>>27558727
>Okay, so before we start with the quest proper, I do have a little announcement. Since I suspect samefagging has tainted several important votes in the last thread, I'm implementing a new rule. If I suspect major samefagging in any particular vote, I CAN and WILL throw that vote out and call a revote under a more restrictive system.

Based Merc.

>>27558727
>4
Like so? Makes sense.

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>>27558727
OKAY, so last time, we all decided to send a small recon team to assist Hudson in scouting out an Erusean base. Now, we already have three of the four slots locked in:

Lucina, Falynn, and Morgan.

However, the choice of including Lucas or not was up for debate. Remember, I am running the RESTRICTIVE SYSTEM for the revotes, so please remember to post in the correct format or your vote won't be counted!

>1. Bring Lucas
>2. Do not bring Lucas

FIVE MINUTES

>>27558727

I'm getting flashbacks to Ghost Quest for some reason...

>>27558805
>2

>>27558805
>1

>>27558805
>2

>>27558805
>1
Let's test this out.

>>27558805
>2

Rolled 1

>>27558805
Will dice votes count? I can roll with either.

>>27558805
>1

>>27558805
>2.

>>27558805
>1

>>27558833
I would prefer you don't use dice.

>>27558826
you can't type anything other than your vote, that kills the point of using this system

>>27558805
> 2

Rolled 2

>>27558847

Ok. Since I kinda wanted to bring lucas but I also kinda wanted to see it from Falynn's eyes and its a either or thing.

>>27558805
>1

>>27558805
>1

>>27558826
Yeah, what >>27558855 said. Sorry, but your vote is disqualified.

>>27558805
>2

If we bring lucas can we still play a different POV?

>>27558805
>2

>>27558892
I'll put that up to a vote too, since there was a lot of consensus for it.

By the way, voting is closed.

>>27558894

Vote number only.

You should delete and redo.

>>27558805
>1

>>27558805
Okay, so it looks like we're not bringing Lucas along.

Now, there's too many squaddies to ask for numbers, so for your nomination for the last slot, I want the same format but instead a number I want the squaddie's first name (or nickname in the case of Runaround and Sparky) ONLY. You can freely debate who you want to bring along as long as it is separate from your voting post.

>Choose the replacement squaddie!

FIVE MINUTES

Huh. That was closer than I thought.

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27558969
Charlotte

>>27558969
>Falynn

>>27558969

Edwin, because that knowledge of the copper mines is fucking VITAL to the success of the mission.

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27558997
>>27559000
Yer both doing it wrong.

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27558998
We're uh, already bringing Falynn.

>>27558997
Stormtroopers are something we have in plentiful supply.

>>27558969
>Charlotte

Damn. Wanted Lucas along. Oh well.

>>27558969
>Edwin

>>27559009

That was an argument, not a vote.

And to add, AT firepower is actually important in case we screw up an have armor charging at us.

>>27559018
Thought we were voting for something else, sorry.

>>27558969
>Bragg

>>27558969
>Runaround

>>27559061
Runaround is like the antithesis of the stealth we're aiming for.

At least Edwin can ATTEMPT to stay quiet on foot.

Merc, I've got an idea. Perhaps once you announce the vote, people get 5 minutes to talk, then once that's up 5 minutes to vote. That way it becomes a bit easier to count votes, and everyone might vote a little smarter.

>>27558969
Okay, so it looks like we're still bringing Edwin along.

Now, the final revote, choose your POV character!

>1. Lucina
>2. Falynn
>3. Morgan
>4. Edwin

Remember, LINK AND NUMBER ONLY. FIVE MINUTES.

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>4

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>4

>>27559089
>1

>>27559089
>4

>>27559089
>4

>>27559087
I'll consider that next time.

>>27559089
> 2

>>27559089
>1

>>27559089
>1

>>27559089
> 4

>>27559089
>2

>>27559108

ARMCHAIR. Redo your vote.

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>2

>>27559089
>1

>>27559089
>2

>>27559205
A little late, bro.

Well at least we're making Merc's day by going with Falynn.

>>27559303
Yeah, of the choices, I would have picked either Falynn or Morgan, but I don't think we should have Morgan's POV until we find out the truth. IMO

Rolled 2

>>27559327

Would have liked lucas along too but thems the breaks.

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>>27559089
>So, it looks like we'll be playing as FALYNN in the next thread! Now let's get on with the side chapter!

You are LARA WILLIAMS, a freshly minted ace and a rising star among your fellow pilot trainees. However, even though you're officially an ace, it was against poorly trained and inexperienced opponents, so you've still got a lot to learn, which is why you're still flying under Edge's watchful eye.

Today, though, you're getting ready for a new mission. You sit in the briefing room with your fellow pilots as your wing commander, Colonel "Heartbreaker" Bartlett gives you your mission details.

