Chp. 36: Fast FAC
November 23, 2049
On Approach to New Rovennti
Luukas found it surprisingly easy to stay calm the first time he was coming back with more than a scratch. His left engine had sucked up an unknown amount of shrapnel and his spine and tail fins were peppered with more pieces of jagged metal.
"Talos 1-02 this is Rovennti Tower, we have you on radar and approaching at 19 Kilometers. What's your status at this time?" An all-too-familiar voice asked. I should know their names by this point, Luukas thought.
"Rovennti Tower, Talos 1-02 is shutting down his left engine at this time due to damage. It's starting to overheat. Gear is working, flaps are working, and I'm able to maintain altitude." He reported.
"Understood Talos 1-02, emergency crews are standing by. You are cleared for approach to Runway 2-W. Can you deploy your tailhook?"
Luukas cut power to the unreliable engine first, and worked to compensate for the change in his Nosferatu's performance. He then looked around until he found the button for the hook. Though more often associated with carrier-based aircraft, land-based pilots like him still had the device in case of an emergency. Luukas didn't ask why they wanted him to use it, but given the status of 2-W when he'd left he guessed they wanted the longer runway kept open.
"Rovennti Tower my tailhook is deployed. Talos 1-03 or Talos 1-04 can you confirm?" He announced.
"Tailhook is in deployed position…Talos 1-03 and 1-04 are breaking off. See you at the infirmary, Lynx." Krill replied with confidence.
"If I don't get to the officer's lounge first." Luukas shot back with a grin.
He watched the two CFAs pull away and focused on the familiar shapes ahead. New Rovennti was free of most of the smoke now, save for the lingering signs of fires that were now extinguished. The flashing of emergency lights drew his attention towards 2-W, and he dropped more altitude. A thick black line cut across the concrete, and he did the math to make sure he'd hit the ground before the arresting wire. It took every ounce of strength left in him to keep the CFA level, especially as he slowed down. Sweat pooled around his chin, then flowed down beneath the neck of his shirt.
"Easy now, Luukas, easy. Delicate, like when they dock a spaceplane." He half-chuckled to himself.
He held the CFA just a few dozen meters from the ground and more or less floated the rest of the way. Things seemed to go silent for a second as he crossed over the very end of the runway, and then he felt the familiar jolt. Only this time he stopped much faster than he was used to. Luukas forced his way past his instincts and cut the engines. Suddenly, it was as if the 18,500 kilogram warplane was maybe half the weight of his Volvo back home. He did everything in his power to stop from planting his head into the displays. He felt more Gs than he ever thought he would before it suddenly all stopped. His vision was jarred for a second, but he recovered just as the emergency vehicles gathered around the fighter. He groaned and shut down the aircraft fully, using the manual release to open the canopy. He unbuckled himself as crash crews sprayed down the engines with foam and pushed some boarding steps to the side of the plane. Men in fire suits appeared with first aid kits and a stretcher.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Luukas declared as he climbed out of his seat.
He looked past the nose of the plane at the craters still left from the missiles, then at the plane as it shed the white froth that it'd been doused in. The firemen simply stood by, as if waiting for him to get into the stretcher.
"I'm fine, gentlemen; no need to act like I'm at death's door." He added.
"We'll at least need to do a basic check-up, sir." One of the men replied, turning his body towards an ambulance.
"If you insist." Luukas replied.
The men led him down the steps towards a pair of medics. They sat him down at the back doors, where he was able to watch his CFA being hooked up to be towed off. The plane that'd taken him up and brought him home so many times now looked far less proud than when he'd first strapped into it.
"Damn the Osean Navy!" He growled…
"Skull 2-2 this is Wizard, we've got some proper support heading your way. Eight birds: four Lightnings and four Tempests. Estimate about 15 minutes before they arrive."
Jed checked his watch as the S-4 fed him much-needed gas and nodded. The new F-24s had been sent north to block the threats that might come from New Rovennti.
"Copy that. Almost gassed up here and should be on station again in a few. Any word on a helo?" He asked.
