untitled
Title: Nightingale: Sibling Found
Author: TZMaverick
Classification: Harm/Mac; Skates/Other
Rating: 13 (Adult Situations, Language)
Spoilers: Up to True Callings, Everything Afterwards Never Happens
Feedback: Welcomed But Not Expected
Feedback email: TZMaverick@xxxxxx
Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only. These characters belong to CBS, Paramount and DPB.
Author's Notes: I greatly appreciate Startrails68 and Aero Girl for the outstanding job they done 'beta' reading this first time writer. This is my oppinion and not to offend any other writers but I consider these two ladies in the top 5 of all the JAG fan fiction writers available today. (One of my other top 5 writers, is semi-retired.) So, this series (I hope) is totally dedicated to them.
0300 Zulu Wednesday
Naval Special Warfare Center
Coronado, San Diego, Ca.
“Attention on Deck!”
Lieutenant Curtis Rivers walked into the main Seal training hangar – the remaining sixteen potential Seal officers stood and snapped to attention.
“As you were!” Lieutenant Rivers waited until they had resumed their seats before continuing. “Gentlemen, over the past six months, each of you has survived everything we have thrown at you. You went through the basic course, the diving course, the land warfare course, the parachute course, and of course ‘Hell Week’. You have one remaining hurdle to jump before you are allowed to pin the gold trident on your chest. One exercise; the toughest test remaining – every Seal member has to pass this test and you must complete it within the allowed time limit, period. If you don’t succeed in this test, you will be given two options; 1) the Navy will locate a new profession for you; or 2) if you still desire to become a Seal, you will be recycled to the next class starting training at day number one. Any questions?”
Curtis looked at each man’s face to see his look at the prospect of not becoming a Seal. Each face bore the same expressionless look.
“Chief, continue the briefing. Good luck gentlemen!” Curtis turned to leave the hangar.
“Attention on deck,” barked the chief.
“As you were, continue on Chief.”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
Chief Petty Officer Donald Franks walked over to the huge southern California map that hung on the wall and picked up a pointer.
“Gentlemen, at 0001Z tomorrow morning – you will report to NAS North Island with full HALO gear – once there you will board a C130 aircraft. This C130 will depart North Island – fly twenty miles off the coast – where four of you at a time will jump at 42000 – each of you will be given a number – you must free-fall until you are 2500 feet above the ocean – once you are under silk – you will locate a numbered floating platform – you will land on your platform – stow your HALO equipment – exchange your gear for SCUBA gear with the trainer there – he will not prevent you from falling off the platform if you miss your landing area – he’s only there to ensure that you have properly stowed your equipment and suited up with your scuba gear. Any questions so far?” The chief paused to take a drink and seeing that there weren’t any, he continued.
“You will then proceed to swim twenty miles to shore – once on the beach – change into your LAND WARFARE gear – again a trainer will be there to ensure you are properly stowed and changed – you will then follow a map that the trainer gives you to follow – you have three training M18 Claymores to set at three different locations which will be marked on the map – a trainer will be hidden at each location to check your placement on these charges. Questions?”
“None, good. You them proceed through ten hard booby-trapped miles to the finish of the test – you’ll end up at the entrance of the obstacle course to report to Lieutenant Rivers or myself. You are allowed 12 hours from the time you jump to finish the test. We will mark down your time and get with the other trainers to score your results. The announcement and pinning of the ‘Trident’ will be 0400Z Friday by the pool at the O-club. You will pack up your SCUBA and WARFARE bags, stack them onto the duce out front, and you will be off duty until you report in at North Island. Good luck and see you at 0001Z.”
“Attention on deck.”
“Carry on.” the chief called as he walked out of the hangar. After tomorrow, he wouldn’t be given the accolades of having a room full of officers rise to attention until the next officer class started. ‘This might be the last time for that for I’m getting too tired and too old for this stuff.’
********
2350 Zulu – Same Day
NAS North Island, Ca.
Lieutenant jg Samuel Austin MacKenzie stood in his full HALO equipment along with the other fifteen officers training to become Seal Team leaders. At 76 inches tall, he could practically see over half the others’ heads and was the tallest member there. He ran his hand across his short chopped reddish brown hair as his deep brown eyes scanned the aircrew prepping the C130 Herky plane. ‘I wish they’d hurry up, so we can get this show on the road. Even though I’m not looking forward to what’s in store for today.’
After packing his other equipment earlier today, he hadn’t returned to his barracks room to rest. Instead he had gone to talk to a couple of friends whom he had met halfway through his training. They were Team members and they gave him the honest truth about the final test.
<Flashback>
“Sam, every aspect of the test will be graded. They will pin a tracker on you; it will let them know when you pull your ripcord. You must pull it at exactly 2500 feet; anything higher or lower will reduce your score. Likewise they will measure where you place the claymores and will deduct points if you are off more than 6 inches. After they pin the ‘Trident’ on, you will be called into Commander Buckhannon’s office and be asked a series of questions. Your class ranking and those answers will determine which team you get. I’ve heard a rumor that the number one ranking person from this class will be going to Team #7.”
“Team #7…?” Sam had heard the rumors about team #7. The members were the most ‘elite.’ They not only worked as a complete team but even as single person teams. Each member specialized in different aspects of Navy or Marine careers – anything from a medic to ship driver and everything in between.
“Pat, that same damn rumor circulated when I was finishing my course, too. As far as I know, none of my class got assigned to them. Hell, I have never seen or heard of anyone ever being a member of Team #7. You did know that #7 was retired from the ranks ever since some ‘spook’ sent them on a suicide mission in ‘Nam and nobody survived.”
“Yes, Dan. I know all that. But Sam asked us for the truth – the whole truth – and that rumor don’t circulate that often. It’s only the third time that I’ve ever heard it float around. Sam, do you have any more questions?”
“No, Sir.”
“Good. Dismissed Lieutenant. Good luck and see you at graduation tomorrow.”
“Good Day, Commander Fisher and Captain Smouth. And thank you for the truth. I felt that they had forgotten to tell us everything and know that they did.”
“Yes, Lieutenant. It’s part of the training for later on when you are a team leader. To learn to ask for the little details that could get you killed on a mission or in this case flunked out of the course.”
<End of Flashback>
“Saddle up!” cried the aircraft loadmaster.
The sixteen hopefuls walked the short distance to the aircraft and walked up the ramp onto the plane. As soon as the last man, Lieutenant jg MacKenzie in this case, was aboard, the ramp started closing and the engines were started even before Sam could locate an open seat to take. The Herk taxied onto runway and soon was airborne.
*********
Twenty-Five Minutes Later
“Everyone, mask up. We are starting to depressurize the plane.”
It started to get cold once the plane was depressurized and the cargo ramp doors were open. The loadmaster walked up to each person and handed him a colored card, numbered one to four. Sam was given a green card with the number 4 on it. ‘I don’t understand why people jump out of perfectly working aircraft, they cannot say it’s for the money because the military pay the E-1s more to stay aboard.’
“Red Cards stand up and move to the ramp. When you see the light turn green – jump.”
The light turned green and the loadmaster watched the four men disappear into the night sky. He spoke softly into his intercom mike to let the pilot know that the first group of jumpers had cleared the plane and it was now safe for her to bank the plane, which allowed it to circle back to same location the first group had jumped from. The ‘blue’ card jumpers were next, then the yellow. Finally, Sam’s green-card group stood by the open ramp and watched for the light to change to green. The light turned green and Sam stepped out into the blackness.
*********
0430 Zulu Friday
O-Club Pool
Coronado, Ca.
The keynote speaker had finished giving his speech and sat back down into his chair. Lieutenant Rivers stood up and moved to the podium.
“Lieutenants Abilene, Hockey, Hancock, and Revere. Lieutenants JGs Everett, Jones, and MacKenzie. Step up on stage please.”
The seven officers stood up, marched up to the stage, and stood in a straight line. Commander Buckhannon walked over and turned to face the first lieutenant. He reached over to the tray that Chief Franks held in his hands to pick-up one of the Seal ‘Trident’ pins and pinned it onto Lieutenant Abilene’s uniform and saluted.
