Greetings, this is coolmccool5, and I have returned after a considerable period of absence. This story is meant to be a broad strokes retelling of the 2009 iOS game Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion. As such, there will be differences between this novelization and the game that served as source material.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Ace Combat franchise in any way; they belong to both Bandai Namco Games and Project ACES. As previously stated, this is meant as an unofficial, broad strokes novelization.
FOREWORD
The story and events depicted in this work are fiction. Any resemblance to actual political states, geographic locations, persons (living or dead), corporations, and organizations is purely coincidental. This work is not affiliated with and does not endorse, nor is a benefactor of, any corporations, organizations, political states, or persons. All trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
THE PRELUDE TO WAR
The year is 2020.
It had been nearly one whole year since the conclusion of the Lighthouse War on the Usean continent. Yet at the same time, it had already been one year since a long and bitter civil war had concluded in the nation of Leasath on the South Osean continent. The world had seemingly begun to move on and return to a peaceful way of life.
Situated at the southern end of the South Osean continent, the Federal Republic of Aurelia, a nation that has been rich in gold, silver, copper, rare earth metal deposits, and other resources. Its people had already been enjoying an era of peace, prosperity, and liberal democracy for the past twenty-two years. In fact, Aurelia had been viewed as a symbol of such in the eyes of most of its neighbors throughout the continent; most notably through its efforts in humanitarian missions, such as the sending of aid to the still growing number of refugees at the International Space Elevator in southwestern Usea.
Peace, however, was a fragile concept, as there were already signs of another large-scale war simmering in the South Osean continent.
That simmering came to a boil on the First of October, 2020. On that day, Aurelia's peaceful way of life was shattered when its northeastern neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Leasath, commenced a surprise attack. Leasath's leader, Generalissimo Diego Navarro, justified his military's invasion as, "a symbol of the Leasath people's rage over years of Aurelia's unjust exploitation."
The Aurelian War had suddenly begun.
Taking advantage of its southwestern neighbor's undermanned defenses, Leasath forces quickly crossed through Aurelia's border, advancing deep into the nation with the power of a killer tsunami. Aurelian border cities had no choice but to surrender their authority to the invading forces. Within the first two days, sixty percent of Aurelia was under Leasath's control. The former's capital, Griswall, was even surrounded and put under siege.
Phuku Lagolla, an air base located to the southwest of Griswall. It was one of the last military bases still under Aurelian control. Despite being cut-off from the besieged capital, the Fuerza Aérea Aureliana (Aurelian Air Force), its front line combat aircraft being comprised entirely of Macmillan JA 37C Viggen interceptors and Loughead-Merietta F-16C/D Fighting Falcon multirole fighters, continued to operate out of the base on missions that were to attack Leasath ground forces surrounding the capital city. Unfortunately, the constant, around-the-clock sorties had taken its toll on planes and pilots, alike, as fewer and fewer of them returned home due to enemy aircraft and/or ground fire.
As the situation worsened at the base, its commanders looked over their Courses of Action. The situation was already looking bleak. They had three choices: Their first choice was that they could pull back Phuku Lagolla's remaining air strength to other bases, such as Aubrey Air Base, located further to the southwest. However, this meant abandoning the besieged Ejército Aureliana (Aurelian Army) forces in Griswall. The second choice involved surrendering where they stood, which also meant abandoning Aurelia's ground forces in the capital. The third choice was to fight to the end, to the last plane and the last pilot if they had to.
Realizing they were now pushed to the wall, the base commanders were forced to make their decision: to continue having Phuku Lagolla's remaining air strength fight to the bitter end. Out of desperation, they called up pilots from the 1ra Escuadrón Experimental y de Evaluación (1st Test and Evaluation Squadron). The 'Falco' Squadron, as it was otherwise known as, was rushed to combat readiness as a result.