"One of the Connies from the battlegroup is moving in to provide that. No solid ETA at this time." The E-12's controller replied, sounding just as anxious as Jed was.
Jed disconnected from the S-4's hose once he'd gotten his ration of JP-15 and looked at his gas gauge. By his estimates he now had up to 45 minutes before he needed to head home. Maybe close to an hour if he felt like rolling the dice. He slid into position with Glue and turned for Sotoa once more. Riffer was still orbiting, watching for the search force everyone was sure was coming.
"Riffer this is Skull 2-2, anything new?" Jed asked.
"Ahh copy that, Skull, we may have something gathering in the direction of the radar site. Multiple vehicles coming down the road towards the highway. No visual at this time; waiting to see if they make any moves towards Viking, how copy?"
"Skull copies, we'll make a flyby and see what they've got."
Jed motioned for Glue to go high and cover him while he dipped down and armed his cannon. The F-35s pulled off station and passed along the coordinates they'd seen with their radars. The EOTS revealed about half a dozen vehicles hurrying down the road from the mount the radar site once stood atop. His foremost concern became the two Kestrel APCs near the front of the line. He zoomed out to look for any air defenses in the vicinity. He didn't want to think that Riffer had missed something, but it was his hide he had to keep from getting skinned. He looked to the radar site, where the shape of two Tunguskas actually served to bring him some relief. Their radars were off, but their guns were following him.
"Skull 2-3 and Riffer, Skull 2-2 has eyes on multiple armored vehicles moving towards the highway. Two APCs, four trucks and maybe four armored cars. Still got those Tunguskas up on the hill near the radar. Wizard, request permission to engage the convoy." He radioed.
"Skull 2-2, can you determine if those trucks are carrying casualties?" the AWACS stressed.
"Ah…Negative. No insignia on the tarps that Ah can see."
"Copy. Do not engage until they either separate from the armored vehicles or you can positively ID them as troop trucks."
"Skull 2-2 copies all."
Jed clenched his teeth and let the frustration flow through them as he exhaled. He ascended to get another look at the terrain and to start looking for approaches that would need to be covered. Viking had moved under some brush as far away from his parachute as he could go. He was certain that he'd screwed up something on the inside. As Jed passed over his friend, he banked to the left and made a lazy 180 towards the highway. Most of the terrain to the east was foothills and valleys. The town of…something Jed wasn't even going to try and pronounce peeked over one of the hills in the direction of the downed pilot. Two more towns, both along the highway in opposite directions. New Rovennti was the biggest base in the area, but there was a Sotoan airfield used by sub hunters about 25 miles south. Jed pulled himself away from zoomed out to look for any other threats.
"Skull be advised, we've got bandits at the very edge of our radar coverage. Heading 020, Angels 26. Heading your way at this time…uhh, looks like they might be Flankers." Wizard spoke up.
Just what they needed, Jed thought. He was grateful that they at least had enough fuel to fight. He had assets, but he was weary of feints drawing away what little he had. He checked his watch again before he replied to the AWACS.
"Wizard, are y'all in contact with those Tempests and Lightnings?" He asked.
"We're relaying via a Wedgetail over the drink."
"Okay, Ah need the Tempests on a vector to engage those Flankers as soon as possible. Ah assume they're loaded for air-to-air; should have Meteors on them. Ah HOPE they have Meteors on them."
"Meteors…got it. I'll see if they have those."
"Arrow, maintain yer CAP unless they come for y'all."
"Copy that, Skull."
"Ace, can yah keep them confused for a bit?"
"Copy…got about seven minutes before we gotta head off station." The EA-11's pilot replied.
Jed circled over the highway one last time as the Sotoan vehicles were merging onto it. He drew in a breath and went down for another pass, hoping they'd be heading north or south. As he came down, one of the Tunguskas activated its radar. Then the other and the two others that were guarding the site's cleanup. He responded with chaff and increased the throttles.
"Glue, Ah'm gonna make a dry pass over those vehicles. Spot me; make sure those Tungs don't try and get in a sucker punch." He radioed.
"Copy."
