A/N Now we come to Cipher's first sortie into the infamous Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R...the Round Table, where aces go to polish their skills and fight independent of their ranks. Now we shall get a proper glimpse of who Cipher *really is, and what he will eventually become. Plus I changed this chapter to where it's gonna be filled with more action. Sorry for taking so long to update this too, i was taking a break.
Chapter 3 - The Round Table
For after all what is man in nature? A nothing in relation to infinity, all in relation to nothing, a central point between nothing and all and infinitely far from understanding either.
- Valais Air Force Base -
- April 20th, 1995 1100 hrs -
"Head operations has issued an emergency order for a reconnaissance mission to be conducted near the border. You will be monitoring the airspace B7R, currently under Belkan control. Strong opposition is expected by enemy squadrons, and the presence of a magnetic field has been detected, which may interfere with communications. In short, this will not be a walk in the park." started the Base Commander as images of B7R appeared on the screen, a red lined circle appearing to mark the airspace.
Cipher and Larry were the only two pilots in the room, the other mercenaries stationed at the base were off on other missions preparing for a future operation.
"The B7R airspace is located above an area rich in subterranean resources, where many conflicts have been fought in the past. You are authorized to engage enemy planes upon contact. The time has come for your skills to be tested." finished the Base Commander before he turned the briefing system off, Cipher and Larry glancing at one another with a doubtful expression on their face.
They left the briefing room and they walked out into the cold air of the air base, some snow still littered all over the base since last night's snowstorm up in the mountains.
"We're gonna be fighting some pretty skilled pilots over B7R. You ready for this Buddy?" asked Larry as they approached the hanger that held their fighter jets.
"We'll be fine. Larry, I have a feeling we're gonna be in for a good fight over that airspace. Let's get going."
After speaking for a few more seconds into his microphone, the man fixated his gaze on Larry once more and asked him another question.
"What is Area B7R, specifically?"
Larry looked at him for a few seconds, thinking about the question and what the best answer would be, and chuckled to hismelf while holdig his assault rifle closer.
"Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R...aka the "Round Table". It was the grand stage where we pilots performed. We were all on an equal footing, fighting under the same conditions. No affiliations or ranks to hinder us. Aces from every nation criss-crossed through those skies in pursuit of air superiority. The only rule of engagement was...to survive."
- Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R, Belka-Ustio-Osea border -
- 022'53'37"N 234'19'32"E -
- April 20th, 1995 1120 hrs -
Cipher and Larry flew in from up above into the airspace and gazed around at the craggy rocks and mountain range running through the strategic airway. The earth looked like at one point it was covered by water, so when it all dried up it looked as if a rock had struck the rock and created a ripple effect across the entire landscape. The weathered mountains also gave the impression that the area received periodic heavy rainfall from time to time.
"Man, the skies here are clearer than anywhere I've seen." marveled Cipher as he looked through the clear skies, occupied by only a few clouds scattered throughout the airspace.
"No kidding. No wonder this place is a perfect battlezone for pilots and their squadrons." replied Larry before their skygazing was interrupted by Eagle Eye.
"Galm Team, this is Eagle Eye. Penetrate B7R and get a feel for the surroundings."
"Galm 2, roger. This kind of job is what we're all about." said Larry cooley.
"Enemies on radar, exercise caution." warned Eagle Eye before he updated their radar and the two pilots gasped at the number of Belkan planes currently in Area B7R.
"Dammit!" cursed Larry.
"We gotta bag all these planes? Oi, this is gonna be a fun battle." grinned Cipher before he let Larry break away from him for a little to give the two of them room to maneuver.
"Is something wrong with the IFF? There's two aircraft showing up on the radar." spoke one of the Belkan pilots from his MIG-21 Fishbed, his two wingmen at a loss for words.
"I dunno. If they're enemies, let's bring 'em down."
"Galm Team, engage." ordered Eagle Eye as the first enemy flight approached Cipher and Larry from the front.
