Airwolf And I, Vice Versa

Chapter Eight

Dominic was busy with the on board computer. Airwolf was thirty thousand feet above Afghanistan. All of Archangel’s information was downloaded into Airwolf. All of the scanners were working. Dominic kept looking at the tiny USB device shaking his head at the constant changing of technology, things were getting smaller but bigger inside. He tried to keep up with Kristien when she was explaining what gigabytes were but he really had no idea what she was telling him, although he thought he did nod in the right places, he hoped anyway.

“How we doing Dom?” Hawke asked partly being impatient at going back to Kristien but also he had been sat at the controls of Airwolf for over 16 hours, however, at least this time the autopilot was working.

“Well another couple of hours of this and then we can go home.” Dominic said. “It does look though that the soviets are telling the truth for once and ARE pulling out.”

“Well that’s one less war then that we have to worry about.” Hawke replied.

“Sure is.” Dominic said thinking that as one war ended then usually another one started such was the state of the world.

The radar screen jumped into action with a missile which seemed to have appeared from the coast, somewhere. Hawke’s eyes were instantly on it. He pressed the turbo’s and changed direction.

“What the?” Dominic was confused. “I hope this isn’t like at the test range you know.” Dominic started to type into Airwolf’s computer to double check the scanners.

Hawke had reported the problem to Kristien who went to work on Airwolf again and could not find any glitch of any kind and certainly on Airwolf’s on board computer there was no record of what they saw. Kristien told them to continue with Airwolf and she would monitor from where she was, so if it happened again she would be on it straight away.

“It’s a Dolphin Class Submarine String and they have sent us a sample. Checking.” Dominic told him.

Airwolf’s computer went into action identifying what was closing in.

“Oh my god.” Dominic could not believe what was coming. “String, it’s a Cruise Missile, a popeye turbo and its heading in our direction.”

Hawke turned and looked at Dominic in disbelief. Certainly the briefing he received from Archangel did not mention anything about a submarine nor cruise missiles. The Soviets were pulling out. What was going on?

“Dom give me back control.” Hawke instructed for the autopilot to be disengaged. “And get hold of Archangel.”

Dominic quickly pressed the disengage button of the autopilot and Hawke pulled up Airwolf to gain more height.

“Well it’s 40 miles and closing and the computers say its coming for us.” Dominic replied. Airwolf’s scramblers made a noise and Dominic typed in the code.

Archangel came on Dominic’ screen. “Gentlemen how are we?”

“Well I don’t remember sending the invites out for this party.” Hawke replied dryly.

“Is that a cruise missile coming your way?” Archangel looked at his own screen at the FIRM with disbelief.

“No shit Sherlock.” Dominic said. “Thirty eight miles and closing.”

“Michael you had better find out who sent this and fast.” Hawke said looking at the radar screen. “Dom, combat mode.”

Outside Airwolf deployed the ADF pod and the cannons came out ready for action.

“Who the hell sent this?” Hawke asked rhetorically.

“Thirty miles.” Dominic counted off.

“Give me a Falcon, Dom.” Hawke thought fast and pressed the visor down. Instantly the Airwolf computer projected the target area onto the visor. Hawke counted off and aimed sending the Falcon to its target. The falcon missile raced forward searching for its target.

“Twenty five.” Dominic said. “Falcon intercepting, String it didn’t hit.”

“Hawke the missile uses an inertial navigation system.” Archangel told them. “It will change its trajectory to get Airwolf.”

“We are trying to jam it.” Dominic said hopefully.

“That won’t work.” Archangel told them.

“Kristie.” Hawke said. “She told me something about an INS.” Hawke was trying to remember what she had told him about the system when Kristien appeared on the Airwolf computer screen as an insert on top of Archangel’s secure communication.

“How the hell do you do that?” Dominic asked her, startled to see Archangels secure transmission being hijacked.

“Easy!” Kristien told him. “I am getting strange echo readings from Airwolf’s on board computer, what are you boys up to?”

“Oh my poor baby is trying to stop a cruise missile, twenty miles out.” Dominic said now getting worried.

“Kristie describe the inertial navigation system to me again and quick.” Hawke demanded watching the horizon.

“INSs have angular and linear accelerometers some include a gyroscopic element. Generally, there's at least one sensor for each of the three axes. A computer continually calculates the vehicle's current position. First, for each of the six degrees of freedom.” Kristien read out from her photgraphic memory. “Do you wish to have the forumla?”

“Fifteen miles.” Dominic counted.

“It’s a cruise missile Kristie.” Hawke told her. “I have tried a falcon and jamming and nothing is working.”

“Someone has guided it to you and then once it’s innitialised the computer takes over. I could have a go at the satalite feed and give it a pretend Airwolf to go after.” Kristien started to type on another laptop straight away. “Meanwhile you boys may have to duck.”

“Well that’s helpful.” Dominic retorted rolling his eyes. “Ten miles.”

“I mean that literally. You boys have been up high for a long time, yes?” Kristien asked already knowing the answer.

“Affirmative.” Hawke replied knowing that she had probably been tracking Airwolf the whole time.

“Well this cruise missile may not have the Schuler tuning, so you guys best go down to sea level and fly by the seat of your pants, then if the Schuler tuning is not on board the missile then it will not be able to follow you as it cannot point to the centre of the earth.” Kristien read it off simply from her PhD of Physics, a branch of classical dynamics, from one of her own data banks stored in her brain. Her abilities were never used fully at any one time. Archangel noted how Kristien’s cleverness never ceased to amaze even him, he remained quiet throughout the hijacked transmission.

