NW of Valais Air Base; 1300hrs
"It's starting to come down!"
The call from Pixy resounds over 6th Division's radios when a heavy snow starts to fall. The nine jets fly through the bad weather to get into a better position to intercept. Everyone's radios crackle again.
"Galm Team, this is base command. Listen up, I have your numbers."
"Pixy here. Lay it on us."
"Pixy, for this operation you are Galm-2. Cip-"
Command is cut off by the voices of the other pilots shouting out in disbelief.
"What!?"
"You're joking right?"
"I'm sorry, Base, could you repea-"
Colonel Falkenrath cuts into the chatter and shouts, "Crow and Trident, Clear the channel!"
The radio clears of chatter as all of the pilots shut up from the Colonel's order. Niceguy, however, isn't cowed.
"Why are you letting the new guy take lead?"
"Trident-3, if you ever question my orders again, then you will be given penalties towards your next paycheck. Do I make myself clear?"
The comms remain quiet until Niceguy replies. "Trident 3 copies." By the strain in his voice, it's obvious he's having to hold back cursing the Colonel out. The Colonel continues on.
"Good. I will repeat, Pixy, you are Galm-2 for this operation. Cipher you will be Galm-1. Do you both copy?"
The radio remains quiet. Cipher, in his jet, does not touch his communications. He turns to the side to try to get a look at Pixy but can't through the storm. When the silence stretches on, the Colonel's voice cuts through the cockpit again.
He growls, "Cipher and Pixy, do. You. Copy."
A tired Pixy's voice finally comes over the radio.
"Galm-2 here. Wilco."
Immediately Cipher's voice follow's Pixy's.
"Galm-1. Wilco."
"Good. To all flights, you are to follow all orders of your flight lead. Free engagement is prohibited. The primary targets are the bombers. Shoot them all down. Don't let them get to our base. As soon as they are dealt with, you are to disengage. Does everyone understand?"
All of the pilots call in their affirmatives although a few are noticeably sulky about it.
"Excellant. I will return you to ops."
Base command's voice immediately comes back on.
"Oookay. Bearing 315 from Base, Belkan bombers approaching. Flights are to modify course to Bearing 323."
All of the jets make soft turns to the right. The current formation has Trident in the middle, Crow to the front-right-high, and Galm to the back-left-low. Pixy's voice cuts across Cipher's radio.
"Nobody wants to bail out into a mountain of ice. I'm counting on you, flight leader."
No reply is given for a second until Cipher replies with a simple, "Understood."
A short time later, base command comes on again.
"At your position, your long range should be picking them up now. All units, prepare to intercept."
A low whistle is heard over the comms. Scruffy's voice is heard with faint disbelief.
"I'm counting three groups and those blips are way too big. I'd guess at least three bombers to each group so we're looking at around nine bombers and assorted escorts."
Bark's voice comes next.
"But that's nearly an entire bomber squad!"
An uncomfortable laugh is heard from Scrubs.
"It looks like they really want to finish us off."
The formation flies quiet for a moment until the roar from Cipher's jet increases as he opens up the throttle. While his jet begins to overtake the formation, Cipher's muffled voice breaks the silence.
"It's nothing we weren't told during the briefing. We simply need to leave them disappointed."
Pixy does a double take, but a smile soon takes over his face. He quickly clasps his oxygen mask and then follows his lead. He goads the other flights on as he passes them.
"All those too scared to fly should go back to base and wait patiently with their tail between their legs. Galm team will handle this!"
All of the other pilots can only stare in astonishment for a second until Dainty gets back her wits.
"You cheeky bastard! We're not letting the new guy out do us, are we!?"
Dainty's jet quickly follows Galm team. Niceguy opens up his own throttle and replies, "Like hell!"
Crow-3 joins in saying, "Let's make quick work of these suckers and treat ourselves to a little hot whiskey."
Soon enough, all aircraft are following Galm. Pixy's F-15 slows slightly to slide into Cipher's wingman position.
