When the plane landed, Sam and the other personnel got their gear and walk off the back of the plane.
“Welcome, I'm General Viking and this is Colonel Bauer my second in command. You will be shown where you will staying. Since you all just arrived from the States, there will be an orientation briefing at zero eight hundred tomorrow. If you not sure where it is ask one of the ones who are here.” Then he walked back to his office.
“Form up and follow me.” They all picked up their gear and followed the Colonel to one building. Sam remembered it being the barracks.
When they walked in, “OK this is where you would be sleeping. Put your gear away and get your beds made. The mess hall is two buildings over.” He pointed with his right arm.
“Toilets and showers are next door.” He pointed with his other arm.
“Any questions...? Good. See you tomorrow morning” He walked out another door.
Sam was the first move to a bunk bed; she choice the lower one. Then others started moving towards their bunk beds while talking. Sam got her gear put away and made her bed. Once finished, she introduced herself to some of the other pilots. They talked among themselves before walking out of the barracks and going different directions.
Sam went to the toilets and then to the mess hall for a drink. Afterward, she walked around the base since she hadn't the last time she was there. She found the laundry room and learned what was in other buildings. That night she lay in bed thinking about Jack and the twins just before she closed her eyes and fell into peaceful sleep.
The next morning, Sam was up at six o'clock. After she got dressed and had been to the toilet, she walked to the mess hall since it was getting day light. She walked in and over to where breakfast was being served. Once she got her breakfast, she walked over to a table and sat down. She started eating then stood up and saluted when General Viking walked in. He saluted back.
“As ease, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, Sir.” Sam sat down and started eating again.
The general got his cup of coffee then walked over to Sam. “What’s your name, Lieutenant?”
“Carter, Sir.” He raised his eye brows.
“I've heard a lot about you, Lieutenant.”
“Sir?”
“I've read your profile, I'm impressed.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“See you at the briefing, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, Sir.” He turned and walked out of the mess hall.
When Sam finished her breakfast, she returned to the barracks to see the others still sleeping, she looked at her watch then she walked to the fist bunk.
“Captain?”
“What?” he mumbled.
“It's zero seven twenty, Sir.”
“So?”
“Briefing in forty minutes.” He pulled the covers down and looked at his watch.
“Shit!” He got up and between the two of them they were able to wake up the rest.
Sam stood aside and watched every one running around getting dressed, making their beds and going to the bathroom. She walked out of the barracks and walked to the building where the briefing was being held. When she walked into the room, General Viking and Colonel Bauer where at a table, talking. They looked up to see Sam standing there saluting them both, they saluted her back.
“Lieutenant, I didn't hear you come in.”
“I leaned stealth from my husband, Sir.”
“Who is your husband?” the colonel asked.
“Colonel Jack O'Neill, Sir.”
“I've heard of him, he’s some kind of hero” Colonel Bauer said in jealous tone.
“He is a hero...Sir.” The colonel snorted.
“Colonel, is there a problem?”
“No, Sir.” General Viking turned to Sam.
“Lieutenant?”
“General, I think the Colonel here is jealous because Colonel O’Neill saved his life a few years ago...in 'Nam, Sir.”
“Is that true, Colonel?”
“Yes, Sir. He was a lieutenant and I was a major.”
“Jack risked his life to escape, taking other prisoners with him and blowing up the compound where he and the others were being kept. That happened twice, General. The second time, he received the Medal of Honor. He saved over fifty prisoners lives and was promoted twice in that time, Sir.” The general raised his eye brows and had a somewhat shocked look on his face.
“That’s very impressive, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, Sir.” Then the others started arriving.
“Please be seated, then this morning briefing will start” the general said.
Sam sat down at the front while everyone else found a place to sit. A couple of hours later, every one walked out of the building and headed to their planes for their first flight into enemy air space.
Their first task was to find and destroy an army convoy of weapons that was heading to a city. When the briefing was over they all went to gear up and walk over to their jets. When Sam was in her jet, she had to wait for couple of minutes for take-off clearance, then she was airborne with the other pilots.
They headed to Iraq where they began to look for the convoy. Sam remembered last time that they couldn’t find it because the shipment was on another road. She remembered that twenty Marines who were in the city were killed three days later.
When they reached the target area, they all spread out and kept an eye out for any trucks. Sam also remembered that they were under attack from both ground and air forces; five pilots had lost their lives.
“Colonel, I've spotted something unusual on my three o'clock. Permission to check it out?” Sam said knowing what it was.
“Granted.”
Sam moved her jet to the right heading to where the Iraqi hidden base camp was located. She saw planes starting to take off and weapons firing at her. “Colonel, I found a hidden base. MIGs are taking off, and they are firing at me.
Permission to engage, Sir?”
“Granted.”
Sam changed weapons and fired bullets at each of the planes causing them to explode. Then she fired at fuel tankers and other targets, which caused a big explosion. By the time half of her group got to Sam, it was all over.
“Geez, Carter, you didn't save any for us!”
“Sorry! Maybe next time. Let’s head back and find that convoy.” They headed back to their previous target area.
“Lieutenant, report” General Viking ordered.
“Enemy base destroyed, General, aircraft included.”
“Well done, Lieutenant!”
“Thank you, Sir.” They were in the air for three hours with no sign of the convoy.
“Alright, every one return to base, it seems the intel was wrong.”
