24 May 2019 – The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Sabrina stared at the round solitaire-cut diamond Tommy held out to her. The facets sparkled as they reflected the moonlight and the glow from nearby stained glass. An occasional strobe-like flash flickered.

Sabrina had to remember to blink. And to breathe.

Tommy looked up at Sabrina, expectant, hopeful. His pulse – already racing – accelerated as the seconds ticked past without an answer from her. After three terrifying, agonizing seconds, Tommy saw Sabrina smile as a tear coursed down her cheek.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, Tommy, yes!”

Tommy rose up off the stone pavers and in one motion swept Sabrina into his arms. He twirled her around, lost in his joy and relief. He felt her happy tears on his face as they kissed.

“Did you get it?” he asked when the kiss broke. Sabrina looked at him in confusion.

“Yeah,” came a sniffling reply off to her side.

Sabrina turned to see her roommates, past and present, wiping away tears of their own. They stood next to two male classmates – their escorts for the Ring Dance. The four witnesses to the engagement walked up to add their congratulations.

Tommy’s text tone chimed two or three times on the ride back to their hotel. Sabrina snagged his phone and her eyes narrowed.

“Why do you have my friends in your contacts?”

“Uh, jealous much?” he laughed in reply. “Did you look at what they sent?”

Sabrina’s angry façade evaporated as she scrolled through the pictures.

“You planned this!”

Tommy stole a glance. “Of course, I did! What percentage of people get to have the moment of their engagement captured on film? You can send those pictures to your folks, Alex and Anna, your aunts and uncles … We’ll tell our folks first, though.”

“Do your parents put their phones on ‘Do Not Disturb’ at night? Mine do. We can text them the photos before we go to bed tonight and see how early they call in the morning.”

“My guess is about six a.m. our time. Mom’s not going to care what time it is once she sees the pictures, and she usually wakes up around eight. She might call your mom first, but I don’t think the odds are in favor of that happening.”

Sabrina smiled and interlaced her fingers with his.

“I love you, Tommy Jones.”

“And I love you to pieces, Rocket Girl.”

“Dragon Lady,” she giggled. “My callsign is ‘Dragon Lady …’”

“That’s their name for you.”

Tommy’s prediction wasn’t too far off the mark. His phone rang at six-thirty the next morning. He and Sabrina hadn’t gotten much sleep given what time they stopped ‘celebrating’ their engagement.

“Hi, Mom …” he mumbled. “Thank you. I’m pretty happy myself … Yeah, she’s right here. Hang on.” He held his phone out to Sabrina. “Mom would like to talk to you, Sabrina.”

“Hi, Anne.”

“Oh, Sabrina, I’m am so happy for you and Tommy! And I get another daughter to balance the numbers!”

Sabrina laughed. “You know, I’ve been thinking about this whole ‘Mrs. Jones vs. Anne’ thing, and I’m wondering why I haven’t ever called you ‘Mom’ at all? It’s not like I didn’t grow up at your house, too.”

“Sabrina,” Anne replied as she started sniffling, *“I would love it if you called me Mom! Your mom and I will have plenty to talk about at breakfast this morning.”

“Did you call my folks before calling us? Tommy said we shouldn’t count on you being that patient.”

“My Tommy takes after his father too much. No, I didn’t, but it was a near thing, though. I had his number half-entered in my phone before I remembered the time difference. Then I decided I didn’t care! ‘Sorry, not sorry,’ as you kids say!”

“Well, we have to get over to Helen and Joe’s for breakfast, so we’d have been up soon anyway.”

“Sabrina, honey, welcome to the family. We’ll talk again soon.”

“Well, that means your folks are probably awake, too, Babe.”

“Right.” Sabrina pressed the contact listing for her mother’s phone.

“Sabrina, why pray tell are you calling us so early on a Saturday morning?”

“Mom, you’ve been hanging around Dad too long. Your Sarcasmatron is stuck in overdrive!”

Sabrina heard her mother’s smile in her next sentence.

