Mission 1 (Complete)

Valetni: Command sure knows how to pick them. Rains slash across the airfield in driving sheets, while thunder rumbles in the distance. Despite being only midday, the airfield lights are on, fully illuminated the airstrip as the heavy dark clouds block out the sun. The occasional flash of lightning illuminates the base. Instead of being outside in the revetments as usual, your aircraft are still in the hangars, a perilous run through the weather from the briefing room.
Safe and dry inside the hangars, maintenance crews put last minute touches on preflighting your aircraft. Fortunately, today’s mission will be taking you due east, and then north. According to the weather guessers at the airbase, the storm will be heading south east, and will likely be passed by the time you return to base.

Spooky-6:  Sean was first in through the hangar doors, sprinting in to keep as dry as possible from the storm outside.
"Man what a way to start our first mission! I swear though if I hear Lightning within 5 I'm still taking off."
Halberd-5:  Nick followed shortly after Sean, running not due to the weather, but toward his shining new plane
Baron-1:  Alan was close behind, tightening all the straps on his harness and checking all his gear. "This is going to be an interesting day," He said. "Where's the rest of our flight? Don't tell me they got lost,"
Scimitar-2:  Following the others in a hurry, Stephan looks out of the hangar with a worried face. "This is pretty grim for our first, true sortie."
Hugs-3:  Jake jauntily strolls through the doors, lowers and shakes his umbrella off before folding it closed and strapping it to his side. He hums a tune as he walks over to his Phantom. Nodding to the RIO already in the backseat, he climbs in and begins startup. "Oh i'm the son of Satan's Angels and i fly the F-4D..."
Zipper-4:  Jakob was lagging behind, keeping to a light jog behind them. He enters the hanger several seconds after the first load, going over to his new plane before leaning over and panting somewhat. "I'm too out of shape for runnin'."
Hugs-3:  "...All the way from the Hanoi Railroad Bridge to the DMZ...I'm one of old Herb Gibson's boys and i'm mean as i can be...."
Halberd-5:  "Oh man I can't get enough of this. I've waited so long to fly again on a beauty like an A-10" Says happily Nick, hugging the plane's landing gear
Hugs-3:  "I'm Son of 'Satan's Angels; and i fly the F-4D. Its a nice bird Halberd, think i can get a GAU-8 Pod on the underside of my Phantom?"
Spooky-6:  Sean was kind of happy to see the jovial mood of his flight. As awkward as they might be trying to socialize during their down time, when it came time to fly everyone was pumped up. "You gonna sing the whole way there 3?"
Halberd-5:  "Gotta ask the market boys: Then again they'd sell their mothers for enough cash, so everything's possible my man"
Hugs-3:  "I might just!"
Zipper-4:  "Three, if you keep singin' I'm gonna shoot you down myself."
Scimitar-2:  "Damn Hugs, if AA doesn't bring us down, your singing sure will."
Hugs-3:  "Aww shucks, your making me blush." Jake chuckles as he continues staring up his plane.
Spooky-6:  "Bad news 4, I taped my MP3 player to the radio so 3 and I will be singing all the way to the target zone. Hope you like Toto."
Baron-1:  "Focus, people. We have a mission to do here,"
Spooky-6:  Sean climbed into the cockpit of his F-16 and strapped in. "For sure sir, but it's still a long flight out there."
Scimitar-2:  "Aye boss. Any words before we take off?" asks Stephan
Zipper-4:  He has a light smile on his face, pushing himself up from his leaning position and pointing his fingers at Sean and Jake saying "Fuck the both of you then, I'm goin' to Osea." he jests before climbing into his F-16's cockpit haphazardly.
Baron-1:  "Guys, this is our first sortie. Just remember your training, trust your gut and cooperate with each other. Do that and we'll all come out fine. Now, let's go make some cash!"
Halberd-5:  "Im gonna need you guys to cover my six up there, hope it'll go better than our last run, eh buddies?" Jokes Nick
Zipper-4:  "The only way it could go worse is if we actually get shot down."
Hugs-3:  "Knock it off with them negative waves!"
Scimitar-2:  "For once I agree with 3, we better concentrate, else we might really be shot down"
Spooky-6:  "Don't you fret Nova, I'm Annie Oakley with this F-16. Air Superiority is what I live for."
Hugs-3:  "And once again, i'm the only one who gets the reference. When we get back we are having a movie night."
Zipper-4:  "When I get back I'm have a sleeping night."
Halberd-5:  "As long as it doesn't end like our last flight-night, everything's gonna do, Hugs"
Hugs-3:  "Sleep away uncultured swine. The rest of us boys gonna have a good time."
Spooky-6:  Sean sealed his cockpit and strapped his mask up. "Ok flight enough banter, let's get going. Spooky-6 to Baron-1, ready for takeoff"
Zipper-4:  "Unless there's alcohol I refuse to watch your crappy low rent movies, 3."
Scimitar-2:  Stephan proceeds to climb into his J35A, readying himself for the operation.
Halberd-5:  "Almost done with my plane, got distracted a moment watching it again" says Nick, finishing his preparations
Hugs-3:  Jake finishes his startup and waits for orders to taxi out, quietly muttering to himself, "Oh you did NOT just call Clint Eastwood low rent you black and white sunovagun."

Valetni:  The ground crew slowly roll open the heavy hangar doors, letting in the rain that's falling at a nearly 45 degree angle. Lightning flashes outside, blindingly bright.

Baron-1:  "Nova Flight, are we ready?"
Hugs-3:  Continuing his quite mutter, "That lightning is not ominous at all." And then louder, "Lets roll."
Spooky-6:  "6 Ready"
Halberd-5:  "Nova 5, Halberd, ready"
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2 ready"
Hugs-3:  "Nova 3, lets do this."
Zipper-4:  "4 is ready, lead."
Baron-1:  "Alright, let's do this," Alan taxis out of the hangar to the runway. "Tower, this is Nova 1, requesting permission for takeoff,"

Valetni:  "Roger that Nova 1, takeoff when ready." Tower replies. "Good luck and good hunting."

Baron-1:  "Roger tower. This is Nova 1, taking off." Alan slides the throttle forward, and the old Draken sits and rumbles briefly, before rolling down the runway and lifting off.
Scimitar-2:  Stephan proceeds to taxi his plane on the runway of the base. "This is Nova 2 to Tower, requesting permission for take-off."
Hugs-3:  Jake follows up on Nova 2s wing. "3 requesting takeoff on runway 4-4."

Valetni:  "All Nova flight members, you may takeoff when ready." Is the reply.

