"Rogue Squadron heads up: enemy interceptors are inbound from the San Salvacion airport, Foxhounds. Establish air superiority and clear an LZ for Deviant Squadron," Crosswind ordered.

"Roger that, Crosswind," Vortex replied. "Rogue Squadron engaging. Deviant Squadron, hang back a bit. I don't wanna risk losing you guys to the interceptors."

"Rogue 1, Deviant 1. We read you loud and clear. We'll wait on your mark."

"Alright, let's split up. Magnum, form an element with Axe, Dodger, Charger, and Diamond and take out those Foxhounds and whatever other planes that take off. The rest of us are clearing a path for Deviant Squadron." Vortex inverted his plane and dove down to the enemy ground units below.

Eva could just barely hear Magnum grumbling and presumably biting back some retort she wanted to throw at Vortex before finally responding. "Fine, Rogue 2 engaging."

"I can't be the only one who thinks this is a stupid plan, right?" Slipstream asked. "Like, are we really expecting that things will go differently this time?"

Crosswind sighed. "Just focus on the mission, Slipstream," he huffed.

"What do you mean? I am focusing on the mission," Slipstream defended himself. "I'm focusing on how awful of a plan this is."

"I think what Crosswind is trying to say is to shut up and get to work," Magic chimed in.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but for once, I agree with them," Dodger added. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here, preferably before the Arsenal Bird shows up again."

Lucky scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll stop you from running away again anyway," he quipped.

Eva was about to join in, but Vortex cut everyone off. "That's enough! All of you. Focus on your jobs," he snapped.

Eva switched to her 6AAMs and watched as the distance to the five-person flight of MiG-31s dropped until she was finally within range. "Rogue 10, Fox 3!" she reported, firing a salvo and banking to the left to keep them from doing the same to her.

The Foxhounds all broke apart from one another to evade the missiles, but two of them weren't quick enough. Eva twisted and turned her neck around, trying to keep an eye on all of the targets. Eventually, she saw one flying right over her head and prepared to take it out, but Axe beat her to it. She looked down at her radar to check where the next closest target was, but Charger and Magnum already shot them down.

"Crosswind, enemy interceptors are down. Do we have any more fighters incoming?" Charger asked.

"Negative. At least not yet," Crosswind answered. "For now, go help the others with the ground targets."

"Deviant Squadron, we've cut through a decent amount of the enemy's ground units, and we've got a pretty decent LZ here. You're clear to land," Vortex informed them.

"Wilco, we're coming in now. Keep us covered," Deviant 1 replied with an almost lighthearted tone.

Eva saw Deviant Squadron's blips appear on her radar and set her sights on a conveniently lined up group of SAM sites and AA guns. She took out the first two with standard missiles, and the rest didn't stand a chance against her Su-35's high-caliber machine guns. Despite all eleven pilots carving their way through the airport's anti-air defenses, there were still dozens of contacts left to go.

"Rogue Squadron, enemy attack helos are coming in from deeper within the city. Take them out before they can get to Deviant Squadron," Crosswind ordered.

"Dodger, Trench, get those helicopters." Vortex was quick to respond to Crosswind's warning. "Deviant Squadron, sitrep?"

"We're landing now," Deviant 1 answered. "But we still don't know what building we're going to. Crosswind, any idea?"

"Hold on, Deviant 1. I'll try to patch Tillmin in. Wait one," Crosswind replied.

Static flared up on the radio, and it slowly died down again as a voice started to become more and more audible. "He-o? C-oss-ind is tha- ou?" The fragments of words were barely able to be made out.

Crosswind let out an annoyed sigh. "God, this damn comm jamming is really starting to get on my nerves," he muttered. "One second, Major, we're having trouble reading you. Try talking now."

"Crosswind? Is that you?" Tillmin's voice came in much clearer.

"Yes, sir, it's me. We're going to get you out of here. Which building are you in?" Crosswind asked.

"Well, it certainly took you long enough," Tillmin said with a chuckle. "I'm in the barracks on the far side of the runway, the side where you landed. I can see you out the window. You won't have to worry about anyone else once you're in here. I've already er… neutralized them," he reported.

Eva looked from where Deviant Squadron had landed and shifted her attention up the runway as she circled around it, quickly spotting the building. "I think I see it," she reported. "It looks like a clear shot."

