SKULL LEADER'S DOWN!
CHAPTER 9
Admiral Gloval stood at the edge of the flight line watching all the veritechs, support, Cat's Eyes reconnaissance and transport planes continuously take off. He stayed where he was for over an hour watching his people depart home base. He maintained an evened keel military demeanor to his facial expression, but inside his heart was heavy. He was watching his people fly off for what most of them will be certain death.
'I wonder if this is how General Eisenhower felt when he saw the paratroopers of the 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions fly off on the evening of June 5th knowing he was responsible for sending tens of thousands of men to their deaths.'
Admiral Gloval stayed where he was at until the last of the planes had taken off and disappeared beyond the horizon. He then drew in a deep breath and blew it out in a big sigh. There was nothing more he could do.
'I did all I can with the planning. Now the rest is up to them. I just hope and pray to God that it will enough to see them through.'
Admiral Gloval then turned around and spoke to his aide. "All right lieutenant, let's go. There's nothing more we can do here."
"Yes sir."
Above the skies of the North Atlantic
Rick was in the cockpit of Skull One, thinking about the mission ahead and of Lisa. His heart is aching because he misses Lisa. He misses her warm kiss, her gentle touch, her spellbinding smile, the feel of her soft skin, the smell of his favorite perfume on her neck. He wonders how long the mission will take. He then shook his head to get those thoughts out of his head. Thinking like that can get a pilot killed. Even though they're not engaged in air combat and chances are remote that the rebel Zentraedi will attack them anytime soon, they always have to be alert to danger. Rick looked over to Miriya's VT and saw her wiping her eyes.
"Miriya, are you ok?"
"Yes Rick. I'm good."
"Ok. I was just wondering."
Rick knew that Miriya was doing the exact same thing that he was, thinking and missing Max and Dana, but her proud and stoic Zentraedi bearing would not allow her to admit it. That's another bad thing about war; it takes you away from your family, children, friends and the ones that you love.
Rick then checked the navigational indicator on his HUD; they are approaching the waypoint for the rendezvous with the KC-135 tanker plane for a mid-air refuel. Rick got on the radio.
"All right everyone, let's look alive. We are about to approach the rendezvous point with the tanker."
"Peregrine Leader, this is Eagle Tanker. We have a visual on you and are ready for mid-air refueling. Peregrine Leader, you will be the first to be refueled."
"Eagle Tanker, this is Peregrine Leader. I am maintaining present heading, course and speed and I am ready to be refueled."
"Roger Peregrine Leader, stand by."
The tanker lowered its boom. Several minutes later, Skull One was refueled. It had taken the tanker almost an hour to refuel the entire flight.
"Eagle Tanker, this is Peregrine Leader. Thanks for the fill-up."
"Roger Peregrine Leader Eagle Tanker out."
Secret Zentraedi Facility – Black Forest
"Lord Berrak! Lord Berrak!"
"What is it, Garrak?"
"Sir, flight operations report that a flight of Micronian jets in formation is approaching!"
"How long until the jets reaches our airspace?"
"If it maintains its present course and speed, they say 2 hours. Sir, should we send up a flight of battle pods to intercept the jets?"
"No! All of our pilots are inexperienced. They will all be shot down before they will even have a chance to get close to the Micronians. Lock down this facility and put it on high alert. No one is to go in or out of here unless I order it!"
"Yes sir." Garrak said as he saluted.
Stuttgart, Germany
Skull Squadron landed at Stuttgart International Airport and was directed to land by RDF Combat Air Controllers who flew out before the main force did. They taxied into a section of the airport that was cordoned off by the RDF for their usage. After the rest of the squadron landed, a bus pulled up to take the pilots to their quarters, Rick stayed behind on the tarmac to watch the rest of the planes come in to make sure they have landed without problems. Rick was told that the BOQ was not completely furnished and the IT people had not set up the telecommunications net yet, so Rick stayed at the airport well into the evening and night overseeing the landing and marshaling of the Cats Eyes, cargo and transport planes. It was well into the next day when Rick was told to take some time off by General Maistroff or else he will be court marshaled. He was taken to his BOQ by a driver
He arrived at the BOQ, received his key from the front desk and walked to his quarters. He opened up the door and found out the room was finally furnished complete with a computer terminal. Rick was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, but he decided the first thing he will do is to write an e-mail message to Lisa telling her that he made it to Germany with no problems. He looked at his watch as he waited for the computer to warm up. It is mid afternoon in Germany, which means it should be middle to late morning in Macross. That means that Lisa should be at work. With the computer warmed up and at the desktop, Rick found the e-mail icon on the toolbar, opened up the e-mail program and started typing.
