Ace Combat: Broken Line (IC/Open)

[Relikai]

Second Lieutenant Kenneth Falkenrich 'Iceterine'
Akers Research Base, Beiarusia

Flying with a loadout consisting of mainly AA missiles and sufficient fuel tanks strapped underneath, the heavy fighter flew steady alongside Scarecrow as the formation made its way north. These few days were a good period of rest, although several reshuffles meant that Morena was smaller than it used to be. Understandable as the Seianese Air Force seemed to be standing on its own feet instead of relying too much on foreign mercenaries. Just as well there might be a cut down in employment, but Ice was glad to stay in the squadron, especially when he turned to the side, catching sight of the Nammer flown by someone special.

Focus.

<< Bannik: Confirming multiple aircraft on intercept. Approach vector is one-nine-five. >>

Icterine: << This is Scarecrow Four, Roger, turning to intercept. Gotta keep them off the helos. >>

Icterine turned, so did Rarog as the two heavy fighters of Scarecrow faced off against the line of interceptors. Fuel tanks disengaged, lightening the aircraft significantly as they shot forth. The Beiarusian Fishbeds, the first line of interceptors, and five of them were facing off against the two as Icterine tries to keep them off the primary objective.

Icterine: << Five bandits ahead... Scarecrow Four, Fox Three, Fox Three! >>

Four long-range missiles shot forth from the two fighters, the Fishbeds immediately breaking off towards the ground in order to break the lock. The distance continued to close as the fifth Beiarusian plane fired off a missile, headed for Ice as he himself took a dive, following his instruments carefully as well as the estimated trajectory of the missile in order to create an angle as awkward as possible for it.

Icterine: << Scarecrow, this is Four. Got one stray bandit coming for you! >>

---

Fired two missiles, decided by OP

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia

It was smooth sailing north for Morena with fair weather and a gentle wind accompanying them for their morning cruise over the sea, near perfect conditions for flying. They raced the waning night as the sun began climbing from a slightly southeastern direction, meaning the pilots had the fortune of not flying into the glaring light of morn. Below, the placid waters of the Beiarusian sea remained unbroken, aside from the occasional brownish-green blotch of land that was far detached from civilization and far too small to be of any worth, nestled among the islets lay Akers, a research base closer to the country of Adamas than it was to the Beiarusian mainland, it was a prime location for conducting clandestine tests away from prying eyes as they had been doing, Morena and her compatriots were here to put an end to that.

As serene as the scenery was, hails over the radio were a quick reminder that sightseeing wasn't part of the plan. The enemy was on the move.

<< Bannik: Confirming multiple aircraft on intercept. Approach vector is one-nine-five. >>

<< Confirming, Bogeys on approach, vector one-niner-five. Hangman break formation and engage. >>

Aguila's F-16 was laden with a mixture of Air-to-Air and air-to-ground munitions, a standard fit of two IR guided missile paired with two long range radar guided missiles, the underbelly containing most of the punching power with four laser guided bombs and a pair of Maverick's for targets that required a tad more precision. No sooner than the bandits had come into lock range for the AiM-120's, Aguila's own radar warning receiver began blaring, signifying that the Beiarusians were painting the F-16. Noel pressed the plane toward the surface of the water gently and skirted the coast. It didn't take long for the enemy to approach within visible range, clear skies meant that they had nowhere to hide.

<< Engaging bandits. Fox Two >>

Engaging from underneath, Noel powered into a climb and loosed a single AMRAAM once lock on the hostile Fulcrum had been achieved, the missile took a few seconds to adjust course and gently curved out over the water until it exploded off the starboard wing, slightly towards the cockpit of the MiG, the resulting pressure wave and missile case shrapnel shredded a large portion of the air-frame, resulting in a quick bail from the pilot who decided against following his aircraft to the bottom of the sea.

<< Bandit down. >>

---

Kills:

1x F-3 (MiG 29 Fulcrum)

Ordinance:
M61A2 Vulcan - 511x 20mm SAPHEI
2x AiM-9
1x AiM-120
4x GBU-12 Paveway II
2x AGM-64D

[Revlona]

Lieutenant Robert Strong "Mechanic"

It felt good to be up in the air again, his YF-17 felt like a knife slipping through the air as it soared forward. These mercenaries were good, at least, that's what he had heard about them, being able to stand toe to toe with the Best of Belka and Beiarusia.

<<Bannick: Confirming multiple aircraft on intercept. Approach vector is one-nine-five. >>

<< Confirming, Bogeys on approach, vector one-niner-five. Hangman break formation and engage. >>

Mechanic: <<Scarecrow 4 this is Mechanic, coming up on your 6>>

The YF-17 light fighter glided up behind the two heavy fighters, watching as they released 2 missiles each. He was armed for air to air combat all the way, with 2 AIM-9s on the wings and 2 AIM-120s on it's underbelly, though it did also carry 2 AGM-65s for the need air to ground of the mission.

Robert watched as his radar showed off the different array of enemy targets. He watched as his systems locked onto a Su-27 that was slightly behind the enemy fighters.

Mechanic: <<Gotta lock on, Fox 3>>

Enjoying the feeling of the adrenaline flowing through his veins as the AMRAAM soared from the underbelly of his jet, and watched as the Flanker dived, hoping to get the missile to break it's lock.

It was futile of course, the Flanker pilot soon realized this and Robert could see the tiny silhouette of a parachute as he punched out, barely before the tail of the flanker disintegrated on contact with the AMRAAM.

Mechanic: <<This is Mechanic, Scratch one flanker>>

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kills:
1x Su-27 Flanker

Remaining Ordinance:
M61 Vulcan (600 20mm rounds SAPHEI)
1x AIM-120 AMRAAM
2x AIM-9 Sidewinder
2x AGM-65 Maverick

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Alexander Tolshev, "Hazard"
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia
December 12, 1992

Nothing better to start off the day with than an early morning raid. They were on their way to strike Akers, with SF units in tow. It didn't take long for the enemy to intercept, and Hazard started to hear his RWR when he was about 75 kilometers from the island. He went evasive, dropped chaff and flares as the offending missile flew past him.

Hazard: << Hazard here, I see multiple AA and SAM emplacements lighting up. Request cover as I move to engage. Over. >>

He waited a couple seconds for a reply before hitting the throttle, accelerating to the maximum speed the manual said he was supposed to go at. In seconds the island grew closer and closer, and enemy AA had taken to painting the A-10 with radar. Tracers danced around as Hazard made his decent, the AA shield being thick. He targeted the closest emplacement and fired a Maverick at it, hitting it and destroying a nearby cargo truck which was likely carrying munitions.

Hazard: << Scratch one AA emplacement, moving to enga-

He started speaking until a MiG-27 buzzed him, firing multiples of cannon rounds at him, only a few impacting however.

Hazard: << This is Hazard, I could use some cover soon! >>

He went evasive, trying to put as much distance between him and the MiG while he awaited support.

---

Remaining Ordinance:
Hazard's Loadout:
GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Cannon (1,350 rounds)
x2 AIM-9 Sidewinders
x5 AGM-65 Maverick-Fs
x3 Mk-84 JDAM

Kills:
x1 AA

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
December 12, 1992 // Akers Research Base, Beiarusia

Iceterine was the first to engage, loosing two missiles at a pair of enemy MiG-21's. One successfully juked the missile but his wingman maneuvered too late. A parachute deployed seconds later as the pilot ejected, the destroyed MiG impacting the ocean soon thereafter, a streak of black smoke marking its final descent. Aguila followed, downing a MiG-29, with the rookie, Mechanic, scoring a kill against a Flanker. Hazard ignored the interceptors as best he could and was the first to reach the airbase, destroying a static AA position, but before he could circle onto the next target he was engaged from above. A glancing blow. No serious damage, mostly superficial, but the Fulcrum was coming back for another go. The A-10 was outmatched.

Cannons tore into the MiG-29, shredding its fuselage as the F-15C of Reaver sped past with Daemon and Skull Kid close behind.

<< Reaver: You owe me one, so don't die before you pay up. >>

Reaper was the vanguard. Warrior followed, breaking formation to pepper the airbase with munitions. The enemy was attempting to regroup overhead, to reestablish air dominance, but they were harassed by Morena, losing two more planes to Null and Angel — the first MiG simply fell from the sky, the second remained airborne for a moment longer before crashing onto the sandy beach.

Allied spec-ops were deploying. Two helicopters had touched down just south of the airbase, the soldiers making quick work of the enemy guarding the perimeter; the remaining two helicopters stayed airborne, their compliment of soldiers descending via fast-rope much closer to the main hangers as gunners provided covering fire.

Group A would target administration buildings for intel whereas Group B would secure the primary objective.

The lightly defended airbase was scrambling all it had to repel the invaders. Meanwhile, the aircraft on the runway were taking off, ascending rapidly to join the fray. More aircraft were being rolled out as pilots hurried to their posts, fighters and small utility planes, but one in particular stood out amongst them all, black with archaic runes drawn atop its fuselage and forward-swept wings. On either side were two Su-27-M's.

<< Magus: Clear the runway! I'm taking off. >>

<< ATC: Negative! Enemy aircraft on approach. Hold position. Dammit, we need you alive! >>

<< Magus: I've worked too hard to watch it all go up in smoke. I'm taking off. Don't try and stop me. >>

The dual engines of the S-31 Berkut sputtered hot fire as it gained speed, taking off soon thereafter with its protectors flying off either wing in a tight wedge formation, rocketing up into the sky with turbines glowing in full afterburner, fuel being of no concern.

Magus pulled into a looping roll to engage the DAF.

<< Bannik: Unidentified aircraft is airborne. Cross-section does not match the prototype!
Morena, you are free to engage. Destroy the bandit. >>

Null, with Angel off his wing, radioed in for Scarecrow to form-up. They and Reaper would set focus to elimination the aircraft currently in the airspace, leaving Hangman and Warrior to support the soldiers on the ground. A few extra planes wouldn't make the difference. A little more and the mission would be complete.

[Relikai]

Second Lieutenant Kenneth Falkenrich 'Iceterine'
Akers Research Base, Beiarusia

He missed one, but the other claimed an enemy fighter as Ice pushed his attack. Missiles were exchanged between the two sides as he chased the attack, the Sukhoi burning fuel as its afterburners pushed the heavy fighter forward. The plane shuddered, but the Erusean kept going, cutting behind the MiGs as they tried to break through Morena, causing them to scatter before he could get them within his gunsights.

Hazard: << This is Hazard, I could use some cover soon! >>

He turned, the figure of the A-10 not too hard to miss near the burning wreckage on the ground. Noticing that the advance was going well at the moment, he turned towards the heavy attacker while mentally noting the appearance of a new enemy.

A missile flew from the rail, the enemy Fulcrum chasing Hazard forced to break away as the explosion tore a section of its stabiliziers off. A quick chase ended with the cannon tearing into the main fuselage, forcing the second ejection caused by Icterine this battle.

Icterine: << You're clear, Hazard. >> Icterine called, turning his jet towards the direction of the airbase once again, catching sight of the enemy aircraft, the unidentified object.

"Alright boy, time to see what you're made of..."

---

1x MiG-21
1x Fulcrum

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia

The research facility wasn't that difficult to spot from the sky, an mute grey runway cut a scar through the verdant bluffs and surrounding that, clusters of rectangular concrete buildings that made up the bulk of the facility stood tall against the backdrop of wind battered foliage. Grey blots could be seen ascending from the islet in rapid fashion; fighter aircraft scrambling to repel the invaders, they faced down their enemy with unwavering conviction. Toward the south, several Seahawk helicopters had crept up on the base unchallenged by anti-aircraft fire, hugging the bluffs to remain undetected by radar or the naked eye, two peeled off to deposit their chalk, one group would hit the main base whilst the others would continue on to capture the Beiarusian prototype.

The base was lightly defended on the ground, most guns were pointed skyward at the unfolding aerial fighting taking place just shy of the shoreline and not toward the encroaching Seianese troopers preparing to breach the perimeter wall, all seemed well until they were met with the throaty rumble that was easily recognizable as the roaring of a tank or some such vehicle. Soon enough, a T-62 crashed through the nearby retaining wall not a hundred feet shy of the troopers positions and began engaging with both it's 7.62mm Machine Gun and a 155mm Cannon, taking out several before they could retreat to sufficient cover. One trooper retaliated with a 110mm recoilless rifle which connected with the armored beast, but would only ricochet off the angled glacias of the tank, yet in the process, managed to knock out the main gun leaving only the Heavy Machine Gun to contend with, though that alone remained effective enough in keeping the attackers entrenched for the time being. Luckily enough, help was at hand.

