The first time Nikolai was in a plane, Irina was flying. Irina had to go on a mission spur of the moment, and she could find nobody to babysit her five year old son, so he came along. He enjoyed sitting next to his mother in the front looking at all the colorful buttons, though Irina warned him not to touch them. Nikolai was slightly scared during takeoff. He had never experienced that sudden drop of pressure and strange feeling in his ears. The brave little boy just gripped the seat hard and looked out the big window, trying to enjoy the scenery. As soon as Irina reached a good height, she took one hand away from the controls and used it to pat Nikolai's head.
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"Fine." Nikolai replied shakily, but tried to steady himself. His mother was brave, and he could be brave too. Not too long after, Nikolai became used to the new environment. His discomfort faded to pleasure, which after a while of looking at the same clouds, faded to boredom. The boredom didn't last long and promptly faded to sleep. Irina chuckled. Only he could fall asleep as they were flying over enemy territory. She wished she hadn't been forced to accept this mission, as it was fairly dangerous, and she didn't like subjecting her son to such danger. However, one thing led to another, and Irina found herself in a stealth bomber, five year old son beside her.
As she approached the target, she readied the missiles. Nikolai was still sound asleep. Irina gave the radar a quick glance. She would have to execute this quickly. She launched the missiles without a second thought. Irina could see smoke beneath her, and was satisfied. Another mission accomplished. Who said she was losing her touch? Suddenly, a green dot appeared on the radar. She was being shot at! She rose higher into the air, but the other plane still followed. She shot back, but to no avail. The other side had much more advanced technology than she did. Irina swore quietly, so as not to wake her son, who miraculously had slept through the whole thing. Then, a panel of buttons lost their light. She had been hit! Irina, who had already taken the precaution of dressing Nikolai and herself for ejection grabbed her son, and jumped out the door of the plane. Nikolai's eyes blinked open.
"Mama?" He asked tentatively. Then he looked down. "Mama!" he screamed as the pair flew downwards from 50,000 feet. Irina sighed. She had never wanted to bring him along. By this time, Nikolai was crying out of fear and holding as tight as he could to his mother.
"I'm sorry Nikolai!" Irina shouted over the rush of air. Before Nikolai could look up, Irina bent her finger back, and jabbed her son's arm with the needle that spouted up from under her fingernail. He was out. After a few more minutes of freefalling, Irina pulled the parachute. The two safely touched down on a grassy hillside, and Irina sprinted over to the nearest shelter, so as not to be seen.
By the time Nikolai woke up, his mother was carrying him through the familiar door to his house.
"Shhh. Go back to sleep Nikolai. We had a busy day." Irina whispered to him. Nikolai happily obliged, and Irina lay him down in his bed, removed his shoes, and changed him into pajamas. As she was tucking him in, he groggily opened his eyes once more.
"Mama?" he asked slowly, "Am I alive?"
"Yes," Irina laughed. "You are most definitely alive."