Pilatus

Another World's War

Busy night! It looks like we're coming up on a conclusion here. Better get that Osprey in there while the road is blocked.

Looking forward to some good character interaction after the mission.

Another World's War

The whole of Avalon came about as the MiG nosed over the top of Lonnie’s reversal and for a moment he could see everything: Vast undisturbed plains, rivers and sharp mountain escarpments in the distance. It was just like Keith had described, clean and new, undisturbed. In some ways it looked like Western China where he’d learned to fly. Drab browns and greens spackled over the landscape pallet with strokes of rock and dust for miles some still hiding in morning shadows. As the nose came down he could almost smell the mix of AeroShell and braised Yak meat from his youth.

“Two Pair, coming up.” Xi said from the back. Lonnie was stretching out the arc of his second pass to keep the sun with them. The caution alarms blared. He knew the Yerrill wouldn’t be as welcoming on this pass. Two more had fallen away in flames from Ranger Five’s pass and the rest had regrouped quickly. The standard Yerrill fighters of the line, he knew, could never catch them, but their fallback tactic against a high speed attacker was a bizarre boxing maneuver designed to contain the speed of the faster human craft. By using their physics-defying agility to keep their guns trained, they could force a speed fighter into turns, thus making him vulnerable.

The bait was to attack either one of the pairs as they split away. Two went high, almost vertical and two ducked away opposite. “Still two loose shots out there from Five.” Xi reported. Lonnie laid into the burners and the MiG accelerated downhill like a truckload of bricks. He resisted the urge to try another Archer shot like he had on the straggler that had moved too soon on the first pass. He could see Ranger Five coming up from the deck trailing a pair of Yerrill as well. Beyond him, Ranger One was drawing considerable ground fire. There was no sign of the F-16. It seemed at least that the fighters were primarily interested in them since their flight lead was now unprotected.

“Did we lose Two?” Lonnie asked as they charged into the gap.

“Not sure,” Xi replied. He was working feverishly in the back to direct the two unguided missiles and make use of Ranger Five’s rearward facing shot. “Go for the pair trailing five and get ready to see some serious shit.”

Under Xi’s guidance, the two forlorn shots launched unguided by Ranger Five found a new purpose and for a moment the Yerrill chasing down Clem’s MiG-23 found their warning sirens blaring from obtuse angles. The trailing fighter broke away immediately as one of the missiles now under the MiG-31’s guidance came howling in from above barely missing. Xi deftly countered by firing off Clem’s remaining aft shot which streaked away smartly and buried itself in the starboard wing-root sending the alien craft ricocheting away in an electrical corkscrew of smoke like a pinball game. Almost simultaneously, the lead unit, fixated on the slowly opening wings of the MiG-23, was smeared across the sky as the other shot under Xi’s control struck pay dirt.

“Well that was hardly sporting.” Lonnie cackled.

They blazed past Clem in a dirty trail of rich exhaust and orange flame. Lonnie was keeping the speed up to prevent the other Yerrill from working the box maneuver on any of them. He cocked the MiG up on its side and Xi knowingly withdrew a small pair of binoculars to check the effects of Ranger Lead’s bombing run.

“Good effect on targets, Lead,” Xi reported scanning quickly. “…Multiple secondaries.” He could spot several mangled Yerrill ground vehicles with purple and blue smoke rising from their hulks. The other vehicles were scrambling to keep moving and get around them, but the pass they were traversing seemed to be blocked with burning wrecks for at least the time being.

The g-forces struck hard as Lonnie pulled them skyward again. He never liked being too close to the ground in the ‘31. It felt out of place. The sound of the AWACs controller broke in unexpectedly assigning them a new helper. Both men glanced over the port wing and listened to the new call sign assignments.

“It’s a bloody Harrier.” Lonnie said, almost stunned.

“At least he’s getting right to it.” Xi replied as they saw the little jump jet turn to engage with the cannon.

