Ep.#15 - "That Which Other Men Cannot Do" (The Frontiers Saga) (13 page)

“I can’t believe it only takes them two weeks to build one of those things,” Nathan exclaimed as the door buzzer sounded.

“They started fabricating parts months ago,” Vladimir said. “They had enough to build at least thirty ships before the plant even opened.”

“But the first test flight was only a month ago,” Nathan said as he opened the door. “Hey, Jess.”

“Did it roll out yet?” she asked as she walked past Nathan and headed for the couch.

“The doors are just opening,” he replied, closing the door behind her and returning to his chair.

“I like the new tail,” Jessica commented as she sat down next to Vladimir. “Makes it look meaner.”

“I don’t think that was the intent,” Nathan commented.

“Where’s the food?” Jessica asked.

Vladimir passed her a bowl of chips.

“Are they going to fly it?” she asked.

“They’re supposed to.”

“Even in the rain?”

“It’s a fighter, Jess,” Nathan replied. “It can handle a little rain. Hell, I used to fly my grandfather’s old biplane in worse than that.”

“Your grandfather had a biplane?” Jessica wondered, surprised.

“Yeah, that’s where I first learned to fly. He started teaching me as soon as I could see over the console. Hell of a lot different than flying an Eagle, though. Real stick and rudder flying. No automation. Not even an auto-leveler.”

“I heard the Super Eagles are highly automated,” Vladimir commented. “They even have combat maneuvers preprogrammed into them. Auto-chase, auto-land… I heard you can just get in, push a few buttons, and wait for it to take you to the engagement area. You might even be able to fly an entire mission without ever having to touch the flight control stick.”

“It’ll never happen,” Nathan said doubtfully.

“Why not?” Jessica asked.

“No pilot is going to turn his fate over to an auto-flight system,” Nathan explained. “I don’t care how good it is.”

“Even if it’s better than the actual pilot?” Vladimir asked.

“If it’s better than the actual pilot, then that pilot doesn’t belong in the cockpit.”

“What if the pilot is injured?” Jessica wondered. “Wouldn’t you let the auto-flight take over for you then?”

“Okay, that’s the exception.”

“I don’t get it,” Vladimir said, shaking his head. “I would think a pilot would appreciate the speed at which the computers could perform the maneuvers. If used in combination with the pilot’s instincts, it seems like…”

“If you were a pilot, you’d understand.”

“Are you saying you never used the auto-flight systems during your Eagle training?” Jessica challenged.

“Oh, I used it all the time,” Nathan said. “Just never in combat situations.”

“You never flew in combat,” Vladimir sneered.

“I meant combat simulations.”

“I don’t know, I think I’m with Vlad on this one. It seems like just another tool in the pilot’s arsenal, if you ask me.”

“Perhaps,” Nathan agreed. “Maybe someday it will become more accepted and commonplace.”

“Josh is climbing into the cockpit,” Vladimir said, pointing at the view screen.

“
The Super Eagle represents hope,
” the reporter said. “
Hope for the recovery of Earth, hope for our very survival. At a production rate of one Super Eagle every three days, this plant, and the other two currently under construction, will turn out thousands of fighters over the next few years. The Super Eagles will operate from ground bases on Earth and other Alliance worlds, as well as on Alliance ships and the Karuzara asteroid base in orbit around our world. Combined with the Cobra gunships being assembled on Tanna, they will provide a fast, agile, and potent defensive shield for Alliance worlds.
”

“He’s starting up,” Nathan said as he watched the canopy close on the Super Eagle.

“
The test pilot, Ensign Joshua Hayes, appears to have started his engine. Any minute now, he will be rolling out across the tarmac to the runway for the first flight of Super Eagle Zero One.
”

“Must be a slow news day,” Nathan commented. “She’s really trying to make this as dramatic as possible.”

The camera followed the fighter as it pulled out onto the runway. It paused briefly, wiggling its control surfaces and running up its engine for a few seconds before taking off. Finally, its engine spun up to takeoff power, and the Super Eagle rolled down the runway, accelerating at an incredible rate. Within seconds, its nose pitched up ever so slightly, and the fighter lifted off the runway. After its landing gear swung upward into its body, the fighter pitched straight up as its engine went to full power. It rode a tail of bright, yellow-orange thrust as it climbed, then it disappeared in a flash of blue-white light.

