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Description
The Future Rescuers
Written by Ryan Perreault

The carpool drove down the non-busy street towards the security gates almost literally into the sunset. After getting checked, they were waved through. Tails was driving and Sonic sat next to him in the passenger seat. Both seem a bit annoyed needed to act as chaperones for the activities for the kids. ‘Babysitters’ is more like it. The entire ride to their location has been hell with the kids singing and arguing.
The back seats of the large vehicle contain all the kids. Chopper Chipmunk, a black-furred chipmunk that has looked up to Tails since he was a little kid, Chaos, a red-furred echidna and Knuckles’ little sister. Knuckles has threatened Sonic many times to take care of his sister, despite the fact that Chaos can clearly take care of herself, and Manik, the nephew of both Sonic and Tails.
The van has come to a stop at the large building, which contained a hallway with offices and a large classroom. There were already a bunch of other kids wearing the same clothes. The doors opened and Chaos, Chopper, and Manik piled out of the van. Every child there wore woodland camouflaged battle uniforms, black boots, and backpacks with all of their gears in it. Each one has their names stitched on their uniforms along with the words ‘CIVIL AIR PATROL’ imbedded.
“Okay, kids, I want to wish you all good luck on your practice mission today,” Sonic said with a beam of a smile. He was proud that these kids were becoming the next generation of rescuers.
“You’ll be fine, Chopper,” Tails said, kneeling down to the chipmunk with his hands on his shoulders.
“I know, you’ll be with us!” Chopper said jumping up and down. Despite having a heavy backpack, he still had the energy to perform stressful tasks. Tails calmed Chopper down.
“I know, but I can’t help in any way,” Tails told him. “I can watch but I can’t step in and help. Sorry, kiddo.”
“Don’t worry, Tails, he’s in good hands,” Chaos said stepping in and holding Chopper in a head-lock. Chaos gave a sweet smile to Tails whereas Chopper gave a nervous grin.
In that instant, an orange-furred rabbit ran up to and hugged Chopper and Chaos, surprising the both of them.
“Yay! You made it!” Cream shouted happily.
“Of course we made it,” Manik said approaching the group. “We wouldn’t miss our practice mission. We all worked hard to get to this point. We had bivouac, that CPR/First Aid class at the Red Cross, and that hard GSAR School. No way I’m throwing away all that hard work. After all, Uncle Sonic said we are the future rescuers.”
Sonic smiled at his nephew. The group was joined by two more of the group. They were two of Tails’ kids, Jacqueline and Miles Jr.
“Going on that mission, guys?” Jacqui said with a smirk. “I bet I can find what we’re looking for first.”
“No way, I’ll be first!” Miles Jr. replied, almost argumentatively. The two twins stared at each other with glares. They all knew this would lead to a fight.
“Okay, you two! Get along!” Tails growled standing up. “No fighting, okay?” Jacqueline and Miles Jr. immediately stopped and gave Tails two big bright toothy grins.
All of the kids were ready and excited. They had their equipment and First Aid kits. They were trained in land navigation, communications, teamwork, and First Aid. Now was the time to put all of that to the test.
Just then, they heard the whistle blow!
In that instant, the six kids in their woodland uniforms and boots made a mad dash across the driveways towards the other side of the building. During the run, they merged with other kids their ages, but the certain six ran in one group while everyone else ran to another group.
As they turned the corner to the back of the building, they passed by a black-furred echidna with a long tail. His uniform was slightly different; he wore a red scarf around his neck and his collar had a Chief Master Sergeant insignia with a diamond on it, ranking him as First Sergeant.
The six kids ran in a group, three by two, while standing in the position of attention. Standing in front of them is a female raccoon. Marine stood at attention as the six kids grouped behind her. The rest made a different group in another spot. Quickly, the sounds of running and panting silenced.
“Flight Sergeants, report!” Josh the First Sergeant called out.
Marine did an about-face and looked at the group of six kids. After a pause of counting them, then did another about-face indicating she was ready.
“Flight Sergeants report!” Josh called putting emphasis on his last word. Josh and Marine turned and faced each other and Marine saluted.
“All cadets present and accounted for, First Sergeant!” Marine called out. Josh saluted back. Josh did the same with the other group. Josh finished and did an about-face with his back to the whole group.
“Squadron!” Josh called out.
“Flight!” Marine called out.
“Parade!”
“Parade!”
“Rest!”
The whole group stood in the position of Parade Rest, which they moved their left leg over at shoulder-length and placed their hands behind their backs. As soon as that happened, another cadet came walking up to the group. She was a purple-furred hedgehog with echidna dreadlock and a long echidna tail. This was Cari, and her uniform had three circles on her collar, ranking her as Captain, an officer. Not only that, but she was also Josh’s older sister.
“Squadron!” Josh called out again.
“Flight!” Marine called out.
“Attention!” Josh shouted, and the whole group stood at attention. Once Cari approached Josh, he saluted her. “Ma’am! Squadron formed as ordered, ma’am!” Cari saluted back and dropped it. The two siblings softly spoke to each other, whispering softly so nobody else can hear. A few nods between the two were all the physical interaction they did.
“First Sergeant, post!” Cari called out. Josh stepped behind Cari and soon she made the announcement. “Squadron, Parade Rest!” The whole squadron did the position of Parade-Rest. “Squadron, listen up. Alpha Flight will be on their practice mission as previously scheduled. Bravo Flight will be working on training the new cadets in drills immediately after formation. Bravo will report to the open field for drill practices with your Flight Sergeant. Alpha, report to the classroom after formation for mission briefing and preparation. First Sergeant and I will join you. First Sergeant, post!”
Josh approached Cari and saluted her. Then Josh turned and faced the squadron.
“Squadron, attention!” Josh called. They all stood at the position of attention. “Fall out!”

