Changing Lanes, Chapter 23

[Drewbie]

Chapter 23: Unseen Eyes

 

Enjoy.

 

 

Poor Jansen and Keith..

 

I guess Felicia and The General won't get along at all and the gen won't survive

 

Edited January 20, 2009 by Drewbie

[hh5]

nice wet chapter

 

I guess the pastor had to officially bring closure that Brandon and Chase are married.

Eric sure did take responsibility to his two moms and the safety of all the guest.

 

Really funny for Jansen and Keith to get the wrath of Tequila fury bequeath to them.

 

I guess Eric could use the time to let out all his stress!!

 

The question is drying him out and keeping his dry.

Now that be a cliff hanger - Will Eric Change lanes from his Tequila run and will he approach his BI side?

But I presume that change of lanes is more than just eric.

 

Will Jen and Keith throw Eric into the volcano?

So that the sacrific will appease the volcano GOD to let everybody leave after the wedding festivities.

 

Also curious of what the Brandon and Chase be like Married and how will they carry on that would be different than being a couple.

[Benji]

Humm, deceit is not new for our old friend the Scar, I wonder if Felicia has an inkling to what the cook is cooking up. Wilhelm is more resourceful than ever, I also wonder if he has been keeping an eye on the Scar's movements. I doubt Felicia will carry out Scars orders on eliminating the General and those rescued, instead either out of respect or perhaps being saved by the General. Or could it be she has them parachute towards a certain volcano??

 

Either way, I foresee the mission to be a success for both sides.

 

Eric does tend do wild things with the goats favorite drink, perhaps Jansen will help him get thru the bi-side, afterall!!

[TalonRider]

"Welcome to Hell, and may God have mercy on your souls.

[Former Member]

"Welcome to Hell, and may God have mercy on your souls." By far, the funniest statement made.

 

I'm looking for a double cross myself. Felicia will take out the cook and not the General.

 

I'm getting the feeling that Wilhelm will end up siding with, or supporting the General in the end. I think the General has impressed him. But, is that enough for him to change his loyalties?

[MikeL]

Very good chapter, Cliff. I expect things to heat up on the General's mission in the next chapter; a lot of skulduggery is at work. I also expect things to heat up in one or more bedrooms.

 

Now that the volcano has let off some steam, perhaps all the talk about cliffhangers will abate somewhat. Chapter 24 could easily be free of cliffhangers. It all depends on our esteemed goat.

[EMoe57]

I have a rule: whomsoever tequilas the Eric gets to deal with the results.

 

My favorite line in the chapter!

[TalonRider]

Very good chapter, Cliff. I expect things to heat up on the General's mission in the next chapter; a lot of skulduggery is at work. I also expect things to heat up in one or more bedrooms.

Knowing what happened the last two times that Eric had tequila, there is a good chance he'll wind up in a bed.

[C James]

"Nice wet chapter"

 

I enjoyed writing the part where Helen informs Jansen and Keith what they have done: Tequilad the Eric.

 

So, we have an erupting volcano, a tequilad Eric... what could possibly go wrong? Will Jansen and Keith decide to throw Eric in the volcano, or will they decide to throw themselves in instead?

 

Okay, any guesses what the mercenary's real mission is? There are clues to it in the chapters. I'll give a hint; it's The Scar who tells use what we need to know to figure out exactly what he's after, though a little technical knowledge might be needed.

 

Any guesses as to how the plotlines (Eric's and The General's) come back together?

 

Thanks!!!

CJ

[rknapp]

"Nice wet chapter"

 

I enjoyed writing the part where Helen informs Jansen and Keith what they have done: Tequilad the Eric.

 

So, we have an erupting volcano, a tequilad Eric... what could possibly go wrong? Will Jansen and Keith decide to throw Eric in the volcano, or will they decide to throw themselves in instead?

 

Okay, any guesses what the mercenary's real mission is? There are clues to it in the chapters. I'll give a hint; it's The Scar who tells use what we need to know to figure out exactly what he's after, though a little technical knowledge might be needed.

 

Any guesses as to how the plotlines (Eric's and The General's) come back together?

 

Thanks!!!

CJ

I tequila'd an Eric once... note to self -- never again!

[Benji]

Hahahah!!! Waking up the next morning was a bit rough eh!!??

[wildone]

I have a rule: whomsoever tequilas the Eric gets to deal with the results.

My favorite line in the chapter!

 

Definitely my favourite line too .

 

Too bad that Helen didn't have this rule back in San Fransisco when Cody tequilad the Eric

[C James]

My favorite line in the chapter!

 

 

Definitely my favourite line too .

 

Too bad that Helen didn't have this rule back in San Fransisco when Cody tequilad the Eric

 

Well, I *did* offer to let that San Francisco encounter continue, and have Cody join Instinct on tour as he and Eric get into a relationship. But, a certain Shadowyness declined. Cody would have had such fun with Eric... he'd have even gotten to fly on a private jet in chapter 37 of LTMP.

 

CJ

[TalonRider]

Had Steve agreed to that, what would it have done to his story line? For one thing, we probably wouldn't have had the cliffhanger ending we did.

[C James]

Had Steve agreed to that, what would it have done to his story line? For one thing, we probably wouldn't have had the cliffhanger ending we did.

 

Well, Dreams and Clipped Wings would have been somewhat affected, due to the loss of its central protagonist. But, you are quite right, by having Cody enter the LTMP world, it would have saved us, and Cody, from the dizzying, terrifying cliffhangers of DnCW.

 

Thank you Jan!

[TalonRider]

You're welcome, your most exulted one.

