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[crave22]

Patal, Aesanian Union
Presidential Bunker

"Sir... We have some distressing news for you."
"What is it?", the president asked while looking up. An envelope crashed onto the table before him. He opened it, and looked through the contents. In it were satellite photos of the Comona launch facilities in Belka.
"They're launching it sometime later today. They've prepared the rocket on the launch pad already. It's only a matter of time before SOLG hits orbit."
"Then we have to move now. How far is Fimbulwinter?"
"They're regrouping as we speak off the coast. They're keeping their movements sporradic to avoid detection from the Belkans."
"We put Operation Shattered Skies in action now. We can't wait any longer."
"Agreed, sir. I'll contact Anderson now."

************************

Task Force Fimbulwinter
Near Belka

"Sir, orders from command!"
"What is it?", Anderson asked as he stood up, taking the papers from the man's hands. He read through them quickly, and promptly handed them back. "Prepare the fighters for immediate briefing. They launch in thirty miniutes. Sound General Quarters."
"Aye, sir."

***********************

Crow Team Briefing Room

The members of Crow sat in their seats, the four of them listening intently to the briefing on their next mission.

"Crow team, your objective is to assist Espada and Silber Squadrons in eliminating enemy air cover to allow the fighter bombers to get through and destroy the launch pad. We have one shot at this or the Union will be no more. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"You will launch with Silber and Espada, and link up with others from the air group to complete your objective. Boys, you're leading this one. It's all or nothing. Now get to it."
"When have we ever let you down before?", Pixy asked with a smirk on his face. "We'll show these fuckers a thing or two."
"Good to hear, Pixy. Now get your asses on deck and into your pretty little planes, and get out there. We have a satellite to destroy."

**************************

Fimbulwinter Air Wing
Entering Belkan Airspace

"We're coming in low and fast, people. Stay sharp and stay alive."
"Copy that, Crow 1."

The combined air wing flew in low as they skimmed the surface of the ocean, rumbling over the coastline as they began their approach on Comona. It was all or nothing now... And the fate of the free world rested on the shoulders of a few pilots.

Pixy breathed in as he guided his Eagle towards Comona, surprised they had made it so far with little to no resistance. They had flown beneath the radar the whole way, and avoided contact with occupied areas.

Here goes nothing...

[Ash]

SOLG Launch Base,
Comona Island/AFB
09:46hrs

The great rocket, taller than a Saturn V, and much wider by a large margin, was being lowered by the great landcrawler that carried it into the launching pit. The Belkans, suspecting this was the most vulnerable time for the SOLG rocket, had elected to pour every single fighter jet from everywhere east of San Salvacion to the defence of this almighty space centre/air force base. Her skies were otherwise completely undefended. Squadrons flew round-the-clock sorties, and Yellow Squadron was the only one which was on a 'land-refuel-immediate launch' rota schedule.

This level of activity only highlighted that something was about to happen. But the Belkans were taking no chances at all.

Comona AFB, Runway 17
"Thirteen," the ATC called over the radio, "this is control. You are cleared for take-off. Again. Doesn't this mission bore you? There's no WAY the Aesanians would hit us this far inland. I mean...not with seventy fighters in the sky at any one time, right?"

Thirteen was taxiing down to the main runway, the whistle of his Sukhoi engine sounding as clean as if it were factory-fresh. And the day? It was a glorious day to fly. Bright and wonderful sunshine. If one had to be touching down for maybe half an hour after every nine, there was no better day to give chase to the clouds. Indeed, there wasn't one in the sky.

"I would, Dimy, but I love flying way too much. If AFCOM wants me to fly all day, in this weather, for nothing? Well, Dimy, I'm only too happy to oblige. Beats your job."

A laugh over the intercom.

"You ain't kidding. The air con's on the fuckin' blink again."

A third voice got over the intercom. It was a rather dour-sounding AWACS commander. He hadn't landed at all today. No wonder he was so pissed off.

"Cut the chatter. Thirteen, get your ass up in the air, there are other waiting y'know."

With that, Thirteen turned his plane on a dime to face down the runway, and hit the throttle hard. The forward-sweeps of the Yellow's new Berkut plane took the air much faster than his old Terminator, and he was up in less than half the runway. He half-looped over, doing a quick barrel roll to Dimy in the ATC tower.

