Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 014
Chapter Title: Operation Eagle Claw. 2
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Three hundred kilometers south of Tehran.
The ground that had once been a lake now lay bare under the moonlight, completely dried out.
A sandstorm whipped across the cracked, parched earth, blotting out all vision.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud~~~!!
Six massive U.S. Navy Sea Stallion transport helicopters, which had departed from the Persian Gulf for the embassy rescue operation, struggled to land on the desiccated ground.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud~~~!!
Thump~!! Boom~!!
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku~~~!!!
In the midst of the fierce sandstorm raging from all directions, the side doors of the landed helicopters slid open with a rumble, and Delta Force operators leaped swiftly to the ground.
Rattle-rattle~thump!
"North clear!"
"East perimeter! Visibility's shit."
"South clear."
The operators scattered in all directions on their own initiative, taking up guard positions around the helicopters.
Colonel Jellico, the operation commander who had jumped down with them to check the surroundings, furrowed his brow.
It wasn't just because of the blinding sandstorm.
They had set out with eight transport helicopters, but two had aborted midway due to the sandstorm and returned, leaving only six to reach the primary rally point.
The minimum number of helicopters required for the operation was six.
They had added two extras as a precaution, so they could barely meet the minimum requirements.
But they had only just arrived at the first rally point, and already unforeseen problems were cropping up. That fact alone soured his mood.
He composed himself as best he could and began the intermediate check.
"All team leaders, report status."
A moment later, a transmission came through his in-ear radio.
"Alpha Team. Eight men. All clear."
"Bravo. All eight offloaded."
"Delta..."
Fortunately, all personnel for the operation had reached the primary rally point without issue.
If things went smoothly from here, they could complete the mission.
Then came a report from the radio operator.
"Fuel tanker inbound. Landing now."
Once they refueled the helicopters, they should be able to reach Tehran without any problems.
Jellico focused on the task at hand.
"All units, maintain perimeter. Prep helicopters for refueling."
Whiiiir~~~ thump~!! Screeech~~!! Screech~ screeech~!!!
The hulking aircraft touched down on what had been a lakebed.
A U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane.
Jellico watched tensely as it came to a full stop on the ground.
Only after it had completely landed did a sigh escape his lips.
"Phew~. Owl One, prep for refueling first. Operators, unload gear from the transports. Move it!"
Four transports had arrived in total.
Two were EC models for fuel, the other two MC models loaded with operation equipment.
The sandstorm still raged, churning up visibility.
In the limited sightlines, the operators rushed to the transports as trained.
The rear ramps dropped, and operation gear stacked inside began to unload onto the lakebed one by one.
In the meantime, the helicopter pilots were busy too.
"One moves first."
"Careful. Visibility's the worst."
"Damn it. Sandstorm wasn't in the plan!"
"Who should've warned us?! Why'd the top brass send us here?"
"You know why. Navy brass pushed to take it on. Big op like this, they wanted a piece of the action."
"Damn. We're suffering for their rice bowl fight."
"Finish quick and get out."
The pilot of Helicopter One started the engines amid the swirling sandstorm.
Click. Click-click-click. Click-click~!!
"One heading to refueling position."
As the prepared pilot increased engine power, the stationary rotors began to spin slowly.
Vree~ vroom~ vroom~ vroom~vroomvroomvroomvroom~~~thud-thud-thud~~~!!
As engine output rose, wind whipped around the helicopter from all sides.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud~~~~!!!
The moment the massive Sea Stallion lifted lightly off the ground on the gale, a sudden gust scattered the sand on the ground, sending dust clouds billowing like smoke.
"Damn it. Can't see a thing! How the hell are we supposed to move?!"
The pilot's frantic transmission, trapped in the rising dust cloud, flowed into Jellico's in-ear.
'Damn bastards!'
Jellico swallowed a curse inwardly.
It wasn't aimed at the helicopter pilot, but at Navy command for deploying him, and the higher-ups who had accepted it.
In truth, Operation Eagle Claw had problems baked in from the planning stage.
Hearing it would be a massive operation, Army, Navy, and Air Force brass all wanted in, and as a result, the Navy took charge of the transport helicopters.
That was why Navy pilots, with little experience in deserts or land ops, were thrown into the mission.
"Hey. Can't see shit... Damn it!!"
Suddenly, the pilot's urgent voice crackled through, followed by blaring electronic alarms over the radio.
Beep~beep~beep~beep~~~!!
"Damn. Something's wrong! No! Instrument failure!"
The moment panic erupted, the massive Sea Stallion fuselage, hovering slightly above ground and inching toward the fuel tanker, rocked violently side to side.
Thud-thud-thud~~~!!