Hugs-3:  "After you, 2."
Zipper-4:  "I'll wait for 3, then takeoff."
Spooky-6:  "Well you can mind your manners on your own, Spooky 6 taxiing for takeoff."
Scimitar-2:  "Copy, proceeding to take-off". After saying this, Stephan accelerates his J35A down on the runway, until he's finally able to lift off the plane and join his lead.
Halberd-5:  "Hurry up guys, I can't wait to lead this beatiful lady to the dance hall" says Nick with a hearty laugh
Hugs-3:  Jake accelerates with the J35A, keeping pace with it as it takes off.
Spooky-6:  Sean followed the Drakens into position, taking his time to reach takeoff speed before joining up on 3's wing.
Halberd-5:  "Cutting the line, are we, Spooky?"
Baron-1:  "Clearly we need to work on our takeoffs. Let's pick it up, Nova,"
Spooky-6:  "Copy that 5, planes aren't meant to sit on the tarmac."
Zipper-4:  Jakob taxis his plane out onto the runway before practically slamming down his throttle, going for as long as he can down the runway before pulling up right at the end of it.
Halberd-5:  "Nova 5, taking off" says Nick, as thunder breaks loose along the runway. "Wish us luck command, we're gonna need some"
Hugs-3:  Humming to himself as he drums on the dashboard, the Phantom climbs on its own accord. Taking the stick and throttles as he reaches Baron's altitude, he levels up and forms on his left wing. "Today is a beautiful day, and we are gonna have a good time."
Halberd-5:  "If this hellish weather makes you a beatiful day, I sure don't want to see a terrible one, Hugs"
Zipper-4:  "The time is only good if the pay is good, which I have no doubt will be excellent."

Valetni:  Finally, all of you have collectively ascended into the stormy skies. Your loose, mismashed formation of oddjob aircraft begins heading east. Soon enough, you're crossing the eastern Mirandan-Leasath border, leaving the storm behind you, revealing cloudy but clearer skies.

Hugs-3:  "Like i said, a beautiful day! You just gotta get past those clouds first."

Valetni:  Skirting the Antilles occupied territories to your north, You continue heading east until your entire formation is feat wet over the ocean. From there, you hug the coastline as you work your north towards Port Ceuta. Your roundabout route has added quite a bit of distance, but greatly increased your chance of slipping in undetected.

Halberd-5:  "Hey boss, what's our batle plan out there?
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean switched off his music player and straightened himself up to hear the battle plan. Toto would be there when the mission was over.
Baron-1:  "Scimitar and I secure the airspace, Halberd and Hugs will handle the ground targets, and Spooky and Zipper will cover them. Got it?"
Hugs3-F-4:  "...sure, time for guns."
Spooky6-F-16:  "Spooky 6, copy."
Zipper4-F-16:  "Guess you and me are gonna have to get used to each other then, 3."
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2 copies."
Hugs3-F-4  "I think you mean 6, 4."
Halberd-6_A-10:  "Aye boss, gun attacks are my speciality. Even took the time and money to turn this beauty into a rain of bullets! Well, actually MORE than before!" says happily Nick, thinking back to his crazy idea of strapping two heavy larg caliber gunpods on an A-10 of all the things
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean sauntered his plane over to pull up to the rear left of Halberds A-10. "Halberd 5 this is Spooky 6. I've got your back Nick."
Halberd-6_A-10:  "Thanks man, let us unleash some hell down there!"
Hugs3-F-4:  Jake, who has been watching his scope, perks up. "Well, hello hello! Contact, two bogies, 11 oclock at 60km. Wonder who they are."
Baron-1:  "Scimitar, on my wing. Let's get ready to engage."
Scimitar-2:  "Scimitar copies, ready to engage!"
Baron-1:  "A2G crew, stay low and out of the fight,"
Halberd-5_A-10  "Copy boss"
Baron-1:  "Spooky, Zipper, I want you two up above us,"
Hugs3-F-4:  "Rodger dodger. On your wing Halbeard." Jake says as he rolls over his squadmates to slot in on Nova 5s 9oclock.  "Take us down."
 Baron-1:  "When these bogies are dealt with, then get down and cover the A2G crew. Got it?"
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean peeled off of 5 and proceeded to gain altitude "Spooky 6, copy."
Zipper4-F-16:  "Whatever you say, lead." Zipper says before pulling his aircraft above the others.

Valetni: Baron and Scimitar pull ahead of formation, long streaks of fire erupting form their rear as they lift off their afterburners, quickly reaching their maximum speed as they hurtle towards the unknown targets. The Two J 35As still have some distance before they even spot the unknown targets on radar, relying entirely on the more powerful radar in the F-4 to guide them to intercept.

Hugs3-F-4:  Jake divides his attention between keeping formation with the Hog and monitoring his radar. His RIO must be asleep. "Huh. 4, 6, bogies are turning... they have turned to intercept course on you, be advised. You have incoming. Hey, wake up back there.... is that a camera?"

Valetni: The cut rate RIO grumbles before getting back to work. Meanwhile, everyone else continues to close. As Baron and Scimitar get to within a few klicks, they're able to ID the two targets they're tangling with as F-8Es. As the two flights close for the merge, the lead F-8 makes a slashing gun attack towards Baron-1, scoring several hits with its quad 20mm guns.

Baron-1: Alan tries to roll away as the F-8 fires at him, but he's too late. The rounds slam into his plane and he almost loses control. "Nova 1, I'm hit,"

Valetni:  The second F-8 tries to take up a position on Scimitar, but the pilot misjudges his speed and overshoots.

Spooky6-F-16:  Sean was listening very intently to the comms chatter, his training from the Academy taking over. "Baron-1 this is Spooky-6. I'm engaging your tail now, hold on!"
Baron-1:  "Roger, 6!" In spite of being hit, Alan's voice is as calm as ever.
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean flipped his targeting computer up to maximum and tried to lock on, but the target was just too far. "Baron-1 I cannot engage at this distance, moving in!"
Hugs3-F-4 : "And here i am sitting in the long range interceptor doing jack shit. Fuuuuck that," Jake says as he adjusts his aim, "Fox!" and a AIM Sparrow leaps off the rails towards the trailing F-8. "Hey, 5, wanna form up on me? Free up some maneuvering for me?"
Baron-1:  "Negative, Nova 3. Nova 5, stay low and out of the fight! Zipper, stay on Halberd's ass! I want that A-10 safe,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Regret on being the sitting duck here, I'm gonna make up later when I can attack the ground targets!"
Hugs3-F-4:  "Relax, i'm more noticeable than you, i'll kite them if they come our way. Sorry 1, Sparrow's on the way."
Scimitar-2: Stephan tries to tail the F-8 that just a moment before tried to do the same but failed. Stephan doesn't manage to tail either, but lights up his target with the Draken's guns anyway, resulting in an unexpected hit.
Zipper4-F-16:  Zipper would reposition himself to be directly above the A-10, remaining silent in the process.

