This wasn't Ryan's first aerial battle, and he had been lucky.
In the several aerial battles he had participated in before, every fighter he piloted had been hit. The most dangerous time was when two autocannon shells had punched straight through his cockpit windshield!
But he had still insisted on bringing the plane back to the ground!
On top of shooting down several planes, he was now an Air Force captain, just one step away from becoming a Field officer.
As a "Federal Hero," as long as he survived this war, he would be able to take that "final step."
Of course, a Federal Hero ought to have a hero's dignity. The fighter he was flying now was the Second Generation Fighter Jet released by the Federation's Blackstone Aviation. Its improved performance gave him the illusion that he could take on ten men by himself! It accelerated faster, though that naturally required more precise control. None of that was difficult for him.
The only thing that made him uncomfortable was that whenever his speed reached its limit, his waist would begin to ache faintly.
It was the spot where he had been stabbed before! The pain... wasn't particularly obvious, and it didn't hurt constantly, but every now and then it would give a sudden throb! He wasn't sure what caused it, but he vaguely knew that his career as a pilot might be coming to an end!
That wasn't to say he would leave the Air Force as soon as he got off the plane. It meant that the only aircraft he could fly were Second Generation fighters.
Once newer generations began to replace them, he might no longer be qualified to fly, and that left him somewhat regretful.
Fortunately, he could still hold on for a while. Judging by