Author's notes:
Naruto not mine, sueing will just waste your money... same goes for any other movie or game I may use in this story, just in case you wonder.
And now the important stuff: This is actually my second attempt on a story, and I thank symbiotic for the idea. I wanted to do 10k words a chapter, but I guess I wouldn't survive that :P. So I guess it'll be 4k per chapter. Chapters may come in intervals varying from one week to two months (hopefully the max). There may be a few typos here and there when my keyboard decides to "miss" a key, but otherwise it should be fine.
To possible reviewers: flaming will be ignored, constructive criticism is always welcome. Don't go "but the P51 has a top speed of XYZ instead of ABC" on me, it won't kill the story if something isn't one hundred percent accurate. Also I'd like to ask reviewers to drop ideas for a new title for this story, as my title... sucks.
Trivia: Yes, you heard it, there is trivia to my story. You may find interesting side-facts about my story in my profile. Trivia for chapter one is up already. But okay, this was enough taking up your time, on with the story.
Sunrays in the morning
The weather forecast said nothing about heavy rain, or strong winds that almost blew you out of the sky. Yet there it was: The worst storm he'd seen in his entire career as a pilot. Okay he hadn't been flying that long yet, but he was sure this wasn't your everyday storm in any way or form.
He knew something was wrong about this when his compass started whirling around like mad. Great, now he would have to guess his position. The radio didn't work since before the storm showed itself behind some hills. He really should have slept in today.
"This is FC air force twenty – six six three. Does someone read me? I've been caught in a heavy storm at the southern Forest country border. I repeat, this is FC air force twenty – six six three on a delivery flight to the Forest country capital. Is anyone out there?"
"Of course, no response… figures." His plane shook violently and all of a sudden his world began to turn. "Ohh shit!" Trying to gain control over his machine again he pushed the stick hard to the left, but nothing happened, aside from the spinning slowing down for a second. Looking out of the windows he gritted his teeth. "And of course the only place to land on is a rocky valley. Just my luck."
Concentrating all of his efforts into stabilizing his flight so he won't crash upside down he managed to counter the rolling for the most part. "If you dare giving in on me I'll have you scrapped I swear." Okay, after this you're likely scrap anyway but hell… then he saw them. Spikes bigger than most planes he'd ever seen sticking out of the cliffs left and right. "Yust screw you all!" he dove down, looking for an opening in between the thorns.
"Ookay… just have to pull through here and find some field… shit… SHIIIIIIT!" Dodging to the left and rolling until his plane was flying vertically he just made it through an opening that barely left space to squeeze a child through. "WHAT'S IT WITH THIS FREAKING VALLEY?!?" Then, all of a sudden he found himself in a dead end.
"Huh?" Sweatdroppping he pushed the throttle to full and pulled the stick, hoping to climb enough to reach the top. It was then that he got caught in a strong gust of wind that pushed him back down into the valley.
"NOO!"
"Say, you forced her to do recon again?" Walking alongside, two friends looked through a clipboard one of them was holding. "Nobody forced anyone. I just asked for volunteers." The first snorted. "In other words: You waited till you two were alone and shoved the duty off to her." A smile and happy nod was the answer. "You're such a bad person." The second one shrugged. "We're pirates. Being nice isn't part of the job description." The first slapped her forehead.
"So where was she sent?" They flipped pages, looking at a map. "Over here, the something-something cliffs. Pretty nasty when you fly around there in heavy weather, or so I heard. Boss told us something about a radio signal coming from there, maybe something we can salvage." The first one gave an exasperated sigh. "You could at least try to remember the names of the important landmarks of the countries we travel… Those are the fallen angel's cliffs. And those are already quite challenging with sunny weather. I tell you if she gets hurt I'll have your head…"
"ALL OFFICERS TO THE BRIDGE. WE HAVE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM THE MAINBASE." They stopped their discussion and headed for the bridge. "And what do those stagehand idiots want now?" She seriously hoped they didn't promise their services to some rich idiot like last time. At least it was funny to watch him hang down our stern crying for mommy.
She had no idea where to start her search. Most places were not visible from the altitude she was flying at, but going down meant flying through a labyrinth of stone pillars that at most places were way too close to each other to fit through with a biplane.
She was about to turn back when she saw that glimpse of bright red at one of the natural stone bridges. Flying a wide arc around it she found not only a pretty much beaten up plane but also the pilot, hanging on some spikes of the bridge with his parachute. "Oh, my…" Searching for an adequate spot to land she got down and ran over to where the chute was, securing it with a rope and pulling the unconscious pilot back up.
