For those of you who've been reading my story, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry this Chapter took longer to post because of school and other commitments I've made. Also, I looked over what I've wrote so far and noticed that Chapter 6 didn't fully upload entirely so I updated it. I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that. Any further reading, reviewing, and sharing of my story is greatly appreciated.
Chapter 17-Farewell to a Friend
November 26, 2010 1149hrs Sand Island AFB
Kei and I couldn't look at each other without grinning like a couple of idiots since we left Yuktobania yesterday. The upside to all of this was that we were actually talking with each other and we were able to actually act like boyfriend and girlfriend again. It wasn't until today that someone had actually said something about it. Kei and I were making out between the garages behind the water tower, located just aft of Hanger C. It was the last place anyone on the base would look for someone to hang out on account of how small the gap between the buildings was. As we were making out, Grimm and Erica came running while they laughed and giggled about something. That's when they caught us.
"Uh… Captain…. Captains… What are you both doing?" asked Erica.
Kei and I quickly released each other and tried to act as if nothing had happened. I could only look at them and wonder why they were here. It then occurred to me that I saw Erica and Grimm together all the time. Both of them were always at each other's side and at first I thought it was because of their bond as pilot and RIO, but now I knew it was more than that.
"I could ask you the same thing, Boldman," I said.
"Oh…. We were… we were just going to…. Uh…" stammered Grimm.
"We were going to invite you to Pops' cook out," said Erica.
I looked at the both of them in total disbelief. I knew they were an item now and the only reason they didn't tell us about it was because their relationship could get them in some really deep shit if the brass found out about it. A relationship between an officer and an enlisted airman would guarantee that the both of them would get kicked out of the military with dishonorable discharges and maybe even time in the brig.
"Bullshit," replied Kei. "I've known about you two since we sank the Hrimfaxi."
"Wait, no it's not…."
"Relax Boldman; we aren't supposed to be in a relationship either," I said referring to Kei and myself. "Just try to keep it on the down low and don't let the brass catch you."
"Sir," asked Grimm.
"Listen, I honestly don't give a rat's ass about the regulations regarding relationships. As long as you treat her right, Grimm, then I'm happy for the both of you."
I saw Grimm and Erica relax and smile when I told them I didn't mind them dating and they joined us in our hideout to shoot the breeze. We just talked about some of the things that have happened during yesterday's mission and Grimm eventually brought up the subject of how Kei and I worked everything out. Erica mentioned that we both had a little more pep in our step and that Kei had a glow that seemed very unusual.
"Is there something we should know, Captain?" asked Erica.
Okay, this is very awkward. Change the subject, NOW!
"Were you serious about Pops having a cook out?" asked Kei trying to change subjects.
"Seriously, don't bullshit us, Lieutenant. Is Pops having a cook out?" I asked.
Erica could only look at me and Kei like we were going to beat her up if she gave us the wrong answer, but I just wanted to know if there was food other than the crap they serve in the mess hall. Hell, I would've liked to actually cook something myself just so I could have some food that reminded me of home. I knew Amanda would like to have some of my cooking again so I was hoping that Erica wasn't lying.
"Yeah, I was dead serious," said Erica.
"Oh, thank God," I muttered and I excused myself from the group.
I ran over to the hanger that Pops was in and saw him working on one of the F-22s we had received when I became flight lead. He had completely dismantled the cockpit and organized all the parts on the floor of the hanger. I never realized how complicated the tech of the Raptor was until I saw it like this. I looked over at Pops as he was still pulling things out of the cockpit.
"Hey, Pops," I shouted from across the hanger.
"Hey, Blaze. What are you up to?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I said as I carefully made my way through all the parts on the floor.
"The guys over at Stafford sent over the specs on what they did to clear up the oxygen problems of their F-22s. It's kind of funny that their solution involved using standard paint instead of the intended RAM that was initially designed for the stealth aircraft," said Pops.
"So… What's all this for?" I asked pointing out all the parts of the Raptor's cockpit.
"Well, just the other day I got a package in the mail telling me about a new formula that could replace the existing paint that causes the pilots to black out. I'm just prepping the plane for its new look," said Pops.
I started looking at the F-22 from front to back. I never liked flying it for obvious reasons but I had to admit that it was a beautifully designed aircraft. The body of the plane was smooth to the touch and the curves of it were just so….well designed. The more I looked at this aircraft the more it almost reminded me of Kei because it was almost as intelligent, sexy, and dangerous as she was. If I had to compare Kei to one of the planes that I've ever flown, it would've been the one that Lt. Colonel Harkin gave me while I was flying as Mobius 1. This gives me an idea.
"Hey Pops, are you allowed to apply custom paint jobs on our planes?" I asked.
"Well, according to Osean regs, you have the kill records that allow for it. Why do you ask?"
"I'm feeling sentimental towards one of my idols from when I was younger," I said smiling at Pops. "Have you ever heard of Mobius 1?"
Pops smiled back at me because he knew where I was going with this and he told me to pick one of the four Raptors that I wanted as my own. I sat in the first three that he hadn't touched yet and inspected each of them from front to back, but none of them felt right to me. I checked the final Raptor while Pops worked on it and I inspected everything, and I mean everything. The landing gear was well lubricated along with the missile racks and storage bay doors. While I was looking over the engines, Kei came into the hanger followed by Grimm and Erica.
"What are you doing, Captain?" asked Erica.
"Just wondering which F-22 I want to take on our next hop," I said.
"Are we all going to fly them next time," asked Grimm a little bit worried.
"Well I am, but I'm not sure about the rest of you."
I continued inspecting the engines and Kei had joined me. We both noticed that this Raptor's engines were well taken care of. The metal wasn't eroded at all and there wasn't a spec of grease anywhere on them. The wiring and tubing were just as clean and I started to see that these details started to seem oddly familiar. Kei noticed how focused I was on this plane I could tell she knew that I suspected something was up.
"Is there something I should know?" she whispered.
"Nope, but… I think there's a fun fact you should probably know about this plane," I whispered back.
I ran over to one of the tool boxes and pulled out an inspection mirror. I made my way back towards the F-22 and poked me head inside the central missile storage bay. I asked Kei to bring me one of the utility lights that were on the far side of the hanger. She ran off to get it while Grimm and Erica joined me under the plane.
"Are you looking for something, sir," asked Grimm.
"No, I want to see if I can guess the serial number on this bird without looking. Here, take this mirror and look for the number on the other side of this beam," I said pointing out where I wanted him to look.
Grimm took the inspection mirror and started scanning the metal beam, trying to find the number. "I can't see it, Captain," said Grimm.
