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PAGE 1
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After a day of meetings with Olympian officials, Abe is in a small green room with Sandra Walters, a notable television reporter for WNN.
She is interviewing Abe about the 2031 Invasion of`Paragon which had been coordinated by corrupt leaders, mainly from Olympia.
Sandra Walters
“Now, Abraham. Explain the moment when you guys were able to get back to Paragon, the country your father founded.”
Paragon is the world’s newest nation and was founded by Abe’s father, Charles Dalton, a black European man. Charles Dalton is always astute in his business, but also always fastidious about his appearance (the more fashionable, the better.)
Abe describes the events which led up to him and his squadron escaping a hostage situation.
Abe
“On TV, all I can say is that our crew woke up in the back of a cargo plane. In retrospect, I know that while all the chaos was going with Paragon, my father and the President were being held hostage as well.”
Sandra Walters
“You and your team were in the plane that you guys landed in? Correct?”
Abe looks behind the camera, and he sees Charles, his father, who is tall, muscular, and dark with a shadowed beard. Abe’s forehead is beginning to perspire under the heat of the TV lamps. He begins to explain his story about the 2013 Invasion of Paragon.
The room is silent. Even the camera men that are recording the interview from multiple angles are stoked as Abe recounts his experience.
Sandra Walters. A dirty blonde, sixty-year-old reporter prods Abe after a momentary pause.
Sandra Walters
“So, Abe, how did you guys do it?”
Abe flashes back to a year ago to the Operation Red Ice exercise held in Olympia. It is a challenge that most nations conduct with each other to practice airborne defense with their Air Forces. Paragon’s airborne defense is the AX-1 squadron.
Moments after saving a group of Olympians from crashing their plane during the exercise, Abe and his crew landed, only to discover that no other country’s Air Force units had landed at the Olympian Airport.
Paragon’s Air Force was subsequently detained by a corrupt Olympian commander, Captain Title, who had a personal vendetta against Abe. His targeting of Abe was because Abe’s father, Charles, wouldn’t give him or Olympia an under-the-table deal for Paragon’s largest commodity: A-28 which is a mineral that turns water into a combustible fuel (as well as having other invaluable properties).
After being locked up and sedated in a gas room, Abe wakes up startled. He can see Telda, his love and an AX-1 female pilot, curled up and shivering. Abe looks around and sees that he is surrounded by his sleeping AX-1 flight squadron; all of whom have zip ties around their ankles and their wrists.
The young pilots, Rory, Terry Love, Jason, and other AX-1 support are all inside the cavern-like space of a large C-17 airplane. The green hue from the dim lighting in the aircraft allows Abe to see his sluggish squadron members. The last thing that he remembers is that he was given a shot in his forearm, and he doesn’t remember anything past that.
Abe looks up to the right and can see that the cockpit is fully illuminated and there is a full crew inside. He rests his head on the side of the plane and can hear the wind rattling the side of the jet, allowing him to hypothesize that they are high in the sky. He pops his ears a few times, and realizes that they are likely at forty one thousand feet.
As Abe looks around, he sees an armed military officer right above him. The officer is holding a machine gun and two handguns on his lower legs. He is ready for battle.
Abe meets the guard’s eyes. The guard returns the look then walks towards Abe and grabs his collar. Abe notices he is a young officer. Maybe in his late twenties with white and red hair and a thick beard. Not the prettiest sight for a pilot being held hostage.
The military guard whispers to Abe,
Military Officer
(grabbing Abe’s Neck)
“Do not move! Don’t do anything to alarm anybody. Got it?”
As he is grabbing Abe’s neck, one of the Olympian crew members from the front of the plane, come to the back to check up on the officer to make sure everything is okay.
Military officer
(looking back)
“I’m fine! I’m fine! The idiot is just squirming around. I got one for him.”
He smacks Abe very loudly on his back. Once he does that he kneels down next to Abe, and whispers to him,
Military Officer
(whispering)
“Look, the pilot is in on this with me. Both of them. The other two guys are just support. But I don’t know them, so you have to play along with me. Do you guys know how to Chute?”