“Congratulations, Lieutenant Abilene. Report to my office at 0630Z.”
“Thank you, Sir. Aye. Aye. Sir!”
Commander Buckhannon continued the same routine procedure with the remaining six people receiving the ‘Tridents’ today until they had all received them.
“Lieutenant Rivers carry on!”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
“The remaining class members report to my office in 1 hour to discuss your situation after you congratulate your fellow classmates.”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
“Dismissed.”
*********
0800 Zulu
HQ HWSC
Commander Buckhannon’s Office
It had been a long hour and half wait for Sam to meet with the school’s commander. He saw Lieutenant jg Jones walk out of the office a few minutes ago, and knew that he was the last ‘new’ Seal to meet the Commander. He waited for the 1st class Petty Officer to tell him that the Commander was ready for him to enter the ‘lion’s den.’ Finally, he heard the intercom buzzer go off.
“Lieutenant, the Commander is ready for you. You may go straight in.”
“Thank you, PO.”
“You’re welcome, sir. And congrats for graduating.”
“Thank you.”
Sam rose and walked into the office, shutting the hatch behind him. He walked up to the large cherry wood desk and saluted.
“Lieutenant jg MacKenzie, reporting as ordered.”
“Very good, Lieutenant. Have a seat.”
Sam sat down into a chair not noticing the other two officers in the office besides Commander Eric Buckhannon.
“Lieutenant, let me introduce Captains John Rucker and Paul Hamilton to you.”
“Captain … Captain.” Sam looked at the two officers and nodded his head towards them as he addressed them.
“They are here to discuss your team assignment. You finished with the overall ranking of number one. What you are about to hear is highly classified, which is level 6, and your security level will be upgraded once you read and sign this document.” Eric reached into a folder and pulled out the document to hand to Sam.
Sam read the document including the fine print. ‘Any disclosure of level 6 material will result in incarceration at Fort Leavenworth for no less than 20 years without parole.’ He finished reading the document, took a huge swallow, and signed and returned the document to Commander Buckhannon.
“Good, now that’s out of the way. Captain Rucker, you have the floor.”
“Lieutenant, did you hear the rumor about Team #7?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. The rumor is true. You have been selected to become one of the ‘elites’ and the youngest member of the team. We only replace a team member when one retires or meets an unfortunate end. You are replacing a retiring member and are slated to fill his position on the team. He was one of the team’s pilots and snipers. You will leave Coronado and report to Gunny Sergeant Crockett at Quantico. After finishing sniper school, you will report to NAS Pensacola for flight training. After you finish flight school, you will be placed into an active fighter squadron. We recommend that you select F14s when asked which fighter that you want to fly. I know that this is a whole lot to throw at you all at once but do you have any questions, so far?”
“No, sir.”
“You have the choice of accepting this offer or going to team #2 at Little Creek. If you do, you will depart for Quantico and receive a promotion to Lieutenant.” ‘We really want this young man to accept this position. He impressed the entire Seal training staff and others with his score on the final exam. Maybe the extra carrot with the promotion will sway him to say ‘yes’ and we won’t loss him to the regular teams like we did Commander Dan Fisher.’
“Sir, what will I say to the others who know that I graduated and received my Trident?”
“You will tell them that you were told that ALL the teams are fully manned. Also, we wouldn’t tell them your class ranking and that Navy had decided to look for another job for you. You will hang out at the O-Club Monday afternoon until Captain Smouth shows up there carrying your orders for Pensacola. Have you met Captain Pat Smouth?”
“Yes, sir. Captain Smouth and his family were my appointed foster family while I was going through training.”
“The rest of your class will be there in the club waiting for their orders. Everyone knows that you’ve been ordered to open your orders and read them aloud, the same as they were ordered. But when you do, we want you to pretend to be upset with your orders up to the point where Captain Smouth has to order you to calm down. Understand? You have 24 hours to accept or decline the posting.”
“Yes, Sir. But I don’t need 24 hours. I will accept the posting, now.”
“Outstanding! Here’s your BOQ key – it’s room 177. Go back to the club, stay there a couple hours and relax. When you get to your room, there will be a team box, keys, PDA, special orders to Quantico, a couple fill in the blank waivers, a sealed order, and laptop computer. The password for the laptop will be ‘SEALTEAM#7’ – no spaces. Change the password to whatever you want it to be but be sure it’s to one that you will never ever forget because it will take NSA years to break the 10-digit password code. We have tested it – it’s been 5 years and still counting for them to bust it on our test computer. You will have a database with all twelve-team member’s names and their information, which includes: posting, qualifications, history, snail mail address, email address, contact numbers, and other vital information. Whenever you change any information, send each member an encrypted email with the changes so they can update their records. They will likewise for you. Since all of us in this office are members of ‘the team’ we can tell you who your team leader is, and he is Rear Admiral Albert Jethro ‘AJ’ Chegwidden.”
“The JAG is a team member?” Sam’s eyes almost jumped out of his eye sockets at hearing that famous name. ‘I’ve meet 1 Commander, 2 Captains, and he just stated that a 2 star is another one … wonder if they all are officers.’ “Are all the rest of the team officers?”
“Yes, they are.” Captain Paul Hamilton spoke up for the first time.
“Holy shit.” It busted out of Sam’s mouth before he could think about stopping it. “Sorry, sir.”
“That’s ok. Lieutenant. May I call you Sam?” Captain Hamilton asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Sam, this is very important. If you ever get tasked for a single member mission, never give the team box to the person assigning the mission to you. Due to presidential orders, you are required to secure a copy of all relevant intelligence and any other important documentation you deemed necessary before accepting the mission so it can be enclosed in the team box. Ensure your PDA is stowed in the box as well – there’s a special protective slot in the lid for it. There have been too many missions that have gone bad and ‘our’ boss is tired of screwed-up operations. Have this non-mission person meet you at a certain time and place of your choosing. He or she will hand-carry the box until either they return it to you or they personally hand it over to the Admiral. Don’t worry about giving them a key; the team boxes are specially built. Each of us has been given a box and the key will lock or unlock every one of them. If someone tries to open this special team box with a different key or if they try to cut it open, that will be the last thing they ever do. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Dismissed and welcome to the team! You will not be tasked or given any missions until you finished your specialty flight school. The team member you’re replacing has another year remaining before he has to retire. We will see you at the club shortly to have a drink.”
Sam stood up and shook all the others’ hands. He turned to walk out the door.
“Remember, Lieutenant. Look disappointed.”
“Hoo-ya. Sir!”
*********
1 Year Later
USS Patrick Henry
Some where in the Adriatic Sea
“Captain, this is com. We have a fleet flash message arriving.”
“Com, bring it up to my day cabin.”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
“XO! You have the con. I’ll be in my day cabin and have the CAG meet me there in about an hour!”
“Aye. Aye. Sir. I have the con.” CDR Peter Russell said as he reached up to pull down the ship’s intercom mike to page the CAG to the Captain’s day cabin.
Outside on the flight deck, the inbound COD from Naples arrived, catching the number 2 wire before it came to a complete halt. Its hook dropped the wire and the wire started to retract. The plane’s wings started to fold into the carrier parking position, and as soon as the blue and yellow jersey personnel had the plane in its temporary parking position, the turboprops started shutting down, the door slid open and 3 bags were tossed out onto the deck. Soon afterwards a tall Lieutenant hoped down onto the deck with a small carry-on bag hanging off his shoulder. He saluted the short ensign that had just arrived at the plane.
“Permission to come aboard.”
“Granted, sir. I’m Ensign Joe Rule, the ship’s Public Information Officer. The CAG wants you to report to his office as soon as we get inside. Let me give you a hand with your bags.”
They reached down and picked up the three bags lying on the deck. Once they got inside the superstructure hatch, they saw Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes standing there.
“Sir, I’m Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes – Skates. The CAG sent me to escort you to his office.”
