Chapter 593

The Retreat

... The Sheriff and his family had left. Jeff and Joe Martin were sitting in the living room talking while the women had gone somewhere, probably to the bathroom. “So, how’s the honeymoon going?” Jeff, at a loss for a topic, asked uncomfortably, not wanting to get into the subject that he thought Arlene should take care of.

“Great. I’m still amazed that she actually married me. Sir, the woman brought some polish along and polished her wedding ring – a brand-new wedding ring. I mean, it’s just a simple gold band similar to what you guys wear, but she sometimes just stares at that hand. When I think of all the things that had to come together for us even to meet ... Well, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

“That’s the way I feel about all my wives,” Jeff agreed.

When the women came back, Arlene turned to Joe. “I need to talk to you guys. Shall we take a stroll over to Ship?”

The newlyweds looked at each other as they both responded positively.

When they got to the inside garage, Arlene nervously said, “It’s a beautiful night out, and it’s only a short way to Ship, as you know. So, why don’t we just walk?” Stupid. Of course they know; they’ve been there a hundred times over the last few months.

“Are we in trouble?” Olivia asked, now nervous too.

“What?” Arlene said as she stopped abruptly. “Of course not. You two are my best crew, and you certainly haven’t done anything wrong.” Oh, shit. Now I’ve called them my best crew, and I’m not supposed to say that, am I? “Okay, look,” she said, even more nervous now than she was when she and her father had talked, “I’ve been put in charge of the interceptor squadron...”

“Sure. We know that,” Joe injected. “Who else could it be?”

“Oh, I, uh ... thanks. But I found out pretty quickly that ... Oh, crap. Guys, I’m going to have to cancel your off time. I know it isn’t fair. You’ve just gotten married, and both of you have time built up like crazy.” She came to a halt just short of stammering when she realized that both were wearing grins, their faces easily seen in the well-lit grounds.

“That’s the reason we came back tonight,” Olivia said as she snuggled under her husband’s arm. “We’ve been together on the scout, and we’ve basically been living together at Security. All we’ve lost is being able to sightsee in the area. We can always do that on a real vacation where we don’t have to worry about being needed somewhere.”

“Uh, thanks for the great attitude. There’s something else. Ship has another interceptor ready, and we have two pilots that should be here shortly.”

Husband and wife cast a worried glance at each other.

“What?” Arlene said as she caught the glance.

“Uh...”

“Come on, spit it out. Is there someone you would genuinely not like to have as an interceptor crew?”

“None of our business...” Joe began.

“Well,” Arlene said with a twinkle in her eye as they passed through the hatch into Ship proper, then on down the corridor to turn into the lounge where two people were just coming to their feet. “I think you will get along splendidly with these two. May I introduce to you Bill and Kathy Madison. Bill and Kathy, this is Joe and Olivia Martin, the best kick-ass team flying an interceptor.”

“Second best team,” Joe said with a grin as he put out his hand. “Arlene and Ann regularly take us apart – and Worthington would argue that second status, too.”

Later, as Arlene talked to Bill and Kathy.

“You’ve seen the only two videos we have of the Paladins, and before you ask, we heard the name on one of their transmissions while they were practicing – well, something that sounded like Paladin, anyway. I don’t know how much information you have about the aliens, so here goes. There’s a lot that we don’t know, and of course, we have no idea what the aliens plan on doing when they enter our solar system. Daddy believes they will disperse the Paladins well away from Earth and sneak in. The support ship is a monster and as best we can tell, it is considerably bigger than Ship at her full size. There are numerous projections about the alien vessel that we believe are weapon pods or mounts. It would be foolish to think that their weapons are not in proportion to that monster ship. If so, a bombardment of Earth would be catastrophic.

“Our job, though, will primarily be to dispatch the Paladins, hopefully before they can exert their weapons on the Earth proper.”

“How many?” Bill asked.

“At least three times as many Paladins as we have interceptors.”

“Good,” Bill said with a grin, “then there will be plenty to go around. Even before I get to see an interceptor up close and personal, I’d be amazed if the inertialess drive didn’t make it a turkey shoot. Wanna go shoot some turkeys? he asked his wife with a grin.”

“As long as I get to drive some of the time,” Kathy said as she grinned back.

“Where do we sign on?” Bill asked, now turning serious.

“What are you doing for the next couple of hours?”

The couple passed a glance. “Well, you know that we asked to join your unit. Apparently, either you or Jeff talked to Mr. Wainwright, because he told us that we belonged to you for now. So, as for the next couple hours, or whenever, whatever you want us to be doing,” Kathy said, smiling.

