Chapter 4 – Rendezvous

September 28, 2010, 0430hrs

I woke up an hour earlier than usual, but I wasn't in my bed. I was sleeping with Kei in her bed and we were spooning. I was still wearing my flight suit and she was wearing her white tank top and her flight pants. I don't know how me and her ended up sleeping together or if she remembers how we got like this, but I felt really awkward knowing that I was in bed with my wingman. At the same time though, it felt so right. Ever since we left Heierlark, I kept thinking about what Master Sergeant Russell had said about how Kei liked me. I had a crush on her too but I never gave any indication about me liking her after all this time.

I was careful when I got out of her bed so I didn't wake her up. She was sleeping peacefully and after a day like yesterday, I didn't blame her. I got ready for my morning workout routine and left the room quietly. As I was running around the base, I looked up to see Pop's plane coming in to land. I wondered where he was and why he didn't return after the attack. After I was done with my run I headed to the hanger to find him. He looked like he was oblivious to what happened last night.

"Blaze, glad to see you're still alive. Did anyone else make it?" he asked.

"We all made it except for Lieutenant Colonel Ford. Grimm unofficially joined Wardog last night," I said.

"The Lieutenant Colonel is dead?"

"Yeah, he was on his way over when he said he was out of fuel and requested permission to land. He started his approach when Chopper made a sarcastic remark about his sanity. Ford was about to say that he was going to write Chopper up when he got shot down. So with Ford gone, there's no one left to lead Wardog so we'll all probably be reassigned," I said.

"You always this glum?" asked Pops.

"I never really thought of myself as glum. I'm just being a realist," I replied. I know I'm usually negative about stuff when I just face the facts.

"Well being a realist can be the worst way to view the world. What I mean is that you face facts right away and you miss opportunities too easily. I understand it hard to be optimistic, but sometimes you have to dig deep and find some kind of silver lining."

Pops' words were buzzing around in my head all morning. That was until, until I ran into Kei in the gym. I wasn't stealthy enough when I got out of her bed and we just stared at each other in an awkward silence. I didn't know what to say. I felt like she could read my mind when I looked at her and that she knew that I thought she looked good in those workout pants she had on.

"Listen, about last night," said Kei.

"Did anything happen?" I asked nervously.

"What, no. You fell asleep in the hallway and Chopper helped me carry you to our room. I carried you on my back and put you in my bunk but I didn't feel like moving to couch or your bunk so I stayed in mine."

Part of me felt like she was bullshitting me, but then again she was probably just as tired as I was so I could kind of understood that. I didn't want to talk about what had happened and I tried to change the subject.

"So… You can carry that much on your back," I asked.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I can squat almost twice my own weight"

"I can see that," I said under my breath.

"Huh?"

"I said I'd like to see that," I said. Nice save, Antonio.

"Alright, but I need you to spot me though."

I followed Kei to the rack and sure enough she wasn't lying. I was actually impressed that she was able to get eight reps with two hundred thirty pounds on her back and as we continued to share the gym together, I found out just how strong she was. I honestly thought that she would've only been able to do less intense workouts. This was actually the first time I had fun during my workout and it was all thanks to her.

After Kei and I got done at the gym, we took our showers and wandered around Sand Island for a little bit. There was nothing much going on until Captain Hamilton called me into Colonel Perrault's office. I got the feeling that he heard about Kei and I's night together or that he heard a rumor that I got wasted or both. Either way I was in trouble if he knew about either one. I entered Colonel Perrault's office and presented myself.

"2nd Lieutenant Castillo reporting as ordered, sir," I said.

"At ease Castillo, we have some pressing matters to discuss with you. As you know, Lieutenant Colonel Ford isn't alive due to your lack of support for his safe landing last night," said Colonel Perrault. He was trying to blame me for Ford's death, but in actuality there was nothing Wardog could've done to support him. I was surprised Captain Hamilton didn't try and defend me as the Colonel's bogus accusation, but then again, he was Hamilton's boss. I didn't think it was mine or anyone else's fault that Ford was dead. "Fortunately for you, that's not why you're here," said Colonel Perrault.

