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“Lieutenant, give me the best possible view.”
“That’ll put us within their firing range. Affirmative?” Hibari calmly warned, followed by a confirmation for the order.
“Affirmative. Can’t seize the tiger’s cub without entering its den.”
“Roger. Hold on tight!”
Despite having my body strapped tightly onto the seat, the sudden thrust from the engines exerted such force that I was afraid I would be tossed around like a ragdoll. Right when I thought the aircraft seemed to have stabilized, I was once again caught unprepared for the upcoming sharp turn to the left, which tilted the aircraft by 60 degrees to our port.

“Hey Kurokawa, doing okay?”
Hibari’s voice blurting from the intercoms successfully brought my mind from ‘clinging on for dear life’ back to reality.
“Y-Yes!”
“Good, feeling dizzy yet?”
“N--no?”
Come to think of it, aside from the takeoff and the sudden bouts of acceleration while turning, I felt rather unaffected by the vibrations and turbulence.
Perhaps I’m more apt at operating in air than I had thought-
“Ah good, the pills are working.”
My heart sank from the rude awakening call that was the mention of the drug the two of us took before taking off.

“I guess they are.” I replied, somewhat deflated from the realization. Nevertheless, the pills managed to help me keep my focus in completely unfamiliar circumstances, and for that I should be thankful.

“Time to pick targets and blow up some barbarians, then!”
I couldn’t help but envision the feral grin splitting across Hibari’s face as she made her gleeful remark.
“Aye!”
Placing my left hand on the hand wheel that controls the instrument’s traverse and my right hand on its pistol grip, I began rotating the device to my right in anticipation for our targets to enter sight.

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Hibari’s maneuvering has brought us to a favorable position to observe our targets, a small flotilla of seven warships hundreds of meters below us: three auxiliary ships escorted by four warships in a loose echelon formation. While I cannot tell for certain the class of the smaller escorts, the two leading ships were without a doubt Ping-Hai class frigates- the Yu Dynasty’s most numerous frigate class, renowned for their tenacity and versatility but possessing limited offensive capabilities.

On the other hand, all three auxiliaries were around the size of commercial fishing trawlers. The two paravanes trailed behind these ships, however, immediately gave away their purpose.

“Minesweepers.”
“No surprises.” Hibari mused over the intercoms, “Got a reading yet?”
“Right on it.”
Carefully, I adjusted the apparatus to position straight towards the center of the flotilla, maintaining all ships within the target reticle as our aircraft hovered overhead.

(1d20 for Subaru’s first reading. Lowest value is fixed at 10 as a result of taking the most daring approach)

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4453318
I've been waiting for your return, QM. How's things going?

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4453318

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4453318

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>4453318

>>4453318
I wonder how this system works. We'd need to know the plane's precise coordinates with respect to the ship, and at a moment's notice, because the plane is moving fast. Some kind of Ragnite-based GPS?

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>4453318

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I took a deep breath and aimed down the sights of the apparatus as I would do with my rifle. racking the targets while holding down the trigger as our aircraft flew around the minesweeping flotilla.

The need to use a handwheel to traverse made aiming in the sky much more challenging than I had expected, and the sporadic vibrations from winds made me slip from the target quite a few times.

Nevertheless, the close proximity between us and the flotilla meant that I managed to consistently keep the reticle on the targets, and soon after I received feedback from the instrument in the form of a loud beeping noise.
Following the beep were the flipping noises of the leftmost bracket of the split flap display under ‘target’.

While the bracket for ‘coordinates’ has been filled in, the two other brackets remain unmoved.
“How are we doing with the readings, Kurokawa?”
“We’ve got the coordinates… I think?”

She swirled around and continued to circle the small task force like an albatross circling a school of surfaced fish.
“Alright, keep aiming, we may need a few more---”

A deafening boom erupted from our rear starboard before she could even finish, followed by a shockwave that violently shook our aircraft.
A flak round had exploded meters behind our tail, close enough for the shrapnels to be visible from my position as Hibari made a sharp swivel.

