Sideshow Alley Read online

  ‘They’re coming along as good as can be expected, but nothing is going to prepare them for the real thing. There’ll be at least a fifty percent casualty rate by the time this tour is over—you know that don’t you?’ Kyla warned. ‘What about you? Is there anything you’re not happy with?’

  He shook his head and they walked on in silence.

  At lunchtime Barry and Dave were busy discussing the new targets while Jimmy and Pee Wee listened in.

  ‘How did it look from where you were, Pee Wee?’ Colin asked.

  ‘Fantastic! I could see the bogeys on the Battle Screen, but then looking at you blokes’ doing your stuff against a phantom enemy was awesome. There were rockets going off everywhere and I get to hear all of the talk as well.’

  ‘Can you reply from there also?’ Colin asked.

  ‘Sure, but I’m not supposed to,’ he replied.

  Colin turned to Tiddles, ‘So how’s the game going for you?’

  ‘It’s starting to hot up. All they have to do now is substitute the bogeys with Lizards and we’ll have the real thing.’

  The siren screamed low then high to permeate the ship. Colin raced to his fighter, while Dave and Barry hung back to avoid the congestion.

  The afternoon was a repeat of the morning’s exercise, thorough and exhausting, the monotony only broken occasionally when viewing The Rock turning slowly beneath them. Colin concentrated on the bogey formations and formulated strategies in his mind, but they weren’t any good amongst manufactured targets that refused to lie down. Still, the upside was, there were no casualties. In fact the whole battlefield reminded him of a space shoot-em-up game with its myriad colours, flashes and whiz-bangs as seen through the sights of the cannon, the Carrier just visible as it hung suspended in space.

  On the way in his thoughts turned to his pilot. Kyla had proven herself to be super-efficient, throwing their fighter around space and alerting him to any possible threats while keeping tabs on the rest of her wing. She was every inch the Green Goddess, cool and aloof—a complete enigma and yet somehow he felt she wasn’t happy with her lot, even though she had fought so hard to be where she was. When they were down again he searched her face, but found it as beautiful and business-like as ever.

  The volleyball competition had degenerated into an all-pilot affair. As teams were eliminated they either stayed on the sidelines to support their pilots or worked-out individually. Colin chose the latter, even though the Red Alpha pilots were in with a chance. There were always a few there to watch Kyla and support her.

  During the meal that night the crews talked animatedly about the day’s events. Colin refused to be carried away by it all. He left the table when finished and went straight to the library to research battle strategies and afterwards sought the solace of the planetarium again, to ponder in peace.

  Kyla found him there some twenty minutes later. She searched the armoured glass for his reflection before seating herself.

  ‘I thought I’d find you here,’ she said.

  ‘How is that?

  ‘I saw you disappear from the mess earlier.’

  ‘Thanks for taking an interest, but I went to the library to do some research. I only called in here to collect my thoughts before going back to the mess.’

  ‘And did you find what you were looking for?’

  ‘Yes, I still think that salvos are the only way to go.’

  ‘Tell me, why didn’t you and the Red Alpha fighters support your pilots today?’

  ‘Some did,’ Colin protested.

  ‘Then why didn’t you?’

  ‘Surely you don’t need my approval. You had enough admirers cheering you on.’

  ‘Yes, but I thought we were a team and that’s what team members do, support each other?’

  Colin laughed before answering, ‘Yes, we are a team and as such you have my full support and admiration. But at the end of the day it’s just a game and sometimes you win by losing.’

  He watched as she leaned back into the chair to contemplate what he had said while her perfume drifted over to tantalise his nostrils and negate any other thought than of her.

  ‘I’d better be going,’ he said.

  ‘What, so soon?’

  ‘I’d really love to stay and chat with you, but I promised the boys we would have a drink together. Tomorrow night all the wings will be celebrating and we mightn’t get a chance otherwise. You’re welcome to join us if you like.’

  ‘Maybe later then,’ Kyla said, as Colin took his leave.

