✈ Ace Combat: Nationstates [.:~Open | P/MT~:.] ✈

by **The LBP Union** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:43 pm

June 28th, 2015 - 20:30
Balkan Lawless Zone, 30,000 Ft.

"If only my brother could see this."

The painted sky's brilliance scrawled across the great dome of the Earth. The soft clouds below were looked like a massive cushion. One would wish they could bundle it all up and use it as a pillow, comfort that would last forever. However these men up this high needed not the comfort of clouds, for they had wings. Wings that allowed them to break free of the chains of gravity and soar away from the sunset at their backs. The formation of Falcons flew with ease and care through the thin air.

"I never want to retire. Not with views like this." Came one of the four pilots through his radio.
"If only my brother could see this." exclaimed another nostalgically.
"He'd be proud of you, Colt." Another pilot soothed. "He truly would be."

The emotional exchange was broken by an unsettling tone that pierced the calm in their cockpits.

"We've got incoming bogies on radar, closing at...how in the hell?" The flight lead exclaimed. "Break!"
The radar blips that appeared in half a dozen were closing at incredible speed. By the time they broke formation however, the sky now filled with a cluster of large explosions, engulfing the formation of fighters, where they vaporized instantly.

ACE COMBAT: NATIONSTATES
Judgement Day

June 28th, 2015 - 21:00
Italy 31st Airbase, Union Task Force Post

"What do you mean we just...lost Longsword Squadron?" Demanded the upset Commander of the Union Task Force. His voice dissipated almost instantly as his voice was absorbed by the bookshelves that lined the walls.
"Their last recorded radio transmissions described incoming objects on radar closing at high speeds. It was seconds after that we lost contact." Described a uniformed man in front of the Commander seated at his desk, exasperated by the lack of details.
"Nothing could have brought them ALL down that quickly. I want a search party out there where they went down to find out what happened.

"Sir I'm afraid that search area encompasses a huge area, we lost contact with them at 30,000 feet. These areas are dangerous as well." The man explained.

"I don't care, just find out what happened for god's sake! We lost good men today!" The commander ordered.

"Yes sir." The man stated with a salute and hustled out of the Commander's office.

ATTN: Nations of the World
FM: LBPU
Subject: Airspace Warning
Encryption: Low

We wish to inform the international community that a small squadron of LBPU F-16C Fighting Falcon fighter jets was brought down over the Balkans at 30,000 feet. We do not believe there to be any survivors and we do not know the cause of the disturbance. We ask that if anyone has aircraft operating in this area that they be diverted until we have determined the cause of the attack.

If you would like to assist in the investigation, please let us know.

-Foreign Minister Calvin Socal

LBPU True Mandalorian Empire Ramstein Airbase

Pretzels today. Glorious. Standing in line again, the man was antsy and hungry. Two things one definitely would not want to be at an airbase. Every pilot yearns for the sky and its vast expanse. It's a feeling every pilot here had in common. Finally reaching the front of the line, the man licked his lips as his tray was handed to him by the service chef across the counter and he rushed over, skipping the condiments and heading for a table. Gorging himself on the pretzel first, he quite enjoyed it. Usually they were stuck with mystery meat. Another man sat down next to him with a tray on his right.

"I wonder what got the Cap' to be nice to us today." The new arrival exclaimed with a smirk. "Ain't that right, Euphony?" He looked to the other man's shoulder patch, which had "Euphony" inscribed on it. It was customary for a pilot who didn't know another pilot very well to refer to them by their callsign. He didn't even know 'Euphony''s real name.

"I suppose." Euphony replied. He looked to the other man's shoulder to find his patch, but didn't see one. The patches only were located on the right shoulder. "What's your callsign?" He asked, taking another large bite of his pretzel.

"Citrine...kinda pretty, never seen a stone like that before though. I heard they're pretty." The man explained. "I'm Alex, just a First Class Airman here. How about you?" He took a bite of some of the fish on his tray.

"Eamon. I'm kinda new. Just an Airman here, y'know." Euphony replied, looking to the side a little. He was a bit unsettled about the new career. Fortunately, wartime wasn't a thing at the moment. He cautiously took a sip of his bottled water.

"Well, nice to meet you, mate! Which part of the Union are you from then?" Alex inquired.

"New California Republic. Dunno why they stationed me all the way out here. I kinda miss it back home, despite you know, the issues in North America." Eamon responded.

"Ah yeah I heard. Things are a mess over there." Alex mused. "Well, I'm out from Organization Thirteen. Since I'm from Straya, I like to fly upside down!" He joked. They shared a brief laugh.

"So, I heard from Cap' that there's some big news out and about ISAF command. Some patrol squadron got shot down in the Balkans. Nobody knows who did it or how. They just...vanished apparently." Alex explained. "I overheard one of them talking about how they think it may be this thing called "Stonehenge." Must be some codename for something exciting, eh?"

"I dunno, if they have to codename it, it must be fairly secret, and things are secret for a reason." Eamon added, taking a bite of some beans.

"Either way, I'm looking forward to what goes on next." Alex expressed, quickly garfing up some more of his lunch.

I've got a bad feeling about this. Eamon worried.

by **Page** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:52 pm

King Jonathan III Air Base, Andryand, Page

The flight suit always left Abel Carlsen feeling vulnerable. Never the flight itself; no, that was indeed a glorious rush. But he was trained from the age of sixteen to be armed to the teeth and shielded against dangers and frost alike, how could this thin rag, utilitarian as it was, ever do? Part of him would always miss his time in the Rangers, Page's black uniform, elite special infantry forces. He couldn't even honestly wish for another chance since he'd already had two. His first infraction was starting a fight with a boy by the handle of "Lizard" whose real name was James Corentin. That upstart little bastard was the barely grown son of the Rangers' Field Marshall. Abel thought he'd knocked the boy out cold when he ran his mouth one too many times, but wouldn't you know it he hooked his leg behind the knee and took him down with pure adrenaline, and pounded Abel's face until that same adrenaline fizzed out. He was court-martialed for starting it but the real shame among his comrades was that he lost. His second infraction began with a whiskey and ended with a hangover and what happened in between didn't matter.

Where Abel was fortunate was in receiving his discharge with a sealed record, so he was free to join another branch like the Air Force. And what the hell else was he going to do? Deal drugs, pull bank jobs, probably without the discipline of the military simultaneously holding him up and down all at once. He grew up in the part of Andryand they called "the rim", the kind of place that was so bad that the cartels would pull off extrajudicial executions of muggers and rapists just so they wouldn't scare away the rich folks and tourists looking to buy some chemical bliss there. Now Abel was 29 (going on 40, he felt). He'd received his wings last year and was now a Senior Airman with not even a dirty look at an officer on his new record. He missed driving his blade into the throat of an enemy. That was his heroin; flying his methadone.

The flight suit was at least adequate for keeping him warm as he trotted toward his MiG-31 on a crystal clear day where it was 2 degrees Celsius at high noon. The Southern Sea would be crystal clear and shimmering if not for the violent waves which broke hard before the deck of the supercarrier that guarded its crown jewel city (of trash, junkies, bankers and a few out of touch royals, Abel thought). The preflight inspection was so automatic, so subconscious to him he barely let it enter his internal narrative. Instead, he whined to himself how his back ached and even his joints. 29 going on 40. Tall, clean cut, and lean, but that fire sure die down about when he was thrown out of the Rangers. He clenched the throttle and took a deep breath. Then a radio message ruined his whole damn day.

"Andraste Squadron, clearance for take-off has been revoked. All pilots report to the command center."
Abel groaned. "Give me something to kill for once, wouldn't you?" he begged the gods he didn't have much faith in.
________________________________________________________________

Foreign Minister Calvin Socal:

Pagian Air Command has received word of the incident in the Balkans. We offer condolences for the loss of life and our reverence for the sacrifice of your airmen. Although more than a thousand kilometers separates our territorial waters from your ground zero, we are deeply concerned for the fact that it appears your aircraft were not shot down by unknowns on the ground but in the air with them.

We are conducting exercises on along our Southern Coast and cannot afford a prolonged disruption from rogue aircraft. For this reason, we offer our assistance to your investigation to keep safe the skies of this continent. Let us work expediently to bring to justice the perpetrators of this incident.

Air Marshal Samuel Shale

by **The LBP Union** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 2:38 pm

ATTN: Page
FM: LBPU Ministry of Defense
Subject: Rescue Mission
Encryption: High

Thank you for your condolences and offers of assistance. Our Independent States Allied Forces [ISAF] coalition will be conducting a rescue operation to ascertain whether or not any of our pilots survived the attack and if so assist them, or if the wreckage of their planes can provide any clues as to what may have happened. A witness account from a surviving pilot would be instrumental in understanding the nature of the attackers.

We will be conducting this operation near the Croatian coastline by the Adriatic Sea, roughly where our squadron went down. We would like to request that you assist in providing air support if possible for our rescue helicopters. We will also have air superiority units in the area to assist.

We thank you for your assistance.

-ISAF Command

LBPU TME Ramstein Airbase - June 29th - 4:00 PM Las Calles Time

"Alright, let's get this briefing started."

Euphony and many of the other pilots at the airbase could barely see. He could only see the heads of the pilots in front of him and the illuminated screen at the front of the room. Eyes glued to the screen, he watched as the intro animation flashed various symbols and numbers, but mainly he noticed the ISAF emblem.

It bore three arrowheads. Fitting for the origin of the coalition, but that's another story. Each triangle joined together to make a larger one, a symbol of the strength in unity. The Independent States Allied Forces.

"As most of you have heard by now, Longsword Squadron was shot down over Lawless Zone Airspace. Contrary to what we originally believed, we do not think this is the work of SAMs." The commander at the front of the room explained as a map drew over the screen. "As there was no missile warnings in ANY of the pilots' planes, we think that whatever weapon brought them down, was not guided directly towards the formation. We have a few theories. We originally thought that maybe this was a systems failure, but for that same fault to occur on ALL the planes in the formation is highly unlikely. Regardless, we are planning on staging a rescue operation near where they went down near the Croatian coast."

This is where it gets important. Euphony prioritized.

"We need fighters to provide our rescue helicopters air support. If we manage to find the survivors or wreckage, if there even is any, then we can perhaps determine exactly what brought them down and by who. We are counting on you pilots to keep that airspace clear. We have some new allies from the Nordic territories who we will be requesting assistance in the operation. Hopefully we can get a squadron from Page to assist. If there is anyone out there still alive...they need our help." The commander declared. "Follow instructions from AWACS and keep the sky clear. Be prepared for ambushes. AWACS Midnight Eye will be assisting in early warning detection of any fighters or incoming weapons fire. Now, lets get to it. Dismissed!"

--

Euphony entered the hangar to discover his plane he had trained with throughout his time at the Las Calles Military Academy. His F-16C Fighting Falcon was surely his favorite. It was fairly ordinary, except the emblem he had painted on the side when he finally got his wings.