“Kurokawa… hey, Kurokawa!” Her voice echoed through my head as the ringing in my ears slowly died down “You still there with me? Hey!”
“Y-yeah, I suppose?”
“Oh, good. Having fun?” Having made sure of my status, Hibari quickly switched to a light tease, one which I found myself too shaken by the close call to give a more thought out response.
“That was a warning shot.” She noted calmly as another flak round explodes near the position we were previously at.
“H-how do you know?”
“Because those are autocannons. If they want us dead, they would’ve kept firing.” Contrary to myself, Hibari was genuinely unfazed by incoming fire, with enough leisure to provide an explanation while flying.
“Looks like they’ve got us in their sights. We’ll be taking evasive action.”

Hibari’s words were immediately accompanied by a loud rumble from the engine, followed by a burst of acceleration that knocked me off my aim and balance. I tried to readjust the apparatus to lock back onto our targets, but Hibari began pulling us away from the flotilla while maneuvering the plane to evade incoming fire, making the task much more difficult.

“So what’s the plan Captain?” Hibari hollered as she took another sharp evasive turn to the left.
“Koishimizu senpai.” I replied, attempting to sound as composed as possible while readjusting myself to regain composure. “How bad is this compared to your sorties during the invasion of Zipang?”

She paused for a moment, perhaps giving the circumstances a good evaluation, before making her response.
“With all due respect, not too bad.”
Unwavered by the incoming fire, Hibari’s confidence in her skills emanated from her words and her attitude.
“Then we will stick to the plan. Koishimizu senpai, I’ll need you to give me a better view.”

“In that case, it might be better if we can silence those guns… or at least distract them.”
Fortunately, we had just the perfect solution to the troubles at hand in the form of our new allies. With that in mind, I tuned the channel of my intercom to the Gallians’ frequency.
“Commander Trastamara, do you copy?”
“Ayy, Capitan, having fun sightseeing? How are them critters?”
Though I wasn’t sure if this beating around the bush should continue while we were being shot at, we also ran the risk of being listened to by parties of interest. Hence, I decided to stick with the gig and respond with similar fluff.

“I see two adult porpoises with …three… five younglings?” I said, keeping an eye on the targets with sweaty palms while Hibaru evaded more incoming fire.“They’re quite busy play-hunting. ”
“Ah, quite lively today, si?”
“They certainly look magnificent, though we’re getting a bit wet from the splashes,” I did my best to feint amusement. “Commander, would you mind tossing them some feed so we could get a closer look?”
“Absolutely, Capitan.” Glascon complied with joy in his voice, and I could almost hear the cheers of the Gallian crew in the background. “What kind of pienso would you like?”

>One that makes the leaders of the pod go into a frenzy
>One that makes them cluster closely together
>One that won’t agitate them too much and cause accidents
>Other

>>4454583
>One that makes them cluster closely together
Herd them like a ball of Sardines and let the Whale feast
>>4453357
Seems so, albeit an early one seeing that it needs multiple readings to be accurate. Considering the crazy stuff the Empire puts out this isn't quite out of the norm

>>4454583
>One that makes the leaders of the pod go into a frenzy

>>4454583
>One that makes them cluster closely together

>>4454583
>One that makes them cluster closely together
For greater effect once the Yamato opens fire.

>>4454583
>One that makes them cluster closely together

“A family party maybe? It’s been a while since I’ve seen a sardine run.”
“Coming right up, Capitan.”
The exchange ended, without him specifying when this help would arrive.
“You got something from that idiot?” Hibari’s palpable distaste for our allied commander manifested as a displeased snort. Sure to say, she hadn’t yet gotten over the little incident back on the island outpost.
“The Gallians will provide us with some distraction. Let’s keep our distance for the time being.”
“Roger.”

