Note: It might take some time for me to post new chapters in the future because I started school again, so I apologize if I keep you waiting. Also, I appreciate you all for reading and reviewing my story.

Chapter 8 – Escalation

October 25, 2010 0530hrs Sand Island AFB

I woke up with a start. I had a nightmare about what happened the day my dad and siblings died mixed with the day we sunk the Scinfaxi. It all bothered me but I felt like I had to keep it bottled up inside of me. The only reason I did was because if I told anyone, I would keep dwelling on it and I didn't want them to keep hearing me talk about it. I didn't want to tell a shrink neither because they just annoyed the hell out of me. Overall, I felt like there was no use in talking about things that bothered me.

I lied in my bunk for a couple more minutes thinking, before I got out of my bunk. Kei was just waking up as my feet touched the floor. I guess she was starting to get used to me waking up so early.

"Good morning, Miss Nagase," I said gently smiling at her.

"Well good morning, Mr. Castillo. You going for your run?" she asked while stretching.

"Yup, then to the gym and then the showers," I said while putting on my work out shirt and running shoes.

"Mind if I join you?" asked Kei.

I blushed when I heard her ask. I thought she meant the shower and I think she knew that's what I was thinking.

"For your run and your work out I mean," she said quickly.

"Oh… Yeah if you want," I said.

Kei went to the shower rooms to get dressed as I did my warm up stretches and she came back and started stretching as well. I noticed just how flexible she was and I figured that she did yoga or something that involved a lot of stretching when she was younger. I couldn't stop staring at her as she grabbed her foot and pulled her leg back to where her foot almost touched the back of her head.

"Alright, you ready to go?" asked Kei, breaking my gaze away from her.

"Yeah, let's go," I said.

We ran all the way around the base together and we talked a bit about personal things. Kei mentioned that she was of Japanese decent and that she was born back on Earth. Her family came to Strangereal to try and find a better life and that they didn't think that they'd be stuck here. Kei's grandmother was a member of a Native American tribe that lived in Alaska, but judging by Kei's looks, I never would've guessed that.

When we were almost done with our run, I asked Kei how she became so limber and she told me she used to do gymnastics when she was nine. She also told me she knew two types of martial arts, three if I counted what we learn in basic, and that her flexibility really gave her an edge in a fight, no pun intended.

"When we get to the gym, do you want to do some sparring?" asked Kei.

I was a little nervous about answering that question. I've seen some of what Kei was capable of, but I don't know what she was truly capable of. Come on, it's not like you're going to hurt her. And besides, she wouldn't have asked you if she didn't think she could take you.

"Sure, if you want," I said and Kei looked at me like she had lured me into a trap as we continued running.

We got to the gym and it was more crowded than usual. Almost every work out station was full and the boxing ring was already occupied. Kei and I decided to do our work out until the ring was available and then we could loosen up after our work out by sparring.

"So, do you think I stand a chance," I asked as I did my arm curls.

Kei was doing her abdominal exercise and didn't answer me until she was done. "You got lucky last time," she said.

"Oh really, because I've never been lucky before," I replied grinning.

"Well, are you ready to get your ass handed to you by a woman Antonio?" said Kei grinning back at me.

"Whoa now, we're just practicing hand to hand. It's not a real fight," I said somewhat concerned but jokingly at the same time.

Some of the others who were working out next to us over heard. They looked at me and Kei hoping this would escalate. That was the last thing I wanted.

"I know that, but I like to think of sparring as a competitive thing as well," said Kei.

"Well sometimes I do too, but not all the time," I said even more concerned.

"Aww, are you chicken, sir? I thought my flight lead was more of an eagle," said Kei mockingly. I'm more of a fox.

More attention was drawn towards us and I was being put on the spot. I could hear the others in the gym talking about us and I even heard someone say they were taking bets. She's doing this on purpose. I felt responsible for it at the same time; I was just joking with her when I said I'd never been lucky before.

"Come on Captain, you can take her," said someone in the gym.

"Kick his butt Lieutenant Nagase!"

"Are you going to let her get away with that Castillo?"