"With Ford no longer with us, Wardog has no official flight lead," said Captain Hamilton. "The only two options left are to either transfer you and the others member of Wardog into other squadrons, but doing so would leave Sand Island without any pilots left."

"Couldn't you just rotate another squadron in, sir?" I asked.

"We could, but it would only be temporarily. Our remaining supply of pilots is already stretched too thin for another squadron to be here permanently," said Captain Hamilton.

"What's the other option, sir?"

"The other option is to promote one of you to Captain so that Wardog isn't disbanded. After a very hard fought discussion with central command…" Captain Hamilton paused, reached into his pocket, and threw a small black box towards me. I caught it and nervously opened it. I saw a pair of Captains' bars inside of it and I was totally speechless. "We're promoting you to Captain," continued Hamilton. "The way you led your team during those two sorties yesterday made you the right choice for this promotion."

I still didn't know what to say. I was in the military for just under two years, and already I was being promoted to Captain. I was also a Marine and I was in charge of a squadron in the Air Defense Force. I was questioning all of this and I wanted to ask Captain Hamilton how all this was possible, but he stopped me before I could speak.

"Like I said, Captain, it was a very hard fought discussion. We also got Grimm officially rotated into Wardog but only as an enlisted airman. He won't be given the rank of 2nd lieutenant until his college credits clear and when we get his papers processed, which will take quite some time. One final thing, once we dismiss you, you might want to talk to Pops about some new hardware that should be arriving later on today."

"Thank you, sir," I said.

I could see that Colonel Perrault wasn't happy about any of this and I didn't care what he thought, but he let me know anyways after Hamilton left.

"Now you listen to me you smug little turd, I was against this from the start, but since central command ruled in favor of it, I have to make nice and agree with them on this. But just so you know, I'll be waiting for the day you screw it all up and show everyone that making you Captain was a huge mistake."

"I'll be sure they won't regret this, sir. Unlike you, I won't hide my mistakes like a coward when I make them," I said and left his office.

I went to the crew room where the rest of my team was. They were all relaxing because we weren't allowed to help with the cleanup and repair efforts around the base. We were supposed to be sitting alert, so that's what we did. I noticed Genette filming Kei as she was writing in her book. His eyes were glued to her as she sat there with only her tank top and flight pants on. Genette looked as though he'd never seen a woman before or at least a woman as beautiful as Kei.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm just continuing my article that I started from when I arrived. I was doing a profile view of everyone in the Sand Island Squadron and I was hoping to interview you guys later on if that's alright," said Genette.

"I've always wanted to have a newspaper article written about me," said Chopper as he walked over towards us. "Just think about it, Kid, women lining up to meet the men who saved their country from the Yuke invaders."

I saw Kei shoot an annoyed look at Chopper and he saw it.

"Sorry, I almost forgot about Nagase. She'll have to hire me as her bodyguard to fend off all her future suitors. We'll be the four most famous people in Osea."

"Is that so? With what skills do you expect defend me with," asked Kei.

"These skills," said Chopper as he started punching the air in front of Kei. At which point she grabbed his arm, pulled him to the ground, and put Chopper in an arm bar. Chopper started to tap out and Kei let him go. I didn't know she knew MMA.

"I can handle myself," said Kei as she got up, grabbed her book and left the room. As she was about to turn into the hallway, she stopped and looked at me. Her eyes widened when she noticed the Captains' insignia on my collar.

"Why are you wearing those bars?" she asked suspiciously.

"It was either this, or we all got transferred somewhere else and leave Sand Island defenseless," I said.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Chopper.

I turned around and showed him my collar. Chopper could only look at me completely stupefied with his mouth open. Grimm immediately popped up and saluted me and Chopper and Kei followed his example. I felt really uncomfortable with the three of them saluting me so I told them not to do it again.

