A child's memory is remarkable. Although it may not always be the most reliable, there are events in everyone's life that they will never forget, even if they were young when they experienced them. Some memories contain people who are too special to ever be forgotten. I hold on to them because history deserves to know the people who made our world just a little bit better when everything appeared to get worse.
I was just a girl when the war called my father away. The Eastern front came closer every day and it was not long before I was evacuated to the mountains with my mother. Our refugee camp was established deep in the wilderness where we would be safe. No one expected us to have to stay there for long but certain complications arose. The city and suburbs that we left behind were torn apart as they became a battlefield. I remember the day an airship flew over our camp on its way to the battle. It was my first time seeing one and I can still imagine how it felt to gaze up at it and wonder how something of its size could float through the sky. I couldn't help but hoping that my father was on board, watching over me but as it disappeared over the pine covered hills without a sound, I had a worrying thought. We had vanished from the world in our camp. We were so small in the grand scheme of it all. Dwarfed by the very events we had escaped. Beneath the enormous shadow of the ship, I never felt so small.
Months later, the war ended and the world rejoiced in peace. I was inside the tent my mother and I shared when they made the announcement on the camp's speaker system. Everyone knew it meant we could go home. I found my mother in the "kitchens" where our food was kept to see if she had heard the good news.
"Does this mean we'll get to see daddy soon?" I asked her.
She stroked my hair and said, "Yes, my darling. We'll see him soon."
I waited every day for the trucks to come take us back to the city. The other children and I played by the camp perimeter so we could be the first to see them. Days became weeks and there was no evidence that we would be returning any time soon. As I wandered around the camp, I remembered hearing fragments of the adults' conversations.
"Devastated. One of their airships went down over…" and "Rebuilding is taking longer than predicted…" were among what I overheard. Most of the adults were trying to keep the situation a secret but I still found out. Roads and maglev tracks were crippled in the battles fought over our city. Our location was what kept us safe but now it blocked us from any relief. One conversation between my mother and one of the camp doctors stayed with me in particular. I listened to them from behind a crate so they never saw me.
"They can't drop supplies to us with the mountains in the way. It's too dangerous for those planes to fly that low and their cargo will end up somewhere even more inaccessible if they drop it from up high."
"What about an airship?" my mother asked.
"They have more pressing concerns right now. Something about rebuilding the cities first. We're on our own until they figure out a way to fix the roads. And even then, not even an Ursa tank can get through some of the craters they blew into other side of the mountain." The doctor's voice was charged with concern.
"But the food we've stored is running out and we can't grow in this cold. We just barely made it through the winter but we used up too much and the seeds won't take until it gets warmer." my mother told him.
"Meet with the others and see if you can work out a way to ration what we have." The doctor left the kitchen but my mother called to him through the fabric walls.
"We already did. We can only sustain ourselves until the end of the month."
After that I ate less food. My mother grew worried when she saw the desperation in my eyes. I saw the same expression on the other children and on some of the adults as the days wore on. They were starved in more ways than one and it was hard to tell which was more destructive. There was a sense of a silent panic as the grip of hunger tightened on us. Before long we were down to one meal a day and soon after, we had nothing.
I stood at the edge of the perimeter, alone. My stomach ached and I collapsed in the rough grass. I don't know how long I was there but I sat up when I heard an aircraft approach the camp. In the sky, I saw a lone craft nimbly weave its way around the hills and trees that had prevented our supplies from coming through. It was difficult to believe what I was seeing but as it drew closer I spotted numerous crates packed into its cargo bay. I had heard the name of the craft from one of the older children long ago. She called it a Pegasus, the workhorse of nation's air force.
The Pegasus was grey and unarmed, unlike the few that I had seen fly over us before the war ended. Its rotor pods swiveled as it circled us searching for a place to land. Although there wasn't much space, the adults directed the pilot to set down in a small clearing only a few yards from the camp. We gathered as the pilot brought the craft into a hover and slowly touched the ground. I wiggled through the crowd to see what was going on. The rotors quieted themselves as the pilot opened the cabin door and stepped out. She removed her flight helmet to reveal her neatly tied blonde hair and a kind face. From the patches on her grey uniform, I believed she had come from a combat airship like the one my father was on but I was too far away to see which one.
"Who is in charge?" she asked immediately.
A few of the adults stepped forward and introduced themselves. The pilot told them what she brought and asked that the contents of her Pegasus be distributed to the people of the camp.
"What are they?" one of the adults asked.
"We call them Major Units of Fortified Food, Intelligent Nutrition," she said smiling. "Or MUFFINS for short." Her crates were unloaded as she talked with the camp leaders. She explained that she had many more and was going to return with them.
