Ace Combat: Ashes of War (IC/Closed)

by **Offer Erapia** » Tue Jun 29, 2021 5:59 pm

2nd Lt. Adam Winters, Enforcer flight, Nov 24th, final approach to Emmerian airbase

Even though the base was a few miles up ahead he could clearly see the wisps of black smoke. He truly hoped the damage wasn't too severe and that no one had gotten hurt or killed. For the mist part he mainly focused on the runway and its numerous white stripes. His eyes followed his hand as they began setting up for his inevitable landing. He reset his trim and lowered his flaps at the same time he came off the throttle a little bit.

He eyed his fuel, even though he was not in any particular danger. He didnt want to waste the fuel on another pass. Once his altimeter read five hundred feet he quickly went ahead and lowered his gears. He could hear the mechanical whirl of the gears working in the belly of the beast. The stick began to grow stiff a side effect of the increased drag. The runway was soon fast approaching and as a final bit of insurance on a safe landing Adam slightly pitched the nose of the craft.

A few seconds had went by and Adams body was suddenly jostled by a stiff impact as the wheels kissed the ground. His nose lowered and the front wheel followed suite. Not even seconds after a clean touchdown did he press the brakes his body slightly lurching forward. The engine began to power down as he further came off the throttle his Mirage slowly to a stop. Whatever thrust he had left he used to taxi the plane off the runway and towards his hanger. He slowly entered and finally shut off the engine for good.

The ground crew acted, quickly bringing the staircase to let Adam down. He of course did so after he raised the canopy and unbuckled himself. He swung his leg over the side and clambered down the metal ladder. He took a deep breath of air and, after walking over, sat against a couple of crates enjoying the sensation of being back on the ground.

He couldn't rest though. He had more work to do such as adding a few markings to his plane he did recall downing two aircraft. And so his plane respectively earned two tallies. After a few more minutes of well deserved relaxing time he rocked himself forward and shot to his feet. Before he could tally his Mirage he walked outside to see the extent of the damage done to the terminal. It wasn't hard to find the black plume of smoke was the leading clue. He rested against the hanger wall and peered at the destroyed building that lay across the vast runway. The building had been nearly demolished a large portion had been seemingly deleted from existence.

As he watched his ears picked up the roar of incoming aircraft. He slowly turned his head watching the dots grow closer and closer. It wasn't long before the first plane touched down and then another and then another. His brown eyes watched on as they all went to thier respective hangers. He smiled to himself rather glad that the mission hadn't racked up any casualties. Remembering his duties he pushed off of the hanger wall and went back inside. After grabbing some paint and a ladder he scaled up to his cockpit. Dipping a brush in the white mixture he knocked off the excess and painted two large tally marks just behind his cockpit on the side of the fuselage.

Feeling more than satisfied he climbed back down and laid back on a couple of crates. He looked around trying to remember where he last placed his drawing pad. After a minute of searching he found it and opened it to a half finished drawing of his plane. He unclipped his pencil and began drawing the unfinished portion of the wing.

by **Sapim** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:56 am

2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz
2115 November 24th, 2015 // Campagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

After I had landed my baby J35J, I waited next to him for officer Emmerian to arrive after 15 minutes a car came along with the officer whose name I no longer remember.

Officer Emmerian: <<So you're 2nd lt. Helena Martiz callsign Bono, correct? Welcome to Campagna Airport you are being assigned to Enforcer Squadron led by 1st Lt. Takhmina "Voron" Abduloeva, your squad's quarters are there>>

Where he points to an old building inside the airport after all the standard procedure I entered the building expecting to be greeted by 1st Lt. 1st Lt. Takhmina Abduloeva and other members of the Enforcer squad.

The climate of the region is warm compared to the heat that Sapin has this is due to the fact that the continent of Anea is close to the arctic circle and thanks to the warm oceanic currents.

When i passed before arriving at the airport i saw it was one of the famous craters of the asteroid Ulysses. I still remember everything about 21 years ago around October 1994 researchers at the International Astronomy Union of Usea (IAU) discovered an asteroid in Jupiter's orbit heading towards Earth and calculations showed that upon reaching the Roche limit on July 3, 1999 at 3:30 pm Eastern Usea Standard Time. It would then shatter into several fragments and bomb the northern hemisphere with the force of two million nuclear warheads; the atmospheric debris generated by the event would plunge the affected areas into a nuclear winter. Until the arrival of the asteroid a lot in the world. The Belka War, Usea Coup D'etat, Skully Islands insurrection, which greatly delayed defense developments against the asteroid.

by **Anowa** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:05 am

MISSION 02: OPERATION COMBINE
1st Lt. Victoria "Abel" Cain
0618 November 27th, 2015 // Campagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

The briefing room only had a mild amount of water damage. Thanks to the now put out fire less than three walls over, the very same fire that had soaked the absolute fuck out of their previous briefing room. As such, they were all stuffed in to fold out chairs and had to drag out an ancient display table from the mid 90s. Probably last used sometime during the Belkan War.

Of course, Colonel Cain was delivering the briefing he cleared his throat, giving a proper indication that things were about to start, "So, thanks to our intercept op on the 24th, the Estovakians don't have any air power properly in range to provide air superiority. The main pillar of that was Guild squadron which you folks took down, good job."

The display table flicked on, and in a stark contrast to the modern tables, the old 1995 era one, instead of a 3d simulated battleground, it was an image of a map with a bunch of red dots, the elder Cain sighed, "Christ this makes me feel old. Alright, so as you can see, our units on the ground have been holding position on the Pelina River, now for close to 27 days. They are Warlock, Quox, and Steel Gunner Armoured Battalions, they're combat teams so in addition to the Challenger 2s they have Centauros of various designs and infantry to go with. However, the only one of these battalions currently at full strength is Warlock. The rest have been molested to Hell and back during the general retreat to where we are."

"In addition to Griffin and Hitman, the 1st Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron. They consist of CSAR craft, Seahawks, callsign Yellow Jacket; and CAS, Apaches, callsign Carpenter. Their job today is mostly to support the ground elements, as is yours, however should you go down on the wrong side of the river, they're fully ready to make a beeline into a rain of hellfire to get you out."

"The operation at hand today, will be as said, supporting the ground element. With air superiority on our side for the next few days, this is pretty much the only chance we have at this, so pay attention. The Pelina River used to have close to 13 bridges across it, now it has three thanks to our efforts at slowing the enemy advance. Pontoon bridges can't be used since it has a notably swift current, as such, the only way we have across is those same three bridges."

"Dubbed Alpha, Bravo and Charlie respectively. We'll start with alpha, which is being held by Warlock. They're facing the stiffest resistance, and have effectively been tasked with holding position and making sure nothing crosses their bridge. It's a lot of empty farmland with little to no concealment or cover leading to the bridge, meaning both sides have a full view of the other. It's secure and easily defendable, but the moment things go wrong it'll snowball into a complete clusterfuck in seconds. The Opposite side also has Marlara in the distance which we suspect is housing SPAA and Artillery that has range across the whole battlefield."

"Bravo, is held by Quox, and they'll be spearheading. The stiffest resistance they'll have is a Stovie tank company, T-72s, attack helos and airborne infantry. The road on either side of the bridge dips down a hill, meaning there'll be a period were advancing forces on either side will be in defilade from the other, so they won't be fired upon, but they won't have eyes on enemy forces until their lower glacis is exposed, on the north side, the enemy side, there's also cluster of trees lining the road, we haven't gotten a good eye, but expect dug in infantry or other nasty surprises."

"Charlie is being held by the Steel Gunners,, much like Quox, they'll be pushing, but the opposing side of the river has a thick forest concealing troops and vehicles. We're expecting similar resistance as Quox, but we aren't 100% sure about it. the 1st HSC is being paired with them primarily for recon and anti tank duties, but if there's an abundance of infantry dug in than the Steel Gunners are gonna get swarmed."

