Chp. 15: Steel Shield
October 27, 2049
OFS Icarus (CVN-62)
The Osean carrier sailed up the outer leg of its station northeast of Kharmata as daybreak began. With the exception of the newly-arrived frigate Glenn Caleb, her escorts were further off to shield her. Captain Crest looked down at the crowded flight deck with growing anticipation. When the handset near him went off, he could already hear who was on the other end of the line.
"Captain speaking." He grunted.
"Air Boss here, Skipper; we're all ready to go."
"Understood, launch the plane guard helo."
"Aye sir."
Crest turned to the Helmsman and got her attention with a quick call of her name.
"Turn the Icarus into the wind." He ordered.
"Aye sir." She replied.
The carrier slid to the left before it launched a single MH-62 Sea Sergeant. Deck crew scrambled to either get to their stations or get out of the way. The flags to indicate they were starting Cyclic Ops were hoisted up the mast, alongside a large Osean flag. Nearly every jet in the wing's first four squadrons was topside, all loaded for air-to-air work.
Down below, Jed let his body adjust to the weight of his fight vest and gear before he walked to the armory. The sailor manning it saw him and almost immediately knew where to go for the man's sidearm. Jed accepted his Colt Enforcer IV and holstered it before he walked along to get his oxygen mask and the last bits of his gear. As he walked, he felt a tingle racing across every inch of his skin. Someplace in the back of his mind, dramatic music was building as he got himself psyched up to ride into battle. He'd reached out to his parents, telling them he loved them and asking his dad if he might impart any final words of wisdom upon the young pilot. Mark's voice was clear as ever in his mind.
Ah wish Ah could predict how it'll go, Son, but the truth is war is a different beast for every person who fights it. Still, Ah'll pass along what Ah learned after the first time another man tried to blow me out of the sky. Trust your training and yer instincts, trust yer squadron mates, and most importantly don't reject yer fear. Everyone around y'all is afraid, whether they accept it or not. Those who accept it find it loses its grip fast. Yer mother and Ah both love you, and in our eyes yer the best son we could've asked for. Good luck, and Vaya Con Dios. No feat too great, fellow Daredevil!
That last part had really spoken to him, and it was just what he needed to hear. One Fitron 34 vet to another. It made everything just a little easier to visualize. Right now it was simple: beat back the raids on Chakari. Until a solid plan could be laid out, the strategy was simply to block Sotoan and Erusean attacks. After that, start expanding. Interdiction, SEAD, the Erusean and Sotoan carriers. Jed could feel the electricity coursing from nerve-end to nerve-end. He followed the rest of his flight out of VF-34's equipment room and down a short hall towards a door. As he hurried up the stairs, he felt a hand reach for his arm. He knew who it was, but was still surprised when he turned towards Annie. Her face softened, and she extended a hand.
"Bronco, I am truly sorry for what happened. While I want to address it in detail, for now I think we can agree that we have more pressing matters. Until then, know that I've got your back." She said over the waves. Jed was taken aback, but after a second managed to come up with the appropriate answer.
"And Ah've got yers." Jed replied with a simple nod.
That'd been the last thing he'd wanted to touch on right now, but at least she'd apologized. It was...enough. Her point also stood, regardless of current feelings about her. Not that he'd intended to let it get between them in the sky, he told the doubts in his head. Jed chased them off and hurried to his jet. Petty Officer 2nd Class Cortlan Wolfe, his Plane Captain, was waiting for him. The mustachioed bear of a man walked over and practically crushed Jed's hand when they shook.
"Mornin' sir, bird's all prettied-up and loaded up and lookin like she just rolled outta th Ironworks in Hayverton!" He bellowed in an accent about as thick as Jed's.
"Good, good! Anything Ah should be mindful of?" Jed replied.
"Just the usual...bring her back, ya hear?"
"No promises, but Ah'll certainly give it my all."
Jed slid on his helmet and went over his aircraft nonetheless, but Wolfy wasn't kidding. All the while he simply played his Dad's words over and over in his head. He also wished some of his mom's cooking would've been waiting for him after he landed. Your Mama loves you very much, Jed; please be careful. And please come home after all this so you can eat a proper meal. He smiled a bit before he put his game face back on and went back to the plane's boarding steps. He had enough buzzing in his head already. Even Annie's words were stowed away and out of sight by the time a yellow-vested Plane Director was beckoning him forward. Jed swung his F-24 to the left and crossed the flight deck to the forward catapults.
