Tightrope at the Speed of Sound
The Ghayl oil refinery, you say?
Three hours ago, Sir.
And the damage?
It says it will take at least three months to repair.
They've done it to us now.
With this attack, the movements of most of our armed forces units have been contained!
That's because we relied on Ghayl for almost our entire fuel supply.
Assuming we get the remaining refineries going at full capacity,
how many units can we deploy?
Enter.
A communiqué from General Headquarters, Sir.
Thanks.
Yes, Sir!
Do they want to borrow men to repair the refinery or something?
The rebel forces have a refinery 1 30km behind their lines on the western front.
It's the largest such facility in the area, isn't it?
We're taking it!
Whoa, go easy on me, Alicia! I'm gonna put on weight again!
Glad to hear it!
Come on!
This food's got more love in it than any other in the world!
It may cost you something, but the payback is worth it! Next!
If you're looking for Shin, he's not here.
What are you talking about? If you're looking for Shin, he's not here.
What are you talking about?
Saki's called him in already.
It looks like Mickey and the others are with him too.
Here.
I wonder what they're talking about so early in the morning?
Nothing pleasant, I'll bet.
Shinjou!
The commander's calling for you.
Huh? Me?
Yeah...
Maybe he'll tell me to take a picture to send to a potential bride or something.
I've got kind of a bad feeling about this.
A little cramped, isn't it? There are a bunch of other seats open, you know.
Say what you want, but this is MY seat.
It's not like they're assigned or anything!
Some of the pilots always eat their meals at the same seat.
That's Tony's seat over there.
That one's Mick's...
I n front of that, is Ed's seat.
See? It's a kind of good luck ritual for me.
When I've had my grub in this seat, I've made it back without getting shot down.
That's why I'm gonna eat here today, and tomorrow, and the next day too.
You really believe in that sort of thing?
I'll take what I can get, even if it is grasping at straws.
After all, it doesn't cost money or anything.
And there you have it.
A total of five obstacles stand in the way.
But by passing through this ravine,
you can arrive, undetected by enemy radar, at the objective:
the base that guards the refinery.
But Roundell,
if someone goes and flies above the rim of the ravine...
The enemy radar will pick him up
and there will be a storm of anti-aircraft fire.
And if we fly any lower we crash, huh?
Enter.
The commander ordered me here.
There's something we'd like you to look at.
Bring those pictures up.
These are cross-sections of a certain canyon.
I'd like you to tell us if you notice anything.
Show them again.
I'm borrowing this pen.
What do you think about this?
And the last one...
I'd say it's maybe 25 meters wide and 1 5 meters tall.
Turn that light on for me, please.
They're not scratches on the positive.
The faults run vertically.
At some spots, it'd be very prone to collapse.
And what else?
That's about it.
Thanks. You can go back now.
Huh?
See you, then.
Are you troubled about this?
What's the purpose of being alive, I wonder?
We will now hold a mission briefing.
All hands report to the briefing room immediately.
Repeat: all hands report to the briefing room without delay.
We will now hold a mission briefing.
A pilot before his sortie...
...and after returning.
A hell that I can't see...
The last obstacle is Echo gate.
The thing to keep in mind here is to kick the rudder pedal and make your tail slide.
You can let the stick float as-is.
That's easy for you to say.
You can talk about us getting through the tunnel all you want,
but there's almost no room between our wingtips and the walls!
This is reckless, Saki!
If it were an easy operation,
we wouldn't bother to send you men out!
I'm not flying this!
We're paying double the usual reward.
I don't care how much cash it is; I'm gonna pass on this little stunt.
You agree with me, right?
Yup...
With your skill level, you'd just get in the way.
It's a big help that you're bowing out.
And the lead? Who's going to escort us?
I am.
Is that safe?
He's the best attacker in our entire military.
When it comes to nap-of-the-earth flight,
there isn't a pilot who can surpass him even here at 88.
There will be two squads for the main interdiction strike force.
They'll be commanded by Mickey
and Greg.
Sheesh...
