WBY
Wild Blue Yonder Ch.10
NOTE: I am aware that the entire series is not finished yet. With the possible number of changes in the canon in the future, this story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) that continues where Ace Combat Infinity left off while using a Reaper and Camilla pairing side story. It will also be adopting some actual new elements from the canon.
Ace Combat Series along with their characters DOESN'T belong to me. The series respectively belongs to Bandai Namco and Project Aces. The plot in this Fan Fiction and very few characters you'll know who are OCs (Original Characters) are original from me. If any ideas or characters sound similar to another story written by somebody else, it is purely coincidental, or I am using existing AC Characters and putting them into the real-world Earth setting like how Infinity does it.
If there is anybody outside of this site posting this Fan Fiction without giving proper credit or impersonating me, please let me know.
Also, air combat is not realistic in this story, like Ace Combat in general. I am simply using the game's logic and physics. Don't expect it to be 100% accurate to real life.
Chapter 10: Operation Blindside.
Commencing the Raid of Busan!
-(East of Yeongdo-gu, Busan, USEA Occupied South Korea)-
(Reaper's POV)
Coordinates: 35.078228, 129.113559
And there we were, four clandestine mercenary squadrons flying in formation in the fog at low altitude. This wasn't the first time for me and my squadron to fly this dangerously. But it never gets easier for us to handle.
A lot of meteor dust from the nearby crater northeast of Busan was in the fog, which was causing interference for the enemy radar to detect us. Almost similar to how the MQ-90 Quox drones during Operation Gambit were hidden in our radar in Tokyo when Omega remarked the amount of meteor dust in the air. It was used to our advantage, but we were still flying in blind due to the thick fog. Usually, a UN jammer would've accompanied us to keep us hidden instead of relying on the fog. But due to the number of fronts, logistics have been bumpy. Plus, it's expensive. Not to mention we were flying at low altitude, where the bottom of our aircraft could scrape against the ocean. We have actually been flying like this for a good quarter of an hour, which was already nerve-wracking enough while we were preparing for the operation to commence.
On the bright side, radio silence wasn't declared during this flight, leaving all of us to have a conversation to ease things. The other mercs in the three squadrons weren't as talkative, so me and Bone Arrow flight kept to ourselves in our own frequency.
"There is no way there should be this much fog…" Zebu groaned in annoyance.
"I'm no meteorologist, but I'm guessing the Ulysses event had something to do with altering the climate." Bronco said.
"Not much we can do. Just keep your flight sticks in check. One slight tilt can either get you exposed, or crash into the water." I stated while checking my plane's pitch ladder if it was leveled properly.
Omega sighed nervously and was looking around when I glanced at him in the canopy. "Hopefully we don't bump into anything. Fog always creeps me out because of that one movie…"
"That film? Pretty okay movie. But not the best." Bronco commented on a quick review on it.
"Helluva mean ending though." Zebu chuckled.
"Gentlemen, I don't think now is a good time to be talking about movies. You're approaching the AO." Goodfellow warned. "Goodfellow to all Mercenary flight. Altitude restrictions have been lifted. Pull up and verify targets."
And we did just that. I was the first one to increase altitude as I exited the fog with my squadron and the other mercs behind us. We were welcomed with the eastern sunrise still being young with a scattered group of clouds and fog below Busan in the distance. A few seconds have passed before our IFF data has been updated to our HUD. There was a mass of enemies in certain areas. Especially near the naval port and Gimhae International Airport.
Omega whistled. "Yo, Reaper. How much do you think all those targets are worth?"
"I'll leave that up to you, since you're better at math than I am."
"All aircraft. This is SkyEye. You are cleared to engage any visible targets you see in both the Port and Gimhae International. Commence operation!" SkyEye sounded off the greenlight and our main points of interest.
"Reaper to all flights. Be advised. Heavy fog is still layering across some areas of Busan. Watch your altitude and keep an eye out for hidden hostile elements." I relayed to everyone else in the formation.
"Goodfellow to Bone Arrows. If any clusters of enemies are detected on your IFF within the fog, observe and verify the location so we can send our naval boys target coordinates. Final note, avoid hitting civilian targets near the hotspots!"
Omega groaned and asked, "Wouldn't that mean the naval ships would be taking our earnings?"
