FIRE ON HIGH
“Fire On High” is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters and settings © Tigermark 2003-2007 unless otherwise noted. Request permission before using them, please.
The characters of Anatol Altaisokova and Melinda Altaisokova are my names for characters © Max Blackrabbit. They appear in this story with his permission. The characters of Brandy, Maxwell, Tonya and Zig Zag are also © Max Blackrabbit and appear here with his permission. Events and information relating to Tonya, Anatol, and their family are presented here, but are not to be considered canon to those characters or any other story but this one. ZZ Studios, and all characters associated with ZZ Studios, James Sheppard, and Marvin Badger © James Bruner and appear here with his permission. Although characters from and events referring to Zig Zag the Story appear here, this story is not canon to that one, and the author will disavow any knowledge of this story. Wanda Vixen © Chris Yost and appears here with his permission. Sabrina Mustidalae © Eric W. Schwartz and appears here with his permission. This story is not canon to Sabrina Online the comic, or Sabrina Online the Story, either. Matt Barstock, Angie, Intermountain Charter, The Bitch, and her crew, and Jerry Kitt © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE. Gail Rutherford © me and is not canon to any other story involving ZZ Studios. Gabrielle Ryder © Aslaug, from her stories Transitions and Transitions II. See them at her site, The Axe Shed, available from the links page.
Author’s Note: Lewiston, Maine’s airport, identifier KLEW, is actually uncontrolled. That is, it has no control tower. Poetic license was used for this story, so Alex and company talk with a control tower whilst aviating there.
Chapter 46
Air Start
Friday morning dawned bright and calm. Corrie sat at her kitchen table, feeling very bleary-eyed as she finished up a cup of coffee. After yesterday, she hadn’t slept well. The Nightmare hadn’t returned, but she’d had other dreams. Mostly of a misty white figure, only discernable against a background of diffuse light because of the black stripes he had. She couldn’t make out a face, even though the figure started out very close to her. Little by little, he moved away until he disappeared. She tried to follow, to call out to him, but she felt like she was trying to move and speak through maple syrup.
With a sigh, she got up and put her cup in the sink, her tail dragging low behind her. For the first time she could remember, she was dreading going to work. All the times before, well, at least since she’d been in the
“Ah, he’s probably so mad at me he’d chew me out right royal on sight. I don’t need that, I feel bad enough as it is. Maybe if I leave now, I’ll get there early enough to have it done before he comes in,” she muttered to herself.
Corrie grabbed her keys and walked out the door, pausing to lock it behind her. The sun shining brightly just above the horizon while the birds sang happily made a stark counterpoint to her current mood.
# # #
“Mr. Platt?”
The badger looked down sharply. The young and extremely intimidated canid briefly thought about the fact that an inordinate number of the teachers and administrators at Tonemaine School were either badgers, wolverines, or large, stocky canids. Even the female ones.
“Yes Branson, what is it?”
“Sir, I need to tell someone something…about my father.”
Carl Branson had been at Tonemaine for a week now, and so far he’d been in trouble twice as he tried to adjust to the very strict rules there. He’d come in full of bravado, like his father had said to do. That had been drilled out of him almost immediately as three of the teachers had descended upon him and made sure in very loud and authoritative voices that he knew his actions and attitude were unacceptable.
He’d also been quietly and expertly bullied by a couple of the older students. All in all, he’d become very convinced that doing anything, especially what his father had proposed, that might extend his stay at the school, or send him somewhere worse, was a very bad idea.
“Your father, eh?” Mr. Platt narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the canid. He’d read the reports from this one’s previous school. Any excuse for his actions would do, and any blame that could be shifted, would. “Let me guess. It isn’t your fault you’re here, it’s his. He what? Led you astray? Made you attack that young femme at your old school? I’ve read your file, and I’ve heard every excuse in the book. Get back in line for your first class, I’m in no mood for a sob story today.”
Carl started to protest, but a sharp second look from the badger silenced him. As he stepped back in line to go into his classroom, Carl thought that maybe playing sick would get him out of the visitation with his father. He still had a week to figure out what to do. He followed the other students in and went to his seat. He stood by, waiting for the teacher to come in and tell them to sit down.
Carl didn’t know what else to do right then, he only knew that if his father did what he’d talked about, it would be way more trouble than he ever wanted to see.
# # #
“Ah, Tia O’Whitt. Nice to see you again,” the large grizzly said.
