Emerson Blackwood and Skye Kazansky had dreamed of becoming pilots for as long as they could remember.
Through an extensive amount of training at the Naval Academy and flight school, the two best friends had easily become some of the best Naval Avia...
"Time is your greatest enemy." Pete said as he stood in front of the fourteen graduates in the briefing room; the pilots and WSOs focused on the three minute time-stamp displayed on the screen behind the Captain. "Phase one of the mission will be a low-level ingress attacking in two teams."
The screen had shifted, showcasing a canyon with a flight pattern passing through it.
"You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target." He continued as the screen soon shifted to an image of SAMs, which were positioned on the mountain - meaning that they could be shot down from above or below. "Radar-guided surface-to-air missiles defend the area. These SAMs are lethal. But they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below."
"That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them." Bradley spoke up, gaining the attention of his godfather and his fellow aviators.
"That's exactly what I'm gonna train you to do." Pete replied confidently as he stared at his godson, who soon looked away from him and met Emerson's gaze. "On the day, your altitude will be one hundred feet maximum.
The pilots and WSOs eyes widened at this information, as Bradley and Emerson exchanged worried glances with one another.
"If you exceed this altitude, the radar will spot you and you're dead." The Captain further explained. " Your airspeed will be six hundred and sixty knots minimum. Time to target: two and a half minutes.
Emerson was washed over with a wave of nervousness. Sure, she had learned everything that she knew from her godparents, who were the best of the best, but this information had made her overwhelmed.
The canyon was already such a tight space to fly through.
The screen soon shifted to information about their enemy and their aircraft.
"That's because fifth-generation fighters wait at an airbase nearby." Pete continued. "In a head-to-head with these planes in your F18s, you're dead. That's why you need to get in and hit your target before these planes even have a chance of catching you." He said, his eyes flittering over to his daughter.
"This makes time your greatest adversary." He added, his tone displaying no hint of humour whatsoever as he shifted his gaze amongst the rest of the graduates. "You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. So for today's lesson, we're going to take it easy on you. The max ceiling is three hundred feet, time to target is three minutes. Good luck."
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The first team in the air was Natasha, Bob, and Javy. Javy had seemed to have dragged his feet, putting them behind in time by one minute and thirty seconds. The team had increased their speed to make up for lost time, but their simulation had soon come to an end when Natasha and Bob had broken the maximum ceiling and were caught by the 'missiles'.
The second team was Emerson, Skye, and Jake.
"Speed the hell up, Deathwing!" Jake's voice echoed over coms in frustration.
