A/N Dramatic insight last chapter to whom I wonder? Hehe, the plot thickens and I wonder how Talisman is associated with all of it hm? The chapter after this will reveal all
Chapter 11 - Heavy Command Cruiser
The Dead Sea
Various smoke clouds and the echoes of deafening jet engines roared overhead as Melissa and Ludmila made their way through golden waves of grain near the city of San Loma under a furious air battle raging in the sky above. They had been saved when allied fighters arrived and shot down the Strike Flanker pursuing them.
Granted they had been almost killed by the plane crashing close to them, but they had made it out alive. Regretfully however, their car came to a stop with a putter when stray bullets hit the engine compartment and made it burst into flames.
'Our car has died directly under an aerial battle. The engine managed to get us this far, but it's been destroyed by machine-gun fire.
Ludmila ran to an unconscious Estovakian pilot that had crashed just a few moments before and pulled him out of the wreckage with Melissa's help, then she tried to resuscitate him by pressing down repeatedly on his lower chest with both her hands.
'This pilot is from Ludmila's homeland. She asks the crashed pilot about a name, asking if he has any information, but the pilot takes a turn for the worse. Just before all this, he seemed to be mumbling a name. "Garuda, He's the one that shot me down."'
Ludmila stopped pressing down on his chest when his skin turned cold and he passed away, Melissa feeling sorry for him before she looked up into the darkening sky above to see two F-15E Strike Eagles dancing gracefully through the ranks of Estovakian fighters in the air, effortlessly taking them down easily. She caught a glimpse of the squadron emblem on their tail wings and understood that they must be Garuda, the ones who shot him down.
"If only he was here! If he were here, this never would've happened!" said Ludmila through tears for her fallen countryman, Melissa knowing the exact same feeling.
'I know exactly what she's going through, why she is overcome with such emotion.'
She walked over to Ludmila and got down on her knees beside her and embraced her, Ludmila taking the hug and trying to calm herself down.
'My husband could have very well ended up like this. And now I know...the one she loves is a pilot as well. As we both embraced each other underneath those war-filled skies, we both begin to realize what we share, how much we have in common.'
- Cavallia Air Force Base, San Loma -
- February 20th, 2016 1100 hrs -
"This is an order of deployment. We've obtained a portion of classified intelligence concerning the enemy's secret weapon, a Heavy Command Cruiser, from an anonymous source. The Heavy Command Cruiser's official name has been identified as P-1112 Aigaion."
Several blueprints of the cruiser's guards and the main ship itself appeared on the projector screen, the pilots assembled analyzing them closely.
"The fleet consists of the flagship and four others, two electronic warfare ships designated as the P-113 Kottos, and two close-range air defence platforms designated P-1114 Gyges. Aigaion, the flagship, takes care of all cruise missile related duties. After acquiring this intelligence we were able to draw up an operation to destroy the Aigaion. Listen closely."
The briefer brought up a close up of the Aigaion and pointed to the front section of the mantaray like ship.
"Fuel is added to the Aigaion through various openings located in the front. Multiple tankers must make their way to the front of the Aigaion for refueling purposes. Once the tankers are positioned in the front of the aircraft to refuel it, the Aigaion's radar signals are temporarily weakened. This is where it gets important."
After the briefer said this, Talisman narrowed his eyes for a second in confusion.
"Wait, the Demon Lord said that we wouldn't have to worry about the cruise missiles after today...did he do something to the Aigaion?"
"While the Aigaion is being refueled, its radar is almost completely unable to detect any type of movement in front of the craft. If you can stay on course and maintain a certain altitude, you can approach the Aigaion from the air without being noticed by enemy forces. So our best chance of taking that monster out is during its midair fuel up. The Aigaion's flight schedule is also included in this piece of intelligence. We'll go over the flight route after our meeting in the hangar. Get prepared at once."
The briefer turned off the projector and the pilots filed out the room, Liz, Marcus and Talisman staying in their own group on their way to their fighters.
