December 31st, 0530 Hours – New Year's Eve
The night sky hung in perfect stillness.
Across Teyvat—and far into the deserts of Natlan—silence had finally taken hold.
The guns were quiet. The thunder of artillery and the scream of engines had ceased.
For the first time in months, peace.
In the sleeping city of Mondstadt, lights flickered to life one by one. Apartment windows glowed warm through the morning mist, and the faint hum of civilian power grids returning to life echoed like the sigh of a waking giant.
At the edge of the capital, a stretch of six-lane highway had been cordoned off by the military—floodlights, armored trucks, and perimeter fencing ringed it in white glare.
Four F-14A Tomcats sat there beneath the early gray sky.
Painted matte black, their airframes gleamed faintly under condensation and frost, like beasts resting after battle. The Emberhowl Air Command insignia was stenciled in silver on their twin tails—a pair of wings crossing a flame.
To the guards, the sight was both awe and fear. Those jets had brought down an empire.
Military police in ballistic vests stood at checkpoints. Secret Service agents watched from parked sedans, scanning every movement. Even ground crews moved quietly, as though afraid to disturb the titans in their sleep.
Inside one of them, Emilie slept strapped in the cockpit, helmet off, head resting against the seat's cushion. The cockpit displays glowed dim amber, casting faint reflections over her visor mount and the worn surfaces of the console.
Her breathing was steady, her hands still gloved, resting over her lap.
It wasn't a comfortable sleep. But it was a soldier's sleep—earned through exhaustion, blood, and fire.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
A sharp rap against the airframe jolted her awake.
Emilie stirred, blinking at the canopy glass.
"Man… if that's a prank, I swear…"
She turned her head to the left.
Mona stood there on the ladder, silhouetted in the dim blue dawn. Steam rose from a mug in her hand.
"Mona?" Emilie rasped.
"Coffee's under your wing," Mona said flatly. "We've got a situation."
She climbed down, boots crunching on frost as she disappeared beneath the aircraft.
Emilie groaned softly and rubbed her face with both gloved hands. Her muscles protested as she reached up, unlatched the canopy, and slid it open. Cold morning air rushed in, clean and sharp.
She climbed down the ladder, boots meeting asphalt with a muted thud. Her breath misted in the chill.
Under the Tomcat's port wing, a folding table was set up. The whole team was gathered there—Mona, Ayaka, and Mualani; Imena, Mausau, Gracie, Kaeya, Houallet… and Candace.
Candace lifted her paper cup with a curt nod.
"'Bout time you woke up, Captain. We've got a situation—and it's bad."
She passed Emilie a cup of coffee and a plate of rations—eggs, bread, and something resembling bacon.
Emilie took the cup first, downing half of it before the warmth even registered. The caffeine hit like a charge of jet fuel.
Kaeya stepped forward, arms folded. His tone was grim.
"All right, here's the situation."
Gracie laid a printed map across the table. The paper rippled in the wind as she spoke.
"The Teyvat Space Center in Sumeru detected the JFOLG's descent at 0430. After you and Candace destroyed the control core, it triggered a failsafe. Once command link is severed, it switches to automatic deorbit."
Emilie's brow furrowed. "Of course it does…"
Gracie nodded grimly. "It's already descending. Orbital analysts ran projections—its trajectory is stable… but it's coming down fast."
She pointed to the path on the paper—a long arc that cut straight through the map's center.
When the pilots saw the target area, silence fell.
The line ran directly through Mondstadt City.
Emilie's jaw tightened. She dropped her fork, snatched the coffee cup, and finished it in one hard swallow.
"Holy shit… that's a direct impact path."
Gracie's voice lowered. "And if it hits intact…"
Kaeya finished the thought.
"The kinetic impact alone will vaporize Mondstadt. The atmospheric shockwave will erase most of Teyvat. Southern Snezhnaya will be gone. Maybe even Natlan's coast."
A cold breeze swept through the highway as the words sank in.
Imena stepped forward, her expression carved in stone.
"This is your final sortie, Emberhowl. Finish the job—and come back alive."
She handed Emilie a sealed envelope marked Operation Starfall.
"AWACS Sky Eye will provide command support once you're airborne. You'll land at Windrise Air Base afterward."
A pause followed, heavy with everything unsaid.
"Aces of Emberhowl…" Imena said softly. "…good luck."
From the far end of the highway came the rising whine of turbines. Ground crews were already spinning the external generators and hooking up air start hoses.
