Operation: Harvest
—喉元の刃—
Opening Crawl
【Opening Theme: Summon the Heroes】
※
Erusea's imminent attempt of
destroying ISAF's GHQ via airstrike
was averted, thus allowed ISAF
to survive another day. However
this narrow victory doesn't bring
much change to the general reality:
ISAF is in statues of "down for the count".
※
Still stick to the idea of destroying
Newfield Island and ISAF's GHQ via
strategic air force, Erusea pulls out
all bombers they can find throughout
entire occupied territories and are
mustering them at Rigley Air Base,
a former ISAF facility…
As Opening Crawl and background music fade into depth of night sky, camera pans down through meteor-scattered background, then we can see a big, bright full moon. Camera continues to move downward, stops over a moonlit airport complex.
North Point City International Airport, North Point City, Capital of Republic of North Point
September 28th 2004, 20:00
Camera shoots on a building inside airport's vicinity, a plain building with a whole, flat roof, and with dozens of windows radiating lights from inside.
【Dissolve to】
Inside a corridor, camera is moving forward steadily, stops at the door to an apartment suite.
【Dissolve to】
The other side of the door. This suite is consisted by a vestibule connecting a living room, a bed room, a dining room, a bathroom and a storage. The living room and dining room also partly function as balcony and kitchen, respectively.
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, one of the famous "Eight Model Plays of Chinese Cultural Revolution" is being played on a small-screen TV, located in kitchen. A girl with chinaware-like flawless skin, deep-cyan-colored irises and super-long silky lavender-colored hair, also in miko's costume and apron, is packing things into backpack and tool chest. She seems in a very good mood, well, she's always in a good mood since if you can solve your problem, then there's no necessity to have a bad mood, and if you can't solve your problem, having a bad mood won't be helpful anyways.
Switching off TV and other appliances, the girl leaves apartment with packed stuff, in an allegretto pace. Although slender in shape, those heavy objects she's carrying seem not becoming any burdens.
Camera follows the girl to roof. In Chinese lunar calendar, today is Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiujie), a traditional day of celebration shared by those who live in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam; similar days also exist for people in Europe and America, better known as Harvest Moon. The full moon in night sky is so large and luminous, as if a colossal floodlight hanging at 380 thousand kilometers away. That's why the girl moves to roof — a candlelight dinner. Being a life-enthusiast, how can she miss one of the most romantic days in an annual cycle?
Deploying table and chair, placing foods, drinks, miniature music player and table lamps of refined modeling (open flames are prohibited here). The girl starts to enjoy Mid-Autumn evening — consisted by bright moon, twinkling stars, meteor shower, delicious foods of handmade mooncakes and dumplings (yuè bĭng and jiao zi in Chinese pronunciations), Tie Guanyin (a variant of oolong tea and is considered fittest for autumn), plus Yanni's famous soundtrack "With an Orchid".
Twenty minutes after beginning of this one-man…nah, one-woman banquet, the girl has a visitor. "Good evening and happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Mr. Supreme Commander." She stands up and salutes.
"At ease and happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you, Mobius One." ISAF Supreme Commander returns a salute: "Do you mind if I join your party?"
"You're warmest welcomed, Mr. Supreme Commander." The girl, or known as Mobius One, deploys an extra chair she brought, does she foresee he is coming?
"Thank you." Supreme Commander sits down. A few minutes later, thinking the time is appropriate, he asks: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I had met you before…you were the Scarface One 'Phoenix' in last war, weren't you?"
Mobius One nods with smile: "I am. And you were one of the ranking officers who attended decoration ceremony after conclusion of Operation Fighter's Honor, Mr. Supreme Commander."
"My! You didn't age a day ever since! How did you do that?"
"Sorry, Mr. Supreme Commander, but it's my secret." Mobius One, still with her signature gentle and polite smile, refills Supreme Commander's cup with Tie Guanyin: "Please pardon me for cannot let it to be revealed."
"That's OK. Say, where's your sister Scarface Two 'Ikaruga'? She's not with you this time?"
"She has other missions, Mr. Supreme Commander."
