Early morning, Monday, May, 1919.
The wind blew into Maho's face as the Gotha Bomber flew, behind her lay the German East Asia squadron and the high seas fleet.
Col. Kilgore called over, "Achtung, turn on psych war op, let's tango!"
RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES PLAYS*
Jasta 11, and other fighter squadrons were armed with bombs and rockets, intending to catch the enemy off guard.
"RED ALERT ALL UNITS SCRAMBLE!" Dupont shouted over the intercom.
Darjeeling scrambled to the airfield, having slept with Pekoe.
Anti air batteries opened up.
"30 seconds until drop zone," Kilgore shouted. Maho crawled up to the wings of the Bomber and shuffled along them, to the wing tips.
"20…..10…0."
Maho slid off the wings and pulled the rip cord, the rest of her squad followed, their task was to secure airfield Bravo.
As she descended, she discovered she was dropped directly on the airfield, instead of dropping to the side and mounting the assault their.
RATATATATATATATATATAT Canadian machine gunners picked them off as they crashed below and attempted to fight their way through.
Maho, slid down, stuck, her parachute caught on a lamp post.
She tried to grab her bayonet and cut her way free, but dropped her rifle.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND BOYS!" James shouted, firing his pistol as his units mounted a defense.
He heard a clattering sound, and turned to see an enemy paratrooper caught on the lamppost, he fired.
The bullet hit Maho's boot, shot right in the foot. She winced in pain. The soldier aimed another shot, but a grenade drew his attention else where.
Airfield Charlie.
RATATATATATATATATATAT. Rumpler ground attack aircraft strafed parked planes, destroying them, triplanes bombed hangars, the Baron himself was above.
Adelmann's team rushed the trenches, charging through artillery and machine gun fire.
In to the trench. The grenades are tossed, mutilated limbs fly up, then they jump in, trampling the dead and dying. The luger fires first, taking out the first threats, then, a swift slash from a sword kills the stragglers.
Charlie was theirs.
Immediately, RVI Zeppelin Staaken bombers hit the ground, dropping off the main assault and supplies.
Airfield Bravo, Maho's strike team.
Maho was unhooked by her squad and bandaged, she held the advantage, but the enemy fought to the last man, even pulling grenades as they fell.
"Hold the line! Hold the line!" James paced the trenches, beckoning his men. "This is our country, and I'll be damned if we're occupied!".
Airfield Bravo was put out of action, but it was far from German control.
"You there, private, what's your name?", James asked.
"Private Samson sir!" he responded.
"Which people are you? Hurionian? Haida Gwaii?" James continued.
"Inuit sir!"
"Good, the Inuit are excellent hunters, now I want you to hunt some Germans!" James spoke.
"Sir yes sir!".
"Commandant Nishizumi!" A moustached lanky sturmtruppen spoke thickly accented, "what shall we do?".
Maho thought. They had the advantage but the enemy commander simply refused to fold, she need a diversion of sorts.
Before she could answer, to her horror, the Zeppelin Staaken Bombers landed on the airfield, unaware it wasn't captured yet.
Maho grabbed her rifle, "CHARGE!". It was now or never.
"Open fire!" James shouted. Mortars and Vickers guns raked the landed aircraft killing the reinforcements immediately.
Then the sturmtruppen hit. Unlike other commanders, James was promoted from a private, and preferred to be in the thick of it.
Maho thrusted her bayonet of her rifle. The soldier doesn't die yet and shoots his gun, grazing Maho's shoulder. She shoots a round which kills the man instantly and kicks and pulls her rifle back out.
She tossed a grenade, horrific screams as shrapnel flies into faces, leaving scars and disfigurements.
BANG BANG BANG.
James shot the first attacker, then smashes the other with his entrenching tool.
Maho advanced, and came face to face with the enemy officer.
James killed another, then, the enemy officer was upon him. The officer shot at James, who didn't budge. The officer lunged at James with the bayonet.
Maho lunged at the man with her bayonet, but he sidestepped and hit her on the back of the head.
James kicked the attacker face up and aimed his 1911. But he hesitated. The face was somewhat familiar.
Maho stated back at the bearded face of the officer. He pointed a gun at her but didn't fire.
Before they could speak, a shell smashed nearby, forcing the two apart.
Maho seized the chance and fell back, while her enemy lowered his gun.
"Say, what's this?" James picked up a photo of an orange haired girl.
Airfield Alpha.
While the battle raged at Charlie and Bravo, Alpha had plenty of time to scramble, and they deployed hundreds of fighters.
Darjeeling scanned the sky, she was part of a flight of 20 S.E.5as, led by Billy Bishop.
Then, she spotted it, a flight of ten ground attack aircraft, juicy targets.
Bishop signaled with his hand and they dived down.
Darjeeling put tail end charlie in her gun sights, and squeezed the trigger. Incendiary round made the Rumpler burst aflame. Her first kill, she dived below and shot down another. Scratch two.
Then, came their escorts, fokker DVIIs. They were heavily armed and armoured.
Darjeeling had to pull full throttle, the fokker 7s were equally as maneuverable, and even more stable.
She twisted and turned, dodging red hot tracers.
She spotted a fokker chasing a fellow pilot, she positioned herself and shot it down from the side.
Kill number three.
Her squad mates mopped the rest, downing more bombers, repulsing the attack on Alpha.
Their flight advanced to Bravo, where James held the line.
"Hey look! Our air support has arrived!" James shouted.
"Give em hell gurl!" he punched the air followed by cheers from his men.
Darjeeling aimed below, strafing enemy positions.
Maho ducked down as the enemy attacked from above.
Then, a bright red triplane appeared, followed by other brightly colored aircraft, Jasta 11.
The fight was tense. The maneuverable triplanes attacked at every angle, often requiring several S.E.5as to bring down one.
She made good work, blasting the enemy, when she looked to the side. The Red Baron.
Darjeeling made a beeline towards him, guns ablaze. But the baron made a rapid immelman and got on her six.
Darjeeling followed Bishop's advice and made a hard right as soon as the baron fired, tracers flew over her.
The baron made a tight hard left and regained the initiative.
Darjeeling began to panic. The baron fired his gun, Darjeeling's right wing tore away, sending her hurtling towards earth.
She crashed on the runway, miraculously unharmed, but her plane was on fire.
James jumped out of his trench and dragged her to safety, covered by machine gun and mortar fire.
"Curse you, red baron." She gasped.