Chp. 1-6: At The Rubicon's Shore
May 8th, 2019 (Local Time: 0545)
250 Miles South of Selatapurta
"Ram 2 this is Golem 1, coming down to join you from your four high."
Sean looked back and almost immediately spotted the fourship of F-15s. Given the callsign, he was fairly certain that his sister was among them. They slid into a patch of sky off to the right and settled into pairs.
"Got a visual on you, Golem." Lieutenant Commander Ian McGiles replied.
The two pairs of F-18s gently zigged and zagged back and forth as the other four jets from VFA-26 screamed ahead at a faster pace. Marcy imagined her little brother was down there, but right now her mind was all business. She constantly checked her displays and the sky around her. About a dozen or so miles behind them, eight Falcons from the 508th Fighter Squadron were practically surfing along the wavetops. Their lead, an always-smirking Major known as Clown, had a bit of a surprise in store for the defending team. The F-15s put themselves above the Navy formation and kept pace. As the Hornets came back to the right, the Eagles went left and switched back in tune with the F-18s. Sean couldn't help but look up every now and again to watch the friendly jets pass by. The second half of Golem's formation, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Rebecca Junger, hooked around far to the west at full military power.
"All aircraft, all aircraft this is Bogeyman: Viking reports that Liberty and Justice have both detected their payloads and are reacting accordingly. Full Band reports that northern groups are committing to the attack at this time." The formation's Sentry radioed.
"Copy, break, Condor what's your picture look like?" Crockett replied from the head of the pack.
"Picture's the same, Ram." One of two Hawkeyes added.
"Copy, Ram 1 is committing."
"Golem 2 is committing." Major Joseph Conner added.
Marcy flipped her master arm switch and glanced at the picture the Sentry was beaming to her. Fourships of MQ-101s ranged further and further from their motherships. Justice was their responsibility, and it was currently orbiting some 130 miles to the north. She was feeling confident; Knocker had let her in on the fact that Clown had cooked up a little plan to give them a chance. Her usual wingman was with her today, too: one Captain Joshua Gunderson, oh-so-flatteringly known as Mudflap. They'd gotten a pretty good sense of synchronicity going and she was keen to use it. Her brother was only vaguely aware and expected the same issues as the dry runs. He selected his AMRAAMs and looked at Pirate. The man signalled for him to loosen up the formation; Ram 1 had entered missile range and this plan the Air Force had was now underway. He ditched his external tanks and followed Pirate. The two pairs of Hornets split to meet more MQ-101s coming in behind the first wave.
The RWR chirped a few times as the drones' radars picked up his scent. He set the chaff to dispense every few seconds; this felt like last time but he wasn't going to give up and die. He waited a few more seconds until he heard more aircraft were committing, especially the Growlers further south. They announced their entrance by blasting the drones' radars with wave after wave of electronic noise. It gave Sean and the others vital breathing room. From her F-15, Marcy turned on the Eagle's APG-63(V3) and set the proper range. The many, many little transmitter/receiver nodes gave her a solid picture within seconds, and she selected the nearest group of bandits. AWACS was calling them out, one after the other.
"Golem 2-1 to flight, commit to the two groups at 005 and 350. Everyone lock one bandit in each group. Go by mirror." Mongo ordered.
Marcy selected the number three drones in both groups. She checked the sky around her again and briefly met Josh's gaze. He nodded in acknowledgement and Marcy looked back down at her radar display. The RWR told her that the drones were doing everything they could to burn through the jamming. It wasn't fast enough.
"Golem 2, engage on my command…now!" Joseph called.
"Golem 2-3, Fox 3 Fox 3." Marcy replied.
Like that, eight drones were out of the game. Marcy selected more further out and looked towards Mongo.
"Golems 2-3 and 2-4, you're cleared to push." He ordered.
"Three." Marcy replied.
"Four." Josh chimed in.
Joseph and his wingman, First Lieutenant Julia Chen, broke to the right and went into afterburner. Marcy and Josh nosed up before hitting the throttles. She spotted the ISEV in the distance, cutting a line through the clouds into the skies above. The modern Tower of Babel, she thought wryly. Sean was in awe; pictures and videos had never done it justice. From his position, Sean watched as drone after drone was knocked out of the fight. His radar automatically selected fresh targets for the next salvo. He swerved back and forth as they again tried to lock onto him. Pirate passed by in front of him and they trailed chaff to add to the confusion. More were coming and he was running through his AMRAAMs two at a time.
"Ram 2-4, Fox 3 Fox 3." He announced.
That made four shots, and four left. The MQ-101s were getting closer now, and their maneuvering was getting harder to deal with. He grimaced at what felt like bait; like the eggheads controlling the drones and their motherships were playing games.
"Alright Swamp, stay close but keep it loose. Remember that we're the center of this wave and we got friends all around." Pirate called.
