Chp. 21: Spooky Scary ASMs

October 31, 2049

Rana AFB

The sound of another A400M hitting the runway went completely unnoticed by the pilots and WSOs. They were fixed on Sharky outlining the evening's mission with one of Rosenthal's intel guys. Friendly transports had been coming and going all day with men and supplies from the Lenish 16th Parachute Regiment or more weapons and fuel. No. 3 Squadron had bigger priorities at the moment. The contractor rocked back and forth on his heels a few times, then folded his arms over his chest and took a more authoritative stance.

"After considering all the options with Mister Ramos, we've decided that an attack from both varied altitudes and headings will maximize our chances of getting a hit on the carrier Khodra. We'll be launching from 170 kilometers out, exploiting places in the escorting flotilla where their radar coverage doesn't overlap. We'll enter their outer engagement zone, where the main threat will come from Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles and Fulcrums launched from the carrier. Our most recent intel says there are still 16 MiGs aboard and all four of its Dhruv AEW helos are operational. An A-100 provides additional support."

He brought up a rendering of the Sotoan fleet and, with the push of a button on his remote, created the routes each flight would take.

"We'll be part of a 24-plane strike against the fleet, attacking in coordination with F-72s from No.7 Squadron and aircraft from the Osean carrier Anderson. Wolf 1, led by Commander Natour, will make their approach from the northeast, where these two Nilgiri-class frigates are positioned. Wolf 2, led by me, will reach a point due east of the carrier group around the same time, which should have the additional effect of forcing the Sotoan ships to split their attention. My main concern regarding this approach, however, is the Visakhapatnam-class destroyer defending the carrier's port side. This ship and its sister vessel on the other side of the group are the primary air defense assets for Khodra. With this in mind, We will be making a high-and-fast approach until this point, after which we'll drop down low and speed up again. This, combined with interference from our supporting aircraft, should give us a fairly safe window of opportunity to launch." He added, then looking to Natour.

"Commander, I would recommend an approach similar to ours but you said you have something figured out?"

"Yes Mister Sarkar, I intend to split my flight into pairs for a low and high approach. The low aircraft will be the first to fire, with the higher pair drawing attention, then joining the first pair at lower altitude. I intend to be leading the second pair with Wolf 1-2." He explained.

"Alright, and finally No. 7 Squadron will have two flights, Bears 1 and 2, coming from the south. The strike aircraft from the Andersen will have the callsigns Blazer 1, Blazer 2, and Hammer 1. Their approaches will be here, here, and here."

While he spoke, his eyes constantly shifted from Natour, to Shamu, to Santosh. The kid was laser-focused on every detail, also apparently sketching out possible alternative approaches on a legal pad. He'd lean over to his WSO and consult with the man. It's freaking me out, Gale; it's like…I feel like I'm looking at a younger me. His wife is a helicopter pilot, too! He made it a point to look at the board for a solid minute to clear his head of the conversation he'd had with his wife last night. He started pointing out other flights on the map, talking just loud enough to drown out the thoughts in his head.

"We'll receive support from four EW Sakerfalcons and a P-99 to track the Sotoan force, callsigns Fang 2 and Manta 1. An Osean Grandline, callsign Moonlight, will be our AWACS, with fighter escort provided by Typhoons from No.14 Squadron, callsign Cobras 3 and 4. They'll be positioned here and here to draw away Sotoan MiGs on patrol and to shield the EF-16s while they do their job. Manta 1 will remain along the coast for the duration of the attack."

The point he really wanted to get across was the enemy ships' abilities. Ship hunting was his thing; it was what he considered himself to be the absolute best at. His most useful experiences stemmed from fighting Emmerian Horizon-class destroyers equipped with the Aster system. After that, he had plenty of training against modern systems. Sotoan warships could target and salvo missiles with incredible speed like any modern surface combatant. The QRSAM, also known as the Barak-8, was an Aslani product. They made some high-quality stuff; this wasn't a Yuke system from the 1960s. At some points he felt like he was repeating himself but he needed to make sure he said it right. This would be the Chakari Air Force's first hit on enemy ships.

