Mobius Squadron: Shattered Skies

Chapter 18: Nuggets

Mobius 1

The replacement pilots arrived by truck. They had come from a training base in one of North Points cities and were now sent to the airbase for the final phase of their training. They were told to find their instructor and were only given his callsign: Mobius 1. They looked all over the base to try and find him. Eventually they reconvened and tried the last place on base. The mess hall was relatively full when the recruits entered. Mobius looked up from his breakfast, saw their confused looks and smiled. He had come up with this little introduction as a way to show them how long they may have to look for their targets. Sky Eye looked at him, saw the devious smile and face palmed himself. The recruits came over to their table and one of them cleared their throat. "Yes?" questioned Mobius, turning to face them. "Excuse us sir, but we're looking for a pilot called 'Mobius 1' . Do you know where to find him?" the recruit asked with a nervous voice. Mobius smiled and nodded. "Well you're looking at him". The recruits' jaws dropped and one of them got furious. "Well what was the point of that?" he demanded. Mobius looked at him and looked him over. He seemed to be brimming with confidence. That would be a killer on the battlefield. "Rule number one nugget: the long way is always to be taken as an option." That shut him up. Mobius looked over the group. There were four of them.Three were male and one female. Each was to replace a fallen pilot. He gestured for them to come with him as he made his way outside to the hangars and they dutifully followed him.

The new planes had also arrived. Each nugget had requested their own different type of jet. "So, you've almost finished your training, just got one more thing to do. You have to prove that you can win a dogfight. Each of you will go up one at a time and each pilot must score a win to pass." The cocky nugget smiled with bravado while the others kept their faces neutral. Each of them went for their own jets as Mobius started his Raptor and taxied. No weapons were loaded. It was going to be an interesting day from what it seemed.

A crowd of spectators had gathered to watch as the first nugget climbed to meet Mobius. This one was the new Halo 8. Their Typhoon drew contrails as the dogfight commenced. Halo 8 went for a head on approach to try and end the fight quickly with their long range AMRAAMs, but Mobius pulled in close, forcing a turning fight. This nugget was good, and he adapted rapidly. He used the throttle to help adjust turning and played to the Typhoon's strengths while exploiting the weakness of the F-22. The fight lasted five minutes before the Typhoon acquired a solid lock. <<We have a winner. Congratulations Halo 8>> Mobius called over the radio as the pilot pulled alongside and waggled his wings in respect. Mobius returned a salute and broke away to rendezvous with a tanker for the next fight.

An Eagle was the next to ascend as Rapier 5 pushed the bird to the limit to try and meet the challenge of ISAF's top ace. Their fight was over in two minutes after Rapier let Mobius get on his tail. He learned however. After a quick break for refuel, he was back in the air and exploiting his plane's solid airframe and g-limit to outturn the Raptor. Mobius was sweating hard when the Eagle broke off to position for a shot. Mobius lost visual on Rapier 5 and that determined the winner as four simulated AMRAAMs hit. <<Thanks for the fight boss>> came the nugget, saluting Mobius before going for a landing. Two down, two to go thought Mobius, once again readying himself for his next opponent.

The bravado filled nugget, Omega 3, was up next. He used an F-16, confident in his own abilities when paired with the light fighter. He lost once, just after takeoff due to an AMRAAM. Then followed several more losses which quickly evaporated Omega 3's confidence and fueled a growing rage at Mobius. By the time his final sortie came, he was going all out. Mobius had to match incredibly tight turns and fast speeds against a fighter built for that purpose. <<Get back here!>> the nugget shouted over the radio. Mobius Cobraed and finished that fight before telling some advice to the furious pilot. <<Don't let confidence or emotions get in the way of your flying. You do that, and you're dead>>. The nugget took it to heart and the next fight was close indeed. The Falcon eventually prevailed before joining Mobius in a small aerobatic display before heading home.

The final fight was one Mobius had been dreading. It was the one female nugget of the group. She was filling in the shoes of Viper 9. He had to fight hard to keep the guilt out of his head as he turned and fought. He had done a quick read of all the nuggets personnel files before taking to the field and this one was an exceptional pilot. She was also apparently the sister of Sky Eye. Well the more you know. Turning tightly, the nugget got on Mobius' tail and stayed there as her Hornet got lock on the Raptor. The fight was over and he heard a whooping on the radio. <<That's my little sister!>> came Sky Eye's voice. He was obviously over the moon as both planes recovered. Mobius got out of the cockpit and saw the nuggets deep in conversation with their new squadrons and Sky Eye. He nodded and headed back. Mobius hadn't thought of himself as a trainer, but he had gotten rid of his guilt. He no longer felt anymore than the usual remorse for Viper 9's loss and his successor had promise. Smiling, he returned to his quarters and bedded down for a nice rest.