>>499203
>>Sit at one of the empty tables and chat more with Zeus.

>>499203
>Sit with the Brits, see how they are doing

Need a tie-breaker.

>>499203
>Sit at one of the empty tables and chat more with Zeus.

Gotta check in with our ROI

>>499203
>>Sit with the Brits, see how they are doing.

>>499203
>>Sit with the Brits, see how they are doing.

File: The wing parts, it's all (...).gif (8 KB, 401x284)

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You lead yourself and Zeus over to one of the empty tables by the exit. Partially because you wanted to eat your food with less distractions, and also because you wanted to check in on your RIO.

"So, do you know what the damage is?" You asked Zeus as you sat down. "You're more friendly with the ground crew than I am in any case."

Zeus was silent for a couple of seconds as he chowed down on his meatloaf. One of the few things that the navy cooked that they didn't fuck up. Though once he was finished he laid it on you.

"Well it was pretty serious to begin with. They had to perform an engine replacement as we had burned through our previous set quicker than they had expected." Zeus paused for a few seconds to take a drink. "When they were pulling them out the crew chief decided to give the bird an extensive check to make sure everything was good, turns out there was extensive metal fatigue on the wingbox and pivoting systems. So that required a total replacement."

"How long would a wing replacement take?" You asked your more knowledgeable comrade.

"It should have taken a few hours with the tools that they have here. But then another problem arose." At this point, Zeus's expression darkened. You knew that look, it was the look he gave when somebody had fucked up.

"They got it finished in a couple of hours, then they decided to run some tests so that the bird would be in prime condition for flight-ops. That way they could turn in for the night." Zeus sighed and shook his head. "Long story short, they started the port-side engine and it ate a wrench that some dumb ass had left out. Whole thing was totalled. What's worse is that the engine splintered badly, sent some shrapnel into the already running starboard engine which forced an automatic shutdown."

You sighed at the news, you always checked your bird and found nothing. Your crew was usually more professional.

"So yeah." Zeus continued. "That's why it's taking so long. Apparently they were up all night ever since that happened and roped in an extra team, it might be fixed by now but I'm not sure."

You sighed again. You would have to check in with your crew chief as soon as possible for a report.

>Continue talking with Zeus.
>Finish up your food as fast as possible and head off to find your crew chief.
>Other (write in)

>>499385
>>499388
>More votes for the brits come in as I'm writing.

Figures...

If you guys want to write in that you want to talk with the Brits then I'll factor in those 2 missed votes.

>>499398
You can skip it if you like thinderhead. Atleast on my side.

>>499425
I'll skip it for now and wait for more votes to come in. If no votes come in 45 minutes then we'll default to that.

>>499389
>>499398
It's no biggie. I should've shown up sooner to vote. Either way:
>Talk with the Brits

We might be able to see if they're having maintenance troubles as well.

>>499446
lets talk to the brits

>>499446

Nah I'm all good at the moment

You and Zeus finished your food in silence after his report, you wanted to get a report from your crew chief before your next flight, which was at around 14:00. Though when you checked the clock as you and Zeus went to put away your plates, you realised that it was actually 13:18, so you had a bit of time to kill.

"So, we have a bit of time spare." You started, grabbing Zeus's attention with the unexpected start. "I'm gonna chat for a bit with the Brits. You wanna come with?"

Zeus paused for a couple of seconds, checking the large clock on the far side of the mess hall before responding. "Yeah, sure."

With that, you made your way over. The Brits were still sitting at their table, you remembered that their flight had been pushed back as their wingmate's bird needed an engine replacement.

"Hey Razor." Slider greeted as you walked over. "You are you doing?"

"I'm doing good Slider." You responded as you sat down opposite to them. "I was just wondering how you both are doing."

"We're doing good, though both ours and Durendal's birds are down for servicing." Slider reported, sounding slightly down at the mention of their aricraft.

"I'm pretty sure everybody's birds are down. Our jet is undergoing a whole load of repairs and Scorpion's jet is having an engine replacement." You tried to comfort her. "I'm pretty sure that the only person who hasn't had any problems is The Boss himself."

"Yeah, but ours is down for a stupid reason." Slider clarified, but before you could ask what the reason was, it was presented to you.

"I told you, there is something wrong with that bloody set." Mags spoke up defensively. "Hell, we never had that problem when we were using the Blue Reynard set back in the FAA."

"There is no problem!" Slider spoke up, her frustration at her picky RIO boiling over. "The set in our bird is pretty much the same as the Blue Reynard, and you never complained then!"

"It's not the same you dolt." Mags shot back. "You couldn't tell a faulty radar if it was dropped on you damn head!"

Both of the girls glared at each other, tensing up in preparation for a pretty big argument.

>Intervene. This is an embarrassing thing to fight over.
>Don't intervene. You want some entertainment.
>Walk out. You have better things to do than get involved.
>Other (write in)

>>499536
>>Don't intervene. You want some entertainment.

>>499536
>>Don't intervene. You want some entertainment.

>>499536
>Intervene. This is an embarrassing thing to fight over.

File: NAS Miramar, you are some(...).jpg (3.05 MB, 2832x2128)

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For a second, you toyed with the idea of intervening. But after almost a month of non-stop flights you were in sore need of some entertainment. And either way, it looked like they needed to vent.

"At least I actually managed to finish flight training, my little back-seat bitch." Slider responded, her voice low and wrathful. A hurt expression flinched across Mag's face for a second, as if she had just been smacked. But her expression hardened before she returned fire.

"I may be a back-seater, but at least I don't like things up my back-side!" Mags shot back before turning to look at you and Zeus. "What the fuck is up with these posh bitches being into freaky shit?"

"Both of you, cram it!" Zeus spoke up, quietly but forcefully. He wasn't looking at either of the girls when he spoke. You glanced in the direction he was looking and instantly understood why he chose to intervene.

CINPAC was making his way inside, thankfully though it looked like he hadn't noticed the argument.

"Fine." Slider responded frustratedly, before then addressing her RIO. "We'll deal with this later."

Mags only nodded in response as CINPAC made his way over.

"Ah, Poole and Shawcross. I've been looking you both." CINPAC said as he arrived at the table. "Would you both mind coming with me?"

"Yes sir." You and Zeus both responded at the same time, before standing up and walking out with CINPAC. You shared a look with both Mags and Slider as you left, both of them were dong their best to look as calm as they could, but you could tell that they were just putting on a face to keep CINPAC from catching on that anything was going on.

You walked out with your commanding officer, walking line abreast. Everybody was silent for a few seconds before CINPAC broke the silence.

"Tell me something son,how do you think we're doing tech-wise?" CINPAC asked. "Are we providing you with the best equipment we can be giving you?"

>"I guess. I've noticed that a lot of the jets on the base have been upgraded to D standard since we've got here."
>I'm not sure I can really speak for the entire USN."
>"I don't think so sir, the D model is great and all but she lacks significant air-to-ground systems."
>Other (write in)

>>499651
>"I don't think so sir, the D model is great and all but she lacks significant air-to-ground systems."
He's asking for input, not ass-kissing.

>>499651
>"I don't think so sir, the D model is great and all but she lacks significant air-to-ground systems."
Always got to be ready to hit some ground targets.

>>499651
>"I don't think so sir, the D model is great and all but she lacks significant air-to-ground systems."

