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Sie jagten ihre besten Jets auf die A 10 – doch keiner wusste, dass der Witwenmacher zurückkehrte — Transcript

by Splitter der Zeit Geschichten · 8,415 words · 1,303 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Take her down. I don’t want to see
0:02that ugly old machine in the sky
0:03anymore. The voice of Raven 1 cut
0:06through the open radio frequency with a
0:08coldness that had nothing to do with a
0:10training maneuver. No hesitation, no
0:14inquiry, no trace of uncertainty, just
0:16an order spoken by a man clearly
0:19convinced that only seconds stood
0:21between his will and another pilot's
0:24death. High above the jagged mountains,
0:28two modern fighter jets broke away from
0:30each other and shifted into attack
0:32formation almost simultaneously. Their
0:35sensors locked onto the same target. A
0:37single A-10, slow, heavy, outwardly
0:40almost from another era, without escort
0:43and far from any immediate
0:45reinforcements. On paper, the matter
0:48was settled. The two fighters were
0:50faster, higher, technologically
0:52superior, and able to cover each other.
0:55The woman in the old ground-attack
0:56aircraft had none of that. What the men
0:58didn't know, however, was who sat in
1:01that cockpit. A few hours earlier,
1:04Major Lena Hartmann had stood on the
1:06tarmac of Redmer Air Station in the
1:08pale light before sunrise. The air
1:11smelled of kerosene, cold metal, and
1:13the fine dust the wind carried from the
1:15desert to the hangars. In front of her
1:19rested her machine, angular, heavy, and
1:21anything but elegant. As on every
1:23mission day, Lena placed her right hand
1:25on the fuselage. To outsiders, this
1:28gesture might have seemed like
1:29superstition. To her, it was something
1:32else. It was a silent check, a familiar
1:35moment between pilot and plane before
1:37ascending together into a sky that was
1:40rarely as harmless as it looked from
1:42the ground. The younger mechanics had
1:45smiled at it initially. Those who had
1:48worked with her longer hadn't done that
1:49for a long time. Master Sergeant Daniel
1:52Brooks approached her with a
1:54maintenance tool under his arm. Black
1:56grease was already smeared on his left
1:58hand, even though the sun hadn't yet
2:00risen above the horizon. "The machine
2:03is mission-ready, Major. Tanks full,
2:06ammunition checked, hydraulics stable.
2:09We ran the systems through twice." Lena
2:12kept her hand on the metal. "Twice
2:14means something didn't sit right with
2:16you on the first run." Brooks remained
2:19silent for a moment. "Short pressure
2:21fluctuation in the left hydraulic
2:22circuit. We checked the line and
2:24replaced the sensor. Everything was
2:26clean on the second test, and you're
2:28telling me anyway. Of course." Now Lena
2:31took her hand off the fuselage and
2:32looked at him. "That’s why I trust
2:34you." She was in her early 40s, neither
2:37particularly tall nor physically
2:39imposing. A thin scar ran along her
2:42right jaw, about which many stories
2:44circulated on the base, and none of
2:46them were entirely true. Fine lines had
2:49settled around her eyes over the past
2:51few years, traces of sun, lack of sleep
2:54, and things pilots rarely spoke about.
2:56Beside the massive machine behind her,
2:58she appeared almost inconspicuous. That
3:00was exactly what led people to make the
3:02same mistake over and over again. They
3:04usually thought Lena Hartmann was
3:06ordinary, as long as they only looked
3:07at her. Only when they saw her in
3:09action did they realize how wrong that
3:11impression had been. What does it look
3:14like over the northern training area?
3:16Brooks pulled up the weather data.
3:19Thick cloud layers over the mountains.
3:21Ceiling at about 2,500 meters, strong
3:24gusts above that. Poor visibility in
3:27some of the canyons. Lena glanced at
3:29the data only briefly. Good. Brooks
3:32raised an eyebrow. Good. For someone
3:35who knows every rock down there. Yes.
3:38With that, she turned away and headed
3:39toward the equipment room. Two hours
3:41later, she was already in the air. In
3:44the briefing room, the mission had
3:46sounded almost boring. A strictly
3:48shielded training scenario over a
3:50mountain section in northern New Mexico
3:52. A military convoy was to drive
3:55through a long valley system to a
3:57collection point. Multiple aircraft
4:00would secure the formation, while
4:02pilots from an aggressor unit simulated
4:04enemy fighters. Lena was supposed to
4:07stay at low to medium altitude with her
4:09A-10. Combat threats to the ground
4:12troops and ensure the convoy cleared
4:14the narrow passage. A task she had
4:17trained for in similar form countless
4:20times. Then, just before 7:00 a.m.,
4:23everything changed. Multiple voices
4:26broke out in confusion simultaneously
4:27on the control frequency. The sober
4:29routine of the exercise command had
4:31vanished. Shadow Lance here, Exercise
4:34Control, unplanned situational change.
4:37Two support elements are down due to
4:39technical problems. You remain as the
4:41only aircraft over the corridor.
4:44Confirm. Lena banked her machine into a
4:46shallow turn and answered without a
4:49visible reaction. Confirmed. Shadow
4:51Lance is alone in the sector. What is
4:53the threat situation? It took a moment
4:56before the voice from headquarters came
4:59back. The aggressor aircraft Raven 1
5:02and Raven 2 are no longer responding to
5:04the designated control instructions. We
5:07have lost contact with the unit's
5:09liaison officer. Assume their pilots
5:12might act outside the agreed-upon
5:14scenario. Lena glanced over her
5:17instruments. Understood. Then the
5:20mission commander's voice dropped.
5:22Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Ortega was
5:25not a man who got nervous easily. Lena
5:27had known him long enough to hear when
5:30he was serious. One more thing. The
5:33convoy is manned by real people. Twelve
5:36soldiers are in the vehicles. They were
5:38already on their way when the situation
5:40escalated. Until we know what is
5:43actually happening up there, those
5:45twelve people are relying on you.
5:48Lena's fingers moved across several
5:50switches. She checked fuel, sensors,
5:53altitude, and terrain data. Understood,
5:57Colonel, I'm staying with them. She
5:59banked into a wide turn and pointed her
6:01nose toward the valley. Below her, a
6:04series of narrow canyons ran like dark
6:06scars through the mountains. The convoy
6:08was several kilometers away. Small
6:11vehicles from this altitude,
6:12accompanied by thin trails of dust.
6:15Lena counted them, watched their speed,
6:17and estimated the distance to the
6:19narrowest passage. About 11 minutes,
6:22maybe a little less if the driver in
6:24the lead kept the pace. Then a strange
6:28voice sounded, not over the designated
6:30exercise channel, but over an open
6:32frequency where numerous military
6:34aircraft in the region could listen in.
