“Unidentified objects approaching at high speed. Their altitudes probably above ten thousand feet as we cannot see them from the ground.”

 

ATC gave the two squadrons a general situation. But it did not help as the fighter jets in the air were poorly armed. Most people already had a hunch who their aggressor was but until confirmation, it would remain a conjecture.

 

“Damn! Everyone, don’t you feel their timing and the place to attack is perfect even for our opposition?” Mosquito One broadcasted his communication to the two squadrons and all of them also set their communication link so their airbase and their fellow wingmen could hear.

 

“So what if you know about that? Unless you have a solution to this situation then your knowledge of it is just as good as useless.” Wright chipped in.

“Uhm, Wright. Sorry, I mean Raven. We better retreat somewhere…”

“Retreat? Forget it, we are practice targets for them. That is if they are fighters only but since they come this far, I dare to say some of them are bombers. Our airbase is in possible danger and you want them to raze it completely?”

 

Wright at least could see what the unidentified aggressor wanted to achieve or at least the possibility of it existed. But the situation was bad for them as it was and they could not even retreat as it would only weaken their potential power both as a deterrence and as a literal military force.

 

“No, I don’t want this for me to happen!”

“Argh, screw it. It is useless to encounter this bogey without even proper armament. We better retreat.”

 

This kind of opinion started to spread among their rank. Even some of them were the supposedly fallen nobles who tried to restore their honor. Unfortunately, their only concern was for themselves.

 

“Those who chickened out just get the hell out of here! The rest of you, follow your squadron’s flight lead and identified these bogeys. Better to confirm something than just stay in places, am I right?” Mosquito One said so because he wanted the aircraft around him to be able to put up something without being a burden to the others.

 

“ATC to all units. Commencing interception is allowed and do not engage the target. I repeat, do not engage the target. Just please delay them as long as possible!” the guy who said this slammed the corner of his table.

 

Then he continued, “The reinforcement is on their way. ETA in ten minutes from now.”

 

While the information was spread among the pilots, Wright then communicated with Sparrow Six. Wright knew this man as he was the one that he knew the first time to join the temporary militia unit.

 

“What’s your TAC name, Traza? I think it should be good since you are rather good at flying.” Wright asked.

“Fine. Sparrow Six, TAC name Jester. Uh, oh. Enemy radar spike! Evade, evade!”

 

From the distance at high altitude, several missiles that left their white trails appeared. Behind those missiles, several fighter jets were moving at high speed. These jets were capable of launching long-range missile attacks outside of the normal view.

 

Wright also got his first bugging noise from his cockpit. The monotone voice was rather annoying for Wright but he remembered this noise was the one of missile alert.

 

As far as he knows, evading long-range missiles could be difficult. More often than not, the homing capabilities of these kinds of missiles went beyond what he expected from reading it on the internet.

 

And then something unforgettable to Wright happened. When he saw around his jet, he could see several explosions within his sight. His heartbeat increased, his sense of danger roared like never before and his hands that holding the flight stick shook slightly.

 

‘There are…people in there. Can they survive? Some of them must be able to…right?’

 

But his thought was just wishful thinking. He heard from the radio what happened. As for himself, he managed to dodge the missile barely because Wright saw the missile passed by above his cockpit.

 

“No, no. I cannot…” one of his wingmen uttered something before his plane exploded and their radio was cut off. Other than that, he could hear their shriek even if he pretended not to hear it. Wright could think of a reason why that happened.

 

They could not calm themselves and panicked. You had to prepare for anything and Wright had already done his preparation in the worst-case scenario. He turned his ejection lever over so that he could eject from his fighter when he was doomed to get hit.

 

But he knew that he could not let the situation remained the same as it would only lower the fighting power they could do. That was why he made his decision.

 

He moved his planes to gain altitude, increasing his speed while charging to the sources of those missiles. Some people noticed this and shouted over the radio, chattering why someone would directly go head-on with the enemy aircraft.

