The Martian sky erupts in contrails as the two fighters duke it out high above the desert. The Mave after a series of loops, managed to get the drop on the Super Sylph, staying latched on to its tail, just as Siyeon had done to the other Mave the day before.

In the Mave’s front seat, Yerim’s eyes dart up to the mirrors, then down to the displays, trying to not lose sight of the two wolves nipping at her heels as her hand works the joystick, flicking it in whichever direction her instincts told her to, the Super Sylph being extremely quick to respond to the purple haired pilot’s inputs. With both aircraft being sent up unarmed, they were much lighter, capable of turning tighter and faster than usual.

“They’re like predators… real persistent.”

“Well, they’re called the wolf and the wolf cub for a reason.” Minji cooly replies, her attention focused on observing and noting every manuver Yerim tries, in attempts to shake off Hyejoo and Siyeon, whose aircraft remained stuck to their tail like glue.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Remember, react. Don’t pause to think. You think, you automatically hesitate. If this is a real combat situation, even a split second of hesitation will end with you literally going down in flames. Keep at it. They still haven’t managed to get a proper bead on you so you’re doing fine.”

“I- Um- Thank you, ma’am.”

-

“I thought this was going to be easy.” Hyejoo mutters, keeping the Mave glued to the Super Sylph’s tail as she mirrors each manuver the Super Sylph makes.

“That’s called overconfidence, my friend. Never assume a fight will be easy, even with an opponent that’s had zero combat experience. Overconfidence gets one killed.” 

Hyejoo mumbles back an acknowledgement, her thumb poised over the fire control button, which for this session, would send a signal back to the observers in the base’s control tower and command room, indicating a simulated missile launch or simulated burst of gunfire, depending on which ‘weapon’ Hyejoo had selected on the fire control system’s ‘simulation’ mode.

Most combat-experienced pilots, Hyejoo could easily outguess within the span of a few minutes of dogfighting, as most combat pilots are wont to execute every manuver she herself had learned in training. Each manuver and trick would have its own counter-manuver. But with non-combat pilots like Yerim, staying on her tail was easy, trying to predict what Yerim would do next, was harder than it sounded as her lack of experience somehow made her unpredictable.

Hyejoo notes at how erratic her opponent’s moves are as she maintains pursuit. And then a chuckle over the intercom, as if Siyeon was reading her protégé’s thoughts.

“Imagine you’re the new meat in any flight combat game like War Thunder or Ace Combat. Or maybe you’re a character in… I dunno, Top Gun. You’ve mastered the art of flying but not the art of battle. Ask yourself, what would be your first instinct?”

And then it hits Hyejoo. Of course, her opponent would try to emulate the movies and either attempt to lose her in the mountains below or in the clouds. The designated minimum altitude for this session ruled out the mountains, therefore the only place Yerim would attempt to evade then get the drop on her, would be in the clouds.

“Seems like you’ve managed to guess her next move?” Siyeon chuckles again as their Mave starts following the Super Sylph into the clouds above.

The altimeter reads 20,000 feet and the numbers increase, the Super Sylph flying right into the clouds with the Mave in hot pursuit.

“Minji’s new friend may be inexperienced but don’t toy with her too much. Not because I’m asking you to go easy on her, but because it can and will backfire on you.”

And then Hyejoo sees nothing but white as the chase carries on into the cloud bank above.

-

“You know, our little prodigy’s holding up pretty well.”

“Indeed. I did teach her how to handle a plane after all.” Jinsoul chuckles, gazing up as her eyes follow the two aircraft yawing, banking and rolling ceaselessly until both planes disappeared into the cloud bank.

Earlier at the base, they had taken off the blindfolds on order of the soldiers escorting them, as soon as Minji deemed it safe to. And right after the Super Sylph and Mave took off, Jinsoul and Jungeun were invited to watch the ACM session from below, on the back of a personnel carrier.

Jungeun takes a sip from the bottle of water a soldier handed to her earlier, drawing in a breath before speaking.

“From the way she’s flying against their own rookie, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t teach her the art of combat. Weren’t you part of the MASF too at one point?”

Jinsoul shrugs with a chuckle.

“Well buddy, in case you forgot, I was a dropship puke, not a fighter jock. Most of my flights were just hauling cargo and troops to space and back. I couldn’t teach Yerim something I never learned to begin with.”

“Touche. Actually come to think of it, you never told me about your time in the MASF as a military spook.”

Jinsoul replies with another chuckle. To Jinsoul, there wasn’t much to talk about in her five years with the military. She signed up, did her time… which consisted mostly of cargo flights. Except for that one time she served a six-month tour of duty on the war-torn planet Faery and Minji’s squadron was the one that bailed her out on one combat drop with Minji herself drawing fire away from Jinsoul’s dropship while Siyeon and the pilot with the Raven emblem blasted a path all the way to the drop zone and back.

