Offensive Campaign No. 4101: Operation Costner
Ace Combat: Shattered Friendships
Offensive Campaign No. 4101: Operation Costner
Author: Draconis187
Amidst the blue skies, a link from past to future. The sheltering wings of the protector...The flames of hatred scorch the skies, igniting Gaia's funeral pyre...
The 3rd Fleet ploughed through the calm waters of the canal as Hurricane and Vampir flew close by to provide close air support. As calm as the scene looked, everypony was on edge. The Griffons had not retaliated yet and that was making Barricade nervous as he stood at his post in the bridge.
“Anything?” He asked, his voice was flat but there was a small noticeable shake in it.
One of the Crystal Ponies shook his head, “No, sir. No contacts have made it into radar range.”
Twilight’s voice came in over the bridge’s radio, “Nothing from my end Barricade but keep your guard up. I fear this is just the calm before the storm.”
“On that we can both agree,” Barricade replied monotonously.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
As the fleet made its way unabated, several Griffons were waiting on an airstrip, near their various aircraft for further orders.
“Do you think they’ll send the golden kid after what happened to Grun?” A Griffon pilot asked his winggriffon.
“I don’t know. It’s possible,” The Griffon replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
Before they could continue their discussion, the sirens blared, “Attention all pilots! The Allied fleet have crossed the halfway mark, intercept them immediately!”
“Well,” The Griffon said with a smirk as he donned his helmet, “Let’s go have pony stew.”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Twilight scanned the radar furiously, not even taking one second to so much as even blink. She was not going to allow herself to get caught with her tiara down.
The universe decided to answer Twilight’s call as the radar lit up in three different directions. She blinked twice to make sure it was not some technical malfunction before hollering at the three squadrons.
“Hurricane, Vampir and Sapphire Strike we have inbound hostiles coming from the northeast, northwest as well as southeast,” Twilight checked the three squadron’s positions before continuing, “Vampir you are closest to the southeast group so intercept them. Hurricane, you take the north-westerly ones while Sapphire Strike takes out the northeast group.”
“Understood Eagle Eye, Hurricane on intercept course,” Soarin replied as his trio of fliers changed course.
“I hear ya, Twilight,” Solace replied with a grin, “I hope that ship has good vodka waiting for us when we get back.”
“Well, Berry Punch always said the Crystal Empire knows how to make quality liquor,” Twilight replied with a small smirk.
“Good enough for me,” Vampir One responded cheerfully.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“This is Schakal One. I am moving to intercept the mercenary unit known as ‘Vampir’,” The Mirage 2000D pilot said as his winggriffon kept close by, “The Allies will pay for their insolence.”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Everypony were waiting on the Cadence’s Heart with baited breath until the fleet broke through the canal… everypony except for two.
“Pass me that bulkhead,” Pinkamena requested as the sounds of hammers and power tools rang through the carrier’s lower deck.
Pinkamena and Cipher were busying themselves by repairing her Eagle. Every so often a pony would come up to check up on them, only to get a callous remark from Pinkamena and subsequently scared off. The two mares otherwise worked in absolute silence.
Cipher could have said a thousand words, she could have taken this opportunity to reveal her identity to the only pony that was the closest thing to a friend that she had ever had. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she picked up a blowtorch and continued.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“Everypony, don’t waste time with the enemy,” Twilight said as she noticed two more attack groups appear on the radar, “We need you to keep the fleet safe.”
“This is Hurricane One,” Soarin replied, “I copy that Eagle Eye, we’ll keep the dogfighting to a minimum.”
“Solace here, will do Eagle Eye,” Solace replied as Schakal got into range, “Vampir Three help out the Crystal Ponies to the west, looks like they could use another set of hooves.”
“Copy that flight lead,” Vampir Three replied, breaking formation and speeding off towards to help intercept a group of F-4Es.
“Vampir Two, take the one on the left,” Solace ordered as he switched to his XMAA loadout, “I’ll take the right one and remember to keep it short.”
“Copy Vampir One,” Vampir Two responded as the pair of fighters broke formation.