Aguila had spotted the tank on the FLIR before the cry for assistance burst over the radio.

<< Hebi One, Hebi One to any air assets on station. Armor has us pinned several meters south of the facility, requesting immediate close air support, danger close, danger close! >>


<< Copy Hebi One. I have your target on optics. Maverick inbound, keep your heads down >>

The seeker mounted to the AGM-65 whirred around and quickly managed to capture the heat signature coming from the piping hot chassis of the tank within a matter of seconds, only a moment later did the missile depart the F-16 at speed, slowly descending before pulling into a tight downward curve toward the T-64 on the ground. Noel watched the missile progress before it managed to impact the tank with incredible force, immolating the tank in a ball of white hot fire. Needless to say, the tank was no longer a potent threat. The soldier gave their thanks before leading his men through the gap that the tank had so graciously left for them.

Work was far from over, a sudden intrusive buzzing indicated that something had eyes for them.

"We're being spiked. Short range fire control radar." Maria took a quick glance rearward and spotted the blazing streak of a missile ascending through the cloud layer, slowly curving to intercept the F-16.

"Break, Break!"

Noel abided and snapped the plane into a gut wrenching downward bank in an attempt to bleed the missile of energy before it approach fatal proximity, adding bursts of glinting reflective metal for good measure. Fighting the veritable physical forces threatening to push both pilot and officer into unconsciousness, the turn was maintained and after a few head emptying seconds, the missile dropped off defeated, yet only by just. The fighter returned to a semi-level flight plane so the occupants could recover.

"That was close ... "

Unrelenting, Noel pressed the Falcon back towards the airbase, however the enemy were not willing to let them get so close that easily and so another Sukhoi split off from the main furball and swooped in low, the young pilot chancing a shot to end one of the aces of the war thus far, however it was his war that would end prematurely. A quick movement by the F-16, a corkscrew roll, put the Flanker pilot at a strict positional disadvantage has he tried to rear the craft upward, though super-maneuverable, there was a limit to the angle the plane could maintain without bleeding off so much speed that a stall was inevitable. Realizing this, the pilot quickly turned his climb into a slow bank to catch Aguila now flying almost directly over the him but was still a ways off. Now using gravity as momentum, Noel quickly twisted the craft nose down, and like bird of prey chasing a helpless rabbit gave into a pursuit.

The Flanker pilot protested with a series of looping turns and rolls, testing the agility of the F-16 and the reactions of the pilot at the help as the latter tried to wrestle into Sidewinder deployment parameters, there came that moment when Noel was confident of a hit and released not one, but two sidewinders into the rear exhaust port of the Beiarusian aircraft at a range that could only be described as 'close quarters', one missile simply skimmed overhead but the second was true, ripping the rear half of the Flanker to a fine metallic mist to which the F-16 flew into, pinging the hull with a series of disconcerting judders.

<< Bandit down. Hangman, maintain the offensive. Hazard, see if you can do something about those SAM batteries, the rest of you, cover him. >>

---

Kills:

1x F-3 (MiG 29 Fulcrum)
1x Ground-Tank
1x F-3 (Su-27 Flanker)

Ordinance:
M61A2 Vulcan - 511x 20mm SAPHEI
1x AiM-120
4x GBU-12 Paveway II
1x AGM-64D

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
December 12, 1992 // Akers Research Base, Beiarusia


The newly ascended aircraft were turning to engage in a loose wedge formation: four Su-27M Flankers led by a larger S-31 Berkut, its forward-swept wings a distinctive silhouette against the backdrop of blue sky. Null was on intercept with Angel flying off his wing. The remainder of SCARECROW formed up, Icterine and Knot taking point with Raróg trailing. Three F-15C Eagles — Reaver, Daemon, and Skull Kid — pulled off to circle wide, flanking the hostile aircraft to present a better angle-of-attack, an obvious tactic that evoked no immediate reaction, but as the seconds passed, and the distance closed between them, two Flankers peeled to protect their 9 o'clock. The remaining aircraft continued, intending to meet head-on.

A moment later and the RWR sounded.

<< Angel: They're pinging us! >>

<< Null: Break and engage. >>

SCARECROW splintered just as the first missile was loosed. Null pulled high into a vertical Split-S, rolling to execute a stomach-churning 180 with the RWR trumpeting an incessant warning, loud and obnoxious and entirely too common a noise to hear. The missile banked skyward to meet him, but the angle was too extreme and the missile veered off-course.

On descent, Null took stock of the situation, using his HUD and eyes to gauge just where everybody was. Angel was low, under 5,000 feet with a Flanker sniffing out her trail. Icterine and Knot were much now to the airbase with a second Flanker harassing them every step of the way. Raróg had bugged out for the time being. No sign of the Berkut. Null checked his onboard radar, picking through the hostile contacts in search of the missing ace, quickly identifying the two Flankers before catching sight of a third blip uncomfortably close to his position. As if on cue the RWR sounded as a missile locked-on and fired. Null went evasive, banking into a roll and pulling his F-15C into a tight spiral towards the sea, a plume of smoke following from above. He leveled-out as the missile copied the maneuver a hundred feet too low. The missile attempted to correct but was unable to reacquire a trajectory.

Another lock-on warning. The black/red S-31 was on top of him, a hawk caught in snapshot mere moments before its lethal dive, angling for the best vector to ensure a clean missile launch. Null pushed the F-15C into full afterburner, pulling back into a steep climb with the agile S-31 tracking him with little to no issue. The Eagle, however, was moving faster, putting distance between them at an ever increasing rate, but not fast enough to avoid a second missile being loosed.

Distance mattered not to a rocket motor.

Null allowed the missile to get as close as he dared before deploying airbrakes for a Split-S, dumping chaff as he went for good measure, just in case. The missile couldn't follow, but the proximity detonation rocked the F-15C. Damage was negligible.

More importantly, Null was now in a position to go on the offensive, the Eagle bearing head-on against the Berkut. As expected the RWR sounded, but Null was pinging the enemy pilot as well. A game of chicken. Too soon and the missiles would be trashed; too late and there was no avoiding the warheads, or guns, or even the prospect of an accidental collision.

Timing was key, and Null went early.

<< Null: Fox-Two! Fox-Two! >>

Two Sidewinders dropped from their rails like bats from their roost to streak ahead. The Berkut disengaged, trashing the missiles with simple maneuvering, but Null altered his course, on intercept, and passed with only a fraction of a moment with sights locked-on. It was all he needed. The M61 Vulcan spat fire as the flurry of 20mm bullets struck home, piercing the fuselage of the larger aircraft. The Berkut remained airborne but was now trailing a thin line of smoke. Null came back around for another pass, the enemy pilot matching him turn-for-turn, jostling for position, but the damaged fuselage of the S-31 and the stress placed upon it by the forward-swept wings proved too much, and the connecting spars failed in spectacular finality. The left wing of the Berkut simply snapped and the already unstable aircraft pitched into an uncontrollable spin.

The pilot had no choice but to eject.

<< Null: Confirming kill. Scarecrow, sitrep. >>

<< Angel: One moment. >>

Down below, close to the water, a Flanker was shredded by the cannons of Angel's F-15C. Its impact was punctuated by a splash of water and burning smoke. The pilot didn't eject, he had no time to do so.

<< Angel: Bandit down! Moving to regroup now. >>

Knot and Icterine had cleared their six. REAPER, too, had eliminated all hostiles contacts.

The DAF established air superiority, forcing the remaining hostiles that weren't shot down to disengage, running with their tails between their legs. AA positions were quickly silenced or else abandoned, and the soldiers on the ground had little trouble in taking the priority sections of the airbase.

Unfortunately the prototype was not found.

It was quickly established that several ships had departed the island the night before, mere hours before the raid, and it could only be assumed that the prototype was moved elsewhere in fear of attack. DAF aircraft were ordered to remain on-station as this new dilemma was processed. A few minutes became nearly half-an-hour of maintaining a CAP, which entailed them flying in lazy circles around the airbase as the soldiers grabbed anything of value in preparation for a speedy exfiltration. Then, just as boredom was setting in, the AWACS addressed them with an update.

<< Bannik: We've identified a convoy of Beiarusian ships believed to have departed Akers. Sending the coordinates now. Warships are moving to intercept as we speak.
All aircraft are to assist. Rerouting an aerial tanker. >>

Many of the pilots were no doubt ready to RTB, but the mission wasn't yet complete, so, dutifully, they set out, rendezvousing with the aerial tanker and refueling as needed for the final jaunt to the middle of nowhere. Ocean on the horizon. Vast. Uninterrupted. As blue as the sky. Far off the shadow of warships could be seen, a cruiser flanked on either side by frigates and destroyers, pursuing the convoy that, supposedly, held the prototype.

The convoy was nothing more than three freighters, undefended, relying on their inconspicuous nature to flee unmolested, but already they'd been intercepted. A small detachment of Seianese warships were giving escort, guards ushering a row of prisoners. Among them the cruiser Sapporo of the Seianese Second Fleet.

Radio chatter gave indication that the situation was devolving quickly as the Dorusian warships entered the AO.

<< ALLY-N: This is the Dorusian Navy to allied warships. Requesting a full halt.
You are ordered to transfer the captured vessels to our command for search and processing. >>

There was a pause, but already helicopters were departing the cruiser to begin searching the convoy.

<< Sapporo: Negative. We do not comply. These ships surrendered to Seian, and are under our jurisdiction per international law. We will continue our escort to the mainland and request you stand-by. Transference will be undertaken via proper channels then and only then. >>

<< ALLY-N: You are interfering with military operations. Again, we request a full halt. >>

<< Sapporo: I must disincline. >>

<< ALLY-N: That is an order. >>

The mercenaries were in visual range now. The Dorusian warships were close to intercepting the convoy now, relatively speaking, but the Seianese warships were making it abundantly clear that such an attempt was unwelcome, a point with added weight given the presence of SAF aircraft on-station.

Angel voiced her concern. The young woman was tired, drained after months of warfare, and willed the political bickering happening down below to end so that they all could go home.

Reaver was more annoyed.

Null, too, couldn't help but to feel a bit irritated as the two commanders "discussed" the transference of POW's. In recent weeks the alliance between Dorusia and Seian had encountered some friction, mostly due to the latter's reluctance to continue the war, so it was inevitable that some conflict would arise once tempers flared past boiling point. The DAF would acquire the ships, eventually, once they were safely at port and not in open water where the Beiarusians could maybe retaliate. The enemy navy was considered a non-factor but submarines could deny them important assets. The devil's advocate could argue that the crew of the captured ships were in position to destroy the prototype, which, arguably, necessitated a quick resolution. But he was a soldier, and all he could do was to wait while the two commanders argued on the best course of action.

Dorusian helicopters were inbound to the convoy to begin their search.

<< ALLY-N: The ships are under our jurisdiction. Do not interfere with our search. >>

<< Sapporo: You are in violation of the airspace of the Sapporo and the Seiense Second Fleet. Disengage immediately. >>

<< ALLY-N: Negative. >>

SAF aircraft were turning to intercept.

<< ALLY-N: Confirming radar lock! All ships, ready for combat! >>

<< Sapporo: We do not serve you or your country. Disengage, or we will open fire. >>

It happened so suddenly. The alliance here, at sea, was broken in an instant, and both navies were out for blood. For a long moment the mercenaries did nothing, stunned, perhaps, with the only voice being Angel and her yelling over the radio for them all to stop, a plea that fell on deaf ears. The worst thing that could possibly happen was playing out right now before their very eyes. To Angel it must have been akin to having her heart ripped out.

The DAF, however, had no qualms about where their allegiance lay and quickly moved to engage hostile planes and warships.

<< Bannik: All aircraft, defend the fleet. Morena, clear a path for the helicopters.
We can't allow that prototype to be destroyed or captured. >>

And with that the mercenaries had no choice in who they served.

