TFA3 2.1 – Falling from the Sky
Four units of 155 mm M777 Howitzer were airdropped to Jack Sparrow in semi-assembly parts. After being reassembled, these big guns would be used in combat finally. Their primary mission was to ambush and wiped out inbound Riders that approached Jack Sparrow from east. So, the M777’s crews were very excited but also nervous as hell.
They were excited because their first combat mission was a big one. But at the same time, they never had a chance to carry a firing test to ensure the M777 worked properly. Therefore, there was a possibility that something could go wrong, and they would fail to intercept the inbound Riders.
With a nervous gaze Lieutenant Benson looked at the row of four M777 before him. Then, he turned his gaze to Sergeant Perez. “I hope everything go according to the plan.”
“Sir,” Sergeant Perez calmly said. “Since last night, every Howie had received triple-checked to ensure it would work as expected. Nothing else we can do other than carry the fire mission as best as we could.
And if even after all of that shit still happens, then it’s just our bad luck.”
After taking a deep breath Lieutenant Benson said, “Maybe we should disperse the firing pit, like the mortar team.”
“LT, unlike mortar team, we are very low in ammo. We also have no time to prepare new pit.” After a moment of paused Sergeant Perez added, “Let’s just stick to the plan. You offer the Command Center a good plan after all.”
“Yeah.”
Lieutenant Benson was still nervous as hell, but he said no more and just stood in silence. Then, a radio call from Command Center came in.
[Command to Catapult One, do you copy?]
Without delay Lieutenant Benson pressed PTT button in his chest, “This is Catapult 1-1, Command, I heard you loud and clear.”
[Catapult 1-1, be ready to welcome inbound Riders from east with your firework.]
“Understood, what type of firework we have to send?”
[Four guns, four rounds, beehive, simultaneous detonation at first ambush point.]
“Catapult 1-1 to Command, reconfirm the firework, four guns, four rounds, beehive, simultaneous detonation at first ambush point.”
[Correct, stand by for the green, Command over and out.]
After taking a deep breath Lieutenant Benson turned his gaze to Sergeant Perez. “Four beehive rounds at first ambush point, let’s prepare it.”
“Aye Sir,” Sergeant Perez happily replied.
---
Airspace 20 km east of Penna Hill, 436 pairs of Rider and Cloud Hawk flew in moderate speed. In the leading position, Count Well creased his brow as the peak of Penna Hill started to appear in the distance.
Normally, air assault on the peak of Penna Hill was no different than easy walk on the park. Penna Hill was surrounded by valley in all direction. Therefore, the Riders could just fly to this valley after a dive attack on Penna Hill’s peak, and gain momentum before climbing back to the sky to launch another dive. Not to mention, the air assault would be carried out by almost 1700 Riders from four cardinal directions.
However, Count Well had gained access to the confidential report regarding the air assault on Sandhur Region. Even to this moment, he still had a hard time to understand how TF Amethyst could neutralize an air assault carried out by hundreds of Riders, both from Buriek Riders and Makai Riders, with ease.
And now, he had a chance to experience it personally before he got a useful clue about TF Amethyst’s air defense. So, it was natural that Count Well inwardly kept muttering, ‘I’m so dead.’
Moreover, a few minutes ago, he also received a report that opposing aerial assets had ambushed Count Folk and his Riders, just a moment after they took off. As the result, Count Folk lost more than half of his Riders, and this was only a result from first contact with six opposing aerial assets.
‘What kind of freak we have to face actually?’ Count Well muttered in wonder.
Then, dozens of black dot suddenly filled the sky in the south, followed by a call from a crystal communicator.
[Count Well, this is Count Folk, may I join your formation?]
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Count Folk, are you okay?” Count Well replied as surprise filled his face to the brim.
[I’m. I was on the ground trying to retrieve my son’s body, when the damnable flying arrowheads suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked my Riders.]
“Are those flying arrowheads is what they calls aircraft?”
[I can’t say for sure. They are different from the picture I see in Makai Intelligence HQ. These flying arrowheads are smaller, sleeker, and very nimble even though their way of flying is very stiff.]
“I see.”
[Crystal sensor in Makai Guard HQ has confirmed that those flying arrowheads gone to the east after attacking my formation. I want to take revenge for my son and my Riders before they return.]
“Well,” After a pause Count well added, “Let’s join our Riders then. The more Riders we have, the merrier the assault.”
[Okay. I come from your left.]
“Yeah, I can see you.”
A moment later, both Rider formations merged into one, and increase its number up to slightly more than 600 Riders, led by Count Well and Count Folk who flew side by side in the leading position.
Then, slowly but surely the massive Rider formation entered an arid plain 8 km east of Penna Hill. Locals called this empty plain as Barren Plain, and it stretched out as far as the eye could see, so it took for a while before the whole formation fully entered it.
