A/N: Recently I really came to appreciate that there have been some folks reviewing that have been doing so as long as I've written stories here. I'm certain there are plenty more who have been reading and following what I post just as long. Just wanted to say thank you for that!
Chp. 4: Counter Battery
November 11, 2015
General Yurevich's HQ
"We believe they ran into at least a battalion-sized force, supported by short-range air defenses. Initial reports claim that at least two platoons of infantry fighting vehicles and tanks were damaged or destroyed."
Yurevich looked at the new positions of his probing force and their remaining strength. The assault had been bloody. Bloody and short, but he had no reason to believe that the local commander had lost his courage.
"There have been sporadic artillery exchanges, but the Emmerians have dug in and are staying south of the river. The force commander has set up a pair of small observation posts to watch their side of the river." Edeshko added.
"And there are no indications that they intend to cross?"
"Not in that sector, though they've shot down two of the UAVs we sent to recon the area. We have received reports of what are likely engineering units, but they appear to be building obstacles."
"What kind?"
"Before it was shot down, one of the Pioneers sent in spotted a minelayer."
Yurevich stood up straight and nodded to himself.
"Keep our forces in place, and attach two companies of motor-rifle infantry to help balance out their losses. The Emmerians won't be crossing, not in this sector."
"Are you certain, sir?" The Chief of Intelligence asked.
"Yes. All other forces will maintain their current positions."
"Hasn't Regional Command requested we move in and destroy the remaining Emmerian forces?"
"They're desperate, surrounded and concentrated with no place to run. If the musings of the SVR are true, they still might have a few warheads sitting in wait. They've dedicated every fiber of their purpose to making sure that we suffer greatly if we cross that river in force. They'll get arrogant soon enough, and try to push north. We'll envelope and destroy them and leave them with nothing to oppose us."
"And what of the SVR's reports?"
"It is the responsibility of the SVR. My concern is my command."
The notion that the Emmerians would detonate nuclear weapons as a last resort in the first place was hard for him to believe. The only ones ever desperate enough to do such a thing had been the Belkans. There was a sliver of irony in that, given the flecktarn fatigues his country used. His eyes drifted towards the back of a colonel who acted as his "liaison" to the SVR. Having no interest in giving the vulture any attention, he instead leaned forward and set a finger near Vitoze.
"That being said, we need to follow up on the Air Force's failure to destroy the Emmerian headquarters at Vitoze." He said…
Joan held her breath as the four Rafales passed below the air battle erupting above. Close to a dozen Su-27s and Su-30s had come screaming out of Lorenz, and now the two sides were finally meeting head-to-head. The plane's radar, set to terrain-following mode, guided across the snow-covered forests with pinpoint accuracy.
"Garudas, execute now." Jarre instructed.
Joan acknowledged and lit the afterburners, pushing the Rafale further from the fight faster and faster. Her RWR chirped and grumbled towards the ground defenses lying ahead, ones still defying the SEAD component of the strike.
"Garuda, Snake Pit has a fix on those Zooparks. Standby for datalink." The Falcon radioed coolly.
"Copy, break, Garuda Lead to flight, execute phase two once you've gotten a target. Take the one closest to you! Faucon, what's your time on target?" Jarre replied.
"We're about 20 seconds behind you, Garuda." Pollini estimated.
Joan flicked a switch and selected a pair of GBU-38 JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munition) while Erwan slaved the Damocles targeting pod to their intended target. Joan pushed the throttles forward and banked to the right towards some tall hills. She nosed up and went high while her backseater made sure the first bomb was aware of where it was supposed to go. Joan rolled into level flight, then dipped her nose slightly in the direction of the Esotovakian radar.
"It's ready, Talisman!" He called.
"Garuda 3, bombs away!" She replied.
The GPS-guided weapon left its pylon with a soft thump. Joan broke to the left and descended away. Her eyes caught two flashes near the battery. Erwan took over as the Rafale moved further and further left.
"Got two SAMs lifting off, looks like a pair of HQ-7s down there." Erwan reported.
