Crew Dawg

CHAPTER ONE



         Flying sucked. No two ways about it. Being in a pressurized tube with nothing but empty air beneath scared me shitless. Whenever I did fly, drugs were my friend. Nothing too mind numbing though. Who wanted to sit on a flight drooling on themselves, not being able to feel their limbs? As long as it knocked the edge off, I was more than appreciative.

         But not even the Draminine seeping through my body tore my mind from the fact I was heading to an air base in the middle of nowhere and nowhere, in a foreign country I knew very little about. When I was in tech school, most airmen listed overseas locations on their dream tour list. Staying stateside was boring. Me on the other hand? I listed every major stateside base allowed and when I ended up assigned to Luke Air Base outside Phoenix I thought I was home free. 

         I pulled out my phone and turned it on. Back in Arizona my nickname was 'Snap' because of all the snap shots I'd take. No one was safe from me, including the flight supervisor. Being an F-16 crew chief for the last three years, I managed to rack up a great portfolio of shots: me standing on the Viper's wing giving my best 'duck face'. My best friend Nyree and I flipping the bird after a fourteen hour work shift. The sun setting behind one of the jets on the tarmac. My flight supervisor putting his hands up trying to escape my shutterbug happiness.

         Scrolling through the pictures, homesickness spread through me like wild fire. At twenty three years old, this was my first time outside the United States. And being more than six thousand miles from home boggled my mind. Weekend flights home and casual get togethers were pretty much defunct. Soon Kunsan, South Korea would be my new address, land of kimchee and Samsung products.

         My dad called it a chance of a lifetime. The Air Force called it a mandatory tour - all thanks to a last minute personnel replacement request, which was fine and dandy, but why couldn't it have been somewhere less...isolated?

         Well, since my time is still owned by the USAF for the next year, I guess I'm a wee bit inclined to oblidge.

         I put my phone back in my pocket and settled back in the seat. My arms and hands vibrated as the C-141's engines hummed and whirred. The noise rattled and shook the entire cargo hold like it was going to break apart in mid air. My ears rang worse than a church bell on Sunday.

         If I manage to make it to Seoul with my hearing intact and no migraine, it'll be a miracle. Damn on me for forgetting those stupid ear plugs!

         I looked around myself then. Black canvas stadium like seats lined both sides of the plane. Toward the front of the bay, truck engines sat strapped to wooden pallets in rows of two while a camouflaged Humvee took up a good portion of the aisle in the middle. Despite that, the cargo hold could've easily fit another ten pararescue squadrons, every single piece of their equipment and then some, it was that huge. The only interruption to all the cargo was the dark haired Tech Sergeant four seats down from me, duffle bag at his feet. Every now and then his eyes glanced my way as if deciding striking up a conversation with me could be worth his while. The whole thing was entertaining to say the least.

         I pulled my coat up around my shoulders and blew on my hands. C-141's had a tendency toward being blistering hot or blustery cold. Seeing how it was the middle of October, I considered myself lucky it wasn't July and one hundred degrees in the shade.

         Heavies...never made for comfort or warmth.

         Then again, how could a military cargo plane ever be comfortable?

         I propped my head back against the seat and sighed, swallowing as my ears popped again. Monotony was the worst on any flight but military flights were a bit more so. Commercial flights had movies. Military flights had nothing but your own thoughts keeping you company. And that's exactly what came about. I promised myself I wouldn't do it, but seeing how there wasn't much else to do, the thoughts reared their ugly head anyway.

         It had been a year since the baby, a year since my fianc' of two years decided he wasn't ready for a family. My hands glided to my stomach. My heart ached. Eric's voice lingered inside my head like a stir of echoes.

         Did he still think about me? Did he still remember everything he told me? Did he ever think about the baby?

         The thoughts kept me in the past so well I didn't even notice the dark haired Tech Sergeant getting up to talk to me until after I felt his light tapping on my arm. The touch was a call back to reality and I looked up at him half between bewilderment and curiosity.

         'You okay?' he said, nearly shouting.

         I waved a casual hand in the air realizing how close he had leaned in so I could hear him. His spicy aftershave wafted underneath my nose. I read his last name on his uniform as 'Dominguez'.

         'Yeah, fine, thanks! Just tired!' I said trying to speak as loud as I could. Even though we were toward the rear, it was still a bitch trying to talk over the plane's whoomping engines.

         He nodded. 'Yeah chica, I hear ya. Ain't no sleepin' on a heavy, that's for damn sure!'

