by Tom Jones
Jim was not entirely sure Arcades knew what he was getting himself into, “Kurt, I don’t know a lot about this facility, but I do know that it’s bound to be the most secured out of the rest. Omega probably has something in there they don’t want us to see.” Arcades replied, “The entire Foundation has stuff they don’t want us to see.” Jim said, “Yeah, but this one probably has something more. Whatever they have, I know that it’s something they didn’t even want most of their own people to know about. Hell, I didn’t even know exactly where this place was in the first place. They just called it the ‘Arctic Facility’.” Arcades knew that he was taking many chances, “I don’t have too much to lose. I’ll take my chances.” Jim turned back to look at his instruments, “Your funeral, Kurt. If you get trapped down there, there won’t be anything I can do to come and help you. That goes for you guys as well. You’ve got only yourselves down there. It’s an uninhabited island. If the Foundation takes you guys away, then you won’t be getting out of this one.”
Bocchino spoke next, “Well, Kurt has managed to get himself out of some pretty fuckin’ deep shit lately, right? We didn’t come back for him when we left him in the Congo. Did we?” Jim paused before shaking his head, “No, we didn’t. I’m just saying that you’ll be on your own again. There is nobody to get help from on an uninhabited island.” Jason spoke to the pilot next, “Jim, if you were there to see what happened to me and Kurt after you guys left, then you should know that we know what we’re getting into.” Jim replied to the wolf, “Well, yeah. I worked for the Foundation.” Arcades spoke before an argument could start, “Right now, we need to focus on getting there. We’ll worry about all of this later. We’re going to need all that we’ve got to take down this facility even if we happen to arrive there when CDI does. Regardless of if they’re there or not, we’re still commencing this mission. Lord knows if we’ll make it out or not. We should really trust Him, especially for this.” Jason was onboard with Arcades’ ideology, “You’re right, Kurt.” Bocchino was still not entirely in agreement with the fox, “Whatever makes you feel better, Kurt.” Jim did not have anything he wanted to add, and he did not state any opinion to any of the anthros.
“Pilots to flight deck,” CDI announced to the carrier crew. The pilots, already wearing their flight suits, grabbed the gear they needed before making their way to the carrier’s flight deck. As the pilots reached the deck, they immediately proceeded to their respective aircraft. All of the craft had their cockpits open, and they even had ladders set up for the pilots to quickly enter their craft. The Rafale M pilots entered their planes first, and they started to buckle their seatbelts and don their pilot helmets. The summer sun in northern Canada was not too bright due to the fact the crew was in the Arctic, but they still flipped down their visors anyways. Once the pilots were properly seated and inspected by the flight deck crew members, they withdrew the cockpit ladders and lowered the canopies. The pilots and crew members ran a pre-flight check on each aircraft to ensure that they should not experience any mechanical related failures after launching. The pilots checked the control surfaces of the aircraft while the crew removed all of the flags on the aircraft which were marked for removal before flight. CDI wanted to deploy all of the aircraft as soon as possible, for they were now in visual range of Devon Island.
Coming onto the flight deck now were the operatives who would deploy via the NH90s parked on the flight deck. Most of the CDI operatives were carrying AK-15s, but some of them carried AK-12s and RPK-16s. A few of them even carried SA80s, Remington ACRs, and Sig Sauer MCXs. Each NH90 would carry sixteen operatives, and the sortie planned on deploying sixty-four operatives on the ground to assault the facility once the area had been sanitized by the airstrike. The operatives already were wearing their combat gear: plate carriers, combat helmets, and rifles were all at the ready. They moved past some of the pilots sitting in their aircraft waiting to take off. Like the jet-powered aircraft on the carrier, the NH90s were also painted the same tan color scheme which CDI shared with most of their other vehicles. With the side doors of the NH90s already open, the operatives each walked with their platoon to enter their respective helicopters. Each platoon would stick together once deployed at Facility Zero, and they planned to meet up in the center of the facility once each corner of the base was successfully captured. In the event capturing the facility proved unsuccessful through all means, CDI planned on launching an ICBM from a site in Poland. Though the ballistic missile did not have nuclear warheads, it would still be able to level the base. However, CDI was not planning on using the missile unless the attack was an absolute failure. The objective was to capture the base and not to destroy it.
