Distant Thunder [Reaper Six-Lanawint]

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Alex fired off the two shots, then dove for the deck, flying underneath the missiles at a very high speed. His snapshots had forced the two attackers to break away, to lose their locks on him. Now he got to truely go on the offensive. Lighting up the closest target with his radar, he squeezed off another missile, then repeated this for the next. In about fifteen seconds, he'd loosed half his armaments.

Since his missiles honed in on both radar and infrared, he turned away, flying away from the two hostile jets. "Tell me if they hit!" he shouted.
 
His voice pulled her out of her stupor. Just how long had she been idly witnessing the event, staring vacantly at the radar screen, the figures flashing indistinctly before her eyes? It probably wasn't as long as it felt. Her shoulders dropped as she exhaled in a huff, realizing that she had been holding her breath in anticipation of an incoming explosion for some time now. She tilted her head to one side, squinting at the screen, trying to make sense of it, once again giving it her undivided attention.

Okay, here were the two enemy planes, and... oh! here! This had to be their own missiles. She began tracking the missiles movements as soon as she spotted them, stiffening up as she eagerly waited for them to reach their destinations; the beating of her heart seeming to increase the closer they got to it until one of them finally collided with its target.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief and shouted over to him : "You've got one!" before noticing that the other targeted aircraft was still intact, so far successful in eluding the missile through evasive actions.

Uh oh...
 
He let out a sigh as another warning blared, he was being illuminated by a radar. He spun the aircraft and pulled up, pouring on power to accelerate at the target. No radar or missile could adjust that fast. The airplane shook as he fired his cannons, his burst missing, but forcing the other out of position. Alex then began to turn, trying to get on the enemies tail.
 
As the sound of another alarm echoed through the cockpit, any trace of the relief she had felt when they managed to get rid of one of the enemy planes had been wiped away from Lizbeth's features. What was that for? Were they targeted? It sure seemed like the plane was closing in from the radar screen. She risked a backward glance through the cockpit window, the landscape spinning around her making her felt a bit dizzy. Shit, shit, shit. He was really, really close. Before she realized it, she had let go of her bag that landed with a heavy thud at her feet. Shit. She stretched herself out toward it, reaching for the handles that escaped her as the airplane shook, propelling it forward. Letting out a small shriek, she looked around in alarm before regaining some of her composure. Ok, deep breath. They were ok.​
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But for how long? How long before finally getting hit? Or even before running out of ammo? That was actually something she would really like to know, but she'd rather stay in the dark than risk distracting him, especially right now… When would this nightmare end? This big steel carcass called plane. Her seatbelt. Every element that was there as a safety feature felt more like a trap now. And she wasn't sure how much more she could take before breaking down into a nervous breakdown. Every time things were going from wrong to worse, every time she was becoming so overwhelmed by it all that she felt like she couldn't handle it anymore, she still had managed to somewhat pull herself together. Pulling herself together was one thing. But what she really wanted, no, what she really needed, to be back on her own two feet, or at the very least to take control of the situation instead of just going along, seemed like an unattainable feat at the moment. Even that damn bag was unattainable! She reached for it once more and finally manage to grip it, extracting it back safely on her knees before it could cause any harm.​
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She looked back through the cockpit window once more and frowned. There was no trace of the plane behind them. So if the plane was no longer on their tail, where was it? She redirected her gaze to the radar screen and gasped. There it was. How the hell did he get over here?​
 
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"Gotcha," Alex breathed, then he pulled the trigger, sending a new burst. The yellow tracers cut through the sky, and removed the wing of the silver aircraft. The enemy MiG exploded, debris falling from smoke.

Alex turned back to Allenfort, pouring on power. "You okay back there?" he asked, panting.
 
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Lizbeth blinked as she registered his question. Was she okay? Let's see. In the last hours, she had been feeling dizzy, nauseous, confused and angry and scared out of her mind. But okay? Not even close, despite the fact that he cared enough to inquire about it was comforting.

"Yeah, I'm alright" she reassured him, cringing at how hoarse and strained her voice sounded "How about you?"

He was probably doing better than her, for sure. It was, after all, his job, and being a fighter pilot was not for the faint of heart, requiring a lot of self control and a high tolerance for stress. So while being chased by two enemy aircraft, hot on their tail had been a highly stressful situation for her, it was something that he was trained to face. Well, maybe not by himself on a two against one scenario…

And that led to the next question that had been burning in the back of her mind ever since they had appeared on her screen. Why were they chased? And did they know who they were chasing and what they were up to? She leaned slightly forward toward Alex and inquired:

"Do you think there'll be more of them? And that… they know who we are?"
 
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Alex settled back on course, slowly relaxing. "Those were long range interceptors, we likely won't see any more." he said. "They thought we were something, but it they knew it was you or another royal, there would have been more." Alex checked the radar, then his fuel state, not enough. They'd glide in to Allenfort.
 
