ooc: Correction the F22 raptor CAN fly like that. The Mig 29 Fulcrum also has some interesting attributes. the f15 will be in service til 2026 along with the a10 warthog and several other fighter craft. Guess who has friends in the airforce that laughed at that movie. I'll join in as soon as I can think of something.

(OOC: I like the look of this! Quick question though...

A wing itself is sort of like a miniature country. The wing's Commanding Officer can order the construction or destruction of buildings in any sector of the wing's territory.

The Defence Officer is responsible for control of the defence department, encompassing air defences and ground troops. S/he also proposes and rejects alliances at the Commanding Officer's order.

Does this mean a kind of statistics baised RP, a bit like a battle rp, or is it just guidance for anyone wanting to join an already existing wing? Will this be basically a battle rp in the sky, or will it become another chategory?

OOC: It's not statistics-based. That's just... stupid, for want of a better word. The combat will be in the sky for most if not all RPers, but they may choose to play as ground troops or base personnel, or just an ordinary citizen.

The reason why wings have are like miniature countries is because they have to support themselves. Area00 is not officially sanctioned by any government, but the place is used as testing grounds for their aircraft. =) They also need to have people around to work in their industrial sectors, constructing aircraft parts and weapons.

Basically, the notes are extra bits of information. You're all welcome to join existing wings, or wings bearing the names you give them. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIST EVERYTHING YOUR WING HAS. That'd just be a waste of time and effort. After all, the focus is on combat. And don't worry, it won't be that mundane... Hehe.

(OOC: Ah good^^ I'm not really keen on Statistic or Battle RPs.

Okay how's this?)

IC:

"Raptor Wing approaching danger zone. Interception in T-50, over."

"Base to Raptor wing, these guys are tough. You take care now."

"Is that concern in your voice now General? I'm touched! Raptor Wing out." The figure in the cotpit flicked the radio onto another channel. He was Human, quite thin, with short, black, wavy hair. He had a strong jawline and dipping forehead, and his eyes were a steel grey. "Eagle to Kestal and Condor. Weapons hot, stand by to engage."

A call of confirmation came over the radio from the other two pilots. By now the scanner was bleeping away, showing the small group of three aircraft a little way ahead, flying in close formation. They were very small, and painted in a louminous orange color.

Eagle fingered the controls of his Sukhoi Su-35, phsyching himself up for the battle ahead. "Okay all...let's do this!"

(OOC: Here's a Bio. All three of the Eagle Wing pilots will be characters, but I'll put in the other bios later (when I work them out fully lol).

Name: Tyree Kaliden
Callsign: Eagle
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Plane: Sukhoi Su-35
Speciality: Dogfighting / Aerobatics
Wing Name: Raptor Wing
Brief history: Tyree's father was an acclaimed stunt pilot, and got him interested in the trade at a very young age. Eventually he joined his father in the shows, and went on to become one of the greatest stunt pilots the world had ever seen! After the tragic death of his father when his plane malfunctioned mid-flight, he considered hanging up his pilot gloves forever, until he met two other stunt pilots who convinced him otherwise.

Together they formed the Raptor Wing, the world's greatest airobatic performers in history. They won every tournament they entered, and wowed the crowds at countless airshows, until a small delegation from the army arrived, saying they had heard of the teams success, and wished to hire them to test some experimental millitery technology...

Let me know if anything needs changing^^)

EDIT: (OOC: That's the bit where I said it had been modified^^ I'm not too well up on planes...I thought the Kai version of the Shinden had already been modified with a jet, but maybe I was wrong about that. Anywho, this one has been rebuilt by Tyree with modern materials, and has had the latest jet engine installed, so it's as fast as most modern planes, and manuverable as well )

OOC: Looking good, but just one question. What does your Shinden-Kai run on? The last I remembered, it was a WW2 Japanese plane equipped with propellers. Anything that runs on propellers is likely to be brutally chopped up, quartered and hung repeatedly in 2010. o.o

EDIT:
Still, its airframe isn't meant for the manoeuvrability that modern jets have... >>;;
You can install the most powerful engines on a plane, but its airframe is still essential to maximise its manoeuvrability...

Take the MiG-31 for example. It's VERY, VERY fast, but it manoeuvres like a flying BRICK. My suggestion would be to use a more modern plane... >_>

Okay, awesome, Vic.

Name: SX
Callsign: Foxboy One (Sorry, Tails fans. This one is mine.)
Sex: Yes please! (Male.)
Species: Kitsune
Plane(s): F/A-22 "Raptor", has some Su-35 "Super Flanker" experience.
Speciality: Air-to-Air engagements
Wing Name: Raptor Wing
Brief history: Created by a long-gone military organization, SX is not a natural lifeform. For this RP, all that'll mean is that he won't die of natural causes. Getting bown out of the sky is NOT a natural cause, by the way. Anyway, created by the military. Took several flight classes, was frozen for 50 years, escaped, stole a prototype Su-35 and used it to attack the military facility. Sold it joined the Raptor wing, been there ever since.

OOC: Guess this needs a bit of a push.

IC:
Talietzin walked towards Olga, who gave him a light punch in the left arm. That is, if you could call a punch that left a bruise and stung like hell a light punch, of course.

"Come on, we've got work to do," Olga said, gesturing towards the lift just behind her. The six squadron members got on the lift, and after pressing a button, it began its quick yet controlled ascent. "The 18th Bomber Wing and the Raptor Wing have been giving us a bit of trouble lately. We've sighted Tu-160s and Raptors close to our boundaries, and we've had some of our C-130s shot down. I'm sure you know how important they are to us."

"Yeah, I know," Talietzin replied, leaning against the wall of the lift, his arms folded.

"We need more people to escort our convoys... We're thinking of getting the blueprints for the Antonov-225 transports, but we haven't gone about doing it yet." The lift came to a stop, and the doors slid open. They walked out, and Olga led them down the winding corridors, past all the base personnel going about their business. "And here we have the notice board. Feel free to take on a few missions when you're bored or low on cash; these guys pay well, as does our Finance Officer."

Talietzin stared at the board, scanning it for anything that interested him. Most of them were patrol and escort assignments, neither of which he particularly liked.

"You remember where we usually gather, right?" Olga asked as Talietzin turned.

"Yeah. You guys go ahead. I'll take a walk or something around the base before I meet you."

Olga nodded, and the rest of the group marched away, leaving Talietzin in front of the notice board. Plenty of chatter could be heard behind him; the notice board was situated in the mess hall. It wasn't a small one, either - It was at least six metres long!

"Raptor Wing strikes convoy... Hmm. I'd love to go up against one of those pilots..."

He turned around, looking around for familiar faces in the mess hall. He stood for several seconds, scrutinising the faces of each and every person in the mess hall, hoping to find someone he knew.