With another thrust from the engine , our aircraft once again took a sharp swerve away from the enemy flotilla, then began picking up altitude to distance us from the firing range of the guns.

I took a deep breath and sunk back on my seat, using this short period to give myself some much needed respite. While I was no stranger to incoming fire in a firefight, but taking shrapnel rounds head on without cover and while airborne? That was far more unpleasant than expected.
And if Hibari calling this ‘not too bad’ was anything to go by… I felt I’m starting to understand how jaded our airmen must’ve felt fighting the Khaghanate for years.

“Having fun, Captain?”
"If being shot at can be categorized as fun, then sure.” I answered her tease in resignation as I checked on the apparatus again. Our enemy remained visible on the scope, but I doubt taking measurements from here would be in any way as accurate as our last run, not to mention the sporadic anti-air fire dotting the air around us.

“Why not tune in to the Gallians to ease some nerves? They’re saying some pretty interesting things over the radio.”
Her words had my interest piqued, where I disengaged from the apparatus then tuned my comms to the Gallians’ channel.

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“...by the edict of the Great Khaghan to hereby investigate these waters.”
I found myself tuned right into the middle of what sounded to be a broadcast from the commander of the flotilla. The Gallians appeared to have utilized a secondary comms system to keep in touch with us, which also allowed us to hear the situation on their bridge.
The announcer in the broadcast sounded stern and feminine, and despite the voice somewhat marred by static, I could just about pick up the Western Imperial accent in her words.

“Ha! His words mean nothing here!” The Gallian Commander broke his usual laid-back character and retorted with a surprisingly serious manner. His crew echoed his sentiment, cheering their commander on with unparalleled fervor.

“We are here to investigate our missing vessel, not to instigate conflict.”
In a display of professional level-headedness, the lady from the Khaghan flotilla refused to play into his taunts. Frankly, I would’ve believed her words, had the flotilla not opened fire on our aircraft.

“Then why’d you be shooting at our plane for, eh?”
“Your aircraft?” She paused for a moment, not fully convinced by Glascon’s claim. “If it is truly a Gallian aircraft, I would politely suggest it be kept grounded until we are done operating in these waters.”

“Well, well, Senorita. I see you have mistaken the situation you’re in.” Glascon quipped back, deliberately omitting her attempt to bait more information. “You are in Gallian waters, so I am the authority here”

“We are authorized by our edict to use any force necessary to safeguard our operation.” The lady stated calmly and clearly, paying no heed to Glascon’s pressuring attitude. Quite the typical display of gunboat diplomacy, if the absolute confidence in her words was anything to go by.

“Ah, so you don’t come in peace do you?” I pictured Glascon wagging his finger as he picked up on his opponent’s backhanded threat.

As the situation quickly escalated into a standoff, I peeked out of the cockpit glass at the vast blue below to observe any changes around the floatilla. I was immediately able to spot seven torpedo boats approaching the minesweeping flotilla from the distance, all approaching from different directions.
Bearing Gallia’s distinct Unicorn insignia, these light vessels quickly surrounded the flotilla. I tried to locate Glascon’s main task force as well, but they were nowhere to be seen from above.

“Juvenile tricks, just like your pathetic little code." Her voice, while still stern and unwavering, now sounded as cold and sharp as a dagger decorated with malice. “And Commander Trastamara, whoever you’re communicating with doesn't sound local at all. I wonder...”

“Last warning. Don’t make this any harder on yourself. Si?” The Gallian commander quickly cut her off as a chill descended down my spine. We had all expected the Khaganate’s task force to be spying over the comms, but I couldn’t stem out the worry of how much they’ve already known...

“Kurokawa!” My sense of dread got knocked away instantly as Hibari shouted over my earpiece. “Get ready, we’re going in close."

