On the eve of the wargame, Rick and Lisa held an assembly to give their teams a pep talk.
"Tomorrow is the day we have been preparing for this past two months," Lisa began. "I wish you all a safe flight out there. And win or lose, I'd like to thank you all for the effort you've put into this."
"Now let's show them what we're made of," Rick concluded.
The following morning, the base was up early. Lisa went over final preparations with her teams while Rick went over flight assignments with Max and his squadrons.
Admiral Reinhart and Admiral Edwards arrived with their fleet of older VTs at the base. The local pilots watched as their counterparts land and prepare for the wargame. After some speeches from their superiors, the teams geared up for the exercise. As a precaution, the VTs were configured to virtually tag each other without actually firing any ammunition.
Once the VTs were up in the air, the wargame was underway. To a civilian, it would've looked like VTs just flying around but to the two teams, it was all about tactical moves to capture the other team's flagship. For Admiral Edwards, Admiral Reinhart's son was the flagship pilot while for Rick, it was Max. As the simulation progressed, only a few VTs were left in the air and Commander Reinhart had decided to go after Max. Miriya was racing towards him but still far away to assist so Max tried the maneuver that he and Rick discussed.
"What is he doing?" Lisa asked with concern.
"He can do this," Rick assured her.
Max took a sharp ascent that surprised his opponent. When he tried to follow, Max banked to come around. And before Reinhart knew it, he was tagged by both Max and Miriya who finally joined them.
"I've been hit," Reinhart announced to the dismay of Admiral Edwards. He had hoped that Reinhart's experience could have won the day for him.
"Well, I guess we've seen enough," Admiral Reinhart finally said. "Order the pilots back to base."
Admiral Edwards was not happy but obliged.
At the hangar, the senior officers gathered to congratulate the pilots. Max and Miriya hugged and were congratulated by their teammates. Commander Reinhart walked over to do the same.
"Well done, Max," he said.
"You gave me a scare for a bit," Max admitted. "You just wouldn't get off my tail."
"You'll have to teach me that maneuver sometime."
"If Miriya agrees," he said, beaming at his wife who had suggested it to him.
"Your pilots had the advantage of new VTs," Admiral Edwards declared sourly.
"Oh come on Edwards, a faster VT may help but a tactical advantage can compensate for what you lack in speed," Admiral Reinhart explained. "But I am quite impressed with your pilot Lisa."
"We are fortunate to have him, sir" Lisa said.
"Keep up the good work Lisa," Admiral Reinhart suggested. "You, too, Rick. I guess this concludes this wargame. I think we should return to base now while there's light."
"Goodbye sir," Rick and Lisa saluted in unison.
Admiral Edwards was obviously upset for losing but could say nothing more. Instead he just stormed off after Admiral Reinhart who was heading to his plane.
When they had boarded their plane, Rick picked up Lisa and spun her around.
"Rick, put me down," she said.
Rick complied grudgingly.
"Good job," she managed to say to appease him. "We should thank the teams as well at assembly."
Rick and Lisa walked towards the growing assemblage of people at the field.
"Thank you everyone for a job well done," Lisa began to say to the assembled personnel. "You've not only proven that we can defend our ship but what a good team we have." She looked at the happy faces of the pilots, the ground crews and the command teams.
They all cheered knowing full well how important it was beyond just winning.
"Would you care to add anything Admiral Hunter?" she prompted Rick.
"As a thank you to all of you, I believe Admiral Hayes will approve additional leaves for all of you," he declared and gave her a winning smile. He was rewarded with a nod from her and the cheers from everyone. "Of course you can't all go at once or it'll be too quiet here at the base. Admiral Hayes and I can't run this base by ourselves." His comment was met with wild laughter from the crowd.
"Kiss!" It started as a small chant but eventually got louder. The crowd waited in anticipation. Rick extended his hand to Lisa and she delicately approached him. He pulled her into his arms and smiled from ear to ear. When he kissed her on the cheek, the crowd wasn't satisfied and continued to chant.
"Well, I guess we have to give them what they want," Rick suggested.
Lisa nodded demurely. When her lips touched his, the crowd whistled and cheered.
"At least they're not shocked," he said when they parted.
"I think we have Cindy to thank for that," she teased. Her efficient aide seemed to be the Trio all rolled into one. Cindy had the inside scoop, the playful and gossiping nature that they had. She missed everyone terribly and saw in her new friends the old ones she lost.
"Do you think she's behind this?" He, too, fondly remembered the Trio. They had steered him in Lisa's direction and were highly protective of her whenever he goofed up. He wished he could thank them all.
"I guess now we'll never know," she said seeing that the whole base now knows of their relationship. She wouldn't put it past Cindy but decided to play along for now. They all deserved a break.
Buoyed by their recent successful wargame, the base personnel were quite upbeat. Lisa realized that Rick was right about having faith in them. She thought that she was protecting them by being cautious but they had all risen to the challenge far better than she had expected. She watched the VTs take off from her office window and tried to distinguish the different squadrons under her command.
"Admiral Hayes," Cindy called out to her when she entered the office. "Am I interrupting?"
"No, come in Cindy," she encouraged her aide. She stayed by the window and waited for Cindy to join her.
"I've located the aircraft that you asked," she informed her boss. "And it's available on the day you've requested."
Lisa turned to look at Cindy who has just made her day. She couldn't help but hug her wonderful aide.
"Admiral Hayes," Cindy stammered, completely taken by surprise.
"What would I do without you?" Lisa asked with gratitude in her voice. "You've just made me the happiest woman on Earth."
Cindy was glad to see Lisa so happy. She wasn't just a boss to her but a mentor. And what little she could do for Lisa was thanks enough.
"So what time will it be arriving?"
"Early morning, and I've asked the ground crew to get it ready as soon as possible."
"Alright then, cancel all my appointments …" Lisa began to say.
"Already did Admiral," Cindy proudly stated. "And I've asked Louie to do the same for Admiral Hunter."
Lisa hugged her one more time before heading out to go home.