[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/r6wh7zm.png?1[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/45AJwgW.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/dpLvYzd.png?1[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/9GxBjvd.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/5Q0Aqrp.jpg[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/iJ7b5Cc.jpg[/img] [h1][i]My Shattered Sky[/i][/h1] [b][color=d588fc]Eagle Eye[/color] [color=8493ca]"Dragonborn"[/color] [color=ed1c24]Hounds of Humanity Fighters[/color][/b] [sub][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/143799-create-a-hero-a-superhero-rpg-season-2-new-horizons-always-open/char?page=2#post-3904890](Full Cast of AbandonedIntel's Characters)[/url][/sub] [hr] [img]https://media.giphy.com/media/PoJYP1hpoo3POoY5eH/giphy.gif[/img] 18 Kilometers above Lost Haven, United States [sub][url=https://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=IfhzmM-pKns]"Heavy Command Cruiser" - Ace Combat 6 OST[/url][/sub][/center] The pair of F-15C Eagle fighters remained in the sky. High above of the city of Lost Haven, one woman manned the lead F-15, while the second Eagle was piloted by a small combat AI pod that can act independently. However, the second Eagle was controlled by none other than Eagle Eye, the hyper-advanced sentient intelligence platform that has been nothing short of helpful to those within the organization very few know as [i]Papa Sierra[/i]. The Dove Shield emblem, complete with PS initials, are plastered on the vertical stabilizers, as well as that of the wings. While normally F-15s would belong to the USAF in some capacity (or even the Israelis and Saudis), there was no clear distinction of nations on the plane, just a small amount of numbers, and a small silver dove plastered on the wings where the USAF emblem would be. Both Eagles are armed with a large payload, with Dragonborn's F-15 armed with a dozen air-to-air missiles, two machine gun pods, and the large Anti-Satellite missile attached to the belly of the fighter. Eagle Eye's F-15, however, is similarly armed with some air-to-air missiles, as well as a very similar ASAT missile, but instead of machine gun pods, there were two circular modules with large batteries attached to them. Both fighters were upgraded with advanced avionics and powerful batteries, with a plethora of goodies that aren't seen mounted on the external hardpoints. While these planes were far from stealthy, they were the some of the fastest and sturdiest planes known on the planet. Dragonborn waited quietly as she flew in formation with Eagle Eye. She sighed, taking off her mask as she relaxed in the cabin. [color=8493ca]"I swear to Christ, we're gonna run out of fuel before those bastards down there reveal the satellite."[/color] [i][color=d588fc]"Patience, Dragonborn."[/color][/i] Eagle Eye spoke through private comms. [color=d588fc][i]"We just learned that the enemy has been deploying captured STRIKE tech, and are in the hands of a vast array of classified advanced weaponry. I'm in the process of analyzing it all as I speak."[/i][/color] Dragonborn looked up to the dark sky again. [color=8493ca]"Well, if I'm gonna be honest with you, I'd love to just swoop down there and kill some time by flying close air support for the good guys in uhm... Sherman Square."[/color] Dragonborn said. [color=8493ca]"It'd be a whole lot of fun to destroy these mechs and helicopters."[/color] Dragonborn said, fantasizing the idea of just doing strafing runs on the Hounds. [color=d588fc][i]"Unfortunately that is not an option right now. We are only armed for air-to-air and anti-satellite combat. Sit tight, okay? We got this."[/i][/color] Dragonborn sighed. [color=8493ca]"Righto..."[/color] She then looked at her radar, which displayed several blips. [color=8493ca]"Uhm... are you seeing this?"[/color] [color=d588fc][i]"Indeed I am, Dragonborn. There's a large contingent of bogeys heading towards Lost Haven. Some of them are heading towards the city... though at least four appear to be on an intercept vector towards us."[/i][/color] Eagle Eye explained. [color=d588fc][i]"So far none of them is attacking any Papa Sierra entities. They appear to be some prototype fighter design too, but a rather slow one armed with lots of weaponry."[/i][/color] Dragonborn sighed, turning the aircraft towards the source of radar blips, on an approach heading straight towards them at a slow speed. [color=8493ca]"Shouldn't the Air National Guard be here by now? I'd love to have some American F-16s fly by our side on this."[/color] [color=d588fc][i]"There are two squadrons of USAF F-16s inbound to secure this airspace, and they will arrive in about an hour. They have just completed a sortie against a Hound contingent in Vermont."