Oceana Naval Air Station
Naval Flight Officer Piper McLean
With hungry eyes, Piper stared at the long rows of jets parked on the ramp from the safety of her father's truck as they headed down London Bridge Road. Dozens of gleaming Skyhawks, Phantoms, Intruders, and more rested in the sunlight. As they approached the base from the north, a few cargo jets joined them. Even more of the bulky cargo jets and a small handful of passenger planes had joined them.
As they passed the length of the airbase, a two-ship of Phantoms accelerated down the runway, their afterburners shaking the windows of the car as the jets rushed past them and took off into the sky.
"Stop fidgeting, Piper," her father warned her. "You'll be fine!"
"I am the second woman in this squadron and already one day late," Piper argued. She would have said more, but her eyes had already found the sight her heart desired to see more than any other.
On the other side of the airfield, she finally spotted the sleek and imposing warbirds that she so yearned to see, the ones with a Jolly Roger painted proudly on the rudder. They rounded the airbase and finally came to a stop in front of the gate.
One of the MPs approached the driver's seat and knocked on the window. "ID, please?" he asked, looking her over.
Piper showed her military ID and smiled sweetly, making sure her freshly pressed uniform sat properly. "Where is VF 84 based at?" she asked.
He pointed in a rough direction. "You'll see the squadron colors."
"Thank you," Piper replied, and they headed onto the airbase and down a road lined with buildings until they finally parked in front of what looked like a two-floor office building with a long radio antenna sticking from the roof, adjacent to the ramp, and stopped the car.
"You need help with the bag?" Tristan asked.
"Dad, this is a Naval base; I can carry my own bags," she assured him and climbed out.
"I know, just asking, pumpkin."
Just then the office building's door opened, and a quite pretty Latin officer with the stripes of a Lieutenant Commander gracing her shoulders briskly walked up to them.
Piper snapped to attention and saluted smartly, noticing the squadron coat of arms on the woman's shoulder.
"Lt. Piper McLean reporting for duty," she announced.
"A day late," the Latina grumbled and also relaxed, though that did little to take away from what Piper considered a quite imposing appearance. "But I heard the story. People call me Queen around here. Mr. McLean, would you like to join us on the tour? It isn't every day we get movie stars around here."
"Sure," her father replied, unfortunately, and much too brightly.
They were shown around the ready room, where Piper met the first of her future squadron mates, the rest rooms, the head office, and changing rooms.
"So," Reyna began as she led them towards the tarmac-facing door. "Most importantly, do not fraternize with anyone in the squadron or on the base before you have at least two tours under your belt. Otherwise, you will be the resident bimbo," Reyna continued. Piper glanced at her father, who seemed more amused than bothered by the comment. "Now, being the second girl to make the squadron, I have assigned you to my best pilot. He'll make you look good and doesn't mind working with women," Reyna continued smoothly as they left the squadron's building and walked towards a large hangar. "Callsign Blackjack," she explained. "He should be around here... ah, there."
The hangar was filled with over a dozen Tomcats in different stages of disassembly. Dozens of mechanics were bustling around. It was sweltering hot in the hangar.
They were led through a maze of aircraft, and Piper immediately began sweating.
"Watch your head," Reyna yelled over their shoulders and ducked under an extended wing, missing its control surfaces before they finally stood in front of an airframe in the livery of the Jolly Rogers. Her radar cone was open, flashing its powerful AWG-9 for everyone to see.
Her left turbine had been pulled out as well and now hung in a hose as six men stood on the other side working on it shirtless.
"Boys, the grease monkeys do not need your help fixing a Turbofan. Get your asses here," Reyna yelled.
Two of the men came over, one a tall black man of herculean build, and the other, a tanned man, not quite as tall or muscular but still in peak physical condition. He had uncombed black hair and striking sea-green eyes.
"Mclean, these two dipshits are your CO Charles Beckendorf, and your pilot, Jackson. Gentlemen, put some shirts on. This isn't a strip club."
"Yes, Ma'am," the tanned guy said and looked her over. "Jackson, this is your new RIO. It's her first time, so be gentle with her," Reyna said. "And this is her father..."
"Mr. Tristan McLean," the squadron chief announced and shook the actor's hand.
"You care to take over the tour?" Queen asked.
"Yes," Blackjack replied. "Jo, Valdez, what time can you get her ready?" he called over his shoulder.
A skinny Latino kid with dark hair and an oversized utility belt appeared between the machinery. "Can get the engine back inside in three hours... then she is yours. You want to take her out later?"
"Beckendorf, mind if I put us on the roster for this evening? Would be a good chance to get some hours for her before next week," he asked.
The large African American man shrugged. "Sure, sounds good to me. Jo Valdez, fuel her and the High Viz up. Have Captives loaded so we can do some BFM later."
Piper glanced over at her pilot. "We are flying today?" she asked.
He grinned over at her. "Yeah, we got to get you in shape before our deployment. Let me show you around the squadron barracks and show you around."
They did, and Piper finally got to meet a few more of the squadron members. They seemed to be a cheerful, if aggressive bunch. There was some general excitement about the novelty of having one of Hollywood's favorites in their squadron HQ. Piper watched with some embarrassment as her father was soon signing autographs and posing for pictures with Piper's future work colleagues. He was even invited to spend the day, watch her first flight, and then sit down for dinner with the rest of them, which, to Piper's mild concern, he accepted. She knew he was gunning to get good pictures of her, mainly for her album, but also in anticipation of her possible post-military career in Hollywood.
Finally, though, she, Blackjack, and Beckendorf, and Reyna settled down in a small group with a thick binder, and Reyna flicked on an overhead projector. Her father had joined them with his camera.
"So, McLean, now that you have settled in, let's welcome you to your first pre-flight briefing with the squadron," Beckendorf greeted her and opened the binder. Piper pulled out her own little notebook and pen.
"We take off at seventeen hundred hours this evening. Oceana tower frequency is 360.200. Approach is on 123.900," he began after sitting down in a chair, and Piper began scribbling.
They went through a weather report, then agreed on a flight plan that would take them out to the mountain ranges past Lexington, demonstrating her mission readiness. She was to find and SST lock onto their wingman in the terrain and surrounding sky and simulate missile launches. Once that had been concluded, they would make the 250 nm track back to Oceana, topping off with a KC-135 on the way. After proceeding out to the open ocean, they would engage in a series of BFM encounters and finally return to Oceana. To add to the complication, they would be flight lead, and Piper would be responsible for handling all flight communication and navigation.
It would be a much longer flight with a higher workload than she was emotionally prepared for on such short notice, but there wasn't much choice. On the bright side, it had been nearly two months since she last sat in an F-14 during the graduation flight for her platform certification as a Naval Flight Officer.
Before Piper knew it, she had changed into her flight suit and was slipping into her G-suit. Finally, the four of them, with her father in tow, were heading outside to the flight line. Two airframes had joined the row of parked aircraft. As they approved, the fuel trucks began to pull away, and Valdez came out to meet them.