  The film was showing in a corner of the mess and a few avid moviegoers were straining to listen to it above the noise going on around them. A group of pilots and fighters were in an animated discussion about the lifestyle on each other’s planet. While in Sami’s corner two pilots looked on as a fighter got a tattoo of one of the hostesses. The ones depicting Phoebe and her sisters were by far the most popular, others being the fighter’s wing: his official number and blood group as well as the occasional one of someone from home.

  The boys were already grouped and waiting for him so Colin got a beer before joining them.

  ‘Here’s to us,’ he said, raising his drink.

  ‘The last days of innocence,’ Jimmy added.

  The toasts over, they joked about home on earth and what their families would be saying about them now. The general consensus was that in all probability they still wouldn’t have realised they were missing. It brought laughter from all around.

  Barry’s tatt caught the eye of Tiddles and Dave. They pored over it while comparing various aspects of its anatomy to the hostesses nearby.

  ‘What about you, Tiddles. Are you going to get one?’ Jimmy asked.

  ‘I was toying with the idea,’ he confessed.

  ‘What of?’ Jimmy asked, surprised.

  ‘Rhonda, actually,’ Tiddles said, and they all erupted in fits of laughter.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s nice to have dreams, but why not join the club?’ Jimmy said, as he flexed his tattoo. ‘We can arrange it for you, besides—none of us might ever make it home.’

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ he assured them.

  ‘What about you, Pee Wee. Any luck with the hostesses?’ Jimmy asked.

  ‘Nah, I tried. They said they were overworked as it was and only there for the flight crews—not the Karen,’ he said, dejectedly.

  The others laughed at his reply.

  They talked for an hour more and Colin tried to win them over to his new rocket strategy when in formation. They agreed the plan had merit and promised to try it when back in their own individual wings.

  ‘Pee Wee, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What do you do in the Gun Battery? Do you track bogeys or just watch the screen and wait?’ Colin asked.

  ‘We tracked manually for a couple of days while they were training me, otherwise it’s done automatically. Each gun latches on to the nearest target—all we do is keep an eye on things and adjust the fall of shot.’

  Colin took the information onboard and nodded.

  Jimmy drifted off to one of the poker games in progress and Phoebe led Barry away by the nose. Pee Wee went over to watch Sami, while his brother Dave mingled with his wing. Colin looked around. He noticed that Kyla had rejoined the pilots at their table and was engaged in a conversation with Jens.

  Queenie came over, ‘I’ve been watching you, you’re still working aren’t you,’ she said, and dragged him off to her quarters.

  And the Winner is…

  Colin woke early as usual on the last day of training and lay there wondering how it would unfold. There was the promise of a full day at the office and more. They would party in the mess afterwards as if there were no tomorrow and for some it would ring true. Everyone would start-off even in the survival stakes—the lowliest of crews on a par with the Squadron Leaders, who would be ruthlessly targeted.

  There was no hint of nerves from anyone in the mess during breakfast. It seemed he was the only one worrying
so he quit thinking about it.

  He was disappointed when the Colonel didn’t put in an appearance. Instead it was Captain Jorgen and the Team Leaders. The Captain commended their efforts so far and before handing over he reminded them that as well as being the last day’s training, the finals of the volleyball competition would be held that afternoon. Afterwards a series of short clips were shown of the previous day’s practice and inadequacies pointed out to the relevant crews with emphasis that those faults were worked on during the day. The reality was that all of the crews benefited from the points highlighted. They may not have mattered during practice, but in battle they would cost a life and maybe more. The siren began to wail and the mess emptied, leaving the Team Leaders to make their way down to Battle Command in a more orderly fashion.

  Red Alpha sped down the launch ramp and out to the forming-up point to await the rest of the squadron. Once in position Kyla switched the intercom on, ‘Are you going to use the new tactic today?’

  ‘Yes. But it might pay to practice in staggered formation.’

