On the brink

[Anatea]

O N   T H E   B R I N K

 

The Dalstavian War had left unbridgeable gaps in the management of the Anatean army and in the government. A lone princess is called upon to rule a country completely by herself, while behind the shadows a greater force is moving to subvert the country and bring it to the brink. A phantom division, a squadron of former war veterans and a trusted fews will face the greatest internal danger Anatea has ever faced in its existence.

Edited June 25 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

 

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸 , 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿
                              𝙻𝚒𝚙𝚊 𝙰𝚒𝚛 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝙳𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚊  』

 

Our life had completely changed since the Dalstavian War ended. We won, we suffered, but we were still alive. Thousands of dead and fallen comrades that were physically and psychologically injured to keep a piece of land that did not belong to us. But it was politics, and the government, especially the right-wing one now managed by Fulvio Silani, didn’t have much problems after the conflict. In the end what mattered to them was the “good of the nation and the Anateans.”

.  .  .

Alis: “Brad, are you ready? If the base commander doesn’t see us in the air in a few minutes, he’ll bother us like last time. ”

 

Bradley: “After what we’ve done for him during the war, he can wait. Damn it...”

 

The conflict was over for months, yet we were still stationed in Dalstavia as a peacekeeper unit. As the war ended, not only Virsis was weakened but, from the news that reached us from beyond the border, numerous revolts and violent clashes within their regions plagued the falling nation. Instead of being relieved, we were still on high alert, fearing the rise to power of another idiot like Karsi Raptis, the former dictator of Virsis. We were pleased to find out that he was murdered just a few days ago.

The situation hadn’t changed though, and as usual we had to patrol the skies to prevent some idiots from trying to do something stupid in retaliation for the previous war.

Mechanic: “Captain, your planes are ready! ”

 

Bradley: “Thanks...”

 

With all that was going on and the pressure I still had from the end of the end of the conflict, I just wanted to go home, see my loved ones, my family... have just one moment to relax and breathe, rather than being here in this place forgotten by God and far away from everything I used to know. It took a few seconds for Samuel and Daniel to join me and Alis on the taxi strip where, a few hundred meters away from us, our fighters were waiting.

Those JiG-33s somehow got us through the fire and pain of that damned conflict, sometimes making us survive the weirdest encounters we had with Wasav Squadron or those 72nd Squadron guys, or as they preferred to call themselves... “Raven” Squadron. Speaking of them, Central Command did not obtain any further information about them so far.

Daniel: “And here we are again ready for another interesting group meeting! I see you can’t wait to take another ride in the skies, Captain eh eh...”

 

Bradley: “Well, at least flying and leaving this base for just a few hours is the only thing that makes me feel a little better... jokes aside, our job is the same everyday routine: take off, group up, patrol the northern perimeter of the region and then RTB.”

 

Samuel: “Usual program without anything new, cool.”

 

Bradley: “Better than staying on the ground and do nothing at least.”

 

I said, noticing that it was starting to rain. Made sense, since we had cloudy weather for several days.

Alis: “Brad, if you want you can stay on the ground. I mean, look at you... you look like a zombie. ”

 

Bradley: “I’m... fine. I just need some hours of sleep. C’mon, we are late for the patrol. Besides, flying is the only thing that gives us a reason to be in this forsaken place.”

 

Daniel: “Yeah, you can say that loud and cle-”

 

Suddenly several explosions and a shock wave. It happened quickly and without any warning.

I was thrown on the ground, finding myself slamming on the hard concrete of the airstrip. All around me there was smoke and pieces of burning metal scraps falling next to us. I couldn’t hear anything, and as I put my hand on the head I saw I was bleeding. Probably a bruise on the forehead. The only sound I could hear was a long and interminable hiss in my ears, as my sight was unable to stabilize itself. I couldn’t even get on my feet as I fell back shortly after. I tried to speak, to shout, to say something, but my words had no sound. Gradually and slowly, my vision and hearing were beginning to come back.

Bradley: “ALIS! DANIEL! SAMUEL! Are you alright?!”

 

Daniel: “Capt- coff coff, here... I’m fine, I think!”

 

After a few seconds even Samuel answered, seeing both him and Daniel crawling next to me between the fading smoke and incessant rain. Alis, on the opposite, was laying on the ground, immobile. I crawled towards her, immediately putting my fingers on her neck to feel any sign of life.

As I felt her pulse, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still alive.

The base alarm began to ring incessantly while me and the others began to look around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Our JiG-33s were reduced to burning carcasses. Had we been a little bit closer, we would have been all killed in the explosion.

Samuel: “Are they- Who is attacking us?!”

 

Bradley: “I don’t know, I- I don’t see enemy fighters or AA fire...”

 

Daniel: “What the hell is going on?!”

 

No one was able to understand what was happening. As we were still on the ground, trying to figure out the situation, the soldiers and personnel of the base were arriving on the spot to help us.

Did someone try to kill us?

 

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸 , 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 』

 

I couldn’t stop thinking everyday about how lucky we were to survive the explosion of our fighters.

The recordings of the base surveillance didn’t notice anything suspicious, while the mechanics and sentries were all questioned non-stop by the anti-terrorism unit of the RSS. No results, no culprits in a seemingly sea of innocents. We had been victims of an assassination attempt. We thought someone tried to bomb the airport, but traces of an explosive device found during the investigation made us understand that somebody placed a bomb in our aircrafts a few days ago, in a point where our mechanics, even with the continuous pre-flight checks under our supervision, could not find or see at first sight. The investigation was leading nowhere, and as victims the RSS decided to keep us confined to our barracks to protect us from a second assassination attempt. If before I was stressed because I wanted to go home, now my nerves were on the verge of a breakdown.

On November 22 there was a change of plans. A unit of RSS agents picked us up from Lipa Air Force base to transport us to a new destination: Eris Island. There was nothing we knew over there, apart for rocks and... well, other rocks. We thought that maybe there was a military protection center for officers, or something like that... but I would have never thought that that place would have been the beginning of our new life.

We landed after several hours of flying on a makeshift runway in the rocks. I never saw an airstrip so improvised like that and I was unable to figure out which airbase belonged to that airstrip.

Alis: “Where are we?”

 

RSS Agent: “Eris Island ma’am.”

 

We got off the plane and the agents took us with a jeep inside the base which was built inside the hill, since from the outside and the rocky terrain we were unable to figure it out. It was a system of recently built tunnels and rooms, with some places still left to be finished. Me and my wingmen couldn’t believe what we were observing, we had never seen such a base before and knowing that on a remote island not far from the motherland we had something like this, it amazed me and made me think how many other similar structures were built around Anatea in secret...

The escort agents of the RSS took us into a pretty large and dimly lit room, where on one of the walls a lone TV on top of a table was broadcasting Solisea News, while all around there were tables and chairs stacked and still waiting to be placed.

TV Program
<< ...and now we continue the broadcast with a last news we received recently... It, it seems that the aircraft that was transporting the members of the national acrobatic squadron “Sol”, also veterans of the Dalstavian War, that disappeared a few days ago around Venetia, has been found. The debris of the aircraft were found in the waters not far from the maritime city, together with the body of one of the pilots. Nobody was able to see any survivors arriving at the coast around the area in the last days, leaving the rescue teams to think that the members are probably dead. >>

 

Bradley: “What the actual fu-”

 

Alis: “Six days ago? We were still in Dalstavia... like, how would they consider us dead? And what was that plane?”

 

???: “I’m sorry you had to find out about your sudden end in this way.”

