Flying close air cover directly off the huge converted bomber's left wing is a MiG-29X Super Fulcrum aircraft, an aircraft the ETF has been modifying since the late 1990s, piloted by Mitch "Mavrick" Vannell. Off the right wing, Scott Barrister pilots an F-15X Super Eagle, another highly modified air superiority fighter, in the same capacity.

Farther out, at about a ten-mile distance, an F-23B Black Widow II is also flying cover. Aaron "Valder" Fieldman, former leader of the ETF, pilots this aircraft today.

Equidistant from the large reconnaissance platform, but off the right side, is a highly modified F/A-18C Hornet piloted by Ryan "Vyper" Wakefield. Unlike the other aircraft, which are painted a low visibility black, this Hornet, named the Bird of Prey, is painted in the same fashion as the F-16 Thunderbirds aircraft of the 1990s.

Sitting in the pilot's chair of the enormous Peacemaker II is Doug "Matrix" Danko, longtime leader of the ETF's V/STOL sister unit, the Cavalry.

Seated to his right, in the co-pilot's seat, is the Aircraft Commander, Matt "ElTitoBendito" Bendix.

As Aircraft Commander, Matt tends to wander around the aircraft during the course of its flight, occasionally taking over a position for a while, but generally watching over his baby. At the moment, he has taken over the co-pilot�s position.

Therefore, the co-pilot for this flight, and current leader of the ETF, Stacy "Immortal" Anrak, is now sitting in a removable supervisory chair in the lower nose compartment, next to the navigator, watching the flight through the REB-36D�s glass nose.

Wahren "Wolf" Morast, perennial Captain, after weaseling his way out of the rank of Colonel the Air Force bestowed on him, is the aircraft's Flight Engineer on this flight. He is sitting behind Matt and Doug, facing backwards. Looking out of his window, he can see straight down the top of the aircraft to its tail. Therefore, he can also see one of the aircraft's two test parasite fighters, an F-29C Retaliator, attached snugly to the top of Eagle's Nest�s massive fuselage, directly between it's two massive wings.

The other parasite fighter, a refurbished YF-20F Tigershark II, is stowed underneath the aircraft in it's cavernous bomb bay.

Other crew members on this flight include team newcomer Theresa "Angel" Smith as secondary parasite test pilot; Carmen "Mikki" Ritter, parasite test pilot #1; Hera "Shorty" Steel, Navigator; Suzanne "Daphne" Wagner, backup pilot; Alexander "Cowboy" Dieskau, Electronic Warfare Officer; Alayne "Phantom" Engelslause, John "Wizard" Terrance, Defensive Weapons Officer; and Rae Ann "Sis" Harris as the Communications Officer. These last four are located midway between the Flight Deck and the bomb bay.

This marathon flight has taken the crew from their base south over the country to the Rio Grande, along the US-Mexican border, then across the Gulf of Mexico to the eastern seaboard, up the East Coast to the tip of Maine, then over New England and the Great Lakes along the US-Canadian border. They had turned around over Alaska and cut through Canada, re-entering US airspace over Montana. During this time, they have done four test launch and retrievals of the parasite fighters, all having gone without a problem so far. However, it has been a 14-hour flight so far.

Suddenly, John motions to Theresa to come to his console. A blip has appeared on the radar screen and is moving rapidly towards them. Theresa picks up the intercom just in time to hear a startled "What the fuck?" come from the flight deck.

Looking aft, Wahren has just caught sight of their intruder.

Closing at an amazing speed, the aircraft rockets over the REB-36D and banks sharply to the left. Matt's eyes widen considerably as he gets a close look at the aircraft.

A second aircraft, Ryan's F/A-18C, chases the first, which is painted in much the same paint scheme, save for the large "W" painted beneath the Thunderbird on it's underside. Wahren grabs the radio mike and calls up Nest�s air support.

"Aaron, tell me straight, what just buzzed us?"

"You won't believe me if I tell you." Aaron responds, "I think you should get out here and take a look for yourself." He adds.

Not needing any more encouragement, Wahren looks at Doug and Matt, who shrug, then races for the topside parasite hatch, motioning to Stacy to take his Flight Engineer�s place as he rushes past her.

The two Thunderbird-schemed aircraft flash across the sky as Ryan pushes his Hornet�s engines to the stops, using his F/A-18C�s superior speed to catch up to the fleeing F-16XL.

As he chases the Cranked Arrow, Ryan reaches his left hand out and presses a button on a very non-standard feature of this Hornet�s cockpit, an integrated CD player. Wakefield selects track two on the CD already in the player, and the sounds of "Just Push Play", from Aerosmith�s album of the same name, fill the cockpit from four Infinity speakers Ryan has added to his fighter.

All of the ETF pilots have personalized and customized their cockpits, and not a one of them failed to add some sort of music system to their aircraft.

