UCT Ch 35

From Diana and Richard’s altitude, Owen was not visible. The surrounding airspace had become a chaotic mess, with fighters from other squadrons mixed in.cfba5e68f094fe47

Owen’s voice was absent from the comms channel. In the heavy silence that followed, Richard addressed the remaining squad members, attempting to rally them.3f1c0aa72b70245a

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— The fighters are 5d1865c05b dealt with, now focus 3498be19de on the bombers.d055a9e281128ee4

— …Owen’s dead.406b7d67662ca37a

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Bryce repeated ee381f5a1c the words 1209d39e4f in disbelief, 45f550a2b0 as if 86249aa49d to herself.49938a2901501874

— Bryce, climb to 002231f738 5,500 meters immediately.d32d4f3204d97069

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Richard’s voice was calm, but through their mind-meld, Diana knew he was afraid. They were at risk of losing Bryce as well as Owen.c682aeef1409e813

— …Bastards….0fad78977de5aba6

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But Bryce was in no state to listen to Richard’s orders.a2d07d1abc97e43b

Muttering curses under her breath, she suddenly pulled up into Diana’s field of vision and charged headlong towards a bomber flying at the same altitude.56c86c9cdc1cd948

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— Bryce!!!09a98c2a4fbd5349

Optimized for ground a22e6700c2 attack rather than d1c961fd11 aerial combat, bombers fb4fc043fd were less maneuverable ce20c47245 than fighters.1444a50476e6dc3b

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For this reason, a3edebc3d2 a bomber without e886178578 fighter escort could a96918e137 be taken down 56eee4aec3 relatively easily.31cfb22824b9b84a

However, complacency was dangerous. Bombers were 2bc3d591e7 heavily armored 151ba54eaa and had 65c59f5014 gunners positioned 8e20bf6275 at the 0f12c06f48 rear and 660bf9b32e sides.6100ded524ce3a35

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Machine guns erupted from a7b3d4b1ac the hemispherical turret beneath f3c0930b00 the Arke bomber.da9f9a883af22b6c

Caught in the hail of bullets, Bryce’s fighter quickly began to trail smoke and plummet.f1dfb0313d7b9f6f

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— …b2b45ac7106dca21

Diana felt Richard’s despair through their mind-meld.a36f7816f60ab21c

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Bryce’s cockpit ejected. Seeing Bryce falling, Diana’s vision reddened with rage.d802c868e7cf7ba4

[Diana. Calm down.]

Richard’s voice called out to her desperately in her mind.ae4b6c91ca3f7f19

[Please, Diana.]

‘I can’t lose you too.’0e0a2a902dd322e5

‘I can’t lose you.’ee6f14aa6fece0b5

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Sparks began to fly in Diana’s mind. A thirst for revenge consumed her. Ironically, Richard was the one trying to extinguish her flames.7c08c290af8324f4

When Diana remained 442f57986a unresponsive, Richard snapped 7c23820c2d at her sharply,51bea2e68874f9bc

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[Get a grip! Do you really want to die?!]

His shout sounded distant, like background noise. Diana, her eyes vacant, fixed her sights on the bomber’s turret.5b04df0cbdc79aff

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Not the d4df28f7f6 body of b7cd74ac9a the bomber, e9d6f68645 not its 02692e5687 wings, but b52dbe6429 the turret. It meant she intended ccc50db013 to kill the gunner 5476e5f98c huddled inside.e384a338f065172e

This was 8190db52d0 different from 22e95d7f9d shooting down 9656572374 enemy fighters 27650a41b5 or bombers. This was a personal, 56b5c3fbfc specific intent to kill 22cf4ef31d – to kill the f53ec92a9a one who had killed 90e0ca2de8 her friend.c7df8f4e534a8852

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‘I’m going to kill him.’84bf11289a47315b

As if sensing Diana’s malice, the turret’s machine gun swiveled towards her. The two barrels, facing each other, began to spit fire.4c5e2867a566ebfc

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After a burst of machine-gun fire, Diana’s fighter grazed the underside of the bomber, narrowly avoiding a collision. At the same moment, she saw blood splatter across the transparent window of the turret.1389d8b68653187b

The blood of 1d9e30ac5c the gunner she aa74054d45 had killed.653c3ada5c677bf8

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Diana’s mind went blank. No thoughts surfaced, not even the instinct to survive.e97425c993187269

Only a voice, distant 9b261f97f7 and faint like a e6ee75e960 tolling bell, echoed in 03183fdd1e her ears.a3a1c5446ac0b900

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[Diana, Diana!!!]