SX frowned. "Shut it, I don't care if you need another escort. The damn C-5s can go to Hell." SX sighed. "I'm tired, Rick. Tired from the last five consecutive missions I flew for them! I haven't slept in three days!" "SX, the Sky Warriors are starting to step up their defenses. We can't sit and watch them do that! You know our deal with the-" "The 80th can go to hell too. I'm sick of this squadron." "Fine. You don't have to do the mission." "I wasn't going to." SX stormed off, going into the pilot's quarters. He went into his bunk room, stood before the bed, and was asleep before he hit the pillow. SX never changed out of his flight gear.

(OOC: Okay at the request of Victor I've edited the planes my characters use, although I don't know as much about the new ones, so please forgive me if I make mistakes. It actually fits in nicely with an idea I had for one of my characters though, so that's a plus lol.

A thought SX, you're ok to be on Raptor Wing if you like, but the idea of calling it Raptor was that all the callsigns would be birds of prey ie: Eagle, Kestral and Condor, my characters. If that presents a problem let me know in IMs and we can work something out )

IC:

"Condor" adjusted his radio and checked his instruments. "Condor ready." he called in an incredibly deep voice. "Keep them occupied."

His hair was black, wavy, and very thick, and his face was all but obscurred by a massive thick beard and moustache. He was over seven feet tall, and the cotpit of his Tupolev Tu-22M bomber had had to be rebuilt for his massive size! His thunderously deep voice was influenced by a distinct Russian accent, and it was his influence that had gotten Raptor Wing their planes. His name was Ivan Keriezech.

He flicked a switch on his scanner and it began to bleep, showing an approach vector. There was a base down there, and it was his job to bomb it out.

Name: Ivan Keriezech
Callsign: Condor
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Plane: Tupolev Tu-22M
Speciality: Air-to-Ground Combat
Wing Name: Raptor Wing
Brief history: Having got massive piloting experience at a young age, when his father, a Russion Air Force General, got him enrolled into the airforce early, Ivan quickly became one of the best pilots in Russia, but when his height disqualified him from service his father got angry and disowned him. Fleeing to England, he kept up his love for flying by becoming a stunt pilot, and it was in this profession that he met Tyree and Nikki.

When Raptor Wing was called upon to test millitery hardware, Ivan got back in touch with his estrainged father and made up with him. He waisted no time in getting his father to use his influence, and got himself and his friends their aircraft.

(Okay. I stick with Foxboy One, though. And it's spelled Kestrel, I believe.)

SX woke up twelve hours later. "Aw, my flight suit is all sticky...I'm still wearing my helmet! Jeez! Ah well..." SX walked down to the Mess Hall, looking for someone to chat with...

A shockwave shook the ground and tables, causing much spillage of stew and drinks, and the PA blared loudly, "Red alert! Red alert! All fighters take off immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! We are under attack by unidentified aircraft!"

Immediately, Talietzin bolted down the corridors like lightning, vaulting over obstacles and weaving in between people. He approached the lift he'd just come from, and another slightly less powerful shockwave followed.

"Talietzin," a familiar female voice said from behind him. He recognised it immediately as Olga. "We are the only ones who can fly up there. The rest of the Taigas and the other squadrons have their planes under repair, and I'm sure the three patrol planes up there have been downed already. I'll see you in the sky."

As the lift doors opened, rapid footsteps were heard as Olga dashed towards the shelter for her plane, also a Su-35 - except it had thrust vectoring control, which Talietzin had yet to be able to afford.

Blazing fuel tanks and ammunition stores could be seen from the runway as Talietzin took off, Olga using the runway near the one he was using.

"Taiga One, hostile contacts, bearing zero five three. Two Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flankers and one Tu-22M Backfire. Requesting permission to engage the bomber, over."

"Taiga Three, permission granted. I will cover your six."

"Affirmative." Immediately, Talietzin advanced his throttle, Olga following behind him. He looked around as he approached the Tu-22M, his weapons ready to fire. "Unidentified bomber, you have entered restricted airspace and have assaulted a Sky Warrior base. Surrender or prepare to be destroyed."

He heard a laugh over the radio, as if his warning had been a joke. It wasn't just a laugh - it was one that was meant to insult him.

"Surrender? Perish the thought! Hahaha!" came the deep voice from the other pilot as the twin Gsh-23 twin-barreled guns at the Tu-22M's tail spewed gunfire at him. Talietzin instinctively broke and turned, and the Tu-22 immediately turned away. Two Su-35s crossed his field of vision diagonally, drawing a large double "X" with their contrails.

He watched as they seemingly flipped around in the air without any loss in altitude to face him, after which their engines started up once more.

"Quit gawking and evade!" commanded Olga as the two Su-35s opened fire with their guns. Jolted from his trance, he turned and broke right, evading the gunfire as Olga chased one of the two planes.

"Their skill is amazing!" stated Talietzin as he looked around for the Tu-22M.

"Flashy moves with no real combat use," came Olga's reply as she followed the Sukhoi's every move almost flawlessly, as her plane was meant to do. Anything a Su-35 could do, so could hers - perhaps even better. "All right, on the count of three, you break hard right. Ready?"

"Ready as ever. I hate being chased."

"One, two, three!" Talietzin broke right, and the Su-35 in front of Olga followed. The targeting reticule was over it, and immediately Olga's thumb pressed the button on the control stick. Tracer rounds indicated the bullets' trajectories, and showed that the spray of gunfire had hit the plane's starboard wing. The Sukhoi immediately turned and broke away in the opposite direction, its partner following closely. "Got him!"

Talietzin heard some rather evidently colourful language in a foreign tongue that he did not recognise. Probably English, he thought. The AWACS had been intercepting the communications, but it was pointless without an interpreter.

He turned and saw the two Su-35s flying away from the battle, the Tu-22M not far behind. Evidently, it had already used up its entire payload. If he wanted to re-arm, he would no longer have the element of surprise. They would be ready.

(OOC: Good point SX, I was always bad with spelling lol.

Heh...it seems Victor has chosen my third plane^^)

"Kestrel to Eagle, I've got some medium damage to my wing. Request permission to land first?"

Tyree looked across at the other Su-35 flying alongside him. He could see the holes in the wing where the bullets had pierced. "Roger Kestrel it looks pretty bad. Permission granted."

The figure in the cotpit of the third plane saluted, grinning. "Thanks boss." she replied in her musical, feminine voice.

Tyree grinned himself. "Don't worry Kestrel, I'm sure the boys in the shop will be quite happy to give that body of yours the once over, and I'll be sure to take care of any damage."

Kestrel laughed and thumbed the plane's afterburners, blasting ahead of the other two. "Don't grab your joystick just yet, flyboy! You'll have to catch me first!"

Tyree laughed as he flicked a switch on his radio. "Eagle to Base, Eagle to Base, mission A1 Green and we are heading home, over."

(OOC: Okay, FINALLY figured out Nikki's bio lol)

Name: Nikki Blackwater
Callsign: Kestrel
Gender: Female
Species: Origionally Human, now Undetermined
Plane: Sukhoi Su-35
Speciality: High Speed Aerobatics, Flying Dangerously (Extreme low altitude, through canyons, etc)
Wing Name: Raptor Wing
Brief history: Ever since being very young, Nikki was quite a tomboy, interested in extreme sports and death defying. She origionally wanted to be a snowboarder, but on a holiday in the Alps when she was fifteen she was caught in an avalanche and barely survived. Both her parents were killed, and she was severely injured, so, with nothing else to live for, her rebellious nature took over and she signed herself up as a volenteer for experimental ginetic reaserch.

