Previously on Naruto: Modern Warfare
Bravo Team's helicopter got shot down, and the survivors were hunted down by the Ultranationalists. Now the SAS and ninjas have air support to make it all the way to the extraction zone. But even with the air support, can they make it in one piece? Read on to find out.
"Death From Above"
October 6, 2011 – 04:10:18
Western Russia
Thermal Imaging TV Operator
AC-130H Spectre Gunship
A lone AC-130H Spectre gunship, callsign Wildfire, was flying over Western Russia. Its mission was to provide air support for a downed SAS team while they make it to an emergency extraction zone in a junkyard about 5 kilometers away from the team's current location.
The weapons of the fearsome gunship included a GAU-12 25mm gatling gun, firing at 1,800 rounds per minute (RPM), with a capacity of 3,000 rounds of ammunition; an L60 40mm Bofors cannon, firing at 100 RPM, with a capacity of 256 rounds of ammunition; and an M102 105mm Howitzer cannon for dealing with heavy armor, like tanks, with a firing rate of 10 RPM with a well-trained crew. The crew would take full advantage of their loadout to provide fire support for the downed special forces team long enough for them to make it back home.
"Baseplate, this is Wildfire," the gunship's pilot said on the radio, "We're approaching Bravo Team's last known location, over."
"Roger that, Wildfire," Baseplate responded.
"Bravo 6, this is Wildfire standing by," said the Fire Control Officer, "Heard you could use some help down there, over."
Captain Price's voice came on the radio, "Wildfire, this is Bravo 6. We're Northeast to a road with a petrol station and a bridge. Confirm you have visual on us, over."
The TV operator pulled up his screen switching his screen between hot black and hot white on the thermal camera. He saw the SAS team with the Leaf shinobi marked with flashing infrared strobes.
"Got eyes on friendlies," the TV operator told the FCO.
"Crew do not fire on any targets marked by a flashing strobe, those are friendlies," the FCO told the crew before switching to comms to Price. "Roger, we see you. Call the shots."
"Wildfire – fire mission – danger close," Price ordered, "Enemy armor and infantry 100 meters to the Southwest of our location, over."
The TV operator turned the camera to the location to where Price specified. He could see a T-72 Main Battle Tank along with infantry coming out of some trucks blockading the bridge.
"Copy, coming down," the FCO told Price before switching to the crew, "Crew, you are cleared to engage enemy personnel blockading the bridge."
The gunners nodded and prepared to fire a 105mm round into the tank. They load a round into the cannon and fire. The recoil rocks the plane a bit. "It's shot!" yells one of the gunners manning the 105mm howitzer cannon. The tank on the screen is destroyed. The other gunners fire a 3-round burst from the 40mm cannon onto the trucks. The howitzer crew loads another shell into the cannon. "Gun ready!" the gunner says. The howitzer crew fires another shell into the gas station.
"Hot damn!" exclaims the TV operator as he saw the footage of the gas station exploding taking out multiple enemy foot mobiles, "And the price of gas keeps on rising."
Another 3-round burst from the 40mm cannon ensures that any remaining hostiles were mopped up. The crew ceases fire as the FCO gets on the radio with Captain Price.
"Bravo 6 we'll cover you all the way to the extraction zone. You'd better get moving."
"Roger that Wildfire," Price responds, "We're moving out now, out."
The TV operator sees the friendlies moving on foot past the flaming wreckage, over the bridge and onto a road heading to another town down the road.
"Wildfire, we're moving up the road towards the town to the east," Price updated.
"Roger that Bravo 6," the pilot confirms, "We see you; we're banking towards the town now."
"Uh, TV, confirm you see the church in the town," the AC-130's navigation officer requested to the TV operator. The operator moves the camera to scan the town. He sees a large church near the edge of the town.
"Roger that, we see it," the TV operator confirmed.
"Copy," the FCO confirmed as well, "start talking."
"You are not authorized to level the church," navigation ordered, "Do not fire directly on the church."
"We've got a vehicle moving now," the TV operator informs the crew. There's a pick-up truck coming into town.