While the first chants of the song start to play, Ryan grins as he starts to close on the F-16XL, the sunlight reflecting off the snow below mirrored in his silver wraparound sunglasses.

With surprising speed, the modified Fighting Falcon flips inverted and dives for the hard earth below. Ryan rolls his fighter and dives to follow.

Trees flash by on either side of the Bird of Prey as Ryan drops it into the snow-covered valley behind the Cranked Arrow, following the red, white, and blue aircraft ahead of him.

As Ryan closes on the �XL, its pilot banks hard around an upcoming hill, streaming trails of condensation.

Wakefield groans under the increasing G forces as he roars around the hill in pursuit.

"Vyper, what�s going on down there?" Aaron calls over the radio.

"Hold on a sec, Valder." Ryan remarks as he flips the F/A-18 onto its right wing, ripping between a barn and its silo, sending up a cloud of snow behind him. "This guy�s pretty good, bro. He�s leading me on a high speed game of hide and seek." Wakefield responds over the radio.

"Finally meet your match, Vyper?" Vannell chides.

"I said good Mavrick, not Superman. He could beat YOU, I�m sure, but this is the VYPER we�re talking about here." Ryan comments, a note of pride in his voice.

The XL has dropped to the deck, and is racing along a dirt road, kicking up a plume of dirt and snow behind him as he flashes down the unimproved surface. Ryan stays just high enough to stay out of the other aircraft�s wake as they roar down the road towards a series of tall foothills ahead.

The Cranked Arrow rockets into the foothills, twisting and turning through the hills, streaming contrails as is does so. The cloud cover has seemed to lower, and the tops of the hills are hidden from view as the two Thunderbird-painted jets enter.

Following the other aircraft, Wakefield puts his Hornet on its left wing as they enter the hills, which are tight enough to form a narrow canyon between them. Ryan pulls the stick back hard, rocketing around one hill, streaming condensation off the F/A-18�s wings as he does so. He then has to react with split-second reflexes to snap the Boeing fighter through a hundred and eighty degrees of bank, rolling into a knife-edge on his right wing and putting the Hornet into another contrail-streaming 7G corner around the next hill.

Trees flashing past on either side, Wakefield has a moment to catch his breath as the two red, white, and blue aircraft race through a relatively clear portion between the hills. Skimming barely fifty feet above the tops of the trees of the forested canyon below, Ryan can only imagine the amount of havoc he is wreaking on the conifers below, as he dares not look back over his shoulder to check in this torturous landscape.

After only a moment of rest, however, Ryan is back to weaving through the Montana foothills as he plays a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse near the edge of the sound barrier.

Grunting under the pressure of a particularly hard series of turns, Wakefield levels his Hornet out as the two aircraft race over a little river. One startled fisherman falls out of his boat into the thankfully shallow water as the Cranked Arrow and Hornet rocket by overhead, kicking up twin rooster tails on wither side of his boat.

"Whoa, that was a little close." Ryan calls back to the Nest and her escorts.

The two white fighters flash under a suspension bridge stretched over the river, thankfully no one is on it, as they set it swaying wildly with their turbulent passage.

"Okay, this game is gonna come to an end real quick like." Wakefield tells Fieldman as he puts in more throttle and begins to close ever more on the fleeing F-16XL.

As he is speaking, the two jets come upon a tall hill, which the F-16XL climbs over, turning inverted at the summit.

Ryan breaks off his conversation with Aaron to follow the Falcon over the hill.

As Ryan roars Bird of Prey over the hill, he notices the F-16XL streaking towards a large lake at low level, and near the F-16�s top speed of Mach 2.

Ryan grins as he pushes the F/A-18C�s throttles into maximum afterburner. Though the spec F/A-18C Hornet�s twin General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofans will only push the dual-role fighter to just above Mach 1.8, this Hornet is carrying a pair of F404-550 turbofans, a new development from the engine manufacturer that integrates vectored thrust technology and gives the Hornet a top speed of Mach 2.4. Ryan slides the throttles into full afterburner, feels the rumble and buffet that come just before punching through the sound barrier, then talks to the crew on Eagle�s Nest.

"How far back are you guys?" Ryan asks Matt.

"About fifty miles behind you. Aaron and Mitch are almost on your tail, though, and gaining, thought they�re about 3000 feet higher. Wahren�s on his way." Matt comments as he and Stacy let Doug fly the recon aircraft, while they watch Morast gently lift the Sea Aggressor-schemed Retaliator off the REB-36D�s back and kick in it�s single General Electric F404-GE-550 turbofan, then roar away from the NAWCC.

"Looks like it�s about time for the Cranked Arrow to take a bath�" Wakefield mumbles as his Hornet quickly catches the �XL.

As he closes on the other fighter, Ryan lets his Hornet drift right, avoiding the rooster tail of water being kicked up behind the F-16XL.

