Chp. 11: Limit Break
November 27, 2015
Forward Arming Strip South of Misko
Joan went screaming down the runway and into the afternoon sky. She wasn't more than a few seconds off the runway when two Su-30s, one after the other, appeared from behind a tall hill.
"Bandits, our eleven. Grab some altitude, Shamrock." Joan ordered.
She stayed where she was and loosed a Magic at the nearest Flanker. The Stovie fired back as she nosed up and rolled to come down on him from behind. All Erwan could do was groan in protest. Those few seconds made for a lucky shot on Joan's part. She watched as the other Flanker split away, leaving Marcus to roll over and pounce.
"Garuda 4 is on the second bandit."
Joan still went nose down, now to support her wingman. The Flanker went into full afterburner, running headlong into the handful of Mistrals guarding the strip. It nosed up and let its bombs sail forward at the supermarket as its life was closer to being measured in seconds. The second half of the flight had come back to the fight just as the Flanker raced towards the horizon. Jarre and Descours went after it for a second, then turned back to the north. Joan watched as explosions rippled across the construction site. Joan searched for any sign of secondaries as the four Rafales fell back into pairs. She signaled for Marcus to stay close and switched frequencies for a second.
"Oasis 7 ATC, are you alright?" She spoke up.
All she got was a few bursts of static. She circled over the site as a few more explosions went off. She shifted her attention to looking for any other jets, friend or foe, but could only see Pollini and his fellow Rafale Cs. Joan switched back to the proper frequency as Jarre gave it a try.
"Oasis 7, do you read? Oasis 7, come in…Garuda, Faucon, form up on me. We're heading north. Ghost Eye be advised that Oasis 7 has been hit and we've lost communication."
"Copy Garuda, be advised that you've got a change in mission. Estovakian bombers have made it through our air defenses and have launched a number of cruise missiles. Looks like Kents. Intercept any entering your sector before proceeding with your original mission."
Joan clenched her teeth. The last thing they were equipped for was doing that. She had two radar-guided MICAs and a single remaining Magic.
"What's the plan, Garuda 1?" She asked.
"Same approach as briefed, but increase altitude to 9140. Faucon?" Jarre replied.
"We're with you, Garuda." Pollini replied.
"Ghost Eye, do you have an exact fix on those Kents?"
"Nearest group is at 350, Altitude 1200, 130 Kilometers out."
As the eight aircraft turned that way, Faucon 1 had something to add.
"Ghost Eye, are there any additional aircraft available to assist? We are not properly equipped for air-to-air."
"We're directing four aircraft on CAP to assist. Callsign is Tempest."
"That Sean Bean and the gang?" Erwan called from the back seat.
"You really think Avalanche looks like Sean Bean? That's bad luck for him, Owl." Joan replied.
"Why? Sean Bean's awesome! What, you never saw the Sharpe dramas?"
"Sean Bean always dies."
"He didn't die in that one Osean movie."
"Yeah that narrows it down. Concentrate on getting a fix on those missiles."
Erwan tried to say the leading man from the film in question, but Joan was refocused on their new mission. The jets pushed back into the battlefield at nearly twice the speed of sound. The RWR grumbled and beeped, but Joan put an extra bit of faith in their SPECTRA's abilities. The errant tracers and flak bursts were little more than set dressing to her at that moment.
"Garuda and Faucon this is Tempest 1, we're moving to support. Check fire at your five o'clock high; that's us." A familiar voice spoke up.
Freddie Durand's fourship of Rafales split to cover the flanks of their air force counterparts.
"Bandits turning our way, Lead. Two Flankers at 009, Altitude 2000, 90 Kilometers out and closing fast." Serac radioed.
"They're yours, Three." He replied.
The two Rafales banked towards the threat while Freddie and Pernet shot up and settled into place above Garuda's aircraft. Freddie set his IRST to follow his radar, checking each target it picked up to see if they were turning in his direction. He caught sight of a second pair of Flankers coming in high and fast.
"Blizzard, two bandits at our eleven high." He radioed.
They turned towards the Stovie jets, MICAs at the ready. The Flankers rushed to get into effective range for their PL-12s.
"Break now, Blizzard!" Freddie called.
He pulled back on his Rafale's stick and dumped a few packs of chaff. The lead Flanker launched two missiles and swerved to its left. Freddie rolled towards the Flanker as it tried to sneak by. He snaked away to keep the missile from getting a good angle.m having an easy time, then pulled hard again. His body and his plane protested the abuse while he switched to his MICA IRs. The Flanker nosed up and pulled away from Joan's Rafale as Freddie forced the bandit's hand. Joan ducked below the two jets as they screamed overhead.