Abe looks at him with wonder and distrust warring on his face. He doesn’t say anything. Abe licks the bottom of his lip. He tastes the blood from the Captain Title’s unexpected punch that happened just as they were being taken into Olympian custody.
Abe looks at Telda rolling her head as she starts to come out of the tranquilizers.
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PAGE 2
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Military Guard
“Yo, captain.”
Abe continues to stare at Telda. The military guard takes another step towards Abe.
Military Guard
“Captain Dalton.”
Abe looks behind the guard to see if the captain of the aircraft comes out. Then the military guard kneels next to Abe and looks over his shoulder.
Abe realizes that the guard was calling him Captain, which confuses him. Because calling him his rank is a sign of respect, and that rarely occurs when a person is in a hostage situation.
Military Guard
“Back during the exercise. You saved three of my friends, and the two pilots who are flying this plane. We can only be grateful and loyal to you. But you’ll have to work with me and stay calm. I mean, really calm. Work with me.”
The guard is referring to the Olympian airmen that Abe saved during the Red Ice Exercise. The pilots were in a hypoxic state because the oxygen systems failed on the aircraft. To help, Abe and his navigator, Jason, flew next to the men, and alerted them continuously. They stopped only once Abe got the pilots attention.
The Olympian cargo pilot realized that they were out of fuel. He told his crew to jump out the rear with parachutes while he kept the plane at a steady. Out of the crew of seven, the only fatality was the captain who tried to jump out. However, keeping the plane steady for the others delayed his jump and gravity took the plane down with him in it. It was his sacrifice.
Abe leans back, analyzing everything, as a green hue covers his face from the dim lighting of the aircraft. Abe doesn’t know what to think. He has been stripped of his dignity, respect, and worst of all, his squadron has been wrongfully arrested by Olympians. Now he is to trust an Olympian soldier, forty thousand feet in the sky.
Abe looks up at the military guard, whose thick beard disguises his face and expressions. The guard looks back, openly engaging with Abe. But his back is turned to the front of the plane.
As he lets Abe speak up, another Olympian airman walks past the two. A short stubby man with a bald head. He is the loadmaster of the aircraft. The guy who makes sure the weight and balance of the plane is accurate.
The short loadmaster walks past the guard and Abe and gives a silent hello. Abe notices that he is unarmed, and the body language makes it evident that the loadmaster and the guard don’t know each other.
He then checks the inside of a large freight vehicle that is being shipped in the cargo plane. He then checks straps. Abe realizes it’s just a routine check.The loadmaster then clears the cargo bay and walks back into the cockpit. Once it is clear, the thick bearded guard nods Abe to speak up.
Abe (whispering)
“What is going on? What happened?
The guard kneels next to him. He is eye level with Abe, who is sitting down on the floor of the plane.
Officer
“You guys were drugged. They stripped you of your military duties, your aircraft, but you have bigger issues than that. Your home…”
Abe (cutting him off)
“What do you mean? They took our aircraft?
Abe looks around.
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PAGE 3
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Abe
“Seriously, where the hell are we?”
The officer looks at Abe again.
Officer
“Look, you've got bigger fish to fry right now. Paragon is being bombed.”
The guard pauses. He doesn’t blink as he looks into Abe’s pupils. The sad thing is, Abe has no idea how much terror the land is going through. Nor does he know that the members of the reserve squadron in Paragon are dead, and that his father is currently being held hostage.
Military Guard
“Yes. Paragon is being bombed. As - we – speak.”
Abe’s body crumbles and bad butterflies rush through his system.
He thinks about his homeland, his father, his father’s creation. Is his dad okay? He is thinking of all of the people who walk along the beach. The companies in the solar powered towers, the bio-luminescent trees. Gil? His “female friend”.
Abe takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
Military Guard
“We’re over the Atlantic right now. You can see the men upfront.”
The guard points to the two crew up front. One is biting down on an apple, and the other is sitting down next to the cockpit with a machine gun. In fact, one of the men standing with the gun is the person who was giving Rory a hard time while seizing AX-1’s aircraft.
