"Alright, Locksmith Squadron, you're up, so listen close and listen good," Grayson ordered as he booted up the briefing software. Once the map of Cascadia appeared on the screen, it gradually zoomed in on the northern region of Cascadia and centered on the Aleutian Islands. "During the initial attacks by the CIF, most of our forces were caught completely off-guard, especially in the north. We tried to pull them out as best we could, but amidst all the chaos and confusion, many of our units got cut off by the enemy. Unfortunately, we've since lost contact with most of them, but the ones we're still communicating with have all rallied together in the Daner Valleys."
He selected the area with the software, and it zoomed in even further. A 3D display of the region appeared, and camera gradually circled around. The focus, however, was on a small group of friendly units with many hostiles to their north.
"The rebels have, thus far, been relentless in their pursuit of ground forces, and now they've got them backed up against the sea. If we had the ships to spare, we'd organize an evacuation by sea, but our Navy is preoccupied with attacks up and down the coast," Grayson explained. "However, these units have invaluable experience in dealing with the rebels. If we can get a handle on their tactics and the way they fight this early on, it'll be a game-changer for us. That's why it's imperative that we get them out safely. One of our Spec-Ops squads is already en route to rendezvous with them, but the trapped units need an opening to make a break for it. That's where you come in. In their eagerness to finish our units off, a section of the rebels' line has moved ahead without the rest, leaving us with a weak point to break through. Locksmith Squadron, your mission is to punch a hole in the rebel line, allowing our forces to escape and withdraw. Any questions?"
Cutter raised his hand. "What kind of air power do the rebels have on station?"
"Their air presence this far north is fairly limited- as they've concentrated most of their aircraft at Presidia for the time being- but the ground forces reported that the rebels have been calling in close air support with low to moderate effectiveness, so expect some resistance from the sky- albeit minimal."
"Should we be worried about anti-air from the ground?" Avery asked.
Grayson shook his head. "Aside from MANPADS, no. Their dedicated anti-air in the region was all knocked out by a raid from the survivors- although it came at the cost of the rest of their anti-armor, which further escalates this mission's importance. Any other questions?"
The squadron looked at each other, and upon seeing that they all had the same answer, Shepard relayed it to the Commander. "No sir. We're ready."
"Good. Then hurry up. We're working against the clock here, and every second counts."
"Alright, Locksmith Squadron, we're about to enter the AO. Get set to engage," Shepard announced.
A voice that Avery didn't recognize scoffed in response. "Well, it certainly took you all long enough," he griped.
"Y'know, we haven't saved you guys yet," Padlock reminded them. "So maybe you boys on the ground could show a little bit more gratitude."
"Not so fast. You misunderstand, Locksmith 3," the man over the radio replied, speaking firmly with a sort of snide confidence to his voice. "This is Airborne Warning and Control Systems Aircraft North Star. I'm going to be keeping an eye on you lot for the foreseeable future- especially you, Locksmith 6."
Avery scowled. She had hoped that Grayson would put a bit more trust in her- especially since he seemed so understanding the other night. She was about to speak up in her own defense, but to her surprise, ASH beat her to the punch. "Hey, Glade's already proven that she's willing to fight her own countrymen for the Federation, so maybe back off a bit," her wingman defended her.
"It'll take more than that to convince me. For all I know, you could just be trying to get deep undercover- earn our most sincere trust," North Star replied, each word laced with venom as he hurled it toward the young Cascadian fighter pilot. "Just know that I've got my eye on you, 6. If you screw up even once, I'll make sure you regret it."
Shepard let out an annoyed groan. "AWACS, if you're quite finished ragging on the kid, we've got a job to do."
"Hmph, fine. You're coming up on the target, Locksmith Squadron. Hurry up and punch through the enemy lines. I'll patch in the ground forces."
Avery looked down at her radar. Ten allied ground units were on the move, slowly retreating further south- toward the coast- as a sizable group of enemies began their advance. They didn't have much time left. Reaching for the master arm, Avery switched it on and selected her UGBLs. It was time to prove everyone wrong.
"Allied aircraft, thank god," an older woman spoke up. "This is Major Ackers. We're trying to draw these guys further out for you, but the terrain is giving us some problems. And of course, these damn tree-huggers are barely affected by it all, so they're closing in faster than we'd like."