Mission Theme B: The Last of Force

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia

Wispy trailing pillars of smoke blossomed throughout the sparsely dotted buildings of the facility, occasionally the skirting of tracers could be seen as the last of the Beiarusian defenders vainly sought to hold out for just a moment more against their attackers. In the air, the enemy contingent had either fled or had been destroyed, including the ace Magus, which had been mercilessly dispatched by Null despite the Berkut being superior. Morena, along with her allies began establishing a cordon around Akers and lingered around whilst the ground crews began combing the facility for the prize they had come here for. As the minutes ticked by, it became increasingly apparent that the package had been extradited from Akers mere hours before the raid had began, by sea no less, and so Morena were roped into tailing the fleeing flotilla which had been intercepted just a few dozen miles away by the SAF frigate, Sapporo.

"What are we even after anyway?" Maria questioned after minutes of silence.

Noel verbally shrugged. "Dunno. More jamming equipment? Whatever took out those bombers? Couldn't care really. We'll find out soon enough ... "

The boats loomed into view moments after; cargo vessels that were for the most part unarmed were being ushered along by Seianese ships put up no fight. There was little need for the mercenaries to be there, until things started turning sour.

<< Sapporo: We do not serve you or your country. Disengage, or we will open fire. >>

A misunderstanding or rather, a disagreement between the Seianese Navy which had legal jurisdiction over the surrendered vessels and their cargo had rapidly deteriorated into a standoff, the DAF had dispatched helicopters to board the freighters and secure the prototype, however threats from the Sapporo and the accompanying SAF aircraft made it very clear that they were not going to let that happen. Eventually, Morena found themselves being pulled into the standoff.

"Uhhh. Silva. Confirming active radar lock ... "

Noel said nothing, simply waiting with bated breath. In an instant, the country they had fought alongside for so long was ready to spill blood for whatever lay in the hold of a single one of the ships, no reservations were being made about what course of action they were willing to take next.

<< Bannik: All aircraft, defend the fleet. Morena, clear a path for the helicopters.
We can't allow that prototype to be destroyed or captured. >>

Noel snapped to, casting a glance over to the rest of Morena and then to the ships down below. He had already made a choice.

<< Cannot comply AWACS >>

Actions had consequences, he wouldn't take lives of his former allies over a snap decision made in the thick of the moment.

<< Hangman, weapons hold. Do not engage. >>

Noel turned the F-16 at an angle to the fight, trying to make it apparent as possible that fighting was not one of his intentions, though whether the SAF recognized that, was entirely down to chance.

[Relikai]

Second Lieutenant Kenneth Falkenrich 'Iceterine'
Akers Research Base, Beiarusia

<< Sapporo: We do not serve you or your country. Disengage, or we will open fire. >>

If anything, Icterine nearly missed the intent of the chatter as he looked around, his plane still a safe distance away from the disputed zone. Clearing the skies took a little more effort, but it was quickly established after the Beiarusian presence fell to the fell to the allied assault, leaving the spoils of war for the taking.

But into whose hands?

Shit... what the hell?

Confusion reigned in Icterine's mind as the tone of the conversation changed. Slowly, it was becoming obvious that both sides desperately wanted those ships, and neither was about to let the other have a say in their actions. The Flanker made another pass a distance away, as Icterine saw the helicopters surge towards the ships, his plane slowly turning towards the same direction.

There was only one thing to do at the moment, something he hoped won't land him in a prison... depending on who owned the airbase by the time he returned.

The Flanker overtook the Dorusian helicopters, Icterine using the plane's superior maneuverability to pull himself into a tight turn, the fighter flashing across the lead chopper as a bundle of flares burned in his wake. Buzzing the choppers, telling them about the foolishness of their actions, it was the only way he could think of in the chaos to ward them away from a slaughter.

Icterine: << Helos stand down! You're sitting ducks here without air support! >>

---

1x MiG-21
1x Fulcrum

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Alexander Tolshev, "Hazard"
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia
December 12, 1992

The situation on the ground quickly changed. Once Dorusian forces set down, the enemy was mostly routed. Hazard remained on station, providing CAS for any pockets of resistance left over. Two tanks, a fortified structure, and a few light vehicles. It took a little while before the prototype weapon was discovered to be missing. After a few minutes, the air assets were routed to refuel and track down their objective.

It didn't take long, but the operation hit a snag when the objective had already been secured by the Seianese Navy. The situation quickly devolved, and the two commanders rattled verbal sabres for a moment before openly engaging. Hazard paused if only for a moment, the briefings never said anything about the alliance having been deteriorated to the point of hostility.

And before he knew it, his ears were being filled with multiple communications, contradicting orders, and pleas for a ceasefire.

<< Sapporo: We do not serve you or your country. Disengage, or we will open fire. >>

<< Bannik: All aircraft, defend the fleet. Morena, clear a path for the helicopters.
We can't allow that prototype to be destroyed or captured. >>

<< Agulia: Hangman, weapons hold. Do not engage. >>

<< Hazard: Repeat last Hangman One. >>

<< Agulia: I say again, all Hangman callsigns, weapons hold. Do. Not. Engage. >>

<< Hazard: Uhhhh... >>

A brief pause after Hazard mumbled in confusion as he followed formation as they pulled ever-so-slightly away from the conflict. He didn't know what to do. AWACS was telling him to engage, but his flight lead was ordering him to hold fire. He knew that the Seianese were allies of Dorusia, but the tables suddenly changed at the drop of a hat. Although he did know that it was Dorusia cutting him checks. He did the only thing he knew to do; go a step up the chain of command.

<< Hazard: Scarecrow One, please advise. Should I stay course or move to engage. >>

---

Remaining Ordinance:
GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Cannon (853 rounds)
x2 AIM-9 Sidewinders
x5 AGM-65 Maverick-Fs
x2 Mk-84 JDAM

Kills:
x1 AA
x2 TL
x2 SL
x3 G

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
22:45 December 23, 1992 // Koga Airbase, Seian


"I didn't know you smoked."

Angel doesn't turn to look at Null. She keeps her back to him, and her gaze forward, towards the runway and the DAF jets parked on the tarmac like birds-of-prey roosting for the night. The cigarette hangs limply in her mouth, the ember a soft glow. After a moment she says, "There's a lot you don't know about me."

Null sits with his legs outstretched — Angel is sitting crosslegged — and joins his wingman in looking out at nothing in particular. The two of them are atop the roof of the administration building, typically off-limits, for safety, but no one has bothered to deny them access. They aren't that high up. Down below, the airbase was alive with its usual buzz of activity, not quite as hectic as the hours preluding a sortie, but nighttime crews were hurrying about to service aircraft, or jeeps, or whatever else needed fixing. General maintenance to keep the machine well-oiled and functioning. The dull thrum of two F-16 Fighting Falcons could be heard above the shouts in the near-distance alongside the hollow snap of the flagpole in the cool breeze that chilled an otherwise warm night.

The flag hanging proudly over Koga Airbase was Dorusian.

Eleven days had passed since the incident. The DAF had forcibly taken the Beiarusian ships, and in the fighting the Seianese Navy had taken considerable damage, including the sinking of the Sapporo, as well as the loss of five SAF aircraft. In response, the Seianese Emperor had issued an ultimatum for all Dorusian military assets and personnel to leave the country, effectively ending the tenuous alliance, a decree that had fallen on deaf ears. Dorusia had committed fully to the war against Beiarusia. The enemy was close to capitulation, and too much blood already had been shed to forgo victory.

The blood of countrymen.

The blood of sons killed so far from home.

The blood of innocents shed on Dorusian soil in Manbasa.

Tiananmen and Koga were occupied. Both maintained a large presence of foreign military assets, being the de-facto command centers for the Dorusian military in Seian, and had been taken immediately in the aftermath of the sinking of the Sapporo under the order of General Zhikov. No resistance. Koga Airbase had been surrendered by Colonel Kwan. The Dorusians were better equipped, better trained, and had the numbers to take the base by force if necessary. Resisting would have been futile and a careless waste of lives. General Cheon, however, had already departed, denying the Dorusians a valuable VIP. Koga Airbase was now under the absolute authority of Major Vernadsky.

Park AFB hadn't been an easy turnover. The Dorusians had been unceremoniously evicted, and, in retaliation, had bombed the runway, neutralizing the potential threat. Skirmishes had occurred elsewhere, but large-scale engagements had been avoided. The Seianese were choosing to harass the Dorusians.

A war between allies, and the prototype was never recovered. It wasn't even there on those ships.

Null watched as the leading F-16 taxied, his expression stoic. Exhausted. Morena had come under scrutiny due to several pilots and their refusal to follow orders, and, as a result, an ongoing review was to determine the future of the mercenaries' employment. Some had already been removed from service, and one, Captain Wakahisa, was taken as a POW because to her connections to Seian. Angel was officially DAF, like Null, so had been left alone by the investigation. Not that she was happy. Uncharacteristically sullen and brooding. Worse, she had been avoiding Null ever since.

"I think I know a lot about you," he said, pausing as the F-16 takes-off. "We can talk about this."

Angel keeps her gaze trained straight ahead. "Not really."

He looks to her, to the ember of the cigarette as it flares in the gentle breeze. "You don't smoke. Where'd you get that?"

She shrugs. "Some soldier." Angel flicks the still-burning cigarette from the roof. Nicotine isn't something she enjoys.

Null sighed. "You're right to be angry."

"I don't have the right to be angry. I'm a soldier, we're soldiers, so we just shut-up and follow orders." She's making an effort to keep her gaze away from his own, expecting pity, or, worse, understanding, and is afraid to relinquish the fire that's been kindling all week inside her belly. She wants to be angry, and she knows that Null will pacify her the moment she allows him close. "It's not right. It's not, but we do it anyway, and we can't stop it. We were suppose to help. Now we're the bad guys."

"Angel..."

"This is my home, too. This is where I'm from."

Null is louder. "Angel..."

"This wasn't suppose to happen." Her arms are wrapped tight across her chest. "This wasn't-"

"Mitsuko."

Her voice catches, and she turns to meet Null's gaze, soft and wanting so desperately to help. She's crying. She can't help herself, and without thinking she latches onto Null, burying her head in his chest as the war finally takes its toll. He understands. Null has experienced the pain of conflict, and he understands, and she knows that if he could he would spare her the terribleness of it all. He can't, but he offers his comfort regardless, stroking her hair, and it's more than Angel can take, and she says the words she's been unable to confront all this time.

"I think I love you."

Null says nothing. Neither does he push her away. He stays with her for as long as she needs.

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Koga AFB, Koga Province, Seian

December 15th - Three days after Operation: FAITHLESS

The events that had transpired over the Beiarusian waters those fateful days ago were difficult to recall to an exact minute detail. Passions from all involved parties had been running high and had ultimately surmounted in a paroxysm of frustrated yelling among the staccato punches of cannon rounds and sky-shattering explosions and even after all that, no side had come out with their intents fulfilled. Seian had lost the Sapporo and a number of their aircraft as had the Dorusian Air Force in their heavy-handed attempt to secure the Beiarusian freighters hauling the suspected prototype which turned out to be non-existent. The ships hadn't been carrying anything other than a few inconsequential military supplies from the stricken research facility. Everything had been in vain.

Morena had been caught in the middle of a tough situation. Their contracts necessitated their allegiance to their Dorusian patrons and demanded they abide by any directly given order despite their perceived autonomy whilst those with even a little shred of integrity, would have at least questioned the orders given to turn on their long-standing allies for an unknown 'prototype' that nobody even knew what it was or did, and that may or may not have even been there - with the latter revealing itself to be the case in a cruel twist of irony. Beiarusians in the meanwhile had lost one of their primary aeronautical research facilities yet the elusive instrument that was highly sought after, had escaped, if it even existed in the first place.

All these questions and more surged through Noel's aching brain. The three days of stress and infighting within the squadron had bought on an early onset fever that had completely decimated his usual positive vitality, reducing his composure to no less than a vexatious schoolchild. Now being sat in another dark, cramped and poorly ventilated room with the blazing glare of a spot lamp clawing it's way into the back of his bloodshot eyes, the pilot had dwindling patience.

"I've told you all i know. What more-"

"- you've told us what. Not why ... "

Vaduva furrowed his already age-wrinkled brow. The man was easily mid-fifties, perhaps even older if his thinning black and grey fuzzy hair was any indication. He eyed Silva with a look of ambivalence that came with years as a professional interrogator and indeed with natural age, his voice was quiet yet his words firmly concise and spoke in a dialect of Dorusian that was far different from his younger partner Strauss who had adopted a newer strain of the language following the fracturing of the nation from the now annexed territory of Sotoa.

"I told you that too. They were friendlies ..."

