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  It surprised me too, and I think back to exactly what I saw him do. Then I see a solution, if I would have been further back from the major, I might have had a shot. I will learn from this, I want to face that guy again. It will make me a better combat pilot.

  By then end of the first day there are three more pilots from our squadron in the KIA lounge. We all exchange stories of how we bought the farm. In debriefing we are each asked if there was anything we can think of to have changed the outcome. I tell them of my thought of being further behind my wing commander may have allowed me to get a shot off. The colonel performing the debriefing agrees with me, and I see Major Hoyt think about it, then nod in agreement.

  Day two begins with another Mig Cap mission for us, and I want a piece of that Mig so badly; I can taste it. Sure enough we are bounced by two Mig twenty threes that our radar sees coming a long way off, but since we have to visually verify before we can engage; we simply fly right at them at just under the speed of sound.

  “On my wing twelve keep a mile separation.” The major radios, and I drop back.

  The Migs blaze right by us, and Major Hoyt breaks left hard. I wait several seconds and do the same. I am looking back at what the Migs are doing too, and both break right, coming back around into us. Then one goes high, and the other fellow low, and it comes to my mind that they will attempt to do a vertical Thach Weave. I ease up on the throttle to gain some more separation from the Major, that way I can foil their plan. Major Hoyt goes for the fellow who went high, so I follow at distance. He does some really nice maneuvering to get on the Mig’s six, and the Mig is jinxing like crazy, and dropping flares. Sure enough the low Mig goes for the Major, to help his wingman, and I pull in behind the second Mig a mile and a half back. I use the bore sight acquisition to lock onto the second Mig and I trigger off a simulated AMRAM. My text alert tells me that the target is destroyed. I shot down a Mig! It flies off home to their own KIA lounge I am sure. In a moment the Major shoot his Mig down too, and right as I am about to congratulate him, my text alert tells me that I have been shot down. Just then the little Mig twenty one pulls up on my close starboard side, and the pilot salutes me just before he lights off his after burners to shoot the Major down again. The bastard snuck up on us. The top two Migs were just to keep us occupied while sneaky comes up and zaps our asses. Damn it!

  I am real tired of the KIA lounge by now. It’s for losers, dead losers. I hate it here.

  “I’m sorry Romero, I did it to us again.” I can tell that Major Hoyt is sincere with his apology.

  “It wasn’t your fault sir. I let you down. I should have been checking my damn six!”

  “We both should have. Bastard got us with one of the oldest tricks in the book.”

  “I want a piece of that little Mig’s ass so bad.”

  “Yeah, that would taste real good.” He grimaces. “Look, the next sortie, I want you to lead. Show them what you got Romero.”

  “Yes sir.” I grin.

  By the end of the day there are over a dozen other dead officers there. Over half tell of a deadly little Mig twenty one that they just couldn’t escape. Whoever he is, he’s mine. I have a new mission in life, and very little time to accomplish it, just two more days.

  The next morning we are on Mig Cap again, and we are bounced by what looks like the same Mig twenty threes as the day before, but this time the little Mig twenty one is hiding right behind them as we all pass, I watch him break vertical, and I do the same, lighting off full afterburners as I do. I keep my canopy facing him, so I can see what he’s going to do. He pulls over completing the Immelman, and heads towards us. Past him I see the twenty threes coming back around, and they are in my firing arc as I complete my Immelman too. I have lock on and I trigger a simulated AMRAM at the rear twenty three. Instantly I break to the left as the twenty one passes below us a thousand feet. He is going vertical again, and my turn won’t be sharp enough to target him. So I pull vertical again too, and we are both facing our canopies at each other. He’s only a hundred yards from me. I watch him wave bye-bye to me, and he cuts his after burner. I pull over hard cutting my engines way back, and he almost gets a shot at me as I sail past him. I know he will be right on my tail. I hope the Major has kept up, and has a shot. I dive into a Split-S and check behind as I pull out, he’s coming. I dive right into another Split-S, and I know it’s risky because I barely have the altitude to do it now. The ground is rushing up at me as I pull back hard on the stick, and I level off at fifty feet AGL, oops. I quickly punch it and pull up, looking behind me for my nemesis. He’s there but he’s now at a high angle off from me, I pull vertical for a quick Immelman to aim me at him. Just as I come level he is about to pass me at a high angle off. I cut the throttles way back and use my rudder to point my nose at him while I activate the heat seeker pod. It is growling loudly and I touch off the launch button. My text alert tells me ‘target destroyed’ just after he passes me. Oh hell yeah!

