>>2077564
oh god i forgot we were getting dragged into this i regret everything

>"Do you know how to fly an F-15? I sure don't."
They're not even two-seaters, are they?

>>2077564
>>"Do you know how to fly an F-15? I sure don't."

File: dress whites, always bitchin.jpg (54 KB, 701x548)

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"Do you know how to fly an F-15? I sure don't." You asked Zeus as you gave your dress shoes a final swipe, ensuring that they were polished as well as possible.

"What about the one back at Miramar? The navalised eagle?" Zeus asked, patting down his jacket. The white jacket fitting fairly well, though it did seem to be lacking in certain areas. The armholes were a bit too large, and the cuffs were too narrow.

“That one’s cockpit was set up in a fairly similar way to the tomcat. I highly doubt that the baseline eagles have a similar setup to the ‘cat.” You explained, reminiscing about the aircraft that had almost tempted you from the bosom of the Tomcat god. It’s FAST packs system having offered you some great capabilities.

You wondered how your war thus-far would have played out if you had taken the Sea Eagle as you attached your officer’s sword to your hip. Could you have saved Svetlana if you were in an eagle and not an echo-cat? What about those black flankers from a few days back?

“What about Svetlana’s bird? How come she’s able to fly that eagle without any training?” Zeus asked as he clipped on his sword, the ceremonial weapon never really seeing the light of day unless there was an event or unless somebody wanted to mess around.

“The techs remodeled her bird’s cockpit so that it was inline with her old flanker. Though they’ve had to teach her to use the MFDs. She’s undergoing a crash-course on how to fly a ‘cat while we await a new bird and RIO for her. Until then, she’ll fly an eagle.” Dredd explained to your RIO, having been the one to authorize all of the modifications. You stood up as he finished, giving yourself a final look in the mirror to confirm that everything was in order.

And that you looked dapper as hell, hot damn do the ladies love the dress whites.

>Check in on one of your squadmates (who)
>Head downstairs and check up on the news.
>Ask Zeus about your bird, how are the repairs going?
>Other (write in)

>>2077955
>>Head downstairs and check up on the news.

>>2077955
>Head downstairs and check up on the news.

>>2077955
>Head downstairs and check up on the news.

File: USS New Orleans sinking.jpg (3.94 MB, 3649x2433)

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“Come on, we might as well check the news before the cars get here.” You decided as you turned to the door, Dredd stepping out of the doorway to let you through as he lead you and your RIO downstairs. Your hands resting on your swords so that they wouldn’t sway around too much as you went down the stairs.

“Not like things have changed too much in the past few weeks. The reds are most likely consolidating their gains before their next offensive.” Zeus suggested as you reached the bottom of the stairs, Kay and Durendal both stood around the television, unwilling to sit down and dirty their dress uniforms on the couches. And their uniforms certainly… fit well.

You wouldn’t say that out loud though, as both of your squadmates were also armed with swords, and you had no doubts that they would be willing to use those swords if they wanted to.

“What’s the news?” You asked your comrades, distracting yourself from their assets with a wholesome conversation.

“Come and see for yourself, they should be going over the headlines now.” Kay called over her shoulder, not bothering to look you in the eye as she was too engrossed in the news. You walked up next to her and found yourself understanding exactly why she was son engrosed.

Plastered across the screen was a shot that no naval aviator wanted to see, a flat-top listing hard to starboard. Smoke billowed up from beneath the deck as fires raged uncontrolled. The small shapes of escaping crewmen littered the deck and ocean around the ship, and in amongst them sailed a number of small boats, with helicopters above them assisting in the SAR efforts. Overlaid on the bottom of the screen was the basic details of the incident, which the news anchor relaid.

“Just a few hours ago, the amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans was sunk during a missile attack from a Soviet Juliett class submarine. Of the seven hundred and twenty crewmen, around five hundred survived the attack and were picked up by the rest of the fleet.” The anchor explained, before the image on the screen changed to a picture of a pair of tanks driving through the snow. The massive vehicles kicking up snow behind them as the anchor continued. “In other news, the Soviet advance into Alaska has stalled after reinforcements from the 77th Armored Regiment arrived in the theatre. The fighting has slowed to a brutal stalemate with the regiment having suffered numerous losses, but have still managed to inflict more losses on the advancing Soviets.”

“Hey! Are you all ready?” Weiss asked enthusiastically as she came down the stairs, apparently happy to have an excuse to get off the flight line.

>Chat with Weiss, you haven’t checked in on her in a while.
>Keep watching the news, you can talk with her in the car to the event.
>Other (write in)

>>2078249
>>Chat with Weiss, you haven’t checked in on her in a while.

>>2078249
>>Chat with Weiss, you haven’t checked in on her in a while.

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“We’re all ready down here, just waiting for everybody upstairs to sort their shit.” You shrugged at your wingmate as she came downstairs. Her dress whites surprisingly similar to the US Navy ones, in spite of her being from the Luftwaffe.

“Well in fairness, us women like to make sure that we look beautiful rather than just throwing on clothes and cologne.” Weiss joked, even going as far as to put on a fake posh voice to really emphasize the point.

“Sure honey, as if it’s any different.” You assured your comrade as you walked towards the small kitchenette, Weiss moving to follow you as went for a drink. “So, how have you been holding up.”

“Personally?” She asked as you opened the drawer to retrieve a pair of glasses, her voice having lowered as you were right next to each other. “I’m a bit worried about the unit.”

“How so?” You asked as you began to pour the two of you a glass of water each. Unfortunately, in the run-up to big events like this you tended to get thirsty. And that would always come to bite you in the ass as you drank too much and had to take a bathroom break in the middle of an event.

“Well… last time we flew out on a major engagement, we almost lost you and Slider.” Weiss began, before holding her hand up to stop you from interrupting. “Yes, I know that the mission was high risk, and none of us could have predicted that there was a furball between you and the base. But up until now we’ve had way too many near-misses, people around us have been shot down, but we always manage to escape. We’ve taken knocks, but none of us have been lost to the enemy. And yet…”

“And yet the more we go on, the worse we come out of the engagements. The more we fight, the closer we come to someone being shot down.” You finished your wingmate’s speech for her, earning you a nodd in understanding.

“Eventually, someone’s going to mess up, someone’s luck is going to run out. And I’m worried that when it happens, we won’t be there to help them out before they get shot down.” Weiss explained her gripe, rubbing her arm nervously as she talked. To say that this was odd was an understatement, your oldest wingmate was never like this.

>”Weiss, there’s something else to this. What’s going on?”
>”You don’t actually buy into that karmic balance thing, do you?”
>”We make our own luck Weiss. That’s what being a pilot is all about.”
>Other (write in)

>>2078438
>>”Weiss, there’s something else to this. What’s going on?”

>>2078438
>>”Weiss, there’s something else to this. What’s going on?”

>>2078438
>”Weiss, there’s something else to this. What’s going on?”

File: the heer have been a bit (...).jpg (57 KB, 624x500)

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”Weiss, there’s something else to this. What’s going on?” You asked your wingmate, seeing past her argument and spying the underlying issue. Your squadmate sighed as she realised that her ruse was up, and she shimmied up closer to you to explain in relative privacy.

“It’s my brother. He’s joined up with the Heer.” Weiss explained, her voice now lowered so that nobody else could hear what you were talking about over the sound of the television.

“Ah, I can see why you’re in a mood then. And if it’s any consolation, I’ve been worrying about Janice ever since I found out that she was on the front.” You consoled your comrade as she sipped her water nervously.

“This is different though. If anything happens to Janice then you can help her, you’re always going to be there to protect her. But if my brother is caught out, then even if we were on the same battlefield, I would never be able to help him. If anything then it’s even worse.” Weiss sighed as she rested against the counter, the strain of her worries obviously taking it’s toll on her.

