Skies of Eternity

Prologue

Hachi 1! Bandit on your six! Fox 3! Fox 3!

Hachi 1 is hit! I repeat, Hachi 1 is hit!

I can't hear a thing. Nothing except the sound of the wind clipping against the edge of the torn wing of my aircraft. The once blue skies suddenly turned red and black, with flickering lights of explosions. Everything is spinning rapidly and I can't tell whether I'm climbing up or falling down as the light in my cockpit slowly faded and suddenly... Silence.

"Hey, you ready for the flight?" A young woman asked as I came out of my quarters. I nodded and closed up my flight suit. "I'll see you in the runway." I smiled, picking up the coat I needed to wear to handle the extreme gravity up in the sky.

She quickly ran down the hallway and alerted the other members of the crew to suit up for the mission. This was just like any ordinary day here in the airbase. Nothing new, nothing really special. Maybe the fact that I suddenly became one of the well-known pilots, but other than that, it was all really just one unfortunate day.

The other men and women assigned to this mission quickly suited up and headed for the opposite end of the halls, outside the barracks. However, I stayed. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a cold chill run up my spine as I realized the same danger I was in every flight. Every mission, every sortie that I was tasked to be in. Marianne's always been reminding me to stay safe despite knowing the risks. I wouldn't want to fail her either. As of now, nothing's probably going to change the fact that I might risk my life again in the same blue skies.

"Alright men, you know the drill. Here's your briefing." A tall man stood at the front of the small room with around ten to fifteen people, holding a stick as the projector lit up with the information we needed for this mission.

"It's time that we took back the country from its invaders. Somehow with all the military technology available to us, the enemy has still been able to excel and find a way around it, perhaps a private source of advanced military parts for their aircraft." The man pulled out a series of pictures, shots of what seemed to be a strange, four-winged jet.

"This here, from what our men have managed to dig out, seems to be a rather unusual plane in the enemy's side. No other intel has been acquired asides these pictures, but I think you'll be able to figure this one out." He slid the projection across the room, putting the images on the left wall. Some of the men studied the pictures as they went, but I listened carefully to what he was about to say next.

"We've found out that this new aircraft is seemingly capable of extremely high maneuvers and uses anti-radar tech, meaning that it has the same capabilities as the F/A-22 Raptor and the F-35A." The man continued, "However, with our newest tech that arrived a few months ago, and that our Ace pilot has been training to use it, I think we would have a fighting chance at this last fight. As far as I'm concerned, I put my trust in you. You will be positioned at the west side of Japan, entering it from where they least expect you to enter. Keep in formation, instantly break at the sight of unknown weaponry. If not able to, then I suggest try to destroy said weaponry at all costs. We must take back Japan." The man said firmly.

"May you soar high." The man shouted, the rest of the group-including me, stood up.

"May your flight be long." We responded in unison.

We headed out the briefing room and immediately went to our hangars, as per usual I was the last to take off.

I sat down in my cockpit as I watched the ballistic glass slide down, locking me inside, airtight. I put my helmet on and put the mask over my face.

"This is home base to Hachi 1, comms check."

"Hearing you loud and clear." I replied as my plane was slowly pulled out on the runway.

"Please prepare aircraft for pre-flight checking."

I nodded at the men outside the plane as I did the usual checklist.

"Controls, check. Flaps, check. Ailerons, check. Spoilerons, check. HUD is fine, weapons hot." I said as I turned on comms. 

"Hachi 1 your callsign will be "Yellowjacket." The static of the radio blurted out, breaking the silence in my seat.

"Route is to head for Japan, AWACS Athena."

"Green light!" The man outside the plane shouted as he and other crewmembers left the runway.

"Hachi 1 you are cleared for take off."

The loud sound of my afterburners shook the ground as the plane moved steadily. 

The plane lifted up, instanly gaining altitude.

"Hachi 1, altitude restrictions cancelled. Continue with the mission, godspeed."

I instanly jolted the plane upwards, and within a few minutes I was in radar range of my squadron.

"Hachi 1 this is AWACS Athena, do  you copy?" The AWACS, or should I say, the Airborne Warning And Control System. I don't know, AWACS just sounds a lot better.

"Read you loud and clear, coming up from behind, Angel 3."

"That's, three-thousand meters, right?" One of the female pilots asked. One of the others laughed and replied, "You still can't remember the lingo, Rei?"

"Well you can't blame me for being forgetful, Saya." She replied, seemingly in an annoyed tone.

"Stop with your blabbering, focus on the mission." One of the men stopped the arguement.

"Oh, please. I bet I can shoot down more fighters than you ever would." One of the women retorted.

"Hachi Squadron, you will be alongside Orion Squadron on this mission, luckily for us they've also sent their aces." The operator replied.

"Good to be flying with you on this sortie, Hachi Squadron." One of the pilots connected with the comms, but the others seemed to sound surprised.

"I-Is that who I think it is?" A voice said.

"It is, that's Hachi 1, the infamous Yellowjacket."

"It's an honor to be flying with Japan's top ace. My son is a big fan of yours." Another pilot chimed in.

"The pleasure is all mine." I replied, "Hopefully after this sortie, all of us would be able to come home." I added. I just want to end all of this, right here. 

"Let's take back our home."

"Right!"

Maybe the path I chose isn't all that bad.