"Ajax, this is Waverunner 212, approaching Waypoint Delta." "Roger, 212." "Come left to heading 169er and descend to angels 8." "Ajax, this is Waverunner 212, wilco." "Break." " Slider, you ready to head for home?" " I'm right behind you, Karma." "Whoa, I got a contact." "One-seven-five." "Five miles closing, opposite course, low." "Waverunner 212, you are authorised to intercept." "Tallyho." "Slider, second bogey's on the scope." "He's on our 6." "We're sandwiched." "Get this guy off me." "Split." "Break right." "He's got a lock." "I'm coming in behind you." " We got a lock." " What?" " We've got tone." "Take the shot." " What?" "Squash this guy, Karma." "Get him off me." "Enemy fire." "Missile inbound." "We're too close." " Our wing's on fire!" " Eject, eject, eject!" "Tensions remained high in the Gulf today after an American F- 14 went down in the no-fly zone last night." "Iraqis are claiming an aerial victory." "The Defence Department confirmed the loss of a jet, but has made no official statement regarding what" " Working a little late, ensign?" " Yes, sir." "Well, why don't you call it a night?" "Whatever it is can wait till morning." "I'll walk you to your car." "Thank you, sir." "I'm just gonna wait a little longer here." "Heard from Rabb and MacKenzie yet?" "They should be aboard the Coral Sea within the hour, sir." "And Lieutenant Roberts?" "I haven't heard from Lieutenant Roberts, and it's not like him not to call." "Well, let's see." "He left Andrews at 1400 our time, probably arrived at Twentynine Palms, 1530 Pacific, been taking depositions for several hours." " I'm sure he'll call soon." " I hope so, sir." "I don't mean to act like..." "Pregnant wife worried about her husband?" "It's not very Navy-like of me, sir." "Ensign, the uniform is made to fit a person." "Admiral, I don't know what's come over me." " Hormones." " Sir?" "You see this?" "A VC tried to cut my head off with a machete." "Thirty-nine stitches." "I didn't even know I was bleeding for about two days." "But, now, this...was an electric can opener." "Knocked me cold for six hours." "Compliments of my ex-wife in her second trimester." "So, what are you telling me, that I should stay away from small appliances?" "No, what I'm saying is, is that what you're feeling is normal and I understand." "I also know that you need your rest and you need to eat properly." "I'm going to Calisto's for a late dinner." "Why don't you join me?" "I hate eating alone." " You do, sir?" " Not really." "We'll go over that inspector general's report, make it a business meal." "Thank you, admiral, but I told Bud that I'd wait to hear from him." "Harriet, it could be after midnight before he gets a chance to call you." "Tell you what, once we get to the restaurant," "I'll call the base, see if I can reach him." " You can do that, sir?" " Admiral's privilege." "You know, Calisto's is famous for their seafood." "Do you like calamari?" "Well, I like it if they make it with a mint sauce, sir." "Cravings?" "I'm afraid so, sir." "Try not to make me regret this, ensign." "Rabb." "Welcome aboard." "Follow me." "I usually consider it a bad sign when I see JAGs coming aboard." "But under the circumstances, I'm glad you're here." "International incidents require the utmost diplomacy." "I might need some professional legal advice." "Well, sir, technically we're here to conduct a JAGMAN investigation into the altercation which resulted in the lost Tomcat." "However, the major and I would be more than willing to aid in any legal matters that might arise while we're aboard." "That's good, because if this thing turns ugly and forces us into a war, it's always nice to have a couple of lawyers around to blame." " Yes, ma'am." " We're at Condition Three here." "The CAG and I need the crew focused on the job at hand, so I'd appreciate wrapping up this investigation ASAP." " Yes, sir." " Yes, sir." "You can report your findings to the CAG." " Carry on." " Okay." "Commander Rabb." " You found your father." " That's right." "Did you know him, sir?" "We flew a couple of wild ones together." " You half the pilot he was?" " I'd like to think so." "Maybe we'll see about that." " Yes, sir." " The ATO will get your quarters." " Thank you, sir." " Thank you." "We were patrolling the no-fly zone." "It was a typical flight, if there is such a thing." "It's..." "It's basically four hours of boring holes in the sky." "No contact, no nothing." " So when did you first spot the MiG?" " I didn't." "Bear picked the first one