//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Redemption // Story: Ace Combat: The Changeling War // by Lonewolf78 //------------------------------// Cafe near Gracemareia station May 23 2023 8:32 hours. Kreiko had finished eating his breakfast, and was drinking his coffee while going over the latest battle news. "Well it looks like the Ace of Spades and Nightshade have gotten themselves in trouble. I guess not even heroes are immune from mistakes. I might find joy in this development, but I'm too disgusted to. Our government has threatened to use chemical weapons on this city. A direct violation of the Gryphus Convention. I suspect Sombra has given this order. Our queen knows the ramifications of using these weapons." Kreiko finished his coffee, then got up and stretched, forgetting he had uncuffed his other saddle bag from himself. Immediately a unicorn filly snatched it and ran off. "And suddenly I feel like what Nightshade called me earlier after what I told Silver." He gave chase as best as he could. The chase took him into an underground passage near the castle. When he got down there, the tunnels seemed to go everywhere. A few torches allowed him to see where he was going, and what route the filly might have taken. He followed the hoofprints in the mostly dirt floor. "So this is how those foals manage to appear and disappear. These must be old escape tunnels or something." Suddenly he heard an explosion in the distance, above ground. "That's right. Today some of the old Gracemareia fortifications are being removed." Then he saw a colt peeking around a corner, and he continued pursuit. "He's coming!" he heard him yell. He rounded the corner and came face to face with the entire group of foals. Some armed with bats and boards. "Give me the saddle bags and I'll leave," he said. "Don't let him escape!" yelled a pegasus colt. Then there was an explosion almost over them. A large iron gate dropped down behind Kreiko, and another further ahead started to close. "Run for it!" a purple filly yelled. They ran off towards the closing gate. The earth colt tripped and fell almost under the closing gate. Kreiko grabbed his bat and wedged it under the door as a unicorn came to help him up. With Kreiko's help they pulled him clear just in time. ----------------------- Oured AFB 09:00 hours. The squadron was watching a speech by Princess Celestia on TV. "... Make no mistake about it. If the Changeling Kingdom uses these chemical weapons anywhere, a consensus has been reached between us, the exiled Crystal Empire government, the Dragon Kingdom, and the Griffin Empire, that a retaliatory strike on the Changeling Kingdom's capital WILL be carried out.... "Now you're talking!" Nightshade yelled. "How would they do it? Carpet bombing or the Arkbird?" Kiwi asked. "The New Lunar Republic was working on a new weapon towards the end of the war, and last I knew it had finally been perfected. It's a large thermobaric warhead that can level an entire military base in one shot," replied Maverick. "It'd only take 3 or 4 to completely level their capital." "Dammit Chrysalis doesn't give two shits a fuck and a rats ass about her subjects," snapped Black Widow. "You ponies get a chance to eliminate the weapons beforehand." Everyone turned around to see Slugger. "Meet me in the situation room in 15 minutes." "We'll be there," replied Maverick. 15 minutes later they were there, and Slugger began. "OK first off, you two have been temporarily restored to duty. Now then: We have a mission just for you ponies. Through intel we have discovered the location of the chemical weapons, or actually the two locations. It turns out this particular chemical weapon is two parts: The base, and a catalyst. The base is already at this army base outside Gracemareia. The catalyst is being moved by truck from the Changeling Kingdom. Your mission is to intercept and destroy the trucks as they come up the pass. Alone the two chemicals don't pose a threat, so it's safe to bomb them. You'll stop the trucks with Mavericks, then drop napalm on them to ensure all of it is destroyed. To do this: You'll fly up the river to the bridge East of Gracemareia, then follow the road East until you find them. You must stay below the rim of the mountains to beat the radar which means minimal maneuvering room, and you have to finish the job in one pass. Destroy any watch towers or gunboats you see along the way. Once you destroy them, fly to the end of the pass and head North. Once you exit you'll be picked up on radar, so hightail it. We can't give you any support until you get North of Cantlin." "So we're in this alone?" Heart Throb asked. "Yes. Not even our allies know we're doing this in case there's a snitch somewhere. Once the job is done, we will immediately