Hey gang, here it is, another thrilling chapter of Hidden Talents. This is
a story that I knew how to begin, I knew what I wanted to happen, I had it
plotted out more than six months ago, but I just never wrote it. Well I
finally did and I hope it is well received. Certain liberties are taken,
both with the JAF and the F-15 but I hope that they aren't seen as too
outrageous. And once more, yes, I had a problem with the conclusion, if it
seemed a bit abrupt and if anyone could suggest a way to streamline it, I
would more then welcome the suggestions.

C&C to raymond.haney@mohican.mwsu.edu
Visit me at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/5220

Sweet water and light laughter
Ray "The Texas Ryoga"

Disclaimer : I have no legal claim to Ranma � or any of the characters in
the series. Nor do I own any rights to Mishima Heavy industries or the
Posion-1 aircraft. All F-15's in the world, however, belong to me. (yeah,
right)



Hidden Talents 

Part, the seventh




	"Welcome to the 9th annual Tokyo Airshow, sponsored by Mishima Heavy
Industries!"
	Soun Tendo flinched at the amount of noise blaring from the PA speaker. He
ambled away in search of a slightly quieter area as the loudspeaker
continued to announce the various companies and corporations that had
contributed to the show as well as the numerous organizations that had
displays set up. He swept his gaze over the crowd of people around him,
wondering where his family had gotten away to. He smiled as he heard a
cheery call and spied a slender arm waving to him.
	"Father! Over here, Father!" Kasumi Tendo called out.
	The eldest Tendo smiled again as he worked his way towards his daughters.
The three were standing together, dressed in various, light summer outfits
and laden down with drinks and snacks. He beamed with a quiet pride as he
noted how happy and beautiful they were. He reached the three and accepted
a drink from Kasumi with a nod and then noticed the absence of two others
that he considered family.
	"Where's Ranma and his father?" he asked the three quizzically, before
taking a sip cola.
	"Please Daddy, do you have to ask?" Nabiki responded archly. Before she
could continue, Akane cut in.
	"Oh, those two are still at the snack counters, making pigs of
themselves." She gestured vaguely in the direction they had come from. "We
got tired of waiting for them and came looking for you."
	"Yes Father, we wanted to make sure you had something to snack on and were
hoping you could show us around the planes."
	Soun furrowed his brow at the thought of leaving Ranma and his best friend
behind, but�. The entire purpose of coming out to the airshow had been to
spend some relaxing, family time together. "All right then!" he declared.
"A little time for just the four of us!"
	His daughters smiled happily, even Nabiki, and the foursome began to move
up the runway, ohhing and awing as they passed the gleaming jets and
fighters that were lined up on the tarmac. They were standing in front of a
Mishima Industries Poison-One when a deep voice called out and caused all
three of their heads to turn.
	"Major Tendo? Is that you?"
	The foursome looked around a bit confusedly and finally located the source
of the voice. A tall, middle-aged Air Force officer was approaching them
and waving one hand over his head. He was trailed by several younger men,
all of whom were wearing green flightsuits and carrying various gear and
equipment.
	"Major?" his daughters asked aloud, simultaneously.
	Before Soun had a chance to respond, the man who had hailed them was
standing before them. He studied Soun for a moment and then reached out and
grabbed his hand, smiling as he pumped it up and down enthusiastically.
	"By God, it is you!"
	Soun's look of apprehension melted off and was replaced with one of
recognition. "Lt. Fujikawa?" He smiled and corrected himself as he noted
the man's collar insignia. "Excuse me, Colonel Fujikawa!"
	As it became evident that the two men did indeed know one another, the
strained looks on the faces of the young airmen and the young Tendo's began
to be replaced with looks of curiosity. Fujikawa began speaking to his men
and his words answered many of the questions that were floating through
their minds.
	"Guys, this is Major Soun Tendo, retired I presume. He was my squadron
commander way back when I first signed up. Back then he was the youngest
squad commander ever, based on pure flying skill, so I want to see some
respect for him!" Fujikawa grinned at Soun and added in a sly tone, "These
