Chapter 35: Chapter 31

Star People

Chapter 31

Operation Star Point Part 3

Feb 11^th, 13 AE…

0735 hours, in the skies toward the Sword landing zone…

“Blue Hawk Four to Blue Hawk Leader.”

“This is Blue Hawk Leader. I read you.”

“Major Hendrix, do you mind telling us why we are loitering about at this position?”

“Cut the chatter, Lieutenant Marxon. You know why we’re holding our position here.”

“Blue Hawk Ten to Blue Hawk Leader. May I speak freely, Sir?”

“What’s on your mind, Corporal?”

“Is it really necessary to wait for the Naran planes to join us on this assault? We could have already sunk the enemy ships and neutralized all the shore batteries at Sword Beach by now.”

“Our Naran allies insisted that we allow their fighters and bombers to join the Star Hawks and Byattas in the assault. Since their aircraft don’t have the same range as ours, we have to wait until their carrier is close enough to launch their strike force.”

“Do they even have anti-ship capabilities?” Blue Hawk Five asked. “Or do they intend to sink those ships with just their auto-cannons?”

“The upper brass of Naran informed us that they’ll be using some newly-developed weapons. One of those new weapons is called a ‘swimming bomb’ or something like that.”

“Swimming Bomb? Is that their version of the torpedo or aqua-missile?”

“We’ll be seeing it soon. Sensors are now picking up a large formation of aircraft coming towards us.”

“Is it the enemy?”

“They’re too fast for propeller-driven planes, so it has to be the Naran jets. Speak of the devil, here they come. All Star Hawks and Byattas, form up with the Naran fighters.”

As the Star Hawks and Byattas ceased hovering and started toward their objectives, the Naran Sky Blade II jet fighters began appearing over the horizon at over 580 mph. Though fast by Naran standards, the Free Land starfighters had to slow down their speeds to allow their allies to get into formation with them. Flying just behind the Sky Blade II fighters, were the newly-developed Marine Assault jet bombers.

Surprisingly, the bombers had a more modern design and actually resembled delta-winged aircraft. On the underside of each bomber were two cylindrical objects. These were the ‘swimming bombs’ that Naran had developed. There were also several dozens of bombers that were armed with shorter, more compact ordinance. Wendell assumed these would be used against land targets such as the shore batteries. He also noted that the Sky Blade II fighters now had two, pipe-like devices under each wing. Could they be some kind of rocket launchers?

Major Hendrix was then contacted by the commanding officer of the Naran strike force. It was a higher-pitched male voice.

“This is Colonel Viraso Lostara to Blue Hawk Leader.”

“This is Blue Hawk Leader, Major Wendell Hendrix speaking.”

“I read you, Major. As of this moment, I shall be taking command of both the Naran and Free Land strike forces. You and your men will be following my lead against the Zedan ships, aircraft and coastal defenses.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If it is not obvious, I am a colonel and you are a major. Therefore, I outrank you and I am using my right as the most senior officer present to assume overall command.”

“I don’t mean to be insulting, Colonel, but we’re not in the same military. This is supposed to be a joint-effort between allies. Pulling rank at this point is non sequitur and pointless.”

“And may I remind you that a Colonel outranks a Major and therefore, I will be taking command of this operation. Our new weapons will sweep the enemy before us effortlessly! Unless you want us to turn back and let you handle the Zedan forces on your own?”

I’m tempted to do that, you snobbish, pompous son of a…@#$&! Hendrix thought. You’re only here because the Council LET you be here! He then replied to him. “If you believe that you and your men have the ability to take point, then by all means.” He then signaled for the Star Hawks and Byattas to pull back and let the Naran fighters and bombers move on to the front of the formation.

Colonel Lostara nodded in satisfaction as he signaled for his fighters and bombers to increase speed and move up. As a result of this change, the entire formation had slowed down considerably, giving the Zedan defenders more time to prepare.

Knowing that his wingmen and the Byatta pilots were going to protest, Wendell sent a tachyon signal to all Free Land starfighters. It basically told them to stand by, and that they were free to intervene if the situation took a turn for the worse. And he had a feeling it would soon turn out that way. Like most of the Star Hawk and Byatta pilots, he was a veteran of the Cryterian War and knew not to take any enemy lightly.

