Chapter 284: Hostilities - III
Farther north, the two Airfield Bases outside Silverpeak were already active.
Both occupied wide stretches of cleared ground beyond the denser parts of the city.
A long runway cut through the center of each facility. Taxi lanes branched away from it toward the hangars on one side and the reinforced aircraft pads on the other.
Inside one of the Flight Operations Towers, the request from Southern Command appeared.
"Air support request received."
The Flight Controllers already had the coordinates.
Several Apaches were waiting on the reinforced pads.
Their rotors began turning almost together.
Farther away, Raptors moved out from the hangar section and onto the taxi lanes as Flight Operations assigned their launch order.
The Falcons remained where they were.
So did the two Phantoms.
This wasn’t a transport mission, and nobody needed a strategic bomber over a firefight already surrounded by industrial buildings.
The Apaches were enough for the ground, although the Raptors would get there first.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Raptor element cleared for immediate departure."
"Raptor One-One, departing."
The first fighter accelerated down the runway.
"Raptor One-Two, flying out."
A second followed several seconds later.
Farther across the Airfield, Apache rotors had already reached full speed. One helicopter lifted from its reinforced pad, followed by another and another.
Updated information from Southern Command flowed into the aircraft without delay. Red markers covered the battlefield south of Silverpeak.
Friendly System units were mixed among them.
Another group of red contacts was approaching from farther south.
"Hostile contacts confirmed throughout the designated sector. Prioritize the formation already engaging Southern Command. Additional hostiles are approaching from the south."
"Copy."
The Raptors climbed.
Within minutes, the industrial outskirts appeared ahead.
...
The sound reached the battlefield before most of the Hawford soldiers saw the aircraft.
One of them looked upward.
"Aircraft!"
Several others followed his gaze. They wanted to run. They wanted to hide, but all of it was too late.
A Raptor crossed above the industrial district at high speed. Its pilot had long acquired the same hostile markers Southern Command was watching.
Two armored contacts were still firing on the Golden Eagle Army line.
The pilot selected both of them.
"Two ground targets."
The first air-to-ground missile dropped from the internal bay, then the second.
The missiles dropped clear of the bays before their motors ignited, leaving trails of fire behind as the Raptor climbed away.
The missiles continued without it, reaching the Hawford formation faster than its crews had expected.
A Hawford tank tried to move into cover between two warehouses, but the missile was even faster. The explosion tore through the vehicle and stopped it immediately.
Fragments of metal exploded outward as the tank was swallowed behind fire and smoke.
The second target attempted to reverse behind a concrete structure, but the missile easily followed.
Boom!
Another red marker vanished from the Radar.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Aircraft! Get under cover!"
The warning spread across the Hawford formation.
Infantry instantly scurried out from the open, and even from the windows, afraid that the Raptors might place them as a target.
"Where’s our air defense?"
"Still back at Sandtrup, Sarge!"
"Who the fuck left it there?"
The soldier was at a loss. He was just following orders, not placing them.
A burst of 25-millimeter fire tore across the wall they were sheltering behind.
Concrete and metal exploded through the position. The entire squad disappeared from the fight.
A second Raptor crossed the area from the west. Farther behind it, a third moved onto another attack line and opened fire with its cannon.
Its cannon opened fire.
The 25mm burst crossed one of the lighter armored vehicles attempting to reposition behind the tank line.
Metal broke apart across its side. The vehicle swerved and disappeared behind a warehouse.
The Raptor didn’t circle immediately. It continued through the area while its pilot searched for the next confirmed target.
The Hawford officers recovered from the initial shock quickly.
"Stop staring at the damn sky! They’re making attack runs, not staying overhead!"
The Raptors were terrifyingly fast, but their speed also meant they crossed the battlefield within seconds before flying beyond the area again.
The Hawford soldiers started watching the pattern.
Every pass gave them several seconds to move away. As another one made its pass, a sargeant shouted.
"Move between their runs!"
The order spread across the formation.
Armored vehicles that had stopped moving began repositioning again.
A tank backed beneath the reinforced loading section of a warehouse while another crossed the road immediately after the nearest Raptor disappeared from view.
Infantry moved through the buildings instead of the streets whenever possible, crossing exposed areas only when the aircraft had already passed.
Their formation was damaged, but it had not collapsed.
"Third Company, pull east!"
"Armor Two, use the warehouse line!"
"Keep watching the western approach! They’re coming around from there!"
The soldiers obeyed.