"Show him what a woman can do, Kei!"

I could've pulled rank on Kei, but I felt like it would've been a bitch thing to do. I really didn't want to fight Kei like this, but it was the lady's choice. I looked at Kei and gave into what she was trying to do.

"Alright, so no holds back then?" I asked making sure it's what she wanted.

"No holds back, sir," she said.

The others in the gym cheered and started betting on either me or Kei. She took off her socks, shoes, and hoodie and stepped into the ring without putting on any protective gear. She only wore her black workout pants and tank top while I was only wearing my gym shorts and compression shirt.

"Hey you," I said pointing to one of the guys in the crowd. "You're a medical officer right?"

"Yes sir, I am," he replied.

"Alright, you're going to be supervising this whole thing, and if you think things might start getting out of hand, I want you call it off, understand?" I said and he acknowledge.

The cheers around the ring grew louder and louder as we waited for the ref to start the round. I looked at Kei, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet, she looked determined to try and take me down and she gave me an evil grin. I gave her one right back and got ready.

The ref started the first round and Kei and I circled around the ring waiting for one of us to move. Kei stepped forward and threw a punch which I deflected. Wait until she lands her first hit to determine how serious she is. Kei threw another punch and tried to follow through with a high kick. I caught her leg and twisted it enough to get her back to face me, but not enough to actually hurt her, and pushed her away.

Kei stepped back towards me and I duck just in time to avoid a round house kick. As she missed, she threw more punches and I dodged or deflected all of them. I almost have her figured out. As I deflected her last punch away from my chest, I sung my left arm at her. Kei caught my arm and flipped me over her shoulder. The cheering of the crowd intensified.

Kei waited for me to get back on my feet to continue the round. That wasn't enough to determine how hard she's trying. I waited for Kei to attack again, and she did. She used her right leg to try a low kick and a high kick. I blocked them both with my left arm but I wasn't fast enough to block her left cross to my face. Kei then tried to follow up with a haymaker. I caught her arm and hip tossed her to the ground.

The ref ended the first round. It seemed like neither of us had the upper hand in this match. I'm not even trying. I should switch up my style to see what she's got. I took a look at the crowd and they were all cheering for one of us. I saw Chopper cheering for Kei and Grimm just looked clueless as to what was going on. I wasn't paying attention when the ref started round two and Kei landed a hard kick to my jaw. The crowd cheered louder for Kei as I went down.

I was almost knocked out cold and I was on the ground. I was heavily dazed and I almost couldn't see straight. Okay, she's trying to hurt me. I got on my feet and I could hear some of the spectators asking how I was still standing. Kei was surprised I got back up at all. I've taken hits worse than that before and have gotten back up to finish the fight.

Kei tilted her head from side to side to crack her neck and readied herself for whatever was next. I cracked my knuckles to show her I was going to try harder. Like all other women, if I damage her face, then I'm a terrible person. I guess I have to try and make her tap out. I closed in on Kei and she tried to land multiple punches on my torso. I locked my right arm with hers as she tried to swing a right hook. I was going to try and put her in an arm bar, but she beat me to it. Kei jumped and swung her right leg over my head, placing it across my stomach while her left leg was placed over my chest. We fell on our backs and she was pulling my arm back between her legs. I was trapped.

"Come on Captain, give up!" shouted Kei.

She kept pulling on my arm and it felt like it was about to break. The crowd was yelling for me to tap out or cheered me on telling me not to give up. Dammit, I can't get out of this without hurting her. I tried putting my left arm in between Kei's legs so I could use it for leverage and help me escape, but I couldn't get it through. Come on Antonio, you're a Marine. Improvise, adapt, and overcome. I could only think of one thing to do and I didn't think it would work.

I felt around for Kei's foot with my free arm and got a hold of it. I then proceeded to try and tickle it. Kei's leg jerked back and then quickly set back in place. I tickled her foot again and it jerked back again. She's ticklish! Kei put her leg back into place one last time and I tried tickling it again. The strain on her face told me she was trying to resist moving her leg until I tapped out. She pulled even harder on my arm and my pain increased. I kept tickling her foot until she lifted it off of my chest. She tried setting it back in place but I forced her leg behind my head. I was finally able to get out of her arm bar.

