* I orginally wanted to make this chapter much longer, but with all of the other things that I have going on right now, I figured that the next chapter would be alot better, if I got this part out of the way first...
Some of you, might find yourselves wondering about a few familiar names, but I can't devulge any of that information right now,.. it's all strickly confidential! ;`)
'The Resue Mission'
The 'Spinshifter' wasn't very much larger than Captain Strum's vessel, (the 'KSS Sturgis') , and it had only been in service for a short time, before the president had passed down the order to advance the spaceship to the lauching pad and get it prepared for an unannounced mission.
Major Tom Springer, looked up from the yellow piece of paper and frowned,
Speaking to no one in particular, he rubbed his eye's and clenched his fists, "We've already lost three ships, and now you want to send out another one?"', he scoffed at the order and crumpled it up, tossing it across his desk and onto the floor.
Major Tom had known Capt. James Strum very well, and he knew everyone on his crew; he hated to think that they were still out there, 'somewhere' lost in space. He also knew that those men deserved at least, an 'attempt' at some type of rescue.
However, he had been selected, and the thought of venturing into 'unchartered' territory, using a spaceship that he knew, nearly 'nothing' about, was something that he didn't find very intriguing...
......
Everyone was wondering just whom would be the unfortunate souls, to be selected for this/ suiside mission/.
The crowded staff building was bustling with activity. The dire news of yet another, 'unplanned' space mission', broke out, spreading throughout the personel like wildfire!
The entire staff was becoming extremely nervous and quite noticeably over anxious. Everyone in the building was suddenly pretending to 'look busy'; acting like they were completely absorbed in what they were doing.
The unforeseen danger contained in that little yellow sheet of paper, held everyone in a state of suspence.
Major Tom's crew of eight, had drastically shunk to just three men; he had lost some of his original crew, when they had been 'volunteered', to go on the last mission, and it was his military duty to select five, or six more men, to replace them and become a part of his newly forming, intergalactic space flight crew.
Looking for any familiar names; a cold shiver passed down his spine as he randomly began to select five names.
Tom suddenly felt like he should have been wearing a long, black, hooded cloak, and holding a scythe...
He glanced down across the latest duty roster.
PFC, Max A. Amos.
PFC, James B. Beiber
PFC, Jack E. Smitte'
PFC, Cary Osborne Ommick
PFC, James Robert Singleton
PFC, Gerry A. (Ajet) Wombo
PSC, Tim E. Scribe
PSC, Larry P. Littleton
PSC, Daniel D. Tiniea'
PSC, Steven 'Spocano' Tacko
..................
None of these names seemed to stand out, and Major Tom was worried that he would have to start from scratch with these newly enlisted 'Greenhorns'.
Only one of them, sounded vaguely familiar; private Tacko. In college, Tacko had studied advanced space technology and basic mechanical ballistics.
He had proven himself the previous year with a new design for a small hand-held weapon. It wasn't a gun; it was more like a flame thrower. Using a highly concentrated fuel, it could shoot a thin stream of white hot fire, for over two hundred yards; the weapon was tested for six months and the military quickly realized how effective it could be on the ground.
The pocket sized 'flame thrower' was swiftly mass produced and stock piled. The very next year, it became an additional weapon, that was handed out to all of the S.W.A.T. Teams ( 'Special Weapons and Tactics' units) in the advanced special infantry.
Tacko had recieved credit for the diagram, and it was very well known in the military base's metal shop and fabricating lab. His old college roomate was assigned there as shop master, and after he 'nick named' the weapon; 'The Zippo', it quickly became common knowledge.
Private Steve 'Spocano' Tacko, or 'Spooky', as everyone called him, had also drawn up some 'New' type, of a pre-flight training program as well, and after his latest success with the 'Zippo', the new training program was introduced. All space flight missions, followed these basic procedures, and they were strickly carried out.
There was no way to find out if this new 'training program' had provided any improvments though, (because) none of those missions had ever returned home...
***
After randomly selecting six men, Major Tom stepped into the stainless steel cockpit and tentively inspected the newly built vessel. His first impression was slightly askew. He instantly noticed the smaller sized gauges, and the single handed, 'Stick type' controller, or 'Joystick' as the manual referred to it, and he felt a sinking feeling as he sat down inside of the reclining chair.
The interior of the cockpit was barely able to contain six men, and the rounded windows were tinted so dark, that he couldn't see anything through the bubble-like glass.
Tom adjusted the naugahyde seat; strapped into the belting and smoothing out the wrinkles in the arm rests, he forced his palms down over the ends and stretched out in the reclining captain's chair.
Reflecting on the results of the last few missions,... Tom knew what their chances were, and he began to concider that this could very well be his last, and final mission.