 

A male voice in the darkness. The agents with us did not move a muscle, on the contrary they walked behind us to the door we entered, putting themselves in front of it.

Bradley: “Hey, hey! What the hell is happening?! Who the hell are you all?!”

 

Daniel: “Don’t tell me this guy wants to finish us once and for all!”

 

As we were ready to defend ourselves with our bare hands, we saw a dark figure advancing amidst the darkness, while its limp footsteps were followed by the sound of a wooden stick stomping on the floor. As we readied ourselves for what we would see, the unknown figure came to light, showing a man in Anatean Air Force uniform. The unknown figure was walking with the help of a wooden stick, but most importantly the man revealed to be... Elia Kalt?!

Our eyes widened in disbelief, thinking we were hallucinating and seeing ghosts. Major Kalt, also known as the “Hero of Ikras” during the Dalstavian War, was standing before us.

I saw him die in front of my very eyes, how could he be still alive?

Kalt: “Welcome to Eris Island.”

 

Bradley: “Kalt... What?! How...? How did you survive, who- what the hell is...?”

 

My mind was pervaded by billions of questions trying to find a logical answer to what was happening in front of us, but I was unable to find something that would resemble a good explanation. We all thought he died during the battle of Ikras!

Kalt: “Well... quite a lot of time passed from the last time we saw each other at the battle of Ikras... right Bradley? Let’s say i managed to save myself by pure luck with the reserve parachute, it opened less than thousand feet from the ground and... I landed, but I was severely injured. I passed out for a few days, until a commando unit found me. Of course the official report says something else about me, but not being able to fly anymore was like they actually declared me dead, so not a big difference.”

Samuel: “But... What are we doing here then? And why are we considered dead?”

 

Kalt: “We had to fake your death in a remotely controlled plane, even the body, it’s an ex Virsisi soldier. We needed to protect you and get you here safely.”

 

Alis: “Yes, but... couldn’t you give us a new identity rather than “killing” us?”

 

Kalt: “And have your pursuers keep looking for you? Forget it. We needed to protect you because you are skilled veterans, but most importantly we need you here now more than ever.”

 

Bradley: “What do you mean?”

 

Kalt: “She’ll explain shortly...”

 

From the darkness, another unknown figure came forward, this time a little shorter than Kalt and with feminine forms. The feminine figure was wearing jeans and a gray coat, and had blonde hair, fair skin, ice blue eyes... her face! She was Princess Sofia Soleri!

Samuel: “Your majesty...!”

 

Princess Sofia Soleri: “Good morning to you. Forgive me for all this chaos, it was my fault and you deserve an explanation about what’s happening.”

 

We couldn’t believe it. In front of us we had princess Sofia Soleri, head of state and current regent of Anatea. Without even waiting a second all four of us bowed in greeting and respect for a member of the Anatean royal family, but the princess asked us to get up, justifying that there was no need.

Princess Sofia Soleri: “I had to gather you and other key members of our military because, as you already know, your life is in extreme danger. I know that faking your deaths was an extreme action, and for that i’m deeply sorry, but i need you to be part of my special private division i’m building.”

 

Bradley: “Division...? Why?”

 

Princess Sofia Soleri: “Because... what I’m going to tell you is extremely confidential...”

 

We all nodded, even if I was enraged with this series of events that forced our life to be changed in such a weird and abrupt manner.

Princess Sofia Soleri: “... We have a reason to believe that Anatea is at risk. We don’t know yet the entity of what is threatening us, but we need every able member to join us.”

 

Alis: “I’m sorry if I’ll sound quite hostile, ma’am, but... you literally destroyed our lives because you think our country is threatened? Like... you have an entire army and one of the finest Intelligence agencies on the continent to sort this problem out.”

 

Kalt: “And you are right Alis, but this goes beyond what our government can do, because we think the government itself is part of this big problem. We could have traitors between our ranks, since we also found out that the entire Dalstavian War was a farce.”

 

Daniel: “Ah-ah! I’m sorry, are you kidding me?!”

 

Kalt: “I wish I did, but I’m not. We even had some important informations about the whole conflict, but our agent coming back from Virsis was killed in action over Highway 22 from the same people that tried to kill you during the air battle for the Dalstavian Plain.”

 

Bradley: “72nd Squadron...”

 

Kalt: “Exactly. Thankfully for us, the AWACS that was in that mission over Highway 22 and the radio comms during the air battle you were in were able to make us understand that the 72nd Squadron, or as they call themselves “Raven Squadron”, is a unit of mercenary killers working for a unit called “Crystal Kingdom”. We don’t have further informations about this last name, tho.”

 

Alis: “Ok, but now... what should we do in this “division” of yours?”

 

Princess Sofia Soleri: “We want you to use your experience as fighter pilots to fly for us in covert combat missions. This unit is so secret that even the government itself doesn’t know we exist. As such, our unit not only will try to find out what is happening in our country, but we want also to be able to project our power capacity all over the wurld.”

 

Bradley: “Why should we fly all over the glube for you?”

 

Kalt: “Because we have to. Our past isolationism is what caused Anatea to be so unprepared for the challenges we are facing now, plus putting some dangerous people in control of nations able to wage wars for avoidable reasons without doing anything to prevent it. For example, if somebody would have stopped Karsi Raptis from starting a bloody unification war in Virsis and then waging war on us the following years, we would never be all here right now.”

 

Daniel: “So what? We’ll basically be like superheroes but instead of wearing cool capes we’ll fly cool planes?”

 

Kalt: “Something like that, if you want to put it that way. We need to stop whatever is happening right now and what could happen around our borders and beyond.”

 

Princess Sofia Soleri: “So... will you join us?”

 

We all looked at each other.
In those few seconds, millions of thoughts were almost shared by all of us. Our past lives, experiences, happiness, pains... all gone. We were a group of nobodies now, and we were in no position to do anything else. Alis, Samuel and Daniel all nodded towards me. As I looked the princess in her blue eyes, I replied to her question:

Bradley: “Yes, your majesty. We will.”

 

The princess smiled, while Kalt kept his cold gaze on us.

Kalt: “Then allow me to welcome you in the Strategic Strike Force, also known as SSF... Luna Squadron.”

 

Luna Squadron, a new name that would have stuck with us from that moment on.

We “died” just to be reborn and try to save Anatea from the danger that was aiming to destroy our country. Despite the stress of the past days and the revelations we received, in that moment I didn’t care anymore about losing things. I was just determined to find out what was happening and put an end to it.

No matter what.

.  .  .

Edited August 7 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

 

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 - 𝟼:𝟸𝟻 𝚙𝚖
                                                      𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚊, 𝙰𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚊  』

The A-10 Highway bridge has always been described by the citizens of Solisea as one of the busiest and most trafficked road junctions in the entire peninsula, if not of all of Anatea. Thousands of vehicles passed the bridge daily, deemed extremely convenient for skipping the capital’s tangled streets, and helping people to get in and out of the capital just in time to come back to their homes with their families.
The light coolness of the evening and the sun, which had already set before seven o’clock, announced the beginning of the Winter season which from several days was spreading its sideral mantle over the entire Aurelian continent. For many it was just a normal day, with the usual after-work fatigue, the clutter of cars that occasionally stopped the traffic for minutes and... for the few that managed to pass over the trafficked area, a police car was parked in the right lane of the road and with stop lights on. No one was on board.
A weird and very problematic sight, since the vehicle had actually reduced the viability on the right side of the bridge, plus the phone's signals were unable to work correctly from some minutes. It was impossible to call, send or receive messages. Even mobile internet connection was off, and the whole city was beginning to slowly experience that malfunction too.
The traffic, the police unable to quickly reach the site of the traffic jam, and an unknown plane approaching the city from south-east.
It appeared out of nowhere, on Anatean military and Strategic Strike Force radars.
It was quite normal for people to see a police Britten-Norman Defender plane flying over the city, as they were occasionally used for air patrol or, at times, to manage large traffics in some areas of the city. Except that due to the rising signal interference, no control tower was able to contact the plane, but above all the aircraft was barely visible on radars, due to what appeared to be heavy jamming.
People began to wonder what was happening, until the plane emitted a rising and loud sound of when an aircraft is making a dramatic dive.

