Sky Fighter

Lieutenant Jack Carter never gets tired of this feeling. The closest thing to human flight that anyone can achieve. The closest thing to someone feeling like a superhero, straight out of a comic book. Like Superman, flying around the sky, making sonic booms everywhere he goes. 

Unfortunately, unlike Superman, Jack isn't capable of flight without a little help. That help being the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. More specifically, the F-35C is a new, cutting-edge single-seat, single-engine, all-weather model that is made specifically for stealth and multirole combat. 

When Jack got the call to test this bad boy out, he felt like a little kid on the inside, however, he didn't allow himself to show it. He's an experienced pilot within the Navy's aviation unit and it is because of his experience and expertise that he was brought on to the program to test out this new model, so he had to show his professionalism. Only when he is inside the cockpit did he allow a little of his inner child to come out. The task is simple. 

 What makes the F-35 so unique in the first place is because it's a multirole fighter. According to the higher-ups, this is the second fifth generation fighter to enter the service for the United States and also the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. It's downright lethal at long range because it emphasizes low observables, advanced avionics and sensor fusion that gives it a high level of situational awareness. 

There are currently three variant models of the F-35, namely: the F-35A, F35B, and F-35C. The F-35C is the only one of three models that looks different immediately upon sight and the reason for that is because of its large wingspan, giving it a longer distance for missions. 

However, even though this model is state of the art, it doesn't mean that there aren't any bugs in the systems. Bugs lead to problems. Problems lead to disasters and disasters lead to failed missions. That can't happen, for great many reasons. That is why he's testing it out today. This aircraft is stated to be able to work in any weather. Even storms. 

Simulated storms, of course. At the moment, Jack is getting ready to conduct the simulation as he is trained to do, before he heard the familiar cackle of the communication radio, coming to life. "Lieutenant Carter, this is Commander Reynolds. How's the F-35 handling up there?" She purrs like a kitten, is what he wanted to say, but he knows Reynolds and he doesn't want another reprimand from him. He has too many of them anyways. 

"Commander, the F-35 is holding up impressively. Engaging the all-weather mode for atmospheric analysis." Jack said as he continued to push the last remaining buttons in the cockpit. 

"Any noticeable differences in performance, Lieutenant?" Commander Reynolds asked. 

"No, sir. So far, there's minimal impact. Visibility reduced, but systems are compensating well. Initiating navigation through simulated storm conditions." 

"Stay cautious, Carter. We need precise feedback on the all-weather system's efficacy." Reynolds said and Jack fought the urge to role his eyes. He's not a rookie, but there is something else that's bothering him about this test. 

"Acknowledged Commander. Manoeuvring through turbulence, assessing system response. But, if I can ask you one question, sir?" 

"Go ahead, Lieutenant." If Commander Reynolds sounded exhausted, he did a great job hiding it. 

"Why are we conducting these tests in the air, sir? Wouldn't it be safer and more controlled on the ground?" Jack asked. 

"Because we a need real-time responses to simulated weather conditions in an airborne environment." Commander Reynolds answered. 

"But wouldn't you get more accurate data if the test is conducted on the ground, sir?" That would be the usual route to go whenever tests would be conducted. 

"No, they would differ significantly from the airborne data. To put it more simply, Lieutenant, this test aims to evaluate the aircraft's in-flight responsiveness to various weather conditions. In other words, it gives us a more realistic assessment of the F-35's capabilities. That was three questions Lieutenant. Got any more?" Jack could hear every word held condescension, but even if he wanted to fire back, he held his composure. 

"No, sir." Now it is Jack's turn to hide his frustration. 

"Good, keep me informed. This data is crucial, Lieutenant." Commander Reynolds said. 

"Copy that. Monitoring closely. Carter out." Jack said before he shut off communications to the carrier. 'What an asshole.' But that doesn't make him wrong. It makes sense to gather more accurate data, especially in this situation, if these new jets will be used in combat scenarios. Currently he's cruising at an altitude of 25 000 ft and he's not noticing any problems so far. So far everything inside the cockpit is showing green. 

Then the communications came back to life again. "Lt. Carter, adjust altitude to 30 000. We need to assess the F-35's response to higher altitudes amidst these conditions." Commander Reynolds said. 

