Songbird & Rooster

SIX

"Good morning. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week in order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation." Delilah's eyes widened, her hand gripped tightly onto the leg of her flight suit.

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown a low level course," Coyote is the first to speak up.

"Nevertheless, you've been ordered to move on." Admiral Bates steps aside to allow Maverick to go over the mission parameters.

Rooster glances over at Delilah, seeing the panic in her eyes. She didn't sit next to him when she walked in today, he knew it was because of how he acted last night.

"We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles." He turned to the board behind him, the screen showing what their planes would do as he spoke. "Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to both the mission's success and your survival," Maverick says. "As you know, the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude at the only possible attack angle. Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two seated aircraft will paint the target with a laser bullseye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser-guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair. That's miracle number one."

Delilah's breathing halts at the thought, everything that could go wrong running through her mind.

"The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target. That's miracle number two," Maverick continued. "If either team misses the target, the mission is a failure. Egress is a steep, high G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain."

"A steep climb at this speed, you're pulling at least eight G's," Hangman speaks up.

"Nine, minimum," Maverick corrected.

"The stress limit of the F-18's airframe is seven point five," Rooster tells them.

"That's the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that. Even if it means bending your airframe. You'll be pulling so hard you'll weigh close to 2000 pounds. Your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding like an elephant sitting on your chest," Maverick described. "Fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out. This is where you'll be at your most vulnerable. This is coffin corner. Assuming you avoid crashing into this mountain, you'll climb straight up into the enemy radar, while losing your air speed. Within seconds you'll be fired upon by enemy SAMs. You've all faced sustained G's before, but this is going to take you and your aircraft to the breaking point."

"Sir, is this even achievable?" Phoenix asks.

"The answer to the question will come down to the pilot in the box."

Delilah stands immediately leaving the room. Her breathing ragged as she tried to catch her breath. She stops out in the hallway, her hands resting above her head as she leans against the wall, trying to take deeper breaths to counteract her short, shallow ones. She couldn't stop the panicked feeling that flowed through her. Her best friends were on this mission, Cyclone was still talking about making her mission leader and she didn't even know if she could complete this mission. If Cyclone put her in and she lead her friends to their death then she'd never forgive herself.

She suddenly feels a hand on her back, gently running up and down her spine. Her head drops the rest on the wall as her rough breathing continues.

"Come on princess. You're okay." Rooster coos. "I'm right here."