Captain Daniel Okoye felt the ground shake before he even saw the swarm.
He stood on the front wall of Fort Hadrian, his rifle pressed against his shoulder, as his breath turned white in the cold air. The floodlights flicked and hummed, cutting weak lines through the dark field ahead.
Something moved out there.
"Stay sharp," Okoye said. His voice came out low but steady. "They're close."
His squad tightened their grips on their weapons. The wind blew across the empty ice plains, then a harsh metal screech cut through the air.
They're here.
The XN-G11s came over the ridge like a wave. Big insect bodies covered in shiny metal plates, long legs digging into the ground, and wings buzzing fast enough to rattle the wall of the bunker. One at first, then two, no ten, then... way too many, as they approaced the bunker.
"Open fire!" Okoye shouted.
Blue rounds lit the night. Some insects dropped, most didn't. They crawled over each other, climbing through the gunfire like none of it mattered.
Damn, these things never stopped.
"Marchand!" Okoye called over the noise. "Get ACI on the line!"
Inside the bunker behind him, Staff Sergeant Elise Marchand was already on the comms console. Dust shook from the ceiling as she pressed her headset tight.
"Fort Hadrian to ACI Northern Relay," she said fast. "We are under attack by XN-G11 units, I repeat, multiple G11 swarms. We need air support now!"
Static buzzed and for a moment she thought the signal failed.
Then a calm voice answered.
"Aeris Combat Institute, Lieutenant Rowan Kade speaking. Patch received. Confirm the threat, did you say multiple swarms?"
Marchand flinched as another blast hit the wall.
"Yes, three swarms at least! Fort Hadrian is losing ground!"
"Coordinates locked," Kade replied. "Hold position. I'm notifying Command."
She laughed, a short, breathless laugh. "We're trying."
Outside, Okoye fired point-blank into an insect that landed on the wall beside him. It shrieked and fell backward as its legs kicked upward until it stopped moving entirely. Another one jumped up right after it.
"Sergeant!" Okoye yelled. "Tell me ACI answered!"
"They answered!" Marchand called back. "They're moving!"
"Good," he muttered. "Because we're not lasting long."
— — —
ACI Northern Command
Lieutenant Rowan Kade pulled off his headset and turned toward his superior.
"Commander Solberg. GDF Fort Hadrian is under heavy attack. XN-G11s. They need air support."
Commander Rhea Solberg didn't hesitate.
"Alert the Blackbird Division," she said. "Put Nine Squadron on scramble."
Kade nodded, hit the alarm control, and the sirens changed tone.
The launch tone.
— — —
ACI — Blackbird Hangar
ACI Forward Base — Deployment T-02 Minutes
Red warning lights flashed across the hangar, washing the walls in sharp red pulses. Engineers ran past me, shouting checks and numbers I'd already memorized years ago. Engines roared awake one by one, loud enough to vibrate through the floor and into my legs.
Then the intercom cracked overhead:
"Blackbird-9 Squadron, stand by for deployment."
I lifted my head.
Yeah. That was our cue.
I didn't smile. I never do.
I just slid off the wing of my jet, grabbed my helmet from the tool cart, and started walking toward the cockpit.
Another day. Another swarm, and I was already in motion.
Hana was the first to meet me: Commander Kobayashi, Alpha-2.
Sharp posture. Zero nonsense. Eyes already tracking mission data on her wristpad.
"Paige," she said. "GDF confirmed visual. Two kilometers out. Estimated forty-plus XN-G11s."
"Only forty?" I answered. "That's almost disrespectful."
She exhaled through her nose, the closest she ever gets to laughing.
"Brief your team. One minute."
The rest of Blackbird-9 fell in around us, each walking toward their own jets, but waiting, listening.
Eight pilots. Best squadron in the ACI. And somehow, they still look at me like I know what I'm doing.
I turned to them.
"Alright, Blackbird," I said. "Fort Hadrian's under pressure. XN-G11s broke past the east wall and GDF is barely holding. We're giving them breathing room—air strikes, sweep runs, and anything that keeps the swarm off their perimeter. Push them back, keep that fort standing."
Marcus grinned as he sealed his flight suit.
"So a warm-up run? Perfect. I skipped breakfast."
"Because breakfast requires waking up on time," Sofia muttered, she didn't bother hiding her smirk.
Enzo stretched his neck with a loud pop.
"Captain Moretti reporting: absolutely unprepared and emotionally fragile."
Danielle rolled her eyes.
"Just don't throw up in the cockpit again."
"I didn't throw up," Enzo snapped.
"You dry-heaved for ten minutes," Jae-Seong corrected, deadpan.
Malik stood at the back, his helmet already in hand, straight as a pole.
"I request everyone to take this seriously."
"We are," Marcus said.
"We're just better at multitasking," Sofia added.
I tapped my helmet against my thigh.
"Alright," I cut in. "Save the romance for after we survive. On ascent: Alpha takes point. Bravo covers. Standard wedge."
They snapped into focus instantly.
Hana stepped beside me.
"All systems hot. ADA cleared us for engagement. Say the word."
I climbed the ladder up to the cockpit of my jet, as it hummed gently beneath me.
"Blackbird-9," I said over the squad channel, lowering into my seat.
"Helmets on. Callsigns only from here."
One by one:
"Nighthawk ready."
"Burner standing by."
"Siren locked in."
"Falcon ready to complain."
"Raven operational."
"Tally online."
"Vector, prepared for launch."
I sealed my canopy.
The click, the pressure locking in, my world narrowing into purpose, all felt so familiar.
"Frost to Blackbird-9..." I announced, hands on the controls. "… lift off."
The engines roared.
The hangar shook.
And eight jets shot into the sky as one.