Chapter 77: The Implication? (Patreon)

After reading the report from Aya, particularly the alarming details about Anika Faber and her Nazi affiliations, Bell couldn't help but feel concerned. Aya had boldly emphasized the urgency of eliminating Faber, even suggesting the drastic measure of dropping a 2,000 kg bomb on her. If only Aya had been aware of her own dark past, Bell mused.

Nevertheless, he decided to entrust the task entirely to the RAA. They were more knowledgeable and experienced in handling such matters than the armed forces. Aya's resourcefulness had proven invaluable before, and Bell saw no reason not to rely on her talents once again.

"So...?" Lisa began, seeking Bell's opinion.

"Has Lukas been informed?" Bell inquired.

"He has," Lisa confirmed.

"Good. It's just a matter of coordinating with the air force for a swift dash southward. We have the XF-13 ready for a strike mission. Once Aya lases the target, we'll be there in ten minutes, right?" Bell continued, confident in the modified recon aircraft's dash capability. Coupled with hypersonic weaponry, it could strike anywhere in the south within thirty minutes.

"Yup," Lisa nodded in agreement.

"Good," Bell concluded, satisfied with the plan in motion.

"And Bell, there’s something else... something that needs your special attention." Her tone was serious, more so than usual, signaling the importance of what she was about to disclose.

He looked up, intrigued. "What is it?"

"It's a signal we've intercepted," Lisa started, her eyes scanning Bell's to ensure she had his undivided attention. "Not just any signal—a series of numbers that doesn't match any known communication patterns."

Bell's interest was piqued. "Numbers? What's so special about that?"

Lisa leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's where it's coming from. The signal's origin is a region always covered in clouds, practically invisible to our satellites. It's as though it's deliberately hiding from us, masked by the weather."

Bell frowned, the strategic implications beginning to dawn on him. "How consistent is this signal?"

Lisa's confirmation was chilling. "Like clockwork," she said. "And there's more. The sequence—it's deliberate, as if it's a message begging to be deciphered."

Bell's thoughts spiraled into a whirlwind of possibilities. Simple interference or a prankster tampering with frequencies might explain such an anomaly under normal circumstances. Yet, such trivial matters wouldn't escalate to his level of command unless there was a deeply concerning undercurrent to them. A knot formed in his stomach—the kind that signaled danger.

Bell's thoughts raced as he considered the possibility of a new enemy technology at play. "Could this be the work of a new enemy technology? Something engineered for stealth communication?" he mused aloud, the wheels turning in his head. "Our comms are secured with advanced encryption, aren't they?"

Lisa nodded in agreement. "Yes, our communications are encrypted with the latest protocols. It's highly unlikely that someone could breach our security measures."

“How does it happen then?”

"That's just it," Lisa interjected, her voice tense with concern. "The signal broke through the moment our recon passed over a certain sector of the northern mountain range, sidestepping all our security measures, including our AES-256 encryption. And there's more—the area is rife with electronic jamming, suggesting a significant presence. Enemy forces, perhaps, operating under the radar."

"Peer opponents in that region? That's hardly conceivable, isn't it?" Bell's skepticism was tinged with an unease that he couldn't shake off.

"I wish that were the case..." Lisa's voice trailed off, laden with a gravity that made Bell's heart sink. "Until we decipher this sequence or pinpoint its source, we're groping in the dark. And in our line of work, the unknown is a breeding ground for threats."

"Should we try an airstrike there?" Bell asked, considering their limited options.

"I don’t know. Someone who can jam our radar, bypass a 256-bit encryption, and hide themselves from our recon is certainly someone who can strike back at us. And let’s not forget, we have shown our hand with that nuke attack," Lisa added, her tone heavy with the weight of their previous decisions.

Bell rubbed his chin, contemplating their next move. "Right. A direct assault might provoke a response we're not prepared for. But we can't just sit back. What about electronic surveillance?”