Aaron looks down on the two red, white, and blue aircraft as they race over the large lake, easily spotting them by the twin quarter-mile long water plumes the two jets are leaving behind them.

Aaron watches Ryan�s F/A-18C pull up alongside the F-16XL. As he watches the two aircraft join in formation, an idea starts running through his mind. As the idea begins to morph into a plan, Aaron calls up the other members of his team.

"Matt, Ryan, Mitch, Wahren, Scott, I�ve got an idea. I think by now we�re all pretty sure who the pilot of that �XL is, so, here�s what I suggest we do�"

Matt listens to Aaron�s idea, adds a few suggestions, then acknowledges the final plan while Doug is putting the NAWCC through a tight left turn, banking the aircraft sharply before leveling out on a new course to the south.

Less than ten minutes later, Eagle�s Nest is back in Colorado airspace, on a heading that will take it over Denver and Colorado Springs, Scott Barrister in the F-15X keeping watch in an orbit of the massive aircraft.

At the same time, Ryan nods in response as he and Aaron hammer out their course of action, then tucks his F/A-18C in close in front of the �XL, putting the Cranked Arrow on his left wing in formation, then begins flashing his formation lights at the other aircraft, signaling instructions about which frequency to turn the �16XL�s radios to.

Ryan can clearly see the pilot in the Cranked Arrow�s cockpit, can almost feel the eyes of the black-flight suited figure burning into his own eyes from behind the tinted visor, trying to size him up.

Ryan hopes the �XL�s pilot has changed frequencies on his radio to the secure ETF frequency he indicated with his lights, but, if he hasn�t, there�s nothing Ryan can do. Ryan opens the indicated channel and starts speaking to the other pilot.
"I know what you�re thinking, Major Hawker Hunter, and, though you can possibly tear me and my Hornet out of the sky, I have three other pilots about to join formation who would take that VERY personally, so I wouldn�t advise it." Wakefield comments to the black-clad aviator in the other Thunderbird-schemed aircraft. "I�m also going to presume that you of all people has heard of our little unit, so know we bear you no ill will."

"I know your unit as well, if not better than, I know you, Vyper. I felt your buddies five minutes ago, in a MiG-29X, an F-29C and what seems to be a heavily modified F-23. An F-15X and an aircraft I feel I should know but don�t are headed for the south. I�m assuming they�re with you." Hunter replies.

Momentarily dumbfounded, as Hunter certainly seems to know a lot about them, and even knows HIS nickname, Ryan pauses before replying. Logic seeps through to his mind, and he realizes that Hawk must have one heck of a great security clearance. Finally he replies.

"The modified F-23 is an F-23B Black Widow II, one of a kind, so I�m not surprised you couldn�t place it." Ryan comments.

As the Aggressor-schemed F-29C and black MiG-29X and F-23B pull up and into formation with the two Thunderbird aircraft, Hunter speaks up.

"What�s with the honor guard? We�ve never crossed paths before." Hawk comments.

"Let�s just say the infamous Wingman has stumbled across something that isn�t supposed to exist." Aaron calls as he pulls his F-23B opposite Ryan�s aircraft, to the �XL�s left, both pilots showing trust by putting their aircraft in front of Hunter, easily within his sights. They also show common sense by having Vannell and Morast stay behind the Wingman, the F-16XL squarely in the Super Fulcrum and Retaliator�s pippers if need be.

Matt nears Colorado Springs in the REB-36D, and watches as Doug climbs the aircraft into the clouds, turning on the aircraft�s infrared and night vision systems as he does so, from the co-pilot�s seat. In the pilot�s chair, Doug Danko has a wide grin as he banks the NAWCC into the clouds, enjoying flying the massive aircraft for the first time.

In the Flight Engineer�s seat, having taken over when Wahren flew off in the F-29, Stacy Anrak flips on the aircraft�s ILS system as they near the ETF�s mountain lair.

From her Communications console, Rae Ann Harris flips open a secure channel to their home base.

"Cleo, we�re inbound from the north. It�s all fogged in and we�ve got a good ILS lock, but, it is Matrix�s first landing, so, could you flip on the IR landing lights for him?" she asks.

"Roger, they should be on now." Marie Cordova� voice comes back.

Doug, following the ILS instructions, banks the big B-36 descendant and drops it into a valley between two ranges of the Rocky Mountains.

"Matrix, Cleo. The runway should be visible in ten seconds. We have you on target, twenty miles out. It�s a straight in approach, but watch out for unpredictable wind shear that makes the trip tricky. Matt can advise you if needed." The radio crackles.

"Roger that, Matrix has Eagle�s Nest inbound, see you in a couple, babe." Doug calls as he drops the rebuilt Peacemaker lower into the mountainous valleys.

