Post by Greywall on Jan 24, 2021 15:32:34 GMT -5
Alfred McCloud had just finished putting on his RAF uniform with full honors, he stared into the mirror image of himself looking back, a man with several distinguished medals pinned to his uniform. His wife came into the room wearing a modest evening outfit, "Alfred, the car is ready." He nodded at her through the mirror before his eyes slowly traced back to himself, lost in a memory he didn't even remember leaving that room and entering the car taking him to a ceremony celebrating the airmen of the fifth staol war.
As they arrived the sound of aircraft flew over, it was a meager demonstration of the Skydevil Royce biplane used in the early years of the war. Alfred froze staring at the aircraft, and for that moment he was back...Edinburgh 1935.
The war had taken a terrible turn, Galra had the world under siege, Gaelian forces were in a defensible situation as the Galra warmachine pulverized the continent. By order of their emperor, Galra committed over 67% of their air forces to destroy the Gaelian islands. For days nonstop, the Royal Airforce would be on watch, scrambling aircraft to meeting bombing raids sent to attack the islands. The Galra weren't even trying to hit anything important, deliberate bombing on civilians was approved to kill as many people as possible and break the Gaelians from remaining in the war.
McCloud was part of the 66th Galm squadron located in Central Alba. They had the task of responding and intercepting bombers crossing the channel to strike the capital Edinburgh. As the alarms blared it mattered how little sleep McCloud got, just get in the plane and fly. As the fighters were pulled to sortie, McCloud and his brothers and sisters in arms would huddle in a circle and perform a chant that was popular among Gaelian pilots.
"Live to fly! Fly to Live! Do or Die! Aces High!" They scrambled into their Skydevil Royce biplanes, equipped with twin 30. caliber machine guns and dual fuel tanks to fight longer and do more damage. The squadron flew out their engines drowning the roar of the work crews cheering them on. There was a special kind of rage and hate the Gaelian pilots possessed in this stage of the war, a merciless kind of hate that drove them to enjoy the killing. The squadron quickly came upon them, Galra bombers heading full speed to Edinburgh.
"Counting 34 of them." - Fox 4 Anna Campbell
"Roger, where's escort?" - Fox 2 Alfred McCloud
"No sign" - Fox 4
"Fox 8 and Fox 9, search high, they're doing that ambush trick again. Once we roll on the bombers they'll pop. Fox 1 and 3 you join them and fend them off of us while we down the bombers" - Fox 2
The squadron dove while the two aircraft ordered to wait behind did so, a hail of panicked gunfire was slung from the bombers turrets. "Out of range" thought McCloud to himself, no discipline and fear meant one thing. These were not Galra, unfortunately the Agrarians were being forced into the military to surplus roles the Galra needed in the Eastern theater. These farmers were no soldiers, just poor souls caught in the middle of a war. It didn't matter, they had to die all the same, McCloud and his group strafed the bombers and three of the craft caught aflame and began their descent to death to the water below.
"BANDITS UP HIGH!" - Fox 8 Natan Abara
Sure as predicted, Galra escorts came diving on top of the Gaelian fighters. The Galra had built a better fighter craft when it came to diving, so the tactic of waiting for the interceptors to strike first and then dive behind them was a deadily trick to the uninitiated. But not to Galm, the ensuing dogfight pulled fighters off but McCloud and the bomber group continued to pick off their main targets.
"FOX 2! THEY HAVE BLACK AND RED SKULL INSIGNIAS" - Fox 9 Eric Straussberg
"Dammit, its the reapers" ace pilots they had slew their fair share of Gaelian pilots in the last year.
"Fox 4 and 5 you remain on the bombers, rest of you engage the fighters" - Fox 2
McCloud turned his Skydevil toward the enemy fighter squadron, they were outmaneuvering his group severely. "9! you got one behind you!" McCloud called, 9 tried to shake the Galra ace off of him but the Galra knew where he would go and where to lead his crosshair. 9's aircraft shook violently as machine gun rounds plunged into it, "I'm losing oil pressure, they hit my engine!" smoke bellowed from the aircraft as McCloud came from behind and fired into the Galra fighter downing it quickly. "Get to the island, can you make it?" McCloud called but the Skydevil wasn't designed to handle much damage, it was a critical flaw that sacrificed damage reliability for speed. 9 fell more and more toward the sea, he wasn't going to make it, "McCloud, tell my mother in Lusatia. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep my promise." The aircraft slammed into the water and disappeared quickly under the violent waves.
McCloud didn't react, he couldn't, processing his comrade dying would have to come later he had a job to do and these Galra aircraft were doing their job. The bombers weren't slowing down and the Gaelian efforts to down them were going too slow. "Fox 2 to ground team, please respond."
