CH. 6: SURPRISE ATTACK

-27 Sept. 2010

The three Wardog pilots raced in full afterburner towards St. Hewlett. Thunderhead gave a brief heads up of what was going on. St. Hewlett was a total shit storm. Su-24 ground attack aircraft were strafing and bombing the harbor. So far no allied aircraft were overhead and the AA defenses were not being effective. The prime concern was getting the aircraft carrier Kestrel, flagship of the 3rd Osean Fleet, out of the harbor in one piece.

As they neared the harbor the three pilots could see smoke rising from the fires. "This is Thunderhead, Edge you lead the formation."

"Negative," Nagase replied surprisingly. She knew she wasn't the best choice for the job. "You take the lead, Blaze. I'll fly on your wing." She moved over as Blaze eased his plane into the lead position.

"Second Lieutenant Nagase, follow your orders."

"No, Blaze is leading I'll protect his six o'clock." She knew he was the best choice due to his experience. "And I'm not going to lose another flight lead."

"Quit screwing around!" A new voice barked over the radio. Suddenly an F-14 Tomcat raced past their flight. "This is war! The enemy's all over and they're gonna eat you alive!"

"I think I'll stick to the trail position thanks!" Chopper chimed in light heartedly.

"This is Snow, callsign 'Swordsman'. Give me a position."

"Cleared to engage!" Thunderhead ordered.

"Let's go get them," Blaze said as they dropped their tanks and got into the fight. "Bandits, twelve o'clock low. Let's get them; follow me!"

"Roger," Nagase said as she raced along behind Blaze. "I'll cover your six, okay Blaze?"

"Right, stick with me. Chopper, keep your head on a swivel."

"Their ships are sitting at anchor," an enemy pilot's voice purred. "This is like target practice."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Blaze said as he lined up on a Fencer. "Fox two!" He loosed a sidewinder that impacted in the cockpit of his target.

"Edge, fox two!" Nagase fired on another Su-24 and blew it in half. "Target down!"

"Uh oh," Chopper said. "More bandits incoming."

"Confirmed. Enemy attack planes incoming, vector 280." Blaze lined up behind a third Fencer and took it down with his guns as more naval fighters took off from the carrier.

"This is not a drill," some moron down in the fleet below took on the role of 'Captain Obvious'.

"No shit," Blaze growled to himself as he led his flight to the new bandits. They were flying low to the water so Blaze dove down after them along with Chopper who zoomed ahead of him.

"Chopper, fox two!" A sidewinder snaked from his plane and took out another Fencer. Blaze got behind the second plane and sent it tumbling into the waves by sending 20mm shells into its engines.

"Bandit down!"

"More enemy aircraft coming in from the north and south," Nagase informed the others.

"Split up," Blaze ordered. "Engage at will."

"You got it, kid," Chopper said splitting off. "Turning to engage."

"The Kestrel takes top priority," the port captain announced over the radio. "Move that barge over there! That carrier is more valuable than that bucket of bolts!" The three Wardog planes, in addition to Snow arched into the sky to dogfight with the attacker aircraft.

"Swordsman, fox two!" A burst of flame in the distance confirmed a kill on an enemy attacker. "Got them."

"More bogey's inbound from vector 280. It's no use, there's too many of them."

'Like hell,' Blaze grumbled as he downed another attacker with his guns and turned to head west.

This time when he and Chopper engaged the incoming fighters there were MiG-23 Flogger fighter aircraft mixed in with the Fencers. "The Kestrel is in open waters," a sailor reported. "Bon voyage guys." The three Wardog F-5s flew straight into the enemy formation and engaged them outside the port exit.

"Wardog, don't take your eyes off the Kestrel." Nagase downed two more planes and Chopper bagged two as the Kestrel passed under the bridge.

"Opening Phalanx fire!" An operator on the Kestrel called out. One of the four 20mm Phalanx cannons on the carrier opened up on a pair of Fencers rushing towards the bow of the ship. The radar controlled anti-aircraft cannon threw out hundreds of 20mm shells like a wall of steel. And that wall of steel knocked the Yuke attack planes out of the sky in balls of fire.

Blaze lined up behind the last Flogger skimming over the water and sent it hurtling through the air and into the waves. What the pilots saw next was horrific.

