Chapters
Gulf Air Jet 1-2-Lima
By sierra_seven_
Riyadh
The rain beat down upon the cold tarmac at Heathrow airport. Support staff and aircraft technicians raced around the jet, preparing it for the next flight to Saudi Arabia. Harsh halogen lights flooded the plane, illuminating the busy scene. In exactly one hour, the plane would leave the runway and take to the air, transporting English and Saudi businessmen between the two countries. Alexis Volkov didn't care much for the details, as most of his life consisted of the dreary six-hour flight between Heathrow and Riyadh. He sat underneath the landing gear, sneakily savouring the taste of a cigarette. It was very bad practice, but he would rather smoke here than with all of the crew he had to endure every day. They weren't a bad bunch, but they were mostly Arabic and didn't share his humour or outlook on life.
"Oi! Stub that out, now! We're loading bloody aviation fuel!" shouted one of the support crew, storming over. "What the bloody hell do you think you're playing at? Don't let me catch you doing that again, or I'll report you, I swear."
"Whoa, take it easy man." The pilot reluctantly put the cigarette out, half smoked. "No harm done, eh? I'm just trying to relax a bit before this next miserable flight."
"I could do with one myself, but we've got to follow procedure. Either go in to the smoking zone, or don't do it." The man left irately, and Alexis gave him the two-finger salute behind his back. The cleaners started to leave the jet, taking their catering and cleaning equipment with them. Good. He could finally go inside, out of the storm.
***
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be departing as soon as the runway is clear, and we estimate the journey to Riyadh will take about six and a half hours, accounting for weather. The flight is expected to be turbulent, although this should cease once we clear the cloud layer. The temperature on the ground in Riyadh is expected to be..." Alexis' mind drifted as he repeated the same lines he said every day. He saw no reason to explain the headwind patterns over France, but that's what he was paid to say. He didn't argue with the money. "I hope you enjoy this flight with Gulf Air. Thank you." Alexis switched the intercom off, focusing on the rest of the preparations.
Through the rain-swept windscreen, Alexis could make out the last few support crew hurrying back toward the terminal. He couldn't blame them. The weather was miserable and there was no real need to stick around outside. The small cockpit was illuminated by the green glow of the instrument panels, and cast an eerie light. He absently checked the instruments in front of him and tested the multitude of switches above his head.
"Captain, the tower reports we are cleared for takeoff on runway 09R. Do you want me to get started on pre-flights?" asked the co-pilot sitting next to him. Henry Stokes was one of the few crew-members that didn't irritate the hell out of Alexis. Henry was a wiry Englishman who was partial to fast cars and nice women. Both he and Alexis knew from experience that women loved a pilot, even if the autopilot did most of the flying for him.
"The sooner we taxi, the sooner we can get back in the air. Run the checks now, and I'll get the 'trolley dollies' to go through the health and safety. Hell, even a crash would be more fulfilling than doing this goddamn flight back and forth..." Alexis stopped and coughed uneasily. It was bad luck to discuss incidents like that. A plane crash was a serious matter, and nobody wanted to think about such an event. The Flight Technician sat behind them said a quick prayer. An awkward silence ensued.
However, the duo pulled out their pre-flight checklists and began to run through the tests. Most of the switches surrounding them would never be used, but they still had to check them regularly. Behind them, the Flight Engineer got to work recording various pressures and checking gauges. She was in charge of the plane's operation, and knew the systems inside-out.
After a palpable silence, Henry spoke up. "Look Lexus, you can always get transferred. You know Gulf Air wants to increase efficiency, and according to them this is the best way." Henry had nicknamed Alexis 'Lexus' during induction. It was just another indication of his love of automobiles and his poor sense of humor. He was the only pilot that didn't manage to raise a laugh during the induction, despite his multitude of frankly depressing jokes. Alexis didn't reply, instead checking the flaps and stabilisers.
After another few moments Alexis sighed heavily. "Not an option. I know this route like the back of my hand, and my pay reflects that. If I switch route, I need to retrain. And you know how much of a hassle that is. No, I can live doing this. It may not be pretty, but that's what the women are for!" The two pilots laughed heartily.
"You two are unbelievable. Seriously, there's more to life than girls and booze" chided the Flight Technician, Ella Moore. Not Alexis' favourite crew member, but she was reliable. She was also a dedicated Christian, and wasn't overly keen on the two womanising pilots. However, they still worked together as a crew, and as a group of mates.
Mostly.
"Ella, is that gauge in the red?" the co-pilot asked innocently while Alexis stealthily nicked her checklist. She whirled around, double-checking all of the fuel pressure indicators. None were worrying, but she couldn't find the checkboard with the correct levels. After she spent a few seconds searching for it, Alexis tossed it back to her.
"Real mature guys. Seriously, I could have more intelligent conversations with the autopilot." They all laughed, but soon got back to the job at hand.
"Come on, we've got clearance so let's get started." Henry said seriously.
Over the next few minutes, Alexis manoeuvred the aircraft down the taxiway while Henry co-ordinated with ATC and ran pre-flight checks. The raw power of the turbines whined behind them, preparing to propel the 49-ton aircraft into the air. The jet sat at the end of the runway, waiting for another plane to take off.
"Ugh, what the hell is he doing? Reading the paper? They should have been in the air thirty seconds ago!" Alexis grumbled, his anger directed at the lumbering Quantas airliner resting comfortably on the runway. Although it was a short time, flights had to arrive and depart in a very small window, resulting in another jet taxiing up behind them. Eventually the other aircraft glided up the runway and into the stormy sky, leaving the runway clear. They manoeuvred their jet onto the runway.
"Alright, we're clear. ATC gives the go, so let's punch this shit!" laughed Henry. The two turbines behind them howled in agreement, propelling the jet roughly into the sky.
***
The Buffalo Chief pawed at the ground, snorting loudly. In a few moments their proudest, most sacred tradition would begin. The Stampede. His tribe-mates surrounded him, watching the gigantic animal in awe. Many of the younger buffalo idolised him and would be certain to try and impress him. He snorted again. They were foolish but brave. They would make excellent tribe-members when they were older.