"Don't worry. Your bonuses won't be voided if our ships take down the targets you spotted and marked. Just give them a hand, and you'll get some additional dough, as promised." Goodfellow assured all mercenary pilots along with Omega.
"Well, that's a relief. Wagyu steak dinner, here I come!" Omega cheered while following my lead.
"Bronco, Zebu, handle any anti-air targets you see outside the fog. If you're feeling lucky, go ahead and dive into the fog and catch our bonuses." I ordered while engaging a patrol vessel in sight at the harbor.
"Wilco. I'll handle buying the drinks if I spot any." Bronco said while breaking out of formation with Zebu.
"Hey, I'm not going to be the one dragging your ass out of the bar this time." Zebu joked.
"EMERGENCY! Air raid incoming! This is not a drill!" An USEAn port officer called out.
"How the hell did they slip pass our radars…? All hands, battle stations! Shoot those bastards out of the sky!" A ship Captain in the center of Busan's harbor ordered.
"Alright, Bone Arrows. Time to earn your paychecks." Goodfellow said.
Hearing that while approaching close enough for radar-guided missiles to have a lock-on, I got tone and released a volley. "Reaper. Fox 3 sent!" I relayed as I watched the flight of KF-16Cs that were still unprepared each get shot down. Six missiles, six bandits down. I just won the small lottery!
"Shit! Reaper emblem confirmed on an F-22A! It's him!"
"What?! Why the hell is he here?! I thought The Reaper was still in the Middle East!"
"Doesn't matter. All ground elements. Shoot down the Reaper! Our flyboys aren't airborne just yet!" The Port Officer ordered all ground elements.
"Omega. Take your pick." I called out to my wingman as there were only a few air squadrons on patrol. "Fighters or helicopters?"
"Let's take the fighters first before more arrive. Wouldn't want them to overwhelm us." Omega said.
"Roger." I said before pushing the afterburners. "Another flight of KF-16Cs. Bearing 315. Angels 5."
"Radar lock. Fox 3!" Omega launched a radar guided missile, which was able to shoot down one of them before it could break away to evade.
"They're coming at us. Break right!" I ordered while I banked left to turn sharply as Omega did the opposite. Looking at the rear-view mirror, I saw two of the bandits turn towards Omega while only one pursued me. "Omega. On your six. Two bandits."
Omega groaned. "You gotta be kidding me?"
"Hang in there. Let me just get this guy off of me." I said while keeping the afterburners hot.
Evading each missile with tight turns and some flares on occasions, I harshly turned down the afterburners and decelerated to the point where the enemy craft was about to overshoot me. However, I was in a rush. Pulling off of 180 Kulbit maneuver, I fired my guns as soon as my nose faced my trailer. He zoomed past me as I broke a turn to see if I damaged him. With the smoke coming out of his engine, it was a good hit before I saw the pilot eject.
"Aircraft neutralized." I relayed yet another being shot down.
"Hell yeah! That was quick! Now, a little help here?!" Omega called out.
Seeing Omega and the two bandits pursuing him on my left, I swiftly banked left and turned to face them. "I'm on them. Break right."
"Roger." He acknowledged and turned right to leave an opening for guns on one of his chasers.
"Guns. Guns." I fired in short bursts at one, which was already effective due to the rudder and horizontal stabilizer was shaking like crazy with some smoke on the engine before it busted out some fire. Then, it descended down towards the ocean. "Shot another down."
"I got this one." Bronco called as he zoomed past me to launch a missile into Omega's last tail, which was a successful shot. "Bandit down."
I whistled and nodded my head. "Good kill."
"Thanks, Bro." Omega thanked.
"No problem. Captain, we have a hotspot of enemies just southeast of us. Fog rolled in before I could wreak some havoc on 'em." He notified.
"Roger. Form up with Omega and maintain air superiority. Zebu, continue searching for any clusters you come across." I ordered.
"Affirm." Zebu replied.
"SkyEye to Bone Arrow 1. We need the exact location of the cluster of enemies. Decrease altitude while having your radar catch them. Then mark your coordinates and we'll send in what we have." Our AWACS instructed.
I banked right and turned sharply towards the wall of fog southeast of my position. This was going to be a bit risky due to the lack of visibility, but I ensured to have some altitude to avoid hitting anything like those cranes in the harbor. Then, my radar started lighting up with nearby targets. There was a good chunk at first. But the more I proceeded closer to the group, the more lights flashed on my radar.