“Thank you, I’m Lieutenant Samuel MacKenzie – Ghost. Ensign Rule, could you take my bags to the cabin I’ve been assigned so the Lieutenant can take me to the CAG’s office?” Sam couldn’t help noticing the strange look that Skates gave him when she heard his name. He just shrugged it off because he had received a number of strange looks since he had departed from California.
“Sure no problem, Lieutenant. I’m helping Commander Rabb with his bags – he’s leaving aboard the COD that just arrived as soon as it finishes refueling. You have been assigned the same cabin that he was in, sir. If you require an escort there after your meeting, just call the PA’s office and someone from there will help you get around.”
“Isn’t that a whole lot of baggage, Lieutenant?” Skates inquired, watching the ensign struggle with the three large heavy bags.
“It sure is, Lieutenant. But since I was trained to be a Navy Seal before I became a Tomcat pilot, I wasn’t given a choice in the matter. For some unknown reason they ordered me to hand-carry all this Seal equipment to my next duty station even though I’m not a Team member and it’s a huge pain in the six to do it.”
“Well, ours is not to reason why but to just follow orders. Please call me Skates, Lieutenant!”
“If only if you call me Ghost, Skates.”
“Ok Ghost, just follow me.”
“Show me the way, Skates.” Sam flashed a huge grin at her.
Skates just turned her head, shaking it as she did. ‘He’s watched Top Gun way too many times’. She led him through the maze until they reached the CAG’s office. She stopped and knocked on the hatch, only opening it after her heard the CAG told her to enter.
“Lieutenant MacKenzie to see you, CAG.”
Again Sam received a strange look as he walked into the cabin.
“Lieutenant Samuel MacKenzie reporting as ordered, sir.”
“At Ease, Lieutenant. I’m Captain Christopher Pike, the CAG. Skates, come to the Captain’s day cabin in about a half a hour to escort the Lieutenant to his cabin.”
“Sir, Commander Rabb is leaving today and I would like to escort him to the COD.”
“Very well, Skates. Go to Hammer’s cabin and inform Ensign Rule that you’ll be escorting Hammer to the COD and that he has been released from escort duties. We’ll see you in 30 minutes.”
“Aye. Aye. Sir. Thank you!”
Skates quickly departed the CAG’s office and hurried to Hammer’s cabin. As she was arriving, she saw Ensign Rule step out of it carrying Hammer’s bag.
“Ensign Rule, I’ll escort the Commander to the COD. The CAG has released you back to your duties.” The ensign handed her the bag he was carrying and heading down the passageway as Commander Harmon Rabb stepped out of the cabin.
“Thought you could leave without saying, ‘so long?’”
“No, I didn’t, Skates. I was going to look for you on the way to the COD. I knew that I would run into you and others before I made it to the flight deck hatch. Has the CAG decided who you will be flying with now, since I’m leaving?”
“No, but I’ve got a funny feeling that it’s going to be the new kid who just arrived on the COD. A former Seal no less. He must have pissed off someone totally to have the Navy spend more funds retraining him to change his designator. He couldn’t have been injured or he would not be able to pass the flight physical. Other than that, I don’t know anything about him other than his name and call sign.”
“He’s already got a call sign? Then, this can’t be his first time in a flying squadron cause you know it’s up to the first squadron to hand out call signs.”
They had reached the hatch leading onto the flight deck, put on their required headgear, and walked out onto the sunny deck only to see Tuna, Boomer, and Airman Griggs waiting by the hatch. They all saluted which Harm returned.
“I’ll see all of you in six months when I return for my Quals. Take care of each other and watch each other’s backs. Keep these youngsters honest.”
“Aye. Aye. Will do, Sir.”
Unknown for showing affection, Harm reached out and gave all of them a huge hug, including Skates. Then he quickly turned and walked to the waiting COD.
“Take care of yourself, Harm. See you in 6 months.” Skates tossed Harm’s bag aboard the COD.
“Will do, Beth. Take care of yourself and stay out of trouble.” He chuckled while they saluted each other and then Harm jumped aboard the COD.
Before the COD crew could shut the door, a seaman ran out of hatch carrying a package and handed it to the COD crewman.
Harm was so involved with his thoughts after buckling-up that he didn’t even feel the COD being catapulted off the deck into the sunny skies over the Adriatic Sea. ‘I’m wondering how icy the reception will be when I get back to HQ JAG … hardly anyone besides Harriett kept in touch with me these past 6 months … not even the one who I considered my best friend, Mac. She was cold as a dead fish when she was here for X-Man’s court martial. I had wished and hoped that she understood my reasons for returning to flight status but after seeing that … well, she I guess she didn’t … I’ll go see how bad everything is … if it’s too icy, I’ll hate it, but I’ll ask the Admiral to reassign me to another office since my flying days are limited.’
The four figures that had watched the COD depart opened the island hatch and walked back inside the carrier.
“Tuna, you got a new bunkmate. He’s arrived on the COD and is with the CAG now. I’ll be bringing him down after he finishes reporting aboard.”
“Well, that’s just hunky dory. The bed’s not even ice cold before they give me another room mate. At least I won’t have to put up with all those legal file folders that Hammer had strung throughout the cabin.”
“Guess that’s better, Tuna, but your bunkmate is a former Seal and you should have seen all the baggage he had to bring.”
“That so? Wonder why he left the teams?”
“Don’t know but it should be an interesting story to hear. Skates, who is the CAG going to pair you up with now since your driver just left?”
“Knowing my luck, Boomer, he’ll stick me with Tuna’s new bunkmate.”
“Is he a Tomcat driver, Ma’am?” Griggs asked.
“Yes, Griggs. Guess you’ll stay with Hammer’s bird.”
“Sure will, Ma’am. I better head down to the hangar and get ready to make a new stencil, just in case the CAG gives him Hammer’s bird. See you all later on, Sirs and Ma’am.”
“Don’t know why X-Man had a problem with Griggs. He kept our bird in tip-top shape and he kept our gripe sheet clean.”
“Think about whom you’re talking about, Skates, and you’ll be able to answer your own question.”
They all laughed at Tuna’s statement. They all had major attitude adjustments towards X-man after seeing what Harm did to save Tuna and Archie’s bacon when he pushed their disabled Tomcat by its tail hook the twelve miles across “Indian Country” airspace, which allowed them to eject safely into the water for helo pickup. They knew that if X-man had been flying that day instead of Hammer, Tuna and Archie would probably be dead.
“Well guys, I’m going to the wardroom to grab a cup of coffee before heading to pick-up the new guy from the Captain’s day cabin. Anyone care to join me?”
“Sorry Skates, but we have to head back to the hangar to finish up our secondary job details. We can join you at mess for supper though.”
“Sounds good … since I might be stuck with escort duties for the near future.”
*********
CAG’s Office
“Lieutenant, hand over your personnel file.”
Sam opened up his carry-on bag and fished out the sealed personal file envelope and handed it over to the CAG. The CAG opened the envelope, took out all the folders inside, and heard a knock.
“Enter.”
A heavy-set Lieutenant walked into the cabin.
“Lieutenant Franklin, meet Lieutenant MacKenzie.”
They nodded at each other. Captain Pike separated the folders and kept the personnel file, then handed the remaining to Franklin. Franklin looked to see if everything was there. In the five years he had worked personnel, he had yet seen a PCS package missing material.
“Thank you, CAG. I’ll go finish in-processing the Lieutenant. Lieutenant, if you ever out-process the squadron just swing by the PER office. We will do all the legwork in gathering up the necessary files and documentation for it … we can get everything except your personnel file which the CAG keeps.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. I wasn’t sure what was required to in or out-process from a duty station since this is the first time I’ve ever in-processed. They just handed me that envelope when I departed from Coronado and I was ordered to hold onto it while I was at flight school at Pensacola.”
“Did they give you a reason why you weren’t supposed to in-process at Pensacola? Did Pensacola give you another sealed envelope?”
“No, sir. Yes, sir.” Sam reached in his bag again, pulled a much thinner sealed envelope out of it, and handed it to the CAG. The CAG opened the envelope and took out what he needed before handing the remaining papers to the Lieutenant.
