"We've got an emergency. Liberion is under attack once more." The briefer broke the grim news.
"This time, it's on the Seattle."
The screen zoomed into the said city.
"It's appeared that Orussian have managed to sneak into the port by using disguised cargo ships."
"I knew it!" Omega 11 exclaimed. "That submarine attack was a ruse to draw the fleet out."
What followed was the groans and sighs of many members.
"And wasted fuel." Mobius 1 said.
The mission was unsuccessful since they couldn't locate the sub.
Despite the mood, the briefer continued on.
"…It's highly possible that Orussian trying to gain a foothold so they can attack Stonehenge Type 1."
The screen showed a projected movement of Orussian force toward the Stonehenge location.
"However, the Liberion High Command believe that was all just…a ruse. In order to weaken the defense lines."
"The main forces are still bogged down by the continuous attacks on DC."
"At the moment, a platoon of Army Reserve and a company of National Guard have been sent there to defense the city."
"We have been requested to assist them."
"Omega squadron, Green Tails squadron and Dachshund platoon are to assist the National Guard."
The screen then moved down to the south of Seattle.
"There also has been a report that the Orussian has taken Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the southern part of the city."
"Mobius squadron, Swordfish team and Wild Badgers will see to the situation at the airport."
"The communications are a bit…confusing. But I fear there's a lot of civilians have been trapped inside the terminal so check your fire."
"We might be outnumbered, but I have confident in each and every one of you."
"Do best at what you do. Good luck."
…
…
It's raining outside. It's like a storm was brewing and about to become something bigger.
The sky was so dark that only things I could see was the runway lights and whatever the spotlight was pointing to.
The afterburners from the jet engines.
And the bright glowing blue magical sphere from the Witches.
« Mobius squadron. You are clear to launch. »
Following the Mirai operator's voice. The four took off in sequence.
They're the last ones to go.
The deck became less noisy after they're gone.
I pulled out my phone and replayed a certain interviewing clip that I had with Commodore Hayate.
« Allied Rapid Reaction Forces's an organization that is rather dealing with terrorists and insurgents. We don't fight like a regular army. But…when innocent lives are at stake. That's where we'll jump in. »
« Let's hope this war will not be escalating further. »
It really sad to see how their hope was unfulfilled.
...
MISSION 6
CHAIN REACTION
1722hrs. September 4nd, 2019
Seattle / / 47° 36′ 28" N 122° 20′ 6" W
Cloud Cover: Broken
Operation: Emerald
\/ /\ \/
"Wow…is that Mountain Rainier? It looks similar to Mount Fuji from afar." The short curly-haired Witch named Yukari, also known as Mobius 4, looked toward the white-covered mountain. Her dog-like ears were twitching out of interested.
After assimilating to the 108 Task Force, Yukari was wearing the same infantry uniform like Mobius 2; green moss, black spats. Although her weapon was a M4 carbine with a drum mag, her blue-colored F-2 model Striker still kept the Fuso national insignia on the wings.
"Don't get distracted, Mobius 4." Calling out to her was a fellow Witch named Ren, bearing a fox familiar, callsign Swordfish 1.
Different to Mobius 4, the Swordfish members wore the Miko-like outfit, while equipping their own F-15J Striker and Type 89 rifle.
"S-sorry!"
« Alright. Green Tails and Omega squadron will handle the situation at the harbor. We will oversee the situation at the airport. » Mobius 1 said.
"Wow! That's a lot of people." Yukari exclaimed, looking to the chaotic sight below her.
"Goodness! They're trampling on each other…" Shion, aka. Swordfish 2 showed a grim expression.
« The sudden appearance of the Orussian force really has sent everyone panicking. » Edge said.
« Are you listening? Can't you understand? Look up in the sky! We're being invaded! » A distress voice cried out. « Do you understand me?! There's a war going on here! »
« This is Parker 6! Enemy gunship! I repeat. Enemy has gunships! Gunships! Where the hell did they come from?! » A police officer cried out on the channel.
« From the airport! There're tanks are coming out from transport planes! »
"There's a lot of air wave traffic…" Yukari said, getting a lot of noises.
"Isolate them if you can. Don't let them distract you." Mobius 2 said coldly.
"Shouldn't we do something?"
« This is Sky Eye. Leave the evacuation to the Seattle law enforcement. Your priority is to assess the enemy strength in the area and deal with them accordingly. »
« It looks like the Orussia really has a beef with Liberion. I wonder how, or why? » Edge said.
