>>648093
>"I'm holding up..."

>>648093
>"I'm holding up..."

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"I'm holding up..." You responded with a yawn, you knew that you were fine for at least the rest of the flight, hell you had even grabbed a pair of energy drinks from the base's commissary before you had went up on patrol.

The drink itself was called "Red Bull", it was packaged in a blue and silver can with the slogan "Red Bull Gives You Wings!"

You had found that it was slightly ironic that a pilot was buying something that "gives you wings", you already had your wings.

"You better not be thinking about taking a nap." Zeus chided you jokingly. "You know that it won't be one you'll wake up from."

"Meanwhile you can just doze off to your heart's content. Hell, I'm surprised you're even awake." You returned with a chuckle, these little bouts of banter were the norm for a flight like this one, it was just another way to pass the time.

"Yeah, but the difference is that you need the sleep. Sounds like you had a rough time earlier..." Zeus added, all hints of joking having left his voice.

>Keep quiet about it, it was just a dream.
>Talk to Zeus about it, he's been someone that you can trust with things like this.
>Other (write in)

>>648212
>Talk to Zeus about it, he's been someone that you can trust with things like this.
But keep it vague.

>>648113
>Talk to Zeus about it, he's been someone that you can trust with things like this.

"Rough is a bit of an understatement there Zeus..." You paused for a few seconds, if only to gather your thoughts before you spoke again.

"So what was rough about it?" Zeus asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone as he began to understand the gravity of the situation.

"I dreamed that Tokyo was under attack from the Soviets. Everyone was slowly killed off, the Germans, you, then finally me." You summarised the dream in as few words as possible.

"Explain further..." Zeus asked with morbid intrigue. For some reason Zeus had always struck you as the kind of person who was morbidly intrigued about death. In a similar manner to an air crash investigator.

You paused for a couple of seconds to recall the memory of the dream before you spoke. The memory itself stood out sharply, as if it had happened in real life.

"We were flying over Tokyo, the Soviets were pounding it from the air. We shot down some Flankers and tried to link up with Weiss over the bay. We linked up with her, but we were bounced by a pair of Flankers, they shot Weiss and Knobloch down. It was a loosing fight after that, we didn't make it very far before we were smoked." You gave Zeus more detail about the dream, he was thankfully silent for a few more seconds before he asked another question.

"How did I go out?" He asked morbidly, wondering about how such a scenario would kill him.

"You got pasted by a cannon round." You replied simply, that was about as much info as you could give him on the topic of his death in your nightmare.

"Damn..." Zeus replied simply before going quiet.The blissful silence only lasted for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Dreams aren't some portal into the future, as some of those mystic psychopaths would have you believe." Zeus replied calmly. "Nobody is going to end up dead just because some fucking dream predicted it."

You were silent for a few seconds before responding to Zeus's assurance. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right. If I wasn't right on this then I would have failed to get into the Navy." Zeus replied with a chuckle.

Things were silent for another couple of seconds, before the radio crackled into life.

"Freelancer 2-1 and 2-2, return to base. You are being relieved." The calm, if slightly tired voice of the AWACS crewman reported to you calmly.

"Finally!" Weiss cried out in relief. "We've been out here for far too fucking long as it is!"

>Chat with your wingmates on the way back. You might as well pass the time.
>Keep quiet and focus on flying back. You aren't in the mood to talk right now.
>Other (write in)

>>648372
>Keep quiet and focus on flying back. You aren't in the mood to talk right now.
Our wing mates can speak up if they want to talk.

Still need another vote...

>>648387
I'm good with this. Don't initiate conversation, but talk with our squadron if they want to.

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The flight back was a bit quieter than the flight out. Weiss and Knobloch had been rather rambunctious on the flight out, however you could tell that they were tired out from the flight.

That was not to say that they were totally silent however, in fact you only had to wait for a few seconds before Weiss radioed you.

"I can't wait to get back to base. I'm tired and my ass is numb." Weiss bitched, the discomfort in her voice telling you that she was certainly not feeling comfortable.

"You know Scorpion, I hear that Razor is good at helping women deal with certain... discomforts." Knobloch suggested, referring to Weiss by her callsign.

"I'll be honest, if I'm put anywhere near that ass it's only going to get more sore..." You warmly warned your comrades, being honest with them as much as you could.

Weiss just laughed for a couple of seconds, before responding to your unintentional challenge.

"What, are you going to have another nightmare and crawl into bed with me like a child?" Scorpion fired back.

"I don't crawl, I hunt." You replied with an overly calm voice, practically ending the conversation right there.

The rest of the flight back was pretty normal for a night flight, you were delayed for a few minutes as another flight took off and a tanker landed before you. You eventually landed and took off your NVGs, the lighting on base was enough to render NVGs unneeded. You taxied into the hanger and parked up next to the rest of your squadron in your hanger. You shut down the engines and began to begin your post-flight shutdown checks.

"Heads up, something's up." Zeus informed you as you opened the jet's canopy. You looked up to see the rest of your squadron and their ground crews bolting into the hanger at a dead sprint.

You opened your mouth to speak, before you were stopped by the sound of sirens as the entire base jumped into motion.

"ALL PILOTS TO YOUR AIRCRAFT, SITUATION BRIEFING WILL BE PROVIDED BY SQUADRON LEADERS. ALL OTHER UNITS MOVE TO COMBAT STATIONS!" The sound of the base commander's voice filled the air, before his orders were repeated in Japanese.

You noticed your crew chief climb up a ladder that had been brought up next to your aircraft. He handed you and Zeus a steaming cup of coffee each before speaking to you.

"Change of plans sir, apparently everybody is going up. We're going to change your load, but we need to know what to load you up with." Your crew chief said tiredly before passing you a clipboard with a list of all possible loads you could carry.

>Long range load (x6 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Medium range load (x6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Mid-short range load (x4 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x4 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Other (you have 8 hardpoints, 4 on the centerline and 2 under each wing glove. You can carry AIM-9 sidewinders, AIM-7 sparrows, AIM-54 Phoenixs, AIM-120 AMRAAMs and AIM-95 Agiles)

>>649182
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)

>>649182
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
O BOI

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>>649182
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
[worries externally]

>>649182
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)

It's go time.

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"Give me the long to mid range load chief. 4 Phoenixs on the centre line with AMRAAMS and Agiles on the wing gloves." You ordered you crew chief before draining the coffee as quickly as you could and passing the mug back to him.

"Understood, I'll get my boys to load you up and re-fuel you. Good luck up there sir." Your crew chief said before climbing down and barking orders at his men.

You wasted no time in getting your jet back online, it took far less time as you were already halfway through the checks anyway. The hurried silence was broken by the sound of Dredd's voice over the radio.

"Listen up. Long range radar sites have detected a large number of Soviet aircraft incoming. We don't know if they are hostile yet, they might just be flying in such numbers to provoke an attack from us. Officially, we are going up as a show of force to try and force the Soviets from starting any shit." Dredd laid out as dolly carrying 4 AIM-54 Phoenixs was brought in front of your aircraft, ordnance crews raced over to the missiles and began loading them onto your aircraft using specialised equipment.

"Unofficially, the Soviets might be starting world War 3 and we're the poor sods at the flashpoint. Savour your last few minutes of peace because they might be your last." Ahab added what everyone was thinking with a morbid tone.

"Either way, we are heading up. Razor, Scorpion. How are you both doing?" Dredd asked as he brought his jet's engines online with a shriek.