I smirked and contacted SkyEye about my findings. "Jackpot!"
"Excellent find! Goodfellow, enemy contacts within Bone Arrow 1's position. There's a ton of 'em!" SkyEye said.
"Got it. Reaper, can you identify anything at the target area?" Goodfellow asked.
Looking out the canopy, I was able to see some amphibious vehicles, heavy armor, patriot missile launchers, and fuel tanks. "Roger. Clusters of enemy armor and munitions detected within the fog." I told Goodfellow over the radio before turning back to the supposed spot I saw them in and pulled up straight. "Coordinates is directly on my location. Verify?"
Goodfellow stayed silent for a few moments before I pulled away from the climb. "Location confirmed. Eastern side of the port; northeast of the Sinseondae Terrace. Sending coordinates to JS Chokai."
"Chokai confirms. Prepping cruise missile." JS Chokai notified about an upcoming fire mission. "Target marked. Launch!"
"Alright, Reaper. Pull out of there and continue engagement."
"Roger." I rolled and leveled my craft to spot any nearby enemies. That was when I caught sight of a squadron of SU-57 Felons, giving a separate flight of mercenaries a hard time. Knowing higher spec aircraft can affect air superiority to turn in their favor, I kept my afterburners boosted while heading towards them to assist. The cruise missile launched by the JS Chokai was seen with its smoke trail as it was headed directly to where I had Goodfellow marked. Although I was unable to visually see the missile impacting the ground, the quick flash and the concussive wave of the explosion was enough to show that it hit solid ground instead of the water. After, smoke rose up from the spot.
"AWACS SkyEye to Chokai. Direct hit. Nice shot!"
"All thanks to the Reaper for that good of a find." The Captain of the JS Chokai replied. "Bone Arrows. Find more clusters of enemies, just say the word."
"Roger. We'll keep searching while taking down as many enemy fighters as possible to make the searching easier." I told the Captain while looking for my next target around my sector.
Goodfellow chuckled. "Hopefully a miracle happens, and the fog gets blown away. Then it would be open season."
"Yeah, but that'll make US easier targets for them to hit!" Omega pointed out.
"No. I think that's just you in general even outside of the weather conditions."
"Sod off."
"Claymore 1 to any friendly aircraft. Requesting assistance. I have two pilots down because of these Felons!"
"This is Bone Arrow 1. I have visual. Engaging the enemy flight."
"22s against the 57s? Wonder which country made the best stealth fighters."
"In times like this, what matters is the pilot. Not the plane." I chuckled while switching to radar guided missiles, which all began to lock on multiple targets. "Fox 3." I said upon firing, seeing my volley head towards the Felons. The flight of three reacted in different ways as two of them broke out of formation, with the other having no time to react to evading due to focusing on one of the mercs he was chasing. The third one was shot down, but the other two were able to shake the missiles easily due to stealth capabilities that interfered with radar guidance.
"Thanks for the assistance, Reaper. Two bandits heading towards your tail. Pursuing." Claymore 1 intervened, which was able to shake one of the SU-57s off my tail, leaving me with one.
"Reaper identified. Engaging." The enemy pilot said.
While holding him on my tail, I began to notice the fog started to clear up a little to reveal the enemy fleet stationed here. Now was a good time to strike naval vessels in order to significantly reduce the harbor's defenses and lighten up anti-air against us. Armed with some anti-ship armaments, I took one shot at close range and was lucky enough to strike one of the Destroyers, enough to disable half of its defenses. The enemy fighter behind me broke away due to the smoke and debris. With that out of the way, I launched two missiles into the bridge of a Frigate where it was able to neutralize all armaments from the damage conflicting it.
"Boss is just cleaning them up right now." Bronco whistled as he saw the whole thing while in pursuit of that one bandit from my tail.
I pulled up at a high enough altitude to execute a hammerhead maneuver to begin another strafe at the naval battle group. Switching to anti-ship missiles and having successful locks and launches, I continued to fire whatever ground/naval armaments were not on cooldown like my joint-strike missiles and my guns. An Aegis, two Destroyers, and two Corvettes have taken massive damage from the strafe with the first three already immobilized when I turned to verify battle assessment damage.
