Chapter 16
The afterburners screamed as the Tomcat sped towards the approaching Su-37s of Meteor squadron. The fighters from AEGIS engaged the five enemies while those who were designed for attacking or had used up their ordinance were preparing to head back to their base, but Rhapsody had no doubts the elite gryphon pilots could handle them all if they had all stayed. She exhaled heavily and looked to her formation; Mythic and Sprig on her left and Amethyst on her right. The other planes kept pace with them, the Wonderbolts close by as well.
"Break off and engage!"
She narrowed her eyes, barreling towards the lead plane. All five broke off into five adjacent directions, and Rhapsody took enough initiative to take on the leader while the others broke off to engage the other four. Rhapsody threw her throttle up, her Tomcat going into full afterburner, yet still struggling to keep pace with the nimble Terminator. Rhapsody somehow kept the enemy in her sight, and she could feel the g-forces pushing against her chest.
The Terminator broke left and then sharply right, and the pegasus mare pushed her fighter to the absolute limits to keep it in her sights. She let off bursts from her cannon, each one falling short. "Wraith! Behind us!" Ditzy cried. Rhapsody looked back behind her in the turn and saw another one of the Meteor's screaming up behind her, managing to avoid Mythic's fire. Rhapsody had no choice but to break off to avoid being hit and evade an enemy lock.
The lead meteor got away and dove in after one of the MiG-29s of Timberwolf. Rhapsody had no time to try and rescue the pilot, who seemed to be dodging just fine. She had to focus on staying out of range or out of sight. The large Tomcat fighter spun left and right, spiraling through the sky with the enemy fighter hot on her tail. "C'mon," she murmured. "Break away!"
"He's still on us, I can just barely see him," Ditzy reported. She then hummed. "There's a seven on the nose."
"Not important Specter!" Rhapsody cried as she dove down and flipped onto the back and pulled the stick back to level out, just grazing the desert floor. Much to her ire, and though it was expected, the Meteor was still in pursuit.
"Damn this one's tough. Haven't gotten a lock yet," Seven reported.
"Is it the Ghost?" Eight asked.
"Confirmed. F-14A Tomcat, spectral horse insignia on the tail, it's her."
"Then watch yourself," Six ordered. "She's got to have some tricks up her sleeves. She's too crafty."
"Any ideas, Specter? I'm out!"
"I'm out of ideas too!" A burst of tracers flew by the canopy, and the Tomcat suddenly lurched hard. Rhapsody winced hard and she gripped the stick to regain control while Ditzy shrieked. She didn't even ask Ditzy for a report, but she gave one anyway. "He's hit just beyond the tail. It doesn't look too bad, but we can't take another hit like that!"
"Hang on ladies!" Soarin cried.
The two mares look back to see the familiar F-15S dive in and give the Su-37 a quick burst of cannon fire. The nimble Terminator rolled to dodge and broke off from Rhapsody's tail. She was clear and searched the skies to see who could use help. She didn't have to search long when she saw Amethyst rushing right by her with a Meteor with her dead in its sights.
Pulling up, she rose in behind the Meteor and gave a quick burst from her own cannon. It broke off and dove high into the sky. Rhapsody grimaced, seeing that she was once again in an upward spiral chasing an enemy fighter. Suddenly, the Meteor shook a bit and began to lose altitude. Blinking for a second, Rhapsody tried to see what was wrong. But the pilot must have been faking her out, since he suddenly pulled hard on his brakes. The terminator performed a full cobra, she was going to overshoot -
"He stalled!" Ditzy announced.
Rhapsody blanched and turned her head around. "What?" Craning to see, she indeed saw that the Su-37 had stalled in mid climb, something that shouldn't have been possible, and began to drop. Seeing her only chance. Rhapsody pulled her stick back into a somersault and dove straight down after the Meteor. He was spinning erratically, but managed to regain some control in the descent and leveled out a bit. Some smoke billowed from the turbines, and the aircraft seemed to shake.
But still, it was maneuvering to get away.
