Chapter 6 – Frontline
October 3, 2010 1521hrs McNealy AFB
"Blaze, get your speed up," shouted Kei.
"My throttle is maxed out; I can't get any more speed out of my bird. Make sure the ground crews are ready for whatever happens," I said.
"Then eject! Screw what happens to your plane, just bailout"
"Kid, you're too young to be a smoking hole in the ground," said Chopper.
"Relax, okay! I'll be fine," I said in a calm voice. Dear God, please let what little luck I have left hold out!
I couldn't tell her that my ejection seat took a hit and it wasn't working. I knew she would never forgive herself if I died so I had to survive this crash landing or else I would be turning over in my grave because of the guilt I made her live with. I couldn't stand the thought of it I had to make it.
My altitude and speed were dropping fast and I had to at least make it onto the runway. I went through my landing check and my hopes were lifted when I heard my landing gear extend. I'm coming in too low, but I need speed to gain some altitude. I could use my flaps but it would take way the speed that I need to make it, I had to try though.
I lowered my flaps and was able to maintain a good height for a little bit before I started falling again. I raised my flaps to pick up a little speed and I lowered them to maintain altitude. I repeated this process multiple times until I was at the edge of the run way, but I was losing altitude too fast.
I felt my wheels make contact with the ground, and then I felt the tires blow. I tensed up and closed my eyes waiting for all of it to end. It was the most agonizing ten seconds of my life so far. My F-18 came to a full stop just seconds after the front landing gear collapsed completely. I didn't waste any time unstrapping myself and jumping out of my plane. I didn't know if it was going to explode or not but I hauled ass as far away from it as I could. It didn't explode.
The fire control team and paramedics rushed over to where I was and got everything squared away so the rest of Wardog could land. I waited over by the hangers until I saw my teams' planes taxi over my location. Kei was the first person I saw to get out of her plane. She was coming towards me while removing all of her flight gear. She had an angry look in her eyes and I could see what was coming. I have to remember she's a girl.
As soon as she was close enough, she threw a punch which I quickly deflected. She wasn't expecting me to do that, but I knew it was coming. She tried throwing another series of punches and I dodged or deflected all of them. I wanted to ask her what her deal was, but she just kept coming at me. I finally caught her right arm and she tried to elbow me in the head with her left. I caught that arm too and put her in a full nelson.
"What is your problem?" I shouted.
She responded by flinging her right leg up and over her shoulder and kicking me in the head. I staggered backwards and saw Kei spin around to try and round house kick me. I ducked and tackled her to the ground. She was able to get on her back but I was able to pin her arms and legs on the ground.
"Kei, I'm not going to let go until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you."
She was struggling to get loose and I could only look at her face as she tried. I finally saw tears in her eyes as she gradually stopped struggling. She was crying and I had no idea why. I let go of her arms and got off her legs and held her head in my hands.
"Why are you acting like this," I asked softly as I looked into her eyes.
It took her a moment to answer me. "Because I almost lost another flight lead today, you almost got shot down today and it's my fault. I should've protected you from that guy."
"Maybe it is your fault," said Chopper. I hadn't notice that he and Grimm were watching.
Kei pushed me off of her and got up off the ground. She was walking around in disbelief at what Chopper had said. I was about to get up and go off on Chopper and tell him he was wrong, but Kei beat me to the punch.
"Chopper, you didn't see how the guy flew. You didn't see what kind of plane he was flying and you sure as hell didn't see how he was able to damage Antonio's plane. Antonio could've bailed out at any point but he chose to crash land his plane. So how is any of this my fault? It's not my fault!" shouted Kei.
She turned her back to Chopper, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at the ground. I looked at Chopper realizing what he made her say. I took Kei even longer to realize what she said.
"It's not my fault," said Kei. She looked up at Chopper and said it again. And then she looked at me. She was still mad at me.
"Why didn't you just bail out?"
"Because I still need my plane to get back to Sand Island," I said. I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth because I didn't want her to worry any more than she already did. "And beside even if I did bailout, it's not like the base commander here to give me another plane just like that."
"But still, you wouldn't have had to risk your life like that," said Kei.
