Sky High (Dreadwing Story)

Time to be free

Dreadwing and I chat every day. It's usually me doing the chatting and him sending back one-word answers. After a few days of this I had asked him if he was alright or if I was boring him. He made it very clear I was not boring him. He was generally interested; he just didn't have much to say back. He is a man of very little words I tell ya. He does talk about his job every now and then. How hard it can be being a lieutenant for him. Though I had to have him explain that he is the second in command. So, he is high up on the ranking chart. Unlike me, who is way at the bottom. I may be a lieutenant, but I'm one in a thousand. His ranking structure is very different from mine. Well in a way it's the same, but yet different. It's so hard to explain. He's a first lieutenant, but it's a high-ranking thing for him. I'm a second lieutenant and it doesn't really mean anything. I'm just in charge of a platoon. He's in charge of a whole army, well right underneath his commander. Who I guess is kind of a jerk? The way he described him, he sounds cold and harsh. He beat the hell out of the last guy who had Dreadwings job. If any of my commanders or higher ups did something like that, they would be thrown out so fast, they wouldn't see what hit them.

I have yet to fly again. The captain is keeping me on the ground. I'm growing restless. I am constantly out trying to find things to do. I've washed my jet inside and out at lease three times now. It takes a day to just wash it and another to just clean the inside and I mean clean it. I cleaned the whole engine bay too. The inside of the wings, my rudder and stabilizers. I mean everything. I go on runs or I take the platoon on runs. They can't stand it when I make them get up at five in the morning just to run ten miles. Which I don't know why, it's good exercise. I know they work hard, but we need to keep in shape too. That is also my job. Though its not usually me who takes them out for pt, I've been doing it a lot lately.

I'm in my office after a run, my hair is a sweaty mess, strands covering my face. My shirt clinging to my chest and my shorts have ridden up, I need to push them down. I'm haven't gone and showered yet, because I have to get my troops ready for another field op. One, I won't be going on because the Captain won't let me fly yet. So, what is the point? I fiddle through the paperwork, signing, adding names, going over the manifest. I don't even care about how I look right now. I've been with the same guys, who cares anymore. What use am I if I can't fly? I seriously need to get back into the air.

I prop some of the papers up and shuffle them to make the all straight. Just as I'm doing this, I see a head of hair over the brim of the papers. Then I hear a knock. I lift my head slightly and look up to see a tired face of my Captain. The same one I can't seem to stop complaining about. I do my best to not roll my eyes at him. He knows I'm still mad at him.

"Hi." Is that really how he's gonna start this conversation.

"Hi." I drop the papers on my desk and give him my full nasty glare attention.

"Look I know you want to fly, but I can't let you. Just not yet."

"When you tell me why, I'll stop being ass about it."

"I...I can't tell you."

"And why not?" My voice raises a notch and I notice him flinch. This makes me smirk.

"I just can't, please just accept that." Then he waves his hands in front of his face and at me. "That's not what I'm here for. I need you to go on the op."

"No." I put my hands on my desk and clasp my hands together.

"Its not a suggestion, its an order." Now he's getting angry.

"No."

"Jane, you can't defy an order."

"Unless I can fly, I'm not going."