[/i][/color] There was a brief pause before Eagle Eye spoke again. [color=d588fc][i]"FC targeting from the craft. They're bandits."[/i][/color] Dragonborn smirked. [color=8493ca]"Copy that~"[/color] Dragonborn sang, excited to finally get some action. She then flipped a few switches in her cockpit. [color=8493ca]"Arming AAMs hot."[/color] The 20mm rotary Vulcan Cannons began spinning in their machine gun pods, ready to fire. [color=8493ca]"Vulcan Cannon armed hot."[/color] Dragonborn smirked, activating the radar targeting system. [color=8493ca]"Eagle Eye, play that one song that I've been saving for this very moment."[/color] Dragonborn then brought her sun visor down, covering her entire face, and activating the HUD inside her helmet. [color=8493ca]"Awaiting your magic words~."[/color] [center][sub][url=https://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=l5Iz1SxC2Go]"Comona Remix" - Ace Combat Infinity OST[/url][/sub][/center] Eagle Eye pretended to clear his throat before speaking through the comms. [color=d588fc][i][b]"Cleared to engage."[/b][/i][/color] [color=8493ca]"Komodo 1, engage!"[/color] Dragonborn activated her thrusters, and her fighter surged forward. There were only four hostile fighters on radar, and she was getting a light indicator warning her of FC targeting from said craft. She simply didn't care, she simply just armed her missiles hot, and waited for hostile aircraft to climb up to her level. [color=d588fc][i]"Komodo 2 engage."[/i][/color] Eagle Eye's craft broke formation and spread out, also arming anti-air weapons hot. They were heading straight towards the Hounds fighters head on, and they didn't seem to be afraid. [color=ed1c24]"We've been detected, and they are on approach to attack. Should be two Air Force F-16s. Destroy them before they become a hindrance to our operation in the city."[/color] The Hounds pilots said over the radio, and while their comms were encrypted, it was an easy break for Eagle Eye, who transmitted them to Dragonborn effortlessly. Dragonborn snrked. [color=8493ca]"Air Force F-16s? Boy are you in for a surprise."[/color] A light went red and gave a sine buzz, and Dragonborn pressed a red button on her control stick, which let loose a radar-guided Anti-Air missile. It fired quickly, and sped off into the dark yonder. [color=8493ca]"Komodo 1, Fox 1."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"Missile, evade! Eva-"[/color] The enemy's transmissions was cut off by fuzz as a very distant explosion was spotted among the clouds. [color=d588fc][i]"Splash one bandit, kill confirmed.[/i][/color] Eagle Eye said before firing his missile from his F-15 into the cloudy yonder ahead. [color=d588fc][i]"Komodo 2, Fox 1."[/i][/color] A few seconds later, another distant explosion. [color=d588fc][i]"Komodo 2, splash one."[/i][/color] [color=ed1c24]"What the... they're using radar guided missiles! Two of ours have already went down!"[/color] A Hounds fighter groaned. [color=ed1c24]"This is Red 3! Grey squadron, back us up!" [i]"Roger that, Gray Squadron inbound to help."[/i][/color] [color=8493ca]"Sweet, this should get interesti-"[/color] Dragonborn then received a missile alert, where one of the two Hound fighters directly ahead of her launched a barrage of guided rockets her way. [color=8493ca]"I got this one..."[/color] Dragonborn immediately inverted and dove underneath the clouds, and immediately enabled her built-in ECM pod, making the flurry of rockets that went her way go stupid and just go screaming towards the Atlantic. Bringing her F-15 back above the clouds, she saw the two Hounds fighters pass her on either side of her and break formation. [url=https://i.imgur.com/6sD4oJR.jpg]The Hounds fighters appeared rather different[/url], and they had some strange repaint jobs on them. They were armed to the teeth with rockets and missiles, and they appeared to be very threatening machines of war. Dragonborn got a good look at one of them, and wondered to herself why STRIKE would ever need such a silly thing when there are perfectly good F-15s laying around that need love. Oh well, prototype fighters such as that are probably still in the very first stages of deployment, so its most likely that the pilots are either green, or just don't know how to fly these things too well. Too bad Dragonborn and Eagle Eye were nearly the definition of [i]Eagle Riders.[/i] Dragonborn performed a sharp High-G turn, air being shattered within the wake of Komodo 1's jet. Dragonborn was nearly crushed by the force of the turn, but she was able to pull through. The Hound fighters had a hard time turning around, which made them easy prey from being hit in the back. Didn't help that they were slow too. It was almost as if they were dedicated ground-attack aircraft, which were perfect prey for a dedicated fighter. Instead of squandering a missile on her quarry, Dragonborn instead armed her Vulcan Cannons, and used her HUD to give her a firing solution. She aimed her gun pods at the spot ahead of the fighter that was banking, and let the guns spin. [b]BRRRRRTTTT![/b] A long burst of fire from three 20mm machine guns fired and almost all of the bullets sunk into the fighter, tearing it to pieces, causing it to catch fire and fall. [color=8493ca]"Yeah! Splash one bandit!"