"My friends and I packed what we thought could be useful but please tell me if you need anything in particular and I will try to include it in the future." After a moment of conversation, she returned to her Pegasus and took off again. The adults disappeared into the kitchen tents where they discussed what had just transpired. When they emerged, they announced that the young and the infirm were going to receive food first and that more was on the way.
Anyone who was there will tell you the same thing. The announcement sent a wave of emotion through the camp. However, the feeling was different for everyone. For me, everything that I felt could be summed up by one look at my mother's face. She was no longer saddened by the thought that her daughter might slowly starve before her. She was different then. She was free.
The children were escorted inside the kitchen tents where the adults in charge of the food had opened the hardened rectangular boxes. I was curious as to what kind of food the pilot delivered us although as long as it was edible, it did not matter too much to us. We had to start out with relatively simple foods because anything too rich would react poorly with our malnourished bodies. My mother handed me a small bowl of warm soup that to me, tasted like the most wonderful food in the world. As I would later learn, the pilot and her friends on board her airship designed the MUFFINs to last as long as possible. They used the ship's supply of Meals Ready to Eat as well as several items from the massive galley that served the hundreds of people on the crew. The beauty of the pilot's plan was these foods were highly nutritious and full of calories. The inclusion of soups meant that they could share the food with more people and by the end of the day, the children had been fed. The adults formed a line to eat and then assist in the preparation and distribution of the rest of the MUFFINs' contents.
As the sun sank low in the sky, I once again heard the unmistakable drone of an aircraft and I ran outside to spot the grey machine swoop in low over the hilltops. She was just in time too as the food she had delivered earlier was almost gone. When she landed again, the refugees who had eaten unloaded her Pegasus and helped feed those who had not. Historians looked back on such moments and said that our ability to help each other is what kept us from descending into chaos. This time, the crates also included water containers in addition to several purification pumps. As before, the lone pilot vowed to return with more supplies and took off into the sunset.
I was perhaps the only child who stayed awake that night for I did not want to miss watching the Pegasus come back to drop off its cargo. The adults worked all through the night as new MUFFINs brought more food to sustain our camp for the season. Our workers on the ground rested in shifts but I lay in the grass, wide awake and watching the sky. Sometime before sunrise, the pilot returned and just before she landed, her Pegasus tilted side to side as if she was waving to us on the ground. I smiled and waved back at her as she brought the machine down.
"Are you alright Miss?" I heard one of the unloaders say to the pilot when she opened the cabin door. It was then that I realized she had not been waving to me; she was tired from flying back and forth all day and night. She shook her head but by the way she stumbled when she tried to walk gave her condition away. I approached her and tapped her on the arm.
"You can sleep in my tent. It's just over here." I said softly. The man looked surprised to see me but it was evident that he liked my suggestion.
"Please Miss; you've done so much for us already. It isn't safe for you to fly without rest. We'll contact your airship and tell them what happened but for now you need to lay down." he said.
She accepted my offer and I led her to the dome shaped tent my mother and I called home. There was a cot inside where she sat down and untied her hair. It was short and fell down around her head. She brushed a stray blonde lock away from her face and gave me a fatigued smile. "Thank you." was the last thing she said before she drifted off to sleep.
I yawned and lay down on my own cot. "No, thank you." I whispered. When I awoke a few hours later, the pilot was still asleep. Due to way she was positioned, I could not see her name but I could read the patch on her flight suit that revealed the airship she flew out from. To my young eyes, the patch was unforgettable. The patch depicted a dark blue upturned crescent moon with stylized wings on either side of it on a purple background. It was the mark of the Crescent Sun, the ship my father was on. I was overcome with joy. There was a chance that she knew my father and I could not pass up this opportunity to reach him. Before she woke up, I wrote a letter to my father and folded it in the hope that she could deliver it to him when she returned.
A few minutes later, my mother came to the tent with a bowl of soup for the pilot as she sat up on the cot.
"You must be hungry." she said. My mother had not seen the Crescent Sun patch so I brought it to her attention. She saw the pilot's arm and began to ask her questions.
"We took some serious damage in the last battle. Our engines were crippled so we're dead in the water, so to speak." the pilot explained.
When I asked about my father, the pilot set her food down for a moment and thought.
"Yes, I know who he is! He works on the Pegasi in the hangars. Right now I think he's trying to fix our engines so we can move again."
"Can you give this to him?" I asked as I handed her the folded letter I wrote. She looked at me and then at my mother. She smiled and put the paper inside one of her flight suit pockets.
"I'll see that he gets this."