Goddammit, I hate my orders, but if the Naran can only learn things the hard way, then so be it! I’m not going to risk the lives of those under my command by following the orders of some greenhorn officer who outranks me in name only. You want to seize the glory of war? Fine. Then take the horrors and bloodshed that go with it!

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0845 hours…

“Colonel, we’ve just picked up a formation of enemy fighters on an intercept course.” Wendell announced. He was already irritated that they were behind schedule, due to the fact that they had to slow their speed to allow the Naran jets to keep up with them.

“What?! I’m not picking up anything on my long-range magic sensors!” Viraso protested.

“Begging your pardon again, but our sensor arrays have far longer range than yours and are quite accurate. The enemy bogeys have been identified as hostile and they are well within the range of our Skybolt missiles. We can take them all out at this point.”

“Impossible! How can you possibly hit something you cannot see?! And what makes you certain that they’re hostile? They could be friendly forces!”

Hendrix held back a groan as he explained. “Colonel, we’re heading toward enemy territory, so it’s a very safe bet that everything in front of us would be the enemy. Besides, as I have said before, our sensor arrays have positively identified the incoming aircraft as hostile, and they aren’t emitting any friendly signals. As for being able to hit the targets at this range, we do have BVR or Beyond Visual Range capabilities. Will you allow me to demonstrate?”

“Hmph! Go ahead! But if you end up killing friendly forces, then it will be on your head, not mine!”

“I will take full responsibility if that is the case.” He then switched over to contact his squadrons. “All Star Hawks! Target the incoming enemy formation and prepare to launch on my mark!” He glanced at his targeting computer and began counting down. “Three… two… one… FIRE!”

A barrage of Skybolt missiles leapt forward and sped off into the distance, disappearing over the horizon.  A few seconds later, a cloud of tiny reddish-orange pinpricks could be seen in the distance. As they closed in, several of the Naran pilots were astonished to see several dozens of aircraft plummeting toward the sea. Several of them could even the Zedan insignia on the fuselages. Hendrix had timed the attack so that they would able to see that every target had been an enemy plane.

Colonel Lostara was in a state of shock of just how easily the Free Land forces had dispatched the threat of more than fifty enemy aircraft. Even the new Pursuer Rocket they had developed didn’t have that kind of range. He was quickly brought back to reality when he heard Major Hendrix’s voice on the communicator.

“Colonel, was that sufficient enough?”

The Naran colonel shook his head to clear it before responding in a stuttering tone. “Uh… y-yes, that was quite… uhm… sufficient.”

“Our sensors are now picking up another group of enemy fighters coming at us from a different intercept vector. I count about half the number than what we just faced. Do you wish for us to neutralize them as well?”

“Uh… no! We can handle them ourselves!” Lostara said quickly as he tried to muster up the same level of confidence as before.

“As you wish.” Hendrix signaled for the Star Hawks and Byattas to reduce speed and let the Sky Blade II fighters meet the new threat.

Just at that moment, twenty-five Zedan fighters were seen coming from over the horizon. A slightly lesser number of Sky Blade II fighters sped out to meet with them.

“Taste the fury of our new weapon, the Pursuer Rocket!” Colonel Lostara cried out as he pressed the launch button. Underneath his port wing, one of the tubes erupted flame as a metal rod with winglets shot out and headed toward a Rakerat fighter.

Okay, let’s see how this new Naran weapon works. Wendell thought.

The Pursuer Rocket headed straight for its target like any other unguided rocket. The Zedan pilot saw it coming and banked upwards to the left to avoid it. Much to his amazement, rocket made a turn to correct its trajectory and follow its prey. For a few seconds, Wendell thought that the Kingdom of Naran had developed the short-range, heat-seeking or radar-guided missile. If so, then that meant that their magic-based technology was more advanced than previously supposed.

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Then he noticed something strange about Lostara’s jet and the other Naran fighters. They weren’t taking any defensive maneuvers. They were just flying on a level path and slowed down their speeds. In fact, several Rakerat fighters managed to shake off the Pursuer Rockets and turned toward the Naran jets as they were sitting ducks at that moment. Once they began firing their machine guns and cannons, the jets were forced to take evasive maneuvers. Two of the jets took several hits and began trailing smoke. What was most shocking was that the Pursuer Rockets suddenly lost power and dropped lifelessly towards the water. Out of the twenty that were launched, only two had managed to hit their targets and explode.

