"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival." ~Winston Churchill

U.S.S Enterprise

June 4, 1942

7:12 A.M.

The flight deck was a buzz with activity as pilots scrambled to their planes.

Word had reached the Enterprise some ten minutes earlier that the Japanese had launched a savage attack on the Midway Atoll, badly crippling the air base flight force. With the small airbase in desperate need of reinforcements, the flight forces of Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown would need to launch and fly two hours to meet the Japanese head on. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of navy squadrons, the Army Air Corps had to surrender some of their squadrons, including Devil and Angel…

As well as a few spare pilots just standing around.

"LIEUTENANT DAVIS!"

Sam turned to see a young pilot run toward him, silver fur shining in the early morning sunlight as he held his aviator cap in his hand, yellow life-vest over his pilot's jacket, just like him. The wolf approached Sam as the latter was getting into the cockpit of his Corsair, the nose art of which depicted a scantily-dressed, auburn-furred female army pilot, tiara in place of aviator cap, in a seductive pose, the words "The Yankee Princess" painted over top of the image.

"Yes Lieutenant," he called over the noise of the engines revving up, "what is it?!"

Coming up alongside of the fuselage, the pilot quickly snapped to attention, bringing his arm up in a proper military salute before speaking.

"Lieutenant Dax Stirling," Dax called smartly before dropping his salute.

"I've been assigned to your squadron. Commander Ramirez told me to report to you before we launch!"

A look of recollection crossed Sam's face when her heard Dax's name, a smile soon spreading as he addressed the wolf before him.

"Stirling you said?!" he called, earning a nod from Dax. Sam could hardly believe his own ears as he asked the silver wolf.

"You flew with Doolittle, didn't ya?!"

A broad smile spread on Dax's muzzle, his mismatched eyes twinkling with pride.

"Yes Sir!" he answered, making Sam laugh, the Navy lieutenant pointing back with a gloved thumb toward an idle Corsair.

"Well get your ass in that plain cowboy…We're going to defend the Alamo!"

The last comment made Dax laugh as he started to make his way to his plane. But before he did, he was stopped by one more question.

"Whatcha called anyway, son?!"

"Big Daddy, Sir!" Dax called back before turning around and jogging toward his plane. Once there, he hopped in his cockpit, aviator cap on his head, and primed his engine. All around the flight deck, the deafening sound of engines echoed through the air as flight crews released the blocks from the squadrons' tires.

At the forefront of the formation, King sat in his cockpit, engine revved up and ready to go. Taking hold of the control, King spoke into his com.

"Rogue Leader to Control...we're ready to roll out!"

"Copy Rogue Leader," Control responded, "Angel and Devil Leaders on the Yorktown are standing by for your word."

And after another moment of mental preparation…

The Word Was Given.

"LAUNCH!"

With a jerk, King's Corsair started down the runway, followed by Sam, then Hench, followed by Dax and the rest of the squadron. And from the Yorktown, the squadron could see the planes of Angel and Devil take off, their newly acquired corsairs and dive-bombers quickly joining up in formation with Rogue.

"Alright boys and girls," King called over the com…

"Let's get these bastards."

However, just ten minutes after launching, the Soryu scout plane had found the American fleet. The scout pilot circled twice before addressing his communication expert.

"They're American carriers. No doubt about it. Yorktown class, better let Admiral Nagumo know," he said.

His communication expert was young Shingo, just fresh out of training. He had joined up after the Doolittle raid on Japan and here he was now, ready to see the enemy fleet get crushed under the might of the mighty Rising Sun. And even though he could fly a plane, Shingo was picked to be a radio operator for such a mission.

As Shingo fiddled with his radio controls, he suddenly realized something.

"What are you waiting for?" the pilot asked.

"The transmitter isn't working, sir," Shingo said, still trying to get his radio to work.

"We're not sending out any signals."

Well, this wasn't good and all they could do was return to the fleet and tell them personally what they found.

IJN carrier attack fleet

10:10 A.M.

