Ch2 : Change of plans
#2 of Military tales
Everything You read there is just fiction.
This didn't happened really.
There's no similarities to real persons/humans/furs.
Chapter 2 â€" Change of plans
It had to be another day in base. A few flights to check how is the bomber performing , and then come back. Already after morning run , finished my "breakfast of champions" as the airmen jokes on our army meals.
I'm a wolf from military family. Every male was in Air Force except of my older brother â€" he decided to go infantry. He used to say that ‘sky is for dragons or falcons. As wolves we belong on the ground' bla bla bla... I like flying... It makes me feel free. My grandfather is colonel of Air Force , my father â€" lieutenant of it. I'm technical sergeant and a pilot of B2 bomber. I was also flying the C130 , F117 and of course F16. But B2 is my favorite. "Death from above" as they say. There's no exaggeration in it â€" when we fly above objective , You better be quick or be dead.
Air Force base , 0800 hours , pilot's barrack
I walked into ‘day room' of our barrack to find my second pilot â€" Randy â€" just waiting here for me.
"Hey man" I said "How's it going?"
"Can't wait to fly again" he replied with a smile , while zipping up his flight suit.
Randy is the same ‘fly-freak' as me , he really likes flying and destroying targets. He's a little bit taller than me , and he's (for sake of my brother) an eagle. It's strange that he had lower score on the tests than me , and that's why he's a second pilot. But he never felt less important because of that. He know his value and we're one of the best teams in our base.
"You know what's our objective today?" I asked him by taking my suit out of the locker
"Nope. But I bet it will be another bombing of some dummy target"
He knows that I'm a gamble , and won't let out chance to earn some extra money (or loose some). A smile formed up on my face.
"Oh yea?" I said "I bet fifty that today we'll be bombing something more than dummy"
"Bet accepted" he said with a grin "You really should stop with that gambling... Some day you gonna' loose all your money"
"And what was that advice sergeant Randy?" I asked in formal tone
"Nothing Sir..." he replied as formal as he could , but failed to hide smile
"Does this make you happy sergeant?" I stood in front of him , working hard to hide my smile
"No sir!" he stood on attention almost laughing
"At ease sergeant!" I said and laughed
We felt into each other arms laughing hard. He knew of course that I'm higher in rank , and will obey if he'll have to , but also knew me in personal , and we're good friends since academy.
Then doors opened and some young falcon entered our barrack. Bag over his shoulder , no uniform , not even aviator jacket â€" definition of fresh airman.
"New one" I thought
"Look" Randy whispered to me "Fresh meat"
I knew what that meant. Randy is about to do one of his pranks given to new ones. I wanted to stop him , but it was too late. He was already heading for his victim.
He came over to him , stood on attention , and started...
"Welcome to our Air Force base Sir! Sergeant Randy reporting for duty sir!"
"But..." falcon started , but wasn't allowed to finish
"Here sir. I'll take your bag. There's plenty of free beds , please feel free to choose one sir" â€" said Randy with stone face while taking new ones bag off his shoulder.
Falcon was very confused , and was watching all this ‘act' with eyes wide open.
"Randy and his jokes..." I thought , and shook my head
Of course I wouldn't sabotage his prank. He dragged me into it...
Now comes the second phase : newbie thinks that we don't know what rank is he. Also , he notices that I'm not at attention. He comes over to me , and asks:
"And you?"
"Me what?" I'm asking , fastening my flight suit not even looking at him
More confusion on freshman's face. That's the moment , when he really doesn't know , what the hell is going on.
It's time for counterstrike. My turn.
"You ok?" I'm asking , looking deep into his eyes
"I think so..." answers falcon , staring back at me.
At this point I can see a mix of confusion and fear in his eyes.
"Good..." I broke eye contact
A little pause , he looks around. Now... Strike!
"AND TITLE ME ‘SIR' WHEN YOU SPEAK TO ME! A LITTLE RESPECT DOWN THERE!" I yelled at him
Pure shock on his face. Immediately he stands on attention.
"Sir , yes sir!" he answers nervously "I'm really sorry sir!"
"Too late! On the ground and give me twenty-five!"
"Sir , yes sir!" â€" he drops down , and starts to push-up.
"One , two , three..." counting echoes in barrack
I could hear Randy laugh a little , so I gave him ‘that' look , making him immediately stop.
"Twenty-five!" counted falcon "I've done sir!"
