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writetomyheart2015-11-19 11:02 pm
kira-shadow.livejournal.com) wrote in writetomyheart2015-11-19 11:02 pm
[Team SONIC] Hope to fly
Err yeah I guess I watched too much "Star Wars - The Disney Musical" (google it, it's hilarious).
Maybe a little choppy and episodic since I suck at writing space battles.
Starting words are from here.
Perhaps dying by alien disembowelment might have been preferable. Nikaido bites down on his lips hard and closes his eyes when the explosion rocks their prison cell, suspended above the hangar. He mustn’t cry. He couldn’t show weakness now. Even though it hurt. It hurt like hell.
A pilot’s ship is like a part of him. Lots and lots of heartblood and love have been invested into it over time. It’s as much your partner as the other members of your squadron are. Or maybe more. Having to watch it being destroyed almost feels like somebody tearing off an arm or a leg, tearing out a part of his heart. Most people would say that a fighter could easily be replaced, it is something material after all, there is no emotional attachment. Those people were wrong.
Oh so wrong.
The empty spot in the hangar leaves an even emptier spot in Nikaido’s chest. He would never fly it again. He would still fly - if he didn’t get killed soon - but it would never be the same again.
“Nika,” someone moves closer to him, leans against him and tries to comfort him as well as one can with their hands bound behind their backs.
Senga doesn’t say anything more. He knows how Nikaido feels, he understands. It makes Nikaido feel a little better but it cannot stop the pain completely. He knows that this is exactly why the enemy is doing this to them but that doesn’t make things easier either.
Suddenly another explosion rocks the hangar but this time it’s not coming from inside but outside. It is soon followed by another one and another one in rapid succession.
Somebody was attacking the base from the outside.
“It’s commander Yara.” Senga looks up. He is a lot more sensitive to those kind of things compared to Nikaido. “They’re here to save us!”
“What’s left of us you mean.” Nikaido sounds a little bitter but there’s hope in his voice as well.
Things change after their rescue. Flying Commander Nakai’s cruiser and then the heavy interceptor he still flies now definitely feels weird even after weeks pass by. Nikaido knows he has no choice but he just cannot get used to flying with less freedom but more firepower now.
He knows it’s because of their different strategy, fewer dogfights and more well-aimed raids and attacks that have definitely been less severe in terms of losing manpower (fewer lost pilots and ships) but he cannot help but miss the agility and ‘lightness’ of his x-wing. Of course the Alliance still uses x-wings but the younger ones have the privilege of flying those now.
The younger ones or the handful of chosen ones apparently. He knows Kawai’s squadron still flies their x-wings. Kitayama flies his still as well, while Fujigaya and Tamamori have traded in theirs for ships laid out better for their respective skill sets.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Senga sits down next to him on the soft grass overlooking the training grounds and puts down his melee weapons to join Nikaido’s. “I miss mine, too.”
Nikaido leans against the other out of habit. “I know.”
“I have hope, though. That things will change again.” Senga smiles.
“I guess.” Nikaido mutters and then falls silent again. He isn’t so silent usually - quite the contrary - but this is different from everything else.
Before either of them manages to say another word, the howling of a siren makes them jump.
“An enemy attack?”
“Let’s go!” Nikaido is up on his feet and pulls Senga up as well. They run back to the hangar where people are already running around and getting into position. Droids are being lifted up into the fighters and cannons are loaded and checked rapidly.
Nikaido grabs his helmet and is about to run towards the interceptor area when a hand grabs him and stops him. He turns around to find Kitayama and Fujigaya there.
“What?”
“The interceptors aren’t any good for this.” Kitayama says calmly. “Hop into one of those.” He jerks his thumb towards a different area in the hangar and Nikaido’s eyes widen.
“Seriously?”
Fujigaya nods. “There are no large ships on the radar yet. Most likely a lucky shot by the Empire, a scouting legion. We’re taking them down before they can report back to their ship. Come on. We need you guys up there with us.”
When the hatch closes above Nikaido’s head and he looks at the familiar controls, it feels like coming home. Almost. This isn’t his and who knows this might only be temporary but it still makes his blood rush through his veins rapidly with excitement.
Long, quick fingers flip the right switches and the fighter lifts off with ease, swings itself into the air with a grace that he’s missed, oh he’s missed it so much.
“Who’s leading?” Nikaido asks and looks around for any of the fighters to move out. Nobody has given any commands yet. “Come on somebody say something.”
“Not me!” Tamamori whines.
Fujigaya’s annoyed voice can be heard over the intercom. “For fucks sake, Kitayama, do it!”
“Fine. Red Leader to squad, formation Lucky Seven, do you copy?”
“Copy, Red Leader.” A chorus of six answers him and finally the seven fighters move out of the hangar and into the air. They move through the planet’s atmosphere in no time and soon enough the vast, dark space opens up in front of Nikaido.
