Nalani

Finally, Lehuanani gently pushed him away and gasped for air like a swimmer rising from a great depth. Both had huge smiles and Ezekiel was now admiring his ebony siren under the emerging moonlight.

Both knew they had to stop, but not how. Ezekiel finally tried changing the subject. "I like what you've done with your hair."

"You do? Thank you! Now I don't have to struggle to place them when I want to look nice for you." Lehuanani had cut her hair very short, close to her scalp. Ezekiel could not help but notice that it gave even more prominence to her luscious curves.

"You always look nice, Lehuanani... when you put your mind to it, then you look devastatingly beautiful."

"Flatterer... does your neck still hurt, Ziki?"

"A little..."

"Then sit here... I have an idea; you can take me home afterwards." She had a lewd expression that Ezekiel had never seen before. He did as asked and his reward shocked him: Lehuanani was massaging the back of his neck with her cleavage. He could feel the warmth, the softness and the weight of her breasts over his shoulders. In no time at all, he felt powerful and moist pulsations inside his pants; too embarrassed to tell, Ezekiel remained motionless and hoped her doting care would never stop.

"Ho HOOO!!! Sweetie, you are just... too much!" Lehuanani was also in heaven.

4.- Quiet skies

"Any word from him, Stan?"

"Nothing Ed... not since his bogey call over Roosevelt Ridge."

Major Cragg walked towards the dispersal pen where Jim Russell was still peeing on the ground, beside his P-38 that was still warm. "Jim! What happened over there? Where's Ziki?"

He answered without taking the time to zip up: he was still shaken. "I don't know Pork... sir... we engaged some Oscars and caught them frozen stiff on our first right turn... they were probably green. I shot a quick burst... guns and cannon. I guess I hit the fuel... the Oscar blew up in mid-air! Molina was on the outside of my turn, on the left... I never heard from him, not once... I think he flew through the fireball!"

"There's a P-38 on final, Ed..." that was the IO who had joined the squadron commander.

"It's no time for jokes, Stan... I don't hear a thi..." the major turned around and could indeed see a distant aircraft, but he could not explain the silence in the sky. "What the..." Porky grabbed the IO's binoculars and looked again. "It's Ziki... and it's going to be a deadstick landing! Get the crash teams going, Stan!"

Femme Fatale was a sorry sight even from afar. Her propellers were idle and both the leading edges and the nacelle showed considerable damage and burnt oil. Nevertheless, she was still airworthy and coming in fast, without flaps, for a belly landing. The commander was amazed that the P-38 made it that far, but he was still worried about a possible ground loop or a fuel fire.

Yet, the plane still had height to lose and would obviously overshoot the waiting ground crews, who gunned their engines and began driving after it.

Porky stayed where he was to watch the disabled P-38 flare up. The grace of the landing, in fact, was in complete opposition with the terrible screech wailing from six tons of steel and aluminum sliding on gravel at 105 mph. Then, as suddenly as it began, it all stopped. The P-38 was still on its belly and was now being dowsed.

The worried CO saw no movement inside the canopy, however, until members of the crash team began prying it open.

He had finally reached the plane, on foot, while Ezekiel was still being extracted from the wreckage of his former cockpit. One look at the plane told all: the turbo-intercooler intakes had obviously swallowed burning engine oil and flaming debris; the canopy was badly smudged and cracked; the radio antenna was clipped away. Ezekiel must have nursed the engines as long as possible, while ploddingly climbing as high as he could, and then glided on a direct approach.

Porky then looked at Ezekiel, who was taking off his flight suit and dismissing the medics. "Ziki... what is this?"

"A precious plane, sir... sorry for the mess, I did my best to bring it back." Ezekiel had a smart smirk on his face.

The major guffawed in disbelief. "Are you riding me, sergeant?"

"I guess I am, sir... but I still hope I didn't flunk my flight test!" Ezekiel was, in fact, downright jubilant.

"My office, ten minutes. Stan and the engineering officer on duty as well."

---

"Well... there she is. What do you think?" Ezekiel was whispering.

Lehuanani was whispering right back. "It looks the same... you say this is a new model?"

"Yes... she's a P-38J. The visible difference is under the propellers; see the new air intakes? They should make the plane less prone to the troubles I had yesterday... the coolers are in there now. And the engines are more powerful, I'm told."

"What about the name you chose, Ziki... what does Nalani mean?" In total contrast with Femme Fatale, on which a scantily clad vixen was hiding her indecency behind brightly coloured lettering, the nose of Ezekiel's new P-38 was austere, with the name plainly painted in white over the aircraft's olive drab paint scheme.