Since her normal body was damaged beond repair, the scientists gave her a completely new one grown in test tubes, but Vikki didn't want an average run-of-the-mill Human body. Instead she picked an anthro-reptillian form, complete with tail, yellow eyes and green skin!

A few years after the avalanche she became interested in Stunt Flying, and with the help of some friends she enrolled on a program. She became extremely skilled, and at one of her shows she met up with Tyree. They got to know each other and very quickly became good friends...even something more! Together with Ivan they formed Raptor Wing...

SX met the team halfway with his wingman, in the F/A-22 Raptor reserve planes. "Foxboy One to Eagle, Foxboy One to Eagle. Come in." "This is Eagle." "We'll be escorting ya back to base. My wingman and I are about thirty miles east of you. We'll meet you in a few minutes. Foxboy One out."

Tyree grinned as he listened to the call. "Well if it isn't Mister Awkward! You're the last person I expected to welcome us with open arms!"

"Can it Eagle!" retorted Sx, irritated. "I'm just doing my job."

"You're lucky you still have that job after the fuss you kicked up about your callsign. The General doesn't like to be ignored!"

Suddenly a voice kicked in over the radio. "Base to Eagle and Foxboy One, this is The General. If neither of you have anything constructive to say about the mission then stay the hey off the airwaves, understood! You two can take this up with each other after you land!"

Tyree smiled a somewhat sulky smile. "Understood sir." he muttered, and he heard Sx's voice, also somewhat muted, reply the same.

Nikki grinned, glancing across at Tyree and at Sx's plane who had just come into view in the distance. "Well said General! That stopped the little boys scuffling!" she joked. "Base, this is Kestrel. I'm beginning my decent, over."

SX landed, debriefed, which was useless, and went over to Tyree. "So I went to cover you. I need the money. I've been eyeing a new targeting system for my Raptor. And thrust vectoring nozzles for my Super Flanker I keep around." "So why do you have that? You never even use it..." "Too bad. I love thing. It's my good luck charm." "Ah...Whatever." "I've got a small recon mission to fly in an hour. Need the money...Tyree, can I ask you something? Have you ever thought about leaving this wing? even once?"

Tyree raised an eyebrow. "Leave??? You crazy? I set up Raptor Wing because I loved flying, and I have all my friends right here with me! This is a dream to me...why would I want to leave it?"

Sx nodded slowly. "Hm...yeah..."

Tyree eyed him, puzzled. "What's going on dude...what prompted that question?"

Name: Josh
Callsign: Radar Love
Gender: Male
Species*: Human
Plane(s): f22 raptor, f/a 18 hornet, f117 stealth fighter
Speciality: Psychological Operations (WE DRIVE YOU NUTS xp)
Wing Name: Silver Knights
Brief history: TOP SECRET... for now I can't think of anything.

Ic:
There was a sonic boom in the distance something unseen tore through a cloud then whipped up dust on the top of a hill. The pilot flipped a switch up and down playing with any radar towers around as his blip would show up then dissapear only to re appear mile away from its previos position. The plane maneuvered in and out of the terrain at 2 times the speed of sound. literally confusing the tower operators. within moments it was gone. or was it

OOC:
Spyder, I suggest we discuss this over PM... The topic wil get FLOODED with discussion posts. And the F-117 is a bomber. STRICTLY A BOMBER. Not a fighter. ^^;

The Su-37 is a more manoeuvrable plane than you may think. Every single Flanker is. Why does the US air force not use it, you ask. Well, for one thing, the only existing Su-37 crashed somehow on its way back to Russia, if my memory serves. And the main thing is... IT'S RUSSIAN. Do you see AMEREEKANZ piloting RUSSKY planes? No? Didn't think so. And to say that F-14s probably shot it down at some point just goes to show precisely how much you know about this.

I've got a good friend in the Republic of Singapore Air Force who knows one pilot who once piloted a Su-30. The pilot said, and I quote: "It's VERY, VERY difficult to outmanoeuvre a Sukhoi."

Have you EVER seen one of the American planes EVER simply flip around without changing its vector? Show me a few videos.

And saying that the F-117 probably outmanoeuvred and SHOT DOWN a Sukhoi is downright WRONG. c.c It's a BOMBER.

Sure, the F-22 is good. But is it perfect? Far from it. And there is NO plane on Earth that can flip around instantly without a change in vector, and almost in the same second, fire up its engines and go in the opposite direction as if nothing happened. If there is, please show me a video. n.n

There's a certain pattern in aircraft developments. Americans tend to have the better technology and firepower, whereas the Russians have the better aerodynamics. Until the F-22 came along that is.

I know the F-22 is a good plane; it was and still is one of my favourites. However, I see no way by which it can go Mach 3. Apparently it goes Mach 1.8 with a full load of weapons and fuel.

So do me a favour, dude. Please, keep this within "normal". We're not all ace pilots here, and there's more to come later on... As promised, the RP will not be as mundane as combat day in and day out against rival wings. ^_^

Damn, Vic, you beat me to him.

IC:

"Nothing. Just curious..." SX sped off, ate, and fled the hall.

(OOC: lol I've just had a classic idea!)

Tyree watched Sx as he moved off. "Wierd..."

He shrugged, and set off down the hallway in the opisite direction. He had a meeting to get to!

In the Control Room was a large 3D model of the whole of Area 00, with little flags and models placed on it, indicating outposts, units, bases...

The large model was set on a table, and took up most of the room! Around the outside, along the walls, were desks and computers, quietly humming away as they monitered the radar and communications. Over at the back of the room was an area screened off by a large transparent curtain, beond which was the Control Center propper. The lights were dimmed, and the faces of everyone inside were lit up by millions of small lights on the masses of control pannels and computer systems all over the room.

Outside, sat on chairs next to the model of the landscape, were two figures. One of them was massive, a large beast of a man with a thick beard. The other was reptillian, with green skin and yellow eyes. Both wore standard Army Camo shirts and pants.

"He's gonna be in trouble!" grinned Nikki, brushing her orange hair out of her eyes. While her new body was largely reptillian, she had kept some Human features through her change.

Ivan, quiet as ever, just nodded.

Suddenly the door burst open and Tyree stepped in, flinging his arms wide like he was stepping onto a stage. "Ta-daaaa! I'm here!"

"You're late."

Tyree let his arms drop to his sides and he sighed, grinning slightly. "Aw I'm sorry sir, the traffic was murder."

The other figure in the room had been stood by the plastic wall looking into the Control Room, and now he slowly turned, fixing Tyree with a stare from steel grey eyes. He wasn't tall, but he was built like a tank! His hair was silver, and he wore a neatly clipped moustache of the same color. His face was hard and tough, his brow stern and commanding. His voice was gravely and grating.