Tia had been walking down the hall toward her first class, her fellow “Top Guns” beside her. She stopped and looked up at Mr. Grizwald. Way up.
“Hello Mr. Grizwald. Thanks,” she replied, unsure of why the assistant principal had spoken.
Mr. Grizwald nodded to say she was welcome, and then got to what he wanted to know. “Any more problems? Has Carl Branson attempted any sort of contact with you?”
Tia cocked her head, curious about the question. “No sir. I wouldn’t expect him to, after what happened.”
The grizzly shrugged. “Sometimes ones like that can be just plain stupid. They attempt to go after their victim, if they get the chance. Usually somewhere away from school. I haven’t heard anything from Tonemaine about any threats or indications he might try something, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. If I were you, I’d be very watchful when you’re out and about. At home, too, for that matter.”
“Uh, yes sir. Is there something I need to be aware of? Did he make threats before he left, or something?”
“Oh no, no, nothing like that. It’s just that I’ve seen ones like him before, and they can be both very crafty and very persistent. Consider it a friendly warning from a concerned principal.”
Tia nodded solemnly. “Uh, yes sir, I will. I need to get on to class now.”
“Fine. Good. If he does happen to try to have any contact with you, please let me know. Goodbye, Tia.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Grizwald,” Tia replied as she watched the large bear turn and head off down the hall.
The other three Top Guns had stopped up the hall, far enough not to be conspicuous. They now stood waiting for Tia to catch up.
“What was that all about?” Amanda “Flit” Squirrel asked as Tia reached them.
“Yeah,” added Pamela “Pammy” Celeste.
“Is it trouble, TC?” asked Michelle “Schell” Minkowitz.
“No, not really. Mr. Grizwald was just following up on whether Charlie Bravo had tried to contact me or anything,” Tia responded matter-of-factly as they resumed walking.
“After what you did to him? Puleeeze!” Pammy, the group’s chinchilla drama queen commented. The other three laughed a bit, and then Tia responded.
“I haven’t heard or seen anything of him. Still, I think Mr. Grizwald might have a point. It never hurts to pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Yeah, you’re right there, TC,” Flit replied as she dodged around a big knot of students standing in front of a bulletin board. The Mystery Club Digest had just been posted that morning, and anyone who didn’t subscribe or buy a copy had to stand there to read it.
As they passed the group, Tia noticed a pair of blue eyes turn her way. She arched an eyebrow slightly at Stewart Zander, the owner of said eyes. He gave a small nod and a friendly smile. Tia twitched an ear his way and dipped her chin slightly to acknowledge him and say hello in return. The canid cocked his head a bit sideways, trying to figure out what she meant by the movements.
“Canids,” she said under her breath, almost with a giggle. Actually, she’d been a bit impressed that he’d alerted Mr. Lapinovich to what Carl might be intending, and had even come along to make sure she was okay.
Tia’s thoughts were interrupted when Schell said in a low voice, “Y’know, TC, I think he likes you.”
Tia looked sideways as they turned to go into their first classroom of the day. The mink’s face had an eager expression, and Tia rolled her eyes.
“He’s okay. He’s starting to grow out of that big head he used to have, but remember, Top Guns are mission-oriented, and what’s our mission?”
“SUCCESS!!” the other three answered in unison. It was their way of stating that they wouldn’t be distracted. Not by bullies, snobs, gossips, or even on-the-edge-of-cute guys.
The whole classroom joined in the laughter that followed as they found their seats and sat down.
# # #
Corrie pulled into a parking space, noting with some trepidation that Alex’s rental car was already there. With a sigh, she shut down her car and gathered her purse and keys.
“Nothing for it, I guess. Ben won’t let anything get out of paw.”
She got out and locked the door behind her. She then walked up to the door into the office and lounge area, where she stopped for a second. She then stood tall, squared her shoulders, and went inside. Ben was at his desk, but she didn’t see Alex anywhere.
“Good. Maybe he’s ovah checking the weather or something, and I can get this done before he gets back,” she whispered to herself.
As Corrie walked up to the desk, Ben looked around. She was relieved to see his expression upon noticing her was his normal slight smile.
“Morning, Ben. I, ah, need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Mornin’ Corray,” Ben replied. “Okay, what is it?”
Corrie took a deep breath, preparing to tell Ben to give Alex to another instructor. “Well, it’s about Alex. I—”
“Ah, hold on a minute theah. If it’s about a student, I’d rahthah be keeping it private. No tellin’ how soon the othahs will staht comin’ in. Let’s go to the back private office.”