"Tempest 1, Fox 2." Freddie announced.
He followed the missile for a few seconds, then reversed and nosed up. The surge of Gs was tempered only by the surge of adrenaline as he nosed over to come back down on the Flanker with a vengeance. As Garuda moved east, away from the fight, Freddie caught sight of movement against the valley. They passed over a small lake, revealing themselves as F-7s.
"Garuda heads up, bandits closing from behind. Two Airguards, moving fast and low." He radioed.
"Owl?" Joan asked.
"Okay I got them at our six. One just launched." He replied.
Joan broke to the right and Marcus went to the left, they dropped a dozen flares behind them, then turned towards one another. The Airguards went vertical to negate that, and with a lighter load they were back on the two Rafale Bs before either pilot could think of their next move.
"Garuda this is Tempest, I'm on those two Airguards. Stay fast and stay unpredictable." Freddie radioed.
Half of that was bravado, but bravado was a must for a naval aviator. He switched to his cannon to dispatch the older fighters and ended up below them as he nosed up. He hit the throttles and banked to make a pass at the lead bandit. Thirty millimeter tracers streaked in front of the F-7, then punched a few holes in its canopy. The Airguard broke to the left and rolled inverted. Freddie pulled back on the throttles as the other Airguard turned into him and accelerated. Joan took that chance to push north, hailing Marcus to follow her as soon as he had the chance. Erwan looked back as the first Airguard hit the ground; the second tried to turn towards them again and lobbed its other PL-9 their way.
"Second missile, Talisman!" He reported.
"Hold tight." Joan replied.
Joan again wrestled the stick and forced the plane to pull hard. For a second she considered ditching her bombs to save her plane, but something stopped her as she reversed. The F-7 stayed with them, switching to its cannons as its missile seemed to be faltering. The PL-9 made one last lunge for the Emmerians, then exploded below them. Joan nosed up and hit the gas to outrun the explosion, but the bigger jet managed to shake off the insult. She looked at her radar display as the missiles drew closer and refocused her attention. If she could outrun the Stovie, someone else would pounce on him. Someone had to; the sky was full of REAF jets!
"Second F-7 is coming at us again. Tempest, where are you?" Erwan asked.
"Still on 'em." Freddie replied.
The Rafale M pilot put himself between the two jets and made a head-to-head pass at the second F-7. The Stovie jet nosed up to shoot back, but a handful of rounds raked its front end. One put shrapnel into its engine's fanblades. Freddie circled around as the second F-7 went into a death roll. He circled once again to make sure they were clear before he turned towards a Flanker that'd slipped away from the rest of his flight.
"Garuda you're clear. Head north as fast as you can." He urged them.
"Appreciate the help, Tempest." Jarre replied.
"Yeah, he's too cool to be Sean Bean." Joan commented to her WSO.
Erwan snorted as he switched to monitoring their radar. Joan pulled back on the stick and put herself well above the AS-15s as they entered their terminal phase.
"Garudas 3 and 4, take targets on the left. Garuda 2 and I will take the flight on the right."
"Faucon 1 to flight, same plan. Accelerate after launch and try to get behind any stragglers." Pollini added.
Erwan selected the closest two AS-15s as Joan went down a few dozen meters, then leveled out, then did it again as the distances closed.
"Okay I've got 'em, Talisman. Shoot!"
"Garuda 3, Fox 3…Fox 3." She announced…
Cruise missiles flew just slow enough that you could see and recognize what they were. Jacques watched with a lump in his throat as the missile landed on the far side of the river. The explosion that followed seemed to be as big as the ones from that flying carrier the Stovies had. He clutched his NF-1 and waited for more to come raining down on them. Instead, friendly artillery raced overhead, landing amongst trees that were part of the Estovakian line. He adjusted his scarf and let out a breath as he waited for the command to move forward.
"Steel 6 to all Steel elements, advance." Gerard radioed.
"Driver, advance! Maintain formation with Steel 6-1!" Jacques relayed.
The tanks emerged from the edge of the woods and into the barren fields of an old vineyard. Jacques lowered himself until only his head was visible above the vision blocks. He looked down at his thermals, which showed a line of T-84s moving forward to meet the attack. The bombardment wasn't over yet, either; as the howitzers fell silent a battery of M270 rocket launchers took over. They looked more like how Jacques imagined being hammered by cruise missiles would've been. The things were absolutely terrifying, and they were landing just outside what was considered danger close. It was enough to make the T-84s ahead retreat, albeit slowly. The Leclercs cleared Misko to the west once the bombardment was over; the 5th was pushing deep into Stovie-held lands.
