//------------------------------// // Chapter 33 // Story: Until Fairer Skies Beckon // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// The missile pointed towards Rainbow’s plane like an accusing finger.  You! And it was her.  She’d taken it on, saving her friends.  The missile had been decoyed from the C-130 onto her own airplane. The missile aimed for the center of her MiG.  It hit the bottom of the fuselage at the midpoint of the wings and exploded. It had been behind her cockpit, but as the jet folded in half while doing five hundred knots, it didn’t really matter.  If Rainbow had been able to perceive what happened in the next few miliseconds, she would have seen the jet coming apart around her.  There was no time to pull the ejection seat.  The wiring had been torn away, at any rate.  There was nothing but wind and violence. She tried to open her eyes, but saw nothing but a blur of color - a mixture of sky and ground and burning airplane and her own hair.  Her helmet was gone and she didn’t know what had happened to it.  The pistol she’d wrestled from Wind Rider was in her hand somehow and her fingers gripped it until her knuckles turned white. Mostly, she just fell. Rainbow’s eyes managed to track the C-130 as her feet tumbled past her head again.  She saw the Flogger that had fired the missile lining up another one on the defenseless cargo plane.  No!  She couldn't save the others! She squeezed her eyes shut.  There was nothing she could do.  She’d come this far with the motley crew that had become her friends.  And now she was failing them. This wasn’t justice.  This wasn’t her.  It couldn’t be allowed.  Rainbow would do anything for her friends.  Loyalty didn’t know the word “can’t.” Her eyes opened.  Her vision sharpened.  The wind at altitude didn’t feel so cold.  Energy like an electrical charge swelled in her heart and she felt it crash through her body like a tidal wave, focusing especially on her upper back. The magic had returned. Rainbow’s fall suddenly reversed and she shot skyward like a rocket.  She could feel her wings tear through the wind.  Her eyes weren’t watering from the speed any more.  There was no time to lose. She extended her left hand, raising it above her head like a lance.  A cone of magenta fire flickered around it, spreading back around her arm. She punched straight through the Flogger’s belly, lancing through aluminum panels, wiring, hydraulics, and out the other side, her entire body passing through the hole.  Back broken, the jet disintegrated. There was no time to consider the pilot.  Rainbow’s wings gave her options, but she had other loyalties.  She headed for the remaining fight. Lightning Dust’s Su-22 and Vapor Trail’s MiG-23 were a closer match than the Flogger-Fishbed matchup and they were still circling.  Rainbow dove in. Lightning was currently at the disadvantage, but not yet in danger of being shot.  She missed Rainbow’s appearance. Vapor didn’t.  While she may not have realized what was rapidly approaching, she instinctively rolled away, but there was no jet on earth that could keep up with Rainbow.  There was nothing Vapor could do to get away. Rainbow thumped into the side of the jet.  She braced her foot on the edge of the engine intake beside the canopy and grabbed a probe just forward of the cockpit with one hand.  With the other, she held the muzzle of the pistol against the canopy, pointed at Vapor’s head. The two of them stared at each other for what felt like a long moment.  Vapor’s expression was difficult to read behind her tinted visor, though Rainbow could see her eyes.  How did she get this way?  Had the Freedom Army done something to her?  Was it all triggered by Sky Stinger’s Death?  What did Rainbow owe her? A chance.  Friends forgave.  Friends understood. Rainbow tossed the gun down the engine intake.  The results were as immediate as they were drastic.  The entire jet shuddered and belched black smoke out the tailpipe.  Through the canopy, Rainbow saw the warning lights come on. She peeled away from the stricken jet.  Seconds passed as it continued towards the ground, trailing smoke.  There was nothing that could be done, Vapor just had to realize it. And then, the ejection Rainbow had been waiting for.  The canopy blew off and the seat fired out.  The parachute opened a moment later. When Vapor got her bearings, Rainbow was there to greet her.  She descended slowly, keeping pace with the parachute. “Wh-how-” Vapor stuttered, anger giving way to pure astonishment at Rainbow’s wings. “We can talk later,” said Rainbow. Vapor opened and closed her mouth.  Then, she grabbed for her sidearm. Rainbow should have seen it coming.  Still, it wasn’t too hard to avoid.  She simply flew around behind Vapor, who hung in her harness, unable to turn. “What are you!?” Vapor screamed. Rainbow moved closer, putting herself within easy conversation distance of Vapor’s back.  “I’m going to apologize to you until you accept it.  I’m sorry for what I did to you.  