BlackStar, page 24
“The Hump? I think so. It’s a mountain or large hill; I don’t know which, someplace behind us. Toward the north gate I think. Why?” she asked.
“Nothing really. I just saw it on a piece of paper and wondered what it was,” he said.
“Sorry I can’t be more help. I could ask around for you,” she said.
“No. Please. I think it would be better if I found out on my own.”
“Oooh, spy stuff,” she said.
“Yes. Eller. Raymond Eller,” he said in his best James Bond voice.
“Somehow that doesn’t have quite the same ring to it,” she laughed.
“Yeah, I guess not.”
“I like having you here better anyway.”
“Better than James Bond?”
“Well, except when Sean Connery was playing the part. Now he is sexy.”
“Give me a break. He’s old.”
“Sexy,” she insisted.
They talked for another hour before both knew that the time had come for the next decision.
“Look Lynn, I have enjoyed every minute of this but I had better get back. I know you have a big day tomorrow too.”
“I understand. You’ll be careful driving back in the dark? It’s a lot trickier at night,” she said.
“I’ll be careful. Thank you for a lovely evening and you really are spectacular,” he said as he got to the door.
She put her hand on the doorknob and opened it slightly.
“Thanks for stopping by,” she said just as he pulled her to him and kissed her. It was tentative at first but she pressed against and he found himself probing her mouth with his tongue. Slowly they pulled apart.
“I'd better go now,” he said.
“I know,” she said, and opened the door.
“Goodnight Lynn,” he said as he entered the deserted hall.
“Good night Mr. Bond,” she said smiling.
She watched as he entered the elevator and waved as the doors closed.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
- GROOM LAKE DESERT -
After Eller retrieved his Hummer he drove into the cold night air. His lights seemed to disappear as if being swallowed up by the darkness. The moon was just a small sliver adding to the murkiness. The only things he could see clearly were the billions of stars overhead. Incredible, in just a few years we could be going to one of those distant worlds, he thought.
He bounced along on the hard packed sand, trying to maintain his bearings in the darkness. He instinctively felt like he was going in the right direction but without a landmark of any kind it was difficult to tell for sure.
He had been up and down this road many times by now but he had always managed to head back before the sun had set. Now he wasn’t so sure he had done the smart thing. Maybe he should have just stayed at S-4 and crashed in one of the unused accommodations or ‘pods’, as Lynn referred to them.
He looked at his watch, it had been twenty minutes since he left and he still couldn’t make out anything that was even vaguely recognizable. He was wishing he had brought his portable GPS with him. He turned on the overhead auxiliary lights but all he could see was more sand stretching out for miles and miles. He was lost and he knew it.
Nothing frustrated him more than not being in control of a situation and he was definitely not in control of this situation. He stopped the Hummer and waited for the dust to settle.
Just relax, he told himself, I’ll figure it out. He closed his eyes and tried to let his mind go blank. He could hear a coyote howling in the distance. Another seemed to be answering the call a few seconds later. I thought they only howled at the full moon, he mumbled to himself. There goes another myth out the window.
He laid his head back on the top of the seat and wondered about the events of today and what they really meant in the grand scheme of life.
Looking up at the stars reminded him how insignificant we really were as people in the vast cosmic realm. What had transpired needed to be reported to the President immediately. He knew that President Sampson would want time to consider the implications as well.
He decided to take a leak, so he got out of the vehicle and looked around quickly in all directions. What the hell am I doing, the thought? Looking to see if another car is going to pass? He unzipped his fly and started to urinate when he heard his windshield shatter followed by the roar of a gun off in the distance.
Ducking, he quickly tried to locate the direction but it was useless. It seemed to come from all directions at once. He stayed down, waiting to see if another shot was fired. He crept over to the Hummer and turned off the lights. Darkness smothered him like a wet blanket.
"Damn," he said out loud. He had managed to pee on his pant legs. He could feel the warm wetness. It just added insult to his misery. He wasn’t sure what to do next.
He felt he had three options. Stay in the Hummer until the sun came up, press on toward the main base and his quarters, or try to make his way back to S-4. None of them appealed to him that much.
He opened the door of the Hummer and climbed back inside. No other shots were fired. He could see the hole and the spider web like cracks spreading out from where the projectile had punched through the glass. It wasn’t bulletproof glass, that was for sure, he thought. To head out in either direction he would have to turn his headlights on and he wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.
Finally, he decided he would just stay in the Hummer and wait for the sun. Then he could get his bearings and head back to his quarters. He was already cold so he started the engine and let the interior heat as best he could. The soft top on the Hummer was no match for the cold desert night.
He rummaged around in the back and found a pair of coveralls. He had topped off the gas tank just before going to dinner with Lynn and he was grateful for that. He slipped on the coveralls. They weren’t much but it was better than nothing. The backseat looked like the most logical place to try to stretch out so he climbed in the back, leaving the engine running.