“Sabrina, your father and I wish you and Thomas every happiness.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“What are your plans for today?” Sabrina could hear the uncharacteristic smirk in her mother’s voice now.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Mom!”

Tommy and Sabrina stood together – hand-in-hand – on the Gallardos’ front porch less than three hours later.

“Hi, guys!” Mia chirped when she opened the door. The next second she launched herself at Sabrina. “Yay! Lemmie see! Lemmie see!” She pried the couple’s hands apart to have easier access to Sabrina’s left hand.

She hugged Tommy next. “It’s beautiful, Tommy!”

“Thanks, Mia. Your big sister kinda outshines the ring though, don’t you think?”

“Smooth talker …” Sabrina laughed. “Come on, Mia. Let’s head inside. Tommy and I are hungry this morning.”

“Yeah,” Mia snorted, “wonder why …”

“MIA!”

“What am I, six, Sabrina? I’m sure you two ‘celebrated’ your engagement all night.”

“You are trouble personified.”

“While you’re not wrong, Sabrina,” Joe commented as the trio entered the living room, “is there any particular reason you’re bringing it up this morning?”

Mia looked silently at Sabrina.

“Oh, fine.” Sabrina held up her left hand. Helen sprang off the couch to hug the young couple.

“So you took my advice?”

“I’ve taken lots of your advice, Helen. But, yes, in this case, most definitely – I want both.”

“And no reason you can’t have both, Sabrina,” Helen answered as the rest of her family hugged Sabrina. Tommy raised an eyebrow.

“Tell you later,” his fiancée said.

Tommy and Sabrina spent the day with the Gallardos. Tommy pitched in to help Joe with the yard work while Sabrina helped Helen and the girls prepare meals. It was delightfully normal.

“Sabrina, any word on how Ryan’s ankle surgery went?” Helen asked while preparing dinner.

Sabrina grimaced. “Mom and Dad will rarely mention Ryan to me, Helen, but in this case, I asked about him last week. The surgery itself went fine, though he’ll be wearing a cast or be on crutches for the next few months at a minimum.” She sighed, as she often did when talking about that brother. “He’s lucky Mom and Dad always pushed education. He graduated without any issues, but his baseball career is over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ryan wanted to declare for the draft last year, right after he got done playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer, but Mom and Dad talked convinced him to stay in school and get his degree.” The Cape League is one of the premiere, wooden-bat summer baseball leagues for undrafted college players.

“And his ankle?”

“It was actually the very end of his left leg, just above the ankle.” She pointed to the area of Ryan’s injury. “The surgeons say he’ll be able to walk, maybe even jog a little, but he’ll never run well enough to play high-level baseball again. The ligament and tendon damage from his fracture will take the longest to heal and will be the limiting factors.”

Helen checked to make sure Felicity and Mia weren’t in the kitchen.

“You’re still angry at him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. It comes and goes. I can’t forget how he treated the rest of the family after he hit puberty, and me in particular.”

The extended family sat downstairs in the family room watching a movie after dinner. Sabrina’s phone rang halfway into the film.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Princess, are you near a TV tonight?”

“Yeah, Tommy and I are hanging with Helen, Joe, and the girls. We’re here for the weekend. Why? What’s up?”

“Ask them if you can watch a show starting in a few minutes.” Her father named the show.

Sabrina asked if they could change the channel for a bit.

“We’ve seen this movie like five times, Sabrina,” Joe said as he raised the TV remote. “It’ll be a welcome change.” He gave the device a voice command and the channel switched.

“Is this that obstacle-running show, Dad? Why did you want us to watch this?”

“You’ll see when the promo comes on …”

The show started with a preview of that night’s episode.

“HEY!” Joe exclaimed, pointing at a familiar figure on the screen.

Sabrina’s father launched himself at a rope that hung over some sort of water obstacle. The tank top he wore showed off the familiar tattoos on his right arm as he swung across. He cleared the hazard and ran past the camera, the word ‘WARRIOR’ emblazoned across the front of his shirt. On the back were the familiar shapes of Army Combat Infantryman and Combat Medic badges. The promo cut to another contestant.

