"Sir, the last inspection before the fighter plane takes off has been completed."
Marcel Albert did not answer the human servant. He was already familiar with the form and content of the man's words.
He had been staring closely at the machine parked on the tarmac in front of him. The polished metal shell shone in the flashing red light of the cave hangar. The Angel Wings logo with blood drops was spray-painted on the wings and tail. superior.
"We die with honor for those we hold dear."
Albert chanted softly as his fighter's engines began to light up and the air around him began to sing.
"Worthy of the blood of Sanguinius."
A servitor unplugged the cable attached to the rear of the fighter, and a tech-priest in copper robes paced around the fighter, flicking the holy oil with his brass fingers.
A skilled ground crewman followed behind the Tech-Priest, retracting the weapons' temporary shields and closing the open inspection panels here and there.
Marcel Albert slowly walked towards the fighter plane, stepped into the cockpit, and connected the interface on the back of the power armor to the fighter's system.
Fighter was fully awake, and he felt the nerve connection process tingling down his spine.
The pain in his muscles and bones was like steel. The weapons and flesh were forcibly blended together. The surging power of the fighter turned into a pushing sensation on his back. He took a breath and felt like he was complete.
He was piloting a swordtail interceptor, a conventional flying vehicle used by the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade.
Unlike other fighters, the pilots of the Tailsword are not mortals, but Astartes.
Able to fly both in the atmosphere and in space, and equipped with two twin laser cannons and a set of missile launchers, Swordtail's firepower and speed make her a very deadly opponent.
However, the design of the sword tail is very complicated and the range is limited, so the Adeptus Mechanicus does not favor them compared to the Legion Astartes, who prefer the larger Fury fighter.
Therefore, on the eve of the end of the Great Crusade, with the exception of the Dark Angels and Ultramarines, almost all Legions' Swordtails retired from the front lines, but later due to the threat of the Rebellion, many Legions were forced to return them to the battlefield.
After the Second Founding of the Army, the veteran eventually disappeared into the arsenals of the Astartes.
But the Mother of Tears has always maintained a swordtail formation in its hangar.
During the long battle, this formation gradually suffered losses, and the complex structure of the sword tail meant that once it was damaged on the battlefield, there was almost no possibility of repair, and only usable parts could be disassembled.
To this day, there is only one combat-ready swordtail interceptor left in the hangar.
Marcel Albert is also the only remaining tail sword pilot in the Chapter. It has been more than a hundred years since he took over this veteran who has been around for thousands of years from his mentor.
He has become one with it in a sense.
Like Marcel Albert, it has its own unique name - Eidolon.
The name comes from a melancholy verse from the folk of Baal, as it was experienced.
But now, it has another identity - the leader of the Baal's Light Squadron.
Marcel Albert unhooked the helmet that was locked on his legs, put it on his head, and then the top canopy slowly closed.
Yellow lights began to flash in the hangar cavern, and shrill sirens joined the chorus of fighter engines.
He closed his eyes, and rough green lines began to appear in the right silver prosthetic eye that had been replaced thirty years ago.
Then he opened his eyes, and the green projection intertwined with the real world, and runes indicating status flashed in his cockpit system.
Many people compare the Astartes to knights, but in Marcel Albert's view, this is a form of ignorance and blind faith.
In the long time since the Heresy, people have forgotten the true nature of the Astartes - they are actually highly specialized soldiers, and wielding swords and swords is only a small part of their art of war.
In the past, they were all masters of war machines, riding various steel beasts across the battlefield.
But since the second founding of the army, such scenes have become very rare.
"All flying units."
he called over the comm channel.
"Preparations for flight are complete, countdown, boys."
Numbers cycled at the edge of vision, exterior blast doors opened, metal barriers lowered to the ground, pulses of red light loomed in the darkness beyond.
Marcel Albert increased the thrust, and the Eidolon began to lift off.
On the other side of the tarmac, 16 war machines also took off one after another, half of them were lightning, most were furious, and all the fighters were bright yellow.
This is a full squadron sortie, but only in sufficient numbers.
The enemies outnumber them.
"Heading, 76-12-12, standby,"
"Is this a gloomy evening, sir?"
His wingman greeted him informally, but Albert ignored it, although his lips hidden in the shadows curved into a smile.
"Determine mission mode."
Albert called the flight tower.
"Command headquarters, here is the Baal's Light Squadron, waiting for permission to attack."
The static noise rang for a while, and the decreasing countdown quickly dropped to zero.
"Light of Baal Squadron, permission to attack."
Came the voice of an officer, a man who would track Albert's flight data, matching it to countless movements around the fleet.
"receive."
Albert replied in a deep voice, and then switched to another channel.
"All weapons activated."
The amber weapon runes turned green, fixing the engine output at a peak value, and the fighter plane beneath him began to shake.
The countdown is zero.
Eidolon lunged forward, and Albert exhaled a breath of air from his lungs.
Barriers in the void and laser beams greeted him from the front. Albert drove the interceptor off the flight deck and flew onto the back of the battleship.
Behind him, the squadron's fighter jets also flew out of the open hole, their afterburners ejecting streams of blue flames.
Not long after he flew into the battle area, Albert was locked by the enemy's fire control system, the alarm began to sound, and the trajectory of the tracer bullets and the fire of the explosion boiled in the void.
He activated his countermeasures and the decoys exploded in their wake.
Albert then controlled the fighter plane and climbed upward in a spiral manner, and his wingman followed closely behind, maintaining a perfect formation.
The other fighters in the squadron spread out after flying out from the flight deck, spinning continuously in the blooming light.
In the void, the artillery fire from both sides was intertwined, and even the asteroids and meteorites were dyed with a different color.
The back of the Mother of Tears is like undulating mountains, the forts built in it are shining with fire, and the sea of light is also mixed with the light of small weapons.
The battlefield was chaotic, and Albert led the squadron to quickly shuttle to the front of the Mother of Tears and intercept a group of bombers.
He will fight until there are no more enemies in front of him, and his life will never end, and his fight will not stop.
Facing the high-speed incoming interceptor squadron, the bulky bombers staggered and tried to evade, but were immediately slaughtered by lasers and missiles.
"Enemy interceptors are incoming!"
Just as Albert destroyed a bomber with a series of bursts, the wingman pilot's voice suddenly sounded.
Subconsciously, Albert immediately reversed direction, and the fighter plane was like an arrow leaving the string.
The oriole screamed that it was locked, red runes flashed in front of the eyes, and the fire of the autocannon lit up the night sky.
"To the left!"
Albert worked hard to get the Eidolon out of the spiral, increase the horsepower, and the fuel warning immediately turned amber.
The sudden acceleration made him enter a semi-weightless state. From the half-machine, half-flesh eyes, he could see that his people had been following him, drawing unique trajectories, and the shells exploded behind them.
So does the enemy.
The red mark was attacking from above and below, but he and his men would shake off the enemy.
After Albert's deduction, his people can achieve their goals and they will definitely succeed.
"Oops--"
Suddenly, the wingman pilot's voice stopped abruptly on the communication channel.
Albert's augur also made a short, sharp sound.
A missile swooped down from above and hit the wingman, causing flames to spread instantly.
Albert twitched instinctively and stepped aside, avoiding the laser that could have hit him.
A fighter plane appeared above his head, and the moment his eyes met, Albert recognized it. It was also a sword-tail interceptor, but it had a blasphemous eight-pointed star symbol on its wings. 1616045037
