Thick black clouds of smoke plumed from the city of Kinslof, casting a dark shadow over the frozen mountainous lands for miles all around. Powerful shocks of massive explosions echoed through the air from the cramped ruined street ways, carrying the sounds of innumerable small arms fire with them. The last of the city's skyscrapers stood weak and crippled on the frail burning remains of their infrastructure. Millions of large caliber anti-aircraft tracer rounds fired from the cities' defenders and pierced out into the darkened skies above in an attempt to stop the formations of helicopters from strafing fortified buildings. Countless white contrails from dogfighting aircraft cut across the ash choked skies like entangled scars, their Air-to-Air weaponry sending the debris of the defeated showering down over the raging battles below in an apocalyptic fashion.
Deep within the carnage of the war torn city was a mass of fleeing terrified men, women and children being guided by soldiers to secure areas away from the fighting. Screams could be heard throughout the crowd after every explosion, which became louder and louder as they tried to move slowly from them. Small children who had been separated from family stood weeping and lost in the midst of the chaos, whose calls for help were drowned out by enemy ordinances' intense booming aftermath, shaking the ground beneath their feet. The soldiers struggled to keep order but to no avail, yelling orders as loud as they could in a futile attempt to get the panicked masses' attention. Then, one by one, the faces of the crowd all turned their eyes towards the blackened sky above as they noticed a large spear of glowing hot light cutting down into their world below. The people all scattered in fear now after realizing what this light actually was. The soldiers looked up with expressions of disbelief, and were engulfed by the thousands of terrified people. A mother desperately held her baby close to her chest and simply fell to her knees, ignoring the people who ran around her in every direction. She looked up at the doom that would befall them with a single tear running down her cheek and closed her eyes, burying her face against her crying infant.
The massive warhead disappeared over the cities' distant horizon of wreckage and there were a few seconds of complete silence as a blinding flash overwhelmed all sight and an immense cloud of death bloomed over the city. Its wave of destruction toppling the remaining skyscrapers, sending cars and entire residential areas flying like toys through the city streets, and incinerating people were they stood. From space, the scene was repeated several times across the country of Belka in a horrific display of unimaginable destruction. The Bright red and yellow impacts glowed on the surface of the planet as the sun's light faded from it. Among the specks of stars high above the world was a glint of reflecting light off a huge metallic surface. As the space station twisted in its Geosynchronous orbit, more and more of the satellite-like mass was illuminated and in its long solar panels was the stretched mirrored image of horror that was taking place far below.
15 YEARS LATER
Military Calendar/: 1350hrs 23 September 2010/
Osean Airspace
Sand Island Air Force Base
"Nagase! You keep flying like that and you'll die real fast!" Captain Bartlett called out from a distance, loud enough to hear over the runway vehicles and aircrew running from one important station to the other. Second Lieutenant Kei Nagase pulled her flight helmet off of her head with trembling hands, her gaze meeting her captain's for a short defining moment. "I won't die, sir" She said with hardly a whisper. She knew he couldn't hear her, but he didn't need to. The captain ran his hand through his messy dark military cut hair with a look of both anger and exhaustion, then shook his head and stormed off between the aircrew men and women who climbed and inspected his parked F-16 Fighting Falcon. Its engine still hot and emitting heat. Kei looked down at her flight helmet, seeing her grim reflection in its visor. Her face was pale, and her short black hair was slick with sweat and bodily oils. Her eyes were red from the intense unblinking concentration she had maintained for the last few hours. She then leaned back against the side her own F-16's nose. More aircrew scurried around her, checking parts of the plane and unloading unused missiles from its undercarriage.