Taking a gamble, Rhapsody switched from her missile to her gun. Doing her best to keep him in her sights, she squeezed of burst after burst of molten hot tracers, adjusting her fire when needed. The Terminator rolled to the left and right, avoiding each one flawlessly. Rhapsody narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth to the point they would have shattered from pressure. "C'mon... c'mon."
She flipped to her missile. It hummed to life on her screen.
Tyr looked back, panting heavily. "She's on me! My rudder's too damaged! I can't evade!"
"Bail out, damn it! BAIL OUT!" Six cried.
"Hang on, Tyr. I'm coming!" Seven screamed.
The reticule circled around the weaving Terminator before settling on it and flaring red. A continuous wail blared through Rhapsody's helmet.
"Wraith, fox two!"
She pressed down. It shot off the rail, a spear of death soaring into open air.
The Meteor's rudder suddenly snapped. "I can't dodge it! Carde! HELP ME!"
"Tyr!"
The young gryphon looked back. He sobbed once, and life seemed to slow down as the head of the missile shattered the tail of the fighter. It was followed by fire. Lots of fire. He could feel the heat as it surged towards him, enveloping the canopy.
He didn't have time to scream.
The Su-37 exploded on impact, turning into a fireball as it pitched down and hurtled towards the ground.
"Holy shit!" Ditzy screamed, then immediately covering her mouth, having never sworn.
"She got him!" Mythic cried. "Repeat, Wraith just shot down a Meteor!"
"That's a confirmed kill on a Meteor, we got it from here. That's Sky Breaker and a Meteor down. That's a complete victory for the good guys. That was great work everypony. And well done, Wraith!" Scootaloo cheered.
"That's our girl!" Mythic hollered
"Woo! Good on ya, mate!" Sprig added.
"You got him! I can't believe you got one!" Amethyst chimed in.
Rhapsody panted heavily, eyes forward and a wide grin on her face. A Meteor... shot down... by her. She chuckled to herself and exhaled deeply. Leveling out, she smiled. An elite fighter from Gryphnia had been shot down by an ace of AEGIS.
Nothing could stop them now.
"TYR! NOOOO!"
Carde watched the flaming wreck rapidly spin towards the ground. His brother, his little brother, his too-damn-young brother, had just been taken out. "Six here, did anybody see a chute from Eight?" There was silence all across the radio. She growled angrily and shouted. "Repeat! Did anyone see a damn chute!"
"Ten here... that's a negative... no chute."
"You're lying! He bailed out!" Carde screamed angrily.
"I repeat. I didn't see a chute! No chute!"
Carde yanked off his oxygen mask, looking down, and managed to catch the explosion of the Su-37, Meteor Eight, slamming into the ground. It left a crater in the desert floor, and the proud Gryphon prince bit back a sob as he circled. His little brother... gone...
"Tyr…"
His mental mourning was interrupted by an alarm in the cockpit. But it was Six who announced the reasoning behind it. "All Meteor's, we're low on fuel. We need to get out of here, now."
"But six!" one of the other pilots tried to protest.
"No! We barely have enough fuel to get us back to Glacier, let alone to re-engage. I'd be surprised if we'd even be able to glide in. No, we need to bug out."
"And what about Tyr!" Carde cried.
"He's gone, Carde! Nothing's going to change that, I'm sorry."
Carde snarled. "No you're not. You're not sorry."
Six didn't bother arguing with him. She pulled her stick left and right, signaling the squadron to form up. Haphazardly, the Meteor's, now minus one, pushed to the north as fast as their fighters would allow.
It would be a silent trip back home.
It was opposite for the AEGIS planes. No one could stop their elated excitement over what had just transpired. Sky Breaker, the super weapon the Gryphnian King had used to threaten and later destroy anything airborne within range across Equis, had been destroyed in a matter of minutes. Then there was Meteor squadron; five had arrived to try and destroy them all, only to have one of their own shot down mere minutes after they had engaged. Two of Gryphnia's greatest trump cards beaten.
All done by one AEGIS ace: Rhapsody. The Wraith.
"I still can't believe we did it," the sea green mare murmured. Mostly to herself, but loud enough that everyone could hear it.
"You did most of the work, in case you didn't know," Rainbow chimed.