Kei suddenly turned on the light that she had brought. I hadn't noticed that she came back and she startled me a bit when she turned on the light. "I see it, Captain. It's…."
"Let me guess, 7484W630Z-118." I said looking away.
Grimm, Erica, and Kei looked at me in astonishment when I read the serial number correctly. It was right then and there that I knew that this F-22 was the one I flew during the Usean conflict. I was covering up my uneasy suspicion as to what this plane was doing here because I knew it was property of the ISAF. How and why does the Osean military have this?
"How did you know that, Captain?" asked Erica.
"I had an old friend who worked on the manufacturing of these kinds of planes and I figured that he worked on this one himself," I said with a smile, but I could see that Kei knew that I was lying.
"What was his name?" she asked.
"Rico Quezada. He and I go way back. Anyways, I think I'll take this one up on our next hop."
Grimm and Erica stuck around for a few more minutes before they headed out of the hanger to do whatever while Kei and I stayed with Pops to help out. Kei was helping me tune the engines and we were having a good time bonding again.
"This is the Raptor you flew as Mobius 1, huh?" whispered Kei.
"Yeah, but I can't help but wonder how it got here. Anyways, if you remember right, I used this baby to save your life," I whispered back.
"No, I thought you flew a Su-47," she replied.
"I've never set foot in any Russian designed plane other than a MiG-29. I could've sworn I flew this one when I escorted the passenger planes."
"I'm absolutely positive you flew a plane with forward swept wings that day."
I paused to think about it because I knew I used the F-22 on an escort mission through some mountains. I got my plane after we attacked the Tango Line, but then I couldn't fly it after we destroyed Stonehenge because of some engine problems. Oh, that's right. I did use the F-22 on an escort mission but it wasn't when I saved Kei. I suddenly remembered everything from that day and I knew what Kei was talking about. I used the F-22 to clear up the radar of a recon plane that was attempting to fly through Gnome Ravine. I also remembered that Lt. Colonel Harkin and I almost died that day because of the Raptor's oxygen system problems. That was the same day that I refused to fly the F-22 ever again. But now with Pops working to fix the problem, I just might try and give this bird another shot.
"Hey Pops, Lieutenant Boldman said that you were having a cook out later. Was she serious?" I asked.
"I always have cook outs on Fridays. The thing is, you guys never show up," shouted Pops from the cockpit.
"No one ever told us that," muttered Kei.
I chuckled at Kei's response because she was right. We've all had to suffer from eating the ill prepared food from the mess hall and if there was another way to get better chow on Sand Island, I would've jumped at the opportunity.
"It would've been great to know that when we first got here," I said to Kei. "Hell, I would've volunteered in the kitchen if I was allowed."
"Can you cook?" asked Kei.
"Hell yeah, I'd have competitions with my mom all the time and my sister would be the judge. Mom would win most of the time but I was able to beat her when it came to grilling steak."
"My mom is a great cook too. I loved it when she made chicken stir-fry and teriyaki steak."
"My mom could make an amazing plate of spaghetti. Her enchiladas were just as awesome. It seems like forever since I've had a meal that good."
"I know what you mean," said Kei as her voice trailed off.
The more we talked about our mothers' cooking, the more home sick I felt. I knew it's been just over two weeks since I last saw my mother, but I was already missing her. Kei seemed to be taking our conversation the same way. I actually wanted to meet the rest of her family and according to Kei; her mother would more than likely approve of me. My family already approved of Kei, which was such a relief for me to know.
"We should visit your family next time we go on leave," I suggested. "I'd love to meet your mother."
"I don't think you'd be able to hold a conversation with her for long," said Kei.
"Why's that," I asked.
"She only speaks Japanese and she hardly knows any English."
"I fail to see how that matters," I said in Japanese.
Kei's eyes widened in surprise and she smiled. The next bit of our conversation was spoken in Japanese and I figured that Kei was trying to test how much I knew. "I didn't know you could speak a different language other than English."
"I speak English, Japanese, Russian, German, and Arabic. It's kind of sad that I don't know a lick of Spanish though," I said.
"You just continue to amaze me, Antonio," giggled Kei.
"I thought impressing you yesterday was good enough," I whispered as I kissed Kei on the cheek and we continue work on my plane until we got off duty. It was like we were making up for lost time from the past week and everything just seemed right in the universe. I'm pretty sure Kei felt it too and it gave her more reason to believe that I would never let her go for any reason.
1920hrs
We were officially off duty and everyone on Sand Island was allowed to dress in casual clothes, thanks to Captain Hamilton. I wore a black polo, beige longboard cargo shorts, and my black sneakers. Kei was still in our room getting dressed as I headed to meet the others in front of Pops' workshop. Everything on the base just seemed more relaxed than usual, in a good way. Someone could swear that there wasn't a war going on with the calm feeling everyone on the base felt. The janitors were whistling as they buffed the hallway floors. The Intel staff was leaning back in their chairs and casually walking from point A to point B. Base security guards weren't carrying their weapons or riding their buggies during their patrols. Even the ground crew members who were still on duty were dancing to the music they had playing in the hangers as they worked. I was smiling at how calm and relaxed everyone was and I wished that every day was like this. I made it to the workshop and saw Pops, Amanda, Chopper, Justin, Mariah, Rachel, Grimm, and Erica already there with drinks in hand. Chopper was already blasting his collection of rock music and I had to admit that he had great taste in music for the most part.
"Hey, Kid, it's about time you got here, I thought you weren't gonna make it," said Chopper.
"I'd never pass up a chance to have food that wasn't made in the mess hall," I said.
"Yeah, I figured as much. Where's Nagase?"
"She's still getting ready. What about Rockford and Nelms?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen them since this morning," said Justin.
I shrugged in apathy and joined Pops as he pulled out his barbeque grill and helped set it up. A couple more people showed up and Pops decided it was time to get his cook out started. He took a couple of the others and brought out a bunch of containers, boxes, and barrels from the back of his work shop. How did I not know about these events since I got here? The containers contained prepared food like potato salad, soups, and other side dishes. The boxes contained meat and spices and the barrels had beer, soda, and other beverages. Pops fired up the grill and started placing the steaks, ribs, and pork chops on it.
"How do you like your stake, Blaze?" asked Pops.
"Why don't you set three of them aside? I told Kei I was going to cook for her," I said.
"Oh, you trying to make up for all the drama you put each other through?"
"Actually, we already made up when we landed to refuel for the return trip yesterday."
"Really, how'd you do it?"
Pops was putting me on the spot and I'd become very uncomfortable if I told him the whole story. "We…talked. Let's just leave it at that," I said. It was the weirdest conversation of my life but we talked and worked it out.
