Salmonling War

Early the next morning, the soldiers got up and ate a quick breakfast to make sure they were ready when the Salmonlings came into view. The radar began pinging both the Salmonlings and the allies just thirty seconds later. The Salmonlings showed up as red dots and the allies were shown in blue, due to the radar having been programmed to differentiate enemies from allies. Everyone got ready for when the jets came into visual range, since they were currently over a mile out. Seizing an opportunity, Flurry called to the pilots.

"Air Force, this is Flurry Heart. You are clear to open fire.", she said over radio.

"Roger that, Flurry. The Salmonlings are coming into range.", said Tinder.

True to her word, they were gaining distance on the Salmonlings. However, the pilots noticed this and started trying to get away. Luckily, the Equestrian Air Force pilots were trained to chase with all of their might. They closed in fast and pulled the triggers after setting their crosshairs. Tinder and Franklin were trained on the lead pilot, Stella and Jonathan aimed for the left wingman, and Larynx and Stefan set their sights on the right wingman. These jets would not be easy to damage though, due to the shocking fact that the Salmonlings had built them with armored plates on the fuselages.

Minutes into the dogfight, they zeroed in with numerous hits. The leading pilot's jet had its fuel tank ruptured and both engines knocked out, resulting in the jet exploding after he ejected. The left wingman had his right wing destroyed and his tail fins jammed at an angle until he had to bail out and parachute into the ocean. Neither of these pilots were killed, they were only bruised and knocked unconscious. The right wingman was able to dodge most of the flak and sped up to strike the mainland as fast as he could.

"GET DOWN!", shrieked the Captain when she spotted the remaining jet come screaming out of the clouds.

Everyone dropped to the ground before the jet swooped over them. Angelo managed to throw a splash of ink into one of the jet's engines with his Slosher and Takara swooshed her Splat Brush to cover the pilot's window before they dropped for protection. Flurry's troops ended up splattered in ink and with two of their anti-aircraft turrets clogged before they could fire any shots. The pilot had to eject, because Angelo's slosh of ink had clogged up his right turbine, and Takara's swoosh had blinded him. Flying out of control, he bailed out before his jet crashed near a beach just 200 yards away from the Squidbeak Base. Nobody was hurt, and the pilot was unable to attack Inkopolis or Splatsville. He was not fast enough to pull his parachute, but he was only knocked out when he impacted.

"Capture that pilot for interrogation.", said the Captain when she saw him eject.

"Right away, Captain.", said Callie and Marie.

They had Taylor and Lizzie go with them while everyone else cleaned up the ink and repaired the disabled turrets. Upon reaching the pilot, Taylor quickly tied a gag in his mouth and Lizzie put him in handcuffs. Then, Callie helped them load him into the back of a prisoner van before Marie drove them back to the base. In the process, they saw that his name tag said "Javen".

When Javen woke up, he was bound in a chair and several soldiers from both Equus and the Squidbeak Splatoon were staring angrily at him. Angelo had his slosher ready to soak him, and Taylor was standing with his bow ready and pulled back. Once the gag was removed from Javen's mouth, he spoke up to explain why the war had started.

"We're only trying to integrate into society. War was declared when you and the Octarians refused us entry.", he said.

"Since you have attacked us, we are left with no choice but to return fire. We will try to negotiate for terms, but you need to show us where your homeland is.", said Marie in a livid voice.

Agent 3 slapped a world map on the table in front of Javen and handed him a pencil. With shaking hands in fear of being shot, Javen moved his hands to an area northwest of the base and drew a circle around an island.

"Our homeland and our main base are right here.", he said after he had set the pencil down.

"Thank you for complying. This doesn't mean you are getting off easy though. The negotiations will be harsh.", snapped Agent 8.

After noting the island's location, everyone got ready to ship out. They held Javen hostage in order to strike fear into the defending troops.