Chp. 47: Rivals II
December 11, 2049
Icarus Battlegroup's Outer Defense Zone
"Multiple bandits coming our way. Curry, you've got the lead on the bombers. Brick, follow me."
"Copy that, Conman."
Jed watched the two jets peel away apprehensively, but his fingers and hands kept working things to engage the bombers and the escorts close to them. Yuki ordered the four F-24s to hit the gas and make a beeline for the bombers, then hit them from every possible angle. Jed looked to Glue, who signaled that he was free to push on his own. He moved the throttles all the way forward and tensed as the Hellcat gained more and more speed by the second. A faint glow in his rearview mirrors erupted as the afterburners kicked in. At the same time, he nosed up and went roaring into the upper atmosphere. He switched on his radar and rolled inverted as he reached 50,000 Feet. His radar was dotted with targets as he entered maximum range, but he went for the heavies still in formation.
The second he thought about that, they started to move apart, and the radar display flickered from their EW gear. Jed activated the AIM-152s' home-on-jamming mode for a better picture and turned to engage the closest ones. The other Hellcats spread out, like the pincers of a massive claw, forcing the escorting Nosferatus to split up. Even as Strike Wyverns were closing in from afar, the Oseans remained laser-focused on their primary targets. Jed checked his RWR every few seconds, mentally picking out which enemy fighter he'd go after the second he'd launched. It took a few seconds more, but his plane's systems finally cut through all the jamming and countermeasures. The symbology lined up and he let his Marlins loose.
As the "Fox 3" call left his mouth, Jed broke towards the first Nosferatu to start tracking him. For once, He noted with some relief, they were able to get their Marlins off before the Eruseans could get close. Jed followed up on the good fortune by switching to his AMRAAMs and selecting the fighters. He looked around for the other F-24s while the radar did its job. Over a dozen AIM-152s streaked ahead, banking in different directions as the B-08s fought to stay alive.
"Bronco, throttle back. You're moving too far ahead of us." Annie radioed.
"Playing bait, Tsun-Tsun. Though Ah would appreciate if someone besides me would start shooting." He replied without thinking.
"Bronco, throttle it back and join on us. No heroics tonight." Yuki said sternly.
You're always doing this kind of crap, you dolt! Annie thought angrily. She turned towards the Nosferatus heading for her boyfriend and nosed up to get a good shot at them. Jed cut hard right and went into a dive. Glue came up from his left and crossed over to reassume his place as the lead jet. They fell in off Annie's right wing while she and Yuki banked towards the Nosferatus by the bombers.
"Skull 1 this is Skull 2, we're inbound to reinforce at this time. Skull 3 is heading to help Arrow out to the north and west. Should be with you in less than seven minutes. What's the situation out there?" Cyborg spoke up.
"Be advised Skipper, those bandits to the southwest are coming in fast." Brick noted through clenched teeth.
"Conman is down, repeat, Conman is down. Skull 1-1 is down." He added with a breath.
Jed hissed out a curse, but the Eruseans kept him from jumping to help the beleaguered Hellcat. Glue fired off his AMRAAMs in that direction to try and give Brick some relief.
"Skull 207, Fox 3 Fox 3."
Jed stayed with his lead as they turned towards two Nosferatus that had reached the maximum range for the AP-13s. Jed locked both up just as they deployed a few bundles of chaff.
"Skull 210, Fox 3 Fox 3." He reported.
He broke away, expecting the Eruseans to shoot back at any second. Two strokes of luck in a row made him more leery than pumped up. He dropped several bundles of chaff and snapped back and forth, baiting the CFAs' radars only to maneuver to break their tracking. His AMRAAMs had caused the three Eruseans to split, while still trying to get a good shot at him. One of the missiles he'd fired took off in the direction of Luukas. He sucked in all the air he could as he reversed course and tried to move the Osean missile to a more manageable angle. As he banked back to the right, he pushed his throttles all the way forward again and nosed up. He snaked back and forth again, subtly moving his plane so he'd get the F-24's in his radar's view.
