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Aid and Comfort - teaser

By StormKitty

Only a pilot could truly understand the exhilaration of flying an aircraft solo over beautiful mountainous territory, especially when flying this low. Leo had to keep the VRC-42 as low as possible without undue risk of an unpleasant encounter with the trees or the landscape. Vidran fire would kill him just as dead as hitting a tree and he had to weigh the risk of one against the other.

Leo steered the aircraft through a vee in the terrain into a valley he hadn't surveyed in any of his last several missions. As much as he enjoyed the breathtaking scenery, he had to keep in mind he was close to known enemy positions. He banked the VRC-42 past a towering rock outcropping, then in the other direction to follow the twists in the valley beyond, as he monitored the sensors that would pick up any sort of radio or thermal signature that would indicate vidran activity. The aircraft's flight computers continuously adjusted the control surfaces in response to the air and ground sensors, keeping the ride smooth and comfortable and making the job of flying it much simpler. All the pilot had to do was point the aircraft in the right direction and let the electronics handle the details.

The fourth planet orbiting Kendarra had seemed an ideal planet to colonize. At a distance of just under 50 light years from Earth, it was already home to more than a hundred fifty thousand human residents, working hard to build cities that would ultimately support a hundred fifty million. Although it could have supported many more, the vast open plains covering much of the planet's land surface would instead become ranches where millions of food animals would be raised.

It was a pity they had to focus on developing improved technology for fighting a war sooner than anyone had hoped would be necessary, for just as the humans were establishing a foothold on Kendarra 4 another alien race arrived with ideas of their own for the planet.

The vidran had long pointed muzzles, triangular ears, and bushy tails they flicked and wagged behind them. In short, they resembled Earth foxes who walked upright and came in a wider variety of fur colors and patterns. Their customs and behaviors were strange and their technology was more advanced. Like the human race, they were in search of other planets to colonize.

Initial efforts to engage them in discussions went nowhere. They claimed to have surveyed and analyzed Kendarra 4 before the first humans arrived, and they regarded the humans as beneath themselves. Although the humans couldn't prove they had discovered Kendarra 4 first, they'd had no reason to believe anyone else had any claim to it when they began building cities. The vidran promptly began building cities of their own, boasting they could build them ten times larger in half the time.

Then the alien bastards started destroying human infrastructure. They took all human-deployed satellites out of commission and battled for control of the humans' four orbiting spaceports, capturing two of them. The humans were doing all they could to defend the remaining two. Travel to and from them was risky, both surface and deep space. At least the vidran conducted space warfare in a manner that suggested they were aware of the Kessler Syndrome.

Without satellites, Leo and his fellow pilots had to communicate with the air base via ground based radio relay stations. He was flying through one of many valleys that took him out of contact with any of these relays.

The gusty winds required he allow an extra margin of safety above and around the landscape. As Leo flew the VRC-42 around a bend in the valley, he spotted a clearing up on a hillside in the distance. That's new, he thought, bringing up the visuals from a previous mission to confirm his suspicions. He dared not get too close in a surveillance aircraft not equipped to engage in combat, so he bookmarked the image for the report he would file upon his return to McNair Base.

At the upper end of the valley he had to be alert as he flew higher to reach the adjacent valley, which would bring him back into radio contact. Wind gusts continued to buffet the aircraft as he approached the saddle of the pass. Air currents through a notch in the hills could be very tricky, but the flight computers were more than capable of handling them.

Just past the summit of the pass, his controls froze and the main display went dead. "Shit!" Leo shouted, knowing instantly his craft had been hit by a multi-spectrum radiation pulse; EMP mines, as his unit called them. There was no impact felt and no sound heard when it happened, only the realization that it had taken out some or all of a craft's electronics and the aircraft wasn't flying on its own anymore.

Leo's hand shot to the overhead levers to increase the fuel to the craft's two engines, thankful the military had the foresight to send aircraft equipped with backup mechanical controls and analog instruments on missions this close to enemy positions. His hands returned to the stick and pulled up, fighting to get the aircraft back on course despite the buffeting winds. He was dangerously close to the trees when he leveled out, and he slowly released his breath as he started climbing.

