Wardogs
September 16th, 2005
1300 Hours
Southwestern Equestria
What came following the last battle had not been as dramatic as the first. As with their first fight against the Bloc near the Academy, it had been celebrated but not as much; this time there was much more trouble to contend with. Having violated the rules of engagement and actively killed Bloc combatants, there were plenty of strong words passed from higher up on the issue, particularly since the confusion barrier of not having R.O.E. during the Academy fight was not here this time. It was rather clear on what Cole was to do in that situation, and he intentionally broke it.
Once again, it was Spitfire who had to pass those words down to him. Once again, she seemed more concerned than angry at him; it was clear she understood why they had decided to fight, but she was still against it. From now on, she would act as the squadron’s liaison, taking Dash’s short-lived place in joining the squadron on patrols to keep an eye on them. No doubt she would be stricter than her compatriot had been.
Cole himself did not worry either way. The Equestrian leaders were the ones upset at him, but his real bosses, the Air Force officers back stateside, were secretly happy to see the Bloc hurting and American power finally being put to use. On top of that, he knew there was little chance of him being fired and replaced; the Equestrians needed the squadron and every man and plane in it. They complained a good deal, but he and Runner launched with the flight on patrol the next day as usual, the only change being Spitfire’s joining.
The main thing that concerned him was in the escape of the Griffon spy plane that had surveyed the powerful listening post’s construction, giving the enemy details on its secret purpose. They must have understood how important both of the sites were, as a short time after the group took off they began to receive reports from ground troops near the border, forwarded by the AWACS, of a single Changeling aircraft flying into Equestrian airspace far to the south. It was last seen over the ocean, heading directly towards the construction site of the southern post, which was under the code name ‘IRON MILL’.
There was a problem with units from the ground passing up reports as they did not possess radios, and as such it took longer to send them. By the time Cole, Runner, and the day’s patrol flight, Bravo, had arrived, the Changeling aircraft was already leaving. Spyglass sent out the notice to them first, topping the day’s first bad news of contact from before.
“Eagle, Spyglass. Unknown aircraft confirmed to have passed over IRON MILL and is moving back towards Changeling territory. Heading is two-six-four. Move to intercept immediately. How copy, over?”
“Solid Copy, Spyglass; Eagle moving to intercept,” Cole acknowledged with a bit more calm in his voice than yesterday.
“We’re not shooting this one down, Eagle One,” Spitfire’s voice chimed in over the radio. “I don’t want any more accidents. If we have to let it go then we will, but I don’t want anyone else dying on either side. Alright?”
“Sure thing, Colonel,” he replied before referring to his squadron. “You got that gang?”
“Two copies,” his XO replied.
“Bravo flight copies,” Lieutenant Maurice responded. “Colonel, I would like to respectfully state that this sounds like a bad idea. They already passed over and got some pictures, just letting them go with that seems like big trouble.”
“I know it is,” Spitfire replied, “but like I said, I just want to avoid fighting for now.”
“Sounds a little odd to be running down a bad guy just so we can kindly ask him to knock it off,” Maurice’s wingman responded.
“There’s always a chance it could work, Bugs,” Keno reminded him.
“Yea, maybe he was bird watching and accidently stumbled across our super-secret facility.”
“Lead, Two, I’ve got a question, over,” Cole’s wingman spoke up.
“Shoot Runner, over.”
“You think this is how God feels sometimes?”
“I… don’t quite understand,” the Captain responded in an addled voice.
“Well, a lot of people don’t pray unless they get into a lot of trouble,” Runner clarified, “and some people only call us if they’re in a lot of trouble, too.”
“Hm… well, Two, I can’t quite say that I’m in a… comparable position to that of the almighty,” Cole answered in a half-serious, half-jesting tone.
“Just a thought, sir.”
“You make it sound like a real possibility. Either way, we’ve got work to do, and we’ll have to double-time it to reach that spy plane.”
“Not sure if we can make it, Captain,” his wingman warned, “he’s a ways off already.”
“We’ll have to try, start sending out the surrender request. Get moving as fast as you can.”
