Disclaimer- I own…nothing
Last time- Wardog fought in the Jilachi Desert
This time- Battle over November City
Wardog was in the break debating back and forth on how to do the airshow while eating pizza and drinking soda.
"I don't know Jeff," Edge said refilling her cup with peach crush.
"Yeah Kid, I mean its not like we are trying to one up the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds," Chopper stated.
"I gotta agree with them," Grimm chimed in.
"Look I am open to ideas; I'm just going off what I seen and movies and the few times I've seen the Angels and Thunderbirds perform."
All four pilots looked over the satellite image given to them by the intel guys. Jeff was muttering to himself which made Kei smile at him a little bit. She knew he wasn't bitching about the mission; he was going over the details and space Wardog had to work with.
"How about we do a bomb burst?" Grimm asked.
Jeff looked down at the satellite image "We got the room so what do we do after? The flight is going to be split."
"I know, let's do the thing that the Angles and Thunderbirds do. Where it looks like it's only one plane but its really two." Chopper added.
"The let's do that pass they do where the break the sound barrier over everyone. We can form back up and just kick in the after burners." Kei added.
"Sounds good to me guys," Jeff said
The sun was starting to set, as Wardog was finishing up the details of the performance. Loomis left, letting them rehearse as he headed to the hangar. He saw Pops and the rest of the maintenance crew working on the Raptors.
"How you doing Loomis?" Pops asked.
"Stretching my legs for a bit and seeing what you guys are up to. Planning this airshow thing took longer than expected," Jeff said.
Pops chuckled, "Yeah I heard. Grimm came by and asked if we wanted some pizza and told me about it. Planning done I take it?"
"Yeah. Thank God. Planning this type of things sucks."
"Just make sure you can recover from it all. You're protecting the VP so you're going in fully weighted."
"How do they expect us to do the airshow and stay on BARCAP?" Jeff asked
"There is going to be a refueling tanker for you guys once you get to November City."
"That's nice of them. Only when someone important needs something that people get what they want."
There was a brief silence.
"You need anything else Kid?" Pops asked.
"Nah, I'm gonna go turn in for the night and get an early start for tomorrow."
"Night Kid. Don't worry, I'll make sure your birds are ready to go tomorrow."
"I know you will. Thanks Pops." Jeff stated as he was walking out the hangar
Pops just grinned as he watched Jeff leave the hangar. I didn't matter what Loomis said, Pops knew he was checking on the Raptors. They were going to be moving low and fast, while doing stunts in front of a full stadium. If something went wrong with one of the planes, it could result in a pilot's death.
The next day was a bright sunny morning. Jeff and the other pilots were in the breakroom watching the Weather Channel. All over the other TVs, people were watching the Vice President talk about his speech that was going to be given at the football stadium and avoiding any questions that talked about President Harling and any war effort.
'Wish this guy would shut the fuck up,' Jeff thought to himself referring to the VP.
As it got close for Wardog to depart, Jeff gathered his flight for one more rehearsal before they left.
"One more thing," Jeff grinned, "Kei, I want you to be the lead for this. Ill fly at the Number 4."
Edge's mouth fell open then asked, "You sure about this?"
"It is just for the airshow. Ill take lead when we go on BARCAP, but you are better at keeping cadence than I am. You got this Edge."
Kei looked nervous but there was something else about her too. Jeff noticed a glint in her eyes that showed her eagerness to try.
"All right, I can handle this."
Edge led the way out of the breakroom, towards the hangers where the planes were. The other three pilots were able to talk to the crews that oversaw taking care of their planes. Normally they would have to hurry up and leave to make TOT. Hopefully this was going to be a less stressful mission and just a leisurely flight.
"Edge seems pumped," Pops said as he was helping Jeff get strapped in.
"Yeah, she should be. I'm letting her fly lead for the airshow." Jeff said.
"Really?"
Yeah, she's going to do great."
Pops looked over at Edge, who was trying her best not grin to much at the possibility of commanding her first formation.
"Pops, I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't trust her and aside from a cadence to keep us in formation, what am I really going to be commanding?" Jeff stated.
"You got a point," Pops said with a smile on his face.
Pops walked down the ladder and Jeff and the rest of Wardog pulled out on the tarmac. They were sitting idle for a couple minutes with no signs of moving.
"Edge? We going to get moving?" Jeff asked.
"Starting now I'm…?" Edge nervously asked.
"Starting now. Come on you got this," Jeff said encouragingly.
"Well then let's go." Edge said.
Five minutes later, Wardog was airborne and headed to November City.
With November City coming into view, Wardog saw the tanker they were promised. The crew of the tanker was a lot more talkative than normal. Normally, there was minor banter, but these guys were asking about all sorts of stuff that is normally kept private.
"Anybody else think that was weird?" Grimm asked.
"That would be an understatement, more like uncomfortable," Chopper said.
"Yeah, what was with that?" Edge asked.
"Well," Jeff started, "First we are the best squadron Osea has right now. Second, we took out two Scinfaxi class submarines. When those pilots get back to their base, they get to tell everyone they had a chance to talk to the Sand Island Squadron. To everyone that doesn't know us, they see us as rock stars for lack of a better word."
