//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Final Encounter // Story: Ace Combat: The Wolfpack Missions // by Lonewolf78 //------------------------------// Tantagel AFB July 11 2024 06:00 hours. The group woke up at the usual time and went through the daily ritual of eating breakfast and getting ready for the day's mission briefing, which had been bumped up to 9AM. They took the extra time to relax a bit. At just before 9 they headed to the situation room. Omar showed up and got the briefing underway. "Mornin' pilots. Well here's today's agenda. First off...." he held back a giggle. "We received the peace papers from the Centaurs..." he held back another laugh, which had everyone wondering what was going on. "...and the Dragonlord has already... signed off on them." It was getting harder for him to hold back on the laughing. "What do you mean signed off on it?" asked Garble. "He signed off on it by... LITERALLY WIPING HIS ASS WITH IT!" Omar doubled over from laughing, and the entire room erupted with it. "That's my father!" cracked Ember. "And that's why we love him!" replied Garble. Everyone finally calmed down enough to continue. "So yeah no peace deal with them. We continue to bomb until they are all dead, and that's where today's mission comes in. Tirek will get the peace papers back around 16:00. At that time we will launch the biggest air and ground strike so far. Our southern ground forces are through the southern pass, and the northern forces are ready for the cutoff. Before they go in, around 700 aircraft from our air force, Equestria, and the Crystal Empire,and of course all mercenaries will strike their main forces at Aisan and between Owari and Tafuji. Equestria and the Crystal Empire's main force will be nearly all of their long range bombers, dropping iron and GPS bombs, and launching cruise missiles. The rest will mostly be small fighters, bombers and attackers including Equestria's two Nosferatu squadrons, which will fly in ahead of the main force and take out any air targets, then patrol the border with Centaria and waste any planes that try to come in." "Sounds like we'll have it pretty easy," commented Garble. "Don't let your guard down though," replied Omar. "And in addition to that, the Equestrian navy will launch a cruise missile attack on the Centaur's battle group that was responsible for the missile attack on Firebane. Some of Equestria's bombers will attack the airbase the strike came from, and all of their chemical weapons stockpiles and manufacturing plants. They found the locations of them thanks to that spy you saved yesterday Wolfpack." That comment caused some stirring amongst the dragons. "Right on guys!" yelled Indigo. Omar then gave the assignments to all of the squadrons. "Wolfpack: You will head to Owari air force base and bomb it and the surrounding area to eliminate the Centaurs there. Fido: We've seen your new plane and will load you out with mavericks and clusters, and a couple of sidewinders. The train leaves at 16:00. Let's deal the Cents a blow they will never recover from!" And some cheers erupted. After the meeting the gang went out to the flight line to see Fido's new plane. First they stopped at Sunset's to see it's new engines. "Watch how you move the stick. That thrust vectoring will amplify whatever movements you're used to making in it," Redwing said to Blaze. "I know. I'll take it up to get used to it before the mission," she replied. They then went to the end of the flight line to Fido's new plane, which left them stunned. "No way," Shadow said. "How?" asked Alvinar. Fido's new plane was an A-10 decked out in the same camouflage and insignia as Spot's. "How did you get that?" Sunset asked. "McCoy has had it for awhile, but no merc has ever wanted it. As for how he got it i don't know," replied Fido. "That's because pretty much all merc's want a multirole fighter so they can handle any situation," Kitori said. "If you want a plane that can rain hell on the enemy and get you back safe, the hog is the way to go," commented Helia. "You have sidewinder rails so you have a bit of air to air capability. I heard about hogs shooting down other planes in the last two wars," added Nightglider. "Does it have a radar?" Redwing asked. "Yeah. McCoy found one, plus it can drop laser guides," replied Fido. "Then you're set. You pretty much have an A-10C,"replied Alvinar. "Well let's give them a shake down run before the mission," announced sunset. And they got into their planes and headed up to try them out. Fido took off first, then Sunset. When she rotated she went almost vertical and had to nose over a bit. "Damn. This is going to take some getting used to," she thought to herself. She tried some more basic maneuvers, learning how much less she had to move the stick to turn the aircraft. After about 30 minutes of that she tried dogfighting moves like the cobra and split S, and found she could do them better than before. Finally she tried a backflip, which went perfectly. Meanwhile Fido was getting used to the controls of his, and once he had the hang of it he headed over to the Dragon's gunnery range to try out the avenger. After a little over an hour they returned to the base. "I thought you were a pilot not an astronaut?" cracked Serana as Sunset got down from her plane, in reference to her vertical takeoff. "It felt like it," she replied. "So how was yours Fido?" "Awesome. Just awesome. I'm ready to shred some armor," he replied. "Well let's