Minghao's fingers rapped on the control stick, his impatience growing as he waited at the end of the runway, his wingmen Quankun and Junhui in formation behind him. All three would take off, one after the other. The control tower seemed to be taking their own time for granting takeoff clearance as all three pilots had been waiting for nearly 10 minutes. 

He waited. And waited. His attention then turned to a cargo plane taxiing past him, which then stopped before the ramp in its rear lowered down. A squad of 12 soldiers rushed out the back of the plane, followed by a couple of figures in lab coats, towing out a black box on a cart with the PLAAF's red star and bars on it, followed by a pair of small bat-like aircraft with the wings folded.

Colonel Zhang sure works fast. Didn't expect him to bring the drones and the A.I. systems over here so quickly.

"Major Xu. You're cleared for take off. All altitude restrictions are cancelled." 

"Roger that. Beginning take off run now. Out." He rolled his eyes. His mission already delayed but then it wouldn't matter as much, as long as he got to fly. With his hand pushing the throttle lever forwards, his fighter , a J-7 with red tail and wingtips shot down the runway, a red and silver blur as the nose lifted up. And as its wheels retracted, Minghao pitched the nose higher up, making his J-7 arc skywards, accelerating faster than anyone had seen. 

As he levelled out, he flicked the control stick around, kicking his fighter into a series of high-G turns as his wingmen took off, taking formation behind him, almost struggling to keep up as his fighter surged forward, quickly hitting the speed of sound as the gap between it and his wingmen's fighters grew.

-

A pair of fighters streaked along the Asranian coast, stradding the line between the reddish brown of the desert and the blue of the sea. Keeping their altitude as low as possible to avoid radar detection and any prowling rebel planes that might be on patrol. The fighters were an F-5E and a Mirage, the F-5 loaded to the brim with Sidewinders while the Mirage had a pair of Exocet anti-ship missiles under its wings. Both fighters banked eastwards towards the sea, their orders were to hunt down cargo ships, which the base commander at Area 88 had suspected were delivering arms to the rebels. 

Handong, in the Mirage, kept her eyes on the sea, catching sight of the target ship, followed by two small freighters next to it. The F-5 accompanying her was piloted by no other than Taehyun himself.  Hanbin and Mino were not in this operation, instead opting to fly for a rescue helicopter that was to search for Junhoe and Chanwoo. 

"Outlaw Five to Sparta. I have eyes on the target ship. Looks like there's more than one target. Am I cleared to shoot?"

"Remember you only have two Exocets. Prioritise the main target before going after the other two. You're cleared to shoot." 

Immediately she dived down, her Mirage skimming above the water as she started her attack run. Glancing at the two missiles under her wings, she chuckled to herself, childishly imagining the fireworks display that would ensue once the missiles slammed into the side of the ships and detonated. 

"Hey Anarchist. Watch my back from up there."

"Don't worry about it. I've got my eyes on you from here, Wildcard."

"I wish you'd have a better nickname for me."

She could barely make out the flags on the cargo ships, red, white, and some pale shade of green. The country was familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. Had to be some Eastern Bloc nation relying on its nationality for protection. But none of that mattered now as there was a paycheck awaiting her for sinking one or two of these ships. 

The beeping tone in her headset increased in pitch as the Exocet seekers locked on to her main target. She would fire one, then stand by to fire the other, depending on the damage the first one dealt. 

Taehyun observed from above, keeping the Mirage within his field of vision as he watched the ships from the corners of his eyes, noting the stacks of containers piled high on the decks. And as Handong reached firing range of her anti-ship missiles, the tops of several of the containers lifted up, revealing bat-like aircraft with folded wings on launch rails. Drones. Hidden in fake shipping containers. 

The drones then launched from the fake containers, zooming skywards as Taehyun dived down to engage them

"For 's sake... Outlaw Five. They've launched drones from disguised launchers! Heading your way now."

"Crap. Do me a favour and get them off my back, there's not much I can do here."  Handong rolled her eyes, warning alarms already starting to blare in the headset of her helmet. Two drones now chasing her. Unable to manuver due to how low she was flying, she fired off one of the Exocets, quickly pulling up to make another pass. 

The missile slammed into the side of the main target ship, its warhead easily punching through the hull, then detonating, setting off the cargo in a sheet of flame. The explosion set off more as the Mirage arced up, looping around to make another pass. 

Handong caught sight of the two drones trailing her. And then both disappeared in fireballs as Taehyun's F-5E swooped in, shooting down both her pursuers with accurate bursts of gun fire.

"You're good to go, Wildcard. Let's sink one more then get out before they- Ah scratch that. "  More drones lifted off from the other two cargo ships, swarming the two pilots as Handong released her remaining Exocet, the missile slamming into the second ship, the explosion kicking up a large column of water as the missile hit the ship's waterline. Immediately 1.5 tons lighter, the Mirage soared up, its pilot ignoring the pursuing drones, leaving it to Taehyun as Handong dived down on the third ship, strafing it with guns, destroying several of the fake shipping containers before turning to engage the drones. 

