Alpha One - Chris Burton [58]
They were interrupted by the bellowing voice of Lieutenant Commander Teddy ‘Night Hawk’ Taylor, who had entered the theatre from the back together with his two instructors. He addressed his students from the front of the room.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, today you will be flying a twelve-hour training endurance mission in Sabre 2’s. Please group up, sit in twos and await your jump ship allocation and pre-flight. Those on your left will be the pilots for this mission, those on the right will be co-pilots, just as we did last time with the Rapier endurance mission., I am going to mix it up a bit. I don’t want my best pilots grouping together. Enson Costello, please come down and replace Enson Maguire on the left. Maguire please go and join Enson Carter on the right.”
Taylor made a few additional crew changes. Once satisfied, he began the pre-flight.
“Today’s mission will center on Alpha Two. You will be clear to launch under your own timing, but I do not expect anyone to still be on the ground fifteen minutes from now. You will control your own flight clearance and make your way to Alpha Two A.S.A.P.”
Teddy Taylor was in a confident mood today. Clearly it pleased him that someone else would have the responsibility to guide his students to safety today and he could relax.
“You will be guided by the A2 CAG to their Earth Defense Unit, and will be asked to put down and attend today’s live mission pre-flight. Please remember the basics, students. If you land on the Moon’s surface, you need to be aware of atmospherics and reduced gravity. Basic stuff, I know, but you’d be surprised how often people get this wrong. You will be joining the qualified Sabre 2 and 3 pilots in their color-coded operational groups. You need to keep up and follow the lead of the group leader. You will be at operational status for eight hours. I expect all Sabres back here by 3 a.m. tomorrow. You can revert to your original crews for your return leg from Alpha Two.”
“Finally, pilots need to allow co-pilots equal piloting time. Co-pilots. you will need to take your instructions from your pilot in the first instance. Questions?”
“What chance of some real action today?” Steve called out.
“You will be operational and anything can happen. You will be using live rounds, so I urge extreme caution. If there is any doubt, speak first to your pilot and then group leader or CAG.”
The pre-flight completed, the trainee pilots headed to their allocated jump ship. Jake Carter and Siobhan Maguire were allocated a Sabre 3 (AA5). This was an unusual derivative. It was only about five years old and certainly looked the part. Its streamlined swing wing format made it stand out as a prized possession for the Academy. This was a superior vessel compared to the standard Sabre 2. Jake Carter could not have been more pleased.
All fifteen Sabres cleared Earth’s defenses and set a course for the Moon within eight minutes of the end of the pre-flight.
The Alpha Two CAG brought all fifteen ships into the same jump ship bay. The huge pressurized hangar was on the near side of the Moon, allowing a rapid response to any threat to Earth’s defenses. The local Earth Defense Unit CAG assumed control of the jump ships as they entered the hangar, and the vessels were landed in three different sections. Jake’s ship received instructions to put down in section five-green, together with four other Sabres, including Steve’s. The trainees landed their crafts and were promptly directed to their section’s operations center, and from there into the Pre-Flight meeting rooms.
Alpha Two was a colossal base. At peak, it could hold up to half of Alpha’s Fleet capacity. The main fleet operations center was on the far side of the moon and formed part of the Alpha Two Command and Operational headquarters. Today the base was very busy, with the buildup of reserve and support craft for the main fleet’s offensive on the Sentinels in full swing. The logistical complications of serving and supporting such a large fleet were extensive,