Chp. 28: Firebreak

November 8, 2049

RAF Kenton, Kharmata

The Lenish possession of Kharmata seemed to be the only place where there was a clear barrier between someone and the war. Well, the closest thing. Second Lieutenant Naomi Hathaway left the equipment room to the sight of the last missile attack on the base. Erusean subs, she'd heard. Probably the only thing right now that could reach them. The last bits of smoke were wafting ever higher as the fire was under control. It meant there would be fewer Grandlines to help the war effort, though. She loaded into the ISV (Infantry Squad Vehicle) with the rest of her flight; the driver hit the gas as soon as everyone was in. She stayed hunched down, weary of another attack as they were driven towards their aircraft revetments. The vehicle slowed down just enough for her to bolt out and wish the others luck. Even then, she felt like she almost lost her balance.

The young pilot ran up to her F-35D to exchange pleasantries with her Crew Chief. The D model of the plane was little different from its predecessor, unlike the big wings and second engine of the Navy's E model. Nomad Hathaway was fiercely proud of her Lightning, too, which had been christened "Mommy's Little Monster". She kept a straight face as she walked around the jet, but she was busy compartmentalizing her thoughts. Family, home, her boyfriend Dante, and her fellow flyer Jed. The memory of splashing around a plastic kiddie pool in her backyard with him as toddlers kept coming back to her. A lifetime ago, Naomi noted. She climbed the boarding ladder and plopped into her ejection seat with a sigh. The evening's mission for the Wolfhounds of the 107th Tactical Fighter Squadron was keeping the Tanager II and her newest flotilla from heading south again. Anti-ship was something they hadn't practiced often but those running the air war needed everything they could get. The Navy would be on hand to help, too.

Her aircraft's screens came to life, reminiscent of a starship in a sci-fi movie. Her hands were moving to every corner of the cockpit as often as she blinked. Already her short head of jet-black hair was feeling trapped under her helmet. At the edge of her vision, she saw a pair of B-1s taxiing from their places on the far side of Kenton. When she had a second, she glanced at them fully to see if she recognized the aircraft by the art on their sides. She didn't get a chance before she was bringing the engine to its proper RPMs and calibrating her HMD. One of the more fascinating parts of being deployed to this particular air base was the sheer number of different aircraft deployed. She'd rubbed shoulders with plenty of Lenish pilots and other types in the OAF, and even some Ustian and Belkan types scouting ahead of their commitments to the war. The RAF's Lightning pilots could always relate to the Oseans, from handling to judgment by the "pure fighter" types. The multinational aspect made Naomi feel a bit of pride. Several nations were standing firm against Erusea and its delusions of grandeur. She guided her F-35 from its shelter and fell in behind Captain Erich Winters.

The four jets joined another quad of Lightnings from the 107th, and in turn fell in behind several Falcon GR.2 interdictors. By now the Lancers were taking off, drowning out everything else. Naomi watched them go and quietly wished them luck. Everyone was going to need it, just like yesterday and just like they'd need it again tomorrow. This would mark her tenth combat mission, which hopefully meant that luck wouldn't be a major factor much longer. She had three kills to further prove that…

Jed held his breath as his Hellcat hit a pocket of air and bounced. Bitching Betty warned him of his altitude for a second, then went quiet as he stabilized the aircraft. His ears tuned back into his RWR as he and Annie closed in on an A-100 orbiting near Rupa Island. Its radar was transmitting, but with the support of two ER-211s to keep its exact location a mystery. The area was infested with radars, enough that the top half of his scope was almost whited out. All of them were dedicated to defending the flotilla moving south. The very tip of the group was maybe 80 or 90 miles to his right in the form of two Shivalik-class frigates. Previous experience with the ships made flying at low level feel a bit easier. He and Annie exchanged glances as the line of the horizon grew thicker. Jed glanced up as long as he dared, searching for any aircraft patrolling the coast. Annie searched for any signs of patrol craft that were ranging out further than normal. She glanced down when a datalink from the mission's E-12 appeared on one of her displays.

"Bronco, got that datalink from the Guardian?" She asked.

"Copy." Jed replied.

