Operation Varsity
Ace Combat: Shattered Friendships
Operation Varsity
Author: Draconis187
Though I fly through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no Evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing.
The briefing room was quiet as usual as the pilots and mercenaries found their respective seats. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with Pinkamena’s combat knife as the mare in question sat next to Cipher with a neutral expression adorning her face.
Solace also had a rare, serious expression on his face, everypony in the room did. Twilight’s happy demeanour had been completely replaced by a look of anxiety, fear and hope all rolled into one as she stood in front of the group with the projector.
Pictures of a collection of buildings in the snowy hills near the Crystal Empire flashed as the slides changed from one to the other. There were SAM sites between the town’s buildings and amongst the snowy hills nearby. Pictures of ZSUs and other assorted AA defences flashed past for the pilots to take note.
“This is Solis Ortus. We are to assist in a close air support mission for the Allied Forces as they take it back from the Griffons,” Twilight explained. “Thanks to the success of Campaign No. 4101 the rest of the Allied Forces have been fighting back. We’ve actually been winning.”
The pilots and mercs cheered, save for Pinkamena and Cipher. Twilight ignored it and continued, “What’s more, Saddle Arabia has finally gotten involved. They will be assisting us in further operations on the ground alongside our forces.
“I want Galm to take out the SAMs and AA in the outlying hills and the town itself while the Wonderbolts escorts the 101st and the 122nd Airborne. Grabcr, Vampir, I want you to assist with both but don’t stretch yourselves. If it’s an immediate threat, take it out quickly.”
Snake and Techno nodded their heads, “Got it.”
“So they’re doing the legwork aren’t they? This ‘Airborne?’” Solace asked, addressing Twilight.
Twilight nodded, “Yes. The Airborne consists of mostly Crystal Ponies and Earth Ponies to make up the bulk of the task force since they are more resilient to attack. There are Unicorns and Pegasi as well for support, medical and otherwise. The actual success of the mission depends on them driving out the Griffons stationed in the town.”
“At least we aren’t stuck with babysitting,” Pinkamena commented callously to Cipher who nodded her head in agreement.
“Time to pony up!” Dash shouted, raising her hoof high into the air with a determined look on her face.
The rest of the Wonderbolts cried out in unison with righteous fury burning in their eyes. Cipher could admire their fervour in their duty but she knew they couldn’t afford to get overly confident.
“Suit up ponies. We leave in half an hour,” Twilight said, shutting the projector off and leaving the room to get to the AWACS.
In half an hour on the dot, the thunderous roar of jet engines filled the area as the AWACS led the planes into the sky. Ponies saluted the pilots as they flew off but Cipher noticed many were waving at her..
**** **** **** ****
The squadrons met up with the C-130 Tactical Airlifters, the landscape beginning to turn white as they neared their target. The skies above Solis Ortus began to get a little turbulent as the Allied Forces flew through clouds, maintaining their altitudes in the air as they breached the town’s airspace.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“We have incoming!” A griffon shouted to her comrades. “It’s the Allied Forces with C-130s!”
“Call it in and get to your posts!” One of the officers’ shouted as the Griffons scrambled and got ready to take the Allies down.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Twilight cleared her throat before speaking over the radio, “We’re ten miles out, everypony. Sound off.”
“Galm Two here. I’m ready,” Pinkamena responded flatly.
“Galm One ready,” Cipher deadpanned.
“Wonderbolts ready!” Rainbow said with a cheer.
“Grabcr is ready for the mission,” Snake said.
“This is the 101st! We are ready! Yeaaaah!” A loud voice shouted.
“Snowflake? That you?” Rainbow asked incredulously.
“Yeaaah!” The voice replied.
Rainbow chuckled while Twilight facehoofed, “Yup, that’s Snowflake.”
Twilight groaned at Rainbow and Snowflake’s comments, “Alright. We’ve reached the operation’s airspace. Take your positions.”
