Inspired by other stories of ACE Combat 7: Skies Unknown, I decided to make a short entry of my own, as a "pilot episode" for my future stories of it. This entry is divided into three segments, the first one is about before the battle, the second chapter is about the first phase of the battle, then the duel between Trigger, Count and Sol Squadron.
Sunset Glow
Mihaly A. Shilage is almost thrown out from his seat — almost — if the safety straps don't work properly. Interfaces of his customized Su-30SM, panel, HUD and HMD, are displaying cruel messages that won't yield to personal wills line after line after line, all of them are expressing the same information: "Hey dumbass, you just got your butt kicked solidly!"
Mihaly manages to partially regain control of his aircraft, for losing it is definitely not a good idea among the mountainous rocky pillars of Yinshi Valley, one false move and he'll make a close encounter of the collision kind. A sound of warning, he is once again acquired by the perpetrator of his torment, a customized F/A-18F Super Hornet with insignias of Osean Air Defense Force. But as the siren of death keeps blaring, the final blow that will officially terminate his existence, is absent, maybe the Grim Reaper is choosing between the eight XMAAs attached to hardpoints and the Tier 0.0 Scale 1.0 railgun fixed to belly. Karma has a twisted sense of humor, Mihaly always scares his prey by delaying the kill, now he is the one to be treated exactly the same.
"That's enough, Trigger." AWACS Bandog hails the pilot in Osean Super Hornet's cockpit: "He needs time for leaving last testament and bidding farewell to his granddaughters. Your job here is done, RTB."
"Very well. Mihaly Dumitru Margareta Corneliu Leopold Blanca Karol Aeon Ignatius Raphael Maria Niketas A. Shilage." Trigger deliberately drags her pronunciation to enjoy the triumph: "Don't take it too long, because I have someone's head to reap, and that one happens to bear the same name of yours." F/A-18F peels away and egresses from Yinshi Valley.
Soon 444th Fighter Squadron is disbanded, its personnel divided to be reassigned to different posts. Trigger, for her unnaturally exceptional combat records, is relocated to newly formed "LRSSG", Long Range Strategic Strike Group, a special unit that mainly comprised by pilots, tasked to function like "air force of marine-style", moving covertly and attacking targets of high strategic values swiftly behind enemy lines, especially those beyond reach of other units of OADF.
After receiving the order of being transferred to the new position, Trigger specifically requested three individuals to come with her altogether:
The first one is undoubtedly Avril Mead, "Scrap Queen" of now-defunct 444th Fighter Squadron. Her genius of repairing and maintaining aircrafts, which was essential to keep this penal unit running at maximum efficiency, made her an indispensible asset. Trigger needs Avril Mead to continue to take care military hardware of hers, and if someone happens to capture any fancy gadgets from enemies, she can also analyze them to get some useful insights.
The second one is Count. He has potential, yet he doesn't know how to bring it to fruition. Trigger can use a wingman like him as support, and as a distraction to enemy fires when necessary. If he can survive the war, she may take him back to air force academy and train him personally.
Last but not the least, AWACS Bandog. He is a cold-hearted bastard, but he upholds disciplines and when situation calls, smartly gets things done without breaking those rules explicitly. Especially the "Full Band Incident". That idiot sneaked peeks into military secrets and flaunted it to everyone, which could not only jeopardy the penal unit, even endanger the entire war. For days Trigger was thinking to execute Full Band herself and to disguise it as an accident, but Bandog did it for her unknowingly. She can use an AWACS like Bandog, more competent than any AWACS she used to work with.
In following months, LRSSG strikes unpredictably like demons come out from underworld, across Usean Continent, dispensing great misery upon enemies. During the same process Trigger becomes the shining star in the rank, an equivalent of Mobius One, maybe better. Lands under hostile country's control shrinks like a wet patch on scorching desert, finally the battle of seizing their capital comes.
