Aces High

Okinawa skies, Ryukyus Islands Sea, Japan
July 30th
6:10 AM

The skies of the island were witnessing a high-speed battle. A huge titan poured in black was flying through the skies, and around him, almost a hundred planes were flying around him as if they were angels dancing in the heights. For us a battle to kill the giant, and the servants that protected him,  for them a race to find a lost fleet. But none of that mattered to me, I was here for the challenge, an old rivalry in one direction, they didn't know who I really was, years ago I lost my match against them, and probably the perpetrators were not the ones I had in front of me today. And yet here we were dueling, strangers trying to kill each other, but even so, I was full of emotion, I felt alive and excited, I could feel the excitement and the joy of being alive every second. Far from feeling bad for all the suffering the people around me were going through, I was glad to have a chance to have another battle where I had everything to lose for my own enjoyment. The last time I felt this alive was when I faced the Overlord on his own throne and killed him with my bare hands and a rock. The HellFire squadron is a large group, well trained, experienced, and with much better planes than mine, they have brutal coordination and teamwork, since they appeared on the battlefield our team has been on the defensive, trying to survive their onslaught. On my side there was only me in my plane that Momo prepared and Rick, a pilot with an innate talent that he still doesn't know that he has, along with a plane with scratched vulgarities to complement it. One shall stand, one shall fall, and my mouth showed a slight arch while thinking about that.

Valkyria 2:
"Valkyria 1, get out of there!"
"Those guys are not a joke!"
"Besides, our priority is Dandelion! We don't do anything looking for a fight with them!"

Valkyria 1:
"If you want to take down the big spaceship then go"
"You are free to go, but that group over there is mine!"

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"Temporary identification of enemy anomalous unit: Ghost"
"Based on his performance, Ghost could become an ace pilot in this battle alone. Is marked as a high-priority target"
"Proceed with caution HellFire Squadron"

HellFire 1:
"Very good Ghost, glad to see you agreed to show some balls."
"Wouldn't be fun if the entire battle is a single faction, crush the other in a one-side battle, would it?"

I couldn't agree more.

I accelerated at full speed toward the group, they went in different directions, and one of them turned to chase me, he was waiting for me to turn and slow down my speed to attack, but I would not do it, instead, I followed in a straight line towards a huge cloud, just before entering I threw a chaff capsule to interfere with the radar and took the cloud straight, head on inside. The white smoke from the cloud covers all the glass of the cockpit, it's like seeing a blank wall just a few centimeters from me, gives a feeling of total isolation, in the window I can see drops of water falling on it, I can see how on the edges are beginning to form small ice crystals. Although I was in the tropics in the middle of summer, it was still quite early in the day, the atmosphere was not hot, and passing a place where the condensation of the water from the cloud would quickly gather like an airplane would quickly drop lower the temperature. The plane becomes difficult to handle, and I lose speed, I turn on the brake flaps to turn the plane and get out of the cloud quickly, my pursuer passes through the same place just a couple of seconds later, and I finish placing my plane behind him.

HellFire 2:
"Nice!"
"But not enough Ghost, this is a team battle!"

A beep suddenly appears in the cockpit, this is a very important emergency alert.

Endless:
"Infrared marking detected"
"Deploying flares!"

Just after the cloud comes out another plane, another one with the same color scheme has me in its sights, my plane doesn't have the momentum for another strong maneuver, I just have to use my last card in desperation. I turn the plane vertically, up is the dark blue of the high sky, but my plane does not stop and continues to turn, now I continue to see another shade of light blue and just after another equally dark, the view confuses my senses, I do not know what I'm seeing, if the sky or the sea, as both have the same color. My pursuer is still behind me, and what was worse, his companion too.

Endless:
"Second infrared marking detected!"
"Deploying flares!"
"Warning, 3 flares remaining!"