* * *

Later in the classroom, Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqui, Miles Jr., and Cream were checking out their gear. Sonic and Tails stood in the classroom, overlooking the group. Most of their gear consisted of navigational equipments such as compasses and maps, and medical gear such as First Aid kits.
Soon, the door opened and stepping in was Josh with all of his gear. After a pause, Cari stepped in the classroom carrying a large object.
“Room, attention!” Josh called out as soon as Cari stepped in. Everyone in the room stood at attention.
“As you were,” Cari said calmly. The rest continued their work while Cari showed off her object, which looked like a small computer on a stick and the top of the stick had little antennas on it. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is our ELT locator, which we will use to find our downed-plane. First Sergeant, take over.”
"Thank you, ma'am," Josh said to his sister as he pointed out on a map. "This is a training mission, so don't expect any real-life rescues here, but treat it as if it were one. Clear? Okay, two hours ago, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk crashed in the state park near these ridges here. We sent Civil Air Patrol aircraft over the area, but was unable to see through the thick trees for any details on damages. They WERE able to discover the plane's whereabouts based on damage in the tree's crowns. That's where we come in, we're going to search for the aircraft on foot with our eyes. The FAA told us that the pilot is alone and he wrote his destination as a short flight, so don't expect huge amounts of fuel, but keep it in the back of your mind. We got the ELT's frequency and the plane's somewhat whereabouts. Any questions?"
No one spoke up. All the cadets nodded. Cari and Josh were the two team leaders. Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, Jr. and Cream were the cadets. Tagging along are Sonic and Tails as adult supervisors. After their equipment inspection was done, they were ready!

* * *

The sun was starting to set with just about half an hour of daylight left. Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqui, Miles, and Cream all stood side-by-side with at leased a few feet of distance between them. Miles was holding the ELT locator. They all were facing into the woods. Behind them were Cari and Josh looking at a topographical map with a flashlight and a compass. Observing them were Sonic and Tails.
“Okay, Miles Prower,” Josh called out calmly.
“Yes, First Sergeant?” Miles replied.
“Where are we going?” Josh asked. Miles held onto the ELT locator with both hands, looking at the computerized box on the stick in front of him, and slowly turned in circles. At one point, the emitter beeped a loud signal.
“I got something, First Sergeant,” Miles replied. Josh ran up to Miles and stood next to him. Josh used his compass, looked through the eyepiece of the compass, and got his bearing.
“Good job,” Josh told him before running back to Cari.
“Okay, everybody! Forward the line!” Cari called out.
All the cadets and Sonic and Tails slowly proceeded into the woods. They used their flashlights to sweep side-to-side at the ground. Every once in a while, they would look to their left and rights to make sure they were still in line to avoid straying too far or falling behind.

* * *

After a good two minutes of wandering into the woods, and Miles continuously checking his ELT locator, they hit a break. Brightly shining, Manik found a medium-sized chunk of a Cessna piece, probably from a flap.
“Halt the line!” Manik called out as loud as he could.
“Halt the line!” the rest of the cadets shouted. On command, all the cadets stood still except for Cari and Josh. They both ran up to Manik.
“What do you have, Sergeant?” Josh asked.
“I found some debris, probably from a Cessna, First Sergeant,” Manik replied in a normal tone of voice.
“Good find,” Josh said.
“Thank you, First Sergeant,” Manik replied.
“Cadets, gather around!” Cari called out. All the cadets broke formation and surrounded them. “Sergeant Manik Hedgehog has found some debris.”
Chaos Echidna stared at the piece of debris. What she saw was a lot of scratch marks in the ground. Her eyes followed them and saw some more debris.
“Look, there’s more,” Chaos pointed out, shining her flashlight at it. “I bet we can follow the divots in the ground.”
“Prower, what does the locator say?” Cari asked. Miles stood up, activated the locator, and spun around. Indeed, the locator indicated the plane’s ELT in that direction.
“It says it’s in the direction of the debris, ma’am,” Miles replied.
“Okay, reform the line, Chaos, try to track those debris,” Cari told her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chaos said as she looked at Marine. “Sergeant Marine, can you shine your torch perpendicular to mine, Sergeant?”
“Sure thing,” Marine replied as she pulled out her flashlight. Marine and Chaos shined their flashlights in an X pattern greatly illuminating the tracks in the ground. They tracked the digs in the ground.
With the formation reset, it was time to move on.
“Forward the line!” Cari called out. Immediately, the kids started walking forward again, waving their flashlights.
Sonic and Tails stood behind, observing, and smiling.
“These guys are doing good, I’m impressed,” Sonic said.
“Of course, my kids are among them,” Tails replied with a smirk. Sonic gave Tails a playful punch.

