"Hurts like hell, Patrick. Feels like something took a bite out of it.
But Wendy and Angelina did a fine job. Lucky we got so many first aid kits on board."
"What the hell happened, General?Who were those guys that attacked us?"
"I'm not sure, Patrick. I was advised by intelligence of certain rumors, but I never thought… it looks like now there was a leak somewhere.
My hunch is that whoever authorized that attack expected those B-1s to be still in Dreamland.- Elliott cleared his throat. "I'll take it now Patrick.
"You sure you feel up to it, General?Your leg-" "I'll let John push on the rudder pedal if I need it, Otherwise I can handle this beast.
Get everyone else on belt and oxygen and stand by for a climb check."
So saying, Elliott moved himself aside and let McLanahan climb out of the left side seat and pass around him to go downstairs. Then with help from Ormack, he settled himself into the pilot's ejection seat fastened the parachute harness.
"All right," he said, readjusting the headset and placing his hands around the yoke. "I've got the aircraft."
"Roger, you have the aircraft," Ormack acknowledg assuring positive transfer of control with a slight shake of the control column.
"Let's clean up the after takeoff checklist. Landing gear?""Gear up, indicating five up," Ormack replied. "Left gear is reading crosshatch.
Left outboard hydraulic system low and will probably fail soon."
"Confirmed. "Elliott rechecked the hydraulic gauges.
be okay for the time being. Flaps.
"Lever up and off, flaps up."
"Throttles.
"Set for MRT climb. Nav, you up?"
"Nav's up," Luger replied immediately.
"Outside air temp zero, anti-ice off."
"MRT EPR two point one seven."
"Throttles set," Ormack said, checking the gauges.
"Start switches."
"Off and FLIGHT" "Air conditioning master switch."
"Seven point four-five PSI, radar and defense, normal cooling air available," Ormack said as conditioned air rushed from the cabin vents.
"Offense copies," Luger replied as McLanahan buckled his parachute harness and rechecked his equipment.
"Defense copies," Pereira said mechanically, watching as Wendy Tork secured herself into her seat. Angelina scanned her instrument panels, then opened her checklist and began to bring up her array of armament equipment.
"Slipway doors, open then closed. "Ormack reached up and flipped the SLIPWAY DOOR switch to OPEN on the overhead panel — The green CLOSED AND LOCKED light went on. He flipped the switch to NORMAL CLOSED and the indicator came on again.
"Open then closed, check closed."
"This beast climbs like an angel," Elliott asked. "We're past twelve thousand already. Crew, oxygen check. "He glanced around his seat.
His helmet was nowhere in sight.
"Go ahead and check them in, John," he asked. "I'll check mine when I get leveled off. "Ormack looked slightly embarrassed. He pulled the boom mike closer and said, "Defense?"
"Uh… defense is not complete."
"Neither is offense.
Elliott looked in surprise at his co-pilot. "We don't 9" "Nobody," Ormack said.
"Nobody has an oxygen mask?No helmet?" Elliott said over the interphone.
"We didn't exactly have time to pack a lunch, General, McLanahan said.
"Goddamn it," Elliott said. He checked the cabin altimeter on the eyebrow panel; it held steady at seven thousand feet.
"Cabin altitude is steady at seven thousand. How about any masks at all?Emergency masks?Anything?"
Ormack checked behind his seat. "The firefighter's mask is in place," he said, pulling the bag around and examining the mask. It was a full-face mask with a bayonet clip for the ship's oxygen system, designed for a crew member to plug into a portable oxygen "walk around" bottle and battle a cabin fire.
"One oxygen mask," Elliott asked. "No helmets.""We'll just have to stay below ten thousand feet," Ormack asked. "We can't risk a higher altitude. A subtle loss of cabin altitude, the entire crew gets hypoxic-we'd be dead before we knew it.
"We can't do that," Elliott asked. "This aircraft is top secret.
We've got to get to a higher altitude and isolate ourselves until my staff or someone comes up with a suitable landing base.
Under ten thousand feet, too many air and ground eyes can watch us." "Then I'll just keep this thing on until we land, sir," Ormack said.
"A few hours at best. I can handle it."
"No," Elliott asked. "The mask restricts your vision too much, and there's no communications hookup. Okay, ladies and gents, listen up.
Until we get back on the ground, we're all in jeopardy. No one has any oxygen, at least not a safe supply.
You can stick your oxygen hose in your face and go to "EMER' to get a shot of oxygen-as a matter of fact, we'll do that-but it's a real danger. We'll do station and compartment checks every fifteen minutes.
Check around more often. Keep alert for signs of hypoxia. The co-pilot and I will take turns with the fire mask. Check around your stations to see what else we're missing."
"Does it matter, General?"
Wendy asked. "We're going to land soon, aren't we?"
"When it gets dark, and when we find a base that can take us.
Obviously, Dreamland is out. Tonopah or Indian Springs might be alternates. Angelina, Wendy, get in contact with mission control and-" "Problem, General," Angelina interrupted. "No secrets."
"No communications documents?No encoding tables?
I.F.F?"
"I'm afraid not."
"What do we have on board?"
"The whole world will know about us in no time, General," Ormack said.
"The attack on Dreamland, this plane, the whole thing. They can't keep all this secret. When this plane lands, the whole world will be on hand to see it.
Elliott pushed on the yoke to level off at seventeen thousand feet, staring straight ahead over the long, sleek nose of the Megafortress.
"I suppose you're right," he asked. "Level-off checks, John. Angelina, get a U.H.F phone patch through Nellis to Cobalt Control. That's my section in Washington. Advise them that we're okay and request a secure radio setup and frequency as soon as possible.
"Roger.
Just then a loud voice over all the U.H.F radios on board interrupted them. "This is Los Angeles Center on guard.
Aircraft heading two-eight-five, altitude seventeen thousand feet, squawk five-two-one-nine and ident if you can hear me.
"That's us," Ormack said. Elliott reached down to his side panel, set the I.F.F frequency, turned the transmitter to ON, and hit the IDENT button.
"Aircraft is radar contact," the air traffic controller replied.
"Change to frequency two-nine-seven point eight."
Elliott changed the frequency. "Los Angeles Center, this is Genesis on two-nine-seven point eight.
"Genesis, ident and spell full call sign," Los Angeles came back.
Elliott spelled the name.
"Genesis?" Ormack asked. "What's that?"
"It's an old classified collective call sign for military experimental aircraft from Edwards," Elliott told him. "We used it when we wanted to go to the high-altitude structure but didn't want anyone, even the military airspace controllers, to know who we were. Drearniand has launched a lot of aircraft without flight plans all over this area. I hope the guy asks someone else about it instead of me."
"Genesis " the confusion in the controller's voice was apparent.".
Genesis, we show no flight plan for you. Say your departure point.
"Unable, Los Angeles."