SKULL LEADER'S DOWN
CHAPTER 16
Rick instantly became startled and jumped when he heard the gunfire and excited voices. Immediately his thoughts turned to Max and his dire situation.
'Oh dear God no! Not now! We're so close!'
Rick could feel Miriya's body quickly tense up. Her muscles were tensed up so tight, she almost became stiff as a board. Rick immediately began whispering encouragement to Miriya knowing she's almost at the point of tears.
"No Rick! Not Max! This can't be happening! Rick! Please tell me this is not happening!"
"Stay calm Miriya. Try to stay calm. Remember to stay positive for him. He's counting on you."
At the same time, Rick was wondering where were the veritechs that was supposed to be providing air support at.
'Where's the air support? Where the Hell is the air support at?'
Amazon River
Brazil, South America
The frightened voices coming from the throats of the rescue crew were turning into an all out panic.
"They're firing on us skipper!" The crew chief yelled over the intercom.
"I know! I know! Tell me something that I don't know!!"
Suddenly, a warning light began blinking red and a warning alarm started going off.
"We're hit in our port engine Duke!!" The co-pilot yelled.
"How far up is the commander sergeant?
"He's a three quarters of the way up just a couple more feet to go sir!"
"I don't know how much longer I can fight off the ground fire sir! I'm quickly running out of ammo!" The Para-rescue man firing the M-60 machine gun yelled on the intercom.
"We gotta start moving Duke! We're sitting ducks hovering! I don't know how much more punishment she can take!"
"I am not flying off with the commander dangling in the basket Bandit and I am not cutting the line! Remember our motto: 'That Others May Live'!" The pilot's language then got more profane when he called forward headquarters at Howard AFB. "Guardian this is Anaconda! Where's the fuck our air cover?!"
Just as soon as he said that, the smoking and flaming trails of yellow, red and blue streaks of Sidewinder air to air missiles being fired and the fireballs of battle pods being exploded by the impact of the missiles began to fill the skies.
"Devil Flight split up! Half of you switch to battloid mode and take care of the rebel Zentradei on the ground firing on the Pave Hawk!"
Several veritechs transformed into battloids and started firing their machine guns at the Zentradei on the ground. Immediately, rebel Zentrradei started screaming in pain as bullets started going through their bodies. They didn't stand a chance. Most of them died instantly. It was all over in a matter of seconds. The battloids did their job with a quick deadly proficiency. The remaining veritechs dispatched the remaining battle pods just as quickly. As quickly as they arrived, the fighting was over. It was almost like bringing a machine gun to a skeet shoot, a veritech pilot commented later.
During the fighting with the rebel Zentradei's attention being diverted by the veritechs, the Pave Hawk helicopter managed to slip away.
"Commander Sterling's in the cabin now skipper! Let's get the Hell out of here!"
The PJ noticed Max wasn't moving and became alarmed. Then he noticed that Max's flight suit was soaked with blood. "Oh shit! The commander's been hit! He's bleeding!"
The pilot's tone, cadence and pitch of his voice instantly increased with alarm when he hears the words no Para-rescue team wants to hear.
"How's he doing Jumper? Is he breathing? Is he alive?"
The PJ then started to do a quick visual assessment of Max's condition. He didn't liked what he saw. "He's alive and breathing skipper but I don't know how bad his wounds are until I take a good look at his wounds and take his vital signs."
The PJ then started to take Max's vital signs. When he was finished, he didn't like what he was reading. He made a grimaced face.
"Skipper you need to start flying this bird like a bat out of Hell! Commander Sterling has been shot up pretty bad! He's needs to get to a hospital!"
"I don't know if I can do that Jumper! This bird has been shot up pretty bad herself especially in the port engine! I don't know if we can make back it to base! Is there anything you can do for him in the meantime?"
"All I can do is to insert an IV line to replace his fluids and stabilize him the best I can but he needs to be in a hospital PDQ. His wounds are too serious for me to deal with."