“Roger that,” Solace said. “Vampir Squadron is ready to roll.”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Galm broke off from the group and sped across the landscape. Cipher flew close to the ground, the wake of her F-15 tearing up snow and blowing trees backwards as she flew towards the closest SAM. The plane skimmed near the top of the treeline as her HUD registered a lock on.
With a single press of a button, the missile disconnected from her plane and sped towards the SAM. The missile collided with it, creating an inferno as Cipher flew straight past and headed for the next target without a word.
Pinkamena flew higher in the air as she approached the first grouping of civilian buildings. In the middle of them, an AA battery was stationed to help defend it with a SAM several metres away. Pinkamena pulled back on the fight stick and came down towards the ground, perpendicular to the AA.
Her HUD locked onto the AA as her red tipped Eagle sped downwards. She fired the missile and pressed another button to switch targets. Her HUD locked onto the SAM as it did the same. Her entire HUD lit up red as the SAM fired at her.
She banked and pulled on the controls to avoid the missile, deploying chaff and a flare. The missile lost interest with her and exploded harmlessly.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
The Airborne’s C-130s were getting close to the first drop point. Grabcr broke off from the 101st’s plane to assist Pinkamena while Cipher sped along the outside of the area, taking out another SAM from her close proximity to the ground.
Snake and Techno flew towards the SAM with Snake in the lead. The SAM locked onto him first and fired. Snake smiled and jinked to avoid it, deploying countermeasures. Techno locked onto the SAM as they locked onto him but his missiles were already in range. He fired as he pulled up to avoid the incoming missile. His attack had hit home as the SAM exploded with some force.
“First drop point is wide open!” Twilight shouted.
“Get your flanks in to gear ponies!! You gotta jump or you’re of no value to this unit! Anypony showing weakness will be left behind! Use that anger to get fired up and take ‘em out! Understood?! Yeaaah!!” Snowflake shouted. “Go go go go!!”
Ponies began to jump out of the plane. Some extended their own pair of wings, gliding down to the ground while the rest deployed their parachutes.
“We’re the best! We’re the best!” A stallion shouted as he jumped out of the plane.
“Move move move! Don’t stop to think! Just keep moving!” Snowflake shouted before leaping out of the plane. “Yeaaah!!!”
“They’re a brave bunch of soldiers, I’ll give them that.” Pinkamena commented flatly.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Vampir broke off to engage three F-16Cs that were on an intercept course with the C-130s. The trio avoided Vampir’s gunfire as they closed the distance between them. Solace banked to the right as the rest of his squadron broke formation to engage.
Vampir Two chased one of the F-16Cs, banking to the left and the right as his target kept trying to throw him off with some evasive manoeuvres. Bullets flew through the air as Vampir Two attempted to gun down his target.
They collided with the F-16C’s engine, tearing small holes into the combustion chamber. The holes began to leak red hot jet fuel for a few seconds as the holes expanded quickly. In less than 30 seconds later, the plane exploded and Twilight confirmed the kill.
Solace was being chased by the other two F-16Cs as he dodged a pair of missiles by deploying countermeasures. He pulled back on his controls and climbed into the air. As he gained altitude, he pulled back on the throttle and kept pulling the flight stick back.
His plane whined as it turned faster than it should have, getting both into view. With a press of a button, his active loadout switched from his standard missiles to his XMAA loadout. His HUD chimed as it locked onto them and in an instant, he fired.
Two missiles fired from Solace’s Flanker simultaneously and sped toward their targets. The one F-16C jinked hard and the missile detonated on its underside, near the exhaust of the engine. The plane exploded and the cockpit could be seen falling down to the ground, spinning around out of control.
The other F-16C received the missile head on. The tip shattered the cockpit’s glass and killing the pilot as it detonated. Pieces of the aircraft fell down to the ground with various parts burning and smoking.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Cipher flew upwards, following the hill’s curve and shooting upwards, high into the air as the last outlying SAM got torn apart with some well placed gunfire. It left only the defences within the town itself and the ones just on the outskirts to deal with.
