Chp. 20: Eagle Down

June 5, 1995

Hoffen Forrest, Belka

Ejection had been the most painful thing he'd ever gone through. To Matt, it'd felt like someone was putting one of those drop rides at the carnival in reverse and on light speed. The shock from the seat releasing and the parachute opening had been just as bad, knocking around his sense of balance and his bearings. When he finally regained them, the ground was already close. He only had enough time to close his legs and eyes before the barrage of wood and pine needles tore at him. He brave it until his canopy stopped him a few feet above the ground. The Captain opened his eyes; his breath felt louder than usual in the night. It took no time at all to realize the ejection at some point had torn his NVGs from him. He looked down and saw an abyss. Matt waited until his eyes adjusted, and the forest of a hostile country became clear.

After that, Prince released his parachute from him and fell to the ground with a gasp and then a grunt. He tumbled to the foot of a tree and against a bush before he sat up and looked around. Again he let his bearings come to him before he got to work. The first thing he needed was protection; he reached for his holster and felt the reassuring sensation of a weapon's grip. Matt's sidearm was a Heckler and Koch USP, chamber for 9mm rounds. Matt carried one magazine in the weapon, plus three more in his survival kit in a thigh pouch he'd had made. The pilot strapped said pouch to his left thigh and made sure his handgun was ready. The next order of business was his face. Matt's dark hair (which blended well with the woods) meant his camouflaged bandanna became more of a headband to keep sweat from his eyes. Matt looked through the rest of his survival kit to make sure he had what he needed, and then looked around.

It was silent; not even any apparent wildlife at this point. He was certain he'd scared birds with his "grand entrance", maybe even a fox or something. Bears? He wasn't sure what really lived out here. Either way Matt decided to get to work; He cautiously raised the PRC-90 survival radio and turned it on.

"Can anyone hear me? This is Longsword 1-4 Alpha…I repeat this is Longsword 1-4 Alpha." He began. Low static; Matt tried again.

"I repeat, this is Longsword 1-4 Alpha, is anyone reading me?" He urged. Still nothing but the electronic noise; he turned it off to save the battery.

Matt decided he was only pressing his luck and wasting his time. Before he left, he smeared his face with dark green camo and put his closed survival kit back on himself. His compass and general knowledge of the area told him to head southeast. When in Escape and Evasion Training (E and E) he was taught to not try and find his WSO; each crewman was more than capable of surviving on his own. You'd be running the risk of getting you both captured, Matt told himself despite his nagging conscious, you'd only be hurting Marshal more. Other thoughts poked at the captain as he moved silently and carefully through the woods, though. What if Henry was injured? No, no, Matt wouldn't have the tools to heal much more than a cut or at best ease a broken limb by fashioning a splint.

The pilot stopped and looked up into the night sky as he reached a clearer spot in the forest. Again he listened and checked his direction. To keep optimism or overestimation from clouding his drive, he assumed he hadn't gone far. His goal was to reach the nearest Allied unit, catch a helo or something, and eventually find his way back to Foley. Capture, in any way, was not in his mind. He looked at his wrist and knew that the nice aviator's watch on it might act as a nice bribe. Some young private or poor farmer would mostly likely be swayed by it. His mind also considered taking other weapons he found. A rifle, grenades, something like that. His closest source would, ironically, be the people he was going to inevitably gonna get chased by. He arrived at a hill and went up, pausing every handful of steps to listen for movement. Finally he heard something mechanical.

The Belkans had finally showed up; Matt hugged the ground as he heard the shrieking buzz of a helicopter. The man didn't dare look up until he was sure the rotors were nowhere near him. He was not put under any spotlight nor did any accented voice demand his surrender. He looked up from the grass and began to crawl forward. He reached the edge of the river he'd heard before the helicopter had drowned it out and saw the machine further down the slope. A dark green single Bo-105 was hovering near the trees. The word "Staatspolizei" was written on the side in almost gleaming white letters. Matt looked to the left, towards the area before the men piloting the machine, and saw dying cinders. After a minute, he realized it was his own jet. The man couldn't help but smile; if they thought he was over there, they were way off.

