by Tom Jones
It took about fifteen minutes for the first aircraft to deploy, a Mil Mi-35 Super Hind Mk. VII. The pilot of the Super Hind spoke over the radio, “This is Rattlesnake transmitting in the blind: We have made it in the air. To anybody on this channel, do we have a visual on the Arvak? Over.” Nobody answered the pilot over the radio, but thankfully, the pilot was not alone. The gunner spoke to the pilot, “I don’t think anybody else is up yet. We’re the only aircraft that’s here right now.” The pilot gained altitude, and he tried to get as much context as he could, “Did you see what took down the control tower?” The gunner toggled the different viewfinders on the Super Hind, and he was trying to spot the MAV-29 by cycling through different settings and toggles. The gunner did reply once he realized that the pilot had asked him a question, “I think the Arvak shot it down with the laser.” The pilot’s eyes widened, “Shit, the laser? I didn’t know it was that powerful.”
The sky was mostly clear, but there were at least a few clouds that were out in the sky. The pilot of Rattlesnake considered flying into a cloud to avoid taking significant damage from the laser if the MAV-29 decided to target the helicopter he was flying, but he knew that the clouds would be unable to shield the helicopter from the Shipunov 2A42 which the MAV-29 was equipped with. The pilot spoke to the gunner again, “Can you see where it’s at?” The gunner shook his head, “Not right now. I’ll see it when it fires its laser, though; I have infrared turned on. I hope it doesn’t point that thing at us. We won’t be able to avoid that, especially given how precise it is. I mean, it is a laser after all.” The pilot gained more altitude, and he tried to get into a position that would enable him to locate the MAV-29, “We need to keep our distance from the thing. If they can’t see us, then we’ll last longer.” Seconds later, a voice sounded over the radio, “This is Mi-28 callsign Adder, we have just taken off, and we are proceeding to seek and destroy the rogue vehicle. Are there any other aircraft on this channel? Over.”
The pilot of Rattlesnake spoke over the radio, “Adder, this is Super Hind bearing callsign Rattlesnake. We currently do not have a visual on the Arvak. Are there any other friendly aircraft airborne at this time? Over.” The pilot of the Havoc replied, “Rattlesnake, this is Adder. Negative on those friendly reinforcements. We believe that the crew of the Arvak are utilizing laser weaponry. Has this been confirmed yet? Over.” As the Super Hind yawed to the right to get a better view of the surrounding areas, the pilot spoke over the radio, “Adder, this is Rattlesnake. Judging by the damage to the control tower, I’m thinking that they’re using laser weaponry. It’s better to assume that they are using it. Proceed with caution.” The gunner of the Super Hind looked to his left, and he could see the tan Mi-28MN Havoc gaining altitude and attempting to create a formation with the Super Hind. The pilot of the Havoc announced his intention to join the Mi-35’s flight, “Rattlesnake, this is Adder. We are joining your formation. Over.” The pilot of Rattlesnake looked to his left, and he could see that the Havoc was now flying about forty meters off the port side of his helicopter. The pilot acknowledged the friendly aircraft that joined him, “Sold copy, Adder. Let’s find the Arvak.”
Phi-8-1 spoke to the other three humans inside of the MAV-29, “We’ll get to the rendezvous point in about ten minutes at this speed. We’ll be far enough away that any AA defenses won’t shoot down our allies. All we’d have to worry about would be any aircraft that they send our way. Thankfully, we’ll still be able to use our armament to take them down. We should focus on using the laser; we should save the ammunition for the missile launcher and the turret for later. After all, we have only 900 rounds loaded in our front cannon.” Phi-8-2 continued to survey the skies to see if there were any CDI aircraft pursuing their vehicle. Ever since they shot the last pursuing ground vehicles with the laser, they were not faced with any more enemy ground vehicles. Though a vehicle like a BTR-90 would be able to catch up with the MAV-29, it would not have the offensive or defensive capabilities to feasibly take on the MAV-29. Though both vehicles were armed with the same weapon, the Shipunov 2A42, the MAV-29’s laser would make short work of the BTR-90’s armor and likely fry the engine if it did not already burn the crew alive.
