Ch 10 Bastion
The Belkan high command was desperate to turn the war around. The general went thru every plan thought off. Many idea were quickly written off the board.
Nuclear weapons would only invite reprisal, and be the end of Belka. Using chemical and biological weapons would only entice their enemies to do the same thing. In short, Belka was screwed. It was only a matter of time before the allies pushed into the Fatherland.
The leader of Belka, once called the Fuhrer, now called the Failure by his own generals, was in his room, overlooking a map of Belka, and eating some mashed potatoes.
Keitel came into the room and the Failure talked to him.
"Ah, Keitel. I'll need your help. I'm concerned with how the war is going. Belka should be winning this war, but we're not. It's unbelievable." The failure said.
"How can I help?" Keitel asked.
"I need you to get things organized. I believe that's our problem. We'll regain the offensive once our forces are organized. You have any questions?" the failure asked.
"None, my failure." Keitel said.
"Good. Win the war." The failure said.
Valais air-base
"Such bullshit!" Nikita shouted.
"What is it?" PJ asked.
"We're going to invade Belka, under the pretense of 'nuclear inspection.' What a joke. You know, the higher ups should tell us straight forward, we're invading Belka to end the war. That's final. I'd be so much happier because of it." Nikita said.
"You know, those politicians sit back and play war with our lives. It doesn't seem fair. We might end up fighting them after the Belkans." Larry said.
"I agree. When this war is over, I'll stay in Ustio. The leadership here seems to be more competent and honest than elsewhere." Nikita said.
"Guys, what if Belka is making nuclear arms?" PJ asked.
"Making? Belka already has nuclear weapons. And we're not gonna find them at the front lines. Why would Belka have their most powerful weapons in the front lines, only for us to take them? They're probably hidden in the northern country in some spot." Brian said.
"Kid, flying with ideals like that will get you killed. Don't try to convert us. We're all bunch of cynics, killing for money." Nikita said.
The pilots shuffled into the briefing room, where Olivier was standing. And she was pissed.
"Alright. Higher ups have decided to investigate Belka for nuclear arms. What a bunch of bullshit. You're to attack the Hydrian line, Belka's first line of defense." She said.
Some of the pilots cursed in response. The Belkans were gonna put up a fierce resistance to stop the allied forces.
"Situated at the peak of Mt. Ivrea, the ruins of Glatisant have been transformed into a modern and deadly defense, completed with heavy anti-air weaponry. Galm and Alchemy team's mission is to launch an attack on Glatisant, opening the door to Belka for our ground troops."
"This will be an extended mission. If you need fuel or supplies, come back to base. No use fighting on an empty stomach. Godspeed." Olivier finished.
The pilots headed towards their aircraft, in a slightly depressed mood.
"Can you believe this?" Larry asked.
"No. I can't." Nikita responded.
As the pilots taxied on the runaway, Nikita swore he heard someone say "How could you forget to fuel up? Get over here."
Glatisant, Belka
"Nuclear inspection, huh. What a joke." Larry said, the network of multiple fortresses on sight. This would be a nightmare.
"Fire away at Glatisant. Your job is to take out their defense mechanisms." Eagle Eye said.
Nikita flew near the ground, and strafed some Belkan ground troops. Suddenly, a flare was fired at his positions.
"Enemy fighters, take them down!" a Belkan commander said. And just like that, Glatisant fortress opened up with its anti-air guns.
"Holy shit. They got a lot down there." An Osean pilot said, as he fired rockets onto the Belkan fortress. The rockets only hit the side, and did little to break it.
"It's hell out here, above and below." An Ustio pilot said.
Nikita flew over the first fortress, and dropped 2 bombs directly on top. The bombs broke thru the stonework, and detonated inside, killing anyone caught within the blast.
"I'm hit, going down!" Another Ustio pilot said.
"Damn it." Larry muttered, as he dodged triple a fire. He accelerated away from the gunfire and turned around. Putting the crosshairs on the fortress, he dropped a shrapnel bomb, which exploded above the anti-air guns, rendering them useless.
"Good one, Pixy." Cipher said.
"We're not done with this yet." Larry said.
"This is area gate! A fire's broken out inside."
"Sector A has been taken care off. Head for the other sectors." Eagle Eye said.
"Easier said than done." PJ said.
PJ skimmed across a valley, and strafed and fired missiles at spare enemy AA guns, scattered over the battle zone. They still had to deal with the bigger threat, the main fortress, controlling the defense of Glatistant.
"Look at all those holes. Must have took a lot of firepower to do that." A ground soldier said, looking at the fortress with binoculars.
"I wonder how many soldiers died in that charge." Pixy said.
"I'd rather not know." Nikita said back.
"Enemy spotted. Initiate attack." A Belkan said, seeing the allied jets heading towards them.
The Belkans fired everything they had. Flak cannons, machine guns, SAMs, everything.
