She Was Sleeping in 8A — When the Captain Asked if Any Combat Pilots Were on Board

Part 2: Just as she was drifting into a light sleep, the intercom crackled.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. If there is a combat-trained pilot on board, please identify yourself immediately.”
The announcement snapped Mara fully awake.
A combat pilot? On a commercial flight?
Around her, passengers froze in confusion, their conversations abruptly cut off. Some looked at one another nervously.
Mara felt a familiar tension tighten in her chest.
She had spent years responding to emergencies in the air. But that life was supposed to be over. She had promised herself she would never step back into that world again.

Still, as the flight attendants began moving quickly through the aisles, urgency clear on their faces, Mara realized something was terribly wrong.