Seeing that their allies were in trouble, the Star Hawks immediately joined the fray and began taking out the Zedan fighters with their kinetic rounds and particle beams. This caused the Zedan fighters to break off their attacks and retreat. However, the Star Hawks were not going to let them go and fired off their own missiles. In under a minute, the skies were again clear of Zedan planes.

Due to the damage they had suffered, two of the Sky Blade II fighters had to turn back. Wendell pulled up alongside Viraso’s fighter.

“Colonel, are you all right?”

“Uh… yes, I’m fine!” Viraso replied, and then said in a very quiet whisper. “Damn it! They broke our concentration!”

“What was that? I didn’t copy that last part.” Major Hendrix asked even though he actually did hear that last bit.

“Uh… nothing! I’m just a little disappointed that our new Pursuer Rockets still have some kinks to work out.”

Hendrix wasn’t buying it. This wasn’t a case of malfunctioning new equipment with some bugs to work out. He had already determined the major flaws to the Pursuer Rocket. If the rocket needed concentration from the pilot to keep on target, then that meant that the pilot needed to keep his opponent in visual range. That explained why the Naran jets didn’t take evasive maneuvers until after they were fired upon. That also explained why those rockets suddenly lost contact and became useless as their pilots’ concentration were broken.

Major Hendrix had read the reports on the Kingdom of Naran’s military and how dependent they were on complex rituals and long-winded chants. That was a major flaw in military terms, especially when it concerned fast-paced scenarios such as an aerial dogfight. What the Kingdom of Naran had accomplished with their Pursuer Rocket was the same flawed designs for guided munitions that the Nazis had developed during World War II. Weapons like the Fritz X could be guided by radio control towards its target, but it needed the pilot craft to remain within visual range and flying level to assure accuracy. That left the pilot craft extremely vulnerable to anti-aircraft guns and enemy fighters. The Allied Forces also developed electronic countermeasures to scramble the radio transmissions. For the Pursuer Rocket, all one had to do was throw off the pilot’s concentration.

 Later models of guided munitions, especially missiles, had the advantage of self-guidance systems and the ability to fire-and-forget. As a result, the pilot’s concentration wasn’t split between flying his craft and making certain that his weapons were landing on target. The Pursuer Rocket was basically a poor magical version of the TOW missile and was unsuitable for air-to-air combat. They might work against slower ground targets like tanks. Emphasis on the world ‘might.’

If their Swimming Bombs operate on the same principle as their Pursuer Rockets, then those bombers will be nothing but sitting ducks against the anti-aircraft guns of the Zedan fleet.

After the Naran jets rejoined the rest of the formation, the combined strike force continued on towards their main objective to clear a path for the allied ships to land at Sword Beach.

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0955 hours…

“Colonel, our sensors have now detected several dozens of enemy surface vessels ahead of us.”

“Excellent! Once we have visually sighted the enemy, we shall sink them all with our Swimming Bombs!”

Hendrix again stifled a sigh before replying. “Colonel, we already have them targeted on our long-range sensors and my Byatta pilots are ready to launch proton anti-ship missiles. There’s no need to visually acquire the target and endanger…”

“I told you before Major, that I am in command and that we WILL sink them with our Swimming Bombs!”

“But Colonel, the proton anti-ship missiles are proven to…”

“We will use the Swimming Bombs and that’s final!”

Hendrix just barely managed to hold his fire and not shoot this idiot and take command. It would be a diplomatic mess if he were to do so. He again signaled to his pilots to hold back and let Viraso and his men begin the attack. At that moment, the Zedan ships appeared at the edge of the horizon. The Naran Marine Assault bomber jets sped forward, flanked by their Sky Blade II fighter escorts.

In her Byatta, Lieutenant Tisera could only imagine the frustration that her husband Wendell was feeling. She too had thought the Naran commander was too obnoxious and arrogant for his own good. It seemed that lesson in humility was in order. She only wished that the pilots under Lostara’s command wouldn’t suffer for his stupidity.

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The Zedan destroyers and cruisers of the 77^th Defense Force were on high-alert when their radar detected the approach of the massive wave of allied jets and starfighters. All anti-aircraft guns were ready as the Naran Marine Assault bombers had to fly low and reduced their speed to drop their Swimming Bombs. As soon as the bombs hit the water, they began moving at high speeds and making corrections as the Zedan warships attempted to evade. At this point, the skies above the water was cluttered with explosions and flak.