"We *will survive Galm 1." said Larry as they both did barrel rolls past one another and charged at the approaching enemy fighters, their F-15C Eagles superior to the Belkan Fishbeds, but the pilot's skill itself has yet to be seen.
"Fox 2!" said Cipher after locking onto a Belkan plane and fired two missiles at it.
He smirked when the Belkan skillfully maneuvered away from the missiles, even though the MIG-21 Fishbed was not a very maneuverable aircraft.
"These guys are professionals, don't underestimate them." said Larry as he dodged a missile from one of the Belkans then skillfully took it down.
"Of course!" grinned Cipher as he showed his true colors and took down the other two Belkan planes with little effort, feat that surprised Larry and the other Belkan planes closing in on their position.
"Show them what the Belkan Air Force is capable of."
"They shot down our guide planes. I'm willing to be that was more than luck."
A flight of four F-4E Phantom IIs zoomed towards them while two more MIG-21s flanked from the right and formed a pincer-attack with the Phantoms.
"Let's get em Larry."
"Roger that Buddy!" replied Larry as the two split apart and engaged the oncoming fighters, the two mercenaries outmaneuvering the Belkan pilots and completely blowing them away, with Cipher downing four out of the six planes without even getting locked on by an enemy once.
"Galm Team, penetrate Area B7R." said Eagle Eye to Cipher and Larry, the two pilots pushing farther into Area B7R to look around some more.
"So those mountains in front of us make up the Round Table. I've heard my fair share of stories about it." said Larry as they both looked down at the mountain range beneath them, the mountains stretching from the Belkan city of Hoffnung down through B7R and back up through Belka to formed the Waldreich Mountain range dividing Nord Belka from South Belka.
All of a sudden, three groups of high-profile enemy targets appeared on radar from the northwest barreling towards them at high speeds.
"Warning! Radar shows additional craft approaching Area B7R at high speed." he informed.
"Galm 2 to Galm 1. Enemy reinforcements, probably the main force."
"You ready Larry?"
"Let's do this Cipher."
From the northwest, the gigantic group of Belkan fighters split off into three smaller groups comprised of four fighters each, one being four F/A-18C Hornets with green camo, the second being four JAS-39 Gripen Cs with purple lines painted on their wings, and the last one leading them all being four grey and red EF-2000 Typhoons. These three squadrons are among the numerous ace squadrons a part of the legendary Belkan Air Force.
- ROT -
Belkan Air Force
2nd Air Division, 52nd Tactical Fighter Squadron.
- GRUN -
Belkan Air Force
10th Air Division, 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron
- INDIGO -
Belkan Air Force
7th Air Division, 51st Tactical Fighter Squadron
"Report." asked the lead pilot of the four man flight of Hornets, his wingman being the one to respond.
"This is Grun 2. There's two of them."
"This is Rot 1, we'll take care of them." said the flight lead of the Typhoon squadron as his flight pulled out ahead of the other two.
"Whatever you say Detlef." said the flight lead of the Gripen C squadron before the Typhoons surged ahead of them to take on Cipher and Larry.
"Rot 1 to all craft. Time to hunt some wild dogs. Down 'em all." ordered the flight lead before they banked right and sped at Cipher and Larry, aggressively charging right at them with the utmost confidence in their skills.
"Galm Team, we cannot authorize a retreat. Intercept them." ordered Eagle Eye as the enemy Typhoons closed in on the two mercenaries, Larry sighing to himself.
"I figured you'd say that. This is gonna cost you extra."
"What do you think those other fighters are doing? They're not attacking." said Cipher as he looked at the other two squadrons hovering just off the edge of their radar, slowly circling the area to observe.
"They're probably observing their over-confident friend here. Let's show them not to mess with us, Buddy." smirked Larry as he surged forward to meet the oncoming enemy, Cipher right beside him.
"Mercenary dogs." growled Rot 1 with a vile tone in his voice as the two squadrons appeared on each other's HUDs, initiating the engagement of four against two.
