Chance Williams's Story

"I am not sure to be exactly, I think it was more of both sadness, shame, anger, and guilt..." I said looking down onto the bed letting out a tear.

"To be honest with you Mr. I've felt a lot of pain in my life... Especially when i was younger, and i guess the memories sort of cling to me for years, like it's permanently etched into my head. Always giving me a purpose to fight, and honestly it was one of the reasons i chose to fight anyways, to avenge my village. I think it became even worse though, after my old squadron was wiped out. Giving me the feeling of isolation, but now... I don't know anymore... I think this squadron is slowly healing my old wounds, and the doctor that was just here sort of snapped me back to reality. I know now that i must not fight for vengeance and death, but for life and protect those that can't protect themselves." I said quietly to him.

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Kasumi chuckled.

"War will do that. I personally don't care to be known as the best pilot or anything. I just want to do my part. So long as I keep my country and my people safe, I'm good."

Lucky laughed, giving her a slap on the back.

"That's our angel. Always ready to serve! Anyway, Base Commander, do you have anything else for us?"

The Base Commander handed him a folder.

"Inside is a list of flight maneuvers that we'd like you to review with Phoenix here. She knows most of them, but since she was brought up at a different base, we want to make sure she understands how we run things here when it comes to formations and drills. So get to it."

"Roger that!" Lucky said with a salute.

They saluted the BC as he left, and Lucky turned to Phoenix.

"Alrighty then. Hop in your plane and let's knock this crap out of the way."



The therapist nodded slowly, listening to every word and noting what was said. He did a quick analysis of their progress thus far, and looked back to Chance.

"Very well Mr. Williams. I understand where you're coming from. Such a tragic past as yours is bound to leave some scars, though I'm happy to hear you say that this new team is helping to heal them. However, I must express some concern here. Given the short amount of time you've spent with them, I find it hard to believe that they could have had such an impact so quickly. How can I be sure you're not just telling me what I want to hear, rather than what's actually going on inside your heart and mind?"

He leaned in a little.

"I know the answer to that question, Mr. Williams. But do you? How can I trust you to be telling me the truth as opposed to just trying to get back in the air as soon as possible when and if I present a positive report to command?"

"I understand what you mean, and that it may be hard to believe, but within that short amount of time they've shown me a bit about what are we fighting for. Why we choose to fight. You do not have to fully trust me of telling the truth, but let me ask you something sir. If you have been in my state, and have a rekindled purpose of fighting straightened out, would you not say the same? Yes, we have been in the same squad for a short time, but you could always sense that companionship inside each squadron, sense the abilities of each member, and clearly understand why people begin to fight. I am honest to you sir that when i say that I choose a new purpose in living and fighting, and that purpose stands clear... I want to protect what matters left in my life, and what's important to me is this very country, and the people in it. So please, trust me..." Chance says giving him an honest, yet stern look

He wants to get out of the hospital bed, and do what he must. Protect what he cares about.

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Lucky was in his plane and ready as he began to taxi out of the hangar.

"Our number three is named Chance. He'll be along after he gets out of the medical wing. He had something of an... incident not too long ago."

Kasumi was in her plane and had just finished firing up her engines when she chimed in.

"Temporary mental breakdown. The weight of a tragic past mixed with disappointing news from above caused him to kind of go nuts for a bit. Last I checked he was stable and doing well, but I'm no professional so I'll leave it to the meds to decide."

"Yeah, in the meantime, let's get in the air."

"Roger."

Lucky and Kasumi both taxied out to Runway 2, where they fired up the afterburners and took off one right after the other. The new planes felt wonderful, and strong. Their old planes were beginning to shake apart, and felt as rickety as they looked. These new planes were solid, which gave both a sense of comfort and confidence.

"Alright, command really came through for us with these babies," Lucky said.

"Yeah, it feels great to be back in a solid plane again," Kasumi replied.

"Ya'll good to go down there Phoenix?" Lucky called out.



"Hmm..."