Macross City – late evening
Lisa and Claudia came home after eating dinner at one of Macross' most famous and expensive steak house. Claudia wanted to eat out since they cooked dinner last night and Claudia hadn't eaten out at a restaurant in a long time. Sammie agreed to baby sit Dana while Lisa and Claudia went out to dinner. After arriving home with Dana and putting a sleeping Dana in bed, Lisa went straight into her bedroom and fired up her computer, hoping there will be an e-mail from Rick in her inbox. She opened up her e-mail program and the computer voice told her she has e-mail messages in her inbox. After sorting through and deleting all the spam without opening them up, she found out that she does indeed have an e-mail from Rick. She excitedly highlighted the header, clicked on it, waited for the message to open and started reading.
Subject: I've made it
Dearest Lisa,
I just wanted to e-mail you to let you know that I, Miriya and the rest of the European flight of Skull Squadron made it to Germany without any problems. The enemy did not send up any battle pods to meet us. I don't know why they didn't, but I'm glad they didn't. I probably will wonder why at the most unlikeliest of time down the road LOL. When we landed, I was told that our rooms weren't completely furnished and the IT people weren't finished wiring our rooms yet, so I stayed behind at the airfield until this afternoon when General Maistroff ordered me to leave so I can get something to eat, then go to my BOQ room to shower, get some down time and sleep or else he will court marital me. He didn't want to see me until tomorrow morning. Last time I checked the transport planes were still coming in and they will be for quite some time.
I, Miriya and the other officers are staying at a BOQ at the small former US Army base, Patch Barracks. The BOQ is pretty much has the same setup we had on the SDF-1 but it's a lot roomier. We have our own private room, with a living room, small kitchenette, bedroom and head. It has the usual amenities; the living room has a TV, couch, desk with a computer and a big chair. The kitchenette has a refrigerator, dining table and a stove. The kitchenette cabinets and drawers have pots, pans, dishes, and flatware. The bedroom has a bed with a nightstand with an alarm clock radio. It's a pretty nice setup.
General Maistroff is being billeted and is being headquartered at the former headquarters for the commander of the US European Command at Patch Barracks. I don't know when General Maistroff will declare H-Hour, because he is playing it really close to the vest. I hope it will be soon because the sooner we get this battle started, the sooner we will be finished. The sooner we'll be finished, the sooner I can get home to you. I hope General Maistroff has come up with a battle plan that will work and it will not drag out into long battle.
I love you and miss you. Words can't describe how much I am missing you right now. Do you know that I think about you every second of every day? I do. My heart just aches at missing you. I guess that is why I worked so hard at the airport because I thought if I keep working; my heart would not ache at missing you, but it still does. I know that when I go to sleep tonight, you will be in my dreams and I know it will be sweet. I have to close now because I'm hungry and I need to eat. I haven't really eaten anything since we landed. I've been running on adrenalin since yesterday. Please always stay positive and know that I will come back to you. I love you and I always will love you.
All my love,
Rick
Lisa cried as she read Rick's e-mail. She thought long and hard before she even started in replying to Rick's e-mail. As she started to reply to Rick's e-mail, the tears began to fall down her cheeks and periodically she had to wipe away the tears. After she finished typing her reply e-mail and sending it, she was about to delete Rick's e-mail. But something in the back of her mind told her otherwise, so she made a folder labeled "Rick's e-mails". She kissed the screen as if Rick was on the screen, and then saved the e-mail to the folder. She then turned off her computer.
Lisa sat on her bed hugging a pillow, crying and thinking about Rick. She began talking to herself. "Oh Rick my love, how I miss you. What I wouldn't give to have you hold me gently in your strong arms, to kiss me with those tender lips of yours and to make passionate love to me."
After she said those words, a thought came to her. She then bit her lower lip and smiled an evil smile. She then looked at her watch. 'It's 1930 hours. Good, that means the mall should still be open.' She then went to her closet, grabbed a sweater off the hangar and then put it on. She then grabbed her purse Claudia was sitting on the couch reading a book.
"See you in about an hour, Claudia."
"Where are you going, Lisa?"
"I'm going to Macross Mall to buy some things. You wanna come with me? We can call Sammie."
"Nah, you go ahead without me Lisa. I'm enjoying reading this book."
