Fandom Ace Combat: Rebirth Of Razgriz

[ChoShadow]

Location: Areino Air Force Base, Osea
Time: 0430 Hours

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The sun hadn't come up yet, but 2nd Lieutenant Kasumi Okabe was wide awake and wearing a pair of short black gym shorts, a grey tank-top, a sweat band on her forehead, and jogging shoes as she jogged laps around the base. She wore a pedometer on her wrist to measure her progress, and at present she was just shy of hitting her 5 mile mark. She'd been out since around 0400, so it was around a 6 minute per mile average which was pretty good though she knew she could push harder and make better time if she put her mind to it.

When her pedometer beeped to let her know she hit 5 miles, she came to a stop and measured her heart rate. Since she just stopped running 5 miles, her heart rate was just over 122bpm. However it was falling fast as she breathed slowly and caught her breath. Within five minutes her heart rate would be back down to its normal 45bpm, as she had a strong heart and a powerful cardiovascular system thanks to both genetics and hard work.

She sighed and started walking back towards the barracks where she promptly found her way to the gym and grabbed a drink of water. Nobody was in here yet, so she had free reign of the place. So her first stop was the big sandbag in the corner. It weighed a total of 400lbs which made it a very efficient tool for strengthening her legs by kicking it as hard as she could. And it didn't hurt that it was also her favorite thing in the gym. Lifting and jogging on the treadmills and such was fun, but kicking the tar out of that bag was her greatest joy.

Kasumi set her water down and took her stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet before her right leg lashed out and slammed into the bag sending a tremendous *SMACK* through the empty gym and causing the bag to gently sway from side to side. She bounced on her feet, and kicked again. The bag swung a little bit more. She kicked again. And again the bag began to swing a little farther than before. That done, she switched feet and slammed her left leg into the bag causing it to slow down and swing less. She kicked again, and it began slowly swaying a bit further again. Another kick, and it swayed even further.

She repeated this 3 kicks per side pattern to keep the bag relatively still a total of 20 times before she stopped and took a breather. When she checked the clock it was 0445 hours which was acceptable. She had a bit more time yet before she'd need to make it to the briefing room at around 0730 hours for the briefing her squad was going to get regarding this afternoon's reconnaissance flight. It was expected to be the usual. Fly the route. Keep your eyes on the horizon. And come back without making a fuss.

Simple.

She did a set of 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, 100 calf raises, 100 back raises, 20 burpees, and a full 5 minutes straight of holding the plank position to finish her workout by 0500 when she grabbed her water and started making her way back to her quarters. She had two and a half hours to shower, get dressed, get some breakfast, and head for the briefing which was more than enough time.

"Should be an interesting flight today." She said as she walked out of the gym.

Even if it was a typical and casual reconnaissance flight, there was usually some entertaining chatter and banter to enjoy along the way. Especially with the colorful squadron she'd been assigned to.

Manticore Squadron was her group in which she flew the number 4 position.

The flight lead was currently Captain Charles "Windshear" Adams. To Kasumi and the others, however, he was just Charlie. He was an easy going man, but stern when in the cockpit. Though he tolerates casual banter and encourages camaraderie, he has his limits for how much banter he can take and when he says "zip it nuggets," that means you zip it and let him cool off until he says "okay, back to your quibbling."

Flying number 2 is Aaron James Riley, one of the more extroverted and adventurous members of the group. Though Kasumi wasn't nearly as outgoing as he was, she got along with him quite well given that both of them let criticism fall off their backs like water.

Flying number 3 is Ayrl "Church" Mikado, who Kasumi had met during Basic Training and whom had taken a liking to her use of the reflective coating modification to her plane and used it as well for his own F5-E Tiger II plane.

Flying number 5 is, Amelia "Dragonball" Hale who is the one Kasumi spent the most time with. While not the otaku that Amelia is, she is appreciative of Amelia's love of the smaller things in life and the fact that Amelia often likes to hum and sing which are two things Kasumi also loves to do.

Flying number 6 is Mikel Federer who was from Sudentor and who was arguably the most distant member of the squad. But given what he'd been through, it wasn't surprising that he was a quiet chap.