"Not to worry, Major. We're on station and ready to provide air support," Shepard assured her as he closed the distance with his squadron close behind. "Although, you and your men might want to try and back up to enjoy the fireworks."
Ackers chuckled slightly. "You don't gotta tell me twice. We'll be waiting. Out."
As the flight of five F/C-16s began closing in, the hostile and friendly units finally appeared on Avery's HUD. For the most part, the rebels' forces were made up mostly of artillery and APCs, but there were also a sizable number of tanks that was going to make this difficult. It's a good thing she brought along enough air-to-ground munitions because she was going to need it all.
The squadron broke apart from their tight formation and began the assault. Avery turned her attention toward a cluster of APCs and a tank closest to friendly forces. Pulling back gently on the stick, she climbed higher up into the sky. Once she made it to three thousand meters, she leveled back out and set herself up to pass right over them. The reticle for her unguided bombs got closer and closer to the enemy armor, and just before it passed over the first target, she inverted and pulled down, quickly rolling over again and speeding toward them on a downward trajectory. As soon as the reticle passed over the middle target, she pulled the trigger. A single UGBL released from its pylon, and the F/C-16 that dropped it immediately began pulling up again. Avery climbed higher and higher until finally, two pings in rapid succession sounded off, informing her that the bomb she dropped had hit its mark. She banked hard to the left, circling around to confirm that the two APCs had been destroyed.
Although the tank was still standing, the missile alert in her cockpit warned her that she had more pressing concerns to deal with. A quick glance at the ground confirmed her suspicions that they'd fired MANPADS at her, and they were quickly closing in. Avery reached for her countermeasures, dumping flares as her plane curled through the air. The missiles did their best to maintain a lock, but the flares proved to be too tempting of a target to resist, leaving her facing the last tank and closing in fast. A quick burst from her gun was all it took to finish it off, allowing her to pull back up to a higher altitude and focus on the next group of hostiles.
"That was quite the show, and thanks to you, we've got our opening," Ackers said, her voice heavy with relief and admiration. "This is Longsword Actual to all ground elements; the flyboys have punched a hole in the enemy's line. Now's our chance to make a break for it. I want everyone to push heading 040 and keep an eye on those ridgelines. I'll be damned if I let us get hit by another ambush."
"Longsword, Locksmith, this is AWACS North Star. We've got eyes on bandits closing in from the north- bearing 010 at angels 20, about five minutes out," North Star warned everyone.
"Just what we needed," Ackers grumbled sarcastically. "I hope that you flyboys are on top of that."
"Don't worry, Longsword. We won't let 'em near you," Cutter assured her.
"Dogfighting with a full load isn't gonna be easy," ASH grumbled.
"Then make sure you drop all your bombs before they get here," Shepard replied. "Just make sure that you put it all to good use."
"Easier said than done," Padlock muttered. "These assholes have MANPADS up their asses."
Avery banked right, looping around to face the hostiles farther away from the ground forces. 'You bought them some time. Now, you've just gotta get 'em home,' she reminded herself silently. Her finger flicked the switch to expand her radar, giving her a better view of the targets in the area. Cutter and ASH were farther north than the rest of the squadron, so she decided to trust that they'd deal with the bandits once they got close enough. Once more her gaze flicked downward to check on Longsword and the other ground units. They were making good progress, but they still had a long way to go. As such, Avery took it upon herself to stick with them and deal with the hostiles closest to them.
As she circled back to make another pass over her allies, Avery eyed up a group of APCs closing in and a cluster of artillery further to the west. The two groups were quite some distance apart from each other, but at the right angle, Avery could take them out in a single pass. All she needed to do was line herself up right.
"How much farther do we have to go?" One of the Federation soldiers on the ground asked. "Before long I'm gonna be out of ammo for everything except my pistol."
"We'll keep going until we're out," Ackers barked back. "If you've got a problem with that, you can take it up with the rebels; I can't make any guarantees that they'll listen, though."
"Hey, if our boys in the air keep doing as good a job as they are now, we might not even have to fire another shot," a second soldier pointed out.
"Hah, don't count on it- not with the way our luck's been going," another scoffed.
