"How many hours do you have logged over all?"
"I have...1,369 hours in total so far"
"That's way more hours than necessary to be qualified for a small fixed wing pilot's license"
"Well my instructor knows that I want to become a SEAT so he's giving me extra training so that I have the best chance possible to be certified as a SEAT once I turn eighteen"
"Simulating several scenario's a SEAT might encounter as best as possible?"
"Exactly"
"Okay then that makes sense, just how old are you anyways?"
"I'm sixteen, just old enough to qualify in my state"
"Okay then"
Karen is asked several more questions but finally the group is given a ride home the Alaskan school having heard about the crash and both schools deciding it was best that the group simply head home so as to assure the parents that their kids were indeed safe, even after having been allowed to call home. Once back home Karen completed her training and was given her pilot's license
"So you've finally become a pilot then"
"Yes, and now all that's left is for me to turn eighteen and then I'll be able to become a SEAT"
"What will you do in the meantime to retain the license?"
"Oh that's easy, my instructor has actually asked me to help until I turn eighteen and graduate high school to help at his school and I will also get to continue flying as well whenever we have the chance"
"Okay then we'll do that"
That summer Karen goes for her helicopter certification with the military and finds that she really was good with both planes and helicopters because she quickly certified for all military vehicles that involved flying. She kept this up until finally she graduated high school after which she went to Marissa's cousin and picked up Powerglide and then went to the Rocky Mountain National Park to become certified as a SEAT, knowing that once certified she would either stay at the park or be assigned somewhere's else depending on Presidential orders seeing as how the President knew and understood exactly why she was wanting to become a SEAT
"And you also are part of the reserves which means once a month during the weekend and two weeks out of the year you'll be gone doing military training until or unless called into service at which time you'll be getting ready for deployment and be gone for longer periods of time"
"Exactly, however I have been given time to become certified as a SEAT before that is enacted"
"And your call sign?"
"I've been given permission by the Cybertronians to call my plane Powerglide, that's the official story that everyone is going to need to stick to anyways"
"And the unofficial story?"
"The unofficial story is actually the truth, the plane that I am calling Powerglide is in reality Powerglide at least, the modified Powerglide"
"Wait Powerglide died a little over four years ago according to the Cybertronians"
"Yeah, he did and the Cybertronians are the ones who raised me, he was on life support until I got home the day he died, we then decided to give him to a cousin of Captain Faireborn until I was old enough to become a SEAT, the cousin helped us with most of the modifications until now because there are still a few modifications that need to be made in order for Powerglide to become a SEAT"
"Okay then we'll make the modifications that are still needed and then we'll get you certified, after that you can do your reserve training and I assume that the President will be the one to ultimately hand you your assignments?"
"Exactly I am always under Presidential order though I may receive the orders from commanding officers that I am to serve under I always know that ultimately I am under Presidential order to obey such orders until such a time as I'm told to go else where's"
"Okay then we have an understanding, be ready for some harsh training"
"Don't worry I'm ready for anything"
"Guess you are all things considered"
"Oh one more thing I was born with special powers but I will not use them unless absolutely necessary or under orders depending on the fire situation"
"Understood after I certify you I will make sure to have that noted for anyone you serve under"
"Okay then, is there a private area I can practice in?"
"That I'm not sure of, besides you're going to have a lot of training hours to complete and that includes actual fires once I deem you ready"
"Okay then, for now where can I bunk?"
"I'll show you, anything else I should know?"
"Yeah, I typically get up about an hour before anyone else if they're not on night watch to get in both exercise and practice in and that basically means an hour before sunrise, even if I cross time zones my body can still tell when it's an hour before sunrise so if you see someone up and about before anyone should be up it's only me"
"That's actually good information for me to know because we don't take kindly to unwelcome visitors that we can't identify immediately"
"Why not?"
"Does almost burned down mean anything to you?"
"Who tried to torch you guys at your base?"
"An arsonist who later got what was coming to him in the form of hard time in a federal penitentiary, last I heard he was still locked up"
"I can understand why you guys are so tight on security then"
"We still have armed guards even, and I should introduce you to them so that they know how to recognize you and your habits"
"Okay then"
Karen is soon introduced to the guards where she explains her routine and then finds her bunk and also her new temporary roommates seeing as how everyone slept together but there were two bathrooms so that's where most of the changing happened when it was needed, and also where the showers happened too
"Okay everyone this is the new pilot going for her SEAT certification, now then she will not be going to fire calls until I say otherwise however she will be with us whenever we go on training missions, she will also be going to be with the reserves in the military so if she's stationed here we're going to have to get used to a new schedule, and she gets up an hour before sunrise so if you guys suddenly wake up to the sound of a shower or someone moving around it's most likely her. Anything else you would like to say Kerenai?"
"Yes, and this is mainly to the mechanics, I know and understand that you'll have to do maintenance on my plane on occasion but whenever possible I want to be the one working on Powerglide, and before you say anything I have the permission of the Cybertronians to name my plane after their soldier. This means unless absolutely necessary no one touches my plane, I do the maintenance, the cleaning and the general up keep of that aircraft period the end of it. If I am out of commission then I will allow the mechanics to do what they need to do to repair the aircraft, however I want you to keep the aircraft as normal as possible, you'll understand what I mean when you start working on the aircraft, I will also let another person fly the aircraft however you must be a certified small fixed wing aircraft pilot and never during training scenario's only the real thing, one more warning for the mechanics if you are required to repair my plane and you see something you don't understand you ask me before removing it, there's probably a reason it's there and if need be I will do further explaining in regards to my plane and why I decided to call it Powerglide"
"You mean there's an actual story behind that decision?"