He looked quite beaten, and it took him a few minutes to actually wake up. When he considered himself able to stand (or in that case jump) up again the first thing he did was running over to his plane, his savior pulling him back and saving from falling down the cliff. "My plane… I had to reuse parts from four different machines to get her running again…"
"Anou… at least you seem to be unharmed. You should be glad for this." He looked back at her. "So what? That plane was my life! Damn air force idiots are short on planes and I had one. I have no idea if I'll ever get a new one…" He looked down. "Also, how the heck am I supposed to get those scrolls to the capital… No, wait. How the hell am I supposed to get to the scrolls?!?"
He started climbing down, despite her soft protests. "I'll be right back, but I need to get those scrolls!" With that he slid down, occasionally cursing on the rocks that stood in the way. In the meantime she got another rope and let it down to the bottom, securing her end at one of the larger boulders around.
While skimming through the remnants of his plane's cockpit he estimated the damage his plane took. That's what you call a total loss, isn't it… completely beyond repair. Taking the small box from underneath his seat he moved over to where the rope hung down and climbed up, taking a lot longer than on the way down but making it without major injuries.
"Say, you can't by any chance give me a ride to the capital?" She shook her head. "I need to refuel, and even then my range is not enough, even with external tanks." He sighed. "So you know any nearby airfield where I could get a plane that has the range to go there?"
She shook her head. "No airfield. There is the Zero, the airship I'm operating from. But we don't have any other planes than this type so I doubt we can get you there…" Climbing into her plane she motioned him to take the front seat. "You think I could get your captain to change course?" He took the internal radio and the flight goggles, ignoring the flight cap. "That one makes me really nostalgic, I had my first fly in a biplane…"
He turned around. "But you know; this field doesn't look like you have enough space to start." She started the engine and slowly maneuvered the plane to the other side, taking a turn. "The space we need is just below" He nodded to himself before jerking around and jelling at her. "You want to use the valley? You'll kill us!"
He was conveniently ignored as she pulled the throttle to full and started accelerating. "Hey are you listening? I tell you to stop dammit! I just came out of that pit! Helloo?!?" Too late, they were already falling down the cliff. "You know, you can pull her up now. Hey? Those cliffs are really pointy and all, I'd like you to pull up nooow!!!" She did as he asked, gliding a few meters over the ground for a second before gaining height and heading north.
"I wouldn't have thought that an air force pilot is such a scaredy cat." He grumbled something to himself. "What was that? You have to speak a little louder." He was silent for a few seconds, before repeating. "I'm not yet an official pilot. Getting those papers to the capital was the condition to make me one…" he crossed his arms and stared at the country below, deciding to sulk in silence for the time being.
"Captain? We cannot make contact with the messenger. Last known position was the Stone country border." Gritting his teeth the captain tossed his pen into the trash can. "I knew it was a bad idea to let him fly." The radio operator took the can and tossed the contents out of the window and into the garbage container below. "Then why did you promote the idea to the commander?"
"I didn't. The commander came up with it herself. I guess he annoyed the hell out of her until she gave in." Taking out a map of the Stone country/Forest country border he sketched the messenger's most likely course. "Go ask the commander if we can send out someone to look for him. I'll go and get a plane ready."
Running down from the radar station to the command barracks the radio operator was halted by one of the Aircraft mechanics. "You having any information about a sortie? The pilots have been called to the flight office. But we don't have the time to get all planes ready." He shook his head. "The only flight operation for the next twelve hours should be a reconnaissance mission. But you should get ready to move out. Our messenger went missing; we may need to move closer to the border in a few days."
Entering the command barracks he bumped into a tall man "My apologies, Sir, but is the commander here? It is about the delivery mission from yesterday." The man nodded, pointing to the commander's office. "She's in a conference though. What's the matter?"
"We lost contact to the pilot sir, and the duty officer wants to know if he has permission to start a search." Turning the man shoved the radio operator into the room. "Glasses here just told me that your kiddo went missing. You want to send someone to search for him?"
"Hey, it's rude to call me…" he was silenced by the commander, who in turn stood up and walked over to the window. "Tell the battalion to prepare, we may have to move out sometime soon. We'll wait until tomorrow for out pilot to contact us, then we'll move. And tell the captain that this order is absolute."