“We only drink Guinness,” Lonnie replied over the coms. The MiG was soaring back to altitude like a rocket launch, “But we can add you to the mess tab if you survive in that kite."

Another World's War

I was going to wait for Remipa to get a post in, but I should have a post ready to go either way tomorrow/Monday.

Another World's War

CAP = Combat Air Patrol = Fighters = those things that are fast and nimble enough to utterly murder us all

1st salvo, using russian long-range lock-on after launch missiles are well suited for such head-on "ambushes" due to their tiny launch signature (no radar-lock ping needed until about 1 sec from merge). Making them the cheapest and easist way to whittle them down.

Is why Clem burned all four of his R-27s on fighters, and on first read, I was assuming you had done the same with R-33s.
Resault: Nearly complete squad-wipe of all enemy fighters in a single pass.
-Which is why these sorts of engagements are called "Fox One Cheapshot" in brevity (also "Mad-dog" because they [the IR guided missiles launched w/o any lock] can accidentally lock onto friendlies or outgoing missiles).

@Foster

Like I said, the post was up for over two weeks and you replied in the affirmative to the proposal. It had crossed my mind initially to spam all the fighters with a big missile barrage right out of the gate sort of like you suggested here, but that didn't feel much in the spirit of the game. In this post it was stated that we would be allowed to take care of our own business for this round, but any portrayal of the enemy as ineffective or weak would not be looked upon kindly. It seemed to me that blowing them all away in one pass would fit that description pretty accurately and furthermore wouldn't make for a very engrossing writing experience. Targeting the heavies made sense for characters, weapons, setting, and mission plot movement to name just a few reasons.

I'm here to write a story with other players in a moderated game setting and have fun doing it. The "best" way of doing things may not always be the way that's chosen for the sake of the game, but it's a fictional story so there's not a lot of point in debating what would happen if these planes and weapons were really fighting this battle. We can make suggestions and inferences, but at the end of the day the law of plot overrides everything else (see bullet point #11 in the rules section).

It's great that you know all these fun facts and radio codes, etc. Maybe you've flown a military aircraft in combat- I haven't and I'd hazard a guess that most people in this forum haven't either. I may not be Chuck Yeager, but I can speak to some knowledge of what we're trying to do here in a Casual-RP and I think that's what will attract more membership and move the plot along.

But if you really want to try your luck against an infitiy-gen alien fighter in a turn & burn fest, by all means.

@Foster

I'm having an absolute blast writing about it.

Another World's War

Couple issues with some of the replies above that I want to point out for the record because I had a feeling this was going to happen when I replied to this post, which sets the initial IC scene, in the OOC thread.

I said pretty specifically what I intended to write for everyone to see and received no objections whatsoever.

>Sides with Massa on this one, because sticking to designated targets from flight-lead prevents redundant targeting.

@Foster

I really don't want to get into using the word "sides" particularly when we're looking to attract more membership. I would like to point out, however, that when I submitted my post in the OOC referenced above, this was your reply:

Clem.

Translation:
-Seems good, get their CAP's attention by getting a few good hits in, lead them away, try not to die.

Lose them, re-engage as-needed.

Although the MiG-23's speed is really only any good at low-level... there it screams.

@Foster

No issue with redundant targeting then. It's just fortunate for the MiG-31 (and the rest of the squad for that matter) that the situation presented, as written, made for a VERY favorable target set for the MiG-31. This aircraft has the ability to hit targets at a far greater range than any other platform presently in the squadron and as stated in my OOC post it was simply best practice to fire them on very high percentage shots. Anyone was welcome to speak up then, but did not do so and the post has hung out there uncontested for seventeen days up until now. I would have rewritten back then if someone had an issue and a better method with which to move the plot and fight the enemy IC.

<Snipped quote by Pilatus>
Well to be fair, lead's orders were for the MiGs to engage the fighters and leave the bombers to him and 2.