Hawke did not need to be told twice. He aimed Airwolf down and pressed the turbos. He understood exactly what Kristien had told him. Airwolf was travelling at over Mach one along the desert floor.

“What happen’s if it does have the Schuler tuning?” Dominic asked not really wanting to know the answer.

“You know the seat of your pants? Well you can probably kiss it goodbye.” Kristien answered truthfully still trying to get the satalite to do her bidding. “I’m in.”

Airwolf was travelling at over Mach one along the desert floor, the dust cloud behind it billowing upto 40 feet in the air, making its own sand storm in its wake. The cruise missile had continued its course following Airwolf down and continued to follow Airwolf along the ground. Airwolf raced away and Hawke moved Airwolf from side to side, making it zig zag. The missile slowed up as as it broke off its course falling to the ground. Hawke checked the radar and pulled Airwolf up to a hammerhead stall, seeing that the missile had broken off it’s pursuit. Thank God! Either the missile didn’t have the schuler tuning and broke off it’s pursuit by itself or Kristien had managed somehow to break into the missiles on board computer. What ever happened he was going to make sure it would not get a second chance to go after them.

“Dom give me a Hellfire.” Hawke instructed.

Dominic pressed the weapon selection and the light turned on. “You got it.”

Hawke aimed at the downed cruise missile and sent the hellfire at it, as he left the hellfire to do it’s job he aimed Airwolf skyward and pressed the turbos. Below the Hellfire hit the cruise missile sending an explosion mushroom cloud at least 800 feet in the air.

“Woah String that was close.” Dominic said looking at the explosion cloud below.

“Yeah, too close.” Hawke said.

It was nearing midnight when Airwolf came back to Kristien’s estate. The full moon continued its path across the star lit sky. Hawke was drained but watched as Airwolf automatically disabled the security matrix that protected the estate, he was impressed with Kristien’s programming. He knew Carsten would be pissed off when he found that out but as he had no future plans to have Carsten in Airwolf he really didn’t care.

Dominic pressed the remote to the hangar doors and as they opened the hangar lit up with tiny white lights showing a landing area. Now Hawke was impressed, Kristien had thought of everything.

Kristien was in the kitchen hangar as Airwolf landed gently down into the Hangar workshop and the roof doors closed above. Dominic sighed as he looked at Hawke.

“Who do you think sent that missile?” He asked.

Hawke shrugged his shoulders, half with exhaustion and half not really knowing the answer. “Michael said he would get back to us.”

Kristien opened Airwolf’s port door. “Well you boys are anything but dull!” She handed over two cups of steaming coffee.

“Arh just like an angel.” Dominic said to her receiving the coffee.

Hawke looked at Kristien and remembered the one hundred and fifty year old cognac that he had opened before coming over to the UK, he could really do with that now. “An angel would bring us some hard stuff Dom.” He cheekily corrected Dom. Dominic nodded in agreement.
Kristien took out a silver hip flask that she had slipped in the back of her jodhpurs and handed it to Hawke smiling.

Hawke opened it and the oaked aroma of the cognac filled Airwolf’s cockpit. Hawke put it to his lips and took a good mouthful. He handed it to Dom.

“Now you are talking.” Dominic smiled and took a mouthful also savouring the taste. “That hit the spot.” He said.

“Thanks.” Hawke said to her thanking her for her help earlier with the cruise missile, whether it had been her quick thinking of getting Airwolf to fly at sea level or whether she had successfully blocked the satellite feed, he did not know, but he was very grateful.

“Damage control.” Kristien replied. “Can’t have this in bits already you know. I have only just put the bloody thing back together!”

“See String, she cares.” Dominic said taking another sip and passing the hip flask back to Hawke.

“Nope, I have horses in the Oaks and the Derby in a weeks time and I can’t be overhauling this and sticking back together everytime you pair break it.” Kristien brought them both back to the earth with a bump. “I do have a life you know other than holding a monkey wrench to this infernal machine!”

Kristien got out the laptops to plug into Airwolf for the diagnostics. Dominic left Hawke and Kristien to go up to the main house and to choose yet another different room to sleep in. He was enjoying this stay.

Hawke left Kristien to go and have a shower. The decontaminiation showers were so powerful and really made the man made aches and pains in his body gently go away. The eight shower heads pounded down hot water onto his aching body that had spent far too long in a very small cockpit. Hawke had his hands out pushing his body away from the shower wall, his lean body under at least 3 of the showers. The hot water powering down over him.

The last 24 hours had been hard, flying to and from Afghanistan and tension that ensued had taken its toll on his aging body. He certainly didn’t spring back as once he did, being two years off forty he wondered if life really began at forty as boy if it did he had a lot of miles on the clock already and felt as if it started many years before. Just as he was contenplating what may lay ahead, Kristien joined him in the shower and started to massage his back.

He rested up against the shower wall allowing her careful delicate hands to massage effortlessly over his muscular back. The energy between them rose and he opened his mind to her as his body relaxed with the motion of her hands. He felt all the tension and the knots release instantly. A qualified medical doctor herself, Kristien massaged all of the muscle groups successfully.

God did that feel good, did she read his mind a few of days before when he thought about getting her into the showers? Pleased that Kristien had joined him he turned around to her and kissed her hard and full, pulling her close with his arms. Kristien felt the intensity from Hawke and held him tightly.

Hawke gently laid down with Kristien still in the the embrace, the steam rising around them from the showers. He looked deep into her eyes. He was the luckiest man walking the earth.

Tired or not he was going to enjoy having Kristien close tonight.