Who Knew - Pink

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Chapter 1

The chatter in the great hall is overly loud, only amplified because of the soundproof walls. Everyone's conversations rebounds back to her ears. Her leg bounces subconsciously. She shouldn't be here. She should be out there, with the jets, where she is supposed to be. Not here to listen to an "important lecture". No. She should be out flying, listening for a distress signal from the current ground division. But she can't. She must listen to orders and sit here in the concrete prison impatiently.

Kenna sighs, clenching and unclenching her fingers around her knees. She gazes around the room at various intervals, trying to see what is holding the commander up. Kadir looks across the metal table, noticing her edginess. He reaches across and flicks her ear. She gives a silent yelp and looks at him in disbelief. He smiles and points to Maria in front of her. She grins her acknowledgment. Reaching in front, she zaps her fellow college. Her squeal brings the attention of the surrounding personnel, making her blush cherry red. Kadir and Kenna just sit there shaking with uncontrollable laughter.

A high pitched whistle brings their attention away from the bright red girl to the front of the room. Kornel stands there, his hand hovering over his mouth, signalling the evidence of the sound. With everyone's devotion now on him, he begins the awaited announcement.

"People! I'm sorry to hold you up from your duties, but the board has said that this introduction to some new cadets requires everyone on campus." Groans were the accompanied sound. "Oh quit your whining! I don't agree with it either considering we have ground patrols out but orders are orders. Now," Kornel clapped his hands. "The sooner we start the sooner we finish so let's begin."

There were twenty names. Five girls - Aaliyah, Cayla, Ida, Rhea and Bailey- and fifteen boys - Aaron, Clint, Glyndwr, Hamish, and several others that the squad forgot.

"And last but not least, Eimear Funkhouser! Our new doctor." Kornel introduces. A tall, well-built feminie figure comes from around the corner leading to the commander's office. Dark brown hair, a slight limp and the blue camo uniform of the RAAF. Kenna's eyes light up with new found joy. Eimear turned her head till she was looking at her friend. She smiled and made her way over as she was dismissed. The pilot stood up to intercept the cadet's path.

"E! I haven't seen you in ages!" Kenna exclaimed, giving Eimear a cuddle, her head resting comfortably just above her friends breasts. When they separated, the two year veteran craned her head back to look her new college in the eye. "Will I ever outgrow you?"

Eimear just smiled down at her and shook her head. Kenna sighed. She looked to Kornel, who had a receptionist whispering in his ear. When was he going to allow them to leave? She needed to be out flying her fighter.

William looked over to his squad partner as she anxiously glanced around. He chuckled. Grabbing a spare piece of paper, he scrunched it up and threw it at her head. It hit dead on the back of her skull. She whipped around and stared at him questionably. He put his finger next to his nose pointing to the roof to look like the horn of a rhino. She smiled slightly. He knew exactly what she was thinking. She wasn't comfortable and needed to get into her zone - in her Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter, AKA Rhino.

A cleared throat once again silences everyone. Kornel rubs the back of his neck, impatience and irritation written on his face.

"A late arrival." He grumbles to everyone. They face palm themselves, kick the ground and chuck their hands in the air groaning.

The laggard ran into the hall through the corridor that leads to the front of the base. Cold dread filled Kenna to her very core. Why did God have to be so cruel?

"As Squadron 6 has no electrical personnel, you will be assigned to that team." The commander points to the group. As the new recruit walks over to them, Eilmear makes an inquiry to her girlfriend.

"Hey K, isn't that -" She was cut off by a static screech from Kenna's belt. Everyone stops their hushed conversations at the interference. She fumbles for the radio as words are formed.

"Eternal Flame to Wolf's Bane. Eternal flame to Wolf's Bane. Come in Wolf's Bane." The receiver voiced. It took Kenna a few more minutes to finally get the box off her hip. All the while the impatient mumblings on the other end were bringing a smile to everyone's faces.

When Kenna finally got the device off her hip, her tension had nearly reached its climax, making her shake in anticipation.

"W-W-W. Oh crud. Wolf's Bane to Eternal Flame. Report Eternal Flame." She stuttered. Fear niggling on the edge of her consciousness. She instinctively took to steps towards the hanger, ready to run at a moment's notice.