"Alright, rookies, today we'll be flying top cover for the San Salvacion Navy." Heartbreaker points to a small dot on the map just off San Salvacion's western coast. "They're sending out a task force to reactivate an abandoned Emmerian naval base on Sand Island. This is a critical strategic position to keep the Canal open in case the Eruseans try to block it."

"What forces are we bringing? And what kind of allied support can we expect?" Wedge asks, raising his hand.

"It's just going to be me, Edge, and one flight." Heartbreaker says sternly. "We'll be supported by elements of the SS Navy as well as a squadron of Artemis fighters. They don't expect any heavy resistance, though, so a squadron and half should be more than enough."

"Who are we bringing, then?" Edge asks.

"We'll bring Blue Flight, since you seem to have such a glowing opinion of them." Heartbreaker turns to you and your wingmates. "I want to see what these rookies are capable of."

"Got it." Edge nods. "Blue Flight, get geared up and ready to fly in three hours."

"Yes sir!" The four of you salute.

"Also, Lara, I have a special task for you." Edge says. She never did call you by your callsign, for some reason. "We picked up some special gear while were stopped over at the Bastion. You're to meet me and Heartbreaker in the hanger in thirty minutes."

"Um, sure thing, Edge." You blink

(cont)

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>>27559417
Thirty minutes gives you barely enough time to dash back to your quarters and get changed into your flightsuit before dashing back to the hangar. Despite the designers' best efforts, navigating the Kestrel was still a massive chore which you suspect nobody would master until a couple years had passed. It also didn't help that the narrow hallways meant you had to constantly push and slide around to get through the crowd of aircrew and ship crew performing their everyday duties.

You finally reach the hangar, where you see Heartbreaker and Edge gathered around your Falcon. In front, you can see four large, cylindrical lances. However, instead of the pointed tips that you were used to seeing, these lance tips were rounded with a large, clear bulb at the end.

"Hey, what's going on, here?"

"New toys from R&D." Heartbreaker says. "New AIM-1 Smart Lances."

"Smart Lances?" You frown. You've never heard that term before. "What the heck are those?"

"Apparently, these things can aim themselves, or something." Heartbreaker shrugs. " Home in on an enemy plane's heat signature or something. It's all very scientific."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, Nemo specifically requested they be mounted on your plane." Edge explains. "Considering you're one of our better pilots right now."

"What about you or Heartbreaker?"

"Truth be told we're a bit old fashioned." Edge laughs. "We've spent years using guns and we think they work fine."

>So I'm just a guinea pig, then.
>So we only have four of them?
>Are they reliable?
>Other

>>27559551
>Are they reliable?

>>27559551
>>So I'm just a guinea pig, then.

>>27559551

>Other
SQEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>27559551
>So I'm just a guinea pig, then.
>Are they reliable?

>>27559551
>>Are they reliable?
Fuck AIM 1s. Pieces of garbage.

>>27559551
>Are they reliable?

>>27559551
>Are they reliable?

>>27559551
>>Are they reliable?

>>27559551
>Are they reliable?

I don't remember guided missiles doing so hot in Vietnam and I highly doubt they would do much good to us right now.

>>27559589
How well did they perform in real life when they were first introduced?

>>27559624
Probably shit.

Or slightly above shit.

>>27559624

Terrible.

Rear aspect tracking only and at near point blank range.

This is the AIM-9 Sidewinder, probably the A variant.

>>27559622

Those were the AIM-7s. BE GLAD WE'RE NOT SLINGING THEM.

>>27559624
The US had to tack back on gunpods on the Phantom IIs because they were getting the shit beaten out of them in Vietnam.

>>27559624
Not great. Like any new technology, the first ones were not reliable. Really, it was the AIM 4 that was first used. The coolant would sometimes screw up while it was still on the fighter, rendering the thing useless.

>>27559658

No, these are AIM-1s.

Look, Nemo are good, but guided missiles are finicky as hell.

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>>27559680

I'm talking about IRL equivalency. There is no AIM-1.

Go google search the image. Thats a Lima 'winder.

>>27559551
"So... are they reliable?" You ask.

"Well, that's what we're here to find out." Heartbreaker says. "They need to be properly combat tested."

"...that didn't answer my question."

"On paper, it's a 50-50 chance it will hit the target.' Edge sighs. "Though that's just Nemo's most conservative guess."

You frown. Well, you did sort of want to see these Smart Lances in action, but then again, it's going to be a lot of extra weight and drag to mount these on your Falcon.

>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.
>No thanks I think I'll fly without them.
>Other

>>27559719
>>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.

>>27559703
Yes, I know what bloody missile the image is depicting.