…
Special Mission Briefing Room, North Point City International Airport
October 3rd 2004, 09:30
More than a dozen of pilots, including Mobius One, gather around a screen projected on floor, which is displaying footage captured by satellites: A zoomed-out map of an air force complex. Map zooms in to highlight points of interests, meanwhile a synthetic voice is explaining the sitrep.
Somewhere over Eastern Usean Continent Mainland
Longitude: 341 Degree 41 Minute 48 Second East
Latitude: 33 Degree 20 Minute 48 Second North
October 3rd 2004, 13:30
【Background Music: Imminent Threat】
XFA-27, plus a squadron of Tornado ADVs, are flying at a ultra-low altitude, over undulating hills and continuous paddy-field blocks, their target lies approximately thirty miles west. Rigley Air Base, a former ISAF facility now under Erusea's control like hundreds of others of its kind. High level of Federal Erusea Air Force concluded the reasons for the failure of previous attempt of destroying Newfield Island by strategic air element as "inadequate quantities of bombers and escorts". Therefore during past days, Erusea was scrambling all bombers they can find in entire Usean mainland, both Tu-95s and Tu-160s, with escort fighter squadrons, to the base, even hastily assembling new ones on-site. However since Erusea put all eggs in a single basket, ISAF might have a chance to thwart enemies' smug thought, by an old-school trick: Fighters flying at very low altitude with radio silence, to infiltrate inside Erusea-controlled airspace and kick over the egg-full basket.
But life is a harsh mistress, and this harsh woman comes with a repulsive addiction of adding twists to something cannot afford any twists.
"We're spotted by enemy aerial patrol! They had reported our position! Yokuryu (literally Pterosaur in Japanese) Leader to all aircraft, abort mission! Abort mission! Withdraw from immediate area!"
All Tornadoes peel away to retreat. Since their covert actions are blown, there's no point of continuing the mission. In minutes, enemy fighters will swarm out from Rigley Air Base and swarm on them. Indeed a rational conclusion, however rationality can be a disadvantage, a hinder on the path to achievement, at some times. A good example is Portuguese government denied Columbus' request of sponsorship for searching new routes to Far East, because the route via Cape of Good Hope had been proved feasible, there was no need to find another one. The consequence of such a rational conclusion was Portugal missed the prime chance of monopolizing the New World, which was seized by Spain.
"Mobius One, this mission has been aborted, change your course to follow us." Leader of Yokuryu Squadron hails the pilot of XFA-27 who still stays on previous bearing.
"We won't have another chance to relieve our GHQ from Erusian bombers' menace. This mission must be completed." Answers Mobius One.
"By your own? You're out of your mind!" Yokuryu Leader argues: "Yokuryu Two, take command, I'm turning back."
"Negative. Take the squadron home Yokuryu Leader, entrust the rest to me." Mobius One insists she would go alone.
"You sure?" Asks Yokuryu Leader.
Mobius One: "Please trust me on this."
"Alright. Transmitting air strike data." Murmuring "crazy woman", Yokuryu Leader leaves with others.
XFA-27 kicks on maximum afterburner, drops to an even lower altitude. It actually flies through the tiny gap between ground and wires, when passing through some substations. Observe from high altitude, it's more The Road Runner than a flying object.
"This is Ciffreo Squadron." Reporting to Rigley Air Base by a squad of MiG-29A Fulcrum, coated in paint jobs of light blue-gray, in French: "Bandits have retreated…wait, one of them is still approaching at eleven o' clock low with high-speed. There's nothing on this planet can fly at an altitude this low to my knowledge, almost grazing ground…"
"…configuration profile not found in database…moving to intercept…" In control tower, communication suddenly cuts off as on radar map, icons represent Ciffreo Squadron are replaced by tilted red crosses with "LOST" tags, marking last position they registered.
"All hands! Anti-air combat posts! Scramble Hale Squadron and Bopp Squadron!" Control tower crew shoutout orders.
"That may not be enough." Someone is speaking in shadow of background.
"What do you mean?" Asks the crew chief.
"Does its profile is three-surface, with variable backward swept main wings and an X-tail, looks like a glorified hybrid of an ARC-170 and an X-Wing?" The person in shadow steps forward into illumination, revealing himself to be Yellow Thirteen.