ENS. George Gay was all alone in the water. Ever since he had been shot down, the Texas cougar had watched Devastators from Enterprise and Yorktown get taken out as it looked like the Japanese was going to win this battle. But just then, his waterlogged ears picked up the sound of incoming planes. Looking up, George saw SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers coming in quick.

"Give them hell boys!" he shouted, as he watched the dive bombers make their approach on the enemy carriers.

On board the Carrier Akagi, Admiral Nagumo and Genda were watching the planes on the flight deck being rearmed when all of a sudden, the alarm started blaring. Crew members and pilots looked up to see the first wave of bombers coming in like a swarm of angry bees.

Lt. Col. Able "Cloud" Adams put his plane into a steep dive, being followed close by Sgt. Sarah "Sweets" Gomez and 1st Lt. Dax "Big Daddy" Sterling. The Japanese quickly jumped into action to defend their carriers as flack filled the air as the three pilots went in hard and fast.

Not far off, some of the other members of Rouge, Devil and Angel Squadron were engaging with the Japanese air patrol, thus making it easier for the bombers to do their job. Private Daniel "Pipsqueak" O'Connor was tailing a zero that was after a fighter from the Yorktown. He lined up the Zero in his sights and fired… Miss!

The Zero however pulled away and chose to go after him.

Daniel was now on the defense. He wasn't ready to die, so all he could do was try and out fly the Zero. As he banked to the left, the perusing Zero opened fire on the young pilot. Bullets ripped through the side of the cockpit, striking Daniel in the arm and grazing his neck!

"He's on me tight! I can't shake him!" he cried, trying all he could to avoid the incoming rounds.

"I'm on it, Pipsqueak!" Came the voice of Lt. Col Humphrey "Rex" Chambers Sr.

"Hold on!"

As the Zero lined up Daniel's plane for a kill, Rex came from above and unloaded on the enemy plane. It burst into flames and the O'Conner boy breathed a sigh of relief. Rex then pulled up beside Daniel's plane. From what the older pilot saw, made him worry.

"Hey, Daniel. Are you going to make it?'

Daniel looked at his wounded arm.

"Yeah," he groaned.

"I'll be alright."

George was cheering as he watched the IJN carriers Akagi, Soryu, and Kaga, the three carriers being hit and set ablaze by a direct hit from bombs, courtesy of Sweets, Able and Dax.

"Well done, everyone!" Sweets cheered as she flew over the burning Kaga.

"Now, all we have to-"

Bullets suddenly went through her cockpit window, shattering the glass. A lone Japanese Zero was hot on her tail, firing nonstop at her Corsair, scoring minor hits on the wings and fuselage.

"Anybody, SOMEBODY, get this damn Zero of my AARGH!"

Sweets let out a scream of pain, as at that moment, a bullet from the zero penetrated her fuselage, going right through her bicep, the force splattering some of her blood on her cockpit window.

"SWEETS!" Eve called out, "you alright Hun?!"

"Y-yeah, Mama Bear," Sweets weakly called, the impact and pain of the hit making her feel slightly disoriented, "g-got hit in the arm...I'm fine, I think it's just flesh wound."

And just as she said this, a new voice came over Sweets' com.

"Hang tight, Angel 6," a noticeably southern accent sounded, "I got this bastard in my sights!"

With that, Sweets was able to make out the sound of gunfire, followed by a splash and an explosion. Glancing out of her cockpit, she could see that the zero on her tail had been shot down. Looking up from the carnage beneath her, Sweets, through her cockpit, made eye contact with her savior, only to briefly become lost in the heterochromic eyes of the newest member of Rogue Squadron.

"Don't worry Little Lady," Dax called as he sent a playful salute to Sweets, who couldn't help but giggle at the nickname given to her, "Big Daddy'll take care of ya!"

Meanwhile, Cain wasn't having the best time either. In fact, he was worse off with TWO zeros on his tail.