"These things packing that A.I on that drive of yours?" Taehyun hit the airbrakes, two drones flying past him as he shot both down with missiles this time. 

"No. The airframe is too small. These are off-the shelf drones. Tianlong's computer systems need a lot of power and the power-supply units needed for it won't fit in these." She rolled her fighter, downing the last two drones that got airborne with one shot each from her guns before she then pulled away, rejoining formation with Taehyun.

"They sure went down easily. Hope the commander has our pay ready and waiting."

"These things have no armor to begin with. Let's get out of here."

-

The trio of J-7s lanced through the sky. Below them, a flight of four planes from Area 88 circled below on patrol. Minghao watched, observing their flight patterns before he aimed at them, waiting for the lock-on tone in his headset. He didnt have to wait long before he opened fire from the maximum range of his heat-seeker missiles. His targets made no attempt to evade as two of the mercenary planes exploded. The remaining two attempted to scatter as he took up pursuit of the one that was lagging behind, both Junhui and Quankun struggling to keep up as he engaged. 

Mirroring the movements of the fighter he was pursuing, he waited, holding off his shot. As the target slowed down, he overshot- then quickly looped around, quickly gunning down his third kill before turning to chase after the remaining mercenary, also shooting it down with gunfire. 

"100 seconds. Impressive, Major." To which the reply was a chuckle as Minghao climbed, rejoining the formation

"Skills need to be honed too. Try and top that." 

"Looks like we might just be getting our wish. Bogeys sighted. Looks like six of them." Junhui spotted the unknown aircraft first but Minghao was the first to dive.

"Well then, gentlemen. Let's have some fun, shall we."

-

Handong had taken up the lead position as four fighters, Asranian government aircraft from the roundels, flew alongside her and Taehyun, apparently intending to them. The formation flew on, unaware of the fact that three intruders were stalking them from high altitude. Handong was the first to react, catching a speck in the sky high above them from the corner of her eye before breaking formation. Taehyun following suit  as they split from the formation.

And then one of their escorting fighters went down, trailing fire. Immediately the formation scattered as the three hostile aircraft, the lead one packing red on its tail and wingtips, tore into the formation. 

Junhui latched on to Taehyun's tail but the F-5 pilot quickly countered with a barrel roll, forcing him to break off as Quankun then dived in, resuming the chase after downing one of the Asranian planes. 

The second plane decided to lure the red-tailed J-7 lower and lower. Minghao kept up the chase, quickly shooting down his quarry before turning his attention to a Mirage that was flying very aggressively 

I know that flying style anywhere. And of course he did. There was only one pilot who could fly that recklessly and still survive.

"Looks like the enemy has experienced fighters among them." He smirked, staying latched on to the tail of the Mirage as its pilot attempted to shake him. But it wouldn't work as he knew exactly how its pilot operated.

-

Taehyun glanced in both directions, catching sight of  Junhui and Quankun attempting to catch him in a scissor manuver. Instinctively he nosed over, pushing his F-5E towards the desert sands, hoping to lure them after him. And they took the bait. Mentally calculating the point at which to pull up, he pulled the nose up right before his plane would slam into the desert, the sudden change of G-forces crushing him against his seat as the wash from his fighter's exhaust kicked up a cloud of dust. 

Both his pursuers broke off, thinking he'd crashed as he pulled up, scanning the skies for Handong. And he caught sight of her, in a dogfight with the red-tailed leader of the three fighters that ambushed them. 

Alright Red Baron, let's see what you're made of.

-

Handong tried to keep her movements as erratic as possible,  attempting to throw off her former flight leader's aim. But he persisted, his finger tightening on the trigger of his control stick. 

She then flipped her aircraft, pulling a much tighter loop as she then opened up with the Mirage's dual guns, spraying a hail of 30mm rounds at the J-7, which then deftly dodged, rolling sideways as Taehyun's F-5E joined the fight. Junhui and Quankun had turned back towards the fight too, realising that the F-5 didn't crash after all.

But Minghao ignored his pursuer, focusing on Handong's Mirage instead. He would deal with this new nuisance himself after shooting down his former wingman.

You're quite the entertainer, Second Lieutenant Han. But the show's over with this next shot. He got a lock, then loosed off a heat seeker missile right as she flipped her Mirage over again, pumping out flares from its underside, causing the missile to veer  away. And the whole thing played out within the span of a second. 

But Minghao was unsurprised. He did after all know what she was capable of since he was the one that trained her himself.

Well... That wasn't part of the plan. Nevertheless, this is the most excited I've ever been for a fight. He chuckled, lining up for another shot. Which he attempted to take and then nothing. None of the muffled clunking and wooshing of a missile being ejected from its launch rail before flying at its target. He then facepalmed after, mentally chastising himself as he broke away. In his adrenaline-fueled dogfight with his former wingman, he had made the rookie mistake of forgetting to keep track of his ammunition count. 