  “Twelve, two; we are all clear. That last Mig is bugging out. Nice shooting Tex, you got him, and that other one too.”

  I watch as the Mig twenty one corkscrews like he is really going down, then he levels off, and wags his wings at us as he flies home to his KIA lounge. Yeah, sit down a while there pal. See how you like it.

  When get back to base for the first sorties debriefing; the Colonel in charge asks, “First, who is piloting number twelve of the Seventh Squadron?”

  I raise my hand proudly high.

  “Kudos on your twin kills Lieutenant. Your aggressor opponents said that your flying today was some of the very best they have ever seen. They are eager to face you again as well.” He chuckles.

  All the other pilots cheer me as he does. My head is pretty damn big at the moment I guess, but mister slippery wants a piece of me now… good.

  Our second sortie is completely benign as we seem to have swept the sky clear of the enemy, and achieved air superiority. I wish the Air Force allowed call signs like the Navy does, like Goose, or Iceman. Mine would be Jet Girl. That’s who I am after all.

  Colonel Hall makes sure to eat evening chow with me and the major. He is very proud of our accomplishment today, and he tells us so in no uncertain terms. It seems that it reflects well on him too, as it should. I tell him that his simulated Mig kill of the previous day was just as impressive, not to mention his real Mig kills. He assures me what I did was indeed special.

  The last day begins with us heading out past Area 51 again, in route to our Combat Air Patrol station. As we pass the secret base at twenty thousand feet, I see a bright light come streaking down from above at incredible speed, like at Mach six or something crazy. It streaks down to rapidly slow, and land at the base. It freaks me out, that was ungodly fast! Those boys have some real fun toys to play with it seems. Something I dare not mention.

  As we patrol we pick up two blips bouncing us again, so I head right at them. It’s the two twenty threes again, and just as we blaze past them I see that damn little twenty one hiding right behind them again. This time they all dive as if to disengage. Something is not right here, I sense it.

  “Emcom x-ray sir.” I broadcast, and then I turn my radar off. I am not following the Migs; that is what they want us to do. It’s a trap.

  “Rodger.”

  I watch my passive sensors closely, and sure enough I catch a real quick broad band search emission coming from our left. The frequency matches a Mig twenty nine Fulcrum. I don’t want to broadcast so I hand signal to the Major to follow me at the ready. I point the nose at the very occasional signal and find it is above us slightly. I punch the after burners and climb hard, then I level out at fifty thousand. The signal comes again, stronger and slightly below us. In a few moments I see them ten miles out. I keep the burners going until just before we blaze past each other. Then I cut the throttle back, and break hard to my right. I know that the Fulcrum has more power, and is more maneuverable than the Raptor, except at high altitude and then the Raptor can out turn the Fulcrum s
lightly. They are breaking the same direction, to their left. One is going high and one low, it’s a deadly tactic I can see.

  “Fall back to a mile and a half sir, we’re going after the high one.”

  “Rodger that.”

  My turn is sharper and quicker, and I get an auto lock on from my radar on the Mig I am pointing right at, and I switch to a heat seeker and fire because he’s so close. I am past him in two seconds, and my text alert tells me I got him. Now for his buddy, where is he, check my damn six girl! I don’t see him so I go to radar, and use the look-down first as he was below us. There he is, just behind us and ten thousand below, but he is climbing I can see by his altitude increasing. I cut my throttles back as I roll into a break back towards him. I point my nose down at him and let the radar auto lock on again. I press the fire button for an AMRAM and in three seconds the text alert reads target destroyed. Hell yeah! Twin Fulcrums just like the Colonel did; simulated anyhow. The climbing Fulcrum makes some corkscrews towards the ground, and then levels off to wag his wings at us as he flies home. I wonder.