Though they couldn’t fight the Raptors directly, they could still survive the attack runs and continue fighting the Golden Eagle Army on the ground.
One Hawford tank emerged from beneath a loading structure the moment the sky cleared.
Its turret immediately turned toward the Vanguards farther north.
Infantry began returning to firing positions along the lower floors instead of exposing themselves near the windows.
A machine gun opened fire from deeper inside one warehouse, using the doorway only as a narrow firing lane.
"That’s it! Keep them moving! Don’t give the aircraft stationary targets!"
The officer barely finished the order when another voice came through the radio.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We... we got more aircraft."
He looked north. After a moment, the light in his eyes vanished and was soon engulfed into despair.
The Apaches arrived moments later, flying much lower than the Raptors.
Several Hawford soldiers heard the rotors and immediately moved deeper between the industrial buildings.
Others remained around their armored positions.
The first Apache’s Longbow radar was already working by the time it reached the battlefield. Target markers appeared across the pilot’s display.
"Armor ahead."
"Locked."
A Hellfire left the rail.
Another Apache fired from farther behind it.
The first missile struck a tank near the edge of the compound.
The second hit an armored vehicle attempting to move toward the same position.
The Hawford formation had already been losing ground before the helicopters arrived. It seemed that the solution they had just found against the Raptors was falling apart.
The Raptors crossed the battlefield and disappeared before coming around for another attack.
The Apaches didn’t have to.
One moved behind a row of warehouses and slowed there, remaining within the area while its sensors continued tracking the red markers below.
Another shifted farther east.
The Hawford soldiers could hide from one angle only for another helicopter to appear somewhere else.
"Helicopters east!"
"Armor, stay under cover!"
"Which cover?! They’re moving around us!"
The answer never came while the Vanguards still pressed them from the front.
Missile Infantry watched the exposed lanes, and Sniper Teams continued covering the buildings.
Above them, the Apaches moved from one marked target to another without leaving the battlefield.
One helicopter’s chain gun opened fire.
Thirty-millimeter rounds crossed a loading yard and tore through a group of soldiers attempting to move between two parked vehicles.
Another Apache shifted sideways above the rooftops while its gunner tracked a light armored vehicle below.
"Found a target."
The chain gun fired.
The vehicle disappeared behind smoke and fragments.
Another Hawford tank tried moving from beneath a loading structure while the nearest Apache was facing somewhere else.
A second helicopter was already watching the road.
"Tank moving."
"Engaging."
A Hellfire left the rail. The tank barely cleared the building before the missile struck it from the side.
Boom!
On Brandon’s tactical display, red markers began disappearing even faster.
Several armored contacts vanished within seconds, and a few more followed right after.
The first hostile formation was being crushed, while the second hostile group from the south continued approaching.
Brandon frowned.
"What are these people doing? Sacrificing themselves for this facility?"
"Southern Command, Colonel Voroltz is on the line."
"Bring him in."
A short laugh came through the speaker. Brandon waited until Voroltz settled.
"Colonel, any updates on your side?"
"Commander, I will never understand what’s wrong with your army, but you shouldn’t be beating Ashington forces this easily!"
Brandon shook his head.
Most of the units committed to this operation had already reached maximum Star Promotion.
Between the shared Radar picture, promoted weapons, armor and everything else the System had given them, losing a straight fight against an ordinary military formation would have been stranger.
Voroltz seemed to notice the silence on the other side.
"Ahem. My units have arrived near your position, but they’re reporting that... it’s a one-sided battle."
Brandon glanced at the tactical display.
A separate group of known MDC contacts had appeared near the northern side of the engagement.
They weren’t the red formation still approaching from the south. They were green markers, approaching from the northern side.
"Anything else I don’t know, Colonel?"
"A few of those MDC soldiers you’ve been watching have been captured by my men, with Agent Genevieve’s help."
Brandon’s attention immediately shifted away from the battlefield.
Voroltz continued.
"It looks like someone has been sowing discord between us and the Hawford military."
"You have any idea who’s behind it?"
That concerned Brandon more than the battle in front of him.
"Genevieve hasn’t gotten anything useful out of them yet, but I have my own suspicions."
"Who?"
"Remember that strange doctor from those arrogant reps?"
Brandon’s expression changed.
"Dr. Anna?"
"Yeah. Her."
Voroltz paused.
"I’ll call you again if we find anything. For now, my units will assist yours on the battlefield. Use them however you need."
"Understood."
The line dropped.