 

“Enemy bomber formation sighted. Raven, engaging!” Wright narrowed his eyes as he finally saw above the horizon several bombers with their escorts.

 

“Wait! Let me help. Jester, engaging!” Traza saw that and applied full thrust to his jet, chasing after Wright. Now among the two squadrons, only Wright and Traza were closing in to intercept.

 

“Look, there are two aircraft coming closer. Is there something wrong with their head?” in the enemy communication channel, the pilots discussed the two aircraft that closing into their position.

“Just blow them away from the sky. I see that one of the planes is the plane that evades our long-range attack earlier. Let’s see if it is luck or skill.”

 

The escort naturally will repel Wright right away.

 

“Enemy escort planes. We better watch each other since they will outnumber us,” Traza said. Wright could count that twelve planes were coming to their direction.

“It seems they’re on to us. Are you not afraid of this number on the training day with the only gun as your weapon?” Wright asked Traza.

“Are you afraid when you directed your planes to their position?”

 

Truthfully, Wright was afraid. He truly did but since the enemy moved first, he had the right to retaliate in defense. He knew that he had to act fast or else their units would lose the momentum and lost their only chance to fight fiercely.

 

“Yes, to be honest. But we have to do it whether we like it or not. Besides, we have to inspire our fellow wingmen over there. They are demoralized from the start.” Wright could see the hesitation from his wingmen. He hoped that their struggle would inspire them into moving and join him.

 

Traza also had similar thoughts but surprised when Wright mentioned it. He had smiled upon his face when Wright had thought about it and expressed it.

 

“Good. Then I will follow your orders, is that fine with you?” Traza decided and Wright wondered why.

“What are you talking about? You want me to lead us?”

“Yep. Give your orders and I will comply, simple as that.”

 

Only after that Wright decided to do as Traza told. Traza was slightly behind on his left while Wright was charging ahead.

 

“Then just cover my six. I will try to probe their capabilities then decide the course of action.” Wright gave his first order. Meanwhile, Taz Airbase was busy preparing for defense. The people that tried to keep things up to date realized that two of their aircraft were going to intercept the enemy.

 

“They are insane! Someone, please stop them, we cannot lose them!”

 

But no one responded. They could only watch as things unfold.

 

“Mosquito Twenty, enemies have a lock on you.” Traza reminded Wright and Wright slightly moved his Crow by using his yaw movement to the right.

 

And then Wright pulled his flight stick, trying to get a position behind his enemy. But the fighters Wright had to face rather experienced with this so Wright struggled. The problem arose as several fighters tailed Wright and Traza had to take care of them.

 

When it was the estimated gun range, Wright quickly fired his gun as he tried to follow the bogeys move by move. It was hard as the G-force that landed on his body was rather a lot for him. Despite all that, Wright could still follow.

 

Several bullets flew, even dozens of it but the one that hit were only two, at the wing and the engine. Wright’s Crow has a 20 mm caliber gun equipped and when he used it, it launched several bullets. Sadly, it was not strong enough to take down the fighter because this type of gun was pretty standard in the world.

 

“I’ve been hit by gunfire! Who is that!?” what the pilot did not expect was Wright could follow and even landed a hit by his gun to his aircraft.

 

“Ugh, we cannot fire the missile at this distance, they are close.” Enemy fighters could not shoot their missiles because Wright close the distance and their missile was heat-seeking one instead, something that Wright took notice when he saw the fighter behind him did not even shoot their missile when he was closing in for the gun kill.

 

Wright remembered his enemy aircraft. It was the competitor of his aircraft, with its small body but a bit large wing, two air intakes below its body and also a single-seater, HK-20 “Predator”.

 

The so-called “Predator” was manufactured by another multinational corporation called Huang Heavy Industry. A product of Huang Heavy Industry that boasts in versatility and almost usable in any weather condition.

 

And this thing now tried to test its capabilities on Wright’s Crow.

 

“Raven, enemy radar spike!” Traza warned Wright as another plane locked-on Wright’s aircraft. Wright wanted to finish his opponent on his six but then the bandits behind would just shoot their missiles at him.