Six people died today. Three of them were new pilots she had recently graduated flight school with. People she struggled with, laughed with, and flew with. Her and the captain where the only survivors of the battle. She had known most of the squadron personally and some as acquaintances, but she was fond of them all. The day had started like any other, very early, and Kei was sure it was going to be another routine patrol along the beautiful western Osean coastline of Cape Landers. But command informed her squadron that a group of unidentified aircraft was detected further off the shores to the west, and their patrol was tasked to investigate. The unknown aircraft were identified as four MiG class Yuktobanian fighters, which fired on them without warning then retreated back across the sea without a single casualty. She looked up towards the open blue sky as Osean fighters flew in formation over the airbase. The blue and white Osean flag whipped to the wind's mercy atop its massive flagpole. The whole base was being put on high alert now. Six friends died today because command had not given them the order to engage until it was too late, however she knew part of that was also her fault, having hesitated to pull the trigger on the tail of one the enemies. Even though it was only seconds, the enemy plane had managed to pull away from her and aid in the deaths of the other pilots. It was her fault she did not have the strength to protect her wingmen when they needed her the most. And now it was something she would have to live the rest of her life with. "Yo! Nagase!" a man called. Kei turned to see, a fellow pilot, Second Lieutenant Davenport jogging to meet her. "Hey, what happened Nagase?! Where is everyone else?" Kei held back heavy tears and tightened her grip around the flight helmet.
/0500hrs 24 September 2010
The pilots all sat quietly in the briefing room, scattered around as if trying to avoid each other like strangers on an empty public bus. Kei found her place near the back of the room where she sat in a folding chair and stared down at a small red covered book in her lap. The edges where worn and the cover had obviously seen better days, but the title still remained. 'A Blue Dove for The Princess' was etched in golden letters across the book's hard surface. Kei ran her fingers over it and remembered the times she had read the book with her mother when she was very young, usually when she could not fall asleep at night. This was ironic considering they had not slept the night before, with command keeping them on standby and having just finished the harrowing task of removing their fallen comrade's belongings from the lockers and rooms, preparing it to be shipped back to the families. Only thing was, they had not actually been announced dead. Just like there was actually no battle. The whole event was being hushed as the Osean government tried to sort the situation out. Yuktobania had been an ally after all, and the last thing they wanted was to start a war with one of the largest super powers in the world, Kei was sure of this. But the lack of information being distributed to anyone below the commanding officers was beginning to worry her. The Osean public had no idea given the absence of evidence on the news, or maybe it was just being covered up too. Even her and the captain's debriefing was nothing more than a verification of the events she was sure they knew already. But that was over thirteen hours ago. Since the base was put on lockdown she could only wonder what was going on out in the world, no one could come or go from the area and television channels were shut down to maintain effective military communication arrays. She wasn't even able to make a phone call home.
"This blows" Davenport said aloud, leaning back into his chair and running his hand over his ridiculous brown comb-over which barely stayed within military regulations, sighing loudly. "We have to sit here and pretend six people weren't killed while the big wigs play with themselves trying to figure out who to blame". He was always like this, loud mouthed and never put any thought into what he was saying until it was already said, but it was nothing new. In fact the squadrons of Sand Island had grown accustomed to his spurts of sarcastic witty comments and terrible jokes in the months they all had been stationed here. However, this was different, as if he wasn't sure how to take the situation they were in. Kei wanted to say something, but ever since the battle she hadn't been able to make nothing but small talk or military greetings. She did not tell her fellow pilots about her hesitation in the moment of truth, nor did she feel it right to keep it from them. After all, if things kept rolling downhill like the way they were now, she was sure there would be many more times her wingmen will need to depend on her. One of the other pilots spoke up. "No one's asking you to pretend Davenport, there are things happening behind the curtains that could change the fate of entire countries right now". Kei looked to try and put a name to the unfamiliar face. The pilot's nametag read Stratton in black stitched letters on his olive green flight coveralls. He was the only First lieutenant of the group and was definitely the oldest. Judging by his salt and pepper appearance, Kei was sure he joined the Osean Air Force late in life. "This isn't right man, we haven't even given them a proper service yet" Davenport added.
"A conflict with Yuktobania could mean the start of another great war, like the one with Belka 15 years ago" another unfamiliar face said, this time a female. She was young and fragile looking, with lengthy bun tied blonde hair and pasty complexed skin, but her eyes had a constant steadfast look about them that told a harsh story. This one's name was Hales. A worrisome voice came from the front of the room. "My brother is part of the First Airborne Division" Grimm said shifting in his seat to face Hales with an equally worrisome look before finishing his words "I really hope not". His face seemed too innocent for an officer in the OAF, like a man who spent a lot of time blaming himself for things he could not control, and his sun tinged brown hair and childlike face only added to his demeanor. She was then abruptly reminded that most of the air wing she was originally stationed here with was shot down in the massacre. And it was a massacre. Now Davenport was the only familiar face, and he wasn't even part of her squadron, in fact none of them were. All of the pilots in the room where either assigned to different squadrons or were new graduates from the mainland, which added to Kei's confusion on the reason why they were all gathered here. Sand Island was a small base and a common place for new pilots to be stationed, making it more of a training command then a war ready Osean Air Force base.
