"Radar station five miles, 35 seconds." "Roger that." "What the hell?" " What is it?" " Nothing." " Don't get jittery on me, Pete." " I'm cool, let's do it." "Damn!" "I can't hold it." "Eject!" "Eject!" "Following in his father's footsteps as a Naval aviator," "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr." "Suffered a crash while landing his Tomcat on a storm-tossed carrier at sea." "Diagnosed with night blindness," "Harm transferred to the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, which investigates, defends and prosecutes the law of the sea." "There, with fellow JAG lawyer Major Sarah MacKenzie, he now fights in and out of the courtroom with the same daring and tenacity that made him a top gun in the air." " Are you still with me, Bud?" " Most definitely, sir." "You want to take her for a while?" " Can I?" " Sure." " What do I do?" " Whatever you want." " What is that?" " It's a cell phone, sir." "I know that!" "What's it doing up here?" "Hello?" "You have to speak up." "I can't hear you." "The FAA prohibits the use of cellular devices of any kind" " during the operation of this aircraft." " What?" "Where?" "I don't know!" " Failure to comply with these rules" " Harm's letting me fly!" "Will result in immediate eviction from the aircraft." "It's Major MacKenzie, sir." "Mac's working on a Sunday?" "Well, how important is it?" "Well, this better be important." "You'll have him sulking for days." "There was another F-14 crash." "Last night, off the America near Pendleton." " What squadron?" " Howlers." " Again?" " Wow, talk about bad luck." "Harm, it was a woman." " Not Tess McKee?" " Afraid so." "Did she make it?" "So are you saying that you've already concluded that this is totally unrelated to last month's crash?" "Could the press salivate any more?" "The woman's dead, for God's sake." "Tragedy is news." "Military tragedy is big news." "Especially when it involves women in combat roles." "Wait till they get ahold of this." ""Training Command has received congressional recommendations to make her the first female Blue Angel."" "Oh, that'll make the cover of Newsweek." "So what?" "She was good." "Yeah, just in the wrong squadron." "Well, the Howlers lost another pilot earlier this year." "What'd I say?" "Commander, Major MacKenzie just told me." "I didn't realise that other crash this year..." "Well, he was such a good friend of yours and all." " And I apologise if I said any..." " Bud." " What?" " Stop it." "Yes, sir." "Hey, where is everybody?" "There's not a stand-down, is there?" "Only unofficial." "I gave them the day to shake it off." " Tess is a great loss." "To all of us." " My condolences." "Lieutenant McKee was a good pilot and a fine officer." " And much more." " Yes, sir." "It's good to see you, Harm." "I just wish it could've been under better circumstances." "Me too." "I'm glad to have you on this." "God knows we need someone who actually understands what we're going through." "But try to at least look impartial." "Well, that's why the major's here, sir." " How's the RIO?" " Lieutenant Peter Ayers." "Walked away as good as can be expected after a punch-out on deck." "I guess we should start there." "We can grab him in sickbay if he hasn't already been released." "We're right behind you, sir." "Lieutenant, will you pull up the flight and maintenance records and meet us outside?" "Yes, sir." "No problem." "A black cat." "Interesting mascot." "Everything where it's supposed to be?" "He's cleared for flight status whenever you want him." "Thanks, doc." "At ease." "I'll put you back up as soon as we confirm the cause of the crash, lieutenant." "Thank you, sir." " You know Commander Rabb." " Yes, sir." "Lieutenant." "This is Major MacKenzie." " Lieutenant." " Ma'am." "I'm sure you've been over this a dozen times, but we're gonna ask you to walk us through it one more time." " Where do I start?" " Well, how about the profile?" "We were low-level, 200 feet, coming in under radar along the coast, to pop up and simulate a HARM strike." " Anti-radiation missile." " On an F-14?" " Yes, ma'am." " Special mounts." "Howlers have had them since the Gulf." "When did you first notice trouble?" "I'm not sure, sir." "I think I might have seen some kind of flash on my scope." "Ten or 15 seconds before we hit." "What kind of flash?" "I don't know, sir." "It might have just been noise." "I'm not sure I saw it at all, but..." "But what?" "Maybe