In the hours that followed, she prepared her Pegasus for take-off while I watched her. Soon, the other children joined me in the field when the rotorcraft came to life.
"What are you waiting for?" one of them asked me.
"I want to see if she's gonna wobble again." I replied.
"What do you mean?" they asked, not having seen her landing earlier.
"This morning she was really sleepy so she landed kinda funny. She was all ditzy." I said.
The swooshing from the rotor pods grew as the Pegasus lifted off. I jumped up and down and waved to the pilot. Before she got too far off the ground, I saw her smile through the windscreen and move the control stick from side to side. The Pegasus wiggled as the children and I waved.
"She did that." I said.
Every time she landed, the children were there to greet her and every time she made her craft wave back before she set down. I was always there to ask her if my father wrote back and for two days she shook her head. However, on the afternoon of the third day she walked up to me with a letter in her hand.
"He's just been so busy and he wants you to know he misses you and your mom very much." she said. I unfolded the paper and read my father's message. He told me he was working as hard as he could to make everything better. He said that if he did, the Crescent Sun could fly over to the camp and he could see us but until then, he was happy just to hear from me. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around the pilot.
"Thank you Ms. Ditzy." When I looked up, the pilot gave me a puzzled look. "That's what we like to call you; because of the 'ditzy landings'. You're not bothered, are you?"
She laughed softly. "Not at all. It has a nice ring to it."
For the next week, Ms. Ditzy carried the letters between my father and me. Other refugees noticed and asked her if she could send mail from the airship to their relatives. When she told them that she could, they gave her their letters to take back to the Crescent Sun. In addition to mail, MUFFINs contained less food and instead came loaded with medicine, tools and other equipment to help us become more self-reliant. Ms. Ditzy also brought us news from the outside world which explained our predicament.
"They're rebuilding as fast as they can but with the level of damage to the city and the surrounding areas, they've decided to construct a whole new town just outside the ruins. It should provide a new place for you to live once it's finished so everyone can comfortably work on the old city. But all of this is still far off so for now everyone has to stay put." she said.
One day she even dropped off one of her friends from the airship who came to show the adults how to use an invention she developed to help us grow our own food. I followed her out to the field where she gave her instructions.
"Now, y'all can call me AJ and this here's Big MAC." she gestured to the humming box on the ground. "He's a Mobile Agricultural Cultivator and he can make this land right here suitable for growing your basic crops. It's not much, I'll admit but you can bet it won't hurt to have a little extra food coming in. We used parts from the hydroponic farms on board…"
Ms. Ditzy tapped me on the shoulder and gave me another letter from my father. In it he told me I should continue to look after my mother and stay strong.
"He told me the repairs would be finished tonight." Ms. Ditzy said. "But there's a problem. We need to move on. There are other camps that we have to help. We proved that we could keep the hunger at bay here and now the government wants to expand our efforts."
Slowly the realization sunk in. "So everyone's leaving?"
"I'm sorry, but we have to. There are people who need us now."
"Isn't there anything you can do? I could come with you!" I pleaded.
She told me that I couldn't but she would be back in the morning with one last delivery of food and to pick up Ms. AJ. She left that afternoon and I practically cried myself to sleep that night. In the morning, I woke up to write what I expected to be the last letter I could send to my father for a long time. An hour later, Ms. Ditzy flew low over the trees and landed her Pegasus as a crowd gathered. I remember standing at the back of the crowd, clutching the final letter in my little hand and waiting for her to open her door. Just as she had done countless times before, she climbed out so her cargo could be unloaded. With the rotors coming to a stop, I could hear her voice say, "Anything I can do to help? This one's kind of heavy." For the last delivery, everything was completely normal, until I heard a familiar voice. It was low and gentle, yet it carried a comforting strength with it.
"Dad?" I said as I pushed through the crowd. "Is that you?! Daddy!?"
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him there in the cargo compartment of the Pegasus. He stepped down and embraced me in his arms. My mother ran from the crowd, fighting back tears. Together we held on to my father with all of our strength as if letting him slip meant he would be gone forever. For that moment, we were whole again and something inside me felt healed. I was no longer hungry.
"I don't think we can thank you enough." my mother said.
Ms. Ditzy only smiled. "She wouldn't leave that hangar unless I was on board with her," my father said. "And with an opportunity like this, how could I not?"
I let go of my parents and turned to Ms. Ditzy, oblivious to the fact that there was a crowd watching. "What made you…?" I began.
"You remind me of my daughter," she said. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to be away from her for so long without saying goodbye. It's hard being away from the ones you love, especially for such a long time. But I know that no matter what, she will always be in my heart and I will be in hers. Even if we are apart, we are never truly alone."
