Valais Air Base, Ustio, 15/04/1995, 10:00
It had been way harder for Iskanda to explain again her past to the others than Pixy in this week. All of them had shown compassion, Fred a bit of fear due to the gruesome acts she described, and Valentin had tried to find some logic in her mother act but did not succeed. Alekseï was the most comprehensive one, he knew what traumatism meant since he fought in Romney, and on the wrong side from an historic standpoint.
" At least you do not see me as a non-sentient monster who just want to rip apart the throat of her own mother with a jade harpoon." Iskanda concluded after analyzing their reactions.
" You are not a monster." Alekseï replied. "But just someone who has lost her way in darkness and try to find it again."
" It's always harder to crush the shadow within you than to live within it because it's the only thing you have left." Pixy added in a philosophical manner, as he like a bit more the use of metaphors to tell his mind than just telling it straight.
" Thanks, Herr Denker. I truly hope we will find whatever Steller need to repair my X-29A, because three missions with the Griffon would be too much even for me." Iskanda said, referring to the flawed jet she had to use currently.
" I thought you said you loved its astonishing speed." Viviane pointed out.
" Yes, i did. But i do prefer high mobile unstable fighter than hit-and-run interceptors." Iskanda stated her mind about her flight style.
" Well, you will have the freedom to see this in a few minutes." Koenig interrupted them in their talks. " Briefing for the operation Roselein now."
All the pilots left the restroom, with the best luck wishes of the staff.
They were greeted this time by another map. This time it showed the North of Sapin and the South-West of Ustio, but it was centered around one main goal: the route 171, who could be used as a supply line for Osea, Sapin and Ustio. But the factory and its weaponry located in the city of Aarlon were more precious than anything for the Ustian army. Furthermore, the road itself was too far away from the frontlines where Sapin and Belka were fighting, so it would be unusable for at least one week or two.
" We must regain control over Route 171, which runs through Arlon, to cut the Belkan advanced Units from their supply lines. There are bridges over this route, three over the Aare River, all heavily guarded by the Belkan Armored Corps. Securing this route is critical for Sapin to counterattack on the Belkan advanced ground forces. Destroy the Belkan ground units blocking passage along this route and secure the Axe and Hammer facility that the Sapins and our Ustian workers mentioned in their cryptic message."
" Do not forget that in order to retake the city without civilian casualties, the only pilot that are authorized to provide CAS are our twin witches and our four Gazelles, which are already en route." Johnson specified, the unguided bombs or the rockets would be nuts in a city with very tight streets at some points.
" Don't worry, we will do a clean work today." Alekseï promised.
" Besides, we will be watching you, with their last defeat, they have lost the bombers close to the frontlines, so we can finally use the AWACS today." Koenig concluded the briefing. This operation was deemed to be successful. He had foreseen it. But since when does operation went as planned? Never was the answer.
Near Aarlon, Sapin, 15/04/1995, 10:20, Weather: clear.
The first aircraft to be in the area was the Griffon, followed close by the three others F-15s. They had seen the Gazelles slowly moving on their way toward the city, and both units had wished good luck to one another. But it was not very long until they were noticed by the Belkans long range radars.
" Ustian fighters? They must be desperate to come this far." A Belkan radar operator commented.
" Whatever, those thugs who call themselves resistance fighters have set up some coup, and I do not want to suffer from it." The commander replied.
" This road is Belkan advanced troops' blood perfusion. Time to make it bleed." Iskanda said, as she saw the first groups of tanks near the first bridge and one windmill, bloodlust filling her mind.
" This is AWACS Eagle Eye, i hope you will not have a bloodbath again, the cleaning staff said us it was hell to clean your stuff." Johnson said, overseeing the slow approach of the Gazelle. They started their flight at 9, and they still got a half hour until they reached the area of action.
" Do not worry Eagle Eye. Let's win this up." Galm 2 added, catching up with the Griffon.
" I take care of the Armored Personnel Carrier on the first bridge, Pixy you take out the tanks after the bridge." Galm 1 said, flying low to avoid being targeted by long-range SAMs.
" Roger." Her wingmen replied.