I missed something, sir." "Maybe I could have warned her." "Let's not start second-guessing just yet, lieutenant." "So, what happened next?" "All of a sudden... the starboard engine just went and Tess was yelling at me to eject." "And I was in the water before I even knew what happened." "She never had a chance." "Major, will you check on the salvage effort?" " Beep me when they have something?" " Where are you going?" "I'll explain later." "Commander." " Harm." " Hey, Josh." " What happened to your arm?" " Oh, roller hockey." " I made the goal, though." " Good for you." " Where's your mom?" " She's inside." "Hey, Mom, Harm's here." "Mom?" "Harm's here." "Oh, great." "Hey." "I bet when you told me you were coming on base, you didn't think I'd drag you out here so soon." "There must be a hundred things you should be doing." "None more important than this." "What happened to no flying?" "He doesn't have his father." "It makes it hard not to give him what he wants." "You know, some days I stop and I find myself actually surviving without him." "And then..." "You know, another one of them goes down and I just relive it all over again." "Annie, you don't have to." "As tragic as this is, this isn't about Luke." "Maybe, in a way, it is." "A reporter came to see me." "I don't know who he's talked to, but he knew some things." "Annie, they're looking for gossip." "You know that." " The same thing happened with Luke." " You don't understand." "He knew something about the squadron." "Something that Luke made me promise never to tell anyone." "On the second day of the Gulf air war, the Howlers were carrying anti-radiation missiles." "And I guess one of them lost its signal or something and exploded into a mosque." "Saddam reported over a hundred people inside." "And it was never linked to the Howlers?" " Did you confirm it for him?" " No, no." "No." "But he could tell I was hiding something." "He said the people are calling it a jinxed squadron." "Annie, he's trying to stir up a story any way he can." "Don't worry about it." "The thing is, Harm, I've already thought it myself." "I mean, they're all dying, Harm." "Maybe this squadron created some kind of," "I don't know, bad-karma thing." "Annie, we've already proven why Luke crashed." " There are scientific reasons for all..." " No, no, I know." "There are always reasons." "And I have accepted them all." "But after a while, there's a pattern you just can't chalk up to bad luck." "Annie, listen to me." "There is no such thing as bad luck or bad karma or whatever." "Accidental death is a regrettable part of war." " It happens." " I don't know, Harm." "Half of Luke's squadron has gone down." "It's almost like they're cursed." "Call Naval Intelligence at the Pentagon." "Talk to Lieutenant Commander Carmichael." "Tell him you work for me." "Ask him if he's heard anything about this mosque incident." "Understood, sir." "Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore, sir?" "I was never mad at you, Bud." "It's Mac that's always complaining about you." "There was blood all over parts of the fuselage, but I didn't want to speculate until we recovered the engine." "What kind of blood?" "Lieutenant McKee suffered a bird strike." " A bird did this?" " No, not a bird." "A flock of migrating geese." "Could a flock of birds be picked up on Doppler radar?" "That depends on how close you are, but I doubt it." "If you did, it'd be so faint and erratic you'd never make it out." "Might look something like electronic noise?" "Yeah, I guess." "So aside from the organic residue, you can see the strike pattern hair in the engine nacelle." "Starboard intake ingested the foreign object, causing the catastrophic failure." "So the starboard engine is shot, and travelling 450 knots, about 200 feet above the ocean floor, it's practically unavoidable." " She flips right in." " So there was no pilot error?" "You hear people talk about freak accidents, this is what they mean." "There was absolutely nothing she could do short of firing both ejection seats herself, which would have killed both of them." "You saying she held it long enough for Lieutenant Ayers to punch out?" "I don't know if it was intentional or not, but, yeah, she saved his life." "It was over before she realized she couldn't make it." "Oh, she knew." "It's the longest moment of your life." "It all comes together and it all evaporates at the same time." "She knew it was