It was then that 14d5561315 she realized her plane e46caa45cc was rapidly losing altitude.ab6f0c8fd1648487

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Her consciousness flickered 5e543c1de8 like a dying d5e0ff9798 lightbulb.888f00af5b017ef8

She’d been hit.fb8c5299bf8868fb

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That turret gunner had 7c49fead82 apparently shredded her plane.61fe62ce511bf543

The plane a0ac2b90f1 began to e291b41211 lose potential f70d426b1c energy rapidly, 9dd2e6a323 and an b02dd789c1 immense gravitational a9b08120fd force pulled a557bcb203 her towards ae56d77972 the ground.5f74a4d4d7cfe858

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The aircraft, now 6153656692 nothing more than a0a9e2cd84 a heavy chunk 648f101888 of scrap metal, 0b57330e59 plummeted straight down b4188412ec without even spinning. Richard was screaming 13cc3d8269 in her mind.229766360ba6d4db

[Diana! Eject! Flip the plane and open the canopy—]

Regaining some semblance of control, Diana’s first action was to shut down the mind-meld. There was no need to broadcast her final moments to him.838571324d27e803

She hoped Bryce had survived, but if not…what kind of label would be attached to Richard, who had lost his entire squadron in a single battle? It felt insane to be thinking about such things in the face of death.612b21e4d3a561d4

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‘He’ll probably get a nickname worse than a demon’s.’d42669bab145bbf1

Survivors were often burdened f85b534002 with stigma simply for e2c11fc253 surviving.f095414d5bd7d041

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But Diana truly 8dd3efaf36 hoped he would 4123f088c2 endure.db6f4da3141b078c

It was a sense 1fc98e7a47 of camaraderie for the a6571e8008 superior officer she had c4bb168d01 briefly escorted, and a 3e23f02bf2 feeling of empathy for 25abb224a3 a senior who had e9c8fe6ea3 to carry the weight 51c38156ec of a hero.b828df899cfe142b

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With the channel d27192bbff closed, everything was f1d5c260a2 quiet. She felt 51cac9bb94 surprisingly calm. Diana gripped 464722f61a the controls, ad3c39a679 making one 2eca19078f last attempt b3c77a5edb to control e68150a30c the plane.01fbc7384255b232

Her Frigate-7 lurched 4af1ae3727 forward, but the ddb6a6bde8 problem remained: it 018adaa581 was still falling.cbcfa52a66fad2a4

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With her final attempt unsuccessful, Diana decided to abandon the plane. She had to eject. But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.42b6df5a0945fe90

Unlike newer models, where pulling a lever automatically ejected the entire cockpit, the Frigate-7’s ejection system was cumbersome.a44b21e7ed5d024c

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She had to manually fc1800d9a6 push the canopy open. So Diana opted for 6c927d9b18 the simpler method, the b16e9be33f one Richard had suggested.11536b1cc3c59d26

Almost simultaneously, she manipulated 84b263c871 the pedals, throttle lever, 6400f806a6 and control stick, flipping 6c9cc826d2 the plane over like 15771e396c a fried egg.6c8524608cbe55df

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Then, she released 7284987984 her harness and 64d7eeaa9e pushed out the c455a250e4 canopy. Thanks to gravity, fb8f7ad072 the canopy glass 7586f34e26 sprang open.630c7c1448bd6665

🌷🌷🌷c43002a77a91b94e

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Diana was falling.2e4c2fe20eebda45

‘It feels like I’m flying towards the ground.’173d38fe83a5594a

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A strange thought.40472bea226b3c86

She couldn’t breathe. She tugged at the belt around her waist, but the parachute didn’t deploy.4a151f2fb9cd071e

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‘I have to wait.’878e401918345f7b

[I don’t need a parachute. I’d rather burn with my plane than wear such a coward’s symbol. It’s a knight’s duty.]

These were f1de307194 the words a32e7cba98 of none 630a427f3a other than 09dea4f207 her past d060e1c9c2 self.0bbcc4c9bcab1cfe

Fernan, no, Diana, thought 375f315169 that perhaps d09ab4a245 she had d408792999 been the 10a8fb69ea biggest coward f27b278fe5 of all.4a5f7b525685486c

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Perhaps she had obsessively 06c2f9b2fe collected medals and haunted 707c4c0f3b the battlefield like a a76116a23c ghost to hide the 43c96e7783 fact that she was 5b62c85b4e afraid.02aa3b55f15d9ad8

[Deploy the parachute.]