[/color] And then it exploded. Dragonborn couldn't help but smirk at that. [center][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/BHIVIfDmD6iFRYQnqP/giphy.gif[/img][/center] [color=ed1c24]"Grey Squadron, where are you!? We're getting torn to shreds he-"[/color] A Hound shouted over the radio before he was interrupted by a loud background noise. [color=ed1c24]"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Red 4, I've been hit hard! I'm bailing o-"[/color] Then static. [color=d588fc][i]"Komodo 2, splash one."[/i][/color] Eagle Eye said calmly. [color=d588fc][i]"And before you ask, I didn't fire a second shot. The aircraft exploded on its own."[/i][/color] Dragonborn shrugged. [color=8493ca]"Not that I cared if you did. They all have it coming."[/color] Dragonborn said, turning her plane towards the wave of reinforcements, that came in the form of 8 aircraft in an even V formation. [color=8493ca]"I would've minded if it was just some dude doing his job at an enemy country but... this is a bit different."[/color] Dragonborn explained, arming her radar-guided missiles hot. [color=8493ca]"Ready to dive into the storm?"[/color] Dragonborn asked, grinning a little. [color=d588fc][i]"Always happy to dive in with you."[/i][/color] The AI said over the comms, Eagle Eye's F-15 quickly rejoining Dragonborn's side. Dragonborn smirked, and looked ahead. She already got a lock-on, and enabling a multi-target lock, she decided to take on the two fighters that were grouped up next to each other. She locked onto them with both missiles, and while the radar-guided missiles needed her to keep them within a specific field, she kept her vector and fired two of them at one target each, letting the missiles soar ahead of her. [color=8493ca]"Komodo one, fox one double." [/color] [center][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/NQjhYWwGs1yneTaOnK/giphy.gif[/img][/center] She still had a radar lock, and she waited. [b]Boom.[/b] One down. [b]Boom.[/b] Two down. Small smokey explosions in the distance indicated two destroyed fighters, as well as the panicked responses from some of the more inexperienced Hounds pilots. They promptly returned fire towards Dragonborn once she was in range of their smart rockets. There was a large flurry of them! [i][color=d588fc]"Missile alert, break right."[/color][/i] Eagle Eye warned. Dragonborn immediately pulled up and towards the right, attempting to pull a High-G move in order to evade the plethora of smaller guided rockets fired from the six remaining Grey Squadron craft that flew to intercept them. They were quite smart, and using her built-in ECM pod, she was able to disable their guidance tech, and make them harmlessly fly away. Dragonborn had a hard time getting her plane back after jinking pretty hard, having slowed down a bit during that turn, loosing a lot of energy and speed. This made her quite vulnerable to a second attack, and once Dragonborn realized this, she engaged her thrusters and flew in a different direction. [color=8493ca]"Eagle Eye! How are you doing?" [/color] [i][color=d588fc]"I'm doing excellently, I've already splashed a bandit using my laser defense system."[/color][/i] Eagle Eye said, to which Dragonborn watched from afar. She saw the bright red beams shoot out from Eagle Eye's F-15, destroying any missile that came close to his jet, as well as destroying another jet by a well-placed laser shot towards an analyzed weak point, which caused the craft to burst into flames and lose power, falling towards the ocean. [i][color=d588fc]"Komodo 2, splash one."[/color][/i] [color=8493ca]"Kill confirmed. Nice work."[/color] Dragonborn said before she realized that she invited herself to attack from behind. [color=8493ca]"Oh shit, I got one on my six."[/color] Dragonborn said, engaging some automatic countermeasures and the thrust, pulling up to head straight into the sky. [color=8493ca]"Don't bother going after this asshole, I wanna try something out."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"It's only been a couple of minutes, how come we've lost so many planes!?"[/color] A Hounds fighter shouted over the radio. [color=ed1c24]"It's just two fighters!"[/color] [color=ed1c24]"I got this one in my sights!"[/color] Another Hounds fighter said through the radio, chasing Dragonborn up into the sky. Dragonborn focused on climbing before a red beam shot past her! [color=8493ca]"What the f- SHIT!"