fanfic_name = Asian's Contribution

chapter = Chapter 7

author = Shark 1

dedicate = My late comrade. Rest in peace my brother.

Type = Adventure

fanfic = On the carrier, Azzedy and Jennifer were on the flight deck admiring the stealth planes. “Finally, we can fly this thing. You’ve no idea……” Jennifer was interrupted by a passionate kiss by Azzedy. When they broke up the kiss for air, Jennifer was dazed. “Now how come I didn’t see that one coming?” He took a ring from his pocket and kneeled down on one knee. “Jennifer, will you marry me?” As she held her face in disbelief, she gave her answer in tears. “Yes I will.” He placed the ring on her finger and hugged each other. They broke up the hug when they heard everyone applauds on the deck especially the shark squadron and the bridge triplets who have been watching the whole scene from the upper deck. They waved to the crowd and was about to leave to tell the guys when Jennifer was needed in the briefing room. “I’ll see you later?” Azzedy smiled and kissed her forehead before letting her go.

Rizal went up to his quarters to look for the gift that he was suppose to give to Sheila. He found it but he was being paged by the Colonel to see him in the briefing room. He left it on his desk and went off to see the Colonel. Alphonsus and Jennifer arrived exactly with him. “What’s going on?” Alphonsus asked him. Rizal shrugged his shoulders as they entered the briefing room. After saluting the Colonel, they were asked to be seated.

“Pilots, you will do a hit and run mission tonight at 1900hrs. Captain Rizal, I’m putting you in charge of this mission so I would like you to brief Lieutenant Azzedy of his task and I want it to go smooth and fast. Judging by the images from Lieutenant Jennifer’s last recon flight, the enemies are preparing for another strike against us. You’ll destroy their transporters and their ammunition supplies located on Satang Island so that we’ll be able to strike them with full force on the next day. Both of you will fly the F117 and each of you will be fully armed with 6 nuclear warheads. Lieutenant Azzedy and the rest of the Shark squadron will be on standby. Victory is waiting for us. Dismiss.” The pilots left the room and headed towards the locker room to get ready while Rizal heads towards the bridge as Alphonsus gave his opinion to his wing mate. “I think he’s nuts. He’s lost it. Lucky for us he assigned the stealth planes.” Jennifer just smirked and patted her friend on the shoulder. Azzedy and Azrul were already on the flight deck waiting for their fighters to be armed. “How come he gets to fly one of those?” Said Azrul pretending to sound dissatisfied.

On the bridge, Rizal ordered the girls to give status report. When the girls reported everything is good, he approached Sheila’s position and patted her shoulders. Sheila raised an eyebrow while Yong and June whispered to each other. “What was that all about?” Then the voice of Jennifer came on the communicator channel. “This is Shark 2 and 4 requesting permission for take off.” Sheila relayed the enemy’s current location for June to inform the pilots. “Shark 2 and 3 you’re clear for take off and head to 447.” Jennifer and Alphonsus took off and headed towards the location given as Azrul and Azzedy looks on. “It’s a beautiful thing to fly isn’t it?” He asked Azzedy.

After the stealth fighters have departed, Rizal ordered June to connect him with the rest of the Shark Squadron. “Shark Squadron, you’ll be launch at any time upon their request. I’ll keep you informed of any changes.”

10 minutes later, the fighters have reached their destinations. “There they are. 3 o’clock low. Arming warheads and we’re going in.” They engaged their firing sequences as they’ve aligned the target. When the target is in range they were about to release the warheads but a few fighter pods were airborne. “SJS this is Shark 2, we have multiple bogeys airborne and we need back up I repeat we need back up.” The message was relayed to the rest of the Shark squadron and they were scrambled off the flight deck. They headed towards the location and saw the fighters were like fireflies in the night. Once they’ve reached their destination, Azzedy ordered them to break and attack. In the midst of the battle, two of the enemy’s carrier managed to take off and headed away from the attack but not without Azrul noticing it. “Hey Eddy. They’re getting away.” “Defend the stealth fighters. We’ll deal with them later.” The enemies on the ground were firing their defense cannons taking out most of the Shark squadron while they prepare the main guns on board one of their battleship on the ground.