“Is it though? If Janice gets hit, I’m naturally going to hold myself responsible as I’m the better pilot and I have the superior aircraft. I have to look out for her as she is more vulnerable than me. If she goes down, what do you think that the reds are going to do to her? Your brother is safe if he gets captured as the reds aren’t going to do anything to him. But Janice? A young and good looking young woman?” You asked, pointing out the worries that often kept you up at night. Weiss looked you in the eye as you explained, her expression remaining the same dour mask as it had been as when you had brought up the topic.

“Yes, we know what the reds do to the people they capture, they put them into those work camps. And your argument with Janice doesn’t really equate itself to my situation. You are actually in a position to help her if the situation requires it. I can’t help my brother, even if he’s on the same battlefield.” Weiss pointed out the slight hole in your argument, her glass almost empty as she sipped her drink.

“Actually, it is relevant. If you can’t help your brother then you ought to not worry about him. He’s a grown man after all, and when he’s assigned to a unit he’ll have a good few men all looking out for him. He’ll be fine. You should only really worry if you are in a position to help him, but as you aren't then you shouldn’t worry.” You explained, leaving your squadmate silent for a few seconds as she considered what you had just said.

>Ask about the rest of her family, how are they doing?
>Wait for her to finish thinking.
>Go back and look at the news.
>Other (write in)

>>2078744
>>Ask about the rest of her family, how are they doing?

>>2078744
>Wait for her to finish thinking.

>>2078744
>Ask about the rest of her family, how are they doing?

>>2078744
>>Ask about the rest of her family, how are they doing?

File: svetlana's blue dress.jpg (165 KB, 500x549)

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"What about the rest of your family, how are they doing?" You asked, trying to drag the conversation away from the mutual risk to your respective siblings.

“My family? They are doing well enough I suppose. They moved from the mainland of europe to Britain, they've been set up with a house in Abercrave, a little village in Wales. Though my mother has taken up work in a military hospital, she used to work as a burn doctor after all.” Weiss explained, a slight smile returning to her face as she talked about her safer family members.

“I imagine that her skills are in dire need at the moment.” You stated as you polished off your drink, the cold water going down a treat. Weiss simply glanced up at you and shook her head in response.

“Not really, at least from what I can gather. She’s been retraining to help to treat people wounded by explosions, people with light burns and shrapnel wounds among other things.” Weiss explained further, clarifying what her mother was doing. “My father on the other hand is helping to run a daycare for children whose parents are currently working with the military.”

“Ah, that sounds reasonable. Though I’m surprised that your father isn’t working with the military, didn’t he used to be part of the Heer?” You asked as you took your comrade’s glas and put them into the sink. You would be leaving soon enough so you might as well tidy up just a bit.

“He did, but he’s too old to be of any use. He was first generation Heer after all.” Weiss clarified with a shrug. You looked into the rest area from where you stood, and found that almost everybody was down. Tatsuko stood close to Kenji, looking rather rigid and worried in her uniform. Meanwhile, Slider and Bats stood with Rekker and Zeus, exchanging banter amongst themselves.

“Hey, where’s Svetlana? The cars are almost here.” Dredd called out over the assorted banter, causing a slight hush to fall over the crowd as everybody wondered where your Russian friend would be.

“I am here!” Svetlana called from the stairs as she quickly climbed down. She was wearing the blue dress that you had bought her with the navy’s money as she didn’t have a dress uniform, hence why she stuck out like a sore thumb in your sea of white. Though you supposed that it wasn’t too bad, she did look rather nice, and what was the point of bringing a defector to a massive event if you weren't going to show her off?

“And right on time, the cars are here. Come on, we still have a schedule to meet.” Dredd instructed, before leaving out of the front door. The rest of your squadron filing out after him.

You left the building last, having held the door open for Weiss. This however gave you a decent pick of which char you wanted to ride in. You could ride in the first car with Dredd, the third with Zeus and Svetlana, or in the fourth with Weiss and Tatsuko.

>Ride in the 1st car.
>Ride in the 3rd car.
>Ride in the 4th car.

>>2079027
>>Ride in the 3rd car.

>>2079027
>Ride in the 1st car.
Don't let the law ride alone.

>>2079027
>>Ride in the 3rd car.

>>2079027
>Ride in the 3rd car.

File: executive transport.jpg (40 KB, 720x278)

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Deciding to get in with your RIO and your other wingmate, you made for the 3rd car. At the very least you could talk to people exclusive to your element. As such, you quickly made for the car as the concierges got out of each car made to close the passenger doors. You just about managed to climb in before the concierge made to close the door. The vehicle’s passenger area was very similar to the cab you had rode in when you went into downtown Tokyo in order to get Svetlana her dress. The seats were mirrored, with the ones mounted forwards facing back to look at the rear seats. Svetlana was sat on the rear-facing seats, with Zeus sat on the ore traditional rear seats. You took your seat opposite to him and buckled in as the concierge closed the door.

“Ah, Bradley, it’s good to see you.” Svetlana greeted you as you buckled in. Safety first and all that.

“Well it’s not like I was going to miss the chance to kick back and relax for a night. You look nice by the way.” You said as you looked up, having put your hand on your sword to keep it from knocking up against the side of the car as it drove off.

Svetlana blushed slightly at your compliment, before smiling in response. “Thank you comrade, you look rather dashing as well.”

Zeus sighed belatedly, apparently nonplussed at the mutual ego-stroking going on between the pilots he had to share the ride with.

>Chat with Svetlana (any particular topics?)
>Chat with Zeus (any particular topics?)

>>2079239
>>Chat with Svetlana (any particular topics?)
>>Chat with Zeus (any particular topics?)
Maybe talk with both of them about tonight's festivities.

>>2079239
this>>2079278

>>2079239
>>2079278
seconding

File: it's like this inside.jpg (42 KB, 550x413)

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"So, what do you two think about the ball?" You asked your comrades as the sedans continued slowly out of the base. The vehicles not hitting their strides as they kept to the base’s strict 20mph speed limit.

“I don't like it, we should be on the flight line right now. Not at some suit and tie event.” Zeus stated, essentially regurgitating his point from before.

“I must agree with Zeus. Our skills are wasted in these fineries, so far away from the flight line.” Svetlana agreed with your RIO, earning your co-pilot’s attention while you simply shrugged in response.

“All of our birds our down for repairs barring yours Svetlana, we might as well take the opportunity for some time off the line.” You pointed out your flight’s need for RnR as your convoy passed through the front gate of the base, and onto the open road. Sure, other flights were being run harder, but your unit was more important by nature. And thus got more time off.

“True, but I really don't like the idea of leaving the frontline just so that we can satisfy some political bullshit.” Zeus complained, turning to look out of the window as the convoy made its way down the road towards your destination.

“The emperor has to at least try to act as if it's business as usual. A nice little song and dance with some politicians, some generals and some other newsworthy people is a good enough distraction from the imminent threat of invasion.” You rationalised, and you weren’t lying about the threat of invasion part either.

“Should I really be going to this event if the Emperor of Japan is in attendance? Isn't there some kind of security risk with allowing a recent defector to get so close to the leader of the country?” Svetlana asked skeptically, now doubting why she was even here.

“It's fine, the security at this kind of event is going to be insanely high, not even special forces could get in. There will be guards at all entrances, exits, high-points and even mixed in with the crowd.” You pointed out, though this did little to calm your newest comrade’s doubts.

“I wouldn't discount spetznaz so easily, they have a nasty habit of doing the impossible.” Svetlana warned you in a quiet tone, her mild worry being proof enough that you shouldn’t push the point.

The 3 of you were quiet for a few more minutes, but as the empty streets began to become more and more populated by reporters and photographers as you approached the Imperial Palace, Svetlana spoke up again.

“What should I do? This is the first western event I have ever been to.”