The burning golden sun crested the horizon, signalling the start of their three-day journey. The Chief let out a cry, and galloped forward, leading his tribe. Their trail would lead them through miles of twisting, unruly terrain. It was a challenge, a trial for the younger buffalo and a race for the older ones. It was their most sacred tradition, and he wouldn't let anything obstruct it.
***
The airliner cruised smoothly through the clear sky. They had flown over the coast of Israel a while ago, and would begin their descent in about half an hour. Flight Technician Moore sat, bored, watching the readouts on her console and playing with her shock of auburn hair. During the stint over the Channel, the jet's autopilot had stopped working, but had come online minutes later. Thankfully they hadn't been grounded, though they had been advised to fly manually for the rest of the journey.
The trouble had started just off the coast of France, when the autopilot failed to correct their course. They promptly shut it off, and contacted the Gulf Air liaison in Paris. A technician had suggested that the GPS was failing to update their course, although it had successfully tracked their progress so far. There had been one small bug that had shown them being sixty miles off-course, but it had corrected itself seconds later. They were still navigating by GPS, but they had their paper maps ready.
"So, what are you lads doing when we stopover?" asked Ella half-arsedly. She knew exactly what, but conversation was conversation.
"Well, it'll take 'em a day or so to check all the wiring and stuff. Can't believe the autopilot went down, that shit never fails." muttered Henry. Alexis had instructed him to take over halfway through the flight, and he wasn't overly happy.
"Oh well. No women, but I'm sure the airport bar will be open. Kill a few hours and a few more brain cells in there, then I'll probably head off to the hotel. Somehow, the thought of the Saudi Arabian nightclub scene depresses me." The pilot shrugged dejectedly.
"Hey, Lexus, you checked our position yet?" asked Henry curiously. They were all anxious about the instrument failures and didn't want to take any chances.
Alexis slid the paper maps onto his lap and cross-referenced their position with that on the GPS. "Damn, the GPS is screwing with us again I think. We're a lot further inland than it's indicating. I'll work out a course correction. Wait, now we're over the coast. What the blo- Back overland. It's shifting too much. I can't figure out our exact location. What the hell is causing all this interference?" Ella looked concernedly over his shoulder.
"If you give me a minute, I can run some signal tests, find out which satell-"
"Attention! This is Riyadh Air Force Base! You are entering restricted airspace! Correct course or measures will be taken to protect the safety of our personnel." squawked a voice angrily over the radio. Alexis just gaped open-mouthedly at the GPS. Their location had shifted by fifty miles in seconds, and their icon was flicking between different locations.
"Riyadh Air Force Base, this is Gulf Air 1-2 Lima. We are experiencing difficulties with our positioning systems, and do not have a heading with which to navigate! Please advise." Alexis was panicking. The Saudis were incredibly strict when it came to airspace restrictions. As in, 'do you reckon we can outrun an air-to-air missile' kind of strict.
Ella leapt from her chair and began fumbling with several switches on her console, glancing at the GPS every few seconds. "Captain, we've lost all signal with the GPS network. I... I think we're being jammed. There's nothing wrong with our end." said Ella disbelievingly. "We've got no signal from any of the GPS networks." The navigational screen was blank, displaying an error message. "There's... I can't do anything. They're going to need to escort us somewhere, I'm not going to be able to fix this." Ella sounded fearful and disappointed. She took pride in her job, and knew the jet better than any technicians, but she could not coax life into the failed navigation computer.
"This is Riyadh Air Force Base. We have a Typhoon on stand-by, you will be escorted to a secure facility. Any attempt to deviate from your assigned course will be met with lethal force. The jet will approach from your East in one mike."
"Gulf Air 1-2 Lima copies all. We'll await direction from the Typhoon jet, incoming from the East in one minute." Alexis affirmed, before switching to the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. We will shortly be joined by a Royal Saudi Air Force fighter, who is conducting training drills. There is no reason to be alarmed, and we expect to continue our flight after the rendezvous. Please remain seated while the fighter is alongside. On behalf of Gulf Air, I thank you for your cooperation during this matter." He was lying through his teeth, but there was no reason to cause panic.
***
"Where's that bloody fighter..." Henry asked irately. It had been over two minutes, and there had been no response from the air base or the jet. Their GPS was still dead, and Alexis hadn't been able to narrow down their location.
"Do you want me to run diagnostics on the flight instruments? If the GPS has gone down, I want to check the altimeter." Henry nodded the go-ahead, and she loaded up a small handheld diagnostic display that she promptly attached to the instrument panel.
Another minute passed, and there was no sign of the jet. Ella had confirmed the other instruments were working, and they were preparing to arrange an new course. "Fucking lazy Sau-" Henry was cut off by the scream of a fighter passing above the aircraft by a matter of feet. It rolled over, and stabilised next to the passenger jet's wings. He could imagine the kind of complaints that were being raised by the passengers, and hoped the air stewards could handle it.
The trio awaited a transmission from the radio, but nothing was forthcoming. The fighter remained next to them, unsure of its next move. It looked like the fighter's communications had gone silent, just like theirs.
"Is that the air base, maybe forty kilometers ahead?" asked Ella, peering through the windscreen.
"No, too small, it looks to be an installation, maybe a patrol base or something" Alexis suggested. A large mast-esque tower protruded from the middle of the base. "Hang on, is that a searchlight? Look, blue beam, just coming thr-"
The cockpit lighting and instruments shut down.
"Fuck!" shouted Alexis as the readouts went blank. Worst of all, the sudden silence indicated the shutdown of the only objects keeping them aloft. "Turbines are down! Henry, run through start-up procedures! Ella, just... try and get power back!" The pilot fought to keep the passenger jet level, relying on their speed to maintain lift under the wings.
Screams erupted from the cabin, and a stewardess burst into the cockpit. "What the hell is going on!?!" she demanded, looking fearful.
"Get everyone in their seats, and prepare for an emergency landing. We've lost all power!" No more words were exchanged as the stewardess raced back into the cabin, organising the other stewards. The blue glow in front of them was building, making vision difficult.
