In The Absence of the Sun

Chapter 9: Ace

I soon learned that being a fighter pilot ain’t all it’s cut out to be.

We flew five hours straight gettin’ to the site prepared for our base. And they wouldn't let us get a wink of sleep on the way cause we were goin’ through the Nibel Mountains and had to be careful navigating.

The base itself was hidden pretty good on the outskirts of the mountain. We were waved in by a couple of guys with glowrods. As I popped the canopy open a message from the commander played over the radio.

"All right, looks like we all got here in one piece. Now get some sleep and report to the mess hall at 0600 hours."

Great, three hours of sleep. But I guess Shinra ain’t known for their kindness and generosity.

The second I hopped out of the fighter all lights were extinguished. I saw a tech a few feet away and pulled him over.

"What the hell is goin’ on?" I asked sharply.

"All lights go out at 0300 sir, base rules."

"Well how the hell do they expect us to find our bunks?"

"Oh you must be new. You can use my glowrod for tonight. But after that you gotta find your way without it. You’ll get the hang of it eventually." The tech said with a slight smirk as they handed over the glowrod.

So I made way to the barracks but even with the light it was hard cause I didn’t know where to go.

When I finally got there it was almost 0400 and everyone else in the squadron was already asleep. Of course the bunk no one wanted, right next to the bathroom, was the only one left for me.

But I made the most of it and dozed off while I could. Of course two hours would probly not even make a difference in my energy. Little did I know that I’d be waking up in about an hour.

****

The next sound I heard was a shrill, constant beeping over the intercom. Some form of a little Shinra alarm clock no doubt.

As I staggered out of bed I glanced at my watch and realized that I’d only slept for an hour.

Damn Shinra.

I looked down and figured out that I’d never even bothered to take off my flightsuit. I relieved myself and was about to hit the showers when suddenly another message rang out over the intercom.

"All personnel report to the mess hall."

What the hell? We weren’t s’posed to be at the mess hall for another hour. But I decided it wouldn’t be too smart to piss ‘em off on my second day.

So I headed out with the other guys and caught up with Lennie.

"Hey haven’t seen you since we launched." I said as I came up behind him.

"Cid! Man I lost track of you in all the chaos."

"Yeah, they’re sure screwin’ us hard out here. Tweaking with us every second."

"I know it’s brutal."

By this point we’d approached the mess hall and found that the other two squads were already eating. The minute we stepped in they herded us into a line and put trays in our hands. As we filed down they slopped some food on our trays and then herded us off to a table.

The food ain’t bad, but a little salty. At least it put a little strength back in me. After the past ten hours or so my body was beat.

I noticed that the commander was over at a separate table. But he had isolated himself from the other two commanders, or had they isolated him?

I’d have to look into that one, and also figure out what the hell my commander’s name was.

As I finished my grits a door opened in the other corner of the room. Out stepped a man who looked to be in his fifties. His distinguishing feature was a huge handlebar moustache, which was starting to turn silver with the rest of his hair. He was dressed in a normal flight suit, only his was a scarlet color, where as everyone else’s were gray.

All noise and activity ceased abruptly with this man’s arrival. The three commanders saluted and sat back down. The man then walked up to an empty wall and opened up a console next to it. With the press of a few buttons the wall opened to reveal a large, detailed, computer generated map of the Wutai area.

"This, is our target." Said the man while pointing to a blinking spot on the map.

His sudden breach of self-made silence startled everyone, this guy was a bit eccentric it seemed.

"It is what we have confirmed to be a small outpost on the outskirts of the main settlement. Dragon will make this first strike and pull out." He continued, confusing me a bit until I remembered that Dragon was the bomber squad.

Eclipse will then catch the stragglers and intercept the force they will sent against us at that point."

It took me a moment to realize that Eclipse was my squad.

"Finally Phoenix will pull a sweep to pick off any survivors and aid in recovery if needed. Any questions?"

"Sir will Dragon have any cover?" asked Dragon’s portly commander, Kahne.

"Well I suppose not. Eclipse will make a run after yours and cover your escape."

"But sir I’ve seen the photos. That outpost has a tower which could easily house a cannon or other weaponry."

"Well you’ll have to take that out first. Anyone else? This outpost is crucial to further advancement; it is a strong staging point. We must take it." He said while turning his head slowly so as his hard glare met each and every one of us.

After Kahne no one else dared speak.

"Then you have one hour to get to your ships."

As we all stood up and exited the mess hall I made my way through the crowd. And soon enough I found the man I was looking for, Jay Thanton. He was a veteran of Eclipse, but didn’t have the same snotty attitude towards rookies as most of the others.

"Thanton." I said above the crowd.

"Highwind."

"Who was that guy back there?"

"Ah you mean the great Sun King."

"Who?" I asked, confused.

"The great Admiral Janus Apollo. The man giving the briefing. Some say he’s the best commander ever, never lost a battle. He has command over the whole Shinra airforce, and doesn’t have to report to Palmer either."

"Not even one battle?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah that’s what they say. Hey you oughta get back to the bunks and get ready. And Highwind." He said as I headed off.

"Yeah." I said, as I stopped and looked back.

"Watch your back out there. I hear these guys are pretty tough."

"Not for an Eclipse they ain’t!" I yelled as I jogged off to the bunks.