The emblem depicted a backwards set of eighth notes. Fitting for his interest in music. Members of the Union military were encouraged to be creative, and hence were able to pick their own callsigns and emblems for their aircraft. However, this brought forth some debate in the legislature about pilots being identified by their emblems by the enemy and using this to target them and their families.

Euphony readied his craft. The fighter was mostly geared towards air superiority due to its light weight, however it could serve air to ground roles if necessary. Due to his mission being an Air to Air focused, he told the mechanic he'd stick with the x4 Air to Air missile system. This would allow him to, if necessary, fire four missiles at separate targets at once, or even multiple missiles at the same target if need be. Being a bit new, he had not modified his aircraft just yet.

The long scramble procedures bored Euphony. Checking literally everything to make sure something doesn't go wrong. It was a painstaking task and a lot of waiting. Eventually after a long taxi onto the runway, Euphony was granted clearance for takeoff.

"NCR-ISAF 043 'Euphony,' altitude restrictions removed. You are clear for takeoff." Came a radio in from the tower. Squirming in his seat, Euphony gradually pushed the throttle on his left to full power, engaging his afterburners. He released the brake on the fighter and felt himself pushed back into his seat as the plane accelerated quickly along the runway. Pulling up as he gained speed, he went airborne. After clearing about 500 feet, he retracted his landing gear and eased off the burners. He almost forgot about the gear again.

There was a bit of an unorganized flight of ISAF fighters heading towards the target zone. Apparently the helicopters that would be used for the operation were going to be deployed off a carrier in the Adriatic. The AWACS was busy organizing the ISAF planes into combat divisions.

"Attention all aircraft. This is AWACS Midnight Eye to all planes. I am now assigning squadron posts. Get to know your squadron, nuggets. You'll be working with at least one experienced pilot in your group. They will be your flight lead." Came instructions over the radio.

"Euphony, you'll be teamed up with Reaper. You've got five seconds to give me a good name for your team."

Five seconds?! Euphony began to panic. He didn't want to get stuck with some silly name with a bunch of numbers. Hence was the downside of a creative military.

"Reaper to Midnight Eye. I'll take Melody, if you'll let me?" Came another call over the Radio.

Euphony breathed a sigh of relief. A name he enjoyed.

"A sweet tune. Alright. Euphony, from here forth you're Melody 2. Reaper, you're Melody 1." Midnight Eye affirmed.

A EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon pulled up next to Euphony's plane. Euphony could see his emblem on the tail wing. It appeared to be a grim reaper with an infinity ribbon. It was a bit spooky, but he admired it.

"Reaper to Euphony, that's a nice emblem you got there, nugget." Came a call from the Typhoon on the radio. "Now, lets get over there. Follow my lead." Reaper instructed and accelerated a bit. Euphony formed up on him promptly.

"Roger that." Euphony confirmed.

"We aren't sure if Page forces are on their way yet. I haven't gotten in contact with base. If they are, we should know very soon and they'll be in range of the battlespace by the time we are." Midnight Eye declared to all planes.

Now it was only a matter of time.

by **Armellenia** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:50 pm

Arctic Airbase Chernobysk, Coordinates Unknown
Fifteen Minutes Past Arrival of LPBU Message

"Hydra," the name he was known by, trundled towards his heavily modified MiG-21-93, wearing a cold winter jacket over his flight suit. The aircraft that he flew was the first one he'd been assigned; the only reason he got to hold on to it was because of his importance in the Air Force after scoring many aerial kills during a brief war with an insurgency twenty years prior to the present. He answered the question of it's obsolescence by outfitting it with a prototype engine, a modern cockpit interface, and top-of-the-line weapon systems. Almost everything was either cannibalized from modern aircraft, replacement parts, or prototypes. The only reason it kept its' designation was to simplify logistics. To top it all off, the craft was emblazoned with a white and green vertically striped livery, two upwards red stripes on the tail stabilizer, and a depiction of a three-headed serpent on the nose.

His wingman, known as Lynx, wasn't much of a friend to him. He was assigned quite recently, forming the 66th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Frostbite" with Hydra and holding the position of being the only other ace pilot, albeit a lesser one than Hydra, in Frostbite. He flew a MiG-31B Foxhound and considered Hydra's MiG-21 a living fossil, leading to disagreements between the pair.

Climbing on to the wing and into the frigid cockpit of his plane, Hydra went to work on his aircraft, trying to change the digital interface's color from a green to a, in his opinion, more "deadly" yellow. He was interrupted by yelling from the Operations Room, noticing an orderly running towards him. Climbing out of his cockpit, he muttered to himself, "What's happened this time?"

LPBU's message was answered swiftly by Armellenia's government; they would indeed help in the investigation and wished to join the ISAF Coalition. The Operations Room had a tense and serious atmosphere. A serious-faced commander read a list off containing the names of Squadrons which were to be involved in the investigation and were being stationed at the base. Frostbite was first on the list. Their mission was to sortie and take part in the search and rescue operation in the Balkan Lawless Zone.

by **Armellenia** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:15 pm

Arctic Airbase Chernobysk, Coordinates Unknown
26 Hours Past Arrival of LPBU Message

The airbase was brimming with activity. Maintenance personnel, crew chiefs, armorers and pilots scurried around their planes. The rest of Frostbite Squadron was just about doing the same, except for Hydra. His aircraft was, due to the volatile prototype engine and components, staffed by three highly trained ground personnel. Most of the work, however, was often done by Hydra himself. At the current moment, though, he was seated in his MiG.

After a short waiting period, the crew chief banged on the glass of the cockpit and shouted through the headset. "She's all ready to go, the SAAM is armed! Watch the turns, the engine overcompensates for the control surfaces, so it has an increased risk for flat spins. You'll be fine though, you've been doing this for years!"

Hydra leaned back in his seat, the engine idling."Frostbite One, standing by."
Lynx's voice crackled through the radio. "Frostbite Two, ready."
The other four repeated likewise in their microphones, many hesitant and nervous in their voices.

"Frostbite One to flight, this is a rescue mission for those downed in yesterday's incident. We are to make a lengthy flight down to the Balkans, during which we will be refueled by the ISAF's aerial refueling craft and will be guided by AWACS Tundra Sky. Once we arrive, we are to support the rescue helicopters and possibly find out what killed our allies."

Lynx piped up, "I hope it's some bandits. I could use a few more for my scoreboard."
Frostbite Four, in a MiG-31 like all of his adjundants, asked, "There's gonna be bandits? Enemy aircraft?"

Hydra repeated, "We don't know that yet. Cut the predictions, please."

Hydra leaned tentatively on his throttle, easing up to the taxiway. His was the first flight on the runway, which granted him the rare liberty of an empty runway.

"Tower, this is Frostbite One, permission to take off?"
"Frostbite One, permission granted. Knock one of 'me out of the sky for me!"

Hydra rushed the throttle forwards into 100%, quickly lifting off the ground. The landing gear were raised almost before clearing the ground, due to the insane acceleration rate. Racing along the trees, he entered an almost trancelike state until the yelling through the radio eased him back to earth.

"Jesus, Hydra, we've got thousands of miles to go! Ease it up!" Lynx yelled through the radio.

Hydra eased back his burner, circling back around to wait for his squadron mates.

Soon, Lynx and the rest of the formation eventually reached Hydra, forming up on his tail. It was a rather peculiar formation; a pack of MiG-31B's being lead by a single MiG-21.

"Alright, everyone. This is going to be a long flight, so settle in."

by **The LBP Union** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:40 pm

Croatian Airspace - Coastline | Evening

Some time had passed since they had left Ramstein. Euphony took some time to check out his allies nearby. Reaper was to his right in front of him fairly close by. Their incomplete finger four formation seemed a bit off. Euphony hadn't flown very many formation flights. He found himself in a constant struggle with maintaining the same airspeed as him. It was almost like Reaper refused to keep a constant airspeed and Euphony fought with the numbers on his heads up display. Whenever he tried to look about his surroundings, he found himself either drift off course or go too fast or too slow, causing him to get too close or too far away from Reaper.

"Having trouble there, nugget?" Reaper teased.

Euphony gritted his teeth a little at the sting. Nugget was a word used for the newbies in the air force. He wanted to prove he could do more, but could he?

"I'm fine." Euphony tried to recover. He managed to stabilize his formation again, focusing almost totally on his velocity indicator which told him how much faster or slower he was from Reaper.

"AWACS Midnight Eye to all planes entering the operational zone, we have several ISAF units and two allied non-ISAF flights in the airspace. Frostbite and Andraste* squadrons, please confirm your IFF with AWACS. All flights are instructed to either refuel if needed at our Globemaster tankers or proceed with mission operations. Flight teams are to split up and search for the wreckage and or any survivors that there may be. Remember, time is of the essence. This isn't exactly friendly airspace. Operation Lifeline has commenced." Came a radio call from the AWACS.

"Come on, rookie. We gotta find those survivors before anyone else does." Reaper stated.

"Getting a bit competitive again, Reaper?" Another unfamiliar voice over the radio came through.

"Ah hush it, Viper." Reaper retorted.

"Cut the chatter, and keep your competition productive, Melody 1. I'm expecting better results from all of you than last time." Midnight Eye ordered.

"Roger that, let's get going, Euphony." Reaper beckoned as he increased throttle and headed towards the shoreline. Euphony followed and noticed they were going much faster than what would be ideal for finding airplane wreckage.

"We're going awful fast. Shouldn't we slow down...?" Euphony inquired as he eyed his velocity at 600 knotts, nearing the speed of sound. His Falcon wasn't as fast as the Typhoon. It was a rather odd pairing.

"We need those survivors to know we're here. They won't know WHO we are but they're gonna take a gamble by putting up some smoke. Its our job to find them before the enemy does...and before anyone else does. We'll get better rewards if we find them. Trust me, its worth it." Reaper explained.

"Alright, lets get looking." Euphony agreed hesitantly. It seemed like a bit of a long-shot. All he could see was beach, forest, and the darkening sky above. "Before we run out of daylight..."

Melody Team proceeded to scan the coastline for any wreckage.

The search continues as allied flights enter the operational zone...

by **The Fluff Republic** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:25 pm

All the ministries, including his own, had been buzzing ever since the incident over the Balkan Lawless Zone. Calvin had spent the last twelve or so hours writing up condolence letters to each of the families of the pilots. He always was quite the procrastinator, no matter what it was.

He walked by his office one last time to see if there was anything before heading to the Protectors Situation Room. He saw Samantha, his assistant, working diligently at her desk.

"Any calls?" Calvin asked.
"Well, Maxwell of the Grobdeutches Reich wishes to speak." She replied with a smile.
"Got it, no calls." Calvin said with a grin.

Calvin proceeded down the hallway until he came to a door with an armed guard.

"Esper" Calvin told the guard, prompting him to move to the side allowing Calvin to enter the Situation Room.

The room was a buzz. Security Minister Crane was speaking to an ISAF colonel, multiple Intelligence Ministry personnel were also in the room, holding papers and such relating to the incident and discussing amongst themselves. Calvin sat down next to his long time friend the President of the LBP Union, Michael Youngling.