"Acknowledged Commander. Adjusting to 30 000 ft." Jack said as he meticulously guided the aircraft higher into the sky. But as the altimeter climbed, he felt the turbulence intensified, subjecting the F-35 to more severe weather conditions. 'Come on baby, come on, you can do this' Carter thought. This isn't new for him. It's a part of the job, but it doesn't mean there can't be a fist time. The aircraft strained against the powerful currents, but Lt. Jack Carter skilfully maneuvered the F-35 like an expert. Finally he reached the Commander's directive despite the increasingly challenging conditions. The turbulence stopped rocking the aircraft and still the simulated weather conditions showed that it was continuing without any interference. What was he going to do after this?

This thought suddenly popped into his head. Well, there's not much he can do on a Navy carrier. He could challenge a few of his bunkmates to a game of cards, but if he's being honest with himself, the idea of playing another game of poker with his friends, didn't sound that appealing. This started a whole chain of memories to appear in his mind. He's been in the Navy for nine years now, almost ten. He joined up after graduating high school, only because he didn't see a future in any other field. His father was a mechanic, and his mom was a nurse. Seeing them dedicate their lives to something they loved really inspired him to look for something he wanted to dedicate his life to, and he found that in the Navy.

His parents were proud of his choice and supported him through thick and thin and he would always appreciate his parents for that. He still remembers his time in basic training. 'Ha, good times.' He thought. Then there were the officer commissioning programs that prepared him for his life as a naval officer, but he didn't want to be just a normal sailor. Instead, following basic training, he entered flight school, and it was there where his passion for aviation really blossomed. To sum it up, he absolutely loved it. Sure, the training was hard, and the sleepless nights were tiring, but he loved that experience all the same.

When he graduated flight school, he only got entry-level assignments. Hey, even if your grades looked good, it only looks good on paper. Once you hit real life, it all means nothing, and since he's working with very expensive equipment, nobody is going to trust a newbie fresh out of the academy with high-risk missions. However, the more missions he got, the more his experience grew and soon it led to him being trusted with the more challenging missions, but even when the missions got dangerous, his love for flying never stagnated, it only grew. Even if he only tests the newer toys now. Who wants to test new cars when you have the opportunity to fly new jets before anyone else? 

But still, it seems to be the only thing in his life to bring him meaning. And that doesn't feel right. Looking back at his parents, sure they loved their jobs, but when they came home, they didn't lose that spark of life in their eyes, the second they entered the house. Their time with him was just as, if not more special than their times at their occupations. Is that what he's missing? A life off the ship? Out of the plane? Out of the sky? If it is, then why does his heart ache whenever he thinks of a life outside the jet? 

However his inner monologue seemed to stop completely when he suddenly heard thunder. How does he hear thunder? 'Focus, Carter! Now's not the time to daydream!' That knocked him out of his existential rabbit hole. He looks around his cockpit to see anything out of the ordinary, but there's nothing. There it is again! A low rumble and then a crack in the distance.

'What the hell?' 

"Commander, do you copy?" Jack said. The communication came back to life again. 

"I hear you, Lieutenant. What's wrong?" 

"I'm hearing thunder sir. There seems to be a storm approaching, but the equipment is not picking anything up." 

"That's strange. We're not seeing anything on our side either. Do you have a visual of the storm?" Commander Reynolds asked. Jack looked out into the sky, and there he saw it. A huge, dark cloud, that's right outside his window! 

"Shit!!" Jack let out. How did he miss that? He grabbed the control stick between his legs and almost ripped it out as he moved the jet to the right. "Yeah, I see it. It's on me!" 

"What? How the hell could it be on you?!" Commander Reynolds was alarmed at Jack's outburst. He looked calm, but inside he was spooked. Then the jet's systems seemed to finally acknowledge the existence of the storm right outside his window. 'Oh, great, now you work!'

It was the same in the control room with Commander Reynolds. The Doppler radar showed it, and the many different meters showed it too. It was bad. "Oh shit, call it!!" Reynolds said to the guy working with him, and the control room sounded the alarm. 