>”Stick with me, this isn’t my first rodeo.”
>”Just remain calm and polite. Some of them may make snide or rude remarks but it’s best to just ignore them for now.”
>Other (write in)

>>2079376
>>”Just remain calm and polite. Some of them may make snide or rude remarks but it’s best to just ignore them for now.”

>>2079376
>”Stick with me, this isn’t my first rodeo.”

While we wait for the deciding vote to the tiebreaker, I'm gonna pack it in for tonight. I would have loved to go on for longer, especially with the massive turnout of players, but it's becoming a struggle to even keep my damn eyes open. As such, we'll restart the thread around the same time tomorrow.

If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to ask them and I'll answer them as soon as I am able.

File: more power.jpg (46 KB, 719x323)

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>>2079413
See you tomorrow.

>>2079376
>>”Stick with me, this isn’t my first rodeo.”

>>2079376
>”Stick with me, this isn’t my first rodeo.”
o shit it's back

File: imperial palace gatehouse.jpg (369 KB, 1600x1067)

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”Stick with me, this isn’t my first rodeo.” You instructed your squadmate, this wasn’t the best way to introduce Svetlana to the world at large. Hell, the last major event that you had gone to was your university graduation. And even then, there were only around 10 people with cameras, and most of them were parents or hired hands. But here?

You shook your head as you considered the situation that you were all walking into. Talk about throwing Svetlana in at the deep end.

As your convoy continued on, you spied even more people lining the streets. Civilians the occasional members of the press were kept on the pavement by barriers and roaming police officers. You couldn’t help but feel uneasy however, as within that crowd could be a commie with a gun. And as far as you know, this car wasn’t armoured. However, as the drive continued on, the number of civilians in the crowd dropped, and the number of cameras jumped up. And eventually, the convoy pulled up in front of the Imperial Palace.

Glancing out the front of the car, you saw that the cars were waiting to drop you off in front of the entrance to the palace itself. One-by-one, the cars pulled up before the 10 meter long gauntlet of press and cameras. And the people inside each car walked the gauntlet on their way in. You spied Dredd as he got out of his car, stepping into the constant flash of the cameras with a confident smile. The yelled questions from the press were only slightly muffled by the body of the car.

“Well, it looks like we’re here. Just walk out with a smile and don’t stop to chat with the press.” You instructed your comrades as your car edged closer. The second car in front of you stopping and disgorging its contents, and you had a few seconds to be surprised as Princess Sakamoto stepped out of the car, wearing a traditional Japanese dress. Following behind her was her RIO, then your sister and her RIO. You couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved at this, hopefully the sight of the princess would steal the spotlight from Svetlana.

You didn’t have much time to think on this however, as once the second car’s passengers had disembarked the car began to pull off. Leaving the space open for your car to move into position.

“Remember people, smile and keep walking.” You reiterated as the concierge climbed out of the front passenger seat and made to open the door for you. The door on your side. You gave Svetlana a confident nod, before turning to the door and stepping out the moment it was fully open.

>CONT

>>2081305

The first thing to hit you was the sound, the sound of a good hundred plus people yelling their questions at you. But the constant, strobing flashes of the cameras were almost painful. You pushed through it however, and as soon as you were out of the car, you turned back to help Svetlana out. Your smaller squadmate levering herself up with your offered hand. But as she got out of the car, you could see her expression begin to darken. She was obviously starting to panic.

You had only a few seconds to decide on what to do. You could lead her through the gauntlet by hand, that way you could lead her through and at least reduce the chances of her stopping like a deer in the headlights. However, the shot of you leading a good looking woman into a ball by hand would certainly kick-start the rumour mill. And the last thing you wanted right now was a rumour of you and the cute defector being in a relationship. Not to mention what Lauren’s reaction would be if she found out. The last thing you wanted was to sour relations with her.

>Lead Svetlana through by hand. Hopefully you can rectify the situation later.
>Let her continue on her own. If she freezes up then Zeus can help her along.

>>2081312
>Lead Svetlana through by hand. Hopefully you can rectify the situation later.

>>2081312
>Lead Svetlana through by hand. Hopefully you can rectify the situation later.

>>2081312
>>Lead Svetlana through by hand. Hopefully you can rectify the situation later.

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"I'll lead you through, keep close to me." You instructed Svetlana. Your quick thinking prompting you to jump to this idea. You would deal with the fallout later.

And hell, what's a pilot without a few bad ideas?

You turned towards the gatehouse and confidently lead your worried comrade past the press. You smiled and waved to the press as you continued through, walking the tightrope of trying to keep a fast pace while still looking casual. You kept glancing out of the corner of your eye at Svetlana, who was mirroring your actions. However, you could see that she was very nervous. You noticed that in front of you, Princess Sakamoto and her RIO were moving much slower than you. The princess was the complete opposite to Svetlana, cool and calm instead of worried and jumpy. She was actually used to the limelight, as opposed to your newest squadmate.

As such, by the time the princess had reached the gatehouse, you were only a few feet behind her. You noted that while her RIO wore the more professional formal uniform of the IJN, the princess instead wore a traditional Japanese dress. However much like you, they both wore swords at their hips. The princess wore a single sword on her hip while her RIO wore two on the same hip, one sword being larger than the other. Your squad also wore two blades, though the second was the small knives that you had been given when you were assigned to fly alongside Sakamoto's flight. Apparently it was a cultural thing.

You slowed your pace to stay at a respectful distance behind the princess, and thankfully you didn't have to wait too long to enter the gatehouse. The path up towards the palace being lined with royal guards, each one standing at attention with rifles at right shoulder arms. One arm cradling the butt of their rifle while the other sat perched on the pommels of their swords. And as the noise of the press died down, Zeus spoke up form behind you.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you like getting yourself into the headlines." Zeus stated as he made to flank you, coming alongside you as you made your way up the path. The eyes of the stationary guards following you as you walked.

"And what would you prefer? For Svetlana to freeze up in the middle of the gauntlet back there?" You asked as you became aware of your comrade's iron grip on your hand. You looked over at Svetlana to find that she seemed fairly shocked at the ordeal.

"That... that was too much. Is it always so daunting to do that?" She asked, her voice catching just a bit as she spoke.

"You get used to it." Sakamoto answered from just in front of you, having stopped to wait for you. Her eyes glanced low, to your interlocked hands. But she said nothing.

"I don't think I ever will." Svetlana replied glumly, her tight grip on your hand easing, but she still didn't let go.

>CONT

>>2081729

"You'll eventually get over it. My brother used to hate being seen, and now he just cannot get enough of the cameras." Sakamoto shrugged as she kept pace, taking up position past Svetlana.

>Talk with Svetlana (about?)
>Talk with Sakamoto (about?)
>Keep quiet and let them talk amongst themselves.
>Other (write in)

>>2081739
>>Keep quiet and let them talk amongst themselves.

>>2081739
>>Keep quiet and let them talk amongst themselves.

>>2081739
>Keep quiet and let them talk amongst themselves.

>>2081739
>Keep quiet and let them talk amongst themselves.

"And what is you brother like?" Svetlana asked, letting her worries ebb away as she distracted herself.

"Well, that particular brother is a rather nice man if I do say so myself. He's a bit older than me, but only by around two years. He's actually the commander of a marine regiment." Sakamoto revealed, a warm smile spreading across her face as she remembered her family.

"You have other siblings?" Zeus asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes, I have three brothers. My older brother is the captain of the battleship Mussashi, while the other is a helicopter pilot." Sakamoto explained as your little gaggle continued up towards the palace at a slower pace.

"So all of your siblings are in the military?" You asked, even though it seemed as if she had already answered your question.

"Yes, though only because of the war. My brother who is a helicopter pilot is actually an air-ambulance pilot by trade. But he joined the Air Service as soon as the war began. If I remember correctly, he flies a para-rescue helicopter." Sakamoto confirmed, though it didn't really surprise you. From what you knew, most royal families sent their heirs into the military.