6:37That was no coincidence. "Raven 1
6:39wanted an audience.""The lonely A-10
6:41over the valley," said the man in a
6:44calm, almost bored voice. "I can see
6:46you. Where did your friends go?" Lena
6:49did not answer. Her eyes moved over the
6:52displays, then out into the sky, then
6:54back again. No answer. Fine by me. We
6:58see you anyway. Interesting machine. I
7:01didn't think something like that was
7:02still flying at all. A second voice
7:05laughed. Raven 2. The laughter was
7:07genuine. They weren't just mocking her
7:10to provoke her. They truly found the
7:13situation amusing. Lena finally spotted
7:16two fast contacts east of her position.
7:18High, fast, in a descent. They were
7:21approaching her openly. No attempt to
7:23conceal their approach. Men who
7:26believed they held a superior hand
7:29rarely hid their cards. "Raven
7:31formation, this is Shadow Lance," said
7:34Lena. "You are in controlled airspace.
7:37Re-establish contact with flight
7:40control and return to your designated
7:42area." Raven 1 laughed softly. "There
7:45she is. Tell me, pilot, are you afraid?
7:48" Lena watched the flight path. "You
7:51should change your course.""Why should
7:53I?" Because they were entering a
7:55situation they didn't understand. For a
7:58brief moment, there was silence. Then
8:00he spoke again. The amusement was still
8:03there, but underneath it now lay a
8:05barely perceptible resistance. "You're
8:07flying slow. You're alone. There are
8:09two of us. Our machines are superior to
8:12yours in virtually every performance
8:14metric and yet you talk as if you have
8:16an advantage." Lena did not answer.
8:19While he was speaking, she was
8:21calculating his altitude, the possible
8:24intercept angle, the distance of his
8:26wingman, and the time the convoy would
8:28still need. At the same time, she
8:30recalled the terrain map from the
8:32mission briefing. People heard words;
8:35good pilots heard intentions. Raven 1
8:38wanted her to climb into the open
8:40airspace. That was where he could
8:42exploit speed and altitude. So she
8:44would do exactly the opposite. The
8:46first approach confirmed her assessment
8:48. The two fighters dove from high
8:51altitude, crossed above her position
8:53and pulled back up without actually
8:55attacking. A test, an attempt to force
8:59her to evade. Lena stayed on the flight
9:03path. No frantic change of course, no
9:06flight, no visible sign of nervousness.
9:09On the ground frequency, Lieutenant
9:11Aaron Blake, the convoy leader, checked
9:13in. Shadow Lance, this is Alpha 1. We
9:17see two fast movers above us. Can you
9:19assess the situation? Lena switched
9:22channels. Alpha 1: Maintain speed and
9:25route. No stops, no deviations.
9:28Understood. But these machines don't
9:30exactly seem like part of a normal
9:32exercise. They aren't. There was
9:35silence for a moment. How long until
9:37the narrow passage? Just under 11
9:39minutes. Then think only of the road
9:41for the next eleven minutes. I will
9:43take care of the sky. Blake exhaled
9:45audibly. Understood, Major. The two
9:48fighters turned back. Raven 1 went
9:50lower this time. You're still here, he
9:53said. Most pilots would have tried to
9:56gain a better position by now. Maybe
9:59I'm already in the better position with
10:02this aircraft. You talk an awful lot
10:05for someone so sure of themselves. His
10:08wingman’s laughter died out abruptly.
10:10Raven 1 was silent for a moment. Lena
10:12used the pause. How long have you been
10:15flying? Apparently, he hadn't expected
10:17that question. Only after a brief
10:20hesitation did he answer: 11 years.
10:22Then there is still hope that you might
10:24learn something today. Now the
10:26frequency remained silent for much
10:27longer. Raven 2 said something on an
10:30internal channel that became partially
10:32audible due to an overlap. Lena didn't
10:35understand every word, but she
10:37recognized one, a term that meant
10:39roughly ghost or apparition. Raven 1
10:42picked up on it. My wingman calls you a
10:45ghost. Interesting name for a pilot in
10:48a machine that any radar operator sees
10:51from a great distance. That's not what
10:53I'm called. What are you called then?
10:56Lena let three heartbeats pass. Ask
10:58your command about Major Lena Hartmann.
11:01The reply didn't come immediately and
11:03this time she knew her silence had
11:05struck a nerve. Not because her name
11:08was magical, but because career
11:10soldiers in certain circles knew names
11:12that rarely appeared in detail in
11:15official reports. For almost a minute,
11:17she heard nothing from the two of them.
11:19No mockery, no laughter, no attempt to
11:22provoke her. Lena imagined Raven 1
11:25inquiring on an encrypted channel. She
11:29would never know exactly what they told
11:31him. She didn't know it either. When he
11:33responded, his tone had changed. Raven
11:362, breaking off to the south. New
11:39approach from Sector West. No more
11:41jokes. No personal remarks, just short
11:45military orders. Lena smiled almost
11:47imperceptibly. Finally! She muttered.
11:50From that moment on, he took her
11:51seriously. That was exactly what she
11:53had wanted. Arrogant opponents were
11:55easy to read as long as they were
11:57playing. They became more dangerous
11:59when they disciplined themselves. But
12:01wounded pride had its own price. A
12:04pilot who had just learned that he had
12:06underestimated his opponent often
12:08wanted to correct that mistake too
12:10quickly. He became more aggressive,
12:13more determined, more personal, and as
12:16soon as a fight became personal,
12:18experienced people started making
12:20decisions they would never defend in a
12:23briefing room. Down in the convoy,
12:25Lieutenant Aaron Blake sat in the lead
12:28vehicle, watching the sky through the
12:30dusty windshield. Beside him sat
12:32Sergeant Miguel Salazar, a soldier for
12:35nearly 16 years and a veteran of three
12:37deployments. Blake pointed upward. Do
12:40you know Hartmann? Salazar didn't take
12:42his eyes off the sky, just the name.
12:45Nothing more—enough to be glad
12:47she’s up there. Blake waited. Salazar
12:51remained silent at first. Finally, he
12:53said, a few years ago there was a
12:55mission that was barely talked about.
12:58An A-10 with her call sign got into
13:00trouble against several enemy aircraft.