Jed turned and banked until he was following the highway down. He made a gentle dive until he was less than 1200 Feet AGL. He dropped just a bit further than that as he saw traffic starting to bunch up. He tilted his plane on its side, just in time to see one of the Kestrel APCs swing its chain gun at him. He pulled up as it fired, albeit in vain, and dipped back down before hitting the gas. His Hellcat broke the sound barrier just over the other half of the convoy, sending several Sotoan soldiers to the ground and even shattering a few car windows. Jed pulled a tight turn as he came out of the pass and looked back. He circled around and set his EOTS on the southernmost vehicles. As he keyed the radio, two of the Tunguskas opened fire with their missiles. Jed deployed flares, and Glue made the quickest of gun runs while they were distracted. Jed pulled back on the throttles, turned away from the missiles to bait them, and then broke hard. He reversed when they turned to follow and deployed more flares. The missiles ignored the countermeasures, but the maneuvers managed to shake them.
"Wizard, those vehicles appear to be stopping at two points on the highway. Trucks are hanging around. Ah don't think that they'd keep casualties around." Jed reported.
"Gotcha Skull, you're cleared to engage." the AWACS duly replied.
"What's the status of those Flankers?"
"Now 210 Miles out, still approaching."
"Copy. Okay Glue, keep me covered. Riffer, how long until y'all complete refueling?"
"Two just plugged in. Estimate about seven minutes until we're back on station."
"Wizard, what about those RAF birds?"
"Still at least nine minutes until they hit the AO, Skull."
Jed acknowledged and set his gunsight to air-to-ground. He zoomed his EOTS out to see if the Sotoans were moving into the woods yet. A few specks appeared on the edge of the woods, but none seemed to be moving in. They still seemed to be recovering from his first pass, and the errant thought of who was hurt passed through his mind as he saw a few civilian cars up the road. Before the nagging voice of some peacenik mouthpiece could reach him, he slowed and circled around the roadblocks. He made his first run going from southeast to northwest. This time, the Sotoans were more ready for him. The Kestrel at this end raised its gun and fired away, joined by the machine gun atop its turret. Two of the armored cars, LAMVs, joined. Jed pulled the trigger before someone with a MANPADs might've had the chance to really up the pucker factor. The flashbacks of his stunt with the M10 site were certainly close to the front of his mind.
The GAU-22 hummed/roared and peppered the vehicles and men with 25mm HE. Jed pulled away after less than three seconds and pushed the throttles all the way forward. He looked towards the Tunguskas' positions, and saw another missile lift off. He deployed flares and went into a spiraling climb until the missile was outside his turn. He pulled hard and exited, zooming up several thousand feet more. He looked back and saw another missile rising up, but it failed to track him. Glue flashed by below, moving at supersonic speeds.
"Get that other roadblock, Bronco; I've got these guys." He assured.
Jed came around and aimed at the northern positions. Like he did last time, he dove in fast and fired a burst. This time he used five seconds' worth of ammo. He pulled away and slowed, coming hard right and switching his EOTS to his latest target. One of the LAMVs had a sizable hole in its roof and in its windshield, and the truck was a smoldering wreck. He saw the Kestrel was still pretty much untouched. Without thinking, he came around again and put his gunsight as directly on it as he could get. He squeezed the trigger again, all while the RWR warned him that the Flankers were tracking him and looking to make a shot. He pulled away and checked the Kestrel. To his quiet satisfaction, the APC had taken several visible hits. Enough, he hoped, to keep it out of action.
"Okay Glue, let's go for those Flankers before they get too close. Riffer, Ah want y'all to work over the roadblocks Ah hit and make sure they're out of commission. Look for the smoke near the highway; Ah'll also datalink my current position." He radioed breathlessly.
"Two." Glue replied.
His wingman was already circling high above the hill where Viking was holed up. Jed thought for a second as he let his radar choose one of the bandits, then keyed his radio.
"Viking, yah still okay down there?" He asked, trying to sound maybe a bit humorous. Just something to make sure his fellow Daredevil didn't feel too hopeless.
"Still good, Bronco, still good. The hell are you guys strafing?" The aviator replied through tensed breaths.