It all happened too fast.

The aircraft quickly dove and crashed itself into the bridge, in the same exact spot where the police car was blocking the traffic on the bridge. The explosion of the aircraft quickly damaged the bridge and the nearby cars around the affected area, as people were leaving their cars in panic. The flames on the bridge were blocking any viability on the road, while the scarlet and burning fire was revealing the numerous injured and victims of the explosion.
The inhabitants of Solisea were in complete shock, and the authorities only noticed the damage when the smoke from the explosion began to rise and paint the sky of black.

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 - 𝟽:𝟷𝟻 𝚙𝚖
                              𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝙴𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍  』

The alarm siren in the Eris Island base of the Strategic Strike Force was already wailing for a few minutes, as the pilots of Luna Squadron began to run towards the hangars to take off. The situation was so urgent that I didn’t have time to explain the situation to Bradley and Alis, the two pilots I chose to send on mission from Luna Squadron. They had to take off as soon as possible since several aircrafts had taken off without permission from three civilian airports.
As the screams of the engines of the Ky-35Ks were starting and wailing on the rocky airstrip of the base, I was in the control room monitoring the situation and the radars. Once I made sure Alis and Bradley were in the air, I immediately picked the microphone.

Kalt: “This is Kalt, codename “Anubis”. An hour ago an aircraft identified as a Britten-Norman Defender of the Anatean Police had crashed in Solisea. The entire north-eastern coast of Anatea is isolated. We are unable to transmit or receive anything, meaning the area is under heavy jamming. Despite that, we have detected three other aircrafts that took off without permission and are now heading towards Tristene, Los Canas and Calista. They are again, three Britten-Norman Defenders of the police. The Air Force interceptors have already taken off and they are trying to reach the ones heading towards Los Canas and Calista. Luna, your target is the one heading for Tristene, codename: Specter. Two aircrafts of Wendigo Squadron are already in the air on patrol, team up with them and intercept Specter together. Stop it before it reaches Tristene.”

I explained, monitoring the situation from the radar screens.

Luna 1
<< What the hell is going on?! >>

 

Kalt: “We don’t know. We are trying to contact the Central Police Command in Solisea, but the heavy jamming is blocking our attempts. In any case, intercept the aircraft at all costs. Specter is at 3-1-5 from you, heading south, so to intercept it correctly you have to head towards 3-1-3.”

 

Several long minutes passed while my eyes were observing the unfolding of the interception on screen, seeing the icons of Luna and Wendigo Squadron getting closer and closer to the bogey from different angles. Even if it was about a single aircraft, we had to be careful, since we couldn’t know if the aircraft was actually alone, or escorted by armed hostile aircrafts.

Kalt: “Warning, Wendigo Squadron. You are almost within range. Specter is at 9000 feet, Mach 0.4, bearing 3-1-2 from your position.”

 

Wendigo 1
<< Roger, on it. >>

 

Wendigo began the engagement, while Luna Squadron was getting closer and closer to the interception point I fixed for them earlier, in case Wendigo would have failed the first interception. After a few seconds, Wendigo called back.

Wendigo 1
<< No joy. Bogey dope. >>

 

Radar Operator: “Sir, Wendigo is too close! They’ll end up colliding with the target!”

 

Kalt: “Wendigo, Specter should be straight in front of you. I repeat: 9000 feet, Mach 0.4, bearing 3-1-2 from your position, over.”

 

Wendigo 1
<< No joy. I repeat, no joy. Are you sure the bandit is there? >>

 

Kalt: “Wendigo, reduce your speed! You are too close to the-”

 

In an instant the screen showed the icons of Wendigo being substituted by the icons of downed aircrafts, as the lone aircraft kept flying towards Tristene. Wendigo Squadron was shot down.

Radar Operator: “Wendigo... shot down?! Could it be stealth bogeys...?”

 

Kalt: “I don't know, could be everything at this point.”

 

The situation was slowly falling out from our hands, as the icon of the lone aircrafts was immediately sided by other two icons: unknown JiG-33s.

Kalt: “It’s not stealth, it’s somebody jamming the area heavily... Luna be careful! We lost Wendigo, there are two unknown JiG-33s flying next to Specter. Probably fighters covered by heavy jamming. They’ll enter Tristene air space in about 3 minutes!”

 

Luna 1
<< So, what are our orders? >>

 

A moment of silence passed, until I took the microphone again and replied to the question.

Kalt: “New orders: kill Specter.”

 

Another moment of silence, until the radio replied to my request.

Luna 1
<< Roger: kill Specter. >>

 

As Luna Squadron began to target the unknown aircrafts, the icons on the screen suddenly changed, erasing the JiG-33s and the Britten-Norman Defender from my view and substituting them with the icons of Wendigo Squadron. Even the jamming over Solisea seemed to disappear, while communication with the capitol was beginning to flow again as usual.

Kalt: “Luna, disengage, disengage! Wendigo, sitrep!”

 

Wendigo 1
<< Wendigo 1 here, we had heavy jamming and we have lost our position. Are we still on the target? >>

 

Kalt: “Luna, Wendigo, are you sure the area is clear from bogeys?”

 

Luna 1
<< Confirmed, Anubis. No joy at all, there’s just us and Wendigo. >>

 

Radar Operator: “How is it possible? Did they hack our system?”

 

Kalt: “I- I don’t know honestly. Get in contact with K Unit, I want them to immediately reach the princess and secure her.”

 

Luna 1
<< Anubis, what about us? >>

 

Kalt: “Wendigo, Luna, RTB.”

 

Wendigo and Luna Squadron returned to the base after about thirty minutes. After a few hours i was able to confirm through my contacts in the Army that even the other Anatean aircrafts intercepted ghost aircrafts that in reality didn’t exist at all. The only real aircraft was another Britten-Norman Defender of the police appearing out of nowhere over Eraldea region, crashing on the highway connecting Los Canas, Arden and Sachan. It was a trap, and we all fell right into it. Luckily, this time there were no victims or injuries, but the main road connecting the three economic hubs of Anatea was now paralyzed for several days. No one was able to detect the last plane.

Whoever was playing this game, was very good... maybe too much.