"So why are you using a Biplane? They are quite agile, but they can't keep up to modern planes anymore." There was a short period of silence before she answered. "We can't. The Zero is not suited for aircraft operations, she's just too small. These FW 44 are slow enough to be pulled in by the grappling hook, and to start from it again. Also we wouldn't be able to hold a plane with more span than this one has in the Hangar."
"Hmm… why don't you fit a runway on the airship?" She shook her head, barely visible in the mirror. "The Zero was a prototype, and unlike the newer airships too small to fit a runway on. But it's not as bad, we were able to manage with our FWs, and I enjoy flying like this."
Turning around another mountain top a large airship came out of the clouds. "Zero? This is flight One-O-Three, requesting to dock at the hook." Two minutes passed until they got response. "We'll turn her into the wind, wait a minute. I'll give you green light at the hook when you can dock."
They circled the airship in a wide arc until a large metal hook came out of the lower hull, snapping into position under a loud screech. "Uhh… sounds trustworthy…" They flew in from the stern, slowing down until they were right below the hook. She pulled a handle, and a mechanism pulled the upper wing onto the hook. They were lifted in, and the bay doors closed, securing the plane's footing.
Jumping down they headed for the bridge, being greeted by two girls who immediately flanked the boy. "Good thing you're back already. The boss said this place will become troublesome soon." Opening a door they moved in, greeting the person standing next to the helm.
"I'm back sir. And I found this…" she was interrupted when the boss walked up to the boy. "Name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, Fire country air force pilot."
"Sir."
"Huh?"
"I'm the commanding officer. It's Uzumaki Naruto, Sir."
"My apologies… Sir."
"What's your business in this country?"
"Uhh. I didn't see any markings on this ship; does it belong to the Forest county air force?"
"Sir."
"Uhh, yes… Sir."
"Do I have to repeat my question?"
"I have been sent to deliver urgent messages to the Forest country capital. These scrolls…" He was cut off when the captain took the scrolls from him. Removing the seal he took his time reading them, seemingly over and over.
"Helmsman…" The girl in front of the helm turned, glaring. "Helmswoman, sexist idiot." The captain sighed, whatever. "Turn to the northeast, we move to the capital. Sakura?" One of the girls stepped forward. "Take him to the radio room, let him talk to his superiors. Have him find out how much time is left till this happens. I'll give a message to the crew when you're done, you'll find me in the map room."
Naruto was yanked into a smaller room and sat in front of a radio. Taking the headset he turned a few wheels and flipped a switch. "FC air force seventh battalion, this is FC air force twenty – six six three, do you read me? I repeat this is FC air force twenty – six six three for FC air force seventh battalion…" It took a few minutes before he got a reaction. "This is FC air force, seventh battalion, Corporal O'Reilly. Man where did you go, the captain is panicking over here and the commander prepares for a war. Did you deliver the scrolls?"
"No. I got into some storm a few kilometers into the Forest country. Blew my plane to bits. I've been picked up by a military airship, but it seems they have no planes that can go the distance to the capital. Can you get me the commander?" There was some light shuffling on the other side. "I sent a messenger, she should be here shortly." Naruto sighed. "And just when I get my fist single mission. So how's the captain?"
"I tossed out five bins of trash. And he threw a pencil at me. I really don't like it when he's nervous." Naruto laughed, despite the situation. "Don't worry about it. He'll be back to normal when he finds out that I'm alright… probably." There was some more shuffling and another person joined into the conversation. "So you got in over your head Uzumaki? I thought you were ready for everything?"
"It's not like I had a say in it. There was one of the nastiest storms I've ever seen, pushed me into some spiky cliffs. Had my ass dangling in the chute there for hours" Someone snickered in the background. "Radar shut it!" There was a soft click in the line and then silence. "Eavesdropping brat. So what about the papers?"
"I've got them here. But this airship doesn't have any planes that can go to the capital. The captain already set a course there, but it may take longer…" There was a brief silence. "If you can't get the scrolls there within the next twelve hours we're in some big trouble. How far are you from there?" Naruto turned to Sakura. "Say, how far is it to the Forest country capital?" She walked over to a map. "One thousand five hundred kilometers, give or take a few."
Naruto relayed the information. "An airship won't make it in time. Try to find an airfield and get your ass to the capital." Naruto was dismissed and asked Sakura to take him to the map room. "So, what did they say?" Naruto walked forward. "We have twelve hours to get there." Taking a look at the map and the course the boss had sketched out for them he doubted that they'd make it in time.
"Can this airship make it?"