up on his radar." "Bear?" "That's your RIO, Lieutenant Brian Hass?" "That's right." "He must have been crawling on his belly." "He came out of nowhere." "Popped up, made a gun-run at us, and ran for home." "What do you suppose provoked him into attacking?" "There was no provocation, major." "That's just it." "It's a no-fly zone." "The Iraqis came in looking for a fight." "First one was a decoy so his buddy could sneak in behind us." "The second MiG got right on Slider's tail." "We flew in behind him." "I got lock and tone, but Karma didn't fire, ma'am." "Well, why not?" "I don't know, major." "I kept yelling at him to take the shot." "But he kept saying, "What?" "What?" Like he didn't hear me, ma'am." "Next thing I know, he's going kamikaze, flying straight at the MiG like he's gonna ram him." "I'm screaming for Karma to take this guy out." "Suddenly the MiG fires, so I punch off flares and chaff and break hard." "Next thing I know, I've got this bucking-bronco turbulence and I see this explosion in the mirror." "Figured it was the missile." "It was Karma going down in a ball of fire." "Karma's yelling, "Eject, eject!" There's smoke in the canopy." "I reach up, grab the handles, but my eyes are closed." "Next thing I know, I'm screaming into my mask and feeling ice-cold air on my face." "One thing I don't understand." "You had a lock on the MiG." " Why didn't you fire?" " I couldn't." "What, you had a missile malfunction?" "Why not go for the cannons?" "That's a good question, commander." "I don't have an answer." "Look, you've been in combat." "You know how fast things happen." "I saw Slider was in trouble." "I couldn't fire, but I knew I had to get the MiG off his tail." "And all I could think to do was to get in between him and the enemy." "I lit up the afterburners and I popped up right in front of him." " That's damn heroic flying." " It was damn stupid, is more like it." "I misjudged the closure rate." "I sheared off my wingtip in the collision, went into a spin, spraying fuel, which ignited." "We were a giant tumbling fireball." "You must have had a guardian angel looking over your shoulder that night." "Yeah." "Something like that." "So far, everyone's statements corroborate." "You don't agree." " What?" " I know that look." " What look?" " That "I don't agree" look." "Something with Commander Rice's statement isn't sitting right." "I wanna talk to his plane captain about the condition of his Tomcat." "What did you say to Commander Rice?" " Excuse me, sir?" " Your investigation." "What are you charging him with?" "We've just begun the interviews, CAG." "We're not charging him with anything." "Then why did Lieutenant Commander Rice resign his commission?" " Oh, you hungry, sir?" " I was." " I'm eating for two now." " Two what?" "Let me fix you something to eat, sir." "It's the least I can do after you bought me dinner last night." "You know, ensign, I ate bugs and toads in the jungle and I still wouldn't have" " What is that smell?" " Sardines maybe?" "Sir, breakfast is the most important meal of the day." "Let's face it, men just don't have the stomach for pregnancy." "Yeah." "Side number 212 was my plane, sir." "I got my name put on her just last Thursday." "Well, congratulations, Petty Officer Moses." "That's quite an honour for a plane captain." "Yes, it is, sir." "I take as much pride in keeping planes in the air as the pilots do in flying them, sir." "So when I say that plane was working properly before she left, you've got my word on it, commander." "Then how do you account for the fact that Commander Rice was unable to fire his missiles?" "I can't, sir." "If the commander said he couldn't fire, then he couldn't fire." "All I know is that everything was working when she left the deck." "That plane was used in a missile exercise the day before and she performed flawlessly, commander." "Thanks, Moses." "And I hope you get your name on a new plane soon." "Me too, sir." "Stand by." "Get her out of here." "Yes?" " CAG showed me your resignation." " And I guess you wanna know why." "I don't see as I have much choice." "Look, from what I've determined so far, you've done nothing to warrant a resignation." "Unless you haven't told me everything that happened that night." "Well, I tried." "But I'm not sure I know myself." "I just talked to Petty Officer Moses." "He tells me that your aircraft was in excellent condition." "Did one of your missiles misfire?" "No." "I didn't fire." "Why not?" "I was given an order not to." "Somebody