CTF5

"Aw, Night Rider, you scared him away." Gomba said and laughed about his near misfortune with the Stealth squadron fighter.

"That’s pretty damn good for you. See you back on deck." Blackwood banked away from Gomba's fighter and headed toward his carrier, for this simulation it was the U.S.S Intrepid, this effectively ended his day of flying in the simulator. Blackwood showered himself and got dressed and headed to the Results room. There were two hundred some odd other engagements across the map in the simulator. Blackwood scanned the list for his results from his day of flying.

"Very impressive, Commander Blackwood. Much to my amazement you successfully weeded out the less skillful of the Stealth squadron, but at the cost of a pilot as good as DaNasty." Said the all to familiar voice of Admiral Ross from behind Blackwood. Blackwood lifted his head slowly, Ross's presence sent chills up Blackwood's spine.

"Thank you, admiral," said Blackwood with absolutely no sincerity behind his reply.

"From I am told you have yet another war game to attend. This fight should go fairly quick. Though I still think Story has put Beckerd on the wrong team. The Stealthlon is perfectly good ship with a lot history behind her. And Carriers… Well I am not a carrier person myself. I mean after the fighters fall what does a carrier have to rely on for defending itself against cruisers? My vote will therefore have to go to that liberal minded Captain Mansel. Better his ship win then no cruiser at all I say." Ross finished saying with a laugh as he walked off.   Lieutenant Commander DaNastie walked up to Blackwood's side seeing the whole one sided exchange between Blackwood and Ross. Blackwood sat down at a nearby cushioned seat.

"What the hell's he doin here? He's not even a pilot at all."

"DaNasty, care to check his rank once in awhile?"

"Jim, don't let the guy intimidate ya. He's full of shi…. ATTEN HUP!" DaNastie catching his tongue seeing Admiral "Blackbird" Benson entering the room. Blackbird arriving at Nellis from the Stealthlon to personally notify each squadron head that their squadron has been selected to go Germany for a special war game.

"As you were gentlemen. I believe you going to say something about why Ross is often called Walking Eagle by your CAG. " Blackbird walked off further into the room to meet with a very pissed Stealth squadron commanding officer. Both DaNastie and Blackwood laughed. Blackbird stopped, turned around, "By the way Commander Blackwood. You're in command of your squadron now and I want your squadron in Germany in two hours. Carry on." Blackbird finished and went on his merry way to talk to the Stealth squadron's commanding officer. DaNastie and Blackwood stopped laughing.

                                                                           ***
Commander Skip Taylor, current commanding officer of the 177th Stealthl Squadron, came to attention when Admiral Blackbird strode into the room.

"At ease, Commander," said the Admiral, motioning for Taylor to sit down again. "What happened out there, Commander?" Blackbird asked, wanting to know how the UNSF's second most deadliest squadron was so quickly decimated by the only squadron good enough to beat them.

Commander Taylor was just as clueless as Admiral Blackbird was. "I have no idea, sir," he said, leaning forward in his chair, forearms resting on the table. "They picked off our weaker pilots first and then went to work on us. We were outnumbered."

"That was the worst display I've ever seen from the Stealths, Commander," commented Blackbird. "See to it that it doesn't happen again."

"Yes sir."

"'Now, on to other business. Your squadron is needed in Germany by the end of the day, Commander. A special wargame is going on between the bigwigs and we need two more suqadrons to fill in for us."

"Whose the other squadron, sir?"

"The Skylords, of course."

"Who are we up against?"

"The three Explorers. It's a simulated Wargame. You'll recieve all the information you need when you get there. For now, though, prepare to head off to Germany."
                                                                           ***
USS Explorer-A conference room
15:33 SET

"What do we have here?" Commander Clifton Martin asked, laying down blueprints of the Stealthlon-B, earlier procured by Captain Matt Vaughn. His face lit up when he read the title of the blueprints. "Oooh! Looks like you've managed to snag us a gold mine, Vaughn. Excellent."

The Explorer-A's conference room was constantly spacious and dimly lit. Surrounding the massive oak table sat hand carved rocking chairs, complete with comfortable seating pads in them. A projector, long since untouched, was rolled into one corner of the room, a barrier for a number of other blueprints and plans, mostly from Imperial ships and crusiers. A complete star map of known UNSF territory was attached to the opposite wall.

Team Explorer's big wigs were present: Captain Mansel, Commander Vaughn, Captain Vaughn, and Commander Martin. The scene was a shocking contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Stealthlon's war room earlier that day. It was quiet and serene; the commanders liked to be able to think in peace.