Even so, Matt let the helicopter move before he countered. When it moved away from him, he sprinted down the slope towards the river. He assumed it was the first thing on scene; any stations with more State Police had to be far. He also assumed, as he hit the ground again, that it was sporting a spotlight and IR camera, AT LEAST. Maybe a guy armed with something in the rear seats? He waited until the rotors were low enough and then got to moving again. His stints were back to hunched over rushes that were as quiet as he could make them. He stopped every so often again to check his bearings and make sure he was alone. Soon again he came to another obstacle, a road. Across the way was a taller hill. Matt stopped and looked around. The helicopter was still somewhere out there, searching. He looked both ways, and then ran across the open space and into the ditch on the other side. Up the hill he went, hoping to improve his signal there.

He was soon becoming acutely aware of the fact that he was on his own. He could not really help anyone else who'd been shot down, whoever might be down. The Captain remembered that Val had gotten a MiG after her…was she okay. Was Henry acutely okay? Was it just him? Loneliness was quick to seize on that vulnerable moment. He took out his radio and tried to contact someone again. As he flipped it on, he caught the end of a transmission.

"…word 1-3 Alpha, can anyone hear me?"

Matt recognized the voice. He immediately hit his transmit button.

"Longsword 1-3 Alpha, this is 1-4 Alpha, can you hear me?" He asked quickly.

"Ma…Longsword 1-4?" She replied, stopping herself from using his name.

"Yes…are you okay?" He replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been trying to reach someone for a while now. I think I heard a helo earlier, but now it sounds like it's flying away."

"Yeah, State Police 105. Where are you?"

There was no mistaking that gorgeous and mostly subtle Yuktobanian accent; it was Val. That meant Andre also had to be down as well. Screw the rules; he was saving her at least. Andre too, if he could help it…and while he was at it, Henry. They could meet and up their chances together.

"I'm near a very tall hill…"

"And Moose? Longsword 1-3 Bravo?"

"I haven't been able to contact him yet…and besides you know how it goes."

"We'll find him when we can. I might be on top of that hill. Can you signal me somehow without announcing yourself to the whole world?"

"…Let me see…do you have your NVGs?"

"Lost em."

"I have a pen light, and I'll flash it for about ten seconds every three minutes unless I feel I've been compromised…you better know what you're doing, Prince."

"Don't worry; I'll tell you if I see you."

Matt assured her and turned off his radio for a moment, watching for the light. After a minute he saw a tiny flash in the dark woods. The pilot scrambled to get his radio back on.

"I see you; challenge me with our motto when you hear something." He said.

With regard for proper procedures gone, Matt was going down the slope towards the light after she replied. He stopped about halfway to check his surroundings, then slowed his pace so he wouldn't startle Val. Finally he heard a voice harshly address him.

"Paladins Go Deep."

"Hit Hard." Matt replied immediately.

He pressed past a tree to find a crouched figure lowering their weapon at him. With his eyes adjusted to the dark there was no mistaking her. Val flashed him a smile.

"Hello stranger." She breathed out.

He knelt down next to her and she leaned against him briefly as a show of affection. She had a Walter PPK as her weapon; it was the closest she could get to her homeland's Makarov PM.

"How many magazines do you have for that thing?" Matt asked as he scanned the area around them.

"Three."

"Okay, I'm heading southwest towards the Allied advance."

"Of course I'm coming with you. When I ejected, I saw what I think were some farms in that direction, plus a highway. Fighting's fierce near the frontline so we may have to find a place and sit tight."

Matt nodded, then stood up and began to move. He glanced back to find that Val was only a few feet behind him. The two kept moving, listening to the sound of the helicopter as it circled and searched, trying to find the pilots stalking about its homeland. Through the trees, Mark was certain he caught a glimpse of another 105, prompting him to stop. Val leaned towards him.

"Another helicopter…oh boy do they want us bad." He commented to her.

"How soon would we be able to radio for help? I've gotten nothing but damn static." Valentina replied.

"Frontline's at least twelve miles; we've had to have gone at least one or two." Her secret lover said.

The pair went on, both slowly dreading more and more that their cover would soon end. For now it was their only problem; the Staatspolizei had yet to start combing the forest on foot as far as they knew. Matt stopped again and peered as far out as he could see. In the distance, he spotted the end of the forest. Beyond that had to be the farmlands and hopefully more cover. The pace was slowed to tone down the racket of snapping twigs and other bits of foliage being tossed about. The two kept moving until they reached the edge, where it was revealed there was about another five to seven feet until the road. Matt immediately saw headlights across the way, maybe 70 feet from them. A single police car, a BMW coupe, painted white with red and green stripes and Staatspolizei on the side, sat at a turnaround for emergency vehicles across the way. One man armed with an MP5 stood next to the machine, watching the woods quietly and waiting for any of the Oseans to appear. His appearance was made a bit bulkier by a bulletproof vest over his neatly pressed uniform.