Valetni:  The twin guns on Scimitar's J 35 chew deep into the cylindrical fuselage of the last gunfighter. Burrowing deep, they hit something vital and the plane erupts into a gout of flame, breaking into two peoples as it tumbles towards the ocean. A white chute appears only a few thousand feet, and a few seconds, before the burning remains smash into the sea.

Baron-1:  Alan howls out over the radio. "Yahoo! What a kill, Scimitar!"
Scimitar-2:  "WHAT THE HELL? NOVA 2 HERE, I JUST BAGGED A BANDIT!" Stephan shouts over the radio in ecstasy
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova 5 here, are those some fireworks I see? Good work Nova 2"
Scimitar-2:  After calming down from the adrenaline rush, Stephan tries to confirm his flight lead's conditions "Nova 1, Nova 2, sorry for not checking before, but I was caught up in the dogfight: you still up and able to fly, right?"
Baron-1:  "He clipped me pretty good, but I can still fight,"
Scimitar-2:  Feeling reassured Stephan answers "Good, let's show this other SOB what we're capable of."
Hugs3-F-4:  "Hey rio, our target just eploaded, we're moving that beam over to the other F-8." Jake fiddles with the targeting, and... "Sweet! Successful lock! She's still on the way!"

Valetni: The F-8 pilot, however, is not asleep at the stick, immediately attempting to evade. A flurry of chaff erupts from the rear of the aircraft and successfully decoys the missile.

Hugs3-F-4:  ..And the Sparrow flys past the Chaffing F-8. "Goddammit rio, you had one job." Jake says, moving back to the A-10.

Valetni:  "This radar set is ancient, they didn't even have chaff when this thing was built." A banging sound from behind Hugs demonstrate's his RIO's displeasure at their antiquated aircraft.

Hugs3-F-4:  "Upgrading is a priority, aye. Get me some Sea Sparrows." Jake slots in on the Hog's right, "That was fun."
Baron-1  Alan struggles to get a lock. "Damn!" He says, trying again. Alan finally, however, gets a solid lock, and drops an AIM-9B from a rail. "Nova 1, fox two!" He calls out over the radio.

Valetni:  With contemptuous ease, the F-8 easily avoids the incoming sidewinder missile. A string of burning bright flares suckers the primitive seeker away from the intended target.

Baron-1:  "Fuck!" Alan shouts.
Spooky6-F-16:  Slightly less on edge now that one of the boogies was out of commission, he still kept his eyes glued to the radar. However in spite of his desire, the radar would not coperate and still failed to paint the F-8. It would be funny if it wasn't so embarrassing. "2 this is 6, I'm still too far out to engage. ETA 2 minutes. Go two for two on the bastard if you can."

Valetni:  With his wingman shot down, and now obviously well outnumbered, the surviving F-8 decides that discretion is the better part of valor. Lighting his afterburner, the F-8 points the nose down to build speed as he attempts an unloaded extension to disengage from the right, heading north west towards land.

Scimitar-2:  "Nova 1, Nova 2, the bandit is trying to escape. It's too fast for me to tail the bastard, but I can try to get a lock with the Sidewinder. What should I do? Your call."
Baron-1:  "Negative on the pursuit, Scimitar. We still have a target to deal with. Nova flight, form up. Halberd, you still okay down there?"
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2 copies, forming up."
Spooky6-F-16:  "6 Copies, returning to previous flight pattern. Good kill 2!" Sean tapped the airbrakes to slow down and promptly turned back to rejoin formation with the Attackers.
Scimitar-2:  "Thanks Nova 6, but that was more luck than skill though. But a kill is still a kill, right?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova 5, all good here, I'm chilling in my beautiful titanium bathtub"

Valetni:  Nerves are high in the aftermath of your unintended skirmish, and you continue on north, deeper towards antilles territories. Time is of the essence now, but you are unfortunately forced to proceed at the pace of your slowest member, Halberd. Finally, after plodding along at subsonic speeds, you reach the target area... Radar scope is clean. There's no hostile air targets waiting for you, your RWR's fail to detect air search radars, SAMS, or any defenses of any kind. Provided you finish your strike quickly, this promises to be a turkey shoot.

Baron-1:  "Alright, A2G crew, you know what to do. Everyone else, keep your heads on a swivel, I don't like this,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "On it, it's finally time for me to shine!"
Hugs3-F-4:  "Want me to climb and look around? Or am i doing gun runs?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "I have more than enough firepower on me, but follow me just in case something goes wrong. Faster we are done with this, the faster we're back home"
Baron-1:  "Stick to Halberd for now,"
Hugs3-F-4:  "Sticking to Halberd, copy."

Valetni:  From your vantage point, you're able to survey all of the industrial shipyards that lay before you. Closest to you, massive tankers lay in berths along their piers, while massive cranes load and unload the colorful assortment of standardized shipping containers. Hundreds of shipping containers are stacked along the waterfront, while further back massive warehouses temprorarily store the shipping containers while they await transport all over Antilles. Using FLIR, the pilots of the two F-16s are able to spot the blinking strobes attached to the tops of the target containers. Without the FLIR, it would have been impossible to determine which of the containers were the targets.

Baron-1 : "Remember our orders, no civ casualties,"

Valetni:  A cluster of blinking strobes, about 12 of them, sit isolated from other containers at the end of one of the piers, with only two unmoving trucks nearby. The remaining four targets are not immediately visible from your currentl location.

Hugs3-F-4 : "Someone with IR, is there anyone inside those trucks?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Halberd here, point me to the targets and watch me go!"
Hugs3-F-4:  Jake opened the airbrakes and slowed behind the A-10. "Halbeard, i'm gonna move behind you and gun anyone who shoots at you. Got your back."
Spooky6-F-16:  "Spooky 6 to Nova Flight, moving into targeting orbit. Stand by to receive targeting instructions." Sean flew up to a moderate height and became a counter clockwise orbit. From this angle he could designate each container easily.
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova 5 here, confirming visual on targets, initiating attack run"
Spooky6-F-16:  With two clicks and the turn of a knob, Sean began streaming his targeting data to the rest of the flight. It was now simply a matter for the rest of the flight to pick their targets. "Spooky 6 to Nova flight, you should have a clear look at the targets now."
Baron-1:  "Receiving targeting data, Nova 6. All planes, engage at will!"
Spooky6-F-16:  However, on cue from Hugs-3, Sean spots the two large trucks close enough to the containers to be possible collateral. "Copy 3, I see them. Baron-1 is that a concern?"
Baron-1:  "Affirmative, try to keep them there,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova flight, listen to my tunes!" says Nick, as heaven breaks loose from under his aircraft. The GAU-8 Avanger mounted on the A-10 and the two heavy gunpods relentlessy pound the ground as he slows down, thrashing 3 containers in a straight line, but missing the last 2 on the attack trajectory
Baron-1:  "That crazy bastard,"
Scimitar-2:  "Nice pounding Nova 5."
Hugs3-F-4:  "Sweet."
Spooky6-F-16:  "Spooky 6 sees good hits. Nine targets remaining."
Zipper4-F-16:  "This is Nova 4, breakin' off." Jakob says, his plane throttling ahead of the group as he activates his FLIR, presumably searching for the other 4 targets.
Hugs3-F-4:  "Ohhhhh iiiiii wish i had a gun  just like the A-10! Happy as a baby in a play pen!" Jake rolls over and  fires at the first target that the A-10 missed, and misses himself. "I'd mow em down like a weed eater, with that Thirty millimeter!" He rolls over to the second target that the A-10 missed, and peforates it full of 20mm shells. "I wish i had a gun just like the A-10! Guns successful on one crate at least." Jake laughs as he pulls back behind the A-10
Baron-1:  "Nice shot, Diamond Dave,"
Hugs3-F-4:  Jake looks back at his rio. "Tell me your at least filming this."

