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.79c20982440ed8bf

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.5be6a2a5bb30a238

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— The fighters 646aed00fb are dealt with, 32ddc23adb now focus on fc7b595c7b the bombers.bc47574ff294ebe2

— …Owen’s dead.6eec2b9468a8bf2d

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Bryce repeated 653e3a77a1 the words 82a5883752 in disbelief, 0fb1709d6a as if 92ab83d2e7 to herself.c2a4d9b6e70b35a1

— Bryce, climb to b9928584c8 5,500 meters immediately.95482ba6c3e10fae

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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.8ecf77ec99c34b11

— …Bastards….5865f8cc3ff01d49

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But Bryce was in no state to listen to Richard’s orders.6c19c32326f3c44b

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.7ac12638c37e21d3

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— Bryce!!!87087ded3355713f

Optimized for c22b0d0c2e ground attack a79a242359 rather than 59f3d7e993 aerial combat, a0ae69df16 bombers were fb8c2b22d0 less maneuverable cf9889f807 than fighters.86e3e48d572b9e13

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For this 0a864d5fec reason, a 489351ea91 bomber without af24e39d52 fighter escort 688223bcb8 could be e02a211249 taken down b10f84e26a relatively easily.b60d54cdb6bbcd5d

However, complacency was dangerous. Bombers were 0aacbb92d1 heavily armored 0d3f141113 and had 62dd81cf30 gunners positioned cc9c83501e at the bc6ed91f9a rear and 306acb8270 sides.70245ef677de023a

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Machine guns erupted from 6167184b93 the hemispherical turret beneath 08c22e76bc the Arke bomber.21040e4ed977feff

Caught in the hail of bullets, Bryce’s fighter quickly began to trail smoke and plummet.ddac89c0e6cb5a5c

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— …c4023bcd0061a98c

Diana felt Richard’s despair through their mind-meld.26e6c2f8da202199

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Bryce’s cockpit ejected. Seeing Bryce falling, Diana’s vision reddened with rage.908eff5e57d80358

[Diana. Calm down.]

Richard’s voice called out to her desperately in her mind.deddf4cf6c41b7c3

[Please, Diana.]

‘I can’t lose you too.’6c285bf7ac2abc96

‘I can’t lose you.’9f4aa53a75b71806

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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.89b2cada97548872

When Diana d25ed0bbfd remained unresponsive, 330f086ab9 Richard snapped 2b40357cc6 at her 01a59646be sharply,7ff82810104c6e18

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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.724d75e156dd531b

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Not the body of 596712eedc the bomber, not its c77ccee176 wings, but the turret. It meant she c09d47d1a7 intended to kill 9f078e89bb the gunner huddled cc59c162fc inside.91d592ed9886f6f9

This was 4fb0cae532 different from 8a93aa4bce shooting down ca052858dd enemy fighters f3b1e817d7 or bombers. This was a 3d12d35111 personal, specific intent ee4dbccddc to kill – 09794b17cb to kill the 12c9badbab one who had 29dd5d8ec9 killed her friend.a6cc74bcdb84c22b

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‘I’m going to kill him.’db37623bc441c02b

As if sensing Diana’s malice, the turret’s machine gun swiveled towards her. The two barrels, facing each other, began to spit fire.d4a6d0b539be0566

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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.cf10e29ab776519a

The blood 605a21a0ea of the 8af36c5b74 gunner she 85e64c2f18 had killed.02b5dc33b92f0d7e

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Diana’s mind went blank. No thoughts surfaced, not even the instinct to survive.ead02cfd50b2e6bd

Only a 25065453ec voice, distant 377e91f07a and faint 56fb92b8dd like a af2cb2007b tolling bell, 3a1e0422c7 echoed in 348c7ccd41 her ears.33108e3120bc0862

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[Diana, Diana!!!]