There were a few CDI MiG-35E Super Fulcrums out on the runway, but the pilots decided that it would not be a wise decision to take off. After all, the runway was blocked by the collapsed control tower, and it was also considerably damaged by the Stealth Hawks which had crashed into the runway just a couple days ago. A takeoff may have been possible, but it would be just too difficult to reliably pull off. It would also make landing significantly more difficult; these planes still cost money, and CDI did not need to lose more assets and resources than they already had lost. A few BTR-90s were now driving around the base, waiting to see if there were any rogue personnel left within the base itself, and there were even a couple T-14 Armatas now patrolling the base as well. The Armatas would definitely not be able to catch up with the MAV-29 given how far the Arvak had traveled out of the base, but they were still patrolling just in case there were any immediate attacks planned for the base itself. The Super Fulcrums were quickly abandoned by their pilots once they found the runway too damaged to be used, and the main focus was now shifted to getting as many helicopters airborne as possible. With the launch of the first two helicopters, other pilots began starting up their aircraft with the hopes of joining the fight. There were a few more Mi-35 Super Hinds that were already preparing to launch, and CDI even had a couple Kamov Ka-52s that were already just getting airborne.
Within the next few minutes, Phi-8-2 could see aircraft blips appear on the radar. The operative spoke to his superior sitting in the driver’s seat of the MAV-29 after looking through the targeting system and spotting the aircraft, “They’re sending helicopters after us.” Phi-8-1 continued to drive the Arvak forwards, not letting off of the vehicle’s throttle, “Damn. Shoot as many of them down as you can. We can’t afford to have them shoot down our own aircraft that are supposed to pick us up.” Phi-8-2 immediately went to work, and he started by targeting the closest aircraft relative to their current location. The human spoke before he pulled the trigger to shoot down the Mil Mi-28MN Havoc he was aiming at, “Do you know if we’ll make it to the RV point before they get there?” Phi-8-1 assumed his colleague was talking about the helicopters that would arrive there to hoist up the MAV-29 and extract it from the combat zone, “I’d better hope so. We did radio them as we were on our way out of the base, and they said they were on their way.”
“This is Adder. Target is in sight. We’re going in for a strafing run,” the pilot of the Havoc said as he pushed the stick forward and gave the helicopter more throttle. The aircraft shifted its angle of attack downwards, and it began increasing its speed as it flew towards the Arvak. The pilot of Rattlesnake spoke on the radio to advise the Havoc against attacking the MAV-29, “Negative, Adder. This is Rattlesnake. You’re vulnerable to the Arvak’s laser. Abort your current engagement. Over.” Only seconds after the Super Hind’s pilot spoke to the Havoc, the pilot of the Havoc could see the tan ACLS-2 laser module rotate and direct itself upwards to face the helicopter attempting a strafing run. The Havoc’s gunner began to immediately fire its own Shipunov 2A42 at the MAV-29, but the pilot yanked the stick to the left and aft to hopefully avoid the laser. The gunner landed a few shots of high-explosive rounds on the Arvak, but the MAV-29’s reactive armor prevented damage to the vehicle’s hull. Though the Havoc aborted its strafing run, it was still struck in the tail by the laser fired by the MAV-29. The laser made short work of the tail, and it detached itself from the rest of the Havoc.
Now spiraling out of control due to loss of a tail, the pilot of the Havoc broadcasted his distress signal to the rest of the CDI personnel using the same frequency, “This is Adder, we’ve been hit! We’ve lost control of the aircraft, and we are going down!” Since the Havoc was already traveling fairly quickly as it attempted its strafing run, it did not really have much of a chance to lower its a
irspeed. As a result, the Havoc did not take long before it lost enough altitude that a violent crash was all but mere seconds away from occurring. The pilot still pulled the stick and tried to fight against the loss of the tail, but his efforts at saving the helicopter were futile. The pilot spoke his last words over the radio as the ground quickly approached, “I say again, we are going down! We are going --” The pilot was immediately silenced when his helicopter pancaked directly into the ground and burst into a fiery explosion.