relax some more while they fuel and arm them again," Sunset said. And they headed back inside. ----------------------- Dragon Kingdom 14:00 hours. The airbases around the kingdom erupted with the sound of jet engines spooling up. Soon aircraft began streaming from the runways and forming up into groups. As they got to the mountain range they refueled and went into racetrack patterns to await the signal to go in. At the same time the southern ground force began streaming out of the pass and onto the flatlands, and the northern force came down and stopped a few miles north of Tafuji, encountering a bit of resistance that was quickly destroyed. The trap was set. ------------------------ LRS Sea Demon SE of Tafuji 15:27 hours. The Sea Demon and two other subs from the former NLR Navy were preparing to launch a massive 3 prong anti ship missile attack on the Centaur's guided missile cruiser battle group that took part in the Firebane air base attack. "Con radio: We've received word from the Swordfish and Dorado that they are ready to launch." "Very well. Tell them to open their outer doors and fire at 17:30," replied the Sea Demon's captain. "aye aye sir." "Weapons con: open outer doors on anti ship missile tubes one thru twenty and prepare to fire." The missile tube doors opened on the massive carrier sub almost at the same time the tube doors opened on the Seawolf and Oscar class subs also, and the TASMs were ready to launch. The Swordfish was 30 miles south of the battle group in international waters, while the Dorado was 30 miles west of it just inside Centaria territorial waters. The goal being to overwhelm the battle group's defenses, which was sitting just off the Centaria coast south of Bruma. At 17:30 the missiles began flying. The Harpoons, Tomahawks, and Shipwrecks shot out of the water and headed for the battle group, which quickly picked them up on radar. Launching them so close gave them little time to prepare. "Captain! Multiple vampires inbound from the east!" Yelled the radar operator on one of the Kirov class cruisers. "Activate defenses!" he replied. "Captain more from the south! And from the west! over 30 inbound!" "BATTLE STATIONS!" The defenses of the two Kirov class cruisers and their eight escorts opened up, but as planned they couldn't handle a three prong attack, and 30 minutes later all of the ships were burning and sinking. "We got all of em'!" Yelled the sonar operator of the Sea Demon. "Excellent. Secure the missile tubes and let's get out of here," replied the captain. -------------------------- South of Seaside, Centaria 15:30 hours. At the same time Equestria's squadron of B-2's were preparing their missile strikes on the chemical weapons sites. "Coordinates locked in, we're ready to fire." "Roger. Begin launch." The bomb bay doors opened, and the huge supernova stealth cruise missiles dropped out and sped off to their targets. None of them were detected until the sites started exploding. Their thermobaric warheads obliterating them and burning up any chemicals released. Not far away Equestria's other bombers plus those of the Crystal Empire launched their cruise missiles against radars and airbases, including the one the Knights were stationed at. Back at the groups, Sentinel One finally gave the word. "All planes drive drive!" "Let's do it pack!" announced Sunset. And them and the other squadrons headed in. The nosferatu squadrons led the way, dealing with any air threats. They then headed to the border with Centaria and started patrolling. Any more Centaur aircraft trying to head in would get swatted before they reached the border. Then the bombs and air to ground missiles began flying. Centaria ground forces found themselves under heavy bombardment from the air. At the same time artillery from the southern ground force began opening up on them, and in short order the Centaur's first defensive line was destroyed. ---------------------- Centaria Palace 16:26 hours. "Lord Tirek. We have received the peace accord from the Dragons," his aid announced. "Well I'll be. They actually agreed to our terms," he replied as his aid handed the envelope to him. "What's that smell?" another member of his cabinet asked. The answer came when Tirek opened the envelope and pulled the papers out. "IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE HUMOROUS!?" he roared. "I take it they don't want peace then?" his aid sheepishly asked. "FINE." he said, throwing the papers down. "If that's how they want it, launch another cruise missile strike. On their capitol." Then one of his generals burst into the room. "Your highness! we're under massive attack!" he yelled, merging some of his words together. "Calm down.How are we under massive attack?" Tirek asked. "The Dragons are launching a huge air and ground offensive on our lines from two sides. We're close to losing our first defensive line," he replied. "What? Get air support in there!" "We can't. Equestria already has the border locked down. Our planes can't get withing 20 miles of it without getting shot down. And that's not it." Tirek was starting to look worried. "What else?" The cruise missile battle group was attacked from three sides by what we are sure were sub launched anti ship missiles. We've lost the whole group." "WHAT!?" yelled other members of the cabinet that had showed up. "That damn Equestria!" snapped Tirek. "And to finish it: All of our chemical weapons stockpiles and manufacturing plants were destroyed by thermobaric