ordered you not to fire?" "GoGo and Slider were both yelling at me to take the shot." "But I heard another voice telling me not to." "There's nothing in the radio transcription." "No one has even mentioned this." "I don't think they heard it." "Look, I know how that sounds." "That's why I haven't said anything sooner." "But I kept trying to tell myself that it was fatigue or my ears popping or misinterpretation." "Hell, maybe I'm going crazy." "But I know what I heard." "It was an order." "It was very clear and very insistent that I not fire." " We got a lock." " What?" " We've got tone." "Take the shot." " What?" "Squash this guy, Karma." "Get him off me." "Enemy fire." "Missile inbound." "I've played it every which way and I still can't hear anything." "Rewind it a bit." "There." "I'm coming in behind you." " We got a lock." " What?" " We've got tone." " Stop." "You hear that?" "His RIO says she has a lock." "He responds by saying...?" " "What?" - "What?"" "Lieutenant Binder said that Karma was acting as if he couldn't hear her." "He was on a hot mike." "He could hear every breath she took." " He responded to everything else." " Yeah, except to, "Take the shot."" "Maybe he heard something else the recorder didn't pick up." "What?" "Like another radio transmission?" "You know, Tomcats broadcast on a uhf frequency." "If the Iraqis had an analyser on one of their AWACS aircrafts, they could access our frequency, not only to the point of listening in, but to transmit as well." "If a pilot heard an order not to shoot at a critical moment and he hesitated, it would be the difference between surviving a dogfight and not." "But even so, any radio transmission would still have been recorded, unless..." "Unless they've developed a technology that can beam a transmission right into someone's brain." "I'm gonna beam something into your brain." "You're starting to sound like Bud." "Let's send this to Washington, have the audio experts back in Suitland analyse it." "Maybe they can find something we can't." "I'll put in a call into Webb." "If they've developed a new technology, he may have the inside track." "Sir." "Dr. Sanders?" " You caught me." " Haven't you heard?" "The surgeon general says those things will kill you." "Well, I only smoke one a week for medicinal purposes." "Helps get the taste of jet fuel out of my mouth." "I'm Harm Rabb, JAG Corps." "I wonder if I might ask you a few questions." "Shoot." "I'm investigating the Iraqi-Commander Rice incident." "I..." "I was wondering if there's anything abnormal in the commander's medical background." " What exactly are you looking for?" " Well, the..." "The commander reports hearing a voice." "A voice?" "He hasn't come to me complaining about hearing things, if that's where you're going." "Is the commander on any kind of medication?" "Undergoing treatment?" "Drugs of any kind?" "Commander Rice is in good health." "I gave him a complete physical after the mishap." " What about his mental condition?" " He was a little shook up." "Who wouldn't be?" "You've been in the cockpit, commander." "You know better than most that Navy pilots operating off a carrier are subjected to more physical and mental stress than any other aviator in the world." "The stress of night-carrier landings in bad weather..." "Enough to kill most people." "Or make them hear voices?" "I'm not a psychiatrist." "But it is my medical opinion that Commander Rice is not crazy." "We all hear voices inside our head, commander." "It's called our conscience." "That's an interesting theory, but the Iraqis don't have any AWACS." " Actually, CAG, I checked with DOD" " I'll qualify that." "The Iraqis don't have any AWACS flying this week." "They're supposed to have a couple of old A-50 Mainstays, one of which is being used for parts, and the other one flies once a month." "And when it does, we know all about it." "And there were no AWACS in the air the night of the incident?" "Just ours." "Could we have sent that order accidentally?" "Our AWACS monitor a number of different radio transmissions at once and send information to numerous ships in the carrier battle group." "What if they somehow sent the wrong transmission to the wrong place?" "It wouldn't be the first time there was a foul-up." "It doesn't work that way." "The commander knows that as well as I do." "CAG, all I really know right now is that Commander Rice received an order not to shoot, and I'll be damned if I can figure out why." "Well, that's where you're wrong, Rabb." "Because the