First Strike
The rest of the day was spent finalizing preparations for the attack on the goblins. Teams prepared for the battle that would come to their gates and the pilots prepped the jets to go on their first official mission. Missiles were loaded into the weapons bays and system checks were performed to ensure the aircraft were performing as expected. After refueling, the teams were ready, and all members met in the cafeteria to get a meal before the fight.
Charlene had her assistants walk around handing out meals to all the teams being deployed instead of having them go through the normal serving line. As she placed a plate in front of Tom, his Identify skill triggered, and he read the message that appeared in front of him.
Enhanced Goatamus Steak
Enhanced food can give beneficial bonuses when consumed. This steak has been infused with strengthening qualities and will provide the consumer a +1 to Strength for the next 12 hours.
"Wait, you can create enhancing foods now?!" Tom exclaimed as he stared at the food again.
"Just recently got the skill and have been testing the results. It's not a huge boost currently, but it'll get stronger as I train in the skill." Charlene smiled at him warmly.
"This is incredible, Charlene! You're amazing!" Tom said as he grabbed his fork and knife and began to cut off a piece of the meat.
"You're pretty amazing yourself, Tom. I'm just trying to keep up." Charlene replied humbly.
"Never think you need to do anything like keep up. You are the one who keeps us fed and food ready. Without you, we'd be stuck eating crappy rations or nothing at all." Tom praised her as he raised the first bite of meat to his lips.
As he put the bite of steak into his mouth the juices burst in his mouth as he chewed. Tom could feel something spreading through his jaw and then down into his chest as the power began to infuse him. Warmth spread to his extremities as the flavor made his tastebuds dance.
"Oh, muh, god," Tom sighed through a mouthful of steak. "This is the best steak I've ever tasted! It has so much flavor that my tongue actually feels tingly. And the warmth it sends through my body is making me feel like I could run a marathon."
"Make sure you eat all of it to get the full effect. I'm working on more recipes to better help the guild." Charlene winked at him as she moved on, continuing to pass out plates of food.
Torn between savoring every bite and wanting to wolf down the whole mean, Tom stared at his plate for a moment before he began to dig in with gusto. Jerky, wasting no time at all, was eating his steak with one hand and shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth with the other. He began to look around for someone to give him more before he even finished. Laughing at his antics, Charlene gave him a second plate of food.
"Does eating more give you additional bonuses?" Tom asked as Jerky dug into his second plate.
Pausing for a moment and looking at a screen that Tom couldn't see, Jerky read over something and then shook his head as he continued to eat.
"Too bad," Tom said, returning to his plate.
Once everyone had finished their meals, the teams got up from the tables, and just as they were about to leave the room, Briana stepped forward, blocking the doors.
"Before you go, I want to try something," Briana explained as she closed her eyes and raised her hands, a staff held in one of them.
As they watched, she began chanting in a language they couldn't understand. A white glow enveloped her and began to pulse. She opened her eyes and looked at the group.
"As with the warriors of old, so with these shall be the guidance of gods and their blessings!" Briana exclaimed and the light that had been surrounding only her moved out to encompass everyone in the room.
Blessing of the gods
You have been blessed by a cleric who wishes to keep your party safe in the coming struggle. For the next 24 hours, you receive +3 to Luck.
"It may not be much, but I hope it helps," Briana said as she lowered her arms and moved out of the way of the door, bowing her head to the teams.
"Thank you, Briana. Any benefits are greatly appreciated," Tom said to her as he passed her and headed to the courtyard.
When all of the teams had assembled, Tom spoke to the crowd that had assembled.
"Tonight, we make the first move to prevent a conflict we might not be able to control. This is what all of our preparations and training have been for. If you do not wish to participate, then let us know now. We will not force you to fight, but we will do what is necessary to protect what we have built here. Now that Vanguard has an Air Force, we have superiority in most combat situations. Let's make full use of that advantage. For Vanguard!" Tom shouted the last as he felt the pride of the crowd swelling as he spoke.
"FOR VANGUARD!" Came the return cry from every person present.
"Let's show those little green bastards that they should never have tried to match our might!" Tom shouted again.
The crowd erupted in cheers, shouts, yells, and war cries. It looked as though they were ready to charge out of the base and fight right at that moment.
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"Pilots, to your aircraft!" Derek shouted over the din.
Separating from the others, the pilots, easily distinguishable from the others in their flight suits and helmets, jogged off to the jets' staging area. The crowd continued to cheer for the pilots as they left the main group. A short time later, the sounds of jet engines could be heard as they fired up the planes and began to take off one at a time. They hovered in the air for a moment before taking off into the sky to do a loop around the city as they got into formation.
