FourtyTwoUp until the appearance of the UCAVs, the mission had been going exactly as planned, and Everett supposed he should have taken that as the first sign that things were about to go horribly wrong. While Excalibur Four and Five took their pictures, Everett flew his plane low and fast over the enemy positions, drawing their attention to the Fencer. Anti-air fire pierced the air around him, but he was not too worried. The enemy's guns could not traverse fast enough to track his aircraft's movements and he was going much too fast for their missiles to get a positive lock. Of course, going that fast and that low had its own risks. One accidental touch of the stick would be all it took to turn the Ghost into a flaming wreck.
When things went to hell, it was quick, sudden and caught both Everett and Zola off guard. "Something's jamming us," Everett said as he heard the voice of the AWACs slowly being drowned out by static. Zola reached forward and tweaked their frequencies until they got a garbled - but understandable - transmission from the squadron. Almost as soon as that happened, the lock warning sounded within the cockpit. The Colonel had warned them of the presence of enemy aircraft, but Everett had expected at least some form of warning from anyone before they got close enough to get a lock.
"Evading!" He shouted out and forced the Fencer into a sudden and sharp turn. "What the fuck was-"
He was interrupted by another UCAV streaking past the nose of his aircraft. Even though he only had a glimpse of the craft before it disappeared to the side, Everett recognized its outline. It was an upgraded version of the advanced target drones he had faced off against during his trainee days in the PLAAF. They were notoriously difficult to destroy and could pull off turns and climbs that would have killed any pilot. They also carried advanced targeting systems which gave them a shorter locking time than most. Everett did not know about these new drones, but he did know that the old versions were hard enough to shoot down that a trainee could pass by just surviving a swarm of them.
"Excalibur Three to squadron, don't even try to engage these bastards." Everett said over the comms, pausing to pull his aircraft into a steep climb. The higher he was, the more room he had to maneuver and against these drones, he could do little else other than to just keep out of their sights. "I flew against these drones before when they were just advanced trainers. Hard to shoot down, and they will get on your tail when you least expect it. Just keep turning and don't ever fly level."
"These are some fucking trainers." Zola said in a frustrated voice. Not being able to fire back pretty much took away everything she could do to defend herself.
"Tough training, easy fighting." Everett replied simply. The Fencer twisted and turned, never giving the drones a chance to get a good lock on it. It kept them safe, but after the sixth sharp and violent turn, both Everett and Zola were beginning to feel light-headed. The drones could handle such movements, but the human body sure could not. Unwilling to risk unconsciousness and eventually death, Everett had no choice but to level out the Fencer to allow the two of them a chance to recover.
Zola glanced out the window to their right. "Excalibur two, massive swarm to your six! Go evasive, Three's coming in to assist!"
"We are?" Everett asked. "I'm having enough trouble trying to keep us alive as it is!"
"Hell yes we are!" Zola replied. "Use the plasma stealth for what it's for, fly towards that blob and I'll take care of the rest."
Everett frowned, but did exactly as his WSO suggested. There was no telling whether or not the drones could get a lock through the plasma stealth system, but letting a fellow squadron-mate die was not exactly what Everett wanted to do either. He turned the Fencer towards the group of drones following Excalibur Two and pushed the engines to their limit. "Missiles aren't going to get a good lock on them, not with their tiny signatures." He commented.
"Guns, then." Zola said. "Any other insights you'd like to share?"
Everett shrugged. "Just what my PLAAF trainer told me." He said. "Find our gall and be daring."
The Fencer streaked towards the swarm of drones, with three of the UCAVs hot on its tail. However, the plasma stealth system proved its worth once again by disrupting the locking systems of the enemy's missiles. Once the Fencer was in gun range, Zola pulled the trigger and held it down. The extended burst of cannon fire brought down one of the drones and - from what she could see - severely damaged two others. The Fencer cut through the blob and she felt a shudder as their wing tip scythed through one of the drones. "Fuck!" She shouted out and glanced out the window to check for damage. "Wingtip's damaged, but doesn't look bad."
