Special Notes: Image will make no sense unless you read the story. *****Audio File***** "Chapter 43 - Iron Wings - Audio File" [The White Raven, Chapter 43, Iron Wings] [Hawk Temple, Student Airfield, North Shore, Planet Darai] “Attention on deck.” The boys jump to their feet as Captain Cole, the student Commander of the Iron Wings Airfield Barracks walks up the aisle between the chairs of boys. The Briefing room contained dozens of the old worn leather chairs for the student pilots, and the walls were covered with photographs of famous fighter pilots that had once sat in these chairs. “Good morning gentlemen,” says Captain Cole taking his place behind the podium at the front of the room. Captain Cole glanced at the two flight instructors sitting at the back of the room. The instructors would take notes and make corrections if necessary, but by the time an Iron Wing boy made it to this phase of training, they were expected to conduct themselves as professional pilots and make very few mistakes. The younger boys of the Iron Wings stayed in the Barracks at the Temple Fortress across the lake and had a separate commander. Captain Cole was the commander of the boys in their final year of training that had been moved from the Temple Barracks to the Airfield Barracks. “Gentlemen, all training flights have been canceled for today,” says Captain Cole. “We will be flying a real-world mission instead.” The boy fighter pilots instantly became more attentive than they already were and sat up as if an electric current had just run through the room. Captain Cole flicked on the Vid-screen and stepped aside to allow the boys to see a map of Darai. “We will be escorting Prince Raen to the Struthian continent.” Captain Cole pauses and points at the map. “The flight path has been uploaded to your Nav-pads. Lightening Strike Squadron will be taking left flank, Thunderbolts on right flank, Birds of Prey on rear, and Vultures on point.” The boys check their Nav-pads against the map. “Gentleman, the threat assessment is high,” says Captain Cole. “Eagle Two was attacked by hostile Raven forces, but she has been safely transported back to Struthio by one of House Falcon’s minor subject Houses.” Captain Cole flips some notes over to reference the intelligence report. “House Brant, a minor logging Province was attacked shortly after Eagle Two was transported to safety. House Falcon’s quick response squadron deployed and is currently holding the Raven attack fleet over the Northwest Mountains.” “Support?” asks a boy. “The Mulae Farael and Cordata Battle Carriers are away on missions, and the Hawk quick response squadrons are on standby in support of the Falcons at the Northwest Mountains,” replies Captain Cole. “But, the Cassoways can deploy three squadrons if we are engaged.” “Weapon status?” asks another boy. “Weapons hold out to one mile,” replies Captain Cole. “If there are no other questions, we have two hours for pre-flight maintenance, instructors will be checking your log-books.” “One moment,” says one of the instructors standing. “Gentlemen, we are not expecting any trouble, this is only a last real-world practice before your finals. Keep your heads and fly as you have been taught. Master Alore and myself will be following behind you the entire way. I want a good pre-flight by the numbers, and good luck.” “Hoo ah!” shouts the boys. [Northwest Mountains, Brant Province, Planet Darai] Falcon fighter Darts roared across the Northwest Mountains, filling the sky with contrails as they chased the Raven fighter Darts. The highways at the base of the mountains were choked with civilians trying to flee the dance of death above, it was only a matter of time before one of the Ravens broke free of the picket line of friendly fighters holding the invading Ravens at bay. The highways were made worse by the Brant Province Militia setting up roadblocks to prevent Ravens from getting into the Province, which caused many to complain that it was doubtful the Ravens were going to be driving a mini-van. “Strike Leader to Strike Two, climbing to thirty-two thousand.” “This is Strike Three, I’ve got four coming in low.” “Strike Three, this is Fury One, I see them, coming up on your left.” “Fury One, Strike Four, I’m breaking right and coming around.” “Fury Five, I see two at tree-top heading south.” “This is Strike Six, I’ve got them, they’re heading to the ceiling.” “Fury Four, Fury Leader, catch those two