CHAPTER 1
Induction
Nearon, Capital of the Principality of Barkingburg
June 5th, 2019
2159hrs, 9:59 PM
The Air Patroller raced through the air, breaking through the clouds above Barkingburg's capital: the city of Nearon. It housed famous artifacts: Barkingburg Castle, where Princess Liliana, the current monarch resides. As they broke through the thick layers covering the city, they saw everything in its beauty. The tallest building in the middle of it all was a clock tower; gifted to the city by the Asharian Federation, an allied state of Barkingburg that resided just north of the country, sharing numerous principles and ideals. Asharia also housed the city of Adventure Bay, where these heroic pups were from.
"Look at all the old buildings!" Everest exclaimed happily, her tail reciprocating with joy.
"This city is magnifico!" Tracker remarked, his eyes locked on the clock tower. The tower then rang loudly, as its bell was struck, signaling another hour had just passed, striking 10:00 PM, or 2200hrs.
"Now can you tell us what the surprise is, Ryder?" Chase asked curiously, his tail gently waving in the air stiffly as he tilted his head.
"Yeah, can you tell us?" Everest politely asked.
"Come on dude, tell us!" Zuma chimed in.
"Alright alright!" Ryder began, chuckling. "We're here to meet an old friend of mine, and help the princess out." He explained, turning the large LCD screen to face the pups, swiveling their seats to face the screen in near unison. Everyone seemed quite excited, as the feed of a female wolf came alive. She was a brown Eurasian wolf, with varying shades of brown to cream colors, with a black tuft of fur nearly covering her right eye, both being a beautiful ice blue. She appeared to be going fast, the skyline behind her racing away in split seconds.
"Oh, hey Ryder, what's up?" She greeted him kindly, even though her oxygen mask that encapsulated her muzzle was tightly secured to her helmet, and blocked some of her facial features, she still acted and seemed cheerful.
"Everyone, this is Captain Taeyeon of the Asharian Air Defense Force. It is wonderful to see you again, old friend!" Ryder noted, smiling.
"Hi, Taeyeon!" Everyone said right after Ryder.
"Or erm, should we say, Captain Taeyeon," Zuma remarked, laughing to himself.
"It is alright, you can call me Tae, or Taeyeon, I don't mind. It is wonderful to meet you all. I've heard lots about you from Ryder." She interjected, her ears twitching from above her helmet.
"What brings you to Barkingburg, Taeyeon?" Skye asked curiously.
"I'm here to train you guys into true pilots," Taeyeon explained simply.
"Really?!" Skye asked excitingly, almost getting out of her seat, only her seatbelt stopping her. Ryder nodded in response.
"The Princess has been worrying about the Duke Sebastian of Flappington. With the 'Gem of Barkingburg' in a foreign country, we are worried he'll send fighters to intercept the cargo since it is coming in by plane. So we need all the help we can get." Taeyeon began. "We don't plan on getting it onto a plane for five weeks, which is why we will use this time to train you all. Not to mention the Grand Duchy of Flappington could very well attack us at any moment, with the recent rising tensions between the two countries."
"Oh… that must explain why we had to bring our suitcases…" Rubble remarked.
"Why can't we use our jetpacks, Ryder? Aren't they capable?" Skye asked with confusion.
"Well, compared to metal planes, they can't do much," Ryder explained.
"Woah!" Rocky, Chase, and Skye all said with admiration, watching a jet come alongside them. It was Taeyeon, in her F-14A Tomcat. With the pull of a lever, the wings began to sweep outwards. She rocked the wings left and right, as her human co-pilot gave a salute. She then broke off, intending to land at the airbase they were heading for.
"How exactly did you meet Taeyeon, Ryder?" Chase asked curiously, the German Shepherd tilting his head, followed by the rest of the pups who all eyed Ryder.
"I met Taeyeon through strange circumstances. She used to live in Adventure Bay, where we all live. I met her during an avalanche a couple of years back while I was on vacation in the snowy mountains north of the city. Of course, we had to leave to go our separate ways. I was told she served in the Asharian Air Defense Force, and we were able to remain in contact for a long time ever since." Ryder smiled slightly.
"That must've been a scary experience for you, Ryder!" Rocky sympathized with him.
"It was. But because of Taeyeon, I'm here today. So even if it isn't related to the military, she is still my hero." He smiled at the pups slightly.
Ryder also explained that she was the lead pilot of the 128th Strategic Fighter Squadron, and to give her the utmost respect.