As I rounded a corner somethin’ slammed into my chest hard, knockin’ the air out of my lungs. I looked down and saw none other than the Winters kid.

"Hey junior watch where you’re goin’!"

"Screw you. You ain’t the boss o’ me."

I couldn’t help but laugh at his cheekiness.

"Haven’t seen you since we got inducted."

"Yeah, I made sure to stay as far away from you as possible."

"Likewise. Hey ya oughta get to your ship."

"Don’t tell me what to do. Besides why are goin’ this way." He said, indicating the bunks.

"Cause I gotta get my flight goggles. Now get outta my sight."

With that the kid jogged off to the airfield, and I headed to the bunks. The bunks were deserted when I got there so I lit up a cigarette. After a long drag I looked up at the clock and cursed. I was almost late, shit.

With one last puff I stubbed the cigarette out and grabbed my flight goggles. As I jogged down the halls a pre-recorded message blared over the intercom.

"All personnel to their ships. All personnel to their ships…"

Damn Shinra, like I didn’t know I was late.

When I reached the airfield everyone was in their ships runnin’ the final preflight checks. The techs already had my ship goin’ and were making’ the checks. As I approached I donned my flight goggles and was greeted by one of the techs.

"Mr. Highwind there you are! Good luck out there." He yelled over the chaos.

I gave him a nod as I vaulted into my cockpit. With one last check I strapped in, closed the canopy and flicked on the radio.

"All Dragons report in."

Wrong frequency, I switched it over to Eclipse.

"Eclipse Eight standing by.

"Eclipse Nine reporting in." that was the kid.

"Eclipse Ten standing by."

There was a pause and suddenly I realized that my call sign was eleven.

"Eleven standing by." I rattled off.

"Twelve ready to go." said Lennie.

"All right then let’s show ‘em what we got. Lift off!" shouted the commander, whose name I still hadn’t learned.

I waited till a couple other guys took off so I didn’t go prematurely. As I circled the base I could just make out the Dragons up ahead. If the timing was right we’d hit the outpost right after the Dragons made their run.

As I shifted slightly my elbow hit the radio and switched it over to another frequency.

"Okay Two cover me, I’m making a run." Said a voice that I identified as Kahne.

There was silence for a few seconds and then a cry of triumph.

"Great shot." Said a Dragon.

"Not so great. That tower is still standing." Said Kahne disappointedly.

"Shit! Look out that gun is movin’! And it’s active too. Three look out!"

And then suddenly one of the blue dots indicating a Dragon on my sensor board winked out.

"Shit we lost Three. I’m taking’ a run!" yelled a Dragon with revenge in mind.

"But Four you haven’t got a wingman. That’s suicide!" Two admonished.

"I can take care o’ myself Two!"

But apparently he couldn’t, because a few seconds later another light winked out, and then another. Three men lost in the first minute, damn!

"We got twelve ships comin’ in at ten o’clock!"

"Oh shit…" said a Dragon before yet another light winked out.

Then suddenly I look up and we were upon the outpost. I switched quickly back to the Eclipse frequency to get orders.

"Okay boys, first objective. Cover those Dragons so they can get rid of that damn tower. Second cover their retreat, and third, kick some Wutaian ass!"

Simple enough.

"Lennie you there?" I asked.

"Don’t worry man, I’m coverin’ your ass."

With that I dove into the heat of the fight. I gripped the joystick tightly and fingered the trigger. Suddenly an enemy fighter was flyin’ at me head on, guns ablazing. My reflexes kicked in and with a twitch of my finger it was gone.

One kill.

Five seconds later it was two, and then three.

I risked a glance at the sensor board, and what I saw was not pretty. Dragon had lost another fighter, Eclipse was down two, and Phoenix, who had just entered the equation was down one.

As for the enemy they’d lost four, and I was pleased to see that three of those had been me. Two more and I’d make ace.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by an urgent transmission.

"Cid man I got one on me. I can’t shake it!" yelled Lennie.

"Be right there, just hold on man."

But as I soon saw that was easier said than done.

The Wutaian fighter that Lennie had attracted was on him like a hawk, never letting its prey out of sight.

And suddenly it made its move. Shot after shot poured out of the guns, but Lennie managed to avoid most of ‘em.

All except for one.

I did all I could to stop it, but it was too late.

The shot hit dead center in Lennie’s fighter and ruptured a fuel line. Causing an explosion that spread through the fighter like a virus, growing and multiplying. Until it ripped apart the canopy and exploded in a flash of flame and molten slag.

My first natural instinct kicked in. Kill first, ask questions later. One squeeze was all it took to kill the Wutaian bastard.

Four kills.

I flew low and scanned the ground for any sign of Lennie, but found none. I ignored the growing lump in my throat and dove back into the battle with vengeance in mind.

The next minute was a blur, like I had entered a dark cloud. And when I emerged two more Wutaians had been sent to hell.

I spared a glance at the board to find only two Wutaians left. They wouldn’t last long if I had anything to do with it.

But the next thing I knew there was the telltale sound of gunfire and a splintering noise. After that everything went black.

Author’s note- Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. But I’ve been swamped with projects and tests and such but now I’m free for the moment, and also I’m not sure if I used certain military and flight terms correctly but I think you got the gist. I’ll try and get somethin’ up soon so we can see what happens to Cid, Adios!

Go on to Chapter 10