Chapter 3
Alpha Site. 1800 earth time.
"Control, This is EAGLE 1, over," Carter's voice cut through the airwaves and came clearly out the speaker in the radio control room.
"Go ahead, Eagle 1" The technician's voice replied
"I'm ready to bring her in."
"Confirmed Eagle 1, bring her home."
"Acknowledged expect me in 2 minutes."
As Carter taxied the latest X302, with all the upgrades, into the hangar she could see the ground crew waiting by the walls. Once at a stop she popped the cockpit and passed out the specialised black box she'd been flying with and allowed her co-pilot, Captain/Doctor Lichen to climb down. He still looked a little green; she hoped he'd be OK. She had warned him they'd be flying low and fast.
O'Neill noticed her immediately as she was climbing down the ladder from the plane. The smile that lit up her face was huge and didn't look like it would be displaced in a hurry. 'That why they call it joyriding,' he thought to himself.
She turned to walk away at the bottom of the ladder, almost crashing into O'Neill as he waited for her to notice him.
"Sir, I'm sorry I didn't know you were here," she said flustered, the smile going down a couple of notches but still remaining.
"Yep, thought I'd come and give you a hand with some boring lab work, but looks like you have more interesting things to do."
"Sir, these are the regular tests I sent you the memo about." His mouth almost fell open; he really needed to read his memos.
"You're telling me you're the test pilot for the X302?" He was too shocked to be able to hide it. She felt some pride in his reaction but the irritation with him was still strong and clear in her response.
"One of them, sir. Don't worry test pilots have no names; I won't make you look bad on base." She knew it was almost insubordination and a bit of cheap shot but she kept these flights very low key and was annoyed he should turn up now when she had two days of blissful flying ahead of her.
"Carter, you should know by now I don't care what other people think. Anyway if you're as secretive to everyone else as you have been to me, I think there's little chance of many people finding out." He tried to smile but it was a bit weak. He was annoyed by her comment; he wanted her to understand he was shocked, maybe a little jealous, not disapproving.
"Sir, I sent the request for this assignment to you personally and you signed it, I never kept this a secret," she said defensively.
"OK, you know me and bits of paper, if it's from you and requires a signature I'll sign it. If I read everything, I'd never leave the mountain."
"Really, sir? I'll remember that next time I go shopping."
"Ah when would that be exactly being as this is your downtime, and shopping opportunity, and you're taking a spin round the universe?"
"Only the two moons, this planet has," she said in an offhand way,
He looked quickly around then, "You want to go inside? We seem to be attracting spectators." Indeed every ear in the hangar was pricked and only very quiet work was going on, so everyone could listen in on a possible argument between superiors.
"Sure sir, I could use some coffee," as she turned to head for the door.
"You might want to change out of the flight suit; they get really upset if you spill coffee on those things." He gestured at her outfit.
"Ah yes that incident with Daniel. Can I meet you in the mess in 10?"
"Make it 15, Carter, I need a quick word with someone."
"Yes, sir." She sped away for a quick shower and to change.
-
"Hey there," O'Neill said as he approached the man he'd been told was in charge of the flight deck crew. He was bent over digging in a toolbox in the far corner of the hangar.
"Sir, Colonel O'Neill." He almost literally leapt to attention, saluting as he flew but the effect was spoiled by the large spanner that fell from his hand as he performed the motion.
"At ease, Captain" As the man relaxed a fraction, O'Neill tried to contain a smile, not wanting to annoy this young man.
"Thank you, sir, what can I help you with?" The captain spoke in the clear but recognisable southern accent, that men don't seem to be able to shake even after years away from the south.
"I'd just like to have a quick and private word about Carter," O'Neill said as he handed the fallen spanner back to the captain.
"Sure Sir, she's done nothing wrong, another flawless run," he said with a hint of pride.
"I don't doubt it, but how are the tests going in general?"
"Excellent sir. Major Carter has been working with me and the other guys to understand the limitations of the craft,"
"This thing has limits?" O'Neill joked as he gestured at the black hulk of the 303 in the distance.
"Most definitely, you see that's what Sam…Sorry Major Carter wants to teach the new pilots. That the best pilot in the world can only operate within the craft's capabilities."
"So she's not just joyriding then,"
"No sir, these tests really push the craft and there's not a man in the air that can beat her when it comes to a run. If we thought for a moment we'd be authorised, we'd assign her here all the time"
"Really, do you know she always takes second seat in real combat situations?"
"Yes Sir, I do. Just between us, she gets a lot of flack about it, people saying she's a coward in the air and the like, but I don't believe it. We've lost 2 test pilots to long term injury, it's still not a job with a high life expectancy, but I've never seen her so much as flinch up there."
"You've never asked her why she takes second seat?"