weapons." Tirek was ready to explode. "HOW? How did they find where they were, and what did they use?" "We're sure they were Equestria's stealth cruise missiles launched by stealth bombers, as nothing was picked up on radar," the general replied. "Damn those ponies!" exclaimed Tirek. "what are your orders Lord?" Tirek sighed. "Pull back across the river and regroup near Tafuji," he said. "Yes your highness." -------------------- Near Owari, Dragon Kingdom 18:28 hours. Back at the battle, Wolfpack finally got called to a target. "Sentinel Two to Wolfpack: Proceed to 34 miles southeast of Owari. It appears some troops are retreating to their 2nd defensive line at the river east of Tafuji. Make sure they don't reach it." "Roger, we're on it," replied Sunset. And the group sped off towards them. It didn't take long to find them. "There they are. Looks like mostly armor and a few trucks," announced Redwing. "Want the honor Cruncher?" Sunset asked. "With open arms," he replied. He dived on the convoy and dropped his cluster bombs, decimating the armor and planting mines that stopped their advancement. "Nice opener Cruncher!" Nightglider said. He then turned around and started firing his mavericks. The others quickly joined in, and the convoy was destroyed. "Blaze to Sentinel Two: The targets have been completely destroyed." "Nice job. If you have anything left, head to northeast of Owari and assist the Lancers and Screamers," he replied. And they turned around and headed for them. But not for long. "Hold on a second. Sentinel Two to Wolfpack: nine bogeys from the west. 52 miles at angels one." "I thought Equestria was keeping them bottled up?" Alvinar said. "They are. Guess a few were hanging around somewhere," replied Sentinel Two. "Roger. We're turnin' and burnin'" she replied. "I better head low," Fido said. And he headed down to as close as the ground as possible. As they got within range, their IFF's went off. "Showing as mercenaries," announced Helia. "That explains why Equestria didn't shoot at them..." Redwing was cut off by Sunset firing two Adders at the bogeys. "Blaze. Shooting without proper ID?" Kitori asked. "I know who they are," replied Sunset. And suddenly everyone else realized who it was. "Shooting at neutral mercenary targets? That's not very nice," a voice said over the radio. "And squawking a neutral IFF code while working for someone is a violation of the rules of engagement Starlight," replied Sunset. "No it's being smart," she replied as her group fired missiles. "One thing's for sure: This WILL be our final encounter." "You've got that right," replied Sunset. and the fight was on. Like the last time neither side could get a lock on the other long enough to fire, Sunset especially thanks to her new engines. "Hold still," Starlight said. "Nope," replied Blaze as she did a cobra and got behind her. "I want to thank you for destroying one of my engines last time. It forced me to get these new thrust vectoring ones." Starlight growled, and started maneuvering to get her off her tail. "Oh and I see you're missing one plane," Starlight said. "We still have nine," replied Sunset". Mindful that somewhere below them Fido was lurking. The Knight's MiG-35's and SU-27's would be more than he could handle, and he could come in handy. "The loser in the Kfir doesn't count." "Shove it you twat! I'll make you pay for what you did to my wingmates!" snapped Kitori. Rover tried to get Blue Knight, but he evaded and got behind the dog. "I need help!" "We're all going to need it," replied Alvinar. "K-Dog head for the deck," Sunset said. "Too bad you won't be getting help with everyone else off bombing," Starlight said as she fired a heat seeker at Sunset, which she dodged. "You underestimate us," Sunset replied as she pulled up and snap rolled in behind Glimmer's Typhoon. Rover dove down to 1,000 feet in a turn, then he got a call. "K Dog: Come to 170 and gun it." "Rover did that, and just before Blue got tone he pulled up sharply. The next thing Blue saw was Fido's A-10 coming at him. "Surprise motherfucka!" Fido fired his cannon and pulled up. The 30mm rounds designed to punch through tank armor shredded the MiG. "Blue Knight is down!" yelled the new Red Knight. "what? How?" Glimmer asked. "Oh did I say nine planes? I meant ten, my bad," cracked Sunset. "Now it's our turn." "Did anyone see the other plane?" Starlight asked the others. "It's somewhere near the deck," replied Gold Knight. Just then Alvinar also dived down with Cyan Knight on his tail and pulled up. No sooner than he did Cyan found a sidewinder from Fido on his tail. He banked hard and kicked flares to lose it, and Alvinar immediately turned around and got on his tail. He fired a sidewinder and an AMRAAM, taking him out. "Cyan's down!" The odds were now well within Wolfpack's favor. "Dammit did anyone see that other plane?" snapped Glimmer. "Yeah I see it. It's a warthog," replied Gold Knight. "Get him!" yelled Glimmer. And Gold went down to the deck. "Oh no you don't!" yelled Kitori as she broke off from chasing Gray and dived to help Fido. Gold got a couple of missiles off at him, but the hog's tight turning capability and countermeasures made dodging them easy. Before she could fire a third, Kitori got her with a sidewinder. "Gold's down!" "DAMMIT!" snapped Starlight. "Tell you what: To make it better odds for your other members, you and me one on one until one of us is dead," Sunset said. "Bring it," replied Glimmer. And