The Skies belong to Us

I Hereby Name You My Rival Pt. 1

Three months after the Finals

Thunder was standing just outside a classroom/briefing room with various pilots from the high schools, looking at her watch. "I like to make them squirm, but they do need insight to air-to-air combat. Here goes..." Thunder walked to the door and opened it in a swift motion, her boots clomping on the ground, gathering everyone's attention. "Settle down. Take your seats. I will not say it a second time." Thunder's voice was firm, but you could tell that there was a small hint of friendliness to it. "Right, before we begin, I would like to make a role call for those who are here." Thunder then opened up a file and marked off those who answered 'here' and crossed those who didn't bother to show up on the list.

After taking a few moments to complete the task, Thunder closed the file before walking from behind the podium she was using for attendance. "Before we begin, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Chitose Nishizumi, Captain of the Erusean Air and Space Administration, Flight Lead of the Sabot Squadron of the JSL, and veteran of the Lighthouse war. My callsign is Thunder. You will either call me Thunder or Captain. I have over 200 flight ours, with 150 plus in combat. I have over 50 confirmed kills and 70 unconfirmed kills, and I have flow with the King of the Skies of Erusea. Outside of one, I'm considered the best pilot in the world of Strangereal, and I'm here to teach you what it means to be a fighter pilot. Any questions?"

Thunder's gaze fell upon a blonde wearing the KMM student uniform of greys. "Captain, what aircraft have you flown in your career?" Thunder smiled slightly. "Glad you asked, Miss Itsumi. I have flow the MiG-21 in training, the MiG-29 in the first incarnation of Sabot Squadron, the SU-30M for the Experimental, or Sol, Squadron, and the SU-37 with Lightning and now the new incarnation of Sabot."

Itsumi nodded before speaking again. "And what do you think of Kuromuromine's aircraft?" Thunder chuckled. "They are garbage. The only saving grace is the F-16s you have, but the rest, no real chance against the other powerhouses. And it is clear that training is also lacking in the KMM Air Force. The best pilots can overcome the worst odds-"

Before she could finish, Ami burst into the room. "Captain, here's a message from Ooraii. For your eyes only." Thunder sighed before taking the letter, reading it before sighing. "Understood. Tell her that she will have mine, and the class' support. Inform Monarch as well." Ami nodded before leaving.

Thunder turned back to the class. "All of you. Suit up. We have an emergency sortie. Be back in five." The class stood at attention and shouted a 'yes ma'am' before filing out towards the locker rooms. At the same time, Monarch entered the room, all ready to go. "I assume you are taking the students with you."

Thunder nodded. "An in the field demonstration will help. Be here for the briefing." Monarch nodded before walking to the side, with Thunder pulling out her phone, looking up what she was going up against. "Shit..."

Monarch raised a brow. "What's up?" Thunder shook her head. "Our opponent has a self-proclaimed 'Queen of the Skies' amongst them. Her name's Rebecca Robin, sister to Naomi Robin. She flies an F-22 Raptor, like the rest of her squadron. And All Stars has four Squadrons: Their Big Shots in the 22s, two Squadrons of F-15Js I believe, and one Squadron of F-4Es. Ooraii doesn't stand a chance, and their aircraft have disappeared... So it is up to us."

Monarch chuckled. "Don't take all the glory from the youngins now." Thunder looked up before rolling her eyes. "Remember, I'm only 17..." Monarch laughed. "And I'm a Belkan Patriot! Listen, you are way beyond your years. You have lead, you have experienced loss, you know you are not invincible..."

Thunder sighed before looking at the door as it opened,w with a total of twenty pilots walking in. "Right, settle down!" The pilots sat down in their school-oriented flight suits. "Right, listen up! We are going to be known as the 'Independent State Air Force', and are on lease to Ooraii's Air Force.  There will be five Squadrons: Sabot will contain myself, Mister Monarch, Miss Clare of BC Freedom and Miss Semenov of Pravda. KMM Students will be under Itsumi, and known as Baron Squadron. Pravda, you are Hammer Squadron. Saunders and BC Freedom Fliers, you are Liberty Squadron. And Gloriana will be Viper Squadron. You are now under the command of the 19th Tactical Squadron of the Sensha-do League." Everyone looked around before nodding to each other. They were content, and no doubt this had the approval of their student councils.