“That’s everything I need, CAG.”
“Dismissed.”
Once the hatch was closed, Sam pulled a third envelope out to hand to the CAG.
“Sir, this only goes into my personnel file and is classified. I’ve been ordered to inform the person opening this envelope that only you, the Captain, and the XO are authorized to see what’s inside it or my personnel file until they can replace my personnel file with a non-classified one.”
The CAG opened the envelope and his eyes just about bugged out from the information the two documents stated. He opened Sam’s folder, inserted the two documents and then inserted the documents that he kept from the second envelope. After that, he sat down and started to read Sam’s entire personnel file, forgetting that Sam was still standing there.
“Sorry, Lieutenant. I apologize for making you stand while I read your file. If you will follow me, we’ll go see the Captain and XO now.”
“No, problem sir. I’m used to standing for long periods of time.”
“I imagine that you would since you’re a Seal.”
Captain Christopher Pike and Sam walked through the passageways towards the Captain’s day cabin, pausing at the door after knocking.
“Enter.”
Sitting before them on the dayroom’s couch was Captain Tobias Ingles. He watched the two officers walk into his cabin. He had been expecting the CAG but not the other one, whom he didn’t recognize. ‘Ah! He must be the pilot that arrived today to replace Rabb.’ He saw the young Lieutenant stand at attention and give him a salute, which he then returned.
“At ease, Lieutenant. I’m Captain Tobias Ingles, the Captain aboard this ship. Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m Lieutenant Samuel MacKenzie – Ghost.”
Sam saw strange look from yet another officer. ‘I’m going to have to ask Skates why everyone I’ve met aboard has given me these weird looks after hearing my name.’
“Have a seat, gentlemen. Whatcha you got there, CAG?” Captain Ingles saw the PF in his hand.
“Captain, you need to call the XO so he can read the Lieutenant’s personnel folder, too.”
Tobias looked at the CAG because that wasn’t the normal procedure in reviewing a new crewman’s file. But he didn’t question the CAG because he could tell the CAG had read something in MacKenzie’s folder to suggest changing their normal procedures. He reached over and grabbed the ship’s bridge phone.
“XO, report to the Captain’s day cabin.”
Tobias opened the PF and started reading through it. He was just about finished reading the extra thin file when a knock came from the hatch.
“Enter.”
Commander Pete Russell walked into the cabin and came to attention.
“Captain, you sent for me?”
“Yes, XO. This is Lieutenant Samuel MacKenzie, our newest pilot. Ghost, this is the XO, Commander Pete Russell.”
Sam almost groaned when he saw XO’s face giving him that strange look.
“Have a seat, Pete, and read the Lieutenant’s folder.”
It only took a few minutes for Pete to read and digest the contents of Sam’s file; he closed it to indicate to the Captain that he had finished. The Captain opened the folder again and started asking Sam a few questions.
“Academy Grad – number 5? You could have gone straight to flight school with that high of a ranking.’
“Yes, sir. But I wanted to be a Seal.”
“Seal training – ranked number 1? Why are you not one of the teams?”
“Well, sir, I finished ranked number 1 but they informed me that ALL the teams were full and that they would find me another profession.”
“Sniper School – ranked number 1 again?”
“Yes, sir. I still don’t have a clue to why they sent me to sniper school before flight school. I can only hazard to guess why but I figure that they didn’t want to me sitting around for two solid months doing nothing.” ‘I hate keeping from them but orders are orders.’ “All I know is that they ordered me to keep my PF sealed until I arrived at my first duty station, which is here on the Henry.”
“Basic Flight – Intermediate Flight – Advanced Flight – all ranked number 1. You should have selected to fly the ‘new’ super Hornets but selected Tomcats. Why ‘cats?”
“Yes, sir. I fell in love with the Tomcat when I first flew in one. But after I had finished advanced flight school in the ‘cat, they ordered me to qualify in the Hawkeye, Prowler, Viking, Shadow, Hornet, Super Hornet, and the COD. Again, I’ve don’t know why … I just followed orders. But it added to my time at Pensacola and delayed my movement orders for coming aboard here. I should have been here a few months ago but …”
“Did you get the required number of traps in before departing Pensacola?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Anything else about you we should know that isn’t in your record?”
“Sir. They informed me that reasons for my promotion and sniper school information is classified. It was cleared for you three to know, or whoever your replacement is if I’m still aboard the Henry when you leave her. They just told me that it was classified – to notify the three of you. But they wouldn’t tell me why it was classified, nor would they answer the questions I asked about it.”
“Ok. We can deal with that. Can’t we, gentlemen?”
“Yes, sir.” Pete and Chris answered the Captain.
“CAG, what squadron are you going to place Sam in?”
“Since Commander Rabb just left, that leaves us one Tomcat pilot short and Ghost stated that his primary plane is the ‘cat – his ‘cat scores are higher than the other planes he’s qualified in – even his missile-x scores when compared to the other pilots aboard should make him number 1 there as well … I guess the best fit for his ability would be the ‘Raptors’ VF-218 and take over Rabb’s plane.”
“Sounds good. His RIO?”
“My best Tomcat RIO, Skates?”
“Wasn’t she Hammer’s RIO, too?”
“Yes, sir. I hope Ghost here is as half as good as Hammer was in the air.”
There was a knock on the hatch.
“Enter.”
“Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes reporting as ordered, sir?”
“At Ease, Skates. We were just discussing Lieutenant MacKenzie here … he will be flying with the Raptors. Inform Airman Griggs to put his name on the bird. You will be his assigned RIO, so hangar crew won’t need to change more than one stencil. Any problems with that, Skates?”
“No, sir. No problems!”
“Skates, show him where everything is located – you’re both off from active flight operations for the next three days while you show him the lay of the land. But we will schedule you some daily flight orientation flights so we can evaluate how well you work together. Might even throw some missile-x tests in among those flights.”
“Thank you, sir.” Sam and Skates both said at the same time, which sounded like an echo. They both stood, came to attention, and saluted before departing the Captain’s day cabin and leaving the three senior ship officers sitting around the Captain’s coffee table. The Captain spoke up as soon as the hatch closed.
“We need to keep an eye out on that young man. There is more to him than this record is stating. MacKenzie, I wonder if he is related to Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie?”
“It doesn’t indicate that he is, his record states here that his parents are David and Catherine Bell. Also, I’ve talked to Hammer about the Colonel and he gave me the impression that she was an only child.”
“Well, there is that but what I really need to see you two about is this flash fleet message we received an hour ago. It states we are not heading home but need to return to the Arabian Sea to replace the USS Enterprise – she had a major engineering casualty and needs a shipyard for repairs. Her captain stated that they could hold station until we get there. The Roosevelt battle group should be within flying distance with tanker support this evening to take over our area of operations. Luckily the COD was still here, so I sent a package to the Rosy with all our Intel briefing material … so get us prepared to be underway for the Arabian Sea in 2 hours – set-up a meeting with the battle group Captains for a briefing within the hour. The Nimitz battle group has expedited their preparations for getting underway and should arrive on-station there in three months. We will take the long way home … Diego … Hong Kong … Pearl … Tahiti … Rio … Gitmo. When we get to the Canal … I want a full 24-hour
CAP until our entire Battle group is completely through it. The Watertown will have to depart immediately and go the long way around. We will pick-up submarine support until she can meet us in the Arabian Sea. Understood?”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
“Dismissed.”
*********
4 Weeks Later
Somewhere in the Arabian Sea
“Captain, the ‘Big E’ is reported to be 1000 nautical miles away at bearing 340.”
“Helm, set course to 340 – all ahead flank. Any word from the Watertown?”
“Sir, the Watertown reports that she should arrive in 3 days.”
“Very good.” Tobias reached up for the phone and called CIC. “Boss, prepare to launch a Viking with 2 escorts to pick-up the Intel for Big ‘E’.”
*********
Raptor Ready-Room
“Attention on Deck.”