The Griffon rushed on the three APCs like a wildebeest running after its prey. Launching three HVRs, Iskanda destroyed the light armored vehicles, strafing the area to eliminate the survivors that get out of the burning APCs. Meanwhile, Pixy dropped a single UGLB on the two tanks. The shrapnels penetrated the tanks violently, triggering an inside explosion which left only burned pieces of steel.
" Wait, why are the windmills set as unnecessary targets?" Halo 5 asked. He was ready to destroy the first if needed, having already one missile locked onto it.
" They are emitting some kind of radio signal, so we stated them as potentials hideouts for weapons or shoulder-mounted SAMs." Eagle Eye responded.
But just after he finished his sentence, a strong sizzle sound could be heard on the waves. After some seconds, switching to the frequency sent a week ago, the AWACS radio officers could finally have a clear line, and all could hear the senders:
" This is Cuervo (Raven) of the Sapin resistance. We are using the windmills metallic structure as antennas. Be sure they survived the battle, or the Belkans will be able to pinpoint us."
" Galm 1 here, I have some Migalev 21s on approach, moving to intercept."
" Galm 2, following." her wingmen added, after strafing a pair of AA guns.
" Thanks for the support, Ustians. We need you to claim aerial superiority above Aarlon, and then our forces will take action."
" This is Jungle 1, i think we can do this." the leader of the chopper squadron said.
" What about the houses and farms, are there some Belkan supplies?" Viviane asked to the resistance, as she flew over one while Galm 1 and 2 were taking head on six MiG-21s.
" They have only SAMs and Flaks there. Burn them all, your choppers need a clear path." The resistance member replied.
" Save your GPBs for CAS in Aarlon, Halo 10. My brother and I could handle these AA artillery pieces." Alekseï argued, knowing that their RCLs were no the kind of weapon used for precise CAS.
" I will help the Galm team against the aerial forces then. XLAAs ready." Morgana said, moving away from the Flaks and SAMs.
Going low, the Sea Flankers attacked the Belkans unprepared as they were still targeting the member of the Halo squad. Firing full volleys of rockets, they cleansed the area of Belkans. The farm itself blow up from the inside when a missile hit a weapon deposit, thus triggering a chain reaction.
Meanwhile, Pixy and Iskanda were doing their job, destroying the first wave of Belkan interceptors. Six Fishbeds were not very hard to dispatch. But eight J35 Drakens were a bit harder to shot down. Iskanda had to do numerous hit-and-runs to take down only three of them, when Pixy attacked four others with a volley of XMAAs. Two of them managed to shake off the missiles sent head-on and then retaliated but doing a very tight barrel-roll with his airbrake full extended at the risk of structural failure, Pixy repositioned himself on their ten hours. From this alignment he quickly gunned down one. The other tried to fire a SAAM but Pixy lost it, and after an unsuccessful head on attack against the enemy Draken, he was on his six in no time due to his better maneuverability and sent a pair of missiles to the fighter.
Iskanda, was chased for a few second by the last Draken after downing three of them, which had managed to avoid the first attack and went to her six doing sharp turns. But even in his six, he had not the time to fire his gun before she outrun him in a matter of second, the Ramjet-powered plane going above Mach 2. He tried to launch SAAMs but failed. That's when his alarm blared. One XLAA was closing in. Doing a hairpin turn, he shook it off. But by doing so, he lost track of the Griffon. And when he found it again, it was going at full speed head-on from above. He tilted his plane to fire his missiles, but they had trouble targeting the strange thermal signature of the Griffon for two seconds. And three seconds later a dual burst of gun shattered his cockpit to a thousand pieces of glass, killing him instantly. The aircraft exploded five seconds later.
" Damn, he shook off my XLAA with a Draken! Those Belkan ones are a bit better than the ones Sapins used over Solis Ortus as support." Halo 12 complained, discharging her anger on a line of APC near the second bridge, strafing and shooting missiles on them at a slow pace.
The sixth unit resumed on destroying the few anti-aircraft guns and missiles launchers around the second bridge, using their bombs sparingly. Due to their weapon shortage, they carried only a small numbers of anti-ground armaments, but there was no need to use high yield bombs on APCs. The mission was going well. A bit too well maybe.
