Reward And Carrier

[System]

<<Coms Speaking>>

"Talking"

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With the rebel's fleet jumping to hyperspace. Cipher quickly made it's way to assist us.

We already engaged the enemy star destroyer and fighter, It was pure chaos with hundreds of tie fighters all over space. And the turbo laser firing left and right trying to hit us even if it meant killing their allies in the process.

And to be honest?

We were having fun.

My targeting systems beeped rapidly as I zeroed in on enemy fighters, unleashing precise volleys of 30mm cannon on them. One by one, they exploded in bursts of fiery debris, their pilots barely standing a chance against our overwhelming skill.

I tore through their formations like a storm, weaving between volleys of laser fire and obliterating anything in my path. With a quick glance at my radar, I saw the Empire's squadrons struggling to regroup.

The Empire's pilots never stood a chance, nor did the star destroy turbo laser as with each hit the shield protected us.

Even when it goes down, the shield slowly regenerates. Allowing us to continue fighting.

While all of this happening, I notice from the small minimal that Cipher closing on us, so I give him an order.

<<Cipher, cover my six!>> I barked into the comms, twisting my fighter into a sharp barrel roll to evade a TIE Fighter that had managed to tail me. A quick counter-lock later, I launched a missile that obliterated it in a brilliant flash.

<<I've got you,>> Cipher replied. Seconds later, I caught a glimpse of his fighter streaking past mine, gunning down a pair of interceptors with surgical precision.

<<Good job! Keep up the pressure!>> I yelled, feeling the momentum shift in our favor.

It was clear the moment the star destroyer lost its fighters, it was vulnerable. That's why I can see why the star destroyers are so desperate to kill us by any means necessary after seeing the loss of the 2 star destroyers.

Even its turbo laser flailed in every direction in a futile attempt to swat us down, killing even its own ally.

<<Kill it!! Kill that monster before we all die!>> 

I smirked grimly at the comm chatter. Monster, huh? If they thought we were terrifying now, they'd seen nothing yet.

<<Cipher, target their turrets. Let's cripple their defenses and open them up for another finishing blow,>> I ordered, my focus razor-sharp.

<<Roger that,>> Cipher replied, already banking hard to line up his next strike.

<<Don't forget about me!! I am fighting most of their Tie fighter here!>> Trigger said

<<I am sure you are fine~ Just finish them off quickly.>>

And besides with most of their tie fighter destruction, I have nothing to worry about since Trigger can deal with them easily.

Finally, after breaking off from the enemy fighter we activate the afterburner and begin tearing down their turbo laser.

One by one, we began dismantling their defenses.

The enemy ship's fire was relentless, but its desperation only made its aim more erratic. with each pass, the Star Destroyer grew weaker.

From the top of its hull all the way down to the star destroyer.

When most of the turbo laser was destroyed I began to call out Mobius 1.

<<Mobius 1?>> I call him out

<<On it. Beginning missile launch protocols. Medium-yield nuclear payload. I recommend keeping your distance.>>

The channel erupted with chatter as the squad acknowledged the order.

<<You heard the man! Everyone, make some distance! Activate afterburners!>>

I banked hard to regroup with the others, pushing my fighter to its limits as we broke away from the Star Destroyer.

But as we try to make the distance the enemy Tie Fighter continues to pursue us from behind.

But luckly ahead of us, I caught sight of the missile launch.

A sleek, deadly projectile emerged from one of our fighters, its engines igniting as it accelerated toward the Star Destroyer's hangar bay at incredible speed

The Star Destroyer tried to intercept it, its remaining turbo lasers firing wildly, but it was too late. The missile was locked on, unwavering, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Here it comes," I muttered under my breath, my eyes glued to the unfolding scene.

As the missile slammed into the Star Destroyer's deck, a blinding explosion lit up the void. The impact shattered its reinforced armor, sending fragments of durasteel spiraling outward like deadly shrapnel.

I shielded my eyes instinctively, though the brightness faded quickly against the endless black of space. 