“Uh, alright,” Corrie answered uncertainly. Ben got up and led the way back to the small office behind the locker room. Going there brought the memory of her blow-up at Alex back to her full force. She swallowed hard and followed after Ben.
“He must be so mad,” she muttered under her breath.
“You say somethin’, Corray?” Ben asked over his shoulder as they approached the office door.
“Uh, no, nothing.”
Corrie was lost in her own thoughts, just following along behind Ben. It took her a second after she stepped into the room to realize someone else was already there. She looked up sharply, right into the ice blue eyes of Alex O’Whitt.
“Alex!” was all she managed to say. She felt totally off balance. Had Ben led her into a trap of some sort? Had Alex already talked to the canid, and set it up for Ben to fire her or something? She dismissed that outright. Ben was the most trustworthy male she knew. She was unsure about what was going on, but as she looked the tiger in the eyes, she noticed there was no anger there. He looked … hopeful? Before she could begin to process that, she heard herself begin to protest.
“Ah, Ben, before anyone says anything, I—”
“Corray,” Ben quickly said, in a tone that sounded like a father’s warning to a child about to do something they’d regret. “Hush.”
Corrie was so shocked, she fell silent. Ben had treated her like a daughter in many ways, but this was the first time he’d ever used that tone with her, or told her to hush. Ben nodded to Alex.
“Youah on, Alex. Make it good.”
Alex had stood up when Corrie and Ben came in. He now stepped up muzzle to muzzle with the lioness. She looked at him apprehensively as he looked searchingly into her eyes.
“Corrie,” he began, his tone gentle. “First, let me repeat what I said yesterday. I’ve been attracted to you since we met Monday morning. I’ve been impressed by your strength, your intelligence, and your beauty and sense of humor. I’ve watched you smile, heard you laugh, and watched you defend yourself. I’ve been more and more attracted by everything I’ve seen. When you kissed me, it felt like electricity flowing through me.”
Corrie gave a small gasp. Alex had felt the same thing she did when she’d kissed him. She said nothing, her eyes wide. She was completely off balance now, without a clue as to where Alex was going with this. She’d never expected what was happening. Not even close. Alex went on.
“We were connecting so well, and then something happened. I said something, and you misunderstood me. I apologize very much for that.”
Here Corrie finally found her voice. “Oh Alex, I’m so sorry. I realized what you actually said after I got home last night. It … took me by surprise. It’s the first time I’ve evah heard a male say he’s saving himself for marriage.”
Alex did a slow blink as he tipped his head down in a slight bow. “Thank you. As I said, I apologize, too. I was trying to be funny, I guess. I’m a Christian, and I don’t believe in sex outside of marriage. I know that sounds pretty old-fashioned, but for me, it’s what I believe.”
Corrie found herself demurely looking down, a slight blush on her cheeks. She looked back up into Alex’s eyes. “I can go with that.”
Alex smiled warmly. “I’m glad. I’m very sorry for the misunderstanding. I’d like to make it up to you.”
Alex reached back and down behind him, and produced a long, narrow white box, tied up with a red ribbon. He held it out to Corrie, who looked at it for several seconds as different emotions played across her face. She’d never in a million years have expected and apology from Alex, since it had been her screwup. She definitely hadn’t expected a gift, after the way she’d gone off. She finally settled on a cautious but growing smile. Reaching out, she took the box from the tiger. Before she could open it, Ben cleared his throat.
“Theah’s work to be done. I’ll see you two in a bit.”
The terrier left and shut the door behind him. Corrie watched him go, and then turned back, still a bit uncertain, toward Alex.
“Ah, this won’t bite, will it?” she asked, with a slightly nervous laugh.
“No, it shouldn’t,” Alex replied, smiling reassuringly.
Corrie carefully opened the box and took out its contents. A single long-stemmed red rose appeared. Alex wanted there to be no question as to his feelings. Corrie smiled broadly, bringing the rose up to her muzzle and batting her eyelashes coyly at him. She held like that for a second, and then both she and Alex burst into laughter.
“I’m sorry Alex,” Corrie managed as their laughter subsided. “Guess I’m just an’ old Aussie roughout. I’m not much the flowers and candy type.”
Alex nodded, recovering from the laughter. “I thought that might be the case. That’s why I have this, too.”
