Chp. 10: Sudden Impact
February 14, 2024
Above OFS James Wellington (CVN-34)
Stars filled the sky above, and out in the distance Eric could see what one might assume were more along the horizon. He knew better, and what they were had the tension in his body growing. They were the flicker of rocket motors from ship-launched RIM-174 Standards. He set his radar to its maximum range and selected his AMRAAMs. Mark swung parallel to him without a single word. The E-2 orbiting above the carrier confirmed what they were both thinking.
"All aircraft, all aircraft this is AWACS Cobalt, bandits bandits. Heading 315, 312 Miles out, Angels 23. Likely Verusean." The controller reported, clearly surprised as well. A familiar, more commanding voice took to the airwaves.
"All aircraft this is Thunderbolt 100, engage at will. I repeat, engage at will!" CAG boomed.
"Roger that CAG." Eric replied as he checked his cockpit's displays and screens.
Eric drew in a breath and, with orders to wash away his uncertainty, checked for anyone else near them. He caught a glimpse of another two jets leaping off the carrier, but they'd need to join up and catch up to him. The radar screen was still clear, but as they flew further and further out his RWR was picking up the signals from unfriendly radars as they searched for him. The radio was coming alive as more and more jets got airborne. It was almost chaotic as people tried to get others up to date as soon as possible without causing information overload. The entire air wing, or anyone whose plane could mix it up with enemy fighters, was getting launched.
"Cobalt, this is Shogun 2, requesting vector to nearest bandits." Eric radioed.
"Nearest bandits are at Heading 307, 298 Miles, Angels 23. Looks like Firebrands"
J-10 fighter jets, one of Verusa's newer weapons. Eric guessed they were probably C models.
"Roger that Cobalt, anyone else in that area?" He asked.
"Got Shogun 1-1 and 1-2 moving to intercept as well."
"Cobalt, requesting a SITREP; what are we facing?" CAG stressed again.
"Standby Thunderbolt Lead…" the E-2 insisted. There was an almost frustrating pause before the Hawkeye gave them a better idea about the threats.
"Okay Thunderbolt Lead, we're tracking about 24 larger targets with 36 smaller aircraft, likely escorts. Additional aircraft appear to be heading for Kotoko AFB. The Valliant, Bennet and Pioneer all report Vampires aloft and are engaging. Take the escorts and we'll sick Durango and Coliseum on em."
The balloon was up, and reaching for the moon this time. Eric adjusted the direction of his Thunderhawk to the aforementioned vector and sped up as he ascended to the Veruseans' altitude. He switched his APG-79 to track-while-scan. The pilot looked down at his fuel load and keyed his radio.
"Tex, don't drop your tanks until you've taken your first shots." He instructed.
"Roger that Saber." Mark replied. He probably already knows that you dumbass Eric's mind snorted to him.
"Shogun 2-1 this is Shogun 2-3, we're coming up on you from your eight low…we're gonna stay low and try and get the bandits that way. We'll take the second group." Vixen spoke up.
"Roger that 2-3…I see you guys at my eight low." Eric replied, pausing to look to his lower left.
He looked back as the range began to close. Four dots, then eight appeared on his radar. Shogun 1, consisting of Lieutenant Harold LeBlanc and Ensign Keith Ferris, were much closer to the bandits. It was two of them against maybe eight or more bandits. The two Osean jets sent off AMRAAM after AMRAAM until their loads were gone before breaking. The Veruseans fired back two fold; Eric could see the flashes of light from his position. Then, a larger one erupted without any buildup or warning.
"Shogun 1-2 is down…Shogun 1-2 is down." Blank reported in shock, words marred by the force of his maneuvers. Eric's eyes widened.
"Shogun 1-1 this is Shogun 2-3, heads up we're coming in from your nine. Break and head for us. Shogun 2-1, split and engage the guys on the right!" Vixen ordered, trying to ignore what'd just happened.
Eric head the mike clicks, his included, but his mind had shifted into tracking the incoming J-10s. He forced his mind to shift; Do your job! His conscious screamed at him. Unless you wanna end up like Dart! The inevitable desire to mourn the loss of the pilot surged up to try and take over again, only to be beaten down viciously by survival instincts. The warrior part of Eric was now in control. They were a little outside the fleet perimeter now, but the carrier's escorts were paying them little mind. Eric assumed the Ticos and Burkes were more concerned with whatever they were escorting towards the Wellington. He selected the lead two jets while Mark took the others and left the rest of the science to the computers in his plane. The Verusean bandits began to maneuver, breaking apart and heading separate ways in pairs.
"Take the trailers, 2-2!" Eric replied.