I continue in a straight line and start to turn the plane making a spiral dive, from the cockpit I can see how a missile passes just a few meters away from me and continue straight ahead flying my plane. Desperate to see in which direction I'm going I pay attention for a second to the artificial horizon and I can see that I'm descending almost 90 degrees to the ground, also close I can see the destroyed by an earthquake city of Naha, my plan was going well, it was time to resume the offensive. The idea of the last-ditch maneuver was simple, use the extra momentum of gravity to be able to turn the plane enough to try to stay out of the enemy marking as we both got closer and closer to the ground, in a duel of bravery, basically playing chicken with million dollars toys. If I was a better pilot I would survive, if he was a better pilot he could shoot me down and whoever didn't react in time would crash into the ground at full speed.

HellFire 2:
"Do you think that's enough?"
"I can still keep going!"
"This is nothing!"

HellFire 1:
"Son, be careful, don't get excited"
"Those are not moves of desperation, they are of trickery"
"He's up to something"

The height gauge is still descending rapidly, the water is now clearly distinguishable, I go straight toward it

Endless:
"Warning, low altitude"
"Please pull up"

At the last possible second, I turn the rudder stick, the plane turns sharply, I feel how gravity gives me a huge pull, the speed is enormous. My pursuers do the same without much problem, their planes are better than mine, obviously, they would have no problem turning. Again they were behind me, getting closer and closer.

HellFire 2:
"It's game over Ghost!"
"I got you!"

Before I have a chance to aim I launch another chaff capsule and turn the plane by surprise, forcing them to do the same. And it is just then that my trap reveals itself against them, we had the city of Naha right in front of us, so close that it was already impossible to avoid it, and if they wanted to shoot me down, they would have to follow me into it.

In the city the rules were much different, it is necessary to fly at low speed to maneuver in time in such a closed space, the same that limited how much you can move making the duel a real nightmare for both sides. Only a cool head, nerves of steel, and the decisions of a wise man could keep the pilot alive, you had to say where to steer the plane is a matter of milliseconds, and you could not hesitate at all because it meant death, if you decided to pass between the strait of two buildings, you had to entrust yourself to that decision, and even with those, maybe your destiny was already sealed.

A real fair duel between knights, a joust, what a glorious day I was having.

For half a second out of the corner of my eye I can see Rick's indicator, I turn my plane to take him by surprise, he is scared to see me appear by surprise, he turns upwards, I continue my way and I meet one of the planes that was chasing him, deciding in less than a fraction I turn on the machine gun of my plane and manages to hit the plane, which was scared to see me and turned, straight to a building, a huge explosion almost knocks down what was left of the place.

AWACS Idol:
"Valkyria 1 enemy ace shot down"
"Be careful, you still have two hellfire pilots to your 6"
"If you keep flying north you will fly over the Marine base, their anti-aircraft defenses should help you to break the pursuit and escape"

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"Hellfire 5 has been shot down"
"Enemy transmission partially decoded, Ghost plans to use the enemy base on the island as a distraction"
"Proceed with caution"

The enemy had realized one of my possible options, but it didn't matter because I had another low card up my sleeve, a trick that another old comrade-in-arms had taught me during the war. Now that I had enough momentum with my plane I went back to gain some altitude to make my move.

Valkyria 1:
"Endless, don't use the flares on this one!"
"Let them believe it and come closer"

The alert sound appears again, the two black planes have me in their sights, just as I wanted. Like a good coordinated team they launch their missiles at the same time, I take the power stick and turn it all the way down, while at the same time I turn the control stick precisely and turn on the rudder ailerons to turn right, the plane starts to "drift" diagonally while it continues to advance slowly, just enough to put me right behind them and now I am the hunter. As soon as I finish completing the loaded roll I start the engines again at full power to avoid stalling.

HellFire 2:
"Impossible! Did he just do the same technique as dad?"
"Where did he learn it?"

