All the jinking, sudden stops and changes of direction were beginning to take their toll on Zola. She was not getting airsick or even uncomfortable, far from it. She simply hated the idea of being forced to run rather than taking the fight to the enemy, though she could see the sense in Everett not attempting the same stunt they had pulled previously when they were being chased by another fighter. It had been a good move, but the Fencer would be an easy kill during the part where they had to reduce their speed. In a one-on-one scenario, as it had been previously, it would have been fine as there was no one else to target them. Here, in the middle of the bombers and their escorts, it would be simply suicide.

Suddenly, in the midst of a sharp, high-G turn, she spotted Excalibur Twelve, still trying to shake the bandit which had latched onto his tail. "Evy, you think we should try bailing Twelve out of trouble?" She asked once they leveled out. "He's to our five o'clock and high. None of us are doing any good just flying around trying not to die. The sooner we get each other's bandits off our tails, the sooner we can get to doing some real work."

"It could work," Everett said and turned sharply to the right, bringing them to a direct course towards Excalibur Twelve. "Excalibur Twelve, this is Excalibur Four. We're on the way. Just do us a favour and splash our bandit once you're clear." He said over the radio and flew in a series of 'S' shapes in order to prevent the bandit on their tail from getting a solid lock while continuing to close the distance with Excalibur Twelve. Everett had no idea whether it was a testament to Twelve's flying skill or a demonstration of the UNWO pilot's lack of skill that Twelve was not shot down yet. The two of them had been playing catching since the early stages of the engagement.

To an outside observer, the entire scene must have looked almost comical - A bandit on Excalibur Twelve's tail, followed by Four on that bandit's tail and a bandit on four's tail. Zola could have laughed at the visualization of that scene were it not obvious to her that one slip up would easily mean their deaths. "R-74s armed and ready to go." She reported, but was unable to get a lock due to Everett's evasive maneuvers. "You've got control of the flares?"

"Yes," Everett replied with a nod. "I can give you maybe ten seconds of level flight before the enemy gets a lock, is that enough?"

"You underestimate me, I'm hurt." Zola said with mock disappointment in her voice, followed by a short laugh. "More than enough, Evy."

Everett grunted in response and leveled their aircraft out, at the same time releasing another load of chaff and flares to buy them some time while the R-74 missiles took their own sweet time to get a lock on the bandit chasing Twelve. "Locked-" Zola began, but was quickly cut off when the enemy fighter released its own flares, lighting up the sky for a split second. "Son of a bitch!" She swore and shook her head. The R-74s began to attempt another lock, but the alarms in the Fencer's cockpit was already going off. Everett fired another load of countermeasures, but it only stopped the alarms for a few split-seconds. 

"Zola..." He said in a warning tone.

"I've got this," She replied, her lips in a thin line of determination. The alarms in the Fencer continued to blare.

"Zola, we're going to fucking die if we don't move!" Everett shouted.

"Locked!" Zola reported and pressed the button immediately after. The R-74 missile streaked forward and struck the enemy fighter in the wing. The explosion tore the enemy fighter in two and pieces continued to fall out of its eviscerated fuselage as it fell to the ground below. Everett did not waste any time and pulled the Fencer into a steep climb right after they managed to confirm the kill. The alarms stopped, but the flash of light from a missile streaking past underneath told them just how close they came to being shot down. "Told you I could do it," Zola said and looked to Everett with a smile. 

"Don't get too cocky," Everett said curtly. "We've still got someone on our tail."

"Right," Zola said and got on the radio. "Twelve, Excalibur Four just cleared your tail. Mind returning the favour?"