He stepped behind the table and picked up a large white square box, also wrapped in a red ribbon. Putting the box on the table, Alex motioned for Corrie to come and open it. Corrie put her paws on her hips and narrowed one eye.
“More roses?” she guessed.
“Just open it and find out.” His voice held a note of challenge. Zig Zag had suggested using that tone, surmising that Corrie would respond better to it than too much sweetness. Alex had laughed hard at the thought of him laying on the sugary tone and language. Corrie’s slightly defiant, but curious look, with a smile beginning to curl the corners of her lips, told him his cousin had been right.
Corrie walked to the box, undid the ribbon, and lifted off the lid. Her eyebrows shot upward and she looked at Alex inquiringly. He reached in and lifted the items inside out one at a time, explaining each one as he did so.
“These are for you. I hope you’ll have need of then for a long time to come. First, a G-suit, second, a parachute harness, and third, a helmet and oxygen mask.”
“Ah, thank you, Alex. I’m sure all this cost a pretty penny or two, but I don’t…”
Corrie stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes going very wide and her smile growing larger by the second. Alex returned the smile and reached for her paw.
“Corrie, you’ve shown me how great helicopters are to fly. I can see your love and passion for flying them every time we’re in the air. Please, if you are willing, allow me to show you the kind of flying I love.”
Corrie’s eyes were alight with curiosity. Tentatively, she reached out and picked up the G-suit.
“I— I’d love to, Alex.”
She turned the mass of olive drab nomex webbing and cloth first one way, and then the other. “Uh, how does this work? I’ve used parachute harnesses and helmets before, but nothing like this.”
“It goes on your lower half, from the stomach down to the ankles. When the G-forces reach a certain level, it inflates to help keep the blood from pooling down there and keep it up in your brain where it needs to be. I won’t be doing that much high G stuff with you today, but I usually insist my passengers wear one just in case of an emergency that might cause me to do some sharp maneuvering. Here, I’ll help you on with it. I have mine here, too, and they’re supposed to be towing Stripes One over to the Old North ramp as we speak.”
Corrie looked from Alex to the G-suit and back again, and then finally responded, “Ah, okay then.”
Alex took the suit from her and turned it the right direction. He then squatted down and held it open for Corrie to step into.
“Now, step in, one leg at a time. There you go. Now we pull it up to…”
Alex pulled the suit upward in a slow, even motion, watching in fascination as it slipped into place and hugged onto the curves of the lioness’ body. The suit stopped just below the bottom curves of her breasts.
“There. Once I pull all the lacings tight and adjust things, you can unzip the zippers to take it off. Then when you put it back on, it will still be adjusted.”
Corrie had remained very still while Alex had pulled the suit on, and remained so as he checked the lacings and adjustments. To his surprise, there were almost no adjustments needed. He suddenly became very aware of just how still Corrie was standing. Alex looked up and noted that Corrie wasn’t just standing still; she was standing very stiffly still.
“Uh oh. I’m sorry, Corrie. Did that make you uncomfortable? I hope I wasn’t too familiar.”
Corrie took a deep breath, and shook her stiffness away. “Uh, no, I guess you had to get close to adjust it. It’s fine, but I’d hate to try and take a deep breath if this thing inflates. It’d feel like wearing an anaconda or something.”
She visibly relaxed as she spoke. She watched with interest as Alex pulled and wriggled into his G-suit and zipped it up. Both of them were wearing standard olive drab green flight suits, and Alex was momentarily reminded of suiting up for fighter patrols with the Tigerkahts at Langley. He then did a very slow blink as he looked Corrie over. The effect of the now fur-tight suit was amazing on femmes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was reminded of who had worn that suit last. It was his spare, and he intended for Corrie to keep it. He’d order another when he got home to Lexington. The last one to wear it had been his cousin, and he’d not had to make much in the way of adjustments to it at all. He also noted, and shook his head with a smile, that Corrie wasn’t *quite* as busty as his cousin. Only by just a little bit, though.
Breaking from that reverie, Alex picked up his ‘chute harness and expertly put it on. Corrie had no problems putting hers on, so Alex grabbed his helmet.
“We’ll see Ben on the way out, We should be gone about an hour, if he doesn’t mind.”
Corrie picked up her helmet and nodded for him to go first. “Shouldn’t be a problem. He was in on this from the staht, wasn’t he?”
Alex grinned. “The sun wasn’t even up when I got here, and he was already at his desk, as though he was expecting me. Yeah, I’d say he was.”