"What the fuck are they doing? Those fuckers just wiped out our electronics!" The cockpit was a scene of panic. None of their training had covered what to do in the event of an electro-magnetic pulse, or something similar. Ella was mumbling prayers, desperately trying to re-activate some systems.
"Ella, fuck that! Get strapped in, we're going down. Henry, get the maps out and search for somewhere to land. I reckon we've got a few minutes of lift. And we want to be on the ground before... whatever the fuck that is goes off." No sooner had Flight Technician Moore clipped herself into her seat than a peculiar sound enveloped the cabin. Complete silence. He could see Henry screaming at him, lips flying as he tried to speak. Not even a whisper escaped his lips. The terrible blue light ahead grew, dominating his vision. This was it. He was going to die.
Several seconds later, and the jet was still cruising towards the light. It slowly shifted from blue to green, then to yellow. The colours were so vivid, they hurt his eyes. He didn't dare look away, even for a second. The light was the most beautiful he had ever seen. If he was dying, this was a good way to go. Small motes of light drifted through the airframe, passing through the aluminium skeleton like it didn't exist. They were like small stars, floating indifferently through solid materials. One caught his cheek and he paused. It made him feel happy, complete. Once it floated away, the gravity of the situation struck him again.
A slight roaring sound reached his ears. The sound of air being sucked into a void, something becoming nothing. He fought against the compulsion to watch the display, looking down at the instrument panel. At the speed they were travelling, the plane should be falling apart. Yet there they were, being drawn into the elegant, deadly expanse of nothing. The roaring grew, and the beautiful light shifted to an all-enveloping white glare. It encompassed his vision, his consciousness and his soul. The roaring grew, the light increased. And then, nothing.
Note from the author: Thanks for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed it, and if not thanks for trying it anyway. Please comment! I love comments!
Huge thanks to my team, MyLittlePwny , Cry Havoc (The editors), LeafLock (For the title art) and LightPony (For the advice and support!)
Gulf Air Jet 1-2-Lima
By sierra_seven_
:SIGNAL LOST:
"Come on man, wake the fuck up! Please!" shouted a voice somewhere above him. Odd. Alexis was floating in darkness, completely weightless. At least, he thought he was floating. He couldn't see his body, but it was dark. So very dark. "Come on man, wake the fuck up!!" shouted the voice, both angrily and fearfully. Why did it have to disturb him? He was happy, peaceful and content.
"Slap him. Shock him into waking up. It worked on me, remember?" said another voice worriedly, joining the first. The first voice choked back a sob, and slapped his face. Or what he thought was his face.
'That does it. I'll go up there and show those fuckers a lesson. Why do they have to disturb me?' he thought. He started floating towards the voices, fighting the force pulling him down. No, he wanted to talk to them. What he had begun to think was his body strained against the invisible drag, trying to reach the voices. He slowly became aware of the sound of rushing air, the same he had heard... When? It seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place a finger on it. Wait, finger? There was no sign of his hands, feet or any other part of his body. All that existed was the darkness and the voices. Something was very wrong.
In a surge of panic, he flung his consciousness towards the voices, straining to wake up. He was stuck, trapped by the invisible field. He moved again. But how could he move? He had no body. Unless...
He tried manipulating the field with his mind. If he could just open a small gap, he could force his way in an-
"Argh! What the fuck is going on!" shouted Alexis, writhing in his chair.
"Calm down, we're ok. We're still airborne, you need to get on the controls and guide us down." Ella said calmly, although her sharply defined face showed indications of tears. As he slowly returned into his body, he heard several alarms sounding. Their harsh shrieks echoed through the cockpit, making it hard for Alexis to focus on guiding the plane down safely. Looking out of the front windscreen, he saw they were still cruising over the desert. However, their engines were still offline, and they were gradually losing altitude.
"What happened to the fighter? What's our altitude? And why the hell are there so many alarms going off?" The pilot grumbled, rubbing his forehead irately. Ella was sat behind him, furiously adjusting the communications equipment. If they could get a MayDay transmission out, they had some chance of survival. If they went down in an unknown area with no settlements or towns nearby, they were as good as dead.
Henry looked over at a display. "Err, ninteen thousand five hundred feet and dropping. The fighter wasn't there when I woke up. Wait, sirens? Our electronics are back online!" Henry leapt into action, attempting to bring the engines back online. The cockpit was ablaze with activity for the next few minutes while the air crew tried to restore failed systems. In the cabin, however, was a different story. From what the stewardess had reported, the passengers were falling to pieces. The shock of the... 'flash' was too much for them to bear.
Ella quickly explained that everyone on the plane had become unconscious after the 'flash' and many were still unresponsive. The passengers that had successfully woken up were panicking, desperately trying to wake relatives and family. The cabin was a scene of utter chaos. However, their job was to land the plane safely, and the cabin crew would need to deal with the passengers.
"Captain, engines One and Two are responding, but I can only dial them up to 20% thrust. The flash must have damaged them somehow." shouted Henry, striving to be heard over the screaming alarms.
"Good, that'll give us a few minutes more of thinking time. Stokes, see if you can coax any more power out of them. I'm going to try and calm the passengers down." answered the captain, reaching for the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. We have suffered a minor technological fault and are working on resolving the problem. Please return to your seats and await instructions from the cabin crew. Your cooperation in this matter will be greatly appreciated. On behalf of Gulf Air, I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you." He hoped halfheartedly that the sirens blaring in the background wouldn't worry the passengers too much.
"Captain, GPS and radio are offline. I can't broadcast, I can't reach the GPS network and the flight diagnostic equipment has shut down." A grim silence spread through the cockpit.
"We're going to have to ditch." said Ella resignedly. The impact of this slowly sunk into the assembled crew members. With limited fuel, no navigation and no means to summon help, they would need to crash-land. And if they couldn't find a settlement or town, they would have little chance of rescue. Satellites could only do so much. And with the sheer size of the Arabian desert, it could be weeks before they were found. They could survive a few days on the water they had, assuming it didn't spill into the dry desert sand on impact.
