Chp. 36: The Tipping Point

March 20, 2024

Brighthill, Osea

President Reyes had chosen to stay in his robe and pajamas for the simple sake of feeling comfortable. It was still early in this part of the world and what was happening on the other side was great cause for concern. He sat down at his desk and immediately looked towards the members of his cabinet, starting with Carl Ryder.

"Okay Ryder, start us off. Who the hell is rebelling against who and why?" He said, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Well sir, we don't know the why but it appears that high-ranking army officers and President Wáng-Xú have enacted arrests of 8 members of the congress's Standing Council. The other five have barricaded themselves in Congressional Hall. Approximately 45 minutes ago, the Verusean 38th Mechanized advanced into the capital and seized a number of positions. For now, they're engaged in a number of standoffs with the Peoples' Militia units in Shen-Jiau. So far no confrontations." The Director said, fingering the moustache he'd been growing over the past weeks.

"Outside Shen-Jiau, we've gotten reports that several of the country's long-range missile batteries have been seized, but no word on if they've been deployed. Though, we do know that the commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces could easily be on either side." He went on.

"And why is that?" Reyes asked with growing apprehension.

"Peng's his name; he's a cowardly little fatass. He could easily bow down to the Council or the President."

"So he ends up being a wildcard."

"I'm afraid so, sir."

"...Welsh, what are our options if they're planning to launch something?"

"I can send the order to the missile defense boys at Basset to bring their assets up a readiness level or two. We also have defenses, our own as well as those of our allies, in theater. It may be a good idea to give Yuktobania a heads up, too. More layers a Verusean ICBM would have to go through, the better our chances of killing it."

"But they wouldn't launch just one."

"They might, if they're gambling on making a statement. Alternatively they might assume we'll go full-throttle in retaliation and try to get us before we can get them. We'll have a small window of opportunity to hit their bases, and sadly I can't say we'll have the manpower needed to hit all of them. It's not the best option, sir, but we may want to consider a non-nuclear preemptive strike."

"But you said we don't have the resources, General!"

"The best of two bad options, sir. The way Ryder's saying it, we don't have a whole lot of time and things are extremely touch and go. If we're gonna act, we have to act soon and act decisively before whoever's in command decides to go nuts."

Reyes sank back in his chair; it felt like they were back in January, when the matter was new. Except this time the threat would directly affect the Osean Federation.

"...Uragami, any hunches on if this is related to the UN's impending decision?"

The Secretary of State nodded and covered his mouth as he seemed to take a moment to come to terms with the connection.

"So then should we forestall the blockade? Would it prevent whoever's in charge in Verusa from trying something drastic?"

"It might, but I'm not confident that it'll do much."

"It's the recommendation of the CIA that we monitor the situation, avoid striking the capital directly and try to cut off both sides of the coup from the country's strategic weapons. If one side is against using weapons of mass destruction and is willing to come to the negotiating table, then we talk to them. Maybe even recognize them as the legit group in control."

"And the recommendation of the State Department?"

"While it may cause some people to balk at first, it is the recommendation of the State Department that we hold off on the UN vote regarding the chemical weapons investigation. Purely for the purpose of buying time for us. By taking some of the pressure off Verusa, we can better plan for anything they might have brewing in relation to this turmoil."

That seemed to ring very well with not only Reyes, but Ryder and Welsh and just about everyone else in the room. Reyes nodded several times, feeling as if the headache might not last that long this time.

"For now I'm taking State's recommendation, but I expect that the CIA will reach out as soon as it has more information. General, you also have my permission to start planning strikes against their rocket forces, but for now avoid the capital and do what's needed to prepare our defenses against any long-range weapons...and if they do that, be ready to make sure they're damned scared afterwards at how we might respond."

There was a second's pause in the room; a second too long for the president.

"Now, dammit!"...

Eric accepted the recon photo Mark had taken and examined the bunker doors in the center of the shot. He showed it to Wall, then looked back at the doors. He also showed it to VFA-116's Ops O, "Tango" Rhoding, who nodded and looked at Wall. Wall went to his laptop on a nearby table while Eric put the doors in context to the rest of the missile base. The rest of the representatives of the wing's weapons and ops departments gathered to form their own ideas and understandings of the matter, but the discussion was led mostly by the fighter and strike-fighter squadrons.

"So inside this facility, we have approximately eight DF-26s and their TELs. Bunker system they're in is likely extensive, possibly hardened in places to withstand nuclear attack." "Chevy" Ford of VFA-149 spoke up.

"We shall soon find out…" Wall replied, combing through the intel he was passed down from the higher ups for info on the bunker. Chevy joined him while Tango held a hand out and asked for the photo Eric had. Almost immediately he too started going over the massive entrance to the place.

"In either case, best bet would be to collapse the front entrance. Place likely only has one way in or out for the missiles. Any other exits are likely for individuals, or they're ventilation shafts." He said.

"Could collapsing the ventilation shafts help?" Mark asked.

