Project Wingpony

Operation 1: END OF CURRENT CONTRACT

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The low hum that rang in my ears of my engines casted a peaceful rumble as I looked out into the boundless blue ocean to my right. The sun was high and the visibility excellent. At that moment it was a little hard to believe we were still at war, honestly. Although I sat in a multimillion bit SU-33 I could have just flown fine under my own wingpower. I have to admit, though, I’d have a hard time carrying all this payload just on my back. Hey, you know what they say; a fighter jet is just a tank for pegasi like me. I looked up at the frame of the canopy and flipped down one of the back facing mirrors towards my face. My green eyes shifted around for signs of trouble at my six o clock. Nothing but my wingpony trailing my starboard wing.

<> the blue pegasus mare flying the MiG-29K announced her boredom in my ears.

<> I rolled my plane up and over the top of hers and slid right behind the fuel line. With a few clicks on the instrument panel the refueling probe of my jet popped out from the side as I slowly slotted it into the drogue and began taking on the rest of the fuel, <>

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<> she reported out to our radar plane as I finished refueling to join back in the lead position, <>

<> our E-2 Hawkeye gave us the go ahead as we turned course and headed back.

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The low rumble of my aircraft was interrupted by a faint beep on my radar screen. I furrowed my brow in curiosity as a sinking feeling welled inside of my guts. Contacts? Here?

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A confident smirk streaked across my face, <>

Dash and I jettisoned our empty fuel tanks and set our radars to active search. Multiple signatures popped in and out of my screen as the unknown craft closed into range.

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<> I pitched my nose up and kicked my throttle to full. Missile warning alarms were also blaring inside of my cockpit as the unknown planes started the engagement. I flipped the master arm switch and readied my weapons, <>

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<> Dash was in deep trouble as I saw two aircraft trailing her fighter. I dove straight in to assist.

<> with a hard lock of my Archer missiles growling in my ears I ripple fired two missiles from the racks as they curved cleanly into the tailpipes of the first stealth fighter, <>

Dash managed to break off from her pursuer and climb as the other fighter dove to disengage, <>

<> I smiled smugly as I shot past my wife’s side to see her many kill marks painted on the side of her MiG. How many had it been? Forty? Fifty? At some point we just gave up counting, <>

<> I could almost feel the wink in her eyes from that comment.

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<> I tuned in to passively listen to the enemy.

Sure enough some of their voices chattered like panicked crickets on the radio, <>

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My eyes perked at the message, <>

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Dashy punched her afterburners and climbed away while I dove to the right and gave chase to the low flying bombers. Their blue painted bodies blended with the ocean below as I inverted my plane to scan the sea. They were still in a tight staggered formation and the squares that overlayed each one marked their position on my visor’s HUD. I levelled out my plane and looked to my feet to acquire the lock off my nose. Two more missiles separated and streaked towards the rear stealth bombers, <>

Both archers connected in a fiery explosion that rocked the skies below me. Like a shorebird I wove back and forth as I swiveled my head around and viewed my prey splash into the water. Once I got their attention each of them scattered to evade as I heard their panic set in on the radio.

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“Think those cheap toys are gonna save you huh?” I spoke to myself as I saw their radar signatures shift back and forth to confuse my targeting computer, “I still got guns baby!”

<> Galaxy reported enthusiastically as I descended to meet their altitude and swerved behind one of the Shafaqs. He didn’t see me as I dove in from the sun at my back. A quick burst from my 30mm rendered into his plane as mechanical fluid, shrapnel, and jet fuel erupted like blood and sinew from a wounded beast. His wing held on for about a full second before the buffeting ripped it asunder from the fuselage.

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A new voice came in from the radio, <>

Dash chimed in. Her own radar blip was right behind me and a few thousand feet up, <>

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<> Four of our long range Adder missiles shot forth from our planes as we both turned away and climbed. Luckily our foes were slow on the draw as they stopped tracking us on radar. Good, we had them on the defensive.

<> Another kill, a trailing fireball plunged into the abyss below.

<> A rush cascaded through me as I slammed my throttle forward. Giant plumes of blue hot flames roared from my engines as I charged into the confused and scattered enemies.

I could hear their intercepted calls over the radio, <>

The thrill of the kill… Like a predator stalking a wounded beast… My fur stood on ends… Every move, every jink, and every maneuver matched with my foe. I grasped the trigger on my flight stick and led my target.

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<> I broadcasted to the open channel as I let loose a burst from my cannons. The high explosive shells punctured several holes into his ailerons and tailfin. I also managed to land a few into his right engine as it began to sputter out thick smoke. I let go of the trigger and flew away, <>

I switched my radio back to the encrypted channel to report in, <>

<> after she shot down another fighter Dash flew back beside my wing and back into formation, <>

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<> a pure white F-18E appeared over the horizon. It was Cirrus, another pilot from our carrier, <>

<> I waved my hoof jokingly at her as she passed by my canopy, <>

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<> Dash inquired.

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Dash gave a bit of a huff as we turned our planes home, <>

<> I looked to my radio and realized she turned off hers, <>

<> Cirrus was the first to circle above the ship. The EMS Fairview was a massive supercarrier well known in the former Lunar Republic. I flew by her side and I could still spot the single white strike across the letters “NLR” that signified her service during the Infinite Eclipse.

<> the carrier crew gave her the go ahead to land. I circled just behind her hornet as she made her final landing checks, <>

Just another day. I just wanna go home.
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