Eric broke right and Mark went left. He led the two bandits before he came back to put his nose on them as they split up. His radar kept both planes in the F-21's sights as they closed. Their maneuvering slowed them while he zoomed in to 100 Miles out. Eric pushed passed the AIM-120's outer range and chose the closer of the two Firebrands to close in on. Running on adrenaline and instinct, he depressed the weapons' release button atop his control stick.
"Shogun 208…Fox 3, Fox 3!" He called.
The pilot snapped towards the aircraft he'd close on and fired twice again. His right hand came off the throttles and he let his centerline tank fall away as he pushed on the lead J-10. He selected his Sidewinders while the first two AMRAAMs reached their top speed. The J-10 broke hard into Eric and released a stream of chaff behind it as it crossed his nose. Eric made a hard left and slowed to keep his nose on the other fighter. His plane buffeted against the air for a second before he hit the throttles again and kept closing. The shape of the enemy fighter began to morph from a small dot to a machine. The AMRAAMs had turned to keep on the Verusean, but they were outside the jet's turn. Eric had quietly given up on them, even if they were still tracking. The other J-10 was nowhere else to be found, which had the Osean on edge. He forced his attention to remain on the one he could see and continued to close the gap between the two of them. The J-10 nosed up and sprinted for the broken clouds high above with Eric on his tail. The Verusean then snapped left and pulled from its dive. Eric grunted as he did the same, easing back the throttle and moved to reorient his nose of the Firebrand. He reversed directions again when the J-10 did and used his throttles to come roaring out of the move.
Eric glanced around again for the other J-10 but still couldn't see it. He was beginning to wonder if the guy had cut and run. Somewhere in his mind, the Osean had the errant thought of "dude, are you gonna take a shot at me or not?". The thought never really got his attention as his mind was in the midst of rush hour. The J-10, surrounded by a TD Box on his HUD, was steadily being approached by the circle on the display. The J-10 slowed and Eric yanked his plane up to counter the move. He brought it through a very abrupt and hard high yo-yo and pushed into a loop, gaining what speed he could. The Verusean was still running, going into afterburner as it tried to ease out of what turned out to be a bad move. Eric was above the jet as it was running. When he got his nose point in the right direction, the much-awaited tone cried into his ears.
"Shogun 208, Fox 2." Eric reported.
Eric launched the single AIM-9 and descended to pursue the J-10 further. He started locking up the enemy jet for another missile shot, but by the time he was pursuing a lock-on, he caught a glimpse of the warhead detonation. The missile had gone straight and true, adjusting every second to keep its destination in sight. When it was close, it detonated and shotgunned hot shrapnel into the Verusean fighter. From the puff of fire and smoke sailed the J-10, minus its tail and chunks of its rear. Eric broke off pursuit as the enemy fighter began its descent towards the ocean. He searched again for the other fighter, but still saw nothing. His ears tuned back into the radio.
"Shogun 2-2, say position." He called.
"Shogun 2-2 engaged neutral…got another flight of bandits coming in." Mark replied.
"Roger that, on my way."
Eric turned towards where he'd last seen friendly pilots and hurried towards the first contact he saw. He was able to make out what he could guess was Mark's fight as he was tangling with a single J-10.
"Shogun 208 is entering the fight from the southeast, heads up!" He reported.
"Roger that 208; turn north and help us engage some of these bandits trying to get deeper into the perimeter." Vixen ordered.
"Understood 202." Eric replied.
He spotted two more contacts coming from the north and turned to engage them with Vixen and Seth at his right. He broke left as the newest flight of bandits, J-11D Flankers, entered the fight. Eric's RWR alerted him just before they fired off PL-12s at the Oseans. Eric broke into them and trailed chaff behind his jet.
"Saber, take the nearest bandit! Stickler, with me and get the one and two guy…Shogun 202, Fox 3 Fox 3." Vixen ordered.
"Roger that." Eric grunted.
He deployed more chaff as the two missiles coming at him adjusted course. He pushed more to the right, and then reversed hard to overwhelm the incoming missiles. The J-11 banked right once it was close, to which Eric reversed again and hit the throttles. He looked back and found the Flanker going high, sliding into his four high. The two jets crossed paths and then turned towards each other again. Eric exited the scissors in the second crossing and hit the gas while the Flanker was pointed the wrong way. By the time the Flanker was turning to chase him, Eric was far away. He came around to the right and put the bandit on his nose. The RWR alerted him, and he noted that there was another J-10 in the area looking for a fight. Eric broke right and dove, deploying more chaff and flares.
"Shogun 2-3, got another bandit coming in on my two. Turning to engage." Eric reported.