The officer looks over his shoulder to make sure the two crew members who are unaware of what’s going on don’t see him talking to Abe.
Military Guard
(Looks over)
“They think that we are going over the southern Atlantic. We were told to shoot and drop you..... In the ocean. And attach those concrete blocks to your legs.”
The officer pauses and points to the blocks which have elastic rope attached to them.
Military Guard
“But we aren’t going to do that. You saved our brothers. Little that they know that we are actually flying towards Paragon for you guys. Eventually I think they are going to figure it out.”
Abe looks at them, and then looks at their weapons. He doesn’t see how it is possible.
Military Guard
“Trust me, if I have to engage then I will. You just have to relax for me, and keep your men cool in case they wake up.”
He points at Rory, the person he is referring to. Rory is still sedated, tied up just like the others.
Military Guard
“I will come back in an hour. Keep your mouth shut.”
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PAGE 4
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Abe’s body locks up. He is in unknown territory. All he knows is that he is in this cargo hold of a large airplane, and he is very high in the sky.
He pops his ears a few times, holds his breath and counts the seconds to see how high they are flying. He looks around the plane and notices that it is a C-17 aircraft; similar to the one that he and Telda had had a steamy sexual encounter in. In fact, he is sitting in almost the exact spot that he nibbled in between her thighs. The only difference is that this is the enemy’s airplane. No words can be trusted at the moment.
But his overriding thoughts revolve around what is going on at home in Paragon. Is his father okay? How will his guests (Bin, Lisa, and Wayman) react to an invasion, and how unfortunate the timing is for them (if they are even still alive.) He realizes that this coup was brilliantly planned. Olympia knows how powerful the AX-1 Squadron is, and they made sure they took them out of the equation early on.
It was a catch twenty-two. Though the whole AX-1 Squadron is never to leave Paragon under normal circumstances, the Red Ice Exercise was a mandatory mission for all of the nation’s planes. They had to participate, particularly with Paragon on the cusp of becoming the world’s newest nation.
But it is more than evident that everything was a setup from the get-go. The coup was why the AX-1 squadron was the last to do an exercise, and the reason that a cargo plane went down. All conspired to make a distraction and provide a reason for them to be arrested, despite the fact that they had been saving lives in the process. All these events led to AX-1’s aircraft being taken. Captain Title was able to accuse AX-1 of violating the commander’s orders while in Olympia airspace, and AX-1 illegally using aircraft that were manufactured in Olympia.
Abe realizes that they probably took the aircraft because they wanted to see how the A28 system operated and how they refueled with water. It was a good thing Abe dumped most of it before he landed, but at this point it doesn’t matter. The Olympians probably have engineers stripping Paragon’s planes down at this very moment, trying to figure out how they can make the same system. But the biggest variable was that they were able to take Paragon’s main line of defenders out of Paragon airspace during the invasion; which meant Paragon had no air defense, besides the BX-1 Squadron, who were too young and still in training.
Abe sits in deep thought while the peaceful sound of wind going into the engines of the airplane settle in his ears. He looks over at his love, Telda, as she begins to wake up, and move her legs. The military guard walks towards Abe again, after being in the cockpit area for a few minutes.
Military Guard
“I figured you may be able to use this.”
He sets a satellite phone on the left side of Abe’s leg. Just so the other soldiers don’t see it. Abe acknowledges it.
Military Guard
“Will it work this high? The guys are napping up front. Make your calls. Do what you got to do. In about two hours, we will be over Paragon.”
The military guard pulls a pocket knife out and cuts one of the zip line handcuffs off Abe’s right hand, which frees him to open the phone.
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PAGE 5
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Abe turns it on, and it has 37% of power, enough to try to contact somebody from Paragon command. He thinks about dialing Captain O'Donnell but he realizes that he hasn’t seen him since the last Red Ice mission. He goes through his contacts, Telda, Terry, Jason, Mason. Most of them are from his fighter unit and are, for the most part, his only friends. He is afraid to call his father, fearing he will not pick up, and he revisits the thought of his mom being at the bombing of Paragon ten years ago. He is so drained at the moment that he can’t cry, and all he can do is lean his head back. As he tries to gather his thoughts, he falls back into a deep sleep. He wakes back up when the military officer taps his shoulder with his gun.
