The plane was cruising normally as far as I could tell, and the flight had been uneventful. Well, except for the fact that Mikey seemed to flinch every time I moved my arm. His eyes seemed to almost constantly dart between the gauges and my claws. He denied being scared when I brought it up, but his nose never stopped twitching. Everything was pretty quiet, with only Bucky occasionally giving headings and ETAs over the intercom. Andy eventually piped up:

"Y'know, it's funny…"

"What is?" I asked.

"She saw you… she took your picture even… yet she didn't say a word to me…"

"Well… maybe she didn't see you."

"Yeah… maybe…"

"Or maybe she likes him better than you." Marty interrupted. "Maybe it's like a thing for her."

"Shut up, Marty." Andy warned.

"Yeah, I bet she's into preds. I'll bet you claws turn her on or something like that."

"Shut. Up. Now."

"Or you know what? Maybe it's the teeth! Yeah, it's gotta be the teeth. She probably wants him to bite her."

"Pretty please, shut your fucking mouth."

"Come on, man, stop." I tried to diffuse the situation.

"Say, Andy, what's it like having a preddo for a sister?"

As Marty's laughter filled the intercom, I turned towards Andy, being barely able to see him past the armoured bulkhead in the back of the cockpit. I hadn't seen him angry before and looking at him now, I kinda wish I never had. He was shaking, the fury clear in his eyes and… then in a moment it was all gone. He took a deep breath before replying:

"Well, it could be a lot worse… She could be dating you!"

The cabin erupted in laughter in less than two seconds, Marty's protests being barely audible by comparison. Even Mikey seemed to chuckle a bit, which was a welcome break from his earlier paranoia.

"And I thought rabbits couldn't go savage!" Eddie all but shouted after catching his breath.

The cabin fell into a comfortable silence for a short while. I took some time to admire the view as we crossed the coastline, the blues of the ocean being replaced by sandy beaches, which were quickly replaced themselves by green fields. It was a nice moment. Until I heard Andy on the radio:

"Sir, we've got company! Squadron lead's reporting six bandits dead ahead!"

"Shit… Alright, fellas, man your guns back there!"

No more than 5 seconds after I pressed the switch to turn on the electrical power for the turrets, Bucky made the first callout on the radio:

"Coming in, 12 o'clock high! Eddie, get out of the way!" He yelled as he squeezed past Eddie to reach the controls for the nose turret.

Looking up was a mistake. No words can describe what I felt right now, as I saw the small silhouette of an enemy fighter grow larger and larger. Then it started shooting, and the noise of its cannons was joined by that of Bucky's machine guns for a moment, before the plane screeched past and disappeared between the rest of the bombers behind us.

"Marty, 6 o'clock! Get him! Get him!" Andy yelled.

"He's out of range, I can't hit him until he makes another pass!"

"Shit!"

"Hang on, he's coming back around! Eat lead, you bastard!"

What I wouldn't give for all around visibility right now, I can't see anything behind me but the rest of this damn plane!

"I got him! I got the bastard!" Marty celebrated.

The crippled plane quickly came into view, passing just above the fuselage and banking hard, followed by a massive trail of white vapor, narrowly missing a bomber to our right.

"That's one down, where the hell are the other fi-"

Andy couldn't even finish his question before it was answered in the form of a shower of cannon rounds punching through the plane's skin.

"Shit! Masks on, fellas, looks like we're going unpressurized again." I warned over the intercom. Luckily, we were all already wearing our boots and gloves, and for me at least, it was only a matter of putting on my own mask. One thing was clear about these things: they were not designed for canines, or anyone with a long muzzle, really, since I could barely move my mouth while wearing them. Then again, I suppose I should be thankful that they even bothered to give me one that actually fits at all.

"Andy, you've got one coming in! 2 o'clock high!" Mikey warned, his voice sounding much more nasal due to the mask.

Once again, I couldn't see the fighter past all the controls that took up the space between the two rooftop windows, but I could hear the loud whine of the engine grow louder and louder.

"I see him, he's diving! Charlie, get ready down there, looks like he's going underneath us!"

"Where!? I can't see him!"

"2 o'clock!" Mikey shouted, right before the plane screeched past us, being briefly visible through the right window as it dove beneath the plane and came out on the other side. "No, 8 o'clock! He's passing on your 8 o'clock!"

"He's going too fast! Marty!"

"I see him, I see him, calm down." Marty replied. "Wait… Son of a… Shit! I lost him!"

"What do you mean you lost him!?" Eddie asked, panic filling his voice.

"I mean I don't see him, dumbass."

"Well fucking find him!"

Everything became unnervingly quiet as we searched for the fighter. Seconds felt like hours and the constant tick-tick-tick-tick of my wristwatch was starting to drive me insane. Can no else hear this stupid noise? I'm sure everyone else also has one, how the hell are they staying so quiet? Charlie's sudden shout over the intercom quickly put an end to those thoughts and brought me back to reality:

"There he is! 5 o'clock! He's going after Nelson!"

"Well what the fuck are you waiting for? Shoot him!" Marty yelled.

"My turret doesn't go that far up! Fuck, he's just barely out of reach! Andy?"

"I'm on it!" Andy confirmed, turning the turret and opening fire. "I can't tell if I'm hitting him or not... Wait, wait! He's banking!"

"Did you get him?"

"I don't think so… can't see any damage. I'm guessing he's out of ammo."

"Well, at least that's one less to worry about."

And once again the plane became quiet enough for me to hear the damn ticking of my watch. That and Mikey's heavy breathing...Or was that my own? I couldn't tell anymore.

"Anybody got eyes?" I asked, still partly in panic mode.

"Negative, none." Andy replied.

"Looks like we're clear." Charlie added.

"How many did we get?" I asked, trying to get my breathing under control.

"Uh… Marty got one… I think Dice's gunner got one too… I think that's it." Charlie answered.

"How many did they get!?" Eddie asked, clearly still startled as well.

"Uh, let's see… 12, 13, 14… None, but they tore up Nelson's bird something fierce. That's a lot of smoke."

"And we've still got the flak to look forward to." Eddie added. "Great… Just great!"