Max motioned with his hand to tell the PJ to lean in to him because he wanted to tell him something but he was too weak to speak out loud. "What's that sir? Sir you can tell her that yourself when you see her in the hospital…in the recovery room."
Just then, the veritech flight leader's voice came over the radio. "Anaconda, this is Devil Flight Leader. Are you okay?"
The Pave Hawk pilot code named "Duke" started yelling into the radio very harshly and profanely.
"No we're not okay! Where the fuck you been Devil Flight Leader? You're the ones who suppose to be giving us air cover!"
"I know that Anaconda but we were given the wrong coordinates!"
""WHAT?!"
"We were given the wrong coordinates by flight control!"
"How the Hell can you be given the wrong coordinates?! You were given the same OPORD, the same operational briefing and same flight plan as us! Didn't you even check your copy of the fight plan to see if the coordinates the tower gave you was correct?"
"I know that Anaconda! But when we were about to take off, air traffic control said they haven't received their copy of the flight plan and they held us on the tarmac. Air traffic control later came back and said they have it but they said the coordinates were changed and radioed us the new coordinates. We were such in a rush to take off and catch up with you we didn't verify the coordinates the tower gave to us and we didn't realize they gave us the wrong coordinates until we were half way there. We tried to radio back to the air traffic control tower but then we were out of short range radio range. If it wasn't for a Cat's Eye recon plane that was nearby, we would never found you. The Cat's Eye contacted the control tower and was told it was by mistake we were given the wrong coordinates. They called around and said someone down the chain of command thought the coordinates were changed or some other cockamamie story."
"You do realize I am filing a complaint on this and I want an investigation by the IG?"
'I know and I don't blame you Anaconda. I would do the same thing if I was in your position. Can you make it back to base?"
"I doubt it Devil Flight Leader. Our port engine took a Hell of a beating from ground fire."
"Acknowledged Anaconda, we're escorting you back to base. If you have to ditch along the way, we'll stand guard over you. It's the least we can do to pay you back for our mistake."
"We appreciate the help Devil Flight Leader."
"How is Commander Sterling? How is Skull 2 doing?"
Duke hesitated for a long time before keying his mike. "Not good Devil Flight Leader. He's been shot up pretty bad."
Suddenly, the "ENGINE FAILURE" light came one and the warning alarm went off again.
"Oh great we've lost the starboard engine now! We have no power! We're going down! Hold on guys I'm going to try to land us on the bank away from the trees! I'm going to try to make it as soft of a landing as possible but it going to be bumpy! Jumper strap down the commander!"
RDF Forward Command Center – Stuttgart, Germany
Miriya panicked and immediately feared the worse when she heard the rescue helicopter was going down.
"No Rick this can't be happening! Max is dead!"
Rick immediately grabbed Miriya by the shoulders and turned her around to make see him in the face. "Miriya listen to me!" Rick said in a harsh tone of voice. "Max is not dead! He has been injured but he is not dead!"
"Rick, where was the air cover? What happened to their air cover?"
"Miriya, I don't you should stay here. You're not doing yourself any good being here."
"No Rick please let me stay! I need to know how Max is doing. Please I can't leave!"
"No Miriya I can't let you stay here! You've been up for hours. You're not thinking straight. You're not doing yourself or Max any good by staying here. Miriya, I don't want to do this to you but I am saying this to you as your commanding officer and superior and not as your friend. Miriya, I am ordering you to leave the command center now!"
Miriya knew it was no use arguing with Rick once he put on his commanding officer's hat. She quickly found out after she became a pilot in the RDF after she married Max that Rick can be just as stubborn and head strong as she is. She blew out a breath of frustration and resignation. Her voice then became very cold and harsh. "Very well Rick you win. I'll leave but I want to be told of anything that happens to Max just as soon as it happens. Also, I am telling you this right now Rick, I am holding you responsible for Max's well being! You are responsible for Max coming out of this alive! Not just because he's your subordinate but because he's your friend and my husband!" She let her cold steel eyes burn into Rick to let him know she was serious and she meant business.