"Don't worry about it. We've got more help coming, so stay hidden and don't be a hero."
The Flankers passed 190 Miles separation, still pursuing a solid lock. Jed and Glue took their movements east slowly; Viking was still the priority. With only AMRAAMs, they'd have to wait until the bandits got even closer. The Flankers were kee to exploit their range advantage, and began lobbing Astra Mk 3s at the Oseans. Jed and Glue instinctively broke in opposite directions and dropped chaff. Their EW support was doing all it could, but the Sotoans decided to give the jammer some attention, too.
"Arrow, what's it looking like up north?" Jed called as he tensed for another violent maneuver.
"Still clear, Skull! You need assistance?" Arrow 1-1 replied.
"Standby."
Jed referenced his GPS and radar almost simultaneously. The Flankers were still nearly 150 miles away, and trying to follow up with a second salvo of long-range missiles..
"Copy, I don't want to stray too far from Skull Lead." He instructed reluctantly.
Jed used his next turn to point north, towards the center of his worries. New Rovennti was staying silent, and it should've been a good sign. He turned again and whipped south, but there was nothing else in that direction either. His gaze returned to the approaching Astras, now visible in the distance. He dropped a few bundles of chaff and checked his radar. The Flankers had split, with one aimed at Arrow as the two Hellcats moved into range for their AIM-152s. He rolled towards the ground, then sprung upwards with everything he had. As he rolled, he saw the Sotoan missiles pass by without exploding.
"Arrow 103, Fox 3."
Jed took the call as a prompt to get his nose on the Flankers again. They were just out of reach and still closing. He looked at his location again and keyed the radio.
"Glue, we're gonna make a single run at these guys and head back towards Viking's position. Wizard, skies around Skull Lead still clear?" He asked.
"New contacts to the north, heading for New Rovennti. Looks like four Tejases. Heading 002, 145 Miles at Angels 26."
Naturtally, AWACS would warn them if they looked like they were heading towards the F-24s. Jed focused his attention on the nearest Flanker as he pushed his throttles as far forward as they would go. The Sotoan turned towards him and started going for a lock. Glue took the chance to speed up and get a shot while the bandit wasn't focused on him. As soon as Glue had launched a pair of AMRAAMs, Jed followed up with the same. He then turned hard left and dove for the ground. He slowed just enough to tighten his turn and then went back to his sprint towards Viking's position. He kept an ear to Arrow's calls to see what the status of the Flankers were. Their radars were still transmitting, although he was free of them for the moment.
"Skull 2-1 this is Riffer 3-1, we're heading back at this time. Still want us to work over those roadblocks?" The lead F-35 called out.
"Change of mission, Ah want y'all to hit the Tunguskas with yer JDAMs. At least four near the bomb site. Can y'all hit 'em?" He asked.
"Copy, we can do that."
"Ace, what's yer status?"
"Returning to station…be advised that we burned a bit more gas dodging those shots.
"Copy, go ahead and egress. Relief should be close enough that we can start pulling out. Wizard, what's the status of our help?"
"Skull 2-1, standby for comms."
Jed nosed up and turned to the east once more, and was satisfied to see that the skies were clear. A new voice came over the radio, bringing with it greatly awaited reassurance.
"Skull 2-1 this is Viper 11, we're less than five minutes away. Any changes in the situation?"
"One Flanker down, and Riffer is hitting some of that AA at this time. Watch for more troops along the highway."
"Copy, Wizard be advised that Viper and Lioness are taking over the rescue effort at this time."
"Understood Viper 11. We've managed to get two helios tasked to us. ETA is about an hour and a half."
Jed circled the highway a few times. Long enough for the F-35s to hit two of the Tunguskas. Once they were off target, Jed keyed his radio for one final message.
"Viper 11 is taking over for Skull 2-1. Skull, Riffer and Ace are egressing at this time. See y'all soon, Viking."...
"My concern was more about those in the flight still airborne, and maintaining command and control."
Luukas quietly relished the frustrated pacing of one of the intelligence officers. His gaze followed the Senior Lieutenant for a few seconds before he looked back at the Major across the table.