"Sicario Flight, we're tasking you specifically with CAS on Charlie. As far as I've been kept up to date, your gunships have been updated with thermal sights at the least. Eagle Flight, you'll be directly supporting Bravo with anti armor and anti soft target support.. The remaining flight leads I trust you enough to use your own discretion. If I catch any of you using cluster munitions during a friendly advance I'll cave your fucking head in with a brick when you land. Any questions?"

by **Laka Strolistandiler** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:17 am

[b]2nd Lt Helga “Red” Von Ritterchofen
-Sir, what about the expected enemy aerial presence in the area?- Helga still remembered her less than favorable encounter with an enemy F-16 and as such took no time in additional precautions,- what are the types and the numbers of the enemy fighters we can encounter there? Do the enemy forces have any sort of AA? I mean, we really need to know this if we’d like to get the job done and return home alive…

Although Helga couldn’t be called exactly a very cowardice person, she believed that 8s was simpl6 necessary to ask these questions, especially taking into consideration how the last time when she tried to act brave played out…

by **Anowa** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:23 am

Laka Strolistandiler wrote:2nd Lt Helga “Red” Von Ritterchofen
"Sir, what about the expected enemy aerial presence in the area?- Helga still remembered her less than favorable encounter with an enemy F-16 and as such took no time in additional precautions,- what are the types and the numbers of the enemy fighters we can encounter there? Do the enemy forces have any sort of AA? I mean, we really need to know this if we’d like to get the job done and return home alive… "

1st Lt. Victoria "Abel" Cain
0618 November 27th, 2015 // Campagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

Cain shrugged somewhat casually given the question at hand, "Aircraft are likely to be limited to rotary wing or ground attack fixed wing. As I said, pretty much the entirety of the Estovakian air superiority fighters were downed by you lot a few days ago. As for SAMs and AA, we really can't be entirely sure, this intel is comparatively dated, but it's the most recent we have that isn't mostly conjecture. Outside of the S-300s in Sipli Town, we have no idea what else could be hiding." a pause, "For all we know they could've dug old flak guns out of storage. I know it's not great but you'll have to literally wing it, Kid."

by **Sapim** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:32 am

Anowa wrote:
"Sicario Flight, we're tasking you specifically with CAS on Charlie. As far as I've been kept up to date, your gunships have been updated with thermal sights at the least. Eagle Flight, you'll be directly supporting Bravo with anti armor and anti soft target support.. The remaining flight leads I trust you enough to use your own discretion. If I catch any of you using cluster munitions during a friendly advance I'll cave your fucking head in with a brick when you land. Any questions?"

2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz

"Sir, so we'll have to make a quick surgical attack, since there's a possibility of AA Guns and Sam's waiting for us by any chance do we have any information on where the P-1112 Aigaion is currently located? Because if it's around, we'll have to be as fast as possible."

She knows that a surgical attack is necessary for the success of the mission but also concerned about the presence of the P-1112 Aigaion

by **Anowa** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:39 am

Sapim wrote:"So we'll have to make a quick surgical attack, since there's a possibility of AA Guns and Sam's waiting for us by any chance do we have any information on where the P-1112 Agaion is currently located? Because if it's around, we'll have to be as fast as possible."

Outright mentioning the Aigaion turned a few heads from those present, namely those from Yellow Jacket, and Abel. Though of the two, Yellow Jacket's gaze was more questioning, as if someone had asked a stupid question in a classroom. Abel's gaze was more threatening, more akin to stumbling upon a lynx in the middle of a meal on a forest trail. Obviously, bringing up the flying aircraft carrier was a sensitive subject.

Cain shook his head, "If the Stovie Aerial Fleet was in range we'd be dead or in a POW camp already. If you wanted a life of danger and speed, without being shot at by occupational hazards, you should've become an F1 driver, not a fighter pilot. We'll take as long as we goddamn well please Lieutenant."

by **Sapim** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:29 pm

2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz

"Sir just one more question you will find it stupid but I have to do. Since the real objective is not to blow up like bridges the use of unguided weaponry like UGB is prohibited, does our temporary base have enough guided weaponry for this mission as an LGB (Laser Guided Bomb)? Since we are surrounded and Nordennavik will not help us without entering an open war against Estovakia and we have to depend on the black market which is not to be trusted."

by **Hastur** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:34 pm

MISSION 02: OPERATION COMBINE
First Lieutenant Miriam “Rattler” Lochte
Vitoze, Emmeria // November 27, 2015

Miriam paid close attention to the Colonel and his archaic briefing screen that had shuffled into a suite, which still stunk of a concoction of dank and melted materials. The table exhibited a visualisation of the topography and unit positions. Hostiles and friendlies exemplified by the traditional glowing dots of shifting colours which guarded their respective decisions. Taking simplicity over the fanciness of the newer contemporary, shiny 3D designs.

The map designating three key areas, broken down into Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Colonel Cain explaining the situation for each, it being simple. The Emmerian military wanted to encourage the advantage from the failed airbase raid and gain ground in a counterattack. That required them to run air operations against target ground forces and squelch any menace to the ground pounders in advance. A bread and butter activity for these conflicts.

However, Miriam, employing the interceptor, wouldn’t have much to intercept with the lack of planes left on the Estovakian side. She would have to swivel to concentrate on ground targets, which would put her on the back foot. Using the few extra hard points on her plane for ground to ground munition. The Belkan making a note to request for Maverick AGM-65’s and a targeting pod with the ground crew. While only being able to field two, she’d be at least able to protect the ground pounders in some respect.

Despite the normality of everything else, the deployment of flight Eagle towards bravo, the centerpiece of the spearhead, an area occupied by an armoured company and airborne infantry, was an odd choice. Miriam’s eyebrow wrinkled upward, perplexed as the officer elected to deploy the virtually all the Phantom F-4s on it, while giving everyone else free rein to engage whatever targets.

“Sir, what’s the rationale for the strike aircraft not being allotted to Bravo for the push?” Miriam asked, tone flat, trying to be as respectful as possible.

by **Anowa** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:29 pm

Sapim wrote:2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz

"Sir just one more question you will find it stupid but I have to do. Since the real objective is not to blow up like bridges the use of unguided weaponry like UGB is prohibited, does our temporary base have enough guided weaponry for this mission as an LGB (Laser Guided Bomb)? Since we are surrounded and Nordennavik will not help us without entering an open war against Estovakia and we have to depend on the black market which is not to be trusted."

Cain simply stopped looking around the room for hands, as his half lidded gaze slowly swiveled to focus on Bono. He stared at the woman for what felt like years, but was in fact a mere thirty seconds.

"That's a question beyond your pay grade. Our supply lines are absolutely zero of your concern, and your asking about them is suspect at best. Your question is a stupid question, and one everyone in the room with more than a single braincell has already answered. That answer is 'I fly planes, I'm not a logistician, it's not my problem'."

Hastur wrote:
“Sir, what’s the rationale for the strike aircraft not being allotted to Bravo for the push?” Miriam asked, tone flat, trying to be as respectful as possible.

"The F-4s in Bravo's flight are currently the most capable fighter-bombers we have. With the airframe uniformity they have, in addition to the amount of bombs they can carry in addition to IR guided missiles, it makes them well suited for tackling the Bravo operation's threat of ground and confirmed rotary wing targets, should fixed wings make more than a marginal appearance, they're then well suited to cover fro Bravo from both the air and ground. Alpha isn't a hard pressing issue seeing as they're just going to cover that flank, and Charlie already has mild anti-tank cover from Carpenter. They're specifically assigned to Bravo since it is unequivocally where they'd be best suited to be. I'm also not barring any other flights from assisting them in their cover on Bravo."

by **Beiarusia** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 8:35 pm

Ubaria wrote:_{14th November, 2015
0600 Hours - Local Time
Dana Fischer
Vitoze, Republic of Emmeria}

Fischer glanced at herself in the topmost cockpit mirror. Her messy blonde fringe had descended over her eyeline now that her flight helmet wasn't holding it back. Brushing it aside with a run of her gloved hand revealed her steely blue eyes staring her back, dark circles hung around them as a result of sleep deprivation and the earlier exiting rush of battle. Now that the adrenaline had worn thin, she was left shaken, pale and nauseous. A refreshing rush of cool air followed the canopy opening and provided a much appreciated relief, Dana paused to take in several deep breaths before clambering out of her seat.

Uneasily she wobbled down the provided gantry and Dana had to lean on a nearby flight technician for support as she descended, her legs seemingly struggling for strength. As much as she tried to remain composed, a noticable, almost drunken gait accompanied her across the active hangar and out the nearby pedestrian doorway. Once outside she allowed her composure to crumble some, reclining back onto the metal, the small of her back pressed into the wall.

