Chapter 11

{long chapter :P}

"Start up already!"

The Ho-229's engines gave a whine, a few putts and quit.

"Guess you're going to have to take the P-40." Erich wasn't sure what was wrong either.

Old German engines had reliability problems. Having sailed north to reach the Pravada battlefield, the cold didn't help.

I was wearing a heavy leather jacket, a leather pilot's helmet, and thick gloves. The girls were wearing nothing more than a sweater and a short skirt. I felt a bit sorry for them, as they must be freezing. Erich told me to over-prepare. I felt a bit out of place being the only one with any sort of heavy clothing, but at least I felt warm.

The P-40 itself was also a bit over-prepared. The wheels were replaced with skis, and my bailout kit was re-stocked with three days worth of food, new flaregun rounds, and a portable stove. The plane was repainted in white, and a 500lb. bomb was slung under the fuselage. New regulations to aircraft in Sensha-do were also in place:

1. A pilot can NOT fire on the flag tank.

2. A pilot can be male (seeing as I'm male, they grandfathered me in.)

3. The aircraft used can only be in service during 1940-1945 or have been designed in that period.

4. The aircraft is only considered "knocked out" if it is out of flying condition, or the pilot bails out midair. If the plane is capable of a safe landing, it is considered of flying condition. Wherein a "safe landing" is defined as a landing in which no further structural damage to the air frame is suffered during touchdown.

5. The aircraft must NOT be specifically designed for air to ground warfare. (This was a countermeasure to Pravada's last match, where they brought in an IL-2 and completely wiped out all opposition. Good to know that I (and the Ooarai Sensha-do team in general) won't have to face off against an IL-2.)

And lastly:

6. Only one aircraft can be used per match.

I climbed up into the P-40, started up the engines, and took to the air. The match against Pravada has begun.

The match started pretty easy. We knocked out a few tanks, and they just kept on retreating.

"This seems too easy... Why are they running away?"

"Maybe because we are chasing them with our tanks?"

We kept on charging forward. I spotted a little I-16 right below me. Easy prey. I dived, guns blazing. Whoever was in that I-16 must have been pretty scared. He (assuming he/she was male) just throttled up fully and shot away. I gave chase. By this time, we were pretty low, and I had to dip my nose down a few seconds to fire off a shot, then lift my nose back up to avoid hitting the ground. The enemy pilot pulled up a bit to avoid some trees, right into my gunsight. I fired a long burst.

DAKA DAKA DAKA DAKA!

BOOM!

The I-16 was down. Maybe Saori was right. This was a bit too easy. I crested a hill to find myself above a town, where I noticed most of the Pravada tanks all buttoned down and waiting.

BANG! A thick black cloud formed to the right of the cockpit. Another to the left. Flak! I had forgotten about flak!

BANG! The plane suddenly shuddered, and I lost a bit of my aileron controls. I looked to my left. The wing was fine. I looked to my right. There was a hole where the right aileron should have been. As long as I had my left aileron, I could manage. I shot down their I-16, so I wouldn't have to do any dogfighting. Thank god for the P-40's durability! I retreated from the area as fast as I could, only to find that Ooarai's tanks had caught up to me and were beginning to crest the hill. I got on my radio and practically shouted:

"Don't go past that hill!"

"Quiet Monty. We can't understand you." Saori just seemed so calm.

I calmed down a bit and tried again.

"They've set up just beyond that hill you are currently climbing." An Idea popped into my head. "If you were to stop on top of that hill, you could pick them off easily!"

A new voice poped up on the radio:

"This is Hippo team. We would like to suggest keeping up this momentum and pushing forward." It was Erwin. I knew that if they charged into the town, they would be blown to smithereens.

"I say again. DO NOT charge into the town. They are waiting for you there."

"Rommel didn't become famous for sitting there. He charged forward and claimed most of Northern Africa! I say we charge!"

"In the Battle of Britain, the RAF adopted a defensive strategy and was able to repel German fighters and bombers while heavily outnumbered. I think we could do the same."

"Your airplane tactics won't work with tanks."

I could see Hippo team was now pushing forwards anyway. The other teams slowly followed suit. I noticed Anglerfish team hesitating a bit, then moving forward. I thought to myself, "whatever." and dived back at the town.

Miho frantically looked around. The whole team was surrounded. Perhaps Monty was right.

"All tanks! Move to the large building to the southwest!"

The tanks raced toward the possibility of some hard cover. Ooarai was getting pounded.

"They've hit our tracks!" Hippo team was immobilized. She had to do something! Mako quickly maneuvered the Panzer IV in front of the vulnerable StuG III.

"The turret's jammed!"

"Inside the building!"

The Panzer IV entered the relative safety of the building, pushing along the StuG III with it.

Miho looked up to find Monty's P-40 being battered by anti-aircraft artillery in the distance. It began to trail smoke.