With many of the pilots already finished with their pre-flight checks, they were only waiting for the operatives to get settled into their helicopters before the assault would commence. Some of the pilots reviewed the mission objectives as they sat in their seats, but other pilots watched the operatives enter the NH90s. After a quarter of an hour, the operatives were all loaded into the helicopters, and they were ready for the operation. About half an hour after the operatives entered their helicopters, the Rafale M pilots finally heard an update over the radio, “All personnel are now ready for operations. Catapult launches will occur in approximately ten minutes.” The pilots looked around the carrier they would be taking off from, and they could see several crew members scurry back and forth making sure the catapult launch would not encounter any difficulties. They would launch the first two planes before moving the next two up to launch them. All planes were on the deck, and the pilots of each plane manned their respective aircraft. The F-35Cs were not equipped with STOVL capabilities like their B variant was, so they would have to use the catapult like the Rafale Ms and Su-33s ahead of them were. The pilots did not have much to do in their aircraft to pass the time, so they only waited until they heard another update.
“Kurt, there it is! It’s the carrier!” Jim spoke loudly to get the fox’s attention. Arcades stood up from where he was sitting, and he looked out of the window to see the carrier with the aircraft waiting on the flight deck. Arcades commented on the positioning of the squadrons, “They’re getting ready to launch. They have two Rafale Ms mounted on the catapult with two more of them behind the first wave from what I can see.” Jason was curious, so he moved next to the fox to see the carrier as well. The wolf commented on the size of the carrier, “Crikey, I’ve never seen a ship like that in person before.” Jim flew through a few clouds, so the anthros were not able to see the carrier for a few moments. When the Stealth Hawk emerged from the clouds, Jim could visually spot Facility Zero, “Kurt, I can see the compound. We’ll probably make it there right when CDI begins an air assault. Even though we’re in a stealth helicopter, they’ll easily be able to visually spot us. We can still be shot down by direct fire or by a Sidewinder.” Arcades said, “Don’t worry about us; we’ll be alright. Once we’re on the ground, do whatever you can to not get shot down.” The human replied, “I’ll have to gain a lot of altitude in order to do that. When I put you guys on the ground, we’ll be easily seen by whoever is the closest.” Arcades nodded, Alright, do whatever it is you need. I want us all to get out alive.”
The pilot of the Rafale M was given the clearance for takeoff, so he pushed the throttle stick forwards and the aircraft was rapidly launched by the catapult. The aircraft flew off the bow of the carrier, and the pilot pulled the stick towards himself in order to keep the plane airborne. The plane began to gain altitude, and the pilot retracted both the landing gear as well as the takeoff flaps. The second Rafale M launched less than a minute later, and both aircraft were now airborne. The squadron of Rafale Ms would remain in a holding pattern until the Su-33s successfully launched. The remaining two Rafale Ms moved up to the catapult after it was reset, and the crew members attached the aircraft to the catapult and raised the thrust blocking panels. Within a few minutes, both planes were ready to launch. The pilots were given clearance to launch their operations
, and they launched in a similar pattern to the first two Rafale Ms. With all four Rafale Ms in the sky, they regrouped as they flew around waiting for the Su-33s to launch next. The catapults were reset, and the first two Flanker-Ds were moved to the launch position to be set up.
Arcades watched as the first two Flanker-Ds took flight, “There goes two Flankers. I still see two more of them out on the deck, so they’re probably going to launch them next.” Jason commented on the launch, “They got those jets out pretty quickly, didn’t they?” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, that catapult’s putting in some work.” The fox then turned towards Jim, “How long do you think it’ll be until we reach the facility?” Jim replied, “Fifteen minutes and we’ll be touching down.” The fox turned towards Jason, “We should get kitted up. Come on.” Bocchino heard what the fox said as well, so he got out of his seat right next to Jim, and he grabbed some of his gear from the pile. Bocchino started by putting on his battle belt, and he then threw his Crye AVS over his torso before he put his Team Wendy helmet on. Bocchino had a pair of khaki Revision Locust goggles strapped to his helmet, but he did not plan on using them quite yet.
