AN1: It appears I need to make this explicitly clear. Wakanda's putchists didn't launch the ongoing attacks intending to start a war against the rest of the world. They did it under a set of arrogant assumptions based on the belief of how superior their technlogy still was, and doctrines that haven't been tested against a peer oponent. If a few things were different, and those are things Wakanda should be perfectly capable of developing if people decided they needed them, the unfolding attacks would have had a very different outcome. They would have been much smaller in scope due to limited ammunitions stockpiles and ammo load of the Wakandan craft, however, the odds of anyone detecting and shooting down a Dragon or a Talon before they could cloak again would be minisque.
The plan was basically to cripple the rest of the world and derail its uplift, while remaining hidden, because the expectation was that the outsiders wouldn't be able to see or kill the Wakandan fighters. Without T'Challa's warning, and if Wakanda had a more modern doctrine and weapons to go for it for their air force, that plan would have had a chance of working, because no one knows about Wakanda being a technologically advanced civilization. The plausible answer without a shot down fighters and bodies to examine, would have been an alien incursion aimed at keeping humanity tame so to speak. Of course, this would have lasted until one of the War Dogs assassination or sabotage attempts blew up in their faces, but that's another question.
AN2: We see a similar thing in this update. If such an attack happened an year or two earlier, the Wakandan commandos might have succeeded, because Tony Stark's security detail would be unlikely to have the firepower to stop them. While the vibranium armor doesn't make the commandos invinciple, it assures that blunt trauma they suffer from impacts it couldn't fully mitigate would only be deadly in the medium to long run, allowing them to push through with their mission. Add potential combat stimulants, and yeah, you've got discount super-soldiers right there that could simply walk through small arm fire.
SWORD packing HMGs, SAWS, blasters and grenade launchers on the other hand, is a bit too much for the armor to handle, and you can lob grenades over their shields.
Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.
Phase 15:The Wakanda affair
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Part 3
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Is this WW3? Wakandian air strikes confirmed in India and China! Japan and South Korea are expecting attacks within the hour!
CNN
A Second Battle of Britain? After minutes long engagement above Paris, Wakanda aircraft strike targets on British soil!
BBC
"We have an incredible video from the battle over the Camelot fusion reactor in construction near London!"
A shacking camera showed glimpses of a construction site before rising. It caught a black aircraft rising straight up in the air, followed by a couple of Harriers. A few helicopters could be seen in the distance, launching missiles. A pulse of energy erupted from the Wakanda fighter. Approaching missiles blew up in mid-flight, followed by the Harriers. The first one crumpled as if hitting a brick wall, then blew up in a spectacular fireball. The same happened with the side of the second, which appeared to bounce off the sphere of expanding energy. It's left-wing shredded, quickly followed by the back of the fighter breaking. It was already falling to pieces before its fuel ignited, immolating the fragments in an oddly shaped fireball.
At the same time, the Talon apparently lost power and fell like a brick. Missiles streaking from the ground, side, and above struck its tumbling form, shrouding it in fire and shrapnel.
The Wakandian craft regained power but not complete control. It managed to turn at the last moment so its belly hit the ground, and it sheared through construction equipment until coming to a stop at the far end of the construction site.
The video blinked, showing a recording from a soldier's helmet camera. Muffled voices shouted and cursed. A Challenger tank came rolling from the left, and its cannon thundered, shaking the camera just as the Talon tried to lift. The black aircraft rotated in place, trying to turn, when the round hit at a wrong angle, glancing off and shearing a burning streak of metal. An Apache roared overhead and unleashed a barrage of rockets at the Talon, slamming it back into the ground when it attempted to rise.
The tank cannon spoke again, and this time it struck true. The round slammed into the cockpit and broke through the armored glass. Fire and smoke blasted out of the aircraft as it swiveled to the right and skidded to a stop by crashing into the side of a crane.
BBC News
Cambridge University was just hit hard. The defensive force deployed there proved to lack sufficient firepower to stop the Wakandian onslaught. Emergency services are swarming the area looking for survivors from the Grenadier Guards who were deployed to the site earlier today.