Pops thought he understood right away and we stopped talking about it. The evening went on and everyone was having a great time. Everyone was talking about how great the food was, compared to the mess hall's. I was still waiting for Kei to show up and no one still had any idea where Michelle or Kyle was. When Kei did finally show up, a lot of the guys started commenting her on how nice she looked in her white shirt, beige shorts, and sandals.
"Wow, I thought your girlfriend was more of a tomboy. She's beautiful," said Amanda.
"You should've seen her when we went to Oured for the Marine Corp Ball," I said.
Kei joined me and my sister by the grill and I started preparing our food. Amanda kept telling Kei how well I could grill a steak and how awesome it tasted. When I got done with our food, we all sat down, eat, and drank the night away. It felt great hanging out with all my friends and my sister. It was one of the very few times that I felt like I was actually alive. Moments like this were extremely rare for me when I was growing up and I enjoyed every single second of it. Sometimes I wish I could spend the rest of my life like this. Some of my other friends had since moved on with their lives and I could only wonder where they were right now or how they were doing in life. I didn't dwell on the thought of them for long because I had to live in the now.
"That was delicious," remarked Kei. "How did you learn to cook like this?"
"There's a lot someone can learn when they have all the time in the world," I said.
Amanda rolled her eyes at my remark. "Our mom had to go overseas to the Independent States for six months but she couldn't take us with her. So, she trusted Anthony enough to let him take care of me during the fall and she left me in the care of her friend, Mr. Harkin, when Anthony was gone in the summer."
"What did you guys do to support yourselves financially?" asked Kei.
"Our mother sent us $200 a month for food and other things that we needed. She paid all the bills herself because neither of us was old enough to get a job."
"Wow, you must've been a penny pincher if you managed to live off a budget like that," Kei said to me.
"Wait a minute…" said Amanda. "How did you manage to hire my tutor while mom was gone?"
Oh crap, she's starting to figure it out. "Lt. Colonel Harkin managed to convince her to help you out for free," I said.
"Okay, what about when the water heater broke. How did you replace that?" asked Amanda while she gave me the stink eye.
I couldn't tell them the truth because I was under orders. I never really told my sister about Pit bull but my mother was aware of it, even though she didn't know about me flying as Mobius 1 and the other operations I was involved in. Of course I did get paid for doing the government's dirty work, but they didn't know that.
"Fight club," I said nonchalantly.
"Fight club," Amanda repeated like she doubted me.
"Remember when you asked me why I'd sometimes come home with all those bumps and bruises?" She has to believe that.
"So how much did you win for each fight?"
"Enough to pay for everything that we needed to survive. Mom's monthly $200 wasn't enough to take care of everything around the house, so I did what I had to do to take care of you," I said. I really have to stop lying, but it's what's best for them.
"I didn't know Wesson had fight clubs. It seemed like such a calm city when I used to live there," said Kei.
"The first rule of fight club, sweetheart," I said.
Kei rolled her eyes and took a drink from her beer bottle. We continued mingling with the others as the night went on. Justin started a game of beer pong that didn't last very long because of how easily Grimm was able to beat him. Erica started dancing to the music and some of the others joined her, including me and Kei. Everything was going great. Everyone was care free and oblivious to the worries of the world, but then everything just seemed to stop when everyone noticed Kyle and Michelle headed our way. We only paused for a second, but it felt like an eternity past before anyone acknowledged them. Michelle was wearing green sundress and high heel shoes that looked wedges of wood with straps on them. The one thing I did notice about her was that she had her hair down for once and she looked lovely. Kyle was wearing a white polo, jeans, and flip flops. Both of them seemed anxious, like we were going to reject them or something when they approached me.
"Requesting permission to join you, sir," said Kyle.
I looked at both of them, baffled. Why are they asking me for permission? I was still mad at Michelle for all the shit she put me through with Kei, but it was all in the past now and I had nothing against Kyle. Michelle looked even more nervous when she stood only three feet away from Kei and they seemed like they wanted to trade blows with each other.
"Permission granted?" I said still confused.
Kyle and Michelle both smiled a little as they joined the festivities. I could tell that Michelle was holding back guilt but she also seemed like she cheered up a little when she was talking with Kyle. Kei noticed it too and I told her what had happened with Michelle before we went off on our mission yesterday. It took some persuasion but I got Kei to let me talk to her alone so that way I could straighten things out with Michelle. However, if I tried anything else, then Kei would make sure that I'd never have kids in the future. Swell. I walked over to Michelle while she was sitting on a bench, talking with Kyle and Justin.
"I need to borrow you for a sec," I said.
Michelle looked at me like she was worried but it also seemed like she was harboring some animosity towards me and I still had a trust issues with her. She took one last look at Kyle before she got up to follow me away from everyone. We were a good distance away from the rest of the group before I started talking to her.
"Listen, I know you and I haven't been…. In sync with each other," I said. "I don't know how all of this started but I want to make sure all of this is over."
"It is, Captain," she said glumly. Michelle still wouldn't look at me and I knew I had to be careful with what I said to get her in the right state of mind from now on.
"Something wrong," I asked.
Michelle nodded her head as she tried to gather he thoughts on what she was going to say to me next. "I just… ever since yesterday I kept thinking about what I put you and Captain Nagase through, and I'm so sorry that I did it." I was about to tell her to get over it because it was all over and done with, but she wasn't done talking yet. "But when I kissed you, I felt something and I was hoping you did too."
Oh, dear God. I knew she really had a thing for me and I had to be careful with what I said to her next. I could've been a real jerk to her and say something that was extremely cold, but I had to let her down easy. "No I didn't," I said softly. "I already have my heart set on Kei."
It was obvious that Michelle was hurt that I shot her down. If I was still a freshman, this would've been a cake walk because back then, I was heartless.
"I see… So I just try to move on from you?"
"Yeah, I'm already taken," I said and Michelle looked as though she was ready to give up on life. "Look, there's always someone out there waiting for you. Hell, he might be who you were walking with when you both joined us."
I saw her blush a little when I mentioned Kyle indirectly. "I don't know about him. He's cute, but I don't know if I should."
"Why not," I asked.
"He probably thinks I'm a bitch for what I've done," said Michelle.
"Do you think he would've come with you if he did?"
She looked over at Kyle who gently smiled back at her. I didn't know what was going through her head and I couldn't quite figure it out. Michelle struck me as the kind of woman who's picky about everything. Even if I wasn't dating Kei, I doubted I would've ever tried my luck with Michelle because of this trait.
