"It states here that you have credentials to fight fires as a pilot"
"That's correct, I do have credentials as a SEAT pilot"
"Then I will talk to the forest service about a temporary transfer for you"
"Sir?"
"We're in the middle of fire season right now and unfortunately they recently lost a SEAT pilot in a training accident and have yet to replace him due to how busy things have been, they already have a plane ready for a new pilot but like I stated they need to find that pilot first"
"Sir it's December how can it be fire season?"
(Sighs) "Unfortunately we have an arsonist who's lighting fires at least once a week at the moment and we're doing everything we can just to keep up. The Governor has permitted the National Guard to send their firefighters to help supplement our manpower and we're in talks with the President to allow us to use some of the Army's trained firefighters to help supplement the Guard. After that we're going to go for mutual aid calls and request help from neighboring states if we can't get this under control soon"
"Which means you need every trained personnel you have and with me being a credited pilot I can help fight the fires with a plane and on the ground when given the chance"
"Exactly, we're also working with the FBI to try and figure out a way of catching the arsonist"
"The FBI sir?"
"Yeah, we've found evidence that this isn't the first place the guy has hit, we believe he's crossed state lines to cause problems here and as such it falls under federal jurisdiction"
"I understand sir, so you're going to contact the forest service and explain who I am to them and see if they'll accept a temporary transfer until they can get a new permanent SEAT pilot?"
"Yes that's exactly what I'm going to do, but until then you're going to get to know your new teammates and start learning the layout of the city because we are still a local fire department and as such we have to take care of the city as well in various aspects"
"Understood sir"
Just then though the tones sounded and they were called out to a car accident
"Like I said"
The group quickly went out to the accident and they realized that they would need the jaws of life to get the work done
"Okay Thomas you're operating the jaws this time"
"Yes sir, someone get a blanket to cover the victim"
The group quickly extricated the victim who was sent to the hospital and a bit later their paramedics stated that it seemed like their victim had fewer injuries then earlier suspected and would most likely make a full recovery
"Thomas you need to make the meal tonight and I'll make the call to transfer you temporarily to the forest service so that they have a SEAT pilot"
"Understood sir"
"You just got here and already they're transferring you?"
"Yes, but in case you didn't hear it's because I'm a certified SEAT pilot and right now the forest service needs my skills"
"Wait what's a SEAT? I know I've seen planes fighting fires but I never knew what they were called"
"A SEAT is a single engine air tank, I'm basically the smallest of the planes to take flight to fight fires however sometimes my size is an advantage because I can get into smaller areas that bigger planes or even choppers might not be able to, but even I have a height limit if I'm not getting water"
"When you mention smaller areas you mean?"
"Well places like vegetated canyons and a few other places...chief have a map I can show them what I'm talking about?"
"Better the fire's on the news"
"Okay let's see if I can show them more examples besides canyons"
Fortunately that's exactly what she got and she did manage to show them too
"Okay we see what you mean"
"Okay then"
"Wait...is this about that accident we heard about recently?, I think I remember hearing something on the news a few days ago"
"Yes that's exactly what it's about"
"Okay, I understand you leaving so soon"
"Mark"
"She's a pilot John, a pilot that has a specific set of skills that's currently very useful right now considering the arsonist situation"
(Sighs) "I get it, I don't like it because she won't be able to get used to us or us get used to her and will basically keep us off balance for a while but I get it"
"It's only until we get the arsonist situation under control, once that happens fire season will finally end and she can work with us instead"
"Either that or until the forest service can get a new SEAT pilot"
"Okay then, Thomas keep yourself safe while with the forest service, I know you guys will look out for each other just like us but..."
