[h1][b][color=#4682B4]Scott Valentine[/color][/b][/h1]

Scott was surprised that no questions had been raised by the rest of the group. The mission had a lot of moving parts, a lot of targets and many of them weren't exactly a walkover. And then there was his daring - some would say cocky, or even [i]irresponsible[/i] - addon to the operation, of taking control of Lampedusa's airport. 
Nonetheless, only Mykhailo and Ximena had questions at all. 

[quote=@Letter Bee]
"Sir, are we assuming that the foe's aircraft are grounded, or that we can catch them by surprise before they scramble or that they are not flying patrols? Either way, the enemy are going [i]down[/i], whatever they put up."
[/quote]

Scott spoke up after both Fuka and Freyja commented, giving acknowledging nods to both Fuka and Freyja for their contributions and comments on the conversation. 
[color=#4682B4]"Hopefully the captain's flight can catch them on the ground. We'll have the same AWACS cover to handle long-range observation and direction, so if we use our tactics smart, we should be able to approach with maximum stealth at low altitude using the AWACS coverage and directions to avoid having to turn on our own radar and give ourselves away".[/color]

[quote=@Smike]

[color=6ecff6][b]Ximena Huang[/b][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"That said, what's the plan if ground forces can't dislodge whoever's left after we have our fun?"[/color]

[/quote]

Scott nodded at Ximena's question and smiled to her as he answered. 
[color=#4682B4]"Good question, and a smart one. The C-130's have enough fuel and range. We make sure that anything left is as hammered as it can get before a single gnat's ball hair touches ground from our side. If there's anything that the ground team on the C-130's can't dislodge or send running, then we cover them from air while they re-plane and get back in the air, and head back here. The other two Herks won't land until the situation is secure with the ground team anyway - no use throwing all our eggs in one basket. It might be an audaciously bold plan, but no need to make it a [i]stupid[/i] one"[/color]

He looked around, confident there were no further questions and drew himself up at the podium, clicking off the displays behind him. 
[color=#4682B4]"All right; since there's no other questions, I'm gonna assume you all know what's what. Anything else does come up, I'll be gearing up like the rest of you. Wheels up in thirty, see you on the flight line. Dismissed, people!"[/color]

Scott gestured to the door, gathering his briefing materials and dawdling in case there were any last-minute questions - of any kind. Kat nodded to him and flashed a smile and a thumbs up as she left; Wolf gave a firm, resolved nod and Lars and Lily both gave waves and nods as they headed out two. The helo crew looked a little subdued; they hadn't been given a part in the op, other than their normal: standing by in case of search-and-rescue and the difficult push-pull of both wanting to do something, but hoping they didn't have to, as it meant one of the pilots would have had to eject, or had otherwise gone down. 

Once everyone had filed out, he made his own way out. There wasn't anything else to do; he headed straight for the locker room to gear up, changing into his flight suit and then to the 'survival shop' to fit his G-suit and survival vest, sign out his sidearm, and his helmet. 
A short walk took him to the AV-8B, and he walked around the plane with a smile of familiar comfort on his face, reaching out to touch and test the airframe. He'd seen the plane since it had been assigned, come to look at it [i]just because,[/i] but it was different now it was all bombed and fuelled up, and he was about to take off in it. A brief conversation with the maintenance tech and he climbed up into the cockpit as they pulled all the safety pins and tags, holding them up for him to see. He was strapped and buttoned in, and the pins removed from the ejector seat, and he hit the engine start, the shrill whine quickly turning to a deeper-throated roar as the big Pegasus engine came to life. Canopy closed, radio on, and he buckled up his mask. 
[color=#4682B4]"Cobalt Squadron, this is Cobalt One, ready to taxi and heading for the runway. Takeoff in sequence; Section One form on me. I'll be taking in the sunset from five thousand feet, over"[/color]
Scott spoke as he gave a thumbs up to the maintenance crewman who returned it with a salute and stood back as Scott toed off the brakes and the Harrier started to move, nosing out of its' parking spot and rolling along the taxiways toward the runway end. Fully loaded as it was, there was no way the Harrier was managing a vertical takeoff, let alone a STOVL one. It would have to be conventional takeoff this time instead - at least that was safer. 
Little to his surprise, Kat's A-10 started moving next, the canopy coming down as she was rolling out of the line and swinging onto the taxiway to follow him to the runway end, the two ground-attack jets making an odd-looking pair. 

[@Smike], [@Letter Bee], [@Damo021], [@Finetales], [@Kensai], [@AvaP]