"It's been chaos around here lately", Calvin said as he sat down.
"Yeah.. No kidding" Michael responded, loosening his tie and rubbing his eyes.
"Has the Search and Reacue team arrived on scene yet?" Calvin asked, hoping that he had arrived on time. He always was a worry wort.
"No not yet. About five minutes or so." The president responded. Calvin sighed in relief.

"Hey... You don't think it's...?" Calvin inquired.
"It just might be, Calvin. It just might be." Michael said.

Just then, the lights in the room dimmed, and the blue ISAF logo on the large screen turned to a camera feed on one of the escort fighters, in the corner it showed the fighters call sign, REAPER. They were approaching the last known location of the downed squadron.

Calvin rubbed his beard, eyes on the screen mesmerized like everyone else in the room. The sound of Medical Vertibirds filled the room, indicating the search of the area had officially begun.
"

by **Armellenia** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:20 am

Croatian Airspace, Evening

A refueling probe floated down to Hydra's thirsty MiG-21. and everyone else in the squadron, while they wouldn't say it, were getting annoyed. Not at Hydra, but at the AAF, for stationing them so far in the frigid northern parts of their country. Sure, the furthest south wasn't much better and probably would have only saved them a single refueling flight, but they wouldn't be doing this one right now. Each aircraft almost hovered into place under the fuel probe to top off their fuel. Hydra then excitedly piped up over the radio.

"This is Frostbite One, we are entering the operational zone!"
"AWACS Midnight Eye to Frostbite One, if you're done refueling, proceed with mission operations. Split up and search for wreckage."
"Frostbite One, copy. We will tell you if we come across any trouble."

Hydra leaned back in his seat, looking over the rest of his squadron, his radio directed towards them.
"Lynx, you're on me. We'll be Serpent Team. Frostbite Three and Four, you're in the other squadron. I'll call you... Gazelle Team. Mantain radio silence unless you're in it deep."
"Alrighty," responded Lynx. Three and four did the same.

Hydra and Lynx raced across the sky, on the look for the missing aircraft wreckage.
Lynx broke the silence, saying "This is gonna be one hell of an operation."

by **The LBP Union** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:57 am

Croatian Airspace - 15 Minutes Later

Euphony kept hearing radio calls as a sort of blur as he focused on the landscape below. A lot of it was check-in from allied flights and the new non-ISAF flights registering their IFF. He couldn't remember how many non-ISAF flights were in on the operation. He couldn't remember their names either. Just great. Euphony was troubled with being scatterbrained. He often daydreamed and lost focus to just think about anything and everything.

"Hey, you see that?" Reaper pointed out. It was rather hard to just point a finger from your cockpit for someone else to see, so Euphony just scanned his entire visual surroundings since he was in the same general location as Reaper in the formation. In the distance, about a mile in from the coastline was some light orange smoke. Euphony actually recognized it, as that color of smoke was the same as his rescue smoke flare that he had attached to his right leg on his flight suit. Oddly enough, the canister seemed to be produced by a popular soda pop industry back at home.

"Melody 1 to Midnight Eye, I've got visual on a column of orange smoke. Melody Team proceeding to investigate for visual confirmation on any survivors." Reaper reported.

"Midnight Eye to Melody 1, proceed with caution. Could be a trap." Came a call from the AWACS.

Euphony tensed as Reaper got a bit faster and he was forced to speed up to catch him. As the smoke column got closer and closer, Reaper decreased his velocity.

"Keep ready on that throttle. We might have to break if there's a SAM out there." Reaper warned, causing Euphony to swallow uncomfortably. How would he know death was coming if that squadron that got shot down here didn't? After a few grueling seconds of uncertainty, they passed near the smoke column to find a small clearing inside some trees. At about 100 feet off the ground, Euphony could just barely see a man waving a glowing red baton. That same baton was strapped to his left leg on his flight suit.

"This is Melody 1 to Midnight Eye, I have visual on a survivor. I repeat, visual on survivor. He's vulnerable in that clearing. We need to get him out of there fast."

"Roger that, Melody 1. All teams, secure the airspace around this area. We have a rescue Virtibird en route from our carrier in the southwest Adriatic. Provide cover, ETA 20 minutes." Midnight Eye responded promptly.

"Where's the wreckage?" Euphony questioned.

"Remember? You're supposed to destroy your plane if you go down in hostile airspace so nobody can get a hold of the tech." Reaper reminded him.

"Oh, right. I knew that." Euphony lied. He should have remembered that, but he made himself look like a fool now.

They began to circle around the zone, keeping an eye on their radars for any aircraft without their IFF registered with their own. Euphony noticed a flight out and about that he didn't recognize so well. It was a pair of fighters, one a Mig-31 and the lead craft a Mig-21.

"Hey, you see that, Euphony?" Reaper asked. "That plane, the Mig-21, the one with the tacky stripe and the snake on the nose."

"Yeah? What about it?" Euphony inquired.

"Nobody lets a dinosaur like that take lead anymore with that paint job without some good skills. Don't let him make a fool out of you." Reaper instructed.

"And how do you suppose I do that?" Euphony asked, puzzled.

"Midnight Eye to all planes, fence. Multiple bogies on radar at vector one five zero heading into the operational zone. Standby for hostile confirmation."

"Ready, Euphony?" Reaper chuckled.

"...Let's do it." Euphony confirmed hesitantly. If this two dozen or so aircraft on his radar were indeed hostile, this would be his first engagement.

"All planes, bogies are now declared hostile. Melody, Indigo, Serpent and Gazelle teams are authorized to engage. Everyone else, protect the rescue zone and inbound helicopter." Midnight Eye ordered.

Using the data from the AWACS on his display, Euphony was able to identify that the incoming bandits were almost all Mig-21s and F-4s. There were three Mig-29 in each flank of the large formation. They were organized, it seemed.

"Reaper to Serpent 1, think you can outperform us in that dino of yours?" Reaper challenged to the allied Mig-21 pilot. Euphony got a bit tense at this. Shouldn't they be working together? He readied his Falcon for combat, switching to 4AAM to hit as many hostiles as possible before the merge. He fired a volley at four separate aircraft in the hostile formation, downing two Mig-21s in balls of flame, while the other two seemingly missed.

Melody Team was the closest to the area at the time and were the only ones able to fire before the merge.

"Splash 2!" Euphony declared as he approached the merge, ready to yank the stick back with his right hand.

"Splash 3!" Reaper declared. Euphony saw some explosions around him but couldn't quite tell what they were. He assumed they were from Reaper.

A furball ensued, with aircraft turning around in a giant egg. This would leave them vulnerable for aircraft on the outside to fire their longer ranged or multi-target missiles into the fray, where the enemy would be distracted. Euphony found himself turning hard, chasing after an F-4E Phantom II. He looked straight up every once in a while to try and line him up for a kill. Distraction and fear hit him as missile warnings blared.

"Rookie! Speed up and pull right before that missile hits you!" Reaper commanded. Euphony did as he was told and watched as the missile closed in on his radar and then pulled at the last second, watching the missile spiral out into the distance. Too close for comfort. He looked for his next target as he saw ISAF and non-ISAF planes in the fray...

OOC,

The enemy planes here you can say you've shot and/or killed, as opposed to traditional RP godmod rules. The regular rules will apply to special targets later though.

by **The Fluff Republic** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:12 am

Protectors Situation Room- 3 minutes after contact with hostile fighters

"Who are these guys?!" A voice said over the comm.
"Doesn't matter, just keep them away from the Vertibird!" Melody 1 shouted.

Calvin dabbed the sweat from his brow with his cat printed hankerchief. He noticed Michael fidgeting nervously in his chair, however everyone in the room had faith that the fighters would do their job. The camera feed switched to another fighter that was assigned to stay close to the Vertibird as it came on approach to the crash site.

"Can we get a closer look?" Minister Crane asked.

The feed switched again, this time to a feed on the helmet of one of the crew members as he jumped out.

The sky was in chaos. The sounds of engines roaring past and explosions in the air and on the ground made it for a hellish scene. As the Vertibird crew got closer to the pilot, his wounds became more visible. He had a gash on his head from the impact, and a makeshift cast around his leg. The crew picked up the pilot and carried him to the helicopter. When everyone was loaded, the Vertibird began to lift off.

Then a rocket hit the ground near the evac bird. A hostile F-4 had done one final pass in an effort to kill the crew and pilot before slamming into the water. The noise had startled Calvin so badly that he literally jumped from his seat.

"Oh hell I'm losing her!" The pilot yelled in distress. The evac bird was spinning from the shockwave.

"All allied aircraft, cover that evac bird now and make sure no more blind attacks hit them!" Midnight Eye yelled over the comm.

The evac Vertibird seemed to be regaining control, and most of the hostile fighters Were either retreating or slamming into the ocean. It appeared the mission was turning out to be successful... But it wasn't over yet.

by **Page** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:24 am

"Andraste Squadron, things lit up fast. Be on your guard and wait for targets to be marked." Abel frowned at the radar but he bit his lower lip and braced as he thrust forward. A proper coalition of the willing had formed since Air Marshal Shale gave the orders for the MiG-31's to provide air support for the rescue operation. So much for a routine flyover. Fortunately, Abel's pilots were as well-fueled and well armed as possible.

"Listen up! Drop altitude to 11,000 meters. Group Echo, pursue and engage oncoming unknowns to the Southeast. Group Bravo on me. If anything gets too close, engage with the rotary. Hold the R33's until we scatter the enemy formation. Scourge out."

Senior Airman Abel Carlsen - or simply Scourge up here, punched through the clouds and counted down in his mind as he approached the dogfight. Below them, every window in a no-longer-quiet Balkan village rattled violently. After some calibration, the allied chatter finally came through clearly. "Euphony, this is Scourge from Andraste Squadron - I think I found your friend." He was so eager for fresh blood now. Even if his helmet were gone he would lick his icy, oxygen deprived lips in anticipation.

The F-4E Phantom II banked to the West, just as Scourge had hoped as four his comrades from Bravo closed the dragnet around him in all other directions. The rotary was fired. Scourge was sure there were some hits, but he didn't know how many. Still, it was time for the air-to-airs. No doubt Scourge could give pursuit if needed, but the only thing that was going to ensure a smooth victory would be allied discipline tightening up in the face of enemy panic. He fired, and to his bitter disappointment the first missile flew over the Phantom's left wing.

Times like this he would recall exactly what his commanding officer from the Rangers (a man by the handle of Shaman) had to say about sniper training. "A little less instinct, a little more math." Soon, the control panel lit up again clearing Scourge for a kill. Imagining just how the Phantom would try to evade was above Scourge's paygrade, but he ascended sharply, fired the rotary again, aimed the R-33 and made a wish. Five eternal seconds passed before a fireball lit up before his own eyes.

