Jarnsaxa 25th, 500AP
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A few months had passed since Carl's disappearance, Tony enjoyed a drink in the bar as he prepared himself mentally for whatever the next mission may be. He stared into his half empty glass and lost himself in his thoughts until a familiar voice called out to him.
"Tony! Hey!"
He turned around, it was Valentina, the holstaur that he and his buddies had interacted with in the past. She had the top part of her flight suit zipped down with a cow print t-shirt that did the best it could to contain her ample bust.
"Oh, Valentina...hello." He said softly.
"Why the long face huh?" She sat down next to him and ordered herself a cup of iced tea.
Tony had a lot on his mind with all that was going on in the world. War was looming on the hroizon and humans were playing big part in it while Demi-Humans were fighting to preserve their freedom and their liberty.
"How do you feel about us...us humans?" He looked to Valentina.
Her voice went quiet as she spoke. But Tony could tell that she was in deep thought, "I'll admit that some Demi-Humans aren't fond of Humans..I myself have had some bad experiences. Some Humans have even called me a 'freak' or 'abomination" She paused, "But I know not all Humans are like that. I know I've met many good people...including you and your friends. I would say that I do not judge individuals based on something they cannot change. That's what mama taught me and Bella when we were calfs." She smiled slightly as she looked up at Tony.
"So even though a lot of those sky pirates are humans and want to enslave demis...you don't hate me or my friends? You have a big heart, Val.."
"I believe that judging all people based on the actions of others does nothing but cause further division in the world. All of us demi-humans and humans want to live in a world where we can come together in peace. It's only through understanding and acceptance that all of us can heal and move forward." She looked into his eyes with a determined expression, "That's what I work towards, and that's why I don't hate you or your friends...also there's a human I have feelings for. I hope he feels the same way" She blushed before taking another swig of her drink.
"He'd be crazy not to." Tony chuckled.
The captain's assistant walked into the bar and tapped Tony's shoulder. He was the same species as the Commander, an oni. Tony followed him to the ready room where the Captain was already waiting along with Noah.
Tony sat down and waited for Kogan to speak, he looked rather anxious as he placed the paper containing the mission plan on the projector. Auras had succeedd in occupying Chelsea Island even with Wyvernia's push to defend the territory and if their island hopping campaign continued, their territorial gains would put them even closer to Wyvernia. This could also sever the nation's lifelines with its neighbors.
So you want us to fly in there?" Noah asked.
"Sadly there's no other choice...your F-4s have been modified to carry a pair of AGM-62 Walleye guided bombs each."
"Well, that's just Tuesday for us, so let's fuckin' go!", Noah said, giving them a thumbs up.
The boys were confident until Kogan placed another image on screen. It was another aircraft that Auras was using. The fighter was the Mirage F1 and the Legion of Auras had been acquiring them to supplement their MiG-23s.
"Well it looks better than the Flogger." Noah chuckled.
"Well, it was responsible for shooting down an entire squadron from HMWS Excelsior's airwing and destroying one of our battleships, HMWS Venator....if you encounter them then turn tail and run! Do. Not. Engage. They will chew you apart! Those propfans are unlike anything we've encountered, they're more than capable of outgunning you, especially at low altitude."
"The Morosinis and Celuchu will also join in on this operation. It is a five person op after all." Kogan said.
The duo were dismissed and headed for the hangar where their Rhinos were waiting. The boys shook hands with Oliver and began the preflight inspections, the F-4s were free of leaks and the ordinance was secured properly. The fuel tanks for all five jets were topped off as much as they could be and the jets were at their absolute heaviest for them to have the best possible odds to attack their target and make it back to the Andromeda.
"Are you okay in there?" Tony asked.
"F-Fine." Alysia's hand shook as she gave a thumbs up from the seat of her Phantom.
"Comm check." Noah added.
"I-I read you." Alysia said timidly.
"Loud and clear." Tony added.
"I read you, sir!" Valentina chirped.
"Reading you..." Bella said softly
The F-4s started up and taxied to the deck elevators. One by one, the fighters were moved up onto the flight deck and taxied to their positions. Because they were much heavier than before, they moved as far back as they could. Noah was the first one to take off and silently prayed that the catapults would be able to launch an aircraft at such a heavy gross weight.
"Oh please....please..." Oliver said to himself.
The Rhino went off the deck and dipped below, everyone feared the plane would plummet to the sea below until the F-4 began climbing skyward with the sound of its roaring J-79 turbojets accompanying it, "Bloody hell that was short!" Noah shook his head.
"More speed, more speed! Those blood Phantoms are too heavy!" Raphaela ordered her helmsman.