"Must've been the closet unit; I'd think they would have more officers if this was the main ground force or any kind of concerted effort at a perimeter." Val commented in a low voice.

"We should move across soon, then. We can beat the rest of the force if its just them." Matt said. Val nodded and pointed to the middle of the road, where there was in fact some cover.

"Get to the guardrail nearest us; I'll come after you, then we'll get to the center one the same way, and so forth." She said.

Matt nodded and looked out at the police car again as the lone officer continued to watch. A civilian car passed through and was stopped by the man who'd been watching. The officer inside the car emerged to talk to the driver.

"Go now." Baroness urged.

Matt rose up a little to move, but stopped. He quickly looked back.

"Hey Val?" He said, gulping. She tilted her head at him and frowned.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet! Run!" She hissed, still quiet.

"I love you." He blurted out before sprinting for the guard rail.

Valentina stared at him as he sprinted off, jaw hanging open. Of all the times to…she shook her head and waited until he was lying near the guardrail, weapon aimed at the policemen. He looked back and nodded for her as the car was taking off. Val gave the officers a quick glance and then hurried the few feet. She nearly body-slammed the ground and waited for any shouts from the officers. Nothing.

"I'm going to kill you, Matthew Hall." She growled.

"No regrets, Val." He simply replied.

The next two legs of the run would be far more dangerous, over open pavement that would make louder noises compared to the grass. Matt suggested they move further from the policemen at this range. Val agreed and began to move parallel to the road, crawling. Matt followed her, then turning with her to retreat back into the woods. From there they could move a bit faster in cover. The two stopped only when the police vehicle was far enough away. Even then they still applied their initial plan. The entire time, Valentina was uncomfortably silent, but Matt pressed nothing; now was not the time as he prepared to make it to the far side of the highway.

As Matt covered his fellow pilot, he spotted headlights in the distance. Val hopped over the far guardrail and the two hunkered down as another police BMW rolled by, lights and siren running at full power. The machine slowed abruptly and eased onto another turnaround before an occupant, again armed with an MP5, emerged. Matt and Val exchanged looks and began moving further into the farmlands beyond. Another civilian vehicle passed, a tanker truck, but otherwise the roads appeared to be dead. Given this was the front line, practically, neither was particularly surprised. The other officer emerged from the 318i looked down the stretch of road as another pair of headlights was coming. Matt dared a look towards them and saw a police van pass by. It stopped by the sedan and let out roughly eight more men, wearing more militaristic gear, emerged with rifles. Immediately they headed across the highway, towards the woods. For now the two Oseans were clear with enemy forces going the wrong way. They took it and ran when they were out of sight, still crouched.

About a quarter of a mile to the southwest of the road was a commercial farm. The fence of the place had several times been run over, and the two spotted wrecked hulks of long begotten machines sitting in one of the fields. They slowed briefly to find it was an SA-6 site that'd long been deprived of its life, ammo, and use. The Straight flush, or what was left of it, lay in the center of the field, dish smashed by an AGM-88, no doubt. The two darted from TEL to TEL until they were across the way and close to the buildings of the facility. They chose the closest barn and waited on both sides of the door. Matt made sure his weapon was ready.

"On three? I'll go high, you low." He asked.

"On three." She nodded.

After the countdown, Prince and Baroness swung around the corners of the open door. Matt kept his weapon aimed high while she aimed low. Once they'd determined it was clear, Matt waved a hand towards a thin layer of hay in one of the stables.

"So how long do we stay?" Val asked.

"Let's see if we can get some support or something, settle in and see what we can do." He mused aloud. The man pointed to the second story.

"One of us should get up there so we can keep an eye out." He added. She nodded in agreement.

"Who goes first?" The woman asked. He thought a moment, but she then answered for him.

"I'm not tired, and you've got some explaining to do, Matt." She said, setting her hands on her hips. He sighed.

"Fine, I'll make the call, but if you're coming up, stay near the ladder. One of us has to make it out." He replied. She nodded.

"Alright, I'll come up after you've contacted someone." She made clear.

Matt conveyed his understanding and hurried to the ladder, holstering his weapon. He went up the ladder and moved over near a window, where the PRC's antennae would be able to poke out. Removing his map and doing a little locating, he then turned on the radio.

