Ace Combat 2 & Assault Horizon Legacy Part #6 - Mission 5 – Operation Greased Lightning, April 29th, 1998

Part 6: Mission 5 – Operation Greased Lightning, April 29th, 1998

Breakthrough at the Ravine Base / Intercept Rebels in the Channel

Mission 5: Operation Greased Lightning – April 29th, 1998
Mission 6: Operation Hunting Season (Legacy Version)

Overview [AC2]: Phoenix is tasked with crippling a Rebel-held airfield in a deep ravine in Meriton, deep inside FCU territory.

Overview [AHL]: Scarface Squadron launches a surprise offensive against the Rebels’ main eastern air contingent in Payton Channel and encounters another one of the URF’s top Ace squadrons.

Gameplay Note: These two missions mark another divergence point between Ace Combat 2 and Assault Horizon Legacy. Legacy isn’t an exact 1:1 replication of AC2, as such there are going to be missions like these ones which are either entirely unique to one game or another or are remixes of certain missions from 2 into Legacy.

Guest Commentators: ~~LOOOOOGAAAAAN~~ Lunethex returns for the Ace Combat 2 version. While in the Legacy version, I am joined by ChaosArgate. Argate has helmed and participated in a number of LPs including Saints Row IV, Sleeping Dogs, No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2, Faerie Fortune’s blind run through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Donkey Kong Country Returns for Artix’s DK megathread, and the fist-swallowingly stupendous Devil’s Third with Artix and Jobbo_Fett. He’s currently working on a stream LP of Demon’s Souls and The Saboteur with Jobbo.

BEAST SQUADRON
Federation of Central Usea Allied Air Force, 13th Air Force Unit, 8th Fighter Wing, 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Defected)
Members:

Beast 1 –Sergei “Eater” Brynner
Beast 2 – [NAME REDACTED]
Beast 3 – [NAME REDACTED]
Beast 4 – [NAME REDACTED]
Beast 5 – [NAME REDACTED]

Squadron Composition: F/A-18E Super Hornet (x4), EA-18G Growler (x1)

Beast Squadron was once the centerpiece of the FCU Allied Forces’ eastern air force contingent on Usea. Beast flight flew a five plane formation of four fast-attack interceptor F/A-18s and one electronic support and jamming EA-18 acting as their localized AWACS and jammer unit.

Beast’s flight lead, the mysterious Sergei Brynner, also incorporated tactics once perfected by the pilots of the Belkan Air Force during the Belkan War, following the example of 2nd Lt. Erich “Phonix” Hillenbrant of Belka’s Schnee Squadron, who also flew a 5-plane flight which included a jammer support plane.

Appropriate to their name, the Beast pilots preferred brutally vicious attack patterns, blinding their enemies with their jammer unit and swarming around them to trap them in a net of planes and missiles similar to the famous Kupchenko Golden Cage maneuver.

EATER
Real Name: Sergei Brynner
Callsign(s): Eater, Beast 1
Age: 43
Sex: Male
Nationality: Gratobie (disputed)
Signature Plane: F/A-18E Super Hornet
Voice Actor: Matthew Mercer

A caustic and vicious veteran of multiple conflicts, much of Brynner’s service record has been sealed by the FCU government indefinitely, as he is currently under investigation by INTERPOL on multiple alleged counts of war crimes, sedition, and identity fraud. Supposedly an immigrant from the nation of Gratobie, the FCU government and military leadership is reviewing and investigating his immigration records following his defection to the Usean Rebel Forces and a history of vehement anti-Osean statements.

Recently disclosed mission reports from the Ustio Air Force’s 6th Air Division claim he was present during several operations in the B7R Round Table airspace during the Belkan War… as a Belkan pilot.

GREASED LIGHTNING
Mission 5 of Ace Combat 2 continues the trend started with Superfly of referencing popular 1970s movies. In this case, the mission takes its name from the centerpiece song of the 1974 film adaptation of the stage musical Grease starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. The song is sung by Danny Zuko and the T-Birds over a montage of them building their street racing hotrod, the titular Greased Lightning itself.

MERITON HIGHLANDS
The Meriton Highlands are an offshoot of the Lambert Mountains running down into the Delarus Desert in western Usea. Known primarily for their high hills and deep ravines, a covert URF catapult airbase which is currently under construction lies within one of the many ravines in the region.

PAYTON CHANNEL
A narrow channel separating Payton Island from the Usean mainland on the western coast of Usea. The channel is bracketed by several naval ports and small towns and is a frequent chokepoint/port of call for many vessels in the FCU’s Eusian Fleet in their travels between Saint Ark, Expo City, and Comona.

Aircraft featured in Mission 5: Operation Greased Lightning

C-5A Galaxy
Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
Role: Heavy transport
Manufactured: 1968–1973
Status: Active
Primary Operators: United States
Quick Facts:

Appears in Ace Combats 2, Assault Horizon Legacy, 5, X, Joint Assault, and Air Combat.
Often takes 3 missile hits to down, unlike most other targets which only take 2 in the PS2-era and onward games.
Popping the Galaxy on the runway in Greased Lightning unlocks Mission 6B, Bear Tracks in Ace Combat 2.
One of the largest (currently operating) military cargo transport aircraft in the world.
Designed for intercontinental strategic airlifts of large and outsized cargo, such as tanks or other heavy equipment or vechicles.
Frequently deployed in both combat and humanitarian relief situations.
Participated in transport operations in support of the NASA Space Shuttle program as well.
Had a fairly turbulent development history including cost overruns and material shortfalls.
Replaced the propeller driven C-133 Cargomaster , and the smaller C-141 Starlifter.
The upgraded C-5M Super Galaxy is expected to remain in service until 2040.

*^{This flag and map is SUPER non-canonical.}
GRATOBIE
Full Name: The Republic of Gratobie
Capital: Unknown
Continent: Verusa (?)
Head of State: Unknown
Government: Unknown
Real World Analog: Serbia (?)

No information on Gratobie exists beyond its name. It might be a state in the FCU, it might be one of the unnamed countries on Strangereal, no one really knows. Everything up there is space-filling conjecture on my part so don’t take any of it on face value, I am literally just making shit up right now.