Foreword
This is a work of
fiction. I took liberties with factual history to write my story, but
I tried to stay truthful to the series JAG and its characters.
I'm not military, or a pilot, so any mistake is mine (and you can give me pointers if you want them corrected!)
The first female
fighter Pilot in the French Air Force is Caroline « Moineau »
Aigle, who became one in 1999. This story is a tribute to all female
pilots.
Every sentence written
in italics is spoken in French, but written in english for easier
comprehension.
Sorry for the shipper
fans, this is not a Harm/Mac story (and you can stop reading here if
you don't like it, I won't mind)
*****
Chapter 1
Thursday August 16th
1990
Over the Adriatic
The two Navy Tomcats
were looking for their targets, a couple of French Air Force Mirages.
The skies were clear, the winds soft.
Suddenly, a voice
resounded in Harm's helmet.
« Two bogeys,
bearing two-five-nine. »
« Bad Man one,
taking the lead. Let's go hunt some Frenchies. »
Clipping on their
masks, Harm and his wingman Swan took a dive to try and shoot the
enemy aircafts. It was a NATO exercise, so it was going to be a
simulated kill, but the chase was real, and whoever were those damn
Frenchies, they were gonna get it !
In the French Mirages,
the excitement was the same. Time to show those amerloques who
rules the sky !
The planes danced,
swerved, dived, rolled, trying to get a lock and claim victory.
Swan was the first to
yell.
« Bad Man Two, I
got a firing solution, one bogey down ! »
« Let's go for
the second one ! » Harm rolled to get behind the second
Mirage, but it had time to disappear from the radars.
« Wedge, you see
anything ? »
« Nothing on
screen. Where did it go ? »
Harm and Swan went back
in formation, looking for the Frenchie, but no luck. Until Wedge said.
« I see it, it's coming right behind us ! »
Harm dived, trying to
get away from the Mirage. But this pilot is a fine one, and Harm
found himself locked... and shot.
« Swan, I'm out.
They got me. Bad Man One back on deck. »
« Dam'it. I have
to get the bastard ! Bad Man Two still in the air. Loki, you see
anything ? »
The RIO nicknamed Loki
looked out of the cockpit, trying to see where the Mirage went,
checked his radar.
« No luck. Oh,
wait. I have an echo on one seven four, but I'm not sure it's him. »
« Let's check it
out. »
Swan and Loki turned to
cross the bogey's path, but there’s a slight problem.
« He's flying in
the sun ! »
They dropped their sun
visors to try and cut the sun's glare, but it was too late.
« He's locked on
us ! Evasive maneuvers ! »
No luck. Only minutes
after taking Harm and Wedge down, the Frenchie eliminated Swan and
Loki as well.
The deception was big
that night aboard the Seahawk. Despite one good kill, the idea of
having been beaten by a single French plane was unnerving. First day
of the war game, and they had already lost one encounter. Time to
retaliate.
Over the next days,
they shot down teams from other countries, but nothing could erase
that first burn.
*****
On the french Air Force
base in Salon de Provence, on the other hand, a pilot was celebrated
like a hero.
« To Dragon,
who took down those two Navy jokeys after her wingman has been taken
out. »
Lieutenant Hélène
'Nell' Marchand, callsign Dragon, was the first female aviator in the
french Air Force, and the first to have taken down a target during
these war games.
« Thanks. But
you know it's a team effort. If Gecko hadn't been shot down, I
couldn't have done it. »
The aviator nicknamed
Gecko hanged his head with a half smile while everyone laughed.
Dragon was known for giving a compliment before tearing you down.
« Do we know
the name of the team we got ? »
« Not yet, but
I'm sure word got around and we'll know soon enough. »
« One more for
the Air Force the Navy won't get ! »
*****
On the last day of the
war game, the ship's captain gathered his pilots and officers in the
briefing room. Every team involved in the war games had the same
message.
« Ladies,
gentlemen, to mark the end of this exercise, the American delegation
in Italy is organizing a ball in Naples tomorrow night. You have all
been invited to join. Dress Whites for the men, women can chose
between Dress Whites or a formal party dress. Schedules for departure
will be handed out. You can be excused if you want. Dissmissed. »
The crew snapped to,
and broke in little groups.
« You're
attending ? »
« Oh yeah !
No way I'm missing that ! »
« I don't know if
I'm gonna go, I don't dance ! »
« Come on, it'll
be fun ! »
Harm was excited to go
there. He was sure he was going to meet the team that had shot him,
and he wanted to face them, whoever they were. He was not afraid of a
little brawl if necessary, he just had to avoid doing it in front of
the brass.
*****
In her quarters, Nell
looked at her dress. No uniform for her. Her mom had shipped her
graduation dress, made from a dark green silk that made her pale skin
shine, with a strapless bustier and a flowing skirt that was short in
the front and long in the back. It enhanced her slender figure and
made her look taller than her five feet eight inches. She was going
to wear it with four inches black strap shoes, putting her in the six
feet height, enough to be noticed.
Her roommate Céline
walked in, saw the dress and shoes. Her face fell and she looked
bitter.
« You're so
lucky to go to a ball ! And in Naples of all cities ! »
« I'm sorry
you haven't been invited. »
« Mechanics
NCOs are never invited anywhere. »
« I'll throw a
ball for your birthday if you want. »
« Nah, I'll
get drunk and fall on my face, that wouldn't be elegant. »
They laughed. Nell was
really excited to go to the ball. She loved formal occasions.
Dancing, gourmet food, champagne, what's not to like !
« Oh, and
don't forget about being a Girl Scout ! »
« What do you
mean ? »
« Always be
prepared ! » And Céline handed Nell a box of condoms.
« A whole
box ? Aren't you a little optimistic ? »
« You have a
two-day leave, you might as well enjoy them with someone ! »
Nell shook her head,
but took the box anyway and put it in her party bag. Céline smiled
and shook her own box. « You never know what may happen ! »
*****
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