"Sir."
"Do we really have the time for this kind of stuff."
"On my ship it's my rules. No, the Zero travels at one hundred Kilometers per hour. We could go faster, but the engines three and four are down for maintenance… Our best shot would be sending you with one of the FWs."
"But don't these have…"
"Yes, a range of five hundred fifty kilometers, six hundred if the conditions are good. Take a look at this:" He motioned to the map. "This is Hondo airfield, four hundred twenty kilometers north from the capital. It's one of three airfields in the Forest country. If we get you in range you can go to the capital from there. We should be able to get in range within the next four hours. From there you should make it in no time."
Naruto squinted at the boss. "What's the catch? I mean you scrapped five other courses before coming up with that one."
"Yeah, well… the problem is that we are not exactly welcomed in that area. I don't know if they'll let you refill there. On the other hand there is no other way." Naruto looked over the map. "No other airfields… this country doesn't have much of an air force. Then how did you get this airship?"
"I think you misunderstand something here. We don't belong to the Forest country air force. We operate independent of any country's jurisdiction." Naruto gulped. "In other words… you are pirates." The boss smiled at him "Jup. So you wanna go down? I'll get you a pilot. We also need to refit the plane, if you encounter a patrol it'd be bad if you were unarmed."
Climbing up a ladder and walking over a bridge on the middle framework they had a look over the planes, and a few people scurrying around between them. "I guess best choice would be using the One-O-One… the tanks were modified and the engine output increased. The range is a little better, but we'd have to leave you with two light MGs."
Naruto looked at the plane. "You removed some of the plating on the wings, didn't you? Does she have self-closing tanks?" The boss shook his head. "The others have, but this one is pretty old and we didn't have parts to upgrade it. This plane was delivered with the airship, that's where the modifications came from."
Naruto shook his head. "I'd prefer one of the normal planes. If we really encounter enemy planes we're screwed with this one. We'll manage even with less range." The boss nodded, signaling one of the mechanics to come up. "Then how about you fly with Hinata in the One-O-Three?" Naruto leaned over the ledge, searching for the plane in question. "Which one?"
"The one you came in with. You know, with the dark haired girl?" Naruto nodded… "Okay… but can I ask what kind of weaponry you have to equip it with?" The mechanic stopped next to them. "I will, if it's alright." The boss nodded briefly. "Well you can get four light MGs in the wings or we can mount a twin MG that shoots through the propeller's blades. We could also refit the second seat with a turntable MG that points backwards."
"Anything you'd prefer to have?" Naruto thought about it for a second. "The twin MG and the second seat refit please. I guess that will do best. We'll try to outrun any enemies we encounter, better than wasting our gas in a dogfight." The boss nodded and sent the mechanic down to apply the changes. "Okay, I'll announce the change of plans to the crew, then I'll brief you and your pilot in the map room. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."
While Naruto searched his way back to the map room the captain made his announcement. "ATTENTION TO ALL HANDS. WE GAINED INFORMATION THAT THE FOREST COUNTRY'S DAIMYO IS TO BE ASSASSINATED AND THE COUNTRY IS TO BE TAKEN OVER BY ONE OF THEIR MILITARY LEADERS. SINCE THIS AFFAIR COULD ENDANGER OUR BUSINESS IN THIS COUNTRY WE'LL HELP ONE OF KONOHA'S PILOTS TO REACH THE COUNTRY AND HAND OVER SECRET DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE PLANS OF THE ASSASSINATION. HINATA IS TO REPORT AT THE MAP ROOM AT ONCE, I ALSO WANT THE ENGINEERING CREW TO MAKE THE REPAIR OF ENGINES THREE AND FOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY."
Assassination? He didn't know about this. But it made sense, looking at how his commander put him into so much pressure to reach the capital in time. Looking into one of the rooms he closed the door again. Where was that room again? Wait, what was that? He reopened the door again, only to blush and slam it shut. I'm innocent, I really didn't see anything…
When he finally found the room the captain was waiting for him. "And they say I'm tardy. Where have you been?" Naruto blushed. "Got lost, opened the wrong doors." The boss arched an eyebrow, but didn't ask any further. "Well it's no problem, seeing as Hinata is not here yet." As on cue, the door opened, revealing a slightly blushing girl. "Sorry Sir, I was changing." Naruto froze. She seemed to know someone had seen her, but had she seen him?
