Chapter 4 - A Voice Above the Pacific
The Pacific Ocean looked endless from twenty thousand feet.
Nora had forgotten how that felt.
On the ground, the ocean was a destination.
From a fighter cockpit, it became an enormous moving surface without landmarks, without mercy, and sometimes without an obvious horizon.
She checked her instruments.
Everything was functioning normally.
Her breathing remained steady.
Still, she couldn't stop listening for the clicking noise.
"Ember One, Falcon Control."
"Ember One."
"Radar contact confirmed."
Nora acknowledged the controller.
"Request latest Viper Two-One position."
The coordinates came immediately.
She adjusted her route.
Her cockpit displayed the intercept solution.
Dale Ketterman was out there somewhere.
Twenty-nine years old.
Married.
A father in a few weeks.
And possibly unconscious inside a fighter jet that would continue flying until fuel, gravity, or geography ended the flight.
Nora swallowed.
"Falcon, any response from Viper?"
"Negative."
"Last heading change?"
"Approximately six minutes ago."
"Was it commanded?"
"Unknown."
Nora studied her display.
The aircraft's movement was troubling.
Its path had become uneven, but not chaotic.
There were shallow turns followed by extended straight segments.
Someone might still be manipulating the controls.
Or the airplane might be responding to an engaged flight-control mode while its pilot drifted in and out of awareness.
Nora keyed her microphone.
"Viper Two-One, this is Ember One."
No answer.
"Dale, my name is Nora Valdez."
Static.
"I'm coming to your position."
Nothing.
She tried again.
"You don't know me, but I know what's happening to you."
Her voice softened.
"I've been where you are."
The radio hissed.
Nora continued toward the contact.
Five minutes later, she spotted a tiny metallic shape ahead.
A Super Hornet.
Gray against blue.
For one moment, relief rushed through her.
She had found him.
Then she saw the aircraft's attitude.
Its nose was slightly low.
Its wings were not level.
A slow roll began, corrected itself, and started again.
"Falcon, visual contact."
"Copy, Ember."
"Viper appears to be making intermittent control inputs."
"Can you identify pilot condition?"
"Not yet."
Nora approached cautiously.
She maintained separation and moved into a position where she could see the other cockpit.
Sunlight flashed across Dale's canopy.
At first, she saw nothing.
Then a helmet.
A bowed head.
One gloved hand resting near the controls.
Nora's pulse quickened.
"Dale."
She transmitted on the assigned frequency.
"Dale, if you can hear me, look to your right."
No movement.
"Viper Two-One, respond."
The other fighter dipped.
Nora adjusted her position.
"Falcon, pilot appears incapacitated."
The controller answered immediately.
"Understood."
Nora stared at Dale.
She remembered the last moment before her own aircraft became uncontrollable.
The strange calm.
The misplaced confidence.
The certainty that everything was fine even while her instruments told her otherwise.
She changed her approach.
"Dale, listen carefully."
Static answered.
"My name is Ember."
Her voice tightened.
"I lost an airplane because of what you're experiencing."
The other aircraft rocked slightly.
Nora watched.
"You're not stupid."
A faint sound came through the radio.
"You're not failing."
Another crackle.
"Your brain may not be receiving enough oxygen."
Dale's voice emerged.
"Wh..."
Nora straightened.
"Dale?"
The transmission broke.
Then returned.
"Who's..."
"I'm Ember."
A pause.
"Ember..."
"That's right."
His breathing sounded irregular.
"Can't..."
Nora glanced at the other cockpit.
"Tell me what you can't do."
A long silence.
Then Dale whispered.
"Think."
Nora felt tears gathering.
She remembered that word.
She remembered trying to tell her own controller the same thing.
"Okay, Dale."
She kept her voice steady.
"You're doing well by talking to me."
"Where..."
"You're above the Pacific."
A faint laugh.
"No."
Nora tightened her grip.
"It's okay."
Dale whispered again.
"Two..."
"Two what?"
"Two oceans."
Nora closed her eyes for half a second.
Visual distortion.
Confusion.
Severe impairment.
She contacted Falcon.
"Falcon, Viper is responsive but cognitively impaired."
"Copy."
"Request flight surgeon on the communication loop."
"Already standing by."
A new voice entered.
"Ember, this is Lieutenant Commander Pierce, flight surgeon."