"Euphony, that Phantom had to cancel his date, he's a little burned" Scourge teased in good humor. He cut back sharply toward the fray.
"Scourge, Frosty's in it deep" Mage reported from Echo.
"Splash 5! Hit! HIT!!! One engine still going, I'm going to have to bail!" Frosty shouted frantically.
"Don't you dare!" Scourge shouted. "The Ocealus is ETA 8 minutes from the fall back point in the Adriatic. Are you leaking fuel?"
"No, but-"
"Then break formation and get there. Skullcap, bring him in."
"Affirmative" Skullcap answered, but in the second it took him to say those four syllables, a Mig 21 came up on Frosty with his barrel hot, piercing through the fuel tank and breaking the glass of the cockpit."

Whatever Frosty tried to say to Scourge, the blaring of his aircraft's alarm drowned out his words. Scourge cursed under his breath and told Frosty "permission to eject, Ocealus will send you a chopper when we're clear." Frosty left his aircraft, but the jolt of the ejector seat took his consciousness. The world faded to black for him as his parachute carried him down gently - at least he wouldn't have to see his plane barrel down and find a final resting place inside the Balkan forests.

by **Armellenia** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:56 am

Hydra slammed on his throttle, pushing the prototype engine to its limits, accelerating up to the Melody Team after they finished their attack. He then inverted his aircraft and flew a few feet above Reaper's plane. He then fired both of his SAAMs after locking on to two lead F-4s, then switching to his primary missiles and, in a near-blackout maneuver, slammed on his air brakes and corkscrewed away from Melody Team. Racing on to the enemy formation, he locked on to a hostile MiG-21bis and fired his A2A missile. The MiG pilot hit a turn, but it was too late and his aircraft was consumed by a fireball.

"Hydra, your SAAMs hit both of your targets, but one is still limping away," Proclaimed Lynx from his MiG-31. "May I finish it?"
"No, he's mine, Lynx! Back off!"

Hydra scanned the sky for the bandit. Barely a kilometer away, an F-4E with one flaming engine was racing towards the chopper's landing zone. Hydra quickly got behind him and tore into the plane's cockpit area with his MG. The pilot's seat ejected, the cockpit glass broken and the pilot limp.

"I've only got one more missile! Is anyone in trouble?"
Hydra could hear a loud beeping noise coming from Gazelle One's radio feed. His plane was limping at a meager 230 knots, and he was being torn apart by a hostile MiG-21bis. Hydra dived at the MiG, barely in missile range. He was locking on, and right as the meter clocked to 100, the enemy MiG fired a burst into Gazelle One's left wing. Before the enemy MiG burst into flames, Hydra was attempting to get a response from Gazelle One.

"Frostbite Squadron, regroup! Gazelle One needs help, reform in a diamond and follow me for the rest of the flight!"
"AWACS Midnight Eye to Frostbite, this might be a bad time but your orders have come in. You're to RTB at Rammstein, so you can skip the flight up north."

For the first time in hours, Hydra breathed a sigh of relief.

by **The LBP Union** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:12 pm

Croatian Airspace

Reaper gazed up at the pilot he had just taunted and smirked as Hydra inverted his plane. Reaper could see the pilot's face from this distance. It was quite a maneuver, and the wide barrel roll of a corkscrew after was equally as impressive.

"Fancy." Reaper chuckled.

Meanwhile, Euphony wasn't focused on the trick and gritted his teeth as Scourge saved him the trouble of landing the last kill on the F-4E. "Kill confirmation on the F-4." Was all he managed to stammer as he looked for his next target, watching as the Pageian Mig-31 flew past after scoring the kill.

"Rookie! Don't let those guys take your kills! The final hit is what counts!" Reaper instructed with some minor pauses for grunts as he maneuvered his aircraft in position to hit a Mig-29 with a missile and finish it off with his Typhoon's gun.

"Roger that." Euphony agreed, still a bit unsure of Reaper's tactics. Shouldn't Reaper be more happy that he was still alive?

"Midnight Eye to Pageian Andraste Squadron, you're late. Register your IFF and engage bandits in the battlezone. Protect our rescue helicopter at all costs!" Midnight Eye ordered.

Euphony locked onto another enemy Mig-21 and fired missile. The pilot must not have been paying attention to him as he saw it burst into flames and crash to the ground like a meteor. "Splash four." Euphony counted. It seemed a bit unsettling that he was actually killing people instead of the bots in the simulators, but he was fighting for his life and the lives of others here. As he confirmed the kill, Euphony noticed one of the Pageian fighters brought down and saw the pilot bail out. He saw the Mig-31 -- Scourge, circle around. Hearing the chatter on the radio, Euphony was able to piece together what happened.

After several more kills, the enemy forces dissipated dramatically with little allied losses. With the Vertibird safe, the battle was in ISAF's favor.

"Ha! This is the best they could do?" Reaper exclaimed. Euphony didn't believe in karma, but after the next event, he began to wonder if Reaper jinxed the situation.

"What? What's that?" The AWACS stammered all of a sudden. A hissing streak ripped through the sky, exploding in the air at about a thousand feet up in a huge ball of flame. A piece of shrapnel impacted Reaper's wing, sending him into a spin, but he recovered promptly. He was damaged, but not done yet.

"Dammit! I'm hit, but still flying. What the hell was that!?" Reaper stammered. Euphony panicked and sent his aircraft into a series of spins as the explosion startled him. He could barely hear Reaper's voice as the radio was filled with panicking pilots. He forced himself to regain his cool and leveled out his plane with the autopilot auto-leveler.

"Javelin 3! You're radio went out! Javelin 3!" Shouted an unfamiliar voice.
"Rapier squadron is just...gone!" Came another.
"Indigo 2 down!" A woman yelled.

"All units! We have multiple high speed projectiles coming in at supersonic speed! Egress at vector three zero zero out into the Adriatic Sea!" Midnight Eye ordered. "I am assigning your altitude restriction to 800 meters. You'll be a sitting duck for the next wave if you are up in the open sky!"

"What?! You mean there's more?!" Euphony exclaimed in fear. Another explosion tore through the sky as the fireball was much closer to the ground this time, near the evac zone. Euphony couldn't see if the Vertibird helicopter was still there or not, but he was sure it wasn't after the next radio call.

"All planes, the mission has failed. We've lost the survivor and our evac helicopter. Continue with your retreat." Midnight Eye commanded.

"No! Rrrgh!" Reaper growled as he nosedived his aircraft towards the ground to descend quickly, barely escaping an explosion that occurred right where he was before he dove. Euphony followed suit and lowered his altitude.

"What about that downed allied aircraft! He bailed out! He's still alive!" Euphony desperately asked, referring to the downed Pageian pilot Frosty. Witnessing him go down like that seem to increase his empathy. It was one thing to see the pilot as a number on a screen, but it was another to see it actually happen.

"Negative, Melody 2. All operations in this area have been suspended." Midnight Eye affirmed.

"We have to help him! I'm going back to go take out whatever weapon is causing this!" Reaper declared.

"Melody 1, abort now! You don't understand!" The AWACS demanded.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind!" Reaper shouted. Euphony admired his dedication to his fellow pilots, even if they weren't from the Union, but going back there was just plain stupid.

"Those shells are coming in from over a thousand kilometers away! You'll never make it!" The AWACS reasoned.

"...Geh, fine. I'm going to remember this..." Reaper gave in and continued with the retreat. Euphony marveled as to how far away these attacks were coming from. What could possibly be causing it?

Euphony was incredibly disappointed that they were forced to leave people behind because of this...thing. It was like hell raining down from above. More explosions, more downed aircraft. It was a disaster. One explosion occurred in front of Euphony and above him, forcing him to swerve to avoid the shrapnel. Eventually, as they retreated North West, the frequency of the explosions slowed, and stopped. Euphony felt a sigh of relief.

"Is it over?" Euphony wondered out loud.

"All units, you have exited the operational zone. Proceed to Ramstein Airbase. Globemaster tankers are available for those too low on fuel to make the trip." Midnight Eye commanded.

"Can't we just land at Matera? That's closer and easier than just landing everybody at Ramstein." A voice over the radio questioned.

"Negative. Landing permissions for Matera have been revoked. The base is being evacuated." Midnight Eye explained.

"What?! Why?" Came another voice.

"You'll find out at debrief. Now come on, hustle it up. We need to be ready for next time." Midnight Eye ordered.

Euphony felt a bit disorganized, but managed to locate Reaper. He navigated his plane into formation with him. "Melody 2, saddled." He declared upon finding his place in the formation.

"You did pretty good out there, buddy." Reaper encouraged. "But I'm pretty sure Hydra beat you."

"Hydra?" Euphony inquired.

"Don't worry, we'll show them how it's done next time. Don't lose your touch." Reaper advised.

"Roger that." Euphony agreed. He was going to have to get a lot better in order to survive what was to come. His luck would run out eventually. Having someone to compete with was a good way to improve his skills. Maybe there was some truth to what Reaper said after all.

by **The LBP Union** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:12 pm

DEBRIEF - Ramstein Airbase

Euphony finally got a chance to see Reaper's face. Noticing the scar just under his eye, it made him wonder how such a wound was obtained. Perhaps there was more to Reaper than met the eye. He was a bit taller than him, further instating a bit of authority on Euphony, as if the difference in aircraft wasn't enough. The Typhoon was easily a better aircraft than the Falcon in terms of specs. In the briefing room, Euphony noticed that joining them were less of their own pilots than before, which was quite unsettling. He couldn't find Citrine, the pilot he met at lunch the other day. Was he engulfed in the explosive flames as well?

He also noticed that there were quite a few foreign pilots in the room. While ethnicities were already mixed due to the wide spread of the Union, these pilots bore different uniforms and unfamiliar flags. He noticed one of them, Hydra. The tag on his jacket was how he spotted him. He seemed just like anyone else. What was so special about him that Reaper had taken great notice?

"Anyone can be an ace. Including you. It's not about what you look like, the aircraft you fly or where you come from. It's all in here." Reaper explained, lightly hitting Euphony on the backside of the head, playfully. He must have noticed Euphony staring intriguingly at Hydra. "But don't forget, there is another one in this room you might want to take notice of." Reaper eyed another pilot, from Page. Euphony eyed his tag, "Scourge." He heard his name over the radio during the fight. He was the one who stole his kill.

"Alright, everyone here? Good. We have some new faces here today, but I'll have to cut the introductions short. My name's Goodfellow." An officer at the front of the briefing room started as the lights dimmed. The ISAF briefing screen came on and the world map was shown. "As you know, ISAF is a coalition of Union states' militaries. It's an honor to have Page and Armellenian air forces represented here today."

DEBRIEFING

"Yes, we understand a few of you are a bit far from home and you may have lost some pilots today. It is our goal to communicate effectively with your military leaders to make sure our operations are organized and effective." Goodfellow began. "This briefing is being securely streamed to your military leaders so that they may have this valuable intelligence to aid our future operations related to this incident."

"The enemy has officially revealed itself over an internet public announcement. They are a terrorist organization known as the Visarian Mandate. Here's the message their leader, Juke Chalybeius, has published to the world.

For far too long the dirty slavs have held this land. For far too long, the Union has lied to you and wrapped the world in a tight knot of bureaucracy. It is time we took a stand against the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Belorussians. They are the reason for this region's suffering! But no more! With our new weapon, we will rule the skies of the so called "Lawless Zone." It is time for a new order, one to strike down the oppressive regimes of the Union and the rest of the world's impure oppressive powers! Today, we control Eastern Europe. Tomorrow, the entire world!