 

Traza was also in similar condition but he saw three aircraft on Wright’s tail and then gave his cover. But then he heard from his cockpit that his jet also got a lock-on.

 

“Damn, they also onto me. Raven, hit and run! Do you copy?”

“Jester, evasive maneuver!”

 

It felt like their minds were one, they knew what to do and what their partner should do. Wright then fired his gun, finally adding the damage to the poor aircraft as it finally lost its wings. This Predator lost to the Crow but then Wright rolled his aircraft upside down as he pulled the lever, went down to lost sight from his pursuers.

 

Wright panted, his mind was clearly remembering his previous target. He felt strong pressure engulfed his whole body when he followed the movement of his opponent and while he also tried to shake his pursuer from his tail.

 

Traza could only do what Wright had told, he moved rather close to one of the bandits while keeping his move unpredictable. Traza knew that from their first minute, both Wright and he were only as good as the pilots that tried to shoot them down.

 

“Argh! I’ll help them then. Now, my fellow wingmen. Some people show their determination to fight, even encouraging us that we stand a chance against them.” Mosquito One said before he continued, “If you have the guts in your heart, better let it out now!”

 

Then Mosquito One broke off from the formation, entering the area where Wright and Traza dogfight against six aircraft.

 

Wright then felt a jolt as his body shook greatly. He realized that his speed dropped and he fell into a dangerous situation. He was hit by gunfire from his tail and it hit the engine. This resulted in his speed dropping and his aircraft became less maneuverable, not to mention that CS-12 was relying on mobility.

 

“You trailed smoke, Mosquito Twenty. Need a hand?”

“NO thanks. Uh, oh!”

“Mosquito Twenty, enemy radar spike!”

 

Wright just noticed that one of the fighters got a good position and got a lock on him. Wright’s worry became reality as a missile came from behind, towards him.

“Mosquito Twenty, incoming missile!” Traza also warned while he tried to distract the fighter that shot the missile. Meanwhile, Motormouth chose a target and blazed his gun when he saw the opportunity.

 

“Ugh, who’s that!? Another mad pilot is gathering here, what is this place!? Isn’t this supposed to be current airbase for training nuggets?”

“Fortunately, they only have guns. Come on, everyone! You can blast them off the skies, don’t humiliate yourself!”

 

The enemies reconfirmed their morale and their hesitation disappeared. Wright, on the other hand, had to worry about the missile hot on his tail.

 

‘What to do? Use flare…but the weapon system of their missile is probably a lot for each aircraft. I only have five flares…can I even evade the missile?’ Wright had dodged numerous missiles during his virtual training but it was not always successful.

 

The missile alert on Wright’s cockpit blared endlessly, indicating the missile was still on his tail. Wright felt his chest tightened so much and his vision blurred. The alert went more frequent as the missile got closer.

 

“Don’t worry so much. I got your six.” Motormouth then went to the Wright’s tail for a moment. His movement was rather smooth but it was still good. Fortunately, Motormouth pulled back and noticed the missile now was on his six.

 

“Raven, retreat from the battle!” Traza said to Wright but the enemies started picking Wright even more since he became slower. While Wright tried his best to calm down, he saw that more and more HK-20 swarmed to his position.

 

“I will try but no guarantee these bogeys will just let it go.” Wright strangely felt calm despite the dire situation he was in. He was slower but it was manageable.

 

“Go get that plane! Don’t embarrass me any further!” the enemy communication line was full of orders and enthusiasm.

 

“Oh no, that plane is trailing smoke!” a pilot who reserved his plane not to go to the furball looked at Wright’s plane with concern. But his desire to survive was higher and he would rather move around his current place.

 

“What are you saying? Do you have the guts to help them!? It is not possible for us…just look at those that hit by the missile, they are gone!” another pilot hysterically replied. They just watched the tragedies unfold but they realized their capabilities.

