Mobius Squadron: Shattered Skies

Chapter 2: Acclimitisation

Yellow 13

San Salvacion was a quiet city. The people went about their business without much concern for others around them. That's what 13 saw as he drove a jeep through the city towards his new airfield. Beside him sat his wingman Yellow 4. She too was observing the surroundings. The town had been occupied by Erusea pretty early on in the war. It had had no air force presence until Yellow Squadron arrived. Slowly turning a corner, 13 finally saw their new base. It was a highway on the outskirts of the town. It hadn't been finished before the war broke out and had an unfinished tunnel at one end. Inside there were the squadron's Su-37s in their unique livery. The ground crew were already setting up when 13 and 4 arrived. 13 hopped out near one of the barrack huts and grabbed his bag from the back of the jeep. Opening the door he observed the inside. As far as accommodations went, it wasn't the worst. It had a bathroom and bedroom with a single bed and desk. 13 began the process of setting up, emptying all of his bags' contents and storing them, before a knock at the door came. 13 opened it and was greeted by one of the junior ground staff. "Sir, the commander wants to see you." 13 nodded, dismissing the obviously nervous ground crewman as he made his way out the door and down the walkway. He came to the squadron ready room, and entered to see the other four pilots already inside. The commander walked up and began to explain their purpose. They would be performing their usual guard duties for Stonehenge, while also performing long range intercepts at the discretion of theatre command. After being dismissed, 13 commandeered a jeep and headed off towards a cape near the town. He would be keeping a past promise to himself.

Mobius 1

The landing had been a simple matter. All the other aircraft were in their hangars so Mobius didn't have to wait for the taxiway to free up. He came back to his hangar and parked the F-22 inside. The engine shutdown sequence was completed in a short amount of time and his helmet came off the same time as the canopy opened up. The fresh air was a welcome feeling as the air he breathed while in the cockpit wasn't the same as that experienced in the open air. Rebecca was already waiting for him by the time he was out of the cockpit. "So how did the Raptor handle?" were the first words out of her mouth as she beckoned for the other ground crew to come over and start their work. They would empty the remaining fuel, re safe the missiles and unload the gun and get all that stored away. "Gun ran smoothly, no problems with the airframe and its manoeuvrability." A smile appeared on Rebecca's face "Well congratulations. Your first day here and you're already an ace." Nodding, Mobius left the ground crew to work while he went to the debriefing. It was a pretty calm affair, the same officer as before commenting on how successful they were and other such stuff. Then, everyone made for the mess. It seemed the base command had taken up his suggestion, because once Mobius arrived he saw everything set up for a certain AWACS' birthday. Sky Eye caught Mobius' eye and walked over to where the newly christened ace was sitting. "So we haven't had a formal introduction yet, I'm Sky Eye, your friendly neighbourhood AWACS." He was of average height, and wore a cap with the ISAF logo adorning it. He also had a pair of headphones hanging around his neck that would be used when he was in his E-767 as well as a microphone attached to them. Mobius took his extended hand and shook it. "Mobius 1, but I guess you already knew that." Sky Eye nodded, knowing the chatter going around the base. Ever since Mobius had landed, talk around the base had been about the new pilot who had earned the title of ace while defending the base. The mess was quickly filling and it seemed that Allenforts promise had been kept. Mobius stayed to the side during most of the party. He didn't appreciate all the sideways glances given to him and the whispered conversations about him. Eventually everything started to wind down. Mobius slinked off back to the barracks to get some rest. This battle may have been won, but they still had a war to win.

Yellow 13

The cape was deserted. All that was left of any indication that people once lived there was a burnt house. 13 had caused that. He had caused civilian deaths, and he now needed to atone for it. He parked the jeep and walked over to the rubble. Whoever had lived here, well there was no hope for them. When the jet had impacted the building, its fuel had ignited making it into what was in effect a fuel air bomb. They would have been burned alive. 13's conscience was wracked with guilt. In his long hours with his mentor Mihaly one thing above all had been drilled into his head: never harm civilians, they weren't fighters and were to be spared from the horrors of war above all else. He had failed, and now he came to observe what had happened. Slowly manoeuvring through the rubble, something caught 13's eye. He turned and moved to pick it up. It was a piece of sheet music, written for guitar. 13 himself was a guitar player and had made sure that his own one was transferred to the base. Perhaps this was how he could atone. He would keep the sheet music and play the song to remind him of what he had done, and that he should never ever repeat the experience.