"Sit down, Eagle." growled The General.

Tyree turned and sauntered over to an empty chair, bending to peck Nikki on the cheek as he passed. She smiled at him wryly.

"Right, now we're finally all here, let's begin." said The General as Tyree sat down. "We've been reviewing the logs from your last mission...everything went well. The tests are looking very positive."

"What was all that about the attack though General?" asked Nikki, frowning. "You never said we'd be taking fire."

The General's grey eyes fixed on her. "As I said, these weapon systems have to be tested in battle scenarios, and in battle, anything can happen."

"Those were real bullets." rumbled Ivan from the end of the table.

"Yes, they were. As I said, real scenarios."

Tyree cocked his head to one side. "General, when we agreed to testing out these weapons, we didn't write any small print about being killed."

"And neither did we Eagle. As I've told you before, we have multiple saftey proceedures should something go wrong. We're prepared for every eventuallity."

Tyree glanced across at the other two. "You'd beter be right about that." he muttered.

The door opened and another man came in, a black man with a bald head and large brown eyes. He was tall, although nowhere close to Ivan, and looked very strong.

He stepped up to The General and saluted smartly. "The flight logs you requested sir." he said, holding out a clipboard with lots of paper on it. The General took it and began to flick through it quickly.

"Good work Captain." He looked up at the three pilots around the table. "Okay you're free for the moment. We'll inform you when your next mission is due. Any questions, see Captain Riverne here."

Tyree, Nikki and Ivan stood up and moved towards the door. "Oh," said the gravel voice behind them, "and we may be having a dogfighting drill at short notice too. Stay ready."

The door closed, and Captain Riverne immeadeately turned to face The General. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Permission to speak freely sir."

The General raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"I'm still not comfortable with this sir." said the Captain, a worried look on his face. "Making them risk their lives without them even knowing...telling them it's just some weapons testing...I don't like it."

The General sighed, turning back to the clipboard in his hand. "What do you sugest Captain...we tell them the truth?"

"It might be nice, yeah."

"Raptor Wing is the best wing we have Captain. We can't afford to risk losing them. If they knew what was really going on here they may quit, and we can't have that."

Riverne shook his head slowly. "But it just seems so wrong, lying to them like this...what if one of them dies? How will we cover it up then?"

The General turned to face him, a stern glare in his eye. "We'll deal with that if it occurs! For now they believe it's simply weapons testing they're here for, and that is how it will stay! If you have problems with that Captain I suggest you resolve them...soon!"

(OOC: Sx, it's up to you if Sx is fooled too, or if he's in on the action )

(I think I won't know, but I was thinking of quitting the wing for other reasons.)

SX sighed as he lifted off. "Control to Foxboy One, you are cleared for takeoff." "Roger Control tower. What's the weather like?" "Winds SSE at about 5 knots, almost nothing. Sunny and mildly hot." "Roger." "So why are you taking that old Su-35 anyway? Why not the issue Raptor?" "There's no need for stealth. Foxboy one, taking off." The tower didn't guess he wouldn't come back...

Talietzin sat with his circle of old and new friends, the Taiga squadron.

"So how have the Sky Warriors been while I was away, Olga?" asked Talietzin, curious as to how they had been.

"We've been doing all right, except for the fact that we've noticed all sorts of aircraft from wings around our own flying about, so things have been a little too close for comfort recently. But apart from that, we've been all right."

"I see..."

"We've also lost a bit of territory though. The 18th Bomber Wing pigs blasted that base to hell and took it over as if we owed it to them."

"Well... They'll be invaluable to us if we're have to fight against a common enemy. They have the best bomber planes and the best weapons and pilots around, after all."

"Agreed." Olga sighed as she adjusted her seat, an empty oil drum lying on its side. Seated on her left and right were Taiga Two and Taiga Four, the only pilot he recognised. It was Zachary, the only multi-lingual British pilot on the base.

"Well, 'Nikita'..." started Zachary, referring to Talietzin's old nickname. "Are you still the Nikita we knew?"

'Nikita'. The word meant 'unconquerable', and was meant to describe an indomitable will, as well as an invincible person. He'd been given that nickname during skirmishes with the 18th Bomber Wing and its sister wing, the 1st Fighter Wing. The reason was in actuality quite simple. He was the only pilot out of all the Sky Warriors to actually down an entire squadron of 1st Fighter Wing pilots alone, and held off an entire bomber squadron's attacks himself in order to buy time for his squadron members to take off and assist him. It was no easy task, having to deal with both escorts and bombers!

"I don't know anymore. And I'll never know until I dogfight again. It's been a long time."

"Whatever it is, I'll stick to calling you 'Nikita'. All right?"

Talietzin nodded. Zachary's Russian was flawless, despite his obvious accent. However, that was what made Zachary unique - the moment the control tower heard that voice, they would immediately know that it was Zachary.

All of a sudden, the PA began to blare once more. "Unidentified aircraft detected! Combat-ready pilots, scramble and intercept! Do not fire until permission is granted!"

"Here we go again..." muttered Talietzin as they dashed to their planes' shelters.

Several minutes later, they took off, five planes flying in a tight formation. It was good to be back with familiar faces flying by your side. Indeed, it was.

Talietzin began to speak in Russian, not knowing if the unidentified pilot could understand him. "Identify yourself and state your intentions, or you will be fired upon. You have fifteen seconds to comply." After several tense moments, there was still no response.

"Let me try, Nikita. Maybe he doesn't understand Russian. Identify yourself and state your intentions or you will be fired upon. You have fifteen seconds to comply."

"This is Foxboy One from the Raptor wing. I am unarmed and request permission to land at the nearest available airstrip from you guys." SX sighed. So he was really going to do it...

The three other Raptor Wing personnel were on their way to their quaters.

"You're going to get yourself in deep trouble, keep turning up late like that!" exclaimed Nikki, grinning wryly at Tyree as they walked down the corridor. Tyree raised his eyebrows.

"You worry too much! It's not like we've joined the army or anything. We're still civillians, The General can do nothing to us." He grinned himself. "I just can't wait to get my hands on that wad of cash they're handing out at the end of it!"

"Oh, here we go! Money money money! That's all you ever think about!"

"Well...not quite all." Tyree put an arm around Nikki's shoulders, staring at her with a broad smile.

Nikki laughed, leaning against him. "So what exactly are you going to do with your money mister full-of-himself?"

"Invest it in the Wing, of course! Just think what a show we'd be able to put in with that kind of funding!" Tyree looked up at Ivan, who was now wearing his customary wrap-around shades that were as much a part of him as his beard. He wore them everywhere...even in the pilot seat, although while they were working for The General he had been told he wasn't allowed. "What about you Beef? What are you doing with your share?"

"Same." replied Ivan curtly.

"Hey, I'm spending on the Wing...your share is your own man!"

Ivan made a face. "Flying is my life. I have nothing else to spend on."