Edited July 18 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

 

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿  』

 

TV Program
<< Good afternoon viewers, today we open the 4 o’clock edition of Solisea News with a last minute news. The investigations about yesterday's aircrafts crash have yet to report any result, but Chief of the Anatean Police, Giacomo Rigoni, stated that on board of the two planes there were no pilots, meaning that the police could not have been involved in the accidents. However, the Solisea district attorney’s office released a video of the bridge before the attack, showing an abandoned police car blocking the traffic. While an internal investigation is going on to understand if it was terrorism or negligence from the police, Prime Minister Fulvio Silani has released a statement about the action the government wants to take, we’ll show right now what he said today. >>

 

Fulvio Silani (TV Program)
<< What happened yesterday was a sad tragedy that shouldn’t happen these days, not after what we all Anateans have passed in the last months. The Republican Strategy Service is investigating the matter non-stop, but the Senate and I decided all in unison to declare a state of emergency at 6 PM today. Together with the declaration, I decided to lift any policemen from their duty and be confined to their quarters until the investigation will be resolved. Until then, the military will establish a martial law in every city in the nation for our safety. To all the police officers and stations who will refuse to stand down and let the military handle the situation, there could be penal consequences that could affect your career permanently. Until then, I ask the population to have patience and trust us, we’ll find the culprits really soon and we’ll not let them get away so easily, not after the victims and damages they caused. >>

 

TV Program
<< As they return the line to the studio, we have some news about some police stations refusing to stand down, preparing their men for what could be a protest against the instituted martial law that will soon affect the major centers. With the growing tensions, we know that Princess Sofia Soleri will be moved to a safer location to ensure her safety. That’s all for now, stay tuned for further updates and we’ll get you back to you for the 8 o’clock edition of Solisea News. >>

 

The situation was getting intense pretty quickly and from the entertainment room of the base my wingmen and I couldn’t do much apart from watching the TV screen and hoping something worse wouldn’t happen. Whatever channel we watched, the news reported the same thing more or less.
It seemed our country was coming to a stand off against itself.

Alis: “The wurld seems to start going crazy, and we can’t do anything but wait for something to happen.”

 

Daniel: “I know right? But even then, what reason would the police have to make all this chaos? Better salaries? C’mon...”

 

Samuel: “Yeah and how could they infiltrate the Army’s radar system?”

 

Bradley: “That’s the neat part: they can’t. An action like that would require hacking the main Army server, but since it’s remote, it’s extremely hard to do it from the outside, and even then there would be traces of an external attack. This means, it was someone from the inside, and I don’t like where this situation is leading to...”

 

Suddenly, Colonel Kalt entered the room. Cold and quiet as always.

Kalt: “Gentlemen, playtime’s over. We have a mission for you.”

 

 

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『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 - 𝟼:𝟹𝟶 𝚙𝚖
                                           𝙴𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝙲𝚘𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚊  』

 

Once again we were flying in the sky. Kalt explained to us that princess Sofia Soleri had to be escorted to Tristene to then be transferred secretly here to Eris Island. Despite Tristene was a safer location than Solisea, since there were no clashes between the police or the military yet, for this operation he wanted to have us in the air to cover the convoy and a combination of SSF and RSS agents as escorts on the ground. Kalt didn’t want to trust nor the police or the military for this operation, and given the actual situation, I understood him pretty well. When we rendezvoused with the convoy in Solisea with our Ky-35Ks, we were pleased to find out that we had an AWACS with us, and was Sky Arrow! He told us he was secretly transferred after we went missing, since our organization needed an AWACS after all. We and Sky Arrow were all so happy to find each other after so much time. We endured through hell together, and having a familiar face with us actually helped us to bear this new job a little more.

Finally, after some minutes, the convoy began to advance on the main highway leading towards Tristene, while the orange sky of late afternoon helped us a little to blend in with the soon to be dark sky.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Sky Arrow here, situation? >>

 

Luna 1
<< Luna 1 here, I’ve been hit by a boredom attack. I request to return to base, over. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Yeah sure, nice try eh eh. There are still twenty minutes left for the convoy to arrive in Tristene. Until then, I suggest you to get comfortable and wait. >>

 

Luna 3
<< Getting comfortable on a fighter... really? >>

 

Luna 2
<< Guys, may I remind you we are on an escort mission to keep her majesty safe? >>

 

The situation was calm and the journey continued without any problem. At around 20 kilometers from Tristene, the convoy had to change roads suddenly and continue on a provincial road.

SSF Agent
<< Sky Arrow, we’ve got a situation: highway is blocked by an accident, police patrol car and army truck collided. We’ll pass through Aliandria and then reconnect to the highway again. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Mmmm... weird, but ok. Go on. >>

 

The convoy continued to advance towards the secondary road, reaching the town of Aliandria after some minutes. From above we could observe the narrow streets of the town being free and devoid of any threat, despite the roads being mostly empty but it was normal, since with the coming of Winter and at the end end of the afternoon, people were usually preparing dinner in their homes.

SSF Agent
<< We are almost at the end of the town, so far so good. Just a few kilometers from the next entrance of the high- wait, AWACS, we’ve got a situation. A blue Humvee of the police is blocking our way... Since when do the police have AV-3 Oltrestradas? >>

 

SSF Agent
<< Because they don’t have them. >>

 

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Yeah, and the police don't have either Bojownik BVPs coming hot from a forest nearby or three Lo-24s coming from 3-0-0. Oh God, don’t tell me it’s a trap, for fuc- >>

 

Suddenly we saw tracers being shot on the ground. It was the Police AV-3 personnel having exited the vehicle and shooting at the convoy.

SSF Agent
<< Convoy here, it’s an ambush! SWAT police members are firing at us! >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Sky Arrow to Luna, engagement of the hostile targets authorized, you are clear to engage! Engagements on the town or use of air to ground missiles is strictly prohibited. >>

 

Luna 1
<< Copy! Luna 3 and 4, intercept and destroy the BVPs, me and Luna 2 will intercept the helicopters! >>

 

Luna 3
<< Copy! >>

 

The situation was reaching the limit of the absurd. We immediately split, taking our fighters to fly slowly as to aim better with our machine guns. We had to be extremely careful to avoid collateral damage, but most importantly to not be noticed too much. Me and Alis immediately came in towards the helicopters, but as soon as I was aiming towards them, the Lo-24s immediately changed route, not letting me have a good shot on them.

Luna 1
<< Motherfu- >>

 

Luna 2
<< Brad, we need to hit them from multiple sides, or those bastards will escape the next engagement. I’ll engage them from their right, you take their left. >>

 

Luna 1
<< Good plan, Alis. >>

 

We immediately began to reposition ourselves as Alis proposed, since by being hit from the sides they would have less possibilities to escape our attacks, and the hostiles understood that too, since they began to split.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Convoy, this is Sky Arrow, talk to me! >>

 

SSF Agent
<< We- We managed to fend off their attack. We were able to drive away from them and continue on another small road... we have a couple of wounded, but the princess is safe. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< I see you on radar, good. Just know that the road you are taking will pass next to two hostile BVPs, but our pilots are already taking care of them. >>

 

With the new tactic acquired, it didn’t take long for me and Alis to shoot down two of the three Lo-24s approaching the town. As the two helicopters crashed on the ground abruptly, the last one was taken on by a combination of different angles of attack from me and Alis. The bastard didn’t have any chance.

Luna 1
<< Luna 1 here, hostile helis are no factor. >>

 

Luna 3
<< Same here, the BVPs were crushed in mere seconds. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Good job. Convoy, how’s the princess? >>

 

SSF Agent
<< She’s a little shaken, but she’s fine. We are keeping her safe. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Alright. I called the extraction helicopter to your south-east, 3 kilometers from the town. >>

 

The convoy began to move again, speeding on the provincial road and reaching the extraction point after a few minutes. The place was perfect, since it was open on all sides, so to see any approaching enemy that could attack us. Thankfully for us, no other menaces tried to make our day harder, and the extraction helicopter arrived after several minutes.

SSF Extraction Unit
<< Lynx to Sky Arrow, extraction completed. The princess is safe with us. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Good to know. Luna, you can RTB, Blue Spook Squadron is coming now to relieve you. You did a splendid job out there. >>

 

The remaining SSF vehicles dispersed, as the helicopter began to take off and move away from the scene, while we changed guard with Blue Spook Squadron that arrived after some seconds.

