"This is Avalon 1, callsign Empress." I tuned to the local battlenet and introduced myself. "Yo, troopers. Still alive?"
From up here, I can see next to no hostile activity around the train station. Here's hoping that as many of our allies as possible survived, Yggdra knows how shitty the situation was before I arrived.
The radio net is unresponsive for a while, probably because the survivors are still trying to regain their bearing. As Thomas the Train starts pulling up to the station, the airwave finally comes to life, the contact ID pegs the speaker as Bravo, Sergeant Lukas Hultebring.
"This is Bravo to Empress, may the Mother Goddess bless you for such a timely arrival. As for the situation on the ground..." The Sergeant stops speaking for a few seconds. "It's bad, but we're still alive, somehow. Alpha's radio got damaged and we got multiple injured personnel with various severity. Even with Thomas, I don't think we can handle all of the casualties, Empress. We'll try to stabilize the patients but a MEDEVAC would be lovely." The man reports with a strained tone
I reply promptly to reassure them. "Empress copy all. Additional QRF, the 501st Airborne, is underway and is slated to rendezvous with you to provide security. They have MEDEVACs so when you get to them, they can help you offload the patients."
An audible sigh of relief can be heard on the other end. "It's good to know that Adam's prayers have been answered, in a way. Roger that, Empress, we're working on the extraction process right now. Anything you can see from up there that we should be worried about?"
I scan the battlefield data that is pulled from multiple sources. "As a matter of fact, you do. You may need to get the train's weapon stations online for the breakthrough, Bravo. While I sure can provide top cover, it's better to be on the safe side since there could be stragglers around. Also, you may need that 88 on the train to blow a hole in the wall before making a break for it. There's a gate separating you from the outside world. Other than that, Long Caster should be sending you an updated waypoint to meet up with the 501st."
"Thanks for the head up, Empress. We'll notify you and Long Caster if we come across any new developments. Over and out." Bravo responds in a thankful tone before cutting off the radio.
I curve my lips upward slightly. It's good to know that I arrived in the nick of time. Even with the ludicrous speed of my Morgan, I was afraid of being too late to save the people down there. Knowing that there were kids caught in the crossfire, I couldn't just lounge back home when I knew that I could do something to help. While I am surely not a saint most of the time, if my soldiers are fighting the good fight then I too will join them on the frontline.
Feeling emboldened by the honor and tenacity shown by my troops, I too must do something in kind. As such, I contact Long Caster. "AWACS, focus your effort on coordinating with Bravo and the rest. My plane has a strong enough sensor suite to take over CAS duty from here on out."
Surprisingly, it takes the AWACS operator a few seconds to respond in an extremely respectful tone. "A-Affirmative, Empress. May the fortune of war be with you!"
I nearly laugh at the sudden serious tone the operator used. While flying to Warsaw, I tuned in to the battlezone chatter and learned that Long Caster is a pretty easy-going guy. To think that Bryn would scare him shitless by just sending over my information is quite hilarious. Before I can do anything else though, a Phantom flies up right beside me. Taking a look at my left, I see the aircraft is painted in the livery of Rigel Squadron. To be more specific, it's the plane piloted by Major Sulejmani.
Seeing a friendly face, I wiggle my plane in greeting. The Major on the other end gives me a thumbs up before both he and his co-pilot salute me. After that, Rigel and Knight Squadrons depart from the AO, leaving me to handle the remaining Warsaw garrison. Later, more squadrons will join in protecting the train, with even an AC400 gunship coming along with the 501st. We have been late in providing help earlier, the best we can do is to help them get back home safely.
Controlling Morgan, I put her in a gentle circle above Ursus station. Already, I can see that the flame is starting to die out. To avoid a situation of the enemy attacking the vulnerable evacuees, Thomas the Train uses its weapons to suppress potential avenues that the enemy may advance. Heavily armed with a refurbished 88mm cannon, a 57mm autocannon, multiple 30mm autocannons, and 14.5mm machine guns, the train rocks the surrounding areas with numerous tracers. I smirk at the sight, impressed at the sight of armed wagons doing their explosive business much like in age long past.
Nevertheless, that is enough sightseeing on my part, it's time to start dealing proper justice to these nationalist Polanians. Checking the munition counter on the Morgan, I judge that I still have enough ordnance to level half of Warsaw if I have to. As such, I start directing my attention on the Polanian military hotspots. Though heavily damaged, the Warsaw garrison still has a sizeable force for one last push toward the train.
"These guys don't know when to quit, do they?" I ask myself before turning on weapon locks on the targets I scanned.
Garrisoned buildings, trucks, tankettes, checkpoints,... I lock the crosshair on all of them. For buildings and large groups of soft-skinned targets, I use JAGM with thermobaric warheads. Anything else that is armored or spread out will be dealt with using DAGR and 30mm gun pods. Seeing how under-protected the Polanians are, twelve 30mm barrels should be more than enough to flatten them all. Oh right, since this is the first time in a long time that I take Morgan out for a spin, some music would be nice to commemorate the occasion. Of course, only I will hear it, I am not that insensitive to blast it on loudspeaker.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Searching the onboard playlists through one of my MFDs, I scroll till I see a playlist I yoinked when I visited Gentiane's world last time around. Pressing the play button, I smirk confidently when the beats kick in,
* Everything's so blurry and everyone's so fake
* And everybody's empty and everything is so messed up
* Preoccupied without you, I cannot live at all
* My whole world surrounds you, I stumble and I crawl
Without further ado, I invert Morgan before pointing my nose downward. On my HUD, targets highlighted in green squares soon are marked in red, signifying the acquisition of good target locks. I first aim my JAGM missiles at the buildings with a noticeable buildup of enemy activities. Such targets are made conspicuous by parked trucks, enemy sentries, or even rifle barrels poking out of the windows. Too perfect for thermobaric missiles not to hit.