"Yeah, thanks a lot you asshole, that makes me feel a whole lot better."

Thirteen laughed. He was jokey and casual now, but was demonic when the combat started. The AWACS guy once more rebuked him for showboating, and Dimy for unnecessary radio chatter. However, it was rather an unnecessary rebuke. They both got the job done. Beyond that, they were just killing time. This mission was boring now anyway.

[crave22]

"Sir, my scopes are filled! There's fighters everywhere!"
"Cut the chatter, Silber Two. There's work to be done. Crow team, on me.", Cipher said through his radio as they took up a finger four formation. "No time to lose, boys and girls. Our objective is the planes, let the bombers take care of the rocket. If you get a chance, loose a missile on it but do not concentrate on destroying it."
"Copy that, Cipher."

The fighter group hopped up to an attack altitude and began their run on the first group of fighters they saw. The first clash of Operation Shattered Skies had occurred.

Now came the fun part...

[Ash]

"Holy shit! Where the hell did they come from!" AWACS yelled, "All fighters, commence attack on any non-Belkan fighter you encounter. Weapons free, I repeat, weapons free. Kick their asses, boys."

A new voice blurted through the pilots' headsets. The Base Commander.
"Defend the SOLG and the launch base with your worthless lives!"

"Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence, Dichvod."
No. Really. That was his name. Dichvod. There's no accounting for surnames, that is for sure. At any rate, the Yellows (and many of the other pilots) loved to use the surname at any opportunity, and he was mocked behind his back so much. No wonder he was such a bastard; imagine the shit he got as a kid! And from the planes based around him!
"Yellow Squadron, form up on me. Standard claw formation. All other squadrons, tie 'em up, take them one-on-one. Keep them corralled. We'll come round and brand 'em."

[crave22]

"The Yellows...", Pixy said through his radio, watching emotionlessly as the blips began to appear much more strongly on his RADAR. "Hopefully GALM isn't here with them. There is such a thing as taking too much glory in one day."

Several breaths of relief were heard from the rest of Crow. They feared Pixy had actually lost some confidence.

"Alright, cut the chatter and engage. Weapons are free, repeat weapons free."

The furball began as Crow team shot into the skies ahead of the rest of the air armada, their brilliantly colored and unique aircraft making mind-boggling maneuvers as they began picking off the enemy pilots one by one, cornering them as pairs and acting as one with their partner, Cipher with Pixy and PJ with Heartbreak. They danced in the skies, their contrails leaving beautiful designs etched in the endless blue, worthy of a place in some fine art museum before dissipating.

[Ash]

Base Command

"What's the time on that damned rocket launch?"

"T-Minus thirty-seven minutes. Final launch checks are already underway."

"You hear that, boys? You only have to hold these bastards off for thirty-seven minutes."

"This is Thirteen. Confirmed, command."

Comona Skies

With the rocket pad below, the Belkan air force was on its top form, and it was beautiful weather for flying. For both sides it was difficult to pick out a singular enemy target amongst the furballs, and the amount of almost-colissions, even for the aces of both sides, was too many for comfort.

"Odd," one of the fighter-jocks commented, "they're all packing air-to-air missiles...you don't suppose...?"

"Yellow Squadron, this is Thirteen here. Disperse and conserve missiles. Same goes for Theta Squadron. Repeat, missiles barred for Yellow and Theta. All other players, engage the enemy at your own discretion and keep them off our sixes."

Though not officially the Wing Commander of all the other squadrons, his veterancy and knowledge of aerial warfare made him perfect for such a role. His orders were completely unofficial; the Base Commander could overrule that command at any time. But the Commander trusted him to make the right choice now. Thirteen was there. He could see better than old Dichvod.

And Thirteen knew that these fighters weren't there to destroy the rocket. There was sure to be a reinforcement party for that job. These boys were sent to clean out the fighters.

The Yellows and Thetas mingled in amongst the furball, never making any direct engagements, and instead playing the role of cheese-lure in the game of cat-and-mouse; they drew the mouse's attention, and then the cat would pounce.