Jack heard it too and thought they took their time. "Initiating emergency manoeuvres." Jack stated as he guided the aircraft away from the storm. But as Jack thought he was in the clear, the aircrafts controls started behaving unpredictably and then he lost control.

"Commander, somethings wrong!! I've lost control of the F-35." Jack said as he struggled to regain control of the jet, but it was all in vain. Instead of flying away from the storm, it seems to be turning straight towards it. Now it wasn't on Jack's right side anymore. It was right in front of him. Jack couldn't believe his eyes. Inside the dark clouds, flickered lights of different colours. 'Is that lightning? What the hell am I looking at' was all he could think at this strange situation. 

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant?!! What're you seeing?!" Jack snapped back to reality and once again tried to take back control of the aircraft. But it's still in vain. "I have a full visual of the storm, but I still can't get back control of the jet!!"

Jack tried with all he had to change direction, but the jet still kept its course straight towards the storm. As he got closer, he could confirm those flashing lights in the clouds to actually be lightning, but just in different colours. A few times, there are some lightning strikes that went past him, and Jack could see yellow, green, blue, and even purple colours flashing by in the cockpit. But the one that got the most of his attention was the one that struck the jet. 

"Change your course, Lieutenant!! Do you hear m… Lieu… nt…" The communication started to cut. Must be the storm. But this didn't bother Jack as much as the trying to regain control. That lightning bolt didn't look it fried anything important, so he tried again to get back control. 

The thought of ejecting did cross his mind, but so far this storm has been behaving unnaturally. Who knows what might happen the second he ejects right in front of this thing. Also he doesn't like the thought of letting this jet be destroyed on the account of him running away.

But if he was going to die, then how will his parents feel. He's their only child and his death might destroy them. 'No way I'm dying today, not by a long shot!!' With a new and stronger resolve he continued his fight for control. But it was too late. The aircraft broke through the clouds. The storm looked dangerous and unpredictable on the outside, but on in the inside it was far more dangerous. 

The wind wisped the clouds all over the place and the thunderbolts were firing off in many different directions. When the first bolt struck the body of his aircraft outside, his ears rung and his head pounded, but he forced himself not to lose focus. But now with so many bolts striking the jet, it was just too much. He couldn't focus on anything. He didn't even realise he let go of the controller. Instead he held his head, as if it would keep it from exploding. The aircraft started to spin out of control, but it didn't fall. It kept its course towards the eye of the storm. Jack felt a little relief from the onslaught on his brain and he forced his eyes open to see how bad his situation is but couldn't see clearly.

The F-35 didn't stop spinning long enough for him to see. Everything was a combination of black, grey, and white. He couldn't tell the top from the bottom. Left from right. He just felt dizzy on top of the headaches. If he was going to throw up, he's going to have a problem, because it's not easy to get rid of the smell. But before he thought, he was going to die, he felt the headache disappear along with the noise he didn't know he grew used to. Add in the fact, he is feeling, a sensation that sent alarms all throughout his body. 

Falling! His eyes flew open and recognises he is indeed falling out of the sky, while spinning counterclockwise. Immediately his training and experience sprang into action. He reduced the throttle, neutralized the controls, and applied the opposite rudder and aileron inputs. After that he gently pulled the aircraft's nose upward, ensuring it gradually exits its spin. As he was doing this, he kept his eye on the altitude and airspeed and so far, it looked good. He noticed the aircraft slowly exiting its spinning nosedive and soon he fully stopped it.

He was in every sense of the word, relieved at the successful manoeuvring, but that relief was short lived. His adrenaline rush quickly came back with a vengeance when he thought of that storm. He quickly looked out of his cockpit to see where the storm is, but he couldn't see it. He thought, there's no way a storm like could just disappear, but at the same time, there is no way a storm of that magnitude could appear out of nowhere either.

Regardless, he kept eyeing the clouds, the sky and even the sun in the distance to find any evidence of the storm, but he doesn't find anything. He then conducted a thorough system's check, but like outside his cockpit, there doesn't seem to be showing anything connecting to the storm. Instead, the instruments operated like the storm never happened. The good news is, there doesn't seem to be anything damaged, but the bad news is still staring at him right in the face. He doesn't recognise his location. The clouds were different, not just in shape, but in nature as well. As Jack looked out into the sky, his confusion only grew. The Altocumulus, being a familiar sight to him through his years as a pilot, are now peculiar. 

