Ace Combat: Stricken Soul

Deja Vu

Sol Squadron arrived at the area of operations and quickly began to engage the enemy. When Luca switched to his SU-57's Pulse Lasers, Schroeder's data recorder immediately began recording. He quickly switched on his music player and selected his custom playlist that he had made for the operation.

"Sol 2 and Sol 3 work together and form an element, Sol 6 you're with me," Mihaly ordered.

"Roger!" Sol 2 and Sol 3 said.

This battle would be different from the battles of the past. The Oseans and their IUN counterparts had now supplemented their fourth generation fighters with F-35Cs and even F-22s so things could get dicey quite easily. Luca selected his target, an IUN F-35C from Golem Squadron. The F-35 put up a hell of a fight as it dodged the incoming PLSL fire from the SU-57 and performed a hard left turn bleeding off its energy. While the F-35 lacked thrust vectoring unlike the SU-57 its nose pointing ability still made it a serious threat.

"Sol 6 watch out he's on your ass!" Sol 3 shouted.

«That SU-30 shows up again huh? Looks like he's brought some friends too...time to settle this and pay that son of a bitch back for Brownie. Golem Squadron this is Golem One...let's give these Erusean bastards a nice ass whipping.» Golem One said as he set his sights on Luca's SU-57.

"Hmph...and to think our paths would cross again," Mihaly muttered to himself.

Golem One refused to let the SU-57 go and fired a burst from the gunpod. Luca banked hard right and fortunately, the rounds missed but he had bled a lot of his energy. He quickly applied full afterburner and the plane rapidly regained the lost speed but Golem One was still on his six. Luca had yet to fully test the agility of the SU-57 and compare it to the Morgan he had flown before. When the bandit lined up for a missile shot, Luca slowed down to five hundred kilometers per hour and pulled back hard on the stick executing a Kulbit maneuver. The hunter had now become the hunted as Luca fired a long burst from the PLSL obliterating the F-35C.

«OH CRAP! That SU-57, he shot down Golem One!» Golem Three said frantically, «Faun it looks like you're taking over command now!»

With Golem Squadron finally dealt with. A flight of three F-35C's and one F-22 entered the mission area. Sol Squadron rejoined formation and faced the bandits head-on all the way to the merge. When the planes merged, Luca caught a glimpse of the F-22's tail spotting the infamous Ribbon emblem. It was Mobius One and he was back for another round.

«Omega 11 engaging...» Said the F-35 pilot.

Luca's heart rate picked up as he prioritized Mobius One. The F-22 began a steep climb and Luca performed an Immelmann turn to give chase.

"Sol 6 we're here to provide support! Just say the word!" Sol 2 said.

"Don't even think about it! This bastard is mine!" Luca said.

"Are you insane!? You can't take on the Grim Reaper by yourself!" Sol 3 protested.

"This is his fight...do not interfere. Instead, focus on dealing with the other bandits." Mihaly ordered. Maintaining his calm and collected demeanor as always.

Luca's comrades could hear as he strained through the G forces while he tried to keep up with the infamous IUN pilot. Just like before in the previous battle when he was shot down, the bandit didn't even speak. Suddenly the veteran ace and his young opponent now faced each other head-on. Luca and Mobius One acquired a missile lock and fired their infrared-guided missiles at each other almost at the same time hoping for a kill. Instead, both missiles smashed into each other leading to a spectacular fireball taking even the seasoned IUN pilot by surprise.