by Ricky Sides
They emerged into the late evening air to the sight of ships, fighters, and drones everywhere they looked. The Valiant was parked in the middle of the open area. The rest of the fleet has landed where they could all around the perimeter. Jim spotted the massive bulk of the Constitution and proceeded toward her. The rest of the crew fell in behind their captain.
When the ship landed, Lisa and Evan heard the announcement Lina made concerning the dinner invitation. “This will give us a chance to cook our dinner in the galley,” Evan said with a smile.
They waited long past the few minutes granted in the announcement, and then they left their berth. It had been a long time since Evan had helped his mom in the galley of the Peacekeeper, but he still remembered how to go about preparing a meal aboard ship. Soon the two young people enjoyed a hot meal of canned potatoes, beef with gravy, and Evan’s favorite of macaroni and cheese. For dessert, they had instant pudding that Evan had prepared first and refrigerated while he prepared the rest of the meal. By the time they were ready for desert, the chocolate pudding was properly chilled.
“You sure know how to treat a girl,” Lisa remarked with a smile of satisfaction, as she scooped another spoonful of the dessert into her mouth.
Evan was about to reply, but the sound of bullets slamming into the hull froze him in position. Jumping up, Evan grabbed Lisa’s hand and the two ran toward the control room. Evan knew that he had to get the ship in the air if it were under attack. Both he and Lisa had been ship brats for years so they understood the danger in being grounded during an attack.
***
Jim and Lina had been seated at the captain’s table with Bill Young when Pete’s radio call caused the duty radio operator aboard the Constitution to summon him to the control room. For the second time that day, Jim participated in a radio conference with the rest of the council. They had just ended the conversation, when the radio operator reported multiple sightings of incoming helicopter gunships. Fighters and drones were coming back in from their patrol routes in an effort to intercept the incoming hostiles. Acting as admiral, Jim ordered the fleet into the air, but found that it wasn’t that simple for the fleet to get airborne. The patrol ships had personnel on the ground outside the ships. These personnel were being recalled as rapidly as possible.
“Bill, I’ve got to get back to the Valiant,” Jim stated.
“Not with three incoming gunships. You heard the report. They are almost on us, Jim. You wouldn’t stand a chance on the ground if they catch you in the open, and neither would your crew,” Bill countered, looking pointedly at Lina.
Bill turned to his drone operators and shouted, “I need a drone intercept ETA.”
“Three minutes, sir. But that’s just my drone and I’m closest to the fleet. The rest are further out,” responded one of the drone operators.
“The fighters are calling in, Captain,” said Holly, the communications officer of the Constitution. “Eagle 1 says she will be here in four minutes. The personnel are coming aboard now. Lieutenant Carter says he needs two more minutes to get all hands aboard.”
Bill took his seat and said, “I want this ship airborne the moment the door begins to close.”
Jim walked over to the window. Looking out, he saw the dark outline of the Valiant sitting a hundred yards away. He was furious with himself for leaving the ship unattended. It was something that he’d never done outside a base before. But he’d felt a false sense of security due to the presence of the fleet. Now it appeared as if most of the fleet would be caught grounded when the gunships flew into their midst. On the ground, they were sitting ducks.
A few moments later, the three gunships flew into view. They flew across the grounded fleet unleashing minigun fire at the ships. By then, most of the personnel had made it aboard their ships, but several had not. The machinegun fire hit some of those people. Jim saw the gunships turn about and head back toward the fleet once more, and then he saw the Valiant rise into the sky and turn on its axis, seeking the gunships. “What the hell? Who is flying the ship?” Jim wondered. He assumed one of his crew had returned to the ship. He turned and saw Lina near him and breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t done anything that rash. The main laser of the Valiant fired twice, striking one of the gunships and blowing it out of the sky. Then the laser minigun opened fire, shredding the cockpit of the second attack helicopter.