"He likes you," I said, referring to Kyle. "You should give him a chance. And if you don't think you can do it, then you're not kind of girl who'd like me."
I was trying to give her the impression that she was too narrow minded when it came to opportunity and that she should be more open to new ideas. It wasn't like I was trying to pass her off so she'd get off my back. I was trying to encourage her to change. Michelle looked back at me like she was hoping that I'd tell her what's best for her.
"Is this right, though?" she asked. "I mean, is it right for me to be with him if it'll only end in heart break?"
"No one ever fell in love without being a little brave. Apart from that, can we put all of the drama behind us and pretend it never happened?" I asked as I held out my hand.
She gave me an uneasy look before she said anything. "Alright," she said and shook my hand.
Glad that's out of the way. We walked back over to rejoin the party and we actually started to communicate among the others of the squadron like everything was back to normal. Everyone in Wardog squadron was finally cooperating and we all knew it. As the night went on, everything just seemed to calm down. Wardog somehow ended up on the northern shore of Sand Island and we were all lying on the ground, looking up at the stars. Kei attempted to point out the Arkbird's position but there were too many stars in the sky during this cloudless night.
"Do you ever wonder what it's like up there?" asked Grimm.
"Like in space in general or like a different planet?" asked Kyle.
"Like the people stationed on the Arkbird."
"Those guys must be miserable up there. I don't think I could spend six months in a space ship. Any number of things could go wrong like a breach in the hull, failure of life support, or the lack of food. The thing that worries me the most is how people use the bathroom," said Chopper.
"You always have to ruin it for everyone, don't you?" groaned Justin.
"What, I'm just saying. But worst of all, I'd also hate to come in contact with a hostile alien race."
"There aren't any aliens out there," said Michelle.
"Bullshit, there has to be other forms of life out there. There's no way that we're the only sapient life forms in the galaxy," said Chopper.
"I don't doubt that we're alone in the universe. And besides, how do you explain Strangereal? It's similar to Earth in almost every way," I said.
"Yeah but there weren't any advanced forms of life here when the first colonials arrived," said Michelle.
"Didn't they find ruins of some kind?" asked Erica.
"I thought those were just rumors," said Kyle.
"Even if they're true, you still have to wonder who left them. It's not like whoever did just decided to get up and leave because they got bored of this place. My guess is war, otherwise they'd still be here or there'd be more traces of their existence if it was something else that caused them to leave," said Chopper.
"Even if it was war, you'd think that someone would've tried to preserve life on this planet," said Kei.
"Probably, speaking of war, how much longer do you think this one's going to last?" asked Justin.
"Hopefully it'll end soon, we're the reason why our allies are moving through Yuktobania so quickly," I said.
"Yeah, the Demons of Razgriz are here to bring a quick end to this stupid-ass war," said Chopper.
"Yeah, and when peace finally returns, we'll have another night like this. I glad all of you are here," I said feeling sentimental.
"As long as it takes, Captain, I'm with you until the end," said Kei as she curled up next to me. Everyone else nodded in agreement and I couldn't help but feel my moral rise. If my team said they were going to stick with me until the end, then I must've been doing something right.
November 29, 2010 1700hrs November City, Osea
Our mission for today was to perform a ceremonial flyby over the stadium in November City and stay on station for a CAP until further notice. The Vice President was holding a peace ceremony to rally the citizens of the country and boost morale. I honestly thought this whole thing was a waste of time because the Vice President was the opposite of our peace loving president. Erica and Justin were both on leave and I spared Michelle and Kyle the boredom of today's mission and let them stay at Sand Island. We spent all morning practicing the ceremonial flight and I kept screwing up the timing of all our climbs and dives so I decided to let Kei lead the formation while I took over Grimm's usual trail position. We all flew F/A-22A Raptors armed with four sidewinders and four AMRAAMs along with our standard gun. I got a lot for sideways looks when everyone saw the way my plane was painted. The Mobius insignia was illustrated on the vertical stabilizers over the bluish-grey paint that covered the whole aircraft. The Osean military markings were still visible on the wing and my plane's number changed from 016 to 118. This is as close as I can get to flying like I used to.
"So what's with the paint job, Kid?"
"I don't know. I guess I just felt like flying as the pilot who saved the world six years ago," I said with a smirk on my face.
We were approaching November city and I broke off and formed up behind Kei while Chopper took her position and Grimm took Chopper's place. We were six miles outside the city and we all mentally prepared for the flyby over the stadium. All I have to do is follow my girlfriend. Seems simple enough, right?
"I'm proud to be able to fly like this," said Grimm as we approached our AO.
"This is a ceremonial flight, watch you manners, kid," said Chopper.
"Likewise, Davenport," I replied sarcastically.
"Everyone, form up and don't stray apart from each other. Okay, Blaze?" said Kei.
"I got it," I said confidently.
"Great, let's begin."
We tightened our diamond formation as Thunderhead gave us the go ahead to start our flyby. Alright, all I have to do is stick to Kei's tail. That shouldn't be too hard. Kei led us into the first climb and I took a look around to get a sense of my surroundings. We were flying over the mountains that surrounded the outskirts of the city, which was still a good distance away. Kei then led the formation into a dive and I started thinking about what the VP might say in his speech. Was he really trying to promote peace with this rally? Even at this stage in the war, it seemed like peace talks were so far gone.
"Nice, Kid. We look great," said Chopper
I don't see how performing climbs and dives make us look great. I followed the others into another climb and I saw that we were finally over the city. The streets were empty and there didn't seem to be anyone in the buildings. The whole city seemed like it was abandoned and it just made me feel uneasy. We dove for the deck one last time and I saw the stadium come into view. We leveled off at eight hundred feet, just barley high to pass over the buildings in our path. We started our approach on the stadium and we performed a four point roll as we passed over it.
"We're flying beautifully. Keep it up!" said Kei
Grimm and Chopper then broke away in wide turns while I followed Kei in a high G loop to do another pass over the stadium with Chopper and Grimm rejoining our on Kei's wings. I normally didn't like the thought of performing stunts like this, but for some odd reason, I felt a great sense of pride come over me. It actually felt good knowing that we could pull off flying that looked this graceful.
"This marks the end of your flight. Good work, Wardog," said Thunderhead.
"You wouldn't expect any less from this group. We were really smooth up there," said Chopper.
"Alright people, let's commence our CAP while we wait for the Vice President's speech," I said.
We all tuned into the broadcast and waited for the VP's speech to start. Even though we were pretty far away from the stadium, I saw his face clearly on the huge screen that over looked the field. Damn, I thought the secretary of defense was ugly.
