Bab 12

The exercise has been going on for some time now. Dalian's busy confirming hits and organizing the replacement of destroyed targets. To accomplish this, she's making full use of not just my helicopters but her own as well. Our audience has also grown by quite a bit as the girls from the base have joined me on my ship. Some pull their ships alongside ours to make more room for everyone to watch. Still, the one person I'm looking for hasn't arrived yet. 

[Mercury Squadron on final approach for refuelling.]

Me: Hey girls! Clear the deck! 

At first, they don't immediately understand what I'm referring to with some thinking I meant to get off the ship completely but it's not long before the thundering of approaching engines summons their attention where they see jets coming in.

Cleveland: Clear the way! Clear-

BOOM

The explosive sound of the afterburner kicking in causes some of the girls to jump overboard in fright as the Su-57 aborts and goes around for another go. Laughing, I walk over to show those that remain where to stand before directing the rest of the aircraft to land. 

Cleveland: These are some pretty cool planes.

Me: Why thank you. Want to go in one?

Cleveland: Can I?

Me: Haha. No.

Cleveland pouts but quickly returns to admiring the planes as they head down to refuel. Everythings going smoothly so far. Still, my body aches occasionally thus telling me something's still wrong but I can't figure out what it is. 

Enterprise: What about me? Can I try?

I turn to find Enterprise stepping onboard behind me from one of the nearby ships. She looks as good as I'm feeling. Smiling, I return to observing the deck as two of the planes from the Mercury squadron return to the flight deck fully armed and ready. As they lock into place to be launched, a thought occurs to me and I stop them from taking off. I inform my ship to prepare a J-16 for me before turning to face Enterprise fully.

Me: Come with me. 

Grabbing Enterprise's hand, I bring her below deck and have her change into one of the flight suits. She comments that she's a tough girl and doesn't need it but I simply ignore her and put on my own suit before stripping her myself and forcing her to put it on. She's caught off guard by this but quickly recovers and begins to tease me while I dress her. 

Enterprise: You know, if you wanted to see-

Me: In your dreams. Now come before I change my mind...and you'll need this.

Enterprise: A helmet? You know-

Me: You'll need it and no it has nothing to do with how tough you are. 

She stops complaining and follows me back up the stairs but once we're back on deck, she resumes her teasing. Cleveland sees us and comes over spouting all sorts of facts about how it's unfair that Enterprise is getting to go in one but I simply laugh and promise her she can go after she gets used to flying. By the time we finish talking to Cleveland, the J-16 I had requested locks into place on the 3rd catapult (EMALS). 

Me: [Dalian. I'm taking a short break. You can take over command for me until I return.]

Dalian: [Really? You aren't just messing with me again, are you?]

Me: [Haha. I'm being serious. The ship's yours till I return. The helicopters should be able to continue without your direct commands for a time. I-]

Dalian: [I'm on my way. Take as much time as you need.]

Me: [Thanks. Don't do anything crazy now.]

Dalian: [I won't!]

Turning back to Cleveland, I tell her she's in charge of keeping everyone clear of the flight deck until Dalian returns. She nods and asks if they can use the bridge and after some thought, I agree on the condition that they don't touch anything. She smiles and runs off to tell everyone still on my carrier. Enterprise and I, on the other hand, continue over to the J-16 where I help her into the rear seat before climbing into the front. As the canopy comes down, I put on my helmet. Behind me, I hear Enterprise struggling a bit with hers but when I ask if she needs help she says she's got it. I laugh but a few seconds later, the click tells me she has gotten it right. 

Me: [Mercury Squadron. I'm taking two of your fighters with me. The rest of you are to maintain previous assignments.]

Su-57#1: [Confirmed.]

Me: Ready?

Enterprise: Definitely. I've flown with my planes before so I'm guessing it'll be similar to that right?

As she continues telling me what it's like flying with her planes, I start up the engines and complete all preparations for take-off. The two Su-57s that will be coming with me also do the same. 

Me: [Haha. Well...I've never flown with your planes before but I highly doubt it.] 

Enterprise: [Oh?]

[Dragon One, Two and Three. Take-off Preparations Complete. Launch Sequence Initiated.]

Enterprise: [Wha-]

BOOM

Enterprise screams as we're launched from the carrier at high speeds. She quickly recovers but it doesn't last long as we quickly begin our vertical climb. To our right, our escorts mimick our movements and before long we're well over 20,000 ft. I level the aircraft, barely managing to hold my own as the cockpit's filed with my laughter. She's still gripping my seat tightly but when I place a hand on hers, she releases some of the tension and slowly relaxes. 

Me: [So, how was your first take-off?]

Enterprise: [It's nothing like mine-]

Me: [Haha. We're not done yet though.] 

Enterprise: [We aren't?]

Me: [Nope. I have something I want to show you but don't worry. I won't climb like that again for some time so simply relax and enjoy the view.]

Enterprise: [Now that you mention it, I've never been this high before. It's beautiful.]

Me: [True. Wonder how it'll look from higher up?]

Enterprise: [I'm curious too but I don't think I can handle another one of your "climbs".] 

Me: [I thought you said you were a tough girl...]

When she doesn't respond, I laugh once more and indicate to our escorts that we'll be climbing again. This time though, I ease into it so that it's barely noticeable. Maintaining the 45-degree angle, we climb to 35,000 feet with relative ease. Enterprise continues watching the clouds go by, occasionally pointing out ones that look strange while enjoying how the sunlight reflects off their white surface.