Flying number 7 is Robert Volk, who, like Federer, is a quiet and somewhat evasive chap who has little to say to the others unless it's directly related to their mission.

Flying number 8 is Justin "Calamity" Thorn who is something of the bookworm of the group. His love of the history and science of flight, and his ability to talk about them both for days on end if allowed to, makes him the go-to man for whenever the group encounters something they haven't seen before.

And finally, flying number 9, Johan "Hammer" Krieger. Being of Yuktobanian descent, he dealt with more than his fair share of racism among the cadets during Basic Training. Among Manticore Squadron, he fits in better since none of them really care about his ancestry so much as who he is now and what he can bring to the squad.

That rounded out the squad. And by the time she'd finished going over the information in her head she'd already finished her shower and dressed herself for the occasion. Their briefing would being in around one hour, giving her plenty of time to go to the mess hall and chat with whoever had woken up.

Whisker Commissar Darman LoneSniper87 Hammer Troll

 

[Hammer Troll]

Johan stepped out of his barracks building. it was a cool morning deceiving the fact that it was supposed to be 89ºF that day. it was 0500 though so it was still dark out, but the perfect time to get some fishing done and there was a small river at the south west end of the airbase. dressed in flip flops and a old pair of BUD pants from basic, cut off into shorts and sleeveless white shirt. he was ready for the warm morning before he had to get changed for morning brief.

Putting all that to the back of his mind he said aloud to the dark morning "that can wait for later. now is the time for fishing and I am a fisherman first". lightning a cigarette with his grandfather's gold Zippo from when he was a bomber pilot for yuktobania. he lifted his fishing pole and tackle box over his shoulder and started for the river. "Wait!" he said to no one in particular "Adrain's sister just transferd into the squad many I should wake her up and take her with me after all I do have an extra pole?. That is what I'll do. she's probably been up all night playing that Monster&Caves game again so it should be fun to ruin her morning" cracking a grin Johan headed her barracks building humming the song katusha that his father taught him when he was younger. when he got too her barracks room he let out three loud beats on the door and said"Now is the time for fishing not sleeping Amelia. So stop being lazy like your brother"

After saying that aloud he realised how lonly he's been since his brother and Adrian transferd too the Kestrel, being underway on a carrier all the time they never really had time to talk to him any more. So he was hoping Amelia would go fishing with him. "It would be like having a small piece of the Kerwin Island with him for a little while.

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Building 417, Areino AFB, Osea

0500 Hours



Manticore’s number 2 flight was a lot of things, but never had he been a morning person. Had it been allowed, he would never have attended a briefing before 0900 hours at the very least. But as it so happened, life in the military had a funny way of kicking you straight in the gnads if you even considered trying to be lazy or goof off. If it wasn’t some Hierelark T.I. storming into the barracks and screaming as if someone had punched his mother, it was his own damned peers who sometimes didn’t understand the meaning of the word sleep.

For the second time, A.J. rolled over and buried his head in the pillow, trying to block out the absolutely horrible electronic music booming from next door. Eyes peeled to slitted emerald cracks checked his watch: 0500 hours.

Absolute ass o’ clock in the morning.

“Someone for the love of God shoot me now,” he groaned as the boom-boom of a bass seeped through the walls.

When he could stand it now longer, A.J., or Wildcat as he was called in the cockpit, rolled sluggishly out of his bunk and hit the ground on all fours. He rubbed his face with the hem of his sleeve then reached for the stool he had placed in the corner.

“Oi! Cut that shit out, will ya?”

He beat the chair against the wall for emphasis. The music lowered a tad, but still loud enough that he still could’ve been in the middle of a rave.

A really shitty one at that. This party doesn’t even have drinks.

Though perhaps it was for the best. If he went wings up while wasted, the Base Commander would probably die from a coronary explosion … but only after he had taken his butt with him.

But what else was new, right?