The Tomcats began to stir—navigation lights blinking, hydraulic actuators groaning as flaps cycled through preflight checks. Steam hissed from exhaust ports as fuel pumps primed.
Emilie looked to Mona, Ayaka, and Mualani.
"This is it. One last mission."
Mona's eyes hardened. "Let's finish this."
Gracie and Kaeya pulled the table aside, clearing the highway for launch.
Without another word, the four pilots turned toward their aircraft—their second skin, their home, their war machines—and climbed the ladders in silence.
The engines screamed to life one by one, flames licking from the TF30 exhausts as the highway filled with the rising thunder of war once more.
Emilie climbed the ladder, one boot after another clanking against the aluminum rungs. Frost glazed the canopy rail and glimmered under the portable floodlights.
She reached into the cockpit, pulled her flight helmet from the RIO's seat, and slid down into the pilot's cradle. The cold metal pressed against her flight suit. The silence wrapped around her like a familiar ghost.
Home.
Her hands moved on instinct—fluid, precise, unthinking.
She reached up and started the ritual.
Startup Procedure:
Altimeter — STBY to RESET. The display blinked once, then flickered alive, digits stabilizing.
Standby Attitude Indicator — ALIGN. The horizon bar drifted, then leveled out.
Power Panel — VDI… HUD… HSD/ECM. Switches clicked, relays chattered, and the cockpit came to life with a faint hum.
Air Source — BOTH ENG. Oxygen hissed through the regulator.
Environmental Flow — ON. The canopy glass cleared of frost.
Wing Sweep Lever — FULL FORWARD. Hydraulic whine, and the black wings glided smoothly to their takeoff position.
Master Reset — ENGAGED.
UHF Radio — GUARD… BOTH. A faint tone chirped as the comms synced.
TACAN Selector — T/R. Signal lock confirmed.
AFCS — Pitch, Roll, Yaw… ACTIVE. Control surfaces twitched in confirmation.
Every motion was muscle memory. Every sound—the language of flight.
She pulled her harness tight, fastened the chest fittings, and sealed her chin strap. The canopy hissed as it closed, locking her inside a world of switches and symphony.
Engine Start:
Right Engine — FLICK.
The spool-up began, a low whir that built into a rising shriek.
At 25% RPM, she moved the right throttle from CUTOFF to IDLE. A muted whoomp sounded through the frame as ignition lit. Exhaust gas temp spiked, stabilized.
Then the left.
Twin TF30s spun into life behind her, coughing, then roaring—uneven at first, then steady, the signature growl of a Tomcat brought from slumber.
The deck crew moved around her in a blur of vests and flashlights. One crouched by the nose wheel and gave her a thumbs-up. Emilie returned it—a single, silent salute.
Her radio came alive with static and two clear voices:
Highway Controller:
"This is it, Raven. Your final sortie. It's been an honor. Send 'em home."
AWACS Sky Eye:
"Emberhowl, you are cleared for launch. Godspeed."
Emilie exhaled through her mask.
"Raven copies. Emberhowl—let's light the fires."
She eased both throttles forward through mil power and then into full afterburner.
The world behind her erupted. Twin spears of flame burst from the nozzles as the Tomcat surged ahead, tires screaming, wings locked, the Gs pinning her back in the seat.
Mona, Ayaka, and Mualani roared forward behind her—perfect line abreast, engines thundering in unison.
The highway trembled.
On the roadside, Gracie, Kaeya, Imena, Mausau, and Houallet watched through the gusting wind, hair and uniforms whipping in the wake.
Houallet raised his camera. Click.
A single frame—four black Tomcats streaking into the pale dawn.
The final takeoff of the Demons of Emberhowl.
One by one, they rotated. Nose up, main gear lifting.
Landing gear retracted in sequence, exhausts blazing as they climbed into the sky.
Houallet lowered the camera slowly, watching their contrails fade into the light.
"After a long slumber," he murmured, "Emberhowl returns… this time, as legends."
The F-14s soared higher, formation tight and perfect.
Altitude readout:
4,000 feet.
8,000.
13,000.
16,000.
22,000.
At 25,000 feet, Emilie leveled off, throttles easing back to cruise.
Ahead, the HUD pinged. A single distant blip blinked on the radar—the JFOLG descent point.
Mona's voice came through, quiet but steady.
"Target lock acquired… orbital path confirmed. Impact in approximately thirty-five minutes."
Emilie's jaw clenched.
"Then we intercept before it breaches lower orbit. Let's finish this."
Off her right wing, Ayaka's Tomcat slid into position, vapor trails curling around the tips.