HellFire 1:
"Wow! looks like we really have an old-school  Top Ace here"
"Where did you learn how to do that? They don't teach it in school"
"Especially not that way"
"There are only two options, you learned it on your own"
"Or you learned it from someone else"
"But for you to do it so peculiarly, so accurately, and at such an opportune moment"
"When even I have not yet taught it to my son"
"You say nothing Ghost, and yet I feel that every time I know you more and more"
"Learning from each other quickly, as if I were fighting against myself or a former rival"
"You are quite interesting Ghost! I would like to get to know you more!"
"I haven't been excited in a long time!"
"At last a worthy rival!"

I had one of them in my sights, the locking sound was completed, it was time to attack. I pressed the button on my joystick and a missile flew at full speed from my plane toward one of them. Without saying anything they both turned and launched their flares in a coordinated way, the missile had nothing to do with so much interference.

HellFire 1:
"Evasive maneuver successful!"

Both planes separated, forcing me to choose between one of them, the other would try to protect it, while I was alone. Clearly, HellFire 1 was the better pilot of the two, so it would be more difficult, but I had no way of knowing which one was which, and it didn't really matter, I followed the one that went to the right and begin to follow him.

Mustang 1:
"This is Mustang Squadron, we have returned from re-supply!"
"Let's finish the job! Fire!"
"Get the fuck down, asshole!"

I turned to my right and asked to see how several planes approached in formation at full speed towards the huge air fortress, each of them firing a volley of missiles in unison. The giant spat a fierce wave of fire trying to stop them, but it was not enough, several managed to hit his left wing, quite close to the engine, and only a second later another huge explosion followed him in the same place as new his wound.

Dandelion Crew:
"Impact received on the port side"
"We have lost engine 4!"
"Hull integrity 60%"
"Sir, we're not going to make it!"

Dandelion Captain:
"Hellfire Squadron, we're taking heavy damage!"
"We can't let this keep going on!"
"We need support NOW!"

The battle had dragged on, and both sides were beginning to show combat fatigue, we were running out of planes and ammunition and they were running out of planes and ammunition. The battle was fairly even as the giant was moving further and further away from the island as it marched towards our ships, which were beginning to be seen far off in the distance. Our time was running out, we had to increase our attack before it was too late.

AWACS Idol:
"Mustang and Warhawk Squadrons continue the Dandelion attack"
"Diamondback suffered heavy casualties, break combat, and return home"
"Eagle cover Diamondback's retreat quickly and return to support the attacking units along with Royal Mace"
"Valkyria Squadron low ammo reserves, break off pursuit, and return to resupply"

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"Enemy squadron with damage leaving the area of operations, possible retreat to regroup, do not chase them in pursuit, focus on the rest"
"Detected enemy defense restructuring in attack patterns with reinforcements deployed, priority continues to be to protect Dandelion"
"Ghost unit detected with low ammo reserves"

Unfortunately, it seemed that our command was making the wrong move, I don't know if it was the fault of someone on the carrier or if my daughters didn't have the right information about what was going on, we had to continue desperately, not withdraw half of our planes for simple reasons like casualties or lack of weapons. Rick asked on the radio what we had to do, I just ignored him and continued to press Hellfire, because I knew that if I set them free they would finish our attack. For my wingman, it was time to make a decision, follow his orders and return to re-supply, or disobey, stay with me and continue to battle Hellfire, but even though he was now just a new rookie fresh out of the academy, I knew him much better than he knew himself, I knew he would stay and help me, even though he had not made his decision yet.

HellFire 2:
"Help me! He is right behind me!"
"I can't take him off"

You are reading story Valkyria Squadron at novel35.com

HellFire 1:
"Hang in there son"
"Turn in direction 233 and start turning in a steady circle"
"I'll be able to attack him at the crossroads and take him down"
"Don't be afraid to use the flares if you need to buy time"
"Ciel, do you know where Ghost's wingman is?"