going north.” “Roger, Fury Leader, I got them, they’re turning back.” “What the hell are they doing?” “They’re trying to get us to fire first,” replies the Strike Leader. “Strike Leader, I just lost two in the clouds, they just disappeared off my sensors.” “It’s their damn Raven Stealth technology, you have to keep them in visual sight.” Brant stood in the street shouting orders to his troops as two Raven fighter Darts roared past and no friendlies in pursuit. “Captain, get on the Com and try to raise House Eagle, two just got past the Falcon’s defense.” “Sir, House Eagle doesn’t have a Com-center yet.” “They do have an airport, call there and warn them they have incoming hostiles.” [Falcon Airport, Eagle Province, Planet Darai] Sheets of rain pelted the glass of the Air Traffic Control Tower as the Controller pulled his headphones off and ran down the tower stairs to the offices on the ground floor. “Prince Falor, possible attack coming in,” shouts the man pushing the door open. “Calm down and take a breath,” replies Prince Falor looking up from his desk. “Now what’s this all about.” “I just got a satellite call from House Brant, they have a situation with the Ravens and said there are possibly two hostile Raven fighter Darts headed this way.” “Brant Province is three-thousand miles away,” says Prince Falor. “But, it was a Brant plane that brought Lady Moeth back, she must have stirred up a hornets nest.” “Should we evacuate the town?” asks the Controller. “There’s a hurricane brewing outside,” says Prince Falor looking at the weather board. “Winds are already topping sixty miles per hour, we couldn’t evacuate in this mess even if we wanted to, but Darts don’t fly well in high winds. Those Darts won’t be coming here.” “Should we warn Lady Moeth?” asks the Controller. “The causeway broke ten minutes ago, they have enough problems trying to sandbag the town, lets not add to their worries,” replies Prince Falor. “Monitor the situation in Brant Province and let me know if anything changes. Have you gotten hold of Raen and told him to wait until the weather clears?” “No Sir, I always have a hard time with the Hawk Temple, they never monitor their Com-center, and the weather satellite isn’t over our coast right now, so they won’t know there’s a hurricane.” “Damn Weather Service hasn’t figured out people live on this cursed coast yet, that’s why they haven’t assigned a permanent satellite,” says Prince Falor. “No matter, Raen will see the bad weather and wait it out at House Cassoway.” [Hawk Temple, Student Airfield, North Shore, Planet Darai] Captain Cole pushed the throttle forward slightly and rolled the Dart into position behind the Vultures Squadron, he was in the Thunderbolts Squadron and had third position for take-off. Cole could see across the lake from his position on the runway and watched Prince Raen’s ship lift off from the Temple. “Iron Wings, this is Tower, you are clear to depart.” This was the most difficult part of any mission, and the part Cole liked the most. If everyone got their take-off order correct the Darts would merge together onto the runway into a perfect single unit. But, it would take only one pilot to create a cluster traffic jam. The first time they had done this had been a nightmare, Cole had pulled out onto the grass to avoid running into anyone and laughed for an hour at the hopeless knot. The instructors had made the boys walk the runway over and over again for three weeks pretending to be Dart ships until they got the take-off order correct. Cole smiled at the memory of his class walking up and down the runway flapping their arms and shouting, “zoom zoom.” The Vultures Squadron rolled into position with Vulture One in first position, and then the other Vultures each merging together next. The Vultures raced down the runway and lifted into the sky. Lightening Strike merged onto the runway next while the Birds of Prey filled the vacant positions of the Vultures. Cole pushed the throttle and rolled into the Lightening Strikes now vacant waiting positions. One by one the Darts screamed into the sky, and then it was Cole’s turn. From an observers point of view it would look like a seamless maneuver as the Iron Wings merged and raced for take-off, but it was far from easy. The boys called out their positions continuously to each other. The concentration required to hear, comprehend, and act in unison as one body was the culmination of eleven