Matt "Shaba" Hunter jogs across the catwalk connecting the Living Quarters to the Computer Center, and stops beside the prototype Lockheed X-35�s nose gear, as the vehicle is being lowered by crane onto the newly-rebuilt center section of the transparent walkway, joining the two X-29 prototypes and it�s sister ship, the Boeing X-32.

Hunter spends a moment gazing at the impressive collection of unique aircraft being "stored" in the Mountain, the four on the catwalk and the eight aircraft hung in the cavern above the secondary hangar. Hanging in the cavern, in temporary storage, are the four ATF prototypes, two YF-22s and two YF-23s, the YF-12A fighter version of the A-12/SR-71 line, the two-seat F-16XL, the F-15 ACTIVE demonstrator, and the X-31.

After his moment of homage, Matt jumps off the catwalk into thin air, at a spot denoted by a thin strip of white electrical tape, and floats for a moment before grabbing onto the hand trolley suspended ten feet from the catwalk. He rides the trolley down to its stop spot seven feet off the hangar floor, a good hundred yard trip, making a safe journey from the 140-foot high catwalk to the cavern floor. Before letting go of the trolley, Matt presses a button on the trolley and a hatch opens in the floor below him, revealing a circular tunnel leading down at a pretty steep angle.

Matt drops into the tunnel and rockets through it to the first fork. Matt chooses the left passage, as he knows the right one drops even farther into the Mountain, down to the Rec center and farther to the "Lab". The left turns slightly, then the arc of the tunnel begins to flatten out and Hunter flies out of another sliding hatch, once again airborne. Landing on his feet after a three-foot drop, Matt is jogging in the main hangar, a brief five seconds after jumping from the catwalk.

Matt runs towards a panel in the wall to his left. This massive hangar is half a mile long, a quarter mile wide, and two hundred feet tall. Matt reaches the panel just as he hears the drone of six turboprops and four jet engines thunder past on landing outside. Moments later, another pair of turbofans pass on the runway as the F-15X lands after the NAWCC.

Mashing his hand onto the panel, Matt watches the hangar door start to grind open, ad the hangar lights switch from white to red as the door starts moving. Across the hangar, the elevator door opens and Terry "Tron" Carson walks into the hangar, on rotation from NAS Pensacola. He, too, wants to see this. The two men climb into a silver-blue pickup, Matt driving the four-cylinder vehicle towards the opening door.

Wahren drops his F-29C Retaliator into a trail position on the F-16XL as the five fighter aircraft slide into a single-file formation before they enter the clouds over the Rocky Mountains. Just ahead of him, Wahren watches Mitch�s MiG-29X disappear into the clouds. Ahead, he knows Aaron and Ryan have turned on their strobes to help Hunter keep in formation, as the two Thunderbird-schemed aircraft all but disappear in the thick cloud cover.

As per the ETF commander�s wishes, Hawk Hunter has turned off his radar, transponder and GPS systems so as not to be able to find the hidden stronghold on his own at a later date.

Ryan moves into the lead in the line, and Aaron has Hawk stay on his wing as the line of fighters dive into the mountains.

"Jeezus" Matt comments to Stacy, "they really have those beacons on too high."

Matt calls down to Marie, who turns down the output on the beacons.

Doug aims Eagle�s Nest�s nose for the middle of the runway outlined in the canopy-integrated super-HUD in front of him, fully prepared to set the big converted bomber down on the runway. The landing strip is nestled snugly between two parts of the Colorado Rocky Mountain ranges, and is well camouflaged, thanks to hours of work by Matt, Aaron, Ryan, Matt, and Wahren, as well as hundreds of gallons of semi-gloss white paint.

As Doug closes on the runway, he reaches over with his right hand and pulls back on five of the aircraft�s ten throttles as Matt pulls back on the others, slowing the big aircraft to just above stall speed as it roars through the mountain pass, kicking up a veritable blizzard behind it as it thunders down the valley.

Doug lowers the flaps and gear with a deft maneuver, putting the flaps to forty degrees of deflection.

Matt scans the co-pilots panel in front of him, noticing with satisfaction that all the indicators are in the green.

Doug, following the ILS and IR beacons, slowly brings the big bomber down in altitude until he crosses the end of the runway, only ten feet off the concrete.

As soon as the converted bomber�s eight main tires contact the runway, with a screech of burning rubber, Doug touches the propeller icon on the Multi-Function Display (MFD) to his right, and the six flat-white pusher props start to vary their pitch, going from pushing the aircraft forward to pulling it backwards.

By the time the nose gear has touched down, the six turboprops are pulling the REB-36D quickly to a stop, and Doug shuts the four Pratt and Whitney turbojets off to decrease stopping distance.

