Author's note: This is only a fanfic. Origin owns the Wing Commander universe and all the characters contained therein, save the characters and ships that were created for this fanfic. Those belong to me. That said, I hope you all enjoy the story!
Routine Patrol
Tommy woke up that morning with a slight hangover from the previous night's carousing in pilot country. With a bit of difficulty, he managed to pull himself out of bed and stagger to the head. A few other space jocks were in there ahead of him, waiting to use the showers. Upon seeing the line, he decided to skip the shower and headed for the sink. To the mixed reaction of the rest of the pilots, he turned the water on full and shoved his head under the faucet.
Jane had just finished breakfast in the mess hall and was getting ready to report for duty. Breakfast that morning had been unspectacular as usual. Quietly, she refilled her coffee cup and headed for the doorway. On her way out, she saluted the wing commander as he was walking in while she simultaneously sipped her coffee.
Martin was working on his Panther with the maintenance chief. He had been up all night helping get a few of the fighters back together and back on the flight line. With a grunt, he stood up and arched his back. He desperately wanted a shower and a cup of coffee before reporting for duty.
Tommy pulled his head out from under the faucet. He shook himself off with a loud exclamation and grabbed the tube of toothpaste belonging to the pilot at the next sink off the edge of that sink. He nodded at that pilot and gave him a smile of thanks. Then, as he had neglected to bring his toothbrush with him, he unceremoniously squirted a healthy glob of toothpaste onto his tongue. After handing the tube back to its owner and giving him the thumbs up sign, he began working the toothpaste around in his mouth with his tongue. When he was finished, he spit out the excess, gargled with water, wiped his mouth, and walked out of the head and back to his bunk.
Jane arrived at the briefing room with almost 20 minutes to spare. At present, she was the only one there. She sat down in her usual chair in the front row, took out her message pad, and silently began to write a letter to her husband back at Earth Central.
With only 15 minutes left before his duty shift was set to begin, Martin arrived back to his bunk, stripped down to his underwear, grabbed a clean flightsuit, and hurried to the head. Upon seeing the backup of people waiting for the showers, his shoulders slumped and he headed back to his bunk. Seeing no other options, he grabbed his deodorant and liberally sprayed any areas where he thought he smelled and a few he was uncertain about. He then quickly got dressed and headed to the mess hall to get a cup of coffee.
Tommy arrived about 10 minutes before the start of his shift. He saw Jane sitting composing a letter. "Hello," he said quietly so as not to disturb her too much. He then climbed the stairs and sat down in his usual seat a few rows up to wait for the day's briefing.
Jane was in the middle of a lengthy paragraph when Tommy walked in and said hello to her. She casually waved a hand to acknowledge him and didn't look up from her pad. She wasn't trying to be rude to him, she was just busy. Given that the two of them each knew how the other worked, she knew he knew it too and wouldn't be upset by her reception towards him.
Martin had about five minutes left before his shift was to begin. He went around the line of people waiting to get food to the end of the row and got his cup of coffee. Even though he hadn't actually cut anyone off, a few people gave him dirty looks. With his coffee now in hand, he jogged out the door and headed straight for the briefing room. He got there with about a minute to spare, chugged the last of his coffee, set his cup down on a tray table near the door, and climbed the steps to sit in his usual seat in the back row.
Pilots were now coming into the briefing room at a brisk rate and taking their seats. Most of them were not happy to be on the morning shift, but there was nothing they could do about it at this point. The CAG walked a minute later in with his aide about a step behind him and everyone stood up. They talked briefly at the speaking podium while waiting for everyone to arrive. Once he felt that he had allowed for enough time to pass for even the stragglers to arrive, the CAG had his aide step back while he took up his position at the podium. After taking a look at all of the assembled faces in the crowd, he gave the order to be seated.
"Okay, people," he said in a gruff voice. "Check your ICIS for your mission objectives."
Tommy, Jane, and Martin all looked at their consoles. The voice of the ICIS began, "Your Delta Wing will fly a routine patrol route on this set of NAV points. Your objective is to fly to each patrol area and eliminate any hostile enemies you may encounter there. Once you have finished your sweep of the area return to the Nauru. End of Briefing."