They reached the doors to their rooms, and Ivan promptly strode through his door, lay down on his bed and picked up a book. Nikki went into her own room too, but Tyree stood in her doorway. He watched as she tidied some clothes away into a drawer. "What about you?" he asked as she stood up, leaning against the door frame.

Nikki's face became serious, and a far away look came into her eyes. "I want to find my parents." she murmured quietly.

Tyree nodded slowly. He knew Nikki had never fully got over her tragedy. One of the main problems was not being able to find the bodies of her parents, burried deep in the snow after the avalanche. She couldn't rest properly until she had found them and given them a propper burial.

He stepped up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, when this is over, I'll come with you, and help dig. We won't stop until we find them, ok?"

Nikki blinked away a tear, and nodded. She sighed slightly. "I just hope we do get out." she muttered.

"What?"

"I'm worried, Ty." she replied, looking up at him. "Something doesn't feel right here...I can't help thinking we're in danger somehow."

"What, with the mission?" Tyree shook his head. "The General says they have all the bases covered. Even if something should go wrong, we should be ok."

Nikki nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Tyree put his other hand on Nikki's other shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "Your parents would have been proud, Nik." he said softly. "If they can see you now, I'm sure they are!"

She smiled, another tear welling in her eye. "That means a lot to me." She took a deep breath. "You've comforted me so much over the years, Ty. I...I don't think I could have coped without you." She looked up, fixing her yellow eyes on his face. "Thank you."

"What are friends for." replied Tyree quietly. They paused for a moment, looking into each other's eyes, then, slowly, their lips came together.

Tyree reached back with his foot, knocking the door closed as they kissed, slowly moving over towards the bed...

The F22 screamed into area 00. The pilot activated the planes fiberoptics which reflected the ground on the top of the plane and the star lit sky on the bottom making it near invisible. He slipped below 100ft to keep out of radar range as a precaution. His radio intercepted a message as 5 planes and a loner came into view.

"Identify yourself and state your intentions or you will be fired upon. You have fifteen seconds to comply."

The pilot blinked for a second thinking he had been caught then he noticed their weapons werent locked onto him let alone his stealth was still on.

"This could be fun.", He thought to himself.

He pulled his unseen planes wings inches above two of the lead planes @#%$ pits in the formations and jerked the joystick left to right tapping on the cockpits.

"Knock Knock", The pilot said playfully into the radio.

He jerked the Joystick back and pushed the throttle forward rocketing the plane straight up into the air.

"I sure hope they aren't hostile", He thought to himself.

ooc: Wraith I hope no one bust in on them fraternizing in the military is illegal and will result in a court marshal.

OOC: Spyder, they can do whatever they want. This is Area00, not the military. They're mercenaries. ^_^

IC:
"What the hell?" Olga exclaimed as she saw a F-22 pull up and away. "Get on him! Zach, we'll go with Talietzin. The two of you escort this... 'Foxboy' back to base. Now!"

"Let's move!" Talitezin shouted as he followed the F-22.

"Unknown aircraft, you have entered restricted airspace. State your intentions or leave immediately, or we will terminate you," Zachary said over the radio.

"Hey, come on, can't a guy have some fun?" came the reply.

"Fun? If this is your idea of fun, I suggest you participate in an airshow instead. Leave immediately," Zachary commanded as they pursued the F-22 together. "You have ten seconds to change your heading and leave this area."

SX lit up his radio again. "When we land, I would like to speak to someone of authority. Okay?"

"K. Ill disappear.", The pilot responded. He flipped the switch activating the stealth. The plane vanished from radar and now became very hard to spot.

"Betcha cant find me", He joked in a retarded voice.

The pilot flipped another switch sending out false radar , missile, and aircraft threats which would usually spread all over the pilots radar grid.

This was psychological operations favorite trick.

"General to Condor...this is The General...come in!"

Ivan looked over at the radio on his desk. He put his book down and stood up, stepping across the room and picking up the microphone. "Condor." he replied curtly.

"Condor I've been trying to get in touch with Eagle for some time now! I need you three for a mission, but he won't respond. Go tell him he'll be in trouble if this happens again, and get your three butts up to command right now!"

"Okay." replied Ivan, replacing the mic and stepping out of the room. He moved over to Tyree's door and knocked on it loudly.

He waited a moment, but there was no answer. Ivan sighed. So that was why Ty wasn't answering his radio...he wasn't in his room.

He knew where he'd be. It wasn't often, but it wasn't the first time either. He strode over to Nikki's door and knocked again.

There was a noise of movement inside, then the door opened slightly and Tyree poked his head through the gap. "Hey Beef, what's up?"

"The General has a mission for us." replied the Russian in his deep voice. "He wants us up in command ten minutes ago."

Tyree made a face. "Always at the worst times..." he muttered. "Okay you go ahead, we'll be there shortly."

EDIT:
Very well; you should've made that clearer. And since when did you bring along your E-767 to screw up our radar? You only have your F-22, don't you? O_o

And yes, I've watched Discovery Channel and things like this, where they speak of the plane being able to project what's on the other side of it. You should've made it clearer, dude. All's good now. =)

I'll assume the false radar signals have not been made, because your E-767 is absent.

IC:
Talietzin looked around. The damned plane seemed to disappear into thin air, its pilot's taunting voice repeatedly saying things he didn't understand.

"Nikita," he heard Zach say.

"Yeah?"

"He didn't disappear. There's no signal, because it's a stealth aircraft that has the radar cross-section of a pigeon," Zach said in one of the Russian dialects to ensure that even if the other pilot understood Russian, he would be unable to understand what he said. "If you can't see him, the radar can be adjusted to detect a plane with that RCS, but it'll be one hell of a job looking for him through all those birds' signals. The last I remember, they were developing technology to make that plane as invisible as can be, by projecting on its surfaces what is on the other side of it. Just look harder, because it's not perfected yet. You can still see some distortion, so look carefully."

"All right. Let's follow the signal. It's really faint, but we'll have to make do with it," Olga instructed. "Remember, we move together."

"Affirmative," confirmed Talietzin and Zach.

"Taiga Squadron, this is Wolfpack Squadron leader. We overheard everything you said. We'll take care of him. Return to base; BOSS wants to see you," the radio suddenly announced.

"What? BOSS is back?" enquired Olga.

"Yeah. Hurry back home," the Wolfpack Squadron leader answered. "BOSS is waiting for you in the command room."

"All right! Taiga Squadron, you heard the man. Break attack and RTB."

"Confirmed. RTB." As the three Su-35s banked away, four MiG-1.44s flew past them, looking for the seemingly invisible Raptor.

BOSS. He was back. Where had he been? Talietzin shook his head, remembering when BOSS had left. He was their Commanding Officer, and had supposedly gone missing, as they were told by notices on the notice board.

"Tower, this is Taiga One; we're on approach."

"Tower to Taiga One. Confirmed. BOSS is waiting for you."

"Affirmative."

OOC, EDIT:
That all right?

ooc:Pm sent and it has been edited to an extent.

(EDIT: YAY I CORRECTED VIC ON SOMETHING.)