Military Guard
“You make the call yet? Time is ticking.”
The officer looks down at Abe’s phone and notices that something is popping up on the screen.
Military Guard
“Looks like something. Pick it up.”
Abe looks down at the phone. He squints at it and pulls it closer to his face. It’s Lex, Paragon’s War Battle Coordinator.
He tries to answer the phone, but by the time he picks up, she is off the line. He tries to dial her back. There is no ringing at her end. Abe tries again and the call immediately goes to her voicemail. Abe takes a deep breath, and as soon as he puts the phone down, it vibrates. He picks it up.
Abe
(whispers)
“Lex…Lex... It’s Squid 0294.”
The call is muffled but they can hear each other. Squid is Abe’s call sign when he is flying in his fighter jet, a nickname in the sky.
Lex is in a Humvee SUV on a back road in the forest, heading to Paragon’s Safe Haven which is an underground bunker for situations like this. It has room for Paragon’s citizens and a battle command center.
Lex
“Abe, where are you?”
Abe
“I’m not sure. You will have to track it. I know we are about forty thousand feet up.”
Lex
“I can’t track you – most of our systems are down. I’m heading to the safe haven bunker now. We are in bad shape. The whole base is blown away, we have nothing. BX-1 has been bombed also.”
Abe thinks about how bad the disaster can be. He looks at Chris. He is a BX-1 pilot, who came with the AX-1 squadron as a reserve pilot in case one of the pilots became ill.
As he looks at Chris, who is just coming out of his tranquilizer, Abe thinks how Chris will react to the deaths of the wing mates that he trained with. Abe returns to Lex.
Abe
“How bad is it? The country?”
Lex
“It’s not good. Not good. Over a thousand fatalities in four hours. We need you here, Abe.”
Lex’s voice stays positive, as she can handle situations like this. It’s her job.
Abe
“Yeah, I don’t really know where we are. But I have a feeling we can make it home. But, look, I am low on time and battery. We may have to do an airdrop. I need some coordinates.”
Lex
“What are you in?”
Lex has no hesitation.
Abe
“Lex, I am in the sky. In an Olympia C17.”
Lex
“Oh no. Abe, they are going to...”
Abe
“Lex; stop and focus. I need coordinates ASAP.”
Lex
“Hold on.”
Abe waits....
Lex
“You need to drop longitude eight point seven eight three two. And latitude thirty four, fifty, eighty five. We are at the sector C bunker. Don’t drop near A. It’s a disaster and everything is demolished.” -
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PAGE 6
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Abe writes the coordinates down, now he knows when and where they need to jump out of the aircraft.
Abe
“Got it... Look out for me. We will clear all this shit up.”
Lex
(out of breath)
“Okay. I see fighter jets and drones all over the sky. Just a heads up.”
Abe
“Roger. Also, Lex, have you talked to my dad? His friends? Uncle Joro?”
Lex
“His friends are with me, Joro is too. I don’t know where Mr. Dalton is.”
Abe closes his eyes. His dad is the only person that he has in the world. He has never had a chance to have a relationship with his mother. Though Abe and Charles haven’t spoken much in the past few days, they are very close. Charles is Abe’s motivation. But the worst thing is that Paragon is being demolished, and Abe knows something isn’t right. He can’t put his finger on the problem, but he knows he has to find a way to put an end to this, as the AX-1 squadron is the nation’s sky defender.
Abe nods his head so the military officer can walk over to him. He comes by. Abe hands him a balled up piece of paper. The officer takes it walks away and opens it up. He looks down and recognizes Abe’s notes. He sits still for a second and gathers his thoughts, then walks into the cockpit.
When he walks in, the other two guards come out and come in between Rory, trying to wake him up. Abe looks up at the officers.
Abe
“Haven’t you guys done enough? What do you want?”