"Soon after Major Heinonen was shot down, I myself was hit. The loss of two senior officers would have been detrimental to the squadron's overall situation." He went on.
"Are you implying that your second element was incapable of command?" The Major asked.
"That's irrelevant, Major. If you continue with those lines of questioning, I'll have you under review for attempting to erode morale." Colonel Mistros warned. The Major matched his glare for a second, but Luukas's CO was not one to back down.
"Colonel, that Osean pilot who ejected could have been a valuable source of information for us." He explained, keeping his tone even.
"He could have, but failing to capture him is far from a reason to interrogate one of my pilots."
The room went silent for a moment, but Luukas didn't wait for the next question.
"As I said, my priorities were taking command and then getting my aircraft to safety. There were Sotoan ground forces in the area; did they report the downed pilot?" He asked.
"I suggest you watch your tone, Captain." The Major hissed.
"This meeting is over. Major, any further questioning and I will have you detained for attempting to usurp morale. On the grounds of threatening the combat readiness of my unit through meritless investigations." Mistros shot back.
It all sounded very much like propaganda, but Luukas knew Mistros was smart. Smart enough to know how to play to the views and egos of people who fully embraced that thinking. The Major opened his mouth, then shut it. He didn't look so fierce anymore.
"Very well, Colonel." He admitted.
"Major, his own threat is meritless. We are doing our duty!" The Senior Lieutenant insisted.
"Enough, Letica." The Major growled.
"But sir-"
"I said enough, Lieutenant!"
The man stood up, gathered his cap and briefcase, and left with his crony in tow. The two pilots watched them leave and exchanged glances.
"Thank you for that, Colonel." Luukas nodded.
"I protect my own, Captain. You did the right thing, and Major Heinonen would argue the same." Mistros said as he stood up.
"I imagine you would like some time to yourself regarding the Major's death. He was a good friend to all of us."
"Thank you, sir, but I feel I should wait until I've retired to my barracks."
The two went their separate ways, with Luukas deciding to go to the squadron's headquarters building. The walk next to the tarmac revealed that most of the wreckage from the previous day had been cleared, and once more transports were cycling through New Rovennti at a constant pace. Luukas didn't want to dwell on Heinonen's death; he wasn't the 87th's first casualty. Luukas wanted to be confident in feeling like he should carry on professionally. Honor the Major by continuing to be the excellent pilot he'd been praised as being. If he really needed to, the squadron intended to have a memorial service of sorts soon. He stopped and watched another An-214 leave the runway with a deep rumble. His eyes eventually went up further to the afternoon sky. God seemed to have an interesting idea of fate, he mused. Twice he'd met the same pilot, with his bright-red helmet and flamboyant aircraft livery. The Osean, whoever he was, was very good. Luukas almost smiled as he wondered what to do with that.
Look! Here's something worthy of praise. Even among the enemy there are men like this.
Famous words, and applicable to his situation. Although he certainly wouldn't try to act like he was of the same stature as the man who'd shouted them. He had a rival, and truth be told the Osean struck him as worthy. Pilots in the Osean Navy were very proud about their skill, and someone who could beat Jarl Heinonen was worthy of attention. He continued his walk to the building and went in through the small lounge the squadron kept. Inside, he was greeted by the sight of several pilots gathered around a bulletin board. Normally it was used to post pictures of family, or news snippets to boost everyone's mood. Instead, Krill was carrying over a picture of an F-24 with something written under it.
"What's all this?" Luukas asked when he was close.
Krill stuck a pin into the top of the paper, then pounded it into the wall with a closed fist. Luukas joined him and a few others in staring at the image on the piece of paper, and the words below it. They read "Major Heinonen's killer; engage on sight" in bold letters. Luukas grimaced, but saw no reason to say anything. Heinonen was a popular man, and the 87th remembered its own. Krill took a few steps back, looking much the same as his senior.
"We're gonna find that bastard, Lynx...and we're gonna line him up to meet The Major in the afterlife." He growled.
"In due time, Krill. In due time." Luukas assured.
No matter how much you respect the enemy, they're still your enemy He thought.