//------------------------------// // On the hill // Story: Ace Combat: The Conversion Bureau // by Eagle //------------------------------// “Here they come. I’ve been waiting for this!” -Osean G.I. P.O.V.-Albert Genette Sand Island September 28th, 2010 From the sky, the morning after, Pops came back like nothing had happened. It was as if the open sky had always been his one true home. Only seventeen hours had passed since the war began. Equestria’s war strategy seemed minutely timed to prevent giving Osea any chance to counterattack. I got a notice of assignment as a member of the press corps. I guess Captain Hamilton had pulled a few strings for me. I didn’t waste any time going to work. Second Lieutenant Nagase was in the crew room. She was sitting by herself, writing something in her book. Nobody knew what she was writing. I realized these people may be the story I was looking for all this time. In fact, I was sure of it. September 28th, 2010 Briefing room “In coordination with their surprise air attacks on our military facilities, Equestria has invaded Osea with ground troops, as well. They pushed some way through the northern regions before the army was able to check their advance at in the city of Barsfield. In response, the enemy has been attempting to take Hill 118, just outside of the city. This hill provides an excellent overview of the city and whoever controls this will win the battle. You are to fly to the area and provide air cover and CAS to the troops defending the hill.” P.O.V.-Third Person September 28th, 2010 Barsfield, Osea 12:22 Hours The area around the city of Barsfield was hilly and covered with forests. The largest hill laid about a mile outside of the city, overlooking the area. The Equestrian army had already tried to take the city itself, but only managed to breach the outer perimeter and establish a small foothold inside. With the frontal attack bogging down, they decided to try and take the hill to spot the positions of the Oseans. Equestrian forces had three types of units. Pegasi were mostly used for air supprt, but could come down to the ground and fight or hover in place and take shots from that position like a helicopter. However, they were needed more in the air against the jets and were more vulnerable due to their bone structure being less durable than others and sticking out as a nice target. They were not usually seen taking part in ground combat. The most numerous were the Earth Ponies. Having greater strength and density, they were the grunts and did most of the fighting. The Equestrian forces still used arrows as their main weapon and, more often in close quarters, swords and spears. The biggest problem was that whatever metal the swords and spear/arrow tips were made of, which wasn’t natural to Earth, they could penetrate through most body armor. Though tanks and other armored units were still safe from them, they too were vulnerable to something. That something was the final unit, the unicorn. Despite weaker powers, the lasers they fired were enough to destroy an APC or seriously damage a tank with one hit. They also had the ability to put up shields over a small area, protecting them and some of their comrades. These could only be broken by heavy concentrated fire. Fire support was the same, old but deadly. In addition to the air support, they did have artillery; a least a form of it. They used catapults to launch bombs, the same kind used by the air forces, at their targets. The bombs themselves were also old, being round and filled with gunpowder, having their explosive power enhanced through spells and detonating on impact. All these things were going on in the head of Pvt. Johnson, who was trying to remember what info they had on the enemy before he met them battle for the first time. He sat in a trench that followed around the entire length hill to cover it completely, but most of the infantry was deployed facing the front. Tanks were also there, dug deep into hull-down positions. His unit, 2nd Armored Battalion of the 1st Armored Division, was given the honor of holding the hill while the rest of the division helped hold the city. Most of the trees surrounding or on the hill had already been blasted away. An explosion rocked the ground and broke him from his thoughts. He grabbed his M16 and ducked down in the trench. A prolonged artillery barrage, he had been taught, would usually be followed by an enemy attack. He saw an Abrams tank explode nearby. Though artillery wouldn’t damage tanks much, they could still be destroyed by direct hits. After the barrage ceased the call went around to see who was left and, save for the unlucky tank, everyone answered. A Sergeant directed their attention toward the tree line near the bottom as ponies began to charge out. Some were armed with melee weapons, others with arrows, who stopped to fire when they got in range. Being so many of them, it was hard to miss the target; but when galloping at