Joan deployed a string of flares and snapped towards the attack, which only invited more fire. She held the course for less than an instant before she pulled back on the stick and ascended.
"Faucon be advised, they've got a few short-range platforms down there. IR guided." She reported against the strain of G-forces.
"Understood Garuda, thanks for the heads up." Pollini said gratefully.
Joan glanced at the picture from the targeting pod as she reversed and deployed a third string of flares. The radar site was now a smoldering stain against the snow. She rolled and rolled tight to come around for a second pass. Pollini and Lanner raced by on either side of her; she slowed just long enough to let them commit and to keep traffic light. The two SAMs that'd been fired had long since lost track, so she came around and nosed up. Erwan switched to their GBU-12 Paveways and simply turned on the pod's designator.
"Okay Talisman, I need some more altitude. About 200 Meters or so." He breathed.
"Gotcha Owl, hang on." She replied.
Joan jammed the throttles forward and snapped the stick towards her. She tensed up and rolled inverted as Pollini and Lanner rolled in against a line of Msta self-propelled guns.
"Okay that's good!" Erwan reported.
"Garuda 3, bombs away!" She replied.
Joan snapped the Rafale to the right, doing everything she could to keep the pod's designator pointed at the target. The HQ-7's missiles rotated towards them, racing against the timer on the crews' HUDs. Joan deployed more flares and forced herself to reverse. Erwan tightened his muscles, but a small smile managed to form when he saw the missile launcher disappear from view. It was replaced by a torrent of smoke.
"That's one SAM gone." He commented.
The second launcher turned its attention away from Polinni and Lanner as if to say "Excuse me?" to the Emmerian. Erwan reduced the zoom on the FLIR camera while Joan ducked low to come around for another run. She switched to her remaining JDAM and nosed up again. The HQ-7 fired; she rolled and dashed for the sky behind the launcher, where its missiles would tear themselves open trying to reach her. She rolled and went into a Split-S, one that would put her right down on the deck. Joan yanked back her throttles and tensed as hard as she could. Even a girl as fit as her was nearly overwhelmed by the Gs that followed. Erwan barely stayed conscious as they pulled out of the maneuver. Joan screamed a few curses as she could feel everything again and yanked her plane towards the ammo dump she was supposed to destroy. The whole maneuver and how it left her feeling ended up making her mad.
"Erwan, wake the fuck up!" She barked.
"I am!" He assured, seemingly just as riled.
"Garuda 4, what's your status?"
"Garuda 4 is moving towards secondary target." Marcus replied.
"Copy, we're moving to join you. Be careful, Shamrock."
Her wingman clicked his mic twice before committing to his target. Joan checked the coordinates her bomb was looking at when the RWR chirped. She glanced at the device just as their AWACS called out the details.
"Garuda and Faucon be advised, you've got four bandits moving in your direction. Closest pair is at Heading 210, Altitude 420, 18 kilometers and closing fast. Second group is at 035, Altitude 3700 and 50 kilometers out."
Joan heard the position of the second group, but her mind was zeroed in on the first. She dropped her second JDAM as if it were an afterthought and banked left.
"Garuda 4, once your bomb is off form up on me." She instructed.
"Gotcha Talisman." Marcus replied.
Joan switched to her MICAs and switched the radar to air-to-air mode.
"Garuda 3, I think it would be best if we engage the bandits to the north as soon as we fire on the ones to the south. At least until Faucon and the rest of our flight can get involved."
"Garuda 3, Garuda 1 and 2 will handle those northern bandits for now." Jarre interjected.
Joan reached over to the switch to dump her remaining bombs. It was frowned on when every shot mattered, but planes were even more valuable. She ditched her remaining Paveway and the dual ejector racks, then hit the gas and selected one of the Flankers. Erwan checked over both shoulders, then what the targeting pod was showing. Marcus and Maeva dropped in from above and slowed almost parallel with their leader. The SPECTRA recognized the Flanker's Zhuk-MSE and set about degrading it to buy them time.