I hugged her there in front of the other people. I didn't care if they understood although I had a feeling that they did. "Will I ever see you again?" I asked.
"Well, someone has to bring your father home," She smiled warmly. "Until next time, we'll always be with you."
My father left on the Pegasus that morning and it was almost a year before my mother and I saw him again. Even then, the government was using the Crescent Sun and other airships to help heal the areas of our world that were left scarred by the war. He left on many more trips but it wasn't so bad to away from him. Every time he left we never said "goodbye" but instead he always told me "Until I see you again." Years later, everyone came home for good. The Crescent Sun cruised over the newly constructed town and my mother and I drove out to the air base to meet my father. Other families were there as well with welcome signs and cameras but I just stood at the fence with my old letter in my hand.
The airship landed and opened its underside hangar doors so the majority of its crew could meet their families. However, my eyes were not fixed on the ground but rather they were trained on the sky where I saw the familiar grey Pegasus fly over the ship. Not much had changed, except for the asymmetrical features of the windscreen and the word DERPY painted on the body of the craft. The Pegasus wiggled as it approached the ground and I waved. Once the engines fell silent and the doors opened, I raced out to greet my father and Ms. Ditzy.
"I told you I would see you again." she said.
My mother joined me at the Pegasus but there were two people following her; a tall man in a brown coat and a girl about my age with blonde hair like her mother's except that it was tied in a ponytail. When Ms. Ditzy saw them she excused herself and embraced them. Together, our two families appeared to be so insignificant compared to all that had happened. The events that shattered our lives and the distances of time kept us apart but it was comforting to know that our love could survive. For some of us, it may have been the only thing keeping us alive.
I swooped over the final peak between me and the open skies above the city. Far below, reconstruction workers were clearing the roads into the mountains. Crews were busy loading the last of the rubble from the outlying suburbs into dump trucks so the materials could be processed and recycled. Several houses looked untouched while others still had visible scars. Reconstruction in the city itself was progressing as well with electric tram lines, roads and maglev tracks returning to their former glory. Even the houses in the new communities were coming along nicely. Although it will be some time before everything returns to normal, I know that for the time being, the refugee camp will survive. Your father sat in the copilot's seat, silently watching the city pass under our Pegasus. Neither he nor Ms. AJ had said a word since we took off. I believe he was simply reflecting on how it felt to see you and your mother again. To be honest, the silence became increasingly uncomfortable and I was pleased that AJ spoke up.
"There were some mighty nice folks back there. I know I was only with them for a day but I think we're practically friends already." AJ tried to start a conversation but your father only shifted in his seat. "Speakin' of friends, I don't think we've been properly introduced. Most of the crew just calls me AJ."
Your father turned around and introduced himself with a friendly handshake. AJ sure surprised him with her firm grip and enthusiastic shake. "A pleasure makin' your acquaintance, sir!" He smiled and opened up to her. They talked about how they came to serve on the Crescent Sun and what their jobs were. Your father and her have a lot in common as it turns out. They both handle technical jobs on the ship except that AJ is more familiar with the food production and preparation systems.
"I'm no stranger to working with the kind of equipment on board. I've handled my family's farm since I was young. We hold on to the old ways where we can but that don't stop us from welcoming the future any. Most of the equipment we use only helps us manage our resources better. With proper care, sunshine and a little touch of old country quality, we grow some of the finest crops you'll ever taste. You should come visit us. Ya know, bring the family when this whole mess has been sorted out."
It appeared as if the emotion returned to your father. "I'd really like that." he said.
However, before they could continue talking, I received landing clearance from the airship and I had to ask them to fasten their seatbelts. "In fact, when we come home for good, all y'all are invited to come visit!" AJ said as she strapped herself into her seat in the passenger compartment. Outside the Pegasus cabin, the Crescent Sun cast its enormous shadow on the vast prairie as it remained suspended in the air. The air traffic controller's voice came though my headphones and directed me to land in the airship's lower hangar. I landed with ease and powered down my engines. To my surprise, I could not see any of my close friends who helped me organize the delivery missions except for our senior officer. She stood at the end of the hangar with her hair and service uniform in crisp condition. As the Crescent Sun's head of intelligence and mission coordination, she was always concerned with the smallest of details. At her side stood her trusted assistant, a short, young man with a data scroll in hand. I closed the cabin door and turned to greet them.
"Welcome back, all of you." she said warmly. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Strong." Your father introduced himself as I asked her why our friends were not present.
"Unfortunately, introductions with them will have to wait. We are needed in the north and I had them to return to their stations. All other preparations have been made and we are ready to leave. There is just one last Pegasus outside and as soon as Ash lands, we'll be underway." she said.