"Hey ref, he can't do that!" I heard someone yell.

"These two agreed on no holds back, he's still in the fight," replied the ref.

I wasn't free for long. Kei wrapped her legs around my waist, pulled me towards her and put me in a head lock. I realized right then that I was fighting on Kei's terms. Every time I countered her hold on me and put her into a new one, she would counter my hold and put me into a new one as well. I was finally able to separate myself from Kei and the ref ended the round. Now I know how her flexibility gives her an edge.

Kei and I looked at each other as we waited for the next round to start. Kei was smiling at me like she had me on the ropes. Don't try to wrestle her; she knows what she's doing. Watch out for her kicks; if she lands enough of them, I'm done for. The crowd was routing for Kei overall and only a hand full of people were cheering for me. I have to force her to screw up.

The ref started the third round and I went for Kei. I was throwing punches and kicks in rhythm and Kei was having trouble keeping up. I forced her to go on the offensive, which is exactly what she did. Kei's body was a fury of movement as she tried to land a hit on me, but she couldn't. I was toying with her and I could see she was becoming frustrated as I kept blocking her attacks. I let her land a couple punches on me but I didn't let her kick me. This eventually made her focus more on landing punches more than kicks. I got you right where I want you.

As Kei threw a hard right jab, I caught her wrist with my left hand, squeezed her pressure point, and pushed her arm towards my right, but I didn't let go. As I duck to avoid a left hook, I grabbed Kei's right forearm just below the elbow with my right hand, squeezed another one of her pressure points, and then lightly bumped her on the last pressure point behind her ear with my left elbow. I then quickly spun around her with such fluid motion and caught Kei before she hit the ground.

My last blow caused Kei to faint and I quickly sat her down and started rubbing the back of her neck while I held her with my other arm. Everyone who was watching got quiet all of a sudden and could only watch as I tried to wake up Kei. A few of them thought I killed her, which I could've done at any point during the fight, but I didn't. The ref decided to stop the fight completely after he saw Kei pass out.

"What the hell did you do to her Castillo?"

"Did he kill her?"

"I think he just knocked her out!"

"Is she still breathing?"

"Everyone, just relax!" I shouted. "I just knocked her out, she'll be fine."

I continued to rub the back of Kei's neck for about half a minute until she finally came to. I smiled knowing that she was alright, but she was confused as to what had just happened.

"What happened?" asked Kei.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked.

"All I remember is you elbowing me on the side of my head and then just darkness. What did you do to me?" said Kei in a raised voice.

"I squeezed two of the pressure points in your arm and then I lightly tapped the third one behind your ear, causing you to black out," I said. "You should be fine."

The medical officer quickly looked her over and confirmed that she was alright. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the gym. I cost Chopper almost a hundred dollars and I won Grimm over two hundred. I helped Kei onto her feet and I told her that I was sorry.

"I'll get you next time, sir," said Kei as she got her things and left the gym.

1207hrs Sand Island Crew room

There was nothing going on today, and Wardog squadron was able to spend the day relaxing. I would've gone to play with Kirk but the cloud cover over the base didn't look too promising. I wrote an e-mail to my mom and told her what I've been up to ever since the war started. I wasn't sure if she already had read Genette's article about us, but I told her everything that happened ever since I went back to Heierlark. I also told her how Colonel Perrault was the base commander here and told her he said 'hi', not that she would even take that as a nice greeting.

I went to the crew room and started watching TV with Chopper and Grimm for most of the day. Kei was sitting on the couch away from the rest of us, writing in her book. I kept looking back at her and I got the feeling that she was mad at me for what happened this morning in the gym. I started to feel as if we weren't really together anymore and it worried me. Maybe it was because no one knew about us or we were just a very odd couple. Captain Hamilton came by later with Genette and told us some very unsettling news.

"We just got word that the Arkbird has just been sabotaged," said Captain Hamilton.

"How is that even possible?" asked Grimm.