"It's a possibility, but the ends wouldn't justify the means. The extensiveness of this complex likely means that they have backups, and moreover we'd want to hit the doors as well as the shafts. It'd basically be a waste of bombs."

"What if we were to set off the warheads below with such a hit? Destroy the place from the inside." Eric opined.

"Possible, but it would depend on where those warheads are stored. Wall, Chevy? Got anything?" Tango replied.

"According to what Gordo's passed along, they're next to the main bay for the TELs, with the fuel storage on the other side. All three compartments are likely built in the same way as the boat to contain fires, so I'm gonna vote no on anything other than hitting the front door." Wall replied.

"The main issue is getting a good angle for a penetrator. Even a bunker buster can only burrow so far down. So with that in mind, we'll want to plant our weapons right through the doors or the ceiling directly above it." Tango mused, making a stabbing motion with a finger.

"Alright then...What kind of defenses they got on the approach to these doors?" Chevy added, looking at Mark.

"Based on the images Ah got, the place is defended by a single battery of HQ-9s, two batteries of HQ-17s and an unknown number of HQ-7s. That's a big part of why we're hoping for alternatives: a lot of the launchers are positioned to defend the direct approaches to the bunker." He drawled. Tango nodded and stood up from his chair.

"The other issue would be GPS jamming. This place is important and we know the Veruseans have some of that stuff available to 'em. Two BLU-116s configured as JDAMs could turn that door into a wall, but if they can't get to their target then they can't get to their target." He pointed out.

"Could you configure them as Laser-guided JDAMs?" Eric asked.

"Yes...alternatively, find the GPS jammers and destroy them. Have SEAD hit them like they would any other ground-based defenses. Oz, could the Dardevils interfere with GPS jammers?" Tango replied, looking towards a man with his face buried in the latest on Verusean ground defenses.

"We should be able to, but the question is how to destroy them as opposed to just suppressing them. Tex, Eddie?" Ozzy replied.

"If they're big enough we can smack 'em with a bomb or a JAGM...or we can strafe them. For obvious reasons that's a far riskier move, especially against targets on a mountain." Eddie replied.

"Jamming would likely be the best bet, then. We just need enough time for the strikers to get their bombs on target. Then they can jam us all they want, I guess."

There was a short-lived wave of laughter while they started threading all the little bits and opinions into something resembling an actual plan.

"And what about fighter threats? These places gotta have something like that within reach." VF-123 rep Goalie Nett mentioned as she placed one of the photos back where it was supposed to go.

"The Fitron guys should know that...right?" Ozzy countered. Goalie scoffed.

"Well the electric guys should know how to counter GPS jammers but that answer took a minute, now didn't it?"

"Nuff competitive pissin, Goalie." Wall replied, going for his mug of coffee before he got cranky again.

"These places mostly rely on ground-based defenses and being fortified against attack. For about every six sites there's a single airfield for rapid response, backed by the major bases in the region. The small field typically employs J-11s, while the others may employ a combination of other fighters in the Veruseans' inventory. With the drain on their Firebrand and Flanker force, it's more and more likely that these roles will be taken up by Fishcans and Finbacks. We'd simply apply the same tactics we've used before to prevent them from sneaking in and getting off shots." VF-138's Weps Officer explained.

"What about the J-20?" Mark asked, recalling his encounter with the type.

"They don't have enough to go around, and their remaining force has been sticking very, VERY close to the capital. Which, as we saw, is getting locked up tighter than the admiral's daughter."

More chuckles while everyone added every detail and refined it. Like adding a Lego piece to the larger kit. Every minute that ticked by was one they hoped they'd spent well. The commies were experiencing a power struggle, and where it would end no one could safely say. The last thing Eric had seen on the news was that the state media in Verusa was declaring that the President was in command. Eric couldn't say whether that was good or bad. Both sides of the table on this one were bad. Who might take over and what they planned to do was the key to all this, and he and the rest of the guys supposed to contain it didn't know a thing about what was going on!

He looked at his watch and sighed. He also had alert duty coming up in under half an hour. He debated things for a minute, then decided that he'd do everything he could to avoid having to take this work to his jet. Just one thing he had to get past, or rather one person…

"Wall, I gotta go get ready for sitting alert up top." He announced. The man looked up from his computer and nodded.

"Okay, I'll take it from here." He said. He glanced away for a second, then cocked a brow at Eric, who seemed to visibly relax a bit.

"What, think I was gonna make you take your part of this up there? I ain't takin the heat from CAG if you go down with more valuable stuff than you were supposed to." He snorted.