@Massasauga

I'm going to refrain on debating semantics on this one as far as what "orders" are in a fictional military, sci-fi rpg. In your post you stated at least three times that Virginia was engaged with a "fighter" so it doesn't seem to be too much of a stretch when I said above that she had indeed engaged a "fighter". This would make since in terms of continuity as well since all four heavy contacts were already going down in flames before any other aircraft in Ranger Squadron came into firing range.

I'll conclude by saying that continuity is important to me and in my experience can be a game destroyer for more than several reasons. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I do go back and reread posts fairly often. I understand that it may appear that Lonnie/Xi got some of the easy meat on this one, but the setting initially was strongly suited to their weapon set. Now that there are ground contacts there's really not much they'll be able to do that will help the ground forces other than cover Ranger 1 & 2 and that's fine with me.

Another World's War

Dalcon finally shows-up, pegs a big one with a super-sidewinder, then an AIM-120 to finish.

@Foster

I'm pretty sure Virginia was targeting and took down a fighter since all four of the larger craft were already in flames. It wouldn't make any sense for her to waste one of her best missiles on something already on fire and going down. Coming in low, she would have had a good opportunity to get in the shot while the remaining fighters turned to focus on MiGfest.

An easy way to get in our new member quickly would just be to have our AWACs NPC vector him over to help out the squad. Let's just say there's more ground forces than expected and he happens to have some AGMs available to help out then he's in after Silver's next post.

Another World's War

I was pretty much under the impression this was kind of a simple, intro-type mission and we were basically calling our own shots. If you want to throw in some more bandits that's fine. So far I count Lonnie and Clem engaged with about nine Yerrill fighters but that's assuming that the Mig-23 didn't hit anything with any of his shots. This also assumes that ALL the fighters went after the two MiGs which would work out well for the ground forces.

Something I want to point out as well is that from a writing standpoint we don't really have a whole lot of info regarding the types of Yerrill craft and we're kind of winging it (pun intended) as far as writing about their capabilities. Some of the characters have been fighting them for some time and are familiar with all the different types. From what I've read so far in the plot details and in the IC posts there are fighters, interceptors, larger attack craft, troop carriers, bombers as well as large command craft and they all generally have a similar appearance. Their weapons are largely energy based, but some do launch missile-like projectiles and use a form of radar.

Lastly, it's the Expeditionary forces that are technically on the offensive in our story. Humanity apparently was good enough to push the Yerrill back through the portal in less than five years which would seem to indicate that we're better at fighting than they are (imagine that) while they seem to have mastered some form of dimensional travel that didn't necessarily translate into combat prowess. Maybe humanity is the first race they ever squared-off against that had the ability to fight back?

These could all just be fun plot items that are yet to be revealed, but its food for thought.

Another World's War

“Let us handle your light-work, Ranger lead.” Lonnie said glancing down at his instruments. The MiG’s expansive radar range gave their ship the first look on the Yerrill. He had flown with Xi enough times to know what was going on in the backseat. The four large bandits were scintillating targets and Xi was happy to assign one of their big R-33’s to each one. Xi knew that once unloaded, Lonnie would gain a little more agility on the controls and once they merged with the Yerrill fighters, their distance advantage would become irrelevant. It was simply best to unleash them now on high-percentage shots.

Lonnie wheeled the MiGs in a long arch to position the sun behind their backs for the shot. Both men scanned the sky constantly, each man’s head rotating with eyes squinting, searching for any dot, blip or smudge in the sky. The Yerrill could be crafty stealth fighters and total reliance on radar and sensors would get a pilot killed fast. Both men knew the game well.

“Doubt they’ve had to deal with anyone with our kind of range on this side of the fence.” Lonnie said.

