Coming Out
The next day, Chopper and Grimm joined Kei and I as we were sitting in the crew room, just enjoying each other's company. Covertly.
"Look whose back," Chopper said, using the oldest cliché in the book of cliché.
"Welcome back, ma'am," Grimm said, continuing his use of verbal formality even as he stepped towards Kei for a hug. After she gave Chopper and him a quick bear hug each, they both sat down as she took her spot on a couch across from me once again.
"So, how was it?" Chopper asked as he prepared to get ready for a long story by wiggling his butt into the chair he had planted himself in.
"How was what?" Kei asked, a small smile on her face at the possibility of getting a rise out of Chopper. A possibility that quickly became a reality.
"What was it like, you big goof! It must've been something to have all those Yukes chasing you and not knowing if you were going to get out or not."
"I never doubted I would get out," she said looking at me with a look that I hoped Chopper and Grimm wouldn't pick up on. "But it was something," she continued looking back at Chopper and then Grimm.
"Well, tell us about it, then!" Chopper said throwing his hands up in the air in a half playful, half frustrated manner, either missing the look Kei had shot me or ignoring it in favor of trying to get some actionable details on Kei's experience. I had to admit to being just as curious as Chopper. I hadn't asked Kei yet, partially because I didn't know if she was ready to talk about it and partially because I knew she would tell me about it when she was ready.
"Well," she began with a contemplative look coming across her face as if the event were years ago instead of a few days. After a moment, she brought her gaze back to us to begin. "They're starting to get sick of this war, just like we are."
"Who are, ma'am?" Grimm asked, a confused scowl on his face.
"The Yuktobanian's," Kei answered casually.
"And you know this how?" Chopper asked disbelievingly
"When the helicopter that was sent to get me crashed, I ran over to the wreckage to check for survivors," Kei began. I got myself into a more comfortable position to listen, I could tell this was going to be a story. "When I got there, both the pilot and co-pilot were in their seats unconscious. I had realized my radio had stopped working when I landed because it was unusually quiet so after I made sure both pilots were okay, I tried to find another working radio but there was nothing salvageable. I dragged both pilots away from the plane before I rigged the plane for demolition per regulations. When the explosion went off, it got the two pilots up. One, the co-pilot I think, had something wrong with their right leg. After me and the other pilot made sure it wasn't broken we started heading towards what we thought was south east, knowing that was where friendly forces would be." She paused to close her eyes and shake her head.
"The pilot with the bum leg kept telling us to leave him behind, that he was slowing us down too much." She opened her eyes and looked at me quickly, a weak smile on her face. "He reminded me of when I first met you, all willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Had to give him a similar pep talk I gave you to get him to stop with that train of thought." She turned her attention back towards Chopper and Grimm. "Anyways, we kept going the way we thought was safe. I tried covering our tracks on the way and the other pilot who still had two good legs was helping the other limp along. We were doing great until the next day. That was when we were walking and stopped and stood dead still when we heard the distant sound of tanks and trucks. I guess we started getting sloppy covering our trail because it seemed they started getting closer and closer until..." Kei stopped for a moment and brought her hands up and clapped three times and after a short pause, once more. "Boom, boom, boom... boom." She looked back over at me. "When Blaze shot down those four planes, everything on the ground seemed to stop moving. Even the birds seemed to be quiet. That was when I knew I was going to be home within the day, if not the hour. But as soon as that moment of silence was up, things got hectic fast." She paused again to close her eyes and focus on remembering.
"We were right next to a patrol that looked like it was going to pass us when a lone solider stumbles on us. Before he can call one of his buddies, I pull my pistol on him and he flings his arms up. After an impromptu interrogation, I find out the Yuktobanian's are just as tired and doubtful of this war as we are. They aren't sure how it all started and how it came to be, they just want it to be done. Especially now with the Demons of Razgriz."
"What of whata?" Chopper asked not sure if he heard right.
"The Demons of Razgriz. It's what they're calling us now. After sinking two of their most powerful subs, they kind of get scared when they know we're flying in their airspace." The smirk on Kei's face told me she was very proud of the title the Yuktobanian's had given us. The stupid grin growing on Chopper's told me he was already going back into his movie fantasies.
"I thought you didn't like war," Grimm asked. Kei's smirk immediately disappeared into worry.