The big bomber slows to a stop a hundred yards before the end of the runway, and starts to back up. Using the rudder pedals to maneuver the giant, Doug and Matt pull the REB-36D perpendicular to the runway�s path, then Doug switches the propellers back into pusher mode, and they taxi the flat-black aircraft towards the slowly opening hangar door in front of them. As they pull across the runway, Scott Barrister flares the F-15X over the threshold, touching down and kicking up a plume of snow as he slows the Super Eagle. As the NAWCC taxis towards the hangar, Scott lines the �15X up behind it to follow.

A little blue Nissan 4x2 pickup, with a yellow strobe light on top, comes racing out of the hangar to meet the two aircraft as they taxi towards the red glow of the open hangar door.

The Hardbody pickup comes up to the edge of Doug�s forward vision from the cockpit and skids to a halt, the driver locking up the brakes and spinning the pickup a hundred and eighty degrees on the newly snow-slicked runway.

As it comes to a stop, the pickup�s brake lights flash twice in a signal to Doug to follow.

Amused, Doug looks over at Matt.

"Somebody�s been playing with Trixie lately. It�s not like we don�t KNOW where the hangar is!"

"He�s showing off. Let him have his fun. At least he didn�t put it into the snowbank this time�" Matt replies.

Doug grins in response, remembering when Matt had tried to chase Chameleon through the complex in a game of tag that had ended with Hunter burying Trixie in the snow just past the main entrance last winter.

With a roar of its propeller�s, Doug taxis the NAWCC behind the little import, Scott tucked in just behind their left turbofan pod, the two aircraft�s wakes covering their tracks by blowing snow over the runway.

"Roger, Valder, we�ve got you cleared for landing, five miles out." Comes the voice over the radio.

"Thanks Tito, see you in a couple of minutes."

"Roger that. We�ve got a pizza waiting."

The radio reports a double click of a microphone button in response as Aaron lowers the gear on his F-23B and sets up for final approach into the secret runway.

Catching the signal, Hawk lowers the gear on his XL as well, and follows Aaron into his descent further into the pass, staying glued to his wing.

As the four aircraft break out of the clouds, Aaron can see the familiar landscape surrounding the Mountain, and he lowers his aircraft to touch down on the edge of the runway�s threshold.

All five aircraft land flawlessly, and the IR and ILS signals go out as soon as the last aircraft has touched down.

Once again, the little Nissan pickup is there to greet them, and the five aircraft follow it into the main hangar as a snowstorm begins to build outside.

Ryan�s F/A-18 is the last aircraft to enter the hangar, and the massive door starts to slide closed as his tailplanes clear the doorway.

As soon as the door fully closes, the red lights flicker off and change back to white fluorescents.

Hawk�s eyes sweep the hangar as he follows the directions of a man with two wands motioning him where to park the XL.

As he parks his F-16XL in the space desigWilliamd, the sees the little Nissan parked next to Aaron�s F-23B, and notices the driver of the pickup climbing up to the Shadow�s cockpit. Then the pickup is obscured as he sees the F-29C pull to a stop on its other side. The canopy opens, and the Retaliator�s pilot climbs out, pulling off his helmet as he does so.

Hawk notices the man�s very un-military appearance, the shoulder length hair, the full goatee, and the earring in his left ear.

Hunter also notices the EightBall symbol on the man�s leather flight jacket and the Retaliator�s tail.

Then the Wingman does a double take as the F-23B�s pilot takes off his flight helmet. The pilots of the F-23 and F-29 look very much like identical twins as they converse at the F-23.

Then, as he looks closer with his sharp eyes at the men parked opposite his F-16XL, he notices that there are differences. For one, Aaron�s hair is darker, and Wahren seems to be a bit shorter. Also, Wahren has blue eyes, and Aaron�s are brown-green.

Fieldman reaches into the F-23�s back pit, and grabs his own leather jacket off the second seat. Hunter sees a different symbol on this one, a Bald Eagle with the full moon as a backdrop, surrounded by a pair of lightening bolts connecting beneath the Eagle in a golden "V".

As he puts on the jacket, he climbs out of the Black Widow II�s cockpit and climbs down the imbedded ladder to the hangar floor, Matt and Wahren jumping down before him. Wahren, Matt, and Aaron start to walk over towards the now-shutdown F-16XL as they finish their conversation. Matt splits off from the other two men and walks out of Hunter�s peripheral vision as he watches the similar-looking pilots approach.

As Aaron finishes up his conversation with Wahren, he motions Hunter to climb out of the cockpit and come with them.

Hawk climbs down from the Cranked Arrow, then pauses as he reaches the hangar floor.

The Wingman looks warily around, noticing some men and women in civilian clothes crawling around and over the other four aircraft that had accompanied him in, as well as a black F-15X to the left of his aircraft, that he had been instructed to park next to.

He also notices the pilot of the F/A-18C using a bobtail to tow AGE vehicles into a far corner, where he notices more crew, as well as�

"What in the name of�" Hawk mumbles out loud as he reaches the two men, his eyes still locked on the large black aircraft shrouded in shadow in a far corner of the hangar.