"Well not that me and Grimm didn't enjoy the show, we'll be going now, so have fun you two," said Chopper and he left with Grimm.
I could still see that Kei was mad at me but she understood my argument. I was glad we were able to calm her down. Chopper was right; I was the only person who was able to get through to her, but why me of all people? Was I that special to her? I guess I'd better find out.
"Kei, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Do you feel guilty about what happened to Captain Bartlett?"
I could see that she didn't want to answer that question, but I had to know. I wanted to trust her fully, but after all this, I was on the fence about trusting her. Kei sat down next to me before she finally replied.
"I honestly do," she said. "If I hadn't been so careless, then maybe he'd still be here. The worst part is that I don't know if he's dead or alive. I should've been shot down that day instead of the Captain."
"Did you make me the flight lead because you felt like you were going to get me and Chopper killed? Or was it because you felt so guilty about the Captain getting shot down that you felt like you had to make it up to him?"
Kei looked away for a moment and then looked back at me. "It should've been me."
"It wouldn't have mattered if you were in his place right now. He already had the deaths of eight other people on his hands and adding you to that list wouldn't have made him feel any better. I know it sounds cold when I say this, but if I had to choose between you or Bartlett being here, I would've chosen you," I said.
"Why would you want me here? The Captain is a better pilot than I am."
"Being a better pilot has nothing to do with it," I said. I needed to be careful with my words or she'd get the wrong idea. "Remember when I said that we were in this together?"
Kei nodded and looked at me as if she knew where this was going.
"You've saved me as many times as I've saved yours. We look out for each other, but at times we have to figure things out by ourselves. When you made me the flight lead, I had no idea what I was doing and I just had to wing it, but we still watched out for each other. Believe me when I tell you this, that's not going to change any time soon," I said.
I stood up and extended my hand out to her to help Kei off the floor. She gently smiled, swung her leg around and swept me off my feet. As soon as I hit the ground, she pinned me to the floor.
"I think I found my blue dove," said Kei and she kissed me.
I could only look at her, thinking about this could be a bad idea, and the look on my face didn't help me hide it. As much as I wanted this, I was afraid of losing her, or her losing me.
"What's wrong?" asked Kei.
I didn't want to tell her, but I had to. I couldn't keep feelings like that bottled up inside me for long and eventually she would've found out. Apart from that, there were regulations against this and I knew Colonel Perrault would jump on this if he ever found out, but I couldn't give a rat's ass about that.
I could see that I was getting my point across as soon as I saw Kei's happy expression fade away. She got off of me and stood with her back towards me. She cradled her arms with one of her hand covering her mouth. I could see that Kei was deep in thought, trying to counter my argument, but she couldn't think of anything.
"You're right, anything could happen to one of us," said Kei and she turned to walk away.
Time to make my move, I ran up behind Kei and tripped her on purpose. As she fell, she turned and tried grabbing for anything to break her fall. I caught her just inches from the ground and she had her arms around my neck. The few seconds that I held her seemed like an eternity. I looked deep into her eyes before I finally told her what was on my mind.
"I care for you too much to lose you Kei. That's why I promise that I'll make damn sure I don't," I said.
She couldn't say or do anything except pull me closer for another kiss. We were officially dating now; the only catch was that we had to keep it to ourselves.
2022hrs
The ground crews work feverishly to repair my plane while my team was lounging around in one of the other hangers. I was amazed it took about five hours to a replace the engine and front landing gear. They couldn't patch the bullet holes but I really didn't care. As long as it got me back to Sand Island in one piece, then I was alright with it.
"Holy hell, I didn't think that these guys could fix an F-18 that quickly," said Chopper.
"Well, either they want us gone because they hate us or Sand Island needs us back ASAP, sir," said Grimm.
"Yeah, those guys couldn't last a day without us. I wouldn't be surprised if Sand Island was already over run"
"Yeah, God knows what they already did with Chopper's remaining Rock 'n' Roll records," I said.
Chopper Jumped up and ran towards the mechanics. We could hear him yelling at them to hurry up and that we had to leave ASAP because it was a matter of vital importance. I must have hit a nerve when I mentioned his records being messed with. We could only watch as they tried to get Chopper to calm down, but to no avail.