"Krill, Pine, what's your status?" He grunted.
"Engaged defensive, Lynx. Should have a good shot any second." Krill grunted.
Luukas reversed towards the Oseans as the AMRAAM finally lost sight of him.
He took that instant to make a mad dash towards his opponent. His aircraft told him that the F-24 was still tracking him, but he didn't seem to be trying for another AMRAAM shot. He took the chance to fire his remaining AP-13s at the scattered formation.
"Talos 2-01, Arrow Arrow Arrow!"
Now it was Jed's turn to be on the receiving end. He nosed up and kept banking on speed to keep him alive. With a dogfight inevitable, he also wanted the high ground. The single AP-13 followed him upwards, moving faster than him as it pushed towards Mach 4. He rolled inverted and dove as fast as he could, so fast he could feel his body weakening under the Gs. He grunted and groaned, even screamed, to stay conscious and in control of his limbs. He set the countermeasures to automatic and broke to the left. The missile's speed turned against it and it was unable to match his moves. He slowed to make sure it would overshoot well above his plane and nosed up to get the altitude advantage again. As he scrambled to get his head back in the right space, he accidentally hit the transmit button. Annie got an earful of ragged breaths and a few impolite words.
"Skull 210, are you still with us?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah Ah'm alive. Ah'm good."
In that time, Luukas has gotten well within the maximum range for his AP-11s. The trick was getting a good angle. Jed was determined to at least stay in a position where the CFA had a less-than-ideal shot. That insistence brought the two jets very close to one-another. They passed by just close enough that they could make out the details of each other's planes. Even through the fuzzy green of his night vision, Luukas could recognize the same red helmet he'd seen before. In a plane with the same markings as before. Jed had seen this movie before, too, as he recognized the number on the side of his opponent's plane.
Jed pulled back on the stick just half a second before Luukas did. The two jets nosed up, with Jed still ahead in raw speed. Jed pulled back on the throttles as Luukas did the same to try for a quick shot. He squinted as the F-24 continued to scatter flares all over the sky. A warning in Jed's ear told him that he was starting to run low. He reluctantly switched the countermeasures back to manual and followed through with his maneuver. It'd put Luukas behind him, but facing away. Luukas pushed his throttles forward and steeled himself for a tight loop. Jed countered by breaking right and trying to slip out of his opponent's view. Luukas spotted him as he did and simply banked to follow as he came down from the loop. Jed took what momentum he could and broke to the left. He looked back and saw a second CFA passing behind the first.
"Son of a…Skull 210 is engaged defensive with two bandits. Think Ah could use some help here." He radioed.
"I see yah, Bronco. Coming in from your two high." Glue assured.
Jed glanced in that direction as he checked behind him, then saw the edge of a flash below his canopy rail. He reversed to move towards his fellow aviator and pulled harder and harder to the right so they could take the Eruseans on together. He looked back as the second CFA split and the first nosed up, dropping a dozen or so flares. As he came around, Luukas rolled and pulled back on the stick as hard as he could. The missile was after Krill, who'd claimed the other F-24 as his to duel. Once again, Luukas passed by the Osean without a good shot. This time it'd been speed. He yanked back the throttles and swung back in the direction of his opponent. Jed turned into him and they crossed. Luukas had enough time to reverse before Jed could, so the Osean pulled hard and traded speed for position. His breathing filled his helmet as he tried to get away from the CFA's forward quarter. Luukas slowed best he could until he had a good enough angle. As soon as Jed saw the flash, he dumped flares and reversed as hard as he could. More momentum gone, and several dozen knots closer to stalling out.
Jed decided that now was the time to take a gamble. He firewalled the throttles and kept an eye on the CFA as he moved out of the turn. He almost felt like he was being laughed at when the Nosferatu lobbed one of its AP-11s at him. He reversed and eased off the gas. Flares out, stay nimble he told himself, flares out and keep nimble! He reversed again, then rolled towards the ocean. At this point he was willing to try anything, especially as the Erusean jet was close to firing a second missile.