Doing dogfights at night is like playing tag blindfolded. Jennifer released her warheads and got a direct hit. “This is Shark 2, my nukes are home free. She pulled out to give Alphonsus a clear shot. “Alph, it’s all yours.” He told her wing mate. “I’ve got a good lock.” Alphonsus swooped in for the bombardment and was about to hit the trigger when the defense cannons got his engines. He held on to the controls and circled around for another run. Azzedy was very worried. “Alph, you ok?!” Every single warning light on his control panels were flashing like a Christmas tree but he needed to take out the battleship to save his wing mates. “I’m ok. I just need a few more seconds.” He realigned himself for the battleship. He got a clear lock and pulled the trigger. The warheads went straight into the battleship. “Package delivered! Get the rest of the squadron out of here. Alph, detonate on three. THREE!” The nukes exploded and the Zentreadi’s outpost burst into flames along with the battleship.

The Shark Squadron hit their after burners to flee from the Electro Magnetic Pulse waves created by the nukes. It caused powerful vibration that the carrier and the SDF-1 felt it. “What was that?!” Captain Gloval shouted. “Nuclear waves sir. It came from Echo 889.” Lisa explained. “It must be the colonel’s work.”

Alphonsus’s fighter who suffered engine damage couldn’t hit the after burners. The waves caught him and a few of the remaining fighter pods. It shuts down everything on his fighter including the ejection system sending his plane down into the darkness below. Nobody knew what happened until they’ve reached the carrier’s area and out of the nuclear waves reach. “Where’s Alph?” Everyone checked their scanners but there’s no sign of the other stealth fighter. He remembered that if any of their pilots ejected, the emergency beacon will automatically activate. The only reason it won’t activate if the pilot’s seat is completely destroyed. He turned on the emergency scanner but there’s no sign of the emergency beacon. He was speechless and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat.

Not satisfied with it, he ordered Azrul and Jennifer to backtrack his position while the rest of the fighters were ordered to return to the ship. Half an hour passed and there were still no sign of the emergency beacon. “Is he really gone? He’s gone?” He thought. “Eddy, I’m sorry. There’s no sign of the beacon or the fighter.” Azrul told him. “We’re running on fumes here boss” Jennifer added. There’s nothing he could do except to return to the carrier.

As they reached the carrier he requested their clearance. “Tower this Shark squadron requesting permission to land.” June cleared his request and he added another detail before he landed. “Tell Captain Rizal we’ve lost Lieutenant Alphonsus Dixon.” Rizal heard the communication and dropped onto his seat. The girls sobbed with tears flowing like waterfalls. On the flight deck, everyone saw the looks on Azzedy’s face.

All the crew gave him hugs and said their condolences. He just smiled and thanked them. He was about to leave the flight deck when an order was given. “Colonel on deck!” As everyone stood in attention, the colonel approached Azzedy who was still holding his helmet in his left hand. “Well done men. We’ve showed them that they’re no match for the earth forces.” Azzedy saluted harshly with his face full of anguish and left the flight deck for the locker room even he wasn’t ordered to leave yet. After he left, everyone was ordered to be as they were. He was walking towards his locker when he saw Rizal stood in front of his locker. Azzedy opened his locker without saying a word.

“Are you okay?” Asked Rizal politely. Azzedy just nodded slowly as he sat on the bench in front of his locker. “I’m sorry bro. I’ve lost so many pilots and yet this the biggest lost that I’ve ever encountered.” He looked up to Rizal with his glassy eyes. “If we joined the RDF, this wouldn’t have happened.” Rizal sat next to him with his arm around Azzedy’s shoulder. “I know. But it’s something beyond my control. If you need me I won’t be far.” He patted Azzedy’s shoulder and left the room. Azzedy got out of his suit and into his uniform before leaving for his quarters. Once he reached there, he kicked off his shoes and lay down on his bed. The memories of his lost brother like friend since they first met, they’re jokes till the time he teased him in the morning were still in his eyes. Without his permission, tears started to fall endlessly until he fell asleep.

The breeze from the sea was so refreshing and the skies were clear. A lone figure stands in the middle of the beach looking at the island across the ocean. He then felt a hand patting him from behind. Then a familiar voice whispered into his ear. “I’m sorry for everything. But you’ve got to be strong. Regardless of what has happened. I’ll always love you guys no matter what. Just be strong.” Then the voice disappeared. Suddenly he heard the sound of a fighter plane passing by but there’s nothing in the sky and suddenly the sight and sound of a nuclear explosion on the Island right before him.