"Hey Nagase, you ok?" Davenport asked with his head turned around to see her. She jolted upright quickly. "Yes" She replied without a pause. It was a simple answer to a simple question. She had been asked that quite a lot since returning from the engagement. But she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. A door opened on the other side of the room and a tall man dressed in his dark blue OAF service uniform walked in, and right behind him was Captain Bartlett in his green pilot coveralls. The pilots all snapped to attention as Stratton yelled Aten' uht!. Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton's uniform was always squared away and seemed to stay crisp at all times. "At ease" he said, walking with the captain to the front of the room and standing behind a small podium. In turn the pilots all took their seats. The Lt. Colonel was a good half head taller than the captain, with much more defining features and much less hair. His light complexion added to his slick clean shaven jawline and glassy blue eyes. In truth Kei had actually found him intimidating at times. Lt Colonel Hamilton was the second highest ranking officer at the command, and with the Colonel away, it put him in charge of the air wing here on Sand Island. "Thank you all for waiting, a lot has happened in the last fifteen hours". He said the last few words slowly while scanning the room and rubbing his hand over his shaved head, then straightened his posture.
"Yuktobania has declared war" He said, looking around room with an icy cold stare. The pilots sat quiet, as if the idea of what was just said had not sunk in yet. Kei felt her heart start to pound in her chest. The Lt Colonel then continued. "And has simultaneously launched an offensive on multiple fronts in Osea since our last engagement" Hamilton then gestured with his hand towards a light switch on the wall, and the captain moved to switch it off. As the lights died, Hamilton picked a small remote from the podium and quickly used it to turn on a projector connected to the ceiling. A projection of a map overlaying the western tip of Osea then filled up the previously blank wall. The map was a collection of neon blue colors that changed slightly to depict water and land, with the appropriate names of cities and regions in a luminous white. Sand Island was only a speck in the Ceres Ocean between Yuktobania and Osea. The Lt Colonel then pressed a button on the remote and small red dots then appeared across the coastland of Western Osea. "As you can see, Yuktobanian air forces have attacked multiple high value targets on the mainland, and timed them effectively enough to make our chances at a counter attack very low". Kei scanned over the map, noticing several places where she knew friends were stationed, and the thought crossed her mind that they may have been killed, and it flipped her stomach inside out. From the looks the other pilots were making, she could tell it had the same effect on them as well. The general public knew for sure now, there's no way they could hide it.
She respected the Lt Colonel for probably going out of his way to show them what was going on in the bigger picture. Hamilton then zoomed in on an area a few hundred miles north of Sand Island in the Ceres Ocean. "Now listen up" He said with a strong tone in his voice. Kei knew he was about to tell them why they were all here. "An unidentified stealth aircraft was pinged leaving Cape Lander's airspace". The map displayed a long red arrow as it crossed on over the ocean. "In one hour, the aircraft will be within our own airspace" The Lt Colonel clicked a button and stopped the arrow in its place. At the same time five small green triangles appeared at the edge of the map, behind the red arrow. "We have an AWACS, call sign Thunderhead, tracking its position. Your squadron will arrive at these coordinates roughly around 0630 to meet the crafts flight path" Hamilton then looked back at the pilots "Your mission, will be to intercept this aircraft and escort it back to Sand Island, and if they do not respond to our hails then you are given permission to engage the craft and eliminate it"
Davenport stood up at attention, the universal military sign for I have a question. "What is it Second Lieutenant Davenport" The Lt Col demanded rather then asked, his words quick and precise. Time was crucial during these briefs because everything had already been planned to the very second as to maintain mission effectiveness. "Sir, What about the people we lost during the last engagement? Will they get a service?" It was completely off topic, but Kei herself wanted to know as well. Hamilton sighed, and looked at Davenport with the softest expression Kei had ever seen on the Lt Colonel's face. Though even this was still a stern look. "I understand that the pilots we lost were close to you, but we are now in a time of war and many men and women have been killed in action already" It was a cold truth, and it spelled out the answer without him actually saying it. If the situation wasn't clear to any of them, it was now. Davenport paused for