Motherland

Demoted and transferred for habitual belligerence, Kharkova nevertheless is now assigned to a high-performance fighter aircraft. While she receives stern encouragement from the colonel, she's avoided as a weird loner -- not least because of her conversations with the long-dead Zoya. When the airfield is attacked the neophyte Merkulov panics, breaks down completely, and has to be taken away. Zoya opines that the colonel likes Anna.