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"Negative, impossible to identify."
"Since the ID was designated, Ghost has acted completely alone since I have started to track him"

While the chase continued, my prey, Hellfire 2 was turning to where he was told to go, he approached a group of allied planes which immediately dispersed again, it seems that he wanted to attack someone even though he had me behind him. Through my left mirror I see the black plane approaching, it looked like he wanted to try the same tactic I did before, but I wouldn't let him. It was a pretty intense 2 vs. 1 duel despite the huge disadvantage I had, the only thing I could use to balance the battle was my cunning and skill, and right now I would have to put it to the test by pushing my plane to the limit. The F/A-18 Super Hornet cannot execute a Pugachev Cobra, the movement is simply too much for the plane, as it has a short fuselage and wingspan, it would simply disassemble its wings, plus the engine could barely complete it without shutting down in mid-flight. But mine was not a simple F-18, mine had been touched by Momo, who assured me to put the plane in perfect condition before leaving, and now I had to trust that she did her job correctly or else I would put at risk and I myself would destroy the plane in the air.

HellFire 1:
"Alright Ghost, it's time to end this once and for all!"
"Son, remember the flying circus, let's do the same thing from those days!"

HellFire 2:
"Alright, Dad!"
"Trust me, I will destroy him!"

Trusting my life to the modifications the angel made, I pushed the throttle hard to increase the engine output and gain more speed, then pulled the control stick to turn the plane and lift the nose of the plane up, I felt almost my whole body being pulled backwards violently. The plane started to sound horrible, screeching all over the place, you could hear the stress of the wings, the screws struggling to hold the whole plane together, the engines using their strength to keep me flying, the HUD of my plane indicated that I had turned at a 90-degree angle, I waited only 2 seconds in that position for my rival to pass me, what an exciting time. Just when I was sure that he had passed me, I lowered the thrust of the engines so that the plane would fall and moved the ailerons so that the plane would start to look down, if the machine did not make it, that was it for me. I was so happy when the plane started to look down the nose of the plane.

HellFire 1:
"What the hell! It can't be!"
"Fuck!"

However, as I gradually regained the angle of view over the black planes I realized that there was something very different from what I had planned. In front of me, I had Hellfire 2 plane just a few meters close to me, he was also performing the same maneuver at the same time without realizing it, I had to lower the rudder even more and turn on full thrusters to avoid a mid-flight collision, which put him right behind me, which was not my intention.

HellFire 2:
"Motherfucker!"

just after the missile alert sound came back again, he was fixing me to shoot, I pressed the flare button myself to push away the death. the missile broke off a little and exploded near my plane. I had to do something fast to get him off before he attacked again, but my plane had no more momentum to make some crazy maneuver, I was in trouble, but I still had one more ace up my sleeve, because it was at this moment that he used to appear.

Valkyria 2:
"Get off my friend you son of a bitch!"

Rick as usual appeared at the perfect moment that no one expected to launch a deadly attack, his objective was clear, to take out the black plane behind me. I took advantage of his deceleration to mark the plane in front of me, the fixation tone sound insistently while the computer marked the target. He tried to do everything he could to get me lost, but it was too late, I had nowhere to run.

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"Hellfire 1 Watch out! Ghost has a lock on you!"

The tone changed to a higher-pitched steady tone, I pulled the trigger hard, and my last missile flew at full speed against my adversary.

HellFire 1:
"I am sorry for leaving so soon son"
.... L̅o̅s̅t̅ S̅i̅g̅n̅a̅l̅ ...

A violent explosion is generated in front of me, the plane brutally disintegrates in front of me, you can even see how the cockpit has broken glass where the pilot should be, he didn't stand a chance.

HellFire 2:
"DAD! NOOOOOOOO!"