The captain groaned, bowing his head. "Ok, I'll search for a good landing site. Seeing as we will be ditching into the desert, I suggest we keep the landing gear up and slide out the momentum. If we deploy the gear, there is a good chance we'll lose the undercarriage. Do you all agree?" The crew nodded fearfully.
"Captain, shall I take us into a controlled descent?" murmured Henry, still getting his head around the grim news.
"Yeah, bring us down so we can scan for a landing area. Ideally, we want to burn through as much fuel as possible so the... crash-landing goes well. I don't want fuel getting out of the wings. Anyway, what happened after the Flash?" he enquired curiously, trying to keep calm.
The Flash had become the name of the mysterious light that had wiped out their electronics and brought them to wherever they were. The mysterious installation wasn't marked on any of the maps, breaching several FAA regulations. They never would have seen it if the GPS hadn't screwed up. Alexis' best guess was that it was some kind of energy weapon, judging from the electronics overload and the distinct blue flash. If they got out of this alive, the Saudis would have hell to pay.
Henry began their descent while Alexis supervised it. Ella sat behind them, still trying to restore any available systems. They would need all the help they could get. "I woke up, you and Ella were still unconscious. I levelled us out slightly and woke Ella up." Ella rubbed her face resentfully. "She woke the flight stewards, and then we got you up. You were down for about five minutes. I think we've passed Riyadh, and we're somewhere near the far coast. Though honestly I have no idea. Hopefully Riyadh ATC picked us up on radar, and will find us quickly." Henry sounded hopeful. An airliner was hard to miss on radar, even more so if it deviated from its planned course.
"Captain, these systems are going to take forever to reboot. A few of them are completely dead." The Flight Technician sounded disappointed in herself.
"Ok, let's get down to a good altitude and figure out where we're going to ditch this bird." Alexis smiled grimly and slid on a pair of sunglasses. The burning light was beginning to enter through the corner of the window, and it was hurting his eyes.
***
"Ok, Ella, any systems you get up now will be useless. Start scanning for somewhere we can ditch. The plan is to belly-slide along a flat area. We can put the turbines into reverse to slow us down. So long as we keep the wings level, we should be ok. I'm not going to lie, this is probably going to go badly. But if we find the right place there is no reason why this shouldn't work."
"Captain, look! About ten kilometres ahead. Looks to be a settlement of some kind. Are we going to try and ditch near it?" asked Ella, pointing through the windshield. She was right. From this distance, it was just a small collection of shapes in the distance. But villages meant people, and people meant rescue.
"We'll try nearby, if there are any suitable landing areas. However, we want to drop low enough for them to know we're in distress. Wait..." Alexis squinted through the window. "The town is surrounded by what looks like farms. Fuck. Farms in a desert? These Saudis are getting smarter."
***
The scorching sun beat down upon the worker's back. He raised a hoof, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Creaky Spokes was a hard taskmaster but had managed to get the settlement up and running in only a few days. He had lead the expedition that had founded the small town, and had designed many of the town's buildings. The labourer had spent the day hauling planks and building supplies to the location of the new barn. It was hard work, but everypony had to pull their weight.
He was irritated by the faint whining in his ears, but assumed the wheels on his cart were becoming stiff and clogged with sand. The wind blowing through the apple trees was cool and refreshing, so he could ignore that little irritating sound behind him. Yes, cool and refreshing breeze. That was what he wan- He whirled around angrily, staring at the cart. The whining continued, though he couldn't make out the reason why. He glanced into the air, searching for the cause.
The pony froze in terror, watching the gleaming behemoth gliding through the air. He had never seen anything like it. The fearsome object certainly wasn't pony-made, he would have heard if a project this ambitious was attempted. It cruised through the air effortlessly even though the huge wings didn't move. It certainly wasn't an animal. He couldn't even see what propelled it. Magic? Even that was a bit far-fetched.
The stallion almost soiled himself in fear as the golden bird screamed overhead. He swiftly unclipped himself from the wagon and galloped back towards the town. The building supplies could wait.
***
"Well, that ought to let them know. Right, let's get on the gro-" Alexis paused as the stewardess rushed into the cockpit. Her name was Maysun, according to her name tag. She'd burst into the cramped room enough for him to take notice. Alexis never bothered to interact with the crew because they changed so often, but he had a feeling he'd be with this flight crew a lot longer than he thought.
"Captain, we're going down, aren't we." she asked in her thick Arabic accent. Alexis nodded grimly. The atmosphere in the cockpit suddenly became a lot more tense.
"Alright. We can't wake some of the passengers, and most of them aren't responding. About forty are conscious, and we might be able to wake ten more before you decide to land. I fear for them. They can't assume the brace position, and that will certainly put their lives at risk." she spoke, looking fearful. He couldn't blame her. They were about to crash into unknown territory with almost no knowledge of the area and with the majority of their passengers unconscious.
"Wake as many as possible, but make sure you get back to your seats when I give the brace order. You have about three minutes." The pilot spoke authoritively, and the young woman rushed out of the cockpit.
"Ok, bring us down. We're aiming for the flat ground four kilometers ahead. We want to descend slowly, and land even slower. Keep above stall speed and keep wings, fins and stabs in check." He spoke calmly, expecting his crew to behave in the same manner. Alexis kept the plane level, and Henry made several small corrections to the plane's course, keeping the airliner straight. Ella just strapped herself in and murmured a few prayers to herself.
After a few seconds the 'Too Low; Terrain' alarm kicked in and the pilots' chairs began shaking, as if they hadn't realised they were barely tens of metres above the ground. In front of them the ground flew by, a blur of yellow and orange. Alexis reached over to make the final message to the passengers, and possibly the last message he would ever give.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are going to need to land the aircraft. Please assume the brace position immediately." He nodded grimly to Henry, who proceeded to lower the aircraft by another few feet. Twenty tense seconds passed until he spoke again.
"Brace brace brace!" he said clearly, before turning back to his console. He shot a final sad look at Henry. Together they slid the engines into reverse and raised the nose of the aircraft. He thought of his childhood, his family pet, the struggles and achievements he had experienced as he escaped destitute Russia, his home. He thought of the hundred-odd passengers in the cabin who had their own stories, their own experiences. Many would never awake.
