Chp. 14: Operation Maelstrom
October 26, 2049
OFS Icarus (CVN-62)
Jed had finally managed to piece together what'd happened in Al-Faziz, and when he had it tanked his mood. He became a robot, and because of personal and professional pride. Annie knew because she was doing the same thing. Outside of her duties and things like food and exercise, she avoided him as she tried to piece together a proper apology. Something that could patch things up until they had time to sit down and talk. Sanjay had given her a useful take from a guy's perspective. Jed was likely feeling genuinely let on, and given his comments about his history this case had been particularly damaging. Sanjay guessed that if it'd been another one of his flings, he would've shrugged it off. That would probably be a good place to start, but her pride meant it'd have to be done carefully. Privately, so as not to embarrass...him. Or her.
Annie's gaze fell onto the flight deck as the carrier hurried along to meet with the Andersen and her group. She seriously considered writing it down so she wouldn't get sidetracked by trying to sanitize things. Make them easier to say. It was inevitable at this point that she'd tell him she was in love with him. For all his...uniqueness...he was a man whose charm and honesty weren't lost on her. She seemed to have awoken something in him, too. She might be lying to herself but it had to still be there, but she had to try. Her pride nagged and nagged and nagged away, but if she could just get him alone she could do it.
If she even got a chance. The first serious affair of her career and it came when she was beset by personal matters. Then again the debate about what Erusea and Sotoa were doing had the depth of a puddle. Erusea was a repressive monarchy with shades of ethnocentrism and Sotoa was clinging to the pain of its time under Lenish rule. Annie almost turned it into giving them both a good thrashing for interrupting what she was trying to repair with Jed. She could only imagine how he felt; flying seemed to define who he was.
That made it even more important, and she needed to trust he'd be good to go just as much as he needed to trust she was good to go. She had confidence she could do that, and hopefully it'd push him to do the same. Then, when the time came she could make a full, honest willing, they'd survive this and she'd get that chance. She just hoped he'd forgive her so it wouldn't be in vain…
"Talos 1-01 this is Jackal, we've got two radar contacts at Heading 162 Degrees, Distance 290 Kilometers, Altitude 7315."
"Copy Jackal. Talos 1-03 and 1-04 commit to that heading and keep your nose on those bandits. Talos 1-02, follow me."
"Copy 1-01."
Luukas and Krill were racing over the Eusian Ocean at a little past Mach 1.5, positioned behind and above a pair of AMCA Trishulas that were hunting for radars on the coast. Luukas's AI took the information from the datalink accompanying the warning and double-checked to make sure he'd selected his AP-13s.
"Talos 1-05 this is Lancer Lead, we have a fix on a pair of Sentinel radars, likely our first target. Be advised it'll take us a few minutes to get a good shot; exercise caution until then." One of the Sotoan pilots radioed.
"Copy Lancer." Luukas replied.
After a few more seconds, Luukas motioned to Krill to release his external fuel tanks. The two jets loosened their formation and moved to cover the Trishulas' flanks. The ECM picked up more airborne contacts. Jackal confirmed that there were at least two pairs of contacts heading their way. Another four were forming up further inland.
"Talos 1-05, be advised that the second pair of bandits is turning towards Lancer. Heading 140, 190 Kilometers. They're currently at 7400 and climbing." Jackal added.
"Copy Jackal, 140 and climbing." Luukas replied.
The Erusean pilot instructed the Sotoan aircraft to maintain their course towards the SAM radars. They went down their current heading for a few seconds more before turning towards the contacts. He turned on his radar and selected the lead bandit to fire on, with Krill taking the wingman. A few seconds later, the sound of his ECM changed to warn him that one of the Sentinels had detected the move. His AI clarified that it didn't have him exactly, but it was searching and recommended he stay unpredictable. He rested his thumb near the countermeasures switch as he snaked back and forth with the incoming Chakari.
"Formation just split. Lead aircraft is still ascending; his wingman is now descending." Jackal added.
Luukas took the lead bandit and nosed up just a little. On his center screen and on his HMD, The Typhoon was surrounded by a circle, which then merged with a diamond to turn red.
"Talos 1-05, Arrows away!" He radioed.