As the torpedo boats circled the flotilla, the group escalated their harassment by dispensing smoke. Alerted by this movement, the Khaganate’s flotilla began forming into a close diamond formation, in a better attempt to protect the minesweepers in case of combat.
While the enemy flotilla has now clustered together, the increased distance and smoke slowly engulfing the area has made spotting a bit trickier than before...

(1d20, -4 from circumstantial penalty)

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4464054
This is that girl who came in to pick up Fuxiang at the bar right?

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4464054

>>4464070
Seems so, looks like we are engaging the Beiyang Fleet by the order of their introduction,

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>4464054
>>4464103
Well, then we know at least one ship will escape.

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Right before I began taking aim, I took a moment to reassess the method I took the previous reading with. Since ship artillery tends to be scattered over an area, perhaps keeping the entire flotilla within the reticle was a better option than tracking the movement of one specific ship.

With that conclusion in mind, I trained the apparatus slightly away from the leading frigate of the defensive diamond and towards the minesweepers slightly behind it as the smoke engulfed the area. Despite being unable to directly observe my targets, I kept my aim steady, locking the sights on the position I estimated the minesweepers were based on my last visual contact with them.

Seconds later, a loud beep sounded from the machine, and the familiar flipping noise from the monitor signified that a second reading was registered.

“Thinking of leaving yet, eh?”
“You are interfering with our operation, commander. I would strongly advise you to disengage, before you recklessly endanger the lives of your men.”

Another bout of taunts ensued as the numbers on the flip monitor settled. Shortly after, the smoke around the outer rim began to dissipate, revealing the escalating standstill between the two parties below us.

The Khaganate’s flotilla remained unfazed by the continuous harassment, however they too have begun making preparations in anticipation of an engagement. While the minesweepers and the frigates remained cloaked in smoke, the two gunships have broken rank to tail the torpedo boats, keeping a close eye on their movements should the Gallians attempt a surprise attack.

Meanwhile, the Gallian patrol began attempting more aggressive maneuvers, with occasional flare shots and speeding dangerously close to the flotilla’s ships for ramming maneuver, only to disengage at the very last second.

“Last warning! Don’t make us use lethal force!” Glascon announced in a low growl. The Gallian commander sounded as if he was at his patience’s end, of which the other side had definitely taken notice.
“I would highly suggest against it, commander, but I would like to see you try.”

At this point, the simple encounter had turned to a real powder keg that was ready to blow at any moment, with both sides anticipating the other to fire the first shot.
With no de-escalation in sight, a full blown engagement seemed inevitable.

“You got a reading?” Hibari chimed in again from my earpiece right as the tension below reached a peak.
“Yes, but I do not have visual confirmation.”

While the positioning of the Khaganate’s flotilla from this point of view remained unclear for the time being, I was quite certain that my previous attempt wasn’t too far off.

At least, that was what my intuition was telling me.

“Well, the smoke should fully dissipate in a minute. Wanna go for another run?”

>Take one last reading, despite the potential AA fire
>Retreat and signal the Yamato for fire mission

>>4475632
>Take one last reading, despite the potential AA fire
I believe this signifies three volleys.

>>4475632
>Take one last reading, despite the potential AA fire

>>4475632
>Take one last reading, despite the potential AA fire

Alright, I'll need two separate 1d20 rolls
the first 1d20 is for Hibari's piloting, +4 bonus from her experience
the second 1d20 is for Subaru's aiming, -4 penalty due to them sustaining fire

Rolled 9 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>4476755

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4476755
First one

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>4476755
Second

Rolled 6 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>4476755

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4476755
Huh, looks like the format does not support subtractions

>>4477271
You can enter dice+1d20+-4 for subtraction

Rolled 10 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>4476755

Rolled 11 - 4 (1d20 - 4)

>>4476755

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“Lieutenant, get us in close.”
“Roger. Be ready to take aim once the smoke clears.”
I grasped tightly onto the pistol grip of the apparatus as Hibari made a clean U-turn and approached the flotilla again. Upon reaching an adequate range for a clear visual, she steadied the plane while circling the target area, giving me a clear view of the entire formation as the ships emerged from the dissipating smoke.

