Into the Bombardment

Drago and Aleksei's Blitzkrieg

During the Zombie outbreak in California, Drago Zhukovsky and Aleksei Kohler were reassigned to serve in South Africa once again. Their current assignment was to destroy a fleet of aircraft belonging to the Sudsikov family out in the Kalahari Desert. Currently, Drago's Lockheed A-38C "Turbo Lightning" waited in line behind a Handley-Page Halifax bomber, while Aleksei's white A-4U "Turbo Corsair" waited behind the turbo lightning.

It was exactly midnight at the moment, and the Sudsikovs were currently sleeping in their bunks. Drago felt nervous, hoping he will return from this mission, wondering whether he will survive the most dangerous mission he has ever been assigned to his career as a Jade mercenary. His plane was armed with two AIM-9 "Sidewinder" short-range air-to-air missiles for self-defense from intercepting aircraft, four hydra 70 unguided rocket pods, and a multitude of napalm bombs and conventional bombs, as well as twin twenty millimeter Hispano cannons, while Aleksei's plane was armed with four twenty millimeter Hispano cannons, AGM-65 "Maverick" air-to-surface guided missiles, AIM-9 "Sidewinder" air-to-air missiles, and two five hundred pound napalm bombs.

The Lockheed A-38C "Turbo Lightning" was known to be the turboprop counterinsurgency version of the legendary P-38 "Lightning." while the Vought A-4U "Turbo Corsair" is known as one of many variants of the legendary Vought F-4U "Corsair." Nevertheless, the two turboprop attackers never were able to serve in Vietnam alongside the many other ground attack aircraft that served in Vietnam, and instead were bought out by many private military companies, including the Jade Mercenaries.

Drago remained silent; waiting for the large British bomber parked in front of his plane to take off. About five minutes passed by, and another heavy bomber flew over the Halifax, and took some time to taxi off of the runway.

The runway was not paved, instead was a two and a half mile long dirt strip, with enough length and width for the three B-36 "Peacemaker" strategic bombers of this airbase to take off, and land. A minute passed by, and the Halifax started moving forward and picked up speed, eventually taking off, to which Drago moved the Turbo Lightning forward, onto the runway. He popped his knuckles, and contacted air traffic control, requesting clearance for takeoff, to which Aleksei pulled up next to him, and requested the same.

Air traffic control denied the two pilots' requests, as a P-61 "Black Widow" blasted over them, and landed, followed by a Macchi C.205 "Folgore." A few minutes after the two prop fighters taxied off of the runway; air traffic control granted Drago and Aleksei clearance to take off. Aleksei let out a breath, and popped his knuckles, bracing for possibly one of the most dangerous missions he has ever been assigned.

Drago and Aleksei lowered the flaps on their planes, and disabled the parking brakes and applied throttle, to which the two turboprop planes slowly moved down the runway, gradually picking up speed.

Drago lifted his nose wheel and took off first, raising the landing gear of the plane, to which Aleksei raised the tail wheel of his turbo corsair, and eventually lifted off, to which both of the pilots raised their flaps and landing gears and banked west, descending to a low altitude, to avoid detection by radar.

The moon was out, as well as the stars. Drago wished he could give his fiancé the stars, despite not only the stars were millions of miles away, but because the two were too far away from each other. She was currently attending the pinup academy in England, while Drago was helping other private military companies save the world from the Sudsikovs, as well as their allies from taking over the world.

As the two flew into the fish river canyon, they evaded being spotted by radar, as Aleksei entered Drago's six, they flew into the canyon for a few miles over a river, and eventually exited the canyon, and flew low over the Kalahari desert, and over a group of safari jeeps that were observing the wildlife of the Kalahari desert.

Aleksei did a mock Australian accent at Drago, mocking the safari men in an attempt to lighten the mood, to which Drago let out a slight chuckle, and proceeded to do the same, alas; not sounding as accurate

Twelve minutes passed by, The two identified a paved and well-lit air-strip in the distance, with a multitude of Sukhoi planes parked next to it. The two headed to the airstrip. Drago had noticed a state of emotional turmoil on Aleksei's face, saluting his Polish-German counterpart.