The CAG walked into the room. It was fairly empty of aircrew personnel; there were only 7 crewmembers attending this briefing.
“The Captain wants us to launch a Viking to pick-up Big E’s Intel so she can head home for repairs. Tuna/Archie and Ghost/Skates, you will fly air cover for the Viking. It will land on the Big E, and she will launch four of her Vikings to refuel your birds for the trip back here, call sign Watcher 21. Let’s fly!”
The aircrew stood and headed for their planes. After doing the pre-flight walk around, Sam climbed into the cockpit, strapped in, and started running their checklists, after signaling to Griggs that they were ready for engine start-up by lowering the canopy of their bird.
“Starting 1.”
“One is up … a little rough but settling down … looking good now.”
“Starting 2 … write down the rough start on 1, Skates, so Griggs can take a good long look at it when we get back. That’s the third time it has started rough.”
“Two’s up … looking good … written down.”
“Checklist complete. Ready to taxi?”
“Ready.”
“Flight Ops, this is Batman 3 … ready for taxi.”
“Roger 3 … you’ll be going to Cat 1 … after the Viking.”
“Copy.”
Sam listened to Batman 1 and 2’s calls over the radio. He saw them taxiing to the cats and watched the blast deflectors rise. Shortly after, he saw the Viking being launched down cat 1 and the deflector started lowering back down onto the deck. He signaled the yellow jersey airman in front of him with his landing lights that he was ready to taxi to the cat. The airman started her hand signals, Sam slightly booted their engines, and followed her signals. He lined up on cat 1’s centerline and soon felt the Tomcat roll over the cat’s shuttle. He felt the break-away bar being attached and the cat being tensioned. He heard on the radio for him to go to zone 5 and saluted the cat captain and prepared for the thrill of being launched. He felt the sudden lurch as the cat pulled them from a standing position to 160 knots, and they were airborne again. He was Tuna’s wingman and settled into position on Tuna’s left side.
“Skates, keep a close eye out there for Big E’s tankers. I don’t want to land on the Big E with us being in a low fuel state unless we are forced to.”
“Understood. I’m not really fond of trying to land on a carrier in a low fuel state either. I’ve already been through a ramp strike and don’t care for a repeat performance.”
“Skates, I need to talk about some other things privately. Since nobody can hear what we say to each other up here … could you tell me about your ramp strike, it if it won’t bring up any bad memories for you?”
“Sure, no problem. It happened about 3 years ago. Lieutenant. Marilyn Isaacs had filed sexual harassment charges against Captain Boone, our CAG then. We had gone through a ‘crossing the line’ ceremony and he had grounded her a few days before that. HQ JAG sent out their best investigating team. Before they could prove the CAG was correct, Congresswoman Delong had arrived aboard. She basically bullied the Captain to allowing Marilyn to prove herself in the air. None of the experienced RIOs wanted to fly with her, which put the scheduler between a rock and hard place to locate one for her. The only one he could get was the squadron’s most un-experienced RIO … he was so new that he squeaked. Well, the CAG didn’t like that idea and he asked me to fly with her instead.
“Marilyn did well in the dog fighting exercise against the CAG. Everything was fine until she tried to land back on the carrier. It was at night and the deck was slightly pitching … she came in low and plowed into the ramp. I punched us out and don’t remember too much after that. I only know what happened afterwards for sure is by what they showed me on the tapes and from what Hammer told me. Our chutes were being pushed hard by the wind. Marilyn’s was pushed into the fireball that was our plane while mine was being pushed over the fantail. If it weren’t for a LSO safety net support pole catching my chute, I would have hit the water right in front of the screws. Hammer had some fairly bad feelings about Marilyn flying, enough that he pissed off the Captain but got permission to watch our landing from the LSO platform.
“When we crashed, Hammer jumped into the LSO safety net … he saw my chute catch the pole. Before my chute could rip away from the pole, he grabbed a hold of my chute and pulled me to safety. I must have regained consciousness sometime while he was pulling me up cause I remember feeling someone was trying to pull me up and me screaming out ‘Please don’t let me fall’ … I remember how calming his voice made me feel while he was telling me that he wasn’t going to let me fall and that he would be going in with me before that happened. Well, he got me safely back aboard, carried me to the medics, and stayed with me in sickbay until I was back on my feet. Hammer has never ever failed me and I owe my life to him.”
“Hammer left some huge footsteps for me to follow. I feel like the person who replaced Dean Smith at North Carolina or Bear Bryant at Alabama when they left. Can I ask you for an honest answer to a couple other questions?”
“Sure, shoot!”
“How am I doing … with flying, I mean.?”
“Without giving you a swelled head, you’re almost as good as Hammer – he’s just more experienced than you are. But you are probably the best pilot aboard the ship. Now if you tell anyone that, I’ll deny it ‘til I’m blue in the face.”
“Thanks, Beth. It’s hard for me to judge how I’m doing cause everyone other than Tuna, Archie, Boomer, and you still gives me strange looks when they hear my name or see my nametag. Do you have any idea why they are treating me that way?”
“I’ve got a good guess … see you heard about X-Man’s court martial and grounding.”
“Sure, but why would that affect me so much?”
“Do you have a sister?”
“Not that I know of, but I might, since I was raised by foster parents. They found me on their front porch when I was less than a week old. My mother had left me there, so I have no idea what my natural family was like … if my mother a single woman … whether my father was alive … if I have any brothers or sisters…”
“I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories for you by that question.”
“That’s ok. It only raises questions for me. And I’ve been too scared to find the answers for. So, how does X-Man and the question about my family connect to why everybody treating me strangely?”
“Well, Hammer’s JAG partner is a Marine … she looks close enough to be your sister. Besides that you and her have the same last name … it’s even spelled the same way.”
“No shit!”
“Nope, she was the person who was ordered to prosecute X-Man. She lost to Hammer but the flight board grounded him anyway. He resigned his commission then moved back to Texas. To the X-Man, flying was his life, but he was too arrogant … he would brag and brag about the ‘greenie’ board. You would give him a real hard run about being the best pilot landing aboard but you don’t brag about anything, just like Hammer. X even tried getting Griggs kicked out of the service for making a mistake installing a new pod aboard his bird. He compounded Griggs’ mistake by not running his pre-flight checklist correctly. X never admitted to making a mistake. He always tried blaming someone else for screwing up.”
“But why don’t the four of you feel the same way?”
“That reason happened about a month before you arrived. You heard about how Hammer and I pushed Tuna’s bird 12 miles across ‘Indian Country’?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why … it opened up our eyes and we saw how wrong we were about X-Man. You might as well call me Beth when we’re talking by ourselves.”
“Thanks, Beth. That helps me understand why everyone treats me like a pariah. Likewise, you can me Sam if you want to. When we get liberty, since you’re single now … well … ”
“Spit it out, Sam. I can’t reach you from where I’m sitting to hurt you.”
“Well … when we get liberty, would you honor me with a date?”
“Sure, but we could be brought up on conduct unbecoming charges for fraternization.”
“Don’t worry about details, Beth. Remind me to show you some documents that are in my lock box when we return.”
“Ok, will do. Back to business … my scope shows five bearing 340, angels 32, and 30 miles.”
“What does their IFF say?”
“They’re friendly.” Sam switched to his radio.
“Tuna, do you see 5 friends bearing 340 … angels 32 … 30 miles?” Ghost called over to Batman 2.
“Roger, 3. We have them on the scope.”
“Watcher 21 … Batman 2 … how do you read?”
“Five by five, Batman 2.”
“We show you are bearing 340, angels 32, and 30 miles from us. Copy?”
“Roger, that’s us. We’re ready to fill you up. CAG only wants one of you at a time hooked up even though we have 4 birds airborne for you.”
“Roger, why so many?”
“We wanted to have all the fuel you would need already in the air just in case we had to launch the ready five aircraft. We have had some Iran and Iraq problems, recently. They apparently have joined forces and are pushing the no-fly zone policies. We have been lucky so far that they haven’t wanted to tango this far out. But in case they do, how are you configured for air-to-air?”