"Cutting stealth," Everett reported and switched off the electrodes. "Excalibur Two, you're clear. Bogeys now on Three. Took damage to wing, but not serious."
Status
Recent Statuses
10 yrs ago
Current
acquire raifu, defend waifu
10 yrs ago
Nothing quite like schizophrenic weather.
1
like
10 yrs ago
At this point I don't even care where I end up. I just want to do something productive, bloody hell.
10 yrs ago
I still remember four...
10 yrs ago
Standing by to stand by, cap'n!
Bio
User has no bio, yet
Most Recent Posts
Sorry for my absence, guys. Got a nasty throat infection two weeks into basic training because my platoon's water dispenser had been infested with algae growth. We didn't even know until we tore the damn thing apart and found the filters clogged up with algae. Typing my post up right now.
Had to happen eventually, but I'm enlisting with the good ol' SAF tomorrow. Will be out in two weeks' time, if all goes well. After that, I'll be out every weekend until February, when I graduate from basic training.
I think I gave you guys a heads up beforehand, but I've been drafted into the SAF and I'm enlisting tomorrow. Will be gone for the next...14 or so days, but I should be back by the 27th. After that I'll be gone five days a week and be home on the weekends, assuming my company and/or I don't do anything to get us detained.
"Copy that," Zola heard Everett said curtly as the squadron received their queue numbers for refueling.
Though she tried hard to just put her trust in Everett to pull off what was essentially a controlled collision two aircraft laden with material that were - and this was putting it lightly - prone to exploding, she could not help but feel a knot form in her stomach. It had nothing to do with the procedure, it was the lack of control that really played on her nerves. "When was the last time we refueled mid-flight?" She asked casually, though she was well aware that the company they had worked for had only a handful of tankers at their peak and they were rarely deployed. Most missions took place close enough to the established airbases or even improvised airstrips of cleared brushland.
"Simulators? Last week. A real one? Probably the years back when I was flying with the PLAAF." Everett replied with a shrug. "I wouldn't be too worried. It's like riding a bike - the first time is scary as hell, but then you never forget how to do it once you get the hang of it."
Zola shrugged, not showing just how nervous she was about the whole thing. "If you say so. At least if you screw up and we die, it'll be quick, yeah?"
"I have a gun somewhere in here, don't worry." Everett deadpanned, but continued. "Seriously, though. I have a gun somewhere in here. Just in case we crash."
"I saw. Not sure what good one AR-7 is going to do for the two of us, but glad you considered that possibility."
It took Everett a few tries, but eventually he managed to get his Fencer's probe connected to the basket. After that, it was just the simple task of maintaining his airspeed and altitude until the tanks were full - a task which both Zola and Everett could have done with their eyes closed. Once the tanks were full, Everett gave the crewman in the observation bubble a thumbs up and waited for him to return the gesture before pulling away and allowing the rest of the squadron to refuel. "Three's done. Who's next?" Everett asked as the Ghost fell back into formation.
Once the rest of the squadron was done refueling, the tanker turned and headed back towards friendly territory while the squadron continued on their way. The colonel's briefing sounded straightforward enough - the Ghost would be joining the others in drawing the attention of enemy anti-air for the first half of the mission, then once it came to the striking part of the mission, it would quite literally rain fire on the enemy. "We hear you, Colonel." Zola said. "We'll give the enemy triple-A something to shoot at, no problems at all."
Though she tried hard to just put her trust in Everett to pull off what was essentially a controlled collision two aircraft laden with material that were - and this was putting it lightly - prone to exploding, she could not help but feel a knot form in her stomach. It had nothing to do with the procedure, it was the lack of control that really played on her nerves. "When was the last time we refueled mid-flight?" She asked casually, though she was well aware that the company they had worked for had only a handful of tankers at their peak and they were rarely deployed. Most missions took place close enough to the established airbases or even improvised airstrips of cleared brushland.