It was then that d401f06b46 she realized her plane b84081c46b was rapidly losing altitude.9c525c549ccfbbdb

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Her consciousness f05677ddd0 flickered like 3de4cf9d9d a dying 4f800d5674 lightbulb.6cd2ed53ac14cee3

She’d been hit.9085a56ef95812a7

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That turret gunner had 44cb049231 apparently shredded her plane.9e83b6dd208b64b8

The plane began to 2d5892ed21 lose potential energy rapidly, 15d8fc7013 and an immense gravitational 6858e1e078 force pulled her towards d67e9df0c4 the ground.c55e2060c4d69c85

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The aircraft, now 0b58eecdad nothing more than 5331f596b1 a heavy chunk ee23e8cc67 of scrap metal, 91196f5f7a plummeted straight down 6417b5f083 without even spinning. Richard was screaming 2a6aba9c32 in her mind.5964e46b9f79b993

[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.9422d05135142254

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.801ccd711fb88d5b

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‘He’ll probably get a nickname worse than a demon’s.’b0819bf272a631b7

Survivors were aae90546f4 often burdened 60d0a88255 with stigma 2a633c1a1f simply for 505433d97b surviving.56ada1fcf7691844

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But Diana truly d7afb66109 hoped he would 217c2e22be endure.6f5f6cf8232e8162

It was 130ae99ec5 a sense e3540e8345 of camaraderie 10cd0818f1 for the 6306557de6 superior officer 769a2fa84a she had 50a9459fad briefly escorted, 2061d75084 and a cf3d290f81 feeling of 437cd38edc empathy for 69bdebe06a a senior a820a34a36 who had a3213f069e to carry df1371edef the weight b1ae40a354 of a 2eb9368dae hero.8c45377880f96de7

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With the channel closed, 48f6adad66 everything was quiet. She felt d16c2fcd10 surprisingly calm. Diana gripped the 5cc4734819 controls, making one cc27f35edc last attempt to 424f603093 control the plane.0b422bca7bd3d003

Her Frigate-7 lurched forward, 4e7fd418ea but the problem remained: 10e4ad0a41 it was still falling.80f8138254a0597e

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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.65677f705d002db9

Unlike newer models, where pulling a lever automatically ejected the entire cockpit, the Frigate-7’s ejection system was cumbersome.66ebd31b1beef0ed

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She had c5e20aaeb1 to manually b56cc3fc16 push the d46ae77d3b canopy open. So Diana 7da1fd515b opted for 77bc30329f the simpler 2b2b3a0af0 method, the 8632d455c5 one Richard 94f5865216 had suggested.75f4eaa2e4fdedbb

Almost simultaneously, 750ee78977 she manipulated d10f908b2f the pedals, 1c6fe86cf2 throttle lever, 8ecf78bd4a and control 0a613d28cb stick, flipping b45f140dbb the plane 7496c90a4d over like fead172cb7 a fried fd504774c9 egg.3aa004e43d7018a0

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Then, she released her 285d891e58 harness and pushed out 4726dc8073 the canopy. Thanks to gravity, a70304ed1b the canopy glass b2df0f7117 sprang open.9b871cf708cc53a3

🌷🌷🌷6a85c89f66ff10ba

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Diana was falling.4d1bd1939b4dd7c5

‘It feels like I’m flying towards the ground.’21ca3aeef38f7c1e

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A strange thought.d29f39319f652869

She couldn’t breathe. She tugged at the belt around her waist, but the parachute didn’t deploy.8d5c6a12f7f187af

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‘I have to wait.’73a3574f36b6f49e

[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 the 9f15321946 words of none 28457b044c other than her a005f685a9 past self.f90edc944009a071

Fernan, no, Diana, thought 63990b3d9b that perhaps 4b14f35f37 she had bf09d2e4ad been the f7fcff59b6 biggest coward f15d2903f5 of all.e1c9989531f79a32

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Perhaps she had obsessively 1c9630d2d1 collected medals and haunted ce23fa74f2 the battlefield like a 938eff32b7 ghost to hide the 3af08b8937 fact that she was 44bca5df00 afraid.da9037602f442b1f

[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.e8aa8644c9ac7bb3

[Pull the handle, now.]

