The Fields of Fire

Chapter 1: Tau Adana

As Tau stared out of the window of her A-21 Thunder fighter, she could only think of one thing; Fire.

There were certain things the air academy prepared you for. Dog Fight tactics, sure. Close air support against entrenched targets, absolutely. Bomber escort under fire, without question. But the one thing they couldn't prepare you for, the one thing that no one could ever teach you, is what to do when your aircraft is burning. It was by far Tau's greatest fear, the idea that she would soon become a victim of Dragon's breath, that one of the great flying beasts from the Atherian Military would sweep down from the skies and wrap her tiny A-21 Thunder in an envelope of flame. Nothing scared her more than Dragons, and their horrifying fire. She imagined her screams over the radio as smoke filled her cockpit and as the aluminum frame of her aircraft melted into oblivion.

Her fear enraged her. The Atherians had started this war; they started it by burning thousands of people alive with dragon fire. She couldn't imagine a more horrible fate, Tau was a combat pilot, this is what she signed up for. But those people, back in Arland, the ones who burned first, they didn't ask for what happened.

She looked to her left and saw the dim glow of the cockpit of her wing leader, Eagle 1. Their Air Wing designation was the "Screaming Eagles". They got their name because their A-21s made high pitched whistling sounds once they opened up there extra air intake valves. They were on a stealth mission so her valves were closed. There were no screams coming from her aircraft, just the dull hum of the propeller.

Eagle 1 called out over the radio, "Fuel checks!"

"Eagle 2, 62% full"

"Eagle 3, 58%"

"Eagle 4, 47%"

"Eagle 5," Tau spoke into the radio, "63%"

"Eagle 6, 59%"

"Eagle 7, 62%"

Then She heard eagle one come back on the radio, "Eagle 4, why is your fuel so low?"

Eagle 4 responded, "Must be a leak," then there was a deep breath over the radio, "It's not like it matters anyway. Don't need fuel if there won't be a return journey."

"Can it Eagle 4." Eagle 1 responded sternly.

Tau knew the truth, Eagle 4 was right. This was most likely a one way flight. Their target would be hardened, and though the Athenians wouldn't see them coming, she doubted they'd have any trouble taking them out after the bombs were dropped. They weren't coming back, which sort of broke her heart in a way, because she wanted to live. She thought about all the things she still wanted to do, all the things she left unsaid. Her eyes drifted from her fuel gauge to the polaroid she had taped over her fluid meter. It was a night mission, and they had their cockpit lights dimmed as to maintain a degree of stealth, but she could still barely make out the smiling figure of Michael, chemically etched into a polaroid. Standing next to him was Tau herself. Both of them were smiling, their hands gripping each other tightly. She let a smile creep across her face before stifling it. Just one more thing I won't be coming home to, She thought.

Her radio roared to life once more, this time she could barely hear the sound of Eagle One's voice over the roaring static of the Aetherian jammers, "Approaching the rendezvous."

It was pitch black, all she could see were her fellow wingmates and the unending plain of clouds which they flew above. But ahead of her she could see the silhouette of a massive airship, codenamed Mother Ship 1. The massive blimp was twice the size of a battleship, and it absolutely dwarfed her tiny A-21. Tau felt a small bit of confidence creep back into her mind, If this is what we've got to back us up, then maybe we have a shot at this.