Another man in a yellow vest, this one a Catapult Officer, waved him forward until the plane was at the end of the Number One Catapult's track, wings extended. The catapult's crew, clad in bright-green, scrambled forward to get the Hellcat's launch bar connected with the catapult shuttle. Others noted the weight of the aircraft and passed it along to the device's Shooter so he could give the jet the right amount of pull. Ordnance Handlers in red pulled the arming tabs from his arsenal and displayed them to the pilot. When Jed had the space, he worked the controls until the Cat Officer was satisfied. The final sequence played out in a fluid series of motions. The Cat Officer moved out of the way, checked with the Safety Officers to make sure the plane had a clear path, and gave Jed the signal the ball was in his court. Jed saluted and braced. The F-24 shuddered a little and roared down the track towards the morning sky. That electricity was back.
Annie followed close behind and linked up with him a little ways east of the Icarus. They fell in with Yuki and Brick and pushed north with other fourships gathering and heading off to their patrol stations. A quartet of F-35s followed some miles behind and below to maximize coverage. Jed lifted his visor and gazed at the horizon, then looked back at Annie's jet. She flashed him a thumbs up, and Jed did the same. He looked towards Brick and Yuki, with Brick pumping a fist in the air a few times. Jed worked the weapons select switch with his thumb and selected his Marlins. Annie, meanwhile, was keeping herself calm by going over all she knew about flying the Hellcat. How to employ it, how well it could turn or climb, its disadvantages and that it wasn't her old Lightning. She got so wrapped up in it that she almost missed a radio call from their AWACS.
"Skull 3, Riffer 3 this is Cadmus. Enemy raid detected forming just off the coast of Bedurga, 24 aircraft so far. Nearest bandits are at 310, 237 Miles out at Angels 23. At least eight bandits are inbound." An E-12 north of the carrier reported.
"Copy Cadmus. Riffer 3-1, keep your flight at low altitude. Skull 3 will draw the bandits in and allow you a chance to sneak in low." Yuki spoke up.
"Copy Skull 3-1." Riffer 3-1 replied. Yuki looked back at her flight and signalled for the fourship to break into pairs.
"Skull 3-3, take 3-4 and shadow Riffer. Make them think you're bracketing; try and separate the CAP from the strikers. Watch for us at high altitude." She added.
"Three." Jed radioed.
Jed banked to the right and had Annie loosen up the formation. The RWR chirped as they entered the range of an enemy AWACS somewhere far to the north. The two fighters pushed up the throttles and began making a wide right towards the enemy attack to draw attention. Despite everything he'd been taught, Jed flipped on his radar and set it to multi-target almost immediately got some attention. The AWACS, an A-100 Misfit, was immediately showing an interest in them. Jed turned his nose to the aircraft, then broke left to stop it from keeping a lock on him. Annie went the opposite direction, then weaved back to rejoin her leader. Four hits appeared on her screen as they turned back towards the raid.
"Contact, four bandits at 305, 200 Miles at Angels 23." She called.
"Copy Tsun-Tsun, take the two on the left. Engage before 110 miles so they can't shoot back first." Jed replied as he singled out his first two opponents.
The two jets parted ways with their external tanks before they lit their afterburners. The world, already feeling small at 23,000 Feet, got even smaller as the two aircraft charged towards one-another. Annie's pair of targets broke from Jed's, so Jed let her loose. He broke right as their radars started painting him, then came back towards them and broke again. The whole time he sent them to the very corner of his radar's reach, but never further. At 130 Miles, he turned towards them and stayed on that heading. His radar locked onto the two fighters, F-03s according to his plane, within half a minute. Jed watched as the two aircraft each got a TD box, and after that merged with a diamond he hit the launch button twice.
"Skull 210, Fox 3 Fox 3." He reported.
Two missiles dropped from his rear belly stations and roared off. Jed went to the right and dumped chaff every few seconds to keep the enemy aircraft from getting a lock. The lead Basilisk in the pair turned towards him and accelerated while the other dove down and stayed back.
"Skull 206, Fox 3 Fox 3." Annie echoed. Further east, Yuki and Brick lobbed their first shots at the ER-211s supporting the main strike force.
As Jed came back towards the enemy aircraft., his RWR's tone grew more and more frantic. All the mental preparation suddenly seemed moot for a second. That was a real Basilisk, with real missiles and a living, breathing Erusean inside it who was set on killing him. Self-preservation kicked in alongside training; he dumped a couple more canisters of chaff and turned to face the attacker. The F-03 responded by salvoing four AP-13s his way. Jed broke to the right and hit the gas, then dove. As he rolled upright he went left, long enough to get the missiles to change course. He nosed up sharply and put the F-24's climb rate to good use. With a second right, he went where the missiles couldn't go. A look back revealed that they were climbing but without a target. First two were climbing without a target; the second two were still on him. Jed turned into the attack and kept climbing.