The travel back to base was so silent that we weren’t used to it after what we witnessed. It was literally impossible that the police were able to have and deploy military aircrafts and armored vehicles like those. The situation was literally getting out of control.

Once we landed our planes at the base, we immediately headed towards Kalt for the debriefing, telling him what we saw in Aliandria. As we were talking, I couldn’t help but slam my right fist on Kalt’s desk. I felt that the people making this madness coming to life were literally joking with us and our lives.

Bradley: “How the hell did the police have AV-3s, BVPs and three goddamn attack helicopters?! Something weird is going on Kalt, and you know it too. The army is involved in this bullshit too!”

 

Kalt: “It was obvious, Bradley. Any trace of any hacking attack coming from the outside would have been noticed, and the fact that nothing like that was shown from our diagnostic system made us understand that whoever planned yesterday’s incident, and probably this one too, is doing it from the inside. And guess what our radars and satellite systems are currently connected to? Yeah, the Army. But this is nothing, since shit is going to hit the fan pretty shortly.”

 

Alis: “What do you mean, Kalt? We escorted the princess safely to the base!”

 

Kalt: “The battle you had today in Aliandria was... recorded by the locals. The videos ended up on the internet, and now they are beginning to circulate on the news. We are going to end up in a goddamn mess if we don’t do something immediately.”

 

Daniel: “Holy shit.”

 

Bradley: “So... we did all this for nothing?”

 

Kalt sighed, waiting for something to say, but from his eyes I could see he was trying hard to not admit defeat once again. As soon as he opened his mouth, a Control Room operator immediately opened the door of the room and walked right in.

Control Room Operator: “Colonel Kalt, you should come and see! We have a lead.”

 

Both us and Kalt were staring at the man in amazement. Maybe we weren’t with our backs on the wall as we thought.

Edited June 29 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

 

⌾         ⌾         ⌾

 

『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿  』

 

Several days passed from the clash Luna Squadron had in Aliandria, and yet the situation didn’t seem to show any improvement.
The civilian recordings of the battle circulated first on the internet, then shortly after on the news. Seeing the tragedy unfold in front of their very eyes, tensions between the army and the police became worse, sparking protests and, in rare cases, even shootings between police agents and soldiers. To make the matter worse, the population began to side both with the police or with the army, since for those who actually knew how the police operate, being able to use military vehicles was something impossible for them.
The country was starting to be split on the security matter, and despite princess Sofia Soleri tried to calm the population, her words were overcome by Fulvio Silani and Set Party, accusing the Anatean Police of trying to assassinate the princess.
Everything was spiraling down, and it seemed there was no come back from it... until now.
The SSF operator that interrupted the debriefing, showed Kalt through satellite images of a few hours before the battle that the BVPs were actually placed at Aliandria via helicopters, more precisely two El-91s of the Anatean Army. The SSF had concrete proof that the Army was actually involved in this mess. Despite the images, nobody knew from where those El-91s actually came from, and after several days of satellite back-tracking, the operators and analysts were able to find a decommissioning site for civilian aircrafts, 23 kilometers east of Nivera, in the Amber region. That place was the perfect hiding spot for a little unit, since the forests and mountains of the region nearby were actually able to hide whoever was there pretty good. What concerned Kalt was that the area was guarded pretty heavily by armored vehicles painted with police insignias and AAs, plus a force of six El-91s able to airlift another hostile force wherever they wanted.
Stopping them and understanding who was commanding that unit was of vital importance.
For that, Kalt decided to send there an undercover agent, codename: Kala. The agent slipped in the base 3 days ago, trying to gain access to the control room of the base, but with no avail, since security was pretty tight in that building. Tonight was the last chance, since Kalt decided to destroy the base to avoid further attacks from the unit.
Kalt was really hoping that Kala would be able to actually infiltrate the command building, before the SSF were forced to destroy it with their incoming aerial attack and lose a possible track for the investigation.

 

⌾         ⌾         ⌾

 

 

『  𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 - 𝟷𝟷:𝟺𝟹 𝚙𝚖
                                               𝙰𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝙽𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊, 𝙰𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛  』

 

That night in Amber seemed colder than ever, or maybe it was just the SSF pilots not being accustomed to the mountain environment. While the rest of Anatea was starting to wither for the approaching Winter, in Amber the snow had already set, covering the mountains with its cold mantle. But that night, something colder in the sky was waiting for an attack signal.
Three SSF squadrons, Luna, Wendigo and Blue Spook, were flying next to the hostile base Kalt identified three days ago, having their Ky-35Ks armed with bombs, while Sky Arrow was monitoring the situation.

Luna 3
<< If we have evidence that the Army is involved, why don’t we burn this place to the ground then? >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Because those evidences would only fuel more hatred and divide the nation more, hence causing more chaos and a probable civil war. We need to understand who is responsible for all these actions, only then we can get together and solve this mess. >>

 

Kala
<< Well said Sky Arrow, thank goddess you are here with us, instead of leaving these trigger-happy pilots unleashed. >>

 

Luna 2
<< Better trigger-happy than assho- >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< AHEM! Kala, can you update us on your situation? >>

 

Kala
<< I’m... trying to force the lock of the control building, but these bastards know their job too well. >>

 

In the shadows of the base the agent, dressed in Anatean military uniform, was trying to force her way inside the control building, this time trying to be more aggressive since tonight was her last chance.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Alright, as soon as you get in and download the informations, send the signal and we’ll start the attack. Of course, in case of troubles... let me know. >>

 

Kala
<< Awww, so sweet of you Sky Arrow. >>

 

Luna 3
<< Jesus guys, get a room... >>

 

After a few minutes of fumbling with the lock, Kala managed to break into the building silently. Pointing her silenced pistol right in front of her, she continued advancing cautiously in the semi-dark corridor of the old building, finding an Anatean soldier that as soon as he raised his weapon, she fired three bullets on his chest, for then finish the job with one bullet to the head. Cold as ice, she kept advancing silently in the building, trying to find the command room.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Kala... you alright? >>

 

Kala
<< Yeah, I’m fine... had to kill one of our soldiers. Was almost going to blow my cover. >>

 

Luna 2
<< Who’s the trigger-happy now, huh? >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< For Christ’s sake, I hate babysitting... You’re doing good Kala, stay on mission. >>

 

The woman kept advancing through the corridors, finally reaching the command room, but this time security was higher in that room, since four soldiers were guarding the entrance to the room: two were Anateans, the other two were dressed in black and without any insignia. They didn’t appear to be special units, but they spoke Cristinese naturally and were well equipped. Maybe a PMC?

Kala
<< Sky Arrow, I have a situation: four sentries are blocking my way to the control room. I can’t get closer unless... I need a distraction. Begin the attack. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< You sure? >>

 

Kala
<< Of course. Try not to hit the control building until I say so. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Alright. Luna, Wendigo, Blue Spook: clear to engage. Begin operations. >>

 

Within seconds, hell broke loose on the base, as the first air-to-ground missiles rained on the makeshift base. The attack and the destruction of some AA batteries put the defenders on alert, trying to return fire with small arms or with the anti-air vehicles they had left from the first attack, trying to guess where their aggressor was attacking from.