"Ok."
Lisa arrived home almost an hour later carrying two shopping bags. Claudia stopped reading her book and was watching TV. After saying hello to Claudia, Lisa walked straight to the bedroom and closed the door. The first bag she unpacked was from the camera store. She brought a camcorder that also can be doubled as a webcam for her computer. She opened the box and looked for the manual. Once she found the manual, Lisa began to read. Lisa is not much of a computer techie, so it had her a while to set up the camcorder. Lisa remembered that she had a tripod somewhere in her house. Lisa is a very good amateur photographer and she brought the tripod a long time ago. It had taken Lisa quite a while to find the tripod, but she did find it. As she was setting up the tripod, Claudia knocked on her bedroom door, but did not open it.
"Lisa, I'm going to bed."
"Ok Claudia, have a good night. Before I forget, tomorrow morning do you want to cook breakfast or do you want to eat breakfast at the officer's mess?"
"Let's eat at the officer's mess."
"Ok, Claudia. Good night."
"Good night, Lisa."
'Good thing Claudia didn't open the door; she would probably wonder what I am doing with a tripod in my bedroom.'
The other shopping bag Lisa unpacked was from a lingerie store. She first turned on the computer. As she waited for the computer to warm up, she stripped all her clothes including her panties and bra and put on a black mesh teddy with a small teal bow tie ribbon at the bust line and a matching sheer short robe. At the desktop, Lisa almost forgot that she have to install the camcorder's driver program. Lisa installed the driver program and tested the camcorder to make sure the camcorder was working properly and she had the camera at the right distance and the tripod at the correct height. She then set the camcorder on the tripod and then began to record.
As she was recording, she was thinking about Rick's reaction when he sees her video e-mail.
'Knowing Rick, his eyes will probably get big and bug out. Then he will probably say he will need to take a cold shower after seeing it.' Lisa said to herself with a smirk.
Rick's BOQ Room – the next evening
Rick arrived back at his BOQ room dead tired. It was another day or overseeing the marshaling and off loading of the cargo planes. After eating a decent meal at a temporary mess hall which is near Rick's BOQ, Rick walked back to the BOQ. The first thing Rick after walking into his room was to turn on his computer. After the computer was at the desktop, Rick opened up his e-mail program. Rick has three e-mails in his inbox, 1 was from Max and 2 were from Lisa. The first one was her reply to his e-mail and the other one was a new one from her that had an attachment.
'Funny, Lisa usually does not send e-mail with an attachment'
Rick looked at the header of the e-mail. "DO NOT DELETE" was the subject of the e-mail message.
'It must be something really important from Lisa for her to put that as the subject of her e-mail.'
Rick decided to read the e-mail message from Max first.
Subject: We're here
Rick,
I wanted to e-mail you to let you know that I and the rest of Amazon flight of Skull Squadron made to Panama without any problems. General Leonard wants us to start fighting the Zentraedi right away but Emerson convinced him to wait until a sizable force can be achieved, which should take us about a week to a week and a half to accomplish. I have a suspicion that Leonard still wants you to be his air commander. Not only because you're CAG, but you're not married to what he considers, is the enemy.
It is hot down here! It's only early April and it's already steaming here! I didn't realize how hot it can get down here until after I landed and I opened the canopy to my VT. We are billeted at the old Howard Air Force Base and nothing on the base is working and the jungle is reclaiming the base. The a/c and electricity is out and the engineers can't guarantee us that the a/c will be repaired before the fighting starts. I am e-mailing you from a temporary tent the IT guys has set up. You're lucky that you're flying in a more temperate environment.
I'm going to have to cut this short, so I can e-mail Miriya. I've already sent an e-mail to Lisa and Claudia. I hope I can e-mail you again tomorrow but with war, you'll never know if that will happen. I hope you're doing well and I hope to hear from you soon.
Max
Rick typed up a reply to Max's e-mail and sent it. He then opened up Lisa's reply to his e-mail. As Rick was reading Lisa's e-mail, a smile came to his lips and tears came to his eyes.
Subject: Re: I've made it
My Dearest Rick,
I've received your e-mail this evening. I am so glad to know that you made it to Germany safely. How wonderful it is to read your e-mail. But in a way, it is not you. They're just words on a computer screen. I know in a way it is you, but still, it's not you. I can't see your face. I can't hear you, touch you, hold you and kiss you. Oh, how I miss you Rick. I miss your warm smile, your gentle touch, your strong arms gently holding me, your tender kiss, and the passionate and gentle way that you make love to me. I think about you every second of every day. Even when I'm sleeping, I'm thinking about you and dreaming sweet dreams about you. At night when I look up at the stars and I think about you, I know that you are looking at the same night sky and you're also thinking about me.