go back to bombing the remaining Changeling forces around Cantlin. We're assembling a strike force near Manechester as we speak," replied Slugger. "So what's to keep them from bringing more catalyst in?" Kiwi asked. Slugger smiled. "The Equestria Intelligence Agency found the factories where it and the base are made. As we speak they're getting ready to launch a secret cruise missile and mercenary attack on them," he replied. "Nice," replied Nightshade. "So Mav', Nightshade, Tornado, Heart Throb: You will be carrying the Mavericks. The rest of you will be carrying the napalm. The train leaves in three hours." "Let's do this!," yelled Stormy. -------------------------- Gracemareia AFB 09:45 hours. "So what's the status?" Nertz asked Silver. "Twelve and Five are dead, and Six and Fifteen are out of commission. The others will be returning today," he replied "How can two pilots take out 2/3 of a squadron?" he asked. "They're better than both me and Sombra thought. And I'm sure the rest of them are the same way," Silver replied. Nertz looked to the side for a moment before turning back to talk. "So what now?" "Replacement planes and pilots are already on their way here. They're also sending a plane just for me." "Something special?" "Yep. Something they will have trouble dodging." Silver turned and walked away. "Lucky you," replied Nertz. -------------------------- East of Breaconary, Griffin Empire May 24 2023 05:00 hours. A New Lunar Republic Los Angeles class sub was sitting just East of the city, readying the missile strike. "We're ready sir" "Commence firing!" Eight Tomahawks shot out of it's vertical launch tubes and sped off into the Changeling Kingdom. Around the same time a group of mercenary pilots was flying towards the other. 45 minutes later both factory complexes were destroyed. --------------------------- South of Manechester 05:10 hours. The squadrons prepared to enter the canyon at North Star Pass. "OKlet's get down there. Stay single file and a mile apart," Maverick announced. And they headed down the river. "We're going to be pretty close to Gracemareia," commented Kiwi. "Yes, which is why we have to stay down here because they'll easily pick us up. And their defense network is largely untouched," replied Maverick. A while later they spotted something. "Is that a gunboat up there?" asked Nightshade, who was behind Maverick. "Yes, I've got it," he replied. He locked a Maverick on to it and fired, destroying it. "Hopefully they didn't have time to alert someone," Tornado said. They finally reached the bridge, and made a hard left to fly down the road. "Keep it slow. We won't have much time," Maverick said. It wasn't long before they saw objects on the road ahead. "There they are, get them!" he yelled. He locked up the lead APC and a ZSU and fired, taking them out. He then locked up the third truck in the line of six, taking it out before flying past. Nightshade was next. She locked up and destroyed the two front trucks. Tornado took out the fourth and another ZSU, and Heart Throb took out the remaining truck and APC. Then one by one the others dropped their BLU-27's on the line, incinerating everything. "Wow, so that's what the highway to Hell looks like," commented Black Widow, who was last in the line before she contributed her two napalm bombs to it. "Tempestra to Spade: All of them have been destroyed." "Roger," he replied. "Sky Eye how's it looking?" "You've got eighteen bandits approaching from the East and ten from the West. Get out of there!" he replied. "We're gone," replied Maverick. The group hit the afterburners and turned North back towards North Star Pass. "Damn the Western ones are here already!" yelled Surprise. "Engage!" replied Maverick, and they engaged the SU-33's. "I've got this one," Kiwi said as she slid in behind it. After some maneuvering she got a gun kill. "Getting double teamed here," announced Surprise. "I'm on them," replied Nightshade. She got behind one and fired her cannon, though it only damaged him and made him break off. "Break Ditz!" Nightshade yelled. she did, and she fired a sidewinder, bringing the bandit down. "Spade the other planes are almost here!" Heart Throb yelled. "Ice where's our support?" Maverick asked. "Ghost Squadron is 150 miles out. Hang in there!" "Sure," replied Tornado. Black Widow shot one off of Kiwi's tail, then had Stormy shoot one off of hers. Then the other group of bandits arrived. "Now we've got J-10's, nice," Tornado said sarcastically. "There's too many!" yelled Kiwi. "Keep at it and don't stay in one spot too long," replied Maverick. It paid off as none of the bandits were able to get a lock on them. Kiwi managed to get a J-10, then Nightshade hit another with a sidewinder. Maverick and Black Widow got the next two, then