LRSSG Briefing Room
September 19th 2019, 12:00
【Background Music: LRSSG Briefing I】
Bandog: "Today is the day to conquer Farbanti, capital of Kingdom of Erusea, the very nation started this war." As he speaks, screen wall displays a digitally rendered map of Usean Continent, highlighting strategic points, also areas controlled by Osean Federation and its allied nations, and places still occupied by Erusea, respectively.
"This operation is named 'Eternal Damnation', a fitting title, I'll give it that." Continental map zooms in to the region around Farbanti, littered with red-colored icons representing enemy forces: "Erusea will definitely defend the capital with everything they have. In past weeks, Erusean military units were rolling in to entrench themselves deeply throughout city and suburbs, they even hastily built a temporary airport on eastern flat as a supporting facility for local air force detachments; also the rest of their navy had concentrated all ships they could find to deploy in Spring Sea and in the southern Submerged Area." Tags of enemy ships names and classes, as well as specifications of armaments, are shown along with ships' icons.
"First phase of Operation Eternal Damnation is divided into four sub-operations: Sub-Operation A, a task fleet of ours will move in from southwest to engage enemy fleet, then continue to advance and secure entire coastline and Submerged Area." Blue icons representing allied ships appear on map, with every vessel's name, class, commander name and armament specification.
"Sub-Operation B, ground troops and associated aviation corps from Cape Rainy will attack from north, to take control of urban areas; meanwhile Sub-Operation C is another contingent of land and air units making their way from eastern side of Farbanti, seizing the temporary airport, then keeping move further into the heart of the city to rendezvous with brethren from north." Blue icons representing these allied forces appear, with photos of their equipment, including tanks, APCs, self-propelled artilleries, helicopters and fixed-wing aircrafts.
"Sub-Operation D, an infiltration unit of commandos will enter Farbanti amid chaos of the battle, their goal is capturing control nodes of Erusean UCAVs, and reprogram them to our affiliation." Screen wall displays profiles of MQ-99s, their associated stationary and mobile launching platforms.
"We air force elements are to provide supports from above, and to secure air-superiority of AO. Three sub-operations need to be successful, then main operation proceeds to second phase: Occupation of Erusean capital buildings, including Royal Residence, National Assembly and Secretariat-General for National Defence and Security." Locations of said structures are highlighted, with photos: "Now this is where it gets important, everyone listen closely and remember it by heart: During our taking of Farbanti, Osean Space Defense Force will initiate 'Operation Starburst', a general offensive aiming to destroy all satellites controlled or hacked by Erusea, regardless military or civilian, by A-SAT of ground-based, air-based and space-based, in order to cripple their communication capabilities. Although OSDF has confidence of success, but outcome still can be unpredictable, in the worst-case scenario, destruction of so many satellites will generate a globe-scaled Kessler Syndrome that knocks out all satellites below and around geosynchronous orbit, however those in high orbits will be largely unaffected. All Osean military units and civilian communities had been instructed to switch communications to pre-selected high-orbit satellites and to optical cables, every ground station and AWACS also had been ordered to take necessary precautions, as well as old-fashioned radio systems. So during the operation, you may experience fluctuations of external data links, they're completely normal for caused by spikes of data flow demands in a narrowed network, if you can't help being distracted, switch on your own active sensors." A diagram of Operation Starburst is brought up on screen wall, as well as animated description of its possible outcomes, plus several pictures of different types of communication satellites in high orbits, and a world map of vast number of optical cables running subterranean and undersea, then a global communication network formed solely by ground-based radio facilities.
"Last but not the least, the 'Sol Squadron' we encountered before, official name '68th Experimental Squadron' afflicted to EASA, Erusean Air and Space Administration. We anticipate them to be a part in the defensive hierarchy of Farbanti, but since intelligence services are yet to determine their base of operation, we don't know if they are stationed in the city or will reinforce it from somewhere. However we do know they're now flying a new prototype of superfighter, codenamed 'X-02S Strike Wyvern', variant of X-02 Wyvern." Photos and profiles of Sol Squadron's pilots appear on screen wall, then replaced by some brief schematics of an X-02S Strike Wyvern, highlighting compatible armaments. Seconds later, these weapons are moved downward from aircraft's fuselage with animated visual effects, arranged vertically with names and working patterns in gif-animated style.
