Thunder Island Air Base
Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean
March 25th, 437 AC
12:42 PM Local Time
"Well, this is it. Is everyone ready?" Jay asked as his eyes shifted between his wingmen.
Nyx scoffed. "Not like it would matter if we weren't," she pointed out. "This is a 'be ready, or your ass gets left behind' kind of scenario."
"Exactly," Cyborg cut in as he, Shades, and Tux joined the rest of Templar Team. "So you guys better be ready."
"Oh, quit being so serious, boss," Shades said, giving his flight lead a friendly nudge on the shoulder. "This ain't the first time we've had to move bases on short notice."
"Well, the explosives are all planted, which means we've got to get going," Cyborg told them. "We've got 15 minutes, so get your stuff loaded into the transports and be ready for takeoff ASAP. I'll be waiting in the hangar."
"Got it," Jay said with a nod as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He briefly looked back to his squadron before they all broke out into a light jog out of the main building and into Varonis's hangar.
"This all your stuff?" A crew member of one of the two C/T-17s Varonis had asked.
Jay set his bag down, and the other four did the same. "Yep. Cyborg said we've gotta be gone within 15 minutes, so I'd advise you to get ready to leave."
The crew member gave Jay a thumbs up. "Right, we'll see you guys at the new base. Good luck on the mission."
"Stay safe," Nyx called back as they went over to their hangar. "Wouldn't want our stuff to get sent to the bottom of the ocean," she added with a playful smirk.
A light breeze danced through the sky as Templar and Knight went through their pre-flight checks as quickly as they could. Their exit window was getting smaller, but at the same time, they wanted to be sure that everything was ready to go. Because they were going into a large-scale battle, nobody wanted to take any chances.
"Hey, boys!" Jay called over to Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt from the seat of his F/E-4. "You all ready to go?"
Eagle gave Jay a thumbs up without looking up from his console while Mustang and Jolt said they were ready.
"Alright, let's get ready for takeoff, then," Jay replied. "Flight control is already gone, so we've gotta do it on our own." He flicked on the engines and slid his oxygen mask over his face. Slowly, Jay and Nyx rolled onto the runway, with the rest of Templar Team right behind them. Just as Tux finished taking off, Jay took a deep breath, looking back at the base one more time before gently throttling up. The speedometer got faster and faster until they finally had enough speed to lift into the air. Before long, Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt were all up and flying in formation alongside Jay. Everyone was quiet until a loud boom shook everyone. They all looked behind them to see a chain of explosions tearing through the base. Jay felt a bit saddened by the fact that they were leaving Star's final resting place behind, but he found solace in the fact that he would've been eager to move on to bigger and better things. Jay said a quick goodbye to the place that had been his home for just over a month before turning his attention back to the open sky in front of him as they flew toward their objective.
Anderson Island
Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean
March 25th, 437 AC
1:24 PM Local Time
"Paladin, Anderson Island is on the nose. You're clear to engage," Stallion informed everyone. "Templar, Knight, clear a landing zone for Ritari and the rest of the ALF ground forces. All Asean fighters, establish air superiority."
"Roger that, Stallion," Cyborg replied. "Knight, let's focus on taking out the docked air cruisers before they can get airborne. Templar, take out as many ground defenses as you can."
"Wilco, engaging now," Jay replied as he turned toward the port and the myriad of targets waiting for them.
"Y'know, I was hoping that we'd get an easy mission for once," Nyx grumbled as she switched to the UGBLs targeting. "But no, because every mission we have has to have more targets than a damn shooting range."
"Aw, come on, Nyx. Show some enthusiasm," he said, briefly turning around and giving her a wink.
"You want enthusiasm?" Nyx asked. "Oh yay! We get to throw ourselves at a sea of SAM launchers, AA guns, and railguns with no plan whatsoever. I'm so excited!" she cheered in a voice oozing sarcasm.
"Well, at least you won't be doing it alone," a new man's voice chimed in. "This is Captain Valner of the Destroyer Sapphire. The ALF Naval Fleet is entering the AO now. Friendly aircraft aren't far behind," he reported.
"Hell yeah, now it's a party!" Stallion exclaimed.
"Woah, it takes a lot to get Stallion of all people riled up like that," Mustang observed. "We better savor it while we can."
"Mission first, savoring later," Jay ordered as he adjusted his course ever so slightly to give Nyx a clear shot on a group of AA guns, which all fell to one bomb."
"Samurai, railgun headed our way!" Nyx warned.
