Chapter 5 - Return of Jump 51


As spring rapidly approached the Piston Peak Air Attack Team was faced with yet another painful decision. They needed to determine who was going to fill Cabbie's place in the roster. It was a particularly difficult decision because the aircraft that was selected would determine what the smokejumper team would end up looking like.

Cabbie had been an incredibly unique jump plane. He was far bigger and had a greater lift capacity than various DC-10s he worked with…he was also tiny with a lift compacity to match when compared with the rare C-130's who had found themselves in this line of work.

Everyone knew that he could call in a favor from Cal Fire and get a DC-10 in tomorrow to cover them until the team could locate a longer-term solution…but they also knew that they brought a DC-10 onto the team both Avalanche and Pinecone would have to be cut from the team. With Cabbie gone, Maru wasn't sure if the Smokejumpers would survive the loss of Avalanche. They had lost their jump plane and would need their captain to guide them through that change.

Trying to bring a C-130 onto the team created another host of problems that would prove difficult to solve. If they were lucky enough to attract one to apply, and that was a big if, the C-130 would have a wingspan that eclipsed Cabbie's large wingspan by over 20 feet. That would mean every one of the base's shared facilities, except for the main hanger, would have to be retrofitted to accommodate the big bird. These modifications would be expensive and would take a significant amount of time to complete, and most C-130's wouldn't put up with joining the team if it meant being inconvenienced for the next three to four years.

In the end, Blade, Maru, and Avalanche ended up putting their circular arguments on the back burner, because another form of paperwork needed to be filed before the Forest Service assigned aerial firefighting call signs for the summer. That was the paperwork to request the retirement of a firefighting legacy number.

Most firefighting aircraft call numbers were assigned at random. While the Interagency Fire Center often did their best to make sure that regular aircraft got the same number year to year, that wasn't a guarantee. The only exceptions were the birds with legacy numbers. These were planes that had developed such a reputation in the industry that everyone knew who it was when their number was called over the radio. Cabbie had gained that reputation long before Blade and Maru had moved onto base, and that reputation had only grown since the two vehicles had known him, so it was clear why Cabbie had been given one of the rare, coveted legacy numbers.

Tradition dictated legacy numbers should be either retired or passed on to a family member whenever their owner either hopefully retired or tragically died in the line of duty. But there was one vehicle who could push for that number to once again enter regular circulation…and that aircraft didn't seem to understand the power of the legacy number.

"I personally think that the number should keep flying." Pickles said while refusing to look the members of the Piston Peak Air Attack in the eyes. "I think that Cabbie would want that piece of him flying."

Maru and Blade looked each other dead in the eye, while Avalanche looked like he wanted to sink into the pavement. They understood what Pickles wanted…but they also suspected that Pickles has no clue how big of an ask he was making. For him the callsign was a nebulous piece of who Cabbie has once been. The cargo plane wasn't going to have to hear the callsign sing across the radio waves…calling out to a complete stranger…a ghost that would forever find ways to haunt the Cabbie's teammates

Blade sighed heavily. "If that is what your family wants, I think that we can talk with Dynamite. She has enough pull with the Interagency Fire Center to get the number assigned to jump plane in Alaska for the next couple of years."

"That would probably be for the best." Maru spoke into his mug of coffee. "I don't think anyone on base is ready to hear that call sign being called out by a stranger. And I suspect that having that particular call sign on the local nets will make it that much harder for the team to adjust to their new ride."

The mechanic's words hung in the air for a long while, a reminder not just of what they had lost, but also to the painful reality of the problems they needed to solve before the summer fire season began.

"I…I think I might have a solution." Pickles didn't meet any of the eyes of the vehicles sitting around him. "It might not be a good solution, but it is a solution."

"Just spill it." Maru blurted out before Blade had a chance to say anything more diplomatic.

"Compass Rose doesn't want to follow her brothers into the military. She has been looking into cargo-hauling jobs to build her hours while she goes to college, but her ultimate goal was to become a jump plane like her grandpa." Pickles let one of his propellers spin lazily as he finally made eye contact with Blade. "I know how hard it is to be a firefighting aircraft and as a father, I have always been deeply concerned by how many teams treat their female members. That said, I trust Piston Peaks. I trust that you would keep her safe and teach her the ropes…and I hope…I hope that if she decided to join your crew, it would be acceptable for her to take on the mantle of Jump 51."

The members of the Air Attack Team that were currently on base looked at each other for a few long rotor beats before Avalanche spoke up.

"I THINK THAT COULD WORK."

"A plane that green would need a bird dog for the first two or three years, but we have the housing and I think we could swing the budget to make it work…" Maru mused.

"I think that we are getting ahead of ourselves." Blade stopped his teammates from going too far down the proverbial rabbit hole. The chief turned his full attention on Pickles. "I recognize that as a parent you want the best for your child but becoming an ariel firefighter is a serious decision. It is one that will require an incredible amount of effort and dedication…and it is a decision she will have to make for herself."

