Note: Same spiel as before.

Chapter 9

Approaching the coast of Yemen
Saturday June 5, 2004
2245 Zulu

"Hammer, come right to 030." Skates said over the headset.

"Roger, 030." Harm replied as he eased the stick over to bring the Tomcat right a few degrees.

"Skyfox, this is Eagle-eye. We have you on our screens. Going to tac-2." Came over the radio as Harm and Skates moved closer to the shoreline. Harm hated the call sign and he was sure it was Webb's doing.

Changing the radio frequency Skates replied "Eagle-eye, this is Skyfox. We will be feet dry in two mikes. See you soon."

"Roger Skyfox. Looking forward to it."

Harm remained silent as he concentrated on staying low to the waves and bringing the Tomcat safely to the coast of Yemen. "Henry control, this is Skyfox. We are going feet dry." Skates reported as Harm eased the Tomcat's altitude up to make the coastal crossing.

"Roger Skyfox, good luck." The Captain's voice came back.

"See anything yet?" Harm asked as he deftly guided the Tomcat over the natural terrain.

"Nothing yet." Skates answered. "There they are. Eagle-eye this is Skyfox. We have a visual. We're taking up position now. You may begin your run."

Harm glanced out the side of the canopy to watch the helicopter begin its approach to the small town where the extraction was to take place. He still didn't know who or what was being extracted, but then again it wasn't his place to question orders. He may want to, and when he got back he was going to beat Webb until he talked, but until then he had a job to do.

"Hammer, I have two bogies on radar. Five miles out….looks like they're curious about something."

"IFF?" Harm asked.

"Not one of our's, or anyone friendly."

"Report it."

"Yes sir. Henry control, this is Skyfox. We have two unknowns five miles out, requesting instructions."

"Skyfox, Henry Control. You are weapons free, fire if fired upon. Keep Eagle-eye in the air."

"I heard." Harm said before Skates could repeat the message for him. With his thumb he disarmed his weapon safety and changed his weapon selector to arm his sidewinders. "Going hot."

"What's the altitude?" he asked.

"Angels five."

"Angels five, roger. Eagle-eye, this is Skyfox. We've got some nosy neighbors and we're going to go take a look."

"Roger Skyfox. Good hunting; we'll be back up in five mikes." Came the reply.

Easing the throttle forward to pick up more speed Harm adjusted his course and altitude to intercept the two bogies Skates had picked up. If they were Yemeni he would turn around and make it look like he was heading back out to sea, if they were dissidents he would probably have to show them off with some muscle.

"Hammer…I've got some more intel on them. Looks like they're MIGs...Foxbats would be my guess. They Yemeni don't have any Foxbats."

"Thanks Skates…keep an eye on them."

"Intercept in just under a minute….I have a visual. They're Foxbats all right."

Adjusting the course slightly Harm made to split the two approaching aircraft in the middle of their formation. Suddenly the shrill klaxon sounded to indicate an attempted missile lock. "They're trying to get lock…"

Flipping the switch for the ECM module in the plane's nose Harm hoped the slim seconds the counter measures gained him would be enough. As the two planes got closer Harm saw the luminous flower that indicated the firing of the fighters cannons.

"Henry Control this is Skyfox. We've been engaged, repeat we've been engaged. Tally-ho!" Harm said into his mic. "Fox 1 away." He announced as he triggered the first missle. Moving his thumb slightly he switched his selector to arm his cannons. "Guns guns guns." He called as he triggered the cannon to fire at the MIGs without waiting to see if his missile scored a hit.

As he blasted past he heard Skates yell out "HELL YEAH! Scratch one bad guy." Pulling a high g turn Harm zeroed back in on the remaining MIG in time to see him execute a turn of his own and head back the way he came.

"Henry Control this is Skyfox. One bogie down…no chute. The other one decided not to dance." Skates reported on the radio.

"Roger Skyfox, good work. Return to your station."

Without acknowledging the order Harm continued his turn at lower g's and moved back towards the town where the extraction was taking place. "Eagle-eye, this is Skyfox, what's your situation?" Skates asked.

"We are heading back out…the package is secure. Thanks for the cover."

"Anytime. Nice working with you." Harm said as he guided the Tomcat back out to sea and started the climb to 10,000 feet. "Henry Control this is Skyfox. We are enroute home coming up on Angels 10."

"Roger Skyfox, see you when you get home."

"Going safe." Harm announced as he moved the master arm switch to safe.

"Nice flying boss." Skates said from the backseat.