15 seconds later, the low sky was shattered by 4 shots. Almost instantly, the first windmill exploded. Then from the second one, who was near the farm the Komyeta squadron had destroyed, came the resistance voice.
" Damn'it, they blew up one of our emitting posts. Can you AWACS track them?"
" This is Eagle Eye; those shots were apparently from ground-to-ground seventy-five-millimeter cannons. We will have their position shortly."
" 75-millimeter cannons? Aren't those things from the 1900's?" Iskanda inquired, not understanding Belkan use of weaponry: how could they use high-tech sixth generation fighters and ballistic cannons nearly one hundred years old?
" They are still very accurate and efficient, and their anti-recoil system is the best ever designed." Valentin explained the technical reason of their use.
A second volley of 75-millimeter shells destroyed the second windmill five second later. When the pilots saw the shockwaves it produces, they were happy it was ground-to-ground only and not usable as Flak.
" Eagle Eye here, we have the 75-millimeter cannons located. Galm 1, you are the fastest here, go and destroy them."
" I'm on it. PC max!" She screamed with her usual sick joy. Battle had taken over her neutral stance she imposed on herself. And those Belkans would discover this the hard way.
" May I remind you your ramjet has no afterburners?" Halo 10 rhetorically pointed out.
" I don't care, I'm always as fast as your name is horrible."
Which, with Halo 10's true name being Ingertrude, was not false. Quickly reaching Mach 2, the Griffon was in no time above the four batteries. There were only 4 canons, with small boxes housing the shells. It would be dealt with haste. Of course, the supersonic interceptor was heard very well by the artillery servants. Belkan operators were no deaf men, even if they would soon meet death.
" Unknown Ustian supersonic incoming. Run for your lives!" The Belkan commander ordered.
" What about air support?" A Belkan sergeant asked.
" Two squadron are coming, and we have a little surprise for those Ustians. But we can already consider those 75-millimeter cannons as lost." A third Belkan voice said. Yet her AWACS could not tell where it was coming from.
Meanwhile, she had already closed the distance between her and the canons. She saw among her path a second farm seized and appropriated as a SAM site and two groups of APCs, tanks and SAMs near the third bridge. On her rudimental radar she could already see the cannons and their weapon deposit.
The soldiers had gathered themselves around the weapon deposit. Some had even pull out some shoulder mounted SAMs. But they never had the time to use them properly: their first salvo was avoided by a small yaw maneuver of the Griffon, and five second later, she began her strafing run. The twin guns sent a deluge of fire among the servants, killing and wounding most of them. She then fired an HVR right on their weapon deposit. It exploded right on impact, obliterating every remaining Belkans in the vicinity.
While she was doing her task, the other were busy too: Pixy and the two F-14Ds kept maintaining aerial supremacy. Galm 2 downed two F-4Es that wanted to aim their SAAMs at the Ustian Gazelles. The twin witches killed a group of five F-5Es who were trying to get in position to fire their QAAMs at Halo 5 and 7, the latter were destroying the SAM site with their last UGLBs and SFFSs, respectively. In the meantime, Komyeta 1 and 2 had the time to shoot their last volleys of rockets on the APCs and tank standing by the third bridge, but couldn't take the SAMs that kept firing at them, as the missiles launchers were well-covered by SPKs.
Yet these four shooting emplacements were giving all pilots a run for their money. And as all were busy, they did not notice a four military trucks column.
" I see smoke at the level of the bridge, Herr Kapitän." The first truck driver of this unit pointed out.
" This is Luchs leader, we have not made all this way from the Sapin front line for nothing. Brace yourselves, we are going through." Their leader ordered with a stern voice.
" Damned Belkans, what are they up to?" Johnson wondered, as the trucks vanished from his radar, hidden by the buildings of the town.
" This is Luchs Unit. We have made through the enemy lines. Prepare the surprise for those Ustians." The leader said as there were entering in the city.