"Get up airman" I said "Welcome to Air Force... At ease"
"T-thank you s-sir" said newbie catching his breath
"Unpack yourself , and report to command's office" added Randy
"Yes sir..." said falcon and gone in search of his bag
"Come on you little devil" I said to Randy "Let's see if I'm gonna' earn some extra cash"
"We'd have to be sent to Afghanistan or somewhere for that. So if I were you I would just give me that fifty"
"I'm gonna' give you a fifty push-ups if you wouldn't stop" I smiled at him "Let's go to the briefing room"
"Yees siiir..." he replied with a smile
Air Force base , 0900 hours , briefing room
We're sitting in the briefing room , talking with other crew members , waiting for master sergeant to arrive and give us objectives for today. Randy was busy talking with feline Eva â€" pilot of F22 , often securing our B2 ‘just in case'.
Eva is actually a crossbreed : she have gold fur on face of cat , but also a fluffy red tail like vixen. Also black ‘gloves' like fox.
It was obvious that Randy is trying to date her , and she was playing inaccessible.
I was talking with Greg â€" gunner of AC-130H ‘Spectre' gunship.
"It's pure pleasure when you're shooting that 105mm gun. When that ‘bullet' comes to ground , the only thing that comes to your mind is ‘booom' " he says with excitement
"Yeah" I said "now imagine this : you fly above some city , pull the trigger and drop a rain of Mk84 bombs... Turns it into dust..."
"Awesome" excitement in his eyes "Man , wish I could be pilot" he adds with sadness
"If you'll work hard enough , some day you will..." I said to cheer him up "I'm sure you will"
"Attention!" Sounded in the briefing room as master sergeant entered. Everyone stood on attention.
"Good morning Airmen" said sergeant , setting briefing papers on the desk in front of us.
"Good morning sir!" chorus answered
"Take your seats... We're starting briefing coded..." he hangs his voice and takes a quick look at the papers "ACZ7263... AC-130 pilot?"
"Yes sir?" asked one of the pilots
"Your target for today is precision shooting. You're going to fly six hundred miles north , there you'll find large amount of tanks. Some of them will be marked by IR , those are to eliminate. Elevation one thousand three hundred. All clear?"
"Sir , yes sir" answered pilot
"Fire control understood?" asked sergeant , looking for gunner
"Yes sir!" answered Greg by standing up
"AC-130 crew dismissed"
The crew left. Some other orders was given to other crews , as the only ones that was left was me , Randy and Eve.
Randy couldn't sit still , as he almost knew that Eve is going to fly as our ‘security'.
I gave him one of ‘stop it god damn it' look , so he sat still.
"Finally..." said sergeant with a little grin "Destruction crew , also known as ‘Black wings of death' "
I couldn't help but just smile at that.
"You will be testing new laser targeting system for MOAB bomb... As AC-130 finishes their job , you'll fly out there and bomb remaining tanks"
With the corner of my eye I saw Randy smiling at me so I turned my head in his direction. The expression on his face was telling : "My fifty mate".
"Sergeant Eve will fly along with you in case you would like to steal our precious bomber" continued sergeant with a little chuckle
I was getting up , ready to leave when alarm sirens sounded in base and announcer said :
"Now hear this! Now hear this! Alert one to all base members! This is not a drill! We have alert one! I repeat : this is not a drill!"
"Well boys..." started master sergeant "And girl" he corrected himself "I guess there goes your today drill. Report to the commands' office immediately" he said and left.
"Let's go. There's no time to waste" I said
Air Force base , 0930 hours , Commanders' Office
The three of us have entered the half-dark room.
Actually , we weren't the only ones called here. There was also few airmen's , crew members as well.
Captain was sitting at his desk bent over some papers reading it again and again. I looked the place over. Someone was talking through the phone.
I swear I know this voice... No... It can't be...
As officer finished his talk I walked over to him
"Dad?" I whispered
"Not now son... We'll talk in a minute... Outside..."
"Yes sir..." I answered quietly. I said it that way , so nobody would know that it's my father.
Silence. Nobody dares to say a word. God I hate moments like that. This is bad sign. Something is about to happen , and it's not going to be something good...
"Gentlemen..." said captain finally "And ladies of course... Situation is serious. What I just received is battle order from air force special operations command. We have to send support to Afghanistan"
My eyes flew wide open. I could feel my jaw slowly dropping down. Everyone stands in shock. A river of thoughts in my mind:
"What? Why? We're not prepared. This is some kind of joke right? What we gonna' do? Will we fight?"