"Hey Kid, they said your planes good to go. Get the nuggets and let's get the hell back to Sand Island," he shouted.
We took off and headed for Sand Island late into the night and didn't arrive back until 2204hrs. I was exhausted and I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but that had to wait because Colonel Perrault wanted to see me, as if I want to hear what this fat tub of lard has to say me.
I proceeded to Perrault's office and presented myself. I hated even looking at the guy because he annoyed me that much. I still couldn't stop thinking about how this guy was still in the military. I would've kicked his ass out a long time ago because I doubt that he could run three miles in under twenty-three minutes or do the minimum three pull ups. Hell, I doubt he could get his forearms to touch his thighs when he had to do his one hundred crunches. I could've insulted this guy forever but that wouldn't get me anywhere.
"I bet you're wondering why I've called you here Captain," said Perrault.
"No sir"
He looked at me like I was one smartass remark away from being discharged. He stood up and started walking around his office with his hands behind his back. Oh look he doesn't waddle.
"Well I'll enlighten you with why I called you here. Those rookie pilots you brought back with you are as green as they come and I bet you'd agree that they need more flight training to actually become combat ready, am I right?"
"Yes sir"
"Well, since you feel so strongly about it, we'll have to do something about that," said Perrault. He started to walk around me as he continued talking. "Starting tomorrow, you and your team are going to start training them. Their lives are your responsibility and if they end up like the other nuggets that Bartlett was responsible for, then I know that you're not fit to lead a squadron and you will be relived of your command."
I wasn't even qualified to be a flight instructor, but I knew Perrault didn't care. The more he tried throwing me under the bus, the more I realized how much of a dumbass this guy was. Wardog was the primary squadron for Sand Island now and he was trying hard to get us killed.
"Am I making myself clear Castillo?" he said in my ear.
I turned and glared at him. "Crystal," I said and left his office.
I returned to my dorm and already found that Kei was asleep. If I tried climbing into my bunk, I would've woken her up, so I decided to sleep on the couch. I don't know if I was just tired or the couch was just that comfortable, but it was the best sleep I had in a long time.
October 4, 2010 0630hrs Sand Island AFB
I woke up an hour later than usual and started my morning routine. While I was on my run, I couldn't help but notice that the morning just seemed off. There was a haze everywhere and the sun didn't seem to shine as brightly as usual. The water in the showers, the shaving cream on my face, and even the food at breakfast just seemed weird. I wasn't the only one who felt that way either.
"I can't help but feel like something bad is about to happen," said Grimm as he picked at his food.
"Okay we get it; we all have a bad feeling about today. Is there anything we should know about today, Kid?" said Chopper.
"Perrault wants us to continue training the nuggets today. I don't think I should though, I'm not even a qualified instructor," I said.
"I think you'd make a good instructor Kid, how else would you become a great pilot if you didn't pick up on things so fast?"
"Believe it or not, I learned how to fly from reading books, playing flight simulator video games, and watching airplane movies. While we were at Heierlark, I tried learning how to fly by listening to the instructors but I couldn't do it," I told them. "What do you think makes you such a good pilot, Chopper?"
"I guess it has a lot to do with quick thinking on my part. I guess I think about what I would do if I were the enemy pilot. It keeps me a step ahead of them I guess."
"I'm surprised you don't tell them what you're going to do next with all that talking you do," said Kei.
"Alright you little smartass, what do you think makes you a good pilot?" said Chopper.
Kei took a bite of toast and chewed it thoughtfully for a bit before she answered.
"I don't know. Maybe I'm trying to be like Mobius 1. I'll never forget how he flew,"
"Wait you've seen Mobius 1 fly?" interrupted Chopper.
Kei nodded and proceeded to tell the same story she told me. Chopper and Grimm were in awe as Kei told them how he flew against twenty enemy planes by himself.
"He flew so gracefully like he knew where they were coming from. He would dodge one attack then set himself up to attack another enemy," continued Kei. "I would've loved to fly with him one day."
"I bet we all would, ma'am," said Grimm, and they all nodded.
"So what about you Grimm, what do you think makes you a good pilot?" I asked.