The horizon began to glow.
A bright light broke across the edge of the world—
The sun, rising slow and golden over the calm blue curve of the sea.
Four black F-14As flew toward it, their shadows long over the clouds.
No enemies.
No interceptors.
No rival squadrons.
Just them…
And one falling god of metal.
The sky was beginning to pale. Thin streaks of gold crept over the horizon, brushing the upper clouds with fire.
Mona's voice came over the net—soft, almost reverent.
"Look… the sun's coming up from the east."
Emilie adjusted her trim, the F-14 steady at twenty-five thousand feet. She watched the first light spill over the canopy bow and smiled faintly.
"Our night flight is over."
Ayaka's voice followed, wistful through the comm hiss.
"I can't wait to see it… the most beautiful sunrise ever."
Mualani's reply carried quiet conviction.
"And the sun will keep rising. Now and forever."
For a few seconds, the formation flew in silence—four black silhouettes slicing through a sky of amber and violet.
Then Ayaka snapped her fingers suddenly, startling the others.
"Oh! I just remembered… It's my brother's buddy Thoma's birthday. Two weeks from now."
Mualani chuckled, her tone easing.
"See? Glad you're still alive, Ayaka?"
"Of course I am! Heh… I bet my family would be happy to see my brother come home from Natlan… though… I wish I could be there too…"
"Don't worry, kid," Mualani said gently. "One day… you'll see him again. You'll feel that warmth and love again."
She glanced through her canopy toward Emilie's Tomcat leading the formation.
"Captain Emilie… I—"
"Mualani?" Emilie answered, eyes flicking between radar and horizon.
The older pilot drew a long breath.
"Flying with you again reminded me of how important your team is. Of what it means to have a wingman again."
"Now… I understand how my men felt."
Mona's voice joined in—steady, but carrying weight.
"I promised you, Emilie… from the start… that I wouldn't lose another flight lead. That's what kept me flying this whole time."
There was a pause, broken only by the whine of engines and the rhythmic beeps of radar sweeps.
"Even when I got shot down," Mona continued, "I got back up. I learned from it."
Another pause.
"Emilie…"
"Yes?"
"Let me fly as your wingman. Just a little longer."
Emilie's response came without hesitation, a calm certainty beneath her words.
"All of you are my wingmen. Always. Let's savor this moment—after we destroy the JFOLG."
Before the moment could settle, the calm sky filled with static.
AWACS Sky Eye:
"Emberhowl, this is AWACS Sky Eye. Listen closely."
"The JFOLG is now at two-five thousand feet and descending slowly. You have seven minutes to take it out—it's within engagement range."
"IFFs have been updated with priority targets. The four spinning blades are the loading units. The core is only vulnerable through the openings when those blades rotate."
"This is your one and only shot, Emberhowl. Engage!"
Emilie shoved both throttles through the detents. The TF30s roared to life, afterburners igniting with twin spears of blue flame.
"Raven, engaging!"
"Starseer, engaging!"
"Tempest, engaging!"
"Soumetsu, engaging!"
The formation accelerated, contrails shredding behind them as they dove toward the target vector.
And there it was—emerging from the haze like a descending god.
The Judgement Fang Orbital Linear Gun.
A colossal cylinder of black alloy, half the size of a city block, tumbling through the upper atmosphere. Four rotating arms ringed its midsection, each the length of a skyscraper, glowing with residual plasma heat from re-entry. The entire structure groaned under its own descent, bleeding fire and debris as it fell.
HUD icons painted the spinning blades in amber boxes. The core blinked red dead-center—primary target.
Mona's voice came through, controlled but tense.
"Visual confirmed. Object descending at mach 1.2. Rotational speed increasing."
Ayaka's breathing quickened over comms.
"It's massive… like a fortress falling from heaven."
Emilie steadied her grip on the stick.
"Then let's send it back to hell."
The four F-14A Tomcats knifed through the clouds beneath the monstrous silhouette of the JFOLG, afterburners painting faint blue streaks across the dim horizon.
"Form up tight," Emilie ordered. "We'll swing behind it and take a shot from the shadow side."
"Copy, Raven," Mualani replied.
The quartet broke into mirrored turns, looping high and around the superstructure until the blackened mass filled their canopies. From below, the weapon looked less like machinery and more like some titanic god-engine descending from orbit—its four colossal blades rotating around a glowing, half-exposed core.
Emilie's breath steadied. "Visual on the cores. Don't waste your ordnance—time your shots with the spin. You'll only get a clean line when the accelerator opens."
