One-six

“Contacts ascending,” One-five reported.

The carrier aircraft gradually lifted its nose, its engines screaming as the grand aircraft began to crawl skywards. The many escort aircraft moved aside, allowing the carrier a clear line of sight towards the horizon.

One-six bit his lip in frustration. Because the attack happened ahead of schedule, they ended up closer to New Asia than he would have liked.

The attack fleet was already ascending to peek over the horizon and fire upon New Asia. In another minute or so, the massive city would be a smoldering pile of ash.

Their original plan was for them to circle behind the fleet, then attack. But there wasn’t time for that now.

“We’ll have to go from the front,” said One-six, rolling to the right and pulled until the carrier was framed in the center of his visor.

“That’s not going to work,” One-six replied.

“There’s no time to circle around.”

One-six pulled gently on the stick, putting his own aircraft into a climb, matching that of the attack fleet.

“We’re still not being engaged…” Two-six mumbled. “Even if we get identified as a friendly, I thought there’d be a little more reaction than this.”

“That’s true…”

In the back of his mind, One-six thought he might have a slight idea of why that is.

“I think Captain Steiner is helping us,” he said.

His teammates turned to look at him. They quickly understood what One-six meant, but were still a little surprised.

“He’s working behind the scenes?” Two-six asked.

“Like he’s always been…”

“Still… when we breach the inner cordon, we’ll be fired upon,” said One-five.

“The defense matrix can take care of it,” One-six replied.

One-five sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

“Sixty seconds from intercept!” Two-six shouted. “We’ll be crossing the inner cordon soon.”

The many dots on his radar display began to enshroud them, dotting the screen in every direction.

“One-six, the guidance system I wrote can’t reliably impact unless from a rear aspect,” Two-five reminded One-six.

“I know.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

One-six didn’t speak.

“Hey, One-six?”

Then the radar warning receiver and missile launch warning began to blare.

“Missile launched. Missile launched. Missile launched.”

“We’ve crossed the inner cordon,” One-five reported calmly.

A large explosion shook their aircraft as the defense matrix zapped a missile out of the air in front of them, then another, and another.

“Fire at will,” One-six ordered his team.

“Copy,” they replied in unison.

The many missiles carried in their payload pay and hanging below their wing shot forwards one after another. They twisted and turned through the night, rapidly closing in upon the lumbering carrier aircraft. But before any of them got close, the laser defense turrets on the many European aircraft zapped them from the sky.

In return, missiles came towards them too, but their retrofitted defense matrix blew them out of the air with little difficulty.

“Out of missiles,” One-five called out.

It was time for the last part of their plan. If the missiles couldn’t destroy the carrier, then they’ll just use their own plane as an oversized missile. Two-five had worked tirelessly to write a guidance program into their plane’s computer, so that they could eject to safety while it flew itself to the target.

“Defense matrix is low on energy. We won’t be able to hold up for much longer,” Two-five reported, frantically pressing a myriad of warning lights to reset them. “Even with the extra batteries these turrets use a lot of energy.”

“Switch off everything, I only want flight computers and the radar online,” One-six told her.

“Everything? Even instrument lighting?”

“Yes, everything.”

Two-five swiped her finger across one of the displays, selecting every option available, then pressed the ‘off’ button.

Suddenly it became dark, the only sources of light coming from the glowing exhaust plumes of the dense formation ahead of them and the red emergency lights.

“Forty seconds.”

Another missile exploded just off their nose, sending fragmentation screaming towards them. A few of the larger pieces sunk themselves into the thick canopy, creating spiderwebs of cracks which slowly grew larger and larger.

They approached the outermost perimeter of escort aircraft, maneuvering to fly between the gaps.

“Time to eject…” One-six announced. “It was an honor flying alongside you all.”

“One-six?” One-five asked. “What do-”

He yanked hard on the ejection handle.

There was a loud bang, then the deafening noise of the rushing air as the canopy flipped up and away from them.

Then there was a flash of light behind him, then to his right, as the ejection motors activated and shot his team members clear of the aircraft.

One-six was glad that the F-51 has a two piece canopy, which now protected him from the supersonic airstream. He sighed, then grabbed his control stick and manually steered the plane towards the carrier.

The outer perimeter of escorts flashed past, their dark shapes barely visible in the night.

The only way now is forwards.

It's now his time to go up in flames, like so many who fought alongside and against him did.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Time slowed.

He felt calm, even in the face of death.