'Come on. Get it together Dana'

She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, celebrate or simply collapse to the floor. Everything had happened so fast she couldn't remember what had even happened, yet it had such a profound impact. As blood began rushing back into her feet from her torso, a light-headedness took over and a cold sweat began creeping down her forehead.

Second Lieutenant Marceline "Mooncalf" Faucheux
A Few Days Ago // Compagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

Marceline was the first to leave the hangar. She was hungry, having not had breakfast yet on top of being up for the majority of the previous night, and had chosen to go on ahead to the mess. Food then shower and then sleep. That was her itinerary for the day. A rough schedule to maintain, but the Erusean was accustomed to such inconveniences. She had made it all of thirty steps, however, when something caught her eye. A woman leaning up against the wall between the two hangars who, quite frankly, looked seconds away from vomiting. Marceline didn't immediately recognize her but assumed, given the flight suit, that she was a mercenary pilot, likely one attached to the second flight. She hardly knew the pilots in her flight let alone another.

It took a moment's consideration, and Marceline very nearly left the woman to her own troubles, but remembering how Vigil had pressured her to at least attempt camaraderie she relented and approached. A curious sight. Still clad in her flight suit and helmet hours after the sortie had ended. Marceline kept her tone even as she approached the woman. "Do you need something? Water, perhaps."

Not that she had any water on her person, but she was heading to the mess so, in theory, could drag her along if necessary.

Dana could be forgiven for not noticing the approaching figure, the pilot's attention was drawn away from her surroundings, any senses she had were hazed by a dark cloud of malignant thought.

"Do you need something? Water, perhaps."

She almost jumped from her skin and her head whipped around rapidly, a sharp exhale of mild surprise escaped her parted lips. Her startled expression quickly turned to one of perturbation as she realised the figure was still donning full flight dress, helmet included. Quickly pushing on her elbows, Dana returned to a standing position and quickly wiped away the film of cold sweat with the sleeve of her flight overalls.

"No .. i .. i'm fine." The doubt in her tone of voice betrayed her facade of apathy. Silence followed as either party seemingly had no idea what to say to one another, perhaps subconsciously sizing one another up. After a moment, Dana probed into a conversation.

"I don't believe we've been introduced."

"We're weren't," Marceline answered in a deadpan matter-of-factly tone. The woman was familiar, and they had likely crossed paths at some point while on base, but proper introductions had never been conducted, at least between the mercenary flights. Ignoring the obvious dismissal of whatever ailment plagued the woman, the Erusean introduced herself. "Marceline Faucheux. Mooncalf, with Assassin. Are you sure? I can get someone if you are feeling unwell."

Dana waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry kid, i'm fine". She used the word kid but in truth, Faucheux was probably not too much younger than her, perhaps even the same age, not that she could particularly tell through the helmet's reflective visor.

"I'm Dana." She replied simply, brushing a wayward lock of hair away. "Enforcer Flight ... and damn hungry. Is it lunch yet?"

Marceline nodded. Another few moments passed in awkward silence. She looked back towards the hangar, expecting to see Vigil and the others, but saw no one, so instead returned her attention to Dana. She never was the best at conversations, less so nowadays, but felt that it was only polite to say something.

Not that she knew exactly what to say.

"First flight?" Marceline asked, leaving her words to be interpreted as first "combat" flight. Dana seemed nervous so it was a fair enough guess as far as she was concerned. "You'll get accustomed to it. Probably. You're alive so I wouldn't stress yourself."

Dana mused an agreement. Her idealist interpretation of combat had been a far shout from her actual experience, her training failing to account for the threat of immediate death.

"Seems like a strange thing to become numb to. Killing" Dana replied with a subdued tone.

"My father used to say ... " She paused and glanced at Mooncalf. A complete stranger, and here she was blubbering about her father. Dana cleared her throat.

"Ah, here's the mess. I hope their Emmerian food is better than our interpretation of it back home"

Marceline had no strong opinion but agreed nonetheless.

by **Laka Strolistandiler** » Wed Jun 30, 2021 11:01 pm

2nd Lt. Heilga “Red” Von Ritterchofen

“Be careful, you’re loading munitions, not potatoes!” - Heilga tried to convince the technicians to more carefully mount the OFAB250-ShN on her MiG-19. Apparently, they were unaware of the special "tenderness" and "exactingness" that MiG demanded of itself, which the pilot tried to explain to them, jumping here and there, explaining and showing how to do:
“You are stupid cudgels, but who puts such emphasis on ?! Right now, you will shake the plane and then the pipeline will be pierced! Fuck you, I'll do it myself! ”- with these words, she pushed the tired technicians who were already tired of fiddling with Yuktobanian equipment, so they were even happy to change. Pulling the cart under the plane, she introduced the bomb yoke into the jaw of the lock carrier arm, carefully checking that the stop locked the yoke. Then she carefully adjusted the position of the bomb with the stops so that the longitudinal axis was parallel to the holder. “This is how you need to mount a 250 kg bomb! And not through the ass! This is the MiG-19, you have to be gentle with it - you will shake the hydraulic system and it will burn to the shit the moment I activate the afterburners! Speaking of the hydraulic system and fires, did you test run the engine? " Having received a negative answer, she with amazing enthusiasm began to prepare the plane for a ground launch. Before the assignment, it was necessary to check the operation of all his systems.

Already seated in the cockpit, with the electrical systems on, Heilga took over the command of the technicians again:
-So, guys, your instructions say, of course, how to launch the RD-9B, but we won't suffer from such garbage here. If we do everything according to the instructions, we will toil for 10 minutes with each engine. However, I know one trick that will save both our opinion and the above. Listen more closely!

What the technicians then heard, frankly, were drawn to sabotage. Indeed, Yuktobanian planes sometimes really were on the bizarre side of things ... Nevertheless, after having her sign a receipt for the removal of responsibility from the technicians, they agreed, partly out of the hope that they would finally be left behind, and partly out of pure human curiosity, it sounded so unusual method.

First, the fuel pump was started, and then the fuel accumulated in the combustion chamber of the jet engine was driven out by the engine compressor. At this time, a burning rag was thrown into the nozzle. Oddly enough, the RD-9B was launched immediately. With a powerful roar, both engines had slowly came to life, surprising the technicians greatly- both of them had seen a lot in their lifes, but not throwing burning rags into the engines to start them up...

by **Kassaran** » Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:07 am

Capt. Romolo 'Sciabola' Beninati
24 November, 2015 // Vitoze, Emmeria

Looking to the side, Sciabola gave a nod towards his fellow captain, his eyes slowly sliding back towards one of the further hangars. He wanted to check on the progress of the SAR operation sent out for his wayward Mig pilot. He gave no show of interest, or irritation, as Beretta attempted to plead for some form of mercy or kindness towards the junior pilot. He only shrugged, continuing at his leisurely, uncaring pace. He had been a little sad that Abel hadn't taken a swing at him, but it hadn't changed much of anything in the long run.

"She needed to be put in her place. She makes ace and thinks she's hot shit, then this happens. We lost this war up to this point Drifter and she doesn't seem to understand this is for keeps. She wants to shoot from the hip, she can act out in the Mercenari units and at the bar."

The other Emmerian was quick to respond," Last thing we want to do is limit how our pilots react to situations, but while she shot off on her own, she kept her head about her. Not many of us have up till this point."

He sighed, pulling to a stop and watching as a series of firetrucks moving onto the flight line to relieve the old crews sped past, their horns blaring and announcing their arrival. He grimaced, tilting his head one way, then the other, popping the knots in his neck before continuing on his walk. He'd not stopped once to look towards his companion, he didn't need the other Captain's permission to admonish his own pilots. He changed the subject, his mind thinking on the news he'd received when he'd landed.

"Anyways, complimenti per la tua promozione. I guess you earned it with that knock-off of the peacock up there. It was a good victory, nevermind that it helped even the odds after so many weeks of struggling."

Spyro watched the Air Force SAR teams join in the search and recovery of civilians. He had put the cigar back in his mouth after talking and dug into a pocket and pulled out a Zippo lighter, lit the cigar in and offered the lighter to Romolo.