 

“Hmm…I think…I should help them!” and there is one pilot who prepared to join the furball. This pilot was a rare sight among the group. When the pilot said that, both squadron’s wingmen felt that they should consider why they join the temporary militia force in the first place.

 

“Ah, that voice. Hey Violet, if you want to join the fun then you help me cover my temporary flight lead. He’s hit in the engine!” Traza knew the pilot’s identity on the radio and greeted her.

 

“Let me join in too. This risk is as good as the rewards afterward, isn’t it?” an excited voice came from one of Mosquito Squadron.

 

“Yes, it means you at least have the spirit of a warrior! Come here, the more the merrier!” Motormouth felt his blood circulated faster and it almost boiled because his fellow wingmen started to gather their courage and try to fight the opponent.

 

“Hah…hah…” Wright felt something was wrong. He felt his breathing became more rapid as the sound that came from his oxygen mask indicated so. His vision started to blur and his head felt rather so light.

 

Wright glanced slightly below for a moment only to widen his eyes in shock. His left waist had something that should not exist before he engaged with the bogeys. His left waist was stained by red-colored blood and after that realization, Wright felt piercing pain from that location.

 

‘I am bleeding and some aircraft still on my six. The radio…what did they say?’ the communication on their side’s channel was filled with some pilots that want to join in the dogfight and Motormouth that wanted to inspire them further.

 

“Protect Mosquito Twenty, you hear me!?” Traza directed the new group consisted of seven more CS-12. Traza had a bad hunch when he looked at Wright’s Crow and his rapid breath over the radio but he still had to give the group an objective of the sort. Blindly engaging the enemy like Wright and he was not advised if you were not especially doing it often even in virtual training.

 

“Let me escort him out!” Violet replied and broke off to where Wright currently was.

 

“Flight Lead, respond! Raven, respond!” Traza loudly said over the radio and everyone listened to it. They heard his rather hoarse voice and felt that something was not right.

 

“Jester…what is it? What’s the current situation?” Wright gritted his teeth as he gripped the flight stick tightly, to maintain his focus and consciousness. He only knew that some of their wingmen join this dogfight but it was probably a few.

 

“I am still tailed but the pressure is reduced thanks to our allies. Violet from Sparrow Squadron will escort you out and the rest will join me to engage the escort fighter and the bomber. So go back and land at the base safely, you cannot join in the party anymore.” Traza explained while he hid his bitterness in his heart.

 

‘I think, I already know what condition Wright is in. But I don’t want it to be the case.’

 

“…” for the first time on the radio, no one could hear Motormouth chipped like usual. His plane started to move more aggressive as he made his plane stalled on purpose before he stabilized again and baited a fighter to go to him when he stalled. And this action was successful.

 

The scary thing was that Motormouth targeted the Predator, not on the engine or wings but it was the cockpit. Yes, what he did was to kill the pilot in it with his gun. And that he did so elegantly no one voiced their opinion on that matter.

 

“Damn that plane! He purposely going for the gun kill aimed at the cockpit. What to do now? Five of us are down but we are still even in terms of advantage!” the captain of the escort fighter realized that the crazy fighter’s action from earlier was to incite the rest of their squadron to act.

 

‘I underestimate them for what they are worth! They are still nuggets in experience but their spirit is that of a soldier.’ Half of them now was chasing Wright but interrupted by Traza, Motormouth and six other planes while the other one escorted the smoked aircraft out from their reach.

 

“The…bomber…don’t forget…them.” Wright reminded them all to focus on the bomber now that their number was increased. The excitement of their first real battle would often distract the nuggets from their main objective.

 

“Raven, don’t say too many things. Just place all of your attention to safely arrive at the Taz Airbase.” Violet said to Wright but then she noticed two Predators closing in as they escape from Traza’s interception.

 

Wright heard the monotonous noise again. His craft was being targeted and it meant Violet should engage them around this time.

 

‘Funny, I feel so light but moving my limb became so heavy I need more power. At least let me move to evade the missile.’ Wright thought about his movement when he realized that he was being escorted and had another person protecting him.

