November 9th, 2016, 1530 hours [3:30 PM]
Juan was enjoying a nice cup of coffee and a book about WWII stories when General Celuchu came to talk.
"Lt. Stutz."
"Sir.", he quickly got up and saluted.
"At ease. Now...sorry for taking you out of your break, but I have a special task for you."
"What is it, General?"
"As you know, our neighbor Esknar had not made an official pronouncement regarding their side in this war...until their fighters tried to take down a Kesalian airliner, 48 hours ago. Fortunately, our squadrons managed to repel them, and one of the passengers had a valuable intel report: Esknar has been supplying the Ruvanians with oil and fuel through their 3 main refineries, located in the cities of Surraga, Natar and Ghojowr, in the Eastern region."
"Working behind the scenes, huh..."
"Exactly. This will be a "lightning" operation, codename 'Burning Darkness'. Your job is to take out those refineries. Cutting their supply will greatly reduce Ruvanian AND Esknarian effectiveness and give us more time to plan a counter-attack of greater scale."
"Roger, sir, but...I'm not sure the Leoqoon has enough firepower to attack 3 large refineries in a row!"
"Don't worry. One missile on each target will be enough. Satellite images show that all of them follow the same basic project, with all the pipelines connected to a DCC [Distribution, Command and Control] operations center, right in the complex's core. If you take it out, it'll cause a chain reaction that will destroy the entire complex."
"Hmm...in that case...I guess the 'Mutaras' and some rockets will do the job nicely."
"*nods* Unfortunately, the Esknarians are fully aware of these refineries' importance, so they're heavily guarded by anti-aircraft artillery and SAM's. The location also has very irregular terrain, since the 3 cities are in the Gulnazar Mountains. You'll have to fly very low to avoid their radars."
"Yes, sir. They're similar to our Qoonis Mountain Range, in Wyvernia; not enough space for escape routes there."
"Indeed. In this condition, the main factor is not speed, but agility. Your aircraft may not be the fastest, but is the most maneuverable of our squadrons. Plus, it's equipped with that special radar-absorbing paint that doesn't reflect light, so it's perfect for a night attack. Even if the propfan is louder than usual, they won't have either visual or radar clear sights to shoot you down. The infrareds would be the most worrying of the threats, but they can be outmaneuvered."
"Yes, I had done it a few times before, shouldn't be much of a problem this time either. How far are the refineries from each other?"
"Surraga is the first one you'll hit, 212 miles from here; Natar being the second and adding another 152 miles. Ghojowr completes the list with other 184 miles."
"548 miles total, huh...plus the course corrections I'll have to make while going low through Gulnazar to avoid radar detection...that probably will tap the 600-mile mark. And then having to go back...it'll certainly be above 1,200 miles total. Guess it'll be better to take an extra tank. Too bad I don't have enough hardpoints in the Leoqoon to carry more ammo and fuel."
"In case you run dry before getting back, proceed to Touhsea Airfield, near the Esknarian border; it's controlled by the KBD. They've already been contacted and will be ready if you need to refuel."
"Roger. But what's KBD?"
"Kesalian Border Defense. They're rebels, not military nor civilian. But they've been really helpful containing the advance of Ruvanian forces trying to cross our Eastern borders."
"Oh."
"One last thing, Lieutenant: all the targets are heavily guarded, but the satellite images showed a much higher concentration of AAA's and SAM's in Ghojowr. We suspect they're protecting something very important there, probably something secret, so don't let your guard down; there's also a higher chance of finding enemy fighters in Ghojowr. After taking out the refinery, get the hell outta there ASAP, avoid them as much as you can!"
"Understood, sir. Hopefully they won't even know what hit them!"
"Very well. You'll depart at 2100 hours."
"Roger!"
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2100 hours [9:00 PM]
Juan was already inside the Leoqoon+, with engine and lights on.
"Port Isabel Tower, this is Razyr, at the Terminal Ramp taxi for a VFR departure east."
"Razyr, this is Port Isabel Tower, permission granted on runway 22L, turn left on A and taxi via A, hold short runway 22R."
"Left on A to runway 22L, hold short runway 22R, Razyr."
He proceeded to the location.
"Razyr, cross runway 22R, hold short runway 26."