"Be sure to give Taeyeon the utmost respect. She leads the 128th Strategic Fighter Squadron, so listen to what she has to say, and be sure to respond with yes ma'am and no ma'am." Ryder said.
"Yes sir, Ryder sir!" Everyone said in unison.
Ryder smiled, turning back to face Robo-dog.
"Robo-dog, head for the airfield!" Ryder commanded. Robo-dog barked, slightly tilting the nose down as the plane touched down on the runway's asphalt, with jets in the hangars undergoing crucial maintenance. They included various modern fighter and multirole jets, from the F/A-18 Super Hornet to the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
"Wow…" Skye began in awe. "This is nothing like what we have!"
After they taxied and stopped in a hangar, everyone got out of the Air Patroller, looking up at the sky as Taeyeon raced by, her F-14's two engines roaring as she tilted down to face them, giving them a salute herself. After making a loop around, she touched down safely on the runway. While getting out of the aircraft, using a ladder designed for her, she gave her co-pilot a fist bump with her paw, chuckling as she tossed her gear into the pilot seat.
Now she could be seen without the mess of an oxygen mask, or gray helmet with black visor covering her features. She shook her head, getting the tuft of fur to move away from her line of vision as she jumped cheerfully into Ryder's arms, her tail wagging left and right. Despite being a wolf, she still found him to be a close friend.
"I missed you, Ryder!" Taeyeon said with a slight smile.
"And I missed you too!" Ryder replied, squeezing her briefly, before letting her down.
"You should hurry on over to the barracks over there. There will be two of you in each room, maybe three-in-one if it is an odd number. Taeyeon pointed to the two-story building. "Get some rest, we have a busy day tomorrow." She smiled, before starting to walk off to talk with some of the other pilots.
Everyone went inside the Air Patroller, taking out their luggage and bags, which some of the ground crew helped them carry. As they each found their small dorm-sized room. They were each organized neatly: Marshall and Chase, Skye and Everest, Rocky and Zuma, and Rubble and Tracker. Ryder checked on them one by one, chuckling warmly as most of the pups were asleep, while Rocky was trying to make the room as neat as possible, including his bed.
And Skye? She was not asleep, she was admiring one of the jets as it was being worked on. It was an F-22 Raptor, widely considered the most advanced fighter jet in the world. Asharia had sent these jets as part of a squadron stationed in Barkingburg, bound by a mutual defense treaty. She had done her research on her own time and had seen images of the F-22, but seeing one in person? It was beautiful. It was something she could've only dreamed of., something capable of flying higher than anything she could've ever thought of. And Taeyeon? She saw Skye walk out of the dorm an hour after she had told them to settle in. She wasn't upset, she just couldn't stop herself from wondering.
"Skye?" Taeyeon walked up to her, and sat comfortably on the concrete a couple of inches away from her. "Aren't you tired?" She asked the pup. She didn't seem tired at all; in fact, she seemed to be in a trance.
"It is just… this!" Skye said simply, pointing to the jet. Well, now she knew. She heard from Ryder that Skye was a pilot, a good one. She knew that Skye had a helicopter back at base, but she truly wanted to fly a jet. Metal beasts that roared through the sky, defying all laws of physics as two enemies would engage in a dogfight of flying colors, in spiritual movements encapsulated in the blue sky.
Taeyeon didn't want to make her upset, but there was no way she'd let Skye fly the most expensive Asharian fighter jet in her squadron, which she sometimes flew, at least with her level of training being minimal, especially on a fighter jet.
"Have patience, Skye. Your time to fight will come soon." Skye looked at her as she spoke out her wisdom, her mouth open slightly. She was a really experienced pilot, that was for certain. As Taeyeon left her side, Skye watched as she walked off into the darkness, turning her gaze back to the F-22 sitting in front of her. She was getting tired, and she closed her eyes briefly, imagining her first flight in a proper jet. She then forced her eyes open, realizing she was definitely tired. So she walked off back to the dorm housing, taking a few glances back at the hangar and the F-22 as they began to shut the doors for the night. With a chuckle, she walked back inside, to get some well-deserved rest.
A/N
It has been a while since I've posted some fanfiction! I've decided to get a bit more experience and practice writing decently before trying to write a full series. I hope that I can say with FULL confidence, that this series will be the FIRST to be fully completed! The second chapter is currently in the works, and will be out by the end of this week at the earliest!
PAW Patrol belongs to Spin Master!