: Hope you enjoy!

---

"Sea Eagle 073, you're cleared to takeoff"

It was almost three months since the squadron was reassigned to the sole sister ship of Majapahit, KRI Sriwijaya.

Yet another smooth assisted launch, then the vast starry night greeted me. Followed by the radio call from my flight leader and overall mission commander for today, Major Theressa.

"All Sea Eagle 1 call-sign, form on me!"

"Wilco."

Today's mission will be fighter sweep for allied strike fighters and bombers from various bases including American mobile offshore base USS Dewey for a deep strike on the UCC capital itself, Riyadh, former Saudi Arabia, codenamed Operation Dagger.

"To all Indonesians, today is Navy Day. Let's make this day a sweetest birthday gift for us! The Israelis, politics aside, was the first to penetrate Riyadh's defenses. The second was the Russians. Today, we will become the third! Syailendra out!" exclaimes the E-2F Advanced Hawkeye accompanying us today with the callsign appropriate to the history of Srivijaya Empire itself.

"Jalesveva Jayamahe!" (In the sea we are glorious)

We replied with pride as a member of the Indonesian Navy.

Not long we rendezvoused with a massive bombing package consist of American B-21 Raiders already with its escorts; F-38s from the Dewey augmented with F/A-40s and F-35Fs from Intrepid. Trailing the Americans are a collection of mostly-Joint Strike Fighters from various PPDU states like Australia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines departed mostly from India and Diego Garcia, in addition with two Japanese aircraft carriers, JNS Kaga and JNS Taihou. Behind them, a formation of British Tempests departed from Karachi.

We also know that back at the carrier there was already another wave been sent with a different mission in mind, a combined raid Jeddah and Port Sudan, two important Red Sea port cities controlled by UCC.

"Syailendra here, Be advised, those camel piss-drinkers had sent a welcoming committee for us. Weapons free, repeat, weapons free!"

My radar detected a curious type that we never encountered before.

HA450.

And it's definitely a stealth fighter as locking on is more difficult, hence we were forced to resort to visual combat. As I merged with the new type of Caliphate fighter the night vision helped me to figure out it's outline. It resembled Turkish TF-1 and American F-35, which led me to conclude that it's stealth quality was better than the more common JF-20 and J-31 operated by the UCCAF.

"They've done their hacking work better than I expected." I told myself while evading one of the missiles. However, we're the first to draw blood with an Yankee F-38 caught a HA450 dead center with its laser and blew it up. Then another Helwan, in reference to the Egyptian factory producing it, soon commence a turning fight with me.

"1-4, engage the one above while I will deal with this below" I instructed my wingman for today, 1st Lt. Andi Hasan, callsign "Black Stork".

"Fox two!" A Japanese Navy pilot from JNS Kaga soon called a shot and I could see an explosion near one of the Helwans, forcing it to bug out due to heavy damage.

Beeps of missile lock at the enemy was an overdue for me, and I got it, over the cockpit, 85 degrees starboard side, and I pressed the trigger.

Diamondback launched.

But the Helwan decoyed it. Then I commanded "Guns", for the computer to switch to the 25mm.

"Die, you cockroaches" I cursed after my gunsight had the fighter perfectly on it's sight, after I outmaneuvered the Helwan driver by executing a Kulbit.

"Splash one bandit, he bailed" It somewhat a disappointment for me to saw the canopy jettisoned followed by the unmistakable rocket ignition from the pilot's seat and then the white parachute glowing on the night sky.

That moment, I wished to either ram him with my jet or shooting his chute. But then I decided to not to as two other Helwans are now behind me. Furthermore I'll end up in a court martial for war crimes if I finished him off.

"1-4 here, going to assist you" My wingman radioed me, had also splashed his prey.

"Let's dance with the angels" I replied. Meanwhile Raven and her wingman went slightly west.

"All units, check six!" her reminder.

"Syailendra here, we got new contacts, coming in hot, identified as TF-1s heading towards the bombers, intercept ASAP."

"Time to meet your maker, Fox three!" She locked, with her wingmen, four oncoming TF-1 vectoring towards the bombers, and destroyed the formation with IRST-aimed Buzzards.

The AEW keep calling new contacts as more and more UCC fighters rose to challenge us.

"More contact incoming, same bearing, same altitude! Keep them off the bombers and strikers!" Then "...wait a minute. more are still coming at higher speed! Exploding drones detected, shoot it down first!"

"Sea Eagle 1 engaging drones."

