by Bob Blanton
“Time,” Kal said. “Oh, I just heard back. We have a woman on the security team who used to date a guy from Perth. She’s been there a few times and says she’s comfortable with the accent. I’ll add her to my team.”
“Good,” Marc said. “Have Fred give you a ride over.”
Day 3 04:32 CKT -- 22:32 AWST
A comm alert came up on Marc’s HUD. “Yes, ADI.”
“An ATM machine was just robbed in northeast Perth.”
“Our guys?”
“Based on surveillance video, they used a plasma torch to open it,” ADI said.
“A Paraxean device?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“How much did they get?” Marc asked.
“The machine was just filled; they got seventy-two thousand Australian dollars.”
“Whoever they’re camping out with must have run out of cash.”
“A high probability,” ADI said.
“Inform Kal and the rest of the command team.”
“I have, Captain.”
“Thanks, ADI.”
Day 4 21:32 CKT -- 15:32 AWST
Marc’s HUD pinged him with an alert from Kal. “Hello, Kal, good news, I hope.”
“We think we know where they’re hiding out,” Kal said.
“How?”
“Jen’s been chatting with the women at the local market here in Tigwell. They’ve told her that this guy Boswell hasn’t been to town as much as usual in the last few weeks. Apparently, he usually brings one of his kids with him, and the last two times he’s been in, no kids and some big guy hanging around.”
“You think the guy is our missing commander?” Marc asked.
“I’m pretty sure. He always wears one of the Aussie sun hats that cover the neck and ears,” Kal said.
“Makes sense,” Marc said. “What about the nose?”
“Jen says one of the women said he must have whacked himself on the nose because he was wearing a Band-Aid on it.”
“Okay, so where’s his place?”
“Forty klicks east of town,” Kal said. “We’re sending a drone over that way.”
“Okay, I’ll get our pilots ready.”
Day 4 22:32 CKT --16:32 AWST
“Kal is confident that they know where our missing Fox is,” Marc said as he met with his three pilots.
“Good,” Blake said. “We’re ready. We’ll go ahead, get underway, and get our planes over in that area. When we know for sure he’s there, we’ll wait until dark and come in fast from three different directions.”
“Everyone, be careful. It’s 17:00 in Perth right now, dark at 19:00,” Blake said. “Let’s go get our babies in the air.”
Marc looked at Catie in her flight suit. It was hard to imagine that the woman there was his thirteen-year-old daughter. “You be careful,” he said to her.
“Don’t worry, Daddy,” Catie said as she gave her father a quick hug and ran out after Blake.
Day 4 11:32 CKT -- 17:32 AWST
“We’re outside the ranch,” Kal said. “Everything’s quiet right now. Sun’s just setting.”
“Good,” Blake said. “We’re cruising off the coast, skimming the deck to avoid detection.”
“We think the Fox is in the barn. There are a few wide tracks going into it that fit with the Fox’s landing gear.”
“We’ll pop up in thirty,” Blake said. “We’ll come in high at Mach five; circle once to bleed off our speed; then we’ll tighten the noose.”
“Copy.”
Day 4 00:40 CKT -- 18:40 AWST
“On our way,” Blake announced as the three Foxes tilted up and tore into the sky, accelerating to Mach five.
“Captain, I have a text to the Chinese Consulate from the Boswell ranch,” ADI announced over the comm.
“What did it say?”
“It said ‘now,’ and gave a set of coordinates in the Philippine Sea.”
“Did everybody copy?” Marc asked.
“Copied,” Blake said.
“Copied,” Kal said. “We have movement! They’re making a break for the barn!”
CRACK! CRACK!
“One Down!” Kal barked. “The other is hit, but he made it into the barn!”
“The Fox is coming out! She’s airborne!”
Day 4 00:52 CKT -- 18:52 AWST
“It just flew under me!” Catie yelled, “I’m circling to follow!”
“Right behind you, girl!” Liz responded.