Kazama and Kitri will lead the support fighters.
What a burden...
The call sign is "Operation Tightrope."
It will be carried out tonight.
That is all.
We're counting on you to do well, young lady.
The same to you.
But I wonder if you're too old to keep up with me?
Shin, we're counting on you.
Right.
Something I can do for you?
Have you got the confidence to take a civilian with you
through the hell that only those who fly are allowed to see?
I can't stand the thought of you wetting yourself and dirtying my seat, so...
Don't be getting all friendly and touching me like that!
It's right before a sortie and I'm on edge!
Ow-ow-ow!
You're trembling.
Yeah, the truth is, I might be praying that you'll turn me down.
But I came all the way out here!
I want to know this hell you guys see.
I want to see the things that those eyes see too.
Why don't YOU tell ME something?
If you get some photos of something like that, just how much do you plan to sell them for?
I'd forgotten about that. You're right...
The price could be my life, huh?
Get yourself suited up!
I'll make you regret speaking up to me today.
Mercenaries...
Tonight is a perfect new moon.
I'm not going to wipe your butts for you.
Stay close and don't take your eyes off me, you greenhorns!
Ten more minutes to objective.
You didn't forget your film, I hope.
Don't ask me to go back to get it!
Everyone, we're about to go to radio silence.
Adjust altitude to 1 000m. Single-file formation. Approach speed 450 knots.
It's curtain time for this circus act!
All craft have entered attack phase.
First up is Alpha gate.
Now you're all gonna show me what you've got.
Yes, Sir!
Stay with me just like that, boys.
He rolled too late!
Next is Bravo gate.
Seven minutes have elapsed.
Right about now, they're approaching the greatest obstacle.
Next is the combined Charlie-Delta gate.
Rim-to-floor distance is 1 2 meters.
It's us against the canyon. We're going to do barrel rolls.
I can't make it!
Leon!
Don't think about him! We're going through!
Didn't you want to see the same hell I see?
The flyswatter has spotted flies.
Potential hostiles appear to be advancing to attack from the south via Double-Edge Canyon!
After dropping bombs,
stand by to rendezvous with interceptors and return to base!
Enemy aircraft have appeared.
They're headed for the airspace above Echo gate.
Attention all craft:
It looks like our exit has been bombed.
We can all assume this isn't going to happen
using the maneuvers we discussed in the briefing.
You'll all be entrusting your lives to my skill.
Stay close to me! Don't move away even an inch!
Next it's up to all of you.
We got through!
The real show starts now.
Anti-aircraft guns!
Mickey, it's a MiG! Get away from him!
We've already started our bombing approach!
All right!
Here they go!
Take that, ya bastards!
All aircraft, return to base.
HQ and ground forces have arrived right on schedule.
Ouch!
Take good care of your body and your life.
See ya.
Mickey!
So, did you see our hell?
It's hard for me to understand.
The only thing I can say is that you pilots were very impressive.
I'll pass on flying into any more combat though.
How long are you going to keep on living like this?
The ground forces' operation has succeeded, Sir.
What were our losses?
Six aircraft, Sir.
I suppose it couldn't be helped.
They're the best Etrangers I know of.
Alicia, Leon will never...
I'm doing it because it's just about the only thing I can do.
Look, Kitri.
There are men who wage war in order to get back home.
There are men who renounce their homes to wage war.
Men who can't return home... fly.
When men's wings of sorrow pass each other by,
tears whirl in the desert wind, and hope becomes a dried-out glimmer.
This is Area 88,
Fateful Contrails This is Area 88,
Fateful Contrails the final land that looks upon men's homelands from afar.
Fateful Contrails
Burned out completely by the unforgiving sun
Alone with an empty night sky
Staring at the stars
And far away, faintly, a soft melody
Touches the past too strongly to remember here
Now turn to face away from warm memories
Battlefield dance
Let your eyes close instead
To play on the evanescent dream, ooh
Kindness will not ever be necessary here
I n the dark black night
Moonlight will shine through