"When did you become Captain, sir?" asked Kei.

"Please don't call me 'sir'; it just makes me feel uncomfortable. Captain Hamilton convinced the top brass to promote me so that Wardog wouldn't be disbanded. I don't know how he did it but it happened. I'm officially the permanent flight lead of Wardog, until further notice anyway," I said.

"Wait, but they promoted you from a 2nd lieutenant to Captain? Is that even possible?" said Genette.

"I don't know, I've only been in the military for just under two years and already the brass wants me leading Wardog. Captain Hamilton just said it was a hard fought discussion with the brass," I told them and their eyes just got wider with astonishment.

"Do you mind if I interview you first Captain?" asked Genette.

I really didn't want to be interviewed because I hated being bombarded with questions and it put me under a lot of pressure. When I was under pressure, I would usually begin stuttering uncontrollably and I didn't want him or anyone else to know that, so I declined and Genette didn't press the issue. While Genette interviewed everyone else, I went to find Pops. He was sitting in one of the hangers, resting in a chair near his work shop with some of the other mechanics. Word got to them about my promotion and they all saluted me as I approached them. I was still getting used to saluting to the others who were lower in rank and I could see why Captain Bartlett hated being saluted. Pops saluted me too and it made me feel even weirder when he called me 'sir'. Something about someone older than me calling me 'sir' didn't sit well with me so I asked him not to do that.

"So Pops, Captain Hamilton said to talk to you about some new hardware we're supposed to be getting today, what is it?" I asked.

"Follow me and I'll show you," said Pops with a huge grin on his face.

I followed Pops to one of the other hangers and showed me a wide selection of new planes that had just arrived. F-16C Fighting Falcons, F-14D Tomcats, F/A-18 Super Hornets, A-10 Thunderbolt II's, F-15E Strike Eagles, and F-22 Raptors. I was like a little kid in a candy store the more I looked at all of these planes, and I hurried to claim my personal planes that I wanted for myself. I sat in every one of the cockpits and felt around at all the controls, trying to get a feel for each one. Every plane seemed to have its own aura and I picked out the ones that felt right to me. I wanted to take my F-18 for a test flight, but we couldn't fly them just yet. The ground crews had to perform maintenance, and tune everything before they were cleared for active duty.

As I was headed back to the crew room, I saw the rest of my team followed by Genette coming towards me. Genette wanted to get a picture of Wardog squadron for his newspaper article and he wanted to take the picture outside because the lighting was better. We lined up in front of a row of F-5 that were parked on the tarmac and stood professionally. Genette asked us not to be so serious and Chopper took this as a go ahead to act a little goofy. He grabbed Grimm around the neck and pulled his head next to Chopper's chest. Chopper flexed his free arm, blocking my face in the picture. I was glad that he did because my facial expression seemed like I was saying 'what the fuck?' Kei could only cradle her arms and look at Chopper and Grimm with a slight smile.

September 30, 2010 1422hrs, Eaglin Straits

We arrived on station over Eaglin Straits as a heavy fog settled in over the area. Our AO was well beyond enemy air attack and we all figured the enemy wouldn't try anything. We were ordered to fly top cover for three aircraft carriers as they rendezvoused to form a combined fleet for a counter attack against Yuktobania. The carriers' names were the Buzzard, the Vulture, and the Kestrel. I didn't know the detail of the future plans of attack but if I had to venture a guess, I would've assumed that this new fleet would launch a large combined air attack on key Yuktobanian bases. The only thing that worried me was the probability that Yuktobania might've had some kind of defense set up for an assault like this. We all flew a formation of F/A-18E Super Hornets. I wanted us to be ready for anything, which we all doubted anything would, so I ordered us to carry two AGM's and six Sparrow missiles along with our usual Sidewinder missiles. I just hoped to God we didn't have to use them. Regardless of how minimal the threat was, everyone that air command could call upon was mobilized to provide air cover as the three carries meet up with each other. Grouping them together didn't seem like a good idea at all because if the Yukes launched an attack big enough, then they could easily get rid of our primary assets for the Osean counter attack. It would've made more sense if our forces were reconsolidated separately and then brought together later on. Bringing these carriers together like this was like painting a huge bull's eye on Osea's back. The Eaglin Straits had only one way in and out and the fleet could easily be trapped if the Yuke navy blockaded the entrance.

