V i p e r || J. Seresin

Wake Up Call

"Good morning. Uranium enrichment plant will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium
will be delivered to the plant in ten days time. As a result, your mission has been moved up, one week. In order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation."

I gulp glancing over to Jake who has a smug look on his face. Yeah the earlier night he stayed the night and we did the deed. I woke up and he was still there but I had to kick him out due to this unexpected news.

Following that my dad pulled me aside informing me Ice is sick once again and he's not getting better. It broke me hearing that but there's nothing I can do.

It's taking all my willpower not to break. Not just because of Ice but because the decision for the team of fighter pilots will be made soon enough. If dad chooses Jake, I don't know what I will do.

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown a low level course."

"Nevertheless you've been ordered to move on. Viper."

I step forward in front of everyone like I've been doing for days. "We have one week left to focus on Phase two."

"It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop up strike with a deep dive required nothing less than two consecutive miracles," Maverick explains.

"Two pairs of F-18s will fly into welded wing formation. Teamwork, precise coordination of these aircrafts is essential to both mission success and your survival."

"As you know the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach you will invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain lowest possible amplitude and the only possible attack angle. Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bullseye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser guided bomb on a exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair, that's miracle number one."

I continue to explain the pair to the second set of aircrafts. "The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target. That's miracle number two. If either team misses the target the mission is a failure. Egress is a high G climb to avoid hitting this mountain."

Hangman speaks up, making me smile slightly. "A steep climb at that speed you're pulling at least eight G's."

I turn to my father expecting him to respond, which he does. "Nine. Minimum."

"The stress limit to the F-18s airframe is seven point five," Rooster proclaims.

"That's the accepted limit," I say, "to survive this mission you will pull beyond that. Even if it means bending your airframe. You'll be pulling so hard you'll weigh close to two thousand pounds. Your skull crushing your spine."

"Your lungs imploding like an elephant sitting on your chest. Fighting with everything you have to keep from blacking out. And this is where you'll be at your most vulnerable. This... is coffin corner."

I point to the screen, "assume you avoid crashing into this mountain, you'll climb straight up into enemy radar while losing all your air speed. Within seconds you'll be fired upon by enemy sams. You've all faced sustained G's before, but this..."

"This is going to take you and your aircraft to the breaking point."

"Sir," in unison, Mav and I face Phoenix who speaks up, "is this even achievable?"

He looks to me to which I nod, giving him the go ahead. "The answer to that question will come down to the pilot in the box."

We take to the skies above Coyote, Phoenix and Bob's radar as they head for the target. I move to one side of the target while he stays on the other ready to intercept when needed.

"Talk to me, Bob."

"We're 12 seconds late on target. We have to move, we gotta move."

"Copy, try to stay with me," Coyote responds.

"Huh?" I take it Bob sees a F-18 intercepting. "Who is that?"

"Blue Team, you've been spotted."

Coyote curses, "shit, it's Maverick."

I pull closer to the target ready to engage. "Blue Team, there is a second aircraft headed for the target t-minus three minutes."

"What the hell are they doing here?"

"We're bandits on course ready to intercept. Blue Team, what are you going to do?"

Bob shouts from the comms, "twenty miles left, ten o'clock, ten o'clock. Viper is ahead closer to the target."

Coyote looks over to Phoenix. "Your call, what do you want to do?"

"Continue. We're close. Stay on target." I smirk through my mask. She's good at giving directions.

"Maverick is swinging around you to the north."

"Stand by for pop up."

"Be ready with that laser, Bob."

Enthusiastically he exclaims, "copy. I'm on it!"

"Blue Team, bandit is still closing."

"I'm popping now!"

"Talk to me, Bob! Where is Maverick?"

"He's five miles out, coming fast! Viper is closing in three miles west!"

"Target's in sight," Phoenix confirms.

"Where's my laser, Bob?"

I can hear him fumble with the controls and it doesn't sound like it's going well. "Dead eye! Dead eye! It's no good! I can't get a lock."

"Alright, I'm dropping blind," Coyote takes a shot but disappointedly misses it. "Damnit, missed!"

I come up from the side and have my sights on Phoenix. "Dead."

"Viper has a missile on us!"

"Shit, we're dead." Phoenix ditches falling to the right back to surface level.

"Blue Team, that's a fail," my father says. "Level out, Coyote. Coyote, do you copy? Coyote, come in. Coyote! Level wings!"

"Oh my God he's in G-LOC," I whisper partially to myself but also to my father as I watch his plane free fall. "Coyote! Shit, I'm going after him." I thrust forward trying to get a hold on him. Knowing I have a target on him I begin shouting his name repeatedly hoping the buzzing brings him back.

Thankfully, he does and levels himself out before he hits the ground. "Coyote, are you okay?" I ask with sympathy.

"I'm okay, I'm good."

"Good, good. That's enough for today."

"That was close."

"Too close," I correct. Just then Phoenix, Mav and I were attacked by birds hitting our aircrafts.

Phoenix and I get hit busting our engines. "Son of a bitch!" I soar a little higher, giving me more height from the ground. I won't lie, this isn't the first time I've had a bird strike. I attempt the basic maneuvers and restart the plane. Poor choice. I nearly lost control. When I'm able to balance myself I listen through the comms as my dad tries to to talk to Phoenix.

"Eject! Eject!"

The two eject thankfully with little to no injuries. The beeping continues as I drop lower and lower. "Yup, I've done all I can do," I say calmly to my father who keeps distance between us. "I'm ejecting." I pull the lever by my feet launching me out of my beautiful plane. As my chute opens I acknowledge the fact that my plane just crashed into red rock. Lovely.

The second I hit the ground I manage to run over to Bob and Phoenix who aren't much farther from me. We double check each other for injuries while we wait for rescue.

Well that sure was a wake up call.