Chp. 38: Backs To The Wall
November 29, 2049
Naval Station Oured Bay
Yeoman Second Class Garner drew up to the position of attention as Rear Admiral Eric Bradford walked into his office. The commander of Osean Naval Air Forces Eusian Ocean nodded as he removed his peaked cap.
"At ease, Yeoman, at ease. Your work is more important than protocol. I do appreciate the respect for decorum, though." The blonde insisted. He couldn't blame the young man, though; he'd only been on the job here for a week.
"Yes sir…runner delivered these this morning. More commendations and the usual deliveries." He replied, picking up a short stack of folders.
"Thank you."
The man returned to his computer while Eric went inside to get to his reading. He set his cap and briefcase at the edge of his desk and took a seat facing a bookshelf and several models. As if it were becoming a daily ritual, he wished he was about fifteen years younger again. Eric had always been aware of the inevitability of being glued to a desk, but had never been able to accept it. His wife and kids had mattered to him, yes, but he couldn't help but struggle with the burden of command. The age-old issue of being so far from the battle and giving orders that could cost lives. Even Misaki had understood; he found himself thanking the creator almost constantly for the most perfect woman ever.
With a breath, he pulled up to his desk and took the first envelope from the stack. His eyes caught the return address as the PO box of VF-34 aboard the Icarus. He worked the metal "wings" on the back flap and pulled out the papers and "flat drive" with the words "flight data" in large, black letters.
To: Commander of Osean Naval Air Forces Eusian Osean (COMNAVAIRSIAN)
From: Commander, Fitron 34; Commander, CVW-7
Subject: Commendations for actions on 23rd of November, 2049 (11/23/2049)
The commander of Fitron 34, with approval from COMCARGRU 7, submits to review their commendations of the following aviators for extraordinary courage and relentlessness in the face of the enemy.
Lieutenant Nathan Alphonse Gulesch
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jedidiah Gregory Walker III
Lieutenant Junior Grade Richard Marcus Willan…
Eric felt an odd mix of pride and anxiousness swell up in him. He lifted his gaze to a picture of him with the young man, then an Ensign, after he'd officially made it as a Hellcat driver. He'd been going back and forth almost daily with his old man, and now he really had something to get his life-long friend fired up. The anxiety, though, came from the fact that there was the temptation to overstate Jed's accomplishments. It was a tightrope that Eric had braved since the Walker boy had accepted his commission. Eric also knew that Jed had been determined to stay out of his old man's shadow. Eric couldn't imagine that being in his was much better. He stopped himself and shook his head. First things first, he told himself, let's read what Bronco's done. I swear if he somehow had a hand in protecting Chandani from that raid, this kid's gonna get a movie made about him!…
"Firebird 2, Skull 2 is feet dry at this time; ETA two, maybe three minutes." Showtime announced.
The man looked to the other three pairs of jets off his left wing and gave them the signal to break off. Jed, playing the role of Skull 2-7 today, nodded and snapped to the right like he was the solo bird in the Golden Knights. Annie stayed with him but trailed back a bit to keep from getting too close. Ahead, beneath the clusters of clouds, they could see the results of the Osean 12th Infantry Division slowly withdrawing towards the coast.
"Copy that Skull, glad to see you. Fresh raid is inbound at this time but we're tied up with the one before that. Check with Matchbox or Arrowhead for further details." Firebird 2-1 replied. The OAF AWACS jumped in immediately.
"Skull, we've got eight new bandits. Heading 022 at 170 Miles, Angels 20. Looks like Flatpacks; you're cleared to engage 'em at will. Arrowhead has been told to check their fire in that direction."
"Roger that Matchbox, break, Bronco and Tsun-Tsun, get low and get around them. We'll draw them in."
"Understood Skull Lead." Jed replied.
Jed looked to Annie and signaled her to loosen up their formation. She nodded and slid down her visor before breaking left. The two jets then went to the right and rolled over into a dive. Jed leveled out at 700 Feet and lit his jets afterburners almost immediately. He could see the swirling mayhem of VF-115's air battle in the distance. His mind worked as fast as it could to orient himself. Six F-28s were moving to CAP stations down south, and Eight Belkan Typhoons were moving to the north. Close air support for the guys on the ground was coming in continuously from every which way to the west. The Sotaons would have their bigger SAMs further back, behind a veil of jamming. He still prioritized the MiGs.
