(Hi, author here! Some quick notes before we kick off the fourth chapter of this series.
First, all characters are 18 and above wherever applicable. This series contains elements of futa and gay sex, incest, and several others. If that's not your thing, I totally understand - there are many, many stories here, some which may cater to your tastes better.
Second, on a personal note, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Mise. Again.
Lastly, thank you for the feedback - it's most welcome! Been a while, eh?)
In 1999, the fastest plane in the world was finally mothballed after years of faithful service. Built at an enormous cost for equally enormous aims, the SR-71 was the undefeated man-made ruler of heavenly speed.
But its time had come and gone at last. The government, forced by financial circumstance, decided to put their creations away to slumber in boneyards till they were needed again.
And so it came to pass that twenty of these magnificent aircraft were brought to the dry, hard-packed lands of Tucson, Arizona. A small crew made sure that every bolt, screw and panel was accounted for, and as day turned to night, they finished their tasks with mechanical precision. One day, they thought to each other, these planes might be wanted once more to serve the United States in a new role. Of course, none present actually looked forward to a day like that, but no one spoke of such seemingly unpatriotic thoughts.
What they didn't know then was that a week later, a group of soldiers - bearing papers with TOP SECRET emblazoned prominently on them - would take some of these planes with little protest from the boneyard's caretakers. None of the people present could accurately remember those who had carted the things away. The memory was vague in their minds, at best. The thought that they had been stolen never crossed their minds, and a strange apathy seemed to occur whenever the topic was brought up.
As for the jets, they had simply seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Until now.
*
It was a nail-bitingly bumpy ride from the offices of Project Scarlet Aurora to their operational airbase, and Doctor Lanschtein certainly did not enjoy every bit. But the speed was necessary for what he had in mind. As the car entered the bustling hangar, he took note of the organied chaos occurring around him. To the unobservant, it would seem to be a nightmare in motion. On one side, several crew members slid wafer-thin panels of clear material into a box while others danced around them with coils as thick as elephant trunks. On the other, an odd-looking machine caused the air to crackle in short bursts, only for the technician manning it to shake his head in disapproval.
He sourly looked at the spectacle before finally landing his eyes on the person responsible for this chaos. As he marched up to his target with determined annoyance, everyone in his way stopped and stepped back. They saw the all-too-familiar look in his eyes, and right now they wanted to have no part in the explosion about to commence.
"Doctor Aadil." Lanschtein stepped in front of the YELLOWSTONE subproject director. "Where are we with this?"
"Director Lanschtein! My apologies." Doctor Aadil wiped his thick hands and stood, his head bobbing out of habit as his heavy Pakistani accent peeked around the corners of his tongue. "We have been quite busy with-"
"Spare me the details, Doctor. Time is of the essence."
"Of course!" They began to pace the length of the aircraft as Doctor Aadil pointed at several areas in its frame. "We have already finished installing the external frame to the plane - we will have YELLOWSTONE up and running in no time. Captain Fairling is already being briefed on the specifics of the reconnaissance mission. Assuming the initial tests go well, this plane will be taking off in an hour."
Lanschtein nodded to himself. "I assume that YELLOWSTONE is acting normally?"
"Yes!" They walked over to the innards of the specialized camera system, its cords attached to the panels of clear material as technicians glanced at their readouts. "I have updated YELLOWSTONE's cognitive reinforcement pathways. The neural material is absolutely incapable of thinking of anything else besides the mission parameters. I can assure you that it will execute the plan flawlessly."
Their eyes met, and for a moment Lanschtein almost pitied his colleague. Thank god for dead Gray brains. "Good, because there's been a change in the mission parameters. We'll need to do a full scan of the globe, not just the United States. Can YELLOWSTONE handle and process that much data with the Kirilian lenses?"
"Th-The globe?" Aadil nervously licked his lips as he did the mental calculations. "I believe it is possible, but we will only have enough capacity to accomodate one pass. Then the plane will have to land, and I will have to replace all of the neural boards. If that is acceptable..."
"It will have to be." The sound of screeching tires got their attention. They both turned to look as General Armstrong stepped out of his car. "Is there anything else?"
"With respect, Doctor Lanschtein, I have looked over the file that you have sent, and I have some concerns. I believe that a conventional military response to contain the situation is no longer possible." Aadil looked at him with dread. "Please tell General Armstrong that I am recommending that we have BLUE THUNDER on standby."
Lanschtein could only stare at his colleague. "Are you mad, man?"
"The rate at which this pandemic is growing is neither additive nor multiplicative, but highly exponential, and I have no reason to believe that the human-analogous biochemicals these aliens are creating in such massive quantities have any countermeasures that we can prepare in time! If we do not contain it with certainty in the brief window that we have, we may not have a chance at a second shot."