moment, then reluctantly sat back down. It was the first time Kei had seen Davenport this serious about anything, even during flight he was always pushing how far his lack of military bearing could go. Lt Colonel Hamilton then turned to Captain Bartlett and nodded his head "The floor is yours captain". Bartlett was a grizzled, badmouthed firebrand of a man. His face was rough with age and experience, and his unshaved stubble along with his sluggish behavior told Kei he hadn't got any more sleep then the rest of them. He walked to the front of the room while dragging a small folding chair with him, setting it up with a loud motion and planting himself on it while facing the rest of the pilots. "Alright, I know you're all tired but we got work to do, and not enough pilots to do it" The Captain leaned forward in his chair, light from the projector arched over his abrupt facial features and created a shadow on one side of his face. "Since they're pulling a lot of pilots back to the mainland to protect vital installations, you will all be Sand Island's only main combat squadron"
Kei's stomach dropped as she heard the captain's words. Suddenly she felt isolated and alone, and this beautiful island she once saw as a front for keeping the peace, seemed more like a quarantine for war. Stratton then stood up to attention "Sir, does this mean we have to separate from our current squadrons?" Captain Bartlett smirked "That's right Strat, as of this moment you are all part of the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Wardog squadron". Kei was shocked, Wardog was her and the captain's Squadron. They had lost six and now gained four new pilots, four new people she would now be flying into deadly skies with. Stratton took his seat but his face looked like he wanted to say something in protest. Kei knew it was a small airbase but surly only one squadron was completely unreasonable, the island was at the front of the whole conflict after all. Kei took a moment and looked around, assuring herself that the few pilots around her were an effective fighting force. However the only ones among them who had any kind of real experience were the captain and First Lieutenant Stratton. Regardless of what she thought, they were all chosen by the captain for a reason. That she knew for sure. The captain's smirk left his face "So here's what's gonna happen" He pointed at Grimm then Davenport like he was counting sheep "Your both with me, we are going up first" Captain Bartlett then looked at Kei with a weary gaze "Nagase you're coming too, but I want you as number two on my wing, I've gotta keep an eye on you or who knows what'll happen" His words felt like a knifes. Knowing he had seen her in the battle before made her guilt burn even hotter. She and the Captain had been flying together since she was stationed here, and she always tried to prove herself to him. The captain counted his remaining sheep, "Hales, Strat and-" he paused for a moment, looking to the back corner of the room. "Hey new Kid, what's your name again?" Kei was confused, surly there wasn't any other pilots here. But to her surprise, she turned around and saw a man standing in the darkest corner of the room where the projectors light barely reached. His face was obscured in the darkness but he wore the green coveralls of an Osean pilot. There was hardly enough time for him to answer the question before the captain started talking again. "Ah forget it, your name is Kid from now on"
Kei struggled to see more but then realized she was staring, and quickly turned back around only to see the rest of the pilots turn around as well. All sharing the same curiosity as her apparently. Was he here the whole time? She asked herself. Her thoughts were interrupted as Captain Bartlett spoke "Anyway you three are on standby, so we have some back up just in case shit hits the fan" The Lt Colonel then stepped in "Remember that you are all we have, so keep your heads on out there, understood?" they all replied with a resounding yes sir! The Lt Colonel nodded and said "Alright, dismissed". As Kei stood, she turned around trying to find the new kid, but the door had already been opened and he was no were in sight.
Kei felt her F-16 rumble as its wheels left off the runway at 130 miles per hour. Pulling back slightly on her control stick and accelerating until reaching 2,000 feet before evening out. She then took low G-force turn to head due north, feeling the slight stress on the craft's airframe before hooking into her passing squadron, falling into their arrow formation. "This is Heartbreak, Take off complete tower" Captain Bartlett announced over the radio in her helmet. "This is tower, have a safe flight" a man said back. She took the moment to look out over the tiny strip of land that was Sand Island. Crystal blue water glistened around its white sandy beaches, and patches of green foliage dotted its scattered surrounding land masses. The base was more than half the Island itself, and the airbase was not a big one to begin with. It was peaceful place that she hoped would never see the fires of war.
