by Ricky Sides
“Sir, I have a question,” Namid said.
“Go ahead, Phoenix,” Jim responded.
“If we can find the missiles on the ground we could almost certainly destroy them where they sit. But our fighters will be out of position if we are all staged in the area you indicated,” she explained.
“That’s why we’re sending our hottest pilot along with a ten fighter squadron northwest in the morning, Phoenix. You will be leading that squadron. Tim has your orders, and will give them to you after the meeting,” Jim explained.
“I won’t be accompanying the Valiant on this mission?” Namid asked.
“Namid, you are without a doubt, the luckiest pilot I’ve ever seen. Somehow, you accomplish things in your fighter that no other pilot can achieve. You’ve pulled off an impossible sea rescue. You’ve landed in the midst of battle, saved a burning pilot with a fire extinguisher, and then got airborne again in time to save him from an angry mob,” shaking his head in disbelief, Jim concluded. “With your luck, you just might find those missiles. I’ll never bet against you.”
“Thank you, sir,” Namid said.
I’m sending you to hunt Nukes. Please don’t thank me,” Jim said softly. In a low tone of voice, he added, “You be careful out there. This isn’t a suicide mission. If something happens and you can’t hit the missile in flight coming at you, you should pull off and trust the other pilots to do their jobs. That’s why I’m sending ten fighters with you and not letting you go alone.”
“Huh?” Namid asked in confusion.
“It’s probably just a bad dream, but last night I dreamed you were flying straight at a missile. You kept trying to hit it, but your computer wouldn’t lock correctly. It was telling you that you had lock, but you were missing the target. You waited too late, and as a result took the missile in a head on collision. I woke up when the fighter exploded,” he explained quietly.
“I didn’t know you believed in premonitions, sir,” Namid said in genuine surprise.
“I generally don’t make mention of the matter, but I’ve had some in the past. I think it was probably triggered by that incredible stunt you pulled off the day before yesterday. You just be careful, Namid,” he said in a somber tone of voice.
“Thank you, sir. I will. That’s a promise. But, Admiral, no matter what happens tomorrow, I want you to remember that I was going to go anyway.”
“I know,” Jim said.
“No, you don’t understand, sir. I mean even if you said no, I still planned to go because I feel it’s the right thing to do,” Namid explained.
“I know. That part was in the dream too,” Jim said, surprising Namid. As Jim moved on to address another question, Namid stood still remembering another precognitive dream that another man had warned her about, just south of Birmingham, Alabama. She hadn’t ignored Jeff’s warning, but circumstances had contrived to force her into doing exactly what she’d promised Jeff she would not do. Now she stood there wondering if history would repeat itself tomorrow.
Chapter 14
Jim walked through the corridors of the citadel with Pete. They were on their way back to the control room where Pete had several details he needed to address. “I just wish I was going with you, Jim,” Pete said.
“I know you do, Pete,” Jim replied. “But we agreed that it would be best if the council split up for this mission. We’re facing Nukes. It would be foolish to have the entire council in one location. Whether we like it or not, Pete, we are the cohesive force that binds the different segments of the peacekeepers together. We must ensure that the peacekeepers survive this encounter, and that the organization has a leadership intact.”
“I understand the reasoning, and it is sound. But that doesn’t keep me from wanting to go along,” explained Pete.
“Pete, I want to ask you for something that I have no right to ask of you,” said Jim with a sober expression on his face.
“Go ahead,” responded Pete.
“If the Valiant goes down, Evan will be alone,” Jim stated with a concerned expression on his face.
He was about to say more, but Pete cut him off when he said, “No he won’t. Maggie and I will see to that. Besides, Lisa would have a fit if we didn’t take him in and see him to maturity,” he said with an air of finality.
“Maggie informed me that Lisa has strong feelings for Evan. That will be a problem as they age,” Jim said.
“It’s nothing we can’t handle, Jim. By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you how sorry Maggie is about the comment she made to you that night. She feels terrible about that. She’d never deliberately hurt you.”
