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Crimson FlameScott couldn't help but grin at Fuka's wry smile, especially given Myk's more formal reply. It just made the whole thing that much more amusing.
"Ah, too bad", he replied with a put-on sigh, still leaning on the back of the bench between the pair and giving an amused glance over the top of his shades, a glimmer of amusement dancing in his mis-matched eyes. "Going on a date with an older woman, you'd definitely end up with a lot of life experience afterward, that's for sure. But I respect your balls for asking," he said with a chuckle, before nodding to Fuka, his grin a close match for her smirk. Mykhailo changed track, asking him a question about his past, and Scott faltered, caught by surprise by the sudden shift, before he relaxed into a shrug.
"Honestly... ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to fly. I think I had a more romanticised, idealistic view of flying as a kid. I mean, who doesn't think about things that way when they're young? But," he shook his head and smiled, shrugging again. "The obsession never went away. Even now, I still love strapping myself onto a plane and getting up there. Nothing quite like it".
He stood up from the back of the bench, and nodded in the direction of the hangars and the adjacent buildings.
"And speaking of which, I'm heading to the equipment room; time to get ready to fly. Can't imagine you'll be too far behind me"
He nodded to them both and headed in the direction of the building to suit up for flight.
Meanwhile, at the hangar, Kat nodded back at Freyja as she greeted her.
"That's right;" she answered, struggling to speak up in her raspy voice. "I'm looking forward to working alongside you too. Both of you," she added, nodding to Stingray as well. "Although, you're right," she said, giving an amused smile to Scandinavian, offering her own hand to shake as well. "From what I've seen so far of the others, interesting definitely seems like it'll cover it well".
A few moments later, a crew bus pulled up and Scott disembarked, carrying his helmet bag, a travel bag of his personal gear, and clad in his flight suit, G-suit and survival vest, much like Kat when she'd arrived too. Seeing her and Ayvee with Freyja, he crossed over to greet the new pilot.
"Lieutenant Svensdotter," he said with a smile. "I'm glad you arrived before we took off - although, sorry to get you back up in the air so quickly. I'll make sure you're first on crew rest as soon as we get to Malta though; you'll need it by then. I'm looking forward to working with you as well," he said, holding out a hand to shake, before nodding to Kat and Ayvee as well.
"That said, I guess we ought to get busy; it's about that time"
He headed over to the Tomcat, stuffing his bag into the baggage pod along with Kat's, and fastening the access door. They did a walkaround of the jet with the maintenance chief, discussing a few things, before both climbed aboard and strapped in. The sound of the hangar was drowned out as APU's started, the shrill whine building as the starter unit fed enough power to the Super Tomcat to get one engine started, that in turn started the other.
Chocks were removed along with intake covers. Access and maintenance hatches closed and hoses and feeds disconnected as Scott and Kat ran through their preflight checks. Finally, the Super Tomcat's engines wound up to speed with the characteristic whine, that built to a howl, and then a rumble. Scott buckled his mask into place as the chief pulled the ladder away from the plane, and with a gentle push of his left hand, Scott fed the engines power and the jet began to taxi for the runway.
"Good afternoon, Cobalt Haze squadron, this is Cobalt Lead. Weather is looking fine for our departure, so if you wouldn't mind following me to the runway at your convenience. I'll be first off and orbit at ten thousand feet for you to form up on me, and then we'll depart in a leisurely Eastward direction to head for our rendezvous with the tanker and our transports somewhat west of the Azores, as per your flight plans".
His tone was informal and relatively breezy as he spoke, and his eyes moved between his instrument panel and the outside of the jet with a practiced ease, including a glance or two at the mirrors to meet Kat's eye as she raised an eyebrow and shook her head in amusement from the rear seat.
The F-14 turned onto the last taxiway and held there, waiting for the final checks with the tower and by a maintenance chief in a pickup truck, giving a visual final-final check as Scott waited for the others to follow suit.
"Ah, too bad", he replied with a put-on sigh, still leaning on the back of the bench between the pair and giving an amused glance over the top of his shades, a glimmer of amusement dancing in his mis-matched eyes. "Going on a date with an older woman, you'd definitely end up with a lot of life experience afterward, that's for sure. But I respect your balls for asking," he said with a chuckle, before nodding to Fuka, his grin a close match for her smirk. Mykhailo changed track, asking him a question about his past, and Scott faltered, caught by surprise by the sudden shift, before he relaxed into a shrug.
"Honestly... ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to fly. I think I had a more romanticised, idealistic view of flying as a kid. I mean, who doesn't think about things that way when they're young? But," he shook his head and smiled, shrugging again. "The obsession never went away. Even now, I still love strapping myself onto a plane and getting up there. Nothing quite like it".
He stood up from the back of the bench, and nodded in the direction of the hangars and the adjacent buildings.
"And speaking of which, I'm heading to the equipment room; time to get ready to fly. Can't imagine you'll be too far behind me"
He nodded to them both and headed in the direction of the building to suit up for flight.
Meanwhile, at the hangar, Kat nodded back at Freyja as she greeted her.
"That's right;" she answered, struggling to speak up in her raspy voice. "I'm looking forward to working alongside you too. Both of you," she added, nodding to Stingray as well. "Although, you're right," she said, giving an amused smile to Scandinavian, offering her own hand to shake as well. "From what I've seen so far of the others, interesting definitely seems like it'll cover it well".
A few moments later, a crew bus pulled up and Scott disembarked, carrying his helmet bag, a travel bag of his personal gear, and clad in his flight suit, G-suit and survival vest, much like Kat when she'd arrived too. Seeing her and Ayvee with Freyja, he crossed over to greet the new pilot.
"Lieutenant Svensdotter," he said with a smile. "I'm glad you arrived before we took off - although, sorry to get you back up in the air so quickly. I'll make sure you're first on crew rest as soon as we get to Malta though; you'll need it by then. I'm looking forward to working with you as well," he said, holding out a hand to shake, before nodding to Kat and Ayvee as well.
"That said, I guess we ought to get busy; it's about that time"
He headed over to the Tomcat, stuffing his bag into the baggage pod along with Kat's, and fastening the access door. They did a walkaround of the jet with the maintenance chief, discussing a few things, before both climbed aboard and strapped in. The sound of the hangar was drowned out as APU's started, the shrill whine building as the starter unit fed enough power to the Super Tomcat to get one engine started, that in turn started the other.
Chocks were removed along with intake covers. Access and maintenance hatches closed and hoses and feeds disconnected as Scott and Kat ran through their preflight checks. Finally, the Super Tomcat's engines wound up to speed with the characteristic whine, that built to a howl, and then a rumble. Scott buckled his mask into place as the chief pulled the ladder away from the plane, and with a gentle push of his left hand, Scott fed the engines power and the jet began to taxi for the runway.
"Good afternoon, Cobalt Haze squadron, this is Cobalt Lead. Weather is looking fine for our departure, so if you wouldn't mind following me to the runway at your convenience. I'll be first off and orbit at ten thousand feet for you to form up on me, and then we'll depart in a leisurely Eastward direction to head for our rendezvous with the tanker and our transports somewhat west of the Azores, as per your flight plans".
His tone was informal and relatively breezy as he spoke, and his eyes moved between his instrument panel and the outside of the jet with a practiced ease, including a glance or two at the mirrors to meet Kat's eye as she raised an eyebrow and shook her head in amusement from the rear seat.
The F-14 turned onto the last taxiway and held there, waiting for the final checks with the tower and by a maintenance chief in a pickup truck, giving a visual final-final check as Scott waited for the others to follow suit.