The remaining gunship flew past the Valiant and unleashed a missile at a patrol ship that was lifting into the sky to join in the battle. The missile exploded against the side of the patrol ship, blasting a hole in her hull. The ship rocked unsteadily, and then settled back to the ground in a hard emergency landing.
By now, fighters and drones were beginning to arrive. The Valiant succeeded in turning and locating the gunship just as three fighters and two drones engaged the helicopter. From six different directions, lasers lanced out and struck the gunship. The aerial battle was over in moments. Jim watched in wonder as the Valiant realigned herself and settled to the ground with a less than gentle landing. But he’d forgive the crewman that rough landing under the circumstances.
Jim spoke to the communications officer and asked her to tell all fighter pilots to form an outer perimeter of protection, just in case the night held further surprises for them. Then he turned to the Bill and said, “Captain, the Alabama took a missile broadside. They may need medical assistance and there are sure to be wounded personnel on the grounds. Please coordinate the relief effort while I go inspect the Alabama.”
“Of course, Admiral,” Bill said. He turned to Lieutenant Carter and asked the man to inform the doctor and nurse to prepare to treat wounded personnel. Bill understood that Jim had asked the Constitution to take on the responsibility because the ship had the best-equipped infirmary in the fleet.
Jim exited the ship with Lina by his side. They made their way to the still smoking patrol ship Alabama. They found her strike force team putting out the fire that had been started in the infirmary when the missile struck the ship. Captain Braden Murphy was with the team working the fire. Jim shouted up to the captain, “Braden, were any of your people wounded?”
“We were lucky, Admiral. The doctor wasn’t in the infirmary when the ship took the hit. No personnel suffered serious injury. A few were banged up by the impact, but nothing major. Pol is on his way to check out the damage to the ship, but as you can see, it is extensive,” Braden said angrily.
“If I’m not mistaken, Pol has some alloy sheeting aboard the battleship module of the Peacekeeper. Have him patch the ship up to get her airworthy for the flight back to Base 1, if he thinks the damage is too severe for her to take part in the coming conflict,” Jim ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Braden said, but Jim could tell the man didn’t like the order.
Smiling at Braden, Jim said, “Pol will get you back in the fight if he can. You know how he is when it comes to his ships. We may be the captains, but he takes damages to the ships as a personal affront.”
“My God! Look what the barbarians did to my ship!” Pol shouted from behind Jim.
“See what I mean,” Jim said, winking at Braden who smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. He knew Jim was right. Pol would get them back in the fight if it were humanly possible. Hell, he might do it, even if it weren’t.
***
For the next hour, the chaos in the aftermath of the attack settled down. Doctor Michael Dean and his nurse Edith Appleton of the Constitution saw to the wounded in a triage. Edith ran the triage, assessing the wounded as the medics brought them in and directing them to the doctor until other doctors began arriving to assist. Unfortunately, there were casualties. Three men had been killed by the attacking gunships. Another four were severely wounded and they would require extensive medical care. Those wounded were being loaded aboard the California, which would drop them off at a California base, and then fly to their designated area for the operation the next day.
On a hillside near the peacekeepers, the team of UFO inve
stigators had filmed hours of footage with several different cameras. They’d been in place when the fleet arrived and had been filming ever since the first ship appeared.
A fighter spotted them in the aftermath of the brief conflict. The pilot flew down for a closer look at the people. It was the same pilot, who had warned them to leave the area during the gathering of peacekeepers in preparation for the assault on the Kansas stronghold of King Tom.
The pilot activated his external speaker and said, “You people are in a dangerous place. For all we know, there may be more incoming hostiles. I recommend you leave the area for your own good.”
“We understand you are peacekeepers now!” one man shouted. He added, “Your people missed some wounded. I saw some men gathering firewood behind that small hill, and they haven’t returned!” the man said and pointed to a small hill.