The officers turn around and look at Abe, give him a serious look and then a grin. He walks over to Abe, pulls his hand back, getting ready to smack him. Abe closes his eyes, only to hear the smack.
But he feels no pain.
He opens his eyes, and the two officer’s chuckle, as he really only smacked his own hand instead of Abe.
One of them gets closer to Abe.
Officer 2
“Look, just play the game right and you will be fine.”
Abe gives him a look similar to the one he gave the other officer. Abe is nervous now, as he hopes that the other officer didn’t set him up.
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PAGE 7
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Officer 2
“Look, I was asleep upfront for a reason. I didn’t want to draw too much attention to your ass. Here is the case. You saved our buddy, Charlie, Victor, and we will miss Jesse. So we have no choice but to pay you back. Only problem is, we don’t know how to do it.
“We were supposed to drop you in the ocean and then head over for troop support in Paragon. But to be honest, we ain’t gonna do that to you, and we won’t support this outrage. I don’t know the other guys who have been back here with ya. I don’t know the pilots either. But we got to get you guys out of here alive.”
Abe tries to speak. But the guard gives him a face to shut up. Abe stays quiet for a few more seconds.
Then his confidence comes out. He stands up, with one of his hands in the zip tie handcuffs.
Abe (loudly)
“Look! You guys are all on the same team! You guys are all on the same mission.”
The military officer tries to hush Abe, and then grabs his arm. Abe snatches it back.
Abe
“I got this!”
The officers tighten up as they all realize that their cover may now be blown due to Abe speaking loudly.
Abe
“Your problem is that you mother fuckers don’t trust each other! Let’s keep this simple before another life is taken away. All of you guys want to do us a favor for something that we are required to do. Which is standing by each other!”
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PAGE 8
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The pilots in the cockpit can’t hear Abe clearly, but they want to hear what’s going on so they turn on the microphone that allows them to hear what’s going on in the back cabin.
Abe
“You all want to do the damn good deed! There should be no secret about that. I’m not going to sit here and talk to each one of you in codes, because it’s going to end up me dying, or one of you guys killing each other because you are making a move that the other isn’t aware of. I have been giving sly guy, big red beard, up there the coordinates of where we need to be dropped. Then you guys can be on your way. Drop us, or fly us in! That’s it!”
The pilots overhear what’s going on in the cockpit. They decide to verify that the plane is in Auto Pilot, and then step to the back of the cabin with the rest of the guys. They walk up to Abe. Each one of them with a flight suit on and a nine millimeter pistol on their leg.
The pilots look around at the AX-1 Squadron, and their crew.
Pilot 1
“Then what the hell. Untie them.”
He looks at the Military Officers. Humorously puts his hands up.
Pilot 1
“I just didn’t want to jack the thing up. So I just stayed quiet.”
He looks at Abe.
Pilot
“Look its, simple. We don’t know each other. I never met him before, and he never met us. We all meant well, but you never know who is who. But we want to get you guys home safe. Well, in some way. However you want it? This plane is yours. The refuelers are up for it also. They aren’t down for this corrupt shit.”
He pulls a pocket knife out and cuts Abe’s plastic handcuffs off his wrist. He then cuts the ties off all the other pilot’s wrists. Most of them are still coming out of the drugs.
Abe looks around and notices that the whole AX-1 unit isn’t in the cargo hold. The pilots hand them water bottles. Abe takes a big sip. He experiences his first sense of freedom since he landed and was detained.
Abe
“Where is everyone else? Our maintenance crews? Our other guys?”
All of the crew look at each other. Abe notices the same short bald-headed man, who walked past him earlier. He stands up, looks at everybody, then pulls a tarp off the Humvee that is in the middle of the cargo bay.
Once it comes down everybody is in awe. Fifteen of Paragon’s AX-1 crew are inside a truck. Most of them are laid out, and the others are drinking water and eating small bags of peanuts out of their hands.
One of the pilots looks at the loadmaster, surprised.
Pilot
“So that’s why we were so heavy. You were a good one.”
Loadmaster
“Hey man, Jesse was my homie too. I had to pay some sort of respect.”
