Fox One

[Crash Calestorm 0]

The following takes place the day after the events in the Calestorm log “Boss”…

 

“…..and then there are pilots such as my daughter who still insist on buzzing control and flight ops stations with those juvenile fly bys.” – Captain Mary Katherine ‘Boss’ Calestorm, Ret., Academy Flight Instructor.

 

Her Mother definitely owed her one.

 

At the request of ‘Boss’, Crash had participated in morning flight maneuvers and the Fleet Academy cadets had given the senior officer a run for her credits.

 

She had been assigned as the ‘Fox’, with the cadet squad the ‘Hounds’ in an advanced seek and find scenario. Staged on the outskirts of Earth Sector One, there were free form asteroids and man-made obstacles such as orbital platforms and dummy stations held by tractor tethers. The objective for the Hounds was to locate the Fox, and “tag” the quarry with weapons sensors. With four cadets at a time, paired up in teams of two -- one flight lead, and the wingman – the cadets were encouraged to work together to bring their quarry in. Typically, one team patrolled while the other actively sought out the Fox.

 

The Fox in turn was to avoid being tagged by the hunter teams for as long as possible. The exercises had been set at thirty minute durations for each. Boss Calestorm, piloting an observer starfighter, had kept track of the scoring and time spent on the exercises, rating the cadets on performance and tags.

 

Crash had managed to collectively evade the Hounds for one hour and thirty four minutes, besting her own time previously recorded on the Fox/Hound training course; the course time was not the record, but close to the benchmark one hour and forty minutes set some years back by then Lt. Commander A.G. Robinson*. The cadets meanwhile got a workout with flight systems, maneuvering their Goshawk class starfighters in two man formation, and racked up a few kill tag shots.

 

Sweat soaked, Crash was still grinning like a maniac with post-flight euphoria. The flight training run had been a welcome distraction, taking the edge off the last few days, and she’d been damn impressed with the level of control the cadet officers exhibited. Now, she was on her way back to Earth by way of check point Alpha, also known as Orbiter Station.

 

Orbiter Station Alpha had been the premier early warning system employed by the fledgling Starfleet. Originally launched and commissioned in 2161, the platform station had maintained an orbit around Earth, protecting the planet (in theory) from a surprise invasion. Now, the ninety plus year old outpost was set at a stationary perimeter overlooking the flight training quadrants and functioned additionally as an on-site training station for cadets studying for FOPS and LSO* assignments.

 

As Calestorm made steady flight progress away from the training grid, her tracker programs pinged, alerting her that she had entered the sensor range of the station. One hand on the control yoke, she used her other hand to enter the numeric code that would transmit her transponder information as a friendly, and then accessed the correct wireless channel. The visual signal showing on the main cockpit console blinked once in acknowledgement of receipt of her information, indicating that the communications officer on duty was on the ball.

 

“Fox One, Orbiter Station. Your transponder signal has been received.”

 

The real time transmission came through her helmet wireless seconds later and Crash responded in kind.

 

“Orbiter Station, this is Fox One on return flight from secondary training grid.”

 

“Welcome back Fox One. You have clearance to proceed.”

 

“Thank you Orbiter Station. Requesting flyby.”

 

“Negative Fox One, the pattern is full.”

 

She smiled, her breath fogging slightly on her clear protective faceplate. She activated her thrusters, sending Hornet 22 into a tight forward arc, taking it in close to the station and then pulling back on the thrust ratio while she activated her maneuvering thrusters. The flash of olive brown camouflage on silver plating bright and clear as the Hornet whizzed past the main observation port. The stations internal alert sensors blared, set off by the proximity of the fly by.

 

Coming around in a fast arc from the opposite angle, she again flew past the main viewer port and with an ignite of thrust and a friendly dip of the wings, Crash bid the station control center a final farewell and zoomed off.

 

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*A.G. Robinson (played by actor Keith Carradine) is from the Star Trek: Enterprise TV series (“First Flight”). His 1:44 course record is for the purposes of this log.

*FOPS – Flight Operations

*LSO – Landing Signal Officer