*Special*
1938 Spring Ed.10
Battle Over Sky Haven!
- Written By: Hughie 'Albatross' Mason.
Explosions! Dogfights! Carnage and Calamity, the likes of which you've never seen reader! In all my years of reporting I have never seen anything so dramatic. The Iron Lances, famed for deadly precision, and the Iron Falcons, an up-and-coming powerhouse of piracy, in a head to head battle for aerial supremacy!
We intercepted a transmission late last night, Zebulon B. Vance, squadron leader of the Lances, called out the Falcons to a showdown. The two squadrons had been at each other's throats for the past few weeks, causing nothing but trouble for themselves, and civilians. Now here it was, a pirate's agreement it to settle their dispute once and for all. We received a tip-off from one of our contacts of the last known co-ordinates of the Falcon's Zeppelin, "The Falcon's Nest". Without time to shave or dress properly, we were out of our beds and into the night sky.
As the early morning light slowly filled the scene and our autogyro cabin, we could make out the two Zeppelins through the mist. We scanned through all the radio frequencies before we found them, but boy did we tune in at the right moment. An Irish accent echoed through the cabin "You really didn't see it coming did ya?", it turns out one of the Falcons' long term pilots had been working for the Lances all along! It is even believed by some that the Falcons were formerly the brutal Fighting Daredevils, and that this very pilot had been flying with them since the beginning of their career. Such drama was unfolding before our eyes!
My pen had barely scratched this down when the Irishman fired upon his former squad-mates. Curses and all kinds of damnation was heaved over the radio channels, as the Lances soared in on their Nitro boosted engines. BLAM! Gunfire ripped through planes. Rockets pinged off wings. Sonics deafened pilots. The fighting was intense! It was the fire of passion as a man burns his last, a fight to very end.
The Irishman barely lasted 2 minutes before his former comrades brought down their wrath, a combat boarding team was dispatched to find and execute the traitor. Shortly after that one of the Falcons was shot down, a Warhawk of all things brought down so casually, can you believe it!
Our intrigue grew as we learned that the former Iron Lances pilot, Lycan Fuego - Head of of the former "Lycan Fuego's Stallion Sanctuary" - was now flying with the Iron Falcons, having had his ranch destroyed in attempted assassination attempt by his former comrades no less! The bullets were brutal and bitter this day, with vengeance and retribution engraved on their sides.
In this frenzied combat, a familiar face flew past, it was that of Anna "Kossack" Rasputin, the illustrious and dangerous ex-lover of Bill Redmann and 2nd in command of his very own "Redmann's Gang". Now, after his fatal crash, she was flying with the Iron Lances.
Well we couldn't believe it, but our excitement would have to wait. "Kossack's" plane jumped into a turn she wasn't quite expecting, while Lycan Fuego banked straight towards her, with no time to alter course the two planes collided! A face of horror and hatred crossed Anna's face, while Lycan's was that of intrigue and desire.
In a horrible mash of metal, the two planes fused together in a fireball of death, and plummeted below the skyline. Never to be seen again. At that same moment, like a 21 gun salute, the rear of the Iron Lances' Zeppelin erupted in an explosion! Lt. Commander John Smith had positioned his Balmorral bomber so as to fly through the heart of the Zeppelin, firing Aerial Torpedoes as he goes, destroying everything in his wake.
The world shook as his fired another volley of annihilation! More Iron Lance planes fell, accompanied by the occasional Iron falcon. As the Zeppelin buckled and heaved, a duo of autogyros flew out from the collapsing hanger. Desperate refugees? No! They were flying for "The Falcon's Nest". A boarding party!
As the number of planes still airborne dwindled, the Falcons soared backwards to protect their Zeppelin. In an almighty roar the Balmorral bomber, completely unscathed, flew from the nose of a now cored Zeppelin. The canvas husk clung to a charred aluminium skeleton of a once great beast, as it fell foul of gravity and sunk beneath the clouds, to join its fallen brethren.
The Iron Falcons circled the last of the Lances, John Smith found himself in a heated face-to-face battle with Noburo Hiro-Matsu, the deadliest gunner the Lances had to offer. Bangs resounded around the valley as more explosive rounds detonated(an invention of the I.Lances), and as falling debris collided with the battle strewn ground.
Finally, their face-off came to a head, and Smith shot down Noburo. But, in a last ditch effort, Noburo fired one last hail of bullets and took his adversary down with him. What happened next is the likes of which I have never seen as man, or a reporter. After getting his crewmen to safety, Smith appeared standing on his cockpit with no parachute to hand - presumably having given it to one of his crewmen. Taking a last swig of scotch, he tossed his bottle to Noburo who, understanding his gesture, drank as well.
Then, with almighty ferocity the two men leap at each other, armed only with Katana and knife. Blows and parries were exchanged as the two men tumbled toward their inevitably doom. It would seem that Smith got a damning blow into Noburo's chest, but the rest was lost beneath the clouds.
What then of the rest of the squadron? Well, with the boarding team sent after the Irish betrayer and the others incapacitated we have now learnt, the crew were little match for the well-equipped and well-prepared boarding forces of the Iron Lances. We hung back in our little gyro, and watched as planes were dispatched to fetch the surviving pilots.
With much scuffling and the occasional gunshot, soon all of the Iron Falcons, pilots and crew, were brought to their Zeppelin-top runway and lined up before Zebulon B. Vance himself.
Our binoculars at the ready, we witnessed him shoot the arm of 'Jacques' LaFayette, the Zinfandel master himself (leaving his wine glass holding arm intact), the fiery Vixen Sol was brought to her knees by a shot to the leg. This looked liked it folks! The final step in the last dance between the Falcons and the Lances. If only we could have heard his words, as Zebulon roared and ranted up the Falcons with such fury.
We couldn't believe. The shot echoed across the still silence, it was as if the whole world had stopped to listen. Zebulon's chest lay before him, blown out by a shotgun round, fired by the figure now standing behind him. His body slumped forward and then slipped off the side, falling down towards his comrades and the grave of his legacy.
Epilogue
Air Action Weekly has since down some investigative work and uncovered the future of the Iron Falcons. 'Jacques' LaFayette returned to the Nation of Hollywood and his successfully wine industry. His company has pushed Titan Ale to the side completely, and enjoys friendly competition with High Calibre Beer ltd. His company has recently been approached to produce a refined liquor capable of cleaning oil filters and even producing his own fuel line based off of the Zinfandel recipe.
Vixen Sol continues to fly the squadron, which has become the first one of its kind to whole-heartedly combine piracy and pony trekking, with Lycan Fuego as her dutiful assistant. Her wingman Ollie (the bum) has returned to Britain, revealing himself to have been a special agent of crown sent by her Grandfather to keep her safe. Baba has opened her restaurant as was always her dream, costumers came in their droves at first to meet the cold-blooded killer, who did seem to just want to run a restaurant.
This reporter has seen some tremendous things, but the infamy of the Iron Falcons/Fighting Daredevils shall be forever know to us and their readers. What will the Summer hold? Were will these advances in aerial weponary take piracy? Who knows, all this reporter can say is: "Keep a keen eye, the Falcon's are out there!"
- This has been Hughie 'Albatross' Mason writing for Atlas World News!
(A partner member of Air Action Weekly)
(A partner member of Air Action Weekly)
