by Ricky Sides
“Yes, Mayor,” the man responded, and then he followed the mayor’s instructions, as did the rest of the men.
As the men went about the process of decontamination, the mayor said, “You men have done the right thing. It was difficult, but you know as well as I do that no one survives this disease. We didn’t ask the victims to try to come to our town and we cannot permit them to carry the disease into our community.”
The men had been gone for over an hour before the young woman risked climbing out of the ditch. She stared in horror at the beaten and mangled bodies of the refugees who had been clubbed to death. She paused to read the sign that warned strangers to stay away from the little city five miles west of the camp, and then the woman spent ten minutes going through the remnants of the campsite, seeking food, water, and additional clothing for her journey. The woman had no choice but to head north for the American border.
In the weeks that followed, several small groups of people paused at the camp and read the warning signs. Fearing a similar greeting from the people of the town, they headed north for America. They couldn’t know that the inhabitants of the little Mexican city were all dead. Their actions that night had contaminated several of the men, who had gotten small particles of blood in their eyes. The tainted blood gave them the disease, which then spread to others. Some of the more superstitious among them claimed that their actions had brought the wrath of God down on them. A few fled north, joining a growing flood of humanity seeking to escape from a plague-like disease that was sweeping through Mexico.
The disease had started when a silver metal briefcase had been found on an eastern beach near a fishing village. One of the villagers, without knowing what he was unleashing, had forced open the lock and removed the vial from its padded bedding. Disgusted with the thought that the vial contained a drug, the villager had thrown it down upon a rock. “Damn all drug runners,” the man had muttered as he made his way back to his village.
The vial contained enough of the biological weapon to infect the population of a large city, but the prevailing winds soon dried the spilled liquid. Unfortunately, a few drops of the liquid had splashed on the man’s bare legs. He took the disease home to his wife and children, who in turn, spread it to playmates and members of their church. Many of the villagers who contracted the disease also had the flu. In one case, the disease mutated when it attached itself to the flu and for the first time it became an airborne plague.
As people began to die, doctors were called in an attempt to save the rest of the patients and find a cure for the disease. One by one, those doctors, themselves, succumbed to the highly contagious disease.
There were efforts made to contain the disease, but the population panicked and tried to flee the area. In less than a few weeks, the disease had devastated central and southern Mexico and was rapidly spreading north.
Part 1
Chapter 1
Jim sighed as he took down the last of the photographs from the walls in his room. To a certain extent, he regretted leaving the citadel, which had been his home for years. He stared sadly at the picture he had just removed from the wall. The photo, taken in Washington depicted Pete and Jim walking toward the camera operator. They had been discussing the coming battle as they walked toward the defensive works the peacekeepers had created to deal with the looming invasion of the city. It was the last photograph of the two of them together, and Captain Bill Young had given it to Jim after Pete’s funeral.
Jim packed the photo in a box. He had just sealed the box when someone knocked at his door. “Come in,” Jim said.
He was expecting Evan and Lisa. Instead, the lieutenant, assigned to the moving detail, opened the door and entered the room. “I’m sorry, sir,” the lieutenant said. “I can come back later if you need more time.”
“That’s the last of it. Be careful with the top box. It’s fragile. Make certain it’s properly stored aboard the Valiant,” Jim instructed.
“Will do, sir,” Lieutenant Borden responded.
“I’ll see you aboard the ship,” he said as he walked past the man and the men of the strike force team of the Valiant. Jim left the room and went in search of Evan and Lisa. He wanted to discuss their mission with them, and he thought he knew just where he would find the young couple.
***
Evan and Lisa were in the recreation room with Ralph and Harvey. The three young men had become the best of friends after the fight between Evan and Ralph in the fitness room. Ralph and Harvey, both viewed Lisa as a sister, and were almost as protective of her as Evan was.
Today, the four teens met to watch a movie, but they had discarded that plan in favor of discussing their future. All four were transferring to the new battle fortress, which was finally going operational after two years of delays.
“I want to be a strike force leader,” Ralph said earnestly. “Of course, I know I’ll have to earn the position by serving as a team member for a couple of years.” Looking to his friend, Harvey, Ralph asked, “What did you decide?”
“I want to be a medic. I took Maggie’s training course, and she says I have a lot of potential,” Harvey explained. Looking to Evan, he said, “It’s your turn. What about you?”
“I want to be Lisa’s husband,” Evan said with a warm smile.
“Tell us something we don’t already know,” Ralph complained. “That’s not news to us. We’ve known that for years.”
“Go on, Evan. Tell them the truth,” Lisa encouraged.
“They won’t understand,” Evan said with a shake of his head.
“Of course they will. They’re your friends, silly,” Lisa said in exasperation. Turning to Ralph and Harvey, she added, “He’s afraid you’ll think he might get the position he wants because of his Dad.”
“That would be a ridiculous assumption,” Jim said from behind Lisa. He had approached from behind her and she hadn’t been aware of his presence.
Lisa blushed as she turned to face Jim. “I’m sorry, Admiral, I didn’t know you were there.”
