Eagle in the Sky - Smith Wilbur - Страница 36

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invulnerability.

Desert Flower, this is Bright Lance visual on the intruder and

requesting permission for strike.  David's cool tone hid the sudden gust

of his anger and hatred that the sighting had released.

Report your target, the Brig was hedgin& it was a dangerous decision to

call the strike on an unknown target.

Desert Flower, it's an 11yushin Mark 1 7-11.  No apparent marines.

It needed no marking, it could only belong to one nation.  David was

closing fast, he could fly no slower than this, and he was rapidly

overhauling the other machine.  Those huge wings were designed to float

upon the feeble air of the stratosphere.

Closing fast, he warned Desert Flower.  Opportunity for strike will pass

in approximately ten seconds.  The silence in his headphones hummed

quickly, and he readied his cannons and watched the spy plane blowing up

rapidly in size as he dropped down upon it.

Suddenly the Brig made the decision, perhaps committing his country to

heavy retaliation, but knowing that the spy plane's cameras were

steadily recording vital details of their ability to resist aggression,

information that would be passed quickly to their enemies.

David, his voice was curt and harsh, this is the Brig.

Hit him? Beseder.  David let the Mirage's nose drop a fraction, and she

responded gratefully.  Two, this is leader attacking.  'Two conforming.

He went down on the Ilyushin so fast, that as she came into his sights

he knew he had time for only a few seconds of fire.

He pressed the trigger with the aiming pipper on the spy plane's wing

roots, and he saw her rear up like a great fish struck by the steel of

the harpoon.

For three seconds he poured his cannon shells into her, and watched them

flash and twinkle against the massive black silhouette.  Then he was

through, falling away below the giant's belly, with his power spent,

dropping away like the burned-out shell of a rocket.

Joe came down astern of him, backing up the attack, and in his sights

the spy plane hung helplessly on its wide wings, its long rounded nose

pointing to the black sky with its cold uncaring stars.

He pressed the trigger and the plane broke up amidst the bright flashes

of exploding cannon shells.  One wing snapped off at its roots and the

carcass began its long slow tumble down the heavens.

Hello Desert Flower, this is Bright Lance leader.

Target destroyed.  David tried to keep his voice level, but he found his

hands were trembling and his guts were aching cold from the spill-over

of his hatred that not even the enemy's death could expunge.

Again he pressed the button to open the flight net.  Joe, that's one

more for Hannah, he said, but for once there was no reply, and after he

had listened in vain to the throb of the carrier beam for a few seconds

he closed it, and activated his doppler gear for a homing signal, and

silently followed him back to base.

Debra had been a steadying and maturing influence, but now David reacted

so wildly to her going that Joe had to continue his role of wing man,

even when they were off base.

They spent much of their leisure time together, for although they seldom

mentioned their loss, yet the sharing of it drew them closer.

Often Joe slept over at Malik Street, for his own home was a sad and

depressing place now.  The Brig was seldom there in these troubled

times, Debra gone and his mother was so altered by her terrible

experience that she was grey and broken, aged beyond her years.  The

bullet wound in her body had closed, but there was other damage that

would never heal.

David's wildness was a craving for the forgetfulness of constant action.

He was only truly at peace when he was in the air, and on the ground he

was restless and mercurial.  Joe moved, big and calm beside him,

steering him tactfully out of trouble with a slow grin and an easy word.

As a consequence of the downed spy plane, the Syrians began a policy of

provocative patrols, calculated infringement of Israeli air space, which

was discontinued as soon as retaliation was drawn.  As the interceptors

raced to engage they would swing away, declining combat, and move back

within their own borders.

Twice David saw the greenish luminous blur of these hostile patrols on

the screen of his scanning radar, and each time he had surprised himself

with the icy feeling of anger and hatred that had lain heavy as a rock

upon his heart and lungs as he led Joe in on the interception.

Each time, however, the Syrians had been warned by their own radar and

they had turned away, increasing speed, and withdrawn discreetly and

mockingly.

Bright Lance, this is Desert Flower.  Target is no longer hostile.

Discontinue attack pattern.  The Syrian MIG 2i's bad crossed their own

frontier, and each time David had answered quietly, Two, this is leader.

Discontinuing attack pattern and resuming scan.

The tactics were designed to wear on the q& of the defenders, and in all

the interceptor squadrons the tension was becoming explosive.  The

provocation was pushing them to the edge of restraint.  Incidents were

only narrowly being averted, as the hot-bloods crowded their

interceptions to the very frontiers of war.  Finally, however, there had

to come intervention from above as Desert Flower tried to hold them on a

tighter leash.

They sent the Brig to talk to his crews and as he stood on the dais and

looked about the crowded briefing room, he realized that it was unfair

to train the hawk and then keep the hood over his eyes and the thong

upon his leg, to hold him upon the wrist, when the wild duck were

flighting overhead.

He started at a philosophical level, taking advantage of the regard that

he knew his young pilots had for him.

the object of war is peace, the ultimate strategy of any commander is

peace -'There was no response from his audience.  The Brig caught the

level scrutiny of his own son.  How could he talk of placation to a

trained warrior who had just buried the mutilated body of his !  bride?

The Brig ploughed on manfully.

Only a fool allows himself to be drawn on to a field of the enemy's

choosing, he was reaching them now, I won't have one of you young pups

pushing us into something we are not ready for.  I don't want to give

them an excuse.  That is what they want, They were thawing now, he saw a

head nod thoughtfully and heard a murmur of agreement.

Any of you looking for big trouble, you don't have to go to Damascus,

you know my address, he tried for his first laugh, and got it.  They

were chuckling now.  All right, then.  We don't want trouble.  We are

going to lean right over backwards to prevent it, but we are not going

to fall on our arses.  When the time comes, I'll give you the word and

it won't be the soft word, or the other cheek, they growled then, a

fierce little sound, and he ended it, - but you wait for that word.  Le

Dauphin stood up and took over from the Brig.

All right, while I've got you all together, I've a little news for you

that may help to cool the hot-heads who want to follow the MIGs over the

border.  He motioned to the projection box at the end of the

briefing-room, the lights went down and there was a shuffling of feet,

and an outburst of coughing.  A voice protested resignedly.

Not another film show!  Yes, the colonel took it up.  Another film show

Then as the images began to flash upon the screen he went on, This is a

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