"Three!" Sean replied.
Pirate's enthusiasm was contagious and Sean decided he'd be a good wingman if he adopted the same attitude. Two groups of MQ-101s moved to bracket the F-18s while more moved in from behind to cut off Rams 1 and 2. Sean kept locking up bandits to thin out their numbers, taking advantage of every second of lead the Growlers gave him. After Golem 2 had lobbed all its imaginary AMRAAM shots, Mongo looked at the other jets off his left wing and signaled for them to break off. Marcy ditched her tanks and signaled for Josh to stay somewhat close. The two Eagles nosed up and rolled over to attack one of the groups closing in on Ram 1. The move forced the drones to split up, but they stayed in pairs. Marcy wrenched her Eagle to the right as one of them had a fix on her.
"Mudflap, you're cleared to push! Stay close, maintain support." She instructed distractedly.
"Four!" He replied with equal haste.
Marcy came back towards the drone, then whipped back to the right and went into a roll. Chaff and flares streamed from the back of her jet. She nosed up and rolled in on the bandit from above. The F-15 crossed the distance like it was just around the block, and Marcy could feel the pride in her mount surging. Thing was as big as a Cadillac but as agile as a Mitsubishi and she loved the sheer presence that brought. The drones were close enough that a pair of TD (Target Display) Boxes appeared on her HUD. Josh passed by above and slightly behind and the two bracketed the drones as they descended. The otherworldly triangles split in two directions and throttled back hard. Marcy did the same and followed through with her descent into a left turn. She centered the drone in her HMD and quietly encouraged her Sidewinders to get a fast lock. Her eyes were constantly checking the air speed.
Josh stayed above and went for a high yo-yo to use all the speed he'd built up. It gave Marcy some breathing room as her energy went below what she wanted. She applied the throttles and nosed up while he took up the chase. Marcy banked back into the fight as a fresh wave of drones entered the fight. Sean and his lot were on it immediately, and it was also Clown's time to shine.
"Mage, execute now!" The squadron's CO howled.
Four F-16s had been moving north in a loose arrowhead. Each carried an ALQ-184 on the centerline station. Each had six air-launched decoys slung under the wings. The jets nosed up in unison and launched their payloads. As they did, they activated their jamming pods. In a matter of seconds, it looked like a whole new force of aircraft were committing out of nowhere. The decoys did a good job of looking like full-sized aircraft on radar. To the Arsenal Birds and their masters, that was worth investigating. The newest wave of drones began to split, just as Sean and Pirate weaved through some clouds to pounce on four of them. Sean's morale was rising with each drone he downed or helped down. He had a single Sidewinder left and a few more "shots" from his cannon.
"Mage this is Ram 2-3. Be advised that Ram 2-4 and I are pursuing four of the bandits you caused to split from the others. We're about Winchester." Pirate spoke up.
"Copy, got ya on radar. Do what you can and drive the rest towards us." Clown replied.
Pirate clicked his mic and signalled to Sean he was free to split off again. The young aviator pulled back on the throttles and settled into a lag pursuit of two of the bandits. The other two turned to engage him, only to be split up as his lead and the F-16s intervened from long range. Sean still deployed chaff and broke off to make sure he was safe. The other two MQ-101s split and he chose the first one he spotted. The drones, quickly realizing their situation, turned to rejoin the others. In turn, drones from the main force moved to receive and defend them. Sean again chose a new target and his Sidewinder got to work. With no support, it was easy pickings.
"Ram 2-3, Fox 2." He announced.
He pulled away as another drone flashed by in pursuit of Zap's Hornet. He used the turn to build up some energy and came into the fight feeling ready for anything.
"Zap, I'm on the guy behind ya. Break right and help me engage him. Hit the gas when you do." He called.
"When?" She asked.
"Now!"
Sean throttled back, then up as the other Super Hornet did as he'd asked. He closed on the MQ-101 as it moved across his forward quarter. It went inside Zap's turn, and he went inside its turn. He didn't get a solution as soon as he'd hoped. Zap had to reverse before the drone locked her up.
"Breaking left, Swamp." She grunted.
Sean clicked his mic and throttled back hard. This time he moved back enough that he would have to try not to get lead.
"Ram 2-4, guns." He growled through the Gs.
The drone left the fight and the two F-18s joined so they could find the rest of their flight. They ascended into the main furball, which seemed to be losing participants by the second. The same furball his sister was in. Marcy was in a descending spiral with two MQ-101s. Josh had been ganked, so had Mongo, and Jewels wasn't in a position to assist.. She was certain that the only way they'd taken down the Major was by swarming him. Her gaze was going in every direction as she stayed unpredictable. As she looked to the left, she saw two F-18s in the vertical. They split as they were noticed by a pair of drones.