"I'm out of ammo. Let's withdraw. I'm sure you two are bingo fuel too."

To which Junhui and Quankun muttered their acknowledgements, the three silver aircraft then breaking away, forming up before speeding back in the direction of the border.

"Hey Anarchist.. Still alive?" Handong had levelled out, raising the visor of her helmet to wipe away the droplets of sweat threatening to cloud her vision. Wiping her hand on her suit, she heaved a sigh of relief, watching Taehyun rock his fighter's wings before giving her a thumbs up sign. 

"Alive and well. Let's get our asses back to base, Wildcard."

-

"Looks like I owe you 100." Chanwoo peaked out from behind the rock he and Junhoe dived behind for cover. Shots rang out, the bullets whizzing past and slamming into the rocks. The Chinese soldiers had spotted them and upon realising that the two were not the pilots they were looking for, they had then opened fire. The helicopter was still a distance away but both Chanwoo and Junhoe could hear the thumping of its rotors as it approached.

"So what now?" Junhoe leaned out, loosing off a shot from his pistol, before turning away as bullets passed an inch away from his face. To which Chanwoo drew the knife out as a grenade detonated nearby, showering the two pilots with dust and bits of rock.

"Stop shooting. They're using grenades so we'll make them think they got us."

"Then what?" Junhoe collapsed, the clinking of metal against rock forcing him to lean against the rock as an explosion followed suit.

"Make them think they got us. Then when one of them comes to check, we steal his weapons, kill the others."

Junhoe could only nod, mouth slightly agape as he saw the gears in Chanwoo's mind starting to turn as he formulated the plan.

"Okay genius. And the chopper?" 

"They're bound to have grenade launchers tacked on to their rifles. We'll use those. Failing that, we'll spray the cockpit and the rotors." 

"And what if the guns are ID locked?

"ID lock? This isn't ing Metal Gear Solid 4, Einstein." 

"Alright alright!"

-

The squad leader barked orders for his team to cease their fire. No one had shot back or moved in the past few minutes. Perhaps one of the grenades had killed both the pilots in a single blast. But he was not one to take chances. Nodding at one of his men, who then nodded back in acknowledgement, said soldier then skirted up the ridgeline, his squad leader following close behind as the other two stayed behind. 

Behind their cover, Junhoe and Chanwoo shot knowing looks at each other, Chanwoo picking up a rock while Junhoe readied his pistol, waiting for the two soldiers to approach. 

Waiting for the sound of boots crunching on rocks to get closer, Chanwoo waited some more, then tossed the rock, the approaching soldier immediately turning around to see where the rock landed. And then Chanwoo pounced, grabbing the soldier in a chokehold before slashing his neck, making sure the blade sliced through both sides of it. 

And as the lifeless soldier slumped back against him, Chanwoo readied the knife, aiming as the other soldier approached Junhoe's hiding spot, then lobbed the knife, its tip lodging in the second soldier's neck.

Immediately both pilots dragged the corpses behind the rocks, praying that their comrades at the bottom of the ridge didn't see what happened.

They got to work, taking the rifles, then searching the corpses' pockets for ammunition. The squad leader's rifle had a grenade launcher attached while the second soldier's rifle didn't. Chanwoo picked up the squad leader's rifle, raising it as he aimed down the sights. Junhoe did the same with the other rifle.

"Now on the count of three, you take the one on the left, I take the one on the right." Junhoe nodded, taking aim while trying to remember his training. 

"One. Two. Three!" 

Both pilots opened fire, their bursts catching the remaining two soldiers. And as if on cue, the helicopter appeared, making a pass over the ridge and circling around, showing both pilots its broadside. Death staring back at them from a machine gun aiming out one of its windows. 

And then both Chanwoo and Junhoe dived as the gunner opened up, spraying the area in a hail of lead. 

So much for that idea. He kept his head down, clutching the rifle tightly. Junhoe had tried to take aim at the side of the cockpit where the pilot was but then got replied with a hail of bullets that missed him by inches. And he closed his eyes and prayed. And prayed.

Salvation came two minutes later as an explosion ripped through the air. Chanwoo looked up, the PLAAF helicopter now a flaming wreck that spun into the ground as a pair of familiar looking F-5Es flew overhead with another helicopter in tow, this one packing the roundels of the Asranian Air Force. 

Immediately, Chanwoo reached for the flares stashed in his flight suit, lighting both and then running in a circle, waving the flares about in hopes that the friendly rescue helicopter saw him. Which it did as it then made a slow bank before settling down at the top of the ridge, Chanwoo immediately running up to the chopper before turning, and yelling out to his wingman.

"Hey Junhoe, our ride's here. Let's go!"