Sunset made a break for the mountains, with Starlight in hot pursuit. "Good luck Blaze," Redwing said, just before raking White Knight's plane with cannon fire, sending him down. Now the only Knights left were Gray, Red, and Silver, and despite their best efforts, and an attempt to run, soon fell. Serana got a missile kill on Red, Helia gunned down Gray as he tried to gun down Shadow, and Spot took care of Silver. While that was going on, Sunset and Starlight were still duking it out. Glimmer dodged some cannon fire, then spun around and got behind Sunset. Both were running low on missiles and countermeasures. "So who will run out of chaff and flares first?" Starlight asked. "Whoever does loses, and it won't be me," replied Sunset. She had another radar guided shot at her that she dodged. Then she got an idea. Weither or not it would work she didn't know since she had pulled the same stunt on her before. She hit the brakes and did a split S to lose Starlight, then she gunned it towards the setting sun and a mountain range. 'Running already?" Starlight said as she turned to give chase. Sunset flew just below the tops of the mountains, causing her altitude warning to go off. Starlight was starting to gain and had a missile lock just as she reached them. Sunset slowed down and pulled up just enough to clear the peaks, then went down the other side and did a cobra. Starlight lost her in the sun and flew right over her. Sunset then gunned the throttle. "Oops you blew it," sunset said as she fired two Archers. Starlight saw them but it was too late. "NO!" Starlight's plane exploded and went down. "That was our last encounter Black Knight," Sunset said as she turned to head back to the others. "Blaze are you OK?" Redwing asked. "Yes I'm fine. Sentinel Two the bandits are down," she said. "Roger. I should've known they were bandits. Do you have any ordnance left?" he asked. "We've got some," she replied as she caught up to the others. "OK go ahead and return to Tant...." "BLAZE BEHIND YOU!" yelled Shadow. A heat seeker was closing in. "I'm out of flares!" she replied as she tried to evade it. Unbeknownst to them White Knight had recovered from getting shot up, and fired one last round. Suddenly there was a huge gray streak behind her and some flares appeared, and she lost the missile. "What the hell was that?" Sunset said. The light was fading, but they saw White Knight break off and another going after him. A few minutes later there was an explosion. "Sentinel Two who was that aircraft?" Sunset asked. "what aircraft? Hold on... There's a faint contact coming up behind you now. Must be a stealth." Just then their IFF went off. It was a Dragon plane. "A stealth? The Dragons don't have any," Redwing said. "No they don't, but I do," a voice said. The IFF went to mercenary briefly, and everyone knew who it was. "The Great One," Spot said. The mercenary laughed. "While I appreciate the title, you know my name," and the 2 tone gray F-22 slowly descended to above and inside their formation. "So how were you in the right place at the right time?" Sunset asked. "I've been watching you. Or more like watching the Knights." That response surprised everyone. "How long and why were you watching them?" Helia asked. "Ever since they did the raid on Firebane using their mercenary IFF. I hate mercenaries who break the rules like that, and counting this time that made it four times they've done it in this war," he replied. "Wow. That's pretty low," Redwing said. "I was waiting around with the nosferatu squadrons to nail any Centaur that got past them, but none did so I came south, and I found the Knights and followed them. I saw them engage you and when I heard one of you call for help, I was ready to jump in, but didn't need to because you handled them nicely. I was getting ready to head back to the border when I caught that last Knight coming back up." "Wow. Well thanks for saving my tail," Sunset said. "you're welcome. I know you try to be modest about your accomplishments, but I've heard about them, and now have seen what you can do, and it's safe to say you're turning into one of the best mercenary pilots there is. You might even take my spot some day. And she won't be able to do it without the rest of you. You're one of the best teams out there." Sunset was speechless. "Well, thanks. I guess I've repented for my sins of working for the Legion of Discord," she replied. "In my eyes you did that with your betrayal of the Changelings to save that village. Don't forget though: If you hadn't worked for them you wouldn't have the team you do now," he replied. Sunset never thought of it that way. "Well I'm going back to the border. The nosferatus will be running low on missiles by now. It was nice to meet all of you." "What was it like up there?" shadow asked. "Total slaughter. Fireballs raining down from the sky all along the border. At least 50 shot down. Scrap metal hunters will be busy for months," he replied. "See you later," Sunset said. And he pulled up and peeled off back towards the west. Shortly afterwards they got a call. "Sentinel Two to Wolfpack: Change of plans. Head to San Sabas air force base to refuel and rearm." "Roger Sentinel," replied Sunset. "I wonder why?" Serana asked. "Guess they want us to turn and burn faster," replied Redwing. Back near the mountains, a pilot took off her parachute and helmet. She looked towards the column of fire and smoke that was her plane, then just turned and started walking.