Chapter 5 - The Three Clicks
Nora nearly forgot to breathe.
Three clicks.
The same sound.
The same symptoms.
The same failure pattern.
Separated by three years and thousands of miles.
She pressed the transmit switch.
"Dale, I need you to concentrate on flying."
His answer came more clearly.
"Copy."
"Keep your breathing steady and follow Falcon's recovery instructions."
"Understood."
Nora looked toward her instruments.
"Falcon, Ember."
"Go ahead."
"Viper reports three audible clicks from his oxygen equipment before cognitive impairment."
The controller paused.
"Copy the report."
"Make sure that transmission is preserved."
"Understood."
Nora added firmly.
"Every second of it."
Dale's aircraft stabilized.
His heading became more consistent.
But his fuel was still falling.
The flight surgeon remained on the radio.
"Lieutenant Ketterman, this is Doctor Pierce."
"Go ahead."
"Are you experiencing a headache, nausea, confusion, or visual disturbances?"
Dale hesitated.
"Headache."
"Anything else?"
"I thought I saw another aircraft inside my canopy."
Nora felt her stomach tighten.
"Doctor, he's describing visual distortion."
"Agreed."
Pierce continued.
"Lieutenant, maintain your emergency oxygen selection and report any return of symptoms."
"Copy."
Falcon directed Dale toward the nearest suitable military airfield.
The controller gave them updated weather and recovery information.
Nora followed at a safe distance.
Her purpose had changed.
She was no longer trying to reach an unresponsive pilot.
She was helping a recovering one stay oriented long enough to land.
"Dale."
"Yeah?"
"How are your hands?"
"Shaking."
"That's understandable."
"Everything feels wrong."
"I know."
His voice lowered.
"How do you know?"
Nora stared at the distant coastline beginning to emerge through the haze.
"Because I went through it."
Dale didn't answer.
Then he asked.
"Did you make it home?"
Nora swallowed.
"Not in my airplane."
Silence.
Then Dale whispered.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"Did you eject?"
"Yes."
"Over water?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"That must've been terrifying."
Nora almost laughed.
The man was fighting to survive, and he was worried about her.
"Let's discuss my bad day after we get you through yours."
Dale managed a weak chuckle.
"Deal."
The controller interrupted.
"Viper Two-One, confirm fuel indication."
Dale read the number.
The controller acknowledged.
Nora checked the distance remaining.
The margin was thin.
Far too thin for comfort.
"Falcon, Ember requests runway priority for Viper."
"Already coordinated."
"Emergency crews?"
"Positioned."
"Arresting gear status?"
"Confirmed available."
Nora kept her voice calm.
Dale needed simplicity.
Not panic.
Not a dozen voices competing for his attention.
He needed one instruction at a time.
As they approached the field, Dale's breathing changed.
"Ember."
"Go ahead."
"I'm getting dizzy again."
Nora's heart lurched.
"Doctor, did you copy?"
"I did."
Pierce addressed Dale.
"Lieutenant, remain on emergency oxygen and report your current indications."
Dale sounded frightened.
"The pressure..."
His voice faded.
Nora watched the other fighter.
A small wing dip.
Then a correction.
"Dale?"
"Still here."
His voice was strained.
"Pressure's low."
Nora stared at the aircraft.
Emergency oxygen might have bought him time without restoring a reliable long-term supply.
The flight surgeon sounded increasingly concerned.
"We need him on the ground."
Falcon immediately confirmed the landing clearance.
Nora looked toward the runway.
It lay ahead, a thin gray line against the coastline.
Close enough to see.
Still terribly far away.
"Viper Two-One, Falcon."
Dale acknowledged.
"You are cleared for immediate recovery."
"Copy."
Nora remained with him through the approach.
The other jet drifted slightly off alignment.
Dale corrected.
Then overcorrected.
Nora could see how hard he was working.
"Dale, breathe."
"Trying."
"Keep your attention on the controller and your flight instruments."
A pause.
"Ember?"
"Yes?"
"If I don't make it..."
Nora interrupted him.
"No."
He swallowed.
"Please tell Emily—"
"Dale."
His voice broke.
"Please."
Nora felt tears slide beneath the edge of her helmet.
She took a breath.
"I'll tell her you fought for your family."
Silence.
Then she added.
"But I expect you to tell her yourself."
Dale drew a shaky breath.
"Copy that."
His fighter crossed the airport boundary.
Nora watched the landing gear extend.
The aircraft descended toward the runway.
For one terrifying moment, its nose rose too high.
Then Dale corrected.
The main wheels touched down.
The aircraft bounced.
Nora held her breath.
It settled again.
The tailhook engaged the available arresting gear.
And the fighter stopped.
Nora heard Falcon Control erupt with voices.
"Viper down!"
"Aircraft stopped!"
"Emergency crews moving!"
She couldn't speak.
Her hands were trembling too badly.
The controller called her.
"Ember One, confirm status."
Nora swallowed.
"Ember One, aircraft under control."
"Proceed for recovery."
She circled for her own landing while medical crews reached Dale's cockpit.
Only after she was safely on the ground did Nora allow herself to feel what had happened.
Dale Ketterman was alive.
He had landed.
Emily would not receive the phone call everyone had feared.
For a moment, that was enough.
Then Nora's radio crackled.
"Ember One."
It was Commander Holloway.
"Sir."
There was a pause.
Then his voice softened.
"Welcome home."
Nora closed her eyes.
For the first time in three years, she had brought an airplane back to the runway.
And she had helped bring another pilot home.
But the moment she shut down her engines, Briggs appeared beside her aircraft.
His face was pale.
Nora raised her visor.
"Chief?"
He climbed halfway up the ladder.
"We have a problem."
She frowned.
"What kind?"
Briggs looked around before answering.
"Someone tried to access Ketterman's maintenance data while you were airborne."
Nora stared.
"Who?"
"We don't know yet."
"Could it be routine?"
"Not with the credentials they used."
Nora felt a familiar chill.
Briggs lowered his voice.
"The access request came from an account assigned to someone outside this station."
"Who?"
He hesitated.
Then answered.
"Captain Victor Shaw."
Nora stopped breathing.
She knew that name.
May you like
Three years earlier, Victor Shaw had been the lead investigating officer who concluded that Nora Valdez caused her own crash.
And now, while she was saving a pilot who appeared to have suffered the same failure, someone using his account had attempted to reach the new evidence.