13:03And at the time, the others also
13:05thought she was the easy target. Blake
13:07looked at him. What happened? Salas
13:10kept looking upward. Not all of them
13:13came back. The fighters 'second
13:15approach began. Raven 2 veered far to
13:18the south, while Raven 1 gained
13:20altitude. Lena recognized the pattern
13:22immediately. The wingman was supposed
13:25to force her to react. As soon as she
13:27turned toward him, Raven 1 would come
13:29from above. By the book, cleanly
13:31planned, dangerous, and completely
13:34useless if the target vanished. Lena
13:36pushed the nose of her aircraft down.
13:39The A-10 descended into the upper
13:41reaches of the canyon network. Rock
13:43walls rose on both sides. Shadows
13:46swallowed the aircraft. Radar signals
13:48were broken and blocked by the terrain.
13:51The A-10 was never designed to fly
13:53elegant, high-speed maneuvers between
13:56canyon walls. It was built to stay in
13:59the worst of a battle, take hits, and
14:02still keep working. But Lena had been
14:06training in these exact canyons for
14:08years. She knew the shape of the walls,
14:10the spots where crosswinds suddenly
14:12dropped over a ridge, the valleys where
14:15radio waves worsened, and those turns
14:17behind which an aircraft practically
14:19disappeared from sensors above the
14:21mountains. Raven 2 raced over a
14:24mountain ridge. Its sensors searched
14:27where Lena had been seconds before.
14:30Nothing. Through the radio, she heard
14:32his surprised voice. Lost contact. Then
14:35Raven 1, now sharp. Where is she? She
14:38was just there. Find her. Lena flew low
14:41through the canyon. To the two modern
14:44fighters, her speed would have been
14:46laughable. For her, this slowness meant
14:49control. While the men had to fly large
14:51arcs above her, she could change her
14:53position with almost surgical precision
14:56. Blake chimed in: "Shadow Lance, we
14:58have lost visual contact with you."
15:01That is the point. And the hunters are
15:04looking for me. We are still six
15:06minutes away from the passage. Then you
15:08have six minutes to keep flying and not
15:11look up. "Lena rounded a rocky outcrop
15:13and began to climb slowly. Not abruptly
15:16. No sudden power spike that would have
15:18immediately betrayed her position. Step
15:21by step, she increased thrust and
15:23altitude. Raven 1 called out again.
15:26Hartmann. No callsign anymore, no hint
15:28of her aircraft, only yours. You cannot
15:32stay between these rocks forever. Lena
15:34said nothing. Come out, let’s finish
15:37this. She smiled. He was talking to her
15:39again because the silence made him
15:41nervous, because he didn't know where
15:43she was. Because a man in a
15:46technologically superior fighter had to
15:48accept that the pilot of a slower
15:50machine was dictating the rhythm of the
15:52battle. Lena continued to climb. Ahead
15:55of her, the edge of a mountain ridge
15:57approached. Beyond it lay open sky.
15:59Somewhere out there, Raven 1 and Raven
16:012 were waiting. She thought of Brooks
16:04on the apron, of the grease on his hand
16:07, of his statement that the machine was
16:09ready. She thought of twelve soldiers
16:12in a valley who had nothing to do with
16:14the power struggle of two pilots and
16:16yet could die if she made a mistake.
16:19Then she reached the ridge. The A-10
16:21slid over the rock edge as if emerging
16:24directly from the mountains. Raven 2
16:26spotted her first. Contact, northwest,
16:31low. He immediately turned into her.
16:34Too fast, too determined. Lena saw it
16:37and knew that he was no longer acting
16:39on an order, but on an impulse. For
16:42minutes, she had let him search. Now he
16:44finally wanted to pin her down. He
16:46accelerated. Lena held her course. The
16:49distance shrank. Any inexperienced
16:52observer would have expected her to
16:54turn away. She did the opposite. She
16:57pointed her machine directly at his
16:59approach path. Raven 2 had to
17:02recalculate for a fraction of a second
17:04what she was planning. Exactly that
17:07tiny delay was enough. Lena crossed his
17:10line so that he had to break hard to
17:12avoid a dangerous collision. His speed
17:16carried him far beyond her ideal angle.
17:20The necessary evasive maneuver brought
17:22him behind a mountain ridge and thus,
17:24for several crucial seconds, out of
17:26position with his wingman. Lena did not
17:29follow him. That would have been the
17:32mistake Raven 1 expected. Instead, she
17:34turned back toward the center of the
17:36corridor. Alpha 1, distance. Blake
17:40replied immediately. Four more minutes.
17:42Continue. Understood. Raven 1 was
17:45coming himself now. He had enough of
17:48having to order his wingman around. He
17:50dove from a great height, building up
17:53speed. His machine had been designed
17:56for this very moment. Fast entry,
17:58energy advantage, short decision time
18:01for the opponent. Lena could see him.
18:04She could practically feel what he
18:06expected: for her to turn away, to try
18:09to create distance, to give him the
18:12space to convert his speed into a clean
18:15attack. So she turned toward him again.
18:18Not panicked, not aggressive, precise.
18:22Raven 1 was too fast to have the same
18:24freedom of movement as she did at close
18:27range. His superiority became a problem
18:30. Speed was only an advantage if there
18:33was enough space to use it. Lena took
18:36that space away from him. He shot past
18:38her. Seconds later, he tried to come
18:41around again. But exactly where his new
18:43trajectory led, the dark wall of a
18:45mountain range rose up. A warning tone
18:49sounded in his cockpit. He had to break
18:51off the attack and pull outward. His
18:53own momentum carried him away from the
18:55valley. Lena watched his contact on the
18:58display grow larger and then drift to
19:00the side. She did not chase him. She
19:03did not think about defeating him. That
19:05was not her mission. Alpha 1. Status: 2
19:10minutes to the exit. We can already see
19:13the open terrain. Then full speed now.
19:16Understood. In the background, Lena
19:19heard Salasa say something. Quietly,
19:21almost in awe. Holy Mother of God. She
19:24ignored it. Her machine transitioned
19:27into a wide circle above the passage
19:29exit. The sun was higher now, coloring
19:31the rock walls orange and white. Below
19:34her, the first vehicles of the convoy
19:36appeared at the last bend. They were
19:38not safe yet. Raven 2 had regained his
19:42position. Raven 1 was further out, but
19:45he would return. Men like him did not
19:48retreat as long as they believed they
19:50still had a chance to restore their
19:52self-image. Lena only had to buy time.
19:563 minutes, maybe less. 3 minutes could
19:59be endless in a battle. The people
20:03below might later remember the sky, the
20:05engine noise, the radio calls, and a
20:07heavy grey machine circling above the
20:10rocks. Lena would only remember the
20:13clock. Every second was a vehicle that
20:16got a few meters further. Every second
20:19brought twelve soldiers closer to open
20:21ground. That was the mission. Not Raven
20:251, not Raven 2, not her own reputation,
20:27not the stories that would eventually
20:30be told in a bar about this morning.