Arcades was the second anthro to don all of his gear. Since he did not have any Velcro to fiddle around with, all he had to do was lock two belt clips. One clip held his battle belt together, and the other clip kept the H-Harness from falling off of his shoulders. The fox threw his OD Green one-point sling over himself before attaching his Salient GRY to the sling point. He then put on his Rhodesian Brushstroke boonie hat, Oakley gloves, and finally Oakley M2 glasses. The fox looked over to Jason, and he saw that the wolf was finishing up as well by putting his own hat on. Arcades nodded to the wolf once Jason looked up at him, and Arcades also looked over to Bocchino. The cat spoke to the fox, “I’m ready when you guys are.” Arcades wanted his party to confirm that everyone was indeed prepared for the mission, “Everybody ready?” Jason spoke first, “You got it, mate.” Bocchino silently nodded since he already told the crew that he was ready. Jim spoke as he began to lower the Stealth Hawk’s altitude, closing in on Facility Zero, “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Arcades looked back out the window, and he saw that the second pair of Su-33s were taking off, “They just launched the other two Flankers. If CDI launches an airstrike on the facility, then we’ll be able to use that as a distraction so we’ll be able to get in undetected. Jim spoke, “I hope that happens. Otherwise they’ll shoot down this helicopter. This may be a stealth helicopter, but it still makes noise. It’s not invisible, either.” Arcades watched as the NH90s on the flight deck began to take off, but they still held a formation in a position around the carrier. The fox spoke, “I think we’ll be fine.”
The hangar bay doors of Facility Zero opened up, and the only working VXP-1 began to slowly emerge from its bay. The Dreadnought had never seen action before, so its performance against CDI would be its first true test. Zero hoped that all of the money spent on research and development would not go to waste, and he also hoped that the vehicle would not be heavily damaged by the airstrike. Since the vehicle was outfitted with plenty of countermeasures, armor, and weapons, Zero was not too worried about completely losing the vehicle, but he was mainly concerned due to the fact that CDI would probably obtain pictures of the XVP-1 at the very least and spread them. He knew that the MJ12 anthros piloting the Dreadnought would have to work quickly in order to eliminate all of the CDI personnel before they would be able to identify what the XVP-1 was even supposed to be.
As the Dreadnought completely emerged from the hangar, it proceeded to slowly make its way past Facility Zero. The vehicle needed as much space as it could have in order to use all of its weapon systems without the risk of damaging the facility. The Rafale Ms and Su-33s flew in formation as they began to get within visual contact of Facility Zero. The Dreadnought used its heavy-duty treads to travel over the rocky terrain of Devon Island, and it began to open up some of the hidden compartments to reveal a multitude of concealed weapon systems. The weapons atop each vehicle segment did not need to reveal themselves since they were always visible from the top of the vehicle. The XVP-1 targeted the Rafale Ms and prepared to use its armament. The Dreadnought was ordered to not engage the targets until they were close enough to Facility Zero to cause damage. The anthro pilots all sat and waited as they watched eight jet fighters loaded with missiles approaching their location.
“Look at that thing!” Arcades exclaimed upon laying his eyes upon the XVP-1. Jim spoke next, “That must be Omega’s weapon. Jason and Bocchino watched the idling vehicle as well, and they did not even know what most of the equipment mounted on the vehicle was supposed to do. Arcades already identified some of the equipment, “They’ve got a laser weapon on that thing! Look at that large telescope-looking device. That’s based on the US Navy’s laser weapon system!” Jason asked the fox a question as he looked at the device, “What does it look like when it’s firing?” Arcades explained the laser, “You won’t be able to see the beam. It’ll fry whatever you aim it at though. Those planes better look out because they’re in range of the laser.” Jim continued his descent, “That means we’re in range too. I hope they don’t target us.” Arcades did not have anything to say to Jim, but he did watch the Rafale Ms and Su-33s fly towards Facility Zero. He turned back to the aircraft carrier, and he could see the first two Block III Super Hornets launch from the catapult. Though the fox did not see the XVP-1 use any of its weapon systems yet, he knew that he was in for a massive attack.