Rick softened his tone of voice and gently nodded his head. "Fair enough Miriya. I've been taking responsibility for Max's well being ever since this whole mess started. I'll send someone to your quarters just as soon as anything happens to Max, I promise."
Miriya's tone of voice also softened. "I'm sorry I was harsh to you Rick. I didn't mean to speak angrily to you. I know I should not have used that tone of voice knowing that you're my commanding officer."
"Apology not accepted because it was not needed. I completely understand why you used that tone of voice to me. Believe you me, I completely understand. Now, let me get someone in the command center to drive you and escort you back to your quarters."
"Thank you Rick, it is much appreciated."
Rick motioned over a female marine dressed in a Blue Dress "D" uniform with a wave of his hand and pulled her over to the side. "Lance corporal, drive Lieutenant Sterling back to her quarters. I'm calling a doctor to meet you at her quarters to give her some medication so she can sleep tonight." Rick then looked at his aviator's watch, it read 1900 hours. He then turned his head towards Miriya's direction. "Miriya, are you hungry? "
"I'm not really all that hungry Rick but I suppose I can get something to eat before I go back to my quarters."
"That's good Miriya. You shouldn't go to bed on an empty stomach." Rick then turned his attention back to the female marine. "Okay, you go ahead and eat with Lieutenant Sterling at the dining facility. Once the both of you have finished eating you call me on your cell phone so I can call the doctor. After you come back to the command center, you're off duty.."
"Yes sir." The female marine said with a nod of her head, which the typical enlisted way of acknowledging an order.
The female marine then walked up to Miriya and smiled. "Okay, let's go ma'am. I don't know about you but I'm starving. They had me running around all day and I haven't had a decent meal all day."
"Well, let's go then lance corporal. A girl has to eat."
"You got that right ma'am."
When Miriya left the command center Rick pondered the conversation between the veritech flight leader and the Pave Hawk helicopter pilot and he came to only one conclusion; '"Haven't received their copy of the flight plan', my sweet aunt. It wasn't an accident they were given the wrong coordinates. The coordinates were never changed. That flight of veritechs was given the wrong coordinates on purpose. How the Hell could that flight of VTs were given the wrong coordinates when they were given the same OPORD, the same mission briefing and the same flight plan? Somebody screwed the pooch on this operation and I am going to find out who it is'
Of course Rick couldn't prove it unless he had proof. He knew he didn't have any proof except for his gut instincts and his years of being a fighter pilot in the RDF. He knew he wasn't the IG or an agent with the Force Criminal Investigative Service but he knew he had to do something to get to the bottom of this and he wasn't going to wait for the IG or FCIS to start their own investigation. He owe that much to Max and especially to Miriya. He decided to start his informal investigation by first calling Howard. He walked out of the command center and walked back to his office. Mary left for her quarters after the duty day ended hours ago, so it was only him. He called someone at the flight operations center at Howard.
"Flight operations…Howard Air Force Base…this is Tech Sergeant Andrea Kim speaking. May I help you sir or ma'am?"
Sergeant Kim was the junior flight operations NCO back at Macross and Rick met Sergeant Kim several times so Rick felt he can trust her. "Sergeant Kim, this is Captain Hunter at Stuttgart calling. I need you to do something for me."
"Name it sir."
"The mission briefings, OPORD and flight plan for the mission to rescue Commander Sterling…"
"You mean Operation Grab Bag, sir?"
Even Rick is the CAG for the defense force, he has been out of the loop and didn't spend any time in the operational planning meetings because he was in Stuttgart, so he didn't know the operational name for the rescue mission until the sergeant told him. "Uh…yeah…Operation Grab Bag. Do you know who have copies of the OPORD, mission briefings and flight plan?"