"People of Osea," began the Vice President. "Please, lend an ear to this broadcast. As your Vice President, I stand here on behalf of the president of Osea. Listen to your fellow countrymen cheering before me. They are filled with anger against Yuktobania and they swear that they will not drop their weapons until Yuktobania has surrendered. Now, I ask you to listen. Listen to their cheers!"
"Aw, great, here comes the thunderous applause," mocked Chopper.
"There's no way in hell that I'd applaud to something like that. I thought this was a peace ceremony," I said.
We continued to listen, expecting to hear the audience applaud the Vice President. A few seconds passed before we heard anything. We didn't hear any clapping of hands or whistling or cheering in approval, but instead, the audience started singing. The entire stadium started singing The Journey Home, a song that described peace and flight. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that the people of Osea didn't support the war like war mongers. The VP tried getting the people in the stadium to stop singing, but he failed miserably. We were still conducting our CAP and Chopper had started singing along with the crowd. I've never heard him sing before and it almost made my ears bleed.
"That isn't exactly Rock 'n' Roll, you know," said Grimm.
"Who cares? Hey they want to get along with the enemy too, right? Man, this song's got soul."
We all laughed at what Chopper said, but it was cut short when we all noticed hit on our radar. What the hell? Where did they come from? Thunderhead called out the enemy fighters and cleared us to engage as we formed into attack formation. There were only four Su-27s and they split their formation as we closed in on them. I engaged the flight lead as he tried to lock onto Kei. I checked my six to make sure that I wasn't being chased and gunned my engines once I saw that I was clear. Kei was following her target into a tight loop and my target followed without hesitation. If I was flying my F-15, I wouldn't have been able to pull lead on my target but the F-22's thrust vectoring nozzles helped me keep him in my gun sight. I let loose a long stream of bullets into my target and watched the Su-27 tumble out of the sky. I looked around and started scanning for more enemy fighters. Grimm had a visual on more enemy fighters that were inbound for the stadium and I knew for sure that something was wrong about all of this.
"Are we… the only allies here?" asked Kei.
"McNealy Air Force Base tried to scramble fighters, but the runway was blocked after someone crashed on takeoff. I'm calling for reinforcements now. It'll be six minutes before the nearest squadron arrives," said Thunderhead.
"Roger that."
"So we're on our own until then?" asked Grimm.
"We can do this. Just stay focused and stave off their attacks on the stadium," I ordered.
"…Hey, wait a minute," said Chopper. "Whoa, there still singing. Why aren't they evacuating the stadium? Where are the air-raid sirens?"
I looked at my radar to see two more formations approaching from the north and west. There were a total of eighteen enemies headed our way and I knew just how stressed the others started to feel. I looked at my team and they all looked at me. I knew that there was no right strategy to deal with this. The only thing I could think of doing is break off into pairs and perform Thatch Weaves to cover our partner, but that would leave the stadium open to attack. I didn't know what to do and I could only think of one order to give, but I knew that if we died as a result of it, I didn't think I could live with myself. I don't have a choice.
"Wardog… engage at will. All weapons are free," I said, sounding defeated.
I could feel their eyes on me as we opened up our formation to engage the enemy fighters. Thunderhead came over the radio and told us that our mission was to keep civilian casualties as low as possible. I was more concerned for the survival of me and my team but this new order added a whole new level of stress to our mission. Alright, time to show them why Mobius 1 decided to come back. I headed straight for the closest enemy plane and fired on him with my gun as I closed in and hit him in both of his wings. I pulled back on the stick as hard as I could to put my plane into a ten G turn to get on the tail of one of the enemy planes. My missile warning alarm was blaring from the four enemy fighters that were chasing me as I continued to chase my target. I wasn't able to keep him in my sights for long before I had to brake off so that I could shake them and I reengaged once I was clear. I was growing frustrated at the fact that we had the odds stacked against us and with no way to even them. I've had it with this. I broke off from the enemy I was chasing to dodge another missile and I reengaged him once I saw an opening. It took less than a second for me to line up the enemy plane and send a dozen bullets into its cockpit to kill the pilot. As soon as I saw the plane head towards the ground, I barrel rolled over my pursuers and latched onto one of them. He tried braking hard left but I quickly lag rolled into a better firing position and sent a sidewinder his way. It wasn't long until I saw another enemy plane fly in front of me as he tried to latch onto Chopper towards my two o' clock.
"Chopper, break left!" I shouted and Chopper did what I said without any argument. The enemy fighter followed Chopper and left himself open for me to shoot him down. I quickly got behind him, pulled lead, and fire my gun into his fuel tanks. Chopper thanked me and we both continued engaging the enemy fighters.
"We're being pushed back," said Kei.
"We're not dead yet. Show these guys why we earned the title of the Demons of Razgriz," I said.
"Evacuation has begun," said Thunderhead.
"Well, yeah, but they can't get out that fast," said Grimm.
"Then buy them as much time as you can," I said as I shot down another enemy plane.
"Why'd the Vice President have to assemble so many people here? Geez, what a moron," said Chopper.
"Captain Davenport, shut your mouth and take out those enemies," ordered Thunderhead.
"Aye-aye, Sir. Now you're talking."
I was already chasing another enemy plane through some of the buildings of November City. My target was weaving in and out of them and I had to focus on him and my surroundings so that way I didn't end up slamming into the side of one of skyscrapers. I was also being chased by a few enemy fighters and they were glued to my tail. I broke off from my target and clawed for altitude to gain an advantage over my pursuers.
"Blaze, I need help," shouted Kei.
I looked towards my seven o' clock low and saw Kei being chased by three MiG-29s. I dove for the deck and made my way towards her position. The enemy fighters that were still on my tail started to fire on me with their missiles and guns. My flares deflected the missiles away from me and I could see their cannon shells whizzing past my canopy as I continued flying towards Kei.
"Edge, I'm on you right wing. We're going to start a Thatch Weave but we have to clear each other's tails in the first past, alright?" I said.
Kei acknowledged and we turned back towards the stadium with the enemy fighters still pursuing us. Kei and I then started turning towards each other. Kei turned tighter than I did which allowed her to get a clean shot at the enemy fighters that were on my tail. She shot two of them down with her gun and she got the last one with one of her missiles. Once I was clear, I quickly reversed my direction and lag rolled into position as Kei reversed her direction to give me a clear shot at her attackers. Get away from her you sons of bitches! I fired my gun into the lead plane's left wing and watched him slam into his wingman. I didn't have enough time to line up the final enemy with my gun so I locked onto him with a missile and watched his plane explode. I took one last look around and saw that there were only a couple of enemy fighters left. I started to relax a little until I looked at my radar again. My heart sank when I saw more enemy fighters inbound towards our AO.