"That's good", Lizbeth nodded distractedly.

Likely... It was hard not to pick up on the implication that such a little word could carry. The chance of another encounter was still very much an eventuality. The only thing that seemed certain was the fact that their identities, or rather her identity hadn't been disclosed. Seemed was another key word, because despite his reassurance, she couldn't help but to question even that. Because despite his explanation being the most logical one, it was not the only one she could envision as her mind processed the very little information made available to her on the current situation. Were all their troops engaged in the frontal assault against the capital or were they operating on multiple front-lines? Couldn't they have decided to send the two troops closest to their location without waiting for reinforcements before they could get out of their reach?

It was hard for her to conceive that the only fact that there were only two planes could completely refute the fact that the enemy forces might know about them. But then, what did she really know? She knew that war broke when Erusia swooped down on them, that they launched a large-scale attack on the capital, cutting off the escape routes, which was the reason for her presence in this aircraft right now. That military affairs were definitely out of her field of expertise. Yeah, a whole lot of nothing. Trying to draw any conclusion on such limited data could only result on wild speculation. There would come a time for answers and it was not now, it would have to wait for Allenfort.

A sigh escaped the young woman's thin lips, trying to relax her taut muscles. "I can't wait to be in Allenfort " she mumbled thoughtfully. "Have you been there before?"
 
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Alex quieted down as he settled back to the straight and level flying. They were a few minutes out when he said, "yeah... I was born here." he said as the foggy, snow covered island became visable among the grey sea. The blinking lights of the airfield shingling through the fog, he acquired clearance and headed down, carefully bringing the aircraft in. The winter palace was visable just off the airfield, on a hill overlooking both the airfield; town, and sea.

They landed lightly, and Alex taxied as far as he could before his power died. At which point he leaned back and blew out a sigh.
 
Heedless of the silence that had once more settled between them, only briefly disturbed by Alex's audible breath of relief, Lizbeth contemplated the awaited destination finally in sight, shrouded in her own thoughts. She stayed quiet for a moment, soaking it in, her icy eyes travelling over the sight of the Winter Castle spread out before her, its red Gothic turrets and spires rising above the town besides the whitewashed buildings, piercing the gray sky. A wave of disparate emotions washed over her: exhaustion, relief, restlessness, apprehension, her thoughts clashed against each other, fleeting yet powerful.​
Shaking herself out of her reverie as the distant form heading toward them materialized into the shape of a vehicle approaching the landing area, Lizbeth freed herself from her seatbelt and waited for Alex to open the canopy, looking forward to finally extract herself from the plane and feel once more the solid ground under her feet.​
 
Alex popped the canopy, and a rush of near freezing air rushed in. He removed the straps chaining him to his plane, then turned and stepped onto the space next to the cockpit to help the princess undo hers. Alex crouched, lightly reaching over and releasing her harness. "There you go," he said, then hopped down to the snowy Tarmac, slipping on some ice and landing on his ass.

The vehicle that approached was a light military utility vehicle, an upgraded truck. And the troops that stepped out approached cautiously, but once they saw her; snapped to attention.
 
Now free of her restraints, Lizbeth threw a concerned glance at his companion before diverting it, trying not to draw attention to his minor fall from the incoming troops, acknowledging their presence with a gracious smile. One of the men came forward and saluted her, declaring factually: "Your highness. We've been ordered to get you to safety". The dark-haired girl nodded gratefully at him "Thank you". And, making no attempt to climb down just yet, she stood there looking apprehensively at the ground that looked suddenly way less welcoming than before. She had clearly overestimated the value of this particular solid ground. It may be solid but it was also slippery. And Alex's ass wouldn't contradict her on that…

From a very young age, she had been taught that being a member of the royal family prompt expectations. And growing up she had been instilled with the core values and duties incumbent upon her, such as looking dignified in every situation to avoid reflecting poorly on her family and by extent the royalty. She still remembered being lectured about it, when at 8, she had learned that it was not allowed to spit out food, no matter how disgusting it was, and that gulping down frog legs or other delicacies of the same sort, and pretending to enjoy it was expected her from now on. In this case, falling on her ass in front of everyone could probably be considered as a breach to this particular rule, although how to avoid end up like that was still to be determined. How could she expect to land gracefully on ice with her high heels? And going barefoot on ice did not seem that appealing either.

Suppressing a sigh, Lizbeth stepped over the structure, but didn't jump down to the ground, and after a short internal debate decided to ask, somewhat bashfully:

"Would one of you gentleman be kind enough to help me down?"
 
"I will," Alex replied, standing up and moving so that he was close to her. He offered his hand out to her, then brought his other to her side when she hopped down to steady her.

Alex smiled slightly at her, ignoring the incident seconds before. He should have known better.
 