“Well they’re gonna get an education in about ten seconds.” Xi replied. His tone was cold and confident. Lonnie enjoyed it wildly. Xi was a stone-cold logic, but from behind at the helm of their weapons systems his killer instinct came to light. He had launched the R-33 from under the MiG so many times it felt much like reaching out his own arms to pluck away the Yerrill like a great hand from the sun itself. Once unleashed the slow-moving craft had little chance of escape. “Ranger three, Fox three” Xi said over the squad channel. He wasn’t totally sure if he’d made the right usage of the western nomenclature for missile shots but was sure their western counterparts would understand soon enough.

The large missiles dropped away in a deliberately staggered order. Each one’s rocket engine sprang to life sending the weapon scurrying away on its Mach 5 journey. From the front seat Lonnie briefly watched them hydra away and seek out the slow moving Yerrill. For a moment all was seemingly still until four large plumes of fire erupted on the edge of the horizon with black smoke trailing to the ground.

“Splash four.” Xi reported over the com. The western codewords felt silly to him.

“You’ve caused quite a stir.” Lonnie said. He rocked the wings to signal Yuri to fan out and get ready to merge. They were holding the advantage with the sun behind them and altitude below them. However the Yerrill had become quite unruly at the sudden loss of their larger craft. Those that remained on the highest tier of their formation turned in the direction of the pair of MiGs and accelerated.

Xi took a last quick glance underneath the MiG-23 taking stock of the Bulgarian’s weaponry as he felt Lonnie lay on the afterburner. “You know he won’t be able to keep up with us.”

“He won’t have to.” Lonnie replied. “This will all be over in about thirty seconds.” He caught a brief glimpse of their mach number accelerating. “Stick with us for this pass Ranger Five,” Lonnie said over the com. He wasn’t ordering the other pilot, but he knew the other MiG wouldn’t keep pace the same way another MiG-31 would and they would have to compensate for each other. He had a fair level of confidence the man he was speaking to was fully competent in what he was doing- if he was crazy enough to survive in that relic of an aircraft. “We’ll cut straight through and scatter them, you turn inside of us and we’ll cover you on the next pass.”

The weight of the straps tightened on his shoulders and Lonnie licked his lips inside his mask. His pulse quickened to a physical throb of adrenaline in his throat as the small black dots in the windscreen grew exceedingly quickly and the MiG’s warning systems lit up and sounded as the range closed rapidly and the alien sensors locked on to them. Their arcing electrical shots went wide and scattered as the as the Yerrill pilots struggled to climb against them into the sun and handle their weapons in the blind. Lonnie rolled slightly as the first pair flashed by in a blur. He caught a glimpse of another attempting to bank away rather than face them directly and cranked off an Archer shot. The little missile burst away from its hard-point and immediately tracked down the Yerrill straggler impaling it in an orange flame. Another pair flashed by with weapons blazing, He hauled back on the stick into a zoom climb rolling and keeping their speed to check if Ranger Five was still with them.

Another World's War

Lonnie/Xi's plan:

The four slow bandits are easy pickings for the R-33 and their ship will come into firing range first. That's four high percentage shots and ideal targets for the MiG-31. This will clear the way for Ranger 1 and 2 to get in close on any ground forces that might be down there and deliver their bomb loads without being assailed.

Lonnie and Clem will then head into merge with the highest set of fighters and Clem will be free to make his own shots as they work as a pair and cover each other. We can have Xi launch a couple from Clem's ride if the opportunity presents itself. I think it's kind of funny that they are paired together since they're all total opposites as characters.

The crux of the plan is basically to draw all the fighters away so that the Expeditionary ground forces can retreat thus fulfilling the mission objective. So once the four large craft are blasted out of the sky from out of nowhere the remaining fighters are going to have to decide what they're going to do. They can either go low to mess with Ranger 1 and 2 (and risk leaving themselves exposed to another long range attack) or they can come upstairs and tangle with Lonnie and Clem (and maybe Cecillia too?).

I've got about half a post wrote up so far. I should be able to finish it tomorrow if you all dont mind me leading off.

My .02

Another World's War

Post edited, good to go