"F-18s off my seven, are you able to assist? F-15 engaged with multiple MQ-101s at your two high." She radioed.
Sean recognized the voice and raised Zap.
"Zap, follow me. Ram 2-1 and 2-3, what's your status?" He radioed.
"Rams 2-1 and 2-3 are engaged offensive. Trying to keep a corridor open for Cutlass 1." Birdie McGiles answered.
"Copy, we're moving to assist one of Golem's aircraft."
McGiles simply clicked his mic. By now, the two F-18s had split again and were bracketing the drones that were trying to get a good angle on Marcy. She saw the Hornets and turned hard right, nosing down to avoid them. She recognized the voice from one of the jets but kept any banter to herself. If anything, their senses of professional pride were on the line. She looked back and nosed up to re-enter the fight while Sean and Zap split the drones. As she came over the top she checked her fuel; she had both her Sidewinders and her gun left, too.
"Ram, Golem 2-3 is re-engaging from above. Standby." She radioed.
"Copy Golem 2-3. Be advised one of the bandits is ascending to meet you." Sean replied.
"Where is he?"
That question was answered with the sound of a radar lock. Marcy looked around as she leveled out and saw one of the drones pass by overhead. She raised a middle finger at it and nosed down. Sean and Zap tore after it to avenge their Air Force comrade before they reached the end of their time on station.
"Golem 2-3 is dead. Good luck, Jewels." She said, trying to keep professional.
"Copy…Bogeyman, what's Cutlass's status?" Julia asked.
"Cutlass is at IP and committing now." The AWACS noted.
Cutlass was the final stroke in Clown's plan. Four pairs of F-15E Strike Eagles from the 54th Fighter Squadron had been loaded with as many AMRAAMs as they could carry. The crews came in low and fast as training had taught them. The radar picture was provided by the Sentries, allowing them to keep theirs' off. There was no significant terrain to use, so they had to be down just above the waves. They went deep inside the perimeter maintained by the drones. Well within the maximum range for the AMRAAM. Their target, Liberty, wasn't aware of the threat until the Fox 3 calls started coming in…
The exercise had been insightful on both sides of the Erusea-Selatapurta border. The days were counting down to Debandade and more people were being brought into the know. King D'Elise and his general staff watched the radar tape taken from a Phalcon 707. The information had been translated into a 3D model so it could be better understood. General Auclair had made the suggestion, adding that he also had a proposal to add to the initial stages of the operation. Lieutenant General Édouard Labarthe, Chief of Staff of the Royal Erusean Air Force, noted he'd brought along the head of ERIS's Cyber Warfare Division. Major General Paul Gazeau, who was in charge of the Air Force's Strategic Command, was also present. Though not at Labarthe's invitation.
"Our immediate assessment is that despite inflicting heavy losses on the attacking force, both Arsenal Birds suffered heavy damage as well. They lost a combined total of 62 percent of their drone load. The attacking force also inflicted serious damage on the platforms themselves. We can only speculate at what systems would have been damaged, but the loss of that many drones would leave them vulnerable." Auclair said as the recording ended.
The rest of the room nodded and grunted. Labarthe found himself in agreement, though he would've preferred to destroy both outright.
"Despite this, my recommendation remains that we take control of the platforms. Their capabilities would be of great assistance to us. Nevermind the wealth of intelligence they'd give us. I've invited General Gazeau to explain the former in more detail." He added.
The "young" officer cleared his throat regally. LaBarthe would've sworn his chest puffed up a bit. D'Elise, for his part, was somewhat amused by the blonde man.
"The combat power of the Arsenal Birds is matched only by platforms such as the Estovakian Aigaon. I dare say it surpasses Aigan or anything before it."
"Platforms, including the Aigaon, which were all destroyed. The Arsenal Birds also employ weapons that are neither manufactured or used by our armed forces." D'Elise challenged.
"Yes Your Majesty, but our plan is such that the factor of weapons is negligible. Those weapons will also be valuable bargaining chips. I imagine it will take a short amount of time to understand what we have at our disposal, but General Auclair assures me he has the assets to help."
Gazeau talking directly to Auclair? LaBarthe quietly bristled at that. They were soldiers, not politicians. Gazeau's ambition was starting to become more worrisome than comforting. D'Elise simply listened.
"So the Arsenal Birds would give us a major advantage. How do you plan on taking them?" He asked.
The head of cyber warfare intertwined his fingers and adjusted his tie.
"Brigadier Emil Currien, Your Highness. General Auclair has placed my division at the head of Operation Montresor. During our initial stages of Debandade, we'll probe for and eventually exploit any flaws in the network that controls the Arsenal Birds. This will run concurrent to efforts to degrade its capabilities. Keep it from bringing its full weight against our forces." He said in a slow, halting manner.