“What’s the situation on the ground?” Marc asked.
“We’ve got one down; we’ll police the body and get out of here. The rancher’s family is safe, and he just wants us gone.”
“Any worries about police?”
“Don’t think so,” Kal said. “He’s pretty adamant that he just wants to wash his hands of this mess. And I think he’s hoping to keep the sixty to seventy thousand sitting in a bag in his pantry.”
“Okay, clear out; I’ll send Fred to pick you up,” Marc said.
“It will take us a few hours to get back to Perth. We’ll meet him at the airport,” Kal said.
Day 4 01:00 CKT -- 19:00 AWST
“I’m on his tail, I can’t get into weapons range,” Catie said. “We need someone to go up high to make up the distance.”
“On my way up,” Blake said. “Liz, go up high too.”
“Copy,” Liz replied.
Day 4 01:20 CKT -- 19:20 AWST
“We’re ahead of him,” Blake announced. “Liz, come down on his tail, I’ll circle and come at him head-on. Weapons free.”
“Copy.”
“He’s dropping to the deck!” Catie barked. “I think he’s going to go submarine.”
“Stay on him,” Blake commanded. “We don’t want to lose him again.”
“Copy, he’s not getting away from me.”
Catie followed the other Fox down to the ocean surface; they were both skimming the surface at Mach five. “He’s going to turn and dump speed so they can submerge!”
“Do you know which way?”
“Not yet!”
Catie studied her quarry as they both raced across the surface of the ocean. “Which way are you going to go?” she whispered. She continued to watch him as she watched Liz’s and Blake’s Foxes approaching. “Liz, cut west and drop to the deck!” Catie ordered.
Catie watched as Liz’s Fox dropped to the surface and cut to the west blocking their quarry’s path. Just as Liz was drawing into weapons range, their opponent popped off of the deck, banked hard, and turned north. “Gotcha,” Catie said as she was already banking her Fox to the north. Using the turn to bleed off speed as fast as possible, in seconds, Catie was going slow enough to skim the water. She had closed the distance with their opponent but still was outside of weapons range. “He’s going to go under any second!”
The other Fox dropped down and submerged. “First time, huh,” Catie whispered as she submerged. She was able to accomplish it without having to drop off nearly as much speed as the other Fox. Her Fox was only fifty meters behind his once they leveled off at eighty meters. “I’m on him!” Catie announced. “He’s got nowhere to go!”
“That’s great, but you’re not going to be able to catch him,” Marc said.
“Not yet,” Catie said. “We can try to have one of the others get in his way, slow him down.”
“I want that Fox back,” Blake said. “I say we wait him out!”
“Wait him out?”
“Like Kal said, he’s got no food, or at least not much. How long do you think he can last?”
“How long can we last?” Marc asked.
“We can rotate,” Blake said. “Catie takes four hours, then I’ll ride his tail. Between the three of us, we can stay rested, fed, and just wear him out.”
“Captain,” ADI broke in.
“Yes, ADI.”
“The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has left its homeport of Qingdao and is steaming toward the Philippine Sea.”
“How long until they can meet up?�
�
“Eighty-six hours,” ADI said.
“About three-and-a-half days,” Marc did the math for everyone. “Can he last that long?”
“He gave them the coordinates,” Blake said. “He must think he can hold out that long.”
“If he’s got water, it would only take a few granola bars and some chocolate, and he’d be okay for food,” Kal said.
“Okay. Blake set up your rotations; we have three days to figure out what to do about the Chinese Navy.”
Day 5 20:00 CKT -- 14:00 ACST
“I’ve got overwatch,” Catie announced as she flew up on Liz.
“Copy,” Liz acknowledged. “Blake, I’m on my way.”
“About time,” Blake replied. “I really need some sleep. I wonder how our disreputable commander is making out.”
“I’m sure he has it on autopilot,” Catie said. “We keep making up a little distance on him each shift, so he’s not paying too close of attention.”