[/color] Another red beam shot past her, causing her to bank slightly. Some part of her left wing was burned from it, but it seemed to be working normally. [color=8493ca]"Komodo One, slight cosmetic damage! Doing fine though!"[/color] [i][color=d588fc]"Are you sure you don't want me to go after him?"[/color][/i] Eagle Eye asked, as he was in the process of being pursued by a Hounds fighter himself. [color=8493ca]"Only after I reach the service cieling! I wanna see how high these STRIKE planes can go!"[/color] Dragonborn banked from side to side, making it more difficult for the slower aircraft behind her to get a killshot. It proceeded to fire several smart rockets at her, which again, went dumb from her ECM, which jammed the rockets and caused them to go every which way, anywhere else than Dragonborn. [i][color=d588fc]"The Electronic Counter Measure Pods are making you lazy, Dragonborn."[/color][/i] Eagle Eye teased. [color=8493ca]"Better than dumping flares."[/color] Dragonborn chuckled before blinking, seeing the stars and space quite clearly at this point, and feeling her aircraft slow down. [color=8493ca]"Oh shit, I think I'm at the-"[/color] [b]BUZZ! BUZZ! [i]Stall Warning![/i][/b] [color=8493ca]"Yup."[/color] Dragonborn's F-15 was very high up in the atmosphere, where there was barely any air at all. Dragonborn can clearly see space from here, but she didn't exactly leave Earth's gravitational pull. And with the freezing temperatures of space, the canopy and some of her plane has iced up, and her engines have stopped. However, at this point, she could see the Ex-STRIKE fighter having already stalled some time ago, desperately trying to get the engines running again. Both of them were at free fall at this point, and Dragonborn can see her altimeter going nuts from how fast she was falling. Dragonborn got her plane in an optimal position, and as air started to rush in and the plane started getting warmer, Dragonborn had a clear shot at the freefalling plane. The Eagle's engines soon went back online, and with a clear avenue of firing, Dragonborn let loose on the three Vulcan Cannons, a long [b]BRRRTTTTT!!![/b] to make sure that the Hound fighter below her was blown to bits. [b]BOOOM!!![/b] [color=8493ca]"Splash one!"[/color] Dragonborn called out as she gleefully flew past the shattered wreckage of the enemy fighter, before she pulled up and resumed flying normally. [color=8493ca]"Damn..."[/color] Dragonborn panted a little after experiencing all of the Gs involved in the manuevers she pulled, feeling a little lightheaded from all of that. [color=8493ca]"...Eagle Eye? What's our status?"[/color] [center][sub][url=https://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=dOAlhAM6vvI]"Sipli Field" - Ace Combat 6 OST[/url][/sub][/center] [color=d588fc][i]"All hostiles in the area have been neutralized."[/i][/color] Eagle Eye said. [color=d588fc][i]"I would humbly suggest you to rejoin our formation... and take a breather? And stop doing manuevers like that?"[/i][/color] Dragonborn chuckled. [color=8493ca]"Well now we know how to take these fuckers out if we ever get cornered by 'em... emphasis on [i]if.[/i]"[/color] Dragonborn sighed. [color=8493ca]"That was fun... hadn't had fight like this in [i]years.[/i] Been so used to flying the Strike Eagles."[/color] Dragonborn said with a soft smirk, raising her visor and taking off her oxygen mask, revealing her face. [color=8493ca]"Can't wait 'till those cowards reveal that damned satellite." [/color] Eagle Eye flew right beside Dragonborn, joining her at her 'hip.' [color=d588fc][i]"I share that sentiment. The less innocent lives lost, the better."[/i][/color] Dragonborn thought about it. [color=8493ca]"But what if it isn't even [i]here?[/i]"[/color] Dragonborn asked, thinking a little. [color=8493ca]"What if that blast radius was just a red herring?"[/color] Eagle Eye moved up a little to be side-by-side with Dragonborn. [color=d588fc][i]"I sincerely doubt if that's the case. Lost Haven is an area well known to foster metahuman activity... and it has been the target of countless of Hounds attacks. If the satellite were to attack anywhere, it would be [b]here.[/b]"[/i][/color] Eagle Eye explained. [color=d588fc][i]"If the satellite was not here, but was revealed elsewhere, I know just the right anti-satellite missile systems to hack."[/i][/color] Dragonborn nodded. [color=8493ca]"Yeah... maybe you're right. Fingers crossed that it doesn't have any bullshit defenses, other than that cloaking tech. Seriously, that's [i]insanely[/i] stupid."[/color] Dragonborn sighed. [color=8493ca]"How are we on fuel reserves?"[/color] Eagle Eye remained silent for just a moment. [color=d588fc]"We should be able to remain in the air for at least another few hours."[/color] Dragonborn sighed. [color=8493ca]"Awesome. And now, we wait." [/color]