File: hanger.jpg (49 KB, 700x438)

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"I don't think so sir, the D model is great and all but she lacks significant air-to-ground systems." You answered CINPAC's question as honestly as you could. "Zeus also tells me that the radar occasionally glitches out, and it isn't limited to us. The Brits have the same problem too."

"Yes. We had expected that." CINPAC continued as the 3 of you walked on, you remembered that the route you were on would take you to the hangers.

"I'm going to be honest with you son, the USN is in a bad situation. When it comes to tech, the 'cat is a great bird. But the F-15's electronics beat it hands down. And that's echoed with practically all of our birds." CINPAC continued. "The Air Force plans to upgrade their F-15s with some pretty hot tech. Upgraded radar, fly by wire controls and new strike packages to make them a great multi-role. And our response? The D model, and as you said it's pretty lacklustre."

You listened intently as CINPAC levelled with you, nodding for him to continue.

"Hell, their whole ATF program, which was meant to replace the F-15 spawned a replacement for the FB-111s. Meanwhile we're still using the A-6 and 7. And they are getting too old for front line use. And with both the Reds and the Chinks developing newer and newer tech, we may be falling behind on a grand scale." CINPAC sighed, this was obviously a subject that he talked about out of necessity, not out of leisure. "Congress has been throwing around the idea of stationing Air Force birds on our carriers, and lets face it, the moment that happens is the moment I resign."

As the 3 of you walked past your hanger, you asked a very simple question. "So what's the plan sir? There has to be some way to deal with this."

"Oh we've got plans in motion son. And that's why I'm talking to you." CINPAC continued as he flashed his card to a pair of armed marines, patrolling around the hanger that the 3 of you were walking towards. Said hanger was guarded very heavily, with at least a full platoon of marines, HUMVEEs and even a tank on guard.

"The widening gap hasn't gone unnoticed by the aviation industry. We've had proposals from both McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Grumman among others. And we've chosen a pair of jets that I want you to choose between." CINPAC said as the 3 of you reached a door on the side of the building, hidden from view by plywood dividers and guarded by a pair of burly marines.

Before he opened the door, he paused to look both you and Zeus in the eyes.

"This is it son. If you want to back out now then you can. You can go back to flying D models, or you can take a look at the cutting edge." He paused, before adding. "You'll still be flying with VF-21, we still need you on the front."

>"I'm in sir." (Take a look at the jets)
>"I'm out sir." (Refuse to see the jets)

>>499808
>"I'm in sir." (Take a look at the jets)
>implying that there is any other option here

>>499808
>"I'm in sir." (Take a look at the jets)
My dick is gaining altitude.

>>499808
>>"I'm in sir." (Take a look at the jets)

"I'm in sir." Your response was immediate and blunt. And thankfully you didn't have to wait long for Zeus's answer.

"Same here sir." Zeus responded, from his tone of voice you could tell that he was excited to see new tech.

CINPAC smiled smugly, as if he knew your response before you even opened your mouth. "Very good." He said happily as he opened the door and lead you and Zeus inside. You only made about 5 steps inside before you stopped dead in your tracks, shocked at what was displayed in front of you.

Sat before you were 3 jets, each one was crawling with engineers, checking the aircraft's internals. From left to right sat and F-15, an enlarged F/A-18 and a familiar F-14.

"Hey Razor." Zeus began, his voice dictating his confused excitement, like a kid at Disney World that couldn't choose where to start. "Is that our bird over there?"

Zeus pointed to the F-14. And sure enough, you could see that one of the tails was painted in the blue-grey splinter camo that was unique to your bird.

"Yes it is." CINPAC answered for you, having stopped a few paces in front of you and turned to face the pair of you. He gestured at the parked aircraft and simply said. "Pick a plane to start with, and we'll go over them in your order."

You couldn't help but grin, this was the best thing that could happen today.

Well, short of spontaneous strippers, but you can't have everything.

>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.
>Start with the F-15. What the fuck is it doing here?
>Start with the F/A 18. Why did they make a light fighter fat?

>>499890
>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.

>>499890
>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.
Okay what did they do to our bird?

>>499890
>>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.

>>499890
>>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.

>>499890

>Start with the F-14. You want to see what happened to your baby.

File: F-14E changes.gif (13 KB, 523x437)

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Your choice was simple, you walked towards your jet. Intent on seeing what they had done to your bird. As you reached the aircraft, a lady in a suit walked out form behind the nose to greet you.

"Hello Mr Poole, Mr Shawcross. My name is Ellie Baker, I'm from Grumman." She introduced herself and extended her hand to you. You shook her hand as she continued. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Well I hope you heard good things." You responded as she shook Zeus's hand.

"Indeed. Admiral Harris has told me great things about the pair of you." She responded, before returning to business.

"We decided to use your bird as the basis of our F-14E, ENCAP. Partially because it was scheduled for overhaul, and also because we wanted to demonstrate that all of our upgrades could be applied to every F-14 in the fleet." Mrs Baker explained, before gesturing back to the 'cat

"We re-designed many things about it in order to make it better than all other Tomcats in the world." She continued as she gestured at the jet, you could already see some re-designed parts.

"Where would you like to start?" She said as she turned back to you with a smile.

"Let's start from the nose and work our way back, leaving the cockpit for last." You said simply, trying to maintain at least some look of professionalism.

From Mrs Baker's grin, you could tell that you had failed.

"Well then, let's start with the nose." She patted her hand on your bird's nose and continued. "We upgraded the radar to a pulse-Doppler system and upgraded the Fire-Control system to match it. We were planning on fitting a new AESA set but delays have put it off by years, so this is the next best thing. You have full look-down shoot-down capability for ground attack. The IRST has been upgraded to better detect IR signatures a range and feed them directly into the Fire-Control computer."

She then pointed at the canopy, which was open. "We swapped out the canopy for a single-piece setup, should give you better visibility. It's also made out of a new synthetic material which makes it lighter and stronger. We also improved the ejection sequence so it's now safe for you to eject in a flat-spin."

"That's good." CINPAC spoke up. "That was always a point against the 'cat."

"Yes, well in any case we also re-designed the wing-gloves, rounding them off as leading-edge extensions. It should give you more manoeuvrability." Baker continued as you walked over to the wing. "We also increased the size of the control surfaces along with installing a fly-by-wire system. Your bird is the most responsive bird in the fleet."

When the 4 of you reached the tail of your bird, you noticed the re-designed nozzles. But your question was answered before you could ask it.

>CONT

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>>500003

"The engines are the biggest overhaul. We installed a pair of General Electric F110-129s, giving you 13,154kg of thrust each. Giving you super cruise capability, something that only the ATF birds have. And with Thrust Vectoring, you have unsurpassed manoeuvrability." Baker continued, as if in response, the nozzles wiggled up and down.

She lead you back around to the port side of the jet, to the boarding ladder. "We also lightened the jet, making her roughly 10% lighter with more fuel."

You climbed up the ladder and took a look into the front seat. Instantly being met by a great sight.

Where the D model had cut down on the number of buttons, this new E model had practically removed all the buttons.

"We re-fitted the cockpit. We were able to get some help from Lockheed and essentially stole the YF-22's setup." Baker called up from the ground as you gave room for Zeus to climb up and take a look at his station. "Your RIO can send data up to one of the screens. In addition we overhauled the electronics. You have a new electronic defensive suite, new chaff and flare launchers, along with better radios. Not to mention comfier seats. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!"

