Chapter by Dax
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." ~Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
It was still hard for the United States to believe that they were now at war with the empire of Japan. Not only had they been attacked without any warning, but the target was in their very own backyard at Pearl Harbor. After that day, factories roared to life and millions of people joined together to avenge the fallen of that fateful day.
Sargent Link "Mud" Tambers and First Lieutenant Dax "Big Daddy" Stirling stood next to each other on the flight deck of U.S.S Hornet, the main aircraft carrier of Task Force 18. Both men looked rather uneasy, each one fearing this would be the last time they would ever be flying again. In five hours, they would take off in their B-25B Mitchell long range bomber, followed by fifteen other B-25B Mitchell.
"So, what are you going to do when we launch?" Dax asked his fellow pilot as his silver fur billowed in the wind, his heterochromic blue and green eyes looking off into the horizon of the seemingly endless Pacific. Link looked down at the flight deck.
"Pray for a safe return," he sighed sadly. "I did something very wrong, and if my twin brother finds out, he'll be very angry."
Before they had shipped out, Link had wanted to tell his brother Lyle that he had gambled with his brother's money and lost it, but due to some problems that came up, he was forced to leave early.
Dax could relate to the way his friend was feeling. He had also done wrong against his brother, and could only hope that he would live long enough to make it right.
"You two swapping stories?" Lt. Col. Doolittle asked coming up to give the two pilots a salute, the brown fur around his face greying as his dull blue eyes squinted, the army officer cap on his head doing little to shield them from the sun.
Link and Dax both returned the salute to their commanding officer with a smile.
"No, sir. Just trying to keep our heads clear before the mission, Colonel," replied Dax, his Texas twang coming out stronger than when he was talking to Link.
Lt. Col. Doolittle smiled.
"Good to hear," he replied before leaving to check out his bomber.
Looking back out to the horizon, Dax's expression steeled fiercely.
"We're gonna bomb those bastards back to the Stone Age," he growled.
Hickam Airfield, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Captain Samuel "Buckeye" Davis and Captain Terra "Princess" Ramirez stood at attention with many other pilots who had just transferred to the island. Three high ranking Air Force Squadron leaders walked past and inspected every cadet they passed. Two of them were Eve and King, leader of Angel and Rouge Squadron, but the other was a new face. He was tall, strong man, with black fur and red eyes.
When he came up to Terra, he looked her up from head to toe. His eyes were trained to look for anything that was out of place on her uniform, but he found none. But, the look he gave her, one that conveyed behavior not appropriate for an officer, made Terra feel very uncomfortable, but the lovely Captain refused to show it. Then the other squadron leader left and followed Eve and King.
Terra breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone and out of sight.
"Who was that guy?" Terra asked her fellow pilot. Samuel looked over at were the new squadron leader had gone.
"Capt. Cain "Devil Anse" Adams." Samuel replied with a shudder. "One of the toughest pilots I have ever heard of."
One of the new female recruits, the ginger-furred Private Elise "Squirt" O'Connor spoke up. "I heard he flew through a hurricane just to shoot down an enemy plane."
Elise's older brother, whose fur matched hers, Private Daniel "Pipsqueak" O'Connor laughed.
"I heard he crashed his plane deliberately into his commanding officer's car, just because he was caught messing around with the officer's wife...what's really messed up is that his C.O. is his own brother."
Terra frowned at the thought of Cain pulling stunts like that on her.
Later that day, Angel and Rouge Squadron were meeting up for a drink at the local pub, where Terra was going to pay her respects again to her late boyfriend, Hutch. As the lovely captain placed a rose on the table that held many pictures of the ones who were lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor, she couldn't help but shed a single tear for her loss. However, her loss was going to be replaced by a new love she had found in Samuel, even though he didn't know that.
"He's quite a looker," a new voice said coming up behind Terra.
Turning around, Terra came face to face with Cain. The black-furred captain smiled as he inspected her once more. It was now evident to Terra that he wasn't just here to pay respects, but to flirt with her.
Not to be rude, the lovely captain replied, "Thank you, Capt. Adams. Hutch and I were very close."
Cain scoffed.
"Not too close, I hope. No one wants to get mixed up with those half-breeds."
Terra, as well as the rest of the other pilots who were close to Hutch, suddenly turned hostile toward the racist comment Cain made.
"Sam," Eve said out the side of her mouth, "punch this guy in the face."
Samuel turned slightly in Eve's direction.
"Huh?" he inquired after placing his mug down on the table, having downed half it's contents after hearing Cain's remark.
"The racist asshole," Eve said, gesturing with her eyes toward Cain. "Don't kill him, but give him a good pow to the kisser."
Samuel smiled and balled up his fist as he rose from his seat. He knew that Hutch was Navaho on his father's side, but was also Japanese on his mother's side. And while he had his beef with the Japs now, Hutch was still his friend, and for someone he didn't know to insult his friend in such a way, while flirting with his late friends girlfriend as he did so...
He wasn't going to let it slide.
"With pleasure."
To make things easier, he walked up to Cain who was still busy trying to flirt with a clearly upset Terra, Sam let the dark wolf have it.
"Hey Numb Nuts!" he yelled.
The sound of Sam's fist making contact with said wolf's face was like music to the members of Angel and Rouge Squadron. But that happy feeling soon turned to horror when Cain fought back. With a powerful punch from Cain, Samuel found himself flying into the memorial wall, causing all the pictures to fall onto the floor.
Then with a smile, Cain picked up Hutch's photo and ripped in half.
Well, that did it!
It was now personal.
Eve glared at Cain and shouted, "Get that asshole!"
