Scramble!!!

Scramble!!!

By J.V. Winters

         “3, 2, 1, Hack"

         The briefing started exactly on time. But that was to be expected from Mac. He's been doing this way to long. His salt and pepper hair varified the fact he was a veteran of the last system war, and still taking young wingmen out on their first scramble alerts.

         Vren looked up at the older fighter pilot and felt confident in her abilities. She's accomplished all the training sims and received full qualifications in the F-212 Agile Viper. Arriving just four short months ago, she had already performed superbly on two missions.

         Mac carefully looked over his newest wingman. She had great potential that was for sure. Sure of herself and really good at thinking on her feet.

         "Our primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the base ship. The primary threat will be other fighters since we have picket ships to help in case something larger shows up."

         Vren nodded intently. One thing she had noticed about the briefings, even though they related important information, it was always the same information. She had heard these things before, basic formations positions, and even a refresher on the mechanics of getting the 212 spaceborne quickly.

         Mac had seen this before. The head nods before he finished a point. He was sure she’s heard plenty of these briefings. Hell, he’d even given her a couple on training missions. And most of these wingmen that the scramble klaxon didn’t go off everyday. In fact, it had been a month since the last one, but he needed to stress the importance of this mission.

         "This isn't like any other mission you've flown. In the event we're scrambled, it’s guaranteed we will be outnumbered. And we'll fight outnumbered until follow on forces can be launched, and that will be a few minutes. This fight will change faster then anything you’ve ever thought about." Mac watched to see if the new wingman understood the implications of this. Or if she even had an inkling about it.

         The screen behind Mac displayed the current space surrounding the carrier. Nix I was shining along the solar plane. “We will use Nix as “North” for any jumps and intercepts we have to run. The initial DEZ will be as far away as possible from the Jersen.” Each of the points was highlighted on the screen as he continued.

         Mac leveled his gaze at his new wingman, “Now, what is the most important, life saving and I dare say, critical job you have today?”

         Vren looked up a bit confused. She was used to getting asked questions during the brief, such as where her formation position was supposed to be or which move of the FCR she was suppose to be in. What she wasn’t use to was being asked an opinion about her job, or what she thought was critical.

         Sensing a bit of confusion, Mac decided to press the question a bit more. “Well, come on, what is it?”

         A little bit of panic ran through Vren’s spine, but she’d never show that. “Being aggressive to ensure the safety of the ship. I’ll have to do whatever it takes. Always there and ready.”

         Silence filled the air as Mac studied his young wingman. Vren’s eyes nervously darted back and forth, she was sure she answered correctly. They were always talking about how you needed to be aggressive to be able to beat this enemy. Even thought the Shakarees were outnumbered in this war, they were vicious fighters who had no problem fighting to the last man. They didn’t go on suicide missions, but they never stopped fighting until they either accomplished their objectives, or inflicted mass damage and faded back into the void of space.

         “Anywhere else, you’d be correct, but not this time. A scramble is unlike any tactical environment you’ve ever been in. You will be behind from the second you sit in the bird and you’ll spend most of your time playing catch up. The things I need to get drilled in your head right here and now is this… Stay in formation and stay visual. Things are going change out there faster then you can think and if we get split up there’ a better then seventy-five percent chance one of us will end up dead. And dead, we can’t defend this ship. Got it?”

         Taken back a bit, Vren nodded, “Yes, sir”. She figured it would be different, but it can’t be that different could it? Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she concentrated on the rest of the brief.

         “We’re on duty for the next 24 hours, get your gear and report to the alert bay by 0700.” Mac give her another look and walked out of the briefing. I hope this is a quiet alert period he thought.

* * *

Vren walked into the alert bay with all her flight gear, helmet with Advanced Targeting System, Zero Pressure Suit (ZPS), and harnesses. She looked over at the three AVs sitting in the bay. They were fully loaded with twelve missles and two laser bays. Yes, this thing was definately a killer ship.