"Quite a bird, my little girl, isn�t she?" a third man, whom Aaron introduces as Matt "ElTito" Bendix, comments. Looking at the man, Hawk notices yet another black leather flight jacket, this one with the cartoon characters Bevis and Butthead on the left breast.

"What on earth are you guys doing with a Convair B-36 Peacemaker?" Hawk asks, "The last operational version was retired in 1956." He states.

"Yep. This aircraft used to be a B-36." A five-foot-seven blonde woman comments as she walks over to the four men, a five-eleven man with silver mirrored wraparound sunglasses beside her.

"More like several B-36s, as well as a few dozen other aircraft, if I remember the scavenger hunts correctly." The man comments as he and the woman reach the others.

"Wingman, you�ve already met Ryan �Vyper� Wakefield, as you two have a similar taste in paint schemes, and this is our fearless leader, Stacy �Immortal� Anrak." Aaron makes the introductions. Hawk appraises the two with a look, noticing they also wear the stylized leather flight jackets, Stacy�s with a broadsword and Ryan�s with the Tazmanian Devil cartoon character. The jackets must be standard issue for the team, though the personalized insignia are confusing to Hawk.

Hunter shakes hands with the two new arrivals, then turns back to the matter at hand.

"So, if it�s not a B-36, what exactly is it?"

"Nice to see we can impress the legendary Wingman." Aaron�s twin, who was introduced to Hunter as Wahren "Wolf" Morast, which only raises questions about the EightBall insignia, comments. Hunter learned during that introduction that Morast is, amazingly, of no relation to Fieldman.

"To answer what she is may take quite a while." Matt mutters as the others grin.

"Meanwhile, I, for one, am hungry. You said something about pizza, Bendix?" Aaron comments to the REB-36D�s Commander.

"Yup. Most of the rest of the crew is up there already." Matt replies, leading the group towards the elevator across the hangar.

Looking around the hangar more as they walk across it, Hawk is surprised to notice that all the people who had been working on the aircraft are gone. He and the five Eagles with him are the only people left in the massive cavern.

Heading for the elevator, the group walks past the little pickup they had followed in, and under the wing of the F-23B.

As they pass the Nissan, Aaron�s hand absently runs over the smooth silver-blue metal of its hood.

Hawk glances back as they walk under the F-23�s wing, and notices a custom-made license plate on the front of the pickup, bearing the image of an F-23 at sunset and the name Trixie in black script.

Stacy introduces the Wingman to the Eagles currently in the Mountain, all seated around the table in the briefing room, waiting to meet the legendary fighter pilot.

Stacy formally introduces Hunter to the men he has already been talking to, Aaron "Valder" Fieldman, Wahren "Wolf" Morast, Ryan "Vyper" Wakefield, and Matt "ElTito" Bendix. The other Eagles around the table, whom Hawk recognizes as the crewman that were crawling around the aircraft after they landed, are introduced as Rae Ann "Sis" Harris, Alayne "Phantom" Engelslause, Hera "Shorty" Steel, Alexander "Cowboy" Dieskau, John "Wizard" Terrance, and Suzanne "Daphne" Wagner, The REB-36D�s crew; Mitch "Mavrick" Vannell, Scott "S.B." Barrister, Terry "Tron" Carson, Doug "Matrix" Danko, Theresa "Angel" Smith, Carmen "Mikki" Ritter, and Robbie "DoughBoy" Sandler and Adam "Mayhem" Mason, The Terror Twins, who are in the Mountain between excursions.

Stacy apologizes to Hawk for not having all of the 137^th Wing present, explaining that the others are scattered across the world, serving with various branches of the U.S. military and other agencies.

As Stacy finishes her introductions, the far door of the conference room opens, and Matt "Shaba" Hunter and Marie "Cleopatra" Cordova enter with Matt carrying a stack of steaming pizzas.

"And last, but not least, the Commander of this complex, Gorilla Mountain, Marie Cordova. The man buried behind the pizzas is the ETF�s first commander, as well as the pride of the 37^th TFW Nighthawks, Matt Hunter."

Hawk stands up and shakes hands with the stealth pilot.

"Not the Matt Hunter, original Have Blue test pilot, the man called Temnota?"

"Once. I haven�t gone by that call sign in years. It�s Shaba now."

"Honored to meet you." Hawk Hunter comments as the two similarly sized men shake hands.

"As I am to formally meet Hawker Hunter, the legendary Wingman, original F-16XL test pilot, and the best left wing ever to serve in the Thunderbirds. Though this isn�t our first meeting."

"It�s not?"

"No, you met me, Carmen Ritter, Wahren, and Aaron at Edwards back in April 1992. But, that was a while ago, so I don�t expect you�d remember." Matt comments.