years of training. Cole pulled the yoke back and lifted the Dart into the air, this was everything he had worked for since he was six years old when his father had held his hand and walked with him into the Temple Fortress. “Vulture Six in position.” “Lightening Strike Six in position.” “Birds of Prey Six in position.” “Thunderbolt Six in position,” reported Cole as he pulled alongside Prince Raen’s ship. “Keep it tight Iron Wings.” “Pull your landing gear up, Lightening Strike Two,” says Master Alore. Damn! A mistake! Lightening Strike Two was always forgetting something, Barae was Lightening Strike Two, and sloppy. Barae probably wouldn’t make the cut to be a fighter pilot and end up as a shuttle pilot, and be lucky if he even made it to a Battle Carrier. Sloppy pilots get assigned shuttling supplies around planet-side. The Prince’s ship banked gently to the flight path they would be taking across the ocean. Cole grinned, it was obvious the Prince’s pilot was turning very slowly so not to surprise the fledgling pilots off his wing. It took two hours at the slow speeds they were going to reach the one-hundred mile coastal buffer zone. There were no cities built inside the buffer zone, Daraians were terrified of the ocean and nobody went near it. “Vulture One to Iron Wings, I see the ocean.” “Everyone stay calm, we’ve done an ocean flight before,” says Cole. “We got rain,” says Vulture One. Cole checked the weather report, nothing was posted about rain, but that wasn’t so unusual, the Darai Weather Service didn’t bother posting reports about weather over the ocean, nobody was out there. Cole had thought about that, and thought it would change soon. The Eagles had defied countless millennia of fear and chosen to live right next to the ocean. They were even fishing in the ocean - that was just crazy. Cole’s father was a retired fighter pilot and now owned a large wheat farm. He had told Cole that the Carinians had vast farms in the ocean and that the Eagles were smarter than people realized. The Eagles were going to tap into a vast unused resource and likely become the most powerful House. The ocean was under Cole now and he watched the waves, the wind was picking up and the rain was reducing visibility. Cole didn’t think the ocean was so scary, it was fascinating, and powerful. “This is Eagle One, the airport in Eagle Province just contacted us,” says a voice on the Com-link. “There is a hurricane off the Eagle Coast and we will be unable to approach. House Cassoway is the closest, but they are on the coast as well and it looks like the hurricane is following the coastline and will hit them as well. We will head for the Demonian Camp in the center of the continent and weather the storm there.” “Missile, missile, missile,” shouts a voice. “Right flank.” Cole glanced at his sensors, there was nothing there, whomever reported the missile must have visual sighting, and that meant the missile was close. “Flares!” shouts Master Alore. The boys were well trained and disciplined, every Dart fired it’s counter-measures instantly. The Eagle ship was cocooned in a layer of flares from the escort Darts and the missile exploded several hundred feet off the right wing of the ship. “Missile, missile, missile,” shouts Cole watching the missile scream past him. The boys fired another round of counter-measures, but it was too late, the missile was already past them and headed towards Eagle One. Cole watched the Cargo Ship that was Eagle One roll hard in a maneuver a cargo ship shouldn’t be able to do and drop towards the ocean. The missile sailed through the air where the Cargo Ship had just been and clipped the wing of one of the Darts. “This is Lightening Strike Five, I’m hit, going down.” “Lightening Five, this is Eagle One, do not punch out, a Dart can float, you need to glide in at a twenty-five degree pitch angle, we will pick you up.” “Negative, Eagle One,” says Master Alore. “You need to fire thrusters and head for the continent, we’ll cover you.” “I wasn’t asking,” says Eagle One. “Those were two Raven fighter Darts, they’re using stealth missiles, you’ll only see them when they’re close. Look high, standard Raven tactics are to fire two missiles from a high hidden position and move to a new position, they’re next attack will come from the left.” “Thunderbolts, break left,” says Cole. “Vultures, go high and circle around. Birds of Prey, cover Eagle One. Lightening Strike