"Simulators? Last week. A real one? Probably the years back when I was flying with the PLAAF." Everett replied with a shrug. "I wouldn't be too worried. It's like riding a bike - the first time is scary as hell, but then you never forget how to do it once you get the hang of it."
Zola shrugged, not showing just how nervous she was about the whole thing. "If you say so. At least if you screw up and we die, it'll be quick, yeah?"
"I have a gun somewhere in here, don't worry." Everett deadpanned, but continued. "Seriously, though. I have a gun somewhere in here. Just in case we crash."
"I saw. Not sure what good one AR-7 is going to do for the two of us, but glad you considered that possibility."
It took Everett a few tries, but eventually he managed to get his Fencer's probe connected to the basket. After that, it was just the simple task of maintaining his airspeed and altitude until the tanks were full - a task which both Zola and Everett could have done with their eyes closed. Once the tanks were full, Everett gave the crewman in the observation bubble a thumbs up and waited for him to return the gesture before pulling away and allowing the rest of the squadron to refuel. "Three's done. Who's next?" Everett asked as the Ghost fell back into formation.
Once the rest of the squadron was done refueling, the tanker turned and headed back towards friendly territory while the squadron continued on their way. The colonel's briefing sounded straightforward enough - the Ghost would be joining the others in drawing the attention of enemy anti-air for the first half of the mission, then once it came to the striking part of the mission, it would quite literally rain fire on the enemy. "We hear you, Colonel." Zola said. "We'll give the enemy triple-A something to shoot at, no problems at all."
Freeshooter92 said
Wait, so I'm looking at this and it looks pretty cool. Then I get to picking a plane out and I find I can't have an F-22. Reasonable, what's to stop everyone from picking it if It's allowed right? Alright, then I'll take a flank- no, that's not allowed either. Okay... so we have generations I can pick from, and I can't pick anything past 4. Okay, perfect. Then I'll take a Fulcr- what? really? but that's generation four! I know I can't have the best plane but i'd at least like something respectable, otherwise we'd just be flying Fishbeds or something. Lord knows I ain't flying no fishbed. Wait... what's that on the list... is that- Oh my god it is! The F-15E! It's fourth gen? Fucking sweet! That was my favorite plane in AC6! Hell yea- what? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY HATH THOU FORSAKEN MEH. Okay. fine. I'll guess I'll just... take an F-16 then. Sure it's boring, but at least it's depend- WHAT?! THAT'S LIKE THE FIRST PLANE YOU GET IN THESE GAMES! Come onnnn... What am I supposed to fly now? I don't want to fly an attacker, I'll just zoom in, blow up the things on the ground and run, I won't even get to dogfight. Otherwise I'd take this thunderbolt but who am I kiddin' I probably couldn't have one of those. And my character I've conceptualized would love his plane to death, so I wouldn't even get to upgrade if the opportunity did come along...
So, I'm outta ideas. I really, REALLY wanna do this, it's not often that I slog through all the RWBY, Fairy tail, and other assorted bullshit to find an RP worth investing time in, and I love the shit out of ace combat. But, I just can't take a Fishbed, man.
If you do not mind attack aircraft, the Su-25 is a good choice. When upgrading comes, you can just turn it into the Su-39 or Su-25KM, both of which are the extremely modernized variants of the Su-25, so while you get the avionics and weaponry upgrades, your character would still be flying the same plane. 'Sides, just because it's not built for air-to-air doesn't mean that mission conditions won't force your character into engaging in a dogfight, eh?
If you really want a fighter, you could go with the Su-15 and upgrade it into the Su-19, a proposed modification of the Su-15 where it would receive the more powerful R-25-300 engines, a delta wing and additional pylons.
The conversation between Medved-One and Russian high command was short, brief, and not at all pleasant. "Captain, the Su-25s are still loading and require ten minutes before they are on station. However, for the moment we have support from a battery of 122 millimeter howitzers and a battery of Smerch rocket artillery. Be warned that the Smerch's will be firing thermobaric weaponry, so call them only if you are sure that you need the area devastated." He said and moved up alongside the captain, with Zhenya trailing just behind them and the rest of Medved in a loose formation bringing up the rear.