"Cross 21R, hold short runway 26, Razyr."
He watched a couple of F-35's land while waiting for tower permission to take off.
"These are cool...", he thought to himself while stopping the aircraft to wait for more instructions. "Port Isabel Tower, Razyr, holding short runway 26, ready for takeoff runway 22L."
"Razyr, Port Isabel Tower, cross runway 26, fly runway heading, remain below the class B, cleared for takeoff runway 22L."
"Cross runway 26, fly runway heading, remain below the class B, cleared for takeoff runway 22L, Razyr."
After aligning on runway 22L, he pushed the throttle to maximum. Loudly, the Leoqoon+ took off, with a bit of fire coming out of the exhaust nozzles because of the rich air/fuel mixture.
"Fingers crossed for success...", he thought to himself as ascended to 10,000 ft after leaving Port Isabel's air space.
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2230 hours [10:30 PM]
He was coming closer to the Esknarian border.
"Well, now...I guess it won't be a problem if I put some tune to light up the mood, heheh..."
His aircraft had custom-made dashboard with USB ports, so he plugged his flashdrive with some playlists...and the first one to play was perfect, an electronic rock.
"Let's go!"
As the music rocks through his helmet's speakers, Juan takes the Leoqoon+ for a wild ride, crossing the mountains while flying as low and fast as possible. If there were any locals down there, they certainly woke up with the loud sound of the propfan...
At 2317 hours [11:17 PM], his radar detected large pipelines going toward large constructions ahead: Surraga was on sight.
"It'll begin. But first...another proper tune. *chuckles*", he changed the music.
He set the radar to air-ground mode and prepared. The radar-absorbing paint reduced his visibility to enemy radars, but he was still not properly stealth, so when the enemies got a very weak signal on their screens [too weak for SAM's to lock], a shower of bullets ascended into the skies.
"Steady, buddy...steady!", he quickly locked onto the refinery's core, the DCC center. "Mutara-1...fire!"
He shot the missile. A few seconds pass...it seems like an eternity.
"C'mon...c'mon!", he thinks. When the missile hits the DCC, the fuels ignite in a millisecond, engulfing the entire place in a big fireball; so big that Juan had to evade to escape from being fried.
"Hooyah, splash Surraga!"
The AAA's continued to blindly send a firestorm to the skies while he got away.
"So far so good. Natar, you're next!"
It was closer to midnight when he checked the fuel gauge: 73%, less than 3/4.
"Another 152 miles to go..."
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November 10th, 2016, 0008 hours [12:08 AM]
The sky was clear, many stars could be seen. Juan checked the wings; impressive how the paint works, it's pretty much invisible, even to the human eye. A pitch black, like proper darkness. As Natar got closer, he prepared for round #2.
"Here we go!"
Same tactic as before, fly low towards the center of the refinery, shoot the missile in the core, run away. But this time wasn't that smooth...
*heat-seeker missile lock alarm*
"Great, I was wondering how long would take for them to throw the infrareds!", as the Leoqoon quickly ascended with maximum acceleration while looking for the missile.
"4-o-clock, two of them. Alright, BRING IT ON!"
Juan made a loop followed by a canopy roll, managing to avoid the missiles. AAA's sending their firestorm upwards made things tougher.
"Alright, locked onto DCC...Mutara-2, fire!"
Just as he fired the missile, the alarm sounded again.
"Shit!", he yelled while doing a barrel roll, followed by a Pugachev's Cobra. That last one actually saved his life as the missile passed by, between his right wing and horizontal stabilizer, heading towards the refinery as well!
"Too close for comfort!", he thought while leaving the scene, right after the second large explosion. Unfortunately...
*loud sound of bullets hitting fuselage* "Dammit!"
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0200 hours [2:00 AM]
He made a quick systems check.
"Engine oil pressure, temperature, exhaust, all good. Hydraulics, okay. Rudder, stabilizer, 100%. Apparently the shots didn't hit anything vital. Now, fuel...46%, less than half already. I'm going to engage the extra tank now."
After clicking a button, the extra tank started to be used as well. The fuel gauge changed, now showing 58%.
"Not much increase, but that will do."
For a moment, he got lost in thoughts, thinking of his family. But he quickly snapped out of it and focused on finishing the mission. After about 25 minutes, he spotted Ghojowr's pipelines.
