Chapter 15
Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Combat 5. (Cocks the shotgun).
September 4, 2010, O9 hundred hours. "Lieutenant Kevin Johnson, commanding officer of the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron. You and your squadron are here at this hearing for the charges of attacking an innocent Yuktobanian facility full of civilians. This hearing however is not to accuse or assign blame for that tragic incident, it is just to hear you and your squadron's point of view on the matter. So please, Lieutenant, give this court your side of the affair." Asked High Judge Nathaniel Mitchell. Kevin and the other members of Wardog Squadron were away from the tiny isolated island, and in the military courthouse of the Osean capital, Oured. They were to come to this hearing to just give their side of what happened in Yuktobania on September 2, 2010.
Kevin told his story to the higher officers. About how he and his squad were attacking enemy transport planes. About the radio interference by the 767 jamming craft and the weird transmissions he had heard about the attack. The rest of the hearing went as it would have been expected. Each pilot was interrogated by the higher brass one by one as each told their story. After Chopper finished his hearing, ending with a few choice words about the situation, they were placed in a quarantined room with a large table, some chairs and benches, and a water cooler. Kevin was sitting at the end of one bench, with Chopper pacing around the room. Grim stayed near the water cooler with a sense of confusion on his face, and Nagase sat at the table, staring down at her hands. The entire room was quite, with the only real sounds coming from the water cooler and the clock. The silence was however broken by Grimm, throwing his water cup across the room, shouting "What the hell is going on? We didn't attack any civilians."
"Calm down Grimm! None of us are happy with this, but there really isn't anything we can do about it." Said Kei.
"And that's what's pissing me off." Yelled Chopper. "We know we didn't attack any college, but those stiff ass higher ups don't care. They need a scapegoat for this mess and we're it. This is bullshit man. What's next, their going to blame us for Bartlett's disappearance?"
Everything was then silent again. Nagase looked back down at the table, while Chopper turned around in frustration. Grimm remained where he was, staring out the window. As this all happened, Kevin straightened up his posture and said "You do have a point for once Chopper." Everyone then turned to where Kevin was sitting with surprised looks on their faces. They weren't used to him admitting that Chopper was right. "The judges don't care about our innocence. They just want to blame someone quickly for this to end the matter as cleanly as possible. And we were at the wrong place at the wrong time. That being said, this just seems suspicious to me."
"How so Captain?" asked Grimm
"I don't know, but I got a bad feeling. The best thing we can do right now is be careful."
"Be careful of what? You're talking as if there's some big conspiracy against us." Said Chopper.
"I don't know, but the attack on the college and us being the closest ones to it doesn't seem right. I just hope this is paranoia talking." Kevin did not like the situation one bit, but deep inside, he knew the worst was yet to come.
When the Osean forces first invaded the Yuketobanian mainland, Wardog Squadron was called to offer air support for the ground troops. There, the Oseans met tough resistance from the defending Yukes, but in the end it was not enough, to stop the triumphant invaders. In that battle the ground forces got an exclusive first look at the airborne guardians who would support them in future operations. It was also in the invasion that, the Wardogs learned of Grimm's older brother and that he was part of the amphibious operation. Another man was also down on the ground with him. A man who was also a sort of brother to one of the pilots. But now the Wardog Squadron had to get through their private court marshalling before they could ever fly as guardians again. But fortunately before the trial could continue, unforeseen events were about to start which gave the Squadron its one chance to escape. An officer entered into the room with a not so happy look on his face. In fact he looked mad as hell.
"This has got to be your lucky day. As of this moment, your court marshal is on hold."
"What?" said Chopper, Nagase, and Grimm.
"Yeah you heard me correctly; your hearing is temporarily suspended."
"But why would that be?" asked Grimm.
'As of ten minutes ago, our intelligence believes that Yuktobania is preparing a massive attack at Apito International Airport. Also, there has just been an attack at Bana City by a Yuktobanian commando force using a special nerve gas. Not to mention our current air defense force right now is very thin and we have been ordered to send you four out to eliminate the threats."
"Then what are we waiting for, lets get into the air and out of this rat hole." Said Chopper.
