Chapter 3 – The longest day

September 25 2010, Sand Island AFB

The events of yesterday were still running through my head when I woke up to go for my morning run. I kept thinking about everything. Why would anyone want to attack Sand Island? Sand Island was the first line of defense against any attacks on Osea that came the west. Why did that enemy formation open fire on the training flight on the 23rd? They would have less resistance to face if they did launch an air raid on Sand Island. Regardless of how much training a pilot has had, if he was flying an armed aircraft, then he still poses some kind of threat. Why were those enemy pilots flying unmarked planes? The country they were from didn't want to start anything just yet. It would give them more time to complete whatever plans they had, while they kept the higher ups guessing who was responsible for all of it.

I was finished with my run and headed to the gym where I met up with Captain Bartlett. He was beating the hell out of a punching bag when I approached him.

"Captain, do you mind if I ask you something?" I said.

"What do you want kid"

"Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?"

"Kid, if you're trying to preach religion to me, then I'll use you instead of this punching bag"

"I'm not trying to preach religion, sir. It's just a question."

He stopped hitting the bag and tuned towards me. He looked like he wasn't done yet so I was ready for him to try and throw a punch at me, but instead he answered my question.

"Sometimes, like when Pops and I were shot down during the war fifteen years ago, it was like God wanted us to let the Demon Lord to do all the work for us."

"What about the enemy attacks on us in the past two days?"

"What about them?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since yesterday. The answers I've narrowed it down to make me sound like a conspiracy theorist."

"Alright, let's hear it"

I was very nervous about what he would say when I told him, and I got the feeling he would label me suspicious too. "I think those attacks were preemptive strikes on us, sir."

I told the captain everything that was on my mind and he just listened. He agreed that I did sound like a conspiracy theorist and that I was making sense at the same time.

"I'll tell you what kid, I'll tell Captain Hamilton about your theory, but I won't mention you. I'd rather be under suspicion than you." And with that, he went back to hitting away at the punching bag.

The rest of the day was pretty calm. After we started sitting alert, it was like we were officially qualified combat pilots. There were no more classes, no more lessons in the briefing room, and no more drills. It didn't seem right to be thrown straight into this mess. We all hoped the events from the past two day wouldn't escalate.

The only good thing about today was that it was Kei's 23rd birthday, so I wanted to do something nice for her. The thing was there was nothing to surprise her with. I asked Pops and he didn't have any ideas either. The only thing I could think of was to give her my Jell-O at dinner, so I went with it. She told me I was sweet just as I saw Chopper coming out of the kitchen holding a chocolate frosted cake singing happy birthday. That sly bastard was trying to outshine me.

"Wow thanks Chopper," said Kei

"Don't thank Chopper," interrupted Pops. "It was Antonio's idea."

"Well thank you very much Antonio," said Kei

All I could do was smile at her because I had no idea what the hell just happened. I saw Pops wink at me and I understood. Thanks for the help Pops.

September 27, 2010 1101hrs Sand Island

We scrambled to take off because we had reports of enemy UAV's performing recon on Sand Island. They were returning to a spy vessel to the south-west of the island and we were ordered not to destroy the ship. I thought if that ship was part of the recon operation, it should be destroyed as well.

"Wardog, this is Thunderhead. Unmanned recon drones retuning to spy vessel. Shoot them down be for they get back to the ship."

I didn't waste any time waiting for the captain to give the order to disperse. I applied full throttle and flew past the others.

"Show me what you got, Kid," said Captain Bartlett.

I closed in on the first pair of UAV's and gave each of them a short burst with my guns. They were pretty easy to shoot down.

"Guess this is a good time to have a little completion of kill scores," said Chopper.

"Well I'm already two ahead of you," I replied.

Chopper and I continued to shoot down the remaining drones and I beat him by three kills. Suddenly, Thunderhead called out four high speed bogies inbound from vector 280. Who the hell were these guys? Captain Bartlett ordered us to abort and Chopper and I turned to rejoin on him and Edge. Chopper was falling behind and was being fired at.

"I can't make it. They're running me down," said Chopper.

