Ace Combat: A World Divided

[The Apparition]

[Ceres Ocean, 0952]

A voice crackled over the radio, "Foxhound, this is AWACS Vortex - you've got an incoming transmission from HQ: You are ordered to destroy a suspected Yuktobanian airbase 40 miles northwest of you."

He breathed only slightly heavily after being given his new objective - and only because of this certain mission. Quentin's brown eyes scanned the landscape underneath the eyeshield briefly before he finally responded. "Vortex, this is Foxhound. Are you sure about that.. the only airbase near here is the defunct Sand Island Air Base - that's Osean territory!"

The husky voice on the other side barked back, "Those are your orders, Foxhound! Proceed with caution, and watch for SAMs! AWACS Vortex, out." He shook his head ever so slightly, "Man, first the Belkans launch nukes on Osea, then everybody starts declaring war on each other but us. Guess it's our turn to finally get in on the "fun"."

Quentin "Peregrine" Vega pulled ever so gently on his flight stick, causing the YF-23A 'Black Widow' to bank northwest. As he breathed in, he started to speak again, softly before gradually speaking up, "Alright..let's hope the brass knows what they're doing. Report. Foxhound 1, reporting in.."

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OOC: Ace Combat: A World Divided

I originally was going to name this "The Demons of Razgriz" as it was originally named, but I thought against it. Title seemed to lack any 'originality', to me.

I still need people to join - Yuktobanians, Oseans, Belkans, Erusians and ISAF - maybe wingmen in 'Peregrine's' squadron. Make your own air squadron, or make a ground squad if you feel compelled to do so.

And if not that many people join, I can make certain people/groups NPCs - like I have already done with AWACs Vortex.

 

[Jagged]

So what kind of planes can I have in my squadron....?

 

[Geryon]

"Foxhound 2, report."

Virgil's voice blared into existence on the radio.

"Vortex, I've made contact with Peregrine, en route to area of operations. Peregrine, this is Predator. Sorry I had to catch up, but I was reassigned to Foxhound before my plane's repairs were finished."

The speck in the distance grew on Virgil's HUD as he drew closer, his F-35C blazing through the clear blue skies, quickly overtaking Peregrine's Black Widow. Slamming the air brake, Virgil's aircraft snapped into place beside and slightly behind Quentin.

"I understand we're to attack the old Sand Island Airbase?"

OOC:

I hope this is alright, let me know if anything is amiss.

 

[The Apparition]

'Peregrine'

Quentin blinked once he heard an unfamiliar voice blare over the radio.

"Foxhound 2, report.
Vortex, I've made contact with Peregrine, en route to area of operations. Peregrine, this is Predator. Sorry I had to catch up, but I was reassigned to Foxhound before my plane's repairs were finished."

He turned to watch the F-35 slow into formation with his aircraft and the rest of his squad.

"I understand we're to attack the old Sand Island Airbase?"

"Predator, this is Peregrine. Unfortunately, I can't give you a full welcome as we've got business to tend to. Affirmative on our orders ... we're to halt operations at the defunct Sand Island Airbase"

His eyes glanced from the the new aircraft to his radar, his IFF designating 'Predator' as friendly. The tension only slightly eased up, but he knew to never show it in front of his squad.

"Alright, nuggets - Wrath, Fury - you two take the outside. Hawk, you're on my 3 o'clock. Predator, stay where you are."

The three "nuggets" responded in the affirmative, quickly aligning themselves into position. Unexpectedly, his radar began blaring - a SAM!

"Evasive manuevers! We've got a SAM!" Suddenly, he watched as the SAM began following Fury on the ouside position. The young pilots fear being heard over the radio.

"I can't manuever it! It's going t--" Suddenly the young man's radio was cut out, his F-4G bursting into flames - no indication of ejection.
Peregrine winced slightly, but increased engine power and afterburners. "Vortex, this is Foxhound 1 - Foxhound 4 is down from ground fire!"

As the clouds began to clear, Sand Island and its airbase were beginning to come into view - what Foxhound were about to see was countless numbers of aircraft on the ground - carrying several emblems of countries and groups.
Belka, Yuktobania, Osea, an aircraft carrying the 'Razgriz' emblem along with one carrying the 'Grabacr' emblem.

"This can't be.."

_________________________________

OOC: Thanks, Geryon - I guess I'll give this thread a try again, if you're willing. Hopefully, we can pick up some more people down the line.

 

[Geryon]

"Alright, nuggets - Wrath, Fury - you two take the outside. Hawk, you're on my 3 o'clock. Predator, stay where you are."

"Roger that, Peregrine. If you don't mind my saying, though, this op seems a little... fishy, if you know what I mean. I think-"

"Evasive manuevers! We've got a SAM!"

