World War G: The Special Region Vs The World (Part 1)

Ace of Spades

Hannah Watkins
(April 12th, 2026)

I grunted, "This is Gold Three, I have...Hgnnh..."

My vision started to gray out. G-strain is a bitch but these guys can deal with it no problem. I straightened out to regain my consciousness, leaving me vulnerable. I heard a faint beeping inside the cockpit.

"Gold 3! Missile! Missile!" the radio shouted.

I threw the aircraft into a steep climb. The altitude crept up quickly. Nine-thousand meters...

"Gold 5, Fox 2," the AWACS mentioned.

The aircraft shuddered for a second.

"Gold 3, that bogey is gone," the AWACS informed me.

I flattened out at the top of the service ceiling. I can see the edge of space and the curve of this new world. I took a couple of deep breaths before dropping the nose of the F-35 to rejoin the fight.

Today marks the 35th day of Operation Recovery. With all the nations of the Earth along with any allied nations, we were attempting to take over the continent again. Flying multiple sorties every day slowly wore each pilot out.

"All planes, we have new blips on radar," the AWACS stated, "More of them are coming!"

"They just keep on coming!" Gold 6 complained.

I attempted to fly back to my wingman when I saw something flying to him.

"Gold 4! Break!" I shouted.

His aircraft jinked to the left and the sounds of G-strain filled my headpiece. The unknown object corrected its trajectory and continued to pursue him. He tried every move in the book but it continued to follow him.

"Get away from it!" I shouted.

"I...ca---" the radio cut out.

His aircraft exploded in the distance. In front of me, the blue-green aircraft started to get bigger, meaning they're going for a head-on engagement.

"Gold Squadron, exit the airspace," the AWACS stated.

I banked the aircraft out of the AO. Running away with our tail between our legs. Imagine that... Before long, we were back at the FOB for any pilot from Earth. I left the jet and walked back to the barracks. Something that interested me was Gold 5. He always seems to live every sortie and is able to survive all of those G forces. He was really quiet, like the characters you play as in the Ace Combat games. What was more pressing was getting a new replacement. I approached Gold 1 and asked him how he deals with someone as his wingman.

He informed me, "He doesn't talk, but maybe that's something good."

"What makes that good?" I questioned.

"Well, despite the lack of communication he gives us, he can concentrate on reading the battle."

"But..."

"The AWACS works as his voice honestly."

The mechanics ran over to his plane and groaned. The pilot exited the aircraft and kept his helmet on. He held a mysterious background. No call sign, no name. You'd only mention his number but that was it. Number 15, just like the character in boss's favorite game.

Over time, we did give him the moniker of Ace since his mannerisms were much like an Ace Combat protagonist. When we told him, he didn't say a word. We went with it anyway.

A rumor ran around the base. "Did you hear that we're losing ground?"

Day after day, they seemed more believable and now, morale is slowly starting to deteriorate.