>>1015393
>You would head over to Dredd's office. You still have to get your orders.

>>1015393
>>You would head over to Dredd's office. You still have to get your orders.

>>1015393
>You would head over to Dredd's office. You still have to get your orders.

>>1015393
>>You would head over to Dredd's office. You still have to get your orders.

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You needed to head over to Dredd's office, he had asked for you to head over there after you woke up. While he didn't specify that he had any orders for you, he did mention giving you an update on anything significant that was going to happen. Knowing you luck, you probably had flights today that you were missing.

That being said, you finished off the remaining rounds in your magazine in a quick burst of fire, before then ejecting the magazine and flipping the safety on. You calmly loaded in a fresh magazine and returned the pistol to your holster, leaving the pistol without a round in the chamber and the safety on. You grabbed the loaned magazines and remaining .45 ammunition before then stepping away form the firing line, you turned on your heel and made your way out of the building and over to the nearby armoury. You walked over to the armoury window and passed the spare ammo and magazines to the armourer. He nodded silently as he took them off you, leaving you free to make off.

The walk back to the barracks took around 20 minutes, you arrived to find Slider walking out of the building.

"Hey Slider! Sleep well?" You asked as you made your way over, a grin tugging at your lips. Slider, unfortunately didn't react with an embarrassed blush. Instead she smiled innocently at you as you walked over to her.

"I slept fairly well, thanks." She replied, before her smile turned more dangerous. "Though I have to admit, you can sing pretty well while drunk."

You quickly clamped down on the feeling of embarrassment as you wondered just how drunk you had gotten last night. But that could wait until you had finished your sparring match with your comrade.

"Thanks Slider, though that wasn't the highlight of the night..." You trailed off, before giving Slider a sultry wink. She stared blankly at you for a couple of seconds, before then going red as the smile dropped off her face. She quickly began to stutter as her mind began to wander about what you meant.

You chuckled to yourself at her sudden embarrassment. "Relax Slider, I was only pulling your leg. We didn't do anything."

Slider gave you a glare at this, before giving you a small punch in the arm. "Asshole."

You simply laughed more at this, before getting down to business. "So, do you know where the boss is?"

"Sure, he's down at his now office." She replied, before making to walk off. "I'm headding there if you want to come with me?"

"Sure, you actually know where it is." you replied as you took up position next to her as you both walked off. You both spent the walk over simply talking about what had happened during the party.

Apparently, the party has started off small, with only you, Zeus, Svetlana, Weiss and Knobloch. But as the rest of the unit finished up their flights and paperwork, the party began to grow more and more unruly.

>CONT

>>1015862
Or as Slider put in, thing got interesting. Her highlight of the party was you and Zeus drunkenly singing along to queen. She didn't remember the song, but you nailed it according to her.

After 30 minuses, you reached the office building that had apparently been set aside for squadron commanders. You quickly made your way inside and were both directed to one of the rooms. You knocked twice and waited for a couple of seconds for a reply, when none came however, you raised your hand to knock again.

"Good to see you Razor, you too Slider." Dredd greeted you and slider as he approached you both, a mug of coffee in one hand and a binder of files under his arm.

"Good morning sir." You greeted Dredd as you moved away from the door, leaving room for dredd to unlock the door.

"Drop the sir shit unless we're around other officers. You know that I don't give a shit about it." Dredd asked as he took out a set of keys and unlocked the door, He quickly opened the door and walked in, he put the binder and coffee down as he sat down behind the desk.

"Come on, sit down." he gestured to the seats as you and Slider made your ways in. As you made your way to the seats, Dredd continued to speak.

"So considering what happened last night, do you want me to go over our orders again? Or do you just want the rundown on what's going on right now?" Dredd asked, before taking a sip form his coffee.

>"A reminder would be good, just in case I forgot something."
>"I'll just take an update on what's going on."
>"Actually, I need something else (write in)"

>>1015867
>>"A reminder would be good, just in case I forgot something."

>>1015867
>"A reminder would be good, just in case I forgot something."
The commies can't steal our memories in our sleep if we're too drunk to remember shit.

>>1015867
>>"A reminder would be good, just in case I forgot something."

"A reminder would be good, just in case I forgot something." You replied as you took a seat. Slider quickly taking the seat next to you.

"Sure, we've been transferred back here to Yokota airbase for three reasons. The first is that we are begin twinned with Shirotori flight. This means pretty much nothing operationally as we've been flying with them for a while." Dredd explained, before dropping a Tanto onto the table, the sheathed blade landing with a thud. "Technically however, we are now part of the princess's guard. Which is why we have to carry these damn things around. We're also liable to get dragged along to fancy dinners and all that boring shit, so make sure that your dress whites are in shape."

