h1 style="text-align: center;" align="center"Final Mission/h1
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck had a bad feeling as he hurried down the h all. He wasn't sure why he had the bad feeling. He was invited to this meeting as a curtesy, he wasn't part of the mission./p
p class="MsoNormal"As he entered Dr. Huer's office he was surprised at the somber atmosphere. The heads of several departments were gathered. Everyone was looking grim, especially Wilma Derring./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, Buck there you are. You are just in time for the summary of the mission. Go on Lt. Goodly." Said Dr Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, to recap for Buck; the directorate has strong evidence that the Draconian empire has stockpiled several containers of highly explosive materials on Afra and are planning to move them within the next 48-72 hours. Since Afra is technically neutral the directorate's options are limited. Because of the lack of time available to us, and the location of the stockpile we are unable to send in someone on the ground. It has thus been decided that we will send the unmarked cargo ship Tulsa with a munitions skid hidden inside. Once the Tulsa is in the planet's atmosphere and within striking distance of the stockpile the skid will be released, and the Tulsa will exit the area and complete an orbit of the planet. In the skid Col. Derring will maneuver towards the cave where the explosive materials are stored and release the two missiles in the exact sequence needed to first blast open the doors and then take out the explosive materials. then proceed to the rendezvous point and land. There the Tulsa, once it has reentered the atmosphere will take the skid back into the cargo area and both ships will return to New Chicago. I believe that is the mission. "/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, that summary is complete thank you."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanReplied Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Since my personal affairs are in order, ladies, and gentlemen, I will change into a generic flight suit. If you would have the Tulsa and the skid prepared Col Richards for immediate take off, I will be on the flight deck shortly" said Wilma as she walked out the door./p
p class="MsoNormal""Right, I will take care of the ships now." Said Richards as the meeting broke. and the others also exited leaving Buck alone with Dr Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""What did she mean by her affairs were in order?" asked Buck./p
p class="MsoNormal"Huer, with his hands clasped on his desk paused briefly. Then he sighed and spoke/p
p class="MsoNormal""It means she does not believe that she will return from this mission." He said while looking down at his hands/p
p class="MsoNormal""Why"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, there are so many failure points. Everything must go perfectly. Will they find the area we have identified for the skid drop? Will they be able to avoid the patrols, will the skid be able to navigate through the wooded area surrounding the bunker where the explosives are being stored. Will there be enough fuel for the skid to get to the rendezvous point? Will the Tulsa complete the full orbit in time to rendezvous. Will the Tulsa be able to find the skid, will it be able to get the skid back into the cargo area and take back off. Not to mention will the two missiles must be able to blast open the cave and destroy the weapons. No this mission is fraught with issues I am afraid and may indeed be her last especially since the orders are that if the missiles do not success in taking out the weapons cache then Col. Derring is to fly the skid directly into the bunker. We cannot let the Draconians have access to those explosives."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck was stunned. He mumbled something about saying goodbye and stumbled out of Huer's office. He wandered around the halls contemplating life in New Chicago without Wilma Derring. He wasn't happy. After a few minutes he decided to head to the launch bay. He wasn't sure what he would do but he felt he needed to be there. When he arrived, Wilma was already in the skid, and it was already in the cargo area of the Tulsa. He saw the pilot that was tasked with flying the Tulsa and he wasn't happy. Buck knew the young man and he was a decent pilot but very inexperienced. Without a thought he walked up to the young man and drew him behind a bulkhead. Next thing the kid knew he was waking up after Buck had slugged him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck jumped into the cargo ship cockpit and checked the instruments. The destination was loaded into the guidance system already and everything was ready./p
p class="MsoNormal""Tulsa ready for takeoff" he told the controllers./p
p class="MsoNormal""Tulsa clear to go" was the response and the launch bay doors opened and the big ship was off and away./p