Valetni:  "Oh, sorry man. Battery died." The tone of your RIO is almost apologetic, but not quite.

Scimitar-2:  "This is Nova 2, I'll try to have a go with my guns too." announces Stephan as he goes in for a strafing run on the cluster of containers. Unfortunately most of his shots miss the target, but some of them score a hit on one of the containers.
Zipper4-F-16:  "This is Nova 4, I've got two beacons, raising altitude." He says reaching an altitude to get a good laze on the target. "It's on a ship, if you don't mind sinkin' it then feel free to go guns blazin'."
Baron-1:  "Nova Flight, watch this," Alan says as he dives toward two of the containers. Letting loose his guns, he destroys two of them, then levels out.
Spooky6-F-16:  "6 copies more good hits. We've still got 5 containers down there Nova."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nice shooting there boss!"
Hugs3-F-4:  "Mind if i hit the two targets on that ship?" Hugs asks, sounding hopeful. He rolls over on his back to get a better look.
Baron-1:  "Do it, Hugs,"
Zipper4-F-16:  "If you don't hit it Hugs, I'm gonna bomb it."
Hugs3-F-4:  "Rolling in, twenty mike mike." He gently pulls the plane down, rolls rightside up, and pull the trigger. Yellow tracers race from under the nose of the Phantom, "Splash one!" and he pulls up a bit for the next container, "Splash 2! Thats the boat taken care of. Also if you can hear me down there, sorry for shooting you boat!" He says as he pulls up and back behind the A-10
Zipper4-F-16:  "Forget the boat Hugs and keep flyin', if you scraped a bit of it so be it." He says before throttling away again in search for the remaining targets.
Baron-1:  "Looking good, Nova. Let's wrap this up,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova 5 here, commencing second attack run" says Nick as he heads toward the remaining 5 targets from the cluster
Hugs3-F-4:  "Common man, you never know. I mean, the captain might have known what he was carrying, but at the same time someone coulda screwed him over with his cargo by sneaking something on." Jake idly rocks his Phantom back and forth. "Sides, ground zero of a gun run will scare the shit out of you."
Halberd-5_A-10:  as the infernal pandemonium his A-10 makes stops, almost nothing remains of the 5 containers that once were there. "I will NEVER get tired of this, just look at that!" says Nick exitedly looking at the mayhem he caused
Spooky6-F-16:  "Copy that 1. All targets on the dock are destroyed, but according to the brief we've still got a few targets left. Breaking off to search." Sean pushed up on the throttle a bit and broke from his orbit, flying out to hunt for any remaining IR strobes.
Hugs3-F-4:  "Niiiiiice! I'll buy you a beer when we get back!" Jake looks back at his rio. "I cant beleave you ran out of batteries, man. That was some prime footage right there."
Baron-1:  "It's time to change RIOs, Hugs,"

Valetni:  "Well you can do it again, right?" Your backseater replies.

Hugs3-F-4:  "Dude, he's sitting right behind me! Not me, the A-10. Glorious 30mm love!"

Valetni:  "Well he can do it again, right?"

Hugs3-F-4:  "Ahhhh, i guess he can."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Ah don't worry about him Hugs, I can do it anytime"
Hugs3-F-4:  Jake rolls his Phantom in a continuous, lazy aileron roll. "I like this job."
Spooky6-F-16:  After a thorough flyby, Sean could find no sign of the remaining IR strobes. The ocean was 7:26:39 PM  clear, and so were the docks. Coming around back from over the sea, he spotted a quick flash in one of the large warehouses. "6 to Nova, I've located another target in one of the warehouses. Moving to engage."
Baron-1:  "Be careful, Nova 6,"
Spooky6-F-16:  "Copy 1. I am the definition of caution." And Sean meant it. As he moved to begin his attack run, he prepped his countermeasures and made sure his ejection seat was primed. So far this mission had been a cake walk, and if something is too good to be true it usually was.
Spooky6-F-16:  "Nova 6, moving for a bomb run. Nova flight have you seen ANY activity in the target area?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Yo Spooky, remember that we are to avoid collateral damage, bombs sure are tempting to use but we can't just blow up the whole warehouse" says Nick with a concerned tone
Zipper:  "Unless they're in YF-23s, we're all clear."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "But the target is in a warehouse. Where in the warehouse? At this point its their damn fault for trying to hide the thing."
Zipper:  "And Halberd, it'll be fine, ain't gonna be anything to worry about."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Ah fuck it. Hal, just turn the warehouse into swiss cheese."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Well, I'm not taking responsabilities here, do as you will buddies"
Baron-1:  "Guys! NO collateral damage! You get me?"
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake sighs. "Got it, no shredding the warehouse."
Zipper:  "How the fuck else are we supposed to get the target then?"
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean's finger hovered over the trigger, seriously considering ignoring his orders for the quick completion of his mission and some probably well needed payback at the Commonwealth of Antilles, but his training got the better of him and he pulled out of his run. "...6 copies. Last two containers are in this warehouse. We need to drop this structure at least."
Baron-1:  "Roger, see if you can collapse the structure and give us a better look inside,"
Spooky6-F-16:  "Nova 1 this building looks pretty sturdy. I doubt we can collapse it with just one or two of us. If we can each got some strafing runs in we might be able to drop it."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "I think I have a plan" says Nick
Baron-1:  "Nova 5, what do you got?
Halberd-5_A-10:  I can try to collapse part of the ceiling wiht my three guns. Doesn't damage the structure too much and would let us peek inside for the target locations, you guys can follow me and finish them off when you get visual of them" says Nick with a confident tone
Baron-1:  "Sounds like a plan, let's do it. Nova, on me. Hugs, tell that RIO of yours I want footage of this or else,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "You heard him rio!" Jake grins as he positions his plane to get the best angle. "Tell me if you want a different angle."
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean rolled back into a more shallow attack run, ready to target the roof of the warehouse with the missiles on his wingtips. "6 ready to engage."
Baron-1:  "Weapons free, Nova 6."