A.J. dressed quickly, his usual charcoal-colored muscle shirt and fatigues. He forewent any kind of embellishment outside of brushing his teeth and mildly flattening his hair. Then he snatched up his headphones and headed out into the hall, locking the door behind him. At the bottom of the stairs, he found another one of his mates, Johan (“Hammer”), standing just outside the door of Amelia.

"Now is the time for fishing not sleeping, Amelia. So stop being lazy like your brother!”

A.J. cracked a grin.

“Yeah. Preach, brother. If A.J. can’t get any sleep in this place, no one can.”

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder though the onslaught of ear-rape was much softer down here.

Of course, the damage wasn’t anything a cup of real fresh-brewed coffee and a mess of flapjacks all over some tunes wouldn’t fix.

Hammer Troll Commissar Darman LoneSniper87 ChoShadow

 

[LoneSniper87]

Aryl was sat up outside, a water bottle in his left hand and a ham, egg, and cheese sandwhich in the other. He was eating his meal and watching the sun rise, sporting some cliché aviators, a grey long-sleeve and some black track pants. It was about 0545, and he had been up for about an hour and a half doing his daily routine of hitting the sandbag, running the treadmill, as well as some other basic calisthenics for the morning. He had walked out at about 0445, and went to get shower, change into some more comfortable clothes, and grab breakfast. He usually started very early, as it gave him time to the things he wanted, like watch the sun rise.

He stood up from his position, finishing off the sandwich and headed inside, deciding to wander the base for another couple of hours, or at least until briefing. "Supposed to be a simple mission... But nothing is really all that simple." He said under his breath. He walked to the mess hall, not hungry anymore but he still went seeing as most people were probably eating by now. He spotted Kasumi as he entered and he gave a gloved wave her way as he walked, taking a seat across from her. "Morning, Kasumi. How was your night?" He asked, leaning forward as he set his water bottle down, taking off his aviators and folding them, then letting the side hold itself on his shirt. His heterchromatic eyes now revealed, his blue eye was noticably piercing, as it always is due to the dull contrast of the grey one.

Hammer Troll Whisker ChoShadow Commissar Darman

 

[Commissar Darman]

Throughout her life, Amelia has come to the realization that there are in essence two kinds of people. Those who are the early bird, and those who are not. Amelia, if one could guess, is one of those who aren't. so when the banging started on her door, one should expect an exaggerated response. With her head buried in her Pillow, Amelia let out a surprisingly loud growl. She was gonna kill him. Only one person here had the balls to wake her up this early and as she heard Yohans voice, it only reaffirmed her desire to do what she had in mind. Throwing her blankets to the side. Amelia, still in her sleeping attire of an over sized T-shrit and panties, moved to the door and flung it open. There, not even an arms length away, was Yohan. "Yohan, You dick!" she yelled as her right arm came forward for a gut shot.

Not waiting for any kind of response, Amelia just grabbed Yohan by the collar and dragged him into her room and shoved him towards the chair in the corner. Poking her head out one more time, Amelia noticed A.J. on the stairs. "oh, Morning." she greeted with a small smile. "sorry about that. now if you'll excuse me. I need to get dressed." Slipping back into her room while shutting the door, Amelia let out an irritated sigh. Turning around, Amelia just glanced at Yohan as she walked right past him towards the bathroom."I hate you right now, you know that?" She didn't wait for a response as she shut the door and began her morning routine.

 

[Hammer Troll]

Yohan say in the chair of Amelia's Barrack while she was getting ready for her day to start. "Is it alright if I make me a cup of coffee?" he asked Ameila. while walking over to her kureg machine she kept on the table. while the machines gargled and spewed the hot brew he started thinking, shes becoming very beautiful. As he thought he started blushing. he shook his and said to the anime figure standing on top of the coffee pot "get those damn thoughts out of your head Johan, Adrian and Steling would kill me" blowing the steam off his coffe he went back to his chair to wait for Ameila to get ready.

As he sat down he looked at his fishing gear laid on the floor. " Hurry the he'll up woman the fish ain't gonna catch them selves!"