Still, he had confidence in Santosh and many of the others in today's strike. Natour had shown himself to be a machine and a quick thinker. Rosenthal had sent four new flyers to help; by request all were experienced. Two, Anthony Paulson (Catfish) and Florin Coval (Clank), had flown with Sharky before.

"If there are no questions, then we'll get suited up and go over final preparations in flights." He announced. Squadron Leader Kiran Hamal raised a hand.

"How much of a chance do the Sotoan fighters have of detecting us, given our armament?" He proposed when acknowledged.

"As much of a chance as they always do. I understand that there might be some reservations over having AMRAAMs externally mounted, but in my experience it's always better to have them in case we're forced to fight. That being said, speed and stealth are still our main defenses. We have fighters on both sides of the fleet to defend us; I've seen the F-24 do its thing. Its long-range missiles can reach targets 185 kilometers away."

One of those F-24 pilots Sharky had known since he was a baby.

"Any word of Erusean ships or aircraft in the area?" Catfish spoke up.

"None at this time; the Eruseans have moved the Tanager and its compatriots north to regroup. If any try to reinforce Khodra's group, Manta will spot 'em. We should be out of there by the time they reach the fight, though."

Natour took over from there since the questions were quickly becoming trivial. Sharky walked over to Shamu, Santosh and Abhay as they stood up. Shamu elbowed his friend as they walked towards the equipment room.

"Good, kept it in your pants this time when it came to killing boats." He remarked. Sharky made it a point to ignore him and looked at Santosh.

"Santosh, your wife's a helo pilot right? Any word on if she's been deployed?" He asked.

"Yes, last I heard from here she and her squadron had been attached to a larger unit and deployed to the frontlines. Shamu suggested you are good at anti-ship missions, yes?" The young man nodded.

"We're off business for a minute, but yes. Killing boats is my thing."

Sharky wanted to do his best Willem Dafoe for effect but he doubted the kid had ever seen Flight of the Intruder.

"I cannot talk to her as much, since the facilities she'll have will likely be rudimentary. I'm always on her mind, but I know she's also focused on more pressing things."

"Is she even worried about you? Or you about her?"

Sharky wished he could withdraw his stupid comment the second he said it, but Santosh's face remained the same, confident grin.

"I have known Nimita for a long time and she knows how deep my love for her is. She is as beautiful as she is tough."...

When all the rosy, feel-good emotions from suddenly getting confessed to by his wingwoman subsided was when the anxiety and questions began to show up. How could they make this work? Was he jumping into this too fast? Was he insulting Annie by thinking that? His last few relationships before her, the serious ones, had gone fast and they'd ended up falling apart. Was it because of that?

"Erhm…Bronco, are you alright?"

He blinked a few times and actually started looking at Annie again instead of spacing out in her general direction.

"Uh, yeah…yeah Ah'm fine. Y'all were saying?" He asked.

"The group from HMS Saint Ark should be arriving tomorrow and I would appreciate it if you'd lend your knowledge to getting them up to speed." She replied, hiding her concern.

"Like, what Ah know about the jets the Eruseans use?"

"Exactly. I can vouch for you, and I think your enthusiasm for studying fighter aircraft would be a huge asset to us."

"Alright…come on, Ah've got some books that'll help."

Annie waited until they were in one of the less-travelled passageways, then tugged his arm a bit.

"Jed?" She asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"You seem distant…are you okay?"

"No no, wait yes. Yes Ah'm fine…adjusting would be my best guess."

Annie stopped him and yanked him out of sight. He went to the position of attention under her glare.

"You're going to have to learn that I don't enjoy lying, Dear." She said with a frown.

