Chp. 5: Swordbreaker
January 23, 2005
Just off Crowne Beach
Lieutenant Commander Dimos Latsis emerged from the ocean to see their destination for himself. The Likadan frogman sank below the surface after he was satisfied and looked at the other sailors that made up Subsection Two. He held two thumbs up in either direction and the rest of the team floated a pair of large black containers to the surface. His second in command, Lieutenant Carras, broke one open and from it a zodiac boat deployed. Half of the team collapsed in and onto the craft and brought their weapons out. NVGs (Night Vision Goggles) went on, making the shape of the shore a bit more distinct. Dimos settled into position on the port side of the bow and straddled that side of the zodiac as hard as he could while another frogman fired up the motor. The device was only on for a short time before he cut it off and two men near the stern paddled them the rest of the way in. The remnants of a rainshower drizzled down from the gray sky, casting the Commonwealth of Aucklin in the dreary light Dimos had always imagined it in.
The sea was manageable until they got in close, at which point the waves began to play their part. The men paddling would time their movement so they weren't carried in by the waves, no matter how small. They went around the peninsula that separated Halle and Crowne Beaches, and turned into a cove near its tip. As soon as they hit solid ground Dimos flipped off the safety on his SG552 and reached back to help pull the boat ashore. The frogmen dragged it up into the shadow of the berms and dunes that rose above the sand. There, they shed most of their scuba gear, revealing camouflage faces and fatigues under their wetsuits. Dimos traded his diving hood for a balaclava and put his tactical vest back on. When he was ready, the dark-haired man keyed a radio on his stomach.
"Alchemist this is Keto 2-3 Actual, signal Tortoise. Repeat, signal Tortoise." He whispered in his native tongue.
"Signal received. All Keto and Siren elements are on the same page." A voice replied after a minute.
Dimos turned to the rest of his team and scurried over to three other men. They went up a hill nearby until a small sign came into view. Dimos motioned the other men to the ground and pulled out a combat knife. Ahead, he spotted the tops of PMR anti-personnel mines. Dimos wiggled towards the nearest one to get a better look. The device had two strands of wire coming from either side of the top, which were held by sticks a few meters in either direction. They weren't taut, the man noted, and the mine wasn't booby-trapped. He put away his knife and instead went for a pair of wire cutters instead. Once that was done, he went to the mine on the right and did the same thing. His eyes darted in search of cover after he was past the explosives, settling on a moss-covered rock a short sprint ahead.
Dimos rose and tip-toed over the cut wires, motioning for one of the men in his group to follow. The man, a sailor named Yannis, jogged up the hill and only slowed to get past the mines. They went straight to the rock and huddled behind it. The other two started up to join them when voices sounded over the waves. Dimos chopped his hand at some bushes shy of the mines, then shrunk behind the rock even further. Yannis went around the other side, MP5 at the ready. Dimos raised his head and watched two figures crest the top of the hill. A pair of Erusean infantrymen stopped and stared over Halle Beach. To his relief, they seemed to be none the wiser about the UDTs' insertion. In fact, the two were so relaxed that they had their rifles slung, their helmets hanging from their hips. And were wearing their ski caps. No need to draw attention or get into a fight; this was just another recon mission. The two men went back and forth, and Dimos could only pick out individual words. The two seemed bored, maybe angry? One of the men down the slope, Ari, would be able to translate if he heard anything.
Dimos tried to see if the two soldiers had any identifying marks on their uniforms, patches or otherwise. He could only see their flag patches from this angle, and neither was wearing anything out of the ordinary. They walked off none the wiser, and after a minute Dimos waved the other two men forward. Ari hit the ground next to him.
"Did you catch any of that?" Dimos whispered.
"A few words between waves crashing...one was just bitching about how the local resistance movements haven't been suppressed." Ari replied with a shrug.
"Alright, nothing we don't already know."
He motioned Carras to him to give him his marching orders. He would take his half of the unit and move along the sand to their target, while Dimos and his half stayed in the bushes for the duration of their trip. The man returned to his men and they began the crawl towards their target: a radar used to guide two batteries of MTO 85 missiles further inland. The missiles themselves would fall to another team. Dimos ended up among some rocks near the water again, then crawled up the slope until he could see a moss-colored rectangle sticking up from the ground. Atop it was a large dome, inside which he could hear a mechanical whine over the tide. Close to him and his team there was an earthen bunker with a machine gun barrel sticking out the front. Another pair of guards were sitting just outside the bunker under a tarp. Dimos leveled his 552 at them and keyed his radio.