"Oh you're taking the Trail position today Rock 'n' Roller? Hold on, I'll clear your six o' clock for you, everyone else quit gawkin' and start shooting!"

Thunderhead was trying to get us to hold fire but Captain Bartlett and Edge were already filling planes with lead. I wasted no time finding a target. They were flying MiG-21's again, this would be easy. I latched onto a MiG that was tailing Chopper and launch a missile. He didn't see me coming because he didn't try moving out of the way. The enemy formation scattered and I gave chase to another MiG. The only reason I was able to shoot him down because he was flying in a straight line.

It was strange, today I wasn't thinking back to that day when I was eight. Every time I saw the enemy pilots, all I could see were those eyes, but it was like I knew it wasn't the guy I wanted dead. I only thing I could think about was to try and help my squad as best as I could.

"Captain, I got a flight of three enemies approaching from the north," said Edge.

I joined on Edge's wing and we flew towards the three enemy planes. We got within visual range and saw that they were MiG-29's. They were far superior then the F-5's we were flying or the F-4 the captain was flying. This was going to be tricky. Our only advantage was our numbers and I would have to find some way to make full use of it.

"Edge, I'm going in wait for me to give you a good angle," I said

"What are you doing," she asked.

"I'm going to chase one of them, assuming he out maneuvers me; I need you to cover me."

I pushed ahead and the enemy formation scattered. I latched onto a MiG that was diving and followed him out of his dive into a series of poorly executed maneuvers. These guys were as green as they came. These pilots had very little combat training, which meant that they shouldn't have been a problem to shoot down. Sure enough, they all bit the dust within a matter of minutes.

"Picture clear, all hostile aircraft are destroyed," said Thunderhead. "Wait, warnings still in effect keep your head on a swivel."

"Watch out Nagase, they're down below us too," said Captain Bartlett

I watched as the recon ship launched a missile towards Kei. She tried banking hard right but the missile kept pace with her easily. I then saw Captain Bartlett fly his plane between the missile and Kei. He was going to take the hit for her. I watched as the missile impacted off of his right wing and lose all control in it.

"Captain," cried Kei.

"Hey, save the water works. I'm just gonna bail out here. We can replace these things; it's getting the crew back alive that counts. Make a call to scramble the search and rescue copter and my reserve plane ok?"

We made the call for the chopper and wanted to stay on station until it arrived, but Thunderhead told us to rearm and refuel back at base.

"The enemy has declared war on us," said Thunderhead.

1200hrs Sand Island

As the ground crews were refueling our planes, I popped my canopy to ask if we were really at war. One of the guys said it was true and that scuttlebutt says that it was Yuktobania. Why would the Yukes attack us? Was it them who attacked us on the 23rd? I couldn't dwell on it for long because Thunderhead ordered us to fly towards Port St. Hewlett. It was the longest hour of silent flight I've ever experienced.

We arrived thirty miles outside of the harbor when Thunderhead gave us a paraphrased mission briefing. Our orders were simple; provide CAS for all ships of the 3rd Osean Naval Fleet but to focus on the aircraft carrier, Kestrel.

"Thunderhead to Wardog, Edge you lead the formation"

"Negative. You take the lead, Blaze. I'll fly on your wing"

"2nd lieutenants Nagase, follow your orders"

"No, Blaze is leading. I'll protect his six o' clock and I'm not going to lose another flight lead"

"Quit screwing around. This is war, the enemy is all over and they're gonna eat you alive," said a voice over the radio. I looked behind us to see an F-14 closing on us fast and fly ahead of us.

"Aaah…. I'd better stick to the trail position, thanks," said Chopper

"This is Captain Snow, call sign Swordsman. Engaging next enemy formation, give me a position"

I was nervous about taking command of the squad. I was responsible for keeping Edge and Chopper alive while providing CAS for our fleet while they escaped the port. Thunderhead cleared us to engage and I pushed the throttle forward. I could see A-6's attacking the port facilities and enemy F-5's providing top cover.

"I'll cover your six, alright Blaze," said Edge.

"Alright, try not to get separated from me. Chopper, there are plenty of other allied aircraft in the air, find one and fly as their wingman. Edge, we're going after those attackers first, understood?" I said.

