❝is this even achievable?❞



"𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be deliver to the plant in ten day's time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week in order to avoid the target valley contaminated with radiation." As if this mission couldn't get any worse. Harper shifted in her seat, shoulders sinking.

"Sir, no one has successfully flown a low-level course." Coyote voiced.

"Nonetheless, you've been ordered to move on." Everyone slumped back in their seats, a new level of stress felt. "Captain." Warlock nodded to Maverick, who took the stage.

"We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles." Harper almost groaned. Last week wasn't the most difficult stage?

"Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to both the mission's success and your survival." Harper focused on the flat terrain outside her F-18. Beside her flew Phoenix and Bob, in a precise formation behind her.

"As you know, the plant rests between two mountains." The simulation showed a mapped view of the mountain, a dotted line for the route they'd be taking. "On final approach, you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude and the only possible attack angle." Harper directed her F-18 into a dive. She sucked in short breaths, the pressure of the G's weighing on her chest. Her weight leaned against the straps, chest pressed into them. Phoenix and Bob followed.

"Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser's bulls-eye." Beeping signaled the lock.

"The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser-guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair. That's miracle number one."

"The second team will deliver the kill shot." Harper focused on the target lock's beep. "And destroy the target. That's miracle number two."

"If either team misses the target, the mission is a failure."

"Damn it." Harper swore as the bomb missed the target, dust flying up a few feet away from the bullseye. "That's a miss." She sighed.

"Egress is a steep high-G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain." After the miss, Harper pulled the joystick towards her. The pressure was felt immediately, her plane climbing towards the sky as the Gs weighed down on her and her aircraft.

"A steep climb at that speed, you're pulling at least eight G's." Hangman's voice rang out.

"Nine, minimum." Maverick stated.

"The stress limit of the F-18s airframe is 7.5." Rooster added.

"That's the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that, even if it means bending your airframe." Harper's eyes widened slightly in the briefing room. A few others had mirrored looks.

"You'll be pulling so hard, you'll weight close to 2,000 pounds, your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding like an elephants sitting on your chest, fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out." Harper gasped for air, feeling like her chest was being crushed, trying to focus on what was ahead. She tried to keep her eyes open, black creeping in the corners of her vision.

"And this is where you'll be at your most vulnerable. This is coffin corner."

Multiple failures, missed bombs, gasps of breath. "Assuming you avoid crashing into this mountain, you'll climb straight up into enemy radar while losing all of your airspeed." Harper watched the two aircraft's cross into the zone marked with red, signaling they would be detected. She couldn't help but feel a looming sense of dread.

"Within seconds, you'll be fired upon by enemy SAMs. You've all faced sustained G's before, but this is gonna take you and your aircraft to the breaking point."

"Sir, is this even achievable?" Phoenix's voice held doubt. The question everyone was wondering.

"The answer to that question will come down to the pilot inside the box."

Harper listened on the radio to Phoenix and Bob's chatter, working with Coyote.

"Talk to me Bob."

"We are 12 seconds late on target, we gotta move, we gotta move!"

"Copy, try to stay with me." Coyote said over coms. Bob stared at the radar in confusion, a new beeping sound coming from it.

"Huh? Wait, who's that?" Bob looked to the left, gaze scanning the terrain.

"Blue team, you've been spotted." Maverick's plane came into view.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"I'm a bandit on course to intercept. Blue team, what are you gonna do?"

"He's 20 miles left, ten o'clock. 700 knots closure."

"Your call. What do you want to do?"

"Continue, we're close. Stay on target." They continued on the course, stopped by the laser's dead eye. The team ended up dropping blind, missing the target. Beeping sounded as Maverick got missile lock on Bob and Phoenix. Harper listened on the radio, dejected. Every brief moment of anticipation was put out by the miss of the bomb.

"Blue team, thats a fail." Harper sighed in the team room, listening to the radio. Phoenix broke away from the formation, heading back. Coyote's plane continued climbing, as if there was no response.

Harper went to turn away from the radio when she heard Maverick's voice. "Level out Coyote."

No response.

"Coyote do you copy?" Coyote's eyes fluttered shut, hands loosening on the joystick. His plane started its free fall. "Coyote, come in. Coyote level wings." Maverick's voice grew more insistent.

"Oh my god, hes in G-LOC. Coyote, Coyote?"

"He's gonna burn in!"

"I'm going after him." Harper's gaze snapped to the radio, her breath hitched. Everyone seemed to tense in the room. Maverick went after Coyote, target lock beeping on the descending plane. Coyote faded into consciousness to the sound of Maverick yelling and the automated voice warning him that he was breaking altitude.

He wrenched the joystick towards him, his aircraft narrowly missing the mountain.

"Coyote, you ok?"

"I'm okay, I'm good." Coyote panted. Everyone's shoulders dropped when they heard Coyote's voice. Harper sighed in relief. Another crisis was averted, or so they thought.

"Good, good. That's enough for today." Phoenix's plane pulled up to the right beside Maverick.

"That was close"

"Too close." Maverick sighed.

"Bird strike, bird strike!" Phoenix's aircraft faltered as a bird hit. The alarm blared, caution left engine filling Phoenix's screen.

"Phoenix, left engine's on fire!" Bob exclaimed, panic filling his voice.

"Climbing. Throttling back, shutting off fuel to the left engine. Extinguishing fire." Phoenix pulled her aircraft away from Mavericks, climbing higher.

"Right engine is out!"

"It's still spinning. Trying to restart it."

"Phoenix, its on fire! Don't start-" But Phoenix already did.

"Throttling up." Phoenix's plane veered to the left, out of control. Smoke streaked the air.

"We're on fire, we're on fire!" Bob shouted, panicked.

"Damn it." Phoenix looked at the warnings flashing across her screen, panicked. "Extinguishing right engine." Their plane hurtled towards the ground.

"Phoenix, Bob, punch out, punch out!" Maverick yelled over coms.

"Warning lights everywhere! Hydraulic failure!"

"I can't control it." Harper's heart broke at Phoenix's desperate tone, so different from the composure Harper admired her for.

"We're going down Phoenix! We're going in! We're going in!" Phoenix and Bob's voices rang out on the radio. Harper's eyes widened. The tension returned.

"You can't save it, eject, eject!"

"Eject, eject, eject!" Phoenix and Bob pulled the handles, their aircraft hurtling towards the ground and exploding.

Silence filled the room.