over." "You think she believed in this jinx?" "No, she just had an accident." "It happens." "So you really wanna be with Annie?" "It's all right with me if you do." "God knows I want her to be happy." "Just don't start anything you don't intend to finish." "There goes Tess' picture, up with the rest of us who bought the farm." " You all right?" " Yeah." "No, I'm fine." " Did I wake you?" " No, I couldn't sleep." "Bad dream?" "No, it was..." "Was just strange." "Well, why don't you tell me about it and I'll help you figure it out." " That's okay." " Afraid I might learn something?" "The Navy only allows me to have my dreams interpreted by a licensed psychotherapist." " Know any?" " No, fortunately." "Okay." "All right." "I've been having one for a while." "I'll start." "I'm trying to track down Luke's dress whites for his funeral, but they're not here." "So I go to look outside, and I can't seem to get out of the house." "I get so frustrated I start pounding on the door." "That's it." "Annie, how are you doing?" "Have you gotten out?" " What do you mean?" " You know, on a date." "I tried having coffee with someone once." "It just felt weird." "How about you?" "Anyone manage to tame Harmon Rabb?" "Didn't think so." "It's not as hopeless as you might think." "No, no." "I know." "It just has to be the right woman." "And don't worry." "I still have faith in you." " You're basically good material." " Basically?" "Well, I mean, if you were perfect, don't you think you would've fallen in love by now?" "I'm working on it." "That feels nice." "Smiley Morning Show." "It's 7: 16." "Got a Top Three with Kim Morrison coming up here in just a second." "Also it's talk-show Tuesday." "What do think my call sign should be?" "We're taking your phone calls now." "Tell us why..." "Think about this seriously." "Snake, Spike or Fang?" "I don't know." "Let me see you smile." "No fangs." "How about Munchkin?" " What happens when I grow?" " Change it." "Smells good in here." "Leave it to military men to be up first." "Good morning, honey." "Mom, you like Snake or Fang?" " For what?" " My call sign." "Every fighter pilot has to have a call sign." "Well, Fang, why don't you fly off to your room and get your school things." "I've gotta take you early this morning, remember?" " Can I have another pancake?" " Well, if we have time, sweetie." "Hurry up, now." "Hey, you want a pterodactyl or an elephant?" " It looks more like a cow." " With ears like that?" "Thanks, but I got a breakfast meeting." "Hey, you go ahead." "I've got a flexible schedule." "I can take Josh." " Are you sure?" " It's no problem." "That's great." "Josh?" "Honey?" "Harm's gonna take you to school, okay?" " All right." " Okay, I love you." "Okay." "I better get going." "I'll see you later." " See you." " Bye." "They're kind of counting on the concert to be sold out by the end of the week, so make sure you get your tickets this morning." "I'm sorry to bother you, sir." "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" " No, what is it?" " The story broke." " When?" " Late last night." "Some news service." "They cite an anonymous pilot and the widow of the RIO that went down last month." "How bad is it?" "Every major newspaper and national news broadcast." "Some are even speculating on the jinx." "Are the Howlers flying off the America today?" " Well, they were supposed to." " I'd better get out there." "Grab those." "Where's Mac?" "On base." "Harm, I'm ready." "Who are you?" "Josh, this is Bud." "He's gonna take you to school today, okay?" "I am?" " Why can't you take me?" " Yeah, why can't you take him?" "Sorry, sport." "Something's come up." "If you're nice to Bud, though, he'll show you some magic." "Awesome." "You want something to eat?" "Sir, I don't know anything about magic." "Make something up." "I gotta go, okay?" "I'll see you later, partner." "All right." "He never called me partner." "Cool." "A cow." "Harm, the damage is done." "I know you got pulled into it personally, but now it's out of your hands." "The squadron will just have to ride it out." "I have a responsibility to the Navy and to the squadron to do whatever I can." "Your responsibility is to objectively review the cause of one plane crash." "Not fight the boogeyman." "You were not a pilot, major." "I don't expect you to understand." "Well, what's to understand?" "We know what happened." "It was an accident." "Our investigation is essentially