"This is the Round Table. Dead men's words hold no meaning." said Larry before he dove to the right and instigated a chase with an enemy Typhoon, the highly agile aircraft managing to shake off the missiles fired at it and begin its own attack on him.
"They're flying Typhoons. Don't underestimate these guys."
"Money-hungry dogs, without an ounce of honor. Don't think you'll leave Area B7R alive." said Rot 1 again as he dodged a missile from Cipher, the two pilots chasing each other above a mountain while another Rot pilot tried to flank Cipher from behind.
"Damn, what do you have against us?" questioned Cipher as he avoided a missile from the Rot craft chasing him and he spun his plane around to strafe its wing with gunfire, crippling it.
"I have no words to say to you, mercenary dog." replied Rot 1 before Cipher scowled and shot down the Rot craft chasing him with a missile to the fuselage, the Rot pilots and their flight lead becoming shocked at the act.
Cipher went on to be on a whole other level compared to the Belkan pilots after that, the Typhoons unable to lay a scratch on him as he dodged their every attack, eventually shooting down another plane with the assistance of Larry, leaving just Rot 1 and his wingman left. Before the two could regroup however, Cipher managed to land a blow on Rot 1's plane, something that severely angered him.
"I've been hit?! That low-life mercenary."
"Detlef's actually getting beat by a couple of mercenaries?" reveled the lead Gripen C pilot from his vantage point with the other squadron of Hornets.
"Yeah. Seems we might have to step in soon." replied the other squadron leader while he made preparations within his own aircraft for battle.
After a taking a split second to rethink their strategy, Rot 1 and his wingman engaged Larry and Cipher separately, trying to work the two together to where they could instantly switch targets and attack the other without giving them any time to react. It didn't work. Rot 1 broke away from Larry and attempted to strike Cipher in his engines with a missile, but in that split second of the warning siren starting to blare and the battle instincts kicking in, he performed a maneuver so crazy that it had never been attempted before. He cut the engines almost to a crawl and pulled back on the flight stick, the plane flipping over on a dime until it was upside down, CIpher gunning it not only past the missile fired at him, but straight at Rot 1, allowing him to down the elite Belkan ace with a missile to the right wing.
"The captain's been shot down! Requesting back-up!" pleaded the remaining Rot pilot before Larry shot him down, the two other Belkan squadrons hovering outside the combat zone completely baffled by the take down of one of their most elite fighter squadrons.
"All Belkan reinforcements shot down-" started Eagle Eye before the other two squadrons raced into the combat zone and locked their sights on Cipher and Pixy, wanting to avenge their fallen squadron.
"Well then, let's have some fun." said Grun 1 to his pilots before they spread apart up high while the Gripen Cs took the low road.
"This is Indigo 1, targets spotted. Commencing attack."
"We've got more coming in! Seems we've got a squadron for each of us Larry!" said CIpher with a smirk as he set his eyes on Indigo 1 while Larry's rested on Grun 1.
"Handle their wingmen. I'm going after the flight leads." ordered Cipher before he took off, Larry shrugging as he broke away and armed several XMAA missiles for the soon to be dogfight.
"Roger."
The three squadrons converged on one another, and at first Cipher and Larry were overwhelmed by the combined power of the two Belkan ace squadrons, their missile alert sirens incessantly blaring in their ears.
"Unlike you mercenaries, I fight for a real cause. The ones who survive are those who fight for their convictions." said Indigo 1 as he went after Cipher first with his wingman, their two small yet versatile Gripen Cs hounding Cipher's F-15C to the point he almost got shot down.
"Let's take care of these mercenaries real quick Dimitri." said Grun 1 after avoiding a missile from Larry by utilizing his flares.
"These hornets are getting annoying! Don't let 'em sting you in the ass!" growled Larry before Cipher zoomed past him and helped him out by chasing after on of the Hornets and shot it down with a pair of missiles.