Two AP-13s dropped from the centerline bay and streaked ahead seconds before the NASAMS site got a fix on the two CFAs. The battery launched four missiles in seconds, two for the Eruseans and two for the Sotoans. Luukas, to his own surprise, took being shot at for the first time fairly well. He deployed chaff, ordered his AI to deal with the matter, and turned into the attack. The Typhoon shot off a pair of AMRAAMs seconds later.
"Loki 1-01 this is Lancer 01, request you move your station closer to the coast." Lancer Lead radioed.
"Loki 1-01 be advised that Talos is engaging bandits north of Lancer. Watch your spacing." Luukas added breathlessly.
"Copy Talos; Lancer, expect us on our new station in three minutes." The pilot of an ER-211 jammer radioed.
"Jackal this is Talos 1-01, request estimate on number of hostile aircraft." Mistros called.
"We can confirm at least eight aircraft in your sector." AWACS stressed.
Not good, because it meant the Chakaris might be holding back. Setting up an ambush or something. Luukas hit the gas and snaked back to the left against the closer threat. He nosed down and jinked to the right again as the SAM gunning for him hit its top speed. He deployed more chaff, then turned again to face the AMRAAMs. He ascended and pushed his throttles up just shy of afterburner. He looked back, then consulted his AI as it assured him the weapon would not be able to reorient itself properly. A second later the ECM concurred that he'd shaken the weapon. The two AMRAAMs had nosed up to chase him; Luukas deployed one more canister of chaff and went hard left, then hard right and left again. By the second turn, he'd overwhelmed the two missiles. He searched for the Typhoon that'd shot them, but it was gone. Destroyed? His jet certainly believed so.
Celebration was best saved for later, though. AWACS still had close to half a dozen enemy aircraft in the vicinity and Lancer had just now suppressed the NASAMS' radars. Luukas spotted a second pair of Typhoons heading south, towards Lancer and Loki.
"Talos 1-06, what is your status?" He radioed.
"Talos 1-06...committed, single bandit northwest of you. Unable to...support." Krill replied.
"Copy 1-06, do you need support?"
"Keep his friends away from me."
Luukas ordered 1-07 and 1-08, Faye and Yak, to meet anyone who tried to rescue Krill's prey and kept on the two Typhoons inland. They fired off two missiles each just before Luukas fired a second pair of AP-13s. The bandits turned towards him and accelerated before splitting, deploying countermeasures against the incoming missiles. Luukas ascended and rolled inverted, so his canopy was towards them. His ECM warbled and growled as one of them tried to get a lock on the Erusean, but those AMRAAMs had been meant for someone else. Luukas switched to his AP-11s as the distance shrank and his long-range missiles faltered. Launched those 13s from a bad position! he thought. Though maybe his opponents were just that good. It stopped mattering when he spotted one of the bandits at his two o'clock. Luukas rolled towards the Typhoon, weary of his wingman, and leveled out above the enemy fighter. He eased back on the throttles and pulled left while the Typhoon broke towards him.
Now Luukas could really feel his adrenaline pumping as he and the Typhoon circled in search of an advantage. Luukas nosed up and throttled back as he went through a barrel roll to try and get the Typhoon to push further out ahead of him. The Typhoon broke to the right and dumped speed abruptly, leaving Luukas to overshoot on the outside. The Erusean glanced back and pushed the throttles forward. He then reversed, leaving the Typhoon some distance behind. Luukas turned into the Typhoon once more as its pilot tried to go for a missile lock. Luukas traded speed for a tighter turn but kept the Typhoon from going below his canopy rails. The Chakari pilot closed, then drew back, then closed again. As soon as he was below the Typhoon's nose, Luukas broke off. The Typhoon kept onwards behind him until he reversed. Luukas passed by behind him, then slowed and reversed again. The Typhoon ended up ahead and above, and Luukas went for a lock.
Almost immediately, the Typhoon broke left and deployed flares. Luukas banked in the same direction, keeping his distance as they closed in on some of the clouds at that height. A look around revealed the second Typhoon had entered the fight from under them. Luukas snarled and broke off from the attack just as the Typhoon fired off an ASRAAM. He deployed flares and felt the reverberation of an explosion behind him seconds later. The attacking Typhoon turned towards him but passed by without getting a good shot. Luukas checked for the first Typhoon and saw it was circling around while the second was doing the same to rejoin the first.