“Great. Ann will be here in a few minutes. We’ll start the two of you off in the simulator as gunners. Bill, I’ll take you with me on your first simulator ride, and Kathy, you will go with Ann. After we finish with the simulation, and if you still want to be an interceptor team, we’ll discuss it in detail.”

“We don’t get to fly a real...” Kathy began.

Arlene interrupted. “With Ship’s simulator, there is no real difference, except you can’t get killed in the simulator – although mistakes sometimes hurt enough to make you extremely careful not to make the same mistake again.”

“This simulator...” Bill began.

“ ... Is right this way,” Ann said as she joined them. “Just follow me.”

A few moments later, they walked into the big room where there were several couches in areas sectioned off by short walls, some of the couches with a male or female in uniform lying upon them seemingly sound asleep.

“Bill, you take the couch there, and I’ll take the one next door. Kathy, if you don’t mind, take the one next to Ann there.”

“I’ve heard you guys talking about these things,” Bill said as he gingerly lay on the couch, and suddenly became quiet.

“Hey, this is very comforta...” Kathy said, but the word was cut off as Ship initiated the training scenario.

Ship’s Academy.

Bill and Kathy were stunned as they stood looking at the giant building that rose up just in front of them. “Hi, guys,” Arlene said as she and Ann walked up. “How do you like your flight suits?”

“Odd, but they feel fine.” Bill said as he looked down at himself. “But, no gee suits?”

“Those will morph into full environmental suits should you become exposed to vacuum, but there is no reason for a gee suit.”

“No reason for a gee suit in a fighter? I realize that the interceptors have inertialess drives, but still...”

“Ship’s technology,” Ann inserted. “And by the way, those suits are armored as well.”

“Where are we?” Bill asked as he looked around them. “I assume...”

“Ship’s Academy, but don’t worry because you’re not going to start as plebes – at least not now. As I said, for the first outing, we’re going to give you some experience as gunners aboard an interceptor. Trust me,” Arlene said with an unusual tone to her voice, “the rest of us didn’t get to where we are today without a little sweat, blood and tears, but even with Ship’s time dilation, we just do not have time for you to spend four subjective years in Ship’s academy. You can always catch up after we take care of the aliens.”

“Kathy, I would like for you to go with Ann, and Bill you will be my gunner today.”

Kathy quickly touched her husband’s hand for a second before following Ann toward the building.

“This way,” Arlene said, “and get ready to crap in your pants.”

“Remember, I used to fly F-14’s, so I’m not likely to do that,” Bill grumbled as they entered the building behind Ann and Kathy, the two suddenly veering off as Ann took Kathy to her interceptor.

Arlene’s grin got bigger at Bill’s comment. “As I said, get ready to crap in your pants,” she teased, barely holding back a giggle as they continued across the truly enormous hangar.

Bill couldn’t help but gape at the now thirteen interceptors, but wondered at the others that were set apart from the craft they were heading toward.

Arlene, guessing at Bill’s questioning look, said, “The ones sitting apart are the academy’s simulators. Since you two are already pilots – excellent pilots, I might add, and we are pushed for time, we’re going straight to the real thing.” (Ship had caused Kathy and Bill to forget about lying down in her simulator.)

As they continued across the giant hangar, “Our interceptor is there in the front,” Arlene said, motioning. “The one that Ann and Kathy will be using is over there,” she added while motioning to the craft that Ann and Kathy were approaching.

When Arlene and Bill neared, the AI opened the belly hatch, and the stairway extended to the pavement. “Come on; you can do the walk around with me today.”

Bill, who had been staring at the interceptor, whispered, “Oh, shit,” as he stood in awe just as Kathy did a distance away as she stared at the craft she was about to board. “This is a lot bigger than my F-14, and has to be the most bad-ass looking fighting machine ever to fly the skies,” Bill marveled while continuing to stare at the interceptor.

“The stubby wings are just to house the nacelles that contain part of the inertialess drives, and also some of the interceptor’s complement of guns. “If you want to use the power, which we have plenty of under normal conditions, zero to three quarters light in under a second. That’s if we aren’t having to replenish power that the shields are using in combat. Everything has a tradeoff. Under non-combat conditions, acceleration to anything under a half light speed is instantaneous for all practical purposes.

“Uh, you’re saying that it can accelerate to half the speed of light in a fraction of a second? That’s awful hard to believe...”

“And, as you’re aware, she doesn’t just fly the skies. Although our interceptors don’t have FTL drives, they can certainly operate and fight within and around our solar system, and with devastating efficiency. The AI is intelligent and can operate anything on the craft, but ... it fights considerably better with a human pilot and gunner.”