"Sorry, sorry Ah didn't mean to…"

He stopped and caught his breath. She gave him a peck on the cheek, then gave him a far more passionate kiss on the lips. Jed accepted it readily and showed the same fire for her. Maybe it was because he'd been so starved for genuine affection that the slightest indication he might be screwing up was enough to send him into panic mode. Annie wondered the same thing, given what she'd learned. When she was certain he was back in the present for now, she ushered him on to his stateroom.

"Ah'm sorry, Ah just…things have gone in a very different direction in a short amount of time. A week ago our relationship was that we were acquaintances, maybe friends? Getting along but now with all this." He rambled softly.

"Jed, I need you to focus." Annie asked gently as they descended deeper into the ship.

"Can Ah at least…Ah dunno, know something or get some indication that my dumbass isn't sending things down the tubes?"

"Now Jed, what would make you think that?"

"Maybe Ah'm overthinking things…not like we can really show much affection to one-another."

By now they'd reached his quarters, which were thankfully vacant. Annie, his words still on her mind, crossed her arms and sighed.

"No, we can't…I'm sorry Jed, I didn't think of that." She mused while he opened his locker.

"It's not yer fault." He insisted. She raised a brow and gave him a lopsided smile.

"You don't let others take the blame often, do you?"

"Not this time…okay, here were the books Ah was thinking of. They're nothing special, but they should help when Ah'm not available. Ah can lend y'all a digital copy of the F-24's NATOPS, too."

She noted he cheered up a bit as he talked about aircraft, to which she nodded and smiled.

"Anything I should know up front?" She asked.

"Yeah, be careful with my books." He snorted.

That elicited a single laugh from her.

"Ah'm serious, Annie. Ah'm very protective of these." He half insisted, half joked.

"I promise, Jed." She nodded. Before they left, she stopped him one last time.

"As you can imagine, my pride plays a big part in it. Believe me that I share your frustration. I want to show my affection, and hopefully get over myself. Open up. We'll find a way, and remember what I said?" She whispered.

"Yes, one day at a time." Jed assured.

It was starting to become his daily motto. Annie repeated the words, then drew in a breath.

"I like dogs, a lot. Big ones and affectionate ones. My two favorites are Emmerian Mountain Dogs and Golden Retrievers." She commented. Jed blinked a few times.

"Ah like dogs too?" He replied.

"Something about me. We should learn things like that about one-another, yes?"

"Ohhhh…Well, uhhh, my favorite food is beef stroganoff."

He's a dolt, but he's an adorable dolt…

As the land sloped down to the coastal plains, Sharky brought his F-72 even closer to the ground. The sea stretched out to his left and right as if embracing him, welcoming him back. He went to military power and glanced over to make sure Santosh was still abreast of him. In the back, Shamu twisted around to ensure that Paulson and Hamal's aircraft were maintaining altitude and speed. He caught a glimpse of the beach as he turned back.

"Wolf 2 is feet wet, moving to launch point." Sharky reported, seconds after Natour had done the same.

"At current speed and altitude, we should reach the launch point in just under five minutes." Shamu reckoned.

"Alright, we'll go with ripple fire. Two at the Khodra, two at the Bhaskar. Go ahead and activate the radar when we're 45 seconds from launch. That enough time to get lock?"

"More than enough."

Wolf 2-3 and 2-4 went off to the left and went parallel with the lead Sabertooths. Sharky started to raise his eyes to look for threats, then brought them down as he remembered he had Shamu for that. The RWR had picked up unfriendly contacts beyond the horizon, though for now they remained lines on the corresponding cockpit display. Without a word, the four F-72s banked left, then made a hard right. The tone remained the same; in the back, Shamu watched his central display as it fed him what the P-99 saw. He could feel his throat getting dry as the symbols representing ships. According to Manta, they were moving southeast, in the general direction of the incoming aircraft.