“Lead on, then, Jet Jockey.”
They walked out to the office, passing a few of the other pilots at their lockers on the way out. None said anything, as most of them just stared mutely at Corrie. As Alex had noted earlier, a G-suit is very form-fitting, and its effect on Corrie was amazing. Ben looked up as they walked into the office, and for a split-second, his eyes went wide. The look was quickly gone as Alex stopped in front of the desk.
“Ben, I’m going to take Corrie up in Stripes One. We should be back in about an hour or so.”
“Ayuh, figured that might be the case when they towed youah jet ovah to ouah ramp. Just don’t blow any of the choppahs ovah.”
Alex watched as Ben then gave Corrie a look. Both a blessing to go, and a question if she was okay. Alex didn’t see her response, but Ben relaxed and nodded, smiling under his bristly fur.
They turned and walked out the door. Corrie saw that the striped jet was now right in front of them on the ramp. She was drawn to its sleek lines and vivid stripes. Then she chided herself for being a wide-eyed school cub.
“Quite a toy, but can she take off straight up?” the lioness asked in a teasing voice. Alex grinned and replied.
“Sure she can. All the way to forty thousand or so.”
Corrie gave Alex a look that said she didn’t believe a word of that. He shrugged in reply.
“Well, ah, after a full afterburner run down at least five thousand feet of runway.”
Corrie gave a snort and then a slight giggle. “That’s what I figured.”
They walked on out to the aircraft. Once there, Alex walked through a very thorough preflight, insuring that the towing hadn’t damaged anything. Corrie followed along, watching him as intently as he’d watched her that first morning. Once they were done with the outside checks, Alex attached Corrie’s parachute to her harness, and then did the same with his. He noticed that the local ground furs had put a pair of honest-to-specifications military boarding ladders on the side of the aircraft, instead of the usual stair platform. Corrie looked at him sideways when Alex pointed her to the front cockpit.
“Alex, I’m impressed, alright? Don’t go ovahboard with it.”
“I’m not,” Alex replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’ll get a better view and a better feel for the aircraft and this kind of flying from the front seat.”
Corrie shrugged and tilted her head. That made sense, and Alex had not sounded defensive as he said it. He was stating fact, nothing more. Alex took her helmet and put it on the side of the cockpit sill as she started up the ladder. Corrie went about three rungs up the ladder and stopped, noticing that Alex had started up behind her. She looked down at him and he stopped, too.
“What are you doing?” she asked curiously.
Alex was looking up at her from a vantage point near the base of her tail. In fact, if she flipped her tail, it would smack him across the face. He had to admit in one part of his mind that the view was very nice. He did have a valid reason for following her up, though.
“Once you get seated, I’ll show you how to connect everything to the seat and the helmet.”
“Ah, okay.” Corrie emphasized her understanding with a large nod of her head as she turned and climbed the rest of the way up. She gracefully stepped down into the seat and got situated, easily slipping her tail into the cradle for it in the seatback. Alex showed her how to clip the parachute harness to the seat, fasten the belts, and connect the G-suit and oxygen lines. Next came the microphone and earphone connections for the helmet. Corrie put the helmet on and fastened it, and Alex showed her where everything was in the cockpit. He pointed out the ejection seat levers, and told her how to lock the canopy closed. He then tapped the top of her helmet lightly.
“That’s it, ready to get started?”
Corrie grinned up at him as she prepared to put her oxygen mask on. “Cleared to proceed, Luv.”
Alex gave a quick nod and then went back down the ladder. It only took a few moments for him to climb into the rear cockpit and get settled in and connected. A ramp truck had arrived, and at Alex’s gesture a red fox todd in white coveralls came over and removed the boarding ladders. Corrie picked up on the engine start and control check pawsignals very rapidly, so in a few minutes Alex had the engines running and the chocks pulled. The ramp fur gave them a final wave, and Alex called the tower for their clearance to taxi. A few minutes later, he stopped just before entering the runway and did his final checks. He then called the tower for takeoff clearance.
“Lewiston Tower, November Charlie Four Niner Niner Sierra Tango is a civilian Tee Thirty Eight, requesting takeoff clearance for Runway Two Two, request unlimited to one six thousand.”
Traffic was nearly non-existent at that moment, so the reply was immediate.