"One of the vehicles is moving right now," the FCO confirmed.
"Personnel coming out of the church." The TV operator sees armed personnel coming out of the church, possibly preparing to gun down the ground team.
"We have armed personnel coming out of the church, request permission to engage," the FCO requested to the pilot.
"Copy," the pilot responded, "You are cleared to engage the moving vehicle, and any personnel around you see."
"Affirmative. Crew you are cleared to engage but do not fire on the church," the FCO informed the crew. With that, the crew began to unload their ordnance on the unfortunate Ultranationalists. The gunner manning the 25mm cannon fired a short burst at some soldiers taking cover behind a fence.
"Good kill, good kill," the FCO complimented. The gunners at the 40mm cannon fire a few rounds at the pick-up truck, taking in out along with some other enemy soldiers. "Shit, must've been a full tank of gas," the FCO said noticing the explosion the truck made when it was hit.
"Got a BTR-80 coming down the road," the TV operator notices. The howitzer gunners nodded and fired a 105mm shell into the BTR. "Shot!" The BTR explodes. "Confirmed, vehicle neutralized." They reload the cannon, "Gun ready!"
"Enemies crossing the field."
"Yeah, cleared to engage," the pilot responded. A few 40mm shells dealt with the enemies crossing the hay field across from the church.
"Yeah, good kill. I see lots of little pieces down there," the FCO confirmed. "Nail those guys by the building."
"They're taking cover by the wall," the TV operator added.
The gunner at the 25mm cannon fired a stream of rounds down at the soldiers in cover. It shreds them to pieces.
"Hmhmhm, niiiiice," the FCO chuckled.
"Wildfire, this is Bravo 6, be advised, we're passing a large church and continuing towards the main highway! Keep up the fire! Bravo 6 out!" Price said on the radio.
"Roger that," the pilot responded before addressing the crew, "Engage anything without a flashing strobe. Those are all hostiles." The TV operator can see the SAS team and Leaf Shinobi making their way across town, engaging any stragglers. They are about to make it to the fields next to the town near the highway, when the TV operator notices armored vehicles moving across the field.
"We've got two T-72 tanks and 5 BMP-2 IFVs crossing the field along with infantry and trucks," the TV operator informs the crew.
"Light 'em up," the FCO ordered. The howitzer crew fired a shell at one of the tanks, while the gunners at the 40mm cannon fired some rounds at the BMPs. The 25mm cannon gunner fired a stream of bullets at the infantry and trucks. The howitzer crew fired another shell at the other tank, taking it out.
"Oopsie-daisy," the FCO said humorously. The lucky survivor on the ground was trying to make a run for it. This didn't go unnoticed by the FCO, "Uh, we got a runner here." But said runner didn't last long as he was gunned down by the ground team.
"Recalibrate azimuth sweep angle," the pilot said adjusting the flight controls, "Adjust elevation scan."
"Copy," the co-pilot next to him said.
The TV operator notices two cars coming down the highway. "We've got a vehicle moving now."
However the FCO notices the ground team moving onto the highway, "Negative, negative. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage any vehicles on the main highway."
The crew stood by while the TV operator saw the ground team pointing their weapons at the drivers.
"Wildfire, we're going to commandeer civilian transports on the main highway. Cover us!" Price informed the crew of the gunship.
"Out of the bloody cars now!" Gaz was heard on the radio, apparently forgetting that it was on.
"Crew do not engage any vehicles on the highway, those are civilians. Ground units are acquiring alternate transport at this time. Do not engage any vehicles on the highway unless cleared to do so," the FCO ordered.
The ground team forced the drivers out of the cars. The TV operator caught the whole thing on the thermal camera.
"I bet those guys are pissed. Those are nice trucks."
"Nah, hehe, they're scared shitless," the FCO said laughing at the former owners' misfortune at losing their cars.
"Gaz, Fox, you take Haruno, Uchiha, and Nikolai in the second car. We'll take the first one," Price told Gaz and Naruto on the ground.
"Gaz you drive, I'll cover us with the MG in the back," Naruto told Gaz.
