>>6170666 (Ominously Checked!)[7/???]
The car slows down and eventually stops right where the highway connects to the airport. Sure enough, there are a pair of fighter jets just parked right outside the entrance so close you could touch them..
"Bros, look at these! They're as good as new!" The crusader, you're guessing an aviation enthusiast, just hops the tiny rusted fence to the right and starts touching it all over. The plane is indeed fairly well preserved, probably due to the dry desert climate. You know that a lot of America's old planes and tanks are left in the desert, but you weren't expecting to just stumble on a couple of these during exploration. Additionally, there seems to be nobody around stopping you. You're pretty sure that the entire thing has been looted, especially with the raiders nearby, but it is noteworthy that what was once a million dollar plus piece of high tech spies would have killed for physical access to is now just sitting in the middle of nowhere with some hooligan cultist hanging off of its wing.
"Jay, get off of that! It's a Voodoo, not a toy! Those things were worth more than you, show some respect!"
"Alright, alright, I'll- wait, what?"
"It's a Voodoo! They used to fly these in Vietnam! Used 'em as recon planes."
Right then you hear a voice coming from the radio.
"Hello, hello?!"
"Hello?" you respond. "It's Cardinal Musella, what's going on?"
"Musella? Ah, sorry, I've just ran into a problem on the recon mission. I had to just turn around and start flying in the-"
"Slow down," you interrupt him. You know it's poor form, but this guy sounds panicked and isn't making sense. "Tell me if you're in immediate danger and how I can help if you are. And if not, explain what's going on from the start."
You can hear him breathe in and out a few times. "Alright. Ok, not in immediate danger now. But I was earlier. Paul told me to fly around the Gila River area and let them know if I see anything. It's further than we've flown out before, but the weather is good and it's not a long distance or anything. Anyway, as I was flying I got word on the emergency frequency, it was the scariest thing I tell you. I don't remember what he said exactly, but it was something about there being a Southern US Air Defense Sector and that I didn't have authorization to fly in that region and that if I didn't leave immediately I would be blown out of the skies."
>Counter-Raid Aerial Recon Fate Revealed"Wow. That's interesting, to say the least." You thought the US military basically pulled out of this area entirely with its men and materiel being massed in the east coast or deployed overseas or maybe even incorporated into that pirate state. "Can you confirm this was actually military? You have a lot of crazy types in the desert saying all sorts of crazy stuff, maybe one of them just tuned into the emergency frequency you mentioned and played a prank...?"