Usually, the Altocumulus are mid-level clouds with globular masses. They are always either a white or grey colour. But now the essence of these clouds are different. As Jack focused on one grey mass, he noticed something odd. It was almost as if it's glowing. Then he finally saw it. Instead of being its usual clustered globule, these Altocumulus had an iridescent hue, shimmering with an ethereal luminescence. To put it simply, it was as if Jack was watching a Northern Light show right outside his cockpit. Their movements were erratic, swirling and dancing in between itself and the other clouds. It was mesmerizing to watch. But Jack couldn't afford to be hypnotised by this.

Quickly, he turned on communications and spoke: "Commander Reynolds, the storm has passed and disappeared, but there are no damages to the F-35. Everything looks to be in good shape. However my location is unknown, so I need help getting back to the carrier." But what he heard, wasn't Reynolds responding. Instead all he heard was static scratching in his headset. 

He tried again. "Commander, do you copy?" Nothing. He started to think the F-35 did get damaged in the storm. But when he looked at the communicator it didn't show any damage. Was he too far away? No, it can't be, these things are designed to maintain communications even over several hundred miles. He thought: 'Even if I were out of range, the satellites would still pick me up.' 

'Is there something blocking me' Was the only reason he could think of. He turned back to the Lunar lightshow outside and thought, are they the reason? Feeling hesitant over the possible interference, he tried again, hoping that by some miracle, the signal would find a crack to go through and maybe be picked up by a relay station or satellite. "Commander Reynolds, I don't know if you can hear me. This is Lieutenant Jack Carter. At the moment, I'm flying through uncharted territory. Commander, what I'm seeing can only be described as magical. These Altocumulus are giving off this kind of light show in the middle of sky. Like you're watching some kind of music festival. I'm going to try and talk over the radio until it gets through, and I hope and pray to God, it gets through."

Still the scratching in his headset continued without interruption. While he was talking, Jack didn't see what was going on outside. While his attention stayed in the cockpit, he missed how one by one the clouds started to move. Not in their normal way, but as if they were alive. Each one started to change its course like they were making a tunnel for the jet to fly in without obstruction.

"Until if or when you respond, Commander. I'm going to-" *hum* Once again, he's cut off by something. It didn't sound like thunder this time, instead it sounded like a large hum. A really deep hum. It felt like it shifted his heart into another position in his chest. Whatever made that hum, it was large. He felt his heartbeat in his throat. His throat went itchy and dry, while his body grew cold.

 *HUM* 

He heard it again. It sounded closer, like it was right outside his window. He steeled himself enough to look out and see what it was, but he could only see those same clouds. But now these clouds were behaving differently from earlier. One of the masses seemed to go move upward, past the glass, like it was expanding. Then he realised, this one cloud wasn't the only one. As he watched the one pass upward, he noticed there are, in his peripheral, others that mimicked what this one cloud was doing, but only in different directions. 

*HUM* 

This deep, guttural sound was so loud, it caused to metal body of the aircraft to shutter, like it was scared itself. Soon it was followed by another one and another one and another one and soon the space Jack was flying in, sounded like an echo chamber. These 'living' clouds started to move right over his head. A dark mass that only reminded him of storm he narrowly escaped. 

Not wanting to be back in that situation, Jack pushed a button before he grabbed the controller and moved the aircraft away from this bizarre situation. As he maneuvered the F-35 through the open spaces he could see, he suddenly noticed in one of the globular masses something even more peculiar. Through the grey mass, he saw something looking back at him. A giant eye. A giant, green-and-yellow coloured eye was looking into his soul.

With fear gripping him in a vice, he accelerated the F-35, until it almost created a sonic boom in the space he left behind. "Commander Reynold, come in! Come in!! This is Lieutenant Jack Carter. I'm encountering some kind of creature in the clouds, over!!" Jack practically yelled into his headset, but the static was still there. 