"Simple enough…is it really as easy as it seems? Surely the Oseans considered such a thing." D'Elise replied cautiously.
"Its apparent simplicity can be traced to the resources we have at our disposal. We can probe for weaknesses over a wide area, so to speak. Constantly, too; and the Oseans and Selatapurtans have to match us move for move every second. If we blink first, we're where we started. If they blink, then we have access to one of their most powerful weapons. We've been poking around already since they launched the second platform under the guise of activist groups."
LaBarthe kept his attention divided between that and quick bits of info from the Chief of Staff for the Army. Most of what was coming from the Brigadier were further explanations about the cyber attacks. General Snyman wanted to go over the allocations of close air support to the initial ground offensives. Especially Vlermuise, Strike Carvers, and Orkas. Auclair was also going back and forth with the man about special forces matters.
"Our Meerkat teams have finished transitioning to the preparation stage in San Salvacion. They will receive the first elements of 17 Commando. We've assigned 9 Commando to scout along the border with Amber."
Something caught LaBarthe's eye: the requests on the part of the Army. What they estimated they would need so that the Air Force could give them an understanding of what to expect. The two didn't always match because of differences in understanding, and this time that difference seemed to be alarmingly big.
"Excuse me, General Snyman, but are we really expecting so much resistance from Selatapurta? I do need to allocate aircraft elsewhere for our strategic objectives." He spoke up.
The bespectacled man looked at him, then the papers in his hand.
"My apologies, General LaBarthe, but I think I failed to pass out the revised plans…" He said, becoming increasingly distracted as he went on.
"Revised plans?"
LaBarthe blinked and looked over to the king.
"These were approved, Your Majesty?" He asked.
King D'Elise nodded.
"You seem troubled, General LaBarthe." He added.
The officer nodded and took a second to make sure his words were in order. For a second, he had a flashback to about a decade and a half ago. The cockpit of his Jaguar S, about 50 Kilometers outside Farbanti. Watching what felt like unending waves of ISAF jets and vehicles streaming towards the capital. How the Federal Erusean Armed Forces had gone from conquering the continent to total ruin.
"I have my reservations about expanding our initial ground offensives, Your Highness. Selatapurta and Ugellas I can very much support, but Amber, San Salvacion? I'm unsure what our reasons for pressing into them are."
Auclair leaned forward, but it was the king who spoke.
"I have made those decisions based on the findings of ERIS and the recommendations of General Thierry. A multi-pronged thrust will allow us to overextend the Oseans and their allies." He said in a reassuring tone, looking at the Erusean Defense Minister.
LaBarthe would gladly argue with the likes of Gazeau or Auclair, but not his king. His worries faded quickly, though he still carried some reservations. He wasn't the only one; The Foreign Minister, Pierre Cloete, cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.
"I have my own reservations, especially about Operation Stylet. Such an act could easily backfire in a political sense. What will happen to our casus belli should we do this?"
"I understand your concerns, Mister Cloete, but this operation will only target military assets." Thierry assured him.
The operation they spoke of had been part of the grand scheme in the first place. LaBarthe also felt he was the most qualified to speak on it. It did involve "his" drones, after all.
"Its sole purpose is to slow Osea's response to our main operations. As General Thierry said, it will only target military assets." LaBarthe added.
"Could it not also escalate the war? Bring about the introduction of burst weaponry?"
"I must contend that it would take more than that to cause the Oseans to employ burst warheads."
"What is ERIS's opinion on this?"
"ERIS concurs with General LaBarthe's conclusion. Osea's position as a superpower puts it in a moral position not to escalate to such a level without significant provocation. Even something such as a burst warhead would signal a serious escalation. One that Osea doesn't want to justify going for first." Auclair grunted.
"And what of our moral position? The rest of Usea looks at us like barbarians. We bear the blame for the Continental War at the start of the century, not to mention the Free Erusea incidents and the strife in Ugellas. We cannot constantly fight the entire world."
"Our goal is to remove foreign influence from the countries that border us. This is our own matter, not the world's. Our security is far more important." Thierry intoned.
D'Elise was none too pleased with the sense of disunity he saw. General Thierry's words resonated the most with him. He cleared his throat and brought a fist down on the table to assert his authority. Everyone's reservations were swept aside as their king made his stance on the matter known.
"General Thierry is right. Erusea is not influenced by the world. It has no business in what we do to secure our interests and security. Especially when it allows Osea to exert such influence. Our objective is clear: to remove that foreign influence and the threat it poses to our home. And the threat it poses to our people across Usea. If Osea wants to make puppets of nations, it will do it elsewhere. General Thierry, is this deadline set?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then we strike on May 15th as planned. Without mercy and without remorse, we will retake Selatapurta. Even if it must be destroyed and rebuilt."