"Enough!" The commander abruptly waved his hand, interrupting the young pilot's passionate speech, his tone carrying a hint of exhaustion and helplessness, "If you insist on going, then go."
He paused, his tone becoming heavy: "But, you must understand, our airport has no reserves of high-grade aviation fuel left."
Saying this, his brow furrowed deeply, a trace of pain in his eyes, "The fuel supply was cut off days ago."
The young pilot was stunned, seemingly unanticipated such a situation. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
"So...," the young pilot's voice trembled, he looked at the commander with disbelief, hoping for a negative answer: "the Peidao Fighter Jet has no way to take off?"
"Yes." The commander nodded heavily: "The best two modified Peidao Fighter Jets in our hands require high-grade aviation fuel to operate normally, and now we have..."
He spread his hands helplessly, "Nothing at all."
"What about... the 262 Fighter Jet?" the young pilot's voice grew smaller, his last hope gradually shattered.
"The 262 Fighter Jet also has no way to take off." The ground commander's voice was filled with helplessness and apology: "The parts ran out a long time ago."
He spread his hands, a look of helplessness on his face, "You know, it's not the ground crew giving you a hard time, that thing's failure rate has always been high, now even more so..."
"Alas..." the young pilot sighed deeply, he knew the ground commander was telling the truth, the 262 Fighter Jet has always been notorious for its high failure rate, and without parts, trying to make them fly in combat is simply a fool's dream.
"The war has depleted this country," the ground commander's tone became low, tinged with melancholy: "Now many factories can no longer continue production. Those aircraft with super high failure rates, due to the lack of parts supply, have long been paralyzed in shelters, becoming a pile of literal scrap metal."
He shook his head helplessly, his eyes full of sadness and helplessness.
"I know, I know..." the young pilot's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes filled with pain and helplessness, but he still did not give up.
"Even if I have to fly a propeller fighter jet, I will take off for battle!" His tone was firm and resolute, he knew he must fight, for the country, for the people, for Dorne's glory, he must fight to the end! Even if there's only a glimmer of hope, he will never give up!
The commander looked at the young pilot's determined eyes, his heart mixed with emotions. He knew this war had taken too many young lives, and the young man before him was about to embark on this perilous path. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Let's find a way..."
His voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed from his heart: "See if we can..."
He paused, seemingly organizing his words: "If we can, scrape together enough fuel for one takeoff..."
After the commander finished speaking, his gaze swept over everyone present, with a hint of helplessness: "Perhaps... perhaps still let him go to die... or say, complete his last flight..."
Hearing the commander's words, a glimmer of hope flashed in the young pilot's eyes. He saluted excitedly and said loudly, "Thank you! Commander!"
The commander shook his head with a bitter smile, saying: "Don't thank me, it's your own choice."
The young pilot's tone was firm and resolute: "I'll prove that Dorne's Air Force consists of brave and fearless warriors!"
"You don't have to prove anything." The commander was silent for a moment, then turned to the ground commander and said: "Since he has made his choice, then..."
He paused, took a deep breath, and said: "Anyway it's no longer useful, hang our new weapons on it!"
Dorne has been trying to imitate the Great Tang Empire's "secret weapon", their Shenguang Missile was actually a bold attempt. From the Tang Army's unexploded air-to-air missile wreckage, they discovered the secret of combat missiles, and after so long of imitation, they finally managed to handcraft a few samples before the nation perished.
Two infrared guided combat missiles... this is the secret weapon the Dorne Capital Airport Air Force troops obtained, they originally intended to surprise the Tang Country Air Force when they arrived.
Nobody expected... that before they could use these two air-to-air missiles, Dorne's resistance would completely collapse.
The ground commander was stunned for a moment, then reacted, quickly saluting: "Understood!"
A hint of cold light flashed in the commander's eyes: "Give the Tang people a surprise... let them also taste the missile's flavor!"
"Yes! Commander! Thank you." The ground commander saluted again, then turned and went to make arrangements.
The ground personnel began bustling away, dispersing to every corner of the base, meticulously searching for any possibly remaining aviation fuel. Someone climbed atop the oil tank truck to check if there was residual oil at the bottom; someone drilled into the wreckage of abandoned aircraft, searching for residual fuel in the fuel lines; others ran to the warehouse, rummaging for oil barrels that might have been overlooked.
As time ticked by, ground personnel gradually returned to the tarmac with the fuel they found. The quantity of these fuels was not much, some were only a few liters, but they carefully collected them and poured them into a clean container.
After hours of effort, they finally gathered enough fuel for one takeoff. This fuel symbolized the ground crew's hard work and support for the young pilot.
Ground personnel carefully injected the fuel into F-86 Peidao Fighter Jet's fuel tank, ensuring every drop could be utilized by the aircraft. After refueling, they performed a thorough inspection of the aircraft, ensuring all systems were in optimal condition.
With the last drop of fuel injected into the tank, the F-86 Peidao Fighter Jet finally regained its vitality. It quietly parked on the tarmac, awaiting the young pilot's arrival, ready to fly to the battlefield to complete its final mission.
Several hours later, the lead-grey clouds hung low, oppressively stifling, piercing air raid sirens sounded once again over Dorne Imperial Capital, this time, only this solitary airport was responding to this final warning.
On the tarmac, the F-86 Peidao Fighter Jet, resembling a dormant beast, its engines roared deafeningly, spewing scorching exhaust flames.
It slowly taxied forward, its speed gradually increasing, at the end of the runway, the body shuddered abruptly, then shot towards the gloomy sky like an arrow released from a bow.
The fighter jet traced a graceful arc in the air, continuously climbing, attempting to reach the altitude where the Tang Army's fighter jets were located.
F-86 Peidao Fighter Jet, like an eagle striving to climb, exerted all its effort to ascend, the engines roaring furiously, but ultimately unable to reach the cruising altitude where Tang Army bombers soared. The young pilot in the cockpit gritted his teeth, even though he noticeably felt the aircraft's responsiveness was no longer as nimble at the current altitude, he still refused to give up, repeatedly trying to break the altitude limit.
However, reality is cruel, this aging fighter jet ultimately could not approach the ten-thousand meter altitude where the White Swan roamed.
"We can only help you this far... radar... interference or something... can't see, the message of incoming enemy aircraft still... ground observation station telephone... transmitted message. Best of luck... to you..." In the headset, the ground guidance ended here, due to the distance, only electromagnetic interference noise remained.