Morak Charkov sat in the open cockpit of his La5-FN BORED TO DEATH! Where were those Peshkas? They should have been close to the front by now, but something had been delayed and the escort mission was very late. He had done his pre-flight 3 times and the seat was becoming very hard, but they must stay at the ready for the signal to take-off. The 69.GIAP didn’t tolerate tardiness on the runway. The 69th was a Very respected group and Morak was proud to be part of the elite.
As he sat there he Petr who was his wingman and flight lead, gave him a huge smile of encouragement and the thumbs-up that they had heard the Amerikan pilots gave to each other to raise bravado. Then he glanced back to his 7 o’clock to see Koshka (he looked bored too) sitting in his plane. When Koshka noticed Morak looking, he acted like he was falling asleep. Morak laughed Koshka had always been the prankster of the 3 of them.
His mind began to wander back to a different time when Morak was never heard of or considered to be capable of defending the motherland.
Morak was an Orphan that was very stubborn, He didn’t like to be told where he could go or what to do. Not a good communist at all. He had only recently begun to learn of his mother and father. His father was killed in WWI a few months before he was born. His mother tried to keep them feed but it was hard for her being a widow and had no family of her own for help. Although she, herself was very stubborn, At a year and a half old she left Morak at the home and was never heard from again. Moraks orphanage was just outside Saint-Petersburg near Pulkovo hills and close to Shossenay airport. It was finished on June 24th 1932 and used as a mail and cargo hub. Who would have thought the place where he grew up would be behind enemy lines. The Germans had heavy artillery there that would bombard the motherland.
At the age of fifteen Morak saw the airport as an escape to Moscow only a 2 and a half hour flight, and there no one could find him. He lay on his stomach watching the planes land and all the people loading and unloading the planes when a shadow crept up behind him and said ”beautifull aren’t they?” in a strange accent that sounded like there was some polish In it. It scared morak half to death but Koshka introduced himself and offered to take him to see the planes close. Koshkas Dad was a mech. and a pilot as well. As they walked though the hangers Koshka was telling Morak about the planes but morak was plotting his escape still. Suddenly Koshka said this Is my best friend Petr! Petr said hello and the three of them became very good friends. Koshka was a prankster that always wanted to see people smiling and he would crack jokes to make the three friends laugh but, when he would go on test flights with his dad Morak noticed he was different. He was serious when he take the controls. Petr on the other hand was serious all the time he would laugh at the things Koska did but he was focused and studied everything so that he could understand how it worked. Morak learned more from Petr then He ever did in the classes at the home.
Days turned into Months and Morak had forgotten all about his escape plans he would simply sneak out of the home to go to the airport to hang out with his friends. Sometimes he would get caught coming back and they would punish him but he did the same thing the next day, must have been that stubborn streak. One day Morak was with Petr and his dad doing a test flight and Petrs father asked him if he wanted to fly. To his amazement Petr said “no I have flown many times, why don’t you teach Morak?” Petrs dad turned and said you want to? Morak nodded although there was a feeling of fear rising into his stomach. Petr moved from the co-pilots seat and Morak sat down and listened to his dad or tried to but the fear was taking over his thoughts he didn’t want to make a mistake and kill all of them. He told Morak to take the controls and be gentle with them, but of course Morak was nevous and first thing gave it hard right rudder and pulled back on the stick putting the plane into a stall. Petrs dad was ready for it and he corrected the planes flight, Morak thought “well I blew it theres no way he is going to let me try again” but instead Petr and his dad were laughing and he said don’t worry Petr did the same thing his first time! When he took the controls this time he was careful not to make sudden moves. He was actually flying! He would make small corrections as Petrs dad had instructed him to and from that point on Morak knew what he wanted to do for life!
A slap on the side of his plane brought him back to reality. He was told they would be taking off in 5 mins. They would be escorting Peshkas to bombing targets.
Petrs Plane started to roll so Morak closed the canopy and began to run the engine up. He watched the wheels of Petrs plane come up and then he began to roll as the wheels of His La came up He retracted gears, Pulled flaps up and got ready to join in formation, pulling alongside Petr he knew that the mission was dangerous and that didn’t matter as much to him as the fun he was sure to have with the GIAP On their many Quests for greatness! ~S~ All See you in the Skies!
=69.GIAP=Morak |