“You got company!” Twilight warned as the radar picked up more planes entering its range. “We have four contacts to the east, four to the northwest and three to the north, all heading for the C-130s.”
“Understood, Twi. Come on, Wonderbolts. They are not getting these planes!” Rainbow said with defiance evident in her voice. “We are going to split up into two teams to take out the ones to the east and northwest. Dust, Blaze and Streak, you are coming with me to intercept the ones to the east while Spitfire takes the rest to intercept the ones coming from the northwest.”
“Understood, Wonderbolt One,” Spitfire replied. “You heard the mare!”
The Wonderbolts broke formation and reformed into two smaller wedge formations, on intercept trajectory with their opponents. They all increased their throttle, making their planes’ engines scream loudly as they streaked across the sky.
“We got the northern group, everypony,” Solace informed over the radio.
Vampir sped off towards the group from the north, catching up with the Wonderbolts. The three groups flew side by side until the Wonderbolts turned away in sync towards their respective targets. They soon got close enough for their IFF to register what they were fighting.
The group from the northwest were all F-22s while the one from the east were Typhoons and the one coming in from the north were another group of F-16Cs.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Cipher rolled her plane, flying upside down as she avoided an AA as it fired at her. Bullets flew, scraping her Eagle as she reciprocated with a missile. The AA exploded into fragments of metal as Cipher corrected herself and flew off to her next target.
Pinkamena pressed a switch, changing her selected loadout to her bombs. Her pipper lined up perfectly with an AA gun, and with a single press of the button, one of her bombs were released. The horrid green coloured metal container fell to the ground, whistling through the air before making contact with a ZSU-23-4 AA tank. The self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle detonated in a fireball, creating a small fire in the process.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Vampir intercepted the Falcons and proceeded to try killing each other in a dogfight. Vampir Three ‘drifted’ through the air as he attempted to get behind one of the Falcons. His body was pressed up against his seat as the G-forces tried to tell him he was pushing too hard.
But it was their signature move to ‘drift’ through the air and they knew the risks of performing it. Vampir Three stopped and corrected his plane, firing a burst of rounds as the F-16C he was attempting to take down rolled to the left.
Vampir Three caught his target’s right wing with a few rounds. A lucky shot broke one of the hydraulics in the aileron, impeding his turning ability. Capitalising on the situation, his HD chimed and he fired a missile. The Falcon was destroyed in a burst of red, orange and blue.
Solace wasted little time and switched his active loadout to his XMAA and fired an entire salvo. All four missiles sped across the sky, leaving a smoking trail as they converged on his target. The plane was utterly obliterated from the air and the M.A.R.S. in his plane reloaded his missiles after a few seconds.
Vampir Two on the other hoof was having a little less luck with his target as the Falcon was chasing him. His HUD screamed with missile alerts and his plane made unpleasant noises as bullets threatened to turn him into Swiss cheese. His plane was running short of flares and chaff as another missile made his HUD go berserk.
“Here comes the cavalry!” Solace said cheerfully as he and Vampir Three came towards Vampir Two from two different angles.
Solace came down from above while Vampir Three came in from Vampir’s right, a few feet under him. His wingponies let loose with their guns, creating two streams of rounds to fly through the air.
The Falcon dodged to the right but got caught in Vampir Three’s gunfire. The nose got torn to shreds as the rounds penetrated the plane, killing the pilot as he got riddled with bullets.
The plane lost control and flew into a nosedive, crashing to the ground. A large pillar of snow and fire erupted from the point of impact, reducing the plane to near nothing but scrap.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Grabcr were dodging missiles from SAM sites and gunfire from AA as they attempted to destroy them. Snake flew at high speed, firing a missile at an AA before banking to avoid an incoming missile. The Griffons were not doing them any favours and were trying to make it as hard as possible.
Techno was having an easier time as the Widow’s radar-reflective nature allowed him to get closer than Snake before his plane got locked on. Snake tore a SAM apart with well placed gunfire, ceasing its ability to retaliate.