[crave22]

"Holy shit, the sky is packed with fighters!"
"I don't think I've ever seen an air engagement this big!"
"Cut the chatter, there's work to be done."

Pixy noticed the Yellows backing off, and knew they had caught on.

"Hey buddy, what do you say to distracting the pissers?"
"Sounds like a plan to me. Fimbulwinter air wing, keep them off our tails and distract them. We're going in for some yellow meat."
"Copy that, Crow team. We'll keep 'em occupied."

Crow broke off from the formation, and split off into their two groups. They sped towards the formation of Yellows at full speed, knowing full well they were trying to conserve their missiles to take out the strike aircraft headed in the third wave.

And Crow would ensure Yellow and Theta did not have that luxury.

[Ash]

"This is Four," came a female voice, icy cold, "I have one of those trailblazers on me. Gamma squadron, send two. Get this fuck off me."

She deftly moved her control stick and rudder pedals, able to make completely unpredictably random movements with ease. With the Yellow and Theta squadrons dispersed randomly amongst the action and not flying in any formation, however, even if one went down, there were still more where it came from.

Four hadn't been trained like Galm, but she was still no slouch in the air, and knew she could keep going almost forever without getting downed. Especially with Gamma Four and Gamma Eight now following the fool she'd roped into the trap. She often served as the Yellows' 'lure' craft. Of all, her kill rate was lowest, but she was regarded as the second most important of the squadron after Thirteen.

[crave22]

Crow team continued their dance in the skies, their main weapon now being Pixy's psychological warfare, his confidence higher than ever.

"Hey guys...", he said to the Belkans who had started following him. "I've got a present for you."

He purposefully stalled, cutting his throttle to zero as the two Belkans passed by at incredible speed.

"Surprise, fellas."

He loosed two missiles, and twisted around to face his original target, remaining just as random in his movements.

[Ash]

One fighter was able to quickly swerve, but the other went down in a shower of sparks and a plume of smoke.

"Delta Four...Delta Four, eject!" came Delta Leader, the one who'd managed to swerve, over the radio.
"That one is mine!"

He banked his Flanker around and began a high-tail chase against Pixy. Meanwhile, the Belkan air arm easily outnumbered the Aesanians, and had already brought down several of their weaker fliers. The Yellows and the Thetas were in the thick of it, but they still were no-go on dogfighting. They were still playing lure.


Launch Base
"T-Minus...Twenty-five minutes."

[crave22]

As the battle continued to rage, the second wave of fighters arrived. It would be one more wave before the mission critical craft arrived to destroy SOLG.

"Concetrate on taking down as many fighters as you possibly can!"
"Heh... I got one on my tail.", Pixy said amused. "Bets on how long he'll last?"
"Three miniutes."
"Ooooh... You think he's that good? Well we'll just have to see."

All of this was "accidentally" broadcast on a general channel so the Belkans could hear every word. As Delta Leader gained a target lock, Pixy twisted his way so he was under Delta Leader, then rolled so as to be travelling in the opposite direction. Finally, he did a loop, bringing him just behind the skilled pilot.

"Hey, buddy... What's shaking?", he said, taunting the pilot. "Well you better hope your ass is in a few seconds!"

Pixy let a burst from his guns loose, knowing full well the pilot below would simply swerve and pull himself out. Just to make it interesting, of course.

[Ash]

Indeed Delta Leader was able to swing his jet out of the way, before making a direct-downward dive, inventively trying to lure Pixy towards the ground, playing chicken.

[crave22]

"Wanna play?"

Pixy swerved and dove for the ground, bringing himself to a point where his alarms began sounding off.

"Caution... Caution... Caution..."
"Eh, shut the fuck up, Shelia."
"Caution... Caution... Caution..."

He followed the terrain, keeping low and fast in his F-15. He went along following Delta Leader, waiting for the seasoned pilot to possibly slip up. If he didn't slip up, which was much more likely, he'd simply have to take matters into his own hands...

[Ash]

The Delta Leader suddenly swung his stick hard, levelling off only a hundred and fifty feet from the ground. The woodland grove below rippled, and a sound like distant thunder (sorry, sorry...) shattered the skies ( XD ).