over here." "The so-called jinx isn't relevant to it." "It's relevant to me, okay?" "Okay." "General Powell, can you confirm that the Howler squadron was responsible for the destruction of a mosque?" "Please, please." "I'm here for a book signing, ladies and gentlemen." "Do you think the Navy will stand the Howlers down?" "As I said, I'm..." "Not if I have anything to do with it." "I guess you've heard." "We're cursed." "Yes, sir." "Has there been any action taken?" "Hell, no." "We've already determined there's no need for a safety stand-down." "Doing it now would only legitimize this paranoia." "We're hoping to get intel on the incident." "Maybe clear things up." "According to Ayers, it happened close to the way they say it happened." "Only Saddam had the SAMs parked right in front of the Mosque." " What did Ayers have to do with it?" " It was before my time." "He's the last current member of the squadron who flew the sortie." "We should interview him, get something on the record in case this gets uglier." "Fine, but it'll have to wait." " He's in the air." " Already?" "I didn't want him to stay out of the saddle too long." "Sometimes if you let it wait, they don't bounce back." "Somebody forgot to check the weather report." "That's a pretty mean storm cell, all right." "Twenty-five miles out, angels ten." "Hey, you wanna relax a little?" "You're starting to spook me." "Sorry." "Why don't you come right, Tim?" "We can go around, land at Miramar." " What's the problem?" " It just doesn't feel right." "What?" "Come on, man." "We have enough fuel." "Chill out, Pete." "We're only ten minutes away." " Who is it?" " Tomcat, 135." "He took a lightning strike to the port wing." " Damage?" " He flamed out an engine." "He can't relight." "He's limping in." " Who's in 135?" " Ayers and Vanderway." "Approach Control, Firefighter 135, 15 miles." "I see sparks!" "Flight-control surfaces are okay." "Probably auxiliary electrical damage." "Wait!" "We're on fire!" " We dumped the tank, didn't we?" " Affirmative, must be a transfer leak." "One-three-five." "Emergency." "We are on fire." "I repeat, we are on fire." "Over." "Are you ejecting?" "Over." "Negative." "I can make it." "Break out the smoke eaters and bring them onboard." "One-three-five, you have a ready deck." "Call the ball." "Roger." "One-three-five, Tomcat." "Fall, 3.5." "Roger." "One-three-five, you're drifting right." "You're drifting right." "Check your line-up." "Steady 135, steady." "Right to your goal." "Right to your goal." "Bring it in, 135." "Let's go, let's go, let's go." "One-three-five." "Power!" "Power!" "We got him, captain." "Fire's out." "The odds of being hit were low." "Of lightning frying an engine, negligible." " Do you agree?" " Yes, sir." "Million-to-one shot, sir." " And the fire?" " Transfer leak, sir." "All right, make sure you both see the flight surgeon and get some rest." "I'm glad you're still with us." " Aye, sir." " Aye, sir." " Vanderway." " Sir?" "Shut the door." "There's enough friction between the two of you to set that jet on fire." " Permission to speak freely, sir?" " Go ahead." "Right before we went up, a couple of the guys were figuring it out." "Every Howler fighter that's crashed since this mosque thing, has had at least one guy who flew that mission." "Where are you going with this, lieutenant?" "Well, Ayers is the last of them, sir." "Are you saying you believe in this jinx?" "I don't know what I believe." "But I was just up there with him." "I can't say I'd like to repeat the experience." "I appreciate your candour, Mr. Vanderway." "But from now on, I do not wanna hear another word about a jinx, a hex, a curse, voodoo, witchcraft or tales from the crypt." " Is that clear?" " Yes, sir." "Dismissed." "Aye, aye, sir." "This stuff feeds on itself." "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy." "If pilots believe they're jinxed, they will be jinxed, one way or the other." "Listen, Bud and I can wrap things up here if you wanna head back to Washington, maybe take a couple days?" " Why are you offering?" " You'll owe me a favour." "And you look like you could use some rest." "I wanna stick around, make sure Ayers and the squadron get through this." "Is that the only reason you want to stick around?" "Oh, great." "Lieutenant Commander Rabb, may I speak to you, please?" "I understand you're heading up the crash investigation." " Is that correct?" " No comment." "There