"That's the end of it. They seem to be using hatred against the Slavs as energy for their campaign. The economic collapse in the Lawless Zone was a perfect breeding ground for this event. The tactics are highly Nazi in nature it seems. Here's the important part. As they've said, they have claimed to occupy almost all of Eastern Europe, even southern Italy, where our Matera Airbase was. It is being evacuated as we speak and residents are being evacuated as well. The reason for this, is because of the weapon you encountered today. You have encountered the Stonehenge railgun network stationed in central Turkey."

A sort of confused whisper fell over the audience of the debriefing.

"Stonehenge is a large ring of railguns built by Khorne Empire in 2011 to allegedly defend against asteroids that might be on a collision course with Earth. Obviously, it was actually to rule this area during a series of wars at that time. It was supposedly never completed and never employed. Somehow, the Visarian terrorists have managed to overtake the facility and use it to maintain complete air superiority in a 1600 kilometer radius. This radius envelops Southern Italy, henceforth rendering Matera airbase useless and clears the path for them to invade Southern Italy. There is little we can do to defend the region until Stonehenge is destroyed. A nuclear option is also impossible for destroying Stonehenge. For one, Stonehenge is easily capable of intercepting a nuclear ICBM, even in its orbital stage. On the other hand, Visaria may be in the process of obtaining nuclear weapons and possibly intends on using them. We must ensure that this does not happen for the sake of world security."

"We currently do not have an complete operational plan to destroy Stonehenge. Such an action is fairly unsafe at this time and we need to get a better foothold in defending against the Mandate's next moves and push them back. Here is a current map of the current events."

Map

"See that orange ring? That's Stonehenge's maximum firing range. We will first attempt to drive Visaria out of their northern territories that are not within railgun firing range. Then we will proceed with an operation to knock Stonehenge out entirely. We're calling our campaign, Operation Eternal Liberation. We will additionally provide support to assist the Slavs as they are currently huge targets for Visaria's hate campaign. Get some rest, we will have an operation ready for you tomorrow, so make sure your aircraft is fully prepared for combat. We have facilities here for visiting pilots ready. Hopefully we can make it feel like home for you. Dismissed."

by **Armellenia** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:49 pm

The four aircraft sped along the outskirts of the operation zone, waiting for the operation to finish and the evac copter to lift off. Cruising at a low altitude of 600 meters, they avoided detection by enemy forces and patiently waited for orders to RTB.
Suddenly, explosions ripped through the sky above them. It seemed that the entire sky was alight with flame. Confusion was rife in the radio communications, and it was deciphered that a few pilots had been lost in the ensuing firestorm.

"Hydra, sir, I'm gonna black out! Most of my aircraft's systems are failing..." Frostbite Three was in distress, limping to keep up with his squadron.
"Hold on for a little while longer, you'll get medical help as soon as you touch down! AWACS Midnight Eye has issued full retreat. Apparently we can't save the downed pilots or destroy what just hit us."

Rammstein AFB, Later in the Day
The wounded aircraft touched down first, and as soon as touching the ground ceased moving. A tow tractor moved it to clear the runway and the pilot, Frostbite Three, was rushed to the hospital. At the time he was verbally unresponsive. Frostbite Four and Lynx soon followed. Hydra, of course, was the last to touch down in the squadron. He had gotten four kills on the mission, but one of his squadron was heavily wounded.

Frostbite Four stammered out of his aircraft with a glazed look on his face, it being his first combat mission. Hydra got out of his, met up with Lynx, and the two silently lit cigarettes, reflecting on the day's events. The bases' atmosphere was chaotic: wounded pilots were rushed to the field hospital and heavily damaged aircraft were rushed in to be repaired. Frostbite Three's whereabouts were at the moment unknown to the rest of Frostbite.

Lynx broke the silence. "At least one of ours isn't dead, right?"

Debreifing
After listening to the rather long winded Debreifing, Hydra raised his hand and made a suggestion. "How about, in the spirit of old times, we dress up our killmarks like they used to on the fighter planes of old during the wars against National Socialists?"

To Hydra, the Stonehenge turret system was a tough objective, but not impossible. A stationary cannon couldn't dogfight with him, so what was to be scared of? The rebels certainly had the odds against them, and without their precious cannon would have been demolished.

by **Armellenia** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:00 pm

OOC: I should have mentioned this before, but my nation is on this map in the territories of Greenland and Iceland.

Rammstein AFB, "Off-Time"
While other pilots slept in their barracks or went about their activities, Hydra was at work on his MiG-21. He had commissioned a local artisan to make him a swatstika-based killmark stencil, and armed with that and a can of low-visibility gray aircraft-friendly paint, added four more killmarks into the boundaries of his two vertical red stripes. They were spacious and orderly, which is why they were commissioned on his aircraft; about 23 low-visibility skull roundels for the terrorist cell aircraft he had already destroyed were present on the upper half of the first stripe. From a distance, only the red stripes were visible. You would need to be almost 20 feet away from the craft to notice the marks. Once the bars were filled, he planned to remove it all and replace it with an infinity ribbon-shaped Hydra.

His second order of business was to cover over the white tundra stripes with a lighter green than his dark green base coat; this was augmented with outlines of the stripes being painted tan and brown, which all together created a sort of multi-cam pattern on his aircraft. The entire job was done in a little under two hours with the help of his maintenance personnel, whom had arrived that evening, circumventing Stonehenge's blast radius in an unmarked IL-76. There had, to Hydra's understanding, been a few close calls.

Hydra also used the time to visit Frostbite Three in the hospital; he had been wounded, and was off the flying roster. Frostbite Squadron had been reduced to three planes.

For now, it was time to relax in his bunk and then go to sleep.

by **The Fluff Republic** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:04 pm

Situation Room- After Conflict

Chaos. That's the only word that could describe not only the situation room, but all of Las Calles. The shockwaves of Stonehenge could be felt all the way to the NCR's colony in Ireland. The Intelligence Ministry was buzzing like disturbed bees, devising a strategy for eliminating the most destructive threat to world stability.

"What's the maximum radius of Stonehenge?" Michael asked an intelligence official.
"1600 kilometers, sir. That's from Turkey all the way to the Southern part of Italy.
"Alright.... Crane?" Michael announced.
"Yeah?" Minister crane asked.
"Alert Air Base Matera. Order a mass evacuation of both the base and surrounding area. Then have local military forces set up a defensive perimeter just outside of firing range of Stonehenge. We don't want Visaria pushing their way through Italy and winding up at our doorstep in a matter of hours."
"Yes sir." Crane said as he quickly made his way out of the room.

"Calvin, get the Slavs on the line, let them know help is on the way."
"Got it, boss." Calvin said as he too made his way quickly out of the room.

Michael sighed. "Looks like everything went from a routine rescue op to a full blown war..."

by **The LBP Union** » Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:46 pm

Ramstein Airbase - 8:00 AM

Early in the morning, Euphony was still thinking about the question Hydra posed during the debrief.

Hydra wrote:"How about, in the spirit of old times, we dress up our killmarks like they used to on the fighter planes of old during the wars against National Socialists?"

Goodfellow wrote:"ISAF protocol currently doesn't allow that on our aircraft. While we still keep track, you are allowed to do so as long as it is allowed within the rules of your own military."

What bothered him the most was that they had little regard for the loss of life. Was it a mere everyday occurrence now to take someone's life? Was his own life just as meaningless? Pilots were just numbers on screens and unseen faces behind the powerful machines they fly. Euphony accepted that killing to stay alive in these skies was important, but these pilots here cared little about that. All they cared about was killing more of the enemy than the other, and that bothered him. And what of the Pageian pilot that went down? What would happen to him? How would they be able to rescue him in a reasonable amount of time before and if Stonehenge was destroyed? Things were unclear.

The briefing room, crowded once again, had a collective anticipation of what was to happen next.

Mission 2:
Imminent Threat

Goodfellow dimmed the lights and proceeded to start the briefing. "The Großdeutches Reich, aka the Greater German Reich is a puppet state of the Visarians and occupy Eastern Germany and Poland. We have observed via recon that the Reich has been receiving reinforcements from Visaria in preparation for an attack on Ramstein, which stands in their way of heading farther West. If we lose Ramstein, we'll have little ability to harbor air support for the region. So, we have decided to strike the Reich's rebuilt Tempelhof Airbase near Berlin, which is essentially a cat ready to pounce. Once we turn the runways into craters and mop up the rest of the facility, our ground forces can proceed to liberate the region, as most of the Visarian forces are still in transit and the Greater German forces are fairly weak. Occupying these areas will force Visaria to hide behind the range of Stonehenge, and we'll be able to keep them on the offensive."

"We'll be launching this offensive in tandem with several EF-111A Raven electronic warfare support craft to mask our entrance into the operational zone. This will delay the air response, however they likely are running patrols, and you may encounter some air resistance. The main issue of this operation is the ground based defenses. You won't be dealing with Stonehenge, but there will be plenty of SAM sites, AAA and flak to defend the airbase. Make sure your craft is prepared for air to ground or multirole combat. Dismissed." Goodfellow concluded. Euphony got a bit worried. His F-16 wasn't a very good multirole aircraft for this situation. Regardless, he'd probably find a backup plane for this mission in particular, but it wouldn't be able to bear his emblem.

Euphony chose an F-5E Tiger II for the operation. It wasn't as maneuverable as his F-16, but it would get the job done since it could handle unguided bombs. These would be useful for bombing the airbase and the twin frontal cannons and missiles would be useful for taking out enemy air defenses and resistance.

Takeoff was a bit different now that he had a lead plane to follow. Both having their brakes on while on the runway, Reaper and Euphony were given takeoff clearance. Euphony watched as Reaper engaged his afterburners and then after they heated up, released the brake. Euphony had his afterburners on as well and as soon as he saw Reaper disengage his brakes, he did the same. They both rocketed down the runway and took off in formation. Euphony took good care to remember to put his gear up, remembering that he nearly forgot last time.

"Alright, this one should be a piece of cake." Midnight Eye declared over the radio as they approached the target. It was much closer than Euphony anticipated, as it was only over on the other side of Germany rather than all the way down in Croatia like last time. "All planes, I am now sending you target info on enemy air defenses. Go after them first."

Euphony, upon getting into visual range of the enemy airfield, noticed a multitude of targets. Most of them were marked as AA guns or SAM trucks. As they closed in to the airfield, the targets began to spread themselves out as Euphony was able to get a more detailed look. It was puzzling that they had not received the order to engage yet, when they were almost over the field. Euphony started to see the airfield disappear under his dash. They were almost right over it. Why weren't the enemy air defenses firing?

"All planes, you are clear to engage." The AWACS ordered.