But the idea of Nemo matchin sidewinders is bloody ludicrous, considering how this is literally the first attempt at guided missiles in the world. At least the US had the wealth of experience finding out how shit the AIM-4 and AIM-7 in Vietnam.

>>27559719

>>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.

I suggest ripple fire.

>>27559719
>>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.

>>27559719
>>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.

>>27559719
>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.

>>27559719
>>Okay, I'll give them a try. Load them up.
We are meant to try them out, after all.

>>27559736

>comparing SAR missile tracking with IR missile tracking

>>27559798
There was a heatseeking variant of the AIM-4.

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>>27559719
"Okay, we might as well load them up." You sigh.

Heartbreaker nods to the aircrew and they quickly begin preparations to mount he smart lances onto your Falcon. Well, it could've been worse. They could've asked you to load up ground attack munitions.

"Edge, I trust you can handle things here." Heartbreaker nods as he strides off down to the other end of the hangar.

"Always straight to the point." Edge sighs and hands you a thick manual. "Here, it's Nemo's notes on how to most effectively use those lances. You should try reading up on it."

>Read the manual.
>Ask Edge about Heartbreaker.
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.
>Other

>>27559876
>>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.
Always good to ask for experiences.

>>27559876

>>Read the manual.

>>27559876
>Read the manual.

>>27559876
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.

Probably excellent performance, but shit endurance.

>>27559876
>>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.

>>27559876
>Read the manual.

Need to know how they work

>>27559876
>>Read the manual.

>>27559876
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.

I'm curious on her evaluation on Imp planes.

>>27559876
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.

>>27559876
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.

In RL, the BF-109's most glaring weakness was its poor range, which particularly hurt it in the Battle of Britain.

I doubt we'll be as able to exploit this when we're charging straight in the rebel heartland, so some pointers would be REALLY nice.

>>27559658
Oh, come on, the AIM-7 still had a 50% success rate. Problem was doctrine was based around a higher one. Against NVAF, it was basically a shot they could not answer.

During all of Vietnam, AIM-4s only got 5 kills.

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>>27560043

>Pk of the AIM-7E was only 10%.

The real question is: Why aren't we using the AIR-2?

>>27560114
Because A) nuclear warheads are hilariously overkill, B) I doubt we would even survive firing one, and C) nukes don't exist here.

>>27560151

I bet ol' Qs working on one.

>>27560087
Oops, my fail. Thanks for the correction.

>>27559417
>a squadron of Artemis fighters
DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwOJlOI1nU
>>27559876
>Ask Edge if she has any experience fighting Imp planes.
Screw the manual, reading's for those poor dumb sods on ground crew.

>>27560151
Bah, don't be such a Debby Downer.

>>27560157

Qs is ancient, and I have no idea how much my SoD can take with the Demons getting all of these special snowflake toys.

>>27560179

But Nemo already said hes been off working on some top secret project for years on years.

>>27560179
We'll probably NEED them when Artemis pulls their inevitable betrayal, considering they can somehow perform maneuvers that would tear the plane to pieces and turn the pilot into jelly REPEATEDLY during combat.
Yes, I am making fun of HAWX. The game was just so mediocre, and the plot holes, good lord the plot holes.

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>>27559876
"Actually, just a second." You say, setting aside the manual for now. "I was actually sort of wondering, do you have any tips for fighting Longswords? Or any other Imperial fighters?"

"You flew against Longswords last mission, you know."

"Yeah, well, that could hardly be called a fair fight." You point out.

"True." Edge laughs. "Well, Longswords aren't too bad. They don't have good turning radius or range, but they can probably match a Falcon in a dive or climb, so you want to try and keep it a turning fight. Plus their performance can get kind of wonky at high speeds. Other than that they don't have any other serious advantages over a Falcon. Now, Claymores, on the other hand, you've got watch out for. They're pretty much improved over the Longsword in almost every way. Their only real weakness is still their turning radius and high altitude performance. If you're up against a Claymore, keep the fight as high as you can. Got it?"

"Uh huh, thanks!" You nod.

Even though you still had a good two hours before the mission started, most of that time was taken up inspecting your plane and getting it through its preflight procedures. It wasn't long before you and Blue Flight were launching.

"Blue Flight, this is Kestrel. You are clear for takeoff. Good luck out there."

You push your throttle and your plane's engine roars as it shoots down the Kestrel's runway. There's a quick bucking and your plane drops a bit as the weight of your extra lances pulls your plane down a bit as you clear the edge of the ship. However, your engines power through it and you start to gain altitude.

"Note to self, apply more power when loaded." You mumble.

The flight to Sand Island was peaceful enough. So peaceful that you actually had time to just let go of the stick and skim the manual a bit as you flew. From the gist of it, you were supposed to get close to an enemy plane, shoot off a lance, and see what happens. Simple enough.