“I know, Pete. I bear her no ill will. None at all,” Jim stated.
Jim stopped in the corridor and unbuckled his belt. He unlaced enough of the belt to remove the sheath that contained his prized dragon dagger. He handed the dagger to Pete, and said, “When he’s ready, give it to Evan. But if I make it back, I’ll be coming to reclaim it.”
“I’ll hold it for you, Jim. You’ll be back. There isn’t a doubt in my mind on the matter,” Pete said, conveying more self-confidence than he genuinely felt.
“I don’t know, Pete. Maybe you’re right. I hope you’re right. You know about the dream concerning Namid. But there’s something you don’t know,” said Jim.
“Care to share?” asked Pete.
Jim looked thoughtful for a moment. With a shrug, he said, “Sometimes dreams can be precognitive. I do believe that. Sometimes they are just nightmares brought on by stress or bad eating habits. I know that to be true. Unfortunately, there’s no real way to know the difference until our lives move past the point covered in the dreams. By then it’s too late to do any real good unless you paid attention to the dream and reacted accordingly,” Jim explained.
“Do you intend to tell me, or are you planning to discuss philosophy all day?” Pete asked impatiently.
Jim laughed at his old friend and said, “I’ll never understand how someone with your limited patience ever became a decent sniper.”
“I’m patient enough when I need to be, but this is different,” Pete said with a smile.
“Alright, I’ll get to the point,” Jim said. “I had another dream. In that dream, I was in the Valiant. We were flying at top speed after the missile. We could see Los Angeles in the distance. My gunner couldn’t get a lock because we were too far away, but we were closing on the missile. We flew past the armored personnel carriers that had fired in mass at the missile, but none of the lasers hit it. My gunner had just shouted that he had target lock and was firing when the Nuke detonated. There was a blinding flash of light, and then I woke up,” Jim explained.
“That explains a lot of your plans that I thought were a bit odd,” Pete said nodding his head. “I wondered why you wanted to go with just the flight crew, engineer, and communications officer. You’re not even taking the drone operators.”
“The engineer and communications officers are cross trained as drone operators,” Jim said nodding. “This removes the strike team from danger and lightens the ship considerably. I’ve also ordered the water tank drained, and all food stores removed.”
“You’re trying to lighten the load to permit you to accelerate faster?” Pete asked.
“Yes, I am. It won’t help top end, but if we can gain fifteen seconds on the acceleration that might make a difference, if the scenario I just described plays out for real,” Jim said as he finished rethreading his belt and cinched it tight.
“You should talk to Pol. He may be able to squeeze a few more miles per hour out of the ship,” Pete said optimistically.
“I did. There is a way to put the ship in overdrive. It would increase top speed for a few minutes. It would also burn out the engines,” Jim explained.
“Given the stakes, isn’t it worth that price?” Pete asked.
“Yes, but the modifications would take a week.”
“We keep coming back to time, don’t we, Jim?” Pete observed.
“Unfortunately, yes
, we do indeed. Permitting the Marauders to control those weapons for weeks is unacceptable. They may even decide to target a different city, if we give them too much time to consider the matter.”
Sighing, Jim said, “I’m going to see Evan now. He’s not going to like having to stay behind.”
“No, he won’t like it, but it’s the best thing to do under the circumstances,” Pete observed.
“Give Maggie my regards, and hug Lisa for me,” Jim said.
“If you don’t drop that fatalistic crap, I’m going to punch you in the nose,” Pete warned. But the warmth of his handshake, and the troubled expression in his eyes gave mute testimony to the truth of his feelings concerning the mission.
Jim proceeded down the hall to Evan’s room. He knocked on the door and waited for Evan to open it. A moment later, the door opened and Lisa greeted him. “Evan said to tell you he’d be packed in just a minute,” Lisa stated, and then she stepped aside so that Jim could enter the room.
“Hi, Jim,” Evan said in greeting. “I’ll be ready in just a minute,” he explained as he stuffed a few more clothes in his bag.