After they did the walk around where Arlene pointed out various things that she checked for, including surface damage, she motioned for Bill to precede her up the stairs. “I want you to take the gunners position today,” she instructed as the AI folded the stairs away and sealed the ship. “In case something happens to the pilot and the AI is also down, there are dual controls in the gunner’s position, but don’t even think about using those controls on this flight. Mostly, the training today is to orient you to the interceptor and get you started forgetting most everything you have ever learned about handling and fighting an Earth designed aircraft. Generally, that knowledge has little in common with what we’re about to do. In short, out of atmosphere, a craft with an inertialess drive and its own gravity, has no reason for smooth banking turns, nor for all practical purposes, do you have to accelerate. You can change speed and even reverse directions virtually instantaneously.

“As you can see, the Weapon Officer’s/gunner’s position is somewhat aft and slightly starboard of the pilot’s position, although it basically faces forward, too. In a few minutes, the AI will show you why I said that the position ‘basically’ faces forward.”

Bill eyed the seat and almost wrap-around console. “How do you...”

Hearing, the AI slid the complicated-appearing seat back and turned it enough that Bill could easily slip into it, which he did. Before he could say anything, it adjusted to his body, turned and moved forward, seemingly becoming part of the station. The holo screens lit, and he suddenly had a three-hundred and sixty degree view of the area around the craft, including above and below. It was as if the interceptor had disappeared, and he was suspended in midair.

Leaning over his shoulder, Arlene pointed to a big red button with a protective sleeve above it that had to be moved aside before the button could be pushed, “Don’t. Period. Ship’s ejection seats are not what you would find on Earth craft. I am sorely tempted to lock that out, but I’ll leave it active only because I respect you and Kathy as seasoned pilots. But keep firmly in mind that what looks like an absolute certainty of a crash, is absolutely normal business with an inertialess drive, particularly with one of these bad boys. Now, your seat has its own inertialess system in case something goes wrong with the ship’s. Just think of it as an invisible seat harness in an earth craft.

“The basic weapon controls are simple. We’ll get into augmentation in coming sessions, but understand that the guns are augmented by a very sophisticated AI. At the speeds we’ll be moving in actual combat, you would probably not be scoring many hits without the augmentation. But ... a well-trained gunner can do amazing things with the weapon systems this craft has. This beautiful machine is essentially a humongous power plant with guns and an inertialess drive, and with the vehicle itself built around those systems, everything supplemented by a very knowledgeable AI.”

Arlene spoke as if she were addressing someone as she introduced Bill to the AI and told it what she planned to do. “Please bring Bill up to speed on the manual operation of your weapon systems. I want him to understand fully how to track and fire manually. A little later, we’ll teach him how to use your augmentation.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Temporary Commander, and Arlene still works just fine,” she snarled at the AI, the conversation having obviously occurred before.

“Yes, Commander,” it responded as Arlene worked her way into the pilot’s seat, the AI’s voice determined.

“Oh, yeah,” she called over her shoulder as she snuggled herself into the pilot’s position, “I forgot to tell you. Ship’s AI’s have personalities of their own.”

The interceptor’s AI began its teaching program, and Bill sucked in a breath as the craft seemed to dissolve around him. “Son-of-a...”

“You can modify the effect,” Arlene told him over the intercom, which seemed more like messages being pumped directly into his brain. “At maximum, you will seem to be sitting in space with nothing around you. I usually like to keep the effect at around 50%, so the aircraft and guns seem solid, but I can still easily see all about me. Maximum is a little too real when someone is shooting at you. It’s like sitting out in space with nothing to protect you. Just tell the AI to demonstrate until you have a comfortable setting. Speak to it as if you were conversing with a human. Essentially, it is one heck of a lot smarter than we are.”

Arlene worked through her electronic checklist – much shorter than an Earth craft would have, but still a checklist, just in case. By the time Bill was paying attention to what the AI was telling him, they were hovering a hundred feet off the tarmac in front of the giant hangar.

As soon as Arlene received clearance from the Academy, she pointed the interceptor’s nose heavenward and touched her speed up a notch. Bill, amazed at the realism of the system, was experimenting when he, with a gasp, realized that they were suddenly high above the Earth, fully in space – there had barely been a blur before they were a couple of thousand miles above the atmosphere. Bill’s body stiffened and he froze for a second before he told the AI to back the view down to a tenth. Abruptly, he was again sitting in his seat, half surrounded by screens and readings that scrolled across in seemingly never-ending patterns.

“Oh, shit. I see what you mean,” he said, forcing his voice to be calm, “but how in the ... Is this real? How can we be in space already? I didn’t feel a thing. How can this ... interceptor travel through atmosphere without burning up, not to mention that we should have created a shock wave that would have... Sheeiiit!“