I thought I was the last pilot outside the ship but I was mistaken. "What is she doing out there?"
"Probably practicing her tricks again." Lt. Col. Strong's assistant said with a hint of humor in his voice. She gave him a sideways glance.
"We needed someone to give the ship a final visual inspection to make sure everything is in order out there. Speaking of which, Sergeant, you and your crew did a wonderful job on repairing the engines." she said.
"Thank you, mam." your father replied.
"Lt. Ashley was the first to volunteer. She'll jump at any chance to fly and squeeze in a bit of practice." she explained. Within moments, I heard the fluttering rotors of Ash's Pegasus as she brought it through the open hangar doors. With the airship at rest, she did not require any assistance from the automated landing arm and expertly set her craft down on the hangar floor. The space between the cabin and passenger compartment doors was decorated with several rows of tiny insignias, representing enemy aircraft and drones she had downed in combat. Further back on the fuselage, just before the tail boom, was a modified version of our airship's symbol that consisted of an upturned crescent moon below a cloud and lightning bolt; the mark of the Crescent Sun's defense squadron.
"Inform the bridge that all aircraft are accounted for and we are ready to depart." Strong said to her assistant who relayed the message through his data scroll. An alarm sounded and the hangar doors closed as Ash stepped out of her craft. Her confident grin and fiery red hair stood out against the grey fabric of her flight suit.
"Everything looks perfect out there. The ship's ready and the skies are just awesome for flying today. I hope I didn't keep anyone waiting." she said.
"Not at all. In fact, I believe we're moving now." Lt. Col. Strong said. "But I'm afraid proper introductions will have to wait until we have completed our latest assignment. Sergeant, you and AJ are to report to your stations. As for you two, I'll meet you in the briefing room in five minutes." Everyone headed their separate ways except for Ash and me. I followed her through the corridors of the ship until we reached the briefing room where several other pilots were already in their seats. I spotted another member of the crew who helped me start the care package deliveries, Lt. Abigail Libman. She sat off to one side of the room as she was usually less than comfortable next to the more rowdy pilots. Ash and I found seats next to her and struggled to hear her soft voice over the din of the room.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to meet you on your last delivery. I hope you understand." she said.
"I completely understand. But do you have any idea what's going on now?" I asked her.
She shrugged. We all sat back and waited for the briefing to begin. When Lt. Col. Strong entered, we stood and saluted her and she explained our next mission to us.
"We have received reports from a refugee camp in the north of a potent outbreak. Overcrowding and poor sanitation has led to the spread of several illnesses. In particular, the highly infectious P-type Pox has reached nearly epidemic levels." Lt. Col. Strong said. She displayed a few charts illustrating the number of infected refugees over the time since the war ended. "The doctors on the ground have used up all of their antiviral treatments trying to contain the Pox and they need someone to bring them more. This is where we come in."
She explained how the Crescent Sun was closer to the camp than any other possible relief force and we already had crewmembers moving antiviral medication from our infirmary to the hangars. Some Pegasi would carry medication while others would bring in food, water and medical personnel to assist the camp's doctors.
"Your cargo assignments have been sent to your data pads. Please review them carefully." Strong advised. "And one more very important thing. We will launch the Pegasi as soon as we are ready. The camp informed us that they have several patients in critical condition who need that medication as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in addition to racing this clock, we also have to outrun this." With a few taps on the briefing board, she brought up a map of the region with a real-time display of our airship's location in relation to a large red and orange splotch.
"This thunderstorm is predicted to cross our path to the camp by nightfall. The ship can push through it with little trouble but our meteorological data indicates that this is a supercell level storm. It towers several kilometers into the sky and the wind shears inside it will throw a Pegasus around like a leaf in a tornado. If you cannot pass the storm before it crosses your flight path, you will have to return to the ship. It is simply too dangerous for anyone to fly through it. For now though, get some rest until your aircraft are loaded. It's going to be a long night."
She dismissed us and everyone headed off to their quarters. I left the group to check on the loading operations where I found crews packing dozens of storage containers into the aircraft. However, when I looked for my Pegasus, I was informed that it had been taken for inspection and repairs after my previous series of supply deliveries.
"You can see if one of the other pilots will let you be their copilot on this one." the crew chief suggested. I nodded and headed back to the room Ash and I shared. Inside, she was lying on her bunk, reading something on a data scroll. She looked up when I came in and greeted me with a friendly smile.
"Oh there you are. I wondered where you disappeared to after the briefing." Ash said.
"I went to the hangar where I was told my Pegasus is out for maintenance. I was wondering if I could be your copilot for this mission." I said.