"ANYBODY COVER ME!" he called, his voice laced with panic as he tried desperately to shake the two Zeros off of him.

" I GOT TWO ZEROS ON MY ASS!"

Then a voice came over the com that Cain thought he would not be so happy to hear.

"Just relax Devil Anse," the Midwestern accent sounded, "I'm right behind you!"

And within seconds, Cain let out a sign of relief as his two pursuers were shot down.

"Thanks Buckeye," he gasped out, "sorry I panicked."

"It's alright Cain," Sam responded with a laugh, "happens to everyone."

As Angel Squadron landed safely on the Yorktown, Sweets was taken to the med bay, but on the Enterprise, 1st Lt. Cody "Pretty Boy" O'Connor waited to see his if his son had made it back, stunned to learn that he hadn't and neither did Rex. Just as he was started to worry, the final two planes of Rouge Squadron appeared. Rex landed first, safe and sound, but Daniel seemed to be having some problems.

As the young Rouge touched down on the Enterprise's deck, his F4F-4 Wildcat veered to the right and crashed head on with the bridge! Cody was horrified as the sudden realization of losing his son hit him hard. Fire crews led by Chief Petty Officer Alex Trumbull hurried to the crashed plane and began hosing it down, as two ewes medics by the names of Belle and Dawn Meyers picked up Daniel and placed him in a stretcher. They didn't waste time worrying about asking sailors and pilots to move, because they just rammed right through them, but stopped for a brief second to tell Cody that his son was still alive.

But not long after that, 18 planes lunched from the Hiryu led by the ibex Lt. Michio Kobayashi, had followed the American planes back to the Yorktown, where they succeeded in critically damging the carrier, while sadly marking the last flight of Kobayashi, who was shot down and died bravely for the honor of his country. And on board the Hiryu, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi and Captain Tomeo Kaku smiled as they heard the report of hearing that they had scored a direct hit on the Yorktown.

The red panda captain turned to his wolf commander.

"Victory is in sight, admiral," the captain boasted with pride.

However, Yorktown miraculously managed to repair the damage, but once again another Japanese attack force led Lt. Tomonaga Joichi appeared, the very sight of an undamaged carrier making the wolf and his piltos think this was a second carrier. As a result, Angel and Devil Squadron took off to defend their carrier, but at the end of the battle, two torpedoes hit Yorktown, thus causing her to stop and take on a prominent list.

This was also the last flight of Lt. Tomonaga.

Realizing that Angel and Devil Squadron could not return to the stricken Yorktown with it in such critical condition, an order went out to the squadron leaders to return with Rogue Squadron to Enterprise, while at the same time a majority of the stricken Yorktown's crew was being evacuated.

It wasn't long after that when an American scout plane spotted the Hiryu, resulting int eh order for Angel, Devil and Rogue Squadron to quickly rearm their planes and get ready to deliver the killing blow the last Japanese carrier.

Carrier Hiryu

5:05 P.M.

The deck was full of Japanese planes that were rearming again, getting ready for another strike on Midway. All the crew and pilots believed that the American carriers had been sunk, thus giving them a straight shot at Midway. However, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi was talking to one of Lt. Tomonaga's pilots who had made it back.

"Sir, it couldn't have been the same carrier Lt. Kobayashi dive bombed," the pilot stated to Yamaguchi.

"She was undamaged and under full steam. We put two torpedoes into her."

Yamaguchi cocked his head. Something wasn't adding up.

"But Kobayashi said he left the carrier on fire," he exclaimed.

"Did you see any smoke?"

"No, sir, it must have sunk," the pilot responded after thinking, then added, "We didn't see a third carrier either."

Just then Captain Tomeo Kaku pointed to the sky, the red-foxes eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"DIVE BOMBERS! ENEMY DIVE BOMBERS!" he shouted.

Sure enough, the Americans had found the Hiryu.