"Okay, time to light the last fire!"
He moved on to intercept the refinery; it was larger than the previous ones. When he spotted the DCC, the missile alarm sounded like crazy, with at least 6 contacts on the radar screen. He performed another barrel roll followed by a loop while releasing chaffs and flares, avoiding 2 missiles; other 4 still on his tail.
"Dammit!"
Just as he was going to lock onto the DCC center, his radar detected 2 fighters coming his way, one of them firing two missiles.
"Annoying imbeciles!"
He dodged them easily, the fighters passed by, nearly crashing onto him. But he could see clearly it was J-20's. Still with the 4 missiles on his tail and now 2 jets, he pushed the throttle to maximum, climbing to a safer altitude for maneuvers. Miraculously, he avoided them all.
"Leave it to me, Yastreb, I got the bastard.", An unknown female voice said on the radio.
"Roger that, Ved'ma! He's all yours...", another unknown, this time male voice, replied.
A bunch of tracers from her 30-mm cannon almost scratched the paint of his aircraft, so close it was.
"WHOA! How about NOPE?", he answered while performing Pugachev's Cobra again, maintaining altitude while slowing down.
"Shit, he's too slow, I'm going to stall!", Ved'ma complained as she passed Juan and began to ascend higher, on full afterburners.
All this action with AAA's firing at the sky, not giving a damn if they'd shoot down enemies or friends. Despite the fuss, Juan took advantage of the short window the female foe offered, so he locked onto the DCC and tried to fire another 'Mutara' missile, but...
"Dammit, totally forgot I'm out of missiles! Changing to rockets!"
Since he had already lost the pass, he initiated a turn for another one, straight to the refinery for better aim, since the rockets are unguided, but...
"I've got you now, pal...", Yastreb locked on him through his infrared display and fired a heat-seeker missile. The missile alarm sounding again in the Leoqoon+...
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Fuck this. It's time to show them my moves...*chuckles* Try to keep up with me!"
Moving away from the refinery while, he began to perform a series of insane maneuvers, as if in an air race! Several sharp turns, loops and rolls, confusing the hell out of the missiles, as well as the two J-20's chasing him. At the same time, another epic track from his playlist started playing.
"FOLLOW THE LEADER, HAHAAAH!", he mocked them.
Juan was flying so low he could nearly touch the ground, going from one side to another, making full use of the Leoqoon+'s acrobatic capabilities. The J-20, on the other hand, wasn't up to the challenge, being mainly a high-altitude interceptor; it was struggling a lot to keep up with the Wyvernian propfan bird.
"What the hell is up with this guy! He's crazy!"
"Shut up, Yastreb! Take him down already!", Ved'ma yelled at his wingman.
"I can't! The SOB is too fast, I don't have a clear shot!"
"Shoot him down or I'll destroy you BOTH myself!", she threatened.
"What the fuck! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Well...YES!", the female yelled just before firing her last two R-74 heat-seeker missiles at BOTH planes ahead!
"FUCK!!"
Yastreb tried to ascend, but one of the missiles hit the J-20's exhaust nozzles and exploded, causing it to crash in a swamp. The other was masterfully avoided by Juan with a high-G loop and flares.
"I'm tired of your sick games, Wyvernian. I'll DESTROY you!", she yelled as pulled the trigger to fire more missiles, but ran out of it too. "DAMN IT!"
Juan ignored Ved'ma's bitching and after another sharp turn, he finally managed to face the refinery; this dogfight was lasting too long for him and any more fuel wasted would mean having to emergency-land in enemy territory.
"Sorry, lady, but I've got business! Rockets, fire!"
He unleashed all the 2 pods at the DCC, 14 rockets total. The following explosion generated a powerful shockwave that hit both planes and made him lose sight on Ved'ma.
"Time to haul my ass outta here!", he accelerated to maximum again and fled, still under heavy enemy fire. Checking the fuel...
"44%...looks like I've wasted all my extra fuel in that damn fight. I don't even know if I'll have enough to reach the rebels' runway. Well...let's see how far I go."
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0248 hours [2:48 AM]
Unknown to Juan, Ved'ma was following him from up above. Right after the explosion, she also lost sights on him and decided to increase altitude and use her thermal sensors to investigate the area; and she found his signal, already a few miles away from the refinery.