"Wolf 1, Wolf 2 this is Manta 1. Be advised that the ships Swaroop and Bhaskar are beginning their turn towards the Khodra. Ships Mahendra and Arvind are pushing outwards. Estimate three to five minutes before they turn again." A controller aboard the P-99 reported.

"Wolf 2-1 copies all, break, Moonlight any word on those strikers from the Andersen?" Sharky replied.

"Wolf 2-1, Blazer 1 and 2 report they're four minutes from launch point." A country accent replied.

Sharky banked to the right and got a new radar contact. A very large one, and it was airborne. Two weaker contacts showed up less than a second later.

"Wolf 2-1 has airborne contacts, Heading 340 at 150 kilometers. Altitude unknown at this time but count two. Single contact at Heading 290, 200 kilometers. Looks like it's in orbit near the Khodra. Probably that Misfit." Shamu added.

Sharky weaved the F-72 back and forth again as the noise in his ear changed its tune. The Sotoans were realizing something was up and were deploying to meet the threat. It would rise and fall, waver and rise again. He looked at the RWR panel again as the two small contacts, revealed to be Fulcrums, had activated their radars. He searched for a sign of the AEW helos but found nothing. The track on his RWR changed position as the MiGs were nosing towards him. He remained undetected, and was forced to keep his eyes on his flightpath.

"Shams, what's the status of those smaller bandits?" He asked.

"Maintain current course, bandits are going for the CAP." Shamu advised.

From his seat, Shamu watched as the Bhaskar's radar entered the picture. It was working endlessly to try and detect them; on his advice Sharky had the flight deploy chaff. Combined with friendly jamming, it was their best chance to get in range without being lit up. He looked at the timer and reluctantly rested a hand near the switch for the radar. He looked up again and saw missile trails streaking by from behind. His ears turned to the radio for a second to help him better track the bandits. Then, as they weaved again and deployed more chaff, a fresh radar contact popped up on the RWR.

"Got eyes on a Dhruv, Sharky. Looks like he's helping the Bhaskar search for us." He reported.

"Wolf 2-1 this is Wolf 2-3, request permission to draw their attention until you get your bruisers off." Paulson radioed.

"Negative, hold formation. They haven't acquired us yet." Sharky replied.

He considered his options as they were two minutes from launch, entering the reach of the destroyer's missiles. The helicopter gained an inkling of where they were, and the ship was quick to follow its directions. 90 seconds out, and the destroyer was finally starting to get a fix on the attacking aircraft.

"All Wolf 2 aircraft, set chaff to automatic, split and stay low after launch." Sharky ordered.

He got a quick round of acknowledgements as he checked his watch. The destroyer had a fix on them now and was trying to translate that to missile lock. The EF-16s were doing their best, but they still had a ways to go before they could fire on the ship's radar. Even the Dhruv was putting up a fight in the battle of the beams. Sharky noted the position of the helo and called up Santosh and A-Jo.

"Wolf 2-2, break left after you fire. I'm gonna take a shot at that Dhruv. Clear my six and head east as planned. Engage any bandits that slip past the CAP."

"Copy that Wolf 2-1." A-Jo agreed.

Shamu waited one more maneuver before he armed the Sabertooth's fire control. He expanded the range and selected both the destroyer and the much larger source beyond the horizon.

"Radar on, going for lock." He announced.

The destroyer made a hard turn and homed in on the sources. Shamu kept one hand ready to switch to home-on-jam mode in case the Sotoan ship got creative. Sharky made one final maneuver and Shamu watched as the symbology on his displays lined up.

"Targets locked, all yours man!" He called.

"Wolf 2-1, Bruiser Dash-Four." Sharky replied. Happy Halloween, Erusea.

The center bay opened and four Naval Strike Missiles dropped into the open air. Sharky pushed the throttles forward once he saw them racing ahead and switched to his AMRAAMs. Shamu switched to air-to-air mode and targeted the helicopter as soon as it was on his display. The radio channel became jammed with calls as missiles filled the air on both sides. Just as they were closing on the Dhruv, the Bhaskar salvoed four missiles at them. Sharky turned into the attack, dropped more chaff than usual, and then broke hard right to shake the lock. He banked left again, just enough that Shamu could get the helicopter in the radar's reach. He held that position for no more than a second before breaking again.