"And you had orders ... orders you directly defied"

Noel irritably rolled his eyed back and slouched in the metal chair he had been given.

"I didn't defy anyone. I chose to not act "

"Which is proportionate to defying given orders."

"So arrest me then!" Noel slammed his closed fists on the table, wrists outward in a display of erratic defeatism. Anything to be out of the room and rid of the questions. There was a mutter of hushed Dorusian between the two agents of the Counter-Intelligence Bureau, there was little reason for the secrecy as Silva wasn't versed in even the most infantile of the spoken Dorusian language, it was likely the agents knew this too but they couldn't be that sure. After a moment of secretive discussion they returned to their normalcy.

"There won't be a need for that at this time. Captain. But do know that the Dorusian Armed Forces does not take kindly to insubordination. Purposefully or otherwise." Vaduva pulled a single sheet out of the unmarked binder at his front and thoughtfully glanced over it for a moment before tucking it back into it's pocket.

"Your flight officer ... Ferriro and yourself are still cleared for active duty as per your contractual obligation. As for your operational capacity, i am not so sure. That is up for your commanding officers to decide." The pair scooted from their seats, the groaning of the metal feet on the polished linoleum flooring grated on Noel's already waning temperament.

"Oh. And i wouldn't wander too far."

"So i'm essentially a prisoner ... "

Vaduva paused in the doorway, his hunched over form still filled the doorframe.

"No Captain Silva. And you should count yourself lucky for that." With that the Dorusian spook continued on his way, the clacking of his boots reverberated down the outside hall and then faded into the general din of now occupied Koga.

---

Current Time

December's frigid bite gnawed even through Maria's thick woolen coat and scarf as the woman transited the pedestrian-way between the bunk rooms and mess hall, and whilst it wasn't too cold by Seianese standards, the woman who was normally used to winter being in the mid twenty to low thirties found the climate arctic by comparison. She kept her hands cupped toward her lips and used her haunches to shuffle through the inwardly swinging doors to the mess, which was immediately warmer due to the proximity of the kitchens. Only a few staff were up at this hour, performing cleaning tasks ready for the morning rush. The Coffee machine was the only unit seeing any use currently and as she strode over toward it, she spotted the familiar dark mane of her comrade wedged into one of the corner booths.

A flat white with little sugar. She waited until the dispenser had topped the flimsy cup to it's precipice before removing it carefully from the unit, taking her first cautious sips to ensure none spilled during her transit to her seating. Arriving opposite Noel, the man didn't even both to turn his gaze from the window, transfixed on some unknown point neither here or there, the pair sat in a sullen silence for a short while, appreciating the stillness of the winter night. It was rare to appreciate such moments in a life filled with hectic excitement and dangerous calamity, there was little time to take it all in.

"What's it all for?" Noel finally spoke, peeling his eyes away from the window to Maria, who returned a befuddled look from the brim of her coffee cup.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this. Everything. What's our endgame. Who wins?" He continued rather disjointedly, his demeanor changing from rather neutral to more defeatedly unwound.

"We win. We get paid. We go home." She replied rather abruptly.

"Not everyone gets to."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"It's too late for second thoughts now. It's just that ... " He trailed off and glanced around the room, seemingly searching for someone that wasn't there.

"What?"

"The DAF were willing to stab their allies in the back for whatever the Beiarusians were meant to have. Cast them aside when they felt they had fulfilled their part of the bargain. What's stopping them hanging us out to dry for the things we've done when this thing is over?" Noel leaned into the table, pushing the tips of his fingers against his open jacket, making sure to keep his voice low enough that nobody nearby could hear. Maria didn't have an answer, she simply bit the rim of her cup in thought. He had a point. Mercenaries were well known for their discard-ability and deniability, the war had drawn into it's final stages and the name of the game now was pushing for a swift end, but also, the raid on Akers had been in search of something the Dorusians were eager to get their hands on. Morena was the perfect tool for such a search.

"The Dorusian interrogators. They knew more than they were letting on. They want us close because they still need us for something. The war isn't won for them just yet."

[Empire of Donner land]

As Amabel awoke, she could hear the familiar sound of a rhythmic car engine. Her head lay upon the passenger side door, next to the window. As she opened her eyes, flashing by were shadows of rectangular signs and what she could make out as a guardrail. It was night and the stars and moon were the brightest things there next to the headlights which shone endlessly into the night, hitting no obstacles, revealing no dangers.

It was familiar, it was comfortable.

As she sat up in the seat, she recognized by the dashboard alone that it was a station wagon she was in, how it just felt and looked and even how the whole interior smelled, it was old. The wood furnishing, of course, wasn't real wood, it felt more like the perfect surface of a plastic. The wood was glossy, no imperfections, the seats were a soft fabric material but not actually made of any kind of expensive fur. The radio was archaic, with knobs and dials that looked like they came straight out of the 50s.

Soon she realized it was her families old station wagon that they had sold off at some point, other than how it looked, felt and smelled, she could not for the life of her figure out how she knew it really was theirs other than there was just a deep feeling within her head that told her so, no hesitations or buts, no double backs in thought or attempts to disprove. This was one hundred percent it.

Ahead was a road as straight as can be, she felt no motion pushing or pulling her to the left or right like she would if it was being turned left or right. The white lines in the middle of the road flashed into the headlights and out as soon as they had come in. She rubbed her head, groggy like she usually felt after a long car trip.

"Hey," Amabel heard from her left, a feminine Aurelian voice, slightly low in tone and relaxed, as if greeting an old friend. Amabel looked, and to her right was a familiar woman in casual clothing, Jeans, and a plain white T-Shirt. The woman was holding onto the steering wheel with one hand and using the other to support her head against the door with her elbow. Occasionally she would steer, but on this road not much was needed to keep the car going straight and focused.

Amabel gave a nod with a slight smile, she'd known this person. She'd known them since birth. "Hey. Where are we going?" she asked. The woman looked at her with a slightly confused face, her brow formed a quizzical shape and spoke.

"Don't you know?" she spoke with such certainty that Amabel felt concerned. Should she know? She was in the car, so she wouldn't have gone if they were going somewhere she didn't know or was concerned about. Amabel rested her head on the car's headrest and thought. Where on earth were they going? She laughed and said "Don't worry about it, I get forgetful sometimes," and stayed silent for a few seconds as if to give Amabel a last chance to say it until she had to remind her that "We're going home, you remember that right?"

"Which one?" Amabel thought.

"The one with the mountains," she replied.

"Oh..." she said, remembering the sleepy town she lived in long before, "that one."

"That's right, that one. Don't quite remember the name of the place though, do you?" she asked, watching the darkness ahead of her, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to entertain herself. Long car trips were always so boring. Tapping out imaginative songs with only her finger to get something out of it.

Amabel tried to remember the town, and eventually recalled something, it started with a D. And unconsciously she had begun trying to sound out the name with her mouth with all the various combinations it could be. Eventually, she found it. "Der-... Dir-... Darien? Darien right?"

"Yeah, Darién. You're pronouncing it pretty weird though."

"Right, sorry."

"Ah, I think we're coming up on it now," the woman said, sitting up straight to try and see a bit deeper into the darkness. The lowest stars in the sky in front of them and their sides. began to be eclipsed by something as they drove. The sides especially had been completely blocked by something, and as Amabel looked closer through the window, they were recognized to be shadowy rolling hills. Though they had almost entirely come out of nowhere. "Yeah, this is it, Friend," the woman confirmed.

As they passed a sign that said "Darién", the scenery didn't change much if at all. Occasionally they saw street lamps and benches sitting on the sidewalks and driveways, but they didn't see houses. Amabel questioned the woman about this and wanted to see the homes but she replied: "I honestly can't remember what they looked like."

Amabel and the Woman sank into a resigned sadness, and Amabel recognized that neither could she as they drove endlessly down a town street with seemingly no end. "What time is it?" Amabel asked.

The woman looked down at her watch and shrugged, and there was no clock to be seen in the car itself. "My watch is broken, it's stuck on 7:30. What's yours say?"

"It's the same thing," Amabel said after she looked with a sigh following shortly after and laid her head on the headrest once more, staring at the car's roof. It was covered in some fabric, marked with a few burns from cigarettes directly above the front passenger seat.

"You ever wonder what this place looks like?" the Woman asked, gesturing with her idle hand towards the general darkness.

"I can only imagine. But I bet it was pretty nice, huh? Quaint houses, nice people, that sort of thing." Amabel replied, gesturing with her hand as if she was painting, placing such things here and there, in a picture of sorts.

"I bet."

"Where'd you get this car?" Amabel asked bending around her body, looking around the interior, specifically behind her and she imagined herself laying in the back across the seats, sleeping.

"I don't know. I just... have it. It's all I know really... Well, all I know that's comfortable anyway." she said smirking, and began to look to and fro. The road to the woman and back again. "Hey, you know you can go and sleep back there whenever you feel like it, or in your seat. I'll keep driving and try to find a home."

"Thanks," Amabel replied, resting back in her seat. But then Amabel got curious after a good hour of driving, the Woman next to her looked much younger than she recalled her being. "How old are you again?" she asked.

The woman puckered her lips and blew air, thinking, tapping the steering wheel before giving the answer of "Eighteen?"

"That... sounds about accurate."

"Why ask?" the woman questioned.

"I thought you were the same age as me," Amabel replied. There were was a minor difference between how she dressed and how Amabel dressed. Amabel was in the white short sleeve T-Shirt and jeans, while the woman had been driving in a black long sleeve T-Shirt with the same pair of jeans.

"Oh, nope," she said, shaking her head.

Some time passed before Amabel's next question, the night had still not turned to day, and there was no sign of what was supposed to be home. "You'll tell me when we get home right?" Amabel asked. As she did, she noticed the fuel gauge wasn't moving at all since she had woke up in the car. It was on full and had been since they began talking. It had not moved an inch.

"You'll know it when you see it," the woman replied happily. "It's closer than we think, I believe." The woman smiled a glowing grin as her imaginations for what awaited floated around.

"What makes you so sure?" Amabel remarked, grinning the same, leaning her head against the window.

"Because we know. It's there, we just have to keep driving for it," the Woman spoke with certainty. "It's close, I can feel it," she continued with assurance.

"What if we crash before we get there?" Amabel asked, genuinely concerned with a frown.

The Woman laughed before saying "We'll just have to be careful, won't we?" and continued driving with confidence. "Just wake up, and we'll get there at some point I'm sure!" she yelled cheerfully.

"Wake up?"

2nd Lieutenant Amabel "Knot" Allard
Koga AFB, Koga Province, Seian
December 23th - Eight days after Operation: FAITHLESS


She woke up.

No one was there, beside herself. She'd already been interviewed and persecuted by the Dorusians, and more or less, they were now supposed to be fighting the very allies they were sent to help out in the first place just like that. It brought a new perspective on the phrase "Blue on Blue". All over a mysterious prototype they never found yet. Whatever it was should be massive, and game-changing on a whole other scale, but more than likely it wasn't. The ends in Amabel's life never justified the means, and this to her wasn't any different, especially in the case of tricky and scheming geopolitics, where loyalty is but a buzzword and you're thrown away as soon as you're not needed or are a liability.

It was Just like Home, and just as bullshit.

At this point, if at the very end of it all, all Amabel had done was go in a circle, then that was that. If mercenary work was just as disposable as being a Pilot in Aurelia, then it was time for a change. She'd get home somehow to put it all to rest, and she knew there was a way to do it, it just took the right timing. She wouldn't get abused and discarded again, not this easily.

But Morena was more than something she could just hop off of. She'd stick with it, if just for now. Though the thought of packing her bags and deserting was an attractive thought, it wasn't attractive enough to abandon Morena, with home so close.

"Because we know. It's there, we just have to keep driving for it," she said. And she would, it'd all end there. The trouble would be over. And just for once the ends would justify the means by which Amabel got there. For once she would feel fine.

The bed was uncomfortable, and a sore pain in the left side of her back only proved that. She'd been in her room for about as long as she could just rest in the time they had been on the ground. She decided what would be best for her back would be fresh air outside, or as much as she could before they were forced to go up again. Just a nice sit against the wall did a lot of good before.

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
10:00 December 24, 1992 // Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian


High above the central highlands the sky was forever clear.