The jets quickly increased their speed in an attempt to catch up with the Changeling spy plane. Spitfire increased her own pace to keep up, but began to fall slightly behind and tire out a bit, though she said nothing about it. The planes stayed in formation as they crossed over the ocean and slightly followed the shoreline, which was soon a ways off but still visible.
As Runner was sending warnings to the spy plane, similar to those sent to the Griffon one the day before, Cole got a chance to survey the scene. All of the planes were moving fast, but still in formation, and with the sun shining brightly, the reflection off their paint, particularly the white noses, gave an enticing look to them. The water below them also reflected the sun’s light in a lovely way, and the few scattered clouds that floated about did more to add to the scene than interfere or reduce visibility. He had always enjoyed flying, and the view he got from it, but the particularly beautiful scene gave him a chance to take in a breath of life and admire the privilege of being able to observe it, something he had not done in a while.
“Warning, warning,” the operator’s voice called from Spyglass, rousing Cole from his sightseeing. “Multiple high-speed bogies inbound, heading two-seven-seven. Counting eight in a tight formation, over.”
“Are they sending fighters to cover their spy plane again?”
“Similar speed and movement, same tactic as last time,” Spyglass reported, “most likely Fulcrums again. How copy, over?”
“Solid copy, Spyglass. Eagle One, out,” Cole replied, slightly annoyed from the new development. “Just how many jets does the Bloc have lined up at the border? I was kind of hoping the last dogfight would get them to back down a little; guess it had the opposite effect.”
“Eagle One, remember not to engage,” Spitfire reminded him, “we can’t catch that spy plane, so we’ll pull back if we have to.”
“Yea, they know from yesterday that we’ll shoot back,” he replied, “and we’ve only got a handful on our side. We’d better abort, all aircraft change course to zero-eight-zero and head back, this way. Copy?”
“Two copies, over.”
“Bravo copies, over.”
“Colonel, think you can stick to our tail, or you want us to take it slow?” Cole asked the pegasus.
It was unlikely a pegasus could outrun a fighter jet, even Spitfire. On top of this she was already winded from trying to keep up with the American's sprint to try and catch the spy plane. Now a pack of Fulcrums were moving in fast and they had to run in the other direction. On the other hand, they were more than likely targeting the Eagles, so there was a chance of being ignored outright by them.
“Yea, I’ll be fine One. Keep going, don’t fall within their range,” Spitfire ordered.
Cole could hear the exhaustion in the pony’s breath. She would not be able to keep up with the fighters, at the very least she could still possibly outrun the approaching Changelings, but the chance of that was low. Alternatively, she could fly low and be missed while they focused on the jets, or the Fulcrums could just turn around once they saw the Americans retreat. Regardless, Cole followed orders and now led his team in the opposite direction, flying quickly back across their previous route over the gleaming waters below.
“Eagle, Spyglass, bogies are breaking formation and increasing speed, over.”
“Understood, Spyglass, we’ll stay out of their range, out.”
Spitfire, on the other hand, could not keep out of their range. She did try to fly a bit lower, going through a few clouds to cover her presence, but it did little good. The Changeling Fulcrums did spot her, and she was so tired that there was no real chance of evading or running. The Americans, a short ways off and still visible in the distance, could still get away. She quickly found the broken formation closing in, and could tell at least one was going to be aiming for her.
“I can’t make it, they’re running me down!” she called out, then turning to her own thoughts. “Can I distract them and let the Americans escape? Maybe I can turn tight enough to make them miss and lose them? Ugh, it’s… it’s no good! I can’t get away from all of these, so what do I do!?”
Cole knew exactly what to do.
“You taking the trail position today, rock n’ roller?” he called, getting the excuse he wanted. “Hang on, I’ll clear your six.”
“W-what!? You don-“
“All Eagles break and engage!” he ordered without hesitation. “Runner, on me!”
Cole yanked back on the stick and pulled his craft up and over, turning it to the side to right it as it came to bear in the opposite direction as the other jets broke and made their own necessary moves. His wingman in tow and diving at a slight angle at almost the speed of sound, he easily made up the lost ground and picked out the first target of the Fulcrum closest to Spitfire. Achieving a lock-on for his AMRAAM, he pulled the trigger and launched the missile, sending it flying off towards the target.