"I've got the Flanker, Shogun 2-1. Thunderbolt 1-1 is in hot." CAG spoke up. Eric just clicked his mike to acknowledge Captain O'Neil's words.
The J-10 latched its radar onto Eric and prompted the Osean to maneuver and break the lock. The two jets turned into each other and made a complete circle before Eric started trading energy for a better angle on the J-10. Reluctantly he decided to take an off-boresight shot at the bandit. Eric tilted his head up and let his HMD's wizardry do the rest. The J-10 broke left and accelerated with Eric's plane close behind. The Verusean tilted up and used what energy he had to force his opponent to the outside. Eric found the J-10 above him, and without the angle or needed energy to turn into him broke away and let the J-10 take the offensive. He looked back as the Firebrand snapped right and after him. Eric went left, speed increasing with every second, and found the J-10 was going for a lag pursuit. Eric's systems went into panic as the enemy jet loosed a single PL-9. Eric deployed flares and reversed hard right, going up and pulling as tight a turn as he could.
"Shogun 2-1, Ah'm coming in from below to try and box the guy in." Tex spoke up.
"Roger that…Shogun 2-2…thanks for the assist." Eric replied against the Gs piling on him.
The missile screamed by just outside the effective range of its warhead. Eric could feel the explosion reverberate through his plane as he turned to dive on the J-10 who'd fired at him. He spotted the jet ascending, nose still on the F-21. Eric braced again and yanked the nose of his fighter to meet the J-10's. He screamed at his missile to get a lock, then hit the button as tracers zipped from the Verusean jet's belly.
"Shogun 208, Fox 2!" Eric barked, more as an afterthought.
He dove to the left, and then turned back the other way to relocate his enemy. The Firebrand was banking away from him, looking to extend. Eric pulled back on the stick and swung the Thunderhawk into a better pursuit position. To his left, Mark's own plane slid into a loose trail position. The two rose up and after the enemy fighter as it rocketed onwards. The Verusean was coming back around towards the fleet perimeter, which told them both he still wanted to fight. Eric looked around to see if he was setting a trap, but couldn't see any other aircraft near them that were unengaged. He closed the distance on the J-10 as it dove back down, going low for the water. The J-10 went right, and so did they. It bolted back to the left, and the two F-21s, still far enough away, negated the move.
"Got another bandit coming in from our nine o' clock high. Ah'm on him." Mark radioed.
Eric stayed on the J-10 while Mark broke from the formation to face a J-11 that had gained interest in the two Oseans. The J-10 dove again to Eric's mild confusion, but he followed nonetheless. As they came down, Eric pulled lead on the bandit until he had a tone.
"Shogun 208, Fox 2." He reported.
Eric eased back the throttles to cool his descent and dropped out of the chase, now taking an overwatch position of sorts as he checked on the missile. The Verusean, whatever he'd been trying to do by going low, had now pinned himself against the water below. Eric saw the flash of an explosion reflect on the side of his canopy. That made two, maybe three bandits down by his hand. In the meantime Mark had nearly gone head-to-head with the Flanker that'd tried to pounce on them, and found himself tangling with two bandits. A second Flanker had been staying low with the first playing bait. Mark's gaze, or rather his glare, switched between each plane every few seconds as he was trying to turn the second bandit's attempted ambush around.
"Saber, got two bandits now. Think y'all can help me here?" He grunted.
"Coming in." Eric replied.
As Mark rolled through the top of a U-turn, Eric's Thunderhawk streaked by towards the other bandit. Mark dove on the other Flanker as it was rising; he felt like he was in a freefall as he tried to bring the nose up. He tilted the plane left and hit the brakes as hard as he could. The F-21 slowly eased from its death dive as the Flanker was circling around. The second he had lock, he let loose two Sidewinders.
"Shogun 205, Fox 2 Fox 2." Mark groaned.
He tightened his muscles harder and harder until he felt the pressure melting away. The two AIM-9s pushed on at max speed towards the J-11 as it broke and deploy flares. The one on the left fell for the trick as the enemy aircraft eased out of its sight, but the one on the right struck the enemy plane dead center, almost as if it were a fish being speared.
"Saber, where's that other bandit?" Mark asked as he lifted his Thunderhawk back into the sky.
"He cut and ran." Eric replied quickly.
The two jets eased back into a pair and circled once, searching for any sign of other bandits. Eric gave the radio more attention now so he could piece together what'd happened. Nearby, he caught the unsettling sight of a ship ablaze, and at the edge of his vision he could see a thick stack of smoke, much too big for a downed jet. A glance at his fuel gauge told him that he wouldn't be able to do much for now, though.
"Tex, what's your fuel status?" He radioed.
"Not as good as Ah want it." Mark replied.