"Yuke commandos placed explosives in a supply shipment that was delivered to the Arkbird sometime around midnight last night. The Arkbird is now out of commission and now the Yukes have the upper hand," said Captain Hamilton.

Kei wasn't really disturbed by this as much as I was. The Yuke's were extremely clever with their intelligence operations. They had placed their spies perfectly so that they could sabotage us from the inside. If only I could do something about all of this. All of this just kept reminding me of how we couldn't keep up with the Yukes and how many people died because no one could see any of this coming. I got up and left the crew room in frustration.

I went over to the hangers and found Pops, working on one of the A-10s that still need to be repaired after all the damage it took from the Scinfaxi's AA guns. Pops was performing maintenance on one of the engines and tried repairing any damage he could. The plane was in really bad shape and it didn't look like it could fly, but it still got Chopper and Grimm back home safely.

"Hey Captain, what've you been up to?" said Pops.

"We just got word that the Arkbird has been sabotaged. I don't know how much longer this war is going to drag on without its support," I replied as I walked towards the work bench near the hanger wall.

Pops got down from the A-10 and followed me over towards the work bench. He took a seat next to me and called Kirk over.

"It's hard fighting for something if you don't know the reason for it," said Pops.

I nodded in agreement. "There's only so much a person can take before they get sick of it," I said. "I don't know how you and Captain Bartlett came out of the last war in one piece."

"Believe me Antonio; Bartlett came out in better shape than I did. He and I have a past just like everyone else, but only we can decide if we want it to affect us. Like you told Kei, you don't have to go through it alone. Speaking of which, is it true you two are dating?"

I couldn't hide my surprised facial expression when he asked me that. I don't know if it was a rumor he heard or if Kei had actually told him.

"Yes, she told me but don't worry, I'm the only one who knows," said Pops.

I relaxed a little when he said no one else knew. I knew I could trust Pops, but while I was growing up, trust was a hard thing to come by. I nodded my head and he smiled knowing that it was true.

"You should do something nice together one day. Try requesting some leave with her so you can go back to the mainland and do whatever it is you kids do for fun these days," suggested Pops.

I got up and walked over to the A-10 that Pops was working on and climbed into the cockpit. I just seemed to be at home while I sat there. Flying is the one of the few things that I loved more than anything else; besides those intimate moments I spent with Kei. I felt free when I was flying peacefully, but I also felt totally alone when I flew by myself. It was one of the worst feelings to me.

"Hey Pops are there any planes that are good for a hop right now?" I shouted across the hanger.

"Yeah, your Super Hornet is already to go and so is another F-18. Why do you ask?"

I didn't say anything. I jumped out of the A-10's cockpit and got my flight gear. I then headed to the hanger where my F-18 was and hopped in the cockpit. I needed to be alone to think of ways I could do something great for Kei, she was the only other thing in this world that took my mind off of the world. As I started to strap myself in, I looked over to my right and saw the other F-18 Pops mentioned; it was an F/A-18F, a two seated version of the F/A-18E.

"Captain, what are you doing?" asked one of the mechanics in the hanger.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm deciding whether I should take this bird or that one for a ride," I said pointing at the other F-18.

I climbed out of my plane and walked over to the other F-18 and looked it over from the nose to the tail. I decided to take this one instead, because it gave me the illusion that I wasn't alone. I climbed into the front seat and strapped myself in. I got clearance from the control tower to go for a hop as I did my pre-flight check.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I looked up from my check list to see Kei sanding on the ground looking up at me.

I looked at her, surprised. "How'd you know I was in here?" I asked.

"Pops told me and I just wanted to see if you were okay. So what are you doing?" she asked again.

"I'm going for a hop; I need to get my mind off of things. Flying peacefully is something that usually did the trick back at Heierlark," I said. I would love for you to come with me. I need you right now. I couldn't bring myself to ask her to come with me.

Kei put all of her weight on one of right leg, folded her arms, and looked at me kind of suggestively. "You know there are other things you could do to take your mind off of things," said Kei.

The fact that guys don't think with their brain, made me wonder what she was talking about. I blushed at the thought and I couldn't get it out of my head.