Spitfire heard the loud crash behind her and felt the power of the explosion and her pursuer was turned to scrap and flame. She saw the forms of Cole and Walker’s Eagles shoot past her overhead with a loud roar, while the others began their own attacks. She knew she had a job to call on them to stop, but she could not find her voice. Her fear turned to a feeling she had not experienced before as she flew slightly down and out of danger and slowly away. Still keeping an eye on the fight as she moved off, she became hypnotized by the twisting fight above.
“Eagle, Spyglass. Be advised you do not have clearance to engage at this time,” the operator more reminded than warned him.
“Understood Spyglass, Eagle out.”
Bravo was already engaging, and the fight had quickly devolved into personal battles with hints of teamwork. Each pilot took his own target and tried to kill it as quick as they could, while also keeping notice in case any of their comrades were in danger. The Changelings, having been focused more on catching the pegasus, did not expect such an immediate counterattack and along with Cole’s kill lost two more in less than a minute’s time.
“One, break right, bandit on your tail,” Runner warned, spotting a Fulcrum drop behind Cole. “I’m on him.”
The Captain broke into a hard right, with the Changeling following and falling into Runner’s crosshairs, dying a few seconds later to a Sidewinder.
“Alright, not bad,” Cole called. “Thanks for watching my six, Two.”
The little slice of sky was filled with maneuvering aircraft and missile trails. It was difficult to keep track of every single piece of action, but Cole trusted his pilots could take care of themselves. In each one he observed, he saw the F-15 had the advantage, with their drivers giving sporadic reports to their work.
“Two-Four’s got one at my three o’clock, going after him.”
“Two-Five is locked, fire Fox Two! Fire Fox Two! He’s down, bandit’s terminated!”
“Two-Three, Bugs, you’ve got one at your four!” Lieutenant Maurice warned.
“I know, he hit his brakes on me when I got too close. Can you shoot him off me?”
“Affirmative, turn left and down. I’ll get a good shot,” Keno responded, pulling his fighter over as his wingman followed his instructions. “Ok, tracking now… got a lock! Fox Two… he’s dead!”
“Thanks for that, Two-One.”
“Actual, Two-One here, another bandit’s down,” Maurice reported. “I don’t see any more bandits. Are they gone?”
“Almost, I’m on the last one,” Cole said as soon as he dropped on the tail of a radically-maneuvering MiG.
The Changeling pulled up his speed and broke sharply, trying to out-turn the Eagle. Cole, however, was able to cut his speed a bit gain enough of a slight edge for a Sidewinder lock before it became too extreme. The bandit noticed the launch and fired off a succession of flares while sharply turning in the opposite direction. The Sidewinder barely missed, but it only bought the Changeling a few more seconds of life, as the turn had allowed Cole to get another lock, letting a second heater loose. This one found its mark right on one of the plane’s engines, causing it to catch fire and dive towards the ground in flame. The fiery trail falling across the blue sky, past the clouds, and into the water gave a satisfying conclusion to the Eagle Squadron’s second jet dogfight.
“Picture is clear, all unknown aircraft are destroyed or withdrawing, over” Spyglass reported.
“Copy, Spyglass. Be advised, Eagles are now low on fuel and need to R.T.B. to Everfree. How copy, over?”
“Solid copy, Eagle One. Spyglass, out.”
“All Eagles, sound off. Did we lose anyone this round, over?”
“Negative losses to Bravo, lead, over,” Maurice reported.
“Two is clear, over.”
“I-I’m… I’m still here,” Spitfire called in, her voice shaky.
The squadron regrouped and began to head for home. Cole noticed Spitfire flying back somewhat slowly, and reduced his speed to pull up close alongside her. She noticed, taking one look over her shoulder at the jet and its pilot before looking back forward.
“You good, Colonel?” he asked her.
“Yea, I’m not hurt.”
“A little shook up?”
“A little… I guess.”
“Alright, well try and keep calm, it’s all over now,” the Captain advised. “We all got out of this fight alive. That damned spy plane got away again, but we’re all breathing. That’s what’s important for now.”
“Yea… yea.”