"The keyword there is looks," Charger cut in. "It's always the most straightforward objectives that are the hardest."

"Boy, are they ever," Lucky quipped. "How many 'walk in the park' missions have we had that turned into a complete shitshow?"

"Too many," Magic answered. "All the more reason to do this one right."

Eva fired two missiles at a tank and buzzed the airport's control tower before pitching straight up and around into a loop. As she aimed straight for the ground, she destroyed a pair of APCs with her machine guns and fired two more missiles at an AA gun and SAM site right before pulling up. She put some distance between herself and the air defenses and checked her radar. Trench and Dodger had destroyed the helicopters and were already on their way back, but several dozen more contacts just appeared from the west, and they were headed right for the airport.

"Crosswind, we've got bogeys from the west!" she informed him.

"Roger, I see them. They're MQ-101s," Crosswind reported.

Tillmin cursed under his breath. "They responded faster than I thought. The Arsenal Bird will be here soon. We've got to hurry. What's the status of the extraction team?" he asked.

"Goddammit!" Deviant 1 shouted, as if on cue. Gunfire was audible in the background. "Crosswind, they've got us pinned with a mortar!" he reported. "I sent James and Adams to flank around to take it out, but they're non-responsive. They must have a drone somewhere doing laser guidance, a mini-quadcopter of some kind, most likely."

"Copy that, hold on Deviant 1. I'll send it to Rogue Squadron via the data link," Crosswind told Deviant 1. "You hear that Rogue Squadron, I'm sending the target coordinates to you. Take it out," he ordered.

Eva happened to see the drone appear directly in front of her, giving her the perfect opportunity to take it out with a shot from her machine gun. "Got it!" she reported.

"Wait, there's movement in the hangars," Deviant 1 said. "It looks like some more planes are taxying onto the runway."

"Hold your fire!" Tillmin cut in. "What kind of planes are they?" he asked.

"Su-33s," Crosswind answered. "Why should we care, though?"

"They're with me, Castor Squadron. I managed to talk them over to my side, and I trust them with my life. Hold on, and I'll patch them in," Tillmin replied.

Magnum scoffed. "Yeah, cause we're just supposed to take the word of a defector at face value," she retorted.

"It's not up to you, Rogue 2," Crosswind snapped. "Commander Gates trusts him, and that's all that matters. Patch them in, Major."

Eva fired a salvo of 6AAMs at the approaching MQ-101s and popped countermeasures to shake the missiles they had fired at her. She couldn't see exactly how many of her missiles found their marks, but her HUD informed that she got at least one hit. More than anything, though, Eva wished she could shot off the missile alert that was incessantly barking her ears. She looked over her shoulder at the drones behind her and took a deep breath before dropping her speed. As soon as she was able to, she performed a cobra maneuver. However, she made a critical mistake in that she didn't accelerate quickly enough, so she started stalling. After regaining control of the plane, she pulled up and slipped behind the drones again, firing a missile at each of them

"Hello? Can you guys hear me? This is Castor 1, callsign Neutron," a new voice asked.

"We read you loud and clear, Neutron," Crosswind answered. "This is the AWACS Crosswind of the Air Force Base 262 Squadron. We heard that you're looking to lend a hand."

"That's right," Neutron replied. "The four of us are taking off as we speak. Major Tillmin already filled us in on the plan. We'll get him out of here."

Crosswind managed a slight chuckle. "Good to hear, 'cause we'll need all the help we can get dealing with these drones. Take off and link up with Rogue Squadron to- ah dammit."

"Right, because that's what we want to hear the AWACS saying," Slipstream muttered.

"Heads up, projectiles inbound! It looks like the same ones as before," Crosswind warned.

"Oh shit, all aircraft scatter, now!" Tillmin ordered. "That's an airburst missile, codenamed Helios. It'll knock you out of the sky if you're not careful."

Eva saw the missiles' impact range show up on her radar as red circles and made sure to get as far away from them as she could while taking out a few drones along the way. She let out a silent sigh of relief upon seeing that everyone else made it out of the Helios missiles' blast radius as well, including Castor Squadron.

"Impact in ten seconds… five, four, three, two… impact, now!"

Right on cue, several large blue explosions lit up the sky and shook Eva's plane. Surprisingly, though, quite a few drones were hit by the missiles, leaving only a few left.