Jack kept his speed for a while until he noticed that he wasn't pursued by the creature. Curiosity soon overtook his fear. Jack banked to the left to get a clear view of what came out of the cloud and what he saw made him forget his fear all together. The creature, who now was totally free from the cloud, shined in an iridescent hue around it's body, just like the lights he saw earlier. It's scales were radiating luminescence in every colour of the rainbow, and it looked like said luminescence were falling off its body, like they were snow.

He was right on his earlier thought of it being large, but now Jack thinks he might have been wrong on exactly how large. The jet, if it was viewed from the bottom, itself could make up the entire eye. However he still noticed a similarity, despite the oddities.

"Commander Reynolds… that creature I saw… it's a whale. A huge, shiny whale." He couldn't stop the tone of awe in his voice. However this whale only partially resembled it's Earth-counterparts. The hair on its back is green as moss, on its colourful body. The glowing tendrils on its belly, much like bulbs, connected to a string, swung from one side to the other while it swam through the air. It's flippers, much like its Earthly cousins, launched it up into the air and then down again. 

This wonder made Jack feel like a child again. But this wonder only grew more when more of these whales emerged from other clouds. Soon the entire sky was filled with these majestic hums, almost like a choir performing in a church. The baby whales mimicking their parents and the other elders of the pod, to find their tune. Earlier Jack thought of magic, and now that thought is confirmed.

He thought, man nobody is going to believe me. But the thought of the people's opinions back home, snapped him out of his daze and once again he tried to call the carrier. "Commander Reynolds, this is Lieutenant Jack Carter…" but the words were then caught in his throat.

One of the babies were flying along with him and his aircraft and based on its body language, it looked like it was curious. Its mother, Jack thought, was following close behind. She wasn't too close, but still close enough to see her baby flying up to the strange flying metal box. Jack could see it in her body language that she was also curious, but he could also sense a small bit of hostility.

He also discovered another trait these clouds whales shared with the Earthly-counterparts and that is a blowhole on the top of their bodies. She used hers to blow out a plume of grey mist, or at least that is what Jack thought it was, but upon closer inspection it was actually a cloud she blew out. 

Jack felt a swarm of emotions, but he didn't know which one was appropriate in the moment, to feel. There was curiosity at this strange infant creature being this close to him. There is fear, especially with the mother's warning still fresh in his mind. There is awe that is focused more on the fact that the mother blew a cloud out of her blowhole.

At this point, the words caught in his throat, were forgotten completely at the sight of the baby whale trying to keep up with the jet. He then noticed the baby started getting agitated. Jack's chest felt heavy when he heard the baby's mewling. When Jack was flying right over the other adults and babies, he then slowed down. Just enough for the baby to catch up. He watched the baby slowly catch up to him until it swam up to window on his left side. He thought she has a beautiful eye. It wasn't as big as the first one he saw.

Actually now that he thinks about it, the first one also didn't look that dangerous. The baby also made these short clicking sounds right outside the window, which caused his navigation to malfunction with every click. Jack didn't want to fly away with the baby following next to him, so he would periodically turn the aircraft to the right in order to eventually lead the baby back to her mother and the rest of her pod. Periodically he would notice the pod moving away. This scared Jack, because the mother hasn't moved from her original spot, and she doesn't seem to notice her pod is leaving her and her baby behind. 

Although he enjoys the sight of this baby Cloud whale and her curiosity, but she has to get back to her mother so they could join their pod. With a heavy heart, he increased the speed and once again he shot through the air faster than the baby could keep up. The mewling once again started as the baby also sped up, but it wasn't enough. Jack continued to put more and more distance between them, but he didn't have to do this too long because before he knew it, he sped right past the mother. Jack turned his head for a moment to see what the baby was going to do. He felt heart drop when he thought the baby was going to pass too, but the mother made another sound Jack couldn't recognise, however the baby recognised it. She stopped her pursuit of the aircraft immediately and rejoined her mother. 

Jack felt his chest lighten up at their reunion, but for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling of someone staring at him. He turned the jet to the left to allow him to see more of the pair. He felt the mother's eyes on him, but they didn't hold the same caution or fear as before. This time he felt her saying 'thank you' with the chirps coming from her giant mouth. All while the baby gave her own dissatisfied clicks and chirps, but she didn't leave her mother's side. The mother then nudged her baby towards the direction the rest of the pod went in.