The gunner of Rattlesnake witnessed the tail break off of the Havoc, “Shit. Was that the laser that did that?” The pilot began flying towards the nearest cloud to use it for cover; After all, the cloud would absorb a great deal of the laser’s power, and the emerging light would not be as dangerous to the aircraft or to the crew piloting it. The pilot replied to the gunner, “Yep. The beam’s not visible, and the only sound it makes is the buzzing of the power supply operating the laser. We’d better stay clear of it. We’re not going to be able to take the Arvak on ourselves while that laser is still operational.” The gunner considered the Super Hind’s armament, “Do we have anything we can use against it?” The pilot shook his head, but he was seated behind the gunner, so the gunner was unable to see the pilot’s gesture. The pilot spoke aloud, “Nope. The best we have on our aircraft are our unguided rockets. Even if we had a guided missile on this aircraft, we wouldn’t be able to get close enough to use it. Besides, the Arvak has a trophy system if I remember correctly. Even if the laser wasn’t our biggest issue, the trophy system would destroy our missile before it could do damage to the hull, and it would only do damage if the missile didn’t hit a place covered by reactive armor. The hull’s pretty thick, as well. It would take a well-placed shot by a Javelin to damage the hull, and that’s only if the Javelin doesn’t get shot down before it gets there. The laser’s good for more than just shooting down aircraft: It can shoot down missiles as well. I guess it can be used in case the trophy system depletes itself.”
The gunner looked out the window of the Super Hind, and he could see several other CDI aircraft all moving in to attack the MAV-29. The pilot spoke over the radio to warn the outbound aircraft, “To all allied aircraft, this is Rattlesnake. Be advised, the crew of the Arvak has control of laser weaponry. We advise against attacking the Arvak at this time. I say again: We advise all allied aircraft to not engage the Arvak at this time.” Though the pilot of Rattlesnake warned against attacking the MAV-29, two more CDI Mi-35 Super Hind Mk. VIIs began to descend and open fire on the MAV-29. It did not take long for the MAV-29 to use its own laser against the attacking aircraft, and the gunner spoud aloud to the pilot as he could see fiery explosions go off in the distance, “I guess they didn’t listen…” After witnessing the demise of more allied helicopters, the pilot of Rattlesnake spoke on the radio again, “Attention all allied aircraft: Do not engage the MAV-29. Cease all current engagements and retreat to a safe distance. I say again: Do not engage the Arvak!”
Phi-8-2 readjusted the ACLS after shooting down the second Mi-35, and he went on to target an approaching Kamov Ka-52, “Another helicopter’s approaching.” Before Phi-8-1 could say anything else, the gunner already fired upon the aircraft. The Hokum was struck in the middle of the fuselage, and it was struck in such an angle that the laser penetrated the helicopter’s hull all the way to the engine. The engines burst into flames, and the Hokum was sent into a spiral as the engines lost control of the coaxial rotors. A few missiles were fired from the rest of the helicopters that were engaging the MAV-29, and Phi-8-2 went on to target the missiles with the laser before they would be able to reach their stolen vehicle. The laser combined with the trophy system were quickly able to dispatch the incoming missiles, and once the skies were clear of missiles, Phi-8-2 targeted the incoming Havocs, Super Hinds, and Hokums before they could get any closer to the vehicle. The closest aircraft, another Super Hind, was struck first, and the laser was actually able to strike the helicopter’s crew directly. With no viable pilot left to pilot the aircraft, the Super Hind quickly slammed into the ground and erupted into yet another fiery explosion.
It was at this point when the remaining helicopter pilots finally decided that it would probably be best to disengage from the fight. Their efforts were clearly not effective against the MAV-29, and they were only losing more and more vehicles to the Arvak’s laser. The next closest aircraft, another Mil Mi-28MN, diverted from its flight path, and it went to disengage from the battle. Unfortunately for the crew of the Havoc, the aircraft was still within range of the Arvak’s laser, and the fuselage was directly struck by the laser. With significant damage done to the hull of the helicopter, it began to lose altitude, and another beam fired by the laser was enough to destroy the control surfaces of the helicopter. The out-of-control Havoc almost fell directly out of the sky, and it impacted directly into the ground and burst into flames. By the time the Havoc was destroyed, the only other CDI aircraft that were still airborne kept their distance from the MAV-29, and they were only loosely pursuing it at this point. Phi-8-2 watched the radar, and he commented on the blips as they moved away from their current location, “They’re giving up, it looks like.”
