On with the story! But first...

Answering Reviews:

Guest: I never flew the 14's more than necessary on AC5. In fact, for Carrier Missions, I quite preferred the F/A-18 or the F-35. And for anything else, once I unlocked it, I flew the X-02 every mission that I could (Except the recon mission and ground attack missions, of course).

TheShadeOps: I'm bringing in an OC to bridge that gap within the next few chapters. Stay heads up.


Saturday, January 13, 2017. 1000 hours.

Sand Island.

Grimm walked all over the base, looking for Jon. The reason: He had just been ripped a new one by Pops and the Air Boss (On two separate occasions) for Jon's fly-by the day before. And he was not happy. Finally, he arrived at the door to his Squadron Leader's quarters, and he could swear he heard someone giggling. Realizing that he might die for this later, Grimm sucked up his pride and knocked on the door.

"What?" Jon yelled.

"The Colonel is looking for you," Grimm replied.

"What's he want?"

"He said something about your fly-by on the tower yesterday."

"That it?"

"No, sir. He said that I was to quote, 'Pull you away from whoever or whatever you're doing-'" The sound of a boot colliding with the door made Grimm back off.

"I'll be ready in five minutes. And you better be gone when this door opens."

Grimm took off like the proverbial scalded dog, not wanting to incur the wrath of his squadron leader again. Granted, the last time, it resulted in a prank war, but Grimm wasn't holding his breath this time.

True to his word, Jon left his quarters at the five minute mark, giving Kei a quick kiss on his way out.

...-_-...

Jon walked into Pops' office, just in time to catch a tirade from the Air Boss he'd buzzed the day before.

"One of your snot-nosed Jockeys did a fly-by on MY tower at over FOUR HUNDRED KNOTS! I want somebody's butt! I want it now! I've had it!" He turned and left Pops' office, running into an Airman with a full cup of coffee in his hand. Upon collision, the Air Boss was again soaked with coffee. "Goddammit! That's twice! I want some butts!"

"Well, I think that about covers the fly-by," Pops said to Jon, who was shaking with silent laughter. "Why?"

"Why not?" Jon replied, still laughing.

Pops' deadpan stare deepened. "I'm not laughing. Why the fly-by?"

"You've seen the way he treats my people. He walks around with a chip on his shoulder just because we got into flight school and he didn't."

Before Pops could reply, the phone on his desk started ringing. "Yeah? Uh-huh? How far out? I'll have them up in five minutes." Click. "Blaze, four unknown aircraft are approaching, vector 0-4-5 at 400 Miles. Fly out and intercept. Bring them here and force them to land."

"Yes, sir!" Jon ran out of Pops' office at full speed to the locker room and pulled his ABU on over his PT Gear. He saw Kei and Grimm changing into their flight gear as well, and he could tell that at least one of them (Other than him, of course) was excited to be flying back into a possible combat situation. As much as he hated war, the flight time was an adrenaline rush he couldn't shake.

...-_-...

Vector 0-4-5. 200 Miles out.

"Anyone see anything?" Blaze asked.

"No joy," Edge replied.

"I've got nothing," Archer replied.

"Razgriz 1 to Base Control, how accurate is this?"

"Razgriz, the unidentified aircraft are now one hundred-fifty miles out at an altitude of fifteen thousand feet."

"Roger," Blaze replied. "Razgriz, let's climb to meet 'em."

By the time the Razgriz reached 15,000 feet, their radars were going nuts.

"I'm picking up four bogeys," Blaze said. "Speed about four hundred, range fifteen miles."

"Roger, that's your bogey," Control replied. "Do NOT engage."

"Edge, Archer, ready your weapons, just in case," Blaze ordered. "I'm sending the surrender request now. Testing... Attention, unidentified aircraft, set your course for our beacon immediately. We will direct you to the nearest airfield. Lower your gear if you understand."

After several seconds, four sets of landing gear deployed, and Blaze saw the jets for the first time: Four F-22 Raptors. The Squadron leader then established radio contact with Razgriz.