“I was looking for you and Evan, but I’m glad I found all four of you together,” Jim stated. He noticed that Ralph and Harvey looked decidedly uncomfortable. He could tell by the expressions on their faces that they had no idea why he wanted to talk to them, and like all teenagers, they were wondering if they were in some sort of trouble.
“I’ve studied your plan, and it has merit, so this is what we’re going to do,” said Jim to the Evan who was listening attentively. “You’ll fly one of the modified APCs transporting supplies and equipment from the citadel to the battle fortress. Our other pilots are flying so many missions that they’re beginning to make mistakes, and mistakes in flight can be deadly. Therefore, we’ll let the junior teams, who’ve passed their qualifications testing, assume a larger role. Lisa will be your gunner and act as your communications officer. Harvey, you’ll need to report to the infirmary for medic supplies. Ralph, you’re lead security and acting strike team leader. Two other young men will join your team. For a normal strike team that’s not many, but the extra space is needed for cargo. Evan will serve as overall commander for the transport, just as the pilots do with the normal crews of the APCs. There will be two other teams similar to yours. You leave on your first flight in three hours.”
While Jim was informing the four young people of his decision, he noted their eager expressions. Shaking his head, he said, “I hope you understand that this isn’t going to be a pleasure trip. There’s so much to transport that you’ll need to hit the sack when you return to the citadel and let the normal crew resume duty for a flight. You’ll be rotating each trip, so you’ll have to fly conservatively to save power, especially during the night runs.”
“I will. I understand the limitations we’ll be operating under,” Evan responded.
“Admiral, I have a question,” Ralph said. When Jim nodded, he asked, “Will we be armed?”
“Of course,” Jim stated without hesitation. “But follow the protocols. The weapons will not have a round cham
bered, the rifles will be stored in their racks, and your side arms won’t be removed from their holsters unless you need them to defend the ship.” Pausing for emphasis, he added, “I’m placing a lot of trust in you people because I believe you have the maturity for this assignment, but not everyone agrees with my decision. Some think you’re too young to handle this without the presence of an older trainer but I disagree with that sentiment. You are all at least seventeen years old. Most of you are eighteen or nineteen, as in the case of Lisa and Evan so I think you can handle this in a mature fashion. Don’t prove me wrong.”
“We won’t disappoint you, Admiral,” Ralph replied
“Good. Just do the job to the best of your abilities. Remember, you’ll also be responsible for seeing to it that everything is properly secured for flight. I needn’t remind you what a loose crate can do inside a ship during extreme maneuvers,” Jim said.
Turning to Lisa, Jim said, “Maggie said that she wants you to bring her some more uniforms and lab coats. She’s not going to be able to return as scheduled, because too many details require her attention aboard the fortress. It may be a week or longer before she can get away long enough to return.”
“I’ll be leaving aboard the Valiant in an hour. It’s time for me to officially take command of the battle fortress, so I won’t be here to see you off. Evan, make sure to feed your crew before you leave. Don’t forget to double check the emergency water and food rations aboard your ship before leaving. The crews have been flying so much that it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve used most of those provisions while en route during the shuttles back and forth. Such details can make a huge difference when it comes to surviving an emergency. Pass that caution on to the other pilots. Flight control will expect you to report for duty in three hours, but that ship doesn’t leave the hangar bay until you are satisfied that it is properly prepared for flight,” Jim cautioned.
“I’ll remember, Dad. Have a good flight to the battle fortress. Maybe there will be time for me to see you when we get there, before we have to fly back here,” Evan responded. Then he asked, “Do you still think the transfer can be completed in a week?”
“It’s looking like a week to ten days. A lot depends upon whether or not you junior teams can handle the missions, but I have confidence in you. If you hold out under the strain, then it can be completed in a week. That means you’ll fly seven missions, but if you fly inefficiently that will lead to downtime while the APCs are charged. Such downtimes could stretch it into ten days.”
“Admiral Wilison, please come to flight control. Admiral Wilison, please come to the flight control room,” a male voice requested over the PA system.
“Safe journey, Son,” Jim said, and then he turned and walked away.
“Wow, Evan! You suggested this to your dad?” Ralph asked.
“I did,” Evan replied with a nod. “I heard him talking to some of the officers about the logistical problems of transferring the supplies and equipment and it occurred to me that we could help,” Evan explained.
“Why didn’t they just fly the fortress here?” Harvey asked.
“Pol and his team are still debugging systems aboard the fortress. They need it in Athens so they have access to all of their equipment,” Lisa explained.
“Yep. The original plan was to fly it here to the citadel where all of the supplies and equipment were stored in advance, but the constant delays and numerous bugs in the systems made it impossible to meet the latest timetable. Dad is committed to making that scheduled launch, so that the shipyard can begin construction on new patrol ships based on the design of the Arizona,” Evan explained.
“Is he concerned about the remnants of the pirate fleet?” asked Harvey.
“Yeah. They’ve been a pain in the neck ever since the war. They don’t raid often, but when they do, they fall on seaside communities by surprise and devastate them.”
“I’d better go pack Mom’s things,” Lisa said.
“I can give you a hand,” Evan volunteered.
