Operation Pacifica: Red Skies at Morning by Admiral J-Rock, TRES Corps "The Cobra Assault Cannon: State of the art bang-bang!" -- Clarence Boddicker, "RoboCop" "This isn't a clear and present danger, Commander. Just a quick look around to see what the problem is..." "Very well, but you'll take a full escort." "All right, all right. I'll be in and out in a hour. What could go wrong?" -- Capt. John Sheridan & Com. Susan Ivanova, "Babylon 5" _DTT FREEDOM_, FLIGHT DECK, 0706 HRS. SHIP'S TIME SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC DAY SIX OF OPERATION PACIFICA # Rush "A Passage to Bangkok" _2112_ J-Rock had brought the case containing the Wildmon Plasma Shotgun up to the side of the ship. He was currently engaged in breaking said weapon out while two crewmen stood by with a improvised wooden target. The previous night and morning had already passed without incident, and the _Freedom_ had already dispatched a refueling plane to service the E-2C Hawkeye that was flying overwatch for the Dobe Fleet. That was five minutes ago. Warrior Cochraine simply stood by as J-Rock lifted the Wildmon from its case and slammed a clip into it. The Wildmon itself looked like a cross between a XRifle (tm) and a H&K G10, except the bore was much larger. Slightly above and forward of the pistol grip was engraved the legend "REVELATIONS XIX:I." Upon seeing this, Cochraine said, "I'm afraid my recall of the Bible isn't good enough to remember that passage right away." "'I heard what sounded like the roar of a vast throng in Heaven; and they were shouting: 'Alleluia! Victory and glory and power belong to our God,'" J-Rock quoted. He shrugged. "It was either that or Galatians 6:7. When this gets released to production, the engraving will be customized to allow for any religious slogan. "As for the specs on the weapon, I figure the combat range is about 150 meters. It takes a standard XRifle power clip, and comes with a retractable stock. You ready with the target?" "Yes, sir," the crewmen shouted, hefting the target into throwing position. "Pull!" The crewmen threw the target as J-R pressed the weapon to his shoulder, aimed, and fired. Four beams of plasma shot forth at randomized angles within a cone of forty-five degrees and struck the target. Wooden planks caught fire and burned to ashes under the beams' hellish caress. What remained of the target floated down to the surface of the ocean, trailing smoke as it continued to burn. "Good God!" Cochraine exclaimed. "Yes, that's what the Hebrews thought," J-R replied, doing his Marcus Brody impression. Shifting back into his normal voice, he continued, "I must confess I got the idea for this from the Hussein and Fundamentalist laser shotguns. The retractable beam splitter also came later, after we finished with Deputy Director Carr's _Easy Money_. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you about the beam splitter. It also retracts, allowing for one concentrated plasma blast. The whole thing's semi-automatic, simply because something like this would require a cooling period between shots." "How many shots can you get out of that thing?" "Like I said before, it takes a standard XRifle clip, so one would give you 125 shots each." Any further comment was cut off by the loudspeaker, which said, "CAG report to the CIC on the double!" "That would be me," J-R said, popping the clip out of the Wildmon and putting it back in the case. He closed it before handing it back to Cochraine, saying "Canyougetthisbacktomyquarterspleasethanksyou'reapal" before heading toward the tower at high speed. Cochraine watched J-Rock depart before saying to himself, "If I tried to talk as fast as he just did, I'd dislocate my face." ... COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER (CIC), TWO MINUTES LATER "You wanted to see me, sir?" J-Rock asked as he entered the CIC. Captain Geoffries was already looking at a pull-down map of the waters surrounding the _Freedom._ One spot in particular was marked with a large triangle. "Yes, now stand easy," Geoffries replied. "We've just received word from our spotter plane." 'Ah, right to business, I see,' J-Rock thought. 