"Yes sir I do. My supervisor Lieutenant Commander Tim Conner has copies."
"Okay, that's good. I need you to get copies from him and fax them to me by secure fax. Just tell him Captain Hunter needs them right away."
"Uh sir, you do realize that Operation Grab Bag is ongoing and I can't fax you copies of the operation until the mission is over. On top of that, we have mission debriefings reports, after action reports, lessons learned…"
"Yes I realize that sergeant but I really do need them now "
Rick sensed the sergeant was hesitating out of fear she would get into trouble with her supervisor. "Sergeant, if you're afraid you will get into trouble with Major Conner, tell him I have ordered you to fax them to me. If he doesn't believe me, put him on the phone."
Sergeant Kim let out a big sigh. "Okay sir, I'll go ahead and get the reports for you. Just wait for a few minutes. I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting sergeant."
After several minutes of waiting, Sergeant Kim came back with not good news. "Captain Hunter, are you still there sir?"
"Yes I am sergeant."
"Sir, I can't find the reports. He wasn't at his desk and I looked all over his desk without trying to mess up his desk and give myself away but I can't find them. I'm being honest with you sir."
'This is just great. What a fine time for him to take the reports with him.' "Well, you tried your best sergeant."
"Uh sir…I know why you called asking for the reports and…to tell you the truth, sir I don't blame you. There's something fishy going on with Operation Grab Bag sir."
"What do you mean by that, sergeant?"
"Well sir, I don't want to tell you on an unsecured phone line….but what I can tell you is there's a lot of hanky-panky going on down here. The way this whole operation is being done, it doesn't feel right. I wasn't in any of the operational planning meetings but I've been listening to the radio transmissions here in flight operations and what I can tell you is the way the operation is being executed is not the way it was planned and rehearsed. Also, I'm just getting a lot of negative vibes from the pilots, support people and other military people down here. It's very unsettling sir."
"Unsettling in what way sergeant?"
"The way Operation Southland is being run down here sir, it's all wrong. We don't have any direction, no clear objective, no leadership from the top of the chain of command on down, the casualty rate is high and there is no morale whatsoever to speak of sir. Something has to be done to change the mood down here sir."
"Have you talked to someone in your chain of command about your concerns, sergeant?"
"No sir. Many if not all of them are either tight lipped or too afraid to talk."
"I see. Tell you what sergeant. I'll talk to Admiral Gloval about your concerns. Hopefully, something will be done."
"Thank you, sir. In the meantime, I'll try to get the reports for you sir.'
"Sergeant, I don't want to get you into trouble."
"Don't worry about me sir. The sooner I find those reports, the sooner this screw up of a military operation can be corrected."
"Okay, well, be careful sergeant. Don't put yourself in danger."
"I'll do my best to stay safe sir. But I want to do this not for me but for you and the whole RDF."
"You're a brave woman, Sergeant Kim."
"No sir I'm not. I'm just a military woman doing my duty and obeying the orders of my superiors."
'I understand sergeant. Either way, I thank you for what you're doing. Stay in contact with me and at anytime you don't feel safe, comfortable or feel threatened, you can back out, just let me know. I'll understand if you do back out."
"I am not backing out at anytime sir. I am seeing it through to the end."
"That's good to hear. Just stay in touch with me and when you get the chance to grab the reports and fax them to me, let me know. Next time you call me, do it on the STE. In the meantime, I'll talk to Admiral Gloval about your concerns."
"Thank you, sir. Have a good night, sir."
"Thank you. You have a good night also, sergeant."
After hanging up, Rick began to digest what Sergeant Kim told him. What the sergeant told him had him unnerved. It was very unsettling and difficult to hear some of the things she told him. He decided that Admiral Gloval needed to hear what was told to him by Sergeant Kim, but how? He could just go ahead and call Admiral Gloval himself but he was very sure that General Maistroff needed to be included in this. He walked down the hall to General Maistroff's office hoping the general was in and didn't left for the night. Mrs. Jensen left hours ago but he saw a light leaking out from the bottom of the closed door. He knocked on the door.