The captain's comment about not leaving any intelligence for Medved to collect was unpleasant, but not unexpected. "We are not here to collect information." Medved-One said stiffly, sounding offended, and in Zhenya's opinion, rightfully so. Jan was his captain, and Zhenya was obliged to follow him wherever he went, but he found the captain's manner of speaking to be a bit too antagonistic and could not resist speaking up.
"With respect, captain." Zhenya began slowly. "Your distrust of us Russians will not make things go any more smoothly. Medved is here to help us."
He said nothing more, as they soon cleared a ridge and visually identified a patrol of enemy combatants. Zhenya quickly took cover behind a rock, just beside Medved-Three. The muffled coughs of silenced guns preceded the thumps of bodies hitting the hard ground. Although he hated it, Zhenya held his fire for the engagement. Despite all the modifications to the RPD, it still used an old-styled sound suppressor. It made the weapon relatively silent, but it still carried a distinctive crack. While it was not loud enough to be heard over a long distance, in such silent conditions, it would almost certainly give away their position.
"Medved-Two has kill." An accented voice said over his headset.
"Medved-Four reports hostile eliminated." Another voice said. "Area looks clear."
The captain's comment about not leaving any intelligence for Medved to collect was unpleasant, but not unexpected. "We are not here to collect information." Medved-One said stiffly, sounding offended, and in Zhenya's opinion, rightfully so. Jan was his captain, and Zhenya was obliged to follow him wherever he went, but he found the captain's manner of speaking to be a bit too antagonistic and could not resist speaking up.
"With respect, captain." Zhenya began slowly. "Your distrust of us Russians will not make things go any more smoothly. Medved is here to help us."
He said nothing more, as they soon cleared a ridge and visually identified a patrol of enemy combatants. Zhenya quickly took cover behind a rock, just beside Medved-Three. The muffled coughs of silenced guns preceded the thumps of bodies hitting the hard ground. Although he hated it, Zhenya held his fire for the engagement. Despite all the modifications to the RPD, it still used an old-styled sound suppressor. It made the weapon relatively silent, but it still carried a distinctive crack. While it was not loud enough to be heard over a long distance, in such silent conditions, it would almost certainly give away their position.
"Medved-Two has kill." An accented voice said over his headset.
"Medved-Four reports hostile eliminated." Another voice said. "Area looks clear."
It did not take long for Everett to realize that with the squadron's reduction in size and the certain reshuffling of callsigns, roles and whatnot, his flight was no longer Excalibur Four. Sure enough, a quick check of the squadron's status on his tablet confirmed to him that the Ghost of the Strait was now Excalibur Three, rather than four. "Excuse me," He said curtly to the squadron before rushing out of the barracks. He hoped that the ground crew had not loaded up the aircraft yet - it would be troublesome and incur a needless delay if he had to have his aircraft disarmed and rearmed with the appropriate munitions. As he ran down the corridors, he made a mental list of the sort of weapons they were going to need. Top cover would be provided by One and Two, so Everett figured that he could afford to go heavy on the air-to-ground munitions.
Thankfully, Zola had only just finished briefing the ground crew when Everett skidded to a halt in front of his aircraft, much to Zola's amusement. "Slow down, Evy, there's plenty of time left." She said with a grin and nodded towards the ground crew and munitions around them. "I only just gave them the brief. Limited air-to-ground and only basic air-to-air for self-defense, yeah?"
Everett shook his head. "No, we're Excalibur Three now, so we're the 'heavy hitters' as the colonel put it." He said. "Go crazy on the air-to-ground and load us with just enough air-to-air to act as a last-ditch defensive measure. Let the main dogfights be One and Two's concern this time round."
Zola let out a frustrated sigh and scratched the back of her head. "Well, that briefing was a waste of breath, then." She said and took a deep breath. "So, then. What do you reckon?"