He can see the flashes of laser cannons and explosions in the distance. Other squadrons already engaged.
“Snow Green to Red Leader. We have intercepted the enemy’s radio. This will buy us some more time. Emergency evacuation of the base has been initiated. Please provide cover.”
“Copy, Snow Green.” Kitayama replies. “Nikaido, Senga, follow Fujigaya and Tamamori to engage. I’ll be with you shortly. Purple, Orange, hang back and cover the leaving cruisers with Snow Squad. Once safe departure has been confirmed join us and cover the rear. May the Force be with you all.”
“Copy, Red Leader.”
Nikaido took a deep breath when the wings of his fighter opened and it kicked into full attack speed at his command. He veered to the right sharply at Fujigaya’s command - temporarily taking over the lead from Kitayama - and they mowed themselves a path into the enemy lines.
The green flashes of the laser cannons illuminated the cockpit from time to time but Nikaido’s visor keeps his eyes from getting irritated or distracted.
The droid behind him gives an indignant squawk when he propells the fighter up in a breakneck maneuver that looks a bit like a somersault over the TIE fighter, giving him a perfect shot at the most vulnerable spot.
“What the fuck was that, Nikaido?” Fujigaya hollers at him.
“I should never have told you about that.” Kitayama’s voice is quieter but apparently the remark doesn’t pass by Fujigaya unnoticed.
“You taught him that?”
Kitayama sighs. “Technically?”
“You-”
“Can you keep your lover’s spat for after we get rid of the enemy? Please?” Tamamori pipes up meekly and Nikaido cannot help but laugh. The other is so going to get shit for that later.
There is only a hint of irritation in Kitayama’s voice when he speaks up again, “Everyone regroup. We’re taking the right. Five Stars are going in from the left. Formation Kaizoku.”
“Copy, Red Leader.”
Nikaido smiles when he looks onto the screen on his control panel and sees all seven fighters lined up. It’s been a long time since this last happened. It feels great. It feels -right-. If this is what it takes, he wishes enemies would attack them out of the blue more often. Well, not really.
He moves in perfect unison with Senga when they get into the attack range again, covering the sides of the formation as the wingmen. They need no words to coordinate their attack and maneuvers. Nikaido is aware of what the other is doing and vice versa. They rope in the enemy fighters trying to break out and escape quickly - they know they cannot let any escape at all costs or the time they gained would be lost.
Sending his fighter reeling when he avoids enemy fire, Nikaido narrowly escapes the blast of the explosion that follows when Yokoo appears from behind him and takes out the other fighter with a clean shot. “Nice one, Watta!”
“Keep going. I’ll clean up after you if needed. As usual.” Yokoo laughs at him and Nikaido sees the other giving him a thumbs up from the other cockpit.
“Awesome!” Nikaido laughs and then falls back into the formation.
The shrill howling sound of a TIE fighter whizzing past him makes his ears ring a bit. Nikaido’s eyes follow the patterns on the screen. The enemy is regrouping as well. It was time for the final showdown. The numbers were almost evenly matched now.
“Yo, who’s leading this mess?” There’s a crackling sound in the communication channel and then Kawai’s voice can be heard.
“Make fun of this mess once you have a better track record, Horse Leader.” Kitayama shoots back. “Come on, weave in. It’s formation Daybreaker for the final showdown.”
Nikaido looks to his side and sees Goseki’s fighter settling between Senga’s and his. He gives the other a short salute in greeting. “‘sup, Gocchi?”
Behind them Totsuka pairs up with Kitayama, Kawai takes his position next to Fujigaya and Tsukada and Hashimoto close the gaps next to Miyata and Tamamori respectively. Only the gap next to Yokoo remains empty. Nikaido decides to pull back to close it.
He knows Senga will be fine with Goseki. The two of them get along well.
“Okay. Break out on my mark.” Kitayama’s voice announces their last maneuver. “Go!”
Things get a bit chaotic again now but Nikaido doesn’t let that phase him. He steers his fighter past the other battles and tails the enemy in front of him. All the jumping and spinning has long stopped to make him sick and his mind stays on the task. When his viewfinder locks on his target, he reroutes the main power to his laser cannons and fires.
When the enemy fighter goes up in flames, he cannot stop the soft whooping noise that escapes his lips and he pulls up to avoid getting hit by any debris.
Once they arrive at their new base, Nikaido sighs wistfully when he gets out of the cockpit and leaves the fighter behind again for the mechanics to tend to. A droid escorts him over to the interceptor hangar where he sees Senga, Yokoo and Miyata already. He’s supposed to help with the system check of ‘his’ to see if the transport went okay.