"Come in, the doors unlocked."
Rick poked his head inside the door. "Excuse me sir. Are you busy or about to leave for the night? I have something very important to tell you sir."
General Maistroff had a very tired look on his face and he began to squint his eyes as if he was having a headache. He started waving his hand as if to tell Rick to come in. "Uh…no I'm not busy…come on in Rick. Have a seat. What do you want to tell me?"
"Well sir, I been talking with someone with flight operations at Howard Air Force Base and I've been told some very unsettling things about General Leonard handling of Operation Southland."
"What do you mean by that Rick? I think you better start at the beginning."
Rick then began to tell General Maistroff about him wanting to find out how the mission to rescue Max got screwed up so badly that he called flight operations at Howard and got connected with the flight operations NCO Tech Sergeant Kim. He told General Maistroff about the sergeant's uneasiness about how Operation Southland is being executed and the general distrust and the low morale among the military people.
"Sir, knowing General Leonard, he is not the type of person who is willing to be truthful on what he reports. Sir, I think Admiral Gloval needs to be told about this."
General Maistroff leaned back in his high back chair and groaned. He then blew out a big breath towards the ceiling then looked at the digital clock on the wall. It was late afternoon or early evening back at Macross. "You're right Rick, Henry does need to be told about this but doing it by telephone or unsecure video teleconference is risky. Hold on."
General Maistroff picked up the telephone and speed dialed a number.
"VTC Room…Petty Officer Second Class Bryant speaking."
"Petty Officer Bryant, this is General Maistroff. How long will it take you to set up a secure VTC with Admiral Gloval at Fokker Base?"
"Uh…sir…depending on if Admiral Gloval is in, syncing up the crypto gear and syncing up with Gunnery Sergeant Thompson at Fokker Base…I say it should take us less than an hour sir."
"Good, start setting up a secure VTC with Fokker Base. Let me know just as soon as you're linked up."
"Yes sir."
Admiral Gloval's Office
Fokker Base
At the same time, Admiral Gloval was having a video teleconference with General Leonard and the conversation wasn't a happy one.
"What the Hell happened with Operations Grab Bag Anatole?"
"I don't know for sure Henry!"
"How the Hell can you say you don't know for sure? Damn it Anatole you and the leader of the Para-rescue team were the ones who came up with the operational plan!"
"I know that Henry but everything is so chaotic down here no one knows exactly for sure of what went wrong! Be that as it may, I need Captain Hunter down here to replace Commander Sterling."
"No Anatole you will not get Captain Hunter to replace Commander Sterling!"
"Henry I need my most experienced pilot down here to be my air commander!"
"In case you have forgotten Anatole Captain Hunter is the commander of the air group for the defense force which means he works for me not for you! I only let him fly in the European operation because he asked me and he was almost killed flying in Germany the first time! I am not going to risk the life of my CAG again just because you don't like him having a romantic relationship with Captain Hayes!"
"Just what are you insinuating by that Henry?"
"Oh don't play that bullshit game with me Anatole! We both know you don't like officers having romantic relationships with each other! And let's not forget the history you had with Lisa Hayes' father! In case your memory has faded it was Donald Hayes who recommended me to be in command of the SDF-1! I never asked for or lobbied for the job! The only reason why you were passed over for the job is because you're not a naval officer! Let's not forget that Donald Hayes was the one who cast the deciding vote against you!"
"So you're going to leave me high and dry and stuck with a junior officer who doesn't have much flying experience to be my air commander?"
"No Anatole, I am not doing that to you and I will not leave you high and dry. I am sending you a replacement for Commander Sterling. As a matter of fact, he is on his way to you right now."
"Who is it, Henry?"
"Commander Vincent Grant."
"Vince Grant, you mean Claudia Grant's brother? You got to be kidding me Henry! He doesn't have the flying experience Captain Hunter has!"