"Not really sir, but whenever she goes up with another pilot she offers them control, like it's the most natural thing to do. Never seen it in another pilot with her skill, most are the biggest show offs in the land, fighting for air time to strut their stuff."
"Yeah, I know how that is," O'Neill agreed, having known a lot of pilots in his time.
"Sir, I'm sorry I really need to get my men working on the feedback from that run, debrief is at 2100."
"Sure Captain, thanks for your time, you've been a real help."
O'Neill wandered off to the mess now more confused than ever.
-
"Sir," Carter greeted him, standing as he approached her.
"Sit down Carter, you must hold the land speed record for changing, I must have only been 10 minutes max and it's close to a 5 minute walk here."
"Well it was kinda crowded," She looked sheepish, and rubbed a hand through somewhat unruly hair "What really brings you to the Alpha Site sir?"
"You," she looked sceptical, but he pressed on. "Honestly, I came to apologise."
"For what, Sir?"
"I shouldn't have taken your lessons with the recruits," he said. She looked genuinely surprised by his apology, which made him feel worse but he kept his face expressionless.
"Don't worry about it sir, it was nothing really. They do respond better to your teaching." But she still didn't look like it was nothing, the hurt was clear in her eyes even if she had the rest of her face under control.
"But they shouldn't should they?" There was an honest regret clear in O'Neill's voice.
"I can't answer that question Sir, but honestly I didn't mind and if they learnt more everybody wins."
"Well except body bag manufacturers."
"True Sir, except them." Her smile went up a couple of notches but then she looked down again.
"How long Carter, how long ago did I sign a form saying the Air Force's top brain could be a test pilot?"
"Three months, give or take. These guy stopped me riding without a licence so I got one."
"And before that?"
"Well you know, it was just simple runs to test parts, nothing like what we can do now."
"I'm sure; you should have told me Carter,"
"Yeah, it just never seemed a good time."
MAJOR CARTER TO BRIEFING ROOM 2, the loud speaker bellowed
"I've got to go," she said rising quickly.
"OK, I be hanging around, see you later."
-
But he didn't. Not till the next morning when she was climbing into the 303 and glanced back at her co-pilot.
"Sir" She said with small jump
"Yeah, Carter that's me. Otherwise known as O'Neill, Jack or possibly other things when I'm not around."
Carter controlled a blush at what some of the women of the SGC called him when he was not around.
"Sir, if you wanted to take this run you only had to ask." Her voice seemed welcoming but she kept her face turned away and he suspected if he'd seen her eyes he would see the lie.
"I did, I asked the very green man you took up yesterday, he seemed keen for me to go."
"Sure Sir, did you see the flight path?"
"Briefly but mostly that's up to you. I learnt how this gigascope thing works," he said with a hint of pride.
"You learnt how to use the gegahimba precision scope?"
"That is the one, study I did," he said in bad imitation of Yoda.
"You know, sir, you're welcome to fly. I don't mind"
"Well I think you should. Get in your seat Major, that is a order"
"Yes, sir" but as she slid into the seat she couldn't resist adding, "you really studied for this?"
"Yes, Carter learning, education, I'm not such a old dog a can't learn one or two new tricks."
"Sure sir, sorry, I was just a little surprised. Science never seemed to be your favourite class."
"Times change, now are we flying or what?"
"Flying sir. Ready for system check."
After all the checks were complete, they taxied forward out of the hangar and shot off for the moon.
O'Neill was pretty sure the brakes on the 303 weren't going to stop them; he just had that edge of nervousness in his stomach when Carter pulled the stick back and they shot forward across the surface of the moon barely slowing at all.
O'Neill didn't mention it, as it seemed unwise to break the concentration of someone flying a couple of tons of metal at 200 miles an hour, about 10 metres above an alien moon's surface.
Now O'Neill had seen the new Stars Wars films with Teal'c at the cinema and on the whole he had not been impressed. Not as upset as Teal'c that it wasn't brilliant but on the whole unimpressed, though to him the race sequence had looked like fun. He was now though rapidly reassessing the truth in that belief as Carter sped from crater to crater, never more than 20 m up, often less and rarely completely horizontal.
"You see, Sir, we believe the death glider's targeting system efficiency may be reduced at this height," she said as they had about 12 seconds of straight flying.
"I know Carter, I read the report. Now you may want to keep eyes on the road." He had been warned, by the man who had gratefully given him this job, about Carter's tendency to comment.
"Sure, sir, whatever you say," her tone was flippant but she agreed to silence.
And they sped on. Despite the fact he knew it was coming and the dampening field reduced most of the G's, both their stomachs lurched as Carter pulled the X302 so it shot up from the surface, and out into space.
"Next moon coming up, sir."
"Bored of that one so soon?"
"Well…" But he never heard her finish as white light engulfed them both.
Authors note: more to come, review please, constructive crisism is muchappriated - any comments welcomed! THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED ALREADY!