"So if one of us goes into the drink, there's a chance that your brother will pick us up?" Zeus asked, indirectly asking about where Sakamoto's brother was posted.

"Exactly! Though I'm a bit worried about him, helicopters aren't known for being particularly agile." Sakamoto answered, before her tone began to darken, her brother's vulnerabilities revealing themselves.

"Most PJ's don't go flying into SAM sites, and they don't fly alone for sure. He'll be fine." Zeus pointed out to the worried Princess as you approached the doors into the palace, the sound of light music wafting out from within.

>Ask Sakamoto for some pointers before you enter.
>Get in there, you might as well get this show on the road.
>Other (write in)

>>2082038
>Ask Sakamoto for some pointers before you enter.
Mostly for Svetlana.

>>2082038
>>Ask Sakamoto for some pointers before you enter.

>>2082038
>Ask Sakamoto for some pointers before you enter.

"Any pointers princess?" You asked as your gaggle approached the door.

"Well, I might not be the best source of advice... but one thing that I find that tends to work is to simply play it passively. Let people come to you and all that. Also, unless you want people to think that the pair of you are in a relationship..." Sakamoto trailed off, her eyes wandering down towards your occupied hand. Svetlana quickly let go of your hand, a slight blush spreading across her face as she realised that she hadn't let go earlier.

"In fairness, you have more experience with these events in general." You shrugged, not drawing attention to your comrade's embarrassment. "Is there anyone we should keep an eye out for?"

"My father, though you should already know who he is." Sakamoto shrugged, thankfully, you knew what her father looked like, so you wouldn't be caught out on him. "Aside from that, you probably don't know what anyone else looks like so you will be excused for not knowing."

"Any ideas on Americans that might be in attendance." You asked, wanting to know if there was anyone in your command structure to look out for.

"Admiral Harris will be here, but not idea on anyone else who could be in there." Weiss pointed out as she arrived. The rest of her group following behind her.

"Well, that's better than nothing I guess." You shrugged at the news, before turning to enter. "Come on, let's get this show on the road."

The guards by the door opened the door for your group as the princess stepped off before you, taking the lead as the rest of the now 11 strong group filed in behind her. Inside, the room opened up into a packed atrium. Waiters walked around with platters of small drinks and weaved courses through the mass of civilian and military officials in the room. At the far end of the room was a large display that seemed to display a number of battlefield trophies. Already, you could spy a few people in the crowd. You could see Dredd chatting with a pair of IJNAS officers, deeper into the crowd, you could just about make out the top of a navy officer's hat, which you guessed was Admiral Harris himself.

>Stay with Princess Sakamoto.
>Stay with Svetlana, play this passively.
>Make your way towards trophies.
>Make your way to Dredd.
>Make your way to Admiral Harris.

>>2082293
>>Stay with Svetlana, play this passively.

>>2082293
>>Stay with Svetlana, play this passively.

>>2082293
>Stay with Svetlana, play this passively.

File: like this, but in dress whites.jpg (49 KB, 363x640)

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Deciding to play this safe, you decided to take Svetlana and Zeus and stay off on the outer edges of the party, just deep enough to look as if you were part of the festivities, but far enough out so that people within could better see you. Your small group exchanging idle chatter amongst yourselves as you passed the time. Though you didn't have to wait too long for someone to walk over and try to talk with you.

"Ah, Mr Poole I presume?" The man addressed you as he stepped out of the crowd.

"That would be me, and you are sir?" You asked the newcomer, noticing the bars of a captain on his shoulder epaulettes.

"I am Captain Masami, the commander of the Yamakaze. I am to understand that you helped to fend off the Soviet bomber attack a few weeks ago?" The captain asked, offering his hand to shake.

"That I was sir, though I couldn't have done it without my crew. Speaking of which..." You began as you shook the captain's hand. "The man on my right is my RIO, Lieutenant Michael Shawcross. The lovely lady to my left is Lieutenant Svetlana Vaikinov, formerly of the VVS."

"Of course, and I am entirely grateful that your squadron is so well staffed. Though I must ask, is it not a bit unusual for a defector to be flying with you? Having joined us so recently and all that." Captain Masami asked a bit sceptically, though you could tell by his voice that he was genuinely confused.

"I owe Mr Poole my life, it would be... cowardly... to simply run away. And I have no love for the union after what they did." Svetlana explained, her voice turning a bit sour at the end as she remembered what the reds had done to her plane.

"Ah, I see. Well if it's any consolation, I for one am glad that you were able to see the light and join us." Masami smiled gently at Svetlana, accepting her explanation.

>Ask the captain about his ship, ground control never told you much about his vessel.
>Let the captain ask the questions.
>Other (write in)

>>2082514
>Let the captain ask the questions.

>>2082514
>>Let the captain ask the questions.

>>2082514
>>Let the captain ask the questions.

>>2082514
>Ask the captain about his ship, ground control never told you much about his vessel.

>filename
Plastic smile included?

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"Thank you captain, I am glad that I was given the chance to prove my loyalty." Svetlana smiled in return, her smile similarly warm. The conversation was still for a few seconds, until the captain spoke again.

"So, how is the air war going?" The captain asked, obviously knowing little about your side of the war.

"Well enough I suppose. As far as I know, we're able to get a 5-1 kill to loss ratio against the enemy. Our flight however is being sortied either in support of Princess Sakamoto's flight, or to support interdiction strikes. My squadron has sustained no aircraft losses, though a few of our aircraft are currently down for repairs. Other units however are being mauled. And any aircraft loss that we sustain are much harder to replace than any Soviet or Chinese losses." You explained, touching on your flight's experiences to help tell the story.

"Much like the samurai of old, we have the better fighters, but the enemy can still defeat us by weight of numbers." The captain suggested, you never really liked the whole Japanese fixation with their Samurai, but you supposed that it was better than the red alternative.

"I suppose so, but even by simply contesting the airspace they can force us to hold back many of our heavy ground attack units. As such, they can leverage their numbers advantage to a greater degree. After all, the only aircraft that can carry the WASP is the A-10, and they can't really operate in a contested environment with the WASP lest it fall into red hands." You further explained how dire the situation was. And slowly, the look of realisation spread across the captain's face.

"So as long as the soviets can at least challenge the airspace, we cannot bring our best weapons to bare against their hordes of vehicles." The captain realised, and you nodded in response.

"Exactly, and the reds have a tactic of throwing their worst aircraft into the fray first. These aircraft then either eat our BVR missiles before their more modern birds enter range, or get in close to force our birds to abandon their height advantage to get them away from our ground units. They guarantee that we can kill a large number of their aircraft, but that they can also put their more modern birds on equal or better standings to our birds." You confirmed the captain's suspicions, causing his expression to darken.

"But what those WASP missiles, can't some other aircraft carry them?" The captain asked, wondering about the WASP.

>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."
>"The A-10 isn't just built for carrying the WASP, it's massive cannon is a pretty solid argument."
>Other (write in)

>>2082736
>>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."

>>2082554
Not so much his smile, but his nose certainly looks like it was cut off a Ken doll.

>>2082736
>>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."

>>2082736
>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."

>>2082736
>>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."

>>2082736
>"Software issues, number of hard points, and other such things."

"Well, to star off with is software, the WASP is a wonderful weapon when it works, but it requires an extensive software package to work properly. And even then it has to be integrated into the aircraft's weapons control computer. Hell, I know for a fact that older aircraft won't be able to operate the system without carrying a computer system pod on one of it's hard points. And on top of that, you have to worry about he number of hard points. The A-10 can carry the most of these systems over eight hard points, double the number that the Strike Eagle and the Skyhawk can carry." You pointed out. Unfortunately, you knew from Zeus that the plans to integrate the WASP onto other platforms was progressing slowly. If it wasn't an issue with the computer, it was an issue with the maximum airspeed that the aircraft could fly at with the system mounted.