Once their briefing ended, each pilot returned their attention to the CAG, who was patiently waiting for everyone to finish.
"If there are no questions," he said. "Then you are all dismissed."
All the pilots rose from their seats and stood at attention as the CAG and his aide departed. Once he was gone, they set about to their assigned duties. Tommy, Jane, and Martin headed for the flight deck and discovered to their relief that they were still assigned to fly on each other's wing.
"How is it that I'm still stuck with you?" said Martin grabbing Tommy in a headlock and giving him a noogie.
"You stuck with me?" said Tommy. "More like me stuck with you."
"Or perhaps me stuck with the two of you," Jane said with a smile. Martin let go of Tommy and the three of them walked side-by-side to their fighters. They had the use of Panthers for this mission. Tommy smiled as, up until recently, he rarely got to use anything heavier than a Piranha.
They zipped up their flightsuits, grabbed their helmets, and climbed aboard their fighters. Once seated they began their preflight sequence. Silently, the canopy hatches to their fighters began to close. After about another minute they were ready to go. Tommy turned on his COMM and spoke, "This is Tailgunner. Requesting permission to disembark."
The flight tower COMM hissed for a moment. "Permission granted, Tailgunner," said the voice of the flight officer. With that, one of the grappling cranes came down and hooked squarely to the top of his Panther. Tommy could feel it as his Panther was lifted from the deck and carried to the drop bay.
Jane finished with the last of her preflight checks. She turned on her COMM and said, "This is Elf. Requesting permission for liftoff."
The flight tower COMM crackled again and the voice of the flight officer once again came over the COMM, "Permission granted, Elf." A grappling crane then swung over and lowered down to secure itself to her Panther. Once its grip was secure, the crane picked it up and carried it towards the drop bay.
Martin was twiddling his thumbs, waiting for his turn. When at last there was a free drop crane, he turned on his COMM and said, "This is Heart. Is it my turn yet?"
The flight officer's voice came over the COMM, "You bet'cha, Heart. Sorry 'bout the wait."
Martin got a smile on his face. "That's okay," he said in his best mocking-authoritative tone. "Just don't do it again."
The flight officer could make out the humor in Martin's tone and smiled as well. "Have a safe flight," he said.
The crane came over, attached to Martin's Panther, and hoisted him into the air. With careful movements, it brought him to the drop bay and gently let him go right into the launch track. Ever so slowly, his Panther crept down the track towards the hangar's exterior exit. Once his Panther got right to the exit, there was a loud click and everything paused for a brief moment. Then another click was heard and Martin's Panther was slingshot out at top throttle into the night sky. Tommy and Jane flew over and formed up on Martin's wing moments later.
"How we doing, folks?" asked Martin.
"Picture perfect, Heart," said Jane.
"100% a-okay," said Tommy.
Having formed up, they did a flyby along the Nauru's port side. "Nauru," said Martin. "This is Delta Leader. Permission to get underway?"
"Permission granted, Delta Leader," came the voice of the flight officer. "We'll keep the lights on for you."
"Roger that," said Martin. "Okay, everyone, let's get going."
"Roger that, Delta Leader," said Tommy.
"Affirmative, Delta Leader," said Jane.
They all engaged their autopilots and headed for the first NAV point. As they did, Tommy did his best to get comfortable in his seat, as he was going to be in this position for a few hours. Jane sat motionless in her cockpit. Martin was looking all over the place, making sure that nothing was out of sorts.
"So I hear that your husband is about to make full colonel," Tommy said to Jane.
"Yes," said Jane. "And he's getting transferred home to Earth."
"Any chance you'll be going with him?" asked Martin, entering the conversation.
"We've talked about it," answered Jane. "But nothing is a definite yet. Though I think it would be nice to see blue skies for a change instead of starry black."
"Amen to that," agreed Martin.
"You'd get bored quickly on Earth," said Tommy. "No bugs to fight."
"You think that that's all there is to life, Tommy?" asked Jane.