'I like this captain already.' "The crew spotted numerous surface contacts headed this way," the captain said, indicating the triangle. "However, due to cloud cover, they're unable to determine the ships' intentions." "Couldn't their sensors pick that up?" J-R asked. "There's some kind of ionization in the air that's mucking up the sensor readings. Which, as you might have already guessed, is where you come in. I want you to organize a recon flight to go over there and check those ships out. We need to know immediately if their intentions are less than peaceful. "I won't lie to you. To make it to the contacts and back, the planes will have to carry minimal ordnance _and_ refuel in mid-flight. I recommend that this be a volunteer mission." "Then you have your first volunteer," J-Rock declared. Holding up his hands to forestall any argument, he continued, "Look, I know all about the importance of the Commander Air Group being on the ship. But I come from the school that says the leaders lead from the front. That, and if you'll excuse the expression, I am really f*cking bored. This may be what we need to enter the shores of Pacifica on a high note, both for the crew and myself." "All right," Geoffries said. "But do be careful. The fleet needs live pilots with information more than it needs dead heroes." ... DOBERMAN F-14 FIGHTER (CALLSIGN: TIGER 200) CATAPULT FOUR, _DTT FREEDOM_, 0815 HRS. SHIP'S TIME # Queen "One Vision" _A Kind of Magic_ "Pull!", Persephone shouted just before Catapult Three sent her fighter into the Wild Blue Yonder. Captain Felton was the first to launch, and he said the very same thing as he went airborne. It may have started as self-depreciating humor on DarkSide's part, but every pilot launching after that started saying "Pull!" prior to takeoff. Even the BARCAP (Barrier Combat Air Patrol) flyers were getting in on the act. J-Rock just sat there in the cockpit of Tiger 200, waiting for his clearance to launch. "Tiger two-oh-oh, requesting clearance to take off," he radioed to the tower. Meanwhile, Charcharadon's fighter (callsign: Tiger 204) was being hitched to Catapult One. Originally, he was supposed to take off immediately following Persephone, but an avionics failure had kept his plane down a bit longer. "Tiger two-oh-oh, you are cleared for takeoff," the airboss replied. "Watch your six, pilot." J-Rock advanced the throttles to full afterburner, saluted the launch officer, and said, "Pull!" # first guitar chord in "One Vision" Almost immediately following that, the catapult sent Tiger 200 down the launch strip, as the G-forces pressed its pilot into his seat with an invisible hand. The plane cleared the deck about a second later, looking like it was going to splash into the sea before nosing up into a climb. "Whoo," J-R said when he could draw a breath again. He could never get used to taking off from a wet-navy carrier. He throttled back to full military power and joined the rest of his outbound flight in their lazy, fuel-efficient circle of the _Freedom_. "Tiger two-oh-four, you are cleared for launch," the tower radioed. "Roger," Charcharadon replied. "But if you think I'm gonna say 'Pull', you've got--YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" The launch officer heard "Pull" and launched Tiger 204, forcing the remaining air in Charcharadon's lungs out his mouth in a scream. When he could draw breath again (as he and the others in Tiger flight were cracking up laughing), J-Rock said, "Ok, let's find those ships. Tiger 200 has the lead." ... TWO HOURS LATER # "Hummell Gets The Rockets" _"The Rock" soundtrack_ "Can't see a damn thing through this cloud cover," Yearnshaw said. Things had not gone well ever since the airplanes had topped off from the tanker. For starters, some low-lying clouds had obscured the ocean for at least a hundred miles. Then the interference the Hawkeye crew had been talking about washed over the flight. 'It's almost as if something doesn't want us to see what's down here,' J-Rock thought. 'But we aren't being jammed.. hmm.' "Admiral, I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Persephone noted. "Who isn't?" J-Rock asked in response. "Sir, this is serious--" she started to say. "We have contacts!" DarkSide said over the radio. "Bearing three- one four, ten miles, eight hundred knots closure!" "How many are there?" J-Rock asked, suddenly getting a sour taste in his mouth. "Fifteen," came Darkside's reply. To be continued in "Furball Fever"...