Operation Gorgon

Operation Gorgon was a sealed-order operation conducted by the Osean Long Range Strategic Strike Group at Anchorhead City following the fall of Farbanti. The operation aimed to extract Erusean conservative general Edouard Labarthe out of the city, which was in a state of chaos due to the ongoing civil war.

Prelude
With Osea's communication systems crippled following Erusea's desperate A-SAT attack, the LRSSG followed through the plan originally conceived following the fall of Farbanti. Labarthe, who had been feeding information to the Oseans since the war began, is currently in hiding in the outskirts of Anchorhead City. With the help of Osean Army captain Karl, the two began to make their way out of the city. Strider Squadron was dispatched to provide escort for the Erusean general, along with an Osean force besieging the city as well.

Because of the A-SAT attack, Strider Squadron was forced to identify friend from foe through infrared imagery. This involved getting close enough for AWACS Long Caster to process the imagery.

Battle
Arriving outside the city, Strider Squadron provided escort for the vehicle Karl and Labarthe are in. Their HUDs are filled with "unknown" contacts, Oseans and Eruseans mixed in. The squadron not only had to protect the vehicle from radical Eruseans but also be careful not to shoot down Oseans and, later, conservative Eruseans.

During the escort, Labarthe revealed the truth behind the war. Fascinated by the drone technology provided to them by the Belkans, a group of young Erusean officers instigated the war. Since drones can hit their targets more accurately and minimize collateral damage, their clamor for war got the support of the general public--and even Princess Rosa. Conservatives like Labarthe, however, despised the use of drones, arguing that aircraft are meant to be flown by humans.He also revealed the technology to spoof IFF signals such as the friendly-fire incident that killed former president Harling.

The vehicle soon arrived at the extraction point at Grunder Park but was forced to move to another extraction point due to heavy hostile activity. Strider Squadron continued to escort the vehicle amidst the chaos of the conflict. After a long, hard fight, Karl and Labarthe arrived at the secondary extraction point where they were picked up by an Osean helicopter.

As the general was being airlifted out of the city, an Erusean transport plane escorted by three F/A-18F Super Hornets entered the area. Dr. Schroeder inside the transport repeatedly broadcasted that the plane is carrying civilians. Strider Squadron monitored the transport plane when suddenly it was attacked by a flight of Erusean Su-33s and YF-23s. The squadron fended off the fighters.

Then, things took a turn for the worse as the Hornet escorts--which Schroeder revealed were drones--locked on to the Striders. Schroeder realized that the escorts were missing a certain drive, forcing the Striders to take them down. The Hornets then used their remote activation rights to activate a flight of ten MQ-99 drones, which joins the fight. Nevertheless, the squadron shot them all down and kept the transport plane safe.

Aftermath
The transport plane departed the airspace safely, as well as the helicopter carrying Karl and Labarthe. Upon returning to base, however, Strider Squadron learned that the helicopter was shot down by an Osean plane. Karl and Labarthe were killed in the crash.

With the sealed-order operation over and the communication systems still offline, the LRSSG has no idea what to do next.