"Engines! Careful! Evade!!"
The out-of-control super-heavy helicopter slid sideways like on ice, slamming into the side of the waiting EC-130 tanker.
The Stallion's massive rotors shredded the transport's side like a chainsaw.
Kaka-kaka-ka-ka~~~!!
"Watch out!"
"No!"
"Evade!!!"
Sparks flew in an instant, igniting the jet fuel in the tanks.
Shwooooaaa~~!!! KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM~!!!
Flames spewing from the tanks engulfed the Stallion and tanker in seconds, and explosions scattered the shattered fuselages everywhere.
"Watch out!"
"Hit the deck!"
"Argh!!"
A few special operators were flung by the sudden blast, while the rest reflexively dove to the ground, dodging the shockwave and debris.
On the barren lakebed amid the dust storm.
Crimson flames shot dozens of meters high, illuminating the surroundings, while thick black smoke rose into the moonlit sky.
Operation commander Jellico stared blankly at the engulfed helicopter and transport.
"We're fucked. Shit."
Incidentally,
Operation Eagle Claw remained an indelible stain in U.S. special operations history, while also serving as the catalyst that propelled American special forces to a new level.
After this incident,
the U.S. established the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), consolidating all elements needed for special ops, including air support.
But that was far in the future.
For now, Colonel Jellico, having lost a helicopter and transport right in front of him, hurriedly radioed while staring at the rising flames.
"All units, damage report! Now!"
"Alpha Team all clear."
"Bravo. One operator minor bruises and abrasions. No impact on op."
"Charlie. All clear."
"Delta..."
Fortunately, no Delta Force casualties.
But no word from the pilots in the inferno.
"Helicopters and transports? No survivor confirmation?!"
"No radio contact. Unconfirmed for now."
"Flames too hot to approach!"
"Won't know till fire dies down. But at that intensity, survival..."
Colonel Jellico asked with a grim face.
"Crew count? How many aboard?"
"Stallion: one pilot, two copilots. Including EC-130 crew, total five."
"Eight total? Goddamn it!"
Given the blast's power, assuming all aboard were dead was reasonable.
His curse spread over the radio to the operators, but no one responded.
Then came a transmission from his deputy, Major James.
"Only five Stallions left now. Minimum for op was six to begin with... Plus, one tanker's fuel won't fully top off five. Should we reconsider proceeding...?"
Jellico, listening with a heavy heart, fell deep into thought.
Push on with remaining forces,
or abort here and return to base.
Everyone's fate hung on his decision.
As the remaining operators awaited his transmission, an urgent radio cut in.
"Vehicles approaching northeast! Distance 2700!"
Jellico and all operators' eyes snapped northeast.
Through the sandstorm,
faint headlights slowly approached them.
Tehran outskirts.
Having slipped out of the palace undetected, he rendezvoused with Blades of the Black King operatives.
This time, he personally piloted the waiting Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter southward.
Thud-thud-thud-thud~~~
Just like Delta Force, the fierce sandstorm of the Iranian plateau battered the Hind.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku~~~!!
Gale-force winds like a storm lashed sand grains against the windows.
Tap! Tat-tat-tap-tap-tap~!!!
Despite the stinging impacts echoing on the canopy and fuselage, the Hind maintained ultra-low flight skimming the ground, pressing south.
Without pre-installed sand filters on the intakes, the engines might have failed and sent them crashing.
The Hind wobbled side to side occasionally,
but effortlessly pierced the sand walls blocking visibility.
Hassan in the back seat spoke into the mic linked to his headphones.
"Can't see an inch ahead, Your Highness."
"Flying's always by feel. By the seat of your pants."
He made minute stick adjustments, hugging the terrain at just over 20 meters.
Low-level flight like this in such foul weather was more than enough to evade Iran's air defense radar.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah, Hassan. What?"
"What do you plan to do with those Americans? Capture them alive?"
"Capture? What for?"
"Then why bother flying the Hind yourself...?"
"Hassan. You know what eagles on the Iranian plateau mainly eat?"
"Pardon?"
Caught off-guard by the sudden question, Hassan composed himself and answered calmly.
"Eagles on the Iranian plateau are known to mainly eat carrion from dead animals."
"Right. That's why we're going."
"Pardon? Why?"
"To feed them the bodies."
"Feed them bodies? Whose?"
"Who else? The ones the Americans left behind. Their comrades' corpses. What better card to mend ties with the U.S.?"
He couldn't see Hassan's face, but he could imagine his stunned expression.
Gripping the stick tight again, he banked the helicopter.
Riding the sand-laden winds, it slid smoothly sideways.
A little further now.
The dried lakebed awaited.
The helicopter accelerated south.