I looked over at Kevin. The cliffs shot by us at an unbelievable speed. He looked over at me and I smiled. I pulled up hard on my wheel and the G force kicked in. I flew upwards and completed the flip behind Kevin’s jet, and then we flew into the slim crack in the earth. The blue sky disappeared as the cliffs looked like they were caving in overtop of us. Time fast-forwarded and we were being shot at. I looked over at Kevin. This time it wasn’t to signal my back flip. I could clearly see the smoke coming from his wing. Kevin flew towards the ground. I flicked up the plastic coating on the red button. I pressed the button and I felt a missile detach. It hit an enemy base. The smoke filled the whole valley. I looked around only to see black. I heard the phone ring. I couldn’t see a phone. Then, 9/11 flashed before me. It went from planes crashing to just the buildings, to my wife sitting reading, to my wife sitting in her office chair with a plane coming straight at her from outside the building. When the phone rang it was good. When it didn’t, everything was chaotic. But I couldn’t move. I now realized I wanted to pick up the phone, but I couldn’t. That was already in the past. I could slowly make out the design of my bed sheets and the blue fabric of my pillow, and slowly my whole bedroom came into focus. That’s when I realized the phone was actually ringing. I jumped out of my bed and ran through the long hallway, glancing through the window overlooking New York. I grabbed the phone and pushed the green button.
“ Hello” I said into the phone.
“ Jason!” Came the booming voice of General Walker. “ How have you been?”
“ I’ve been doing alright. How about you General?”
“ I’ve been better. Hey, uh, listen to me for a minute and don’t hang up. Look I know we have had this discussion before…”
“ General if this is another mission offer then no. I’m already retired from the Air force.”
“ I know, I know, but remember the last one.” General Walker had called in 2000 asking me if I would accept this mission. Turns out that decision killed my wife and almost three thousand people in 9/11. The pilot who took my place in the mission went missing during the mission and presumed dead. “ Come back. We need the best for this. And since Kevin is gone, that’s you.”
“ In the three years I’ve been gone you haven’t gotten anyone that stands out as much as Kevin and I did?” I asked.
“ Uh, no.”
I sighed. And looked out the window at the 9/11 monument. I remembered Kevin a few years back. He was standing in front of an F-16 looking across at me. It was sunny but windy enough to put a chill down your spine. We were standing with our jets, about to take on the mission that would end his life.
“ Look, one of the most important lessons I will ever teach you is never to turn down a mission. No matter how dangerous it will be for you, it is always way more dangerous for the people…”
“ So what do you say?” came the Generals voice through the daydream.
“ Alright one last time. One.”
“ Yes I knew it! Thank You! Come in for your briefing tomorrow at 9 am and we’ll talk then.”
“ Alright see you tomorrow.”
I sat there listening to the dial tone for about 2 minutes until I heard that hi pitched sound and then I hung up. I stepped out of the room into the hallway with the long window overlooking New York. I sat and sat just looking and thinking about what I have just gotten myself into.
I jumped into my bed and screamed into my pillow. I could either come back from this mission dead, never come back but still be dead, come back and have completed the mission, but no one noticed or come back a hero. Well in the first place I didn’t want to go anywhere. I didn’t want to ever get into another fighter jet and as my grandma used to tell me I should quit the Air force, which, actually, I did, but I somehow still end up going on missions that kill my friends and almost kill me. But I couldn’t say no, because I couldn’t stand to see another 9/11, or anything like it ever again. I couldn’t stand to be making another romantic dinner, look out the window and see the buildings that you know your wife is in collapse.
I went into the kitchen and got some cereal. I wasted the whole day pondering everything and watching T.V.
I shook the Generals hand.
“ Follow me.” He said. We walked through the U.S. Air force Base, the place where I was taught by my mentor and best friend Kevin. We walked for what seemed like years and the whole time I was recalling lessons and memories that happened here. 9 years of my life were spent here, which is more than a quarter of my life. I saw the door Kevin and I used to walk through when we were getting assigned and briefed on our missions.