BBC News
Wakanda strikes targets within India with a vengeance, taking advantage of less effective resistance. Casualties mount as Wakanda changes tactics and attacks with entire squadrons, aiming to eliminate ground defenses first.Associated PressXINHUA reports heavy fighting in the air in Western China.
CNN
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Razor flight
Somali airspace
Six Rafale fighters flew in pairs, forming a loose protective triangle around a full strike of twelve Super-Etentard strike craft. They all flew heavy with anti-tank missiles and fuel tanks, carrying only a couple of air-to-air missiles. Each fighter had a reconnaissance pod attached, both recording and streaming back to the carrier.
Every pilot knew they very well might be going on a one-way mission. They all volunteered anyway. France was under attack, and from what they got through briefing, watching the news, and the ever-persisting rumors, stopping the attacks proved futile. The only saving grace was the target selection, which was generally idiotic.
Command suspected that the enemy had committed practically their whole air force on the offensive, which in theory, was foolish. It was also foolish to declare war on the entire world, but there they were.
The purpose of the exercise, no matter how suicidal it might be, was simple. Test the enemy's air defense network, find targets to hit with cruise missiles, and if at all possible, force them to recall at least a part of their air force and deploy it into a defensive posture.
That was easier said than done because satellite images showed only a third-world hellhole with nothing hinting at advanced technology, much less the capability to build the kind of futuristic fighters that were busy rampaging across many parts of the world.
If it weren't for the prudent radio silence, the pilots would be discussing the persistent rumor that hostile aliens were involved and that they were using Wakanda as a proxy to test and cripple Earth. That theory certainly made more sense than a hidden technologically advanced civilization in central Africa of all places. A society that was more advanced than the rest of the world by a large margin, no less! Just being black didn't make you an idiot or incapable of being an accomplished scientist or engineer, for example, unless you asked a racist anyway. A third of the pilots were, in fact, black, and their buddies didn't have a problem with them.
Well, no problem with their skin color anyway.
No, the issue with the whole concept the pilots had, was different. By necessity, every one of them was a highly trained specialist intimately familiar with advanced technology and engineering. They were all reasonably aware of what it took to design and build one of the fighters they were flying and even more acutely familiar with all the work that went down in ensuring their Rafales and Strike Fighters didn't break down.
It wasn't the concept of an advanced African civilization that bothered them. A hidden one, on the other hand? That was much harder to accept in the age of Google Maps. Hell, they all consulted both satellite images and maps provided by intelligence and Google Maps, too, if for no other reason than to compare them and look for inconsistencies that could mark possible targets.
A small city with a smaller airport was the supposed capital, and primitive villages were dotted around the border. Most of the country was a wilderness with no valuable resources to make invading the place worth it. That was obviously false. You couldn't build an advanced civilization without tons and tons of resources.
Razor flight crossed the invisible line dividing Somalian air space with that of Kenya, relying on ECM pods to avoid detection by the few radars that lazily illuminated the skies. Yesterday, this would and could be considered an act of war that France would have thought long and hard about committing. Doing so would have been a political disaster.
Today? Razor Flight had orders to shoot down and neutralize any aircraft or SAM system that proved to be hostile, then proceeded to test Wakanda's air defense network.
Frankly, none of the pilots particularly liked the implication of those orders. The world changed in the past week, and they were sure it wasn't for the better.
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General Dynamics Research facility
Outside of New York City
SWORD One, usually stationed at Fort Drum, was the flagship unit of the organization, tasked with testing and developing doctrine for the use of all the experimental weapons SI and others could create and evaluate if they would make a practical addition to SWORDs arsenal.
Virtually every soldier serving as infantry in the unit wore a passive exoskeleton. Back at the base, they had the first powered prototype undergoing preliminary testing. They also had armor plates of titanium-gold allow protecting their chests, with more mundane and cheap secondary armor providing excellent protection compared to what regular infantry had available.