"Awaiting your orders, Cipher. You're Galm-1 now."
Cipher breathes in deeply and then exhales. With a certain nod he says, "Copy. Let's take it up high. I have a basic idea. We want to be above them. Modify it when we get closer."
By the time Galm has leveled out, Crow and Trident have wound up in front of them. Cipher checks his radar and sees that Crow is nearly in the bomber's path and Trident is in the middle having also increased their altitude. The enemy bombers haven't changed course but the lead blip has bulged forward a little. Cipher sees all of this and nods his head once more.
He flips his radio to general and asks, "Galm-1 to Crow and Trident, are you both open to a suggestion?"
A few seconds pass until Scruffy replies.
"Crow-1 here. Yeah, I'll listen. I guess anything's better than nothing."
Dainty is heard sighing but she says, "Sure, why not. Doesn't mean I plan on following it though."
A small crooked smile crosses Cipher's face.
"Your consideration is all I need."
On the opposing side, the bombers continue their straight flight. The whole formation has slowed down significantly to create more time before contact. The pilot of the lead bomber notices his left wingman straying to the left away from the incoming Ustio fighters. He flicks the radio on and orders him back into formation.
"Otto 3, stay on course. Don't make things difficult for our escort planes."
The large behemoth to his side begins to fly straight once more.
The lead pilot nods his head and thinks, As it should be.
His attention is taken by his co-pilot giving a status update.
"We have it clear now. Nine fighters are in front of us. Two above and near, three slightly below, and the four farthest to our front."
The pilot grunts and focuses ahead. He thinks for a second and then flicks the radio on again.
"Hellschild, we need your entire squad to back us up. We don't want any fighters on our tails."
A second later, the three F-5's guarding the middle group begin to pull ahead to join the four in the front. They won't be there in time though.
The co-pilot cries out. "Captain!"
"What?"
"The two up high are accelerating!"
Sure enough the two F-15's have lit their afterburners and are gunning for the first group. All of a sudden, Otto-3 breaks left with a cry of "We're being targeted! Evasive action!"
The Captain curses. "Shit!" He immediately cuts to the radio and shouts, "Otto-3, stay in formation! That's an order!"
"Fighters are diving!"
"Huh?"
He looks up and finds the F-15's diving their way. Their four escorts rise to intercept. A joust looks like it's going to occur but the two F-15's swerve left and increase their dive. It takes but a split-second for the four Belkan F-5's to follow them. Two Belkan's continue the dive to follow while the last two stop at the bomber's level to continue escort. In the excitement of the opening move however, they forget about the three F-16's down below which have also increased their speed. By the time the two diving Hellschild's realize the second group is on them, they're already being engaged. The F-15's are free.
The F-15's use their dive's momentum to turn back up and switch targets. They pounce on the trailing flight of Hellschild. The blue-winged one opens up with his guns and the solo red-winged one lets loose a missile on the last one which has just turned in on them. The first F-5 jerks right to further his dive but ends with his tail smoking from the burst going into it. The third doesn't have the time to move before the missile plows into it and it blows up into a fireball. The Ustio planes roar by the undamaged middle and turn to take the two lead Belkan escorts.
The bombers only hear the reports.
"Paul, where are you! I have one on my tail."
"I'm dealing with my own."
"Hellschild-7 is down!"
"Hellschild-5, my plane has been damaged. She won't fly straight."
The pilot gnashes his teeth as he listens to it all. His two forward escorts finally break off to help their squadmates fighting the three F-16's. Almost instantly afterwards they're being run down by the two F-15's which have looped around onto their tail. Both of them fire a missile which crosses the distance easily. One Belkan goes up into flames while the other one pops flares soon enough to slightly confuse the missile. Instead of becoming a fireball, he has his right wing blown away causing it to go into a death spiral. The two F-15's forgo the two languishing F-5's being hunted down by the F-16's and turn towards the duo that remain.