SX hopped out of his plane, and was surroundeed by security almost immediately. "What, I get a welcoming party? ...Oh right, the gun." SX pulled his Desert Eagle .50 out of the holster and held it by the barrel, ejecting the cartridge, ejecting the magazine, and surrendered it to a guard. "Relax, it's all I carry on me. I'm not here to cause trouble....Well, not to cause trouble for YOU guys anyway...In any case, I want that .50 BACK. I love that thing..."

The CO of the Raptor Wing finally found the e-mail. HE opened it, and nearly broke the computer monitor in frustration.

Dear CO of the Raptor Wing,

If you haven't noticed, the Su-35 is out of the hangar. I quit. I'm sick of the [EXPLICIT SENTENCES REMOVED]...So in conclusion; Screw you. You'll find me somewhere else. Try the Sky Warriors first. It's the first place I'm looking for employment in. I hear they get great perks.

Sincerely,
-Foxboy One

P.S. there is a bomb in the hangar. Good luck finding it. Don't worry, the timer is set for 24hrs after opening this email...

(OOC: for the sakes of continuity we'll assume that The General got SX's message before calling the rest of Raptor Wing in.)

Tyree and Nikki rushed through the door of Control, stopping short as they came face to face with the cold eyes of The General. "You're late again." he growled quietly.

"Fashionably late as always!" quipped Tyree as he made his way to his seat. The General just stared at him, obviously not amused. Ivan was already sat at the table, and he raised an eyebrow at Tyree as he sat down.

"We have a new scenario for you." started the General, reaching over the 3D map on the table and placing a small model plane in the area marked [SKY WARRIORS]. "A rouge wingman from our own wing has turned trator and joined the enemy. Your orders are to launch a pre-emptive strike against the enemy base and disable them...if possible eliminating the trator in the process." He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "Foxboy One will be taking the part of the trator. It's very possible you may have to engage him in combat, so be prepared. We've also equipped you with much heavier ordinance than the last mission, especially Condor."

"Woah woah wait a minute General," cut in Tyree, "we'll be fighting against Foxboy with live weapons?"

"That is part of the test." replied The General coldly. "We have installed a new type of armour in the cocpit of his plane. No matter what he's hit with, he himself will be uninjured."

Tyree glanced at the other two, then shook his head slowly. "I'm not keen on this General...it sounds too dangerous..."

"It's in your contract, Eagle!" retorted The General menicingly. "You will fulfil the mission, understood?"

Tyree sighed. "Alright." he replied quietly. "But if anything goes wrong you aren't pinning it on us!"

The General simply turned and moved over to a large noticeboard on the wall, picking some papers off it and beginning to scan through them. "Further instructions will be relayed to you in the air. Dismissed."

SX snickered slightly. "So, you are the CO of this fine wing, correct?" "Yes, I am." "Good. I want to make a deal. I want to join your wing. I heard this wing don't SUCK. Also, I have two gifts..." SX pulld out a small radio. "First off, there is a bug in the General's 'War Room' at th eRaptor Wing's main base. Apparently they're going to attack here. ...They're lifting off. Secondly, there is a bomb in their hangar. I said that it has a twentyfour hour fuse...but it's got a twenty four MINUTE fuse...It's on the underwing of the plane of the highest-'scoring' pilot in the wing. ...Well that was me...but since I don't intend to go back...Anyways. I haven't introduced myself. I am Foxboy One. 'Names SX. I was the generally quiet type at the base. Noone really interested me there. I have small files on most everyone there for your intel team. That's gift Two...Now, on yor permission, I would like to take off immediately with XMAA-type missiles from your storage. I have enough money to replace them. I'd like to have one last chance to say '[EXPLETIVE DELETED] off' to my old wing..."

"All right. The money will not be neccesary. Take as much ammo as you need. And..." Just as he spoke, three powerful consecutive knocks were heard on his door. "Enter."

The five Taigas filed in, much to BOSS's delight.

"You're back for good, right, BOSS?"

"Yes. It's been a long time, and there's a long story behind it, but I need you to get your weary bottoms back in the air," BOSS said in fluent, deeply accented Russian. "And this... Foxboy One is going to join you, Taigas, from this day forth." Several tense moments passed, and Olga nodded at last. "Go, now. You will be encountering the same three hostiles that you once did previously, and perhaps more if the 18th Bomber Wing and their sister wing attack."

"Yes, Sir. Taigas, move!" ordered Olga. They bolted down the corridors, SX not far behind.

Meanwhile...

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Confirmed. The time to strike is now."

"Acknowledged. Quiver to Crossbow. Commence attack!"

"Affirmative, Quiver. Crossbow to Arrow. Advance!"

Later...

"What the hell... I've got a whole damned bomber fleet on radar!" exclaimed Zach.

"A what?!" Olga shouted. "That can't be!"

"Look at that! The insignia on their plane!" Talietzin yelled as he looked closely. A large "18" was painted in striking, bright crimson, a large flame in the background - the insignia of the 18th Bomber Wing. "It's the 18th Bomber Wing!"

"Intercept immediately! Destroy all bombers!" Olga instructed, selecting her weapons. "I've got a good lock; firing!"

Four of her long-range missiles fell from the hardpoints and ignited their rockets, blazing forth at blinding speed. Seconds later, four bombers were downed, large metallic fireballs in the evening sky.

"Okay, I think they spotted us!" Zach announced as four F-15s broke formation and came after them. "Damn it all!"

"Okay. Break formation; go in pairs. No single ship attacks."

"Confirmed. Taiga Three, breaking with Taiga Two."

"Taiga Four, breaking with... Foxboy One."

"Taiga Five, breaking with Taiga Leader."

"This is turning out to be one hell of a day..." mumbled Talietzin as Zach banked right with him. "I sure hope we don't encounter those three yet..."

"Don't get your hopes up, Nikita. I've got three new contacts on radar, and they don't look one bit friendly."

Talietzin cursed and swore mentally, having reached the very limit of his patience. Two attacks in one day by the same group, and another assault by the 18th Bomber Wing. How much more were they going to throw at him?

"This is Foxboy One. The new contacts are going to target me first, according to what the bug's saying...Taiga Four, should we break and intercept?" "Negative. The bombers pose the biggest threat." "...Roger. Foxboy One out." SX sighed into the oxygen mask as he changed frequency. "This is Foxboy One to Eagle and group. If you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a war here. And if you're stupid and blind enough to believe the armor lie, then you've changed a lot since I left. Missed me that much, eh? If you fire, I WILL return fire. Also, Eagle, eject immediately. There is a bomb on your aircraft." SX turned to stay with his new wingman. "Screw the General, and what he told you: If you enage, we WILL return fire. Foxboy One out."

The f22 pilot stayed low to the ground in area 00. He glanced up looking for the other planes that had previously engaged him. He flicked a red cover open on the Joystick and pressed the button.

Several clicks resounded from a high speed shutter as he blasted over several different base locations. The reconassance flight was successful. The fuel tank started looking low. The pilot started to leave area 00 and head for the border to refuel.