"Skull 3-3 stay heads up for other aircraft, remaining bandit on my end is closing ranks with yours." Annie radioed.
"Gotcha 3-4, will stay higher up if Ah can." Jed replied. Good shootin, Tsun-Tsun.
Jed swept his nose back towards where he'd last seen the Basilisks. He focused on a small speck in the distance that turned into the shape of an aircraft. He couldn't see any others nearby, save for the one Annie was closing with. Jed caught one trying to slip into his blindspot and turned to spook it. He and Annie crossed over/under one another; Jed rolled inverted and went after Annie's opponent. His two bandits turned their attention to him so he'd reconsider. Annie did the same, and the two Oseans took the chance to try and set the pace of things. Well shit, Jed Walker. Y'all got yerself an honest-to-goodness dogfight He thought. As he dove down, Jed spotted movement just above the water, near the horizon. He flipped on his EOTS and caught a fleeting glimpse of an F-03 hugging the waves.
"Heads up, Tsun-Tsun! Bandits down at wavetop level." He warned.
"How many?" She asked as she turned away from Jed's bandits.
"At least one pair."
"Skull 3-3 this is Riffer 3-1 we'll take the bandits at low-level."
"Copy Riffer 3-1."
Jed leveled out and focused his attention on the closest F-03 as it went for another radar lock. With 20 Miles between them, Jed switched to his Sidewinders and put himself perpendicular to the Erusean. The RWR's panic faded, if only for a few seconds, before Jed turned back towards the enemy aircraft. He took the chance to get closer, then jinked again as the Basilisk tried to get a lock again. Soon after the tone dropped off and went back to indicating there was an unfriendly radar about. He looked downwards in search of those enemy aircraft on the waves, but he saw more familiar shapes instead: Riffer's F-35s. Fear had turned to sheer exhilaration in seconds and whipped right back to fear as the F-03 went for another missile shot. Jed's slight head start proved otherwise.
"Skull 210, Fox 2!" He drawled.
One of his Sidewinders dashed ahead of the F-24 and forced the Basilisk to break. The missile banked to follow the move and exploded directly in front of the aircraft. Jed slowed and winged over as the badly-damaged F-03 sailed out of the black cloud. It went on for a few seconds before the exhausts belched some fire. The canopy flew off and its pilot separated from the aircraft. Without thinking, Jed passed overhead and came around once more to engage the second F-03. The Erusean fired a single AP-11 from ten high and forced Jed to reverse. He switched to his flares and snaked back to the left to try and overwhelm the missile before it got close enough to explode. He felt his plane shake a bit, then looked back and nosed up as the AP-11's explosion faded.
He called out to Annie and tried to see if they could trip up the F-03s again and box them in. As he gained altitude to try and start something, the second F-03 lobbed a pair of AP-13s at him. Jed spotted the tracks on his RWR and hauled his plane left and upwards. He rolled and nosed down towards the F-03 as it was climbing to keep him from gaining the advantage. They passed by one another and reversed direction, trying to get one step ahead of each other.
"Tsun-Tsun are y'all nearby? Ah wanna try and trip up these two like we did." Jed breathed.
"Close enough, watch your three high!" She replied.
Annie had her bandit heading west and took the chance to switch opponents with Jed. She broke away when she saw Jed and instructed him to go left. He spotted "her" F-03 as he came about and broke after the jet as it went hard right, still thinking Annie was in pursuit. He went high and to the left of the Basilisk so he had a better shot.
"Bronco stay heads up, bandit is still trying to get a shot off at you!" Annie spoke up.
"Keep him off me!" Jed snapped.
That pesky professional pride, reeling its head once more. She forced the Basilisk to acknowledge her presence by switching to her cannon and firing off a burst in its direction. A second burst got the F-03 to defend. She thought sourly. There! He's off your ass, Bronco! She thought with a scowl. Jed looked back and saw his pursuer ascending off to his left with Annie in hot pursuit. He pumped a fist in her direction while his opponent rolled left and hit the brakes.
"Kick his ass, Tsun-Tsun!" He said to himself.
Jed went to the outside of the Erusean's turn again and slowed, though not as well as the Basilisk. His Hellcat shuddered in protest and his vision darkened at the sudden move. He snarled and kept the F-24's nose pointed at its target. He eased his head back so his HMD could keep on the F-03 in his sights. The bandit slowed even further, but Jed could tell he was really walking the line between controlled flight and stalling. Not that Jed was much better, but he had a lot of faith in his F-24. The Basilisk's exhausts started to glow as the pilot nosed up. Jed simply put his nose down and waited until he had more energy to use. The two jets slipped into the bottom part of the fight, where Jed took a shot before the Erusean could get help.
