Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 (Mg(12), no-sex, rom)
   WARNING: This is a non sex story.  There is adventure and romance only.
It is a fictitious story based on the stunningly beautiful young teen model
based somewhere in Russia.
It's the cold that always gets me.  The French were quite generous in
providing the spacious house in which the Escadrille lives.  I stir from
the bed and feel the cold upon me as I pull back the covers and sit on the
edge of the bed.  My feet are assaulted by the cold tile floor as they
sense the cold unfeeling of the stone.  No matter what else I get out of
this experience, the cold will always remain with me.
   Forty minutes later I am dressed and at the Escadrille "mess hall". 
Actually, we are in the dining hall of this spacious house and an older
French couple always does a wonderful job of providing the most delicious
breakfasts.  Usually, there's some kind of steak, eggs, bread, and a
dessert of fresh fruit and cream.  This morning two of my fellow pilots are
at the table before I am.  Charlie, a fellow Texan, and James, from New
Mexico, are scarfing down food as fast as it is served.  They only stop for
a second when she walks in the room.
   Lia has been a show stopper since she has been here.  She's only twelve
years old, but as capable a pilot as anyone at the table.  She showed up
one morning at the airfield, slipped into Charlie's plane while it warmed
up, and took it through an amazing series of loops, twirls, and dives.  She
impressed the brass enough to award her wings and a place at our table.
   "Good morning" she says with that heart warming smile of hers.  "Good
morning" I mumble in response.
   I count myself as one of the luckiest men on the face of the earth.  Lia
is my wingman, and a more capable loyal wingman can't be found anywhere
else.  She has saved my butt time and again.  I have tried to find ways to
reward her, but being in the fight is reward enough for her.  After one
flight she said something in French about her parents, cursed the Germans
and spit at the ground.  A couple of guys have made passes at her, but she
keeps it strictly business.
   After breakfast we make our way to the aerodrome for our briefing.  Six
members of the brass, twice the usual number there, are assembled and they
pace the ground nervously before they start our briefing.  It seems the
Germans have a push going on near the Sorbonne River and we are to take on
whatever air support the Germans put up.
   Half an hour later we are readying for take off.  I'll never get over
how cute Lia looks in her leather jacket, scarf, and flying helmet.  Her
long brown hair spills out over her fur collar and I just want to take her
in my arms and squeeze her.  When this war ends, I'm going to beg her to
marry me.
   I jump in my Sopwith Camel biplane and belt myself in.  I double check
my machine gun and the control stick.  I extend a thumbs up to Lia.  She
returns the gesture.  I push in the throttle and the 80 horsepower engine
responds with a loud noise close to a roar.  The camel begins to roll
forward and seconds later we are in the air.
   It is the openness of the sky that drew me to flying in the first place.
I feel so calm and at peace in the sky.  Nothing can touch me or hold me
back in the air.  This morning there is a cloud layer at five thousand feet
and we climb up to it.  We are headed east and it's not too long before we
are over the battle zone.
   From this elevation, you can actually see the two armies fighting on
opposite sides of the river.  There is a lot of killing and death going on
down there.  I don't forget what could happen in the sky and I scan the
horizon.  There are some specks in the distance and very soon those specks
become the reason we are there.
   I'll never get over just how ugly German bombers are.  These flying
monstrosities have large engines on the wings, maintained by mechanics
standing next to them.  You couldn't pay me enough to take a job like that.
Lia and I peel off and go after the lead bomber.  While I go the left and
concentrate on one engine, Lia goes after the right.  The machine gunner
behind the pilot tries to divide his attention between us and Lia
dispatches him to Hun hell.
   Seconds later I am pouring hot lead into the left engine and the flying
monstrosity rolls over into a death spiral.  Lia and I turn and go after
the second bomber.  I glance to my left and see that James and Charlie have
their hands full as they are fighting a dirigible.  Those huge silver air
bags always impress me, but they also remind me of the looming figure of
death that seems to follow everyone out here.
   It's after Lia and I dispatch the second bomber that it happens.  The
air is suddenly filled with a flight of German fighters.The lead fighter
turns after me, but Lia and I go into "turn and burn", which always seems
to confuse the German pilots.  While that pilot seems momentarily confused,
Lia lines up for a shot on him.  He sees her and tries to evade her.  The
trap snaps shut as I line him up in my sights and fire.  He slumps forward
and his plane goes into a death dive.
   There isn't time to celebrate as seconds later we are engaged against
another fighter.  This pilot is smarter than the first and he evades our
trap.  I go after him and Lia flies CAP above me to keep my tail covered.
The German is wily, but he's only a second dimensional thinker.  I discern
his pattern and line him up in my sights.  He begins a turn to the right
and I fire.  He too slumps and goes into a death dive.
   I look up to check on Lia and I see her in turn and burn, then I see the
reason why.  A red triplane buzzes angrily around her and she's doing a
masterful job of avoiding being his victim.  I turn and put my plane into a
steep climb.  The engine responds, but the seconds it takes to climb feels
like eternity.  I try to get the triplane in my sights.  It's in my sights
for a second and I get off a short burst.  I must have drawn his attention
because he peels off of her and he dives at me.