"Oh, no. No, I hate this stupid war and all it stands for. But ever since we lost the Arkbird as an asset, the Yuktobanian's didn't have a reason to end this war. What I'm so proud of is that in a weird and convoluted sense, we have become a symbol of hope for peace by being as great a threat as the Arkbird to the Yuktobanian's." Her smile came back slightly. "Whatever works, right?"
"Well," Chopper said, getting up after long span of silence that was most likely filled with day dreams of future interviews, "it's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back," Kei replied as she rose to hug him again. A few moments after he and Grimm left the room, she turned to me. "You know," she began, getting up once again and approaching the couch I was seated on. "All I could think about before you came back to rescue me was if I'd get to see you again," she said as she sat down next to me and put her head into my shoulder. I was at first surprised by the close contact in such an open area and worried that someone would walk in on us having a... moment. But as Kei began to speak again, I found it harder and harder to worry about such irrelevant things. "I don't know how much longer I can allow this war to go on," she said in a mix of a sad and joking voice. "If it takes you from me..."
"Just imagine how hard it was for me." I replied. "You were actually shot down." We just stayed there for a moment thinking our own respective thoughts.
"How are we going to get through this?" Kei asked. I took a deep breath before answering.
"We'll get through this like everything else that's bound to get in the way of us... enjoying each other," I said, a slight smile coming up at remembering the conversation I had with Grimm. When Kei looked up at me I finished my thought before she asked what I was smiling about. "We'll get through it together," I said firmly, taking and squeezing her hand for emphasis. She smiled and gave me a quick kiss before returning her head to its spot on my shoulder.
While I had wished for that kind of peace to last forever, war eventually made its way back into my life. We were all in the mess hall enjoying a particularly good breakfast of Fato toast when we got the news that we were needed in the briefing room. We all groaned as we got up and left to go to the room where a grumpy Colonel would be. Once we had all been seated, said Colonel began the brief.
"Well, this is it. Our ground forces will engage in a decisive battle with the enemy's main force in the Jilachi desert. If our army wins this showdown of military might, we'll be just a hair away from total victory. We've still got some work for you too, so don't slack off now." With that, he pressed his button and sat down in a chair near the entry of the room.
"This mission will be referred to as 'Operation Desert Arrow.'" I could already hear a moan from Chopper as he heard the word desert. "The operation will be spread across the entire northern part of the Jilachi Desert. Its final target is two separate strategic positions, the field HQ in the northern region of the mission area and the airfield in the western region. A bomber squadron will attack the field headquarters, while the army force tank battalion will advance towards the airstrip. Your mission this time is to protect both units from defending enemy forces. This operation is spread out across the entirety of a wide command area and you'll also be up against a large number of enemy forces, so you'll be working jointly with another squadron, Mattock. 'Operation Desert Arrow' commences today at 1050 hours." Once the briefing had concluded, Perrault stood up again.
"I expect you all to work flawlessly with Mattock Squadron. They know a thing or two when it comes to following orders, as they've been appointed by Central Command to keep tabs on your performance in this mission, so be on your best behavior." The Colonel then looked directly at me and muttered under his breath, "or not," before leaving the room, a wicked grin on his pudgy face.
"Let's get ready, Wardog," I said to my flight, doing my best to ignore the Colonel's negativity. "Hey, Pops," I called out to the man as he was walking out of the hangars that Kei and I were about to walk into.
"Hey yourself," he replied, a sly smile on his face. "Try not to pass out when you walk in there. I hear they'll need you guys on this next mission. It'd be a shame if you couldn't go." With that, he patted me on the back and began to resume his leisure walk back to the main part of base. I was burning with curiosity as I opened the door to the hangar. Pops was right to warn me about not passing out. Inside the enclosure were two F-15C's. I was glued to my spot in the door frame until Kei was right behind me waiting to get into the hangar.
"Hey, Caden, you mind?" she asked as I blocked the entryway. She didn't wait for an answer and just shoved me a little to the point where I 'fell' out of my stupor. As I regained my balance, I looked at the one who had stolen it from me.
"We need to do something together," I told her out of the blue, her brown eyes pulling out feelings from me that I normally had to keep out of the public's eye.