The explosion woke him up. When he saw the clock it was already 0700hrs. He shook his head and went straight for the showers. After putting on his uniform, he headed towards Alphonsus’s quarters. He packed up his uniforms and clothing in the duffel bag, while his medals, badges and other personal things in a box. He was gathering Alphonsus’ things on the desk when he saw a photo of him with the group taken on Alphonsus’ birthday when they were in the academy. He was about to leave when Rizal and Jennifer came to the room. “I thought I’d find you here.” He looked at them and smiled. Rizal was carrying a box as well. “These are his things from the locker room. Oh, I think we need to send this to his family as well.” He passed him Alphonsus’s dog tag. He took it and gripped it in his hand. He fell back against the wall and sat on the floor as he could no longer contain the sadness.

Rizal sat next to him to comfort his friend. Jennifer sat on the bed and sighed deeply. “He was my responsibility.” He told Rizal while fighting his emotions. “It’s not your fault. I know it’s hard, but we have to let him go.” He patted his shoulder and asked Jennifer to leave with him. They left him in Alphonsus’s room and left for the mess hall. There they joined Azrul. “How is he doin’?” Rizal just shook his head.

On board the SDF-1, they’ve heard about the assault and the people who were shocked to hear the lost of Lieutenant Alphonsus were the Sterlings. She hugged her husband after she heard the lost of their new found friend. “Why don’t we go down there and see how are they doing.” He suggested to his wife. She agreed to it. They went to see the Captain to ask for his permission and he agreed. They went down to the carrier and waited on the upper deck while they page Captain Rizal. Most of the crew welcomed them. As soon as Rizal showed up, the Sterlings saluted him. When their salutes were returned, Rizal invited them to meet Azzedy.

When they’ve reached Alphonsus’s quarters, he knocked the door and opened the door slowly. “Eddy, the Sterlings are here.” He stood up and nodded. Max gave him a tight hug while Miriya gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry for what happened.” Miriya expressed her condolences. “An hour before he’s gone, he was teasing me and Jenny. I was supposed to protect him but I’ve failed miserably.” As he continued telling them about their last moments, the colonel was on the bridge. Sheila spotted enemy fighters heading towards their location. “Maybe they’re salvaging something. Send out the Shark Squadron to take them out.” Sheila looked at the colonel’s face in doubt. “Sir, can we excuse Lieutenant Azzedy from this one sir? I don’t think he could lead the assault in his current state of mind.” The colonel disregarded that opinion. “This is an order. It is my order. Send out the shark squadron on red alert.” June had no other choice but to obey the order.

As the sirens were screaming and orders were issued through the P.A, the fighters scrambled to their fighters including Azzedy. Rizal ran towards the bridge while the Sterlings ran towards the upper deck to return to the SDF-1. Azzedy ran towards his fighters and paused for a moment in front of Alphonsus’s fighter. He shook his head and climbed aboard his fighter. He placed his fighters on the runaway waiting to get his request cleared. As soon as he is cleared, he took off and joined the rest of the squadron to meet the enemy head on. He ordered the pilots to break and attack. As the enemies entered the carrier’s safe zone, their numbers multiplied. Azrul was shocked. “Holy crap! There’s twenty of them!” Azzedy shook his head and fixed on his oxygen mask. “Don’t worry about the number. Just take them all out.” On board the carrier, Rizal heard that conversation and got worried.

They took evasive action and eliminated half of the enemy’s number but the shark squadron has only five fighters left. Azrul has three on his tail. Azzedy saw it but couldn’t engage because he has two on his tail trying to get a lock on him. “Help me Eddy! I can’t shake them!” Azzedy heard his friend’s terrified voice. He tried everything but he couldn’t. Jennifer was engaged as well.

Azrul was never this afraid before. Usually he used to be so confident that they’ll survive every single battle as long as his friends were there. The only difference this time is that they’ve just lost one in less than 24 hours ago. He kept on checking his tail to see where they are. “Somebody help me!” Azzedy did his air brakes routine and destroyed one of the fighters. “Hang on Azrul. I’m comin’!” He straight away engaged Azrul’s assailant but it was a little too late. One of the pods fired its lasers and one of it got a clean shot through his cockpit. Not known to his friends, Azrul was wounded by the shot.