"I live to serve." Harm said flippantly with a smile. There were few things he liked more than flying, especially in the thick…even if it was only for a few minutes. Sometimes he wondered what the world war II fighter pilots experienced in their protracted dogfights. Sadly with the supersonic fighter jets of today a long and drawn out dogfight was rare.

Two hours later Harm was releasing the canopy and pulling off his helmet while he stifled a yawn. Already his plane captain was making his way towards Harm's Tomcat with a stencil, a can of paint and a big smile. Even though it wasn't exactly SOP to record the kills on the sides of the planes anymore, Harm felt it gave them a link to the past and had authorized the plane captains of his squadron to keep count.

Climbing down from his jet Harm and Skates started making their way to the ready room only to be stopped by a man wearing an unmarked flight suit. "Commander, Lieutenant. This way please." He said in a loud yell to be heard over all of the machinery.

"And you are?" Harm asked wearily.

"I am Mr. Webb's associate. He is unavoidably detained and asked me to discuss your mission with you. The Captain has graciously allowed me to use one of the JAG offices."

"How ironic." Harm said with a shake of his head. Might as well get this over with.

A few minutes later the man was securing the hatch and turning with a slight smile to face Harm and his RIO. "From all reports the mission went off lick clockwork. I congratulate you Commander."

"Thanks…are you sure Webb planned this? His plans don't usually go this well."

"I assure you, Mr. Webb was in control of the mission from the very beginning. Now about the resistance you encountered?"

"Two MIG Foxbats. We splashed one and the other bugged out. Didn't see anything else worth mentioning." Harm reported with a yawn.

"Well the package has been secured, and you have both returned safely. A rousing success if I might say so Commander. Allow me to express my congratulations once more."

"So what was the 'package'?" Skates asked.

"Sorry Lieutenant, need to know."

"And we don't need to know." Harm said bitterly. He hated being used if he didn't know why. It was like kissing a woman he couldn't see…interesting and exotic for the first little while and then it just got plain annoying.

"That will be all Commander. If you would be kind enough to submit a written report to the Captain by 0900 tomorrow I think that will be sufficient. Mr. Webb did however ask me to remind you of your next set of orders." The man said looking at Harm's flight suit pocket meaningfully.

"Yeah yeah. Tell Webb I want to speak to him when you see him again."

"I will pass on the message Commander. Good evening." The man said as he stood up and opened the hatch.

"What's all this about sir? More of the deep dark secret stuff Commander Keeter did?"

"Something like that Skates….something like that. Why don't you hit the rack? I'll do up the report for the Captain and then do the same thing. I have a feeling we're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

"If you say so sir. I'll see you in the morning CAG." Skates said as she came to attention and then turned crisply to leave the small office.

Making his way to his office Harm was glad it was going to be a short report; nothing to comment about on the way out or the way back and only the single action to report. Reaching into his pocket Harm pulled out the envelope Webb had given him before he left so suddenly. Breaking the seal as he closed the office hatch behind him Harm pulled out the single sheet of paper in the envelope. Glancing over the orders Harm shook his head. What did Webb think? That Harm and his pilots were his personal playthings? Looking at the orders once more he grunted. Nothing in them except a simple patrol, albeit one that was not one of the regular patrol routes. Turning on his computer Harm pulled up the program that contained the maps of the operational theatre. Keying in the path the patrol plan Webb had given him would take Harm was not surprised to see that it passed over some heavily contested parts of Iraq. Well, at least when the CIA was involved he would get some action, at least in one sense of the word.

Turning off the program he was running Harm fired up his email client. Might as well send a few emails off while he was here. After the program checked his mailbox Harm saw that he had four new messages. Two from Mattie, one from Bud and Harriet and one from Mac. Ignoring the one from Bud and Harriet for the moment, Harm read over Mattie's emails quickly smiling as he read about her days and frowning as she told him about a date she had. Writing a quick reply to Mattie Harm asked about more details about the date. Closing down Mattie's emails Harm opened Mac's to find a single line written.

            Stay safe out there. –Mac

Pausing for a minute Harm replied to her email with a devious grin. He responded to her single line with a single line of his own.

            Got a paper cut today. Want to kiss it better? –Harm

Chuckling to himself Harm fired up his word processor to type up his after action report to the Captain.

Somewhere in the Persian Gulf
Sunday June 6, 2004
0830 Zulu

"Morning CAG." Captain Ingles said as Harm came to attention beside him.

Harm extended the single page of his after action report. "Here's the report on last night's mission sir."

"Captain, the helo is requesting permission to land."