Lisa nodded slowly. "We've been trying, but the jamming... it's sophisticated. They also use some kind of minor EMP to disable our smart weapons, and somehow, disable half of our electronics. This is unlike anything we've encountered. The thing is, it’s as if the other party tries to contact us."

"Any recording?" Bell leaned in, eager for any lead.

"Yes, but it's been tough to clean up. Here, listen to this." Lisa pressed a button on her tablet, and a crackling sound filled the room before the eerie repetition of the message began.

The recording played an ominous grumbly music at first, followed by strange beepings, then continued with a woman speaking, “WARNING 22-12-21 21-4-7-6-15-12-9-9-8, 16-12-22-19 8-5-12-14-8-1-18-4, 25-9-19-9-20 51.5074Q, 0.1278Z. WARNING 22-12-21 21-4-7-6-15-12-9-9-8, 16-12-22-19 8-5-12-14-8-1-18-4, 25-9-19-9-20 51.5074Q, 0.1278Z." Then, the ominous music continued before repeating the same message again.

As the recording played, the room was enveloped in a tense silence, with both Bell and Lisa listening intently, knowing that within this cryptic message might lie the key to understanding their elusive adversary. Bell and Lisa understood the implication, with Lisa being experienced in conventional warfare while Bell was just fresh from a peer-to-peer conflict with its twists. Whoever did this know what was at stakes.

“That’s… unnerving,” Bell commented. The clarity of it resembled a number station, but at the same time, Bell doubted that those who could break a 256-bit encryption would broadcast such an unclear signal without any intention. So, what would happen next? “Any planes that tries to fly low?”

“We’ve lost 4 F-15s, 3 F-35s, and 2 F-22s,” Lisa added.

“F-22???” Suprised was an underestimation of Bell’s reaction, he was shocked beyond recognition. “You must be shitting me. Any confirmation regarding a crash site or something like that?”

“That’s the thing, they just disappear from the blip, that’s it.”

“That includes Warhound 1,” Lisa added. “They were just… gone, disappear completely from radar.”

An ace pilot suddenly went missing like that was not unheard of, but knowing that there was a chance that they might deal with near-peer, if not someone with more technological advancement than them. However, the lack of crash report certainly was concerning too. Usually, a pilot would shout mayday, mayday, or something along that line.

This was Aya 2.0, but in different kind of way. Without RAA, Bell would never know Aya was the necromancer, and now, he faced an unknown adversary as well, and with the ability to prevent them from gaining any air superiority in the northern mountain range. Bell wouldn’t send his troops if he couldn’t offer them an umbrella of protection.

Yet, nuke wasn’t an option. A peer would usually have nuke as well, and that limit his option. If he strike first, then, it would give the enemy a casus belli to rally its people and attack him first, and let’s be honest, a nuke would destroy him and his army in one swoop. The enemy must be smart, this might be a message to establish contact. The thing was, why make his plane disappear instead of visiting him at Frostwood over a cup of tea.

Did the enemy fear him? He had his feeling, but it wasn’t clear either. What the enemy wanted? Aya and her coalition certainly wanted him dead, and failed to achieve that objective, thanks to the system, but this enemy, they certainly didn’t attack him yet, even though showing sign of their capability. So, what should he do next?

Nuke them? It might work, but if he got nuked back, he didn’t have the counter for that. Even all of his laser defense systems wouldn’t be enough to destroy all of the warheads from a peer opponent. This was a major headache, if the enemy suddenly decided to attack him when he couldn’t achieve air superiority, it would be an utter disaster beyond belief.

“What does Lukas say?”

“The operation is still a go, but we still need to investigate the unknown,” Lisa added. “The 120th was sent to investigate, but there’s no contact with them yet.”

“So, they’re gone too,” Bell grabbed on his head, having a sudden headache.

“You could say that.”

“Should we classify this as a local phenomenon? They seem to be unbothered by the coalition,” Bell added.

“Agree, the phenomenon only applies to a select region, it won’t bother too much, but I will keep an eye on it, just in case.”

“Yeah, Operation Northern Blackout is still a go.”

“Keep me updated.”

“I will.”