"Those…those are people floating in the waves," Nagase moaned. And sure enough they were. Sailors who had abandoned their sinking ships were covered in flames when the plane crashed into the ocean. Blaze made the mistake of looking. Seeing their flesh being cooked by the intense heat sent vivid memories of his parents' deaths through his eyes. He began hyperventilating as he climbed back up to his wingmen.

XXXXX

Minutes later, as the Kestrel took to the open sea; Blaze was still trying to calm himself down. "Kid, did you see that?" Chopper asked him. But Blaze didn't hear him. He was still breathing heavily and calming his nerves. "Come on, say somthin', kid."

"Please, Blaze," Nagase begged. "Don't lock up on us; not now."

"R-right, break and engage the enemy at will," Blaze said snapping back to reality. He rolled and dove to take out a MiG-27 attack plane that had just barely missed bombing the Kestrel.

"Blaze, the enemy has set up a naval blockade ahead of the Kestrel. Escort it to safer waters."

"Roger that," Blaze responded. "Wardog, engage the ships. Use your bombs and send them to the bottom."

"I'm on it, Blaze," Nagase said as she turned to attack a frigate. Blaze followed after her and attacked another frigate. Chopper hit another on the opposite flank. All three ships were hit along the water line with two 500 lbs bombs from each of the Wardog fighters and began sinking rapidly as fires broke out on their decks.

"Targeting enemy cruiser," an Osean ship called out as it fired a Harpoon missile at a Yuke cruiser that was about to block the Kestrel's path. The missile slammed into the superstructure and crippled the vessel.

"Kid, there's an aircraft targeting the carrier from beyond the horizon!" Chopper called out. He was right; there were two of them approaching the fleet, fast.

"I've only got one missile left," Blaze called out. "How are you guys doing?"

"I've got two left," Chopper answered.

"I've got one left too," Nagase replied.

"Okay, Chopper, you go take care of those missile platforms," Blaze ordered. "We'll cover you."

"Roger." Nagase and Blaze formed up behind Chopper as they raced towards two TU-22K anti-ship bombers. Chopper turned to take them out as a pair of MiG-23's dove from above to protect the bombers.

"Incoming fighters," Blaze called out. "Twelve o'clock high. Let's go get them Nagase."

"One bomber down!" Chopper called out as Blaze and Nagase distracted the enemy fighters.

"Edge, fox two!" She fired her last sidewinder and took the fighter out. "That's a kill!" Blaze lined up behind his target and pulverized it with his cannons as it tried to break away. Instead it was sent into a flat spin towards the sea below. "Blaze, watch out!" He looked up to see a third MiG fly out of the clouds and engage him. He rolled to avoid a missile that streaked past his cockpit.

"Holy shit, that was close," Blaze cursed. He then put his plane into a ninety degree dive for the deck.

"Blaze what're you doing?" Nagase called out to him. "Pull up!" Blaze waited until the last second before flipping his plane over and pulling up and to the right. His bandit had to break hard as he tried to follow after but overshot the turn. At just over one hundred feet off the deck, Blaze still had speed while the bandit dropped down in front of him and had bled off to much speed. It was a sitting duck.

"Blaze, fox two!" He fired his last missile and it streaked towards the target. The pilot hit his afterburners and pulled up to try and escape but it was too late. The missile hit him in the aft, but surprisingly it didn't fall. It continued flying for a half-mile and climbed nearly one hundred feet before it finally succumbed to its wounds and toppled into the ocean.

"Nice kill, Blaze!" Nagase cried out with amazement.

"The Kestrel has made it through the blockade," Thunderhead reported as the flight rejoined. Chopper had bagged the last bomber while Blaze was in the dive. "Wardog, RTB."

They formed up over the Kestrel and turned south for home. "So Blaze, does it feel good to be the flight lead?" Chopper asked as he turned to join them. Blaze thought back to the people in the waves. The plane he shot down was what caused it. He caused it. It was his fault they died the way they did.

"N-not really," Blaze groaned as he unsnapped his mask.

"Relax, kid, you've got us watching your back."

'That's right, Blaze,' Nagase swore to herself. 'I'll always fly on your wing. No matter what.'