         I smiled politely and nodded in return. I'm not the most gorgeous woman in the world. But I'm not ugly either. If anything, I'm pretty ordinary looking: long wavy brunette hair, hazel eyes, and tanned skin from all the hours working out in the Arizona sun. If there was anything learned from working in a male dominated profession, it was how most guys thought they were slick as ice when trying to pick up a woman. You get hip to their little games. Some women on the flight line loved the extra attention but in my opinion there's good and bad types of attention.

         And while the male in front of me with the olive complexion, midnight black hair, and slight Mexican accent seemed fairly harmless, I stayed quiet, not wanting to send the wrong signals out. 

         'So, what squadron you from?' he said.

         'The 425th,' I said.

         'No shit. Stationed out at Luke, huh?'

         'Yep. Biggest baddest Air base on the West coast.'

         'The Black Widows, right?'

         'Yeah, that's them,' I said. 'You?'

         '261st out of Tampa. Going from fun in the sun to Korean cow patty country. Ain't it fucking grand?'

         He held out his hand to me. 'Kevin.'

         I shook his hand. 'Shar.'

         He put his hand up to his ear.

         'It's Shar,' I said louder, trying to make sure he could hear me.

         'Nice to meet you Shar. That short for something I take it?'

         'Yeah actually it's Sharlene.'

         Just then the C-141 hit a patch of turbulence. The cargo hold jostled and my teeth chattered somewhat. I swear, if I hadn't been on the Dramamine, I would've yelped and leapt right out of my seat. But instead I reached up and held onto the safety handle above my head, glancing at my watch as I did so.

         It was going on five thirty in the evening. Another half hour and I'd be touching down in Seoul to clear customs. I wasn't worried about that. Taking a train up to the new base was another story. I had traveled by train many times back in the States and loved it. Doing it in a foreign country where there was a language barrier worried me. Would I accidentally miss my stop? Would I even know which stop to get off at? What if I arrived past my anticipated arrival time and missed my check in at the new base?

         It must've shown on my face or maybe it was just a lucky coincidence. Whatever it was, Kevin's next comment made me want to literally hug the living crap out of him.

         'You headin' to Kunsan by chance?' He said. 'If so, we could take the train up there together.'

         The hope glinting in his eyes was unmistakable, as if making the trek alone didn't settle well with him either. Inside I was leaping for joy. Over exuberated 'I'm not going to get lost or mugged' joy. If his intentions weren't to make a pass at me, he was definitely winning brownie points anyway. I shook my head yes and smiled.

         'That'd be cool,' I said. 

         Static filled the cargo hold then and a voice boomed over the intercom.

         'Seoul ETA ten minutes. Please keep tables in upright position and remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop. If continuing onto Kunsan, we don't envy you. Thank you for flying with the United States Air Force and have a nice day!'

         Kevin rolled his eyes. 'Pilots. Always gotta be smart ass mutherfuckers you know?'

         I laughed. 'Ain't that the truth.' I threw a high five to him and he quickly returned the gesture with a smack of his hand against mine. He snickered a bit and I smiled back.

         Yeah I think him and I are going to get along just fine.

         Making sure my seat belt was properly buckled, I sat back and waited for the plane to descend; glad I wasn't going to be alone after all.

***

         Incheon International Airport was laid out well, that much I could admit. Given how it was one of the busiest airports in the world, every corridor was clearly marked in several different languages including English while a loud speaker announced the area you were in. 

         Getting through customs took longer (did all custom agents have such sour expressions?) than actually finding where to board the train. All we did was follow the arrows pointing toward the train depot outside the airport and voila!

         But that's where the easy streak ended. After showing the attendant on board where we were headed we found out we'd need to transfer to several other trains before hitting our destination. The word 'transfer' sent shudders up my spine and I prayed English would be written at each stop.

         And while most signs were written in both Korean and English, several of them weren't. It was like trying to decipher ancient Greek. More than once we were forced to ask for directions to the next platform which Kevin did through a series of hand motions and lots of pointing. I didn't consider myself a religious person, but considering the situation, I became one.

         Thank you God for not having to do this by myself. I'll never complain about my long work hours ever again, just thank you for not making this a solo trip.

         During the hustle and bustle of going from train to train, Kevin didn't say much. Neither did I. Seeing how we both spent the last sixteen hours traveling clear across the globe, it was starting to catch up to us. The train stations were built multilevel, similar to the Metro in Washington D.C., so we were continually trudging up or down stairs. Long steep flights of stairs. I thought my legs were going to give out on me. The fact it was rush hour didn't help the matter.

         Funny, no matter where in the world you are, five o'clock quitting time remains the same.

         People rushed in every direction and trying to keep pace was like trying to avoid a stampede. It was either move or else. I was so exhausted by the time we boarded the last train, I was certain I'd be in lala land before even leaving the station. But when we finally started heading out, I caught my second wind. My inner curiosity took hold and I found myself peeking out the window like a kid not wanting to miss anything on the way.