But Jinsoul brushes the memory aside. Other than that, she considered the rest of her service to be rather unremarkable. She never really talked about it. Not out of battle-induced trauma from the missions on Faery, but out of the fact that she didn’t feel like it was worth talking about.

“It’s a long story.” Jinsoul finally says, with Jungeun nodding in understanding, not wanting to pry further.

The seconds feel like eternity as Jungeun and Jinsoul wait for one out of the two aircraft to emerge from the clouds.

-

“You can’t evade them forever, kid. Gotta start going on the offensive real soon.” Minji glances out the rear of the cockpit, then back in front, observing the younger pilot in front of her. She could almost see the gears in Yerim’s head turning as Yerim tried to figure out a way to outwit their opponents, which was harder than it sounded, with the Mave’s pilots being able to match her every move.

They would break through the clouds pretty soon and Yerim only has seconds to decide her next move.

“Hey kid, I’ve still got ‘em. They’re still back there nipping at our heels. You thinking up a plan?” Minji steals several more glances behind them, watching for Siyeon and Hyejoo.

“Yes.”

“Whatever it is, it’d better be quick ‘cause we’re giving ‘em a free lockon!”

The two fighter break through the clouds, with the Super Sylph levelling out, the Mave still hot on its tail.

“They’re still back there, closing fast.”

“I’m gonna hit the brakes, they’ll fly right by.”

“Okay do it. Do it! DO IT!”

Yerim pulls back on both the throttle and joystick, raising the Super Sylph’s nose, climbing up, and then quickly descending after.

“Hah nice one, kid. Let’s go do a little wolf hunting!”

-

“Okay you’re mi- Damn it!” Right as the lock-on tone increases in pitch and intensity, the Super Sylph noses up, the Mave overshooting it. Hyejoo frantically glances in both directions, stealing looks behind their fighter as she instinctively rolls the aircraft, with their quarry mirroring her maneuver.

“Try and keep your head cool, panicking or getting worked up isn’t gonna help us any.”

Gritting her teeth with Siyeon’s words in mind, Hyejoo flicks the stick in whichever directions her instincts tell her to. But Yerim remains latched on, attempting to stay behind Hyejoo and Siyeon.

-

Down below, the audience consisting of Jungeun, Jinsoul and the personnel carrier’s crew breaks into whoops and cheers as the two fighters break through the clouds, with the Super Sylph in hot pursuit of the Mave.

“Looks like Yerimmie sure learns pretty fast.”

“I knew that girl had a lot of potential. And that right there my friend, is proof of it.”

-

“Stay on their tail! Get them! Get them!”

“Ma’am, that’s not helping!” The hunter becomes the hunted now as it’s now Yerim’s turn to take up the pursuit, chasing Hyejoo and Siyeon’s Mave across the sky.

“Come on, kid. You’re on their six now. Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”

“Colonel, I’m trying!”

-

“Still can’t shake em?”

“No….”

Somehow Hyejoo finds it even harder to shake off the Super Sylph as she runs through every combat trick she knows. But it’s to no avail as warning alarms go off in her headset, indicating their opponent had achieved lock.

With a defeated sigh, Hyejoo levels out the Mave’s wings as the Super Sylph pulls up alongside them, rocking its wings.

Hyejoo wordlessly returns the gesture as Siyeon takes over the controls from the back seat, flying their Mave on instruments, heading in for a landing as the Super Sylph circles above, awaiting its turn to land.

“Hey, you alright there? Don’t sweat it. You may have lost but you still did pretty well.” Siyeon gives her protégé a thumbs up in the mirrors, in an attempt to soothe Hyejoo’s wounded pride.

-

Jinsoul is the first to run up to the Super Sylph as both its pilots step out of the cockpit. Two guards rush to stop her but are promptly waved off by Minji, who then offers both Jinsoul and Yerim a handshake as soon as Yerim hits the ground.

“You’ve got one hell of a pilot on your team, Betta. Your little prodigy here’s a natural. Just needed a little push and bam! Was able to give two trained pilots a run for their money.”

To which Jinsoul grins before enveloping Yerim in a crushing bear hug. Siyeon and Hyejoo step over, after their aircraft is towed into a hangar, with Hyejoo offering Yerim a handshake as well.

“That was a pretty good fight. You’re pretty good, kid.” Siyeon flashes a sharklike grin. “Perhaps we’ll be seeing you guys later in the aerial combat match?”