Predator was cut off as Peregrine announced the approach of hostile groundfire. Geryon banked his plane to the right, away from Peregrine, and cut his acceleration, executing a sideslip to narrowly avoid a rocket. To his right, he saw an F-4G, Fury was the pilot's name, turn into a fireball and plummet to the ocean below.

"Fury, do you copy?" Predator called into his radio. "Peregrine, do you have any idea what's going on here?" He said, scanning the island below after a moment of silence. "Awaiting further orders. All systems armed and ready, and I've got a lock on one of those planes down there."

 

[The Apparition]

Peregrine

Quentin could barely breathe for a moment, was this really happening? He hadn't been in many sorties since the start of this war, and many were usually escort missions - not direct assault missions such as this.

"Predator... do you see what planes those are.." he asked, though his tone indicated rhetoric as the squad of four aircraft began to pass the airbase.
"They've got planes from every country... Osea, Yuktobania, even one with the famed 'Razgriz' emblem! Something's not right here. Do you see an ISAF emblem anywhere?"

'Peregrine' banked his YF-23A, preparing to start their attack run. His eyes bounced from the radar, to the ground, to his wingmen. "Calm down, Quentin..." he thought to himself. "Alright, Foxhound! Let's put a stop to these operations. The Yukes better be up to something, for HQs sake..."

As they got closer and closer to the airbase, again, he armed his weapons. "Alright guys, fire at your discretion!" With that said, he locked onto a couple of the aircraft sitting on the runway, pressing his finger to the button on his flight stick: "Fox 2! Fox 2!"

 

[Geryon]

*edit* i accidentally posted the same message twice. apparently I can't delete posts. oh well.

 

[Geryon]

"Confirm missile hit, target destroyed," Virgil called into his radio, "Nice shot, Peregrine."

Coming out of a wide bank to make an attack run on the island, Predator switched to his special weapons system, Long-Range Air to Surface Missiles. The green box on his HUD, indicating his target, an Osean MIG-31 "Foxhound," suddenly changed to red, indicating a target lock.

"Fox three, Fox three!" The missile lanced through the air, striking the target aircraft as it started down the runway. Predator switched back to his standard missiles, turning high sights to the radar tower. "Fox two," he said, just before the machine guns on the front of his plane blazed to life, shredding a SAM site. Glancing to the island below, Predator saw pilots running out to man their aircraft. It would come to air-to-air dogfighting soon. Pulling up quickly and punching the acceleration, the F-35C's afterburners roared into existence, speeding the plane up and away from Sand Island. "Peregrine," Virgil said, "we can't keep all these planes down, and this thing isn't so good at air-to-air combat. If I may, I suggest you and the others cover my six while I bomb the island. What do you think?"

 

[The Apparition]

Peregrine

The Captain watched as his new wingman "Predator" began his attack run, taking out an aircraft and SAM. The two remaining wingmen, both in F-16Cs making attack runs as well - one of them taking a non-critical hit. "Nice shot, guys. Wrath, watch that ground fire or you'll wind up like Fury," Peregrine said over the radio, preparing for another of his own attack runs. Suddenly, Predator's voice broke over the radio:

"Peregrine, we can't keep all these planes down, and this thing isn't so good at air-to-air combat. If I may, I suggest you and the others cover my six while I bomb the island. What do you think?"

"Sounds good, Predator. Wrath, Hawk - let's give him some cover... do not let them get in the air!"

The three aircraft then met in formation as they banked around the airbase, until running along the runway, multiple bogeys beginning to roll toward the runway. Targeting one of the aircraft with the 'Razgriz' emblem, he began firing his guns until the aircraft exploded. The two young pilots on either side of him followed suit, firing their missiles at Yuktobanian MiG-29As and SU-27s.

"Better hurry up, Predator - enemy aircraft starting to roll onto the runway!"

Just then, a SAM burst into the sky, heading straight for one of Peregrine's wingmen - hitting Wrath's F-16 in the tail. "I'm hit! I'm hit! Captain, I'm going down!," the pilot yelled out. "Eject, Wrath!" The aircraft had already begun a rapid descent toward the airbase, the panic in Wrath's voice evident as he could be heard trying for the ejection control. Eventually, the aircraft crashed into a hangar - a large explosion a result of whatever was inside - ammo, aircraft, or simply the crash.

"Predator! Wrath is down, I hope we can hold on long enough for your attack run!"

 

[Geryon]

"Predator! Wrath is down, I hope we can hold on long enough for your attack run!"