"Either they're really buddy-buddy with Erusea, or they really just hate them for no reason." Shion expressed her opinion.
« Or the world has gone crazy. » Mobius 1 said.
"…It really has." Mobius 2 agreed.
…
…
« How the hell did they able to get past the defense system!? » A voice from friendly cried out in disbelief. There were explosives and gunshots amid his voice.
« This is Badger 1! We've arrived to I-5 HOV lane. The Orussians have set up defense and AA guns along the road. It's like a whole fortress! »
« My god! I think they've got the entire Red Army down here! » Another voice expressed their horror.
« We can't press on like this. We'll be slaughtered. Where's that air support?! »
« It could have been much easier if the Esteri team was here. » Blake said.
« Well, they have to safeguard our Mirai, otherwise we would sleep on the street. » Amber stated.
« Pipe down girls! » The platoon leader hissed.
…
…
"Look at all the enemies on the IFF!" Mobius 4 said. Looking at the red dots almost filled entirely on the HUD.
« There're certainly a lot of them on the ground. » Edge saw the same thing.
« Sky Eye to Mobius squadron. There's a lot of activities at the airport. »
"Mobius 2 to 1. I'm coming down to assess the situation."
« Alright, 2. Take 4 with you. And maintain your altitude. »
« Swordfish 2 and I will go and assist the friendlies at I-5 HOV. » Swordfish 1 declared.
« Copy that. Good hunting. »
The two ARRF witches descended down. Despite the night was setting in, the sight of flames and smoke was brightening up the city as the innocents were screaming, running all over the place like headless chickens.
"Mobius 2, watch out!" Mobius 4 called out.
By her words, Mobius 2 and 4 promptly broke off when a line of tracers cut in between them. They're the high calibers coming from Apache's chain gun.
"Apache! It's after you, Mobius 2!"
Mobius 2 rotated herself around while aiming through the scope toward the gunship's cockpit before open fire.
The bullets hit home, however, they only bounced back by the moment they hit the windshield.
"It's tough." The ribbon Witch sighed.
« Mobius 4, behind you! Watch out! »
The Fuso Witch immediately put up a shield, bracing for a violent storm of projectiles.
The gunship swiftly passed by her and joined the lead to chase down the ribbon witch.
« Another Apache! They're on your tail, Mobius 2! »
"I have a lock. Fox 2!" Mobius 4 fired her weapon.
Just before the mini-sized missile hit home, a number of flares was deployed from the gunship.
« Missile trashed! » Sky Eye confirmed.
"They've used a countermeasure!"
« Be careful, girls! It looks like they know how to combat the Witches. » Sky Eye said.
…
…
The chase was on. Two cats and one mouse. Mobius 2 flew just about 5 meters above the ground, she dodged the bullet lines skillfully.
"Blake." She contacted to the ground Witch.
« Go ahead, Mobius 2! »
"Remember that one movie scene in the airfield, the water tower?"
« Oh yeah, I remember that! Which direction are you coming in? »
"North West of your position. ETA 30 seconds. Be ready."
« You got it! »
« Hey what? » Rico was confused by their exchange. « Hey! I'm the one who giving out the shot here! »
…
…
A walk in the park. Or flying through the park. It's what Mobius 2 thought as she led the two gunships through the scenic land.
However, little appreciation to the nature was given when the pilots just blasted everything in their way with chain guns.
« The table is set, Mobius 2. Lead them in! »
With that, the Ribbon Witch turned her way toward the highway.
…
…
With the latest technology, the helicopter pilots are depending on the night vision and thermal vision attached on the helmet. With the heat signature coming from the Witch along with her Striker, they had no trouble tracking her down amidst the smoke and the darkening weather.
However, such vision had failed notify the pilot that he's gunning straight to the cable lines that had been strung up in the air.
It was a simple tactic that Mobius 2 baited the Apaches into a killing zone set up by Wild Badgers.
« It's a trap! Pull up! Pull up! » The co-pilot said. It's already too late.
The first gunship rammed into the cables, rendering it to fall into the ground like stumbling by a rock.
The second one stopped in mid-air, only to smashed by the shells firing from smoothbore barrels along with fifty calibers.
The flying war machine was instantly reduced to burning metal scraps.
"Woooo-hooohh! The Apaches are history!" Amber was in glee.
"That's one favor going to my list, Mobius 2." Rico declared, looking at ribbon Witch.
