February 13th, 0700 Hours (7:00AM)
After james grabbed his checklist he headed to his modified PBY-6A Catalina where he met with his co-pilot Lieutenant Foley.
*Foley shakes Aragords hand* "Looks like i'm your co-pilot for this mission..this is going to be one hell of a battle, hopefully this bathtub can get things done."
*James glares at Foley* and without saying a word finishes his preflight inspection. The two board the airplane and James begins the final cockpit checks prior to starting the engine...after the checks are done he contacts the tower
"Papa Surf, Port Isabel tower, at the terminal ramp, requesting clearance for departure. "
"Papa Surf, Port Isabel tower taxi to runway 22R and hold short."
"Papa Surf.."
As James waited his turn he saw two A-10's preparing to takeoff
"hmm glad to see those birds are still flying...lots of memories there"
"Port isabel tower, you are cleared for departure, fly heading 330 to Angelus...good luck."
"Roger that tower"
James taxied his Catalina to the runway and lined up, he threw the engines into full power and the Catalina roared down the runway, he gained speed and into the air he went.
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12:00 (12:00PM) Angelus is approaching
James activated his radar and selected the 25mm's and activated his iphone...he selected a very powerful yet heavy song for the battle.
"Let's rock!"
"Control, what are my orders?"
"Control to Papa Surf....KBD (Kesalian Border Defense) forces on the northern end of Angelus Province near Bellpond are pinned down by enemy troops and armor. Look for a purple smoke signal and that should be them. Your mission is to provide close air support and if possible destroy the enemy artillery positions. Once accomplished wait for relief and RTB."
"Papa Surf.."
James threw the engines into full power and located the purple smoke.
"WE'RE PINNED DOWN THOSE RUVANIAN BASTARDS ARE CLOSING IN WE NEED AIR SUPPORT!!"
"Roger that..hang in there"
James pointed the nose of his catalina downward towards the enemy troops and opened fire with the twin 25mm's, the enemy troops in the path of that cannon were truly done for. James then regained altitude and distance and locked on with the hellfire's He detected six tanks on his radar and designated one missile to each tank. Each missile struck home..The KBD soldiers on the ground cheered
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"CATALINA BABY!" One soldier yelled
"Foley check the radar..there should be more out there."
"Roger that Aragord...looks like some more tanks are entering the city from the west side. They might be headed to aide the Ruvanian platoon near the parliament building."
James turned around and headed for the next targets..he locked on from long range and fired the three hellfires at the targets. The targets were destroyed but they weren't out of the woods just yet.
*Missile warning system detects a launch*
"SHIT Mud 19....Ugly 1-1 i'm gonna need some support...i'm outta hellfires and i gotta handle some other engagements." *pops flares and narrowly dodges the missiles*
Soon an A-10 joins in and takes out the SAM launcher leaving James a window of opportunity to go after the Artillery positions. This was much harder than expected..the artillery pieces were heavily defended by ZSU-23-4's and Strela MANPAD's. This was it now or never James pointed the nose of his Catalina down and selected the 25mm. He pointed the nose down and began his first strafing run.
*loud sound of several rounds hitting the plane*
Then the smell of fire entered the aircraft.
"SHIT! We got a fire onboard! FOLEY TAKE THE CONTROLS!!" *grabs the fire extinguisher*
James ran to where the fire was and managed to put it out just in time..but as he made it back to the cockpit a loud bang echoed through the plane. A massive hole was punched into the cockpit glass and his lifeless co-pilot laid slumped over on the controls. The Catalina began to dive and lose altitude. Before it was too late James lifted Foley from the controls and got back into the pilots chair, he pulled the yoke to his gut and the plane regained altitude. Just when James thought he was out of the woods the first engine seized...followed shortly by the second one. James lowered the landing gear and performed a hard landing near the action, now he has to fight the enemy on foot. James grabbed an M16A2 from the planes survival kit and climbed out.
"Alright...come get some motherfuckers!!", James shouted as he opened fire on a group of Ruvanian soldiers. James killed several of the enemy soldiers but in the process kicked the hornets nest.
"This is Papa Surf! My plane was downed and I am now engaging the Ruvanian's on foot I NEED SUPPORT ASAP!", James shouted into his survival radio. The radio crackled until he eventually received a faint response.
As the firefight went on the Ruvanian forces began to surround james, he wasn't about to give up as he loaded another C-Mag into his M16 and kept on putting rounds down range. As the odds grew more and more out of Jame's favor a series of loud explosions roared through the Kesalian landscape. Soon a worn AH-64 Apache in faded desert camo appeared on the horizon.
"This is Sergeant Elson Cricket, i've got your signal and I am here to assist!", Elson said had he laid waste to the Ruvanian ground forces. The fighting persisted until James was out of ammo..
"Ah shit..", james said.
Soon Elson landed his Apache and motioned for james to climb onto the helicopters rear cockpit. Elson then lifted off and took James to the KBD resistance HQ. After a long and tense flight they landed at the HQ.
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18:30 Hours (6:30PM)
James sat down in the rec room with a warm cup of coffee and a rather adult magazine. As he relaxed he was soon joined by the man who saved him.
"Ohhhh boy I love that magazine...skip to page 16 and you'll be in for a real treat" Elson said with a wink.
"It's nice to see you again Aragord...I surely thought you'd be dead after going off to find Paradiso. You were basically crossing no mans land to deliver intel.", Elson said with a more serious tone.
James set down the cup and replied "Well the work we did seemed to have helped the Kesalian's somewhat. Although that dickhead of a PM...Oscard Diederich kind of added a plot twist by betraying his country...maybe the Ruvanian's tried to pay him off I really don't know nor do I give a shit. I just want that guy thrown into a shark tank and this war to be over...by the way what happened to my Catalina?..she's probably a steaming pile of scrap now."
Elson chuckled "If things played out right a heavy lift bird should be bringing her back so me and my guys can take a look at her."