"Skull this is Matchbox, we've got a flight of Bones inbound to make runs on the center of the Sotoan advance. Got multiple flights of Sabertooths and Outlaws to follow."
"Copy, how long can you keep them clear of the fight?"
"As long as they have fuel."
Jed quietly noted the new info and the area the bandits were in. He selected his AMRAAMs and piggybacked off the AWACS's radar for now. He chose a pair of MiGs on the left edge of the formation; Annie chose the next too based on the data she got from his plane. The other MiGs swallowed the bait, but two MiGs fell behind to cover the rest of the formation. Jed switched to them, and Annie did the same. His gaze switched between the ground and the sky ahead until the symbology on his HMD started changing.
"Tsun-Tsun, break left as soon as y'all launch. Try and cut them off when they react; Ah'll keep yah covered." He instructed.
"Will do, Bronco."
He ditched his external tanks and nosed up carefully as they reached maximum range for their missiles.
"Skull 210, Fox 3 Fox 3." Jed radioed.
"Skull 208, Fox 3 Fox 3."
The AMRAAMs raced up into the sky, pushing the MiGs to deploy chaff and turn towards the threat. Annie kept to their left, waiting for one to turn in her direction and give her a good follow-on shot. Jed nosed up, pulled back from afterburner and snaked in their direction. The MiGs detected them, if only barely, and started trying to balance them with their missile shots. Annie moved both jets into her radar's view and used what the E-14 saw to get a second tone. Jed slaved his EOTS to the radar returns to help as he started toying with the idea of playing bait.
"Skull 208, Fox 3 Fox 3." Annie repeated.
Jed turned into the bandits before they made a move, this time, as the barrage of missiles cut off more and more avenues of escape for them. Jed switched to his Sidewinders even as his first two missiles were practically on top of "his" bandit. The EOTS gave him a much clearer view as the MiG-44 turned to engage, then blew apart. By the time the other missiles arrived, they were flying into a fireball. Jed immediately turned inland to check for any surprises that might be waiting.
"Skull Lead, trailing bandits are down. Skulls 2-7 and 2-8 are moving to help box the rest in." Jed reported.
"Bronco, recommend we go back and forth until we get close." Annie chimed in.
"Roger."
The two jets turned towards one another, crossed paths, then did the process again. The remaining six MiGs split up in all different directions, with two aiming for Jed and Annie. She took the lead with a better position to engage while Jed crossed over and used his position to keep their six clear. The MiGs turned towards them, then kept to the right. The F-24s took that as a chance to bracket them. One of the MiGs slowed and snapped towards Jed, then fired an AA-12. Jed broke, deployed chaff, and nosed up to get some breathing room. Annie's move to split the two was blocked when the other MiG turned towards her. Jed still moved to help, even with the Adder closing fast. He leveled out to get the missile to settle into the same kind of course, then dumped chaff and hit the gas. He broke into the attack, trying to see just how far into his radar sweep he could get the bandit lining up on Annie. She pulled up and nearly stood her fighter on its back end to avoid getting too close to her fellow aviator. Or, more importantly, his unwanted admirer. At the same time, she switched to her Sidewinders and went for the MiG that'd launched on him and tried to lock it up.
Jed made a feint towards the other MiG and got it to make a hard left. He practically ignored the reverberations from the Adder as it exploded someplace behind him and moved to keep the two Sotoans from supporting each other. He looked back and saw a Sidewinder zoom away from Annie's jet. With one of their opponents now busy, he maintained his turn into the Sotoan as the bandit dumped speed and snapped towards him. Jed drew the stick back as hard as he could and countered like he'd done before. The two jets passed by without either getting a good angle. Jed, weary of another race to bleed energy, extended from the fight to move back towards Annie. As he circled around, he spotted movement down below. He turned his gaze towards a break in some clouds to see a pair of shapes go through, then come around and above another cloud. Two Tejases zoomed up towards him and fired one AA-11 each.
"Tsun-Tsun, heads up! Two more bandits down low; Tejases." He radioed as he dropped flares.