"And if we don't happen to have a dress uniform?" Slider asked as she leaned back in her seat and stretched.

"Then you'll be excused from going to said events until we can get you one. Don't worry, we're having a replacement Royal Navy uniform sent over for you." Dredd replied, before continuing on.

"Secondly, We're getting pulled back so we can be given more tech to play with. Grumman will be upgrading our birds, starting with Weiss's bird and going through the unit one-by-one. Your bird is also getting some new stuff, but you will have to talk to the techs about the specifics." Dredd continued, he paused for a second before then adding. "Also, we have a request from Boeing. they want someone in the unit to test out their new naval F-15. McDonnell Douglas also wants us to test the new F/A-18. They've upgraded it since the last time you saw it, though you will have to read up on both proposals."

"Anything I should know about the new F/A-18 and F-15?" You asked as Dredd passed you a pair of files.

"We have around four birds to choose from. There are both single-seat and two-seat versions of both the F-15 and F/A-18. The details are in the files, but the way I see it is that it's a perfect choice to get Svetlana a new bird. Obviously it will take time to get the birds over here, but it will at least give her something better than a modified Eagle. Hence why I'm giving you this choice." Dredd replied as you took the files and put them out your lap, you'd read them later.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What's to say that she won't just take it and bolt?" Slider asked sceptically, obviously uncomfortable with giving such valuable technology to someone that she didn't fully trust.

>CONT

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>>1016361
"Hence why this is his choice, he knows her best. Anyways, we're getting off track. Our final reason here is pretty straight forward. We're here to protect Tokyo from any Soviet attack, from either the air or the sea. ONI thinks that the Soviets might try to divert their pacific fleet to attack Tokyo in a surprise attack. Or they might try to attack with one of their submarine aircraft carriers." Dredd continued as you began to open up one of the files, his final sentance however, caught your attention.

"Wait, the reds have a submarine aircraft carrier?" You asked sceptically, earning you a look from Dredd.

"Apparently so. They have apparently used it already to attack the Panama canal. and while it didn't do much long-term damage, it still managed to heavily damage a Spurance class destroyer and sink a Brooke class frigate while they were in the canal. The air force has had to deploy a squad of F-15s there as cover." Dredd explained, before passing you an open folder, showing a grainy picture of a high-winged, single engine jet. It's twin-tails jutting out past the exhaust.

"These Soviets seem to be elite low-level attackers, and ONI's spooked that they will hit either the palace, the airbase or somewhere else important. So we're here just in case they show up." Dredd continued as you passed the picture to Slider.

>Ask for an update on anything that needs your attention.
>Rad through the files to see what jet you should get Svetlana to test.
>Ask Dredd if he can put you in contact with CINPAC, you need to ask him for a flavor.
>Head to the hangers to check up on your jet.
>Other (write in)

>>1016397
>>Rad through the files to see what jet you should get Svetlana to test.

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>>1016397
>Ask for an update on anything that needs your attention.

>submarine aircraft carrier
God damn it.

>>1016397
>Rad through the files to see what jet you should get Svetlana to test.

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"Are we sure that the Soviets even have a submersible aircraft carrier?" Slider asked as you opened up one of the folders, this one detailing the F-15N. And as your comrades began to discus if the Soviets even had such a large sub, you began to read into the F-15N.

The F-15N that Boeing was offering was similar to the one that they had offered you back at Miramar. It still had provisions for FAST-Packs, but a number of important parts had been changed. The major ones being the engines and the radar. The old radar had been replaced by an AN/APG-83, which was apparently being installed on the F-14E. This allowed the installation for the AIM-54 along with a number of other weapons. The old engines had been replaced by upgraded F110-129s, just like had been fitted to the F-14E. She also had the 2D thrust vectoring from the S/MTD, a pair of extra hardpoints on the wings and the control setup from the YF-22. The main difference between the single-seat and two-seat variants was range and pilot work-load. The two-seat version was larger than the single seat model, so it had better fuel capacity and lower pilot-workload. But as a downside, the single-seat model only needed one person, so you wouldn't need to bring in someone new.

The F/A-18 however was very different to the one that had been offered back at Miramar. While she had been upgraded with the same AN/APG-83 that the F-15N and F-14E was using, she had also been fitted with permanent CFTs, giving her a combat range of around 550-650 nautical miles dependent on load. Which was actually better than both the F-15N and F-14E by around 50 nautical miles.Additionally, she had an integrated electronic warfare suite. However, you noted that many of the EW systems were already fitted to the F-15N and F-14E. The two-seater model had the better jamming capabilities, but lacked an internal cannon. The 20mm Vulcan gun having been replaced by more jammers.