"In the Hawaiian tongue, it means quiet skies. I dunno... the name feels right for so many reasons."

"I like it... and I think she will take good care of you when I can't."

"So... huh... do you think you have a blessing for planes, somewhere in your spell book?" Ezekiel was now spooning Lehuanani from behind and being reacquainted with her magnificent breasts. She loudly gasped in surprise.

"Chhht, you crazy fool!!! Stop thisss... I'll be kicked out of the airfield and you will lose your medal!"

"Correction, my dear: I don't have the Soldier's Medal yet... I'm recommended for it; and since the criterion is heroism not involving conflict with an enemy, I think I'm still on the right track!" He kept on massaging her breasts and he pinched her nipples; Lehuanani was very obviously enjoying it and her resistance was fading quickly.

"Zikiii... stop, please... and be serious one second!" He stopped his attempt at fooling around and stood in front of her. "Ziki... I'm so happy that you're still alive." She placed her hands on his cheeks, rose on her feet and kissed him; a long kiss of passionate desperation.

They were still at it when both of them felt the beam from the MP's flashlight.

5.- Compressibility Issues

On the next day, the Headhunters were at work again, on a high-altitude cover of B-24s over the Salamaua peninsula and the ferocious deadlock between Australian, US and opposing Japanese battalions. Jim Russell and Ezekiel were again flying blue three and blue four, covering a scrap below between nine Oscars and eight P-38s, including Porky's of course.

Until the day he will eventually die, Ezekiel will always remember the detonations. "Bang!" He looked to his right to see Jim Russell's P-38, now without a canopy, starting to spiral down. "BANG!" Now Nalani was shaking up. He still doesn't know how, during the following seconds, he had kept a head cool enough to figure out how to save his life. Those detonations were cannon shells. So not Oscars; Tonys. They were being bounced upsun and the Japanese ambush resulted in complete surprise. The radio was instantly flooded with panicked calls of pilots fighting for their lives.

The upsun attackers had the advantage of speed and altitude; The Tony was also known for its ability to follow an American plane in a dive, because of its inline engine. Ezekiel slammed his throttles at maximum and was grateful to confirm that the promise from the people at Lockheed was true: you can go full-throttle at high altitude in a P-38J.

"BANG!" But Ezekiel was not shaking away his attacker. He inverted Nalani and began a split S downwards. "BANG! BANG!"

On that last hit, Ezekiel could actually smell the cordite. His mouth then had a sudden and putrid aftertaste, like vomitless vomit, and all his members were numb with fear, complete and overbearing fear. He just kept on diving, whether he wanted to or not.

By the time Ezekiel realized he had finally shaken loose his pursuer, he also felt the nose of Nalani tuck under. The P-38 was the first plane to experience high-speed compressibility issues and, since 1941, they had not been resolved yet. He tried the yoke and the pedals: nothing. Despite diving at close to 600 mph, Nalani was in a stall and would stay locked inside that dive until...

Then Ezekiel remembered Lehuanani was supposed to have a cycling lesson tonight.

(OK... so this is what fear feels like... OK... OK... I can deal with this... I'm not bailing out at 600 mph and I'm not dying today... think...)

He took a deep breath and scoured his memory, hoping to recall the night he read, in his P-38 technical manual, an article about a test pilot who stayed in a YP-38 under compressibility lockup in order to save the prototype plane.

(I remember... yes... I can do this...)

Ezekiel cut the throttles and, below 8 000 ft., began using his elevator trim. In the thicker airflow, that got a response. Manic glee instantly washed over him and he bellowed a loud crazed laughter while recovering from this supposedly fatal dive. Then, when he was flying level again, Ezekiel thanked his plane profusely, not caring where he was or where he was going.

It was a radio call that brought him back to his full senses. "Blue four, this is Clipper leader; Blue four... Ziki! Are you there?"

Ezekiel took a deep breath and then gently pulled up his nose, gave some power and finally began the climb back to 18 000 ft. He easily spotted the Headhunters against the high cirrus clouds. He also saw circling contrails to the West: another P-38 squadron had taken over the fight and was avenging Jim Russell... and maybe other fallen brothers-in-arms.

"Blue four to Clipper leader... I'm climbing towards you, ETA... four to five minutes." There is always time for proper radio discipline when your life is not at stake.

"Roger Blue four... good to hear! We're all low on gas... let's go home..."

---

As usual, Ezekiel had just refused the mission whiskey. The IO, now used to this, did not press the issue.

"Ziki... are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, sir. But... can I speak off the record?" Both his superiors agreed. "I got pretty scared for a moment there..."