The therapist jotted down a few points on the clipboard and leaned back, looking at the ceiling for a moment before examining Chance and his expression again.

"I can appreciate your sentiments, Mr. Williams. I still have a few concerns though."

He sat straight and took a breath.

"Your constant return to the idea of "protecting" still concerns me, as I'm not sure you fully understand what that means. Everyone who signs on to the military has it in their head to serve and protect their country, but when I look at you and listen to you, I get the feeling that your version of protection for your country and people is different than the one normally referred to."

He took a moment to look at a picture on the wall.

"Were you aware that the man in that photo was once a legendary Ace pilot in our air force? Not many know of his existence at all since his background was a blank slate since all of his records were destroyed when the base he was stationed at was attacked in the last war about one hundred and fifty years ago. He was a lot like you. His most famous speech to his comrades was that he 'lived and breathed to protect them since they were as family.'"

He looked back to Chance.

"Do you know how he died? He performed a kamikaze self sacrifice into a warship that was thought to be the center of the enemy's naval attack force, but it was just a decoy ship. That maneuver broke the morale of our own troops, since they relied on his support from the air, as well as bolstered the enemy's naval momentum against us. His sacrifice was in vain, and nearly cost us the war."

He leaned in a bit.

"I'm concerned that you would pull something like that if given the chance. Your attitude towards what you wish to protect may have changed a little, but your nature as a pilot and a human being are not so easily changed. I am at odds with myself right now as to whether or not I can afford to give a positive report to command and approve your license being reinstated. So what I will do is this: I will petition command to renew your license to fly for one mission, as your team is preparing for a new one right now. If that petition goes through, you will fly with them on their next deployment. I, along with several others, will monitor your behavior before, during, and after the mission. If your behavior is satisfactory, then your license will be reinstated and this whole issue will go away."

He regarded Chance.

"If this is acceptable, then you may leave this medical wing and make your way to the runways to watch your team practice their formations with your newest teammate. Since your license is still in suspension, you will not be allowed to fly and your plane remains locked in another hangar. You'll be forced to remain on the ground until I can confirm this petition with command, and then my offer still only applies if they accept the petition at all."

He bowed his head at him. At least, it could give him a chance then just sitting here.

"Thank you... Truly thank you..." Chance said showing happiness.

"Tell command that I won't disappoint... And I won't die while their faith in me is still out there... I refuse to die..." Chance said really happy to where he is in tears.

"May I leave the medical wing for some fresh air and so I can see my team practice?" He asked curiously.

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The therapist nodded at Chance.

"Yes, you may. Go and say hello to them when they land after practice, and I'll speak with command in the meantime. I should have their answer for you by the time your team is finished with their practicing.

Chance walks and he see planes flying around soaring in the air doing incredible stunts and formations.

"I wish I was up there..." He says as he sighed.

He would love to meet the new pilot, it would certainly be interesting.

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"This is Angel 1, ready to begin."

"Angel 2, following in formation."

Lucky led them through the paces.

Simple formations beginning with a 1-2, a triangle for simplicity's sake, and moving on to horizontal line ups both forward to back and side to side, vertical lines with Lucky at the highest altitude, Angel in the middle, and Phoenix down below, etc,. Each one was slightly more difficult than the last, but the team got through it without any issues. Next up were basic attack runs. Targets were set up on the ocean a few miles away and were designed to be destroyed. Lucky practiced basic attack runs, bombing runs, and avoidance maneuvers with digital missiles and SAAMs being launched at them from the targets.

The entire process took about an hour and a half from beginning to end. Once they were finished running through the basics and teaching Phoenix a few new formations, they landed their planes and parked them in Hangar C as before where they exited and hopped down to the ground.

He ran to Hangar C to go and greet them.

"Hey guys!" Chance yelled waving at them.

"Sorry about everything that's been happening." Chance said apologetically.

He felt a bit down from the feeling of letting his team down but decided not to show it.

"Nice moves, by the way, where's the our new pilot?" I chance said curiously.