He looked at her and signaled for them to separate, and added a wink before he ran ahead. Annie smirked under her oxygen mask, but kept her retort to herself. She was still trying to work on getting him to act how he had on the beach. When she'd pulled rank with him and gotten that satisfying little buzz. Jed dumped his external tanks and pushed into afterburner, nosing up until he was vertical. Every unfriendly radar nearby got a hint that an unknown had appeared, but Jed remained largely unhampered. The information from the E-12 was fed into the two Marlins on his belly mounts while Annie received the location of the nearest 211. She nosed up and tilted slightly right just as she got a lock.

"Skull 208, Fox 3." She reported. Jed mirrored her call seconds later.

"Skull 210, Fox 3 Fox 3." He declared.

Annie turned to the left and pushed away from Jed, then turned to the right at the same time he did. The source identified as the A-100's radar shifted slightly, probably as it tried to counter the incoming missile. Jed watched the timer on his HUD run down, then looked at his scope when it had hit zero. In the clutter, it was hard to tell if he'd hit the enemy AWACS. He looked through the darkening sky and saw a flash, but still wanted to use the surefire way to see if his latest kill had been secured.

"Rooster, Rooster this is Skull 1-5; request confirmation on whether that Misfit is still airborne." He asked.

The reply was muffled by jamming the first time around, so Jed made that known and proceeded with the mission. Right now, he and Annie were practically alone as they poked holes in the enemy's defensive screen. Their nearest support was Yuki and Brick, who were sweeping the extreme left of the strike package's planned ingress. Jed checked his watch and hoped their escortees were where they were supposed to be. He cut left and circled around behind Annie while she searched for the other ER-211, who'd gone defensive and adjusted its jamming to keep the fighters at bay. As he came around, new sources were displayed on the RWR's scope. Two bandits turned on their radars and pointed in the Hellcats' general direction. The E-12 broke through the jamming and identified them as MiG-44s.

"Rooster, what's the status of that Misfit?" Jed repeated.

"Enemy Misfit is down…be advised, Ace 1 has been delayed by 30 seconds. Those two Shivs are still a factor." The AWACS replied.

"Copy, moving to engage bandits at 330. Tsun-Tsun, keep it at a 4-mile separation."

"Understood Bronco."

Jed turned on his radar in AUTOGUNS and immediately got the TD box around both MiGs. The Orcinus, even if it was still in the general area, quickly became a non-factor. The hole the F-35s had was quickly becoming the center of attention. He switched to his AMRAAMs and both pilots selected the two Sotoan fighters for two of their three "mid-range" missiles. The MiGs returned the favor and split. Jed and Annie stayed as close together as they could to counter any ambushes that might be lying in wait. The "eternity" that was maybe a minute was spent with the bandits at the edge of their radars' arcs. Jed barely heard when the EA-11s to the east got their HARMs off at the frigates.

"Tsun-Tsun, Ah'm gonna swing my nose onto the lead bandit and shoot. Try and keep them split up." He radioed.

"Understood Bronco." Annie replied. Be careful, my love.

Jed let the Flatpack get its nose pointed at him and stayed on his course. When his radar was seconds from achieving lock, he went head-to-head with the bandit and launched the second everything lined up.

"Skull 210, Fox 3." He reported.

The sudden move managed to catch the Sotoan fighter by surprise. It broke off its attack and its track on the Osean dropped away in an instant. Annie stayed to the left of him and turned towards the other MiG-44 as it tried to trap them between it and its comrade. Annie went for a lock against it, but it managed to fire two AA-12 Adders at them. She stayed in her turn and deployed chaff. Jed swung in the same direction as they drew the attention of a SAM site on the island. It was the cue for a second pair of Shadows to move into action. Jed looked over his shoulder as the MiG escaped the explosion wounded and moved behind and to their left. Annie banked hard to engage while Jed took on the undamaged Flatpack. The Adders split up after them, rocket motors having plenty of fuel to spare. Jed let his radar try and lock up the enemy aircraft while he made a feint towards an easier path for the missile. He then jinked back to loosen its pursuit of him. The MiG saw the ruse and started looking for a second lock.