"So what would you suggest?" I asked trying to keep my cool.

"Round two?" she said raising an eye brow.

You saying that isn't helping get rid of these thought. I wanted to take her up on that offer but it wouldn't have felt right if she was thinking what I was thinking or if she really wanted a rematch from this morning. I smiled, looked down at my check sheet, and then looked back at her.

"Get your flight gear," I said. "Come with me."

"Are you sure," she asked.

"I would love to have you along, Miss Nagase."

Kei smiled and went to get her flight gear as I finished the check list. She soon came back and climbed into the seat behind me. One of the mechanics towed the F-18 outside and I started the engines. As I taxied out onto the runway, I got take off clearance from the tower and I took off. As I felt the plane lift off the ground, I felt happy. I gradually gained altitude and eventually reached the cloud deck.

"So where are we going?" said Kei.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" she said. "I thought you had a route planned out."

"This is just one of those 'see where the wind takes us' kind of things," I said.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was 1736hrs. As we gained altitude through the clouds, I started talking with Kei again about stuff. Great memories with family, places we'd like to visit someday, and other things of the sort.

"So where did you learn how to fight like that?" said Kei.

"My mom's friend, Lieutenant Colonel Harkin, taught me when I was growing up. He was a Special Forces Marine and he looked out for me after my dad died." I told her.

"How did your dad die," she asked cautiously.

I played the entire day it happened in my head. From when my family arrived at the airshow where it happened, to me being knocked out by the last bomb the green eyed pilot dropped.

"He died in an explosion along with my little brother and older sister," I said.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," replied Kei.

"It's ok… I just try not to think about it a lot," I said. Since the war started, that day has been on my mind a lot. But the green eyed pilot, ever since I found out he was alive, has been on my mind the most. I swore if I ever had the chance to, I would kill him.

We were at six thousand feet when I noticed we were getting close to the top of the cloud deck. I could almost see the sun to the west. We're almost there. I remember Kei told me that her dad died when we were back at Heierlark.

"You mind if I ask how your dad died?" I asked nervously.

"My father died during an attack at an air show when I was seven"

My eyes widened as I looked back at Kei with a startling realization and I accidentally pushed the stick over to the left when I turned around. I quickly recovered the F-18 and continued flying. Kei was there too? Did she know about the green eyed pilot?

"Sorry, my hand slipped," I said quickly.

We finally broke through the cloud deck at eight thousand feet and I looked over the clouds towards the sunset. If my life came with music, there would be an orchestra playing some kind of peaceful, healing music for this moment. I loved watching the sun peak over the horizon. It was like I found comfort knowing that, even though the sun is going down, I would see the sun rise the next day. It also reminded me of the very first time I went flying; ironically it was the same day my dad died.

"I love watching the sunset from up here, it's one of the few places that make me feel at peace," I said to Kei.

"Yeah, I remember when I was little; I would climb on top of the roof of my house with my sister and watch it set. I love spending moments like this with loved ones. Thank you for bringing me along Antonio."

"You're welcome, I was hoping to ask you something but I didn't want to ask you while we were at Sand Island," I said.

"What is it?"

I turned off the wideband radio so that way only Kei and I could hear each other. I had requested a four day 96, or three day leave period, to go to Oured to take part in a US Marine Corp tradition.

"I put my request in for a 96 from November the eighth to November the eleventh so I could attend the Marine Corp birthday ball in Oured. The Osean military is allowing this for the next few years until all the remaining US troops on Strangereal are converted over to the Osean military," I said.

"So what are you asking Antonio?" said Kei curiously.

"Would you like to go with me?" I said as I braced myself in case I was rejected. There was a moment of silence as I waited to hear Kei's answer.

"I'd love to go with you Antonio, but do you think I'd be allowed to?" she asked.

"I don't see why not, Chopper and Grimm can take care of themselves if the brass needs to call on them," I said.

Kei was quiet for a bit before she said anything. I was nervous that she was going to back out because she was unsure about something.

"Do I need to wear my uniform?" she finally asked.