"Melody Team, break." Reaper ordered. Euphony noticed an allied plane nearby and remembered that there were EF-111A Ravens assisting in electronic warfare to mask their entrance into the battle zone. As they began to break, he noticed that the enemy air defenses were opening up and the Ravens were retreating due to them not carrying any weapons. Their element of surprise worked, but now they were visible. Euphony rolled his aircraft upside down and pulled the stick into his stomach, pulling quite a few uncomfortable Gs in the maneuver. Aiming towards the nose towards the ground part way through his split S, he noticed a group of defenses and fired two missiles at an AA gun and a SAM truck and finished the maneuver to avoid buying the farm. Not having a visual on the kill, he proceeded to the next set of targets in front of him and used his F-5's twin guns to attack a SAM truck. Having some difficulty scoring a kill with his lack of guns practice, he managed to total the truck at the last second before he was forced to pull up again to avoid slamming into the ground. He noticed Reaper nearby gunning several targets, as well as other allied ISAF craft doing good work. The operation was turning out to be a big success. They'd be in and out of here in no time.

by **Armellenia** » Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:30 pm

Rammstein Airbase- Mission Two Briefing
At the briefing, Hydra was silent, considering the deployment of his MiG to the attack on the airfield. It was quick and incredibly maneuverable thanks to its nature and significant financial investment, and might be decent at the suppression of enemy air defenses. However, the armament possibilities were slightly limited, but he was sure he and his ground personnel could figure something out.

Rammstein Airbase- Mission Two Sortie
Hydra and his crew dug out some rocket pods of Slavic origin in an old weapons store, as well as managing to convince an on-base "trained individual" to whip up an incendiary mixture made from acquired fuel and explosives in the canister of an unused external drop tank which was to be mounted under the fuselage. These would replace his SAAMs, but he intended to keep some air-to-air missiles on the aircraft regardless, due to the multirole nature of the mission. The ground kills wouldn't be counted on his total- they were all sitting ducks and unless they were very special- such as the Stonehenge Array, which he planned to destroy some day, were too insignificant a target. That still didn't prevent their destruction, though.

Climbing into his cockpit, he oriented himself with the new weapon system controls. There was really only a jury-rigged display for the rocket pods, so he planned to fire them en masse. A target he planned to look for was a lined up group of parked aircraft, for the destruction of which he planned to save some ammunition. There really wasn't much aiming system for the incendiary mixture, and he hoped nobody would find out about it- they may have put a little too much explosive into the mixture, but it would look like a secondary explosion, right?

He lined up on the runway with his trio of aircraft, the fourth pilot still being in the hospital.
"Frostbite to Tower, clearance for takeoff?"
"Tower to Frostbite, permission granted."
With an excited hand he slammed his throttle forwards, racing across the runway until he was airborne. The flight was easy, much shorter than the massive Armellenia-Baltic flight he had taken on his first flight. They reached the operational zone quickly, and Hydra waited anxiously for the EW aircraft to break off. As soon as they did, he almost shouted into the microphone.
"Frostbite Squadron, break! All weapons free!"

Climbing high into the air, Hydra began to search the ground for a large, concentrated group of AA emplacements. He saw his target, and began the dive. At about 3000 feet, he pressed the release on his "drop tank." As he began to pull up, he noticed that the flash was very visible, had ignited a very large piece of ground, and was spreading to the buildings. He slammed on his afterburner, racing to another group of targets, and tried to ignore his allies' growing curiousity at his accidental firestorm. On one side, the mixture had decommissioned several air defense systems and was distracting the Visarian manpower into fighting the fire. On the other hand, it was common sense that obviously, Armellenian pilots weren't supposed to deploy napalm unless directed to, much the less mix it themselves. Maybe nobody would link it to him?

He dove on a group of trucks, strafing them with his gun. He pulled up after tearing several of them apart, observing the battle around him. It looked like a coalition victory, and the end might be drawing near.

by **Neo ORB** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:41 pm

4 years ago:

The darkness was ever enveloping, the noise as silent as death, and the only light was from the stars high above and the occasional blinking green and red lights of another plane in a two man formation. This was a night op, and for a long time a run of the mill mission. It was simple, a small unit of aircraft were to fly over hostile airspace at a height of 38000 feet with a large payload of 500lb LGB's and bomb select targets with the help of satellite mapping.

There had been a total of three squads. Two squads were in older B-1B's, while there escort planes had been four F-22's. This mission however wasn't a run of the mill operation, they had been given a specific location of where the head of the snake laid its head. And tonight they were going to give it the reckoning it deserved. It started as the time had hit midnight as they had reached destination, they had though that with this decisive blow, the game had been won, the tables turned and the war over.

They were wrong...
They could see the slight luminance of the bombers grow as bomb after bomb was dropped into the darkness below the slight flash's of light as bombs turned the ground below inside out. And quickly the radio chatter grew as well as the pilots dropped everything they had to give and started turning back homewards. The F-22's followed suit and after a few hours of further flight and vigilance they had landed back onto airfield from were they had flown off from hours prior, had towed their planes into their hangers and went to call it a night after an hour of celebration on the base's pub.

The paper folded out the the sunlight was a clear as day. It's title horridly chilling as if some interloper had held a gun to your beloved temple and force you to make a choice between saving the one you loved or dooming them to a slow death after not giving up your wallet out of the most slight hesitation. The paper was the AUBE Union times. And the title simply read.
"The Razed Captial of Sangria, Accident? or Betrayal?"

As the paper was lowered I could see my Boss looking at me, his face flushed with blood, and steam fuming like a freshly erupted volcano. My eyes darted to my other team members from last night mission. We had been in this office on the base for over three hours now under investigation under military tribunal as the technical staff were no doubt going through all of our plane's black boxes and checking the log data on them and the overwatch records on the base as well.
The Commander of the base, various military branches, even the ministers of government had crowded this single room. The Commander my boss was a white blading man, wrinkle's etching into his skin from age. A crisp tan uniform adorned with metal after metal and a unlit cigar in his free left hand. He sighed and then leaned back as the light coming in from his office window continued to blind us.

"Do you know what you boys have done?"
"Sir?... we bombed our target did we not?"
"Oh you indeed bombed a target... the wrong Target, the capital of Sangria... over ten thousand dead, and over two hundred thousand plus wounded or missing including the country's head of state and parliament heads.

not only have you crippled the entire city of Sangria, but its country as well... we were asked to end a war, not give the damned enemy the chance to completely take over power! "

"But SIR... we."

"SHUT THE F*** UP CAPTAIN!" the commander yelled. His right hand dropped the paper and gripped a glass ashtray and then threw it with conviction against the door behind us. The shattering pop as glass met metal of terrifying as the pop deafened all within the room.
We had majorly screw up on a catastrophic scale we could tell that from the head line alone... War crimes, and plunging a neighbouring country into further war... our credibility had gone down the crapper... hell everyone already knew that our lives were over.
We would be tried for the war crimes, and then were to be humanely executed...
Or we had all though that until one of the technical and maintenance chiefs came running into the room through then door gasping for breath.

"The planes black box's... the planes hell most likely even our own signals and transmissions. They were all hijacked..."

We silently thought that luck had suddenly been on our side again, if our planes had been changed, then us bombing the wrong target was completely possible... however the commanders next word's froze everyone in the room. No even the punishment had been decided from the get go, we were made murderers, weather we knew it or not.

"It doesn't matter if we were hijacked... these boys and our country have committed an international incident... head's will roll from everyone in this room there's no changing that or getting away from it... you are grounded from this moment on and are to be under heavy supervision, The MP's will be here shortly to... "escort" you to your new quarters... I hope you like prison... its the last thing we all will get to happily see. "

Present Day:
AUBE Union: Military Complex Oniguro.
Prison building #5: (Maximum Sentencing: Light security)
Former (Lt.) Douglas W. Getty

The walls of my cell were dark grey, cramped and smelling of mold. How many days had we been locked here, was it over a thousand now? I couldn't remember. No I didn't want to remember the moment my life was officially over. That day four years ago when everything came crashing down around us... Since then most of the base had gone under massive reform, entire staffs changed after months of investigation. Corruption, corruption and more corruption. Our unit had been split up permanently. And by now it was likely that everyone had already been executed under lethal injection. Everyone but me... they couldn't execute me... wouldn't dare to even try.
Afterall, I was the bastard son of one of the five houses of AUBE Union. the house of Getty was vast. It's networks both legal and illegal and I... I was one of its Illiginiment scion's. The country's best use of me was to keep me alive as a bargaining chip to use against the Getty's. Not that I minded or even had a choice in the matter anyway. And so I spent my days being the good prisoner, reading books and keeping as quiet as possible. As the news trickled down my way of the executions, it didn't surprise me that the commander was the first to go...

He had actually already been under investigation for possible ties to the revolutionaries from Sangria, and after a few months the connection had finally been confirmed after Sangria managed to keep its power in the right hands and after years of further bitter conflict, eliminated the remnants of the revolutionary's and then was the facts came out. He was sent off to the next world.

I haven't prayed for my comrades souls after I heard of their demise, I didn't change. I simply and calmly waited... hoping that soon it would be my turn to go. It was the waiting that made my stay torture... the constant fear that it would be me next. And even after hour years, that hadn't changed as the sound of boots always made me jump in my cell.
Today was no different as an alarm painfully blared in my cell and brought me to my knees. My hand's clenched to my ear's trying to make a barrier against the noise as I reflexively shut my eyes in pain, and yet I heard the boots to numerous to count loudly step into my cell. Was it time... was it finally time to go?

I opened my eyes and looked up cautiously... only to meet an oncoming black bar that whipped against my face, bringing with it pain and sudden darkness.

Bright, that's what I though as I looked upwards at seven lights in the design of a circle. It was blinding and that I couldn't shield myself from that light was because I was strapped down to a bed. It was finally the day, I was going to be executed... thank goodness. No more fear, no more grey cement walls in a ten by ten area. No more pain or shame with the act I had committed so many years ago. and yet as I laid there helpless, my fear of the impending death suddenly terrorized me... I didn't want to die... But all around me were doctors as they hooked my arm up to the three chemicals that would kill me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is July 31 2015, in front of you is Lt. Douglas W. Getty of the 103 Aube Union Air Forces. Responsible for his part in the bombing of Sangria and her capital with the loss of life at 123,534 counts of manslaughter.

Today, Mr. Getty will be executed according to his war crimes. now please listen to the final words of Lt. Getty..."

"Do you want to be saved?"
A voice suddenly whispers into my ear... such honey'd words from a young unknown female voice. In this situation how couldn I believe it and yet I could feel the stares from an unknown direction. I knew my fate was sealed they had given me my last chance to say my final words.
"Do you want to be saved...? We don't have much time left, lieutenant..."

"Yes..."
"Good... then Lieutenant Douglas Getty... from now on, I hope you'll not regret this chance you had for a quick painless death... Welcome to "Judas"... population... You."
I didn't understand her meaning, but a black fabric was placed over me head and suddenly a cloth on my face... Chloroform. how... old... fashioned. as my thoughts and being floated off far away.