"What the hey???"

Tyree was looking down at his radar then up out the window in turn. "Anyone else getting any of this?"

"It seems The General's scenarios are getting more complex." muttered Ivan, narrowing his eyes.

"Kestrel to Eagle, I have eyes on for Foxboy One...he's in formation with some of those other fighters." Nikki adjusted her controls. "What's the word sir?"

For a moment Tyree was stumped...what on Earth should they do???

Then the message came through the comm: "This is Foxboy One to Eagle and group. If you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a war here. And if you're stupid and blind enough to believe the armor lie, then you've changed a lot since I left. Missed me that much, eh? If you fire, I WILL return fire. Also, Eagle, eject immediately. There is a bomb on your aircraft. Screw the General, and what he told you: If you enage, we WILL return fire. Foxboy One out."

Nikki frowned. "Is it me or is Foxboy really getting into character here?"

"Something's not right..." muttered Tyree, "but until we know what it is, we're stuck. We just have to continue with our orders. Raptor Wing, prepare to attack."

"Which ones?" muttered Nikki wryly.

"The Wing Foxboy is in. I'll go after him...Kestrel cover me."

He fingered the thruster, blasting forward, while Nikki dropped in behind him. The two planes went into a roll, looking almost like they were out of control, throwing off any missile locks that caught them.

The two planes suddenly evend out and swooped round, tagging onto Foxboy One's tail and the pilot that was with him.

"Eagle to Kestrel, devide and engage, devide and engage!" The two targets split, trying to throw off the tails, and Tyree took off after Foxboy One's fighter. "Comeon wise guy...let's see what you got!"

SX started to loop and dive, cutting a crazy path through the sky as he tried to throw Tyree off. Thanks to Tyree's stunt pilot training he could stay with SX, but he couldn't get a missile lock long enough to hit him! "Darn, you're good!" he muttered.

"Condor to Eagle...maybe there was more truth in SX's story than we thought...there's something under your wing!"

Tyree started in supprise. "What?"

"I saw it as you flew past." continued Ivan. "It looks like some kind of explosive charge."

Tyree crained his neck to see, but from this angle he couldn't. "What the HEY is going on here???" he shouted.

Nikki's voice cut in on the radio, sounding anxious. "Ty get out of there! Eject!"

Tyree put his plane into a steep dive, trying to get out of the battle before he ejected. "I'm gonna have something to say to The General about this!" he muttered angrily. "Eagle...ejecting!"

There was a burst of fire and suddenly he was floating in mid air, watching his plane drop out of the sky from some distance. Looking up, he was the rest of the planes, including the other wing that he didn't recognise, coming together in a massive dogfight.

This was way too realistic!

His parachute opened and he dropped to the rugged, mountainus ground. Well at least he was alive!

The air shook with thunder as an explosion rocked the valley high overhead. His plane! It hadn't been shot or hit the floor or anything...it HAD been a bomb! He stared up at the massive fireball hanging in the air, streamers of smoke coming off it and steadily dropping out of the sky...

and suddenly...he felt very alone...

Another Tu-160, otherwise known as the White Swan, went down in flames as Talietzin fired an R-60. It slammed right into the bomber's tail as he a single Kh-55 dropped from its weapon bay. Its rocket ignited, and it blazed through the sky down towards the base.

"Damn it! The missile hit the base!" exclaimed Talietzin as he turned, Zach close behind him.

"Don't worry. The damage isn't too severe. It's a good thing they hit the waste dump instead of the ammo dump," Zachary said, a grin forming on his face.

"True."

"F-15 on my six. Clear it for me!"

"Affirmative!" Talietzin replied, flying level for a few moments. He then proceeded to do the most unexpected thing in this dogfight - he pulled a Cobra! His Su-35 instantly snapped its nose upwards while cutting its engines, and the two planes passed below him. He advanced the throttle, and the instability of his plane led it to pitch downwards by itself to recover from the Cobra. When he came back down, he was in perfect firing position. "See you in hell!"

One of his R-60s blasted off its position on the wingtip, and slammed into the tail of the F-15. Its pilot ejected soon after, floating to the earth just above the flaming wreck that was his plane.

"What was that?" Zach asked in English as a second great explosion filled his vision with orange.

"That was my bomb," replied SX.

"Your WHAT?"

"No time to explain. Their Tu-22M, piloted by their best bomber pilot is heading for the base. Take him out!"

"Acknowledged! Moving to intercept!"

"Is it me or is Foxboy really getting into character here?" - LOL.

(IC)
"Foxboy One to Base. Scramble the SAR birds. There's a pilot around here, about to land. Also, I'd like to speak to him myself, if that isn't against policy for POWs." SX sighed again. So he wasn't technically a POW. Close enough. "Foxboy One to Kestrel. If I wasn't lying about the bomb, do you think I'm lying about the General? Break and RTB. We've got more important things to do than to screw around with you." SX spoke again, forgetting to change frequency. "Taiga Four, I'm breaking off to attack a Tu-22M that's trying to sneak past us to the so- Damnit, stupid radio..."

"Taiga Four, I'm breaking. There's a second Tu-22M trying to sneak around us to the south!"

Nikki watched in horror as Tyree ejected and his plane exploded. Fortunately he made it down to the ground okay.

Foxboy was right, something was SERIOUSLY wrong here, but surely The General wasn't the only one involved??? How had SX known about the bomb on Tyree's plane...unless...?

Her blood boiled. "Kestrel to Condor, you try and stay out of trouble and just do what you can. There's someone here who needs teaching a lesson!"

Ivan looked across at Nikki's plane. "Kestrel don't go AWOL here...we have to stay in formation and try to..." Her radio had cut off...she couldn't, or wouldn't, hear him.

Nikki's yellow eyes narrowed. "Kestrel to Foxboy One...you were behind that bomb, weren't you!"

"I said leave here if you value your life Kestrel."

"Like hell I will! You tried to kill Eagle! You're gonna pay for that!"

Nikki banked round at high speed and began flying after the squadren, focusing in on SX's plane. Her instrumentation bleeped to show a missile lock.

"Here's what you deserve!" She pressed the fire button...

============================================================

Tyree was staring up at the planes above him, trying to work out what was going on, but from this distance, it was impossible to see. He gritted his teeth and ran across the barren rocks, looking for some kind of cover.

No doubt the other pilots would have seen him drop and would have informed their base. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking for him.

First he needed to get his bearings. He reached into one of the many pockets of his flight suit, pulling out a small GPS system. He needed a direction to travel to escape...

SX looked at his ECM panel. "Damnit...Chaff! Flares! i thought I had a ECM pod on this bird! ...Oh, I do. ...Flare jammed? Ah DAMNIT! Foxboy one to Kestrel. Duh I was behind the bomb. If I intended to kill him I would not have told you about it. Jeez, get over it! The general lied to you. So what." SX pulled his plane around and returned fire. (By the way, Vic, streamed that .mov of the Su-35's Cobra. Kickass.) "Like I said. Leave. We've got better things to do...Taiga Four, get that damn bomber! Do I have to do everything?!"