“Remember that ‘secret project’ I said I was working on?”

“That’s why you were working on your grip strength, isn’t it? So how did you do in the competition?”

“You’re gonna have to watch and find out, Sabrina. That was one of the conditions of being selected: a gag-order. I can’t say anything about my experience until I’m either knocked out or win the whole thing.”

“Does Mom know?”

Jeff laughed. “Nice try, Princess. She watched me compete, but she’s under the same restriction.”

“Hmph! See if I call you two my favorite parents anymore … Can you tell me how far into this episode your obstacle-running debut will be at least?”

“Sure. It’s not right at the beginning, and you won’t have to wait until the end.”

“You’re having entirely too much fun with this!”

“Absolutely!”

“May I talk to Mom, please?”

“Before you go, Princess, congratulations again.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Hello, daughter.”

“Are you enjoying this as much as Dad is, Mom?”

“Certainly. I am also certainly looking forward to helping plan your wedding, Sabrina, if that is something you want.”

“I do, but I’m not sure how crazy I want to go with it, either. I think I want to have it out here, Mom. Maybe right after graduation next year?”

“If that is what you wish, Sabrina. It is your wedding. In that case, I shall enlist Helen’s help since I know so little of the area there.”

“As I said, Mom, don’t go crazy yet. Tommy and I haven’t even really talked about the date, anyway.”

The crowd at the Gallardos’ felt silent as the show started in earnest. Most of the early contestants, particularly the rookies, looked hesitant on the course. That changed when Jeff had his chance to compete.

“Your dad is flying, Sabrina!” Mia gasped.

Mia was right. The experienced contestants cheered wildly at his performance, which was the best of the night so far. In contrast to the others before him, Jeff looked like a seasoned veteran. He looked to be in far better shape than most, also.

“That’s Dad,” Sabrina replied when Helen pointed that out. “He’s looked like that my whole life.”

Joe looked down at his ‘dad bod’ and sighed.

“Did you know Dad was doing the show, Alex?”

“No, Bina. It was as much of a shock to us as it was to you guys.”

“So, you’re now a graduate of the University of Chicago. What’s next?”

“I’m hanging here for a couple of years to get my master’s while Anna finishes her undergrad. After that, we’ll see. I’d still like to get my doctorate, but I’m not sure where we’ll wind up for that.”

“Do you have an idea of what you’ll be shooting for topic-wise with your Ph.D.?”

“It’ll still be propulsion. These new electric-ion engines are really intriguing, and I can see a few possibilities.”

“My brain hurts just thinking about it.”

“Says the girl who wants to make life-and-death decisions at Mach Two …”

“Spacecraft need to go faster than that to escape Earth’s gravity, you know?”

“I’ve heard that, yes. What’s next for you, Air Force career-wise?”

“I’ll be in charge of the academy’s soaring program through the end of the calendar year. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”

“Are you and Tom getting married after graduation?”

“That’s the plan. We considered having the ceremony at the academy chapel for half a second, but it’ll close for renovations before next summer. Half of every graduating class usually wants to book the place for their weddings, too, so holding it there wouldn’t have made much sense, anyway. We just want a very simple ceremony out here followed by a small reception. Nothing major.”

“That’s fitting since you’ll only be a lieutenant when you graduate, not a major.”

Sabrina groaned. “I hope you don’t drop stinkers like that one around your fiancée!”

‘These new shoulder boards seem heavier,’ Sabrina mused as she checked her reflection. Her light blue, Class-B uniform shirt looked sharp with her wings, ribbons, and Superintendent’s List pin. She still couldn’t quite believe she wore flight commander rank boards on her shoulders.

Three years ago she was a basic cadet, the lowest form of life at the academy and not yet even deserving of the simple title ‘cadet.’ Now she wore the rank of cadet captain commanding a flight element. Not the top of the heap by any means, but no longer the bottom, either.

