Four years ago…in the year 2047…
"Alert! All combat crews, to your stations! Omega Squadron, you are clear for immediate takeoff on Runway One. Knight Squadron, remain on standby for coastal patrol!"
Blair was in the bathroom flossing her teeth when the air-raid siren suddenly started blaring. "The hell?" she asked, not sure what was going on.
As soon as she heard the siren, Roxanne came bursting in, already geared up to fly. "Enemy fighters closing in! C'mon, let's go!" she said, motioning for Blair to hurry up.
The United States and its allies were currently engaged in battle against communist, Chinese forces. Its involvement began after communist China began invading its neighbors, seeking additional assets and territory to control in the fight against its internal enemies. China was in the middle of a civil war between those hoping for a democracy and those wanting to remain a communist state. The U.S. began Operation: CRIMSON FLAG in an attempt to aid its democratic allies in China and to rid the country of communism for good. It was the eighth month of the operation and the communist forces were running dry, especially after losing Russian support early on. After the agreement amongst the world leaders to ban nuclear weapons years before, the Chinese communist regime had to rely on traditional means of warfare to carry out its goals. Blair and Roxanne were part of the U.S.A.F.'s 82nd Fighter Wing stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
Blair ditched the floss and turned around, almost slipping on the wet floor. In addition to her t-shirt and boots, the top part of her flightsuit was wrapped around her waist like a jacket. "Fighters? From where?" she asked, hurrying out of the bathroom with Roxanne as she properly put on her flightsuit.
"An aircraft carrier somehow slipped by the blockade and launched a wave of fighters headed for Japan. The planes of 5th Fleet are scrambling to intercept the carrier, but we're the closest unit to those bogies," said Roxanne as she helped gather Blair's gear.
After zipping up her flightsuit and checking her boots, Blair grabbed her helmet and gloves from Roxanne, hurrying out of the building with her. Outside, other pilots from her squadron were hurrying to get ready as they ran for their aircraft. As she put on her helmet and adjusted the air hose and chest rig, she saw her superior and squadron leader barking orders to her squadron-mates. Blair gave her a nod from the distance and hurried to her plane, as did Roxanne.
"She's ready to go, ma'am!" said one of the crew chiefs before helping out the rest of the crew in-charge of her plane conduct pre-flight checks.
Blair gave him a nod and hopped into the cockpit, starting up her own pre-flight procedures. Looking over to her right, she saw Roxanne doing the same, exchanging brief glances as she smiled. Once she was ready to go, Blair closed the canopy and started up the plane. "Control, this is Omega-7, taxiing to Runway One," she said. Her engines roared to life as she began rolling along the tarmac to the runway with her flightmates. Roxanne was in her aircraft as well, moving right behind her. The F-22 Raptors of Omega Squadron moved along in a line, positioning themselves at the start of the runway for takeoff.
At the lead of the line was the squadron leader, Lt. Col. Sarah Davis. "Control, this is Omega-1, heading out," she said, preparing herself with a calm exhale. Once in position, she put on the afterburners and barreled down the runway, lifting off after gaining enough speed.
Before Sarah had even left the tarmac, the plane behind her followed suit once there was enough space. One by one, the fighters of Omega Squadron took to the sky and within ten minutes of getting the warning, the entire squadron was in the air and in formation, heading straight towards the enemy.
As Blair flew at the lead of Bravo Flight, the recently promoted captain sat in her cockpit with a nervous, yet excited shake in her legs. "This is so exciting! Listen to the engines hum. My first combat sortie ever!" she said.
"Don't get cocky out there, Omega-7." Sarah's voice was heard over the squadron radio channel, ringing in Blair's helmet. "Keep a level head and remember your training. These aren't your amateur, fresh-out-of-training pilots they've been fighting on the frontlines. These are Navy pilots. They wouldn't send newbies this far out to strike behind enemy lines like this," she said.
Blair cleared her throat as she looked to the head of the formation, seeing Sarah's plane at the very tip of the spear. "Uh, roger that, ma'am. I'm just eager is all," she said.
"Aren't we all. But as the last line of defense for the Japanese mainland, we can't afford to fail," said Sarah.
"Don't worry, Brass. We got your back… I got your back," said Roxanne who was also recently promoted to the rank of captain.
Blair smiled, giving a nod. "Right. I'm sure we'll all be fine," she said.
As her radar began beeping, Sarah switched herself into combat mode. "All right, lock it up and cut the chatter! Contacts dead ahead! Bravo Flight, handle the right flank. Alpha Flight, you're with me on the left. Prepare to engage," she said. She flipped a few switches and readied herself to fire at targets beyond-visual-range or BVR, a feat the F-22 excelled at.
