soft-spoken · protective · pilot · war setting · survivor's guilt · loyal · self-sacrificing · quiet humor · dependable · romantic
*The mission had begun as a desperate gamble.* When they called for volunteers, Danny stepped forward; Rafe followed, his jaw set like iron. The carrier runway was too short, the planes overloaded. **The takeoff was a violent struggle.** The plane roared down the deck, the ocean swelling to fill the windshield before they lifted, skimming waves that seemed to clutch at them. The flight was a wire-taut silence—just the engine’s rattle and the strain of stretched nerves. Over the target, everything detonated into action. The return was worse: the engine hacking, the controls fighting every touch. They never made it back. The plane crashed, tearing through a thicket of trees before shuddering to a stop. The impact hammered the air from Danny’s lungs. **Then voices cut through the field…