"But we don't…" Chopper started.
"I know we don't see ourselves as that but that's how it is for right now. Just don't get to hung up on it."
"Roger that man. The city is coming into view."
"All right form up," Edge commanded.
The four planes flew into a diamond formation. Skyscrapers were flying by the canopy as the pilots were low for the crowd to see. The football stadium was easily recognizable. A giant oval in the city, with a green floor made of grass with an Osean flag painted in the middle of it. The endzones where painted orange and green to mimic the colors of the home team, the November Hurricanes.
"Let's begin… ready…1,2,3,4," Edge called.
At each number, the four planes rolled 90 degrees till they completed full circle. Jeff happened to glance down at the stadium when they were inverted. The stadium was jam packed with people outside the stadium watching.
"Add power…. Ease pull," Edge said.
Her voice was a constant tone in Blaze's headset. It was a method used to keep time of the maneuvers. It must work since the Blue Angles and the Thunderbirds are considered the best demo teams in Osea.
At the top of the arc, Blaze hauled back, the flight splitting like a flower blossoming. As he entered the dive, he saw that every face in the stadium was looking upward and clapping. It gave Blaze a warm heartfelt feeling. The rest of Osea may not agree with the war but at least they supported the men and women of the Osean military. He was finally out of the dive and speeding over the city. Skyscrapers were zipping past his canopy. Loomis could see a small gray speck in the distance, which was Edge setting up the maneuver. The speck starting to take the shape of the F-22. Jeff and Kei speed past each other, with Edge rolling left and Jeff right, so the bellies of their planes past each other. Blaze pulled back on the stick and started going vertical, with Edge relinquishing her lead and dropping back to the number two spot. Chopper and Grimm finished their final maneuver and were heading straight to them. There was a lot of movement coming from the stadium which Jeff assumed was clapping and cheering. Wardog then split up and started doing their BARCAP circles.
"Well?" Edge asked with anticipation, "How did I do?"
"Better than I did my first time," Blaze replied.
"Kid you did fine over St. Hewlett," Chopper stated.
"You're doing great Blaze," Grimm added.
"Speech is starting," Thunderhead broke in over the comms.
Silence fell over the comms as Thunderhead started to broadcast the VP's speech. The VP was saying that the soldiers were angry, and the war wasn't going to stop till Yuktobania has surrendered. Jeff raised his eyebrows in confusion.
'This is so against Harling's peace policy,' Jeff thought, 'Speaking of which, where the hell is, he? He hasn't been seen on the news for 500 years.'
"Here comes the thunderous applause," Chopper stated, referring to people cheering for the war to continue.
A new sound came over the headsets. It was the crowd singing the Osean National Anthem. This aggravated the VP.
"Citizens, please stop and listen," The VP Said.
Chopper started to sing the anthem, "Endless in flight, day turns to night."
"This isn't rock and roll you know," Grimm said.
"I Know but it seems that everyone wants the war to stop. Man, this song has soul."
"Wardog form up really quick," Blaze said.
The others started to laugh at what their flight lead had planned. By making a pass over the stadium, it would show the people Wardog supported them and could pass it off as part of the BARCAP in case Perrault made any allegations.
As they passed over the stadium, someone figured out what they were doing and was able to get the crowd to sing louder.
Then everything went to shit.
"This is Thunderhead. Approaching enemy formation confirmed. Wardog engage."
"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Blaze said as he saw 4 blips show up on his radar.
Jeff heard the enemy squadron over his comms, "Stadium in sight. Secure the airspace till Gorizont Squadron arrives."
"Are we the only allies here?" Edge asked.
"McNealy tried to scramble fighters, but the runway was blocked after someone crashed on takeoff. I radioed for reinforcements. It'll be 5 minutes before they arrive," Thunderhead said.
"So, we are on our own till then," Grimm said glumly.
"Wait a minute. They are still singing. Why aren't they evacuating the stadium? Where are the air raid sirens?" Chopper asked.
Wardog finally formed up and Jeff got a lock on the lead enemy plane.
"Fox Two."
The missile dropped from Jeff's plane and went soaring through the sky. On his radar, he saw the blip start dancing then settled down. The plane had dodged the missile.
"All right Wardog. These jokers won't be caught napping."
Three clicks came back as Wardog prepared to fight.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Edge stated with worry in her voice.
"Me too," Jeff stated.
He heard the stadium personnel talk about escorting the VP out and finally heard the sirens to get the rest of the civilians out.
"Wardog stay sharp. I think these guys are the ones who shot down the B-2s a while back."
"Good," Chopper said," I owe for that one."
The two formations engaged. Edge wanted to scream in frustration. Her opponent had jinked and snapped forcing Edge to overshoot. Before Edge had time to reverse, he was already on her tail, with her warning alarm beeping and tracers shooting past her canopy. Chopper and Grimm were also on the defensive with the enemy planes hounding them relentlessly.