Jay quickly veered to the left just before the shot from the railgun flew right past the spot where they were only seconds ago. "Remember, guys. Stay away from the trails these things leave behind," he advised the rest of his team. "They're hot enough to do some damage to your plane if you fly through them."
"Ah, come on, Samurai. You say that as if we've never dealt with railguns before," Eagle said.
"Heh, I know you numbskulls can always use a reminder every once and a while," Jay said with a snicker as he pitched up into the sky before turning straight back down and destroying a group of SAM launchers with missiles and machine guns. "Ritari, I think we've got a clear enough area for you to land. Sorry, we couldn't roll out the red carpet. Only so much we could do on our own."
Gray laughed. "Don't worry about it, Templar 1. We'll make do with what we have. Much obliged for the landing zone."
"Man, they really were planning on going all out on this attack, huh?" Shades asked. "Guess it was a good thing we got here when we did."
"No kidding," Tux agreed. "If we ended up going against all these air cruisers, we'd be in for a tough fight."
"That's exactly why we're attacking them now," Cyborg reminded his wingmen. "Now, let's turn the tide."
"This is Captain Valner. The Landing Ship Ruby has arrived at the island, and ground forces are commencing their assault now," Valner reported. "Meanwhile, I'm gonna be taking the rest of our fleet and engaging their naval power."
"Alright, happy hunting, Captain," Stallion replied. "Knight, Templar, Statrep?"
"We've taken out about a third of the enemy air cruisers, but it looks like some of them are about to get airborne," Cyborg said.
Jay grunted as he throttled up, bearing straight for one of the railguns as he held his finger on the trigger for his machine guns until his HUD displayed it as destroyed. "We're making progress, but there's a lot of targets here. It's not gonna be easy to take everything out on our own.
"Well, I just got a report from our aircraft," Valner chimed in. "They should be entering the AO in about five minutes. That's when the cavalry really arrives."
"Heads up, everyone. Enemy interceptors are taking off from the airport," Stallion reported. Continue with your original objectives, but if they start going after the fleet, shoot 'em down."
Jay glanced over at his radar to make a note of where the interceptors were coming from before snapping his gaze back to the targets in front of him, a railgun, which he fired two standard missiles at to destroy it. "Templar 1, railgun destroyed!" he announced. He looked over his shoulder at Nyx. "How we doing on ammo?"
"Fine for now, but try not to go too gung ho," Nyx reported. "We can only load so much onto the phantom."
Jay shrugged. "Alright, I guess I can live with that," he said as he looked back at the battlefield in front of him. Suddenly, he noticed SK.27 flying straight at him, only for a missile to fly over Jay's head and crash into the Loyalist plane, followed by the ALF fighter that fired it. "Nice timing," Jay commented as the ALF fighter broke off to engage another fighter. "It's nice not to be completely on our own."
"Yeah," Mustang agreed. "Here, I thought we'd be the ones winning this war all on our own," he remarked with his usual dose of sarcasm.
"Hey, look on the bright side, Mustang. Even if we did end up winning the war on our own, think of the bonus we'd get paid for it," Shades pointed out.
Jay rolled onto his side and banked right, straightening his plane out right above a row of fuel tanks, which Nyx quickly dropped a UGBL over as they passed it. His ears promptly picked up on the missile alert going off in his cockpit, and he instinctively pitched straight up before rolling back down after the missile lost them and destroying the SAM launcher that fired at them.
"All units, be advised, friendly aircraft are entering the AO now," Captain Valner advised them. "The cavalry's here!" he cheered.
Jay once again looked down at his radar and saw a new group of sixteen aircraft entering the AO and heading into the island. "Damn," he remarked. "You really weren't kidding, Captain," he said with a chuckle.
"This is the true power of the Asean Liberation Front," Alston explained, gunfire in the background. "Now, let's push these Loyalists back!"
"Stallion, we've taken out all of the air cruisers," Cyborg reported. "What are we up against next?"
"It looks like some of the Loyalist interceptors are going for our fleet," Stallion observed. "I need you to cut 'em down before they get too close. Our reinforcements will help establish air superiority over the island."
"Wilco. Shades, Tux, form up on me, let's go," Cyborg ordered.
"Right behind you, boss," Tux replied.
"Templar, how are things looking on your end?" Stallion asked.
Jay grunted as he jinked to avoid an incoming missile. "Well, I think we've taken out all of the railguns, but there's still a ton of defenses on the ground," he answered as he gunned down a pair of AA guns.