"Fox 3!" he yelled before he followed up with the firing of four XMAA missiles that tracked a single Gripen C and another Hornet until they collided with their bodies and turned them into flaming wrecks.
Then Larry shot down another Gripen C, reducing their numbers down 4 and to only two members of each squadron remained to fight the two mercenaries.
"Dammit! Both of 'em know what they're doing." cursed Grun 1 as the Belkan pilots stepped up their game.
"Fox 2!" said Indigo 1 as he fired a missile at Cipher once more, but the mercenary effortlessly dodged it and continued his attack on the Grun pilots while Larry switched over to Indigo.
Larry relentlessly pursued Indigo 1's wingman, twisting and turning when he banked and rolled to try and lose him, but the mercenary stayed glued to his six and when he finally got an opening, he shot a missile right up the Gripen C's ass and critically damaged it.
"Those bastards!" growled Grun 1 when he went after Larry, but his charge was cut short when Cipher got on his tail and started to pursue him.
"Ustio is holding their own in the Round Table." said Indigo 1 in respect for their enemies combat prowess in B7R, normally a place where Belkan pilots reigned supreme.
All of a sudden Cipher ditched the chase with Grun 1 and instantly went after Indigo 1, having seen the momentary drop of his guard, and had took advantage of the situation to bring down Indigo's captain. He tried to get away from Cipher but his reaction was too slow, and Cipher brought him down by shearing off his right wing with his gun, leaving only three fighters left.
"Enemy fighter confirmed down. Apparently that was their captain." informed Larry before he sweared as gunfire whooshed past the canopy of his plane, alerting him to the presence of a Grun fighter on his tail.
"Let's wrap this fight up Buddy." said Cipher with a smirk as he returned his attention to Grun 1 after bringing down the last Indigo member as it tried to escape the battle zone since its plane had been damaged by Larry.
"You got it Cipher! Fox 2!" replied Larry as he stopped his plane and let the Grun fighter blow right past him, allowing Larry to fire two missiles right into the fuselage of the Hornet and bring it down cleanly.
"The last one's mine Cipher!" he said with a laugh as the two mercenaries went after Grun 1, but every missile they fired at his plane was diverted away from him by the flares he would launch out from his plane.
Cipher though was determined and got up close to Grun 1's jet, never straying far from his backside through all the barrel-rolls, sharp turns and twists, until he noticed a small opening in his enemies maneuvers and exploited it.
When Grun 1 banked right to try and shake him off, Cipher launched a missile at that exact moment and whooped in victory when it struck home and tore the plane in two, the pilot going down with his plane until he spotted a white parachute shoot out of the cockpit.
"All Belkan reinforcements confirmed down. Mission complete. Return to base." announced Eagle Eye as the two mercenaries formed up over one of the mountains of the Round Table and turned towards the southeast for their return trip back to Ustio and their home base.
"Incoming message from Allied Forces Operations Command. "Allied naval force has begun its advance. We appreciate your work."" read off Eagle Eye, Larry rolling his eyes and sighing in disappointment.
"Looks like we were just a couple of decoys."
"Bah, I count this as a victory. I mean, the two of us, just a couple of mercenaries, brought down *three highly skilled Belkan squadrons that probably would've murdered anyone else who was sent here! Do you know what this means?" asked Cipher enthusiastically.
"What? That we outmaneuvered them beyond their expectations?" asked Larry with a smile.
"No, that we're just more badass than they are!" exclaimed Cipher before the two burst out laughing, even Eagle Eye chuckling a little at their enthusiasm.
"Heh...Yo Buddy, you still alive?" asked Larry, the saying having become his trademark moniker.
"Alive as I'll ever be Buddy." replied Cipher.
-Well done. I'll make sure Head Operations hears about how you defeated three elite squadrons of enemy Typhoons, Hornets and Gripen Cs. Things are only going to get better for you two. Keep up the good work.