Echo and Bravo

Echo streaked across the sky at top speed, his comrade, Bravo, right behind him. They were doing aerial surveillance around their aircraft carrier, not only because it needed to be done but also because they wanted to stretch their wings. Neither of the planes thought they would see anyone at this time of day over the Pacific but there had been a rumor that a plane had been near them. The plane had been picked up on radar. Dwight, their carrier, had tried to make radio contact with the unknown flyer but had failed. The clouds above them were beginning to darken when they spotted a single orange and white plane. Bravo was immediately alert and quite surprised; this plane was not a fighter but appeared to be a simple agricultural working plane. "I'll make first contact, train your guns and lock target. Don't fire until I signal," these words were not spoken but rather signaled through a series of complicated wing, tail, and nose movements. Echo nodded while Bravo banked and pulled up next to the plane, "Unknown rider. Unknown rider, you are flying in restricted airspace. Why haven't you responded to radio contact?"

The plane seemed panicky, "Someone cut off my antenna."

Bravo signaled Echo to move in, but not too close, "Identify yourself."

"I'm Dusty Crophopper," the plane said.

"Roger that," Bravo replied then radioed Dwight, "Bogey has been identified as Crophopper Seven."

Dusty's wings trembled and he shouted in desperation, "I'm runnin' on vapors! I need to land!"

Echo had been close enough to hear their conversation and pulled up along Dusty's other side. "What are you doing out here with an empty tank?" he asked. He knew that Dusty was a crop duster who was racing in The Wings Around the Globe Rally.

"I thought I'd refuel in Hawaii but…"

Bravo raised an eyebrow and cut him off, "What? Hawaii is three hundred seventy five miles from here!"

"Listen, Crophopper, you better follow us to the boat. There are no bingo fields around here," Echo said.

"Bingo fields?" Dusty asked genuinely perplexed.

Echo corrected his sentence, "Places to land."

Echo and Bravo steered Dusty toward the boat. "Crophopper needs to land, prepare for emergency landing," Echo radioed Dwight.

"Great, that's all I need, a civilian exploding on the deck," the captain of the control pitty groaned.

The main control pitty rolled up to him, "We could rig the barricade."

"All engines ahead flank," the captain replied.

As the crew rigged the barricade Echo and Bravo lined Dusty up with the barricade on the ship. "All you gotta do is throttle on back," Bravo instructed.

"I'm not sure I can do this," Dusty replied nervously.

Echo quickly said, "I don't see how you have a choice."

Dusty was panicky, "Runways are not supposed to move!"

"We'll set you up on the glide path."

"But that runway's moving!" It was obvious that Dusty was in full panic. Echo and Bravo tried to talk him through it. "Take it easy… slow down… throttle on back," they said in unison. Dusty just kept repeating, "Moving runway, moving runway, moving runway!" His wings shook but the landing went smooth. The barricade prevented him from overshooting the runway. Echo and Bravo were used to almost landing VOTL right behind Dusty.

The crowd cheered and someone yelled, "We gotcha Crophopper!"

Echo tapped Dusty's wing, "Come on, let's get you fixed up, refueled, and back in the race. You are way behind."

All three planes rolled onto an elevator as it started to rain, Dusty looked like he had had enough, "You guys saved my tail out there today, thanks." The elevator stopped and they all saw a wall full of photos of planes. Dusty rolled forward. "What is that?" he asked.

Echo and Bravo seemed slightly excited. "The Jolly Wrenches Wall of Fame!"

Echo nodded, "Every flier, every mission!"

Echo and Bravo watched in confusion as the crop duster scanned the photos, "There he is," he said to himself, "But I don't understand. Why is there only one mission?"

Echo and Bravo escorted Dusty to a room where he would get fixed and left him there. As soon as they got out of Dusty's earshot Echo whispered, "Of all planes Dusty Crophopper shows up and we get to meet him!"

Bravo nodded, "That guy's got a lot of guts, more than I'll ever have."

"I know," Echo agreed, "He's a crop duster flying at very high speeds over rough terrain. It's more dangerous than what we do."

When Echo and Bravo came up from below it was raining hard but they didn't mind. They simply ignored the feeling of the drops pinging against their fuselages. Bravo had a worried expression on his face, "Crophopper is going to have trouble in this storm. They say he's afraid of heights, what if he won't be able to fly above the storm?"

Echo parked himself next to Bravo, "I don't know if he'd be afraid through so much cloud cover. He'd never be able to see the ground."

Comet, another fighter joined in the conversation, "Even if he is afraid of heights he can dodge the waves. He specializes in agility."

"It's still dangerous," it was Streak, "The storm doesn't only produce waves…"

"Storms like this could produce gale force winds and lightning. He could have his wings ripped off or be killed by lightning," Bravo finished.

Storm, another fighter showed up. He was nicknamed after his ability to fly through storms like these, "He'll be fine as long as he keeps high enough to dodge the waves and low enough to keep in between the strong wind and lightning you can do nothing about. I'll bet you that he'll make it without much of a problem."

"Deal," Echo said, "How about if I win fuel is on me for a week but if you win it's the opposite."

"You got it!"

"Wait," Comet said, "You're betting that Dusty won't get injured or killed during his flight?" Storm and Echo nodded. "Then if Echo wins and Storm loses then Dusty gets injured, somehow betting on weather a plane crashes or not just doesn't seem right to me." Just then Dusty rose out of the elevator looking quite shocked and shaken. Directions were given to Dusty on how the catapult worked, "The cat'll take ya from zero to one hundred sixty knots in two seconds."

"We're gonna check your weight and set the pressure."

"Remember, climb straight ahead once ya get airborne. Get above that storm." Bravo was relieved to hear someone tell Dusty that, an oncoming cyclone was approaching and a small country plane may not have known much about what a storm could do to you.

Echo carried on with the instructions, "Okay. Engine full throttle, nod to the shooter when you're set."

Still worried about Dusty's safety Bravo shouted, "Go win it for the Wrenches, Dusty! Volo Pro Veritas!"

"Headwinds good, pressure is good. Go on cat two!" The shooter saluted Dusty and with a WHOOSH, Dusty was off.

Echo, Bravo, Comet, Storm, and Streak all watched as Dusty disappeared. "Good luck, fly safe," Bravo whispered.