I was numb on my first combat mission, so soon after finishing flight school. Numb enough that I didn’t feel fear. I suppose I was a little excited too. That died off as soon as I came under fire for the first time. Nothing can prepare you for that. But still, I found my way through it. Since then, it has been a whirlwind.

A night attack forced our FARP to evacuate as much as we could. I stole away, like a thief in the night to another base. I heard the cries of those left behind, how they haunt me still. My flight took me near some of our forces, pinned down by the insurgents. They begged for assistance, but I had no weaponry on board. My departure was too swift, the ground crews weren’t able to arm me, and truth be told, were far more interested in staying alive.

From our new base at Skala, we learned there was a concentration of rebel weapons caches and storage facilities in the outskirts of Hasaut, a sleepy village nestled in the Narzan Valley. Our mission is to provide assistance to a Hind strike force. We will clear out the enemy anti air and support forces. Once the threats have been eliminated, the Hinds will assault the facilities and take care of any stragglers.

I have drawn the wing lead for this mission. I’m beginning to feel the stress of deployment, the stress of leadership is yet another burden. Dimitry, my wingman, seems to sense my discomfort. As we are planning the mission he is waxing nostalgic about skiing in the mountains. We will be passing by Mt. Elbrus, where he and his father spent some weekends on holiday. Oddly enough, his nonstop travelogue of the region had a calming effect on me.

Our intel reports that AA in vicinity is mainly ZSU-23 artillery. We plan to snipe them from outside of their engagement envelope. I’ve come to appreciate the standoff capabilities of the Vikhr, and plan on exploiting them as much as possible for this mission. We will commence a hover at waypoint 2, and using our Shkval and Mark I Eyeballs we will take out our enemies and clear the path for our comrades. We have a plan, it is a good plan, now we must execute.



We take off in the morning sun and set about our task. I look down watch the village begin their morning ritual. A schoolbus passes under me, and the sheer normalcy of that relaxes me somehow. I settle in for the flight and start admiring the countryside. Such beautiful scenery here in the mountains. Perhaps when this is all over, I’ll find myself some land near one of these villages...




Our ingress is taking us higher and higher into the moutains. It seems like we have to ascend 200 meters for every ridge we crest. Dimitry breaks the silence and pulls me out of the depth of my thoughts “There’s Mt. Elbrus on the right! My father and I used to ski there in the 80’s. The slopes were breathtaking!” It was an awesome sight to be sure. I also couldn’t help but notice that had left the treeline behind. It was also time to get to business.



We pulled up to enter into a hover at our designated point. I could see the village of Hasault tucked away in the valley. So peaceful, unfortunately not for long. I began scanning for vehicles with my Shkval, and quickly found a number of them from our vantage point. I unleashed a Vikhr and ordered Dimitry to begin his attack.




Immediately after the first truck exploded, the others began moving in a hurry, desperately seeking to avoid the same fate. It was far too late, however. Methodically, I began locking targets and firing missiles. I was vaguely aware of Dimitry calling his shots as we began picking apart the insurgent base.





Running low on Vikhrs, I begin working on some trucks within gun range. The Hinds call out they are engaging, and buildings start exploding in the village.




Using my Shkval, I spot a line of vehicles headed out of the village. They won’t be getting away, as I’ve still got a few missiles left. I notice tracer fire out of the woods to my right. Checking it out, I see there is infantry in the area. I spray the woods with my cannon, and begin clearing them out. Rockets, it seems are also effective.



Our task complete, I circle back to survey the scene. Such a beautiful town in a picturesque valley, such a terrible fate has come to it this morning. In the shadow of Mt. Elbrus, Dimitry forms up with me as we begin our flight to Torba, yet another FARP.



I land my Shark at the pad near the Hinds, happy to be done with this business, but in full knowledge that it will necessary again far too soon.