The damaged F-5 and his wingman have returned and are heading towards their flight lead who's being hunted down. They're forced to pull away when the F-15's arrive. The Blue-winged one fires a short burst at the damaged leader which causes him to split from his wingman. Instead of chasing the damaged one, Blue does a mixture of a barrel roll and a half-loop to re-orientate and help chase down Hellschild-6. Blue lines up perpendicular to an curving Hellshild and opens up with another quick burst. It doesn't do much damage but the shock causes Hellschild-6 to freeze up at the worst time. Red finishes him off with a gun burst directly down his tail-engine.
With Hellschild-6 falling from the sky, both F-15's turn and aim for the sluggish Hellschild-5. At this moment, the lead bomber can read the signs. He grabs the radio and asks for help.
"Altruder, we need you up here now! Otto flights two and three, change course to bearing 120 for five klicks and then continue with operation."
"Captain, lock on warning!"
"Damn!"
The pilot looks up and sees what's been missing. The four planes in front of them, SU-27's, have entered into range and are speeding up. Four missile plumes are seen for just a moment. A moment in which Otto-1 and Otto-2 attempt to take evasive maneuvers and pop chaff. It's nowhere near enough. The pilot is just able to see Otto-2's entire left wing separate before he's knocked unconscious by two explosions. One missile takes out the nearest right-side engine while another blows up in the farthest left-side one. Both bombers begin to plummet.
"Two enemy bombers down. Stay sharp out there!"
Pixy ignores base command's message while the grin possessing his face is threatening to split it in half. He takes a quick look at the situation. The damaged F-5 was taken care of, Crow team had finally finished off their two, two bombers were falling thanks to Trident, and not a single speck of damage to their entire division.
Pixy cackles and then turns on the radio.
"Hey Cipher, any more bright ideas to deal with the last five fighters?"
The radio is quiet for a moment except for the sounds of Crow and Trident's yells as Galm circles around to the front of the Belkan formation. It's when they both get there and the third bomber is down that Cipher's voice goes over the net.
"Galm-1 to Crow and Trident. Open to another suggestion?"
"Sure, why not. Doesn't mean I plan on following it though."
Contrasting to her prior response, Dainty's echo is followed by a good-natured laugh.
Scruffy cuts across the net saying, "Sure, but make it fast. Five bandits dead ahead and closing."
Cipher takes a quick glance at his radar and spots five fighters coming at them all from their direct north-north-west. 6th division is in the same general position as the start. Crow team is low on the operation plane, Trident is middle ground, and Galm is slightly above.
Cipher returns and says, "Trident, blind fire four missiles into their mass. Lock on not needed. Break their formation. Crow converges on the smaller pack. Trident changes focus to the larger one. Galm team will support by flanking. Go!"
Without waiting, Cipher takes a hard left to get in line with the approaching enemy jets with Pixy right behind him. Crow team angles into the same direction quickly enough but Trident takes a little while. By the time they're in position, Galm is almost in range of the Belkan fighters. Pixy is heard shouting over the net.
"Any time now, Trident!"
Finally, four white plumes are seen rocketing toward the now in range bandits. Cipher decides to blind fire one of his own as well. Suddenly, he gets a lock on warning. He jerks hard left-up on the stick and pops flares. Pixy does so as well. Just in front of the three flights, five missiles cross one coming their direction. Cipher's eyes go wide when he sees a white rocket roar by underneath his carriage. He also catches a glimpse of what looks like the plume of a sixth missile from the Ustio group.
He hears Trident burst out over the channel.
"Scratch one."
"Holy shit, Point! Fucking nice!"
Cipher's attention snaps back to the situation at hand. He looks to see what the Belkan formation is doing. They've split into two, one of three going left and one on his own. Of the previously numbered five plane group, one F-4 is distinctly missing.
"Galm, Crow. We've got this one. Help Trident."
"Copy."
Cipher gets back into control and leads Pixy to join Trident's small furball. Two of the three are being kept busy by half of Trident while the third is being ridden down by the rest.