August 3rd 2015
NAU-JHQ-Longinus (Aircraft Carrier)

Blue, blue and more blue. This endless elemental combination of hydrogen and oxygen which covers over half the world, I had never been on the sea in international waters before, but as I rested against the railing overlooking the pacific ocean on this Aircraft carrier which would be from now on my home. I felt a deep loneliness overcome me as I overlooked that ocean... I was abandoned by my family, and forced into exile from the AUBE Union. The ladies words echoed in my mind.

"Welcome to Judas."

Judas, the word meant "betrayer" How fitting for my existence. but I swore as I watched my island home disappear behind me that one day... One day, I would come back, no matter what the price.But on this small Aircraft carrier which was now my home... did I really have a place to return too? Lost in thought, I never heard the tight clicking of heel shoes behind me as the "woman" appeared.

"Lieutenant... are you having fun by your lonesome on the deck?"

At the sound of her voice, I inwardly sighed and then quickly turned around and gave a Salute, she smile in that crisp black and white uniform and gave a small salute back while trying to hold back her laughter... that's right, I don't need to salute anymore... habits die hard huh. I lightly smiled and then noticed a uniform held lightly in her arms. I lightly pointed at myself and then spoke.
"Your joking right? you want me to wear that?"

"Yes Mr. Getty, you may be the only other member of Judas aboard this carrier in exile for Aube. but were a team and you'll dress appropriately."

I looked at the full uniform and then at my green ATACS and white muscle shirt with a open button tan combat shirt I had picked up long ago at some long forgotten military hardware outfitter. and then sighed once more as I took the package and then started changing right in front of her. I could see her momentarily pull her head away as I pulled the pants down, but I cold see in the corner of her eye a small back and forth glance...
"Next time please use your quarters..."
"I refuse... miss out on the breeze? never... you should try it with me some time... might have fun with it..." I gave a lewd smirk in her direction as I buttoned up the uniform to its completion. There were no tags, no emblems and only a single rank of a silver bar on the right shoulder... it was good enough for me, but I missed the old uniform that I once proudly wore.

"Right lieutenant, follow me... satellites picked up quite the interesting development aboard..."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see yourself after all your headed there. now hurry up, I have to bring you up to speed."

I sat in the cockpit of my new plane on the aircraft carrier's deck, an F-18 Super Hornet with pure black paint exterior and gold edging, I had spent hours overlooking reports and my new commander sped me up, and I could watch now finally the closing hours of the day as the sky was slowly painted a variety of colors. She was a smart woman, but she hadn't even told me her name yet. And besides a pretty exterior, she was harsh behind closed doors as she rapidly whipped thorough mountain's of information.
and now here I was in my cockpit over looking pictures of photographed Arial battles with a flashlight as night slowly crept up. I was to get use to this new plane, four years in a cell had done havoc on my reaction, so I had been given clearance on a short recon flight of the surrounding area. However as I watched various crewmembers of the vessel pull my plane into position, I wondered exactly what fate had in store for me as I tossed the pictures down into some compartment in my seat.

I quickly started up my fighter as dials and digital depicted height, velocity, GPS, hell there was even a real time map of the area with my patrol route highlighted on my helmets HUD. I shook my head as I listened to the click as I strapped myself in. The rumble of my body as I put a little pressure on the throttle and the engines that now pumped out power and fuel. and then in sudden acceleration I was off into the air in my own little world as I watched the lights of my new home descend into the darkness below.

by **The LBP Union** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 5:37 am

"Midnight Eye to all planes, enemy air defense has been crippled. Proceed to the next phase of attack." Came a long awaited call among the ISAF pilots. Eupohy switched to his unguided bombs and circled around. He had their hangars and runway in mind for this attack. Lining up his target indicator with the appropriate targets, he pulled the trigger to release bomb after bomb. Other ISAF pilots had the same idea. Reaper was a bit less pinpoint and used his fragmentation munitions to create damage over a wide area to weaker structures. "Pickle, pickle." Euphony called out to address the bomb release. He thought it was a fairly inappropriate brevity, but it was necessary.

"Looks like we've got this one in the bag." Reaper chuckled.

"All teams, we have a mission update. Updating target info." Midnight Eye called out.

Euphony swallowed as his plane downloaded the new information from the AWACS. Eyeing his radar, he noticed a formation of new contacts.

"Quickshot team, free to engage." Came a stray radio message. It didn't quite have the tone of an ISAF pilot or one of their allies. That was when Euphony realized that the blips on his radar were moving towards him very quickly. By the time he realized that, he had a missile warning.

"Break! Break!" The AWACS ordered, and Euphony was already turning hard to evade the missile.

"Gah...! What the hell...?" Reaper gasped.

"The enemy is equipped with extremely high speed missiles! Break! Break!" Midnight Eye commanded frantically. Euphony listened as his missile warning soon disapeared, but he barely escaped the high velocity weapon. Too close for comfort.

Watching as the targets closed, Euphony realized that they were Mig-31 Foxhounds, very high speed interceptors. What confused him though was that they seemed to be turning into him, which was an odd tactic for a heavy fighter with a speed advantage.

Turning into one of the aggressors, Euphony engaged in a classic turning fight with one of the Mig-31s, hoping to outturn him in his F-5E. To his disapointment, his F-5 wasn't any better.

"It's so easy when they line up like that..." That voice again. It must have belonged to the enemy. Shortly after, a missile warning pierced Euphony's ears and he pulled hard in another direction to get it at an angle. He heard a loud explosion and his aircraft shook. Shaking in his seat and sweating, he realized he was still alive. The missile must have detonated far enough away that it didn't cripple his plane.

Hearing a more distant explosion, he was pleased to see the Foxhound vanish off his radar and saw Reaper's F-18E Superhornet zip in front of him.

"You got lucky. Make THEM rely on luck next time." Reaper explained.

"Roger that." Euphony managed to stammer, still a bit shooken up. He managed to find a Foxhound in front of him and fired a missile. He missed. He fired again. Another miss. Frustrated at this, he closed in to try and gun the plane down. He was turning too much to be a decent missile target at this angle. Lining the bandit up with his gunsight, he fired a volley of his twin cannonfire. Watching the hot bullets stream right into the Mig-31, he watched it burst into flames as the engine tore apart, and watched as a secondary explosion ignited the plane and it disapeared in a cloud of fire and smoke.

"Gaah...!" Came an exhasperated cry over the radio moments before the second explosion. Was it the bandit he just downed?

"Melody 2, splash 1!" Euphony announced.

"Nice gunnery, rookie." Reaper encouraged.

Euphony moved on to the next target, trying to not make himself one in the process by keeping a balance between speed and turning performance. They could handle this. There were only four hounds left.

by **Armellenia** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:39 pm

Hydra received the long-awaited radio message and anxiously slid his finger over the firing trigger for the rocket pods. He slid into position for a run on a group of oil tanks. The projectiles flew from the pods, zipping to their targets like a group of angry hornets. Explosions ripped into the air, and Hydra pulled up immediately to avoid the flaming debris. He slammed his throttle to half, corkscrewed around, and searched frantically for another target.

He sighted in a concrete bunker- there were still people running inside. His conscience told him not to- They're running for shelter, don't kill them! -but he remembered he was fighting an evil nation, if it could be called one. A revival of a long dead movement of hatred- one that had killed three members of his family and countless friends. He moved his thumb rapidly, the missile pod's reserve emptying, rays of flame jetting from his pods. The bunker erupted in flame, and a man's torso flew up only a few meters away from his cockpit.

He snapped back into consciousness and pulled up. Lynx was calling loudly for him in the radio-
"Hydra, answer me! What the heck is going on down there?!"

"Sorry... I'm fine, Lynx. What's the situation?"

"Incoming squadron, get back up to fighting altitude, they're gonna knock you outta the sky!"

Hydra engaged his afterburner, climbing rapidly to engage the enemy fighters. The radar signatures looked similar to Lynx's- were they Foxhounds as well? He leveled out and disengaged his afterburner. He began to look around, and his entire interface lit up, sirens blaring. He had been locked on.

He slammed his throttle to the highest setting and tore off to the left, and when he thought it was safe, deployed a flare. He heard a radio message, unfamiliar in nature, as soon as the lock dissipated.
"What the hell? Why can't I hit this painted fossil? These capabilities are unreal-"

Hydra gave the enemy no time to react, and pulled up into a loop, bringing himself down to his enemy's tail. The radio chatter seized as the enemy pilot tried to comprehend Hydra's move. Just then, Hydra noticed that he was between two of the Foxhounds, and was about to be shot down by the one behind him.

He locked on as fast as possible, and fired his air-to-air missiles almost point-blank into his target. A scream peirced his radio as the aircraft disintegrated. Hydra flew directly into the debris field and dived to avoid the pilot's wingman, pieces of metal tapping the exterior of his aircraft like hail to the roof of a house. The other Foxhound roared overhead, and he leveled out to continue the fight.

"Nice kill, Hydra," proclaimed Lynx, "You're lucky his partner didn't catch you."

His aircraft was peppered and bruised on the exterior by burning pieces of metal, but it was much better than being hit by an air-to-air missile. From what he'd heard, there were now three bandits left.

by **The LBP Union** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:18 am

Trying to find another target, Euphony noticed he had just had a radar spike put over his head. Understanding that the missiles would be far too fast for him to evade in this position after they were launched out, Euphony began his evasive maneuver before it was launched. Hearing a short missile warning, he was glad that it was not his last. He turned his F-5 to face the Foxhound and fired two missiles at it to ensure a kill. Right before his missiles hit however, another missile slammed into the Foxhound and destroyed it. Several other missiles appeared on his radar and downed the other two Foxhounds.

"This is Cutless Team, your aerial support as arrived. Splash 3." Euphony heard over the radio, and noted a flight of four ISAF F-15C Eagles on his mid ranged radar. They must have shot SAAMs from long range.

"A lot easier to get a SAAM into a bandit when you aren't trying to stay alive, eh?" Reaper teased.

"I think you should be more glad that we showed up, Melody 1." The Cutless leader retorted.

"Yeah well this is an air force, not a chair force. Thanks for the assist." It was hard to tell if Reaper was being sincere or not.

"All units, mission successful. Hostile forces evacuating. Return to base." Midnight Eye declared. "Frostbite team got some serious numbers. You better start thinking about how you'll use that reward."

Euphony remembered that the AWACS was referring to the new terms of allied aircraft operating under temporary ISAF command for Operation Eternal Liberation. ISAF would pay for the cost to maintain and operate allied aircraft since they would be staying at Union facilities. Additionally, they would be rewarded credits for battle performance. The teams that performed the best would get a bonus that would allow them to access new parts to customize their aircraft or other ISAF aircraft.

"You let them take your kill again, Euphony, but we'll do better next time when they aren't there to baby us." Reaper explained. Euphony still didn't like the idea of that. All he cared about was that he was alive, and it bothered him that Reaper seemed so desensitized as to treat bandits as a game. They headed back to base as ordered.

Mission 3:
Stonehenge Offensive

Five days had passed. War borders changed, and Stonehenge acted as a line that split many nations in half. Now on a carrier in the Mediterranean, Euphony stared at the updated map on the briefing screen.