Jed pushed the throttles forward and weaved back to the left, then nosed up. His whole body felt like it was going to come apart, but the threat of a fiery death by missile drove him on. He wasn't going to die to a piece of Yuke junk, he declared to his inner thoughts, his heritage be damned. The missile passed by below him without exploding, and after a loud breath of air he looked around for his wingwoman and the two Flatpacks. All the while his RWR was going crazy as every combat aircraft this side of the planet seemed to converge on the island. Annie moved back towards him as the MiGs forced them back together. The two exchanged opponents once more and kept them from having the same mutual support the F-24s had. They both switched to the Sidewinders and blocked the Flatpacks from one-another. Annie watched her opponent nose up and try to pounce on her, but she kept her nose on him. The MiG flashed by in a blur of gray and green. She reversed course and kept him from jumping Jed, who was forcing his MiG to the left. The RWR was almost completely whited out by now.

"Skull Lead this is Skull 1-6. We've stirred the hornets' nest. Multiple bandits approaching and at least two Akash batteries on the ground have turned on their radars." Annie reported.

"Copy that 1-6, Skulls 1-1 and 1-2 are moving to support. Ace, stay low and fast and we'll keep you covered." Commander Showry replied.

"All navy aircraft, this is Boar Lead, we've entered the AO and are proceeding towards our launch point with Howl and Meteor. Are we cleared to proceed?" A new voice interjected.

"Skull 1-5?"

"Push 'em through and bring more fighters. What's the status of the other approaches?" Jed said hurriedly.

"All other strike packages are proceeding as briefed."

Showry and Viking were now in range for their AMRAAMs, which meant that the MiGs were now outnumbered. However their own reinforcements were coming, including eight F-03s from the Farbanti. The Ops O and his equal in Weapons adjusted their course towards two more MiG-44s closer to the island's air base.

"Skull 1 this is Royale 2, we're pushing towards your position from your nine. Stay in your general area, we're gonna engage the fresh targets further out." Yet another Air Force pilot radioed.

By now responses were short as the action reached a fever pitch. Yuki and Brick were pushing to try and bracket them with Jed and Annie. Though it wouldn't do much good once they got close. Jed was slowly getting the upper hand, though; the MiG was spending too much momentum and not gaining enough back. As the fight devolved into who could turn tight as they circled, Jed stayed defensive to build up the energy he the MiG tried to swerve and cut into him, he banked towards the enemy fighter and put him out of position. They ended up above Annie and the other MiG before they dove towards the water. Jed put some of that energy to use and slowed during the descent. The MiG peeked out ahead on his left, so he hit the brakes harder. He used his HMD to track the bandit and launched a Sidewinder at him while he was trying to recover.

"Skull 210, Fox 2." He said.

Jed broke to the right as the closest pair of new bandits focused their attention on him.. He switched back to his AMRAAMs and deployed chaff. The Flatpacks and Annie dropped from his sight too long for his liking, so he tilted a bit more to the right. He saw his Sidewinder leap directly at the MiG from below, then explode. He held his gaze for a second more, until the enemy jet lost a third of its right wing. Jed looked towards Annie again as she passed behind the other MiG. He pulled up and went over the fight while she reversed. Hecame back down to put himself between them and the second Flatpack. The enemy fighter tried to turn left, but the damage wouldn't let it. Instead it jerked back to the right and into a death spiral. Jed committed to blocking the closest bandits from Annie. The next threat was four Su-30s coming from Rupa Cove, and two more MiGs close behind. He selected the older aircraft just as Showry and his wingman were doing the same. Their aircraft automatically shared data, so all they had to do was exchange a few words.

"Viking, Bronco, engage as many as you can at once. Tsun-Tsun, what's your status?" Showry outlined.

"Engaged neutral with one bandit. More bandits at low level, approaching from 000. Possibly more Flankers."

"Royale 2 is moving to engage those Flankers, Skull." The Lead Enforcer cut in. Jed kept his attack short this time so he could help Annie.

In the meantime, Naomi and the rest of her flight were at their launch point. She'd been listening to the fight after recognizing the voice and callsign of her pseudo-cousin. On the screens before her, the F-35's radar was tracking both air and surface targets as it constantly tried to keep a complete picture. Her left pinky rested against the weapons selection switch as the Sotoans and Eruseans were piling on. The only relief was the fact that the Frigates had lost their primary means of fire control.

"Howl 2-1 to flight. As soon as you get your ASMs off, move to engage any bandits at low level." Erich instructed.

"Two." Naomi replied.

She glanced up and saw two F-24s circling. After a second, she realized they were in a wagon wheel. She looked down as the symbology on her displays lined up and depressed the launch button on the stick.