Two hours later I walked out that same door. I was going to the Karakum Dessert. The terrorists have set up a base in the middle of the
dessert and the U.S. Air Force was supposed to take out three bases before patrolling and scouting the fourth and main base and eliminating any aircrafts that leave the base. Once I have confirmed that there are no nuclear weapons or any missiles I am to eliminate the last base. Sounds easy, but that is how all missions sound, until there are fighter jets shooting at me from behind on the first base. I have to leave in four days, so that the Air Force knows they don’t have time to make any missiles or plan out their terrorism plots. I ate out that night at the place my wife and I ate all the time. I hadn’t been there in 3 years out of guilt. But today was different. I was finally going to redeem myself. I had carried the burden of not taking that mission for 8 years. I used to work out at night and then sit looking at the 9/11 monument lights. I would wish that the lights would somehow expand and become the buildings and that my wife would be sitting there with me. And then I would trace the guilt all the way back to my grandfather. If he didn’t give me such a big inheritance I wouldn’t have joined the Air Force. I would have become a lawyer. And then I wouldn’t have cases that if I didn’t take, would cause 9/11. But I guess the Air Force has been good for me. I’m still young, fit and I can fly Fighter Jets. And in four days I will be on my last mission. That night I began to pack my things. I only really needed my Under Armor shirts and some sweat pants.
I stepped into
the gray outfit. Instead of having the seatbelts in the jet, you just had buckles in the Jet and the pieces that attach to them on the suit. I was again in the Air Force base. This time General Walker was nowhere to be found and I was in a change room getting ready for my last mission. I remember when Kevin and I would get calm in this room before stepping out into the windy concrete runways and be shown our two F-16’s. I was scared but excited at the same time. Kevin always used to call my fear of flying ironic. Truthfully I wasn’t scared of getting shot down or being chased, because Kevin had taught me what to do and how to get out of those situations. I was only afraid to get up to 8,000 feet again and looking out that window. Kevin had taught me everything and more about flying but he could never help me get rid of my fear. But I loved the feeling of being totally in control of the thing I feared the most. General Walker once again interrupted my thoughts by opening the door that led to the concrete runways.
“ You ready?” he asked with the wind rushing through the door.
“ Yeah, lets go.” I yelled back. The runways were always hectic. There was always a lot of wind. There were pilots landing and taking off. There were pilots going to different air force bases, there were pilots training other pilots and a bunch of people being shown the insides of a fighter jet.
“ Now you know
what to do. You get up there and I’ll radio in later. You have been briefed so you should know what to do. But once you are in close range of the terrorists, I will be with you for the rest of the way!” yelled The General over the sounds on the runway. I spent one hour checking the F-16, making sure the fuel and oil were full and that all the weaponry was fully attached and functioning. Then finally I put my foot into the grove in the plane. I pushed up and saw that cockpit. I got butterflies in my stomach but I still hopped in. Another hour went by as I was checking every button and every switch. I finally got the o.k. to push the throttle forward and see the flames shoot out the back of the jet as the engine started. Then I remembered doing this with Kevin. We would smile at each other and then flick the visors on our helmets down. But this time I would be doing it all alone.
I had the sick
feeling for over seven hours as I flew over the ocean. I was in the clouds. Everything was grey and the clouds seemed to hit off my invisible shield as I flew into Europe. I knew at the speed I was going I would be at the first base in no time. I pushed the throttle forward to get this flight over with. I hated just plain old flying. I loved flipping and rolling in close combat. Just one more hour I told myself.
I got there in 30 minutes. I saw the desert and the black speck on the ground. The clouds had
vanished leaving blue skies and sun. I flew over the base four times and finally had been given the order to attack. There were no bombs or missiles and finally I could open the plastic cover, turn the wheel and select what bomb and click the red button. I flew into a cloud. I had to do it so they don’t have time to radio to other bases. I decided to use my favorite missile. It was camo blue and had a little rocket on the end to shoot it downwards. I spun the wheel and flew over the base once again. I flicked up the plastic covering and hit the button. I almost threw up as the missile detached itself and rocked the jet.
