"Hey! Katsuo!" Captain Bartlett called across the hanger as he broke into a sprint accompanied by the clinking of beer bottles.
The younger captain raised his head to the side, exposing a lit cigarette and a smirk on his face. "One of those are for me, eh Jack?" He said as he raised his hand.
"Catch." Jack said, tossing ond of the bottles to his friend. "You know we're stuck training nuggets tomorrow morning, right?"
Katsuo cracked the bottle open and brought it to his lips, taking a long swig before finally nodding "Yeah I heard. You know, my sister will be one of em."
Barlett raised an eyebrow "That kid you always keep in that locket around your neck? Isn't she a bit young to follow in her old brothers footsteps?" His voice still as joking as ever, he already knew the answer that was coming next.
"Yeah yeah, I get it. Im old...but you know how important she is to me, I've taken care of her since our parents died, she's all I have...I'd never forgive myself if she got hurt up there." Katsuo's voice grew serious as he let the cigarette fall from his lips.
Bartlett put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll be her instructors, she'll be fine." his voice more sincere, but a grin still on his face. "We'd better get ready for tomorrow, I'll see you at briefing tomorrow."
"Yeah Jack, sure thing." Katsuo stood up, heading to his room just as the sun started to dip below the horizon.
Looking in the mirror as he dressed for bed, he sighed. His black hair was buzzed, his face was clean shaven, his uniform was clean and pressed like that of a model soldier. "Same shit, different day..." he said to himself as he looked down at the badge on his chain, "Katsuo Nagase, age 30, Wolfpack Squadron...Jesus, I AM getting old."
The next morning, Jack and one other instructor briefed the rookie pilots, the look of irritation on Jack's face was quite clear. "Everyone get to your planes! Our third instructor is already on patrol with Wolfpack. We can't let Wardog fall behind. Move it nuggets! Oh, and reporter, you're with me." He pointed to the young man who clearly looked out of place, causing a slight shake from the reporter.
Each pilot shot off a salute at their orders and rushed to the hangars, their planes starting up one by one.
"Alright nuggets, stick close to me, especially you Wardog 2, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself into." Bartlett's voice barked over the comms.
"Yes sir." The quiet voice of the only female pilot in the squadron said, her voice showed no sign of fear.
"Nice of you to join us Wardog! This is Wolfpack 1. We're getting reports of a large unknown presence and my pack is hungry. What's your plan Heartbreak 1?" Katsuo's voice seemed to mirror Barlett's.
As soon as Katsuo finished speaking, a voice from the control room on the ground came over the comms "Wardog, Wolfpack, we're detecting numerous unknown aircraft at high altitude, move to intercept and engage only if necessary."
Bartlett's voice grew serious yet again "Alright nuggets, stay low and out of the fight! The instructors and I can take care of this."
Bartlett and his wingman brought their planes to altitude, forming up with Katsuo and his squadron.
"Looks like Migs Jack, think that old girlfriend of yours is coming back to nab you?" Katsuo jokes before a loud beeping indicating he's being tracked interrupts him. "Tally ho boys, get around these bastards and take em down," the young captain barked, laughing as he took his plane down towards the ground, diving on the enemy planes.
Bartlett and the rest of the pilots followed Katsuo. "Wardog, this is Hearbreak 1! Control got it wrong, you're heading right for the enemy. Take evasive action!"
Just before the instructors made it to their recruits, fireballs began erupting below them, the inexperienced pilots were getting picked off one by one, their cries for help were cut off by screams and static.
"Jack, let's show em our bite is as bad as our bark. On me!" Katsuo said as he rolled his plane into the fray. Within minutes, numerous hostile aircraft were destroyed, but the recruits had fared much worse.
"Did any of em get out?" A slightly disheartened Bartlett asked over comms, fearing the worst.
"We've got one recruit being tailed by a Mig, I'll be damned if another kid dies on my watch!" Katsuo shouted back, his voice full of anger and determination. He raced towards the pair, flying directly at the recruit "Kid, when I say so, I want you to pull up straight. Understood?"
"Understood sir!" The young female responded, causing Katsuo to smile a bit.
"Three...two...one...Now! Pull up now!" He shouted as his cannons began to roar.
The girl in Wardog 2 pulled up hard, rolling back over the Mig, which was now engulfed in flames.
"Nice flying Wardog 2...and if you ever cause your big brother to worry like that again, enemy fire will be the least of your worries." He said with a laugh "Let's get back to the airfield Jack, I'm sure command will want our heads on a platter for their incompetence."
On the ground, Katsuo ran to his sisters plane and pulled her into a hug "Almost as good as your big brother," He laughs "but don't ever do something that risky again."
Kei smiled, returning the hug "it's been too long Katsuo..." Her voice trailed off as Bartlett approached from behind.
"I hate to interrupt the reunion Katsuo, but I just got word, we're to have our asses chewed out by command...guess we shouldn't keep them waiting," Bartlett said with a sigh, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder "come on."
Katsuo pulled away and shot his sister a smile "Come find my pups and I in the hangar later this evening. I'll introduce you to everyone." He said before turning on his heel and following Bartlett inside, ready for yet another reprimanding...