[Bondwriter]

Well, Dreams and Clipped Wings would have been somewhat affected, due to the loss of its central protagonist. But, you are quite right, by having Cody enter the LTMP world, it would have saved us, and Cody, from the dizzying, terrifying cliffhangers of DnCW.

Between Scylla and Charybdis...

[C James]

The next chapter title hasn't been released yet, so perhaps I'd best not mention that its "Confrontations."

I'd certainly better not mention that the chapter after it, 25, is titled "Satan's Own Thunder".

 

[wildone]

Well since were a couple of days out, I might as well wager my guess, or the part that I figured out so far.

 

Flight one which contains the Lemons, the laptops, the garage door openers, the corpses, seven pallets and one pilot that will not land, unless he is trying to mimic the Miracle on the Hudson flight .

 

I believe this flight is a total diversion for the other two planes. It's goal is to fly low ahead of the other two flights and by using the laptops and garage door openers will jam the Iranian radar. This will enable the other two flights to sneak into Iran undetected.

 

I also believe that the chemical jars are on this flight.

 

Once the flight jams the radar and the two flights are on the ground (I believe that Flight Two will have the full fuel bladders and will refill Flight Three while the operation is ongoing on the ground. CJ made no indication that the Herc's had capability or Flight Two have a refueling rod installed, so I doubt their will be a mid air refueling. This would mean that Flight Two will stay in Iran after transferring the fuel to Flight Three when they land.

 

Now back to Flight One, after it has successfully jammed the Iranian radar, at the last minute, the jamming will stop. This will probably alert the Iranians, and the US in the Persian Gulf. The inexperienced pilots job is to crash the plane into the Persian Gulf, where the boat of fishermen that The Scar hired will pick him up. The crash will cause the mayonnaise jars to break, combining the chemicals with the salt water, creating a toxic cloud, but not one that will harm anyone. Second, the lemons will scatter in the water and float. This will make anyone who sees the plane wreck from the water or the air, combined with the chemicals, that some kind of major chemical spill has occurred. I believe the lemons were chosen due to the fact that they will float, and their bright yellow colour which could be mistaken for sulfur or maybe another chemical.

 

Finally when anyone does approach the plane, they will find 3 bodies that everyone will assume were the pilot and crew of the flight. Remember the real pilot has already escaped on the fishing boat.

 

Flight three, before landing will open the cargo hold and begin dropping the grenades in mayonnaise jars. They do not need to worry about the timing of the grenades as they won't be live until the jar hits the ground and breaks, thus starting the fuse. By doing a sweep of the area, being a chemical storage site, the Iranians will panic with all the grenades going off and abandon the area leaving the attack force to go in. Also the attack force will have the additional grenades on their bodies for use as needed.

 

There is still a couple of things that I don't have a clue about. What is the mystery seventh pallet on Flight One? Obviously something that The Scar has put on the flight, but what it contains and how it helps his objectives (which we still don't know) is the mystery.

 

I believe Felicia will actually help the General rescue his son, but will also be aware of the cooks and Wilhelms deceit, and will take care of that before they hit the ground and have a chance to use the satellite phones.

 

Anyone else wanna guess ?

[Benji]

Nah, that sounds good to me me Steve, I kinda of guessed a few things too, but nicely wrapped the mystery of the lemons!!

[C James]

GREAT post, Wildone!!!

 

Okay, most of that I cannot comment on, for fear of irking our anti-spoiler Echidna.

 

I can address the refueling, though. The C-130 does have that capability in military service. However, the ones they are using would most likly have the refueling portal (located atop the fuselage) welded shut. It would be easy enough to make it serviceable, but the there are two very large constraints for the General's team; one is training. Only the General would likely have the experience at in-flight refueling, and he might not be qualified at it in the C-130. In flight refueling takes an enormous amount of skill.

 

It takes a great deal of skill, plus a great deal of specialized equipment, on behalf of the tanker aircraft. They'd need a refeuling probe, control mounts, special fuel pumps, and a host of other gear. They'd also need highly trained crew.

 

So, while air-to-air refueling would be very useful on the mission, they are not set up to do it, and the General decided to eschew that option. What they are planning on (it's in the text, Graeme, so no spines!!) is landing Flight Two in Oman, right at the northern tip, near the straits of Hormuz, and Flight Three plans on joining them there on the ground to refuel.

 

In chapter 22, it said,

Geography and time dictated the sortie schedule: Flight One needed to reach its target half an hour before Flight Three launched its assault. Flight One had a longer journey, coupled with a slower airspeed, so Flight Three was scheduled to take off one and a half hours later. Flight Two was slated to launch an hour before Flight Three; loaded with fuel bladders, its mission was to land in a remote area of northern Oman, not far from the Straits of Hormuz, and act as a refuel point for Flight Three during the egress. The timing was critical; General Bradson wanted confirmation that Flight Two was on the ground and ready before Flight Three passed the point of no return

[wildone]

The next chapter title hasn't been released yet, so perhaps I'd best not mention that its "Confrontations."

I'd certainly better not mention that the chapter after it, 25, is titled "Satan's Own Thunder".

 

 

Is it just me but do you get a feeling the Steve (#1) is going to get a lot of undue attention in chapter 25?

 

[C James]

Hrmmm, depends. I might be accused of stealing his thunder...

 

Okay, I think I can address a couple of details from Wildone's analysis. These aren't spoilers on my part, because they are just discussions of technical facts, or things from the posted chapters.

 

Garage door openers: I am not aware of any method by which they could jam radar.

 

The laptops; only one is on Flight One. The other is on Flight Three.

 

CJ

[C James]

Chapter 24 was supposed to be posted Tuesday afternoon, but I'll be away all day and unable to post. Sorry.

(however, it's posted now, to avoid any delay).