Chapter 5 Part 6

Time passed very quickly to those who could sleep, but for Ben Lochlear, and those like him, there was too much excitement for him to relax. The rest of his crew, however were seasoned veterans. They had all seen action of some kind or another. Ben himself had only recently transferred from the quartermaster corp to combat duty and was eager to feel the thrill of battle, even if it was virtual combat.

Ben had originally applied as a fighter pilot, but his height proved too troublesome. It had been decided that he would not be able to properly function in the cramped cockpit of a fighter.

When the time finally came for the others to wake up and prepare for the upcoming mission, Ben was halfway through a wedge of lemon pie. The others simply entered the commons area, some detoured directly into the bathroom while others ordered up food of their own.

Blake wandered in and took a flask of fruit juice from the dispenser. He would rather have had the real thing to eat, but juice concentrate was the only thing allowed in space faring vessels.

Shamus simply sat at the bar in a daze, obviously not completely awake. Ben found the scene somewhat funny. "That must have been some sleep," he said.

"Like a log," Shamus assured him.

"Did you stay awake the whole time?" Blake asked.

"Just couldn't relax," Ben replied.

"You could have taken a depressant," Blake countered. It was evident that the crew commander was displeased. "I don't need you nodding off during the mission."

"I don't like those pills," Ben complained, "and we are going to have plenty of cruise time for me to snooze."

"I had intended to run a few sims during cruise," Blake informed him.

"Oh God, please don't," Shamus interrupted. "It is going to be bad enough without getting ourselves so wired that we second guess every decision we make."

Blake listened quietly. It was after all his choice, but though Ben's complaining irritated him, he took careful note of what Shamus had to say. He found that Shamus' advice was rare and usually well considered. Almost automatically he agreed to dispense with the simulations. "Well I don't want to mix simulation with real combat," he conceded. "I just thought it would give us something to pass the time."

"That is what the Wraith is for," Lee Drake said as she emerged from the bathroom. She was only half dressed, but among the crew, there was little room for bashfulness nor were interpersonal relationships allowed within the crew. As far as the crew members were concerned, they were all siblings. That was the main reason behind the crew non-segregation regulation which housed the VRAD crew in the miniature apartment complex.

"We can play games with them if we get too bored," Ben said hopefully. "They have been itching for a rematch since we stole their title last month anyway."

"Okay," Blake gave in. The last thing he wanted was for them to be angry at him before an important mission.

Blake finished his juice and headed for the bathroom himself. "I'll mention it to Spectre. Our main concern is getting in and back out as fast as we can. Roulette, don't drag around until the last minute," he warned. One of Shamus' vices was his tendency to procrastinate.

At the appointed time, they all gathered in the commons room refreshed and ready to go. Blake surveyed his crew. Lee and Ben were gathered around the video going over the Wildcard's status.

"She looks ready to go," Ben said as Blake approached. "It is almost amazing how hard it is to get maintenance done before a peace time mission, but let the fires of war erupt, and anything you ask for gets done well before you need it. Every system on the old girl is green status."

"What is the weapons load?"

Ben keyed the inquiry. "Spectre has assigned us four SRAMs and a single fusion bomb."

Drake whistled. Her interjection was not alone. "Def Com must be serious about this if we are carrying a nuke."

Blake's lips tightened. The mission was getting top priority. That meant that an awful lot was riding on it. It was possible that the high command did not think that they could effectively intercept meteors fired from that Syndicate outpost. "Let's hope we don't have to use it and try bring the Wildcard back with as little damage as possible," he stated.

"Let's hope we bring her back period," Lee offered.

"That will require us to all work together," Blake said beginning his pep talk. He nudged a dozing Shamus with his foot causing the man to sit upright in his chair. We have targets to bomb and Roulette has to get them without wasting time. Try to hit them with the first shot," he directed the last to Shamus.

"And Lady Luck has to keep us from being blown to smithereens. Longshot has to coax every watt of power from the reactor and maintain what may very well be a shaky data link. We can't afford to fly blind in this and our link is already going to be on a long distance relay. If we make a mistake, we could lose all five VRADs in one shot."

"That is the Dixie's responsibility," Ben stated.

"Not really," Shamus yawned. "If we let them launch an attack on the comm shuttle, then we are responsible for what happens as well."

"Remember the Dixie is not in good shape," Blake added. "Their problem is very severe. It requires more than just swapping out a module, it requires a complete avionics overhaul, and that can't be done on the carrier. That is why our leave dates at Terra were moved up to next month."

Ben nodded his understanding. The whole squadron was going to have to cover each other to pull off the impossible.

Blake wordlessly initiated their mission's commencement by walking over to the slot machine which stood by the door. He pulled the handle and watched the display. He got two lemons and a cherry. He grunted with satisfaction. He was not superstitious. "All right Gamblers," Blackjack began, "let's play."

Blackjack opened the door and exited. Lady Luck and Roulette each pulled the handle watched the result before following their commander. When Longshot's turn came, he pulled the lever and watched as three bells appeared in the window. Excitedly he ran after the others. "Hey you guys are not going to believe what I got," he yelled.