The pilot listened sadly to the haunting melody of the various sirens, alarms and alerts as he dropped the final few feet onto the desert floor.
Note from the author: Thanks for reading! Please comment on what you thought of the chapter, or the story, or whatever you want!
Huge thanks to my team, MyLittlePwny , Cry Havoc (The editors), LeafLock (For the title art) and LightPony (For the advice and support!)
Gulf Air Jet 1-2-Lima
By sierra_seven_
Burnout
Alexis woke to the sound of screams. Cries of fear and pain echoed in his ears, sending chills down his spine. He groggily attempted to open his eyes, but to no avail. He touched his face in disbelief. His eyes were open, but he was blind. The pilot thrashed in his chair, trying to free himself. Panic overcame him as he struggled against his harness, trying to release himself. All around him sirens shrieked and sparking electronics burned his bare skin.
He tried in vain to get free of his restraints, attempting to use the broken console to rip through the fabric. As he leaned forward, the chair shifted suddenly, dropping him several feet onto a cold metal wall. Wall? He tried to move, but was pinned by the bulk of the heavy chair. He was surrounded by darkness and completely immobilised. Blind fear caused him to thrash in the chair, desperately hoping something would yield.
"Alexis, stop struggling! I'll get you down!" shouted Ella over the blaring sirens. The sounds of damaged circuits and metallic groans reached him, making him fully realise the predicament he was in.
"Ella, I can't fucking see! Get me down!" he shouted in despair, reaching out toward her voice. He heard her unsteady footsteps as she made her way through the cockpit.
"Grab onto something! The plane's rolled, you're gonna fall out onto your side!" she shouted, striving to be heard over the alarms. He reached out in front of him, attempting to find a purchase on his joystick. The pilot felt Ella's hands reach around him, shakily undoing his harness. Surprisingly she spoke calmly, reassuring him. "I don't think you're blind. You've got a huge cut on your head, and your face is covered in blood. Wipe it off, it's everywhere!"
He raised an arm, hurriedly wiping his face with his ripped shirt. After several seconds of painful rubbing, vision returned, albeit with a strong tinge of red. The cockpit was in a bad way. The front windshield was smashed and sand was beginning to blow into the enclosed space. Most of the instruments were smashed, resulting in the dangerous and toxic chemicals that filled them dripping onto the floor. Loose cables sparked and swayed in the wind, presenting a challenge to escape.
"We need to get out of here! Where the hell is Henry?" he yelled, awkwardly twisting himself to get free of the chair as he looked around wildly, searching for his friend. The screams persisted, adding another layer of fear to the hellish scene.
"He's out rallying the survivors. We have a lot of dead and wounded and fuel is leaking through the starboard wing. We need to get away from the plane before it turns into an inferno!" she shouted, clambering out of the narrow cockpit door. He followed, slowly taking in the horrific scene that was the cabin.
The rear of the aircraft had completely broken off, leaving a wide open hole halfway through the plane. Dead and unconscious bodies littered the area, some being hurriedly dragged out by the remnants of the cabin crew. Many appeared to be in a state of shock, acting automatically. Even more were crying and shaking as they went about the depressing yet vital task.
"Captain, we need to get out of here now!" Ella commanded, dragging him towards the emergency escape. He, however, was speechless; stunned by the horrific scene. They eventually reached the emergency escape, the narrow portal leading into the burning heat of the desert.
"Jump!" shouted the Flight Technician, shoving him toward the inflatable slide. Alexis slid down, wincing as the bright light, hot rubber and smell of fuel assaulted his senses. He stepped onto the burning sand, moving to allow Ella to follow him. He stumbled towards the rest of the survivors, the knot of them that had gathered on a small dune overlooking the crash site.
"Henry!" he shouted, scanning the crowd for his friend and co-pilot. The survivors were in a bad way, many were bleeding or otherwise wounded. There were children too, some wandering aimlessly or crying. More than a few were suffering from shock. Thankfully he saw the distinct white and gold markings that signalled the presence of a member of the flight crew.
"Henry, what's going on? Anything that we need to do? Like, right now? I heard we have a fuel leak, that true?" Alexis rattled off the series of questions before Henry had even turned around. His co-pilot was pretty shaken up, with several cuts that had been hastily bandaged. His co-pilots uniform was ripped and shredded, showing many small cuts and grazes.
The survivors had gathered around him anxiously, desperately looking for some form of guidance. The scene was chaotic, many passengers just sat on the bluff speechlessly, trying to accept what had just happened. Young children wandered the area in shock, desperately crying out for their parents or family.
"Lexus, damn good to see you're ok! We've got a nurse here, he'll take a look at that cut in a minute." The co-pilot spoke shakily, looking around at the assembled group. A man in a blue suit looked up briefly from a nearby body, nodding respectfully.
"We've got a pretty big fuel leak coming out of the starboard wing, and we've still got power. You and Ella need to go and shut the fuse box down before one goddamn spark blows us sky-high. I'd go, but someone needs to keep the passengers together. If it goes badly, shout. We'll evacuate any staff out of the plane. But we want to get as many unconscious and wounded out as possible." Henry spoke hurriedly, often glancing back to the wrecked plane.
Alexis turned around, looking for Ella. However, he saw something much more important. From the small rise, he could see the entirety of the disaster. An ugly scar cut across the terrain, littered with scrap metal. The passenger plane had landed roughly, rolling and tearing the port wing completely off. Alexis tried to make out the tail of the aircraft amongst the wreckage.
The tail was the wreckage. It had almost completely broken apart during the crash, spraying shredded metal over several miles of desert. The surviving part of the aircraft lay at an angle in the carved trench, mostly intact. The cabin crew were desperately trying to save the unconscious passengers, rolling them down the inflatable slide to waiting crew members and able-bodied passengers.
"Come on Alexis, what's the plan?" panted Ella, having jogged up the small bluff after him. The extreme heat was obviously sapping her energy, turning her face bright red and causing her to pant heavily.