“You can bet on it.” Jinsoul nods, right as Yerim herself breaks into a grin behind the helmet.

-

It didn’t take that long for the trio to prepare for the ARL match that was to take place much later that day. Tonight, both the unmanned and manned classes of the Aerial Combat category would be held, in the wastelands flanking Solaris City.

Jungeun’s Fand-II was ready to fly, and thus she had it shipped to the airfield near the western desert, where the manned class was hosting its Aerial Combat match. Yerim’s SR-72 still wasn’t ready, much to the chagrin of the younger pilot. Jinsoul came to the rescue however, offering to let Yerim fly in her new Wyvern, with a weary Yerim opting to fly in the backseat.

There were two hours to take-off. Jinsoul waits for the signal to taxi to the starting line while Yerim takes the chance to catch a nap in the back. Jungeun on the other hand, is occupied with running through her Fand-II’s systems, with a stack of checklists in her lap

Yerim stirs from her catnap as the crowd gathers along the edges of the runway. Two fighters, both Maves, one packing Minji’s rabbit insignia and the other one with the raven on its fins touch down in formation, the roar of their engines punctuated with the squealing of tires hitting the tarmac at high speed.

Several important looking figures in the crowd draw Yerim’s attention. One had ash colored hair that fell past her shoulders, surrounded by a pair of bodyguards clad in black tactical gear.  Another one, had a bob cut, with most of her hair hidden by her hoodie, with a brunette packing bangs by her side.

“Looks like all the major players are out tonight.” Jungeun observes, Jinsoul nodding in response, pointing out the ones she was familiar with.

“That hooded lady over there, that’s Jo Haseul, the mastermind of the ARL. The lady with the bangs, that’s her girlfriend Viian.”

Jo Haseul, a former blade runner from Earth. Now the mastermind of the Aerial Racing League. Blade runners were special agents of the Earth police forces that were trained to hunt down and eliminate replicants like Siyeon and half her squadron mates. In what was perhaps a twist of irony, Haseul’s last assignment as a blade runner before fleeing to Mars was to eliminate Viian, but then Haseul herself had a change of heart midway through that mission, which was probably all for the better.

And as if proving the fact that the world in general is a small place, Minji’s team, who used to be mostly Special Forces before being transferred into the Aerospace Force as pilots, were the ones who got Haseul off of Earth. The MASF allowing the ARL to operate despite its unofficial status, and even to the extent of sending a team to test their aircraft in ARL events, was pretty much a favor from Minji (who knew the right strings to pull) to Haseul.

“That Disney Princess-looking lady that’s chatting up Haseul. That’s Miss Han. Head of the Black Cats group. Me and Jungeun used to do occasional jobs for them before you came to Mars.” Miss Han, or Handong. Leader of the Black Cats. A group of former Federation personnel, mostly hailing from Earth and Mars Special Forces. The Black Cats themselves started off doing private security work, then worked their way up into gun running while dabbling in the trade of aircraft and aircraft parts to ARL teams.

With Handong having a love (bordering on ) for games of chance (which now mostly involved betting on the outcomes of ARL matches) and sharing Haseul’s love of flying, it was only natural that the Black Cats would grow to become one of the ARL’s biggest sponsors.

Competing with the Black Cats was a triad from Earth, the Golden Dragons, having grown in power after absorbing two of the most powerful ones in East Asia, i.e the 14K and the Sun Yee On. Their representative on Mars rarely made an appearance in the ARL matches, both in the cockpit and in the spectator stands, but the Dragons were also a major sponsor of the ARL. However, their methods often put them at odds with the Black Cats.

The Black Cats, like the military, preferred to play the game as it was intended, by leaving everything to chance. The Dragons on the other hand, preferred to control the outcomes of matches usually through rigging matches and acts of sabotage to ARL teams that were considered a threat

The Dragons did have every intention of controlling the ARL in its entirety, with only the Aerospace Force’s 3^rd Experimental Weapons and Evaluation Squadron and the Black Cats being the biggest threats to them. Thus began a cold war of sorts, with Haseul, the MASF and the Black Cats intending to keep the ARL clear of the Dragons’ (and by extention Earth in general) influence out.

One hour to go. Yerim watches as a black SUV pulls up on the opposite end of the runway. Unmarked, a sharp contrast to the hastily painted over markings on the MASF’s support vehicles. By amazing coincidence, Miss Han took one look at the new arrivals and turned in the other direction. Haseul following suit Yerim hears faint clicking sounds, indicating someone was turning off the safeties on their weapons. Yerim looks over to see the MASF team, whose aircraft were now parked further down the runway ready their weapons as a tall figure steps out of the SUV, his features hidden by the black facemask and shades. Three bodyguards stepped out shortly after.