“Well I wish we could get close enough to tag him out,” Blake said. “This is getting old.”
“What’s your distance?” Liz asked.
“I’m at twenty meters,” Blake replied.
“We won’t make it before he reaches the Chinese carrier,” Catie said.
“If he tries to surface, we’ll be close enough to take out his engines,” Blake said.
“I think he knows that,” Catie said. “What do you think he’s hoping for?”
“Maybe he doesn’t think we know how to fly,” Liz said.
“Probably, he’s making it up as he goes,” Blake said. “He wasn’t expecting us.”
“Then why did he pick a rendezvous out in the middle of the Philippine Sea?” Catie asked.
“He knew ADI was trying to catch him from when he launched from the Sakira,” Blake said. “So he needed to stay under until he was close enough for a handoff and could get the Fox out of sight. The carrier must have been his worst-case backup plan. Three Foxes coming in on him had to spook him.”
“You think he was that well prepared?”
“He was planning this, or something like it for a long time,” Blake said.
“I’m with Uncle Blake on this one,” Catie said.
“I’m here,” Liz announced, “You’re relieved, Commander Blake, go get some sleep.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
Day 7 10:00 CKT -- 04:00 ACST
“I’ve got two bogies approaching at Mach one point two!” Catie yelled. Catie was in her third hour of overwatch for Liz. “ADI alert the staff. Liz, are you okay down there?”
“I’m good,” Liz replied. “Does this mean I’m going to get paid overtime?”
“I would count on it,” Catie said. “We’ll handle things up here, you stay on Centag down there.”
“I’m on my way,” Blake announced. “I’ll be there in thirty.”
The Mea Huli had been working its way from Rarotonga for the last three days. It was now just off Papua New Guinea, so Blake was just a few minutes’ flight away.
“Copy.”
Day 7 10:21 CKT -- 04:21 ACST
“I’ve got missile launches!” Catie barked. She put her Fox into a corkscrew to the right and punched the throttle. “ADI, take out the missiles!”
“Yes, Cer Catie.” As Catie corkscrewed around the two missiles, ADI fired the forward lasers taking out the first one, then the second.
“Missiles destroyed,” Catie announced. “I’m going to come around on him and nail his engines with the plasma cannon.”
“Watch out for his wingman,” Blake yelled.
“I see him, I’m up to Mach three; he’s too far for even a missile launch.” Catie continued her corkscrew until she was under the incoming Chinese fighter. She pulsed the plasma cannon for half a second and punched the throttle to max. As she screamed by the fighter, she could see two chutes.
“One down, crew has ejected!” Catie announced. “I’m rounding on the second one, I’ll be there in two.”
“The carrier has launched another fighter,” ADI announced. “And a second is preparing to launch.”
“I’m on them,” Blake announced. “I’m going to go wide and come across their tails. If I’m good, I’ll get both their engines before they realize I’m coming.”
“You’ve never been good,” Liz laughed.
“I’m so bad, I’m good,” Blake countered.
“I’ll give you that,” Liz laughed. “Now be careful.”
“Always.”
Day 7 10:24 CKT -- 04:24 ACST
“I’m crossing him now,” Catie announced. “He’s launched two missiles. I’ll take him out first then deal with them.”
Catie pushed her throttle up until she was doing Mach five-point-two. She corkscrewed up to the left. When her Fox reached the top, she broke off of the spin for one second and then corkscrewed down in the opposite direction. “Ha, knew you would fall for that,” she laughed as she saw the missiles lose target lock.
Catie was just coming into range when the fighter launched another two missiles and dove hard for the deck. “No way, buster!” Catie banked hard and got her nose turned around as she fired her plasma cannons. “Gotcha!” she said with relish as the rear of the Chinese jet’s engine exploded. She watched with concern to see if the crew would be able to eject. Finally, she saw two chutes. The four missiles that had been launched were searching for a contact after losing the target lock provided by the fighter. It only took Catie two minutes to knock them down.
