Free Falling

Chapter 9: Bird Strike

The last few days of training had been incredibly productive now that everyone was getting along and communicating in the air. No one had run the course perfectly yet, but there was significant improvement to be sure. Just when things were getting comfortable though, they just had to be thrown a curveball. As soon as the aviators walked in for the morning briefing to find Warlock and Cyclone at the podium, they knew something was wrong. Annabelle and Rooster shared a nervous look as they sat in their seats, waiting for the briefing to begin. 

"Good morning. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in 10 days' time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation." One week? That meant they only had one week left instead of two to perfect the mission parameters. They hadn't even started phase two yet. Clearly everyone else was having the same thoughts, as Annabelle noticed Bob and Phoenix share a distressed glance to one another, as well as Payback and Fanboy. Rooster was the first to speak up. 

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown the low-level course." 

"Nevertheless, you've been ordered to move on. Captain."  

Annabelle had hoped that Maverick might lighten the mood with a more positive approach to phase two, but they were having no such luck today. The more and more Maverick discussed the specifics of what phase two would require, the more somber everyone in the room seemed to become. 

Phase two required a steep inverted incline into the valley immediately followed by a drop of the laser guided bomb into a three meter wide impact point by the leading team.  The secondary team then needed to drop a second bomb to deliver the kill shot. While these two feats would both be miracles if completed properly, that wasn't even the most difficult part. The flight out of the valley required a steep, high gravity climb out to avoid hitting the mountain. The danger of succumbing to the pressure and going into g-lock was incredibly high and wasn't something that could be entirely trained out of a pilot from experiencing. Then, assuming everyone does make it out of 'Coffin Corner' alive, multiple SAM units would immediately lock onto all targets coming over the ridgeline, making it a dogfight all the way home. This was all best case scenario. The odds got even worse when one considered the possibility of enemy aircraft moving to intercept before all the pilots could get out of the area and off all radar systems. When Maverick had finally finished relaying all the details for the mission, the room remained deadly silent. Natasha was the only one brave enough to ask what they were all thinking. 

"Sir, is this even achievable?"

"The answer to that question will come down to the pilot in the box."  

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With time now pressed against them more than ever, training on phase two started immediately. Day one did not go well. No one had yet to accurately drop bombs on the target, and the high g-climb out of the valley was taking its toll on everyone physically. The only good thing to come of this was that everyone was really starting to nail down the phase one aspect of the mission. By day two, everyone was already completely exhausted physically and mentally. Annabelle lay sprawled across the couch in the lounge area, having just completed her first run of the day. Her head laid a top Bob's leg as he softly stroked her hair away from her face. Her run had not gone ideally. They were still six seconds late to the target, then proceeded to miss both bomb drops on the target. They had made it over what would be Coffin Corner, but she found her vision going blurry about halfway up the slope, something that worried her if she couldn't improve that g-climb before the day of the mission. Waiting for Maverick to announce the next aviators up for the drill, everyone was enjoying the calm and quiet that the lounge brought these days. Turns out week one had been a breeze. No one was enjoying themselves now.