Anatean Ground Unit
<< We’re under attack! Control room, erase the data on the hard disk asap! >>

 

Kala saw that two of the sentries immediately entered the control room, while the other two left raised their weapons in alert. Without wasting any precious second, she immediately fired three bullets at the first guard, while the second one was finished by injuring him to the leg and then finishing him off. As the pistol was out of ammo, she dropped it and took one of the Betona 92 of the two dead guards. In the meantime, outside the building anti-aircraft vehicles were trying to move around and shoot their bullets towards the night sky, while the base soldiers were trying to find any cover to escape the explosions, but they were unable to actually hit any SSF aircraft.
As Kala entered the control room, two of the guards in black were deleting the files on the computer, but she prevented them from further deleting any more files by shooting them from behind.

Kala
<< Kala here, I finally managed to get in the control room. The bastards were deleting the files but thankfully for us there are still some left. They... are all encrypted tho, it will take a while to download them. >>

 

Anatean Ground Unit
<< I saw shots being fired inside the control room! Someone is there! >>

 

Anatean Ground Unit
<< Then what are you waiting for?! Send a squad there to check! >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Kala, bad news: your cover was blown, enemy soldiers are trying to get in the building. >>

 

Kala
<< Jesus, tonight seems everyone wants a piece of me, eh? >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Not on my watch... Luna, keep Kala safe. No enemy soldier has to enter inside the building until she’s done downloading the informations. >>

 

Luna 1
<< Alright Sky Arrow, we’ll keep your princess safe. >>

 

While Kala was finishing to transfer the last files to the USB key she had, a “Police” AV-3 Oltrestrada began to get close to the building, disembarking a squad of soldiers that promptly entered the building. A strafing run from Luna squadron was enough to destroy the AV-3, cutting the squad from having support fire.
The spy was able to finish downloading the last data from the computer, before taking the USB pen and bringing it with her towards the exit, but footsteps becoming louder and louder from the corridor made her understand she was going to have company soon. She immediately dropped the pistol for then take one of the automatic rifles of the dead sentries, together with their grenades.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Kala, we are running out of time. Where are you? >>

 

Kala
<< Making myself look good for you dear. But I have some company, gimme some minutes and I’ll be all yours, darling. >>

 

As soon as the footsteps were closing in, Kala unplugged one of the pins from the grenades and threw it, before closing herself inside the command room. An explosion followed by some screams were enough to let her understand that she had a little more time to find another way out. The enemy soldiers began to open fire on the room, piercing the command room door, while the woman was trying to break one of the glasses of the office to get out.
Other armored vehicles approached the building, opening fire on the walls and windows. Luna passed on top of them, preparing to strafe them at the next approach.

Kala
<< Are you defending me or what? They are shooting at me from the outside! >>

 

Luna 2
<< Calm down, we are doing our best! >>

 

Kala
<< Well, your best sucks! >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Stop you two and continue your operations! >>

 

After a few seconds, a strafing run was able to destroy the two enemy armored vehicles, letting Kala get outside and run amidst the chaos and explosions of the base.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Kala... Kala! Respond! >>

 

Kala
<< I’m fine, darling. I’m getting close to the woods outside the base, you can finish them off. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Alright. Luna, Wendigo, Blue Spook, unleash hell on them. >>

 

Other explosions followed soon, as the flames were devouring the place. The command building was destroyed by the aircraft’s bombs, together with who was still inside, while Kala was running in the dark woods towards her extraction point. The base and its vehicles literally ceased to exist, crushed under a few tons of bombs.

 

 

Kala
<< Alright, I’m alone. I’m heading towards the extraction point now, ETA 6 minutes. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Roger, I’ll let the rescue team know your location. Thanks for your work, Kala. >>

 

Kala
<< For you, this and more Sky Arrow. >>

 

Luna 2
<< Bah... >>

 

With the base destroyed and the data retrieved from Kala, the SSF squadrons couldn’t do more but retreat from the airspace, before anyone could investigate what was happening.

It took two days for the SSF IT Team to decode the 200GBs of files that Kala retrieved. Unfortunately for the IT team, the informations showed only the next plans of attack that unit had in mind, but not who commanded them, where they came from or any other important information regarding who was behind this entire mess. Luckily for them, between the notes in the documents an email contact was written, and by trying to find the IP of the mail profile the team was able to triangulate the approximate position from where the documents were sent. The location was located in an old and abandoned military base in the forests of the nation of Pyrr.
One of the former regions belonging to the defunct Federal Republic of Virsis.

Edited June 28 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

 

⌾         ⌾         ⌾

 

『  𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿
                              𝚂𝚂𝙵 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝙴𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍  』

 

SSF Pilot: “Do you think that Virsis is actually involved in this mess?”

 

Daniel: “Nah, it can’t be... Virsis’s central government collapsed a while ago, and even then I don’t think our soldiers would help an ex-enemy to overthrow our government.”

 

The situation in the briefing room was very tense.

The news that a former hostile country was fomenting the ongoing crisis in Anatea seemed like the previous conflict and the fact that Anatea won it was completely useless, but what really troubled the pilots was the news coming from the mainland, where tensions were still high, and this time civilians could be involved as well. The SSF really had little time to be able to prevent the worst from happening.

Suddenly Kalt entered the briefing room, skipping any greetings since he wanted to start the briefing and get his pilots in the air as soon as possible.

 

 

⌾         ⌾         ⌾

 

 

『  𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 - 𝟶𝟻:𝟶𝟶 𝚊𝚖
                              𝚁𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚢𝚛𝚛  』

 

In that cold and Winter morning, four squadrons of Ky-35Ks and one El-91, with a platoon of SSF soldiers onboard, were ready and armed in religious silence, flying over the forest at low altitude.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Sky Arrow here, you are entering enemy territory. Follow the coordinates for each waypoint and avoid the radar signals. Communications will be cut and altitude is restricted to 300 feet to avoid detection. Good luck. >>

 

The fighters were alone now.
Flying at very low altitude with the risk of hitting the top of the trees, the SSF fighters made their way through the intricate system of hostile radars. Navigating through each waypoint in the radar system was extremely hard and complicated, since it required great skills and perception. For Bradley and his wingmen it was like flying in a canyon, but without being able to see the rocky walls. The thought of them or the helicopter being detected was enough to put everyone on edge and make the pilots sweat, since if the enemy found them, the hostile aircrafts would take off and the anti-air system would be ready and waiting to shoot them out of the sky. They couldn’t fail at all.
After 15 minutes of flight, the SSF aircrafts and helicopter were finally within reach of the base and its defenses.
70 meters.
30 meters.
10 meters.
The final waypoint was reached, radar communications were restored.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< The enemy radar has detected you too late as programmed. Begin the attack. >>

 

While the base anti-air siren was beginning to wail, the SSF aircrafts began their attack on the enemy air base, destroying the parked JiG-32s and F/A-29Cs and some of the anti-air defenses. Unfortunately for the SSF, some M3A3SPAAG Rackets were able to put up a fight as much as they could. The enemy AA was able to damage the wing of a Ky-35K of Blue Spook Squadron, making the aircrafts crash on the ground, since at that altitude the pilot was unable to eject safely. The following seconds the enemy AA was completely destroyed, leaving the ground free for Owl Unit to land.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Sky Arrow to Owl, enemy air defenses are no factor. Begin landing operation. >>

 

Helicopter (Owl)
<< Roger, we are approaching the target, ETA 40 seconds. >>

 

Despite the loss of one Ky-35K, the operation was going smoothly, since air superiority was now under SSF control. The only thing bugging the pilots was seeing the enemy soldiers preparing for the assault team to land, but since they couldn’t destroy anything for the risk of losing precious information, what they could do was flying low to scare them and, occasionally, strafe them in an attempt to hit them in open ground.