"Howl 2-2, Bruiser! Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser!" She declared.

"Howl 2 this is Skull 1-7, we need you on scene immediately. Multiple bandits and their boxing us in." Yuki requested from above.

"Copy that Skull, we're on our way. Spikes, Turtle, break now. Nomad, stick with me." Erich replied. The fleet might as well have never existed to the 107th TFS.

Naomi switched to the Sidewinders at the ends of her wings and banked to the right just after her lead did. Their closest marks were five, maybe six Su-30s harassing the nearby F-24s. Naomi didn't know if Jed was one of them and that didn't matter. She selected the first one she saw via her HMD and hailed Winters.

"Wolfdog, tally on a single bandit moving to fire on Skull."

"Copy, go for him. Maintain support when possible."

Naomi tightened her muscles and nosed up sharply, banking into a spiral after a few seconds. The Flanker remained on its first target for a few seconds; Naomi didn't like being ignored like that. When she was pointed directly at the enemy fighter, she settled into a straight-on charge at the Sotoan. The enemy strike fighter finally noticed her and broke away from Skull 1-5. Naomi pushed the Flanker away from the Hellcat, allowing Yuki to come around and find another target.

"Thanks for the save, Air Force." She radioed.

Naomi's reply was quick as the Flanker put its oft-vaunted maneuverability to use. She went to the outside as it throttled back and made its turn as tight as it could. Naomi eased back the throttle to keep the enemy jet ahead of her. The Flanker reversed and sped up for a brief second, and she stayed on the outside of their turns. She became aware that one of the Flanker's allies was using this as a chance to try and get the drop on her. Yuki, though, was coming around to help. Howl 2's second half was also in the fight; First Lieutenant Giselle Vega appeared out of the clouds with fellow "1Lt" Martin Wheaton. Still, the Flanker behind Naomi wasn't about to give up that good a shot. Naomi loosed her first Sidewinder to keep her prey busy before she dropped flares and pulled the stick back as hard as she could. The F-35 pulled a right almost as tight as the Flanker, albeit at the cost of a lot of energy. But it was still enough to help her get out of the missile's immediate reach.

Naomi carried through that into a dive, almost head-on with the missile to get out of its reach. She whipped back and forth, gasping for air as she wondered if she might have bitten off more than she could chew. The other Flanker was nowhere to be found, but a second later it seemed like the sky had nothing but Su-30s all around. Naomi flinched slightly as the Archer intended for her flew by overhead and exploded close by. Naomi kept moving forward as the shockwave rattled her aircraft. She looked back and saw one of the Flanker's roll over and nose down. Recognizing the danger, she nosed up and dared go into afterburner.

"Nomad, take your jet outta afterburner! Another bandit has a good shot at you!" Spikes snapped.

Naomi yanked the throttles back and broke to the left. Spikes and Turtle appeared from behind a cloud; Giselle fired a Sidewinder at a Flanker that had jumped up from wavetop level.

"Wolfdog, what's your position?" Naomi asked.

"Moving towards the furball, Nomad. Hang tight."

"Skulls 1-3 and 1-4 are in from 12 high, Howl. About ten seconds." A familiar drawl declared.

Naomi's instincts told her to gain altitude, room to maneuver. She kept her throttles forward and went behind Spikes as the other woman also nosed up. Looking around, she saw two F-24s banking into the fight. They split up; Naomi went in between them and came around to return to the fight. A third Flanker had been trying to follow her, but was now face-to-face with a pair of Hellcats. She stayed above and crossed over, and when she came back to the right she detected two F-03s close by. Naomi switched to her AMRAAMs and let her APG-81 sniff them out. They returned the favor, prompting her to deploy chaff. The shared data prompted Erich to adjust his position.

"Nomad, I'm rejoining you from your four low. Number Two guy is mine." He commented.

"Copy Wolfdog." She replied quickly.

"Howl be advised, two more Basilisks above those guys. Angels 28." Jed radioed.

"We see 'em, Bronco. Spiking everything in sight." Naomi replied, using his callsign in hopes of letting him know it was her.