Solace dove as Vampir Two banked to his right. Schakal Two followed Solace while Schakal One chased after Vampir Two. Schakal Two positioned himself behind Solace, trying to get missile lock.
“That’s it,” Solace muttered to himself, “Follow the pretty pony.”
Solace pulled back hard on the flight stick and lowered the throttle. His Flanker seemed to drift in the air as it turned more than what it would normally be able to do. As Solace’s view turned from the open sky to the chasing plane, he pressed down on the trigger.
The missile flew and collided with Schakal Two’s right wing. The plane spun wildly as it lost control, careering towards the ground as the pilot used every curse a Griffon knew before ejecting.
“That’s a kill for me!” Solace cried out enthusiastically as he increased the throttle and turned his plane the right way up.
Vampir Two also bagged Schakal One by pulling off a similar ‘air drift’ manoeuvre. Unlike Solace though, Vampir Two peppered the Mirage with bullets. The pilot saw his canopy drenched in his own blood before the plane flew straight into the ground.
“Bandits down!” Solace cried out triumphantly as he and Vampir Two got into formation to intercept another group of fighter/bombers.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“Well… that’s the Winds of Futuro dealt with,” Twilight said to herself as she stamped ‘K.I.A.’ on the two pilots’ profiles.
The file she had with her soon flew across the AWACS, landing on a pile of files of the various squadrons that the Allied Forces had taken out since the successful intercept mission at Valiant Airbase.
“We keep this up and the war will be over by Hearth’s Warming,” She muttered under her breath
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Hurricane was having a tougher time as their targets had split up in an attempt to get at the ships. One F4-4E dove out of the dogfighting and made a beeline to the fleet. It appeared to be clear sailing… until Vampir Three came at the F-4E, using the sun to make it difficult for the Phantom to retaliate.
Vampir Three had finished helping out the Crystal Ponies flight, Sapphire Strike and noticed the straggler heading towards the fleet. Vampir Three fired a full salvo of XMAAs – four in total – as well as a pair of Sidewinders. Thanks to the M.A.R.S. all he had to do was wait for his plane to reload as the six missiles collided with the target. The plane was obliterated in a shower of fire and metal.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Pinkamena and Cipher stood back to admire their hard work had borne fruit. Pinkamena’s Eagle was completely repaired and looked better than ever.
Techno Watt had been watching them work together in absolute silence since he had touched down. Usually he’d be checking his Widow and Snake’s F-16XL to see if there had been any significant damage that needed tending to. The moment he had heard from the maintenance staff that Pinkamena had chased them off, he got curious.
“Wow, you did a really good job,” Techno said as he approached the two mares, “Mind if I take a gander to make sure everything is in order? And maybe make a few improvements?”
Pinkamena walked up to Techno and spoke very slowly, “If you touch my plane with so much as a paperclip, your next of kin will be getting what’s left of you in a doggy bag.”
Techno gulped as Pinkamena’s expression said that not only would she carry through with the threat, she’d do it with a smile on her face.
“Uh, sure. Sorry to have disturbed you,” Techno said as he turned around and left without another word but he did mutter under his breath, “Damn, that mare is insane.”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
The skies began to fill with more attackers, this time they came from every direction with only the fleet in their sights. They didn’t care anymore if they were shot down as all they wanted was to stop the Allied Forces before they could get the necessary momentum required to push through to the Crystal Empire.
As the sky became a battlezone filled with the sound of jet engines, gunfire and the sound of exploding missiles and planes, a few managed to slip past and fire a shot at one of the cruisers before Vampir Squadron shot them down.
Three LAGM missiles flew towards the Amethyst Assailant and impacted against the side of the ship. The cruiser took the attack badly as fire spread through the lower decks, causing massive panic and disorder among the ranks.
Crystal Ponies evacuated the wounded to the lifeboats while the healthy ones jumped off into the canal. They swam over to the nearest ship as Pegasi and Unicorn rescuers made their way to the ship to aid in the evacuation.