Unfortunately, the lone carrier offered much more stiff resistance than her fallen sisters, with heavy AA flak attempted to tear the diving planes to pieces. And despite their best efforts, the discombobulating effect of the flak caused most of the bombs to fall short of hitting Hiryu's deck, geysers of water rising from the sea as the ordnance exploding, soaking the gunners and flight-crews of the Japanese carrier.

But, one thing King noticed is that, while the rest of the combined squadrons started to break off the attack, the Yankee Princess kept on course.

"SAM!" King called, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!"

But rather than answer, Sam just ignored King as he focused on the Hinomaru symbol on the Hiryu's deck. And try as they might, the gunners on the carrier couldn't seem to hit this lone Corsair, it's pilot filled with great resolve as he pushed right past the flak, coming out of the black smoke just on top of the Hiryu's flight deck before pulling back on hard on the stick, hand on the bomb release as he uttered a statement of pride and defiance.

"This is for Hutch."

With that, the bomb was let lose, punching a hole right into the wooden deck, which seconds later erupted in a spectacular display of fire and smoke as several tons of ammunition ignited. And little did he know, hot on his tale, was another determined pilot, filled with the same burning resolve as he felt back in April.

"This is for George and Torpedo Squadron 8!" Dax shouted, his bomb making contact with the flight deck as well, with a tailing Eve and Cody scoring direct hits as well in a total of four bombs, the very sight making the squadrons cheer in triumph as the three squadrons rejoined into formation, which at this point was now making its way back to join the task force.

Unfortunately, the Japanese pilots did not have reason to celebrate. One such pilot, the young Shingo looked out of his cockpit at the burning frame of Hiryu, before looking at his fuel gauge, which showed that the fighter was running on fumes.

The damage to the Japanese fleet had been done…

And was...Irreparable.

But, in the end, they could find some comfort in knowing that they had also scored a hit on the U.S. Fleet. At one point, the Japanese submarine I-168, having slipped through the net of destroyers, had launched a salvo of torpedoes, two hitting and sinking the crippled Yorktown. But luckily, casualties were minimal as a majority of the crew had already been evacuated.

That evening, in the mess hall of the Enterprise, the squadrons gathered to drink their success. Even Sweets, whose arm was in a sling after having been tended to in the infirmary, was enjoying the celebration, while also striking up a conversation with Dax.

"Thanks for the save out there," she said shyly, earning a sly wink from the Texan.

"Don't mention it darlin'," he said with a chuckle, patting her uninjured shoulder as he did so. Unknown to them, Cain had overheard their conversation, guilt building in him as he made a decision to do something he should have done a long time ago. Walking through the crowd, Cain came up to Sam and Terra, who had just finished up a conversation with Kate and Lilly. When the two sisters walked away, Sam and Terra noticed Cain standing there, his eyes cast down in a shy manner, which was not made easier by their hard stares.

"Thanks," he finally said, making the two wolves eyes go wide, wondering if they had heard Cain correctly.

"For helping me out up there."

Sam, upon hearing this, softened his gaze, a small smile forming on his lips as he answered.

"We're on the same team here, Cain."

Cain actually brought himself to bring his gaze up to Sam, actually finding himself returning the smile. Unfortunately, the smile fell when he looked at Terra, who, while her features had softened, continued to glare at the man who insulted her late boyfriend.

With a sigh, Cain continued to speak, this time to Terra.

"I'm sorry for what I said about Hutch."

This truly caught the two other pilots by surprise.

"It was...wrong of me to say that about him, especially while you were still grieving. It was stupid, and I hope we can start to put it behind us."

What happened next, truly shocked both Sam and Cain. Terra, after taking a moment to determine if Cain was being sincere, which he was, stepped forward, a warm smile on her face as he leaned forward to place a tender kiss on Cain's cheek, making him blush so hard that it could start to be seen through his black fur. After pulling back, Terra walked away from the two males, but not before saying,

"Apology accepted."

"Damn," Cain muttered out, a stupid smile on his face as Sam stood beside him, a sly smirk forming on his muzzle.

