Wolf Moon

With the Christmas and New Year's well and over, the Piston Peak Air Attack base settled into its quietest period of the year. With the reduced duties, this was usually the time of year when Blade and Maru went on vacation. It was also usually the only time of year when the two vehicles weren't practically glued to each other's GPS location. Maru, after all, had a lot of family in the San Francisco area, and Blade didn't have standard tastes when it came to choosing vacation spots. As a courtesy, they would usually stagger their trips, to ensure that Cabbie wasn't completely left alone for more than a week or so.

This year the normal routine was thrown out the window because Maru convinced Blade that they really needed to go somewhere warm, so the two of them could park themselves on some beach in Mexico...probably drinking things out of a coconut. This meant that Cabbie had made his own arrangements with Jammer to make sure that a safe workspace was maintained at the Base.

Historically this had usually meant shutting the base down and having Cabbie operate out of the lodge. In fact, that is exactly how things had been done for the first decade of the Air Attack Team's existence when Cabbie was the only year-round aircraft in the park. He really didn't miss the day's when he would spend snowstorms hunkered down on the lodge tarmac because guests had taken every available spot in the hanger, and there was literally no other structure that could hold his bulky size in that area of the park. That said, Cabbie knew that Superintendent Jammer would make sure that he had a roof over his head if he chose to do something similar today...but what would be the fun of that?

The C-119 had an entire airstrip to himself and he fully intended to make the most of it. So he invited one of his C-119 buddies to visit for one week and arranged for the 'grandkids' to join him for the aircraft version of a camping trip for the other.

Lift, one of the last C-119's still in the air, arrived from Hollywood a couple of hours before Blade and Maru were going to ship out. The aircraft wore the silver, white, and international orange paint well, and he landed on the airstrip like a plane that was used to being the center of attention.

"Looks like someone got cast in something recently..." Cabbie muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Maru to hear. But he put on his best smile to greet his friend. "

"Yep, we just finished up filming about two weeks ago and I haven't gotten around to getting my paint swapped out."

"Hm…" Cabbie hummed as he gave a look that indicated his disbelief. It wasn't that difficult to get your paint redone.

"Fine." Lift gave an exasperated sigh before dissolving into a good-natured chuckle. "I just like how it feels to be in warpaint again."

"Hm, that is what I thought." Cabbie comment was sharp, but there was warmth at the edges of his voice. "And I am betting that you have taken every possible opportunity out there to be seen in it."

"You know it." Lift winked at Blade. "And I suspect your Chief has been to most of the spots that I strutted my current digs, as I suspect that Casa Vega would have been right up his alley during his heyday."

Blade stared at Lift for a few long moments, but it was clear that the C-119 was immune to the effects of the glare. Finally, the Chief admitted defeat and he glanced over at the mechanic. "Maru."

"Yes?" The tug didn't try to hide his amusement.

"You packed?"

"You know that I have been packed for the past week."

"How would you feel about having lunch at that Mexican place you like in Fresno?"

"But, Lift just got here…" Maru, added a slight whine to his voice for dramatic effect. The mechanic was clearly playing this conversation for all it was worth.

"I am paying and I am driving." Blade stated flatly and both Cabbie and Maru were smart enough to know exactly what the helicopter was getting at. Blade was trying to bribe Maru with margaritas.

Maru took a moment to leave Blade hanging, for dramatic effect, of course. Then after silence was taut with tension, the mechanic made his move. "Will there be a to-go order of nachos?"

Blade gave the mechanic an exasperated eye roll, and both Cabbie and Lift dissolved into a fit of barking laughter. Maru just looked at the surrounding aircraft with an exaggerated look of innocence.

"More time for Cabbie and I to get into trouble then." Lift tittered once the laughing had slowed to the point he could breathe.

"Don't get Cabbie too drunk." Maru winked at the big plane as he trundled off to grab his baggage. Which only encouraged Blade to follow him to make sure that the two of them got off base before the tug gave Lift any other ideas.

