Civil War

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

(January 13, 2027)

As the sun is beginning to set over the eastern United States, Major Jacob White is cruising in his F-16 above northern Florida, along with the other three F-16s of his flight. They're loaded with Maverick missiles and Hydra 70 rockets for a close air support mission.

In the last week since Israel announced its arms deal with the UAR, the US has attempted a number of border incursions into northern Florida from Georgia. They were all relatively small, by groups no larger than regiment-size. It seemed like the US was trying to test the defenses of the UAR in Florida before launching an all out assault. Florida had deployed the 53rd Infantry Brigade to defend against the incursions, and right now, a battalion, supported some local militias, were defending against an incursion by a US force about 2 battalions in size, supported by tanks.

Major White monitors his GPS as they are approaching the battle zone. However, as they're getting within 20 miles, all of a sudden, his radar warning receiver goes off.

"Wha–Spiked! Rapier flight, scatter!" White orders over the radio. And right as he starts to bank, the missile launch warning sounds in his helmet.

The four F-16s scatter, diving for the deck and punching out chaff to decoy the incoming missiles. In a matter of seconds, a flurry of AMRAAMs come shooting out of the clear blue sky towards them. Thanks to some pretty aggressive manuevering, the F-16s manage to evade the incoming missiles.

Turning his head around in the direction the missiles came from, Major White spots a few dots coming in towards him. As he hears another missile alarm, he's able to identify them as a handful of F-15s. He can't tell if they're C or E models, but that doesn't matter to him. "Eagles, boys!" he shouts over the radio as he breaks back hard into the oncoming Eagles. As he gets his nose towards them, he manages to get a radar lock on one and fires an AMRAAM of his own.

The two missiles pass each other as Major White continues turning hard while punching out chaff. The missile targeted on him misses by a few feet and goes sailing past him. However, White's missiles manages to track right to the Eagle's nose before exploding, destroying the front part of the fight and sending the wreckage tumbling from the sky.

"Engage, boys!" White shouts over the radio, not talking any time to celebrate his third air to air victory. The F-16s merge with the F-15s, and a dogfight begins as miles away, cruise missiles fired by UAR warships are hitting defensive positions manned by US forces.

(That night)

In St. Marys, Georgia, its a relatively calm night. Despite the proximity to the border with the UAR, the city has been virtually untouched by the combat. Even the submarine base at Kings Bay has seen little action. However, that's about to change.

After the defection of the West Virginia, there were 5 ballistic missile submarines still homeported at the submarine base at Kings Bay. Despite the fact that the base was literally only a few miles from the border with the UAR, there had been no attacks against the base or any danger of artillery fire reaching the base. However, because of the proximity, the Pentagon was planning to relocate the 5 remaining SSBNs, and the two SSGNs based there, to Norfolk and Groton, for their own safety.

Right now, only three of the 7 submarines based at Kings Bay are docked: the Georgia, the Alaska, and the Rhode Island. The other SSGN based at Kings Bay, the Florida, is out on a training mission, while the other three SSBNs, Tennessee, Maryland, and Wyoming, are all out on deterrent patrols. All four of those submarines have orders to return to either Norfolk or Groton instead of Kings Bay at the end of their missions, while preparations are being made to send the other three submarines north in the next few days.