"Thanks, but it should be you, you been a fighter pilot. They transferred me from a cargo squadron, so I just got lucky on the rest of eagle helping me out to take down the shiney son of a bitch. It was a hard fought and hopefully a good turning point. Here light you up a cigarette, I've seen you smoking them. Anyway I hope us switching flight and roles won't effect anything. I don't want it, I just want to do the best I can to get everyone through this war, though I know it's impossible."

Romolo scoffed slightly, waving a dismissive hand towards the lighter and withdrawing the cigarette he'd put in his pocket.

"Not a smoker, not anymore. Just do it for the stress, bad habit. Don't get yourself killed for nothing Drifter. You fly well for someone who was running logistics, so don't count yourself any less valuable. Anyways, I've got a Mig pilot to go check up on. Ejections aren't fun, I've seen plenty of people get punched out in training accidents."

With that, Sciabola tucked the cigarette back into his pocket and walked away, taking care of stuff.

0630 27 November, 2015 // Vitoze, Emmeria

The brief was quick, in a way that reminded Sciabola of back in the good old times. The analog way of doing things had long since gone underappreciated in his mind, but he knew that digital had become the new way things were done. It would be important that they quickly regained their lost land, and facilities if they wanted any chance at standing up to the Estovakians. As the briefing wound on, he noted the point of interest in the Bravo objective. There would be no other forms of major CAS, but it'd be likely the most pitched position.

Watching the others, he noted that the difference in loadouts for his birds would need to reflect the ability to engage the two types of targets present. He'd brief the rest later tonight, he had an entirely new flight and was ready for showing what Emmerian pilots could really accomplish. His eyes swept around the room, dancing past Abel where they sat and looking closer at the various new faces he'd never really taken to memorizing. They'd been here for nearly three weeks and he'd never taken care to look at them any closer, but it bothered him that he'd been taken so off guard by his own pilots' brazen approach.

As the briefing ended, various pilots began to leave, as Sciabola began to jot down the calculations and formulas he needed to know. He had a general idea of what he could do, and he'd enjoyed seeing the little quip from the Colonel over the logistics. Their lines had been shrinking, but not dwindling. The fighting retreat had been effective, even if the air cover hadn't been. Now they'd begin to push back, and hopefully see a change in the winds of war blowing across Emmeria... and perhaps back into Estovakia if they were successful enough.

by **Sapim** » Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:55 am

2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz
0640 27 November, 2015 // Vitoze, Emmeria

Right after the Brief, I went straight to the shed where my J35J was, the orders were clear and precise, I started to see my baby's weaponry for this mission I will be forced to use the rockets lauchers in this mission UGB is out of the question for this mission . The causes of this war are clearly due to Estovakian expansionism due to the Ulysses disaster to the continent of Anea. Emmeria suffered less from the impact of the asteroid debris but Estovakia suffered more and on top of it entered a bloody civil war which culminated in a huge financial crisis and lack of resources for the winning faction of the civil war.

The bridges are crucial in the mission to free the rest of Emmeria and destroy them isolates us from the rest of the continent hopefully I can shoot down some Estovakians in this mission... "Hey baby, let's give the engines a little start?"

by **Kyraina** » Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:50 pm

1st Lt. Tyler "Razorback" Bradford

"If that's the case i hope I never have to face you in a real fighter, you made Fritter Dance, It's not easy going from a high maneuverability fighter like the Fulcrum to something that is basically a muscle car cause it only goes fast in a straight line but can't turn worth a damn.

He Looked out over the run way and watched a Harrier land

"Aye I was in the War. I didn't see action till we had landed in Yuktobania. I flew the AC-130J Ghostrider. I fought against Y'all till it was revealed about the Grey Men and then with the Yukotbanian Resistance in Alliance with us Oseans as gunship support when y'all fought to retake control of y'alls government from the wartime regime. That was my first time doing missions in day time let alone in a city. First time getting Air Cover by Yukes as well."

He looked over to where the Emmerian fighter jets were housed.

"Yeah I can see it as well and it's sad but sadly it's a justifiable target when we are housing air craft and weapons in the same facility we are housing refugees. I also think it was similar to what all probably felt when we invaded, then again we didn't outright bomb civilians either though."

1st Lt Tyler "Razorback" Bradford
0618 November 27th, 2015 // Campagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

"Cain, in zone Charlie are we talking about thick rain forest like in Seian, or are we talking about Alpine forest? Also what kind of opposition are we expecting in the Air?"

Tyler looked over at Zach as the older man Stood up and asked the question to Tombstone, in a way that was almost friendly but you could feel the tension in the voice. Tyler was getting worried already about the job when he saw the tension in his body. It wasn't like with Wulf or Jyri where Zach was calm and posed, but it looked like Zach was preparing to be struck by lighting just for asking a question. This seemed very out of character, certainly for someone who was a Brig Gen (Retired) in him home country. There had to be a back story there.

Capt Spyro "Drifter" Beretta, Lion 1
0618 November 27th, 2015 // Campagna Airport, Vitoze, Emmeria

Spyro listened intently to the briefing and those that were handed assignments. The two fighter jet flights of the Mercs were a mx of air to air, multirole, and air to ground air craft, so theyd be busy watching their own, he was concerned about the gunships, after all they were big slow moving targets sure, but ones that generated the firepower that fighter pilots could only dream. He decided there to divide up his flight, Assign atleast a element, more then likely two to over watch the gunships, while having the rest watch Eagle Flight. Eagle flight would be busy after all putting warheads on foreheads, and Lion surprisingly was all Air Superiority fighters.

He turned to the rest of lion flight, while questions were being asked.

"Okay Lion Flight, Load up Air to Air. We wont be doing strike missions at all today. Ill tell y'all who y'all are pairing up with once we are in the air. Now let's see if any of the Mercs have anything useful to ask other then asking questions about our supply chains."

by **Anowa** » Fri Jul 02, 2021 1:39 am

Kyraina wrote:"Cain, in zone Charlie are we talking about thick rain forest like in Seian, or are we talking about Alpine forest? Also what kind of opposition are we expecting in the Air?"

The colonel gave a slight snort, "If it was as thick as Seian's jungles we sure as fuck wouldn't be driving tanks through it, Knight. Closer to kiddy's first coniferous adventure. It's an overgrown windbreaker the size of a couple football fields, but the road is running straight through it. Aerial opposition very likely isn't going to be anything more than tank killers and rotary wings." A pause as he glanced at Drifter, "From the sound of things, Lion's gonna be the collective top cover. So unless they magically shunt their heads of their asses you shouldn't have to worry about getting ripped in half by a Frogfoot or Hind."

A resounding clack came from the side of the room, as the clock met the hour.

"Right, that's your queue people, get your shit sorted and be up in 30. We won't get a second shot so make sure you're bringing as much as you can reasonably carry. It's gonna be a meatgrinder today."

1st Lt. Victoria "Abel" Cain
0735 November 27th, 2015 // Sipli Plateau, Emmeria

The snow covered fields of Sipli could be seen for as far as the eye could see. It was, for all intents and purposes, the last stepping stone before Mount Marcello, which even beyond the horizon could be seen with it's accompanying peaks. Given the fact it housed the largest military installation on Khesed, they'd have to assault it at some point. But that was for another day.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<Ghost Eye to all aircraft. Update from our ground forces, a large Estovakian releif force has reinforced the north side of the river. Rough estimates gauge between one to two dozen additional armoured targets. Still no air superiority fighters. Mission parameters themselves have not changed. Combat engineers and staff from noiw overrun air bases have cleared a stretch of Highway 44, 40 kilometers south of the area of operations in case you need to refuel or re-arm, they don't have a wide selection so don't expect to make any radical changes to your loadout. This isn't going to be a quick fight, so buckle down. We'll be patching ground comms through as needed, and connecting Datalink for ground targets>>

Datalink was onew of those things the modern battlefield just wouldn't function without. In times long past when gunfighters were the primary aircraft, it wasn't necessary. But with everything that's guided by every method under the sun, electronic warfare, and the ungodly plethora of aircraft avionics, it was vital. Vital enough that every aircraft in the Emmerian inventory, no matter how old, had a Link 16 system put in somewhere among all the vacuum tubes and solid state processors. Looking at said screen was a shock to say the least, even more so when she looked through her HUD and spotted a few of those targets lit up in the distance. It numbered in excess of 40 targets total, and that was only the ones giving off a radar signature, or enough heat to be pinged by IR trackers. God knows how many targets were hiding in the plethora of trees, shrubs, trenches and buildings.