"And you shook it off! Good! That's how you stay alive!" But Edward Cragg paused and then lost his usual verve. "Now... huh... Ziki, did you see what happened to Russell?"

"Yes I did, sir... he never saw it coming. I'm pretty sure he was killed instantly."

"I see. Look, I know he was a pompous ass, but he was a mean SOB in the air... and he felt good with you on his wing. Will you be able to be like him, Ziki? Without the getting killed part, obviously! You're the one who'll be nursing green replacements under your wing from now on... and long range shots just won't cut it anymore ... I need you to close in for the kills. Think about that and go kiss Annie tonight. We're not on the board tomorrow, but your ground crew is going to be up all night making sure your ship is all patched up and ready for the 17th. We're receiving orders by the yard already... the next scrap is gonna be big, OK? Dismissed... and don't do anything I would!"

---

"Lehuanani?" Ezekiel was standing outside, on his bicycle, and savoring the burnt Kunai aroma. He had grown to enjoy it.

"Ziki! I was getting worried! You did not bring your cuatro tonight?"

"No, sweetie... and tonight I'll have to cancel our date. I need to go help my crew chief patch up Nalani."

"Patch up? You were shot at? And... hit?"

"Yes... and my wingman got killed today... and that's all beside the point..." Ezekiel was so nervous that he was oblivious to the anxiety he was causing Lehuanani, who was covering her mouth with her hands. "... but I do need to speak to you... it's important... can we talk?"

Lehuanani was visibly crumbling. "Come in... but my mother is already asleep - she had a hard delivery today - so we will have to remain quiet."

He stepped inside and sat at the table where Kaamia and Lehuanani had treated their patient when he first met them. Ezekiel could indeed hear a soft snore in the background.

"What is it, Ziki? You do not want to see me anymore?" She had moist eyes already.

"What?!? No, no!!! Quite the opposite in fact! Lehuanani... today I lost more than 14 000 ft. in a dive and I made it back to you."

"I don't understand... what are you saying?"

Ezekiel was still too nervous to be coherent and had a hard time whispering. "That's twice!"

"Huh?"

"Falling from a high place without getting hurt twice... you saw my aura... huh... correctly!"

"Well... yes, of course! But what does this have to do with..."

"Lehuanani, my beautiful, beautiful Lehuanani... please be right about this also..." he was briskly rubbing her upper arms.

"Ziki... you're not making much sense... are you sure you're all right?"

"Lehuanani... you are what I desire most in this whole world; so much so that just thinking of you was enough for me to refuse my fate today." Now she was holding her breath. "May I court you?"

"What does that mean?"

"May we see each other and get to know each other enough to know for sure that we want to live together, and then marry?"

"Isn't that what we're already doing?"

"Huh... good point, sweetie... but I was too dumb and blind to see it for what it was. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"But... Ziki... I already am!"

Ezekiel now smothered her in smooches and Lehuanani had a hard time keeping the noise level down. "Thank you... thank you... thank you... you have just made me the happiest person in the whole universe. Thank God our paths have crossed!" Saying that, Ezekiel became pensive for an instant.

"What now?"

"Nothing, nothing, sweetie... I'm so happy... and I'm so sorry, I really have to go! We have a big operation coming up... I'll see you when it's all over, OK? A real date... bicycle riding, music and all you want... promise."

"Will you stay safe, Ziki?"

"I will always return for this, sweetheart..." and then he kissed her which such passion that Lehuanani's heart skipped a beat. She was feeling almost current from his lips and his tongue; more than her heart, her entire body felt on fire. They kept moaning their pleasure and at the same time tried to muffle themselves quiet.

However, Lehuanani had another agenda: she had a fire within her that she needed to quench. She took his hand, lifted her sarong and placed it on her Venus Mons. She kept kissing him hard to squelch all objections and Ezekiel, completely charmed, began nudging a clitoris for the first time of his life.

Ezekiel was timid and fearless at the same time; he did not falter when he heard her breathing quicken and her entire body tremble in spasms. Lehuanani hugged him tight, crushing her breasts on him in the process, and kept on taking all the love and pleasure her Amor could give. She had her first orgasm ever, nestled in his arms, and was crying, both in joy and in wonder.

Ezekiel was also completely wonderstruck, and from his enthralled heart finally emerged the basic truth that he could not see until now. "I love you, Lehuanani... I love you so much! Please stay with me forever..."

He had to be patient, for Lehuanani was barely regaining control of her breathing. "I will, Ziki... I have loved you ever since you looked into my eyes and smiled, I love you now and I will always love you. Now go, be safe and return to me!"

As Ezekiel was discreetly getting up to leave, Kaamia's soft snore was the only sound suddenly heard; both had to stifle a nervous giggle.