AA fire from the remaining emplacements filled the air once more as Galm and Grabcr got close to taking them out again.
“They’re chipping my paint!” Pinkamena shouted angrily. “Do you know how much paint costs?!”
She flew high in the air, coming down towards the offending AA like a rocket. Her pipper lined up with the AA and she dropped both bombs at the same time before pulling up to avoid the incoming rounds. The combined attack created a shockwave that rippled through the town, shattering nearby windows and knocking Griffons out of the air.
Even the 101st near the blast were affected, their ears were ringing fiercely and were knocked off their hooves. Snowflake merely adjusted his helmet, dusted off his protective clothing and charged at the Griffons with his trademark yell.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Cipher tore across the sky, skimming over the tops of Solis Ortus’ buildings, using them for cover from AA as she targeted a SAM a few buildings away. Due to her flying so close to the buildings, the SAM could barely lock onto her until she flew past the last one.
As the SAM tried to lock onto her, she pulled the trigger on her joystick. Her Eagle fired upon the SAM, killing a few unlucky Griffons who were too close to her target. The SAM exploded as a few rounds met with a missile, detonating it and causing a chain reaction, obliterating the rest of the SAM.
Snake barrel rolled, avoiding AA fire as he acted as a decoy for Techno. The Widow fired at the offending AA with a few well placed rounds. His attack brutalised the ZSU’s internal workings and destroyed its radar dish that stood atop the turret, rendering the crew inside blind.
With Techno’s attack done, Snake changed course and flew directly towards the AA. His HUD chimed as the crew inside tried to fire back at him, only for the four guns to jam and seal their fate. Snake fired a single missile at the ZSU and promptly destroyed it, adding it to his squadron’s tally.
Galm and Grabcr continued to systematically destroy the Griffons’ Anti-Air capabilities, clearing the path for the rest of the Airborne despite they did suffer a few losses on the ground but that was out of their hooves.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Dash and her group dispersed and were locked in four separate, simultaneous dogfights. The Typhoon she was chasing was faster and more manoeuvrable but that did not deter her or her squadron. The Wonderbolts were known for many things but one of their most important traits was their ability to work as a team.
As Dash chased her target, Lightning Dust came down towards them from above as she had abandoned her target. Dust’s HUD chimed as her plane locked onto the Typhoon. With a press of the trigger, her plane opened fire as Dash broke off her chase in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
The Typhoon had its left side riddled with holes, causing it to spiral wildly out of control. Lightning cheered as she racked up the kill and veered off to avoid the Typhoon she was chasing as it was now chasing her.
Blaze feared he was in danger of going deaf as his plane wailed at him with continuous missile alerts. His Gripen was taking strain as he pulled manoeuvres that would have been better suited for a more advanced plane. He banked hard and corkscrewed in the air.
The Typhoon followed with ease, keeping him in his crosshairs as they circled in the air. As the Typhoon got another lock-on, a missile came at him from Dash and destroying the rear of his plane. The pilot lurched forwards from the shockwave and bashed his beak against his instruments, dazing him as what was left of the plane fell to the ground.
That just left the last two of the group which had decided that it was better to retreat and live to fight another day. The Wonderbolts didn’t chase them, knowing once they turned up their throttles, they couldn’t catch them and choose to fly towards Spitfire’s group instead to lend assistance.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Spitfire had been facing a similar dilemma as her Gripen was getting assaulted by bullets by an F-22. She was a great pilot but a pilot was limited by their plane’s ability as they could only stretch it so far. She felt something as the next burst of rounds flew past her, one passing past her head and colliding with one of her instruments.
She cursed under her breath as she attempted to lose her attacker. Putting her plane into a dive, she flew towards the ground with her attacker hot on her tailpipe.
What the F-22 failed to notice was Misty Fly flying behind him. She looked down towards the plane before her and depressed the trigger on her joystick. The Gripen she was flying shouted as bullets poured out of the plane’s barrel, tearing the elevator and the aileron on the plane’s left side. The F-22 lost control but Misty was not finished. Another burst of bullets tore the plane’s right side, sealing its fate.