Flying back, Spitfire oddly did not feel very ashamed in failing to do her job. It was no good, but whatever had come over her, she had no control. It was unlike something she had felt before, a feeling of helplessness and vain loss. She had been in combat before, but this experience held something new, something closer to the end than anything before, and before it happened she had been saved. After that, it was hard to make out a clear thought; she was very thankful to Cole, but everything else was somewhat blank, and the previous experience kept running through her head. The first new thought that entered was wondering if this was the same feeling Rainbow Dash had gotten when she first encountered Cole all those years ago.
“And you just kicked it clean off right?” Lieutenant Desser joked.
“Na, not quite,” Cowboy replied, recalling an old game he played in his high school days. “At this point no one’s got the ball, right? Guy on the other team just kicked it from a ways away at this angle hoping to get lucky and sneak in a goal. So it’s just kind of rolling, and my back’s to the goalkeeper, so I don’t know what he’s doing, if he’s looking the right way or anything.”
“Right, right,” Maurice repeated, sitting off on the table’s corner, the darkest part of the recreational room.
“So I’m at a good angle to kick it back a good ways, so the only thing running through my head is ‘kick this thing as hard as you can’,” the Texan explained. “And suddenly out of friggin nowhere, this guy from the other team literally, he literally slides in trying to knock the ball towards the goal, Hell if I know why, he must’ve wanted to do something fancy. But I’m already swinging and I hit this poor kid’s stretched-out leg dead-center, and it just flat-out breaks right there.”
“Shit Sylvester, how strong were you back then?” Cole asked.
“Pretty damn strong, apparently, but I’ve always felt bad for doing it.”
“I swear, Will, you must’ve injured half the population of Amarillo.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised.”
“So what happened to that guy?” Parrot asked, wanting to hear the story’s ending.
“Took him to the hospital and fixed him up, I remember visiting to apologize but I didn’t keep track after that. I heard he got back into soccer, though.”
There was a knock at the door, interrupting the group’s conversation. They all secretly hoped that it was not for trouble, as beyond the obvious distaste for disaster, relaxation time was a valuable treasure. The appearance of the yellow, fiery-maned pegasus gave some fear to that, but it was quickly stopped when it became clear she was in no rush.
“Cole, do you mind coming to talk in the hall for a minute?”
“Yes ma’am,” he responded, quickly getting up from his seat and meeting the pony in the white and quiet hallway. “Ma’am, I really am sorry for disobeying you today, if that’s what this is about. I didn’t mean any disrespect, I was just worried about your safety.”
“Hey, relax,” she comforted him, “and I told you I prefer-”
“-Spitfire, right. Sorry.”
“Don’t be, you won’t have to call me ‘ma’am’ anymore, anyways.”
“What do you mean?”
“They demoted me to Captain.”
“What!?” Cole jumped. “Christ… Spitfire, I’m so sorry. Damn… this is my fault.”
“You know that’s not really true… well maybe a little, but I could’ve at least tried way harder to stop you. After you guys started I didn’t really want to, didn’t feel like I could. Either way, I guess I’m down to your level now. Weird, huh?”
“Heh, yea… a little awkward.”
“Though you’re technically supposed to be ranked higher, huh?”
“Supposed to be; Squadrons can be led by Captains but that’s rare. Usually it’s higher, a Lieutenant Colonel or something. We’re all about one or two ranks down,” Cole explained, leaning back against the wall. “A little thank-you gift from Washington for all our hard work in their little experiment.”
Spitfire just shook her head, disapproving of the punishment.
“So, what are you going to do now? Are they taking you away from the Wonderbolts?”
“Nah, they may be mad but they’re not dumb. I’ve been leading that team for years and got it through this was with only a handful of losses. Those ponies won’t fly without me, and I won’t fly without them.”
“Handful? I thought there were a good deal of losses,” Cole asked, remembering the empty bunks at the Academy and Dash recounting the painful memories of her comrades not returning.
“Low… in comparison,” Spitfire stated, getting a bit shaky. “We did lose a lot, but as compared to what happened to other units, getting almost wiped out… we were able to avoid that… or maybe we got lucky.”
“Or both.”
