Operation: Pacifica, That'll be the Day
by Warrior Aphrodite Persephone (alexbell@iastate.edu)

[A cabin aboard the DTT Freedom. 2005 hours]

 	Warrior Aphrodite Persephone was startled awake by a loud pounding
  on her cabin door.  Grumbling to Zaphyre, she stalked out of bed and
  brutally yanked it open. "What!?" she glared angrily at the startled
  lieutenant outside, "I hope you have a damn good reason for waking me up."

	 The seaman grimaced, but forced himself to remain calm;
  Persephone's wild, pulsating eyes threw sparks as she waited impatiently for
  him to begin. "Sincere apologies, sir, but Admiral J-Rock sent me.  Enemy
  warships have been sighted, and all pilots are to report to the Briefing
  Room in fifteen minutes."

	 The exhausted Warrior just stared at him blankly, her eyes calming
  slowly as his words sank in.  She smiled resignedly. "Thank you,
  Lieutenant... I guess I'll see you in fifteen."  Dazedly shaking her head,
  Persephone dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

	 Turning, she slowly closed the door and glanced longingly at her
  bed.  *Damn it all.  This had better be a false alarm - right now, I'm about
  as sharp as a Spongie.*

	 Zaph snorted mentally. *That'll be the day.  But a few more hours
  of sleep sure would be nice.*

	 Pers smiled.  *You can say that again.  Well, I 'spose we'd better
  get moving.*  Stiffling a yawn, she bent down and slowly removed a large
  chest from her locker.  She carefully placed the chest on the floor, opened
  it, and took out a toy, wind-up doll.  Smiling, she sat down on the floor
  and gently turned the large crank on the doll's back.  Persephone placed the
  doll on the floor and leaned back to watch.

	 The doll stood still for a moment before blinking its eyes and
  turning to stare at Persephone.  Suddenly, it smiled.

	 "One Wake-Me-Up[tm] drink coming up, Madam."

	 The Warrior nodded and returned the smile.

	 As if receiving an order to proceed, the doll quickly whirled about
  and shuffled with stiff-legs to the chest.  It leapt inside and began
  tossing all sorts of things out while mumbling to itself.

	 "Whipping cream... Espresso machine... Chocolate syrup...
  Jolt[tm]... a couple eggs... pixie sticks... coffee beans... blender... an
  old tennis shoe... bag o' powder... more Jolt[tm] ... ice cream... No-
  Doz[tm]... root beer... hmmmm..."

	 Seconds later, the doll leapt back out of the chest into the huge
  pile of ingredients/implements on the floor.  It quickly turned into
  something out of a cartoon, whirling about tossing this and that together,
  mixing and blending like crazy.  About two minutes later, it suddenly
  stopped, panting.  The doll turned towards Persephone and held out a large
  frothing glass.

	 "Madam, your double-espresso, quintuple Jolt, chocolate-flavored
  sugarade with a touch of butterscotch,  dab of whipping cream, and of course
  a cherry on top."

	 "Thank you, very much, 'Taz'" Pers replied, trying not to laugh.
  She took a deep breath and then drained half the glass.  Making a face at
  the taste, she commented to Zaph, before finishing the rest of her 'drink'.
  *Well, at least this'll keep me awake.*  Grimacing, she set the now-empty
  glass down, quickly slid into her flight suit, and headed out the door.

...

[Pilot's Briefing Room aboard DTT Freedom. 2108 hours.]

	 Warrior Persephone stumbled into the briefing room and collapsed
  into the first empty seat she found.

	 "Hi! Persephone, isn't it?" Pers turned half-shut eyes towards the
  cheery voice on her left.  Her neighbor grimaced slightly before continuing
  "I'm Simkin, and you, my dear, look like Hell warmed over.  What're you
  doin' here, girl?!"

	 "Orders," she mumbled, yawning widely.  "Give me a minute for the
  Caffeine to hit.  Simkin, you said?  Well,  it's nice to know that I at
  least look better than I feel."  Persephone smiled at his sudden bark of
  laughter, then turned her attention to Admiral J-Rock as he called for
  attention and began to speak.

	 She listened quietly as he outlined his plans, her dread growing
  with each passing minute.  *Darn it.  Why couldn't this be a friggin'
  drill?!?*

	 Zaph chuckled in her mind and began to hum 'Daydream Believer'.
  *Hold on a second,* the dragon quieted, thinking hard.  *I hope you don't
  think you're gonna force me back into one of those tin cans...*

	 *Don't be silly. You know they're made of Aluminum and Titanium -
  not Tin.  But... it does sound like we're going back up.*  Pers gently
  turned her Companion's attention back towards J-Rock.

	 "...possible.  Persephone, I know you're probably tired, but I want
  you and Simkin on Ready-5.  You'll back up the main intercept in case any of
  them get through.  And if it's anything like this morning was, we'll
  certainly need you."

	 *Noooooooooooooooo!* Zaphyre howled, as Persephone grudgingly
  nodded her agreement.

	 *We don't have any say in the matter.  At least we only have to go
  up if we're needed...*

To Be Continued...
(in "Like a bird in the sky...")

Copyright 1997. AlexBell