"Uh..." Kei began, unsure what to say to the sudden suggestion. "Okay, when?"
"Soon, I don't know for sure when and where, but soon. I want to take you out on a proper date and not have it facilitated by us needing to be at a military function." She smiled slightly at the spontaneity of the suggestion and looked somewhat shyly back down at her helmet in her hands.
"I'd like that," she said, not meeting my eyes right away. "I'd like that a lot," she finished as she looked back up leaned in towards me for a quick kiss before sliding on her helmet and walking off towards her plane. After a few seconds of watching her walk off, I realized I needed to grab my helmet. Which was over by the lockers. Which were next to Chopper.
"'Not your girl,' huh?" Chopper said with a grin that I wanted to march over and smack off. "Don't worry I'll keep it under wraps." He quickly garbed his Personal Defense Weapon and hustled over to the door so he could head towards Grimm's and his hangar. "For now," he added as he bolted out the door. Great. Now he and Grimm knew. I glanced over at Kei who had stopped walking and lost all the color in her face, her mouth wide open. She finally made a move to close her mouth and get into her fighter. I sighed at the day not going too well for me so far except the F-15 thing, and maybe Kei's kiss, and grabbed my helmet to climb into the Eagle. My spirit almost immediately flew back up to the stratosphere when I entered the large cockpit. The ground crew had finally showed up and began to make the hangar ready for our planes to be pulled out. We were in the air in less than 10 minutes. The flight over to the Jilachi Desert took considerably longer especially with the long bout of awkward silence between us all. I was thankful for the reprieve in silence when I got a transmission over the radio.
"Wardog, this is Mattock Squadron lead Lieutenant Colonel Bailey 'Pick' Quarter. Do you copy?"
"Copy that, Pick. This is Wardog lead Captain Caden 'Blaze' Irving. Glad to have your support, ma'am." There was hardly a delay in response from the woman.
"'Have our support?' Captain, if anyone is acting in a supporting role here it is your squadron. Battlefield stories don't have any pull on me; I don't care how many submarine's you've sank. You will follow every order I give you and your people, do you understand?" Her flight could now be seen, four MiG 29's that, at first sight, made me panic.
Back during the Belken war, Osea and Yuktobania had a free exchange of airframes, a testament to the fact that both countries were throwing aside the Cold War for mutual progression. As a result, our country had some of their fighter airframes and they had some of ours. It made a lot of hard-right military leaders in both countries antsy; we now know each other's strengths and weaknesses, as well as being able to practice against dissimilar fighters making some pilots better. Now, during the war, they were starting to see some of the benefits. Yuktobanian troops would hesitate to fire on an aircraft that looked like one of their mainstay fighters and lose because of it. I put aside my rationalization of why the Lieutenant Colonel had a MiG to answer her. "Yes ma'am," I said tersely, back to my short responses. I noticed that Chopper was moaning a little and that Kei's plane had once again drifted towards me.
"Good. Mattock squadron, sound off for Captain Blaze here before we have to refuel and get started with this operation. Name, rank and call-sign people. I don't want any unnecessary chatter like last time." I was beginning to not like having to cooperate with this woman more and more by the minuet.
"Good morning Wardog, I'm Captain Manuel 'Axe' Yuzta. Pleasure to fly with the four wings, though I hear the Yukes got a different name-"
"Yuzta, what did I say about unnecessary chatter?"
"Sorry, ma'am," the man said in a very submissive voice that was different from the almost joyful one that had been addressing us a moment ago.
"No, not yet you aren't," was the cold reply. "Prepare for some..." The woman seemed to catch herself from saying something before continuing. "... Disciplinary action when we get back. The rest of you, follow orders. Let's set a better example for these dogs than Yuzta did," the woman said underhandedly. It was like the Colonel had hand-picked our 'allies.'
"Captain Page 'Rod' Wickers," another female said, obviously not enjoying the harsh woman's rule.
"Captain Alisha 'Adze' Huygens," the last woman sounded off, no change in her tone compared to her partner.