They all acknowledged and we went to work. I flew to the west to engage the next enemy formation of A-6's. They were coming in fast from low altitude. They were headed straight for the Kestrel. I dove down after them with Edge right behind me. We closed in behind them and shot them down before they got within range. There were two more enemy formations approaching from the north and the south.

Our allies were being stretched too thin to cover the entire area. Radio traffic was too chaotic to effectively organize everyone. Orders were getting mixed up with useless chatter and the enemy was getting through our defenses. I just wanted to tell everyone to shut the hell up, but I couldn't. I could only continue the operation as best as I could.

"Hey, Kid, the enemy is too spread out. We might be stretching ourselves too thin if we disperse but I don't see any other options," said Chopper.

"I know, Chopper. Head to the northern sector and shoot down any attackers you see. I want you to scare the shit out of them so they don't come from that way again," I said.

"Alright kid, I'll give 'em hell"

"Edge, I need you to break off and cover the southern sector and show those guys what you can do," I said.

"But Blaze, I…"

"Don't argue with me woman! I'll be alright, now get over there and don't let any of those enemy planes get through. You can do it,"

I could tell she didn't want to go but I saw her break off and head south. I was covering the port exit and saw more A-6's inbound towards the fleet. I closed in on them and shot them down using my guns. I had a feeling I would need my missiles for later. I wanted to jettison my bombs to get rid of the weight, but when I looked down I noticed people floating in the waves. Some were civilians who were out for boat rides today and others were sailors whose ships were already sunk. I kept me bombs, and prepared for the next enemy wave.

I kept providing cover for the ships until I noticed there were only two left A-6's left coming in from high altitude from my ten o' clock. I turn into them and gave my F-5 every bit of power it had. I was in gun range when they saw me because they split up. I didn't have enough time to line up a shot on him with my guns so I shot one of them down with a missile.

The last A-6 was already lined up for a shot on the ships and took it. The pilot started to come around for another pass and I was about to shoot him down when I noticed the people in the water. If I shot him down then those people down below would die. If I didn't shoot him down then the already damaged ships would be in critical condition. I had to make a choice, and I chose to shoot him down before he fired. Edge and Chopper were starting to form up on me when they saw the plane crash into the water.

"Those… Those people floating in the waves," gasped Kei.

I had more peoples deaths on my hands than anyone else should, and with those people just floating there helplessly, I could never forgive myself. I could only think back to that day. How could that pilot with those green eyes smile at all those people he killed? How would I deal with it? I just wanted to close my eye and wake up in my bunk. I didn't want this to be real.

"Kid did you see that?" asked Chopper

"Yeah, I did"

"So you saw it too, that sea"

The fleet was moving into open waters and the Yukes set up a blockade up ahead. Now I was glad that I didn't jettison my bombs. I ordered Chopper and Edge to ready all weapons and focus on the ships blocking the fleet's path. I requested support from Captain Snow to help deal with any anti-ship aircraft and I could tell he was annoyed that I, a 2nd lieutenant, was asking a superior officer to help coordinate some kind of offensive strategy.

"Captain Snow, the fleet needs our full cooperation if it has any chance of making it out to sea fully intact," I said.

"Alright, fine. What do you have in mind," he asked.

"My squad is going to focus on the ships while you and I take out those anti-ship planes. I'll rotate with them out if they run out of bombs," I said.

"Alright, follow me"

I followed Swordsman into his attack run on the anti-ship planes. He was difficult to keep up with, mainly because his F-14 was better than my F-5. As soon as he was done with one target he would do some wild maneuvering to get into a position for his next target. I couldn't help but wonder if Captain Snow was trying to lose me on purpose. He wasn't giving me any opportunity to shoot down any enemy planes, but he told me to follow him so I had to assume it was an order when he said it.

"Kid I just dropped my last bomb on a destroyer, it didn't have that good of an effect on it," said Chopper

"Alright listen, get over here and support Captain Snow while I take care of the enemy ships," I said

There were three more ships left in the blockade and plenty of enemy fighters providing top cover. I gained altitude to dive on the destroyer that Chopper tried bombing. I was at four thousand feet when I started to dive at an eighty degree angle on the ship. My speed was well over Mach one when I released my bomb onto the destroyed. The explosion practically tore the ship in half when I looked back as I pulled out of the dive. All that was left were the two frigates and I only had three bombs left and one missile left. I had to use what my squad and I had left.