He recognized the voice now, but kept the pleasantries to himself. Annie stayed on the Su-30 as they came around fully, and Jed split off for a second to better acquire other Erusean fighters. As he did, they started rippling off AP-13s in all directions. Jed remained untargeted. He counted at least eight rocket motors in the distance. Annie broke and reported that she'd been targeted, so why not him?

"Who else did they shoot at?" Ah'm unengaged." Jed radioed as he broke right.

"Shoot back, Bronco!" Showry ordered.

Jed nosed back towards the high pair of Basilisks and went for another quick launch. After a second he stayed still to try and bait them. He looked back for the Flanker and his wingwoman, and saw her still attached to her prey despite being shot at. What a woman! He thought. It warmed his chest so much he almost missed the cue to fire.

"Skull 2-10, Fox 3 Fox 3." He said, forgetting to swallow before speaking.

The last two AMRAAMs dropped from their rails and he snapped to the right to assist Skull 208. The Flanker jumped to the left, almost directly in front of him.

"Tsun-Tsun he's right ahead of me. Gonna herd him back towards y'all!" He called.

"Copy!" Annie replied as she waited for one of her Sidewinders to ignore some flares.

Jed switched to his gun and throttled back. He pulled back on the stick and almost made the F-24 float down closer to the Su-30. A stream of 25mm made the Sotoan rethink where he was going. Annie lobbed a Sidewinder at the bandit while Jed worked on going nose down and regaining speed. As he passed over and behind Annie, he saw multiple shapes in the vicinity. Noting the delta wings of F-03s, he selected his remaining Sidewinder and chose the closest. They weren't pointed at him for long, however. He saw two F-35s moving in and steered clear of Naomi and Erich as they forced the F-03s to break away from Jed. He came around as the nearest Basilisk fired another missile and stayed high. Annie approached from the left to keep the enemy jets boxed in. Naomi zeroed in on the F-03's engine exhausts and sent her remaining Sidewinder after the enemy jet.

"Howl 2-2, Fox 2." She growled.

Jed looked around and spotted the missile, but then spotted another F-24 trailing smoke. It dove through the clouds, away from the action, before one of the engines belched fire.

"Skull 1-3 to flight, who's been hit?" Jed asked.

"Curry's been hit. Curry's been hit. Repeat, Skull 204 has been hit. Right engine is out." Brick reported, audibly shaken.

"Skull 1-5, do you have control of your aircraft?" Annie pressed.

"Standby!" Yuki snapped.

The priority shifted once again, this time to making sure the wounded bird wouldn't be picked off. Jed and Annie, though almost out of missiles, put themselves between the general direction of the Eruseans and Sotoans and their friend. Jed looked at his RWR to see where they stood, and found out that there was a new AWACS in the area. There wasn't a single SAM to be detected, however; he took that as a win.

"Nomad, y'all bag that bandit who fired on Skull 1-5?" He asked.

"Bandit's down." Naomi assured coolly.

"Good shootin, 2-2." Erich noted.

The stream of incoming bandits had tapered off, too. Jed turned towards the nearest unfriendly contacts with a reluctant sigh. One Sidewinder and dwindling fuel was not where he wanted to be. It was debatable if he would even be of much help. Naomi and her lead were off his and Annie's wing, ready to help. He decided he'd take the closest target: another MiG-44. His Flight lead was thinking along the same lines.

"Royale 2 this is Skull 1-1, we need you to close it up and help us get these bandits." Showry radioed.

"Copy that Skull, two minutes." Royale 2-1 promised.

"Okay, Okay I've regained control!" Yuki blurted out.

"Roger that Curry, break, who still has weapons and fuel?"

"Skull 1, bug out to the south. Howl 2 will cover you until Royale is on scene." Erich offered.

"...Best bet we've got. Skull 1-3, 1-4, cover 1-5 as she heads south. Skull 1-5, stick with Viking and me."

No self-respecting naval aviator liked to admit they'd been bailed out by the air force, but that attitude was reserved for the third round at the O'Club. When embellishment was obvious and humor was the needed medicine. Jed took up position right next to Yuki to examine her aircraft while Annie provided overwatch. Howl 2 forced the MiGs and a single F-03 to head west, away from the reach of the rest of the enemy fleet. While Showry arranged for getting Yuki back aboard the ship, Jed keyed his radio one final time.

"Many thanks, Nomad; Ah owe y'all a Pepsi."

"I'll hold you to that, Bronco."