The next base went by quickly as I did the exact same procedure. But this time the base had
time to radio in. I was flying across the desert to base three when suddenly I heard machine gun fire. I looked into my radar and two F-15C Eagles approached me from behind. How were these terrorists getting such advanced jets?
I radioed into General Walker about these jets and he didn’t reply. I knew he heard me so I didn’t say it
again. I turned my attention to these planes approaching me. I waited until they were right on my tail and I let a smoke trail release from my engine. I pushed the button to stop the smoke and I pulled my throttle out as far as it would go. I looked up and saw ground far, far away. But I didn’t feel sick this time I had more things on my mind. I pushed the throttle in again when I was behind them. They were probably radioing in about how they lost me. I pulled the little trigger on the throttle and hit the left Eagle in his cockpit window. It didn’t break, but I kept shooting. Finally the pilot ejected. Ejecting over the desert is suicide, because you could walk to the nearest base or town without starving or dying of thirst. I let him go, but shot a line of machine gun bullets to the right of the other terrorists and moved him over into the deserted plane. I slowed down and flew back way behind the two planes when they collided. A huge explosion engulfed my plane but I dodged the wreckage. The third base went by as easy as the first one did. After sixteen hours of flight I was finally on the last base. This mission was turning out easier than most missions are, but I still had the last base to go through.
Everything got serious when I heard that the terrorists had more planes where the other two had come from.
Kevin and I would have pulled a double missile move, where we both rip up the base with machine guns and then finish it off with a double missile move. But there was only one of me now, so I started to think of other plans. Now I was flying about 5000 feet above the terrorists last base. I remembered the plan clearly in my head “Eliminate any aircrafts leaving the specific terrorist location and bomb the main bunker and surrounding area. Make sure no life forms survive. If any missiles or WMD’s are spotted do not bomb, but continue to watch for any aircrafts.” Those were General Walker’s exact words. Blue sky surrounded my jet as I looked down at the tiny grey spot. I looked out to my wings and saw the 13 missiles still attached to my jet. But as I looked down I saw a speck shoot off the grey runway. It stood out against the desert floor I could follow it even at its unbelievable speed. I slammed my hands into the wheel and dropped at a degree of almost 90 degrees. I was directly above the base so I started to count in my head.3…2…1… and I clicked the red button twice. A fiery cloud ripped into the blue sky and I knew there were no survivors, but explosions started happening all over the base and the mushroom cloud tripled in size.
“ General the base is destroyed. The terrorists were in possession of more missiles that exploded when I bombed the
base. Currently in pursuit of the jet. Over.”
I pushed the throttle all the way forward and went to maximum speed behind the jet. I tried to radio
the jet but I didn’t get a response. I closed in on the jet. I had my finger on the red trigger. At that moment the plane flipped over and completely slowed down. I t flew under me as I zoomed over it. It flipped up again and fired its machine gun, barely missing me. That was always Kevin’s move! Then words came crackling through my radio.
“ Hey buddy!”
I didn’t answer. I knew that voice. I knew that move. And at that moment I saw in my head when his plane exploded, and I cried myself to sleep every night. I knew it was Kevin but I didn’t believe it. He fired a missile at me and I barely dodged it again. Then another voice came through.
“Did you get that jet?” came the Generals voice. I decided not to explain it to him, and I wouldn’t know how to even try.
“ Almost.” I said back.
I pushed my wheel in and did a front flip and fired my machine guns at the bottom of Kevin’s jet. I did a barrel roll and was now flying beside him again. It was happening all over again. I was flying beside my best friend. He was fighting to stay in the air.He was about to die, again. But this time he was a terrorist. I did one final shot with my machine gun. My radio crackled in again and I thought I heard “Bye” but it was to soft to hear. His jet exploded.
“ Mission Complete.” I called in.
In 2008 Jason Stone came out of retirement to join the Air Force and won the award of bravery for a mission he completed that stopped one of the biggest terrorist plots ever. He came back a hero. In 2015 Jason Stone was shot out of the air on a peacekeeping mission. He was 34 years old. Jason is hailed as the best Pilot to ever come out of the Air Force.