"Wardog, I need a weapons check," I said

"This is Edge I have only have my guns left"

"Chopper here, I got the same situation here kid"

"Edge, I need you to perform some strafing runs on the bridges of the two frigates. This will throw the ships' crew into chaos and it'll give the fleet some time to make their move," I said.

"Hey, Wardog leader, take your useless wingman with you, he's just getting in my way," said Swordsman.

"Fine, Chopper I want you to cover me and Edge while we're taking care of these ships"

Edge approached the ships head on at low altitude. I saw the ships bridge light from the explosion Edge caused from her strafing run. I moved into position to attack the rear of the ship and dropped two of my bombs. One of them hit the cruise missile launch tubes and blew the ship apart. I knew where I should hit the next ship.

I sank the final Frigate and cleared the way for the fleet. I could hear cheering over the radio and I could only think about all the people that died during the escape. I was glad the fleet made it out alright but I didn't think it was enough to cheer about. The fleet was going to be part of our counter attack and it would escalate the war. Chopper broke my train of thought by asking me if it felt good to be the flight lead.

"I could get used to telling you two what to do," I joked.

"I see. Good, I'm glad to hear it"

"Alright guys form up on me and let's get back to Sand Island," I said.

"One two three," counted Chopper. "One two three planes, count 'em up man, we're all back safe. I can't wait to tell the captain once they pluck him outta the ocean"

1411hrs, Sand Island AFB

We landed our planes and dragged our tired bodies to the debriefing room to give our mission reports. When we got done with that, I asked Captain Hamilton where Captain Bartlett was.

"The search and rescue team couldn't find him," he said

"What do you mean they couldn't find him," asked Kei.

Captain Hamilton explained that the S&R team couldn't find him and that they suspected he was taken prisoner aboard the recon vessel that we were ordered not to shoot. If that was the case, then Captain Bartlett was the war's very first POW of the war. I could see the sadness and guilt in Kei's eyes when she heard this.

"Maybe he planned to be captured," said Colonel Perrault.

"With all due respect, sir, but what the hell are you talking about," asked Kei.

"Watch your mouth 2nd lieutenant, and if you must know he came to with a very compelling argument that attacks on our training flights were preemptive strikes on us. He also mentioned that this base was the first line of defense to the west of the Osean mainland. His argument was so convincing that I started suspecting him of treason. I wanted him interrogated when he got back to base but since we can't find him, that makes me more suspicious of him," said Colonel Perrault.

Kei refused to believe that Captain Bartlett would betray us and left the room. I couldn't help but wonder how Colonel Perrault knew about my theory. Captain Bartlett said he told Captain Hamilton about it. Maybe my theory was convincing enough for Captain Hamilton to take action so he had to tell Colonel Perrault. I wanted to speak up about it, but if Captain Bartlett was under suspicion, then I would be too, so I kept my mouth shut.

I went to go looking for Kei. Pops told me that she was on the other side of the runway sitting on the sand. Sure enough she was there. She was sitting the same way I found her when I talked at Heierlark that one day, except she was looking out towards the ocean watching the sunset. I could tell she didn't want to be bothered, but I had to do something. I sat down next to Kei and she didn't even look at me as I started talking to her.

"I loved watching the sunset like this when I was a kid. I still do. Its times like this that actually make me forget about everything else in the world," I said.

"I don't know if I could ever forget anything that happened this week," said Kei softly.

"Well then you can't forget that someone actually remembered your birthday"

I saw her try to smile at that but it didn't last long. I knew she was talking about the captain getting shot down and all the other people that died today. I reached over and touched her shoulder.

"Hey, you also can't forget that Chopper and I are right here with you. We both won't be able to forget everything that's happened, but whatever comes next, you know that you won't face it alone. We're a team, Kei. We can rely on each other," I said.