Once all of them had grouped up, they flew in low across the airspace over the guild building. The crowd raised weapons into the air as they shouted again at the knowledge that they had achieved a new weapon in the fight for their safety.
"Do we have radio communication with the pilots?" Tom asked Derek.
"I have a connection set up in my power armor. I can speak with them, and they can relay what is happening to us." Derek confirmed.
"Excellent. I want status updates, so we know what is happening." Tom said, Derek nodding his affirmation.
"Now, we wait,"
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Anderson had been placed in charge of the pilots and their training, as well as leading them in any combat situations. He had been the first one to take off, and after all the other units were in the air, he led the way to the location where the goblins had been spotted. He had given each of them a radio designation and had each one sound off as they moved into formation.
"Alpha Leader to all units, let's take a high fly-by to see what we can find. When we have a lock, we need to hit them fast and hard. Watch radar for enemy movement and stay in communication." Anderson said over his radio.
All members replied with their confirmation of the orders, and the jets moved to fly over the area. As they banked around to fly over the area, their radars began to pick up movement on the group of goblins on the ground. Dots began to fill the screen as they scanned the area.
"Sure are a lot of the fuckers," came a call over the radio.
"Doesn't matter; we will show them what modern warfare can do here," Anderson replied.
After a first pass, they began to circle back around.
"Time for a low flyover. This is just a first pass. Do not drop your full payload. I repeat, do not drop your full payload. One drop each, and we circle back for more." Anderson ordered.
With confirmation from each pilot, Anderson guided his jet down to begin the descent for the first bombing. As they neared the target, Anderson gave one last order.
"Be sure to spread them out. Near the perimeter first might spook them to the middle so we can bomb a cluster of them." Anderson called over the radio.
With that, he reached the initial drop point and gave the final order, "Begin drops."
The bay under Anderson's F35 opened, and a missile dropped from the bay, plummeting toward the ground. Following suit, the other pilots moved out to hit the edges of the group and dropped their first bombs as well. As the jets had flown out of the strike area and began to bank for a second pass, the first of the bombs exploded.
Clouds of smoke and fire rose into the air as the explosives detonated, destroying the area where the goblins had been gathered. Mass panic began in the camp as the goblins not in the blast areas began to run from the carnage. Those within the blasts were vaporized instantly by the explosions. A few unlucky goblins near the edge lost body parts or were thrown back from the shockwaves given off by the bombs.
"Prepare for second pass," Anderson said calmly over the radio to the other pilots. "Aim for the center, inside the original blasts, but try not to bomb the same spots as others. Call out targets if necessary."
As they flew over the encampment for a second time, bolts of energy began to fire up at the jets. One pilot had to veer out of the way of one of the strikes, though most couldn't reach them.
"Watch for enemy mages. Aim for their locations first." Anderson ordered.
As they passed over again, they dropped another round of bombs. Again, the explosives had a devastating effect on the tiny green creatures as they screamed in sheer terror at the destruction being wrought around them.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the short-range missiles. Lock targets and fire at will." Anderson gave the order for phase two of the plan.
Each F35 was equipped with four AIM-9X short-range missiles that they locked onto ground targets. Each began firing their missiles one at a time at their targets until they had all completed their task. As if the goblins hadn't suffered enough from the initial barrage, the short-range missiles continued the onslaught, ravaging any attempts to rally the remaining goblins.
"Now we circle until we are sure they can see up through the smoke, and then it's back to base," Anderson called out.
As the smoke, dust, and debris began to settle, the scene that unfolded was complete carnage. Very few goblins could be seen moving around on the ground, and everything around them had been leveled. Buildings, trees, vehicles, and any makeshift hovels the goblins had erected were completely destroyed.
"Alright, that's a wrap, all units back to base," Anderson ordered, and the team moved to head straight back to the base.
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Cheers went up as the jets all returned safely and began to land. Once the pilots returned, they were hoisted on the shoulders of those still gathered in the courtyard as they shouted praise and approvals. When they were let down, Anderson gave his official report to Tom, who shook his hand.
"The heroes of the sky have done their part! Now, we prepare for the assault!" Tom called to the crowd, who once again were whipped into a frenzy.
People began to move in all directions as they set up to watch for the goblins' approach. Guards moved to the wall, and fighters prepared with their units.
"Kiera!" Tom called out through the gathered guild members. "Take a team and move to a building nearby. I want visuals as well as the ability to have cover fire from another angle."
"On it," Kiera replied.
"Jay! I want your team watching for movement as well. I want to know long before they arrive." Tom ordered. "Kedron! Get the vehicles ready. Be far away and wait for Brian's call to move."
"You can count on us!" Kedron replied.
"We are going to beat the green off these little bastards."