"I'm doing as well as I can be sir. My crew chief brought me some coffee so I should be good." You replied as you started to feel the effects of the coffee, your body jumping to life as the caffeine hit your system.

"Same here." Weiss replied, if you hadn't known her well, you wouldn't have been able to pick up on the masterfully disguised fear in her voice.

You didn't blame her for it. A war would be hell not just for Germany, but for the whole of Europe.

"Well, I guess that we're just going to have to trust your self assessments. either way, I have been informed that Princess Sakamoto may order us to form up with her to provide her with extra support should things go south. If that happens then the princess's safety is your primary concern." Dredd laid out as he began to taxi out, you waited for Ahab to move before falling in line behind them.

"Aside from that, you are weapons free on all Soviet aircraft. remember to follow the geneva convention and not target pilots under their parachutes. If we find out that you have done that then nobody will find your corpse." Dredd warned with real venom. His moral compass was not something to be taken lightly.

Even so, his moral compass wasn't the thing that held you back from shooting an enemy pilot under his parachute. You held yourself to your own moral compass that you had promised that you would not stray from.

If you shot someone under their parachute, then their buddies would shoot you under your parachute. It was an honour system.

>CONT

>>649524

>Keep quiet during the takeoff, you have to keep calm for now.
>Radio Weiss, make sure her head is in the game.
>Radio your sister, make sure that she is alright.
>Other (write in)

>>649524
>Radio Weiss, make sure her head is in the game.

>>649530
>Radio Weiss, make sure her head is in the game.

>>649530
>Radio Weiss, make sure her head's in the game

Can't help but feel we're death-flagging either her or our sister, but hell, war ain't easy. Time to see if we can bag some on-loan Iranian F-14s.

>>649610
I really hope we aren't death-flagging anyone. At least not yet.

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You switched to your radio frequency to Weiss as you taxied towards the runway.

"Scorpion, can you hear me?" You asked calmly, trying to keep your own fear out of your voice.

"Yes, I can hear you." Weiss replied, the bravado in her voice was gone, replaced by worry and fear.

"You don't sound too good. Everything good in there?" You asked as you came to a stop just behind Dredd and Ahab on the runway. The launch cycle having doubled from 2 aircraft on the runway at a time to 4. All in the pursuit of getting as many aircraft in the air as soon as possible.

"It's not me that I am worried about. I'm worried about my family back home in Germany." Weiss replied just before the tower controller gave you permission to take off. You brought your aircraft's throttle up gently, the sheer acceleration advantage your E model had over your comrade's D models forced you to keep your jet's acceleration in check as you took off.

"We can talk about that when we return, right now I need you to put that aside so that we can get through this in one piece." You instructed Weiss as you retracted your aircraft's landing gear and pitched further up, letting your jet's engines a little looser as you fought to keep up with Dredd and Ahab.

"But-"

"No butts Weiss." you paused for a couple of seconds before sighing. "Look, all bravado aside, if you need a shoulder to lean on then just ask. But right now we need to focus on keeping everyone in our unit safe. Can you do that?"

Weiss was silent for a couple of seconds, before replying with a firmness that you had come to respect from you wingmate.

"Jawohl mein herr." Weiss responded in German. However you knew what it meant as she had told you less than a few days after you had both been assigned to the same flight.

It essentially meant yes sir.

"All US and IJN units be advised!" The panicked voice of the nearby AWACS controller was immediately piped through your headset through the priority line. "The Soviet Union and her allies have declared war on the US and her allies. All Soviet and Soviet affiliated military units are to be considered hostile. All units are to await tasking!"

The call was not unexpected, but it still shocked you regardless, those crazy fucking Soviets had actually done it.

"All Freelancer units are to form up immediately! Razor, this is the final call, if we encounter that Soviet chick you have been working on then do you want us to try and stall her for you, or are we weapons free?" Dredd asked calmly, leaving the final decision to the fate of the female Soviet pilot up to you.

>"Stall her, we might just get through to her."
>"We've given her enough chances, take her out."
>Other "write in"

>>649970
"You heard AWACS, all Soviets are hostile now. It's not worth the risk anymore."

>>649970
>"Give me a chance to talk to her, but if she tries to attack anyone, I'll shoot her down myself."

>>650031
This. We'll give her one last chance to defect. After that, it's open season.

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"Give me a chance to talk to her, but if she tries to attack anyone, I'll shoot her down myself." You responded sternly, while you knew that you shouldn't be taking the risk with her, you didn't want to condemn a possible ally.

"Understood, we'll direct you to her if we spot her." Dredd paused for a couple of seconds before continuing with a warning. "If she shoots down anybody in this unit, then I will hold you personally responsible. Do you understand?"

"I understand sir." Your responded immediately and confidently. You had known the risks from the start, and you were not willing to give up just yet.

"Freelancer flight, adjuct your bearing to heading 031. Soviet aircraft are heading towards an oil refinery and long-range radar shows what are assumed to be bombers jet bombers, probably TU-22s." The sound of the AWACS controller's voice brought your thoughts back to the mission at hand.

"Understood, what support do we have?" Dredd asked as your entire flight vectored towards the oil refinery.

"You will be supported by a flight of IJN F-4EJs and USAF F-16s. There are no friendly aircraft in the area right now so you are cleared to launch BVR missiles." The AWACS controller replied before cutting the link to your unit, leaving you all to engage on your own terms.

"Zeus, what can we see on radar?" You asked Zeus as you flicked the weapons selector between the AIM-54s and AIM-95s.

"We've got hostiles over the refinery already, looks like SU-22s and MiG-21s mostly, but I do see some SU-27s mixed in there too. I can't see the TU-22s on radar yet so they might not be in range yet." Zeus reported as he send a picture from the radar set to one of your MFDs.

"What do you mean yet?" You asked suspiciously, you didn'tlike having details hidden from you. Especially details about a battle you were about to enter.

"They may either be hugging the terrain to mask their apporach or they might be carring cruise missiles to atack from long range." Zeus gave his explanation, leaving the verdict on if you should engage up to you.

>Set stuck in on the aircraft above the refinery. Might as well clear some out before you get there.
>Hold your AIM-54s until you see those bombers, the Phoenixs are designed to shoot down bombers anyway.
>Other (write in)

>>650305
>Set stuck in on the aircraft above the refinery. Might as well clear some out before you get there.
Better do that so they don't cause trouble for the rest of the squadron.

>>650305
>Set stuck in on the aircraft above the refinery. Might as well clear some out before you get there.

>>650305
>Get stuck in on the aircraft above the refinery. Try to save at least two Phoenixes for the bombers if you spot them.

Man this board needs more plane nerds. There's what, four or five of us in here?

>>650488
Some of the previous threads would get around 5-10 active players. I'm not sure what caused the drop in numbers. You would think that quests being moved over here would only cause the number of players to rise.

>>650488
To be fair, it's Saturday night in the US. Most people are probably out doing things. I'm sure player count will rise during the daytime.

Just a quick question, how would you all feel about me running the quest on Sunday evening? I think we might get more players then.

>>650522
Worth a shot.

>>650522
I'd be fine with whichever day honestly. I follow multiple quests that all run on different schedules, so I'm always browsing /qst/.

>>650529
>>650530
As it's tomorrow, I'm going to put the thread on pause so we can save the combat for tomorrow, hopefully the lust for blood will help attract new players?

In any case, thanks to everyone who came out for today's run. If you have any questions then feel free to ask them.

>>650522
Also, something worth mentioning:

The somewhat short session-length might be contributing to lack of players. Quests that tend to have multiple sessions-per-thread give potential players more time to tune in.

