Lost and Found
Author: Pixie Rating: PG Category: JAG Story Spoilers: This story is part of the summer 2004 Virtual Season. As such, anything up to and including the season 9 finale (Hail and Farewell) and Susan's VS story From Here is fair game. Disclaimers: Neither JAG nor its characters belong to me. I'm not making any money from this little escapade, so please don't sue me. Acknowledgements: Thanks, as always, to my intrepid beta reader and favorite nag, Captain. Thanks also, and a bow of respect to my fellow Virtual Season authors. What an honor it is to be invited to join you in this venture. And last, but by no means least, thanks to Josh for your technical advice and assistance. Summary: One of JAG's own is a passenger on a helicopter that crashes in the mountains. During the ensuing rescue, some things that were lost are found again. Author's Note: I know we're all tired of things falling out of the sky when it comes to JAG, but bear with me. In this story, the crash is merely a means to an end.
***************
2007 Zulu (1507 Local)
Darkness descended over the little valley, but it wasn't the darkness of night. This was the brooding darkness born of a pending summer storm. Great masses of leaden clouds rolled in over the mountains, draping the dense trees and undergrowth in gray cotton and sending a multitude of animals, large and small, scrambling for cover. A sudden breeze whispered through the trees, rustling the leaves and dancing in the underbrush. A fox lifted her muzzle, sniffed the air, and nudged her kits back into their snug burrow. She glanced around, and then followed them inside, curling her body around the restless babies, and whining gently at them until they settled down into a sleepy mass of shapeless fur. She lifted her head, looked once more toward the entrance of the burrow, and then tucked her nose down around her young, instinctively protecting them from the coming storm. By the time the first fat raindrop darkened a leaf of the mighty oak, most of the local inhabitants had already found shelter, and the few who remained scurried under rocks and overhangs, seeking protection wherever they could find it. One raindrop was soon followed by others, scattering dust and pollen off the leaves and leaving shiny damp polka dots in their wake. The breeze grew, gusting through the narrow opening at the head of the valley, only to find itself trapped by the mountains on either side. It howled angrily as it raced through the forest, bending the young saplings almost double, and making the older, less resilient trees creak loudly in arthritic protest. A brief flash of lightning was followed several seconds later by a rumble of thunder. More rain fell, and the shiny polka dots grew, merged, and solidified as water dripped off the leaves, washing onto the bushes and shrubs below. In the distance a new sound, manmade and alien, caused a hawk to lift its head and look around warily. Another flash of light, this one followed almost immediately by a roll of thunder, and the wind became a living thing, frenzied and violent, tearing viciously at the leaves and branches then tossing the ragged bits around like gang members with a child's toy. There was a sudden sharp crack, and a branch, weakened by age and decay, snapped off a tree, tearing through smaller branches and tangled vines on its way to the ground. The manmade sound grew louder as it approached over the ridge of the eastern mountains, the steady thwap thwap barely audible over the wind and rain. There was another flash of light, this one accompanied almost immediately by a crash of thunder that shook the leaves of the trees, scattering water into the underbrush in a shower of moisture. The howling wind ceased abruptly, and in the sudden silence the rotating blades of the helicopter were unnaturally loud. It crested the mountain, spectral in the gray-green light of the storm, and began to move across the valley. What happened next occurred in the blink of an eye, yet those who survived would remember the events in freeze frame; a horror movie experienced in agonizingly slow motion. The wind, eerily silent moments before, burst to sudden, swirling life. It grabbed the helicopter and spun it once, twice, three times, before shoving it down and in against the unforgiving face of the mountain. There was a screech of tearing metal, a crash of falling trees, and a single ear splitting explosion of thunder. Moments later, it was over. The wind left the valley as quickly as it had come, and the lightning flashes dimmed, then faded away, taking the thunder with them. Silence, broken only by the soft hiss of rain in the foliage, descended over the valley. On the side of the mountain, barely visible against the clouds and the mist, a plume of smoke began to rise into the sky.
****** Queue Opening Credits, JAG theme, Commercial Break ******
From the makers of Monopoly comes their newest theme game, JAGopoly! Buy and collect rent from Harm and Mac’s apartments, JAG HQ, and more! Game pieces include a Corvette, a Tomcat, an aircraft carrier, and a gavel! Go to the brig! Take a ride on the Beltway! All this, and much more! JAGopoly! Coming soon!
*************************************************************
*** End Part 1 ***
|