"Excuse me Anatole! Commander Grant is just as an experienced of a pilot as Captain Hunter is. He has an impressive aerial combat record! He's a triple ace, the same as Captain Hunter!"
"He's still inexperienced Henry! He still has lesser flying hours than Captain Hunter!"
Admiral Gloval's face became red with rage. "How dare you question my authority Anatole?"
"Henry, I am not questioning your…"
"SHUT UP! Now you listen to me and you listen to me good Anatole! I am the commander of the RDF! You are my subordinate which means you work for me not the other way around! So whatever I say goes and if you don't like it you can either take it up with the Earth Government or you can retire! Either way I don't care what you do! Now as for replacing Commander Sterling you will either accept who I give to you as your air commander or you will resign your position as commander of Operation Southland! If you resign, I will have no problems replacing you! I can replace you with Jonas or General Forsyth or maybe I can even give a promotion to Colonel Rienhardt so he can replace you!"
General Leonard threw up his hands like he was surrendering. "Okay..fine…you win Henry! But don't think for one second that I will take what you did to me lying down! You could have consulted me that you are sending Commander Grant down here!"
"I am your commanding officer General Leonard! I don't have to consult you for anything! Now do you have anything else you would like to discuss with me?"
"No sir." General Leonard said very tightly.
Admiral Gloval cut the connection without saying anything else. After the screen went dark, General Leonard's face turned several shades of red and purple as the level of his anger was reaching its limit and he could no longer contain his fury. He then rose up on his feet, balled up his fists and slammed them against the table like twin sledgehammers. The force he used to hit the table was so great it put a slight dent in the sold mahogany table. His body was so full of rage and adrenaline that he didn't even feel the pain that coursing through his hands even though he felt it later. He then sat down in his high back leather chair.
"Someday Henry, someday you'll pay for that! You'll pay treating me like I was a first year academy cadet."
He then picked up the telephone. "Colonel Emerson, get your ass in here! We have a war to win and we need to start planning it!"
Admiral Gloval's Office
Fokker Base
Admiral Gloval could almost feel a migraine headache coming on. He started rubbing the corner of his eyes at the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to fend it off. A part of him was still furious at General Leonard while the other part mourned the death of a onetime friendship.
"Why Anatole why? Why did you have to question my orders and directives? We had such a good friendship. Where did it go wrong?"
Then the telephone on his desk began to ring. He picked up the phone on the first ring.
"Yes."
"Admiral Gloval sir, this is Gunnery Sergeant Thompson in the VTC Room. I have an incoming secure VTC call from General Maistroff in Stuttgart."
Admiral Gloval groaned inwardly. 'Great, this is exactly what I don't need. If there isn't one problem, it's another.' "Go ahead and send the call through Gunny."
"Yes sir."
"Jonas, what can I do for you?"
"Henry, I don't know how to say this any easily to you but I've just heard some very disturbing things about what's going with Anatole and Operation Southland."
Admiral Gloval let out a big groan as he put his arm up on his table and rested his head in his fingers. He could almost feel his headache growing worse by the second. "This is just great. What's the bad news Jonas?"
"I think it will be best if Captain Hunter tells you that Henry."
"Hello Admiral Gloval."
"Hello Rick. What do have to tell me?"
Rick was shocked at how tired and haggled Admiral Gloval looked. 'Good grief! Admiral Gloval looks even worse than General Maistroff. He looks like he hasn't slept in days.' "Well, it's this Admiral Gloval.:"
Rick then went on to tell Admiral Gloval what he told General Maistroff. As Rick was telling Admiral Gloval about his phone conversation with the tech sergeant, Admiral Gloval's facial expressions went from disbelief, shock, anger, disgust and determination. Admiral Gloval could not believe his one time friend would do something so heinous and deceitful like that. A part of him wanted to nail him to the wall but the other part of him wants to give General Leonard the benefit of the doubt.