  As Kyla led the squadron toward the bogeys Colin issued his orders to the Wing Leaders, ‘Load proximity and identify targets to your immediate front and then wait for my command.’

  He selected one for Alpha Wing and gave the coordinates, pausing a moment before giving the overall order to fire and then watched the resulting explosions on the Battle Screen seconds later. It was an awesome display of exploding rocketry surrounding the bogeys and he doubted that any real enemy would come through unscathed. Suddenly the white bogeys appeared onscreen and the wings were further deployed to spend the rest of the morning practising with rockets and laser.

  When they were down again he asked Kyla what she thought of the salvo.

  ‘Very effective, I’d hate to be a pilot trying to get out of that,’ she surmised.

  During the midday meal he asked the others if they had used the tactic and was disappointed to find that none of them had. The room was abuzz with conversation of one sort or another and the food delicious and plentiful with all whims catered for—nobody seemed to be thinking about the looming deployment. He looked over to Kyla and she returned his gaze, breaking it off to look further around. Even Eric hadn’t noticed—he was too busy talking. While they ate, the hangar staff re-armed their craft on the deck above them and maintained others where necessary.

  After the meal the siren wailed to scramble the crews again and Colin took the opportunity to implement the barrage when in Space. For him it was the most logical thing to do and while it expended thirty rockets, if they only accounted for one enemy craft, it meant that its arsenal of forty rockets and untold laser fire would be taken out of the equation.

  They returned again two hours later drenched in perspiration and exhausted. Colin waited for Kyla as the hangar crew moved in to secure the craft.

  ‘All the best for the volleyball game today.’

  ‘Does that mean you’re not going to watch?’

  ‘Maybe for a little while,’ he conceded.

  ‘So have you gambled any credits on us, I hear they’re still offering odds?’

  ‘Nah, I don’t do gambling.’

  Kyla laughed, ‘You’re so strange.’

  ‘Yeah, well I’m not alone in that department.’

  There were eight teams vying for a place in the volleyball finals and they were all pilots. It was a sudden death playoff, whereby eight became four, then two, until the winner was decided—which meant the finalists had to play three straight games. Colin called the Weapon Officers from Red Alpha to him and explained that they were going to back their pilots, it was the least they could do.

  Kyla’s team looked on appreciatively from the court as they played while Colin and no doubt most of the others took in her athleticism and feminine form as she played her aggressive game. Their opponents were Red Kilo, who played a fair game, but Red Alpha ripped through them ruthlessly to win in record time. No doubt trying to save themselves for a stoush should they make the final.

  Colin looked at the other matches. Two were still in progress which spoke volumes, the other one having been determined by Red Delta who cruised through to win with Eric at the helm. Captain Jorgen waited until the other two games were finalised and then paired the winners off with Red Alpha and Delta. Most of the crews around could see the inevitable happening—it would be a showdown between those two teams. Colin could see it also and put more enthusiasm into his support.

  When the two teams finally did square off, Colin locked eyes with Eric and pointed his thumb down. Eric looked over to Tiddles and gestured for him to do likewise, whereupon Tiddles gave Colin a two fingered salute and threw Kyla a kiss. Thus infuriated, both leaders and their teams proceeded to slug it out as beads of perspiration poured from their bodies.

  Red Alpha took the first game while Eric’s team were still warming up. Red Delta took the second—the decision resting on the third and final game.

  Colin handed Kyla a towel and some bottled water in the break. She drank while mopping the perspiration from her face and neck.

  ‘Do you think you can take him? Sami’s still offering excellent odds on the last set,’ Colin informed her.

  ‘I thought you didn’t bet?’

  ‘I’ll make an exception for this game,’ he said, and went off to find Sami.

  Kyla stood shaking her head, determined not to let a paltry wager weigh on her mind.

