this crew, this boat. As the carrier that had seen more combat service than
any ship since the heady days of Desert Storm, Jefferson had a reputation to
live up to. “Big J,” they called her.
This cruise, though, was shaping up to be a lot less glamorous, and a lot
more dangerous, than her famous tour in the Pacific two years back.
Stramaglia had already heard a couple of sailors referring to the carrier as
“Big Jinx” after the storm that had wrecked four planes and killed five men,
including Stramaglia’s Deputy CAG. The trouble Magruder had run into while
refueling had seemed to confirm the new epithet. And there was still this
Bear to deal with …
Stramaglia picked up his coffee mug again, but didn’t drink. He stared
down into the dark brew as if trying to fathom the future in the tiny ripples
there.
CHAPTER 2
Monday, 9 June, 1997
2300 hours Zulu (2100 hours Zone)
Tomcat 204, flight deck U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson
The North Atlantic
“Launch the Alert aircraft! Launch the Alert aircraft!” The launch
order rang out from the ship’s 1-MC loudspeakers.
“We’re on!” Lieutenant Commander Edward Everett Wayne, running name
“Batman,” set his magazine aside and checked the lacing on his boots carefully
before standing up.
Lieutenant Terry Powers was already on his feet, zipping up his heavy
flight-survival vest and reaching for his helmet in eager anticipation.
“Finally some action!” he said, sounding excited and impatient. Batman
thought he detected an underlying current of nervousness as well. Powers
hadn’t been on carrier duty long, and there was a big difference between
training flights with a RAG back in the States and genuine blue-water ops off
a carrier deck.
“Whoa there, kid,” he warned. “Throttle back and level off.”
Powers looked at him uncertainly. “Sir?”
“Alert Fifteen means we launch fast,” Wayne continued. “But it doesn’t
mean we launch dumb. Don’t be in such a hurry you forget about safety
precautions, kid, or you’ll cut off a promising career before you’re properly
started.” He pointed at the lieutenant’s feet. “Lace up those boots tighter.
If you have to eject, you don’t want them catching on something in the cockpit
on the way out.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Powers said, looking sheepish. He crouched to do as he
had been told. “I guess I’m just excited, sir.”
“Two things, Tyrone,” Batman said. “First off, lay off the ‘sirs’ for a
while. Makes you sound like a midshipman who can’t find his way home. When
there’s nobody here but us aviators I’m Batman. Got it?”
“Yes, sir … uh, Batman.”
“Secondly, chill out a little, kid. Take a leaf from Malibu here.” He
pointed to his Radar Intercept Officer, Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Blake,
whose running name of Malibu had been bestowed because of his blond good looks
and carefully cultivated California-surfer persona. “He’s so cool we use him
to keep the beer cold.”
Malibu flashed a careless grin. “Maybe so, dude,” he said with a
deceptively laid-back drawl. “But that just means I always have a supply
close by.” Despite the banter and the casual tone, Blake was ready to go,
helmet under one arm, flight suit zipped up tight.
The fourth man in the ready room of the VF-95 Viper Squadron looked
irritated. “Come on, let’s get moving.” Lieutenant William “Ears” Cavanaugh,
who was assigned to fly the RIO position with Powers tonight, could never be
described as a patient man. Every word, every motion, was quick and decisive,
and the man had trouble dealing with anyone who wasn’t in tune with his
particular rhythm of life.
The four men left the ready room, not running but moving briskly through
the door and toward the flight deck. They emerged on a steel catwalk on the
starboard side of the carrier, hanging right out over the angry black sea
below.
Batman followed the others up the ladder that led up to the wide expanse
of the ship’s “roof,” the flight deck, thankful for the moonlight that glinted
off metal and made it unnecessary to unclip the flashlight hanging from his
belt.
As he reached the flight deck he heard Powers enthusing. “Tonight’s the
night for some action, Ears. We’re gonna go out there and get us some Bear!”