* * *

The cadets were getting closer. They soon came to a very steep ridge. Unfortunately, they knew they had to get up and over it to their objective. Josh checked his map and realized there was no way around.
“Halt the line!” Cari called out, causing all the cadets to stop. Cari and Josh stared at the steep ridge, reading it, studying it, the wheels in their heads turning, as they were plotting their next move.
“Want me to help out guys out with this?” Sonic asked, stepping in. Cari and Josh, however, were like mindless zombies as they stared. Suddenly, Cari nodded.
“I got it, we’ll use a rope to climb up there,” Cari mentioned as she reached for her coiled-up repelling rope clipped to her belt. “Okay, I need a volunteer. Who’s the best climber?”
All the cadets turned and looked at Cari. Chopper raised his hand.
“I am, ma’am,” Chopper replied. Cari approached Chopper and gave him the still-coiled rope.
“I want you to climb up that ridge, find an anchor, and toss it back down to us. You understand?” Cari asked calmly.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chopper replied.
Cari gave Chopper the rope. Tails was getting a bit worried. He himself could probably climb that ridge with a lot of physical endurance, but a young kid would find it as a huge challenge. Tails knew he couldn’t bring himself to watch.
With the rope clipped to his belt, Chopper made his climb. At first he tilted his body forward to gain leverage and managed to get up quite a few feet. After a while, he fell forward with his hands gripping the loose brush and rocks for support. Tails was worried watching him, but Chopper showed off his skills as a mountain climber. Maybe not like a professional, but good for a child his age. He panted and sweated until he made it to the top.
“I’m up!” Chopper called down.
“Good, now secure the rope!” Cari called up.
Chopper looked around. It didn’t take him long to find a thick tree several feet in front of him. He approached it and kicked it a bit, knowing it would be a great anchor. Chopper undid the rope and it all fell in a mass as his feet with the exception of the tip which he held onto. He approached the tree and walked around it once in a counter-clockwise pattern. He then grabbed a chunk of the rope near the tree-base and twisted it twice creating a loop. Next he took another chunk of the rope, looped it, and slid it through the twice-twisted loop he made earlier. After that was done, he grabbed the tip of the rope and stuck it through the loop, pulling it back, and secured it with two half-hitches. This he finished creating a Trucker’s Hitch Knot.
“Done!” Chopper called down.
One by one, never two, the cadets and even Sonic and Tails climbed up the rope up the steep ridge. Once up there, they congratulated Chopper for the assistance. Even Tails was proud of him.
“Okay, guys, we can do the hugs and kisses later,” Cari told them. “We still got work to do, so reform the line.”
After reforming the line, they were set to continue.
“Forward the line!” Cari called out, and they immediately started to march forward.