It’s back to this now but despite the slight feeling of disappointment, Nikaido finds that the small spark of hope in him has grown again. He might be back to this for the time being but there would come a time again, when he could fly like he wanted to once more.
He has hope that that day will come soon.
Maybe a little choppy and episodic since I suck at writing space battles.
Starting words are from here.
Perhaps dying by alien disembowelment might have been preferable. Nikaido bites down on his lips hard and closes his eyes when the explosion rocks their prison cell, suspended above the hangar. He mustn’t cry. He couldn’t show weakness now. Even though it hurt. It hurt like hell.
A pilot’s ship is like a part of him. Lots and lots of heartblood and love have been invested into it over time. It’s as much your partner as the other members of your squadron are. Or maybe more. Having to watch it being destroyed almost feels like somebody tearing off an arm or a leg, tearing out a part of his heart. Most people would say that a fighter could easily be replaced, it is something material after all, there is no emotional attachment. Those people were wrong.
Oh so wrong.
The empty spot in the hangar leaves an even emptier spot in Nikaido’s chest. He would never fly it again. He would still fly - if he didn’t get killed soon - but it would never be the same again.
“Nika,” someone moves closer to him, leans against him and tries to comfort him as well as one can with their hands bound behind their backs.
Senga doesn’t say anything more. He knows how Nikaido feels, he understands. It makes Nikaido feel a little better but it cannot stop the pain completely. He knows that this is exactly why the enemy is doing this to them but that doesn’t make things easier either.
Suddenly another explosion rocks the hangar but this time it’s not coming from inside but outside. It is soon followed by another one and another one in rapid succession.
Somebody was attacking the base from the outside.
“It’s commander Yara.” Senga looks up. He is a lot more sensitive to those kind of things compared to Nikaido. “They’re here to save us!”
“What’s left of us you mean.” Nikaido sounds a little bitter but there’s hope in his voice as well.
Things change after their rescue. Flying Commander Nakai’s cruiser and then the heavy interceptor he still flies now definitely feels weird even after weeks pass by. Nikaido knows he has no choice but he just cannot get used to flying with less freedom but more firepower now.
He knows it’s because of their different strategy, fewer dogfights and more well-aimed raids and attacks that have definitely been less severe in terms of losing manpower (fewer lost pilots and ships) but he cannot help but miss the agility and ‘lightness’ of his x-wing. Of course the Alliance still uses x-wings but the younger ones have the privilege of flying those now.
The younger ones or the handful of chosen ones apparently. He knows Kawai’s squadron still flies their x-wings. Kitayama flies his still as well, while Fujigaya and Tamamori have traded in theirs for ships laid out better for their respective skill sets.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Senga sits down next to him on the soft grass overlooking the training grounds and puts down his melee weapons to join Nikaido’s. “I miss mine, too.”
Nikaido leans against the other out of habit. “I know.”
“I have hope, though. That things will change again.” Senga smiles.
“I guess.” Nikaido mutters and then falls silent again. He isn’t so silent usually - quite the contrary - but this is different from everything else.
Before either of them manages to say another word, the howling of a siren makes them jump.
“An enemy attack?”
“Let’s go!” Nikaido is up on his feet and pulls Senga up as well. They run back to the hangar where people are already running around and getting into position. Droids are being lifted up into the fighters and cannons are loaded and checked rapidly.
Nikaido grabs his helmet and is about to run towards the interceptor area when a hand grabs him and stops him. He turns around to find Kitayama and Fujigaya there.
“What?”
“The interceptors aren’t any good for this.” Kitayama says calmly. “Hop into one of those.” He jerks his thumb towards a different area in the hangar and Nikaido’s eyes widen.
“Seriously?”
Fujigaya nods. “There are no large ships on the radar yet. Most likely a lucky shot by the Empire, a scouting legion. We’re taking them down before they can report back to their ship. Come on. We need you guys up there with us.”
When the hatch closes above Nikaido’s head and he looks at the familiar controls, it feels like coming home. Almost. This isn’t his and who knows this might only be temporary but it still makes his blood rush through his veins rapidly with excitement.
Long, quick fingers flip the right switches and the fighter lifts off with ease, swings itself into the air with a grace that he’s missed, oh he’s missed it so much.
“Who’s leading?” Nikaido asks and looks around for any of the fighters to move out. Nobody has given any commands yet. “Come on somebody say something.”
“Not me!” Tamamori whines.
Fujigaya’s annoyed voice can be heard over the intercom. “For fucks sake, Kitayama, do it!”
“Fine. Red Leader to squad, formation Lucky Seven, do you copy?”
“Copy, Red Leader.” A chorus of six answers him and finally the seven fighters move out of the hangar and into the air. They move through the planet’s atmosphere in no time and soon enough the vast, dark space opens up in front of Nikaido.
He can see the flashes of laser cannons and explosions in the distance. Other squadrons already engaged.