Her thumb clicked the trigger. Two AIM-9s howled free from her wings.
One slammed into a solar array, shearing it apart in a shower of molten shards. The second missile spiraled inward through the rotation—
Direct hit.
"Contact on the upper core!" Mona called.
"Watch for debris!" Emilie barked, yanking the stick left. The Tomcat rolled hard, shockwaves rumbling through the airframe as a slab of paneling the size of a bus tumbled past her canopy.
She leveled out, falling back into formation. Four contrails re-formed into a diamond as they dove for another pass.
White smoke trails cut the dawn sky—more missiles screamed upward. The JFOLG shuddered. Shattered plating and fragments of solar glass rained into the sea below like molten hail.
"This is like threading a damn needle!" Mualani grunted.
"Stay on it!" Emilie snapped.
Sky Eye's voice crackled through the static. "All solar panels destroyed! You're exposing the main housings—keep at it!"
Then came a deafening metallic shriek.
CLANG—KRAAANG!
One of the massive loading blades tore loose, colliding with the central housing before spinning away like a saw blade from hell.
"DEBRIS INBOUND! BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!" Emilie shouted.
All four Tomcats peeled apart, contrails twisting violently as they dove and rolled through the fallout. Chunks of plating screamed past them, trailing sparks.
"Re-form! Reset attack run!"
They curved back around, throttles open wide, closing on the next set of glowing cores.
"Fox Two! Fox Two!" Mona's voice rang out. Two Sidewinders streaked from her rails and vanished into the rotating labyrinth.
BOOM—BOOM.
Twin fireballs erupted, the shockwaves rattling the cockpits.
"Two down!" Sky Eye confirmed. "Two remaining cores!"
Mona's breathing was ragged but her voice held firm. "I can still move… I can still fly!"
The formation dropped lower, weaving between the falling debris. Fuel gauges were deep in the red; their window was closing fast.
"Sixty miles till Mondstadt," Sky Eye warned.
"Then we finish this before breakfast," Ayaka shot back. "Don't let Teyvat become another Khaenri'ahn crater!"
Emilie centered the reticle, tracking the rotation of the next core. "Steady… steady… tone, tone—Fox Two!"
Her missile cut through the accelerating blades, slipped past the inner ring, and speared the core.
A flash like sunrise filled her canopy.
"Three down!" Sky Eye roared.
"One to go!" Emilie replied, banking through the smoke and fire. Her Tomcat climbed, then rolled inverted for the last dive.
"Further… further… hold it… tone—lock!"
"FOX THREE! FOX THREE!"
Two AIM-54 Phoenix missiles thundered off her rails, their contrails spiraling upward in perfect symmetry.
They cleared the final blade. Passed the accelerator.
Then—
IMPACT.
A detonation brighter than dawn erupted from the JFOLG's heart. The entire structure convulsed, swallowed in a storm of violet flame and molten fragments.
"FINAL CORE IS DOWN!" Emilie shouted, slamming her fist against the console.
Sky Eye's voice was urgent. "All aircraft, evacuate now! The weapon's going critical!"
"Copy! Emberhowl disengaging!"
All four Tomcats hit full afterburner and banked hard east, wings swept, engines howling. The air blurred as they punched through Mach One, contrails tearing behind them.
Then the sky went white.
A blinding explosion consumed the horizon. The ocean beneath surged upward, rolling into a vast concentric shockwave that rippled for miles. Even forty miles away, the shock slammed through their canopies—cockpit warnings screaming as turbulence shook every bolt loose.
Behind them, the Judgement Fang Orbital Linear Gun disintegrated into a rising pillar of fire. The sun broke over it, painting the clouds in shades of violet and gold.
Sky Eye's voice came through, quiet but steady.
"JFOLG destroyed… they did it."
The net erupted.
"They did it!"
"We won!"
"Salute the Aces of Emberhowl!"
The chant grew louder, echoing across open frequencies and the streets of Mondstadt alike—
"EMBERHOWL! EMBERHOWL! EMBERHOWL!"
Candace's voice came through, proud and sharp as ever.
"You hear that, Emilie!? Don't tell me you can't hear them!"
Emilie smiled faintly, easing her grip on the stick. "Yeah… I hear them loud and clear. Mission complete."
Kaeya's voice followed, crisp over the comms.
"Mission accomplished, Emberhowl. Transmitting coordinates to Windrise AFB. Land there—we'll bring you home."