"Shit," Virgil mimbled to himself, hitting his brakes and banking hard. The plane swung around, and Sand Island came into view again. The afterburner blazed and the F-35C shot like a rocket toward the base. Four unguided missiles streaked from Virgil's plane, two striking the main complex, one hitting another hangar, and the final blowng a sizeable crater in one of the runways. Machine gun fire swept across the mob of pilots running to their planes. Virgil pulled up hard, trying to gain altitude before the SAMs started firing. Small arms fire richocheted off the hull of the plane, a few bullets leaving white stress fractures on his canopy. Leveling the plane out at a few thousand feet, a quick split-S brought the plane nosedown, dropping like a stone to the island below. Hopefully this speed and direction could keep any missiles from landing on target. Hopefully. Hopefully the speed gained from the drop would help him get away from the island fast enough after he had delivered his payload. Hopefully. Another four missiles detached from the plane's underside, falling back behind the F-35, against its blinding speed. Virgil's head began to swim and his vision blurred. There was no time for a lock on with special weapons, and he would be no use if he passed out. A warning to pull up blinked on his HUD. Wrenching the controls, the plane pulled out of its dive, speeding away from the island, the entire plane groaning under the stress of the manoeuvre.

"Fox two," Virgil managed to say without sounding too groggy.

 

[The Apparition]

Peregrine

"Predator! Pull up," he could hear himself yell over the radio, as the new wingman in his squad piloting his F-35C, performed some daring stunts. Once the pilot had done so, Quentin felt as though a tight knot in his chest has become unravelled. "Becareful what you do next time, Predator - that's an order! I don't need to lose another wingman!"

His dark eyes scanned the landscape behind a sun visor as it appeared the ground fire had stopped, the smoldering chaos beneath them appeared as a confirmation that the mission was completed. "Vortex, this is Foxhound - can we get a confirmation on the cease of operations?" Another voice blared over the radio, "Foxhound, this is AWACS Vortex, standby," the man started before pausing.

Peregrine continued to look about, but in particular, to his two remaining wingmen - the young "Hawk", who was no more than 21 in age - and the mysterious new pilot under the callsign "Predator". He knew he'd have to get to know this new wingman more if he were to absolutely trust his instincts in the air. His thoughts seemed adrift for a moment before he brought himself back to the new, as the radio silence seemed deafening.

"Vortex? Respond!"

The break in the radio ceased as a crackling came over, a new source coming onto the frequency. "This is Sand Island Base Commander Remington! I hope you damn Useans have an excuse for this unprovoked attack! Let it be known that Usea has attacked Osea! They have joined Belka and Erusia!"

Quentin clearly panicked, and rightfully so, "No! That can't be! Explain the enemy aircraft on your runway!" but the radio had gone silent again, all but for the returning of the AWACS operator yelling out, "Foxhound, respond!"

He felt as though he could barely breathe now as his voice faltered in response, "Vortex, this is Foxhound.." The male voice on the radio yelled:

"Return to base, IMMEDIATELY, Foxhound!"

 

[Geryon]

"Becareful what you do next time, Predator - that's an order! I don't need to lose another wingman!"

Virgil smiled silently to himself. "Copy, Peregrine." He banked the plane, making the wreckage of Sand Island visible over his shoulder. Looks like that's that... he thought to himself.

"Foxhound, this is AWACS Vortex, standby," instead of the crackle of the radio transmission, there was dead silence. Not even snatches of the rest of the communication were audible.

"This is Sand Island Base Commander Remington! I hope you damn Useans have an excuse for this unprovoked attack! Let it be known that Usea has attacked Osea! They have joined Belka and Erusia!" the radio suddenly blared to life. Virgil was having difficulty following exactly what was going on. The only briefing he had recieved on this mission was the location of the rest of the squadron, and that had been sent to him after takeoff.

"Peregrine, please tell me you have at least SOME idea of what the hell is going on?!"

"Return to base, IMMEDIATELY, Foxhound!"

Somehow, the last transmission did not sound congradulatory, despite a successfully completed mission. On the contrary, Virgil began to suspect that they were in very serious trouble. Something was definitely wrong.

 

[The Apparition]

Peregrine

The radio fell silent after the AWACS last transmission. Quentin felt as though he could barely breath, but he did, in large breaths - that were easily heard over the radio. Predator's voice seemed to break his concentration as they grouped into formation, their heading due west to ISAF territory.

"Peregrine, please tell me you have at least SOME idea of what the hell is going on?!"

He heard Predator's transmission earlier, but hadn't given him an answer as Vortex had responded in an angry haste. Why were the AWACS angry with Foxhound? Hadn't Vortex told them to attack Sand Island?

"Predator, this is Peregrine.." he finally started when the radio was still dead. His voice was quiet, confused, "I have no idea what's going on here... Vortex told us to attack Sand Island - and I even questioned that. You saw all those aircraft of different factions... something's not right here."

Disarming his weapons, the engines of Peregrine's YF-23A blared to life - the afterburners then kicking on - the other two pilots eventually matching his velocity. In after thought, he spoke again.

"Why is Vortex angry? They told us to attack the base - and to top it off, they said it was a Yuktobanian base. Maybe they did screw up, after all. Now it's our damn fault, and we're going to look like we support Eurusia and Belka... this isn't good."

Besides his words, the snort that he made was audible over the radio - obviously, the Captain was disgusted with what just happened.