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It started innocently enough.Scott had always looked to the skies and rushed towards the day he could be at home in them. His parents had often made jokes about his longing to fly, their little Bluejay, impatient for his wings…As a young couple they had lived firstly in military accommodation, one airbase after another as Jeff flew combat in the Global Conflict, up until just before Virgil was born. Lucy had filled her letters to her husband with Scott’s antics which all revolved around aircraft. Jeff would still trot out the story of that time a two-year-old Scott had gone missing, only to be found curled up asleep in a jet cockpit.That toddler had grown into a fine man now, all lean and long-limbed like his Mom for all that he took after his Dad, and boy did he take after Colonel Jeff Tracy!Eyes watched the 19-year-old strode across the airbase, oblivious to the stares of both men and women directed his way. The eyes continued watching until the boy - and yes, he’d always be a boy to this particular watcher - disappeared into the building. The colonel was there, finalising the deal with the top brass of the GDF for Tracy Industries’ latest jet.Rumour had it that Tracy was about to announce his retirement from military life and go full civilian, and the watcher frowned. He couldn’t have that…A half-formed plan was still being mulled over as the owner of the eyes once more considered where he was and where he wanted - where he deserved to be.The upper echelons of the GDF should be where he was sitting, looking at Colonel Tracy’s designs with the appropriate level of disdain, not stuck here on the outside looking in.Colonel Tracy may have been the cause of his current situation, but the man’s son, Scott Tracy, was going to be his means of moving upwards.All he needed to do was to get Scott on his own…His opportunity came the very next day and he grabbed it quickly.The negotiations over the new jet were a little drawn out - a ‘donation’ in the right pocket scoring a big hit - and as Jeff, drinking coffee and eating an apple danish, contemplated suddenly finding the smooth road ahead contained some hidden sand traps another trap was set into motion.And unwittingly Scott walked right into it.Scott loved Nellis.Although he’d never lived here the fact was that Nellis Air Base had everything a ‘jet-head’ like himself could ever dream of. The wide variety, the specialist training…if the military had ever been one of his goals then this would have been the pinnacle to aim for.Six years growing up during the Global Conflict, seeing the deprivation and fear of war and having witnessed what his Mom had had to do to survive, coupled with his Dad’s nightmares long after the conflict had ended, had quelled any early dreams of following that side of his Dad’s footsteps.It didn’t quash the dream of flying high and flying fast though, and while technically Scott was here to learn the selling and contact negotiation side of the business his Dad had said yesterday that since it was all but wrapped up he could feel free to check the base out as long as he followed the rules and listened to whoever spoke to him. After all, he was a civilian in the world’s top aviation training base.He was watching a squad of six jets being prepped when a voice he didn’t know called him. He turned to see a man about his father’s age and wearing a similar uniform coming over to him.‘Scott? Scot Tracy?’
‘Yes, Sir?’Civilian he might be, but Scott had been raised in a military household, and he gave them an before him a crisp salute.‘What can I do for you, Major Hart?’
Excellent salute, Scott. I’ve been asked to show you around while your Father finishes up. How would you like to tour Nellis?’For a moment Scott forgot himself. Jaw hanging in shock, his eye wide, it took him a moment to get himself together enough to answer.‘Would I?!’Hart chuckled and with a visible effort Scott pulled himself together, grinned rather cheekily and gave a somewhat lax salute this time.‘I’ll take you to see the jet simulator in a bit, let you see if you can break your Daddy’s score, but before we get there we’ll pass the drone room. You’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement but I’m sure that’ll be fine and as long as you don’t do anything we can go in. What do you say?’
‘Absolutely!’They entered a huge, square building where Scott was presented with a pad to read and sign the necessary paperwork, Hart watching as Scott carefully read it all before signing, and then they were through the doors into the building proper.There were row upon row of large desks. Each desk held several screens, a set of headphones and a keyboard and joystick. About half of them were occupied.Stopping behind a soldier that didn’t look much older than Scott was they stood and watched as the screens showed the view from a drone, a topographical view of the area overlaid with an infrared view and a third full of scrolling data. The soldier had the headphones on and was concentrating solely on the screens.A few taps, some adjustments on the joystick, a push of a button and something on the map exploded. Scott frowned and turned to his escort, but Major Hart was engaged in talking with someone else in uniform.‘Sir?’Scott turned back to the soldier that was now speaking to him.‘Sir, do you want to try?’
‘Try? Is this a sim? Am I allowed?’
‘You’re with Major Hart?’
‘I am.’
‘You’re not allowed in here without signing up. You clearly have done that so I see nothing wrong in giving you the opportunity to fly a drone.’It wasn’t flying a jet but it was close. In fact it was almost a similar rush Scott was getting as the drone raced over the ground. He made it loop-de-loop, he buzzed the ground and shot up as high as he could go before the alarms brought him back to earth. Grabbing the joystick and holding it in his hands he barrel-rolled and hit the button.Something exploded.Scott dropped the joystick like it was burning him and pushed himself back from the desk. The soldier hip-thrust him away and began rapidly tapping on the keyboard, his keystrokes getting more and more urgent. Eventually he slammed his hands down on the desk and turned to Scott.‘What did you do?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You – you blew up a building!’
‘I – what? What do you mean? You said it was a sim!’
‘No – you said it was a sim. I asked if you’d signed up and you said yes.’
‘Wait – signed up? I signed some paperwork…’
‘You – you signed some paperwork? Oh my god this is some mess here.’
‘Major! Major Hart, can we have a word please?’Hart looked up, nodded and dismissed the person he was talking to and strode over.‘Gentlemen, what’s going on?’
‘I’m afraid we…we just blew up a friendly.’
‘Good god, what the hell?’
‘It was my fault, Major. I – I got carried away. I thought it was a sim.’
‘Scott, didn’t I say not to touch anything?’
‘I’m sorry!’
‘There’s only one, one way to clear this up without implicating the GDF and causing a potential second Global Conflict.’
‘What? What do I have to do? I’ll do anything!’
‘Anything?’
‘Anything!’
‘Congratulations, Scott. Welcome to the GDF.’Scott’s jaw dropped but all he could do was watch as Major walked to the door. Hart paused at the door and looked back at Scott and the soldier beside him.‘Soldier – please take Mr Tracy here to the Quartermaster and get him kitted out, hair cut to regulation and then over to the training barracks.’
‘Sir. Yes Sir.’
‘Soldiers – Dismissed.’Alexander Hart didn’t wait to see the soldier drag Scott away, he waked briskly over to the main office block where he knew Tracy would still be. He couldn’t wait to tell him that his son, his pride and joy, had signed up behind Jeff’s back. Hart had protected his secret by having control of Scott, and controlling Scott meant controlling Jeff.He’d gambled that Scott wouldn’t be able to resist the lure he’d laid and he’d been right. Scott Tracy had just flown too close to the sun and his wings had melted in the most spectacular way.