20:33The mission was twelve people in a
20:35convoy. Everything else was just flying
20:37. Raven 1 checked in again. His voice
20:40was controlled, but beneath it Lena
20:42heard something new. No more mockery,
20:45not even anger. Careful, Hartmann. You
20:48are protecting those vehicles. Well
20:50observed. Then they are your weakness.
20:53Lena looked down. The first vehicle was
20:56only a few hundred meters from the exit
20:58. No, she said calmly. They are the
21:02reason I am still here. Raven 2
21:04appeared west of the valley. Raven 1
21:07approached from the north. This time
21:09they would not try to lure her out
21:11individually. They wanted to build
21:13pressure from two directions at once.
21:15Lena saw the geometry and immediately
21:18understood what was coming. She could
21:20evade, she could gain altitude, she
21:23could try to isolate one of the two.
21:26But any of these options would pull her
21:28away from the convoy for a few moments.
21:31So she stayed. Alpha 1. How much longer
21:33? Less than a minute. Do not hold
21:37formation. As soon as you exit the
21:39passage, spread out in the open terrain
21:41. Blake understood, so they don’t
21:43have a common target. Exactly. The lead
21:46vehicle shot out of the canyon. Dust
21:49erupted from behind its tires. A second
21:51followed. Then a third. Raven 1 changed
21:54his angle. Lena realized that he was
21:56serious now. She pulled the machine
21:59slightly to the left, letting him
22:00believe she wanted to block his
22:02expected path and seemingly giving
22:04Raven 2 more room on the other side.
22:07The wingman reacted immediately. He
22:09accelerated into the gap. Lena waited.
22:12Another vehicle came out of the passage
22:13. Then the next. Raven 2 continued his
22:17approach. That was exactly what she had
22:19hoped for. She suddenly banked the
22:21machine into a tight turn and
22:22simultaneously dropped below the edge
22:24of the slope. The fighter lost its
22:27direct line for a moment. Raven 1
22:30corrected. Both had to reset their
22:32attacks. A few seconds. That was all
22:35she needed. Last vehicle is out, Blake
22:38reported. Lena looked down. Indeed. The
22:42entire convoy was already spreading out
22:44on the wider terrain beyond the canyon.
22:47Twelve soldiers had put the most
22:49dangerous part behind them. Only now
22:51did Lena allow herself a slow breath,
22:54but the morning was far from over.
22:57Raven 1 knew by now as well that the
22:59vehicles had reached the exit. His next
23:02transmission was completely devoid of
23:04humor. You bought time. Lena steered
23:07the A-10 out of the shadow of the
23:09mountain slope. That was the plan. And
23:12now, before her, the sky opened up.
23:14Raven 1 top left, Raven 2 further back.
23:18Both on the move again. Lena aligned
23:21her craft, checked the displays, and
23:23looked into the bright light above the
23:24mountains. Her voice remained calm."
23:27Now, "she said," you must decide if you
23:30really want to find out why your people
23:33knew my name. "Blake reported in over
23:35the radio again. There was relief in
23:38his voice, but something else too,
23:40something deeper, as if he had only
23:42just realized what had actually
23:44happened above him. Shadow Lance, we
23:46are completely out. Lena kept her eyes
23:49fixed on the sky. Understood? Keep
23:52moving. For a moment, Blake remained
23:54silent. Then he said," Major, say what
23:57you want to say. "Silence again. This
24:00time longer. When Blake finally spoke,
24:03he sounded like a young officer who had
24:05just seen something he would tell his
24:08children about someday and yet never
24:10find the right words for. Who taught
24:13them to fly like that? Lena looked out
24:16into the bright morning light. Raven 1
24:19and Raven 2 were by now just small dots
24:21far out over the mountains. They were
24:24no longer closing in. There was silence
24:26on the open frequency, too. Lena
24:28thought about the question for a moment
24:30. The same people who taught them to
24:33stay calm, even when they didn't know
24:35what was happening above their heads.
24:38Blake did not answer again. Lena
24:40initially adjusted her course slightly
24:42toward the base. Behind her, the
24:44mountain ridges stood like dark walls
24:45against the bright sky. What had begun
24:48early in the morning with a mocking
24:50voice would later be told in countless
24:53variations. But the mission was not yet
24:55over. Lena knew that before any sensor
24:58here had to confirm it. The two dots on
25:01the horizon were not really moving away
25:03. They kept their distance and circled,
25:06not like pilots on their way back, but
25:08like predators that, after unexpected
25:10resistance, had not yet decided whether
25:12to leave or attack again. Raven 1 was
25:16not broken. A man like him wouldn't
25:18give up just because a single attack
25:20had failed. He would analyze his
25:23mistakes. He would turn the shame of
25:26having been outmaneuvered by a machine
25:28he had mocked only minutes earlier into
25:31discipline. And if discipline wasn't
25:35enough, his pride would do the rest.
25:38Lena kept her hands steady on the
25:40controls. She waited. A few minutes
25:43after the convoy broke through, Raven 1
25:45called in again. This time, there was
25:47nothing left of his earlier laughter.
25:49Hartmann, just her name, precise and
25:52cold. You flew well, but the ground
25:55troops are out of danger now. You have
25:58nothing left to protect. Lena remained
26:00silent." With that, "he continued," you
26:02also have no reason to stay here
26:04anymore. "" We, on the other hand,
26:05still have some unfinished business. "
26:07Lena listened less to his words than to
26:09what he was trying to achieve with them
26:11. He was trying to redefine the
26:14engagement. As long as the convoy was
26:17at risk, she had dictated the terms.
26:20Now, he wanted to turn a protection
26:22mission into a direct comparison
26:24between three aircraft. Two modern
26:26fighters against a single A-10. Under
26:29these conditions, any sober performance
26:31analysis would be against her. But his
26:34conclusion was based on the same false
26:36assumption as in the beginning." Raven
26:381, "Lena finally said," you are still
26:40making the same mistake. "" Which one?
26:43"" You still believe that you decide
26:45what this is about. "Static noise
26:48briefly filled the frequency. Then, for
26:50a moment, Raven 2 came through,
26:52apparently because he hadn't closed a
26:54channel properly." She's not flying
26:56away. "After that, the connection went
26:58silent again immediately. Lena didn't
27:00have to answer. Raven 1 had already
27:02understood. She wasn't staying because
27:04she was damaged. She wasn't staying
27:06because her fuel was already critical.