The Class of 2023 would begin its long journey tomorrow. Sounds from the rude awakening known as Induction Day – I-Day – would fill the Terrazzo as the Basic Cadet Training cadre shared their I-Day experiences from two years earlier with the newcomers. Shared them in a loud and unfriendly manner.

Sabrina would miss most of it. She wasn’t BCT cadre and the first session of Airmanship 250 began tomorrow at the academy airfield, far from the Cadet Area. The summer flight sessions for the new three-digs were popular, well-attended, and well-staffed with instructors. Sabrina’s soaring time would be limited as the overall program commander, but she still managed to schedule herself as an instructor for a handful of sorties.

“Looking sharp, Captain!” Dina laughed from the other side of the vanity.

“Thank you, Captain!” Sabrina replied with a laugh of her own. “That beret and sunglasses still give me the chills, though.”

“Wait until I put the gloves on and start throwing knife-hands!”

“Ugh. No thanks! When’s your planning meeting?”

“In fifteen minutes. Yours?”

“Same. I have to hustle if I’m gonna make it over to Vandy on time.”

There wasn’t much ‘planning’ at the meeting. If they were still planning at this point, they were well behind the curve. Instead, the meeting ensured everyone understood their roles and the schedule for tomorrow.

BCT cadre and basic cadets would live in Vandy while soaring and jump school cadets and staff would bunk in Sijan Hall. Summer Airmanship cadets would line up for Lunch Formation and eat at Mitchell Hall when BCT did, but they would separate themselves from the younger cadets and their overseers.

Sabrina helped Dina move across the T-zo to Vandenberg Hall for the summer.

“Lucky you,” Dina griped. “You get a single for the summer!”

“Oh, yeah, lucky me. I gotta keep the whole place clean by myself …”

“Quitcherbitchin …”

Sabrina lined up for Breakfast Formation with the other Airmanship cadets the following morning. This time, she stood in front of the other cadets in the commander’s position. Summer sessions at the academy were a time when cadets didn’t necessarily all wear the same uniforms. The uniform of the day for Airmanship cadets was flight suits. Shuttles would take them to the airfield immediately following breakfast. BCT cadre wore their Class-B uniforms in preparation for I-Day today.

‘Today’s a good day for flight operations,’ Sabrina thought as she stood on the apron of the airfield.

She looked up at the puffy cumulus clouds and thought about where the thermal updrafts would be. She wouldn’t get to fly today, but she pictured a flight in her head and imagined the sensations. Sabrina nodded in satisfaction as she watched her instructors prepare the three-digs for their first flights.

Her instructors. Her first command. ‘First of many,’ she hoped.

“Looking good, First Sergeant,” she commented to cadet master sergeant Donnie Estabrook while nodding toward the flight line.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he replied. “This bunch is following direction nicely. The three-digs are doing okay, too.” Sabrina looked over and grinned.

“No days off, Donnie?”

“The only easy day was yesterday, Ma’am. Attention to detail, always.”

“As long as we allow for minor mistakes as we grow into our roles. Guidance, not dictatorship.”

“X-Y-Z Leadership, yes, Ma’am.”

X-Y-Z Leadership is a concept where X equals a pat on the back, Y is a kick in the ass, and Z is a combination of both.

“Two evolutions before lunch, as usual?” Sabrina asked.

“Should be able to. Weather’s good today.”

“I don’t envy the new basics today. I think I still have PTSD from my I-Day, BCT, and four-dig year.”

Donnie looked at Sabrina. “Four-dig year was a piece of cake compared to what you went through two years ago. I don’t know how you made it through, but that earned you my respect long before I met you, Ma’am.”

“Donnie?”

“My little sister’s trying for an appointment to a service academy, too. You standing up for yourself and others is changing – and has changed – the culture here. It’s causing ripple effects at the other academies, also.” He looked toward the runways.