with me.” Master Alore and Master Roael came alongside Cole’s Dart, and even through the rain Cole thought Master Alore looked very mad. “Thunderbolts, stay tight on my wing,” orders Master Alore. “That’s foolish,” says Eagle One. “Let those young men do what you trained them for, unless you want to all end up in the ocean.” Cole’s heart soared with… he wasn’t sure what he was feeling. A Lord that actually knew how to fight and lead his pilots, and trust them to do their jobs, even fledgling pilots. And even more important, not leave his men behind - Prince Raen was something different than the rest of the nobility. “Thunderbolts, break high, keep your wingman in sight,” orders Cole. “Master Alore, we don’t have the experience to drop Raven fighters, we will find them but we need you and Master Roael’s experience.” “Alright, boys,” says Master Alore, his voice tight and obviously angry. “Fly wide, you’re spotting only.” “This is Vulture three, they’re on me.” “Evade, I’m on the way,” shouts Master Alore. “I can’t shake them,” shouts Vulture three. Cole follows Master Alore, and found Vulture three banking hard and diving for the deck trying to get away. The Raven Dart unleashed a hail of chain gun fire on Vulture three and raked the side of his ship. “I’m hit, but still operational,” shouts Vulture three. Cole was vaguely aware of Eagle One talking Lightening Strike Five down to the water as he tried to get a target lock on the Raven Dart. “I can’t get a lock,” says Cole. “They’re in stealth mode,” replies Master Alore. “Fire by sight.” “Fox One,” shouts Cole. “Fox One,” shouts Master Alore. “Fox One,” shouts Master Roal. The three missiles race towards the Raven. The Raven pulls up hard and climbs for the clouds to get away from the missiles. “I have Lightening Strike Five on board,” says Eagle One. Cole chases after the Raven and the Thunderbolts follow. The missiles fly past the Raven harmlessly and drops back down, but now he has an entire Squadron on him. The Raven turns and runs with the Squadron firing missile after missile at the Raven. The Raven deftly evades each missile as if the boys were only throwing rocks at him. “Damn, he’s slippery,” says Cole. “Stay on him,” says Master Alore. The Birds of Prey joined the chase next and the two Squadrons continued the chase just under the cloud cover. “He’s playing with us,” says Cole. “Watch for the second one, it’s probably an ambush,” says Master Alore. It was an ambush, but not an ambush Cole was expecting. The Raven continued just under the clouds, leading the boys to the ambush he was trying to set up, then the Eagle Cargo Ship dropped out of the clouds like an ancient angry war bird. Clouds swirled around the Cargo Ship, giving the ship the appearance of having wings made from the very storm outside. The Cargo Ship was fearsome as it appeared in front of the Raven fighter. The twin chain guns mounted on the belly of the Cargo Ship opened fire and the Raven slammed into the hail of bullets. The Raven fighter disintegrated in a shower of metal and the remains dropped into the ocean. “Holy Goddess!” shouts Cole. “Eagle One just shot down a Raven Stealth Fighter in a Cargo Ship.” “Did you see the storm wings on the Eagle’s ship?” shouts another boy. “The Eagles rule the sky,” shouts Cole. The second Raven ship dropped out of the clouds and screamed towards the Cargo Ship, it wasn’t even trying to avoid being shot at, it was a suicide run. A hail of missiles fired from the two Squadrons hit the Raven and it exploded in a ball of flame that followed the first Raven into the ocean. “Everyone reform on Eagle One, we need to get out of this storm,” orders Master Alore. “I’m not afraid of this storm,” shouts a boy. “Or the ocean,” shouts another boy. “Lets fly straight to the Eagle Cliffs, we’re storm fliers,” shouts another. “Master Alore, I officially request transfer to the Eagles Battalion,” says Lightening Strike Five from the Eagle ship. “Me too!” “Me too!” “Me too!” “I’m transferring my commission as well,” says Captain Cole. “But, I got a better idea what to call the new Battalion.” [Falcon Airport, Eagle Province, Planet Darai] Prince Falor stood in the tower watching the rain, the weather report finally arrived and the hurricane was predicted to make landfall in the next twenty-four hours. The ATC was sitting at his monitors sipping a cup of coffee and reading a magazine. Prince Falor considered correcting