"We need to go and disable the fuses before the entire plane goes up. Come on!" he shouted, skidding down the dune. He sprinted toward the aircraft, noticing the gradually increasing smell of aviation fuel. The duo clambered up the slide while avoiding the unconscious bodies being rolled down. When they reached the cockpit they paused for a few seconds to catch their breaths.
"Right, where's that fuse panel? You know the aircraft better than I do." Alexis said hurriedly, in full awareness he was standing on a literal time bomb. Ella didn't reply, instead lifting up a panel of the floor. She crawled into an enclosed space, disappearing from view. He crouched anxiously for a few seconds in the collapsed cockpit. "You ok in there?" he shouted, craning his head and shoulders around to get a better idea of what she was doing.
The cockpit lighting, alarms and instruments shut down for the second time that day. Several seconds later she crawled out, holding a fistful of large fuses. "Bingo!" she grinned, pocketing them. Hopefully that would stop the plane becoming a blazing inferno. He'd be pissed if he had survived the crash only to be blown apart. If he'd wanted to die in a fiery explosion, he would have opened his own illegal distillery and died happy.
Alexis jumped out of the aircraft again, and inspected the underside of the remaining wing. Behind him the turbine was still spinning slowly, which he warily avoided. Fuel was steadily pouring from a ruptured fuel line. "Shit, this fuel's draining pretty damn fast. The moment the bodies are off the plane, I want everyone away from here. We'll let all the fuel drain off before we do anything else. You go and let the cabin crew know, I'll see if I can do anything here." No sooner had he finished than Ella ran back to the emergency ramp.
He gingerly examined the wing, noting that a large gash had been created in the wing during the crash. He tenderly reached out towards the emergency cut-off but quickly withdrew his hand after brushing the scorching metal. The wing groaned suddenly, sending the pilot scrambling backwards. There was a metallic snap, and the end of the wing slammed into the desert floor. Fuel began spraying from the damaged aircraft, gushing onto the desert floor. "Ella, we need to get out of here! Get the crew off the plane and up the hill, now! The fuel leak's been doubled!" he yelled, sprinting away from the jet.
The small group jogged back to the top of the slope, moving swiftly through the distraught groups of passengers. "Henry, we sorted out the fuel problem. Mostly. It's draining off into the sand, so it should be safe in a few hours." The smell of aviation fuel wafted up, making them cough.
"Alright, what the hell did you do?" Henry demanded, looking back down at the wrecked aircraft.
"I only had a look at the fuel leak. It wasn't my fault the damn wing fell off!" retorted Alexis angrily. The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before relenting. Alexis looked up at the burning sun. "We need to get some kind of shelter up. The children are gonna suffer in this heat, and we're gonna need as much water as possible."
"Right. Once the fuel's run off we can put some of the children in there. Get the cabin crew to take inventory of our supplies when they're done. I want to know how much water we have. We also need to take a register. I don't know what happened to the flight log." The two pilots looked around to Ella, expecting her input. She was nearby, however, consoling a group of children.
"Leave her be. The children need all the help they can get at the moment. See if any of the other women want to give her a hand. If not, order them to. I don't want any of them going near the aircraft while the fuel's draining. Make sure they're all under supervision while we move the... bodies." His voice cracked, revealing the emotion beneath. "They could do without seeing that." The children added a whole new layer to the scenario. If any of them disappeared into the aircraft...
"Right, let's get organised. We can't rely on the settlement to get help here quickly." Henry nodded grimly.
***
"Right. So all the bodies are buried then?" Alexis whispered to Maysun, who nodded sadly. The fifty-three surviving passengers stood solemnly, listening to the Ella and a Muslim passenger giving Christian and Islamic services respectfully. The Arab was the son of a Saudi businessman, and had been the first to suggest they bury the bodies. He had quickly introduced himself as Aarif, throwing himself into the work like a possessed soul. He had been one of the most useful survivors so far, helping to register and organise different groups.
The temperature had dropped to a cool night's air, and a few fires had been started away from the aircraft to conserve warmth. The warm glow and crackling flames enhanced the somber atmosphere. It was a miracle that this many had survived, and they knew it. The ramshackle graveyard had been constructed between the two sections of aircraft, which had been re-purposed into a sheltered area for the survivors.
As the service came to an end, Alexis addressed the despondent crowd. "Hello everyone. I'd just like to take a minute to explain our situation in greater detail. As you know, some form of electro-magnetic discharge affected us on approach to Riyadh. Due to technical difficulties with our GPS we inadvertently strayed over a Saudi-Arabian military installation. Some form of antenna was responsible for the blue flash of light that affected us." Murmurs of concern spread through the group as Maysun translated his words into Arabic.
"If this is true, why didn't the Saudi Air Force redirect us? They must have picked us up on radar miles before we reached them!" shouted a member of the crowd angrily. Alexis addressed the man uneasily.
"They dispatched a fighter jet to guide us away, but the jet never gave us a course or deviated from his. We believe he was suffering from the same jamming effect as us. However, the jet must have left after we suffered the effects of.... umm... 'The Flash'. Either that or the jet crashed." he finished, looking around the group. The survivors were scared, exhausted and wounded.
"We need to work together. I don't know what happened, but we need to keep calm and work together. I understand that many of you just want to sleep now, but we need to organize some form of watch. We have almost no idea where we are and we cannot risk missing any form of rescue. Until we have a permanent method of signalling, we will need some volunteers to watch for aircraft or other men. Around twenty kilometers south is a small settlement, and if we have no contact from them by midnight, we'll organise a group to go and meet them. They will undoubtedly know the terrain better than us, so we'll give them a chance to make their way here first." Alexis spoke authoritatively, even though he was in the same boat as the survivors. The only difference was he had some semblance of authority and was responsible for them.
"Why don't we just go and find them now? There's no point sitting around waiting if rescue is only twenty kilometers away!" said another woman, staring him in the eye. A few others murmured their assent, eagerly awaiting his reply.
Thankfully Henry emerged from the shadows and addressed the woman. "Look, most of us have some form of injury. If we all decide to head off, we carry a strong chance of losing a few along the way. Here we have shelter, supplies and a transponder. Chances are that rescue is already on its way and we'll be out of here in a few hours. If we don't hear from any rescue parties then we'll have to take matters into our own hands."