"First, calm the heck down! I can hear your tension. Second, we're doing fine and are starting to pack up. We should be back a couple hours before dinner. And then it's time to go home to ARMIDALE!" She squealed through the transmission. Kenna giggled. Yes, being home in Australia would be good. Even though she loved being deployed out in her fighter plane, she still missed her country of origin.

"Well. That sounds just about right. Imagine those cold beers, the ice creams, pubs, white hot beaches, and the beach boys. Ah. I can see it now." She replied dreamily.

It was Eternal Flame's turn to laugh. "Mmm, BABY! That picture is so deli -" Gun shots and screams drowned out the word. The fear that had previously simmered down when she first heard her friend's voice now returned full fold in Kenna's chest.

"E F?" She whispered, pressing the radio to her ear, trying to hear the slightest sound that she was ok. Foul language met her waiting ears with the sounds of firearms in the background. Suddenly, a very loud shot echoed through the speaker, deafening her for several seconds. Then a couple more. She heard the word 'retreat' in between the rounds. The occasional very faint shout of 'surrender' coated in a thick accent was also distinguished. Kenna drew in another breath to start talking again when she was interrupted.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! We need help! We're being attacked and we can't hold them off for long. MAYDAY! ... HELP!" Eternal Flame screamed. The line went silent. All eyes were on the transmitter. Silence echoed through the hall at the main base.

"Eternal Flame? Eternal Flame come in. Wolf's Bane to Eternal Flame. Wolf's Bane to Eternal Flame. Eternal Flame come in! AURIKA!" Kenna yelled desperately into the box's microphone. She was greeted with nothing but silence and the soft vibration of static.

Everything else was a blur. All Kenna could remember during that time was her sprinting onto the launch pad, footsteps behind her, yelling and shouting, flinging open the hatch to her Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter cockpit, flicking all the necessary switches and flying off to the isolated village of Chaghcharan, Afghanistan.

She flew hard and fast, pushing the engine to near overdrive. She ignored the frantic commands to slow down and to stay with the plane. Externally, you would see a calm, concentrating young woman. Internally, she was freaking out. Kenna had already lost too many companions. She wasn't ready to lose another.

With the village, Chaghcharan in sight, the desperate pilot flew low over the buildings, turning back towards it when she flies over the frail crops five hundred metres way from the outskirts of the settlement.

Landing in the sandy expanse between the external row of houses and the last field, Kenna ditched all protocol and jumped out of the hatch, grabbing her gun from its storage compartment and flitting her fingers to her hip checking for her pistol and radio which had somehow, in the time of her running to the jet, returned to her belt. She was running before her mind could correspond the dirt beneath her. She ran into the village looking down every ally, taking the right turns to the Australian Help Base, hoping, praying that they would be there and fine, and laughing their heads off as the practical joke was revealed. But a voice in the back of her mind kept telling her the opposite. They're not there. It would say. They are going to be missing, taken hostage. They'll be lying on the ground dead. Their accusing eyes staring up at you. Their blood will be on your hands.

Shaking the voice out of her head, she continues to run. Looking everywhere. Never stopping or slowing. Not even noticing the frightened civilians peaking glimpses at her fleeing figure through windows and door cracks. Rounding the last corner, Kenna stops abruptly, the cloud of dust behind her, kicked up by her feet, slowly disperses. She treads slowly; hesitantly.

Kadir yells frequently into the jet's radio, trying and failing to get through to Kenna. He wacks the dash in frustration and speeds up to catch up with her missing plane. He sees it a minute later, parked several metres away from the last house, unmanned and left alone to the entertainment of the Afghans who flee at the sound of him arriving. He grits his teeth, knowing she would've been desperate to leave it unguarded.

Flicking the hatch open, he steps down from the cockpit. Hearing the ground rescue truck approaching him. Grunting at their speedy arrival, Kadir starts running towards the town. Somewhere, along the lines of his consciousness did he notice the frightened faces peering through windows. He mentally shoved them away, there were more important things to worry about. Rounding a building he halts. Kenna stands three metres away, slowly walking towards the brick wall at the end of the street. She sinks to her knees. Reaching out tentatively, she picks up the worn out toy, resting next to the radio. The plush dragon stares back at her, eyes unblinking, unseeing and forever happy, undisrupted by the world around it. A sob chokes in her throat. Kenna hugs the figurine tightly as the tears start to fall. Kadir leans against a nearby wall and lets his gun trail down till it lies on the ground, forgotten in the haze of depression.