Everybody in the plane, which is flying itself, at the moment are surprised, but happy.
Loadmaster
“I told them not to move and not say anything. Because I knew it would have been my ass.”
Abe
“So we get handcuffed and they don’t?”
Loadmaster
“No, they were cuffed. I just took them off and told them that they were going to be fine, but don’t move. Thank god none did.”
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PAGE 9
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The loadmaster looks at the crew in the large vehicle. They give each other a thumbs up.
It’s all registering in Abe’s mind now. That is why the short stocky troop guy kept walking back and forth the whole time. Abe also knew he heard some people moving inside the large vehicle.
The blond haired captain speaks up.
Pilot 1
“Officers, the family reunion is all dandy. Now that the cat is out the bag, we have to make a move soon. We will be on a vector to Paragon shortly. We need to know if were landing somewhere or if we are going to do an airdrop.
Abe
“How much time do we have? And can we get a pill or shot for some of these guys?”
He points at Rory and Terry.
Abe
“They need to be woken up. I haven’t been to that bunker before, but we need to be on our p’s and q’s while parachuting.”
The second pilot goes into the cockpit and hands the loadmaster a box. He opens it and syringes and small boxes of prescription meds come out.
Pilot 1
“We’re only about 200 miles out. We refueled already. I can bullshit with command for a while and tell them we have bad winds. But that will only last so long. Plus we have a brigade of more planes bringing more men for support. Obviously going against our orders. But we have to do what’s right, and what that corrupt group is doing to your country, using the Olympian name isn’t right.”
Loadmaster looks at the pilot as he shoots a shot of the meds into the sleeping pilots.
Loadmaster
“I think command is on our side also. Still might want to play it safe if Captain Title is in the room.”
Pilot 2
“I think he was commanding the activity in Paragon.”
Pilot 1
“Let’s just do what we do. As of now, we are brothers in this chamber. They won’t shoot us down; too much is going on right now.
The captain looks at Abe and shakes his hand.
Pilot 1
“Squid. I am Chase. Thanks for saving those guys.”
The dirty blond haired pilot shines his blue eyes in to Abe’s. Abe recognizes his respect.
Pilot 1
“Jesse was my baby brother.”
Abe looks back at him, appreciating the introduction and shakes his hand. Wondering if Chase is his flight nickname (call sign) or his real name.
Chase
“Can anybody check to see if there is any room to land this thing next to this bunker? I’d like for us to stay together and we only have ten parachutes on board.”
Dell, an AX-1 tech serviceman, comes down from the vehicle.
Dell
“There is a spot. But it’s deep sand.”
Chase
“Any hard spots?”
Dell
“I’d be lying if I said so.”
Chase turns around and heads for the cockpit.
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PAGE 10
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Chase (energetically)
“Well, that’s what it is. If anybody doesn’t trust the landing, you’re free to jump. Just let me know. Because we will be descending shortly. Any jumpers?
Nobody raises their hand. Most of the AX1 squadron members come out of the vehicle. They begin to talk to each other.
Abe
“Look, guys. We have a serious issue going on. So just rally around me.”
They are all happy and relaxed thinking that the only thing that happened was that the aircraft were taken.
Abe
“We’ve been bombed. We, as in the country of Paragon.”
The room goes into a dead silence.
Abe
“I have no time to explain anything. Don’t know what’s going on, but we need to get in the mindset now, and let’s think ahead. We’re going to a bunker in Sector...”
Dell helps Abe out.
Dell
“C... Sector C.”
Abe
“Thanks. Yes, Sector B. I don’t know what sits under there, but I was told that there are some older planes down there. At this point, we have to focus. If anybody has any plans or anything, please speak up.”
Dusty, a dirty blond haired tech specialist, jumps in.
Dusty
“Sector B. That’s right outside the city. Hmmm...”
BACK TO THE TV INTERVIEW
The whole room is waiting on Abe to tell how the squadron made it back to Paragon to eliminate the enemy invaders.