Pixy's mic clicks and he suggests, "We still have bombers to deal with. I'll take the loner and then join up for the two?"
"Go."
Cipher and Pixy split. Cipher guns it to try and head off the lead bandit. Both sides are swirls in the sky as they try to get into better positions against the other. In a sense, it's an orderly form of chaotic dance, but not for very much longer. Cipher locks onto the lead bandit turning into him and quickly lets a missile fly. He then immediately sends a short burst in the path further into and below his opponent's turn. The enemy jet tries to deepen his turn as much as possible and pops flares. The missile falls for it but the enemy jet is hit by the gun burst. Part of the cockpit is marked and the plane goes into a death spiral.
Dainty whines, "Hey! That was mine!"
Point cuts in, "Not the time. Need help."
Cipher makes sure the bandit is truly dead before finishing his circle. He and Dainty form an impromptu group and head for Point's duel. It's evenly matched with the F-5's pilot being skilled enough to stay out of Point's PIP and shaking her off for a second or two before it starts over again. It stays that way until Cipher and Dainty arrive and make quick work of the heavily outnumbered Belkan.
Cipher forms up with Dainty and Point. He looks to try to find Pixy.
He calls out, "Pixy, Cipher. Status?"
"Ace."
"Ah! Pixy, you fucker!"
Niceguy curses out Pixy a little more before going silent. Scrubs laughs.
"Looks like Galm 2 is gonna steal the show again."
Pixy forms up on Cipher while Trident regroups up ahead of them. Cipher checks Crow's status and sees their trails headed their way.
"Crow-1 here. We've taken care of the loner. I see Galm helped you all out?"
Niceguy comes on again to complain.
"Stole our kills more like it …"
Dainty gives a small chuckle and then grumbles, "The bastards."
Bark whines, "Come on, Pixy! Leave some for us, will ya?"
"I don't have time for that. It's every man for himself."
"Guys. Bombers."
The joking ends with Point's reminder. They orientate towards the bombers which have increased the gap between the 6th division and themselves. The whole division lights their afterburners up and moves to intercept once more.
Pixy calls out over command, "Base Command, we mopped up the enemy escort planes. Continuing on to enemy bombers."
"Roger. Bombers will be over us in seven minutes. We're counting on you."
Dainty growls, "Plenty of time."
"Galm-1 to all, Galm will head for the lead group and cut them off."
"Crow will follow Galm."
"Trident takes the tail … again."
"Good hunting. Galm-1 out."
"This isn't hunting. This is shooting fish in a barrel. Crow-1 out."
The 6th division splits up. Other than a bomber in the trailing group that tries to run, the rest of the mission is uneventful. All of the bomber squadron and its escorts sent to take care of Valais Air Base are destroyed.
"Base Command to 6th Division. The enemy attack unit has been successfully intercepted. All planes, job well done! You'll be paid well for this."
Cheers echo out over the channel with Crow and Trident yelling and shouting in joy. Pixy regroups with Cipher on his wing and laughs.
"Cipher, I have a feeling you and me will get along just fine. … Buddy."
Cipher only snorts. All nine pilots are in a rare good mood when they land and taxi to the entrances of their caverns. They dismount and are greeted by the cheering of their ground crews. Everyone is caught up in the moment and a few of the pilots are lifted into the air. The party is forced to become serious when they see Colonel Falkenrath approach the gathering.
He calmly walks up to stand in front of everyone. His serious stare moves from pilot to pilot. He finally nods and breaks out into a smile.
"Excellent flying. All of you did a marvelous job. I'm actually in a mood good enough to even forget Trident-3's earlier questionable behavior."
Christophe opens his mouth to say something but he's elbowed in the side by Elisabeth who shakes her head. He grumbles but remains quiet. Falkenrath shakes his head slightly. He ignores the sniggering coming from everyone else and continues with a more serious gaze. He looks over the sea of mechanics, technicians, and airmen. His eyes stop once more on the pilots.