"We'll be hitting anti-ship emplacements, so I expect them to have some form of radar system active." Everett said. "Anti-radiation missiles should suit us fine, and we can turn them loose against SAM sites if they give us too much trouble. I'm not sure how many emplacements we're expected to eliminate, so I'm leaning towards cluster munitions for better coverage."
"So two anti-rads, three clusters, two air-to-grounds and two air-to-airs?" Zola asked.
"Sounds good to me," Everett said and nodded to the ground crew. "Zola and I will go get our kit on. You still have a little over an hour to get things straight, so don't bother rushing."
"Not sure if we have cluster bombs, you know how iffy these UN types are about those." The crew chief said. "But I'm sure we can scrounge something similar up. Don't you worry about that."
Zola laughed. "As long as it'll ruin the days of anyone within a large radius, it'll be fine." She said and waved goodbye to the maintenance crew before going off with Everett to get their flight suits on. It was a welcome breath of familiarity for Zola, from here on out, everything would more or less be the same as a ground-based operation. After all, there were only so many ways of getting an aircraft off the ground.
By the time they returned to the Ghost, the maintenance crew had completed arming the aircraft, true to their word. As the crew chief had predicted, there were no cluster bombs hanging from the pylons of the Ghost. Rather, they had been replaced by thermobaric bombs. They were devastating weapons, and Everett almost felt bad about unleashing them on the enemy. The bomb did not kill with shrapnel, rather it killed with the blast wave and the effects of a temporary vacuum that came with it. Of course, that was if its victims survived the initial intense heat of the detonation.
"Fuel-air bombs, ouch." Zola said and looked to Everett. "So cluster bombs are a no-no and these are?"
Everett shrugged in response. "Fuck if I know. Maybe we just don't have cluster bombs at the moment, who knows?" He said. Just then, another siren sounded and the two of them could feel the submarine's rapid deceleration, which was thankfully a lot more gentle than its acceleration. That was a sign for them that it was time to make ready and get the Ghost ready for the mission.
"You head up into the cockpit, I'll give it an external once over." Zola said.
Everett nodded and climbed up into the cockpit, getting himself into a comfortable position before strapping himself in and going through the pre-flight checklist. Zola climbed into the cockpit before the engines were even beginning to warm-up, which gave Everett reason to suspect the effectiveness of her 'external once over', but he kept whatever comments he had to himself. Zola was not a rookie pilot - she knew what she was doing. "Everything checks out, no scratches, pits or any sign of damage." She said. "Flight controls looked smooth from where I was standing."
"Good," Everett said with a nod. "Weapons systems?"
"One second," Zola said and strapped herself into her seat. "Right, carrying out pre-flight check now." She reported and flicked a few switches. She cycled through their weapons and pulled the trigger each time, and each time she heard a satisfying beep which told her that the controls were responsive and everything was as it should be. "Everything looks green on my end. We're good to go."
It did not take long after that for them to be towed to the elevator and brought up to the flight deck. Excaliburs One, Two and Four were already in the air and Everett could just barely make out the contrails left by their wingtips as they circled overhead. "Ever taken off from a carrier before?" Everett asked as he felt the familiar bump of the catapult latching onto the forward landing gear.
"Simulations, yes. Real life, no." Zola replied honestly. "But hey, it's just taking off."
Everett chuckled dryly. "One hell of a takeoff, though." He said and powered up the engines to takeoff power before placing his hand on the cockpit window to let the flight deck crew know that he was ready for launch. There were a few tense seconds of anticipation as the ground crew finalized everything before the Ghost was pulled violently by the catapult towards the end of the flight deck and flung into the air. "Gears up," Everett reported as he retracted the landing gear.
"Not sure what that says about you," Zola said with a smirk. "But that honestly feels no different than when you're dogfighting. A lot better, even."
Everett simply rolled his eyes at her remark and said into his mic, "Excalibur Four in the air. Sorry for the delay."