At over nearly 60,000 pounds fully loaded, these jets were the heaviest aircraft that the Andromeda had ever carried. Alysia was the last to take off, she shut her eyes and then breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the jet climb. For the first time, the elven princess cheered as her Phantom gained altitude and joined the formation with the others.
Near the coast of what was once Maidsea, the pilots were greeted by the E-2C Hawkeye AWACS That would be providing them with their surveillance from here on out.
"Solaris Squadron this is your AWACS, Callsign Gamby. I am an asset from the Royal Wyvernian Navy. It's a pleasure to meet you all." She said calmly.
"A female AWACS?" Noah raised an eyebrow.
"Ensign Stryker don't interrupt! A-Anyway your mission is to destroy an airship repair facility on Maidsea's coast..."
"What used to be Maidsea..." Tony added.
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The flight cruised slowly to conserve fuel. When they neared the target, they synchronized their watches. Upon arrival, the five would hit their designated targets and then rejoin formation and escape back to the Zeppelin. As they neared the target, Alysia designated a pair of parked airships, and Noah and Tony dispatched them with a pair of Walleyes. The bombs hit their marks and blew the airships and everything around them to kingdom come.
Alysia targeted another hangar and released her bombs. The bombs glided toward the airship hangar and the hydrogen fuel storage quickly ignited turning the entire place into a big fireball; so big that he had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being fried. With precision and determination, Valentina and Bella wasted no time as they set out to accomplish their mission. They embarked on a daring pursuit towards their targets - a weapon storage facility and an aircraft maintenance hangar with their walleye bombs.
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"Hooyah! Splash one Zeppelin and one aircraft repair facility!" Noah cheered.
Tony and Noah began a second attack run which took out another facility and destroyed two additional Zeppelins. The APR-25 Radar Warning Receiver in Alysia' plane then began beeping "Shit...I'm being tracked."
"Same here." Tony said.
"I was wondering when they'd get off their asses." Noah laughed.
"Countermeasures!" Tony shouted.
Alysia nodded and popped flares in case a missile was on its way, she looked in her rearview mirror and her eyes widened, "I-I-It's an F1! We can't take that thing on!"
The three planes outran their pursuer and egressed from the mission area. As they were about to climb, they spotted two Zeppelins approaching and they were quickly greeted by a barrage of flak."Stryker help the others get outta here, I'll keep 'em busy!"
Tony maneuvered his F-4 to distract the cruisers while his comrades escaped the mission area. Unfortunately, one of the 57mm anti-aircraft batteries was successful in crippling his F-4, "TONY! NO!" Carl shouted.
"I'm hit...I'm hit!" Tony said, "I'm gonna see if I can nurse her feet dry and bail...you guys return back to the Andromeda...tell Captain Ainsworth I did my best."
"NO!!! TONY!!!", Noah shouted. "Fuck you bastards!", He was enraged and turned his plane around to engage the enemies, despite being outnumbered. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!", He locked onto one of the Zeppelins and fired his last two missiles while narrowly escaping heavy flak. The missiles struck the airship and made it fall from the sky like a rock.
Tony was able to get his crippled F-4 near Maidsea's Eastern beach and punch out just as the wing of his rhino ripped off and the jet spiraled out of control. His parachute deployed and he smashed into the sand below. He was soon awoken by the sound of propellers overhead, his self preservation immediately kicked in and he began running further inland as an enemy helicopter spotted him
As the chopper came back around for another pass, the helicopter exploded and a second F-4 flew over before going down seconds later, "Solaris 1 is down!" Confirmed Gamby as she watched the blip fade from her scope. Tony spotted the chute and ran over, his rescuer was none other than Noah.
"What the hell is wrong you!?" He pushed him to the ground, "I SAVED YOU!"
"NO! I SAVED YOU!" Noah shouted back while panting.
"Well shit...it's damn good to see you." Tony rested his hands on his knees.
"...yeah, same here.", Noah took a deep breath after getting up. "So...what's the plan?", He looked at his friend. "How are we gonna get outta this shithole?"
Tony loaded his MAC-10, "I spotted a hangar during our attack run. If we were lucky then it wasn't destroyed...that could be our ticket outta here. We just can't get captured. I just hope whatever's in there is something we can fly outta this shithole."
"Okay.", Noah sighed. "Let's get going then. They'll probably send reinforcements to check on the wreckage of the plane I shot down...fuck.", He pulled out his Colt 1911 and cocked it, ready to fire.