“Buddy, you alright?!” was the only thing Jennifer could ask. Then she saw a few fighter pods being destroyed by a few waves of missiles. They’re very glad when they saw the veritechs of the Vermilion Squadron. “Don’t worry guys, the cavalry has arrived.” Ben said on the open channel. The crew of the carrier sighed in relief when they saw the veritechs assisted the shark squadron. Azzedy saw Azrul’s fighter was slowly dropping altitude and went next to it. “Azrul, you’re losing altitude.” Azzedy asked him. “Eddy, I’m hit. I’ll be okay.” Azzedy asked him to eject but Azrul told him that most of his systems were fried. “Hang on. I’ll escort your fighter all the way home.” “No Eddy. You still have your orders.” Azzedy was starting to lose his emotion. “No, I won’t leave you.” “You didn’t brother.” As Azrul lost his consciousness, his hand released the control lever and his fighter dove into the ocean below destroying his Hornet into pieces while Azzedy watched it helplessly. After recollecting his composure, he regained formation and helped to clear out the rest of the enemy fighters.

As soon as the threats were clear the veritechs returned to the Prometheus while shark squadron returned to the carrier. “SJS this is shark squadron requesting permission to land.” June cleared the request. “Tell Captain Rizal Lieutenant Azrul won’t be coming home anymore.” Rizal couldn’t contain his sadness and left the bridge. Sheila got up and ran after him. “Rizal wait!” He stopped by the staircase and leaned against the wall.

“I know how you feel.” He hugged her and Sheila couldn’t hold her tears as well. On the flight deck, Azzedy hugged Jennifer the moment she got out of her fighter. They walked towards the locker room and changed into their uniforms. They then meet in front of the locker room’s junction. “It’s my fault.” Azzedy whispered. Jennifer put her arm around his shoulder. “No it’s not. You couldn’t engage because you’ve got bogeys on your tail.” That explanation didn’t help. “I was still shook up. If I could react a little quicker he would’ve been …….” Jennifer grabbed Azzedy’s face so that he could look her in the eyes and tried to make some sense into him. “Listen to me. It’s not your fault. You know damn well that Alphonsus’s fighter was damaged that he couldn’t hit the after burner. And you know damn well even if you could shake off those bogeys earlier his bogeys will still shoot him down. So stop blaming yourself and start concentrating on winning this battle.” She hugged her fiancé and left the locker room. Azzedy gathered Azrul’s things and brought it into his quarters. He packed up his clothing and the rest of his personal stuff so that he could mail it to his family. He’s going to send it along with Alphonsus’s belongings as well.

After he packed up the things, he sent it to the delivery bay where they’ll dispatch it when a chopper comes with replacement pilots and letters comes. He went to the recreation room to relax a little when he saw Rizal and Jennifer were sitting by the fusball table. He knew that they missed Alph’s jokes. They remembered how he mocked the way Rizal gave orders and how he likes to ask stupid questions during briefings. Azzedy went to the upper deck to get some fresh air. There, he looked up towards the SDF-1. He thought, what could’ve happened if they accepted the RDF’s offer to fly the veritechs. Azrul and Alphonsus wouldn’t have been killed. As nightfall came upon them, he stopped by the recreation room once again to invite Jennifer and Rizal to join him for dinner. As he hoped for, the two were still there. Sheila was there too sitting next to Rizal.

“Hei guys, let’s go to the mess and grab something to eat.” They agreed to it and headed down to the mess hall. They weren’t in their talking mood but they enjoyed one another’s company. They sat down and ate quietly. When they’re done, Jennifer and Azzedy left for they’re quarters while Sheila and Rizal stayed on. She put his arms into hers and rests her head on his shoulder. Azzedy stood in front of the door of his quarters in silent. Jennifer wondered why and came close to him. “What’s wrong? Why don’t I’ll accompany you tonight and maybe sing you a lullaby.” He looked at her raising an eyebrow. “That’s ok. I’ll be fine.” He entered his room and took off his upper uniform before laying himself down on his bed. Jennifer let herself in and and did the same thing. She tucked herself right next to him with her head on his chest. “We’ll get into trouble if Rizal finds out about this.” He didn’t hear any answer when he looked at her face she was sound asleep. He kissed the top of her head and dozed off.

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = affendeykadriATyahoo.com