He closed his eyes and tried to think about Lynn and the pleasant evening he had just spent with her. Keep things in perspective and think positive, he told himself. It could be worse.
~~
- DESERT PATROL –
The Hummer was easy to spot though the night vision glasses. It was only a few hundred yards away. They had been watching it since it left S-4 and laughed when they saw that he gone off in the wrong direction.
“Think we should go help him?”
“Hell no. Let the dumb bastard slide off the road into a gully. I don’t think the general would shed any tears.”
“You’re right about that.”
They continued to watch as he went down one road and then another. They sat on the hood of the Jeep Cherokee watching him trying to figure out which way to go.
“Want another beer?”
“Hell yes. This sure beats just watching the stars. We have us a show,” he laughed.
They watched as the Hummer finally came to a stop.
“Did he hit something?”
“Na. I think he’s trying to figure out what to do. Dumb shit probably figured out by now that he is totally screwed.”
The Hummer just sat in the road unmoving for several minutes.
“Now what the hell is he doing?”
“He got out and is looking around. Hold it, look at that. He’s taking a leak. Being lost probably scared the piss out of him,” he laughed.
“Hey, watch this. I’ll scare the piss out of him” he said, aiming down the night vision scope attached to the M-14. The M-16 was a full automatic rifle but the older M-14 was a hell of a lot more accurate. The gun recoiled and they both broke out laughing when the windshield shattered and Eller dropped to the ground.
“That should help him pee faster,” the shooter said, slapping his partner on the back.
“Damn, this is the most fun we have had in quite some time. What do you think he will do now?”
“Haul ass. Someone just took a shot at him and he is out in the middle of nowhere. What else is he going to do?”
They watched as the lights went out on the Hummer.
“What the hell is he doing now?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see him. I know he got back in the Hummer. The engine is running, see the exhaust?”
“Yep. Maybe he just decided to hell with it and went to sleep.”
“Yeah right. He’s lost, probably freezing his ass off and you shot out his windshield. Would you go to sleep?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I ain’t him.”
After a while they ran out of beer, lost interest and went to sleep themselves.
General Devin got a good laugh out of the story when the two security guards checked in the next morning. That would serve the dumbass right, trying to navigate in the night. Even he had a hard time and he had been down that road a thousand times. Maybe that would take some of the swagger out of wonder boy. Hearing the story had brightened his day and he actually spoke to several of the technicians as he walked through the hanger bay.
He was on his way to see what progress had been made in the Su-11 incident. He stopped by the mess hall and got a cup of coffee before going to the hanger where they were still going over the bits and pieces from the Su-11 wreckage.
“Any new developments?”
“General. Well, we think we have the answer but we want to be sure before we proceed.”
“What have you got?”
“It appears that the forward latch on the cargo bay failed and allowed the door to lift up during reentry. This caused it to act as a wind brake and funnel the heat from the shields directly into the cargo bay.”
“How sure are you?”
“We are loading the program into the simulator right now. Would you like to watch?”
“Absolutely,” the general said, following them to the large flight simulator that they used to train the pilots for shuttle operations.
“All ready,” one of the technicians said.
“Now general, this is the way it appears to have happened judging from all of the data we have gathered. Here is the initial phase for reentry. See the panel? Everything is green and they are in line for approach.”
The flight data recorder confirmed that everything was ready for reentry.
“Okay, now here they start to hit the atmosphere, everything is still normal. Ten seconds into the reentry path the warning light for the number one bay door starts to blink yellow. Five seconds later it goes to red and then goes out,” the technician narrated. Devin was watching the reading intently.
“Now. Here is where it all starts to go really wrong. They are twenty-nine seconds into the descent; all lights except the number one cargo door are green. The heat is starting to come over the top of the shuttle and it is hitting the leading edge of the cargo door. Ten seconds later the door starts to open from the buffeting.”
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the display. Other than the technician telling them what was happening, it was totally quiet.
“Fifteen seconds later fire was being sucked into the cargo bay. The pilot tries to correct the drifting but the craft was not responding fast enough. Now the nose is starting to come up as the heat is sucked into the bay and hitting the back wall. This is forcing the tail down and the pilot was desperately fighting to stay on the correct glide path and the proper AOA.”
They could all see how the nose was starting to pitch up and the pilot trying to shove the nose down to get back to the proper angle of attack. Lights on the instrument panel were all starting to turn from green to red and several warnings were being issue.
“At this point, they were at about 140,000 feet, and this is when the cargo door peeled back, slamming into the left wing, severing various electrical and hydraulic systems. The pilot switched to the backup hydraulic pumps as he tried to fight for control,” he said in a flat voice.
It was almost as if no one was even breathing, it was so quiet in the room.
“At 95,000 feet the heat started to melt through the back wall of the bay and is beginning to enter the engine compartment. Then, at 90,000 feet the other cargo bay door started to lift off and five seconds later, it peeled back and slammed into the rear stabilizer. The nose comes up vertical and at 85,000 feet the Su-11 breaks apart.”