"Wait, wait. YOU were the crazy four that tore up the sky in that gigantic, two hour mock dogfight with the F-15ACTIVE, my F-16XL, and one of each of the ATF prototypes?"

"You do remember."

"The faces, perhaps not, but the flying, oh yeah. Hell, watching you four is part of the reason I joined the Thunderbirds. Had to get as good as those four crazy pilots." Hawk comments.

"Which reminds me, how is ol� �Socket� Toomey these days?" Terry Carson asks.

"Still as feisty as ever." Hawk replies. "How do you know J.T.?"

"We kind of got into a �discussion� at NAS Pensacola during last year�s exchange." Terry answers, referring to the annual Blue Angels-Thunderbirds get acquainted sessions. The annual ride-along is a long-time tradition between the two teams, where pilots from each team ride backseat with their opposites during a performance specifically for this purpose. Next year, the event will be held at the T-Birds� home base, Nellis AFB, Nevada, where Terry is sure he will run into Hawk again, as he is in the first season with the squadron.

"You�re that Carson!" Hawk comments, "Why aren�t you flying with the Blues right now?" Hunter finishes.

"Same reason you�re not with the �Birds, Hawker. It�s the off-season. Besides, I�ve flown four seasons in three different airframes with the Blues, I can use a break before I go into my fifth stint." He replies, referring to the A-4F Skyhawk in 1985, The F/A-18C Hornet in 1988 and 1989, and the new F/A-18E Super Hornet during that airframe�s first season last year.

"I thought you slot jocks never took time off." Hawk comments with a grin.

"That�s what �Red Dawg� would have you believe." Terry comments, referring to the Blues� lead solo pilot, who had pumped the Navy�s Flight Demonstration Squadron to mythic proportions to Colonel Seth Jones, the Thunderbirds lead pilot.

"Nice ride, that XL." Ryan Wakefield comments, heading off what might have been an inter-service argument that could have gone on for quite some time, "How�d you come by it?"

Hawk shrugs at Terry, then replies.

"Borrowing it from Edwards to fly around for General Dynamics on a publicity tour. There�s this film crew doing a movie about a series of books, and they have me flying the XL around the country to publicize it. The T-bird scheme was a nice touch that they thought up to link me with the aircraft." Hawk shrugs sheepishly.

"It is pretty sharp looking." Ryan admits.

"Figures he�d say that." Stacy mumbles to Wahren. It is obvious the others haven�t heard them as they are on the other end of the circular table from Terry, Hawk, and Ryan.

"Then again, Ryan�s head isn�t on quite straight." Terry chides, "He painted an ex-Blues Hornet like a T-Bird, and actually flies the damn thing."

As if in reply, Wakefield briefly sticks his tongue out at the shorter pilot.

Acting as if he hadn�t caught any of the exchanges, Hawk continues.

"I was heading back from some shooting at Ellsworth on a return to Nellis for winter training with the Birds, after a stopover to drop the XL at Edwards, when I blew past you guys. And now, here I am�." Hawk comments, looking around at the group and shrugging.

"From the newscasts, we had a pretty good idea who you were when you buzzed us, so we knew we couldn�t just jam your sensors until we got out of the area. We knew you�d figure something was up." Matt comments.

"Plus, I just couldn�t resist the opportunity to match skills with the legendary Wingman." Ryan grins.

"Y�know, as much as I�d love to listen to you boys puff yourselves up, I�m getting real hungry here�" Stacy comments with a wink to Suzanne.

With that, the group dive on the pizzas like a bunch of raptors on warm meat.

"Back here is the Defensive Systems Officer�s station, usually manned by Alayne." Matt states as he points to a row of screens with a keyboard, mouse, and joystick on the left of the compartment. "Over there is the Electronic Warfare station, Callie Phillips�s station. She�s one of the ones that isn�t around at the moment. Visiting family." Matt explains, pointing to the station in question. He then ducks under a reinforcement between the trailing edges of the wings, which passes through the fuselage. "Watch your head." He mutters to Hunter, who is following him on the tour of the massive bomber-cum-recon platform.

"These two passages lead down into the wings, so that repairs can be done to the R-4360 radial engines while in-flight." Matt comments as he continues forward.

"Ah, Bendix, what is this?" Hunter asks, looking at a hatch over his head that obviously leads to the top of the fuselage.

"Oh�that. That�s what we were testing when we ran into you. It�s a piggyback entry hatch. We flew the F-29 off and landed it a couple times." Matt comments, "We�re planning further tests, with Doug�s AV-8B."

"Anyone who would land on a moving vehicle is nuts." Hawk comments.

"What about Navy guys on the carriers?" Matt asks.

"Point proven." Hawk grins.

Matt laughs in reply. "Better not let Terry hear you say that."