Oh Rick, I love you so much. Words can't describe the love I have for you. I can't wait for this war and battle to be over, so you can come home to me. I can't wait until you come home so we can start planning our wedding. Do you love children? I do and I want to have as many as I can. I know you will make a wonderful father.
Claudia is staying with me until you come home. It was so nice of her to do that. I know if she wasn't staying with me, my heart will ache even more from the loneliness that I'm feeling now. Claudia and I try to do as much as we can on our off duty time to help me occupy my mind and time. Thankfully, the trio helps out in baby sitting Dana. But, I still miss you so much. Admiral Gloval has been keeping us busy but I know that once the fighting starts, we will be extra busy here and we both know that none of us will have time to e-mail each other or call. Please be careful when flying and don't do anything stupid because I want you to come back to me. I love you.
XOXOXO
Lisa
Rick had to wipe away the tears that were coming down his cheeks. He misses Lisa so much and his heart aches at the loneliness he was feeling. He thought about replying to her but he decided no. What Lisa said was enough for him. He then opened up Lisa's second e-mail. Rick looked at the e-mail message.
'Wow! That's a lot of Megs. I wonder what she sent.'
Subject: DO NOT DELETE
My Dearest Rick,
Just enjoy the attachment I've sent you.
XOXOXO
Lisa
'That's it? Ok, I'm game, I'll click on the attachment. I wonder what the attachment is.'
Rick pointed the mouse arrow to the attachment and double clicked it. Several seconds later, the media player opened. It started with a shot of Lisa's bed with soft music playing somewhere in the background. Rick stared at the computer screen with a blank expression on his face wondering what the video file is. Seconds later, Lisa came into view crawling onto the bed on her hands and knees wearing the dark blue teddy and the matching sheer robe. Rick's eyes began to bug out. Lisa turned to face the video cam. Her alto voice took on a seductive, smoky tone.
"Hi'ya flyboy. I just want to give you a little show on what's waiting for you when you come home."
She then went up on her knees and slowly began to undo the belt to her sheer robe. She then began to slowly and seductively take the robe off her shoulders. Lisa then slowly let the robe fall off her arms and onto the bed revealing the dark blue teddy. Rick's eyes really had gotten big by then. The teddy was so sheer and tight on her body it was almost like a second skin. She turned her left shoulder to the camera and slowly began to undo the strap to the teddy with her fingers. Lisa then turned her right shoulder to the camera and slowly began to undo the other strap. She then turned the front of her body to the camera, and then slowly and tantalizingly began to pull the teddy down her chest revealing her breasts.
"Do you like what you see, Rick?"
Rick swallowed a big knot in his throat and gulped. He then absentmindedly nodded, not caring he was looking at a computer screen and at something Lisa recorded hours earlier.
Lisa continued her private strip tease show for Rick by continuing to pull the teddy down her abdomen showing off her flat stomach. She continued pulling the teddy down her body until her pubic mound was showing. She then raised her left knee slightly off the bed so that part of the teddy can slip off her leg. Lisa then did the same to her right side and the same. She then playfully held the teddy in her thumb and middle finger, bouncing the teddy. She then let go of the teddy and let it fall to the floor off camera. She then crawled off the bed and strut walked over to the camera.
"I hope you liked the show, Rick. I can't wait to do it for real when you come home. I love you."
Lisa then puckered her lips and kissed the camera. The camera then stopped and soon the media player went dark.
Rick blew out a big breath. He was sweating bullets. 'Whoa! Lisa, you know how to get me all hot and bothered. I will need a cold shower after watching that!'
Rick typed up a short e-mail to Lisa and sent it before he took a cold shower.
Lisa's house – evening the next day
Lisa went straight to the bedroom after she and Claudia arrived home and picked up Dana from the base's daycare. Lisa and Claudia switch off driving to and from work and today was Lisa's turn. At Lisa's house, Lisa and Claudia switch off cooking, so today is Claudia's turn. As Claudia was cooking dinner, Lisa took the opportunity to check her e-mail hoping she has an e-mail from Rick. She turned on her computer and waited for the computer to warm up. At the desktop, Lisa clicked on the e-mail icon and opened up the program. After deleting the usual spam and reading an e-mail from Max Sterling, she opened up the e-mail from Rick.
