The twin barrel machine guns on the AX-58 Air Force fighter jet perforated the shell of the enemy plane flying just 500 yards away.  In a matter of seconds, one of its engines exploded, sending the plane careening toward the ground in a slow spiral.  PIlot Richard Dalton would be able to tally another hit on his log sheet when he landed later in the evening.

Capt. Dalton had always loved flying, and from an early age knew that he would be a pilot one day.  That day came sooner rather than later.  When the Air Force began recruiting pilots for an as-yet undisclosed clandestine mission, he was in his first year at the Academy.  Even though the job description clearly stated that applicants must be in at least their second year, it didn't stop the young pilot from applying.  While he was of course denied the position, the officers were impressed with his tenacity and determination.  The following year he was accepted.

Now three years into the position and fully aware of the mission objectives, Dalton wrestled with the morality of it.  Was he doing the right thing?  Ever since scientists discovered that it was possible to affect the global climate, several nations had debated, argued, and fought about how this new-found technology should be utilized.  The technique involved using huge cargo planes to spread silica dust -- not very different from common beach sand that had been processed through a filter and pulverized -- throughout the skies at a calculated altitude and latitude.  These fine particles would reflect the suns rays, cool the air, and eventually alter the course of the jet stream.

While the American population continued the 40-year-long debate on global warming that had begun back in the 1990s, the U.S. Congress had passed a well-intentioned bill to control global temperatures to avert any future disasters that might be caused by rising temperatures.  The thinking was that whether or not global warming was real or merely perceived, America would be prepared by having some amount of control over the climate.

The problems began when foreign nations learned of what the U.S. was doing.  While decreasing the average temperature in Phoenix by two degrees opened up vast amounts of land to agriculture for the first time, the same two degree drop would make parts of Russia nearly uninhabitable.  Needless to say, the Russians did not appreciate this.  Other countries had similar feelings, and still others made attempts to control temperatures of their own countries.  These competing strategies from various nations could not coexist. 

Capt. Dalton was part of the protective guard that accompanied the flights of the cargo planes that carried and dispersed the silica dust.  Each cargo plane would be surrounded by four AX-58 fighter jets, of which Capt. Dalton was the mission leader.  Because of the extreme elevation and distance required for each mission, a round trip took between six and ten hours.  The Air Force flew over 200 of these missions each day, and Dalton usually flew six mission every week.  This week he had shot down three enemy Russian planes that were attempting to destroy the cargo plane -- and it was only Thursday.  Spending that much time alone in the cockpit provided a lot of time for a man to think.

To be continued.