Wiseass: <<Holy shit... should've brought air to ground.>>

Captain's orders were pretty clear, AtA for top cover. But regardless, Abel had always been taught to trust her gut more than anything else.

Abel: <<Good thing I already did. That's gotta be, what, close to a whole armoured regiment?>>

Wiseass: <<God, I hope so. Means less shenanigans for later. Lion-5 engaging.>>

Abel: <<Lion-2 engaging.>>

It was no time at all before some of the SAMs near ALPHA obtained a lock, and subsequently fired missiles half the size of most planes at Shpik, Sciabola, Voron, Bones and Razorback.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<Hard spikes! Break break!>>

by **Sapim** » Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:59 am

2nd Lt.Helena "Bono" Martiz
0735 November 27th, 2015 // Sipli Plateau, Emmeria

Upon arriving at Sipli Plateau we received a transmission from the AWACS Ghost Eye.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<Ghost Eye to all aircraft. Update from our ground forces, a large Estovakian releif force has reinforced the north side of the river. Rough estimates gauge between one to two dozen additional armoured targets. Still no air superiority fighters. Mission parameters themselves have not changed. Combat engineers and staff from noiw overrun air bases have cleared a stretch of Highway 44, 40 kilometers south of the area of operations in case you need to refuel or re-arm, they don't have a wide selection so don't expect to make any radical changes to your loadout. This isn't going to be a quick fight, so buckle down. We'll be patching ground comms through as needed, and connecting Datalink for ground targets>>

My squadron's mission is clear to destroy the artillery at point Alpha. When I hear *Beep*,*Beep*, *Beep* alerts on my aircraft, when I suddenly see a missile arriving I start doing evasive maneuvers which I learned in the air force academy days that since the beginning of air combat training was dodging the real missiles that our superiors sent *laughs* oh I miss those good times from academy, but I know the mission is real when I do the evasive maneuvers I hear the Enforcer-1 ordering us to continue the mission and lower altitude due to Sam's missiles

by **Dayganistan** » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:40 am

1st Lt. Takhmina "Voron" Abduloeva
November 27th, 2015 // Sipli Plateau, Emmeria

It had been three days since their last mission, and now they were being launched on another one. This mission was a primarily ground attack focused mission, far more suited to the strengths of the Su-17 than the previous air intercept mission. Their objective was to support Emmerian ground troops moving through Estovakian lines with minimal threat from hostile aircraft. The mercenary pilots had agreed to go for Objective Alpha, with Enforcer targeting the Estovakian artillery unit that had set up in the area. The cold weather in the area caused the aircraft to produce large contrails, surely visually alerting the enemy if they haven't been alerted by radar.

The radar warning alarm in Voron's cockpit had been beeping for several minutes before they had reached the area of operations. The radars of the Estovakian S-300 net were surely already tracking them. They hadn't fired yet, likely waiting for the aircraft to get closer to ensure a higher probability of a kill. As they approached the target area, she keyed her radio to communicate with her flight and once again go over their objectives.

Voron: <<Enforcer One to all Enforcer callsigns. Our primary target is the Estovakian artillery unit located behind the lines at Objective Alpha. Intel reports 2S7 and 2S19 self propelled howitzers with the 2S7s being our primary objective. However, I want the 2S19s destroyed as well, they could potentially fire laser guided shells at our ground troops. Drop to the deck and ingress at high speed in order to penetrate their S-300 network. Assassin has one aircraft fitted for SEAD to help cover both of our flights from SAM threats.>>

As she finished her transmission, the warning receiver in her cockpit started to beep more rapidly. The enemy radar was locking her and had fired a missile at her aircraft.

Voron: <<They firing at me. Going evasive. Mission has not changed.>>

She rolled her aircraft over, popping chaff as she did so before pushing into a steep dive at full afterburner. She rotated her aircraft around during the dive and could see the contrails of multiple S-300 missiles flying towards the approaching Emmerian and mercenary aircraft. Older surface to air missiles could potentially be easily tricked by this tactic, but having fought on the same side as the S-300 system in the past and against Osean Patriot missiles, she knew this tactic wasn't a guaranteed success. Older missiles might crash into the ground trying to plot a course to intercept the rapidly diving aircraft. The S-300 would, however, recognize how the enemy is trying to counter and continue to fly towards the target at ground level.

Soon, an almost robotic sounding Yuktobanian voice in her cockpit was repeating its warning to pull up. She did as she the aircraft told her and pulled back on the stick, leveling off just above ground level. Her warning receiver still indicated an inbound missile, as expected. She banked her aircraft hard to the right, popping more chaff as she did so. She put her aircraft back on a heading towards the Estovakian artillery position, popping chaff once again as she changed direction. While the terrain was relatively flat, there were still some gentle rolling hills as well as scattered tree cover which she could use as terrain masking to help force the missile to lose its lock. The alert for an inbound missile soon stopped, replaced by the alert of simply being pinged by radar. Unknown to Voron, the missile tracking her had hit a tree while moving to its intercept course. She knew the S-300 could likely fire again and the enemy would have gun based defence as the closer they got to the target area. However, she knew they couldn't keep turning around and flying away until the S-300s ran out of missiles. She and Enforcer flight would have to punch through and hope that SEAD would do their job soon.

Voron: <<I think I evaded the missile. Enforcer, continue low altitude push and use terrain masking as much as you can.>>

by **Kassaran** » Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:47 pm

Capt. Romolo 'Sciabola' Beninati, Eagle One
27 November, 2015 // Sipli Plateau, Emmeria

As the great expanse of the plateau stretched out before Romolo, he smiled thinking on the times he'd flown over it before in his career. It had been a beautiful track to take when moving between the north and south sides of the island he now found himself restricted to, but now it would be a warzone. His eyes dropped to survey the instruments in his cockpit, running through the in-flight pre-combat checks. Less than fifty kilometers to go and they were well within the engagement range of the S-300's his RWR was pinging. They wouldn't fire yet, but his WSO was already reading the multitude of signals beginning to merge on the fields of battle. Looking over his shoulders, he could see his flight in a close wedge.

Sciabola: <<Eagle One, Eagle Flight. Float, drop your bags and fence in your systems. Three, Four, take Angels Ten, 10 klicks from AO and cap. Priority are Grisons in AO. Inform when complete then engage freely. Two, split with me and hold outside of AO. We'll engage once those Grisons are out.>>

A quick response from Rondine told him that he would be moving to cover him as he pulled away from Limaf and Tricky. The ECM pod came to life while the RWR tracked various surveillance radar from across the battlefield, informing him the skies could get dangerous very quick if they weren't careful. His birds were loaded down with stores. The sudden shudder as the two wing fuel pods fell away, gave him a little extra give as he gave a test waggle. He checked over his wing, noting Rondine forming up quickly, the Phantom glinting in the distance as he watched the other two move to their station. Once the Grison's were down, the bomb trucks could push in and knock out the various infantry positions. Without dedicated SEAD, they'd need to get good, solid hits on the SPAA to ensure they could push to their objectives.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<Hard Spikes! Break break!>>

RWR screaming it's warnings, Sciabola watched the swiftly climbing streaks of motor smoke appear on the horizon. Quickly beginning to carry out the pre-planned actions he'd been rehearsing in his head, he reversed his turn, watching as he began beaming the inbound missile. He could see the chaff counter begin to count down as the onboard countermeasures worked to break the lock.

Sciabola: <<One is defending. Two, defend as well.>>

He could feel the grumbling and groaning of the Phantom as he continued to beam the inbound missile. A few moments later, his RWR stopped screaming as he began to pull up and away from the AO.

Sciabola: <<Missile defeated. Turning cold and extending. Three, four, stay frosty and engage targets. Two, rejoin on me.>>

by **Herador** » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:33 pm

2nd Lt's James "Bones" Gorman & Neisha "Dirty" Deeds
Assassin 5
Sipli Plateau, Emmeria
27 November, 2015

In the few days after their first engagement, James and Neisha had found the single best thing about having a plane as old as Hector: it had a cassette player. Sure, it had been used for mission data way back when, but with the cockpit having been (marginally) upgraded throughout the years until it was mothballed, it mostly just sat there taking up Neisha's space. That is, until they had an idea. One quick trip into town later and they had something to make the time on flights go by easier.