He was hoping to meet the new pilot, having new friends is always great in his opinion.

Chance immediately saw the pilot, and found her...fascinating considering she was an albino. He simply just ignored the other two and went over to Azarin.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it while doing a bow, and stood up nonchalantly.

"Yup! That's my name, and callsign is BP. So I could remember my old squadron, so you are the new pilot uh?" He said curiously.

"You sure are one hell of a flier, and pretty too." chance said in the most flirty, yet inconspicuous ways as possible.

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Lucky and Kasumi laughed.

"Well Casanova, I'm glad you like our newest team member. Now, since we're finished here, it's time to get back to the briefing room to meet with Base Commander about the details of our next mission. If I'm not mistaken, we'll be deployed tomorrow morning around 0800 or so. But I haven't confirmed that info yet."

He looked to Chance.

"Chance, since you still aren't approved to fly yet, you'll have to wait somewhere else. Official policy is that the only people who know the details of the mission are those fully approved to fly. Sorry bud."

Kasumi nodded.

"Alright then. Angel and Phoenix, let's get to the briefing room."

With that, he and the others took off leaving Chance to wait for the news from above regarding his ability to fly. Once at the briefing room, they sat down to wait for Base Commander. He arrived a few minutes later, and set a folder down in front of Lucky.

"Alright War Angel, listen up. This is Operation Blitz Break, and your target today is our only remaining supply base on the water about eighty miles out to sea via vector 080 east. The rest of our supply bases were bombed during the last mission while we were concerned with breaking Edylla's forward momentum. This supply base must not fall, so you are being sent out as backup for the Royal Dragon Squadron who personally requested your aid. They have good reason to believe that the Crimson Valko will make an appearance, so if he does your orders are to break from the airspace and leave him to Royal Dragon. Any questions?"

Lucky raised his hand.

"Yes Captain?"

"What are looking at as far as enemy forces?"

"Everything you need is in that folder. If there are no further questions, dismissed!" He barked, leaving the room.

Lucky's eyebrow went up.

"He seems a bit high strung today," Lucky said.

"Yeah, no kidding. He's usually a lot more level headed than that," Kasumi added.

"Well, let's take a look shall we?"

Lucky opened the folder and emptied its contents onto the table so all three of them could see it. Four sheets of paper came out of the folder. One was a list of expected enemy aircraft and naval forces, one was a list of allied forces and their positions, one was pictures of the base and its surrounding defenses, and one was a photo of the Crimson Valko's rumored new plane of choice.

"Well, that makes things interesting," Lucky said, holding up the list of allied forces.

"Royal Dragon Squadron in the air, and the 'Invincible Fortress' on the water."

Kasumi's brows furrowed.

"'Invincible Fortress'?" She asked.

Lucky gave her the photo of the base.

"The 'Invincible Fortress' is one of our Battleships. It's never taken so much as a single enemy bullet on the hull, and is over fifty years old. This particular Battleship is also reinforced with a secondary layer in its hull for added protection. It's slower than average, but it's one hell of a vessel for tanking enemy fire."

Kasumi whistled.

"Wow."

"Yep. So, Phoenix. Any questions?" Lucky asked.



As the others were departing for the briefing room, Chance was approached by one of the therapists assistants.

"Excuse me Mr. Williams. Could you please come withe me? We have some news for you which the therapist will deliver in the medical wing," He said.

"Alright." Chance said as he began following the therapist assistant.

I wonder what is going on? He thought to himself curiously. He was also anxious about whether or not he get to fly again. He doesn't like being on the ground doing nothing for a long time.

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"Valid points, Phoenix. At this point, when it's so early in the war, almost anything is possible," Lucky said.

"Given that the Battleship is likely a center of morale among many of the troops, I'd say Phoenix's guess is right on the money. If they take out that ship, our forces will take a serious mental and emotional blow. But the Royal Dragon Squadron is just as much a target if the Crimson Valko turns up. He took down one of them with a training jet in the last battle, and they're flying F-22's. What do you think he could do in a real fighter of equal caliber?"

