RP: 21st Fighter Sq [Mission 7.2] Operation Payback - Fighter Launch

As the fighters plunged into the clouds the pilots would hear a very loud constant hiss. Not unlike the sound a downpour of rain while standing in a doorway. However, this sound was caused by the shields being peppered with high speed small debris. There were louder sounds as the occasional larger pieces hit the shields. The RADAR was awash in noise and range was severely reduced to increase visibility.


Akemi listened to Yaeko, and if she had any question about Hunter's sanity, they were gone now. Flying into this maelstrom was crazy, but this was war. Her RADAR was a mess of ghost images which she worked to resolve by adjusting her radar PRF.

"Scrapyard, can you supply us with a data stream of the lower level wind speeds?" she asked across the team channel.

"Arinori to Hunter, do you read me ?"

Arinori hissed in frustration, her ears pressing back into her hair. She was only getting static from the comm link, she couldn't even pick up any chatter on the radio. She saw the storm approaching and angled her fighter upwards, climbing sharply out of its path, entering high orbit.

She was not chasing after them in the maelstrom. To do so would be the height of foolishness. However, staying in high orbit would make her little more then target practice for the billion or so battlepods swirling around out there..really now, why send her out there if she wasn't even able to rendezvous with her squadron. Arinori bared her teeth in frustration, her hair raising inside of her helmet, resulting in a corresponding jump in blood pressure.

Now what was she supposed todo ? Make a break for the Heitan ? She couldn't remain in orbit, she had received no communication from the flight leader..it was as if she didn't exist at all.


Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Arinori would radio back in to the Heitan, hoping at least to get some respond from the carrier.

"Arinori to Heitan, Arinori to Heitan, rendezvous with Fighting Diamonds squadron unsuccessful. Repeat, rendezvous with Fighting Diamonds unsuccessful. Situation critical, multiple enemy contacts on screen. Awaiting further orders, over." she radioed in.

In a attempt to make herself a less then juicy target, she started to power down her ship board systems aside from her comm and life support, hoping to blend in with the floating debris..at least until she received further instructions. Her eyes and ears were wide open, her heart rate climbing swiftly, watching Star army and NMX battle it out in the distance.

"Heitan to Arinori hold your position. There is too much weapon fire and battlepods looking for something to kill or ram between you and the ship. Regroup with the squadron when they emerge from the atmosphere." came across the radio.

Arinori had a ring side seat to the space battle. There were ships from both sides with burning out of control. Other ships were engaged in heated battle. Destructive energies and missiles streaked across the open space where it existed. There were two warships locked together in their death throws their hulls locked by their collision. Miniature suns blazed and faded as starships on both sides died. The IFF system showed that the 2XF at the moment had superior numbers.

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Akemi gave up trying to manually fly her Kawarime. The debris and wind currents were buffeting the craft so much that she could not hold her hand still. Using her SPINE interface she fought the unnatural storm and did her best to maintain position behind Hunter.

Arinori's eyes were glued on the horizon, her lifeless fighter drifting slowly between chunks of debris. Her anger, her frustration, all seemed so petty not as she gazed on the horizon. Her eyes widened as the reality of what she was seeing hit her like a tsunami, sending a cold chill down her spine.

The reply from the Heitan sounded so distant, like the echo of a dream. Arinori's breathing increased, her voice shivering, her heartbeat rising at a breakneck pace. The destruction, she had seen recordings, pictures, descriptions in books..but..nothing, nothing could prepare her for this. So much destruction unfolding before her eyes. All those ships, those beautiful Yamataian vessels filled with her brothers and sisters in arms, burning, breaking, twisting, plummeting to certain doom on the planet's surface below. She could feel them perish, she could feel their fear. So many lives, precious lives, cut short, lost forever.

Tears gathered at the edges of Arinor's eyes, a hiccup like sob breaking from her clenched throat. None of them deserved this. She was born and bred for this purpose, to fight and die for the Empire, a weapon..but..this..this was Hell, nothing less.

Arinori's eyes turned to the wreckage of a NMX ship, locked in a death spiral with a Yamataian vessel, plummeting towards the planet's surface. She reached out to the bubble of her cockpit, her fingers curling uselessly against the glass. She was helpless here, she couldn't help them, no matter how much she wanted to. She was helpless..powerless. That truth cut her more deeply then she'd ever been cut before. Nothing, nothing compared to this.

These NMX..this war..it had to end. Her empire wasn't strong enough, her armadas weren't strong enough, their weapons weren't strong enough. Arninor's hand flopped onto her lap as the ship disappeared into the atmosphere. Tears flowed from glazed eyes, staring ahead, but seeing nothing

"Never again. she said softly to herself "Never again, never again." she said to herself, almost chanting as she curled up. She wasn't angry..she was supposed to be angry..but she wasn't..it was all so clear now..her purpose was laid out perfectly before her..the only question was...how ?

The Squadron eventually emerged from the storm ravaged target area. The bombing run had been a true test of pilot and machine. The wind currents caused their payloads to hit over a wider area, but they were still effective.

Once they cleared the upper atmosphere Arinori was able to rejoin the squadron. The trip back to the Heitan was quiet the worst of the battle was over. Enemy ships that were still able to had fled, the rest were either out of commission or expanding fields of debris.

As they approached the Heitan they were instructed to divert to the sister ship the Shōkaku. They could see the Heitan its upper sections heavily damaged and alpha and beta bays out of commission. Around the Heitan a cloud of debris made maneuvering hazardous. The carrier was moving to clear the debris on thrusters.

Once the Diamonds landed on the Shōkaku, they were informed that Kayo had returned and was in the Medical center on the Heitan.

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End Mission 8.0 will be starting this evening.