are the young bucks in my squad, skipper, gotta make sure they understand
who can fly rings around 'em, any day of the week."
	Soun took a moment and waved at his children behind him. "Children, this
is Asano Fujikawa. He and I served together a long time ago. Asano, these
are my three daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. And Fuji, you don't have
to call me skipper anymore, it's been a long time and you outrank me now."
	Fujikawa simply smiled again and shrugged, "Hey, if not for you, I might
have quit, or maybe even washed out, you'll always be the boss as far as
I'm concerned."
	Akane took this moment to ask aloud, "I don't remember you being in the
service, Dad."
	Soun looked at her and shrugged. "It was a very long time ago. I signed up
when I was eighteen and left after doing six years. After that, I met your
mother. I think the last time I flew reserve duty was when you were about
five or six, Akane."
	Kasumi and Nabiki both nodded. Nabiki stated, "I remember you having to
leave on weekends every now and then but I always thought it was for
training or something."
	Soun just shrugged yet again. "I guess it was never a big thing for me. I
didn't want to bother going into details, and I was released from reserve
duties shortly after your mother passed away."
	Even though the final words that Soun had spoken had been a bit quieter
then the rest, Fujikawa's sharp ears had caught them. He snapped to
attention and his men, after an instant of startlement, followed suit.
Formally, Fujikawa nodded his head and said, "Major Tendo, I offer my
condolences about your wife." He raised one hand in salute, out of respect
for his former commander. His men followed suit.
	Soun stared at them for a moment, somber and serious, and returned their
salute, recognizing it for what it was. "She was a wonderful woman," he
softly whispered.
	Fujikawa snapped his hand down sharply and looked thoughtful for a moment.
He hadn't meant to raise any sad memories and now regretted doing so. His
mind jumped, searching for a way to lighten matters again. His eyes
wandered to the far end of the runway and an idea sparkled in the back of
his mind. "Major Tendo, I was wondering�?"
	"Yes?"
	"Would you be interested in taking a short hop?"
	The look of old sadness disappeared from all four of the Tendo's eyes as
they realized what Fujisawa was asking.
	"What?" Soun was stunned as his daughters eagerly stared at him, realizing
that their father was perhaps being offered a chance to fly one of the
gleaming planes that they had seen.
	Asano grinned as he saw the slight melancholy leave their collective
faces. He carefully enunciated each word. "I am asking you, Major, if you
would care to join me in an F-15C trainer, and take a short flight over the
area. Perhaps even indulge in some acrobatics."
	"Wait a minute, Asano, I haven't flown in a plane in ten years! I've never
flown in an F-15! And how could you get me up there with your CO's
permission?!"
	The last question showed that Soun was already thinking about it and Asano
knew that he'd won. "Well, skipper. Number one, flying is like riding a
bike, you never forget how. Especially when one was as good as you were.
Two, if you flew ten years ago, it was an F-5, right? Out of Tokyo?" He
paused a moment and waited for Soun's reply. A small nod was all he needed
and he continued, "F-15 isn't much more then an intricate F-5. It's not
like I'm asking you to fly the thing alone into combat. I'll be there with
you in the cockpit. And number three," he paused, savoring what he was
about to say, "I AM the CO. I have been appointed as liaison officer to
Mishima airshow by General Mirasawa. I can put whomever I want to into a
cockpit of one of my planes. Besides," he charged on, not giving Tendo a
chance to respond, "Look at your daughter's eyes." He gestured. "They all
want to see Daddy fly!" He addressed the Tendo children. "Did you know that
he was one of the best pilots ever. That no one was able to rise in rank as
quickly as he did? That he did so based on his incredible flying ability? I
mean, they placed him in a cockpit before he turned 19 and that man made
the plane fly like a bird. It was as if he had always had some hidden
talent to fly."
	Asano smiled as he saw the Tendo children turn on their father, each one
gleefully urging him to accept the offer. He had to hide his grin as two
men, one a dark haired boy, and the other, a stocky man the same age as
Asano and Soun, walked up and as they heard of what was going on, joined
the three girls in cajoling Soun. 
	