Valetni:  "I have something on radar. Four somethings." Hug's RIO interrupts on the general frequency.

Zipper:  "Let's kick sand and see if we can move a beach." Jakob says in a somewhat sarcastic and demeaning manner as he circles the area above the warehouse like a vulture awaiting its pray.
Baron-1:  "Wait! Hugs, what do you have?"
Scimitar-2:  "Damn, let's just bomb this damn warehouse and get the hell out of here!"
Baron-1:  "Hurry it up and drop the fucking thing! I'll take the heat!"
Zipper:  "This is Nova 4 to lead, I'll drop 'em."
Baron-1:  "Hugs, report! What do you have on radar?"
Spooky6-F-16:  "Nova 6 copies, moving to drop Mk-84."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "We have four targets. No idea what." Jake calmly rolls away and to the targets, painting them.
Baron-1:  "Make it fast, 6,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Rio, how big of an RCS we getting from the bogies?"

Valetni:  "Well they're smaller than b-52s, that's all I can tell you."

Baron-1:  "Damn,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Are they coming here?" Jake selects his Sparrows. "Or are they just minding their own buisness?"
Scimitar-2:  "Well, sure as hell they aren't going for a walk in the park."

Valetni:  "We can hang around and ask them when they get here." The guy in back says.

Hugs-3_F-4:  "Speed?"
Baron-1:  "That's enough,"
Spooky6-F-16:  Sean quickly switched over to his only, albeit massive, bomb. Quickly winging some basic trig, he lined up a glide path and released the Mk84. "Nova 6, pickle!" As soon as the bomb was free from the hardpoint, he rolled out to rejoin formation. Only a moment later he felt rather than heard the massive explosion from the warehouse below.

Valetni:  "Faster than we're going. How about using that throttle."

Baron-1:  "Nice shot 6, can we see what's in there?
Hugs-3_F-4  "Boss, fight or run? I can catch up, i have the fuel to outrun these clowns. If you need me as bait, i can do it."
Spooky6-F-16:  Looking back, he could see nothing left of the warehouse and some of the surrounding structure. "Negative 1, just smoke and metal in there now."

Valetni:  The answer to Baron's rather dumb question is singular, rubble. The hundreds of pounds of high explosives in the 2,000lb bomb have left a crater in the ground 50ft wide and half as deep.

Scimitar-2:  "Nova 1, Nova 2, it's your call whether to engage or not, but please consider the conditions of your plane." says with concern Stephan
Halberd-5_A-10:  "I'd better get going boss, as slow as I am, shall I?" says Nick with a concerned tone in his voice
Hugs-3_F-4:  "They can leave now. If they want me to give them something else to think about, i can do that."
Zipper:  Zipper would quickly switch and  release a bomb shortly after Sean had, attempting to drop it onto the warehouse only for it to go off target and just hit some of the taget within the blast radius.

Valetni: With the warehouse now thoroughly destroyed, it's safe to assume you have completed your mission objective.

Baron-1:  "Negative 3, let's bug out,"
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2 copies, joining up to Nova 1."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Right. I'm going to climb for some altitude and take up overwatch. Someone watch over Hal." Jake pushes the throttle up to full military power and puts the Phantom into a climb.
Spooky6-F-16:  "6 copies, 5 I've got your back as usual."
Baron-1: "Scimitar, you're with me and Hugs going up high. Spooky, you and Zipper hang low with Halberd,"
Zipper:  Jakob quickly turns his aircraft back toward the point he had entered the airspace, increasing the throttle after completing the turn.
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Apreciated"
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2 copies, climbing."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Alright, here is what we can do. I'll go up, and get their attention. I'll pull them away, and you get Hal out of here." Sound good?'
Baron-1:  "I'm not using any of my planes as bait, Besides, you can't guarantee they'll all chase you. We're close to neutral territory, let's bug out and be ready to turn to engage if they overtake us."
"I will. Look, make for neutral territory. I'll make it in myself. And yes, i think i can piss them off enough to get them to follow me."
Baron-1:  "Clear? Hugs we are leaving! Is that clear?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "On it boss, as fast as I can!
Hugs-3_F-4:  "copy." Hugs turns towards nutural territory.`

Valetni: With the containers destroyed, and your mission complete, the only thing let before you can say ‘mission accomplished’ is to make it home in one piece. The multiple contacts on your six, however, will be sure to do their damndest to stop you. The fact that you’re not picking up their radar emissions, while they dutifully home in on your location, suggests that they’re being vectored by ground control or an AWACS. How, if at all, you are able to use this information remains to be seen. For now, they’re 52 klicks out and closing at twice your rate of travel. For now, you’re still 16km from the border of Valverde, the neutral country between Antilles and Leasath.

Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake looks back at his rio. "Hoss, if we dont do something, the Hog is gonna bite it, and the Drakens as well. If you want out, i wont blame you. You in for this?"

Valetni:  "Yeah man, I'm with you." The Rio responds.

Hugs-3_F-4: Jake lets out a gust of air. "Hoo diggity, i'm gonna get so much shit for this." Turning on the squadron band, "Sorry Baron, but this needs to happen. Zipper, Spooky, i need you with me. We're gonna do a hero run and try to drive those birds off... and i think i know what they are."
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake turns around back to the fighters closing in. "Rio, light them up, let me know when we are in range for Sparrows."
Hugs-3_F-4  "The rest of you keep leaving. We should have this."
Baron-1:  "Dammit," Alan says. "I want all of you back alive or I'm kicking all of your asses,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Godspeed to you buddies, in the meantime I'll try to get my heavy arse out of here"
Spooky-6_F-16: "Nova 6 copies. Turning to engage!"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Next time I'm mounting all those guns backward to double my cruising speed" says Nick with a hearty laugh
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 1, this is Nova 2, are we really leaving in these conditions?"
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean split off from his escort of Halberd and joined Nova 3's left wing.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Six, you have sparrows, pick the left most target and nail him, then the guy next to him. I'll hit the guys on the right. Zipper, stay with Spooky. You two will watch each others backs. I'm gonna gain some altitude."
Zipper:  Zipper would break off and join Jake on his left wing, saying over the radio "Alright, I'm with you all the way."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Alright... i think we are dealing with F-5s. They dont have Sparrows or the like, but the E model does have radar similar to yours. We're faster than them, you two can out-turn them."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Thin the flock, then drive them off. Lets see if we can get some talking going here." Switching to the public band; "Attention incoming contacts. Turn around and go home. We've had enough for today, and so have you. Lets not get any holes in those pretty little birds, shall we?"