"This is Mobius One, leader of the Mobius Squadron, a detachment of the North Point Air Force. To whom do I have the pleasure?"

"Mobius One, this is Razgriz One," Blaze replied, "Razgriz Squadron leader, of the Osean Air Defense Force 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Y'all are a little lost, aren't ya?"

"Hardly likely," Mobius One replied coldly. "We are on our way to Sand Island Air Force Base."

"Follow us, Fella," Blaze replied. "Sand Island, this is Blaze. Disregard all warnings and prepare to roll out the welcome mat."

"Roger that, Blaze," Pops replied.

Razgriz executed a 180-degree turn in perfect sync, and Blaze said, "Mobius Squadron, if you'll follow us please. And you can put your gear back up. It was just a precaution."

"Roger." Mobius One looked at the Razgriz and thought, 'Who does this guy think he is?'

...-_-...

Sand Island.

"Tower, this is Razgriz requesting immediate landing clearance," Blaze said nonchalantly.

"Clearance granted Razgriz. Will your friends be joining you?"

"Of course. Mobius Squadron, begin landing procedures."

"Mobius Squadron, roger."

The Razgriz watched as four F-22's touched down one by one with the greatest of ease.

"Razgriz, this is Base Control," Pops came over the radio. "Land and refuel. Four MiGs are approaching from Vector 2-9-0, range 600. I'll take care of our guests."

"Roger," Blaze replied. "Razgriz, you heard the man."

...-_-...

Vector 2-9-0. 200 miles to closure.

"Not again," Blaze said. "Not this crap again."

"I'm sure they're just friendlies for the fly-over," Edge reassured Blaze.

"You may be right, sweetcheeks," Blaze joked, looking at his radar. "I'm pickin' up our friends. Speed, three hundred. Range, twenty miles. Keep your eyes peeled."

15 miles to closure.

"Osean Air Force Fighter Pilots, this is the Yuktobonian 332nd Tactical Fighter Squadron. We seem to be a little lost. Can you please guide us to Sand Island Air Force Base?"

"332nd, this is the Osean Air Force 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron," Blaze responded. "Just follow us. We'll get you there."

"Roger that," the 332nd Squadron leader replied. "108th Squadron. You would not happen to be the famous 'Demons of Razgriz,' would you?"

A chuckle swept through the Razgriz. "That's a 'roger' on your question," Blaze replied. "Just stick close. We'll get you there."

...-_-...

Sand Island.

"Tower, this is Razgriz requesting immediate landing clearance," Blaze said nonchalantly.

"Clearance granted Razgriz. Will your friends be joining you?"

"Of course. 332nd Squadron, begin landing procedures."

"332nd Squadron, roger."

The four Yuktobonian MiG 35's landed easily on the runway and taxied off to a Hangar off the runway. The Razgriz landed one at a time, this time without a fly-by. Once all pilots were on the ground, Razgriz approached the Yuktobonians and introduced themselves, which they were told could wait until later, as the Yuktobonian pilots were tired as well as hungry. Off to the side, observing the Razgriz, stood Mobius 1. He didn't quite know what to make of the Osean Pilots, trying to befriend the Air Force that was trying to send them to their graves six years earlier. He had to admit, though, their camaraderie was rivaled by next to nobody. So he decided to introduce himself later.

...-_-...

Later...

The Razgriz were watching a movie in the crew room, laughing, carrying on, and generally having a good time. None of them noticed Mobius 1 walk in until the movie was over.

"Who's picking the next movie?" Jon asked.

"I've got it," Grimm said. "You two look too comfortable to move."

"Five bucks he picks an action movie," Jon whispered to Kei.

"Ten on chick-flick," Kei whispered back.

"Deal." Jon gave Kei a quick kiss. "What's the movie, Hans?"

Grimm smiled. "Footloose. It's a great movie." He grabbed the remote and was bout to press 'play' when Mobius 1 spoke.