Thankfully, Zola had only just finished briefing the ground crew when Everett skidded to a halt in front of his aircraft, much to Zola's amusement. "Slow down, Evy, there's plenty of time left." She said with a grin and nodded towards the ground crew and munitions around them. "I only just gave them the brief. Limited air-to-ground and only basic air-to-air for self-defense, yeah?"
Everett shook his head. "No, we're Excalibur Three now, so we're the 'heavy hitters' as the colonel put it." He said. "Go crazy on the air-to-ground and load us with just enough air-to-air to act as a last-ditch defensive measure. Let the main dogfights be One and Two's concern this time round."
Zola let out a frustrated sigh and scratched the back of her head. "Well, that briefing was a waste of breath, then." She said and took a deep breath. "So, then. What do you reckon?"
"We'll be hitting anti-ship emplacements, so I expect them to have some form of radar system active." Everett said. "Anti-radiation missiles should suit us fine, and we can turn them loose against SAM sites if they give us too much trouble. I'm not sure how many emplacements we're expected to eliminate, so I'm leaning towards cluster munitions for better coverage."
"So two anti-rads, three clusters, two air-to-grounds and two air-to-airs?" Zola asked.
"Sounds good to me," Everett said and nodded to the ground crew. "Zola and I will go get our kit on. You still have a little over an hour to get things straight, so don't bother rushing."
"Not sure if we have cluster bombs, you know how iffy these UN types are about those." The crew chief said. "But I'm sure we can scrounge something similar up. Don't you worry about that."
Zola laughed. "As long as it'll ruin the days of anyone within a large radius, it'll be fine." She said and waved goodbye to the maintenance crew before going off with Everett to get their flight suits on. It was a welcome breath of familiarity for Zola, from here on out, everything would more or less be the same as a ground-based operation. After all, there were only so many ways of getting an aircraft off the ground.
By the time they returned to the Ghost, the maintenance crew had completed arming the aircraft, true to their word. As the crew chief had predicted, there were no cluster bombs hanging from the pylons of the Ghost. Rather, they had been replaced by thermobaric bombs. They were devastating weapons, and Everett almost felt bad about unleashing them on the enemy. The bomb did not kill with shrapnel, rather it killed with the blast wave and the effects of a temporary vacuum that came with it. Of course, that was if its victims survived the initial intense heat of the detonation.
"Fuel-air bombs, ouch." Zola said and looked to Everett. "So cluster bombs are a no-no and these are?"
Everett shrugged in response. "Fuck if I know. Maybe we just don't have cluster bombs at the moment, who knows?" He said. Just then, another siren sounded and the two of them could feel the submarine's rapid deceleration, which was thankfully a lot more gentle than its acceleration. That was a sign for them that it was time to make ready and get the Ghost ready for the mission.
"You head up into the cockpit, I'll give it an external once over." Zola said.
Everett nodded and climbed up into the cockpit, getting himself into a comfortable position before strapping himself in and going through the pre-flight checklist. Zola climbed into the cockpit before the engines were even beginning to warm-up, which gave Everett reason to suspect the effectiveness of her 'external once over', but he kept whatever comments he had to himself. Zola was not a rookie pilot - she knew what she was doing. "Everything checks out, no scratches, pits or any sign of damage." She said. "Flight controls looked smooth from where I was standing."
"Good," Everett said with a nod. "Weapons systems?"
"One second," Zola said and strapped herself into her seat. "Right, carrying out pre-flight check now." She reported and flicked a few switches. She cycled through their weapons and pulled the trigger each time, and each time she heard a satisfying beep which told her that the controls were responsive and everything was as it should be. "Everything looks green on my end. We're good to go."
It did not take long after that for them to be towed to the elevator and brought up to the flight deck. Excaliburs One, Two and Four were already in the air and Everett could just barely make out the contrails left by their wingtips as they circled overhead. "Ever taken off from a carrier before?" Everett asked as he felt the familiar bump of the catapult latching onto the forward landing gear.