"Yes there is and no unless absolutely necessary you aren't cleared to know what that is, in fact there's a lot about me you aren't cleared for, the base commander knows the full story because he has to and as such has the clearance but that's the only reason"
"If not for everyone's safety I doubt I would have such access so keep that in mind people"
"Wait, things are classified for our safety?"
"Yes it is, there's a lot about me you guys don't know for your own safety but as the base commander knows if you need to know he'll tell you if I can't"
"That's true, whenever Karen is at a location where security is paramount she has a need to know rule placed on her meaning if you don't need to know you don't find out"
"Now then let's allow Kerenai get settled then we'll have a training session, no actual retardant or water we're simply going to get used to flying around each other, this is also to teach Karen how we phrase things when need be"
"So basically getting me used to both you guys and what you might say in a situation"
"Exactly"
"Okay then let's get started"
Karen worked hard over the next two months training every day to get certified, and one day she finally was given certification but no one was happy that day or if they seemed happy everyone knew it was an act due to the circumstances under which Karen got certified
"Congratulations Karen you're officially certified"
"When's the funeral?"
"Not for two more days depending on the weather due to the fact that another fire is still possible, however you've been given orders to immediately report to Yellowstone"
"You know as well as I do that I can at least stay for the funeral, I have to considering..."
"Karen, there was nothing you could do, no matter how much you might have wanted to"
"But if I was a little bit faster then..."
"No Karen, I recently got a report on their deaths, there was nothing you could have done to save them that they hadn't already done. The ME stated that they were dead at least an hour before we got to them due to the fact that they had run out of oxygen and with the way the fire trapped the ground crews I'm actually amazed that more lives weren't lost that day"
"I'm still staying for the funeral as long as it's soon"
"Very well then I will give you the chance to say goodbye"
"Chief..."
"Don't, don't call me that yet I need time myself to cope with my new position"
"My promotion, was I promoted so soon because of this?"
"No, the previous chief signed off on your promotion the day before the fire, he was going to tell you himself that afternoon but we had the lightening strike and windy conditions which forced us to go out early. He had planned on a simple ceremony and then telling you where your new assignment was"
"How long has he known about Yellowstone?"
"Since last week, they personally requested you under no ones influence except yours"
"How would they know about me to request me on my own merit?"
"The chief gave out regular progress for any of his SEAT trainees that didn't have a specific destination in mind, like you wanting to work for the National Park service. You apparently impressed the chief there enough that he wanted you so badly he not only called first dibs on you but literally phoned the other chiefs to not request you unless they absolutely needed another SEAT more than he did, if so he would give them priority"
"Okay I was not expecting something like that"
"We know"
The group soon got the report that the fires were basically out but since the team had just lost three smokejumpers including their chief it was decided that they would stay and help if something happened over the next few days while the team attended the funeral and made decisions on who would be a smokejumper next. Two days later at a combined funeral the team buried their three dead teammates and then Karen took Powerglide and flew him to Yellowstone, she arrived several hours later and the whole team knew that it was not a good idea to ask her why she was late because the Rocky Mountain National Park fire made national news and as such they knew that she had attended the funeral of her former teammates
"Karen I received a report from the previous chief and know your situation however I need to know how this will affect us"
"As a reserve I won't be called unless absolutely necessary so it shouldn't affect the team too severely, mainly training once a month on the weekends and then two weeks once a year for the most part, if I am called to duty we'll have enough notice in advance that you can get a temporary SEAT pilot if need be"
"That's all I need to know"
"One more thing, no one touches my plane unless necessary"
"That was mentioned too and I've already alerted the mechanics, I also know why we can't touch the plane unless necessary, what happens should you be deployed?"
"Ideally I would fly to where I'm supposed to be but if need be the plane stays in the hanger and the mechanics can do regular maintenance on the plane, I will also allow someone to fly the plane once every two weeks as long as they have the correct license"
"Why not once a week?"
"Okay let me define what I mean by flying the plane, once a week a maintenance run is allowed but only a basic run meaning the plane basically stays on the ground unless something is suspected then only half an hour, once every two weeks someone with the correct license can take the plane out for a long flight. Only exception to that rule is if you have a spare SEAT pilot and their plane is down for whatever reason"
"Emergency permission to spare SEAT pilot for fires?"
"Exactly, because I already know that when a fire breaks out we're out there for hours doing what we can to contain said fire"
"Okay I can totally understand and agree to said rule, like I already told you I have gotten a full debrief on you so I know the situation in regards to the plane, including why you're calling it Powerglide"
"Whoa you're gutsy to name a plane after a Cybertronian"
"I/She have/has permission"
"Why though?"
"It's complicated, there are reasons they gave me permission but I am not going to discuss them unless absolutely necessary as the chief well knows. One more thing you should be aware of is that it's been discovered that when I'm under stress I sometimes speak another language so if that happens let me know and I will translate what I have said to the best of my abilities, either that or simply repeat what I was trying to say in English, except insults and cursing, those stay private period"
Just then someone came to their base and as soon as Karen saw them she growled fiercely and everyone there could tell that someone was going to get hurt if they weren't careful