"I'm on it," Gaz replied.
"Wildfire, we're marking the vehicles!" Price informed the gunship, "Confirm you see the beacons!"
"Roger, we see the beacons," the FCO told Price. He then turned to the gunners, "Crew do not fire on the vehicles marked with the flashing beacons. I repeat, do NOT fire on the vehicles marked with the vehicles marked with the flashing beacons, those are friendlies."
"Heads up," the navigator updated, "Hostile forces are setting up ambush points along the curved road."
"Uh, Navigation, which one's the curved road over?" the FCO asked.
"Fire control, do you see the water tower, over?"
"TV, confirm you see the water tower."
"Are you talking about the uh, water tower near the intersection?" the TV operator asked as he turned the camera to the only visible water tower that somehow managed to avoid the carnage.
"Roger, that's the one," the navigator confirmed, "And next to that water tower is a curved road, do you see that?"
"Roger that," the FCO confirmed.
"Track that road to the next village. You should be able to see another water tower in the village further down that road."
"Uh, we're having trouble acquiring the village. How far up the road is it?"
"Approximately… uh, hang on…" the navigator paused to check the distance to the next village, "It's about 2 klicks along the curved road, going away from the highway."
"Roger that," the TV operator confirmed.
"We're banking towards the village," the pilot informed the crew, "Standby to engage ground targets."
The gunships flies towards the village to prepare to cover the ground team. Said ground team was now driving down the curved road to the extraction point. The gunship made it to the village.
"Rolling in, set scan range," the pilot said.
The TV operator motioned the camera to scan for hostiles in the village. He noticed a truck pulling up on a dirt road in the forest. It stopped and 4 hostiles with RPGs coming out of the truck preparing to ambush the convoy.
"We got hostiles setting up along the curved road," the TV operator said.
"Hostiles preparing to ambush along the curved road. They're partially concealed by the trees," the FCO confirmed to the gunners who are preparing another volley of death to rain from above. The TV operator noticed some smoke trails coming from the forest.
"Whoa, someone's just fired an RPG!" the TV operator exclaimed.
"Roger that. Crew, go ahead and take out everything in that village," the FCO ordered.
The howitzer crew fire a shell at the parked truck in the woods next to the RPG wielding Ultranationalists, destroying the truck, and taking the poor sons of bitches with them.
"Targets in the village are confirmed as hostile. Clear to engage; smoke 'em," the pilot ordered.
"Enemy T-72 tank coming out of the barn," the TV operator said as he saw a tank coming out of the barn on the screen.
The howitzer crew fired another shell at the tank destroying it before it got a chance to take out the SAS convoy.
"Wildfire, we're under attack," Price said on the radio, "We could use some help here."
The SAS convoy was going through the village coming under fire from all sides.
"Roger that," the FCO responded turning to the crew, "Crew, go ahead and take out everything in that village. Clear a path for our guys."
The gunners continued to fire down on the ground taking out any personnel firing on the SAS vehicles. The TV operator noticed some enemy pick-up trucks with armed personnel giving chase to the convoy.
"We've got pursers on our 6!" Naruto exclaimed on the radio as he tried fighting them off with the PKM he stole earlier.
"Crew, take out those chasers," the FCO ordered the crew.
The gunners at the 40mm cannon fired a volley at the pursuing trucks taking them out, giving the ground team some breathing room. However, the ground crew faced another problem.
"Enemy Hinds, incoming!" Soap exclaimed. A pair of Mi-24 Hind helicopters came flying in firing its machine guns and rockets to try and take out the SAS vehicles.
"Roger, we see 'em," the FCO replied. The gunner at the 25mm cannon fired a stream of rounds at the pursuing Hinds shooting them out of the sky.
"Nice shot, Wildfire," Price said.
The gunship continued to fight off any pursuer that followed the convoy. They eventually stopped at a junkyard. That's where the emergency extraction zone was. Now it was only a matter of time until the rescue choppers arrive.
"Wildfire, we're approaching the LZ at the junkyard and leaving the vehicles," Price informed the gunship.