"Steel 6 this is Viper 3, flight of four on station. We've got Swan 3-1 spotting from across the river. Not seeing much AA; put us where you want." A fresh voice spoke up.
"Copy that Viper, need you to help soften up the Stovies' first line. Focus on IFVs and support vehicles."
"Copy."
Jacques looked to his GPS overlay as the tanks spread out and tilted northeast towards the highway. There were hills further back, but otherwise it was very open country ahead. Gerard led his command group through some trees around a low hill while another platoon went up it. As they cleared it, they came upon some of the retreating T-84s.
"Gunner has multiple targets. Tanks, forward quadrant at 1800 Meters." Camille reported.
"Engage at will, engage at will." Jacques replied.
"Engaging."
A dozen guns barked almost simultaneously as the two forces finally collided. The Estovakians were quick to show that they'd also laid a hasty trap. The T-84s had been joined by a handful of ZSL-02 anti-tank vehicles. Jacques dropped down and hit the switch to launch smoke grenades.
"Gunner, stick to OFL rounds. Helos will get those ZSLs." He ordered.
The Tigres split into pairs and made separate runs, raking the lighter vehicles with their cannons. The first two swung around behind the Leclercs to follow up with Hellfires. As planned, the Emmerians slowed to a more deliberate pace so they could be thorough. Anti-tank missiles flashed by, close enough that the young officer could hear their rocket motors. Camillie switched away from the main gun to their M2. Jacques dared to open his hatch and man his NF-1 to help. He could only expose himself long enough to fire a few bursts before he dropped back into the tank. The APCs pulled back, the ones that'd survived, and Jacques spotted a fresh company of T-84s throwing themselves into the fray instead.
"Commander has more targets, right-front quadrant…Steel 6-4, prioritize target to the right-front." He spoke up, switching effortlessly between intercom and radio.
Camillie turned the turret as an enemy round impacted just ahead of them. He put a round into the first T-84 he could line up and Taskin moved the tank forward once more. Gerard and his charges swung around to face the oncoming attack as the Tigres made another strafing run against them.
"Steel be advised, Stovie Hinds are moving towards the fight. We're breaking off to our second pair to engage them before they can get close. Garuda and Faucon should be on station for air support anytime now. Swan will guide them in." Viper 3-1 reported.
"Copy Viper, good luck. Break, Steels 6-3 and 6-4 switch to Polynege rounds. We'll take care of the remaining armor. Vipers 3-1 and 3-2, request you concentrate on enemy armor on our flank, how copy?" Gerard replied.
"Viper copies all."
Jacques let his gunner know as he closed the hatch and opened the breech access panel. He wrapped his hands around one of the guided rounds as his gunner sent one more OFL round into an enemy tank.
"Polynege loaded!" Jacques reported as he slid the round in.
The hedgerows ahead were clear as the Estovakians pulled back once more. The Hinds that Viper had spotted moved in to help keep them from getting overwhelmed. Two swept in from the northwest while a second pair emerged from behind a low hill to fire their AT-6s. Vipers 3-1 and 3-2 moved forward from their positions to engage while Camillie raised the gun.
"All Steel elements, slow down and deploy smoke!" Gerard commanded as he hit the switch for his.
Jacques did just that as one of the AT-6s struck DeBay's tank head-on. The machine came to a halt and Jacques moved his tank around to cover the man. He used his last round of smoke grenades to keep them concealed.
"Gunner has a target. Hind, forward quadrant at 2000 meters." Camillie growled.
"Engage!" Jacques barked, letting some emotion slip into his voice.
"Engaging!"
The round sailed away towards the Hind as it moved in to follow up with rockets. As its wingman moved forward to help, one of the Tigres sprayed cannon fire into its cockpit. Jacques watched their round clip the Hind's tail rotor as it pulled up from its run. It twisted back towards him, but began to whip left and right like a thrashing animal. It got lower, and lower, and lower until it belly-landed on a patch of open ground. The damaged tail snapped off and it bounced into a tree. By some miracle, its rotor stayed on.
"All Steel elements, take that treeline and establish a defensive position. Bronze, move your tanks up onto the hill." Gerard commanded.
"Steel this is Swan, Garuda and Faucon are on station and ready to assist. We're going to have them make their first run against the center of the Estovakian line, how copy?" The Gazelle reported.