Nora answered.
"Doctor."
"Can he follow simple instructions?"
"Intermittently."
"Suspected hypoxia remains high on our list."
"Agreed."
Pierce spoke carefully.
"We need him to activate his emergency oxygen if he can."
Nora looked at Dale's cockpit.
She could see his head moving.
"Dale, I'm going to ask you to do something."
Silence.
"Just one thing."
A weak reply.
"Okay."
"Use your emergency oxygen."
No answer.
"Dale, can you do that?"
His gloved hand moved.
Nora held her breath.
He reached toward the wrong side of the cockpit.
"Not that one," she said gently.
He stopped.
Nora forced herself not to overwhelm him with words.
"Dale, remember your oxygen emergency training."
A long pause.
"Emergency..."
"Yes."
His hand moved again.
Then fell away.
"Can't."
Nora's chest tightened.
"Try once more."
The aircraft began descending more steeply.
"Falcon, Viper descent increasing."
"Copy."
Nora's mind raced.
She could guide him.
Encourage him.
But she couldn't reach through the canopy.
She couldn't press his controls.
She couldn't physically provide oxygen.
For the first time, the limits of the rescue became brutally clear.
Dale's voice returned.
"My wife."
Nora swallowed.
"Emily."
"She..."
"I know."
"Baby..."
Nora looked through his canopy.
"His nursery has blue walls."
The radio went silent.
Then Dale whispered.
"How\..."
"Commander Holloway told me."
A faint crackle.
"Crib..."
"Yes."
Nora's voice trembled.
"You need to come home and see that crib, Dale."
His head lifted slightly.
"Blue."
"That's right."
For one precious moment, she saw recognition.
Then his aircraft suddenly rolled left.
Nora reacted immediately, maintaining safe separation.
"Falcon, Viper experiencing uncontrolled attitude change!"
Warnings sounded through her own cockpit.
The other fighter's nose dropped.
Nora watched its altitude decrease.
"Dale!"
No response.
"Dale, recover your aircraft!"
The Super Hornet rolled farther.
Its dark underside flashed toward her.
Nora heard herself breathing.
Too fast.
She was watching the beginning of another accident.
Her own.
Except this time she was outside the doomed aircraft.
And there was nothing she could do but talk.
"Viper Two-One, Ember!"
The ocean rose beneath them.
Nora's voice cracked.
"Dale, listen to me!"
For one terrible second, she believed she was about to watch him die.
Then the fighter's wings began returning toward level.
A weak voice came through the radio.
"Ember..."
Nora almost sobbed.
"I'm here."
A pause.
"I found..."
"What did you find?"
Dale swallowed audibly.
"The red handle."
Nora's heart jumped.
"Good."
A second later, his voice changed.
It was still weak.
But the confusion had begun to lift.
"I think..."
Nora leaned forward.
"I think I got it."
The flight surgeon spoke.
"Ember, ask him to confirm emergency oxygen is supplying."
Nora repeated the request.
Dale answered after several seconds.
"Emergency oxygen selected."
Nora closed her eyes.
"Good job, Dale."
His breathing became more regular.
"Altitude..."
Nora checked her display.
"You're descending through sixteen thousand."
A pause.
"That's..."
"I know."
Dale sounded frightened now.
That was a good sign.
Fear meant awareness was returning.
"Ember, what happened?"
Nora looked toward his aircraft.
"You're not out of danger yet."
Dale's voice sharpened.
"How much fuel?"
Falcon responded before Nora could.
"Viper Two-One, estimated fuel remaining is critically low."
Dale swore.
Nora glanced at her navigation system.
The nearest suitable recovery field was still some distance away.
Dale's aircraft had consumed more fuel than the last estimate suggested.
She looked at his fighter.
Then at the endless water below.
"Falcon, we need immediate updated diversion calculations."
The controller acknowledged.
Dale's voice returned.
"Ember?"
"I'm here."
A pause.
"There's something wrong with my oxygen system."
Nora's blood chilled.
"Tell me."
He breathed slowly.
"It's making a noise."
Nora stared at him.
"What kind of noise?"
Dale swallowed.
"Three clicks."
The world seemed to stop.
Then he said the words Nora had waited three years to hear.
"Three clicks, Ember."
May you like
A pause.
"Just before everything went wrong."
