Untamed Flame || R. Floyd

10

"Time is your greatest enemy." The first stage of the mission starts today. They are all huddled in a classroom in padded seats watching intently as Finley and Maverick tell them the plan. She tells them, "phase one of the mission will be a low-level ingress attack in two-plane teams. You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar-guided surface-to-air missiles defend the area. These sams, they're lethal."

"But they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below," Maverick adds.

"That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them." Her eyes meet Roosters as he speaks. They smirk at each other giving each other a knowing look.

"That's exactly what we're gonna train you to do. On the day, your altitude will be 100 feet maximum. You exceed this altitude... radar will spot you and you're dead." The diagram pauses showing the air missiles hitting the jets.

Finley walks around the room with her arms crossed. She gives a nod to Maverick and pulls up the enemy airbase. "Your airspeed will be 660 knots minimum. Time to target: Two and a half minutes. That's because fifth-generation fighters wait at an air base nearby. In a head-to-head with these planes in your f-18s, you're dead."

"That's why you need to get in, hit your target, and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you."

"This makes time your greatest adversary," she pauses to look at them all. This near impossible mission frightens her, she can see it's affecting the group as well. With the shocked faces and looks of fear... it's basically radiating off of them. "You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate this canyon, the harder it'll be to stay under the radar of these enemy sams. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies..."

"Compressing your lungs... forcing the blood from your brain... impairing your judgment and reaction time. So for today's lesson, we're gonna take it easy on you."

"Max ceiling: 300 feet. Time to target: Three minutes." She stops again. "Good luck."

Bob, Nat, and Javy were the first to take the plunge. Coyote leads them through the narrow canon as Bob alerts them. "Time to target is one minute 30. We are two seconds behind. Increase to 480 knots."

"Shit. We got to move, Coyote!"

"Copy. Increasing speed."

Something went wrong as all of a sudden the trackers showed Phoenix and Bob's plane going above the ceiling. Phoenix shouts, "oh, shit!"

"Why are they dead?" Maverick asks.

"We broke the 300-foot ceiling, and a Sam took us out."

"No. Why are they dead?"

Coyote explains, "I slowed down and didn't give her a warning. It was my fault—"

"Was there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?"

"I was focusing on—"

"One that their family will accept at the funeral."

She raises a curious brow at the statement. She glances from Maverick to Rooster. Yeah, there is more going on. Rooster is looking down at his shoes like it's the most interesting thing in the room.

"None, sir."

"Why didn't you anticipate the turn?" He directs the question at Phoenix. You were briefed on the terrain." She was about to say something but Maverick cuts her off. "Don't tell me. Tell it to his family."

The thought comes to her. Goose.

"Hangman, ease up. The canyon's getting tighter."

The trio was next. Payback and Fanboy tried to Lee up with Hangman at their lead. Truthfully the whole time they're in the air she's worried for Payback and Fanboy.