She didn't mention anything about that though, and instead sat down on a chair in the corner. "Okay, let's start." He handed them a small clipboard with a map of the region. "I put in a few notes about the most important stuff. First things first: Hinata you'll take the front seat and pilot, Naruto will handle the turntable MG. You are to fly straight to the airfield, get your plane refueled and head straight for the capital. No dogfighting, no stalling. Time is the most important factor now. "
They both nodded. "Any stuff we should watch out for?" He looked at the clipboard, flipping through the notes. "Yes, there are some rivaling pirate crews; some of the rebelling military leaders could have sent planes to attack you. And at the Hondo airfield there is some heavy flak stationed. Don't know where exactly though."
"Anything else?" The captain rubbed his chin, thinking about it for a few seconds. "Yes, Hinata's flight style is kinda irresponsible at times. Don't forget to take a barf bag, you know just in case…"
"Wha… I don't… I never…" Turning between the boss and Naruto she flailed with violently with her arms, blushing madly. "Don't worry, I already know." Smiling at each other they observed her reaction. "That's so mean..."
"I told you, he's fine. We're sending a patrol to pick him up tomorrow. For now you should worry about the flight plan for tomorrow. If he can't make it in time we'll have to move to the Tanis airfield and we don't have enough transport planes and trucks." The captain sighed, crumpling together a piece of paper and tossing it into the trashcan.
"Aye, Sir. I'll organize a few trucks from the eleventh division."
"Aye is a Navy term, stop using it already. Have O'Reilly do that. I want you to go to the hangars and get the mechanics, they have to refit the cargo planes and load in the spare parts. We also need to make sure we have enough pilots when we move out."
"I'll take care of it. Is there anything else I should know about?" The commander was silent for a moment. "The Forest country does not have any airships… still Naruto said he has been picked up by one." The captain nodded. "Pirates?"
"Maybe… since they let him contact us I guess they'll help him, but we should make sure we pick him up at the capital, no matter if gets there in time. I guess we can afford sending in a two seated scout to do this. Would you care to choose the pilot and have him come to my office in five hours? I've been ordered to meet with the higher-ups."
"Okay kiddo, this is the Bren auto rifle, commonly known as BAR. You know how to shoot a rifle?" Naruto nodded. "They taught us how to shoot with pistols, machine pistols and rifles. I can handle myself. But isn't that thing a little bit overkill?"
"Hinata gets a Thompson. should you get into a fight inside buildings, but I'd feel better if you take a gun that has some more range and accuracy." Naruto nodded again. "Whatever you say. Anything else before we move out?" The boss nodded. "When you land on the airfield you're still one kilometer away from the administrative buildings. You'll have to get a car. But try not to raise too much attention; it may become hard to get to the daimyo with the local police on your heels."
"Okay. We'll move out then." He climbed up into the plane and put on his radio, as well as the flight goggles. "You ready over there?" There was a nod from the front seat. Giving the boss a thumbs-up he waited for the hatch to open. "So then let's get some work done, right?"
They were lowed down and she started the engine. "This is the One-O-Three. We're moving out to Hondo airfield now." Releasing the hook they glided down a few meters before they had gained enough speed climb up again. "Okay, according to the map we have to head northeast, 35 degrees. We should reach the airfield within the next one and a half hours."
There was a short period of silence while she set up their course. "So… what did you see?" Naruto winced. "You noticed?!" There was another period of silence. "Uhh… I really didn't see much, really. I didn't even want to…" She cut him off. "That's alright… but… you know… next time please knock before you enter."
There as another brief period of silence before Naruto asked. "How did you know it was me?"
"… I didn't… It was… a guess I took from your reactions in the map room." Naruto sweatdropped. "So you just bullshitted me when you said you knew?"
"Anou… I never said I knew… I just asked what you saw…"
"For someone who appears to be rather shy you're quite cunning, aren't you?"
"T… Thank you…"
"But there is something about you that bothers me." He could see her shifting nervously. "And that would be?"
"Red polka dots don't quite fit you."
Finishing notes:
Q: Why don't they fly with the airship till they are in range to fly directly to the capital?
A: If they fly directly they have a time window of half an hour to reach the daimyo and stop the attack, if they fly using the airfield as rally point they have more than two hours to do so. Need more reason? Cause I want them to :P.
Yes, so this is the first chapter... hope you enjoyed reading... but note that there will be no chapter two until I get one review for this one. (a habit I'll keep for future chapters).
Also have fun guessing who is who in this chapter. The "boss" should be easy, but let's see if you find out the other ones.