Fandom Crimson Lineage (Project Wingman Story)

[Tayner]

Lt. William “Icarus” McBryde​

Caesar Radar Station, Cascadia

Before Will could dive into action Echo beat him to it, bombing two SAM sites in short order before Patience followed suit. Echo called out to Will, "Ic,", the abbreviated use of his callsign bugged him but there was little time to complain amidst the developing battle. "Roger that Echo." He replied before Jeff called out once again.

"I got eyes on a smoke trail, eleven o'clock." He said as a missile broke free of the surface and flew towards Echo.

"I see it, hold on!" Will called out to his backseater before putting the plane into a dive, he'd hug the earth, low enough to mask him from most of the SAM sites as they made their approach. "Echo, you've got incoming!" He warned, the altitude warning going off in the background. Will flew close to the ground, maybe not as close as some of the others could cut it, but close enough for him to hear his WSO uncomfortably laughing behind him. The F/F-18 climbed and dove with the hilly terrain as it closed the distance to their target. "Over this next hill Lucky, get ready!" He yelled as Jeff got ready, he'd have only a few seconds to identify, lock, and engage the target once they got a clear line of sight.

The jet climbed as it sped over the next hill, a radar warning going off as the SAM crew anticipated the attack. As soon as Jeff could let loose a missile the SAM did too. “Missile away!” he called as Will violently jerked the stick up and to the right, going full burn as they narrowly avoided the enemy missile. “Fuck,” Jeff muttered as he recovered from the High-G turn, looking back over his shoulder and confirming that the SAM site was hit, it’s munitions cooking off leaving a display of smoke and fire behind them. “Good kill-” Jeff reported over the radio before the RWR interrupted him. “Another one!”

“Where?” Will hollered, getting ready to go evasive as he scanned for a missile launch in front of him.

“Uhhh, uhhh, fuck! Eight o’clock, low! Hard left!” Jeff yelled, before he could even finish the sentence Will had already begun the turn and burn, diving once more as the missile narrowly missed the aircraft. “That one was too close!”

“Tell me about it!” Will replied before bringing the craft about, now bearing down on the offending SAM site that had just fired on them. “Take the shot Lucky!”

“Missile away!” As soon as the missile let loose they rolled once more, going low to avoid another SAM lock. “Good hit!” Jeff reported as the missile struck true. “Echo, two more SAM sites dealt with.” Jeff reported as Will brought them back around, ready for some more.

 

[Kyrenka]

Claude Allaway Location: Caesar Radar StationWith Salmon’s words, Claude was able to quickly glance and confirm their location from him. “Copy that,” he replied. At Icarus’s suggestion, he found his eyes straying to the distance where their enemies were quickly getting closer. “Fuck it,” he muttered before saying loudly enough for his communicator to pick up, “Sure, I’m better in the air anyways.” With that, Claude put his trust in his comrades and charged forward. Patience’s challenge echoed in his mind as he heard her say that she’d assist him. Six planes. It was odd that they didn’t send more. Honestly, their whole response was downright sloppy. The voice of one of their enemies crackled through his headset as he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“You’d think they’d know by now not to underestimate mercenaries.” Sure, some were shit pilots, but those people didn’t last long enough to taint the general expectation of a mercenary’s talent. Mercenary work was more than just a living, it was life and death; even if their enemies were more skilled, the fact that each member of Rose Company had made their peace with death should terrify them. “How many do you think we have to shoot down before they start taking us seriously?” His grumbling turned into a grunt as he danced out of the way of another missile before continuing his charge. The interceptor he had chosen to play chicken with apparently couldn’t take the heat and broke right. Claude took advantage of his opponent’s display of weakness and fired off a few bullets from his gunpod. It didn’t do much damage, but it had the effect he wanted.

Shaken from the aggressive approach and sudden attack, his opponent was now struck with fear and panic, making him an easy target. Claude grinned as he gave chase, firing a few STDMs after the other plane. A few of the other interceptors must’ve caught on to what he was doing and fired back at him. It wouldn’t take long for the stray little lamb to gather his wits again, so he needed to press the advantage now. “Can I get a little cover ladies?” He didn’t wait for a response as he jerked his tiller up and climbed. Just as he had hoped, their opponents were using MLAAs due to Patience’s and his combined acrobatic display. “See, there’s a reason why I hate locking missiles,” yanking the tiller down and towards his prey, he began a rapid descent, “They don’t work that well against a pilot who knows what they’re doing.” The Accipiter screamed past the unfortunate pilot that had little time to understand the situation, much less respond, before a few stray missiles blew his tail up. Claude broke even and felt himself hiss out a painful release of air. Ugh, next time leave the hard turns to Patience. A streak of monochrome color shot into the air before a parachute emerged from it. One down. Despite his mind helpfully reminding him that the battle wasn’t over, he couldn’t help but prod his senior to gauge her reaction, “How was that?”