“Mom raised Suzie and me on our own when our father left us. I was five, Suzie was just a baby. Mom fought tooth and nail so we could have a safe, comfortable place to grow up. Worked sixteen-, seventeen-hour days at two jobs to support us. Called people on their bullshit when they tried fucking with our family.

“Suzie and I paid her back by hitting the books hard, helping around the house, always giving our all. There’s no one I respect more than my mother, Sheila Estabrook.” He looked at his CO again. “You come damn close though, Ma’am.”

Despite Sabrina’s leadership responsibilities, she found herself with more free time than she knew what to do with that summer. Tommy had headed east after his finals to spend some time with family while Sabrina settled into her command. Airmanship 250’s summer sessions ran themselves once they started, thanks in large part to her staff. Never one for over-the-shoulder micro-management, Sabrina trusted her subordinates to do their jobs and checked in with them every so often.

One consequence of spending the summer at the academy was regular ice time. Sabrina added skating and shooting to her workout routine every other day. She banished the softness that had crept into her physique through her improved fitness regimen. An older gentleman showed up at the Cadet Arena after July 4th.

“Excuse me? Are you Cadet Sabrina Knox?” the man asked as he glided over. He moved with the casual ease that comes with spending a lifetime on skates.

“Yessir, I am. Can I help you?”

“Ken Sawchuk,” the man said while holding his hand out in greeting. “I’ve been hired as the women’s hockey coach.” Sabrina hesitated for the briefest moment before shaking the coach’s hand. Coach Sawchuk smiled to try and ease Sabrina’s fears. “I want to see how I can help the team improve on its successes to date, Cadet, not run it like a dictatorship.”

Sabrina smiled back but wasn’t very convincing.

“Look, can I call you Sabrina?” The incoming firstie nodded. “You and your teammates started this program from nothing, and have a lot of time and effort invested in it. If I come in here and start throwing my weight around, barking orders like some surplus store general I’m gonna alienate every player on the team, am I right?”

“You are,” Sabrina agreed.

“Right, so I want to figure out where the weaknesses are and help fix them, not spend my time recruiting players who will blindly listen to what I tell them to do. I want to work with you and have you buy in because you want to. Now, Mr. Toucher, the rink manager, says that you’ve been coming in here two or three times a week over the summer to work on stuff?”

“At first it was just a way to fill the time, Coach. I haven’t spent a summer at the academy since before my four-dig year, so I’m not used to having to find stuff to do when training is done. Up until now, others have found stuff for me to do. Now as a firstie I’ll be the one coming up with things for others to do.”

“I’ve read up a little on the training requirements here and what cadet life is like, but I’ve never been in the military so I’m still trying to understand some things. As a firstie this coming year, you’ll have other leadership responsibilities besides hockey, right?”

“I’m in charge of the Soaring program until the end of Fall Semester. That’s glider training.”

“So being the team’s captain might be too much of a time commitment until the spring?”

“Depends what leadership role I’m assigned to during Spring Semester also, Coach. Honestly, my staff at the airfield already has things dialed in. I’ll have to see if administration changes things up once classes start in August, though. I might have time for both, but I also might not.”

“Well, we have time before practices start in earnest. We’ll see how it shakes out.” Coach smiled while waving at the skating and skills course Sabrina had set up on the ice. “Now, you wanna show me what you’ve got?”

Sabrina shook her head while watching TV that weekend.

Her father’s performance during the obstacle-running competition’s opening round had been impressive. The announcers’ praise was even more effusive during this week’s round. Despite the obstacles being completely different, she and Dina watched her father absolutely shred his competition once again. The front of this week’s tank bore the familiar ‘Downrange Doc’ phrase and a large, red cross on the back. Jeff didn’t pause during his run and kept moving relentlessly forward.

“Jesus,” Dina whispered as she stared at the television. “How old is your father?”

“Too old for you, girl,” Sabrina snorted. “Plus you’d have to go through Mom to get to him.” She waved at the petite figure cheering on her husband. “A seventh-level black belt now …”

“Um, yeah … What’s that saying? ‘Discretion is the better part of valor?’”

