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The wagon sat at the top of the hill, ready for another adventurous demonstration of gravity's eventual superiority over all of them, even if they always tried to delay that inevitability with as much acrobatics and speed as possible.
"Why did you call me out here?" Calvin said, noting Hobbes' attempt at a casual posture that wouldn't accidentally set the wagon in motion, and that the wagon had been set up to show the least amount of the nicks, scratches, and dents that it had inevitably collected over their repeated runs.
"When was the last time you talked to Susie?" Hobbes said, trying to keep his tone casual as well as his posture.
"Yesterday," Calvin said. "We nearly caused a 'Sailor Mars Incident' on the forums because she won't admit that her gargoyle show is really just a way of keeping together the cast from the sci-fi show that I like. One of these days she'll have to acknowledge my superior logic skills."
"You never forget your first crush," Hobbes teased.
"Oh, so you're saying you miss all those tea parties with Mr. Bun?" Calvin retorted. Hobbes gave him a withering look that made Calvin laugh. "Seriously, though. Wagon rides are reserved for weighty topics. What's on your mind?" In reply, Hobbes motioned for Calvin to put on the goggles and help him push.
"Three. Two. One. Launch!" After getting the wagon moving just enough to ensure it would keep going by itself, Calvin jumped into the pilot's space and gave Hobbes a hand settling into the gunner's space. Punching the button to engage stealth mode, the Crimson Thunder pulled up on the flight stick to maintain their cruising altitude as he plotted their course over the terrain.
"Cone of silence is engaged," he said over the comms. "What's on your mind, Stripey Death?"
"We're getting older," Hobbes said hesitantly. A patch of turbulence required both of their attention to safely get through, and then Hobbes continued. "Do you think they're going to force retirement on us, Crimson Thunder?"
"Never," Calvin replied. "Even if all there is to do is daily bombing runs over the Republic of Derkinia, there's no way we're getting separated before our time."
"I keep hearing the brass talking about when it's time to have 'the talk'," Hobbes said. "It sounds like they might be in treaty negotitaions with Derkinia. If that's the case, then the President of Derkinia has probably already been briefed about the matter."
"What does that have to do with retirement?" Calvin said, making a minor course correction to avoid getting on the line to take the Leap of Faith. That might still be neccessary if the conversation went too far in an uncomfortable direction, but they seemed to be on solid ground for the moment.
"It's probably treaty negotiations," Hobbes said. "There might be a cease-fire, or worse, a full peace. If that's what the plan is, there won't be any need for bombing runs over Derkinia any more. And we might be required to open up the G.R.O.S.S. archives for inspection once the national security exemption expires."
"That's not a peace treaty, that's a surrender!" Calvin shouted, almost pulling them off-course as he turned to stare at Hobbes. "What are they thinking?"
"I wish I knew," Hobbes replied. "I've been trying to listen in more when you're not around, but they don't talk about details. I don't understand how something like that could have a higher classification level than what we have access to, but apparently this needs such OPSEC that they won't even talk about it in my presence."
"So we need an alternative source of intelligence. And you think the President of Derkinia could provide it? That's smart thinking, Stripey Death. We should go in soon, before the opportunity disappears."
"Permission to speak freely, Crimson Thunder?" Hobbes asked.
"Granted."
"Not us. Me. You're too volatile for this mission. If I can slip in, I can extract viable intelligence from either the President of Derkinia or the Prime Minister and report back."
Calvin focused on navigating through a particularly tricky patch while he calmed down from his first reactions. "What makes you think Minister Usagi will give you what you want?" he settled on. "The President is pretty enamored of you. She seems like the softer target for an intelligence mission."
"She would be, but I thoroughly expect the President to be dispatched to deal with the incident that will provide cover for my infiltration, so it'll have to be Minister Usagi. We have a cordial enough relationship that I think he'll be willing to tell me what I want to know, even if he suspects who I'm asking for."
"I see you've already volunteered me for the distraction. I ought to court-martial you for insubordination," Calvin replied, as the craft began to wobble in a way that indicated a stall was imminent. Turning into the stall, Calvin aimed for the pathway that would give them the greatest chance of passing through the Leap of Faith without having to eject.