"And your aircraft? Can it not carry the WASP?" The captain asked, now wondering about your specific flight. Your flight did indeed have the most advanced birds on the field, but you had to disappoint him on this one.

"No, and even if it could it could probably carry only two units. One under each wing glove hard point. We can't carry missiles under the nacelle hard point as there is a high risk of the aircraft ingesting missile exhaust and flaming out the engine." You explained, before then adding. "Besides, all Tomcats are BVR fighters first and foremost. Our specific tomcats are more rounded for ground attack, and even we don't carry the WASP."

"A pity, though..." The captain began, only to trail off as guard walked up behind the captain ans whispered something to him.

"Something the issue sir?" You asked as the guard turned to leave.

"I've been summoned, so I'm afraid that I must leave. Have a good day." The captain bid you and your comrades, before turning and following the guard away. Leaving your group alone to yourselves.

"Well, that was something." Zeus said calmly as he plucked a drink from a passing platter.

>Keep talking amongst yourselves, you might as well continue playing it passive.
>Head to the trophies, you might as well see what they are.
>Head over to Dredd, you might as well chat to your squad leader.
>Try and find Admiral Harris, you need to talk with him about something.
>Try and find another squad mate (who?)
>Other (write in)

>>2082939
>Head to the trophies, you might as well see what they are.

>>2082939
>Head over to Dredd, you might as well chat to your squad leader.

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Need a tiebreaker...

While we wait for the deciding vote, I'm gonna call tonight's run here, we'll restart the thread tomorrow at around the same time. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to ask them and I'll answer them as soon as I am able.

>>2083092
See you tomorrow, Thunderhead.

>>2082939
>>Head to the trophies, you might as well see what they are.

>>2083092
I just wanted to thank you for coming back form the dead.

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“Come on, we might as well take a look at the little trophy rack over there.” You instructed your squadmates, before turning to lead your squadmates through the mass of bodies between you and your objective. You didn’t have much trouble going

Arrayed on the long table was a long array of different artifacts. In amongst the mass of different artifacts were a weird looking rifle, a basic helmet with a hole blown into it, a sheathed sword, a fighter jet’s control stick, and a black fluffy hat among other assorted things. The artifacts were displayed tastefully, with ample room between them so that they could be seen clearly.

“So, do you recognise any of these?” You asked Svetlana as she began to thoughtfully look over the artifacts -before finally- her gaze settles on the control stick.

“That... that is the control stick from my old jet.” She stated, gesturing to the removed stick. The slightly battered stick bearing a few scratches that cut deep into it’s plastic.

“How can you tell?” Zeus asked, confusion evident in his voice.

“This scratch, here.” Svetlana gestured to the stick, and a long scratch that wrapped around the stick’s middle. “I put that scratch there myself so that I could better keep hold of the stick, it wasn’t very ergonomic.”

>Ask about another artifact (which one?)
>Ask Svetlana about her time in the VVS
>Other (write in)

>>2084506
>Ask Svetlana about her time in the VVS

>>2084506
>Ask Svetlana about her time in the VVS

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“So, what was it like? Flying with the Soviets I mean.” You asked, asking about Svetlana’s previous employment.

“Well… as you know, my only prior combat engagement was assisting in the Afghan war. Where I achieved two aircraft kills, specifically enemy helicopters during the early stages of the conflict. However, after that my unit was assigned to fly reconnaissance missions for around a month before we were rotated out. Our MiG twenty-three’s were not best suited for low level interdiction, so we returned to the fleet to replace a flight of MiG twenty-seven’s that had been rotated into the Afghan conflict.” Svetlana began

“And what fleets did you serve with?” You asked as you looked over the sword. The blade having a sabre-like curve, but lacked a handguard.

“I served in the southern pacific and black sea fleets, but I only ever spent a single cruise with either. Apparently, punching fellow pilots in the face for trying to have fun times with me was not allowed.” Svetlana replied, her voice souring considerably as she recalled the memories.

“So being in the fleet wasn’t the best of assignments for you then?” You asked, even though you could already tell what the answer would be.

“It was not very nice… officially, in the glorious socialist states men and women are the same, and have equal treatment. However, that was never the case. I had to fight tooth and nail to prove that I was better than my comrades, and worthy of their respect. And more than once, certain comrades, including my superior officers, would act as if I was nothing more than a walking masturbation aid. And as I had nobody who would take my side without seeking my body in return, I had to keep a constant vigil on everybody around me.” Svetlana explained, her voice low as she remembered the bad times that she had been forced to endure.

“Christ, how did you put up with that?” You asked, genuinely worried now at what your comrade had gone through.

“Simple, I never drank a drop of alcohol throughout the deployment. But, I am glad that such a backwards attitude doesn’t exist in the west.” Svetlana smiled happily, before her smile began to falter as she saw your expression. “Right?”

>”Well… it’s not that bad. But it does somewhat exist.”
>Disregard the issue, ask her about land based deployments.
>Other (write in)

>>2084692
>”Well… it’s not that bad. But it does somewhat exist.”

>>2084692
>”Well… it’s not that bad. But it does somewhat exist.”
Where humans are, so too are human problems.

“Well, it’s not that bad, but I’m not gonna lie to you and say that those issues don’t exist. Generally, the few female aviators are assigned to their own individual flights to reduce the chances of mingling with male aviators. And even then, it doesn’t prevent harassment from happening to women in the military. It doesn’t help that combat aviation is a very stressful role, and where there is stress, people can bend and do stupid shit far easier.” You explained, taking baby steps into the issue as you went.

“But what about freelancer squadron? It’s a mixed unit and it works out well enough.” Svetlana asked, her dismay turning to confusion.

“Freelancer squadron is a scratch-squadron. Assembled from aviators who were too good to be wasted, but were too troublesome to be kept in active front line squadrons. Me and Zeus have a history of buzzing towers and messing with any Soviets that we came across while we were in the fleet.” You replied, laying VF-21’s recent history -and your own- to bare.

“No, you have a history of buzzing towers and messing with any Soviets that we came across. I’m a good boy.” Zeus clarified, trying to present himself as a perfect RIO with an imperfect pilot.

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of this mr blast music over the radio to piss the Soviets off, and don’t get me started on the pictures.” You rounded on your RIO, intent on not letting him off lightly. Zeus, for his part, simply held up his hands in mock surrender. The broad smile on his face telling you that he was taking his ribbing lightly.

“But from what I’ve seen, it’s not as bad as back in the VVS. Nobody seems to bother Miss Weiss and the others.” Svetlana pointed out, her confusion still evident.

“That’s because they’re crazy as all hell. Weiss didn’t get the call sign scorpion for no reason after all.” You returned, hinting at your German friend’s more wrathful side.

“Miss Weiss? But… she never struck me as the unstable kind.” Svetlana frowned, her eyebrows raising as she realised that she didn’t know as much about your other wingmate as she had initially thought.

You were about to respond when a tap on your shoulder and a respectful cough caught your attention from just behind you. You calmly turned to face your new arrival, and found yourself staring face to face with a royal guard, the man dressed in the semi-armoured dress uniform of the guard as opposed to either the full ceremonial armour of the guards that had lined the approach up, or the modern version of the armour that the Royal Guard typically wore when protecting their charge in the field. And while he presented no open weapon other than his ceremonial swords, you knew for certain that he was carrying a concealed pistol. Somewhere.

>CONT

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>>2085021

“Excuse me, Lieutenant Poole, but you are requested by Admiral Harris.” The guard addressed you, his English fluent with no marring accent. And his tone politely insistent.

“Of course, we shouldn’t keep him waiting.” You replied to the guard, indicating that you were ready to follow him. But before you left, you addressed your RIO. “Hey, Zeus-”

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after her while you’re budying it up with the Admiral.” Zeus preempted your request with his answer.

