"Midnight Angel One Oh One, checking left," the leopard pilot says over the radio.
"Roger, Midnight Angel," the radio responds.
The plane rolls on its side and goes through a gentle turn, and you can see the pilot looking outside, turning his helmeted head to check for other planes. The plane glides on invisible strings back to wings level. Its so pretty up here, you want to say. But you don't get the chance...
Your ears are assaulted by a incessant warning beep. Your eyes rack to a warning light on the instrument panel. A small graphic of your plane is lit up and a light appears just to the left.
"We've got a hostile contact at seven o' clock," the pilot growls. "Hang on."
The plane rolls on its left side again, but this time, the turn is harder. The Gs squeeze you in their invisible grasp, yet you still can move your head to see a dark shape flash across the top of the canopy. The jet rolls around and turns hard right to follow. Your pilot is good, chasing the enemy plane through every towering cloud. At one point the fighter pulls up into a steep climb. As the speed decreases, you can see the enemy plane, an evil delta winged shape. It rolls upside down, and peels away, but your plane does the same. On your screen, you can see the enemy plane slowly move into the complex computer-driven gunsight. There's a sudden shudder through the airframe as the rotary cannon fires a stream of supersonic metal at the enemy machine.
"No hit, that's a no hit," the leopard pilot growls. "Arm up a couple of Adders", he says to you.
Robotically, your hand-paw reaches out to set the arming switches on the panel. The plane turns hard, throwing you back in your seat. The enemy fighter moves back into the gunsight again, and this time a steady whine sounds off in your earphones...
"Fox two," the pantherine pilot says.
You feel it rather than see it, and a white stream of smoke shoots from underneath your plane, curving as the missile tracks your ememy. You see a huge orange explosion erupt as the would be attacker suffers a direct hit. Your pilot revels in this by flying through the cloud of smoke and pulling up into a victory roll. Elation replaces fear as you realize that you are victorious. Elation turns into a heightened sense of awareness as you complete your patrol.
Back at the Mara River Airstrip, the weather has closed in. At five thousand feet, the jet is engulfed in a mass of low-lying clouds. Slight turbulence buffets the plane, but only for a short while. You let your oxygen mask hang from one side of your helmet, Tom Cruise-style again.
"Midnight Angel, final approach," the pilot says to the radio.
You look outside to see the runway, barely visible in the fog. The plane rocks gently as the leopard's steady grip guides it down. You barely hear the engine noise as the plane glides just above the runway. It touches down with a slight bump, and you can feel yourself push forward against your harness as the fighter decelarates. As you taxi to the ramp, the pilot opens up the canopy, and you can feel the cool, moist African air against your fur. As the technicians unplug you from the airplane, you know that your pilot is very capable and no matter what happens, no matter what evils befall you, you will always be kept safe. back