As your comrades began to come to an agreement that the soviets might be launching from a modified cargo ship, you decided that the single-seat models might be the best options, sure the pilot-workload was greater than you would like, you reasoned that if you were going to go for a two-seater then you might as well go for another F-14 so that logistics wasn't total garbage. Sure the F-15 was better than the F/A-18 when it came to logistics, but that was only because it had 35% parts commonality with the standard F-15C/E, and a further 25% parts commonality with the F-14E. But at the same time, the F/A-18E had better range and EW capabilities. But the lack of thrust vectoring put it at a disadvantage.

Although... if you did go for a two-seat model then maybe you could get Lauren into the unit. You didn't exactly like the though of her getting sent to a front line unit where you couldn't watch over her.

>CONT

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>>1016814

Regardless of that, you still had a choice to make on what Svetlana would even be flying.

>Assign her an F-14, upgrade it to E model.
>Assign her the single seat F-15N.
>Assign her the twin seat F-15N.
>Assign her the single seat F/A-18
>Assign her the twin seat F/A-18.
>Don't assign her anything, she's fine with the F-15 she has.
>Read some more on both the aircraft, check out their current test history.
>Other (write in)

>>1016830
>>Assign her an F-14, upgrade it to E model.

>>1016830
>Assign her the single seat F-15N.

>>1016830
>Assign her an F-14, upgrade it to E model.
You may want to explain the less-obvious things in layman's terms for the audience's benefit, because "long-ranged bomber-fucking missile" isn't immediately obvious unless you already know what an AIM-54 is.

Unless I'm the only one who had to look that up.

While you wanted to assign Svetlana to an F-14, you knew that there was a few problems. Sure, the logistics made sense, plus the F-14 was a thorough-bread naval bird. Getting her an RIO was going to be a problem. You did have a couple of ideas however.

Your first idea was to bring in Ares, he certainly had the experience. And according to him if his treatment went well then he could return to fighters. You knew that he was skilled, but the real question was if his treatment would be finished in time for him to re-join your unit. And even after treatment, there was no guarantee that his body would still be able to hold up to forces that it would be put under during a dogfight.

The second option was to grab someone from the fleet. With the number of aircrews loosing their birds, there was a small surplus of pilots until more aircraft were shipped in. This made it pretty damn easy to just snatch up a new RIO. But obviously, you never knew how the new RIO would react.

Finally however, you could pick Lauren. You hated this option, not because it brought her into extended contact with your unit. But because it put her on the front line. Sure, she understood a lot about the F-14s that your unit was using. Hell, her skills might even surpass Ares. However, the biggest problem was how she would react around your sqaudmates. Her last interaction with one of your actively serving friends ended up with said friend in ER. If she was brought in then you would have to keep her on a short leash.

Alternately however, you could simply have Svetlana stick it out with her current bird while you waited for a new RIO fresh out of basic. Though you didn't like this option as it delayed your unit's return to Tomcat-only flights.

>Pull Ares out of hospital, you need him NOW.
>Ask Dredd to search around for a spare RIO, you need one pronto.
>Have Lauren assigned to your unit, you can keep her in check.
>Get an RIO fresh from training. Have Svetlana stick it out with the eagle.
>Other (write in)

>>1017622
>>Have Lauren assigned to your unit, you can keep her in check.

>>1017622
>>Ask Dredd to search around for a spare RIO, you need one pronto.
I definitely think we should avoid having Lauren around if possible, and I don't think we should be calling on Aries since we don't even know whether he's fully done with treatment yet.

>>1017622
>Have Lauren assigned to your unit, you can keep her in check.
I FORESEE NOTHING GOING WRONG

I'm going to call the thread here cause it's pretty damn late. I have to admit that this choice is honestly not unexpected, the big red button options always get the votes. Either way, we'll continue tomorrow.

If you have any questions, then feel free to ask them.

>>1017811
Huehue.

Good to be back in the pilot seat. See you soon.

>>1017622
>Ask Dredd to search around for a spare RIO, you need one pronto.

File: F-14 tomcat at dawn.jpg (51 KB, 736x459)

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Rolled 2 (1d2)

Tiebreaker...

1 - Bring in a new RIO
2 - Bring in Lauren

File: Lauren, civvies.jpg (14 KB, 236x314)

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Hey, Razor." Dredd addressed you, having finished his conversation with Slider. "Have you come to a decision?"

"Yep, we're not testing the new jets. It's VX-4's job to test these things. Not us." You replied as you tossed the files back onto the table.

Dredd raised his eyebrow at this. "Are you sure? Her current bird is only a stop-gap at best."

"I know, and we'll be assigning her to a Echo-'Cat. It's better for both planning and logistics, plus we were planning on doing it eventually." You explain your reasoning to your CO, Slider going over some paperwork for her replacement formal uniform.