“Snow Green to Red Leader. We have intercepted the enemy’s radio. This will buy us some more time. Emergency evacuation of the base has been initiated. Please provide cover.”
“Copy, Snow Green.” Kitayama replies. “Nikaido, Senga, follow Fujigaya and Tamamori to engage. I’ll be with you shortly. Purple, Orange, hang back and cover the leaving cruisers with Snow Squad. Once safe departure has been confirmed join us and cover the rear. May the Force be with you all.”
“Copy, Red Leader.”
Nikaido took a deep breath when the wings of his fighter opened and it kicked into full attack speed at his command. He veered to the right sharply at Fujigaya’s command - temporarily taking over the lead from Kitayama - and they mowed themselves a path into the enemy lines.
The green flashes of the laser cannons illuminated the cockpit from time to time but Nikaido’s visor keeps his eyes from getting irritated or distracted.
The droid behind him gives an indignant squawk when he propells the fighter up in a breakneck maneuver that looks a bit like a somersault over the TIE fighter, giving him a perfect shot at the most vulnerable spot.
“What the fuck was that, Nikaido?” Fujigaya hollers at him.
“I should never have told you about that.” Kitayama’s voice is quieter but apparently the remark doesn’t pass by Fujigaya unnoticed.
“You taught him that?”
Kitayama sighs. “Technically?”
“You-”
“Can you keep your lover’s spat for after we get rid of the enemy? Please?” Tamamori pipes up meekly and Nikaido cannot help but laugh. The other is so going to get shit for that later.
There is only a hint of irritation in Kitayama’s voice when he speaks up again, “Everyone regroup. We’re taking the right. Five Stars are going in from the left. Formation Kaizoku.”
“Copy, Red Leader.”
Nikaido smiles when he looks onto the screen on his control panel and sees all seven fighters lined up. It’s been a long time since this last happened. It feels great. It feels -right-. If this is what it takes, he wishes enemies would attack them out of the blue more often. Well, not really.
He moves in perfect unison with Senga when they get into the attack range again, covering the sides of the formation as the wingmen. They need no words to coordinate their attack and maneuvers. Nikaido is aware of what the other is doing and vice versa. They rope in the enemy fighters trying to break out and escape quickly - they know they cannot let any escape at all costs or the time they gained would be lost.
Sending his fighter reeling when he avoids enemy fire, Nikaido narrowly escapes the blast of the explosion that follows when Yokoo appears from behind him and takes out the other fighter with a clean shot. “Nice one, Watta!”
“Keep going. I’ll clean up after you if needed. As usual.” Yokoo laughs at him and Nikaido sees the other giving him a thumbs up from the other cockpit.
“Awesome!” Nikaido laughs and then falls back into the formation.
The shrill howling sound of a TIE fighter whizzing past him makes his ears ring a bit. Nikaido’s eyes follow the patterns on the screen. The enemy is regrouping as well. It was time for the final showdown. The numbers were almost evenly matched now.
“Yo, who’s leading this mess?” There’s a crackling sound in the communication channel and then Kawai’s voice can be heard.
“Make fun of this mess once you have a better track record, Horse Leader.” Kitayama shoots back. “Come on, weave in. It’s formation Daybreaker for the final showdown.”
Nikaido looks to his side and sees Goseki’s fighter settling between Senga’s and his. He gives the other a short salute in greeting. “‘sup, Gocchi?”
Behind them Totsuka pairs up with Kitayama, Kawai takes his position next to Fujigaya and Tsukada and Hashimoto close the gaps next to Miyata and Tamamori respectively. Only the gap next to Yokoo remains empty. Nikaido decides to pull back to close it.
He knows Senga will be fine with Goseki. The two of them get along well.
“Okay. Break out on my mark.” Kitayama’s voice announces their last maneuver. “Go!”
Things get a bit chaotic again now but Nikaido doesn’t let that phase him. He steers his fighter past the other battles and tails the enemy in front of him. All the jumping and spinning has long stopped to make him sick and his mind stays on the task. When his viewfinder locks on his target, he reroutes the main power to his laser cannons and fires.
When the enemy fighter goes up in flames, he cannot stop the soft whooping noise that escapes his lips and he pulls up to avoid getting hit by any debris.
Once they arrive at their new base, Nikaido sighs wistfully when he gets out of the cockpit and leaves the fighter behind again for the mechanics to tend to. A droid escorts him over to the interceptor hangar where he sees Senga, Yokoo and Miyata already. He’s supposed to help with the system check of ‘his’ to see if the transport went okay.
It’s back to this now but despite the slight feeling of disappointment, Nikaido finds that the small spark of hope in him has grown again. He might be back to this for the time being but there would come a time again, when he could fly like he wanted to once more.
He has hope that that day will come soon.
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