*	*	*

	Soun Tendo felt at the odd and at the same time, very natural as he stood
in a full flight suit with gear for the first time in ten years. He walked
out of the small tent that the pilots had been using as a changing room and
walked toward his family and Asano, who was showing them details of the
F-15 they were about to fly. When his family turned and saw them, he felt a
surge of confidence at the expressions on their faces. Ranma spoke first
and voiced, more or less, what they were all feeling.
	"Hey, he almost looks like he knows what he's doing."
	Soun replied without thinking and was amazed at how easily the words came
out. "Son, I've forgotten more about flying then you will ever know about
anything!"
	Asano laughed loud and long at everyone's look of astonishment. "It never
goes away, does it skipper? You can be away for ten, twenty, years, raise
three children, mellow out, gain some years, but that fighter pilot edge,
that casual arrogance, will never leave."
	Soun laughed and agreed and smiled gently at Ranma to take the sting from
his words. He regarded the plane and suddenly noticed a feature by the
tail. Next to the planes call sign and number was a series of words,
written in English. He spoke them aloud, first in English, then in Japanese.
"Up in the air II." He looked at Asano quizzically.
Fujikawa looked down at the ground bashfully. "That's right, Soun, every
plane under my command has that written on it." He explained to the group
of civilians, "Major Tendo named his personal aircraft 'Up in the Air'. As
a sort of homage to him, I've labeled ever plane in my command that way."
He patted the airframe. "So this plane is call sign XT-706, Up in the Air
2." Everyone smiled at the explanation.
The pilots is Asano's crew gave them a thumbs up on the plane's condition
and reported that the next scheduled demo wasn't for another hour, so they
had plenty of time to play in the sky. The Tendo's family, the Saotomes,
and Fujikawa's crew would watch from the grandstand bleachers set up on the
side of the runway. There were a few people already there, resting from the
day, or just watching the F-15 being prepped. So after a few hugs, a photo
or two taken by Nabiki and salutes exchanged with Fujikawa's men, the two
pilots prepared to climb into the plane and take-off.
	Asano turned to Soun with a respectful and serious expression on his face.
"Skipper, I would be honored if you took the pilot's seat."
	"Fuji�"
	"C'mon, boss, I've got controls in the trainer's set and it really would
be an honor."
Soun acquiesced and clambered into the pilot command seat, with Asano
climbing into the other. The plane streaked into the air with Asano at the
controls and the men soon found themselves dancing in the sky at a few
thousand feet. They did loops and spirals, soared down for some
touch-and-go's on the runway and screamed across the sky like a bolt of man
made lightning.
"Just like old time's, eh boss!" Asano called to Soun, jubilantly.
"Yes it is," Soun called back. He was beginning to enjoy himself, and Asano
had been right about something. After a few moments in the plane, all the
old instincts had come flooding back and he had soon accepted control of
the plane from Fujikawa and had flown with consummate skill and grace. He
was just banking into a right turn when he felt a sudden jolt. There was a
great roaring sound, and the plane began bucking and shaking.
"Fuji, what happened!?" Soun looked around and shook his head, he pulled
back on the sick to gain altitude and tried to level his flight, "Asano!"
Craning his neck around he looked up and back and cringed at the sight he
saw. The roaring was coming from a shattered hole in the canopy. There was
blood on the front of Asano's flight helmet and a great cloud of what
looked like feathers was filling the back of the cockpit. A small part of
Soun's mind realized what had happened. They had hit a bird. An inane
question drifted through his thoughts as he hoped that whatever they had
struck had not been the young Chinese boy, Mousse. Then his mind snapped
back and began to try to deal with the situation.
"Asano, Asano, are you alright?" He heard a muffled groan and thanked the
gods that his friend wasn't dead. He flipped on an air-to-ground channel
and automatically began to call out in English, the words and phrases
jumping from an old portion of his memories.
"Mayday, mayday, Mishima control tower. This is X-ray Tango 706, reporting
an emergency. I have FOD. Repeat. I have Foreign Object Damage. Colonel
Fujikawa is injured."
A startled female voice hissed back at him on the radio channel. "Uhh.. I
copy, X-ray Tango. Report nature of FOD. Report Fujikawa's condition."