Normally a jet would be too fast for the World War 2 era anti-aircraft guns of the Zedan, but since the bomber pilots were so focused on maintaining their chants as their Swimming Bombs headed toward their targets, their craft became easy, slow-moving targets for the Zedan gunners to pick off. One bomber took a 5-inch shell directly on its nose and exploded. The pilot was killed instantly and the Swimming Bomb he was guiding lost all power and harmlessly sank. Three more bombers sustained heavy damage and were forced to break off the attack, thereby rendering their bombs useless as well.

A second wave of six bombers attempted to sink the Zedan ships with their Swimming Bombs. They also found the anti-aircraft barrages to be too heavy and another bomber was shot down. The remaining five abandoned their attack run and let their bombs sink into ocean. As they limped out of range, Colonel Lostara was at a loss of what to do. He hadn’t counted on the enemy anti-aircraft guns being able to shoot down a bomber, nor did he factor in the need to slow down and maintain concentration to guide the Swimming Bombs to their targets. So far, not a single bomb had hit any of the ships.

At that point, Major Hendrix had seen enough of Colonel Lostara’s incompetence and contacted his wife.

“Blue Hawk Leader to Ruby Wing Leader! Sink the enemy vessels! Send them all to the bottom!”

“Roger, Blue Hawk Leader! Ruby Wing Leader to Ruby Wing! Target the enemy vessels and… OPEN FIRE!”

Her Byatta heavy fighter let loose with two proton anti-ship missiles, which raced over the water and struck a Zedan destroyer dead center, blowing it to pieces. Several more missiles from her squadron also hit home and over a dozen destroyers and cruisers were instantly sunk or destroyed. In less than thirty seconds, the 45 ships of the 77^th Defense Force were annihilated.

After the destruction of the enemy ships, Hendrix had decided that he wasn’t going to endure any more of Lostara’s idiocy and contacted all the Star Hawks and Byattas under his command. “All Free Land fighters assume Alpha-Gamma formation with me! I am taking command of this operation! We are to head to Sword Beach and neutralize the shore defenses immediately! Prepare to increase speed to Mach 1.5!”

“What about our Naran allies?” Ruby Wing Leader asked. “They won’t be able to keep up with us.”

“Leave them behind! It’s better for them anyway, since it’s clear that their commander is not up to the task of achieving our primary objectives. I will not force anyone who does not agree to come. Those who do agree, you may follow me! I will take full responsibility for my actions and I assure you that you will not be punished for following my orders!”

There was a unanimous cheer among the Star Hawk and Byatta pilots as they all quickly entered into formation and prepared to engage their boosters.

“You do realize that this is breaking the protocol set up by the Council, right?” His wife pointed out, even though she too was about to follow her lifemate.

“They can court-martial me if they want, but I will not stand for any more of this nonsense! We’re already way behind schedule and I’m not going to delay this operation any further and endanger more lives!”

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“Colonel, the Free Land fighters and bombers are forming up without us!” One of the Naran bomber pilots exclaimed.

“What the Hell are they doing?!” Lostara asked as the Star Hawks and Byattas separated from them and formed up behind Blue Hawk Leader. Then Free Land starfighters ignited their boosters and disappeared over the horizon, leaving a trail of sonic booms in their wake. Every Naran fighter and bomber shook with the air-detonations but kept on flying. By the time the last sonic-boom faded way, every single Free Land starfighter was gone.

They had abandoned their Naran allies.

“I’LL HAVE YOU COURT-MARTIALED FOR THIS, MAJOR HENDRIX!” Colonel Lostara shouted.

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1115 hours, the Council of Prime Directors…

“Did you receive the report on the air strikes on Sword Beach?” Nerto asked.

“I did. And I commend Major Hendrix for his sound judgment.” Nasaak replied. “He got the job done in record time and with no casualties to his squadrons to boot.”

“The Naran commander of that strike force is demanding that we have Major Hendrix tried for disobeying orders.” Anida pointed out.

“What orders?” Visek asked. “That Naran colonel had no authority to assume total command of the operation in the first place. May I remind everyone that we’re only letting Naran take part in the operation? And so far, we’re the ones doing all the heavy lifting and saving them from their colonel’s incompetence.”

“And I hear that the navel operation for Sword isn’t going smoothly either.” Ben sighed.

To be continued…

Author’s Notes

Sorry about the short chapter, but I have a lot of family stuff to do. I’ll try to write more later.

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