"Allright, I'll pass it on to CINPAC. We can probably get one of the new production E models too. We can also probably get a new RIO for her too." Dredd nodded as he scribbled down a note on scrap piece of paper.

"Good, I also have a suggestion for the new RIO." You paused for a couple of seconds, before then continuing. "I just found out that an old friend of mine, Lauren Mercer. She used to work at Grumman on the Tomcat."

"Hang on, isn't she that crazy bitch that you used to go out with?" Slider asked worriedly.

"Yeah, and that's kinda why I want her here. This way I can keep her on a short leash. Not to mention that she worked on the E model upgrades, so she would be best suited for the position." You continued on, Slider seemed to stare at you for a couple of seconds, before then sighing.

"I can see your reasoning, but are you sure that she won't decide to kill us in our sleep?" Slider asked worriedly, the look of worry in her eyes telling you that she didn't like your suggestion one bit.

"I can get a leash on her. And this is better than the alternative of her being assigned to another unit in the theatre. This way I can keep constant tabs on her, and the unit gets an asset." You finished, leaving your comrades in the room silent as they thought about your idea. The silence reigned for a good half an hour, before Dredd sighed.

"I'll get on with the paperwork, assuming that she only just entered training we still have a few months until she is ready for the fleet. So that will be just in time for her deployment to the fleet. That should be in time for the first few new-build Tomcats." Dredd explained as he scribbled down another note. "I'll pass the memo onto CINPAC, we'll keep the Eagle on for a bit longer, even if the best BVR missile she can carry is an AIM-7."

"Really? I thought that the techs had managed to get the Phoenix integrated for the outboard pylons? And the AMRAAM on the Sparrow mounts?" Slider asked as Dredd passed you another file, this one going over your current itinerary, fortunately, you still had a few hours before you were up for CAP.

"They did, but the AMRAAM's can't launch with mid-course corrections. And the Pheonix has launch problems. They've asked for them to be pulled until they can get them working." Dredd explained, before then turning to you.

>CONT

>>1020409

"You're up for the evening CAP flight. So you should have a few hours. Grab some grub form the mess hall, or check in on your ground crew ahead of the flight. Svetlana will be flying on your wing for this while the techs upgrade Weiss's bird." Dredd briefed you as he handed you another piece of paper, this one showing the ONI predictions for Soviet units that you might face, and which direction they would come from. Unsurprisingly, the only threats were long-range bombers and the low-level attackers that hit Panama.

"Ok then, I'll be on my way then." You replied as you stood up. You nodded to Dredd and Slider in turn, before then walking out of the office, closing the door behind you.

>Head over to the mess hall for some food before you fly.
>Head to the hanger to check up on the jets.
>Phone the Mercer Residence again, maybe Lauren's back home by now?
>Other (write in)

>>1020413
>>Head over to the mess hall for some food before you fly.

>>1020413
>Head to the hanger to check up on the jets.

>>1020413
>>Head over to the mess hall for some food before you fly.

As soon as you were out of the command building, you made your way back towards the barracks, intent on phoning Lauren's house. Hopefully you could pass a message onto Lauren as soon as possible. As you reached the pay-phone and picked up the phone, a voice called out from behind you.

"Hey Razor!" You looked over your shoulder to see Zeus walking over with Svetlana.

"Hey Zeus, Svetlana." You greeted them both with a nod as they approached.

"We've got the evening CAP slot, so we're headding off to grab some food before we head up. You want to come with us?" Zeus asked as he came to a stop in front of you. Svetlana stayed quiet, but still watched you intently.

"Sure. Hess hall?" You asked as you returned the phone back to it's cradle.

"Actually, I was thinking Burger King. There's one on base that we can hit up..." Zeus trailed off as he seemed to consider something. "...although, we should have enough time to grab something from off base. I hear that there are some good Ramen joints nearby."

>Head to the mess hall, it's not the best food but at least it's free.
>Hit up Burger King. You feel like you need a whopper.
>Ramen sounds pretty good, maybe some of the gate guards know of somewhere nice for you to hit up?
>Other (write in)

>>1020697
>>Hit up Burger King. You feel like you need a whopper.

>>1020697
>Hit up Burger King. You feel like you need a whopper.

>>1020697
>>Hit up Burger King. You feel like you need a whopper.

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"Burger King sounds good, I could sure use a whopper. I'll grab my wallet." You decided as you turned towards the barracks, only for Zeus to stop you.

"Don't worry about it. I'm paying." Zeus announced, before he turned and started to walk, causing you to quickly lurch to keep up with him. The trip to Burger King was occupied by Zeus telling you even more about what had happened last night. Apparently you and Slider had gotten into a drinking contest which you barely won, Slider having passed out just a few seconds before you.

