Chapter 2
“So are you surprised to be meeting with the Commandant today, Senior Lieutenant?” the Russian Air Force Captain asked the man walking next to him.
“No sir,” Sr. Lt. Vladimir Anikeyev responded, looking forward as they continued to walk down a well lit hallway. “As an experienced combat pilot I’m trained to not be surprised by any event.”
“Oh, drop the facade, Lieutenant! There is nothing like a high-alert notification to get the adrenaline flowing. You’ve got to be a little surprised about the day’s events! The National Defense Management Center has called up an alert this morning for all members from all branches to report to their respective home base and await further commands . . . and now here you are, walking into the Base Commandant’s office. Aren’t you surprised she would have unique orders just for you and not have anyone else tagging along?”
“I’m sure everyone has orders today, Sir,” Lt. Anikeyev responded. “I am aware of the increase in surface traffic between our base and the NDMC, as well as the increase in air traffic as jets and drones are leaving from and arriving at Stupino to make their way each to their own home base. As I am already on duty here, and most everyone else is off-base due to the extra-long holiday weekend, I presume I’m getting early orders before the rest of the flight squadron is ready to assemble.”
“That’s all? The Commandant wants to talk to you so she can have you check to make sure the jets are fueled and the flight suits of your fellow pilots are back from the cleaners?” the Captain questioned. “I certainly am not used to seeing this much activity, and it has me wondering what special plans we have afoot. This seems normal to you?”
“No, Sir, I haven’t seen this much activity since the height of the Iranian War five years ago,” Lt. Anikeyev responded.
The two stopped in front of an office with ‘Col. Valentina Savitskaya, Commandant’ on the one-way glass display in the middle of the doorway.
“Here you go, Lieutenant. I hope they aren’t sending you off to Dudinka Air Base for special training,” the Captain chuckled as he knocked on the door.
A buzzing sound indicated the door had been unlocked, and the display cleared to show the occupant motioning to people outside to enter.
The Captain opened the door and stepped back.
“Thank you, Captain Lavrov, that will be all,” the Colonel sitting at the desk said. “Come in, please, Lieutenant Anikeyev.”
Vladimir Anikeyev entered the office, with the Captain who had escorted him there closing the door behind him.
The Commandant looked at the display on her desk. “Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Nikolaevich Anikeyev,” she said. “You were in Iran, correct? Where were you stationed?”
“I was at Ahvaz Forward Base, Mam,” the Lieutenant responded.
“You don’t have to stand by the door. Come on over here so I don’t have to shout across the room,” Col. Savitskaya said. “Tell me about your assignment there.”
“I was part of the 613th Special Fighter Aviation Regiment that established our base there in 2086. After securing the Western Provinces, our mission was to defend our base and the oilfield installations in the central and northern Kermanshah Region,” the junior officer responded.
“Did you see a lot of action?” the Commandant asked.
“Yes, Mam,” Lt. Anikayev responded, his shoulders straightening even more than before and his chest puffing out a bit. “The first half of my assignment was very full of action regarding enemy engagements and their attempts to disrupt our defensive installations.”
“So full of action that you were recognized with a promotion from Junior to Senior Lieutenant,” the Commandant said as she was reviewing the information from her desk console. “And at twenty-eight years of age. You must have been very proud of that accomplishment, hmmm?”
“If I am permitted to say it, yes, Mam, I was,” the Senior Lieutenant responded.
“And after that promotion, what came next for you?” Colonel Savitskaya asked.
Lt. Anikayev’s posture relaxed slightly and then he stiffened his spine. “We had to deal with occasional flare-ups, Mam.”
“Occasional?” the Commandant queried.
“Yes, Mam. The war was not as hot as it was at the beginning, as the Iranian forces were not able to penetrate the defensive installations that we had set up,” the Lieutenant answered.
“From what I’m aware, you had three engagements in the final fifteen months,” Col. Savitskaya said, looking directly at the Sr. Lieutenant, ignoring her console monitor. “When the action calmed down, you spent the last year cross-training and providing extensive debrief duties for your replacement in Ahvaz. And then you were re-assigned here to Stupino after three-years of front-line duty. So tell me, how do you like it here? I’ve only arrived here a little over a month ago, and haven’t had the opportunity to meet with you yet or learn everything there is to know about this base.”
“I am enjoying this assignment, Mam, as it gives me the opportunity to learn new aspects of our defensive capabilities,” Sr. Lieutenant Anikayev responded.