“I have 4 each … total 12 missiles. Stand-by for Batman 3.”
“This is 3 … we have 6 … 4 … 4 … total 14.”
“Good copy, Batman flight. Have 3 refuel first, Shell 1 is ready?”
“Roger, watcher. Catch that 3?”
“Copy. We get go-go juice first.” Sam banked away from Tuna to get set-up for the second most dangerous aspect of flying that didn’t deal with air-to-air combat.
“Roger.”
Sam switched back to the internal mike. “Got that, Skates? Give me vectors to the tankers!”
“Come left 40 degrees … hold for 10. Then, turn 30 right and hold for 11.”
“Roger.”
“Now … right 20 degrees … we’re behind the Vikings … 4 miles.”
“Got them.” He switched to the radio.
“Shell 1 … Batman 3.”
“Go.”
“We’re 4 miles behind you and closing.”
“Roger. Deploying the drone.”
Sam flipped the air refueling switch, which released the refueling probe. He switched to the internal com. “Talk to me, Skates.” He switched back to the radio.
“Closure rate at 10 … 7 … 5 … 3 … 1”
“Contact, Shell 1.”
“Roger. We’re passing gas. Can’t clean your windshield though … hope you understand.”
“No problem. As long as I get the go-go juice, you’re forgiven. I hate getting wet or having to waste a perfectly working bird.”
The fuel gauges started to raise and was almost full when Shell 1 called to state it was everything he could spare and for Sam to disconnect. Sam heard Batman 1 call the ball to indicate that they were on final approach and was fixing to trap aboard the Big E. So, Sam closed the air refueling switch and the probe stowed properly.
“Batman 2 … this is 3. First refuel is complete. Your turn.”
“Roger.”
Sam pulled away from the tankers and watched Batman 2 refuel from Shell 2. Finally, Tuna was finished.
“Ghost, we’ve got a problem … our probe won’t retract … we will have to land aboard the E.”
“Roger.”
Sam watched Shell 1, Shell 2, and Tuna peel away to set-up their approach for landing. He was getting the strangest feeling about the skies around him and he switched coms.
“Skates, what’s on your scope?”
“It shows the 3 lining up for landing … Shell 3 … Shell 4 … Watcher 21 … and … and … oh shit…!”
“And what?”
“I can see 3 fights of 4 … total 12 birds heading our way.”
“Watcher 21 … we show 12 birds inbound … any hope that they’re ours?”
“Negative, Batman. They’re not.”
‘Shit! Its may get a little rough up here. Good thing we got Phoenixes aboard.’
“Roger. Advice Shell 3, Shell 4, and you to depart the area in case they want to tangle. Can we expect any help up here just in case?”
“E, is launching 2 bees now … switch your radio to 141.7 … we have been recalled to Homeplate.”
“Roger. Switching to 141.7.” Skates switched their radio frequency dial to 141.7. “Homeplate, this is Batman 3 … who’s up here with me?”
“Batman 3 … Robin 1 and 2. They will do the initial intercept.”
“Roger. Batman 3, standing by.” Sam switched coms.
“Ok, Skates. Whatcha got?”
“I show 4 Mig-29s, 4 F-14s, and 4 Mig-21s with the 21s being the closest and the 14s bringing up the rear.”
‘Damned’. “Heat up all 6 big boys … start tracking the 29s and 2 of the 14s … cross your fingers and hope that the Iranian F-14s don’t have any Phoenixes. That could just ruin our day.”
“No kidding. Tracking now!” Skates hand started throwing switches and punching buttons as fast as she could to make the Tomcat do something no other fighter in the world could do. The Tomcat was the only plane that could track up to 24 targets simultaneously with its advanced weapons control system and attack seven at a time – six with Phoenix AIM-54 missiles and the other with one of its other weapons and still continuing to scan the airspace for more targets.
“Robin flight … this is Batman 3 … I’m showing Mig21s, Mig29s, and F14s with the
Mig21s coming first.”
“Roger.”
“Homeplate, ROEs please?”
“Do not fire unless fired upon. If Robin takes fire, you are free to engage.”
“Roger, hold fire unless Robin takes heat. Are we getting any more help up here?”
“Negative, Batman. All our cats are down right now … we only had 2 and we were lucky to get those bees up before they went out.”
“Roger.”
Sam listened on the radio as the last Viking landed and Watcher 21 called the ball.
“Skates, lets go into combat mode.”
“Got ya!” She tightened her straps, pulled her gloves on tighter, and snapped her oxygen mask in place. “Ready! Still tracking those birds … Robin should be making contact, now! Missile tact … they opened fire on them!”
“Robin flight, I’m showing you taking fire. Copy, Homeplate?”
“Copy and concur. Batman and Robin, you are free to engage.”
“Robin, copies.”
“Batman, copies. Robin, you get the Mig21s while we thin out the rest.”
“Roger.”
“Ok, Skates. Let’s hit them. Where are they at?”
“The 29s are 28 miles away with the 14s are 35 miles.”
“Great. Let’s lock and shoot.”
“One up … locked.”
“Fox 3!” Sam said on the radio.
Skates and Sam continued the sequence until all six AIM54 Phoenix missiles were launched towards the six birds they had targeted. When the last missile left its railing, he waited to a count of ten before booting his bird into zone 5. He had to engage the two remaining Tomcats before they could get in range on the two Hornets mixing it up with the 4 Mig-21 Fishbeds.
“How’re the Hornets doing?”
“Looks like a stand still. It appears that neither side can maneuver for a decent shot.”
“How’re our missiles doing?”
“First one is in range … splash 1 … 2nd one … splash 2 … 3rd one … splash 3 … 4th one … splash 4 … we still have 1 minute before the other 2
reach attack range. The ‘cats are only doing 300 knots and are lagging future behind the others.”
“Good. Let’s line up for a Sparrow shot at one of those Fishbeds since it appears those ‘cats are in no hurry and look like they are out for a Sunday drive.”
“Come right 40 … 7 miles.”
It only took a few minutes to close within visual range of the Mig21 … Sam got the solid shooting tone.
“Fox 2!” He shouted over the radio as he watched the Sparrow fly off its railing, headed for the side of the Mig21 in front of him. He saw the doomed bird explode.
“Splash 5.”
“Correction. Make that 7 … two Iranian Tomcats going down.”
“Roger.” Sam saw a Mig21’s tail about 10 degrees off his left side as it was trying to get behind one of the F/A18s. “Robin, you got one on your tail. Come off high left and I’ll get him off you. Now!”
Since neither F/A18 knew whom Sam was talking to, they both pulled up high and left. Sam got a good tone.
“I’ve got good tone … Fox 1!” He heard the sound from the missile as it left the rails that gave the heat-seeking missile its name – the sidewinder. He saw it fly straight and true, right up the Mig21’s six to blow it to pieces.
“Splash 8. Robin, your tail’s clear. Can you two finish mopping up the 2 remaining?”
“Roger. Thanks for the assist, Batman.”
“Banking right.” Sam put the Tomcat in a high-g turn as hard as he possibly could and headed towards those 2 Sunday drivers.
“Skates, where are they at?”
“Angels 30 … straight ahead 10 miles.”
“Let’s play chicken with them.”
“Sam, you’re starting to sound like Hammer now and fly like him with that last bank you made.” Skates felt the afterburner light and slightly pushing her deeper into her Martin Baker seat. “Closure rate at 2100 … range 8 miles … 5 … 2.”
“Got them … taking them down the right side.”
As soon as they saw Sam flying straight at them, they tried going ballistic on him, only for him to anticipate their moves. He was below and behind both of them. He turned and followed them up on their ballistic flight. He got a solid tone and launched another sidewinder at the flight leader. It flew right up his six and only took out the F14’s port engine. Since he was basically out of the fight, Sam turned his attention towards the undamaged Tomcat. He got another solid tone and launched another sidewinder, but got a different result as the wingman’s Tomcat exploded. Sam had to turn left to avoid the pieces of the blown Tomcat, which brought him right back on the leader’s tail. He was too close for missiles, so Sam switched to guns and hammered the Tomcat until it finally blew.