* You could be my someone, you could be my scene
* You know that I'll protect you from all of the obscene
* I wonder what you're doing, imagine where you are
* There's oceans in between us, but that's not very far
Pulling the trigger, I launch four missiles, leaving behind trails of white smoke in the sky. Careening down toward the enemy buildings, which are barely standing at this point, the missiles impact and bathe the targets in a fiery death. The rundown nature of these buildings and their confined space mean the occupants are either blasted apart or have their lungs ruptured. At worst I would bet that the buildings themselves will collapse.
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
* This pain you gave to me
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
Now that the enemy staging areas are scorched, I direct my attention to the multiple enemy units that are in transit. Even with the devastating losses they suffered, to continue pushing till now means that they're either brave, forced, or stupid. This time, instead of using missiles, I switch to guided rockets and Gatling guns instead.
* Everyone is changing, there's no one left that's real
* So make up your own ending and let me know just how you feel
* 'Cause I am lost without you, I cannot live at all
* My whole world surrounds you, I stumble then I crawl
Still in my dive, I pop the rockets and launch many of them. If the four missiles prior left behind trails, then the rockets create streams of light. The streams then split into many smaller streaks before slamming relentlessly on top of groups of soldiers and vehicles.
* You could be my someone, you could be my scene
* You know that I will save you from all of the unclean
* I wonder what you're doing, I wonder where you are
* There's oceans in between us, but that's not very far
Not stopping there, I dial up the three Gatling guns. Sporting a grin on my face, I carve up a bloody path on the main path that the Warsaw garrison uses to reinforce their offensive in the slum area. Many, many red tracers of death bathe the path of the enemy. Other than paying attention to my rapidly depleting bullet count, I can't even fathom how many Polanians I've shredded using guns only. The tankettes are eviscerated, not to mention the human bodies.
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
* This pain you gave to me
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
* This pain you gave to me
Now that the immediate enemy threats around the train are suppressed, I direct my attention beyond the slum area. Very quickly, I identify the regional headquarters for military activities around Warsaw. At first glance, it's right in a civilian neighborhood, not really a good target for an airstrike due to the added variable around them. However, the civilian population is sparse at this point, most of them are now hiding in their homes as the battle in the slum rages on. As such, I know just the way to eliminate the Polanian military HQ.
* Nobo-, nobody told me what you thought
* Nobody told me what to say
* Everyone showed you where to turn
* Told you when to run away
* Nobody told you where to hide
* Nobody told you what to say
* Everyone showed you where to turn
* Showed you when to run away
Once again flying higher, I position myself and Morgan directly above the enemy HQ. Pulling the control stick back, I let Morgan do a half loop. Kicking the thrusters to full, I speed toward the ground, arming a little present on the way. Painting the roof of the Polanian HQ, I watch as the target grows bigger and bigger in my view.
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
* This pain you gave to me
* Can you take it all away?
* Can you take it all away?
* Well, you shoved it in my face
* This pain you gave to me, no
* This pain you gave to me
My speed increases, and my altitude keeps decreasing. Soon, I break the sound barrier, yet, I still continue speeding towards the ground like the Daredevil I am. It sure does fit with all the shenanigans I tend to pull, all the more so when I am the daughter of Lucifer herself.
* This pain you gave to me
Ultimately, I nearly reach the point of no return before dropping the payload, a 500-kilogram GBU. Being dropped from a supersonic aircraft, the bomb actually flies faster than Morgan, punching through the roof and the many floors of the enemy HQ like nothing. With the confirmation of a drop, I pull the stick back, leveling Morgan pretty darn close to the ground, flying in between a street that barely fits the frame of an Aria fighter jet. Needless to say, when Morgan flies this close to the neighborhood, the ground effect my baby leaves behind is more than enough to break windows, and shear off a few roofs. The rush of such a dangerous flying style really is something as I can feel myself smiling like a kid in a candy store.
* Can you take it all, take it all away?
* This pain you gave to me
* Can you take it all away?
* This pain you gave to me
* Can you take it all away?
* This pain you gave to me
As I make my exfil, the GBU slams through the floors and goes deep into the ground. The bomb is situated upright in the middle of the foundation beneath the building before exploding. The blast of a 500kg bomb completely shatters the foundation thus creating a void. While powerful, the damage doesn't extend beyond the ground beneath the enemy HQ, yet it's more than enough to create a sinkhole that grows to swallow the structure above it. Ultimately, the Warsaw garrison loses its headquarters, with it being swallowed along all the officers who ordered the slaughter in the slum area. If this doesn't force this Revolutionary Council of theirs to get to the negotiation table, then I don't know what will, short of assassinating every single one of them.
As I regain my altitude, I marvel at my handiwork.
I whistle. "Now that's a lot of damage!"