With a deep breath I steadied my hands, tracked the target with the traverse wheel, and aimed down the sight-
*Poomf! Poomf! Poomf!*
The deafening bang of flak rounds detonating in our proximity forced Hibari to immediately swerve away from our current trajectory. Worse yet, the incoming AA fire was several times more intense than during our previous run, with shells and shrapnels raining upon us from below like a reversed hailstorm.
“Ack, they really want us dead this time!” Her curses coincided perfectly with another evasive maneuver and the beep from the machine as the third reading was registered. “You got a reading?”
“N-no, I didn’t manage to-” I yelled as the aircraft zipped away from another dangerously close call, cutting my last attempt to get a reading short.

Such escalation in hostility could only mean one thing - had the Gallians and the Khaganate forces already begun open conflict?
Curiosity compelled me to peek towards the flotilla, but the overwhelming G-force exerted by the sharp turns Hibari undertook to evade incoming AA fire pressed me tightly onto my seat. Being caught amidst a turbulence of gunfire, I decided to contact Glascon to clarify on what had transpired earlier.

“Commander, what’s happening down there?”
“Ah, Capitan!” Much to my surprise, the Gallian commander was sounding much more coherent and serious than usual. The background “One of our boats had a little collision with their ships, and the senorita… Let’s just say she wasn’t too pleased.”
While Glascon did make a snarky remark in the end, his more serious manner reflected his concern over his men on the frontline.
“Kroqwaa, we could reaaaally do with some fire support now, si?”

His words rang true. With the standoff escalating into a full blown skirmish, the Gallian patrol was forced to engage at a significant tonnage and firepower disadvantage.
As taking another set of readings would be difficult under the volume of AA fire we’re receiving, the only logical conclusion was to call in Yamato’s support immediately.

“We are ready to fire, please order your men to pull back.”
“Excellente! Give em hell!” In a snap, Glascon had swapped back to his lighthearted, carefree tone, followed by cheers of the crew on his bridge. As unprofessional as their display may be, the anticipation and relief in his words were clear as daylight

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Having done notifying the Gallians, I tuned to Hibari’s channel to inform her of our next step.
“Koishimizu-san, the sector is too hot to resume spotting operation. Return to base, and I will be calling a fire mission.”

“Roger. Gaining altitude.”
With another evasive maneuver, Hibari reared the plane and pulled us farther away from the conflict zone.
As we distanced from the flotilla, I noticed another bout of smokescreen cloaking the area. Soon after, the silhouettes of four torpedo boats emerged from its cover before quickly scattering and speeding away. A fifth, however, was nowhere to be seen. Judging from the lack of further movement from the smokescreen, the Khaganate’s flotilla opted not to pursue.

“Kurokawa, you see that big red button under those monitors?” Hibari’s words pulled my focus back to where we were, and directed my attention onto the apparatus. “That button sends all the recorded logs straight back to the Yamato's bridge. Remember to radio the bridge first before sending the logs.”

“That’s... convenient.” I muttered to myself, impressed by how far technology has gotten within the years of perpetual conflict. Never could I imagine operating a targeting system this advanced back when I was fighting on the mainland, and that was less than a year ago.
I took another brief glance at the gradually rising smoke around the flotilla before tuning into the Yamato’s frequency.

“Yamato, this is Acting Captain Kurokawa. Do you copy?”
I tuned into Yamato's channel, and raised my voice to make sure my words got through as clear as possible.
“Copy.”
A stern, stoic man picked up the line, and even with all the noise around, I could clearly tell that Isao was on the other side. Since neither of us were in the mood for theratrics, I chose to word my answer as short and concise as possible.
“Spotting successful, transferring log data. Prepare fire mission ASAP, and please ignore the final reading,”
“Understood, relaying data to fire control.”