Not that there's anything wrong with the length of your sessions. It's just a little different than what most people on /qst/ expect. You might want to notify people via twitter and /qtg/ a few hours prior to throwing the thread up to get peoples' attention.

>>650557
Ok then, I'll keep those in kind and try to fit multiple runs into a single thread. I'll also try out the pre-quest notification tomorrow.

Thanks for the tip.

>>650543
On the off chance we get splashed and bail out over enemy territory, is the quest as over as it would be if we were just killed outright? Not much we can do as a POW until Moscow gets liberated.

>>650588
Honestly, I have a few ideas lined up for if that happened. If it does happen it would just be a case of rolling a dice for the following scenario. Afterall, being shot down does not instantly mean that you will be captured. However you will defiantly be down an aircraft and there is a chance that one of your comrades might also be shot down while trying to protect you.

>>650588
>>650619

Ever seen that one Owen Wilson movie where he gets shot down over the Balkans during the Yugoslav Wars?

We could always make a daring escape like he did. And it would give us an excuse to use our 1911.

>>650637
One of many possibilities my friend.

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>>650647

Razor even knows Russian, so he could hijack this thing on the way out.

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>>650657
>Razor gets shot down
>Zeus parachutes into friendly territory, Razor is less lucky
>Sneaks into a Soviet base
>Knocks out a Soviet Captain and steals his clothes
>Accidentally runs into the Soviet Waifu
>Ohfucksheknowseverything.png
>She offers to help us escape
>Shows us the super-secret hangar
>Razor flies out of the USSR aboard top-secret stealth fighter with Soviet Waifu as temporary RIO

And they still sing songs about it to this day.

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>>650688
As much as I want this to happen, I don't think Razor is based enough to become a damn folk hero just yet.

>>650688
Ah yes, the Japanese adaptation.

>>650762
A Hideo Kojima Thread:

Thanks for holding off Thunder, I would have been heartbroken if I had missed the start of WW3

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With no bombers yet in sight, and hostile aircraft already over the refinery, you had a textbook shot lined up for you. All you needed to do was start launching.

"Zeus, lock up some of the SU-22s. They will likely be carrying ordnance." You ordered Zeus before switching to the unit channel. "Freelancer 2-1, requesting permission to engage the enemy fighters over the oil refinery."

"Why the hell are you asking Razor? Get stuck in, me and Ahab will hold our Phoenixs just in case those bombers show up." Dredd replied almost immediately, giving you free reign to engage at will.

"Understood. Freelancer 2-1, Fox 3!" You announced before launching your Phoenixs. The missiles dropped off your centre-line hardpoints one after the other. Each missile raced towards their individual targets at Mach 5, burning away the distance in seconds.

You noticed with some glee that a pair of missiles struck their intended targets, the radar signatures of each soviet aircraft winking out as they were blown from the skies. The other aircraft managed to escape, one managing to survive by virtue of the missile meant for him failing to track. The final aircraft managed to force the missile to track into the ground by diving sharply.

You looked over to your wingmate in time to see Scorpion launch her missiles, a motion that was mimicked by more of your squadmates.

"Zeus, do you see anything else?" You asked your RIO again, trying to get more information out of him.

"Yeah, I'm seeing more incoming aircraft. Looks like 6 flankers with an equal number of floggers flying support." Zeus reported calmly, in spite of the fact that you were now down half of your missiles.

"Freelancer flight be advised, friendly aircraft are inbound at supersonic speeds." The AWACS controller reported to you via your unit's comms channel.

>Engage the remaining aircraft over the oil refinery.You need to take them out so that you can focus on the incoming bandits.
>Try and tie up the incoming bandits so your reinforcements can focus with covering the oil refinery.
>Other (write in)

>>654101
>>Try and tie up the incoming bandits so your reinforcements can focus with covering the oil refinery.

>>654101
>Engage the remaining aircraft over the oil refinery.You need to take them out so that you can focus on the incoming bandits.

>>654101
>Engage the remaining aircraft over the oil refinery.You need to take them out so that you can focus on the incoming bandits.

>>654101
>Engage the remaining aircraft over the oil refinery.You need to take them out so that you can focus on the incoming bandits.

You can't have any pudding until you eat your meat.

>>654528
We're gonna need to sue that phrase in conversation with the Brits sometime. In an overtly sexual way.

>>654571
*use

Damn my shaky fingers.

>>654571

I'll put it on the list of geographically oriented innuendo we use. It's a surprisingly handy list for this unit

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"Let's take out the bandits over the refinery. We need to have all hands on deck to take out that incoming group." You instructed Scorpion as you dived away from the formation, gathering more speed in the shallow dive to help you accelerate towards your target.

Not that you needed help accelerating, your jet had enough power to seamlessly transition from sub-sonic to supersonic flight in mere seconds.

As you raced towards the refinery, you listened in as your unit launched more missiles towards the incoming group of bandits. Pressing the range advantage granted by the Phoenixs to either thin out the enemy's ranks, or to delay them from intercepting you.

You watched as the oil refinery stretching right in front of you. The refinery itself was a sprawling mass of pipes and hulking towers burning off excess fumes. You could see numerous lights from lamps across the refinery lighting up roads and major thoroughfares.

Also illuminating it were the flames caused by burning fuel tanks. Ignited by attacks from soviet aircraft. You could see MiG-21s diving on the refinery and firing rockets at the arrayed fuel tanks and processing systems. You could also see an SU-22 dropping what looked like cluster bombs on the refinery, sowing more destruction. Above them sat the SU-27s, a pair of SU-27s dived towards you, only to be swatted from the air by missiles fired by your comrades.

You pounced on the MiG-21s first, the aircraft were obviously being piloted by rookie pilots, as neither of the MiGs that you attacked saw you coming. The first one fell to your cannon, the SAPHEI shells ripped into the MiG's body and turned the aircraft into a burning meteor. The pilot not managing to eject before he crashed.

The second aircraft saw you coming and managed to evade out of your bore sights, only to stray into Scorpion's guns. The stream of cannon rounds slammed into the MiG and ripped it's tail off. This pilot was slightly more fortunate than the last one, as he managed to eject.

The final aircraft to fall in your run was the remaining SU-22, neither of you could bring your guns to bear on him, but Scorpion set an Agile on it. The missile's seeker tracked the Soviet attack aircraft past a pair of towers and blew it's wing off. The aircraft span like a football as it dived into the road below.

>Pull up and engage the remaining SU-27s. You have the power to negate their height advantage.
>Get out of there as fast as possible, your allies will take out the remaining bandits.
>Other (write in)

>>654689
>Pull up and engage the remaining SU-27s. You have the power to negate their height advantage.

>>654689
>>Pull up and engage the remaining SU-27s. You have the power to negate their height advantage.

>>654689
>Pull up and engage the remaining SU-27s. You have the power to negate their height advantage.

Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace!

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You didn't wait for the SU-27s to notice you, you pulled your stick back into your gut, bringing yourself vertical as you hit your afterburners to boost yourself towards the SU-27s. You didn't wait for the Su-27s to try and meet you, you locked the lead Flanker up with an Agile fired on him.

The missile launched clean off your rail, the tiny missile chased after the lead Flanker, ignoring the flares dumped by the enemy aircraft. The missile hit just between the jet's engines and blew it into fragments. the second Flanker went evasive and managed to get out of your way.

