Ares Base, Tharsis Region, Mars
"
The Norio pilots stood at attention US marine style with their hands at their sides and chins up, Jin was amongst them. Dressed in his service uniform consisting of a zip up high collar tunic and black pants with boots, his pistol at his side and Norio symbol on his chest. On his shoulders was the flag of the United Nations and Japan.
He was inside one of the training rooms on Ares, a Norio military air base located in the Tharsis region of Mars.
Given that Norio was an aerial warfare agency under the United Nations the base features the typical amenities that any air base back on Earth would have. These included barracks for pilots and security to sleep and rest, a fully sized gym, a room where pilots can talk with friends and family, and a full sized kitchen to keep the men fed. All perks made to keep the pilots motivated.
In essence, the base resembled a sort of small self sufficient city as if it were a corporation, one that just so happened to be under the United Nations. A single large building surrounded by several smaller ones, each dedicated to a different function and guarded by Norio security.
Of course since Mars's atmosphere wasn't breathable the base was surrounded by a large dome-like structure with a wall separating it from the surface outside and highly advanced solar powered panels that provided all its electricity, keeping the oxygen in and allowing the base's personnel to live and move without space suits.
Placed strategically around the base were pressurized runways closed off from the outside where pilots would launch from for combat operations, as well as return to once the threat had been subdued.
" Jin raised a hand. " " " The pilots left the room one by one and towards the outside where a helicopter landing pad was, their duty had been to clean it from top to bottom. Jin remained behind for a few moments as the commander had wished to speak to him. " " " " " Jin looked down for a few moments. "." "." Jin nodded. " " " After leaving the room he made his way to a nearby landing pad where a few other pilots were, picking up a broom stick covered with soap and water he got to work while getting a few looks from his fellow fighter aces. " " " " Takeo placed his mop down for a few moments into the bucket to collect more water and soap. " Jin stopped cleaning for a moment and looked down at his feet. His eyes narrowed. " " The pilots eventually finished cleaning the landing pad and moved onto their next task. Jin and Takeo both proceeded to one of the hangars to help the engineers with some maintenance on a new type of aircraft Norio purchased from a corporation. Once they arrived however a young man dressed in a service uniform burst into the hangar room with urgent news. " " Jin's eyes narrowed as he placed his mop down, a sigh escaping his lips as he tried to grasp the situation. An insurgent? On Mars? If they were on the planet causing trouble then the Astreans stationed here would have surely dealt with them. " " Jin and the other pilots nodded. He began to run to the armory while chatting with his team beside him. " "Her? Wait, you actually dating that blue-skinned creature?" Jin turned to see beside him Ayane, one many female pilots of Norio who was among the more popular girls within their circles. " " Jin's cheeks brightened as he realized her question. Ayane chuckled as the team finally reached the armory. Going to their lockers they began to dressed in their combat uniforms consisting of fully-pressurized flight suits that were also space suits. Jin placed on his protective armor plating around his chest and loaded his rifle and pistol. Once they were done they'd made way to the hangar where the EX-35's were prepped and ready by maintenance crew. Hopping into his jet and starting the engines, Jin placed his rifle beneath the seat and closed the canopy. Rolling out of the hangar he made way to a pressurized runway that led to the outside of the Martian surface. " " The air from the sealed off runway began to fade as Jin's oxygen levels kicked in, once the door at the end was opened his jet sped down the road and off into Mars. *** " Jin looked to see a cloud of smoke rising from the Martian surface below them, once they were within range of the sight they raised their altitude a bit higher for safety. The sky above them was a dull grayish color with the only source of light coming from the sun, the mountain ranges giving off an American southwest vibe with their red rock formations and winding hills. It seemed liked the perfect place for a camping trip, save for the unbreathable atmosphere and radiation Mars was subjected to. Jin continued to watch the smoke rise as his jet hovered above the surface at a safe enough distance, squinting his eyes he could see a black mass forming within the cloud. One that seemed to get bigger and bigger, a string of tentacles popped from the smoke and a set of red eyes could be seen through the thickness. " " The smoke cloud began to disperse slowly. Before it was finally gone the figure hiding within it leapt into the air. A large spider-like Xeno with wings and antennas sticking out of its head, its body mirroring that of an arthropod-like creature with wings and an exoskeleton surrounding its body. A large tail with a sharp end was also featured. Jin activated his jets weapons and assumed a formation with the rest of the squadron. They had begun to rain down fire onto the Xeno which flew in an unpredictable pattern. First flying up to the sky, then back down to the Martian soil, followed by swerving left and right across the land. One of its tentacles shot into the air and nearly pierced Ayane's aircraft as she jolted out of the way. " The pilots broke from their formation in an attempt to confuse the Xeno that had risen from the surface, Jin flew from the A.O for a moment before circling back around and firing a set of missiles at the creature. Each of them impacted its outer shell only making slight cracks in it. Jin knew that he wanted to kill the creature he'd have to keep hitting it. Over and over. The Xeno had risen into the air once again and soon began to give chase to Takeo from behind, in turn Jin began to follow the Xeno as well while squeezing the triggers on his controls. Each grip feeling as though it were his last. The vibrations of the EX-35's Gatling guns traveled up his arms and made him more and more distraught and focused, nevertheless Jin maintained his composure. " One of the Xeno's tentacles had been blown off by Jin's weapons. Its next move involved it flying higher into the air and opening its mouth, a ball of red energy manifested for a few moments before shooting to the surface below. The pilots dodging each of the deadly beams of light as they hit the Martian soil with unfathomable force, one that shook the entire planet by its core. " Jin pulled up his camera feed in the lower left to scan the ground below as he began to give chase to the Xeno, firing another set of missiles and wounding the creature further. His scanner instantly detected a total of six life signs and, using his camera, he could see six scientist hiding behind a rock in the distance. They wore white and red HE suits and seemed to be firing at something. Jin could only assume the worst. "!" he said dodging another energy beam from the creature. " " As he fired another flurry of missiles at the creature Jin sped off in the direction of the scientist, his suspicions were confirmed as a number of small Class C Xenos converged onto their position. Class C's being the smallest and weakest out the three types. Jin transferred control of his jet to the A.I system and opened the canopy, jumping from the aircraft he landed in front of the scientists and fired his rifle at the creatures. Each of them falling one by one as their guts and partial skeletal structures crumbled into the red dirt. His jet firing its Gatling gun onto the other Xenos further out coming towards their position. " " " After gunning down several more Xenos in his wake four more fighter jets of alien origin arrived on the scene and surrounded Jin and the scientists, a smaller more medium-sized VTOL aircraft. One designed for transport rather than combat. He could hear Nio's voice through his comms. " The Xeno overhead had still been fighting with the squadron until it ended up turning its attention onto Jin, just as the transport craft took off back to base. A stream of energy then came hurling his way causing Jin to use his jetpack to quickly move out of the line of fire. Landing hard onto the rocks as the Martian dust began to kick up. " A horde of Xenos began to converge on Jin's position as he fired his weapon towards them. First jumping to higher ground and using the rocks to his advantage. While a few tried to climb the tower he'd managed to stand on they were met with bullets and his sheer will to fight. Jin then used his wrist computer to recall his jet from above and jumped into the cockpit, after closing the canopy he assumed control from the A.I and joined the other Norio and Astrean fighters above. " " " Jin sped towards the creatures once more, with fire in his eyes.