"Now, our opponent will be All Stars Air Force." Thunder continued. "We will be facing against four squadrons. One of the 22s, two of the 15s, and one of the F-4s. Now, this totals up to 16 aircraft. But do not be fooled. They are experienced, and the 22s will be handled by Sabot. They are the Shimada Big Shots. Baron Squadron, you are to handle the Phantoms. Prevent them from attack Ooraii or Coalition Forces and strike anything that may violate Sensha-do regulations. The Rest, secure air superiority. any questions?"

Many looked around before Semenov stood up. "And what if we fail? The Big Shots will lay waste to us. They have more experience than most of us, even if we have numbers." Thunder chuckled. "but inexperience does have its advantages. Less predictability." Semenov sighed and sat down before Thunder gazed upon the pilots. "Right, head to the hangers. Wheels up in fifteen." Everyone stood and left before Thunder sighed. "Here goes nothing..."

Monarch chuckled. "Just remember, you have faced death out there. They haven't. Somehow, they managed to remove the death in a war game. Captain, You are 17, and have faced two wars in just one year of service. That is more than ten years in this sport." Thunder raised a brow as Monarch continued. "You have had to worry about surviving, and the necessity of Survival has made you ten times more than any veteran pilot here. Plus.... you are one of the Vaunted Nishizumis after all."

Thunder chuckled. "I want to know what these university pilots are capable of first hand, Lieutenant. Mihaly taught me not to underestimate my opponent." Monarch sighed before opening the door. "Let's get going, and introduce ourselves, eh?" Thunder nodded as she left the room, with Monarch in tow.

After a moment of walking towards the hangar, Thunder looked out, seeing the aircraft of the various coalition lift off with their selected load outs, before entering the main hanger, the building practically emptied of aircraft outside of the SU-37s, a MiG-29, and a Mirage 2000. "Well, at least some decent aircraft to aid us." Monarch chuckled before Thunder punched his shoulder, heading towards their respective aircraft before being pulled out onto the tarmac.

"Sabot Squadron, this is Wind Maker. Good to see you flying again. Though I wish it was under better circumstances." The AWACs spoke through the frequency. "Good to see you too, wind Maker. We are taking off now. Has the match started already?" "Mmhm... The rest of the Coalition Air Force is awaiting you. The All Stars are already in the air too. ETA: 5 minutes." "Understood, Sabot One, out!"

The SU-37s' engines roared as Monarch and Thunder zoomed down the runway before lifting off, shortly being followed by the two 'addons' to the Squadron. "Right, Sabot Three(Clare), stay on Monarch's ass when the shit hits the fan. Sabot Four, same order, except its my ass!" A pair of rogers came through as the Squadron caught up before taking the lead.

"Entering Combat Zone. Weapons permitted. Good luck!" Wind Maker spoke before the sound of rustling, followed by munching entered the radio. "Sorry, gotta eat while I work. Judgement gets fuzzy when I'm hungry." Monarch chuckled. "Really? Jesus, do they not feed you on the ground?" The entire airwaves filled with laughter before Thunder spoke in a commanding tone. "Right, listen up! Operation: Fullback is in action. We all have been briefed on our objectives. Feel free to engage at your discretion, but do not forget to support each other."

The airwaves filled with affirmatives before Monarch spoke up. "Heads up. All enemy contacts picked up. They are splitting off for their own missions." "Good work, Monarch. Let's go!" The four aircraft of Sabot Squadron accelerated towards their targets: The Big Shots. 

"Target on radar. Switch to active homing, but don't waste your missiles." Thunder got a lock before fire walling her engines, zooming past the four F-22s before banking upwards, her ears filled with a tone. "Not yet...." The Nishizumi grunted as she strained to keep her nose pointed towards the F-22.

"She's good... but not good enough. Fox Two!" The AAM fired off and began to home towards the aircraft. The F-22, for its part, didn't deploy countermeasures, went inverted and downward in a split-s. Thunder followed suit as she noted that no explosion came out. "Missile didn't... connect!" Thunder grunted through the Gs imposed by the maneuver before she leveled out. The Two fighter pilots going at it had left their wingmen behind....