The P-40 shuddered. It couldn't take much more of this punishment. Things were looking grim. I put the gear (well, skis now) down and hastily set up a landing. I hit the ground a little harder than expected, and the whole plane shook as it careened through the snow. When I finally came to a rest, A part of me wanted to stay in the safety of the plane, while another part of me wanted to leave and find shelter. Was I knocked out? I didn't hear the familiar announcement over the radio. Perhaps I should go out and inspect the damage.

I opened the canopy to be bombarded with cold air. It bit at any uncovered part of my body. I put on my goggles and oxygen mask in an attempt to try and reduce this biting sensation on my face. It provided some relief, but still wasn't as effective as my jacket and gloves. I inspected the damage, and decided that it was fixable, but it wasn't a one-man job. I needed help. The only help possible was the girls. I grabbed my bailout kit, and started the long search for them. Every time I took a step, my foot would sink into the snow to about halfway up my calf. I needed to find them, so I kept on going... and going... and going... I looked back. The P-40 had disappeared. The wind picked up and I found myself in a big white world, alone.

"Head northeast!"

Did I just hear someone? I continued along my route.

"Northeast!" It was as if the wind itself was talking to me.

I looked around. I really was alone.

A strong gust of wind hit my face and urged me to move in a Northeastern direction. "What the heck. Might as well."

I continued on in my new route. The wind settled down a bit.

This is just great. "I'm going insane... I'm going insane..." I kept muttering that to myself. I eventually got bored, so I started singing. It was an american drinking song that me and my brother used to sing together. While it was about the Korean war, and it was in English, we adopted it as a marching song anyway:

{Yet again, yes, this is a real song. Look up "Save a fighter pilot's ass" by Oscar Brand.}

"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass save a fighter pilot's ass

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be safe!

I cruising down the Yalu, doing six-and-twenty per
I got a call from the major, "Oh, won't you save me, Sir!
Got three flak holes in my wingtips and my tanks are out of gas!
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I got six MiGs on my ass!"

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass save a fighter pilot's ass

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be safe!

Well, I shot my traffic pattern, to me it looked alright.
The airspeed read one-thirty, I really racked it tight!
Then the airframe gave a shudder, the engine gave a wheeze!
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Spin instructions please!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass save a fighter pilot's ass

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be safe!

Did a split-S on my bomb run, and I got too goddamn low,
Well I pressed that bloody button, and I let those babies go!
Sucked the stick back fast as blazes, when I hit a high speed stall,
Now I won't see my mother when the work's sold up next fall!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass save a fighter pilot's ass

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be safe!

Then they sent me down to Pyongyang, The brief said no attack.
By the time that I arrived there, my wings were mostly flak.
Then the engine coughed and sputtered, it was too cut up to fly,
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I'm too young to die!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass save a fighter pilot's ass

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be safe!"

When I was done singing, I looked up. I could see a fire in the distance. I kept on pushing forward with increased determination.

And then a wail from the direction of the fire:

"NONNA! I'm sleepy..."

I approached cautiously. I soon found myself standing right in front of Nonna, Pravada's vice commander. I've seen her in pictures, but never realized just how TALL she was.

"NONNA! What are you doing? GET HIM!" This came from some sort of sled. I assumed this was Katyusha, Pravada's commander.

I took that as my cue to run. I looked back. Instead of chasing me, Nonna casually walked to a radio.

"All tanks be on high alert. The enemy pilot is on the run."

I kept running. The snow made it hard to run, and I tripped a few times, but I persisted.

I ran into one of Pravada's teams. They gave chase. My right foot got stuck in some particularly soft snow, and I had a little bit of trouble getting it out. The Pravada girls were gaining on me. I was just about to prepare to be captured, but an idea crossed my mind. I took out the flaregun and loaded it as fast as I could. I aimed it just above the pursuing girls, and squeezed the trigger.

POP! FFFFFFEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW! BANG!

That slowed them down enough to allow me to unstick my leg and continue running. I soon found myself in the same town I was shot down over, and running through the alleyways. The wind whispered some more in my ear:

"Take a left."

I obeyed.

"Turn right."

I soon ran into a tall building that looked a bit like a church. I tried opening the door. It was either locked or frozen solid. I kicked it a few times. The door wouldn't budge. I then threw my whole body into the door, and broke in.

"AHHHH!" I managed to startle some of the occupants inside.

I noticed a few girls in front of me and instinctively pointed my flaregun at them.

"Don't shoot!"

I lifted my goggles and took off my oxygen mask. I could see the whole of the Ooarai team staring at me.

"Oh... heh... hi..." I scratched the back of my head, and wore a sheepish smile. (I believe the technical term is "bad poker face")

"Monty! Oh, and you could have just come it the other way..." I looked behind them to find a large opening. Oops. looks like I could have just went around. Well that was embarrassing.

A/N: I was planning on making the Pravada match one chapter, but I didn't want it to drag for too long.