* * *

A good half an hour since the mission started has passed. Eventually, they made it to a clearing where they saw their objective in an open field. The Cessna 172 Skyhawk was obviously an old mockup specifically used for practice missions like this, but they all treated it like it was real.
“Halt the line!” Chaos called out. Of course, they can all see the plane. Also, they can see the silhouette of a figure in the pilot’s seat of the plane. In addition, there was a white duck standing by watching. He was Doctor Quack and he was simply an observer, but he was also wearing a Civil Air Patrol uniform. The cadets were told to ignore him; he was an observer.
The cadets were excited, but they remembered their training. Just like they were taught at the Red Cross, the first step was the check the scene. After checking, they all slowly approached the plane. Jacqueline was the first to arrive at the door. She looked in and saw a male lombax, an orange cat-like furry creature with pointy ears and a long tail that only the males have. His name was Ratchet, he wore a Civil Air Patrol uniform with a pilot badge. He laid in the pilot’s seat acting like he was unconscious.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” Jacqueline said after she opened the door. Ratchet, obviously conscious, acted like he wasn’t by ignoring her. “Let’s get him out of here.”
Cream ran up to Jacqueline. Jacqui unfastened Ratchet’s harness belt and she wrapped her arms around Ratchet’s torso from behind and slowly dragged him out. Using leverage, Jacqui had no trouble. Cram took hold of Ratchet’s legs but rolling them in her arms and she held them like holding a baby.
Jacqueline and Cream carried the lombax out of the plane and far away from it in case it was going to explode. Of course, being a mock-up, they knew it wouldn’t, but they acted like it would. Upon carrying him, Cream noticed a little paper pinned to Ratchet’s right sleeve. It simply said ‘Broken Arm.’ In addition, a little clipped-on makeshift pipe was clipped to his forearm with simulated blood.
“Look, his arm is broken, and a piece of metal is impaled,” Cream said pointing it out. Jacqueline remained calm as they carried Ratchet to a flat layer of ground.
“Okay, let’s set up. Sergeant Marine, hold his head for me,” Jacqueline ordered. Without a work, Marine ran to Ratchet’s head and held it in her palms to keep it level. “Cream, put your bag under his arm. We got to keep the wound above his heart.” Cream unbuckled her gear bag and placed it under Ratchet’s arm, keeping it elevated.
In the distance, Doctor Quack was smiling and nodding.
Jacqueline undid her gear bag and reached in it for her First Aid kit. In it, she pulled out cotton swabs and cloth bandages; the cadets called it field-dressing. Jacqueline placed the swabs around the broken pipe wound, making sure not to move it or the clothing which could irritate the wound. Once done, she wrapped the cloth bandages around in a cross-cross pattern, holding it in place.
“Okay, wound is stabilized. Manik, I need a splint,” Jacqueline said. Manik dropped to his knees and reached in his gear bag for a small wooden plank and more cloth bandages.
Jacqueline took them and began the splint. She placed the plank of wood under the forearm and wrapped a few strips of the cloth bandage, holding it in place. She then took another strip of the cloth bandage, wrapped it hooking the wooden plank, and looped it around the back of Ratchet’s neck. Finally, she did another loop this time around Ratchet’s torso.
“The splint is secure,” Jacqueline said. Immediately, Josh got on his walkie-talkie radio.
“MA-026 Main, this is MA-026 Actual,” Josh said in the radio. “We found the plane, one passenger, breathing, non-responsive, wound to the left forearm, and left arm broken. Send rescue trucks to the north-west end of the park.”
“Roger, Actual, sending rescue vehicles, good work, mission accomplished,” the reply came back. Upon hearing that, Cari clapped her hands.
“You all did outstanding,” Cari said proudly. Upon hearing that, Ratchet sat up with a smile and Doctor Quack came walking up to them.
“Thanks, kids, hope you had to trouble finding me,” Ratchet told them. All the cadets shook their heads and laughed. Doctor Quack approached Ratchet and inspected the bandage and splint.
“Good work. You got him out of the plane safely, you laid him in the recovery position, the bandage is tight, the splint is secure, the arm is elevated, and you all communicated well,” Quack told them. “Had this guy been a real victim, he would’ve lived.”
The cadets felt proud about themselves, but not as much as their guardians. Sonic and Tails also felt proud for the kids they practically raised and watched grow up. The two best friends, hedgehog and fox, looked at each other with smiles. Tails remembered being a very young kid following Sonic around and getting the experience he needed to be a fighter for freedom. Sonic felt the same, leading and setting an example for Tails to follow. Now, they both came to the realization that they gave the same support and confidence to those under them. They couldn’t be more proud.

* * *

Later that night, the meeting was almost over. It was the final muster before leaving. Just like in the beginning, Josh blew the whistle and all the cadets mustered in their respective Flights. Like last time, Josh was the First Sergeant calling the squadron to attention and Cari approached the front like last time.
“Would Cadets Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, and Cream approach front and center,” Cari called out. She had a small zip-top bag in her hand.
Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, and Cream approached the front in a shoulder-to-shoulder line. Cari approached each of them, one by one, and reached in her zip-top bag. In the bag were little silver-colored metal badges that say GT on them, standing for Ground Team. One at a time, she pinned and clipped each badge above the left breast pockets of each uniform.
“These cadets have passed their final test and were awarded the Ground Team badges. Congratulations,” Cari announced. The entire squadron clapped. “Squadron, dismissed!”
The meeting ended. All the cadets began to leave the grounds. For a certain seven, they leave with much more confidence in their hearts. They are the future heroes, and nobody could be more proud of them.

