Ghost 13: Bloodshed Ace

by Kitsune_Kenshi

We Are the Ghosts

Gallus waited near the runway, with the rest of the squadron members beside him. Archangels landed safely, and MccRay's plane returned without starting a fire. Now, they're waiting for the search and rescue party. Although they trusted Clickbug's independent personality and his ability to get himself out of trouble, the Rescue party officer did tell them as a heads-up that he might not make it back due to the harsh environment of the frontline, plus there's no record of the Diamond Dogs showing any mercy to their POWs.

"Say, wanna bet whether Beatle's gonna get back in half-hour?" MccRay suggested, although sounding harsh, the squadron knew his attempt to raise the team spirit.

"Appreciate that Mac," Gallus sighed, "I did promise you boys to get each and single one of you home."

The squadron then fell into silence. Time ticked-toked by as anxiety slowly began to take over, MccRay looked pissed, Seattle had a dark expression, and Razor placed a comforting paw onto Gallus's shoulder. Gallus's talons trembled in anger, towards himself of course.

Suddenly, MccRay's ears perked up, "Hold it, you heard that?"

The sound of rotors came closer, a small black dot appeared on the horizon. As it flew closer, it was soon revealed as a Black Hawk. The squadron, despite their nervousness, went up the hovering chopper. As the dust was blown onto their faces, Gallus rushed up toward the cargo door, and together with another ground crew member, they opened the door.

"Ah you lucky sonnova!" It revealed no-creature other than Clickbug himself, however, a bleeding bandage on one of his bottom hooves signaled a great story to tell them.

"Yea, some bastards snuck up on me, I took care of them though." Clickbug let out a stuffed breath, his voice is still a bit shaky from his wild, wild run behind the enemy line.

"Glad your here dude! You're good now." Gallus patted his shoulder as he helped the Changeling on his hooves with MccRay, "Let's get you to the medic."

"HANG ON!!! UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT APPROACHING FAST!!!" Suddenly, a sharp call from the tower made everyone jump, "EVERY CREATURE TO YOUR STATIONS- Wait, that's a Su-37."

That's when they heard the roar of jet engines roaming past their heads, each looked up and was met with a pair of familiar yellow wing tips.

"The Ghost!" Gallus's eyes blinked in surprise.

The Su-37 did a slow yet smooth turn towards the tower, buzzing it so fast that one of the poor stallions spilled himself all over with coffee. It then aimed towards the runway with its landing gears and air brake extended.

"CLEAR THE RUNWAY! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!" Gallus shouted as they backed off.

The Terminator aircraft touched the runway with a loud screech of the tires then it began slowing down as the engines decelerated. The ground crew and pilots rushed towards the slowing aircraft as the Terminator glided slowly back towards the hanger with one stallion with light sticks.

The Cockpit slowly opened as the engine shut down completely, the same old bird that Gallus once saw slowly yet shakily walked himself out of the ladders. Suddenly, one o his legs went numb and he fell backward, two medics immediately rushed forward as they took away his helmet and stuffed his face with an oxygen mask. White vapors can be seen appearing and disappearing rapidly as the legendary pilot breathed heavily as if he was dying.

About three seconds later, Wind Blade ripped the mask off, "Ugh, enough with this muffed-up piece of shit, I'm still breathin'..." He then saw Gallus, "Oh hey boy."

"You went up there?" Gallus asked, with admires in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm still a little excited, ha!" Wind Blade laughed, "Quite an entertainment, oh, by the way, Gallus, you're a good Squadron leader."

"Wait that was you?!" Razor's eyes widened, "Holy- Whoa, just... Wow."

"Still got a long way for you kid." Wind Blade landed a heavy slap on Razor's shoulder.

The pilots slapped each others' shoulders, laughed, and walked themselves to the debriefing room...

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"Are you still going to fly for the ERAF?" Gallus asked.

"Nah... Old bones like me aren't a match for the young stallions up there." Wind Blade shook his head, he then sighed while looking up toward the starry night sky. After the debriefing, they were invited to the bar to have a drink, however, Wind Blade dragged Gallus to the runway to have a chat, the others acknowledged as they went on.

"You know... I'm not getting up there... Ever again..." Came Wind Blade's calm voice, however, a sign of sadness can be heard in his tone, "The medics told me that my insides aren't functioning as normal anymore... Probably due to the UV rays or some other shit from the high altitude flight and those high-G hits."

'Wind Blade-" Gallus started, but was cut off by the old Griffon.

"No, young birds like you aren't meant to be on the ground," He said with a chuckle, "your generation is more suitable than me. I felt it when I killed that guy, my bones and muscles screaming for a halt, my eyes blurring out, and my nerves rattling... It all led towards that one automatic death sentence for a fighter pilot..."

Silence.

"I'm grounded... Permanently."

Then there's a long period of quietness.

Wind Blade shook his head lightly, a bright smile on his face, "Don't think too hard about it, it's how things work. The old gets replaced by the new, blah blah yata yata..."

"But... We won't have a Ghost anymore..." Gallus murmured.

"Eh?! Who the fuck told you that?!" Wind Blade's volume suddenly raised.

Gallus jumped, Wind Blade sighed as he took a deep breath, "Listen, kid, I'm only gonna say this once..."

"The Ghost is not one, but of all of the Equestria... The Ghosts existed not in physical form, but in the minds of every soldier; It's a spirit, an everlasting fighting spirit of defending things you viewed as precious... The Ghosts never cease to exist, from time to time, generation to generation, tale after tale... Whenever the old Ghosts passed on, new Ghosts were born. Everywhere on the battlefield, every soldier, every pilot, every medic, every officer, and everyone who believes in those who fought for them... Despite not knowing who there were..."

He then looked at the young blue Griffon, "Now, tell me Gallus, who are the Ghosts?"

The young Griffon thought about it for a long time, with the answer in mind, he looked Wind Blade straight and firm in his eyes.

"We are the Ghosts."

Author's Note:

Inspired by the fictional legend of the Ukrianian Ghost of Kyiv, although we may not know who they are, what we do know is that they're men and women, each dedicated to defend their land from the hellfire of war.

Respect for every Ukrianian soldiers out there. Be safe. God help Ukriane.

Comments

[shining paladin]

awesome story mate keep it up cant wait for the next story