“Nine Sierra Tango, wind three four zero at four, altimeter three zero point zero two. You are cleared unlimited to one six thousand. No traffic in the pattern. Contact departure Control at one twenty five point five as needed.”
“Niner Sierra Tango,” Alex replied. He moved Stripes One onto the runway and, lining up on the centerline, he locked the brakes on.
“Here we go,” was all Corrie heard in her earphones as the brakes were released and it suddenly felt like someone kicked the back of her seat very hard twice in rapid succession. Under full military power, Stripes One rode her afterburner flames down the runway. Alex heard Corrie let out a sigh as he eased up off the runway enough to raise the landing gear. Once clear of the drag contact with the ground imposed, the jet began to accelerate even faster. They were just at two hundred fifty knots when they reached the end of the runway and Alex pulled the stick back hard. Stripes One rocketed skyward. The loud gasp Corrie let out told Alex she was duly impressed.
Alex pulled back out of afterburner and rolled over to pull the nose back out of the steep climb and into a more manageable ascent. He rolled back upright and started a sweeping turn out toward the west.
“Is that legal?” Corrie asked, her mischievous tone carrying clearly across the intercom.
“It’s easier to do it that way,” Alex explained. “There’s a waiver that allows it for T-38’s, just like the waiver that allows three hundred knots airspeed under eighteen thousand. It’s a safety issue otherwise.”
At sixteen thousand feet, Alex had the aircraft level and cruising westward toward an area where he could do some aerobatics.
“Bonzer!” Corrie exclaimed. “I rarely see this altitude. Mostly as a passenger on the airlines. What a view! So what’s the plan, Jet Jockey, sight seeing trip? Ooh, I can see my house from here.” Corrie said the last in a mock-excited tourist voice, and Alex had to keep a tight grip on himself to keep from snorting in his mask.
“A little. I was thinking of some light aerobatics, so you can see what Stripes One can really do.”
“Sounds apples. I’ll let you know if I feel like I’m gonna puke.”
“Hey, I said light aerobatics. If you can do those autorotations, you’ll be fine for this. We’ll be out over open country in five minutes or so, and we’ll start then. Anything you’d like to know before we get there?”
Corrie was silent for a long moment. Alex was about to ask if she was okay when she answered.
“Yes. Why?”
“Uhm, come again? Why what?”
Alex heard her let out a sigh. “Why did you care enough to put up with my tirade? Why did you come apologizing instead of telling me off for being crazy? Why are you being so persistent?”
Now it was Alex’s turn to be silent for several moments. He suspected he had the answer, but it was too soon to say it. He didn’t want to scare her off. Finally, he spoke.
“Corrie, I’ve always been single. I’ve dated, sure. Even talked marriage a couple of times. It never worked out. Friends have tried to set me up with femmes they thought I might click with. That never worked. Not long ago, before I retired from active duty with the Air Force, I was dating a wonderful tigress in
Corrie chuckled. “Oh I’d say. I’ll tell you straight up, you’ll probably need that stubborn persistence. I’m, uh, my record with guys isn’t very good. Heh, this time I’ll ask the question straight on. What now? And what happens in three weeks when your time here is ovah?”
“Well— hey! This is the area I had in mind. We’ll do some flying now, and talk about this later. Say, over dinner tonight?”
Corrie grinned widely in her mask. “Smooth talkah. Sure, you’re on.”
“Great! Then here we go!”
Alex started with a crisp, easy, four-point roll, stopping the rotation about their axis each ninety degrees. He then went into a loop. He heard Corrie take in a quick breath.
“Okay Corrie?” he asked as they eased over the top of the loop, inverted.
“Oh yeah, this is great!”
They had floated, almost weightless, across the top of the loop, but the G-forces built rapidly as they came down the back side of it. When they reached wings-level, Alex did a quick S-turn to check for any other aircraft that might wander into their path. That done, he keyed the intercom.
“Ready for some serious rolls?”
“Uh, okay. Out of curiosity, just how fast can she roll?”
“Put your helmet against the right side of the canopy,” Alex instructed. Corrie turned her head and body part way around to look back at him for a few seconds, trying to determine if he was teasing her. All she saw was his helmet and mask, as he had the sun visor down. With a shrug she turned back forward and put her head over to the side.
“Like this?”
“Yep, hold on,” was the only warning she got. Suddenly the horizon spun crazily. Sky and ground changed places faster than she could keep track of. Later, when she thought about it, Corrie would recall that they made eight complete revolutions. Alex brought them out of the aileron roll perfectly level and rock steady. Corrie let out a whistle.
