1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005 Status: offline
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12/8/44 Ogowa rises with his compatriots before dawn. He shares breakfast with Diogowa, listens listlessly to Genda give the mission brief. Genda is a man long past the point, as many of them are, of caring. Too many missions, to many dawns, to many deaths. This sentai was not formed for this, was not meant to fight like this. "we will make an appearance over rahaeng, let our army know we still fly, and fight what ever we find" Genda smiles wanely. No one here knows rahaeng at all. No one knows of the alternatives, the topography, the position, even, of the front. How could they?, they only arrived last night. Of the enemy, well, this they know.......... Bangkok is devastated Here, at Ayuthia, the damage is immense. The field a patch work of filled pot holes. And the front, well, reportedly, it swarms with the enemy. They are 21 strong. 19 planes depart, depart north, following the only thing they really can depend on, the railroad. They climb to 15000, for ahead, the clouds are rising into the great mountains, dark, evil underneath, boiling, roiling at the tops. But 15000 will not be eneough, nor 20000, nor, its seems 25000. They seek the thunderstorms valeys, seek the gaps, soon, the world beneath their wings but a carpet of white, glistening, blinding, enourmous. It hides the world, hides the enemy. genda waggles wings, they turn for home. And find it blocked. He swings west, trying to get around the giant, its top touching heaven, they sentai stringing out, nervous now, for they are skimming the grey, the white A gap, and they dive for it........and abruptly, it closes Ogawa is flying in the clear, and then, then, the cloud is pressing in from above, and he plunges into the darkness The giant takes him. hail hammers, a crashing thundering madness, a giant foot slams him down, the George is tossed as if a toy............ And for the first time, in a long time, he feels fear. The storm forces him relentlessly down, a nightmare of controls not, or barely responding. Throttle to the wall........and he stalls, as nature tries to kill him. 15000 feet, 10000 feet, he fights her, his plane banging, bucking, the darkness split by the lightning, instruments swinging wildly. he gets her level, 5000, gods, there are hard decks at 6000 here! (but then, where the Truk is here!) The rain eases, and just like that, the sun bursts forth, and there, gods must be smiling, is the railway...... 19 went in 15 come out........... Fuel but exhausted, home looms B-29's, it seems, can fly over, or maybe even all the way round the storms to the north. Ayuthia is a smoking moonscape, bangkok a wildfire. There is nowhere to land Grimly, he picks a rice paddy, the waters gleaming. Gear up, he slides her in, bounces, the mud flying, great blade bending, shuddering to a halt, the straps crushing his shoulders. 'Truk!" Gingerly, he climbs outstands on a mud covered wingtip, and watches another George, diogowa!, repeat his trick. he too, gingerly climbs out of his destroyed plane, but makes the mistake of climbing off it. Truk! he sinks to his waste in the muck It is the only smile to be had this day. The Sentai is destroyed, in the air, on the ground That night its pilots will entrain again for Singapore Two of them, at least, vaow that on arrival, they will be visiting a certain carrier, a certain XO.
< Message edited by 1275psi -- 7/19/2013 10:46:24 AM >
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