My heavy breath was all I could hear. Each one was a struggle, even more so than during training. At least there, I was able to think a bit clearer. This wasn't the case here. I was fighting for my survival. I looked behind me, seeing the sun glint off the canopy of the bandit on my tail. I needed to get this girl off and fast. I pulled my aircraft into a hard dive, going for a split-s, with only a few thousand feet to work with. The altitude was dropping fast, and I pulled with all my might straining under the g-forces. My vision was starting to fade, but I kept my hand steady. In a flash, I saw the faint profile of an aircraft flying above me. I continued my pull, and I got a radar lock. I pushed the throttle into full afterburner, and for a moment, I felt like I was triumphant. I was gonna do it, I was gonna take down my first bogey.
"You're dead, Lightning." Came the voice of my flight leader. "Crashed into the ground." I unloaded the g and relaxed my muscles. I brought the jet level at around five thousand feet, and I saw the bandit come and form up on my left wing. It was the Viper flown by one of my squadron mates. She went by the name Bronco, and she was one of the highest-scoring pilots in the squadron, second only to Candid.
"It's okay Jerome, just try to be a little less...eh, desperate." She said. I raised my visor and looked over at her jet. "It takes time, Jerome." Even through the oxygen mask, I could tell she was smiling.
"I'm still getting used to the jet," I said, trying to come up with an excuse for coming so close, yet so far.
"You'll see. Once I get my bearings, I'll be-"
"I still can't believe I won one of these things." I was interrupted by my other squadron mate, Shutter. I saw his and Candid's aircraft form up next to our two-ship formation. They had been watching from above with a new data-gathering pod. It was distinctive, aerodynamically shaped, and made from the best materials available. "Those boys and girls at Rockall Island really know their stuff. It barely feels like I have anything hanging under me."
"Well, that concludes the Combat training for the day. Let's get back to base." Candid stated.
"Arrow 2, Roger."
"3 copies."
"Arrow 4, RTB." I closed us out, following the other three jets back to the barn.
The briefing room that afternoon was lively, as aircrews from each of the squadrons stationed here mingled with one another. Some were getting ready to fly, while others, like myself, were just getting the days flying done. Once it was clear that the debrief was about to start, the Wedgetail crews getting ready to sortie moved to one side of the room, while we fighter pilots were on the other. Bucky sat just in front of me with his squadron. Soon the lights dimmed and both Candid and Chip took to the front of the room.
"Looks like we all had a busy day today," Chip said, opening up the debrief. "Firstly I want to thank Candid and Shutter for collecting the data from today's flights. We should be getting the first of it up on the screen here in a second."
"Weren't nothing," Shutter replied.
"Oi, Jerome. How'd you do on your combat training?" Steven asked, in a quiet whisper.
"I'd rather not talk about it," I said, a little embarrassed.
"It couldn't have been that bad, could it?" As if right on cue, the projector came to life, and on it was a digital three-dimensional display of the combat area as seen from the FANGR pod. It showed two F-16s going head-to-head.
"First on the menu was the most recent fight. I think I should address this now, these two came from my squad. Jerome and Tristine." I could hear the audible chuckle coming from some of the other pilots. "Now then, let's see what happened." The two aircraft began to approach each other and then the rest was history. It showed every mistake I made. And at each one, Candid paused and went over how to properly handle the situation. Then came the part where I broke the altitude limit. The program showed the altitude limit as a dotted red bar, and when my jet crossed it, everyone in the room winced a little. I felt like sinking into my seat.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Aces High
कल्पित विज्ञानJerome Franklin was just following in the footsteps of his cousin, wanting to do what he couldn't do, be the best damn pilot in the world. To do that, a worldwide program of the best youth pilots was formed for them to decide who really was the best...