Rhapsody huffed. "I couldn't have done it alone, though. I hardly deserve all the credit."
"But you've earned most of it, filly," Soarin added. "Now let's get into formation and return home. Drinks on this Major!" Cheers escalated from there from the assembled wings. Rhapsody gave her own and began turning towards her friends. After regaining some kind of order and heading in the direction of their newly assigned base in northern Saddle Arabia, a foothold taken by ground forces and designated their new home whether they failed or succeeded. They had not only succeeded, but surpassed the expectations of all of the brass in Canterlot.
Ghost Wing took the lead, with Wonderbolt on the right, Timberwolf on the left, and Saber and Windigo taking up behind. Rapier, primarily attackers now, had already flown home, leaving behind a pair of F-15Cs. They hadn't lost any fighters to the Meteors, from what the pegasus mare could see. She allowed a wide grin behind her oxygen mask, sensing a full vic -
The tomcat abruptly shuddered in midair and she looked down at her console. A couple alarms began sounding in her cockpit and her rose eyes darted all across the buttons and monitors. "Specter! What's going on?" As if to answer, there was what sounded like one of her turbines choking. Ditzy looked back and frowned deeply.
"Those bullets went deeper than I thought; the right engine's smoking bad."
"I can see it," Mythic added. "It's like a chimney. Wraith, what do you feed this thing?"
"Wraith, shut it down. Save some power," Soarin ordered.
Rhapsody flipped a few switches and transferred power from her right turbine into her left. The turbine began to be starved of fuel and soon shut itself completely down. Her left gained all the power, keeping her aloft, but her rudder was still damaged and she was now down on one engine. Her Tomcat was severely crippled and losing thrust, even still.
"Doesn't look like I'll make it to the base on time. You guys go on ahead without me."
"Leave a wounded birded behind? I don't think so," Soarin countered.
"Well... we're gonna be late as is," Ditzy said.
"Wraith, we're sticking with you," Sprig declared proudly. "I'm not leaving my flight lead behind."
"Same here," Mythic said, surprising everypony with a concerned voice and dropping the jokester persona. "We'll stay with her as escort. The rest of you can go on ahead if you want."
There was silence across the frequency. Even Scootaloo was silent as if weighing the options. At last, it was actually Soarin who replied, "Are you sure you'll all be alright?"
Mythic chuckled. "You think I'm gonna let anyone touch my harem?"
"He's right," Sprig added. "Shade can be very clingy he wants to be."
"Like my ex-wife," the grey stallion murmured.
Amethyst blanched. "You were married once?"
"Ew! Hell no!"
The gathered planes shared a laugh. "Well... it's Wraith's call."
"I'll be alright. Just gotta take it easy."
Scootaloo huffed. "In that case, the rest of you follow Wonderbolt home. Ghost Wing, take it easy on the way in."
"Roger that," Rhapsody replied swiftly. And with that, everyone said their farewells and well wishes. Wonderbolt, Rapier, Timberwolf, and Windigo throttled up and soon left Ghost wing in the dust. Rhapsody sighed and looked back at her wounded Tomcat. A frown coursed her lips; her baby was hurt. Badly. It'd take weeks for this sort of damage to be repaired. And with Tomcats in short supply, being replaced all over, getting parts wouldn't be easy. Still, there was no way around it, and after setting her autopilot, Rhapsody leaned back in her seat. It would be a few hours till they got home.
"So... anypony know some good jokes?"
Four Meteors. Where there should be five.
Carde was seething, Six could tell. He hadn't said a word since his comment about how unapologetic she really was. Six frowned and looked back towards his plane. They had barely been in the air for a few minutes and he had said nothing. Usually he was quite the chatterbox, talking endlessly. Of course, that was when Tyr was in the formation. The younger gryphon was always right off Carde's right wing in the formation.
The spot was now empty.
It hurt her heart just a little, but this was war. Possessions could be taken, and clinging to something dear only makes it seem more precious for the enemy to take. Six could not afford to mourn. As her father had always told her, One shouldn't mourn the loss of a great warrior. That'd be disrespectful to their memory. The honorable and respectful thing to do is be thankful such a great warrior lived. Oddly enough, he had gotten the quote from an Equestrian General. And though young, Tyr was indeed a great warrior. He had his father's fighting spirit in him.