You jumped down, loath to not test out the seats. But you needed to ask a pressing question.

"What kind of weapons can we sling?" You asked simply. And your response was a smile and a single word.

"Everything." Baker said happily. "You have new sensors under your fuselage to supplement your nose-mounted set. Along with that comes enhanced ground attack and anti-shipping capabilities. Not to mention the lower radar cross section, making it harder for radars to track you."

You nodded in response, utterly taken aback by the overhaul your bird had undergone.

"So son. Which bird do you want to see next?" CINPAC asked, only to pause for a chuckle. "Though it looks like you've made up your mind."

>"You guessed correctly, when can I fly her?"
>"Actually, I want to check out the F-15 first."
>"Actually, I want to check out the F/A-18 first."
>Other (write in)

>>500005
>"Actually, I want to check out the F/A-18 first."
good to see what our options are before we go making choices this big

>>500005
>>"Actually, I want to check out the F-15 first."
Even though it's pretty obvious which planefu is best, we should check the others out anyway.

>>500010
vote changed, i dont care which order we do them in

>>500005
>"Actually, I want to check out the F/A-18 first."
Gauge all other options to see how inferior they are. Leave my most_ favorite choice for last.

>>500005
>"Actually, I want to check out the F/A-18 first."

>>500020
i will change again to break the tie

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"Actually, I want to check out the F/A-18 first." You responded. While you loved the 'cat and you could do marvellous things with it, you wanted to see what the competition was.

"Well let's get to it them." CINPAC responded, sounding slightly confused by your actions.

"Good luck with the inferior aircraft." Mrs Baker said as you walked off, confident that the F-14E would win.

You walked across the room to the F/A-18, where a man in suit waited to greet you.

"Hello Admiral Harper, Mr Poole, Mr Shawcross." The man greeted each of you with a handshake, apparently being more of a company suit than anyone of the development team. "My name is Mr Alex Denbigh."

"Well Mr Denbigh, Grumman set the bar pretty high with their new Tomcat. Can your new Hornet beat it?" You greeted him and got right down to the brass tacks.

"Of course we can!" Denbigh responded triumphantly before gesturing to the Hornet. "Meet the F/A-18E Super Hornet! She may not be a looker but she can blow the Tomcat out of the sky!" He gestured you to follow him as he walked around the aircraft.

"We up-scaled the old F/A-18 by 25% and increased her internal fuel capacity. Though thanks to the ingenious use of leading edge extensions and new fly-by-wire systems, we can out-turn the F-14A and B. Even when they are flying in their most favourable conditions." He gestured to the aircraft's wings, which were fitted with empty adaptors to signify the jet's hardpoints. "We have more hardpoints than F-14, allowing us to carry more bombs and missiles than the Tomcat."

"How many?" You asked calmly, still not fooled by Denbigh's obvious sale's pitch.

"11 hardpoints, 5 of which are plumbed for fuel tanks." Denbigh continued, regardless of your displeasure at such a meager gain. "And we have superb range. 1,250 nautical miles with only 2 AIM-9s loaded."

"What about speed?" You asked, trying to find where the Hornet was meant to shine.

"Mach 1.8 at top speed. So practically a rocket!" Denbigh tried to push, obviously having no idea about the capabilities of either the F-14 or F-15.

"Does she come with any extra features? Thrust Vectoring? Electronic Warfare systems?" You continued to ask as you climbed up to the F/A-18's cockpit. Just like the Tomcat, almost all of the buttons had been replaced with MFDs. But they had all been placed recessed and angled up towards the pilot, creating little alcoves which couldn't be seen easily by the pilot.

"No gimmicky thrust vectoring here. Though we do have AN/ALQ-99 integration for electronic warfare." Denbigh explained as you climbed down.

"And weapons?" You asked your final question, finding yourself underwhelmed after seeing the F-14.

"She can haul anything in active service right now." Denbigh answered happily, apparently convinced that he had swayed you in favour of the F/A-18.

>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?
>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.
>Other (write in)

>>500091
>>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?
Wow. That Super Hornet was pretty lame.

>>500091
>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?
Hopefully they do better next time.

>>500091
>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?

>>500091
>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?

>>500091
>>Check out the F-15, maybe it's good competition for the Tomcat?

File: Naval F-15 (5).jpg (43 KB, 640x379)

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With your talk with the F/A-18 team leaving a bad taste in your mouth, you decided to check out the final aircraft. The F-15 would hopefully be better.

As you approached, you were greeted by another man, though thankfully he wasn't a suit-and-tie businessman.

"Hello Admiral Harper, Mr Poole, Mr Shawcross." The man greeted each of you with a firm handshake. "I imagine that it will take a bit to convince you of the F-15N's capability. Considering that Boeing doesn't have much experience with carrier aircraft."

"All things considered it probably won't be as bad as the F/A-18." You confided, before getting down to brass tacks. "So, what does the F-15N have that the Hornet and Tomcat don't?"

"We have a very modular setup. Thanks to our new Fast-Packs, you can have your jet configured with extra fuel, EW systems, buddy refuelling systems, extra hardpoints for more weapons and photo-reconnaissance. We also have a fast-pack in development that can hold internal missiles, allowing you to be armed with minimal drag." The Boeing rep gestured to the Fast-pack attached to the starboard side of the aircraft, which was being show holding 2 AIM-54 Phoenixes. Behind the aircraft was an array of possible fast packs, each one showing a different configuration.

"What about speed? Is she still as fast as before?" You asked as you walked around the jet.

"Not really, the addition of extra hardpionts and structural re-enforcement for carrier landing lowered her top speed to Mach 2, as opposed to Mach 2.3. Though we made up for it by improving the manoeuvrability and adding more hardpoints." The rep reported glumly, hinting that he was a former pilot.

"Speaking of which, how many hardpoints does she have?" You asked as you reached the tail, the unmodified nozzles telling you that she didn't have thrust vectoring.

"She has 6 hardpoints as standard with a maximum of 10 with specialised fast-packs. That's the exact same as the F-14." The rep answered, sounding slightly happier. "Additionally, we overhauled the EW systems to boot."

"What about range and load capacity?" You asked as you checked the cockpit. The F-15N's cockpit was noticeably more archaic than the F-14E and F/A-18, with only 3 MFDs and a number of dials.

"She has a range of 1,700 nautical miles with fuel tank equipped fast-packs, 1,350 without. Though she can carry 16,000 pounds or ordnance, making her a real ground pounder." The rep reported as you climbed down, letting Zeus take a look inside.

"I noticed a lack of thrust vectoring on this bird. Is that a planned feature or has that been left out intentionally?" You asked. With CINPAC's talk about USAF upgrades to their birds, you wanted to know if it was planned for the possible USN F-15s.

>CONT

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>>500142

"We have it planned, though we're waiting on NASA to release the F-15 S/MTD back to us. It's a planned feature that we have made provisions for." You couldn't help but nod at this, Boeing was looking to the future with their design. A pretty ballsy move when they hadn't secured their initial order.

>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.
>Choose a jet to fly (which one?)
>Other (write in)

>>500144
>>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.
I'm personally leaning toward the cat, but the F-15 is pretty appealing too.

>>500144
>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.
How unlikely is it that we can subcontact Boeing to produce modules to augment the F-14 on a mission-to-mission basis, and have future F-14s modified to accommodate such a design?

>>500144
>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.