Under manual control he had to fly higher above the landscape to allow a greater margin for error, but that increased the risk of being spotted. Leo did a quick survey of the electronic instruments: the flight computers, the displays, all dead. Under calmer circumstances he might try restarting the computers, but as it was he didn't dare give flying the aircraft anything less than his full attention. First I need to get well away from any known enemy positions, then I can fly higher and check things out more easily, he thought. McNair Base was almost an hour away by the most direct route. He checked the fuel gauge; not a lot to spare.

The background noise from the radio sounded wrong, giving Leo a sinking feeling the EMP had knocked it out too. He thumbed the microphone control for his headset. "McNair control, patrol 152." No answer. After a long pause, he repeated the call. "McNair Base, patrol 152, do you read?" Again there was no answer. He would have to signal with his landing lights when he made his final approach and hope everyone else paid attention. It wouldn't be the first time the tower had to deal with EMP damaged aircraft without radio capability.

The valley opened up. Leo looked off in the direction of the base, and to the right saw the last thing he wanted to see. Crap, a storm front. That explains the winds I've been feeling for the last half hour. Damn the vidran for killing the weather satellites! It wasn't the first time he'd been surprised by storm activity they hadn't been able to predict due to the spotty and localized weather coverage they had to get by with. I could take a wider arc to the left back to base. Might be cutting it close on fuel but I should be okay if that thunderhead keeps its distance. If the flight computers had been up, he could almost fly the VRC-42 through the thunderstorm and enjoy the ride while the computers kept everything safe and stable, but manual control was another matter entirely. The only safe approach was not to approach it at all, and if it approached you, you'd better be on the ground.

As he continued homeward his hopes dimmed. The clouds weren't cooperating and the winds were picking up. The turbulence was a lot worse without flight computers to detect and instantly respond to the slightest air movements. McNair Base was about to get a thunderstorm, and the VRC-42 didn't have the fuel to remain airborne until it passed. As much as it didn't appeal to him, Leo decided he had little choice but to put down and wait it out.

The operations team on Kendarra 4 had anticipated situations like this and had converted natural clearings into pads where a VRC-42 VTOL could make an emergency landing. Like every other pilot who patrolled the region, Leo knew where they were, and one was coming up about two minutes ahead. He had to look carefully for it since these landing pads were created with minimal alteration to their natural appearance so they wouldn't be obvious targets.

Leo spotted the pad, noting it had trees on one side. The wind gusts were getting stronger. Leo slowed the aircraft, deployed the landing gear, and enabled the vertical thrusters to ensure a smooth touchdown as his horizontal thrust diminished. Landing under manual control was a tricky maneuver under the best of circumstances, which this certainly wasn't. As he neared the pad, the winds pushed him uncomfortably close to the trees.

At ten meters above ground another gust kicked the aircraft, and before Leo could compensate he felt it make contact with a tree. Oh, crap! That didn't sound good. He boosted the vertical thrusters to get it back up, and the sensation of the craft floating freely was reassuring. He leveled the VRC-42 and relaxed his grip on the controls, letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He had to concentrate while he adjusted his position over the landing pad and eased it down below the treetops once again. Seconds later he felt the wheels touch down, and he cut the fuel to the engines. Hands shaking, breathing hard, he closed his eyes and said a prayer of thanks. Too close for comfort!

After a moment to recompose himself, Leo initiated reboot and checkout procedures to find out which of the memory, processors, or other sensitive electronics had been fried by the EMP burst. If he was lucky, a clean restart would be all it would take to get everything back online.

The diagnostics were going to take a while, so Leo unbuckled himself and descended through the hatch to conduct a visual inspection of the exterior, starting with the wing that had made contact with the tree. "Sonofabitch," he muttered as he fiddled with the winglet at the right wingtip, now bent and loose. "Can't fly her like that." Actually he could if his life depended on it, but without immediate threat it wasn't worth the risk. "Can't fix her. Looks like she's down until we get a repair crew out." Fifteen minutes later he had completed the exterior inspection, finding no other damage.

Leo surveyed the perimeter of the landing pad, quickly locating its equipment cache, but he nearly recoiled in shock at the sight of vidran footprints. Vidran, here? These prints look at least a few days old, but if they've been in the area I'd better get in touch with base pronto.