Rodriguez maintained his position with Roland's left flank through the current duration of the trip. There wasn't much as far as conversations go since everyone appeared to be busy keeping their own birds in the air. He himself however kept the plane in auto-pilot, having synchronized the control patterns with Roland's aircraft, [i]The Iron Jackson[/i], while he slaved over the scanning equipment directly to his right shoulder. Much of the electronics and gadgets hadn't seen almost any use within the past couple of weeks due to limitation of contracts within his previous area of operation, resulting in suite being deactivate for the most part. Now that he was on a new job and even a new squadron, he figured it was as good as time as any to re-activate the sleeping hardware.

And not a moment too soon.

Upon stirring [i]Pandora[/i]'s long-range radar, a blip immediately sounded off. The small ping pulled Rodriguez's gaze over too one of the monitors showcasing a large map of the region and the general location of unidentified craft. He glanced forward, noting his formation position and back to the monitor, having just updated the blip's new position. Rodriguez wasn't urgently concerned yet with the approaching newcomer since the radar would have responded to any craft in the same fashion that was not carrying a transponder. He however did keep his eyes glued to the screen and observed the changing flight path of the plane coming up from their rear.

A few minutes later and Rodriguez then confirmed that the craft was in fact on intercept course. His heart rate began to climb with the lingering thought of an any bandit preparing to attack their formation settling in but he insisted on keeping his position regardless. He couldn't think of anyone trying to take on three aircraft by themselves nor could he think of any valid reason of doing so. Eventually, the blip came up on his short-range radar and from there, he could then properly track the unknown aircraft approaching them. By now, Rodriguez was already running a scan though he immediately noted that airspeed of the craft was more casual with no hint of hostile intent. Then again, the approaching airplane was flying at a much higher elevation; almost perfect for an aggressive dive for a strafing run.

Finally, the unspoken radio silence had been broken with the newcomer identifying themselves, or their aircraft, as [i]Long Dive[/i]. While his powerful radio could intercept the transmission, it was clear they were addressing Roland. Roland, of course, replied and welcomed them into to formation. Rodriguez finally steadied himself and eased back, now certain that there was no longer any danger. Eventually, the scan had completed and notified him of the results, prompting Rodriguez to raise an eyebrow. The [i]Long Dive [/i] was apparently that of an XB-35-M4, essentially a flying wing and one whose wingspan was far greater than any of the aircraft in formation. Having already networked the other two planes in formation, Pandora's computer would have been sending the data to the [i]Iron Jackson [/i]and the [i]Roger Dodger[/i]. 

Seeing as though that Lungfirst was about to bring their aircraft from the rear and after Jimmy broadcasted their formation suggestion, Rodriguez positioned the rudder of [i]Pandora[/i] just slightly to the left, prompting his airframe to move over, increasing the distance between him and the [i]Iron Jackson[/i] by several meters. It was then his turn to delve in greetings, "Standby, [i]Long Dive[/i]. I'll have your plane networked shortly."