 

[Gyrwulf]

BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEP! Groggily Justin woke up to the infernal machine next to his bed. "Who ever designed you better find himself in the deepest circle of hell" he said to himself as he slapped the device silent. He painfully opened his eyes to the early morning sunrise. "Definitely shouldn't have stayed up with the ground crew last night." he said with a shrug, as he started getting ready to face the day.

As he was heading out of the barracks he glanced at his watch and noticed he had a whole hour before the briefing. "Guess I could swing by the hanger to see if our work last night held up before grabbing a quick bite" he thought to himself as he headed down to the planes. Spending a good half hour going over his beautiful F-14 he decided he really should get something to eat before the briefing and made his way to the mess.

"Good morning Ma'am, Good morning Riley" Justin said as he took his seat next to them. "Are ya'll ready for today's scenic tour?" He ask with a smile.

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Building 417 - Mess, Areino AFB, Osea

0515 Hours



The door opened and Amelia stepped out, her golden hair disheveled and eyes blazing hot. A.J. gawped at her openly as she aimed a pot-shot right into Johan’s gut.

“Johan! You dick!”

Damn, and I thought I was pissed off …

Green eyes flicked to the latter who seemed taken aback or otherwise stunned by her outburst. Was this a normal thing between them? A.J. figured so. He’d heard that some of the flight had been in training with each other before receiving their orders. He considered them the lucky ones.

As Amelia grabbed Johan by the collar and pulled him into her bedroom, her eyes found his. Perhaps because he didn’t go by the name ‘Johan’, her expression changed on a dime.

“Oh, morning!”

“Uh … Morning.”

“Sorry about that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed.”

Had she never said anything, A.J. might never have realized that she wasn’t wearing any pants. But as she had chosen to speak up out of her own volition … Well, he couldn’t help but kinda notice himself. Color surged to his cheeks as he caught a glimpse just before she closed the door.

Just another normal day in Manticore squadron . . .

With the morning spectacle now over with, A.J. plugged his headphones in and ambled in the direction of the mess, his attention span wandering along the way. As he exited the building out the side door, he caught a brief glimpse of Ayrl, or “Church” as everyone called him, in conversation with Kasumi, who judging by her appearance, had just come back from road work at the gym.

That’s the fifth time I’ve seen her there this week. Is she training to be a fighter pilot or a Shaolin monk?

He was sure she logged more hours there than half the squadron put together. But hey, everyone’s had to have their something, right?

As for him, it was gonna be waffles with extra syrup.

When he arrived at the mess, most of the tables were empty. He took a tray and helped himself at will before selecting a place over by the door. As he began to wolf down his bacon and scrambled eggs, it opened. He glanced up in time to see Justin Thorn pull up a chair.

“Y'all ready for today’s scenic tour?”

“You bet your ass I am,” A.J. said around another mouthful. He never missed an opportunity to take his baby out for a spin. “Heard you had a late night on the tarmac last night. How’s she looking?”

Hammer Troll Gyrwulf Commissar Darman LoneSniper87 ChoShadow

 

[Commissar Darman]

Fixing her hair, Amelia was just about finished when she once again heard Johans voice. "OH shut up!" She yelled back. Stepping back, Amelia made sure she didn't forget anything. Turning around, she then grabbed her Flight coveralls and put them on, Tieing the top half around her waist, Revealing the white tank top that she swapped into earlier. Stepping out of the bathroom. She strolled over to her bed and sat down as she proceeded to put her boots on. "You do understand we don't exactly have the time to go fishing right now right?" she asked, glancing at Johan. "You should go get ready for the briefing and when the mission is over, We can go fishing." Standing up, Amelia walked up Johan and took the cup from him, Where she proceeded to finish the brew of Vanilla coffee as she headed towards the door. "Besides, that when the big ones tend to appear."

 

[Hammer Troll]

Johan sat in the chair nursing his coffee, when Ameila came out of the bathroom tieing the arms of her flight suit. "You should go get ready for the briefing and when the mission is over, We can go fishing." she said. He sat thinking maby he was to brash in waking her up, after all this was Ameila not Adrain, as much as she was similar she just wasn't as used to him and his personality. "Your right Ameila, thought we'd have more time. But I'm gonna head back to my barracks on stow my gear, grab my flight suite and hit the mess hall" throwing on a fake smile, worried he'd been a bother he left. lightning a fresh cigarette as walked back to his room.