Crew Chief: "Yes, so?"
Yellow Thirteen: "It fought me off, and before fighting off me, it shoots down 30% of our allies, and decimated an elite squadron in seconds, during our failed attempt of bombing Newfield Island."
"What's your suggestion?"
"Clear the runway for my squadron, evacuate bombers as fast as you can after we take off, just in case."
"Evacuate? You're boasting the threat too much."
"We can do or we can teach, your call."
"All right, you win." Crew chief turns to issue new orders. Yellow Thirteen picks up a phone bolted on the wall: "Yellow Squadron, scramble!"
Bomber pilots are sprinting to their designated aircraft, which are being hastily fueled and prepared to liftoff. In the background, five Su-37 Terminators with specialized yellow paint scheme are rocketing into altitude with maximum afterburners.
Meanwhile, several kilometers east from the air base, remaining Erusian sky patrols are engaging Mobius One, and are subsequently being slaughtered.
"Missile away! Missile away!" Two Flankers fire XSAAs to XFA-27, but it suddenly bursts into speed and does a very sharp-angled turn, not common for a fighter jet — thanks to the experimental Hayabusa Engine units it has onborad. Lost tracking, XSAAs self-destruct when fuel reserves deplete. XFA-27 charges directly to Flankers, destroying them both by retaliating with its own air-to-air missiles.
Another Flanker is in pursuit after XFA-27 and successfully gains attack position on its tail, but XFA-27 sways and rolls in a controlled, calculated manner, or more precisely, executes evasive maneuvers just at the second of a coming attack.
"Ne pas bouger et de mourir!" Flanker's pilot roars in frustration. Suddenly XFA-27 jumps off from his HUD, and in less a second, his vision is consumed by flame and smoke generated by an explosion, then falls into eternal darkness. Apparently the target he is after uses a cobra or something akin to transit to his rear and launches a counterattack immediately after transition is completed, which both eloquently and factually proves never judge predator and prey by chasing and being chased.
Other Erusian fighters' fates aren't any better than their fallen colleagues. "Lost contact!" "Target must be strongly electronic low observable!" "It's here! Intercept! Intercept!"
【Background Music Stops】
As the last Flanker is slammed to zero altitude, with one of wings seemly got cut off by an oversized razor, Erusian presence in immediate vicinity is cleansed — save for Yellow Squadron who just arrived the scene. Although taking on five aces in Federal Erusea Air Force could be a fulfillment of both pleasure and heroism, but Mobius One is neither only a combatant solely seeks strength nor simply lives for pride, she is also a strategist. Knowing Yellow Squadron's intension is to bog her down, buying time for bombers to retreat, the ISAF ace quickly lights up a few options in her interface, as a result, a message emerges on HUD: Ramjet Mode Engaged, and XFA-27 folds up main wings, breaches Mach 4 in seconds, passes Yellow Squadron's formation in a blink of eye at ultra-low altitude, to the direction of air base. Yellow Squadron turns around to pursuit as quick as possible, unfortunately neither their aircrafts' airframes nor engines are designed to turn and fly this quick.
【Background Music: Aquila】
While Yellows are struggling to chase down XFA-27, and are frowning why their hardware cannot act as fast as they want, the ISAF fighter had almost reached Rigley Air Base's airspace borderline. Immediately it stretches wings and all flaps, rapidly decelerates from above 5000 km/h to below 500. Pulling this stunt would be extremely harmful to both aircraft and pilot, however neither XFA-27 is a "common" plane, nor the one who sits in cockpit is a "normal" human, and she has a reason of doing so.
Mobius One once again lights up options, a highlighted tag "ASM" appears at a corner of HUD, also a highlighted, solid line, with "entry" and "exit" arrows, left and right "edges" marked by columns of triangles respectively; as if a wide, hypothetical highway overlapping clusters of ground targets; meanwhile radar map shows a path with arrows, corresponding to HUD's contents. This is "Air Strike Mode", a variant of Close Range Assault, but designed for destroying numerous, tightly placed structures, vehicles and vessels, instead of taking out bandits difficult to be brought down by conventional means. Once initiated, onboard computer automatically calculates an optimal linear path of attack run, based on data obtained earlier (in this case, data received from Yokuryu Squadron's leader), if pilot decides to follow the path, computer will partially override control, recalibrates plane to minimize speed and maneuverability, and to maximize stability, also enhances reloading and targeting mechanisms of air-to-ground armaments, in order to quickly dispatch hostiles on land and water, which happened to be included inside the scope of attack run.