Abe knows the rest of the story is only for a few to know. He puts his hand on Sandra Walter’s leg. She can feel from his small tap that the story isn’t meant for a TV audience.
Abe
“Let’s just say it took plenty of cooperation, and I was able to land that plane with ease. Ironically, I’d flown that model before...”
Television Reporter
“How did you feel when you flew over your dad’s land, Paragon, after it was demolished?”
Abe
“Well, it’s not my dad’s land, it’s the people’s land.
“It was devastating. I was happy that we were secretly flying in to gain back control. About to open a can of whoop-ass.
“But at the same time I thought about how many lives could have been lost. I thought about thousands of the thousands of people who presumably had died. Thank god that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, we lost a pilot as we regained control of the country. But most of all, I just wanted to get inside of an aircraft, and do what I’d trained and studied for.”
TV Reporter
Speaking of your skills. Some anonymous Olympia pilots say that you guys have skills of pilots that have been flying for decades. But you’re only twenty-eight years old. Right?
Abe
I’m twenty-seven. Last time I checked.
Abe smirks at Sandra Walters. Then winks at her. He looks at his father, Charles, who is softly biting his lip as if he has something on his mind.
TV Reporter
“How is that possible? How did you guys learn to fly so well at such young ages?”
Abe
“Well, we have plenty of advantages and intensive training that we go through. If you ever visited Paragon, you will see that we fly low to the ground every now and then. Almost like go-karts. It’s not safe, but it’s to practice maneuvering and handling your plane in ridiculous situations. We also have a few other things up our sleeve.”
Abe begins to have a quick flashback. He feels a striking pain through the temple of his head. The sighting in his head seems vintage, inside of an old aircraft, dream-like. Almost as if he was a pilot back in the early 1980’s. He shakes it off.
Charles looks at Abe; he knows what Abe is going through. It’s side effects of the A28 that was injected in him years ago.
The studio lights blind Abe as he returns his focus to the interview.
Sandra Walters
“What are you feelings toward Olympia? After the invasion?”
Abe shrugs his shoulders.
Abe
“I forgive. I’ll try to forget. Olympia has put me through quite an ordeal. And it’s not Olympia per se that’s responsible. In retrospect, the invasion seems to have been the work of a particular group of people who believe racism and capitalism are the bread and butter of the country. It is this group that makes me frown and leave. It’s funny, because without a doubt, I know that they are the ones who plotted the attack.”
Sandra Walters
“Why do you say that?”
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PAGE 11
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Abe explains the rationale behind last year’s invasion of Paragon
Abe
“I just know. It’s not so much people like you. It’s people like Bob Polan, Gary Dusette, and all the corrupt guys in President Grover’s administration who are now in jail. Those are the blindly ambitious folks with no conscience or common human decency that make this country look bad. I mean, c’mon. They tried to kill your president just to get control of a mineral. They kidnapped and blackmailed him because he didn’t want to ignite a war for profit.”
Sandra Walters
“Well, Abe, just to let you know, we aren’t all like that. But I understand what you are saying, because I am white and yet my own race is racist against me when I take the side of an opposite minority. And those men are where they should be. Locked away for a long time.”
Abe
“It goes both ways. I’m bi-racial. Well, I think I am, ’cause my dad is the opposite color of me. Super black. With a European accent.”
He looks at Charles and smirks.
Sandra Walters
“Well, Dalton Junior. It was awesome talking to you. You are one heck of a young man. I wish you many years to inspire young men and women out here.”
Sandra Walters turns around. She is facing a different camera talking to all the people watching the live interview on their televisions at home.
Sandra Walters
“Our viewers aren’t aware of this yet, but we will be over in Paragon for the following week. I have been given the amazing privilege to go into the air with this spectacular young man in his fighter jet, and soar over the world’s newest recognized nation, Paragon, a land founded by his father, Charles Dalton.
“On behalf of WNN, I am Sandra Walters. See you soon.”
The producer cuts the interview, walks from behind all the cameras in the studio claps. Immediately shaking Abe's hand as a crew member takes the mic off of his shirt.
Chapter Two: Oaths ( Available, Nov. 10)
