You all owe me big time!
Strygar grumbled to himself as he craned his neck to get a glance of Ari and Adlan through the side mirror of the Thunder aircraft as their squads made quick work of the enemy SAMs. The evening sky was lit a bright crimson color as the missiles were taken out. The deputy aviator's knuckles were bone-white as they clutched the steering lever of the aircraft, desperately trying to avoid the missiles that were hurtling toward him as the other planes in the Fantine squadron took them out.
"You know, you all should put yourself in my shoes and see how I like being a decoy for enemy projectiles!" Strygar growled.
"Relax, bucko!" Ari cackled. "We are almost done with our task. You are doing a splendid job with yours. I promise, Adlan and I will buy you all the sake you can drink. Just make sure you can hold your liquor."
"Hey, that was some sake gone bad!"Strygar replied as he flipped and twisted in the air to dodge the Hydras. The missiles lived up to their name as one could split into several upon launch. It was like a missiles hidden within a missile that is within a missile. "Don't trust secondhand sake hidden in cellars for years!"
"Whatever, bro!" Adlan chimed in. "On your 8 0'clock!"
Seeing two red blips on his radar zeroing in on him like Razo Sharks, the Fantine pilot desperately tried to shake off the missiles as he twisted and zigzagged in the air while his squadron made sure to take out the missiles on his tail.
Zygmar, please don't let me down!
Taking a deep breath, he yanked the lever all the way down, causing his aircraft to plummet to the dark ground below. As he neared the nearest hill, he took a breath and yanked hard on the lever, his jet creaking as the gears made sure it went up vertically in a straight line. Strygar gritted his teeth in anticipation as he shot up like a rocket, barely missing the hill. Below him, the Hydras crashed into the hill, causing a bright red explosion and several pieces of rock particles to shoot up in the air. Thankfully , Strygar had rendezvoused with his squad back in the skies.
"Hey, you did great, comrade!" Adlan voxed through the radio.
"Don't mention it." Strygar huffed. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I owe my life to my wingmen."
"Hey , come on!"Ari moaned. "You need to give us credit where it is due."
"Yes, you and Adlan owe me sake!" Strygar chuckled.
"Did you take care of them all?" Mikhail's voice came through their coms.
"Affirmative," Adlan replied. "We will be returning to headquarters now."
"Please make haste." The relief in Mikhail's voice was evident. "We will be pressing our informant for information vital for taking our host down."
"I can't wait!"Ari chuckled."Let's see what he has to say."
If anyone glanced upward, they'd see several bright streaks zipping southbound in the velvet-colored sky.
---
Fantine HQ
00:32
Ari soon touched down on the brightly-lit landing pad with his lieutenants following suit. He taxied his Thunderbolt to a hangar that was lit in bright white light. A crew man waved green glowsticks to direct him to his side of the hangar. As soon as he parked, the canopy parted, letting the chilly nightair in. A couple of the crewmen, dressed in orange and green camo jackets brought some portable stairs over as Ari prepared to exit his aircraft.
"Good flying, mate!"
Ari glanced at Rocky, his main fitter, as he removed his flight jacket and handed it to him.
"Oh, it was nothing short of fun."
The big-boned Vroenguardian smirked at the head aviator as he fitted his tools on the silver belt attached to the metal plate on his uniform.
"With you, all air battles are fun. Back in my time with the Vroenguardian Air Battalion, our dogfights meant life and death. You see, we never had the luxury to enjoy taking on weaker prey." Rocky scratched his flaxen mustache.
"Oh, stuff it!" Ari chuckled and patted him on the back. "You aren't that old. Besides, you flew for the Fantine Air Corps as well before your injury during the Battle of Nantyz. How did the NanoTek drones get the better of you?"
"Oh, that wasn't it." Rocky shook his head. "I was trying to show off my combat skills as a flyer when my wing caught the side of a Pagada tree."
"Well, that is quite an accident." Ari cocked his head to the side. "At least you scored 23 kills on those damn corporate fascists. They thought they owned the city-states or lands that couldn't pay up on their monstrous loans. I mean, at least give out some sort of E-notice if you are going to raise interest on your products."
Before Rocky could respond, Ari felt a light pat on his back. He whirled around to face Strygar and Adlan.
"It appears that the Kithar offered valuable intel on SFF positions inside his country. We are required for the mandatory briefing in Room 601."
"Well, it better be good," Ari replied. "We lost a few good men fighting to bring him and his girlfriend back to our base. We don't want their deaths in vain."
"You should get going, champ!" Rocky waved him on."After this crisis, we should grab some drinks at Midgord's. It may be later than we think as the Survies are a formidable yet stubborn foe."
Ari nodded at the man as he made his way with the rest of the pilots to the gray sliding doors. Out of the hangar window, he spotted one of the massive Laevus carriers making landfall on a landing pad in the field, it's dark outline decorated with white blocks of light.
Quite an awe-inspiring sight to this day.
---
Secret SFF air base hidden in the plains
At that same time
"Flights Vengeance and Devastation, you and your Devastator squadrons are clear to fly."
Pushing a strand of her platinum-blonde hair from her face and clearing her vision in her red visor, Purhaena taxied her blood-red Bat fighter onto the tarmac. Beside her, Targon, the half-Skaven, half-Kashan leader of Devastation flight pulled up in his Bat with the massive Devastator bombers looming like mammoths in the background. Their mission was to exact revenge on those Fantine meddlers for taking away a wanted fugitive and the slight they incurred on the Survivalist image when they made fools of Devolle and Sythe. She would make her father proud at the destruction she'd cause at the Fantine base, making sure to cripple them fully this time.
Once I'm done with them, they won't dare meddle in our affairs again. In fact, if they ever consider the fact of sticking their noses in our business as they always do, they will be history!
Seeing the runway light up with red and blue lights, Purhaena then gradually pressed the lever on her Bat downward. She felt the engine kick to life with a low whine, giving the aircraft a jolt. Then, she was taking off and within seconds, in the air. Ass she gained altitude through the midnight sky, the thrusters kicked in, giving her Bat extra bursts of speed. Glancing out of the window of her bat-winged plane, she saw dark clouds envelope her aircraft. Through the darkness, the bright red lights of the other aircraft could be made out as well as the sky blue heat exhaust from the afterburners.It was such a lovely view.
"Vengeance Flight, for up! We will fly in a southwesterly path so we can avoid their air defenses.They won't see what hit them."
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Now things are getting heated.
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