Just as I finished, Hibari executed another sharp swerve, forcing me to grab tightly onto my seat.
“Koishimizu-san!”
“Are they still firing at us?”
“Negative, the Gallians popped smoke as they pulled back. I think we are in the clear.”
“Oh, good.” She answered, sounding as relieved as I was. “Take a rest then, Kurokawa. We’ll be taking a small detour on our way back.”

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I took a deep breath and sank back onto the seat. For the first time since setting foot on this aircraft, I no longer felt the need to keep myself at the edge of my seat.
I used this opportunity to look out the glass, quickly noticing the numerous small punctures on the wings, no doubt from the shrapnel fired at us earlier.

“Um, Koishimizu-san? I-”
“What is it?”
I found myself deeply troubled by the possibility of the plane losing control and crashing down into the ocean below, which made speaking fluently and calmly that much more difficult.
“W-we’ve got holes on our wings-”
“Hm? Oh, don’t worry about them, our support crew will patch them up in no time.”

>Is this what you got to deal with everyday during the invasion?
>What's your opinion on our flight crew and our new allies?
>Have you got any interesting experiences in the skies?
>Write in

>>4488962
>Is this what you got to deal with everyday during the invasion?
>Good job

>>4488962
>Have you got any interesting experiences in the skies?
Sounds more in line with what someone who has never taken flight would've asked

>>4488962
>Is this what you got to deal with everyday during the invasion?

>>4488962
>Is this what you got to deal with everyday during the invasion?

On a side note, I feel like the QMs really like to setup scenarios where the MC gets teased, and anons just go with it. Not that I'm complaining.

>>4488962
>Is this what you got to deal with everyday during the invasion?

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Her casual attitude when addressing the issue did little to dispel my concern, though her words did make me wonder...

“I-is this what you had to deal with everyday during the invasion?”
“Well, add a few more fighters, shots from bombers’ rear turrets, HMG fire webs and heavy flak artillery… oh, maybe a swallow or two on some particularly horrendous days, then yes. More or less.”
“Uh...um, sounds rough.”
It took me a good few moments to process her description alone. I could not even begin to imagine how it would feel to face such a chaotic battlefield on a daily basis.
“Against the Beiyang Fleet that is.” She continued with an audible chuckle. “Though I did participate in quite a few attempts to intercept ‘Berkuts’. You’ve seen those right? Back in Osaka.”
“Yeah…”

On land operations, the Khagante has always deployed a highly armor-centric doctrine, the very tactic that allowed them to dominate the plains of the Assuwan mainland. Following the annexation of the Goguryeo Kingdom, the Khaganate Army’s high command under Marshal Temur revolutionized their combat tactics with the incorporation of close air support into their doctrine.

These newly acquired “hunting eagles” ground attack planes piloted by seasoned Gogeryeon airmen proved more than capable in providing the ground forces with aggressive and precise close air support, doubling the effectiveness of the Khaghan’s already fearsome armor spearhead. But their ground attack capabilities of the ‘Berkuts’ were not the sole reason for their notoriety...

“Oftentimes they’d use Berkuts as bait- you fall into a trap trying to intercept them, only to be ambushed by swallows swooping down from the clouds above. The next thing you know, an entire wing’s been wiped out”
Like the last few accounts, Hibari delivered her experience no different from one telling horror stories by a campfire.

“Let’s just hope our allies have enough capacity to deal with them.”

And that shall be the final update for the thread
Thank you all for joining and for the patient wait during my long absence. The thread shall be archived shortly

We will be resuming "Valkyria Chronicles: Pacific Theater" for the next thread, then be alternating between the two quests for all coming threads.

>>4491398
Thanks for running!
Though not a lot happened in the thread.

>>4491398
Alright, a big typo here.
Next thread should be "One Year With Osana", as we are supposed to be alternating between the two