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“One hundred ten knots…one hundred twenty, V one…rotate,” her companion called.
No matter how often she experienced it, Virginia found the art of the takeoff to be the most thrilling part of any flight. It didn’t matter whether she was flying a small two seat Cessna or the Lear 24, currently under her command.
“Retract landing gear,” she directed.
A few seconds later she heard him reply, “Gear up, and locked.”
The thought of having a full bird air force colonel as a copilot suddenly amused her and she had to stifle a giggle. The speaker crackled to life, distracting her.
“Learjet six-three-whiskey, turn left bearing zero-seven-five, proceed on course, climb and maintain six thousand, contact Los Angeles departure on 135.4. Good day.”
“Turn left bearing zero-seven-five, proceed on course, climb and maintain six thousand, contact Los Angeles departure on 135.4. Thank you, tower, Learjet six-three-whiskey,” she replied.
Fifteen minutes, and several exchanges with air traffic control, later, she had reached a cruising altitude of thirty-eight-thousand feet and had placed the aircraft on autopilot. She turned to her companion, “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Not at all,” replied Straker.
“Really, why are your hands shaking?” Gotcha, she thought, as he involuntarily looked down at his hands.
“Relax, Colonel. I was kidding.”
It took a few seconds, but his face soon broke into a slight grin.
“You are full of surprises,” he retorted, dryly. “So, what’s next, aerobatics?”
“Not in this thing. Although it’s maneuverable enough that someone might try it. I remember a Boeing test pilot doing that once.”
“Alvin Tex Johnston, August 6, 1955,” replied Straker. “He preformed the maneuver in a 707 to impress representatives of the International Air Transport Association. He was called on the carpet the next day and told never to pull a stunt like that again. But the maneuver made aviation history.”
“I didn’t know his name,” said Virginia. “I was only ten when it happened and I still was living in England.”
“How long have you been in the states?”
“I came to the US when I was sixteen, and I’ve lived here for sixteen years,” she said. God, that’s half my life, she said inwardly. I do need to start living.
“I have the UFO on positive track,” said Lt. Johnson.
Major Graham strode up to her console.
“Trajectory termination?” he asked.
Ayshea punched up the data on her console and looked up at her CO.
“Best estimate is the western United States, sir.”
Graham turned to Lt. Ford, “It looks like you were right, Keith. They’re after the XI module. Contact our people at Edwards and get the prototype in the air, and get Colonel Freeman on the line.”
Lou Graham never had expected to be the incident commander during SHADO’s first genuine UFO sighting. His next decisions would be highly scrutinized by the upper brass, and what he did or didn’t do would determine whether lives were lost. Hell, we’re not even fully operational yet.
He was born, Theodore Francis, but to just about everyone who knew him, he was known as, Beaver. The nickname came from his earliest days in his career, when his flight instructor had called him the eager beaver of the group. The name stuck, and when he got his wings, his flight christened him with the call sign “Beaver.” His eagerness for flight never waned, as all his life all he wanted to do, was fly. As he rushed down the tarmac to his waiting aircraft, Captain James considered the events that had led up to this day.
His naval career had started in the early 1950’s making him old enough to had seen combat in the skies of Korea. James also had the reputation of being a loud mouthed maverick, but his natural skill as a pilot forced his superiors to overlook a multitude of sins. When once asked about his attitude, he replied, “I don’t ever want to be promoted out of the cockpit.”
Beaver mellowed considerably when he met the woman who was to be his wife. Not long after he married Christina, James was promoted to Squadron Commander. For a while, he enjoyed the best of both worlds, reaping the benefits of the higher pay grade, yet still spending most of his time in a cockpit.
Beaver’s commanding officer had taken a liking to the young man from day one and when a golden opportunity came along, he steered James in that direction.
“Lieutenant Commander James, this is a once in a lifetime chance. The Navy has decided on a new aircraft to replace the aging F4s, but the aircraft they’ve chosen does have a few issues. We need to help the manufacturer work out the bugs”
“Is that the new F14 we’ve been hearing so much about, Captain Thomas?” asked James.
“So much for security,” said Thomas, dryly. “Yes, it is. Grumman Aerospace has agreed to incorporate Navy test pilots into the program. Of course this means you will have to take a stateside transfer, as well as enduring the hardship of being home every night, that is, if you’re interested.”
Beaver’s wife had just informed him that they were expecting their second child. He was at sea when their first was born. His decision took all of a millisecond.
“Yes, sir, I mean, thank you, sir!”
“Now don’t screw this up, James. I personally gave your name to SECNAV. Pack your bags; you leave with the next COD run.”
“I won’t let you down, sir.”
True to his word, Beaver James threw his heart and soul into the project, all while finishing his aeronautical degree. His wife, Christina, was supportive of his decision as they had agreed early on that he would put in all of his sea time during the first part of his career. Having him home now, even if it was only nights and weekends, was an added bonus.
In 1973, right after the F14 project reached Initial Operational Capability, Lt. Cmdr James was summoned to Washington. While he had no idea he was going to meet the President, that event would be paled by his encounter with a mysterious Air Force Colonel named Edward Straker.
Over the next hour, James was shown the evidence of the alien craft which had been captured on film, now three years ago. And he became privy to the multinational organization being formed to counter the threat.
“So, Commander James, the reason you have been called to Washington, is to consider an offer. SHADO needs good people, both for getting the operation up and running, and to staff the operation when it’s ready. You can refuse, of course, as we have the means of extracting this information from those who chose not to join…”
“That won’t be necessary, Colonel Straker,” interrupted James. “I’m honored to be considered.”
It was those very real beginnings that landed him into SHADO, and he was going to have a chance to make the first UFO interception.
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Need to Know (Read 7155 times)
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