A/N: Hey dears, another amazing update. Enjoy.
Chapter 14: No need for flight plans
Jack walks up at the over excited woman who is currently gazing hypnotized at a drawer full of crystals that she somehow figured out how to open.
"Hey, no touching that." He touches the drawer and it slides closed, and Hope jumps excitedly like a child in a candy shop.
"It runs on crystal technology, that's so awesome!" She looks around excitedly, and fires away questions at Jack, "Is its fuel carbon-based or ethanol-based? How do you harvest energy? Oh, my gosh, are those writings alien? Are we going to meet any aliens? Are they good looking? Can they teach me how to build one of these? May I tear one of these apart so I can see how it works? Please please, pleaaaaaaseee?" she puts her hands on Jack's shoulders, shaking him lightly as her eyes flitter from one side to the other, as her mind can't decide what is more interesting to catch her attention for more than few seconds.
"Hey, hey HEY!" Jack holds her shoulders firmly, forcing her to stare back at him, "Breathe ok? I don't know the answer for any of your questions. You want info on this babe, ask Carter, not me. I just fly the thing; I don't know how it works. No, you're not going to meet any of the bastards who've built this, and be glad for it. They are nasty little buggers. And no, you can't tear it apart. We need it to fly to Nevada. Now sit over there and keep your hands where I can see them."
Hope pouts, her face a pitiful image of a chastened little girl, but Jack hardens his heart and points to a seat on the corner, away from all the nice blinking lights on the control panel. She drags her feet and sits on the chair, her arms folded over her chest.
The other agents slowly enter the flight deck; McGee's and Joy's attention immediately is attracted to the control panel, while the other agents stare all around them with awe. Gibbs walks up to the General, who indicates with a move of head that the agent should follow him. Gibbs follows the General to what he can guess is a cargo area, where several seats have been adapted to the sides, their design obviously not matching to the smooth elegant lines of the rest of the ship.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, General O'Neill."
"Oh yeah. But I'm not a good story teller. Daniel is. Grab a seat, put your things over there," O'Neill points to some chests on the back, "and stay away from these rings on the floor." O'Neill points to some intricate ring design on the floor, "I don't want to beam you guys in the outer space by accident. Bathroom is over there, put on your seatbelts, we're leaving in a minute."
Having said that, O'Neill turns around, going to the direction of the cabin, nodding to Tony and Ziva who walk out of his way, letting him pass. However, he freezes when he hears the soft words Jimmy can't keep inside, expressing the thoughts of everyone in the ship.
"We're not alone."
Jack turns to the young man, who lifts a hand and pushes his glasses back, in a clear show of restlessness. Jimmy flinches under Jack's serious gaze; a man who has carried a burden so amazingly heavy, a secret so big that Jimmy was trying very hard not to freak out with everything he has seen so far.
"No, kid. That's the point. We've never been."
Jack glances at Faith, pointing with his head the seat beside Hope, and the oldest sister sits beside the pouting blonde and hugs her, in a show of support. After the apparent adrenalin rush is over, Hope starts shaking, her enthusiasm fading rapidly into shock, her expression becoming overwhelmed with the information her brain is valiantly trying to process. Faith feels the shakes coming, and brings Hope's head to her shoulder, holding her tightly as Hope's adrenalin finally runs low and her mind finally settles down with reality, striking the blonde woman mute.
Ducky sits close by, observing the two siblings, and Jimmy sits beside his mentor, the medical bag in easy reach in case they need something. Tony, Ziva and Gibbs drop their things on the indicated storage chests, and take the seats close to the door leading to the cargo bay.
Jack walks up to Joy and McGee, who have their backs turned to the others, both of them staring at the control panels of the cockpit. McGee had one arm around Joy's shoulder, half hugging her against his chest, while Joy had one arm around his waist, her fingers holding firmly the material of his jacket, in a desperate attempt of not letting go.
If she let go, she would probably fall to the floor in dead faint, hoping against hope that, once she wakes up, her whole world hadn't changed.
Jack sits on the pilot seat, and glances up at the two agents staring silently at the strange writings on the walls.
"Hey, you two ok?"
McGee looks down at Joy, who still has a shocked expression on her face, and he can feel the faint tremors running through her body under his fingers. He hugs her tighter in his arms, and looks at the General, and answers in a soft voice.
"No."
Jack nods, "Yeah, I know the feeling. But still, I had years to get used to this insanity. You can't expect to absorb all this in just a few minutes." He looks back at the control panel, and starts doing the pre-flight checking. "Hey, Peanut, wanna be my copilot?"
That brings Joy out of the stupor she felt herself drowning, her blood pumping too loudly in her ears, "What?"
Jack glances up at her, then at the empty copilot seat beside him. "Wanna give it a try?"
She gulps, and shakes her head, "I can't. I mean… I … no…"
"Come on," he presses something on the control panel, and the two agents flinch as the door starts closing behind them, "you're the only one here besides me that logged flying hours. And this baby here is not much different than that prototype you flew with me in your fifteenth birthday."
She looks at Jack, biting her lower lip, then up at McGee, who shrugs and lets go of her shoulder, not before squeezing it lightly. He goes to sit by Gibbs, his eyes never leaving Joy, who slowly sits down on the copilot seat.
"Good girl. Now…" he clicks something on the panel, and some maps appear on the glass-like windshield, showing distances and some numbers, and more strange letters on it - like on those intelligent murder boards - running very fast in vertical columns, "Control, this is Sierra-Gulf-one-Bravo-India, requesting permission to leave the hangar. Have you cleared out my flight path?"
"Hello, Sierra-Gulf-one-Bravo-India, yes, all air traffic has been redirected. Your flight path is clear for two square miles. Have a safe journey, General," a young voice says in the radio, and Jack smiles.
"Do you need to file a flight plan for this thing?" Joy asks, her hands resting over her lap, afraid of touching anything and blowing up the aircraft by accident. "It's a five hour plus flight to Nevada in a commercial airplane."
Jack shakes his head smiling, "Flight plan? No, no need. I just don't want to bump into anything as I get out into the atmosphere, as they can't see me either by visual or instrumental eyes. And this babe doesn't fly commercial." He grins at her, grasping the controls and Joy immediately grabs the arms of the chair as she sees that the aircraft is now on the air, silently flying toward the open hangar doors. "Our ETA is in forty minutes, give or take. We'll go through the outer atmosphere."
He smiles at the shocked expression gracing Joy's face, and then looks back at the curious faces of Joy's team. "Welcome to O'Neill Express, one of the fastest ways of crossing the distance between to points. Please fasten your seatbelts, don't forget to raise your hands before going to the loo and please, if you get sick, don't puke on Uncle Jack's nice floor. Puke bags are available … somewhere under your seats." As he is speaking, the agents see the ship silently sliding out of the hangar and floating in the air over the base, slowly gaining altitude. They see Fort MacNair across the river, East Potomac Park to its left and the Navy Yard with the NCIS building to its right. Further in the back, as they also can see the green area of the National Mall, the lights of the Capitol and other important buildings of DC shining on the early evening hours. The ship then changes flight angles, its cockpit pointing up and it seems to increase speed, flying straight up towards the dark clouds hovering over the city, not once hinting its speed or gravity changes to its occupants.
It smoothly crosses the clouds as if they are made of cotton, and soon the aircraft is flying over them, towards the amazing dark blue carpet dotted with sparkling stars.
TBC