Even though, Jack could see that the baby wanted to stay, he watched her with distant eyes as she left with her mother, while he was slowly circling around. Despite feeling drained, he steeled himself to deal with the problem at hand. He had to try reaching Commander Reynolds again, otherwise he is going to fly around in unknown skies until his fuel runs out. If the Commander doesn't answer his reattempt he will be forced to find somewhere to land.

Once again, it's unknown territory. But that thought sparked a chain reaction of others that simply made him feel heavier. Say he is in another country's airspace and his communications are out and they attack him. This would cause an international incident of unknown proportions that would lead to who-knows-what. Or let's say he isn't attacked in the air, but the second he lands, what would the outcome be? 

However in spite of the situation, Jack tried again. "Commander Reynolds, this is Lieutenant Jack Carter. I have encountered those strange whales in the air. Even if they didn't look like them, they sure act like whales." Jack said while watched the mother and baby duo still in the direction of the pod.

"Sir, you're not going to believe what I'm seeing. How could we miss these things if they exist in…" He felt the words get stuck in his throat again as he listened to the thought rerun in his head. 

"Commander… I think that storm took me… somewhere else. I don't know how to return back to the carrier." The reality of the situation nearly crushed him. But still he continued. "Commander… if you somehow get your hands on this. If it's possible. Can you give my parents a message for me? Tell them…" No matter how hard he tried he couldn't find the right words. His eyes started to sting, and he started to choke, but he tried to keep himself steady. "Tell them, the sky is beautiful up here."

The static sound came back again, but this time it didn't cause him to be irritated, angry or anxious, instead he accepted it. He turned off the communication and now the silence in the cockpit, except for the rumbling engine outside, felt uncomfortable. When he turned his head to look at the cloud whales, who are now almost tiny specks in the distance, and he almost wanted to go with them. The thought of following them is kind of strange really.

After all, where else could he go? Once again this is unknown territory and is there even a way back? Before the thoughts in his head overwhelmed him, the sudden alarm in his cockpit went off. He froze because he knew that sound. It means there was a hostile force in the air with him. He immediately turned his head left and right to look for the object his equipment is picking up. At first all he could see were cirrus clouds and a few patches of stratus formations, but he didn't have to look for long before his eyes spotted an incoming object speeding at him.

Once again, his instincts took over and he banked hard to the right. It was close call, but he managed to completely avoid the incoming object without sustaining any damage to his aircraft. He didn't have time to be relieved however, because the alarm is still screaming in the cockpit. He turned his head, to his right and then his left, and saw four more, similar looking objects, following in the direction of the first one. The speed at which these objects were moving made it hard for Jack to get a good look at them. 

But there was one thing that he could definitely recognise on the five, black masses in the distance and it was the long, leathery wings. Jack had a bad feeling about this. He then changed direction again and went after the five unidentified flying objects. Before he accelerated the aircraft, he got a feeling that he should look at his equipment one more time. With exception to communications, everything else looked fine. The fuel gage didn't show any problems that he should immediately handle.

The AESA radar, DAS, and EOTS still looked functional, if the fact that the aircraft noticed those flying objects before he did goes unnoticed. His Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) also looked fine. He started to way his options again: should he continue following those things or should he touch down somewhere? The most logical thing to do in this situation is to land, but Jack can't shake this bad feeling he has. In the end, he decided to investigate the situation and if it isn't too bad than he will take the jet down and land somewhere. 

It didn't take long for Jack to catch up to them, but when he did, the sight horrified him. These black-winged creatures were attacking the mother whale and her calf. The mother was being bombarded with some kind of explosives that Jack never saw before. The baby was hiding underneath the mother's giant fin, but this didn't protect her entirely. As Jack got a closer look, he missed something important at their first encounter: there were people riding these creatures and these riders were firing those explosives out of what appears to be giant branches. Unknown to Jack, the creatures themselves are in fact, small, dark-scaled wyverns, but these riders looked like hunters to him.