“Thanks Zeus, I’ll be back soon.” You thanked your RIO, before leaving with the guard.

You followed the guard out of the party, passing out of a side door and heading deeper into the palace, going as far as to even leave the main building, and be walked deeper into the palace. Up to and into what you assumed was the main residence of the emperor, considering the extremely heavy presence of Royal Guard. The guard that had came to collect you simply walked you in with not a single word being spoken to the guards on station at the door. You continued your current pace and spacing behind the guard with some effort, trying not to be flustered by the feeling of dozens of eyes watching your every move wasn’t something that you particularly liked. However, as you entered the building, the guard spoke.

“You will be meeting with his royal highness, the emperor. Now, I do not wish to make presumptions about your demeanour, but do remember to show the emperor the respect that a man of his position deserves.” The guard stated as you entered, giving you a brief insight into what awaited you.

“Anything else that I should know to do on top of the basic don’t be a rude idiot rules?” You asked, wanting to cover all of your bases.

“Once you enter, bow respectfully to the emperor. Don’t over do it. Bend over to between thirty and forty-five degrees over, and address him as sir. Aside from that, treat him as you would usually treat a high ranking officer.” The guard recommended, before shutting up again as you continued up a flight of stairs.

A few seconds later, you found yourself being walked into a large, but traditional looking meeting room. However, none of the officers seemed to notice your arrival as those few in attendance were too busy arguing amongst themselves.

“And as I said earlier. If we can hit that supply base -and hit the reds where it hurts the most- we can hamper their offensive in Alaska. That will allow our boys up there time to perform a counter attack and force the reds out. And once the invasion up there is finished up, we can redeploy our units up there to the defence of Japan.” An American man stated, his voice collected, but middling between calm and annoyed.

>CONT

>>2085031

“But that is not an immediate victory, the interception of the enemy flight is of top priority. We have already seen what happens when your ace squadron gets sent into combat, we can’t allow the Soviets to deploy their equivalent.” A Japanese officer replied, his voice noticeably less calm, but still restrained by his proximity to his emperor.

“Ah, Poole. Good to see that you made it in time.” Admiral Harris quietly greeted you, his voice low as to not interrupt the discussion occurring around the table. “I’m going to need your help with some upcoming assignments for freelancer squadron.”


>”Gee sir, I’m not exactly the best person for command level decisions. Maybe my flight lead would be better suited to this?”
>”Of course sir, what needs doing?”
>Other (write in)

>>2085039
>”Of course sir, what needs doing?”

>>2085039
>”Of course sir, what needs doing?”
Strange that we're here and Dredd isn't.

>>2085039
>>”Of course sir, what needs doing?”

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”Of course sir, what needs doing?” You replied quickly, a bit unsure why you were suddenly the man to go to on such decisions.

“We’re here to try and figure out who’s going to take on a number of high priority missions. We have a number of elite squadrons like yours, some worse equipped, some better. And while they can plug the leaks in the damn, there are a damn many leaks to deal with. As such, we have to divide up the missions between the few units we have at our disposal.” The admiral explained, nodding towards the table

“And I’m here because?” You asked, trailing off at the end so that the admiral could fill in the blanks.

“Because you know the most about your unit’s echo-’cats. You would be here helping your CO come to a decision, but he hasn’t turned up yet.” The admiral explained, before looking back towards the door, where your commanding officer was just entering. “Speak of the devil.”

“Sorry I’m late, what did I miss?” Dredd asked as he dabbed the front of his jacket with a napkin, trying to get off the worst of some spilled drink.

“A whole bunch of arguing, these idiots aren’t getting anywhere, so I’ll get you both up to speed on what we have to deal with right now.” The admiral sighed, before turning away from discussion to talk to you and your commander. “The first mission comes from ONI. Apparently, the reds are sick of us kicking their asses, and want to bring in one of their more... capable units. A full squadron of ace fighter pilots are to be detached from the European and Middle Eastern theatre to join their siege of Japan. We don’t have much information on this unit aside from it’s numbers, departure date and their route. The good news is that we can hopefully wipe them out before they reach the front line, the bad news however is that we would have to intercept them deep within enemy territory, over the Gobi desert in China.”

“That puts us deep within enemy lines, we may not have fuel to spare for dog fighting. Even if we carry extra fuel under the wing root hard points.” You griped, while you didn’t like the idea of a deep dive into enemy lines, you knew that there were ways to at least maul the enemy squadron before they entered play.

“Exactly, though we could probably give you a flight of Ardvarks with buddy refuelling sets to give you some legs in. Maybe some KA-3s if we can't spare the 'varks. They were built for low level penetration after all.” Dredd agreed, before pointing out another option for you, in flight refuelling. But even that had it’s own issues.

“But if they get spotted, the mission is a bust.” You pointed out. More aircraft trying to penetrate a radar network increased your chances of being spotted. As complexity increased, so too did the number of places where everything could go horribly wrong.

>CONT

>>2085616

“That’s true, and that brings me onto the second mission. This one comes from the Japanese, they want our assistance in destroying an Imperial Japanese Army holdout. The last thing the Japs need is an army of self-proclaimed revolutionaries working with the commies. Not to mention the whole honour thing to worry about.” The CINPAC continued, his voice deflating as he continued to explain the available missions.

“Isn’t that pretty much an internal issue? Why are we getting involved?” Dredd asked, doubt in his voice.

“It is, but as with everything, there’s a catch. Princess Sakamoto wants you to fly CAP for the attack, she’s already decided to CAP on that mission, and she want’s the best we have to assist her.” Harris sighed, obviously annoyed that your squad was to be bothered to help with such a strategically unimportant attack.

“I can understand why she would want us, we have the most experience working with her. But what about her father? What does he have to say on the mission?” You asked, wanting to understand what the emperor’s position was on the issue.

“He’s trying to get support from the chair force, though I don’t know what they have to offer that’s better than their eagles.” The old man shrugged nonchalantly, his expression remaining the same as he continued. “The third mission is to attack a Chinese chemical weapons facility, it’s buried in a mountain and ONI wants whatever stocks they have there to be buried.”

“Do you actually think that they would actually use them though?” You asked sceptically, you had heard what modern chemical and biological weapons could do. And you prayed every night that such weapons wouldn’t be unleashed.

“We didn’t think that they would start this war in the first place. So we probably don’t want to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.” Dredd pointed out, his voice sour. He knew just as much as you, and also didn’t like the idea of such weapons being used. By either side.

“The fourth is to perform a reconnaissance flight deep within the Soviet interior, ONI believes that it’s the base to a new type of Soviet fighter, real experimental shit. The base is defended by long range SAMs and interceptors capable of hitting our blackbirds at a full sprint. The air force have already lost a good few aircraft to that base, and they aren’t putting any more aircraft in.” Harris explained the 4th mission, and you couldn’t help but feel as if this mission was made specifically for you.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve done a low altitude recon flight.” Dredd pointed out nonchalantly, as if it was a matter of course for your flight to run screaming into an enemy SAM network just for basic site recon.

“Last time, it was just me and we weren’t at war.” You pointed out the obvious facts with a sigh, while the mission didn’t sit well with you, you knew that you had a good chance of completing it.

>CONT

>>2085626

“That’s true, so the final mission should be the easiest. It’s is a flat-out bombing attack, no real special conditions to this aside from what you can carry into the attack. On the surface, it’s the simplest mission we have available. Hell, the base is almost undefended bar a few SAM sites. Which is unusual for a linchpin in their supply chain up to the Alaskan front. But...” The admiral began, only to trail off towards the end.

“But as we know, nothing is ever this easy. This has bad news written all over it.” You finished what the admiral was probably going to say, earning you a nod from him.

“Exactly, which is why nobody wants to take it. It smells like a trap.” Harris agreed, before sighing, and rubbing his temples. “Look, I know that this briefing isn’t ideal. But they aren’t too happy to give up the specifics of each mission unless you’re willing to take on a specific mission. So you’ll have to make the choice now.”