“They call him Wu. Head of the Mars branch of the Golden Dragons. It’s surprising that he decided to show up tonight.”

Both Yerim and Jinsoul turn, glancing at Jungeun who had already finished the checks on her Fand-II and decided to watch all the incoming racers from the wing of Jinsoul’s Wyvern.

“Last time I saw him, that guy was a Hung Kwan back on Earth. Hung Kwan’s like the Triad equivalent to the Mafia’s capo rank.”

“You sure seem to know a lot about ‘em.” Yerim eyes Jungeun who merely shrugs as she slips on her helmet, her left eye flashing red as her iris-cam activates along with the helmet’s electronics.

“Eh, you get into the kind of shady things I used to do on Earth, you eventually learn a few things about the big names in Earth’s underworld.”

All further conversation is cut off by the appearance of a familiar aircraft. A familiar FFR-31 Sylphid whose pilot was packing a familiar grey and burgundy flight suit.

Within seconds, a tow tractor lugs the Sylphid off to the far end of the growing queue of aircraft on the side of the runway.

Yerim and Jinsoul chuckle as Jungeun’s attention suddenly turns towards the Sylphid then switching back to performing more checks on the Fand-II’s controls as the Sylphid disappears from view. 

-

20 minutes until the Aerial Combat match starts. Still no sign of Yves, much to Jungeun’s disappointment. Jinsoul and Yerim on the other hand, run through their final checks on the Wyvern’s targeting and IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems, ensuring the electronics were in working order.

“Well, you three are a sight for sore eyes!” The trio of Jinsoul, Yerim and Jungeun look over, catching sight of a familiar purple haired pilot along with a younger looking pilot next to her.

“Well, well, well. Looks like the rabbit’s gotten herself a prodigy of her own.” Jinsoul chuckles, to which Minji responds to with a grin.

“I can’t be borrowing yours all the time so I got my own. This pretty lady here’s 1^st Lieutenant Jeon Heejin. Fresh out of the Feddie Aerospace Forces Academy on Earth. She’s good. Trust me on this, Betta.”

Heejin’s lips part in a slight smile, offering the Wyvern’s pilots a two- salute that Yerim returns before Yerim herself slips on her helmet, her iris cam activating with a bright purple flash as it connects, then synchronizes itself with the aircraft’s sensors and navigation systems.

“Well, Yerim’s managed to beat Siyeon’s protégé. Let’s see how she does against yours.”

“Is that a challenge, Betta? Well, we accept.”

“Bring it on, Colonel. By the way, where's Siyeon and Hyejoo?” Jinsoul asks, suddenly curious that the Wolf and her charge weren't anywhere in sight. 

"Mechanical trouble. They're somewhere in the spectator stands. But that's okay. Both of them had been pushing it a little too hard before your little showdown with them yesterday so they deserve a breather. I got another one of my girls to fly my wing." Minji nods towards the Mave with the raven insignia. Its pilot remained seated in the front. Unlike Minji's Mave, the Raven's Mave had only the pilot in the front seat, with a whole bunch of computer equipment right where the rear seat was supposed to be. 

Somehow the pilot seems familiar, as Jungeun points out. But with the helmet and all its assorted cables and hoses attached, there was no way to tell. 

"Oh you two do know her." Minji chuckles, as if she managed to read Jinsoul and Jungeun's thoughts. "I'll let you two and her catch up later after the match."

-

Five minutes until the start of the match. Each participating aircraft is towed to the starting line in sequence. For the Aerial Combat matches, there would be a minimum altitude of 1000 feet above the ground. Anyone who went under that would be automatically eliminated from the match, with the ‘kill’ being given to their pursuer.

The rest of the rules could not be any simpler. To score a ‘kill’, one would have either get a ‘lock’ on the target aircraft, or keep the target aircraft in the holographic reticle that represented a gunsight on the displays for more than five seonds.

A score of three to five kills per team (which consisted of two planes per team) or three to five kills per plane, would guarantee a place at the top of the leaderboards. The ensuing dogfight would be a free-for-all battle royale. A team with the most kills by the end of the match essentially won, as with the team that was the last one standing, regardless of how many kills they got. To add to the challenge, any team that got both aircraft eliminated would have their kill-scores voided.

Thus were the rules, as Jinsoul explained.

Two minutes until take-off. Both Odd Eye Circle planes had their engines running, with the pilots’ hands ready to push the throttle to full.

“You ready, girls?”

“Hell yeah. We were born ready.”

30 seconds until take-off.

“Jinsoul, Yerim. Get your fangs out, girls. We’re going hunting!”