After only a few more minutes of driving, Phi-8-1 made another announcement to his crew, “We’re just about there. We should be seeing those friendly helicopters anytime, now.” Phi-8-2 looked back at his radar, and it only took a few moments for another group of blips to appear. However, the new blips were approaching from a different bearing when compared to the last group.” Since all the radar provided was just blips to represent aircraft with no further information as to who operated the aircraft, Phi-8-2 said, “I see some more aircraft approaching.” Phi-8-1 glanced at the radar, but he could not exactly tell which direction the radar was reporting the aircraft from, “Where?” Phi-8-2 looked away from his radar, and he looked out the cockpit window of the MAV-29. After looking for a few seconds, the human was able to spot a group of four Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallions with two Bell AH-280 Valors acting as escorts. All six of the approaching helicopters were painted entirely black, and they lacked any markings.
“That’s them,” Phi-8-1 spoke as he drove forwards to arrive at the rendezvous point where the helicopters would be able to stop and attach their carrying cables to the MAV-29. The CDI helicopters still were following the Arvak, but they were keeping their distance since they knew that the laser would still be a major threat to them if they decided to approach the Arvak in an attempt to attack it. Though some of the pilots were considering attacking the unmarked helicopters that were currently approaching, they still knew that the crew inside of the Arvak would likely not hesitate to fire upon the CDI aircraft with the laser. There were simply too many CDI vehicles lost at this point, and it would be better for the pilots to hang back and only see the direction in which the MAV-29 would go. They likely would not be able to follow the helicopters back to their destination; After all, they still had to make sure that nobody else was trying to attack the base itself. For all they knew, stealing the MAV-29 could potentially be just a distraction to draw defenses away from the base and leave it vulnerable to an air attack set on leveling the base. A group of T-14s and BTR-90s would likely not be able to do much about a group of aircraft dropping their payloads on the base.
The pilot of Rattlesnake spoke, “This is Rattlesnake, we should hang back. It might be time to cut our losses. I don’t recommend firing upon the approaching helicopters: Two of them appear to be armed, and we still have to be wary about the Arvak’s laser.” One of the remaining CDI Havocs replied, “This is Serpent. We copy all. We are going to return to base.” The Mi-28MN diverted its course, and it began to fly away from the MAV-29’s location. Though one helicopter had already turned around, Rattlesnake was still maintaining its course and was watching the Arvak from afar. The gunner looked to the left after the Super Hind yawed again, and he watched as about four other Super Hinds began to follow the Havoc that was leaving the combat zone. Even though mor
e and more CDI aircraft were retreating, the pilot of Rattlesnake stayed to watch the extraction of the MAV-29. Since he did not want to get shot down by the AH-280 or the laser, he made sure that the Super Hind was kept at a high altitude and close to the clouds so it hopefully would not be easily spotted by either of the two threats.
One of the AH-280s lowered its altitude until it was close enough to the ground, and several uniformed MTG operatives leaped from the tiltrotor helicopter once it had stopped flying forwards. The Mobile Task Group members were wearing Kryptek Obskura Transitional uniforms with Kryptek Mandrake equipment just like the members who were involved with the failed raid from the previous day. Immediately upon landing on the ground, the operatives cleared the vicinity by scanning the surrounding area with their rifles and then stowing them away once they were finished. The AH-280 which deployed the operatives raised itself to a greater altitude, and it joined the second AH-280 which was already on standby and ready to fire upon any CDI personnel that would dare to challenge the Mobile Task Group. The CH-53Ks deployed their lift cables, and the men immediately climbed upon the MAV-29 in order to find a place to attach each hook. Conveniently for the MTG, the MAV-29 already had attachment points for lift by crane on each compartment, so it did not take the men too long to affix the cables to the Arvak. All the while, Phi-8-2 was still manning the laser just in case a CDI attacker would try and make one last attempt to destroy the MAV-29.