“I’ll check it out. Thank you,” the pilot said. He spun his fighter on its axis and flew over to the hillside the man had referenced. Hovering there, he activated his searchlight and directed it at the ground below. Soon he radioed the Constitution that there were wounded men below him. A group of medics used a sled to get to the location and load up the wounded, who’d been trying to help each other as best they could. The pilot flew back to address the people on the hillside. He thanked them and then he said, “Captain Young of the Constitution sends his regards. That’s the biggest ship you see down there near the center. He said that I am to warn you that it is dangerous for you to stay. The pilots are all edgy. He suggests you leave the area before someone mistakes you for an enemy.”
***
A full hour had passed by the time Jim returned to the Valiant. His crew had already returned and found Lisa and Evan waiting. There was no sense in hiding after what they’d done.
Jim spoke to the two at length about the importance of following the rules. But after that lecture, he thanked them for what they’d done, saying, “If the two of you hadn’t acted when you did, we could have lost a lot more personnel and ships. Your actions saved the lives of many peacekeepers tonight.”
Jim turned to Lina and asked, “Have you radioed the citadel and informed them that the kids are with us?”
“Yes, sir, I did. But begging your pardon, sir, I’d not call them kids. They behaved as adults during the crisis,” Lina said in support of the two young people.
“They did indeed,” Jim said, smiling at Evan and Lisa. He was proud of them both. Then he got a good look at the expression on Evan’s face. “You two wait in my cabin. I’ll be there in a minute to talk to you,” Jim said.
The two turned and walked away without comment. Lina stood beside Jim observing as Lisa reached out and took Evan’s hand in her own. “It’s starting to sink in, Jim,” Lina observed.
“Was he the gunner?” Jim asked.
“Yes, he said as much. Lisa piloted the ship and he activated the weaponry,” Lina admitted.
“Then he’ll be feeling all sorts of emotions and most of them will be in conflict. He’ll be proud of what he did, but ashamed of killing,” Jim observed.
“I puked after my first kill,” Lina admitted.
“You did?” Jim asked with a smile.
“You think that’s funny?” Lina asked with her hands on her hips.
“No, but I am glad I wasn’t the only one who did that,” Jim responded.
“You reacted that way too?” Lina asked in surprise.
“Yes, I did,” he admitted, although it technically wasn’t the truth. He had felt like throwing up, but hadn’t actually done so.
“Just remember that Lisa helped, so she’ll feel a burden of responsibility as well. Maggie says to have Lisa radio her, if she needs to talk,” Lina explained.
“I’ll remember that, and thank you Lina. I’ll go talk to them,” Jim said.
He found the two young people seated on his bed in his cabin. They both got to their feet self-consciously, when he entered the room. He took a seat in the only chair in the room and gestured for Lisa and Evan to have a seat on his bed.
Jim said, “I think you both know intellectually that what you did tonight was necessary. If you hadn’t done what you did, more peacekeepers would have died during the attack. Still, it’s a serious thing to take another human life and I know how you’re feeling about that right now. I’m not going to tell you to forget it. You’ll never be able to do that. But I want you to remember that thanks to what you did, there are peacekeepers still living that would have surely died in the raid.”
“Does it ever get easier?” Evan asked.
“No, Evan, at least not for me,” Jim replied. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “Well, son, now that you mention it, there have been a few times when I’ve killed people with absolutely no regrets. But in those cases they were guilty of so many atrocities that I felt I was doing the world a favor by ending their existence.”
“Like the men who killed mom?” Evan asked.
Jim nodded, “Yes like those men, and there were others. King Tom was one. Flavious and Clarissa were two others,” he added. “But when you kill men you know nothing about, that’s when you tend to wonder more about the justification. If you need justification, I can take you to see the bodies of the three peacekeepers that the men in the helicopters killed, and the Constitution is loaded with more wounded peacekeepers that are being transferred to the California for a flight to a California base.” Shaking his head, Jim said, “No, you two did nothing wrong in defending your fellow peacekeepers. I want to personally thank you for doing what needed to be done to save lives.”