"There's a list of required support" captain continued "10 UH-60 BlackHawk choppers , 5 AH-6 LittleBird choppers , 2 AC-130 transport planes ,4 F-22 Raptor jets , 3 F-117 Nighthawk bombers, 1 AC-130H Spectre gunship and 1 B2 Spirit Bomber."
"Holy shit!" I taught "We're going to fuckin' war!"
"Crews have to be ready in less than hour." Ordered captain "Get yourselves ready and report to lieutenant Thomas in here , he'll tell you what's next. Follow!"
Everyone left commands' office , and gone for their equipment.
"Go man , I'll catch ya' later" I said to Randy. He only waved a hand on me and gone.
I approached my father. Now facing him I saw what I guess was sadness mixed with some anger on his face.
"Dad? What's going on? Why are we flying to Afghanistan?"
"Come on Adam... Let's have a walk..." he said calmly , trying to hide his emotions
We walked through the door , onto the corridor and further outside. The day was wonderful , bright sun heating the air , and cool morning breeze. No single cloud in the sky. Perfect conditions to fly...
"Soo? Are You going to tell me what's happening?" I asked , urge to hear answer
"You know that Your brother was sent to Afghanistan right?"
"Yea... So? He's tough one , he can take care of himself..."
"I thought so too , but..." he paused and looked somewhere toward the horizon.
"But what? Dad I don't like interruptions like that You know it!" Internally I felt something bad have happened to my brother. "Well?! Say it!"
"Matt lies in field hospital right now , he was harmed by radiation"
"Radiation? How the hell that happened to him? Isn't every infantryman equipped with NBC suit?"
"I don't know exact details , only that they had to capture some high strategic value building in Kal-Hanar. Matt investigated , and it turned out there was some kind of home-made dirty bomb... Unfortunately someone screwed his job , and bomb has a leak... He was given anti-radiation drugs early , so doctors say that his chances to survive are at seventy percent..."
I sighed "Why does he always have to put himself into trouble?" I shook my head "Why did he even joined infantry? He would be safer up in the sky..."
Father have put his paw on my shoulder.
"That was his decision. We couldn't force him to join Air Force , but now he needs our support" he said in soft voice "There was something in him since he was a cub. Matt never liked flying , he preferred to stand hard on the ground. You were different , You was always happy to fly with grandpa' "
"I know... It's just..." I sighed again "Eh... I just don't like when he gets himself into trouble. He's my only brother , I can't imagine life without him..."
"Neither can I my son... Neither can I..." he said , his voice cracking.
I looked at my father , and couldn't believe what I saw. He looked... sad... And worried... Tears formed in his dark blue eyes. I've never seen him like that before. He was always so proud and ‘stone-faced'.
"Dad? Are you...? Crying?" I asked unsure.
Tear ran from corner of his eye , down his muzzle and sank into his black fur.
"I was never worried so bad..." he wiped his eyes "Since I've lost Jane , You boys are only ones I live for... You know how much You remind me of her..."
"You know that You couldn't do anything to protect mom. It's been 5 years now , don't blame yourself for her death. She volunteered , and you knew that every humanitarian mission in battle zones are dangerous. Besides â€" her body was never found , and that's one of the reasons Matt decided to go on a mission to A-stan."
"I was in deep shit many times , but I was never worried. Now I'm afraid of losing one my sons... You need to understand me"
"Don't worry dad" I said vigorously "I'll bring him home. I promise" I smiled at my father , he returned the smile.
"You watch yourself down there... I'm gonna' talk to commander , so they'll send You to Kal-Hanar. Tell Matt that we're with him."
"Ok dad. I'll do so... I'm going to get my equipment now , see ya' at the dispatch" I said and started to go in direction of pilot's barrack.
"One more thing Adam..." he tossed after me.
"Yes?" I stopped , and looked at him over my shoulder
"Don't get harmed... I don't want to see both of You coming home in black bags"
"Don't You worry dad" I said with a smile "Sky is safer than ground"
I took off to get my equipment.
I had mixed feelings...
Sorrow â€" dad opened old wound.
Anger â€" my brother was in trouble , because of some stupid Taliban extremist.
Uncertainty â€" I was never at war , never killed anyone.
Excitement â€" I'm going to god damn war!
A bit of joy â€" I've just won my fifty
Second chapter is up.
Please comment - I'd like to know what You think
I'm working on ref. sheets for main characters , so please excuse me lack of descriptions of appearance