" We are keeping them busy, don't worry... Argh!" One SAM servant was brutally killed. They did not have seen the Griffon which just attacked them, and for a good reason: from the artillery site Iskanda flew back glued to the Aare river. And when she had them in her sight, they were all aiming way higher than her position. Two guns burst were enough to ruin the SPKs at the east of the bridge, and after flying below the bridge, she had to speed up to avoid the fire of the remaining SPKs, but this give Pixy an opportunity to drop his last bomb on them.
Without their anti-missile coverage, the SAMs were dealt quickly. But the surprise of this Luchs Unit was about to be revealed to the sixth unit of Ustio.
Aarlon, Sapin, 14/04/1995, 10:35, Weather: light coverage.
The SA342 Gazelles were just at ten kilometers from the city. It would be liberated soon, and the resistance coup was about to begin. Yet everyone lost his cool when the pilots saw the shape of one kind of missile they knew already too well: the ballistic close-range missile of the BAWS.
" Eagle Eye to all, we have a BAWS launch. Not heading toward the E-767, nor our fighters… What are they aiming at?" Johnson tried to figure where the QAAM-like missile BAWS created were oriented.
" The choppers, aim at their choppers!" A Belkan soldier said, maybe a bit too enthusiastic, revealing their targets.
" This is Jungle 1. Ready for evasive maneuvers." The Ustian leader indicated, even if he knew that, if their fighters had a hard time fighting this thing over Bayes, their survivability was fairly low now.
And he was right. One by one, the Gazelles felt from the sky. The pilots had just the time to jump before the missiles impact them. No human losses but a great material one.
" Gottverdammt, who guided them? Trucks alone are not enough to handle this kind of armament." Pixy asked to the AWACS, which crew were analyzing the shot.
But before they could respond, another BAWS was launched. And if the situation could not get any worse, two squadron of eights F-15Es with a dark grey camo and eights Tornado Gr4 with a camo made of bright horizontal red lines on a brown paintjob came from the Northwest at low altitude.
And of course, the Tornados did not lose time before activating their ECMPs.
The only one who was not hindered by the jamming was Iskanda, as her weaponry did not require lock-on. So, while missiles where falling from up there and all sides, she went straight for a group of five Tornados. Two F-15Es try to prevent her from destroying them, but even with a low mobility fighter she managed to evade their SAAMs by a quick double turn. And right after those turns, she arrived right at the flank of the Gr4s she was initially targeting, a bit above them. Firing three of her five last HVRs, she dispatched four of them, as one was hit by the wreckage. The fifth one was downed by Komyeta 2 XMAA's, who manage to get a lock due to the reduction of ECMs.
" Eagle Eye to all Ustian aircrafts, we have tracked the guiding aircraft for the BAWS. It's a Lindwurm at high altitude."
" This is Galm 1, understood, I'm climbing right now. Spare me some fighters for when i came back, please?" Iskanda decided to go for some high-altitude hunt, as she had the greatest climb rate.
" I cannot guarantee that." Halo 12 responded.
" Me neither." Halo 7 added.
" Damn you, I hope he has the same drone i had to fight last time, it was fun." Galm 1 retorted, as she was already at half the altitude of her target.
" I hope not. You almost end up in a spiral of death, miss Rayien." Koenig warned her, using her name to appear a bit more serious.
" Galm 1, Roger that."
Aarlon, Sapin, 14/04/1995, 10:35, Weather: light coverage.
As Iskanda reached the Bm-335N Lindwurm, she could saw that the fighter squadron that the Belkans had sent was already reduced to a quarter of its initial size, and the four remaining were only surviving due to the BAWS fire that forced the Ustian to break their lock.
However, she wasn't unnoticed, she knew that. But who cares when you can reach Mach 2.8?
" Radar post to commander, the Ustian Griffon his climbing toward us. Only fifteen seconds before we are in range." The Belkan radar operator confirmed the Nachtigall datum.
" That's a shame that a former Belkan prototype will be the one to bury us all." The leader commented.
" Ironic." Iskanda mused, now in position right below the Bm-335N. Then she fired her last two HVRs on him. Both tore through the Nachtigall giant radar and exploded inside, causing a chain reaction that reduced the bomber to smithereens.