Subject: WOW!
Dearest Lisa,
That is all I can say; WOW! I just saw the video e-mail from you. I can't find the words to say about your video. I never knew you had in you to do something like this. I've always known you to be a nice, good girl and captain in the RDF. Since when did you become such a sexual animal? Don't get me wrong, I liked what I saw but when did you changed your stripes?
Love,
Rick
Lisa thought long and hard even before she started replying to Rick's e-mail. Before she started typing, she bit her lower lip and smiled a wicked smile. As she was typing, she started laughing and laughing so hard, that Claudia came running into Lisa's bedroom asking Lisa what was wrong.
Subject: Re: WOW!
My Dearest Rick,
I blame you! I was such a nice, sweet, innocent girl until I met you! By you telling me you love me and by me loving you so much, you have awaken sexual feelings in me that I never knew I had! If I never met you, I would still be a nice, sweet, innocent girl and I blame you LOL!
XOXOXO
Lisa
5 April 2015
Rick in his BOQ room stayed up late so he can call Lisa instead of e-mailing her. Rick has a suspicion that the battle will start soon because General Maistroff ordered elements of the veritech squadrons and Defender, Monster, Spartan, Phalanx, and Tomahawk destroid companies closer to the Black Forest in Munich. Lisa may know when H-Hour will start but Rick knows Lisa will not tell him. Besides, Rick does not want Lisa to tell him when is H-Hour, he just wants to hear Lisa's sweet voice, even if it's on the telephone. It was well past midnight in Stuttgart, Germany when Rick called Lisa. He dialed Lisa's home telephone number and waited for Lisa to pick up the telephone. When he heard Lisa's voice, his heart soared.
"Hello." A sweet alto voice on the other of the telephone line answered.
Rick tried to not to let his voice break upon hearing Lisa's voice but can't when he heard Lisa's voice. "Hello…Lisa?"
"Rick! Oh how I'm missing you! I miss hearing your voice, seeing your face, touching you, kissing you!" Lisa said as she was sitting on the couch. Claudia upon hearing Lisa mentioning Rick's name, sat next to Lisa and put her arm around Lisa's shoulders to give her moral support.
"I miss you too, Lisa. How…how are you doing?"
"I was doing ok, but I'm doing much better now that I'm hearing your sweet voice."
"That's good Lisa. I…I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"I've called you…because I miss…I miss hearing your sweet voice. I miss seeing your smile and your beautiful face!"
"Oh Rick! I am so glad you have called, sweetheart! What time is it in Germany?"
"It's well past midnight, Lisa."
"Rick! You should be in bed. You may have to fly into combat at anytime!"
"I don't care, Lisa! I love you and I miss you so much! If I can't see your beautiful face, at least I can hear your sweet voice."
"Oh Rick!"
Rick and Lisa talked for several minutes just talking small talk. Lisa knew Rick couldn't say much about the upcoming military operation and she couldn't tell him much of what she knows. He just wanted to hear her voice, even if it's on the telephone. After talking for several more minutes, Rick knew that he has to eventually hang up because he has to go to bed, but he didn't want to because he knew he will no longer will hear Lisa's voice and he does not know when he will be able to call her again. Lisa helped clear that dilemma for him.
"Rick, you should go to bed now. You may have to fly into combat tomorrow and you need your sleep."
"I know, Lisa. But I don't want to."
"I…I don't you to either, but you should."
"I love you, Lisa."
"I love you too. Please be careful."
"I will. Good night, Lisa."
"Good night, Rick. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Always?" Lisa asked in a hesitant voice.
"Always." Rick said before he broke the connection.
After Rick broke the connection, Lisa hung up the telephone and started to cry. Claudia gently put her hand on the back of Lisa's head and guided her to her chest.
7 April 2105
After getting surveillance photos from reconnaissance planes and satellites, General Maistroff decided that today is D-Day and 0600 hours is H-Hour. Maistroff ordered veritechs, Tomahawks and Spartans into the Black Forest to start clearing out the rebel Zentraedi. Defenders were in the outside perimeter of the Black Forest for air defense. Resistance was heavy but it was easily handled and they were making good progress.
Rick stayed with Maistroff in Stuttgart to oversee the air operation. He was cautiously optimistic that the battle will not take too long to complete. He hoped that the rebel Zentraedi will have the good sense to give up instead of battling on, but that would be hoping for too much.
