Page 8 of Ace

“Mantuk. Betcha it’s Mantuk.” Omar cracked his knuckles. “They’ve been trying to gain some footing over here for years.”

A commander walked out, brisk steps. And to Dex’s surprise, he called them over.

“Here goes.” Jed whistled.

As soon as the four Top Flight pilots were standing in front of the guys, Commander Wilkins shook their hands. “Thank you for being here. We have a situation. I’ll brief you while I brief them if you don’t mind.”

Dex nodded.

He turned to about fifty men and women standing at attention wearing flight suits and holding helmets on their hips. They seemed disciplined and well trained. That would make his and the Top Flight team’s job easier. “Team. We’ve brought in some of the best pilots in the world to train our Pacific Oceanic Alliance Air Force squadron. And we’re lucky to have them right now, because there have been some developments.”

The pause was thick. But his team didn’t budge.

“Mantuk has seized a string of islands in Malaysia, starting with Panau moving South. The country’s leaders have reached out for assistance, and since they are an active part of the Pacific Oceanic Alliance, we are sending aid. This is the first test of our new alliance and we want to prove that we are committed to each other, and to the strength of the island force.”

A couple men brought out a table and some maps.

“We need to send a team immediately to stabilize the situation and let any invading powers know that the islands have protection, not just diplomatic protection, but actual air defense. Then we will reconvene, and the powers can figure out the next move.” He turned and gestured that Dex and his team come closer.

“We need a team to fly the air above this strip of islands right here. Are any of you familiar with the area?”

Ivy, Jed, and Omar looked at Dex.

“I am, sir. I’ve flown a mission here before.”

“Excellent. If you wouldn’t mind flying point, you could even use the mission as a training exercise for some of these pilots.”

“Send up your best, Commander. I would be honored to assist.” As a side note, he added. “Give me a decent copilot, someone who could take over if need be.”

Commander Wilkins nodded. Then he turned back to his team. “I’ll need the following pilots to prepare to leave immediately.” He called out eight names. That was an impressive show of force for one string of islands. Omar’s eyebrows were up, and Jed pressed his lips together.

Dex and his group stepped to the side while the commander briefed his team.

Dex turned to his team. “I need you here on the ground, running point for me and assisting where needed. We start today, not tomorrow. I have no idea what we’re dealing with here, or how trained these pilots are. We’re about to find out.” He studied their faces. They were alert; energy sparked between them. “If something happens to me, or I go down, Ivy is taking lead. I’ll communicate as soon as I’m able from the ground.”

To their credit, no one responded.

And before he knew it, Dex Callison was back up in the air.

He radioed his team. “Warning shots only. I repeat. Warning shots only unless you’re fired upon.” The ocean sped past below them. “Don’t get hit.”

He chatted with his copilot. “So, Amelio, how long have you been flying?”

“This is my fourth year with the Alliance. I trained on Tandora, with the US Air Force.”

“Excellent.”

Everything he heard from Amelio put him at ease. They were a well-trained and, for the most part, an experienced group. Very few had any battle experience, but hopefully they wouldn’t need any. The training program would not need him once he got things up and running, which meant he could take on a different job, or take a pit stop on Panau for a while, before his next job with Top Flight...as long as the situation cooled down.

As soon as he saw the strip of islands, his heart ached for the people he had left to fend for themselves. He flew by and then circled back. The other jets did the same to the north and south of him. A string of boats flying the Mantukese flag were anchored off the shore. A radio crackled in his ear. “We’re getting a signal from Panau. We’ve got an American on the ground. Gianna West. She’s sending up a call for help. Supplies, on the ground, operations. Send some of the team back for a food drop. We can at least do that.”

“Copy that.” He switched to radio his team. “Drop the supplies on Panau. I’m flying over it now.”

“Roger. We’ll do the food drop.”

Gianna.

He made a decision, it was rash. But he had his comm unit with him. He had his emergency kit on his back. His copilot could get the plane back. He wasn’t going to leave them alone again.

---