only one who is gonna be damned by your investigation is Commander Rice." "All we're trying to do here is find out the truth." "And what makes you think you haven't, major?" "Do you think me or my pilots are lying to you?" " That this is some sort of a cover-up?" " No, sir." "But if everyone is telling the truth, why did Karma resign?" "Ask him." " How you doing, sir?" " I'm okay, Bear." "Thanks." "Scuttlebutt says you're resigning, sir." "You know what they say about scuttlebutt." "Yeah, it's usually true." "You got something to say, Slider?" "No." "I let my actions speak for me, sir." "And what's that supposed to mean?" "If you've got something to say, spit it out, man-to-man." "You forget about the gold oak leaves here." "Now, see, obviously you forgot I saved your ass up there." "You almost got us killed, along with your RIO." "Yeah, but I didn't." "No, you didn't, not this time." "This time you got lucky." "You arrogant little..." " What's going on over there?" " Hey, hey, hey." " Hey, hey." "Take it easy." " Slider, go on." "What's going on?" "I don't know, ask the lieutenant here." "He's got all the answers." " Which one do you want?" " I'll take the cute, single one." "Kidding." "Lieutenant, the major will escort you to your stateroom." "How'd you know where to find me?" "GoGo says you've been coming here a lot since the incident." "Yeah, I didn't even know where the ship's chapel was until two days ago." "You know that the major and I are..." "We're here to help you in any way that we can." "We all make mistakes." "If your resignation has anything" "I didn't make a mistake." "That's just it." "That's what makes this so difficult." "I'm not following you." "I did the right thing." "I did what I was told." "Look, commander, we have found no evidence substantiating your claim of another radio transmission." "Well, you won't." "It wasn't on my radio." "It was in my head." "And he told me not to fire." " Who told you not to fire?" " I don't know." "I think maybe it was God." "Who in the hell took my dinner?" "Admiral..." "That was me, sir." "You ate my risotto?" " No, sir." " Well, where is it?" "I tossed it, sir." " You tossed my risotto?" " Yes, sir, in the garbage." "Sir, there were things growing in that fridge." "Ensign, there was nothing growing in my risotto." "I'm sorry, sir." "I couldn't help myself." "I just had to clean out that refrigerator." "I think I'm nesting." "There's no nesting in JAG ops." "There also is no crying." "I'm sorry, sir." "Stop crying, ensign." "That is an order." "Please." " I'm trying to, sir, I'm trying." " Sims, my office." "Now." "Yes, sir." " God told him not to fire?" " That's what Commander Rice said." "Did he say why?" " The commander?" " God." "I don't know, Mac." "He's not talking to me." "No, he's given up on you." "Push, push, push." "Come on." "Wouldn't be the first time hearing strange voices was used as a criminal defence." "True, but didn't you once tell Bud that you thought you heard your father's voice guide you through a landing?" "This isn't about me, major." "All right, so you don't believe in guardian angels?" "Well, certainly not guardian angels who tell fighter pilots not to fire." "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Harm, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." "Thank you, Major Hamlet." "It's not like we can subpoena God to give us a statement anyway, is it?" "Did you order Commander Rice not to fire?" "Harm?" " Remember, God, you're under oath." " Harm." "Thank you." "I think it's time we sought the advice of a higher power." " What, the admiral?" " Higher." "You know, I knew a man who made pornographic films until one day God told him that it was time to stop." "He's doing missionary work in New Guinea now." "You knew this man before or after God spoke to him, Padre?" "So in your opinion, the hand of God can just...reach out and touch somebody?" "Most definitely." "You don't think that when I was a kid playing war in my backyard with my buddies," "I stood up and said, "I wanna be the chaplain."" "It doesn't work that way." "Most clergymen and women that I know experienced some sort of calling." "Well, we're not talking about a calling." "Commander Rice is convinced he heard something tell him not to shoot." "Why is that so hard to believe, commander?" "It's my job." "And I would hate to believe that Commander Rice is using the voice of God as an excuse to not perform his duty." "Commander Rice is not like that." "With all due respect, sir, how