   Several of his shots ping off the pilot's ring, and that's too close for
me.  I go into my own turn and burn.  I glance back but I see that the red
plane is too maneuverable, and the pilot too smart and experienced to even
go near our trap.  Like three angry bumblebees the three of us buzz angrily
around each other.  Lia and I try to line up shots on him, but the holes
that appear in our wings are testimony that we are up against an excellent
pilot.
   I take a gamble and dive for the deck.  The maneuverablity of the
triplane gave it the advantage in the three dimensional sky, but now at
treetop level, it's a two dimensional fight.  Both armies are firing at us
and that makes all three of us nervous.  Red loses his cockiness and goes
level as he increases his ground speed.  I was counting on this.  Red can
only concentrate on one of us and decides to make me his target.  Lia
figures this out and climbs for a shot.  Finally, she's clear and takes her
shot.
   I see Red peel off and notice he's trailing smoke.  My celebration is
short lived as a giant hole appears in my left wing.  Just as I wonder how
bad it is, the wing begins to fold.  I decrease my speed and descend.  The
wing folds and my plane hits the ground hard.  It takes a moment to clear
my head and I quickly take stock of the situation.
   I'm near the battlefield, but I'm also on the wrong side of the river. I
see Lia circling around, and for once I wish she wasn't so damn loyal.  I
chuck my parachute and dive out of the cockpit.  There's a ditch about a
hundred feet from my plane.  I run for the ditch and dive in.  I look up
and see that Lia is descending.  "Shit", I curse to myself, she's going to
land.
   I poke my head up and watch as she lands 200 yards away.  As her plane
stops and she jumps out, a squad of Germans appear out of the woods.  I
hear shots as she runs toward a stack of hay.  She gets behind the hay and
takes cover.  She's within my line of sight and she motions me to run to
her.  I shake my head and motion for her to duck.  She continues to motion
to me and I get more insistent in my motioning.  Finally, I curl my hands
to pretend they're binoculars and I point toward the Germans, then I motion
for her to duck.  She finally takes my advice and curls up.
   I watch the Germans and feel my stomach sink, they are heading right for
Lia.  I'm carrying two weapons, both .45 caliber handguns.  One is a
revolver and the other is the new fangled M1911 pistol.  Between the two
weapons I have 17 rounds and there are ten Germans.  I'm going to have to
make my shots count.
   I swallow and jump out of the ditch.  I catch the Germans by surprise
and drop three of them before they respond.  There is an exchange of fire
and I'm damn lucky, I'm also hit three times.  One round clips the top of
my right shoulder, another hits my left hip, and the third my right thigh.
I'm out of ammo, I'm in pain, I'm on my back, and one the Germans is still
standing.
   In seconds he's upon me.  He curses me in German and takes aim with his
mauser.  I see a giant red hole appear in his mid section.  He falls
forward and lands next to me.  Lia runs up.  She is holstering that giant
hog leg revolver she said she got from her father.  Her eyes are watery as
she kneels next to me.  She takes her scarf and ties it around my thigh. 
It's a new experience in white hot pain as she ties it off.
   "I'm sorry" she says she turns to look at my left hip.  She pulls my
scarf off and takes a knife out of her pocket.  She cuts the scarf in half
and packs one half under my pants, over the wound.  Then she uses the other
half of my scarf to pack my shoulder wound.  She pulls me to a sitting
position, then helps me stand.  I nearly fall as I put weight on my left
leg.
   "No good" I tell her, "I'm not going to be able to walk."
   She positions herself in front of me and has me lean forward onto her.
She actually carries me, although slowly and unsteadily.  It's a strain for
her and I can hear her breathing hard.  It takes a while, but we get to her
plane.  She leans me against the plane and pauses to catch her breath.
   "I was going to wait to do this", I tell her, "but now is as good a time
as ever.  Lia, will you marry me?"
   She looks at me with shock, surprise and disgust.  She sees me looking
at her, honestly waiting for a response.
   "If we make it through this war alive, ok?" "Ok".
   Then she pulls me up towards the cockpit.  It requires a herculean
effort on her part, but she finally gets me in the cockpit.  She gets the
engine started then climbs in onto my lap.  She straps us in and guns the
engine.  She tries to takeoff, but there is a tree line and my weight
causes her to abort.  She turns the plane and guns the engine again.  It
takes longer than normal, but she gets the plane up.
   I'm not feeling well and I pass out.  I only come to after I'm being
lifted out of the cockpit.  Lia is holding my hand and only releases when I
enter the medical ward.  The doctor begins to work on my thigh and I pass
out again.
   When I come to again, I have no idea what day or time it is.  Lia is at
my bedside.
   "Hey sparkle eyes" I weakly get out.
   Lia pours me a glass of water and makes me drink.  When I finish the
glass, she wipes my chin and puts up the glass.
   "How do you feel?" she asks.  "Weak, hungry"
   She looks at me with deep concern.  After a moment, she breaks her
silence:"Were you serious about marriage?"
   "Absolutely"
   She leans forward and kisses me.  "After the war, ok?" "Ok" "I'll get
you some food" 
  
Lia Model and The Red Baron