Heavier Than Air

by T. E. Vario (t_e_vario@yahoo. com)

Stable updrafts capped with billowing cumulous clouds made it easy for the two scouts to say in position. Their main problem was avoiding being sucked up into the cloud where there was no visibility. Cindy Cho used the dive brakes to add drag, while Joe Callanto preferred to just fly outside of the lift zone for long enough to get back down, and then reenter the lift from below. Both pilots continued to scan the five-mile gap in the clouds that any attacker would have to pass. The gap appeared to be roughly stable in size, apparently caused the slope of the ground keeping most of the terrain in shadow. Cold ground did not cause updrafts and therefore no cumulous clouds.

  “Charlie Zulu calling Juliet Papa. 13:15 check in. Do you copy?”

  “Juliet Papa copies. No activity this sector.”

  “Charlie Zulu reports no activity here either. Charlie Zulu out.”

  The lift was getting stronger as the ground temperatures rose. The downdrafts to the side of the clouds also became pronounced. All that rising air has to go somewhere, mused Cindy Cho.

  Shortly before 13:30 Cindy Cho saw a glint of sunlight above and to the north. Swinging her plane around she strained to make out the source. The location was roughly between himself and Joe, so it was dangerous to use the IR as the enemy might intercept the signal. She caught sight of the plane’s outline – a V tail. It was a Gengon ship moving at very high speed through the gap. She had to let Joe know.

  “Charlie Zulu calling Juliet Papa. Have bandit in sight at 10K, heading south at an estimated 200 knots. Starting pursuit.”

  “Roger Charlie Zulu. Heading south. Will report contact. Juliet Papa out.”

  Cindy Cho knew at once that she was in a poor position for an intercept. She had been circling at low speed below the cloud layer. How was she expected to catch a plane already moving at redline 2000 feet higher? She put the nose down to gain speed and pointed the ship right under the line of clouds headed south. She would go as fast as possible in clear air under the clouds to stay in contact with Joe, but the chance of catching the Gengon plane were slim.

  “Charlie Zulu, Juliet Papa has bandit in sight. He’s about to enter the next cloud street at high speed.”

  “Roger Juliet Papa. Pursue bandit in cloud at maximum speed. I will follow below in clear air. Renew contact when you reach next clear air. Charlie Zulu out.”

  Joe Callanto was over higher ground and he had some altitude to burn. He pointed the nose down, got to red-line speed of 190 knots, and then headed straight for the point the bandit had entered the cloud. He reached the cloud at the same elevation that the bandit had entered.

  As both pilots crashed along at red-line speed, their thoughts were on their mission orders. At this speed the bandit would cross the 50-mile line in about 10 minutes. Their orders called for a radio call if the bandit crossed the line, and there did not seem to be any way to stop him. Sure, the radio transmission would be encrypted, but the signal itself would alert every enemy plane in 100 miles of their exact location.

  Joe Callanto was flying by instruments in cloud, and had no idea when clear air would appear. Cindy Cho had visibility everywhere but up, since she was flying just below the cloud street. She could see the end of this band of clouds coming up in less than a mile. This was the last chance to intercept this bastard before the Gengon V tailed bomber crossed the 50-mile limit.

  Joe reached clear air before Cindy. Ahead of him was another five miles of clear air. But where was the bandit? He scanned each few degrees of air carefully, trying to focus on both near and far distances. No aircraft were visible.

  “Juliet Papa, do have bandit in sight?”

  “Negative contact Charlie Zulu. Do you see bandit?”

  “Negative contact here too. Is it possible we passed him?”

  “Possible, but not likely. If he is the bomber, he would have gone straight ahead, but I can’t see him.”

  “Juliet Papa, you know our orders. We had better make the radio call.”

  “Roger that Charlie Zulu. I’ll make the call and then continue towards base. Follow me after five minutes to chase any other bandits off my tail.”

  “Roger Juliet Papa. Will remain in cloud for five minutes and then pursue you. Charlie Zulu out.”

