Rocket Babe_Reflection

by Stephen R. DeArman

  “Missiles away!”

  “Tracking! Bull’s eye! I have two impacts. Target destroyed!”

  Smiling brightly, Addison calmly rotated her stick until they were again traveling nose first, but her smile quickly faded.

  “Hang on!”

  Back to maximum thrust, 107 arced upwards as it accelerated toward space. Penelope didn’t understand as she looked to Addison for an explanation.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Something’s wrong. That was too easy.”

  Penelope’s eyes quickly returned to her scope. “Confirmed! Four alien ships on an intercept course. Two dead ahead at forty miles; two on our six at thirty-five miles and closing.”

  “Acknowledged. Sela, I’m going to tap the brakes to draw them in. When I do, launch forward and aft missiles simultaneously.”

  “Acknowledged!”

  “Ready… now!”

  Sela launched aft missiles first, quickly tapping her console twice. As the second missile cleared the tube she quickly switched to the forward launch array, tapping twice again.

  “All missiles away!”

  “Tracking four Strikers.” Again, Addison went to full power and straight up. Three seconds later Penelope recorded four hits.

  “One, two… three, four. GOT ‘EM ALL! Enemy ships eliminated. The scope is clear!”

  Addison exhaled loudly, just happy to be alive, while Sela unbuckled and stood up to stretch her legs.

  “That was amazing. Great flying!”

  Addison was hesitant to relax. “Don’t stand up too long. I’m not sure this is over.”

  At that moment Penelope received a signal from Commander Randall. “Bravo, Zulu 107. Perfect score! Return to base and report to my office.”

  Sela smiled then walked over to give them both a high five.

  As Penelope turned back to her station she noticed several new blips on her radar scope.

  “Addison, I’ve got something strange on ship’s radar. I have an echelon formation of four bogies, altitude 415 miles, seemingly headed for touchdown inside of Russia.”

  “Can you identify them?”

  “Negative, but at their current altitude and speed they are definitely not Russian.”

  “Contact HQ and ask if they want us to investigate.”

  “On it! Olympus, this is 107. We are tracking four alien ships descending over Russia. Commander wants to know if we should investigate.”

  “Olympus to 107. Negative on investigating. Ares Patrol is closer return to base.”

  Addison’s disappointment twisted her face into a soft snarl. “That figures! First time we get to do something without Grandma and Grandpa around and we’re not allowed. Fine! Acknowledge and tell them we’re on our way home.”

  The look on her face was priceless as Sela turned away and tried not to laugh.

  “What are you giggling about, Fang Face?” Penelope and Sela both exploded with laughter as Addison lost it herself.

  “You should see your face… and your ears!”

  “Hey! What about my ears?”

  “When you get frustrated or mad, your ears turn red.”

  “Oh yeah? When you lock on a target, you look like a zombie!”

  “That’s ok. Wait until I tell the Captain and Commander you called them Grandma and Grandpa!”

  “That’s their fault. They said we could!”

  Half an hour later three very happy lieutenants were knocking on the door of Commander Randall’s office. Normally, they did not like meeting him there because coming to his office usually meant something was very wrong, but after obtaining a perfect score, this time should be different. Randall was scanning the printout of their mission results as they arrived.

  “Enter.”

  The ladies marched in and stood at attention in front of Randall’s desk for a few seconds before he acknowledged their presence. Addison couldn’t help but wince as she read the commander’s personal motto on the wall behind him. She had seen the sign many times but preferred not to see it all.

  “THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES!”

  As the commander looked up, Addison’s expression caused him to grin. “At ease ladies. We’re just going to spend a few minutes going over this morning’s intercept response. Addison, I can see how much you like my little reminder of the 107 motto. It’s all over your face.”

  Randall’s statement quickly caused a look of complete surprise for Addison and a reflexive laugh from the others.

  “Morning? The sun isn’t even up yet, and I can’t help it if what I’m thinking is always on my face.”

  The commander chuckled. “And we’re all glad you can’t. It’s what makes you, Addison. But I tell you what. When you make Lieutenant Commander, feel free to come back and take it down. Would you like that?”

  Commander Randall’s offer caused her frown to promptly dissolve as a beautiful smile flashed across her face just before she enthusiastically responded, “Sir! Yes, sir!”

  “Good! Before we get started may I ask what has everyone in such a good mood this early in the morning? I could hear you all giggling coming down the hall.”

  Penelope grinned as she looked at Addison. “Oh, nothing really. We were just talking about grandparents.”

  Addison’s eyes grew large at Penelope’s smiling admission. “What about them?”

  “Ohhhh, it was nothing, sir. Just us being silly. Perhaps we should check the oxygen levels in 107 before we go up again.”

  “Definitely! Ok, now for today’s engagement chart. Your reaction times getting to the ship and launching set new a record. Congratulations! Anticipation of your opponent’s tendencies and your counter tactics were highly effective. Lastly, taking out four aggressors simultaneously was unexpected and well executed. Use of the new aft missile launcher cut several seconds from your response time.”

  Addison beamed as she heard the report. “So, after our performance, would it be fair to say we’re equal to any of the men?”