Emilie exhaled slowly. "Roger that, Kaeya. Heading to you now."
Ayaka's tone softened. "That's that…"
"Yeah," Mona murmured. "It's all over."
The four Tomcats banked right, forming up once more, their silhouettes cutting across the morning sky.
Heading east.
Toward Windrise.
Toward home.
To the end of their flight—
and the end of their war.
Half an hour later.
The sun had fully breached the horizon, casting long golden rays across the Windrise plateau.
Time: 0750 Hours.
At Windrise Air Force Base, the flight line was alive with quiet anticipation. Maintenance crews stood at attention. The base flag hung motionless in the still morning air.
Kaeya, Imena, Gracie, Houallet, and Mausau waited at the edge of the apron—eyes fixed on the western sky.
And then, they saw them.
Four dark specks broke over the horizon in perfect echelon. As the distance closed, the unmistakable silhouettes of four F-14A Tomcats emerged—black, scarred, and trailing heat haze. Their wings remained swept, descending steadily on short final.
One by one, they touched down—main wheels kissing the runway with perfect precision.
The final mission was complete.
The quartet rolled down the strip, TF30 engines rumbling deep, shimmering exhaust bending the air behind them. They taxied clear and came to a halt on the apron, aligning wingtip-to-wingtip.
A silent salute.
Unity. Pride. Defiance.
Houallet raised his camera. The shutter clicked.
A single frame captured forever—four Tomcats silhouetted against the newborn sun.
Imena's voice was quiet but firm.
"Mr. Houallet, just a reminder—those photos are not to be released."
Houallet lowered the camera, expression solemn.
"I understand, Madam President. I'll surrender the memory card before I leave. Whether these photos ever see the light of day… that's your call."
The deep rumble of the TF30s faded. One by one, the engines spooled down until silence took the ramp.
Then came the hiss of canopies opening.
Four solid thuds echoed across the tarmac as Emilie, Mona, Ayaka, and Mualani climbed down—helmets left behind in their cockpits.
They were done.
Imena clapped slowly, a faint smile crossing her face.
"That's that, folks. It's all over."
Emilie nodded, voice low.
"Yeah… it is."
Gracie gestured toward a small transport cart nearby, its rear stacked with labeled storage boxes.
"We recovered your personal effects from the carrier—phones, wallets, documents. All accounted for."
Kaeya stepped forward, hands buried in his pockets.
"I suppose this is where we part ways."
Emilie extended a hand.
"Yeah… guess so."
They shook—firm, mutual respect between soldiers who had seen too much.
Turning to Gracie, Houallet, Imena, and Mausau, Emilie gave a final nod, then walked toward the cart where four chairs had been set up, her name taped to one.
"Emilie," Imena called gently.
She paused and turned back.
"Yes, Madam President?"
Imena met her eyes, the faintest hint of warmth beneath the formality.
"I'll be in touch, alright?"
Emilie smiled, two-finger salute crisp and effortless.
"Will do, Madam President."
As she turned, Mona and Ayaka joined her—grinning, shoulders easing, laughter breaking through the exhaustion that had hung on them for months.
Mualani watched them from a distance, arms folded, an amused smile softening her face.
Gracie leaned slightly toward her.
"So, Mualani… what's next?"
The older pilot stretched, cracking her shoulders with a sigh.
"Well… I think I'm calling it quits with the Air Force too."
Gracie tilted her head.
"You planning to stay here for a bit?"
Mualani shook her head, a wry smile forming.
"Nope. I'm going with them."
Gracie chuckled softly, nodding toward the trio.
"Then you'd better get going, Emberhowl."
Mualani gave her a light tap on the shoulder in thanks, then jogged off toward the others—laughter trailing behind her like contrails fading in the morning sky.
Imena tilted her head back, gaze tracing the blue expanse above. Her words were quiet, carried by the wind.
"To the God of Peace… keep us safe from harm's way."
Mission Accomplished.
The war was over.
Peace had returned.
And though Emberhowl Air Command Squadron existed only for a fleeting sliver of time, their legacy would never fade.
To the soldiers and aviators of Teyvat, Natlan, and even Khaenri'ah—they were heroes. A force of skill, resolve, and sacrifice in the age of fourth-generation fighters.
True aces.
But to the public, they would remain a mystery.
Their identities—during both Emberhowl and the enigmatic Wolfsbane Squadron—were sealed away under one final designation:
TOP SECRET.
Yet history has a way of awakening.
And legends have a habit of returning—just like the sun rising once more over Windrise.
Only time will tell.