As the force started to penetrate deeper into the Black Forest, resistance became stiff. Rick's suspicions about the Zentraedi hiding something in the Black Forest were becoming more evident.
'The rebel Zentraedi is hiding something in the Black Forest. Just what, I don't know but I intend to find out.'
Rick stayed in the COC (Combat Operations Center) for all the morning, afternoon, evening and night, not taking a minute to eat. It was almost midnight when General Maistroff ordered him to leave the COC, get a late dinner and call it a night. Rick reluctantly said "Yes sir". Before he left, Rick asked General Maistroff if he can fly in a mission tomorrow. General Maistroff was about to say no but reluctantly agreed to Rick's request, provided he does not fly all the time. Rick agreed then left the COC. Rick went to a mess hall serving meals all night, ate and walked back to his BOQ room. Before turning in for the night, Rick decided to turn on his computer so he can fire off a quick e-mail to Lisa. He decided not tell Lisa that he will be flying tomorrow because he did not want Lisa to worry. Besides, she will find out because the audio of the operation is being fed to the main COC at Fokker Base.
Subject: I Love You
Dearest Lisa,
Well, it has started. Operation Alpine has started early this morning as you probably know by now because the audio of the battle is being fed into you. We don't have a precise causality count but preliminary causality count from Maistroff's perspective, it's not bad. But still…Lisa my love, it's so hard for me to hear the screams of young pilots, some of them barely younger than me just before their veritechs are blown up with them inside. I just can't get it out of my mind. I pray to God this ends soon.
I love you and miss you so much. I wanted to e-mail you to tell you that I love you and miss you and I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Rick.
8 April 2015
Rick got out of bed and ate an early breakfast at the mess hall. After finish eating breakfast, Rick went to the locker room to put on his flight suit. After suiting up, Rick walked onto the flight line and to his VT. His crew chief was waiting for him. Chet saluted Rick as he was walking to his VT. After helping Rick strap in and telling him that his VT has his full compliment of ordinance, Rick contacted the tower for take off instructions. Rick taxied onto the runway, put his engines into afterburner, opened the throttle and pushed Skull One down the runway. Seconds later, he was airborne with Miriya on his right as his wing mate.
"All right everyone, let's look alive and stay alert. Things could happen and change in a second. If you see anything out of the ordinary, call it out on the radio. Keep the radio clear from all unnecessary chatter. Stay in formation and do not break off unless you're being attacked and stay with your wing."
RDF Combat Operations Center – Fokker Base
When Lisa heard Rick's voice over the loudspeaker, her heartbeat doubled. She could tell by the tone of Rick's e-mail message that Rick would be flying today, but she hoped that he wasn't. She tried to stay calm but she can't help but be afraid for Rick. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands. She hadn't been to chapel services in a long time, but figured it wouldn't hurt to seek out divine intervention to help Rick.
"Oh Rick, please be safe and come back to me. You're the last person I need to be killed in this operation.'
Southern Germany
As Skull Squadron flew deep into the heart of the Black Forest, a Cats Eye reconnaissance plane came over Rick's radio.
"Ghost Leader, this is Strike. We have on radar a flight of battle pods coming in from the south. They are currently less than 600 nautical miles away from your current position and they are closing in at a high rate of speed. Be ready to intercept."
"Roger, Strike."
Several minutes later, Skull Squadron started to engage the battle pods. Rick managed to shoot 2 battle pods, while Miriya shot down 3. Just as soon the fighting started the battle pods broke off. Rick was uneasy of what has just happened.
'That's not like them to just break off like that. Something is not right.' Rick said to himself.
Seconds later, warning lights and sirens went off in the cockpit of Rick's VT.
"SAM! SAM! SAM!" A panicked pilot yelled over the radio.
"Break off and start evasive maneuvers! Dispense your chaff!" Rick yelled.
'Where the Hell those SAM came from and how the rebels Zentraedi get them?'
Several surface-to-air missiles came up from the ground. Miriya managed to evade a SAM that was on her tail but several other pilots weren't so lucky. The VT's blew up in brilliant fireball. Rick dispensed his chaff in the hopes of the radar in the SAM would be scrambled but no such luck. Rick continued to do evasive maneuvers in the hope that the fuel in the SAM would be exhausted before he ran out of fuel. All of sudden, Rick felt a lurch and was thrown forward in the cockpit. Only the straps kept him from going further forward into the instrument panel.
"I'M HIT!"