"Well it's the driving force behind my existence," replied Tommy.
"That and the new first Louie in Diamondback Squadron," added Martin.
"Yeah," said Tommy. "Well that too."
They reached the first NAV point a few minutes later. There was no sign of enemy presence. Silently they all breathed a sigh of relief and programmed their NAV computers to head for the next NAV point. When they were ready, they engaged their autopilots again and headed off.
"So how did a flight jockey like you meet a colonel in Command?" asked Tommy.
"She has class, Tommy," said Martin. "You know, class? That which you lack."
"FUN-ny!" said Tommy.
"I thought so," added Jane. "We're getting close to the NAV point, Heart."
"Acknowledged, Elf," said Martin.
They all reached the NAV point and it was swarming with Nephilim fighters. "Crap," said Tommy. "So much for the quiet patrol."
"This is Delta Leader to TCS Nauru," said Martin. "We have Nephilim contact at NAV point two. Engaging enemy."
"Acknowledged, Delta Leader," responded the COMM officer of the Nauru.
"Elf," continued Martin. "You're free and clear to engage. Tailgunner, stick with me."
"Acknowledged, Delta Leader," said Jane. "Engaging enemy."
"This is Tailgunner," said Tommy. "I hear and I obey."
Jane did a barrel roll and broke formation. Tommy and Martin continued straight ahead and headed for a fighter cluster. Nephilim fighters buzzed all around. Jane targeted the closest one to her and moved to engage. It was a Moray. It zoomed past her and she had to turn about quickly to give chase. She matched its speed and began to line it up in her sights. Once she had a clear shot she opened fire. The Moray's shields lit up from the laser fire.
"You see your DOOM!" shouted the bug.
"See this," said Jane. "Fox ONE!" She pushed a button on her flight stick and launched a missile. It sped towards the Moray and impacted hard against its port side. Though damaged, it turned about and charged her with its lasers on full spread. Jane's shield's lit up for a moment and she pulled away from the engagement.
"Elf?" asked Martin. "You okay?"
"Still sitting pretty," replied Jane.
Tommy flew ahead of Martin and opened fire on the starboard side of a Manta with his full guns. The Manta's shields showed signs of weakening, but the Manta itself seemed unbothered by the assault. It then came about and opened fire on Tommy's Panther. Tommy quickly found that he had to dodge and evade lest he be destroyed. Martin meanwhile opened fire on the Manta with his guns and further damaged its already weakened starboard side. The Manta responded to Martin by coming about, locking a missile on him, and firing. Martin turned hard to port and immediately launched two decoys. Fortunately, the Manta's missile took the bait. By this time, Tommy had swung about and launched a missile of his own at the damaged side of the Manta. The missile impacted the unprotected side of the Manta, causing it to shudder very briefly before exploding.
"Nice work, Tailgunner," said Martin.
"You're all heart, Heart," said Tommy.
Jane resumed fire on her target with her guns and lit him up again. She was trying to remain patient with the Moray, but it was being a pest. His port and aft sides were now severely damaged and she did not want to waste a missile on a target that was already so badly off. He turned about again to try and return fire. However, the damage he had sustained made his movements sluggish and Jane was rewarded with a clear line of fire. She fired her guns on the Moray for a third time and finally reduced it to dust. "One down," she said. "Too many to go."
"Problem, Elf?" asked Tommy.
"Not at the moment, Tailgunner," she responded.
Martin locked onto a Squid with a missile and fired. The missile hit home. However, the Squid took minimal damage and buzzed past him at a very close distance. "Damn kamikaze bug!" he spat over the COMM as he turned about to pursue. The Squid, meanwhile, had already turned about and Martin got a whole lot of laser fire right from it to his bow. "Tailgunner, help me out with this Squid!"
"Acknowledged and affirmative, Heart," said Tommy as he kicked in his afterburners. In seconds, he zoomed in and launched a missile right at the Squid. The Squid launched a decoy, but the missile didn't take the bait and impacted the aft side of the Squid. The death hisses of the bug inside could be heard over the COMM as the Squid exploded.
