Title: Wolf Hunt (continued)
Author: Lady Chal
Rating: PG-13 (mild language)
Classification: Angst/Adventure, Caitlin/String
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, wish they did!
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Chapter Twelve: Flying Lessons
As crash courses went, it was probably the most intensive flight instruction Jo had ever experienced. Caitlin spent several hours with her, going through all the gauges and panels, explaining the systems and operating instructions as well as the capabilities of the aircraft.
"Mach one?" Jo exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disbelief. "No chopper can go that fast!"
Caitlin merely looked at her, and then engaged the jet thrusters. The force slammed both of them back into their seats as they raced above the desert floor at heart-stopping speed.
"My God!" Jo gasped, "What else can she do?"
Caitlin's blue eyes twinkled, and she indicated for Jo to move back to the tactical weapons control station. "Don't touch anything unless I tell you to." O'Shaughnessy instructed sternly. "The first time String took me up; I accidentally hit the wrong button and darned near blew us up. This thing is a killing machine, not a toy."
Jo nodded and then listened patiently as Caitlin explained all the weapons controls and their release codes.
"If you get mixed up, there's a bunch of sticky notes stuck on the bottom of the console," Caitlin said. "I found them by accident a while back. I think they were Dom's cheat sheets."
Lifting up the keyboard, Jo found one of the small yellow slips of paper and pulled it out. Her throat swelled as she saw the list of command codes written in her uncle's cramped, cryptic hand. For a moment, she could almost picture him here; his heavy black brows furrowed in concentration as he struggled with what must have seemed to him a disconcerting array of "new-fangled technology."
They spent the entire day in the air, each alternating between the pilot's seat and the weapon's control as Caitlin patiently tried to pack two year's worth of knowledge into Jo's head in only a matter of hours. Finally, just as the sun was starting to wane in the sky, Caitlin directed Jo to turn south, towards the Valley of the Gods.
"It's incredible," Jo murmured as she felt the stick glide gently under her hand. "She practically banked that turn on her own."
Caitlin froze, her blood chilling in her veins as she realized what Jo was talking about. She could still remember the first time she had noticed it, he first time she had felt the stick automatically move under her hand almost as if she had willed it. She had darted a small nervous glance at String.
"She practically did that by herself. It's almost as if this thing can read my mind."
"It can." String had said simply, but the fact of the matter was there was nothing simple about it.
String and Dom had learned early on that Airwolf possessed a living memory, the result of Moffett's forays into the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence. The onboard computer had the capability to learn from its previous experiences, and thus anticipate its pilot's actions for an overall quicker and more seamless response time. In order to achieve this, the onboard computer recorded every moment of every mission that the helicopter flew, from the time it lifted off, to the moment it landed. It recorded tactical and physiological data for every member of the crew, including the pilot, co-pilot and tactical officer, and was able to discern the difference in a new pilot or crew member and automatically create a separate profile for each. Airwolf possessed detailed data on String and Dom as well as Caitlin herself.
It had been somewhat discomforting to realize that as well as they knew Airwolf, the chopper knew them, as well. That quick response which Jo Santini had noticed was undoubtedly Airwolf's fledgling AI, already studying and adapting to the new occupant of the pilot's seat.
Caitlin drew a deep breath and fought to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "The Lady is nothing if not perceptive. Dom always swore she had a mind of her own."
Jo laughed. "He said that about every bird he ever flew."
Caitlin forced herself to chuckle as well, but her heart was racing and she felt the cold fingers of apprehension tickle down her spine as she stared at the soft green glow of the computer screen. Airwolf knew her, knew her skill and what she was capable of, maybe even better than she did herself. The Lady had recorded her stats, it knew her response time, could predict the way she would maneuver in a given situation and act accordingly. Over the years it had been a tremendous asset to her, making her seem to be a better pilot than she really was. But that was when the Lady had been in her hands. Now, she realized, what had once made Airwolf her biggest asset, could also be her biggest threat. If someone were to take her profile, to study it, they would easily learn her strengths and weaknesses in the air. She wouldn't stand a chance against them.