For all of Lift's tail pulling, he was actually a responsible guest and week sailed by in comfortable comradery. Unlike Cabbie, Lift had developed a sense of taste during his time in Hollywood. After the first night's dinner, the actor would shoo the firefighter out of his hanger's small kitchenette so that he could produce a meal that was 'edible' or he would go and grab takeout from a classy restaurant while Cabbie was on patrol. The former warplane took the situation with good humor. After all, if his friend wanted to cook, he didn't have a tire to complain. Anyway, it was kind of nice to have a break from his normal winter duties.

Sadly, while Lift was perfectly willing to spend a week shooting the breeze and sipping a little high grade with an old friend, the old plane was also perfectly content to be a bachelor. He didn't have any desire to chase after children, thank you very much. So, while Lift had helped Cabbie warm up the main hanger, he had excused himself the morning before Pickles and his brood arrived. Which left Cabbie manning the Air Attack Base alone for a couple of hours.

It was kind of nice to have the base to himself for a few moments. It was a breath of calm that he rarely experienced outside of a long solo flight. But like all good things, it was doomed to quickly come to an end. The sound props soon echoed across the winter landscape as Pickles radioed Cabbie to request permission to make a final approach into the Piston Peak Air Attack Base Airstrip.

As Pickles came in for a landing, Cabbie was reminded just how big the C-130 was. The cargo aircraft was on the upper end of what the base could safely land. Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose followed their father in once the runway was clear. As they did, Cabbie could see how big they were getting. He suspected that once three kids were fully grown, they would be too large to land here. That was especially true for the two boys who were already taking after their mother's build.

Pickles stuck around through dinner to help get the kid settled and reminded Cabbie that he would only be a 30-minute flight away if he was needed. Then, it was just Cabbie and the kids. While the C-119 hadn't been left alone with the brood often, he knew enough about being a grandfather to understand what the expectations were. This meant that he let them stay up watching TV into the wee hours of the night...which had the dual benefits of making the young planes feel like they were having an adventure and making sure they were still asleep pass noon, which free Cabbie to complete his morning parols in peace. Yes, it meant that Cabbie was running on less sleep than he would prefer, but it was still more than he got on some fires, so he wasn't complaining.

Cabbie had, of course, also stocked up on foodstuffs before Blade and Maru had left on their trip. Growing planes ate a lot after all, and the C-119 couldn't ask the base to cover that expense, especially given the fact that he got both a paycheck and a pension. The food was nothing fancy but they were dishes that the kids knew by heart. They cooked army food, a mixer of hot dogs, canned beans, and pineapple chunks. A dish that would have been right at home in any military canteen during the Vietnam War. Then there was Budae-jjigae, a spicy stew which was a perfect blend of Korean flavors and the types of canned food that could be smuggled off a military base. From buttery cinnamon toast to roasted marshmallows for dessert, Cabbie had made sure that his guests would never be able to claim that they were hungry.

Throughout the week, the old plane did his best to make sure that his young companions had plenty to do. He had plenty of aviation maps from interesting places for them to look at and chart imaginary flight plans across. He purchased aircraft controls for the smokejumpers' gaming system and let them play the age-appropriate video games. He even got permission to allow the three planes to join him on some of the simpler patrols of the park.

It was clear that Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose had a good time on their camping trip...but there were also still kids, and there were limits to how much 'grandpa' time they could stand. By the end of the week, they were ready for some fresh faces and so they were thrilled to hear the sound of approaching rotor beats. The three young planes were well briefed on runway safety...but that didn't stop them from swarming the Blade and Maru as soon as the helicopter's rotors had come to a complete stop.

"So, Uncle Maru, Uncle Ranger, did you bring us presents!" Grid chirped and practically bounced on his tires.

Maru winked at Cabbie before giving launching into a very dramatic tale about how he had lost 'their' chocolates at the beach, which finally ended when Blade had enough of the mechanic's long-winded rant and dumped the box of sweets out his hatch. Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose were, of course, delighted and set upon the chocolates with a gusto that would make the viewer doubt the planes well fed all week.

Cabbie chuckled at the sight and swore to himself that he would find a way to make it up to the pair...after he had shepherded the young planes back to their parents.