Chapter Ten
Luke AFB
6:53PM
It was nearly nightfall when the convoy drove through the gate, marking the end of its long drive from what was once Facility-45. When it pulled up in front of the main building, Reddington and Selina got out of their vehicle and were greeted by Agent Hayes. The rest of Reddington's team joined them.
"I'm back, Ashley," Selina said.
"I'm glad to see you're still in piece, Cat. And well done out there. The survivors are safe and the infestation has been eradicated. Major Reddington, you and your men did a great job as well."
"Thank you, ma'am. Did the sweeper teams come across any creatures in the ruins?"
"Negative, the airstrikes nailed them all. The only thing left of the place was a blackened crater."
"All in a day's work," Reddington commented."
"Major, the rest of your team is dismissed. But my sister wants the three of us to meet her in the ops room. We came across some interesting info regarding the research that was going on in that place."
"Well let's hit it," Selina said then began to walk forward, but Ashley held up her hand.
"Before I walked out here, she also told me to give you this." She pulled out a patch and pinned it on the spot below the American flag patch on Selina's right shoulder. It was the Division Nineteen unit patch which consisted of the letters XIX." Congratulations, Selina. You are now a full member of the unit."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You know you don't have to address me like that, right?"
"Yeah, but it just felt right at the moment.
Ashley smiled then they went inside.
Upon entering the ops room, Selina noticed that Sandra, Colonel Calvin and other members of her support team were the only ones present.
"Where did all of the Air Force people go?" Selina asked.
"I told them to clear out because what I'm about to tell you all is well above their paygrades."
"Well before you begin, I have something to give you," Selina said then opened one of her side pouches pulled out the plastic bag containing the dogtags she recovered from the fallen Rangers.
"I'll make sure the families of these men are notified," Sandra replied. Selina, Ashley, and Reddington took their seats and the debriefing began.
"The following info does not leave this room, understood?" After getting a nod from everyone, Sandra continued. In 1985, there was a UFO incident similar to the one that happened in Rosewell, New Mexico back in 1947. For some strange reason, the object which later turned out to be an alien ship entered our atmosphere on an erratic flightpath and crashed just outside the city of Phoenix. The National Guard and State Police cordoned off the crash site until the ship could be moved. It was twice as big as the one in Roswell and as you can see in these photos, more intact." Sandra flipped through a series of photos on the main screen showing the ship.
"Was there a crew onboard?" Ashley asked.
"We found eight bodies in various stage of decomposing. Apparently, they died of some illness long before reaching our planet."
"It would've been something if they survived. Imagine what we could've learned from them."
"Assuming they were friendly, Major," Selina commented.
"After the ship was loaded onto a truck, it was taken to Facility-45 where it was kept under guard and studied for many years. The scientist made many attempts to access the cargo hold, but it was sealed by a door that proved to be virtually impenetrable.
"Until recently?"
"Exactly, Cat. Upon gaining access two days before the distress call. The scientist discovered a huge variety of creatures and moved them to multiple labs to study. All records submitted to the Pentagon when they were first discovered indicated that they appeared to be dead.
"But they turned out to be dormant and all hell broke lose when the scientist woke them up."
"Or they woke up by themselves, Ashley," Selina commented. "And now we know how they were able to overrun the place so fast, they were already in multiple locations."
"Yep. And we also have a theory on how our Ranger team got killed. Remember when we lost contact with you prior to locating the survivors, Agent Kyle?"
"Yeah, and then I blasted that creature and everything was back to normal."
"It's safe to say that the thing you blasted was emitting some form of electromagnetic pulse that disrupts electronics within its vicinity."
"And it had a thick hide too," Selina replied.
"Which was why it was able to shrug off their bullets, unfortunately," Ashley said.
"From now on, any teams responding to incidents involving top secret facilities, especially if said facility is connected in any way to Wayne Enterprises will be equipped with Scarlett guns along with their usual weapons."
"I had a feeling you would change the name, General. So what's next?"
"For me, a great deal of paperwork, but you and Ashley can go do some exploring if you want."
"I was thinking we could go grab a bite to eat in Phoenix. It's only fifteen miles from here and it would be a great chance for Selina to see the city's night life."
"Sounds like a great idea. But you could also go to one of the restaurants on the base," Reddington suggested.
"True, but I've been cooped up on this base since yesterday overseeing this operation. I don't think a change in scenery will hurt. Right, Selina?"
"I'm game to go to Phoenix. But before we do that, I would like to take a closer look at one of the F-35s."
"I'll run your request by General Duggan and see if he approves," Sandra replied.
Sure enough, Selina's request was approved and she was now sitting in the cockpit of a multi-role stealth fighter. Ashley and General Duggan were present along with a couple of F-35 pilots. One of them, Captain Browder was up on the boarding ladder giving her a rundown on the jet's features.
"Wow, you guys now have a one size fits all display panel."
"That's right, Selina. And best off all it's a touchscreen. You can see your radar, avionics, fuel gauge, and weapons without having to look down. You can even switch them around if you want."
"Just so I don't break this thing by accident, I'll leave this panel just the way it is, Captain."
"I said the same thing when I sat in this bird for the first time. Now the neatest feature is the DAS which stands for Distributed Aperture System. It consist of six infrared sensors positioned around the aircraft that scan in all directions at once and anything they pick up like targets or threats are transmitted directly to you via your display panel or helmet mounted display along with what they are and recommendations on how to deal with them."
"Is that the reason why there is no HUD in this like there is in the F-16? I sat in the cockpit of one at Gotham International airport when the 55th Fighter Squadron was in town helping us in our fight against the Court of Owls."
"Yes, but some pilots can have a HUD if they want. Another thing DAS does is make blindspots a thing of the past. You can even see through the floor of the plane."
"Let me see," Selina said then lowered her visor and looked down. "Wow, I can actually see the ground beneath me. She looked back over her shoulder and could see what was behind her too.
"The HMD also gives you off-boresight targeting capabilities, which means you can lock onto any hostile aircraft within your field of view. And when paired with AIM-9X Sidewinders, you can engage bandits on your six."
The F-16 pilots had the same targeting capability on their helmets too."
"I used to fly the Viper, a beautiful and powerful plane. But with the DAS and Electro Optical Targeting System combined with the APG-81 radar, the F-35 will revolutionize the way we conduct air to air and air to surface missions."
"I bet this thing costs more than Bruce's house."
"At a hundred million dollars per aircraft, you are absolutely right. Between us, the Navy, and the Marines, we plan on having one-thousand seven-hundred and sixty three in our inventory and many of our allies plan on buying some too," Browder replied."
"If you like, Agent Kyle, we can set up a mission for you on one of our F-35 simulators. It will give you a greater sense of its capabilities," General Duggan said.
"Do you mind waiting a little longer to head out to Phoenix, Agent Hayes?"
"Of course not. I'm actually glad you're willing to try new things."