They were mostly dressed in black leather outfits, and they also had masks on, and they would have looked nearly identical if one of them didn't have a cape on. The one thing that stood out to Jack the most, was the sounds of the mother and baby. This didn't sound like those sounds he heard earlier. These sounds almost sounded like a screech combined with the humming he heard when he first encountered them in the clouds.

It made Jack feel cold. Normally he would call this in and asked how to deal with this situation, but in this situation there's no-one on the other side who's going to give him orders to follow. He's on his own and this situation made him truly understand it. "Commander Reynolds, this is Lt. Jack Carter. I'm calling in, to report suspicious activity. I have unidentified hostile creatures attacking a pair of cloud whales up here. A mother and her baby. I will be engaging these targets, over." 

Jack flew past them at near supersonic speed. It knocked two of the hunters and their wyverns of their course and caused one of them to fall off their mount. The other one managed to stay on their wyvern, but it was close. The other three riders stopped their attack on the mother and her calf, when they noticed the strange noise the F-35C jet made. However it was the sight of their comrade falling to his death that really made them freeze up. But just before they could do anything else, Lt. Jack had already come back around.

However, the speed was not the same as earlier and this time something was fired from the jet's wingtip. The object looked strange to the riders. The way it was flying towards them with smoke coming out from behind it, but their curiosity was not their ally in this moment. When the object hit its target, which was the one rider that was far behind the two up front and really close to another one, to Jack's left, the explosion destroyed its target completely and the shockwave killed the other rider along with his wyvern, causing both of them to fall.

The last two riders nearly fell off their wyverns as well because the explosion nearly made the wyverns go crazy, but the riders managed to get them under control. Finally realising that this machine was a threat, the last two riders flew after Jack with surprising speed and agility, while the two whales continued to fly away in the other direction. Jack was happy to see the pair escaping, but at the same time, he also realised these creatures and their riders were now flying after him. Both shot those same strange-coloured explosives in his direction and every time they missed, the resulting shockwave of the explosion knocked against the body of the aircraft with more force than he thought possible. 

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. The first three shots missed and detonated near him, but the last two impacted the jet's body. Some alarm systems then started. 'Shit, these jerks are going to blow me to kingdom come if I don't get them out of my ass' He thought. Currently he's at a disadvantage, but he does know one trick to change the situation in his favour. Without wasting a single second, Jack flipped a switch inside the cockpit and released dozen of pyrotechnic flares towards the incoming enemies and immediately he pulled the aircraft upward. The wyvern riders were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of these strange fireballs. The one rider used his cape to shield himself from these fireballs and it worked.

The cape protected him while the flares only seemed to annoy the wyvern. However, the same can't be said for his partner, because when he tried to shield his face with his arm, the flares still did burn it and the rest of his body. His wyvern managed to shrug off the flares from his scaly body, but one of the flares managed to hit his right eye. It caused the wyvern to knock his head back and forth and even right into the rider himself before calming down. Thankfully, for him the rider didn't fall off.

While the two riders were distracted, Jack was still busy steering the jet upward. His aim wasn't to go straight up into the sky, but to pull the aircraft until it was upside down. When it was upside down, Jack continued to hold it there, before it managed to return back to normal. This time he was behind them. Jack sped the jet back up and went for them. He used the guidance system to lock on to the one rider with the cape and fired the onboard gun. The bullets sped towards the rider so fast that before the rider even noticed, he along with his wyvern were already full of holes. 

The rider's eyes, although life-less, were frozen and shock as both fell out of the sky. 'Bullseye' Jack thought before he aimed the gun at the last one. When Jack fired the gun again, the last rider proved himself to be a slippery one. As a matter of fact, he saw his leader's death at the hands of this strange machine, before he noticed the bullets speeding right towards him, almost like magic he shot at it.

So, without hesitation, the rider yanked the reigns to the left and dodged the flurry of bullets. Jack clicked his tongue in frustration. 'Damnit' he thought. But he was still on his tail when he got another idea. He activated the guidance system again, but it wasn't for the gun. 'Try to dodge this, asshole!' Jack pressed a button and fired the heatseeking missile. The rider tried to dodge again, but it didn't work like he imagined it would. When he turned to the right, the missile followed him and when he tried turning left, the missile copied him again. The rider couldn't understand this strange magic.