It had been several weeks since the beginning of hostilities between the former allies, and much of eastern Seian, already housing a number of foreign assets, had been occupied with little resistance, the Seianese military in full retreat westward, towards the capital, as the situation gradually worsened. Although focused primarily on continuing their war against the Beiarusians, the DAF had managed within days to secure all airspace east of Nonsan despite a handful of skirmishes. All that remained was to neutralize the few remaining pockets of resistance.

Hence their deployment. An SAF aggressor squadron had claimed the skies in the vicinity of Nonsan, specifically those near the Songnisan Highlands. More problematic, they were launching raids against DAF assets with surprising success, and thus were slated for elimination.

<< Estoc: North sector is clear. No signs of hostiles. >>

<< Reaver: Copy. Maintain patrol. >>

The 101^st was leading the hunt alongside Morena. Warrior was screening the northern highlands; Reaper the southern. The mercenaries were assisting the latter. They had been airborne for more than an hour patrolling the region yet no contact had been made. An earlier patrol days prior had been beset upon almost immediately, but now the radar was as empty as the sky was blue. This may well have been a CAP over Koga.

Null, at the tip of the loose formation, stifled back a yawn. He hadn't slept much the night before. His mind was too preoccupied, but Angel, and her confession, hadn't helped matters none. That alone would have kept him up. Perhaps, deep down, he had known her affections to be more than platonic, and without much consideration he had inadvertently fostered these feelings that had since reached a boiling point. Mitsuko Kimura was burdened in a way few would understand. Due to unusual circumstance she was a child of both Seian and Dorusia, and her duty as a soldier would see her betray one for the other. She had come to Null in her time of need and he had given the comfort she so desired.

Neither had slept much the night before.

Neither had they the time to talk before heading up on sortie, and Null briefly considered doing so now, if only to end the awkwardness that had since developed between them the morning after, but after a moment's consideration he maintained radio-silence lest their conversation be overheard. It could wait until they were back at base.

<< Skull Kid: Uh... I got aircraft on radar. >>

Null checked his own radar. Contacts to the west and on approach.

<< Reaver: This is Reaper-Actual to all. Confirming four aircraft. It's them. >>

On the edge of the western horizon were the silhouettes of the aggressor squadron they'd come to hunt. Four F-15C Eagles in standard coloration, grey with yellow trimming, yet emblazoned each by the calligraphic penmanship of their homeland.

SAF 404^th Special Tactics Squadron, Mononoke.

<< Taishō: These are our skies. >>

<< Shōwa: Our land. Our home. >>

<< Kamakura: And you are not welcomed. >>

A slight pause followed by a woman's voice that was uncomfortably familiar.

<< Tokugawa: More importantly you have something that belongs to us. >>

The SAF aircraft were close to standoff range but maintained formation. No radar pings. No scrambling to gain an advantage. Reaper was quick to reorient themselves so as to be facing the enemy head-on; Morena had little choice but to do the same. The mercenary pilots had made clear their displeasure at engaging former allies but orders were orders and they were under contract. Their feelings mattered little.

<< Angel: Aleksei... >>

It was a strange sensation, one that couldn't easily be explained, a voice so close yet so incredibly distant that they may well have been strangers. Null couldn't help but to glance over to the Eagle trailing off his wing, and he saw her, watching him with a gaze so strong, so pure, it pierced the obscurity of her visor like a knife through glass. A mix of sadness and something more. As if she were drowning in the vast nothingness of that moment and so desperately was clinging to her only comfort. Her harbor in the storm of her own creation.

Only too late did he realize she was seeking forgiveness.

<< Angel: I'm sorry. >>

Her attention, her focus, snapped forward with an intensity that was shocking, leaving Null watching helplessly as she broke formation, rolling into a dive and jettisoning her munitions as she turned away from her allies and friends. No hesitation. No more than the slight tremble to her farewell.

<< Skull Kid: What's she doing!? >>

<< Reaver: Isn't it obvious. Such a waste of talent. Hey, are you listening Kimura? No hard feelings. This coffin is yours and yours alone.
All aircraft, weapons free. Shoot them all down, traitor included. >>

<< Tokugawa: Don't you dare. >>

Mononoke was moving to engage, to cover Angel's defection, and they weren't alone.

Reaper and Morena were suddenly spiked from all sides. Additional SAF fighters were emerging on radar, low and rapidly climbing, undoubtedly having used the low terrain to avoid detection until now. An entire squadron lying in wait to spring the perfect ambush.

Null hesitated as the radio erupted into chatter. How could he not. Angel had chosen her side in this conflict, and Null, a soldier loyal to his countrymen, was left behind with a pain like a bullet to the chest. A deep breath to steel himself, to bottle these feelings that mattered not. Not here; not now. Blood was in the water, and the lives of Morena were on the line regardless of their opinions. They had no choice but to fight.

So Null gave the order to engage.

Mission Theme: Storywriter

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Alexander Tolshev, "Hazard"
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia
December 24, 1992

The day prior they had been alerted about a mission to intercept hostile air elements. Hazard had awoken at six in the morning to eat, shower, get the mission brief and run a check about his aircraft. He didn't like the idea of taking in the Warthog for an air to air mission one bit, but he tagged along, taking up the rear of Morena's formation. However, it was a good change of pace over the short and boring CAPs over Koga, at least that's what Hazard thought before they were crusing about the Songnisan Highlands for the better part of an hour.

At least it's a good change of scenery. Alexander thought, semi-bitterly towards himself.

Contacts appeared on radar. After a short verbal exchange, and a few long seconds, Angel broke formation, leaving the ranks of Morena and running to join with the enemy. Everything stopped for a second, before the Dorusians started bickering. They were ordered to engage. Suddenly, on all sides planes rose from the deck, spiking the squadron. The faster and nimbler of the fighters were able to break the locks on them, but the A-10 wasn't nimble. A missile was incoming, and he broke into a roll followed by a dive to evade.

It seemed that the morning had finally kicked into gear for the pilots of Morena.

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

These skies were hauntingly familiar.

It had only been three months since Morena had last visited the Songnisan Highlands; it had been just after the disastrous defeat to the Beiarusian onslaught at the city of Ansan and the beaten Seianese forces had retreated through these hills only to be set upon again. Morena had fought tooth and nail to ensure their escape at the cost of their own. A handful of weeks and it felt like five times more. Now the mercenaries had returned under an entirely new set of circumstances, not ones that they particularly favored but orders were orders. The ally they had began the war alongside and fought so ferociously to protect were now considered to be the enemy in their own country; Dorusia had made it explicitly clear that they were not holding anything back when it came to waging war on their former comrades and whilst on the surface level, this resurgence of conflict had sparked over that single incident, there was a suspicion that this turning of the tables was part of a deeper ruse. Dorusia had most likely used the Akers incident as their casus belli, with the resulting schism just being another step in whatever roguish machinations they were executing. Beiarusia on the other-hand had remained rather quiet after the brawl, they were most likely using the infighting as an opportunity to consolidate their forces, replenish their broken divisions and mount a stalwart defense, if an attack would ever come.

Nevertheless, despite the Mercs' various scruples and opinions on the situation, Morena had once more been pressed into service. Their current objective was a hunter-killer sortie against various aggressor SAF squadrons that had been conducting retaliatory ground strikes against the Dorusians still stationed inside the country, more specifically at Nonsan which was only a stone throw away from Koga Air Base, the de-facto home of Morena. This did not sit well with the occupying force and so the squadron had been tasked with their immediate removal.

Songnisan was reminiscent of Auserias; a mountainous region of Sapin. The two were both agrarian in nature and far removed from most urban centers, the snow-melt of the northern mountains would drain down in the springtime and nourish the farmland nestled in-between the rolling hills and whilst Auserias wasn’t nearly as lush, the two were extremely similar. Songnisan lacked many defining landmarks and features however, the rolling hills were pretty much identical to one another, Noel attempted to pick out the valleys that he had flown Praeses’ Mirage though those weeks ago, yet was hard pressed to find any recognizable features. Drawing similarities with his homeland and drifting in and out of reminiscent thought had almost detached him from the mission at hand, as much as he wanted to forget what he was doing, he found himself checking in with his co-pilot every so often who was constantly at vigi, monitoring the instruments for any sign of the ‘enemy’.

Both were equally as sour about the situation, whilst Maria was looking at things pragmatically; Noel was letting his emotional involvement skew his perspective on things, as much as he would deny it. Morena had also suffered a cohesion hit as the various pilots had argued among themselves about the best present course of action, many agreed to maintain the status-quo whilst others had voiced concern against the Dorusian actions. Despite the vehement disagreement on Noel’s half, he had stuck around mainly because of what retributions would arise if he did suddenly up and leave, and had accompanied Morena on their next mission. Nothing further had been said once they were airborne and everybody had stayed oriented to the task.

“Bogeys on western approach vector. Angels twelve, closing fast. Confirm visual contact” Maria broke the silence with the announcement of a Radar contact, not from their craft, but from a data link from another plane.

Noel didn’t need any confirmation that these were the aggressors, but obliged anyway and peered off the nose to the west, after a moment of re-adjustment, could see the outlines of the distant aircraft against the wintry morning skies. F-15 silhouettes, moving at cruise speed and altitude.

“Copy. Visual contact. Count four Eagles, this is them.”

Morena shifted their course toward an intercept vector and began preparing for engagement. All seemed in order until a friendly F-15 up ahead peeled from the formation early, a cascade of weapons and fuel tanks dropping from it’s undercarriage.

“Who is that? What are they doing?”

Noel only needed to glance at the wing to realize it was Angel, dropping altitude and away from Morena. There was a pulse of confusion that rippled through the squadron until most came upon the same conclusion.

“She’s defecting.”

It was a surprise as much as it wasn’t. Whilst it made sense that she wished to fight with her own rather than against, why had she chosen until now to do it? Though the next few words to come over the radio made Noel understand a little more.

<< Reaver: Isn't it obvious. Such a waste of talent. Hey, are you listening Kimura? No hard feelings. This coffin is yours and yours alone.
All aircraft, weapons free. Shoot them all down, traitor included. >>

Noel watched in mild disbelief, he found himself unconsciously holding his breath as he glanced between Angel’s F-15, the rest of the squadron and the enemy up ahead. Ultimately here, a choice had to be made, not an easy one.


Noel thumbed the radio into the mute position, double checking to ensure only his co-pilot could hear him.

“What’s it going to be?”

Noel asked calmly, almost as if discussing something completely irrelevant to what had just happened. A cold, calculating silence followed for an intense couple of seconds.

“Continue as we are. Angel made her choice and the only thing we can do is what we’re paid to do. We doing anything rash and we doom ourselves too. We could run interference to ensure Angel gets away but other than that … our hands are tied.”

It was a moral shredding decision and not one Noel took lightly. To continue as everything was normal was a regrettable choice as much as it was a realistic one. No matter how much of Noel wanted no part in what was about to happen, he had signed a binding contract and any breach of that would warrant his termination, both on paper and right now, more than likely physically. The only thing they could do was survive the current engagement and hope to god they got out alive, besides, the Seianese were equally as unreserved as the Dorusians when it came to killing old allies, even if it was for a better reason.

“Fuck … FUCK!”

Deciding to punch the canopy was probably a sounder idea than punching the instrument panel, though punching neither would have been better. Over the frustrated yelling, the scream of the Radar Warning Receiver began wailing. Mononoke wasn’t the only threat. Hiding in the terrain of the Highlands, other SAF squadrons had been waiting to spring the perfect ambush and now that they were in the kill-zone, they had begun their ascent to box in Morena and the DAF from multiple angles, from here there was little chance of escape. Noel quickly returned the radio to normal function.

<< Morena … as much as i hate to say this … don’t pull your punches and we might just live to see another day >>

There were no clouds to hide in and at this altitude, no terrain to hide behind. This was a battle of pure dogfighting prowess. The SAF had the upper hand and the only thing going for the Mercenaries was altitude, though that meant nothing if they couldn’t work out where the enemy was coming from as ‘beneath’ was a rather vague and relative term.

A sudden reign of the throttle and pumping of the airbrakes slowed the Falcon enough to pull instantly into a tight downwards corkscrew. An intensive maneuver but one that allowed a quick change in altitude and direction and the banking angle afforded Noel a better view of his attackers. Finbacks, Chengdus and more Eagles, as well as other Falcons rose from the green hills and began fanning into a combat spread, trying to curtail the mercenaries movement.
Two Falcons rose in a pair, gunning for Noel’s own aircraft. They made no hesitation in being the first to engage.