Whereas Carde had his mother's vengeful spirit.
There was a loud rush of turbines to her right. Craning her head back, she narrowed her eyes upon seeing Carde breaking formation.
"Seven!" she cried. "The hell do you think you're doing?"
He was almost a speck on the horizon when he finally spoke up. "That bitch killed my little brother! I'm gonna go find her!"
"Seven you're almost out of fuel. We can make it to Glacier, but you won't be able to make it back if you don't get back in formation!" Meteor Ten, to Six's immediate left, cried.
"I'll find a way to get back," Carde replied simply. "But I'm not going to let Tyr's spirit go without revenge! I'm going to vanquish this wraith, and I'll see you guys by the end of the week."
Soon he was out of sight and Six shook her head. "Let him go."
"But Six! He won't make it back."
"I know..." Six closed her eyes and sighed. "And he knows."
After a tanker was redirected towards their position for refueling, more than an hour had passed since the other wings had left, but Ghost Wing was still in high spirits.
"And he says, 'Nien! Nien! Can do no more!' and he says 'Why not?' and the Germane says, 'We think you are trying to escape!'" Mythic said, trying to hold back his laughing.
Sprig, Rhapsody, and Ditzy join him. The only silent one was Amethyst. "I don't get it."
Rhapsody wiped her eye. "That was good Shade, th-that was good."
"I still don't get it," Amethyst repeated.
"Sky Gazer here," Scootaloo called after an hour of silence. "We've got a group of bandits coming in from the northwest. Closing fast. Looks like the local defense boys missed a base."
"We'll take them out, mate," Sprig replied hastily. "Wraith, see if you can get low to the ground to avoid radar detection."
"Roger, good thinking. There's a ravine."
In less than a few seconds, the Tomcat was dropping altitude while the rest of Ghost Wing climbed and broke away. Ditzy shook her head loose of any drowsiness and looked around the area. Somehow, it had grown rather dark. Still, Rhapsody pushed down into the ravine, carefully navigating the mountains. "Shade here, we've engaged the Gryphnian fighters. There's at least ten up here!"
"Too bad. I was hoping for more," Sprig chuckled.
"I wasn't!" Amethyst countered.
"Wraith," Shade called. "Will you be okay for a little while by yourself?"
"Not a problem. Should have enough fuel for the tanker to arrive when i get to fumes. And this looks pretty straight. Sky Gazer, just let me know when the skies are clear so I can climb."
"Affirmative."
Carde narrowed his eyes, seeing that the volunteer fighters he had rounded up from a few patrol squadrons that had managed to evade the AEGIS's. They were occupying the three wing mates of the ghost. He grinned. "You'll be avenged little brother."
"What the hell..?"
Rhapsody quirked her brow. "What's wrong-"
"Wraith! Unknown bogey closing fast on your location at mach two!"
The pegasus mare's head became its own satellite as she swiveled her eyes in every direction. Ditzy joined her and soon the area was scanned by their eyes. "Negative. No visual-"
A torrent of cannon fire tore through the air around them. Rhapsody and Ditzy shrieked as they were pelted in a few spots. The rugged skin of the Tomcat took the hits, but the pilot could ill-afford another volley like that. As Rhapsody looked up, she caught sight of the culprit.
"It's a Meteor!"
"Alone? Out here?!" Amethyst shouted in disbelief.
"These fighters are a distraction! Clever bastard," Mythic sneered.
"We can't get to her!" Sprig announced. "There're too many bandits up here!"
Scootaloo screamed, "Get the hell out of there, Wraith!"
Rhapsody pushed her throttle up and dove further into the ravine. The Tomcat shuddered from the sudden injection of fuel, only one afterburner firing. She had almost forgotten how limited her maneuvering would be because of the damage caused to her fighter. The Meteor had every advantage in this fight, and both adversaries knew it. Still, she had to get out of there. Anything less than that was certain death.