A fiery, metal object is following him in the air and it's getting closer! He tried once more to dodge the missile by turning left and right for a few more times, but once again it didn't achieve again. Soon the missile struck its target and like the other one, both the rider and the wyvern were completely destroyed. Jack breathed out a sigh in relief. But not before calling it in. "Commander Reynolds, this is Lieutenant Jack Carter. I'm happy to say the hostile targets are eliminated and the whales are safe. I repeat, the -" But the sentence couldn't even end, because he still could hear the alarms screaming.

He looked around, outside of the cockpit, to try and find the reason and spotted it. The left wing is on fire! But there is something else that made his heart drop. It was the strange symbol right below the fire. There was no time for Jack to even register the strange symbols and patterns on the wing before it exploded. 

"Shit!!!" Jack said. He then felt the familiar feeling again when his jet started to nose diving. Once again, his training and experience kicked in, and acted like a guiding hand. But it wasn't enough. He felt it grow in his soul. Like a dark cloud forming. He was going to die. His mind accepted it, but his body refused. His instincts to survive put his body in autopilot as he fought to fix the situation he is in now. But once again, he turned his attention outside and there he saw his most treasured sight. The clouds and the sun, reflecting off of them. Honestly, there couldn't be a better way to die, for him to be right now. But then something made him come back to his senses. 

HUM!!! 

'What?' Jack thought, as he noticed something huge flying beneath him. It was the mother cloud whale. Jack watched as this behemoth turned upward and swam through the air, right in his direction. This is where the strangest thing by far happened. Something that almost scared the living hell out of him.

The whale came at him as fast as its giant body could muster. When it was close enough, it opened its huge mouth! The realisation struck him like a bolt of lightning. But it was too late. He was already in the whale's mouth before he could do anything at this point. And it slammed shut. He couldn't see anything.

All he could see were the instruments and even with that he still felt the darkness creeping on his skin. 'All I want, is to go home. To see my family and my friends. Please, God don't let me die here.' Jack felt desperate. But then something else made the list of strange things. The radio suddenly turned itself back on and it made its usual static noise, but there was something else. "…ack?"

What is that? 

"…ja…j…j..ack?" There it is again. Is someone trying to get through to him? This sparked his hope back to life.

"Hello? Hello?! This is Lieutenant Jack Carter. Is anyone there over?" 

"Jack… come… in." Is that a woman's voice? "Repeat that again, Commander?" Jack asked again. 

"JACK!!!!" 

This sound and strange sensation on the man's shoulder, broke the man out of everything he was seeing and experiencing. Soon the blue sky, the setting sun and the many clouds disappeared and the cockpit of the jet he was sitting in vanished. In their place was a messy whiteboard on the wall and a desk with an open laptop on it. Littered around the laptop were papers, either crumbled up into balls or stacked on top of each other. And on the screen is a blank page. The sensation on the man's shoulder was soon revealed to be a soft hand. He turned around to see the most beautiful woman he always loves to see. 

"Jack? You back on planet Earth now?" The woman asked and Jack could hear the teasing in her tone. 

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Jack asked, pleasantly surprised. However he already knew the answer. Why else would his wife be in his office? 

"I said it's time for dinner." Emily said with giggle following. "Wow is it that time already?" Jack asked before he took off his glasses to rub his eyes. They felt tired and as dry as a desert. 

"Yeah, it is, Lieutenant." There was the teasing again. Jack couldn't hide that his face was flushing up until he looked like a walking stop sign. How did she know?

It seems the question in his mind appeared on his face at some point, because Emily gave him a knowing smirk before she kissed him on the forehead. "You were mumbling again." 

"Oh…" Was the only response he could muster as he looked back to the blank page. 

"Don't worry about it. It will still be here when you get back, but you can't write on an empty stomach and I'm not saving it later." She said with a little more force behind her voice and Jack responded with a smile before standing up. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Those cloud whales are safe now anyways." Jack said as he stretched his arms and his back. Emily giggled again before leading her husband out of the office. Behind them, stood a picture of a happy couple framed up near the open laptop. It was their wedding. And on the open page, were the only words, written in bold – SKY FIGHTER.