“Right. A lesson worth learning, Dina.”

“Anyway, what’s lover-boy doing this weekend, and why isn’t he here?”

“He’s back home in Lancaster visiting friends and family while we slave away molding these babies into future officers for the United States Air Force.”

“After seeing some of this year’s basics I think he’s got the better end of the deal …”

“Like they didn’t say that about us three years ago …”

“Yeah, but they were clearly wrong about us.”

Sabrina stood when her father’s run ended.

“You wanna head over to A-Hall and see what food places are open? I need some nosh.”

“You’re not going to watch the rest of the episode?” Dina asked.

“Nah, Dad’s got this. Look at his time! A full fifteen seconds faster than any of the other competitors so far! His real work won’t start until the sectional qualifier next week, when the veteran competitors join the competition.”

“Okay, then. If you’re sure?”

“I am.”

Seeing the artificial horizon roll upside-down was unusual, though not unexpected while pulling through a loop. Both horizons returned to normal orientation when the glider finished the maneuver. Sabrina was alone in her glider, for once. She would build hours in the glider on this Saturday between the two summer sessions, and in a Cessna tomorrow.

Mia couldn’t fly with her tomorrow, much to their mutual dismay. The academy now only allowed cadets and staff in their aircraft following Sabrina’s misadventure. It sucked, but the liability was too high for anything else. Sabrina could have joined a civilian flying club elsewhere, but with only a year to go in Colorado Springs even Mia agreed that didn’t make sense. Rates at the academy’s flying club were the best around.

The flying bug bit Mia like a starving shark despite their flight’s abrupt end. It latched on without letting go. At ten Mia was much too young for a student license, but flight instructors still took the Gallardos’ money in exchange for the training she couldn’t yet log. Sabrina gave the younger Gallardo daughter a top-of-the-line set of computer flight controls for her birthday, along with a subscription to online flight simulation software, much like Sabrina received years ago. Sabrina warned Helen and Joe that upgraded controls would appear as needed.

Sabrina hadn’t forgotten about Felicity, even if the older sister had no interest in flying. Felicity loved mountains and forests. She wanted to be a ranger or wildlife agent. Helen and Joe wouldn’t let Sabrina pay for any summer camps for the older daughter, though. Instead, Sabrina bought Felicity all the camping equipment she could ever want, or at least the items they thought were necessary and useful.

The clouds today kept the thermals from really forming, so Sabrina brought the craft in for a soft landing after only an hour. She sighed before popping the canopy and shutting down the limited electronics.

“Not much of a day for gliding, huh, Boss?”

“Not really, Donnie,” Sabrina responded. She hadn’t yet been able to get him to call her by her first name. ‘Boss’ was as informal as he got. “I was lucky to pull through that loop. Not much lift out there at all.”

“Headed back to your sponsors’ place for the night?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Did you know that there’s such a thing as ‘reading for pleasure?’ Weird concept, but I tried a little of it last night. Not bad. Got about a third of the way through an actual non-textbook. Gonna grab some dinner at Mitch’s and knock some more out tonight.”

“Anything good?”

“Biography of a hockey player, Chris Micklicz …” Sabrina choked on her water before coughing it back up. “You okay?”

“Sorry,” she replied between coughs. “Drinking problem. Well, you have fun with that ‘reading for pleasure’ thing. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Sabrina turned and raised her phone to her ear as she walked off.

“So, you’re starting Second Beast tomorrow, Dina?” Sabrina asked her roommate over the phone. Dina was staying In Vandenberg Hall tonight. “I haven’t really been keeping track of the BCT schedule.”

“Yeah, we march to Jacks Valley tomorrow morning. We already lost half a handful from my squadron during First Beast, so I’ll be curious to see who can’t hang during Second.”

“You’ve probably separated most of the wheat from the chaff already, Dina. I wouldn’t bet on losing too many more Basics.”

“You’re probably right. How did the first session of 250 go?”

