A stretch of azure sea.
A propeller plane painted sea blue lay quietly against the surface, rising and falling with the rolling waves like a drifting plank.
Two pontoons had replaced the 20mm cannons, resting beneath the aircraft like sled runners. A depth charge fitted with a pressure sensor clung tightly to the belly of the plane, like a blade hidden beneath the blue.
The surroundings were silent, save for the rolling sound of the tide.
Then, Feng Qing, who had been lying in the cockpit with her eyes closed, suddenly jolted awake and sat upright in her seat.
She moved so violently that her forehead nearly struck the cockpit canopy. Fortunately, the safety belt caught her before an accident could happen.
Amid a series of creaks, the silent aircraft seemed to come alive again.
At nearly the same moment, the standard duck-like rasp of Legion Commander Mosquito came over the comms channel.
"...The fish took the bait!"
The communications channel crackled with static.
The VM screen strapped to her thigh lit up at the same time, displaying strike coordinates calculated from friendly positions and relative distances on the map.
Unhurriedly taking a piece of chocolate from her pocket and tossing it into her mouth, Feng Qing skillfully reached out, flipped open the cockpit instrument panel, and started the plane's engine.
The propeller at the nose roared, dragging the lightweight fuselage forward against the waves.
Keeping her speed at the threshold for takeoff, Feng Qing did not immediately pull up the nose. Her index finger lightly tapped out a rhythm against the control stick.
The endless sound of the surf was drowned out by the fiercer roar of propellers, and the tranquil sea suddenly came alive.
Not just one—
But a full fifty!
One W-2/H maritime attack aircraft after another,