"I owe you one, Tailgunner," said Martin.
"Think nothing of it, Heart," replied Tommy.
Jane got behind another Moray and opened fire with her guns. The Moray seemed confused and didn't move to evade Jane's fire. Though Jane was slightly confused, she just continued firing her guns until the Moray exploded.
"That was way too easy!" she said.
"Better easy than hard, Elf," Martin said to her.
Tommy was running down the last Nephilim fighter. He fired at it sporadically to keep it moving in the general direction he wanted it to. "Whenever you're ready, Heart," he signaled to Martin.
"Coming right up, Tailgunner," Martin said as he took careful aim with a missile. Once he had a lock, he fired. The fighter was unable to properly evade due to Tommy's fire and Martin's missile hit it hard in the bow. Even though he could see the fighter was finished because of Martin's missile, Tommy just pelted it with gunfire until it exploded.
"That's the last of 'em," Tommy said.
"How we all doing?" asked Martin.
"Still sitting pretty," said Jane.
"Not a thing wrong," said Tommy.
"Good," said Martin. "Let's engage our autopilots and get out of here."
"I hear that," said Tommy as he and Jane formed up on Martin's wing as they all programmed their NAV computers.
Moments later, they engaged their autopilots and sped off towards their next NAV point.
"Okay," said Tommy. "I got one for ya! There's these three guys, and they're all going to the bathroom. One guy, he's done. The second, he's racing to get into the bathroom. And the last guy, he's using the bathroom. What's their nationalities?"
"Enlighten us," said Jane.
"This better not suck," warned Martin.
"Well the first guy," began Tommy. "He's Finnish. The second guy is Russian. And the last guy's European!"
There was a loud groan from the other two pilots. "One more like that," said Martin. "And you'll be on permanent radio silence."
The three pilots reached the third NAV point and looked around. Luck was with them again as there were no Nephilim around.
"Nothing here," said Martin. "Let's move on."
"Affirmative, Heart," said Jane.
"Roger that, Heart," said Tommy.
Once again, they programmed their NAV computers and headed for their fourth and final NAV point.
"Greaaaat!" said Tommy when they arrived. "More buggies to squash!"
"Delta Leader to TCS Nauru," said Martin. "We have Nephilim contact at NAV point four."
"Acknowledged, Delta Leader," said the COMM officer of the Nauru once again.
"Break and attack, everyone," ordered Martin.
"Roger, Heart," replied Tommy who rolled out of formation and headed for his chosen target.
"Affirmative, Heart," said Jane who hit her afterburners and charged ahead.
Three Lampreys came right for Martin and fired at him relentlessly. He did a barrel roll and a dive to avoid most of their fire, but his aft starboard was still badly damaged by their barrage. He looked at his damage readout. His afterburners were hit and down to 75%, his engines were down to 70%, and his core was down to 85%. The auto-repair system kicked in and within seconds the damage totals to his afterburners and engines began to drop.
Tommy was pursuing a Moray when his missile lock alarm went off. He quickly deployed a decoy, but the alarm continued. Even after he deployed a second decoy, the missile was not deterred. Moments later, his whole Panther shook violently. "Shit!" he shouted. "I'm hit!" His eyes went to his damage readout to see how badly he was hurt. His engines and afterburners were down to 65% and his core was at 70%. He knew that another hit like that would probably finish him off.
Jane flew in and targeted one of the Lampreys attacking Martin. Her missile lock engaged quickly and she let it fly the instant she was able. The Lamprey was too concerned with attacking Martin to think about Jane so it did nothing to stop her missile. Seconds later, Jane's missile blew the Lamprey out of the sky. The two remaining Lamprey's scattered to regroup.
"Heart?" Jane asked. "Are you okay?"
"Just peachy, Elf," said Martin. "Thanks for asking."
Tommy finished dealing with the fighter that had attacked him and resumed chasing the Moray he was after initially. Once he was within range, he opened fire with his full guns. The Moray started evasive maneuvers, but Tommy managed to keep it locked within his crosshairs. The Moray hissed loudly with hate at Tommy's continued success. Tommy just smiled at the Moray's displeasure and continued firing. After a few more hits, the Moray exploded. "And your MOTHER, too!" he shouted to the Nephilim over the COMM.
