Blue Sapphire | Bob Floyd

Chapter six

"Time is your greatest enemy"

Four planes flying at a low altitude at the bottom of a canyon. Said canyon is protected by dozens of lethal SAMs and we need to cross it to reach a target located between two mountains. All of this in less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds. That's our mission.

Maximum altitude of a hundred feet with a flying speed of 660 knots. Minimum. Said like that, this thing sounds impossible. But that's exactly what we must do. We have three weeks to learn how to do that, or we're dead.

"For the next weeks, you will fly around as your navigation system simulates the canyon. Maximum altitude of 300 feet for the simulation. The faster you navigate through it, the harder it will be to stay under the radar of the enemy's SAMs. The tighter the turns, the more intense the force of gravity will affect your body.

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None of us had succeeded yet. We've been trying for 3 days. We did every mistake. We flew too fast resulting in hitting the side of the fictional canyon. We flew too slow resulting in a dogfight against fifth generations of fighters. We flew too high and triggered the SAMs.... We can barely work as a team and communicate properly. Nothing is going well. And Maverick doesn't hesitate to remind us as we review all our failures.

"Why are they dead?" Maverick asks. Natasha instantly answers him. "We broke the three hundred-foot selling and the SAMs took us out".

But Maverick interrupts her and turns toward Coyote "No. Why are they dead?"

"I slowed down and I didn't give her a warning. It's my fault." We can hear the guilt in Coyote's voice as he talks. In the context of the mission, his teammates would be dead, and he knows that.

"Is there a reason why you didn't communicate with your team? What will their family accept at their funeral?" Our instructor continues, not allowing the pilot to defend himself.

'What will their family accept at their funeral?'

This question reminds us of the danger of this mission that we must complete. Right now, it's only an exercise, we are not in danger. But six of us will be risking our lives in two weeks. In the best-case scenario, all of us make it home. In the worst-case scenario, none of us do. We can't allow ourselves to fail. A mistake from someone doesn't only put this person in danger, but also all of their teammates.

The thing that Hangman did was not better than Coyote for this exact reason. He is a selfish pilot who refuses to work as a team.

"I flew as fast as I could. Kinda like my ass depended on it." The blonde answers when Maverick asks him to explain the failure of his team.

"And you've put your whole team in danger and your wingman is dead" Rooster inserts himself in the conversation. Hangman's answer was nothing less than arrogant: "They couldn't keep up".

"Why is your team dead, Sapphire?" Maverick finally turns in my direction.

I made the course with Yale and Harvard as my wingmen. I flew too fast and lost the two men in the distance behind me. When they told me they couldn't go any faster than their current speed, I slowed down. But I slowed down too much. The duo came in my direction way too fast, and I had to gain altitude to avoid a crash.

"Lack of communication. Lack of consensus on the speed of approach, and I had to break the ceiling to avoid a collision. Then a lovely meeting between me and enemy's SAMs."

He looks satisfied by my answer as he turns around to ask Rooster the same question he asked all of us. 'Why are you dead?'

"Sir, he is the only one who made it to the target" Natasha tries to defend him.