         Being originally from Lansing Michigan, flat spaces and even flatter land were the norm. Whenever my brother Shane and I took road trips with our parents, we would always sleep straight through until Mom would wake us up saying there was actually something neat to see. Needless to say, the sprawling Korean landscape surprised me altogether. Outside, the train's horn blared as we whizzed by rolling hills and tree topped mountains resembling the Appalachians running through Pennsylvania and Tennessee. 

         I turned around and glanced at Kevin who sat next to me. His eyes were watching the scenery too.

         I said what he was probably thinking. 'I wouldn't have thought Korea would've looked so much like - '

         'The US?'  he offered.

         I peered out the train's window again seeing the mountains blur together. 'Yeah. I mean, I don't know what I expected but I just thought it would've looked different.'

         Kevin shrugged. 'Mountains are mountains chica. Just these are Korean mountains and the ones back home are American mountains.'

         I don't know how the thought managed to surface through my exhaustion, but for some reason, the way his words rolled from his mouth sounded absolutely awesome.

         Ok, can that Mexican accent of his be any cooler?

         He began rummaging through his duffel bag and I couldn't help noticing the way his tall muscular build didn't exactly make him a candidate for ugliness.

         Bet I'm not the only woman who's thought that.

         I quickly looked away from him. Thankfully he was oblivious to my brief ogling because he reached into his duffle bag again and grabbed two small bottles of water. He held one out to me and I took it in my hand.

         'Thanks,' I said.

         I hadn't had anything to drink or eat since the American Airlines flight over from the States yesterday evening and as I held the bottle to my lips, I nearly drank half the water right off the bat.

         'You said you were with the 425th, right?' Kevin said. He took a quick swig of his own water and twisted the cap back on, setting it in the cup holder next to him. 'Know a dude named Kenny Nowak?'

         'Nowak?' I said. The familiar name took me back to the 425th instantly. 'Yeah. He was our Section Leader on the flight line. Real cool guy. Always had a smile on him even if it was a crappy day.'

         Sure enough, as well as I knew my name, Kevin's head cocked to the side at the mention of 'flight line' and his eyes got a curious gleam in them.

         Oh boy, here it comes.          

         'Flight line? What's your MOS?' he said.

         'Aerospace maintenance. Or in layman's terms ''

         'Crew dawg,' Kevin said, finishing up exactly what I was about to say.

         I laughed a bit and pointed my index finger at him. 'You got it. You know, long hours, not enough pay, no recognition.'

         Kevin slammed his fist down on the arm rest. The water in the bottle swished a bit. 'Damn fucking straight chica. That's us crew dawgs to a tee.' He nodded then. 'But yeah, that's sweet as hell, a female crew chief and all.'

         My cheeks turned pink at the eager way he said it. When it came to women on the flight line, three categories of guys existed: ones who liked it, ones who didn't, and ones who were indifferent. Most were indifferent while a lot more outright hated it. So I'll admit, coming across one who fell into category number one was a godsend not too mention, an ego booster as well.

         Maybe this isn't going to be so bad?

         The needy side of me was hoping maybe, just maybe we were going to be in the same squadron at the new base.

         I cleared my throat. 'What squadron did they assign you to at Kunsan?'

         'The 39th I think.' Kevin said.

         'Me too.' The happiness laced in my voice was a little bit more than I wanted but  Kevin didn't notice. He was too busy patting himself down, looking for something on himself.

         'Wait, I think it's the 39th. Hold on, let me check.' He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket and looked at it. A frown came over him then. 'Shit, it's the 47th, sorry chica.'

         The Dramamine was finally wearing off and I really wished it would've lasted a bit longer because my fingers twitched and my stomach did a flip flop.

         'Damn,' I said.

         A small sigh spilled from him. 'Yeah. But hell, Kunsan's not that fucking big. We'll see each other for sure.'

         I smiled lightly, trying to mask the dismay running through me. Kevin was right. Kunsan wasn't very big. We would  see each other, eventually.

         So much for not being alone.

         I shrunk back against the seat. I thought about my mom and dad and Shane. I told them as soon as I got to Kunsan I'd call them to let them know I arrived safe and sound.

Korea was sixteen hours ahead of Michigan, literally in the future, and chances are they'd just be getting up. Hearing their voices would be the most wonderful thing and I was already counting down the minutes till I could make the call.

         I looked back out the window. An ornate temple of some sort came into view. Vibrant green hues and upturned stone roofs gave way to four tiered floors, so unlike anything in the States.

         One thing was certain: I wasn't in Kansas anymore.