"You think I'm a good pilot, sir?" he asked
"Grimm, everyone saw how well you did on your first day in the squadron, except not everyone hated you like they did Kei and me," I said.
Grimm's expression seemed like he didn't want to tell us, but he did. I honestly expected his answer from Kei but at least he's better at it than I am so he's got me there.
"I think of my flying as if dancing," said Grimm nervously. "I mean, I watch my opponent and I move with him."
"Jeez Grimm, if you can dance, you're better at something than we are," I said and we all chuckled at that.
Our conversation was interrupted by an announcement that all base personnel had to report to the briefing room right away. My team and I didn't think that much of it so we finished eating and then headed to the briefing room. Everyone was already there and waiting for us before Perrault started talking.
"You people are like the plague, you know that?" said Colonel Perrault as we took out seats. "The moment you return to Sand Island, this happens."
Sand Island was about to be invaded by a large Yuktobanian strike force and we didn't have the enough resources or man power to push them back. The nuggets would be a great help if they came with us but it's too dangerous to bring them along. The other Marines and security teams on the base could hold off the landing forces for a short time but they'd be overrun if Wardog didn't take out their reinforcements. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Even if this turns into a ground war, I'm prepared to fight for this base to the bitter end. As my advanced guard, I want you to forget everything else and concentrate on dealing a lethal blow to the incoming enemy invasion fleet. We'll be deploying everything we got. Launch every aircraft capable of anti-ship combat, regardless of combat experience," ordered Perrault.
I couldn't believe he was ordering the nuggets to fight, but at the same time I was glad we would have help. We lead the nuggets to the hangers and was about to assign them planes when I remembered they didn't have any experience flying any other type of plane, so they had to stick with their F-5's. I wish I could've picked their plane but I probably would've gotten them killed faster.
"So Captain, any idea what kind of planes we should use?" asked Grimm.
"I really want us all to use hornets but mine its already damaged and I know we'll be facing a lot of AA fire, so I really want to use the A-10's because of their survivability. The only down side is that they don't have the capability to carry anti-ship missiles. Only the F-16, F-18, and A-6 can carry them."
"Well think of it like this Kid, the A-10's survivability will allow us to take a beating but we can use that advantage to tear the ships apart with the 30mm when we get close, or we could use out armaments to take care of any ships other than frigates or destroyers. If you do want to use the A-10 I think we should take two of them and two Super Hornets, that way you can hit the ships at long range without exposing yourselves to enemy AA," said Chopper.
"Exactly, Kei, we'll take the hornets. Chopper, Grimm, take the A-10's and tell the ground crews to arm them with eight mavericks, three bombs, two sidewinders, and an ECM pod on each of your planes. Kei, arm yours with four harpoons, two sidewinder, and four sparrow missiles."
"But Captain, won't we stress the airframes of our planes with that much ordinance?" asked Grimm.
"I don't think we'll have them on our planes long enough for that to happen. Alright, get to it guys," I said.
I went and told the ground crews how I wanted the nugget's planes fitted and got ready. Pops did one hell of a job getting everything coordinated. Our planes were ready to go in just under ten minutes. I guess that bad feeling we all had this morning had been right.
1007hrs, 10 miles west of Sand Island
We arrive on station and armed all of our weapons. I didn't want the eight nuggets with us, but we needed them.
"This is AWACS Thunderhead, all units listen carefully,"
Crap, when did this guy become involved in this operation?
"Ahh, I missed that sweet voice. Say, you get that from your mama's side of the family?" said Chopper sarcastically.
"Cut the Chatter! First enemy wave, bearing 280 degrees, you are clear to engage on sight," said Thunderhead.
"If we make it back, there's something I want to ask you, if that's alright," said one of the nuggets.
"With an attitude like that you might as well ask me now," I said.
"Do you all ever get scared, Captain?" he said.
"Bro, if anyone ever said that they weren't scared when they go into battle, they're either lying or they're dead. So yeah, I'm scared," I said.
"I see, you're just like us then," said the nugget.
We got within visual range of the landing forces and I ordered Wardog to disperse and take two of the nuggets with each of them. I was paired with Beamer and Spike, I didn't know their real names and I thought it was better that way.
"It's too risky to bring the nuggets here," said Kei.
