“Look at that Xi, now you’ve gone and done it…” Lonnie said as the Bulgarian jumped to attention and barked out his credentials. He jabbed Xi with an elbow “You’ve offended him.” He grinned. 

Xi looked on nonplussed with his mouth slightly agape as the man bowed and passed by. 

“Bloody shifty lot the Bulgarians” Lonnie said leaning back, “Damn good waffles though.”

“I think that’s Belgium” Xi said.

“Is it? Whatever, they’re all communists, Order of Lenin and all that. Blast, I’m hungry.” He took off his hat and scratched at his head with the brim. He eyed the others: Four women and only the CO, Xi, himself and the Bulgarian. His glance was cold for a moment then lightened as they left the briefing. He winked at the light haired girl that had come in late as they filed out. 

-----------------------

Lonnie enjoyed walking the flight line at any aerodrome his whole life. Some were busy while others were merely lackadaisical at best, but they were all captivating in a certain natural way to him. The concrete pad and tie-downs at the Expeditionary field were still fresh and unstained by weather, jet fuel, hot rubber and exhaust, but the smells were ever present with activity. No plant growth between the large tiles. It was all still very organized and tidy which was a new experience for him. The dirt crosswind strip was more to his past acclamations. However, the aircraft lineup was a different affair.

“Is this a squadron or an antique show?” Xi said flatly.

“Christ, I thought he was kidding about the MiG-23.” Lonnie said.   

“There’s a Draken and an A-6.” Xi replied almost dumbfounded. 

“I should guess that the ‘Rill will likely be so busy laughing they will make easy targets for you.” They continued walking down to a newly constructed Rubb hangar.

“I wonder if they do laugh or have any sense of humor.” Xi said. 

“Maddening horde, all of them, I swear I could hear that flamer we put down over Taipei screaming some fowl utterance over the coms before I blew his bloody head off.” Lonnie said, “Then I laughed.”

They entered the open front of the hangar where the MiG was sitting surrounded by a team of fitters crawling under and below as large cables were connected and open panels were investigated. Various colored toolboxes, each the size of a small car lined the perimeter. An instant sonic wall of music blasted from a large stereo in the corner. Xi grimaced and nodded his head with the harsh beat of the music. This was expected. A very large black man approached the pair wearing a workman’s fatigues. His dreadlocks were tied down his back. He turned back and gave a sharp whistle with two fingers. The stereo was instantly restrained. 

“Hallo, Keith” Lonnie said with a smirk, “I see you’ve made your presence known.”

The man grinned a bright white smile and spread his arms. His gape was as wide as his height, over six and half feet. “We are known.” He said proudly.

[i]Keith[/i] had been Lonnie’s crew chief since he’d started on MiG-29’s with the Russian mercenary squadron [i]Bratva[/i]. He was a massively built man requiring a special ordered uniform. Being only two years older than Lonnie, he had also escaped South Africa at a young age and shared the same hometown, Bloemfontein, south of Johannesburg. There was an instant connection when they’d first met. Lonnie wasn’t sure of the man’s actual name and it didn’t matter. 

“Nothing out of sorts from the ferry flight?” They walked over to the machine and Lonnie ran a hand over the portside intake where Surtr sat with his sword. 

“All good” Keith said firmly. He breathed in deeply as if sampling an exotic wine. “The air here is good, clean and new. She will run like the wind.”

They turned and looked briefly to the sound of bickering voices headed towards a Desert Falcon parked across the way.

“We have an interesting squadron.” Keith said. His face was suddenly reserved and his huge hands gripped the front pockets of his uniform.

“I think those are the ones that asked about ROE in the briefing.” Xi said watching them do their preflight checks.

“I don’t know about the rest of this lot or the sodding R-O-E” Lonnie said glancing back. The letters left his lips like a bitter medicine being spat out. “But I intend to wholesale slaughter as many as possible.”