Spitfire pulled out of her dive as did Misty Fly. A wordless thank you was exchanged as the planes caught up to each other before banking and flying towards their next targets.
Soarin was having trouble with an F-22 as it tried to avoid his lock-on attempts. As soon as he got a lock-on, the F-22 managed to manoeuvre out of it in some way. He would be lying if he said he was not getting frustrated but he refused to just give up. He pulled the trigger on his joystick and fired several short bursts of bullets at his target.
The F-22 dodged the majority of them and was laughing under his helmet. Whether Soarin could hear him or not was unimportant as a smile of his own began to spread across his face.
The Griffon he had been chasing looked back in surprise when Soarin simply turned away, seemingly losing interest with him. As he turned to look forward once again, his plane lit up with an alert from two different locations. One collided with his cockpit, destroying the plane and the pilot in one fell swoop while the other missile simply flew past the falling wreckage.
Surprise jinked downwards as one of the two remaining F-22s fired at her. The pilot was desperately trying to kill Surprise and failed to realise she was being tailed by Misty Fly. Her HUD went red as Misty locked on and fired. The Griffon jinked hard to the right, avoiding the missile barely and flew directly into Spitfire’s line of fire. She pulled the trigger without hesitation. The plane was quickly destroyed as a hailstorm of rounds pierced its fuselage.
“All hostiles in the area have been eliminated!” Twilight said with a cheer as she checked the radar a few times to confirm it to herself. “Great job, everypony!”
“Was there ever any doubt?” Dash asked rhetorically.
“It’s all up to Snowflake and Iron Will on the ground now,” Twilight said pensively.
“Iron Will?!” Dash shouted incredulously.
“He leads the 122nd while Snowflake leads the 101st. They are the two toughest Airborne Divisions in Equestria,” Twilight replied flatly.
Rainbow whistled, “By Celestia’s great flank…”
Twilight facehoofed, “Rainbow…”
As Twilight was about to reprimand Rainbow for her comment, a loud, booming voice rang over the radio and made all the ponies cringe except for Cipher and Pinkamena. “Iron Will here! The Griffons are retreating as we delivered them a righteous beating!!”
“That is good news, Iron Will. Snowflake, come in. What is the situation on your end?” Twilight inquired as she hailed the white Pegasus.
“Yeaaaah! We’ve cleared them out! Run!!! Fly!! Flee like the cowards you are!! Yeaaaah!” Snowflake shouted loudly, deafening the pilots and the crew of the AWACS.
“… Right… All forces have been cleared from Solis Ortus. Pilots return to base and get ready. Tomorrow… we liberate the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said as the squadrons took their respective formations and returned to Valiant.
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Man! I love Snowflake!!! Just one single word and he becomes the most badass pony ever!!!
3139087 And I could not resist using him with those lines from the game.
It suited him to an absolute tee!
3139107 Yeah I can see that!
3139123 Downside is that there is no Downtime after this chapter as they fly to liberate the Crystal Empire the very next day... or maybe I can still do one... I'll have to think about it.
3139129 I think you can still do one, if the battle is next day them you can do one downtime of just a few hours maybe
3139135 Yeah... I should be able to... Hm...
3139140 Well, that was fast!
3139142 Inspiration can hit whenever darling.
*To be read in her voice if possible.*
3139148 Believe me I did read it with her voice!
Well good luck with whatever you have prepared for us!
3139164 Thank you but for now I will be updating EE. Then I shall return to this again. I am making this my main focus for now.
3139169 Oh well, that seems fair! Seeya
!
3139171 See you Vector. I salute you and Rainbow Dash salutes you!
fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/266/a/2/rainbow_dash_salute_by_casarle-d4aqs05.png
This chapter. I like it! *Throws non-existent coffee mug onto the ground*
ANOTHER!