"What's on your mind Talisman?" asked Liz as they approached their fighters.
"It's just about what the Demon Lord, I mean Cipher, said about today. He said we wouldn't have to worry about any more cruise missiles after today. What could he have done, now that we know the Aigaion has been the source of them all along?" said Talisman.
"Hm, I guess we'll find out when we get there." said Marcus when they reached their fighters and put on their flight helmets.
They taxied out onto the runway after powering up their fighters and took off soon after, Windhover and Avalanche behind them, then the rest of their force that would attack the Aigaion with them. Little did they know they would have a surprise waiting for them.
- Glava Islands, Fuscum Sea -
- 28'05'00"N 81'06'00"E -
- February 20th, 2016 1226 hrs -
Talisman lead their forces as they approached the Glava Islands, the place where the Aigaion and her fleet were stationed for refueling.
"Hey, what is that?" asked Windhover when he saw plumes of smoke up ahead where they were supposed to meet the Aigaion.
"Receiving distress signal from the...what the?" said Ghost Eye in confusion.
"What is it AWACS?" asked Liz.
"I've received a distress signal from the Aigaion. I'm putting it through."
Their radios crackled and an Estovakian's voice spoke, obviously panicked but kept under control, began to relay a message.
"To all Emmerian fighters in the area, this is the captain of the P-1112 Aigaion Heavy Command Cruiser. We have staged a coup aboard the ship and have taken control of the aircraft from the former captain. We commenced refueling operations an hour earlier, but a spy in our crew informed the captains of our escorts and they began to attack us. We've managed to hold them off but we aren't capable of defending ourselves against a large aerial force. They've sent multiple squadrons after us, including the Strigon Flight and have the Gyges aircraft attacking us while the Kottos aircraft jam our radars and long range radios. Please, help us!"
"What the?! A coup? I don't believe it for a second!" exclaimed Avalanche, but Talisman quieted him when a new voice began to talk.
"This is Galm 1, Cipher. The captain's words are true, we did stage a coup. Please help us. Talisman knows what I mean."
"Alek?! Come on!" said Liz as she sped ahead of all of them, Ghost Eye yelling at her to get back in formation.
"We've got to help them, Ghost Eye, I'm telling you, it's the truth!" said Talisman before he sped after her, Marcus thinking for a moment before shrugging and going after him.
"Fine. All forces, we have a change of mission. Protect the Aigaion Heavy Command Cruiser from enemy Estovakian forces!" ordered Ghost Eye, his orders enough to convince the rest of the Emmerian pilots to join Talisman, Marcus and Liz in their charge to rescue the Aigaion.
When they emerged out from a large cloud, they saw the Aigaion trailing smoke and under fire from the Gyges gun platforms and Estovakian fighters swarming around it, Talisman spotting Strigon fighters caught in the mix.
"There they are!" yelled Liz when she spotted Nicolai and Cipher defending the Aigaion.
"Wow, he was telling the truth!" said Avalanche.
"Let's give 'em a hand!" said Talisman as they dove right into the middle of the conflict.
"I've marked out friendly Estovakian forces on your HUDs and radars, be sure not to shoot any of them down." informed Ghost Eye as Cipher, Nicolai, and a couple friendly Estovakian fighters turned blue to symbolize them as allies.
"Emmerian forces have arrived! It's time to rock and roll, destroy all enemy forces attacking the Aigaion!" ordered Eagle Eye, Cipher's AWACS.
"AWACS Eagle Eye, I believe your aircraft possesses exceptional ECM and ESM abilities, correct?" questioned Ghost Eye.
"I've already activated Electronic Support Measures for all allied aircraft and have begun jamming enemy radars."
"Roger."
"So, you came. Let's see again how you fight Talisman." said Cipher as they joined up with them when they shot down a couple of Flankers.
Cipher's gaze drifted over to the black Terminator flying with them and grinned a little.
"Liz, is that you?"
"What? Ahem, uh no...this is Mephisto."
"Right."
"Dammit, you are good at recognizing people by their fighters. I can explain later, we're in the middle of a good fight!"