When the two arrived at the airstrip, Drago flew in and dropped a few bombs on the Sukhoi jets, while Aleksei fired a guided missile at the bunks where the Sudsikovs were sleeping.

An alarm sounded within the base, to which Drago fired his unguided rockets at a few Su-25 "Frogfoot" attack planes, as well as the sole Su-34 "Fullback" strike fighter that was taxiing to the runway.

Drago checked his six, to see that there was a Su-27 "Flanker" getting ready to take off, to which he pulled a Split-S maneuver and fired a burst of his twin twenty-millimeter cannons, and his unguided rockets, destroying the Flanker before it even had a chance to line up with the runway.

While Drago was destroying the aircraft that were attempting to takeoff and counter attack the two Jade mercenaries, Aleksei dropped his two napalm bombs. When the napalm bombs exploded, the airstrip was lit on fire, preventing the Sudsikovs from taking off on the north end of the runway.

Upon strafing a Su-37 "Flanker-F" that was taxiing to the middle of the runway, Drago flew low over the runway once more, and dropped a few napalm bombs in front of the Su-37, and then a Su-35 "Flanker-E" at the south end of the runway, denying the Flankers a chance to take off, as Aleksei came from behind; at a high speed, killing the Su-35's pilot with a well aimed burst of his twenty millimeters, and then destroying the Sudsikov's plane with a burst of the unguided rocket pods, and another burst of the twenty millimeters.

Drago then climbed to two thousand feet, and entered a dive, shooting a Sudsikov from behind with his twenty-millimeter cannons.

Upon depleting their weapons, the two mercenaries fled the scene before the Sudsikovs' reinforcements could arrive, and flew low over the Kalahari desert once more, heading back to the base.

As the two flew away, Drago signaled a wing of fighters and dive bombers from an allied PMC to napalm bomb the airstrip, to ensure the airstrip is unable to be repaired by the Sudsikovs, or any of their allies.

Upon entering the fish river canyon, Drago's missile lock alarm went off, to which he dropped chaff, and performed another Split-S maneuver, to see a Sukhoi Su-27 chasing after him and Aleksei.

Aleksei performed a Split-S maneuver as well, firing an AIM-9 "Sidewinder" at the Sukhoi, to which Drago copied his move. The sidewinders bolted towards the Sukhoi, until they both hit it, taking it out of the sky.

The two then flew off into the night, returning to base as brothers in arms. By the time the two were on final approach to the base and successfully evaded the Sudsikovs' reinforcements before they could arrive, the sun was slowly rising, and there were hundreds of mercenaries hoping that Drago and Aleksei were okay.

Drago contacted air traffic control; requesting clearance to land, to which he was instantly granted clearance to land. Aleksei contacted air traffic control next and was given clearance to land. He then reduced the throttle on his plane and descended onto the glide path of the runway while lowering the flaps and the landing gear. to which he applied the airbrake, and lifted the plane's nose gear up, touching down softly when he landed and applying reverse thrust and the brakes to slow the Turbo Lightning down, and taxi to a ramp, next to his Cavalier F-51D "Mustang II" and his F-82 "Twin Mustang." After parking his plane, he killed the power going to the twin Lycoming turboprop engines, and waited for the eight propellers to stop spinning, and climbed out of the aircraft, and walked away to his bunk, to call his fiance, making sure everything is okay in England.

Aleksei did the same, as he descended onto the glide path, he lowered the landing gears and the flaps of the plane, he flew over a line of Yak-1 fighters, and landed with the two front wheels, and applied the brakes, as well as reverse thrust, slowing the turbo corsair down, and taxiing to his hangar, and parking his plane next to his two other Corsairs. He then killed the power going to the engine, and climbed out of the aircraft, and walked to the company's rec center to have a drink.