"I know that…" Pickles couldn't help chuckling softly to himself. "But I think you underestimate just how badly she wants to become a jump plane and how honored she would be to inherit her grandfather's call sign."

"Alright then." Blade allowed himself to scan everyone present. "If, and I repeat, if she says yes, I will try to try to find her a team to train with at the California Fire Academy this spring."

"I COULD GO WITH HER AND HELP HER LEARN THE ROPES." The little dozer volunteered without a second thought.

"You sure Lanche?" Blade leveled his gaze at Avalanche. "Getting a jump plane trained in under two months is going to be an exhausting challenge."

"I WOULDN'T BE A SMOKEJUMPER IF I DIDN'T EAT CHALLENGES FOR BREAKFAST." Avalanche looked up at the Chief with a shit-eating grin, then his expression sobered. "BESIDES, I KNOW I AM TOO HEAVY FOR A DC-10 TO HANDLE. IF WE DON'T GET A C-130 TO JOIN THE TEAM, WE ALL KNOW THAT MY SMOKEJUMPING CAREER IS PROBABLY OVER, AND OUR BEST BET TO GET A HERCY-BIRD TO JOIN US IS TO TRAIN ONE UP OURSELVES."

"Okay, Blade," Maru leveled amused gaze at his old friend. "I think it is time for us to call on all of those favors that we have collected over the years and see if we can get Cal Fire to agree to train us up a new jump plane."

By the end of the week, all of the paperwork had been signed, Compass Rose had made the arrangements to finish the rest of her high school classes online, and Avalanche had moved to the CAL Fire dorms at the Fire Academy in Sacramento...which once again leaving Maru and Blade to suffer due to their lack of cooking skills. While it was not an ideal spot for the two winter residents of the base, it was a sacrifice worth making to secure the future of the Air Attack Team.


Two months later…

Blade and Maru had managed to keep the Air Attack Base open through the rest of the winter…but only by the skin of their teeth. If Superintendent Jammer hadn't made arrangements for members of the interpretative and road crews to stay over, they wouldn't have been able to maintain the minimum number of residents. Luckily, Old Jammer had been there long enough to recognize that Blade and Maru needed to process the changes to come in a place they felt safe instead of on a sleeping mat in someone else's living room.

Their fellow firefighters from across California also sensed that their brothers and sisters at Piston Peak Air Attack Base needed a little bit extra love and support this year and reached out to see where they could help. As the Forest Service trained up their new Jump, Cal Fire sent up a DC-10 to allow the base's smokejumpers a chance to warm up their skills before the fire season started. The county crew also sent one of their hand crews to prep the base for the summer season and offered to loan the park a fuels crew to assist with early-season prescribed burns.

Then there were the various vehicles that had a direct connection with the base. Every vehicle but Dipper had managed to escape from their winter employment earlier than expected, and the flying boat skipped her normal spring vacation so that she could also return to base before her contract officially started. Normally having so many unexpected mouths to feed would have been devastating to the base's budget, but for the first time since Maru had come to work there, the outpouring of donations meant that they were actually running a surplus.

Just the amount of funds that Cabbie had left in his will would have easily covered the cost to upgrade his hangar to accommodate their new jump plane, and the donation Dusty had made dwarfed Cabbie's contribution and really made the mechanic realize how lucrative being a top racer must be. For most of the spring Blade and the park's accountants had struggled to figure out how to best administer the influx of money, until Windlifter had finally stepped in. It had truly been frightening how quickly the Skycrane had been able to set up a foundation and fieldtrip scholarship program in Cabbie's name.

The sheer business of the spring had been exhausting but it had also been a blessing for everyone involved. It meant that none one had time to dwell on the past and by the time that the first day of the fire season arrived, Maru was starting to feel like the base was finally reaching its new equilibrium. All they needed to do was wait for the last member of the Air Attack Team to arrive. Which was why Maru was hanging out in the tower with Patch, with his eyes scanning the sky. He didn't have to wait for long, as he spotted a familiar black, white, and red paint scene coming over canopy ridge.

"Piston Peak Air Attack this is N419FF, requestion…" A timid voice crackled over the radio, before being interrupted by the familiar voice of Avalanche.

"ROSE, YOU ARE ON DUTY. USE YOUR FIREFIGHTER CALL SIGN."

"Oh…" The plane cleared her throat and tried to speak with more confidence. "Piston Peak Air Attack, this is Jump 51 on final approach and requesting permission to land."

Patch glanced to Maru and smiled before she bent over to key her mike. "Jump 51 this is Piston Peaks Air Attack, you are cleared for landing. I say again, you are cleared for landing Jump 51."

The C-130's approach was a bit shaky, but everyone on the ground could see the grin on the plane's face when she successfully stuck the landing on the first try so no one was going to judge. Taxing to the apron she popped her hatch to allow Avalanche out so that they could both report to command. This was the moment that Maru gave a quick bob to Patch and excused himself from the tower so that he could help the Chief with all the in-processing paperwork.

Jump 51 had returned and a new era at Piston Peak had begun.