>>500155
this if possible

>>500144
>Talk with Zeus and CINPAC about the jets thus-far. What are their opinions.

"Well then, I have to admit that you certainly surprised me with this one." You admitted to the Boeing representative, exciting a small smile from him.

"However, I'll have to talk with my associates before selecting an aircraft. But thank you for your time." You finished, before shaking the Boeing rep's hand and walking away. Admiral Harris lead you to a room built into the hanger, meant as a ground crew office.

"So, what do you think after seeing the competition?" Harris asked as he shut the door after you and Zeus.

"The Super Hornet is right out. The Tomcat and Eagle blow it clean out of the competition." Zeus announced as you walked over to one of the water coolers and grabbed yourself a drink. Zeus meanwhile, took the opportunity to sit down on one of the futons in the room.

"So between the Eagle and the Tomcat, what do you both recommend?" You asked as you turned around to face the pair.

"I honestly don't know. The Tomcat is a great bird with the speed and manoeuvrability edge, but the Eagle has the fast-pack system going for it that makes it a more multi-role system. And factor in that it has a capable ground-attack suite makes it a great asset. Though it's maritime attack suite isn't the best either." Zeus answered as he reclined back in the futon.

"I would say to go for the Tomcat." Admiral Harris spoke up. "But that's mostly because the fleet doesn't stock F-15 parts. Maintenance for the 'cat will be easier."

"One thing that I wonder about, is if this will end up like an inverted version for the F-4." Zeus spoke up. But when he noticed you confused expression, he explained.

"So you know how the F-4 proved to be so effective in 'nam that the USAF bought a bunch of them and replaced a number of their native birds with the F-4? I'm kinda worried that this might happen again, only with a USAF bird replacing a number of USN birds." Zeus explained, and you had to give some merit to the theory. The F-15 had similar performance to the F-14 and was easier to maintain due to it's conventional wings. And the Fast-Packs only added more possible roles to the F-15's capabilities.

"That likely won't happen." Harris spoke up. "If it was brought in then the super-cat's speed makes it a more useful interceptor. Which is what the USN needs the most. The F-15N would probably end up replacing other aircraft like the A-6 and 7."

"Is there any possibility of Grumman doing something similar with the Tomcat?" You asked, only for Zeus to shrug.

"Probably, though the only place something like that could go would be on the centerline, in between the nacelles. And that is kinda counter productive." Zeus reported.

"So final call. What do you both recommend?" You asked, pointing at each one of them in turn.

>CONT

>>500182

"F-14. It's a better fighter and it's easier to maintain with our current stock of Tomcat parts." Harris summarised.

"I agree." Zeus said, before adding. "Though if the F-15 was more powerful and had thrust vectoring then I would be calling for that."

>"It's settled, we're taking the Tomcat."
>"I want the Eagle, it seems more promising."

>>500183
>"It's settled, we're taking the Tomcat."

At least until we can get some of that sweet, sweet thrust vectoring.

>>500183
>"I want the Eagle, it seems more promising."
I want the Seagle so bad, sure it doesn't have thrust vectoring right now but the rep did say it was planned for when the F-15 STOL/MTD comes back to them.

>>500183
>"It's settled, we're taking the Tomcat."
we have history with our planefu and she just got a sexy new improvement, just for us. lets be grateful

>>500183
Important question: which one has the comfier seats?

>>500190
Apparently the Tomcat. But you haven't sat in either the F-14 or the F-15's seats. So you have no actual experience of what either of them feel like.

>>500191
Hey Thunderhead would it be possible for us to take our two choices out on some test flights to help our decision?

>>500193
I'm going to say yes, that is an option. My mistake for not putting the option for a write in.

I'll say that you can choose to take a jet up for a flight test, though you will have to specify which jet you want to take up first.

With this new option, I'll give another 20 minutes for votes to come in or otherwise change.

>>500196
Since right now more people voted for the F-14F how about we take that up first? Oh and could we maybe get some members of our squadron or even CINPAC to help test them in a combat situation?

>>500196
We know best what our old F-14 feels like, so we should take it up first to get a fresh impression of what's changed. Afterwards, we'll take the F-15 up for a comparison.

And then we take the F-18 up just to run them low on fuel (McDonnell Douglas is paying for that, right?) and compile a reference sheet for every single thing they did wrong, so future proposals don't waste our time with that kind of shit.

>>500198
If you want to add that to your vote then sure, but you won't be able to test them in simulated combat unless it's the Tomcat against the Eagle. And in which case you will have to specify who will be crewing the other bird.

>>500200
You can compile a reference sheet whenever. You could start it while you're waiting for the Tomcat to be fueled and loaded.

>>500201
Just regular flight then.
>>500200
This is true if we are taking the F-14 and Eagle up we should be kind to the Hornet guys as well by taking their plane up too.

>>500183
>>"It's settled, we're taking the Tomcat."

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"It's settled, we're taking the Tomcat." You confirmed, nodding at Admiral Harris. "Though I have to admit that the F-15 just barely lost out due to the lower top speed and lack of thrust vectoring."

Admiral Harris smiled and nodded, apparently approving your choice. "I had a feeling that you would choose that bird son. I'll get the crews to load her up." The Admiral turned to leave, only for you to interject.

"Hey sir, would it be possible for me to test both aircraft?" You suggested, stopping the CINPAC dead in his tracks. "Boeing's proposal seems too good to pass up."

Harris paused for a couple of seconds, apparently letting the gears in his head turn for a bit, before he answered you. "I'll see about it. Though you'll have to be quick about it, the aircraft that you don't choose are going to be sent off to China Lake for testing. And they leave by sundown."

Before you could thank him, he left. Leaving you and Zeus to wait for your equipment to be delivered. It arrived a couple of minutes later and the pair of you suited up for your flight.

About 5 minutes after suiting up, you were lead out to your newly rebuilt bird. Her patchwork mix of USN low-visibility grey and Soviet Naval camouflage marking her as a unique bird.

Well, unique in the sense that she was the only bird on the base with that camo scheme. You were sure that she was also the only F-14E on the base too.

Either way, you climbed in and began your pre-flight checks. Relaxing into the comfortable seats as you taxied out to the runway with the NASA loaned F-15 S/MTD following just behind you. It's speed and agility made it the only thing on base capable of following you throughout your tests.

"Freelancer 2-1 to tower. Requesting takeoff clearance." You radioed to the tower as you sat on the runway.

"Freelancer 2-1, clearance granted. Head to the test range before beginning tests." The tower controller relayed to you. You waited for him to finish before starting your test.

You jammed the throttle to full, sending the jet straight down the runway, almost as fast as if you were attempting the same takeoff with afterburners.

Aside from that little test, you followed the flight plan impeccably until you reached the range.

"So Razor. What;s the testing plan?" Zeus asked you as you entered the range.

>Start off with the basics and work our way up. This is after all a testing aircraft.
>Go balls deep with this baby! You want to skip to the good part!
>Other (write in)

>>500213
>Start off with the basics and work our way up. This is after all a testing aircraft.
Always start with the basics.

>>500213
>>Start off with the basics and work our way up. This is after all a testing aircraft

>>500213
>Start off with the basics and work our way up. This is after all a testing aircraft.
But do it quickly - we're on a timer here.

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"We'll start with the basics and work our way up. This is after all a testing aircraft." You began as Zeus shot a stress readout to one of your MFDs. "We'll begin with a basic speed up and slow down, first without afterburners, followed by with them."