"It's not that easy Lieutenant. The attacks are too spread out to just send you up to take care of everything. You have to decide whether to protect either the airport or Bana City. The other forces will handle whatever you don't pick."
"What? We have to choose, that's bogus man." Complained Chopper.
"I've got an idea since the idea of making a decision looks to be too hard for you. Why don't we let this choose for you?" And out of his pocket he took an Osean quarter. "Heads, you get the airport. Tails, you get the Yuke terrorists. It's that easy." Said the officer. He then tossed it straight into the air, the lives of many where now being decided by a thin piece of metal. The coin flipped while in mid air as it ascended into the air and plummeted back down to the ground. As it hit the tile floor it slid and rolled on the ground and stopped right at Kevin's feet.
"So what did it land on, Kid?" asked Chopper.
"Heads! We've got the airport." Answered Kevin.
Later that night… The four pilots flew over the civilian airstrip in their F-20 Tiger Sharks high in the night sky. Over businesses and homes that were unaware of what would be taking place soon.
"So far things look pretty quite over here. Maybe we actually got lucky for once and intel got it all wrong again." Said Chopper.
"With our luck, the Scinfaxi is probably in the bay right now." Answered Grim.
"That's not funny Grim, if the Scinfaxi is in the bay, a lot of civilians could easily be killed and we couldn't do anything to stop it." Responded Blaze.
"I'm sorry Captain, I wasn't trying to be funny. It's just that nothing has ever gone the way that it should have with us lately."
"I won't argue that, but it would be very stupid by the Yukes to bring that monster here now. If the Scinfaxi did surface and launch ballistic missiles, the civilian casualties would be in the thousands and cause a worldwide incident. It would be like committing suicide with every other country turning their backs on Yuktobania, making it the new Belka." Said Blaze.
"Your right about that Kid, but do the Yukes know that?" asked Chopper.
"Lets just pray that they do. I don't think any nation can survive another war like the Belkan War fifteen years ago." Said Blaze.
Suddenly a loud pitched beeping noise was heard with a flashing red light on the cockpit system lit up. "Warning Wardog Squadron, enemy aircraft picked up by radar. Heading east toward the airport. Over."
"Well, it's show time gang." Joked Chopper.
The four Osean fighters made their way, and in little time sanitized the area of all Yuke fighters. But more were reported heading from the east toward their target. Unknown to Wardog Squadron and AWACS, things would take an unexpected turn.
"Blaze, Fox 2… One down."
"This isn't making much sense?" said Grim.
"What do you mean, we're winning. That's supposed to be a good thing." Answered Chopper.
"I mean this just seems too easy. None of these guys are making any kind of aggressive run at the airport. They've just been engaging us this whole time." Said Grim.
"Grim has a point. They haven't even fired a shot at the ground yet. What's going on? Is the airport not the target?" asked Nagase.
Wardog, warning. The planes, their not the threat. The Yukes… How did this happen… They've got tanks. I repeat, the Yukes have tanks on the ground." Reported AWACS.
And sure enough, coming out of the landed C-5 transport planes were tanks bearing the markings of Yuketobania.
"Crap. Crap. Damn it. Here we go again, the plan's coming apart once again and we have to deal with it. This is starting to become habit with these things man." Complained Chopper.
"Those tanks wont need five minutes to turn Apito inside out. We have to stop them now." Said Nagase.
"That's gonna have to be the plan. Disperse and consecrate your missiles on the tanks and C-5's, they take top priority as of now." Ordered Blaze.
"We may not have enough missiles left to fight both the tanks and enemy planes?' said Grim.
"Just don't miss. I'm also lifting the restrictions on the SAAM's, so if you get the shot, take it."
As the night wore on filled with fire and explosions on the and over the tiny island, Apito was a red hot battle zone with only four fighters taking on over two dozen enemy units. The people inside Apito looked on the battle through the thin glass, in fear that this was going to be their final moments. But at the same time, little by little, the civilians could see the courage and tenacity of the Wardog Squadron as they fought on the enemy for them. It was an effort worthy of medals and recognition, even by the highest of ranking officers. And as the fight came to a close and the remaining Yuke fighters retreated toward the ocean, four Osean fighters remained in the night sky and Apito airport still stood with minimal damage and no civilian casualties.
