Brad rubbed the last of the sleep dust from his eyes as he fired up the Batwing's engines. The overhauled fighter-bomber happily purred to life, eager to stretch its wings once more.
"All settled in back there, Dunno?" he called.
The droid was strapped down in the aft-mounted gunnery pod. It twittered. Brad didn't bother checking the translation.
"Sorry, but I can't have you being thrown around the cockpit, and B-wings were never designed for astromech droids."
The comm squawked. "Okay, everyone present and accounted for?" Josh Cochran's voice. Former US Air Force pilot. Good man.
Brad replied, "Ten here," as he watched his preflight checks. Everything in the clear. Wait... slight glitch in the sensors. He glanced back.
Dunno retracted the data hookup, chirping guiltily. Brad injected steel into his voice. "What did I tell you?"
The droid shut up. Brad knew he couldn't deliver on his promise - and the droid knew it too. Not unless he wanted to have an irate chief mechanic breathing down his neck.
"Four here, carrying Three, Five, Nine and the droids." Speaking of irate chief mechanics... that was Mike's voice. Brad hadn't seen what he'd done first hand, but he'd heard the stories. Beneath the man's often juvenile exterior - and Brad wasn't made of stone, he laughed as hard as anyone... privately - lay true courage. He was sure the Red Homies would have a great trip.
Josh again: "Well, then, let's go!" Becki argued the point, claiming it was too early, but Josh prevailed. "Okay, Operation Arrakis is officially underway! Bon voyage, everyone!"
Brad activated the repulsorlifts and moved his craft towards the magnetic containment field. the craft slowed as it passed through and encountered the wall of water held back only by the field. He increased the power until the B-wing emerged from the sea, the water streaming off it in great sheets. He kicked in the main drive and roared skyward, heading east towards the Atlantic.
As he soared through the sky on his lonely flight, he remembered the words he last heard from his mysterious mentors. "The protection is not with you now, but your life is. Spend it wisely."