Chapter 10: Final Deployment in the North Korean War

Part 1: Devastation

18, June 2018

Location: Central North Korea

The Shadow pilots were deployed at the Forward Operations Base (FOB) for this deployment.

Their first mission was to intercept a group of TU-160 Blackjack and TU-95 Bear bombers that were carrying nuclear weapons. These bombers were possibly intending to attack American cities, such as San Diego and even Heatherfield!

The F/A-18Fs took off and rushed to intercept them.

"Tally Ho, first bomber group!" Robert said as he armed his plane's weapons. The team went into combat spread formation to give the bombers no room to evade their attacks.

"All units engage at your own discretion!" Robert said as he got ready to fire an AIM-120D AMRAAM missile.

"Shadow 1, fox three!" he called out as the missile streaked away at one of the bombers.

"Shadow 2, fox three!" Kim called out as she fired her missile.

"Shadow 3, fox three!" Will called out as she fired her missile.

"Shadow 4, fox three!" Hay Lin called out as she fired her missile.

"Shadow 5, fox three!" Crystal called out as she fired an AMRAAM.

"Shadow 6, fox three!" Liz called out as she fired an AMRAAM.

"Shadow 7, fox three!" Caleb called out as he fired his missile.

"Shadow 8, fox three!" Brick called out as he fired an AMRAAM. All eight missiles hit their targets, which burst into flames.

"Shadow 1, splash one!" Robert called out as he confirmed his kill.

"Shadow 2, splash one!" Kim called out as she watched her missile hit.

"Shadow 3, splash one!" Will called out as she watched the impact of her missile.

"Shadow 4, splash one!" Hay Lin called out as she watched the bomber that she hit go down.

"Shadow 5, splash one!" Crystal called out as she watched the bomber go down in flames.

"Shadow 6, splash one!" Liz called out as she confirmed her kill.

"Shadow 7, splash one!" Caleb called out as he watched the stricken bomber explode.

"Shadow 8, splash one!" Brick called out as he confirmed his kill.

Eventually, the team got closer to the remaining bombers. Robert noticed that there were many escort fighters. Robert and Kim split off to distract the enemy fighters while the rest engaged the remaining bombers.

Robert switched to his AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles as the he approached the enemy fighters. Robert uncaged the seeker heads as he heard the distinct growling tone in his headphones.

Robert acted on instinct once the growling changed to a higher-pitched tone.

"Shadow 1, fox two!" he called out as the Sidewinder rolled off of the starboard wingtip. Robert then switched to his next target and locked on.

"Shadow 1, fox two!" he called out as he let off another Sidewinder.

Just then, one of the Super Flankers fired an R-73 Archer missile! "Shadow 1, missile, break!" Taranee called out as Robert jinked and released a burst of decoy flares.

By the time that Robert dodged the Archer, the two missiles he fired hit their targets.

"Shadow 1, splash one!" Robert called out before carrying out a Split-S to get behind the remaining Super Flanker.

"Shadow 1, fox two!" Robert called out as he fired another Sidewinder, which flew to a lethal kill.

"Shadow 1, splash one!" Robert called out.

Meanwhile, the others were targeting the remaining bombers, "Shadow 3, fox two!" Will called out as she fired a Sidewinder at a Tu-160 bomber.

The missile struck the fuselage, splitting it in two. "Shadow 3, splash one!" Will called out as she confirmed her kill. Hay Lin lined up behind another Tu-160 for a gun kill. She fired a second-long burst, which set the bomber on fire.

"Shadow 4, splash two!" she called out as she confirmed her kill. Robert turned around and locked onto a Tu-160 bomber.

"Shadow 1, fox three!" he called out as he fired the missile.

"Shadow 7, fox three!" Caleb called out as he fired an AMRAAM.

"Shadow 2, fox three!" Kim called out as she fired.

"Shadow 3, fox three!" Will called out as one of her AMRAAMs flew off towards its target.

A minute later, the missiles hit the bombers, destroying them. "Shadow 1, splash one!" Robert called out as his missile hit.

"Shadow 3, splash one!" Will called out as her target was destroyed.

"Shadow 2, splash one!" Kim called out as her target was destroyed.

"Shadow 7, splash one!" Caleb said as his missile took his target out.