Tom was more accustomed to the KSS Sturgis, and he didn't recognize all of the fancy new, 'bells and whistles', that this brand new ship had been designed with,... he really hated the name too; the 'Spinshifter'?
"WTF!", he wondered...
The floor inside the cockpit, was sloped downward toward the nose; a sharp, thirty degree angle, which made the confined space inside the cockpit even more awkward. The new design had been formed with the idea that when the ship was 'in flight', the tail section would drop down, causing the cockpit to then, level off...
... it was a fairly 'new' concept, and Major Tom didn't like it at all!
***
"Ground Control,... to Major Tom"......."Ground Control,... to Major Tom".
The buzzing sound came through the helmet; a crackling sizzle from the distortion of the engines as they turned them on...
Major Tom had taken his protein pills, and was strapped into the captain's chair of the Spinshifter.
He pressed the 'reply' switch, and spoke into the microphone,...
"Major Tom, of the U.S.S. Spinshifter, Come In..."
His small crew, of six men, securely fastened in right next to him, they could all hear the conversation between him, and the ground control at Houston Flight base.
"Prepair for 'lift off',... repeat,... Prepair for lift off."
Tom braced himself, as the huge engines violently started to shake and rumble. He glanced over to his right, and gave Max a look of reassurance.
Max looked back at him with a blank expression; he knew, that this last minute decision to make this flight, was just another stupid political move made by the leaders of their government.
He also knew, that in the next thirty minutes, he would either by blown into bits, or,... fifty thousand miles away from the surface of the planet...
Tom looked away from Max. Then turning to his left, he glanced over at Cary. Cary was smiling back at him with the excitment of a man possessed. He was tightly strapped in, and gripping the arm rests with a white-knuckled grasp,...glancing toward the RPM gauge, Cary rolled his eyes and tried to hang on.
A violent vibration swiftly overtook the Spinshifter. The huge engine began to surge. The blast off happened so quickly, that the seven passengers confined inside, were suddenly pulled tightly back into their seats, shaken around with incredible force, and drawn up into an enveloping vacuum that seemed to pull their guts down into the seat of their plastic coated space pants!
The first tank of rocket fuel emptied out in about four minutes and the large bulk broke away and disconected from the smaller sized ship. The sudden change in aerodynamics, increased the speed of the propelling Spinshifter and the rearend slightly lifted up. After the second tank broke away, the ship was well within the cold, open space, that surrounded the now small green planet far below...
With the extreme velocity gradually decreasing, the Spinshifter began to level off, and as the ship slowly righted itself, the crew of seven inside, suddenly felt the effects from the instantaneous loss of gravity.
Major Tom began checking the gauges; the air supply gauge; the fuel gauge, ect, ect. The ship had an ample supply of remaining fuel, so he reached down and cut off the engines.
The ship instantly fell quiet. Drifting, out into the wide open space...
The Spinshifter's preset coordinates, was set up exactly as the 'KSS Sturgis' had been, and the crew didn't need to worry about a flight path; they were automatically following the exact same direction, that the last mission had taken.
The speed decreasing and the ship leveling off, the passengers inside could now relax and unbuckle from their seat belts.
Cary got out of his chair and floated across the cock pit. He drifted over to the bubble shaped window and grabbed onto the wall.
Looking out into the vast open space, he realized that they were still traveling at an extreme rate of speed. The suttle sound of a constant wind rushing past the window sent a shiver down his spine.
Cary knew that this was probably a suiside mission, but he had come to terms with that fact, and, he had reasoned that this was either a death sentence, or,... an entry into something that no man had ever experienced...
His reached into his pocket and took out a plastic packet of protein pills. He carefully opened the small package and poured the entire thing into his mouth. He pushed off from the wall and drifted over the seats and floated into the back of the cock pit.
He found the water bag, and casually washed down the mouthful of pills.
Max had been watching him, and he carefully removed his seat belts. He floated up out of his seat and drifted toward the control panels. He slipped into Tom's chair and grabbed onto the joy stick.
Tom turned around and saw him trying to take control of the vessel. He suddenly pushed away from the wall and threw himself in the direction of his chair. Max threw a punch at him, but missed, and the force of his swift motion caused him to drift up, and out of the seat!
He floated straight up into the roof of the cabin and struggled around trying to right himself!
Tom quickly realized that the joystick was locked tight, and Max's attempt to turn the ship around, was completely useless. Without first using the safty code to unlock the streering mechanism, the small vessel was on a preset course, and their destination was unknown; but they were well on their way to where ever,... and they would be arriving soon enough!
*
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
Ah, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Hah! ;`)