 

‘But there are two Predators in hot pursuit. Looks like this is the only force from our bunch worthy to be taken into the ranks of the military. Oh, …how much time has passed since the interception…four minutes I suppose…’

 

Wright only knew that this was their entire number that at least doable in combat and he guessed that this was barely able to intercept. As for the other crafts, he felt doubt if those aircraft would not hinder their effort.

 

Other than that, he also wanted to give the airbase a time for their air defense to be ready while stalling the enemy for reinforcement. Their primary objective was to annoy their bogeys, especially the bomber.

 

He then moved the stick, his legs also coordinated with his hands' movement and the Crow moved downward. It looked like Wright decided to let his craft dive straight to the ground. This was rather risky but he lacked the speed to shake off his pursuer.

 

On another hand, Traza barely felt safe because his second kill was rather hard. He was entangled by four Predators. A pair in front of him and another pair was just behind him. The problem was he targeted the bomber that located in front of the Predator in front of him.

 

‘No time to hesitate. Let’s do this!’ Traza increased his speed all of a sudden. He could see the bomber formation was moving almost unhindered and that was his biggest concern. Wright’s words were correct that they should not even miss this big fellow just because they were a bit on the slower side.

 

“Quickly glue to his tail! He is aiming for our bombers!” a Predator pilot then followed suit when he realized the Crow accelerated and charged straight to their bombers.

 

Traza then bypassed the two Predators that previously on his sight. Now, he should seek the fastest method to shoot the bombers down using only guns. First was when the bomb bay was opened but it was currently impossible. Second, he had to clip the wings. Third, he could aim at the cockpit instead but he had to gamble with enemies right at his twelve and could just shoot missile as they please.

 

‘Of course, I must clip their wings…’ Traza then positioned himself just behind the bomber formation. He could easily shoot them since their distance was close and Traza knew this was also in his gun range.

 

He then pressed the button to shoot the 20mm machine gun at the wings of one of the bomber. He shot at a similar point so that it could be split into two. Even if it did not, the wing itself would be full of damage and could even affect its maneuver.

 

The bomber then lost its balance to keep flying in the air, it swung to one side and lost altitude. But Traza knew that the Predators behind him now shot their gun to him. Their gun trails were like layers of curtain and two of them managed to hit Traza’s tail.

 

‘This is just gunfire from them. Fortune is still on my side that they are not daring enough to use heat-seeking missile.’ He thought as he gripped his flight stick tightly and made a rather sharp U-turn to distract the fighters. He was annoyed since this proved to be a hindrance to intercept the bomber.

 

Following closely was Motormouth. He even doubled his speed so that he could catch up and saw the dogfight between a Crow and two Predators and decided to join in.

 

“Eight miles until the bombers reach the airbase. Reinforcements ETA, six minutes to go.” The ATC gave the pilots the current situation.

 

Motormouth then looked at the radar in his cockpit and saw that Wright’s aircraft was just as close as the bomber formation in case of their distance to the airbase. But their position was separated quite far and even Wright was struggling despite being escorted by Violet.

 

“One bomber is down. But it seems that our boys are struggling hard. And worse of it, the bogeys seem to be rather serious now as their maneuver aims to confuse us.” Violet who now had one of the fighters in front of her was trying to gun it down.

 

“Jester, do you read me?” Wright then tried to make contact with Traza. With the change of the opponent’s movement, he doubted their allies would hold well against them.

 

And Wright’s hunch was not wrong, the rest of their fellow wingmen that join their fight now were in a pinch. He knew that their numbers and skills were not enough and their opponent was actually toying with them but struggling was all he could do at this moment.

 

‘My only concern is the bomber that arrived. Other than that, most of us will be forced to bail out if not immediate death by enemy.’ Wright felt uncomfortable with the pain at his left but he forced himself to open his eyes and moved toward the incoming bomber. It was because he realized that he was the closest to engage them. Of course, he still had bandit on his six but he moved not in a straight line so it could make the pilot behind him to hesitate.