full speed, they were much faster than an average human soldier. “Here they come!” “Open fire! Don’t let ‘em close!” Pvt. Johnson rested his rifle on the top of his trench and immediately opened fire, only looking down the sights after his first magazine was empty. “Looks like the fighting has already started,” Edge observed. “Yea. looks pretty bad,” Chopper commented. “Maybe we should go help them,” Archer suggested. “Well why do ya’ think we’re here?” Chopper replied. “C’mon lets go.” The four planes dived on the line of charging ponies, firing their guns and cutting swathes in their groups. Pulling up from their first dive, they regained altitude as Thunderhead reported in. “Thunderhead to Wardog, we have bogeys coming in low towards the hill, probable bombers. Move to intercept before they hit the hill.” They were getting closer to the line. Those with swords or spears were usually the prime targets. The ones with arrows attempted to shoot, but with most of the soldiers in cover, they wouldn’t hit much. Johnson had counted two fallen to his rounds and one probable. He saw one of the crew of the nearest tank was blazing away with the mounted machine gun on the turret. The tank exploded as a laser struck it. Looking closely, Johnson saw the unicorn making his way up hill. Before he could get a clean shot, a shield popped up around the pony and several of his companions. The group slowly made their way up hill, gaining much of the attention of the humans. They came closer and closer, with the archers behind the shields shooting and those with swords preparing to slash at their enemy. They came to within fifteen feet of the trench before a HEAT round from a tank collapsed the shield and its occupants were finished with small arms fire. With the first rush defeated, the troops reloaded and kept an eye out. It wasn’t a minute before someone shouted a warning. “Pegasi! They’re bombers! Take cover!” Johnson ducked down again; but instead of hearing the explosions around him, he heard it in the sky. Looking up, he saw the Pegasus fall to the ground not five feet behind his position in the trench in a bloody heap. “Damn, too close,” he said to himself. He thought he saw it twitch and, upon further inspection, saw it was still alive. Getting up and walking over to it, he saw its eyes were half open, but in clear pain. Johnson couldn’t help but feel bad for his enemy and made the decision to end his suffering then and there with his sidearm. Turning back to the trench, he heard a low rumbling. It was the clear sound of hoofs pounding across the ground, and it was coming closer. Jumping back into the trench, he saw another wave come out of the woods. “Attention overhead supporting aircraft, thanks for destroying those bombers. We still have enemy charging our line. Could you give us a hand?” “Alright, let’s get on it,” Chopper said. “Damn, Wilson got hit by an arrow! Where’s the medic?” a soldier cried over the battle. “He was caught in the blast from the laser that hit that tank!” another replied. One of the machine guns stopped firing. “I’m out!” the gunner yelled. “Boris, go back and get some more ammo!” The tanks fired their machine guns, saving their main cannons for the more clustered groups. “All tanks focus on any shields you see,” the command tank ordered. “I don’t see any, but we’ll keep any eye out,” another replied. The Wardog squadron had gained altitude and began their dives. This time, they released the bombs held under their wings. There were four high explosive bombs per aircraft, and the combined power of sixteen quickly shattered the charging formation, ending the second charge before it really began. “Wardog, this is Thunderhead. We have a flight of five A-6 Intruders coming in to bomb the enemy concentrated along the tree line. Escort them to the target, over.” “Wardog this is Tinder Flight, can we trust you to guide us in?” “Yes” “Ok, we’re going in. Time on target is two minutes.” As the Intruders moved in, another flight of pegasi attempted to intervene; Wardog engaged them. The Pegasi attempted to ignore the escorts and attack the CAS planes. Two were shot down by Blaze, one by Edge, and one by Archer. The final one succeeded in dodging Chopper’s attacks until it got behind one of the A-6s and shot it down. Before it could bag another, Chopper hit him with a missile. The remaining four planes released a payload of napalm, incinerating the area. Johnson could feel a heavy wave of heat from his position. He ducked down when the strike came in, trying to protect his face from the heat. Looking back up, the whole area where the charges had originated was in smoke and flames. Everyone at that point knew the battle was over. “Geez, I’d hate to be there,” Chopper commented on seeing the fire. “This is the commander of the 2nd Armored Battalion to all aircraft, thanks for the support. We can handle things from here. The ponies aren’t getting any further into Osea from here on.”