I wish I’d had another choice.  I wish you hadn’t put me in that position, but I don’t blame you for doing what you did.  I might have done it myself, before I considered the consequences to everyone else.  This isn’t just about me.  It’s about you, about everyone.” Vapor pointed the gun as well as she could over her shoulder.  Rainbow deftly slid to the other side.  Vapor twisted, still looking for the shot. “What does it take for me to convince you?” said Rainbow.  “I don’t believe I’m fully at fault here.  You might have a different opinion.  What can I do to make it up to you?” “Drop dead!” “Even figuratively, I can’t do that.  I told you, I have a duty to everyone.” “What do you owe them?” “Well, not anything, really.  But I can’t just let them go.  I can’t let you go.  Being loyal is who I am.  I’m here for you.  That’s my choice.  I’m here no matter what you think about me or any wrong that I’ve done to you.  I hope you can forgive me.” Vapor lowered her head.  Even suspended as she was in the parachute harness, her shoulders slumped. Rainbow was not known for being particularly perceptive, but she knew a moment when she saw one.  She moved forward, sliding her arms around Vapor.  After a moment, Vapor seemed to sigh, and leaned her head into Rainbow’s. “So…” said Vapor after a long second.  “Is that plane going home?” “Yes.” Vapor sniffed.  “I wish I was on it.” A sudden idea hit Rainbow.  “Do you trust me?” Vapor turned her head.  The two of them were practically nose to nose and their eyes stared into each other.  “Yes.” Rainbow adjusted her arms, sliding them through Vapor’s harness.  She then unclipped the parachute. There was a jerk as Rainbow took up the weight, but it was nothing.  In a moment, they were ascending and picking up speed. Rainbow glanced over, seeing Lightning flying alongside.  Even in the distance, her awestruck expression was plain to see. The improvised formation approached the C-130.  Rainbow saw the tailgate begin to open, likely due to a timely radio message from Lightning.  She and Vapor came aboard. General surprise was etched on every face in the back of the plane, especially the two prisoners.  Rainbow and Vapor parted, the latter taking a few unsteady steps away from the back of the plane to sit on one of the side seats.  She looked towards the front of the plane and felt the crude seat material under her fingers, as if scarcely believing it was real.  She glanced up at Rainbow, and despite everything that had happened, smiled. Pug appeared, wearing a headset.  He shouted to Rainbow over the airplane noise, “We’re going to make a quick stop at Manatada to pick up Lightning.” Rainbow glanced out where the Su-22 was still in trail.  She shouted back, “Why not tell her to punch, and I’ll grab her?” She stepped off the tailgate into the propwash, getting her wings open and making the turn to fly alongside Lightning. Lightning glanced over, apparently getting the message over the radio.  She checked a few things inside the plane and then reached for the emergency cockpit lever.  The canopy blew off, but the seat didn’t fire.  Probably a good thing, saving her some potential spinal trauma.  Rainbow swooped closer as Lightning unclipped her seatbelts, and lifted her up out of the cockpit.  The jet fell into a slow spiral and headed for the ground. They made the quick trip back to the C-130.  Landing on the tailgate, Rainbow turned, pulling her arms free of Lightning’s harness. Lightning suddenly stiffened and stepped to the side.  Rainbow spun in place, but it was Lightning’s fist that shot past her and smashed into Connor Clash’s face.  He’d somehow gotten free of his restraints and had charged. Lightning hit him again on the same spot on the cheekbone, the sound audible even over the plane.  A contingent of mechanics wrestled him down, but they were too slow to stop the onrushing Wind Rider, who emerged from the fight with a cargo strap in his hands. He raised it up, the thick nylon wrapping around Rainbow’s neck.  Her hands grabbed at him, but scrabbled uselessly against his manic attack.  She choked, her feet scrabbling as he lifted her clear of the floor. A shot rang out and Wind Rider jerked.  He and Rainbow both looked, to where Vapor was on her feet, gun up. Wind Rider’s fingers lost their purchase and the strap slipped off.  He went to his knees, blood running down his chest.  One leg slipped, the boot going over the edge of the tailgate.  And then he was gone. Everyone caught their breath.  The tailgate began to close.  Rainbow walked over and sat beside Vapor.  She could feel nothing but her own skin against the seat.  She didn’t need wings for this. Vapor started to shake.  Rainbow put her arm around her.  That helped. Rainbow looked around the plane.  They were leaving.  It was still a long flight, but she could practically see the light at the end of the figurative tunnel. She let out a sigh that felt like she’d been holding it for months.  Fairer skies did beckon.  They were going home.