Eric gave a sarcastic laugh, then nodded and left, bidding the others a good day. He met his wingman for the stint, Blank, minutes before Stickler and his wingman (DeeJay's replacement, "Icing" Frost) in the Ready Room. The place was dead, save for the Duty Desk. Raptor was face-deep in some magazine that Eric couldn't see the cover of. The TV was set to GSRN. Eric didn't pay attention to it until he was done talking with the other pilots. Weather predicted that the seas and sky would remain relatively calm until the evening, and there continued to be a lack of threats against the fleet. Submarines, maybe, but the F-21 didn't do sub hunting. It wasn't much different from what Eric knew this kind of duty as. Cyclic Ops would happen about a third of the way into his shift, when aircraft who'd been running CAS over the Shimoji Islands would return.

Before Eric left to get his gear, he gave the TV a single glance to see what was going on. The screen changed to an image of Verusean tanks sitting across the street from the Verusean congressional building. As he watched, two of the tanks suddenly opened fire on the building. Eric's recoil drew the attention of the others. The five men watched the eruption of violence for a long minute, each in their own thoughts. Luckily for them (in a way), the XO came walking into the room. It took her all of five seconds to piece together what was happening. She whistled and brought them out of the stupor they'd fallen into.

"Go on, don't dwell on it. Get up there and man your birds." She half-snapped. Eric admonished himself over the whole thing until he was topside.

Shogun 208 sat in wait on the #1 Catapult, everything but her radar and engines warmed up. Eric climbed into the cockpit and settled down, lowering the canopy after him. The mid-afternoon sky was dotted with dark clouds; even darker ones sat on the horizon. Eric strapped in and made himself comfortable. His Plane Captain ascended the boarding steps to help him get strapped in and handed over an extra bottle of water to the man. Eric thanked Ruiz for more to help him wash down the protein bar and pork jerky on his person before he sealed himself away from the world for the next eight hours.

His entertainment for that marathon of a sit was his music player and a volume of Battle Royale's manga adaptation. Bruh, an aficionado of the type of comic, had managed to get it in circulation among other books that changed hands throughout the unit. It'd either been that...or Eric's first manga experience He is My Master. Home of his first and only 2D crush, Izumi Sawatari. Eric had decided it would've been weird being seen reading that in public, though (unless he suddenly became 13 again). To make sure time didn't go by slowly, he made a point of turning his watch around on his wrist before he got to reading the door stopper of a book he'd brought…

The sound of the canopy being opened awoke the pilot from his half-conscious slumber. He looked over to see the Catapult Officer rising up from the side of the aircraft. The pilot sat up straight and leaned forward a bit so the man could say what he had to say and be heard.

"Just got word from the Air Boss; we're launching you once we get the Ready Ten all set. Hummer'll fill you in once you're airborne." He relayed.

"Gotcha!" Eric replied.

Eric secured his gear and scarfed down the rest of the protein bar he'd been nibbling on before he got his engines running. The Catapult Crew, assisted by a handful of his plane's ground crew, ran up and started checking the plane to make sure it was still good to fly. Eric looked every which way in search of someone signalling him that something was wrong. The plane seemed to be in order from front to rear. The rest of the response to whatever was happening began to be cycled up from the hangar deck. The whole wing had aircraft available for alert duty; who got called up usually gave one an idea of what was going on. The two F-35s configured as tankers, positioned right next to the island, the Ready Ten headed up by McGavin, and an additional Hawkeye. From below deck came two F-35s with LRASMs under their wings. Another anti-shipping raid, Eric guessed. Seemed odd that it would be scrambled like this, almost lucky that the wing kept four 35s armed to do such a thing.

Eric settled back into his ejection seat and watched for the Catapult Officer. The man took up his usual spot while the crew under his command made sure the plane was hooked up to the shuttle and the weapons load was good to go.

"Okay let's get em airborne, we've got recovery operations in 30 minutes!" The Air Boss called from her perch.

Eric checked his radios and flashed a thumbs up when he heard Blank's voice. He extended the fighter's wings and worked the control surfaces at the Cat Officer's behest while the rest of the scrambling Thunderhawks rolled up. A second Hawkeye came down from the #3 Catapult and floated up into the sky. Eric's Cat Officer checked one final time to make sure that everything was set to go before he gave the pilot a signal. Eric saluted him and braced. While the man went through his final few motions. The F-21 bounced a bit before it screamed down the catapult track and off the bow of the carrier. Eric kept in the launch pattern until he was clear before he nosed up and spiraled higher and higher above the sea. Blank settled into position off his wing seamlessly as their wings swept back from the increasing speed. They banked for a piece of sky to the southwest of the boat and held until the other two jets in their flight got up. Eric handed off the title of Shogun 2-1 to his commander and accepted his usual position of being the second pair's lead.

"Thunderbolt 1 this is Shogun 2, we're airborne at this time and requesting your position and situation." McGavin spoke up.

"Roger Shogun 2, Thunderbolt is five-by-five at this time. Check in with Breadfan for details." One of VF-123's junior pilots replied.

"Roger that...Breadfan this is Shogun Lead, airborne and requesting SITREP." McGavin spoke up.

"Roger that Shogun, link up with BARCAP and standby for SITREP." The Hawkeye's controller replied. Eric could feel a bit of uncertainty stirring in his gut.