"I'm with you on that, you agree Kid?" said Chopper.
"Yeah, but we can't do this on our own, just stop those enemy forces," I said.
I could see that Chopper and Grimm were making short work of the lighter ships and attack helicopters. The nuggets were trailing close behind trying to stay out of trouble. Kei was already making use of the two nuggets that were following her. They helped her sink two frigates that were firing towards Sand Island.
"This is Sand Island base defense! Enemy amphibious forces intercepted at the coast line!"
"Alright, Beamer, Spike, we're going to attack that frigate directly ahead. Watch your approach angle and don't slam into it alright?" I said and they acknowledged.
I fired a harpoon missile and the nuggets followed up by dropping bombs onto the ship and we repeated this process again until we heard the defense forces tell us the coastline was under heavy enemy attack.
"I know, I know, all units this is Colonel Perrault, do everything in your power to stop them. If you can't protect this island, what'll you tell our great heroes in the sky?"
"So hey, if the enemy wins here what happens to us?" asked Chopper.
"Let's hope we don't find out," I said.
"Missile fired from enemy sub," shouted Kei.
Oh my God, no!
"Get out of there Grimm, you nuggets too."
"Climb, climb come on!" yelled Chopper.
"You hear me nuggets, you have to climb!"
"Pull up, everyone get your asses above five thousand feet," I shouted.
We all climbed for altitude, but the nuggets were having trouble reaching five thousand feet. We continued shouting at them to gain altitude while Thunderhead confirmed it was the same kind of burst missile we saw four days ago.
"We're getting a command override from somewhere. 'Data link to A-Sat targeting system…' What is this?" said Thunderhead.
Wait, could it really be? I put my F-18 into a dive and headed straight for one of the destroyers.
"Kid, what the hell are you doing?" shouted Chopper.
I didn't answer him and continued my attack run on the destroyer. I let another Harpoon missile off the rail and watched it strike a hole in the side of the destroyer. I followed up by firing my gun at the hole and watched as the ship exploded from the inside. I pulled away and looked for another ship while the rest of my team continued to yell at me to gain altitude and as Thunderhead continued his countdown of the missile impact.
Please God let me be right about this! I looked up and could see the missile dropping out of the sky. It was going to land too close to me. All of a sudden, I saw a beam of light streak out of the sky and destroy the missile. Oh thank God I was right.
"What was that? Did you see that Kid?" asked Chopper.
"How could I not see that?" I said sarcastically.
"Was that the Arkbird?" asked Kei.
"It's the Arkbird, we've got the Arkbird. All units continue engaging the enemy," said Thunderhead.
We rejoined into attack formations and started sinking more of the ships. Enemy fighters were also inbound so I ordered mine and Kei's nuggets to join Grimm and Chopper while Kei and I provided top cover for them.
"Edge, take the lead, I'll watch your back," I said.
I followed Kei as she latched onto an enemy fighter and shot him down. She didn't waste any time finding another target to follow. This was the most aggressive flying I've seen from her so far. Maybe it was because she was trying to protect the nuggets or maybe it was because she knew the gravity of the situation Sand Island was in.
"This is the anti-sub plane Blue Hound. Submarine detected by sonobuoy. Sound pattern analysis produces a match with the Scinfaxi. Detecting sounds from Scinfaxi indicating imminent missile launch."
"Arkbird, we'll send the data over as soon as we detect the missile launch. We're counting on you," said Thunderhead.
I saw the missile shoot out of the water further west. The Scinfaxi was in our AO. Thunderhead and Arkbird were communicating back and forth trying to destroy the missile before it hit, while my team and the nuggets continued destroying the enemy forces. We were almost done.
"Arkbird, firing laser," said Thunderhead.
The missile was destroyed in mid-air again. I couldn't help but feel a little invincible knowing that those missiles couldn't touch us
"I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna get out of this alive. I know it," said a nugget.
You still got a lot to worry about before you make it back, kid. I didn't want to think like that but the thoughts just came anyways. The Yukes weren't stupid and they would soon come up with something to counter the Arkbird's laser.
The skies were clear of enemy fighter and Kei and I joined Chopper and Grimm. There were only a couple enemy ships left but they still posed some kind of threat. Even I took a couple hits when I was going in for an attack.