"Is everyone ok?" Vortex asked. "Deviant Squadron, what's your status? We can't wait around forever!"

"We're with Major Tillmin and escorting him out now. Just hang in there," Deviant 1 answered.

Eva went for another pass over the base's ground defenses, taking out a tank and a few APCs. "Let's just hope it's just as easy to get out of here as it was to get here," she said. "Quite frankly, I've had enough of this for one day."

"I'm with you there," Vortex agreed. "So let's get Deviant Squadron out of here and end this mission already."

Tillmin and Deviant Squadron made a mad dash for the helicopters and took off as soon as everyone was aboard. Rogue Squadron and Castor Squadron stayed behind for another minute to take out the rest of the drones and a few more SAM sites before pulling out to follow Deviant Squadron.

"Holy shit, I can't believe that worked!" Lucky exclaimed.

"That was… intense, to say the least," Poet agreed, breathing heavily. "By god, once we get back, I'm getting something to eat and then sleeping until the end of time."

"I wouldn't relax just yet, you guys," Crosswind cut in. "We've got multiple bandits coming up behind you, and coming up fast- aircraft type: F-22s. Prepare to engage," he warned.

"Oh shit, that's Draugr Squadron," Neutron realized. "They're an elite squadron of Erusean aces. Trust me when I say you do not want to engage them."

"Well, we don't really have much choice, do we?" Vortex asked. "Castor Squadron, you stay with Deviant Squadron and keep them heading back to the base. Rogue Squadron will keep them off your backs."

Dodger laughed. "Speak for yourself. I think Castor Squadron could use a bit of help finding the way back to base."

"There he goes, running away again," Slipstream sneered.

Eva turned around with the rest of the squadron and faced down all eight of the approaching F-22s. It was a beautiful plane, and she felt the smallest shred of guilt for having to shoot so many of them down, but that wasn't enough to stop her. Eva switched to her 6AAMs and hit the afterburners. She fired as soon as she had all six targets, but they split off into a beautifully synchronized sunburst formation, causing each of her missiles to miss. Eva immediately pitched up into the sky and followed after the lead plane. Following him was no minor feat, though. He was swift and maneuverable, and Eva couldn't manage to get a clear shot on him. In fact, she could barely keep up as he led her over the city streets of San Salvacion, while the rest of the squadron seemed to be facing similar difficulties. As the Draugr pilot started to make a left turn, Eva tried to predict his next move and adjust accordingly. She dove down and to the left, and just as she expected, he turned down after turning left, leaving him wide open. Eva unleashed a hail of machine-gun fire and missiles, sending him spiraling downward. However, just before the F-22 crashed into the ground, she saw the ejection seat shoot up, and the parachute deployed a few seconds later.

After pulling back up into the air, Eva looked around at the remaining planes to see where everyone was. Her eyes wandered before settling on Slipstream, who seemed to be struggling to get one of the Draugr pilots off his tail. Without hesitating for a moment, she headed straight for the two planes and came up right behind the F-22. She fired two standard missiles, but the F-22 dodged at the last second to shake them off. Eva briefly hit the afterburners and shot forward, closing the distance between herself and the F-22. She fired a machine-gun burst and landed a few shots before the F-22 broke off trailing smoke. With some parts presumably damaged, the Draugr pilot was much less maneuverable, and as a result, they were much easier to chase down and finish off with another missile.

"How are we holding up?" Eva asked, looking at her radar again to see who needed help, only to see a clean radar.

"We did it," Vortex said, panting. "We did do it, right Crosswind?"

"Holy shit, you guys, that was insane!" Crosswind exclaimed. "You just took down a squadron of eight Erusean aces like it was nothing."

"Let's just… get back to base, yeah?" Charger chimed in. "We can go over everything during the debriefing."

"Yeah, I'm dead tired," Eva admitted, feeling a bit of lightheadedness herself. Granted, not as much as when she had fought Zero, not by a longshot.

"Alright, alright. Deviant Squadron and Castor Squadron are well out of the AO by now, so you're cleared to RTB. Get out of there and head back to base, Rogue Squadron."


Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry to say, but I'm gonna be abandoning Spare Squadron because it's just so low on my priority list compared to other fics I wanna write. You'll see a new one soon though, a Project Wingman fic.