Switching active weapon to GPB, Mobius One reaches initiate point of computer-provided path of air strike. Her first catch is a Tu-95 which is about to liftoff at the end of main runway, also hapless enough to be at the proximal end to Mobius One. Inside Tu-95's cockpit, the crew panics to an unprecedented extent, as they're witnessing a guided bomb, capable of penetrating 6 meters of reinforced concrete, is released from one of the weapon bays onboard a glorified hybrid of an ARC-170 and an X-Wing, and is falling directly to them. Driven by instinct of terror, everyone screams and waves arms frenziedly, then blocks their own sights, as if doing so can provide additional protections.
Like a nail launched from a nail gun, the bomb impales into bomber's nose section, consumes it into a huge, bright-orange fireball. Decapitated Tu-95 plummets to runway, still has unspent inertia to slide forward. Trailing flame, smoke and dazzling sparks generated by scraping concrete, what's left of the bomber rushes out from runway's end, finally stops after colliding into array of panels. 120 points are added to Mobius One's scoring statistics.
Following the path, which is plotted to be parallel to the main runway, Mobius One continues to pound Erusian's military assets, focusing on Bears and Blackjacks on and near runway. While waiting for GPB to reload, she switches to UGB, UGB is not designed for precision bombing and high-penetration, still can be equally destructive if being used correctly. It had been proved so many times, throughout history of warfare, the effectiveness of weapons are not decided by how good they are, but by how good the users are. The first UGB is dropped just in front of a Tu-160 which is taxing on runway, attempting to escape, the explosion is quite an incentive to the pilot, and the most significant outcome is the bomber drifts off from course, ramming into a fuel truck and triggers a fire disaster. This is not Mobius One's fault, bomber pilot takes full responsibility for unable to keep the steering from being distorted. Worse, the fuel truck happens to be refueling another bomber, subsequently that bomber is ignited too, don't know this will be counted as an addition to Mobius One's kill records or not.
Everyone in Rigley Air Base is running for their lives because their lives are being blown away from them, but amidst the chaos, still a few people have guts to retaliate, although it's unlikely to make any differences now. Several Erusian soldiers man a stationary AA gun emplacement looks like a Flakvierling 38 with some modernized modifications, such as HUD-like iron sight and screens for ammunition count and thermometer. However just as they chamber bullets into bores, a M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, panicky to avoid being hit by bombs, crashes into the emplacement. Dragging themselves from rubbles, Erusian soldiers angrily slap APC's hull, shouting it to move away.
As the first attack run is finished, computer instantly generates another path, above the nearby auxiliary runway, which is much narrower and shorter than main runway since it's meant for mechanic repairs and tests — this is quite a large complex, consisted by runways, hangars, storages and barracks, even a factory for on-site aircraft assembling, so one single run is definitely not enough to remove entire base from functionality, and it's only a matter of time for Erusian to restore it if not completely destroyed.
Doing a sharp U-turn, XFA-27 aligns itself to initial point of second attack run, but suddenly missile warning goes off. Yellow Squadron has caught up from behind, they're obviously not happy about what Mobius One had done and is going to do to this base. Think fast and act precisely, she dodges missiles with a fast barrel roll, simultaneously disengage from ASM for it renders herself prone to attacks from enemy fighters. Yellows engage CRA against Mobius One, shown as five rapidly flashing circles on her HUD, struggling to occupy center position.
Releasing chaffs and flares, also executing evasive maneuvers, Mobius One constantly deflects incoming missiles, not worrying ground targets yet to be destroyed — previous ASM run had disabled main runway by blocking it with wreckages, auxiliary runway is too short for bombers to take off — at least in theory, so Rigley Air Base is merely a large table of banquet with Mobius One's name card, she can come back to claim it at anytime — once "Yellow Issues" are solved.