  When the game resumed it took on a whole new meaning. Fighters and pilots alike lined the court, all with bits of white paper firmly grasped in their hands as they cheered their teams on. A wall of noise surrounded the players, the spectators urging them on like two fighters as they slugged it out. It had the effect of taking the edge off both teams, distracting them to the point where they started to make errors with that amount of pressure applied—all except for the two leaders, who revelled in the conditions.

  Eric’s team was serving and the scores were even towards the end. They fouled on two consecutive tries and were forced to concede the point. Kyla was waiting for the next serve and when it came she pounced, knocking the ball down the other side of the net for the point and victory. From her supporters there came shouts of joy, while the losing punters melted away silently, littering the deck with their losing wager slips.

  Eric and his team shook hands graciously with the Red Alpha pilots. Captain Jorgen stepped in to officially congratulate the winners also and informed those around that there was a compulsory wing get-together in the mess at 1900 hours. Kyla approached Colin afterward as the remaining crews drifted away.

  ‘Thank you for your support today, it was really appreciated. So how much did you wager, ten credits?’

  ‘More like a hundred—they were offering two to one.’

  ‘Well I’m glad you never told me. It would have added to the pressure.’

  ‘Yes, it did get ugly towards the end,’ he replied, as they followed the stragglers out of the gym.

  Back in his quarters the chatter was ceaseless. There was a sense of completion in the air which had been nicely balanced by the crews being whipped into a frenzy on the volleyball courts only minutes before. The fact that Sami was there and sanctioned had a lot to do with it. Colin sensed it was all part of a time proven plan to manipulate the men every step of the way. They weren’t given time to dwell on the inevitable until it was too late, when they were thrown into the deep end and committed to the fight.

  The feeling amongst the crews was the same throughout the evening meal. Colin sat with the boys as usual and listened to their chatter while taking in all of the changes in each since joining the ship. They were no longer the long-haired scruffy youths who had been shanghaied and beamed aboard. They were now clean-cut and shaven, in uniforms that bore their tag of colour, wing and number and what’s more they were proud of it, too. A quick look over to Kyla’s table saw that Eric was pensive, but gracious in defeat, smiling and talking jovially to the others around him.

  By 1900 h
ours the mess had filled to capacity. Even Pee Wee was there in his orange coveralls, tagging along with his brother, Dave. The various wings sat or gathered in groups to talk of the activities that day. The Colonel and Captain Jorgen entered the mess and they all stood rigidly for them.

  ‘As you were, Gentlemen,’ the Colonel said.

  ‘Firstly, it is my honour to present a plaque to the leader of Red Alpha pilots in recognition of their success in the ball game today and to the whole team, a well done!’

  Kyla went forward to accept it, then returned to Red Alpha and passed the plaque around for her pilots to see. It had all of their names inscribed on it.

  ‘Now that’s out of the way I want to congratulate every last one of you for successfully completing all phases of your induction. For the pilots it was the bonding and subsequent training together, but it must have come as a huge culture shock to get you Weapon Officers this far. Ten days ago you were content to play arcade games. Now we have seemingly immersed you into the game you love so much and trained you up for the real thing.’

  ‘This night is yours in which to celebrate and unwind, for tomorrow you will begin the harsh realities of our fight against our Lizard foe. I’ve been advised that there has been an outbreak of activity by them in the Northern Quadrant of our Galaxy, so tonight while you sleep we will travel across time and space towards there. On behalf of the Team Leaders, Captain Jorgen and myself, we thank you for your transition so far,’ with that, the Colonel and his entourage departed.

  The crews clapped their appreciation as they left. Afterwards there was a moment’s silence before everyone started talking at once. The beer-point opened for business and the hostesses entered to circulate amongst the fighters. Sami appeared from the galley and mingled amongst the wings as well. He offered receipts to the lucky winners of the wagers in the gym for credits that had been electronically transferred to their Legion account.

  Kyla took Colin’s receipt and looked at it, ‘Two hundred?’

  ‘Didn’t you believe me?’

  ‘Of course I did, but there’s nothing like confirmation.’