“Eagle 2, you are cleared for landing. Crew chiefs are on standby. Lower your altitude, pitch, and speed.”
“Roger, I’m on the ball.” Gypsum changed his HUD and adjusted his rudders with his feet, shifting his vertical stabilizer to align with the landing strip. Pitching slightly down with the use of his trim tabs, he made precise measurement changes. He then reached down and activated the landing gears with a handle. Hearing the hydraulics and the switches engage to open the doors to let the landing gears come down without obstruction, and flipped a switch to activate the landing lights.
“NOSE LANDING GEAR INOP” Bitchin’ Betty exclaimed with a yellow/amber alert.
“Eagle Nest, this is 2. I need a catch cable or net, nose landing gear is not down. Can you visually confirm?”
* * *
A young private grasped his binoculars from the control tower.
“No visual on NLG. Can you confirm sir?” He handed his bino’s over to his Captain.
“Neg. Two visual confirms of no NLG. Tell him to make a pass, we need a moment to get the net.”
He slammed down the intercom system on the landing area, with a high pitch pulse alert.
“Eagle 2 needs a catch net. NLG inop. Put up net and clear the landing area of all personnel. Emergency crews on standby for injury and fire. This is not a drill.”
* * *
“Eagle 2, flyby. Make another pass, crew needs time to deploy the net. Can you make another attempt to deploy landing gears?”
“Roger Nest.” He pushed
He grasped the landing gear handle and pushed it back up, hearing the hydraulics re activate and the wheels went up, followed by the closing of the doors. Once the green lights showed on Main Landing Gears and Nose Landing Gear were green, he did it again.
“NOSE LANDING GEAR INOP” the yellow alert from Bitchin’ Betty appeared and sounded off again.
“No go on NLG. Making another pass still. I’ll stay in the air until crew is ready to catch this fucking thing.” Gypsum exclaimed.
* * *
“Roger Eagle 2 on another pass. How’s the gas?”
* * *
“Plenty of gas, good to go.”
* * *
The ground crews scrambled and hustled to attach the catching net across the landing strip. Usually this was deployed on an aircraft carrier, but they found great success on trials with the use of them on the runway to help ensure better recovery.
“Let’s not kill the Greywolves only fucking pilot! make sure the damn net is ready. Medical and Recovery crew on standby.”
* * *
Gypsum for the first time in his aircraft, he was scared. Pilots dreaded landing, and also take off, far worse than enemy aircraft.
On his fifth pass his radio squealed, “Eagle 2, this is Nest. Take her in. Take your time.”
“Roger Nest, I’m on the ball.”
He adjusted his aircraft back to leveling out, pitching it slightly upwards to let the main landing gears take the impact before slamming into the heavy duty net.
“ENGINE 2 STALL.” Bitchin’ Betty yelled with a red alert on his HUD.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Gypsum held his joystick with both hands. It started to lean right as the loss of engine power disrupted his thrust and lift.
“I’m coming down fucking hard Nest, Engine 2 is out.”
“Punch out Eagle 2.”
“Fuck no. I’m bringing it in.”
“Punch out! Punch out!”
“Negative. I’m on the ball.”
“Punch the fuck out. EJECT LIEUTENANT!”
“EJECT! EJECT! EJECT!” Bitchin’ Betty’s lights and alerts were all over the HUD. It was confused on which mattered more. Everything lit up like a Christmas tree. The worst possible scenario was happening, and his common sense was no where to be seen.
This is not how I want to die today. He said to himself.
He felt the aircraft slide off course to the right with the lack of thrust, the nose was pointing slightly off course but still headed for the net.
“LIEUTENANT, PUNCH OUT!”
He gasped as the back of his aircraft hit the hard deck hearing the anti-skid system engage keeping him from destroying the wheels which was a moot point at the moment. He needed this thing down on the ground.
He slammed his helmeted head into the seat from the sudden stop. The nose slammed down hard right immediately afterwards, screeching metal against asphalt. The momentum kept him off course as it approached the net.
He reached down to the yellow and black barber pole patterned handle between his legs, and yanked upwards to activate the ejection system. A loud bang was heard as the canopy rapidly depressurized and jettisoned far away from the aircraft to its right, and Gypsum grasped the pilot chair, as it lifted off with explosive speeds upwards away from the crashing aircraft. The parachute deployed successfully as his chair was now at the mercy of the wind speeds. The emergency oxygen bottle activated immediately underneath his pilot chair to give Gypsum 100% emergency air as he came down slowly.
He watched his fighter jet come to a screeching halt with the use of the net, as he floated to the ground.
The ground crews immediately suffocated the aircraft with a fire retardant, while the emergency crews tossed on their lights and sirens to catch Gypsum and assist him if needed.
“Well, that’s one for the books.” Gypsum laughed to himself as he watched the emergency vehicles chase him.
* * *
B-443 regretted hand cuffing his Commanding Officer, it filled him with dread if he had that emotion. He wanted to do it, instead of the UTR personnel.
He gently hauled her to her feet as he was escorted by the Military Police after being strip searched of her weapons and hidden equipment. Taking into account she was injured.
Former General O’Hannons’ blood was all over her, the evidence against her was overwhelming.
B-443 firmly escorted her to a different holding cell, pending an investigation and interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Detectives.
He looked into the cell before leaving, and it was a gruesome spectacle.
* * *
Allyn was also arrested as soon as he entered the front door, but wasn’t treated as good as Winters was. They slammed him against the wall and immediately cuffed him. He knew fighting them would end poorly for him, so he allowed the blood to pour from the side of his face.
“Tell me what the fuck happened!” As they pressed him against the wall.
“You’re under arrest for conspiring to murder. Take it up with CID. Now shut the fuck up if you know what’s good for you, Master Sergeant.”
* * *
The Military Police came in full force in each of the rooms where the Greywolves resided, and treated them the exact same. They were roughly cuffed, and highly confused as to what the hell was happening.
The hammer came down….
Story Time 