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January 1st 2018 0600 Hours:
The Boomslang's arrived at the briefing room for their final mission briefing...this time though it was only Anthony,Juan,Izumi,Kim and James.
General Celuchu: "This is it...the final frontier as some would say. The war has come to an end from a media standpoint but alas OUR job is still not over. Mr. Ebinger has managed to find the location of a Ruvanian satellite in low orbit over the earth...and Oscar is said to be aboard it. Nathan...you have the floor." Stepped down from the podium
Nathan: "Thank you, General. In the 0200 hours of yesterday, SOPAD detected a rocket launch from a Ruvanian facility in the Northern border, close to the Cinaltan Sea. Our Intelligence said it was originally a rocket installation for the Ruvanian Space Agency. This seemed suspicious, so we contacted our informants. None of them replied, but one mentioned high security levels within the facility...I'd bet my money that Oscar was in that rocket.", Sighed. "Very few are aware, but Oscar is qualified as an astronaut by KESA, the Kesalian Space Administration. It's likely that he transferred his base of operations to there, after the outstanding defeat of the Triton, a few months ago. Unfortunately, we have no idea about what kind of weaponry this satellite possess, but we can't take any risks."
Anthony: "So it looks like we have our work cut out for us..."
Kim: "What will we fly then? The Valhalla doesn't have the ability to carry an ASAT missile."
James: "You two need to kick it old school...the only planes in the Kesalian inventory capable of delivering ASAT weapons and sustaining vertical flight are the F-15 and F-14...Although the birds might need some extra juice so we'll have to fit them with RASCAL systems."
Kim: "Knowing Anthony I think I have an idea of what he'll pick so if I may...I'd love to be his RIO."
Anthony: "I'm all for it." Winked.
Juan: "Izumi, you down?"
Izumi: "You bet! It's time to take Oscar out of his throne for good!"
Nathan: "The RASCAL system will be fitted into your planes. Stutz and Kobayashi, you'll be flying the R-14S once again."
J: "Sounds good to me!"
N: "One more thing: be ready for resistance. Although we don't know for sure what exactly to expect, it's very likely that the satellite has a strong defense mechanism."
J: "Considering the Vidhi had that crazy laser gun, I wouldn't be surprised if they had them up there too..."
A: "And it's safe to say Oscar is going to be very desperate...and desperation can lead to drastic measures when one is cornered."
Kim: "We'll still get him.." Put her hand on his shoulder
A: "I know we will...Juan, Izumi are you ready for action?" Looked at the two of them.
I&J: "Yeah!"
A: "Okay then...we depart tonight."
N: "Because of the RASCAL system, part of your fuel storage will be sacrificed, so a one-of-a-kind BO-733 converted to tanker will be flying along with you on this mission."
A: "Excellent...now all we have to do is prepare.."
N: "Our engineers have been working non-stop on a new variant of the HYSLAAM missile, capable of reaching the low-to-medium orbit of the Earth. It's equipped with a new warhead, capable of generating a powerful blast even in vacuum conditions, but because the technology is new and too expensive, only 3 examples were made."
A: "Sounds like an impressive piece of kit Mr. Ebinger...By the way do you have any idea what opposition we might face? Ruvania has essentially surrendered and called for a peace treaty with the WePAC but I wouldn't be surprise if some remnants of the Ruvanian military loyal to Oscar are packing some decent hardware."
N: "Like I said, at the moment we don't know. Could be a single SU-35 to a pack of J-20's...up to God only knows what else...maybe even..."
J: "Hmm...spaceships?"
N: "...given how far ahead of us they were...yes."
J: "Jesus..."
A: "It looks like we'll have to put our skills to the absolute test..."
Kim: "*sigh* No matter what we face..I won't stop until Oscar is no more..."
J: "We're gonna put an end to this. He's got nowhere else to go!"
A: "Then let's get to it Boomslang's!"
****
22:00 Hours (10:00PM):
Later that night Anthony's F-14D had been fitted with the RASCAL modification as well as a single modified AIM-57 HYSLAAM for the ASAT role.
A: "Good to be in a Tomcat again..." Smiled while preflighting the bird.
James: "Yeah...I'm sure gonna miss these birds when they're gone. With the F-35C arriving in record numbers the Navy might retire the Cat before 2020."
J: "Izumi...it's time.", Knocked on her door and headed to the change room to put his flight suit.