Near the coast watching the aerial carnage was a small group of military observers, they were equipped with a truck and on that truck was a long range radio. Down several yards was another group near a phone tower, waiting to relay information detailing the dogfight. "This is Alpha Romero, go ahead Fox 2."
"Alpha Romero, we are engaged with heavy enemy presence, bombers not impeded. Request for additional fighters."
"Copy Fox 2, sending signal. Stand by."
A man on a bicycle raced to the group at the phone tower and the message was relayed to another airbase in Alba. After a few minutes the bike rider came back with the response.
"Fox 2, this is Alpha Romero. 45th Wizard is coming your way. Hold fast."
His transmission was almost garbled as he looked up and saw the bomber fleet pressing on, they were mere minutes from reaching Edinburgh.
The dogfight was taking its toll, two more Gaelian fighters were shot down. McCloud knew what they were doing but he couldn't do anything, if he pulled his group on the bombers off they got what they wanted. No he thought, just a little more. He turned hard to his left and fired into an oncoming Galra fighter, his rounds entering the canopy drenching it red. "This is Fox 4! I'm going down!" McCloud saw the Skydevil trailing smoke heading to the ground at a steady pace, a lucky burst of turret fire had struck her aircraft, but she was able to land safely. McCloud noticed something else coming from the mainland, a large fighter squadron of Skydevils painted purple and white, "Fox 2 this is Wizard 6 how can we be of assistance?"
Thank fuck, McCloud thought, "Go after the bombers! we got these fighters caught up."
"Rodger that, engaging."
The Wizards and remaining Galm squadron on the bomber group quickly wiped out the bombers sending them cascading into the ground in a hellish visual. The Galra fighters realizing their escort mission was a failure began breaking off back East. "Fox 2 permission to pursue!" McCloud quickly denied the request. "Return to base, all enemy aircraft have been deterred or destroyed."
It wasn't until he was out of his aircraft, his comrades silent and slowly gathering around him, that the losses hit. "Where's Campbell?" McCloud asked, Abara was still removing his equipment when he replied. "She was just picked up, found her flare but she'll need a new fighter." Dammit, thought McCloud, getting new fighters was becoming difficult. A vehicle carrying an officer pulled up and he immediately saluted the squadron, "Nicely done gents. Get some rest, the clock resets for you in 10 hours. 90th Matador is taking over. Captain McCloud, my quarters for debrief." Without a moment wasted, the officer and his vehicle took off in the opposite direction, the squadron made its way to their quarters as McCloud began walking to the officer den. The high of the battle was wearing off, his body became heavy and his emotions flooded him. Strassburg...just a kid, a stupid kid from Lusatia that was a fanboy of Gaelia, and now he's dead. McCloud entered the officer den where four men overlooking a map of the Gaelian islands waved him in, he did his normal salute and was told to be at ease. "Well Captain, what do you think?" one of the officers chimed, McCloud was exhausted and struggled to get the words out "They're getting worse sir, the attacks increase everyday and they're more and more willing to sacrifice aircraft and people at us." The officers in the room looked concerned, McCloud just noticed the pieces on the map representing squadrons, but more importantly noticed the pieces removed to the side. "Won't lie to you McCloud, we've lost another 4 squadrons today. And Galm has been depleted, you're now down to six fighters...hell one of your pilots now needs a new Skydevil and the factory in Eire can't keep up anymore." McCloud now had panic and anger waking him up from being dragged into a stupor induced by exhaustion, "What are you saying sir?" the officers all couldn't look at the pilot. "You're one of our best, but we think we need to dissolve Galm into another squadron to stay effective..." McCloud cut him off, "We're good sir, we can manage with just six." The room was quiet, no one really knew how to respond. Until one of the officers finally spoke up, "Look Alfred, this is getting insane, no one has ever fought an extensive air war like this. If truth be told, pride must be thrown aside and we must band and reorganize the RAF." McCloud had always led Galm, it was his squadron, the pride of his clan and to now be here. He once led twenty pilots, but all he had left were six. "The decision will be made by the Air Marshall, carry on Captain" McCloud saluted as his name was bellowed louder and louder as if coming from the sky itself. His wife was shaking him from his stare into the sky, "ALFRED! ARE YOU OKAY!?" she had tears in her eyes and he realized what had happened, he had slipped back into the war. "Sorry dear, lets go on to the ceremony." As they walked she wrapped herself around his arm tightly as if she was worried he would be lost again, McCloud simply looked ahead. trying to forget, but he was the Fox of Gaelia the nation's greatest ace pilot. How could he forget.