"I feel like we're being sent to die as some sacrifice," said Kei.
"If they want to kill us this badly, make sure they work for it," I said.
"Somebody…somebody help me!" shouted Grimm.
"Hang on, Grimm. I'll have him in my jaws in a couple of seconds," said Chopper.
Grimm was trying desperately to shake off an enemy plane that was on his tail but he had already sunk his teeth into Grimm. Chopper was the closest one to help him and I saw Chopper launch an AMRAAM at the enemy plane. He broke off and tried to shake Chopper's missile but he didn't know where it was coming from and flew right into it. We all had a couple seconds to catch our breath before the next wave of enemy fighters got within missile range. We all headed straight for them and launched chaff and flares to break the missile locks as we barreled through the enemy formation. Cannon shells and missiles streaked only inches past our planes as we returned fire. We managed to down a couple of the enemy fighters before they broke off and we followed them into the fur ball. We all broke off in separate directions and we all downed a couple of enemy planes within the first minute.
"Three minute!" said Thunderhead.
"Damn, I forgot to keep track of how many planes I shot down," said Chopper.
"I lost track after the very first ones I shot down at the beginning of the war," I said trying to lighten the mood.
Everyone chuckled at that a bit but we still had to worry about the blood thirsty Yuke who were out for our heads. We were all throwing our planes around the sky, trying to avoid being locked onto while attempting to provide support for each other. The enemy had us all fenced in and they took turns trying to make passes at us. The only time I was ever scared to the point of giving up was when I went on my first combat sortie and I had a missile tail me for the first time, but now I was more afraid than any other point in my life. I ordered the others to make a break for it while I covered them. All three of them flew in the same direction and a bunch of the enemy fighters dove after them. I followed after the enemy fighters and got within gun range of trailing Su-27 but instead of opening up on them, I barrel rolled over the enemy fighters that were chasing me. As they scattered to find me, I continued to pursue the enemy planes that were following my team. I locked onto them with my AMRAAMs but they broke off their attack before I could fire. Grimm, Chopper, and Kei all reversed direction to reengage the enemy fighters.
"Captain, how much longer do you think we can hold them off?" asked Grimm.
"For the rest of our lives, Grimm," I said trying to make another joke.
"We can't make it! There are too many of them," said Chopper.
"Keep it together, it's not over yet."
The enemy fighters were slowly gaining the upper hand and we were quickly running out of options on what to do. Everything was too fast paced and I could only use my gun to shoot down enemies because locking onto them took too long. My body was aching from all the tight turns and maneuvers I was pulling and I knew it would only be a matter of time before Wardog fell apart. I'm not losing anyone else. Keep going! I pulled myself together and continued fighting the enemy fighters. The others were still fighting for their live and there was no sign of them giving up either.
"Attention all units approaching November City, I guess they had us going too…" said a mysterious voice over the radio.
"What? Who is this?" asked Thunderhead.
"That was a pretty good drill they got going," said the voice. "Anyways, drill is over. Return to base."
"Wait! What're talking about?" demanded Thunderhead as the radio started to become filled with static. "ECCM, restore communication link," he shouted.
"What the hell is going on?" I shouted.
"The reinforcements aren't coming!" exclaimed Grimm.
"Reinforcements are on the way, just hang in there!" said Thunderhead. There were a few second of silent before he came back over the radio. "Dammit, none of the bases are responding to me! What don't you understand? There's an air battle above the stadium!"
"It looks like your friends aren't here to help you this time, Blaze," said another mysterious voice over the radio.
"Who the hell is this," I demanded.
"Take a look towards your nine o' clock."
I pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area off my left wing. It took me a little bit to spot a black dot on the horizon and I couldn't see what it was. I continued looking at the plane and that's when I saw it. It's him! It was the black MiG 1.44 that I encountered over Basset last month and I knew it was the green-eyed pilot.
"It's nice to see you again, Castillo. I've been looking forward to planting you in the ground," said the pilot.
"Likewise," I growled.
"Aww, did I bruise your ego over Basset? That pride is going to get you killed one of these days."
"So I've heard."
"That's right; your mentor's wingman told him the same thing, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he did. But I'm not my mentor," a said angrily.
"Oh trust me, I know. And I've been looking forward to fighting Wardog's flight lead for quite some time. You flying your old colors is an added bonus."
"Blaze…" said Kei.
"He's going to complicate things if I don't take care of him now. You and the others have to stop the rest of the enemy fighters from completing their objective," I said.
"But Blaze…"
"Edge, don't argue with me. I'll be alright."
"…Alright, just… just be careful."
I rocked my wings in acknowledgment and peeled off the meet Green, as I now referred to him. My heart was racing at the thought of me finally getting my revenge. I wiped the sweat off my face and hands in preparation to fight this guy. We closed in and he opened fire on me with his gun. I quickly performed a barrel rolled over him and came out into a dive that put me right above him. He countered my maneuver by performing an incomplete Kulbit that positioned him right behind me as I dove past him. I was directly in his sights and he gave chase as I dove to lower altitude and started flying between the buildings again. Weaving in and out of the buildings worked for a little bit until he was right on top of me. I barrel rolled over him and started chasing him above the city as the others from my team tried desperately to keep the enemy fighters clear of the stadium and off of me as well. Green was flying with such intensity that my already exhausted body was having trouble keeping up with him. I started to feel my arms going numb, and it became increasingly difficult to grip the controls.
"I see you're getting tired, boy. You're making this too easy for me," said Green.
"So you think," I muttered, trying to make a bluff.
Come on, Antonio! You have to hang on. I was still on Green's tail as he tried pulling a high G climbing left turn. I lag rolled into a better firing position and lined him up in my gun sight, but before I could fire, Green rolled over and dove for the deck. I lost sight of him and I rolled over to find him. I started scanning the ground feverishly until I saw tracers shoot past my right wing. I looked behind me to see an enemy Su-27 on my tail and I instinctively broke left. The bullets whizzed by me and the enemy pilot over shot, but I was led into a trap. I saw more tracers streak by my cockpit and when I looked behind me, I saw Green gunning for me hard.
"I was expecting more of a challenge from the Demons of Razgriz," said Green.
"You'd be in a shit load of trouble if these guys weren't all over our asses," shouted Chopper.
"Don't worry, Captain Davenport. I'll make sure you're next after I finish off your flight lead. Or better yet, why don't I go after your flight lead's bitch?"
My eyes widened as I started to realize that his banter was going way over my head and it I cursed myself for not picking up on it earlier. He knows who we are! "I'm going to fucking murder you!" I shouted as I pulled a Super Kulbit over Green.