Soon, the bar was turned into a war zone. Chairs were thrown, bottles became shanks, and pool cues were used like bats. It was hell on earth. In the end, many members of Angel and Rouge Squadron, Including Sam and Eve, were arrested by the Military Police (MP) and sent to the brig.
Cain however was let off with just a warning.
As Sam, who was sporting a nasty cut on the corner of hi right eyebrow and a shining right eye, and the other detained pilots were lead out of the bar, his eyes met Terra's, the latter mouthing "Thank You" to the wolf who had defended Hutch's honor. Sam, at first overcome with a strange feeling in his stomach, offered a sly smile and wink in return as he was lead away, almost certain that there would be a Court martial in his future.
Terra, stood there, a deep blush showing through her fur as she clutched at her chest, clear infatuation in her eyes, that is until she leaned down to pick up the torn picture of Hutch, making her smile fall as she remembered a promise they made when they learned of the possibility of a surprise attack before Pearl.
A promise that if the worst happened to either of them...
They would not spend the rest of their lives grieving...
They would find happiness and love again.
"We promised each other...and I will live my life as you would have yours."
With that, the kissed the pieces in her hand before placing them inside of her jacket, leaving the bar to once again greet the Hawaiian sun.
U.S.S Hornet. 07:38, 18 April, 650 nautical miles (1,200 km; 750 mi) from Japan.
The alarms of the Hornet were sounding General Quarter as men rushed to their stations as they feared the worst. Col. Doolittle grabbed the nearest sailor by the arm and demanded to know what happened. The sailor face went white as he explained that a Japanese patrol boat had spotted the task force.
Col. Doolittle felt his stomach turn inside out.
"Fuck this," he sighed and ran up to the flight deck.
Doolittle and Hornet skipper Captain Marc Mitscher decided to launch the B-25s immediately—10 hours early and 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) farther from Japan than planned. Dax then made the decision to strip as much stuff off the B-25's to make more room for extra fuel cans, in hopes of making the long flight. After that, only the top turret and front nose gunner had any weapons to use.
After respotting to allow for engine start and runups, Doolittle's aircraft had 467 feet (142m) of takeoff distance. Although none of the B-25 pilots, including Doolittle, had ever taken off from a carrier before, they were willing to risk it.
As Dax and Link revved their engines, Col. Doolittle maxed his B-25 to full power and took off. At first, the crew of the Hornet stood there in silence, but erupted in a loud cheer as Doolittle and his crew flew through the air, free like a bird. Then the remaining 15 aircraft launched safely between 08:20 and 09:19. The B-25s then flew toward Japan, mostly in groups of two to four aircraft, before flying singly at wave-top level to avoid detection from any other Japanese patrol boats.
Tokyo Japan was a powerful foe to face, but right now, it's country men and women had no idea that their lives were about to turn completely upside down. In one of the many factories, a young man, fresh out of Tokyo University, dreamed of one day being a pilot like his father. He could still remember his father coming home and telling him how it was he who blew the American battleship Arizona sky high during the battle of Pearl Harbor.
Then, he heard it.
It started out as a low buzzing sound, but then it grew louder. Looking up, the young university student saw what he suspected to be a number of unknown planes in the sky. That was all he saw before his world turned into a nightmare. Huge explosions knocked him off his feet! And as the smoke and dust cleared up, he saw that the factories around him were destroyed.
War had now come to Japan!
When Admiral Yamamoto learned of the raid, he was devastated, but at the same time wasn't surprised.
The giant had indeed been awoken...
And was now out for blood.
Back at Hickam, Sam and the others, having been released with a warning from MP custody after their superiors had heard the full story, none them being surprised in the slightest since Cain already had a "reputation," gathered at Rogue Squadron's temporary barracks with the rest of their respective squad mates. For the next few minutes, the group just sat and listened to some Glenn Miller and other jazz.
Sam actually received quite a surprise when terra sauntered over before sitting herself on his lap before planting a big kiss on his cheek. Pulling away, Terra laughed with the others at the huge blush that shown through Sam's fur.
the revelry was quickly cut short as a news bulletin came...
The United Staes had launched it's first successful bombing raid on Tokyo.
Upon hearing this, the barracks erupted with cheers. Sam even took the opportunity to get back at terra by pulling her into big kiss, earning hoots and hollers from the others, even King who couldn't help but laugh at the fact that his daughter's auburn fu couldn't hide her blush.
Then, a message came through the radio...
An address from President Roosevelt himself.
"America has been described as a Nation of Billionaires and Playboys, who will hire British, Russian, or Chinese soldiers to do our fight for us."
The groups chests quickly swelled with pride at was said next.
And not just them, But Alpha and Omega Squadron as well, who were listening to the broadcast from their barracks in England.
"Let them repeat that NOW!
Let them tell that to General MacArthur and his troops...
Let them tell that to the brave men and women who to this day are fighting in the far corners of Europe and the Pacific...
Let them tell that to the boys and girls in the flying fortresses...
Let them tell that to the Rogues!"
Let us Introduce...
.
~*The Rogue Squadron*~
.
Colonel Jaime "King" Ramirez
Lt. Col Humphrey "Rex" Chambers Sr.
Captain Samuel "Buckeye" Davis
First Lieutenant Dax "Big Daddy" Sterling
Sergeant George "Hench" Mahony
Private Daniel "Pipsqueak" O'Connor
.
And...
.
~*The Devil Squadron*~
.
Lt. Col Able "Cloud" Adams
Capt. Cain "Devil Anse" Adams
First Lt. Cody "Pretty Boy" O'Connor
Second Lt. Delilah "Skunk" Cutter
Corporal Samson "Strongman" Johnson
Private Elise "Squirt" O'Connor
.
OCs are based off of the characters from Mine and Uncle Sam's Homeward Bound series.