Chapter 88: Arriving in Korea
Four hours later, inside the C-17 Globemaster. Adrian was in the cockpit, watching the view ahead, filled with scenic clouds and the sun’s ray making the surface of those clouds glistened.
It was a beautiful sight he must admit, but down there, he knew it was hell.
"Where are we currently?" Adrian asked.
One of the pilots glanced at his instruments before answering.
"Crossing into the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, sir," he said. "We’re about thirty minutes out from Camp Humphreys."
Adrian nodded slightly, eyes still fixed ahead.
Ryan stepped into the cockpit from behind, holding onto the frame as the aircraft moved steadily forward.
"We’re on schedule?" he asked.
"Affirmative," the co-pilot replied. "No deviations. Weather is clear. No turbulence ahead."
Ryan gave a small nod and stepped closer, looking out through the windshield.
For a second, he didn’t say anything.
Then—
"Hard to believe," he muttered.
Adrian glanced at him.
"What is?"
Ryan tilted his head slightly toward the view.
"Looks peaceful," he said. "Like nothing ever happened."
Adrian looked back at the clouds.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Up here, it always does."
A short silence followed.
Then the pilot spoke again.
"Sentinel Eye just checked in," he said. "They’re already on station."
As if on cue, the comms came alive.
"Cold Reach One, this is Sentinel Eye. We have you on radar....hold."
"Sentinel Eye, this is Cold Reach One, what do you mean hold?"
A brief burst of static came through the channel before the AWACS operator responded.
"Cold Reach One, Sentinel Eye. We are detecting a bogey...bearing zero-eight-five, range ninety kilometers, altitude matching your flight level. Speed is high and closing."
The pilot immediately leaned forward, eyes flicking across the instruments.
"Do we have IFF?" he asked.
The co-pilot was already working the panel.
"Negative on immediate identification," he said. "No friendly transponder response on Mode 4."
Ryan’s posture tightened slightly.
"Could it be a bird?" Adrian asked, still looking forward. "Something mutated?"
The AWACS replied almost immediately.
"Negative, Cold Reach One," Sentinel Eye said. "Radar cross-section is too consistent. We are tracking a solid return. Profile indicates fixed-wing aircraft, not biological."
The pilot adjusted the heading slightly, maintaining course.
"Speed?" Ryan asked.
"Estimated nine hundred knots and increasing," Sentinel Eye answered. "Vector is intercept. Time to merge approximately two minutes."
"Do we have weapons?" Adrian asked.
The pilot shook his head slightly.
"Negative, sir. We’re a transport. No air-to-air capability."
Ryan exhaled once.
"Then we identify before anything else."
Before anyone could respond—
A voice came from behind.
"Sir," the communications officer called out from the cargo section, stepping closer to the cockpit. "We have an inbound transmission. Source matches the bogey."
Ryan turned slightly.
"Patch it through."
Adrian nodded.
"Put it on speaker."
The comms officer adjusted the frequency, aligning it with the incoming signal.
Moments later, the speaker sounded.
"This is Republic of Korea Air Force interceptor. Unidentified aircraft, you are entering a restricted airspace. State your identification immediately."
The cockpit went quiet for a second.
The pilot keyed the mic.
"Republic of Korea Air Force, this is Cold Reach One, heavy transport aircraft operating under independent command. We are on a non-hostile mission."
A short pause followed.
Then the reply came, sharper this time.
"Cold Reach One, you are in an active warzone. All unauthorized aircraft are subject to interception protocols. You are ordered to divert immediately to heading one-eight-zero and exit the area."
Ryan glanced at Adrian.
"The South Korean Armed forces are still active huh?" Ryan commented.
"Yeah, that means it’s not complete hell down there. But it will make it difficult for us to land," Adrian said. "We have to tell them that our intention is for cooperation to find the reason for this outbreak."
"Well, we can just ask them nicely if we want a South Korean virologist but I don’t think they’ll do just that."
While they were speaking, the South Korea Interceptor sounded again on speaker.
"Cold Reach One, you are to divert immediately to bearing one-eight-zero...failure to comply will result in escalation."
Adrian didn’t raise his voice.
"Stay on comms," he said calmly. "Tell them we’re non-hostile and this is a humanitarian mission. We’re looking for a virologist. Request permission to proceed to Camp Humphreys."
The pilot nodded and keyed the mic again.
"Republic of Korea Air Force interceptor, this is Cold Reach One. We are non-hostile. Repeat, non-hostile. We are conducting a humanitarian operation to locate and extract a virologist critical to outbreak analysis. Request permission to continue to Camp Humphreys."
The transmission went out.
Ryan’s eyes shifted slightly toward the instruments.
"They’re not responding," he said.
Before Adrian could answer—
"Cold Reach One, Sentinel Eye," the AWACS cut in, voice sharper now. "Bogey is accelerating. Range ten kilometers. Closing fast. Ten seconds to visual."
The pilot tightened his grip slightly on the controls.
"Copy, Sentinel Eye."
Inside the cockpit, no one spoke.
They all looked forward.
Waiting.
"Five seconds," Sentinel Eye called.
The air ahead remained clear for a moment.
Then, a flash.
A dark shape cut across their field of view at high speed.
An F-35 Lightning II.
It came in from the right, crossing directly in front of the C-17 before banking hard, its body rolling just enough to expose the underside.
"Visual confirmed," the co-pilot said quietly. "F-35."
The jet held its position just ahead and slightly off their nose, maintaining speed.
Then it adjusted again—
Banking just enough.
"Sir..." the co-pilot added, eyes narrowing slightly. "They’re exposing their pylons."
Adrian glanced at him.
"What does that mean?"
The pilot answered this time.
"It means they want us to see what they’re carrying," he said. "Air-to-air missiles. Likely AIM-120s."
A short pause. Then he spoke again.
"That’s the last warning we’re going to get."
Silence settled in the cockpit.
The F-35 remained ahead of them, steady, controlled, blocking their path without firing a single shot.
Ryan exhaled slowly.
"They’re serious," he said.
Adrian didn’t take his eyes off the aircraft.
"I know," he replied.
"Sir, what are your orders? They’ll shoot us down if we don’t comply."
All eyes were on Adrian now, waiting for his next order.