"So who was that new guy anyway?" Davenport asked, obviously directed at the captain. "You're a curious one aren't ya Chopper" The captain had a falsely amused tone to his voice. Chopper was Davenport's call sign, it was fitting considering how much he ran his mouth. "Just trying to figure out the competition, I'm going for Colonel after all, sir". There was a slight bit of static and turbulence as their formation pulled into the clouds. "Since you're so interested, he just left flight school three days ago, poor kid, not even outta the nest and he's already getting kicked off the branch". This was one of the few times Kei had ever heard the captain sound sympathetic. And she couldn't blame him, Kei had a hard time even now adjusting to the 'real flying world' and she had graduated quite some time ago. This new pilot would be welcomed into the world with the open arms of war. Clear morning skies filled her cockpit's view as they pulled out of the cloud cover. There was a minute of silence before Grimm spoke over the COM. "I overheard some other new guys saying he was top of his class, and graduated with all recommendations" then there was a few more seconds of silence before he spoke again "And he's flying a modified version of the F-14D". The Captain chuckled in response "Leave it to Archer to play detective". Kei was confused, the F-14 was a navy aircraft and was also retired in 2006. "No way man that sounds like a load of crap" Davenport responded.
Captain Bartlett audibly smirked with a matter a fact tone. "Well it's not, the project was recovered by the OAF in an attempt to recreate their own interceptor, and apparently also recreated a handful of modified F-14D's to test the idea". Kei then verbalized a question that just came to her mind at the moment "Is that why you chose him, sir?" There was a short pause before the captain answered the question. "It's because 'he's special', Edge" it was obvious he was trying to sarcastically mimic someone higher up in the chain of command with the two words. Her call sign 'Edge' was given to her by the captain shortly after she was stationed at Sand Island. When she asked why, the captain simply said "because you're always livin on the edge, Nagase". Even to this day she hasn't understood why, but it stuck with her. After that exchange the only thing that filled the radio channel was Davenport's voice trying to convince Grimm his last name shouldn't be spelt with two M's for a while. Kei took the time to think about why Yuktobania had decided to wage a war on Osea. Surly they knew the immense destruction and death a war in this era would cause. She knew there was tensions between the two countries for some time now, but nothing that would cause such a sway in the alliance. "Edge, you're listing too far to the left" Kei snapped back to reality and quickly readjusted her course, looking over to see Grimm observing her through his canopy. She gave a nod of thanks and pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind.
It wasn't long after that a new voice crackled in over the radio now "This is AWACS thunderhead to Wardog, we have you on RADAR, glad you could join us" he said with a tired voice. "Wouldn't miss it Thunderhead" the captain said curtly. "We've got the target around four thousand feet baring west, Wardog. Speed is three-hundred knots". "This is Heartbreak, roger that, stay on my wing guys we're going down" Following the captain's plane, the four of them quickly descended down through the clouds until the ocean was visible, their F-16 fighters staying linked in formation. It only took Kei a few minutes to spot the black metallic aircraft over the blue waters. "This is Edge, eyes on target, 2'oclock low". It was different from any plane Kei had seen. Then she realized it wasn't a stealth plane at all. "It's a drone" Grimm said surprised. "Yea it's a Yuke drone" Captain Bartlett added. Kei looked over its slick black aluminum panels and short stout wings and noticed the red and yellow colors of the Yuktobanian flag on its left side. Kei knew the only way a drone could be out this far is if had an intelligence vessel prowling in the waters off the coast, they simply didn't have the range to cross the ocean and return. And this scared her, because it meant the enemy was scouting them right under their noses. "This is command to Wardog squadron, hold fire and follow the craft, we need to know where it's going before splashing it". "Roger that, command" Bartlett replied. Following the lead plane once more, they took formation roughly 60km behind the drone. Kei winced as the morning sun broke through the clouds above and glared into her cockpit. Thunderhead's voice then boomed in her