“Ok … let’s see what you’ve learned.”

---

<< Reaver: Isn't it obvious. Such a waste of talent. Hey, are you listening Kimura? No hard feelings. This coffin is yours and yours alone.
All aircraft, weapons free. Shoot them all down, traitor included. >>

Noel could only watch in mild disbelief as he watched Angel’s F-15 depart. If the Dorusians hadn’t made things personal before, they had just made it so. The pilot felt an uncharacteristic wave of rage and animosity wash away any rationality in his decision making and he was going to be damned if he was going to let the Dorusians pick of Morena one by one, as it was probably only a matter of time before they decided the rest of Morena was fit for the axeman, and Noel would be damned if he was going to wait that long, he would rather go out on his own terms. His decision was almost cemented until he realized that he wasn’t the only one in the aircraft. Quickly, Noel palmed the radio off and ensured that he could only be heard by his co-pilot.

“This is it. Are you with me?” Noel asked calmly, almost as if talking about something completely irrelevant. He could feel Maria’s eyes burning a hole through the back of his head almost instantly.

“Are you mad?” She yawped. “You’re going to get us killed!”

“A risk i’m willing to take to stick it to these coños. You know it as well as me, they’re going to turn on us.”

There was a muffled angry growl as well as a heavy sigh.

“Do what you have to do. But you should know they’re going to hunt us for this.”

“Let them … “

Noel flicked the radio back on and at the same time, hit the switch to disable the plane’s IFF transponder, hopefully it would buy them a little time for what happened next.

<< Null. I hope you’ll forgive me for this >>

The Falcon shifted up behind the Eagle, only a few hundred meters separating the two. There was a moment of hesitation, rational thought perhaps as Noel lined up the gunsights toward the flaring dual exhausts, and thumbed the trigger.

Reaper 2: <<What the hell? Blue on blue ... Blue on Blue ... ! >>
The thrumming of 20mm cannon fire stifled the confused screaming and shouting, the Vulcan mercilessly ripping the rear airframe of Reaper Two cleanly apart, splitting the metal from the sparring like wrapping paper off a present, exposing the vital innards of the plane. Several incendiary rounds pierced the fuel line and lit the craft up like a firework, perhaps one of the several flaming pieces of wreckage was an ejector seat but Noel hadn’t stuck around to find out. He had already lined up for Reaper Lead but found himself the target of another attack, this however was from below.

The SAF had sprung an ambush.

Reaper Lead << Mercenary dog! If i could only kill you slower … >>

“Radar tagging us from below. Seianese fighters!”

Reaper snapped hard left, the Eagle was a surprisingly nimble dogfighter and almost on par with the Falcon. The two cat and mouse’d for a few more seconds until the cat was starting to feel the heat.

“We’re outnumbered! If the Dorusians don’t shoot us down now, the Seianese will! Noel are you listening?!”

He was, though admittedly wasn’t showing much in the way of rational thought. With a frustrated yell he fired every missile he had though the boresight and wrenched the aircraft downward into an almost vertical dive. Either the Seianese were too dumbfounded to follow or had other targets, the Falcon fell towards hilltop level and only just manage to level out before slamming into the terrain. Warning sirens and alarms filled the cockpit for a good few seconds as both pilot and co-pilot strained against the g-forces.

“Youve … damned … us … now” Maria panted, trying to balance her oxygen levels once more.

Noel grunted a monotone response.

“Whats our plan now? Crash? Get shot down by the Dorusians .. or the Seianese because if you haven’t noticed, they are still technically against us? “

Noel had formulated part of a plan during his anger fueled attack on Reaper, as half baked as it was, the semblance of a contingency had formed.

“Fly as far south as this thing can get us. Punch out. Hope to god we can get to the Leasathian or Brasalium border before someone finds us. I have somebody i can call.”

Noel glanced towards the fuel gauge. At full afterburner, they would probably get halfway across Seian - assuming they flew straight and were not shot down - before they ran out of fuel and had to ditch. From there they would have a day or two on foot towards whichever border was closer and then there was the issue of crossing the border itself. Technically they were active military personnel and both southern neighbours of Seian probably had their borders on high alert, any military personnel trying to cross would be detained and interrogated, especially if they were mercenaries, not to mention they would probably be listed as AWOL by the time they got there.

[The United Remnants of America]

Lieutenant Aiden "Frosty" Kelly

---

Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

---

12/25/1992 - 10:03

---

Five unique aircraft came into radar contact shortly after the Seianese aircraft gave the orders to engage Reaper and Morena. An F-105D Tunderchief led the formation, followed by a Mirage V, a Super Skyhawk, a Skyhawk, and an F-16B. Each aircraft had its own loadouts, camouflage, and personal emblems, but one thing had been painted onto each hull: An ice-blue cat's paw inside of a snowflake.

The last several weeks had been stressful for the pilots of Snowcat Squadron. They'd been shipped around Seian as the conflict with Beirusia devolved into a dirt fight with Dorusia and Beiarusia. Though as the Dorusia-Seian conflict kept going on, it seemed Beiarusia was able to fade out of awareness and lick its wounds. Meanwhile, however, Snowcat had been ferried around, but never really put to any combat, always on CAPs and light air defense duty.

That all changed when Snowcat had been shuffled close to the Dorusian "front" on the 22nd to participate in a special mission. Despite major ground losses in Seian to the Dorusians, the ace fighter teams had been causing a hell of a stir, chief of which was Mononoke. The Seianese fighter aces were making use of hit and run tactics on unsuspecting Dorusian targets, which started to add attrition to the war effort.

The Dorusians, however, had had enough of the guerilla air attacks, and had sent a hunting force directed to find and eradicate the guerilla pilots. Somehow, the Seianese had gotten intel on this hunt-and-kill mission, and had set up their own ambush. They'd moved anti-air assets into the landscape of the Songnisan Highlands. Jiangshi, some Chengdu and Shenyang aircraft, and a pair of F-16s had been moved up to hit the hunters hard. To top it all of, Snowcat was meant to support the ambush. Frosty had been given minimal information, but he'd been able to glean that Warrior and Reaper flights of Dorusia's 101st Tactical Fighter Squadron had been sent in to do the hunting. Frosty took the contract. It would be difficult to face down pilots like Major Graves and Captain Emile, but they would have Captain Inuoe and the rest of Mononoke on their side. It was just business, anyways. Frosty was sure everyone understood how mercenaries work.

Nobody told Captain Aiden Kelly they'd see Morena in the skies.

<<Snowcat-1 to Snowcat, prepare to engage Dorusian targets.>>

The five aircraft were the last to the party, and what a party it was. A couple dozen aircraft filled the skies of the Songnisan Highlands.

<< Taishō: These are our skies. >>

<< Shōwa: Our land. Our home. >>

<< Kamakura: And you are not welcomed. >>

It seemed the Seianese pilots were ready to cause some trouble, and Snowcat would be right there behind them. The radio waves were alive with banter, with voices familiar and unfamiliar. But some seemed oddly familiar, out of location, even...

<< Reaver: Isn't it obvious. Such a waste of talent. Hey, are you listening Kimura? No hard feelings. This coffin is yours and yours alone. All aircraft, weapons free. Shoot them all down, traitor included. >>

Frosty nodded, he knew that voice. That meant Reaper were some of those enemy blips on his Thud's radar. But, wait. Kimura? Did that mean-

<< Águila: Morena... As much as I hate to say this... Don’t pull your punches and we might just live to see another day.>>

Frosty's blood froze in his veins. He thumbed his radio to transmit on his flight only.

<<Snowcat, hold fire. I repeat. Snowcat-1 orders hold fire!>>

What the hell was going on? Morena wasn't supposed to be here! Frosty switched his radio to transmit over the open net, his voice taking on a flat, hollow sound, as much due to his surprise as his bravado beginning to waver.

Did that mean that was Angel that had just turned her coat?

<<You aren't supposed to be here, Morena. Null, I suggest you take your people, turn back, and leave this behind you. Please.>>

Frosty waited a heartbeat before transmitting purposely on the open net again.

<<Hold fire and formation, Snowcat. Do not engage hostile targets just yet.>>

<< Kamakura: Snowcat, you will do as you are contracted to do and engage the Dorusian and mercenary hostiles. Do not make the same mistakes as your foolish sellsword counterparts. >>

<<My previous orders stand, Snowcat. Hold engagement until my orders. Kamakura, if you will refrain from ordering my pilots and focusing on your war, we will continue our contractual obligation of supporting your operation. You currently have our full support and encouragement, Kamakura.>>

Frosty had broken out into a slick sweat inside of his flight suit, his knuckles were white on his flight controls. None of his wingmen had questioned him yet, but he was now in a precarious situation. Fire on Morena, pilots he'd known for months and years all because Dorusia and Seian couldn't play nice? Or withhold engaging or withdraw entirely, and risk Seian shooting them in the back? What if his wingmen disagreed and he had dissension in his flight? What if Jyri or Wulf, relatively new to the outfit, decided Seian paid enough to shoot him in the back? What if he stuck with Seian and Jyri or Wulf decided Morena and Dorusia was worth backing?

Frosty took a shaking, calming breath, but his momentary reverie was cut short almost as fast as it had arrived.

<< Kamakura: This is your final warning, mercenaries: Engage the Dorusian enemy and their hired help, or risk having your contract terminated and your status as an ally reconsidered.>>

Frosty couldn't believe Captain Naoki Inuoe, a man Frosty had considered a peer, and possibly even a friend, was now so willing to shoot him down. Would Tallow or Graves have the same demeanor? Did Snowcat have no allies in this fight?

What do I do? I refuse to bury another kid pilot in this fucking war!

[The Central Shadow Nation]

2nd Lieutenant Vasil Cosmescu | Warlock
2nd Lieutenant John Kuhn | Nemo
December 24, 1992
Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

It was ironic that although the last few weeks were hectic they were also very peaceful. During this time of moving around Seian they hadn't seen any true combat which was a relief. The flights gave the two mercenaries onboard the F-16B time to think about what had caused the Seianese-Dorusian split. Apparently there was a dispute between the jurisdiction of confiscated Beirusian equipment and prisoners which caused a split between the two nations. From what they were told it had been the unprovoked aggression of the Dorusians concerning said equipment but that was only one side of the story. Snowcat had lucked out by not participating in that shitshow and not risking the chance of having to engage their friends in Morena.

Since then the Seianese had been using their air force to disrupt and disturb the Dorusian war effort, that of which had so far been successful with Koga and Tiananmen falling victim to occupation. Snowcat was called up to the front for reasons unknown at that time. It was soon revealed that Seian had received limited intel of a Dorusian counter attack. There was something wrong with fighting your former allies, but it was inevitable considering the circumstances.

<<Snowcat-1 to Snowcat, prepare to engage Dorusian targets.>>

Prior to this announcement the airmen had been discussing the holidays. The conversation shifted to Kuhn asking his pilot a simple but important question,"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm good..."Warlock trailed off at the end, focusing now on the radio chatter.

<< Taishō: These are our skies. >>

<< Shōwa: Our land. Our home. >>

<< Kamakura: And you are not welcomed. >>

<< Reaver: Isn't it obvious. Such a waste of talent. Hey, are you listening Kimura? No hard feelings. This coffin is yours and yours alone. All aircraft, weapons free. Shoot them all down, traitor included. >>

Vasil was listening in to the rest of the transmission and initially didn't catch the name. His WSO did.

"Its Angel,"The Ratioan stated. The fact that this was just happening left the two wondering if Morena was present. For several long seconds it seemed as though the cockpit had gone quiet. The two had the same thought going through their minds; Morena?

<< Águila: Morena... As much as I hate to say this... Don’t pull your punches and we might just live to see another day.>>

"Shit..."Vasil exclaimed, the thought of facing those he called his friends tugging his heart down towards the Earth.

"Hold on,"Kuhn tried to calm his pilot down, hoping something would happen.

<<Snowcat, hold fire. I repeat. Snowcat-1 orders hold fire!>>

Vasil exhaled deeply, relieved that his captain had made the right move. Snowcat-1 repeated his orders to his group, this time on an open channel.

<<Hold fire and formation, Snowcat. Do not engage hostile targets just yet.>>

It wasn't over yet. Kamakura responded to Snowcat-1's message.