"Can anyone hear me, this is Longsword 1-4 Alpha. I repeat, this is Longsword 1-4 Alpha. Mayday, mayday, I require help. I repeat, I require help." He radioed.

This time there was a short time of low static before anyone responded.

"Longsword 1-4 Alpha, this is Backdraft, we hear you, what is your situation, over?" a voice replied.

"Backdraft, 1-4 Alpha, I am down behind enemy lines. I have managed to link up with Longsword 1-3 Alpha. We have not heard from either of our GIBs. We're requesting pickup, how copy?" He said.

"Standby for verification questions, 1-4 Alpha."

Matt tensed; the term meant a series of things about him only he knew. It was to prevent a Belkan or in any other war an enemy soldier with a penchant for playing Osean from drawing them in.

"What did your brother hope to be?"

Matt nearly chocked in the rush to answer, but he got it out.

"A heart surgeon."

"What way do you like to relax?"

"Going to the driving range."

"What did your uncle fly?"

"Aardvarks."

There was a pause after the questions, longer than usual. Matt was almost about to turn off his radio when the voice came back.

"Longsword 1-4 Alpha, Backdraft, we cannot get to you at this time. The area is too hot. Stay in contact and we will inform you when we can reach your position, how copy?"

Matt bit his lip in anger and had to hold back a minute before he replied.

"Understood Backdraft, when should I contact you again?"

"Twelve hours from now, until then stay low. There is a major offensive going on by allied forces and the Belkans are making their last stand. Good luck for now."

"Understood…and thanks." Matt replied, a little bitter.

He turned off the radio as Valentina poked her head up.

"What's the story?" She asked.

"No pickup tonight; area's too hot." He said.

"What? All we've got are those stupid cops to the northwest!"

"Apparently the Belkans are throwing everything they have down to the south now. We're close to it and in 12 hours we call back."

The woman got on the same level as him and made her way over, staying low. She sat against the wall and sighed in frustration.

"Fucking MiGs got lucky. Bastards didn't go head-to-head with us like at Gladistant." She snarled in a low tone.

"Too late now; time to get comfy." Matt replied. She nodded and looked his way.

"Okay, now what was with your little bomb earlier?" She asked.

It was hard to take Val seriously with camo smeared on her face, but Matt did his best.

"Like I said, no regrets." He replied.

"Yeah but you don't just up and say that to someone!" She half-heartedly scolded.

"When else would I say it? How else?"

"You didn't tell what's her face that phrase?"

"Only when I was about to blow my load into the condom, aka horny as fuck. Other gals didn't get that far."

"…So this time it's genuine?" She asked. Even under that camo, he could see her blushing. He nodded, and waited for a response.

"Finally." She said, following up with a kiss to his cheek.

The two smiled at one another and interwove their hands together. It wasn't too soon after that a sound reached their ears. Both pilots left the small moment of romance behind and hugged the floor. The sound of large machines became more apparent with each second: armored vehicles. There were no lights at all; none flashing into the barn's windows, no headlights. The two pilots looked at one another and jerked their heads towards different windows to investigate. Matt went forward to the window he'd been near previously. By now the noise was very distinct and close. Matt raised his head and caught a glimpse of a Leopard 1A4 (he recognized the shape) as it rumbled past, going hell bent for leather. Three others were off to its right in a pretty tight formation. They slowed to weave through the shell of a SAM site.

The tanks moved on towards the road, a move which confused him. The mix of low-level police and old tanks made no sense together. Yes the police were looking for them, but were they now brining in tanks? No, stop thinking about these things and just worry about surviving. He crawled away from the window and met Valentina near the ladder again.

"More tanks over there, too. Das Vaterland troops, probably moving south and avoiding the roads to keep from being bottled up on them." Valentina figured. Matt nodded, then lifted his head a little.

"Hear that?" He asked.

There was a low roar, distinguishable as a jet engine. Matt had heard the noise before; in fact he was able to identify it in seconds. An F-16, he was sure of it. If there was one, there was at least one more. He looked across the way, out another window, and spotted a flash of light, followed by the thunder of an explosion. A second one wasn't too far behind, followed by the ear-splitting sound of what Matt could only assume was a Shilka. The world was laughing at him, he knew it. He'd doubted how close they were to the front lines and now he got to see very clear evidence. It was going to be a long 12 hours…