It didn’t take too long for the ship to finally sink but the death toll of the attack was 56, too many in many ponies’ eyes.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“Damn it!” Barricade cursed as he saw the last of the ship sink into the canal’s depths, “Listen up pilots! Not one more ship is being sunk today, do you understand me?!”
“Understood sir!” Sapphire One responded.
The rest of the mare’s flight gave their affirmatives as they steeled their resolve and it began to show as their tactics became far more aggressive.
“Right, let’s wrap up this party everypony!” Solace cried out as a full barrage of XMAAs and Sidewinders flew from his Flanker’s wings, connecting with three separate targets and destroying them with extreme prejudice.
“Oh yeah! Turn and burn!” Vampir Two shouted in glee as he bagged two kills with a barrage of his own, “We’ll have this wrapped up in no time!”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Twilight laid back in her seat with a relieved sigh. If everything continued to progress like they currently were, the fleet won’t have to worry about another loss.
“You alright back there?” Thunderlane asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that this war is going to give me grey hairs,” Twilight joked.
“Well I guess it comes with your occupation,” Thunderlane replied with a snigger, “Would you rather trade places with one of the other Princesses?”
“N-” Twilight was interrupted as the long range radar lit up like it was Hearth’s Warming, “- what in Equestria?!”
Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks in shock as she gazed at the radar, “Everypony! I read multiple contacts inbound!”
“Where from?” Solace asked.
“Everywhere!” Twilight shouted, “I read at least a dozen squadrons coming in from everywhere! This just may be the Griffons’ last try so make sure that the fleet does not make it through!”
“You got it, Twilight. You heard the mare, let’s get moving,” Solace replied as his squadron split up to deal with several contacts to the east and southeast.
Soon the skies became centre stage for everypony’s attention as the small, loud dots in the sky shot at each other in an attempt to get past or stop them. The ponies on the decks kept their hooves on their AA triggers and kept an eye out for any plane that could be getting too close. They silently refused to themselves to allow the ship they were on to end up like the Assailant.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
As Solace closed the gap between himself and his targets, they turned around and began to flee. Deciding to chase them down, the distance between him and the fleet began to worryingly increase. Sadly Solace was too caught up trying to get a missile lock that he failed to notice four blips appear on the edge of the radar.
Four grey Typhoons with red markings on the nose and part of the canopy section came towards Solace at high speed. Their sights were set on the lone Su-27.
“Solace, it’s a trap! Get out of there!” Twilight shouted as she turned her attention to the others in the AWACS, “Find out who they are right now!”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Solace closed the throttle and banked hard enough to make the pilot near blackout from the resulting g-forces. His Flanker gave off warnings that he was pushing it too hard but they were silenced as he levelled off and made a beeline back to the fleet.
“Time to hunt some wild dogs,” Rot One said with a sneer as his squadron closed in on Solace.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Solace’s plane lit up red as the sound of a missile alert made the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. He pulled back on the flight stick as hard as he could, the force of the rapid change in angle threatened to tear the stick straight from its socket as the plane violently lurched upwards.
The missile flew past Solace but not before the missile’s fin nipped the right elevator. Luckily the missile did not detonate and it carried on past the Flanker. The damage to the elevator was negligible.
“Well that was too close for comfort,” Solace commented as he levelled his plane off again and carried on across the arid area.
“We’ve got your back, Solace!” Vampir Two shouted as he and Vampir Three locked onto Rot Four and Two and fired off a missile each.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Rot One noticed Vampir Two and Three’s entrance and scowled, “Looks like this rat wasn’t alone. Take them all down.”
“Yes sir,” Each member of Rot replied as the squadron broke formation to engage Vampir.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“Princess, I found out who the squadron is! You aren’t going to like it,” One of the technicians said with a worried expression on his face.
“Who?” Twilight asked.
“Rot, ma’am. Rot Squadron, one of the Knights of the Round Table,” The pony replied nervously.
The colour left Twilight’s face as she swallowed hard, “Buck.”