<< Kamakura: Snowcat, you will do as you are contracted to do and engage the Dorusian and mercenary hostiles. Do not make the same mistakes as your foolish sellsword counterparts. >>

The cockpit was quiet, both inside tuned in to the conflict between soldier and mercenary.

<<My previous orders stand, Snowcat. Hold engagement until my orders. Kamakura, if you will refrain from ordering my pilots and focusing on your war, we will continue our contractual obligation of supporting your operation. You currently have our full support and encouragement, Kamakura.>>

Warlock tipped the aircraft's wing towards Snowcat in acknowledgment, not breaking his own silence over the radio. He listened to the rest of Frosty's statement towards Kamakura anxiously, awaiting the response from Kamakura and crossing his fingers. Warlock didn't want to experience what the Dorusians and Seianese had experienced at the Beirusian research facility weeks before.

<< Kamakura: This is your final warning, mercenaries: Engage the Dorusian enemy and their hired help, or risk having your contract terminated and your status as an ally reconsidered.>>

"Shit shit shit..."Warlock clenched the control stick. "What have we gotten into?"

"Whatever it is he'll get us out of it. We've got this,"Kuhn responded, referencing his captain. They looked towards the sky infront, eyeing the F-104 that lead the squadron. The two awaited Snowcat-1's decision, not knowing what it would be but hoping it didn't come too late.

[Relikai]

Second Lieutenant Kenneth Falkenrich 'Iceterine'
Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

It was supposed to be a normal patrol, but the burst of chatter over the radio seemed to suggest otherwise. Iceterine gripped the control stick as he looked about, seeing Morena and the other Dorusians line up into a fighting line, while the Seianese planes, their enemies, came at them, both sides closing on each other at high speed.

Well, this is the mercenary life.

He never had to do this, but then again, Iceterine has spent too little time to feel any attachment for the Seianese. They were simply allies, turned enemies, and the progression of events made his defence of the Seianese warship days ago look foolish. Well, hindsight is a perfect 20/20, but so is what his radar pinged at him closing in from a distance away.

Iceterine << This is Iceterine, Morena Six. >>

He keyed in the first phrase as he flipped a few switches, his missiles coming hot.

"It is with much regret-" The IFF painted the Seianese as clearly hostile as he spoke with the mic off, mainly for personal dramatic effect. "-that I am..."

Best not to keep them waiting, as his thumb pressed hard against the button, a missile streaking from the left wing towards the Seianese interceptors, planes he met many times in his days as an instructor in Erusea.

Iceterine << Engaging. >>

[Kyraina]

1st LT Jax "Ranger" Bradford, 1 Week Ago ~ Koga

It was getting close to dusk as Jax walked back to the Toyota Hilux he had bought before the split between Seian and Dorusia after placing a signal to his contact, who had just dropped of the face of the world, to hand over the latest after action reports of the battle that caused the Allaince between Seian and Dorusia to end, and a week worth of CAP's and other sorties he could get his hands on, but a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He casually turned his head toward the movement and was rewarded with what looked like someone slip down a alleyway stealthily as possible, but not really succeeding as Jax's well trained eye caught them. He looked around to make sure he wasn't be tailed and followed the figure.

As he trailed he noted the figure looked familiar and saw they had made classic rookie mistakes, as instead of acting like they were where they needed to be they were sticking way to much to the shadows. Another was that they had decided to wear black, which was way too dark a color to be natural in the dark, instead of dark shades of blue, green, brown, or even grey. They were also jumpy, as they had glanced over their shoulder several times, and didn't know how to catch tails very well, as they had failed to spot him so far.

He slowly made ground on the figure as he followed the figure around a corner and on to a street, and realized the figure was female and she look awfully familiar. The lady looked over her shoulder again and Jax was shocked to see that it was Angel as she made the mistake of looking over her shoulder as she crossed beneath a light. She had failed to spot him again, but she came to a stop and took out a pack of cigarettes and a butane lighter. She was distracted when he walked up behind her.

"What do you think you are doing Angel?" Jax asked with the southern drawl many Westerns had made famous for cowboys.

Angel spun around in a panic, cigarette dropping to the concrete as she raised her hands in mock self-defense like one would imagine from a comedic film. She relaxed a bit upon seeing it was only Jax but her agitation remained clearly plastered to her face as she scanned the immediate area around them to see who, if anyone, was around.

This corner of the street was deserted save for them.

"What are you doing?" she asked, ignoring his question to ask him exactly what he'd asked of her.

Joseph crossed his tattoo-covered arms as he shook his head at her reaction and just looked at her with his face set in stone and his eyes devoid of emotion.

"Me? What am I doing? Well I was on my way to meet a friend of mine at the local dive bar, when I saw someone trying to be sneaky and failing pretty hard at it. So why don't you tell me what you are up too, or I could just guess. Also it's just us here, no one followed us." Jax said calmly.

"I'm not doing anything. Just..." she pauses to retrieve her cigarette from the ground before lighting it, "out and about. Yeah."

He raises an eyebrow and she relents with an exasperated frown.

"Look, j-just forget you ever saw me," she begs. "Please. No one else has to get involved."

"I'm probably in deeper...." Jax's head snapped around as there was a crashing noise behind him, his hand dropping smoothly to this M9 holstered on his hip, drawing it, and aiming. A cat darted out of the mouth of a alley. He cursed under his breath as re-holstered his pistol, and turned back toward Angel and cursed under his breath as he saw her running down the street and took off after her.

Angel was faster than Jax, smaller and more agile, but despite having displayed an elegance while airborne she was clumsy on the ground, stumbling as she darted into a dark alleyway in-between a near-empty noodle shop and closed storefront. She pressed on, intending to out-sprint the man now that she was righted with a straight path ahead, and, indeed, she was gaining distance, until a loose rope abandoned indiscriminately behind a trashcan threatened to tangle itself on her foot. A mistimed adjustment of her footing, and although she avoided the obstacle she landed wrong on the step. She tripped with all the grace of a potato sack. Landing hard on her stomach and skidding a few feet with her feet curled up in the air behind her and very nearly avoiding a complete tumble. She collapsed entirely and lay still as Jax approached, groaning from having her world turned almost upside-down.

While not as fast or as agile as Angel, he was a more efficient runner, and still held himself to the standards of Osean Special Operations Command. In fact, he had to as he still did missions for OSOC and Osea's intelligence agency. He came to a stop standing above Angel and reached a hand down to help her up. "You okay? I ain't going anywhere. You're gonna defect. I can help with that, just trust me. I'm already under deep enough to face a firing squad if I'm caught doing what I'm doing."

Angel, in her compromising position, looked up to the man with an expression betraying her anxiety. A bitter betrayal to her allies, to her home, to Null; a burden she would much rather carry alone for the fear of striking deep at those whom mattered. This was to be her struggle, but, try as she might, she was inexperienced in such dealings, betraying one country for another, and couldn't go alone.

Not anymore.

There was a long pause, Angel staring up at Jax as if his offered hand was that of a devil requesting a deal, but, eventually, she accepted and was pulled up to her feet. "You're gonna help me? Why?" she asked, looking to Jax with a grim determination in her eyes. No going back now.

"Let's get to my truck and we'll talk there. Just trust me on this," Jax said as he turned and walked back to where the truck was parked with Angel walking almost reluctantly beside him.

They climbed in the truck and Jax started it up, the noise of the engine and the exhaust loud enough to keep people from overhearing them. "So, I'm doing this because I can't in good faith fight for people that turn their backs on allies. Hell I'm not even a merc, I'm an Osean air force special forces captain and I've been for Osea since I've been here, and then my mission change with our last mission. I have to defect and help stop Dorusia, since they are a Yuke ally. I've been turning over after-action reports and mission briefings to the Oseans. Hell check the glove compartment and you'll see our last mission, and several patrols for this week. Don't ask how I got them, just know that I got them. Besides, I owe it to you for saving my ass over Antartica, and you need all the help you can get. You are not trained for this, I am. So you got my help. It's not gonna be easy betraying the squadron but I'll be easier now."

Angel listened to the man and, with some curiosity, checked the glove compartment, and true enough the said reports were indeed inside. She mulled over his words for a moment, keeping her gaze down towards her feet before arriving at some decision. "Alright. We work together. But don't think I'm betraying everyone because I hate Dorusia. I was raised their. My parents are Dorusian. Just... my sister is more important. She can help us. She'll know what to do."

Overhead the rumble of a passing jet returning from patrol. An F-15 coloured a deep grey camouflage with the sword markings of Warrior. Angel grimaced upon the imagined sneer of Lieutenant Seaver who, quite frankly, never took a liking to the younger woman.

Her eyes returned to Jax. "Whatever we do we need to do it soon. Before I... before something makes me stay."

Or, as was unsaid, someone.

Jax nodded, and kept driving, driving past where he placed his signal but didn't see anything, same as it had been all week. He was worried but he kept it to himself. He took Angel to a Payphone, where she called her sister and set up a meeting for Jax to turn over the Intel that Jax had retrieved.

They then went to a local bar were Jax made a daily appearance and ordered a drink. A hour later They returned to base, Though not didn't returned together but separate as to not raise suspension.

As Soon as the Intel had been handed over Angel and Jax had started to plan their defection, but a couple days later they had heard that DAF patrols had beened ambushed by way of the rumor pipeline, they knew the Intel they provided was being put to use.

When they received the brief about their upcoming mission, so they quickly relayed the message of the mission to her sister. After they returned and finalized the escape plan via their mission, Jax talked to Knight, who also agreed with the defection although very reluctantly, and was upset they didn't included him earlier.

---

1st LT Jax "Ranger" Bradford & 1st LT Zach "Knight" Steele - Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

The two had preformed the last of the preflight checks whilst their maintenance crew changed one of the tires on the landing gear which was flat due to bad OPR value, delaying their take-off by a few minutes and putting them well behind the rest of Morena.

Ranger flew the F-15E faster then norm to catch up before the fight started. As the duo closed the distance, they overheard the chatter on the comms and even heard SnowCat on the comms. Ranger armed the AIM-120s, while Knight turned the radar on Active and selected a target: Iceterine. Ranger waited for radar-lock.

Ranger: "Sorry Morena, but I have to do this. SnowCat, cover Angel."

Ranger fired the first missile and Knight switched targets to Null, then Ranger fired the last 120. Ranger switched to the 2 AIM-9s and Knight selected Hazard as Ranger closed the distance and release both AIM-9s at Hazard and followed with a quick gun burst.

He then dove to tree top level and released the bombs and attempted to high tail it out of there.

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
December 24, 1992 // Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

In a matter of seconds an already bad situation turned for the worse. A radar-lock from directly behind.

<< Ranger: Sorry Morena, but I have to do this. >>

There was no time to register the shock of the second betrayal — one all the more dumbfounding than Angel's sudden but understandable defection — as Null pulled hard onto the yoke to bring the F-15C into an evasive maneuver, but he was too slow, and the missile bit close, enough for its proximity detonation to rock the aircraft as shrapnel pierced the fuselage. Ranger was gone by the time Null leveled-out. Left wing was damaged and the Eagle was leaking fuel. Second Lieutenant Falkenrich (Icterine) was trailing smoke; Second Lieutenant Tolskev (Hazard) was barely airborne, the A-10 shredded by two missiles. Comm-chatter was an incohesive mess as allied pilots responded to the blue-on-blue. Three aircraft were more-or-less disabled...

...and the fight was only just beginning.

Null was spiked from below. Two Chengdu J-7's looking for an easy kill. He pulled into another defensive roll as gunfire tore across the canopy, a ricochet marking the nosecone as the two eager MiG's overshot their rapid ascent. The fuel gauge dipped worryingly before steadying. A deep breath to keep his nerves under check.

<< Status on all aircraft. Icterine. Hazard. Respond. >>

<< Skull Kid: I'm being run down! >>

Reaper was engaged. Mononoke was out for blood with Second Lieutenant Forester (Skull Kid) drawing the short end of the stick. Two aircraft were in pursuit, shunting the younger pilot at every maneuver so as to tighten the noose he was flying into. The others, Major Graves (Reaver) and Lieutenant Olek (Daemon), were drawn into their own dogfights and, surprisingly, were losing ground as their counterparts, Captain Inuoe (Kamakura) and Lieutenant Kimura (Tokugawa), matched them blow-for-blow.