Me: [We're gonna start climbing again soon.]

Enterprise: [Ok. Thanks for the warning. I think I am ready now.]

Engaging the afterburner once more, I go for another steep climb. The air's much thinner up here so the trip is much smoother and as such less frightening but that does almost nothing on the G-forces she's experiencing. Still, I try to minimize it as much as possible and before long, we're levelling out once more at 65,000 feet. The view is breathtaking.

Enterprise: [Where are we now?]

Me: [We're over the northernmost part of your country, Eagle Union. I'm not sure what it's called in this world but in mine, it's called Alaska.] 

Enterprise: [Alaska? But that's thousands of miles away!]

Me: [Well, we have been airborne for quite some time now and cruising at speeds nearing 2600 km/h.] 

Enterprise: [That's how fast we're...]

Me: [Haha. I suppose it'd be a shock since you haven't really seen my planes travelling at such speeds before.] 

Enterprise: [Will we have enough fuel to return?]

Me: [We do. That's what the fuel tanks attached were for. As an added precaution. Still, I'm surprised we reached Alaska so quickly. Want to get a better view?]

Enterprise: [Sure...No! No! No!]

Me: [Haha. Brace yourself!]

To say she screamed as the plane rocketed towards the ground would be an understatement. At first, we were weightless but that scientific lie soon corrected itself and got our blood flowing. We were already travelling quickly but it didn't seem like it. Now, on the other hand, as we pass 3000 km/h, there's no denying that we are going fast. They always say the return trip is faster after all. The system warns me when I breach 20,000 feet that if I continue at this speed for much longer we will hit the ground. Laughing, I begin slowing down the aircraft until it's safe to level out, barely managing to do so as we dip beneath the clouds. 

Me: [Perfect. How are you doing back there?]

She's quiet but I can hear her breathing. Under normal circumstances, I'd never risk something like this but she's not a normal girl. As she said, she's pretty tough so I know she's physically fine as a KANSEN but...that says nothing about the mind. She could very well be traumatized. 

Me: [Hey-]

Enterprise: [That...Was...Awesome!]

I don't know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn't that. We continue flying around as she continues talking about how thrilling it was and how she wants to do it again. Eventually, we come across what looks like an airforce base. It's complete with runways and many aircraft, akin to those Enterprise uses. True enough, shortly after spotting it, they contact us. 

????: [Unidentified Aircrafts, this is Elmendorf Air Force Base. You are in-]

Me: [Yes. Clear the runway so we can land, will you?]

Enterprise: [What?]

Me: [Well, you don't think I'm going to see snow and just leave it be now do you.]

When she doesn't complain, I take it as her consent and inform the base's operator, who was still stunned by my proclamation that we're allies. They don't believe me at first but Enterprise quickly intervenes and once they hear her voice, they give us the go-ahead to land.

Enterprise: [You know, you're very different from everyone else I know.] 

Me: [One of my better qualities.]

She laughs as we touch down smoothly. As our aircraft comes to a halt, I notice that quite a few persons are gathering nearby. As I power down the aircraft, I can hear Enterprise unclip her helmet. For someone who didn't want to land, she seems pretty eager to touch solid ground again. 

Me: Careful when exiting. It might take a while for your body to get used to being on land again. Especially given the snowy conditions here. The suit will handle the cold but...

Enterprise: This is the easy part. Besides, now that we're here I can show you around.

Me: Show me around? I thought you didn't know where we are? 

Enterprise: At first, but I remember this base. I've been here on multiple occasions. 

I suppose that's possible. It'd make sense for her to be familiar with bases for the Pacific Theatre after all and this one is practically sitting on the shore. It could have very well also been used as a Naval Base at some point. As I continue to think about this, the canopy opens and Enterprise gets up to climb out.

Me: Remember...

Enterprise: I'll be careful, promise. 

She says this as she climbs down the ladder. True to her word, she carefully dismounts. I follow close behind but by the time I'm on the ground, she's greeting those that had come out to see us. 

Enterprise: Jackson, this is Zhejiang. 

Me: Nice to meet you.

Jackson: Likewise, milady.

Enterprise: (Whispers) She's Royalty so be on your best behaviour.

Everyone audibly gasps and begin to whisper. Shaking my head, I begin to make my way to them but stop short as the two Su-57s I had escorting us begin their final approach. After watching them land together, another idea comes to mind. 

Me: Enterprise, darling. Would you like me to teach you how to fly one now?

The base goes quiet. Nothing can be heard except the engines of the jets that have landed. Everyone's either staring at me or Enterprise. She seems shocked but seemingly catches on as she mouths; "I know what you are doing."

Enterprise: Sure dear but first, I have something to show you. 

Jackson: I didn't know you were a couple. I never thought I'd see the day when this girl stuck with anything besides her ship and her eagle. 

Me: Jackson, watch my planes for me will you. You can all look but don't touch. They'll bite back if you do. 

The others laugh at my comment but Jackson nods. To everyone's surprise, however, Enterprise grabs my hand and pulls me off in the general direction of the Entrance to the base. I jokingly comment about us going on a date and everyone laughs again but my comment seemingly causes her to recognise something and she lets go of my hand, running back to Jackson. I watch as they have a short conversation and he passes her something before she comes running over. 

Enterprise: Alright. We're ready. 

Me: Ready for what?

Enterprise: Your surprise.