"Get the fighters up now! We're fish in a barrel down here."
War was a foreign concept to the citizens of Durant. Their young men and women would go off to fight for their country, but never in Osea's history had the fighting reached them. The Yutkotbanians never got an established foothold during the Circum-Pacific War, and the Belkans, both in the Belkan War and the Osean War, never made it as far as Durant. Now, though, their city was getting hit by one of the opening blows of a whole new war.
"Who's attacking? Do we know?"
"Where the hell did they even come from?"
"Destroyer Yellowthroat listing heavily to port! Protect the carrier!"
Anti-air guns spurred to life. The sharp crackle of their gunfire cut decisively through the low moan of the air raid siren echoing throughout the city. Meanwhile, five F-16Cs started taxying onto the runway of Durant Air Base. All of them had an emblem depicting a Gorgon's head on the tail. As their engines spooled up, fire began to pour out from the exhaust, as if it were the head of a dragon unleashing its fury.
"All units, this is Brigadier General Taves. This is not a drill- I repeat, this is not a drill. The city is under attack by unknown forces using UAVs. Defend the city at all costs."
Even when all he did was state the obvious, Brigadier General Taves had a way of dispelling any uncertainty in those under his command. Perhaps it was the calm yet firm tone he spoke with when giving orders. Maybe it was the fact that he was a seasoned veteran of both the Belkan War and the Circum-Pacific War, and the soldiers all knew they were in capable hands. Regardless of what it was, the AA crews fired faster, the damage control aboard the ships docked in port worked harder, and the five F-16s lifted gently upward into the sky.
"Gorgon Squadron, takeoff confirmed," ATC reported. "You guys are our best line of defense. Give 'em hell."
"Roger that," came the reply from Gorgon 1, better known among those who knew him as Monk. "Everyone maintain your elements. Don't get separated from each other," he told the two planes on either side of him.
"Wilco, boss. I've got your six," Jumper, Monk's wingman and second-in-command, assured him. "Let's chase these bastards out of our city."
"Y'know, the thing about splitting up in pairs is that you kinda need an even number of pilots. Otherwise, your fifth is gonna be off by themselves." The remark came from the youngest pilot in the squadron- known as Second Lieutenant Layla Nadir until recently when she earned the callsign Singer.
"Just stick with me and Jumper, smartass," Monk told her with only a hint of lightheartedness in his voice. "Bumble, Rod, take down the bandits over the downtown area. The three of us will clear up the skies over the port."
After issuing a brief reply of affirmation, Gorgon 3 and 4 split off from the formation, leaving Layla to move up closer to the other two as they headed for the port. Aurick Port wasn't a very large or significant port compared to the others Osea had at its disposal. However, it did have something important anchored at its docks: the OFS Captain Weeker, the second in a new line of aircraft carriers named after Osean naval heroes.
"This is the Weeker. We've taken several missile hits! The catapults are destroyed, and the ship is listing. We won't last much longer."
"Hang in there. We're here to help," Monk assured the man. "Gorgon Squadron, engage."
Layla felt herself tighten the grip on her control stick as she took a deep breath and followed the others into the heart of the fight. Enemy air contacts were scattered all over the skies above the city, seemingly at random, and all of them were registered as the same kind of aircraft, MQ-99s. The moment she was close enough, Layla let out a volley of 4AAMs, and the fight had officially begun.
"Can't we hurry up and get the other squadrons up here?" Layla asked with a grunt as she chased after one of the drones that her first missiles failed to bring down.
"Imp Squadron and Goblin Squadron were splashed on takeoff. You guys are all we've got," ATC replied.
"Dammit. These bastards are gonna pay for this," Jumper cursed.
Layla pitched and rolled, turning this way and that as she tore through the air after the unmanned fighters flying over her home. She loosed a missile from one of her wingtip pylons, and it shot forward through the air, hurtling toward the MQ-99 in front of her. Flares spilled out from the drone, and it zipped away, curving in a downward u-shape toward the water. Layla silently cursed to herself before turning to follow, curling mid barrel roll to follow her target. By the time she had straightened her plane out, the drone was already firing a missile at the carrier. However, it was too focused on its attack to evade the missile Layla fired from behind, sending it down into the water.
"Gorgon 5, splash one," Layla reported, already turning toward a new target. "But damn, these things just don't stop coming."
Brigadier General Taves was the next person to speak. "All units, we've got an update for you; enemy aircraft have been ID'd. You're up against UAVs from the Kingdom of Erusea."
"Erusea?" Layla echoed. "They're a continent away. How'd they get UAVs over here?"
"Must've been planning this for a while," Monk speculated. "Sir, can we get any air reinforcements over here? We're doing our best up here, but we're totally outnumbered."
"Negative Gorgon 1," ATC replied before Taves got the chance. "We're getting reports of attacks like this up and down the country. We're on our own."
"Gorgon 5, bandits on your six! Take evasive action," Jumper warned.
As if on cue, Layla's radar started beeping at her as two missiles from a pair of drones behind her began to close in. Her instincts took over instantly, and her F-16 was already going into a sharp turn to evade. The drones turned to follow, but their missiles went wide and careened through the air, hitting nothing but cloudless sky. The MQ-99 was persistent, though, and it gradually closed the gap between itself and Layla, all while matching every turn she made with ease.
"Dammit. These little shits sure are quick," Layla remarked, grunting from the G's squeezing down on her as she inverted her plane and dove down toward the water. "Can I get a hand over here?"
"Gimme a second, Singer. Got a tail of my own I need to shake off," Jumper replied as he flew by out of the corner of Layla's eye with a pair of drones behind him.
