Sabrina
Copyright© 2026 by The Outsider
Chapter 39: Tin Gods
16 November 2033 – Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Virginia
“We should be used to moving by now,” Sabrina said.
“Yeah,” Tom laughed, dropping a box marked ‘F-22 Manuals’ onto the floor with a thud. “But at least you’re only moving between divisions of the same squadron, thankfully, not bases this time! We don’t have to change houses when you finish your training!”
“Whatever...” Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like we’re moving to GERMANY or anything...”
“Uh, we were younger and had less stuff,” Tom told his wife. “The Air Force paid for that, too!”
“Still, these are sweet quarters!”
“I have to admit that they are...”
“‘Rank hath its privileges... ‘“
“I have heard that one before, yes...”
“Well, Tommy, let’s check out the master bedroom again now that we’ve cleaned.”
“You’re a pervert...”
“Well, it does take one to know one...”
Major Sabrina Knox-Jones snapped to attention as her current and future CO entered the room. Lieutenant Colonel Kian ‘Grease’ Wells introduced Sabrina and Lieutenant Colonel Caldwell as they passed the 71st’s junior pilots. Sabrina thought Caldwell paused in front of her longer than he had the others, but she might be overthinking things.
Caldwell looked over the squadron’s dayroom again before leaving with Colonel Wells. His gaze fixed on Sabrina before we walked out. This time, she wasn’t overthinking.
“What was that about?” Sabrina asked.
“That guy hasn’t met anyone as good-looking as you,” Ross ‘Dough Boy’ Daugherty said in a low tone. “Tom scored there, big time!”
“Would you stop, Dough Boy?” Sabrina replied, rolling her eyes and lightly slapping him on the shoulder. It was a typical exchange with Dough Boy, one of the many who had grown to think of her as a big sister. Her annoyance, though palpable, was playful.
“Hey, I’m just sayin’, Raikou...”
All the others in the FTU treated Sabrina like their big sister, so she was used to the jokes. That didn’t stop her from punching Dough Boy in the shoulder. That seemed to be her favorite spot with others, and she learned that mainly from her Aunt Heather.
Rank didn’t mean much in the 71st Fighter Squadron. Not as much as it did in some other places, anyway. Under Colonel Wells’ command, the squadron had prided itself on a more relaxed, almost family-like atmosphere. Sabrina could still remember the early days when she arrived at Langley. Grease’s leadership had set the tone for everything. Everyone had treated one another like equals – to an extent.
Sabrina had been at Langley for nearly thirteen months, transferring from Edwards and the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron. She finished being a student at the FTU last month. She’d taken the online Squadron Officer School course but hadn’t found time to attend the in-person course at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. Sabrina didn’t tell her husband much about her workday, and Tom was smart enough not to ask.
Sabrina couldn’t deny that the change after Grease left would be jarring. Colonel Campbell’s arrival had already shifted the squadron’s tone, and with Grease’s departure, things seemed to have become more formal, less friendly.
Kian Wells’s departure as the commander of the 71st wasn’t exactly welcome. Grease was a good commander in addition to being a crack pilot. He and his family were also good friends. One thing he did before leaving, however, was to make Sabrina one of the B-course flight commanders.
“Sir, not that I won’t be glad to get back to flying more regularly, but why do this now?” she asked before Grease left the 71st.
Kian Wells looked around, making sure the pair was alone.
“For some reason, I don’t feel good about this guy, Sabrina,” he whispered. “Watch your six, Raikou!” With that, he carried the last box out of his office.
Kian Wells’s departure had impacted the squadron’s mood and left Sabrina uncertain about the future. As much as she appreciated the opportunities that a leadership change usually brought with it, his tight control over every move felt... wrong.
Six months had passed since Grease’s departure. Sabrina taught the newer officers about the F-51 aircraft as the squadron took on the latest additions to their fleet.
The rest of the 1st Fighter Wing was transitioning away from the old F-16s and was now flying primarily F-51 Mustang IIs and F-22 Raptors, with a few other fighters mixed in for good measure. Even the vaunted Thunderbirds were flying F-51s now.