“Have you enjoyed being in a non-action role for three years since you arrived here?” the Commandant questioned. “Do you think it fair to have three years of battle experience and then three years sitting in an office more than in the seat of a jet? Are you tired of action? Or does it scare you now?”
“No, Mam, not at all,” the Lieutenant responded without emotion. “I understand everyone has a role to play, and I know the Russian Air Force will make use of my flight and combat experience again when the time is appropriate.”
“So now that your three years have passed, I’m guessing you are expecting to hear about a re-assignment to a new base soon. Perhaps in the north, near Murmansk, to protect the Arctic Sea oil rigs? Or perhaps at one of the Baltic installations? I got the sense from my predecessor you were angling for a position at the new base at Artem,” Col Saviskaya probed.
“Yes, Mam,” the Sr. Lieutenant admitted, “I did express an interest in being assigned to Artem.”
“Why?” the Commandant asked.
“It is one of our newer bases having been completed thirty years ago, and it has the newer jets designed for coordinated drone-flock penetration of single-fuel-tank missions to long-range targets. I was given the opportunity to pilot one of the craft as part of a pilot-controlled squadron exercise last year, and I feel I could add significant value leading a squadron of aircraft, Mam,” Lt. Anikeyev quickly stated.
“So that’s your goal?” Col Saviskaya posited. “be in charge of a drone squadron?”
“My goal is to serve as needed in the Russian Air Force, Mam,” the Sr. Lieutenant responded. “It would be an honor if that service involved being the pilot responsible for a drone squadron.”
“Isn’t the true focus for our Air Force these days to maximize our drone capabilities?” the Commandant queried. “We have every type of aircraft configurable as a drone, the drone will follow the commands it is given, won’t tire, and won’t be impacted by emotion. So why even have pilots in the cockpit? Why not have all of us focus on our drones from the safety of our bases?”
“The human pilot allows for the quickest reaction to the battle situation, requiring an immediate autonomous assessment of the unexpected scenario,” the Sr. Lieutenant responded.
“Is that how our training manuals are currently written? Yes, I believe it is,” Col. Saviskaya chuckled. “An exact quote, actually. Well, I’m glad someone pays attention to the manuals. So do you feel you could make the appropriate assessment of an unexpected situation, Lt. Anikeyev?”
“Yes, Mam,” the Sr. Lieutenant responded.
“Even better than the directions provided from the flight command,” the Colonel continued?
Vladimir’s eyes darted to the Commandant for a second, and then turned back to staring at the wall behind her, “Yes, Mam.”
“Yes, I get that sense from looking at your records, here,” The Commandant returned her attention to her desk console. “On the third mission you flew, and the second one in Iran, you were part of a squadron to lead a coordinated attack on an air-defense installation and neighboring airbase near Tabriz. Half of the squadron was to focus on the missiles and electronics at the Iranian Air Base, and the other half, the half to which you had initially been assigned, was to engage the Iranian fighter jets stationed at the base and destroy all of the aircraft on the ground. From the log records, it seems in the final minute before the squadron split apart towards your respective objectives, you were told there was a change in assignment and that you were to head towards the air-defense installation.
The Commandant looked up from her screen, “Did you have a problem with this assignment, Lieutenant?”
“I had assessed it as a mistake in the communications system, Colonel. I had been given clear directions during the pre-flight debrief and felt the airpower to match that at the Iranian base would require the presence of my aircraft.”
“And what happened when it became time for the forces to split?” the Commandant asked.
Sr. Lieutenant Vladimir Anikeyev paused.
Colonel Saviskaya looked at the console again. “According to the log, your craft remained on its original path instead of following your new assignment. But, then after a few seconds, your craft changed course, quickly picked up speed and then settled into formation with the group headed towards the air-defense installation. It was a successful mission, from what the log indicates. Would you agree?”
“Yes, Mam,” Lt. Anikeyev responded. “We successfully neutralized all of the air defenses, sustaining losses of three of our drones and one piloted craft that suffered engine failure from anti-aircraft artillery. The pilot was able to safely eject before the aircraft became unstable.”
“And what about the other half of the attack formation?” the Commandant asked. “How did they fare?”
“They initially met with stiffer resistance from the Iranian pilots than expected, but after regrouping and receiving additional backup from some of our craft that had taken out the ground defenses, they accomplished their objective and shot down or forced a retreat of all enemy aircraft,” Lt. Anikeyev said, and then added, “as the log likely shows.”