  Cindy Cho’s radio direction finder went crazy a moment later, and pointed straight towards Joe Callanto’s plane. The broadcast made Joe a perfect target. Hopefully their intelligence was right and the Gengon had sent a lone plane to minimize the chance of detection. Cindy returned to the end of the end of the line of clouds and set up a circle just inside the cloud. She wanted to get as high as possible in the next five minutes so that she could dash after JP without any further circling. 10,000 feet of altitude would allow her to go near redline for the entire final glide to Outpost Base.

  Meanwhile Joe Callanto was getting nervous. He was heading south at almost 200 knots looking for the bandit, but after the radio broadcast the bandit would know he was here for sure. He could not understand why the bandit was not visible in the clear air in front of him. What if the bastard had slowed in cloud and was now behind him? There was no way for Joe to see directly behind because of the canopy was flush with the opaque rear fuselage. He would have to take a turn or pull up to see.

  Callanto pulled back on the stick and shot vertically into the sky, trading altitude gain for loss in airspeed. Pointing up he could see the air behind him through the top of the canopy. One look was enough. Three bandits were headed right at him from behind. SHIT. He slammed the joystick forward to try to regain airspeed. He realized instantly that that was not going to work. The bandits were already at high speed and higher than Joe. They had more energy than he did, and there were three bandits versus one of him. Joe Callanto was fucked.

  Realizing that he had nothing to lose, Joe Callanto’s again used the radio. “Juliet Papa is under attack by three bandits at the 50 mile line just north of the lake. Will attempt to evade.”

  Cindy Cho heard the radio call as his direction finder again lit up. “My God, it was a trap” she thought as she pushed the nose down and headed straight down the line set by her direction finder. She wanted to radio Joe to say she was coming, but realized this would just give her position away. If Joe could just hold on a few minutes she would help even the odds.

  Joes’s time was running out. He again near redline, but the bandits were right behind him. He headed for a nearby peak, hoping that he could shake at least one of them by flying right next to the trees and rocks. Machinegun fire erupted behind him, and he saw holes appear in his left wing.

  Joe Callanto started random maneuvers to make himself a more difficult target. He was only 500 feet from the peak. He rolled inverted and then pulled back hard on the stick the shriek down the back side of the mountain. More machinegun fire, but it plowed into the terrain behind him. He rolled right and headed right for a gap between the trees. He had to roll 90 degrees to slip through it, since the trees would have knocked his wings off flying level. Pulling back hard, he could again look over his head. Only two of the bandits were following him. Good, at least the odds are a bit better.

  Joe’s maneuvers were costing him altitude in a hurry. He was down to 5000 feet, and entering a valley. His only hope was to get the bandits to break away because they did not want to land in hostile territory. Turning hard right he headed for another clump of trees. As he pulled over them he suddenly saw the third bandit heading right towards him. JP aimed quickly and attempted to fire, but it was too late. His canopy burst into thousands of fragments as 30 caliber bullets tore straight into his body. He lost consciousness before the plane hit the ground 200 feet below.

  Cindy Cho was just coming up on the peak when her radio direction indicator fired up again. This time the instrument showed a “black box” emergency locator signal. Damn, someone’s aircraft had crashed. She could hope it was one of the bandits that had crashed, but she knew that it was more likely to be Joe. As Cindy headed for the signal, she spotted three bandits circling 2000 feet below her, all in the same thermal.
Below them on the slope was a splash of white color – the remains of a sailplane. No sign of a parachute and every sign of a high speed impact with the ground. Joe was dead.

  Cindy Cho swallowed and thought about the situation. It was three to one against him, but this time she had the altitude advantage. She could make one diving pass at the bastards and then head for home. They would not be willing to chase her this late in the day, and would not catch her in any case. She pointed her nose straight at the highest bandit and dove.