27:09She was staying because two
27:11unpredictable fighters were operating
27:13in an airspace where real soldiers were
27:15present, and where, at the moment, no
27:17one but her could exert pressure on
27:19their decisions. That was what her
27:22callsign meant. Shadowlance didn't
27:24vanish as long as she still had
27:26influence on the outcome of a battle.
27:29In the convoy's lead vehicle, Salasar
27:31still held a portable radio to his ear.
27:34Although the vehicles had long since
27:36reached open terrain, he was listening
27:37to every transmission. Blake watched
27:40him in the rearview mirror." We're
27:42through. "" She can go back. "Sala
27:44slowly shook his head." She's not going
27:47back. "Blake frowned." The mission is
27:50complete. "Sala looked at him." Have
27:53you ever heard why some people on base
27:56only whisper her name? "Blake shook his
28:00head." A few years ago, she was flying
28:02support for a small unit in a mountain
28:04valley. "" Seven soldiers. "" The enemy
28:07had them surrounded from several sides.
28:09"" All other aircraft were pulled for a
28:12larger operation. "" Command ordered
28:15Hartmann to return. "Salazar paused."
28:19She stayed. "" For how long? "" Almost
28:22six hours. "Blake turned his head
28:24toward him." All alone, going in and
28:27out again and again, saving fuel,
28:29managing ammunition, keeping pressure
28:31on the enemy positions until a rescue
28:34unit finally got through. "" And after
28:36that? "" After that, she got in trouble
28:39for ignoring an order to return. "Blake
28:42stared ahead at the dusty road and the
28:45seven men; several of them are still
28:47serving today. One is a battalion
28:50commander now. On his desk, there is a
28:52photo. Only the silhouette of an A-10
28:55against an evening sky. No name, no
28:57explanation. Sala looked back at the
29:00radio. When someone once asked him what
29:04the image meant, he said it reminded
29:06him that sometimes the very person who
29:08should leave is the only one who stays.
29:11Blake was silent for a long time. Then
29:13he asked:" Do you think she'll make it
29:15out of there safely? "Sala lifted the
29:17radio to his ear again. I don't know.
29:21He didn't say it grimly or dramatically
29:23, just honestly. And for that very
29:25reason, the answer sounded heavier than
29:27any reassurance. Lena had meanwhile
29:29begun the next phase of the engagement.
29:31The convoy was safe. With that, the
29:34geometric conditions had changed
29:35completely. In the open sky, the
29:38technical superiority of the two
29:39fighters would carry more weight. They
29:42were faster, could maintain their
29:44energy better, possessed more powerful
29:46radar systems, and could track her from
29:49distances where she could barely react
29:51meaningfully. A straightforward
29:54engagement over open terrain would not
29:56have been a challenge for them. It
29:58would have been an invitation to lose.
30:01So, there would be no such engagement.
30:03Lena pulled the A-10 into a climbing
30:05turn and aimed it toward the mountains
30:07again. She had known this terrain for
30:09years. Every rocky edge, every thermal
30:12updraft, every ravine where a radar
30:15signal disappeared for a few seconds.
30:17She wasn't fleeing from Raven 1 and
30:19Raven 2. She was choosing the space
30:21where the second part of the engagement
30:23would take place. Raven 1 noticed the
30:25course change immediately. She's
30:27heading back into the mountains. For
30:29the first time, there was something in
30:31his voice that wavered between
30:33frustration and respect. Raven 2 asked:
30:35" Are we following? "The pause before
30:37the answer was short, but clear enough.
30:40Lena could almost hear training and
30:42pride working against each other in
30:44Raven 1. We follow. Keep your distance,
30:48don't let the canyon walls crowd you.
30:51It was the tactically correct decision.
30:53That was exactly why Lena had counted
30:55on it. If they allowed her to disappear
30:58into the mountains, she could reset her
31:00position again and again. An
31:02experienced pilot like Raven 1 could
31:04hardly accept that, and his pride made
31:07a pursuit even more likely. Lena
31:09dropped below the first ridgeline. The
31:12behavior of her machine changed
31:14immediately. Air currents broke against
31:17the rocks, small turbulences grabbed at
31:19the wings, warm air rose from the
31:21sunlit slopes. To Lena, it felt
31:24familiar. Not comfortable, but familiar
31:27. Behind her, she heard the engines of
31:29the two fighters entering the canyons.
31:31Too fast, she noted. Raven 1 was
31:34keeping his speed high. He didn't want
31:37to seem cautious. Raven 2, on the other
31:39hand, eased off on the power. A small
31:42decision, but a smart one. Less wounded
31:45pride meant clearer thinking. Lena
31:48changed her assessment in that moment.
31:50Raven 2 was perhaps more dangerous now
31:52than his flight lead. Hartmann. echoed
31:55Raven One over the radio. His voice was
31:57slightly distorted by the canyon walls.
32:00You cannot do that indefinitely. Your
32:02fuel is limited. These valleys have
32:05only a limited number of exits. You are
32:08merely delaying the inevitable.
32:10Delaying is a tactic, too. Delaying
32:13just means losing more slowly. Lena
32:16banked the aircraft into a left turn.
32:18How many times have you flown through
32:20this canyon area? That does not matter.
32:23For the next few minutes, nothing
32:25matters more. Ahead of her lay a spot
32:28that Lena had called" the spiral "for
32:30years. Two rock faces stood staggered
32:34such that the pilot had to correct
32:36sharply left, then immediately right
32:38again. At the same time, a warm
32:41crosscurrent from the eastern wall hit
32:43the aircraft, pushing it subtly upward
32:45and outward. On the first flight
32:47through, Lena’s instructor had nearly
32:49screamed into the microphone. After
32:51dozens of repetitions, the movement was
32:53stored in her hands. She flew through
32:56without having to think about it
32:57consciously. Seconds later, Raven Two
33:00hit the same air current. His engine
33:02noise changed abruptly. A sharp word
33:05escaped him over the radio. His
33:07aircraft briefly lost altitude before
33:09he cleanly corrected. He caught it well
33:12. Lena gave him internal credit for it,
33:15but the correction cost him speed and
33:17position. Raven 2, status? Asked Raven
33:211. Stable. His reply sounded curt.