"At least some members of my squad can understand simple commands," the woman said in a degrading tone towards me, as if I were supposed to be relating to her 'struggle.' I couldn't help but think that this woman would probably be similar to what Lieutenant Colonel Ford would've been like, a demander instead of a commander. I shivered at the thought. "I've got the refueling craft on scope. Wardog, you're up first for refueling. Don't take too long though. I don't want to fall out of the sky and tell command it was because I was waiting on some over-hyped fighter pilot." I looked out my canopy and thought for a second we were some kind of demonstrator squadron with how close Kei's plane was to mine. I just took the taunt as a challenge. Once I got clearance to refuel, I was hooked up and receiving within ten seconds, surprising even the air crew on board the tanker aircraft. Once I was done, the rest of Wardog refueled in the same quick fashion, putting a smirk on my face as the obviously flustered Mattock leader tried to perform just as fast of a refuel only to over shoot by a substantial margin and have to circle back around for a second attempt. I happened to glance over at Kei's plane and notice she too had a smile on her unmasked face.
After a very tense silence of two minutes, 'Pick' was refueled and her flight embarrassingly finished in a much faster order. We were beginning to enter the combat area when Chopper started speaking up.
"Man, this is ridiculous. I've heard that they've got another operation going on in some other part of the desert the same time as this one. At least we get to stick with our bread and butter with flying air superiority for these bombers."
"This is Thunderhead. Captain Davenport, how many times do I have to tell you to cut the chatter?" the man in the sky said. However, the reprimand wasn't filled with any ill contempt, rather, Thunderhead just sounded glad to have an opportunity to talk. I thought for a moment about how uninteresting it must be to stare at a radar scope waiting for a sortie to begin. I took a moment to appreciate the man who was Thunderhead.
"Thunderhead, this is Razgriz three, roger that."
"...What did you just say?" the man asked, clearly confused as to what Chopper was alluding to. But before Chopper could explain, 'Pick' jumped in with some questions of her own.
"Who said you would be doing any air to air?" the woman asked pointedly. "And what kind of flight lead allows their wingmen to engage in such chatter in the first place. I'm sure Command will love this..." I suddenly found an unexpected ally when Thunderhead spoke up again.
"This is AWACS Thunderhead. Lieutenant Colonel Quarter, Wardog squadron has been loaded out for an air to air engagement while your flight has been outfitted for an air to surface operation. Besides that obvious reason for the roles you will be serving, a reason that may not be as obvious to you is that Wardog has the highest kill count for airborne threats in this war for any squadron, surpassing those of all other squadrons... combined. Trust me on that, as I have counted each and every single one of them. As for Chopper... he's a work in progress," the man finished in a more lighthearted tone than he had started with. I grinned at the Thunderheads assessment of Chopper but any good feelings I had were taken away as 'Pick' spoke up again.
"Do you realize who you're speaking with, 'Thunderhead?'" the woman asked, a clear desire in her voice to berate the operator right there and then. What the man said next almost made me lose control of the very stable F-15C I was flying.
"Do you realize who you're speaking with, Lieutenant Colonel Quarter? Maybe I should reintroduce myself. Colonel Nathan 'Thunderhead' Brigham, AWACS controller for the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron, better known as Wardog of Sand Island." I was stunned and it seemed everyone else was too. I hadn't realized that our controller was such a high ranking member, let alone someone who would stick their neck out as much as they had for us just now. By some amazing coincidence, I glanced over at Chopper as he was glancing over at me. All I saw was a drained white face and an open mouth that reminded me of the famous painting, 'The Yell.' The unintended radio silence was interrupted by the Osean bomber squadron my flight would be helping out today.
"Our target is the enemy's field HQ. Initiating bomb run! Viking one to support fighters. Requesting escort to target!" Then the tank battalion that Mattock squadron would be supporting called in.
"Hawk division, begin your advance! Target enemy airfield! Attention Air Force. Requesting CAS for our unit!" One of the airmen on the bombers suddenly spoke up again.
"Don't worry, we'll be all right. We've got the Sand Island Squadron escorting us." Another air member spoke soon after his buddy, addressing us directly.
"Sand Island Squadron? You're the heroes of the Razgriz Straits?" It felt weird to be called a hero, especially since the squadron that was with us was here partially because we were still under review by Capital Air Command.
"You bet they are," Thunderhead said proudly, driving home the point that he was supporting us one hundred percent.
"The Sand Island Squadron is here!" the man shouted. "This operation is going to succeed." The enthusiasm was contagious and I was pretty sure everyone except 'Debbie Downer,' aka 'Pick,' had a smile on their face.