" Galm 2, Fox 3!" Pixy said as he engaged head on the last three F-15Es. If one of them survived the volley of XMAAs Pixy fired, his survival wasn't that long. Right after crossing each other's path, he went to his six and kept following him for a bunch of seconds. Despite doing very sharp turns, the Belkan pilot did not succeed in breaking the chase and was gunned to death in the middle of one turn by Galm 2.
" Eagle Eye to resistance, aerial supremacy has been obtained in the area."
" Roger that. Let show to the last Belkan ground forces here the power of the king of Jungle." The resistance leader replied, wishing good luck to the four former civilian pilots who were about to go straight into action.
From her very position at 18 kilometers, she could see what was happening, despite her lack of screens and long-range IR sensors to display the area. The roof of a warehouse opened itself, and from this small gap flew what seems from her position to be big bumblebees. They were two small dual seater choppers, with a thine frame, way thinner than a Hind. The lines of their shape were not curved, but rigid and complexed. If conventional choppers seemed to be like big dragonflies, yet this one was so unnatural in its shape it seemed extraterrestrial. And the dark color was not helping either.
" This is Gavilán (Sparrow hawk) 1, taking off."
" Gavilán 2, taking off. Let's take our city back!" The pilot of the second unknown chopper said.
" Gavilán squadron, you are on the temporary control of the sixth Ustian Unit. Free engagement of the Belkans is authorized." Koenig said, taking control of this new asset.
" Can you specify your aircraft? We have trouble identifying them." Johnson asked, wondering what the designation for those black choppers could be.
" We are flying EC665 Tigers." The Sapin leader responded.
So, Johnson searched for this aircraft in their intel. Apparently, it was the latest prototype of Axe and Hammer, but it wasn't ready to enter service before 2000 in their last report. Maybe the war speeded up a bit the process. It featured an amazing speed for a chopper: 450 km/h. The very low radar signature was explained by the use of a mixture of state-of-the-art ceramic plating and composites. Aarlon had been known for centuries for its ceramics, exporting them around the whole continent, but now they were more used for the new high-tech ceramic than the old traditional ones. If the EC665 did not possess the same strength in firepower than the Apaches, its top-class maneuverability enabled him to even dogfight against slow CAS fighter such as Tucanos if necessary.
The two choppers moved just above the roof level carefully, avoiding the RPGs the Belkans fired at them with ease, before taking out their operators with their accurate reengineered SPK gun.
Still the threat wasn't from those shoulder mounted SAMs, nor from the light gun of the APCs, which they dealt with them quickly using their XAGMs. The threat was elsewhere, and against two stealth choppers were coming two stealth jet: unnoticed due to their low target profile and their dark green two-tone camo, two F-117A Nighthawk of the Belkan Air Force were penetrating the area. Their mission was simple: destroy those new choppers using the few QAAMs they were carrying, and the Ustian facilities here with their GPBs.
Yet those fighters were not invisible to naked eye either, thus, as soon as they closed to the city limit, one scout of the resistance noticed them. He hoped the pilot they put inside the Tigers were good enough, despite being only pilots from an acrobatic civilian team.
" This is surveillance post number Quatros, we have two F-117As incoming. Can you see them?"
" Gavilán 1, I have noticed them. Moving to intercept."
" Eagle Eye to Tigers, will this be OK?" Koenig asked. He had already lost too much choppers pilots today, he did not want to lose any more.
" Even the Griffon would not made in time to intercept them." Johnson commented.
" We are maybe not officials, but those two flying bricks have made the mistake to underestimate us." Gavilán 2 replied, the copilot setting the radar on air-to-air.
" Be ready to fire interception missiles!" The other Tiger warned.
" Roger, Missile for Interception and Counter-Attack on stand-by." He confirmed, before moving toward the F117A head-on.
" Dschungel (Jungle) 1 here, those choppers are heading toward us. Let's take care of them."
" They think they can win this? Quatsch (bullsh*)!" The number two insulted the Sapins.