"All enemy bombers have been shot down, nice job!" AWACS said.

Suddenly, a bright flash appeared from the west, behind the squadron, that lasted for two seconds. "What was that?" Irma asked.

"I may have an idea what it is, but I'm hoping that I'm wrong!" Ron said as they flew on.

Just then, a missile-like object came from out of nowhere, falling toward the ground.

Seconds later, another, much brighter flash appeared accompanied by a loud roar that echoed throughout the area. The pilots covered their eyes just before the flash as a precaution, which turned out to be a life-saving move.

The pilots uncovered their eyes ten seconds later and were horrified by what they saw: a mushroom cloud was billowing to the west of their position!

This meant only one thing: the enemy has detonated at least two nuclear weapons in the area!! "How...how could have this have happened?!" Will asked as they saw the nuclear mushroom grow.

Suddenly, their planes shook as the shock wave hit them. "Dammit! The HUD's busted!" Robert said as he saw that his plane's HUD was not working.

"We have confirmed that two nuclear weapons have been set off in this area! All units return to base!" AWACS ordered.

The planes returned to the base, where tests indicated that they were not contaminated by the radioactive fallout from the blasts, which were caused by ballistic missiles launched by an enemy submarine.

Part 2: Revenge

21, June 2018

Location: Yellow Sea(western shore)

There were two enemy missile submarines in the area, including the one that launched yesterday's nuclear attack.

The Shadow team was sent to take them out while they were surfaced to take on supplies from a pair of supply ships. They took off from the base and flew towards the ships' location.

They flew in low in order to avoid detection by radar. "I have lock-on!" Robert said as his weapons systems locked on to one of the subs.

"Shadow 1, firing!" he called out as he fired one of his six Harpoon anti-ship missiles at the enemy ship. The missile hit its mark, causing significant damage.

Robert then turned around, dodging anti-aircraft gunfire as he locked onto the other sub. "Shadow 1, firing!" Robert called out as he fired another missile at the enemy submarine.

The missile hit, causing major damage and crippling the enemy submarine. The enemy submarines eventually began to sink after being rocked by secondary explosions.

The other planes circled around and locked onto the supply ships. "Shadow 7, firing!" Caleb called out as he fired a Harpoon at a supply ship.

The ship was obliterated the instant the missile hit. "Shadow 3, firing!" Will called out as she fired her missile. The missile hit the ship, penetrating the decks before detonating deep inside.

After confirming the kills, the team got bad news from AWACS: Another submarine has launched four nuclear missiles right at their location!

The ABL plane Protector was dispatched to the scene to intercept the missiles, but the Shadow team was ordered to evacuate to the west as a precaution.

Meanwhile, Protector fired its laser at the group of four missiles, destroying three of them in one burst. "We've destroyed three of the missiles, but the fourth one is getting close!" Protector's pilot reported.

"Hurry up and take that missile out! We can't risk losing any of the Shadow pilots here!" AWACS ordered. After a thirty-second recharge, Protector was able to fire the laser again.

"Countdown to firing: five...four...three...two...one...FIRING!" Protector's weapons systems operator said as the laser fired again, hitting the fourth missile, which spiraled out of control until it exploded in mid-air.

"All missiles have been destroyed! We did it!" Protector's pilot said as it left the airspace.

"Good work, Protector! Mission accomplished! All aircraft return to base!" AWACS ordered. The Shadow team returned to the FOB.

Intel reports indicate that the enemy is weakening, due to continued destruction of key military elements such as airfields and docking basins.

The enemy may finally surrender within the next few months. As of the night of the 21st, the entire ballistic missile submarine fleet is no longer able to pose a threat to allied forces.

The North Korean Air Force is especially weak, with a grand total of only 60 aircraft! The North Korean Navy has no more warships and the North Korean Army has only 5 battalions of armored vehicles and only 300 troops, and all vehicle/weapon factories have been destroyed!

This war is as good as over, and the odds are in America's favor!

It has been confirmed that the North Korean government was not responsible for starting the war, but the North Korean military's highest ranking officers are, and their actions up to now and any future actions will be condemned by both the North Korean and American governments.

The U.S. president has promised to provide relief in any way to North Korea's citizens once the war is over.