  Her statement caused an unexpected but quiet response from the opposite end of the dimly lit room.

  “In this case, I’d say your evaluation is correct, but have you ever heard the axiom, ‘A woman who wants to be equal to men lacks ambition’?”

  Penelope smiled as she spun around to see Verna step out of the shadows. “Captain Starr! We didn’t know you were here.”

  “No? Surely, by now you know I monitor every test of all my crews.”

  Addison looked a little sheepish. “I have never heard that before. May I ask who said it?”

  Verna grinned as she did her best voice impression of one of Randall’s favorite movie stars. “I did… and Marilyn Monroe.”

  They were all laughing at Verna’s impression when Pim Ono knocked on the commander’s door. Still wearing a very snug flight suit that emphasized every curve, she approached the group when Commander Randall motioned for her to join them.

  “Good morning, Lieutenant Ono. What brings you to our little corner of heaven?”

  “I just wanted to stop by and congratulate your crew on a very successful test. You’ve done an outstanding job training them, sir. I have never lost as the aggressor before, not even in a simulation. Well done.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. That’s quite a classy gesture and it’s very much appreciated. Right lieutenants?”

  Having their greatest rival complimenting them left Addison, Sela and Penelope in a state of suspicious shock. It took a few seconds to answer, but finally all three mumbled thank you and nodded.

  “Well, that was all, sir. Captain.”

  Ono was almost into the hallway when Starr caught up to her. “May I see you for a moment, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, ma’am, but I am due for a debriefing with the general in five minutes.”

  Verna walked out the door with Ono and once they were in the hall she smiled. “That was very nice, Pim. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Actually, I did. They’ve earned
it.”

  “Perhaps, but I’ve seen real growth in you since we returned from our… time with the Nephilim. The Ono from before that incident would never have come here to compliment a rival.”

  “Let’s just say I no longer consider them rivals, ma’am. That experience changed the way I look at things and other people. Life is too short for rivals. We need to be one team now.”

  “Absolutely right, and thank you for making my day! I wasn’t going to tell you this just yet, but now is as good a time as any. I’ve been watching you very closely, Lieutenant, and I think it’s time I recommend you for Lieutenant Commander.”

  For a moment you could have knocked Ono over with a feather.

  “You look surprised, Lieutenant. You shouldn’t be. You have worked hard, and no one knows better than I do all the things you suffered at the hands of the Nephilim. You’ve grown up, overcome it and you’re ready.”

  Ono shook her head. “I don’t know what to say except, thank you, ma’am!”

  “It’s not a done deal. It still has to go through the proper channels, but they won’t buck me, if they know what’s good for them.”

  “No, ma’am. If that’s all?”

  “Of course, I won’t delay you any longer.”

  Verna returned to Randall’s office as he was finishing up.

  “Now, before you go I do have one question. When you engaged Ono, you could have taken her without the fly by, showing the colors or performing a Snap 180. Even after you passed her you could have used the aft missiles. The results of your choice were effective, but I am curious as to why you chose those tactics?”

  Addison began to grin a little. “To be honest, sir, the aft missile launcher was an afterthought. I just did what we’ve always done…and maybe I was show boating a little.”

  “That’s what I thought. Thank you for your honesty. Let’s utilize all of our options going forward, shall we?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Tell me, what did you think when you realized you were the only ship within five million miles?”

  “To be honest, I didn’t expect that. It was kind of spooky. It gave the impression everyone else had been destroyed; that we were the last ship and all alone.”

  “Good, that’s exactly what you were supposed to think. Yet you responded like true professionals. Your hard work has paid off and I am again very proud of all of you. There’s just one thing you seem to have forgotten; something I’ve told you many times before.”

  For a moment the lieutenants looked at him as though their memories had been wiped, but then Sela began to smile.

  “We are never alone.”

  “Correct! Now go get some sleep.”

  Addison and Penelope nodded as the commander followed the group to the door, closing it as they left.

  Randall tried not to but couldn’t help looking at Verna with a huge grin. “How about my girls?”

  “You love to gloat, don’t you?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Ok, fine. You and the lieutenants have done very well, but I don’t know that I would refer to them as ‘my girls.’ How about, ‘my crew,’ just to keep it professional?”

  “Semantics. Either way, they’re the best fighter crew in the fleet! My fighter crew!”

  “Do you think you might be just a little biased, dear?”

  “Maybe, but until someone shows me a better crew, that’s my observation.”

  “Technically, they’re DSSF’s fighter crew, which makes them and their commander, mine. Try not to forget it.”

  “Aye, Captain!”

  “You know how much I hate cocky. It gets people killed. If you stop and consider how fast the entire fleet had to grow up, I am amazed our losses haven’t been much greater over the last two years. I think we’ve stayed ahead of the odds because we knew we weren’t invincible, but if our pilots begin to think they are the best in the universe it may cost us dearly.”

  “Yes, well, young or not, we defeated the Greys, the Nephilim and the Gorgon.”