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Noah and Tony spent several days evading capture and surviving off the bare minimum. Back aboard the Andromeda, Captain Ainsworth had feared the worst and was prepared to plan the funerals for the fallen pilots. Unfortunately for the duo, their luck would soon run out when a pirate patrol spotted and captured them. The boys were quickly brought to their headquarters for interrogation and met with the leader of their organization. She was a human woman in her early forties, she had long black hair and a gash going across her right eye with a white iris that contrasted heavily with her blue eye.
"So you two are the cunts that have been causing me problems eh?" She chuckled, "Kinda surprised I'd see humans working with those filthy creatures. My name is Karma..."
"I guess karma really is a bitch." Tony chuckled before his face was smashed against the table "Ow..."
"Worth it, though.", Noah smirked. "Anyways...", He looked at Karma. "I stand by his words.", He then laughed.
"I thought you two would be of use to me...I need skilled pilots to train my men but instead, you both are useless...you can rot. Put her in the cell with the elven whore."
The two pirates nodded and grabbed the duo. These pirates were different from what one would see in a movie or read about in a storybook, while they had the bushy beards, they dressed more like militiamen or partisans. The two were thrown into a cell and locked in.
"Well we have a cellmate." Tony sighed...
Indeed they did have a cellmate. She was an elf and bore somewhat of a resemblance to Alysia albeit she was quite emaciated and looked like she had been in captivity for several months. The boys may have had a toilet and a sink but that was about it. All they had to sleep on was a bed of hay with a wooden frame for support.
"Jesus Christ I can only imagine what solitary is like." Tony said.
"Worse than you could possibly imagine..." Replied the elf. She looked at the duo and tried to make conversation despite how weak she was, "A friend of mine...a pilot just like you was taken there just recently."
"Who are you?" Tony asked.
"K-Kira Celuchu..I was once the Princess of Wyvernia..."
"What?! You're Alysia's sister, then!", Noah was shocked. "She's gonna be happy to know you're alive.", He let out a sigh of relief. "But we gotta get you outta here first."
Kira's face lit up, it was as if the boys knowing Alysia had restored at least some energy to her frail body, "H-How do you know my little sister!?" She smiled, "Oh I miss her so!"
"She serves with us. We'll see to it that you see her again." Tony promised.
"A certain movie once taught me a valuable lesson in regard to how to escape from prison. I noticed when we got here...these cells have half pin barrel hinges. You thinking what I'm thinking, mate?", Noah hinted at the solution.
Tony raised an eyebrow, "It might be crazy enough to work so why not?"
"Aye aye, Cap'n!", Noah saluted him. "God bless movies, we can always learn something useful someday, hahah! But since we don't have leverage, we must rely on our sheer strength in hopes of lifting the door free. C'mon, help me out!"
Noah got up and positioned himself next to the side of the door where the hinges were located.
"We have to lift both sides equally!"
"I have an idea." Tony said, raising his hand, "The wooden frame that holds that piece of paper they call a futon. We break it apart and use the legs to give us the leverage we need to open the door...kinda sorta like the movie."
"Definitely worth a try!", Noah nodded and went to help Tony break the frame apart and position it in the door's openings.
Meanwhile, Kira was watching them do all that with a puzzled look on her face.
"What are these gentlemen doing?!", She thought to herself.
With the frame in position, Noah gave a check in the surroundings in hopes of no one having heard all that fuss.
"Ok, we should be in the clear! Ready for this?", He asked Tony.
The boys wedged the broken frame leg and heaved. As anticipated the door rose and broke apart from its hinges before falling back, the duo quickly moving away in order to avoid being crushed by it. After the door was down, Noah lifted Kira onto his back and they quietly navigated the hall to avoid detection. They snuck through the halls until they located the armory which was poorly guarded. Tony grabbed the guard and choked him out and then retrieved his MAC-10 as well as Noah's M1911.
Tony then grabbed the guard's keys and headed for solitary confinement, "We have to rescue my friend...please we can't leave him..." Kira said weakly.
Tony couldn't help but be shocked, never expecting to find his long-lost friend in such a state once he opened the steel door. They embraced, both overwhelmed with emotions and questions about how Carl ended up in solitary.
"Can you walk?" Noah asked.
"Yeah I can...ditching in the ocean didn't break me...red beard sure as fuck ain't gonna break me either." Carl chuckled, "Good to see you again, Kira...I see ya met my buddies here."
In a silent determination, Kira gently held onto Carl's arm as they led the group through the facility. After what felt like an eternity, they stumbled upon a mineshaft, a glimmer of hope shining through. With adrenaline pumping, they knew this would be their ticket to freedom, and they resolved to make their escape.
"Oh shit..." Tony sighed...looks like we've gotta get on one of these. He looked at the minecart parked before them, "I'll operate the brake...take my MAC." He handed Noah his submachine gun.