This however robbed it from it's energy, leaving it as a sitting duck for Scorpion. From what you could see, some shells punched through the jet, but the aircraft somehow managed to retain it's general shape.

As you leveled out, you noticed that the pilot ejected from the stricken Flanker. The aircraft continued it's flight path straight into the ground as the pilot floated back to earth under his parachute.

"Zeus, what can you tell me about the incoming aircraft?" You asked Zeus as you checked your radar.

The closest group of bandits, made up of Flankers and Floggers had been reduced down to only 5 aircraft. At maximum range you could see a number of incoming aircraft, from what you could see there were a few TU-22s were mixed into the group.

"The closest group is made up of a pair of Flankers and 3 Floggers. I can see some kind of encrypted link between the Flankers. I'm not sure what kind of link it is, if we get closer then I might be able to find out. Behind them is the bomber formation, I can't really see much from them yet but I can tell you that there are some TU-22s mixed in with them." Zeus reported in more detail, all thanks to the F-14's powerful sensor suite. She wasn't a SIGINT bird, but she was damn close to one for a fighter.

"What can you tell me about the Floggers? Are we facing the fighter versions or the ground attack versions?" You asked as you selected the AMRAAMs, the Flogger group was closer, but the TU-22 group was also just about to enter weapons range.

"I have no idea, either they are the fighter varients and they their radars off, or they are the ground attack version and subsiquently don't have radar." Zeus reported back, if you could see him they you would have sworn that he had shrugged while explaining to you.

You and Scorpion only had 4 AMRAAMs between you, you had to make sure that every missile counted.

>Target the Flogger formation. If you can take down as many of them as you can then all you have to deal with is that bomber formation.
>Target the bomber formation. If you can put a dent in them then you can focus more of your efforts on investigating these Flankers and their curious link.
>Spread your missiles between the Flogger group and the bombers.
>Other (write in)

>>655317
>>Target the Flogger formation. If you can take down as many of them as you can then all you have to deal with is that bomber formation.
We can hit the bombers with our guns. Missiles should be saved for maneuverable targets.

>>655317
>Target the bomber formation. If you can put a dent in them then you can focus more of your efforts on investigating these Flankers and their curious link.

They're the ones doing the most ground damage, we should take as many as possible out before getting caught in the inevitable snarl of a dogfight

>>655317
>Target the Flogger formation. If you can take down as many of them as you can then all you have to deal with is that bomber formation.

>>655317
>Target the Floggers

Just to clarify, when you say Tu-22 do you mean Blinder or Backfire. Or do we not know yet?

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"Scorpion, you still kicking?" You jokingly asked your wingmate as she formed up next to you, keeping her separation at about 100 meters away from you.

"You know it! What are we hitting next?" Weiss responded enthusiastically. You could tell that adrenaline was pumping through her system, and rightly so, combat was certainly something that got your blood pumping.

"We'll be hitting the flogger formation first. They are the closest to us and they might be carrying ground attack ordnance." You relayed back to Scorpion before switching to the squadron frequency. "Freelancer 2-1 and 2-2, engaging the Flanker and Flogger formation at grid-ref 29-"

"We know who you're after. Do you need some assistance?" Dredd cut you off over the radio. "Our reinforcements have arrived and we're going to hit the bombers if you don't need any assistance."

"Negative, we have enough missiles to take out that formation. 2-1 out." You radioed back before locking up a pair of Floggers. "Freelancer 2-1, Fox 3!"

The AMRAAMs were honestly not something you were used to when you had first used them. They were the same size as a sparrow, but they had better range and tracking capability. You knew that the moment the Soviets got their hands on something similar to the AMRAAM your days were numbered.

However, today was not that day. And you could enjoy the boons of the AMRAAM a little while longer, as the missiles dropped clean away from you and lanced straight and true towards the Soviet flight. The Floggers you were targeting had obviously assumed that they were facing the older AIM-7 Sparrow, and had climbed as hard as they could before diving it, hoping that the sudden reversal of their course would confuse the missile.

However, the AMRAAM's seeker was leagues ahead of the older Sparrow's seeker. Your missiles easily tracked the Floggers through their sudden reversal maneuver and their rapid turns to try an break the missile's lock. The pair of missiles struck their target and blew them from the sky.

Scorpion's missiles had less effect, as she only managed to nail a Flogger, and not one of the Flankers that she had locked up.

Either way, you quickly found yourself and the incoming Flankers on a course for each other. Barrelling towards one another like knights at the joust.

"Razor, that link between those Flankers is one-way and encrypted. If you can get me closer to them for a period of time then I can possible crack it with our on-board systems." Zeus reported as you switched to your last remaining Agile, you though for a couple more seconds before switching back to your guns. You would keep the Agile for just in case someone got on your tail.

"And what do you think we might find?" You asked calmly as you checked your jet's on-board systems. Sure enough. Zeus had brought all of your jammers and ECM systems online to give you every possible edge in a fight.

>CONT

>>655872
"I'm not sure. Most data-links are two-way as opposed to one-way. It might be some kind of control system or detonator. But why make a Flanker into a radio controlled bomb? There are missiles with a bigger yield than that and I'm pretty sure that MiG-21s are better suited for the task in any case." Zeus explained calmly, however his last line of thought worried you slightly. Why would the Soviets rig one of their best fighters up as a flying bomb? Was it some way of keeping an unruly pilot in line?

You kept thinking on this as you entered visual range, and for some slight reason you felt like you had seen these Flankers before. Then again, unit markings were always very similar on Soviet aircraft. Those flankers could be from any unit on this side of the USSR.

You were ripped from your thoughts as the Flankers launched missiles at you, you dumped chaff, cut your engine's thrust to low before before rolling and diving, using the dive to retain as much inertia as possible. You waited for your missile warning system to shut down before you brought your engines back up to full and nosed up towards the Soviet fighters.

"I recognise that aircraft... I would remember your insolent nature anywhere..." A familiar male voice announced over the radio.

>"Well if it isn't Comrade Makarov. How's your wingmate doing?"
>"It's been a long time coming Makarov. I hope you can put your money where your mouth is."
>"I've waited for a long time to do this..."
>Other (write in)

>>655637
At this point you don't know. The intel you were given didn't specify which one you were facing.

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>>655878
>>"Well if it isn't Comrade Makarov. How's your wingmate doing?"

She's the flying bomb, isn't she?

>>655878
>"Well if it isn't Comrade Makarov. How's your wingmate doing?"

"How is the leash treating you?"

>>655878
>"Well if it isn't Comrade Makarov. How's your wingmate doing?"

>>655878
>Well if it isn't Comrade Makrove. Hows your wingmate doing?

>>655878
>"Still think the F-14's bad? Come here and convince me."

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"Well if it isn't Comrade Makarov. How's your wingmate doing?" You greeted your Soviet nemesis with slight happiness. After all, you had to admit that you were certainly looking forward to finally dealing with him.

"Well, let us avoid that particular train of thought for now my deluded adversary. Tell me, how have you been doing?" Makarov asked all too nicely as you rolled around to face him, at such close range you could see that his aircraft was strapped with a large number of bombs, likely for attacking the oil refinery. The only few air-to-air missiles that he carried were small, short range missiles under the tips of his jet's wings.

As your turning spiral began to gain altitude, Makarov and his wingmate jettisoned their bombs, cutting off the excess weight before it began to have a major effect on the dogfight.

"I've been doing well, just finished up a few of your comrades over the oil refinery. Tell me, how's that leash been treating you you commie lap dog?" You replied as calmly as you could as you forced your Tomcat higher, from what you could see, Makarov's wingmate was keeping close to him, barely keeping 100 meters from him. She made no attempt to try and get on your tail.