Martin targeted one of the two remaining Lampreys and opened fire with his full guns. The Lamprey zoomed this way and that, trying to dodge Martin's incoming fire. Ultimately, it tried to turn to face him so that it could return fire, but by the time it was in proper position it was too badly damaged and just exploded. The remaining Lamprey opened fire on Martin again and the sounds of its laser fire could be heard reverberating against his hull. Martin maneuvered to try and return fire, just as the other Lamprey had tried to do with him. However, he found the roles from before reversed and he knew he was in serious trouble. Jane could also tell Martin was in serious trouble and fired upon the Lamprey to try and give Martin more room to breathe. Her tactic worked and the Lamprey broke off its attack long enough for Martin to come about and get into a firing position. Just as the Lamprey was about to re-engage, Martin fired a missile that hit it squarely on its port side, which caused it to explode in a great fireball. With the immediate threat now gone, he checked his damage readout again and didn't like what he saw. His guns were at 85%, his shields were down to 15%, his engines and afterburners were at 35% apiece, and his core was at 45%.
"Not doing very good," he said to the others.
"Still better than the bugs," replied Tommy.
"Only two left," said Jane. "A Moray and a Manta."
"Elf," said Martin. "Stay very close. If I can get her home, I will."
"Understood, Heart," said Jane.
Tommy maneuvered to intercept the Moray while Martin and Jane moved to fight off the Manta. Tommy locked on a missile and fired in an effort to end the confrontation quickly, but the Moray pulled an evasive maneuver, causing the missile fly off into the night. Thinking the same way as Tommy, both Jane and Martin went for a missile lock as well against the Manta. Almost simultaneously, both of them fired. Martin's missile hit the Manta full on, while Jane's was shot down by laser fire. The Manta then locked on a missile of its own and fired at Martin. Hearing the warning alarm sound, he dodged and dropped four decoys in a big hurry. When the alarm ceased a few seconds later, he let out an audible sigh of relief. Now out of missiles, Jane opened fire with her guns to get the Manta's attention. Her shots found their mark and the Manta rocked violently. Presently, Martin joined in on the firing and together they destroyed the Manta. Around the same time, Tommy locked onto the Moray with his last missile and fired. This time the missile hit home and the Moray was crippled. The Moray cursed at him in a final defiant act before being blown apart by follow-up laser fire from Tommy's guns.
All the Nephilim on their NAV route were now destroyed. Each of them breathed heavily under their helmets. "We're done, guys," said Martin. "Form up and let's get the hell out of here."
"Amen to that," said Jane.
"I heard that," said Tommy.
The three of them wasted no time forming up and programing their NAV computers for the trip home. Once they were all set and ready, they hit their autopilots and headed back to the Nauru.
There was dead silence from all three of them until they were within visual range of the Nauru. Upon seeing the Nauru, they loosened their formation and Martin signaled the flight tower. "This is Delta Wing," he began. "Requesting permission to come on home."
The COMM hissed and crackled for a moment. Then the flight officer said, "Permission granted, Delta Wing. Glad to see you all made it home."
"Home has never looked as good as it does right now," said Tommy.
They lined up behind one another and flew in in single-file to the landing bay. Martin held his breath until touchdown. Once he was safely on the deck he let out a great big sigh of relief. His canopy opened and he climbed down the ladder from his cockpit. Tommy and Jane met up with him shortly thereafter and the three of them went to the debriefing panel to officially conclude their patrol. Each took it in turn typing in their call signs to get their statistics for the mission. With their shift now done, a smile crept over their faces and they entered the lift to decontamination. As the lift door closed, Tommy turned to the others and said, "See you both back here tomorrow to do this all over again?"
Jane just smiled and pulled out her pad to finish her letter to her husband. Martin grinned and said, "I wouldn't miss tomorrow's patrol for the whole world."
The End