“Good. Everyone passed, and we let a few extra solos this time around. We’ll see how this next group is.”

“Listen to us, two jaded commanders who’ve had exactly one command each!”

“Well, we were both team captains in high school, so we have a little command experience.”

“Yeah, very little …”

“Now that you’re back in Denver, we need to figure out when we can get together,” Sabrina said to Tommy at the end of July.

“A little eager, are we?”

“Tommy, I haven’t seen you in over two months!”

“Relax, girl, I get it. I’ve missed you, too.” Tommy’s voice dropped, becoming husky. “Really missed you ...”

“We could get a hotel room …”

“Do you think we’ll remember to check out in time for school to start back up?”

Sabrina laughed. “We’d better! I’ll be in a big heap of trouble if I don’t report back to the academy on time!”

“When does the second summer block end?”

“Next week. I’ll have a little less than a week of leave before I have to report on the 3rd.” Sabrina sighed. “As much as I wanna shack up with you for that week, I should spend some time with Helen, Joe, and the girls. This last year’s gonna be kind of crazy.”

“‘No we’re never gonna survive unless we are a little crazy …’” Tommy sang, badly.

“What are you, an oldies station? I think Dad was still in his teens when that came out!”

“Released at the end of 1990, so he was twenty-one and sitting in the Saudi desert somewhere.”

“Lookit you, Mister Wikipedia! Fine, ‘Dad was our age when that was released …’”

“Your age, Sabrina. I’m still only twenty.”

“You’re asking for it, buddy …”

“Yes, I am,” Tommy replied smugly. “That’s what the ‘really missed you’ comment indicated.”

“Sabrina!” Mia yelped before launching herself into her big sister’s arms.

“Hiya, Squirt! How you doing?”

“Good. Missed you this summer.”

“While you were in Mexico visiting your cousins, or in Florida visiting your other cousins?” Mia glared at Sabrina, and Sabrina grabbed her in another hug. “Geez, girl, relax! It’s a joke!”

“Har, har.” Mia turned to Tommy. “Is this the best you could do?”

“You’re still a little too young, Mia, so she’ll do for now …”

“I have friends with access to earth-moving equipment, you know?”

“I think the academy has adversely affected your sense of humor, Sabrina.”

“When has she ever had a sense of humor, Tommy?” Mia asked with an impish grin. Tommy shrugged as Sabrina glared at them.

“But we digress, Mia. Why don’t we step inside before we let all the air conditioning out?”

Sabrina tried to keep the frown on her face when Tommy put his arm around her, but she couldn’t. Video chats and phone calls really didn’t replace physically being with her fiancé, and she enjoyed the contact.

“Hi, Sabrina,” Joe said when they entered the kitchen. “How was your summer?”

“Not bad. The cadets I had working for me did a great job running the program while I just looked over their shoulders once in a while.”

“Makes your life a lot easier when you trust your subordinates to do their jobs. It’s not so fun when you don’t trust them, though.”

Sabrina hustled to the airfield’s headquarters building on the last Monday morning of July. She hadn’t been able to get out of her own way that morning and was nearly late reporting to her new cadet CO. That wouldn’t look good at all.

Sabrina breezed into her CO’s outer office without looking at the nameplate outside the door. She shook hands with cadet lieutenants in charge of the other two divisions of flight training: powered flight and instructor training.

“Were you here over the summer, Sabrina?” C1C Kate Sparger, the cadet in charge of instructor training asked. “Or did you do some training away from the academy?”

“No, I was here. I was in charge of Soaring over the summer, too.”

“They’re keeping you in the same job?” Shea Turner asked. “That’s pretty unusual … Are they still riding your ass over what happened two years ago?”

“I didn’t exactly make any friends that year, Shea,” Sabrina pointed out.

“Still …”

“Hey, I’m still here, right? Could be worse.”

Just then their CO stepped into the office. Sabrina shot to her feet when the other two cadets came to attention. In doing so, Sabrina turned to face her new commanding officer.

Dominique Phillips.

‘Shit …’