p class="MsoNormal""Buck is that you?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWilma was startled. "What are you doing piloting the ship?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I am here to make sure we both make it back to New Chicago" he replied. "Stargate in 8 minutes"/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck had a bad feeling as he hurried down the h all. He wasn't sure why he had the bad feeling. He was invited to this meeting as a curtesy, he wasn't part of the mission./p
p class="MsoNormal"As he entered Dr. Huer's office he was surprised at the somber atmosphere. The heads of several departments were gathered. Everyone was looking grim, especially Wilma Derring./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, Buck there you are. You are just in time for the summary of the mission. Go on Lt. Goodly." Said Dr Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, to recap for Buck; the directorate has strong evidence that the Draconian empire has stockpiled several containers of highly explosive materials on Afra and are planning to move them within the next 48-72 hours. Since Afra is technically neutral the directorate's options are limited. Because of the lack of time available to us, and the location of the stockpile we are unable to send in someone on the ground. It has thus been decided that we will send the unmarked cargo ship Tulsa with a munitions skid hidden inside. Once the Tulsa is in the planet's atmosphere and within striking distance of the stockpile the skid will be released, and the Tulsa will exit the area and complete an orbit of the planet. In the skid Col. Derring will maneuver towards the cave where the explosive materials are stored and release the two missiles in the exact sequence needed to first blast open the doors and then take out the explosive materials. then proceed to the rendezvous point and land. There the Tulsa, once it has reentered the atmosphere will take the skid back into the cargo area and both ships will return to New Chicago. I believe that is the mission. "/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, that summary is complete thank you."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanReplied Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Since my personal affairs are in order, ladies, and gentlemen, I will change into a generic flight suit. If you would have the Tulsa and the skid prepared Col Richards for immediate take off, I will be on the flight deck shortly" said Wilma as she walked out the door./p
p class="MsoNormal""Right, I will take care of the ships now." Said Richards as the meeting broke. and the others also exited leaving Buck alone with Dr Huer./p
p class="MsoNormal""What did she mean by her affairs were in order?" asked Buck./p
p class="MsoNormal"Huer, with his hands clasped on his desk paused briefly. Then he sighed and spoke/p
p class="MsoNormal""It means she does not believe that she will return from this mission." He said while looking down at his hands/p
p class="MsoNormal""Why"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, there are so many failure points. Everything must go perfectly. Will they find the area we have identified for the skid drop? Will they be able to avoid the patrols, will the skid be able to navigate through the wooded area surrounding the bunker where the explosives are being stored. Will there be enough fuel for the skid to get to the rendezvous point? Will the Tulsa complete the full orbit in time to rendezvous. Will the Tulsa be able to find the skid, will it be able to get the skid back into the cargo area and take back off. Not to mention will the two missiles must be able to blast open the cave and destroy the weapons. No this mission is fraught with issues I am afraid and may indeed be her last especially since the orders are that if the missiles do not success in taking out the weapons cache then Col. Derring is to fly the skid directly into the bunker. We cannot let the Draconians have access to those explosives."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck was stunned. He mumbled something about saying goodbye and stumbled out of Huer's office. He wandered around the halls contemplating life in New Chicago without Wilma Derring. He wasn't happy. After a few minutes he decided to head to the launch bay. He wasn't sure what he would do but he felt he needed to be there. When he arrived, Wilma was already in the skid, and it was already in the cargo area of the Tulsa. He saw the pilot that was tasked with flying the Tulsa and he wasn't happy. Buck knew the young man and he was a decent pilot but very inexperienced. Without a thought he walked up to the young man and drew him behind a bulkhead. Next thing the kid knew he was waking up after Buck had slugged him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Buck jumped into the cargo ship cockpit and checked the instruments. The destination was loaded into the guidance system already and everything was ready./p
p class="MsoNormal""Tulsa ready for takeoff" he told the controllers./p
p class="MsoNormal""Tulsa clear to go" was the response and the launch bay doors opened and the big ship was off and away./p
p class="MsoNormal""Buck is that you?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWilma was startled. "What are you doing piloting the ship?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I am here to make sure we both make it back to New Chicago" he replied. "Stargate in 8 minutes"/p