"I thought you said you wouldn't fly?"
"I know you guys are married and all that, but save that for the ground! Sheesh!" said Talisman with a smirk.
They resumed their attack on enemy Estovakian forces, the Aigaion having a chance to recover and get away from the fight when the forces assaulting it having been pushed back.
"Swat down those annoying Emmerian pests!" shouted the captain of one of the Gyges aircraft.
"Eliminate the Kottos aircraft first to clear up radar, then take out the Gyges gun platforms next!"
Talisman and Marcus went after one of the Kottos aircraft and two were able to eliminate the jammer antennae on the craft's "tail" and the central core on top of it near the cockpit.
They went after the engines next, firing XLAA missiles right at them from behind and dodging missiles from enemy aircraft when their cockpits were filled with incessant beeping.
"We're getting killed here! Where's our air support?!"
"Nail em on the head!" said Talisman when Liz approached the cockpit from the front and let loose a torrent of missiles at it, destroying its controls and sending it down to its watery grave below.
They were soaring through the skies, dodging AA fire and missiles like it was nothing, becoming the shining stars in the darkness. Nothing could touch them as they shot down Estovakian fighters left and right, and Cipher saw it all. The moves, the attitude, everything. After seeing it all up close, her knew. He was the one.
Meanwhile the Aigaion had gotten far enough away from the fight to allow itself to recover, and to help out their new allies fighting, the prepared their most fearsome weapon, one that used to belong to Estovakia.
"Launch the drones and prepare Nimbus for launch!" ordered the captain before he connected himself to the two AWACS operating in the operation.
"This is the Aigaion, we are prepping for Nimbus missile launch. Clear the area!"
"Roger Aigaion! All forces, evacuate the immediate area around the Kottos and GYges aircraft!" ordered Ghost Eye.
"Aw, we have to leave that early?" said Cipher in a pouty voice before he broke off from the fight with the rest of the Emmerian forces, leaving the remaining Estovakian forces out in the open.
"Nimbus missile launch in five, four, three, two, one, fire!"
Several giant missiles fired out from the missile silos on the Aigaion and flew out for the Stovie forces,. They didn't even have a chance to escape when the marker drones flew right beside the remaining Gyges and two Kottos aircraft and the missiles flew right into them, massive fireballs erupting across their sleek hulls while the fighters flying close by were unlucky enough to get caught in the fireballs and get destroyed. The lucky few who survived fled the airspace quickly to avoid getting into another missile bombardment.
The Aigaion was safe...for now.
"To the Emmerian forces who came to our aid, you have my gratitude. We will join your side in the war." spoke the Aigaion's captain, Ghost Eye still not convinced.
"Why did you betray your own allies?"
"Because the military junta leading our country has done nothing to help our country and have been blaming Emmeria for all of it with massive propaganda campaigns. They were planning to invade for a long time. We wish to bring an end to this unjust war and restore Estovakia to its former glory."
Ghost Eyebwas silent for a few seconds, still doubting the captain' swords, but after taking into account they could have had a chance to wipe then out with their cruise missiles...but they *didn't, he finally believed them.
"Very well, you can speak to our Joint Chiefs of Staff upon our return to San Loma." said Ghost Eye as the Aigaion rotated its massive bulk around and joined the Emmerians in their trio back.
"Talisman, do you read?" asked Cipher when he flew up beside him over the Aigaion.
"Loud and clear Cipher, what's on your mind?"
"When we get back to San Loma, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"The truth about who you really are."
- Well, this was a drastic turn of events for all of us. The P-1112 Aigaion has defected over to our side and wishes to assist us in the war for Emmeria. Also, as another bonus, we have gained the famed Galm Team as well, meaning our forces have grown tenfold. Also, the threat of cruise missiles has subsided. This was a huge victory for us, and I'm sure it will have a significant impact on the war. Garuda Team, you have received a letter of commendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff for your invaluable service in this mission. Tonight, you are free to do whatever you want.