Part 3: Valley Blitz

19 August, 2018

Location: valleys 30 miles northwest of Kuwol-san

American ground forces are making a final push towards the North Korean capital. Today, they will capture an enemy airfield in the southern part of the valley, while B-1B and B-52 bombers destroy the enemy's field headquarters in the central part of the valley.

The Shadow team was ordered to provide air support for the mission.

The team will split into two groups: Group Alpha(Shadow 1, 2, 3 and 4) will support the airfield capture team while Group Bravo(Shadow 5, 6, 7 and 8) will help Air force fighters escort the bombers.

This mission will be known as "Operation Valley Blitz". The Katana tank team was part of the ground forces involved in this operation.

The F-18's took off and flew to their designated areas. "Katana, we have multiple enemy tanks approaching your position, use caution!" J-STARS ordered.

"Roger that, we'll be careful!" Katana 1's commander replied. "Multiple tanks confirmed, you're cleared to engage, Alpha Group!" J-STARS said.

"Roger, engaging enemy tanks!" Robert replied as the four F-18's then began engaging the group of five enemy T-72 tanks.

"I've got tone!" Robert said as he targeted an enemy T-72 tank. "Shadow 1, rifle!" he called out as he fired an AGM-65F Maverick air-to-surface missile. The missile blew the tank to pieces.

Crystal locked onto another enemy tank. "Shadow 5, rifle!" she called out as she fired. The tank was destroyed, but there were still others. Shadow 3 and Shadow 6 targeted the last three T-72 tanks.

"Shadow 3, rifle!" Will said as she fired two Mavericks at a pair of tanks. The tanks were eliminated, as was the one that Shadow 6 targeted.

Suddenly, Robert's radar-warning-receiver went off, indicating that he was being tracked. Robert checked the radar, but found nothing.

He checked the RWR, which indicated that it was an SA-7 Grail, which was a shoulder-launched weapon. "All Shadows, mud 7 my three o'clock!" Robert said to his wingmen.

Suddenly, the missile launch warning sounded, indicating that Robert now had a missile headed for his aircraft. Crystal saw the missile come up.

"Shadow 1, SAM launch, 4 o'clock, break right!" she called out to him. "Shadow 1 tallies Shadow 5." Robert said as he broke hard into the missile while releasing decoy flares.

The missile lost its track on Robert's plane. "Shadow 1, missile evaded." Robert called out as he continued the fight.

After a few minutes, the teams reached the airfield. The Shadow planes took pre-emptive action against the airfield's defenses while the allied tanks moved in for the capture.

A group of six Su-35 Super Flanker jets took off from the airfield's runway and the battle was on!

Robert splashed three of them and destroyed a seventh plane on the runway, blocking it.

Suddenly, Robert received an urgent message from Shadow 4! "Shadow 1, they're on our six! We need help!" Taranee said as Hay Lin tried to shake them off.

Robert looked around and saw that the three remaining Flankers were on Shadow 4's tail!

"Hang on! We're on our way!" Robert told Taranee as he turned to engage the bandits. Robert closed in at full speed and switched to his Sidewinders.

"Shadow 1, fox two!" he called out as he fired his missile. The missile went up the left tailpipe of the Super Flanker.

"Shadow 1, splash one!" Robert said as he tracked his kill. "Shadow 1, fox two!" he called out as he fired another missile at the other bandit.

Robert then switched to his aircraft's M61 cannon and lined up to fire.

Suddenly, one of the enemy planes fired an R-73 Archer heat-seeking missile at Shadow 4, just as Robert was taking the shot at the Super Flanker!

"SHADOW 4! MISSILE, BREAK RIGHT!" Irma yelled as she saw the missile launch. Robert fired a burst at the Super Flanker and hit it, but it was too late.

"Shadow 1, splash two!" Robert called out as he watched the Super Flanker go down.

The missile struck Shadow 4's engine tailpipes and exploded, causing the damaged plane to nose-dive towards the earth!

"HURRICANE, FIREBALL, PUNCH OUT!!!!" Robert yelled as he saw the plane going down.

Both he and Irma breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Hay Lin and Taranee eject safely from their doomed plane.