"Two, this is One, what's the position of that roaming patrol?" He asked.
"They're walking towards a jeep at the end of the road, about 70 meters away. Unknown how long they'll stay. Be advised it's four men and a dog." Carras reported.
"Keep them covered and engage them when they head back. We'll adjust accordingly if they turn back."
Dimos motioned for Yannis and Ari to follow them while their machine gunner, Andreas, was prompted to cover the machine gun bunker. Dimos stalked forward from the rocks in a crouch until he had a clear shot at the two men near the door. Ari took up position next to him while Yannis moved towards the MG nest. The roar of the tide below made the shots from their weapons almost impossible to hear. Dimos and his translator hurried forward towards the entrance, stopping as they spotted a second MG nest. One of the Eruseans was walking out when Dimos spotted him. He raised his 552 and put three rounds into the man. He hurried towards the bunker and shot the other enemy soldier as he too emerged to see why his friend had fallen.
"Two, you're cleared to establish blocking positions. Five, go with Four and sabotage those machine guns. Everyone else, with me." He hissed.
Dimos turned to the bunker entrance and slipped out a pair of wire cutters. With those, he cut the cables to the alarm button nearby. Ari and Yannis stacked up behind him while his pointman, Loukas, would handle the door. The frogman grabbed the large handle with both hands and yanked it on his commander's signal. Ari tossed a stun grenade inside, then followed Dimos inside. He shot a bewildered guard going for his RK 95 and hurried towards another door. That led him into the main control room of the radar station, where half a dozen radar techs were staring at the camouflage figure who'd just burst into the space. Dimos raised his weapon and shot the man who appeared to be in charge as he darted towards an alarm button. The Erusean soldiers who were seated tried to rush them, only to get cut down as well. Yannis emptied the rest of his magazine into the alarm button while Ari shot up a radio set.
"Ari, search for anything of value. You have three minutes." He ordered.
"Sir!" The man replied snappily.
The remaining three hurried to some stairs where Yannis threw a second stun grenade down. The clang of the device tumbling downwards elicited a burst of fire from below. Dimos drew back as the bullets ricocheted up the stairwell and pulled a grenade from his webbing gear.
"Grenade out." He reported over his shoulder.
One of the Eruseans shouted about the explosive, then there was a solid thump. Dimos stormed down the stairs and went to the right while Loukas went left. Between them were the remains of two Erusean soldiers and the now-damaged central power unit for the bunker.
"Clear!" The two echoed to one-another.
Yannis came down and went to the other side of the unit. While Dimos and Loukas swept the rest of the space for anything of interest, he placed two blocks of plastic explosives on the power unit. Dimos checked his watch while the man rigged the explosives.
"Minute and a half, Three." He told the man upstairs.
"Nothing of value, One; just a code book." Ari replied.
Ahead of schedule; that was good, Dimos noted. The four men retreated from the bunker and linked up with the remains of their team. They hurried back down to the edge of the water and crawled the rest of the way. As they took their boats to the water, the rumble of an explosion made it above the noise of the tide. Then another, more distant…then a third and a forth. Dimos allowed himself a look back as they rode off into the ocean; smoke poured from the bunker, and the radar dish had stopped moving…
Arthur pulled back on the stick and released another bundle of chaff as the two SA-17s got within 700 meters of him. He looked back over both shoulders in search of the missiles. He caught sight of them as their rocket motors burnt out. One of the SAMs made an attempt to keep on him, but ended up ascending above the Typhoon before it could complete its maneuver. The second missile burst from the cloud behind, entranced by the countermeasures. The radar mounted on the offending SA-17 dropped off the RWR a few seconds later.
"Privateer, what's your position?" Arthur radioed.
"Coming to you from your five, Knight. Maintain current course." Abel assured.
His lead plane shot out in front of him from the right. He crossed behind him and the two weaved back and forth to try and shake off any other radars in the area looking to ambush them. Aruthur looked down at the map on the center display and reoriented himself. Romeo and Simmer appeared to the west of them as they headed for their CAP stations once again. Meanwhile, Fencer and Longbow were still tangling with two Flankers they'd encountered off the coast. Two of the F-14s had split off to help.
"Pandora and Checker Flights this is Sky Eye, we've got bandits on radar heading your direction. Looks like they just took off from Calebtown…currently at Heading 320, 57 Kilometers from you. Flight level is 4500 and climbing." The mission's Sentry AEW.1 reported.