Enemy AWACS Ciel:
"HellFire 1 has been shot down"
"Ghost has shot down his fifth aircraft in this battle, earning him Ace pilot status"
"Hellfire 2, as second in command must assume command of the Hellfire squadron"
"Richard Von Fokker by order of the commander has been promoted to captain with immediate effect"

When I heard that name I felt as if a hammer hit my head, because I had heard and said it a lot in the past, almost the same as Rick, and what was worse, is that now I noticed the similarity of his voice with the one I knew, was it really possible? that it was a coincidence, because unfortunately, it would not be the first time that a comrade in arms of the war against the dragons was then my enemy in the continental war. Unfortunately, I don't have time for feelings right now

Dandelion Crew:
"Another impact now on the starboard side!"
"Leaks in the main power supply!"
"Fire in the cargo section"
"Scheiße! Hull integrity at 40%!"
"Sir, we can't take any more! Another hit like this and we'll be dead!"
"The ship is barely hanging on in the air"

Dandelion Captain:
"Damn, this is humiliating!"
"I can't believe that even with all this preparation we still couldn't take on the 5th fleet"
"My pride is screaming at me to go all the way!"
"...."
"But I can't do it, this ship is too valuable to lose it here like this"
"Although I don't like it, we'll have to leave the job to the Wunderland fleet"
"Turn south and prepare the jump system as soon as possible"
"Also redirect all remaining non-critical power to the cloaking system"

AWACS Idol:
"Well done Valkyria 1, enemy ace shot down, you are officially an ace pilot"
"Ammunition reserves zero, return"
"Damage received by Dandelion exceeds expectations"
"Aerial Fortress begins to change course to the south"
"Operation Danger Zone has been successful"

When the giant turned, it did so violently that several planes had to modify their flight to avoid colliding with it. It was surprising to see how despite the enormous damage it had suffered, it was still standing upright without problems, it really lived up to its name of fortress with pride. With his retreat, several enemy planes also withdrew from combat, because it was stupid to continue looking for death when the defeat was more than evident. My comrades had managed to repel him, some were celebrating on the radio, I also turned to return to the aircraft carrier, seeing that my job was done.

HellFire 2:
"DON'T THINK YOU'LL GET AWAY YOU ARSCHLOCH GHOST!"
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR MY FATHER'S DEATH!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! AAAAHHH!!"

The hiss of several shots passed close to me, it seems Hellfire 2 would not let me escape, I don't blame him, but I couldn't let him hit me either, so I start to turn to try to get him off me. I move my head to try to find where the black plane is, I manage to see it to my left, just behind it is Rick, who also launches his last missile trying to help me, but Hellfire 2 realizes it and launches flares, but they were not effective enough and the missile explodes very dry of him, his right-wing tears and falls down.

HellFire 2:
"DIE!,DIE!,DIE!!"

Despite the damage suffered, he was still flying, even with only one wing he was still chasing me. Due to the nerves of the moment I pressed the button to release the last chaff capsule, or at least I thought so because I forgot that I was not piloting my old plane and by mistake I activated the brake of emergence of the ailerons, reducing my speed enough, my rival did not hesitate to take advantage of my mistake and shot a brutal burst of a machine gun, which cross of lateral form my plane. I saw how several holes appeared in my left wing, how a bullet hit my cockpit and the Ark shield was activated, if it had not been for him, probably that shot would have amputated my leg immediately, and the next thing was the back of my plane, a loud sound was heard, an explosion shook my whole plane, I had been hit seriously.

Endless:
"Aircraft Damaged!
"Aircraft fuselage compromised!"
"Engine 2 lost, Engine 1 losing power"
"Power generator broke"

Valkyria 2:
"Valkyria 1, eject!"
"Eject now!"

In panic, I take my hands off the joystick, grab the emergency lever and pull it with all my strength.

....

But nothing happens, I try again with even more force, but nothing happens, I try to pull it to the side but a thud is heard rumbling, the damage had reached the ejection system, and the lever was locked, I could not escape from the plane.

Valkyria 1
"Endless! Disconnect and go home!"
"Get the hell out of here! NOW!"
"That's an order!"

I looked back and saw the computer shut down, indicating that she was gone. That was good, the last thing I wanted was for my own daughter to watch me die.