“Yea, maybe, but I’ll take either of them. Most of the original squadron is still there; Soarin, Fleetfoot, Rapidash, Fire Streak,” she said, going down the list for her own satisfaction. “The ones that were killed got their spots filled in again, and those ended up being the ones that kept dying.”
“Replacements,” the American explicated. “They have a higher loss rate than experienced vets. Though in the end they either get the experience or die in the process.”
“You’re right, we ended up losing a lot more replacements than original members,” Spitfire explained. “Dash was a replacement, too. She was a Bolt reservist before the landfall, but because she was so important for being one of the Elements, and with the way the war started going, she had to be taken care of. The Princess said we couldn’t afford to lose her, so she was relegated to low-risk work. The replacements that came with her didn’t have that same privilege.”
“Well I’m glad things are better now, I can’t imagine how bad it must have been.”
“It was pretty bad; going up against jets with bows and spears is pretty one-sided.”
“Well, something tells me you guys won’t have to put up with wings and arrows for much longer. Before you know it you’ll be in a fighter. That’s a whole ‘nother world.”
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Aww ysss
Glad to see more of this. I really want to see it knocked into the equestrians head that their pacifist policy is a bad idea.
7340099
Aye, and I'm glad people like it. Admittedly I do wish there was a bit more exposure, but I'm just glad people still enjoy it.
Aye, that was partially the idea of the last few chapters. It'll still come up now and then but the next few will focus on military buildup.
7340532 sometimes I wish I could just give the exposure I've gotten to other people. I like Sci fi and military fiction a lot and that's what I'd rather write, but a romantic comedy I wrote to goof off got tons of attention.
7340757
Aye, but it's understandable. Stuff like that is simple and easy to follow and ends quickly. Nothing too complex. This kind of story is the one you have to put a lot of work into. Still, the enjoyment is appreciated.
They can kiss that radar advantage goodbye, you know those sites are going to be bombed, might as well pack up what they can before they do
Things keep heating up. Before we know it the war begins!!!
lol
I'm both excited and dreading that moment.
When next chapter! I need to know want happens!
Loved seeing this in my tracking folder! I'm thrilled to see it coming back strong.
Love the air battles in this! Very detailed. Later in the war how about seeing some stealth aircraft attacking the bloc? (F-117 Nighthawk, B2-Spirit, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning and possibly Northrop YF-23) Can't hit what you cant see!!
7343925
The U.S still has the stealth technology advantage.
Finally I had time to spare to read this, glad to see it back to action and now hoping to see it going strong.
7376029
I didn't forget, I did mention the entierty of the 1st MarDiv as being transferred, just wasn't specific with which of their units would get there at which time. I wanted to keep it simple in terms to help it sound like an actual discussion.
7403189
Away, life was busy for a while
7341025 im glad to see you back but i think whoever is in charge of the equestian forces is incompent they cannot win or keep civilians safe by doing nothing thinking peace and frienship will save them im not sure if this was celestia decion i havent read this in awhile but......celestias judgement maybe questionable and could and should be asked to take a more reasonable albet aggressive action against the bloc since her actions arnt working however if she refuses or continues her current methods sooner or later theyll be civilian losses which means celestia could be found compromised due to poor judgement and could be asked or ordred by say a tribunal to temporally step down as ruller until the bloc is dealt with and or declared fit to rule advolcating the throne to a family member such as luna or another pony such as twilight who has had to been trained in politics and millitant straegy
7488111
What do you mean? That is what they're doing, as volunteers I mean. They can't really teach the Equestrians anything since they don't have aircraft to use.
When's the next update?
7504599
I'll make a quick update for you.
7506748
Ohhhyeeeahhhhh!!!
How's the story writing coming along bro? Are the updates random or has life been kicking ass again? Lol
7508370
Life's always painful, just in different forms. Not sure exactly when the update will come but work is getting done, mostly with the other writers.
7508595
Can't wait bro!
7570562
I enjoy it more as well, easy and fun.
7824699
Thanks, I was hoping for that
7825078
Yea, I've got a bunch of chapters almost done, so it'll be soon in the coming days.
7897618
Yea, typo actually. Thanks for pointing that out
Holy heck Celestia is dumb. You can't win a war by not figniting.