Makarov laughed bitterly, before he then continued.

"My deluded friend, there is no leash on me... Though I cannot say the same for my wingmate." Makarov replied almost happily as he cut his engines and tried to shoot you with his jet's cannon. You barely jinked out of the way as trackers flew right past you.

"See, after our little meetup over the fleet, we found out that our little Misha was planning on defecting!" Makarov said with mocked surprise as you dragged them back towards the refinery.

"Zeus, you better have a way of dealing with that fucking bomb." You hissed at your RIO as you rolled away from another blast of cannon fire, this time coming from the soviet wingmate herself. You briefly noticed that she wasn't carrying any air-to-air missiles, which itself was a blessing and a curse.

"I'm working on it, I've informed Dredd about the situation and he's passing it up the chain of command. Just keep that fucking slav talking so I can do my job you hick!" Zeus replied back angrily as you dived around an industrial chimney, the soviets managing to keep pace with you the entire time.

"So you forced her to fly for you by fitting her with a suicide vest? Christ, say what you like about America but we aren't that fucking cruel." You fired back at Makarov as you cut your engines mid-turn, letting him pass you before you hit the afterburners after him.

"Well, the needs of the many must outweigh the needs of one traitor. She is lucky that we didn't send her to Siberia!" Makarov announced heartily as you entered a rolling scissors maneuver, it was as if he fully supported how his own wingmate was being used as a forced combatant. "And that was on the recommendation from SMERSH, after they had made sure that she was working alone."

>CONT

>>656290

"Have you ever stopped to consider the ethics of what you are doing? Or are feelings banned in the Soviet Union?" You asked as you began to run out of ways to delay the Soviet. You would have to fire soon, regardless of if Zeus had cracked the coding or not.

"Bah, the feelings of one traitor matter not!" The Soviet pilot announced with real conviction.

"Christ, you psychopaths are no worse than the Mujahideen you were fighting in Afghanistan!" You spat back with as much venom as you could muster. More and more you considered shooting Makarov under his parachute, the Geneva conventions only applied to people who followed it, right?

"I've got the signal spoofed Razor. I just need you to smoke that Soviet bastard and we can get that poor girl out of here." Zeus reported back to, the ice cold and almost mono-tone state of his voice told you more than enough about how he felt at this moment. Your RIO was probably just as pissed as you were, even if he was keeping it suppressed.

>Fuck this, sling your last Agile at this cunt. You have to re-arm back at base anyway.
>Lull him into a false sense of security, and then shoot his ass down.
>Get Weiss in to gun him down.
>Tell his wingmate that she can shoot him down now. You have her covered.
>Other (write in)

>>656298
>>Tell his wingmate that she can shoot him down now. You have her covered.

>"Send my regards to Satan when you meet him, Makarov. And tell him there's a whole shitload more where you came from."

>>656298
>Fuck this, sling your last Agile at this cunt. You have to re-arm back at base anyway.
Can't waste time while somebody's life is on the line.

>>656315
Second this I suppose.

>>656298
>Get Weiss in to gun him down

>"So, Soviet pilots who aren't raving lunatics like you can be convinced to defect by one conversation with an American? That's mighty good to know."

>>656298
>Tell her she can shoot him down, if she doesn't, throw an Agile at him.

>>656298
>Tell his wingmate that she can shoot him down now. You have her covered.
>PLAN B: Fuck this, sling your last Agile at this cunt. You have to re-arm back at base anyway.
Airwave superiority fighter!

>>656315
This.

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"So, mind putting her on the line? It's not like she can defect now." You lied to the Soviet pilot as sincerely as possible while you dragged them in a circuit back towards the oil refinery,the few friendly fighters that flew overhead paid no heed to you as they had been informed not to interefere.

There was silence for a couple of seconds, before Makarov spoke again. "Fine, I will allow you to make nice-nice with her. Afterall, one of you won't survive this day."

"H-Hello..." The female soviet pilot greeted you meekly, all hints of the once brave and energetic woman from before was gone, now replaced by a voice so meek that she sounded broken.

Then again, from what you had gleamed from Makarov, she had likely been put through the grinder by SMERSH.

"Hello, I do believe that we got off on the wrong footing in the past. Tell me, what is your name?" You asked the Soviet pilot as you dragged the Soviets back over the oil refinery, where you dragged them into a turning climb.

"My name... It's S-Svetlana Vaikinov." She responded meekly as you continued the choreographed dance with the Soviet pair.

"Well Miss Vaikinov. Allow me to ask you, what is your stance on the F-14?" You asked out of the blue, the question was random, but you knew where it would lead to.

"I'm n-not sure. I've never flown it." She replied calmly before Makarov butted in again.

"Get to the point American, or are you here to advertise your pathetic little aircraft?" He almost groaned with boredom, apparently tired of you leading the conversation on.

"Well, this F-14 certainly isn't shitty. After all, would an SU-27 be able to hack into your encrypted frequency and spoof your kill switch? After all, the system you have in place only works if there is only one control signal." You reported back with glee. Makarov spluttered for a couple of seconds while Svetlana spoke again.

"So that means..." She trailed off, leaving the sentence open for you to finish it.

"You can now shoot that bastard Makarov down without any fear of death. We will take you back to base where or engineers will de-activate the charges, and you will be free to walk away to a new life in the free world!" You finished Svetlana's sentence for her as you waited for her response.

Her response was simple and briliant, she cut her engines to bring herself into a position behind the dumb-struck Makarov, before she then shot his aircraft straight in the tail, shredding it's stabilisers, engines and control systems. As jet began to fall to the ground, the canopy was ejected and a pair of Soviets were ejected from the aircraft.

One was a bigger, burlier build. The other was a smaller and meeker form. You could tell almost instinctively that the larger one was Makarov, meanwhile the shorter one was likely Makarov's RIO.

As the pair began to float towards the ground, Svetlana dived on the pair, her intent to slaughter them beneath their parachutes was obvious.

>CONT

>>656721
>Order her to let them go. You are both better than that!
>Let her have her revenge. She deserves it.
>Other (write in)

>>656721
let them go.

>>656729
>Order her to let them go

Not much good defecting will do her if she's a war criminal. Of course, it's likely some combination of all the alphabet soup agencies will have her hustled away for questioning anyway, but better that than jailed.

Plus this lets us shoot down Makarov over and over again. Great fun.

>>656721
>>Order her to let them go. You are both better than that!
Plus it would be so much better to see the looks on their faces from through prison bars as they're carted off to some POW camp.

>>656721
>Order her to let them go. You are both better than that!
Red 2, climb to moral flight ceiling.

>>656729
>Order her to let them go. You are both better than that!
I know that Razor and her sure have a big thing for wanting to kill him but there are other ways to make him suffer, like say Makarov spending time with the spooks.

"Svetlana! Let them go!" You barked at your new Soviet ally. For a few seconds she stayed her course, but less than a few dozen meters away from the downed pilots, she broke away from them and headed back towards you.

"I don't understand. If he lives then he will just cause more pain to more people!" Svetlana cried angrily, having been robbed of her chance at retribution.

"Just because he did something terrible, does not give you the right to do something terrible in return. As a wise man once said an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." You explained to Svetlana as she formed up next to you.

"I-I see..." Svetlana was quiet for a couple of seconds, before she spoke again. "Thank you. For everything."