You immediately throttled up to maximum, feeling the Tomcat lurch under you. The engine response time was impeccable as you broke the sound barrier quickly, the trailing S/MTD struggled to keep up with your sudden acceleration. As soon as your airspeed stopped increasing at around mach 1.6, you cut the engines and waited for your jet to reach an acceptable speed before deploying your flaps and air brakes. Slowing down faster until you returned to sub-sonic cruising speed.

You immediately fulled a split-S and performed the same move back the way you came, except with afterburners on this time. This time your reached mach 2.6 before slowing down.

You continued this pattern of testing as quickly as you could. Performing one test without afterburners before doing it again with afterburners. And every time, the Tomcat responded perfectly.

Once you were done testing the 'cat with single maneuvers, you roped in the S/MTD to act as a training agressor, if only so that you could test out air-combat manuvers against a foe you had fougt before with a D model Tomcat.

Unlike last time however, you could actually maneuver around him. Matching almost all of his moves. Except for the one where he would hit his airbrakes and flaps so that he would slow down super quick. Your only response to that was to tap into the 'cat's well of power to shoot off as fast as you could.

"I'd say that's it." Zeus announced as you finished a bout with the S/MTD. "You want to head back now and swap out?"

>"Yeah, let's head back."
>"Not yet. I want to see how well this bird can recover from a flat spin."
>Other (write in)

>>500221
>"Yeah, let's head back."

>>500221
>"Not yet. I want to see how well this bird can recover from a flat spin."
Best to suss out anything we can think of before we make our final pick.

>>500226
>>"Not yet. I want to see how well this bird can recover from a flat spin."

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"Not yet. I want to see how well this bird can recover from a flat spin." You reported to Zeus before quickly cutting your engines and tail-sliding into the wake of the S/MTD before it's pilot could realise what you were doing.

You immediately went into a flat-spin, your jet flat spinning almost out of control. You let it continue for a few seconds before reacting.

You rotated the wings straingt before hitting the engines up to full power and rolling onto your side. Using your plane's drag to reduce your spin, before then pitching opposite to the spin while kicking the rudder pedals to force your jet's nose down.

This tactic, which took a scarily long time when
flying any other type of Tomcat corrected your spin almost immediately. Taking you out of the flat spin and allowing you to regain control. As soon as you levelled out, you checked the altimeter.

You had only lost about 7,000 meters of altitude in the flat-spin. A definite improvement on the B model, where it's lack of power and constant compressor stalls make breaking out of a flat spin almost impossible.

"Freelancer 2-1, you've lost a lot of altitude. Is everything alright?" The tower controller asked, obviously concerned.

"Everything's OK on my end tower. Returning to base." You responded curtly, not letting them onto the fact that you had tempted fate. The flight back was relitively quiet. Zeus was doing something in the back. It could either be a list of good and bad points for the Tomcat, or that he was reading one of his Japanese comics again.

Either way, you landed quickly and taxied back to the hanger, keen to get the 'cat back inside to limit it's exposure to prying eyes. As soon as you had parked, shut down the jet and climbed out you were greeted by Admiral Harris.

"Bad news son. The Boeing folk need to run some flight-control calibrations before you head up in their bird." He said as Zeus climbed down behind you.

"You should have about 20 minutes spare time. Spend it however you like, just as long as you are back before those 20 minutes are up. Do you get me?" The Admiral continued, addressing both you and Zeus.

"Yes sir." Both you and Zeus responded, before saluting and walking away.

>Relax in the ground crew office. You need to relax a bit before your next flight.
>Try and find the Brits. See if they've calmed down.
>Other (write in)

>>500244
>Other (write in)
Find Germans, discuss prototype aircraft

>>500248
They are off base, flying as aggressors for the USAF training ops.

>>500244
>Relax in the ground crew office. You need to relax a bit before your next flight.
We need to keep the feel of the F-14 in mind so we can compare it against the F-15 properly.

>>500250
>Relax in the ground crew office. You need to relax a bit before your next flight.
Oh well, wonder how Zeus thinks of the F-14

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You briefly considered heading out to look for the Brits, but then you remembered the matter at hand and decided that it would be better to stay as close to the jets as possible.

As such, both you and Zeus made your way to the ground crew office. Thankfully, it was empty and gave both you and Zeus a nice place to hang out while you waited for the jet to be readied for takeoff.

"So Zeus." You began as the pair of you walked into the office. "What do you think about the new 'cat?"

"She's a mean piece of work boss. Though I mean it in the best possible way!" Zeus began, sounding more pumped than you had expected from someone talking about aircraft. "That sensor net is so good that I was able to get readouts from the F-15 that was acting as our chase plane. We practically hacked into their systems, to get a passive readout of everything, if we can replicate that in combat, even with friendly aircraft then it opens up so many tactical opportunities!"

Zeus continued to sperg on about the technical side of the jet for the rest of the 20 minutes. So suffice to say that he was happy with the jet's performance.

You had to admit though, the jet flew so smoothly and responsively that it had shocked you. Usually, dogfighting was a rough and tumble event where pilots were thrown around in their seats as they executed death-defying stunts to get the edge on the enemy. But in the new Tomcat, you weren't thrown around. You could see why Mrs Baker had mentioned the seats, who knew that something so minor could make such a big difference?

Either way, the pair of you returned back into the main area of the hanger just as you reached 20 minutes. You arrived just in time to see your 'cat be wheeled behind a thick fire curtains.

You could have sworn that you saw someone familiar in the pilot's seat. But you passed it over, you were just being paranoid right?

Either way, you climber into the F-15N and started your pre-flight checks. Taking slightly longer than usual as you didn't know where a number of buttons were, only to find out that they had to be accessed via the MFDs. Though once you were done with that, you taxied out and made your way to the runway, taking off at a slightly lower speed than in the Tomcat. Everything seemed slightly more sluggish in the F-15 as you reached the testing range.

Then again, that was because you were comparing it to the F-14E. The Eagle totally blew the D model out of the sky in terms of responsiveness.

"Starting with the basics again Razor?" Zeus asked from the back.

>Follow the same testing plan as one you used for the F-14E. Try to keep the tests as similar as possible.
>Push it to the limit.
>Other (write in)

>>500271

>Follow the same testing plan as one you used for the F-14E. Try to keep the tests as similar as possible.

>>500271
>Follow the same testing plan as one you used for the F-14E. Try to keep the tests as similar as possible.
Scientific method and all that shit.

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"You know it. Might as well keep the test fair." You responded as you hit the engines to full, starting your test.

Unlike the Tomcat, the Eagle didn't lurch underneath you. Instead it gently tugged at you as it accelerated. And when it acclerated it was slower then the Tomcat, it't speed leveled off at mach 1.2 without afterburners and mach 2 with afterburners.

This trend of inferiority persisted throughout the entire testing flight. Every burst of speed, snap roll, Immelmann and wingover was slower than the Tomcat. It's maneuvers were sluggish in comparison.

Though there was no doubt in your mind that the F-15N could be a great dogfighter, it just wasn't at the moment.

You finished your test up once you were sure that you had followed all of the maneuvers you had pulled in the F-14E.

All baring one.

"Hey Razor. You going to try to get us in a flat-spin again?" Zeus asked, sounding slightly bored as you levelled out the aircraft and turned for home.