would you know?" "Until the other day, Commander Rice didn't know where the chapel was." "That's right." "But I've been playing cards with this man since the beginning of the cruise." "And it's been my experience that you can learn as much about a man in a poker game as you can in a confessional." "So if Commander Rice said that he heard a voice telling him not to shoot down that enemy, I believe him." "Now, whether that was the voice of God, that's between Commander Rice and the man upstairs." "Unless the man upstairs is a woman, Padre." "Amen to that, major." " I always wanted my name on a plane." " Me too." "I think you should reconsider your resignation, commander." "I have, a thousand times." "Believe me, it's the hardest decision I've ever made in my entire life." "It was not a rash decision." "Well, I didn't mean to imply that it was." " Why'd you stop flying, Rabb?" " Night blindness." "You ever wonder why that happened?" "I don't think it happened for a reason." "I think it just happened." "Well, what if it happened for a reason that was beyond your understanding?" "I mean, you've helped a lot of people as a lawyer, right?" "I'd like to think so, yeah." "Well, then perhaps that's what you were supposed to do." "Maybe you got night blindness and became a lawyer so you could, I don't know, help people like me." "I mean, what if there's a grand scheme that we're only occasionally privy to now and then, and this is God's way of telling us he's got other plans for our lives?" " That scares you?" " Oh, hell, yeah." "Yeah." "I live in a world governed by the laws of physics, okay?" "G-force, centripetal acceleration, Bernoulli's principle, these are my Ten Commandments." "There's no room for God or angels or anything like that." "I think there's a lot of people here who would disagree with you." "Why isn't this happening to them?" "I don't talk to God." "Why is God talking to me?" "I don't wanna stop flying." "It's what I live for." "But I don't ever wanna hear that voice again." "How can I help you, commander?" "I'd like to get Karma back in the air, sir." "Why on Earth would you wanna do that?" "He's already tendered his resignation." "Well, sir, I believe his resignation was tendered prematurely." "Since when do you speak for Commander Rice?" " I don't, sir." " Karma is damn good." "He's one of the best." "And I hate losing pilots, whatever the reason." "But when a driver decides to quit, there's nothing you or I can do about it, commander." "The last thing I want is somebody up there who's not totally committed to what he's doing." "I had a pilot once who swore Ann-Margret used to dance on his wings." " What did you do, sir?" " Nothing." "I don't care if he sees a chorus line of Rockettes, as long as he gets the job done." "CAG..." "I think the commander is scared, sir." "Hell, commander, we all get scared." "Fear helps a pilot focus on the important things, the things that can kill you." "Yes, sir, that's true, but at the moment, my findings are inconclusive." "I'd like him to fly a similar mission." "This wouldn't be a ploy to get yourself up in one of my planes, would it, commander?" "No, sir." "However, it would be advantageous for me to be in the air at the same time, CAG." "Okay, Rabb, you've got one hour in the air." "But I want Slider in your back seat." "The last thing I want right now is to lose another plane." "You won't regret this, sir." "Thank you." "You'd better hope not." "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" "No." "Not at all, commander." "I was just going to the wardroom." " You know where to find me." " Thank you." "Okay." "I spoke to the CAG." "He's agreed to let us re-fly your last mission." "Why would I wanna do that?" "You told me you live to fly, commander." "I'm giving you the opportunity to get that back." "Maybe I don't want it back." "Now, I don't believe that for a minute." "I'm a pilot, remember, commander?" "I know what it means to fly, and I have yet to meet a driver who would trade that feeling for anything on this Earth." "What about things not of this Earth?" "There's a logical explanation for what happened up there." "And if there isn't?" "How'd you get your call sign, Karma, anyway?" "I survived a couple of real close calls as a young pilot, and they used to say the only thing that saved me was good karma." "Maybe they were right." "Look at it this way." "Flying a Tomcat is probably one of the most dangerous jobs on this Earth." "Who needs a higher power more than the men who