The number two was the first to engage. He shot two missiles and two QAAMs, but they were all intercepted by the Tiger's MICAs in mid-air. He went for a gun kill, but he noticed something odd: the chopper was turning their back toward him. Maybe they wanted to reduce damage, he thought. But he did not know how much he underestimated those unknown choppers.
As he was getting in gun range, the chopper went straight to the sky, doing a gigantic loop for its size. A bit astonished by the acrobatics this chopper just pulled out, he did not see that the EC-665 was already in his six. SPKs bullets shredded his fighter. To die by the weapon created to protect them from enemy fire was ironic to say the least.
" Leo ! No!" The other pilot screamed as the Nighthawk exploded over the city.
" You cannot run! The Sapin leader said, as he was engaging him. He tried to get a gun kill, but only hit the left aileron. He then switched to MICAs and fired two at him. But this revealed to be useless, as the low thermic signature made the release of flares enough to disrupt the IR sensors of the air-to-air missile.
" You cannot lock me, stupid fly!" The Belkan mocked, as he disrupted another pair of missiles through his flares.
" What about if we set one of our MICAs on electromagnetic lock? the copilot guessed. This has not been heard by anyone else than the pilot.
" Good idea. Try to evade those, sucker!" He said, firing two IR and two EM-guided missiles toward the F117.
" I still have enough flares. And they were your lasts." The Belkan laughed, dumping of more flares. The two IR-locked missiles were disrupted, yet the two others resumed their path.
" Was? Warum funktionierten meine Fackeln nicht mehr? Nicht möööögliiiiiiiiich ! (What? What is wrong with my flares? not possible) " He gasped, worried for the first time of this fight.
He tried every trick to pull out those two missiles, but 30 seconds later, they detonate right under his bomb bay. Two stealth attackers had been destroyed by two stealth choppers. However, if the EC665 was the latest creation in matter of chopper, the F-117A was from the 1970's. It wasn't his time to shine any more.
" Aerial threat removed. Anything remaining to destroy?" The Sapin leader asked.
" There are still some triple As and tanks on the runway of the factory. And i think you do not have enough missiles left to destroy them." The resistance leader commented the state of the remaining Belkans.
Yet, before the aircraft receive any intel or order from the AWACS, two volleys of shell fell right on the area. Their trajectory was almost a linear one, and it did not take long to understand their provenance. In her strafing run, Iskanda had let the 75-millimeter cannons pristine, targeting only their operators. And some small weapon deposit around the area had survived too. But the few Belkan survivors had been overrun by Sapin resistance fighter, using old Sten machine guns conserved in the same war museum the Belkans had taken the 75-millimeter cannons.
" So, are we useless now? Pixy pointed out, as the city was almost liberated by itself.
" We just needed aerial coverage for our operation to begin." The resistance leader explained. Behind him, resistance members were cheering. For once, they had obtained victory. And Osea, this so-called superpower wasn't even involved in it.
" This is the Amiral Koenig of the sixth Ustian Unit, you said in your encrypted message you could send us some supplies?" Koenig asked. Liberating a city was a good thing, however if they do not have the supply to keep it, it would have been pretty useless.
" Of course. We have three brand-new A-400Ms Atlas ready to take off. In fact, like the EC-665s, they were not ready when this war broke out, but now they are." The leader confirmed the intel they sent.
" You are lucky, there has been no snow at Valais for three days, the runway is clean." Fred said. He knew that if it was difficult for a fighter to land, it was undoubtedly way harder for a transport.
" We will survive, do not worry that much for us." One Sapin pilot responded from a taxiing A-400M.
" Well, this operation seems to be a success. Look like luck was on your side again, solo wing." Johnson commented, as the E-767 was slowly turning back to Valais Air Base.
" Whatever, I was getting tired to come home without wings." Pixy replied. Even if he would have preferred to come home without any wing but with Laura.
Valais Air Base, Ustio, 14/04/1995, 12:00.
The back travel was a bit longer, due to the protection needed for the three transport aircrafts. A small Belkan squadron composed of F-16C with a light metallic blue camo tried to intercept them, but the ECMPs of the transports manage to protect them while they were dispatched by the Ustian crafts.