The Burger King on base was packed inside the base's PX, and was one of the unique parts of any US base. Each US military base had at least one civilian fast-food restaurant. The Burger King was packed, with many soldiers and servicemen from both the US military and the IJN crammed into the building, and a long line reached out past the door as many people chose fast food over the food from the mess hall.

Not that you blamed them, mess hall food could be pretty shitty.

Either way, you and Svetlana left Zeus in the line with your orders while you both went inside to grab seats. Thankfully, you arrived just as a group of base support techs were leaving. You both managed to grab their table before anybody else could. Thankfully, you didn't have to wait long for Zeus to return with your food. You had a Double Texas BBQ burger, Zeus had a Steakhouse burger, and Svetlana had settled for a normal Whopper.

>Chat with your comrades.
>Hurry up and eat your food, you still have to talk with your ground crew.
>Other (write in)

>>1021131
>>Chat with your comrades.
I'm just a little bit curious what Svetlana thinks of American fast food.

>>1021131
>>Chat with your comrades.

>>1021131
>Chat with your comrades.

"So, you like your burger?" You asked Svetlana after devouring a chunk of your burger. Svetlana looked over at you and nodded as she continued to chew on the burger.

"Da. It is nice." She replied quickly, before taking another bite out of her burger. You grinned slightly at this, before continuing to eat.

"This is better than anything I had back in Russia." Svetlana casually remarked between bites. If she hadn't already caught people's attention, then she did with that remark. The nearby pilots looked over at her in either astonishment on disgust, some surprised that there was a Soviet in their ranks, while others were disgusted at this.

"What was the food like back in Russia anyways?" Zeus asked, caring little about the attention from the nearby servicemen.

"It was sometimes good. Most of the time we were given free food and bedding by the military, but it didn't tend to be very good when compared to restaurants. However restaurants were few and far between. such grand food-chains simply didn't exist." Svetlana replied, before quickly munching down a few chips while you spoke.

"Aren't restaurants kinda counter-intuitive to a communist state? What with them being private businesses." You asked, Svetlana shrugged at this.

"Not really. As far as I know, businesses looking to acquire permits had to jump through a number of hoops. They had to prove that they could be successful. And even after that they would have to pay the state around half of their income before expenditures." Svetlana paused as she took a quick sip of her drink, before continuing to explain. "However, it did lead to less businesses failing. If I remember correctly, Sovetsky Soyuz ran an article that fewer than 10% of Soviet restaurants fail in the first year, when compared to around 50% in America."

"Doesn't that vary between states?" You asked after you swallowed another chunk of your burger. Svetlana gave you a confused look, before then realising what you meant.

"Well, it would vary between different oblasts. Some are more Stalinism states, and would have more restrictions on private enterprise and sales. Those oblasts would have less restaurants than a more Marxist-style oblast, the latter having a more capitalist style governance. Marxist-style oblasts would allow farmers to sell their surplus crops to the market for private profit." Svetlana continued to explain, apparently having figured out what the soviet equivalent of a state was.

"Huh, I never new that." Zeus gave a low whistle as he processed the new information.

"Hey, what the fuck is a Red doing here?" A voice called out, you glanced over to see a pair of seething pilots walking over.

"Great..." Zeus sighed as the pair walked over, everyone in the building watching you.

>Ask them how many kills they have. Fuckers look fresher than the last shit you took.
>Explain Svetlana's situation to them. Maybe they are reasonable.
>Call over the MPs. Fuck these guys.
>Other (write in)

>>1021553
Ask them how many kills they have

>>1021553
>>Ask them how many kills they have. Fuckers look fresher than the last shit you took.

>>1021553
>>Ask them how many kills they have. Fuckers look fresher than the last shit you took.

>>1021553
>Ask them how many kills they have. Fuckers look fresher than the last shit you took.
Svetlana "Red (White and Blue)" Vaikinov

As the pair reached your table, you simply lent back in your chair and sipped your coke, as if their obvious anger didn't matter to you in the slightest. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed that Zeus was adopting the same pose, but the cold stare in his eyes showed that he was none too pleased. Svetlana however, she looked pretty worried. Her eyes darting between you and the irate pilots.

"Hey! You deaf as well as well as stupid?" The taller pilot barked. Though given his soft, clean shaven expression, his yell was about as intimidating as a barking chihuahua.

"So, how many kills do you schmucks have?" You asked, before taking another sip. Your voice level and calm.

"What? The fuck does that have to do with this?" The other one asked, his Texan drawl making him sound like he had just come off a farm.

"Just answer the fucking question." Zeus replied, his voice barely above a growl.

"Two, one jet and one hind. He's got a pair of jets." The first pilot replied, gesturing to himself and his comrade.

"She's got three, I've got twelve. She's a better pilot than the both of you, so get lost." You gestured first to Svetlana, then yourself, and then to the door.

