"Damn rain," Feisler muttered as the president's declaration came over the radio
"In the face of this attack and insult against our country..."
Marcus angled his plane towards the border. His wingmen did the same.
"I, President Harold Schweiz, on behalf of Remertia, declare war against the country of Ardval. May the righteous be the victor!"
The border whizzed by below on the President's last words. The act had been timed to avoid any political repercussions. Now any target on the Remertian side was fair game. Marcus received his and his squadron's attack coordinates on his aircraft's MFD.
"Alright," he said to Nightbird 2 and 3, "here's our job. You two will be using your HARMs to knock out the SAM installations ahead, to clear a path to the bridge systems deeper inside the border. I'll provide support, and try to handle any helicopters or aircraft that are giving you trouble. When we finish, we'll head inland farther and attack ground targets at will. Shoot for targets with strategic importance, if possible. Factories, hangars, command centers, anything that looks valuable.
A sudden burst of flak appeared in front of Feisler, rocking his plane.
"Drop another 100 feet," he ordered.
The other aircraft acknowledged, dropping to 250 feet AGL.
"Here we go," Feisler said, as the gunfire opened up.
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High above the area, Gheist was orbiting, waiting for action. Hyerich, in his Bird of Prey, was growing impatient. Impatient for many things, he knew, but some things could not be revealed... yet. Soon, many things would be revealed to these Mercenaries and Remertians. They were smart, he knew. They would find out eventually, but until then, it would be wise to lay low.
A cluster of blips appeared on his radar screen, inbound from the North. Perfect. Hyerich turned to acknowledge, watching as his squadron follow.
The pride of Frieben was at stake here, and he was not about to sacrifice it.
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In his A-10, Henrik Shadal selected his HARMs for use, waiting for the telltale missile lock alarm. Ripping through the sky at treetop level and dodging AA fire was exciting, but he had a more serious task at hand- a personal task.
The alarm sounded. Henrik's head snapped up. The SAM appeared to be dead ahead. Immediately, he loosed his HARM, watching its smoke trail as it headed for a concealed SAM battery, riding the weapon's radar beam. The projectile connected with the target, producing a large fireball. Henrik smiled grimly.
"That's one for you, Ayel," he whispered.