"Leader is ours." Joan declared.
"I'll take his wingman." Marcus replied.
The two Flankers split, with one going high left and the other low right. The Rafales split up to take their respective target, though not far enough to lose each other's support. Joan was nearly vertical when she got a lock.
"Garuda 4, Fox 3." Joan reported.
She stayed on the Su-27 as it nosed down in her direction and deployed chaff. She rolled inverted and nosed down to stay with the Estovakian. The Flanker rotated to the right as the MICA angled down to intercept it. Joan watched as it exploded behind the Flanker, just close enough to shake it. She worked every one of her controls to bring the Rafale into a descending spiral. One that would put her directly behind the Flanker. The Estovakian nosed up and turned left, where its wingman had just passed Marcus and Maeva.
"Garuda 4 watch out, lead bandit is moving towards you." Joan warned.
"I have a visual on him! We're breaking into you; stay on him and we'll handle his friend." Maeva replied.
Joan switched to her Magics as the Flanker pulled away from Garuda 4 to try and reposition. Joan put her plane's energy to use and slid the throttles back with a soft grunt. She went below the Flanker, then up and into its turn. The Estovakian reversed and pulled hard left, so hard it almost looked like it might stall. Joan initiated a high yo-yo to avoid overshooting and came down on the Flanker as fast as she could. A flash at the edge of her vision caught her attention for a bit. What she thought was a missile turned out to be an explosion.
"Baron 2 is hit, Baron 2 is hit!" One of the Mirage pilots barked. Joan forced her eyes away as the missile growled at her.
"Garuda 3, Fox 2." She announced.
Joan dedicated herself to keeping the enemy jet pinned against the terrain below. The Estovakian defiantly pulled from his dive and moved to close ranks with his wingman again. Joan descended and closed, looking to keep the bandit down there. It deployed strings upon strings of flares to defend itself, but once again the missile exploded just outside of lethal range. This time, though, it seemed to have at least left a scratch. At the same time, Marcus and Maeva were coming around, trying to force themselves behind the second Flanker. With Joan so focused on maneuvering the plane, Erwan was left to check the RWR between watching their hindquarters. He spotted two new hits on the scope and looked in that direction.
"Talisman, be advised that we've got two more bandits at our five high. Looks like they slipped out of the fight and are circling around to come at us." He reported.
"Understood, Owl…Baron, are you or Lance able to assist?" Joan replied.
"Negative, negative.. Lance 1 is RTB…RTB with damage…Baron 2 and 4 are down." The lead Rafale replied in gasps.
"Garuda 3, this is Faucon 1, have hit primary targets and are moving to assist the escorts. Fleche, are you able to assist?" Polini spoke up.
"Affirm, we'll do what we can." The SEAD element's lead assured.
As all this was going on, Joan had been trying to close again, this time to employ her cannon. It made things exponentially harder, but her remaining missiles were as precious as food and water at that moment. She nosed up and rolled to come down upon the Flanker once more, this time with her nose aimed ahead of it. The Flanker went vertical and accelerated, soon enough for her to fire off about 15 rounds. The Flanker secended like a rocket until Joan was forced to pass the rapidly decelerating plane. The Estovakian pilot rolled, almost in slow motion, with a PL-9 ready for the Emmerian jet.
"Do you still have eyes on him, Owl?" Joan demanded.
"Yeah I got him, I got him! Start trailing flares!" Her backseater shouted confidently.
Joan checked the number she had left before she trailed a dozen or so off. The Flanker still fired, and she broke to the left to counter. The enemy missile followed in a gentle turn as it countied to gain speed. Erwab watched as it moved further and further outside their turn. Joan looked back and broke into the incoming shot just before it leapt at them. She lit the afterburners as soon as they were out of the way and accelerated upwards. The residual heat got the PL-9's attention for a split second and Joan moved far enough from the seeker head to lose it. The Flanker appeared to their left, slowing again to try for a second shot. Joan broke hard and dove down as it launched a second missile. This one never had a chance, and as soon as she was clear Joan cut the throttles and swung back towards the Flanker. She spotted it as it passed by in front of her and hit the gas. The Flanker got well ahead of her before she was moving again, but as Joan moved to close in he dumped speed. Joan did the same and cut towards him. She jammed back the trigger and let off another 50 bullets.