is speculation that the whole Howler squadron could be jinxed." " What's your response to that?" " That doesn't deserve a response." "Well, sir, you're a naval aviator." "Do you believe in bad luck?" "Is this your idea of responsible journalism?" "Don't you think this high attrition rate is just a little bit curious in light of the mosque revelation, sir?" "Get this out of my face, okay?" "Well, maybe feelings of guilt are affecting performance?" " Back off, lady." " And we understand a Howler pilot made an emergency landing this afternoon." "Hey, you don't get it, do you?" "Those men lay it on the line every day." "Some die." "For this country." "For you." "If you can't support that, then just back the hell off!" "What?" "Maybe I will take a couple of days." "I've got a couple leaks on the roof and a broken dishwasher when you're done." "I saw some dry rot." "I hope you don't mind." "Oh, no." "A woman never minds having her house fixed." "Thanks." "You're home early." "I took half a day." "Couldn't let you play hooky all by yourself." "They..." "They've offered me a transfer to Baltimore." "Are you gonna take it?" "I don't know." "I don't really know anyone down there, so..." "Except me." "I mean, Baltimore's only an hour from D.C." "Oh, Harm, you've got your own life to live." "You don't wanna spend it looking after me and Josh." "That's not how I look at it." "You think Luke would see it as a betrayal if I moved on?" "He loved you, Annie." "He would want you to be happy." "Even if it meant..." "Even if it meant with you?" "Hello?" "Sorry, I..." "There was no answer in front." "I heard the music..." "It's no problem." "Annie, this is my partner, Mac." " Nice to meet you." " Yeah, you too." "What's up?" " You got a second?" " Yeah." " What is it?" " I thought you'd want to know." "Ayers turned in his wings." "What?" "When?" "After Bishop assigned him to fly in the missing-man formation at Lieutenant McKee's funeral tomorrow." " Is he still on the carrier?" " Came back on the morning COD." "But I had Bud follow him." " How long has he been in there?" " Going on four hours." "Praying, I guess." "After what happened yesterday, I'd try anything." " Don't tell me you're buying into this." " No, sir." "It's just that I found something weird." "Of the seven Howler crashes since the Gulf War, six went down on Islamic holy days." " Kind of freaky, huh?" " You sure about this?" "I checked it three times." "Tomorrow is another holy day." "If I was Ayers, I wouldn't wanna fly either." "Thinking of converting?" "No, sir." "I don't blame you for being shaken, lieutenant." "Anyone would, especially after losing a partner." "But quitting isn't gonna make you feel better." "Trust me, I know." "I just don't wanna do it anymore, sir." "And this has nothing to do with the jinx?" "I don't wanna do it anymore." "Then what are you doing here?" "Are you looking for forgiveness?" "Is that it?" "It was my weapon that killed those people." "I acquired the target." "I armed the missile." "You didn't turn off the signal." "You didn't park a SAM site on the doorstep of a mosque." "You're not to blame." "Then why are we all falling out of the sky?" "If God was seeking vengeance, you'd be dead." "He's just waiting." "For what?" "An Islamic holy day?" "That's why you have to go up tomorrow." " No way." " All you have to do is survive," " and you put an end to this." " Or get another pilot killed." "Forget it, all right?" " I quit." "No one else has to die." " What if your buddies start thinking that maybe this jinx wore off on them somehow?" "You have to put an end to this or the Howlers could be destroyed." "So, what, I force someone to fly with me?" "No one wants to do it, except for Bishop, and he has to be at the funeral." "I'll fly with you." "Well, he fought bedtime all the way, but I think exhaustion finally set in." "He's had a little too much excitement this week." "Yeah." "He's a good guy." " He thinks you're all right too." " Yeah?" "He asked me how long you were gonna stay." "What did you tell him?" "I said I didn't know." "I don't wanna confuse him." "I think I'm the one who's confused." "Me too." "I thought I was done with you live-life-on-the-edge types." " I'm slowing down." " Yeah, right." "That's why you're going up there tomorrow when no one else will." "Well, I'm not jumping up and down about it." "He just needs me." "Story of your life." "Is that why you come