Shadow 3 then flew by and saw the parachutes deploy as they normally would. "Shadow 4 is down, I say again, Shadow 4 is down!" Will said as she saw the burning plane hit the ground.

"Roger, Shadow 3, CSAR helo is en-route now!" AWACS reported.

"Jack-knife, Katana 1, we've successfully captured the airfield!" Katana 1's tank commander said.

"Roger, Katana 1, be advised, friendly pilots have gone down and CSAR helicopter is en-route for extraction." J-STARS replied.

"Roger, we'll be ready to help them out." The tank commander replied.

Meanwhile, the bombers have succeeded in destroying the enemy's field HQ, and are returning to base. Bravo Group, their mission completed, joined up with Alpha Group, and the mission overall was considered a success after Taranee and Hay Lin were rescued.

The airfield became the Shadow squad's new base of operations, and was where they landed after the mission. Taranee and Hay Lin were brought to the infirmary due to minor injuries that they sustained when they punched out.

They spent the night there and were told that they will fly again starting the next day. They also received Purple Heart medals for their injuries.

Part 4: Final Recon Mission

22 August, 2018

Location: Western North Korea

Intel has confirmed the location of the enemy's final stronghold. It is the location where the ones responsible for the war are located, and its destruction literally will end the war.

One of the Shadow team's pilots has been given the task of flying a reconnaissance mission over the facility to obtain pictures of the base's defense network.

Because most of the defenses are anti-air, only one aircraft will be going on this mission. The mission was to take place at night for stealth reasons.

"Well, this is it." Caleb said to Cornelia as they got into their flight suits.

"I know! After we blow that base, the war's over!" Cornelia replied as she adjusted her G-suit.

After suiting up, the two went up to the flightline where their aircraft was already prepped and ready to go.

They got on board, started the engines, and taxied to the runway. "Here we go!" Caleb said as he lit the F-18's afterburners, sending the aircraft roaring down the runway.

After fifteen seconds, they were airborne. Shadow 7 began following the pre-programmed course to the recon target. "Fly below 400 feet to avoid the radar and photograph the target.

Once you complete your run, head back to base for your debriefing. This ends all radio communications for now, begin radio silence, that is all!" AWACS ordered.

"Wilco!" Caleb said as he descended to 350 feet and he and Cornelia turned off the radio to begin the radio silence.

Seconds seemed like hours as the two brave pilots got closer to the stronghold.

Upon reaching the last waypoint before the target, Cornelia activated the plane's IDEM digital recon camera.

Caleb went into full afterburner as they began their run. "Camera's rolling...now!" Cornelia said as she pressed the record button.

The images of the base then began to show up on her central display screen. "We are rolling digital!" Cornelia said as they flew over the base.

"Smile, guys! You are on TV!" Caleb joked as they ended their photo run.

Cornelia shut off the camera, and they headed on their way to the base. Caleb and Cornelia then turned their radios back on as instructed.

"Cancel radio silence, you did well out there!" AWACS said after the run was completed.

"Roger that, we're coming home!" Caleb said as they left the mission area.

A few minutes later, they heard a noise that they wished they would never hear: the low fuel alert!

"DAMMIT!" Caleb said as he shut off the burners and made his way to the approach corridor.

"How could this be!? We weren't flying THAT long!" Cornelia said as the alert continued to sound.

"We must have had a fuel leak!" Caleb replied as they flew on.

A few minutes later, Caleb lined the plane up for the approach, lowered the plane's landing gear and flaps.

Suddenly, the engines flamed out, indicating that Shadow 7 was out of fuel! "Mayday, mayday, mayday, Shadow 7 to Tower, I've lost both engines due to fuel starvation!"

"Roger, Shadow 7, we're deploying the emergency wires now!" the ATC responded.

Caleb lowered the tail hook, but it was too late; the plane was slightly too low and was losing speed and lift!

"ALL CREWS BE ADVISED, WE HAVE AN AIRCRAFT COMING IN DEAD-STICK!" came the announcement over the base's PA.

"Brace yourself; it's out of my hands!" Caleb said as the plane came closer to the ground.

"SHADOW 7, EJECT!" the ATC said as the plane got past the ILS marker.

Just then, the plane hit the runway hard, catching fire and skidding down the tarmac as the landing gear collapsed.

