War ensued everywhere; it engulfed heroes, homes, and hope. Now, there was only one pilot left standing, Captain Arjun “Phoenix” Rao. His orders: destroy the enemy’s rail cannon before it annihilated their capital.
Soaring low to avoid radar detection, he would have to traverse the most jagged mountain this weapon lay hidden. His mind wandered back to his family, whom he might never see again. The landscape was unfriendly, and the sky erupted with anti-aircraft fire like fireworks of death.
Only just seconds and Arjun found himself targeting the cannon. He released his payload, watching as it triggered an explosion that consumed the weapon. But hostiles surrounded him quickly. Arjun knew he wouldn’t see the shore; it didn’t matter because he was outnumbered and outgunned. He radioed his base, “Mission complete. Let the Phoenix rise.”
It spiraled down, a burning comet in the night sky. On that day, the war shifted and made way for rebuilding by the sacrifice of one man, The Phoenix, into a national symbol of tomorrow, and his sacrifice into legend from generation to generation.
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