***
The sentry leaned against the metal hulk they now called home. The sand blew idly around her feet, blown by the cool night breeze. During the meeting they had agreed on a watch schedule, among other things. She would watch the east side of the plane for two hours, then hand over to another survivor. She scuffed her foot against the metal air-frame, the sound reminding her that she was, in fact, still alive. In her left hand was a length of steel, salvaged from the detritus littering the expanse of desert. Weapons weren't thought to be necessary but she felt safer with a means of defense.
Ten minutes until her handover. She shifted silently, moving into a more comfortable position. The dying fires still cast flickering light across the landscape, creating false shadows and shifting images. She thought she heard a rumbling, but it could only be some part of the aircraft shifting. 'Relax!' she thought to herself. She had traveled to Saudi Arabia in hope of escaping her lustful ex-boyfriend. Well, this was certainly an escape.
A loud snort roused her from her thoughts. "Who's there?" she called, scanning the shifting terrain. Silence. 'Don't worry, probably just... someone snoring. Yup, that's it.' she thought uneasily. Another snort. 'Fuck this'. The young woman crept out, away from the aircraft. She hefted the bar of steel, brandishing it aggressively. One look at the creature in front of her removed any aggressive thoughts.
***
A loud scream roused Alexis from his uneasy slumber, causing him to roll off the two seats he had converted into a makeshift bed. He scrambled through the crowded cabin, dodging between sleepy, anxious survivors. The scream had come from one of the sentries outside.
"What's the situation?" Henry asked quickly as he joined the pilot.
"No idea, let's go find out" Alexis replied hurriedly, ducking through the escape hatch. He slid down the inflatable ramp and jogged around the front of the plane. From the outside he could see that the cockpit had smashed into a huge dune, almost flattening the front of the plane. Henry was the first up the large slope, scrambling through the soft sand.
"Everything ok up there?" called Alexis, scanning the opposite direction. He'd be damned if anything crept up on them.
"Captain, we've got company..." replied Henry calmly as two huge shadows appeared in the corner of Alexis' eye.
Note from the author: Thanks for reading! Trust me, this ain't gonna be a regular ol' HiE.
Huge thanks to my team, MyLittlePwny , Cry Havoc (The editors), LeafLock (For the title art) and LightPony (For the advice and support!)
Gulf Air Jet 1-2-Lima
By sierra_seven_
Stampede
It hadn't taken the rest of the survivors long to realise a situation was developing. Several minutes later, the passengers had massed outside the aircraft, many of whom were brandishing makeshift weapons, eyeing the huge beasts with caution. Several fires had been carefully relit and the children had quietly been escorted away from the animals.
"What the hell are buffalo doing in the middle of Saudi bloody Arabia?" Henry muttered, casting nervous glances at the assembled herd. In the seconds after Alexis had seen the two, scores more had appeared, surrounding them. Thankfully they seemed docile, but that could easily change.
"I dunno. This is damn crazy. What're we gonna do? They don't seem to be leaving anytime soon." Alexis replied, genuinely lost. If he got out of this alive, he'd be sure to add 'Dealing with wild buffalo herds after a crash-landing' to the FAA's training programme.
Now that he was fully awake, he looked around to get an idea of the time. It was around eleven o'clock and bright stars punctuated the night sky. Unfamiliar stars. "Hang on, where's Orion's Belt?" muttered Alexis, deep in thought.
"What are you on about. Seriously, stargazing? More important problems here mate. Y'know, angry buffalo and all that?" whispered Henry irately, trying to avoid eye contact with a buffalo a few meters away.
"Where's Orion's Belt? It's not there. It should be. What the hell is going on...?" Alexis was thinking out loud, unconcerned by the brutes mere feet away from him. Henry glanced up too.
"Well, you're right. Bigger problems now?" Henry murmured, looking back down. However, Alexis was still curiously inspecting the sky.
"So, what are you then?" a voice asked nearby.
"It's a buffalo. Just stay quiet and let us handle this." Alexis whispered, annoyed.
"Umm, Lexus, you heard that too?" Henry sounded... off.
"Of course I heard it. Why?"
"That was the buffalo talking." Henry said calmly.
"Go and speak to the nurse. I reckon you hit your head harder than you thought. We'll handle this." said Alexis, indicating the arrival of Ella. The small camp was still quiet and most of the survivors had retreated back into the base. About forty buffalo surrounded them, so the safest logical place would be aboard the aircraft.
"Seriously. I'm not fucking with you. That buffalo spoke." muttered Henry angrily.
"You sound surprised." The buffalo in front of Alexis looked him over. For several seconds there was a complete silence.
"That's not possible." Alexis was practically speechless. He'd seen the lips move and everything. "Ella, tell me that didn't just happen." He hoped it was just the effect of a bad concussion.
"I don't know, this is... unreal. Did you say something about the stars?" she said, face shifting between fear, curiosity and awe. Meanwhile, the herd of buffalo just sat, obviously content watching the strange creatures.
"Yeah. I don't recognise any of these stars. It's crazy." Alexis looked around the makeshift camp quickly, checking no buffalo had crept up behind him. The small fires still illuminated the area and some buffalo had decided to settle near them.
"Check it. Those buffalo are actually gathering around the fires. Hell, maybe I should start charging rent." Henry joked, trying to lighten the mood. The joke crashed and burned, spectacularly.
"Captain, maybe the Flash... moved us. Elsewhere." Ella said quietly, stepping forward towards the buffalo.
"Ella, get the fuck back from there! They could be dangerous!" Alexis shouted, startling some of the creatures. He reached forward to grab her, but she dodged him, causing him to lose his balance.
"Just have faith..." she murmured quietly, stepping slowly across the warm sand toward the towering beast.
"Finally, one of you have shown some sense." The buffalo laughed, almost sending Ella running back. "No, we will not harm you, little...?" The buffalo trailed off, gazing at her curiously. The two pilots just stood, gaping.
"Umm... My name is Ella. I'm a human. And you are?" she asked interestedly.