Finally dressed and with a fresh head. he made it to the mess hall and saw most of his squad sitting at a table he yelled out "HEY GUYS I'M GRABBING A TRAY. Y'ALL WANT ME TO GRAB Y'ALL ANYTHING ON MY WAY THOUGH"

 

[ChoShadow]

Kasumi was sitting down with a fresh bottle of water and a light breakfast trey in front of her when Ayrl approached and sat down to greet her.

"Good morning Ayrl," she said pleasantly.

"My night was rather uneventful, but that's what I get for being so boring compared to the others." She said with a chuckle.

She sipped her water and set the bottle down next to her plate.

"How was your night?" She asked.

LoneSniper87

 

[LoneSniper87]

"Same here, besides not sleeping much. But then again not many did with that party going on..." He said. "But good to hear your boring night went uninterrupted, Ms. Average." He joked, grinning slightly as he glanced down. He rose from his seat, glancing to Kasumi a final time. "Imma get suited up, be back in five." He told her, then proceeded to jog back to his room and get suited up in the grey flight coveralls. He then jogged back, slowing to a walk as he neared the mess. His aviators were back on, and he entered once more, sitting back down next to Kasumi. "Back from my darkng and life-risking suicide op." He told her.

 

[ChoShadow]

Kasumi chuckled at his mentioning of not many people sleeping thanks to the party last night.

"No kidding." She said.

He then mentioned going back to get suited up, and that he'd be back in five or so. She gave him a nod and a wave, and after he took off she heard Johan yelling over asking if she wanted anything.

"I'm good Johan. Thanks!" She called back.

Ayrl came back a few minutes later dressed and seemingly ready to go, and she laughed genuinely at his little joke about his "daring and life-risking" suicide mission.

"I trust there were no complications along the way?" She joked back.

Knowing him, there'd be something silly that happened such as him perhaps bumping his shin against the leg of a table or something.

Still it was good to be able to relax and just chat and joke like this. Most of the pilot's she knew didn't actually want to have to fly in wartime, as it meant two things: One, they'd be forced to fly against other people and kill them all in the name of what would undoubtedly be political stupidity. Two, they'd be flying in the shadow of the Razgriz from the Circum-Pacific War.

Osea's claim to fame and her main war-deterrent was the legacy of the Razgriz pilots from the Circum-Pacific War in 2010. Those five legendary pilots led her to victory against powerful odds, even shooting down the SOLG satellite before it could detonate over Oured which would have been the death of Kasumi as that's where she lived during the war as a child. She owed her life to those pilots, and as proud as she was to be flying the same skies as they did she knew she'd never measure up to them.

But then again, she wasn't here to measure up to them. She was here to do her part and be the best pilot she could be.

Hammer Troll SirDerpingtonIV LoneSniper87 Whisker Commissar Darman

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Mess, Areino AFB, Osea

0520 Hours


“Hey guys, I’m grabbing a tray! Ya’ll want me to grab ya’ll anything on my way through?”

A.J. glanced up from his conversation with Justin and grinned.

Looks like Johan and Amelia made it down without tearing into each other like cats and dogs after all!

“Naw, man! I’m cool –“

“I'm good Johan. Thanks!”

At Kasumi’s almost instantaneous reply, A.J. swiveled his head and caught sight of her and Church sitting a few rows down. He rapped Justin on the shoulder.

“Hey, let’s condense some space.”

He jerked a thumb over in their direction before hopping up and sauntering down the aisle to plink his tray down in the space beside Kasumi.

“Yo … Hey, we’re eating breakfast in our flight suits now? Sheesh, no one gave me that memo.”

A.J. chuckled wryly and then sat down, his expression turning almost sober as he glanced from one to the other.

“Guess it means you guys are ready to go.”