(cont)

>>27560192
The Manhattan Project took four years and hundreds of thousands of personnel in addition to millions of dollars to produce a nuke. My SoD will SMASH if the Demons are the first one to get a nuke, Ayn Rand-esque supergenius or not.

Good grief, let an actual NATION get the nice toys for a change.

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>>27560229
Assuming the lance didn't malfunction and blow your entire wing off. Nemo really could have left that part out.

"Blue Flight, this is Skyeye." You recognize the voice of the Kestrel's radar operator. "We're picking up contacts a few kilometers to your north. Can you confirm?"

You turn your head to the right and sure enough, you can see roughly a dozen planes headed in the same direction you were. Squinting, you could see that they were Mustangs with Artemis insignias painted on their tails.

"Confirmed, Skyeye. It's just the Artemis flight." Heartbreaker responds.

>We should go hail them.
>Let's buzz them!
>Leave them alone. They've got their own job.
>Other

>>27560243
Did I say millions? Sorry, meant BILLIONS.

>>27560243

You're speaking of the man who developed a working guided V-2 and MEGAFLOAT + its Ragnite reactor.

There is nothing beyond that crazy fool.

>>27560259

>We should go hail th-....

NAH

>Let's buzz them!

>>27560192
>>27560243
The Kestrel was the project Qyburn was spending all his time on, and he only managed to pull that off by convincing Belka to pool resources as well.

>>27560259

>>27560259
>>We should go hail them.

>>27560259
>>Let's buzz them!

>>27560272

I stand corrected.

Inb4 this is just a ruse for Merc to spring a real nuke later.

>>27560259
>We should go hail them.

Maybe these guys won't be total dicks and blow us off.

Just because their leader is an asshole doesn't mean that the entire organization is a monoculture of EVUL waiting to stab us in the back.

Also, they might be the HAWX team.

>>27560259
>We should go hail them.
No need to anger the amoral sociopaths.

>>27560259
>We should go hail them.

>>27560259
>We should go hail them.

>>27560270
I wasn't joking when I said that my SoD was at breaking point.

>>27560313

Pardon me but what is SoD?

>>27560259
>We should go hail them.

There is no such thing as a monoculture anon.

>>27560322
Suspension of Disbelief

>>27560322
Suspension of Disbelief. I think.

>>27560322

Suspension of Disbelief.

Generally when crazy shit happens, it's what allows you to ignore said crazy shit.

>>27560330
>>27560334
>>27560337

Ah. Cheers.

>>27560297
>they might be the HAWX team
So, utterly flat characters who I don't think have a single actual character trait?
Admittedly, that gives Merc plenty of space to work in for making them cool.
And I give HAWX shit, but it was still better than Assault Horizon.

>>27560337
>Generally when crazy shit happens, it's what allows you to ignore the implausibility of said crazy shit.
Sorry, fixed.

>>27560339

I cannot wait for INFINITY.

F2P be damned.

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>>27560357
>tfw you only have a PC

>>27560357
Infinity looks promising, but I still hold out hope for a return to Strangereal some time in the next gen.
Is it too much to ask for a game where the player character is a Belkan?

>>27560370

Get your PS3 on the cheap after PS4 launch.

>>27560379
Which my parents will never agree to.

Ever.

>>27560378

I think so.

That particular bit of strangereal timeline is quite well covered.

Unless you have something like VC3. Unseen and all the bullshit associated with that.

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>>27560259
"We should go say hi to them, shouldn't we?" You ask. "We're on a joint operation, after all."

"I suppose you have a point." Heartbreaker sighs, suggesting he didn't enjoy talking to foreign pilots. "Hawk Squadron, this is Blue Flight. Nice to see you out here."

There's a long moment of silence before a gravelly, voice that sounded like tectonic plates grinding together responds.

"Acknowledged. Don't get in our way."

"Well, he was certainly polite." Wedge says sarcastically.

"Shut it." Heartbreaker says. You can almost visualize him scowling. "I recognize that voice. It's Tombstone."

>Tombstone?
>You know what, screw those guys. Let's buzz them anyways.
>Other

>>27560396

Theres the old get a job (even a parttime job refrain). Earn it yourself.

>>27560378
I just want an HD remake of AC4, with maybe better flight controls. But keep the story and VA just exactly as it is.

>>27560428
>Tombstone?

>>27560428
>Tombstone?

>>27560428

>>You know what, screw those guys. Let's buzz them anyways.

>>27560428
>>Tombstone?

>>27560396
Dude, not gonna report you, but try and keep your underageb&ness better hidden.
>>27560428
>Tombstone?
So now we're flying with The Undertaker?
Oh god.
Lucas is gonna have a run-in with John Cena, isn't he? Please tell me we can make a fruity pebbles joke if it happens.