"Skull 210, Fox 2." He called.
The second the missile was off, Jed hit the gas and separated from the Basilisk to get some altitude. Things didn't sound good down here.
"Cadmus be advised, we've got additional contacts closing in from Heading 006. Got two aircraft down; request additional support."
"Roger Riffer 3-1, Arrow 1 is enroute to assist."
A look back showed the Erusean fighter burst into flames. Jed looked from side to side for anyone who might be trying to sneak up on him and spotted an F-35 engaged with a pair of F-03s. He turned his left into a barrel roll and selected his gun.
"F-35 engaged with two F-03s, this is Skull 3-3. Ah'm above and entering the fight. Request y'all come hard right to help me engage." He radioed.
"Riffer 3-4 copies, Skull! Thanks for the assist." The friendly pilot replied.
Jed slowed and manhandled the F-24 into a better position against the nearest Basilisk. The Erusean broke towards him and passed by overhead at increasing speed. Jed turned after him to keep the fighter occupied, and hopefully that would allow the Lightning pilot a chance to shake the aimed his jet towards the inside of the F-03's turn and balanced the throttle carefully so he could close into a good firing position. The Basilisk came around and went straight for the F-35 again, which was in a deadlock with its wingman. The Erusean placed itself between the F-24 and the F-35 to further frustrate the Osean, long enough to fire off an AP-11. The JSF deployed flares and broke left, but the Erusean fired a second missile an instant later.
"Riffer 3-4, eject! Eject now!" Jed called.
The F-35 exploded seconds later with no parachute to be seen. Jed went left to avoid the debris. He looked back up and saw the two F-03 circling like vultures. Jed nosed up and prepared to face them until someone could close in and went for the hard, fast and aggressive approach, less concerned about getting a good shot and more about tripping up the two Eruseans at every turn. He passed between them and circled around to close the distance again.
"Hang on Bronco, help's on the way. Riffer 3-1 get the hell outta there!" Yuki called.
The last remaining Lightning turned towards the friendly reinforcements, who were charging in at full speed to help drive off the last of the raid's escorts. Jed passed by one of the F-03s as it turned to attack him head-on. The two jets fired off bursts from their guns at one another and turned away shortly after. Jed took the chance to extend and escape from the fight, so he wouldn't be in the middle of what he hoped was an incoming barrage of friendly missiles. From her position south of her lead, Annie had singled out the Basilisk he'd just jousted with. She selected her AIM-120E AMRAAMs for the job. The Erusean faced her and did the same, but once again having a head start played the deciding factor.
"Skull 206, Fox 3 Fox 3!" She snapped.
The two F-03s dumped all the chaff they could and turned north, where fresh enemy aircraft were coming from. However, instead of committing to the attack, they seemed to be coming south purely to rescue the few remaining escorts. The jamming had dropped off considerably, but the A-100 was still someplace far, far north. Jed ventured north a short distance to see if he might get a chance to take a shot, but he quickly found he'd have to extend too far from the rest of the flight. Possibly into the engagement envelope of friendly ships.
"Cadmus, what's the status of that raid?" He asked.
"Bandits are currently egressing; the Kodiak Islands will help engage what it can catch."
Jed grunted and turned south once Annie was back on his wing. He looked down at his fuel state, only to find that he didn't have what he'd need to pursue the Erusean strikers. He selected his AIM-152s and looked back at Annie.
"Okay Skull 3-4, let's get things into a racetrack pattern here. Skull 3-1, where y'all want us to set up?" He radioed.
"Go ahead and set up where you are. Arrow, request you set up west of that; we'll take the east. Cadmus, can you get us a pair of tankers up here?" Yuki spoke up.
"Copy that Skull, we'll see what we can do."
Jed lifted his visor and took in a long breath. He felt his whole body tingle from head to toe in a strangely pleasant way. That clarity came back and washed away the frantic pace things'd been going at. Jed drew in a breath and felt around for the big bottle of water he'd brought with him. Their patrol wasn't even an hour old, after all; hydration was important, He told himself. Off his wing, Annie selected her remaining Marlins and watched him every time they passed by one another. She felt she'd done good today. Been a good wingman, been a good pilot, and had scored her first victories. She'd also saved Jed's ass more than once. She might just use that to get him to listen to her when the time came to talk, she thought.