“Splash 10. Robin, how you doing?” He hadn’t heard anything on the radio from the two Hornets since he was concentrating too heavily on what Skates was telling him and what he was doing to pay attention to what they said due to it was a two verses one contest.
“We splashed one but they got Robin 1 … Robin 1 was able to eject and I see a good chute. The other one is bugging out on us.” He heard a female voice answer him.
“Roger. Stay onsite and keep an eye out on the chute.”
“Where’s the bug at, Skates?”
“Angels 29 … bearing 355 … eighteen miles … heading away from us at 400 knots.” She felt the afterburners light off again and knew Sam was going to go after the fleeing Mig.
“Roger.”
“Twelve miles … closure rate 1000 … 6 miles … 2 miles.”
“Looky, looky, look who we found … Hello, there. You tried to run but you couldn’t hide … well, get ready to meet Allah.” Sam said as he heard the solid tone on the speakers.
“Fox 1!” Sam shouted over the radio, again.
“Splash 12.”
Sam watched the missile do its job. Suddenly the skies and Skates’ radar were clear, save for the lone Hornet circling to protect the helicopter, which was there to pick up the shot down Robin leader.
“Skates, anything else on your scope and where’s Robin?”
“Negative, the scope is clear. Come right 60 … 22 miles.”
Sam turned to head to Robin 2’s position and followed them toward the crippled carrier.
“Homeplate, Batman 3. The skies are clear … any hope about getting some go-go juice up here for us fairly soon? We’re down to 2000 pounds.”
“Bravo Zulu, Batman. We got both our cats working and will re-sequence our launches … there’s 2 Tomcats coming up now. Your go-go juice was 4th in line.”
“Homeplate, go ahead and launch normally … it will take longer to re-sequence than if you didn’t. We will wait for them.”
“Copy. Batman.”
Ten minutes later, two Vikings rose up into the sky to give them the very much-needed fuel. After filling his tanks completely full, Tuna and their Viking rose to meet him.
“Homeplate, Batman 3 … we’re heading home … see you tomorrow.”
“Roger. Batman. Have a safe trip home.”
“Copy. Switching back to normal freq.”
“Tuna, you ready to head home? I’m kinda tuckered. If we get into another row, you can have the pleasure of having all the fun.”
“Copy! Very funny, Ghost. Batman flight … come to angels 30 … heading 160 … let’s go home. Batman 1 has the lead.”
It only took them slightly over 2 hours to reach home. Sam was requested to do a couple fly-bys when they arrived while Tuna and the Viking landed. On their 3rd flyby, they could see the flight deck was filed with celebrating sailors. They were watching the one plane airshow flying over their home. It was also on this trip when their trouble started … the number 1 engine gave in and shut down, making them
declare an emergency. Fortunately, they landed without any further mishap. Sam was startled when Flight Ops told him to shutdown his engine, leaving his bird sitting right in the middle of the landing area. He popped the canopy and slowly climbed out of the bird, and stood there waiting for Skates to join him on the deck before he turned to face the wildly celebrating crew behind him. When he did turn, he came straight face-to-face with Captain Ingles, and he saluted. Captain Ingles reached out to shake his and Skates’
hands. Then the Captain basically dragged the two warriors off the flight deck up to his dining cabin, where the ship’s cooks had fixed a Thanksgiving-type meal for them. They were allowed to eat while being debriefed. After a very long difficult debriefing, Skates and Sam were finally released from duty. Afterward, completely exhausted, neither remembered how they ended up in their quarters.
*********
Next Morning
Beth stirred and suddenly sat up in her rack. She realized that she had crawled into bed buck-naked. She thought back to the time where it was normal for her to wake up in that state, and remembered what caused her to change…
<Flashback>
It was day of her ‘crossing the line’ ceremony. That eventful morning, three other
females had dragged her out of her rank and then had forcibly dressed her. She was dressed in a tee shirt with her bra on the outside and pair of men’s size sweats, then they had located the tightest pair of shorts she owned, which were pulled over top of sweats. It took two of them pulling at the shorts to get her into them … she remembered how hard they’d struggled to get them on her and it literally took two of them lifting her off her feet in order to do so. The indignity of that morning, it was the first time that another female had ever touched her when she was unclothed, aside from physicians doing their duties. It caused her to have nightmares whenever she
tried going to sleep nude, and she would sudden jump whenever she heard an odd noise. Fortunately for the ramp strike, she was able to get the help she desperately needed to overcome those nightmares and jumpiness. And that help came from the most unlikely person…
“Skates, you’re well enough to be released from sickbay. I’m going to place you on limited duty for the next week while your injuries from the ramp strike heal. Try to get as much rest as you can.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Skates walked out of the sickbay and went to her cabin. For the next few days, she would be woken up by the same nightmare she had had since the ‘line’ morning. She knew she was tired but didn’t realize that her appearance showed it, nor did she realize that the same person had been hanging around, keeping a close eye on her. When she realized that he was hovering around her, it pissed her off, and she cornered him about it one afternoon. He asked her to follow him so they could talk in a more private than the ready room break area. They ended up on the Vulture’s Row, which, she found out later during one of their talks, was his favorite place to aboard a carrier.
“Why are you following me, Commander Rabb?”
“I’m keeping an eye on you cause I know what you’re going through … just in case you need somebody to talk about it with, Skates. And call me Harm, please.”
“That’s bullshit, Harm. You don’t have a clue as to what I’m going through.”
“I see the signs of a person losing sleep by having nightmares caused by being the one who lived from having a ramp strike … I’ve been through it and it took one person’s help to me to the point where the nightmares
weren’t an every night occurrence.” He went on and told her about his ramp strike. “I know it sounds silly and you have probably heard it before, but it truly really helps to talk to somebody about it. Besides, you owe me that much for saving your life.”
“Harm, I’m not having nightmares about the ramp strike.”
“Then what is causing them then, Skates?”
Beth went and told Harm everything that happen the morning of her ‘line’ ceremony and that she was the only ‘new’ female swayback to go through that additional, humiliating portion of the ceremony.
“This may be personal but what do you normally sleep in, Skates?”
“Nothing.”
“Humm … I see. I need to go and pick something up that may help you. Please, stay here until I get back.”
“Sure,” she replied. “It’s not like I can go to my cabin and get some much-needed rest, anyway. The nightmares would see to that.”
Harm left her there and went to his cabin. He pulled out one of his Academy tee shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts from his bag and returned to the platform.
“This is going to sound silly, Skates,” he handed her the clothing. “but put these on before you lay down to try going to sleep. I have another friend who was suffering from nightmares caused by something similar to what happened to you … she slept nude before her attack too. She could sleep well if I was lying beside her but she couldn’t whenever she tried sleeping alone. We couldn’t live together due to appearances. Anyway, she tried everything she could think of doing and couldn’t get them to ease up. Eventually, she was so worn out that she broke down and told me about it. I came up with the hair-brained idea of her sleeping in regular pajamas, but by them it was late and the stores were closed, so I gave her one of my tee shirts and a pair of shorts. Shoot, I can’t even count the number of shirts and shorts that have made their way into her dresser. Well, she didn’t have any that nightmares that night, and only has them occasionally now. So try this tonight and see if it helps you too, ok!”
“Sure, at this point and time I’ll try anything to get a good night’s rest. She’s military, too, isn’t she?” Skates had guessed. “Anyone I know?”
“Yes, she is, and her name is classified.” Harm chuckled at the look Skates had just given him.
<End Flashback>
Getting out of bed, Beth saw a note pinned to the corkboard:
Beth,
Leave your personal laundry bag by the desk. I’ll add them to mine when
I wash clothes this evening after I get off work this evening. It’s my turn
to do laundry.
The laundry services called while you were sleeping and your flight suits
are ready to be picked up.