"I'm your team member now I get it"
"Exactly, what you did was like second nature to you and we worked flawlessly, and the fire right afterwords simply proved it, you were always at the right place at the right time, even managing to save the Captain at one point"
"Well, it wasn't exactly the Captain's fault he was put in that position but it was still dangerous"
"We know, it was simply wrong place at wrong time with the Captain"
"There was no way to predict that wind shift"
A few days later Karen currently going by Sarah was with the forest service getting a debrief on the current situation and the chief was hoping to get in some training so that the team could get used to a new team member but unfortunately they got a fire call right after everyone was being introduced
"All right boys we're on"
Karen quickly got to her plane and was soon up in the air ready for battle, already used to the plane because she simply knew planes and was quick to adapt, there were a few switches that were in different spots from what she was used to but since all the switches were labeled it was okay. They fought that fire for seven hours before they were told to stop because it was getting to be night time. When they got back inside Karen got some news she wasn't expecting
"Hey guys got some news about Yellowstone"
"Really? I haven't heard anything about that area in a while been too busy with my station to really pay attention to national news"
"Yeah, well apparently they're announcing a new SEAT pilot already"
"Wait what? I thought they just got a new SEAT pilot"
"Their SEAT pilot was working in a nearby town as a regular firefighter in the off season and was killed in a crash chief, so Yellowstone needs a new SEAT pilot...here's the thing though the new SEAT states that they're only staying until the true SEAT pilot returns"
"Why do they say that?"
"Something about being an EDC kid and knowing that Kerenai is harder to kill than people think. According to the new pilot they won't believe that Kerenai is truly dead even with a body until two years have passed"
Karen didn't pay any further attention and called the FBI agents about the new situation immediately
"What are we going to do?"
"You will do nothing Sarah, we'll handle this, besides it looks like the gang is being rounded up quicker than we thought and you might be able to return to Yellowstone sooner than we thought. As for the EDC kid, well we didn't say anything and they do know you better than most people so there's not much we can do about that"
"What about Kevin?"
"We've been watching him discreetly and apparently he's under the same belief as your replacement. Now then you might be able to return by summer but the leader is hard to catch so you might not, we're going to have to play things by ear"
"And afterwords we're going to have to do a lot of explaining to everyone"
"Yes, but I'm sure that they'll forgive you when they find out that your life was at risk"
"Okay, well I have to go"
Karen soon settled in to her new position and one day was told that the arsonist was caught and that fire season was finally over
"That's good to hear, what about a new SEAT pilot though?"
"We've finally found a permanent SEAT pilot too, just found them because as you well know we've been looking since the beginning and finally we have one"
"Oh how long have they been certified?"
"Just got their certification actually"
"Oh where?"
"At the Rocky Mountain National Park, we applied and requested the earliest pilot certified and were granted the first one certified from across the country due to emergency need"
"I thought the Rocky Mountain National Park was closed for the season"
"So did we but apparently not"
"Okay then I'll just be going back to my station then"
Karen arrived back to her station and was told she had a week off because of the fact that she had been fighting fires constantly with the forest services. She went to the beach and was swimming when she and another person got caught in a rip tide
"Can you swim any longer?"
"No can you?"
"Not really, I swim a lot more than you apparently but this rip is one of the stronger ones, if we were in a milder rip I would say follow my lead and swim at a forty-five degree angle but all we can do is alert the life guards and let the rip take us out to sea until it releases it's hold on us"
The two were actually rescued by guards on jet skis and they got the two safely back to the beach
"Are you two okay?"
"Yeah I think so, but I'm going to drive us to the hospital just to make sure, I may have swallowed sea water and I know for a fact she has but I need to make sure for both of us. I do not want to deal with complications of possible water inhaled at a later date"
The two went to the hospital and quickly checked in
"What brings you two in today?"
"We were swimming and she for a fact inhaled some sea water while I might have but I don't know for sure, I brought us in to be checked out and cleared"
The two were some of the first people seen and while Karen was cleared of inhaling water the second person was kept under observation over night just in case something happened. Meanwhile Karen went back to work in San Francisco in the fire department. Six months after Karen faked her death and joined the San Fran fire department she was at work when suddenly two people in suits asked for her, but was told that she was currently on a call because the Paramedics weren't needed this time due to the fact that the call was actually a fire safety class to school kids. Meanwhile at the school the students were paying rapt attention to the firefighters