After SWORD Two's encounter with the Destroyer, no one bothered with regular small arms or sidearms. Instead, they went for more ammo, grenades, and explosives in the hope that such firepower could make a dent in the next crazy alien thing that came to kill them. SAWs with AP ammo and HMGs with the same, meant to deal with light vehicles, were the lightest firepower anyone except for a few of Stark's bodyguards bothered to carry.
The latter, including SWORD personnel attached to the Councilor, was in the basement of the building. Outside, SWORD One was busy digging in and setting up what hopefully might be a useful ambush for the expected Wakanda onslaught. There were whole squadrons of fighters and interceptors in the air, and a mechanized battalion of the National Guard was on its way.
That should have been more than enough concentrated firepower to make anyone sane think twice before jumping in its teeth.
Whoever ran Wakanda after usurping the Royal Family was anything but sane; everyone in the military with a vague idea of the strategic situation agreed.
The skies rumbled with the sound of jet engines, and if you had good enough hearing, you could hear helicopters approaching in the distance.
Wakanda's squadron dedicated to taking out Tony Stark didn't care. Six Dragons de-cloaked and moved in pairs, strafing any ground targets they could detect. At the same time, two Talon fighters hovered above the building. Their cloaks rippled when the Warriors jumped out to land on the roof and opened fire with vibranium weapons on the SWORD personnel stationed there.
Missiles rose to meet the onslaught, and US Air Force aircraft dove to clash with the Wakandian squadron.
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Part 4
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General Dynamics Research facility
Outside of New York City
Explosions rocked the building they were supposed to protect. Avengers went up in flames, and the front of a Stryker burst in fire like over-ripe watermelon. Soldiers digging in around the building followed suit, cut to bits by energy weapons.
"Enemy commandos on the ro…'' The warning over the radio cut-off in a pained scream.
"Inside! Intercept the bastards!" Sergeant Morales barked and ran to the entrance of the research complex.
Corporal Julia Simmons followed suit, and the rest of her fire-team joined her, all moving with awkward looking gait due to their exosuits.
After Afghanistan, Julia had hoped for a relatively quiet posting back home. She got a medal and what sounded like a great way not to be shot up by Taliban fuckers. It was also a posting stateside so she jumped at it without a second thought.
Julia felt like Alice jumping head-first into the rabbit hole but with less warning. The truth about aliens, and SWORD was mind-blowing. At lest she got to play with equipment that was beyond bleeding edge, and what were the odds of aliens really invading?
Now, the Corporal cursed herself for her optimism. It sounded all too much like taunting Murphy, and now the bastard was back with a vengeance.
"We lost the roof! No contact with the units there!" The Sergeant shouted to be heard.
More and more explosions outside shook the floor. Fighters roared as they came down to engage the enemy, making the chaotic sounds of combat that much worse.
A pale faced group of security led the squad deeper in the facility. The poor bastards had SMGs and the odd carbine, and only soft body armor to protect them. Odd vibrations and thumps echoed throughout the building.
"We have at least twelve hostiles with energy weapons blowing their way through the floors!" The leader of the local security proclaimed after listening to his radio for a few moments. The tall black man scowled and pointed to the right. "If they keep going, we can intercept them that way before they reach the basement!"
"You heard the man!" Morales shouted and jogged after the rent-a-cop.
Outside, a jet roared right above the building, making all the windows inside rattle. More and more explosions sent vibrations and shocks through the complex, and it wasn't a small or flimsy built building. The security detachment led them around and administrative center, and pass a cafeteria, towards a series of offices and a large presentation auditorium.
"Most of the sensitive laboratories are below grounds, with less sensitive and safe research happening upstairs," the leader of the security team explained. "I don't want to think what will happen if those fools blast their way into the wrong lab, there are all kinds of volatile shit in there!"
Loud cracks and odd sounds came from above, before something heavy hit the ceiling.
"They're right above us…. The boss said they just split in two teams. The bastards just looked at the floor and decided not to continue blasting their way down!"
"They might be able to see us through the ceiling! Thermals?"