ears "Wardog! Four aircraft approaching your 12'oclock, altitude is ten thousand feet, speed is twelve-hundred knots!" Kei's heart starting pounding, it was the same number of aircraft that she engaged the day before. "This is Heartbreak to Command, what are the rules of engagement?" There was static on the line for a minute before the answer came through. "Splash the drone Wardog, and eliminate the targets, weapons free". "This is Heartbreak, roger that, Edge take that drone down, rest of you stay on my wing, were going to roll the red carpet out for our guests". Kei dropped the face shield over her helmet and accelerated her aircraft closer to the drone as the rest of her squadron pulled up and away from her. "This is Edge, roger that"
She switched her HUD over to targeting mode and saw a small green square appear in her field vision just left of the drone, then it quickly slid to lock over the aircraft and turned red with a high pitched tone. "Target locked" Kei flipped the plastic cover from the missile release button with her thumb and took a few more seconds to ensure the target was steady. "Firing" She pushed the button and heard the dull roar of the IR missile soar from her left wing towards the craft. The drone pitched quickly to its Left and deployed its flares at the last second and threw the missile off target. Kei cursed to herself and switched to her Gatling guns. Her HUD switching the reticule from a square to a cog-like circle. "Thunderhead to Edge, target missed" I can see that, she thought. The drone then turned hard to its right trying to escape, but Kei pulled her Gun's trigger and felt the powerful rattling of the weapon as it discharged thousands of high velocity rounds from the nose of her F-16 that minced the drone in mid evasion like hot blades through paper, sending its wreckage spinning towards the ocean. "This is edge, drone is down" A rewarding feeling came over Kei as she realized she just splashed her first bogey, even though it was unmanned. I can do this, just focus. Her little session was cut short as Captain Bartlett came over the radio. "Nice work Edge, now get your ass up here!" Kei pulled up on her control stick and punched the accelerator. The COMs were going crazy as people's voices bounced combat updates to each other. "Got one on me! Shit!" Davenport yelled. Kei felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest as she scanned the skies looking for the dogfight. Then an F-16 broke through some cloud cover while in a barrel roll not far from her, with a Yuktibanian MiG-29 hot on its tail. It was not the same aircraft type that she engaged the day before, but it still had its frightening shark like appearance. She pulled her aircraft into a hard turn to match their flight path, keeping her breathing maintained as the G-forces pushed her organs to her legs. Then leveled out again behind the enemy craft. "Hold on chopper I'm on your six, keep him still!". "Oh yea sure no problem!" He said back as sarcastic as could be. Kei felt her eyes drying out from the lack of blinking she was doing, twisting and turning in an attempt to line the green targeting square on the enemy.
It was obvious Yuktobania had better aircraft at their disposal, and it was even more apparent these pilots were no joke. Kei felt sweat beading on her brows as it dripped down her face. Then she gasped loudly as the MiG-29 launched a missile at Davenport. "Chopper Flares!" she spoke so quick her two words sounded like one, but Davenport took the hint and deployed his flares just in time to curve the missile downward into the clouds. She steeled her resolve and hovered her thumb over the missile button on her control stick, trying to stay on the enemy plane at the same time. The Yuke finally caught onto her and immediately peeled off from Davenport's tail. Kei trailed it and found her smaller plane much better at the turn, and her targeting square lined up perfectly, making the lock tone. Think again bastard. "Fox Two!" She smashed the button and saw her missile tear through the sky towards the target only 30km in front of her. The Yuke pilot didn't even have time to release his flares before an explosion engulfed the aircraft. Kei rolled her plane to dodge the wreckage, seeing its twisted flaming remains spiral down through the clouds. "This is Thunderhead, Edge splashed one!" Kei let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. There was a loud cheering sound coming from Thunderhead's COM, no doubt from the people in the AWACS biting their nails watching the event on RADAR. "Thanks a lot, Edge" Davenport said breathing heavy into his mic. "Get your heads back in the game we still got three left!" The captain yelled.