As soon as I came out of the maneuver, I gunned the engine and locked Green in my gun sight. I pulled the trigger and landed a couple hits on his left wing. Green immediately broke hard right and I aggressively chased him through all of his maneuvering. I sank my teeth into him and I almost had him in my gun sight.
"New enemy formation detected. It's a flight of enemy stealth fighter," said Thunderhead.
"Are they inbound to the stadium?" asked Grimm.
"They're dead set on crushing us, both physically and politically," said Chopper.
"Wardog, engage those assholes before they make it to the Stadium!" I ordered.
"There are still too many enemies in the way, Blaze," cried Kei.
"Someone is going to die today, Wardog," teased Green. "It's either one of you, all of you, or the people in the Stadium."
"Shut up!" I shouted.
I didn't want to admit it, but it looked like Green was right. If this kept up any longer, then it was only a matter of time before one of our numbers was called. I couldn't keep chasing Green and expect my team to fend off all the enemy fighters and stealth bombers alone. I broke off of Green's tail and joined the rest of my team as we engaged the stealth fighters. How the Yukes got their hands on a squadron of F-117s, I'll never know. Their radar signature was extremely weak but they were strong enough for us to hone in on them and find them.
"Kid, your friend is still on our ass!" said Chopper.
"I'll deal with him, just try and shoot down those fighters before they reach the stadium," I said.
I looked behind me to see Green latch onto my tail as I shot down one of the stealth fighters. I opened the throttle to try and get away but he easily kept pace with me. I dove, I climbed, I broke hard left and right but I couldn't shake him. I tried putting my F-22 into a descending right spiral and Green pounced on me without hesitation. I looked back to see him firing his gun at me and I couldn't react fast enough. 30mm cannon shells impacted around my cockpit and shattered the canopy of my plane. My arms were lacerated by the shrapnel and I grunted in pain.
"Blaze," shouted Kei.
I looked over towards my seven o' clock high and saw Kei diving on Green, but he saw her coming too. As Kei drew closer, Green performed Pugachev's Cobra and watched Kei over shoot. He leveled out of his maneuver and chased after her. I couldn't move my right arm and I couldn't give chase either. Out of sheer desperation, I pulled out my sidearm with my left hand and fired a couple of shots at Green as he flew past me after Kei.
"It's a shame really… to see the woman you love die in front of you," said Green casually as he lined up Kei in his sights. Kei grunted as she tried pulling into a high G barrel roll to throw off his attack, but he was able to stay behind her through every turn. I could hear Green chuckling as he acquired a missile lock on her. "Good-bye, Captain Nagase."
NO!
"Not on my watch you son of a bitch," said Chopper as he came screaming in to cover Kei's back. Chopper fired a missile at Green's MiG and he couldn't get out of the way in time. He launched a set of flares but the missile was still able to explode within close proximity to his plane and tear off one of the vertical stabilizers. Chopper then peeled away to deal with the enemy fighters that were still pursuing him, but Green wasn't through yet. He performed a lag roll to get on Choppers tail but he was too far to fire at him with his gun.
"Here's a present for you, Captain Davenport," said Green.
"Chopper, get out of there!" I shouted, but it was too late. Green fired a missile at Chopper and he tried to out maneuver it. I pulled myself together and to get back on Green's tail, but I was intercepted by a bunch of enemy fighters.
"This isn't over, Castillo. I'll make sure you end up like your father," said Green and he broke off from the fight with a couple of escort fighters behind him.
"Damn," exclaimed Chopper as his plane got peppered with shrapnel from the missile.
"Are you alright? You've been hit," said Grimm.
"Ah, it's nothing big. I'm not wounded. I ought to be able to keep this plane in the air a little longer," said Chopper calmly. "Beside, planes are expendable. Right, Kid?"
"I'd rather lose a plane than a wingman," I replied trying to keep everyone's hopes up and Chopper laughed.
"Chopper, can you bail out?" asked Kei.
"Well that's kind of difficult right now," said Chopper. "There are still too many enemies in the air and there's nothing but houses down below. I can't leave this plane just yet."
"Can you still fight?" I asked.
"I'll stay up here as long as you need me, Kid."
"Alright, we have to clear out those stealth fighters first. Edge, Archer, cover us while we clear them out."
Chopper and I climbed up to meet the F-117s and we quickly dispatched them. I climbed up from behind one of the F-117s and fired on it from below. As soon as I saw him plummet towards the ground I rolled over and dove on another one of the stealth fighters to shoot him down. I was about fire on the enemy plane when my missile warning went off. I looked behind me to see a MiG-29 launch a missile at me. I dove past the stealth fighter and positioned myself so that way the enemy missile would hit the F-117 and it did. I'm surprised that worked! I climbed back up to meet another stealth fighter from below and I looked behind me to see a MiG-31 climbing up towards me at high speed. Well if that worked, then maybe this will to. The MiG tried firing on me with his gun but I easily rolled out of the way and he shot past me. He didn't see the stealth fighter that I was targeting and he was headed right for it. The MiG pilot tried pulling out of the way but he clipped the wing of the F-117 and sent it spiraling towards the ground. I looked over at Chopper and saw that he shot down the last formation of F-117s with the last of his AMRAAMs.
"That's the last of those guys," said Chopper. "I'd better get out of this plane soon. Kid, do you see any place where I could drop this plane?"
"Yeah, take it…" I began but I was bounced by an enemy plane.
"Way to go, Captain! So, where," asked Chopper.
"The stadium, Chopper, can you hear me," said Kei. "Drop it into the center of the stadium and bail out! Do you understand?"
"Roger. Good idea…gives me some hope that I just might make it. I'd better wait for the crowd to evacuate some more, though."
I was going to tell Chopper to drop it into the river before I was interrupted by an enemy. This MiG pilot wasn't as good as Green, but my wounds still made it difficult to fly. He tried diving on me from my nine o' clock high and I instinctively barrel rolled over him, forcing him to over shoot. I quickly jumped on the opportunity and dove after him. After I shot him down, I took a look around to find another enemy fighter and I saw Chopper's plane trailing thick smoke out from his engine as he flew out from behind some buildings. I saw one last enemy MiG-29 tailing him and Grimm quickly dove on him to clear Chopper's six.
"All enemy stealth fighters confirmed destroyed," said Thunderhead. "We've called back the allied fighters."
There were still a number of enemy fighters in the sky and they were still gunning for us, but mainly at Chopper. We were trying our hardest to keep the enemies off of him and we weren't showing any mercy towards them.
"A little too late, man," muttered Chopper. "There goes the radar. My circuits are toast."