"Roger that, ma'am. Bravo, on me! Everyone lock-on to a bandit," said Blair as she prepared herself for the engagement. She armed her munitions as the internal missile bay opened up, revealing an array of missiles and other ordinance.
"Target locked. AMRAAMs armed and ready," said Roxanne as she rested her thumb on the top of the flightstick.
As the squadron each tallied an enemy fighter, Sarah fired the first missile. "Omega-1, Fox three! Omega Squadron, engage!" she said, watching one of her AMRAAMs streak off into the distance, leaving behind a white contrail. Soon after hers was fired, several others followed in its path, leaving a wall of white as the missiles flew off towards the enemy.
Blair watched her radar, seeing her missile on the screen and anxiously waiting for a kill confirmation. As the distance closed, her excitement grew. It grew and grew until a dull tone signifying a miss was heard, dampening her spirits. She let out a loud groan as the word "MISS" flashed on her screen. She got on the radio and hailed Roxanne. "Did your missile hit anything? Mine missed," she said.
"That's a negative. I got nothing but air too," said Roxanne.
"I told you these are experienced pilots. Cut the chit-chat and ready yourselves. I can see them coming," said Sarah.
Feeling her heart jump, Blair looked out ahead, seeing black specks in the distance. Suddenly, her cockpit began beeping and flashing red. "WHA? They've got me locked on!" she said. The beeping and flashing then became a steady tone and a solid indicator light, signaling that she was being fired at.
"Omega Squadron, evasive maneuvers! Break off and engage!" said Sarah as she banked left, also having a missile locked on to her.
Blair jerked on the stick and rolled her plane, ordering her flight to take them head on. Roxanne stayed on her tail, following her every movement as a good wingman was supposed to do. The enemy missiles zoomed by Blair and the others, continuing harmlessly into the distance. At that point, Blair could clearly see the enemy planes closing in on them. The enemy formation was composed of the standard Chinese naval air-superiority fighter, the J-31C. It used stealth technology akin to the F-22 and some experts believed that the technology was stolen from the U.S. F-117 downed in Siberia, or retrieved from hacked F-22 and F-35 project files. Regardless of where it came from, however, the J-31 had stealth capability, making it a formidable aircraft if used by the right pilot. Blair and the others of Omega Squadron were up against a seasoned unit, probably using special variations of the J-31 to boost their chances of success.
Blair spotted a lone enemy and rolled her plane to pursue. "Jack, I've got eyes on a bogey! Moving to pursue. Cover my ass!" she said, excited to get her first kill.
"Roger that, Brass! I got yer six!" said Roxanne as she kept up, protecting Blair's tail from any pesky follower that might latch on.
Seeing her enemy in front of her, Blair did her best to stay on his tail and keep her crosshairs on him. All around her, missiles were being fired and guns were blazing as her squadronmates and the enemy danced an intricate aerial display. The chaos made it difficult to keep tabs on her flightmates as she tried to take down the enemy before her. In order to get the kill, she pushed out all other distractions and forced herself to focus solely on the enemy plane. Her opponent was a tricky one, banking and turning every which way to lose Blair, but she matched his every move, though not being able to get a full missile lock.
"Man, this guy's pretty good…," said Blair as she continued to dog her foe, her trigger-finger getting itchier by the second. The weapon system's tone flickered on and off as her reticule passed over her target time and time again, unable to keep it steady long enough for her weapons to lock on. She was about to lose him until her cockpit finally filled with the steady sound of a lock. "Eat this, sucka!" she said, releasing an AIM-9X Sidewinder with the click of a button. Due to her excitement, she nearly missed the button as she fumbled around with the joystick.
Once it was released from the side weapons bay, the missile darted out ahead of her towards the enemy. Sensing the missile coming for him, the enemy pilot immediately deployed countermeasures to avoid getting shot down. He launched flares which confused the heat-seeking warhead of the missile, causing it to veer off to the side and miss him completely.
Seeing her second missile of the engagement miss, she cursed out loud as her prey gave her the slip. "Urgh! He got away!" said Blair as she frantically looked all around her cockpit for him.
"Don't worry, Brass. They're plenty of other fish in the sea," said Roxanne, also keeping an eye out for the enemy.
"Yeah, if the others don't kill them first," said Blair with a huff, disgruntled at the missed opportunity.