>>27560428
>>Tombstone?
Such a nice fellow.

Rolled 9, 2 = 11

>>27560428
>>Tombstone?
>>You know what, screw those guys. Let's buzz them anyways.

>>27560428
>Tombstone?

>>27560431

I don't think you quite understand, my parents will return it to the store if I ever bought one.

Don't get me wrong, I can't ask for a better set of parents personally, but some things aren't just going to happen.

>>27560434
And *I* want a non-butchered English language release of AC3.
It's just an opinion, but I think mine's the most worthy.

>>27560448
18, college, still living with my parents.

>>27560474
Move into the dorm and go 50/50 with your roommate on one. That's how I got access to an original Playstation back in the day.

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>>27560468

I want to fly the Delphinius line once more.

Them lines...

>>27560493
Eh, honestly I think that's too extreme. I'm not THAT desperate.

But I'm derailing the thread, so I'm cutting it off here.

>>27560515

Different anon but honestly, go live in the dorm.

It's a good experience. Freedom + responsibility for your own damn living space.

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>>27560428
"Tombstone?" You ask. You reckon that's Mr. Gravelly Voice's callsign. "What's up with him?"

"One of the coldest pilots you'll ever meet." Heartbreaker says. "They call him Tombstone because he's got a penchant for getting a lot of pilots killed, both enemy and friendly. Bastard even writes down the names of all the pilots he's killed on his plane."

"That's... pretty dark." Fleur gulps.

"Yeah, he's not a nice guy. I suggest you keep your distance from him." Heartbreaker warns.

Indeed, looking at the Artemis formation again, you can see the rest of the planes have put quite a bit of distance between themselves and Tombstone. Even his own guys were afraid of him!

"Either way, it's none of our concern." Edge cuts in. "And heads up, Sand Island is up ahead."

Before you, you can see a huge flat lump of sand jutting out from the middle of the ocean. The guys who named this island certainly weren't very imaginative. Surrounding the island, you can see little blobs that were the San Salvacion Navy ships busy securing the island.

"Blue Flight, I'm picking up radar contacts to the south." Skyeye warns. "Can't get a good read on it, but there's definitely something out there."

"Could be birds." Biggs suggests.

"Could be something else." Heartbreaker says. "Blue Four, the rookie with that stupid ribbon emblem, you're on my wing. We're going to go check it out."

Your eye twitches at Heartbreaker's words. You remember Edge mentioning that Heartbreaker was a firm believer in "tough love", in that he would constantly ridicule and belittle green pilots until they could earn his respect. Even so, it was really annoying.

>My emblem is NOT stupid!
>I'm not a rookie!
>Just stay quiet and follow him in.
>Other

>>27560698
>Just stay quiet and follow him in.

>>27560698
>Just stay quiet and follow him in.

>>27560698
>Just stay quiet and follow him in.
Time to fire up our best Chuck Yeager impression.

>>27560698
>>Acknowledge and follow him in.

"Roger."

>>27560698
>>Other
Affirmative.

>>27560698
>Just stay quiet and follow him in.
Don't distract anyone.

>>27560698
>>Just stay quiet and follow him in.

>>27560745
This, acknowledge and follow. We can have a drink when we get back and remark as to what a dick he is.

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>>27560698
As much as you want to talk back to him, you hld your tongue back. After all, Heartbreaker was your superior officer, and anything you did would reflect on Edge as well, and making her look bad was the last thing you wanted to do.

"Roger." Is all you can croak out before sliding in just behind him.

"Okay Rookie, how are we going to approach? High or low?"

Okay, now he was testing you. You pause and think for a second. Going high meant you had energy advantage as well as superior ambush positioning. However, if the enemy had radar support, they'd spot you from miles away. You COULD try flying in low, which would help you evade radar, but would give any potential enemies to get the jump on you.

>Fly high.
>Fly low.

>>27560889
>Fly high

>>27560889
>>Fly low.

>>27560889
>Fly high.

>>27560889
>Fly high.

>>27560889
>Fly low.

Stealth is our best friend here, and there's no reason to think that there are any enemies in wait, or at least enough to outweigh evading their radar.

>>27560889
>>Fly high.

>>27560889
>Fly low.

>>27560914
They have top-rate Imp equipment, it's pretty likely that they have radar.

>>27560889
>>Fly low.

>>27560889
>Fly low.

No people, just because you lot think bouncing is cool does not mean we should do it.

>>27560889
>>Fly low.

Stealthwork to verify.

>>27560889
>Fly low.

>>27560889
>Fly low.

We have the initiative here, and keeping away from radar would help us keep that initiative.

