[Part Two] A Shooting-Down Battle on a Dark Night
Source Page. Translations courtesy of Falcarius!
- Part One
As the Storm Sworder Flying Force rushed into the nimbostratus during their high-altitude flight, they were affected by the electromagnetic storms and their monitors began to be disrupted.A short time later, while matching wavelengths with the tuning dials near their ears, the pilots began a conversation over the radio.
"From Red to Gram. How's your status? We'll be arriving at the target site soon." Flying through the skies above the ring of islands, which could be seen through a rift in the dark clouds ahead, Gram glared down at the world below with his bare eyes while tilting his aircraft.
"There don't seem to be any enemy machines right now... Looks like the two machines behind us don't have any problems either!"
The moment that Red and Gram tried to start a low-altitude flight on the edge of the reefs, a dazzling light was released from the bare rocks, and at the same time, a large group of Sinkers flapped their fins.
Filling up the heavens in the blink of an eye, the Sinkers became a black belt and pushed forwards.
"Nice of them to show up! All machines, be on your guard. The enemies are Sinkers, and they've got mimetic abilities!"
"This is Grace. Understood, I'll cover you. But how could there be this many Imperial remnants..."
The whole area around them was covered by the huge group of Sinkers, and within it, where it seemed as if the entire island had plunged into darkness, the dogfight began.
When Smith's machine swung around behind an enemy machine and accurately launched a laser attack, the Sinker broke through the clouds and fell, engulfed in flames.
However, the huge group of Sinkers reformed their ranks and turned rapidly, suddenly surrounding Smith's machine, and began to attack in waves.
The Storm Sworder Flying Force continued its offensive and piled up kills, but the Sinkers appeared around them one after another without giving them time to take a breath.
"Just how many are there...? No matter how many we defeat, there's just no end!"
Meanwhile, the laughter of Empire Remnant Army commander Booker echoed shrilly in front of the control screen in the remodelling experiment base where the battlefield was projected.
"You see, Federation Army? Faced with these automatically controlled Sinkers equipped with prototype Organoid Masks, no flying Zoid can escape. The defense net of this impenetrable fortress will not break!"
Next to Booker, who was gazing at the battle images and enjoying this defense system, was Mott, an ace pilot of the Empire Remnant Army who was admired as the lead shooting-down king during the Central Continent War.
"Just as expected of Dr. Daemon's technology. Have they been automatically programmed not to let detected enemies withdraw, to the point of destroying them...? Looks like I won't be getting my time to shine."
- Part Two
Pursued by the huge group of Sinkers, Red and Gram opened the Wing Swords equipped on their wings, climbed suddenly by firing their afterburners, and launched a hit-and-away attack."This is weird, Gram! These guys aren't faltering at all from our attacks. Something feels ominous..."
"Those masks are certainly suspicious. Don't tell me they're remote controlled?"
"If they're unmanned, it means they can attack without mercy. Grace, Smith, don't fall behind! Come on, here we go, Storm Sworder! Respond to my passion!" As though responding to Red, the Storm Sworder FSV gave a sharp cry.
Then it started a nosedive and approached the large group of Sinkers.
The flash of the afterburners being fired by the machine sparkled in the dark space.
As a rain of gunfire poured down from Gram's Pulse Laser Guns, Red set his Wing Swords to vibrate at super high speed. Both wings emitted great heat and were clad in flames, and he pierced through the huge group of Sinkers at lightning speed, slicing them up with the entire wings.
Weaving in this special attack method called 'Flame Slash', Red increased his kill count.
A hurried communication from Grace reached him.
"Commander, there's no time until the ebb tide! Smith, we'll follow the commander."
"This is Smith, understood. D-dammit... I won't let him act cool just because he's the commander!" Receiving Grace's signal, Smith ignited his afterburners and rushed in, opening the Top Sword on his head wide. He brought down many of the Sinkers magnificently.
As the intense aerial battle continued, they were about to reach the time of the ebb tide.
- Part Three
"This is the main Mirage Fox scouting force. The path is open! We will advance along it now!"Meeting the ebb tide, the main scouting force led by Kai began their charge along a path washed by breakers towards a cave that seemed to be the entrance to the base.
Then, a large group of Zoids clad in shells of heavy armour appeared from a crevice in the reef. It was a group of Sea Panthers that had been lurking dormant, having changed their colours to match the surrounding environment using a special coating.
"Damn, so there was someone waiting for us too? We can't oppose them... Storm Sworders, I'm requesting support. I'll break through alone!"
Kai's Mirage Fox advanced at full drive.
Grace and Smith rushed in from the skies above to protect him, and crushed the Sea Panthers with the Iron Claws on their rear limbs, using their afterburners and reverse jets while maintaining a super-low altitude.
Making full use of the Mirage Fox's manoeuvrability, Kai broke through the enemy siege net.
Having succeeded in infiltrating the base, Kai scanned the entire base with the high-efficiency sensors on his machine, and after calculating that there was a control device transmitting powerful electromagnetic waves, he fired the Laser Vulcan mounted on his back.
Just as he did so, abnormal electromagnetic waves were generated by the head masks of a number of Sinkers in the sky above, and the ranks of the Sinkers that had been flying without the slightest error until then started to become disordered.
- Part Four
"Hey, what are you doing!? The rats have invaded, haven't they?!
Defend this remodelling experiment base to the last, whatever it takes!" When Booker's order was passed down, the soldiers clinging to the control gauges pulled the system's control voltage up to the maximum.
"That flying technique, that aircraft mark. I thought I'd seen it somewhere before, but was it Red after all...? I'll take it from here!"
Mott advanced at a quick pace down the complex passageways, opened the heavy doors to the storage dock in the innermost parts and jumped into a jauntily customised Redler.
Kai accurately fired a bombing marker into the enemy facility using a small-scale launcher mounted on the Mirage Fox, and succeeded in escaping.