Not that he could blame them. When he was a trainee at Hierelark, he could never have imagined that flying could be the least bit fun. He’d lie awake in his bunk after a long day wondering if he’d made the right choice in following his father’s footsteps, or whether it was too late to toss in his wings. But now that he’d finally made it through all the bullshit to the grass on the other side, he couldn’t imagine anything else finer than kicking off the runway in his baby for a run across the skies with these guys.

They were the only band of brothers he had left now.

ChoShadow Gyrwulf Hammer Troll LoneSniper87 Commissar Darman

 

[LoneSniper87]

"Other than the me losing a shoe after I got ready, smooth flying." He said. That damn shoe cost him a few minutes of searching that shouldn't have happened. He glanced over to A.J. as he sat down, and acknowledged him with a nod.

"I guess this is the fun side of the room, yeah?" He joked. "Anyway, who's ready for today's op? Should be simple, nothing but flying and talking shit. Maybe me singing or humming my playlist, but that's optional." He looked away for a moment, losing himself in thought.

He thought about how famous Razgriz was, and how they saved millions from death. He wondered how in the name of God they were supposed to live up to such a big shadow, and it seemed nigh impossible to top that legend. He snapped out of his thoughts a few minutes later, looking up at Kasumi and A.J. again.

 

[ChoShadow]

Kasumi couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit at A.J's remark about there being a "memo" regarding eating breakfast in flight suits.

"Nah, no memo. Just a good old fashioned overachiever attitude." she replied with a smile.

Kasumi was usually seen in her flight suit when not at the gym, and today was no exception. She was fully dressed in her flight suit and ready to go to the briefing even though it was still around two hours away.

"Oh, that reminds me A.J." She said as she glanced in his direction.

"Did they send out the data on the route we were taking today?" She asked.

Normally, given that Areino Base was only around 50 miles from Sand Island, they typically flew East along the coast about 10 miles offshore until reaching the area around Port St. Hewlett. From there they usually flew North passing over the southern peninsula that served as the opening of the Eaglin Straits, flew over and past the Straits themselves, and then continued North for another 100 miles or so before returning to base.

But she had heard a rumor the other day that this time they'd be flying Westward towards Sand Island and potentially a little further out to sea before curving North into the Ceres Ocean. Why they were being directed out to the middle of nowhere was anyone's guess if the rumor was true, but at a guess Kasumi believed that the higher ups were just looking into a few new options regarding reconnaissance. It couldn't hurt to have a few occasional eyes in the sky along the oceanic borders they'd established with Yuktobania after all.

SirDerpingtonIV Whisker Commissar Darman LoneSniper87 Hammer Troll

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Mess, Areino AFB, Osea

0517 Hours


A.J. reached for the butter tin and heaped it liberally over his biscuits. Once he deigned them soft enough, he placed the tin back in the center of the table. Across from him, Church awarded him a small nod.

“I guess this is the fun side of the room, huh?”

He chuckled and reached for his coffee, stirring the sugar in with one hand while using the other to lazily prop up his chin.

“Yeah, an absolute party. I should’ve salvaged the leftover cake.”

He winked to indicate return fire before taking a long sip from his mug. Grimacing due to the scorching heat, he set the drink down, wiped his chin with a napkin, then gave Kasumi a playful nudge with his elbow.

“Okay, okay, Gym nut. Call out the slacker, why don’t you?”

Though his sleepy expression perked up with veiled interest as she inquired about the day’s mission a few seconds later.

“What? Oh yeah. Charlie did mention something to me about it last night,” he said before taking another sip. “Got us headin’ out at a weird vector today. It starts like the usual route towards Shubrick, but then we turn out 250 and start riding the air defense network towards Yuktobania. Sounds like a total waste of time if you ask me. Ain’t nothing out there but water!”

There was Sand Island, but thanks to budget cuts and the usual political bullcrap, it was hardly the military might it had been even a few years ago. All that had trickled down onto the backs of the pilots stationed at McNealy and Areino. And now to make matters worse for’em, it looked like they were trying to incorporate Sand Island’s flying routes into Areino’s usual schedule.

“Seems like a goddamn good way to stretch us out pretty thin,” he remarked to no one in particular.

Here’s to you, top brass.