"Three beers and I'm so messed up, Get drunk and I can't shut up" both of them were rocking out to DVP by Mutt, "Whoo, whoo whoo-ooh, whoo whoo-ooh" James could see Neisha playing an air guitar in the canopy reflection. "She says that I drink too much, I'm fucked up and she hates my guts" James let Neisha have that part as he played with his instruments, wondering how strange the scene in their cockpit must be to anyone looking their direction, but joined in to help shout the last part of the verse, "She says I need to grow up!" Neisha had swapped her guitar for some air drums when Ghost Eye started to transmit. James began waving the volume down frantically but Neisha was already ahead of him, pulling the cassette aux adapter cable from her aging MP3 player and pocketing it.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<-estimates gauge between one to two dozen additional armoured targets. Still no air superiority fighters. Mission parameters themselves have not changed. Combat engineers and staff from now overrun airbases have cleared a stretch of Highway 44, 40 kilometers south of the area of operations in case you need to refuel or re-arm, they don't have a wide selection so don't expect to make any radical changes to your loadout. This isn't going to be a quick fight, so buckle down. We'll be patching ground comms through as needed, and connecting Datalink for ground targets>>

Peering out at the terrain in front of them, the pair ran through any last-minute checks they had before they engaged.

"You seein' them all?" Neisha pondered aloud, and James certainly could. Spread out across the far side of the river was more gathered armor and vehicles than he had ever seen in their bush war days.

"Target rich environment Neesh." He chuckled. "Good thing too, I was worried we were going to be stuck in this thing."

Neisha started a retort but quickly changed gears. "RWR on our one o'clock" She was all business now. "Probably one of the SAM's, ECM going up."

Bones: <<Assassin 1, Assassin 5, we're being tracked by something, Dirty thinks it's a SAM site.>>

Before Merlin could respond, James saw something in the distance. "Ah shit Neesh, it's coming our way!"

Bones: <<SAM one o'clock, Assassin 5 breaking.>>

Pushing the Tornado's nose down he began a slope down and left from the rest of Assassin, his concentration only broken for a moment when he noticed Voron's SU-17 doing the same maneuver in the opposite direction. Taking it as a good sign he was on the right track, James pushed his speed a bit harder.

"Dump chaff!" James ordered, and was relieved to hear a dull noise as Hector's BOZ pod deployed the countermeasure. Keeping the throttle down and leveling out, James changed course right to put distance between himself and the countermeasure cloud. Eventually, their path let them watch the missile streak through the chaff cloud.

"Oh lord above." Neisha groaned. "I don't know which of the dead bastards did it, but Marcy better kill them."

Chuckling, James hit the radio stud.

Bones: <<Assassin 5 to all Assassin's, we dodged the SAM and are moving to merge back into formation. And Mooncalf, Vigil? Dirty wants you to kill that one in particular for her.>>

by **Hastur** » Sat Jul 03, 2021 8:17 am

MISSION 02: OPERATION COMBINE
First Lieutenant Miriam “Rattler” Lochte
Sipli Plateau, Emmeria // November 27, 2015

The Mirage 3 was much heavier than she was acclimatised to. The bird of prey turned weaker and moved stiffer as the air confronted it. Her lack of manoeuvrability all thanks to the increased firepower bore on the pylons below. The plane bearing six Maverick AGM-65’s thanks to the expertise of her allotted crew chief.

The absence of additional freedom concerned Miriam somewhat, who was rattling away in the aircraft’s compartment. She knew that if she got spiked, she’d have a rougher time outmanoeuvring, and that’s all she had to rely on with the Mirage 3, the fifty-year-old craft not even having flares or chaff countermeasures. All that stood to protect her were her allies ECM countermeasure pods, Rattler maintaining a rigid formation with the strike fighters, ushering them into the fray.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<-estimates gauge between one to two dozen additional armoured targets. Still no air superiority fighters. Mission parameters themselves have not changed. Combat engineers and staff from now overrun airbases have cleared a stretch of Highway 44, 40 kilometers south of the area of operations in case you need to refuel or re-arm, they don't have a wide selection so don't expect to make any radical changes to your loadout. This isn't going to be a quick fight, so buckle down. We'll be patching ground comms through as needed, and connecting Datalink for ground targets>>

The calm voice drew her eyes groundward. The white coated, mountainous terrain below reminding her of the bitter north of her motherland, but unnatural black specks intruded against the natural white and green. Miriam squinted analytically, sporting a tight glare as she surveyed it. Just like AWACS had proposed, hostile vehicles sulked around, bracing themselves for the feud that was on the way. It was a surprising experience for her, she’d never seen a battle like this one first hand, merely the outcome of them. The picture of rolling sequence of scrap twisted and moulded into unnatural monuments embedded in my mind.

Bones: <<Assassin 1, Assassin 5, we're being tracked by something, Dirty thinks it's a SAM site.>>

“Great.” She murmured. She knew it was inevitable, but she hated it regardless, nobody wanted their wings clipped. Miriam darted her eyeline over the scenery, heart rate climbing as she looked for the tell-tale traces of a missile launch or anti air fire. Her console was yet to spit warnings, so she at least was not painted herself yet, but she recognized it was purely a matter of time.

AWACS Ghost Eye: <<Hard spikes! Break break!>>

Her eyes widened, body stiffening still as she caught it. A small blip low against the horizon as it ascended to their altitude on an interception route, painting pearl contrails against the crisp winter blue skies. The missile making a beeline for the Assassin flight. Her console was still quiet, she wasn’t locked; it was going for another member of the team.

Bones: <<SAM one o’clock, Assassin 5 breaking.>>

The missile was closing fast as the Osean moved. Pitching his plane downward, leading a plunge to capture the energy required for evasive action before initiating defensive turns. Multiple more contrails were ascending into the sky now, expelling from unique positions, aiming to intercept different people at supersonic speeds. The top right radar console in the mirage was on the fritz, a flock of microscopic dots appearing on the terminal in a large cluster, masking anything within. Miriam watched as the hostile missile darted past, penetrating the cloud of chaff before trashing, mushrooming into a meagre puff of black smoke. A short-lived sigh of relief exhaled from her lungs, but they were not out of the kill envelope yet. The SAM sites would be firing again shortly, and likely at new targets.

Bones: <<Assassin 5 to all Assassin’s, we dodged the SAM and are moving to merge back into formation. And Mooncalf, Vigil? Dirty wants you to kill that one in particular for her.>>

Rattler: << Good evade Assassin 5, Assassin 3 to Assassin 2, taking lead formation. Lets knock out those SAM’s >>

Rattler took over the reins of the plane, moving it to the head of the formation, consciously ahead of the planes equipped with SEAD. It was a precarious measure, one that would presumably assure she got painted first out of the group. It made her anxious as her breathing turned tense, but she accepted if those planes got tagged and struck, it would perilously pitch the battle before it even started. Someone had to defend against it. She just happened to be the closest. For a few seconds, all remained quiet. Then it happened.

The terminal let out it’s ominous threat by her tell-tale cry. Rapid beeps suggesting something was painting her on their on radar. The AA sites no doubt fixing themselves to let loose some scorn on her plane.

Rattler: << Assassin 3, being tracked by radar. Preparing to take evasive action. >>

Miriam calmed herself, her nerves tense as grasped the stick tight. She hoped the SEAD would be able to knock them out before they got another shot off, but she could rely on it. Miriam planning for the imminent evasive movement as she scoured the battlefield, concentrating on the sections that had she’d previously seen missiles fly high from their sheltered spots. Nothing emerging yet as she proceeded to trespass further and further into their kill envelope in alpha.

by **Kyraina** » Sun Jul 04, 2021 12:58 am

1st Lt Tyler "Razorback" Bradford. Scairio 1
Charlie Zone, Sipli Plateau, Emmeria // November 27, 2015

The flight to Sipli Plateau was beautiful and slow in the big lumbering plane, but atleast the crew could get up and walk around, unlike those in the fighters, so no one in the AC-119K was complaining, that was untill the info on the data link started showing up on the visors of helmets, and a couple flatscreen tvs so the rest of the flight crew was kept in the loop.