"The Belkan's have spread themselves too far in getting to where they are now. I don't doubt they'll slow down in order to reorganize, but until then we should be in the clear. Thanks to you, Belka's attack on Valais Air Base has failed. Your efforts will not go unrewarded. Your actions may well decide who wins the Belkan War. I, for one, will be counting on you."
By the time he ends the pilots have managed to stand straight and look serious. Falkenrath is actually able to think of them has professionals for a second until he looks at Crow-3's gut and Crow-1's beard and the fantasy falls apart.
Finally, he nods and then calls out, "Dismissed!"
All is quiet for a second before Christophe turns to Crow-3 and asks, "So what was that about hot whiskey earlier?"
Crow team bursts out laughing. Galm and the rest of Trident steal looks at the Colonel. In disgust, he just shakes his head and turns around. Instantaneously a cheer goes out and a few ground crewman gather around Crow team. The portly pilot shakes out of the grasp of a few and growls.
"I'm not giving you drinks! Shoo!"
Crow-3 runs off in the direction of the bar. Crow and Trident break out into laughs and run after him. Cipher and Pixy share a look. Cipher shrugs and Pixy's face breaks out into a grin. They start running after the rest.
"Hey Glass, you have any more?"
Bark lifts up his given glass with a hopeful look. He lowers it again when Scruffy gives a light slap behind the head.
"We're still in a war, Al. No getting drunk."
"I don't know. He might be a better pilot drunk than sober."
"Yeah! He might actually hit something!"
The whole group breaks out into laughter at Glass' joke. Bark sends a glare his way but Glass isn't looking. All of the pilots have gathered in the base's bar. No alcohol is actually served but Glass had seemed to figure out a way to smuggle some in before the war started. They all relax after having had a shot of his hidden whiskey.
Agathe leans back and whistles.
"Whew. What a battle."
Elisabeth is leaning forward a little flushed. She has a small smile on her face and she nods her head in agreement.
"Yeah …"
Christophe shakes his head.
"Battle my ass. I didn't see it being that fucking easy. But we flew through their asses. Did any of us even get a damn scratch?"
Everyone shakes their head and looks around.
Renard sighs, "We were lucky."
An awkward silence is created until Pixy perks up at a thought and laughs.
"That wasn't luck. That was planning."
Cipher narrows his eyes and shoots a glance at Pixy. Pixy is smirking and winks at him.
"And whose planning did we all rely on?"
The whole group centers on Cipher. Cipher cringes in his seat. Agathe narrows her eyes and Scruffy shakes his head in disbelief.
"Now that I think about it, yeah. We did. Of all the people, we followed the new guy!"
Scruffy bursts out laughing which brings in Bark. Glass and Renard just shake their own heads more. Christophe scoffs and leans forward.
"Okay, I'll repeat the question. Who the hell are you?"
Cipher shuffles in his seat before breathing in to speak. He's cut off before beginning though by Pixy.
"Now, now, Niceguy. You should introduce yourself first."
Christophe stares incredulously at Pixy.
"That's not how this fucking goes. New guy always goes first."
Pixy's smirk grows.
"The new guy rarely saves your ass."
Christophe curses.
"Bullshit. He came up with some good plans but he didn't save shit." Christophe turns to his side to look at Elisabeth. "Hey Lis, back me up here."
Elisabeth sighs and shakes her head. She sits back up and waves at Cipher.
"Elisabeth Achterberg, Trident-2. My callsign is 'Point.' "
Christophe's mouth falls open and stares wide eyed.
"What?"
Agathe snorts and nods at Cipher.
"Agathe Achterberg, Trident-1. My callsign is 'Dainty.' Push me on it and you'll wind up with a broken nose like Niceguy over here."
Agathe motions her head at Christophe who's finished cursing.
"Fucking traitors."
Renard continues on.
"Renard Paquet, Trident-4. 'Scrubs.' "
Cipher looks at Scruffy who nods up at him.