"Oh no, they're launching more missile. Number three, number four, number five!" said Blue Hound.
"There's too many," shouted Grimm.
Shit! "Attention all nuggets, get above five thousand feet, now!" I ordered.
"But Captain the Arkbird will shoot the missiles down right?" asked Beamer.
"I don't want you getting caught in the blast if the Arkbird can't shoot them down in time. Now move!"
The Arkbird was able to shoot down two of the missiles but it wasn't fast enough to track the third.
"Come on Arkbird, use your laser. The nuggets are going to get killed," cried Kei.
The nuggets were still clawing for altitude. I didn't understand. I was able to reach that height with no problem when I flew my F-5, but why were these nuggets having trouble with it?
"Dammit, they're not going to make it," said Chopper, but Kei wasn't about to stop yelling at them.
"Come on nuggets climb. Move it!"
I heard Thunderhead begin the countdown of the missile impact and the cries for help from the nuggets. I couldn't bear to look; I even turned off my headset so I couldn't hear them beg for their lives. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw the burst missile explosion fade away. How could someone use weapons like this with no remorse?
Kei pulled up beside me and asked me if my radio was working, using hand signals. I turned my headset back on and continued the operation. I wanted the bastards who launched those missiles dead, and I was caught up in blood lust.
"We can't deal with the enemy fleet like this," said Thunderhead.
"This is Sand Island base defense, intense fighting along the coastline! We can't hold out much longer!"
"We have no choice, just weave through the missiles and continue attacking the ships," said Thunderhead.
"Oh yeah, just weave through the missiles? What are you, nuts?" yelled Chopper.
More fighters were coming towards us and the remaining enemy forces were regaining their momentum. I peeled away from Kei and dove into the formation of enemy fighters. I don't remember how many I shot down, but I know I was just cutting them down like they were nothing. I wasn't even giving them the chance to escape.
Arkbird requested a new sonobuoy data link from Blue Hound while I went on my rampage and I didn't notice what they were up to until they fired a laser beam into the ocean. They damaged the Scinfaxi while it was still submerged.
I watched as the Scinfaxi broke the surface. I honestly expected it to look like a standard submarine, only bigger. So you've finally come out of hiding you piece of shit! It was huge. A submarine capable of launching VTOL aircraft and also capable of launching missiles like that was just awesome. I had to put an end to that thing's reign of terror.
I pushed the throttle forward and got within range to fire my remaining harpoon missiles at it. I had to break off my attack when three of the Scinfaxi's fighters tried to jump me from above. Not this time, you scumbags! I pulled back on the throttle, did half of a barrel roll and peeled away. I then reversed my turn and got into a firing position that allowed me target all three of them with my sparrow missiles. I fired and watched as my missiles obliterated the enemy jets.
"Wardog, focus all of your fire power on that sub," I yelled.
"Right behind you, sir," said Grimm as he followed me into an attack run.
I was closing in and it was too late when I noticed the AA defenses the Scinfaxi had. I ordered Grimm to break off and we both did, but I wasn't fast enough. Some of the AA guns scored some hits on the left side of my plane and I took some shrapnel in my left arm.
"Kid you alright?"
I was in pain, but I was still alive. "I'm alright, I took some hits but I'm still good. Be careful what you go in for an attack, that thing has a ton of AA defenses protecting it."
"Alright, me and Grimm will try and soften them up a little, get with Nagase and watch our backs"
I formed up on Kei's right wing and watched as Chopper and Grimm thinned out the AA defenses. They were flying through a hail of bullets and burst missile explosions. I felt bad that they were exposing themselves to all the danger while Kei and I watched over them.
"Kei, do you have any more harpoons left?" I asked.
"I got one left"
"Alright, wait for the missile to go off and then follow me in"
Chopper and Grimm climbed up to avoid another burst missile. The Scinfaxi was dropping these missiles right on top of itself causing more damage. As the missile exploded, I could see the hull of the Scinfaxi start to bend from the intense heat of the explosion.
"Alright Kei, let go," I said and we dove for the deck.