the radio came to life. "This is Ghost One. Garuda dive on my mark." "Roger, you heard her ponies!" replied Maverick. "3-2-1- DIVE!" The squadron headed for the ground, they looked up and saw a wave of AMRAAMS fly in and hit the Changelings, taking out 11 of them. "Where did those come from? I'm not picking up any other planes!" a changeling yelled to his commander. "They must be stealths. Retreat!" And the remaining planes split and returned to their bases. "That's it. Scatter like the cockroaches you are!" yelled Nightshade. "Nice shooting Ghost," Maverick said. The formation of eight KF-X-201's pulled up alongside Garuda. "Our pleasure," Ghost One replied. "did you get the trucks?" "Yep. We turned that road into the highway to hell," replied Black Widow. "Sweet. Wish we could have been there," she replied. "Sky Eye to Garuda. Excellent job! Looks like you two have redeemed yourselves. With that threat gone we can continue on to Cantlin, and finally Gracemareia! You can go rest though. You'll need it for tomorrow." "Roger that," replied Tornado. As they got over North Star Pass, they saw wave after wave of aircraft heading the other direction towards Cantlin. "I'd love to join them, but I actually am tired," Nightshade said. "Tomorrow will be better anyway," replied Maverick. ------------------------ Chrysalis's palace 08:42 hours. "You called my queen?" "I've got something to show you," and she handed him a picture of vehicles burning. "What's special about it?" Sombra asked. "That's the eastern road to Gracemareia. And those were the trucks carrying your precious catalyst." She then presented another pair of pictures. "And those are the factories that make the two chemicals." Sombra almost exploded. "Those damn pests!" he yelled. "Oh and it was that Garuda squadron that took out the trucks. So much for that Silver Changeling you are a fanboy of. Oh and didn't he lose 2/3 of his squadron to them yesterday?" That statement made him snap. "He will take care of that fucking squadron," he replied. "I'll believe it when I see the wreckage," she replied. "If we lose Gracemareia this war is over." Sombra turned to leave. "And we're not using that other thing if we do," added Chrysalis. "That's what you think," he said under his breath. -------------------------------- Oured AFB 10:00 hours. The squadron was relaxing in the lounge when Slugger came in. "OK I've got a brief update on the situation." "How's it goin'?" Tornado asked. "First off: you two have had your suspensions lifted. You're back in it full time." "That's good to hear," replied Nightshade. "How's the attack going?" Maverick inquired. "We are pounding the shit out of them," he replied. "The ground forces have already reached the city. And our ground forces on the West and North sides of Gracemareia are ready to advance. It looks like we end this tomorrow." The statement resulted in some cheers. "The briefing will be at 08:00 tomorrow. The squadrons that will be involved in the attack are already on their way, or are ready, so when the time comes, it'll be a total blitz," Slugger replied. "I am so ready for this," Nightshade said. "Get some sleep. You'll need it," replied Slugger. ----------------------- Under Gracemareia 18:54 hours. Kreiko found himself trapped with the foals in a large chamber, with no apparent way out. It was their home. In one corner was a shortwave radio. In another was some boxes of obviously stolen army rations. "We are trapped in this room. With no way out." He watched a unicorn colt playing with a toy fighter jet. " That is Radar. He's pretending he's a fighter pilot, repeating stuff he heard Empire pilots announce over the radio. His parents owned a restaurant South of the castle. It was destroyed, and his parents killed by our initial air raids." He suddenly remembered a chocolate bar he had in his saddle bag, which the foals had returned to them. "Hey kid! Catch!" and he threw it to the earth colt, who was sitting at the table. He shared it with the others. A short time later, the purple earth mare, who was their leader, started singing the Crystal Empire's anthem, and soon the others joined in. "I thought of these foals as symbols of strife and despair, caused by the war. They're not. Though they are lonely, they're still proud of their country, and proud of their military, that is trying to take it back. There is no despair here at all. In fact, I feel something for the first time: Love. It's almost overwhelming." He wandered into the smaller chamber next to the big one, and couldn't believe what he saw. In it were the missing artifacts from the Castle, but more importantly, just above a pair of candles, the Crystal Heart. "And now it's all explained. The children have been protecting the heart... from us."