  At the final debriefing of the whole exercise I am again congratulated for my kills, and afterwards, the General tells us that we all performed exceptionally well, and would have won the war; it gets us all cheering. When the debriefing is over, the General leads a Colonel I’ve never met before over to me.

  “Colonel Tucker, this is Lieutenant Romero. I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.” He smiles at me as he leaves.

  “Lieutenant, I have been playing these war games for over fifteen years now, and only three people before you, have ever shot me down in that sweet little Fishbed. However, nobody has ever got me in the Fulcrum, until today.” He pauses looking me over with scrutiny. I just stand at attention.

  “That was some of the best damn flying I have ever seen Romero. Nicely done.” He extends his hand for me to shake and as I do. He grows a big smile.

  “If you don’t mind me asking Romero, just how old are you?”

  “I’m twenty two sir.”

  “Holy shit.” He chuckles. “Look Lieutenant, if you ever want a job with the aggressor squadron, just let me know. I will personally request it.”

  “Thank you sir.”

  “Outstanding! Uncanny as well. It’s like you’ve been flying jets for ten years or more.”

  “It’s actually been nine years sir.”

  He just blinks at that, and shakes his head.

  “My dad is General George Romero of SAC. He had me flying jets since I was thirteen, Colonel.”

  He smiles as if relived. “Thank you for telling me that, now I don’t feel quite as bad.”

  The squadron flies back to New Mexico the next day, and the Colonel tells me that I did the whole squadron real proud by shooting down Colonel Tucker twice. It seems he is considered one of the best damn pilots in the whole Air Force. Well he sure was a real tough cookie, he shot me down twice as well. Major Hoyt is also quite happy with my performance, and he tells me that he’s proud to be my wingman. I guess maybe the change is permanent.

  Chapter 6

  I am due another thirty days furlough as it has been a year since we returned from Iraq, and Colonel Hall tells us we will be deployed overseas again in six months. This time to Afghanistan though, as we are pulling out of Iraq presently. It is one of the things the brand new Obama administration is doing, and the reason I voted for him. I sure can’t tell anyone this, as everyone in the squadron is very hawkish with their politics. I just know the merciless killing needs to stop. I hate it. Thinking about what I’ve done make me sick to my stomach, but here we go back and I’ll have to do it again.

  Since we will leave in six months I decide to wait four months to take my furlough, so I can see my family before I go away again. Of course I call Debbie to see if she can take some furlough, but she can’t at the present. Though she does tell me to call her again before I leave. So when I get home I remember my promise to Carly, and I give her a call.

  “Hey Carly, do you still want that ride?”

  “Are you kidding me? Yes!”

  “How about now?”

  “Sure. My mom will baby sit for me for a little while.”

  “I’ll pick you up in five minutes then.”

  She is fitted for a loaner suit and helmet, and we climb aboard the Eagle of my dad’s, or under his command anyhow.

  “Are you sure you know how to fly this thing without killing me?” She is nervous as she starts to get into the rear seat.

  “Relax, I know what I’m doing.” I give her my best Kurt Russell impersonation.

  The crewman helps her get all strapped in and buckled up as he explains the ejection procedure to her. I watch her face turn white in one of the rear view mirrors. Then her helmet is on and her oxygen mask connected.

  “Carly, can you read me?”

  “Yeah Steph. I hear you.”

  “Good, let’s have some fun girl.” I give the wind it up signal to the crew, and they start my engines up.

  She is breathing hard as I begin to taxi, and I close the canopy.

  “This is really happening?”

  “Rodger that Carly. Just enjoy the ride, I’ll keep it smooth.”

  I call in to the tower and we are given permission to takeoff.

  “You will feel some acceleration now Carly, just go with it.”

  “Okay.”