"Bronco, I've got you at my ten low. I have another bandit to deal with, but I can make a single pass. It might buy you some time." Annie spoke up.
"Open to anything, Tsun-Tsun!" He replied.
Annie looked back at the Strike Wyvern following her as she nosed over towards Jed's fight. The Erusean was caught off guard trying to close the gap and it ended up on the outside of her dive. She took the chance to buy even more time and loosed a single AIM-9 at the F-02.
"Skull 208, Fox 2." She grunted.
Annie switched to her cannon and made a single pass, fast and hard. The CFA broke into the attack while she shot past and came hard left to follow the Erusean. Luukas rolled into her attack, looking for wherever Jed had gone. He wasn't interested in one of the others; he wanted that red helmet. He increased his throttle and passed over Annie as she tried to slow and get an actual shot at him. Jed had, by now, extended from the fight and regained some momentum. He came around as the F-02 had shaken Annie's missile and was reengaging.
"Tsun-Tsun, that bandit shook yer shot. He's coming in from yer four o'clock high!" Jed warned.
He switched to his cannon and fired a burst at the offending aircraft. At the same time, Luukas throttled back and swung his nose in Jed's direction. The F-02 ducked downwards, out of the fight, while he fired an AP-11 at the Osean.
"Talos 2-01, Dagger!" He reported.
His voice was filled with determination. Jed pulled up and deployed flares while Luukas nosed down and sought to regain some speed with what altitude he had. The CFA plummeted, still in his control, until he could see the foam from the waves. He eased back on the stick and leveled out with plenty of time to spare. He smirked in satisfaction, both for himself and his plane, and nosed up to pursue Jed. Annie was forced to deal with the F-02 again as it made a pass at her. Jed saw Luukas ascending and rolled back, where the Nosferatu would be hard-pressed to get his nose on him. He finally grabbed all the altitude he needed and used that to turn and face down his opponent. Luukas banked towards him, but didn't take a shot just yet. Jed tried, but he was a millisecond too late. He switched back to his Sidewinders and turned to get himself aimed at the Erusean jet as fast as he could. Luukas broke into the attack and Jed followed. The Erusean reluctantly accepted the defensive position and moved as far ahead of the Osean as he could.
The two circled once, then twice, then a third time. Jed clenched his teeth as the Nosferatu floated just out of his reach. They kept circling, each of them bleeding energy with each orbit. Jed let out a breath and forced his chin up a bit. The TD box surrounding the CFA was met with the ever-familiar diamond. He responded to the growl in his ear with a begrudging press of the launch button.
"Skull 210, Fox 2."
He'd already written off the missile as soon as it was racing ahead of him. Very precious, but being on the offensive was more important. In the meantime, he broke from the chase to check his tail and to try for a better shot outside the CFA's turn. Luukas saw the flash and broke to the right, reluctantly deploying a few of his dwindling flare supply. The plane's system started to warn him of the matter.
"Shut up!" He snapped.
Jed looked down at the Nosferatu and barrel rolled so he'd be in a better position to pounce. He rolled again and eased into a dive, still checking for any other jets. They were weaving through a very loose, thinly-populated furball as much of the Erusean force was drawn towards Cyborg and her reinforcements.
"...Tsun-Tsun, Glue, what's yer status?" He radioed.
"Engaged offensive with that Strike Wyvern…Skull 208, Fox 2." Annie replied.
"Engaged neutral with that second Nosferatu. Curry's got the third."
Yuki simply clicked her mic twice.
"Brick?" Jed asked.
There was no answer, but before he could speak up again he realized that the Erusean was ascending to meet him head-on. Jed switched back to his cannon and fired another burst. The Erusean did the same before breaking off to Jed's left. Jed could see a few impacts along the Nosferatu's wing roots; Luukas saw the same on Jed's leading edges. Jed looked at both surfaces, then at his displays. The hits were superficial, save for one that had apparently buried itself in his electrical system relays. He kept that in mind as he nosed to the right and slowed, looking for the CFA so he could put it in his HMD's sights. He saw the enemy jet circling around to meet him and hauled his aircraft in that direction to face it down once again. He pulled a bit more to the left, then weaved back towards the Nosferatu as he slowed. He fired another burst into the Erusean's path.