There were only a couple AA guns still firing and no matter where we attacked from, we would take heavy fire. We sped towards the Scinfaxi one hundred feet above the water. The tracers of the AA guns were streaking past our planes. I was focused on sinking that sub and ending the threat of those burst missiles once and for all. I wanted all of those sailors on that thing dead too.
"Blaze, we're taking too much fire. We're not going to make it," shouted Kei.
"Don't worry Nagase, me and Grimm will try and draw its fire," said Chopper as they dove down and strafed the Scinfaxi from the rear.
We were in range and Kei fired her last Harpoon missile and I fired one of my remaining two. The CIWSs of the Scinfaxi, or Close-in Weapon Systems, came to life as they tried to shoot down our missiles before they impacted. I saw my missile explode before it could touch the ship and I saw Kei's impact the starboard side of the sub.
"It's still alive!" shouted Chopper.
"It's like this enemy came straight out of the demon legends. That can't… It can't be!" said Kei.
"Arkbird, we need one more shot on the Scinfaxi. We have to try and destroy it here and now," I said.
"Rodger that, standby"
"Wardog, get clear of the Scinfaxi, incoming attack from the Arkbird is imminent," said Thunderhead.
In a last ditch effort, the Scinfaxi launched its remaining F-35s and Harriers to try and shoot us down. They were coming right for us and I was too angry, too full of rage to ignore them. I turned to engage them and came head on with one of the F-35s. As soon as I had a missile lock, I launched one of my sidewinders and watched it impact the nose of the plane and explode. The pilot's death would've been instantaneous; he wouldn't have felt any pain. I felt like he didn't deserve a quick death, no one on that ship deserved any mercy for what they did. What's happening to me?
The remaining fighters scattered in confusion and I shot them down one by one. My left arm was staring to go numb from my wounds and I could hear screaming and voices in my head.
Don't lose yourself to the temptations evil, Antonio.
Come on Castillo; get your ass up and over that wall!
He's traumatized and you expect to brain wash him into learning things like this?
I know you'll make me proud one day, Antonio.
No matter what they do to you, you're still human like the rest of us. Don't lose your sight of that.
Lieutenant Colonel Harkin, please make sure they don't turn my son into a monster.
I remember hearing my mom say that the Lieutenant Colonel once. We all have our inner demons, mom. I was brought back to reality when I saw the Arkbird fire its laser into the stern of the Scinfaxi. It left a massive hole and was sitting dead in the water.
"Wardog, hit it with everything you got!" I ordered.
"This is Colonel Perrault, belay that order! It's completely disabled and is no longer a threat. We'll send a boarding party later and capture that ship. Wardog, remain on station and make sure nothing happens to that sub."
Is this guy for real? "Why would we want this thing to be captured?" I asked.
"We'll be able to use the Yuke's own weapons against them and finally have an upper hand in this war," said the Colonel.
"Are you serious? We only have a defense force and you think the president is going to turn it into an army for an all-out war?" said Kei.
"2nd lieutenant Nagase, I suggest you watch your mouth if you don't want to be written up for insubordination."
"How long will it take for a boarding party to get here," asked Grimm.
"I don't know, but if I were the Yukes, I wouldn't wait around to get captured and leave all that valuable Intel for us to use against them, let alone the ship. Hell, I wouldn't let the crew get captured either because eventually someone would tell the interrogation people everything," said Chopper.
He was right. There was no way they were just going to let the sub be captured. Well I guess I'd better do something about that. I turned towards the Scinfaxi and lined up to fire my last Harpoon missile.
"Blaze what are you doing?" asked Kei.
"What does it look like," I snapped.
"Kid, you're going to catch hell if you sink that thing," said Chopper.
"Castillo, stand down! That's an order!" shouted Colonel Perrault.
"I'm aware of that"
"Wardog, I don't care if you have to shoot down you're flight lead, but you better not let him sink that ship! You…"
I cut off the radio and continued my attack run on the Scinfaxi. My team was circling above, watching me as I closed in. When I was in range, I launched my last harpoon missile and peeled away. I watched as it flew towards the ship and impacted where the missile launch tube was. It set off a chain reaction and the explosion rocked my plane from two miles away. The Scinfaxi was sinking and it exploded again as it disappeared below the water.