“Hold up son,” Jim said. “That’s what I came to talk to you about. You weren’t here when I stopped by earlier. You’ll be sitting this ride out Evan,” Jim said.
“What? Why?” Evan asked.
“Because of special needs for this mission, I’ve ordered all the water drained and food stores removed. Non-essential personnel won’t be aboard this trip. I’m sorry Evan, but this is a special mission.”
“Are you taking the drone operators? I’m lighter than either of them, and I can fly a drone as well as any other drone pilot in the fleet,” the young man stated proudly. He wanted to remind Jim that he’d just passed his drone qualifications, as had Lisa.
“I know you can, Evan, but no, the drone operators aren’t making this trip either,” Jim explained, and the boy dropped his shoulders in defeat.
“I’m sorry, Evan. I know you’ve wanted to go for a ride in the Valiant. I promised you both a ride soon, and I’ll deliver on that promise when I get back from this mission,” Jim said in a reassuring tone of voice.
“Alright, Jim. You’ve never broken a promise. I’ll miss you while you’re gone,” Evan said.
“I’ll miss you too, buddy. Pete and I have to go to Base 1 on some business after this mission. How’d you like to go on that trip and try to snag that old catfish in the pond?” Jim asked.
“I’d like that, Jim. I can gather some flowers to put on Mom’s grave too. Lisa will help me. She knows where some nice flowers grow on the base this time of the year,” Evan explained.
“It’s a deal then,” Jim said. If Lisa hadn’t been present, Jim would have hugged Evan. He didn’t want to embarrass the young man, so instead, he extended his hand and they shook hands. He noted that Evan’s grip was getting stronger. For a moment, he remembered Evan as he’d first seen him five years earlier. Pulling the boy closer to him, he hugged him, despite Lisa’s presence and said, “I’ll see you when I get back son. You two stay out of trouble while I’m gone,” he said as he turned to leave.
“Be careful Jim,” Evan said as the door was closing.
“I’m always careful,” replied Jim in a reassuring tone of voice.
***
“What’s wrong, Evan,” Lisa asked, when she was sure that Jim was out of hearing range. “You seem upset. It can’t just be about having to miss a trip. Things like this happen all the time. Some trips are just too dangerous and our folks don’t want us endangered.”
“I know, but I’m tired of being treated like a kid,” Evan said. “They won’t even tell us what’s going on around here, but it must be big. They’ve got every big ship in the fleet outside or in the citadel. Whatever is about to happen must be as big as the Gulf War, and we missed that.”
“Do you really want to go, Evan? Does it mean that much to you?” Lisa asked.
“Yes, I really want to go. I think Jim is just being over protective because of what happened to Mom, but Mom would want me to look after Jim. Lisa, I can’t do that if he starts leaving me behind when he’s going on missions,” explained Evan.
Lisa pondered his words for a few moments, and then she made a decision. “Alright, we’ll go then,” she said. “I can get us aboard the Valiant. But we’ll need some food and water. Remember, Jim said he had the ship unloaded.”
“The cook’s a great guy. I bet I can get him to give me a few things. I’ll tell him I’m putting a survival pack together for a part of a test. He knows I’m always taking survival tests, so he won’t question the excuse,” Evan explained. Then he said, “But I’ll go alone. Pete and Maggie will be angry if you leave without authorization.”
“Do you know how to get aboard the Valiant without getting caught?” Lisa asked Evan pointedly.
“Well, no, but you’ll tell me, won’t you Lisa?” he asked. Evan was surprised by her reaction. Lisa had never before asserted her will in this manner, but then she seemed to be changing lately.
“Of course I’ll tell you, provided I get to go along for the ride. I’m just as cooped up here, as you are, Evan. So do we go or do we stay? There is this good movie I found in the recreation room that we could watch,” Lisa said sweetly, knowing that Evan was tired of watching movies.
“Alright, you can go too, but you’ll have to tell Pete I tried to talk you out of this. Pete’s my friend. I take his friendship seriously,” Evan said with a serious expression on his face.
“Dad does as well. Yes, I’ll make sure he understands that you tried to get me to stay behind while you had all the fun,” Lisa said.