Helicopter (Owl)
<< Owl unit has landed. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Roger, good job. You have 25 minutes to take control of the base, since we have an hour from now to exit Pyrr’s airspace, before Pyrr’s Republican Air Force detects us on their radars. >>

 

Owl
<< Be quick and check every corner. Those bastards could be anywhere! Now move, go go go! >>

 

Owl
<< Shots fired, shots fired! Engaging! >>

 

As the troops on the ground were engaging the hostile targets, from above the pilots could see that the invasion of the base was going quite well despite few wounded soldiers from their side. After ten minutes of firefights and advances, the last bastion of the enemy soldiers was a building, that appeared to be the command room, since examination of all the conquered buildings didn’t have any information about the entire chaos in Anatea.

Owl
<< This is Owl Actual, the enemy has barricaded in a building. We- Pin down those bastards, c’mon! We are unable to get closer. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Are you sure? There could be something important there! >>

 

Owl
<< I know, but their firepower doesn't let us come any closer! Some of my men are wounded... we don’t have the numbers to take that last building on our own. >>

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Damnit! We have only four minutes left... Wendigo, tear down that building. Don’t leave any survivors. >>

 

Wendigo 1
<< Roger. >>

 

Without wasting any more time, Wendigo Squadron bombed the enemy stronghold. The building exploded, as the enemy soldiers finally stopped shooting from their barricaded position.

 

 

As soon as silence fell on the base, the SSF soldiers immediately began to group up the captured enemy soldiers on the helicopter and any document or item that could have been considered crucial to the investigation. After 20 minutes the ground unit was loaded and able to lift off to come back home.

At the base the analysts and investigators of the SSF examined every single thing that was retrieved from the base, while the enemy soldiers, interrogated with the worst and most violent manners, didn’t have any precious information to share. They were just mercenaries paid to guard the base from a company that turned out to be a false one.
Despite everything that was retrieved from that base, nothing was able to give any indication from where the attack units were coming from and who was behind all this. It was literally a dead end.
The mission was a failure.

 

⌾         ⌾         ⌾

 

Kalt didn’t know what to do anymore.

They analyzed everything, tortured every single prisoner they were able to get, yet nothing was able to get him a lead on what was happening, while the danger of a civil war was looming on Anatea. The last two operations were well organized and potential points to give the SSF proof of what was really happening, yet they were inconclusive.
Without much else to do, Kalt opened a drawer of his desk and took out a picture of his wife, his lost dear wife. Killed during the terrorist actions that the Virsisi soldiers carried on Dalstavia before the Dalstavian War. He began to slightly cry, enraged and disappointed by what was happening. He was unable to do anything right, even when considered dead.

Kalt: “I’m sorry Lisa, I... I let everyone down.”

 

Suddenly multiple knocks on the door of Kalt’s office broke the silence. The officer immediately wiped off his tears from his eyes, before giving the permission to enter his office.

Analyst: “Colonel, we finished to analyze everything and... we didn’t find anything useful. Just data on the air base and their equipment.”

 

Kalt: “Of course, these bastards are too good to cover their tracks... unless...”

 

Analyst: “Sir?”

 

Kalt immediately got up from his chair.

Kalt: “Come with me.”

 

As the two men exited the office, Kalt guided the analyst to the control room where the radar and satellite systems were connected to the screens of the room, together with some agents of the IT unit still working. The colonel immediately ordered the IT group to check the radar signals of the main airports of the Virsisi nations for any aircraft that came to or from Garpas Air Base. The order required hours of hacking into the radar system of the various Virsisi nations, finding after hours of searching the presence of several aircrafts. The signals were about JiG-32s, F/A-29Cs, a private jet and... two other aircrafts, being Britten-Norman Defenders!
Following the detection reports from the hacked radars, the track brought the group’s attention to the coast in northern Zaxar, then nothing else.

Analyst: “Northern Zaxar? Does it mean the Zaxari are involved?”

 

Kalt: “I honestly don’t know... Switch to satellite images, I want to see what we can find in the area. A Britten-Norman Defender doesn’t have a long range, so we should be able to find their take off airport.”

 

After hours of looking through the screens of every airport in Zaxar without any result, Kalt was able to catch a glimpse of a building on an island off the coast of Zaxar, in the Nepéunohke province. The island was relatively small, but big enough to host a large building, probably a factory, some warehouses used as improvised hangars and several military aircrafts: the already destroyed JiG-32s and F/A-29Cs, four Ky-35Ks without insignias together with the Britten-Norman Defenders used for the terrorist attacks. After a whole day of working relentlessly, they found it.

Analyst: “So it’s really about the Zaxari! But... how they were able to get our Ky-35Ks?”

 

Kalt: “Because they didn’t, those four Ky-35Ks are the ones of Raven Squadron. There’s someone else behind, and we are close to finding them. Prepare the squadrons and marine units, we need to take that base immediately.”

Edited June 30 by Anatea (see edit history)

[Anatea]

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『  𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 – 𝟷𝟶:𝟶𝟶 𝚊𝚖
                                          𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚒𝚍 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚉𝚊𝚡𝚊𝚛  』

Kalt’s lead turned out to be right, and the operatives of the SSF were ready to assault the compound on the Zaxari island.
The operation was rushed out of desperation and will to take the base as soon as possible before the defenders learned of the fall of the base in Pyrr by the SSF forces, so the briefing was given in mid-air for both the pilots and the soldiers who would have taken part in the operation.
Two squadrons of Ky-35Ks belonging to Luna and Ropen, and a civilian cargo ship used as covert helicopter carrier for the SSF were approaching the island from the frigid sea, ready to capture the place and finally understand who was behind the mess that was happening in Anatea.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< This is Sky Arrow, we are getting close to the island. Cerberus, Nixie and support squadrons: begin landing operations! >>

 

As two El-91s full of soldiers of the two units began to emerge from the cargo area of the ship, Luna and Ropen squadrons immediately began to engage some batteries of mortars and AAs next to the port area, taken by surprise by the incoming unknown assault unit.

Unknown Mercenary
<< They are attacking us! Make Raven Squadron take off, now! >>

 

While on the port the SSF fighters were engaging the enemy defenses, on the other side of the little island six Ky-35Ks were taking off from a makeshift runway, accelerating at full speed on the snowy terrain to then take on the skies.

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Luna, Ropen, heads up! Six enemy fighters appeared on radar… It's the 72nd Squadron! >>

Luna 4
<< Raven Squadron is here?! >>

 

Luna 1
<< Good, we can finally deal with them once and for all. >>

 

As the alarm of the makeshift port was sounding, the two El-91s began to disembark the SSF troops once they landed. Cerberus and Nixie units didn’t lose any precious minute, immediately engaging the enemy unknown units and breaking inside the industrial compound.

Raven Squadron
<< Would you look at that… Ky-35Ks. Wanna bet they are Anateans? >>
 

Raven 1
<< Of course they are. Raven Squadron: engage. >>

 

The battle had begun.

