Downtown Emeros, Vangaziland.... A place known as the Emerald District. Today was perhaps its most busy day in years. Tourists came from all over the world's regions and flocked to any area they could find off the Eastern Coast, the edge of the city.
Here, land met sea and today the air would make its invisible self known, not as a breathable life source. But as a physical part of the territory, just as concrete as water or earth.
The sound of a single engine, prop plane buzzed through the air..... It was a purple stunt plane trailing a long flume of red smoke. These were the Vannish colors, the colors of the Royal Imperial Family of Vangaziland.
This was the signal of the start of the show...
At the center of the mass of people stretched along the waterfront, at parks, on top of buildings and even on a line of parked boats, was a large grandstand area. About two thousand people sat here on benches, temporarily set up in what is normally a large parking lot. Here, loud speakers bellowed out the voice of an announcer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the First International Imperial Air Show! The newest show on the air circuit."
Timing was everything. Everything was set up so the pilots passed as the announcer spoke. For example, as the announcer finished the last sentence, the fancy prop plane began its pass of the grandstand.
"Here he is! The Crown Prince! Fritz Vang!"
The plane started a slow barrel roll, it held each part of the roll for about 3 seconds, causing the smoke to make a beautiful red spiral in the air.
"That's right, Major Vang is a private pilot and he is putting on a show just for you."
"Get to the Jets!" A voice yelled loud enough for most of the grandstand to hear. It was followed by laughter. They loved the Prince, but this little warm up was not on the itinerary for security reasons. The voice was actually the Commanding General of The Vannish Armed Forces, Gen. Hap Applebind.
Almost as if on cue, the Prince's plane buzzed loudly drowning out the crowd noise with a low altitude flight, which banked to turn back over the water and set a smoke screen just above their heads....
Finally the sport plane's powerful engines accelerated and it took off to the South. There was a round of applause.
"Moving right along, we get a good look at the fighters of today and tomorrow... Feast your eyes on these bad boys." The announcer's voice seemed dated, sort of like a 1980s radio show host.
The shape of two fighters sped across the beach, a few seconds later they heard the engines... There is usually that moment of surprise when such fast aircraft approach when the sound takes a few seconds to catch up... This is true even when not flying supersonic.
The sound became a roar after the jets careened along the oceanfront. They went up into a steep climb, looped and rolled in unison until they were headed back towards the way they came.
"Active Duty ancestors of the YF-23, the F-23 'Black Widow' is the vanguard of Vannish Air Defense today. These fighters come from the 72nd Fighter Squadron based near Auster."
The Jets came by on another pass, even faster... This time, they kept going South and left the area. Applause followed. General Applebind made a scene once again, by hooting, hollering and making random noises. He was motivated.
"Next up, we have something that was only recently declassified. Look North and check out the.."
As the announcer spoke, a long dark shadow streaked by. It was moving just as fast as those fighter jets on their second pass.
"J11M Erelo Stealth Bomber!"
The crowd roared. This was not just a plane. This was a deterrent that literally helped keep Vangaziland from the trivial skirmishes that plagued their neighbors. The Erelos, the submarines, the Mobile ICBM Launchers and the missile silos kept The nation and it's allies safe at night.
Just as soon as the Erelo came, it went.
Music had been playing in the background, mostly rock.. All of it fit the theme and the mood.
"And that concludes Vangaziland's portion for today, remember this air show is sponsored by the Vannish Air Force." He finished it up with the Vannish Air Force's official slogan.. "The Air Force.... Join it!"
The next set was up.