"Copy that Sky Eye. Checker 1-3, we'll bracket them and try to get you a good shot from long range." Romeo replied.
"Much appreciated, Pandora. Sky Eye, how many bandits?"
"Count six so far, all Flankers."
Arthur dumped his external tanks and switched on his radar. He banked towards the bandits, then turned away. Abel did the same, all the while the two moved further and further to the Flankers' left. Two of the bandits turned directly towards them; Arthur popped off chaff to deny them a quick shot. The two Typhoons then committed to approaching them to close the range and fire first. Arthur selected both Flankers and locked them up, but they stayed on course towards him. He got a missile warning just as he thumbed the launch button.
"Pandora 16, Fox 3 Fox 3." He reported.
Abel couldn't get his AMRAAMs off in time, but the two still broke in opposite directions as the Flanker salvoed four AA-12 Adders at them. Even from this distance, Arthur could see the flashes of their rocket motors. He let his own missiles move ahead and deployed more chaff before he snapped towards the Eruseans again. He pulled up as he got near Abel, then went back to the left. The AA-12s swerved to keep up with his moves, but when they were close was when Arthur's chances were the best. He settled into a straight and level position for less than a second, just long enough to make sure they were centered on him. He then pulled back on the stick and rolled as he ascended. The AA-12s nosed up to follow, but he managed to put himself outside where they could go. The Flanker had stopped tracking him, nor could he find the offending aircraft.
There were plenty more to go around, however. He reversed in search of the other bandit and his lead while Checker 1-3 and 1-4 fired on the remaining ones entering the fight. He spotted Abel and the other Flanker on his radar as they entered the arena of dogfighting. He immediately turned to help box the enemy fighter in. As he did, he noted something in the dark landscape below. Imperfect streaks of light brown moving along the scene; he realized they were more bandits at low level.
"Privateer, heads up! More bandits down in the grass." He reported.
Arthur instinctively dove at the threat and switched to his ASRAAMs. He found two shapes in a loose formation; those shapes turned out to be JA 37s. The Viggens split and ascended when they realized they were spotted. Arthur chose the lead jet and slowed a bit more so he had a better position. The two aircraft circled around, heading for the remaining Flankers closing in on the fight. Arthur let his ASRAAM track the enemy fighter as he searched for the other Viggin in the night sky. It was still climbing and slowly making a half-loop that would have its nose aimed at him. Abel's Typhoon entered the fight as it was at the apex of the move. Arthur looked forward once again as the JA 37 snaked right, then left. He held onto his position as well as he could, even as the Erusean dumped more and more energy. They were reaching stall speeds with each move, each knot they bled off. The Flankers were fast-approaching, trying to find a good angle to fire on the Lenish fighter from. It'd probably been as good a time as any for Checker's second half to engage.
"Checker 1-3, Fox 3 Fox 3."
"Checker 1-4, Fox 3 Fox 3."
Half a second later, the Flankers that'd been closing in broke away and turned to fight the Tomcats. The Viggen Arthur was after realized this almost simultaneously. It dumped flares and started speeding up, but couldn't stop Arthur's more agile Typhoon from getting a lock.
"Pandora 16, Fox 2." He declared.
The ASRAAM left its rail and practically teleported into the sky ahead. Arthur, needing to regain speed himself, broke right and pushed the throttles forward. He glanced back as the Viggen deployed more flares and went to the right. Sensing it was trying to nab the offensive, he broke into the attack and readied his second ASRAAM. The first missile failed, exploding just a smidge too far from the enemy fighter. The Viggen went-head-to-head with him for a brief second before it fired an indigenous AP-8 at him. Arthur yanked his plane to the left and dropped flares where he'd been an instant before. The heat-seeking missile curved downwards to follow him as he screamed towards the countryside. Arthur drew in a few calming breaths, then reversed his move and trailed more flares for extra insurance. The Viggen was still heading the same way; it turned left and up as he came around. Its first missile hit the ground far behind.
The Viggens closed in on one-another to better defend against the Typhoons. Two Flankers that'd survived the F-14s were also speeding in. Arthur stayed close to his bandit to discourage them from trying another long-range shot. Both the Viggens crossed very close to one-another, then the one Arthur was after pulled left and moved to rejoin his comrade. Privateer ascended to avoid the other jets and did a barrel roll to avoid overshooting. Arthur stayed outside the Viggens' turns, keeping them on the defensive until Abel could get back into the fight proper. One of the Flankers dove on him and fired its cannon to get him to break off. He grudgingly did so, allowing one of the Viggens to turn towards him. The Flanker went hard left to help double-team him, but Romeo and Simmer had entered the fight with the F-14s.