We flew in formation over the carries when Thunderhead gave permission for the other squadrons to return to their bases. Wardog was told to wait for a tanker to so we could refuel and remain on station until everyone else left. We're the furthest ones out from our base, why couldn't we leave?

"Everyone's starting to leave, can we go yet?" complained Chopper.

"Wardog squadron, I told you to wait for the tanker plane above the carrier," said Thunderhead.

"I swear man. Hey what is that? Is my radar on the Fritz?" said Chopper.

I looked down and noticed multiple hits on my radar coming from the Northeast. This isn't happening, I thought.

"It's showing up on mine too," said Grimm.

"Where'd it come from? How come the morons at Thunder-Blockhead didn't notice it? Yo, Kid!"

"You have to call him Captain now," said Grimm.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, hey do you think we outta report this?"

"Screw it, intercept that formation. All weapons are free. Don't let them get near those carriers," I said as I turned to engage the enemy formation.

I got within visual range to see that they were AV-8B Harriers. These things were as useless as an ash tray on a motorcycle when it came to dogfighting against our Super Hornets. Their top speed couldn't reach past Mach 1 and they had limited maneuverability. These pilots were sent on a suicide mission whether they knew it or not.

Chopper shot one down while the Harriers were coming head on and the rest of the squad scattered. One of the enemy planes I latched onto tried diving for the carriers, but a three second burst from my gun into his right wing sent him into the water. The rest of the enemy formation fell apart soon after Kei and Grimm joined the fray.

Two more formations of Harriers were approaching from the east and west. I ordered Chopper's element to intercept the formation to the east while Kei and I intercepted the formation to the west. They were coming in from low altitude like the A-6's that we shot down at Port St. Hewlett. Kei and I dove on them and followed them under the bridge that connected the two land masses that formed the striate. The Harriers launched their missiles but they failed to track the carriers. The Harriers pulled into a climbing right turn, giving me and Kei a good angle to shoot both of them down with our guns.

"Visibility is poor, it's the perfect time and place for a surprise attack," said Kei.

"Yeah, I can't help but feel like everything's working against us," I said.

"Something's strange here but I don't know what. Is this what an enemy attack is usually like?" asked Grimm.

He was right. How did the enemy know when and where to attack? A regrouping of our forces like this isn't exactly public knowledge but more of a need to know basis. Another thing that seemed off was these fighters. We were outside the range of enemy air attack and these were carrier based aircraft, so the Yukes could've had an aircraft carrier nearby. If that was the case, then it should've been detected.

More enemy formations were showing up on radar, but they were no match for our F-18's, but if more and more came then we would be overwhelmed soon. One Harrier I tried chasing down had the heart of a dogfighter. He was coming in from the west at low altitude. I had an altitude advantage over him and I used it to perform a split S so that I could dive behind him. I was too eager and this pilot saw me coming because he broke hard left, spoiling my attack. If I tried to turn with him, I would've overshot and he would've been able to fill my plane full of lead. I pulled up out of my dive and used the speed I had gained to climb out of reach. I kept my eye on my target to see him coming after me. This guy is insane. I continued climbing and pulled a hard right turn so that I could dive on the enemy plane. I couldn't line him up fast enough and flew past him. I pulled into a tight loop when he reversed his direction to give chase to me. He couldn't keep up and I was finally able to get a shot on him. More enemy fighters started to appear on radar and we started to become overwhelmed. The Harriers were getting even closer to the carriers and we couldn't repel them back with just the four of us.

"Thunderhead, where are those fucking allied squadrons," I shouted.