She tossed the scroll aside, the cover of some adventure novel flashed on the screen before the device entered sleep mode. "It's cool with me. Our cargo's gonna be a load of the antiviral meds. I hope they aren't too heavy or they'll just slow me down when I try out a new move I've got planned."
"Ash, this is a supply mission. You can't go looping and diving through the sky with cargo like this. I hate to tell you this, but you're not a dogfighter anymore." I lowered my voice. It must have been difficult for her to have to restrain so much passion. To cage her amount of skill on a routine mission seemed almost cruel.
"I know, I know. It's just with everything settling down out there, I'm afraid of the day they'll tell me I'm no longer needed. The day I'll be abandoned. So I can't let a day go by without flying. Just because I don't know how many missions I have left, I'll take anything if it means I can soar."
Her voice grew soft and she looked up at me, hoping that I understood. "They would never let someone like you go. You're the best pilot I've ever seen and I can't even count how many times you've saved my life or anyone else's for that matter. Besides, I'm your friend and I would never let them abandon you." I said.
"Thanks." Ash said.
"And look on the bright side, maybe we can fit in some trick practice after we're done. Just don't do anything too extreme, I nearly went cross-eyed trying to track you one time." Ash smiled and seemed to return to her usual positive mood. We joked and talked about trivial topics, calming our nerves before we would have to race the super storm in a few hours. I brought the display screen on our wall to life and selected an external camera's live feed. Through this digital window, I saw that the afternoon was upon us and knew that the mission was going to begin soon. When the time arrived, we donned our flight suits and headed to the hangar. Crewmembers in green vests sealed the cargo doors as the pilots climbed into their cabins. I sat in the seat to the right of Ash and helped her run through our preflight checks. I pulled on a pair of headphones and tested the radio systems along with all of the essential equipment onboard. Not long after we completed our checks did an alarm sound and the crewmembers clear the flight line. The hangar doors slid open to reveal the orange sky behind them. Ash reached into a pocket on her suit and removed a pair of aviator sunglasses. Even though she could have worn a helmet with a tinted filter, she usually wore the glasses instead. If there was ever a pilot with a style all their own, it was Ash.
"All personnel clear. Pegasi are clear to power up." came a voice in my headset.
"Copy, control. Engines are coming online. Standing by for launch authorization." I turned on the dual Cloudsdales that powered the craft and they slowly hummed to life. Our rotors gained speed and I felt Ash's tension to open up the throttle. Throughout the flight line, the other Pegasi were ready as well.
"Launch authorized. Proceed when ready." the flight controller said.
"Go for it." I said.
Ash released the landing clamps that held us to the floor and flew us outside and into the late afternoon air. She brought us around to get clear of the Crescent Sun and allow the other pilots to take off. With a wide turn through the sky, I saw her smile grow. The Pegasus climbed as she took us through a small cloud only to dive back down again.
"Easy. Let's hold off on that until we drop off the cargo." I warned her.
"Relax; I'm just getting a feel for the controls with that kind of weight back there."
I smiled as the rest of the Pegasi joined us. Dozens of them took off from both the upper and lower hangars and arranged themselves into several formations. We found our place in one of the formations and plotted our route to the camp. We were half an hour into the flight and everything had unfolded according to plan. Unfortunately, in the dying light of the day, I stared in awe at the only thing that could bring the mission to a halt. It loomed hundreds of feet above us and its gunmetal cloak stretched all the way to the ground. Clouds as dark, thick, and cold as a steel wall glowed every few seconds with electric anxiety. Thunder rolled through the sky with an oppressive force that surprised me with its ferocity.
"We're too late." Ash whispered into her headset.
"All Pegasi, be advised!" the flight controller's voice came through. "The supercell class storm has intersected your planned route. High winds, rain and electrical activity make it too dangerous to enter. You are to return at once."
In the distance, a bolt of lightning struck the ground with an amazing flash but inside the cockpit, our spirits were anything but bright.
"They're calling us back, Ash. What do you want to do?" I asked.
She gazed out at the storm and then to me. She took off her glasses and spoke clearly, her tone unwavering. "I can make it through the storm. I know I can. But I won't if you don't want to." she said.
I thought about the risk. Lt. Col. Strong said the storm would throw us around like a ball. I thought about my family and all those who I would leave behind if we crashed. It almost made me tell her to turn the Pegasus around. On either side of us, the rest of the pilots peeled off and headed towards the ship. Then I remembered you Lauren. I never would have met you if I had not chosen to act all those days ago. It made me wonder whose life depended on what Ash and I were carrying. They were counting on us. I knew I had to support Ash and continue the mission. "I think this is crazy and you might be a little nutty, but I'm with you either way. We have a job to do so let's make this happen."