33:25Continue. Lena was already on her way
33:27to the next bottleneck. The gorge
33:30narrowed so sharply there that for a
33:32few seconds, there was almost no
33:33lateral clearance. Above it often lay a
33:36temperature inversion that acted like
33:38an invisible ceiling. Anyone flying in
33:41with too much power while trying to
33:43gain altitude suddenly encountered
33:45turbulent airflow on the wings. Lena
33:48knew the exact altitude at which the
33:50passage was cleanest. She glided
33:53through the narrow pass and pulled up
33:54immediately afterward. She converted
33:57the speed gained during the exit into
33:59altitude. As she cleared the ridgeline,
34:01she found herself suddenly behind Raven
34:031. For a moment, the entire dynamic had
34:07reversed. The hunter who had been
34:09pursuing her was now in front of her.
34:12Raven 1 registered the change almost
34:14immediately. Lena heard a sharp intake
34:16of breath, then he broke away hard. His
34:19aircraft went into a maximum-rate turn.
34:21An aggressive pilot would have tried to
34:24exploit the advantage immediately and
34:26stay on him. Lena did exactly the
34:28opposite. She let him go. While Raven 1
34:31poured energy and attention into his
34:33evasive turn, she disengaged from the
34:35direct pursuit and took up a position
34:38from which she could observe both
34:40fighters at once. This behavior had led
34:43to discussions in debriefings before.
34:46Lena rarely flew with the goal of
34:48destroying an opponent as quickly as
34:50possible. She flew to control the
34:52engagement. She wanted the opponent to
34:55be forced to react. A pilot who was
34:58constantly just reacting lost mental
35:01capacity. Eventually, there was less
35:03room for planning, less room for
35:05foresight, less room for that one small
35:08thought that warned of a mistake. Lena
35:11was waiting for exactly that mistake,
35:13but she had a problem. Fuel. The many
35:17turns, descents, and power changes cost
35:19significantly more than a straight
35:21flight back. Lena calculated in her
35:24head. The supply wasn't critical, but
35:26it wasn't comfortable either. A longer
35:28fight would take the decision out of
35:30her hands. She could perhaps afford one
35:32more complete combat sequence. With
35:35very careful thrust management,
35:36possibly a second. After that, she had
35:38to head back. Raven 1 came around again
35:41, but this time his flying style
35:43changed. He no longer charged headlong
35:45into every opportunity. He built his
35:48angle patiently, used altitude, watched
35:51her speed, and worked with Raven 2.
35:54Lena immediately recognized the real
35:56danger in this. Good pilots learned
35:59during the fight. Very good pilots
36:01didn't need a break on the ground to do
36:02so. Raven 1 was a very good pilot. His
36:05arrogance had only masked that ability.
36:08Now the mask was gone. Raven 2
36:10simultaneously shifted his position.
36:12Suddenly, a much cleaner pattern
36:14emerged. One high and slightly ahead,
36:17the other offset to the side. If Lena
36:20moved against one, she would give the
36:22other an angle. If she stayed straight,
36:25both lines would close in. For the
36:27first time that morning, she felt the
36:29full weight of her inferiority. Now the
36:32real battle began. Everything before
36:34that had been preparation. On a control
36:36frequency, she heard Ortega in the
36:38background. He didn't speak; he just
36:40listened. Lena didn't know why, but his
36:43mere presence helped. She checked what
36:47was at her disposal. No speed advantage
36:50, no altitude advantage, no wingman,
36:52less fuel than she would have liked.
36:56Also, against two coordinated fighters,
36:58barely any options for a classic fight.
37:01But she had something else. Below her
37:04worked a machine that had never been
37:07built to look elegant. It had been
37:10designed to keep flying after taking
37:13hits, to return with damage that would
37:15have made more fragile aircraft give up
37:17long ago, to remain slow and stable
37:19enough for the pilot to make precise
37:21decisions near the ground. And it
37:25possessed an enormous autocannon that,
37:28in an era of modern long-range weaponry
37:30, was seen by many fighter pilots as a
37:32relic. At close range, however, it was
37:35anything but a relic. Most of all, Lena
37:38had something that wasn't on any
37:39technical spec sheet. Years over these
37:43very mountains, years in the same
37:45machine, years full of situations where
37:48she had too little fuel, too little
37:50time, too little support, or too many
37:52enemies. Not always at the same time,
37:56but often enough to know what that
37:58state felt like. She knew the moment
38:02when fear stopped being useful, the
38:04moment when calculations were condensed
38:07until only one decision remained. She
38:10had survived such moments, again and
38:13again. This was not arrogance; it was
38:15experience. Raven 1 tightened his
38:18approach. Hartmann. Something in his
38:21voice had changed again. For the first
38:24time, she heard genuine respect—not
38:26kindness, not leniency, but the respect
38:29of an opponent who had decided the
38:30person before him was dangerous enough
38:33that wasting energy on insults was no
38:35longer worth it. You are an exceptional
38:38pilot. Lena watched his flight path.
38:41You as well. She meant it. Then let's
38:44finish it like exceptional pilots. No
38:46more hide-and-seek, no more rocks. Come
38:49into the open sky and we'll see who is
38:51better. Lena looked left to the
38:54ridgeline, then to Raven 2, then back
38:57to Raven 1's line of approach. Their
39:00formation was nearly perfect. Nearly,
39:03because to avoid getting in each
39:04other's way, they had to keep their
39:06distance. And that distance created a
39:09narrow gap for a few seconds. Not a
39:12safe escape route, rather a window that
39:15opened briefly and closed immediately.
39:18To get through it, Lena had to fly in
39:21the exact direction any sensible pilot
39:23would avoid. Straight toward Raven 1,
39:27head-on, with a closing speed that
39:29would give both pilots only moments to
39:31make a decision. The deciding factor
39:35was not technology; it was psychology.
39:38Lena had to trust that Raven 1, as a
39:41professional pilot, would not risk a
39:43collision, that his training would
39:45force him to break away at the last
39:47second, even if his pride told him to
39:49hold his course. She had to trust in it
39:53completely. Lena took one deep breath,
39:56then pushed the throttle forward and
39:58aimed the nose of her A-10 directly at
40:01Raven 1. What happened in the following
40:04seconds would later be reconstructed
40:06multiple times using radar data, flight
40:09logs, and telemetry. Several
40:11experienced pilots would watch the
40:13footage again and again. Some would
40:16claim they had recognized the gap as
40:18well. Others would openly admit they
40:20never would have used it. A later
40:23evaluator would explain that Lena's
40:25calculation had been in a range one
40:28would normally only expect with
40:30additional fire-control support. But in
40:33that moment, there were no assessors,
40:36no recordings, and no debriefing. There
40:39were only two aircraft, closing
40:41directly on each other at enormous
40:43relative speed. Raven 1 initially held
40:45his course. Lena did the same. The
40:48distance dropped, still no movement.
