Remain Calm

Oscar made his way towards his ship. Once he walked through the doors into the hanger he saw the familiar sight of Daniel, James, and Tyson, the three young recruits that were with him on his first mission.

The three noticed Oscar walking towards him and stopped what they were doing. They hated Oscar with smiles and nods. Since the group first met, the boys have gotten closer to each other. They where stained on the same so do they would often bump into each other in the mess hall or in the hanger. As a result over the last few months Oscar and they young soldiers have built a friendship.

Oscar and the trio committed to chat as Lieutenant Santiago walked up, filled by the rest of his command. With a simple nod, he walked past and into the waiting cargo ship. His attitude towards Oscar had definitely improved since the first time they meet. Lieutenant Santiago had grown to respect Oscar for his piloting skills, never being one to show off or act arrogant, like many others fleet pilots tend to do.

A few hours later, the sound of the ships hyper drive engine shutting down could be herd thought the ship. This meant that the Chariot arrived at its destination.

Immediately the sound of the ships many guns could be herd opening fire as the enemy fleet came into view. Dozens of ships on both sides opened fire on each other, though in the vacuum of space, no sound was made. The Icillian fleet quickly retreated to one of the gas planets located in the outer edge of the system. Soon after Oscar got the green light to take off.

Through the cockpit, Oscar saw the first bulkhead open up, allowing his ship to pass through before sealing back up. The second pair of bulkhead doors opened up, allowing Oscar to see outside of the ship. Through the narrow view, he could see stars and the Planet, a medium sized dessert planet, with it's almost cloudless atmosphere, allowing Oscar to see the surface of the planet clearly.

The signal was given and Oscar along with dozens of other smaller crafts launched, speeding towards the surface of the planet. All around him, Oscar could see the destruction that his fleet had suffered. hundreds of smaller fighters swarming each other, trying to take down their enemies. The wreckage of destroyed fighters littering the entire area. Oscar had to maneuver around the larger sized scraps of metal that were once powerful weapons and space crafts.

The type of training required for a pilot was much different then compared to the old airborne pilots of earth. Before a time where space travel was a commen occurrence. When humanity was still bound to its home star, only small groups of airborn pilots fought against each other, and even then, most of the work was done by computers, using guided missiles and computer assisted aiming programs.

While pilots still use guided weaponry, the scale in which they fight has exponentially increased. hundreds if not thousands of fighters might now be present during a battle. With so many targets on the map, pilots had to have a special sense. The truly gifted pilots were the ones who naturally had this special sense, while other pilots naturally developed them during intense and repeated training.

Oscar was one of those natural geniuses. To him, everything in front was easy for him to decipher. the movent of fighters, his flight path. he always had a sense of what was around him, kind of like a gut feeling. Obviously radar and the alarms warning him of enemy locks definitely helped him.

As Oscar continues to get closer , he can see craters on the surface, where obvious destruction has occured. Oscar could only ask himself how many thousands of innocent lives have been lost. Dark thoughts begin to rage over him, though he quickly calms down.

A pilot must always remain calm. Emotions lead to mistakes and mistakes lead to death.

Oscar recalled a lesson from his professor during class. His professor once said that when a pilot loses his calm he is unable to evaluate his situation properly, thus resulting in mistakes that could have easily been avoided. Emotions like fear and anger only get in the way and doubt can get you and your teammates killed.

While Oscar never tried to stand out in class, he always payed attention to everything that was said. He took the professors words seriously and whenever he was in a strainuous situation, he would repeat the instructors words.

"This is ADS 0014, follow course J-1142, stick in formation with fighter escort taking the lead"

Oscar was in charge of the pilots in his small detachement. His group consisted of his ship and three similar class dropships as his own and five interceptor fighters. His small flight team was carying supplies that the soldiers on the ground so despeartly needed. His group had order to bring supplies to a federation navel fortress. Much simpler said then done however. Recent orbital scans showed a heavy concentration of enemy ground forces surrounding the base. Whie there did not seem to be any air support, most im part to the anti-air defence implacements situated around the base. His group still have to get through several miles of enemy controlled airspace before reaching the fortress.

"This is ADS 0335, radar indicates small enemy crafts approching at high speeds. Only two so far"

A males voice could be heard over the coms.

"Alright team, form up on me. We will perform evassive manuvers. Our highest priority is to bring these supplies to the fortress. We cant afford to lose one ship."

"Copy that!" Various voices over the coms click in.

Oscar flipped flipped a swich and began speaking "Listen up, we have enemy fighter approching, expect evaise maneuvers. Make sure everything it tied down and that everyone is strapped!" His voice could be heard throught the ship. Warning the soldiers that he was carrying was the only thing he could do. He just hoped that they had enough time to secure everything and themselve. Having a soldier die due to an unsecured supply crate crashing into them would be a shame.