"What... ya'll..." The Texan began to stutter, before his comrade simply chuckled.

"Come on Trev, let's leave the navy nonce's to their fun." The taller pilot said, before leading his friend out. Zeus boring hate into them as they left.

>Follow them out and beat their asses.
>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.
>Other (write in)

>>1021837
>>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.

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>>1021837
>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.

>>1021837
>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.

>>1021837
>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.

>>1021837
>Let it go, finish your food and head off to the hanger.

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As the pair of pilots left, you turned to Zeus and shook your head. "Leave 'em. They're just salty that they suck more dick than the red-lights district."

Zeus continued to glare for a few more seconds after the other pilots left, before snorting angry. As he turned to face you, you knew that he was pissed. You knew why, but it wasn't something you would talk about in public.

"Fine. But if those fucks keep chatting shit then I'm going to make them regret it." He stated, his tone of voice telling you that it wasn't a threat but a fact. It was a guarantee of violence, and you knew from countless bar fights that Zeus was absolutely capable of taking on both of them on his own.

"You want to finish that on the go? We've still got CAP." You asked as you scooped up your burger in one hand. You had already finished your chips, and your coke was only half full.

"Sure." Zeus replied simply, snatching up the remains of his burger in one hand and standing. Svetlana had already finished up her food, and carried nothing as the three of you left for the hanger.

The mood as you left was dour. Zeus was pissed, and Svetlana was saddened at the lack of camaraderie from your fellow pilots from outside of VF-21. Eventually however, you reached the hanger that apparently contained your jets.

Unlike the previous hangers you had been given. This one was rather small, instead only being able to contain your F-14. Svetlana's F-15 was stored in the next hanger over, while the one set aside for Weiss was apparently the one across the taxi-way. The trade-off for the small hanger size was the fact that it was armoured. The entire thing being made out of concrete and metal. Additionally, parked on top of a shipping container between yours and Svetlana's hangers was what looked like a dismounted Phalanx CIWS. Power cables snaking between the gun and the hangers it sat between. As you entered, your crew chief walked up to you, his men working on your bird as he talked.

"Hey sir, you're here early. You want to choose your load now, or what?" Your cheif asked as Zeus stalked past the both of you, making for the rolling stairs up to the cockpit.

"What's got him looking so mean?" Your chief asked as he cocked his head towards Zeus.

"The Air-Force jocks were being jackasses again and I didn't let him whoop their asses." You replied simply, electing not to talk about the particular subject.

"Sure. So what load do you want?" Your cheif asked as he tapped his clip-board.

>Long range load (x6 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Long-mid range load (x4 AIM-54 Phoenixs, x2 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Medium range load (x6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Mid-short range load (x4 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x4 AIM-95 Agiles)
>Other (you have 8 hardpoints, 4 on the centerline and 2 under each wing glove. You can carry AIM-9 sidewinders, AIM-7 sparrows, AIM-54 Phoenixs, AIM-120 AMRAAMs and AIM-95 Agiles)

>>1022087
>Medium range load (x6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)

File: F-14 AMRAAM.jpg (975 KB, 3000x2400)

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>>1017811
>I'm going to call the thread here cause it's pretty damn late. We'll continue tomorrow.

If you have any questions, then feel free to ask them.

>>1022166
Razor and Zeus vs the salty schlubs. How unfair is this matchup and how much would it have affected our flight?

>>1022177
It would have been Razor, Zeus AND Svetlana against the salty schlubs. It would have been a massacre, the real problem would be beating them shitless in an area where people wouldn't notice you.

>>1022087
>>Medium range load (x6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)

>>1022087
>>Medium range load (x6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs, x2 AIM-95 Agiles)

File: F-14 takeoff (2).jpg (63 KB, 960x720)

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"I'll take four AIM-120s on the centre-line, another two under the wing gloves and a pair of Agiles to round it off." You instructed your crew chief as you began to walk around your jet, checking for anything that might have been missed.

"Understood sir. We'll get them loaded ASAP." Your chief, before turning to his men and barking orders at them while you looked into the port-side jet engine of the tomcat. It took you about 10 minutes to finish your walk about, but you finished up and climbed up the ladder into the cockpit as your ground crew began to wheel a pair of external fuel tanks under the nacelles.

"You ready to take off?" Zeus asked as you connected into the Tomcat's systems. The various wires and cables on your helmet plugging into a socket on your head-rest.

"Yeah, let's just finish the pre-flights first." You replied calmly, flipping switches and punching buttons as you went through the pre-flights with practised efficiency. It took you a few minuites, but after 5 minuites you brought your engines up to low thrust, and slowly began to wheel out of the armoured hanger. You looked over as you taxied past Svetlana's hanger, and you noticed her jet lurch forward as she began to taxi after you.