Colonel Satiskaya looked at the junior officer, gave a weak smile, and replied, “Yes, the log does show that. And the log also indicated that, earlier, when the time came for the squadron to split, you did not follow your revised command but attempted to stay in alignment with the jets sent to engage the Iranian jets. The log also shows that your jet ignored your attempt to change your modified order and the jet changed course on its own.”
“After the mission was complete and you returned to base, you were pulled in for a special interview, correct?” the Commandant asked, not waiting for an answer. “And when asked about your flight path, you indicated that you had been so focused on a visual search of the surroundings that it took you a few extra seconds to recognize the alternate orders that had been sent and that you were off your re-assigned path and had quickly corrected. They accepted your response, but you must have realized they knew you were lying, Lieutenant. I guess they felt you had learned your lesson. And, true to expectations, it appears the lesson has stuck with you since. You have not varied one twitch from any future flight or attack plan in which you were involved, either in simulation or real action.”
Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Anikeyev continued to stand at attention, not showing any emotion, just staring at the wall behind his Kommandant’s chair.
Colonel Satiskaya spoke again after a brief pause. “So why did you disobey orders that day, Lieutenant?”
“I am a fighter pilot, Mam,” he responded. “I wanted to be where the most action would occur. Had my original orders been to take out the radar and ground defenses, I would have followed those orders without hesitation. But to have the orders changed almost literally at the last minute struck me as unfair. Plus I just felt my presence in the aircraft battle would make the difference.”
“Our post-battle assessment indicated your intuition was correct,” Colonel Satiskaya acknowledged. “A replay of the battle indicated just one additional fighter jet was needed to establish air superiority going in, and we would have been able to complete the mission in the first attack, without need of calling in for backup and likely with only one maybe two drone losses.”
The Commandant continued, “So why haven’t you ignored any future orders and tried to fly into active battles on any of your remaining missions where you were placed in a support role to the enemy jet engagement?”
“May I be honest, Mam?” the Sr. Lieutenant asked.
“I called you into my office today in order for you to be honest, Lieutenant Anikeyev. My decision about what happens next requires your honest responses.”
Lieutenant Anikeyev continued, “I can’t get past the nibbling sensation that I am really given very little control, since even in battle my flight controls could be overridden by either my squadron leader or a remote pilot told to take flight command from an air base. While it happened to me only that one time, it was enough to stick in my memory for my entire career, and it’s an experience I do not wish to repeat.”
The Commandant pushed her chair back, and walked over to the window.
“What have you heard about what’s happening out there?” she asked, looking at the jets landing and taking off from the airstrip outside her office.
“I’m not hearing much news at all from official sources, Mam,” Lt. Anikeyev answered. “There is an object headed towards Earth after a precision gravity-assisted ‘turn’ around Mars. But our Russian state-media are not releasing many details. I have been able to pick up Polish broadcasts. Based upon that reporting and other sources I’ve found, this object has every indication it was not created by any nation on Earth, that it is controlled, or at least created, by something intelligent enough to understand gravitational trajectory impact and has enormous and unexplained space-braking capabilities, as the speed of the object is slowing down more quickly than any natural cause could provide.”
“What do you think it is, Lieutenant?” asked the Colonel.
“The images from various Martian satellites estimate the size of the object to be between 600 and 900 meters long, around 100 meters in diameter and roughly the shape of a cylinder. Earth-orbit telescopes, including those from the ETIOT system, are tracking the object and will have better visuals within the next 24 hours. But I suspect that Russian Central Command feels the object contains something, or some “things”, that are risky, and is wisely preparing for any option when the ship arrives in Earth orbit in three days.”
The Commandant smiled while continuing to watch the air traffic.
“You have an excellent mission history, Lieutenant, and have one of the best target neutralization ratios of active duty pilots. In the top ten-percent, in fact,” she shared. “Six years have passed between that mission at Tabriz and now. We don’t know if the same tactics that were used for human-to-human battles will apply here when we encounter whatever is out there.”
Colonel Satiskaya turned to look at Vladimir.
“The time is coming soon, Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Nikolaevich Anikeyev, when you will be able to prove, beyond any doubt, that your skills as a pilot, your courage as a patriot, and your intuition as an at-the-moment problem solver can combine to provide a demonstration to all how you can play a key role in protecting Mother Russia from any invading force, whether human or otherwise. Are you ready for that assignment.”
Vladimir turned to face the Commandant, staring directly in her eyes. “Mam, I am ready,” he replied in a tone that left no doubt about his sincerity.