"Wait, what squadron's escorting us?" one of the bomber pilots asked.
"It's the one that sunk two of those giant subs. Guess we can rely on them," his co-pilot responded.
"Captain, did I ever mention my brother?" Grimm asked.
"Yeah, you mentioned him once, back at that pick-nick with Chopper's family."
"I look up to him a lot. He's a big reason why I chose this job. If he's okay, he should be participating in this operation."
"Blaze, this is Thunderhead. I'm getting some... unusual radio transmissions from the enemy. I think you may find them amusing. Go ahead and change your frequency to the wide band." I followed the instruction of my... friend in a high place... and realized what he had meant by 'unusual.'
"Hey, are those guys?..."
"Yeah, no doubt about it. The Razgriz."
"Enemy planes targeting this area!... Is it 'them?'" There was a sudden chuckle from one of the bomber pilots.
"I'm sure glad the 'Demons of Razgriz' are on our side."
"Blaze, this is Edge. I'm picking up bandits on our nose about ten miles out. Let's engage them before they get too close to our bombers."
"Copy that Edge. Wardog, engage any and all bandits targeting our bombers at your own discretion. Help out Mattock if they request it." After a sound off of three 'Rogers,' we burned towards the target to begin the battle. We intercepted an eight strong squadron of Su-27's beginning an aerial battle with me and Kei taking on a formation that was higher up as Chopper and Grimm went for the lower flight. As we separated for the different flights, they broke down further into their elements.
"Blaze, you go for two and I'll go for the other two, okay?" Kei suggested.
"Good," I replied curtly as I pulled up sharply, the F-15 making me scrunch up in my seat as I pulled a seven G maneuver. I danced around with the two Flankers, getting close to being able to fire off a shot at one but having to break off just before I could launch because of their wingman on my tail. Finally starting to get fed up with the annoying tail, I cut the engines, applied the air brake and fell behind the enemy before engaging full after-burn to catch back up with the second plane. Realizing they were going to be in trouble soon, they must've radioed the first plane because they broke off to fall behind me. I tried to catch up with the second plane but it was already going too fast. But the plane that had turned to come for me... I readjusted my nose to point into the flight path of the first plane and after a short burst from the gun, I had my fist kill of the day. I was starting to match the speed of the plane I had originally meant to shoot down and after we performed high speed scissors, I had a second kill.
"How you doing, Edge?" I asked as I turned to find her again.
"Working on my second plane..." After a brief pause, there was a grunt and then a second transmission. "Scratch that, looking for new targets." I flew down to join her side as we moseyed our way back towards the bombers to fly tight cover for them. Chopper and Grimm were just finishing up when we got a call over the radio.
"We have a sit-rep from advancing allied forces," Thunderhead said as Grimm and Chopper formed up on me. "Listen up."
"This is Viking one. Everything on schedule so far."
"This is Hawk one. Currently under light enemy attack. No hindrance to our advance."
"You got that? Keep up the good work Wardog," Thunderhead told us. "Mattock Squadron, do you need assistance?"
"This is Captain Huygens, affirm-"
"This is Lieutenant Colonel Quarter. Disregard that, we're doing fine, over."
"Lieutenant Colonel Quarter, are you sure about your last?" Thunderhead asked again.
"I said we're fi- Dammit!" the woman yelled as there was a loud explosion over the radio.
"Pick!" Thunderhead yelled. "Come in Mattock one!"
"I'm gonna have to bail out. AA rounds hit my plane. Mattock two, take charge. Don't screw this up." There was a loud crack as the radio cut out.
"Right then," Mattock two, or 'Axe,' said. "As my first action as Mattock lead, I request support form Sand Island Squadron."
"Well received," I told the pilot. "Chopper, Grimm, get over there and help them out while we stay and cover the bombers."
"Copy that, Kid. Moving to help out Mattock."
"Blaze, this is Thunderhead. More enemy targets are headed towards the bombers. Looks like another eight plane formation."
"Blaze copies," I told the man. "Edge, make sure the battle link is engaged between our planes and switch to your AM-RAAM's. Let's see if we can't take down all eight of them at once."