"No, it's a foreign military function; you'd just be coming as my date," I said as I rolled my eyes. She's starting to make a big deal out of this. All I want was a simple yes or no.

"Only on one condition," said Kei.

"And that is?"

"You teach me how to fight like you do."

"Deal," I replied and I turned the F-18 back towards Sand Island.

November 1, 2010 1100hrs Sand Island AFB

We entered the briefing room and took our seats. Scuttlebutt said this mission was going to be important because they gave us steak and eggs for breakfast this morning; they'd never done that before. I winced in pain as my leaned back in my chair and Grimm saw it.

"You alright, sir," he asked.

"He got his ass beat this morning by Nagase. He was showing her some things in the ring and she caught on pretty quick," said Chopper.

"Ha-ha shut the hell up," I snapped at Chopper.

"A bit touchy this morning, eh Kid? I'd be pretty embarrassed too if I got my ass handed to me by a girl," said Chopper.

I flipped Chopper the bird and turned around just in time to see Colonel Perrault walk into the room. His usual scowl didn't seem as tense, so he must've been happy about something. I wonder if he thought that he lost weight.

"Our Army is finally ready to conduct a large-scale counter-attack against Yuktobania. If we succeed, we'll never have to face the humiliation of those Yukes trampling on our homeland again. The goal of this operation is simple... To invade and occupy the Yuktobanian mainland," announced Colonel Perrault.

The 1st and 2nd Army battalions were going to storm the beaches of the Bastok Peninsula in Yuktobania. The two battalions would be divided into four companied which would fan out and destroy the beach defenses. Wardog was given the task of providing CAS for the companies whenever they needed it. After the companies passed a certain point, they will rendezvous into a combined force to capture their main objective, the fortress. Weather conditions were said to be poor so we had to choose aircraft that were best suited for this mission. Chopper and I would fly in the A-10s while Kei and Grimm flew F-15E strike eagles, which meant that they had to take along a WSO, or Weapon System Operator.

I ordered the A-10s to be armed with six maverick missiles, a pair of rocket pods that could hold nineteen rockets each, three JDAM bombs, or Joint Direct Attack Munition, two sidewinders, an ECM pod, and an external fuel tank. The Strike Eagles were ordered to be equipped with four sidewinders, six Maverick missiles, six JDAMs, and two external fuel tanks.

We took off from Sand Island and headed towards our first waypoint. On the way, Kei and Grimm's WSO introduced themselves. 1st lieutenant Kyle Nelms, call sign: Smokey, flew with Kei and 2nd lieutenant Erica Boldman, call sign: Birdy, was paired with Grimm. Why couldn't they just trade WSOs? Smokey better not try hitting on Kei.

"It's great to be flying with you all, Captain," said Kyle.

"Yeah, well you might change your mind when shit hits the fan," said Chopper.

"Knock it off, you just better not get Edge killed, Smokey. That goes for you too, Birdy," I said.

"I'll do my best, sir," replied Erica.

"Don't call me 'sir', it makes me feel old."

"Twenty-Three is old, Kid," said Chopper.

"Then why do you still call me 'Kid', Alvin?"

"Hey come on, easy with that alright? I was just joking, damn."

Everyone started laughing as we approached our first waypoint. We could see storm clouds in the distance and it looked pretty bad. I wonder if that's a sign from God, saying that today is going to be a very bad day.

1630hrs Bastok Peninsula, Yuktobania

We released our external fuel tanks when we arrived at our AO and we could see the Osean Cruisers launching cruise missiles towards the shore. The four companies were already in their landing craft headed for the beach. Guess it's time to get to work. I ordered Chopper to help me take out the shore batteries and protect the hovercraft headed toward the beach.

"To hell with this war," uttered Chopper.

As we finished strafing the shore batteries, the four companies disembarked off of their landing craft and started advancing inland. I watched as allied troops and armored vehicles started advancing on the beach and met the Yuke soldiers. They were meeting a lot of resistance, but they kept pushing forward.

"Captain, I got multiple hits on radar coming from the north. Some of them are closing in faster than others; I'm guessing they're enemy helicopters mixed in with jets," said Erica.

