006
Present Day
No one had been able to successfully fly the course - yet.
"Yeah, someone's not coming back from this. Coming home..." Mav confided in Shannon. "I hate to say it, but..."
"Well, you could say that about any mission, right. And we know it going in. Still doesn't make it any easier, though."
"No, it doesn't."
Twenty-three years ago...
"Vroooom! Vroooom! Talk to me! We've got a bogey on our tail - BOOM! Uh oh, we're hit! We're going down! Eject! Eject!"
Seven-year-old Shannon, arms stretched out at her sides like the wings of an aircraft, went crashing down into a pile of couch cushions, using a blanket as a parachute.
"That's some pretty advanced flying you've got going on there," her father remarked with a smile.
She popped up from behind the couch, all smiles. "Yes, I'm Captain Shannon Kazansky, U.S. Navy."
"Well, a pleasure to meet you Captain, Admiral Tom Kazansky." He reached out to shake his daughter's hand and she laughed.
"Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bomTutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop ba ba!"
"So what's your call sign then, Captain?" Tom asked, still playing along. "Who do I tell the Commanders has flown such a successful mission?"
"Got a gal, named Sue, she knows just what to do
I got a gal, named Sue, she knows just what to do
She rock to the East, she rock to the West
But she's the gal that I love best!"
Young Shannon thought hard. Even back then she knew a call sign was very important to any pilot. Then her thoughts turned to the song on the radio in the background. Not an Elvis original, but Elvis's version was currently playing, filling the room. "Elvis!"
"Elvis?" Her dad repeated. "So that's Captain Shannon 'Elvis' Kazansky?"
"Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom!"
"That's right, Sir!" She saluted. He saluted back before scooping her up into his arms and making her laugh.
Several years later, when she was a junior officer with the navy, and it came time to be given her call sign officially, there was no question about it, no other option in her eyes.
And so Shannon 'Elvis' Kazansky was born.
Present Day...
"That was close."
"Yeah, too close. Way too close."
Coyote's near miss was a source of stress amongst the whole team. Shannon had been listening to it over the radio in the lounge, hadn't even been in and amongst the near-miss, and she could feel the tension hovering.
The relief, however, was unfortunately short-lived.
"Bird strike! Bird strike!"
Phoenix's voice came over the radio, closely followed by Bob's:
"We've got left engine failure!"
Tension gripped Shannon like the tight grip of a hand squeezing harder and harder around her.
"Phoenix! Bob! Punch out! Punch out!" came Mav's orders.
"Oh my God-"
By the sounds of it, and it was difficult to decipher, thankfully both Phoenix and Bob managed to bail out before the jet struck the cliffside, bursting into flames. Thank God.
Despite how guilty Shannon felt, thoughts of Phoenix and Bob quickly faded away in her own mind and were replaced by memories of that day two years ago - the day Lieutenant Shannon Kazansky was very nearly killed on duty.
Two years earlier...
United States of America NAVY AIR SHOW
"And now please give a warm welcome to the Navy's own Lieutenant Shannon 'Elvis' Kazansky!"
The crowd went wild. Her mother and father were in the audience, with Uncle Pete on the sidelines after having his own chance to shine up in the air, and Bradley watching too - unfortunately he hadn't been chosen to fly for the show this time, something she was really bummed out about.
Everyone she loved was watching.
She had signed autographs and taken photos with many young children, aspiring aviators themselves. She had been totally consumed by the excitement of the day.
"Bird strike! Bird strike!"It happened so quickly, so instantly - as these things often did. There was hardly any time to react, only limited time now to get herself out of it.
"Climbing!"
"Elvis, this is Command - bail out! Bail out!"
"The engines haven't failed me yet - I think I can land it-"
"Elvis that is an order!"
She was plunging downward now, nearing the ground terrain. "Come on, baby," she muttered. "Just a little further..."
With a last surge of the engine, she struck the ground, hard, skidding across the rocky terrain, thrashing around in the cockpit until everything came to an abrupt stop.
"Elvis? Come in Elvis! Elvis?"
The fuzziness of the comms was the only thing telling her she had momentarily fallen unconscious. Her head was fuzzy too after all that thrashing caused her brain to rattle about inside her skull, and her head to rattle about in her helmet.
"Elvis? This is Command - come in!"
"Y-yeah, I'm here, I'm okay. Just pretty shaken and banged up."
"Evac and medical are on their way to you. Stay where you are."
"Copy that."
She managed to unbuckle herself and exit the aircraft, which hadn't been as preserved by her efforts as she had hoped. But she was alive, and mostly unhurt, and that was what mattered.
She stepped aside, standing close but assessing the damage from a small distance - which turned out to be a good thing, because she didn't notice the fuel leak until it was too late-
The entire aircraft exploded, taking her with it.
Thank you so much to the reader who suggested I do a flashback where Shannon get's her call sign :) I loved the idea and hope you liked how I incorporated it!
So I imagine Shannon's crash to be like the on in Captain Marvel where Carol gets her powers (of course in this case Shannon isn't given any superpowers!)
And I had to reference Val's singing in Top Secret! ;) He's got such a beautiful voice and it's so sad about his throat cancer :(
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)