"Talos 1-06 this is Talos 1-05, I have two bandits after me. Are you able to support?" He radioed.
"Copy, 1-05! Rescue is on the way." Krill replied. Luukas could hear his wingman's smile through the radio. Smug bastard he thought with a smirk.
Luukas checked back again and caught the first Typhoon as it launched an ASRAAM at him. He broke right, dropped flares and nosed up. He saw the missile do the same and made an abrupt turn to the left. His breathing and grunted drowned out all else for a minute. More flares and a barrel roll, he thought, thinking through every situation like he was taking a math test in primary school. As he recovered from the roll, he felt his plane shudder slightly. Another explosion lit the night sky. The AI coolly informed him that they'd taken a few shrapnel hits. Not enough to damage anything but the skin of the plane. Luukas craned his neck and spotted the second Typhoon descending with a vengeance.
Luukas broke to the right as the bandit made a pass at him with his gun. He reversed and throttled back, straining to keep his HMD on the Chakari pilot as he came back to the left. The Typhoon turned into him but shot out ahead. The Nosferatu slowed and its pilot took a gamble to break the deadlock.
"Talos 1-05, Dagger away!" He called.
As soon as the missile was off, Luukas was focused on the other Typhoon. The AP-11 went a short ways before it hit the enemy fighter squarely from behind. He barely even noticed it as he went back on the defensive; Krill was in, as were Faye and Yak. Luukas accelerated and dragged the other Chakari their way before he broke left and circled back towards the coast. The Typhoon started to turn after him, only to reverse as Krill lobbed an AP-11 from head-on. As he came around, he spotted an explosion in the distance.
"Loki 1-01 is down, repeat Loki 1-01 is down. Lancer we need those other two batteries eliminated as soon as possible!" AWACS reported.
"Roger Jackal, roger. We're working on it." One of the Sotoans replied.
Seconds later one of the remaining NASAMS batteries started taking an interest in Luukas. He deployed chaff, then broke to the right and turned back towards the source. The rapidly changing radar cross-section broke the lock and gave him time to dive. The Sentinel kept after him, even when he heard that Lancer had fired off a pair of Rudram anti-radiation missiles. The battery shot off four more missiles as a final act of defiance. Luukas stayed low until he was certain one of the missiles were on him, then rocketed upwards. He went back down, then up, and in what felt like every other direction until the missile was too overwhelmed to correct itself. Almost immediately, he turned back towards the fight as Faye called for help. Luukas turned just in time to spot a Typhoon zoom past below. He looked around until he saw another far off on his left.
"All friendly aircraft, be alert. Two bandits just passed below Talos 1-05, heading west. Altitude unknown, intent unknown." He radioed.
Luukas took the one on the right as it ascended towards the furball involving his section. The Typhoon went left abruptly, then reversed before Luukas could fully react. He went to the outside and throttled back. The Chakari aircraft caught Faye as he was chasing another Typhoon and fired an ASRAAM at point-blank range. The man probably never had a chance to avoid the threat. Luukas's only reaction was to report the matter and move to eliminate the offending Typhoon. The remaining aircraft in the section collapsed things so they could isolate and overwhelm the enemy aircraft. They also pushed it away from the incoming strike aircraft as they entered their final minutes before release. Krotos 4 and Krotos 5 rolled in from the west virtually unopposed…
If I survive this Gale is gonna fucking kill me. And if Santosh doesn't survive this Nimita will kill me too.
Sharky kept the throttles pinned forward as he left the runway with Santosh on his wing. Within seconds, Shamu was calling out approaching contacts directly ahead. He ID'd them as KRM-3 long-range cruise missiles.
"Wolf 2-3 and 2-4 are airborne. We have eyes on those contacts at 340." Sharky radioed.
"Copy 2-1, you're cleared to engage at will." Natour replied.
Sharky gave Santosh the signal to loosen up the formation and swung to the right. He nosed up and rose a few thousand feet above the altitude the missiles were at while Shamu worked to get a lock. The contacts faded in and out on his display as they used the terrain and their low cross section to defend from the F-72s.