Jed made a tight turn and nosed down to pursue the enemy aircraft. The MiG blocked his path, though, and the two smaller fighters exited the fight as quickly as they'd entered it. Annie had just launched a second Sidewinder at "her" Flatpack and moved to rejoin her lead. She balanced her Hellcat on its right side as she searched for the new aircraft in the fight.
"Bronco, where'd those new bandits go?" Annie demanded.
"They done shooted and scooted." He replied, accent becoming nigh incomprehensible for a second.
"Repeat your last?"
"They ain't here anymore!"
Jed gasped out the last reply as the MiG passed by, aimed at Annie. Jed looked in that direction to see a fireball breaking apart. As he came around to try and get on the MiG's tail, the two Tejases seemed to be coming around to make another pass. Jed spotted them as they went around some clouds, aimed squarely at the two F-24s.
"Matchbox, any station, this is Skull 2-7, we're getting overwhelmed here. Requesting assistance." Jed tried.
"Bronco, this is Glue, Curry and I are moving to assist. Check fire to the southwest." Glue spoke up.
"Glad to have y'all!" Jed replied as he stuck with the remaining MiG.
"Bronco, I'm moving to block those two new bandits until Glue and Curry get closer. Skull 2-5, do you or 2-6 have any AMRAAMs left?" Annie added.
"Got one each, going for a shot." Glue replied.
The Flatpack reversed its course, bringing Jed and Annie closer once more. Annie broke away since she wasn't engaged, and Jed took the chance to throttle back and get the MiG in a more ideal position to shoot. His opponent dumped flares and started edging into the vertical, afterburners alight. Jed growled and pushed his launch button before the other guy could realize the mistake he was making.
"Skull 210, Fox 2."
The MiG deployed more flares and seemed to be trying for a backflip. Ah swear if he's trying to do Pugachev's Cobra… Jed thought with growing fury. Jed throttled back as far as he dared and forced his nose to stay aimed at the MiG. As the Sotoan jet slowed and banked away, the Sidewinder went for the flares.
"Skull 210, Fox 2." Jed almost immediately radioed.
The second Sidewinder arced across the sky towards its target as the MiG was regaining speed. Jed was forced to nose up and push the throttles forward to both avoid a collision and avoid stalling out. He rolled to get eyes on the MiG again, and saw it emerging from the AIM-9's explosion. The front end was dotted with scratches and stains and one of the engine exhausts blacked fire and smoke. Jed turned to finish the bandit off, but the Tejases intervened to protect their friend. Just as Natahan and Yuki had gotten a decent lock-on.
"Skull 207, Fox 3."
"Skull 204, Fox 3."
Jed watched the two smaller fighters split and stayed above to corral them. The Flatpack he'd fought was making a long, lazy turn downwards. Annie passed by behind him and came back so the two F-24s were back in formation. They split again as the Tejases tried to shake the AMRAAMs and attack them, but AWACS had an update.
"Skull be advised, we've detected intermittent contacts at the edge of our radar. Contacts appear to be large and slow, might be Habroks. Last hit was at Heading 009, Angels somewhere around 18. Estimate they're about 250 miles out; standby and we'll see if they're closing."
"Copy that Matchbox, can you send any help our way? Either to contain the rest of these MiGs or help find those contacts." Showtime replied, audibly fighting Gs.
"Copy, standby. We're diverting what we can to you."...
"Bronco, how many AMRAAMs do you and Tsun-Tsun still have?"
"Ah got one pair remaining, and two Sidewinders."
"Glue, what's the status of those two Tejases?"
"They're still running north. Silber might get a shot at 'em."
Sharky could recognize that voice anywhere. His eyes remained focused on guiding his F-72 over the plains below, but his mind was suddenly abuzz with several trains of thought. The kid was sounding like he had things under control, but dammit if his paternal instincts were starting to get restless.
"That who I think it is talking about AMRAAMs?" Shamu commented.
"Yeah…got any targets of opportunity, yet? CAS requests or something from the Athena?" Sharky replied, staying focused on the approaching battle.
"Uhh, standby…"
Before he could do anything else, AWACS hailed the four Sabertooths.
"Wolf Lead this is Matchbox, say payload."