"No. I'm still fairly new at the controls of an F-15. I don't now how an F-15 would react in that situation. At least with the Tomcat I had a vague idea." You responded, denying Zeus his fun in the back-seat.

"Good. God I hate flat-spins." Zeus grumbled as you headed for Miramar. You touched down a few minutes later, taxing into the hanger where you had parked your F-14.

As soon as you and Zeus had climbed out, Admiral Harris walked over to ask you the question on everybody's minds right now.

"So. What will it be? The F-14E or the F-15N?" He asked. Waiting for your responce.

>"We'll take the F-14E, she's faster and more manoeuvrable. The perfect dogfighter."
>"We'll take the F-15N, she may not be as fast or manoeuvrable, but she has potential."

>>500317
>"We'll take the F-14E, she's faster and more manoeuvrable. The perfect dogfighter."
Unfortunately, you can't win battles on potential alone.

>>500317
>"We'll take the F-14E, she's faster and more manoeuvrable. The perfect dogfighter."

>>500317
>"We'll take the F-15N, she may not be as fast or manoeuvrable, but she has potential."
I can't help it I want to let the Seagle live.

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"We'll take the F-14E, she's faster and more manoeuvrable. The perfect dogfighter." You summarised your choice, before adding. "Though the F-15N is a pretty great aircraft none the less."

"Yes, well in any case. Your choice isn't going to have an official effect on the USN's choice." Harris admitted. "Though your choice will be a major point of support for the chosen aircraft. And it looks like Grumman has the advantage."

"It would seem so sir. But I have to ask, are me and Zeus going to have time off today or do we still have that flight with the Japs?" You asked CINPAC. Having only just remembered that you were meant to have a training flight.

"All of your flights today have been cancelled. Grumman needs to go over your new bird and see what your training flight did to it structurally. And after that we have to re-paint it." The Admiral shrugged non-nonchalantly. "And that sort of thing takes time to do."

"That's certainly true sir. But if I may, who is Kenji being sent up with then?"

"He's going up with flight 3, the Brits and the French." The Admiral responded curtly. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have to deal with paperwork."

And with that, CINPAC turned on his heels and left, walking towards a waiting HUMVEE.

"So Razor. What are you planning on going?" Zeus asked. With your day now free, you could do frankly anything.

You made to answer, but the sound of someone of someone coughing loudly behind you, as if to get your attention.

"Excuse me Lieutenant Poole?" A man in ground crew coveralls asked for you. His clothing displaying the Grumman logo. "One of our engineers would like to speak with you regarding your flight."

"And where would this engineer be?" You asked, slightly perturbed at the interruption.

"She is in the ground crew offices sir. Just over there." The man gestured to the offices that you and Zeus had both been resting in about 15 minutes ago.

For some reason, you couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on here. Why would they ask you in but leave Zeus out?

>Head in there. What's the worst that could happen?
>Fuck that. You want some drinks to celebrate the new bird.
>Other (write in)

>>500390
>Head in there. What's the worst that could happen?

>>500390
>Head in there. What's the worst that could happen?
Take Zeus for backup let him know we expect shenanigans.

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>>500390
>Fuck that. You want some drinks to celebrate the new bird.
NOOOPE

>>500390
>get the rape whistle ready
>make sure we've got our sidearm
>notify Zeus to send Pararescure if we don't report back soon.

>>500423
also see if we can drag Zeus in anyway, if an engineer doesn't want field test data straight form the source, they ain't an engineer

Yeah. You weren't going to walk into an ambush without backup. So, ever trusting, you looked to your side, to where your noble comrade...

And he wasn't there. In fact Zeus wasn't even in the hanger. A calm sigh is all that you used to outwardly express your displeasure, internally however you were cursing.

"Are you sure it's meant to be just me?" You asked the engineer, who simply shrugged.

"She said to get the pilot, so I did." The engineer responded, apparently not in the mood to debate.

"Are you sure? My RIO had been watching the displays more than me. I'm pretty sure he would be more qualified than me." You continued pushing, only getting an exhausted sigh from the engineer in response.

"Look, just go talk to the lady and make your case to her. I'm just the fucking messenger." And at that, the engineer walked off. Leaving you to go in alone.

Then again, it wasn't like you were going in naked. You still had your .45 problem solver, that would be enough to protect you, or at least alert the marines nearby.

And thus equipped with your problem solver, you made your way into the ground crew office and entered calmly.

You entered into an empty room, nobody was inside.

Yeah, that's not suspicious at all.

>What are you, a pussy? Go look for people.
>Yeah, fuck that. Beer is calling your name.

>>500481
>What are you, a pussy? Go look for people.

>>500481
>What are you, a pussy? Go look for people.
Take out phone call brits for support.

>>500495
You don't have a mobile phone. It's 1989, they're expensive as hell.

>>500481
>Yeah, fuck that. Beer is calling your name.

>>500481
>>Yeah, fuck that. Beer is calling your name.

We need a tiebreaker.

>>500481
>Go look for people

Writing

You didn't like it. Walking into an empty room when someone was meant to be in there was bad news. But then again, in order to be a pilot you be at least somewhat brave, or stupid, the line between them was somewhat blurry.

And as such, you ventured inside. Keeping your hand on your holstered colt .45.

The staff offices was divided up into 5 rooms. A central resting area with a pair of futons and a water cooler as the only defining features. branching off from the resting area was a small corridor with 4 rooms.

You checked the doors to each room, all of them were locked shut. Apparently the people assigned the rooms wanted some security. Either way, you weren't getting in.

You turned and made you way back to the rest area, only to stop as soon as you entered, your eyes meeting those of the woman who had just entered.

Standing before you was your ex, Lauren Mercer. Wearing the uniform of a Grumman employee. She was stood by the door, seemingly having only just come through.

Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw you, a ecstatic grin spreading across her face in the blink of an eye.

>Play it cool. Act like you wanted to see her, but you were busy.
>Play it professionally. She's apparently working for Grumman, so she may be on the team that worked on your jet.
>Other (write in)

>>500627
>Play it professionally. She's apparently working for Grumman, so she may be on the team that worked on your jet.

>>500627
>Play it professionally. She's apparently working for Grumman, so she may be on the team that worked on your jet.

She'd better have some way of verifying that she's on Grumman's team...or I vote for putting your gun to her forehead and calling base security.

>>500627
>Play it professionally. She's apparently working for Grumman, so she may be on the team that worked on your jet.

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Ok guys, I hate to call the thread here. But I'm spent. I'll carry the votes over to next thread where we'll jump right back in where we left off.

In any case, Thanks for sticking with it and I'll see you all next time. If you have any questions then feel free to ask. I'll answer them as soon as I can.

>>500775
Thank you for running Thunderhead any idea when you'll run next time?

>>500775

Thanks for running Thunder, I'm almost sad the Eagle didn't win (almost)

>>500780
Within the next week or so, the earliest time I can run is either Thursday or Friday.
>>500782
Considering how well the Eagle did, it might show up again. might, no promises I had thought that the Tomcat would have been the straight winner, but It seems I was proven wrong.

I'm noticeably less spent, do you guys want to continue or wait for a new thread?

>>503849
hey thunder. im game, anyone else lurking?

>>503923
If you and another person want me to continue then we'll wrap up the whole girlfriend incident, it should only take about 3-4 posts.

>>503931
yeah, im ready

>>503931
My body is ready.

We have our 2. Writing now.