  The bandits saw her long before she was in range. They all turned in different directions and started random direction changes. Cindy stayed with the target she had selected and tried to compensate. She was going four times faster than the enemy plane, but that meant the target could turn in much tighter circles. Cindy brought the nose of her plane to the left, just in front of the bandit’s cockpit and fired a quick burst before rushing past. Pulling up, she looked over her shoulder to see if there was any impact. A mist of white fiberglass power in the air said she had hit something, but the plane was still flying.

  FUCK. Cindy Cho nosed over and headed for home. Joe Callanto was buzzard food, and revenge would be some time in coming.

  * * *

  John and Lieutenant Hermandez heard Joe Callanto’s distress call and headed directly towards it from their station point. Intercept time was seven minutes, which was an eternity in air combat, so John was not optimistic. Five minutes enroute Hermandez spotted a friendly fighter heading for home, too far away to make out the call sign. Taking a guess, John assumed it was Joe Callanto flying home in Juliet Papa.

  “Juliet Papa, this is Alpha Romeo approaching 50 mile line at 8000 feet, do you copy?”

  After a moment: “Negative Alpha Romeo, Juliet Papa was shot down a few minutes ago. Charlie Zulu made an interception pass. Negative kills.”

  “Charlie Zulu. Are there bandits behind you that we should pursue?”

  “Alpha Romeo, there are three bandits seven miles north of your location. Interception unlikely given your position and altitude.”

  “Roger Charlie Zulu. Alpha Romeo will follow you home. Alpha Romeo out.”

  After a moment’s reflection, John filled the Lieutenant in on the details. “Juliet Papa was flown by Joe Callanto, a seasoned pilot with two kills and over a year’s combat experience. If Joe bought it the odds must have been against him. We’ll get the details in the debriefing when we land.”

  Gabriel Hermandez did not say anything. The thrill of his first real combat mission was extinguished by a more realistic emotion – fear from the real threat of a violent death.

  Section 12 looked like a prison. Located within the secure perimeter of Camp Williams, Section 12 had its own double fence. The top of each fence was covered by barbed wire rolled into tight cylinders. Inside of the fence line were several beige single story buildings, each with remarkably few windows. The living quarters were located on this top story, while all of the working areas were below ground. The reason for this setup was security. Glass vibrates slightly when sound waves strike the surface of a window. Simply bouncing microwaves off of a window was enough to pick up those vibrations from a long distance away. Any building with windows was impossible to secure. Below ground was safer.

  Sara Young had entered the compound via the security double gates and had been escorted to main hall. She and the young guard had descended two flights of stairs to reach the office area. Another set of guards on this floor took over as they entered level minus 2, and the original guard returned topside. Sara was politely swept with several hand-held devices that looked to transmission detectors. Passing that test, she was escorted past another set of doors and led to a large office.

  In front of her was a huge man. The desk sign said “Heinrich Largos.” This was her new boss. She sat patiently, waiting for the man to say something. Largos was remarkably fat and looked like he sweated a lot. He seemed to be alternating between looking at the file on his desk and staring at her breasts. She wished she had worn a jacket over her blouse. This was not going to be a pleasant interview.

  “Your records show exceptional marks in both mathematics and computation. You are also fluent in French and Russian. That combination of skills is exactly what we need here. You also got a clean slate on your security clearance, so it looks like you have practically no choice but to work here.” Heinrich’s eyes managed to rise up to hers for a moment, as his small mouth reshaped into something approaching a smile.

  “I’m looking forward to it. My family is involved in the war effort and I want to do my part.” Sara pulled her skirt a bit lower and she spoke.

  “Yes I see that. Daughter of John Young, the pilot. Sister of Erik Young, in flight school. You do have a busy family.

  There was an awkward silence as Heinrich Largos mopped his damp forehead and chin with an oversized handkerchief. Sara wondered how many of these he went through a day.

  “You will have both a routine job and one or more special assignments to work on. Your routine job will involve the digital enhancement of photographs the aircraft take each day it is flyable. The images are frequently blurred due to movement during the exposure. We have a standard set of tools for enhancing the images, which you will have no trouble using. It’s repetitive work, but it has to be done. The finished results are encrypted and transmitted to a number of locations each night to help with threat analysis and flight planning for the next day.”