She craned her neck around to catch sight of the Meteor. The Su-37 was bearing down on her. Alarms went off in Rhapsody's cockpit, indicating the gryphon pilot had a missile lock tone, not to mention leaks and damages to her rudders and flaps. Rhapsody ground her teeth and peeled off down a nearby pathway, heading the opposite direction in the mountain chain. The tomcat groaned in protest, but she pushed it. C'mon, she thought. Don't let me down now!
She weaved through the mountains, anxious to lose the Meteor from her tail. That wasn't possible, but she could damn well try, at the very least. The wings folded back to accommodate the speed and kept her maneuvering at the rate she needed. The Meteor's missile tone kept sounding in her ears. The sea green ears twitched and then folded back to avoid hearing the tone for so long a time. The mare began to hyperventilate, knowing that at any second he could fire.
"Wraith," Ditzy called. "I took a look at his wings as he was circling around. He's only got one missile."
"We dodge it, we'll be okay."
"That still leaves his cannon."
"We can still avoid that, at least a little."
Rhapsody and the Meteor continued their race through the web of ravines and mountains that littered the area around them. The Tomcat, seeming to sense it's near demise, lent Rhapsody every ounce of strength it had. She gripped the control stick tightly, hugging each wall of the canyon. The dueling fighters left an earsplitting echo through the area. It felt like hours as Rhapsody just focused on navigating the potentially fatal environment, pushing her engines farther than she had intended them to go. Her lone turbine was pushing all it had to keep the pilot alive. Rhapsody could feel sweat pouring down her face and into her oxygen mask.
Ditzy continued to call out the Meteor's location to her. He was swerving to try and get a clean shot through the twists and turns. Bullets from the Terminator's cannon warped the air around them with golf ball sized tracers. She could see the tracers darting past her canopy. Seeing a turn, she braked and pulled the throttle back and arched into a sharp turn, g-forces pushing on her body before she shoved the throttle back forward. Once again, the nimble Su-37 kept pace with her. She needed a plan and fast, but in a defenseless position like now, the mare had precious few options.
As if trying to dash her options, and actually succeeding, she failed to see she had turned down a dead end. Ditzy screamed and Rhapsody let out one of her own before she pulled the stick far back it was nearly touching her. The Tomcat arched up into the sky and into a half-somersault before she leveled out. Ditzy craned her head around and exhaled. "I don't see him. Maybe we lost- "
The missile alarm blared!
"No such luck!" Rhapsody rammed her thumb into the flare deployment button...
She did it again.
And again. "Flares are dead!" She could still hear the warning in her helmet. Beads of sweat turned into buckets as she rapidly pressed the button. Why wouldn't the flares deploy!?
"No... I can't shake him."
Carde grinned wide. "Gotcha..." His claw hovered over the button. "Meteor Seven, FOX TWO!" He jammed the button down...
He pressed again. "What the- Meteor Seven, fox two!" Again.
The screen flashed and showed his right wing and the single missile underneath. The missile icon was red, and the release clamps opened and closed rapidly. The damn thing was jammed!
Swearing violently, and running out of any little patience he had before, Carde switched back to the old ways of dogfighting.
"I think he was jammed!" Ditzy cried, none too excitedly. "He hasn't fired!"
Rhapsody exhaled as well, but then she stopped. "He might still have his-"
A furious hail of bullets tore through the Tomcat.
Sparks, the shrieks of the bullets tearing past her ears. Rhapsody let out a scream of terror she never thought she'd utter while she jerked the stick back and forth. The canopy tore as it became riddled with holes from the cannon fire. Alarms rang, warnings began blaring in her ears. Still, the bullets whizzed by her head. The sounds of shattering glass, torn and twisted metal resounded in her flattened ears. She could've sworn she could taste blood. Her wing was in searing pain. She could hear the air hissing around her.
Taste. Feel. Hear.
She wasn't dead?
Rhapsody raised her head and blinked. Sight! She wasn't dead! She looked around. They were still in the air! They could still fly! She grinned and grabbed the stick again to maneuver out of range of the Terminator. Judging by the breathing, Ditzy was still alive too. She must've been too frightened to say anything. That was fine. Rhapsody allowed her friend a moment to try and get herself together. The missile warning still sounded, letting her know he was still on her. And... she still had no way to -
"GET AWAY FROM MY FLIGHT LEAD!"