"They're on the way. Just hang in there."

"Why haven't the carries launched their fighters yet?!" exclaimed Kei.

"This is Swordsman, keep us covered until we get up in the air."

God dammit! Kei formed up on my left wing and we held our position as more Harriers made attack runs on the carriers. She spotted a flight of four Harriers coming in at ten o' clock low. Kei put her Super Hornet into a diving left turn to get behind the enemy aircraft, but she didn't see the other enemy formation diving on her from twelve o' clock high. I pitched my F-18 up to meet them head on but when they saw me coming, the flight lead led his wingmen into a steeper dive. The move was simple but extremely effective. The steeper dive threw off my timing and I couldn't line up a shot quick enough. The enemy formation shot past me and I quickly rolled upside down, lowered my flaps, pulled the air brakes, and cut back on the throttle. My F-18's nose quickly pointed straight towards the ground and I quickly acquired a lock on the trailing enemy aircraft with a sidewinder. I took the shot as my plane recovered from the stall I had put myself into. I dove after the remaining three attackers that were chasing Kei and I sent a volley of 20mm cannon shells into the lead plane's fuselage. He was belching out thick oily smoke and tried to pull out of his dive, but he couldn't. The remaining two Harriers continued chasing after Kei who had already shot down three of the attacking enemy aircraft headed for the carriers. I quickly locked both of them up with my Sparrow missiles and fired. Both of my missiles hit their marks and reduced the Harriers to nothing more than flaming scrap. Kei tried to shoot down her final target but she couldn't get to him in time. The enemy pilot got within range to fire a missile at the Kestrel but it exploded before it could even touch the ship. The CIWSs on the Kestrel's stern came to life and shot the missile out of the sky before it could do any real damage to the carrier. Kei broke off her pursuit of the last enemy Harrier and watched as it peeled away from the Kestrel. As the Harrier tried to break off his attack, the Kestrel's AA defenses came online and launched a missile at the enemy aircraft. As soon as the missile impacted the enemy plane, the carrier aircraft started to launch off the flight deck and join the fight.

Swordsman was the first pilot to join the skirmish and commence his attack on the incoming fighters. Captain Snow's flying was superb compared to most of the other Osean pilots. However, the thing I didn't like about his flying was that he was greedy when it came to shooting down enemy aircraft. He almost collided with a couple of allied pilots in attempt to steal their kills, myself included. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"Hey, watch it, Captain," I shouted over the radio.

"Stay out of my way, Blaze," he snapped.

"Wardog, switch to our private channel," I said over the radio and I heard my team's comm cut out. I switched over to the new radio channel and began to speak. "Swordsman wants to us to stay out of his way so do as he says."

"He's all over the place, Kid. He almost crashed into his own wingman because he's greedy," said Chopper.

"Then let him have them. If he thinks he can secure the airspace alone then let him do it. Disengage all enemy aircraft and let Captain Snow have his glory."

"Blaze, you can't be serious," said Kei.

"He's not going to listen to us. For up on me," I said as I climbed and held my position at six thousand feet.

My team got into formation and started to circle the AO. I could see the air battle raging on down below and I could see Captain Snow's F-14 flying all over the place. As soon as he shot down one plane, he would go after another target. He was pushing himself to his limits and was draining his ammo rapidly. Swordsman would fire his gun into the enemy aircraft to disable him first and then he would fire a missile to finish the job. A third of the time, he would pour a long stream of bullets into his target without aiming for any specific part of the enemy aircraft. I was trained to shoot down enemy aircraft by targeting vital sections of the aircraft such as the engines, cockpit, or vital control surfaces like the horizontal and vertical stabilizers or ailerons. Swordsman was firing wildly into the enemy fighters when he caught them on his own. When he tried taking other people's kills it didn't take much for him to finish them off. I wanted to beat the shit out of him for endangering his allies but if he wants to be a glory hound, then I'd let him. Captain Snow continued to hold off the enemy fighters but more and more just kept coming. I was amazed that he was able to keep up his frenzy for more than a minute before he started to become overwhelmed. Enemy Harriers were closing in from all over the place but Captain Snow just remained silent and continued protecting the carriers.