“Bonzer! That was amazing!”
Alex grinned. “Glad you liked it. Now we’ll do some more controlled rolls.”
First, he did an eight-point roll, stopping the rotation eight times in the one revolution. Then came a sixteen point one. After that he did another S-turn to make sure they were still clear of traffic.
“Want to see Stripes One’s version of an autoratation?”
Now Corrie grinned. “Sure, why not?”
Without comment, Alex pulled the throttles back to idle and raised the nose a slight bit. This maneuver could be tricky so he was keeping right on top of the aircraft’s situation. In a couple of seconds, a warning horn began a steady blare in their earphones. Corrie felt her stomach attempting to lift up into her throat. The altimeter in front of her was spinning down at an alarming rate. After a couple of seconds, Alex fed the power back in and lowered the nose. Stripes One quickly regained flying speed.
“Holy Kahts! How much altitude did you lose with that move?”
“About six thousand. Stripes One is modified a bit, and does a lot better in a stall than a standard T-38. Some students in Air Force flight training start out at twenty thousand feet and recover at about six thousand on their first attempts.”
Corrie was impressed. “Geez, I’m beginning to understand why you’re so good. Ah, that is, why you expected so much out of y’self.”
“Thanks. I—“
“Ice, bingo fuel.”
Alex saw Corrie jerk in the seat. In a corner of his mind, he imagined her tail was probably fluffed out, too. While the stall warning was a standard, rather sterile horn note, Alex’s custom alarms had a lot more smoothness and feeling in their delivery. The announcement that they had reached the point where they need to head back to the airport had startled the lioness with its rather sad tone.
“What the bloody hell was that?” Corrie asked when she found her voice.
“Onboard computer, letting us know it’s time to head back. I set it for what fuel level is needed to get us back, with reserves. The voice is feminine, which harks all the way back to the sixties when they first came up with the idea. Studies showed that the pilots would respond better to a female voice, even femmes.”
“Ah, okay then. Hah, I was wondering if I had competition already.”
As Alex turned for home, he carefully framed his reply. “No, you don’t. Not in that way. I love flying, and Stripes One is an incredible aircraft, but she can’t kiss me the way you did.”
Corrie was silent, but she found herself smiling, and then grinning. “Oh, she might if you kissed the power junctions somewhere.”
Alex chuckled, and then picked up their earlier conversation. “Corrie, to answer your earlier question about what’s next, I gave it some thought last night. I’d like to talk about it at length tonight at dinner. I’d like to date you for the time I’m here, every chance we get. After that, well, we’re pilots. Distances don’t mean as much when you can fly. We’ll find a way.”
Corrie was quiet for several long moments before she gave a slight nod of her head. “I’d like that. Dinner sounds great, and going out together while you’re here, well, I’d like that, too.”
“Fantastic. Okay, time to set up for descent and landing.”
Alex called Lewiston and started the process of bringing Stripes One in. Not very many minutes later, and they were taxiing up in front of Old North Helicopters. They shut down as the ramp truck pulled up. The same todd that had worked with them earlier re-chocked the wheels and put the boarding ladders back in place. Alex completed his shutdown checklist, and was out and down the ladder in time to offer a paw to Corrie as she climbed down. He unclipped her parachute and stowed it with his in Stripes One’s belly cargo pod. He then took her paw and they walked to the hangar and on into the office. Ben was waiting at his desk with a huge grin under his bristly fur.
“Corray, everything alright? Did you enjoy youah ride?”
Corrie smiled warmly at the terrier. She then walked around the desk and kissed him on the top of his head.
“Thanks, Ben. I had a feeling you had a paw in this. Thank you for keeping me from making a big mistake.”
“Ah, ‘twas Alex’s idea. I just went along to make shuah everything was okay. ‘Bout time you hit it off with someone, and it actually have a chance to work.”
“We’ll see. We have a date for dinner, and the tigah here certainly is persistent enough to put up with my quirks.”
Corrie had turned that warm smile upon Alex, and he felt it take his breath away. Ben nodded silently before he spoke.
“Ayuh, good thing. Now, isn’t it time you two got to work? ‘S I recall someone was close to a solo.”
Alex blinked and managed to refocus on Ben. “Ah, yes, I think that was mentioned yesterday.”