ChoShadow LoneSniper87 Commissar Darman SirDerpingtonIV Hammer Troll

 

[Hammer Troll]

“Seems like a goddamn good way to stretch us out pretty thin,” A.J was saying too the group as Johan sat at the table next to every one, grunting mid sit and adjusting his 1911 holsterd and digging into thigh. Satisfied he nodded and finished sitting down. "So....whats the mission today? We scaring the shot of seagulls, or are we causing another stampede up north around all that farmland?" Johan said grinning behind a spoon full of grits. leaning next to A.J before taking his bite. " Sorry for the Rukus earlier"

 

[LoneSniper87]

Aryl grinned at the comeback: "There was cake? God damnit no one told me!" He responded, acting distraught. He got serious again as he listened to A.J. speak about the course. "Fair point about the water. But where there's water they are most likely ships, and the only ships I care to worry about are the ones that shred us into oblivion. Perhaps they are worried about some naval fleet. Not that that is likely. Hell maybe it's just a fluke and we get to scare the dolphins rather than the cows." He added on, standing to grab another water bottle from the food area. "I mean seriously, what are the odds of getting attacked? Someone tell me." He said, screwing off the cap and taking a long swig before screwing the cap back on.

He leaned forward, folding his hands together. "Or perhaps..." He said, sounding ominous. He looked to everyone and grinned. "Or perhaps we are actually already captured by some stealth attack on command, and they are ordering us into and enemy armada of warships and fighter jets to send us off to our death." He said, his voice getting darker by the syllable. "But knowing us we'd get out with our planes so riddled with bullets we'd have gliders!" He lightened up, adding a short laugh to show he was joking.

Commissar Darman Whisker ChoShadow Hammer Troll

 

[Commissar Darman]

Stepping into the mess. Amelia was within earshot of the group as she got herself two more cups of coffee. One with vanilla and the other straight. Mornings, how she hated them. Heading over to the group She overheard Aryl talk about a theoretical ambush to kill them. Sitting down next to Johan, Amelia spoke up. " As interesting as that sounds. I highly doubt thats the case. all with the second fleet in that area." Taking the straight coffee. Amelia downed the whole thing, violently shuddering while making a slightly disgusted face. "Whoa! thats strong."

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Mess, Areino AFB, Osea

0525 Hours

“Looks like we’re a couple of shorebirds today instead of cowboys,” A.J. said as Johan joined them and began spooning down his grits. “Bonus points to the unlucky S.O.B. who gets one o’ them sucked into their jet engine just as we hit the Ceres.”

He’d only flown out that way once since leaving the icy straits of Hierelark airspace, but he remembered the gulls. There seemed to be thousands of them, squawking and laughing by the shoreline. On a nice sunny day like today, they were sure to be out in their own formations.

He sighed and took a bite from his biscuit. He then listened as Church gave his own thoughts on the matter: “Fair point about the water. But where there's water they are most likely ships, and the only ships I care to worry about are the ones that shred us into oblivion. Perhaps they are worried about some naval fleet. Not that that is likely. Hell maybe it's just a fluke and we get to scare the dolphins rather than the cows.”

“Shit, and risk their precious multibillion-dollar fleet in a time of cutbacks on just nine pilots? Not a chance.”

It wasn’t like they were the Razgriz or anything. Hell, most of ‘em had just graduated from basic fighter pilot training. And besides, the world was at peace again, too exhausted from all the bickering of the past.

Yeah, just another simulation dog-run.

He couldn’t help but snort into his coffee at Church’s next theory.

“I’m starting to realize where your callsign came from. No credit given to the good guys at all.”

If you could call their rag-tag group of misfits the ‘good guys’.

At that moment, Amelia broke through the lines and sat down next to them, clearly still disgruntled from earlier.

“As interesting as that sounds. I highly doubt thats the case with the second fleet in that area.”

“True. We’re probably going to go give them a flyover before headin’ back.”

That said, he pushed his tray to the side and stood up before glancing at his watch.

“Got an hour or so before showtime. I’mma go visit my baby in the hangar and get suited up. I’ll meet you fellas in the briefing room.”