"Sharky heads up, got a second wave of aircraft at Heading 020, closing fast. Currently 210 kilos and closing. Altitude is 6700. Looks to be eight bandits."
"Rog...Wolf 2-3 and 2-4, take 2-5 and 2-6 and engage those bandits. We'll join you as soon as our AMRAAMs are off."
"Three." Bradley replied.
"Wolf 2 belay that order, Badger will engage enemy aircraft. Focus on those incoming missiles!" The base's command center, Den, interjected. Sharky growled, but obeyed.
"Right, roger...Wolf 2-1 to all Wolf 2 elements. Assume wall formation and engage all low-level targets at Heading 340."
On Shamu's advice, they changed the angle they were approaching the missiles, looking for the direction where their radar cross-section was biggest. They closed to less than 70 kilometers before Shamu could get a solid enough lock. Sharky jumped at the chance.
"Wolf 2-1, salvo Fox 3!" He called.
All six AIM-120s on the jet dropped away and raced off at different targets. As soon as Santosh had his missiles off, the two jets nosed up and banked left. The second flight of bandits turned towards them and went for radar lock. Sharky hit the gas again and pushed towards the offending aircraft. He selected his ASRAAMs and began picking out targets
"Confirm six sucessful intercepts; last two AMRAAMs had unknown malfunctions." Shamu reported.
"Gotcha Shamu...Den, request relay to nearest AWACS so we can ID those bandits." Sharky replied.
"Negative, no available Wedgetails in the area. Unknown at this time when we'll get one on station."
Den was being especially helpful tonight the pilot thought with a scowl. They were on their own as the RWR started beeping away. Sharky hit the countermeasures switch and snaked towards the radar contacts as they dogged him every step of the way.
"Badger this Wolf 2-1, where are you?" Sharky called. The response was quick.
"Wolf 2-1 this is Badger, we've just activated radars and are tracking those bandits northeast of you. Keep 'em occupied until we can get a shot, how copy?"
"Will do, just don't take too long."
"No promises, mate."
Sharky let Santosh go off on his own and kept baiting the Sotoan fighters towards him. Shamu turned on the EOTS and tried to see if he could catch a good look at the incoming aircraft. His instincts told him MiG-44s, but he wanted to be sure. He didn't get a chance before the enemy aircraft were launching at them. Sharky counted two missiles.
"Hang on, Shamu." Sharky spoke up.
"Flatpacks, they gotta be Flatpacks." Shamu insisted.
"Okay, familiar territory. Still, hang on."
Sharky snapped to the right and weaved under Santosh as he went in the same direction. The two jets then crossed paths again before Sharky dove for the ground. He stayed down there for a few seconds, then broke left and nosed up. Shamu was fully turned around, searching the sky for both their wingman and the two Astra Mk.3s that'd been fired at them. The jet's internal ECM systems switched between jamming and frequency hopping while Sharky kept the F-72 at the edge of what it could take. His face was a steely mask, but inside he was feeling something he hadn't felt in decades. That odd blend of exhilaration and fear wrapped in a sense of being too smart to be in any serious danger.
"Got a visual on the missiles...bandits are trying to bracket us." Shamu gasped against the fluctuating Gs.
Sharky spotted one of the contacts on his radar and turned towards it as the Astras' lock got shaky. He dove down, then went up quickly. Shamu announced the two missiles were on course to pass behind harmlessly.
Wolf 2-2 are you still alive?" Sharky asked.
"Roger Wolf 2-1!" Santosh assured.
"Badger?"
"We're engaging the trailing bandits. Be advised they're Flatpacks."
"Copy, we'll try and keep 'em boxed in for you."
"Wolf 2-1 belay that or-"
"Den this is Wolf 1-1, Wolf 1 will pursue the remaining missiles. Wolf 2, good hunting."
"Will do, 1-1."
"Wolf 1-1 we need all air-"
Rana's nerve center went silent, maybe taken out. Maybe it was just a radio malfunction. Either way Wolf 2's planes waded into the loose formation of Sotoan fighters. Sharky ended up head-to-head with the Flatpack that'd taken a shot at him. Santosh remained behind him to fend off the other one. He went left, then slowed and came hard right. His ASRAAM found a good enough heat source near the MiG's intakes.