Twilight hung her head a bit and closed her eyes. Many thoughts were running through her head. Why did the Griffons send Grun and now Rot to defend a canal instead of B7R? The Red Swallow had a clear disdain for mercenaries and was still young but his short career was that of a decorated veteran. Did Vampir stand a chance? Would they be able to adapt to the aces and take them down?
Twilight opened her eyes and swung around on her chair to bring her attention to the screens before her, “Vampir, listen up! Those four Typhoons are Rot Squadron. They are one of the Knights of the Round Table.”
“Wow, we are really getting their attention aren’t we?” Solace replied in a surprised tone.
“I just wished that you wouldn’t have to fight them so soon and so far from B7R, Solace,” Twilight responded.
“No problem, Twilight. We’ll take care of them while the others keep the fleet safe,” Solace said reassuringly.
“Good luck Vampir. And one last thing: the leader hates mercenaries,” Twilight warned.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Solace banked hard to the right as his wingponies came in from the west. The three Flankers each set off after a different Typhoon. Vampir may have still been outnumbered but their chances were far better than Galm’s or Grabcr’s since they had three planes and not two.
Vampir Three chased Rot Four with a passion as it tried to dodge his bullets. The Typhoon banked hard to the left with Vampir Three not too far behind. Vampir Two was being targeted by Rot One while Solace tried to get Rot Two and Three off his six.
“I guess this is why they’re aces!” Solace commented as a spray of rounds flew past his canopy, scratching the paint in the process, “Well, it needed a new coat of paint anyway.”
Solace opened up the throttle to maximum, baiting the two Typhoons behind him to do the same. Rot Two followed Solace while Rot Three switched targets.
Solace closed the throttle and pulled back on the controls as hard as he could. Once again his body warned him of the g-forces he was pulling as his vision began to fade slightly as the plane pulled a 360° loop. Rot Two flew straight past Solace and banked hard to the left. Solace’s HUD lit up and rang with the single monotonous chime he loved so much.
“Good…” Solace pulled the trigger, firing the missile and sending Rot Two to shake claws with his maker, “… bye.”
“Target down! Good work Solace!” Twilight shouted happily.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“We just lost Rot Two!” Rot Three shouted angrily as he pelted Vampir Two with bullets, tearing into the right rear rudder of his Flanker.
“Low-life mercenaries!” Rot One snarled as his HUD chimed a missile lock on Vampir Two, “Eat this!”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
Vampir Two banked right and pulled off a drifting manoeuvre to try and avoid Rot One’s missile. The missile flew straight past Vampir Two’s canopy, mere inches from the glass before it flew past the plane harmlessly where it would finally run out of fuel and crash to the ground below.
“They’re tearing my rudder apart!” Vampir Two shouted as his plane was becoming a little less responsive.
“I got you Vampir Two!” Solace called out reassuringly as he came down at Rot Three, firing a barrage of bullets as his attack was blocked thanks to the sun behind him.
The rounds pierced the rail of one of Rot Three’s missiles and sent a spark down the electrical line which armed the aforementioned missile. The next few rounds pierced the missile’s casing and detonated it, taking the whole wing off and sending Rot Three spinning out of control.
Vampir Three fired off the last of his XMAAs at Rot Four. The Typhoon dodged the first one as it nearly clipped his right canard. The second missile collided with the left delta wing and the other two added insult to injury as they made sure what was left of him would be sent back in a matchbox.
Rot One was left behind and with Vampir One and Three on his heels, he closed the throttle to allow his pursuers to slingshot past him. It worked as the two Flankers flew straight past but as Rot was about to try and get a lock, the two drifted in opposite directions as Vampir Two came from below.
Vampir Two’s right rudder had fallen off not too long after it had been turned to swiss-cheese but his elevators and ailerons worked perfectly as his rounds hit the passing Typhoon underside, ripping it apart before the fuel got punctured and exploded within milliseconds.
The Typhoon lurched upwards as it spun along the vertical axis. As Vampir made their way back to the fleet, Solace noticed a small dot jettison away from the plane before it finally fell to the ground with a crash.
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“We lost Rot?” One of the attacking planes asked in utter bewilderment.