  “I don’t know about that. The Greys and Anakim’s lot I’ll give to you, but the Gorgon… I don’t think we did. If the Ant Men, that is to say, Kontana and his ship, had not intervened, there is a good chance most of us would have died and the reptiles would have swept over the planet with little to stop them.”

  Randall leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Are you forgetting the Eradicators? I don’t think there’s an alien force out there that can handle an antimatter explosion of that magnitude, including the Rigelians.”

  “The problem there, my love, is that the reptiles were too close to Earth before we could respond with an Eradicator. Just one, detonated within 40,000 miles of this planet, would have consumed half the atmosphere and altered the moon’s orbit! Much closer and there would be nothing left. But speaking of alien activity, HQ has been getting some strange reports from our people watching Ivan’s house.”

  “Yeah, on their way back down this morning Lieutenant Penelope reported picking up four alien space craft over Russia. But how is that possible? According to SRN nothing has crossed the FMML in over a year.”

  “Maybe, but we know nothing is infallible, including the Satellite Radar Network, S.D.I. or ship’s radar. Just because we haven’t detected or intercepted anything recently doesn’t mean something or someone could not have gotten past us. If any group of aliens has developed their own stealth capabilities, it will be a new ball game.”

  “Ok, let’s assume they have some form of stealth technology now. Why would they be messing with the Russians? Logically, wouldn’t they come after us first?”

  “You’re right. It’s been a while since there was an attempted abduction and tactically they should try to remove the most serious threat to them first. But I think the reason things have been quiet for so long could be an indication that Anakim’s losses were more severe than we first realized. Lately I’ve been wondering how long the peace would last, and only God knows what they will try next.”

  Chapter 3

  “I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside of this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?”

  President Ronald Reagan

  May 6, 1984 Moscow, Russia…

  “Colonel, we just received another report of strange, dancing lights in the sky, approximately 210 kilometers northeast of the base.”

  “Again? I am tired of these dancing lights! Do you have anything on radar?”

  “No, sir, only authorized traffic.”

  “Very well, scramble MiGs to investigate and report.”

  “At once, Colonel!”

  Less than a minute later a pair of MiG 29’s from Kubinka Airbase blazed into the twilight sky and were soon approaching the dancing lights.

  “348 to base. We are close enough to identify the lights. There are four large diamond shaped aircraft… no markings.”

  “Diamond shaped? What are they doing, 348?”

  “They appear to be… hovering.”

  “Perhaps they are balloons. State your altitude, 348?”

  “30,000 feet.”

  “And there are no markings?”

  “Nyet. They are not balloons, and they do not look like anything I have ever seen. They look… alien!”

  The Colonel appeared agitated as he turned to his air traffic control officer. “Alien! Perhaps we are dealing with a new American stealth aircraft. In which case, they should not be here. 348, you are cleared to shoot them down!”

  “348, confirmed! Moving into attack position!”

  The men in the tower could see the MiGs on their radar and then a pair of Vympel R-73 rockets emerging from each.

  “The unidentified aircraft are still not on the scope, sir, but I can see the MiGs and four missiles clearly!”

  With a loud and irritated tone, the Colonel snapp
ed, “Excellent! Soon we will see if the dancing lights are Americans or aliens!”

  As soon as the fighters had fired their missiles they veered away, but only moments later the pilots were amazed to see several laser-like beams strike all four rockets, causing them to explode well short of their targets. An instant later the MiGs also disappeared from Kubinka radar.

  “What? Sir! They are gone!”

  “What do you mean gone? The balloons?”

  “No, sir, the MiGs! They just… disappeared!”

  Now clearly enraged, the Colonel slammed his fist down on his desk. “Send a search team to the area, then get me the Secretary on the line!”

  Suzdal, Russia…

  “Mr. Secretary, the leader of our recovery team is on the line.”

  “What is his name?”

  “Captain Anatoly Dernov.”

  “Good evening, Captain Dernov. What have you to report?”

  “Good evening, Mr. Secretary. I am sorry to say, I have very disturbing news. We have completed our initial search of the Suzdal area and have only found a few small fragments of the MiGs. It appears they were vaporized by whatever hit them and since no chutes were seen, I believe it is safe to assume the pilots were vaporized along with their aircraft.”

  “I do not understand. When you say, vaporized…”

  “I mean exactly that. They were almost completely disintegrated in the air.”

  “Yes, Captain, that is disturbing news. Were there no witnesses on the ground?”

  “Yes, sir, there were several witnesses, but what they have told me is even more disturbing. Immediately after the MiGs were downed, two of the unknown aircraft landed in the field where I am now standing. Once they were on the ground, three tall beings emerged and quickly captured several of the townspeople, then flew away.”

  “Explain. What do you mean… tall beings?”

  “One of the farmers reported giants took his wife and two daughters. Another man told me his teenage son went with them. Both men are still very frightened and have been interrogated separately, but they told the same story. They described the beings as tall, beautiful aliens, who appear similar to humans but were something more. Of the three, there were two males and one female. The men described the female as flawlessly beautiful, and the strangest thing of all is that there was no struggle. Those who were taken seemed to have gone willingly. The female even kissed the son who then went willingly. The father said his son seemed to be bewitched or in a trance.”