"What are you talking about?" She tilted her head. "She owns me."
"And the debt has been settled! Thank you!" Blake put her thumbs up.
Mobius 2 then increased her thrusters, taking her back to the sky above.
"When the hell did you befriend with Mobius 2?" Rico asked.
"Did I ever say that I'm an introvert?"
"…"
…
…
Back in the Seattle, the situation was even more chaotic that the attackers opened fire, regardless whether they're soldiers or civilians.
« This is Green Tails 1. I see a lot of tanks coming out from those cargo ships. »
« Who's the brilliant mind said this is all just a ruse? The enemy is fucking serious on taking the Seattle! »
« Thank you for your insight, Omega 11. » The squadron leader deadpanned.
« Dachshund 1 to Sky Eye. It's possible we are engaging two companies strong. Requesting reinforcement! »
« Sky Eye here. I've just got words that the Orussian has just begun a new offensive. The Liberions are holding the line as we speak. I will see what I can do. »
« This is no accident. »
« Shut up, Omega 11! »
« I guess we will have to make do with what we have. » Fencer said.
« It's a good thing that we've got new Witches. » Archer looked toward the southern part of city.
…
…
IFV. While its purpose was to carry troops into the battle, its main purpose was to provide direct-fire support to enemy.
With the 30 mm autocannon, it could easily turn any car on the road into scrap metal. They had the advantage due located on the high road, any Liberion foot soldier or vehicle come into range will be destroyed.
After taking down a Humvee armed with TOW missile, their next target was a Liberion AFV called Bradley.
The National Guards braced themselves behind the armor for the violent attack, until they saw something flew down toward the Orussian position.
The Orussian opened fire to the unknown enemy, only to find all of their bullets were deflected by the rounded magical shield.
Just before their IFV could fire the cannon, the gun's barrel was cut clean in half.
"Holy…! That's one hell of a samurai sword!" A Liberion soldier saw it.
Once IFV's main armament was disabled, the Liberions made the charge, pushing the invaders off the road.
"Thank you for your help, Fuso Witches. We can take care of it from here. You go help the others."
« Sky Eye to Swordfish team. »
« Half of our planes has just RTB to rearm and refuel. The rest are doing what they can to help the allied force in the city. But it appears that the Orussian light armors are making another push. »
« I'm sending you over there to assist. »
"Copy that, Sky Eye. We are on the way."
« Mobius squadron. There are multiple AA guns set up around Mercer Island. Eliminate them so the coast guard can send rescue helicopters for the people on the rooftop. »
« Copy. But we need marking. The trees are thick down there. »
« Wild Badgers. Can you assist Mobius 1 and 3? »
…
…
"Affirmative, Sky Eye. We're on it." Rico responded before she appointed two members of her platoon.
"Violet. Amber. You two go help."
"It's not every day we can assist our aces." Amber happily obliged.
…
…
"What is it, Mobius 4?" Mobius 2 noticed she was distracted by something rather the battle in front of her.
"I'm…getting something."
« C-can anyone hear me? Is there anyone on this frequency? We need help. Can anyone hear me? »
"This is…NUN-affiliated Allied Rapid Reaction Forces…Mobius 4. Who am I speaking to?"
« NUN…rapid reaction forces…Mobius? Anyway, I'm Captain Leon Hansworth of the Liberion Travelway Flight 282. »
« We are behind held in the airport as hostages by the attackers. »
"Where is your exact location?" Mobius 2 asked, looking toward the airfield.
« Here's a thing. The crew and I, along with four hundred and sixteen souls, are currently onboard a Boeing 747-400. »
« And it's not just my plane alone. There's also South-East Flight 8406. Both of our planes have been fully refueled. »
With the visor, Mobius 2 locked on two air planes parking next to the terminal.
« I believe these…attackers want to take us somewhere. »
"Orussian maybe the invaders, but taking civilians as hostages? What's their plan?" Yukari asked.
"Let's put that aside for now." Mobius 2 focused on the matter at hand. "Are your planes fully operational?"
« Affirmative. We have run a system check. Both planes are good to go. But the problem is those tanks in the runway. »
« Can you help us out? »
"Give us a minute."
"Yukari. Replay the information to Sky Eye."
"Okay."
…
…
« Good work, guys. Enemy AA in Mercer Island has been eliminated. » Sky Eye updated.
« You girls certainly moved quickly. » Edge was impressed.
« Hehe! That's the power of Witch! » Amber replied.