"And that is why I think the IG should be investigating what is going on in South America. If Commander Sterling somehow doesn't make it, I think FCIS should get involved."
"Well, let's not jump to any conclusions Rick. All we have for now is suspicion, innuendo and the word of this tech sergeant. Besides, Operation Grab Bag is still ongoing. Let's keep this under wraps and between ourselves. Tell you what I will do for now. I'll talk with the IG and tell him to talk with his people down at Howard. If they can be trusted, we'll have them do some poking around. If they do find something not right, we'll then have them do a full blown investigation. I think it's the most prudent and wise thing to do. We need to be slow and cautious about this. If we found out what this tech sergeant said was not true, a lot of people's careers are ruined."
Rick could not help but to agree with what Admiral Gloval said. Even though he wanted to get to bottom of what went wrong with Max's rescue operation and fast, he knew if they went off half cocked investigating people on the word of one enlisted woman only to find out what she said was wrong, a lot of people's lives and careers are ruined.
"I agree with what you said sir."
"I agree Henry. It's the wisest thing to do."
"Well, I need to cut this short. I need to rest for a while before eating some dinner later on. Rick's fiancée and Claudia has threatened to force feed me if I don't start eating regular meals."
Rick and General Maistroff laughed at what Admiral Gloval said. Rick tried to imagine in his mind what it would look like to see Lisa and Claudia force feeding Admiral Gloval.
"Good seeing you again Henry. We should be starting our shift back to Macorss very soon. I'll let you know exactly when."
"That's good to know Jonas. Let's keep in contact with regular secure VTC on what the IG finds out."
"I agree with you Henry. Have a good dinner."
"Thanks Jonas. Gloval out."
Amazon River
Brazil, South America
"Jumper! Sergeant Osgood! Buckle yourselves in and brace yourselves!"
The Pave Hawk pilot battling torque, g-forces, a shot up engine and a broken hydraulic line carefully tried to maneuver his wounded helicopter to a wide part of the river bank while at the same time, was trying to avoid the trees. Smoke was pouring out of the shot up engines and the whine of the dying engines was almost deafening. The Pave Hawk helicopter landed on its skids with a loud crash. The helicopter would have landed on its side if it wasn't for the pilot's incredible flying skills.
'Is everyone okay? Sound off! Jumper, you're fine!"
"I'm okay skipper."
"Sergeant Osgood, you're hurt?"
"No. I'm okay skipper."
"What about you Bandit? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No I'm not Duke."
"What about the commander, Jumper? Is he still alive?"
"He's still breathing skipper but he's unconscious. Skipper, you need to radio Howard and tell them to get another Pave Hawk out here like now! The commander is not going to last the night out here!"
"I'm way ahead of you Jumper. MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Guardian this is Anaconda! Do your read me over?"
"Anaconda, this is Guardian. We have received and acknowledged your MAYDAY. A VSTOL hover jet is en route to your location to pick up Skull 2 and take him to the hospital. A relief flight of veritechs is also en route to relieve Devil Fight. The VSTOL jet's codename is "Switchback", the VT flight's codename is "Strikeout". ETA should be an hour. You should be in radio contact with them very shortly over."
"Roger Guardian Anaconda out."
"Anaconda, this is Devil Fight Leader. Are you okay? Are any of you hurt?"
"Devil Fight Leader, this is Anaconda. No, none of us are hurt. I can't say the same for our helicopter though."
"Again, I'm sorry that we did not reach you in time. We'll stand guard over you until help arrives."
"We appreciate the help Devil Flight Leader."
"Devil Flight, switch to battloid mode and land. Clear out the trees for a quarter mile radius on either side of the river. Let's form a circle around the helicopter facing out."
The veritechs cleared out the trees and formed a loose circle around the downed Pave Hawk. Half an hour later, the radio squawked. "Anaconda, this is Switchback. Anaconda, this is Switchback. Do you read me Anaconda over?"
