Although she was being chased across a river and was nearly executed by her friend over the course of a few days, Psycho-Pink still had it in herself to sit back and relax. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue over Rim Mara and the clouds looked like they were beautifully painted on. The pilot could not help but smile and think back to a similar time when her head was in the clouds.
It was just a few years ago when young pilot Ashley was just now living up to her rank as an Officer of M.O.O.N.
"Attention!" Captain Khan shouted. Ashley and her fellow pilots stood firm and in formation. "You all are about to embark on your first training exercise out in the mountains. It will be a test of your skills not only as pilots but as a team. After completing the training exercise you will report back here in the hangar. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" they all shouted.
"Now get to your jets and prepare for take-off!"
The pilots scrambled to their fighters, but Khan was quick to grab his niece before she could leave.
"Are you sure they're ready?" he asked her.
"I know they are," Ashley said. "I wouldn't call them my team if they weren't."
Once everyone got in their jets, they drove out to the runway. They lined up in formation, with Ashley in the front.
"All wings report in," Captain Khan said over the radio.
"Crimson Hawk standing by."
"Emerald Snake standing by."
"Azure Tiger at the ready."
"Piss colored Moose ready to rock!"
"Ashley, here, ready to fly."
"Ash, you really gotta get a call sign," said Hawk.
"I know, stahp reminding me!" the pilot whined.
"You all are clear for liftoff," Khan announced.
Ashley pulled on the control stick and took off into the sky with the rest of her team. In flying V formation that soared across the sky towards their destination. The mountain range was massive and jagged. Clouds and mist made the skies difficult to see through.
"Okay everybody, just remember your training," said Ashley. "We'll complete this exercise without a problem."
"You worry too much," said Moose. "Let's just run the course and head home. I'll even race ya guys!"
"I'll take some of that action!" Snake and Moose blasted ahead at full speed, leaving the rest of the team behind.
"Snake! Moose! Come back here and get in formation. That is an order!" Ashley shouted.
"Relax!" Snake responded. "We'll be fi-" A sudden static noise reached everyone's ears.
"Snake? Snake?!"
"I'm not picking anything up on my scanners," Hawk said.
"Snake, come in!" Ashley said. "This isn't funny! Moose do you have a visual on Snake?"
"Negative. I don't have a visual on him. Maybe he-" More disheartening static began to worry the remaining pilots.
"Ashley are you seeing this?!" Tiger could see multiple bogies surrounding them.
The leader of the pilots looked out of her cockpit, unsure of what she should be seeing. The last thing she expected to find was bat-like monsters made of stone to start flying towards her.
"Hostiles! Everyone take evasive maneuvers and return to base!" Ashley separated from her team, narrowly flying amidst the shrouded mountains.
"What are these things?!" Hawk asked. "They look like gargoyles!"
"They're on my tail! I can't shake them!" Tiger exclaimed.
"Hang on! I'll circle around!" Ashley flew as fast as she could and cut every corner possible. She got a clear line of sight of Tiger's jet being jumped on by the demons. "Keep yourself steady, Tiger, I'm gonna shoot them off you!" Machine gun fire did just the trick of exterminating the stone threats.
"Thanks, Ash. I owe you!"
"Just get back to base and we can discuss it there!" said Ashley. "Hawk, what's your status?"
"I'm nearly clear of the mountains. I'm almost- wait! Oh no, I'm being boarded! I need help! I need-" What followed the sound of static was the sound of a jet exploding in the distance.
As if things couldn't get any worse, a gargoyle pounced onto Ashley's ship and smashed open her cockpit. The valiant pilot tried her best to shake the beast off, but it stayed firmly on top of the jet.
Out of sheer desperation, Ashley pressed the eject button and shot up into the sky with nothing more than her seat and the built-in parachute. Slowly she descended down. She got not only a front-row seat of her jet crashing into the mountainside but also the swarm of gargoyles coming at her. She had no way to defend herself, so she shut her eyes and waited for the end to come.
A loud bang was what she heard instead. When she opened her eyes, Star Grazer was shooting down the demonic menaces.
"I'll be right there!" Captain Khan shouted as he dished out pain to his enemies. Ashley sat in waiting, floating down the side of a mountain while her uncle fought on.
By the battle's end, she was in tears. Even when she got back to the base she wasn't feeling any better.
"I presume the rest of your team was wiped out?" Astra asked.
"N-No, Director. Azure Tiger- I mean, Caleb, should be here."
"Actually... Azure Tiger is M-I-A.," said Khan. "We've got scouts looking for him, but we're unsure if he survived. I'm sorry."
Psycho-Pink never forgot that day a training exercise went bad. It was her first time facing demons, but certainly not the last.
"Hey, PP," Nova sheepishly said as he approached. "I thought you might want some help bringing stuff back to the mech. Anything I can help with?"
The pilot smiled and gave her teammate a pat on the shoulder. "Yeah, I could use your help moving some heavy equipment." Together they strolled through the city to start collecting materials.
YOU ARE READING
Equinox
Ficção Geral"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what He's created?" The Kayon was a weapon made merely for chaos and destruction. it was given to the hands of mortals for that very purpose. Little did they know, that it could be us...