"You won't escape this time...like an eagle attacking its prey...I'll get you."
She descended to his altitude level, while maintaining a fair distance.
"You're mine.", she thought while locking on his plane. "DIE!", she fired her 30-mm cannon again.
The moment she pulled the trigger, Juan pulled the stick and made another high-G loop, which she followed closely this time. Shots passed close to the Leoqoon+ as Juan tried to shake her off.
"You just don't give up, do you?"
She ignored him and continued to fire until she was out of ammo; no hits on Juan whatsoever.
"Even if I don't have ammunition anymore...I can still kill you!" She went on full burners and tried to ram into Juan!!
"Are you trying to kill yourself too?!", Juan was shocked: one time after another, she tried to crash into the Leoqoon+, each time faster than the previous ones.
"I'm not done yet!", she then flew high, still on burners; but she was running out of fuel as well. She climbed to 50,000 feet before initiating a dive like a proper kamikaze, speed reaching Mach 3+, way over the J-20 design's Mach 2.5 limit. Even without ammo and fuel, she still had her sensors locked onto him, she intended to hit him at any cost or, at least, knock him out of the sky with the sonic boom.
"Feel the wrath of Ved'ma!!"
In the last second, Juan went on maximum throttle again and climbed, causing her to go below his flight level; and that means...
"Shit!" As the overspeeding alarm sounded, she ejected from her J-20, which splashed on the ground like a meteor. She landed in safety and quickly activated her beacon, but kept on swearing.
Juan checked the fuel again: 38%. And there was still at least 320 miles ahead. To save fuel, he turned the radar off and reduced internal lights, keeping only the navigation systems. He also jettisoned the already empty extra tank, to reduce weight and drag.
"I know this won't be enough, but I must try. C'mon, buddy...don't let me down now, okay?"
He slowly gained altitude and maintained 15,000 feet, then reduced engine power to 30%.
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0515 hours [5:15 AM]
This time, with a more peaceful music playing, Juan enjoyed the sunrise for a few moments before checking the fuel gauge...4%, already on reserve. But at least he had made it; by cutting engine power, going slower and saving fuel, he managed to cross the Esknarian border, back to Kesalia.
"Touhsea Tower, this is Razyr."
"Proceed, Razyr. Touhsea here."
"Requesting emergency landing. No fuel and my bird is hurt. Bring a vet too."
"...understood, Razyr. The runway is yours. Emergency teams will be ready. Have a safe landing."
"Thanks. Razyr."
He landed without problems, even the wind speed and direction were okay. After taxiing to the hangar, he got out of the plane and stretched his legs. A man in camo suit came to him.
"Excuse me, sir...Sgt. Elson Crickett, KBD's Chief Mechanic.", he saluted.
"What? Oh, yes...Kesalian Border Defense. Lt. Juan Stutz, from the Wyvernian Air Force *salutes back* Nice to meet you, Chief. I believe General Celuchu has contacted you guys about my possible arrival?"
"Yes, sir."
"We had a tough time a few hours ago, this bird and I."
"I can see it, sir.", he then pointed at the fuselage, with some large holes in the tail and big dents on the wings, side and even near the cockpit. These were armored sections, so the bullets didn't penetrate.
"Man! That was one crazy mission! I was lucky after all. *touches the damaged areas* But at least the airframe is not compromised and everything else is fine."
"Pardon for my words, sir, but this plane is awesome, I've never seen anything like that!", Elson's eyes were shining. "Is it a prop-"
"Profan, yeah. The only one of its kind."
"Sweet! And I see the airframe is made of carbon, but it's harder than I expected...pretty nice!"
"Yeah, she's got a few tweaks, here and there. *chuckles* I see you like aircrafts very much, eh?"
"Since I was kid, sir. They're my passion...as well as women, of course. *chuckles*"
"*laughs* High-five! But seriously now, Chief...would you mind refueling my bird so I can get back asap?"
"Right away, sir! We'll check for further damages too. Meanwhile, why don't you take a rest in the building? There's coffee and shower too, if you want."
"Thanks, I could have some coffee right now. *chuckles* See you in a moment."
"Roger, sir. Alright, boys! Let's get this beauty ready!"