"I think I'm a little too far away to help," Monk added. "This one feels like it's just leading me farther and farther away. The thing's just barely out of range."
Layla huffed as he looked over her shoulder at the MQ-99. Tracers spewed out toward her F-16, forcing her to make another wide turn to evade. As she watched her speed slowly bleed off, she reached for the airbrakes. Her speed plummeted, and just a few seconds before she began stalling, the drone behind her overshot, leaving itself exposed to a missile from Layla as she sped back up. She didn't have any time for back-patting, though. Thanks to her reduced speed, she was vulnerable to two UAVs turning toward her after their attacks on the Weeker. Moving as fast as she was able, Layla turned to meet the two drones head-on and just barely managed to fire a pair of 4AAMs, hitting both as they passed by.
"Aaand that makes six," she announced, beaming with pride. "How many other pilots can say they made ace in a single sortie?"
"Me," Jumper replied a few seconds later as he splashed the two drones that had been chasing him a few moments ago. "Couldn't let you get even more of a swelled head," he teased Layla.
"Nice work, you two," Monk joined in. "Just remember, we're not done yet. OFS Weeker, this is Gorgon 1. What's your status?"
At first, all they were greeted with was silence, and as Layla looked for the aircraft carrier down below, she finally saw the plumes of smoke rising from the ship. Some of the other ships had taken damage, too, but it was clear as day that the Weeker was definitely the target of the attack.
Monk was just about to radio again in search of a response when the captain of the Weeker finally spoke. "This is the Weeker; we've suffered too much damage! We're taking on water faster than we can control the damage. I- I'm giving the order to abandon ship." He paused, letting out a heavy sigh before adding, "I'm sorry."
"Just focus on getting as many people out of their alive as possible, Captain," Taves assured him. "Gorgon Squadron, what's your status?"
"All bandits over the port have been splashed, General," Monk replied.
"This is Gorgon 3. If you guys are bored over there, we've still got plenty of guests over the downtown area for you."
"Copy that. We're en-route, Bumble. Just hang in there," Monk said, already turning toward the city.
"Please hurry," Rod chimed in with a somewhat exasperated tone. "He seems to be having a bit too much fun up here."
"Hey, what can I say? I enjoy defending our city," Bumble defended himself.
"Gorgon Squadron, interrogative: are there any manned aircraft up there?" Taves asked.
"Manned aircraft?" Jumper echoed. "How would Erusea even get manned aircraft all the way over here?"
"A flight of aircraft further to the south reportedly had to shoot down an F-104 flying near the drones they were pursuing," Taves explained. "High command isn't sure if it was just one aircraft or if there were more."
"A Starfighter? Erusea can find the budget to get dozens of automated drones onto Osean soil without us noticing, but they're fielding Starfighters?" Layla asked, feeling amused by the idea.
"We can focus on all of that once we're back on the ground. For now, let's just deal with these last drones," Monk insisted.
Layla shrugged to herself. It was hardly the highest thing on her list of priorities as this strange day got even more bizarre. While Bumble and Rod had done their best to keep things under control over the downtown area, there were still plenty of drones buzzing around like a swarm of angry wasps descending on a threat to their queen. With three more Vipers joining the fight, however, the tides were about to turn.
Layla watched as the distance to the bandits dropped more and more- 8000 meters became 7000, 7000 meters became 6000, 6000 turned to 5000, and finally, she was able to dump off another salvo of 4AAMs, beginning the dance anew. The missiles would all go wide; Layla knew this, but it got one of them off Rod's tail as the drone turned defensive, and the other three all had to break away, dumping chaff as they turned up toward the sun. Monk and Jumper each went after one of the three UAVs Layla sent running, leaving her to take the last one while Rod went on the offensive against the MQ-99 that was his pursuer moments ago, and Bumble took on the remaining three by himself, seeming to have the time of his life while doing so.
Layla's target veered slowly to the right at first, then a hard jerk downward as it dipped below the skyscrapers and started zigzagging between the buildings. For a moment, Layla just watched on, stunned, and then chuckled at the mere thought of her even attempting to follow after it. Instead, she briefly looked to either side as she watched the others chase after their targets before lifting her plane up ever so slightly and heaving the throttle as far forward as it would go. She felt herself sink further back into her seat and heard the airframe rattle as the F-16 shot forward above the city. From there, all that was left for her to do was sit back and watch as the drone banked one way and then the other. Finally, once it emerged from the skyscrapers, Layla saw her chance. The sound of her afterburners died as she dove down toward it, getting closer and closer until she let out a torrent of machine-gun fire on the drone, despite its attempts to maneuver away. She was just reaching for the radio to report her kill when someone else spoke.
"All units, enemy aircraft confirmed eliminated. The attack has been successfully repelled," ATC reported.
Monk let out an exhausted sigh as if he was collectively breathing for his entire squadron. "What a day. Good work, everyone. And Singer, not bad for a nugget." There was a slight teasing edge in his voice.
"Was that really it? I was just getting warmed up," Bumble murmured. The disappointment in his tone was tangible.
"Something tells me that's not gonna be the last of the action we're seeing," Jumper told him.
"Gorgon Squadron, get set to land ASAP. We've got a situation here," Taves ordered.
Rod scoffed. "No shit," he mumbled.
The adrenaline coursing through Layla's body was finally losing its grip on her senses. She reached up to her chest and pressed her hand against it through her flight gear, keeping it there until she heard her own heartbeat. Pulling her throttle back to about half-thrust, she reassured herself over and over until she finally believed it. She was alive.