I: "I'm on my way!", She was brushing her teeth.
A few minutes later, both were at the hangar, ready to fly.
J: "Anthony...you didn't get some sleep?"
A: "Yeah bro, I took a nap after the briefing." Finished cleaning the visor on his helmet and put it on
Kim: "Ready to go everyone?" Finished checking the tire pressure and Oleo Struts on the Tomcat and climbed into the RIO's seat.
A: "Let's get going then." Started spooling the engines "Oil pressure check...engine RPM check...looks like it's time to go...Taiyo AFB this is Boomslang One, requesting permission to taxi to runway."
Air Controller: "Roger that Boomslang One you are cleared to taxi to runway and for a full departure."
A: "Roger that...Boomslang 1 out." Moved throttles forward and began taxiing, sweeping the wings forward in the process.
J: "Taiyo AFT, Boomslang 3-4 requesting permission to taxi alongside 1-2."
Air Controller: "Understood 3-4, proceed to taxi."
J: "Copy that, 3-4 out!"
Juan increased throttle and Initiated taxiing to join Anthony and Kim.
A: "Let's do this..." Turned on his helmet mounted sight and threw the engines into full afterburner.
J: "Away we go!", Followed his friend and engaged full burners, catapulting the R-14S to takeoff speed in just a few seconds.
Minutes later the Boomslang's were at cruising altitude...it was late at night and there wasn't a single cloud in sight.
A: "Sensoa looks really beautiful from up here...especially when there's a full moon out."
Kim: "Yeah...quite peaceful. It sometimes makes me wonder why we're even at war..."
J: "Because of the ambition and selfishness of a few...", Sighed. "Every war start because of this."
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I: "Sad but true..."
After some 15 minutes, they were contacted by the tanker.
Tanker pilot: "Boomslang flight, this is Scotch 1, here to deliver the best S-quality juice."
J: "Good timing, Scotch. We were already getting low on fuel!"
Tanker Pilot: "Alright, align with the probes, both of you. We should be flying like this for a few hours."
J: "Roger!"
A: "Good to see you scotch...i've got about 3000 pounds of fuel left...that RASCAL mod took a good 6000 pounds out of my 16,200 pound internal fuel capacity." Opened the refueling probe
Juan and Anthony aligned with the refueling drogues and began refueling
Scotch: "Alright...beginning refueling."
Ten minutes later the planes were fully fueled and ready to countinue their journey
Scotch: "Alright, refueling complete disconnect now and good luck!"
Anthony: "Thanks a lot Scotch...see you soon." Disconnected and continued on the waypoint.
Nathan: "Alrigtht, Boomslang Flight, I'll be joining you from now on. In a few more minutes, it'll be time for you both to increase altitude, as the satellite's orbit should above us soon."
J: "Yessir. But what about the enemy defenses?"
N: "We're monitoring the area...surprisingly, nothing to be found. But don't let your guard down."
Izumi: "So...how should we expect to intercept him? I mean, is the radar range enough? Just curious..."
J: "It is. If he's in the low orbit, that's between 160 and 2000 km of altitude...while our radar isn't capable of thousands of km of range, we can track anything up to some 600 km. I just hope the satellite has a signal strong enough to maintain a solid lock on..."
Kim: "If these HYSLAAM's function like the old ASM-135 then they should be able to pick up on the Satellites heat signature, so I don't think we will have to use the radars."
A: "We just gotta make sure that the Satellite is in a low enough orbit and sustain vertical flight until we have a solid lock then....I just hope that this works because I doubt we'll be able to get another attempt at Oscar if we mess this one up."
Soon they were in time to initiate fast climbing.
N: "Alright, ladies and gentlemen...now's the time. We've got the satellite coming over us in 2 minutes; initiate the system!"
J: "Understood. Full burners in 3...2..1...now!"
A: "Roger that....Hold on tight Kimmy." Manually swept the F-14's wings back and increased throttle to zone five afterburner.
Kim: "roger that."
J: "Mach 1.3...1.5...1.6...1.8...2...2.1...still going up! 50,000 feet...52.000...54.000...55.000...reaching maximum altitude!"
Oscar: "Hmph...the Boomslang's are at it once again....let's show them what the Feniks can do. Crew prepare to engage the two fighters."
Feniks Crewman: "Yes sir!" Locked up the two planes "Missiles away."