"Copy that Blaze," Kei said, catching the same mischievous tone in her voice as I had. We pulled ahead of the bombers again and got the next flight of Su-27's on scope. When our locks were registered to their planes, most broke off course and tried to turn and run. That just gave us their sixes.
"Fox three, fox three," Thunderhead said as Kei and I launched eight of our twelve combined missiles at the targets. Out of the eight planes that we targeted six were hit directly by the missiles and one was forced to eject when derbies struck it. The eighth turned tail and after-burned away back towards the airfield. As we returned to our patrol around the bombers, we got another transmission from the Yuktobanian's.
"Is this all that's left?" A single engine could be heard and I realized it was the plane we had let go landing in the background.
"Bad news, Voskhod one," the pilot who was landing said. "Those guys are definitely the Razgriz."
"This is Chopper, all enemy forces around our tanks have been neutralized."
"Copy that Chopper. Stick around until Mattock squad gets sick of you."
"Aw, these guys?" Chopper replied in a mock offended voice. "These guys love me!"
"Is this what it's always like with you guys?" the woman I recognized as 'Adze' asked.
"What do you mean?" Grimm asked in a confused tone.
"All... friendly, and stuff," the other woman, 'Rod' replied.
"I guess," Grimm replied, not realizing just how unique our squadron was with the amount of camaraderie between us all. Or as the Colonel may have called it, fraternization. Well... he wouldn't necessarily be ALL wrong... before any further questions could be asked by Mattock squadron, new enemy ground units spoke up.
"The guys in the air keep saying that the Razgriz are up there."
"You're kidding," his partner replied quickly with a bit of laughter in his voice. After an all too telling pause, he continued with a much more somber tone. "Really?"
"Blaze, Edge, you've got more bandits closing in with the bombers. Only four planes this time. You're making a dent in their firepower," Thunderhead relayed to us. Kei and I began to intercept the fighters, another flight of Flankers. After a short gun engagement we returned to our patrol area above the bombers.
"Damn, Voskhod four didn't last a minute against them!" someone from the enemy airfield said.
"I didn't hear anything about having to deal with these monsters!"
"I see it! Tally ho on the enemy field HQ!" one of the bombers we were escorting called out. After a few more seconds, they spoke up again. "Drop everything you've brought with you!" Another airman then made the announcement that marked the release of over a hundred bombs.
"Pickle! Pickle!"
"This is Viking four, bombs away!"
"Aim carefully. Drop 'em right on top of the enemy Captain!"
"We won't get another chance at this. Stay cool and make it count!"
"Here's the last one! Make it pretty!" As the ripple of explosions began to subside below us, the lead of the bomber formation spoke up again.
"This is Viking one. Looks like the enemy fighters are gone, returning to previous flight path. Bombing run on field HQ is complete. All right, no point in sticking around. Let's go home! Escort fighters, thanks for all your support!"
"This is Grimm. Chopper, Mattock squadron and I have captured the airfield with the tanks."
"Copy that Archer," Thunderhead said. "Looks like you all can begin to use the captured airfield to refuel and head back to- wait." There was a long pause as the man seemed to be pulled away for a moment. "Enemy AWACS detected. Destroy it and maintain our air superiority over the battlefield."
"I'll be sending out orders," another voice over the radio said. If I were to guess, it was the enemy AWACS plane. "Don't worry and focus on the fight. Provide cover for our retreating ground forces. That is all!"
"Wardog," I said addressing my flight. "Let's take out that plane and get back home. I'm getting tired of this desert."
"This is Captain Yuzta, lead of Mattock squadron. Blaze, do we have permission to join up with your squadron on the attack of the enemy AWACS?" I almost snorted at the man's request. Who asks if they have permission to help out? Then I realized that if a certain someone was still flying right now, there might have been severe repercussions on the man even now.
"This is Blaze. Permission granted. I'll never turn down an offer for help." My flight joined up with me along with Mattock squadron. As we streaked towards the location our AWACS had given us for the mobile command center, another enemy plane spoke up.
"There are only a few enemy planes. Why are the guys on the ground so upset?"
"We're tracking seven planes on radar." There was a pause as the man seemed to be processing information. "Warning! Four of the contacts are believed to be the Razgriz!"
"Who are these Razgriz guys you keep ranting about?" one of the enemy planes asked.