"They must hate our guts to put it something like this." An Osean pilot said, as he raced against the thick AA fire to survive.
"Take out the pillboxes. That should make your job easier." Eagle Eye said.
"Lets hope so." Nikita said, as he fired a missiles into a pillbox, destroying it.
"Shit." He said, as another pillbox opened up with its machine gun. Said pillbox was quickly neutralized.
"Eagle Eye, is there any way we can get reinforcements here?" Cipher asked, as he dropped napalm bombs onto the Belkan fortress, destroying a group of anti-air guns.
"It'll take too long for any reinforcements to arrive. You'll have to take Glatisant on your own." Eagle Eye said.
"Looks like an ocean of bullets coming at us." Pixy said.
"Pixy, follow me. We'll take them from the top." Cipher said.
The Galm team flew over the area wall, and dive bombed the fortress. Other pilots joined as well, but several were killed by the Belkan defenders.
"I'm going down!"
"She's breaking up. Ejecting."
The pilots spread themselves out, taking any remnant Belkan positions out. It was a dangerous job, because the pilot had no-one to back him or her up.
"Stay alert, or you'll be shot full of holes." Pixy said.
"Thanks for the obvious." An Ustio pilot snarled.
"Cooperate with all areas and take out those planes." A Glatisant soldier said.
"Yo Buddy, sounds like they're getting desperate." Pixy said.
"You willing to risk your life on that?" Nikita asked.
"I'm just saying. We must be close." Pixy said.
"I won't let them pass Glatisant. Keep the allied forces out!" a Belkan said.
"40% of enemy forces is under our control. Follow the Galm team." An Osean pilot said.
"We got MiG 29s on an intercept course." Nikita said.
Nikita and Cipher moved against the enemy Fulcrums.
"Has the enemy gotten this far?" a Belkan pilot asked.
"No matter. We'll stop them right here." His wingman said.
"Yeah, after you're dead." Nikita spat, firing an air-to-air missile and downing an enemy plane. Little did Nikita know, that the next few weeks would prove his words to be prophetic.
"The area wall is destroyed! I repeat, the area wall is destroyed!" a Belkan said to his officer.
"Sector E has been stripped of all functions. Well done." Eagle Eye said.
"You bastards better have our pay ready for us. I've worked too hard to be under-paid." Pixy said.
"Don't worry, Pixy. We got the money in your account. Just come home safely." Eagle Eye said.
"Roger that." Pixy replied.
The operation was turning into the hands of the allies forces. Most of the Belkan troops were falling, and the Glatisant defense were crumbling under the onslaught of bombs and bullets.
"This is Area castle. All functions are down. Most of our troops have fallen."
"No more enemy attacks are coming from sector B. Well done. All planes, time to rock and roll. Take down Glatisant!" Eagle Eye said, encouraging the weary pilots.
"Tell the remaining forces to evacuate. We've lost this battle."
"Just a few more fortifications. We're almost done." Nikita muttered. He flew over a castle, which had 3 ramparts, armed to the teeth with anti-air guns.
Suddenly, his Fulcrum shook real hard, and a loud noise was heard.
"Damn it!" Nikita growled. He pitched away from the enemy fire, and looked at his controls.
"Nikita, you're trailing smoke from your left engine." PJ said.
"Thanks for the notice." Nikita said. He shut down the engine and diverted the remaining fuel to his right engine.
"Not like this. Not like this." He muttered. He turned on the enemy fortress, and dropped his remaining bombs on the ramparts.
"This is the springboard to nuclear fortress. We gotta sink that fortress." An Osean pilot said, firing rockets at the last bastion of Glatisant fortress.
The remaining fighters joined in, and destroyed the last of the Glatisant fortress.
"Glatisant's attack powers have been neutralized. All planes, return to base." Eagle Eye said.
As the remaining fighters headed back to base, Pixy noticed something.
"Did something just flash?" he wondered aloud.
Had the pilots looked on their radars, they would have noticed that the allied planes coming from the west were shot down, after the flash of light.
The mood was tense. They Ustio and Osean pilots had just survived the most lethal battle of the war, so far. No-one spoke or made light of the situation. Why jinx it?
Nikita looked at the controls of his fighter, and ran a diagnostic. His fuel levels were running on empty, and flying was rather hard, thanks to all the damage. He opened a pocket on his G-suit, and pulled out a picture of the Ustio general, Olivier Armstrong.
"Just a bit more, and I can see you again." Nikita said, then put the picture in his pocket.
"How, how is this possible?" a mechanic asked, seeing the surviving planes. They were shot up to hell and back. There was simply no way to repair them. They would have to get replace all the damaged fighters.
"Damn, can't believe we got through that." Nikita said, examining his MiG-29. Bullet holes were over the place. How he survived, let alone flew like that, was a miracle.
Nikita headed towards his quarters, and fell on his bed, exhausted. He had no idea that the war would get more brutal and darker.