“Colonel?”
“Lieutenant?”
“I was thinking that the info is right but we were given wrong coordinates.”
“Meaning what?”
“Where we are, there’s an Iraqi base thirty miles away. They must be the distraction while the convoy is coming from another direction.”
“If she’s right, Sir, then where can they be?”
“Sir, if we head further south west we might find them.”
“Why south west?”
“That’s the only area that is surrounded by mountains, so it’s a good place for convoy to go through and harder for us to find.”
“General, should we return or head south west?”
“Head south west. If you encounter nothing in ten minutes, then head back.”
“Yes, Sir. Alright, lets head south west.” They all changed course.
Ten minutes later. “Times up, lets head back to base.”
Sam knew that they were down there. ‘Come on where are you’ then her eyes widened and she smiled.
“Carter, what are you doing?” colonel asked as he saw Sam lower her plane in among the mountains.
“Colonel, I found tracks.”
“Carter, return to formation.” Sam flew lower and followed the tracks.
“Colonel, I've found the target. Permission to eliminate the target?”
“Lieutenant, are you sure it’s them?” General Viking asked.
“Yes, Sir, twenty trucks... oh crap! That was close!” She flew past them, climbed, and circled around.
“Lieutenant?”
“They just fired a SAM at me, Sir. Permission to eliminate the target?”
“Granted.”
“Yes, Sir.” Sam then fired on the first truck, when hit, it exploded. Next, she fired on the last truck causing the others to stop. She fired her guns at the others causing all the trucks to explode.
“General, target destroyed.”
“Well done, Lieutenant. Return to base.”
“Yes, Sir.” She returned to the formation and they headed back to base. Just as they got close to the border, MIGs showed up.
“Colonel, we’ve got MIGs on our six” Sam alerted.
“Aright, you all trained for this. Let’s do it.” Just as he said it, MIGs started firing at them, so it was cat and mouse game.
Sam was able to destroy three MIGs, then one of the pilots said he had one on his tail, so Sam went in and blew up the MIG.
A few minutes later, “The rest are bugging out, lets head home. Well done, Carter.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Colonel, I’ve got a problem. I'm losing speed and altitude, some of my systems have been hit.”
“Can you make it over the mountains?”
“Negative, Colonel, I might have to bail out, Sir.”
“We will stay with you.... General, request you send in rescue team.”
“Roger that. The rescue team will there in half an hour.”
“Copy that, Sir.”
When they were close to the mountains, “Sir, I’ve got to bail out...what the? Sir, I'm gaining altitude!” The other pilots looked to see one of their own under the jet.
“Who are you?” the colonel asked when he lower his plane.
“Carter, Sir, I'm just giving the captain a lift, Sir.”
“You won't make it, Carter.”
“Yes I will, Sir. By my calculations, I will miss the top of the mountain by a meter, Sir.”
“You’re crazy, Carter!”
“I know, Sir.”
“Whatever you’re doing, Lieutenant, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Captain.” They all watched as Sam made the captain’s plane rise higher and higher till they passed over the top of the mountain.
“Well done, Carter, you did it.”
“Thank you, Sir. I can stay like this until we reach the border, Sir.”
“OK, we just hope no more MIGs show up.”
“Same here, Sir” Sam said.
When they were close to the base, with two helicopters close by, Sam lowered her plane and moved away so the captain could land his plane first since it was damaged. When everyone else had landed, they were pleased it was over for the day. When Sam got out of her jet, General Viking was there waiting for her.
“Lieutenant.”
“General,” They exchanged salutes.
“What you did today, with the captain’s plane, was the craziest thing I ever heard of or seen.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And finding that convoy? Job well done.”
“She also destroyed six out of twelve MIGs by herself, Sir” the colonel said.
“Six?”
“Yes, Sir, some of us wouldn't be here if it weren't for the lieutenant, Sir.” General Viking nodded then turned to Sam.
“Lieutenant, I'm putting you up for a commendation. You kept your wits about you and did whatever was necessary to save the captain’s life, as well as his damage plane, while in enemy territory. Good job, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, Sir.” They saluted then he turned and walked back to his office.
The other pilots from Sam’s squadron stepped forward to congratulate her. When the general walked into his office Colonel Bauer was looking out the window. The general stopped and turned to look out the window to see what was going on then back to the colonel.
“Is there a problem, Colonel?”
“Yes Sir... how did the lieutenant know the whereabouts of the convoy?”
“You heard what she said and you’ve read her record. She saved a lot of lives by blowing up that convoy.” He turned and walked over to his desk.
Later that afternoon, Sam was in one of the buildings where computers are keep. She typed up her report about what happened on the mission. When she finished typing it up, she saved it on a disk, as well printed out two copies and signed the bottom of them both. When they were finished and in a folder, she walked out and over to the Headquarters office. She walked in and stood at attention.
The general looked up “Lieutenant.”
“General, Sir, here is my report on this morning’s mission.” Sam passed the general the file and disk.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. You had until Friday to do it.”
“I am aware of that, Sir. Why wait until later when it can be done now? Who knows when we will be called out for back up, Sir?”
“Good point, Lieutenant, and thank you. You're dismissed.”
He returned her salute, then Sam turned around and walked of his office. The general sat back in his chair, opened the folder and read Sam’s report.
Author's Notes: Feed back, Yes please
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]