"No need to thank me for doing what is right." You replied calmly, before you then switched over to the channel between you and Scorpion.

"2-1 to 2-2, where are you?" You asked as you looked around, not managing to spot your comrade.

"I'm right here Razor." Scorpion reported as she rose up from the blind spot beneath you and took her spot off your right wing. "I'm surprised you actually managed to convince her to defect. I was sure that they were going to turn on you."

"Well, I didn't really need to do too much to convince her to join us, the Soviets did most of the work for me." You replied to Scorpion before switching to the squadron frequency

"Freelancer 2-1 to 1-1, I have the defector in tow, requesting orders." You reported over the squadron radio, only to illicit a sigh from Dredd.

"Zeus told me about how her aircraft has been rigged with high explosives. Your orders right now are to escort her back to base, keep that link running until our engineers can get those charges disarmed. Do you understand?" Dredd ordered you sternly, the tone of his voice telling you that he wasn't in the mood for bullshit.

>"Understood sir, returning to base."
>"Are you sure that you don't need a hand with those TU-22s?"
>"Sir, we can still fight. Just give us a target and we will kill it!"
>Other (write in)

>>657057
>"Understood sir, returning to base."
We needed to rearm anyways.

>>657057
>>"Understood sir, returning to base."

>>657057
>"Understood sir, returning to base."
>"Good luck and good hunting, sir"

>>657057
>"Understood sir, returning to base."

Dredd can handle a bunch of bombers and the sooner our latest conquest isn't in danger of exploding, the better.

And I forget, are we still flying the F-14E? When's Grumman gonna crank out enough for our whole squad?

for fuck's sake captcha stop giving me store fronts

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>>657084
>for fuck's sake captcha stop giving me store fronts
Could be worse, the captcha asked me to select all street signs.

It was a picture of a goddamn helicopter.

>>657057
>"Understood sir, returning to base."

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"Understood sir, returning to base." You replied curtly before severing the connection, you couldn't help but sigh at having to return to base while a battle was still raging, but you had your orders and a new ally to protect. You weren't too keen on loosing Svetlana in the pursuit of some more kills.

Unfortunately, you were taken from your thoughts by the sound of explosions.

"INCOMING CRUISE MISSILES, FIND THE LAUNCHER AIRCRAFT AND SHOOT THEM DOWN!" The AWACS coordinator ordered over all friendly frequencies and missiles slammed into the oil refiners, blowing off oil tanks and flash-boiling the fuel thanks that hadn't already been damaged.

"Get moving Razor! We'll find the aircraft that are launching those missiles." Dredd ordered you sternly. You didn't need to be told twice as you lead your flight away from the oil refinery, headed back to the airbase.

"Why are we leaving? The fight is back there!" Scorpion asked you, the irritation in her voice was enough proof that she was still looking for a fight.

"We have to get Svetlana back to base in one piece. And even if we didn't have to, then we don't have either the fuel or weaponry to be useful." You explained to Scorpion, who only mumbled something irritably in response.

The rest of the flight back to the base was relatively quiet. Occasionally you would pop back into the squadron frequency, just to check up on what was going on. Apparently, the main group of TU-22s had been held back to launch cruise missiles at targets of opportunity. The majority of them had also managed to escape destruction by quickly leaving after they had launched their missiles.

You also found out during a particularly heated debate, that you kills from the support mission apparently did not count as official kills due to the nature of the mission.

So on the down-side you were 4 kills down, but on the plus side you had been given another chance to make ace in a day, which itself was a feat.

Either way, the most interesting part of the entire journey back was the landing. Svetlana had landed alongside you and had taxied just in front of you. You had remained parked out on the runway's apron for a while while assorted mechanics and engineers pulled different explosive charges out of the SU-27. Svetlana herself had been taken out of the aircraft as soon as she had brought the aircraft to a stop and was whisked away by a pair of unmarked HUMVEEs.

You eventually were allowed to shutdown your jet as the sun began to peek over the horizon. Your crews promised to get her inside and painted up with your kills as soon as possible. A quick glance around the airfield told you that you were one of the few aircraft on the ground, the only few remaining being a pair of trainer aircraft and the aircraft from the Princess's flight, maybe they had returned early?

>CONT

>>657372

>Try and find Svetlana, see how she's handling this whole new world.
>Find a payphone and call someone back in the states (Lauren or your family?)
>Find the princess and your sister, see why they aren't off slaying bodies.
>You've been flying since sundown and you are tired. Get some sleep while you still can.
>Other (write in)

>>657386
>Find the princess and your sister, see why they aren't off slaying bodies.

>>657372
>>Find the Princess and your sister.

How much time on the ground to we have? Can we still try to find Svetlana after talking to Sis? It'd be good to make sure she's not getting carted off to some CIA black-site.

>>657386
>Find the princess and your sister, see why they aren't off slaying bodies.
Hopefully they are doing ok, though I wouldn't be surprised if there's something keeping them grounded.

>>657386
>Find the princess and your sister

Svetlana's gonna be getting ferreted about for quite some time, not much chance of finding her.

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In spite of your body's need for sleep, you still felt the need to check in on your sister and her unit. They were fairly green all things considered and them being on base at such a time as this gave you more questions than you could answer.

To ensure that you still had the energy to burn to conduct your search, you returned to your jet and grabbed one of the cans of red bull that you had picked up before heading up on your earlier patrol flight. You opened the lukewarm can and downed the sugary contents as quickly as you could.

Your first port of call after that was the princess's hanger. From what you could see inside, the aircraft had certainly engaged on combat from the shrapnel marks on a few of the aircraft. One of the crew chiefs told you that the Princess and her comrades had returned to their barracks just after they had returned a few minutes ago.

You took the hint and made your way to the barracks that had been set aside for the princess and her unit. You were allowed inside by the guards at the door, who could only give you a withering glare as you walked in looking like a zombie.

You found the princess and your sister in the building's rec room, seemingly in the middle of a conversation as you heard them through the thin paper walls. You paused for a few seconds to get a better idea on what they were talking about to see if you should interrupt or not.

"Calm down Janice-san. I'm sure that your brother is doing just fine." The princess tried to calm down your sister, who from the sounds of it may or may not by crying.

"But what if he got jumped, or if he got separated from his unit or wha-" Your sister began to panic, only for the princess to interrupt her.

"Janice, I may have only known him for a few weeks, but I know enough about how he flies to know that he is possibly the best pilot on the base. Some pesky Soviets aren't going to stop him. I bet that he is just about to walk in right now!" The princess assured your sister, giving you the perfect opportunity to make your entrance.

>Walk in as if you just got here. You totally weren't listening in.
>Walk in right now, don't try to hide the fact that you were listening in if they ask.
>Hold off for now. See if you can get some more out of them before you enter.
>Other (write in)

>>657582
>Walk in as if you just got here. You totally weren't listening in.

>>657582
>Walk in right now, don't try to hide the fact that you were listening in if they ask.
While we could always learn more, let's not be a jerk to Razor's sister and let her worry.

>>657582
>Walk in right now, don't try to hide the fact that you were listening in if they ask.

>>657582
>>Walk in right now, don't try to hide the fact that you were listening in if they ask.

>>657582
>Walk in right now, don't try to hide the fact that you were listening in if they ask.

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You decided that it was best not to wait outside like an asshole. You opened the traditionalist door as calmly as you could and made to walk in with a smile. To their credit, both the princess and your sister noticed the door open and watched you walk in.

