America Stranded in a Fantasy World

Chapter 18 "Go Big Or Go MOAB"

AUTHOR NOTE: Since there is a lot of Air Force slang/terminology in this chapter, I'm leaving a glossary at the bottom of the chapter that will have all the explanations for any words and weird callsigns that have a bracketed number. Example(1).

CHAPTER 18

"Go Big Or Go MOAB"

July 18th, 2040: Ramstein Air Base, The Plusieurs Kingdom

Inside one of the larger briefing rooms, the crew from the 9th Bomb Squadron "Bats" and two flights from the 494th Fighter Squadron "Panthers", were waiting for their briefing. All except a New Yorker and a Texan at the front of the room who had begun a shouting match, quickly stealing the attention of the room. Just as the New Yorker was about to size up the Texan, two pilots from his squadron jumped up to intervene.

"I'll give you a fuckin' knuckle sandwich, how 'bout that?" Yorke spat while being held back by the two pilots.

"Oh bless your heart, did I hurt your feelings?" Fag(1) pouted but quickly reeled back when Yorke managed to free his right arm and took a wild swing at him.

"Least my mother was no skank!" Finally managing to free himself from one of his restraints, Yorke pushed off the other pilot.

"Seems to me I'm fixin' to break your face!" Accepting Yorke's challenge, Fag stepped forward and readied himself to swing.

"Attention!" Another pilot from the back of the room yelled, with the entire room--including Yorke and Fag, snapping to attention and those seated straightened their posture.

"At ease! Fag, Yorke! I don't need to write you two up again, do I?" With a casual strut to the front of the room, the officer examined the two pilots.

"No sir!" Fag and Yorke shouted in unison.

"Then sit down. Now! Today we have a mission coming straight from EUCOM(2), yes this landmass is still being classified as Europe for now." Moving towards a computer in the corner of the room, the officer opened a slideshow and turned on the projector.

"A few days ago, it came to the attention of EUCOM, that our enemy had finally begun to mobilize their forces, gathering in key locations around this region in an attempt to counter our own land and air forces. As of right now, their navy is still scattered and anchored in docks across their coastline. As of three days ago, the enemy has started multiple forest fires in an attempt to slow down The Army. The general consensus is they are scorching their own land to buy time for themselves to further mobilize and concentrate their forces to conduct a frontal assault on this airbase. Today, the 9th Bomb Squadron will be conducting a run on this bastion fort or star-fortress, for those who joined the army out of High School, with the 494th Fighter Squadron being your escorts and with a sortie(3) from The 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron "Vikings" to aid in communications back to EUCOM." With a remote in his right hand and trying to ignore the laughter from the younger pilots, the officer flipped through a few slides of different angles of the bastion fort. "Satellite imagery has shown a continued buildup of OPFOR soldiers and supplies here. By the end of the mission, this place will be reduced to gravel--and don't worry about us bombing our own inside this fort. Intel handed to us by the CIA shows that most American POWs(4) are being moved closer to the capital. However, unfortunately for us, our enemy, actually has a brain." Flipping to the next slide, the bastion fort was replaced with a massive cloud going from the ground to tens of thousands of feet into the air. "It seems in response to the opening days of Operation Phoenix. Our enemy has begun to encase their castles and fortresses in clouds similar to this. This will make it impossible for our bombers to get a clear sight on their targets, and with our GPS systems still unreliable. Your B-1 Lancers will be loaded with GBU-43s(5). Once you are over this mass of clouds, you will drop your payloads off-center and staggered from each other to maximize damage. After that, you get the hell out before any nasty surprises show up. Also, thanks to Jäger Squadron, we've linked the possibility of glitching radar to creatures with substantial magical mass to be in the area. If this happens, exercise extreme caution. Do not, hesitate to call off the mission should it become problematic. Questions?" Not hesitating for a moment, Yorke spoke up.