2010
Approaching sand island
55th air guards division
Col. Andrei Korolev sat in the cockpit of his Su-27, leading the squadron of MiG-29s behind him. With his weapons armed, he looked ahead knowing the Osea would have planes operational.
His thoughts were interrupted when his radar picked up a large formation of Osean fighters. Ordering his squadron into formation, he gripped his flight stick as they came closer and closer.
To his surprise, the majority of the enemy squadron headed to a lower altitude, hoping to avoid the inevitable.
"These guys are nuggets. Destroy them."
With the tone of a missile lock in his ears, he fired a missile and dove into the fray, leading his squadron into a furball. Tailing an F-5E, he switches to his guns and fires a short burst into the enemy bird, destroying it completely.
Looking behind him, he saw an F-4 tail him and fire a missile. Cursing, Andrei drops flares and turns away from his attacker. Looking for another target, he sees his pilots are tearing thru the Osean counterparts with little resistance. Bullets wiz past his canopy and Andrei performs a Cobra to avoid his attacker.
This enemy is quite determined to fight. The Osean forces the plane into tight maneuvers, but Andrei notices a flaw in the pilots maneuvers. He pulls up and rolls his jet over, once again in sight of his stubborn prey.
With a missile lock secured, he fires at his enemy and watches as the weapon misses and the old fighter jet turns… right into his bullets. Andrei stays on the tail of his enemy and locks on with his guns. He fires past the canopy, clearly getting the pilots attention.
Andrei moves in formation next to the F-5 and looks at his enemy. The defeated pilot drops the mask and flips up the visor and Andrei follows suit. He is shocked at how young she is, and briefly feels sympathy for her. He waggles his wings and salutes her, deeming her a worthy opponent. She responds in turn and he joins his squadron as they head home, flying at sea level to avoid the anti-air guns, if the Osean base had any active at the time.
Why Osea cut back their military was beyond him. The Usean continental war was only five years old, and Osea still didn't build up. But that didn't matter. Yuktobania would win the coming war.