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>>27560889
"We should fly low. Staying off radar would be better in our situation, since it's likely we'd be outnumbered." You say.

"Whatever you say, rookie." Heartbreaker says, though you could swear he sounded a bit impressed. "Okay, keep an eye on my heading. We're going to try and loop around them rather than intercept."

You follow closely behind Heartbreaker as keeps you both below a thousand feet, which, in a plane, was perilously close to the ground. Fortunately, since you were over the ocean, it was nothing but flat water for miles around. Heartbreaker then executes a sharp left turn that you're barely able to match.

"Aha, there they are." Heartbreaker says as his plane levels out. "Shit, it's a squadron of Longswords, two o' clock high. Erusean, no doubt."

Sure enough, you can catch sight of around a dozen little silhouettes of planes several thousand feet above you. You were amazed at how Heartbreaker was able to ID them from this distance.

"All right, I'm going to go hail them." Heartbreaker begins to pull forward.

"Are you sure about that? Can't we just shoot them down?"

"Rules of engagement, Rookie. We're still technically at peace with Erusea so we gotta ask them to leave nicely first."

"You pick up altitude so you can into ambush position in case anything happens. You got that?"

>Yes sir.
>I don't think going in alone is a good idea.
>Other

>>27561096
>>Yes sir.

>>27561096
>>I don't think going in alone is a good idea.
never ever fucking leave your wingman

>>27561096
>>Yes sir.

>>27561096
>I don't think going in alone is a good idea.
No brainer.

>>27561096
>>Yes sir.

>>27561096
>>Yes sir.

>>27561096
>>Yes sir.

Hes got a plane.

Put a pilot with good evasion skills infront of a group of angry pilots.

This lets pilots who are good shots take aim and knock em from the sky.

>>27561096
>>I don't think going in alone is a good idea.
Nor is leaving him alone on the deck. Either we both go up for a look or both stay in the spray.

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>>27561096
You begin to question Heartbreaker's motives, considering Edge had constantly been bashing into your skull that ditching your wingman was a cardinal sin of flying. However, you get the feeling that Heartbreaker had something planned. Maybe.

"Yes sir." You say reluctantly as you begin to climb.

Meanwhile, Heartbreaker zooms ahead and shoots past the squadron of Longswords. He then cuts across the front of their formation to make sure they can see him and he throttles back to match their speed just to their right to make sure he wasn't in their line of fire.

"Unidentified fighters, you are entering San Salvacion airspace. Turn back immediately or you will be fired upon." Heartbreaker warns the Erusean fighters.

No answer.

"I repeat, you are entering San Salvacion airspace. Turn back immediately or we will open fire!"

And that's when you see it. One of the planes in the formation every so slightly begins to slide out to the right, in a position where he can get his guns onto Heartbreaker's tail.

>Call out the warning.
>No time! Dive and take him out!
>Other

>>27561273
>>Other
Fire one of the funky lances in their general direction.

>>27561273
>>Call out the warning.

>>27561273
>Call out the warning.

>>27561273
>Call out the warning.

DO NOT PRESENT OURSELVES AS THE AGGRESSOR.

>>27561273
>>Call out the warning.

>>27561273
>>Call out the warning.
We don't want to be the agressors.

We are calling out to Heartbreak on our own freq right?

This won't reveal us to the other planes, right?

>>27561273
>Call out the warning.
>Other

See if we can get a lock on the slidey one.

>>27561273
"Heartbreaker, you got a Longsword on your tail!" You call out.

"I see him." Heartbreaker grunts as he cuts down and to the left, swooping directly underneath the Erusean planes and coming on up on their left now.

"Unidentified planes, this is your final warning! Change heading and turn back or you will be fired upon!"

At this point Sand Island was starting to crest the horizon. In a few minutes these planes were going to be right on top of the island and the San Salvacion Navy.

"Skyeye, I've got a squadron of bogeys that refuse to redirect. Orders?" Heartbreaker asks.

"Just a second, we're confirming with San Salvacion Command." Skyeye response. "You're authorized to fire warning shots. If that doesn't work you can engage at will."

"Roger that." Heartbreaker then peels away, so he can get into position to fire a warning shot across their front.

And that's when you see a pair of fighters peel away after him. You're about to call out the warning again when you see tracer flashes.

"Rookie! Engage! Engage!" You hear Heartbreaker yell.

>Dive at the main group.
>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.
>Other

>>27561541
>>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.

>>27561541
>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.

We're his freaking wingman, cover him and retreat.

We're not going to take on an entire squadron of fighters by ourselves.

>>27561541
>>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.

>>27561541
>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.

>>27561541
>>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.

>>27561563
Of course, we're not on the level of William Barker yet.