"Matchbox, Wolf 2 has two AMRAAMs, two ASRAAMs, six Brimstones and four Paveways each plus full gun." Shamu reported.
"Understood Wolf. You've got a change in mission; ditch your A2G iron and turn to 010. Multiple bandits, likely bombers. Skull needs all hands on deck until Royal can reach the fight."
"Understood…Sharky, you get all that?"
"Yeah…okay, dump the Paveways once we've got some clear ground but keep the Brimstones. Should be light enough that we can stay nimble. If we get another change of mission, at least we'll be prepared."
Sharky switched to the radio to relay the same to the others. He added for the formation to break into pairs and move parallel towards their new target. The man lowered his HMD and started calculating how they were going to hit these bandits.
"Skull Lead this is Wolf Lead, you reading me? What's the plan" He spoke up.
"Loud and clear, Wolf. Stay low and hook around them. We'll remain high and draw their attention; bracket them from the west if we get a shot." Showtime replied.
"Will do, who's closest to us?"
"Skulls 2-7 and 2-8."
"Copy."
"Stay close, stariki; we'll get yah an opening." Jed remarked.
Sharky kept his mouth shut at the young man's Yuktobanian. It was enough to know that the two sides recognized one-another. Shamu adjusted his oxygen mask.
"The fuck did he say?" The WSO asked, genuinely curious.
"Don't ask; just get us a target."
Sharky just glared at his WSO via the rearview mirrors to make sure he was looking at his screens. His gaze softened as he looked ahead again and rolled into a gentle dive. He turned on the EOTS and selected a barren piece of land to drop his Paveways on. He shared it with the other jets and very quickly dumped off his bombs. His mind was now completely focused on getting those bombers, and making sure Jed didn't do anything stupid. We wouldn't be here if we'd knocked these things out earlier He added in thought. He signaled to his number two, crewed by fellow Rosenthal pilots, and rose just high enough to clear some of the taller hills. The four Sabertooth then made a hard right and increased speed while the F-24s went in high and fast. Shamu saw new radars powering up on the RWR and selected one to ID it. He wasn't surprised to find that it belonged to an F-02.
"All aircraft be advised, looks like the CAP for those bombers is mustering for a fight." He warned.
"Copy that; Skull will keep them occupied after we fire off our AMRAAMs. Stick to those bombers, Wolf." Showtime replied.
"Will do…Wolf 2-2, swing behind me and keep my tail clear. Wolf 2-4, do the same thing for 2-3." Sharky added.
Wolf 2-2's pilot, Giuseppe "Soup" Marconi, acknowledged with his naturally energetic demeanor and went floating back behind Sharky's wing. Shamu kept using the E-14's picture until they were above one of the larger stretches of flare ground in the area. He tried to see if the AWACS had an eye on the B-08s, but the contacts remained intermittent. Still, he had an idea of where they were. He plotted the area on his GPS and shared it with the other jets.
"When we break 90 Miles, turn on the radar and start going for a lock." Sharky requested.
"Will do…Wolf 2-3, what's the position of those northern bandits?" Shamu replied.
"They're going straight for Skull, save for two of 'em. Might be screening ahead of the bombers; standby for datalink." Reiji "Rage" Matsumoto replied.
Shamu put his mathematical skills to use to do some triangulation. Sharky focused on closing the distance and keeping a low profile. The four F-72s moved across the plains, passing by settlements and towns or over the two major highways in the area. Suddenly, he saw a flash from down below. Not waiting to see what it was, he told Shamu to hang on and broke to the right.
"Missile launch, missile launch!" Soup bellowed.
When Shamu recovered from the initial shock, he looked at his GPS in confusion. They were supposed to be clear of the main Sotoan force, so he activated the EOTS, pausing to keep from blacking out as Sharky reversed. He could hear Rage's pilot, Demetrius Largo, call out a second missile in the air. Shamu managed to get his head to turn enough to look back and see that one of them had gone ballistic. He snapped his head back to the screen transmitting what the EOT saw and turned it rearwards. He couldn't see much; not even a cloud of fading smoke.
"Anybody see where those two missiles lifted off from?" Sharky demanded.
"Looks like they came from the edge of that town…ah, dammit can't pronounce its name." Soup's WSO replied.