Perhaps he’s just destined to be that way.

“I knew it,” a familiar voice spoke through his headset.

One-six’s eyes widened as he twisted around.

Two-six was there, ducking down to hide from the wind, and their eyes met.

“Why are you still here?” He asked.

“…”

“Unstrap yourself and jump clear of the intakes."

“I can’t, airstream will kill me…”

Their ejection seats have a protective screen which fall in front of the pilots when they eject. Wind doesn’t normally kill, but at twice the speed of sound, it’s akin to getting hit by a train.

“…Even if it wouldn’t, I won’t.”

“What are you…”

“I saw you disabling your ejection seat yesterday, so I disabled mine too,” Two-six smiled smugly. “Why do you think I was at our plane when you came running along”

So that’s what she had been up to, he thought to himself.

“You’re out of your mind,” he told her.

“So are you.”

More missiles came towards them, but all were destroyed by the defense matrix before they could get close.

In the distance, the center of the carrier aircraft began to emit a pale white glow as it began charging its plasma cannon.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, you know. I realized the only reason I’ve been fighting all this time was to protect my teammates, and more importantly, to protect you.”

“That’s a stupid reason.”

“So what? I used to fight because I was told to, but at some point, I began to fight because I wanted to... for you... But I only realized that after that fateful day.”

“The day we saw the outside world?”

“Yes… So don’t call me stupid for wanting to stick to that reason until the very end. In fact, if you hadn’t brought it up that day, this wouldn’t have happened. If you hadn’t let me see you disabling your ejection seat, none of this would have happened either! It’s all your fault… it’s all…”

“…”

“I hate you…” Two-five whispered, barely audible above the noise of the wind.

“I don’t…”

“…”

“You’re not going to survive,” said One-six.

“I’m fully aware.”

“I’m not going to survive.”

“I’m also aware.”

“So why are you doing this?”

“Because I didn’t want to live in a world without the one person who means the most to me. I didn’t want to wake up everyday knowing that I could have done something, but decided not to…”

“That’s a stupid reason.”

“That’s quite a mean thing to say someone who truly loves you from the depths of their heart, someone who has mustered up all their courage just to say it to you, don’t you think?”

“…”

Though One-six couldn’t see, behind her helmet, Two-six’s cheeks were bright red.

“Not giving it a moment’s thought to give your life for someone. Not hesitating for even a second to be with that someone until the very end. Feeling pain every time that someone is hurt, and feeling happy every time that someone is happy. Wanting to be with that someone every second of every day. Wanting to talk with that someone even if you don’t have anything to talk about. Wanting to feel that someone’s warmth when you’re cold and lonely… Isn’t that what love is?”

One-six didn’t know what to say.

“Everything… Everything I’ve done… was all for you…”

“…Where did you learn all that?”

“I figured it out myself,” she said with a little chuckle.

One-six sighed and fell silent, but behind the oxygen mask of his helmet, tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Several cannon tracers streaked past their fighter. Some hit, tearing off chunks of the fuselage, starting a fire in the inboard section of their port side wing.

But they kept going, closer and closer to the carrier.

A round struck the cockpit, blowing the engineer’s station to bits, but they kept going.

They were now close enough that One-six could see the cannon turrets on the carrier aircraft turning towards them.

Some missiles got through the defense matrix and shattered the tail section of his fighter, destroying the control systems and setting it ablaze.

The turrets on the carrier opened fire, sending a stream of cannon tracers tearing through their plane.

Fragmentation ripped through his flying suit, blowing open big ugly holes in his body. He felt his right arm get torn off and his left leg shattered by a flying piece of metal. Blood surged from his mouth, pooling inside his oxygen mask and spraying out through the air valve in a cloud of red.

But none of it mattered.

Their momentum carried them forwards, straight towards center mass of the carrier.

One-six closed his eyes.

“You really are an idiot,” he whispered.

“So are you…”

*****

Takeshi

Takeshi watched from atop a hill as the massive attack fleet passed by overhead. Built on the border between New Asia and Europa, Valkyria stood right in the path of the attack.

He gasped in awe as the countless dots streaked across the sky, the many sonic booms coalescing into a single, prolonged rumble, rolling across the hills and valleys.

After the fleet flew by, he descended the hill, back to the makeshift shelters. Lenn and One-six’s mission was in no way under his control, and he had no way of interfering either. He would know soon enough if it succeeded, or if it failed.

“Sir, the pilot is awake,” one of the doctor’s helpers told him as he walked up to the overhang.

