Paul Mack was one of the four-man squad stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, assigned to the Federal Air Force 7th Wing's 4th Squadron. He had served for over four years, and had been enjoying a dull but safe career of domestic patrols, training, and escort missions. For a veteran who had fought in the Iraq War and was already growing tired of war, that was more than enough. After all, he didn't have to roam all over the world or fly missions constantly. He only had to take to the skies now and then.
But Billy Fili, the Black captain assigned to the same unit, didn't see it that way. He always thought that war and gunfire were what a soldier was meant to face. So he would often complain to Mack that if he stayed cooped up like this any longer, he'd rust away.
Mack only laughed. He didn't tell him that war wasn't as glorious as he imagined. When a missile struck the ground, it killed more than just the enemy. It killed your conscience, too.
Fortunately, although Captain Fili had the loud, boisterous temperament Black people were known for, he was a good guy overall. Mack wasn't particularly disappointed with his partner.
But this bickering pair of Black and White Twin Fiends had encountered an unprecedentedly shocking event—and a crisis of faith—during an otherwise routine patrol flight a few days earlier.
It was a clear, beautiful day. Mack even remembered the unusually vivid blue of the sky, deep and vast as a volcanic crater lake. As usual, General Wicks, the base's highest-ranking commander, signed off on a flight patrol order.
The only slight difference was that they were scheduled for an armed patrol that day. In other words, Mack and Fili had each loaded at least two Tomahawk missiles, along with other equipment. They had enough firepower to destroy a small town.
Still, obedience was a soldier's duty. Neither Mack nor Fili asked too many questions. They simply boarded, took off, and followed the route given by the control tower, flying west along the state highway.
That flight was what brought Mack and Fili face-to-face with an event that left them dumbfounded.
"Boom!"
A burst of flame erupted, and Mack and Fili, flying near California State Route 4, hurriedly reported it to command.
"Command, we've spotted two groups exchanging fire near California State Route 4. Wait, no—they've actually fired a Sidewinder Missile! Are our forces nearby, engaging terrorists? Oh my God!"
Mack cried out. He had seen two fully armed Apache Helicopters suddenly get shot down by something. Then the armored vehicles and soldiers on the ground were attacked by the same thing, one after another destroyed and slaughtered. The sight left him utterly horrified.
"What the hell is that?" his equally astonished wingman cried over the radio. "Hey, command, can you see this?"
"No." A communications officer's panicked voice came through. "Falcon 2, your onboard cameras have suddenly malfunctioned. We can't see the situation ahead. Respond—what are you seeing?"
"Forget what it is..."
General Wicks's voice suddenly cut in. He issued a direct order. "That's the enemy! Falcon 1, Falcon 2, in the name of the commander of Lackland Air Force Base, I order you to fire two Tomahawk missiles at the center of the battlefield! Now!"
"But..." Mack and Fili both hesitated. Firing a Tomahawk missile on home soil wasn't something they could just brush under the rug. They'd have to write who knew how many reports afterward, even if the order was legitimate...
But for some reason, General Wicks didn't give them time to think. He forced the order through. "That's an order! Now! Fire!"
"..." Mack and Fili looked at each other.
Their superior had given them the order, and their aircraft were now close enough to see the battle below with their own eyes. Shaken by the astonishing sight, they pressed the launch buttons almost involuntarily.
"...Target locked! Fire!"
You all know what happened next. The Son of Krypton, furious after being knocked off balance by the Tomahawk missile, hurled the wreckage of an armored vehicle at them. Fortunately, the Federation air force's ace pilots were skilled enough to yank the controls and bank out of the way in time. Then, at General Wicks's renewed command, they fired a second Tomahawk missile. To Mack and Fili's utter disbelief, their target was once again completely unharmed.
"The target's completely unhurt! Control, control... Damn it."
After seeing the group below—people they'd initially mistaken for allies, until the F-22s arrived and they immediately fled—Mack and Fili both sensed that something was wrong. They didn't care anymore that they were disobeying orders. The monster below didn't seem to be injured at all. Faced with this supernatural event, beyond the limits of human understanding, the two Federation ace pilots yanked the controls in a panic, gained altitude, and fled in a flash.
When they returned to base, Mack and Fili were shocked to hear that General Wicks, who had signed the flight order and ordered the missile launches, had already died in a car accident. The news left Major Mack and Captain Fili, who had felt uneasy from beginning to end, frightened.
After two days of questioning and confinement, even Fili realized that he had been dragged into a terrifying conspiracy. Especially when the military investigators asked what exactly they had attacked with the F-22s, both men couldn't help recalling that figure, with its monstrous strength—something no human could possibly possess.
But neither the people at the base nor the military believed them. They thought the story was utter nonsense. Only after troops sent to inspect the scene confirmed that things had indeed happened as the two men had described did everyone stare at one another in shock.
After the news had passed through who knew how many channels, the two men's punishment finally came down: discharge from the military and twenty years' imprisonment.
Never mind how the Black young man broke down and made a scene upon hearing the news. Major Mack, who had seen and experienced more, knew that things weren't so simple.
Yes, Mack didn't believe for a second that General Wicks, a base commander and one of the Federation's Two-Star Lieutenant Generals, could have been so easily killed in a car accident right outside the base. That was absurd. He'd rather believe General Wicks had been silenced by the mastermind behind it all.
After all, what had happened that day was simply too unbelievable. Someone impervious to bullets and possessing incredible strength... an alien?
"God, may You protect all lost lambs... May You keep him safe and healthy, and bring him back into Your embrace."
His faith shattered, the major murmured a prayer, not even sure if he was saying it correctly.
"Before death, God is nothing but a coward!" a sinister voice rang out in the darkness.
"Is that so? Then do you fear the Knight of Darkness?" another deep, authoritative voice suddenly asked.
"!"