Readjusting speed and altitude, Mobius One leaves' air base's vicinity, with five Yellows on her tail. She is taking them to someplace for quick disposal — the lake located north to the base. XFA-27 flits above water surface with an altitude of only a few meters, Su-37 Terminators are tightly following behind. Everything is set for the ISAF pilot, as they're above lake's center, suddenly she opens weapon bays and drops salvos of bombs, generating several high, thick water walls.
Unexpected, Yellow Squadron flies directly into a huge amount of surged water, they're lucky for maintaining steering instead of slamming into lake, but a considerable volume of water is sucked into air intakes, disrupting engines' performances. Outcome is obvious: They can barely keep themselves flying, much less to dogfight.
Making an Immelmann turn and levels to horizontal, Mobius One is heading back to finish remaining of her banquet. But the CRA alarm goes off, apparently Yellow Thirteen, despite suffering an engine performance reduction, is too persistent to give up, while his four wingmen has chosen to bailed out. Such persistence doesn't take Mobius One by surprise, for dealing with persistent adversaries is one of her specialities, Z. O. E. encountered in previous war is a fine example.
This is a battle between aces of two opposite sides. XFA-27 extends main wings to maximum angle, using high-g turns to sway left and right radically. Su-37 Terminator follows without difficulties, but has troubles to acquire a lock. Abruptly ISAF fighter levels and does a cobra, Erusian fighter tries to use a counter-counter-maneuver, not fast enough, and is forced into defensive position as the one being pursuit. Seizing a chance, Terminator regains attack position via a barrel roll, dozens of seconds later. Wasting no time, Yellow Thirteen fires a salvo of four XMAAs to XFA-27, but it rolls and spreads chaffs to neutralize them, one missile explodes when being caught in a mass of chaffs, but does no damages to its target.
Mobius One and Yellow Thirteen continue their confrontation like two predators fighting over domination of territory. XFA-27 pitches down vertically to ground, levels back seconds before impact, Su-37 is closely behind, firing gun/cannon continuously. XFA-27 folds wings, rolls for 90 degrees, flies through a narrow gap between two hangars, Su-37 also rolls and follows it through.
"Tu ne vas pas à échapper." Yellow Thirteen seems determined to settle a score with Mobius One today, but as he leaves the gap and levels, he finds himself right flies into a trap: When Mobius One leaves the gap and levels her aircraft, she also precisely drops a GPB onto a water tower in right front, destroying its foundation, as Yellow Thirteen flies to this position, the water tower has already begun to incline and topple, he attempts to evade, but too late, the right wing of his plane is hammered and is badly damaged.
【Background Music Stops】
Yellow Thirteen's Su-37 Terminator ricochets uncontrollably in mid-air, it takes him a couple of minutes to regain control, but already has combat ability crippled, thus he has no other choices but emergency landing.
Aligning to auxiliary runway, Yellow Thirteen begins his entry, however due to heavy damage to structure integrity his fighter jet sustained, while taxing on runway, suddenly one of landing gears vibrates violently, then collapses, resulting the aircraft loses control again and ricochets in a circular manner before it finally stops. It's a miracle that he doesn't end up in flame and explosion. Through canopy, Yellow Thirteen can clearly see XFA-27 flies through above, to resume air strike against the complex.
"This is Rigley Air Base, our structures and bombers are decimated. I repeat, all structures and bombers are decimated." "Decimated" is a discounted adjective, scaling the damages Mobius One had inflicted, it's safe to say Rigley Air Base is expunged from list of Erusea-controlled military facilities.
From perspectives of those who are on ground (and are still alive), sky is darkened by pillars of trick smokes, and is sliced into pieces of uneven sizes by them. Piercing the shroud, that pesky XFA-27 of ISAF's affiliation who destroyed everything, circles for another round, then changes its bearing to northeast and flies away.
Among the mess of Rigley Air Base…or more precisely, ruins of it, Yellow Thirteen is standing on the wrecked runway, with wreckage of his Su-37 as background. A fire engine is dousing water to the pile of alloy junk.
"Vous avez combattu bien. Je ne compte jamais deux défaites d'affilée…mettre la chose éloigne de moi!" He admits without any reluctance, as XFA-27 vanishes from his visual range limit, then snarls to the nearby fireman who accidentally douses him.
