I do not matter
I'm only one person
Destroy me completely then throw me away
The final report to Berlin was complete after the last 4 days of battle simulations. Overall, Hogan was pleased with the way the mission was going so far. It hadn't been a cake-walk, but he had managed to do everything Norbert had required without raising any suspicion at all. Now, he had to make plans for returning to the right side of the war. Just one more test flight to fly, contact Norbert, and he was out of here with no one the wiser...
Exiting the hanger, Hogan paused to look at the night sky. It was clear, with stars twinkling overhead and a bomber's moon. Hogan took a deep breath of the fresh night air and finished doing up his flak jacket, subconsciously rubbing the spot where the packet of film was hidden inside. The thought of returning 'home' to Stalag 13 warmed him. He found himself missing the camaraderie of his team and strangely enough, only having to fool Klink and Schultz when necessary, instead of the entire base every second of the day. Two weeks of being deeply undercover and in the heart of the enemy had taken a toll, and he was looking forward to getting back to being himself. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him – the night before this mission started, he wanted to be anywhere but at Stalag 13. Be careful what you wish for Rob, you just might get it!
He headed out across the airfield to his plane, meeting his co-pilot/gunner Lt. Grier on the tarmac. Climbing into the craft, Hogan felt his nerves to be on edge tonight for some reason. Performing all the regular pre-flight checks and seeing nothing amiss, 'von Richter' quickly got clearance from the base tower and got his squad up into the air. Swiftly gathering into formation, the Blue Team test planes headed out to the rendezvous with the Red Team Messerschmitt squadron for the last round of testing.
Arriving at the designated co-ordinates, 'von Richter' got the two teams into position for the simulation. Just before issuing the command to begin the mock battle, Hogan's radio crackled to life.
"Red and Blue teams, this is Control. You are being diverted. Cancel testing run. Repeat: Cancel testing run. Allied Bomber squadron spotted approaching Hamberg. Divert and engage. Do you copy?"
Bile rose in the back of his throat as a ten pound weight settled in Hogan's stomach on hearing the message relayed. The simulation had just turned real. His hands turned cold and clammy and he clenched the controls as a sheen of sweat broke out across his brow. One thought hit him like a bucket of cold water: he was wearing a German uniform, pretending to be a German officer, flying a German plane and was expected to defend Germany by shooting down Allied planes.
In the back of his mind he heard the Red Team Leader acknowledge the order, but Hogan was frozen, his mind not processing the orders, wondering how he was going to get out of this one without being court-marshaled and shot for Treason by either the Luftwaffe or US Air Corps.
"Blue Leader 1, do you copy?" Control was prompting him again for a response.
Shaking off the numbness that had settled in his brain, Hogan reached for the comm. "Blue Leader 1, acknowledged. Diverting to Hamberg..."