The Desert Near Maezul Village, Democratic Union of Aviye
Zai
In the late afternoon, they found the villagers.
Zai spent much of the long ride into the desert coordinating with Captain Cheng over the radio. He reported red smoke and signs of heavy gunfire.
Zai warned him about the red smoke, a warning which came just in time as the enemy started using modified mortars as anti-aircraft weapons. The explosions filled the air with clouds of red that Cheng had to pull up and away from.
His ability to dive-bomb and strafe was compromised, and so he settled for making a second run at a higher altitude, dropping his bombs as soon as he was certain they wouldn't hit the village.
On his next pass to confirm the strikes, he saw only that he'd blown up the sand behind their enemies.
Since then, he'd returned to base to refuel, before coming back out to serve only as a scout. It was Cheng that spotted the villagers from the air, guiding Zai to their position over the radio.