"She's some woman ain't she?" Sam inquired playfully, only to receive a playful shove from Cain, before the latter wrapped his arm around the former's shoulder, pulling his new friend along with him to rejoin the celebration.

A few hours later…

Dax hung out of the PBY that was coming to pick up ENS. George Gay, the silver-furred wolf more than overjoyed to see his best friend still alive. And as he pulled the shivering cougar into the sea plane, the two embarrassed in a big Texas bear hug.

"Who won?" George asked as he sat down.

Dax put a warm blanket over his friend as a huge smile spread across his muzzle.

"We did," he replied.

In the end, the Japanese forces lost their four carriers, nearly three-thousand men, one cruiser, and hundreds of aircraft.

The U.S losses were significantly less, with the loss of the Yorktown, three-hundred men and women, one destroyer, and almost one-hundred and fifty aircraft.

The Battle of Midway has often been described as the turning point in the Pacific…

Where the Allies now had the advantage.

And as the USS Enterprise arrived in Pearl Harbor, the docks were loaded with hundreds of people all there to welcome back the heroes of Midway. Word of the four Japanese carriers had reached the people quicker than the military could have predicted. It was a sight to behold, but there was one woman on the docks which was beyond overjoyed. Rachel Adams waited with her little pup Matthew by her side, both mother and son watching as sailors and pilots came running down the loading ramps.

"Mommy, will daddy and uncle Cain be here soon?" Little Matthew asked his mother, feeling kind of jealous at seeing all the other kids getting together with their fathers and mothers.

Sensing her child's sadness, Rachel leaned down and looked him in the eyes.

"They will be here," she said softly.

"Rachel!" Came the voice of Lt. Col Able "Cloud" Adams, Rachel jumping up as her whole life felt complete once more at seeing her beloved husband safe and sound. Matthew was equally happy to see his father.

"DADDY!" he cried running to his his father who scooped him up in her arms. Rachel was already rushing to husband when Cain rushed to her.

"Rachel, I missed you," he said trying to hug her, but the lovely housewife wasn't wanting anything to with him. She tried to get past him, but the dark wolf wouldn't let her pass.

"Come on, aren't you happy to see your brother-in-law?" he asked.

Rachel frowned.

"Hell no," she said before kicking him below the belt, Cain falling to his knees clutching his balls as Rachel hurried over to her husband.

"Oh, I missed you so much," Able said, then kissed his beautiful wife.

As the Adams shared their happy moment, Dax was talking to George as they walked down the boarding ramp, but the Texas silver wolf saw Sweets talking with a handsome white tail buck, who didn't seem to be very happy. From the way Sweets was acting told Dax that she and the buck were in a dysfunctional relationship. The Lt. didn't hear what Sweets said, but it was enough for the buck to slap her. And upon seeing the lovely Sergeant start crying, Dax excused himself from George's company and hurried after Sweets, tailing her all the way to the beach where he found her sitting under a palm tree, crying softly.

"Sweets? Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Sweets' yellow eyes were red from all the crying, but she was able to look up at Dax as he approached her.

"Hello, Lt. Sterling," she said with a sad chuckle, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little upset is all."

But she knew he had seen what went down just a while ago.

Dax sat down beside her.

"Who was that jerk?" he asked.

Sweets didn't answer at first, but forced the words out.

"He was Troy, my now ex-boyfriend."

"He broke up with you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," then Sweets began to cry again.

Now, being from Texas, Dax had been taught to show women respect. So, sitting down next to the lovely she-wolf, Dax said, "Forget about him, Sweets. He's a fool if he can't see that you are one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen."

Sweets blushed a bit at hearing Dax talk about her like that. And for a full hour, Dax did not leave her side once, the silver Texan eventually leading Sweets back to her barracks where she could rest up, but before he left, he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Then, he left.

