Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 38- Strike Back
(July 9, 2021, sunrise)
On the flightline of the airbase in Valinor, everything is chaos. Thousands of ground crews are hurrying to get the aircraft deployed to the base into the air as thousands of pilots are strapping into their seats.
It's been a week and a half since the winged dragons first issued forth from Angband. Since then, the Allies have suffered massive casualties. The Allies had suffered about 190,000 casualties from the dragons since they first arrived on the battlefield. Divisions had suffered massive casualties, with some units almost wiped out. The Allies had managed to kill a few dragons, but the fleet of dragons still numbered in the hundreds.
However, today, Morgoth is expected to launch a coordinated attack. General Wolter had ordered a massive aerial counter attack. The Allies were trying to get every aircraft possible into the air.
In his cockpit, Colonel William Creeden is powering up the aircraft. Creeden is the wing commander of the 1st Fighter Wing, which had been fully deployed to Arda since the dragon assault began. Creeden will be leading the aerial counterattack against the dragons.
The Allies have assembled a massive fleet of aircraft from both Air Forces and Navies. Never have so many aircraft gathered for one purpose. Every country that could had dispatched aircraft to assist the US, and more were standing by to deploy fighters to Beleriand if necessary. Even the Chinese had offered to pitch in, putting 4 squadrons on standby if it became necessary.
As Creeden canopy begins to close, Creeden glances towards the east, knowing that in the far distance, the Allied armies are still being terrorized by the dragons, and that time is running out to help them.
(Early afternoon)
In the land of Mithrim, Lieutenant Phil Stewart is resting his arms on the top of his tank's turret. The sun is high overhead by now, and the VI Corps is just waiting for the storm to break.
In a shaping of fortunes the entire corps has been grateful for, the VI Corps had mostly been ignored by the winged dragons, and the attacks being launched against them by Morgoth's armies have been repulsed with minimal casualties. However, the dragons are expected to launch an all out attack soon, and the VI Corps won't escape their notice for long.
Stewart sighs a bit as he glances up at the sky, taking a drink from his canteen. Then, as he puts the canteen away, he suddenly hears something. Looking up into the sky and to the east, he sees shapes appearing in the sky.
"S***," Stewart says before getting on the radio and calling out over the corps frequency, "Here they come! Dragons spotted!"
The news ripples through the corps, and all of the troops start rushing to dig in and ready themselves for the coming attack.
Across the north of Beleriand, the dragons of Morgoth assemble in the sky, ready to attack. Over a thousand winged dragons bellow, roar, and spit flames across the sky. Troops all across the north of Beleriand begin trying to dig in as best as they can.
At the head of the dragon armada is their leader, Ancalagon the Black. The massive dragon is the biggest and most powerful dragon Morgoth has ever bred. The massive dragon is almost 1,600 feet long, with a wingspan of almost equal size. His very size sends terror into the hearts of troops on the ground.
Ancalagon roars to signal the dragons to start their attack. The dragons, assembled in battle formation over Anfauglith, begin winging their way to the south and east.
As the dragons make their move, troops on the ground prepare themselves for the inevitable, every weapon that can possibly harm the dragons trained on the sky.
Then, in the west, in Mithrim, Stewart is watching as the dragons are bearing down on them, he suddenly hears something. A noise coming from the west. He can't exactly place it. Then, he turns to the west, and his mouth drops open.
Coming in from the west is the greatest aerial armada ever assembled in the history of either world. Right in the center of the aerial armada is Vingilot, the great ship blessed with flight by the Valar, with Earendil at the prow, the Silmaril of Beren and Luthien on his brow. On Vingilot's starboard side is Thorondor, lord of the Great Eagles, and off its port side is Colonel Creeden's F-22 Raptor. All around Vingilot are hundreds of Great Eagles. And surrounding them are 2,034 fighters drawn from every available force. Not only the US Air Force, Navy, and Marines, but also the French and Royal Navies and the Air Forces of the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, Finland, and Australia. The fleet includes every single fighter in service with Allied countries. All of them are loaded down with as many air to air missiles as they can carry.
On the ground, troops of the scattered 4th Army begin to cheer as they see the aerial reinforcements that have come to their rescue. Across the sky, the dragons' attention is drawn by the bright light of the Silmaril carried by Earendil, and they roar in challenge as they realize the number of aircraft marshalled against them.
In his cockpit, Colonel Creeden calls out on a frequency that the entire fleet is tuned into, "All aircraft, prepare to fire long range missiles."
In their cockpits, each pilot works to gain a radar lock and arm their radar guided missiles, all while trying to suppress their nerves caused by the task facing them.
Then, as the aircraft of the strike force finish locking up the dragons, Colonel Creeden squeezes the trigger, firing two AIM-120 AMRAAMs as he calls out over the radio, "Fox Three!" Seeing Creeden has launched his first two missiles, the other fighters in the strike force begin to launch their own missiles. Soon, over 3,000 AMRAAMs, Meteors, Sparrows, MICA, and Alamos are in the air and streaking towards their targets. The over 3,000 missiles are targeted on a total of 283 dragons.
The dragons take too long to notice the incoming missiles as they are focused on closing the distance with the fighters. Even after noticing them, the dragons don't pay much attention to the incoming missiles until Creeden's missiles impact one of the smaller dragons, one on the neck and the other on its back. The dragons, feeling a bit alarmed at these new enemies being able to attack them at such great ranges, scatter slightly, although still holding course towards the incoming fighters. However, the rest of the missiles soon begin finding their targets. Soon, hundreds of explosions are tearing the sky apart as missiles impact their targets. Some of the dragons escape almost unharmed, and many escape with minor wounds. However, several dragons are unable to withstand the missiles targeted on them. One dragon takes an astonishing 33 missiles and falls from the sky.
With a roar, the dragons propel themselves towards the incoming Allied air forces. No longer concerned about keeping formation with the Eagles and Vingilot, the fighters throttle up and close on the dragons.
In a scene visible to individuals for hundreds of miles, the Allied air forces merge with the dragons, the fighter shooting missiles and their guns as the dragons shoot fire from their mouths. The climax of the war for Beleriand has come as the greatest aerial battle in history begins. On the ground, soldiers watch in awe as the sky is torn apart by the battle, knowing this is the critical moment.
The war in Beleriand hangs on a knife edge.
And, I'll end the chapter there.
Next chapter will be longer, and show several scenes of fighters fighting with the dragons, and it will end with the slaying of Ancalagon. It should be quite a show. Until it's up, please leave a review and stay tuned!