---

"Anything I can do to help, Earl?"

"I don't think you can do much on your own with the spar or the aileron, Ziki... but I took out an unexploded 20mm shell from the left engine mount, near the landing gear well; if you feel up to it, you could check the engine and the hydraulics..."

"I'm on it! Just give me a couple of minutes to put some coveralls and I'll be right back."

However, Ezekiel did not fetch some mechanics' coveralls right away. He was finally ready to face the entirety of today's mission so, when he got to his bunk, he first got out his letter paper and his pen.

"Port Moresby, 15 August 1943

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Russell..."

6.- Patches and Marks

In the history of warfare, the bombing of Wewak is but a minuscule coma in a very long story. However, in the scope of the New-Guinea campaign, one can argue that these five days, 17 to 21 August 1943, added a momentum to the recapture of the island that Imperial Japan would never be able to dampen or derail. And to Ezekiel Molina, Wewak remains where his soul first clashed with death and then called a truce.

---

"Hey, Ziki! Going out again? Any holes in my ship this time?"

"YOUR ship?!? No, Earl... I'm pretty sure Nalani is in top-shape for you... don't overdo it at the mess!"

"The mess!?! Are you kidding? After five days of this shit!!! I'm taking a quick peek at my plane and then I'm catching up on shuteye!!!"

"Sounds like a plan! Seeya Earl!"

Ezekiel pedaled away from the aerodrome but he did not have to go far: Lehuanani was standing there, at the very limit of the secure perimeter, politely chitchatting with the MPs until she noticed him. Ezekiel was instantly rewarded with the sight of a nervous, relieved an elated smile that became etched in his soul. For such a sight, he would always return home, even from hell.

She ran into his open arms and kissed him repeatedly, obviously unconcerned about their public display of affection.

"Oh, darling... (kiss)... I was so worried (kiss)... five days... (kiss)... of combat... (kiss)... are you all right, my love? (kiss)"

Ezekiel, who barely had the time to dismount from his bicycle before her amorous greeting, regained his bearings and answered in a flat, but tender voice. "I feel perfectly fine, sweetheart. It's good to see you... hop in... and let's go to our place, OK?"

She did take her seat on the bike, fully immersed in her happiness but now tempered with empathic worry: Ezekiel had obviously something bottled up inside him, something he seemed unwilling to discuss. Unsure of how to help, she let him play cuatro at his heart's content before bringing it up. Even his music seemed a little different, as if he played his repertoire with a touch more melancholy.

"What is it, my beautiful Ziki? Please tell me..." there was something so soothing in her gaze that all his inner defenses were blown away.

"I scored my first kills, Lehuanani..." Ezekiel had said it with the guilt and shame of a murderer at confession; the reaction he got was far from absolution.

"You did!?! That's wonderful, darling!!! How many? Will they be confirmed? Ohhhh, sweetheart I'm so PROUUUD of YOUUU!!!" Ezekiel was floored. He had never realized, nor even contemplated, just how much the Papuans hated the Japanese. He was being hugged by an excited groupie so fiercely that he briefly felt like Frank Sinatra at a live concert.

"Yes... Lehuanani, the gun camera couldn't be clearer: I killed them. Three of them. I'm told I will receive the Air Medal for it."

"Ohhh! That's superb, darling!" Ezekiel now realized, oddly enough, that her Australian tutorship of English showed when she was excited. "Quick now! Tell me all!"

"OK... we've been bombing the airfield complex the Japs have at Wewak. The objective was pretty much the same as always: destroy as many planes as possible, on the ground or in the air. But the Top Brass had made elaborate plans about this operation, even deception with fake airfields. Well... two months obviously don't make me an expert on warfare, but I think our victory was pretty decisive."

"On the first morning, the 17th, I got my first kill. We were covering a low-level bombing pass of B-25s. We had taken off at 9h AM and, when we all made it there, at about 10h30 AM, we see the extent of the damage done by the pre-dawn raids by B-24s: rows of planes, lined up for take-off, were destroyed on tarmacs - and the Japs were still recovering. We just strafed and bombed all over the place; I hadn't seen anything like it since Pearl Harbor. Anyway, I'm flying blue three with my new wingman in blue four; we're the last two P-38s when the squadron makes a strafing run; and I notice this fighter plane, a Tony, actually trying to take off and fight it out with us! The kid was all guts and no brains: he was target practice from the start but, at least, if he had stayed low and gained speed, he could have tried some evasive moves... but no, he chose to climb. It wasn't a gunfight, Lehuanani, it was an execution: I shot a Japanese kid in the back and I saw my bullets and shells kill him right in front of my eyes..."