Sonic, Tails, Cream, and Marine © SEGA Corp.
Dr. Quack © Archie Comics
Ratchet © Insomniac Games
Cari and Josh © RyanEchidnaSEAL
Chopper, Manik, Jacqueline, and Miles Jr. © Toni the Mink
Chaos © LemonKitt

Description
The Future Rescuers
Written by Ryan Perreault

The carpool drove down the non-busy street towards the security gates almost literally into the sunset. After getting checked, they were waved through. Tails was driving and Sonic sat next to him in the passenger seat. Both seem a bit annoyed needed to act as chaperones for the activities for the kids. ‘Babysitters’ is more like it. The entire ride to their location has been hell with the kids singing and arguing.
The back seats of the large vehicle contain all the kids. Chopper Chipmunk, a black-furred chipmunk that has looked up to Tails since he was a little kid, Chaos, a red-furred echidna and Knuckles’ little sister. Knuckles has threatened Sonic many times to take care of his sister, despite the fact that Chaos can clearly take care of herself, and Manik, the nephew of both Sonic and Tails.
The van has come to a stop at the large building, which contained a hallway with offices and a large classroom. There were already a bunch of other kids wearing the same clothes. The doors opened and Chaos, Chopper, and Manik piled out of the van. Every child there wore woodland camouflaged battle uniforms, black boots, and backpacks with all of their gears in it. Each one has their names stitched on their uniforms along with the words ‘CIVIL AIR PATROL’ imbedded.
“Okay, kids, I want to wish you all good luck on your practice mission today,” Sonic said with a beam of a smile. He was proud that these kids were becoming the next generation of rescuers.
“You’ll be fine, Chopper,” Tails said, kneeling down to the chipmunk with his hands on his shoulders.
“I know, you’ll be with us!” Chopper said jumping up and down. Despite having a heavy backpack, he still had the energy to perform stressful tasks. Tails calmed Chopper down.
“I know, but I can’t help in any way,” Tails told him. “I can watch but I can’t step in and help. Sorry, kiddo.”
“Don’t worry, Tails, he’s in good hands,” Chaos said stepping in and holding Chopper in a head-lock. Chaos gave a sweet smile to Tails whereas Chopper gave a nervous grin.
In that instant, an orange-furred rabbit ran up to and hugged Chopper and Chaos, surprising the both of them.
“Yay! You made it!” Cream shouted happily.
“Of course we made it,” Manik said approaching the group. “We wouldn’t miss our practice mission. We all worked hard to get to this point. We had bivouac, that CPR/First Aid class at the Red Cross, and that hard GSAR School. No way I’m throwing away all that hard work. After all, Uncle Sonic said we are the future rescuers.”
Sonic smiled at his nephew. The group was joined by two more of the group. They were two of Tails’ kids, Jacqueline and Miles Jr.
“Going on that mission, guys?” Jacqui said with a smirk. “I bet I can find what we’re looking for first.”
“No way, I’ll be first!” Miles Jr. replied, almost argumentatively. The two twins stared at each other with glares. They all knew this would lead to a fight.
“Okay, you two! Get along!” Tails growled standing up. “No fighting, okay?” Jacqueline and Miles Jr. immediately stopped and gave Tails two big bright toothy grins.
All of the kids were ready and excited. They had their equipment and First Aid kits. They were trained in land navigation, communications, teamwork, and First Aid. Now was the time to put all of that to the test.
Just then, they heard the whistle blow!
In that instant, the six kids in their woodland uniforms and boots made a mad dash across the driveways towards the other side of the building. During the run, they merged with other kids their ages, but the certain six ran in one group while everyone else ran to another group.
As they turned the corner to the back of the building, they passed by a black-furred echidna with a long tail. His uniform was slightly different; he wore a red scarf around his neck and his collar had a Chief Master Sergeant insignia with a diamond on it, ranking him as First Sergeant.
The six kids ran in a group, three by two, while standing in the position of attention. Standing in front of them is a female raccoon. Marine stood at attention as the six kids grouped behind her. The rest made a different group in another spot. Quickly, the sounds of running and panting silenced.
“Flight Sergeants, report!” Josh the First Sergeant called out.
Marine did an about-face and looked at the group of six kids. After a pause of counting them, then did another about-face indicating she was ready.
“Flight Sergeants report!” Josh called putting emphasis on his last word. Josh and Marine turned and faced each other and Marine saluted.
“All cadets present and accounted for, First Sergeant!” Marine called out. Josh saluted back. Josh did the same with the other group. Josh finished and did an about-face with his back to the whole group.
“Squadron!” Josh called out.
“Flight!” Marine called out.
“Parade!”
“Parade!”
“Rest!”
The whole group stood in the position of Parade Rest, which they moved their left leg over at shoulder-length and placed their hands behind their backs. As soon as that happened, another cadet came walking up to the group. She was a purple-furred hedgehog with echidna dreadlock and a long echidna tail. This was Cari, and her uniform had three circles on her collar, ranking her as Captain, an officer. Not only that, but she was also Josh’s older sister.
“Squadron!” Josh called out again.
“Flight!” Marine called out.
“Attention!” Josh shouted, and the whole group stood at attention. Once Cari approached Josh, he saluted her. “Ma’am! Squadron formed as ordered, ma’am!” Cari saluted back and dropped it. The two siblings softly spoke to each other, whispering softly so nobody else can hear. A few nods between the two were all the physical interaction they did.
“First Sergeant, post!” Cari called out. Josh stepped behind Cari and soon she made the announcement. “Squadron, Parade Rest!” The whole squadron did the position of Parade-Rest. “Squadron, listen up. Alpha Flight will be on their practice mission as previously scheduled. Bravo Flight will be working on training the new cadets in drills immediately after formation. Bravo will report to the open field for drill practices with your Flight Sergeant. Alpha, report to the classroom after formation for mission briefing and preparation. First Sergeant and I will join you. First Sergeant, post!”
Josh approached Cari and saluted her. Then Josh turned and faced the squadron.
“Squadron, attention!” Josh called. They all stood at the position of attention. “Fall out!”