"It's like they just keep coming," Jolt added. "There's no end in sight."
"Well, with the railguns out of the way, that's the most significant threat dealt with. For now, though, I want you guys to focus on keeping any more ships from leaving the port," Stallion told them. "The Sapphire and the rest of the fleet have their hands full already, so I want to make sure they don't get overwhelmed."
"Roger that, Stallion. We're on it," Jay responded. "Nyx, how many UGBLs do we have left?"
"Three," Nyx reported. "After that, we've only got STDMs and air-to-air missiles. Just our luck," she mumbled.
"Yeah, this is gonna suck," Jay agreed. "But, to be fair, UGBLs are a pain in the ass to use against ships anyway," he pointed out. "If only we could load MLAGs onto this thing." Jay sighed, longing to be able to fly an F/F-18 again.
Jay looped around and positioned himself to pass over the ships leaving port as Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt formed up behind him. The first ship he went after was the aircraft carrier. He adjusted his course, so the UGBL's target indicator was ahead of the carrier, rather than on top of it, and reduced his speed to give Nyx a clear shot.
"Templar 1, bombs away!" Nyx called out as Jay pulled up to avoid the anti-aircraft fire coming from the fleet.
The bomb found its mark but wasn't enough to sink the carrier. However, it did allow for Eagle to follow after Jay and finish it off. With the carrier out of the way, Jay pitched up as hard as he could, launching flares to avoid the missiles coming from one of the destroyers. Inverting his plane, he came back down straight above the destroyer, firing two standard missiles and hitting it with machine guns until it exploded. He pulled up at the last second, flying only a few dozen meters above the ocean's surface before looping around and gaining altitude. Jolt slipped into formation with Jay, and together, the two of them swooped down toward a battleship and sunk it with their missiles.
"Looks like this fleet ain't going anywhere," Mustang observed as he and Eagle both finished off the last two missile cruisers. "Although, I think the others could probably use a hand in locking down the skies."
"Well, we've still got plenty of AA missiles left," Nyx said with a shrug. "Might as well. Just try not to make me throw up too much, Samurai." She smirked, switching to the SAAs. "Let's do it!"
"Hey, Stallion. How's the ground assault doing?" Eagle asked as he dove into the hectic air war.
"General Alston reports that they've linked up with the main force, and they're pushing through the port town now," the AWACS operator reported. "If all goes well, we should be done in no time. Then again, this is us we're talking about, so I wouldn't be surprised if some BS came in at the last second and screwed everything up."
Jay chuckled a bit as he locked onto an MG-29 and let Nyx guide the missile toward its target. "Yeah, trouble does seem to have its way of finding us whenever it's least convenient." He banked right and fired two standard missiles at an F/C-16.
"Hey, it looks like the Loyalists are starting to fall back," Gray noted. "We've got 'em on the run!"
"Good stuff, Ritari," Stallion praised them. "Keep them on the back foot. Templar, Knight, finish mopping up the enemy aircraft. The finish line's almost in sight. Time for one last push."
"All of the Loyalists' ships are sunk as well," Captain Valner reported. "This is it, the turning point in the war!"
Jay throttled up, closing the distance between himself and his target, allowing him a much clearer shot with his machine guns. Then, he switched to MLAAs and looped around for a better shot. Two missiles shot out from underneath his wings, and both of them found their targets. Jay looked around for the last mark on the radar, turning to shoot it down, but Shades got to it before he could get a clear shot.
"This is the mercenary AWACS Stallion to ALCON. Retreating Loyalist forces have been deemed no factor. Looks like they're running away with their tails between their legs."
"Is it that it, then?" Gray asked. "Is it over?" The sound of cheering was audible in the background.
Everyone waited for Stallion to confirm, but all they got was silence. "Uhh, Stallion?" Nyx asked. "We good."
Finally, Stallion responded with a heavy sigh. "Not yet. We've got four bandits inbound from the northwest at high speeds. Aircraft type: F/S-15," he reported. "IFF has these guys flagged as Icarus Armories Security, callsign Serpent."
"Goddammit," Jay muttered. "Fine, we'll take care of 'em. Templar Team, engaging," he responded as he and his wingmen turned to engage the incoming threat.
"Wait… Icarus Armories? Do you think they're here for the cordium?" Gray asked.
"I'm sorry, the what now?" Captain Valner asked in disbelief of what he just heard.
