The "Singing Squadron" was situated in the shadow of old, gnarled trees near the dilapidated field kitchen. Their usual fierce energy was dulled by the oppressive summer heat, even the regimental guard dog was motionless in the dry grass, too lethargic to move an ear at the sight of a fly. Some members, like Kuznechik, found the strength to quote Shakespeare between sips of water. He argued poetically that their comrade Romeo might be sneaking off to visit the women's squadron where Masha was waiting for him. The air was filled with the scent of engine oil and wild thyme. On a day like that, time seemed to slow down, until the distant hissing of an airplane shattered the silence.

All the young lieutenants, who had just graduated from the Orel Aviation School, looked around the sky with a mix of adrenaline and fear in their eyes as they heard the sound of a plane flying overhead. They were still young, with tender cheeks under their pilot's hats, and they were eager to prove themselves. The sound of the plane was too loud, and the question arose in their minds: Was it our plane or the enemy's?

The silhouette of the fighter jet swayed unsteadily, leaving behind thin wisps of smoke, but the red stars on its wings glinted defiantly in the sunlight - a sign that it was Russian. Perhaps it belonged to a neighboring unit. Before the damaged fighter could even land, the young pilots rushed towards it like ants to sugar, their curiosity overcoming their discipline. Their voices merged into a stream of questions as they gathered around the plane.

Then the cockpit opened, and the pilot emerged—a woman, her flight suit streaked with soot, her gloves gripping the canopy’s edge with the deliberate precision of someone assessing damage. The aviator glasses she pushed onto her forehead revealed sharp, exhausted eyes that swept across the gawking faces with an air of weary amusement. The boys froze, suddenly aware of the gold insignia on her shoulders—higher rank than theirs—and the unspoken weight of experience in the way she moved.