The battle continued for another ten or so minutes, the furball thinning out and thinning out. Eventually, despite the ground-hugging, Pixy was able to dispense with his man, who was just able to eject before the missiles sent the smoking wreck of his plane plunging into a mountainside.


Base Command
"T-Minus Fifteen minutes."

"Can you speed it UP!?" Dichvod yelled over the COM, "Skip a few checks! Let's get rolling!"

"I can't allow the rocket to fly without thorough checks...I can bring the countdown by two minutes and no more, but it means cutting some of the rigging off now. One cross-wind and the rocket's going over!"

"Do it!"

"Cut the rigging! T-Minus 12 minutes...."

[crave22]

"Crow team, we have intercepted a Belkan transmission. Twelve miniutes to launch. The third wave is inbound, protect them with everything you've got!"
"Copy that... We'll stick with them."

Crow team continued to pummel the Belkan pilots, waiting patiently for the strike craft to arrive. Eventually they began to come in small groups and spread out, in order to force the enemy pilots to split up as well.

"Keep at it, boys! We haven't lost yet! We will survive, Crow 1!"
"Fox two, fox two."
"Keep them away from our ground attack buddies! They will not be shot down!"

The battle intensified as the final wave arrived, moving to let missiles loose at the launch pad. The skies were filled with dogfighting fighters as the furball raged on. Crow team was in the thick of it all, protecting the strikecraft as fighters came from all angles to destroy them.

"Our people are depending on us! We must achieve mission success!"

[Ash]

Yellow Thirteen smiled, also intercepting the bounceback transmissions.

"Perseverence pays. Tally-ho on the real bandits. All able fighters advance on the ground-strike vessels. Ignore the fighters, just dodge their attacks and don't fly in a straight line."

With that, the cloud of Belkans disengaged and moved mercilessly towards the ground attack craft.

[crave22]

Pixy listened over the radio as the pilots began to get ripped to pieces, some managing to eject where they would only use the cyanide packets given to them in the event of capture. The rest of the squadron was equally mortified... Their chance at saving their homeland from destruction slowly slipping away...

Attack planes fell from the skies, some of them aiming for the SOLG but missing at the last moment...

"Those bastards... Those sons of fucking bastards!", Pixy shouted over the radio.
"Crow team, on me! We can still win this!", Cipher shouted, attempting to calm Pixy and the rest of his unit down.

The battle raged, but not one bomb fell on the SOLG... The battle became desperate as the last of the attack aircraft made their dive, those which survived promptly turning back to lick their wounds. Cipher moved into an attacking position, and watched as an aircraft with a yellow number thirteen painted on each of the rear fins moved below him. He pounced for the strike, coming down fast just in front of the pilot and literally flying circles around him. Cipher had challenged the legendary Yellow 13 to a duel...

[Ash]

Suddenly, the ground rumbled and thundered, and even the fighters in the sky began to shudder.

"What's going on?!" Thirteen yelled, "What happened?"

"We're launching. It's time. Get your asses out of there!"

The huge rocket began to ascend into the sky, followed by an immense cloud of pure-white smoke. Water vapour.

"Come on then, pretty boy..." Thirteen muttered, seeing Cypher hot on his trail, "let's see how good you are."

[crave22]

Cipher spun into position, nimbly keeping his Wyvern right behind the Yellow. He switched the wings to a swept position, giving himself great maneuverability at high speeds.

"What the fuck?"
"Shit, the rocket!"

Several fighters moved to send off air-to-air missiles at the SOLG, but to no avail. It was almost as if God himself wanted the Belkans to win this war.

"They won... They won."
"Not yet they fucking didn't. Pixy, stay behind me but keep yourself out of sight from our friend. If anything happens to me, you spring for the kill."
"Gotcha. And buddy, I don't think the Demon Lord will slip up."
"I'm not taking my chances. PJ, Heartbreak, start ripping through the enemy fighters with our own wing. Not a single Belkan fighter makes it out of here flying, you hear me?! You don't have to kill the pilots, just knock those planes out of the sky. We're at least going to make sure we cost the Belkan government something today."
"Copy that, Cipher. You heard the man, boys and girls. Let's do this thing!"

The biggest furball of the war just got slightly bigger...