She looked at me and smiled a little. I stood up and helped her up also. I was still looking at her when I noticed a Yuktobanian F-4 release a bomb. I grabbed Kei turned my back to the bomb and was knocked down by the shockwave of the explosion. We were both alright, but then we realized that the base was under attack. I helped Kei to her feet.

"Come on, we need to get to our planes," I shouted and we ran towards the hangers. Bombs were falling all over the place as Kei and I hauled ass to the hanger where our jets were parked. The other remaining pilots on the base were already taking off to fend off the first wave of attackers. Some of them didn't even make it off of the ground before their planes were reduced to flaming wrecks.

We made it to our planes and Pops had already laid out our flight gear for us. Chopper was already strapped in trying to start his plane. I could hear him trying to start his F-5 up over the radio and the control tower was continuing their alerts about the air raid, as if it wasn't obvious enough that we were under attack. My squad had just started to taxi onto the runway when a friendly plane had crashed into a row of parked jets to my right.

"All allied aircraft, this is Blaze, I need you guys to cover us while we take off," I called out.

"We'll try and do our best, Blaze. Just get your asses up here fast"

Edge was taking off when I looked behind her to see a group of fighters coming in to bounce her from above. They were being chased by the remaining allied planed, which were being chase by another formation of enemy fighters. I couldn't warn them in time and they were shot down as soon as they cleared Edge. Chopper made it up soon after Edge was airborne and then it was my turn. I was still strapping in when I taxied my F-5 onto the runway with the control tower and Pops yelling at me to scramble before I got attacked.

I gave my plane full power and started my take off roll. As soon as I made it off the ground and pulled my landing gear up, I saw a pair of F-4 Phantoms coming head on. I quickly acquired a missile lock on one of them and fired. His plane burst into flames and I rolled over him as the wreck flew by my. I swung around in a hard right turn and got onto his wingman's tail. I was eight hundred meters behind him and opened fire on him with my guns. I could see the cannon shells impact along his left wing causing it to rip off and send his F-4 into a violent spiral towards the ground.

"Edge, Chopper I need a count of how many enemy planes there are," I said.

"Kid, I see a formation of twelve fighters. They even got bombers, they want to destroy the base itself" said Chopper. "AHH my rock 'n' roll records, they're in my room. It took me forever to collect all those."

"Forget about them, dude. Right now I need you and Edge to take out those bombers before they do any more damage to the base," I said.

I saw a new formation of enemy fighters headed towards the base and I met them head on. They broke formation and I couldn't line any of them up for a shot. I put my plane into an Immelmann turn to and dove on a straggling enemy Tornado attacker. I sent a volley of cannon fire into his engines and watched his plane explode. I saw another Tornado to my right climbing to reach Edge, who had just shot down a bomber. I pulled the stick into my right thigh and rolled my F-5 into position for a missile shot and fired. My missile impacted the Tornado and I saw the pilot bail out.

"This is Wardog leader, Lieutenant Colonel Ford. Approaching Sand Island, what's your current status?"

I remember Chopper telling me about the Lieutenant Colonel, and how much of an ass he was. Scuttlebutt was that he was a captain that go promoted to Lieutenant Colonel for ratting out his wingman for flying while drunk and that apparently Colonel Perrault thought it was a good enough reason to give him two promotions instead of just promoting him to a major.

The control tower gave him the sit rep and told us to hold the runway until he arrived. I didn't even answer him because I was busy trying to provide cover for Edge and Chopper while they took out the remaining bombers. I honestly didn't want the Lieutenant Colonel to relieve me of command, but I had to face it.

We cleared out all remaining enemy planes when Pops took off from Sand Island.

"Look at the hanger," said Chopper. "Who the hell pulled that out?"

"This is Grimm; I was in the hanger helping out the mechanics. I'm taking off"

"The hell you are. You're not even out of replacement pilot training yet. Aren't there any other spare pilots around?"

"I didn't see any"

"There's no time, be careful Grimm, I'll cover you," said Edge.

As Grimm started to make his way to the runway, I noticed more enemy fighters on the way. They were going to try and attack Grimm. I only had four missiles left and Grimm had eight F-16 gunning for him. I had to coordinate some kind of defense to cover Grimm but it would be difficult with just the three of us in the air.