« Witch, huh… »
In Edge's mind, the thought of seeing her little sister going to war like them…it's hard to bear.
Her thinking soon ceased when Sky Eye contacted them with a new developing situation at the airport.
…
…
« Mobius 2. Hexer has given the green light, your new objective is to assist both civilian flights to take off from the airfield. Badger 1 and 3 are moving toward your location to assist. »
"Copy that."
"Sit tight sir." Mobius 4 contacted the pilots. "Be readied to move at the moment of notice."
« Thank you! I pray for your success. » The transmission ceased.
"Are you familiar with fighting on foot?" Mobius 2 asked.
"On…on foot?"
Without waiting for her answer, the Ribbon Witch proceeded making a vertical landing.
"Uhm…Is it alright?" Yukari asked as Mobius 2 had removed herself from the Striker.
"There's probably a lot of AA emplacements around the runway. It would be best that we take out a few of them before we can let the planes to take off."
"If you can't do it, you can provide the movement intel from the air."
"N-no! I'm coming to!"
…
…
« Omega squadron. I have bogeys approaching fast to your position from the west. Possible MiGs. » Sky Eye informed to the squadron flying above the Seattle.
« MiGs? How the hell did they able to sneak past through the Liberion air defense!? Not to mention there's a whole seventh fleet out there! » Omega 1 couldn't believe it.
« Could it be they have deployed from that carrier? » Omega 11 made speculation.
« We can't deal with those bandits. We have got our hands full with the ground targets! Where are the Green Tails?! »
« Green Tails are en route. ETA 2 minutes. » Sky Eye updated the status.
« At this rate… »
A MiG had locked on the Omega 5. Just before the pilot would pull the trigger, something had just passed his sight of vision.
Before he could register it, his aircraft suddenly spiraling down to the ground below. With no mean to control, he had to bailed out.
He was not the only one. The other MiGs followed him had been…slashed, not by missiles, but clean cut. Like fish or meat chopped off by a blade. That's what happened to his plane and the others.
When he's descending down in the chute, he saw two flying figures with iconic shape of Striker clad around their legs.
« Mou daijoubu. Watashi ga kita! (It is fine now. I am here!) » Swordfish 1 declared!
« Watashi mo… (I'm here too.) » Her wingman joined along, firing the machinegun to the bandits.
« Please keep the language in check, Swordfish team. Not everyone here is bilingual. » Sky Eye reminded them.
…
…
« Mobius 1. Mobius 3. Three bogeys are onto your location from the south-east. Intercept them. »
« Copy that, Sky Eye. » Mobius 1 responded.
« But what about the airport? » Edge asked.
« Let's deal with the armors as much as we can before we pull out. »
« I still have the missiles, Mobius 1. »
« It's best to save them, Edge. I will use my special weapons to clear out those tanks on the runway. »
The F/A-18E swooped down and up like a bird of prey, decimating the heavy armors with his payload.
« The rest is up to you now, sister. »
The ribbon fighter along with ASF-X Shinden II turned their nose to where it needed them.
…
…
« This is captain Leon Hansworth of Flight 282. We are preparing to take off. »
« It's too dangerous to take off now. There are enemy fighters flying above. » Sky Eye advised.
« There's no time! The soldiers in terminal have noticed something is wrong. They are coming to us! »
"Let them launch, Sky Eye. We will cover them." Mobius 2 said.
« …Copy. Flight 282, and Flight 8406. Begin your taxi. »
« 10-4. We're taxing. » Captain was relief.
"Uhm…what should we do?" Yukari asked.
"Make some noise." Mobius 2 calmly said as she opened fire toward a group of soldiers.
« What is that? »
« We're under attack! »
Seeing the soldiers were moving to where the Witches were, the captains began to roll their planes away from the terminal.
« It's our cue! »
« Steady as we go. »
« The planes…ah! Somebody stop them! »
« Do we shoot to kill? »
« No! Shoot the engine! Do not let those planes taking off! »
« Captain! They're shooting at us! » The flight engineer of Flight 282 cried out.
« Of course, they are, genius! » The first officer responded.
« Pipe down, you two! »
Many passengers cried out, ducking down to their seat as low as they could and pray that they would get through this.
When a grenadier with his RPG was ready to fire, an explosive nearby occurred.
« More of them! It's Tank Witches! Tank Witches are on the runway! »
« Forget the planes! Target those witches! »
With the Wild Badgers' presence, they successfully drew the enemy's attention, lifting off the intense fire from Mobius Witches.