"Are you sure? Have you ever soared past lightning? It's awesome to me but I don't want you to panic when we go inside this thing."
"Compared to the war, this will be a breeze. I'll be fine. The only ones you need to worry about are sitting back at command." I said. As I looked around, I noticed that we were alone in the sky. Our lone craft must have stood out on the Crescent Sun's radar because I soon heard the flight controller again.
"Iris 1-5, state your intentions." His voice was quite formal and I had a feeling that he would not understand Ash's refusal to turn around.
"Crescent Sun, we are completing the mission." Ash took the Pegasus higher and aimed the nose directly at the storm.
"1-5, coms interference is possible given your proximity to the storm. How copy?" he said.
"Solid copy, Crescent Sun. There is no coms trouble so I will make myself clear. We are flying through the storm and delivering our cargo. Over." Ash began to inspect all of the instruments and information displays as we approached the darkening wall.
"Iris 1-5, you are advised to return at once."
"And abandon the camp?" Ash said impatiently.
"Negative. The Crescent Sun can pass through the storm unharmed. We will still reach the camp." the flight controller said.
"Yeah, hours later! Those people on the ground don't have that kind of time!" Ash said angrily. "Why am I even discussing this with you? Find Lt. Col. Strong, and put her on."
A moment later, Strong's voice came through the radio. "What are you doing Ash?" She didn't sound upset, rather, she sounded concerned.
"What is the condition of the Pox patients?" Ash asked.
"The camp sent us a report an hour ago. They just added a dozen more people to the critical condition sector. Without any treatment, they won't survive another day."
"There. Say all of that again and then ask me what I'm doing. I'm doing what I have to. Ditzy and I have already talked about this and she's with me." Ash replied firmly.
"Think about this. Both of you! Our readings indicate that the storm is too strong to fly through and by the time you fly around it, you might as well have come through it with us."
I spoke up, determined to show my support for Ash. "We have thought about it. It may not be the smart thing, but it is the right thing."
"We took an oath to protect people when we joined. That doesn't mean we'll abandon them when the weather gets rough." Ash said.
There was a pause. No one spoke and all I could hear were our rotors and the rumble of thunder. Finally, Lt. Col. Strong returned. "I understand that the choice is only yours to make. You are clear to act as you see fit."
Ash and I exchanged smiles. "Thank you. We won't fail." Ash said.
"To both of you, from all of us here watching…Godspeed."
"We'll see you on the other side of the storm. Iris 1-5, out." I signed off and nodded to Ash.
"I'm sorry I'm bringing you into this. I hope you… " she began. I held up a hand to stop her.
"I still say you're nutty. But, hey, I've done lots of nutty things."
She chuckled and brushed a lock of her red hair away from her eyes as she eased the throttle forward. "Let's just hope this won't be the last crazy thing we do."
Rain splattered itself against the polyglass canopy before the first gust of wind howled against the Pegasus. The sun was gone and we had only just breached the perimeter of the storm. The faint glow of our instrument displays and navigational systems provided the only light apart from the occasional brilliant flash of lightning. As we had expected, the wind shears attacked the craft violently but Ash fought them throughout the night. The turbulence slowed our progress but as dawn approached, we were confident that we could make it through unscathed.
"We're doing fine. Just a few more miles and we'll be in the clear." I said. Another fierce gust struck the Pegasus and forced Ash to wrestle the craft back under control. I had spoken too soon because suddenly a bolt of lightning lit up the sky and struck us. The internal systems flickered for a moment before we realized what had happened.
"You ok?" I asked Ash.
"Yeah, I think the shielding took the majority of the strike. We still have all our…" she trailed off.
"What? What's wrong?" I looked down at my own display and noticed that our engine output had dropped dangerously low.
"I think the rotors stopped. We've lost power." she said. "Hang on because we just became a rock."
She was right. The Pegasus began to dip and my stomach lurched as we picked up speed.
"I'm going to try and restart the engines! I need you to keep us level using the tail and rotor pods! They're not wings but they should at least make sure we're upright!" Ash shouted.
I gripped the control stick and planted my feet on the pedals. As we plummeted to the ground, I tried to keep us from being upside down as the storm did everything to resist me. Thunder peals echoed through the grey haze as Ash attempted to regain power.
"Come on!" she pleaded. I watched our altimeter count down and knew that we were almost out of time. I activated the terrain scanner which displayed a digital representation of the ground on our windscreen. It allowed us to see through the clouds but this only helped us visualize how close we were to our doom.