"You won't, though, because we both know I'm right," Hobbes said, before Calvin engaged aerodynamic mode to gather as much speed as possible for the Leap. It made the craft distinctly louder, which gave them both time to think about their next words as the craft approached, then passed through, the sound barrier. They had hypothesized that greater velocity was usually needed to surpass the Leap, but the craft itself seemed to be reaching the limits of its structural integrity. To risk going faster might blow the craft apart prematurely, even if it might ensure success at getting through the obstacle, if everything held.
"That remains to be seen!" Calvin shouted into the comms over the roar of the engine. "But…if this mission is as important as you say it is," he conceded, "then we need our best agent on the job. So I'll overlook your lack of respect for the chain of command. Brace!"
A smooth entry into the Leap was the first and most necessary component of success. Catch too much air under the spoilers, or enter the volatile currents of wind wrong, and the daredevil attempt would be over as soon as it had started, with a swift and cold splashdown awaiting them. To both of their surprise, there was neither the vicious headwind nor the hard jolt that usually preceded their attempts to navigate the tricky approach. Just as soon as it had registered to Hobbes that this was the best approach they'd had in years, they were in the thick of the Leap, Calvin trying to keep their nose in the air for as long as possible before the inevitable stall from the chasm's apparent ability to steal their thrust.
"Cleared the river!" Calvin said triumphantly before grimacing as the nose continued to drop more than he wanted it to. "Come on, you hunk of junk!"
"Looks like we're going to hit the hills!" Hobbes said. "Do you think you can ride them down safely?"
For a few seconds, as they hurtled downward, the far lip of the chasm mocking them with how close they were getting to it, Calvin considered their options.
"Eject!" he shouted, flipping open the switch case and pressing the button to launch them both safely away from the now out of control vehicle. One of these days they'd successfully navigate the Leap and cement their place as the best pilots in the world, but today was not that day. Once clear of the vehicle, parachutes were deployed and the two came to a hard landing on one of the largest hills in the complex, running their way down to put extra distance between themselves and the sound of yet another failed attempt.
Once both pilots and vehicle had come to a full stop, Calvin and Hobbes turned around to survey the damage. "Nuts," Calvin said. "That's the best approach we've had in years. Stupid crosswind sprang up to suck out all our good velocity and spite us." Hobbes nodded at the assessment, but said nothing. "Well, might as well tow it home," Calvin said, gathering the parachutes in hand to store in the cargo space of their ground transport back to base.
"What could possibly be so important that my parents think it's a good idea to keep it from me and only talk about it obliquely?" Calvin said.
"Beats me," Hobbes said. "But by the time we get back, we'll need a plan on how to extract the information."
"Water balloons at high noon, obviously," Calvin said. "Susie can't resist an opportunity to try and prove she's better than me. She'll be too focused on how she's going to take me down that she won't notice the trap I'll lay for her."
Hobbes had opinions on how well that would actually work, based on how many of his previous attempts had succeeded, but he kept those opinions to himself. Furthermore, Hobbes thought, it didn't really matter as to whether Calvin succeeded or not at his grand plan, so long as it got Calvin away long enough for Hobbes to do his part. It had been a long while since Hobbes and Mr. Bun both had enough time for each of them to update each other about their charges and file the necessary paperwork.
"So, what do you think, Hobbes?" Calvin finished, having described an improbable plan that would almost assuredly involve him getting more soaked than Susie.
"Seems tactically sound," Hobbes replied, which it was, even if all the other parts were going to fail.
"Good," Calvin said, as the house came into view. "I'll prep tomorrow and spring it on Susie on Saturday. Thanks for your help, Hobbes. Couldn't do it without you, old buddy."
Hobbes nodded, accepting the praise as was his due, but it made him feel uneasy, like there was the possibility now that it might not always be the two of them together. Before his brain ran with the idea, he made a mental note to ask Mr. Bun about it when they met on Saturday, and put it from his mind. There was planning to do for the next operation, which would need both of their full attention. Best not to get bogged down in hypotheticals when there was the very real possibility of large-scale water warfare in the future.
"So, I was thinking of serving the challenge by catapult," Calvin said, beginning to sketch out a tactical map to serve as a visual aid for the operation. Hobbes nodded encouragingly, and the planning phase was on.