From here on out, mind games wouldn’t work. The others had responded too well which indicated that the loss of their companion hadn’t shaken them from their goal. One might’ve called it a dirty play, but one should use every tool in their arsenal when it came to the battlefield. A good amount of missiles were shot at him, and since he knew better than to try the same trick twice, Claude retreated a bit in order to shake the annoying shadows on his tail. “Damn, I’ve really put a target on my back now, haven’t I?”

((Interacting with @ManofManyRoles’s Patience))

 

[Mineczka]

Eka Mentari

"Echo, you've got incoming!"

The first words she heard in response from Icarus and Lucky, banking her plane she'd turn towards the SAM, switching to her missiles, 'I've no time for this!' She'd think as she'd twist her flight stick hard, sharply rolling past the missile, taking a breath as it harmlessly flew past her wing, she'd watch Icarus for a moment dash towards where the SAM was launched, before banking further into the base at speed. Then another alert, her RWR began to scream of another missile her direction, coming from her seven-o'clock, another SAM, then another warning, from ten-o'clock, followed by the trail of a third from roughly five-o'clock, maneuvering, Eka would call over the radio, "IC! I've located more SAMs! Three locked on me! Splash them before they lock again!" She'd shout, banking hard to evade one of the three, and dropping a few countermeasures to evade the other two.

Barely getting a breath, Eka could hear the RWR begin screaming again, "Sial, masih ada lagi?! (Shit, there's more!?)" She'd grumble, unaware she left her comms open for another moment. Evading once more, Eka would trace the smoke trail of the missile while her canopy was facing the ground for a moment. 'Four.' She'd whisper under her breath, 'Half are--' her thought was cut short from yet another warning, another missile was launched, rotating her jet again, she'd make her escape, using more countermeasures again, 'That was number three... Now, five through eight... Where are you...?' She'd continue to ponder, as she circled around again, looking to the ground, keeping her ears out for any alert once more. Her eyes would then catch another smoke trail, "Ic, you've got incoming! Three-o'clock low!" She'd call, before identifying another SAM site, 'Five. Three more to find...' Making a note, Eka would roll down again, her brief few seconds of peace were interrupted once more...

Another alert, rolling her jet she'd continue to evade, turning hard as her eyes traced another smoke trail, 'Six.' Flying towards it, the same sound, another lock, this one close enough to cause a small bit of panic in Eka, who didn't even feel the chance to evade, before mashing her countermeasures again. 'Seven... One more...' Continuing her search, she'd ponder for a moment how insane she looked, actively flying through crossfire after crossfire, drawing as much attention as possible to her. Taking another breath she'd see another smoke trail, directly ahead. Flicking her flight stick, Eka would narrowly avoid impact as she smirked, 'Eight.' She'd almost laugh to herself, as she flew over the site, dropping them a set of bombs, destroying the launcher with impunity, "All SAM targets located, here's their locations!" Eka would remark, before reading the locations of each site on hand, with her usual chipper tone.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Caesar Radar Station
Emma Saylor; Patience
"It's part of the job, Gnat. They either underestimate us or overestimate us. Last war Cascadia hired just about anyone stupid enough to fight the federation, be they rookie or experienced. You never know if you're getting a group like Sicario or some ramshackle group of cardboard with mercs. Use it to your advantage when they show their hand that way. Echo, Icarus, Lucky, you three good over there? You sound a bit stressed on comms." Emma's tone was flat enough, even if she spoke from experience. Last war she was the idiot with no combat experience that got a contract to go gunning down planes. Honestly, it went pretty damn well...till it didn't. "In my experience? You gun one down, suddenly you're an actual threat. So y'know, have fun with that knowledge." Emma pulled back ont he throttle for a tighter turn, not enough that it could truly classify as 'High-G' or be worse than anything Salmon would have dealt with being Patience's wizzo by now, just your run-of-the-mill tightened turn to get behind the flight they had passed.