  I punch the throttle to full second stage after burners and we are both plastered back into the seats as the roar gets so loud even to our muffled ears.

  “Holy shit!” She screams.

  We are airborne in no time and I climb out at forty five degrees. I cut the burners off at forty thousand feet and six hundred knots to level out.

  “It’s so beautiful Steph! I can see forever.”

  “This is what I live for girl.”

  “I don’t blame you a bit. Magnificent, and OMG that take off was the bomb!”

  “I’m glad you liked it. I was going to ask for a pure vertical takeoff, but I figured to break you in slower.”

  “You mean going straight up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you; that would have caused me to piss my pants, hell it almost did anyway.”

  “Hey, do you want to control her for a bit?”

  “What? I can do that?”

  “Sure. See the stick between your legs?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll activate it in a moment. Just gentle slow movements now. Left or right banks us left or right. Push it forward to push the nose down and dive, and pull back to pull the nose up and climb. Got it?”

  “Just like a video game huh?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “There, you have control Carly.”

  She starts to giggle as she swoops the bird through the sky as she wills it. I keep my hand ready by the stick to take over if she does something crazy. She doesn’t, instead she really starts giggling as she learns how to roll us three sixty just by instinct.

  “Nice Carly, that’s fun.” I also giggle.

  “This air plane rules the skies Steph!”

  “Yeah it does.”

  After about an hour she tells me that she’d better get home so her mom doesn’t get pissed off. So I take us on in to Offutt. On the way home in the car she is bursting with excitement.

  “I actually got to fly an F… what again?”

  “Just call it an Eagle.”

  “An Eagle, okay. Hey do you think we could do it again sometime?”

  “Sure, my next furlough?”

  “When’s that?”

  “It’s a full year off, sorry girl.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. I can wait for that, even though I can’t wait!” She giggles with glee.

  “I have to tell you something Carly. I’m being deployed to Afghanistan soon.”

  Her bubbly mood disappears, and she hugs me as I drive.

  “No Steph, not again. You aren’t like that. I know be
tter.”

  “I hate it already. Oh god I am so tired of the sick side of my job. It is perverse.”

  “See, I know you girl.”

  “Yeah, but I pretty much stuck with it.”

  “Bullshit Steph. You have options. Look, it’s your life. If you want to go slaughtering people with it, too bad for you. That will change you in the worst way girl. It’s all over the news all the time. Those soldiers coming back from over there are certainly not the young people they once were, and never will be again. I can already see the change happening in you Steph.”

  “What? How?”

  “You’re just not as easy going and carefree as you used to be. Close, but I can see the difference.”

  When I drop her off, I meet her baby for the first time. Then I go home thinking about what Carly had said. Maybe it is turning me into someone else. At least it is not into someone who has a blood lust, that’s for sure.

  I only see Carly once more before I leave, and that is just to say goodbye. I also call Debbie before I go, like I had promised her I would. She has some rather depressing news.

  “I screwed up so bad Steph, damn it!”

  “What did you do?”

  “Damn it! I’m pregnant.”

  “Holy shit Deb!”

  “I know. Damn it! They grounded me already, I can’t fly any more baby.” She starts crying.

  “Oh shit girl, I’m so sorry.” I pause, and then I have to know. “Who’s the lucky father?”

  “He’s a pilot in my squadron. I was on the damn pill Steph, and he always wore condoms… go figure, right?”

  “That’s a raw deal girl. Is he supportive at least?”

  “Oh yeah, he says he wants me to marry him, and he’ll take care of me… us.”

  “That’s not so bad…it could be worse.” I think of Carly.

  “What do you mean it’s not so bad? Not being able to fly Steph!”

  I sigh, “You’re right, that is the worst.”

  “I screwed up so bad.” She cries some more.

  Eventually she does wish me a safe deployment, but I can tell she’s pretty preoccupied with her own problems. I was going to visit my grandparents quickly in Indianapolis, but Grandpa Joe isn’t feeling well lately, so I give them a quick call before I leave.