Avery tried her best to tune them out. She needed to focus. The APCs were already on the move, closing in on the ground forces, so she had line this up just right. Her F/C-16 rocked back and forth as she made little adjustments to her course. Finally, she yawed left, letting her pass cross right over the rebels'. Her finger hovered over the trigger as she closed the distance. The reticle for her UGBLs dragged across the ground, going up and down with the terrain. Finally, it went from green to red, but still she didn't fire- not until it was as close to the middle of the group as possible. She could feel the bomb release before she heard it. The difference in weight was distinct- and it was just what she needed to pull up and away from the blast radius. Five pings sounded off in rapid succession, informing her that she'd hit the mark dead on, but Avery had no time to celebrate. Already, she was in the middle of another turn to center herself on the artillery group. Flames spewed out from her exhaust as she lit the burners. The artillery units made no attempt to get away, but even if they did, it wouldn't have mattered. Avery's targeting reticle went red once more, and the third of her four bombs dropped off the pylon, hitting just barely off the mark, but still close enough to splash all four.
Just as she was about to report the kill, however, North Star interrupted her. "Locksmith 6, two bandits slipped past the others and they're heading straight for Longsword. Intercept them immediately," the AWACS ordered.
Avery looked down at her radar. Sure enough, two Accipiters were closing in on the ground forces. She went out of afterburn for but a moment, cutting her throttle to half to make a sharp turn back around before charging off again at full speed. The Accipiters were closing fast, but she was faster than they were. All she had to do was get a good firing angle on them. Unfortunately for her, they hadn't quite committed to their runs yet and were now turning to meet her head-on. Avery cursed under her breath as she thumbed the firing switch to ready her STDMs. Neither side was equipped for long-range, meaning this was going to be a dogfight.
The rebels locked on first, each firing an STDM at Avery and forcing her to move defensive. She went high, dumping flares along the way to encourage the missiles to lose their track on her. The two STDMs got closer, and Avery felt her heart skip several beats. She needed more speed. Groaning to herself, she jettisoned her last UGBL, causing it to freefall into the valley below and giving her just enough speed to evade both missiles. Now it was her turn to go on the offensive. Her heatseekers let out a low growl as they began their search, and it didn't take them long to find one of the two Accipiters closing in fast. The growl's pitch went high, and she fired. The missile sped off toward the target, despite their attempts to evade, and found its mark within seconds.
The second bandit tried to go for guns on her but fell just short as they passed. This was Avery's chance. She rolled to the other side, pulling hard to follow after the Accipiter that had just overshot. The growl of her STDMs started up again, and she fired without a moment's hesitation. The missile tried its best to pursue its target as it banked left toward the ground units, but the flares it left behind threw off its lock, send it careening into the sky. Avery only had a few moments to act before the bandit was within range of Longsword and the rest. She had to act fast, and desperation took over. She fired both of her remaining STDMs and followed up with a burst from her gun. The Accipiter tried to escape the onslaught, but it proved to be too much for the pilot, and before long, they were spiraling down toward the ground in a ball of fire.
"Bandits splashed!" Avery reported, pulling up and circling around the friendlies as they continued their advance.
"And not a moment too soon," Ackers chimed in. "A few seconds more, and we woulda been mincemeat. Thanks for the help up there."
"Hey, we said we weren't gonna let 'em touch you," Cutter reminded her. "We're pilots of our words."
"ALCON, this is Dagger Actual," a new voice spoke up. "We're in the AO. Longsword, we'll be with you in a few minutes."
"North Star copies all, Dagger," the AWACS replied. "Alright, Locksmith, they'll take it from here. RTB to Prospero."
"Thanks again up there," Ackers said. "We owe all of you our lives."
"Think nothing of it, Longsword. We were just doing our jobs, same as you'd do for us," Shepard assured her.
"Well, for some of you at least," North Star chimed in with an edge to his voice.
"Oh, come on! After everything she did, you still think Glade's some kinda spy?" Cutter asked in disbelief.
"It's got nothing to do with her being a spy- even if she very well may be," North Star replied. "Call me old fashioned, but I don't trust anyone that turns on their own countrymen on a dime like that- can't be sure that they won't switch back just as fast."
Avery rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore him as she regrouped with the others on the way back to Prospero. If this was going to be the gut reaction of anyone outside her squadron for simply being Cascadian, then it was going to be a long war.