You slowly made your way down the taxi-way, stopping only once to allow a pair of A-10s to taxi past you. You noticed that both of the 'Hogs were rolling past with empty pylons, and some slight battle-damage. Maybe they had been hitting targets in Korea?

Either way, you eventually made your way past them and onto the main runway. You waited for a few minuites as a pair of F-111s came in for landing. But as soon as they were on the ground, you taxied onto the runway and waited for them to turn off the runway before the ATC gave you permission to take off. Rather than your typical fast takeoff on afterburners, followed by a steep climb to altitude. You instead took off on normal power, and slowly acended gently to altitude. Your climb slow and steady as you kept an eye on your fuel consumption.

As you reached patrol altitude, 20,000 feet, you began to decide where your patrol flight would begin.

>Fly over the financial sector.
>Fly over the bay.
>Fly over the palace.
>Other (write in)

>>1024828
>Fly over the bay.

>>1024828
>>Fly over the palace.
>Joke about buzzing the palace with Zeus and Svetlana.

>>1024840
This.

>>1024828
>>Fly over the bay.

>>1024828
>Fly over the bay.

File: Yamato.jpg (60 KB, 731x274)

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As you levelled off, you turned out to sea. Your patrol route aiming to take you in a wide circle around the bay. As you began to reach towards the bay, you flipped your radar on and removed the safety systems for the fire-control systems. One of your MFDs switching to show a top-down view of your aircraft. The 120 degree cone of your radar being marked out, the remaining 240 degree blind spot being filled in by a data-picture that your jet was being fed by the various ships in the fleet below.

Speaking of the fleet, below you in the bay sat a good few dozen warships of varying size and shape. From the tiny, refitted Fletcher class destroyers, to the lumbering bulk of the IJN Yamato. The Yamato itself being flanked by a pair of Kyoto class cruisers, Japanese copies of the Ticonderoga class with larger VLS units and an ASROC launcher on the fantail.

Bolstering the IJN warships were a number of US warships. Including assorted OliverHazzerd Perry class frigates and Spurance class destroyers. Joining them was a pair of Long Beach class cruisers and a pair of Ticonderoga class cruisers.

Surprisingly, you didn't see any US carriers. Maybe they were out hunting the Soviet fleet?

"That's a lot of ships." Svetlana remarked as she looked at the fleet below, a quick glance back at her told you that she was carrying 4 Sparrows and 4 sidewinders. The under-wing pylons carrying a pair of sidewinders and an external fuel tank each.

"Yep. And the IJN has even more ships, admittedly they are based out of Yokosuka and Kure. But the IJN still has a number of ships." You replied as you looked back down at your displays. Joining you in the skies tonight was 6 other flights of fighters, plus an AWACs and a pair of maritime patrol aircraft. Additionally, a number of civilian flights were coming in from the north and the east. There was also a flight of friendly attackers coming in from the west, likely returning from an air attack on communist positions.

"Really? I thought that the IJN was dismantled after the second world war?" Svetlana asked curiously as you went feet wet, your jets entering the airspace over the open water.

"Yeah, they surrendered most of their ships to the US though, and we returned them in the '50s." You explained, you studied it back in high school for your end-of-year project. Of course, the IJN didn't get their two Shinano class carriers back until back in the early 60s, after the Independence was commissioned. After that the IJN heavily remodelled the ships with angled flight decks.

"Freelancer flight 2. Please vector on bearing Zero-Nine-Nine. We have a civilian freighter not responding to port authorities." One of the ground controllers radioed up to you.

"Understood control. How far out is she?" You asked as you turned onto the new bearing.

>CONT

>>1025240

"She's seventy five nautical miles out. You can data-link to the IJN Yamakaze for missile support if needed." The control officer briefed you, before shutting off the link, leaving you to decide how to approach.

>Come in at current altitude with radars on, you want to be able to see anything out there. Even if they can see you.
>Come in low and fast without your radar on. Give it a low pass and report back in.
>Other (write in)

>>1025250
>Come in low and fast without your radar on. Give it a low pass and report back in.

>IJN Yamato
>the floating compensator lives

>>1025250
>>Come in at current altitude with radars on, you want to be able to see anything out there. Even if they can see you.

>>1025250
>>Come in low and fast without your radar on. Give it a low pass and report back in.

>>1025250
>>Come in low and fast without your radar on. Give it a low pass and report back in.

"Well, that sounds fishy. Who's up for just calling the Yamakaze to hit the damn thing with a tommahawk?" Zeus asked sarcastically, even though you had to admit that the option looked rather nice...

"No. Turn the sets off, we're going in low and fast." You replied as you pitched down into a dive, Svetlana following you down. Your tomcat's internal systems sweeping back the wings as you reached the sound barrier, and promptly broke it. You HUD giving you a steady read as you picked up speed, before eventually coming to a stop at around mach 2.

