over yet.


"This is Talon 2. I just nailed one."


But there was still a lot more to go yet.


“Let’s try to get to higher altitude. Too bad the sun isn’t out. I would’ve liked to fly into it at this point for cover while we search for a new target. Ah well, clouds it is --- Hey!”


The sky was suddenly swarmed with missiles coming in from the north. A.J. watched as they streaked towards the furball and was rewarded with a few kills. He checked the radar and grinned.


“Looks like the backup has finally arrived. Yeehaw.”


He adjusted the frequency and hit them up.


“This is Wildcat from Talon Squadron. You the naval guys?”





@Kyero @too much idea @Commissar Darman

 

[HammerTroll]

After the the chaos of the first volly boiled away Paladin squad tightened up its formation and dug in to the hairball. Johan counted his payload, wich was still full due to his Phantom not acquiring a target in time. "Let's see, 2 sidewinders, 4 sparrows, and two aagms better make'em count' over his thoughts his helmet radio sqwaked to life" this is Wildcat from Talon Squadron. You the Navy guys?" Before Johan could even stop himself is inner smartass showed itself. " Nope sorry just us cost guard boys, sorry we got lost on the way to collage. Can you help?" As if karma had been sitting on the wing out of nowhere the warning panel on Johans Phantom started a high pitch wine......Fuck Me! This is Paladin three I'm getting bracketed! As if on que, a monotoned femal voice began blaring ALERT....ALERT.ALERT looking to his radar screen Johan could see a dot heading straight to the center. Right as he started to panic his training took over he counted to three popped his thermal flares, yanked back on the throttle to kill his speed and thermal signature. Then pulled a split S. just then he saw the missile trailing haphazardly through the sky chasing where its target had last been, then he saw it a green blur shoot by. "Looks like I got my self a fishbed" as the MiG17 shot by over him Johan went from a split S to a full roll and came up behind him. This time his Phantom was quick to grab a lock....*speaks in yuktobanian*...Sorry comrade...may the next life treat you well.*speaks in oceain*....Paladin 03 FOX2! In a long streaking line of could the sidewinder tore off like a demon escaped from the gates of hell to the MiG and in flash of Fire and hate they both were gone. Johan shot past the debris cloud craneing his neck looking for a parashoot that was never there. Inside his guts twisted as he thought to himself that he just took away someone's father, brother or son..." Paladin 03 splash one, returning to formation " Johan said in haunting voice

 

[yoikes]

Alexis watched as her missile strike the targets. She watched as one of them exploded mid-air and engulfed in flame, the other one missed. Like the plane she saw before, no parachute. Whoever the pilot is, they didn't make it out. 99 to go, 1 life that she has already taken. Their blood is on her hand. But what can she do, really? This is war. If she did not shot her down, they will shot and probably kill AJ. And then they will kill her, or someone else.


“Goddamn, I’m glad you showed up. I didn’t know how much longer I could’ve played with those guys without ruining the shot. I owe you one, Fae.”


"You best pay me with a drink, after this." Alexis joked, but she sounded so serious that she afraid that AJ will really think that she want a free drink. But then Alexis remembered that she has to do. "This is Talon 3, shot one down. Currently in pursue."


Alexis pursued the one who are now trying to run away, but as soon as AJ opened fire Alexis dropped her speed and let him finish the poor man. Aside from that Alexis is also making sure that she didn't stupidly collided with AJ or wasting ammo chasing after the same target. AJ fired his guns again and again, until a smoke appeared from one of the plane's engine. It fell down fast, and soon hit the ocean below.


"Good shot." Alexis commented. But didn't say much after. She watchd the long ranged missile coming from the north, shooting down several eemy plane. POP - POP, sounded like fireworks.


“Looks like the backup has finally arrived. Yeehaw. This is Wildcat from Talon Squadron. You the naval guys?”


The Navy? Alexis peeked down, trying to find the aircraft carrier that takes them here. She never seen one before, and really want to see one up close.

 

[Whisker]

“Nope, sorry just us coast guard boys, Sorry we got lost on the way to college. Can you help?"


