Ch 4
Mihaly was in another dogfight, against an Osean Typhoon. He fired his guns and destroyed the plane with ease.
"Good kill, sir." Sol 3 said.
Mihaly paid no attention and continued the fight. He then went after the Osean B-2 stealth bombers and shot them down with his squadron.
"Mission complete. RTB." Mihaly said.
…
Rosa saw the 5-plane formation of Sol squadron return, another mission completed.
"Will you talk to him?" Ionela asked.
"I will. But i think he's already made up his mind." Rosa said, much to Ionela's annoyance.
She approached the older pilot as he climbed out of his jet, helmet in his hand. She noticed that he looked like a dangerous lone wolf. She was sure he could kill someone with a single punch if the situation called for it.
"Afternoon, princess." He said, saluting her.
"At ease, Col. I take it the mission went well." Rosa said, walking with him.
"It did. The Oseans are still coming. Can't say i blame them. Tough bastards." he said, the last part to himself. Rosa noticed, and continued with the small talk.
"Waiting to duel this new pilot?" Rosa asked.
"You bet. Can't wait to see who prevails. If it's me, so be it. And if it's him, than so be it." Mihaly said so calmly, it sent chills down Rosa's spine.
"And what happens if he wins? If you die?" Rosa asked.
"Then that's it. Princess, i know full well what i'm doing. I've already fought in two wars in the past." He said.
"What about your granddaughters? What'll happen if you get killed?" Rosa asked.
Mihaly pulled Rosa aside into her office and locked the door.
"I've already made plans incase that happens. They have relatives in Osea. They can live there if something happens to me." He said.
Rosa gripped her forehead, exasperated. It seemed that Mihaly didn't even care about anything except flying in the skies.
"Col, how can you be so selfish?" Rosa asked.
"It seems you're the selfish one, Princess. We need every soldier we can get. Even the drones won't be enough to stop Osea. Yes, i could be killed tomorrow, the next week, or even the next month. But will you give up then? If my granddaughters can live in safety for one more day, then my sacrifice is well worth it." Mihaly left the room, leaving Rosa to her thoughts.
Rosa sat down and looked over the latest reports coming from her advisors. It was mostly good news. The war was going in their favor. But Rosa couldn't help but worry about Mihaly's granddaughters. As head of state, and their friend, she had to tell them about his death if it happened. How could she look them in the eyes and tell them their grandfather died fighting against his enemies?
Yet Mihaly was right about one thing. It was selfish for her to ask him to retire, when they needed every soldier they could get. They simply didn't have the amount of soldiers that Osea did. And who was this pilot that got Mihaly all worked up?
"Three strikes. What does it mean?" she wondered aloud.
…
A week passed, and Rosa was waking up to the sweet sound of gunfire. Thinking it was some soldiers practicing their shooting skills, she headed outside and saw Mihaly teaching his daughters how to shoot.
"Morning, Col." she said.
"Morning, Princess." Mihaly said, watching as they sent bullets downrange. Mihaly grabbed a nearby rifle and fired at the targets, scoring hits on the x-rings.
"Good shot. Mind if i try?" Rosa asked.
"Sure thing." she said, and took the rifle Mihaly offered.
Looking down the scope, she fired several shots cycling the bolt after each shot. The two adults watched as Alma and Ionela then practiced using pistols; it was clear they needed to practice more on the pistols then the rifles.
"Not bad. Is this a family bonding thing?" Rosa asked.
"That, and i want them to be prepared. We're 200 miles away from the capital. As you know, the Oseans bombed the hell out of it at the start of the war. Hopefully we won't have to use these guns." Mihaly said.
A small drone flew over their heads, and Mihaly went thru the large duffel bag that had all the ammo they needed. He grabbed several shotgun shells marked flame, and loaded them into shotgun. Racking the pump, he aimed at the drone and waited for it to approach.
"Col, if you're going to fire, i suggest you wait until it comes" Rosa started when Mihaly fired at the drone. Three rounds were fired, and flames appeared from the shotgun and seemed to engulf the drone in a fiery inferno. He turned on the heels of his feet, still aiming the shotgun at the burning drone.
"It looks like you were firebending." Alma said.
"Yeah. And in the air, my squadron says I'm an airbender. They mentioned someone called Zaheer and his skills in flight. Interesting character. Not sure i'd fully go with his plan of anarchy. But him killing the earth queen was impressive. I had to watch the seen many times to fully understand it. The creators pulled no punches in showing how gruesome that death is. Breathtaking is an understatement." Mihaly said, and noticed the dropped jaws of the three woman next to him.
"You've watched legend of korra?" Ionela asked.
"Yep. One of my pilot's sons introduced it to me. Good show. Su Beifong i'd shoot in a heartbeat. Korra is the worst avatar. She always goes about blabbering about how she's the avatar, and gets her ass kicked because of it." Mihaly said.
"Yeah. the last airbender, the show, not the movie, was very good. Quite mature for being a so-called kids show. The Dai li are stuff made of nightmares." Rosa said.
"That face-stealing spirit. That is something from a nightmare." Alma said.
Night came, and Rosa entered the hanger, seeing Mihaly's Su-30. Opening the canopy, she sat in the cockpit and looked at the HUD.
"So this is what you experience." she muttered, putting a hand on the throttle and another on the control stick. She manipulated the controls, hearing the ailerons move in different directions. She imagined herself flying the supermaneuverable fighter, the skies beneath her.
"Col, you must see some impressive sights. It must be peaceful up there. Away from the chaos of the ground." she mused.
Next morning came, and she approached Mihaly.
"Col, i have a favor to ask of you. Can you take me up for a ride in your plane?" she asked.
"Later. I'm going on a patrol. We might encounter enemy planes." he answered.
"Three strikes?" she asked.
"One can only hope." he said, as he headed to his fighter.
She watched as the squadron ascended into the air, towards their destination. Turning around, she saw an angry Ionela walk away.
"Ionela, what's wrong?" Rosa asked.
"My grandfather is obsessed with flying. Not that i mind it, i just wish it were under different circumstances. And that doctor creep is helping him. No, he's torturing him. He always says 'don't worry Colonel. It'll be different. This flight suit will protect you. And he always comes back in bad shape." Ionela said.
"Ionela, your grandfather does care. A week ago, he told me that he was fighting to make sure you and Alma are kept safe, out of harms way. He knows things that he can't tell you." Rosa said.
"Why doesn't he tell us?" Ionela asked.
Oh. should he tell you that he thinks we could lose the war? That he already arranged to have you two sent away from the country in case he dies?