Despite the impressive capabilities of the Mustangs and Raptors, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being set up for something she wasn’t ready for, for an impending confrontation that loomed on the horizon.
The couple shook off any bad feelings, and Sabrina and Tom made their next big purchase: a used Piper PA-47 in charcoal gray with bright white registration numbers. They ordered two fifteen-gallon tip tanks installed, giving the jet a nineteen-hundred-mile range.
While inconvenient, Sabrina and Tom housed their new extravagance at an executive airport about thirty-five minutes from Langley AFB. The airport was past the Norfolk Naval Station and on the southwest side of Chesapeake Bay. The jet’s range would allow easy trips to all parts of the country except the West Coast without refueling or needing to fly commercially.
Colonel Campbell was undoubtedly a bit stiff when Colonel Wells introduced Sabrina. ‘Major Knox-Jones’ this, and ‘Major Knox-Jones’ that ... It was never ‘Sabrina.’ Sabrina couldn’t get a good read on him.
It took a few weeks, but the mood at the squadron office also changed. The loose, easygoing atmosphere Grease had fostered only took about a month to crumble completely, and Sabrina was surprised it had lasted as long as it had.
It hurt when Lieutenant Colonel Artie McDaniel, the operations officer, retired from the 71st a week after Grease Wells transferred out of the squadron. Campbell’s friend, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Singleton, took over as operations officer. He assigned missions to the flights in a seemingly random order that made no sense to Sabrina or the other three flight commanders. They followed orders but logged them, just in case.
Six months after Grease Wells handed over command of the 71st to Campbell, Chief Master Sergeant Jim Hudak reported for duty. The trio of the two colonels and the new chief master sergeant seemed to click, and the 71st became an even more oppressive workplace.
Sabrina quietly appraised General Cunningham. Grease Wells had warned the man about his replacement on his way out. Sabrina chafed at going outside the chain of command, but this situation felt unusual.
Sabrina’s relaxed relationship on the flight line, especially with the mechanics and other ground crews, also became tenser. Chief Master Sergeant Hudak always seemed to be around, but he demanded a more formal tone from ‘his’ NCOs and lower enlisted members.
Sabrina was home, watching TV, and trying to decompress after another week. All the troubles at the Air Force Base were forgotten when she got a call from her brother, Alex.
“Kiddo, are you watching the news?”
“About the small plane that crashed in Hartford?”
“That was Mom and Dad’s airplane, Sabrina. They were coming back from a fusion convention in Atlantic City. They were also meeting up with Dr. Sacha there.”
Sabrina sat up straight.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”
“They’re alive, Sabrina, but unconscious and in critical condition,” Alex said. “How soon can you and Tom be ready to go to Hartford with my family and me?”
“FIVE MINUTES!”
Alex chuckled despite the situation.
“It might take me a little bit longer to arrange things. Call General Cunningham. I’ve got a bad feeling about Campbell. You need to be ready when we get there in a few hours.”
Sabrina didn’t hesitate. She called Tom at work and explained the urgency of the situation. They were packed and ready to fly to Hartford in the blink of an eye.
Sabrina said little while holding Tommy’s hand as they flew to Hartford the following day. The journey felt like it took hours, but when they finally landed, it was still early enough to make their way to the hospital. Keiko and Jeff Knox – her parents – were in critical condition, unconscious from the plane crash that had left them in a state Sabrina couldn’t fully comprehend.
Hartford-Brainard wasn’t the large international airport Bradley in Windsor Locks had become, but it was closer to the Swift River Valley if her parents wanted to visit Grandma and Grandpa Knox. Her parents had flown out of Hartford many times. Getting in and out of Hartford by car wasn’t great fun, but it was a straight shot south from Springfield, Massachusetts, on Interstate 91.
I-91 was on the western bank of the Connecticut River, which passed just to the east of Brainard. Getting an airplane in and out of Brainard was more straightforward, too.
From what Alex was able to learn about the accident, the pilot suffered a heart attack (cardiac arrest) just before their parents’ plane landed. There was no co-pilot to react, recognize, or otherwise take over the aircraft before it veered off to the east and crashed nose-down into the field to the east of the runway just before it reached the trees along the Connecticut River. The pilot died in the crash.