"Roger that, Birdy, Edge, take Archer and intercept them. Chopper and I will cover the landing forces," I said.

Kei and Grimm flew farther inland while Chopper and I continued to provide CAS for the ground forces. Chopper supported companies C and D while I covered companies A and B. They were moving in pretty quickly.

"These guys are just going to storm in, head-on, following orders. That's how war is fought and that's why I hate it," yelled Chopper. "The politicians don't see war from the front lines and they think that they can resolve this with pens and paper? I'd like to see those bastards spend a day in our boots."

"A piece of paper can't guarantee shit, only a man's word can," I said.

"This is company B, our attack's getting held up by fierce fire from the bunkers. Halt the enemy fire with an air strike, we'll charge in at the same time."

"Rodger that, paint the bunker with a laser designator and standby," I said.

I saw the bunker pop up on my HUD and I got into position. I was at fifteen hundred feet and came in at a fifteen degree dive towards the target. I fired two rockets and a two second burst from my 30mm cannon. The bunker fell silent and I pulled out of my attack run. I looked back down and saw the troops rush the bunker, but before I could see them capture it, I got another CAS request from company A.

I gave my A-10 full throttle and saw another bunker firing at company A. I locked onto it and dropped a JDAM right on top of it, but it didn't cause enough damage. I looped back up and over to do another attack run on the bunker and fired four rockets at it and suppressed it.

"Bunkers opening fire again retreat, retreat!" shouted someone from company B.

"Kid, our air attacks are only suppressing the bunkers. We have to rely on the ground forces to take them out for good," said Chopper.

I turned back towards company B's location and attacked the bunker again, and again the ground forces rushed in. I could hear friendly radio chatter and it didn't seem like they were stressing about this operation at all. There were times when I heard them mention sniper teams and mortar positions but we couldn't do anything about them with visibility being this poor.

"Captain, I got visual contact on a pair of mobile howitzers inside the fortress. They'll do some damage to the landing forces if we don't take care of them soon. Edge and Archer are busy dealing with enemy fighters right now so we can't do anything about them," said Kyle.

"Rodger, I'm on the way, Chopper you're on your own for now," I said.

Chopper wasn't too happy about it, but I figured it was payback for how much he annoyed me at times. I flew towards the fortress and I saw the howitzers firing towards the landing forces. I was taking heavy AA fired from the fortress air defenses and I had to bob and weave through it. I acquired radar lock on the two howitzers and launched two maverick missiles at them. They were easily knocked out of commission and I headed back towards our ground forces.

"Blaze, there are too many fighters over here, some of them slipped past us and they're headed towards you," said Kei.

I looked up at my rearview mirror and saw a couple of Su-25 Frogfoots headed for the beach. They must've not seen me because they flew right past me. My plane isn't meant to dogfight, but neither are their planes. I opened the throttle and latched onto the trailing Frogfoot as they flew in formation towards the fight. When I was in range, I opened up on him with my gun and saw my bullets impact his left engine and explode, causing the left wing to break off and almost hit me. The remaining two Frogfoots broke formation and I followed the flight lead into his right turn while firing into his plane's midsection and watched explode. I then turned to engage the last Su-25 and got a lock on him with my sidewinder. The pilot tried launching flares, but my missile still found its way into his right engine and he bailed out.

"Kid, where the hell, are you," shouted Chopper. "I can't help all of these guys by myself!"

"Hang on, I'm on the way," I said as sped towards the ground forces. They were getting hit hard and I could hear them over the radio asking for air support. I got to company B first and I strafed the enemy bunker with rockets. The troops wasted no time capturing it and moving on. Chopper and I had our hands full trying to suppress the remaining bunkers and we were running low on munitions.

"Birdy, Smokey, how are you guys doing over there?" I asked.

"This is Smokey, we're still engaging enemy fighters, but we're going to get overwhelmed soon."

"Archer, Edge; disengage and get over here. We need your help with these bunkers," I said.

"But what about these fighters? We'll be without top cover for the rest of the operation," said Grimm.

"I know. We'll try to deal with them when we can, but right now I need your help with these bunkers."