"Privateer, Knight, keep those Viggens off us and we'll deal with the remaining Flankers." Romeo ordered.
"Roger that, Romeo! Stay heads up, mate; traffic's a bit tight." Abel replied.
The Flanker that'd been harassing Arthur peeled way to defend against the two F-14s, leaving Arthur and the Viggen alone once more. The Viggen carried through with its turn towards him. Arthur used his energy and position to go outside the Viggen's move, where he could keep it from its allies. The enemy fighter cut hard left, tailpipe spewing white-hot flame, and Arthur jumped at the chance. He eased back the throttles just a little bit more and slaved his IRST to the jet in case the heat source wasn't enough. His ASRAAM growled eagerly in his ear, so he let it off its chain.
"Pandora 16, Fox 2." He reported.
He stayed with the Viggen this time, checking his cockpit mirrors instead of turning around. His pinkie reflexively switched to the Typhoon's cannon. The missile went straight up the Viggen's tailpipe as it cut its afterburners, then exploded in a brilliant flash. Arthur nosed up and left the Viggen behind, sticking to his cannon for now as he reoriented himself. He spotted Abel as the man was pursuing the other Viggen inland.
"Got eyes on your fight, Privateer. Coming in from your eleven high." He radioed.
"Copy, try and get this guy to make a dumb move so I can shove a missile up his arse." Abel replied.
Arthur dumped speed and made a steep dive towards the Viggen. He led the enemy fighter for a second and fired some rounds tio spook it. The Viggen went to the right and the two Typhoon pilots bracketed it. The Viggen shot out ahead and Abel cut to the outside of his turn. Arthur spirialed upwards and dove at the Viggen again. He spotted another Flanker coming out of the northwest and turned to fight it. He switched to his AMRAAMs and the radar automatically selected the enemy fighter. The Flanker shot off two AA-11 Archers head on and ascended higher into the abyss.
"Abel, one of those Flankers is back." He relayed.
Arthur broke left and deployed flares before he nosed up to follow. He deployed more flares and ascended higher than the Flanker, even as it was nosing over.
"Pandora 16 this is Checker 1-3, we're just below your fight. Gonna drive that Flanker to the right, set you up for a god shot. That work?" One of the Tomcats spoke up.
"If you don't get a good shot before me." Arthur replied.
Arthur rolled upright in the middle of his dive and slid the plane to the right in an attempt to lead the Flanker. He saw Checker 1-3 at his ten high in a better position.
"Get him, Checker!" Arthur encouraged.
Arthur went opposite the F-14 and circled to check on Abel. He put his nose on the other Typhoon just in time to see it pass over an explosion. Abel joined the dogpile on the Flanker, but Checker already had the bandit dead to rights.
"Checker 1-3, Fox 2." The pilot reported.
Arthur watched a Sidewinder give chase and held position until he saw the front half of the Su-33 falling towards the ground. For the first time since approaching the coast, the immediate airspace seemed clear. He checked his gauges, looked around for Simmer and Romeo, and to see if the central purpose of the mission had been achieved. Fires and smoke burned off in the distance amongst sporadic groups of tracers. He switched to the frequency the bombers were on and heard several of them calling they were dropping their bombs. Their callsigns as they did so confirmed they were the Tornadoes sent in to mop up.
Arthur switched to his AMRAAMs and fell in behind Abel as they headed towards the chaos. Checker went far left while the two Typhoons reunited with their other half. It was almost a requirement that at least one of the Tornadoes take damage while making their runs, since the 233 required them to be down where all the hot lead was flying. Arthur spotted a rolling wave of explosions and got eyes on one of the strike aircraft as it peeled away. He saw tracers strike it, but it deployed flares and clawed for every meter of altitude it could get. A second Tornado was lit by a a sudden fire under its belly, but it managed to turn around before the canopy blew off. Arthur and Abel circled above the two parachutes once, but they knew there'd be no rescue for the men.
"Pandora, Checker, be advised we've got fresh bandits out of the northwest. They're trying to break through the CAP there and get egressing strikers. Shift your patrols in that direction to assist. Closest group is four at 345, 60 Kilometers at Flight Level 4300." Sky Eye reported.
