Enterprise's New Life

Chapter 16 - Barely Unscathed

08:30:00 hours.

Somewhere over the Baltic Sea.

Monday morning.

Agent Fernandez struggles to maintain control of his F18E super hornet. The last German pilot he shot down was the one who scored a lucky shot on his tails. With the rudders malfunctioning, the former naval aviator is a bind. Two things are going through his mind as he moves the stabilizers and the flaps of his aircraft. He is compensating whatever is available to maintain the balance of his jet. One is sending a radio message to his former commanding officer about his condition and that he will bail out. Then hope for the best that a friend rescues him.

Or two, radio the carrier and ask them to setup the barricade then crash land on the flight deck. He decides to go for option number two. He starts to radio the carrier and tries to maintain his flight balance.

Agent Fernandez: This is Wild Fox to Fox Hole. Do you read me? Over!

????: "This is Fox Hole. Loud and clear Wild Fox. What's your status?"

Agent Fernandez: I'm currently struggling with the controls of my aircraft. A bogey managed to score a lucky shot at my tails. Both rudders are no longer available. Compensating with my stabilizers and flaps. Request setting up the barricade. I'm going to crash land this scrap metal on the flight deck.

????: "Wild Fox this is Admiral Myers. How bad is your aircraft?"

Agent Fernandez: Real bad sir. Going supersonic right now to maintain flight balance.

Admiral Myers: "Hang in there Wild Fox. I'm going to order the barricade to be setup. Try to land in one piece sailor."

Agent Fernandez: Roger! Wild Fox over and out!

Admiral Myers: Alert all safety officers and damage control teams. Tell them to setup the barricade and be prepared for a possible mishap on the flight deck. We got an injured fox heading this way.

????: Aye aye sir!

Admiral Myers: Oh and by the way Capt. Hunter.

Capt. Hunter: Yes sir?

Admiral Myers: I want you to bring Wild Fox to the briefing room as soon as he lands.

Capt. Hunter: Aye aye sir!

Capt. Hunter immediately broadcasts on the ship's PA system about Agent Fernandez's situation. The landing safety officers and other teams immediately set up the barricade. Damage control teams quickly put on their gear and wait for a possible mishap on the flight deck. Anxiety begins to kick in as the hours pass by. After an hour has passed. Agent Fernandez is now in the view of the LSO's. They see his plane shaking completely as the beleaguered secret agent continues to struggle in maintaining the aircraft's flight balance. The barricade is immediately raised and the damage control teams await in anxiety as the aircraft makes a shaky descent.

One of the LSO's radios Agent Fernandez about his glide path.

LSO: Wild Fox your way below glide path. Three quarters of a mile. Call the ball.

Agent Fernandez: "Roger! Wild Fox has the ball."

Agent Fernandez begins his descent and makes a shaky approach to the carrier. The LSO's and damage control teams anxiously wait as the former naval aviator compensates his stabilizers and flaps just to keep the plane airborne. Minutes later he brings down the safety hook and landing gear. As soon as he hits the flight deck. Agent Fernandez misses the trap. He's now heading straight to the barricade. It stops him in time before he can even crash into the other parked aircraft. The former hotshot pilot opens his canopy and gets off the aircraft.

A medic suddenly notices blood on the secret agent's left arm. She quickly runs to the reckless agent and grabs hold of his left arm.

Agent Fernandez: What are you doing? Let go of my arm.

Medic: Sir I'm attending to your wound.

Agent Fernandez: My wound? But how? I swear that I didn't get shot while escaping from Iron Blood HQ.

A member of the damage control team notices a small hole on the canopy. And sees a part of the left rudder on the floor. He immediately informs Agent Fernandez about the hole on the canopy of his aircraft.

DCT: Sir I think you didn't notice that your canopy has a small hole. It looks like a piece of plexiglass might have hit you on your arm. Plus I found a small shrapnel on the floor of the plane. It might have hit you too fast that you weren't able to notice it.

Medic: Sir please let me patch your wound.

????: You can do that later medic. Wild Fox! The admiral wants to see you.

Agent Fernandez: Yes sir! Capt. Hunter sir!

Capt. Hunter and Agent Fernandez immediately go to the briefing room to meet up with Admiral Myers. The secret agent ignores the wound on his arm and mentally prepares on what he's going to say to the admiral. As soon as they get to the briefing room. Admiral Myers notices Agent Fernandez's wound.

Admiral Myers: Looks like you got your first battle scar.

Agent Fernandez: It's just a small wound. Nothing serious.

Capt. Hunter: You might say that you got out of there barely unscathed.

Agent Fernandez: It's a small price to pay for lying to my partner.

Admiral Myers: If I recall. The last time you did that was four years ago. A year after the second Siren attack.

Agent Fernandez: Yup! I broke up with my partner slash girlfriend back then. After that it was a mission in Libya.

Admiral Myers: Anyways enough talking about the past. Did you get the details of what they are exactly hiding?

Agent Fernandez: Yes sir. I got it all on photos and videos. So even if they move them. There's no escape from NATO command.

Admiral Myers: So when are you leaving Wild Fox?

Agent Fernandez: A week from now. I heard that there's a good bar here in Kiel where they serve the best beer in town.

Admiral Myers: Well I'll be damned! I didn't know that you drink beer.

Agent Fernandez: I've been under your command for two years sir. You should have asked the store on who's been buying a beer before sleeping.

They all laughed at the small pun that Agent Fernandez cracked. Afterwards they bogged down to business and carefully looked at the evidence that he got from Iron Blood HQ. Once they finished discussing about the photo and video evidences. Agent Fernandez goes to the infirmary to have his wound treated. A piece of plexiglass is extracted from his left shoulder. Barely grazing a vital nerve connected to his brain. The doctor gives a prescription for anti-tetanus as well as some painkillers.

Time Skip:

The USS Theodore Roosevelt docks at port of Kiel. Agent Fernandez decides to check in a hotel. He then asks where is the nearest bar that he can go to if he wants to have a beer. The minute he got the location of the bar, he goes there at night time. Meanwhile in Newport, Virginia. Enterprise and her sisters are enjoying a girls night out at the nearest bar in Newport. They talk about girl stuff and not the war with the Sirens. But pretty soon the former ship girl will receive the saddest news of her life. Agent Fernandez will soon be reinstated back to active duty in the navy. Aside from that he will be promoted to captain.

Somehow deep inside her. She has begun to develop feelings for the returning hotshot pilot. It won't be long that she will admit to Agent Fernandez her feelings for him. The same goes for the soon to be former secret agent. He too has begun to develop feelings for the former ship girl named Enterprise.