"Alright, after securing the territory controlled by Visaria out of Stonehenge's firing range, we are now ready to launch an offensive to bring down the railgun network." Goodfellow began. "Stonehenge uses a variety of systems to identify hostiles within its firing range. However, in the area we've chosen to attack from, it will mostly be relying on ground based radar systems. As of now, this carrier fleet is located near Egypt within railgun firing range. They do not have a way of detecting us here though."

"You'll be heading towards area T8F, central Turkey, to the the Stonehenge Type-3 railgun network, originally built by the Axis Khorne Empire in 2014 before that alliance and nation collapsed. You will need to be launched quickly and efficiently. EA-18G Growlers will be employed to assist in jamming the exact location of your advance towards Stonehenge by creating radar noise over a wide area to mask the exact location of our fighters. You will also fly unpredictable high speed courses to further throw off the railgun's long ranged targeting system. The hope is that this will allow you to get close enough to get into range of the railgun."

Euphony had begun to think before that Stonehenge was an impossible target, but this plan was starting to say otherwise.

"Stonehenge has an ECM system placed at the center of the railgun circle. This will make it nearly impossible to lock onto from airborne craft. Unguided weapons will need to be employed in order to destroy the ECM system first, and then go after the railguns themselves. We recommend you use guns to take out the jamming sites first and then guided weapons to destroy the railgun. However, this is still a multirole mission. Hostile aircraft are suspected to be in the area. We don't know how many, but there may not be that many to avoid their own friendly fire incidents with Stonehenge."

"This will require every ounce of your skills. We're counting on you. Dismissed." Goodfellow concluded.

"Ready for this, rookie?" Reaper put a hand on Euphony's shoulder as pilots started to leave the room to prepare for battle.
"Let's do it." Euphony replied with a lump in his throat.

Euphony had chosen an F-18E Super Hornet this round equipped with 4AAM. He could use his guns and missiles to attack the railgun if need be, since he wasn't able to equip any other SP weapons at the moment. Reaper chose the Dassault Rafale equipped with stand off dispensers. Readying for takeoff, Euphony wondered if this would be his last mission.

"Melody team! Clear for takeoff!" The tower confirmed. It was a beautiful day for a flight.

Euphony felt the catapult propel him quickly down the carrier runway and off the end of the carrier. Afterburners engaged, Euphony felt the plane fall slightly, and then accelerated with his engines and pulled up on the stick. Reaper took off using a separate catapult. This was one of the fastest carrier deployments that had ever been done before. Maintaining a lower altitude to prevent long ranged enemy radar from picking them up, they proceeded to form up with the rest of the allied assault force. With full fuel tanks, they were ready for the journey there and back. Noticing the large allied force on his radar as they circled, readying to head out, Euphony took note of the EA-18G Growlers splitting up in various directions towards Turkey.

"All teams! Move out!" Midnight Eye commanded.

Melody team cranked the speed up and the allied force began their approach towards Stonehenge. The formation was very spread out, as to avoid cluster damage from the railguns' attack if one came their way. As they approached Turkey's shoreline, the Growlers kicked on their jamming systems. Euphony noticed his radar picking up a lot of interference from the jamming. From Stonehenge's perspective, it would create a wide range of jamming on their screens spanning over a hundred miles. They wouldn't be able to tell exactly where the approaching force would be.

"Incoming from Stonehenge! Break!" The AWACS warned. Euphony broke off his formation with Reaper and altered his course. He noticed some of Stonehenge's explosions around him, but they weren't as concentrated as they were in Istria over Croatia. This must have meant that they were just taking potshots.

The advance was slow, yet deliberate due to the distance between the carrier and Stonehenge. Missile warnings were scarce, as the jamming protected them from those as well, creating enough radar noise to throw off the SAM sites. Only about a hundred miles left to go.

"Javelin 4 has been hit!" Came a frantic notice from an ISAF pilot. Stonehenge got lucky there. Euphony hoped it was luck anyway. He didn't want to go down here.

Eventually, the call came. "Attention all planes, you are now in the battlespace. Stonehenge is responsible for the loss of many aces. We're in need of new heroes. Make sure you make it back in one piece." Midnight Eye declared.

"Incoming from Stonehenge! All aircraft descend to lower altitude!" Came a radio call from another ISAF team. Looks like their jamming wasn't doing much good anymore. Euphony and Reaper descended to protect themselves. Witnessing a cluster of explosions around them, they escaped the onslaught of Stonehenge's more concentrated attack.

Euphony looked in the direction of Stonehenge and saw a glimpse of the side of the ring. He checked his radar and noticed that it was still over 25 miles away, and he could see it as if it were only about eight miles away. It was a large ring with each large turret standing tall around near the perimeter of the circle.

"That thing...it's huge!" Euphony stammered.

"I've never seen anything like it." Reaper gasped.

"All teams! Use your guns to destroy the jamming devices in the center of the circle!" The AWACS ordered.

Euphony and Reaper approached the Stonehenge ring, evading the blasts above them, only to find increasing missile warnings the closer they got to the circle. Steering away to evade, they increased speed to try and evade the SAMs.

"There's gotta be a way in." Euphony wondered out loud.

"We'll have to run the gauntlet. Follow me." Reaper ordered and raised his altitude. Euphony questioned this move, as it made him much more vulnerable to the railgun's fire. Euphony followed him regardless, and looked to see one of the large turrets turn to face them.

"Reaper! We have to descend, now!" Euphony shouted.

"Relax, kid! We're going to." Reaper shouted back, and began to descend towards the Stonehenge ring. Euphony followed him. He watched their speed increase faster and faster. "Break away from the turret's path!" Reaper ordered. Euphony pulled to the right, though didn't lose sight of his course towards the railgun. The railgun fired with a force that shook Euphony's Super Hornet, and a streak flew past them at high speed and exploded back where they were when they ascended. Melody team proceeded to enter the Stonehenge ring and flew towards the center. Not being able to see specific targets on radar, a mass of missile warnings came up.

"Do not slow down or you'll die! Hit the ECM towers!" Reaper ordered.

"Wilco!" Euphony acknowledged and eyed one of the towers in the center of the circle and lined it up in his gun sight and fired a barrage of bullets from his cannon. They managed to take the ECM offline with this attack and streaked out of the circle, using their speed and a turn to evade the oncoming missiles from the Stonehenge network SAM sites.

"ECM offline! All units, destroy the railgun network!" Midnight Eye ordered. Melody Team prepared to rebound and attack the railgun...

by **Armellenia** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:34 am

Four days prior to Stonehenge Raid

Hydra and his crew chief were involved in a heated argument about the next mission's plane.

"What the hell do you mean I can't use my Fishbed on a carrier?!"

"I told you, Hydra, there isn't a way in hell we can rig that thing to get off a carrier deck safely, and even smaller of a chance to get it back on. There won't be a huge enemy aircraft presence anyways."

"Little enemy aircraft presence, right?"

Later that day, Hangar 064, Rammstein AB

"Jesus, Hydra. First of all, where the hell did you find this thing? Second of all, who the hell flew this? And what's your obsession with old Slavic aircraft?"

The bulky, musty Su-25 Frogfoot was slowly wheeled into the hangar where Hydra and his personnel were waiting. Hydra found it after searching several ISAF stations in the country, and after several hours discovered it at an almost derelict maritime patrol station, long abandoned by its' pilot. Sure, he got it for almost free, but one of the turbofans almost sparked off during the flight back to Rammstein and he had four days to restore it to UTG standards, improve it to his own standards, and then fly it out to the carrier at sea. Luckily, the aircraft was already covered in a naval turquoise camoflague, only needing the signature noseart and Armellenian low-visibility roundels.

Early morning, day of Sortie

The Frogfoot had really turned out well. He had slapped all of his financed savings into the aircraft along with his best parts and a 4AGM special weapon, along with a machine gun and standard multipurpose missiles. The pilots on base had taken to calling him "Grach." The final touch, put on in the middle of the night the day before the sortie, was Hydra's personal depiction of his namesake. Lynx was going with him to the carrier in an F/A-18F Super Hornet, leaving behind the rest of Frostbite. With Lynx, Hydra was aptly a part of Serpent Team. They together streaked across the ocean towards the carrier which was to be their home base for a raid on what Lynx had called a "hornet's nest on steroids."

After a very extensive flight, the carrier was in sight. It was twenty minutes prior to the breifing, leaving Serpent Team a grand total of around half an hour before they had to lift up again for the most dangerous sortie of their career thus far. Touching down and catching the catapult, Hydra had again earned the merit of flying a living fossil.

Mission 3: Stonehenge Offensive

Hydra yawned as he lifted off the carrier, half-awake and in the cockpit of a somewhat new aircraft. Lynx followed behind, forming up behind the Frogfoot in his Hornet. They were certainly an odd couple. Anxiety, uncertainty, and many other emotions seemed to float around in the mass formation of planes as the gravity of the upcoming raid seemed to be on everyone's minds.

As they roared towards the coastline, a chill unlike any he had ever felt before was felt in Hydra's spine as he listened to the commands from the AWACS.

"Incoming Stonehenge! Break!"

The Frogfoot's turbojets growled in protest as Hydra pitched the aircraft down to avoid the incoming fire. The aircraft was never built to do this; in a perfect world, Hydra would be floating across a neutral continent chasing terrorists who weren't even equipped with basic air defenses. This was where the Frogfoot should be. Where Hydra should be. Instead, he was hurtling towards a group of railguns so modern and powerful that even being in the vicinity of the blast would surely prevent a safe return.

After a while, the message arrived. Serpent Team and all of the allied forces were now in the battlespace. As other teams engaged the ECM arrays, Hydra dove his Frogfoot to low altitude and began to tear into the masses of AA guns and SAMs. He lined up targets in his gunsight, firing in two-second bursts and expertly hitting them in their most critical areas. He had already emptied three mags of rounds into the air defenses when he got the notice to attack the railguns.

He formed up with Lynx, and together they raced into the fray with the most dangerous enemy to be defeated in the entire war.

by **The Fluff Republic** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 5:44 pm

Las Calles

The attack on Stonehenge was going smoothly... Almost too smoothly.

Everyone had gathered back into the situation room, which was littered with papers, coffee, and a faint smell of stale Danke (The most commonly consumed drink in the Union). On the screen was various camera feeds coming in from the fighters, all executing the attack perfectly.

Earlier that day, Calvin had been in his office speaking to various Slav states, all who were in a state of panic what with a incredibly dangerous foe who was using them as an excuse to rally its might. He only got to the situation room as the ECM's were taken out.

"How goes the op?" Calvin inquired.
"Almost too good to be true." The president replied.

The fighters began streaking towards the main guns, getting ready to destroy the most deadly weapon of the time.

"All fighters, prepare to engage!" A voice declared over the comms.

As the fighters were getting prepared to let loose, a cry a came over the radio.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Everyone in the situation room shot up as what had caused the sudden commotion came into view,stirring up a gasp of shock and horror in the room..

✈ Ace Combat: Nationstates [.:~Open | P/MT~:.] ✈

✈ Ace Combat: Nationstates [.:~Open | P/MT~:.] ✈

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