“That’s two ace squadrons in the past few hours sir! And the Winds are also among the casualties,” Another pilot replied.
“Argh, sound the retreat. We’ve lost Futuro,” The pilot replied as he turned his plane around, “This war is far from over and this was just one skirmish.”
<----> ---- ---- <---->
“Everypony, the planes are turning around! They’re retreating!” Soarin said with a cheer, “Hah! We’ve won! We’ve taken the canal!”
Twilight sat back in her seat and turned her attention to Thunderlane, “Let’s land Thunderlane. It’s been one long day.”
Thunderlane smirked, “Understood ma’am. I fear it’s going to be the first of many.”
“I can’t argue with you there,” Twilight responded as she closed her eyes, “Vampir, Hurricane and Sapphire Strike, time to head to the Cadence’s Heart for some R&R. You’ve all earned it.”
“Oh yeah! Time to drink till Celestia raises the moon!” Solace shouted loudly as Vampir got into formation as they lined up to land on the carrier.
“Celestia doesn’t raise the moon, Solace. Luna does,” Soarin replied.
“That’s the point, Soarin,” Twilight remarked, her body still laid back on the chair.
“Oh, ok. Now I get it,” Soarin replied. He felt like an idiot as the other pilots shared a laugh at his expense.
“Thank you everypony,” Barricade said with a slight tone of happiness in his voice, “Thanks to you, we are now one step closer to freeing the Crystal Empire. Good job.”
**** **** **** ****
The sun had begun to set on the canal as the fleet had already crossed its waters and made its way to the Crystal Empire’s outlaying territories. The wind was cool as it gently breezed across the deck while the various crew members went about their business.
Cipher stood at the end of the catapult system, staring at the wide open waters as the carrier bobbed up and down. Her eyes were closed as she contemplated on the events of earlier that day. The Winds of Futuro, Grun Squadron intercepting Grabcr and Rot ambushing Vampir were her chief concerns.
‘What does all this mean?’ She thought to herself, ‘B7R is miles away from here. Are the Griffons growing that desperate so early into this counterattack? Are they that scared of these ponies?’
She sighed, ‘Whatever has them so riled up is pushing them into making fatal mistakes on their part. This war tipped in the ponies’ favour the moment we repelled the bombing on Valiant.’
She took one last gaze at the see as the sun almost vanished across the horizon, making it appear as if the waters were on fire. Cipher shed a small tear as she recalled a memory of the previous moment she saw such a sight and walked back into the carrier. Whatever the Griffons were going to throw at them… Cipher was confident that she and the mercenaries she flew with would be able to stop them.
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R&R!!!!!! PARTY TIME!!!!!
Great another mission ended! Drinking Time
!!!
2801173 Solace, friend!!! Long time. Are you up for some drinks today?
PAAARTY MOTHERFUCKERS.
On an unrelated note, this was intense. I hope to see more soon. I get kind of bored without something to do and this cures it.
2801658 Maybe, been busy trying to settle in new house.
2802205 New House? Cool bro, good for you! another city or town, what?
2802218 My family and I moved to Florida, right outside the Orlando area.
2802226 Oh Great place!! You are close to Disney World or maybe the Universal's Park!!
2802231 Close to Disney, my step-father works for them he works at the central warehouse and buys all the products that the different shops and parks need.
2802241 that ... is ... AWESOME!!!
2802294 Ya, it cool we get in to the parks for free and all.
2802350 Wow, i only get free videogames and comics for working in a Comic/Videogame store
2802355 Well you have it better than I, here in about a month I will be living in North Carolina for about 2 or 3 months to work with my actual father at an HVAC repair place, so I assume that all I get for free is repairs for my AC.
2802375 yeah i guess, i'm actually studying to be a lawyer so it's not going to last too much through
2802393 Well you had fun while it lasted, right?
2802458 Sure i did!, get gtg seeya next chapter
! I need to get back to work in my fanfic, The Last of Us and Deadpool took too much of my time and i totally forgot about it
2802510 Well good luck to ya then.