"It's a long story, Captain," Alston told him. "We'll explain later, but that's gotta be it. I can't think of any other reason why they'd be here."
"Well, it's not gonna matter, anyway," Jolt said. "We're gonna knock 'em all down."
"Don't underestimate these guys," Jay warned. "They're flying next-gen fighters. Even a bad pilot can make good use of an advanced plane." He'd gotten the chance to fly an F/S-15 back when he was a Peacekeeper, so he knew how deadly they could be.
Setting his sights on the lead plane, Jay yawed just enough to put them in the center of his gun sights. He fired a short burst, but only a few shots landed, not enough to destroy them. The lead F/S-15 made a sharp turn rapidly and ascended at high speed. Jay turned up to follow them, but by the time he had another shot, they already in the middle of another sharp turn, leaving Jay's sight before he could get a shot off.
"God damn," Nyx grunted. "These guys really are quick. Tracking them is a pain in the ass."
"Tell me about it," Jay agreed, backing off and putting some distance between himself and the F/S-15. "I can barely keep up with them." He looped around as sharply as he could and switched to the SAA targeting. "Let 'em have it, Nyx!"
"Templar 1, Fox 1!" Nyx called out as the missile shot forward, veering off and predicting where the F/S-15 was going to be before colliding into it.
"Hell yeah! Nice shot, Nyx," Jay praised her, throttling up and speeding toward the damaged enemy fighter. "Now to finish him off."
The F/S-15 banked right, nearly stalling as it made a full circle in barely any time at all. Now facing Jay and Nyx, the Icarus Armories fighter fired two missiles and twisted away again. Jay deployed countermeasures and turned away in the opposite direction of the F/S-15. Looking down at his radar, he kept a close eye on it as he sped up and started to turn back around. Once the F/S-15 made its loop, Jay moved his finger onto the trigger and shot forward, heading straight on with the enemy fighter. Both pilots unleashed machine-gun fire onto each other, and while the F/S-15 got one or two hits in, they weren't able to withstand the hail of bullets coming from Jay's F/E-4, and they spun down toward the water in a fiery explosion.
"You guys good?" Jay asked, panting heavily as he looked up to see the rest of his team finishing off their targets.
"Yeah, nothing more than a few scratches," Eagle reported. "I've had worse."
"That was… intense," Jolt said. "Don't know if I've been caught in a more intense dogfight."
"Well, I suppose that's just how it is when you're in Templar Team. We get all the fun jobs," Mustang said nonchalantly. "How we looking, Stallion? Are we in the clear?"
"Yep, all hostiles have been eliminated," Stallion reported. "Form up with the rest of the ALF pilots. They'll lead the way back to our new base."
Jay let out a sigh of relief as he reduced his speed and slipped into formation with the large squadron of ALF fighters. "Well, I gotta say, it's been a long fight, but now, things are finally looking like they're shaping up."
"The tide of the war is turning," Cyborg agreed. "And now, it's time for us to go on the offensive."
Sterling Air Base
Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean
March 25th, 437 AC
2:33 PM Local Time
The new hangars were far more spacious than those they had back on Thunder Island, something Jay very much appreciated. He climbed down from his plane and tucked his helmet underneath his armpit, and made his way outside with the rest of Paladin. It didn't take long for them to spot a man with a soldier on either side of him making his way over to them. He had dark brown, almost black, hair tied back into a ponytail and a beard to match it. It didn't take long for Jay to realize who it was: Alex Maranno. He was the figurehead of the Asean Liberation Front and the man they would put in place as the new Prime Minister if they won the war.
"So, I presume you're the Paladin Mercenary Corps?" he guessed as he walked over to them. He smiled, extending his hand out. "When we first hired you, I wasn't sure what to expect. Now, though, it seems you've become quite popular among the Liberation Front."
Cyborg dipped his head respectfully and shook his hand. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I've heard a lot about you."
"As have I about you," Alex responded. "It seems I have you to thank for playing a major role in turning this war around. Thanks to your bravery on Thunder Island, you kept us from letting a major strategic base fall into the hands of the enemy. If you ask me, I think you're all deserving of a significant bonus once this war is over," he said with a smirk.
"Uhh, thank you, sir," Cyborg stuttered, seemingly caught off guard by the reward. "We'll make sure that we don't let you down."
Alex gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Oh, I'm counting on it. Now, there's much to go over, plus I believe you still need to get settled in." He turned around and led the group into the base's main building, where they would discuss how to end the war once and for all.