"X-02S Strike Wyvern is capable of carrying a selection of non-conventional weaponry, including a Tier 0.5 Scale 1.1 railgun for ultra-long-range and long-range, a Tier 1.0 Scale 1.0 turbine laser cannon for long-range and medium range, and a Tier 1.0 Scale 1.0 pulse plasma cannon covering medium-range and short-range. It's already extremely devastating in its own right, not to mention coupled with skill of a Sol Squadron's pilot. When they show up, none of you is permitted to engage, except Trigger and Count, for they have experiences of confronting this squadron and besting them."
Bandog: "Operation Eternal Damnation begins at today's 17:20, dismiss and proceed to preparation."
【Background Music Stops】
【Background Music: New Arrows Air Base Hangar】
In hangar, dozens of fighter are being fueled and armed. Trigger and Count's planes are specially customized by Avril Mead as they always are, according to the configurations they prefer. Since the duo is going to take on a squadron of ace pilots and superfighters as a "boss battle", Avril Mead suggests them to use fighters of same tier, but Trigger insists to ride on F-22A Raptor, stating "cleansing ants on lawn doesn't require a Death Star", and to deliberately humiliate Eruseans, she even asks the Scrap Queen to paint her Raptor identical to Mobius One. Following his leader's example, Count also decides to use Su-37 Terminator, painted to be same as Yellow 13.
"Trigger and Count, may I have a word with you?" As they're about to climb into cockpit, Bandog comes forth and calls them back.
Both pilots walk to the AWACS operator. Bandog speaks in a low voice, closest to their ears: "Department of Defense has special orders for you. They want data of actual combat performance of those prototypes as well as destruction of Sol Squadron. So during the confrontation against them, destruction is the first priority, but drag the fight as long as you can. You're authorized to fire upon ejected pilots."
Trigger and Count nod: "Understood/Righto."
AWACS and fighters line up on runway to take off one after another. Avril Mead watches them gradually disappearing into the dark blue that stretches indefinitely from ground: "君たちのご武運を祈ります。"
【Background Music Stops】
Farbanti, Kingdom of Erusea
September 19th 2019, 17:10
"We're approaching AO on schedule. All participating allies are converging as planned too." Bandog hails all LRSSG pilots: "Before announcing 'Mission Start', there is another announcement I want to make: Good afternoon everyone. Today is history. Today will be remembered. Years from now the young will ask with wonder about this day. Today is history and we're part of it. Over one millennium ago, a group of people came to here, with nothing but some necessities for survival. They settled down, they prospered, they built a city of good wines and fine arts with bare hands, by the blessings of God. But they don't treasure what they're bestowed, they had grown arrogant. For past centuries they waged wars against their neighbors again and again, they brought nothing but chaos and sufferings to the world. Finally, God decides not to favor them anymore, God makes his decision to rescind what he gifted to them, and we're going to cast this divine retribution. By this afternoon, all these one thousand years are a rumor, they never happened. Today is history and we're the makers."
Mumbles in the shared channel: "I like it, feel aroused." "Guess he's telling the truth." "I have no sympathy to those Eruseans, they deserve what comes to them…"
"Hey Trigger, you wrote Bandog this didn't you?" Count opens a private line to Trigger.
"Yes." Trigger answers plainly.
"You're not only talented in mass-murdering, but also good in instigating people into mass-murdering."
"Everyone in LRSSG has personal scores to settle with Eruseans. I have some, so do you."
"Yeah…" Count cuts chatter himself, and sets his sight to horizon, skyline of Fanbanti has emerged and is expanding rapidly.
Final shot of this chapter: Frame freezes as Osean fighters advancing to enemy capital, then zooms out and transforms its graphic effect into oil painting-like style.
The battle of fate begins.