Kei and Grimm rejoined us and started suppressing the bunkers while the ground forces continued to capture them. We had to break off at times to take care of enemy aircraft, but it didn't slow us down. The radio chatter from our allies became relaxed and it didn't seem like they were in no trouble at all, but I knew better. I could see some of the troops collapsing as they got hit be enemy fire and others firing back towards the Yukes.

"How could the President authorize an escalation of the war like this? This is insane; we'll get bogged down in this forever. Hey, that mister cargo guy was the president right? Man, I thought I could believe in him back then. I had no idea he was such a wuss," said Chopper.

"No… he's not," said Kei.

Companies A and B were finally able to regroup with each other while companies C and D were still trying to capture their last bunkers. Everything was going pretty good so far.

"Did you know, my older brother's down there," said Grimm.

"What? You should've told me that earlier you moron. Where is he?" said Chopper.

"I don't know, they all look the same," said Grimm.

"Uh, this is company D I have a favor to ask… Could you bomb our monster of a Captain for us?"

"How 'bout I spot you from up here and send some depleted uranium slugs through you fucking head? Now get off the god damn radio!" I shouted.

"Uh, hey I was just kidding," he said and whispered to his friend that their plan failed.

As the operation went on, the ground forces got closer and closer to the fortress. My weapons were running low and so was the rest of Wardog. I only had my gun, twenty-eight rockets, and a single sidewinder left when the ground forces made it to the fortress gates. They were facing more resistance and I had to use my weapons sparingly.

Kei, Grimm, and Chopper all had the same ammo situation so we had to take turns making attack runs on the bunkers. As Kei started her attack, I saw an enemy MiG-29 closing in on her. Might not be able to shoot him down, but I might be able to break off his attack. As he latched onto Kei's F-15, I shot a burst from my gun over his right wing and he broke off while Kei continued her attack. I tried keeping the enemy plane in my sights but I couldn't keep up with him in my A-10 and he soon got behind me. My squad couldn't back me up because they still had to provide CAS. It's just you and me, so bring it on.

I was flying close to the ground and the enemy plane easily kept pace. My ECM pod kept him from using his missiles. He did manage to land some hits on my fuselage and right wing with his guns. Think, what can I do to either kill him or break off his attack? I continued flying and I had an idea. The main control tower was still occupied by the Yukes and it was pretty tall too. I have to time this right. The enemy pilot was too focused on trying to shoot me down. I swung around in a wide left turn around the tower and he brought his guns to bear on me. When I saw he was about to shoot, I pulled harder into my left turn and he pulled his MiG up harder to keep his lead on me. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and crashed into the fortress control tower.

"Did you just see what the Captain made that pilot do?" shouted Kyle.

"Amazing, I don't think I'll ever be as good as Blaze," said Kei.

"Allied plane, we're moving into position to attack the last bunker. We're requesting close air support against the remaining bunkers. Let's finish this."

"Alright, we're coming in," I replied.

Chopper and I strafed the two remaining bunkers, while Kei and Grimm followed us in and dropped their remaining JDAMs. The bunkers didn't stay silent for long and started firing on the ground forces again. My team only had their guns left, but I still had my rockets. I doubled back and attacked the bunkers from the front. I fired half of my remaining rockets into each of the bunkers and pulled out of my attack. The ground forces started to advance again while Wardog circled overhead to stave off any more enemy attackers.

"They better capture those bunkers fast, we don't have any more weapons other than our guns," said Chopper.

"I only got one sidewinder left and I'm almost out of ammo on my gun," I said.

"Captain this is Birdy, I'm not reading anymore enemy aircraft of radar. I think they abandoned the fortress," said Erica.

"Attention all forces, all bunkers are silenced. We've captured the entire fortress," said a ground Commander.

We could hear the ground forces cheering over the radio when they heard the news. One guy was even told that his wife had given birth to his son. I hope he's able to go home one day and hold his own son. We formed up and headed back towards Sand Island as the rain stopped. Kyle and Erica couldn't stop talking about how incredible today was. Those naïve fools.