"Louis Verdan, Crow-1, and I'm saddled with the proud name of 'Scruffy.' "
Agathe grins.
"If you want a new one, you should shave your beard."
Louis looks over and scoffs. He sends a hand over his beard and then through his short dark-blond hair
"When hell freezes over."
Agathe just lifts her arms and waves at their surroundings. Louis just sighs and then laughs. He elbows Bark. Bark startles but then focuses on Cipher.
"Albrecht Weisburg, 'Bark.' I'm Crow-2."
Cipher nods at the young brown-haired guy and then turns to Glass. Glass grunts.
"Norman Richter, Crow-3, 'Glass.' Welcome to the shitshow."
Cipher nods and then focuses back on Christophe. He growls but obliges.
"Christophe Sauvage, Trident-3, 'Niceguy.' Fuck you."
Renard and Pixy roll their eyes while everyone else snickers. Cipher smiles and nods his head. Pixy relaxes and elbows Cipher.
"Alright, buddy. Your turn."
Christophe narrows his eyes and growls some more.
"Fuck that."
Christophe points at Cipher.
"You? Wait."
He then points at Pixy.
"You? You're not getting out of this. He goes last."
Pixy raises an eyebrow at Christophe but Agathe smirks.
"Yeah Pixy. Share like all of the other boys and girls."
Pixy laughs and shakes his head.
"Children."
Agathe and Christophe respond by flipping him the bird in synchronicity. This causes everyone else to break down in laughter. Pixy gets a hold of himself and turns to Cipher.
"Well, like you know, I'm Larry Foulke and I go by 'Pixy.' As of now, I guess I'm Galm-2."
"About that…"
Everyone turns to Agathe who's rubbing her cheek.
"We heard you shouting last night and before the mission you said we'd 'find out' as to why. Is that why? New guy came in and took lead?"
All of the pilots are silent and looking at Pixy. Pixy leans back into his seat and shakes his head.
"No. First I heard of that was when my number was assigned over the radio. I was as surprised as all of you."
Pixy glances at Cipher who shakes his head as well.
"First time I was told."
Pixy nods.
"Right … So, what happened last night wasn't about who was going to lead. I met Cipher here a few hours before curfew. He had been quietly flown in through Ratio yesterday morning and spent the whole day getting slotted in. The Colonel and I's … argument was about him being shuffled into my flight."
Pixy moves around in his seat to get a little more comfortable. Everyone is zeroed in on his story.
"I didn't want to be … tied to him."
"You mean you didn't want to babysit the new guy."
Soft laughter ripples through the group and Pixy shoots a deadpan glare over Agathe's way. Agathe just continues smiling. Pixy sighs and nods his head.
"Yeah … Reminds me. I haven't apologized about all of that yet."
Pixy turns to Cipher and nods at him.
"Sorry about underestimating you. I blew up thinking you were a nugget."
A deep chuckle comes from Norman.
"He sure proved you wrong."
A few more chuckles come from everyone else. Cipher nods his head at Pixy.
"Not an issue … "
Cipher then smirks and puts emphasis on the next word.
"... Buddy."
Pixy's eyes widen and then he laughs with his head back. Christophe leans in further.
"Sure, but we've missed the point."
Christophe snaps his fingers at Cipher.
"You? Name. Now."
Elisabeth sighs and the rest of Trident just roll their eyes. Cipher snickers but relents and he opens his mouth to give his name.
Author's Notes (11/3/2017):
And his name is JOHN CENA! *Gratuitous Confetti Noises and Airhorns Corrupted By Static Noise*
Lame joke, I know. I still wanted to make it. Something else to apologize for but, looking at what I had, I realized I didn't have 2 more chapters to give but only one larger chapter. This ends my backlog. Chances are that, like my other stories, this story dies here. Some nebulous time in the future (maybe after AC7 comes out) I might continue this. Don't get your hopes up.
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed what I have. Fly safe out there.