>>27561541
>Dive at the fighters pursuing Heartbreaker.
Avoid using the AIM's, Heartbreakers' heat sig might get picked up in teh wash.

>>27561677
Keyword being "Yet"

>>27561541
You bank to pursue the guys going after Heartbreaker. At this point, you're sure the other fighters are coming in reinforce, so they can handle the other fighters.

However, Heartbreaker, to his credit, is handling himself pretty well. His numerous twists and turns keep the less maneuverable Longswords from getting a good shot at him while you line up the perfect ambush from above.

>Let's try out those new smart lances.
>Nah, let's just stick with guns.

>>27561733
>>Nah, let's just stick with guns.

>>27561733
>>Nah, let's just stick with guns.

>>27561733
>Nah, let's just stick with guns.

Fuck no, we don't want the fucking things getting a lock on Heartbreaker.

>>27561733
>>Nah, let's just stick with guns.
Stick to something reliable in order to clear our wingman's back. We can expirement later.

>>27561733
>Nah, let's just stick with guns.
Don't wanna risk the lance picking up on Heartbreaker's heat signature instead.

>>27561733
>>Nah, let's just stick with guns.

>>27561733
You're briefly tempted to let loose with the smart lances, but you realize that there's a good chance they could lock onto Heartbreaker instead. Looks like it's guns this time.

You nose your gunsight over the nearest plane and let loose.

>roll 3d20

Rolled 8, 9, 13 = 30

>>27561899
I love you, Dice-kun!

Rolled 4, 6, 13 = 23

>>27561899

Rolled 6, 16, 17 = 39

>>27561899
BRRRRRRRRRRRT

Rolled 20, 4, 7 = 31

>>27561899

Rolled 7, 14, 18 = 39

>>27561899

>>27561915
This is acceptable. Nice save.

Rolled 9

>>27561915
...

>>27561948
Your first burst misses, but you use the opportunity to correct your shot and you manage to walk your next few bursts across the Longsword's right wing, shearing it off. The fighter goes into an uncontrollable spin and plunges into the water. His wingman sees him go down and apparently panics, seeing as how he immediately breaks away from the pursuit. However, he made the mistake of turning AWAY from the rest of his comrades, leaving him an easy target for you and Heartbreaker, who executes an inhumanly tight turn to get behind the fleeing fighter.

>Go for the kill!
>Let Heartbreaker take him.
>Other

>>27561979
>Go for the kill!

>>27561979
>>Let Heartbreaker take him.

>>27561979
>>Let Heartbreaker take him.
In the mean time, get better positioning.

>>27561979
>>Let Heartbreaker take him.

We're the Wingman. Watch his wing.

>>27561979
You decide to let your lead take the kill and pull back a bit. Heartbreaker sees this and pounces, shredding the Longsword to pieces with stunningly accurate fire.

"Nice shooting rookie, where are the rest of them?"

You crane your head to try and find the rest of the fighters, and you see all ten of them headed straight for you.

"Edge, where the heck are you?" You yell through the radio. "We have ten hostiles bearing down on us!"

"Damn Eruseans snuck another squadron though. We're busy dealing with them. You'll have to hold out for a few more minutes!"

"Don't worry, Rookie, I've been in worse situations." Heartbreaker says as he turns to face the approaching planes. "There's a certain point in a furball where having a having more numbers actually puts you at a disadvantage. We're going to get in close and give them the fight they want.

>I'm with you, sir.
>Maybe we shouldn't fight them head on...
>Other

>>27562170
>>I'm with you, sir.

>>27562170
>>I'm with you, sir.

>>27562170
>I'm with you, sir.

Fire lances!

>>27562170
>I'm with you, sir.
Time for us to heed the lesson of the legend...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjso35OpXNk

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>>27562170
Okay, this was where things were getting serious.

Or exciting, depending on your point of view.

In either case, your heart starts pounding as adrenaline flows through your veins. This was the first battle where you were seriously outmatched, at least in terms of numbers. Tracers flew and stray shots pinged off your armor as the distance between you and the enemy planes began to close. You find your finger instinctively reaching for the missile launch button. If you were going to knife fight, you might as well free up some weight.

>Fire one lance as a test.
>Fire two to cover your bases.
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.
>Other

>>27562261
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

>>27562261
>Fire two to cover your bases.

One lance, two lance, red lance, blue lance.

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>>27562261
>>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

>>27562261
>>Fire two to cover your bases.

>>27562261
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

Lighten as much as we can before sticking ourself in a furball.

>>27562261
>>Fire two to cover your bases.

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>>27562261
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

ugh, finally got the right photo.

>>27562261
>Fire two to cover your bases.