“
Super Falcon Zero One has just successfully taken off and jumped away. Right now, it is well beyond Earth’s orbit, and is turning around to jump back to us.
” There was a flash of blue-white light that lit up the airfield, followed by a deafening crack of thunder and a triple sonic boom as the Super Falcon reappeared and streaked over the airfield at three times the speed of sound. The reporter cringed, ducking instinctively to avoid the passing fighter. Her lips were moving as if she were talking to the camera, but the roar of the Super Falcon’s engine, as it went vertical again, made it impossible for them to hear her.

“I guess Josh is putting on a show, huh?” Jessica commented, smiling.

“I’m sure Prechitt will have something to say about his theatrics,” Nathan said with a grin.

* * *

Lieutenant Tillardi entered the newly created jump missile conversion facility, within the Karuzara asteroid base, for the first time since his jump missile prototype had been successfully tested. Excavation of the cavern itself had been completed long ago, in anticipation of future needed space for base expansion. They had only recently prepared the chamber for its first task.

Before him were four assembly lines, each with six stations. Technicians all stood at the ready, waiting for his arrival and inspection before beginning the conversion process. Behind them, along the far wall of the cavern, were rows of Jung missiles, two hundred of them from what he understood, all taken from the Jar-Benakh only days ago.

“What’s wrong?” the shift supervisor, Mister Daviore asked, noticing the lieutenant’s pale skin color as he approached.

“They removed the warheads first, right?” he asked, his voice barely audible.

“Yes, sir,” Mister Daviore assured him. “They’re stored in one of the munitions bays, on the far side of the asteroid.”

Lieutenant Tillardi swallowed hard, a wave of relief washing over him. “Of course, I should have known that, shouldn’t I?”

“It’s quite alright, Lieutenant. I know the admiral has you spread over several projects these days.”

“You can say that again,” Tillardi replied. “Jump KKVs, jump missiles, orbital jump comm-drones…”

“Orbital what?” Mister Daviore wondered, unfamiliar with the term.

“A new type of jump comm-drone,” Lieutenant Tillardi explained. “A variant of the mini-jump comm-drones our ships have been using for long-range communications. They fly a set course, jumping between two set worlds, doing a half orbit to turn around and jump back.”

“I thought we were using the old converted Takaran comm-drones for interstellar communications?”

“We were, but the admiral wanted them replaced. Something about them being too bulky and complex, needing a lot of service, and using a lot of propellant. I guess he wanted something more efficient.”

“What is he going to do with the old ones?” Mister Daviore wondered.

“I have no idea,” the lieutenant admitted. “Nor do I care. It’s one less thing for me to deal with, as far as I’m concerned. Are we ready to get started?”

“Yes, sir,” Mister Daviore replied energetically.

“Great.”

“No disrespect intended, sir, but we
can
handle this without you. Your team already figured out how to do the conversions. We’re just going to be copying what your guys did, and I know how busy you are.”

“I know you can, Markum,” the lieutenant replied. “I think the admiral just wanted me here for the first day, just to make sure things get off to a good start. The two most important things for the Alliance right now
are
these jump missiles, and the JKKVs. Trust me, as soon as I see things are going smoothly here, I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Understood.”

Lieutenant Tillardi patted Markum Daviore on his shoulder as they headed for the lines. “Shall we get started?”

* * *

“You wanted to see me, Commander?” Jessica asked from the doorway.

“Lieutenant Commander Nash,” Commander Telles said, rising from his office chair. “Yes, but it was not necessary for you to come all the way down to Porto Santo.”

“It was a good excuse to see my parents,” Jessica said, taking a seat across the desk from him, and putting her feet up. “What’s up?”

Commander Telles squinted, irritated by both her casual demeanor and the expression. “I would like to ask for your help.”

“Really?” Jessica giggled. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

“Indeed,” the commander replied stiffly, sitting back down. He was the first to admit that he did not understand the female mind, and the lieutenant commander was even more perplexing than most. “I was hoping that you could help train our men.”

“On what? How to be insubordinate?”

“Hardly. Hand-to-hand combat.”

“I thought you guys were such badasses. What could I teach them?”

“The Ghatazhak methods take considerable time to master. We have attempted to give the men a…how do you say it? A ‘crash course’, but it does not seem to be working. The Ghatazhak methods are very efficient, and they require considerable mental discipline. This is something that cannot easily be taught.”

“So, you think it’s easy to teach someone to fight like me?” Jessica appeared insulted.

“I didn’t mean…”

“Relax, Telles, I’m just playing with you. But in all seriousness, it did take a while to learn to fight the way I fight, as well.”