"SAM alert! Missile coming from the waters! Heartbreak watch your back!" Thunderhead was yelling out the pieces of information in what sounded like the order in which he himself was learning. "What the? How?! There's no ships out here!" Davenport said with a mixture of fear and confusion. Kei scanned the skies around her desperately trying to find the Captain, then she saw him. His F-16 was accelerating upward trying to break the AR missile's range. She knew flares would not detour this one. "This is Heartbreak! CHAFF isn't working! I'm ejecting!" The captain's canopy shot off the plane with a mist of decompression and he fell into the clouds before the aircraft was struck by the missile just seconds after and exploded in a huge flaming ball of unused ordinance. Kei nearly lost control of her plane trying to see if his parachute had deployed. "D-Did anyone see a chute!?" She cried out over the COM. "He's good! Chute is out!" Davenport relayed back with a relieved voice. "Behind you Edge!" Grimm yelled immediately after. Kei looked into her mirrors in time to see another Yuke MiG-29 turn on her, firing a heat seeking missile. She activated her flare release and felt her plane shutter as she yanked back on the control stick, her pilot suit squeezing around her abdominal region to keep her conscious from the G-force. "Missile evaded Edge!" Thunderhead shouted. "Anyone got eyes on Edge?!" Davenport called. "I can't see her! I'm trying to evade this MiG!" Grimm shot back in response. Kei spun her plane in an array of complicated maneuvers trying to shake her aggressor, but The MiG-29's pilot proved to dwarf her relative skill in Dogfighting and stayed glued to her tail. Her RADAR chimed a warning as the MiG's AR missile locked on her, and she panicked for only a second before she darted her eyes back to her mirrors to see the enemy plane explode violently. Then a calm man's voice spoke over the COM, "This is Blaze, target destroyed".
In that moment an aircraft flew past her canopy. It was a grey Osean F-14, its wings folded back as it tore through the sky past her at mock speed. It's him, the one from before, the new kid. "Thunderhead to Wardog, all enemy planes are bugging out, its over!" there was sounds of applauding joy from the backgrounds of both the AWACS and Command's COM lines as they all heard the news. "Yea that's right, better run!" Davenport yelled with a voice of one who just overcame a great fear. Kei's grip on her control stick was so tight she was sure she would never be able to remove it. The new kid had saved her life. Kei didn't hear anyone say anything about getting backup, but she was sure that in the midst of the fight, a lot of talking was either ignored or toned out. She didn't think they were fighting for long but her body felt like it was days. The captain! She thought, remembering his ejection. "Does anyone see where the Captain landed?" Kei asked to anyone who was listening. "Yea, he's touched down in the water, I see the chute and his raft" Grimm said with a relieved tone. Kei could finally breath normally again. "Air rescue has already been scrambled Wardog, he'll be home soon" Thunderhead added. "Do you see any ships in the area?" Grimm asked, making Kei remember the SAM that had launched from the water below. "Nothing ever popped on RADAR, Wardog" Thunderhead replied. She knew that was impossible, if a SAM missile was fired from the surface, then there should be a ship somewhere.
Per command's orders, they all flew around for miles scanning the waters for any sign of the enemy, but found nothing. Then they were given the order to return. She didn't feel right about leaving the captain knowing there might still be a threat, but there wasn't anything she could do now. Wardog squadron then started to form their arrow formation again, and the F-14 pulled up right next to Kei. Now that she was looking in the cockpit, she realized that there was only one pilot. This was confusing to her because an F-14 was a two pilot craft, or, was supposed to be. He was wearing a red flight helmet and did not bother to notice her curiosity. Upon further observation, the craft seemed much smaller than the F-14's she had ever seen.
"Thanks a lot for the assist Kid" Davenport said. "It's a good thing Command got you up here so fast" Grimm chimed in as well. They were either oblivious or did not share Kei's own curiosities, then she realized she had not thanked him yet and quickly spoke after Grimm "Thanks, Blaze". The four of them fell silent as they flew over the open seas back to Sand Island. Kei felt an uneasiness come over her, like nausea. But she wasn't getting sick, this was from the slow realization that she had just killed someone today. She knew maybe one day she would have to, once signing her military contract, and was continuously reminded though strenuous drills and exercises on how to destroy the enemy. It still didn't make the reality any easier, but she took slight comfort in the thought that this small victory would put them a step closer to ending the bloodshed. She didn't know who this Kid was, but the fact that he managed to keep up with her maneuvers and take down a MiG-29 with an inferior outdated plane was something out of a fairy tale, doubly so considering this was his first flight in a real combat setting. She knew the days ahead would only get darker, and that maybe she would have to see many more people die before this war could come to an end. But this new pilot, Blaze, gave her hope in the smallest way that one day they would have a chance for peace again.