"I'd rather NOT think about that one Angel. One issue at a time. We need to figure out the best approach, as command hasn't given us a specified target or flight pattern to work with. I'm guessing they want to see how we handle this situation."

Lucky looked to Phoenix.

"Anymore ideas or suggestions?"



The therapist was waiting for Chance in the medical room in which they met before, seated on the edge of one of the beds before standing up upon Chance's entry.

"Mr. Williams, command has approved of my petition. However, I have some more news, and it's not exactly happy news."

He brought out a note card and read from it.

"Henceforth you are on a probationary period, and command has agreed to let you fly with your teammates in Operation Blitz Break tomorrow at 0800. You will be closely monitored via a special camera inside your plane's cockpit during the flight. Be it spoken words or actions taken during flight, a single misstep on your part will result in your license being revoked permanently. Not only will you be discharged from service, but command has promised you that they will make it impossible for you to fly a plane ever again."

He put the note card down, regarding Chance for a moment.

"Command has three conditions for your acceptance of this deal: One, that you remain with your team at all times. Two, that you obey your flight lead's every command. And three, that you not try and take matters into your own hands. If these conditions are acceptable, then prepare yourself for the mission. If you fly like the pilot command needs you to be and not like the pilot you think you need to be, you'll have your license back upon return to base when Operation Blitz Break is over, provided you survive it."

Chance nodded at the therapist.

"I understand, and thank you!" He said enthusiastically.

"I will try my bet for command to see that I have shown change, but my question is what if the captain tells me to split away from the group?" He asked curiously because if he follows his orders then he has to.

He was filled with excitement, and a little bit of anxiety from it. He won't let them down. Not again.

(forget about the bartender tag, my RPG is glitched)

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The therapist smiled.

"So long as it's an order from your flight lead, you're in the clear. But if you try and split off on your own, that will work against you."

Chance nods at him. He understands what is at risks, and he will not disappoint.

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Lucky considered the two, rather surprised to see Chance walk in so soon but all the more happy to have his number three back in action. If command didn't let him fly, he wouldn't be here. Each pair of eyes in the sky were eyes he could use.

"Fair enough."

He pointed to the grid's west and east lines.

"Edylla will be coming from the east across the sea along what for us is vector 080 degrees. Given that the expected enemy forces consist of approximately four fighter squadrons and three high density bomber squadrons of no fewer than seven bombers each, I think we should make our priority the bombers. Remember that the Royal Dragon Squadron will be spearheading our defense in the air, and they'll make quick work of any fighter squadrons that come our way. Our Battleship will bring some serious anti-air capabilities out in front, giving us time to get behind the bombers and take them out before they reach the base. So long as it remains in one piece by the time the enemy either retreats or is defeated outright, then we've done our job."

He then pointed to the picture of the base, a satellite image from directly overhead showing everything within two miles of the structure.

"The base lies in the middle of the water, and was built over a defunct oil drilling facility. The holes used for the mining of oil were filled and the overall structure turned into a glorified storage unit for our supplies. The biggest danger to this facility doesn't lie from the air, but in fact the sea. Enemy ships and submarines are the greatest threat, as this structure lies out in the middle of the ocean supported only by five giant pillars that extend to the sea floor. If two or more pillars go down, that structure collapses and sends our supply base to the bottom of the ocean."

"So how do we defend that?" Kasumi asked.

"We don't. We stay focused on the air. Along with our 'Invincible Fortress' battleship is Yllior's most famous submarine, the 'Mirage.' Never touched underwater and boasting some of the most advanced anti-sonar metal coating and stealth technologies in existence. If that thing can't protect the pillars for us, then nothing can. One way or the other, our priority in the air are the bombers."

"So what's the plan for them?" Kasumi asked.

