Event

extreme g-forces of his maneuver, he scanned the area and finally found his flight leader about ten miles ahead and slightly to his right. Derry's Tomcat was not the only craft in the sky. His eyes widened as the full impact of what he was seeing registered in his mind.

'Vampire, are you behind me?' Derry asked over the radio.

Ryan could hear the breathing of his RIO; it was one of those noises you grew so accustomed to that you never noticed it, but now it seemed amplified.

'Roger, Derringer, right here. Don't get too close to that thing,' Ryan said as he looked at the most terrifying and wondrous object he had ever seen in his life.

'I've got to get a closer look at this thing, Vampire, stay back on my six,' Derry ordered.

Jason Ryan, Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States Navy, knew that what his flight leader was attempting was dangerous, but all he could do was watch as Derry's Tomcat crept closer to the flying saucer.

The two Super Tomcats were about a mile behind the UFO. The shape was what they had always expected or thought they would have seen--if they ever saw one. These images, along with many others, flickered in and out of the minds of the crews in the two fighters. The craft was round and looked like two plates that were sitting open face to open face. It was silver in color and had no discernible anticollision lights. Derry estimated it to be close to four hundred feet in diameter and at least fifty feet at its thickest point in the centerline mass. Then the words coming through his headphones finally registered and brought his attention back to the here and now.

'I've lost contact with the Vincent,' his RIO was saying.

'Come on, you mean we lost 'em just like that?' Derry asked.

'Sir, we have nothing. The Vinson is either off the air or we're not transmitting.'

'We get the same over here,' Ryan said over the radio.

'Okay, we'll go standard. We try and contact. If nothing happens, a warning shot. We cannot let that thing break three hundred miles to Ponderosa, is that clear?'

'Roger,' Ryan answered. For the past thirty seconds, the electrical tone in his headset had informed him that his Sidewinder missiles were locked on and were tracking the object. But even better, Ryan knew the gun cameras embedded in the belly and wing of his aircraft were filming this thing. As an added measure, and because of the size and unknown composition of the strange craft, Ryan made sure to also target a long-range Phoenix missile with its larger warhead and superior range.

Derry knew their strategy was flawed. He didn't know how far a weapon from this thing could reach, as its range and capabilities were a mystery. The assumption of a line three hundred miles out from the carrier was just a guess, as a line had been drawn in the sky instead of the sand. Had this been a normal aircraft, a hundred miles was the limit of any antiship missile outside the U.S. inventory. The French-made Exocet antiship missile made infamous in the Falklands war by its sinking of the HMS Sheffield was now the weapon of choice for most of the outlaw nations that threatened ships at sea. But this thing was not a normal air-breathing vehicle.

Derry cleared his throat. 'Unidentified aircraft, we are United States Navy fighter planes to your rear. You are approaching a quarantine zone and you are hereby ordered to identify yourself and turn your aircraft immediately to a westerly heading, over.'

Ryan heard the call repeated twice more by Derry and shook his head. He assumed this object wouldn't feel threatened by their two small aircraft. As he approached, a large and jagged hole was increasing in size at the rear of the saucer.

'Derringer, looks like this thing has had a hole punched in it.'

'Vampire, stay in place with your finger on the trigger, we may have a... a... Well, something's in distress here. That's damage of some kind. I'm going to get a closer look.'

Ryan watched as Derringer's F-14 started its advance toward the giant saucer. He nudged his throttles forward just a little; he knew his wingman would never notice. He watched his flight leader's Tomcat as it approached from the rear. The huge jet wobbled from wingtip to wingtip as it was caught in the saucer's vortex.

'Vampire, there's a situation on board that craft. It looks like they're venting something, you seeing it?'

Ryan saw what looked like some form of liquid as it streamed from several smaller holes in the craft's aft compartments.

'I'm seeing, just not believing,' Ryan answered.

USS Carl Vinson, three hundred miles north

Men were speaking in quiet tones as they watched their screens. It seemed the temperature had risen ten degrees in the last few minutes as they waited for incoming information. Most of them had never felt this helpless.

'What have we got here, Derringer?' Hams asked. Static was the only answer he received.

Suddenly an enlisted man said loudly, 'Captain on deck!'

Harris turned to see the captain of the Vinson leaving his marine escort outside as he entered the darkened Combat Direction Center. His stern expression told Harris that the captain was deeply concerned for the safety of his ship.

'At ease, continue with your work. What's Range Rider saying, Commander?'

'No answer yet, it may be interference or some sort of jamming, we're still evaluating. The Alert One aircraft should be in place in three minutes, Captain.'

'I see. Keep trying to raise them,' the captain ordered as he sat down in the chair normally reserved for Harris. The officer who drove one of the most powerful warships ever built watched his men performing their duties. He made no comment. The only indication of concern was the way he closed his eyes and listened to the calls to Range Rider that were going unanswered.

'Sir, Range Rider's radar signature has just gone intermittent. When the bogey goes, they go. Whatever electronic field that craft is emitting is now screening our own fighters.' As Harris leaned over the man's shoulder again, he saw nothing on the green sweep of the radar. Then two small blips and one that measured at least four hundred feet or more in diameter appeared and then vanished on the next sweep.

'Two-eighty and closing,' radar called out.

'Give me the status of the battle group,' the captain asked, as he stood and started for the bridge, meaning he wanted the report now and while he was on the move. Overhead could be heard the roar of the steam catapult and thump of tires as another flight of F-14 fighters lifted skyward.

'All ships report in at battle ready, Captain. Air defenses are up and close-in weapons support is warmed and armed,' Harris responded. He was referring to the Phalanx twenty-millimeter automatic cannons and Sea Sparrow missiles that were a major part of the carrier's close-in point protection. But their real defense was the Aegis cruiser Shiloh with her advanced missile defense system.

The captain heard the report as he paused at the hatch and then started for the bridge. Harris watched him go and rubbed his temple as he eased back into his chair. This close to home waters and the current threat board was clear. Of course, ships not much different from this one were sailing into home waters once when someone hit Pearl Harbor.

'Still no communication with Range Rider?' Harris asked.

'COM is clear.'

'Sir, we have a second bogey inbound to Range Rider at four hundred miles behind the first bogey and closing at a high rate of speed. This contact is strong!'

Harris jumped from his seat and watched as the second contact closed on the first object and the trailing F- 14s.

'Second contact closing at over Mach two point five,' said a second, louder voice.

'What in the hell is happening here?' Harris said as he removed the bridge phone from its cradle.

Dropout, Ryan's RIO, caught another blip on his screen. 'We have an inbound, mark it possible hostile, coming up our six and closing fast.'

'Talk to me.'

'Can't calculate distance and speed, it's moving too fast,' Chavez said, close to panic.

'Damn, did you copy that, Derringer?' Ryan asked.

'Copy, Vampire, where in the hell are the alert aircraft?' Derry said, scanning the sky quickly for the two