Five minutes had passed and Wardog was feeling exhausted from the crushing g's. A weird transmission came over the radio which put Wardog in even more dire straits.
"Attention all units approaching November City. I guess they had us going too. That was pretty good drill they had going. Drill has been completed. All units, return to base."
"What are you talking about!?" Thunder head cried out, with the transmission being a little garbled, "ECCM, restore communication link."
"Where are the reinforcements?" Jeff asked as he jinked his plane trying to get the enemy plane to overshoot.
"Reinforcements are on their way. Just hang in there," Thunderhead, lying to Wardog so they could focus on the enemy instead of worrying about help.
Finally, Blaze was able to shoot down one of the planes but not before a missile hit the back of Chopper's F-22.
"Chopper you all right?" Blaze screamed as he sped toward the enemy plane that hit Chopper.
"Yeah, I'm not wounded. Electrical system is messed up so the canopy wont blow. Ejection seat isn't working either. I'm going to land in the middle of the stadium."
"Chopper, I radioed EMS to get you after you land but keep trying," Thunderhead cried out.
"Well, I'm bout to land. Kid, keep everyone else safe."
"You better not die on me asshole! Come on Chopper, bail out!" Blaze screamed.
There was static coming from Chopper's radio. He crashed in the middle of the football stadium and EMS crews rushed over to him. Thunderhead was able to pick up on the radio transmission coming from the EMS crew and told Wardog that Chopper was injured and was heading to November City General. The rest of Wardog finally shot down the remaining three planes till Thunderhead came over the radio with more bad news.
"Wardog, I hate to tell you this but there is a five-ship formation headed your way. Five minutes out," Thunderhead said solemnly over the radio.
"Roger that. Wardog engage," Jeff said with sadness in his voice.
Wardog was outnumbered and out gunned and were totally caught off guard. The enemy formation came into view. It was the Yellow Squadron from Erusea. A formation of five SU-37 Terminators and split in three different direction. Jeff and Edge had to fight two each, with Grimm having a one-on-one dogfight with the last one. Wardog was exhausted. Edge let up on one of her turns trying to keep the one on her tail at bay and because of that was able to get a missile lock.
"EDGE!" Jeff screamed.
A missile came from no where scaring the Yellow and making him drop flares. The Yellows were startled and left the airspace to regroup. Two flights of F-22s pulled up next to Wardog. One flight of five F-22s and another with four. A blue ribbon and white ribbon twisting into a figure eight with a fighter jet flying through the loop were on the tail.
'No way,' Jeff thought to himself. He looked and noticed the block letters on the body.
I.S.A.F.
Mobius Squadron was here.
"Wardog switch to this frequency," Jeff ordered.
He told Wardog the frequency and low and behold he heard the voice of Mobius 1 and Sky Eye.
"Yellow Squadron is in retreat but haven't withdrawn. Standby to engage," Sky Eye said.
"Jeff!" Edge cried out, "What the fuck is going on?" This is Mobius Squadron. You're Mobius 1, aren't you?"
'Edge has been doing some digging,' Jeff thought, 'I wonder how long she suspected.'
"Edge, when we get through this, I will explain everything but not right now."
"Boss," a voice said, "Let's switch over to Wardog' s frequency let them know what's going on."
"Were here. This is Wardog 1. How can we help?"
Brian 'Boss' or 'Boss Man' Forrest also known as Mobius 1 answered immediately, "This is Mobius 1. You guys doing ok?"
"Mobius Squadron in Osea?" Grimm asked as Jeff could hear the awe in Grimm's voice.
For every new generation of fighter pilot, Mobius, Galm, Yellow and a few squadrons from the Belkan war set a standard to live up to. The tactics the pilots used were dissected and analyzed.
"Yeah, we're Mobius Squadron," Mobius 4 aka Danny 'Hound-Dog' Walker.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jeff asked.
As innocent as the question was, the men flying around Jeff had been to hell and back with him. No doubt that Jeff was demanding why his second family was doing in Osea.
"Somebody has been giving some Erusian hardliners a lot of money to kill you guys," Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton aka Mobius 6 answered over the radio.
"Mobius, the Yellows have regrouped and are inbound. ETA two minutes," Sky Eye came in over the comms.
"Blaze what're you doing?" Edge asked as he was moving his plane to the fifth spot in Mobius' 1 formation. The battle was about to come down to skill and Jeff needed to fly like how he was trained. Jeff had to blow his secret.
"Edge, Grimm hang back. Edge you're the lead," Jeff ordered.
"What about you Blaze?" Grimm asked.
Before Jeff could answer Mobius 1 came over the comms, "Mobius 1,2,3,4 and 9 are going to dog fight. Mobius 5,6,7,8 and 10 cover Wardog and help them protect the stadium."
Blaze then came back over the radio, "Look, I know I have some explaining to do but please listen to them. Protect the stadium and when we make it back, I will explain everything."
"Mobius this is Sky Eye. Yellows inbound 20 seconds."
Mobius 1 came back over the radio, "Air-Wolf, you ready?"
Blaze responded, "Yes-sir. Mobius 9 engaging."