The two SSF squadrons immediately locked on their targets, while Raven Squadron did the same. The missiles were launched, flying over the horizon, while the fighters of both sides began their defensive maneuvers, launching flares and chaffs to evade the missiles from the enemies. Most of the semi-active radar guided missiles didn’t connect with their targets, given the radar absorbing profile of the fighters involved and the long distance that was separating the units.
Ropen Squadron began another engagement with their semi-active radar guided missiles, while Luna squadron immediately split off in units of two per side and immediately tried to go for the flanks, trying to get near the enemy fighters to use infrared or fire-and-forget missiles. The semi-active radar combat was a stalemate, between the countermeasures and the kind of aircrafts used, but Luna squadron got closer to the enemy fighters, launching their infrared missiles first. Since Raven squadron members had their hands full of Ropen Squadron and were in lower numbers than their opponents, only some pilots had visual confirmation of the heat-seeker missiles launch, beginning to evade with flares and maneuvers, while two enemy Ky-35Ks were struck by the missiles.

Raven Squadron
<< Raven 4 and 3 are gone! >>

 

Raven 1
<< I don’t care, kill those dogs at all cost! >>

 

Luna 1
<< Ropen, continue to support the ground units. We’ll take it from here. >>

 

SSF Squadron
<< Wilco. >>

 

The distance between Luna and the surviving elements from Raven Squadron was too close for medium or long range missiles. Both squadrons began to engage at short range, using their machine guns in the dogfight that ensued on the frigid island.
Every fighter was busy with their targets, trying to shoot down their opponent or circle around them in any way they could. Luna 3 and 4 were able to bring their pursuers towards their ways, using each other to shoot down the other pursuer.
Luna’s radios began suddenly to crackle, as somebody was able to guess the frequency that the squadron was using.

Raven 1
<< So, who’s the bastard that is killing my squadron? >>

 

Luna 1
<< The same people that you tried to kill months ago. >>

 

There was silence for a moment, while Luna members were pursuing the underpowered and lone two fighters of Raven Squadron.

Raven 1
<< Bradley Lee… and I guess, the rest of your team is with you too… Eh eh, the irony. >>

 

Luna 2
<< There’s no irony, just us kicking your ass. What the hell is trying to do your stupid organization? >>

 

Raven 1
<< You can’t understand. We would have been part of something bigger, and better. But you had to ruin everything. >>

 

As the enemy pilot said the last words, him and his wingman immediately practiced a Pugachev Cobra maneuver, stalling their planes to let their enemies overshoot them.

Luna 1
<< What a fancy way to go. >>

 

Luna squadron members, being way behind their targets, opened fire on the extremely vulnerable enemy Ky-35Ks, riddling them with lead from their GSh-30-1 cannons.
The two aircrafts were destroyed, burning and falling without any parachute leaving the flying carcasses.
 

 

AWACS Sky Arrow
<< Good job Luna Squadron, you killed those bastards. Picture is clear and the ground units have taken control of the compound. >>

 

Everybody sighed with relief, as the battle with their past was finally over. Soaring the skies over the snowy compound, Luna and Ropen pilots could see some enemy soldiers being escorted away, towards the assault helicopters. The mission was a success, and a large quantity of data was saved from being destroyed.

 

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With the help of the base’s analysts, Kalt found out that the famous “Crystal Kingdom” contact behind the whole operation in the Dalstavian War, the assassination of the regents of Anatea and the near-civil war was none other than Fulvio Silani, the Prime Minister of Anatea. The soldiers and the 72nd Squadron pilots instead were all mercenaries hired by Layden Industries, one of the major Anatean arms industries that produced weapons and vehicles for Anatea. With reports, several papers and documents showing plans and movements of money from the Kingdom of Great Anglia, Fulvio Silani was tasked, together with Layden Industry and dictator Karsi Raptis of Virsis, to fight the Dalstavian War and give an excuse to rearm Anatea again for then begin a slow and secret coup d’etat in the country. With a civil war going on in Anatea, Azuria and Anglia would have had an excuse to intervene and integrate Anatea and Virsis into Anglia’s colonial empire.

Unluckily for Anglia, Karsi Raptis was tricked and then killed in the revolts in Virsis, while the entire coup and looming civil war in Anatea was stopped in time, as Princess Sofia Soleri and the major Anatean news were able to publish the reports and documents about the involvement of Fulvio Silani and Layden Industries with the chaos in the country. The informations about Anglia and Azuria’s involvement were omitted, as to reduce drastically the risk to start another war with powers bigger than Anatea, but the Strategic Strike Force and the Republican Strategy Service began to keep an eye on the two countries day and night, so to not get surprised anyday by a new menace. The worst was avoided, and peace began to slowly come back to Anatea, as police and military units finally understood the trick they were caught into. The CEO of Layden Industries and most of their administrators were arrested, while the Set Party was immediately removed from the government, letting the Lucet Party govern the country. About Prime Minister Fulvio Silani, nobody was able to see him a few hours after the attack on the island, but the last reports were able to identify him while he was taking his private jet in Solisea International Airport to head east, escaping the arrest by Anatean authorities.

Life in Anatea began to slowly come back to normal, and while Princess Sofia Soleri finally avenged the death of her parents, Kalt was able to let the memories of her dead wife to slumber, now that the truth had been found.

 

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『  𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 – 𝟻:𝟶𝟶 𝚙𝚖
                              𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚒 𝙾𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚗  』

Fulvio Silani: “Motherf*ckers, motherf*ckers! They ruined everything, everything we were working on to make Anatea a better and powerful country!”

 

Silani was enraged and throwing a tantrum, now that his political career had been ruined for life. Without any other option, he escaped at the news of the island base in Zaxar being attacked, bringing with him his pilot, his secretary and no one else. The only place he could go now was Anglia, since it was his only option to escape capture by Anatean authorities.
Suddenly Silani’s secretary, Mrs. Lisan, brought a ringing phone to the ex-prime minister, making the man stop his tantrum and reply to it immediately.

Fulvio Silani: “Hello, who’s this?”

 

Agent Locker: “Locker.”

 

Locker was the Anglian agent tasked to link the communications between Silani and the Anglian Secret Services regarding the plan to annex Anatea into the Kingdom of Great Anglia.

Fulvio Silani: “Want to tell me how f*cked I am, now that the entire plan was screwed?!”

 

Agent Locker: “No, sir, I’m just calling to know how you are at the moment.”

 

Fulvio Silani: “What the… how do you think I am?! I just lost my entire career and my life over this entire plan! You and your government should find me a place to stay now, since I can’t come back to Anatea anymore, imagine Aurelia!”

 

Agent Locker: “And don’t worry about that, we have a nice place ready for you. You’ll see it soon.”

 

At a certain point, the pilot of the private aircraft erupted in panic.

Pilot: “Mr. Silani, we have a problem! Something is targeting us!”

 

Fulvio Silani: “What the…?!”

 

The ex-prime minister and his secretary immediately began to look outside the aircraft windows, seeing two Azurian F/A-29C Panthers on each side of the aircraft.

Fulvio Silani: “What the hell is going on, Locker?! You are supposed to bring me safely to Anglia!”

 

Agent Locker: “Well, let’s say that his majesty didn’t want to have Anglia being linked in any way with the unfortunate events that happened in Anatea, so… There was a change of plans.”

 

Fulvio Silani: “Locker, you son of a b*tch, don’t even try to-”

 

Agent Locker: “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Silani.”

 

As agent Locker hung up on Silani, the alarms on the aircraft immediately began to wail.

Pilot: “They launched a missile!”

 

Fulvio Silani: “Son of a-”

 

The missiles launched by the Panthers impacted the private jet, destroying it in mid-air and leaving the flaming carcass to fall towards the ocean.

The life of Fulvio Silani ended like the same ending that he reserved for the assassinated regents of Anatea, the first victims of the twisted plan he agreed to take part in.

 

T H E   E N D

Edited August 8 by Anatea (see edit history)