"Is this an everyday occurrence?"

Jon turned his head to make eye contact with Mobius 1. "Oh, hey," he said. "You wanna watch the movie?"

"I'll pass. I just came to introduce myself. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Markham, call-sign 'Mobius 1.' I can only assume that you three are the Razgriz."

"You assume correctly, Sir," Jon replied, standing and extending his hand. "Major Jon Winters, call-sign 'Blaze.' This here's Major Kei Nagase, call-sign 'Edge' and Captain Hans Grimm, call-sign 'Archer.' Pleased to meet you, Sir."

"Likewise." Markham shook hands with the Demon and said to Jon, "Does your Command know of your relationship with Major Nagase, Major Winters?"

"The entire Nation of Osea knows," Kei replied.

Markham nodded. "And you haven't been split up?"

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Jon said. "The three of us have flown together since the Circum-Pacific War in 2010. We've had a couple come and go, though. Our first Squadron leader was shot down the day the War began, we had one KIA in an ambush, and most recently, our last man called it a career four years ago. We've faced it all, and we stood tall, Colonel."

"Faced it all?" Markham sounded skeptical.

"Yeah. Enemy tried to take this base twice. They had two aircraft-carrying submarines that launched burst missiles capable of destroying any- and everything below five thousand feet, and we destroyed 'em both. Major Nagase was shot down during a raid on a POW camp in a climate colder than a witch's elbow, and we went and got her back. We lost one of our guys in an ambush during what was just supposed to be a fly-over at a rally. Here's the kicker. Two separate Aggressor Squadrons from Belka tried to destroy us and even managed to convince a few people that we were enemy spies and one of said Aggressors tried to put us in the ground, multiple times. We had to destroy a satellite that was capable of destroying half of the Metro Areas in either country, after an eight-on-four Dogfight with said Aggressors. And we sent them to Hell. Let's hear your stories."

Markham smirked. "Twenty-three years ago, Erusea built a weapon that was originally designed for shooting down asteroids, called 'Stonehenge.' They quickly found out that they could use it as an Anti-Aircraft weapon and gained control over much of the continent. Thirteen years ago, a handful of nations, including North Point, banded together under the Flag of ISAF - Independent State Allied Forces. My Squadron started dealing blow after blow to the Eruseans, until they were forced to send their best after us: The Yellow Squadron. Their Squadron leader was the toughest son of a bitch I've ever flown against, but in the end, I got the better of him. And as for Stonehenge, we destroyed it. And their back-up plan Megalith as well. You don't know Hell until you've flown through a tunnel to destroy a super-weapon."

"We know Hell," Jon replied. "We've been there. We blew open the Gates of Hell and flew out to meet our enemies head-on. And I guaran-damn-tee you that Ofnir and Grabacr woulda turned that Yellow Squadron into a pile of scrap metal real fast."

Markham scoffed. "Son, unless you have at least one hundred confirmed kills, we are not having this conversation."

"Two-fifty, not counting helicopters."

"My Squadron has been flying together for thirteen years. We are the best of the best."

Jon's eyes narrowed, and Kei and Grimm shot to their feet. "You wanna put a bet on that, Colonel?" Jon asked, getting closer to Markham. "I'll put my three against your four any day, and we'll walk out on top."

"I accept your challenge," Markham growled.

"We can do it right here," Jon growled. "21 January, the day after the Inauguration. We'll do it like in training: Get a lock on your target, it counts as a kill."

Markham sneered. Before leaving the crew room, he said, "You're on, boy."

Jon smiled, while Kei and Grimm remained stone-faced. They didn't like where this little challenge was headed.

*Ominous Music* What will happen next? What fallout will Grimm face for disturbing Jon and Kei's Saturday Morning? Will Razgriz and Mobius kill each other before the Inauguration fly-over? Who's the President? Why haven't I told you all of this yet? *Ominous Music Ends* Because I didn't wanna tell you, that's why. Review, follow, & fave! Toda! Laila tov.