When I looked again, the Star Destroyer was little more than a hulking wreck

The loss of another Star Destroyer tipped the scales of the battle entirely in our favor. The remaining Imperial forces were scrambling, their scattered formations a sign of their shattered morale.

<<That's three down,>> Cipher said, a mixture of triumph and exhaustion in his voice.

And only 5 left, not including the support ship which only left one.

I was about to order for another engagement to the rest of the enemy star destroyer when a sudden comms entered.

<<...This is admiral thrawn to all fleet, prepare to jump to hyperspace. We are leaving>>

<<B-but sir! W-what about the squadron?>>

<<If you wish to die with them,>> Thrawn replied, his tone as cold as ice, <<then feel free. But the fleet is leaving. Now.>>

Wait—what? They're leaving?! NO! My money!

I thought I could kill him last so I can see his disparity, But this… this changes everything. If he escaped now, I'd lose my final reward.

<<We can't let them escape!>> I barked into the comms. <<All fighters, focus fire on the engines! Target Thrawn's flagship!>>

My squadron adjusted immediately, streams of cannons converging on the massive Star Destroyer's rear thrusters. Missile lock warnings blared, and my targeting systems screamed as I loosed volley after volley toward the fleeing vessel.

The missiles streaked through the darkness, homing in on the flagship's glowing engines. For a brief, exhilarating moment, I thought we had them.

But then, as if mocking me, the engines flared brighter. The ship elongated, stars around it stretching into blurred lines. In a flash of light, it disappeared into hyperspace.

One by one, the rest of the Imperial fleet followed, leaving only silence and the wreckage of their defeat behind.

My hands clenched the controls so hard they ached.

[Mission accomplished]

The message blared across my HUD, but it felt hollow. Victory, yes. But not the victory I wanted.

Thrawn had slipped through my fingers.

Now I understand why everybody who faces Thrawn feels frustrated, after all rarely do people ever win against Thrawn.

/

After leaving the battlefield, I came back to the forest where I started the mission.

After regaining my sense I simply lay down on the three beside me, exhausted from the long fight.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket to check how long I was on this mission, despite their being a time difference, my phone clock continued despite not receiving a single piece of information about the true time.

When I checked, it read 6 hours.

6 hours... in that place, but I felt that it was only a few minutes in real world.

I couldn't lie to myself, I hadn't kept track of time at all during the mission. Honestly, I was too caught up in the excitement. But still...

It was the most fun adventure I ever have had. Especially against their star destroyer with how difficult I have to dodge from how many lasers were pointing at me.

And besides I was not alone this time, I was with the other 3 main characters that had the same experience as them.

But still... I can't believe Thrawn was slick, to think he run away just because he lost a near 3-star destroyer.

But now, finally, it was time for the reward.

I hovered my hand over the Ace Combat System interface. The screen shimmered as it calculated my earnings and displayed the results.

After deducting the costs for repairs, ammunition, and failed side quests, the amount of money I received was...

120 million dollars.

120 MILLION!

My jaw dropped. I AM FILTHY RICH. This was an amount of money I couldn't even dream of earning no matter how many lifetimes I worked. It was insane, unreal, and yet it was mine.

But despite my happiness, it did not stop there.

There was another reward that stood out even more from the money, that makes me drool...

I did receive most fighters that was in the battlefield like Tie fighter, X-wing, Y-Wing, Tie-bomber, and some pilots. All of that was exciting, but this?

This was on another level.

The system awarded me a carrier and not just any carrier.

A Quasar Fire-class Cruiser-Carrier—a legendary vessel used by both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. And has the carrying capacity of around 3 squadrons on its deck.

I never expected to see the day when I'd own my very own starship carrier.

"Oh, boy…" I whispered, staring at the holographic image of the ship spinning before me. "To think I now own one of the most advanced ships on the planet. This system just keeps surprising me."

My grin stretched wide. I already knew I wasn't going to stop playing this game anytime soon. This was only the beginning.

After taking a few minutes to admire the rewards, I wiped the system interface away and let out a deep breath. I stood up, feeling the soreness in my muscles from being so focused for so long.