What I had to do now was to try to stay calm and see what could be done, remembering my pilot training. The first thing was to try to regain control as much as possible, but without power, the wings that might be ok will not move, so I looked for the emergency generator and activated it, the Ram air turbine, it is a small generator that works with the air that passes around the plane, it will power the critical systems of the plane the flight controls, linked hydraulics and also flight-critical instrumentation, but it won't keep it in the air, it will just let it control enough to choose where to land. The most important part now was to reduce as much speed as possible if I wanted to survive, I activated the emergency brake button to activate all the ailerons of the plane, took the joystick, and pulled it down with all my strength, making the nose of the plane face upwards, making the plane show its abdomen towards the ground, this way I would impact as much wind as possible on the plane, helping to slow it down. It was also important to try to reduce the weight, so I pulled the anchor lock to release all the extra weight that was still left like the ECM capsule and the Data Link. I also pressed the emergency jettison button to release as much fuel as possible, next was to make sure the landing gear was up. Quickly checking the manual I could see that it recommended lowering the arresting hook and lowering it to the height of my seat. I tried to eject the Canopy but no matter how hard I pushed the button it wouldn't work, this was slowly looking more and more like a very expensive coffin. 

The moment of truth was getting closer and closer, my breathing was getting deeper and heavier, my pulse was at its maximum, and my concentration was total, and yet I could feel every drop of sweat all over my body. The whole cockpit is full of warning lights and sounds indicating everything that was wrong, the hud on my visor starts to fail due to the damage making it even more difficult to navigate. A metal board in the back of the boat rattled when it broke and smoke began to enter the cockpit. This took me by surprise and panic. The situation immediately reminded me of my accident in Italy, and the situation was the same, my plane was failing in exactly the same way. I could feel the phantom pain all over my face, the horrible heat deforming my face, cooking me alive with the infernal fire, and hear my own screams of the past, the agony of Cesar locked up while he was burning.

The waves were approaching, or rather I was approaching them, I was praying because at this point my destiny was already decided, whatever it was. The blue of the sea crashed violently against my plane, and a sound of explosion passed all around me, I felt how my whole body was hit in a single second, the pain was immense, and the same belts that held me securely to the seat cut the skin on my thighs, my head hit hard the back of the seat, I saw everything in black for about two horrible and long seconds. When I opened my eyes again I could see that I was still breathing, quite sore, the best sign that I was still alive. But my joy did not last long, soon the seawater was entering the cockpit, and what was worse, I was still locked in the coffin.

With no time to lose, I began to unbuckle myself from the seat belts, first my shoulders, then my waist, and then my thighs. The plane was already completely submerged underwater and kept sinking deeper and deeper. I hit the emergency detonator of the canopy but nothing happens, in panic, I try to activate the regular control, but now without the wind the generator did not have the energy to start the mechanical engine, time is running out and with it I take my last breath of air before being completely underwater, with all my strength I hit the glass to try to move it, but the weight was too much, it did not move at all, no matter how many kicks I gave it.

I once heard from my father that one of the most horrible ways to die was drowning. He and an uncle of his died on a bus during a trip to a beach, the bridge collapsed and they fell into the sea, he was at the bottom and couldn't get out in time. That same time he told me that if I had any other option available, to take it before drowning, and just now those words echoed in my head, just as I remembered that in my pocket I still had my pistol loaded.

But before I could take the easy way out or perform a more extreme solution, a hand hit the canopy hard, a human hand, unlike what the rest of its body suggested, which was huge with its tail. I could recognize the face of the other strange person on the other side, it was Levia, who was looking frightened towards me, she tries to hit the glass hard trying to help me, with my hand I signal her to the emergency rescue lever of the plane, the only red one outside, she catches my expression and pulls it, the canopy finally gives way, freeing me. The mermaid without any further instruction grabs me by the waist and starts swimming upwards, towards the surface, where at last I can breathe again.

"Hold on a little longer Elise, I'll take you back to shore"
"Leave it to me!"

You can find story with these keywords: Valkyria Squadron, Read Valkyria Squadron, Valkyria Squadron novel, Valkyria Squadron book, Valkyria Squadron story, Valkyria Squadron full, Valkyria Squadron Latest Chapter