Abel and him turned to the vector given by their AWACS and caught four fresh Viggens. Arthur went for the first one his radar locked onto and pressed until it turned away from the retreating Tornadoes. The Erusean deployed chaff, so he nosed up and then came down to reacquire. In those precious few seconds, the Viggen turned towards the Tornadoes again and fired two AP-8s.
"Hammer, bandit behind you just fired a pair of missiles! Break, break!" He warned.
Arthr tensed his body and made a sharp dive to get his nose on the Erusean. He pursued a lock-on again as the Viggen turned right and tried to slip away with the rest of its flight. Abel had dared to venture further west, almost outside of where his friends could help him. Romeo and Simmer cut off the other two Viggens, forcing them to get down in the weeds. Where Erusean gunners seemed to be lighting up anything plane-shaped. It nearly put him in a stall, but Arthur managed to just barely get the JA 37 in his forward quarter.
"Pandora 16, Fox 3!" He called.
"Pandora 13, Fox 2." Romeo echoed.
"Pandora 14, Fox 2." Simmer chimed in.
Almost immediately after, Checker called out an SA-13 near one of the runways. The SAM fired two missiles at the Typhoons, then two more. Arthur was forced away from the Viggen, but it was about time to make for the coast anyways. He looked back and saw none of the missiles had been fired at him. He searched for where they'd gone while he escaped to higher altitudes. As he searched for them and the Viggen he'd fired on, he heard Checker 1-3 report they were ejecting. He saw a fireball ahead and below, but couldn't see any parachutes. Despite the risks, he banked towards the explosion, where he caught a glimpse of a Viggen passing by the dimming fire. Arthur selected him and "hip fired" one of his remaining AMRAAMs.
"Pandora 16, Fox 3!" He declared impatiently.
"Pandora Flight, head east! Move it, boys; gotta cover the bombers until they're over the drink." Longbow radioed, likely thanks to Arthur's last call. In the chaos of the SA-13's ambush, however, he hadn't exactly been heard.
"Sky Eye, be advised that Checker 1-3 went down southeast of the city. Southeast; no transponders yet. You got anything?" Romeo called out.
"Pandora Flight, head east!" Their commander boomed.
Arthur , having pulled away from the Viggen, kept turning until he was pointed towards the retreating strike package. He nosed up and checked his tail. He had no clue what'd happened to the two Viggens, but he didn't want them sneaking up on him or his allies. He was looking back for them until the fires of Colinbirk slipped below the horizon…
A sinister red glow bathed the commandos as they crossed the point of no return. The rush of cool air barely got a reaction out of Jamie. He stared down towards the clouds and checked the altimeter on his wrist to pass the few minutes before they jumped. He looked at Yorke, who smiled under his oxygen mask and gave his friend the bird.
"Remember, you get slotted then haunt MI6 for all eternity!" He reminded the man.
"Don't start without me if you don't make it either!" Jamie retorted.
The plane's Jumpmaster casually walked out onto the ramp of the Hercules like it was nothing and checked the space to make sure everything was clear. He pointed at Jamie and waved his troop forward. The men huddled just short of the ramp, rocking back and forth like runners before the pistol went off. Some muttered prayers, some stayed silent, and Connor sang "The Rocky Road to Calagin". Jamie bent his knees and looked at the red light just before it turned green.
"Go go go!" The Jumpmaster ordered.
Jamie barreled down the ramp and launched himself from its edge. He immediately assumed the proper position to descend. The world directly below the clouds remained peaceful, and Jamie ignored almost every flash or light on the horizon. His eyes darted to his altimeter, then back towards the ground. He counted off the seconds since he'd jumped in his head, figuring he'd be at the altitude to deploy his chute in a matter of seconds. At 1800 Meters above the ground, he grabbed the ripcord on his chest and yanked it. His breath hitched as he went from terminal velocity to a gentle descent almost instantly. He looked up to make sure his chute was open, then looked down at the field meant to be their insertion point. He worked the strings on his chute and moved around some trees towards a small field. When he hit the ground, he immediately fell to his side and curled up.
Connors landed a scant few meters away, then came one of his patrol leaders: Foley. Immediately, Jamie was bunching up his parachute so he could hide it. He ripped off his oxygen apparatus and folded it up inside his parachute. By the time the troop was all on the ground, he was flipping off the safety on his M4. He gave each of the poches on his load-bearing vest a feel, then pulled down his night vision. He keyed his radio to tell his other patrol leader, Jones, to get them moving towards the woods. According to his watch, they had four hours and forty-seven minutes to get to their target.