True, this was not what the AI's living memory had been designed for, but this was not the first time that Airwolf's technology had been perverted for uses other than those originally intended. And she knew that it was possible to extract this kind of information from the pilot profiles. After all, String had done it once himself, and then used the information to destroy the rogue pilot who had stolen the Airwolf duplicate the committee had built only a few months ago. It was possible, but was it likely? Would the Firm really bother with her once they had Airwolf back in their control? It seemed an impractical expense of time and money to pursue a woman who could no longer pose much of a threat to them.
I prefer to take no chances where the committee is concerned. Michael's words echoed softly through her head, so clear that for a moment she thought she could actually hear the rich, whiskey tones of his baritone voice. It was sound advice, she thought, and besides, she wasn't the only one whose profile was hidden somewhere in the computer. There was Doc Gifford to think of as well. Much as it pained her, she knew what she had to do. She had to make Airwolf forget.
Her fingers were moving over the keyboard almost before she actually realized she had made the decision. She pawed for a brief moment through Dom's stash of sticky notes. Dammit, what were the command codes for this? Suddenly recalling them, she typed in the string of characters and was rewarded with the root menu for the list of pilot profiles.
It surprised her to see exactly how many people had flown Airwolf over the years. Cross referencing the pilot profiles by date, she was able to locate Gifford's file and delete it. If Airwolf did fall into the Firm's hands, it wouldn't do at all for them to discover there had been a mystery pilot. After interminable seconds, the cursor flashed softly before her, a string of bright green letters announced:
PILOT PROFILE DELTA DELETED.
One down, one to go, she thought.
"So you never did tell me," Jo Santini's voice crackled inside her helmet. "Just where do you park this thing, anyway?"
Caitlin almost groaned. The Lair. She had completely forgotten about it. Bringing up the GPS system, she checked their coordinates. They were not that far away from it.
"Do you know the Valley of the Gods?" She asked, keeping her voice casual as she returned to the business of accessing her own data profile.
"Sure," Jo said, I used to go flying out there with String and St. John all the time. In fact, we were just out there last week." There was a pause as the realization hit her. "Oh…" she said softly, and thought for a long moment.
"It's in the Devil's chimney, isn't it?"
"How did you guess?" Caitlin asked in surprise.
Jo smiled sadly. "It's nothing ...just an old bit of nonsense between String and St. John, back when they were cocky kids. They were always arguing about who was the better chopper pilot. One day St. John said he could take a chopper anywhere. String dared him to take one down the Devil's chimney. He said it couldn't be done, but St. John did it. When St. John dared him to try it, String lost his nerve."
Caitlin smiled wistfully at the thought of Stringfellow Hawke losing his nerve over anything. "It's tricky," she said at last, "but it can be done –especially if you have Airwolf. I wouldn't dream of trying it with another chopper."
"And it's probably the last place on earth anyone would think of looking for a chopper," Jo said thoughtfully. "Once I land there, how do I get out?"
Before Caitlin, the computer screen spelled out its question:
DELETE PILOT PROFILE CHARLIE?
The green cursor blinked rapidly, demanding an answer. Caitlin inhaled sharply and struck the 'y' key. Then she allowed herself to answer Jo's question.
"There's a 4x4 Bronco just inside the mouth of the cave. The keys are in it. I'd appreciate it if you'd return it to the rental company for me."
"What about you?" Jo asked.
"Fly due west about four miles," Caitlin instructed. There's an abandoned military airstrip there. I've got another ride waiting for me."
Jo nodded and banked the chopper towards the west; never noticing as the woman behind her slowly removed her helmet and stared at the fateful words that crossed the tiny computer screen.
PILOT PROFILE CHARLIE DELETED.
It was over, Caitlin O'Shaughnessy thought. At least her part in it was. Whatever happened to Airwolf now, it was out of her hands and completely up to the pretty blonde woman who reminded her entirely too much of the person she had once been. The role she had played in this bizarre adventure had ended the moment she had struck the delete key. She might still be wearing the uniform, but she wasn't a part of the crew any longer. Swiveling around in her chair, she turned resolutely away from the computer and quietly consigned herself to the part of passenger. From here on out, she was just along for the ride.