"Wolf 2-1, Fox 2." He radioed calmly.
The missile sped off towards the MiG and made a sharp right into the enemy fighter. The Sotoan never had any chance of escape as the missile blew apart the front half of the plane. Sharky barrel rolled to avoid the wreckage.
"Right on, Sharkman." Shamu smirked as he searched the skies for another target.
"We'll swig some Captain Morgan later, fellow pirate." Sharky replied with the same expression.
As they leveled out, a flash in the distance drew their attention. Sharky spotted flares and turned towards the fight while Santosh called out to him. He put his nose on the MiG and forced it to go for him. The MiG simply passed by before it went hard left and slowed to come around on the F-72's tail. Sharky yanked the stick back and grabbed some room to maneuver. The Flatpack accelerated quickly and followed them up.
"Wolf 2-1 hang on, I'm maneuvering for a shot." Santosh radioed.
Sharky banked to the right but stayed in the vertical best he could. Flares off, throttles in the middle range to keep the balance he wanted. The MiG stayed back so it could get a nice infrared eyeful of the F119s' exhausts. It launched a K-74 Archer at the large fighter, then broke off to spar with Santosh and Joshi. Shark broke in the same direction as the MiG and dumped flares. His whole body felt like it was being crushed while the plane chided him for pulling such a maneuver. He toughed it out and abruptly went left, then up. The Archer zig-zagged through the attempts and angled upwards. Sharky, against his better judgement, went right again and throttled back in a last-ditch effort to lose the missile. It worked but left him feeling like he'd edged too close to blacking out.
As he recovered, he spotted the Flatpack as it fired a second Archer. Santosh broke and sped up while Sharky entered the fight once more. The Sotoan pilot turned into him and raced by within spitting distance. Sharky went to the outside and stayed far enough behind to negate whatever the MiG might attempt. It went to the right and accelerated towards Santosh and A-Jo, who were just coming out of shaking the second Archer. Santosh responded with an ASRAAM.
"Wolf 2-2, Fox 2."
At the same time, Sharky's RWR was warning him of fresh bandits coming from his ten o'clock. He turned left and put them on the edge of his radar sweep while he tried to figure out what to do. The two contacts, Tejases, immediately singled him out and split to box him in. Sharky chose the southernmost bandit and began turning towards the bandit when Badger came over the radio. Two Typhoons made "Fox 3" calls, which had the Sotoan fighters going elsewhere fast. Sharky reversed and nosed up.
"Thanks for the assist, Badger...Wolf 2-2 what's the status of that Flatpack?" He called.
"He's down, his wingman is still up. We're engaged defensive." A-Jo answered.
Shamu spotted a missile launch and, on a hunch, Sharky turned towards it. He set the EOTS on the source and caught a glimpse of a MiG-44.
"Sandy, bring him towards me if you can." He added.
"Will...try to!"
Sharky banked right and whipped around to come in behind the MiG as it left its Archer to do the job. The MiG caught sight of him and banked sharply to the right. Too late, asshole the mercenary thought.
"Wolf 2-1, Fox 2." He announced as he pushed down the launch button.
The missile separated from the plane, much as the other ASRAAM had, and followed the MiG through its maneuver. The Sotoan jinked in the opposite direction and let off several seconds worth of flares. Even a modern missile couldn't take the sheer number of heat sources; Sharky felt a tinge of annoyance. That'd been a good shot! He selected his GAU-22 and hit the gas. He caught the MiG as it was coming out of a hard left, probably trying to get turned towards them or to attack Santosh again. Sharky passed his adversary and throttled back, taking the F-72 into a high yo-yo. As he came out of it, the MiG was slowing even more to draw Sharky in. He abruptly turned hard left, much to Shamu's displeasure, and yanked back the trigger on his stick. He caught a few sparks, but the MiG stayed airborne. His RWR piped up once more, and seconds later he was forced to let the Flatpack flee as a second pair of Tejases entered the fray. They were down to 400 rounds, but they still had enough fuel to fight for a bit. And hopefully enough to find someplace to land.