"Activating drones" I use my voice command to arm our Capung escort drones - launched from carriers without using catapults, it is greatly useful for sacrificial lambs or other mission -

Soon, I locked a Helwan behind me and a snap-shot lock after launch behind blew up the Arab jet. His wingmen decided to retreat from our sights only to be caught by a Japanese F-35

"Splash three bandits" I heard the Japanese which I think was the one who killed it.

"Does anybody got cyber specialist here?" asked Karambit, Theressa's wingman as explosions from drones flying nearby rocked our formation.

"We detected two electronic warfare aircraft in the vicinity. They controlled the drones as well as providing ESM. You'll be in the world of hurt if you let them go." the E-2 piped again.

"TLP ready, cleared to fire, Fox 4!"

I'm authorized to use TLP in this mission, and my shot obliterated one Airbus A321 converted into EW platform and a couple of drones nearby in various large explosions.

"Sweet!!" said Andi. Then in the sudden my display flashed a big red warning and the accompanying aural one.

"Warning, Jamming detected!"

"Syailendra, reporting in." Theressa called.

"Syailendra, please respond!"

The situation was compounded by several Mayday and ejection calls from allied fighters unfortunate enough to either caught in the explosion of drones or shot down by enemy fighters and air defenses.

.........

"Sorry for the hold up, our tech has broken their jamming once more. It seems they got new toys but we did it again!" exclaimed the youthful operator.

"Yeah!"

"Banzai!"

"Hoorah!"

The remaining allied planes regrouped and continued into Riyadh, the bombers trailing behind. Some were however, split up by AWACS directions to engage enemy fighters come from several airbases in the West and East coast of Saudi, most importantly King Abdulaziz Air Base.

Then, "This is Hadrian, Royal Air Force, to all units. Cyber support ready, We're going to activate the program, keep fighters off us while we transmitting it!"

Behind us, I remembered the intel briefing about our allies, and figured out that Hadrian must be one of the British Boeing 737MAX-9 special mission aircraft.

"Activating."

We had little idea about how the "program" works. But the answer soon come.

"Enemy drone attack disrupted, we're taking over their control" The remaining UCC explosive drones were soon connected into the airliner-based aircraft along with it's escorting Taranis II wingman drones.

After downing several more flights of mostly Typhoons and TF-1s supportes by hacked explosive drones which were soon fully expended we were about to enter the city's airspace when our radio crackled.

"Ambush!" said an American as his wingman's F-38 Mustang was lost from radar from concealed, stationary, tactical high-energy laser turrets ringed their prey, the City of Riyadh.

"We must silence those laser turrets otherwise our missiles will be intercepted!" said another American.

"Roger that, Lead." his wingman answered.

Meanwhile we ordered our remaining drones to take hits for us while we destroyed the apparatus which has several solar powered backup in case of the failure of Riyadh's electrical grids, in this case our allies are dealing damage on it with graphite and EMP guided bombs.

To my horror, I caught one surviving laser turret at my starboard side, located near the city's main railway station ready to fire at my flight leader.

"One-one, break!" I called her. But it's too late. Tne beam went through her jet, bringing it down into the station in a large explosion.

No chute.

"Shit!" I cursed.

"Astaghfirullahaladzim!!" exclaimed Andi.

"Sea Eagle 1-1 is down.. repeat.. Raven is lost."

The realization that we've lost Theressa bludgeoned the entire flight. Being just 32, she was a stunning figure. Not just physically, but also in the inside as well.

"This is 1-2, I'm taking command. Regroup on me!" called Kurniawan. As I went at his position, I finally got in range on that damned turret and with a single Paveway drop the apparatus was no more, but not before it claimed another victim, a Korean F-35D.

What I know about Kurniawan, was that he once have a thing with her back in their high school days before duties separated them. I can feel his pain.

The grief will come later as the controller finally called us to evacuate the city, which means the American bombers were in firing range for their brand new stand-off weapon, the AGM-220 Skybolt II hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile. Basically, the more advanced American answer to Russian Kinzhal or Chinese Dongfeng-35.

We were given a front-row seat view of the missile' reentry vehicles, all conventional warheads, as it entered the atmosphere. Few warheads were intercepted but the rest hit home, detonated at several targets inside the capital with a pinpoint precision.

"We never forget and we never forgive" The message can't be much clearer to those fanatics.

The display on my cockpit flashed green "Mission complete"

"Syailendra to Sea Eagle.. operation successful, return to the carrier."

The loss of almost sixteen fifth and sixth generation fighters and four bombers were way too many in my opinion. But in the meantime, as the war goes on, I realized that how much people inside the Caliphate; the Arabians, Pakistanis, Iranians, and probably North Africans, were tough and determined fighters, even if they are bunch of brainwashed religious fanatics.

Just like us, they fought, bled, and died for what they believe.

---