Meanwhile, Sarah and her flight were fighting hard as she bagged one bandit already. Suddenly, two glints in the distance caught her eye as they zoomed by the battle, bypassing the buzzing swarm of planes. They were moving at high-speeds and she barely had a few moments to catch them before they were gone.
Just as they left her sight, Sarah's helmet's radio came to life. "Omega-1, come in! We've got a situation," said one of the operators back at base.
"Go for one," said Sarah as she maneuvered onto the tail of another enemy.
"We've detected two fast-movers heading east directly towards the Japanese mainland. Readings indicate two T-77 Falchions based on their current speed. Possible ramjets. Heavy ordinance is estimated to be onboard, likely HEWA. Knight Squadron is currently engaged with a larger force and is not able to intercept," said the operator.
"T-77s… Those are Russia's latest sixth-generation fighter jets, aren't they? They're not supposed to be operational yet!" said Sarah. She quickly analyzed the situation and gave a prompt response. "Roger that. Saw them pass just now. We'll take care of it." She switched channels and got in touch with the only two in her flight that could catch up to those planes. "Brass, come in."
Blair jerked in her seat, startled by Sarah's sudden voice. "Brass, here. Go ahead," she said.
"We've got two T-77 Falchions heading east at high speeds towards the coast. They've got ramjets and we're the only ones who can catch them, and by we, I mean you two. Break off and intercept," said Sarah.
"Two of them? Why only two?" asked Blair, quickly changing their bearing to intercept the two enemy fighters.
Blair and Roxanne leveled off their jets and engaged their afterburners, gradually transitioning to speeds over Mach 3. They were flying the F-22S Raptor, the S standing for Special officially, or Speed unofficially. Whereas the new Russian T-77 used ramjet technology, maxing out at speeds around Mach 5.5-6, the F-22S utilized the latest in advanced scramjet technology, capable of speeds maxing out at over Mach 7-8; they were still in the testing phase and were being field-tested with Blair's unit.
"Intel suspects that these two planes are carrying HEWA ordinance. With their current heading, their target seems to be Tokyo," said Sarah.
"HEWA… You mean High-Explosive Wide-Area bombs? They're going to level the place!" said Roxanne.
"Affirmative. If you two don't shoot down those birds in time, Tokyo will be wiped off the face of the Earth. That we cannot allow," said Sarah.
Blair let the situation soak in then snapped back to reality. "We won't let you down. Consider them splashed," she said before terminating the channel. She exhaled and focused on the vital task at hand, one that had grave consequences should she fail. Her first combat sortie out and already she was the sole determining factor of whether millions lived or died.
Roxanne stayed in formation behind Blair, keeping an eye on her plane's readings. "You okay, Brass?" she asked out of the blue.
Hearing her soothing voice, Blair couldn't help but smile, finally loosening up in the few moments they had before they caught up to their target. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just… a lot on my plate is all," she said.
"Our plate, Brass," said Roxanne.
"Huh?" asked Blair.
"Our plate. I'm in this too, you know. And with me by your side, we won't fail. I promise," said Roxanne.
Blair chuckled and sighed with relief, comforted by her words. "Okay, Jack. I believe you," she said.
"So do you think these Falchions are being piloted by Russians?" asked Roxanne, curious about the two mystery planes.
"Not likely. The Chinese probably got their hands on these things while the Russians were still providing military assistance. Now that they've backed out, it's most likely some Chinese hot shots in the cockpit," said Blair.
As Blair and Roxanne continued on at supersonic speeds, the two enemy fighters appeared on radar and not before long, visual sight as well. The enemy pilots picked up Blair and Roxanne on their sensors as well, and since the Raptors were faster than their own planes, they broke out of supersonic speed to engage them directly lest they be destroyed before deploying their ordinance. While the T-77s were at speeds around Mach 3.5 on max afterburn, Blair's F-22S was nowhere near its limit as she and Roxanne caught up with ease. When the T-77s slowed down, they split up, heading in opposite directions as they banked away.
"I got this one, you take the other," said Blair as she veered off to follow one of the bandits,
"Roger that. Good luck," said Roxanne, following suit as she took the other plane in the pair.
As soon as Blair got onto her target's tail, the bandit immediately began to jerk and turn his plane in an attempt to lose her. The tricks and maneuvers the pilot did amazed Blair as she had never seen some of them before, but even though they were advanced dog-fighting techniques, she managed to keep on his six. The constant changes in G's she experienced pushed her body to the limit but she was well accustomed to the stresses on her body already. Even though the tight turns and drastic changes in speed and direction made it impossible to use her missiles, it didn't discourage her; however, this meant she had to use her guns to take down her foe, a feat she yearned to do. Also, the fact that it was going to be her first kill made it even more special.