Chapter 15
The Dreadnought
“All aircraft, you are cleared to engage the enemy vehicle,” the CDI mission controller spoke from the carrier. The flight of Rafale Ms split off from the Su-33s, and their avionics immediately began alerting the pilots of the Dreadnought’s radar equipment locking on to their craft. The Rafale Ms broke off to the left while the Su-33s flew towards the right after banking a turn. The XVP-1’s LaWS turned upwards and started targeting one of the Flanker-Ds. As the Su-33 leveled out and presented its fuselage to the Dreadnought, the MJ12 anthros inside fired the laser. The laser, operating in a wavelength outside of human sight, instantaneously reached its target and burned a hole through the fuselage. The fuel in the aircraft ignited, and one of the engines caught fire as the laser burned through the frame of the aircraft. The pilot immediately felt the effects of the damaged aircraft, “This is Pole 2, I’ve been hit!” The Flanker-D lost altitude from the loss of an engine, but the plane also spiraled out of control due to uneven thrust distribution. The pilot disabled the other engine and tried to maintain control of the aircraft. He knew that he would not be able to land on the carrier due to how far away it was, so he would have to try and make an emergency landing on Devon Island.
The other Flanker-Ds scattered as they looked in the air for signs of an enemy attack. One of the other pilots said, “This is Pole 3, where did the attack come from? Over.” The early warning and control operator on the carrier looked at the radar, “The radar is completely clear. What happened? Over.” Pole 2 replied as he looked in his mirror to see smoke coming out from one of the engines, “This is Pole 2, I didn’t feel anything until my engine gave out. My plane just combusted. Over.” As the pilot leveled the plane out, the Dreadnought fired its laser again, and the laser quickly burned straight through the aircraft’s port-side wing. The wing flew off the plane, and the plane spiraled out of control again. Pole 4 witnessed the aircraft breaking apart, “Pole 2 has lost a wing. Over.” The leader of the Flanker-D squadron spoke, “Pole 4, this is Pole 1. What took out the wing? Over.” Pole 4 replied to his squadron leader, “Pole 1, this is Pole 4. The wing burned up before detaching. It was nowhere near the damaged engine. I think that they’re using directed energy weapons against us. Over.” Pole 1 tried to speak with the pilot of the crippled aircraft, “Pole 2, this is Pole 1. Are you able to make an emergency landing west of the facility? Over.”
Pole 2 prepared to respond as he fought against the consequences of losing a wing, but he was taken out
by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Dreadnought before he could do anything else. The Su-33 exploded in mid-air, and the pilot was lost along with the aircraft. The EW&C operator reported the loss of the craft to the other pilots who might not have been able to see the missile, “Pole 2 has been lost from radar after being hit by a SAM.” While the Dreadnought engaged the remaining Flanker-Ds, the Rafale Ms managed to move in on the vehicle. Two out of the four Rafale Ms fired air-to-ground missiles at the XVP-1, but a sudden barrage of gunfire from the CIWS turret destroyed the missiles before they could hit the vehicle. The squadron pulled up and gained altitude to evade the CIWS from hitting their aircraft as well. The leader of the Rafale M flight commented on the Dreadnought’s CIWS, “They’ve got a missile defense system. It just shot down our AGMs in flight. Over.” The EW&C operator replied to the Rafale M pilot, “Affirmative. All aircraft be advised that the vehicle is also equipped with laser weaponry.”
Arcades opened the door of the Stealth Hawk, and he watched as the remains of the Su-33 collided into the ground before erupting into an explosion. Jim planned on landing behind the facility so that the crew would not be immediately detected by the Dreadnought on their way in the facility. The human spoke as the three anthros prepared themselves for the mission, “You guys can jump as soon as I get low enough. Be careful down there, and good luck!” Arcades watched as the helicopter approached the ground and lowered its airspeed, and he also looked to the sky again to see the CDI Rafale Ms fly overhead. A missile was chasing one of the jets, and the fox could also see tracer rounds fly through the air towards the attacking aircraft. The Stealth Hawk finally leveled out and came close enough to the ground for the fox’s mission to begin. Arcades announced to his crew, “Let’s go!” before he leaped from the aircraft. Jason and Bocchino both jumped at the same time as well, and all three anthros landed on the ground simultaneously. As soon as the anthros made contact with the ground, Jim gave the crew a sharp salute before he pressed the button to remotely close the Stealth Hawk’s doors. Arcades turned towards the pilot, gave a smile and a salute in response, and he looked back to the crew to proceed with the mission. Jim withdrew the helicopter from the landing zone after seeing the fox return the salute, and he flew over the island’s ridge in order to avoid detection from the CDI aircraft as well as the Dreadnought itself.
