Chapter 1

Iturup was flown up to late at night.  The lights of the Japanese patrol boats were already seen through ragged shreds of low clouds. All was quiet. Although the war had already lasted for six months, Japan's neutrality was preserved. Smoking in the cabin of military transport was banned, but Denis spat on prohibitions for a long time already and it always gave him a slight advantage over the rest. They were three in the cabin: young pilot Antony, experienced airwolf Gena Shcherbakov, nicknamed Spider and himself.
-“Birds” are said to be already delivered on  “Burevestnik”, - Gena Spider smoked  “Belomor» , breaking prohibitions too, but it was possible for him – his status permitted. The third – Antony – kept silent, kept  a stiff upper lip and neither smoked  nor spat on the floor.
-They were yesterday delivered to the base by an aircraft carrier "Peter the Great" – Denis looked out the window, they were rapidly approaching the island. – It is said that Japanese were circling in the sky, but our forces drove them away.
- SU 49 Stribog, – Antony suddenly rapped out, - SV-51 according to NATO classification. Weight 20 tons, maximum speed of 3000 kilometers per hour.  Isn`t it cool?
-Well remembered, – grinned Spider, - we`ll check the “birds” out in practice.
 - Whatever you say Stribogs are the best ,– shrugged Denis.
 - They say the Japanese have something like them, – Antony was uncertain.
 -  That's why the test will be right here, – Spider hemmed.
There was an awkward pause, it was not accepted to speak out loud about the imminent threat and everyone drove these thoughts away, although it rarely turned out.
-    Does the support fly with us? – Denis asked suddenly.
-    Yes, with us, with us, - Spider smiled. - Where are they without us? Now they won`t let us go. I do not like when developers are involved in testing, so to say presses on mentality.  Marina – what a bitch! – particularly.
Denis preferred to keep silent.
- We are approaching, all fasten your seat belts, - a voice in the speakers announced, - all fasten your seat belts.
-Have come, – Spider put out his “Belomor” and reached for the belt.
“Burevestnik”" used to be the base of the Air Forces of Japan for quite a long time, but not many people remembered this.  In the past  “Burevestnik” was used according to both civil and military purposes, but the new political cold thundered and civilian flights to Iturup had been ceased. Now Japanese “Titose” base on Hokkaido island had been spied day and night from here. The civilians were hastily evacuated, including people from the Shicotan island, which was famous for its old bloody story with the Soviet frontier post. Denis was looking on the approaching island and thinking that they were on the Japanese radar then, that somewhere there, on the waves of the restless ocean, now had been running thin red line dividing people into friends and foes. The island Iturup grew up as a crest of a sea pangolin below them, its volcanic relief rose above twilight of difficult bamboo thickets, and only beacons and fires of landing strips of military airdrome blinked in the distance. De facto it was already a zone near front, in two steps from it.

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