"I'm looking for 'em. Must be scouts or something." Shamu replied.
"Forget it, we're just shy of 100 miles. Start looking for those B-08s."
Sharky stayed high above the landscape so the radar would have the best view. Shamu turned it on and ignored his RWR as other aircraft in the area picked up the transmissions. He immediately got a small hit on the screen. Then a few more, which slowly faded as they moved away from the first. He stayed focused on the first contact as the track faded, then returned. He jolted a bit as he bit back a victorious "yeah" and instead exploited the track to its fullest. He fed it to their AMRAAMs and let the computer take over while he checked for any more surprises. The track was instantaneously shared with every other fighter in the vicinity. Jed saw the hit on his radar and focused the Hellcat's avionics on keeping it. As he and Annie went for a solid lock, AWACS picked up more.
"Wolf and Skull, Arrowhead reports they've got hits on small objects moving southwards. Looks like Vampires; we've got their origin point and will pass it on in a second."
"Skull copies."
"Wolf copies."
Seconds later, Sharky saw that they'd managed to outwork the Habrok's stealth. He wasted no time in launching both weapons.
"Wolf 2-1, Fox 3 Fox 3." He reported.
At the same time, the tone in his ears changed to tell him that one of the Wyverns was heading their way. Sharky sent Soup after the threat, then came to the left to back the man up. The Wyvern simply targeted them both while its wingman went for the other pair of F-72s. Sharky started dropping flares as he tried to bide his time long enough to get into ASRAAM range. The Wyvern was moving fast; Sharky quietly thanked the Erusean for helping him in return.
"Wolf 2-2, Fox 3." Soup declared.
Sharky looked to his left and saw his wingman's missile fly by. Just above the horizon, he could see other trails cutting a path across the sky. In an instant, it was obvious that all the fighters in the sky were suddenly very close to one-another. Even with the F-24s coming up behind it, the F-02 ripple-fired AP-13s at the F-72s, then broke to defend against the Oseans. Sharky set his chaff to automatic and let Soup off the leash. The two fighters split in opposite directions, with Sharky going for his preferred place down low. The Wyvern nosed up and moved in Soup's direction as Jed and Annie came rushing in to help. His shot at Sharky had failed before it could even get underway, leaving the AP-13 to plant itself into the ground someplace. As Sharky was down low, he saw a gray speck moving along the terrain. Shamu got a blip on the radar and slaved the EOTS to it. It was another Wyvern, probably the first one's wingman.
"Skull, heads up! Second bandit at low altitude and moving towards you. Your seven." Sharky reported.
"Copy, Skull 2-8 is on him." Annie replied.
Jed stayed on the first Wyvern as it slowed and opened up its wings. He tilted his plane to follow it as it dumped speed and tried to get him to shoot past. Jed wasn't too worried; his F-24 was probably the closest equivalent to the Erusean fighter. He let his next AIM-9 get itself oriented as the two dove for the ground. The Wyvern deployed flares and used what energy it had left to reverse its direction. Jed went to the outside of the turn and used it to nudge the throttles forward. He kept his chin up, looking for a shot soonest. He came under the Wyvern as it turned to him and nosed up into a high yo-yo. The F-02 hit the brakes, hard, and turned into his attack. Jed was moving to counter, when a familiar voice came over the airwaves.
"Skull 2-7, watch out! Second bandit is coming straight for you!" Sharky called.
Jed looked up to see the second Wyvern, only to see it take a missile in the side. Sharky and Shamu's F-72 flashed by, climbing and rolling over towards the B-08s. Jed passed by the Wyvern on its left and stayed in his turn while Sharky was closing to make sure the Habroks had taken some hits. Neither said a word as they checked their feeds from the EOTS. The plains had been scarred by the remains of at least one bomber. There were signs of a fire further in the distance.
"Skull, Wolf, those contacts are moving east. Looks like you've got them on the run. Good job." Matchbox reported.
"Copy; Wolf is returning to original mission as soon as possible." Sharky replied.
He came around to see if his flight needed help separating from the Erusean fighters. Jed was still up, tangling with another Wyvern in concert with his wingwoman. You done good, Sarkar…You done good… He thought.