>Take mission 1 (Interdict a flight of Soviet aces over the Gobi desert before they reach the front.)
>Take mission 2 (Provide CAP for an IJN attack of an IJA base)
>Take mission 3 (Attack a Chinese chemical weapon base)
>Take mission 4 (perform invasive recon on a Soviet airfield, believed to base a flight of new Soviet fighters)
>Take mission 5 (Attack a Soviet supply Base that is supplying their troops in Alaska)
>Take some time to talk it through with Dredd.
>Other (write in)

>>2085631
>Take mission 1 (Interdict a flight of Soviet aces over the Gobi desert before they reach the front.)

>>2085631
>>Take mission 3 (Attack a Chinese chemical weapon base)

>>2085631
>>Take mission 3 (Attack a Chinese chemical weapon base)

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Considering what little information you had at your disposal, you weighed up the pros and cons of each mission in your head. The 1st and 5th missions were right out, the former due to the sheer risks involved while the latter was for the completeopposite reason. The 4th mission was too much of a risk to you and your wingmates to consider, and you knew that the chair force had certain aircraft that could easily take up that mission. The 2nd mission was right up your squadron’s alley, and any other time it would take president. But you couldn’t just leave those chemical weapons for the Chinese to use.

“We should take the third mission sir. If Princess Sakamoto wants our help in taking out the IJA group then she’ll have to hold the mission off for just a bit longer.” You put in your two cents, before continuing with your reasoning. “Put simply, whatever is in that base is going to be far deadlier than just a few hundred basic infantry. And the more time we put this mission off, the more time that the Chinese will have to take those weapons out of storage.”

“I was going to say the second mission, so that we could be done with it and get the princess’s help with the third. Though I can see your point.” Dredd replied, before turning to the admiral. “We’ll take the third mission sir.”

“Good, I’ll relay your decision to the rest of the commanders. In the meantime, you both should head back to the ball. I’ve taken up enough of your free time already.” Admiral Harris nodded, before gesturing for the two of you to leave. And as one, you turned and made your way out. The guard outside leading you and Dredd back to the main ballroom in silence, neither of you being particularly willing to talk after the little bombshell that the admiral had dropped on you.

After only around 5 minutes of walking however, you both arrived back at the ball, where nothing seemed to have changed. People still mingled amongst themselves as they regaled tales of the war. Dredd slipped quietly into the crowd, leaving you alone to decide on your next move.

>Find Zeus and Svetlana, you should link back up with them.
>Find Princess Sakamoto, tell her personally that she will have to hold off her attack if she wants your unit’s support.
>Head outside for a bit, you need some time alone to take everything in.
>Other (Write in)

>>2085834
>Find Zeus and Svetlana, you should link back up with them.
Please tell me something hasn't gone horribly wrong in the five minutes we were gone.

>>2085834
>>Find Zeus and Svetlana, you should link back up with them.

Remembering that of the 3 people you had first considered going to find was on her very first major event, you decided that linking back up with your wing mate and RIO was the best possible option. You calmly made your way through the crowd, making your best attempt to look casual while also looking out for your squad mates, and not accidentally walking into people. As a waiter passed, you plucked a drink from the platter and downed it in one deep drag. The sweet alcohol going down rather nicely as you deposited the empty class onto the tray of another passing waiter.

You didn’t find Zeus and Svetlana by the table of trophies, and you had to search around for them for a good few minutes. But eventually, you found them. They were both stood by one of the large, open windows that looked out over the rest of Tokyo. And standing with them was a man in the dress whites of a Japanese captain. He laughed to some unheard joke as you approached, only for Zeus to notice you first.

“Hey, Razor. Meet Prince Yoshisada, captain of the IJN Mussashi.” Zeus introduced the newcomer to you as you arrived.

“Ah! So you are the American ace that my sister keeps telling me about!” The prince stated as he offered his ungloved hand to you respectfully.

“That would be me sir, and I must say that she is quite the pilot.” You answered as you took his hand and shook it. A small smile spreading across your face.

“Well, I don’t mean to be brash, but success does tend to run in the family.” He replied heartily, before leaning in close and whispering into your ear.

”And if she ever comes to harm on your watch, you will be held responsible.” The prince threatened you, all warmth gone from his voice. And before you could respond, he pulled back and let go of you hand, as if nothing had happened. “Though I must say while she is a good pilot, she doesn’t seem as good as you. What with you managing to defeat her in a dogfight.”

You smiled respectfully, trying to cover your worry at being threatened by a man with enough power to make you do a vanishing act. “In fairness sir, she has learned much since then. And even with the technological advantage on my side she still gave me a run for my money.”

“Ah, in which case she has been underselling her abilities to her family and the press.” The prince sighed, his smile slightly faltering. “Her humility was always one of her detracting points.”

>CONT

>>2085976
You continued talking with the prince for a while longer, learning even that he had an unnamed sweetheart of his own that he was unwilling to bring to the event lest he be spotted by the press. You on the other hand talked about your unit and past escapades, and you could have continued on until sunrise. However, your time was cut short as Dredd himself came over at told you all that it was time to leave. You bid the Prince farewell and departed, your entire squadron assembling by the door and leaving en-masse. Unfortunately however, while most people would have gone to bed, the press had continued to hover outside of the gates to see if they could catch any shots of newsworthy people leaving.

Unsurprisingly, and unfortunately. Pictures of both one of the US military’s highest ranking aces and the only Soviet defector of the war were very newsworthy. Especially considering that they had both been seen holding hands as they had entered. This was very bad, as if there was a time where Svetlana would be most under the gaze of the cameras then this would be that time. You had to do something.

>Head out first and start answering questions, hopefully you can keep their attention long enough for Svetlana to get to the car.
>Walk your wingmate out the same way you came in. By hand. Damn the torpedoes and all that.
>Other (write in)

>>2085979
>Head out first and start answering questions, hopefully you can keep their attention long enough for Svetlana to get to the car.

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While we wait for another vote, I'm gonna call tonight's run here, we'll restart the thread tomorrow at around the same time. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to ask them and I'll answer them as soon as I am able.

>>2086016
See you tomorrow.

Is this a timeline in which slavs actually have microtransistors?

>>2085979
>>Head out first and start answering questions, hopefully you can keep their attention long enough for Svetlana to get to the car.

>>2085979
>>Head out first and start answering questions, hopefully you can keep their attention long enough for Svetlana to get to the car.

“Same as before?” Svetlana asked as you approached the gatehouse, the baying sound of the press beyond proving that they were still waiting.

“No, I’ll head out first and distract as much of the press as I can by answering a few questions, hopefully you can get through easier.” You replied, laying your plan bare to your squadmate.

“Good, I would rather that there not be any rumors about potential fraternisation under my watch.” Dredd sighed, a hint of irritation in his voice. “Hopefully it will reduce the number of interview requests that we’ve been receiving.”

“Doesn’t the Admiral intercept those?” Weiss asked, a bit surprised that your squad was getting such requests.

“He helps out greatly, but they’re just so damn persistent that some inevitably get through. Hell, I’ve taken to just tossing the requests directly into the trash as soon as they hit my desk.” Dredd shrugged in mock innocence, as if his hands were tied in this incident. And they were to a degree, he had to ensure that you squadron spent as much time as they could in the air and in the fight. You couldn’t be spending time answering assorted questions.

“They’ll be trying even harder to get a scoop, I’ll help you distract the press.” Weiss decided, punctuating her decision with a nod.

“I’ll help too.” Durendal agreed, bringing your total helpers up to 2. You nodded at both of them, before turning to face Svetlana.

“You’ll wait for around a minute, and then go through while we have them distracted.” You instructed, before turning to your helpers, who followed you out as you made your way into the gauntlet.