"We hit a bird!" he yelled frantically in Japanese, before switching back
to English. "We have FOD in the rear canopy. FO penetration struck the
Colonel. He is alive, but unconscious."
The voice coming in from the tower calmed a bit and took on a more business
like tone. "Roger, X-ray Tango. Runway one is clear to land. Do you have
any other damage? Do you copy?" 
"Copy, Mishima tower. Negative on damage. Will be landing on runway one�"
Before Soun could continue he felt another sickening shudder and felt the
plane actually flip before he could force it back to an even heading. He
saw red lights dancing in front of him and realized that bad fortune had
struck again and even harder this time. 
"Mishima tower, FOD! More FOD! I have engine flame out on engine one, and
fifty- percent power on two and dropping. I am at fifteen hundred feet and
dropping fast!" He knew then that there was no realistic way he would be
able to bring the aircraft in under power.
"X-ray Tango, x-ray Tango, Eject! Eject!"
Soun's finger shot out and flipped the switch for Asano's ejection seat.
There was another roar as the canopy shot off and a second later, a lurch
and he felt a faint impression of heat as Asano's seat shot up and rocketed
Asano safely out of the stricken craft. He flipped the cover on his own
ejection tab and was about to thumb down on it when he looked up and his
keen eyes saw where his doomed plane was heading. 
Directly into the grandstands.
Where his family was.
Soun flipped the cover on the ejection tab closed and locked both hands
around the stick, heaving with all his might. He saw the ground spiraling
closer and closer and knew that he didn't have a single logical hope of
pulling the plane up. He knew that in a few more seconds he would be too
low to effectively eject. 
He also knew that he could not allow the aircraft to crash onto his children.
A calm fell across him as he neared the ground and he focused on the plane
and the stick he was pulling against. He ignored the swirling wind that
beat against his face.  He closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly, a blue
glow began to emanate from his hands. Soun focused himself in a way that he
hadn't in years. The glow brightened. He felt the plane descending more,
and he drove himself harder. His chi, for that was what the glow was,
sharpened and began to diffuse through the control stick. The plane became
Soun and he willed it aloft. He felt every bolt and rivet in the planes
body, he felt the wind whistling along the outside. He felt the closeness
to the ground. He struggled to catch updrafts, to clear the obstruction
from his engines, to desperately find a way to soar.
There was a mighty rush and boom and both engines suddenly fired. Less then
fifty feet above the grandstand, the mighty roar of the F-15 left
spectators deafened as they stared at the iridescent craft that rushed
above them. 
When Soun opened his eyes again, he saw blue skies and the corner of his
eye noted his altimeter reporting ten thousand feet. He tilted the stick
over and brought the aircraft into a level course and slowly exhaled. He
became aware of the urgent yelling in the radio in his ear. He sighed and
opened a channel.
"Mishima tower, this is X-ray Tango 706. I have engine control and will
begin descent to runway one."
"X-ray Tango, roger that. That was a superb piece of flying. Colonel
Fujikawa is being recovered and taken to the hospital. Come to heading
one-zero-six for direct approach to runway one. The runway is clear and
awaiting your landing. Mishima tower, out."
 He reached over and stabbed the radio control switch, silencing it and
slowly brought his craft about to a new heading and descended through the
clouds. 

Epilogue

Colonel Asano Fujikawa recovered fully from his wounds and upon later
inspection, he and his team revealed that their aircraft had struck no less
then THREE birds in a single flight, a feat that gave them a dubious
presence in the record books. No one could understand how the engines of
the F-15C were able to spontaneously restart after both intakes's had been
clogged.
Major Soun Tendo shrugged away all compliments to luck and never flew
again. He never spoke of the flight and told no one of his hidden talent of
chi powered flight. But sometimes, in the l ate of night, he would lie
awake and dream of that final moment. The moment when he had been one with
the plane and it had been Soun Tendo, Up in the Air.


Post. 

	- Well, that was 7. Soun Tendo. We've now covered Ryoga, Ukyou, Dr. Tofu,
Kasumi, Genma, Mousse, and now Soun. I have working plots and roughs for
Gosunkugi, Ranma, Akane, and Kuno. Who would you like to see next?