LoneSniper87 ChoShadow Commissar Darman HammerTroll SirDerpingtonIV

 

[ChoShadow]

Kasumi listened to the ever evolving conversation and sipped at her water the whole time.

The fact that they had so much time before the briefing was a bit of a drag to her. She wanted to get to the briefing and get to the flight, as that's where they always had the most fun. Being in the air was always where she enjoyed herself most... At least that's what she told herself.

Kasumi had this theory that if she told herself in her mind over and over again that she enjoyed being in the air the most her fear of heights would go away that much faster. It seemed to have been working for the most part thus far as it seemed her fear had diminished a tiny bit ever since she received her plane. Little by little she was chipping away at it, but her fear of heights was still a potent issue she had to deal with which was why she generally enjoyed the reconnaissance flights where they stayed at an altitude of around 2,000 feet where she was more comfortable so long as she didn't look around too much.

Kasumi sipped the last of her water and stared at the bottle for a moment before getting up to throw it away in the recycling bin nearby. While over there she walked over to a nearby window and looked outside to check the weather. This morning was shaping up to be a beautiful sunny day, and she hoped it would stay that way. Something about the blue skies cheered her up compared to cloudy or overcast days.

Whisker Commissar Darman SirDerpingtonIV Hammer Troll LoneSniper87

 

[Hammer Troll]

After vigorously scraping every grit Johan could get with his spoon, he shoveled the last bite down and chased it with the last of his apple juice.

Standing up with a grunt from eating a little to much. crack his pattented Johan grin. he said out loud," think I'll head to the hanger mshelf. check on if the techs are behaving. Claymore gets a little testy when she's not respected." Walking out of the mess after dumping his tray, he stopped by kasumi starring out the window at the sky.

Tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention he said"We have a saying in Yuktobania, little monkies with there heads in the sky trying to catch the clouds are the first to find the end of the tree." cracking a smile he looked at her and said "But me I say fly, fly as high in the clouds as you can, till you fall only then will you know just how far you can reach" with that he started to whistle as he headed out to check on his cantankerous phantom who lived to give him hell.

ChoShadow

 

[ChoShadow]

Kasumi turned when Johan tapped her shoulder, and she smiled as he gave her a few words before moving on.

She returned her gaze to the sky and wondered what her brother, Daisuke, must have been doing right about now. Since it was peacetime he hadn't been given a chance to prove his worth yet, but she was certain he was Ace pilot material. He'd been a pilot now for around six years, and his skill with a plane was second to none as far as Kasumi was concerned.

Most likely scenario was that he was either out flying reconnaissance, flying a patrol route further East, or somewhere in Oured enjoying a "vacation" day. He did love skipping to visit Oured and see their family, after all. Not the best thing for a "model" pilot to do, but he did so very sparingly since he wasn't given many days to himself.

She chuckled at the thought of him being in Oured and went back to the table to let everyone know she was going back to her quarters. She was going to take a 30 minute nap and then read a new book her mother sent her until it was time for the briefing.

She left everyone's company and went about her self-imposed tasks, and time seemed to fly right by (no pun intended) before she found that the meeting was only 10 minutes away. She made her way to the briefing room, finding herself among the last to arrive, before taking a seat and waiting for Charlie, their flight lead, to come in and give them the rundown of their flight today.

Whisker Commissar Darman LoneSniper87 Hammer Troll SirDerpingtonIV

 

[Whisker]

A.J. Riley

Briefing Room, Areino AFB, Osea

0725 Hours

A.J. was one of the first to reach the briefing room. Showered and changed into his flight suit, he sat near the window with one blue and white earphone dangling from his ear. He was reading the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, but glanced upwards as the door opened and a few of the others filtered in. He scooted his chair over to make room, then glanced upwards at the clock.

7:25 AM.

5 minutes until the party really got started.

He placed his magazine to one side, dog-earring the page as he did so, and then turned his gaze out the window to where the sky was waiting.

Just as I thought. It’s gonna be sunny – a perfect day to fly.


ChoShadow Commissar Darman Hammer Troll LoneSniper87 SirDerpingtonIV