“Well then, Jet Jockey,” Corrie said with a wink. “Let’s go put away the helmets, harnesses, and G-suits, and then you can go impress me with your helicoptah skills before I send you up solo.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Alex replied, snapping a quick salute Corrie’s way.
“Ayuh, remembah that ansah and you’ll have a long, happy relationship. Now scoot.”
Corrie and Alex looked at Ben askance, but then broke down laughing at the twinkle in his eyes. They went to stow their gear, Alex to his car, Corrie to her locker. They met back up in front of the office and walked out to the R22. The little helicopter was still parked where they’d left it the day before. They could see Stripes One being pulled by a small tow vehicle on its way back across the airport.
“Okay Alex,” Corrie stated when they arrived at the helicopter. “Preflight for us, please.”
“Yep,” was all Alex said in reply. He started undoing the lines that secured the rotor blades, and then undid the other tiedowns. He very thoroughly did the preflight inspection, and removed the covers and pins that were required when the helicopter was down for the night. Once done, he and Corrie climbed in and Alex went through the engine start checklist. A quick call to the tower, and they were ready to go. They lifted up to a hover and then taxied out to take off. They flew a couple of patterns around the airport, and then taxied back to the ramp and sat down.
“Take ‘er around once, and then come back here, land, and shut down. We’ll debrief, and then we’ll let you go again after a rest.”
“Can do, Corrie.”
Corrie got out and crouched down to make sure she kept clear or the rotors as she walked away. Once clear, she stood up and turned back to wave Alex on. She then walked over and stood in front of the office door. It took Alex a couple of minutes to do the radio work and get ready to lift off. Corrie heard the engine speed up, and then the note of the rotors changed just before Alex lifted the Robinson into a hover. As he turned and taxied away toward the runway, Ben came out of the building and joined her.
“So, you two talk things out a bit in the aiah?”
Corrie’s smile returned. “Too right. We’re going to date while he’s here.”
“Ayuh, figured that. What about aftah?”
Corrie looked sideways at the terrier. “Easy there, Ben. We just got stahted. You trying to get rid of me or something?”
Ben laughed. “Corrie, youah probably my best pilot, and definitely my best instructah. I’m in no hurry to lose you, but at the same time, I know you have dreams and plans that are well beyond heah. I want you to be happy, and if it comes to you leaving to follow Alex, or just to follow youah dreams, don’t let me hold you heah. You’ll go with my blessing.”
Corrie smiled, but shook her head. “Ben, no offah has been made, and I’ll give you plenty of warning if I decide to leave and staht me own business.”
Ben nodded, looking inscrutable. “Corray, I nevah told you why Alex is taking a helicoptah rating. He and his partner have the idea of adding helicoptahs to theah business. If so, I’m shuah they’ll need a chief pilot.”
Corrie was silent for several minutes, watching intently as Alex lifted off and flew a circuit of the traffic pattern. Finally she replied.
“Ben, your way ahead of anything that’s been talked about. I appreciate the freedom, but let’s at least get Alex and I through our first date before we ship me off to Kentucky. Okay?”
“Shuah,” the terrier answered, changing the subject. “Heah he comes now. Looking good.”
“Very good.”
Ben looked sideways with another grin, but Corrie didn’t notice. Her eyes were on the little Robinson now hover-taxiing toward the ramp. Alex brought the helicopter to a stop and landed flawlessly right where he’d departed from. As the engine shut off and the rotors spun down, Corrie walked, and than ran to the helicopter. Ben followed at a more sedate pace. The rotors stopped just as she reached the door. Alex was a moment opening it, but then he stepped out with a large smile on his muzzle. He was immediately wrapped up in a tight squeeze, and then she kissed him. The bright spark was still there, but this time both of them were more prepared for it, so they very much enjoyed the affection. They released their embrace as Ben arrived. Corrie spoke before the terrier could say anything.
“Oh apples, Alex. Great job!”
“Ayuh, good work, Alex,” Ben added.
“Thanks, I had a great teacher.” Alex was sporting a very wide grin. Corrie and Ben laughed, and then the lioness nodded.
“Too right! C’mon, I’ll help you secure her for now. We’ll debrief and take a break, and then you can go again.”
“Sounds great.”
As he and Corrie began tying the rotor lines on, Alex reflected on how well things were turning out, after how uncertainly the day had started. Whatever became of what they were starting, he was very glad he’d been persistent. Now he had to do something he hadn’t done in a long time.
Go on a serious first date.
End of Chapter 46
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