>>503931
Im in

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As soon as Lauren's eyes lit up, you steadied yourself, straightening up as your probably crazy ex found her mark.

This wouldn't end well, if not in the short term then it would come around in the future to bite you in the ass.

However, to your surprise, Lauren didn't greet you with the same type of dive-hug she would usually give you. Instead, she straightened up and walked over to you calmly.

"When the Admiral we would be presenting our aircraft to an ace pilot, I had never expected it would have been you." Lauren stopped about 6 feet in front of you, in the centre of the room. "It's good to see you again Bradley. How have you been?"

"I've been doing well Lauren. Though we've been getting worked hard after the training schedule got ramped up." You responded, careful to keep your tone level. You didn't want to escalate the situation and antagonise her.

"Yes, I had assumed that. Seeing as you never returned any of the letters. I had sent you." Lauren seemed to frown, but she quickly hid her sadness and put on a brave face. "But nonetheless, I'm afraid that we have business, to deal with before we get onto the personal business."

At that, Lauren turned and walked over to one of the futons and sat down, geasturing for you to sit down on the other futon. You followed suit and sat down.

"So, I'm part of the Grumman team that developed the F-14E. Specifically, I'm here to get your personal expirience with the F-14E, generally how did it feel." Lauren continued, pulling a notepad from a pocket. "So generally, how did the super-cat handle?"

>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird.
>Answer dishoneslty, if you can make it look bad enough then maybe Lauren will be taken off the team.
>Other (write in)

>>504321
>>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird.
If she's willing to drop the craziness and do her job, we may as well do our part to get her out the door without incident. Besides, it would reflect poorly on the whole engineering team if we gave the Cat a bad review.

>>504321
>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird.

>>504321
>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird.
no reason to not be civil

>>504321
>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird

>>504321
>>Answer honestly, this is meant to help further development of your bird.

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"Put simply, the 'cat handled greatly." You began, making an effort to include key points without including too much jargon.

"The 'cat has insane speed, even when compared to the D cat. She's also extremely manoeuvrable, I'll admit that I've flown some agile aircraft. From Falcons to Hornets and Tigers. But the Super 'Cat can fly circles around them all." You continued, Lauren continued to write down notes. Occasionally looking up and nodding at you to continue.

"She is also manoeuvrable enough to break out of a flat spin that would otherwise be impossible for the B model to break out from." You summarised your analysis of the 'cat's manoeuvrability. "Meanwhile, the jet flies smoother than any aircraft I've ever flown. She speeds up and slows down perfectly and can manoeuvre very well."

"I see." Lauren said calmly, jotting down notes before asking another question. "What about the cockpit setup? The engineers were sure that it would improve ergonomics over the previous D model."

"The cockpit setup is exceptional. The MFDs give great tactical flexibility, I could potentially feed some of the RIO's screens onto my stations and fly it solo, though the workload would be much harder to deal with." You began, continuing on with your analysis.

"Surprisingly, the seats make a significant difference during manoeuvres. Duran strenuous manoeuvres in the older Tomcat models would tend to buffet you around. Meanwhile in the E model, the G-force would push you into the seat and hold you still. Additionally, it's more comfortable, which would make long duration flights easier." You summarised, only stopping at the end to let Lauren ask another question.

"That's good to know, the engineers weren't sure how useful a cockpit overhaul would be. But I digress, I didn't really take part in development." Lauren continued with her notes. "What about the electronics? How did you feel the aircraft's systems?"

"I'm not really in the know about those systems, we didn't test the aircraft's detection and targeting systems." You admitted, making sure not to mention the name of your RIO, as if that would help.

"I see, so it was only a flight test as opposed to a systems test." Lauren finished her notes, before setting her notepad down on her lap.

"So, that about wraps up the aircraft assessment. If you don't have any other pressing matters then we could just chat." Lauren leaned back, making herself comfortable.

Now you had a significant choice. You could potentially act like you had more pressing matters, in which case you could use your excuse to get away from her. But if she found you relaxing, or otherwise not at the fake appointment then she would instantly suspect fowl play.

Or, you could try just talking to her as if she was a normal person that wouldn't attack the members of your unit. Maybe you could breach the subject and get her off them?

>CONT

>>504686

>Make an excuse and leave. You are pretty good at laying low.
>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable.
>Other (write in)

>>504686
>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable.

>>504691
>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable
she seems mentally stable

>>504686
>>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable.
That's a pretty big maybe, but what the heck, let's try anyway.

>>504691
>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable.

>>504691
>>Stay around and try to fix things. Maybe the time you spent separated has made her more reasonable.

I think she wont try anything as she should be on the base not allowed list.

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In a rare bout of trust, you decided to stay around and try to fix things with Lauren. Maybe the time you spent separated had made her more reasonable.

Worst case scenario you could call base security, or pull your gun. But you doubted it would come to that.

"Yeah, I've go time." You said as you relaxed back into the futon. "So Lauren, how have you been?"

"I've been doing..." Lauren paused, apparently choosing her words fairly carefully. "...well..."

Yeah, just going off that pause alone you could tell that she hadn't been anywhere close to well.

"But enough about me." Lauren deflected the topic of the conversation away from her. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing pretty well for myself." You responded, being careful not to let on too much about your current posting. "I got assigned to a training unit for a bit, flying as an aggressor. Though I got transferred to my new unit over a month ago."

"I see. So how are you finding your current unit?" Lauren poked, trying to get more info out of you.

"It's pretty good, we have a wide selection of pilots from Asia, Europe, and the good old US of A." You continued giving up more useless snippets of info to try and sate Lauren's desire for information about your new unit.

"That sounds pretty interesting. Though I'm not sure why the USN would need foreign pilots." Lauren said, not as much asking you the question as saying it rhetorically.

"I guess so that everybody could skills from each other." You suggested with a shrug, trying to play off the lie as the truth. "That seems like something the USN would try out."

"I guess." Lauren was silent for a couple more seconds, before meekly asking. "How's your old RIO doing?"

The question took you off guard. You were under the assumption that she would save questions about Ares for later, as opposed to asking practically straight off the bat.

"He's... he's doing well I suppose." You responded, slightly surprised a 2 facts. Firstly that Lauren would ask such a thing after being the one to hospitalise him in the first place. The second reason was shock at yourself for forgetting to write to him, even though you had promised to keep in touch with him. "Though I haven't talked to him much after he got taken out of rotation, after what happened."

Lauren seemed to shrink at the mention of her involvement in what had happened to your comrade. She was silent for a good couple of seconds but she spoke again about half a minute later.

"B-Bradley... I..." Lauren couldn't even form a sentence, but her tone said more than her words ever could. She sounded guilty, sorry, repentant.

>CONT

>>505162

Funny, she hadn't been very repentant in the weeks after the attack.

"I-I'm so sorry." She finally said after taking a few seconds to get her head straight, though her slight stutter broke any sense of control she had.

"I know that..." She sighed, before continuing sadly. "I know that you requested transfer as far away from me as soon as you could after the incident. I know me seemingly getting away with what I did hurt you, and that my sudden re-appearance only caused you more pain."

She paused again as tears began to form in her eyes. But rather than wiping them away, she continued.

"I know that you had me put on the base black list the moment you heard I was looking for you... and I know that something like this is hard to forgive, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." She rallied herself and looked searchingly into your eyes, before continuing.