AJ chortled as he pulled back on the stick to climb to higher altitude so that they were cruising along within the clouds. He kept an eye on his radar to monitor the battle ahead and to look for individuals pushing their bounds as he responded to Johan.


“Nope. Maybe you can ask one of those nice fellas down there for help. They seem to be just peachy with that kind of thing.”


As their chatter turned away from him and onto the enemy at hand, AJ readjusted his focus. He couldn’t afford to get too out of it so early on in the battle. Upon reaching about 11000 feet, he leveled out and checked his surroundings out of the glass. Below him, he could see numerous fighters trailing in a kind of elegant waltz as they all fought to get the upper hand. Missiles, flares, and the occasional gun burst could be heard as well as a few explosions. AJ winced but didn’t stop his search.


After about a minute or so of unimpeded progress, he spotted a squadron of four enemy fighters closing in on 2 of theirs who were already preoccupied with shooting down a lone enemy fighter out front. Right away, he could smell the trap as it was almost the exact same maneuver he had just pulled with Fae.


“Fae, take the lead and go after that lead plane. I’ll follow and try to get on the radio before those guys get themselves killed.”


He waited for her to streak past and dive down before following himself, his hands shaking a bit as he called frantically into the radio:


“Viper 1 and 2, do you copy? This is Wildcat from Talon. Disengage, I repeat disengage. You’ve got 4 bandits closing at six. We’re trailing but you’ve got to get the hell out of there.”


“Shit! Wilco.”


He watched as the lead plane of Viper curved right while the other banked towards the left and headed in separate directions. The plane they were chasing dove for lower altitude while the four bandits split into two groups so as to keep up with their chase. For a moment or so, AJ was undecided about what they should do. He knew Fae had the lead and he was going to follow her … but which path should they choose?





Right … or left?


Either way, he wasn’t going to leave her while he was in the wingman role. Not with that other enemy plane lurking out there somewhere.


@Kyero @too much idea @Commissar Darman @HammerTroll

 

[Kyero]

"The sky is a cruel lover. She blinds you. She chills you. She presents an open and defenseless environment where you cannot hide from those who hunt you... But it is the true Ace who can love the world she provides and embrace her cruelty with open arms, though this often means becoming just as cruel in the process."
​

"Soon I will ascend to the heavens and become what I have dreamed of for so long. My fear of heights will soon be extinguished, and I will become an Ace Pilot and make my family proud. Daisuke may be the favorite son, but he will not deny me my place in the skies!"
​

Ace pilots are often misunderstood individuals. Officially they are identified by Osean law when they reach a total of 10 confirmed kills, but the definition of a true Ace in the minds of those who fly the skies is one of unparalleled skill in their craft. Kill count and the number of times they were shot down were meaningless. An Ace pilot, a true Ace pilot, was more than a few simple stats.


This day, two true Aces locked horns for the second time in their respective careers.


Blaze, Mercenary pilot representing (though not known to be from) Osea vs. Rezniyich, Ace pilot and flight lead of Leviathan Squadron from Yuktobania.


The two Ace pilots zipped passed one another several times without firing a single shot. It was the first wave of intimidation maneuvers. These two knew each other well enough to know that ammunition, in a dogfight this large, was too precious to waste on a rematch. No. They would conserve their ammunition. For now, it was a demonstration of skill and potential of the aircrafts they flew.


Rezniyich made the first move, zipping in as close as he could to Blaze's canopy flying upside down so the two could see one another as they passed by. However Blaze remained unfazed. Had he wanted to he could have done the same thing without batting an eye. The gesture was brushed off as if it were nothing. Now it was Blaze's turn. Pushing the throttle, Blaze arced out and zipped back, heading straight for Rezniyich's nose. At the absolute last second, Blaze killed his engine and let gravity carry his plane beneath Rezniyich's before he fired up his engine again and resumed his course. Rezniyich knew Blaze would not strike his plane, and so made no alterations to his flight path though his plane did give him a collision warning.


Blaze's canopy had come within six inches of the underbelly of Rezniyich's plane.


Rezniyich, though impressed, was unfazed. Such typical Osean tricks as feigning collision-based suicide as a stunt. They did so in air shows many times. This was nothing new, nor was it something to take seriously. Just posturing.