The Tomcat's RWR began to go crazy but Anthony refused to budge
Anthony: "Staying on target...." Popped chaff and flares
N: "They fired missiles, but you can outperform them! Initiate Stg 2!"
J: "Roger! Water injection in 3...2...1..now!"
As they injected water in the compressors, the engine quickly gained extra thrust, burners glowing brighter as the result.
J: "WHOA!! Mach 2.4...2.5...2.6...still increasing! Altitude 75,000 feet...80,000...85,000! It's too much power!!"
A: "Mach 3 indicated!" Put the wings into the over swept position and saw the paint flaking off of his planes fuselage.
Kim: "Looks like we're gonna need a fresh coat of paint when we get back."
Izumi: "We've only got a few seconds for this! Preparing to engage!"
J: "I SEE IT! I can see the bastard! The missiles...!!"
They were flying so fast that the missiles missed their targets, losing the aim as both jets passed by.
J: "I have a lock, firing HYSLAAM!"
I: "Do it!"
Right after Juan fired, he killed the engines and began to lose altitude.
J: "1-2, your call; I've taken my chance...go for it."
A: "ROGER ROGER!"
Oscar: "Prepare to fire another missile...this time at the lead plane."
Crewman: "Yes sir!" Fired another missile.
Anthony was in firing range...he had solid lock and squeezed the trigger. The missile went off the rail and headed to the target but the missile fired at him from Oscar's satellite was closing in just as fast, he popped more flares and chaff and the missile this time detonated close by.
A: "Boomslang 1-2 here! Missile away but i've taken some damage...looks like we've got an engine fire on engine 2." Turned on the fire extinguishers and cut the throttle to idle.
Kim: "Warning lights are lit up like a Christmas tree...but I think we can make it back..."
A: "Missile shot confirmed....by the way it looks like we might need an emergency team down at the runway...that missile missed but it detonated pretty close so my hydraulics are damaged too."
N: "We're contacting Asymni AFB now, they're the closest ones at the moment. Teams will be ready for your arrival. Change course to 3-0-8 and maintain altitude."
A: "Roger that...thanks a lot."
Kim: "Are you okay?"
A: "Fine...just a bit shook up, plus the stick is hard as hell to move." Adjusted trim to maintain altitude
Kim: "Nosey can you confirm the status on the satellite? Did we take it down?"
The satellite's defenses managed to destroy Juan's missile, but...
Operator: "Sir, imminent impact!"
Oscar: "Oooh shhieee-" Saw the single HYSLAAM inbound
Anthony's HYSLAAM struck the satellite right in the middle, obliterating it, the explosion seen from down below by our heroes.
N: "Direct hit! Destruction of enemy satellite confirmed!"
J: "HOOYAH!!"
I: "Yes!! We did it!!"
R: "YEAH BABY!!" Clapped his hands Kim: "RIGHT ON!!"
Unfortunately the celebration of the Fenik's destruction and Oscar's demise was cut short..as the Boomslang's were less than thirty miles from home
A: "Uh-oh...1-2 here declaring an in flight emergency."
Asymni Traffic Controller: "Boomslang 1-2, this is Asymni Control. We've got teams in the runway waiting for your arrival. Proceed to runway 2-7. Wind is 3 kts Northern. Have a safe landing, sir."
A: "Roger that Asymni...."
Anthony and Kim's F-14 was on final approach...As the Tomcat touched down the landing gear had collapsed and the damage was enough to spark a fire..
Kim: "We've got a fire onboard!"
A: "Bail out!"
The two pulled the ejection handles and ejected from the fighter. The fire causing the plane to explode into a massive fireball.
Asymni Traffic Controller: "Dear god..."
J&I: "VOODOO, KIM!"
Asymni Traffic Controller: "Boomslang 3-4, change course to runway 3-4, all clear!"
J: "Roger!"
Juan slowly took their R-14S to a touchdown and then stopped in the parking lot, but not before finally spotting two parachutes.
Izumi: "Thank goodness!"
J: "Sheesh...", Facepalmed.
Anthony and Kim parachuted back down to safety and were met by several fire trucks and ambulances
Paramedic: "Are you to okay?"
Anthony: "Fine...the fire was kissing my ass but i'm good." Laughed
Kim: "Peachy...although the parachute landing hurt like hell."
Paramedic: "Thank goodness...these birds can be replaced but lives can't...we'll give you a ride back to the hangar."