Valetni: There's no response on the radio as the unknown aircraft continue to close in on you. Osean aircraft are slightly higher up, at altitude 16. As you close to within 40 klicks, you're suddenly lit up by multiple search radars switching to track mode.

Hugs-3_F-4:  "Oh shit they arnt F-5s."
Zipper:  "Nova 3, what they flyin?"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Okay, new plan. Kite them away from the Hog and Drakens." Jake lights his burners and turns perpendicular to the incoming planes, climbing for altitude."
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean was amused at an offer of a truce, and was not surprised they did not answer. "Well if you want to make things any worse, my threat warning lights just came on. They've got a bead on us."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "...wait a second they still might be F-5s... Hey rio, F-5s can go that high right?"

Valetni:  "They'd be pushing it. If they only had IR missiles, they could manage it."

Hugs-3_F-4:  "...on that note, if we are going to go up against odds like these, i cant keep calling you rio." Jake looks thru the mirror above him at his backseater. "Jake Logan, call me Hugs."
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean keyed up. "Come on 3 we can take a handful of Tigers. Hell at this far out we might even be able to take em on before we get tangled up. I don't think we can risk them splitting up to deal with us and the others."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Sounds good. Hoooo boy those pre combat shakes." Jake turns back to the fighters, and wait for the fighters to get in range.

Valetni:  "John Warren. Call me John." Hug's RIO says in acknowledgement.

Zipper:  "This is Nova 4, I'm gonna go head on at him." Zipper says as he climbs to his maximum altitude and increases his speed toward the incoming craft.
Spooky-6_F-16:  "Copy 4, I'm right behind you and staying a little lower. We can use the altitude difference to keep them tied up."

Valetni:  A cacophony of radar warning alerts begin to beep and blare in your cockpit as they inform you of the missiles currently heading your way.

Hugs-3_F-4:  "Well i done goofed. Those arnt Tigers. Accelerating, i'll take a shot after i dodge these." Jake slams the throttle forwards.
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean ignored the warning alarms in his ears and kept his course. "Copy 3, I'm gonna dodge this thing head on. Wish me luck!"

Valetni:  Inside Zipper's cockpit the urgent missile alert suddenly goes dead.

Zipper:  "Ah this ain't gonna be go-" He cuts himself off before hearing the alarm stop and letting out a loud cheer over the radio.
Hugs-3_F-4:  The Phantoms big engines continue to thunder as Jake and John rocket forwards. "You see it yet buddy?"
Spooky-6_F-16:  As Sean and his Viper rapidly approached the missile, he ran through all his hours of in flight training in about half a second. As soon the missile became clearly visible in his HUD, Sean popped chaff and raised his nose up to fly over the missile. The maneuver worked, and the missile passed him completely.
Spooky-6_F-16:  "Nova 6 missile evaded, moving to engage bogeys."
Hugs-3_F-4:  His heart was pounding in his chest, as if it wasnt enough of a distraction already. Sweat slicked his flight yoke and throttle. "Where are you..." There. Two spears of thin white cloud racing towards him. He angles his plane to the side, and at the last second pulled hard back on the stick, as two missiles pass withing spitting distance of his cockpit.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Evaded two missiles."

Valetni:  As you continue to close with the bogeys, making it through their swarm of ranged missile fire, you're finally able to ID them. The high delta shaped wing and sharp nose clue you in to the fact that you're tangling with a flight of Mirage F1s.

Hugs-3_F-4:  "Oh hey, boxes. I didnt know Osea fielded those."
Spooky-6_F-16:  "No worries Hugs. Nova 4 and I can run circles around these things all day."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Their F1s. My worries have disappeared."
Zipper:  Jakob would attempt lock and launch onto the plane infront, the lock failing for the first missile but the second locking and being launched at the target.

Valetni:  The lead F1 handily evades the Sidewinder missile that leaps from beneath Zipper's wing.

Zipper: "Gimme a bullseye ya' piece a shit." he says moments before the plane evades, then saying "You lucky son of a..."

Valetni:  The wild evasive maneuvers causes the F1 to enter into a flat spin.

Spooky-6_F-16: Sean's adrenaline and confidence in his ability to outmaneuver the F1s convinced him to try and go for a gun run. Why let only one of the flight get a gun kill for the day? Sean was able to close the distance and line up a gun shot easily enough, but the Mirage jinked hard and worked his was out of Sean's sights.

Valetni:  The first standard missile homes in on the hapless F1, striking it in the left wing and tearing it off
completely. The second missile impacts the aft fuselage, and the entire plane erupts into a massive fireball. There's no sign of the pilot ejecting as the flaming wreck hurtles towards the ocean.

Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean stayed with him though, targeting him with two missiles and fired off.
Spooky-6_F-16: "Nova 6 Fox 2!"
Spooky-6_F-16: At that close range, there was almost no way he could have missed. The missiles struck their target true, and a giant fireball replaced his target.
Spooky-6_F-16:  "Splash one bogey! Yahoo!"

Valetni:  The lead F1 throws out a short range IR missile at Zipper, head on, the high closing rate leaving little time to evade.

Zipper:  Jakob would instantly push his craft downward, just barely avoiding the missile as it goes over his plane.Valetni  Undaunted by the failure of his flight lead, the 3rd F-1 takes a head on shot at Spooky.
Spooky-6_F-16: Sean had almost no time to celebrate outside of his initial holler, as his threat indicator lit back up. A wingman had targeted him and fired at him. "Jinking left, dropping flares!"
Spooky-6_F-16:  The missile again ignored him and went for his countermeasures.

Valetni:  The final F1 appears to be having some sort of trouble with his weapon system, as he makes no attempt to launch missiles at Hugs.

Hugs-3_F-4:  There were two F1s heading towards him. Then, one broke off after one of the Vipers. "No you dont you squiggliy sonovabitch," Jake muttered as he locked heaters onto the diverging F1. One squealed, and lept off the rail.
Jake then turned back to the rapidly closing F1.

Valetni:  The sidewinder lives up to its namesake, rolling off the rails and to the left as it tracks towards the #3 F-1. It slams into the interceptor squarely in the tail, as the engine sputters out and the F1 adopts a ballistic path. A few moments later a patch of white erupts from the stricken aircraft as the pilot escapes.

Hugs-3_F-4: Jake lined up his F-4 for a gun run on the Mirage, and let off a burst of cannon fire. The Mirage returned fire as his shells sailed harmlessly past the F1, and two shells slammed into his Phantom. "Oh you did NOT just shoot that shit at me." The Phantom shuddered as the left engine lost some of its power.