“Thanks, but I’ll handle it alone. You need to make sure all of the preparations are made. Ralph and Harvey also have duties to attend to, and then we can all meet in the mess hall,” Lisa responded.
“Yeah, Evan, I need to find out who our other team members are,” stated Ralph.
“I’ll see the flight control officer. He’ll have the rosters,” Evan said with a grin. “I can’t believe it! We’re going on our first mission together!”
The four young people let out a collective cry of joy, and then separated to go about their various duties.
***
“Take us in slow, Pilot. I want to enjoy the view,” Jim explained as the Valiant closed on the battle fortress.
The fortress was hovering at an altitude of two hundred feet. The Valiant was approaching the super fortress, head-on at an altitude of three hundred feet. The superstructure of the vessel they were approaching was so large that it almost entirely filled the windshield of the control room of the Valiant.
Looking down at the outer edge of the surface of the fortress, Jim saw numerous bubble-like protrusions that he knew contained lasers, which could defend the giant ship against a high-altitude attack. He thought of the war in Kansas and nodded in satisfaction. The peacekeepers had learned a valuable lesson during that war. Now, all of their ships, fighters, and drones had the capability of targeting an enemy at a higher altitude.
“That’s one big ship,” Lina commented as she slowed the airspeed of the Valiant to a crawl. “I can’t for the life of me figure out how something that big can fly.”
“It is big. At five hundred feet wide by twelve hundred feet long, it’s ten times longer than the Valiant. Placed side by side and end to end, we could land over two hundred ships the size of the Valiant on its flight deck. It can house ninety fighters and twenty APCs in the flight bay and still have plenty of room for additional APCs to fly inside to offload cargo. Drones can also be brought inside for repairs,” Jim pointed out.
“You’re sure it’s shielded against an electromagnetic pulse?” she asked.
“Pol assures me that it is. That’s why they changed the design from a two level fortress to a three-deck superstructure, which is the reason it took two years to complete the construction. The control room is in the center of the fortress on deck two with multiple layers of alloy between the outer hull and the bridge. However, an EMP would take out sections of the weapons in the targeted areas. They are by necessity along the outer sections of the fortress.”
“But you said they have easily accessible breakers that the crew has trained to reset, right?” asked Lina.
“Yes. It was with that in mind that they designed all the vulnerable systems. A great deal of our shakedown cruise will deal with simulating outages. Pol and Patricia will run those simulations, and the crews will be trained in as realistic a manner as possible,” Jim explained.
Lina brought the Valiant around to the rear of the battle fortress, making certain to fly well above the level of the flight bay and it was a good thing that she did. As the Valiant flew past the rear of the massive ship, three fighters darted out of the flight bay and flew up to assume escort duty until the ship landed on the flight deck of the superstructure.
“Admiral, the ready flight is signaling that they have the duty if your fighter escort would like to land in the bay,” reported Lieutenant Teresa Connors. She added, “Our escort pilot just told them he would fly cover until the crew was safely inside the fortress.”
Jim nodded in appreciation. “He’s a good man. He takes his duty seriously.”
“Our beacon is coming up. Do you want to land now, or did you want to continue with the inspection flight?” asked Lina.
“Set us down beside the Peacekeeper. Pol and Tim are waiting for me in the conference room.”
“Roger that, sir,” replied Lina, who then proceeded to drop down toward the flight deck.
The battle fortress was a massive ship, but she couldn’t accommod
ate the patrol ships inside the hangar bay. Therefore, Pol had incorporated a flight deck on which the patrol ships could land.
Lina managed a textbook perfect landing. Following the protocol for landing on the flight deck of the fortress, she engaged the locking mechanism that fused the bottom of the Valiant to the deck of the battle fortress.
“Well done, Pilot,” Jim said appreciatively.
“It’s easy here. Landing on the flight deck of this ship is like landing in an open field,” Lina said modestly.
“Want to go with me aboard the Peacekeeper for the meeting?” Jim asked.
“I’d love to. I haven’t seen everyone gathered together in one place in months.”
“All right, let’s not keep them waiting.”
***
“All set back there?” Evan shouted the query as he went through the last item on his preflight checklist. In the gunner’s seat to his right, Lisa gave him a nod to convey her confidence in his abilities.
“All cargo is secure for flight. We’re ready when you are, Commander,” Ralph shouted from the crew compartment of the APC. The normally spacious compartment was now full to capacity with packages and crates the team would deliver to the battle fortress.
Evan grunted by way of reply, not sure what to make of Ralph calling him commander. Seeing the expression on his face, Lisa said, “He’s right, you know. For the sake of these missions, you are our commander so it is appropriate that he addresses you that way.”
“He’s probably just doing it so I’ll call him strike team leader instead of Ralph.”
“Well, maybe you should while we’re on these missions. I think we should behave as if we are a normal crew,” Lisa observed.
“True. Dad always refers to Lina as pilot or navigator when he’s addressing her in the ship in front of others,” Evan conceded.
“And she refers to him as admiral,” Lisa added.
“All right, Gunner, help me navigate this bird over to the exit tunnel. The pilot must have been dead tired to have landed so closely to the other APC.”