  Sara nodded acceptance but did not say anything. Heinrich Largos put his handkerchief away and continued.

  “Your other duties will be more varied. I’ve made up a starting assignment for you in this folder. It will get you acquainted with our computer systems and with the data sources. It is all summarized in this two-inch file. Here is the key to the safe in your desk. Nothing is to be left in the open when you are not present, even for the slightest moment. Do not discuss your work with anyone else in Section 12 unless I authorize it. Nothing about our work here is discussed outside of the complex under any circumstances. Is that clear?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Good. Let me escort you to your workspace. I’m afraid we do not have any natural light in our building. The bug proofing requires that we work in these cells. Nevertheless, the work has its intellectual compensations.”

  They walked down the desolate hallway, and turned left into a small room. “This will be your office. The safe is on the right side, and your terminal has been set up to prompt you for an initial password when you log in. The remaining instructions are in the file. If there is anything at all I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Mr. Largos was standing much too close to Sara, and had place one fat hand on her shoulder. Sara could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she fought the urge to jump away. At last he removed his hand and waddled down the hall.

  Sara sat down and tried to calm down. Her first boss, and she had drawn this loser. She supposed she could stand it, but it was not going to be easy.

  The first thing she did was to log on the computer. Her image processing work was waiting for her in her electronic inbox, along with instructions on which tools to use and where to transmit the results. She decided to get that out of the way before working on her project. The image enhancements took a lot of fiddling, trying to find the digital compensation that would exactly cancel out whatever movement had occurred during the exposure period. When she got it right the improvement to the clarity of the image was incredible. It was also interesting to see what they were taking pictures of, although in most cases the she had no idea of the military significance of what she was looking at.

  After finishing the photos, Sara opened up the folder and started going through the documents. OK, it did look pretty interesting. They had set up IR listening posts on many of the mountains in the north and were starting to pick up messages between various ground forces and the occasional communication between aircraft. Just the amount of traffic and the direction of transmissio
n had provided a lot of information about enemy positions and strength. The next step was to understand the content of the messages. The problem was that the messages were encrypted. Her job was to figure out how to break the encryption code.

  While Sara was reading about the previous work done on this subject, she was startled as a paper airplane sailed across her office. She looked to the door and found a young woman with short red hair and green eyes smiling at her.

  “You the new blood? I’m Hanna, the old blood. How you doin?” Hanna thrust out her hand to shake. Sara shook it and looked for another chair. There wasn’t one.

  “Don’t worry” Hanna said, reading her mind. “I can sit on the edge of your desk. How’d you like that fat bastard of a boss?”

  “To be honest, he gives me the creeps. Is he always like that.”

  Hanna smiled. “That and worse. He lives to find something to blackmail you with. Once he has it, he will try to use it to make you do things with him. Disgusting things. We had another girl commit suicide over it. Great place, huh?”

  “Great. What makes you stay?”

  “Got to. Once you have access to all the data we see, they can’t let you lose. It’s like a disease. Once you catch it you have it for life. By the way, you should be locking that stuff on your desk up the minute I poke my head in your door if you go by the rules. Nobody does, but that’s another thing good old Heinrich can use against you if he catches you.”

  “Ever thought of going over his head to complain?” asked Sara.

  “Sure, I think of it every day. But I don’t have anything concrete to use against him. He a smart bastard, I’ll give him that.”

  “Well, thanks for the warning.”

  “Sure Sara. Want me to come by at lunch and show you our glorious mess hall?”

  “Thanks Hanna, that would be great. I could use the help settling in her.”

  “No problem. I’ll come by right before 12:00. Until then, spook up a storm.”

  Hanna’s interruption had helped clear her head. She decided to alternate between reading the rest of the paper file and setting up the computer system to help her with the project. Her workstation was connected to Section 12’s high security network. Sara couldn’t resist exploring the computer system a bit. She’d been hacking since she was seven, and had gotten pretty good at getting around networks.