"This is our new machine. It's beyond deadly and incredibly precise. It's mechanisms are state of the art and it is reserved only for our elite pilots, the Cavalry. The Harmony Jacker holds the key to this war!"- Captain Gyro addressing the production of the new fighter jet to be used by the Cavalry. Recovered from an old recording of a meeting between General Kabu and the military council of the Imperium.
The four men went to a giant rig, it was an aircraft suspended in the air by a thin pole underneath it. The goal was to have it be flexible in order for the pilot experience to be as authentic as possible. The plane was a famous prototype called Harmony Jacker, designed expressly for great aerobatic control, however it is incredibly lightweight and vulnerable, but it was perfect for the way Tarko flew.
Boss Man, proudly says, "this is the rig, it's an old Harmony Jacker."
"Oh my god!" Said Tarko, "I can't believe it, I've only read about it in books, this model was what Captain Gyro flew in."
"Glad you like it, this rig was used to train the Cavalry and now you get to try it. The simulation will run through five scenarios, get through all five as fast as you can, and we'll decide if you're really all your cracked up to be." Boss Man stated the test jovially, as he knew that if any pilot could beat the test, it would be Tarko.
"Got it sir, I won't be letting you down." Replied Tarko ecstatically.
He climbed up the steps and hopped right into the open cockpit. The controls were identical to what he saw in the textbooks, the dashboard had the same instruments, altimeters, compasses and a radar right on the center of the dashboard with neon-green radii on the glass, however the displays were lined with scratches and some of the displays were fractured and cracked.
He gripped the leather handles of the steering wheel, "ok Tarko, once this over you boys are gonna get some callsigns," said Boss Man.
"Thanks boss, can't wait to get out there," said Tarko.
He clasps a headset in his hands and drapes it on his head; a bright-blue light flashed radially outward from the center. At the end of the flash, a gray sky covered in clouds and straight ahead, Tarko saw five planes flying in Vic formation. Tarko however noticed an interesting plane at the tip of the formation he noticed a B32 with an orange fox head bearing its teeth surrounded by a red circle. It was that of a famous pilot of the Kabukin Clan called the Red Fox. The Red Fox was a renown pilot from five years ago who defended against the Imperium, singlehandedly contributed a lot to the independence war of the Kabuka Federated Clans, the revelation made Tarko's eyes light up realizing he gets to have a dog-fight with one of the best pilots in history. Tarko swiftly disposed of the accompanying planes, zigzagging between the formation, and he shot four missiles which easily hit their targets, the fifth one however, the Red Fox, dodged the homing missile.
The two were face to face and they charged each other, a game of chicken. As they closed in on each other, Tarko dived down and attempted to do a loop to the rear of the Red Fox, but the Red Fox predicted as such and quickly stalled his engine and descended, rendering the technique useless. In order to prevent any openings, Tarko maxed his acceleration and attempted a u turn to face the Red Fox once more.
The Red Fox, having a bit more initiative, attempted to shoot a linear missile at Tarko, but Tarko was smart. He saw the missile incoming and timed a barrel roll narrowly dodges the missile by a hair. But the Red Fox doesn't let up when he's on the hunt, and abuses the fact that Tarko's velocity makes it harder to turn, and he launches a cluster missile, which split into five smaller homing missiles. But Tarko understood the Harmony Jacker too well. He quickly performed a chandelle turn and narrowly avoided three of the missiles, however two of the missiles had a better initial tracing path and kept up with him, but Tarko knew this, and he traced his way to the side of the Red Fox and as he closed in, he stalled his engine, dropping twenty meters in altitude swiftly, but the missiles couldn't adjust in time and ended up striking the Red Fox, destroying his B32. The Harmony Jacker prevails once again.
He passed the first level of the simulation. He was in a cold sweat from all the exhilaration he felt during the fight. It was more exciting than any of the dog fights he had with the Cavalry, "again! I wanna do it again, Boss Man, set up the next level, I need more!" He said with a jittery voice.
"Chill out you adrenaline junkie, we'll set it up on another day, I'm glad you enjoyed your fight with the Red Fox, Firebird," said Boss Man, with an amazed look on his face.
The Boss Man, Rubi and Kosoka were watching the fight the whole time. "That maneuver was genius! How'd he time it that well?" Said Kosoka, "See what I'm saying Boss Man, he's a master."
"I see what you mean, he's got that pilot's intuition about him," said Boss Man, "I think he'll bring us real far, maybe it is time for you boys to get your call signs."
"Really! I've always wanted one," yelled Rubi, jumping up and down, "I wanna soar through the skies, it's a dream."
"Well, you'll be High Roller, I think that one just fits you well," said Boss Man, "and Kosoka, you're a bit of a gambler, I think you'll take Blackjack."
"Perfect!" Said Blackjack, "I love it, but what's Tarko's?"
"I have the perfect one for him, something that would really fit him well, the Firebird," said the Boss Man.
Tarko loved his callsign, from now on going only as the Firebird.