drive them?" "Hell, it may be the reason you're here talking to me right now." "And if that voice you heard was God, he told you not to fire." "He didn't tell you not to fly." "Now, you must be something else in the courtroom." "I hold my own." "Harm." "Make sure you're home before the streetlights come on." "Well, I'll do my best, Mom." "Are you ready, Rabb?" " Always, Rice." "You?" " Let's do it." "Ajax, this is Waverunner 204." "Please say again." "Ajax, I did not hear that last transmission." " Please repeat." " Karma, who are you talking to?" "I don't know, I'm getting a garbled signal from the AWACS." "I don't hear anything." "Waverunner 204, this is 209." "You're drifting off course." "According to our flight plan, we should be coming to a heading of 158." "Forget the flight plan, Rabb." "We've got contacts." "What's he talking about?" "Waverunner 204, this is Waverunner 209." "We have nothing on our radar." "Break." " They're using a cloaking device." " Say again?" "I got three coming in fast." "Twelve o'clock, high." " They're Klingons." " Klingons?" "We've been picking up some strange radio transmissions, and they're way off course, sir." "They're up on two." "This is Panther Strike calling Waverunner 204." " You boys lost up there?" " Bear, strip your mask." "Waverunner 204, acknowledge." "Panther Strike, this is Waverunner 209, 204 is in trouble." " Can you get a visual?" " Affirmative." "We're heading in for a closer look." "Karma, Bear, can you hear me?" "Can you hear me?" "Karma, Bear, acknowledge." "They can't hear you." "Their masks are off." "It looks like they're not conscious." "Why would they both take their masks off?" "They must have had a bad batch of oxygen." "Contaminated O2 explains the voice Karma thought he heard telling him not to shoot." "It must have been caused by oxygen deprivation." "One of the symptoms of anoxia is hallucinations." "Does this mean our O2 is bad as well?" "I don't think so." "But if you see Ann-Margret dancing on the wing, start screaming." "What?" "Panther Strike, this is Waverunner 209." "Karma and Bear have taken their masks off." "Suspect bad oxygen." "Repeat, O2 system has malfunctioned." "This is the CAG." "Suspend all flight operations until further notice." "We might have a contaminated oxygen plant." "Get Doc Sanders up here ASAP." "I want somebody down there inspecting that equipment yesterday." "Sir, what if Harm's oxygen was contaminated?" "Don't worry, major." "If the commander's oxygen is bad, he can fly below 10,000 feet." "But what about Karma and Bear, sir?" "Come on, Karma, wake up." "Bear." "Listen to me, Bear." "How are you feeling, Rabb?" " I'm fine, sir." " Slider?" "Yeah, I'm good, CAG, but Karma and Bear still aren't responding." " Keep trying." " You'd better take a look at this, CAG." "What's wrong, sir?" "Their current course will put them in Iraqi airspace in about 20 minutes." "How long can they fly before they run into resistance?" "If we spooked them the other day, they may leave us alone." "If we ticked them off, they may be in the air, looking for another fight." " Well, we have nothing on radar." " Just like the other day." "CAG, we got trouble." "Bear's starting to go into convulsions." "He's experiencing the secondary stages of severe anoxia." "Their brains are being starved for oxygen." "Everyone reacts differently, but usually the hallucinations come first, then lack of consciousness, convulsions and eventually death." " What's your fuel state, Rabb?" " Eleven hundred pounds, sir." "In 20 minutes, Karma's plane runs out of fuel and starts to descend." "Once he drops below 10,000 feet, they should regain consciousness, which may give them enough time to punch out." " If the Iraqis don't shoot." " Rabb can't run interference." "Isn't there a way to disengage the autopilot?" "There's a thought." "Why don't we eject them?" "But until they start making F-14s with remote controls, we're SOL." "Major, perhaps it would be more useful if you followed up on the contaminated oxygen." " Aye, aye, sir." " Damn JAGs." " She was only trying to be helpful." " I know." "That's just it." "She may be onto something." "How could the oxygen supply become contaminated?" "The carrier's O2 plant compresses ambient air into liquid oxygen." "It's tested daily because if an O-ring in the compressor ruptures, the oxygen will become contaminated with oil." "Here's your culprit, major." "A $40 million aircraft compromised by a 50-cent O-ring." " Major MacKenzie?" " Sir, we found