Juan went to the airfield's lounge and got a nice cup of coffee. Sitting at an old couch, he stared outside, the sun rising higher now. He got up and went back outside to watch the mechanics work on the checklist and refuelling.
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0639 hours [6:39 AM]
When the Leoqoon+ was ready, Juan went to talk to Elson.
"Alright, Chief. Thank you very much for your help. And don't let the Ruvanian bastards cross the border!"
"Never, sir. Not. Ever! Have a safe flight!"
Juan strapped in the cockpit, started the engine and proceeded for takeoff.
"Touhsea Tower, this is Razyr, at the Terminal Ramp taxi for a VFR departure west."
"Razyr, you're cleared for takeoff. Continue to kick those Ruvanian bastards for us!
"Will do! *chuckles* Thanks for the hospitality, guys!"
"Oh, and Lieutenant...bring this black bird for me to check again some time, will ya?"
"It's a promise, Chief. See you!"
Juan took off and continued his journey back to Port Isabel.
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0714 hours [7:14 AM]
With Port Isabel on sight, Juan requested permission to land.
"Razyr, permission granted on runway 26. Welcome."
"Runway 26, Razyr. It's good to be back."
He was received by General Celuchu and his friends, Anthony and Kim.
"Lieutenant!", the General saluted him. "I'm glad you made it back in one piece! So how was the mission?"
*Juan salutes back* "Thank you, sir! 100% over 100%, all refineries destroyed! Anthony, Kim, yo! *chuckles*"
*Anthony shakes Juan's hand* "Welcome back, man! Looks like you had a hell of a time."
*Kim gives Juan a friendly hug* "Glad to see ya back, Stutz."
"Thanks, guys. Yeah, had quite a dogfight with some J-20's in Ghojowr! But there was this damn crazy chick...she almost knocked me out of the sky, like a bird of prey! I think her callsign was Ved or something."
*Anthony rubs his chin* "Hmm, Ved...I recall a Ruvanian pilot shooting me down early in the war... the pilot was female and as far as I recall, she didn't have a Ruvanian accent."
*Kim pops open a soda* "Your guesses are as good as mine...it would be very scary if she was from one of our countries though...could you imagine if she leaked intel? That could probably cost us the war..."
"You know...I really didn't notice this back then, because of all the euphoria, the action, etc, but now that you mentioned it...she had a different accent from her wingman, similar to your...oh, by the way, she shot down her wingman while chasing me. Like, no mercy, nearly point-blank range! I'm telling you, guys, that woman's a wicked witch! After running out of ammo, she even tried to crash into me with her own plane, but I thankfully managed to evade. She hit the ground hard from a high altitude, but I think I saw a parachute afterwards, so...it's likely that she's still out there."
*Anthony's eyes widen* "She..she did what?! Okay, Juan...Kim, there was a female pilot back when I was a cadet, around 2014 maybe 2015, it was before the war. Her name was Brooke Kirtman...one day we were doing navigation training and night flying and she made a serious error...it nearly cost me and a few other pilots our lives. She was stripped of her wings prior to graduation from flight training because some mental disorders were discovered during her psychological evaluation...I think she suffered from depression and uncontrollable anger. When they kicked her out, she was discharged and, as far as I know, never heard from again...I was told by a pilot who knew her that she jumped off Unitas bridge and commited suicide..."
"Bro...that looks something that Ved...Ved'ma! That was her callsign! That looks something that Ved'ma would do...I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same person."
"I have a very strong feeling that Ved'ma might be Brooke...but it can't be..she commited suicide after all..."
"I don't know...but could be. Maybe she didn't die, maybe she, somehow, revived? Anyway, guys...I've gotta put this bird in the vet for proper care and need a shower myself. *laughs* We'll talk more later, yes?"
"Alright, Lieutenant. Dismissed.", General Celuchu liberated him. "And good work."
"Thank you, sir. Lady, gentleman...*chuckles and bows to Kim and Anthony, then proceeds to the pilots' lounge*
"Take care, my brother! Also, it turns out that something big is being planned and rumor has it that King Armistead himself might be dawning a flight suit...", Anthony stared at the blue sky.
"A true king also fights alongside his warriors! *Juan shouts from a distance*