Sharps: "Holy Shoot, there more targets then coyotes chasing after a bull."

Belle: "Sharps, Honey, I have no idea what you just said but I think you are right."

Razorback: "Pops, Hud. I hope y'all packed enough ammo, because boys we are going to need it."

Knight: "I Hope they take those SAMs out or we are gonna be hurting."

About the time Knight finished his sentence when the RWR started going off. Razorback instantly turned the big slow cargo ship away from the missile and down towards tree top level while Sharps pushed the button for Flares/Chaff. Razorback kept making changes of course and Sharps kept dumping flares and chaff till the RWR finally went off. Razorback and Knight saw a missile the size of a telephone pole fly by the cockpit before it disappeared from sight.

Knight: <<All Callsigns, Scairio 1. We need those SAMs down, we are on our way into zone Charlie, I'd hate for y'all to lose us because y'all didn't take those sams out before they took out the slow fat gunships. Scairio 2, Scairio 1. We are moving into position over Charlie watch your altitude and make sure none of the SAMs get you.>>

Razorback slowly and carefully flew the big heavy aircraft into position over Charlie, when all of a sudden tracers had leaped out of the forest and towards the Gunships.

Razorback: "Pops, Hud, Status report. Sharps what the hell is shooting at us.

Sharps: "Razorback, taking fire from SPAAGS, Let's reposition and give them something to think about?"

Razorback: "Sounds good Sharps, Repositioning."

Hud: "We are good back here just some holes in unarmored parts of the fuselage.

Pops: "everything is green, for now.

Razorback pulled back and kept the Stinger's flying just above tree tops

Knight: <<All Callsigns, Scairio 1, We need a element to come in and hit these SPAAGS. They will tear us apart, and so will those SAMs, We need on of the two knocked out so we can complete the mission

Razorback Kills:

[/hr]

Capt Spyro "Drifter" Beretta

Drifter knew he fucked up as soon as he saw the data link come up. While he had loaded up a few bombs just to be safe he had remembered that he told the Rest of Lion that they wasn't loading up for strike. Right off the bat that bit him in the Ass but He'd own up to it later at debrief for now they need to get AA and SAMS cleared so they could operate.

Drifter: Lion Flight, Lion 1. If Y'all need to, use that landing strip they told us about to load up air to ground if you are able to both air to air and air to ground, We can't afford to just pull CAP with this many targets.

A call for help from Scairio, came over the radio.

Drifter: <<Lion 2, Lion 1. Form up on me, we will go take care of those SPAAGs for Scairio flight. Lion-3 You'll be with Lion-5, and Lion-4 you'll be with lion-6

Drifter brought the Crusader down to tree top level and accelerated towards Zone Charlie. As he got close quickly climbed to Angels 5, and then dove towards the ground at 45% angel towards a SPAAG.

Drifter: <<Lion 1 pickle, Lion 1 pickle.

It was a accurate bomb drop but it was close enough it hit beside a SPAAG and detonated. the Explosion Destroyed the radar, flipped the SPAAG and caused a tree to land on top of another spaag, taking out the RADAR, and damaging the guns. Then it exploded as a another bomb from Drifter had landed right in front of the turret of the SPAAG.

Drifter: <<Lion 1, pickle pickle. 2 SPAAGs down.

by **Beiarusia** » Sun Jul 04, 2021 10:11 am

Second Lieutenant Marceline “Mooncalf” Faucheux | Second Lieutenant Benjamin “Vigil” Antall
Morning // November 27, 2015 // Sipli Plateau, Emmeria

Several days had passed in relative peace. The patrols continued, of course, but the Estovakians had not yet launched another offensive, nor had cruise missiles threatened the airspace. The situation at Campagna Airport remained tense, its personnel on-edge, awaiting the baleful cry of the air raid sirens, but instead they experienced only a passing lull in the storm, which to some was far more harrowing. Uncertainty and anticipation.

Mooncalf, accustomed to such circumstances and hardships, possessed no strong feelings and merely occupied her time when not on-shift for reactionary deployment.

By the 27th the military commanders at Campagna were ready to launch their counteroffensive. The briefing was quick and to the point despite the peculiar questions asked by some, but the operation itself was remarkably straightforward. With enemy air power mitigated, ground assets were finally in a position to push back across the Curzalani River. The pilots would provide Close Air Support. Assassin would provide support to Warlock (an armored tank battalion) in Alpha Sector alongside Enforcer, whereas Mooncalf and Vigil in particular were tasked with undertaking SEAD operations. A daunting deployment but one that Marceline felt suitable in performing. Assassin, and by extension Enforcer, were reliant on her success and Marceline had no intention of failing them, if not for praise then for the simple fact that losses would threaten the integrity of the entire mission. A practicality.

Mere hours later they were airborne, flying in loose formation alongside the pilots of Assassin. Far below the vast, snow-covered fields of the plateau stretched on towards the mountainous peaks of the horizon, and flowing east-west was the Curzalani River. A breathtaking sight. Marceline was again reminded of the serenity of the sky, and for a long moment was lost to the world.

“The cold sucks. Wish we went back to just not doing anything when the winter came during a war,” Benjamin interrupted as he briefly looked up from his instrumentation, tuning the Anti-Radiation Missiles they’d acquired to target Estovakian radio frequencies. “It’s bad enough to eject behind enemy lines, but to eject into the freezing winter is worse,” he added with a huff, finally getting the Yuktobanian munitions to behave, satisfied that they were now one-hundred percent ready for combat.

Marceline simply shrugged at the statement as she reluctantly tore her gaze from the landscape. “Then we avoid having to eject.”

A simple unseen nod with a hidden smirk behind an oxygen mask. “Good to know we’re on the same page on that. RWR isn’t picking up anything yet, but I’m spooling up the Anti-Rads just in… scratch that. Search and Track Radar just pinged us.” There was some annoyance to the inflection of his voice as the RWR pinged to alert the pilot and WSO that they were being spotted. Benjamin slewed the targeting reticule to the pinging green dot signifying an S-300 radar.

The radio intruded upon the moment as their AWACS, Ghost Eye, informed the Air Division of hostile reinforcements groundside. Air superiority fighters had not made an appearance so the operation was to proceed as planned. Datalink was active and the HUD of Marceline’s helmet was soon marking all targets that could be tracked (via radar emissions or excess heat signatures). Lastly, an airstrip had been established some forty kilometers south on Highway 44 should fuel or munitions run low. Marceline was impressed. In all her time flying for third-world warlords she’d never had such amenities.

AWACS Ghost Eye: << Hard spikes! Break break! >>

Long-ranged SAM’s were quick to ruin the fleeting tranquility. Plumes of white smoke were now rising in the distance and streaking towards the various formations at many times the speed of sound. The RWR of the Sukhoi had not sounded an immediate warning. Marceline had not been targeted in the opening salvo, but Bones quickly radioed in to inform them that his GR1 was painted. The Osean broke formation to dive into an evasive maneuver, dumping chaff as he went.

Bones: << Assassin 5 to all Assassins, we dodged the SAM and are moving to merge back into formation. >>

True enough, the GR1 had trashed the shot and was now climbing. Behind, Benjamin was designating the target. “Locking on with an Anti-Rad, fire when you’re ready Calf.”

Bones: << And Mooncalf, Vigil? Dirty wants you to kill that one in particular for her. >>

Vigil: << Assassin 3-2 to Assassin 5. Already on it. Magnum away. >>

There was a slight thud as the Kh-25MP dropped away from the fuselage. A second later its rockets ignited, shooting off ahead of the Sukhoi and the rest of Assassin. Marceline watched as it trailed away, enjoying the irony that the missile was using the radar of the enemy SAM to guide itself.

It took time to traverse the distance, them being just within the missile’s sixty kilometer range, but far ahead an explosion could be seen against the snowy backdrop, and a single target fell away on the datalink.

Mooncalf: << This is Assassin 2. Confirming kill on enemy SAM. >>

Rattler: << Assassin 3 to Assassin 2, taking lead formation. Let’s knock out those SAM’s. >>

Mooncalf: << Copy that. On-standby. >>

The Belkan pushed ahead, taking point and placing themselves as mostly likely to be painted. Meanwhile, several contacts dropped off the datalink as the SA-10’s in Alpha Sector, reacting to the threat of ARM’s, powered down their radars. The SAM’s could no longer be targeted but neither could they engage.