Valetni:  "We're getting engine temps creeping towards the redline, throttle us back." John the RIO warns.

Zipper:  Jakob would lock onto the Mirage he's charging at, firing two missiles directly toward him as they close in on each other.

Valetni:  The Lead F1 eats two sidewinder missiles as he flashes past Zipper, the plane turned from a mighty war machine to a tumbling ball of fire shedding parts and panels as it falls through the sky.

Zipper:  Jakob would pass over the flying wreckage, laughing in a somewhat taunting manner as he says "I bagged their lead, they may break formation in a moment."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Fuuuuck that. They didnt leave us, we should bag the rest of them." Jake says, pulling up and pulling back on the throttle.
Hugs-3_F-4: "Oh wait their all down."
Spooky-6_F-16:  Seeing his flight mates easily dispatching their targets was really getting Sean pumped. He quickly turned to engage the bogey on Nova 3's tail. "Moving in on your tail Nova 3, engaging!" Sean rolled in right behind the last F1 and raked him with his guns, then moved to splash him with a Sidewinder.
Zipper:  "All planes are down, let's fuck off before they want revenge." Zipper says before turning his plane 180.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Yeah, i need to get this looked at. And get chewed out by flight lead for well intentioned mutniy." Jake chuckles, follwing Zipper's Viper.
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean could have flown to the moon and back on ego alone at this point, but he instead joined up at the rear of the formation.

Valetni:  The 20mm gun in the F-16A punches several holes in the Fuselage of the F1 that the larger interceptor proceeds to shrug off. What it can't shrug off, is the 10kg explosive warhead on the AIM-9L sidewinder that removes the right wing, sending the F1 into a tight spiral downwards.

Spooky-6_F-16:  "Hey man who cares! It's results that count right? We bagged em and tagged em baby!"
Zipper:  "I'll buy him a beer and he'll forget about it, don't worry. At least we all got a kill each."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Before we land, i'll want a landing gear check to make sure it's fully functional. Will one of you spot me when we get back to the base?"
Scimitar-2:  "This is Scimitar, did you guys really manage to bag all the bandits like that?" asks Stephan over the radio
Halberd-5_A-10:  "I'll do it Hugs, I should get a clear visual from my lovely lady"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "They were boxes, their all dead. Returning to formation."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Osea using Mirage F1s... since when do they use those?"
Spooky-6_F-16:  "What 3 means to say is we FUCKED their day up!"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Glad you all came back in a single piece anyway fellas!"
Scimitar-2:  "Damn impressive guys! We sure showed those bastards that we're no joke."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Thanks Halbeard. Glad your okay buddy."
Zipper:  "You know Osea, they'll use whatever they can get if it works."
Baron-1:  "Looking good, fellas,"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Don't be too hard on 'em when we get home, eh boss? All's good what's good ain't it?"
Zipper:  "What's the counts? I got so drawn on takin' down the lead in a charge I forgot to see what you guys got."
Spooky-6_F-16:  "They usually use the older jets for reserve squadrons. Or maybe OADF is selling older jets to shore up the Antilles forces."
Spooky-6_F-16:  "You can chalk me up for two jets and two containers Zip."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "I've got 8 containers here, just wait to see what happens when I can use those bombs of mine!"
Zipper:  "I got the lead plane and some of the warehouse target."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "One Boxplane, and 3 cargo containers."

Valetni:  It seems the weathermen weren't wrong about the storm. By the time you're crossing back into Miranda airspace, the skies are mostly blue and clear once again. As your airbase comes into view, you position yourselves into the landing path.

Halberd-5_A-10:  "You are all good down there Hugs, no sign of damage on your landing gear"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Good to know, thanks buddy." Jake waggles his wings a bit before lining up to land.
Spooky-6_F-16:  After blasting "Usea" by Toto all the way back to base, Sean lined up his plane for landing.
It was a pleasant day with little crosswind, which made landing a breeze. He thought he hit the ground a little hard but otherwise it was perfect.
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Nova 5, landing" says Nick as his A-10 peacefully glides toward the landing strip. As he touches the ground his plane starts slowing down, no sign of troubles in sight. "Well it IS a good day, after all, who would've said", lowly mutters Nick to himself while he mires the azure skies
Zipper  Zipper lowers his landing gear as he decreases his speed, gliding his plane for several seconds before gracefully landing his F-16 on the runway.
Hugs-3_F-4:  Hugs follows behind Zipper, lowering his gear. The landing is a little bumpy, but its a navy plane, so its tradition. "I cant beleave we didnt take the coffee mission." He says over the radio. "Seriously, next mission we do, if it involves getting better coffee, we doing it."
Scimitar-2:  "Nova 2, proceeding to land" Stephan says while aligning his J35A with the runway and lowering his altitude. Shortly after, the plane finally touches down on the strip and stops. "By the Golden King, finally home, uh?" whispers Stephan to himself.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Gahhh, i need to get out of this bird, i need to pee."
Baron-1  "This is Nova 1, I'm coming in to land," Alan says, lowing his gear. His plane is wobbly due to the damaged rudder. Rather than smoothly touching down, he slams down on to the tarmac, bouncing back into the air briefly, then touching back down.
Zipper:  "Nova 2, wanted to ask you, what the hell does that whole golden king thing mean anyway? I only hear people sayin' it and not what it's about."
Baron-1:  His plane is vibrating harshly as he comes to a stop.
Baron-1:  "I fucking hate this thing,"
Scimitar-2:  "Zipper, it's part of our culture. Long story short he was the funder of modern Emmeria."
Baron-1:  Alan wearily climbs out of the damaged Delta.
Baron-1: "Hugs, come here, I want talk to you,"
Baron-1:  "Privately,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake takes a deep breath. "Yeap, i'll be right over." He gives a nervous grin to John and says quietly, "Five bucks says he kicks my ass."
Baron-1:  "Here, behind my plane," Alan says, walking behind it, away from the view of everyone else.

Valetni:  "Good luck." John the RIO says, walking away from the two men.