I ordered Edge and Chopper to form a Lufbery Circle above Grimm at three thousand feet. This tactic would allow us to make diving passes at any enemy trying to attack Grimm and allow us to protect each other if any enemy was dumb enough to try and attack one of us while we were flying in this formation. Sure enough, some Yuke pilots were dumb enough to try and make passes at us and they were quickly dispatched.

Our defensive tactic didn't last long after we shot down four of the attacking fighters. The four remaining enemies decided to attack all together. Three of them made a pass at Grimm, which forced all of us to pounce on them. This left an opening for the final enemy fighter to attack Grimm; however he decided to follow me into a dive and chase me.

As soon as I shot down one of the attacking planes I cut back on the throttle and pulled back on the stick. The nose of my F-5 was perpendicular to the angle I was diving. My plane's speed dropped like a ton of bricks and my pursuer flew right past me. I pushed the stick forward and chased him. He tried climbing into a tight vertical left spiral, but it only gave me a good angle to open fire with my guns. I squeezed the trigger and watched my shells impact his F-16 behind the cockpit and separate it from the rest of the plane.

"This is Grimm, I'm about to take off, can you see me from up there?"

"Yeah, you're all clear. Now get your ass up here," I said.

Grimm started his take off roll and was airborne within second. Chopper finally had himself a wingman for today and he didn't waste any time telling Grimm to support him.

"This is Airman First Class Grimm, call sign Archer. Control tower and all aircraft, I will be joining Wardog squadron"

"Roger that. Blaze, take care of him for us," said the control tower.

There was another enemy wave of bomber approaching from the east. Lieutenant Colonel for was approaching from the same direction.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Ford, Sand Island I'm out of fuel. Requesting permission to land"

"Negative Lieutenant Colonel, you can't land. We're under air attack"

"All friendly aircraft cover me while I land"

"What are you, insane?" said Chopper.

"Second Lieutenant Davenport, is that you? I'll be sure to write you up after…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Lieutenant Colonel's plane was hit and trailing fire. I watched as his plane crashed into the water with him still in it. He was so distracted that he didn't see the enemy formation attack him from behind.

The final wave of enemies consisted of two more bombers and 10 MiG-29's. I thought that the pilots of the MiG's would be more experience than the first three I fought with earlier today, but at the same time I was wondering if those three from earlier were just piss poor pilots that got selected to go on a suicide mission. Either way I had to be ready for this new formation.

"Chopper, Grimm Focus on those bombers, Edge and I will cover your attacks," I said.

Edge formed up on my left wing and we dove into the formation of MiG's. I lead us through some hard maneuvering but I we couldn't shake them off. I ordered Edge to break off and attack any fighters that tried to attack Choppers element but she was too caught up in the dogfight that she couldn't do it. It was up to Grimm and Chopper to look out for each other.

"Edge, have you ever played Chicken before," I asked.

"Yeah, but I would usually always lose"

"Well, we're going to play it right now and we're gonna play it full speed. Get over to the west side of the runway and I'll come in from the east. When I say so, you're going to brake right."

We both maneuvered into position and I gunned the engines. As we launched towards each other, my heart was pounding in my throat and my thoughts were racing. Would Edge turn to my right or her right? Would she turn at all? Time just seemed to slow down the more I thought about it. I could see Edge coming towards me followed by the four MiG's that were chasing her. The time it actually took for me and Edge to meet took a matter of second.

"Now!" I yelled.

Edge broke right but I continued flying head on into the enemy formation. I don't know if it was fear or if I wasn't paying attention to myself, but I flew through the formation. I saw mine and Edge's pursuers break off and scatter. We had created an opening and we took it.

I latched onto a MiG's tail and landed hits on his left engine causing his plane to smoke and spin uncontrollably out of the sky. I saw another MiG at my eleven o' clock high and I climber up to meet him. I sent another burst from my guns into the nose of the jet where the pilot would be sitting and his plane just rolled over and dove into the ground.

Edge was already in the process of shooting down her third MiG when I noticed she was being chased. As I was about to warn her, I saw Archer dive on the MiG. He shot it down with such ease and climbed back up to steal one of Copper's kills. Grimm wasn't letting the enemy fighters get anywhere near Chopper.