She saw sparks as the shots cut through the Flanker's skin near its right engine. She reversed, but could still feel the green and brown Estovakian jet near her. As she leveled out and nosed up, she looked back and saw the Su-27 was trailing smoke. All those hits had finally combined to fell the bandit. It managed to get level, but was soon losing speed and plummeting towards the clouds below. Joan turned to her RWR once again for their next target as she moved to rejoin Marcus.
"Garuda 4, where's that other Flanker?" She asked.
"He's down." Marcus said quickly.
"Gaurda this is Fleche, request your assistance as soon as possible. Two of the northern bandits split off and might be trying to get around the main engagement for a shot at Snakepit." Fleche 1 reported.
"On our way, Fleche." Joan said as she checked her fuel and countermeasures.
Marcus fell into a trailing position off to the left, and snaked right to clear his lead's tail. The two Rafales almost immediately spotted the fourship of Mirage 2000Ds swirling about with two more Flankers. Su-30s this time around, according to the IRST. Joan switched to her remaining MICA to get the Flankers' attention. The Yuktobanian-built jets took notice almost immediately, and one turned in her direction. Marcus did the same and selected the same Flanker.
"Talisman, figure we overwhelm one and then keep 'em split if it survives." He added hastily.
"Do it." Joan replied; she didn't have time to debate.
The two Flankers mirrored their moves, but locked up both Emmerian jets. In comparison, both were almost fully armed. The Mirages followed, pushing one to break off and keep them tied up. The other increased speed and banked to the north. The Rafales slowed and followed the offending Flanker until they had a lock.
"Garuda 3, Fox 3." Joan announced.
"Garuda 4, Fox 3. Breaking to pursue that other bandit." Marcus declared.
Joan stayed in her turn while Marcus bolted off towards the other Su-30. The two MICAs closed in fast, arcing out behind the Flanker as it weaved into their attack. Joan switched to her remaining Magic and quietly willed the missiles to track straight and true. The Flanker left a string of chaff behind it, but it wasn't enough. Joan realized she'd been holding her breath as the enemy fighter lost part of its tailfins to one of the explosions. She drew in a loud breath and snapped to the left to rejoin her wingman. If he asks, we share the kill She thought. The pilot and her WSO almost immediately found themselves going head on with the remaining bandit. Joan broke to the left and dropped flares while Marcus delayed pouncing on the Flanker. Joan swung back towards the fight and urged the surviving Mirages to head south. Joan nosed up and made a 180-degree turn back into the fight. Marcus was pushing the enemy fighter towards the ground relentlessly.
"Garuda 4, keep him pinned down there. I'll go in and herd him with my cannon, whichever way he breaks, you hook him." She decided.
Much like earlier, he didn't have time to argue. Joan pushed the throttles all the way forward and moved past her wingman. As the Flanker tried to break right and climb, she nosed up and let off a long burst from her gun. The tracers passed by the Estovakian, then fell short after one or two actual hits. Marcus was waiting for the Flanker when it reacted, as lobbed a Magic at it just shy of minimum range. Joan pulled away while Erwan watched the inevitable unfold. Marcus pulled up and started gaining distance just as the Magic impacted the spine of the Su-30. The plane disappeared behind a flash of light.
"Garuda 1, what's your position?" Joan asked.
"Garuda 3, we're pursuing one bandit south. Faucon is still north of you." Jarre reported.
"Copy, we're heading your way. Faucon, you coming along?"
"Will disengage as soon as we can, Garuda. Head south."
The two Rafale Bs kept low and turned off their radars, sneaking under the furball one more time as it was close to dissapaiting. The CAPs were the ones trying to disengage themselves from the defenders; no kill count would top the loss of another precious airframe.