the man for not watching the monitors, but remembered the radar had stopped working several hours ago. He couldn’t even see the radar dish through the rain anymore, for all he knew it had blown away. The tower swayed slightly in the gusts of wind, it was probably time to evacuate the tower, it wasn’t safe up here anymore. Prince Falor turned to tell the crew to head downstairs when the Com chirped - probably just an update from Brant Province or maybe the Weather Service. The Air Traffic Controller grabbed his headphones and put them on, then sat up straight. “All runways are closed due to weather,” says the ATC and then turns to Prince Falor and puts his hand over the mic. “Sir, someone called 'The Storm Wings' are requesting vector to land.” “Who the hell are the Storm Wings?” asks Prince Falor. “Never mind, just give them landing instructions.” Prince Falor grabs the phone and presses the emergency siren. “I want all emergency crews on the runway,” Prince Falor looks at the ATC. "Which runway," whispers Prince Falor. “All runways, Sir,” says the ATC. “How many aircraft are coming in?” demands Prince Falor. “Four Squadrons and one Heavy Cargo, twenty-four total,” replies the ATC. Prince Falor shouts instructions into the phone and slams it back down. “Who the hell is fool enough to fly in this weather?” “Sir, here they come,” shouts the ATC. Prince Falor stared out the window of the tower trying to see the incoming Squadrons. The first Fighter Dart landed on runway one and slid off the runway into the muddy grass. More Fighters were landing on the runways further out but were almost impossible to see. “Roll them down to the hanger, we can’t leave them out there,” orders Prince Falor. “Here comes the Heavy Cargo,” says the ATC. The Heavy Cargo ship slam-dunked hard on the runway and fishtailed sideways, sliding almost two hundred feet before managing to right itself. How it stayed on the runway or didn’t flip over was a mystery to everyone in the tower. “That’s a hell of a pilot,” says Prince Falor. “And I think I know who it is. I’ll meet them downstairs.” Prince Falor ran down the stairs of the tower and then another set of stairs to the underground storage hanger under the terminal. The first Darts were rolling down the ramp and ground crews were leading them into parking spots when Prince Falor arrived - he knew these fighter Darts very well. The young men, barely more than boys, started climbing out of their Darts and immediately went to work on their post-flight checks. Prince Falor saw two Hawk Priests climb down from their Darts and went over to greet them. “Greetings Master Alore, Master Roal,” says Prince Falor bowing deeply. “Falor, a pleasure to see you again,” says Master Alore. “Are you still stalling your Dart engines?” “I haven’t done that in quite some time, Master,” says Prince Falor. “What’s going on here?” “Prince Raen is sponsoring a Barracks at the Temple,” replies Master Alore. “And, he has stolen the entire graduating class of Iron Wings, or I suppose I should say, the Storm Wings.” “Oh good Goddess, my father is going to explode,” says Prince Falor. “I don’t think so,” says Master Alore. “Not if we sell it right. We were going to have to give Prince Raen several Squadrons anyway, it’s either take experienced pilots off the Battle Carriers, or give him these fledglings. I believe this may be the lesser of two evils.” “Here comes the demon Raven-Hawk now,” says Prince Falor. Raen and Vas walked down the ramp to a cheer from the boys. Raen saw Prince Falor and walked over. “You stole the Iron Wings,” accuses Prince Falor. “Their idea,” says Raen. “They even named the new Battalion themselves. What’s happening in town?” “The causeway broke, but Lord Robin has it under control,” says Prince Falor. “I’ve sent everyone I could spare to help sandbag the town.” “Sounds like they need help,” says Raen facing the boys. “Storm Wings,” shouts Raen. “Are you up for a rescue mission?” “Storm Wings are mission ready, Sir,” shouts Captain Cole. “This one is a ground mission, the town is flooding,” shouts Raen. “Air, Sea, or Ground, Storm Wings are ready,” replies Captain Cole. The rest of the boys shout their agreement. “Hmm… sounds like we got a motto,” says Raen. “Alright, everyone get on board the Cargo Ship, we’ll land at the old airfield.” “The old airfield is under several feet of water,” says Prince Falor. “I guess we’ll all learn to swim,” says Raen.