Noah nodded, grabbing the weapon and getting ready to provide cover fire in case things went South. "Kira, are you alright?", He checked up on her.
"Y-Yes..." She nodded.
"Okay. Stay still and keep your head down. We're gonna get you outta here. It's a promise.", He gave her a reassuring nod and a faint smile. She was a bit shocked with their actions, especially because they're humans like her captors, yet quite the polar opposite in their attitudes, gestures, and words.
"Give us a push eh, Goose?" Tony joked
"Who you calling Goose, mate?"
Noah gave the cart a push and climbed aboard as it slid down the rails. The cart sped through the cave network and the enemy showed up in force to try and stop the trio. A bullet whizzed by their heads, "port side, port side!" Tony took aim with the M1911 and opened fire. The enemies were quickly dispatched and the duo leaned the cart to prevent it from tipping over.
"Got it!", Noah pointed at the correct direction and pulled the trigger, providing cover fire for their escape...or at least tried. "It's a lot of 'em, it's like that Karma bitch sent all her reinforcements!"
As the cart careened through the tracks, the group fought off the reinforcements with fierce determination, ensuring Kira's safety. The powerful .45 ACP rounds easily dispatched many of their pursuers, as the cart's wild movements made the escape feel like an exhilarating roller coaster ride. Noah quickly switched the tracks to prevent the cart from smashing into a collapsed section. As they continued through the mineshaft.
They neared the epicenter of the tunnel network and were taken aback by the setup. It served as a processing point for captured demi humans before they were sold off and sent to their final destinations. Whoever this Karma was, she wasn't leading a rag-tag group of thugs but instead, her men were well trained and equipped to take on even the likes of Wyvernia militarily.
The cart arrived at the end of the line at what looked like the entrance to a sophisticated processing station. Tony shot open the lock and the door led down a dirt runway, Noah lifted Kira onto his back and the group ran to the hangar where the mysterious plane had been spotted during the mission. The plane was an old Boeing 707. A relic before the Divine Punishment that had been restored. It was painted in the markings of an airline from one of the long lost nations.
"Qantas. I've read about them...they used to be huge back in the old world." Tony said.
"A 707? You sure this museum piece can even fly?" Noah asked.
Tony chuckled, "We'll find out." He opened the door and boarded the plane, helping his friends aboard the plane. Carl helped Kira strap into the jump seat before he strapped himself into the flight engineer's seat. Tony switched on the batteries, "Okay..full fuel load, battery's good, Noah, get in the co-pilot's seat behind me and fire up engine four."
"Bloody hell's bells...this thing is so old." Noah said, looking through the myriad of analog gauges and switches, "Alright, you gotta guide me up through this, I never flew one of these or hell anything this old!", Noah replied while strapping himself in the co-pilot's seat and looking for the controls. "This one?", He pointed to a specific place in the control panel above their heads.
"You got it!" Tony assisted in the startup and the remaining Pratt & Whitney JT3 engines spooled to life. He strapped himself into the pilot's seat and released the parking brake and taxied the bomber down the taxiway. Noah spotted a pair of technicals armed with Maxim machine guns out of the starboard window. Tony turned toward the runway and gradually pushed the four throttles forward with the trucks hot on their heels.
"Runway's short...more flaps." Tony said, pointing to the flap and slat levers.
As the 707 accelerated down the short runway, Tony and Noah quickly adjusted the flaps to increase lift. Meanwhile, the powerful jet blast from the engines caused a truck following closely behind to be forcefully pushed away, reminiscent of a child's toy being tossed aside.
"Goddamn!" Noah exclaimed as he watched the carnage from his seat.
"80 knots....90 knots...95 knots...120 knots....V1...rotate." Tony pulled back on the yoke.
"This is gonna be close...!!", Noah clenched his eyes a bit, but still watching the runway ahead and the end of it approaching...there was a short cliff leading down straight to the sea! "C'mon, pal...or we're gonna be part of the underwater exposition..."
"COME ON, BABY! LIFT YOUR THICK JUICY ASS FOR TONY!" Tony shouted while the duo pulled back on the yokes. Right at the very end of the runway, the plane lifted off and began climbing into the clear blue sky. Noah retracted the landing gear while Tony retracted the flaps and the trio breathed a collective sigh of relief when the 707 reached cruising altitude.
"W-We made it!" Kira cheered.
"Oh thank god..." Carl whispered
"Aww shit, I think I'm gonna hit the bathroom when we're home.", Noah sighed, laughing a bit nervously. "shit...", He closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his back, rubbing it.