“Radars are shutting off but one is still tracking Rattler. I’m locking him….” He paused to concentrate on the instruments, slewing the reticule over the last radar signature that was still scanning.

Rattler: << Assassin 3, being tracked by radar. Preparing to take evasive action. >>

Benjamin locked the pylon on target with a simple press of a button. “Now. Get ’em.”

Mooncalf: << Magnum. >>

Another thud as the second missile dropped off. Moments after the SAM launched against Rattler. Like the first, the Kh-25 tracked the radar painting the Mirage, and like the first it neutralized the AA site, a puff of black smoke rising in the distance to signify the destruction. The surface-to-air missile lost all tracking, and flying blind was no longer a threat to the Mirage as it overshot, detonating harmlessly in the clouds overhead.

The final long-range SAM was no longer tracked on the datalink. All active radar had either been neutralized or powered down, clearing the skies above Sipli somewhat from the immediate threat. Or at least the threat with the longest reach.

Mooncalf: << Assassin 2, confirming second kill on enemy SAM. Moving to clear Alpha Sector of remaining anti-air. >>

It was now a task of hunting down the remaining SAM’s and SPAAG’s. The ARM’s were useless until enemy radar rematerialized, but their other munitions were sufficient enough to knock out hostile vehicles. Just a matter of locating them. Marceline got to hunting like the shark that she was.

COMBAT LOG

by **Langenia** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:25 am

Flashback: 2nd Lieutenant Jose "Spectre" Villanueva

2nd Lieutenant Jose "Spectre" Villanueva exited the briefing room and prepared to go to his plane. He grabbed his flight gear, including his helmet, and headed out to his fighter. The technicians were loading it up with rockets and unguided bombs. He walked around, inspecting the aircraft, got in, and turned it on. His plane was an old Su-17M3 Fitter-H that had obviously seen its share of flight time. However, it could still pack a punch for ground-attack operations, and that was why he flew it. He closed the hatch and began taxiing towards the runway. Receiving clearance to take off, he did so. He was doing this for his family. He would suceed.

2nd Lieutenant Jose "Spectre" Villanueva4

Villanueva listened to the AWACS giving orders. Enforcer flight was to target Estovakian artillery while an Assassin flight aircraft provided SEAD support. The radar warning alarm started sounding in the cockpit of Villanueva's plane. Estovakian S-300 SAM systems were tracking them. Enforcer 1 "Voron" then gave the order to push through the low altitude and use the terrain to mask themselves. He did so, following the actions of the rest of his flight. He hoped Voron's hunch was right.

by **Ubaria** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 12:29 pm

_{27th November, 2015
0730 Hours - Local Time
Dana Fischer
Sipli Plateau, Emmeria}

<<Ghost Eye to all aircraft. Update from our ground forces, a large Estovakian releif force has reinforced the north side of the river. Rough estimates gauge between one to two dozen additional armoured targets. Still no air superiority fighters. Mission parameters themselves have not changed. Combat engineers and staff from noiw overrun air bases have cleared a stretch of Highway 44, 40 kilometers south of the area of operations in case you need to refuel or re-arm, they don't have a wide selection so don't expect to make any radical changes to your loadout. This isn't going to be a quick fight, so buckle down. We'll be patching ground comms through as needed, and connecting Datalink for ground targets>>

Dana peeled her gaze away from the Draken's instrumentation for a moment to snatch a glance at the snow sprinkled vista for a few moments. The mottled white canvas of ground stretched out for kilometers beneath, a patchwork of croplands were dormant for the winter and were broken up by the webwork of greyed tarmac roads, those road weaved between clusters of small farming hamlets and rural villages and muted green belts of Pine trees. Off in the not too far distance, the placid watery ribbon that was the Curzalani River glinted in the low-hanging sun.

Such a scene filled Dana with a calming sense of inner ease. An incongruous sentiment given what was about to occur and also the fact that her Radar warning alert tone had been buzzing in her ears for the last few kilometers. Way down below, the Estovakian force had the mercenaries and Emmerians flagged with their powerful tracking radars, with them, a battery of assorted anti-aircraft munitions awaited their arrival. An attack on such a fortified position would have to be quick and aggressive.

For this, the Saab's wings were laden heavy with an array of rocketry, two ventrally attached pods contained a payload of 19, 75mm fragmenting rockets, ideal for lightly protected ground vehicles. Beside these, two pods of heavier hitting 135mm Anti-Tank rockets with six-a-peice, ordinance that packed a little more oomph, but would have to be used more sparingly.

<<Enforcer One to all Enforcer callsigns. Our primary target is the Estovakian artillery unit located behind the lines at Objective Alpha. Intel reports 2S7 and 2S19 self propelled howitzers with the 2S7s being our primary objective. However, I want the 2S19s destroyed as well, they could potentially fire laser guided shells at our ground troops. Drop to the deck and ingress at high speed in order to penetrate their S-300 network. Assassin has one aircraft fitted for SEAD to help cover both of our flights from SAM threats.>>

'One aircraft for a whole Anti-Air battalion?' Dana thought to herself. The S-300 system was a potent anti-air threat for even the most modern of military aircraft, one Grumble had the potential to knock out several aircraft in the span of a mere minute, so against a medley of Cold War era fighters, some who lacked even basic countermeasures, it was a concern that many of them were not going to make it. Nevertheless, the single craft of Mooncalf pressed forward with purpose.

A quick change of tone in Sirin's ear signified that the threat of SAM's had just become a lot more tangible, the S-300's swapped from their longer range tracking radars to their missile guidance radar, the spotlight was on them. Quickly, Dana pulled down low and into a defensive curve, cranking away from the missile's path whilst bleeding a trail of magnesium in an effort to fool the Estovakian's sensors. Of course, the lower she pulled the more energy the encroaching missiles would have to exert, but at the same time, would open her up to ground fire.

<< Any time now, Assassin >>

Dana turned her head to the oncoming missiles. None had seemed to alter their course for an intercept, luckily the Draken had escaped and so she turned back around, returning to her original course towards the Estovakian artillery guns.

By this time, Assassin had loosed an Anti-Radiation missile, knocking out at least one of the radar sites, which in turn had caused the enemy to turn off their remaining radars in fear of more retribution. Of course, the threat of Self-Propelled Anti-Air guns and MANPAD's still remained, though fornow they could breathe easier.

<< Enforcer 1-4. Pushing for target. >>

Dana flicked her Radar over to Air-to-Ground mode and began scouting for the enemy artillery among the haze of background feedback. A Radar wouldn't be required as it turned out. The visual report of the cannon's firing was enough to locate them to within a respectable degree of accuracy, all she had to do was line the plane up and approach low, popping up when she was within three kilometers and then dive back down, loose her rockets and power away before anyone could retaliate.

<< Enforcer 1-4. Turning for attack vector. >>

The Draken's large wing profile did afford it added maneuverability, though at the cost of presenting a large surface area target and so caution had to be taken not to angle so much that the aircraft was open to the enemy. SPAAG's began lighting the sky as Dana approached, however their lack of Radar guidance meant that the gunners had to rely on old fashioned eyeballs. Their tracers littered the sky as Dana approached the target and quickly she pulled up high, pitched down into twenty-degree dive and lined up the attack.

<< Rockets, Rockets >> Several pairs of 135mm HEAT rockets rained down on a single 2S7 'Peon' and it's unfortunate crewmen. Clouds of black thick smoke obscured Dana's vision as the rocket exhausts propelled the warhead towards the enemy position and so, she made a swift retreat, though remained long enough to observe a fireball like explosion engulfing the area where the artillery piece once was, as well as an additional explosion as ammunition in a nearby vehicle cooked off.

<< Strike one artillery gun. Enforcer callsigns be careful, Anti-Aircraft fire has picked up around the target >>

Sirin
Armament
1x 30mm ADEN cannon (100 Rounds)
6x 135mm HEAT Rockets
38x 70mm HE-FRAG Rockets
2x RB-24 (AIM-9)

Kills
1x SPA (2S7 Peon)

Ace Combat: Ashes of War (IC/Closed)

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