The f-22 pulled just below a large Airforce strato tanker outside the border of area 00. The hose came down and made contact with the interceptor. The pilot watched as the fuel gauge slowly started to fill. He spotted a e8c Joint star and E3a awac flying next to the strato tanker.

Avoice came over the radio "Have you dealt with the mercs yet and figured out where they are getting their arsenal?"

"Negative Sir. I had to evade several aircraft. so far several migs and f15s. Ill keep you updated with more intel as it comes. My weapons cash is still full.", The f22 pilot responded

With that the pilot disconnected from the strato tanker and rolled. He then broke right back over toward the border.

"Relax, damn it!" yelled Taiga Four, as well as adding several curses in Russian. Two R-60s launched from his wingtips, and they slammed into the last Tu-160 moments later, producing a fireball larger than he thought was possible.

"Last one down! Remaining F-15s bugging out!" announced Zach as he brought his plane straight and level.

The radio crackled to life. "All fighters, return to base immediately! Report to the briefing room upon return!" BOSS ordered. "Do not engage any remaining hostiles! This is an order!"

"What? What for?" asked Talietzin, his expression immediately changing.

"I'll tell you everything later! Just hurry back to base!"

"Acknowledged, Sir. Disengaging," replied Olga. "All Taigas, land immediately!"

"Trying to run away, coward?"

"Condor to Kestrel...leave it! We can deal with SX later, right now we have to worry about Ty!"

Nikki watched as the planes dissapeared into the valleys of Area 00, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "You're right. Also, what's going on with The General???"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Something here is wrong." Ivan swung his plane round, setting off back to base. "There's an abandoned airfield to the north. I recommend you land there and try to find Ty. I'll go back and take The General on, find out what's going on here."

Nikki looked across at Ivan's plane, a weak smile on her face. The big burly Russion was so quiet that often he seemed uncaring and stoic, but he did have a heart. He knew how Nikki would be feeling at that point!

"Thanks Condor." she murmured quietly. "Kestrel breaking formation."

The Taigas entered the briefing room, which was packed with all the active combat personnel on the base.

"You're just in time. The briefing starts now," BOSS said as the Taigas took their seats. He pulled down the screen, and pressed a button on a remote control, turning the projector on. "First, the less important issue. We have confirmation of a downed pilot in the mountains near this base. Several patrols have been dispatched to find and capture the pilot. If you see the pilot on your way out of here, report his location. Now, for the next issue, which is of utmost importance..."

Talietzin's right eyebrow shot up and the muscles below his left eyebrow crunched together with the muscles on the right as BOSS pulled out an extendable, thin rod with which he pointed at a map. All eyes turned to face the location BOSS was pointing at, which was labelled in crimson: "GERMANY".

"As we speak, tank divisions are rolling into Berlin. A coup d'etat has taken place, and Germany has a new ruler. And apparently, he wants to start a Fourth Reich. He's using his private army, secretly created using factories recently discovered in the Urals. God knows how long he's been using these factories. Our best guess is non-stop production for over a decade; his army's size rivals that of the other European countries' armies... With the exception of our country, Russia, of course." BOSS punched a few keys on the computer, and the screen zoomed in on Berlin. A live feed from their KeyHole satellite showed hundreds of vehicles and thousands of soldiers marching into Berlin, and what was the strangest was that the people were waving at the troops ecstatically. "Now, we've received offers from all around the world. Countries such as the United States, Britain, Russia and even Poland want to pay us to suppress any possible war, but it is impossible. It has already begun. They are marching westwards to France, and eastwards toward Russia."

Boss pressed a few more keys, and the satellite zoomed in on the Ukranian border.

"Half an hour ago, we received information stating that three German tank divisions were stationed at the border along with artillery and troops. He obviously had a lot of preparations done. Five minutes ago, more reports were received, this time saying that the Ukraine was under heavy attack." As BOSS said this, he pointed to the armoured columns making their way through the Ukraine with minimal resistance. "This is what's happening right now. Our job is to bide our time until Russian borders have been assaulted. Once that happens, the Second Sky Warrior Division will take off and stall the assault while Russia sends its troops down. This WILL result in a full-blown war, and we are taking part in it."

Talietzin turned to SX, wondering what the fox was going to say. Then again, he couldn't understand a word of English, and hoped sincerely that SX could speak Russian. His thoughts then drifted to the pilots he'd fought today - would they fight with the Sky Warriors?

SX sighed, and hoped he could remember his language courses way back from when he was still in the now-long-gone G.U.N...He started speaking fluent Russian. "So when do we head out? Also, I speak Englis, Russian, German, Spanish, and Italian. Will that help?" SX snickered and wondered if they spoke English, and spoke in English. "great, I'm with a bunch of Commies...Laugh if you understand me."

The f22 broke into area 00. It started to receive a transmission from the e8a joint star.

"You have got to be kidding me.", The pilot thought to himself. He changed his barring and came in to land at a base within area 00.

"This is Radar Love with the united states airforce requesting permission to land. I am friendly.", the pilot spoke into the radio.

He circled around the skywarriors base awaiting instruction or permission to land.

"This is Tower. Roger. You are cleared to land. Ground crews will guide you to the Public Use plane shelters," the tower personnel said in English, his Russian accent largely absent. "You will be escorted by security officers to BOSS immediately after you have left your plane."

"Acknowledged. Coming in for landing!" exclaimed the F-22's pilot as he lowered his speed and his landing gear.

"Affirmative. We have visual confirmation."

Meanwhile, near the Russian border...

The captain looked from his position atop a hill as the tanks and motorised rifle corps charged through the area. Sixty tanks and more than half a thousand troops, all directly under his command. This was a mere fraction of the force that was going to be sent in later!

"Give the order. Break through the Russian border at maximum speed! Stop at nothing!" he shouted into his radio to his assistant in the lead tank. "Our tactics and manoeuvres will make the Hitlerite blitzkriegs seem like a peasant's horse-drawn cart!"

"But Sir, He has not given us the command!"

"I will take full responsibility for the action! Now move! Go! We must strike while the Russians lie dormant!"

Back at the Sky Warriors' base...
Zachary laughed out loud upon hearing SX. "Welcome to the Sky Warriors," he replied in English. "Nikita doesn't understand a word you're saying, though."

Talietzin sighed and slumped in his chair as the two continued conversing in English, a language he failed to understand. In fact, he could only speak Russian! He knew no other languages apart from Russian dialects!

BOSS answered his mobile phone, which had been ringing for several moments. "What? Is this true?!" he exclaimed. Clearly, something shocking had transpired! He turned to the computer and changed the focus of the satellite on the Russian border to the west. It was true! Tanks and other vehicles were making their way through the borders, crushing villages and towns on their way through. "All right, then. Dispatch the Second Division immediately! They must stall the invasion!" He then turned to everyone in the briefing room. "As you can see, a battle group has snuck past our sentries and burst through the border. I want all pilots on this base to immediately head for the Second Division's base near the border! Go, now!"