The final enemy wave was starting to fall apart and the only thing that stood between my squad and a safe landing was an enemy formation of 4 MiG-29's. They knew how to fly and they were throwing themselves all over the sky trying to shoot us down and get away. I ordered my squad to disperse and the enemy formation did the same. I was going after the flight lead and he really knew what he was doing. Every time I was close to latching onto his tail, he would reverse direction twice and force me into a stall if I tried to keep up.

I remembered one of the dog fighting books that I read mention that in a dogfight, speed was everything. Not just how fast my plane is going, but how quickly you acted and reacted. If my reaction time was slower than my opponent, then I would be the one to wind up dead. My only chance of surviving the fight would be if I was faster.

I forced him to chase me at high speeds and he kept up with every twist and turn I made. He was closing in on me and soon he would have a shoot. I leveled off, cut power, and barrel rolled over the enemy flight lead. My favorite maneuver had put me right behind him. I locked onto him and was about to fire when he put his plane into Pugachev's Cobra. I was going to over shoot and he would have the advantage again unless I threw him off.

Before I passed him, I rolled upside down, pulled back on the stick, and dove for the deck. I kept my eye on him as he came out of his maneuver and searched for me. I pulled into a climb and soon after, I had him in my sights. I fired the remaining ammo I had in my guns into his plane, but he was still flying. He was losing speed and his maneuvering was sluggish. I locked onto him with a missile but I couldn't get a good angle so the missile wouldn't miss. Suddenly Grimm came down in a steep dive, firing his guns at my target. Grimm over shot but his attack forced my enemy to brake, giving me the opportunity to fire my missile. I took the shot and the MiG was reduced to a fireball headed for the ground. The air raid was finally over.

"Control tower to all aircraft, all bombers confirmed destroyed, thanks for protecting our base, everyone!"

"Was my flying alright," asked Grimm.

"A little rough around the edges but yeah, you were great," I said.

Chopper didn't seem to agree and started complaining about how Grimm stole one of Chopper's kills and how he almost stole my last one. I honestly didn't care if Grimm took it or not I just wanted to go to bed already, but I had to stay and make sure everyone had landed first. So I circled over the base watching the sunset through the smoke and haze. This was my favorite time to fly. If I wasn't so tired I could've stayed up there to watch the sun set entirely.

When I landed, I realized that it had been just over seven hours since the war began. The preemptive strikes on Sand Island in the past week were really taking a toll on us and things would get even more stressful for Wardog because we were the only four combat pilots left on the base. I wanted to talk to Pops about what has happened so far, but I wouldn't see him until tomorrow morning.

I was headed to my room when Kei pulled me aside in the hallway to ask me something. By the look in her eyes, I could tell she was worried about something.

"I've noticed the way you've been flying today and it makes me wonder about you," she said

"What do you mean," I asked

She seemed nervous about what she was going to ask me, and that worried me. I got the feeling that she might be second guessing her decision of letting me lead the squad or something, but as always I could never have guessed what she wanted to ask me.

"We're all responsible for some of the deaths of our enemies but the way you fly during a fight makes me wonder if you find pleasure in doing it"

"I see what you're asking," I said softly. "Every time I shot down an unsuspecting enemy, I did it because if I didn't more people would've died if I didn't. Every time I shot down an enemy trying to shoot me down, I did it to stay alive."

"What do you mean more people would've died?"

"Those planes trying to sink the ships would've damaged them, but at the same time they could've killed some of the crew members aboard the ship if I hadn't stopped them. I don't take pleasure in any of this; in fact I'm already sick of it. My hands are covered with the blood of people just like you and me. I'm responsible for a husband not being able to go back home to his family. I'm responsible for making a child grow up without a father."

I could hear my voice get louder the more I talked about the subject and I could see that Kei was getting sinking her head lower and lower. I wanted to break down and cry but I didn't want Kei to see. I couldn't help it; I leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor.

"Dammit, Kei, how did all this happen? Why did Yuktobania declare war?" I asked.

She sat down next to me and put her arm around me.