Then, Count Well sent an order to his Riders through crystal communicator, “Prepare your bow and arrow. We will become the first Makai Riders to engage opposing camp in Penna Hill.”
In an instant, fighting spirit and thick bloodlust blanketed the Rider formation. However, without prior warning something unexpected occurred.
Bo-Bo-Bobooommm!!!
A series of thunderous explosion suddenly was heard from the peak of Penna Hill, and a few seconds later the second one took place in the high sky.
BO-BO-BOBOOOOMMM!!!
“What the fuck is that?” Count Well curiously asked as he fixed his eyes on the giant black clouds that the second explosion leaved behind high in the sky.
[Is that their air defense?” Count Folk asked while tilted his head to the side. “Did they fire it too early and too high or it was a warning shot for us?]
“Who knows,” Count Folk nervously said. “Unfortunately, whatever it is, we can’t go back now.”
[Precisely, we can only fly forward with everything we have.”
As they strengthened their resolved, Count Well and Count Folk led the Rider formation flew forward, straight to the rain of steel darts that the beehive round had just spat out. In short, the whole Rider formation fell into the ambush that Lieutenant Benson and his men had prepared specifically for them.
This artillery ambush was imitation from what Major James and Lieutenant Cameron used to wipe out Rider formation from Battle Group B when they tried to assault Levsait. The only different was, Major James and Lieutenant Cameron had to place the point detonation close enough to the Rider formation so the steel dart had enough power to penetrate and shred the Riders and their Cloud Hawk, while in current ambush Lieutenant Benson and his men used steel dart coated with neurotoxin that had been proven very deadly for both human and Cloud Hawk.
Therefore, Lieutenant Benson and his men could place the point of detonation far enough from the Rider formation to create huge area of effect that blanketed the whole Rider formation. Of course, Count Well didn’t just do nothing. As soon as he realized that a rain of steel dart came to his way, he immediately warned his Riders.
“RAISED YOUR SHIELD!!!”
Count Well’s order echoed through crystal communicator, and his Riders carried it out almost in reflex. They raised their shield to protect their face, the only spot that was not covered by armor. As the result, the steel darts couldn’t harm the Riders. Let alone penetrated the thick small shield, the steel darts couldn’t even penetrate the Riders’ light armor.
“Fuck! That almost gave me a heart attack,” Count Well said with a trembling voice as he lowered his shield.
He knew he was fine, but the sound when dozens of steel darts hit his shield and his light armor still gave him an eerie feeling. Then, suddenly he realized that something was wrong. Normally, such small steel darts won’t cause any serious harm on a Cloud Hawk, but he got a bad hunch that something was definitely wrong.
His Cloud Hawk was slowing down and didn’t respond to his order. Then, it suddenly wildly spiraled as it went down to the ground.
“FUUUUUUUCCCKKKK!!!”
Count Well’s cursed echoed in the sky before he and his Cloud Hawk hit the ground with a loud thud and created a puff of giant cloud dust. The other Riders and Cloud Hawk also met with similar fate. Long short story, more than 600 Riders and Cloud Hawk fell from the sky and hit every corner of Barren Plain almost simultaneously, like a short rain.
The artillery ambush was total success. It fully stopped the inbound Riders from the east. Miraculously, some Riders survived the fall as their Cloud Hawk had shielded them from the impact using their body. Of course, those Riders still suffered some broken bones and bruises.
*****
Author’s note:
Hello author here, just wants to put a little reminder why I starts writing. Basically, I want to write something I want to read, and writing it alone by myself. I know I lack a lot of thing as a writer, but I can live with that and enjoy the working process and the final result. So, please don’t nag me that I should working together as a team to make a good work, because like I said I just want to write it alone and had no intention to working as a team even though it will definitely turn me into a better writer.
Don’t ask me why I want to write alone. I already gave up the effort to understand it a long time ago. Maybe it’s just my nature, maybe because I just want thing go my way without any hindrance, or maybe because it’s the easiest way for me. Whatever it is, writing alone work the best for me.
If you enjoy my work, please enjoy it, it makes me very happy if someone enjoy my work. If you have suggestion, please write it in the comment section, and I will put my mind on it dearly. If you want to support me, I will gladly accept it as this is the only work I have.
If you plagiarize my work, believe me I will do everything in my power to upset you, by writing something that will irritate your life value, faith and believe, political affiliation, or such in my work, and it’s fully on you as you the one who started it.
As far as I remember, I’m very consistence about this reminder. When I still posted my work in Royal Road, I wrote it a few times in comment section or author’s note. In this blog, I had also written it once or two. So, please understand my simple wish.
That’s all, and as usual, Thank you and Best regards.