Chapter Five - part seven

   It was only a couple of weeks leave, but it was much appreciated by James. He spent the time with Sarah and the kids. He wasn't completely away from his work though. He received the information on the newest class of ROCAF pilots who he was about to begin training. They were for the most part very young pilots, but they were also clearly very good pilots. All the records indicated outstanding performance and a very intelligent group. There were no women in the group. That wasn't uncommon, but still worth noting in James opinion. Another thing worth noting was that only half of the twenty pilots would be arriving to start the training. The remaining pilots would be arriving when the actual flight training was scheduled to begin. The ROCAF wanted James to make the in class training that all the new classes received available online for the remainder of the pilots. They were supposedly still involved in a critical mission. James knew very well that this was a slap in the face. It was meant to show that the initial classroom training was a waste of time, that it wasn't vital. It was also meant to show how dissatisfied they were with the training they had been getting. That didn't bother James as much as it did those above him. He could and would provide the initial training online and he expected the new training program he had put together to make a difference in the attitudes of everyone over time. He wasn't sure if it would be a good change in attitude or a bad change. He just knew that the changes he had put in place would be noticed by everyone involved.

   James and his squadron returned a full week before the new class arrived. James spent that time planning for the arrival of the new class. James didn't intend to let them get their feet on the ground before he began their education. He had arranged for the first flight of F/A-48 pilots to arrive back with him. He spent the biggest part of the week in the air with them and his squadron. They quickly had a working knowledge of each other and were soon ready for the new class to arrive. James wanted to make sure the ROCAF pilots knew immediately that this training would be nothing like the former training that had been done. When the balance of power had shifted many things had changed with the next ROCAF class. They didn't fly planes provided for them. The ROCAF now picked up their own jets on the coast and flew them inland to Luke for training. They wanted to fly in their own jets, maintained by their own people. When training was over they would fly them back to the coast and leave them for the next class before flying back home on a commercial jet. That worked out perfectly for James new training program.

   The ROCAF were always escorted in and out by jets from Squadron 21, usually the commander and his second in command. This time James and Jeremy wouldn't be escorting them in from the coast though, at least not the way they expected. This time James assigned two other pilots to 'escort' the ROCAF pilots back. James and Jeremy were going to be flying escort with them, but they would both be flying F/A-48's. They would also be flying in full stealth mode and hopefully remain unnoticed by the ROCAF pilots. James knew that his plan might well backfire. They might be detected, but that wouldn't be as bad as what he was hoping to do. James was hoping to shadow the ROCAF all the way back to Luke AFB without them ever knowing they were there. If he managed that it was very possible that they would see it as an insult. That could ruin everything, but James was willing to risk it. He was hoping that since they were holding back half of the class it would be a counterbalance for this. It was to be a slap in the face returned in kind for the one given to him by them, so to speak. He just prayed they saw it that way too.

   The new pilots were indeed upset when they were greeted only by pilots from Squadron 21 and none of the commanding officers. It probably didn't help that the pilots assigned to escort them in were both women. James and Jeremy were already flying in the pattern above the base when the ROCAF took flight. James made sure that either he or Jeremy stayed within sight of the ROCAF and yet undetected by them while they were getting in the air and ready to start the trip to Luke AFB. Once everyone was in the air the real fun started. James and Jeremy kept easing closer all the time until they were within easy sight of the ROCAF jets. Then they just remained there, as unseen shadows, until the jets reached Luke AFB. That was when they slipped in right beside the two pilots that had been sent to escort the ROCAF. James had been relatively certain that the sudden appearance of two F/A-48 jets would make an impression. It did make an impression. He and Jeremy were almost flying in formation with the escorts before the ROCAF pilots actually identified them. The sudden radio calls were clearly a reaction and a better one than he had hoped to get. James would have been satisfied with a slight change in their flight path for just a moment, but the sudden burst of chatter on the radios was even better.

   That wasn't the last of the surprises he had waiting for them though. James had made arrangements for the flight of F/A-48's currently assigned to 21 to drop in with each of the ROCAF planes as they came in to land. After the second F/A-48 had managed to drop into the landing pattern unseen; the ROCAF pilots had gone almost totally radio silent. There had been some radio chatter, all of that in Chinese, but it had been very limited. James doubted from what was said that any of the pilots had thought before they spoke. They had tried very hard to spot the F/A-48's, but if they ever managed to spot one before it dropped into the pattern they gave no indication of it. James had known those F/A-48's were there and how they would come in, but even he had trouble spotting them as they approached. James had to smile as he landed his own jet once all the ROCAF planes were down. It was easy to see that the ROCAF pilots weren't pleased. He left them to wonder about everything with their original escorts. Squadron 21 would meet them officially a little latter in the day. That was where the next surprise would be waiting for them.