* * *

Later in the classroom, Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqui, Miles Jr., and Cream were checking out their gear. Sonic and Tails stood in the classroom, overlooking the group. Most of their gear consisted of navigational equipments such as compasses and maps, and medical gear such as First Aid kits.
Soon, the door opened and stepping in was Josh with all of his gear. After a pause, Cari stepped in the classroom carrying a large object.
“Room, attention!” Josh called out as soon as Cari stepped in. Everyone in the room stood at attention.
“As you were,” Cari said calmly. The rest continued their work while Cari showed off her object, which looked like a small computer on a stick and the top of the stick had little antennas on it. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is our ELT locator, which we will use to find our downed-plane. First Sergeant, take over.”
"Thank you, ma'am," Josh said to his sister as he pointed out on a map. "This is a training mission, so don't expect any real-life rescues here, but treat it as if it were one. Clear? Okay, two hours ago, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk crashed in the state park near these ridges here. We sent Civil Air Patrol aircraft over the area, but was unable to see through the thick trees for any details on damages. They WERE able to discover the plane's whereabouts based on damage in the tree's crowns. That's where we come in, we're going to search for the aircraft on foot with our eyes. The FAA told us that the pilot is alone and he wrote his destination as a short flight, so don't expect huge amounts of fuel, but keep it in the back of your mind. We got the ELT's frequency and the plane's somewhat whereabouts. Any questions?"
No one spoke up. All the cadets nodded. Cari and Josh were the two team leaders. Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, Jr. and Cream were the cadets. Tagging along are Sonic and Tails as adult supervisors. After their equipment inspection was done, they were ready!

* * *

The sun was starting to set with just about half an hour of daylight left. Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqui, Miles, and Cream all stood side-by-side with at leased a few feet of distance between them. Miles was holding the ELT locator. They all were facing into the woods. Behind them were Cari and Josh looking at a topographical map with a flashlight and a compass. Observing them were Sonic and Tails.
“Okay, Miles Prower,” Josh called out calmly.
“Yes, First Sergeant?” Miles replied.
“Where are we going?” Josh asked. Miles held onto the ELT locator with both hands, looking at the computerized box on the stick in front of him, and slowly turned in circles. At one point, the emitter beeped a loud signal.
“I got something, First Sergeant,” Miles replied. Josh ran up to Miles and stood next to him. Josh used his compass, looked through the eyepiece of the compass, and got his bearing.
“Good job,” Josh told him before running back to Cari.
“Okay, everybody! Forward the line!” Cari called out.
All the cadets and Sonic and Tails slowly proceeded into the woods. They used their flashlights to sweep side-to-side at the ground. Every once in a while, they would look to their left and rights to make sure they were still in line to avoid straying too far or falling behind.

* * *

After a good two minutes of wandering into the woods, and Miles continuously checking his ELT locator, they hit a break. Brightly shining, Manik found a medium-sized chunk of a Cessna piece, probably from a flap.
“Halt the line!” Manik called out as loud as he could.
“Halt the line!” the rest of the cadets shouted. On command, all the cadets stood still except for Cari and Josh. They both ran up to Manik.
“What do you have, Sergeant?” Josh asked.
“I found some debris, probably from a Cessna, First Sergeant,” Manik replied in a normal tone of voice.
“Good find,” Josh said.
“Thank you, First Sergeant,” Manik replied.
“Cadets, gather around!” Cari called out. All the cadets broke formation and surrounded them. “Sergeant Manik Hedgehog has found some debris.”
Chaos Echidna stared at the piece of debris. What she saw was a lot of scratch marks in the ground. Her eyes followed them and saw some more debris.
“Look, there’s more,” Chaos pointed out, shining her flashlight at it. “I bet we can follow the divots in the ground.”
“Prower, what does the locator say?” Cari asked. Miles stood up, activated the locator, and spun around. Indeed, the locator indicated the plane’s ELT in that direction.
“It says it’s in the direction of the debris, ma’am,” Miles replied.
“Okay, reform the line, Chaos, try to track those debris,” Cari told her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chaos said as she looked at Marine. “Sergeant Marine, can you shine your torch perpendicular to mine, Sergeant?”
“Sure thing,” Marine replied as she pulled out her flashlight. Marine and Chaos shined their flashlights in an X pattern greatly illuminating the tracks in the ground. They tracked the digs in the ground.
With the formation reset, it was time to move on.
“Forward the line!” Cari called out. Immediately, the kids started walking forward again, waving their flashlights.
Sonic and Tails stood behind, observing, and smiling.
“These guys are doing good, I’m impressed,” Sonic said.
“Of course, my kids are among them,” Tails replied with a smirk. Sonic gave Tails a playful punch.