Their landing was quite a calm one, despite the shortness of the runway. Now, all were waiting for Koenig to come in the briefing room for the debriefing. He was a bit busy outside, along with Steller, helping a bit the Sapins to relocate the supply by giving them the needs of each sector and squadron of the base.
He finally came at 12:15, and began the debriefing, with Johnson displaying a map of the operation, which remind them all the events of this mission: the 75-millimeter cannons, the BAWS and the discovery of these new choppers. All were ready to be usable at any time soon. Even the BAWS of the Luchs Unit had been captured, though the unit's members managed to escape the city. But with the combination of these very old and brand-new weapons, Aarlon was no more a defenseless city. Any supply for the Belkan army at the South was now doomed, and the capture of one BAWS launcher could surely help them develop countermeasures for this new threat.
" Passage along route 171 has been secured successfully. The checkpoint of Aarlon is now closed for the Belkans. It's only a matter of time before their units on the Sapin front line will be overrun. Those resistance fighters impressed me with what they manage to create, i will give them this point. Our weapon shortage is no more an issue, but Aarlon will be a key point we will have to protect from Belkans counterattacks."
" Next time, our missions will depend on the current progresses of the Osean and Sapin Navy. Without their logistic and numerical support, we cannot retake our country without serious losses." Johnson added, zooming out on the Osean continent to show the position of the said naval forces: around one thousand kilometers from the Futuro canal, the anchoring point of the Southern Belkan Fleet. They had to retreat this far to be out of range of Belkan anti-ship fighters.
" Did they really have that much casualties?" Iskanda asked. She had not seen the humiliating Osean retreat, after their great losses in Wesson.
" Sapin lost an entire carrier strike group, and Osea lost four among their seven aircraft carrier. But they accelerated the building's pace of their new ones for the counterattack. That's all you need to know yet. Dismiss, pilots." Koenig ended the briefing, looking to the pilot who had gained hope again. If they could hold just a bit longer…
As soon as the pilots get out, they were met with a strange ballet of forklift mounted on caterpillar to prevent them from sliding if the runway was iced. Some were carrying munitions, other aircraft parts, and others simply supply such as fuel barrels and food.
" I hope one of them is carrying composites for my X-29A." Iskanda wished, as they make their way toward the restroom.
" Hope did not win wars, yet those filled with it are often victorious." Pixy commented in his philosopher-like manner.
Little they know, Steller was currently talking about this subject with the Sapin leader of the transport unit. He knew the fixing would be a hard one to do, due to the specification of the X-29A and the little time they had before the next operation.
" So, Carlos, do you find what we need for her?" He asked to a brown-haired forty-years-old Sapin who was reading some supply list.
" Ah yes, those aeroelastic composites. We have brought what was the most fitting for this job, some new generation ceramics. A bit less flexible but had better resilience." He recalled what the engineers back at Aarlon had told him.
" Gut. I think she honestly didn't care if her craft become a bit more unstable. Her mind is as unstable as her plane, it will be kein problem for her." Steller explained, stating that if she could handle the Griffon she could handle anything.
" Besides, I don't see the point of having two active radars on a single seater plane not made for CAS." Carlos pointed out, finding this wish a bit strange.
" Well, she kept the Nord 1500 Griffon in one piece, I can indulge one of her whims." He agreed the idea was strange, but since it was his idea of letting her fly his grandfather's creation, nothing was that strange anyway.
Now, the broken, pierced and almost torn apart X-29A was still resting. To think that she managed to land that wreckage and even dogfight with it was impressive to say the least. But Steller and his men would not have much rest until this metallic sewer was again a functional fighter jet. They had already removed most of the destroyed systems, but almost rebuilding a prototype with very few blueprints and other data was much harder than simply replacing a broken wing from a fighter build in massive series such as the F-15C.
Well, one other chapter ended.
Like i have said at the beginning, I'm changing the Belkan war. Here it's only incremental changes, but soon the real change will begin...
Feel free to review, favorize, follow... I accept all critics as long as they are constructive ones (and if my English is not perfect, sorry too)
06/06/19: little grammatical corrections, and I change the name of Ruchs to Luchs (lynx/bobcat).
07/01/20: some minor fixing.