Jamie
‘Great. I was down to my last clean flight suit anyway.’ She walked into the head and took an extra long shower. As she was getting dressed, she picked up the clothing she had taken off and left strung around the room. After removing her nametag from it, she added the smelly flight suit to the bag that she would drop off at the laundry services when she went to pick-up the clean ones. ‘Might as well kill two birds with one trip.’ She stuffed all her other dirty clothes into another bag and dropped it by the desk for Jamie. She grabbed the other bag and headed for the ship’s laundry service, where she dropped off the bag and picked up the 6 cleaned flight suits. She noticed that they all were brand new and there was an envelope attached, which had 3 new nametags. When she asked about the ‘new’ stuff – all she could get out of them was that they had been ordered to do it without charging her extra for the service. Before leaving the laundry service, Beth pulled out one of the new nametags and used it to replace the worn one she was wearing. She stopped by her cabin and put her suits into her closet. After having another meal at the mess hall alone, she ended up on the Vulture’s Row platform. She sat down on the deck, hung her legs over the side, and leaned onto the middle rail while she watched the flight operations on deck below her. She was so focused on watching what was going on below that she didn’t hear the upper hatch open above her, nor did she notice who exited from the bridge onto the platform. She heard someone clear his throat, looked up and saw the CAG standing there. She started to get up.
“As you were, Skates.”
The CAG stepped down from the upper portion of the catwalk to stand next to where Skates was sitting and lean on the upper railing, using the middle rail as a footrest.
“Did you pick up your laundry this morning? Notice anything different?”
“Yes, sir. They all were brand new flight suits and there were three new nametags. Do you know who ordered and paid for the service, Sir?”
“The Captain ordered them, and the ship paid for the service. Did you actually look at those nametags or did you just assume they were correct?”
“No. Sir. I didn’t look too hard at them. I glanced at them and saw my name, like always.”
“Why don’t you take a good, hard look at the one you’re wearing now and tell me if you see anything different about it?”
Skates pulled the nametag off. ‘There’s got to be something wrong with them, cause the CAG wouldn’t be asking me questions about them
otherwise. The wings are correct … name is spelled correctly and in the proper order … huh? LCDR!’
“Sir, it says Lieutenant Commander, and unless I got a promotion that I don’t know anything about … I’m just a Lieutenant and not eligible for promotion yet.”
“Well, Skates, what you just said is true on both counts – you’re too junior to be considered for the board, and you will receive a promotion that you didn’t know anything about. As of right now, you and Ghost are grounded until the CNO can get someone here to confirm the eleven kills you two got yesterday. If all eleven can be verified, the awards you two are likely to receive will start pouring in. If I were a gambling man, I’d say that in addition to the promotion, you’ll probably receive the Silver Star or possibly even the Navy Cross for your actions. The promotion will be a battlefield one, and the Captain is authorized to do it. Of course, the CNO will have to ok it, but I don’t see him turning that down since you two will be the first double aces since WWII. Also, I'm guessing they’ll sent a JAG team out here to do that investigation, so we will probably see Chegwidden’s
top team – that was Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie and Hammer before Harm returned to active flight status. But I’d expect Harm to be part of the team anyway, since it deals with aircrew.” They turned as Shadow was being launched off of cat 1 and another one catching the 2-wire on its trap. “You have been around Sam most of the time he has been
aboard. Is he related to the Colonel?”
“He doesn’t know if he is or isn’t, sir. His mother left him on the Bell’s front porch when he was only a week or so old and he’s never tried looking for his biological family. I’m kinda hoping that Colonel MacKenzie doesn’t come out here for that investigation. ‘Since Harm told me that the CAG trust my judgement, I think he should know that Sam has been getting the cold shoulder from the rest of the crew. Not that he could do anything about it but he should know just in case Sam blows his cool.’ Sam’s been having enough trouble from others due to his last name being the same as hers –
if they would see them side by side, they would give him more grief than they currently are since they look alike. In fact, he told me there are less than a handful of the crew that don’t treat him like a bastard son.”
The CAG nodded. “Now I understand why I never see him socializing with the
other members besides Tuna, Boomer, Archie, Griggs, and you. I remember seeing Harm having the same
problem – is that because of what happened to X-Man?”
“Yes, sir. Neither Griggs nor I liked the way they treated Harm
because of that. We both knew that he didn’t get X-Man grounded for personal reasons. If you noticed that, you should have seen that we didn’t socialize with others too much either until they changed their attitudes towards Harm.”
“Why did you take it so personally about Harm’s treatment? I can understand why Griggs did.”
“Sir, you ever hear about the ramp strike I was in? Well, Harm saved my life that day and has been a dedicated friend ever since. He treats me better than my own brother does.”
“Yes, I read about your ramp strike and must have missed the part where Harm saved your life. Anyway, could you inform Sam that you two are grounded until the investigation is complete?”
“Yes, sir. I needed to talk to him anyway and also need to go see Griggs to see how the repairs are coming along on our bird. Sam could probably guess we would be down until it’s fixed.”
“Very well, Lieutenant. Carry on, and switch your nametag until it’s official.”
“Aye. Aye. Sir!”
Skates got up and headed down to the hangar deck. It took her awhile to locate their bird. It was almost impossible to recognize with all the maintenance hatches open and both engines removed. She had expected to see one engine removed, but not the other. She continued her walk-around and stopped when she saw Griggs walk out of the tool crib.
“Griggs, what’s going on?”
“All I know is that they ordered a complete inspection on the bird and for me to replace anything that looked slightly worn with brand new parts. If Big ‘E’ or we don’t have parts to replace them, I’m been ordered to tell the CAG and Captain what is needed. There are two brand spanking new General Electric F110-GE-400 engines arriving by helo tomorrow evening. My friend, Donald, told me that they are holding her until they investigate the air battle that you were involved with. All in all, Ma’am, it will be awhile before I can get her ready to fly again. I hope you understand.”
“I understand about the plane. You can thank Hammer for my trust in your judgment when it comes to that plane. There isn’t any plane captain aboard the Henry that I would trust more than you.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. I’ll get back to work on her.”
“Griggs, while you’re working on her, cut me two new stencils – one with 2 rows of 5 stars and a third row with single star, and the second stencil with the word ‘Ace’ on it. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Ma’am. I understand about the first one but what’s the second one going to go?”
“I need to stop in the PR shop and have them get Ghost’s helmet. So they can repaint it with the same
yellow paint scheme as mine but with a new call sign on it. Ghost never fitted him anyway. Now, you know where ‘Ace’ will be placed on the bird?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Can do!”
“Carry on, Griggs. Keep up the great work!”
“Aye. Aye. Ma’am.”
Skates stopped by the PR shop. They said they could do that but they had been ordered to give the Lieutenant a ‘new’ helmet and it should ready by dinnertime. And they wondered if they should mail ‘Hammer’s’ new helmet to him or not. When she saw it, she asked it to be painted the same way and have it given to her. ‘I’m, like the CAG, expecting Hammer to be back aboard the Henry within the week and would rather hand it to him personally.’ She stopped at the CAG’s office since it was on the way to Sam’s cabin. She informed the CAG what she had requested at the PR shop and what she had asked Griggs to do … he approved the both actions and would present the ‘new’ call sign and helmet to Sam this evening at dinner. Skates finally got to Sam’s cabin and knocked.
“Enter.”
“Hope you are decent in there, Ghost.”
“Yes, I’m gathering my laundry to take to services. Have you had a chance to check out how bad our bird is?”
“Yes. The Captain has ordered Griggs to do a complete inspection and to replace anything worn. You knew that we would need to change one engine. Well, they pulled both of them and there are two brand new ones coming in from the states. They should be here tomorrow, but it won’t matter how quickly Griggs can get her back together.”
“What do you mean?”
“I ran into the CAG. We are temporarily grounded until a investigating team can come to confirm the kills we achieved yesterday. The CAG guesses that the JAG will send Hammer back out here as part of the team to look into it. So, basically we have a mini vacation even if we are stuck aboard ship. We have been ordered to show up for the squadron dinner meal this evening.”
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