"Thank you", a soft smile slided over her thin lips as she welcomed Alex's aid and hopped down to his level without incident.

Her small frame was now clasped in the cold breeze, and barely restraining another shiver running through her body as every patch of her exposed skin was now covered in goose bumps, she started to rub her arms briskly in a vain hope to keep warm. And directing her attention back to the man who appeared to be leading the troops sent on their behalf, she questioned: "Shall we proceed?"
 
He nodded, and Alex led her into the vehicle, sitting beside her. They drove to a large, concrete brick building, where he quickly got out and inside, mainly for her benefit. The base's commanding officer was there to greet them, and he laid out what security would be in place for the Winter Palace, while seeming to ignore Alex.
 
To Lizbeth's relief, they quickly reached the military vehicle, shielding her body from the chilling air, and after a few minutes of silent travel, they finally reached the military base. As they walked inside, she looked around, a small part of her mind expecting to see the familiar figures of her parents. But shortly afterwards, fully acknowledging the fact that seeking their presence here was probably nothing more than wishful thinking, she forced a smile, hiding her disappointment and rested her blue eyes on those of the man who had presented himself as the base's commanding officer. And relegating everything else on the back of her mind she did her best to focus on his presentation, mechanically nodding when she was supposed to show her understanding and occasionally asking for some clarification.

Finally noticing the way the military man had been disregarding Alex, intentionally or not, she interceded, gesturing at him, "May I present you to the skilled pilot who, charged with the daunting task of assisting my escape from the capital, risked his own life to ensure my safety, Alex Walker"
 
Alex looked down and away, he was already starting to kick himself for his actions that day, being so far from the airfield, being unprepared. He wasn't worthy of praise.

"Mr. Walker, I do not know if we can find a billet for you, as my base is full." the general said. "In spite of your heroic actions, I am going to give you one day of leave before writhing you to the front."

Alex nodded mechanically, muttering a "yes, sir." He just wanted to get out there, avenge his squadron.
 
Lizbeth's eyebrows furrowed slightly, trying to catch his gaze before it drifted away, as if it could help her gauge the reason behind Alex's lukewarm reaction to her words. Was he unhappy about it? About the whole situation? Or maybe it was out of shyness? He didn't seem especially shy, reserved seemed more accurate, although it was hard to know. After all, they'd just met and the circumstances had not been the most conducive for her to make any sound judgment about him. Especially since she hadn't been paying that much attention to him. Her mind had been fluttering from one thing to another, the plane, the battlefront, the radar, home. And the fear, for her own safety, for the safety of others… for her parents…

Whatever the reason was, she didn't tarry on it much longer as the general's voice died down quickly followed by Alex's feeble agreement. And looking back to the officer, she folded her arms over her chest protectively as she inquired:

"Do you have any news concerning the situation in the capital", wincing at how faltering her tone sounded, she nevertheless pursued: "...about my parents?"
 
The flag officer shook his head. "The units we pushed there have been destroyed. We're putting together a holding action as we speak, but the defense of the capital was a wasted gesture, at best." the general replied. "Maybe your parents got out, a number of units were able to escape, but communication is patchy at best."

Without being bidden, Alex drew away, leaving the two as he walked out into the cold. There had to be something, however menile he could do somewhere...
 
It had been the words she yearned for, reviving the dim hope that all was not lost yet, that her parents could have escaped this nightmare. Yet, it was mitigated by the rest of his words. A wasted gesture. All these people died for nothing? Is that what it meant? And putting together a holding action… Is that what they were reduced to? Cut their losses? Stalling, hoping that the problem would be solved… how?

"I would like to be informed as soon as you have something. Anything" Lizbeth breathed out, in an effort to relax her clenched jaw.

She noticed Alex's departure, but while part of her was curious as to his whereabouts and hoped he was okay, she was too overcome by her own emotions to do so. She needed air, far from everyone's prying eyes, where she could gather her shambled thoughts, to get all the repressed emotion she had scarcely been holding in, set to burst at any moment, out of her system.

Taking her leave from the general, she excused herself to the restroom, persuading him that she would be able to find it on her own, and wandered off toward a secluded spot. Once she found it, she paced, fingers curled into a fist, forcing herself to inhale and slowly exhale through her pursed lips, in an effort to restrain her rising anger - at Erusia, at the situation they were in, at their own weakness, at herself - fighting against the urge to kick something.

Punching the wall would probably look childish, silly or whatever you could call it, but it would feel good…only for a second, and it would probably really really hurt afterwards. She flexed her fingers, to release the mounting tension, and leaning her forehead against the wall in frustration, she stayed there for a moment, eyes closed. Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, a burst of self-deprecating laughter escaped her lips. And now, the waterworks. Pathetic… As if it could solve anything. The young woman was so very tired of putting up with everything thrown at her. And while she wasn't sure what she could do about it, she knew she would fight back.
 
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