"Simulations, yes. Real life, no." Zola replied honestly. "But hey, it's just taking off."
Everett chuckled dryly. "One hell of a takeoff, though." He said and powered up the engines to takeoff power before placing his hand on the cockpit window to let the flight deck crew know that he was ready for launch. There were a few tense seconds of anticipation as the ground crew finalized everything before the Ghost was pulled violently by the catapult towards the end of the flight deck and flung into the air. "Gears up," Everett reported as he retracted the landing gear.
"Not sure what that says about you," Zola said with a smirk. "But that honestly feels no different than when you're dogfighting. A lot better, even."
Everett simply rolled his eyes at her remark and said into his mic, "Excalibur Four in the air. Sorry for the delay."
Aw, snap. I didn't catch the shift of Everett and Zola being designated Excalibur Three. I'm sorry. ><''
Everett grimaced when the Colonel mentioned their reduction in size. It was drastic, going from maybe fourteen pilots and aircraft to just a handful, and for a moment he wondered if they were going to be able to be of any use at all. However, he quickly pushed that thought to a small corner of his mind - he needed to be focused and confident for the next mission, and doubting his own squadron was not going to help at all. It was going to be a reconnaissance mission, nothing Everett or Zola had never encountered before, but in Everett's case, he had never been the one toting the recon pod or camera or whatever device that was to be used. He had either been the one suppressing the enemy air defenses or providing top cover.
"I have never flown slow and level through enemy anti-air before, but I will give it a try." Everett said dryly with a nod. They were going to fly in low under the cover of darkness, but that could only go so far. Once they were above the enemy's heads, they were probably going to come under intense anti-air fire. He made a mental note to load up the Ghost with more air-to-ground armaments. Even if they were supposed to only fly defensively, Everett wanted to have the capability to eliminate enemy air defenses if they proved to be a significant issue.
"Oh, you would have hated my job." Zola said with a chuckle and shake of her head. "Flying slow, level and low through enemy air defenses. It was not fun at all."
She stood up and straightened out her clothes. They had ninety minutes to get everything sorted out and the first thing on Zola's list was to check the Ghost to ensure that everything was in perfect working order. She was sure that the ground maintenance crew on board the Nimue were skilled and certified, but it never did hurt to be extra careful. "I'll take my leave, then, Colonel. Going to give the Ghost a once over and check the ordnance." She said and offered a quick salute before leaving the barracks.
Everett remained on his bunk and picked up the tablet again. He wanted maps, even old ones, of the area, if only to get a feel for the terrain. He was going to have to fly the Ghost defensively, and the more he knew of any regions he could use to evade enemy fire, or even new avenues of approach, the better.
"I have never flown slow and level through enemy anti-air before, but I will give it a try." Everett said dryly with a nod. They were going to fly in low under the cover of darkness, but that could only go so far. Once they were above the enemy's heads, they were probably going to come under intense anti-air fire. He made a mental note to load up the Ghost with more air-to-ground armaments. Even if they were supposed to only fly defensively, Everett wanted to have the capability to eliminate enemy air defenses if they proved to be a significant issue.
"Oh, you would have hated my job." Zola said with a chuckle and shake of her head. "Flying slow, level and low through enemy air defenses. It was not fun at all."
She stood up and straightened out her clothes. They had ninety minutes to get everything sorted out and the first thing on Zola's list was to check the Ghost to ensure that everything was in perfect working order. She was sure that the ground maintenance crew on board the Nimue were skilled and certified, but it never did hurt to be extra careful. "I'll take my leave, then, Colonel. Going to give the Ghost a once over and check the ordnance." She said and offered a quick salute before leaving the barracks.
Everett remained on his bunk and picked up the tablet again. He wanted maps, even old ones, of the area, if only to get a feel for the terrain. He was going to have to fly the Ghost defensively, and the more he knew of any regions he could use to evade enemy fire, or even new avenues of approach, the better.
© 2007-2024