Jim paused then looking at Lisa. He said, “Maggie says for you to contact her on the radio if you need to speak to her, Lisa. I think you should do that regardless of how you feel about the incident.” Jim smiled and said, “I think she just needs a little reassurance that you’re alright.”
“I’ll go see the communications officer, then,” Lisa said rising.
“I’ll go with her, Jim. This whole thing was my idea. I need to let her folks know that I am responsible,” Evan stated, and then he turned and followed Lisa out of the room.
Jim was proud of Evan for taking responsibility for his actions.
He was about to leave the cabin, but stopped and hit the intercom button beside his desk. “Lina, please report to the captain’s cabin,” he said, and then waited for her to report.
Soon a soft knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” Jim called.
Lina entered the room and closed the door behind her. Jim gestured for Lina to have a seat in his chair and he sat on the edge of his bed. “Lina, you may have been right about me. I know I had no conscious plans to do anything suicidal, but maybe on a subconscious level that’s where I was going. Thanks for having the guts to say what you said to me and shake me out of my mental funk. I realize that you were just saying that about waiting for me in order to snap me to my senses and that you didn’t really mean it,” Jim said. He had concluded that she didn’t really mean everything she’d said, but had said it to give him a reason to want to live.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, but you’re wrong. I do love you, and I plan to wait for you,” she said adamantly.
Jim shook his head and replied, “You’ll have a long wait. I suggest you find someone else. I may never get over the loss of Lacey.”
“I imagine Lacey felt the same way when her husband, Evan’s father died. But then she met you. You’ll grieve as long as you need to, and I can relate to that. It took me a year to get over the loss of Robert,” Lina remarked, but then she frowned, and said, “Getting over the loss, is probably the wrong term. You never really get over such a loss. But you do learn to live with it and move on with your life,” Lina said
Her comment reminded Jim of the loss of Brandy, his unborn infant daughter, by his first marriage and he thought that she was right. You never get over the loss, but you do learn to live with it.
“So yeah, I think you’ll be ready for a relationship one day. It may never be with m
e, but I intend to wait and see, because I think you’re worth the wait,” she said.
“You always were the stubborn one,” Jim said with a look of frustration on his face. Then he smiled and extended his hand. “Still friends?” he asked.
“Always,” she said taking his hand and shaking it. Then, because she was Lina and that’s how she did things, she gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and said, “Welcome back, Jim.”
“I didn’t know I’d been gone,” he responded.
“I don’t think I did either, until you and Maggie sent Namid and Lisa to see me in the Base 1 infirmary,” she responded, referring to the time they had visited her and talked her into wanting to live again.
“I am attracted to you. I’d be a liar if I said otherwise, but I can’t make any promises.”
“I’m not asking for any at this point,” Lina replied.
“I need more time,” he said.
“I expect you’ll need a lot more time. That’s alright. I plan to wait and not crowd you,” she said smiling. Then she added, “But if you choose another woman, then you’d better transfer me off this ship.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“I’m just saying…,” Lina countered.
Jim could tell by the expression on her face that she was completely serious. “I’ll remember that,” he responded.
“If that’s all, I’d better get back to the control room,” Lina said.
“I’ll be along in a moment,” Jim responded. When the door closed behind her, Jim said, “Well I’ll be damned.”
He had wanted to clear the air, for the good of the morale aboard ship. He had accomplished that, and in doing that, he had ended up feeling better about life in general himself. There were some important things learned from Lina during that brief conversation.
Chapter 17
The Peacekeeper and the Constitution were the first of the ships to leave the state of New Mexico. They had the furthest to travel, so they left an hour before dawn. The rest of the fleet would be leaving an hour after first light. The armored personnel carriers were an exception. They couldn’t match the rest of the fleet in terms of flight speed. They had quickly fallen behind the previous day and had arrived at the rendezvous site much later than the rest of the fleet. Therefore, they left at the break of day to fly to their area of responsibility.