Anthony: "Thanks a lot..." Hopped into the back of the ambulance
Paramedic: "It's an honor...you Boomslang's showed me and everyone else that heroes really do exist."
A jeep came for Juan and Izumi as well.
Soldier: "Sir!", Saluted. "We're here to take you to your friends, sir!"
*Juan and Izumi saluted back*
J: "Good, let's get going!"
As everyone got in the jeep, the soldier drove them to the hangar.
The jeep arrived at the hangar a few minutes later Anthony Kim then ran to hug both Izumi and Juan.
A: "WE FUCKIN' DID IT MAN!!"
Alex: "Congrats you guys...glad to know that my brother is a hero." Walked over to the group
Anthony: "Alex, what are you doing here?" Chuckled
Alex: "I was apart of the emergency response team....Rebecca over here was going to be the bird that picked you up if you ended up bailing out far from base." Patted the fuselage of his Black Hawk "But i'm glad it didn't come to that."
Anthony: "So you would have been the one to save my ass huh?"
Alex: "That's affirmative...there may be times where we don't see eye to eye...like that time you got pissed at me for choosing the career I chose because of the danger aspect but no matter what you're still my brother and I love you...and of course you just saw that being a fighter pilot is just as dangerous." Chuckled and playfully hit him
J: "Now...", Grabbed Izumi and kissed her on the lips. "Let's talk about that marriage, shall we?", Grinned.
I: "J-Juan!!", Blushed heavily.
Kim: "Anthony....aren't you forgetting something." Motioned for him to kiss her
Anthony: "R-right!" Kissed her on the lips
Alex: "I'll leave you lovebirds be...and Anthony...i'll see you back in Kesalia."
Anthony: "Yep...hopefully dad hasn't killed you yet!"
Alex: "Pfffft I joined the KBD on my own accord...the way I see it i'm not coming back home...i'm just gonna see where my life takes me...one turn and one straight away at a time." Gave a thumbs up and walked away
Anthony: "So no Kesalia?"
Alex: "Of course...what I meant is that i'm not going back to the family home.." Waved and kept on walking
Anthony: "Ohhh what am I going to do with that kid? Ever since he discovered that book he's taken a big change in his life....he used to be crazy about owning the most expensive houses...the latest and greatest supercars and so on."
Kim: "It sounds like being apart of the KBD taught him new things about life...or maybe he met someone who pointed him in a different direction.
J: "As long as he fights for what he wants...guess you should be proud about it.", Chuckled.
Anthony: "Yeah...I am proud of the kid...plus did I ever tell you guys about the time he met the Prosperian Empress after winning the Prosperian GP?"
Kim: "No...what happened?"
Anthony: "Okay okay...when the race finished he went to meet the Empress...very nice lady from what he tells me. She even gave him a FREE Bentley Continental GT to celebrate his win...he also got to meet her husband who is also the prime minister of the country. When he returned to Kesalia he ended up selling the Bentley immediately much to their chagrin and purchased an FD Mazda RX-7...I asked him why he sold the Bentley and he said it drove like an absolute pig and that a Peterbilt could probably out handle it. I was shocked because I never expected ANYONE to do something like that...especially when that car he was gifted was presented to him by an empress."
Kim: "Wow...your brother is something else."
J: "Wicked brother, eh...", Laughed. "But I don't blame him..."
A: "Neither do I Juan...but all in all. We pulled it off...Oscar is done and now all I can ask is, what do we do now?"
Kim: "I don't know..I think i'm going to retire..."
A: "Aren't you a bit young?" Chuckled
Kim: "Yeah but in reality I'm eligible for retirement because of this war."
A: "Well I think i'm gonna stay in the Air Force...I was offered an instructors position recently and it's just too good to pass up. Sure I won't deploy anymore unless i'm really needed but at least i'll be able to teach others how to fly."
J: "Mr. Ebinger already offered my job back, as a test pilot, but I'm also gonna finish my college to work as an engineer...Izumi is invited as well.", Smiled.
I: "A career in one of the world's greatest aerospace companies...doesn't sound so bad...", Chuckled.
J: "It sure isn't, I love my work...and I'll love even more having you by my side!"
I: "Juan..."
Both kissed again.
A: "I wish you the best of luck my friend...but now all I gotta say is, let's go home."
Kim: "Works for me..." Kissed anthony and held his hand
J: "Yeah...let's go home.", Held Izumi's hand and headed to the pilots' room.