Luukas pulled back on his control stick and nosed up and above the F-24. It passed by and went vertical as fast as it could. As Luukas ascended, he forced himself to slow again so he could get a good shot. He considered firing both his remaining AP-11s, to make sure the Osean was blown out of the sky. The main attack had failed, and now it was just a matter of making sure the remaining strike aircraft escaped. He looked at his fuel status as Jed pulled from his climb towards the Erusean. The hits from the Osean's cannon had damaged the wing tanks, but they were holding for now. Jed watched as the Nosferatu lunged at him but ultimately missed. Jed extended from the other fighter again. His mind was in overdrive trying to think of a way to finish this guy. He decided to keep gaining some distance so he could…well, first he'd get some distance.
Luukas took the chance to fire an AP-11 at Jed. He deployed flares and broke towards the Erusean. As he came around, he went into full afterburner and ducked to his right. When the missile followed, he went left and nosed up like Luukas had earlier. The AP-11 got close this time, very close, but the Hellcat shook off the insult. Jed was now barreling straight towards the CFA with one objective: end this now. Luukas turned towards him to do the same. As soon as he did, Jed fired his remaining AIM-9 at the Erusean and went into full afterburner.
"Skull 210, Fox 2."
Luukas had to blindly fire his AP-11 in response, but Jed had already pulled up. Jed went vertical and rolled towards his opponent and the missile he'd fired. The AP-11 nosed towards him, but the Nosferatu had maneuvered to evade the AIM-9. Taking that second to fire back had proved to be an increasingly costly choice. Luukas reversed to try and overwhelm the missile, but it was too close for him to fully escape it. He felt his entire plane shake as the warhead detonated and shotgunned hot metal into his left wing. He saw the F-24 rolling back towards him with the AP-11 nowhere to be seen. Luukas had a feeling that his time in his aircraft was running low, so he decided to see if he could bring the Osean down with him.
He turned to fire his last AP-11, but it was too much for his plane to take. Part of the wing broke away, forcing him to take his eyes off the Osean. Jed pulled away as he saw this and ascended to circle above the wounded aircraft. After a second, he turned towards a new threat on his radar as another F-02S was coming to Luukas's rescue. Granted, it was too late for the Nosferatu pilot. Luukas sucked in a breath and reached up for the red handles above his head. Never did He once think of going down with his aircraft. As a means to (hopefully) spite the Osean and to honor Heinonen, he ejected. The last thing he did was throttle back so he could reach a safe speed.
"Talos 2-01 is ejecting!" He declared over the radio.
The words "Damn you, Osean bastard" would be heard by him and him alone. As the CFA's flight became more of a glide, the canopy separated from the rest of the plane. Luukas stayed perfectly still, body tensed, as a mighty roar filled the cockpit. His seat violently disconnected from the plane with the help of a series of rockets. He kept his eyes closed as he was thrown high above the Nosferatu. He opened them when he felt himself falling for half a second. With a reassuring "whump", the parachute deployed and he was freed from the seat. Luukas opened his eyes and instinctively felt for the straps of the chute; the only light seemed to be from fires on the horizon. He looked down where the ocean was supposed to be and frowned. He looked up again and saw an aircraft passing overhead. Two engines, given the plumes of fire he was seeing, but whether it was Osean or Erusean he couldn't tell.
That became less and less important as the waves grew closer and closer. Luukas reached up to a device on his flight vest and gave it a squeeze. The action made sure that his locator beacon was activated. It made him wish he was going down over land, but he wasn't afraid of being captured. Surviving was all that mattered. Surviving and, if his prayers would be granted, getting to have another go at that Osean pilot. To his relief, the seas that night weren't too rough.