"Just hot shit that might be concrete, Sarge," Reported one of the operatives equipped with thermal vision instead of more regular night-vision goggles. "They might have some kind of stealth suits…"
"Energy weapons, invisible fighters and transports, sure, why wouldn't they be invisible too?" The Sergeant grouched. "They aren't invisible, are they?" He asked the General Dynamics security.
"The boss can track them through the cameras. What about thermal, chief? No? I see. They don't show on thermal cameras, we have some of those too."
A few of the SWORD operatives grumbled and pushed up their thermal vision.
"Simmons, get half the unit and go intercept the first group. The rest of us are going after the others," Morales decided.
"You heard the Sergeant! Who will guide us?" Julia demanded.
"I will, Ma'am. Chekhov, Crowley with me. The rest of you are with the Sergeant. Let's go."
They got back to the cafeteria just in time to see blue energy bolts soot through the ceiling, before a rough circle simply collapsed with a deafening crash. It broke a table and sent chairs flying in all direction in the middle of a cloud of smoke and concrete. A figure jumped feet in.
"Incoming!" Julia snapped and took aim with her prototype blaster.
The figure in front of her raised a hand having a cape weaved around it and a square glowing shield formed before it. It didn't waver as the intruder stepped forward and leveled…. Was that a spear they were holding in their right hand?!
The sheer surprise of seeing that spear slowed her down for a moment, allowing the intruder to open fire. A pulse of blue energy erupted from the tip of the archaic-looking weapon and slammed into the chest of a security guard. The soft armor he wore offered no protection and the energy bolt burned its way through his chest and erupted from his back in a shower of boiling blood.
A second intruder jumped into the cafeteria and Julia opened fire without a second thought. The rest of the unit and remaining security followed suit, showering the enemy with bullets and blaster bolts.
The shield flickered at the impacts but held. A few bullets struck the top of the first hostile's head, snapping it back a bit, but had no other effect. The second intruder moved beside the first, deploying a shield of his own, and opened fire with a spear-rifle or whatever that thing was.
One of the SWORD operatives fell with a pained scream, followed by a second security guard.
"Grenades!" Julia's voice snapped like a whip, loud enough to be heard over the deafening firefight.
Behind her, two of the SWORD operatives with grenade launchers stepped forward. The thumps of their weapons were virtually inaudible under the constant roar of machine guns.
Just as a third figure dropped through the hole in the ceiling, two grenades soared above the shields and landed behind the armored attackers. Their detonations trashed the cafeteria, and threw the three enemies flying in various directions. A fourth jumped in moments later, and before they could activate their shield, everyone opened fire at them. It was like something out of a movie, with the target literally dancing back under the impacts, until it finally fell to the ground, twitching.
"We've got two more upstairs, moving away!" The security chief announced after a few seconds of silence."
"Sanders, Pavlovich, make sure these people are down for the count and stay that way. Keep an eye on that hole as well. The rest of you are with me, we have more of these to hunt. Just what the fuck?!" Simmons muttered as she slowly walked forward towards the closest body and examined it. It was a buff woman, wearing a form fitting black armor, a spear that could shoot blue shit and what appeared to be a regular, if colored cape, that can produce an energy shield.
"What the hell?!" Julia saw sanders push the cape of another downed enemy with his boot and it appeared to be a regular fabric.
"I don't know or care. We can put them down and that is what matters right now!"
"Fuck me!" Sanders exclaimed and opened fire at the body by his feet, when it stirred up and tried to move. It shook under the impact of heavy bullets.
"Check the others!" Julia barked and aimed at the woman before it.
At a closer look, her chest was moving, if slowly, so she was still alive. Julia rolled her to her back with a foot, taking a closer look to the armor. It was some kind of black fabric with inserts of dark metal for additional protection. To survive two grenades blowing up that close to your back, that was some sci-fi shit right there! Julia's own exosuit and its armor might protect her form the shrapnel, but would do nothing to stop the over-pressure wave, which was the real killer at short range. Fragments killed and wounded beyond the lethal radius of the explosion itself, they were kind of a moot point if something deadly detonated close enough.