As Gnat chased down the spooked pilot Patience pulled back on the throttle a bit more, the flight now tracking the rookie instead of her. Wow they were sloppy here...they weren't just taking them as a joke, they were overconfident. Who ignored a target like this? "Roger that, Gnat. Cover coming your way. Salmon, I need you to track these flights and give me a heads up if one slips behind us." With no further warning the throttle was gunned once again, the swing-wing screaming ahead through the air behind the flight that was chasing Gnat who was, in turn, chasing one of the six pilots. The kid was good though, she had to give it to him, not many could keep their cool while being chased like that. "Multi-locks have their place Gnat, be glad you haven't been on the receiving end of finding out what it is." Patience reached over, a flip for one of the weapon systems flipped. Two of the remaining five planes broke off their pursuit of Gnat, though three were still right behind him. "Yeah, you've got a target...let me steal that from you. Good job, kid. Salmon, swapping systems to High-Velocity weapons. Confirm lock?" Once the lock was good she flexed her thumb on the trigger, two missiles streaking forward from her craft at a break-neck pace. She was trading firepower for speed...it might not be enough to down a fighter in one go, but it'd get the point across. Neither of her targets were quick enough with their flares, and both were rattled with the explosion. The third, however, Patience lit up with a burst of her mainline weapon as that tell-tale brrrt of the heavy gun shredding through the craft. One fireball and two fighters were lagging behind due to the damage, with Patience soaring ahead right past Gnat's cockpit. The two fighters who had broken off from them had changed course...back towards the airbase proper to harass the two fighters targeting the SAM systems. "Gnat, can you chase them down? The other foces will be on top of us in less than five based off radar, guess the rest of Rose Company can't mop them all up before they change targets."

------

While Gnat and Patience fought the small sortie that had moved to intercept them outside the base premises, Echo and Icarus got to enjoy the full amount of fun that was dealing with Sam sites. Almost every three minutes was a new "target lock" warning as eight SAM sites were doing their best to track and try to blast the flight out of the sky. Unfortunately, the SAM's nor their crew had ever dealt with Rose Company...which, by extension, meant they had never had to deal with Echo. Though they seemed to be stressing the pilot out just a bit they still couldn't land a hit. Eight launches, by Echo's count...though that quickly became seven after Echo dropped a payload ontop of a ground target. "It is a flight. Of. FOUR! It's split in half! How have you lot not blasted them out of the sky by now?!" Whoever their comm's spike was peaking in one, they were absolutely livid that any damage had been to the base so far...and they hadn't even taken out a radar station so far! "Echo and Icarus, this is Darkstar. I'm giving you both a heads up we don't have long here before you lot have more company arriving from the furball up north. I'm directing the other fighters of Rose Company to chase the interceptors down before they arrive but we can't expect them to catch them all. Patience, Gnat. Don't play with your targets, we need you back at base to support the others. I will remind you that there is twenty-five individual radar-dishes you need to knock out. Strafe em, bomb em, or use a missile. Oh and, for those who care to know, the gentlemen we're listening to is a Captain Jameson. Apparently he's an ultra-nationalist that was part of the Legion the moment they defected from Cascadia. I'm doing a bit of a background check, y'know for fun. Curious why they have someone like him all the way out here instead of in a base doing some planning though. Commission Officer staff isn't exactly all-over the place for a secessionist and nationalist state like the Legion, y'know."

​

Kyrenka Pilgrim59 Tayner Mineczka

 

[Kyrenka]

Claude Allaway Location: Caesar Radar StationClaude appreciated how seamlessly Patience slipped in to cover his ass. That's experience for you. Despite the fact that Patience flew her plane like as if she were challenging the laws of physics itself, there was a sense of grace that implied the pilot's years of experience. He watched as she essentially mowed down their opponents and winced. Yeah, calling these people sloppy was becoming a gross understatement. This was actually getting a little embarrassing. All the more reason to stay sharp. There was still no telling if they had something up their sleeve, and even if they didn't, complicity was deadly. Turning his head slightly to watch the planes Patience was talking about, he adjusted his path accordingly. "Got it," he replied before giving chase. The mix of adrenaline and crushing realization of their situation must've given them a wake-up call; he hadn't even straightened out when one of the planes broke away to viciously attack him. "Whoa," he breathed, "Guess they can think." Despite the improvement, it wasn't enough to even make Claude sweat. The brunet danced out of the way, maneuvering this way and that as his new friend aggressively followed behind. Doing his best to keep the other plane in check, he followed its path, causing the one behind him to stop firing when it deemed that he had gotten too close.