North Point City International Airport
October 3rd 2004, 13:30
XFA-27 touches down on runway, taxing to its designated hangar. In cockpit, Mobius One loosens seatbelts, removes visor (she doesn't use helmet), and retrieves a transparent, olive-shaped crystal shard, seemly is made by kyanite, which is about eight centimeters in length and three centimeters in diameter, from a reading slot on console panel.
Mobius One's Quarter, after debriefing
The pilot is tapping on a laptop, with the crystal shard inserted in a reading slot located on side of her computer. Her fingers are dancing on keyboard like a pianist, a déjà vu of Lance Bishop's five finger fillet from James Cameron's Aliens. A closely-placed, small-sized device, no bigger than a common piggy bank, opens its top flower-like, revealing itself to be a miniature satellite antenna.
Camera magnifies on laptop's display, some kind of OS based on command-line interface, but apparently more advanced.
※ 衛星中継： 設立した (literally Satellite Uplink: Established in Japanese)
※ 信号強度： 非常に良い (literally Signal Strength: Excellent in Japanese)
※ リアルタイム転送速度： 専用ライン (literally Real-Time Transfer Rate: Dedicated Line in Japanese)
※
※ データースワロー： バージョン0.1 (literally Data Swallow: Ver. 0.1 in Japanese)
※
※ ログイン (literally Log in in Japanese)
※
※ 名前 (literally Name in Japanese) ： パライバ・電気石・かぐや
※
※ パスワード (literally Password in Japanese) ： ************
※
※ ログイン成功 (literally Log in successful in Japanese)
※
※ ファイル転送 (literally File transfer in Japanese)
※
※ 受信者 (literally Receiver in Japanese) ： シベライト・電気石・かぐや
※
※ ファイル： 高効率エンジンテストデータ (literally File: Hayabusa Engine Testing Data in Japanese)
※
※ 転送しています…お待ちください… (literally Transferring…Please Wait… in Japanese)
As a crude progress bar, consisted by square brackets and dots, appears on screen, Mobius One (now her name is revealed as "パライバ・電気石・かぐや", literally Paraiba Tourmaline Shining-in-Night in Japanese) leaves for kitchen to prep dinner. As a life-enthusiast, dinner serves an important role in her daily life, so she will avoid convenience foods and rely on self-cuisine or good restaurants as long as circumstances allow.
Before switching to Kitchener Mode, Paraiba still has one thing to do. Her index finger pans through CD cases orderly placed in bookshelf, as if the T-1000 is sampling surrounding, finally satisfied to see her choice — a box tilted "Yellow River Cantata & Long March Chorus". That's right! Great music cannot be absent from a life-enthusiast's routine.
Inserting disc into player and adjusts volume, she can initiate cooking procedure without further delay, and according to her plan, today's dinner will be spaghetti.
【Dissolve to】
Somewhere near Osean-Belkan border. An enclosed space enveloped in darkness, hovering in mid-air is a 1:1 scale hard-light holographic projection of Hayabusa Engine. The radiating light illuminates a feminine figure, which is standing aside and is studying the hologram.
【Dissolve to】
A research facility owned by EASA, located in Farbanti. Yellow Thirteen, Yellow Four and a dozen of technical officers in white clowns, are watching a gigantic screen wall altogether, and are exchanging aviation terms in French and Vietnamese among themselves, with occasional nodding. Camera closes up on the screen wall, it is flicking measurements, graphs, formulas…and three-view profiles of XFA-27 as well as an unidentified aircraft's schematics beside them.
【Ending Theme: Blue Skies】
(Ending Sequence: Identical to Operation: Umbrella)
【Post-Ending Sequence】
ISAF Supreme Commander is pointing at a photo of Scarface One, taken during First Usean Continental War: "How old you were back to that time?"
Mobius One smiles: "Seventeen, Mr. Supreme Commander."
ISAF Supreme Commander: "Then how old you are now?"
Mobius One's eyes spark light: "Seventeen, Mr. Supreme Commander."
ISAF Supreme Commander: "Who do you think you're deceiving?!"