"You're gonna get it now." said Blair as she kept her finger on the flightstick's trigger, ready to light up the enemy T-77. Once her crosshairs were in the right spot, she let off a short burst to let her gauge the amount of lead she needed. Her aircraft's M61A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon roared to life as a small streak of bullets shot out in front of her. Her shots missed, but barely as the enemy suddenly turned in the opposite direction. Her plane automatically took into account all the different factors for the gun's sights and adjusted the reticule as needed, calculating the lead for her. All Blair had to do was put the crosshair on the target and fire.
The enemy pilot was quick and agile, even with a full payload of bombs. In order to keep the plane light enough to fly, and if need be, dog-fight, the guidance systems had to be stripped out of the ordinance as well as other components, like the stabilizer fins. The two T-77s had to be directly over the city when they dropped their load, then high-tail it out of there before they got caught in the explosion. Only well-tenured and experienced pilots could pull it off, so Blair had her hands full when trying to down her current opponent.
It had only been a few minutes since Blair and Roxanne engaged the T-77s, but to them, it seemed like hours. As time dragged on, Blair grew more impatient and frustrated as her target continued to elude her. "Just hurry up and die!" she said, pulling hard on her stick as the T-77 began to climb. This was the mistake Blair had been waiting for. Unbeknownst to the Chinese pilot flying the T-77, the F-22S had a superior climbing rate when compared to his plane; the standard F-22 would have lost the climbing battle, but Blair wasn't flying a standard F-22. Blair kept pulling on the stick, her gun's reticule inching towards her target. "Almost there…" she said to herself, straining to keep the plane steady as they began losing airspeed. Her heart rate increased with anticipation as the edge of the reticule touched the rear fins of the T-77.
As soon as the center of her crosshairs passed over the center of the plane, she pulled hard on the trigger with such vigor and fired her aircraft's gun. Cannon rounds streaked through the air and impacted the enemy aircraft. Blair watched with glee thanks to the tracer rounds as her fire hit home. The back of the T-77 erupted in flames as debris began flying off from the plane. Smoke bellowed from the engines as Blair kept the trigger depressed, moving her shots up the back of the plane, eventually passing over the cockpit. Her eyes widened with excitement and a large grin grew on her face, reaching ear-to-ear. She couldn't help but let out a small cheer of celebration as the plane exploded above her, raining down debris and flaming parts.
Blair's satisfaction was short lived as soon as she came out of the climb. Tracer rounds the size of golf balls flew right over her canopy as the other T-77 got on her tail. She ducked her head as a reflex, cursing as she glanced behind her to get a good look at the plane. She was about to give him the slip until the T-77 exploded behind her, plummeting back down to the ground.
Through the smoke, Roxanne came up behind Blair, taking her place at her six. "I told you I had your back," she said.
Blair let out a sigh of relief as she leveled out her plane. "Thanks for that, Jack. He almost had me," she said.
"Not a problem, Hon. Finally got my first kill," said Roxanne as she tried to catch her breath, just as tense and excited as Blair was.
"Me too. It feels… great. I actually took him down with my guns. Never thought I'd be able to do that and especially for my first kill," said Blair after regaining her composure. The fight caused her to start sweating and all the twisting and turning had gotten her heart rate up.
"Hey, Brass," said Roxanne over the radio, her voice a lot more calm.
"Yeah?" asked Blair.
"You did great out there," said Roxanne.
Blair smiled, her wingman's voice giving her poise. "You too," she said.
As they flew along, patrolling the area to make sure no other enemy planes were lurking around, Sarah's voice was heard in Blair's helmet. "Status on those bandits, Brass," she said.
"They be swimmin' with the fishes," said Blair with an air of satisfaction. "Scored one kill while Jack got the other."
"That's good to hear. We're finishing up here and the remaining bandits are retreating. Rendezvous with the rest of the squadron then we'll head back to base," said Sarah.
"Roger that. Heading back now," said Blair as she changed her heading back towards Sarah and the others.
The two F-22S Raptors formed up and continued on to the rendezvous point, their first mission successfully accomplished.
#
"We're here."
Blair snapped out of her daydream and looked to Roxanne. "Whadya say?" she asked.
"Get out. We're home," said Roxanne, giving her a smile.
"Oh. All right, let's have some brunch. I'm starved," said Blair as she got out of the car. She looked out into the sky, putting her memories aside as she gave it one last look of longing before heading inside with Roxanne.