Alpha One - Chris Burton [50]
Jake’s mother moved onto when they might see him. This was inevitable, as it had been months since his last visit. Jake wanted to see them and his parents Border collie, Barrat, but he was so busy with his Academy commitments. This was a ruse. He did want to see them but he didn’t want another row with his father about how he should progress with his career.
Commander Simon Carter started as a weaponry specialist aboard a Star Cruiser, two weeks after leaving the Academy. He progressed to his first command within five years. There was no question in Commander Carter’s mind that wasting time running around in a death-trap jump ship would do nothing for Jake’s career and probably end up killing him.
Jake reluctantly agreed he would visit in the next few weeks. His mother told him she would hold him to it and would harass him if he didn’t turn up soon.
He arrived at the Academy hangar just before two and headed directly into the lecture hall, joining his fellow Top Gun candidates. Steve arrived a few minutes later, but there was no sign of Maria or Carla. The two female Ensons arrived together just before the Top Gun Coordinator entered the hall. He stood and addressed his congregation.
“Good morning. Before we go any further, I must advise that the Top Gun timings from yesterday have been scrapped, as not all candidates completed the circuit.”
The coordinator paused as the congregation voiced their objections before continuing.
“Progression and elimination from this round will be decided on positions as of the last Top Gun event and the one run today. I need hardly remind you there is no room for cock-ups. We saw yesterday just how easy it is to get it wrong, with nearly devastating consequences.”
The coordinator paused briefly before continuing. “We will fly the same course as yesterday, but in the order of current ranking in the Top Gun tournament, meaning the current eight highest rank pilots don’t fly until about 20.00 hours. The chosen course is the same, because we all need to learn from the errors made yesterday. I should mention all Hunters have passed fit for flight. New canopies and release systems have been fitted to each one overnight. Good luck everyone.”
The co-coordinator and his team then took questions, and then, a few minutes later, the first ten pilots, including Carla, were lead into the hangar to commence their pre-flights.
Maria joined Steve and Jake. They watched the Hunters launch before heading to the refreshment suite. Maria perked up a bit and embraced Jake as they sat down to take coffee.
“I am really sorry about yesterday,” she said. “I can’t get my head round why I was upset. I guess someone special to you, from your past, is likely to have that kind of effect.”
Jake responded and kissed Maria on her forehead. “That’s fine, sweetheart. Yesterday was just a fucked-up kind of day. Let’s forget about it.”
Jake showed affection on the outside; but deep down, he felt this girl was just too high-maintenance for him.
After Maria joined the third batch of pilots to take her turn, Jake, Steve and Carla took a stroll along the run strip before returning to the refreshment suite for some food. Jake and Steve reported to their respective Hunters at 20.05.
The eight remaining ‘higher ranked’ pilots were led out to the jump pads and launched in quick succession. They cleared the shield system and the space lanes, and headed directly to Jupiter.
All jump ship controls were intuitive, and were linked directly with the pilot’s cerebral functions via the pilot’s helmets. All the Hunters’ controls could be operated in this way, although manual back up controls were available should malfunction or pilot preference require them to be. The Hunter’s main display screen listed key information throughout the flight, with the cerebrally-controlled heads-up display either duplicating this information or detailing additional information.
Despite the capability for a jump ship to fly without the pilot lifting a hand, the joystick remained the usual control for