Auclair-Stolz’s voice rings over the coms, a hint of panic lurking within its usual steel. On the sensors, I am able to identify his panic’s source. Three contacts, all Martian ships, and from the way that more contacts pour from them, two are fully equipped with the usual Martian fighter squadron.

“Men! Our orders are in!” The clear shout of Auclair-Stolz pulls me from the panic that has momentarily set in. “We are to engage the enemy as the rest of the squads launch. Each of us has to hold off a flight, something we have already trained to do. Prioritize the Hōō’s; they are the more significant threat.”

With that, he draws his weapon and trains it on the coming swarm. Di’Lotta follows his lead, and I do the same as well, a painful churning in my stomach as I look over at the approaching swarm of death. While my sensors inform me that there are “only” 2 squadrons. A mere 30 jets heading our way that blur together like a cloud on the view screen.

Grrrrrr

The growl of the lock-on serves as a distant reminder of the impossible task in front of me. Despite being louder than the sim, it seems quiet in the face of our task. I raise my Tempête, bracing it against my shield, as I gaze into the swarm helplessly.

Suddenly, without a shot fired between the three of us, one of the Hōōs explodes. I blink before checking the scan once again, and as soon as I do, I hear the crackle of the coms as a message comes through.

“Wolf Corps Squad 4, this is Auxiliary Squad leader Lieutenant Blaustien. We will be providing you with cover fire from the ship. Just do your best to keep the enemy busy.”

As if to emphasize his words, another Hōō explodes as the approaching storm scatters into the flights that make it up. With the spell of the Martians shattering, I raise my Tempête and take a breath as I take aim toward the center of one of the flights, flying up to get a better shot. As soon as the shot is lined up, I fire. The rocket flies true, erasing the Cockatrice at the heart of the formation and heavily damaging its surrounding allies.

Thanks to my panic, I don’t have enough time for another shot, so I don’t waste any time reloading. Instead, I cast it to the void and draw my Arashi, raising my shield up as I do so. Right before the Martians fall upon us, the Hoo leading my foes goes up in a ball of explosive fury. That is the only mercy fate affords me.

The Cockatrices unleash a swarm of missiles that tear through the void toward me. I challenge the swarm, squeezing the trigger and unleashing a hail of bullets of my own. I don’t sit around and wait for the results, however. As hard as I can, I slam the throttle, shifting the thrusters into high gear in an effort to evade. However, several of the missiles manage to stay on me and strike my limbs.

The cockpit shakes from the impacts, slamming me forward as the entire cockpit is stained red with warning lights. Sirens blare, drowning out my thoughts, as I fight to right the Janissary. The Cockatrices chasing me don’t give me the time to do so, unleashing yet another salvo of death my way.

As death rushes toward me, the world seems to slow. My hands move by instinct, flying across my controls to activate thrusters and shift my machine. I move with the momentum of the last attack, flipping over and jetting downward. As I go, I fire off shots at the jets as the missiles scream past me, practically scratching the paint of the Janissary. My shots slam into the underbelly of one, and as it starts to explode, I send a burst toward another as I chase after them.

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The jets peel away from each other, my burst flying harmlessly past my target. However, thanks to their speed, their turn is a wide one, allowing me to fire off two more bursts. Only one hits its mark, but both jets explode all the same.

Flying through the debris of my foe, I check the scanner to see that the rest of the Martian forces are heading over to the ship. Suppressing the panic leaping through my mind, I glance at my allies’ signals and see that Auclair-Stolz is helping Di’Lotta deal with the flight on him, leaving the ship open to the Martians.

In a split second, a thousand thoughts fill my head. I shouldn’t have thrown away the Tempête. What will happen to me when the Martians down the ship? Everyone is going to die because of me. All helpless to do anything because I wasn’t able to stop them. I will never see Mom, Dad, or any of my siblings. Why did I ever think I was…

A twinge of pain and the taste of blood snaps me out of the spiral. Shaking my head, I slam the thrusters and desperately charge forward. I raise my Arashi with a wordless cry and release a round of bullets after them. Thanks to the distance between us and their speed, most of the bullets go wild. However, one manages to hit the mark, sheering off the wing. As the wing careens off into the void, the jet turns to face me, but for their effort, I send another hail of bullets that take the jet out.

Flying past the wreckage, I fire on the jets in a desperate attempt to slow them down, but this time, none of my bullets land. Unphased by my bullets or by the fire from Lieutenant Blaustien and his men, the jets fly on before unleashing a wave of missiles at the ship. My grip around the throttle tightens, and I push against its limits, vainly hoping to pull some extra speed up and catch the missiles, but the machine can’t answer my pleas, so I am forced to watch as the missiles swiftly approach the ship.

However, before they can arrive, two Ags burst forth from the side. One I recognize, as the same AG Auclair-Stolz has been assigned, a Jannissary Commander. The other is new, a heavy-looking machine with an impressive array of thrusters emerging from its back. They jet forward, leaping into the path of the missiles with shields raised and readied. Then, from their head, gunfire emerges, taking out the swarm of missiles as they get in close. While they aren’t able to take out all of the missiles, they manage to intercept most with their gunfire. They then manage to catch several of them with their shields before tossing them away.

With the salvo shot down, my breath returns to me. I continue chasing after the Martians, watching as the two new AGs engage with the support of the sniper squad. The pilot of the Janissary Commander unleashes a seemingly endless rain of bullets toward the Martians. The only interruption to their assault is the occasional explosion, either of Matian ships or of rockets that they fire off. The unidentified AG has an almost completely opposite approach. They fire off methodical shots on the enemy as they fly, taking out a similar number with fewer rounds.

As the jets focus in on them, two more Janissaries fly out, one being a Commander. They join the battlefield, cutting through the Martian jets with their combined fire. Seeing that the situation has turned against them, the jets try to wheel around to flee.

“Squad 4! No survivors!”

The Captain’s voice roars across the coms as the jets make their way toward me. Staring at the jets charging toward me, I hurriedly open fire. My shots hit their mark, turning one of the Cockatrices into a blazing mess on a collision course with me. I dive down, and the jet flies over me, granting me a close look at the cockpit as it and the pilot within explode above me.

As the shrapnel batters my machine, I fly up, firing on the few remaining jets. I manage to nail another jet, turning the number of fleeing Martians from five to four. From there, Auclair-Stolz and Di’Lotta jump in to finish off another two while the last ones are dealt with by the sniper squad.

“Good work Squad 4! Return to the ship and await further orders!”

The Captain’s orders come across the coms as clear as day and I feel my breath and heart start to slow as I slump against the controls.

“Move Kizashi. We have our orders.”

However, Auclair-Stolz’s words refuse me even a second of rest. Pulling myself back up, I gently push the throttle and make my way toward the ship. As we fly back, several more Janissaries emerge and begin to fly off in the direction of the enemy as the cannons continue to fire.