- "This isn't a hallucination! It's a nightmare!"
- ― Erusean Port Officer
Operation Domino was an Osean operation during the Lighthouse War. Its purpose was to destroy a number of mothballed Erusean ships in Anchorhead to prevent the Alicorn from gaining allies and resupplying. Osea only sent the Long Range Strategic Strike Group's Strider Squadron in order to limit detection.
Prelude[]
Prior to September 10, Brigadier General Howard Clemens received false information from undercover Alicorn agent Edgar Saxon regarding the Alicorn. Saxon told Clemens that the Alicorn was on its way to Anchorhead Bay to meet up with the Erusean Royal Navy's mothball fleet in preparation for the battle at Farbanti. Clemens immediately sanctioned Operation Domino, a surgical strike to cripple the port of Anchorhead and the mothball fleet before the Alicorn could link up with them. This mission also served as a test for Trigger - Lieutenant General Shepherd and Clemens were debating with the top brass of the Osean military of whether Trigger was necessary for Osea to win the war.
Battle[]
Once Strider arrived on point, they immediately began to destroy the port. It took the Erusean port officers several minutes to coordinate a counterattack, but by that time a large portion of the fleet was sunk or heavily damaged. Clemens and Shepherd's debate was over quickly, with Clemens losing and Shepherd declaring that Osea had much need for their ace pilots.
As the naval battle raged, several senior Erusean officers attempted to flee the battlefield aboard MV-22 helicopters. Observing this, Osean recon unit Tucker 0-4 radioed AWACS Long Caster to request the helicopters be shot down. In total, 5 helicopters were shot down, carrying Rear Admiral Samuel Prin, Captain Dirk Tarnat, Fleet Commander Gleb Almazov, Captain Alonso Tarragó, and Vice Commander Tâm Vān Lẏ, killing all 5 and severely weakening Erusea's naval strategem.
As the battle reached its peak, a large fleet that had been out at sea and had failed to return due to bad weather arrived back in the operation airspace, but was quickly sunk by Strider Squadron. As this was happening, the Alicorn, which was in fact rogue, began a guided artillery fire drill from just north of Tyler Island using its main railgun and SLUAVs for terminal guidance. The first shell heavily damaged Húxiān's aircraft, forcing her to withdraw. The second struck just in front of Trigger's plane, narrowly missing the Osean ace.
The battle was over quickly with the loss of the entire mothball fleet and the senior officers. As the remaining 3 Strider pilots prepared to return to base, a stealth missile fired from an enemy aircraft struck Lanza's engine, forcing him to withdraw. The culprit was revealed to be Scream of Mimic Squadron, back for a rematch with Trigger. The assassins were contacted by Clemens, their benefactor, who ordered them to cease combat and withdraw. Ignoring the order under the impression that it would hurt their reputation as an assassin squad, Rage and Scream continued to duel Trigger and Count. Despite their heavily modified aircrafts' advantages, both pilots were shot down and refused Long Caster's orders to eject, killing both of them.
Aftermath[]
Following the death of the brother and sister squadron, Vice Chairman Edwards ordered for the military police to arrest Clemens for spreading false intel and treason due to Clemens communicating with Mimic on open Osean radio channels. Meanwhile, the Alicorn had successfully resupplied in preparation for Captain Matias Torres's ultimate goal - a nuclear attack on Oured.
References[]
- ↑ SP Mission 02: "Anchorhead Raid", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.