Ghost Bird... Do You Copy?

Silence Is Golden

Chapter Twenty-Five

Silence Is Golden

(Playlist – Russian Roulette by Rhianna & The Hanging Tree)

Kota's POV:

I went and ate, then slowly walked by myself back to the hanger. I told myself I was giving the guys time to eat and catch up, but really I needed to sort through all of my feelings. Processing and organizing is what I was doing. I turned around to see if they were in sight. I could just see them coming out of chow. I really couldn't do this without them. Down time was over. "Hey guys! I'm right here! Come on!" They looked up and took off running towards me.

"Hey, Kota. You all right?"

"Oy, Kota. Ji's right. You ok? They won't let you fly if they think anything is wrong." Gabriel and Jihoon were both looking very concerned at me.

"Guys, I am fine. Honestly, it's just that I worry about you guys, everyone at home. I don't want to screw anything up. Enough about that though. We need to meet with our crews, our planes and see what's up." Gabriel gave me a good look in the eye, asking one more time if everything was ok. I assured him I was fine.

Once we get back to our hanger, we say goodbye to Ji for the time being. Gabriel and I each met our crew, the rest of our squadron. It was nice to know all of us are supported by such seasoned pilots and crews that knew our planes inside and out.

One of the crew walked up to us as we were going over our outside check. "Just wanted to let you know, you are going to be flying the Spirit of South Carolina. I know that it's where you're from. Just thought it would be nice knowing you had a bit of home with you."

"Oy! Really?"

"It does mean a lot to us. Thank you."

Over the loud speaker the voice of Lieutenant Colonel Ramirez could be heard. "Members of the 13th Bombing Squad, report immediately to the briefing room."

Jihoon came back through the door he had just exited a moment ago. "Guys, she's awesome! I think I am in love."

"Finally a woman worthy of you, huh?" Gabriel teased him.

"Ha, ha. Let's go." Ji punched Gabriel in the arm.

I wondered why we were being called to the briefing room so early. That wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow.

Lieutenant Colonel Ramirez was waiting as everyone filed in and took positions close to the map. "I apologize for interrupting your day. Our time frame has been moved up. A Russian bomber command has tried to hit NORAD with a bunker buster. "Hill, Monroe, Buttman, Tan, Hutchens, and Couch. You will be going in taking out remaining bases. Here are your orders." They each took their files and had a seat.

"Hood, Goldstein, Coleman, Lee, and Kwon. You will be taking out chemical and electrochemical plants that feed St. Petersburg, and other major cities. You will be using the GBU-43."

"Oy! You mean the MOAB? The Mother of All Bombs?" Gabriel said excitedly.

Ramirez chuckled. "Yes. The MOAB. It is untested in actual battle, but we feel it is time. Here are your orders." He handed us our files. "Read them. Remember them. You are ordered to complete your long flight bag check, and sleep. Every single one of you will be on some of the longest flights on record."

The five of us sat down as a team. I immediately took the lead, even though I had some of the least amount of experience as a pilot. "Ok, regarding the coordinates that are given. It looks like there are four total plants; Seversk, Ozersk, Novourlask, and Zelenogorsk. Rough estimations put the longest round trip flight time at 41 hours and the shortest at 35. We can shorten those to half with one refuel just shy of the African coastline. Any objections so far?" I looked up at the four men. Gabriel and Jihoon know I am used to jumping in and taking control. The veteran pilots, on the other hand, were looking at me with a cross of awe and like I had grown a second head. Then they started clapping. I felt rather embarrassed.