Day 7 10:27 CKT -- 04:27 ACST
“Uncle Blake! How are you doing?”
“Coming up on our two new friends now,” Blake replied. “Catie, I want you to drop to the deck; come in on the carrier at Mach three. When you get into cannon range, pop up; blast their launch deck; then get the hell out of there, go straight up.”
“Copy!” Catie confirmed.
“Liz, how are things down there?” Blake asked.
“I’m just sitting on his tail. No activity down here,” Liz said.
“He’s blind while he’s underwater,” Catie said.
“Copy that,” Liz said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“I’m on the deck now,” Cattie announced.
“Good, I’m getting ready to cross the tails of our two new fighters in ten, … five … one … I scorched their tails; both have lost their engines. I see chutes.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“I’m coming up on the carrier,” Catie announced. “Ten … five … one. Plasma locked on; firing; going vertical.” Catie’s Fox shot into the air corkscrewing as the carrier launched their air defense missiles. Within five seconds, she was doing Mach five-point-two and leaving the antiaircraft missiles behind.
◆ ◆ ◆
“The Chinese carrier is turning around,” ADI announced.
“Good,” Marc said. “What about the pilots?”
“They’ve sent out a search and rescue helicopter to pick them up.”
“Catie, head back; I’ll relieve you,” Blake commanded.
“I’m supposed to relieve Liz,” Catie said.
“Trust me, you need to take a break,” Blake said. “I’ll switch places with Liz.”
“You just got yanked out of bed,” Catie said.
“I’ll let ADI fly and take a nap until you can rotate back in. We’ll get back on cycle after that.”
Day 8 02:10 CKT -- 08:10 EST
“Admiral, there was an incident in the Philippine Sea yesterday. Four Chinese Shenyang J-15 jets appear to have been shot down,” a commander said as he knocked on Admiral Michaels’ door.
“When did this happen?” the admiral asked.
“Approximately four hours ago.”
“How did we find out?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“We picked up comm traffic between the aircraft and the carrier Liaoning. The pilots reported an aircraft approaching, they said they gave the signal as instructed and did not get a response, so it appears that they assumed it was ho
stile.”
“So, they were expecting a friend?” the admiral asked.
“It seems so. The Liaoning left port in a hurry and steamed at full speed to the Philippine Sea.”
“So how did this result in them losing four planes?”
“The first two pilots reported that they launched two missiles once they didn’t get the proper response.”
“No provocation?”
“Correct sir.”
“They must have wanted a private party with their friend,” Admiral Michaels said. “And then?”
“The approaching fighter instituted evasive maneuvers, shot down the two missiles, and then took out the first plane’s engines.”
“What was the second plane doing?”
“It was trying to circle around to pin the other fighter in. The pilot reported that the enemy fighter accelerated away at Mach five. He says it outran his missiles.”
Admiral Michaels sat up straighter and leaned forward. “That’s not believable.”
“He also claimed that he could barely get a target lock on it, that it had almost no radar signature.”
“How did he get shot down?”
“That enemy plane circled around and dropped out of sight. When he saw it again, he launched two missiles, the plane evaded them, so he launched two more. He says the plane was doing Mach five when it banked behind him and destroyed his plane.”
“Where do the other two come in?”
“They were launched as soon as their first plane declared hostilities, sir.”
“How were they taken out?”
“The pilot reported a second plane came up off the deck and destroyed their engines with cannon fire. They said they couldn’t respond in time because it was also doing Mach five.”
“So, are these pilots telling stories to save face after being shot down?”
“I don’t know, sir, but satellite imagery shows the Liaoning returning to port. She’s missing the end of her jump ramp.”
“So, the planes launched a missile at the carrier?”
“Pretty surgical strike to just take out the end of the ramp, sir.”
“And where are our friends?”
“The Mea Huli is off of Papua New Guinea.”
“A bit far from their new home.”
“Yes sir. They turned around and headed back toward Rarotonga right after the incident with the carrier was reported.”