* * * * *
Officially, it was going to be a war game under the terms of the ANZUS Treaty.* And, just as officially, the purpose of the game was to test which kind of aircraft the DOD would rule as more feasible to mass produce. The Convair NB-36 Peacemaker (with six pusher propellors, Jet-Assisted Take Off, and portable fighter escort in the form of the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin); or an American version of the English Electric B2 jet fighter-bomber (already affectionately known by RAAF pilots as "the Canberra").
The means by which this was to be determined? The shooting down of a World War II-surplus barrage balloon (moored somewhere in northern Queensland) with a Chinese dragon painted on it. The respective test pilots having been ordered to regard the balloon as a Mig 15 fighter jet, piloted by a Communist Chinese national, seeking to shoot down a pair of Piasecki Shawnee Workhorses. And, whichever aircraft shot the balloon down first, its manufacturer would be the winner.
In reality, however, the helicopters were once more bound towards Mount Kalkajaka. But, this time, the passengers were not a mixed bag of Chinese contract laborers from Hong Kong and U.S. Navy Seabee foremen. This time, the passengers were Roman Catholic monks...of the Saint Hubert Society!
Collectively known as "Tien Kou" (or "Heavenly Dogs"), these monks were Christianized Eurasian orphans from Fort Bayard, China, who had been raised by Corsican Benandanti; endowed with the same lycanthropic abilities thereof; and, then, properly trained in their use. With their part of this masterplan calling for them to disembark from the Shawnees at the foot of Mount Kalkajaka...and then proceed to sniff around underground.
The "Tomcod" (with just its conning tower showing above the surface) had two seamen scanning the skies above with binoculars. And, what they had each been dreading to see was finally spotted.
"Lookout 1 to Captain! Lookout 1 to Captain! Bogie at eight o'clock, headed towards two o'clock, at approximately 100mph! Over."
"Roger that, Lookout 1," replied Capt. Ross: "Sparks? Get me that Peacemaker!"
The radioman immediately complied.
"Tomcod to Turtledove. Tomcod to Turtledove. Do you read? Over."
"Turtledove to Tomcod. Read you, loud and clear. Over!"
"Tomcod to Turtledove. Bogie spotted heading for Flying Bananas. What's your present position? Over."
"Fifty miles out, and closing, Tomcod. Over."
"Strongly recommend you deploy Hummingbird, at once. Over!!"
"Roger that, Tomcod! Turtledove, over and out."
The pilot of the NB-36--which had taken off from London, England, nearly twelve hours earlier--immediately had Sergeant Pepe Garcia enter the egg-shaped, ramjet-powered, short-range fighter jet. The latter was then lowered from the otherwise-empty bomb bay by a quartet of umbilical cords loosely referred to as a trapeze harness. Once the Goblin was clear of the hydraulic trap doors, Garcia pressed the button that lowered the semi-foldable delta wings into place.
"Hummingbird to Turtledove. Ready to deploy. Over."
"Roger that, Hummingbird. Deploying in five--four--three--two--ONE!"
The snub fighter's engine ignited within ten seconds of release from the harness. The fuel in its tanks only good for thirty straight minutes of flying (max. speed: 650mph). Five of which had already elapsed by the time he spotted his target converging on the Shawnees.
So, he immediately took the Goblin into a dive, before opening up with the quarter of 2.0mm Browning light machine guns (two per wing). And, the snake-tailed, bat-winged giantess he aimed at did not ignore the fusillade for long.
Not with blessed steeljackets being fired!
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
As anticipated, the flying she-demon turned around and came after him. So, Garcia immediately did a U-turn with the Goblin. Prompting the she-demon to increase the rate with which it flapped her giant wings in order to catch up!
When she almost had, Garcia banked the Goblin sharply to the left. He then doubled back and fired a few more rounds. These bullets tracing a horizontal pattern across her giant back!
