'Lot of meteor dust in the air again today,' Omega mused. 'Hard to believe it's been twenty years, huh? And the sky's still full of that junk.'<br/><br/>The dust in the air left the morning skies above Area J4E hazy and gray. Paladin checked his instrument panel one more time. All systems green so far. No doubt, the dust in his intakes would be hell to clean out later, but so far, everything seemed fully operational. J4E was the official UN designation for the area surrounding the former Japanese capital of Tokyo. Down below, the crater left by one of the old Ulysses impacts was unmistakable against the backdrop of modern skyscrapers and urban sprawl. Though the crater was partially filled with water, one could still make out a few pieces of scorched infrastructure, the remains of most of Old Tokyo. Japan had been among the hardest hit by the Ulysses Disaster, thanks to both the meteor impacts on its islands and the floods caused by the waves when the impacts occurred offshore.<br/><br/>According to the briefing, the objective was to intercept multiple UAVs of unknown origin above the city limits before they hit the UN's Pacific Fleet, which sat in Tokyo Bay. A quick mission intended to help the rookies settle into the job. Meanwhile, the other, more experienced Arrows were off on some job in South America. Omega had been stationed with the newbies to babysit them on their first mission. Currently, he flew at the front of their diamond formation. Paladin's F-4 and Bone Arrow Six's Typhoon were in the middle, while Seven's F-14 brought up the rear. Due to the rush of paperwork, aircraft delivery and prep, and the sudden orders to relocate to Asia, there hadn't been time to exchange pleasantries or backstories, so he wasn't exactly familiar with the other rookies. As they passed the Crater District, the Arrows were hailed by a flight of Japanese F-15Js. Paladin's IFF identified them as allies, marked by blue boxes on his HUD.<br/><br/>'This is the JASDF309 Squadron,' said one of the pilots. 'Requesting affiliation.'<br/><br/>Omega spoke up for them. 'This is Omega from Arrows' Bone Arrow Squadron working under independent UN command. We're here on operational support.'<br/><br/>The F-15s pulled up alongside them, close enough for Paladin to see the individual pilots in their cockpits. The 309 planes were painted flat air superiority gray with yellow-tipped vertical stabilizers and solid red circle emblems on their wingtips in imitation of the Japanese flag. The lead pilot saluted them. 'The pirates, huh? HQ told us to expect you. Good luck out there.'<br/><br/>'Yeah, you too,' Omega said.<br/><br/>With that, the Arrows and JASDF flights banked away from one another and spread out to better cover the skies. Paladin had to fight a little bit to stay in formation due to his F-4's lackluster pitch and roll capabilities. He made a mental note to put maneuverability upgrades at the top of the shopping list for when he actually had funds to spare.<br/><br/>'Goodfellow to all Bone Arrows. We will now commence operations. Engage any enemy craft you come across.'<br/><br/>Just then, Paladin saw several unknown blips on his radar approaching their area of operation. As they closed in, his display marked them as non-friendly craft. 'Paladin here, bandits on our twelve. I count eight unknowns incoming. Looks like those are the UAVs. Permission to engage?'<br/><br/>'JASDF Command says permission granted,' Goodfellow said. 'All units, prepare to intercept.'<br/><br/>One for each of the allied pilots in the sky. Paladin's unmodified Phantom turned like a brick, but UAVs weren't exactly the most durable targets around, nor the most intelligent if they were piloted by AI. And they weren't piloted by flesh-and-blood humans--no need to hold back here. Time to make some money.