“Of course. What I meant was, the EDF spec-ops style has a certain…
abandon
. It is very aggressive.”

“That’s probably more
me
than it is spec-ops training,” Jessica admitted.

“Nevertheless, I believe it would be a more effective method, given the allotted time. In addition, you are more familiar with the EDF weapons, which we will be using to arm these men.”

“So, what you’re saying, is that
I’m
more qualified to teach them than
you
are.” Jessica smiled, appearing quite pleased with herself. “Damn. How could I say no? I get to yell at a thousand marines and tell them what to do…call them names. Sounds like fun. And on top of that, I get out of most of Captain Taylor’s screwy drills. Sign me up, Chief.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way,” Jessica said as she took her feet off the commander’s desk. “How much time do we have?”

“Two weeks.”

Jessica’s eyes widened. “Shit. I guess we’d better get started.” She stood up to leave. “First thing in the morning?”

“That would do nicely,” the commander replied.

“You got it, Chief.”

“I have another favor to ask,” Commander Telles said. “Please don’t call me ‘chief’. I am a commander, not a chief.”

“Right.” Jessica turned to leave.

“Lieutenant Commander Nash?” the commander called after her.

Jessica turned back around, feigning irritation. “Yes?”

“You are dismissed.”

Jessica straightened up and offered a half-hearted salute.

Commander Telles returned her salute, and waited for her to depart before returning to his reports. “A difficult case, that one. Difficult indeed.”

* * *

“God, this is fun,” Loki exclaimed, as he chased Super Eagle Zero One through the skies over the gulf.

“
What did you say?
” Josh called over the comms.

“I said this is fun!” Loki replied.

“
Set your jump range to one thousand meters and follow me,
” Josh instructed as he pointed his fighter straight up and went to full power.

Loki rolled the dial on the side of his flight control stick until the jump range indicator on his flight status display read one thousand meters. He pitched up and went to full power as well, coming to vertical just as Super Eagle Zero One disappeared in a blue-white flash of light. He could feel the acceleration pushing him back into his seat, far more so than he had ever felt in the Falcons. He had originally been opposed to the idea of giving up some of the inertial dampening capabilities, but he was enjoying the sensation of power. He felt as if he were sitting at the tip of a ballistic missile, its massive thrust driving it through mach after mach. He pushed the select switch on the top of his flight control stick forward into the jump position, then pressed the trigger. His canopy instantly turned opaque, and when it cleared a second later, Super Eagle Zero One was again in front of him, still climbing straight up.

“
You still with me?
” Josh wondered aloud.

“You bet,” Loki replied, knowing full well that Josh’s Super Eagle was linked to his own through a tactical data stream.

Josh’s fighter flashed again and disappeared. Loki initiated another jump to follow him, instantly moving another thousand feet higher toward space. He followed Josh, guiding his fighter over to an inverted position, reducing his throttle as his nose came over, eventually settling into an inverted forty-five-degree dive toward the turquoise waters ten kilometers below them. He rolled back upright as he continued his dive, chasing Josh from only thirty meters away and slightly to his starboard side.

“
Let’s try a tandem jump,
” Josh suggested. “
Dialing up five kilometers.
”

“Don’t you think we should try the first tandem jump in level flight?” Loki argued.

“
Screw that,
” Josh replied. “
Designating Zero One as lead.
”

“Link confirmed,” Loki replied. For a moment, he wondered why he was agreeing to partake in Josh’s antics. He looked at his altitude tape on his flight status display. It read six thousand meters. “Oh, shit,” he exclaimed, his eyes widening. “Josh!”

“
Just be ready to pull up, Lok.
”

Loki glanced at his jump system readouts, noting that his drive was active and ready, and set to five thousand meters.

“
Jumping.
”

Loki’s canopy turned opaque again. As it did so, Loki immediately pulled back on his flight control stick, pulling his nose well above the horizon line on his flight status display, as he slammed his throttle forward to full power. When his canopy cleared, he could see Super Eagle Zero One, also at full power, and also struggling to decrease its rate of descent and avoid slamming into the Gulf of Mexico.

For a few tense moments, neither of them spoke. Loki watched as his altitude tape went down to five hundred meters, then four hundred, and finally three hundred, before he finally managed to level off.

“
Guns, guns, guns,
” Josh said in a near giggle. He snap-rolled into a tight left turn, which Loki instinctively followed. As he rolled out of the turn and back to level, he noticed that his jump drive was still linked to Josh’s, and that the jump range was changing back to one thousand meters.