40:51Lena watched the fighter grow larger.
40:53Her body wanted to react. Every natural
40:56survival instinct demanded an evasive
40:58maneuver. She forced herself to remain
41:00calm. Then Raven 1 broke. Hard and
41:03completely. His training won out. The
41:06fighter shot out of the direct line and
41:08went into an extreme bank to eliminate
41:11any risk of collision. That was exactly
41:14what destroyed his own formation. Raven
41:172 lost the protective angle of his
41:19wingman. Lena flew through the
41:21resulting gap and pulled her aircraft
41:23upward. For a few seconds, Raven 2 was
41:25beneath her, while Raven 1 was still
41:27losing energy in his evasive maneuver.
41:30Four seconds, perhaps not even that.
41:33But four seconds were enough in that
41:35moment. Lena did not try to turn this
41:38into a long engagement. She lacked the
41:40fuel and altitude for that. Instead,
41:42she pressed the transmit button. Raven
41:44formation. Her voice was just as calm
41:47as during the first radio call that
41:48morning. Your coordinated approach has
41:51collapsed. Raven 1 is outside his
41:54planned position. Raven 2 is below me.
41:58I have a viable solution on Raven 2.
42:01She let a brief moment pass. I
42:03recommend you re-establish contact with
42:05flight control and end the engagement.
42:08No answer. Lena held her position as
42:11well as her energy state allowed. Raven
42:132 was already beginning to break out of
42:15the unfavorable position. Raven 1 could
42:19return in a few moments. She knew her
42:22advantage was only temporary.
42:24Nevertheless, she waited. Still silence
42:26. For a fleeting moment, she wondered
42:29if Raven 1 would actually continue to
42:32fight, if his pride was stronger than
42:34the tactical reality. Then the channel
42:37opened. His voice was quiet, controlled
42:40, almost exhausted. Raven 2, break off
42:43engagement. Lena remained vigilant.
42:46Then Raven 1 spoke directly to her.
42:49Hartmann, I hear you have the solution.
42:52It was only four words, but they
42:54contained everything that had happened
42:56since the first sortie that morning.
42:58The museum piece was gone. The
43:01ridiculous, slow machine was gone. The
43:04woman who was supposed to be afraid was
43:07gone. What remained was only the
43:10recognition of a pilot that another
43:12pilot had controlled them in an
43:14engagement in a way that speed,
43:15technology, and numerical superiority
43:18could not have prevented. Lena lowered
43:21the nose of her aircraft slightly. Then
43:23report to flight control. A few seconds
43:26later, Ortega appeared on the frequency
43:28. Raven formation, this is Control.
43:31Confirm termination and return to the
43:33designated sector. Raven 2 answered
43:36first. Raven 2 confirmed. Then Raven 1.
43:40A longer pause. Raven 1 confirmed. Lena
43:44slowly let the air out of her lungs.
43:47Only now did she notice how tense her
43:49shoulders were. The two fighters banked
43:52away. Raven 2 went first. Raven 1
43:55stayed in sight for a moment longer. He
43:58made a wide turn, as if to make sure
44:00the situation was truly over. Then he
44:04checked in one last time on the open
44:06frequency. Hartmann. Lena replied:" Yes
44:10. "" When we saw your machine this
44:13morning, I thought we had already won.
44:16Lena looked out at the mountains. That
44:19was her first mistake. A short pause. "
44:22No," said Raven 1. "My first mistake
44:25was looking at the plane and not the
44:27pilot." Lena remained silent. Raven 1
44:30continued his departure. A few moments
44:33later, both contacts were just small
44:35symbols on her displays. Then they
44:38disappeared from her immediate area.
44:40Ortega checked in. Shadow Lance, this
44:43is Control. Status. Lena checked her
44:46instruments. Airworthy. No damage. Fuel
44:50low, but sufficient for a direct return
44:52. Then come home. On my way. And
44:55Hartmann? Lena waited. Yes, Colonel. No
44:59detours. For the first time that
45:02morning, she genuinely had to smile.
45:04Understood. She aimed the machine
45:06toward Red Mesa; the flight back was
45:08quiet. No mockery on the radio, no
45:10warning lights, just the monotonous
45:13sound of the engines and the sunlight
45:15drifting across the cockpit. Only as
45:18the distance from the mountains
45:19increased did her body begin to
45:21register how much tension had
45:22accumulated over the past few minutes.
45:25Her hands remained steady, her pulse
45:27slowly dropping. Below her, the
45:29landscape drifted by. Rock, sand, dry
45:32valleys, isolated roads. Lena didn't
45:36think about whether she had won. She
45:38rarely cared for such terms. She
45:40thought about the convoy. Twelve people
45:43, all out. That was enough. On the
45:47ground at Red Mesa, however, the news
45:48had already spread faster than she
45:50would have thought possible. Brooks
45:52stood in front of the hangar, watching
45:54the sky. Next to him were several
45:57mechanics, some pilots, and finally
45:59even officers who would normally never
46:01wait on the tarmac for a returning A-10
46:03. No one knew the whole story. Everyone
46:08had only heard fragments: open radio
46:10transmissions, reports from exercise
46:13control, a statement from the convoy, a
46:15rumor that two aggressor fighters had
46:18confirmed a termination. The less
46:21people knew, the bigger the stories
46:23grew. Brooks wouldn't believe any of it
46:26until he saw the machine himself. Then
46:28a dark dot appeared on the horizon. It
46:30grew larger. The familiar silhouette of
46:33the A-10 approached the base. Lena
46:35began her landing approach. Landing
46:37gear down, speed steady. She set the
46:41machine down cleanly on the runway, let
46:43it roll out, and turned toward the
46:44parking area. Only when the engines
46:47wound down did Brooks allow himself to
46:49breathe normally again. Lena opened the
46:52cockpit. Warm air hit her. She
46:55unbuckled her straps and disconnected
46:56the hoses, then climbed down slowly.
46:58Brooks was waiting below. His first
47:00question wasn't for her. How is she?