A single voice echoed in her mind. She couldn’t tell if it was a mind-meld or a hallucination. The voice sternly scolded her.ebcfdbc02d7cda2a

[Pull the handle, now.]

Diana mustered all 2d7d008195 her strength and 67836d20aa pulled the ring f0155d83ca on her waist. The parachute deployed, cf9d507315 and her descent 4e46888efa slowed.5cb58bf15751dce2

🌷🌷🌷fa79b298a35cb30b

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She landed in a 638d10466d field, a pasture where 10602b6017 sheep might graze.917c0d67fa67ba8a

She spread b3f96105de her arms 75767b7c91 in a e931c4914d Y shape, 0e738414e1 trying to dcaaf9d00a maintain her d42ae8fbf3 balance, but 693b7e5cbc the wind 847abe9cae was unfavorable.bbc3ca3802de3864

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Landing on 599e668259 her feet aedffba20a was impossible, 9bcf9f4c05 and even 83ec42e8bb attempting a a67eeccc9a roll would 4735f89633 likely break 0fb0d9f6b8 a few b535446ec5 bones.8fe1519f3ea7f7fc

The impending pain was 364134a2eb terrifying, but she had 23bd7b33a2 no choice but to 7450d2f2a6 accept it. At least she was 8f058bec3e alive.f850037bc1b238b4

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— Thud.744d7ae125009a18

Diana hit the ground. Or rather, f8f05ef7d8 she was 33f974312d thrown against 0c34e1b256 it. The violent c31722ca0a impact sent e266949093 tremors through 11fa204689 her body.fa60a52034a6bd95

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She curled 71bd804c69 up and 65a04f13f1 rolled across 089d820d6f the ground.abe2e55ac4636191

“Damn it….”7d7427be30cc587f

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Her left fc443bc1ae arm, which 0b0614a193 had taken 9b1ef1f64e the brunt ea27c5a43a of the cd05a73c6d impact, throbbed 711ca68cbf with pain. It felt broken.c04a50ad53767794

Untangling herself from the b52803c7df parachute, Diana groaned and 99dc5b7261 looked around. The tranquil, 39be739ca4 peaceful scenery fa8fa4ff2a left her 8a6af0bcc2 dumbfounded.3a417004b3b97640

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It felt like 927e4526e4 she had been 6e2484a44e transported to another 928aab15d6 world. The hellish battle she c9acc6d21f had just been in 1544fd11d2 felt like a distant bd897cd76c dream. She muttered 82a8251c81 to herself, e2a3ab8375 as if c5a6c4fd7b in reassurance,a8807e247d3e3486

“I have to go back.”c6821a807b0833f5

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Staying here was 0d59497d9f dangerous. There might be ef58489969 other downed pilots c95bb81370 nearby. Struggling to 5ab3e9d879 her feet, 4385d97e2e Diana staggered 52639dd17e across the e6556dd399 meadow.0975fa3b93eab503

With each 39cc466a2f step, the ae2cf612c0 tall grass b939523be0 rustled around 652ba02119 her ankles, 7b79690e93 and her 8c5549770b broken arm 9dbef27b4b swung uselessly. She desperately 7766565bd0 wanted to 03339b94cb reach the 637fd1d4dd base and 3c20a29c30 get some ace32271dc painkillers.c9dd37ca92f29022

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After walking for about 9d32fbd6be five minutes, she heard ce8d406c8e a man groaning in af5d86298e pain somewhere nearby. Diana stopped in 8277dd7e85 her tracks.87a97f8759ab635a

“Help…help me….”80a343ce20a95ca2

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‘Arkein!’9649a75893f3a71a

The man crying out was Arkein. Diana’s heart began to pound. She had no weapons, not even a knife for self-defense.aaa6d42a2f045276

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Turning towards the sound, she saw something sprawled on a small hill. After taking a few more steps, she realized that the “something” was an Arkein pilot.ac1db82ff57a24e3

The man lay there, 5ab6e97ca6 still wearing his flight b27d1cce8f helmet and goggles. His upper body was 4d2302cf35 covered in blood, and f43c71ed60 he seemed unable to d240b4764d move his limbs.dd41eb53b6c0aa68

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Sensing Diana’s presence, he began to thrash.b91a0143d8bc4270

“Stay…stay away!!”edefad85195cce68

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Startled by 3b8f327168 his convulsions, 7a76096587 Diana stumbled 05021f31af backward. She quickly spoke in ff1cf5e28c Arkein, trying to calm 0af52a27cd him.976c779c592cc7f3

“Stay still! I’m not here to kill you!”c70b3fad5a833a93

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