His tongue clicked in disappointment. Guess someone's not confident enough in their close combat. He couldn't blame the other pilot, it was better to fold then to accidentally shoot down your own comrade. That would be a career killer. Claude's proximity forced the second plane to give up their beeline for the other half of Rose Company and engage Claude in combat. It was now two against one, and for a moment there was a spark of excitement in his chest as these two finally worked together to attack him. They played off of each other, backing off and reengaging when the moment called for it. It wasn't seamless, far from it, but it was an improvement from before. Claude felt an odd sense of pride watching these two get their act together for a moment.

It was only for a moment though; they had a mission and Claude was going to see it through. Maybe it was a little cruel of him, but he let the duo gain a false sense of confidence as Claude merely defended himself from their attacks. He could practically feel the impatience from some of his comrades as they glanced at him from time to time. I probably look like I'm toying with them. His cheeks flushed a little at the thought that he looked like an arrogant kid in front of his seniors. And Darkstar just said not to. "Sorry guys, fun's over." Mercilessly, Claude changed tactics. The sudden shift from defense to offense was too much for his less skilled opponents to handle. It only took a few moment for both planes to tumble to the earth, with little parachutes twirling in the wind like helicopter seeds falling from a tree. Turning his plane around, he regrouped with Patience and avoided her gaze. "I wasn't playing with them, I was just watching," he muttered in order to preemptively defend himself. His moment was thoroughly over now, and like a good junior he once again took the back seat and waited for guidance. "How do you want to do this?"

(Interacting with ManofManyRoles 's Emma Saylor))

 

[Mineczka]

EKA MENTARI

Eka never thought she could dance in a plane, but, today was the eye-opening experience for her, as she began evading more missiles, sparing as many of her countermeasures as she can. She could feel her body scream, alongside the her F-15's RWR, and G-tracking systems all at once. Seven SAM's had her lock, and were looking to handle the insane pilot, releasing a few more bombs, she'd handle another SAM site, 'Six more... Come on Eka!' She'd think to herself, before hearing Patience over the radio, asking if all was well. Taking a moment to reply, Eka's tone would sound as chipper as always, "Oh me? I'm fiiiine~ Just pissed off an entire hornet's nest~" She'd reply, banking her plane to gun down another SAM, "How're things over there?" She'd ask, seemingly unfazed by the fact that, in the eyes of the SAM sites, she was the priority target, a literal flying thorn in their side.

Taking a moment while keeping the Radars notched, Eka would let out another breath, listening to the comms, laughing at the mention of the fact that they were struggling to splash four targets, "Man... This Jameson guy seems awfully upset. Loud too. Let me just... Drown him out real quick~!" She'd set her eyes on the Control Tower, a toothy grin hidden by her mask. Throttling hard, she'd feel the kick of her plane's afterburner activating, before screaming past the control tower, canopy facing the glass, Eka looking directly within, almost tauntingly. A moment that while was no more than a split second, felt like a solid minute.

Breaking off once more, Eka would laugh to herself, knowing the moment Thorn hears she pulled such a stunt, she'd strangle Echo... Again. As her RWR started beeping again, "Jeez... Can't let a girl have a bit of fun, eh?" She'd ask, before maneuvering her escape, continuing to be a pest to the SAM's, whilst striking where she could.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Caesar Radar Station
Emma Saylor; Patience
Patience glanced in her rearview as the swing wing went screaming through the air after Claude. While she had expected these 'ultranationalists' and 'zealots' as they'd been described to pursue their targets without concern for life or limb she instead found the surprising sight of the two fighters she had nailed in the back with a HVSM each was backing off and turning about face. They're letting us run scott free?...Probably to let those flying in take over and lick their wounds. Her attention went back ahead as she continued to work to quickly close the distance back towards Caesar, a slight and muted sigh as she watched Gnat play with his food. Fortunately, the kid eventually got his act together and blasted his targets rather than make them fire off main-gun fire and missile in vain. He fell into formation rather quickly, and was just as quick to defend himself. "Time 'n place Gnat, time 'n place. If you wanna watch somethin', do it on base or when we're not on a timer. I'm fine if the furball navigates towards us, I am not fine with Thorn tearing me a new one. Get gun run's in on the radar stations to soften them up, a strafe is all I'm askin' for. By the time the other Legionaries disengage from the battle up north we won't have a chance to do anything except swat flies. Do what we can to soften targets and then reposition as soon as they're within sortie range. As for how're things Echo. We're not dead. All targets splashed, save for two which are running to lick their wounds. So much for zealotry."