As far as their parents ... their lap belts weren’t enough to keep them safe, and they slammed into the walls and ceiling of the aircraft during the crash. The responding ambulances took them to the closest Level 1 Trauma Center.
After a safe landing on the reopened Runway 2/20, a large rental car and the driver took Alex, his family, Sabrina, and Tom to the hospital. There, Keiko and Jeff’s kids awaited news from the surgeons as Keiko and Jeff Knox lay unconscious. While investigating the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cordoned off the area east of Runway 2/20.
Seeing both of her parents with breathing tubes in their throats made Sabrina break down. She hugged her brother, Alex, before hugging Ryan, who was also there visiting. The staff wouldn’t usually allow so many people to be in the room with their two patients, but they were willing to make an exception this first time. Everyone else left the room while Ariel stayed with Sabrina. The staff continued to ignore the extra person in the room. Summer snuggled up to her step-grandfather, with whom she had connected.
Sabrina kept General Cunningham informed as the ACC commander, but didn’t worry about keeping Colonel Campbell updated on events surrounding her parents. The general told Sabrina to worry about her parents and that the ACC office would protect her job as much as possible. Later that weekend, Sabrina and Tom returned to Virginia.
Campbell, Singleton, and Hudak kept the pressure on the members of the 71st. The carefree, easy-going working relationship her squadron used to have with all the other members of the 1st Fighter Wing (maintenance, weather, munitions, other fighter squadrons) had slowly eroded. At the same time, she was gone, dealing with her parents’ injuries and prognoses. They were both still unconscious.
The next few weeks were a blur. Sabrina and Tom made multiple trips back to Hartford, staying in and out of the hospital, trying to make sense of the terrifying situation they had been thrust into. At the same time, things were deteriorating at Langley. As the tension increased between Sabrina and her commanding officers, she wondered if they even understood her situation.
Sabrina tried to remain strong as her parents’ condition remained unchanged. She continued to keep the ACC informed of her situation, but she was still haunted by the growing pressure from Colonel Campbell and his team. The 71st wasn’t the same anymore. The family-like camaraderie she once cherished was fading, replaced by an oppressive atmosphere that seemed to tighten with each passing day.
Sabrina and Tom returned to Hartford the following weekend. Ryan and Alex, along with their families, were in the room when the trauma doctor told them they had done everything they could for Keiko and Jeff. It was time to discharge them from the hospital.
According to Ariel’s information, transferring Sabrina’s parents to a rehab facility near Enfield, Massachusetts, rather than a facility near Hartford, would better serve them. Dr. Sarawat looked less than thrilled, but he noted that both parents had been extubated and agreed that having all the Knox children visit their parents more often would be beneficial in the long run.
Ariel showed Ryan and everyone an upscale facility in Amherst that the elder Knoxes could transfer to, allowing Ariel and Ryan (and Summer) to visit more often. The transfer would likely happen within the next few days. Sabrina and Tom returned to Virginia again. Her schedule wouldn’t allow them to visit her parents in their new place until the following weekend, but they made arrangements either way.
Visits to the ‘new’ rehab place over the next few weekends didn’t produce any results. The rehab staff was good, though. They were attentive, knowledgeable, and caring, and they got to know all of the Knoxes on a first-name basis. It was nearly six weeks before Sabrina heard the sound she’d hoped for.
“Sabrina?” came the croaking sound.
“DADDY!”
It took an extreme effort on Sabrina’s part not to crush her father with a hug.
“What day is it, Princess?”
“Saturday,” Sabrina answered, “but it’s after the 2034 New Year’s. Your accident was on a Wednesday back in November, and you and Mom have been unconscious since then.”
“Is your mother awake?”
“Not yet, Daddy,” Sabrina answered while a tear tracked down her cheek.
“Her vital signs are good,” said a female voice. The nurse, Christine, had answered. “Unfortunately, she won’t wake up until her body is ready.”
“And that could be within the next ten minutes, or ten years from now...” her father said.
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