1275psi
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Joined: 4/17/2005
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There is a tightness in your belly today.
A hardness, a lump. Breathing is hard, and you try to hold the fear back.
Around you, your friends and companions chatter amiably, there is laughter and shared smokes.
The air is cool, and the ground damp. You check your equipment yet again, the chute chaffs, and your little flight board has an annoying habit of sliding around your thigh, and getting between your legs.
Above all, you feel awkward.
Today is your turn for combat.
Your eyes fix strongly on the scarred face, that horrible red splash across his face a constant reminder of what might happen today. But his eyes are confident –cold, hard yes –but filled with assurance.
‘14000’ feet today men –keep an eye on your oxygen needs –don’t use it unless you really must –its getting precious around here”
The eyes fix on you –a finger points “On me rookie –stick on me today, and if you move an inch –heaven help you”
You walk to your bird, as if in a dream.
The crew chief salutes you –and this is a shock –momentarily you wonder at it all –how this grizzled man, experienced in years, expert in his trade –can salute you –you who is still learning to shave
You carefully return the salute –conscious , terribly conscious of your role here.
These men, your crew, have laboured all night on this beast you will fly –laboured while you slept, laboured while you ate (and they on half rations now).
But you will fly –and will, must fight, win, or die.
And while you fight –they may sleep.
May
You climb in – at least this is no longer strange –since joining in the phillipines Nakamura ‘father’ to 47th –has seen to it that you know your job. He has given you the skill.
But only you can provide the courage.
You take a breath. Look right, look left. Gyubi -47ths other ace, grins, and points to the leaping tiger on the nose of his beast.
Tiger
Yes, you are a Tiger.
And suddenly the fear is gone –you want to get away, and fight.
There is a delay.
It stretches, and stretches into a warm morning, and 47th await the call
Port Blair is almost quiet. Almost, over the never ending chorus of frogs, the drone of insects, the low chatter of men, comes the regular low, terrible booooooooooooom, boooooooooooooooom,booooooooooooom, as the battleships to the North continue to pound away.
Nakamura stands in his cockpit, waves. A flare also shoots across the field –and men burst into life.
You are going
She starts well enough today – how embarrassing that time was!-and all gauges are good.
Taxiing –no thought to this today –just anxiety and care –its so bloody hard to see out of this beast on the ground!
Away –away at last –and you slip in behind and beside Juni, and climb, climb, climb
The island falls away –and now all of the world comes into view, and that acre of rice paddy you once called home really was so, so small, wasn’t I t
Then comes –the moment. Guns from safe to armed. The empire expects………..
Turning right, gently, and the air today is rough, you jog up and down in relation to that wing you station on, and the world growls, and vibrates, and all is so, so bright, you can see everything so clearly, you are so alive, so alive.
Is this a dream?. Are you really here?
Yes.
The engine beats on you, and dulls you, it is so loud……….
Juni vanishes from view, plunging down and hard left, and you almost miss it, and now that engine is gone, gone, gone, as every sense in your body snaps to turning, diving yourself, and for the briefest of moments you can feel it all, the aileron moving, its linkages, the stick, your hand, your mind, all as one –and now you are diving, throttle full –because –they do have twin tails! –there below are the enemy
There is no time to be afraid –you care more ‘heavens help you if you lose me!’ than about those shapes growing, growing, now turning, turning away, up and away, and you are pulling hard, hard, left ruddering, ruddering –and heavens! –I’m going to shoot! –and the gun is so shockingly loud, and it stinks, and you mis, and the bright, bright silver shape slides up and over your left shoulder, and you turn, turn –breathe!, but the circle will not meet, he climbs away , away.
You did not lose juni, and as you level out, you smile –and the smile turns to a yell, as something crashes behind you –and great streaks of tracer flash around you.
Rookie
You freeze, and Juni is already gone, and in panic now you fling the stick –no plan, no thought –and growling, no howling the beast flashes past as your head slams into the cockpit side, worlds spinning, whirling about you.
Rookie
A lucky rookie today
He missed, and training kicks in –full opposite rudder –stick forward, un stall, and pull out.
You feel sick, you shake, and breath comes in great gasps
And you have lost Juni
You wheel about, and climb, climb hard –how many times? –height is life! Height is life!
A tiger is falling, it flutters past –one wing gone –it falls flat, spinning madly, cockpit empty –and horror fills you –you know that Tiger.
Juni.
It flashes behind, your mind tries to assemble the sight –and a 38 grows in your lower stbd quarter.
You turn towards –and head on –you charge
Moments into seconds.
Seconds into hours
Hours into lifetimes –he grows, he grows.
You can see every detail, the propellers, the engine cones, his cockpit, and you can feel –feel each and every shell you fire, one, one, one, and they strike him, and bits are flying of him, and KABRAAAAAAAAAAAANg he flashes overhead, mere inches from you, and eeven as you haul back, turn into him –you know, know he is hurt –and YES!, he falls, he falls!, tumbling down, down, down where already a pyre marks Juni Tiger.
You land
Numb
You have killed, and it means nothing
“Heavens help you if you lose me!’
And there he is, the red face. A torn suit, but apparently unharmed.
The face smiles. ‘”You owe me an airplane rookie”
You feel nothing. Nothing but relief.
But you are no longer a rookie
Operations report
47th sentai, 85th, 87th sentai
CAP operations over Port Blair
3 Tigers lost (all pilots recovered)
1 p38 killed
47th sentai now 70 kills
(33 planes operational)
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RE: herbiesan vs Cantona!!! - 
Muwahwahahahah!!!! Whats next!?!?
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