"Over half of our ships in Group 3 are destroyed or crippled! What the hell are you flyboys doing?! We're getting slaughtered here!" The Busan Port Officer shouted over the radio.
"Another set of mercenary flights are hitting our planes during takeoff! Focus on them until we're able to launch enough fighters!"
"Our Carrier stationed here can't launch any fighters due to poor visibility! We need your support here!"
"Reaper. Be advised: A heavy cluster of enemies have been picked up directly west of Busan Harbor Bridge. Could be a carrier strike group temporarily stationed there." Goodfellow relayed. "If verified, you are cleared to engage. The less CAGs they have, the easier it is for the UN to touch down in the Asian theater."
"Copy. Heading over there now." I responded before looking at my map to try and pin the bridge, then looked outside the canopy to search for it. Thankfully, even with the fog, the tower arches were visible. The only downside was the fog was thick enough to keep any ships down their hidden.
Thinking I was going to search alone, one of the planes from Claymore's flight formed up next to me as he began to scan the area for the same cluster Goodfellow notified me. "Reaper, I got this." He said cockily. "Wouldn't want you to hog all the kills and bonuses."
Typical merc. Still, I allowed him to accompany me on searching for the supposed carrier strike group. "Alright. But pull out once your plane gets in rough shape."
"I'll be fine. How about you j-"
*MISSILE ALERT!*
"Active radar! Break!" I exclaimed as I pulled up the moment I heard the alert system, and the few trails of smoke rising from the fog above it that was heading towards me and the fellow mercenary pilot.
"Shit!" The Claymore flight member cursed as he pulled up a few seconds later when I did. Unfortunately, he received a hit as his aircraft took it from the front. Not only obstructing and damaging the front intake, but also shattering the canopy. No doubt it was fatal.
I bit my lip and sighed upon witnessing something so harsh. "Airman down. I don't think he was able to eject from that."
"Don't worry about it. Just focus on yourself and keep an eye out for that carrier. We can mourn our losses after the mission." Goodfellow said coldly, which was understandable in businesses like this.
Shaking off the grim loss, I focused on following the smoke trails caused by the missile that took down one of the Claymore pilots. An open patch was revealed as there was an enemy Destroyer with the back of an aircraft carrier peeking from the side. I flipped and pitched down towards the ship to focus my fire on the anti-air defenses and the bridge. I was able to cripple and destroy the vessel, but I received some hits from the aircraft carrier's Phalanx where I had no choice but to break away.
"Goddamn it! Found it!" I relayed to Goodfellow while pulling up.
"You okay, boss? I see some smoke on your engine from here." Omega pointed out.
"Minor damage, it seems." I responded while I was still in full control of my plane. "I'll be fine though. Gotta take that carrier group down."
"Moving to your position to divert enemy fire away from you. Might make things easier for you." Omega said as the sight of his Typhoon fighter banking towards my position approached closer.
"You sure you're going to be okay? Getting shot down and bailing here is pretty risky."
"Have some faith in me, Reaper." He chuckled as he was confident enough to continue his path towards me.
*MISSILE ALERT!*
"Omega. Break left." I ordered as I banked and turned right as he did the opposite direction.
After successfully evading the missile, Omega kept turning and headed towards the origins of the smoke trail. "Found it. I'll keep their fire on me, then you strike while the iron is hot."
"Ready when you are." I acknowledged.
"Here goes nothing!"
With that, Omega did a half Split-S and dived down closer to get the attention of the anti-air defenses from the fleet. It worked as a hailstorm of bullets along with a few missiles were seen being used. Miraculously, he made it out clean after pulling up sharply while I followed his path to send a devastating load of munitions against the vessels. One of the destroyers was even split in half as my anti-ship missile was able to hit and penetrate the center of the vessel. For the rest, they were crippled after a second pass with Omega executing the same tactic without a scratch. As for the aircraft carrier, I disabled the two Phalanx CIWS with my standard missiles.
"NIIICE! Carrier is crippled and ripe for the picking!" Omega cheered.
"Want to do the honor, Omega? You still haven't used your unguided bombs." I recommended to give him some glory and dough to this operation.
"If his accuracy isn't shit." Goodfellow teased.
Ignoring his comment, Omega gained altitude and pulled his aircraft down towards the carrier, partially visible in the fog, and dropped a bomb or two on the deck, clearly impacting it as the brief flash, smoke, then fire began to emerge. Whatever aircraft was on the deck and the hangar bay, it was all more than likely destroyed.