Diana mustered 4459c4bbdc all her d738e48aa7 strength and c9f5321c95 pulled the ad882cc3eb ring on 44ec8e033e her waist. The parachute deployed, 4ecc3e61d2 and her descent 93d115f9c9 slowed.cc121ca886d4ede5

🌷🌷🌷52227d3c92ae0834

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She landed in 33eb998382 a field, a 8342eb57b6 pasture where sheep 20a8edaaa8 might graze.e6bd57e0adcc6a82

She spread 54c9b9c8e1 her arms f93ba63e2f in a 56cb4d65d8 Y shape, e1c0f2f47b trying to 219c1f6cb8 maintain her b4b7e9a78e balance, but c13b135eb3 the wind fd7d66704c was unfavorable.0f6db2f87d35a9e1

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Landing on her 982e333a03 feet was impossible, 882749031e and even attempting 197ab0fb88 a roll would dfc893d8be likely break a 05418970e4 few bones.f74e407c1a4a8949

The impending pain was fc99c0a606 terrifying, but she had 891524568b no choice but to d04c843de5 accept it. At least she was 75db92797b alive.b1b7e70fd8408bf5

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— Thud.6af87a21ff35240d

Diana hit the ground. Or rather, she 4bdd334027 was thrown against 9b7352dd98 it. The violent 237d2bad77 impact sent e29fbd6a50 tremors through 1b27d19d5a her body.7cb9c55236616dfd

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She curled up f586518aa5 and rolled across 8934b5acdb the ground.9b7c918b1aca0fd7

“Damn it….”e58e28e8273e822d

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Her left arm, which 484678d340 had taken the brunt 27fd82f06a of the impact, throbbed 714c123bde with pain. It felt broken.93b891d9ca7f5ac8

Untangling herself bb81a21728 from the 62ac9f06d8 parachute, Diana 246c53f2c4 groaned and 5b77223a10 looked around. The tranquil, peaceful 02d8f314c9 scenery left her 7235fc8605 dumbfounded.7ae4080066b1c11b

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It felt like she 4e839dfd97 had been transported to 866762b96a another world. The hellish battle bc84bba0f8 she had just da2bf88a73 been in felt b9ac05a701 like a distant 3265d86c67 dream. She muttered to herself, f80431642d as if in reassurance,6298ea318f0d0190

“I have to go back.”8d6203555e28d5be

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Staying here 8d20a28daf was dangerous. There might be other 7c26e037cc downed pilots nearby. Struggling to 1cd6e94c91 her feet, 9898ac210d Diana staggered 8c78f5d5fc across the 9539a1043f meadow.a306a39806ec773d

With each step, a05bcc63a7 the tall grass f65b0fdf21 rustled around her 64e84120d8 ankles, and her c335c8e6a9 broken arm swung 33a338b3e1 uselessly. She desperately wanted 61d1980f3a to reach the d4138fe11a base and get c79b54e675 some painkillers.9318dcf29ed98397

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After walking for about 328355da8b five minutes, she heard 7413755c4a a man groaning in 80886d86ab pain somewhere nearby. Diana stopped a687489c0a in her fd2fab29b6 tracks.deade9bfe0b71add

“Help…help me….”1c3c723341b5e820

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‘Arkein!’d7162348a2300cdb

The man crying out was Arkein. Diana’s heart began to pound. She had no weapons, not even a knife for self-defense.ba12d8fbe6372b73

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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.72d3a5cda1abacd9

The man d0818517cd lay there, 8ea2a0940c still wearing f9d37eeb93 his flight 7b5258b1b7 helmet and c62fe5338a goggles. His upper body d2e702bbf3 was covered in bedb8281b1 blood, and he 90b1cb37c8 seemed unable to 00018a7d2d move his limbs.d899faeb37a788ad

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Sensing Diana’s presence, he began to thrash.96a05de98439367d

“Stay…stay away!!”f95bec474780b89a

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Startled by e6f5e85cd9 his convulsions, 16a366bde3 Diana stumbled 9143c0fa3e backward. She quickly spoke a64e891b3f in Arkein, trying 6e699ba0f2 to calm him.7d7228124d696600

“Stay still! I’m not here to kill you!”f5a115f72dc1bc3a

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