"Roger…Shogun 2-1 is Bingo Fuel. Shogun Lead we're heading back to the boat." Eric radioed with a heavy breath.
"Shogun 2-2 is also Bingo." Mark added.
"Roger that boys…good job." McGavin spoke up. Eric broke towards home with his wingman close behind…
CAG O'Neil watched as the superstructure of the OFS Jack T. Bennet (DDG-221) began to list as she was almost completely on her side. A long battle with the effects of two C-803 anti-ship missiles had finally been lost. Further back, her sister ship OFS Pioneer (DDG-119) was still afloat but now bore large black stains and scratches on her starboard site. Well Dixie, you certainly did better than the last time Osea fought a battle against an air raid He thought. His face flared in anger at thoughts of yesteryear and Eglin Straits. Dammit, couldn't they hit a serious threat first for once before it hit them? The world wasn't covered with Kedhans and Shamlaks. The MH-60 he was aboard flared and came around right towards another group of sailors floating on the open sea, awaiting rescue. CAG held on tight, almost distracted by his own thoughts. He shook his face to do away with the fatigue he was feeling.
The helicopter's diver leapt out into the ocean a handful of feet below and the Knighthawk's crew chief lowered the basket behind him. CAG moved back out of the way to make room for those coming aboard from the frigid ocean. He'd come along to think, and because he needed a break from the surge in work. Still, he couldn't help but need to analyze all that'd happened. What exactly had happened and how to proceed and change from here? That's what everyone was trying to figure out, in fact. Back on the carrier, everyone was awake and at their stations. After several hours of standing alert in anticipation of a second wave of attacks, things were returned to relative normal. Until they got a good idea of what had happened and what was going to happen from now on, the remaining pilots of VF-138 were all gathered in the ready room. Eric was well into a turkey sandwich as the gun camera footage from the fight was brought to the front of the room.
His mind had been replaying the fights over and over in his head, scrutinizing every part of them. He glanced at Mark, who was describing one of his kills to Wall. From what Eric gathered, he'd done his job to the best of his abilities. Despite the fact that he hadn't even taken any shots at the bomber force. It made things feel even stranger to him. He looked back up at Mark's description of his fight. Behind them, Vixen stopped and listened a few minutes before she cleared her throat.
"Hey, did your guys' JHMCS's work okay?" She asked.
"Yeah mine worked fine, though I didn't really employ it for off boresight shots like I mentioned earlier." Eric spoke up after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich.
"Story was about the same for me. Something happen, XO?" Mark chimed in.
"Mine was having issues, same with Stickler's and Fast Eddie's. Systems wants to get an idea of how widespread the issue is." She explained with a quick scowl.
"Yeah mine functioned perfectly when I used it." Wall assured. Vixen nodded and moved on, leaving the others to exchange looks.
"Saber before I forget, I wanna have a quick meeting in the department to see where we stand on weapons and see if we need to change up anything. We'll do a quick-and-dirty, though. When we get a better picture we can clean things up." Wall noted quickly.
"Yes sir." Eric nodded.
The conversations where brought to a halt as the door at the back of the ready room opened and their CO came walking in. McGavin held up a hand for Vixen to skip the formalities as he walked in, still dressed in his flightsuit. He looked through the tapes that'd been piled up on the desk, and then looked towards those who'd made it back. Dart had been the only squadron casualty. Wall and Blank had been shot down, but both had ejected and had spent a few hours in sick bay before returning to the unit. The man seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as they all sat there.
"I just got out of a meeting with CAG and it seems we have a bigger picture of what's going on. According to the reports we've received, we were attack by three squadrons of H-6 bombers with escort. It was part of a larger series of attacks that've been launched against both the Shimoji Islands and Songola." He stated. The man held up a hand as the room began to stir.
"For now the admiral has ordered the battlegroup to a heightened state of alert, but we're taking no offensive actions until we receive orders to do so. Both the BARCAP and the Alert Five are to be doubled, and as soon as we have an idea of what's going to happen the department heads and I will be having a meeting. Otherwise we follow the same schedule we always have. That's about all I know about the" He went on. The man drew in a reluctant breath; the exhaustion on his face was mirrored by those he commanded.
"Of immediate concern is the service for Dart. Due to the overall situation, we currently have no set date for said event. However, tomorrow we're going to gather for breakfast and give one final toast to our fellow Ronin. We'll also be taking up a collection for the family to cover funeral expenses." He announced.
There was little protest from the rest of the squadron given the reason for the delay. When things were made clear to them, their minds calmed and switched gears. They were no longer confused, and now they could start forming their own pieces of the response to what'd happened. Osea was once again at war, and VF-138 was going to be in the thick of it.