"Granted. So CAG, I've been informed I need to be able to spare you for a few hours again tomorrow night."

"Aye sir…looks to be a simple patrol…but you know what they say about looks sir."

"CAG?" the Captain asked in some confusion.

"They can be deceiving sir. Who's on the helo?"

"Our new weapons officer, and a surprise for you. Seems Tyler won't be returning to us." Ingles said referring to the Patrick Henry's chief weapons officer who had taken seriously ill and had to be medivaced a week before to a nearby hospital ship. Looking down at the clipboard he held the Captain continued "A Lieutenant Allison Porter. She's supposed to be very good."

Nodding silently Harm watched the helo approach and touchdown on the white square marked on the deck for the purpose. Two individuals disembarked from the helo and made their way across the deck. He couldn't be sure but there was something about the one of the left that looked familiar. He racked his brain but he couldn't remember ever having come in contact with a Lieutenant Porter before. 'Probably nothing' he thought to himself.

"What's the schedule like today CAG?"

"Pretty routine sir. Two plane elements running combat air patrols for two hour hops. Most of the squad is going to be in the air at one time or another today."

"Think you'll have time to promote one of your officers CAG?" the Captain asked with a poorly concealed smile.

"Who's that sir?"

"Skates. Her promotion came through and I'm sure she'd like you to be the one to do it. She seems to have developed the idea you walk on water Harm." Captain Ingles said with a laugh.

Harm smiled at the Captain and gave him a nod. "I'd be honored sir." Harm liked the Captain, he had since he first met him a few years before. The Captain always seemed to be a fair man and a good commander. In a lot of respects he reminded Harm of the Admiral.

Just then the hatchway opened and the two new arrivals stepped onto the deck. Harm continued to watch out of the port side window as two of his birds went up for their next patrol and two more came in.

"Lieutenant Porter reporting for duty sir." A shockingly familiar voice said from behind him. Harm turned quickly to face the new arrivals and saw not some unfamiliar Lieutenant but someone very familiar; Meg Austin. Seeing Harm looking at her Meg shook her head slightly indicating he shouldn't say anything.

"Welcome aboard Porter. I've heard good things about you." The Captain said.

"Lieutenant Commander Riley reporting for duty sir." The tall man beside Meg said. Harm recognized the name as a new pilot that was being attached to the Patrick Henry.

"This one is yours CAG. I'll let you get him settled in."

"Aye aye Captain." Harm said as he extended a hand towards Riley. "Welcome to the Henry Commander. I'm Commander Rabb."

"Thank you CAG."

"You drive Hawkeyes don't you?" Harm asked referring to the ELINT planes. The Patrick Henry had three of the small planes that provided a bird's eye view of any aerial combat zone.

"That's right sir."

"Odd you'd come in part way through the cruise." Harm said casually.

"Not my place to question things CAG, I just go where they tell me."

"Don't we all Riley. Don't we all. If you'll come with me I'll get you settled into your berth and show you around. Captain, Lieutenant."

"CAG." The Captain said with a nod indicating Harm could carry on.

"Sir." Meg said.

Four hours later Harm was standing on the fantail watching the two Tomcats in the air on approach. He heard the hatch open up behind him and Meg walked up to the rail beside him.

"Harm." She said quietly.

"Meg. Or is it Allison?"

"While we're here its Allison Harm."

"Want to tell me what's going on?"

"I wish I could Harm, I really do."

"Then why don't you?" Harm asked, finally turning to look at Meg.

"When its all over Harm, I promise I'll tell you everything I can. For now, can you please promise me you'll think of me as Lieutenant Porter?"

Shaking his head he turned back to watch the second Tomcat touchdown barely catching the number 2 wire. "Shaky, too damn shaky." He muttered to himself. "You shouldn't have to ask…Allison."

"I know that Harm, but thank you anyway." She said as she came to attention and saluted him. "I shouldn't stay out here any longer, people can see us and I have no reason to be consorting with the CAG."

"Just say you came out to watch the drivers park their rides." Harm said with a smile. "Hey…."

"Yes sir?" Meg said still standing at attention.

"Did you ever end up dating another pilot?" Harm asked with an innocent smile.

"Damn you Harmon Rabb…you're not supposed to be making me laugh." Meg said with a barely suppressed smile. "And no…I haven't dated a pilot since that one Italian."

"Too bad. Dismissed Lieutenant."

"Aye aye sir" Meg said and then she turned and ducked back into the bowels of the carrier.

'Now what was this all about?' Harm thought to himself as he turned back in time to watch the next patrol take off.