Your were buffeted by the yelled questions and the flashes of the cameras as you walked deeper into the gauntlet, you walked on for a good few meters, before suddenly turning and walking towards one of the reporters at random.

“Mr Poole! Can you please tell us how the air war is working out?” The reporter in front of you yelled, trying to be heard over the other reporters as they yelled their questions.

>”It’s going very well! We’re tearing the Soviets apart!”
>”It’s going well, but the Soviets have a few advantages over us.”
>”It could be going better. To be honest.”
>Other (write in)

>>2086923
>”It’s going very well! We’re tearing the Soviets apart!”

>>2086923
>>”It’s going very well! We’re tearing the Soviets apart!”

>>2086923
>"I'm not going to say we're absolutely wrecking, but I can say we're starting to run out of room for all of those spare MiG parts they keep sending us."

>>2086923
>”It’s going very well! We’re tearing the Soviets apart!”

>>2087173
>"Well, I don't see any *disgusting* reds."

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”The air war is going very well! We’re tearing the Soviets apart!” You replied enthusiastically, not having to raise your voice much as the reporters nearby shut up, listening in to the ongoing conversation so that they could actually report something.

“What about the land war?” Another reporter asked, yelling from the back.

“I’m not too familiar with what is going on on the ground I’m afraid, you would be better suited to asking someone else.” You replied with a shrug, you didn’t want to answer a question that you didn’t know much about.

“What can you tell us about the recent attack on Tokyo?” The first reporter asked hastily, hoping to get his question answered before anyone else’s.

“The Soviets attempted to attack the fleet in harbour with a number of bombers, we intercepted them before they could attack the fleet. Essentially the mission that the tomcat was built for, just from a land base.” You answered, likening the attack to the tomcat’s primary role. As an interceptor.

“What can you tell us about your squadron’s aircraft?” A reporter yelled from the back.

“All I can say is that they are better than anything that the Air Force has, and that isn’t a boast.” You dodged the question, not wanting to give out anything that could be interpreted as technical specs.

“Mr Poole! What is your response to the Senator Whitworth’s comments?” A reporter in the middle of the pack asked.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what the senator said.” You admitted, before then asking. “Could you please tell me what he said?”

“He said that -in his opinion- no disgusting red should be allowed to serve with our best, referencing the induction of Miss Vaikinov into your squadron.” The reporter quoted, you furrowed your brow in response.

>Write in

>>2087186
>"I think I'm a better judge of character than a man who makes his living by lying and cheating."
Time to make an enemy on Capitol Hill.

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>>2087253

>>2087186
this>>2087253

>>2087253
this
just to see what dredd's reaction is though

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I can't believe the commies killed Thunderhead.

>>2087253
Now, a worse insult would be to call him a "Politician" with every hint of disgust and bottom just *dripping* from the word :D

>>2089204
God, I hate auto-correct :(
*=Naw
*=disgust

"I think I'm a better judge of character than a man who makes his living by lying and cheating." You answered flatly. Your voice level, uncompromising and slightly forceful. As if you weren’t giving an opinion, but that you were stating a fact. Like an AWACs flight director telling you that you had a gaggle of flankers to intercept.

The reporters were silent for a few seconds while they scribbled down your incendiary statement, keeping them silent as some of the unoccupied reporters began to yell questions at Svetlana as she passed. You didn’t know who this senator was -you didn’t care about small fry- and you didn’t care. Some vague part of you knew that this could have far-reaching implications, but the rest of you couldn’t care less. If someone wanted to insult one of your squad mates -a squad mate who had put their life in the line for you on multiple occasions- then that person could get bent. There were plenty of people in the Navy for diplomacy and playing nice, and you were not one of those people.

Probably why you had been passed over for TOPGUN prior to being rolled into VF-21. Though more likely, your last commander was just being an asshole.

Yeah, probably that. He could go and fuck himself with that dick you drew in the sky over Corpus Christi.

“How would you respond to people who do not believe that Miss Vaikinov should not be assigned to a front line squadron?” The same reporter asked, continuing along his line of questioning.

“I would point out that those people know nothing about Miss Vaikinov, or her situation. These people ought to keep their opinions to themselves until they know everything about the situation before they try to waste everybody’s time.”

“But isn’t this event a [i]waste of time[/i]? Wouldn’t your unit be better served on the front line rather than at a diplomatic event.” Another reporter blurted out, eager to get his question answered.

“Our aircraft are down for extensive repair and servicing right now. So it’s more productive for us to be here than at base.” You answered simply, keeping OP-SEC in mind as you gave your answer.

“Mr Poole! What would you say to people looking to join the military?” The first reporter asked, managing to get a second question in.

“Do it. Take your role, throw yourself into training and be proud of it. It doesn’t matter if you get a front line role or not, as for every tank or fighter jet, there are a dozen plus guys and girls running support. Be it maintenance, intelligence support or even cookery.” You recommended, confidence in your voice as you tried your hand at the whole [i]rousing speech[/i] bullshit.

>CONT

>>2089892

“Adding onto what my aviator just said...” Dredd began, stopping just next to you in front of the mass of reporters. “There are around a dozen or so combat roles, but for each one of those roles, there are a dozen other roles that provide indispensable support. The military is a giant machine, and every last cog are important.”

“Time to go sir?” You asked your squad leader, already knowing the answer.

“Indeed, come on.” Dredd answered, gesturing towards the last car. You silently followed him as the reporters returned to their rushed clamour. Yelling their questions and queries as you and your squad mates left, you and Dredd waiting for Scorpion and Durendal to enter the staff car, before getting in yourselves. The sound of the baying press outside being instantly muffled as soon as the concierge shut the door behind you. And as soon as you were buckled in, the car smoothly took off.

“Well, that went better than expected.” Weiss stated simply as she unclipped her hair, letting the regulation bun fall apart as she relaxed.

“Let’s hope that this little plan doesn’t come around and bite us in the ass.” Dredd sighed, his tiredness evident in his voice. You didn’t respond to him, instead opting to look out the window. Your eyes tracing skywards as you watched the little dots of patrolling fighter jets.


With a hefty sigh, you relished the last moments of peace and quiet you would probably be getting for a while. As soon you would be heading back into action.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m gonna call the thread here, I’m very happy that the overall response to Pilot Quest’s return has been very positive. With an increase in players over WWFTT to boot. It would have been even better if my internet hadn’t took a shit on me just before the last post, but you win some you lose some I guess. Next time though, we’re back in action.

Either way, if you have any questions then do feel free to ask them while the thread is still up. If I don't manage to answer you question before the thread falls off the board then I'll answer it either on my twitter account or next week.

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>>2089899
Can you rate this event on a scale of one to-this-will-become-a-future-subplot?

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>>2089899
Thanks for running! It was good to see the adventures of Razor and Company again.

>>2089919
Around half way. On the one hand, have a sub-plot of the ever-escalating fuckery between the USN's highest scoring ace and a powerful senator would be a nice contrast to the fighter pilot shenanigens.

On the other hand, I have no idea how that would actually plan out, especially on how a senator from Delaware would get so much power. Due to being a high-scoring ace on the front line, you're politically untouchable, especially with the CINPAC watching your ass. So you can sort of get away with insulting a senator or two.

>>2090034
And thank you for showing up!

>>2090270

Depending on how that Senator paints his interactions with Razor, he could get quite a lot of attention from playing up the 'consorting with the enemy' angle. With all that attention, at least a few other politicians would take notice. And what happens when someone starts leading a bandwagon...

>>2090661
That could work, though it's a bit hard for him to talk about his interactions with Razor when they are separated by a good 1/3rd of the planet. So even if he did try the "consorting with the enemy" card, it would run out of steam before it left the station.

>>2090739
plus the 'consorting with the enemy' card can be thrown straight back at him for wasting the military's time and taxpayers money on his existence.

>>2089899
don't stop!