"Last try Ash! Take the controls. I'm gonna shut everything down and restart the whole system. Then it's up to you to get us flying again!" I shouted into the headset. Ash took over the Pegasus while I made the craft go dark. The ground disappeared into the storm as I counted to three. "Please work…" I whispered.
With a familiar and relieving hum, the engines came back online along with everything else. "Hit it!" I cheered as Ash shoved the throttle as far as it would go. The terrain scanner flashed a low altitude warning but Ash ignored it. The rotors roared with a ferocity that rivaled the wind as Ash pulled up. With the ground coming up to meet us, there was an earsplitting crack of thunder just as we avoided a crash. The Pegasus flew only a few yards above the ground at an incredible speed. Ash worked the controls until we our nose tilted upward. We tore off into the sky again as the boom reverberated through the air.
"We did it! I can't believe we did it!" My heart continued to race as we swooped through the morning sky. Ash said nothing. She merely smiled like never before. The pure joy in her eyes was contagious as I took several breaths to calm myself. The clouds faded away as if they had been pushed back by Ash's mood. Within minutes, the sprawling city of tents was visible in the soft warmth of the morning sun. The camp's radio operator directed us to an empty field where we landed in the moist grass. Men and women in masks approached us as the rotors came to a stop. I opened my door and jumped down to meet them.
"We're from the Crescent Sun. I understand you have a Pox epidemic on your hands. We brought the medication you requested." I said.
One of the men stepped aside to speak with me while his companions unloaded the cargo crates. "You're from the airship we've contacted?" he said in disbelief. "They told us their transports had to turn back."
"Not us." I said.
"You flew through that?" He pointed towards the storm on the western horizon.
"Well, yes. Yes we did. The ship will be here later today with the rest of your supplies but we heard that some of the Pox patients can't wait that long." I replied.
"You have no idea how right you are. The Pox is especially deadly to the elderly and young children. I can't tell you how many parents will be thankful that you braved that dreadful storm when you did." the man said. Behind him, an all-terrain vehicle with a trailer pulled up to take the crates to the medical tents.
"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.
"That's quite alright but I'm afraid the Pox is too contagious for you to follow us much further into the camp. You've done more than enough already. Thank you." the man answered.
"It wasn't just me. You'll have to thank Lt. Ashley here." I said as Ash joined us. "It was her determination to fight through the storm that got us here."
"It was nothing really. I'd do it for anyone. Even it meant another close call." Ash said. The man looked at her, puzzled. I explained to him about our brush with death towards the end of the flight.
"Call it luck or skill or whatever you will, ladies. But I think you were destined to complete this mission." Ash and I looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. In the end, we thanked the man and let him follow the other camp workers to the medical tents. Ash crawled into the empty cargo bay of the Pegasus and found a spot to lie down. She yawned and tried to get comfortable as we waited for the Crescent Sun to arrive. I hesitated to join her as the mission had left me tired as well but I instead chose to give the Pegasus a quick inspection before I rested. When I reached the tail of the craft, I noticed something curious. The painted mark of Ash's squadron had been blackened by what I supposed was where lightning had struck us. The upturned crescent was barely visible and all that remained was the cloud and the stylized lightning bolt. I made a mental note to have the mechanics investigate how we lost our engines but I soon thought of little else besides resting. As I walked behind the Pegasus to reach the cargo compartment, I gazed off towards the retreating storm. With the rising sun at my back, I saw one of the most brilliant rainbows grace the dreary sky and return color to the horizon.
...
Dear Lauren,
When we joined the Allied Air Force, we pledged an oath. Like our culture, many different pieces have become incorporated into it over time. We promise to uphold our beliefs, defend our nation and acknowledge that we are responsible for our own actions. We pledge loyalty to our leaders and each other, forming a bond of unimaginable strength that allows us to stand by each other in the face of hardships. However, for some of us, there is something deeper. Ash told me that her first sworn duty is to her conscience, no matter what the consequences. Her actions on the night of the great storm caused me to realize strength more powerful than I could ever have imagined. Her loyalty was not limited to only those she knew but also to those that she never met. In their hour of need, she did not abandon them as others did. She persevered in the shadow of the storm to help people while the other pilots turned back. I believe that our world needs more of her kind of uncommon loyalty because if we are to rebuild it, we must first learn to rely on each other. This willingness to take the first step in building new friendships can lead to victory even when the situation appears hopeless.
Now, more than ever, we need someone to depend on. However, with this true for everyone, we can be that person. We must stand by each other's side. Like the colors of a rainbow blending seamlessly together, we can return beauty to where there once was grey.
Your faithful friend,
Ms. Ditzy