"Chief Thunderhooves. We are buffalo. So, where are you from, human?" rumbled the Chief. As Ella and the Chief began trading information, Henry quietly kicked Alexis.
"That Flash must've affected us more than we thought. I... This is just bloody unreal. What do you reckon, that EMP scrambled our brains or something? That's a damn sight more likely than talking buffalo! We need to get Ella the hell out of there and get everyone on the jet. We'd be safer up there." Henry whispered quickly.
"I don't know. They're not hostile yet, so I wanna see how this plays out." The pilot turned his attention back to the conversation, barely catching the end.
"Thanks, that'd be great. Chief, if there's anything we can do in return, we'd be pleased to." Ella laughed happily, turning around to look at Alexis.
"Wait, what?"
"Chief Thunderhooves sent some buffalo to fetch help from another town. Apparently there's a proper village nearby. This is perfect!" Ella was practically bouncing with relief.
"A buffalo village?" asked Henry, re-entering the conversation.
"No, Mr. Stokes. It is a village belonging to the ponies, with whom we are well acquain-"
"This has gone too far. A pony village? Are you even listening to this Ella? You know what, bugger this. I'm going to go and reassure the passengers while you stand around talking to some projection of your own mind." Alexis shouted, storming off towards the aircraft.
***
Alexis leaned against the cold metal wall of the luggage hold. A hole had been torn in the airframe, allowing the survivors to recover their personal belongings, some of which had proved to be useful. The pilot grabbed another fleece from an unclaimed bag, shivering in the cold air. He'd forgotten that the temperature dropped during a night in the desert.
He'd found an iPhone in the same bag, entirely unsurprised to find a complete lack of signal. The pilot idly flicked through the apps, reflecting on the crash. The owner of the phone had existed one second and died the next. He slid the phone into his pocket. It could prove useful at some point.
Alexis sighed, pushing himself further into the corner of the storage hold and resting his head in his hands. 'How can they just... accept that? There's got to be some kind of explanation. Could the Flash have messed up our minds? Am I in a damn coma?' Alexis was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching him.
"Mr. Volkov, I saw you come down here. Are you ok? Most of the aircrew are out the front, organising some form of rescue with the buffalo. I have to say, this is pretty strange." said the voice quietly. The pilot looked up, remembering the man from earlier in the day. He had been the nurse that had organised the first-aiders.
"Strange? My co-pilot is out there chatting with a damn buffalo! Strange doesn't even begin to cover it!" snapped the pilot.
"Have you thought that maybe that Flash affected our perception? I guess a large enough electro-magnetic pulse would alter our perception slightly, although the effects should have worn off by now." The nurse stood uneasily, scuffing his foot against the smooth metal floor.
Alexis stood up, examining the man properly for the first time. He was wearing light clothing, supplemented with their remaining medical supplies. The man had several bandages wrapped around his arm, most stained with blood. His clothes were bloody too, although this was more likely to be the result of those he had spent the day helping.
"My name's Donovan, by the way. Glad to actually get a word with you. I've been watching you since you got out of the aircraft. You did a damn good job organising the staff." Donovan stared intently at Alexis, unnerving him slightly.
"Well, thanks. We're very lucky to have you with us. I'm certain we would have had a lot more fatalities had we not had a trained medic aboard. Well, aside from the cabin crew, but they don't have the kind of experience of this."
"So, are we going to go out there and get a better idea of what's going on? It doesn't matter if this is beyond belief, those buffalo gave us water. If they're capable of that, I'm certain they'll be able to arrange rescue." Alexis nodded in relief. At least there was someone willing to think about this rationally.
The pair clambered out of the small tear, dropping onto the desert floor. It took a few minutes for the duo to reach the front, due to the shredded metal littering that side of the aircraft; the wing hadn't come off cleanly.
***
When the pilot reached the front of the aircraft, he immediately noticed several more fires had been coaxed into life. Most of the survivors were now out of the aircraft, either gathered around campfires or talking uneasily to the buffalo.
"Hey mate! Where did you disappear off to!" shouted Henry, waving him over to what appeared to be the 'leaders' group. Several buffalo, including Thunderhooves, sat around a larger campfire conversing with Henry and several members of the cabin crew. Ella was a short distance away, chatting with the children.
"We were just telling them about the aircraft. Apparently there's nothing like it on this planet." Henry said disbelievingly.
"Well, thats excellent. Have we got a plan for some kind of rescue? We're not going to last long on our supplies and I'd rather be away from here as soon as possible." Alexis said irately, crouching next to the fire.
"Patience, Mr. Volkov. Silver Star and his ponies will be here soon and will likely escort you all to Appleloosa. I'm sure Princess Celestia will be more than happy to assist you in returning to your own world."
"Princess what? A pony Princess!?" Alexis almost stormed off again, but remained seated when Donovan put his hand on his shoulder. "Well, the sooner we get back, the sooner I can find out exactly what those bloody Saudis fired at us." he muttered.
Several of the Saudi cabin crew looked at him, making the atmosphere even more tense. If it weren't for the awkward silence, he would have missed the foreboding noise altogether. He looked up to confirm his fears before leaping to his feet.
"Run! Get everyone the fuck out of the jet and run like hell!" Alexis yelled, dragging Henry to his feet. Panic spread through the camp as humans and buffalo alike began fleeing the airliner. Alexis ran, desperately trying to maintain grip as he sprinted up the small dune. The noise grew louder over the next minute, causing Alexis to run even faster.
"Wha- What the fuck!" panted Henry, trying to keep up with him. Alexis didn't answer, instead pouring on another burst of speed. Once they were at least five hundred metres away, Alexis spun around. Thankfully everyone had got away, but he didn't know if they would be safe, even at this distance.
They barely had time to duck as the Saudi fighter slammed into the ruins of the airliner, spraying fire and molten metal over everything in its way.
Note from the author: Thanks for reading! Remember to comment if you enjoyed it, and say why you disliked it if you downvoted :)
Huge thanks to my team, MyLittlePwny , Cry Havoc (The editors), LeafLock (For the title art) and LightPony (For the advice and support!)