"Don't know if I can get a lock with how much we…we gotta move." Shamu said, slowing as the Gs piled on.

"Alright forget it. Wolf 1, Wolf 2 is off target and heading for the coast." Sharky replied between gulps of cold oxygen.

"Copy that Wolf 2, good luck." Natour replied.

Sharky looked over both shoulders in search of the four QRSAMs on him. He saw movement at his eight high and spotted two objects descending towards him at high speed. Sharky warned his WSO and snapped hard left, he rolled level as soon as he was facing the direction opposite them and nosed up, putting them in a position to soar over his head. He hit the gas at the same time and went into a loop, searching for the second pair of missiles. He spotted them above as he came out of the maneuver, rocket motors still burning. Sharky stayed on course to get them to go where the first two had been, then snapped right as the destroyer fired another pair in his direction. A worrying call came over the airwaves.

"Moonlight this is Cobra Lead, Bears 1 and 2 are both down. Repeat, Bears 1 and 2 are down."

"All Wolf 2 aircraft, head east ASAP. Get out of their reach." He snarled over the radio in response.

"Sharky, we've got company. Bandits at our seven high. Two Fulcrums." Shamu warned.

Sharky glanced back in the mentioned direction and saw two MiG-35s in a loose pair. He looked to the second pair of missiles again as they were trying to get back on him. Surprised at their agility, he dumped more chaff and hit the gas, trying to get out of their reach again. Both flew by behind him, but just close enough that he felt the shockwave.

"Wolf 2-1, Wolf 2-2 is inbound to assist from your six. Lead bandit is mine; stay close to them to keep the destroyer off of you." Santosh spoke up.

Sharky looked back and turned to face the attacking MiGs. The closest one snapped into his move and slowed considerably. Sharky kept up his speed, expecting the enemy jet would fire on him. Shamu called out an Archer launch seconds later and Sharky deployed flares. He snapped to the right and slowed after a few seconds to jump out of the missile's field of view. Seeing his first attack fail, the MiG fired a second time and pushed the attack. Sharky weaved back to the left, in the direction of the Bhaskar, and nosed up to get some breathing room.

"Wolf 2-2 what's your position?" He asked as he rolled away and then snaked back to throw off the second missile. Despite the exhilaration, his tone was cooler than ice.

"Wolf 2-1 I need you to break right and extend so I can get a clean shot on both bandits." Santosh replied.

"Alright on three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

Sharky whipped the F-72 right and hit the gas after a string of flares. The engines roared with raw power as they pushed into afterburner. He looked back as the second missile went outside his turn, then jerked to get back inside it. He made a slight left and dove as he heard Santosh declare Fox 3. The MiG broke off and his partner came into view as he was turning hard to try and scare Wolf 2-2 off. Sharky stayed fast and low while Shamu watched the fight. Santosh hit his afterburners as well and raced past the two MiGs, hurrying to catch up to his flight lead while they ran for safety.

"I'm gonna clear your tail, Wolf 2-2. Maintain current course." Sharky instructed.

"Shams, can you lock up those two MiGs fast enough?" He added.

"I'll use Moonlight's picture and datalink it." Shamu replied.

That worked for him. Sharky banked left, slowed and came around until the two MiGs were in his forward quarter. He pressed the launch button twice.

"Wolf 2-1 Fox 3, Fox 3." He breathed.

As soon as the two missiles were away, he banked right and gradually pushed the throttle forward. Shamu looked back as they came around and saw a light flash on the horizon. Then a second, and he didn't have to ask anyone to know what happened.

"Two hits on the Bhaskar, Sharkman." He reported, allowing himself a little satisfaction.