The Patriot batteries continued firing into the night sky.

Missile after missile launched from the perimeter of Basa Air Base, each intercept lighting up the southern horizon in violent flashes of orange and white. The explosions reflected across the reinforced windows of the command center, brief pulses of light washing over the operators inside.

But the swarm of flyers kept coming.

"They’re still pushing north!" one of the analysts reported.

The tactical display remained crowded with red markers despite the successful intercepts. Every time the Patriot systems cleared one cluster, another wave appeared behind it.

Adrian stared at the screen for several seconds.

Then he made another decision.

"Recall the fighters."

Several operators looked up immediately.

"Sir?"

"The F-22s and F-35s are running low on missiles," Adrian said. "I’m not risking aircraft losses over saturation targets."

One of the communication officers keyed his mic immediately.

"Falcon flight, Raptor flight, Command orders immediate disengagement and return to base."

Inside the airspace above Manila, Falcon One banked sharply after another distant explosion lit up the clouds below.

"Copy, Command," the pilot replied. "RTB."

Raptor One answered seconds later.

"Understood. Pulling out."

The fighter aircraft peeled away from the combat zone one after another, their engines roaring across the dark sky as they accelerated north toward Basa.

Below them—

The Patriot systems took over completely.

Back at the air base perimeter, another set of radar warnings sounded inside the battery command vehicle.

"Multiple low-altitude contacts approaching engagement envelope!"

The battery commander looked at the radar screen.

The flyers had changed tactics again.

Instead of remaining clustered, many had dropped lower, skimming above highways and structures to reduce radar visibility.

"Track them manually if needed," he ordered. "Don’t let them penetrate the perimeter."

"Yes, sir!"

The rotating radar arrays adjusted immediately, scanning lower sectors while the engagement computers recalculated firing solutions.

"Target lock... target lock... target lock..."

The operator’s voice became rapid as multiple hostile tracks stabilized.

"Fire!"

Another Patriot volley erupted.

The launchers shook violently as missiles blasted upward, flames illuminating the surrounding defenses and parked vehicles nearby. The interceptors climbed briefly before angling sharply downward toward the low-flying contacts.

Seconds later—

The sky above the southern outskirts exploded again.

One flyer disappeared instantly after taking a direct hit.

Another was caught in the blast radius, its wings torn apart before the burning body spiraled downward into the darkness below.

But some survived.

"Leak-through contacts!" one of the operators shouted.

Three red markers broke through the first intercept net and continued north at extreme speed.

"Secondary systems online!" another operator yelled.

Further along the perimeter, a separate air defense battery activated.

The Avenger Air Defense System mounted on Humvees rotated upward, their turret systems locking onto the incoming flyers using infrared targeting.

"Visual acquired!"

"Stinger ready!"

The gunners tracked the incoming creatures as they burst over the tree line south of the base.

"Fire!"

A pair of FIM-92 Stinger missiles launched almost simultaneously, smoke trails streaking across the air before slamming directly into one of the flyers.

The creature exploded apart mid-flight.

Another dipped violently to avoid the intercept.

It almost made it.

Then the Avenger’s .50 caliber machine gun opened fire.

Tracer rounds tore through the darkness, stitching across the creature’s body as it crossed the perimeter road. The flyer shrieked violently before crashing into the ground near the outer fencing, its body skidding across the pavement.

"Second target down!"

The last flyer climbed suddenly.

Fast.

Too fast.

It shot upward above the initial firing arc, trying to pass over the Patriot engagement zone.

"Tracking lost—"

"No, there!" another operator shouted.

One of the SHORAD crews near the northern sector reacted immediately.

The Phalanx CIWS mounted near the runway perimeter rotated toward the sky with mechanical precision. Its radar locked onto the fast-moving target instantly.

The six-barreled 20mm Vulcan cannon spun up.

Then fired.

The sound was unlike anything else on the base.

A violent metallic roar.

Thousands of rounds per minute tore upward into the darkness, creating a solid stream of tracer fire across the sky.

The flyer flew directly into it.

Its body shredded almost instantly.

Wings disappeared first.

Then the torso.

Fragments rained down beyond the runway as the CIWS continued firing for another second before shutting down.

"Target neutralized," the operator confirmed.

Back inside the command center, Adrian finally exhaled slightly.

The layered defense was working.

Patriot for range.

Avengers for low-altitude penetration.

CIWS for anything that slipped through.

But even then—

The radar still showed more incoming.

"They just keep coming..." one of the analysts muttered.

Adrian looked at the tactical map again.

The skies south of Manila were still filled with movement.

Not as dense as before.

But enough.

Far too many.

Then another warning tone sounded.

The operator’s face changed immediately.

"...Sir."

Adrian looked over.

"What now?"

The analyst zoomed the radar further south again.

More red markers appeared.

Not flyers this time.

Something larger.

Much larger.

The room slowly fell silent as the new signatures moved northward through the darkness toward Basa Air Base.

The tactical display zoomed outward automatically as the radar attempted to classify the new contact.

At first, the operators thought it was an error.

The signature was too large.

Far larger than the flyers they had been intercepting earlier.

"Radar malfunction?" one of the analysts asked quietly.

Another operator immediately checked the system diagnostics.

"Negative. Radar integrity is stable."

The room became quieter after that.

Because the signature was still there.

Moving.

South of Manila.

Heading north.

And every radar sweep made it clearer.

"...Size estimate?" Adrian asked.

The analyst swallowed once before answering.

"Unknown, sir. But it’s massive."

The contact moved faster than expected for something that large. Every few seconds, the radar signature shifted position significantly, crossing large sections of terrain at alarming speed.

"It’s airborne," another operator added.

Adrian stepped closer to the screen.

The large red signature sat behind the remaining swarm of flyers like something guiding them forward.

Then another feed appeared.

One of the long-range drones caught a glimpse of movement inside the clouds.

Just a silhouette.

Huge wings.

Then gone again. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"...Jesus Christ," one of the operators whispered.

Adrian immediately looked toward the communication officer.

"Get me visual confirmation."

"Yes, sir!"

"What aircraft is still combat capable?"

The operator checked quickly.

"Raptor One still has fuel and partial ammunition load."

"Send him."

The channel opened instantly.

"Raptor One, this is Command. We need visual identification on a large airborne contact south of Manila."

"Copy, Command. Vector me in."

Inside the cockpit of the F-22 Raptor, the pilot banked sharply southward, pushing the aircraft away from the returning flight path and back toward the dark clouds ahead.