"Wardogs, remaining enemy fighters are bugging out. We also got conformation from Apitio Airport that no civilians were hurt in the scuffle. We also got news from Bana City that the terrorists involved in the gas attack are falling back as well. Looks like they didn't want to fight without their friends. Good work, head back to the carrier and call it a night." Reported AWACS.
Later that same night on the Osean Carrier Orion… Nagase, Chopper, and Grim are relaxing in the pilot lounge watching Sports Talk on television. All three were trying to rest after both the battle and the debriefing. After the usual debriefing occurred, a fax arrived from the justice department for the four pilots.
To the four pilots of the Sand Island 118 Tactical Fighter Squadron.
After hearing each of your statements in court and your current actions in the defense of Apito International Airport, as well as your squadron's impressive service record in this war. We have decided to grant a partial pardon to each of you and allow each to return to the service of the Osean Air Force as of this moment. However certain conditions must now be enforced upon each pilot so as another incident does not occur in the future. These conditions will first be made toward the current captain of Wardog Squadron and thus then to the rest of Wardog Suadron. These conditions will stay in effect until times are deemed unnecessary by the Review board.
Sincerely,
Captain Vince McMullen of the Osean Department of Defense
So now the three pilots eagerly waited for their Captain to return to give them the news of what was going to happen. When he finally arrived, he actually had a sort of smug look on his face.
"So what's going to happen now Captain?" asked Grim.
"Nothing serious. I have to fill out a report after ever sortie with about ten people verifying everything. Also their going to check pour mail and record our phone calls randomly. It's not like we're hiding something." Answered Kevin.
"That's it? We're getting off easy here, but I'm sure our beloved Base Commander isn't going to be so soft on us." Joked Chopper.
"But they are taking our military records into question, so they should help show how valuable we are. But still, we all know we're innocent, but they don't, they think were guilty." Added Nagase.
"It's really not that bad, their just going to keep a closer eye on us from now on. Like they'll find anything incriminating… So what's on right now? Anything good?" asked Kevin.
"Just football. Nate Warburton is looking good for New Annapolis." Said Grim.
"He did win the Hiesman last season." Remarked Chopper.
On the tube were analyst Tommy Green, former cornerback Patrick Suggs, and former offensive lineman Joey Grossman. The three were talking about the most impressive rookies in the ONFL. They had just finished talking about Warburton, until Grossman mentioned: "If I can go off topic here for a minute, I want to mention for all the football fans at home about one rookie who isn't in the ONFL right now. I'm talking about Kevin Johnson, the monster running back from the Air Force Academy. He played four seasons in college, playing in every game, and he brought that team back on the football map. He set career records in rushing yards and attempts at the Academy and lead the Knights to victory in last years Diamond Bowl over heavily favored Jefferson University. And also finished third in the voting for the Hiesman Trophy behind Nate Warburton and Clyde Hicks. In this year's draft, experts had him going somewhere in the first five picks and could have made millions of dollars. And he turned all that down to serve in the air force and fight in the front lines with our other soldiers in this war. That to me is true courage and patriotism and if he is watching this or if anyone in the service is watching this, Kevin Johnson I salute you for your bravery and your sacrifice."
"Very nice Joe and so true. Kevin Johnson turning down millions to play football for a jet and a government check. I don't think many people would make that choice if it was given to them. But still, everyone her at Sports Talk salute you and wish you to come home safely." Added Tommy Green.
A commercial then followed with erupting laughter from Chopper who was grabbing his sides. "Wooo! Oh man. Wouldn't they like to know what you've really been doing for the past few weeks? I'm sorry kid, but I got to laugh. By the way they were talking about you, I'd think you just died." Laughed Chopper.
Kei and grim also formed smiles on their faces. It just seemed funny to them too. It felt good to laugh. To forget about how tired they were and the past couple of events that occurred over the last 28 hours.
"You really turned down all that cash to work in this high risk job where your yelled at all the time?" Asked Nagase.
Again with a smirk Kevin answered, "Yeah! What was I getting myself into here? Who really cares if I'm here?"
"A lot of people are glad you're here." Answered Kei.
How true would that statement be as the war would escalate to a height that could threaten the entire world.