Bendix continues to show Hawk around the Eagle�s Nest, highlighting some of the ahead-of-state-of-the-art aircraft�s capabilities as they go along.

As the two men climb down the REB-36D�s yellow access ladder at the end of the tour, Wahren meets them at the nose of the converted bomber.

"Matt, it�s dusk. Shall we fly that hose-and-drogue refueling test today, or not?" Wahren asks the NAWCC�s Aircraft Commander, referring to the newest addition to the REB�s midair refueling suite, a retractable refueling probe. The REB-36D already has a modified boom receptacle from a B-2A that accepts the boom from standard USAF tankers, but, if this new modification works tonight, the NAWCC will be able to refuel from the rest of the world�s tanker fleet, as well.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Matt responds, "The crew ready?"

Wahren jerks a thumb over his shoulder at the six Eagles standing behind him.

Matt nods in response.

"Great. Who�s on chase tonight?"

"Aaron�s in the F-14�s pit with Stacy flying, Matt�s in the �15X, and Terry will be flying the �20F camera plane. Ryan�s gonna fly his Bird of Prey again."

"Great, we refueling from the Eye?"

"No, Warlock�s coming in from Topeka in a KC-135 that supports the Navy on joint ops."

"Are you coming along?"

"Roge. Aaron�s letting me play with the Widow II, and I�ve got Mikki in the pit monitoring the flight."

"Looks like we�re set, then." Matt comments, then turns to the man beside him.

"Hawk, feel like taking an observer�s hop on this mutha?" Matt asks with a smirk.

"Where do I sign up?"

Ten minutes later, The REB-36D sits on the lakebed of Groom dry lake, parked beside the C-21 bearing the ETF�s cover company livery, and Hawk�s F-16XL. Matt and Doug carefully lower the unconscious pilot out of the converted bomber, Doug picking up his weight at the bottom of the ladder as Matt hands him down. The two men strap him into the �XL, place his flight helmet on his head, and close the futuristic fighter�s canopy before walking away. Doug climbs into the slate-gray Lear 21. The company title "International Miltary Consultant Corporation" is written in black block letters on the aircraft�s fuselage. As soon as Doug is aboard, Marie Cordova starts the aircraft�s twin engines. Doug closes the entrance hatch as the C-21 starts to roll down the lakebed, kicking up dust as it leaps into the sky. The REB-36D is right behind it, Matt allowing just enough separation to clear the Learjet�s wake turbulence before launching his aircraft down the lakebed. The two form up with the five fighter escorts, and the whole flight heads back to the Mountain.

The man known as the Wingman awakens to the sunlight beating down on his face through the canopy of his F-16XL. His head is hammering and he has one hell of a hangover. Looking around outside his aircraft, Hawker Hunter is startled to notice that he is in the middle of that holy land of aviation, Groom Lake, also known as Area 51 or Dreamland.

He has no idea how he got here, but, judging from the complaints from his head, it involved a lot of drinking. One thing he does know, however, is he that really doesn�t want to hang around on this most secret of all air bases for the MPs to come get him. Hawk fires up the F-16XL�s Pratt and Whitney 100-PW-100 turbofan and races down the desert lakebed, rising crisply into the fresh morning air and heading southwest towards Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.

Three days later, Matt climbs into a modified B-52H and taxis it to the massive aircraft elevator, to be taken to the main hangar for pre-flight before he and Ryan head back to their testing program at Edwards.

Ryan finishes up packing his duffel bag in his quarters and slings it over his shoulder. He closes his door and walks over to the rec room, where he waves a farewell at the Eagles watching TV there. Though he will be back in around six months, it�s always hard to leave this place, even for somewhere so exciting as Edwards.

Ryan walks across the transparent catwalk, touching each of the four exotic aircraft in the middle as he walks over to the computer center. He gets into the elevator and pushes the button for the main hangar, drops his duffel, and walks out. The elevator doors close and Ryan races back to the middle of the catwalk, trying to see if he can beat the elevator to the hangar using the newer system.

Wakefield toes the tape mark and launches himself. While gliding down the hand trolley, Ryan whizzes by the Wall of Infamy, as the team calls it, the place where they hang pictures of all the celebrities they have met over the years.

There are pictures of Eagles with movie stars like Tom Cruise, five different Presidents, Athletes like John Elway, musicians like Van Halen and Bon Jovi, and pilots, including Gen. Yeager and Patty Wagstaff. A new photo hangs there as well, showing Hawker Hunter, the Wingman, grinning from his perch on the wing of his F-16XL, with the NAWCC and crew behind and beside the Cranked Arrow. In a corner of that 11x13 picture is a smaller, 3x4 picture of Hawk in his cockpit, giving the photographer a thumbs up. It is obvious both pictures were taken in the Mountain.

If you have the clearance and the connections, you can see the picture even today. It still hangs on that wall, even though that wall "never existed".