So, once more the giant she-demon changed direction. And, once again, the Goblin evaded her. This time, by banking sharply to the right! Only, this time, he did not circle around to strafe her a third time. This time, he began a pendulum-like motion. Much like the owner of a cat waving a piece of string, with a tin foil ball, in front of said feline.
"Hummingbird to Turtledove! This hag's getting too close for comfort! Where the frig's Jumping Jack? Over."
"He just deployed, Hummingbird. He's now free-falling toward your six at a ninety-degree angle. And, he should be reaching you, just--about--NOW!"
With a "thud" that was audible, even through the Goblin's canopy, Alika Herrera (who had shot up to his hundred foot-height in the midst of his free fall) collided in mid-air with Kadroo Wanjina. The two of them landing in the waters of the strait with an even louder splash! So, Garcia immediately doubled back to circle the area of battle.
The water below frothed and frothed for at least ten minutes. Sometimes, the she-demon's head rose above the surface. Other times, Alika's did. It was during this interim that Garcia's radio came back to life.
"Frigatebird to Hummingbird. Frigatebird to Hummingbird. Do you read? Over."
"Hummingbird to Frigatebird. Read you, loud and clear. Over."
The Canberra B2 had taken off from the British aircraft carrier "HMS Redoubtable II" (out of Hong Kong via New Zealand), just two minutes after picking up the transmission about the Goblin's launch. Now, they were almost on the scene.
"Frigatebird to Hummingbird. How goes the battle? Over."
Almost on cue, there was a veritable geyser of water that erupted upward from the strait.
"Red Alert! Red Alert! Big Balloon has busted loose. Repeat: Big Balloon has busted loose! Come in, guns blazing!! Over!"
"Rodger that!" replied the British pilot: "We have her in our sights."
Five seconds later, the Hispano-Suiza machine cannons (mounted two per wing) began firing blessed ammunition at the giant she-demon. Finishing off what the Goblin's blessed bullets--and Alika's blessed Bowie knife--had started. Ultimately causing her to spontaneously combust from within!
In the end, the war game was publicly announced to have been a success. Plans for mass production of the NB-36 and XF-85 would be permanently scrapped, in favor of the Canberra. With the Martin Aircraft Company being the American defense contractor being awarded the right to mass produce it as the USAF B-57.
As for the Goblin that Pepe Garcia had flown? He allowed it to crash-land into the strait after hitting the button for the ejection seat. The "Tomcod" picked him up within fifteen minutes of his parachute landing in the water.
Which was five minutes after they had pulled a badly-wounded Alika from the water.
The sub's chief medical officer did not know if the Chilean-born Easter Islander would live. But, this news was (arguably) balanced out by Major Phillips personally radioing the "Tomcod" with news from Cooktown.
"The Heavenly Dogs succeeded in fetching the stick," he told them: "Repeat: stick successfully fetched! This is Penn Pal. Over and out."
tbc
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
TORRES STRAIT, AUSTRALIA
(NOVEMBER 3, 1952)
(NOVEMBER 3, 1952)
Chapter End Notes:
*ANZUS: Australia/New Zealand/United States.
NB-36: an experimentally nuclear-powered version of the standard Peacemaker. Rendered meaningless when the initial problems with airborne refueling were finally solved.
Piasecki Shawnee: an American helicopter with dual main rotors that was often referred to as the "Flying Banana" because of its almost semi-circular shape.
Seabees: American naval counterpart of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Founded in World War II, their name is derived from the phonetic spelling of the initials "CB" ("Construction Battalions").
Fort Bayard: former French colony of mainland China.
Rodger: British spelling of "Roger."
NB-36: an experimentally nuclear-powered version of the standard Peacemaker. Rendered meaningless when the initial problems with airborne refueling were finally solved.
Piasecki Shawnee: an American helicopter with dual main rotors that was often referred to as the "Flying Banana" because of its almost semi-circular shape.
Seabees: American naval counterpart of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Founded in World War II, their name is derived from the phonetic spelling of the initials "CB" ("Construction Battalions").
Fort Bayard: former French colony of mainland China.
Rodger: British spelling of "Roger."