As Captain Wakahisa wiped the blood from her hand and onto her dirty pants an engine could be heard coming down the gravel road underneath the dull roar of distant fighter jets. The escaped POW's already gathered readied whatever weapons they'd since commandeered — sidearms mostly, but one man had acquired a Dorusian AN-94 — cautious of the vehicle approaching just beyond the bend and out of sight. Then a collective sigh of relief as a battered SUV turned onto the gravel road. Weapons were lowered as the vehicle rolled to a stop, Sergeant Watanabe disembarking as the engine sputtered and idled.
"You're late," one soldier called out jokingly as if to relieve the tense situation.
Before the sergeant could respond to the lighthearted jest the driver of the SUV stuck out her head through the shattered window. "I think we made it all right on time all things considering," she blurted in a grating North Pointer accent, mouth bent upwards into an impish grin. Another soldier was blatant in his protesting as to why she, the foreigner, especially one who had flown under the banner of Beiarusia, was here with them, to which the woman responded with a scathing quip concerning the nation's wartime incompetence, leading to an exchange of increasingly aggressive and obscene insults between her and the gathered soldiers. Despite her assistance in the breakout the woman was still an enemy pilot who'd participated in the invasion.
The sergeant cut the argument short with an authoritative interjection before it could devolve further. He allowed the uneasy silence to linger for a moment longer before continuing: "Now is not the time. We both have a mutual dislike for the Dorusians, so deal with it. Any objections can be raised once we're back in Heian." He then turned to address Captain Wakahisa, currently the highest ranking officer amongst the POW's despite the chain-of-command having fallen to the wayside in present circumstance. "The airspace is compromised. This isn't everyone" — two vehicles had yet to arrive — "but we have to go. Now. The enemy's preoccupied with the mercenaries, but if we're still around when they clear the skies we're as good as dead."
There was immediate disagreement as many were unwilling to abandon their comrades, but the sergeant was firm in his decision, although he looked expectantly to Captain Wakahisa for support in this matter. The squabble only worsened as the foreigner chimed in uninvited with her own opinions.
Then came a crack of thunder that reverberated in the far off distance.
At once the argument died away. Everyone looked to the uneasy sky, some with weapons held close as the echoes of whatever had shattered the atmosphere rumbled on with a deep alien growl. "What was that?" asked one soldier, his head on a swivel as he searched fruitlessly for the source of the unknown noise. "A rifle?" queried another. "Ain't never heard a rifle like that," rebuked a third.
"I know that sound," answered the foreigner, her gaze dropping to Sergeant Watanabe with playful accusation.
More fighters were entering the airspace now, the howl of engines increasing in intensity as they passed nearby, the brief silhouette beyond the canopy that of an F-15 Eagle. Too brief a passing to identify as SAF or DAF. Regardless, the sergeant wasn't willing to wait and find out. His authoritative voice snapped the distracted soldiers back to attention. "Mount up. We're leaving, end of discussion. If anyone disagrees that's dereliction." No protests as the soldiers returned to their makeshift convoy of appropriated vehicles. Within sixty seconds they were on the move.
Their journey west was unimpeded.
February 7, 1993 // Kao Highlands, Nonsan, Seian
The mercenary pilots were forced into a fighting retreat. The DAF aircraft had firmly established air supremacy, and now engaged to hunt down Myojin and Snowcat who had already suffered casualties. Glory had already withdrawn but Panther was still traversing the AO, a thick line of black smoke trailing behind her severely damaged Mirage.
Blood in the water.
Two F-15C Eagles were pushing ahead to intercept the crippled aircraft. Another two circled to shunt the mercenaries, impelling them to disperse so as to allow the others to pick them off without much difficulty, as well as to prevent any retaliatory maneuvers to protect those singled out already. The remaining aircraft poked and prodded, harassing the traitorous pilots, waiting for an opening to swoop in for the killing strike. Fresh, Myojin and Snowcat would have struggled against the seasoned veterans of the DAF, but given the current situation they may well have been fish in a barrel. The pilots were struggling to match the F-15C's move-for-move. Eventually their luck would run out.
<< SERPENT: Twenty-thousand!? We'll be sitting ducks that high up! >>
A muttered curse from Panther in her native tongue escaped onto the radio channel.
The injured Mirage pulled up, climbing to the best of its current ability as the engine strained to the limits to maintain thrust. Panther was the first to begin the climb, and soon enough the mercenaries followed, and behind them the DAF fighters undeterred by the unexpected change in pitch. However, away from the hills and mountains of the Kao Highlands the mercenaries were caught without cover. Easy targets. Plague and Famine continued with their previous strategy.
As the leading fighters zeroed in onto Panther it was the F-16 of Joker to fall back to screen her six o'clock, and immediately he was set upon by the pair of F-15C's, his RWR sounding loudly as lock-on was acquired. A juke into a roll to trash the lock-on. The enemy pilots matched the maneuver perfectly, and again the RWR sounded, an incessant whine forewarning imminent doom. The angle-of-attack was adequate, but the pilots stayed their missiles in order to edge themselves into a more favorable firing position to secure a certain kill. A point-of-no-return that Joker was quickly approaching.
A sound like muted thunder.
Without warning the left wing of the trailing F-15C disintegrated in a spray of shrapnel and oil. The aircraft continued for a moment longer, as if unaware of the damage it had just sustained, before twisting into an uncontrollable cartwheel as the stress tore into the fuselage.
<< TIANGOU: Confirm destruction of target. New target data is being transmitted. >>
<< FAMINE 3: Is that...? >>
On the western horizon three SAF Eagles were entering the AO, their markings that of Mononoke, weapons bristling in anticipation for the dogfight they were intruding upon. Captain Inoue radioed to the mercenaries to give them the order to RTB; likewise the commander of Famine made the call to disengage despite several protests. The DAF aircraft peeled away from the fleeing mercenaries and were soon pushing east at speed. Mononoke followed for several kilometers to ensure the airspace was cleared.
Myojin and Snowcat were in the clear as they made shaky headway back towards Murai AFB, progress slowed to accommodate the damaged aircraft.
High above in passing the fourth member of Mononoke could briefly be spotted beyond the clouds. In their shadow an unknown aircraft.
February 7, 1993 // Koga Airbase, Seian
It was late evening, perhaps an hour after their return from enemy territory, and the isolated airbase was alive in a flurry of activity. Many aircraft had been damaged in the operation, Null's included, so crews hurried to begin the necessary repairs to have them airworthy in the coming days, but underlying that was the tense excitement one felt when something important neared its end. Not quite celebration but so close that one only needed to pop the champagne to set-off the festivities. The mission had been a resounding success. The enemy's industrial complex had been severely damaged, straining an already fragile equipment shortage, but more importantly the enemy had suffered a major defeat with all aircraft bearing the emblem of King having been confirmed shot down.
Beiarusia had effectively been knocked out of the war.
Null was exhausted, both from the many hours spent airborne in transit and from the heart-pounding stress of combat. He most of all deserved a moment's rest, more-so for his role in the engagement, him being the one to have downed the enemy Ace, Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Lear, King 1 — though Morena as a whole had proven themselves during the aerial battle overhead the Valley of Kings — but Null was accustomed to being denied the occasional respite.
Something had happened during the mission. Two units within the 101st had engaged SAF mercenaries outside Nonsan, and although the details had yet to be shared with Null a situation had developed. So the commander of Morena was called to meet with General Zhikov alongside Major Graves.
In the meantime the others were allowed to breathe. If only he was so lucky.