"He's about to get overwhelmed, Captain. The carriers are going to get hit if this keeps up," said Grimm.

"He ordered us to stay out of his way. As a superior officer, we have to comply," I said.

"Do you have a problem with authority, Kid," asked Chopper.

"Only with stupid people," I murmured. "Swordsman, enemy fighters are coming in from the west at low altitude."

"What the hell are you telling me for? Get after them!" he shouted.

"You heard the man, let's go," I said.

We all dispersed and started to pursue targets. Kei and I were diving on a pair of Harriers from their three o' clock high. We both led our targets and they ran into our barrage of cannon fire. Both planes fell into the water in flames and we could see even more enemy fighters coming in from further west. We all regrouped and made our way towards the enemy formation but they scattered when they saw us coming. I chased two Harriers that were coming in at low altitude. As I was closing in on them, I saw that they were slowing down way too much. I thought they were going to stall, but they didn't stall and I flew right by them when I realized what they did. Dammit, how could I forget that they could hover in the air like that? I pulled into a hard left turn while they tracked me and I saw Kei circling above them, waiting for the right time to pounce. I circled the hovering Harriers and waited for them to launch their missiles at me. One of them fired a missile at me and I barrel rolled over it at the last possible second. Then the second harrier fired as I came out of my maneuver, but I was in no position to dodge it either. I launched a burst of flare to distract the missile as Kei swooped down and destroyed both of the Harriers in a single attack. Chopper was trying frantically to get a bead on one of the enemy fighters as he twisted and turned in a desperate attempt to escape. The enemy pilot tried to pull hard into Chopper's turn but he wasn't expecting Chopper to react so quickly. When the enemy tried breaking into Chopper's turn, he ran into a stream of 20mm cannon fire that tore off the right wing of the enemy plane. Chopper let out a shout of joy and latched onto another target. I noticed Grimm flying as aggressively as Captain Snow, but more coolheaded and less reckless. Grimm was at high altitude when he spotted an enemy Harrier at his two o' clock low. Instead of diving straight for the enemy plane, Grimm barrel rolled into position behind his target and fired his gun into the Harrier's right side, causing it to spin out of control and crash. Grimm then pitched his F-18 up and headed straight for a Harrier that was diving on the Buzzard. He didn't have a missile shot on the enemy plane but he did fire his gun into the Harrier's nose section. Grimm must've killed the pilot because the Harrier didn't pull out of his dive and crashed into the water. We all took one last look around before we saw that the sky was clear and we were about to wait over the carrier for the tanker plane when Thunderhead called out a new enemy formation carrying long range anti-ship missiles.

"Kid, do you see any of them," asked Chopper.

"Negative visual contact, but if you see any get after them," I ordered.

A few seconds passed before I saw the missiles streak towards the Vulture and impact the bow of the ship. It was still operational and the direction of the missiles gave me an idea of where the attacks were coming from. Wardog formed on me and we set off in the direction the missiles came from. Sure enough, there were three enemy F-35s flying towards the fleet. Swordsman zoomed past us to try and get the first kill but they scattered when they saw him. This glory hound just ruined our element of surprise. I wanted to try and lock onto the enemy fighters with my Sparrow missiles but with the enemy formation braking formation, there was no way the missiles would successfully track.

I engaged the flight lead and followed him into sharp split S. When he pulled out of the maneuver, he applied full throttle and stated to climb. I was so focused on him that I didn't see one of his wingmen following me. Kei quickly swung in behind my pursuer and sent a missile into the midsection of the aircraft so that I could continue my pursuit. He tried everything to lose me but none of it worked until he used my favorite maneuver against me. He was in perfect position to shoot me down, but my fear was short lived when I saw him break off and head for the fleet. I couldn't think about how extremely stupid this enemy pilot was as I turned to engage him. The enemy plane was directly in my sights and as I squeezed the trigger, Captain Snow swooped in out of nowhere to steal the kill. He was lucky that my bullets didn't hit him. The enemy F-35 tumbled out of the air in flames and disappeared into the fog below. My team formed up on me and Captain Snow fell into position behind me.