“When you say it like that, you make me sound sort of selfish about the whole thing,” Evan grumped. “You know I was just trying to keep you out of trouble with your folks.”
“And yourself as well,” Lisa remarked archly. Then, sounding like Pete to Evan, she asked, “Look, are we going, or are we just going to talk about going all day?”
Evan laughed at her question, which pleased Lisa. It was the first time she’d heard him laugh since his mother had died. “You sound just like Pete when you say things like that,” Evan observed. He dumped most of the contents of the bag on his bed, and Lisa began to stuff the pile into his clothing drawer.
“Leave it, Lisa, I’ll put the stuff away when we get back,” he grumped.
“We’re ship brats, Evan,” Lisa said, using the term children who routinely flew in the big ships were called by the other children. “If someone comes looking for you and spots the stuff left like this, they’ll become suspicious,” Lisa said, ignoring him and continuing to put his things away. The first thing that children aboard ship learned was the strict discipline of keeping their things put away properly. All captains had zero tolerance for items being left out of place, because they were a hazard to the crew.
Moments later, she had Evan’s things put away to her satisfaction. “Alright, let me see if the hall is empty,” Lisa said.
“Hey, you’re good at this sneaking around thing,” Evan said with a grin. It hadn’t occurred to him to check the hall before emerging with his bag. If Jim spotted him, he was sure to ask questions that Evan didn’t want to answer. He’d find out they were aboard the Valiant, but when he did, they’d be far from the citadel, and he’d have to let them remain aboard. Evan knew that Jim would be angry with him for disobeying, but Evan really wanted to go on this trip.
“Let’s go,” Lisa said after checking the hall.
“When they emerged into the hangar bay Evan asked, “Hey, where’s the Valiant? I see the other ships, but I don’t see the Valiant.”
“Lina moved it into its storage bay two hours ago to make room for the smaller ships in the bay,” Lisa answered. Then she said, “Be glad she did. If it were still in the bay, we wouldn’t have a chance of slipping inside the ship with all these ship door guards on duty.”
“True,” Evan responded.
Working their way to the door that led to the Ki
tchen and mess hall section, the two young people soon arrived at the door to the mess hall. “Ok, Lisa, let me go see the cook alone. He might think it odd if both of us turn up looking for supplies,” Evan said.
Lisa waited outside the mess hall while Evan went to see the cook. He was only gone a few minutes. He returned with his bag loaded with food and bottled water. “That was fast,” Lisa remarked.
“The cook was in a hurry. He’s trying to prepare a meal for all the peacekeepers here today,” Evan explained. “We’d better go. This thing weighs a ton,” he said, pointing to the heavily loaded bag.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to bring half the kitchen with you,” Lisa said sweetly.
“You know, you needn’t be so rude,” Evan said, sounding offended.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. Sometimes I speak without thinking. I’ll try not to talk so much,” she said contritely.
“Don’t you dare go back into that habit of almost never speaking to anyone. That drove me nuts,” Evan said. “Look, just try to be nice, ok?”
“I will, Evan,” she said, but he could tell he’d hurt her feelings.
Putting his hand on her shoulder, Evan said, “You’re my best friend Lisa. You’re allowed to be rude sometimes. Just try not to be rude too often.”
Lisa hugged him quickly and then backed away. “You’re my best friend too, Evan. Thank you for taking me with you on this adventure.”
“Don’t thank me. We’re both going to be in a lot of trouble over this,” Evan said.
The two then headed back down the hall. Soon they came to a small access door that led directly into the storage room that contained the Valiant. Evan opened the door a crack and peered inside. As far as he could tell, the room was empty.
Five minutes later, they were inside the ship. They quickly examined the vessel and decided that the best place that they could hide would be in the berths. Evan suggested that they each pick a berth, but Lisa backed away from the berths, paling as she did so. “I can’t do that, Evan. Don’t make me do that. He put me in the trunk of a car once. He left me there for hours and hours. I can’t go in there all alone,” she pleaded.