47:03Lena knew immediately who he meant. She
47:06placed her hand on the fuselage of the
47:07machine. She did everything I asked of
47:10her. Brooks stepped closer and examined
47:13the aircraft. Hits? None. He looked at
47:17her. None? Not today. For a moment, he
47:21said nothing. Then he shook his head in
47:23disbelief. Half the base is saying two
47:25fighters chased you through the
47:27mountains. Half the base talks too much
47:30, and the other half claims you forced
47:32them both to break off. Lena took off
47:35her helmet. The other half talks too
47:37much, too. Brooks grinned. So it's true
47:40? Lena didn't answer. Ortega approached
47:43from behind him. His face betrayed
47:46nothing. He waited until Lena had fully
47:48descended the ladder. My office. Brooks
47:52' grin vanished. Lena nodded. A few
47:55minutes later, she was sitting across
47:56from Ortega. On his desk lay printouts,
47:59several electronic reports, and a
48:01display of the radar tracks. The lines
48:05on it looked almost absurd. Tight turns
48:08between the mountains, approaches,
48:10course changes, overlaps. Ortega
48:12studied the data, then Lena. Would you
48:15like to explain to me what this is? A
48:17flight path, I can see that. He pointed
48:21to an especially tight section. Here,
48:23it looks like you decided that
48:25mountains are merely non-binding
48:27suggestions. Lena looked at the display
48:30. The clearance was sufficient. Ortega
48:33stared at her. Hartmann. Yeah, I've
48:36seen pilots who get nervous with triple
48:39the distance. Then they shouldn't fly
48:41there. Ortega leaned back. For a few
48:44seconds, only the air conditioning
48:46could be heard. The convoy has reported
48:48back in full. No injuries. Lena nodded
48:51once. That was the only information
48:53that visibly changed anything in her
48:55expression. Ortega noticed it. That was
48:58more important to you than anything
48:59else. That was the mission. The
49:02original mission ended when the convoy
49:05cleared the passage. The protection
49:08mission ended, and then what? Lena
49:10looked at him calmly. After that, there
49:13were two uncontrolled fighter jets in
49:15our airspace. Ortega folded his hands.
49:18I gave you discretionary leeway. That
49:21doesn't mean I expected you to lure two
49:24modern fighters back into a canyon area
49:27. They followed me willingly. Ortega
49:30closed his eyes for a moment. Of course
49:33they did. When he opened them again,
49:35they held an almost reluctant amusement
49:37. Then he turned serious. Do you know
49:40who Raven 1 is? No, but I do now. Lena
49:44waited, Colonel Viktor Malenkov.
49:47Thousands of flight hours, a decade of
49:50experience in fast multi-role fighters,
49:53instructor, aggressor lead—one of the
49:55men they send when they want to test if
49:58other pilots are really as good as
50:00their files claim. Lena looked at the
50:03radar tracks again. He flies well.
50:06Ortega raised an eyebrow. That is your
50:09reaction? Am I supposed to pretend? As
50:11if he were flying poorly just because
50:13we didn't like each other today? You
50:15two nearly flew each other into the
50:17history books. Lena was silent. Ortega
50:20reached for another report. He has
50:22submitted a preliminary statement. That
50:25quickly? Apparently, he had something
50:27to say. Ortega didn't read directly,
50:29but summarized instead. He confirms
50:32that you controlled the final combat
50:34situation. He confirms that his
50:37formation lost its tactical superiority
50:39. He also confirms that his initial
50:42approach was based on a misjudgment of
50:45your aircraft and your person. Lena
50:47nodded. Then he learned something.
50:50Ortega studied her for a long time. Do
50:52you know what else he wrote? No. That
50:55in the future, he will never again
50:58mistake a slow machine for a slow pilot
51:00. The corners of Lena's mouth moved
51:03slightly. Ortega pushed the report
51:05aside. You will write a full debriefing
51:08regardless. Of course. A very full one,
51:12of course. And if it says anywhere that
51:15the distance to the cliff wall was
51:17sufficient, I will return the report
51:19personally. Now Lena actually smiled.
51:22Understood. In the afternoon, the
51:24convoy arrived at the base. Blake got
51:27out of the lead vehicle before the
51:29engine had even fully shut down.
51:31Salazar followed him. Both had dust on
51:34their uniforms and faces. Blake asked
51:37the first mechanic he saw where Lena
51:39was. A few minutes later, he found her
51:42at the edge of the hangar while Brooks
51:44went over a maintenance list with her.
51:46Blake stopped a few steps away. He
51:49suddenly seemed unsure how to greet a
51:52person who, hours earlier, had stood
51:54alone between him and two hostile
51:57fighters. Lena noticed him, Lieutenant.
52:01Blake stepped closer. Major, Salazar
52:04stayed behind him. Are all your men
52:06accounted for? Lena asked. All twelve.
52:10Good. Blake nodded. Then the same
52:12silence returned that had been on the
52:14radio earlier. I wanted to say thank
52:16you. Lena shook her head slightly. You
52:18don't need to thank me for that. Yes, I
52:21do; you fulfilled your mission. I mean
52:23...Blake exhaled. With all due respect,
52:26Major. From down there, it looked like
52:28a bit more than just fulfilling a
52:30mission. Lena glanced briefly at
52:31Salazar. The sergeant did not smile. He
52:34only looked at her with the calm
52:36expression of a man who knew a few of
52:38the stories. "You told him about the
52:41past," Lena said. Salazar shrugged
52:44almost imperceptibly. Maybe. You talk
52:47too much. Brooks says that about half
52:49the base, too. Lena cast a glance at
52:51him. Brooks held up both hands
52:53innocently. Blake laughed shortly. The
52:56tension finally eased from him a little
52:58. Then he became serious again. Up
53:01there, when they told me to focus on
53:03the road, I first thought they just
53:05wanted to stop us from panicking. I did
53:09too, but they really knew what they
53:11were doing the whole time. Lena looked
53:14out at her machine. Nobody knows what
53:16they are doing the whole time. Blake
53:19looked surprised. But they seemed like
53:21they did. That’s something else. She
53:23turned back to face him. In the field,
53:26the people who depend on you don't need
53:28your fear. They need your decision. You
53:31are allowed to have fear. Doubt, too.
53:34You just have to prevent both from
53:36taking the wheel. Blake was silent and
53:38nodded slowly. Salazar looked at Lena.
53:41They should write that down somewhere.
53:43Then someone would print it on a poster
53:45. Probably. Exactly. That's why I'm not
53:47writing it down. At the other end of
53:50the airfield, two strange fighters
53:52landed in the late afternoon. The news
53:54spread immediately. Raven 1 and Raven 2
53:58had returned. Not in Lena’s squadron
54:01area, but on the separate apron
54:03reserved for aggressor aircraft. Lena
54:06wasn't interested at first. She was
54:09busy with the debriefing when Ortega
54:11knocked on the door. "Hartmann, Colonel
54:14, you have a visitor." Who? Ortega
54:17looked at her for a moment. You can
54:19probably guess. A few minutes later,
54:22Lena stood in a sober briefing room. At
54:25the other end, two pilots were waiting.

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