The sky over Cairo, Appalachia is a dangerous place. The town sits on the intersection of Appalachia, Dixie, and the I.S.A. Occasional incidents are something the locals expect, but the most recent one was the biggest yet.

The night sky was quiet and clear as a flight of I.S.A. J2-Furys attempted to intercept a plane believed to be smuggling liquor from moonshiners in Appalachia. Within minutes, a group of F6II Brigands from Appalachia's own air militia was on the scene. The pilots reportedly argued about the fate of the questionable plane, but before any decision was reached, a third force entered the fray: a wing of Confederate S2B Kestrels. The Dixie planes ordered the others out of Dixie territory.

With so much metal and tension in the air, nobody can agree on who fired the first shot. All three sides engaged each other in a furball described as "complete chaos" by one pilot. "There were tracers and rockets flying in all directions. The formations went to heck right away, it was just a tactical nightmare." In an ironic twist, the original plane the militias were arguing about disappeared during the combat.

Each government is blaming the others for the incident. The I.S.A. has even accused Appalachia of providing a militia escort for the smuggler. Thankfully, there were no pilot fatalities, but all sides lost aircraft. The only death was on the ground, as a Dixie Kestrel came down in a pasture after the pilot hit the silk. Farmer Bobby Clarks lost his best dairy cow, "Lula."