The burning plane slowly came to a stop, and the fire crews were sent out. "EARTHQUAKE, EJECT, EJECT, EJECT!" Caleb yelled as Cornelia pulled her ejection handle.

The flightline lit up as the canopy blew and Irma's ejection seat shot her out of the fiery wreck.

Caleb ejected a split second later and both seats landed on the ground near the runway, allowing the undamaged recon photo hard drives to be salvaged.

Caleb and Cornelia each received a Purple Heart medal because they were slightly injured in the crash. The recon mission was still considered a success because the pictures they took still made it into the hands of the intel lab personnel.

An investigation revealed that Shadow 7 did have a fuel leak that was caused by a broken fuel line. Caleb and Cornelia received a spare plane to use in the next mission, which will be the war's last.

Part 5: The Final Battle

26 August, 2018

Location: Western North Korea, near Pyongyang

The final mission is on, and the Shadow squadron is leading the fight! The Eagle and Tophatter squadrons will also be in this mission.

The enemy anti-air defenses have already been destroyed by E/A-18G Growler defense suppression aircraft.

The Shadow team will destroy the facility itself while the other two teams provide air cover. "This is it, our final mission!" Robert said to Irma as the pilots walked to their planes.

Robert started the plane's engines and taxied to the runway. He then lowered the flaps to takeoff position.

"Shadow 1, cleared for takeoff!" the ATC said. "Here we go!" Robert said as he throttled up to full afterburner.

Twenty seconds later, Robert and Irma's plane began to climb into the sky.

After ten minutes, all fourteen F/A-18s were airborne and en-route to the mission zone.

As they got close, the pilots armed their planes' weapons and they went into combat spread formation.

The Tophatters and Eagle squads split off and climbed to 20,000 feet, while the Shadow team descended to 10,000 feet and prepared to attack.

"This is it, all planes, split and engage!" Robert ordered as the Shadow planes split off to carry out their attacks.

"Shadow 1, two away!" Robert said as he dropped a pair of bombs on a pair of barracks buildings, kicking off the attack.

"Shadow 3, one away!" Will said as she dropped a cluster bomb on the base's fuel bunkers. The bunkers exploded in a huge fireball.

Hay Lin lined up on the last plane that was on the base's small airstrip runway.

"Shadow 4, one away!" she said as she dropped her bomb. The bomb hit the Super Flanker just as it was applying full power, blocking the runway. Liz lined up on the base's vehicle hangars.

"Shadow 6, one away!" she called out as she dropped a bomb on one of the hangars. Robert lined himself up on a line of Mi-24 Hinds on the flightline. Robert began to level off before strafing the Hinds.

Robert then leveled off and headed out to prepare for his next attack.

"Shadow 8, one away!" Brick called out as he dropped a bomb on another hangar.

"Shadow 5, one away!" Crystal called out as she dropped a laser-guided bomb on the base's control tower.

"Shadow 2, one away!" Kim called out as she dropped a bomb on yet another ammo dump.

"Shadow 7, one away!" Caleb called out as he dropped a bomb on a barracks building. Robert lined up for the attack on the last remaining facility.

"Shadow 1, one away!" he called out as he ended it by dropping his last bomb on the command center.

The F/A-18s then went back into formation. "All facilities have been destroyed, we did it!" J-STARS said.

All of the pilots cheered loudly for a minute before beginning their return to the base.

"Well, that's it! The war's finally over!" Irma said as they left the area.

"Yep, now we can go home!" Robert replied.

"Shadow Flight, I just wanted to say that you have proven yourselves as true war heroes and excellent pilots! You have managed to bring this war to an end and brought peace back to North Korea. We knew that you could do it!" AWACS said.

With that, the Shadow planes landed at the base.

After landing, Robert and Irma received a warm welcome on the flightline when they opened the canopy.

After a brief celebration, the Shadows were transferred back to the USS Gerald R. Ford.

The pilots all continued their celebration in the pilots' lounge as the Gerald R. Ford's fleet began to make its way home to Heatherfield.

Robert and Irma began planning a major celebration that would take place at Irma's house on her 25th birthday.

Little did Irma know that Robert has a major birthday surprise in mind that will change Irma's life forever.