"Roger that Bravo 6," the pilot said, "Crew, friendlies are leaving the vehicles and are moving on foot to the LZ. Do not fire on any personnel marked by a flashing strobe."
"Affirmative," the FCO acknowledged, "Keep watching for those strobe lights. Those are friendlies."
"Enemy personnel in the junkyard," the TV operator said. He could see multiple hostiles coming out of the buildings surrounding the junkyard.
"Crew, go ahead and smoke 'em," the FCO ordered, "Man these guys are going to town!"
The howitzer crew fired a shell at one of the buildings, bring parts of it down, and taking out a number of Ultranationalists. 4 BMP-2s came into the junkyard from a hill nearby and opened fire on the ground team. A few rounds from the 40mm cannon took them out relatively quickly. There was some infantry taking cover by some cars near the crane. A few 40mm cannon rounds took them out with ease, causing the cars to explode, and even managed to bring down the crane that was in the junkyard. More personnel just kept coming from everywhere, as well as a few BTR-80s coming that could potentially shoot down the extraction choppers. The ground team moved up near landing zone, but were surrounded by armor and infantry.
"Wildfire, we've reached the LZ, but we're taking fire from all sides! Request fire support on all sides of the LZ! Danger close!" Price informed the crew of the gunship.
"Enemy personnel closing in on the LZ from multiple sides," the navigator informed the crew, "Danger close. Recommend you stick to the 25mm cannon in the vicinity of the LZ."
"We've got multiple BTRs coming in from the road into the junkyard," the TV operator saw on his screen, "They'll tear up the choppers with those cannons."
"Roger that," the FCO confirmed, "Crew, take 'em out."
The howitzer crew fires a shell at the BTRs disabling them before the 40mm cannon gunners finished them off. Hostiles around the LZ were subject to the 25mm cannon's rain of bullets coming down on them.
"Crew, be advised," the FCO alerted the crew, "friendly helicopters entering the area. Watch your fire."
"Copy," the TV operator responded. On the screen he could see 2 MH-47 Chinook helicopters touching down on the LZ with soldiers marked with strobe lights coming out to provide cover for the SAS and Leaf shinobi. Two trucks cave over the field unloading Ultranationalists wielding RPGs, but the 25mm cannon made short work of them. More enemy trucks were pulling in from the junkyard entrance. The ground team used this opportunity to make it to the chopper.
"Alright, let's move to the choppers!" Price said on the radio, "Fox, Hoyt, take Sai, Uchiha, and Hatake and board the left chopper! We'll take board the right one! Wildfire, we're moving towards the helicopters now. Thanks for the assist. Bravo 6 out."
"Hehe, this is gonna be one helluva highlight reel," the FCO chuckled.
"I heard that!" the TV operator agreed fist-bumping the FCO.
The SAS and Leaf shinobi boarded the helicopters while the soldiers and gunship continued to cover them. Once the covering soldiers got back inside, the helicopters started to lift off out the LZ.
"Crew, VIPs are secure and in custody. Good job everyone," the navigator congratulated.
"Roger that," the pilot replied, "Returning to base."
With that, the crew breathed a sigh of relief. They accomplished their mission and were now getting the hell out of Western Russia, not keen on staying any longer in the civil war-torn country. Flying in the same direction as the helicopters, the AC-130H Spectre gunship, callsign Wildfire, began its return trip back to friendly lines.
And there we have it. Bravo Team and Team 7 successfully make it to the extraction zone safely, and they're now heading to the safehouse in Hamburg.
I hope you liked the little added bits like the BTRs and the Hind helicopters chasing them down. The AC-130 mission in Modern Warfare 3 "Iron Lady" had parts of the mission where there you had to take out tanks, BTRs and helicopters, as well as a chase sequence. So, I decided to spice it up a little in this story.
Anyways, that'll be it for today.
Next time:
"Marines! Spotters have a possible fix on Al-Asad in a building at the West end of this town. We're gonna secure the perimeter and grab Al-Asad. Oorah? Lock and load!"