“How is she?”

“She demanded to see her teammates, sir.”

“They aren’t here right now.”

“I told her, and she asked to see the Europeans.”

“They aren’t here either.”

“I told her that too, so she asked to see you.”

Takeshi grimaced. Ying has definitely figured out what was going on. “Got it… I’ll go see her now.”

He gently lifted open the flap covering the entrance to the medical tent, and quietly stepped inside. Ying sat on her bed, all sorts of IV lines still attached to her arm.

The sight of her so hurt, so frail, made his heart ache like never before. Sometimes he almost forgets that Ying is his daughter.

“Where are they?” She asked as soon as Takeshi entered.

“They uhh…”

“They’ve gone on the mission haven’t they? The attack’s started hasn’t it?”

“Well…”

“That rumble I heard, that was the fleet flying overhead wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

Ying stared at him blankly for a moment. “I need to go,” She whispered as she began tearing the IV lines out of her arm, blood dribbling down her arm.

“Stop stop! You’re in no shape to move around yet!” Takeshi shouted, running over to stop her.

But before he could get close, she had already removed the needles and was struggling off of the bed. She placed her feet on the ground and tried to stand, but her legs gave out from beneath her, sending her to the floor.

“You alright?” Takeshi asked, getting to his knees to help her.

Ying held up her hand, telling him to stay away.

“Why can’t I feel my left leg?” She asked.

There was a fierce light in her eyes, one which Takeshi had never seen before. It was a mix of anger, frustration, sadness, and many other things.

Maybe, maybe he's seen it before in the mirror.

“Tell me!”

“There was…. severe nerve damage to that leg as a result of your injuries. It will take a long time to heal, if at all…”

Ying looked down at her leg and bit her teeth. Then she raised her fist, and began pounding it against her leg, again and again. There were tears rolling down her face, and Takeshi knew that she wasn’t crying for her leg; she was crying for her teammates.

“When did they leave?” She asked quietly, wiping away the tears on her face.

“Around an hour ago.”

She looked down at the ground, holding her forehead with her hand. “I need to go help them…”

“How? You can’t walk, you’re still weak from your injuries. There’s not even anything here for you to fly in.”

“I… I don’t know…” She pushed herself up with one leg and held onto her bed for balance. “Just… take me outside.”

Takeshi sighed, gently grabbing one of Ying’s arms. She hobbled out of the tent with Takeshi’s help, and sat down on the grass below the stars.

“It’s going to happen about now, right?”

“I think so…”

“If I don’t see a bright flash, then what does it mean?”

“The mission failed.”

“And if I do?”

But before Takeshi could answer, the sky was illuminated by a blinding white light.

*****

Lenn

The noisy voice came through the radio again.

“All available aircraft have been scrambled, standby for further instructions. Over.”

Lenn breathed a sigh of relief and switched off the radio.

“Let’s turn back and get ready to pick them up,” he told his team, turning his aircraft back in the direction of Europa. “Let’s wait for the flash…”

Not even a second after his words fell, the horizon exploded into a brilliant white, brighter than the sun.

The light first appeared as a single dot, then quickly bloomed out to cover the entire western sky. It looked like a lightning bolt had caught fire, as if a million electrical arcs crisscrossed the edge of the sky.

“Woah…” Kang gasped.

Lenn had to raise his arm in front of his face to shield his eyes from the blinding light. Their instruments and displays glitched and flashed as a loud electrical cackle filled their headsets.

To an unknowing person, it may seem like the sun had just gone supernova. But to Lenn and his team, it meant something entirely different.

Their plan worked.

Then just as quickly as it had came, the light snuffed out, the distant sky once again plunged into darkness, leaving a thousand specks of fire to flicker and twirl in the wind, plummeting back to earth.

“It actually worked…”

“That’s the entire European air force…” Kang mumbled. “Gone, just like that…”

Only Lenn knew, that someone else has also been lost to that white light.

“How many people have we killed?” Rei asked.

“That doesn’t matter…” Lenn spoke softly. “Because we’re about to kill many many more.”

Kang sighed. “Saving one city by destroying another…”

They turned to look behind them, towards New Asia, where fighters and bombers were streaming out from their hangars. They soon formed a massive armada, no smaller than that of Europa.

This wasn’t part of their plan, they never expected to get this far.

But such is war, war never changes.

There was only one thing to do now, for the future of mankind.

Total destruction of Europa, and the end of the war.