During this time, the lieutenant had been struggling just to stay in the fight. Separated from the rest of her formation, she'd taken cover in a big chunk of office block circling about the witch.
She occasionally peered out from behind the corner, knuckles pale from clutching her aether rifle.
When the comm finally croaked back to life, her immedate instinct was to take charge. But the princess' voice stayed her tongue, made her carefully consider their allies' plan.
Once her nine remaining wingmen had reported in, the lieutenant looked out the window and performed a quick mental calculus. The odds were hardly in their favor.
"Negative, no can do! The winds are too strong; even if we made it in, our thruster packs aren't rated for anything above F2. We'd be flung right out!"
The lieutenant braced herself against the inevitable volley of shouting that profused from her commlink. She had to end this, fast. But how? Flying in alone was a fool's errand, and her allies' weapons could do little from afar. The only thing that might stand a chance was...
"... a skyship! No, no. That'd take far too long."
She sensed she was onto something though. And the moment she noticed the tiny vent of clear sky above the maelstrom, an idea hatched in the lieutenant's mind. She relayed orders to the remainder of her flight, and keyed the comm once more.
"I've got a plan. It's a longshot, but at this point, what ain't?"
As she spoke, five airmen emerged from hiding to pepper the witch with heavy gunfire. A bit of artful maneuvering spared them the brunt of her counters, but their luck wouldn't last forever.
"We're gonna go topside, aight? Above the clouds, right into the eye of the storm. We only got room for two, so pick wisely."
The remaining four airmen touched down in front of @[deleted] and company. The lieutenant had recommended the princess to call the shots, and @All in One for her extreme magical power. Deliberations were swift by necessity. Once finished, the airmen showed their passengers to an aetherial platform summoned between their greaves, and braced them for the swift ascent ahead.
They found the lieutenant circling above the clouds, keeping a steady eye on the whirlwind. With a silent nod exchanged between all, the airmen banked their wings and took them headlong into the howling dark.
Sorry 'bout the long wait. I was jugglin' a lotta concepts for this post, and I kinda lost the first draft when my browser crashed. I think it turned out alright though. :3 ]]