* * *

The cadets were getting closer. They soon came to a very steep ridge. Unfortunately, they knew they had to get up and over it to their objective. Josh checked his map and realized there was no way around.
“Halt the line!” Cari called out, causing all the cadets to stop. Cari and Josh stared at the steep ridge, reading it, studying it, the wheels in their heads turning, as they were plotting their next move.
“Want me to help out guys out with this?” Sonic asked, stepping in. Cari and Josh, however, were like mindless zombies as they stared. Suddenly, Cari nodded.
“I got it, we’ll use a rope to climb up there,” Cari mentioned as she reached for her coiled-up repelling rope clipped to her belt. “Okay, I need a volunteer. Who’s the best climber?”
All the cadets turned and looked at Cari. Chopper raised his hand.
“I am, ma’am,” Chopper replied. Cari approached Chopper and gave him the still-coiled rope.
“I want you to climb up that ridge, find an anchor, and toss it back down to us. You understand?” Cari asked calmly.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chopper replied.
Cari gave Chopper the rope. Tails was getting a bit worried. He himself could probably climb that ridge with a lot of physical endurance, but a young kid would find it as a huge challenge. Tails knew he couldn’t bring himself to watch.
With the rope clipped to his belt, Chopper made his climb. At first he tilted his body forward to gain leverage and managed to get up quite a few feet. After a while, he fell forward with his hands gripping the loose brush and rocks for support. Tails was worried watching him, but Chopper showed off his skills as a mountain climber. Maybe not like a professional, but good for a child his age. He panted and sweated until he made it to the top.
“I’m up!” Chopper called down.
“Good, now secure the rope!” Cari called up.
Chopper looked around. It didn’t take him long to find a thick tree several feet in front of him. He approached it and kicked it a bit, knowing it would be a great anchor. Chopper undid the rope and it all fell in a mass as his feet with the exception of the tip which he held onto. He approached the tree and walked around it once in a counter-clockwise pattern. He then grabbed a chunk of the rope near the tree-base and twisted it twice creating a loop. Next he took another chunk of the rope, looped it, and slid it through the twice-twisted loop he made earlier. After that was done, he grabbed the tip of the rope and stuck it through the loop, pulling it back, and secured it with two half-hitches. This he finished creating a Trucker’s Hitch Knot.
“Done!” Chopper called down.
One by one, never two, the cadets and even Sonic and Tails climbed up the rope up the steep ridge. Once up there, they congratulated Chopper for the assistance. Even Tails was proud of him.
“Okay, guys, we can do the hugs and kisses later,” Cari told them. “We still got work to do, so reform the line.”
After reforming the line, they were set to continue.
“Forward the line!” Cari called out, and they immediately started to march forward.