Zipper:  Jakob haphazardly pulls himself out his F-16, failing the landing and landing on his arse before shouting "20 says he's gay and wants you!"
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean decided to hang back by his plane to see where this was going.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "No, bad Zipper." Jake takes a breath, and follows him behind the delta. "Alright, mate, whats up."
Scimitar-2  Stephan gets out of his Draken and hangs out near Sean, interested in the whole affair too.
Baron-1:  "Alright. Now you know damn well that my order to stay with the formation wasn't a request, it was an order."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Aye, it was."
Baron-1:  "And because you disobeyed, I ought to kick your ass."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "I'm gonna fight back, just so you know."
Baron-1:  "But I won't. That's not what I'm about, as a leader."
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake, taken aback, raises an eyebrow.
Baron-1:  "We each have strengths, and being a foolhardy dumbass seems to be yours," Alan says with a grin.
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake puts up his finger, opens his mouth, and failing to find a retort, closes his mouth and drops his finger.
Baron-1:  "While it was disobeying a direct order, I want you to know that I respect you for using your head, and acting on your gut, which meant going against me."
Baron-1:  "And I realize now that I misjudged your abilities,"
Baron-1:  "Now, on the other hand, we don't have a problem, do we? I still expect you to follow my orders."
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake leans back against the Draken. Idly fingering one of the bullet holes in it, he says, "Dammit. Gimmi a second i need to put my words into order."
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Kiss already, will ya?" Shouts Nick from the back of the hangar, walking slowly toward his wingmen.
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean caught Nick before he could go any further, they may be mercs but there was still a time and place for everything. "Hold up Nick, let them work it out by themselves. I don't think they're gonna have a fist fight right now anyway."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Following orders... requires trust in 3 things. You gotta trust that your flight lead knows what he is doing and what he is capable of, that he knows what his fellow pilots are capable of, and what their jets are capable of. Knowing the other team is important to, but thats not the big 3."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "In the beginning, i thought you knew what you were doing, simply because i was giving everyone the benefit of the doubt."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "So when you had me, in the long range interceptor with the long range radar, fly close escort with the hog, i didnt question it."
Baron-1: "I understand that. I learned a lot about this squadron today, and that'll help me lead it better."
Zipper:  Jakob pushes himself toward the front landing gear, resting against it before shouting at Halberd, saying "How much on they get a room?"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "When you.. when you frak i cant remember who was doing top cover, the Vipers or the Drakens?"
Halberd-5_A-10:  "Ah don't worry man, I know everything has lmits, I was actually going to the bathroom, you can't believe how hard did my plane vibrate during that bulletstorm" whispers Nick to Sean without the others hearing it
Baron-1:  "Top cover was the Drakens, but that didn't exactly work out. Suffice it to say, you'll probably be doing that from now on, judging by what I've seen,"
Spooky-6_F-16:  Sean chuckled softly to himself as Nick hurried past him. If he could hear the thunder from his F-16 on the other edge of the combat zone, he could only imagine what it was like to be sitting on top of it.
Baron-1:  "Also this piece of shit is out," He said, patting the damaged Draken.
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake nods. "Dont be too hard on her, back in the day she was hell on wheels. Right so you had the Drakens on top cover and the Vipers in reserve. I thought you had a zanny scheme planned. Then you sent the Drakens out to investigate unknown contacts."
Baron-1:  "Yeah, yeah, I know," Alan says, "Bad call,"
Baron-1: "I realize that now. Like I said, We each learned a lot today. Next time, we'll function a lot better."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "At this point i was having doubts. When the contacts turned out to be F-8s, i broke ranks and shot a Sparrow at one of them. Turns out you had that under control."
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake nods again. "Then we got to the target zone and again, i wasnt on top cover, i was with the hog. Like a dumbass i didnt mind because i got to shoot shit."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "And again, mine was the first bird to see hostile contacts."
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake pinches the bridge of his nose. "Your taking this a hell of a lot better than i expected. Last time i tried to explain this shit to someone i got kicked out of my gaming clan."
Baron-1:  "We face death every time we go out there. We can't afford to let growing pains like this ruin the team,"
Baron-1:  "We need to be a cohesive unit. This was a step towards that."
Baron-1: "I'd have rather not made a bad call for it to happen, but it is what it is."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "I... sort of see myself as the guy who watches over you lot. Eventually i wanna get a Tomcat so i can do this more effectively. Following your 'run with the group' orders went directly against everything that... that i am. I'm supposed to keep the hog safe."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Best way to do that was to force them to pay attention to someone else, so i brought friends who could handle themselves."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "And the Drakens to. I really didnt want you guys to get hit again."
Baron-1:  Alan smiled. "That mindset reminds me of another pilot I met while in the OADF."
Baron-1:  "It's a good one to have."
Baron-1:  "And now that I know you have it, I can use you to your full abilities,"
Baron-1:  "Which means no fun for the bad guys,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "I guess... i try to follow orders to the best of my abilities. But when i see a vital roll that i can fill not being filled, i have a choice. Get chewed out later, or make sure the group gets home."
Baron-1:  "I get you,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "I try not to ruffle feathers, unless its people complaining about my singing and in that case its only encouragement to do more. I'll follow orders, but if think i need to, i'll break ranks to keep you guys alive. I cant say i'm sorry for what i did,
Baron-1:  "I would've done the same, I'm not faulting you for it,"
Baron-1:  "You kicked ass back there,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  saying your sorry imply that you wont do it again. I have to keep you guys alive. Thats the most paramount priority." He looks wryly at his Phantom. "I got a kill, but i got chewed up. Forgot they had those 30mm cannons on the boxplane."
Baron-1:  "Those old planes always looked better a little shot up,"
Baron-1:  "Adds to it's character,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "In summery. I'll try to follow your orders, but there is a reason i wouldnt do well in the army. I think for myself. I'm not a robot."
Baron-1:  "If you blindly followed orders no matter what, like an ant, I wouldn't want you in this squadron,"
Baron-1: "Like I said, I want my guys using their noggins,"
Baron-1: "Cracking the whip just isn't my style anyway,"
Hugs-3_F-4:  Jake lets out a breath he didnt realize he was holding. "Alright! Awesome. We lived. Lets look at what your next ride should be. So... what do you want to do with your plane?"
Baron-1:  "Shit, I dunno. Thinking maybe a Viper, so I can cruise with those other knuckleheads,"
Baron-1:  "As for this old thing..."
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Viper is a good choice. There's a song about it and everything. Even sung part of it when we were shooting up those crates."
Baron-1  "I heard you," Alan said, grinning.
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Buuuuut you didnt hear the whole song!"
Hugs-3_F-4:  "Now where is my guitar..."
Baron-1:  "Goddammit," Alan said, walking back out from behind the Draken and laughing.
Zipper:  Jakob pulls out a packet of cigarettes and lighter from his flight suits leg pouch, flicking its lid open and sliding a cigarette in his mouth before throwing the pack to the side and flicking the lighter to life, placing it infront of the cigarette and letting it light. He then throws the lighter next to the packet and takes a drag as it hangs out his mouth.
Baron-1:  "Nice work back there," Alan says, holding out his hand for a high-five as he walks past Jakob.
Zipper:  Jakob tries to reach his hand to Baron's but can't reach do to his sitting position under his plane and drops his hand, making a mock huff as smoke comes out his noise.