I was breathing heavily and I couldn't catch my breath to tell him to bail out over the river. The pain in my arms was beginning to become unbearable and the enemy fighters just kept coming.
"Look, forget about it, Chopper, just bail out. Please, bail out!" begged Kei.
Chopper sighed as he changed heading towards the stadium. "Okay, guess now's the time."
"This is Thunderhead. Captain Davenport, are you alright?"
"Chopper, take it over the river," I strained to say, but he didn't hear me.
"There's the stadium. I'm dropping the plane over there," said Chopper glumly.
"Roger, now get out," said Kei.
We were all too busy engaging our targets to watch Chopper as he guided his plane over the stadium. We could only listen and wait for him to tell us that he got out alright. The few seconds that we waited seemed like forever before he said anything.
"I can't, the electrical system's all messed up. The canopy won't blow. The ejection seat's probably not working either," said Chopper as his radio started breaking up.
"You don't know that! Blow the canopy with your pistol and try the ejection seat!" I ordered.
"Don't give up, Chopper! Keep trying! Chopper!" shouted Thunderhead.
Chopper chuckled to himself before I heard his last words. "I'm gonna miss that voice."
"DAMMIT, DAVENPORT, GET OUT!" I shouted in desperation.
I barrel rolled over the enemy plane on my six and filled the cockpit full of lead. As soon as I saw him go down, I looked over towards my three o' clock and saw a smoke trail heading towards the center of the stadium. I didn't want to accept it. My wingman and one of my best friends was about to die and I couldn't bear to watch. I don't think anyone could because no one said anything until we all heard his radio go silent. I couldn't tell who it was that shouted Chopper's name when his plane dropped off the radar.
"…..Dammit," muttered Thunderhead. "I hate to say this now, but there's another enemy wave approaching. All units engage."
I was wretched that I had lost Chopper but at the same time, I felt nothing but animosity. I couldn't tell if I was angry at the Yukes in general or just the green-eyed pilot. I was in a blind rage and I couldn't feel anything. Not the pain in my arms or the G forces as I turned towards the new enemy formation. I could hear Grimm and Kei both fighting back their tears and I tried my best to not let my sorrow show, but the tears came anyways.
"With pleasure," I growled.
The Yukes had three formations headed our way, arranged in finger four formations, flying one behind the other at pretty wide intervals. I knew just how to quickly deal with them. I turned over to the wideband radio channel and I could hear the Yuke talking about how Chopper's death was a morale booster for them all. As quickly as you gained that boost of confidence, I'm going to replace it with fear even quicker. Throughout the entire fight, I had only used my gun and three sidewinder missiles. I locked onto the first formation of enemy planes with all four of my AMRAAMs and fired. I climbed up and barrel rolled over them as my missiles impacted all four of the enemy planes. As I came out of the barrel roll, I was above and in front of the second formation's flight lead and I fired into his cockpit with my gun and watched his plane nose over into a dive as I dove past him and the last enemy formation. Then, I quickly pulled up out of the dive and performed an Immelmann turn so that I was behind the last formation's flight lead. He tried breaking off with his wingman but I sent my last sidewinder into his plane and quickly fired a long burst into his wingman's engine. I watched all seven of the enemy planes that I had just shot down fall towards the ground, trailing smoke and fire. The Yuke formations were in total disarray and I could hear them panicking over the radio.
"What's going on? They're maneuvering better than before?"
"It's like their different pilots. Did the demon take them over?"
"This is the true power of the Razgriz?"
"We were no match for them after all!"
"Don't lose your confidence. We can still beat them!"
You're more than welcome to try, but you'll only die tired. Nothing else in the world mattered to me except that I kill as many of these pilots as I could. I wanted to intimidate the Yukes to the point that no one in their air force would try to fight us and I hoped that this intimidation would force the Yukes to surrender in the war all together. The remaining enemy planes in the air tried running, but we didn't let them get far. Through all the fighting, I could still hear Kei and Grimm sobbing quietly as they shot down enemy after enemy. Eventually, there was one last enemy pilot on radar and I could see him trying to get away from the fight and I dove after him. He tried desperately to shake me but I wasn't going to let him go. I had him in my sights and I fired a burst from my gun into his engine. His plane started smoking but he was still able to fly and he leveled out. I lined him up to finish him off but I heard a whisper to me that snapped me out of my rage.
Please, don't do it.
I sat there motionless with my finger poised on the trigger and I hesitated shooting this guy down. The enemy pilot was dead in my sights and it would've been one of the easiest kill I'd ever claim. I know I wanted the Yukes dead but, something was stopping me from doing it. I couldn't bring myself to shoot down this enemy pilot and I didn't know if it was because on my wounds or because my morality was telling me not to. I heard another plane approaching from behind and I looked back to see that it was Grimm. He was coming in to finish off the enemy pilot for me and I quickly flew between them to block his attack.
"Captain…" said Grimm angrily.
"Let him go," I said in anguish.
"But…"
"That's an order, Grimm."
We both broke off from the last enemy fighter and watched as he sped off towards the west. Kei found us and formed up on my left wing and Grimm formed up on my right. We saw a friendly formation headed our way and they started sweeping the area for enemies. I felt angry at them as well. I kept thinking; even if that one pilot said that it was a drill, the other pilots should've came over to investigate. November City was where the Vice President was, after all.
"…Wardog, thanks for holding out for us. The reinforcements are here," said Thunderhead. "We just got word from the ground…"
I perked my head up and waited intensely to hear if Chopper had somehow managed to get out in time. I started to remember what Pops had told me last week when we were drinking in the crew room together. You have to hold onto every single bit of hope you can get and pray that they're still alive. I was gripping my necklace, hoping that Thunderhead would tell us the good news.
"Except for a few injuries in the confusion following the evacuation, there were no civilian casualties in the stadium."
I felt my heart sink at the news. As heartless as it may sound, I honestly didn't care about the report of civilian casualties. All I wanted to know was if Chopper was still alive and nothing more. I wanted to yell at Thunderhead but it wouldn't do me any good.
"He… He was a model fighter pilot to the end. Join me in saluting Captain Davenport!"
A formation of F-16s flew over the stadium and the number three plane peeled off and saluted Chopper with a missing man formation. I led the others around the stadium one last time before we headed back to Sand Island. It was painful to see the smoking crater and the remains of Chopper's F-22 and I didn't know what else to do. I blamed myself because I should've watched out for my team better. I should've shot down Green's plane on the first pass. I didn't know if I'd ever live down the guilt of losing one of my wingmen, but I had to find some way to keep moving forward. Until we meet again, Chopper. Farewell.