"But darling I can change. I massively over-reacted to something so trivial and I unintentionally hurt you. But, in the time we've been separate I've changed for the better."

She reached into her pocket and put a business card on the arm of your futon, a quick glance showed that it was for "counselling and psychological guidance".

"You can even phone them up and ask. My daddy paid a lot of money for my counselling, and I came out of it as a better, nicer person. All I need is that one chance to prove that I changed."

Lauren looked into your eyes with a pleading stare. Waiting for your response.

>"You seem sincere enough, I'll give you this one chance. But nothing more than that."
>"If you've changed then prove it. I want you to pay Ares's hospital bills. ALL of them, including ongoing physiotherapy."
>"I need more time to decide. A choice like this is too great to make on a whim."
>"It's too much of a risk. I can't risk someone in my unit being in the same situation as Ares."
>"You lost your chance the moment you shoved that knife into Ares's back. We're through, period."
>Other (write in)

>>505166
>"If you've changed then prove it. I want you to pay Ares's hospital bills. ALL of them, including ongoing physiotherapy."

this is fair

>>505166
>"If you've changed then prove it. I want you to pay Ares's hospital bills. ALL of them, including ongoing physiotherapy."

>>505166
>"If you've changed then prove it. I want you to pay Ares's hospital bills. ALL of them, including ongoing physiotherapy."

>>505166
>"You seem sincere enough, I'll give you this one chance. But nothing more than that."
Actively trying to not act like a lunatic means a bit more than digging into daddy's oceanic pockets again.

>>505199
yes, but this bitch needs to help our buddy out after what she did to him

>>505197
Oh and maybe tell her if she is anything but an angel to our fellow squad mates that we be through

>>505166
>>"I need more time to decide. A choice like this is too great to make on a whim."
>"You lost your chance the moment you shoved that knife into Ares's back. We're through, period."

A combination of these I would say. Stabbing someone in the back, potenially destroying their career? That is serious shit.

OP, why did we get with this chick in the first place?

>>505203
Making forgiveness about the money first and foremost isn't a great idea when someone has tons of it.

>>505295
>why did we get with this chick in the first place?

Pretty normal reasons, she was hot, funny and seemed like a great girl. You had met in the later years of uni and things had blossomed from there. Though she was rather clingy, and you had the sneaking suspicion that she had sent people to follow you.

Obviously things had taken a dive when she shanked Ares. And after that you got the fuck our of there

>>505316
alright, this is true. i will switch my vote to yours

You involuntarily sighed and looked away for a second, you hated making decisions like this on short notice. And you would be lying if you said that her current demeanour hadn't swayed your view.

But then again, you could use this new position to your advantage.

You looked back to see Lauren on the verge of tears, having tensed as if she was preempting a slap or something similar.

"If you've changed then prove it." You announced clearly and concisely. Not letting your voice sound too soft or forgiving, you still needed her to be motivated to do this. "I want you to pay Ares's hospital bills. ALL of them, including the ongoing physiotherapy."

Pinning your decision purely on the condition that she could splash out some money put you in a bad place, especially when you knew that she had enough money in her pockets to buy out the USS Enterprise.

CV-6 of course, not CVN-65. Though you were sure that here daddy's net value was much more than the cost of CVN-65 anyway.

Lauren took a few seconds to fully process what you had just said. Apparently not expecting the response you had just gave her. Her eyes lit up like a child who had just been given their favourite treat. It was actually kinda cute. She made to get up -probably to hug you- when you continued, stopping her in her tracks as she stopped to hear your words.

"I'll only consider the deed done once Ares himself tells my that the money has come through. After that, you will have one chance. And if you mess up that one chance then you're out." You clarified sternly, laying out the basic ground rules. You made sure to wait until she nodded in acknowledgement before continuing.

"And no funny shit. No stalking me or my comrades, no doing anything against them. In their eyes you are no angel until you prove it." You paused for a second before asking a simple question.

"Do you understand?"

Lauren nodded frantically. "Y-Yes darling! I completely understand!"

It was just after she had finished speaking, when the door to the staff offices opened up and a rather burly marine stepped in. His face obscured by an olive drab balaclava and a pair of sheen black sports glasses.

"Sir, Admiral Harris has ordered us to take you to the briefing room." The marine said just a second after sticking his head in.

"Any reason why?" You questioned the marine as you stood up. Slightly miffed that your time with Lauren had been cut short.

"No sir. I said that it was urgent though, so your presence is required." The marine answered sternly. Clearly proving to you that you needed to get going.

With that, you walked towards the door. The marine in front of you ducked out of the door as you made to leave. But a quiet voice made you stop.

"Bradley..." Lauren said quietly, obviously sad that your time together had been cut short. She raised her arms open, as if inviting you to her.

"...Hugs?"

>Sure, there's no harm in it.
>No, you HAVE you go.
>Other (write in)

>>505528
>Sure, there's no harm in it.
god damn it lauren, i guess a show of good faith is called for here

>>505528
>Sure, there's no harm in it.

>>505528
>>No, you HAVE you go.

>>505528
>Sure, there's no harm in it.

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You took about a second to come to the decision that there was no harm in denying her a hug. There was no reason to be an asshole.

You reversed you steps and walked back over to Lauren, wrapping her in a hug. Her arms tightened around you as she returned the hug, letting off a soft sigh as she cozied up against your chest, a small contented smile on her face.

You held there for a few seconds, before letting go of her. It took her a second to realise but eventually she let you go, taking a step back to look you in the eye.

"Good luck out there Bradley. I'll write to you as often as I can." She said calmly, saying it more as a matter of courtesy rather than as if she thought you needed luck. To her, you were the undefeatable knight in shining armour.

Though, looking back later. You realised that as you walked out, heading towards the briefing, you would need that luck more than ever in the coming weeks and months.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

And with that, the thread is over, for real this time. I have to admit, you all surprised me today. From being very positive about the F-15 in spite of it's flaws, to seeking to get back together with Lauren.

I wonder, will that prevent you from waifuing the other girls? I remember that one anon who liked Weiss.

In any case, Thanks for sticking with it and I'll see you all next time. If you have any questions then feel free to ask. I'll answer them as soon as I can.

>>505835
I wonder, will that prevent you from waifuing the other girls?

1 of 2 things will happen: super waifu wars with lauren being a contender, or super harem anime mode

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>>505835
>If you have any questions then feel free to ask
Why are the STOL/MTD and ACTIVE such sexy beasts?

>waifu fights
We are heading down a dark and terrible road.

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>>505892
I can assure you right now, harem mode will take a lot of work.
>>505927
>Why are the STOL/MTD and ACTIVE such sexy beasts?
I can't fault you there.

>>505946
Forgot to add, but super waifu wars may happen.

God damn I have a lot more planned characters.

>>505946
>I can assure you right now, harem mode will take a lot of work.

are these anons up to the challenge?

>>505956
The challenge is there. Though it's up to them to decide if they want ALL the waifus.

I thought we where too lenient on her but alas I am but one lonely anon.

My fav is Scorpion thats for sure :P

>>505835
>I wonder, will that prevent you from waifuing the other girls?
Fuck no.

>>505969
Not ALL of them, just scorpion and maybe one or two others

>>505976
we're waifuing scoprion definetly

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>>506501
>Not going full harem

What's wrong with you?

>>506512
Dude I don't want to try to waifu Dredd.

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>>506519
Fair enough. All the ladies then.

And CINPAC.