Even then, Dax still felt like he needed to help Sweets get her mind off her ex-boyfriend, but how? Eventually, the Lt. knew he had to come up with something that would clearly make her happy. Figuring a walk through the park might help him think, Dax headed toward local park. And once there, he saw two females, a love grey wolf and beautiful saluki, having a picnic. It was then that Dax was struck with an idea.

"It's a good day for a picnic, maybe Sweets will join me for one on the beach?" Dax said to himself, but then stopped when he saw the two females share a very romantic kiss, the brief exchange, while receiving some judgmental stares from passersby, also receiving some tender smiles, Dax included, at the genuine affection they showed each other. Unfortunately, their happy moment ended when three male Marines, a wolf, a stag, and a cougar, walked up and began to harass them. And needless to say, Dax was disgusted at what he heard coming from those Marines' mouths.

"Hey, check out these sluts," the cougar laughed as he kicked some dirt at the girls.

The stag laughed as well before spitting on them.

"I guess they don't like dick, but rather have a taste for pussy!"

"Leave us alone!" The saluki shouted.

"We're not bothering you!"

"Oh, they speak," the wolf Marine said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"What's a matter, bitch? Don't like a man in uniform?"

"Do you know who I am?" the angry female wolf said getting up in the face of the third Marine.

"I'm Porsha Elizabeth Moon! My parents are major supporters of the Marine Corp, so maybe you could show my girlfriend and I some respect?"

Then without any warning, the wolf Porsha stood up to, pushed her to the ground hard, then proceeded to laugh and taunt her. At that point, Dax had had enough of these three as he decided that know was a good a time as any to intervene before someone got hurt. And as the three Marines laughed, they began trash talking Porsha, calling her all sorts of terrible names, her girlfriend tried to stop them, but she too was knocked to the ground, the wolf Marine raising his foot, ready to stomp on her tail, before…

WHACK!

The wolf Marine went flying backwards, as the other two turned to see Dax staring at them with a burning hatred, with a bystanders sending their own hateful glares towards the unruly marines.

"An officer and a gentleman does not strike a lady," he said, only to block a punch from the stag before deliver a swift kick to his stomach. Before long, other spectators in the park gathered to watch the fight, as did Marine Sgt. Maj. Steele Blackwell, the malamute actually keeping himself out of the blast zone in what could only be described as cowardice as Dax punched, kicked and bit the three Marines, only for a fourth Marine, a mare, to show up with a broken bottle. Fortunately, Dax's reflexes were so fast, he quickly avoided the Marine, grabbed his hand and squeezed hard, the mare crying out as the bottle shattered in his hand.

It was then Steele walked up and smiled at the silver Texan.

"The boys were just having a little fun," he said trying to defend the actions of his fellow Marines, much to the disgust of the Dax, the girls and the crowd gathered around.

Of course, Dax wasn't convinced.

"Then maybe you would like to join the fun?" he asked the Sgt. Maj. with a frown, both men getting ready to duke it out. But before the fight could happen, a very angry older saluki, dressed in teal polo shirt, beige slacks and a pair of brown boots, rushed up with a group of MP officers, who dragged the four offending Marines off to the brig, all while Dax was kept around to explain what happened, the intrigued Lt. Sterling learning that the saluki was the adoptive mother of Porsha, as well as the biological aunt of her girlfriend, which caught Dax by surprise, but felt there was really no harm in it. The older Saluki was also the wife to a famous theater owner, Buster Moon, Suki Lane-Moon.

"Thank you, Lt. Sterling for looking out for my daughter and my niece, Cherry," Suki said to Dax, who was just happy he was there to help.

"If there is anything I can do to repay your kindness, please, let me know."

Dax smiled at the offer Suki just mentioned. And it was only then, an invisible lightbulb seemed to appear over his head.

"Actually, there is something you can do for me."

"The annals of war at sea present no more intense, heart-shaking shock than this battle, in which the qualities of the United States Navy and Air Force and the American race shone forth in splendour. The bravery and self-devotion of the American airmen and sailors and the nerve and skill of their leaders of was the foundation of all." ~Winston Churchill