You sister didn't wait for you to get into the room before making her best impression of an anti-ship missile and barrelling into as quickly as she could, her arms wrapping around your torso as she clutched onto you as if you were just about to disappear. You wrapped your arms around your sister as she began to sob into your chest.

"She's been worrying about you ever since we were told that war had been declared." Sakamoto explained from her seat on the couch. You carefully moved yourself and your sister over to the other couch and carefully set yourself down, Janice kept herself attached to you.

"What happened with your flight? I saw that your aircraft looked a bit beaten up when I arrived back." You asked as you began to gently ruffle your sister's head. The princess sighed, before then beginning to tell you what had happened with her unit.

"We were getting ready to go up on patrol when we were told to get to our aircraft. We were vectored to intercept flight of TU-95s and their escorts that were inbound from the north. We intercepted it and shot down it's few escorts, but on the way back we were bounced by a flight of Flankers. We were barely able to get out of there with no losses, thanks to some timely support from a flight of USAF F-15s." The princess explained calmly while your sister got her emotions in order. "We were then told to return to base as a number of reserve fighters had been launched to assist other units, including VF-21. Your sister assumed that your unit needed support because you has sustained combat losses. She began to worry that you had been shot down."

"I was so worried..." Your sister mumbled from her position in her chest. You just simply patted her head some more and smiled at her.

"Trust me, you had nothing to worry about. The Soviets are mediocre at best." You assured your sister, before then shifting the subject of the conversation. "Anyway, how many kills did you both get?"

"She got 2 kills herself and one shared with me." Sakamoto answered for your sister. "I achieved the same number of kills as her."

"So, what happened with your flight? Something must have happened for you to look like a walking corpse." The princess asked jokingly.

>Explain everything in full, including the part about Svetlana.
>Explain everything, but leave out Svetlana.
>Keep everything vague, only include the bare essentials.
>Other (write in)

>>657740
>Explain everything in full, including the part about Svetlana.

>>657740
>>Explain everything in full, including the part about Svetlana.

>>657740
>Explain everything in full, including the part about Svetlana.

"Well, I had only just touched down after an extended patrol light that I had been flying since sundown when the call to arms went up. Me and my unit were quickly vectored towards a number of Soviet aircraft that were attacking an oil refinery just north of here. We arrived on scene and began dropping Soviets like flies." You began you explanation as you continued to hug your sister, part of you hoped that a full account of your previous action would be enough to get your sister to not worry about you. "Things were pretty simple until I encountered a pair of Soviets that I had met before."

At the mention of your previous meetings with Soivet pilots, the princess tensed up.

"What do you mean when you say that you had encountered these Soviet pilots before?" Sakamoto asked with intrigue, the subject of the enemy pilots being something that she was obviously interested in.

"Yes, I encountered them before while flying a recce op over a Soviet fleet. During that mission I got talking with one of the pilots and offered her a chance to defect." You explained calmly as you remembered back to before the war had begun in earnest.

"Did she attempt to take the chance to defect today?" Sakamoto asked, the subject of the Soviet pilot only attracting her attention further.

"Apparently she tried to take the offer a few days after I had offered it to her, however her wingmate found out and ratted her out. SMERSH beat the shit out of her for it." You answered Sakamoto's question, but apparently she wasn't finished with her line of inquiry.

"And they would just let her back in a jet after that?" She asked another question.

"Yes, but they rigged her jet up with a kill switch that would detonate explosives that were inside her aircraft is she ever strayed too far from her wingmate, or if her wingmate stopped transmitting a specific signal." You answered the second question with brutal honesty. Sakamoto gasped at this, her face slightly paling at the description of such brutal measures.

"Thats... that's just horrible! Such dishonourable conduct!" Sakamoto spat with disgust, as if the very words that rolled off her tongue were tainted by the sinister crime that had been committed against Svetlana. "Please, tell me more about what happened to this unfortunate pilot."

"Well there's not much left to tell. I kept them occupied with a chase while Zeus spoofed the signal, after that we informed Svetlana and she shot her wingmate down before coming with us." You summarised the remaining part of the engagement in as few words as possible.

"And Svetlana is the Soviet defector?" The princess asked with slight curiosity. Apparently making note of the name.

>CONT

>>657897
"Yes, we brought her back to base and had our engineers remove the explosives fro her jet." You paused for a coupe of seconds before sighing and continuing. "I'm not sure about what is going to happen to Svetlana and her jet, chances are that they will be sent back to the US. It's the safest place to be right now asides from Switzerland or some other neutral country."

"That is true, it certainly isn't safe here at the front line." Sakamoto nodded in agreement, leaving a pause for a few seconds before speaking again. "How many kills did you get Mr Poole?"

You paused for another few seconds as you remembered back to each kill you had made in that engagement alone.

"I managed 6 kills, my wingmate got 5." Your reported cheerfully, exciting a surprised whistle form the princess.

"Wow,the pair of you combined made more kills than my entire unit combined..." Sakamoto said with awe, before yawning tiredly.

"Oh dear, it would seem as if I require some rest." Sakamoto said as she stood up, she looked down at you and your sister before smiling warmly. "And it would seem that I am not the only one."

You followed the princess's gaze down to you sister, who was fast asleep on your chest. Her grip on your torso having slackened just a bit.

"Well, I'll carry her to her room before taking my leave then." You announced before quickly picking your sister up and standing. Sakamoto lead you towards the bedrooms before motioning for you to be quiet as she opened one of the doors.

The room itself was very similar to the room you and Zeus had shared at TOPGUN. With a pair of single beds on either side of the door. You placed your sister carefully into her bed before vacating the room. As you turned to leave, Sakamoto spoke up again.

"She looks up to you. You know that?" She began quietly, leaving a short pause for the statement to sink in before continuing.

"She looks up to you and practically views you as a saint. A man with the best for all in is heart and mind." She turned to you and locked eyes with you, her tone of voice was caring, but commanding. It was the voice that you would expect to hear from a teacher rather than a fighter pilot.

"Now I don't expect you to be a saint just for her sake. But i don't want you to be a martyr either, the shock of your loss would likely break her as she is too innocent for the frontline." Sakamoto warned you, before turning and walking into her room, leaving you to your thoughts.

As you walked out of the princess's barracks, you yawned once again. The need for sleep was certainly something that was looking more and more appealing by the second.

>Try and find Svetlana, see how she's handling this whole new world.
>Find a payphone and call someone back in the states (Lauren or your family?)
>You've been flying since sundown and you are tired. Get some sleep while you still can.
>Other (write in)

>>657898
>>Try and find Svetlana, see how she's handling this whole new world.

>>657898
>Try and find Svetlana, see how she's handling this whole new world.

>>657898
>You've been flying since sundown and you are tired. Get some sleep while you still can.

>>657898
>Try and find Svetlana, see how she's handling this whole new world.

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Your next port of call was to try and find Sveltlana, you felt that you should try and check up on your recently acquired defector. And the best place to find her was the one of the few places that the spooks on base would frequent.

Your target was the base's command building, the administrative heart of the base, where officers of all kinds would gather to submit reports and get their orders.

As you made your way over there you could see that a large number of aircraft were now landing, both IJN and USN aircraft of many different shape, size and role. The base surged with activity as medical vans carted wounded pilots from their aircraft to the base's hospital. The command building was on exception as intel officers made their rat-runs at lightning speeds.

As you made your way closer to the building, a man in a smart black suit intercepted you.

"Ah, Lieutenant Poole. Just the man I was looking for." The obvious spook offered you his hand as you introduced himself. "My name is Agent Cotton, I'm from ONI."