With her new order given over comms, and thus one all could hear of course, she punched the throttle once again towards the radar station and crossed the border line in just about the same few moments. She swooped low as she practically hugged the earth, the SAM's having a hard time locking her when she was violating their personal space in such a way. The fact they couldn't turn on a dime also played in her favor, the interceptor jerking upright and testing her bodies limits to g-forces...no gray-out though, so obviously she wasn't doing too bad. She reached over quickly to cycle a weapon system, the satisfying chnk of some internal system prepping a volley of UGBS from the underbelly of the craft. As she levelled out with a jerk forward on the stick she released the first payload of potentially many, a trio of small bombs flying forward. Radar stations of course were designed in row's...which meant that someone who knew what they were doing could abuse that. Two of three hit their mark, the radar dishes going up in a plume of fire as the total target count went down from 25 to 23.

Just as she managed to finish her contribution to the fight, she caught sight of Echo being...well, Echo. The gutsy pilot would get a look at the crew inside for that split second she could, a group of figures at desks and comms. And at the center was one dressed in uniform, clean-shaven and with a scowl so deep it practically screamed 'My favorite desert is a cigar flavored cake'. And by the time Echo was gone, though she couldn't see it, that scowl got even deeper. "God DAMMIT! Dust mother while I'm at it! Where the hell is the interception team!?...What do you mean downed!? Get our pilots out of that blasted furball and scrap these upstarts! I want those fighters turned into license plates!"

"Now Echo," started Darkstar as she tried to hide the grin in her voice, "I find that shit funny. Thorn is going to hang you out to dry for it. Potentially literally, knowing her. You can have fun on your own time when it's not going to risk you, or the craft. Patience has gotten a start on those radar dishes, clean up the SAM's while you can and do the same. We're down to twenty-three targets standing...Gnat, if you're on interception duty you're gonna wanna get your shit in gear kid. I'm reading five new fighters coming in from the furball up north, looks like our boys couldn't slow them down entirely. Hopefully they didn't arrive unscathed, give em a warm welcome will ya?"

True to her word, a small sortie of five was flying towards the radar station now as well. They all appeared to be F/C-16's...nothing really special about them, they were one-seater and low cost fighters. Put a decent pilot in one, slap em on the back with an 'atta boy' and that was it. Though by now, they were no doubt aware of Claude and the Wildcard team's methodology so far...which is why Claude suddenly found all five of those fighters diverting in formation towards his position.

Mineczka Tayner Kyrenka​

 

[Mineczka]

Eka Mentari

Breathe. A slow breath would slowly come from the pilot, as she continued strafing and bombing, eliminating the remaining SAM sites systematically, until none remained to even think of firing on the few pilots within the CZ. Her engines screaming, Eka would find herself running out of targets that actually fought back. Another deep breath would come from the Oceanian Pilot, all the while her radio came to life, first was the shouting of Jameson, which sparked a confident laugh from the pilot, her tactic was working, the ATC crew were easily rattled from the sudden pass at full Afterburners, it had to have rattled the structure, and from the scowl that was on the clean-shaven commander, she assuredly agitated the hornet's nest with impunity, "Good. Now I've their attention, that should buy our fighters in the North some time..." She'd whisper to herself before hearing the familiar voice of Darkstar, who sounded like she could barely hide the amusement in her voice and face.

"Oh come on, 'Star, I just wanted to make sure they KNOW we're better than them~!" She'd reply, "Besides, I knew what I was doing~ It was just afterburners! I've not even thought of touching my VMAX, so there's no danger to the craft~!" Taking a pause, Eka would clear her throat, speaking now with a hint of seriousness, "But, as far as I've seen, SAM sites are either down, or too scared to fire on us at this point. May've ran 'em out of munitions. I'll get working on their radars, can't shoot if they can't see~" She'd then quickly bank off, finding a radar, and opening her gun on it without even a second thought, 'Man... Starting to wish planes had IHADSS...' She'd think, watching a few rounds fly off target from the turning of her plane, thinking for a brief moment the runs she had with her helicopters and the equipment they had, before banking towards another radar.

"Hey, Patience, Bombs are running thin here, I may have to break off the attack to conserve missiles for if I need to actually fight." She'd call, looking at her weapons reserves on her HUD, and seeing she only had a few strafes of bombs left, "That is, lest some of these radars wanna share~!"