File: 1380873288466.gif-(2.28 MB, 400x225, MissileLaunchDetected.gif)

2.28 MB GIF

>>27562261
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

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>>27562261

>FIRE ALL THE LANCES

>>27562261
>FIRE ALL THE LANCES.

LAUNCH LAUNCH LAUNCH.

>>27562261
"Firing lances!" You warn as you hit the trigger.

>roll 4d20

Rolled 12, 17, 14, 20 = 63

>>27562363

Rolled 20, 10, 7, 17 = 54

>>27562363

>>27562370
I think he wins...

Rolled 5, 8, 6, 16 = 35

>>27562363
DIIICE

>>27562370
Good shootin', Tex!

Rolled 19, 6 = 25

>>27562370
...

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>>27562507
You unleash all four of your smart lances at once and you see four columns of smoke streak out as the lances do their work.

Due to approaching head on, two planes don't even have a chance to dodge. The smart lances lock on to their huge ragnite engines and drill straight through their noses, detonating in bright balls of fire. However, the other two missiles take a bit longer to reach their targets, who now have enough forewarning to try and dodge. One pilot breaks hard to the right. The smart lance headed for him loses the lock and spins away harmless into the distance. The second pilot isn't quite so lucky. As he tries to pull away the missile slams directly into the belly of his plane, coring the entire fuselage and sending what was left down to the ocean below.

At this point the seven remaining fighters break in all directions, now obviously spooked that you took down three of their number in less than the same number of seconds. They break off into two groups, one in a group of two and the other a group of five.

>Go for the big group! More kills for us!
>Go for the small group. Easy pickings!
>Other

>>27562544
>>Go for the small group. Easy pickings!

>>27562544
>>Go for the big group! More kills for us!

MWAHAHAHHA

>>27562544
>Go for the big group! More kills for us!

THE BLOOD MUST FLOW

>>27562544
>>Go for the small group. Easy pickings!
Divide and conquer.
As for the missiles, that went better than expected.

>>27562544
>>Go for the small group. Easy pickings!

>>27562544
"What do you say, Rookie? Buffet or light snack?" Heartbreaker asks.

"I could go for an appetizer." You respond.

"Heh, I like the way you think." Heartbreaker laughs lightly as he turns to pursue the lone fighter pair. Realizing they're being pursued, both fighters break off in opposite directions.

>Split off and chase the other one.
>Stick with Heartbreaker and team up on one.
>Other

>>27562619
>>Stick with Heartbreaker and team up on one.

>>27562619
>>Stick with Heartbreaker and team up on one.

>>27562619
>Stick with Heartbreaker and team up on one

>>27562619
You and Heartbreaker single out and chase down one of the lone planes, like wolves hunting a wounded gazelle.

>roll 6d20

Rolled 2, 19, 20, 18, 7, 20 = 86

>>27562709

Rolled 5, 11, 12, 6, 14, 7 = 55

>>27562709
6x1 inc

Rolled 19, 11, 15, 3, 11, 6 = 65

>>27562709
Blessed art those who stay awake!

>>27562713
Nice rolls!

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>>27562713

Rolled 7, 16, 7 = 30

>>27562713
The plane doesn't even stand a chance under the combined weight of your guns. It disintegrates into pieces before slamming into the water below.

"Nice shooter, sir." You say.

"Your shooting wasn't too bad either, Rookie." Heatbreaker replies. "Good kill."

"It should be your kill, sir."

"...let's just say he got himself."

"Deal."

Suddenly you see tracers shooting past your cockpit. You scowl. That other pilot must have looped around to try and get behind you.

>Speed up and try and get some distance.
>Climb so you can get a better position.
>Try to out turn him to get a good deflection shot.
>Other

>>27562848
>Climb so you can get a better position.
Zoom away. Zoom far away.

>>27562848
>Try to out turn him to get a good deflection shot.

>>27562848
>>Try to out turn him to get a good deflection shot.

It's what Edge said to do.

Rolled 8

>>27562848
Your plane shudders as the enemy Longswords gets a few solid hits on you. However, your plane is still flying so you figure the damage can't be too bad. Remembering Edge's advice, you pull your Falcon into a hard turn in order to get a good shot in at your pursuer. Hopefully he'd be foolish enough to try and follow with his own turn.

>roll 3d20

>>27562848
>Loop over him.

Use better turning while keeping the energy advantage due to comparable climb, but better dive capability.

Rolled 6, 20, 14 = 40

>>27562967

Rolled 12, 2, 14 = 28

>>27562967

Rolled 17, 18, 19 = 54

>>27562967
ЬЩКУ ВФЛЛФ

Rolled 13, 4, 10 = 27

>>27562967
Serves me right for playing WoT.

>>27562974
Welp that mofo is toasted....

>>27562974

dayum sun

>>27562974
Nice rolls, my friend!