"They're the demons who sunk the Hrimfaxi!"
"Zenit Squadron, roger. Awaiting your orders," the pilot who had asked about us said with vigor in his voice that barely hid his rage.
"Attack the Razgriz and all supporting aircraft!"
"Warning!" Kei yelled out to us. "Enemy formation overhead. The enemy has a large aerial force." I checked my radar to confirm and was starting to become discouraged as I saw upwards of twenty enemy aircraft in front of us.
"All planes," I started, "engage at will. Don't be afraid to call in for back up if you need it." With that, I applied full dry thrust and my F-15 rocketed into AM-RAAM firing range. I only had two of my missiles left but when I fired, they were shortly joined by two others from Kei's plane. All four missiles made contact with the flight that had been trying to intercept us.
"You won't lose me that easily," Kei said. While I couldn't have seen her face unless I had x-ray vision, I knew she was smiling mischievously under her oxygen mask. Her attitude getting me in the mood, I decided to play a little game.
"Let's see who drops more planes," I said, engaging the after-burners and pulling ahead with a burst of acceleration. I found my first cluster of planes and slowed down a little before opening fire on one of the lead planes, destroying the airframe. And making the others break off. I choose one of the craft and began following it, dodging fire from all his wingmen who were trying to get a lock on me.
"These guys are good. They're more than I can handle!" one of the planes following me said as he pulled away, Kei on his tale.
"Dammit, I've never seen maneuvers like that before!" another said as I pulled up sharply to avoid a hap-hazardously fired missile only to come back down again to resume my chase on the plane in front of me. After a couple more seconds of chasing, I had gotten a firing solution and the plane was falling from the sky.
"Since when did Osea produce fighter pilots like these?!" one of the enemy fighters yelled. I began to pull up to get a new vantage point and when I did I almost smiled at the sight. It was a fur-ball worthy of the name, planes making white contrails all over the airspace, missiles missing and impacting, burning wreckage still falling to the ground. I noticed that Grimm and Chopper had joined up and that Mattock squadron was still sticking together. That just left-
"Blaze! I've got three of these guys on my back! I need some help here!"
"Copy that, Edge." I said as I dove down on the only lone friendly plane that had three planes trailing it. I dual locked my sidewinders and fired, both streaking towards the planes closest to Kei. One of the enemies was downed while the other deployed countermeasures and broke off only to be engaged by Grimm and Chopper. The last plane held course with Kei even with me right behind them. I perused the opponent with all my determination, always just missing a solid gun firing solution.
"Zenit 11! He's right on my tail and closing! Help me!" the plane in front of my cried out.
"I'm not in a position to support you. You're on your own!" his ally replied. The response seemed to demoralize the person I was pursuing because they finally let off on their maneuvering. After a couple of 20mm rounds, the plane was decimated and Kei's six was sanitized.
"You good?" I asked her as she formed up on my wing.
"Yeah. Seven."
"Huh?"
"Seven planes. What'd you get?"
"Really? I just save you from getting shot down and you want to see who won the competition?"
"You lost didn't you?"
"There's still the AWACS," I said as I completed my kill count in my head. If I got the AWACS, we'd be tied.
"Actually," Captain Huygens said, "we just knocked that giant thing out. So... what's this about a competition?"
"I think that Kid just lost to his girlfriend," Chopper said making the airspace go silent. Chopper must've realized what he said because he began to backtrack. "I mean... uh..."
"What do you mean, 'his girlfriend,'" Captain Wickers asked, a confused undertone evident in her voice.
"So it finally happened," Thunderhead said unexpectedly in a somewhat contemplative tone. "I'll have to see when Pops wants his money..."
"I can't believe this is happening..." I heard Kei mutter under her breath.
"Captain Irving," Grimm called out. "I just want you to know I said nothing to Chopper about... you know..."
"Wait?!" Chopper exclaimed. "How long did you know?!"
"What's going on here?" Captain Yuzta asked, clearly confused.
"THUNDERHEAD," I shouted over all the chatter. After a brief silence, I continued. "What's the combat situation?"
"Right, enemy AWACS shot down, mission complete. Refuel at the captured runway." I made my heading the landing strip we had captured and remained quiet the whole trip there, everyone else following suit.