here?" "Because you think we need you?" "At first, yeah." "But somewhere along the way," "I stopped coming just to check in on you." "Harm." "I don't want to start something for the wrong reasons." "You'll just do more damage than good when you leave." " Then maybe I shouldn't leave." " No, you have to." " Why?" " Because I want you to stay." "Well, now I know I'm confused." "I'm sorry." "It's just the thought of you and me and Josh." "A little overwhelming for me." "Thirty knots overtake." "Twenty." "Ten." "Line it up." "Approaching point alpha." "From a grateful nation." "Two, one, pull." "Neptune Strike." "Firefighter 104." "Flyby complete." "Inbound at 50 miles with a flight of four Tomcats." "Over." "Roger, 104." "Case one recovery." " Tanker's at angels 20, over." " Roger." "Why do they need to tank?" "Oh, it's standard operating procedure, ma'am." "They always practise tanking before they land." "It's usually just a couple of dry plugs." "Sir, you can skip tanking if you want." "It's not really important for you to practise." "We're up here to prove a point, Pete." "Let's take it all the way, all right?" "Yes, sir." "Tanker is 30 miles at ten-thirty." "Fifty knots to overtake." "Firefighter 104, cleared for manoeuvres, over." "Roger." "Starting in." " Damn, we've got turbulence!" " Oh, not now!" "Lipped it at 3 o'clock!" "Pull back, pull back!" "Commander!" " Harm, I'm ejecting!" " Negative!" " Are you clear?" " Do not eject!" "I repeat, do not eject!" " Are you okay?" " I'm a little dizzy." "I got Plexi in my eye." "You're gonna have to help me with the landing." "Negative!" "We have to eject!" "No!" "We eject, and this jinx lives on forever!" " How far is El Toro?" " Fifteen miles!" "That's our field." "Firefighter 104, Radar Control." "Come in, over." "Roger, Radar Control." "We took a basket to the canopy." "The pilot took a hit to the head, but he thinks he can land." "Recommend redirect to El Toro." "Roger." "Confirm direct to MCAS El Toro." "We'll alert an emergency rescue, over." "Wilco." "Stay with me, Pete." "Where am I?" "The field is 10 miles out at 025." "ART 49-51." "Prepare for emergency landing on 5..." " Can you see at all, sir?" " A little." "But I can't see my instrument panel." "What's my air speed?" "You're okay." "You're at one-niner-zero knots and decelerating." " Give me some power." " How's my line-up?" "You're good." "Good, but you're a little high." "Ease it down." " My altitude straight?" " Yeah, you're level." "Just bring it in." "Slow down!" "Your rate of descent is too high." "Gears and flaps down." "You're drifting a little to the left." "Come right, Harm." "Commander?" "Can you hear me?" " Yeah, I'm here!" " You're drifting." "Bend to the right." "All right, we've cleared the fence." "Just bring it down." "You got it." "Slow her down." " You did it, commander." " We did it, lieutenant." "We did it." "All right, let's go!" "Move, move, move!" "Neptune Approach, El Toro tower." "We have 104 on deck." "And he looks okay." " Yeah!" " All right." "Here you go, sir." "I'll give you a hand." "It's okay." "I'm all right." "All right, guys." "That's it!" " What is it, lieutenant?" " It's a piece of Plexiglas, sir." "It was jammed under my ejection firing pin." "My seat wouldn't have fired." "If we had tried to punch out, your ejection seat would have cooked me." "Well, it's a good think we didn't." "Hell, lieutenant, it looks like your luck's changing." "I thought you didn't believe in luck, sir." "Only the good kind." "Hell, lieutenant, I'd fly with you anytime." "You're untouchable." "Roger, 51." "Rescue Team, return to base." "Over." "He shoots, he scores." " Hey, Harm." " Hey." " Got my cast off." " All right!" " I've got some stitches myself." " What happened?" "Hit a little turbulence." "I made the goal, though." " Your mom's inside, right?" " Yeah." "Well, well." "It's the JAG warrior jinx-breaker." "Have you come to fix the roof?" "Can't." "Afraid of heights." "I guess I'll have to let the next tenants worry about that." "You took the job?" "I figured I'd better do it before I lost my nerve." "Well, what happened to being overwhelmed?" "I'm finding it gets in the way of things." "Like happiness?" "Friendship." "I'm breaking away from here." "And I wanna make sure I can do it on my own." "It's gonna take some time to start over." "But when I'm on my feet, I wanna call you." "Well, now, that's something worth waiting for."