It was time for some more aggressive maneuvers. Rezniyich removed the safety from his gun, and began to line Blaze up in his sights. Chasing his Raptor down in his modified F-15E was no difficult feat given the aircraft's natural speed capabilities. What was difficult was keeping pace with Blaze's evasive maneuvers, which were beyond the scope of a normal F-22 Raptor. The aircraft didn't seem physically altered, but obviously it had been to a tremendous extent.


Rezniyich knew the Raptor. He used to fly one himself. But he chose the versatility of the F-15E Strike Eagle over the Raptor's typically single purpose mission of aerial dominance. Blaze's maneuvers were almost inhuman, forcing Rezniyich to push his plane's maneuverability to dangerous heights to keep up. But keep up he did. Once Blaze was lined up, he let fly with a few warning shots aimed at grazing the left wing. Blaze's response was immediate, and unexpected. Instead of banking one way or the other, Blaze once again killed the engine and the plane slowed down rapidly nearly colliding with Rezniyich's. Firing up the engine again, Blaze wound up behind Rezniyich and the tables were now completely flipped 180 degrees.


Blaze was now in control, and though his Raptor's maneuverability were beyond the F-15E's, the speed was reduced due to extended armor plating which made keeping up in terms of raw speed a challenge. But by pressuring Rezniyich with missile locks, he was able to force him to make more maneuvers than Rezniyich would have otherwise wanted, allowing Blaze to easily keep pace and keep the plane in his sights.


Lining up his enemy, Blaze fired a warning shot in a similar manner but aimed for Rezniyich's canopy. Banking hard, Rezniyich was able to avoid most of it save for a single bullet, the first bullet, which managed to graze the plane just left of the canopy and taking a line of paint off. Rezniyich grimaced, having just had the plane painted, and cursed Blaze for doing such a thing to him. Vowing to return the favor, Rezniyich continued to trade these basic and relatively harmless jousts with Blaze until finally Blaze had had enough.


Nobody knew why or where Blaze got his callsign, but it was about time he showed them.


Hitting the afterburners hard, Blaze brought his plane up to full speed with Rezniyich close behind. He began to prepare the same maneuver of cutting the engine, but as Rezniyich slowed down in preparation for it, Blaze once again hit the afterburners to full speed and gave himself some distance. Rezniyich began to catch up rapidly thanks to his plane's superior speed, but that was exactly what Blaze had been waiting for. Now that Rezniyich was in the middle of using his afterburners, there was no way for him to slow down in time to avoid the true maneuver Blaze had prepared for him.


By cutting his engine and pulling the nose straight up, Blaze maximized his reduction of speed and momentum and also put his plane vertical. Rezniyich tried to slow down, but could not do so fast enough and began to pass directly underneath Blaze's plane. Blaze hit the afterburners, sending waves of fire downward as Rezniyich passed beneath scorching his plane from nose to tail and also causing one of the engines of Rezniyich's F-15E to catch fire and explode sending the plane into a spin.


Rezniyich knew his plane was beyond saving with one engine gone and his flight path thrown this badly, so like a true Ace he ejected and angrily watched his plane fly into the waters below.


Blaze soared overhead, a silent gesture of respect and victory mixed into one, and then flew off to deal with the rest of Rezniyich's Squadron one by one.


Rezniyich, in the meantime, hit the water and vowed one day to end Blaze's time in the sky.








Kasumi, meanwhile, was having a rough time staying out of the main furball. With only one confirmed kill, she was only just confident enough to keep herself in the area. But now her Acrophbia was catching up to her. Kasumi's fear of heights was dampening her ability to fight aggressively, and she'd already lost the chance to bring down two more aircraft because of it. She also used the last of her missiles trying without success to bring one down, and now had to rely solely on her gun which she wasn't that great at using yet.


All in all she flew well for a new graduate who was in the first true battle of her life, but she wasn't doing anything spectacular either. She remained active and engaged what enemies she could, but she received no further joy or kills as she watched the skies begin to thin as the minutes ticked by.


It was slowly becoming clear that Osea was beginning to dominate this battle despite the great numbers of their Yuktobanian and Anean adversaries.