Stonehenge, a railgun network designed in 1994 to shoot down asteroid fragments before planetfall. When the Erusean Army captured the base, they began extensive modifications to allow the network to be used as an anti-aircraft weapon, such as updating the 8,192 supercomputers and deploying an advanced jamming system. Stonehenge allowed the Federal Erusean Air Force to enjoy almost complete air supremacy over the mainland.
An attack on Stonehenge from allied forces was inevitable, if they wanted to win the war. After the Mobius Squadron escorted Stonehenge scientists from Erusean occupied lands, they prepared for Operation Stone Crusher. As the squadron assigned to the defence of Stonehenge, the 156th Tactical Fighter Wing was ordered to engage. However, a bomb was detonated on their makeshift runway which ultimately delayed their deployment to the battle. I asked Raccoon about the bomb, and he licked his lips before he spoke.
"It was planted by the San Salvacion resistance. Their members were all over the city but the Army had trouble rooting them out. Looking back, I'd say the attack on our runway was probably organised in line with the attack on Stonehenge and well, I guess their mission succeeded."
"What effect did the bomb have on the base?" I asked.
"I think they knew they couldn't destroy the runway. The bomb was planted near Four's plane, it sent up a load of shrapnel which injured a few technicians. Nobody was killed, thankfully but you could tell everyone was a little shaken up. We hadn't expected to be hit at home."
"Was Thirteen affected?"
"I remember him taking Four aside, and urging her not to fly. But Four wasn't the kind of girl to back down easily, and she went up nonetheless. Her plane trailed a light smoke, more than usual, when she took off which worsened as we entered the combat airspace. It made her an obvious target."
"Thirteen altered the formation, I would fly with him while Four would join the other two. It was an attempt to protect her I think, but the ISAF planes swarmed their formation. We were forced to relink into an element of five, which hindered our mobility. Multiple ISAF planes engaged, I managed to score a hit on one but Four was having trouble with this one particular pilot. Whatever move she made, however she tried to jink him off he remained glued to her six."
I frowned as he fell silent, his gaze moving to look out the window. His living room looked out across the Spring Sea and just off the coastline a flock of seagulls were engaged in nature's own furball. One of them had caught a fish, and the others hounded it, nipping at it's beak to steal it's food. I looked back to his face, and I recognised the look it bore. It was the same look Sapinish pilot Marcela Vasquez had when she spoke to me of the Demon Lord several years ago.
He leaned forward, and looked back to me. "We were all fighter pilots. We knew the risks every time we took off and engaged the enemy. Four shouldn't have flown that day but she did. Had her plane been in good condition, and not damaged by some cowards who struck from the shadows then maybe, just maybe, the outcome of the mission would have been much different."
There was an anger in Raccoon's eyes that I had not witnessed before. The Yellow Squadron had not only lost a pilot that day, but a valued member of the squadron and a friend. I was quickly coming to see that while the Mobius Squadron were heroes to the Allied Forces, the Eruseans were seeing a very different side of the story.
"Four's death wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was that each and every one of us tried to help her, to shake the bastard off her tail. I remember her voice on the radio, asking for support and the panic becoming more and more until eventually…" He trailed off and leaned back in the chair.
"Later in the bar, Thirteen hailed the lone pilot who had apparently destroyed Stonehenge, and also shot down Yellow Four. 'Look. Here's something worthy of praise. Even among the enemy, there are men like this. Not all of them are despicable bastards who rob our wings through cowardly sabotage.' I remember those words well."
"How did Thirteen feel about the loss of Four?" I asked. I wanted to gain a further insight into the man so little was known about.
"Thirteen lived for the air, he wanted to find a worthy opponent to fight. If he mourned Four's loss, he didn't show it to us. He did however seem to find a friend in the boy we called Harmonica. Perhaps if you can find him, he might know Thirteen's true feelings."
I was never able to find Harmonica. I was also not able to find the pilot known as Mobius One, who was rumored to have received a letter from the young boy about his time with the 156th. Thirteen's feelings would remain a secret to me, but through Yellow Nine's story, I now knew who Yellow Four was to all of them. Another close friend lost to war. She wasn't the first, and she would not be the last. And I knew with sadness, that there would be more like Four as long as war raged on.
There was one more question I had to ask about the battle over Stonehenge, and Raccoon finished his tea before answering. "Multiple ISAF planes battled us that day, I didn't get to see all of them clearly. But the one that shot down Four, the one that killed her, it had a ribbon insignia on it's tail."