"Switchback, this is Anaconda. We read you loud and clear over."
"Anaconda, we need a set of Commander Sterling's vital signs over."
Jumper quickly took a set of vital signs and relayed it to the hover jet that is now an air ambulance.
"Roger Anaconda. Take another set of vital signs every 5 minutes, inform us if anything drastic happens and keep him stabilized."
"Roger Switchback."
Less than an half an hour later the radio came alive again with the voice of the crew chief.
"Anaconda, this is Switchback. Anaconda, this is Switchback. Do you read me over?"
"Switchback, this is Anaconda. We read you loud and clear over."
"Anaconda, we're almost at your position, start moving Commander Sterling outside and get ready to hook up the basket to our rescue line."
"Roger Switchback. We'll start moving Skull 2 just as soon as the veritechs clear our area."
Just as soon as the Pave Hawk pilot said that, Devil Flight started up their engines and took off.
"Switchback, this is Anaconda. The veritechs have cleared our area. We are now moving Skull 2 outside."
"Roger Anaconda. We see you. We're about to open the bottom cargo bay door stand by. Bottom cargo bay door is open...activate winch…rescue line is lowering…stop the winch…basket is being attached to the rescue line…activate winch start pulling up…"
As if on cue, rebel Zentradei and battle pods began firing on the hover jets. This time, the veritechs were ready for an ambush. Just as soon the firing started, the veritechs started engaging the enemy.
"HOLD! HOLD! HOLD! Skull 2 is half way up! Basket has cleared the cargo bay doors. Cargo bay doors are closing...cargo bay doors are closed! Let's get the Hell out of here!"
The hover jet then turned its nose towards the northwest and flew off. Meanwhile, the 2 veritechs flights made quick work of the rebel Zentradei. The skirmish lasted less than a minute and when it was all over, the veritechs done their deadly work very quickly and efficiently. The relief flight of veritechs escorted the hover jet.
Inside the jet, a navy corpsman was taking Max's vital signs. After he finished, he radioed the cockpit.
"Sir, we need to get Commander Sterling to the 325th Evac as quickly as we can. I don't know how long the commander will last without more advanced medical help."
"I read you doc. I'm radioing home base. Switchback to Guardian Switchback to Guardian, do you read me Guardian over?"
"Switchback this is Guardian, we read you loud and clear Switchback over."
"Guardian, we need to have an ambulance standing on the flight line by the time we land to take Skull 2 to the 325th Evacuation Hospital over."
"We read you Switchback. We'll have an ambulance standing by when you land."
"Roger Guardian Switchback out."
The hover jet flew as fast as its engines and wings can take them. An hour later the jet landed at Howard where an ambulance was waiting on the tarmac to take Max to the hospital. Just as quickly as the jet landed, Max was taken off the plane and loaded into the ambulance for the ride to the hospital.
At the hospital, Max was immediately wheeled into the emergency room. Barely 15 minutes later, Max was wheeled out of the emergency room and was sent to radiology where x-rays were taken and an MRI was done. He was then wheeled into the OR, where a surgical team was waiting to start saving Max's life. They were operating on him for a long time. It was well into the night and early morning when the head surgical doctor walked out of the OR and to a telephone.
"Yes, this is Doctor McIntyre. Put me through to the forward command center in Stuttgart.
RDF Forward Command Center - Stuttgart, Germany
0500 Hours
The phone rang in the command center. A very tired Rick Hunter picked up the phone on the second ring.
"Forward command center…Captain Hunter speaking."
"Captain Hunter, this is Doctor McIntyre at the 325th Evacuation Hospital at Howard Air Force Base. Is Commander Sterling's wife nearby?"
"Yes she is."
"Good. Because I think you're the one who should give her the news about her husband's condition."
"How is Commander Sterling doing? Did he make it through the operation?"
"Well, I have some little good news but I'm afraid the news is mostly bad captain."
"What wrong doctor?"