"Steel copies all!" Gerard replied…
Pandemonium was one way to describe it. Joan watched as the two sides melted into one melee, chewing up everything around them as each tried to force the other back. More Estovakians organized further back, ready to pounce or receive their comrades should they be bested. The Hinds, totalling six now, had moved back after a few of their brethren had been downed. Everything further back quickly became the only option for the jets. Not that they weren't spoiled for choice, Joan thought. Her radar was cluttered with hits
"Faucon, Garuda, you're cleared to make your runs east to west, south to north, and southeast to northwest." Swan 3-1 radioed.
"Copy, break, Faucon 1 you have the honors. Talisman and Shamrock, stick with them." Jarre replied.
"Three."
"Four."
The four jets descended and spread out into loose pairs. Joan and Marcus banked to the left a few seconds after Pollini and Saker and trailed chaff and flares. Faucon's first half rolled in with a pair of Mk.82s while their two-seat counterparts looked for pop-up threats to take out with their AASMs. Enemy AA was almost nonexistent; not even MANPADs on the first run. The main thing bothering them was an SA-6 site somewhere in the distances, beyond a few belts of forest. So far two missiles had tried but had failed. She watched as random bursts of tracers followed them but fell well short of their targets. She pulled away early as Faucons 1 and 2 pulled off, then looked back at the Hinds moving about. She switched to her cannon and keyed her radio.
"Faucon, Garuda 3 is going to make a couple of gun runs against those Hinds. Try and get some heat off our friends on the ground. Garuda 4, maintain high cover on me." She announced.
Joan gave herself a few hundred meters to work with and came around in a lazy turn. This time the fire from the ground seemed a bit more intense, if only by sheer volume. Some heavy-barreled weapons in some ruins seemed to be the greatest threat. Still, Joan singled out a Hind as it scrambled for any kind of sanctuary. The helicopter finally swung towards her in a defiant attempt to fight back. She responded with a long burst from her cannon, even as a few tracers flashed by. Joan pulled to the right and circled around as Erwan spotted a second Hind in the area. While Joan lined it up, her backseater looked across the valley with their targeting pod. Maeva did the same as Marcus circled above.
"Shamrock, if possible we should attack that SA-6 battery. AASMs should do the job." She suggested.
"You got a visual on them?" Marcus replied.
"Yes."
"Copy…Garuda 3, Garuda 4 is breaking off to attack those Gainfuls."
"Faucons 3 and 4 will accompany you, Garuda 4." Laner insisted.
Maeva responded by lazing the general position of the missiles. Marcus turned towards them and dove. His backseater let the Hammers' infrared zero in on the heat sources, particularly a launcher that was being reloaded.
"Ready to drop, Shamrock." She radioed.
"Garuda 4, Rifle." He replied.
Marcus pulled away as Laner and her wingman committed from the west. They dropped their Mk.82s on the radars in the center. One of the launchers fired two missiles straight up at the Rafales, but both predictably missed. The three Rafales circled above with relative impunity for a brief time, until someone below finally got something to shoot back with. As Joan entered the fray, she saw large tracers streaking up towards the other jets.
"Owl, put the FLIR on whatever is shooting at Shamrock and Fleur." She instructed as she selected their AASMs.
It was a Tunguska, out of missiles apparently, firing at the jets. Joan nosed up and made turn after turn until she was pointed at it.
"Good to go, Talisman." Erwan declared.
"Garuda 3, Rifle." She responded.
The weapon fell away and raced forward. The lone gun fired burst after burst until it was blotted from existence. Joan pulled away and saw more shooting from smaller calibers.
"Garuda 4 what's your position?"
"Garuda 3, I've got eyes on what looks like artillery a ways out. Big guns, probably Pions. Looks like they're more Tunguskas around them." Maeva spoke up.
"Copy, can you laze so we have an idea where they are?"
"Will do."
Erwan followed Maeva's beam and saw at least two more batteries in the process. Towed artillery, it looked like. He started working out what they were going to hit as the guns opened up.
"Garuda, attack those Pions then join back on Faucon. We need you back on Steel's position." Ghost Eye radioed.
"Garudas 1 and 2 will stay close to Steel. What's going on, Ghost Eye?" Jarre radioed.
"A message just came from General LaPointe. He wants a breakthrough for the 5th Armored and he's pushing forward more aircraft to help. We've got two flights of Mirages, callsigns Citadel and Buck, inbound to hit those other Stovie guns."
"Understood, Ghost Eye. Alright Garudas 3 and 4, I want you back here pronto."
"Will do, Lead."
Eight single-seat Mirages came out of the southeast to carpet-bomb the Estovakian artillery and rear area. Joan watched them as they streaked in, one after another. The waves of heat they laid down were nothing short of apocalyptic.