Morena, too, was taking fire now with the scarlet F-16's of Jiangshi leading the assault. Lieutenant Strong (Mechanic) was lucky, his panicked maneuvering doing well to foil an already poor angle-of-attack. Captain Silva (Aguila) and Second Lieutenant Allard (Knot) were considerably less fortunate. Gunfire strafed the mercenary F-16B whereas the IAI Nammer suffered a missile hit. The radar of two J-8 Finbacks were painting the damaged Icterine. Further below, Hazard was dumping chaff and narrowly avoided the missile of another J-7, but three more were closing in like sharks.

The remaining SAF aircraft were circling around for an opening.

The RWR sounded once more as two additional J-7's spiked Null's damaged F-15C. His grip tightened as he counted the four MiG's now targeting him. Morena had survived the war thus far, and Null trusted them as pilots to do so for awhile longer. He could offer no assistance as the enemy dragged him into an engagement. His own life was now on the chopping block, and the time-limit imposed by the fuel gauge was already ticking down towards the end.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself as the four bogeys closed-in. They'd be all over him in a matter of moments.

<< All aircraft are to engage immediately. Create an opening. That is an order. You do not have permission to be shot down. >>

He turned to engage the oncoming MiG's. After all, he had to lead by example.

[Ubaria]

Captain Noel 'Aguila' Silva & 2nd Lt Maria "Outlaw" Ferreiro
Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

Fighters weaved and turned through one another like a swarm of angered hornets, Morena and the Dorusians desperately attempted to wrest control of the situation and establish equal engagement grounds to the Seianese aggressors. The native pilots had boxed the mercenaries in however, affording them very little area to maneuver, so they had to move without a shred of hesitation as the Seianese were going hell for leather with no holds barred, it was a bare knuckle fist fight.

Noel couldn't move his head fast enough to keep up with the unfolding carnage within the furball, every so often the Radar Warning Receiver would squawk frantically as a hostile managed to slip in behind and acquire a lock, only to lose it a second later because of the unpredictable situation. Pushing the aircraft into a shallow dive, Noel attempted a maneuver to set himself free of the close quarter battle and come back from a fresh angle. In just a few moments his altitude halved and during his rapid descent, screamed past a pair of Chengdus ascending the other way, neither plane making much of an attempt to engage, not that they could have effectively anyway, and continued up into the sparse cloud layer.

Radio chatter was heavy with the various allied pilots calling targets and detailing their actions, but one familiar voice cut above the clamoring.

<< Ranger: Sorry Morena, but I have to do this. >>

Ranger was deadpan. His voice was followed by a hollowing silence, a moment between confusion and realization like what had happened with Angel a mere couple of minutes previous. Before anybody, including Noel and Outlaw, could move to respond, all hell broke loose - if it hadn't already- . The Osean F-15 loosed missiles and gunfire at Null, Hazard and Iceterine from outside the fringes of the battle. Noel had not been in a position to see what had transpired behind but the cries of friendly fire made it painfully obvious what had just happened.

<< Ranger, Knight. Disengage! We are not the enemy! Are you listening! >>

Ranger's F-15 sped away in the distance, too far to react and following would have been a pointless effort as Noel would have been shot down by the Seianese or possibly the Dorusians if they had interpreted it as a retreat. Luckily; Null, Hazard and Iceterine had survived the sudden blue on blue, but not unscathed.

"Este es un espectáculo de mierda!" Noel hissed. Why had they engaged Morena? If anything the mercs were at the least fault for any of this, the Dorusians deserved it for instigating the situation.

"Why would they do that!?" Outlaw cried, evidently outraged by their actions.

"I don't know. We need to focus on staying alive, you said as much!"

<< Null: Status on all aircraft. Icterine. Hazard. Respond. >>

<< Engaging but ... this may not be a fight we can - >>

Noel spotted the bolt of crimson approaching from the periphery of his vision perhaps a fraction of a second too late; Jiangshi sliced through the skies ahead and discharged a dosage of 20mm cannon rounds directly at the starboard side of the F-16. Noel was too slow, the rounds lanced into the fuselage and rent the metal of the airframe with a series of horrific thrums, showering fragmented metal and sparks through the air and leaving tennis ball sized holes across the fighter in a snaking pattern. Several rounds had sheared the starboard aileron clean from the craft and had mangled the leading edge of the wing, torn the right Sidewinder away and a slew of other rounds had buried themselves somewhere deeper inside the fusalage.

The plane spluttered and slid sideways, the deformation of the starboard wing had seriously dampened the Falcon's fighting ability.

" Damage report! "

" Structural damage of the starboard wing. We've lost the leading edge actuators, the outer aileron and the Sidewinder. Starboard wing tank is pierced, but fuel flow and pressure remains nominal. We might have minor damage to some electronics. Diagnostics ongoing "

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but not good news by any stretch of the imagination.

<< I've taken rounds. Airborne but i'm flying with a gimped wing. >>

Fighting was the only way out.

Jiangshi 2 swung around to finish his wounded mark, but wasn't counting on it fighting back. Noel pulled into a sharp, defensive roll, albeit with some difficulty controlling the now trembling aircraft but managed to turn to face his attacker, the crimson Falcon continued swinging around rapidly.

<< Jiangshi 2: I'll make this quick >>

Captain Haurhiro snatched the cannon trigger. Letting a lance of bright tracers stream forward that were swiftly avoided by Aguila by a deft left-right weave into an inverted corkscrew roll. Haruhiro was traveling rapidly towards his target and had little time to re-adjust his lead, the pair were caught in a head-to-head scissor roll. Noel was sparring with his own fighter wanting to list away as well as the enemy, it was a two front fight.

Spiraling closer and closer. The pair exchanged cannon fire and each bout drew closer and closer until there was no more than a football field length between them. There was a moment of stillness where the gun pip and Jiangshi's craft became one and the same, a trigger was pulled. Noel closed his eyes and braced, when they opened again several moments later, it was nothing but clear skies.

<< Jiangshi 1: Jiangshi lead to Jiangshi two. Respond! ... Two respond! >>

---

Remaining Munitions
211x 20mm SAPHEI
1x AiM-9 Sidewinder
4x AiM-120

Kills
1x F-3 - F-16A Fighting Falcon 'Jiangshi Two'

[Tayner]

Second Lieutenant Alexander Tolshev, "Hazard"
Akers Research Facility, Beiarusia
December 24, 1992

<< Sorry Morena, but I have to do this. SnowCat, cover Angel >>

The situation had escalated rapidly, another defection followed Angel, this time being Ranger, who was more than happy to blue on blue his fellow pilots of Morena before breaking away. Hazard swore as the F-15E closed in on him, two missiles closing in fast. He rolled hard, watching as the cannon fire flew past where his cockpit was just a second ago. However, the RWR was still sounding, and after a spit second the aircraft was violently shaken, the sound of shrapnel tearing through his fuselage echoed in his ears.

And then it happened again.

The second missile hit, and everything went downhill. Hazard lost control, jockeying his stick to regain command of the aircraft as it began to dive. Alarms sounded, and Hazard swore uncontrollably before managing to get the beast of an aircraft to pull up, just before slamming into the ground. "Jesus fucking Christ." He said, before getting his bearings and taking in his situation.

<< Status on all aircraft. Icterine. Hazard. Respond. >>

<< Everything's on fire, most of my munitions are inoperable, and engine one is down. I still have countermeasures and sidewinders. Fuck! >>

The RWR sounded once again, and Hazard noticed as three contacts started to close. The lead bandit took the initiative, trying to claim an easy victory. Hazard juked hard, the aircraft sluggishly but surely responding to his control. Dumping chaff, he watched as the missile deatonated in a near miss. The three MiGs closing in, Hazard looked for alternatives. Morena was swamped, not likely that he could get cover from another pilot, unless...

<< Null! Come about to bearing 120, and drop low, I have an idea how to get some breathing room, let's play some chicken. >>

[Beiarusia]

Major Aleksei Tallow "Null"
December 24, 1992 // Songnisan Highlands, Nonsan, Seian

The F-15C rolled into yet another evasive dive as gunfire trailed after. The lead Chengdu overshot, but another was quick to take its place, its radar painting the fleeing DAF aircraft for several tense moments before another maneuver ruined its angle-of-attack. The pilot followed into the maneuver but was having difficulty acquiring another solid radar-lock. A third Chengdu was circling around to flank with a fourth coming in from up high.

Null checked his fuel gauge. The leak was either far worse than he'd first imagined or he was burning through too much fuel simply avoiding the attacks sent his way, but, regardless, at this rate he'd not have enough to return to Koga. He cursed as the Radar-Warning-Receiver sounded again, the bandit on his six o'clock having for a brief few seconds locked-on. Another evasion and another dip in the fuel gauge. Null was running out of options. The enemy pilot was smart, using his allies to contain Null's movements whilst he slowly but surely whittled away to acquire a favorable lock-on, and although Null was confident in a one-one engagement his options were quite limited without putting himself at risk. Any opening was immediately plugged by a Chengdu. It was only a matter of time.

Then came a possible out from the pilot he least expected.

<< Hazard: Null! Come about bearing one-twenty and drop low. I have an idea on how to get some breathing room.
Let's play some chicken. >>

The meaning wasn't lost on Null. He and Angel had pulled similar stunts in the past, going head-on to shake stubborn tails, but neither the Eagle nor the Warthog were in much condition for last-minute evasions. This was a Hail Mary, but, then again, what choice did they have?

It was easy enough to locate the struggling A-10. Like Null, Hazard was in the process of being run-down by the knockoff MiG's. The mercenary had somehow remained airborne but his time was quickly coming up short. Another short burst of 30mm gunfire hit the A-10 if only to cement how dire the situation indeed was. The A-10 could take considerable punishment but even it had its limits.

Null radioed a confirmation and then began the arduous task of repositioning himself. The pursuing aircraft followed into the loop. Null cut throttle at the apogee and tightened his arc, pointing the nose down towards the highlands below and opening up on the throttle, swinging around to be more-or-less in-line with the A-10. More gunfire tore into the fuselage but the aircraft held steady. He leveled and pushed the aircraft into afterburner. The Radar-Warning-Receiver sounded as the lead Chengdu followed at the tip of the formation. The distance between Null and Hazard was closing rapidly. The hostile aircraft stayed on-course, unaware of the planned maneuver or simply not caring.

<< Hazard, fire on my position. Passing in ten seconds... >>

He could see the MiG's jockeying for position. Null readied his thumb on the firing-switch, counted down the last few seconds, and then with no time remaining pulled into a sudden roll to avoid collision. He passed just under the A-10, close enough to almost touch, and then loosed the AIM-9. The missile was trashed but it forced the surprised pilot to pull high and disengage. His cannons forced another to do the same.

Null couldn't linger to see how Hazard had fared. The leading Chengdu had loosed a missile of its own at the moment of passing and it was now bearing down on the Eagle. Null could only hope that Hazard had survived.

---

---

December 24, 1992 // Narasaki Detention Center, Narasaki, Seian

North of Kaesong was a forgettable town. Narasaki, a rural community whose primary attraction was previously a university which shuttered in 1989. In the years since the town had experienced a slight economic decline, a significant decrease in population (considering the students had left alongside the school), and had become little more than a stopover for those traveling the highway. A place of no importance.

During the occupation, a detachment of the Seianese military had garrisoned inside Narasaki in preparation for the eventual liberation of Kaesong, and although the battle was successful the military remained. The town then found new purpose. The former university was commandeered and reestablished as a POW detention center with many of its first residents being those captured during the concurrent battles of Kaesong and Ansan. As the war progressed more and more prisoners were relocated to Narasaki. Until recently the soldiers overseeing the protection of the town and prison were Seianese, but now they were Dorusian, and in a cruel twist of fate those who'd been stationed here previously were now amongst the general populace of the prison.

The Narasaki Detention Center maintained the appearance of a university with dormitories and lecture halls at-the-ready for a semester that would never come, but razor-fencing and watchtowers had tarnished the academic nature of the grounds. The prisoners were generally left alone, confined to the dormitories and surrounding quad with guards and canines patrolling to ensure the peace, with those who volunteered their time doing menial labor receiving privileges at the discretion of the soldiers. Otherwise this was simply a place to wait-out the war.

It was here that Captain Shinobu Wakahisa had been sent. She had been detained in the aftermath of Operation Faithless, and for the foreseeable future a small dormitory would serve as her home, freedom denied until after the war had ended. The number of men was high in sharp contrast to the few women, and Shinobu would have little company as both sexes were segregated from one another.

Quite the fall for a proud pilot.