* * *

A good half an hour since the mission started has passed. Eventually, they made it to a clearing where they saw their objective in an open field. The Cessna 172 Skyhawk was obviously an old mockup specifically used for practice missions like this, but they all treated it like it was real.
“Halt the line!” Chaos called out. Of course, they can all see the plane. Also, they can see the silhouette of a figure in the pilot’s seat of the plane. In addition, there was a white duck standing by watching. He was Doctor Quack and he was simply an observer, but he was also wearing a Civil Air Patrol uniform. The cadets were told to ignore him; he was an observer.
The cadets were excited, but they remembered their training. Just like they were taught at the Red Cross, the first step was the check the scene. After checking, they all slowly approached the plane. Jacqueline was the first to arrive at the door. She looked in and saw a male lombax, an orange cat-like furry creature with pointy ears and a long tail that only the males have. His name was Ratchet, he wore a Civil Air Patrol uniform with a pilot badge. He laid in the pilot’s seat acting like he was unconscious.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” Jacqueline said after she opened the door. Ratchet, obviously conscious, acted like he wasn’t by ignoring her. “Let’s get him out of here.”
Cream ran up to Jacqueline. Jacqui unfastened Ratchet’s harness belt and she wrapped her arms around Ratchet’s torso from behind and slowly dragged him out. Using leverage, Jacqui had no trouble. Cram took hold of Ratchet’s legs but rolling them in her arms and she held them like holding a baby.
Jacqueline and Cream carried the lombax out of the plane and far away from it in case it was going to explode. Of course, being a mock-up, they knew it wouldn’t, but they acted like it would. Upon carrying him, Cream noticed a little paper pinned to Ratchet’s right sleeve. It simply said ‘Broken Arm.’ In addition, a little clipped-on makeshift pipe was clipped to his forearm with simulated blood.
“Look, his arm is broken, and a piece of metal is impaled,” Cream said pointing it out. Jacqueline remained calm as they carried Ratchet to a flat layer of ground.
“Okay, let’s set up. Sergeant Marine, hold his head for me,” Jacqueline ordered. Without a work, Marine ran to Ratchet’s head and held it in her palms to keep it level. “Cream, put your bag under his arm. We got to keep the wound above his heart.” Cream unbuckled her gear bag and placed it under Ratchet’s arm, keeping it elevated.
In the distance, Doctor Quack was smiling and nodding.
Jacqueline undid her gear bag and reached in it for her First Aid kit. In it, she pulled out cotton swabs and cloth bandages; the cadets called it field-dressing. Jacqueline placed the swabs around the broken pipe wound, making sure not to move it or the clothing which could irritate the wound. Once done, she wrapped the cloth bandages around in a cross-cross pattern, holding it in place.
“Okay, wound is stabilized. Manik, I need a splint,” Jacqueline said. Manik dropped to his knees and reached in his gear bag for a small wooden plank and more cloth bandages.
Jacqueline took them and began the splint. She placed the plank of wood under the forearm and wrapped a few strips of the cloth bandage, holding it in place. She then took another strip of the cloth bandage, wrapped it hooking the wooden plank, and looped it around the back of Ratchet’s neck. Finally, she did another loop this time around Ratchet’s torso.
“The splint is secure,” Jacqueline said. Immediately, Josh got on his walkie-talkie radio.
“MA-026 Main, this is MA-026 Actual,” Josh said in the radio. “We found the plane, one passenger, breathing, non-responsive, wound to the left forearm, and left arm broken. Send rescue trucks to the north-west end of the park.”
“Roger, Actual, sending rescue vehicles, good work, mission accomplished,” the reply came back. Upon hearing that, Cari clapped her hands.
“You all did outstanding,” Cari said proudly. Upon hearing that, Ratchet sat up with a smile and Doctor Quack came walking up to them.
“Thanks, kids, hope you had to trouble finding me,” Ratchet told them. All the cadets shook their heads and laughed. Doctor Quack approached Ratchet and inspected the bandage and splint.
“Good work. You got him out of the plane safely, you laid him in the recovery position, the bandage is tight, the splint is secure, the arm is elevated, and you all communicated well,” Quack told them. “Had this guy been a real victim, he would’ve lived.”
The cadets felt proud about themselves, but not as much as their guardians. Sonic and Tails also felt proud for the kids they practically raised and watched grow up. The two best friends, hedgehog and fox, looked at each other with smiles. Tails remembered being a very young kid following Sonic around and getting the experience he needed to be a fighter for freedom. Sonic felt the same, leading and setting an example for Tails to follow. Now, they both came to the realization that they gave the same support and confidence to those under them. They couldn’t be more proud.

* * *

Later that night, the meeting was almost over. It was the final muster before leaving. Just like in the beginning, Josh blew the whistle and all the cadets mustered in their respective Flights. Like last time, Josh was the First Sergeant calling the squadron to attention and Cari approached the front like last time.
“Would Cadets Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, and Cream approach front and center,” Cari called out. She had a small zip-top bag in her hand.
Marine, Chopper, Manik, Chaos, Jacqueline, Miles, and Cream approached the front in a shoulder-to-shoulder line. Cari approached each of them, one by one, and reached in her zip-top bag. In the bag were little silver-colored metal badges that say GT on them, standing for Ground Team. One at a time, she pinned and clipped each badge above the left breast pockets of each uniform.
“These cadets have passed their final test and were awarded the Ground Team badges. Congratulations,” Cari announced. The entire squadron clapped. “Squadron, dismissed!”
The meeting ended. All the cadets began to leave the grounds. For a certain seven, they leave with much more confidence in their hearts. They are the future heroes, and nobody could be more proud of them.

Sonic, Tails, Cream, and Marine © SEGA Corp.
Dr. Quack © Archie Comics
Ratchet © Insomniac Games
Cari and Josh © RyanEchidnaSEAL
Chopper, Manik, Jacqueline, and Miles Jr. © Toni the Mink
Chaos © LemonKitt