"Nice to meet you Agent Cotton, I assume that you want to speak to me about a recent arrival?" You asked as you shook the ONI agent's hand.

"Indeed, however it is not a matter that is to be discussed in such an... open area. If you would please follow me, your unit commander is also in with us." The spook gestured for you to follow him as he walked inside, you silently made to keep step with him as he walked through the building. The lesser intel officers gave the spook a wide berth as you both walked through he crowd. After a few minutes he lead you into a room that was guarded by a pair of burly marines with shotguns.

The room itself was the briefing room that you had been briefed in on the day that you had assisted in rescuing the CIA spooks from Kamchatka. Stood closer to the door was another spook and Dredd. Stood besides them was another marine, who was busy watching the lone individual at the other end of the room.

Said other person was Svetlana Vaikinov herself. She was slumped back in her seat, and while she was certainly trying to stay awake, you could tell that it wouldn't be long before she passed out due to exhaustion.

"Razor, glad that you are here." Dredd greeted you with a nodd that you returned in kind.

"So, what's this about boss?" You asked your unit's commander as you and the spook joined into the little group that had already inhabited the room.

"Put simply, the defector back there wants to join up with VF-21." Dredd thumbed back to Svetlana, who looked noticeably more awake, having seen you enter. However you could see that she was just about to doze back off to sleep.

"I think it's a bad idea." The unnamed spook spoke up bitterly. "Trusting a defector who won't even trust us in the first place is a bad idea. Putting her into a front line unit is just a stupid idea."

>CONT

>>657949

"Now, now, Agent Maryland. I feel that including the defector into VF-21, especially under Mr Poole's care is a good idea. She trusts him implicitly, the only reason why she hasn't trusted us thus-far has been because he wasn't here to reassure her. I'm sure that given the right influence, she will open up to us of her own free will." Agent Cotton replied calmly, trying to soothe his comrade's discomfort.

"Or she might kill them all in their sleep. And then CINPAC will have our asses for not following protocol!" Maryland spoke up, the last part of his sentence apparently gaining the attention of Svetlana, who was just beginning to doze off in her seat.

"Or she will prove to be an excellent asset in her own right. She owes Mr Poole a life-debt that cannot be repaid or voided by killing anyone who is his ally." Cotton responded sternly, apparently getting more frustrated with his comrade's lack of belief in Svetlana's abilities.

"I think that we should leave the decision up to Razor." Dredd spoke up with authority, projecting his voice in the manner of a leader, even though he looked just as tired as you. "He has the most experience with this Russain woman and knows us the best out of all of us. Hell, she asked for him as soon as she was given the choice to ask for someone."

You felt 3 pairs of eyes fall on you as the Spooks and your commander forced you to make a decision.

>"We will take her into VF-21, if any troubles arise then I will shoulder all responsibility."
>"We will not take her into VF-21 yet, she is just too much of a risk."
>"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers."
>Other (write in)

>>657950
>"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers."
[freedom intensifies]

>>657950
>"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers."
Let her have some freedom to choose.

>>657950
>"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers."

Gonna take a little while to train her up on the F-14 though, if she does join. And then she'll need a RIO, and I can't imagine there'll be too many willing volunteers. Unless we can hook her up with an F-18C, I guess.

>>657950
>>"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers."

"This isn't my decision to make, it's hers." You replied simply. "If she want s to join up with VF-21 then we should let her."

The response around the group was very mixed, Agent Cotton simply smiled at your decision. Agent Maryland glared at you for a couple of seconds before sighing dejectedly. Dredd simply nodded before continuing.

"In which case, we will need to figure out what the hell she's going to fly. She obviously can't fly that SU-27 forever. We could set her up with an F/A-18C or something temporary while we train her up on an F-14. Though it might be hard to find her an RIO." Dredd shrugged.

"Hence why it's a bad idea." Maryland spoke up again, the annoyance in his voice was evident.

"I'm sure that we can find something. In the mean time I suggest that we could have an F/A-18C's cockpit remodelled to have a similar layout to her SU-27 while she gets used to flying a US aircraft. either way, she will have to lodge with your unit from now on." Agent Cotton suggested as you walked over to Svetlana and picked her up carefully.

"We can cope with that. I will assign her to fly off Razor's wing as Freelancer 2-3. That way we will have the best pair in the unit covering her at all times." Dredd announced as you walked back over with Svetlana cradled in your arms.

"Great, have a pair of our few aces tied down covering that defector." Maryland practically spat before turning to Agent Cotton. "You won't hear the last of this one Cotton, mark my words. That Russian will get somebody killed."

Before Cotton could articulate a response, Maryland made a break for the door as quickly as possible. Leaving you 4 person group in silence.

"I wouldn't worry about him, he's always been one of the more cautious agents in ONI's employ. I am sure that our new Russian friend will do just fine." Agent Cotton assured both you and Dredd before turning to face you and Svetlana. "Tell me, did she ever tell you her name Mr Poole?"

"Indeed sir, she said her name was Svetlana Vaikinov." You reported back as Svetlana began to snore in your arms, apparently finding your embrace just as comfortable as the chair she was previously slumped in.

"In which case, I hope that Miss Vaikinov servers you and your unit well Mr Poole. Good day." Cotton bowed to you and Dredd before leaving with the marine, giving you some time with Dredd.

"Listen up as I'm only going to tell you once." Dredd said darkly, any hint of emotion in his voice was gone. "We're taking a big risk in bringing Vaikinov into the fold here. She seems to trust you, and I won't question it for now. But everything that happens from now on is on your shoulders. I'll help out with the paperwork as much as I can, but you are in charge of making sure that she gels well with the unit. Do not let her out of your sight and always carry your gun with you, just in case."

Dredd then turned to you and looked you straight in the eye. "Can you handle this soldier?"

>CONT

>>658011

You didn't even need to think about your answer, you nodded at Dredd before giving your confirmation. "I can handle her sir, I won't let you down."

Dredd was silent for a few seconds, watching your every single movement for any subtle hint of doubt or worry. But after a few seconds he nodded and made for the door.

"I have to get the paperwork for her sorted, get her back to the hut and put her to bed. And get some sleep yourself, you look like shit." Dredd ordered you before he walked out. You followed after him and headed directly for the hut.

While your pace was brisk, it was not nearly enough to carry you out of people's sights before they noticed what you were carrying, you could hear the whispers of intel officers pointing you out to their friends as you left the command building. You could feel the many sets of eyes from the ground crew watching you carry your charge back to your hut so you could both get some sleep.

You arrived back at the hut to find almost every bed taken. The only pair that remained untaken were yours and Dredd's. You decided to assume that Dredd's bed was off limits, as such you put Svetlana to bed in your bunk before grabbing a spare blanket and making yourself comfortable on the couch.

As you were just about to drift off to sleep, you remembered Weiss's offer. However by then you were just too tired to get up, and you surrendered to sleep on the couch.

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And we're done for tonight! I think that we will set the quest to run a singe thread over each weekend, so over both Saturday and Sunday nights. However if any of you have certain preferences on when to run then do tell me and I might go for the run time that is most preferential to the you guys.

Any way, if you have any questions that you want to ask, then ask away! I'll answer them to the best of my abilities as soon as I can.

>>658012
I just caught up, thanks for running Thunder

Pure story text:
Pilot Quest 1-10: http://pastebin.com/r4zgdJBg
Pilot Quest 11-15: http://pastebin.com/qfgd6A0N
e-readers unite!