James was thrilled
when the word came that he was to be relieved of this command and transferred
back home. James wouldn't be getting a new squadron immediately though. He was
being sent home to Shaw AFB for an extended leave. After his leave was over he
was to report to the 56th fighter wing at Luke AFB, Arizona. They hadn't told him what his duties there
would be, only to report for duty when his leave was over. That was if he was
willing to go. Sarah was still assigned as Squadron commander of the 77th. If
James took this assignment it would separate them again. All that mattered to
James was that for the moment he was going home, for an extended leave at the very
least. It had been almost a year since the last time he had seen the kids. Elisabeth
Marie was five and Joseph Paul was almost seven now. James had been away from
them for too long. He was ready to spend some time just being a dad for a
change. But he still had to take care of a few things before he left. One of
those was recommending a new squadron commander for the Warhawks.
That recommendation
turned out to be an unexpected one to a lot of people. Most people expected it
to be Jeremy Adams who would take over. He was second highest in flight
experience in an F/A-48 and an old friend. That wasn't going to happen though,
because Jeremy was headed to the 56th fighter wing right along with James. The
next reasonable expectation was Shanna Williams. She was another old friend and
had proven herself to be very good at handling command decisions and she had
been instrumental in preventing Russian jets from turning back the 435th CRG.
James did consider her and even talked to her about it. He had been surprised
when she had asked him not to put her name in. She wanted to be a flight leader
for a little longer and let somebody else deal with all of the added stress
that went along with being a squadron commander. She didn't really explain
more, but she said she had other reasons too. James had known there was more
behind her request, but he hadn't pressed it.
James next option
was Peter Kemp. James had to laugh at that. Peter Kemp, the man who had been a
mortal enemy at the Academy getting his recommendation for a major command
promotion, a lot of people would laugh about that. James had called Peter in to
talk about it. That had been a surprising conversation for both of them. At
first Peter had been stunned that James would even consider him, but that had
slowly changed. It had taken James a while to explain that Jeremy would have been
the first choice, but he wasn't an option. Peter hadn't quite believed that
Shanna had refused either. When James had explained that he thought Peter would
actually be a better commander than Shanna that had done it. Peter had demanded
an explanation. Peter found it hard to believe that James would favor him over
an old friend. James had been expecting something like that and was ready. He
had laid it all out for Peter and made it very clear why he believed he was the
right choice. Peter had asked for a few days to think about it and James had
given him a week. At the end of the week Peter had thanked James and agreed he
would like the command, although he still didn't think he would get it.
James had spent
several days convincing General Madison that Lt. Colonel Peter Kemp was the
right man for the job. After James had made a special trip to see her
personally about it she had finally given her approval. James was happy to make
turning over his command to Peter his last duty before flying back home to his
family. Peter had been surprised once more when the entire squadron had not just
welcomed him, but had given him a special party to celebrate him taking
command. He hadn't really believed James until then. James had told Peter that
he was the most respected pilot in the unit. The young pilots all looked up to
Peter even more than they looked up to James. James had tried to make Peter
understand that it was because Peter was one of them. Peter hadn't been their
commander during all they had just faced together. Peter was the one they
admired the most though. As the squadron commander James was supposed to do
what he had done. Peter had taken
actions to remove threats and he had personally saved one of the Warhawks; that
was all above and beyond his duty in their eyes. Peter had been given a high
commendation for that, but to him it had been nothing more than his duty. That
attitude was another reason for the admiration the young pilots had for him.
Peter hadn't even been aware of how they actually felt about him until that
party, mostly because he didn't feel like he had done anything to deserve that
kind of respect. Peter had become a humble man since his time on the Hill.
James left the next
morning without a lot of fanfare. In fact the only one there to see him off was
Peter. James was still smiling when the plane took off headed on the first leg
of the trip home. Peter had made a point of shaking hands and calling him by
name. James had gone from being a former enemy that Peter called sir, to being a
new friend called by name with true feelings of friendship. They still weren't
close friends, they might never be, but they were friends rather than enemies
now. This had been a very long and lonely duty assignment for James. He had
enjoyed almost nothing about any of it, but he had enjoyed that farewell. The
worst part at the start of this assignment had been leaving behind his family
and seeing that an old enemy would be coming under his command. The best part
of this assignment had been leaving behind that enemy as a new friend; that and
going back home to his family.
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