"You know, if that's a Soviet or Chinese ship then their CIWS will smoke us before we can get a message out." Zeus reminded you as you raced towards the cargo ship, your tomcat kicking up a spray as it dashed to the target.

"Not before they lock us with their radars, we'll be able to at least get a message out. Plus we have jammers on board for this." You replied calmly as you brought up the picture from your FLIR camera in the vain hope that it would be able to assist you in your low-level flight. Unfortunately, it didn't work as everything looked indistinguishable.

"We can only bring up the broad-signal jammers at a moments notice. The narrow band jammer array in the radar set need us to turn the radar to work in order for us to use them. And even then, it might burn the radar out." Zeus lectured you as you checked your current distance to the target. While you couldn't see with your own radar, you could still data-link to the radar network and guide yourself in that way.

You looked up in time to see the small speck of the cargo ship become visible on the horizon. With some slight worry, you realised that the ship was not emitting anything at all. Not even the basic maritime navigation radar that most ships used. Your RWR should have at least picked it up.

As you got closer however, you realised why. The ship wasn't moving, instead it sat still in the water. As you entered within a few miles of the ship, you could see quite clearly that the ship was barely floating at all. It's mid-section resting lower in the water than it's bow and stern. The ship's keel, it's back, had been broken. A hole in the ship's bridge superstructure reminiscent of an impact from an anti-ship missile.

In the water around the sinking cargo ship, a small fleet of life-rafts and small crew boats was fleeing form the stricken ship. The remaining crew attempting to get away from the ship as fast as possible to avoid being dragged down with it.

>Radio in for SAR helicopters for the crew and search for Soviet bombers. It might have been hit by blinders.
>Radio in for maritime patrol planes and SAR helicopters. The only thing that could both break the ship's back and send a missile into it's bridge would be a submarine.
>Other (write in)

>>1025511
>>Radio in for maritime patrol planes and SAR helicopters. The only thing that could both break the ship's back and send a missile into it's bridge would be a submarine.

>>1025511
>Radio in for maritime patrol planes and SAR helicopters. The only thing that could both break the ship's back and send a missile into it's bridge would be a submarine.

>>1025511
>Radio in for maritime patrol planes and SAR helicopters. The only thing that could both break the ship's back and send a missile into it's bridge would be a submarine.

>>1025511
>Radio in for maritime patrol planes and SAR helicopters. The only thing that could both break the ship's back and send a missile into it's bridge would be a submarine.

File: F-14 sundown.jpg (36 KB, 720x514)

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"Control, this is Freelancer 2-1. Requesting SAR and patrol birds. We may have an enemy sub in the area." You reported as the cargo ship began to slip deeper and deeper into the water, the stern of the ship beginning to sink lower into the water, weighed down by the ship's heavy machinery.

"Understood Freelancer 2-1. Hold position at angles twenty over the site. You'll be providing air cover for the SAR flight. Ares flight will cover a flight of P-3 Orions while they search for any subs. We'll also deploy patrol boats for harbour patrol." The controller replied, and just like before, he didn't wait for you to respond before cutting the link.

You followed orders and climbed to 20,000 feet, the cargo ship barely a speck on the ocean as you levelled off. Your radar on and searching for targets ad you began a tight circling pattern around the ship. It took only 20 minuites for the helicopters to arrive. But by that time the entire stern of the cargo ship and slipped beneath the waves, dragging a pair of life-rafts down with it. The Imperial Japanese Coast Guard crews swarmed many of the smaller boats first, winching up as many people as possible before returning back to Tokyo.

You remained on-station for a further half an hour, as the second wave of SAR helicopters arrived and picked up the remaining survivors. The helicopters made one last circle of the area in search of survivors, before turning back towards Tokyo. All six of the helicopters flying safe in the knowledge that they were bing escorted back home.

As the sun began to hang low in the sky, casting an orange glow over the water. The bow of the cargo ship was finally brought low by a pair of Mark 82s from an F-111, re-directed from it's return to base. As the broken hunk of what was once a ship slipped beneath the waves, you began to feel uneasy at the silent killers that lurked in the depths of the pacific.

After all, a hit like that could certainly sink a carrier. A carrier that you might be posted on.

==================================

I'm going to end this week's run for Pilot Quest here. There wasn't any combat, but there will be next week. I just wanted to get some non-combat stuff done so I could get back into the swing of things after Christmas.

Anyways, if you have any questions (either related to Pilot Quest or Where Wolves Fear To Tread) then ask and I will answer them as soon as I can.

>>1025845
>There wasn't any combat, but there will be next week.
Time for everything to go horribly wrong at once!