"Hah…hah…" Ducking behind a car, Mobius 4 felt she was running out of air.
"You alright? Are you hit?" The Ribbon Witch asked.
"I'm…fine. I'm fine."
When Mobius 2 refocused back to the enemies, she spotted an RPG warhead was already fired.
With reflex, she deployed her shield.
Usually, in the basic training, the Witches often has to braced for themselves for the violent impact of the explosive once their magic shield was put up, however, what Mobius 2 had pulled was a skillfully projectile deflection thanks to the shield's 45-degree angle she set up. The warhead was soon bounced off away and hit the wall of structure nearby.
Mobius 4 was astonished seeing her displayed skill.
…She is experienced in this, like a veteran. I wonder how long she had fought on the ground like this.
…
…
« Blake here. I've got 2 police SUVs are gunning for the planes. »
Rico took a closer look, noticing the incoming vehicles are commandeered by the enemy commandos.
"Well, you've always wanted to blast those up police cars."
« Eeeh, they don't flash their light. Literally unplayable. »
Nevertheless, she began to pick her target and blew up their engine and the tires one by one with her high caliber rifle.
The rescue mission was successful after two airplanes have taken off the runway. Mobius 1 and 3 had established the air superiority so there was no worry about the threat in the sky.
« AWASC Sky Eye here. Your destination is South Dakota Airport, follow the guidance path on your radar. A flight of escort F-15s will be joining you soon. »
« Affirmative, thank you for your assistance. Please give my thanks to the Witches. They are…very brave. »
« I'll be sure to do that. »
« Good evening. This is your captain speaking. Sorry about that rough take off. Since those people miss us dearly. And now our next stop will be South Dakota. »
« In the case of unforeseen turbulence, please remain in your seat at all time and fasten your seatbelt. Thank you. »
…
…
After two hours of more intense fighting, the Seattle attackers finally stopped fighting and retreated back to the vessels.
No longer had the ammo or fuel to rout them, the defenders and 108 Task Force had to stand down and shift to the search and rescue operation among the rumbles of the city.
"The traffic is getting worse by the minute. I wonder what's going on?" Violet searched for a clear frequency among the static noises.
"Girls! I've just got words that Orussian and Erusean force has taken Washington DC." Amber came back with a grim news.
"Damn!" Rico sighed.
"The Liberion won't let it go that easily." Blake said.
"The hell we won't!" A soldier nearby spoke to them. His blood-stained uniform had made…quite an impression to the Witches.
"We will burn all of their cities to the ground once we take back our capital!"
The others shouted out, agreeing with him.
"Down with those Orussian bastards!"
Even though Rico was the same countryman, it's rather disheartened to see everyone were filled with so much anger and hatred.
"Did Hexer say anything?" Blake asked Violet.
Only a shaking head returned.
"Man, I think I should get some sleep like Mobius 2 does… Sooner or later, there will be an all-out fight."
The Witches looked toward the direction where there's a certain skirmish still on-going.
...
One night, there was a spirited group made their way into the bar. Chased out the moody soldiers and commandeered the place for themselves.
While puzzling at first, I soon learned who they were. The patch on their sleeve was the mark of the proud air force.
A loud-mouthed middle-aged man went around, announcing each pilot's results for the day and his…killing record.
When there's someone exceeded five kills, a thunderous toasting and soaking followed.
I believe it was their custom to call pilot an 'ace' once he shot down five planes.
"And for the MVP of the day. Yellow Thirteen!" The old man said.
Everyone turned, looking at a young silver-haired woman, around 17 or 18. She was old enough to be my big sister. She was beautiful…and big too. Not the height…but those two things. I wonder if I would ever get them.
"Our Yellow Thirteen bagged three more today, bringing her new tally up to sixty-four kills."
As if it's a normal thing, she didn't pay much attention to the score board.
Sitting in a corner, she strummed the guitar.
When she noticed me, I reflexively hid behind Ms. Auntie.
"Hey angel." She gave me a warm smile. "You play harmonica?" She noticed the thing that I hanged around my neck.
I nodded.
"Then join me."
By some fluke, it's the favorite song that my mother like to hear.
The sounds we played together soon filled the air.
~ The girl's diary ~
- Page 9 –
Another chapter is out. And the next one will be a big battle!
I'll try my best to keep flow of events going as…simple as they should and not too many things, otherwise the readers would get confuse.
A few more review + favourite, follow would be nice.