"Bullseye! You owe me a bonus for that, Goodfellow." Omega snickered.
"Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more scrapping before you get shot down again, Omega."
"Hey, when Reaper is up here with us, I don't think you have to worry about that."
"Wouldn't want Goodfellow to deal with the extra paperwork and expenses for a replacement craft." I added while holding in my laughter.
"Excellent work, Bone Arrows!" SkyEye commented. "Neutralizing even one carrier strike group will significantly have our forces gain an advantage."
"Well, let's say we add more to that by making sure the harbor is polluted with scrap metal." Goodfellow suggested we continue our attack against naval targets.
I looked around above the fog and was rather impressed that the other mercenaries in the air were starting to gain air superiority, after taking down a good chunk of fighters. Especially those of high specifications, just showing off that the pilot can make a better outcome than relying on technology at times. Anyway, that was when something felt off inside of my chest. Everything was going as planned, even with some of the casualties we have taken. At this point, the direction of this battle would be going wrong as one would assume and try not to jinx it to his team.
Unfortunately, that was what happened.
On my radar, coming from the northwest, a flight of five bogeys were fast approaching the harbor. The first thing I realized that was alarming was the lack of any mercenary pilots in the nearest area of that grid intercepting them. Except for one squadron – Claymore. They were the nearest ones further from the harbor, taking out some leftover fighters. Until the unknown enemy flight got closer. Next thing you know, all Claymore Squadron blips were wiped off the radar…
"This is SkyEye. Claymore Flight. You're lost from radar. Please respond."
No response was carried by the lead plane as the bogeys just approached even closer towards the harbor.
"What? Claymore had six pilots left in the air. Were they all shot down at the same time…?" Omega asked, uneasy at the situation.
There were only a handful of enemy planes left above the fog, but we all suddenly noticed they began to divert away from the area of operations. As if they were all ordered to retreat.
"All planes. This is Mangdae. Pull out of the airspace. Let the reinforcements handle these mercs."
"This is Adder Actual. Acknowledged. Withdrawing from combat." The USEAN Commander in charge of the leftover planes replied.
In my loss of confusion, I was then interrupted by an incoming signal coming from an unknown source as if it breached into the systems. The radio just glitched out for a few seconds, cutting the frequency I was on with my squadron and SkyEye, followed by the familiar voice of a certain someone. I was unsure for a brief moment as I tried to tune up the volume while hearing the garbled repeated message. After hearing maybe around two attempts, I knew who it was.
Camilla.
"Rea-….do….cop…?" Her voice in the radio stuttered as the link seemed to be poor.
"Camilla?" I called out as a way to check if she could hear me too.
"Y….Kvas….auxi….to….the sig…."
"Camilla? I can hear you. But the radio isn't receiving you pretty well." I notified her as best as I could.
"Auxiliary power on. Signal quality increased." Kvasir's voice said in the background, which was clear enough to know Camilla was properly heard.
"Thanks, Kvasir! Reaper! You got company!" Camilla called out into the frequency as best as she could, still buzzy from the interference.
"I see it too. Five bogeys on my radar, approaching the harbor. Why? What's up?" I asked.
Camilla gasped in some air, where I could hear her sense of panic in her voice when she said, "Reaper! Get out of there! Now!"
"Why? Who are these guys?"
"Just hurry! Please!"
"Looks like we're too late, Colonel."
"No. Defending the port wasn't our objective."
"It wasn't? Then why the hell are we all the way out here?
"4. Check your IFF."
The pilot as number four looked down at her radar and was rather surprised at whose callsign she was seeing. "The Reaper…?"
"Tch. Damn mercenaries. Guess the UN is finally running out of good pilots." One of the other pilots chuckled.
"Don't underestimate mercenaries, 7. They even have their reasons to fly, besides for financial gain. They might be "good" in any sort of way."
"Mangdae to Ember Flight. You're now inside the AO. Cleared to engage enemy forces in your discretion." The USEA Command of South Korea relayed.
"Acknowledged. Ember Leader to flight. No restrictions. Play by these mercenary's lack of rules."
Long wait, indeed. Hopefully it won't happen again.
Decided to cut the battle in half in order to update this story more sooner, and to give the rival squadron an intro they deserve.
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