"We're going with a slightly modified version of Phoenix's plan. We're being deployed at 0800 hours tomorrow morning, and once we're in the air we're going to fly low beneath radar range and curve southward along vector 140 degrees which will lead us to about here," he said, pointing to the grid map about four miles south of the battle space.

"Once we're in position, we'll head northward along vector 050 degrees northeast, coming in behind the bombers as they approach the airspace. Once we reach the battle zone, we'll ascend to proper altitude and take the bombers out, hopefully before the fighter escorts figure out what we're doing. If we can drop even one full squadron of bombers, the base will breath a sigh of relief. But we have no fewer than three bomber squadrons to deal with, each one being about seven strong. It won't be easy to pull this off, but it's our best bet for doing our part to protect the base."

He looked up, glancing to Chance and Phoenix in turn.

"I don't want to sound negative, but you both need to remember that we're not the heart and soul of the defense effort. Both Chance and Angel hold the least amount of experience in the air by comparison to Phoenix or myself. Phoenix has more flight time than you two, but I hold more flight time than all three of you combined. As a Captain, it's my job to get you back home alive and to prepare you to possibly become flight leads yourselves."

He looked at Chance.

"I like your enthusiasm Chance, but thinking like the way you did is what gets people killed. In a battle of this scale, splitting a squadron of only four pilots up, two of whom are still considered rookies, to take care of individual tasks is suicide. If I gave the order to split up, I doubt any of us would return home alive."

He looked to Phoenix next.

"Doing what nobody expects is not a bad idea when you have the numbers and the equipment to pull it off, but even then such dangerous though creative maneuvers are best done in moderation. I've known the Royal Dragon Squadron for about five years now, and I though they all fly F-22's, I've never heard of them going out of their way to think outside the box. In our case, with only two F-5E's and two F-16's, our Squadron is hardly equipped to be trying to go that extra mile just to play our part in a defense mission. A lead pilot needs to think of the big picture and not just of what's immediately in front of them. Remember that there's an aftermath to think of as well, not just what the best immediate solution to a problem might be."

He looked over at Kasumi.

"Angel, I'm a bit concerned about your lack of participation in throwing out ideas. Though Chance and Phoenix's ideas both carried flaws, at least they gave something to this meeting. A future flight lead needs to be able to think on their feet and come up with ideas and suggestions on the fly, as keeping your mind working and challenging the knowledge of those around you is one of the best ways to learn and grow. If they can't do that, then they're not fit to lead. They're fit to follow. I doubt you have it in mind to just be a number two forever, do you?"

Kasumi slowly averted her eyes.

"I didn't think so. Don't be a permanent follower alright."

She nodded, still not looking at him.

He looked back to the other two.

"Alright then. Tomorrow at 0800 our asses are in our planes and we'll be taxiing to the runway to begin the mission. We're going to fly in a simple horizontal line formation so we're all on an even plane and within eyesight of each other. If your peripherals catch anyone wandering, call it out to them so they can get back on track. Our altitude is going to be very low, and your "pull up" alarm will be going off nearly the entire way until we get to the battle space. It's going to be annoying and distracting, but you have to push through it to reach the battle space safely."

Kasumi nodded.

"Alright then. Go to your quarters and get some rest. We've only got about ten hours until mission time."

With that, he put everything in the folder and walked out, letting everyone leave to find their quarters to rest. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Chance walked out with his hands in the pocket of his jacket. He was walking across the hallway towards the center of the base to try to get some air.

He was curious about the mission. The mission is so strange... If they wanted to destroy supplies wouldn't they want to keep it a secret as much as possible?... He thought to himself. He tried to shrug it off and just sat on the grass looking at the sky. He was happy he can still get in the air.

He looks at the sky then notices Phoenix is moving around. He ran over to her.

"Hey, are you lost?" Chance asked curiously.

He wants to try to get to know the newest member of the team better, and hell maybe she can understand his predicament a little bit better then the rest of the crew.

I walked with her.

"I can understand that coming from the far south, if anything ill walk with ya, just in case you need anything." Chance replies enthusiastically.