The Terminator suddenly flashed by her, an Hornet hot on his heels, the nose decorated with a particular snowflake design.
"PHANTOM!"
"Wraith! Get out of here!"
The Su-37 twisted suddenly and dove for the ground. Amethyst blinked and stared ahead as the Terminator twisted in its flight downwards. The number on the nose.
Zero-zero-Seven.
"You..." Amethyst hissed.
Throttling up, she pushed herself down behind the Terminator and fired off volley after volley at the tail of the Meteor. Some of the tracers hit their mark, sending chunks of metal past her. She remembered this number. She remember this particular gryphon fighter. Meteor Seven; the gryphon who had shot down her brother, and the pilot who had nearly killed her, as well.
Cracking her neck, Amethyst gained a newfound bravery as she chased the Meteor. The young crystal pony had heard Rhapsody utter the fateful line her brother shouted before he was killed. She had indeed frozen up. But, in that moment, she heard her brother talking to her. It sounded crazy, but she felt he was guiding her now. His hands were on hers, her maneuvers were his, his skills sent to her mind. She allowed a confident grin as she kept the Gryphon pilot firmly in sight.
Deciding to pull a simple trick during the dueling plane's sudden increase in altitude as he tried to pull away, she started to back off her throttle. Her gun reticule began to get closer to the enemy fighter. Amethyst narrowed her eyes. Just a little... closer...
The second the dot in the center of the reticule went just beyond the enemy, she yanked the trigger. The cannon in the nose of her Hornet fired hot lead into the air. Fire spewed from the nose like a spitting dragon and peppered the fuselage. She grinned and continued to fire until the Gryphon took a hint and throttled forward.
That was when she truly hit her mark.
Carde was launched forward as his Terminator shuddered and bucked violently. There was a huge plume of smoke billowing behind him and his rudder was shattered. He tossed his control stick left and right. Managing only to flight straight, he saw the Hornet scream overhead and begin to turn into him after flying far out ahead. He had to get the pilot before he got him! He began jerking the controls.
"Come on you piece of..."
"Shoot! Amethyst!" Rhapsody cried. "SHOOT!"
The square turned red. Missile lock.
"PHANTOM, FOX TWO!"
Carde yelled violently as he kept trying to turn his fighter. His rudder was destroyed, the controls wouldn't respond. He needed to get out of there! He needed to leave the battle! He... He belatedly began to hear the alarm.
Slowly, he looked ahead. He saw it... like a spear of death... trailing smoke...
"NOOOOOO-!"
It broke through his canopy...
The cockpit exploded into a furious display of fire. The Terminator broke apart in midair, forcing Amethyst to pulled up hard and narrowly avoid being slammed by the wreckage. Rhapsody watched in awe as the youngest, shyest, and least experienced pilot in their squadron take down the second Meteor of the day.
"Confirmed kill by Phantom!" Sky Gazer shouted. "Can this day get ANY better?!"
"That's Ghost Wing for you," Sprig replied triumphantly. "We can do anything!"
"We are the champion of the skies!" Mythic added.
"Tallied up the kills, we've got the ambush squadron and another Meteor on the books. Today has been a good day."
"You said it Scoots." Rhapsody then blinked. "Hey, Specter, you're pretty quiet. You okay back there?"
Silence... a very cold silence.
"Specter?" Mythic called.
The stillness in the Tomcat's cockpit was broken by... heavy breathing.
Rhapsody started to pale, blinking. "Ditzy..?"
"Rhapsody..?" Ditzy replied. Her voice was quiet, almost pained. The rest of the wing began to move around the wounded Tomcat to try and see.
"Oh no..." Sprig murmured.
The sea green mare turned her head back, finally seeing something that turned her skin almost as white as the clouds that began to gather around them. Her rose colored eyes widened. The canopy was red... deep red... as if splattered by... by...
"Rhapsody… I... I think he got me..."