"Nice work Wardog, "said Captain Snow.

I wanted to scold this guy for his reckless flying and I wanted to beat the shit out of him for endangering my team, but my hands were tied. Thunderhead confirmed that the picture was clear and then told us to return above the carriers and wait for the tanker airplane. I wasn't in any rush to get back into formation so I lazily led the others back towards the fleet. Captain Snow held his position behind us while the remaining allied fighters sped back towards their carriers. I was pissed off about this attack because it was supposed to be an easy job. How did the Yukes know when to attack? I didn't have much time to think about it because Thunderhead's sudden warning of an incoming ballistic missile had snapped me back to reality. Where did they launch that from? I looked ahead to where the carriers were and waited for something to happen. Suddenly, the sky lit up into large, multiple balls of blinding white light that enveloped the whole task force. No way! How did they get their hands on that? Frantic calls over the radio started asking what happened and others saying that the Vulture was sinking.

"What the hell was that attack?" asked Chopper.

"I don't know, everything below five thousand feet was just annihilated," said Captain Snow.

"Second missile incoming!" said Thunderhead.

"Dammit! Listen up, if you want to survive, climb above five thousand feet before that thing hits. Move it! Kestrel, evasive action," ordered Captain Snow

"What are we gonna do Kid? I'll follow you," said Chopper.

"Climb!" I shouted as I gave my Super Hornet every ounce of power it could muster.

I wasn't sure if Swordsman was right about the altitude estimation so I flew above seven thousand feet just to be safe. Thunderhead started the countdown to impact and I saw friendly aircraft still trying to reach the estimated altitude. They weren't going to make it and I could hear them starting to panic along with the sailors on the remaining ships. I watched as the missile started to detonate and engulf the Buzzard and other smaller ships in a ball of bright light. The explosion looked amazing. I couldn't help but wonder what the impact of one of those detonations must've felt like. Things must've been bad because the radios were erupting with chatter from panicking sailors before their communications ceased. People were spilling off the decks of the ships as they went under. Only the Kestrel had made it through the attack along with Wardog, Captain Snow, and a handful of other allied pilots. The damage to the fleet was unfathomable. There was no way Osea was going to be able to launch a successful counter attack soon enough with its plans now in ruins. Thunderhead reported no more attacks and I dropped down to lower altitude to see the damage up close.

"Two aircraft carriers lost. I can't believe this all that's left of our force," said Grimm.

"We don't have enough fuel to get back to base either," said Chopper.

Thunderhead contacted us saying that the tanker couldn't reach us. He then ordered us to proceed northeast and refuel at Heierlark. I wasn't looking forward to seeing the faces of my former fellow trainees so I was hoping to just refuel and head back to Sand Island.

"Hey, Kid!" yelled Chopper.

"You really should start calling him Captain," said Grimm.

"Forget it; if he's the Captain then I want him to start trash talking like a Captain. Man, I'm missing that voice real bad now"

Acting like Bartlett isn't going to bring him back.

"He's got us back alive from battle for the second time. As far as I'm concerned he's our Captain now."

"That's right, and I'll never lose my lead plane again, no matter what," said Kei.

I kept quiet the entire way to Heierlark. I wasn't sure how much longer Osea was going to be able to hold out with the beating we were taking so far. Our military had to do something about this new threat that we had encountered today. No one had any idea where those missiles came from and I recognized them from before. An explosion like that was enough to wipe out a landing force, but multiple explosions like that were enough to destroy an entire ask force. Hopefully our military could come up some kind of defense against those missiles. More importantly, we had to find a way to eliminate the threat permanently.