No one said a thing for several seconds.
“My God,” someone finally said, breaking the silence.
“Well, that certainly eliminates pilot error, that we know for sure,” the general said.
Even he was not his usual brisk self.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what those pilots were thinking when the back started to come around,” he said in a low voice.
“If it makes any difference general, they were so busy that I doubt they had time to think about much. Once it went vertical, they would have died instantly,” the technician said quietly.
“I understand but still…”
Everyone that had crowded into the flight simulator started to slowly file out. Once they were all assembled in the hanger bay the general addressed them.
“I know that what we just witnessed is sobering and dreadful but at least we know why now. Your hard work and efforts here will save many lives in the future and for that, you should be proud. We cannot let this slow us down. We must fight through this and keep our spirits up. The two brave pilots on Su-11 need to be vindicated and you are the only ones who can do that. I want to tell each one of you that I am proud to have you under my command and I am confident that Dr. Dean and his entire team will persevere. Once Lockheed is notified of our findings and makes the necessary changes to the latching system, I will have the Su-12 flown out so that you can start final fitting for deployment. This will not derail the project.”
They all clapped but it was more somber than usual. They knew he was doing his best to cheer them up and motivate them, but they all had heavy hearts. The general gave Dr. Dean a pat on the back and headed out of the hanger.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
- DESERT -
Raymond was startled when he awoke. He was disorientated and stiff from sleeping on the back seat. The motor was still running as he sat up and looked around, trying to get his bearings. He wiped his face with his hands and ran them through his hair. He got out, stretched and rotated his neck and head. He was surprised that he had gotten any sleep at all.
The sun was just starting to change the sky from dark purple to a pale orange. He looked all around, trying to figure out where he was exactly. Taking the map out of the center console, he unfolded it, and started looking for landmarks. He was sitting on the hood of the Hummer with the map on his knees when three F-15 Strike Eagles came skimming across the desert floor.
He watched in fascination as they skipped along the nap of the earth and in unison slid up and over the top of a mountain range. In seconds they were gone and the stillness returned again. Now that it was starting to get light he could better determine his position. Within minutes he felt sure he knew where he was and which way to go.
Raymond got back in the Hummer and started heading east. Ten minutes later he could see the main base and runways at Area-51. It took an additional fifteen to get to the base and he was going to just go to his quarters and clean up but he spotted the general walking out of the Su-11 hanger. He pulled up, stopped the Hummer and got out.
“General. I need to have a word with you.”
“Certainly Mr. Eller. You look a little rugged. Did you have a rough night?” he asked innocently.
“You might say that. I was coming back to my quarters and someone took a shot at me,” Raymond said.
The general looked surprised.
“A shot? At you?”
“That’s what I said. Look,” Raymond said pointing to the windshield.
“I don’t even know what to say. You were on the road I take it, when this happened?”
“Hell yes. I was taking a leak when someone shot my windshield. If I had been in the damn thing I could have very well have been hit,” Raymond said.
“I’ll have my people look into it but I suspect that what happened is one of the guards took a shot at a coyote and it ricocheted and hit your windshield. That happens out here. We try to keep them out of the facility but sometimes one will get in. The guards have permission to shoot any that wander on the range property,” the general said.
“That seems a little dangerous with the traffic,”
“Well, we don’t have much traffic out here at night. It is too easy to get lost. Most people are where they are supposed to be by sundown. What time did this happen?”
“I don’t know, 1:00 a.m. or so, I would guess,” Raymond said.
“And you were on the main road back to the base?”
“No. I made a wrong turn and was trying to get my bearings when I decided to step out of the Hummer and take a leak.”
“Well, that explains it. The men are trained never to fire toward the base or where the main roads go. I suspect we will find that one of the patrols was shooting at a critter of some kind and it just happened to hit your vehicle,” the general said.
He was doing all he could to keep from laughing. They should have shot out one of his tires so he would have had to change it, the thought.
“I’ll need a different Hummer,” Raymond said.
He realized that he had just been dressed down in a roundabout way. The message was clear. Stay on the main roads and don’t run around in the desert after dark.
“I’ll have a new one delivered to your quarters. Did you sleep in the Hummer?” he asked with a slight smile on his lips.
“I tried,” was all Raymond could think to say as he got back in the Hummer and drove to his quarters.
He was more exhausted than he had realized. He took a long shower and flopped down on the bed. One minute later, he was sound asleep.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
- S-4 BUILDING LEVEL 10 -
Doctor Gimbel was becoming impatient. They had been cooped up on Level–10 ever since the test firing eight days ago. At least they were bringing the BlackStar down off the Hump so he could finish the final attachment of the solar panels and upload the Sitmap software that would be used to remotely fire the BlackStar at the designated target.