the problem." " It's a faulty O-ring in the compressor." " Have it replaced, Moses." "Now, about your idea to disengage the autopilot" " I was out of line." "I apologise." " That's beside the point, major." "Meet me in the ready room." "Have Communication put a call through to Grumman Northrop." "I need you to get an engineer on the horn who knows this plane inside out." " Me, sir?" " It was your idea, major." "Now find a way to make it work." "Aye, aye, sir." "Sir, I've got Edmund Carter on the line, a programmer for the F-14 system." "Put him on the speaker." "Mr. Carter, you're on with Captain Ward." " Captain?" " This is the deal, Carter." "I've got a Tomcat stuck on automatic pilot with an unconscious pilot and RIO headed into hostile territory." "How do we disengage?" "The autopilot uses the computer navigation system to make hundreds of course corrections a second, based on information it receives from sensors located throughout the plane." "So if those sensors detect a significant change, the autopilot will disengage." "What kind of changes are we talking about?" " Well, air speed, for one." " Well, we can't slow them down." "All right, there are wing-level sensors which will disengage if they sense a change in an angle over 45 degrees." "So if we can get the plane's wings up over a 45-degree angle, the autopilot will disengage?" " That's right." " Thank you." " The plane will go into a spiral." " That doesn't sound good." "That's all we've got." "If we can get them down below 10,000 feet, they should regain consciousness and have time to pull up or punch out." "Well, how can you get the wings past 45 degrees?" "Bernoulli's principle." "Commander Rabb can lift Karma's wing up with his own wing." "They don't even have to touch." "The change in air pressure caused by Rabb's wing will lift Karma's wing up." "Once the computer senses they're over 45 degrees, the autopilot will disengage." "What if the wings do touch?" "Then everybody has a bad day." " We only have one problem." " What's that?" " Rabb." " The commander's a good pilot." "That's the problem, major." "You gotta be a hell of a lot better than good to pull this thing off." "You want me to what?" "In order to disengage the autopilot, you need to tip their wing up past 45 degrees." "Whose brilliant idea is this?" "Actually, it began with a suggestion from Major MacKenzie." "I might have known." "The engineers have confirmed it." "It works on paper." "Unfortunately, I'm not flying a paper airplane, CAG." "The autopilot will be fighting me all the way." "We have no alternative." "If it doesn't work, you'll have to turn around and come home." "All right." "I'll give it a try." "You're doing good, Rabb." "Easy does it." " How's my air speed?" " We're matching them at 453 knots." " All right, I'm in position." " What are you waiting for?" "Lift his wing and let's get this over with." "Aye, aye, sir." "Here goes nothing." "Easy, girl." "Easy." "What's going on, commander?" "Rabb?" "With all due respect, sir, I'm a little busy right now." " I'll let you know when it's over." " Flying lawyers." "We're approaching 45 degrees." "Just a little further." " We're past 45 degrees." " Come on." " It worked." "Karma's gone into a dive." " I'm going after him." " Come on, Karma." "Wake up." " We're passing through angels 20." "Bear?" "Wake up, Bear." " Karma." " Angels 15." " Karma, pull up." " They've got eight seconds." "Angels 10." "We gotta pull out." "Karma, pull up." "Pull up." "He's climbing." "He's climbing." " Karma." "Karma." " Yeah?" " Are you okay, Karma?" " I think my head's gonna explode." " What happened?" " You had a bad batch of oxygen." "You blacked out." "We managed to disengage the autopilot." " How'd you do that?" " It's a long story." "Let's go home." "Commander Rabb, that was some pretty damn impressive flying for a lawyer." " Thanks, CAG." " Where's Bear?" " He's gone to Sickbay." " I'm headed over there." "You were right." "It was bad oxygen from a ruptured O-ring." "Fortunately, Commander Rabb and Slider's oxygen was filled before it happened." "What about the first time?" "Why was I the only one affected if GoGo and I were breathing off the same bottle?" "The oxygen you were breathing the night of the incident was clean." "Then I wasn't hallucinating when I heard the voice." "Not from anoxia." "But if it was God, I still don't understand why he told me not to fire." "Well, I guess it just wasn't your enemies' day to die." "Just like today wasn't yours." "Thank you."