Twilight and her newfound friends split ways to get prized possessions out of their respective dorms. Within ten minutes, they all met up outside of the largest hanger at the base. Hanger 12 was on the eastern boarder of the long thin base. It's doors opened directly onto the runway so that any aircraft it contained could take off without having to turn on the ground. This a necessary feature for the huge cargo plane currently nested within the hanger.
Twilight stood with her hand on the door knob. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. She opened the door and walked in. She found herself wide-eyed in the massive hanger. She saw Captain Jones talking to a buff mechanic under one of the car-sized engines and ushered the rest of her squad toward him.
"Captain." She called out when he was near enough to hear her. His response sounded was welcoming as he commonly was toward twilight. "Ahh, Sargent Spindle. You're here. Good. Ok. Quick run through of the scenario. We'll open the doors any minute now. We've already got the cargo loaded so you just have to take off, turn south toward Fort Pony, and shoot straight. You'll be flying at about 500 mph for around 5 hours. Most of the flying will be in the dark. Well all of it. So... Good luck, Dash." Dash looked at the Officer with a confused and slightly angered gaze. Captain Jones noticed it. "Look, Dash. There are over 150 pilots on this base, but I chose you for this mission. I'm trusting you."
"I don't know how to fly this aircraft."
Jones looked at his feet and sighed. Then, he looked back up at Dash. "You'll figure it out. I need you to. You're all I have. Now, the C-17 has four engines. Over 40,000 pounds of thrust for each one. The wing span is approximately 170 feet, and it's 174 feet long. Obviously you won't have as much control as you're used to, so don't try to put on an air show up there. When you're in the cockpit, you'll be sitting 50 feet of the ground. When those doors open you'll look right at the run way. Take her off at about have throttle. You'll be off the ground in about 7,000 feet. When you're in the air, fly at cruise speed and stay low to avoid radar. I think that's it. Now get up there and make me proud."
Dash saluted formally and ran to enter the plane. "Now as for the rest of you. You'll be hanging out in the cargo bay. Just do what feels natural. There're six walkie talkies inside that should be on the same station. That's just in case you need to split up for some reason. It's a big plane, so don't get lost. Choose any seat; there's 134 of them. If some of you want to sit in the cockpit there's 3 more seats. It should be a smooth ride, minus turbulence that you'll hardly feel in such a large aircraft, so feel free to move around. It'll be a long five hours, so try to enjoy yourself. That's it for you. Now, get I'm there. We'll be doing some last minute checks, then you're a go for take off."
With five "Yes sirs" from the girls the all walked importantly toward the stairs into the vehicle. They didn't look back before inter the plane. Twilight, who was first to enter, was in disbelief. The inside of the plane seemed bigger than the outside. It was like a long tunnel. With tanks. There were at least ten tanks inside the plane. M1 Abrams lined up in rows of two, facing forward, and looking angry as battle tanks always do. She couldn't believe this structure, 50 feet wide, 30 feet across, and over 170 feet long, would be soaring over at over 1000 feet in the air. Then she heard Dash's voice and was snapped out of her daze.
"This is Dash to Twilight. Come in Twilight." She followed the sound to a small box of walkie talkies sitting by the door. "This is Twilight responding. Go ahead."
"They're about to open the doors. I'll be starting her up momentarily. Then well do some flap checks be off. By the way you better buckle in for take off. But after that, you should be fine to roam the aircraft." Dash sounded sure and determined, sort of like herself.
"Roger that." Twilight responded tossing walkie talkies to the other girls in the storage department. "We're ready down here." With that she flipped a switch to close the hydraulic door and sat down. She still hadn't had time to let the situation sink in. And she felt like she never would.
Suddenly she heard a loud groaning. The huge doors off the hanger were separating. Light filled the cargo bay. It was the orange light of a setting sun. Then a huge engine roared to life. Then another. Then another. And one more. She breathed heavily as Dash's voice came to her again through the hand held radio. "Alright, we're clear for take off. Everyone's good down there."
Twilight responded with a slightly shaking voice. "We're ready when you are." She wasn't quite sure she was telling the truth, but she knew there was no turning back as the plane began to slowly move forward. Within second they were out of the hanger. The aircraft vibrated violently as it rolled down the long runway. Then, it reared back a bit and achieved lift-off as Dash happily confirmed. 'Lift-off,' Twilight thought 'we have lift-off. There's truly no going back now.' She closed her eyes and leaned her head back just now realizing how tired she had been all day. With 5 hours to kill she decided she could sleep. So she did. She slept.