"I feel exhausted after all that fighting," I muttered, stretching my arms wide. A satisfying series of cracks echoed from my stiff joints, and I exhaled in relief.

After a moment of stretching, I started heading back home

My body was weary, but the sense of accomplishment from the mission kept a small grin on my face. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I barely had time to take off my shoes before—

"Big Brother! Look, look!"

Before I asked what was wrong before she shoved her tablet in my face.

"The ISS captured pictures of a possible alien ship orbiting Earth!" she exclaimed, shoving the screen closer.

I took the tablet from her hands, feigning curiosity. The image was blurry and grainy—standard for something taken from space. To most people, it probably looked like a random smudge of light surrounded by a backdrop of stars. But to me? I recognized it instantly.

It was my fighter.

No mistaking it—it was one of the UNSC Sabre ships I'd taken during my training up in space.

I bit the inside of my cheek, keeping my expression neutral. "Huh, weird. It does look kind of strange," I said, tilting the tablet slightly.

"Right?!" she blurted, bouncing on her toes. "Do you think it's aliens? It has to be aliens! I mean, look at this! Satellites don't look like that, and it's way too fast to be space debris!"

"Yeah, maybe..." I replied, shrugging to play it cool. But inside, my mind was racing.

The training session. It was something we needed to do before even thinking of doing the Star Wars mission since most of my pilots were not an experienced space pilot.

That's why I make a suggestion that we train in space.

We did need to accelerate with a huge truster since we were traveling from the surface all the way to space in order to be in space.

And once we were in space, we began shooting each other in order to hone out pilot capabilities with real weapons.

It was quite fun with how much we dodged and showed our movement in order to hone our skills.

For the past one week, I have been training up in space alongside my other pilot since I thought we would not be busted,

The noise we make when fighting is loud, sure, but who would ever suspect a secret space operation? And I doubt those satellites have hearing devices.

Even Elon M*sk entire money won't be enough to launch these kinds of training without going broke.

And yet... here it was.

"So, what do you think, Big Bro?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Do you think it's aliens? Or maybe a super-secret spaceship program? Oh! What if it's an alien spaceship and the government knows about it?!"

I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms, giving her a knowing look. "Didn't I tell you not to trust everything you see on the internet?"

"But this is different!" she shot back, indignantly swiping through her phone. "Look! Here's more proof! The ISS detected a bunch of lights emitting in outer space! And these ones—" she pointed eagerly at the screen, "—are from an entirely different set of satellites! They're all picking up something!"

"I see..."

It seems she is a space enthusiasm with how much information she knows about the space, something I never knew.

Inwardly, I couldn't help but chuckle. Well, busted or not, it doesn't really matter. We were already running regular training sessions up there, perfecting our maneuvers and tactics in space.

Besides, I'd taken every precaution to avoid detection. With the most advanced AI system at my side, hiding our tracks was almost child's play. The ISS could capture all the lights it wanted but they will never capture its true form.

And besides what could they do about it? Call the space police?

"Now," she pressed, her voice brimming with anticipation, "do you think it's real or fake?"

I hesitated for a moment, then smirked slightly. "Who knows? The universe is full of mysteries."

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Funds: $10.970 > $120.000.120.

Pilot: Alina Blackburn (Trigger), Cipher, Galaxy, Mobius 1.

Aircraft: X-02 Wyvern, Su-34, E-3 Sentry or Awacs, F-22A Raptor, 4 x FSS-1000 Sabre, RZ-1 A-wing interceptor (New), Y-wing (New), X-wing (New), Tie Fighter (New), Tie bomber (New), Quasar Fire-class Cruiser-Carrier (New).

Surface Pilot: Shriogane Takeru , Isumi Michiru, Sakaki Chizuru, Yoroi Mikoto , Tamase Miki, Hayase Mitsuki, Mitsurugi Meiya, Ayamine Kei , Munakata Misae Kazama Touko, Suzumiya Akane , Kashiwagi Haruko.

Mech: 12 x Type-97 Fubuki