Active Core
By Jason LaRose
"Red Dog to Blue Lagoon."
"Go ahead"
"Incoming spotted...two o'clock high...quick f***er...tracking.... Holy crap. Bearing negative 72.00937271118164
Longitude, 41.31430521197532 Latitude, Groton Naval Base. Wait a sec- Active core confirmed! I repeat ACTIVE
CORE CONFIRMED!”
"Roger that...moving to intercept. How long until impact?"
"17 Minutes until impact. TLAM-N class projectile... Bug out NOW!"
"Affirmative.... approaching Mach 2...arming missiles.... Inform Washington immediately."
"Acknowledged...God be with you Major."
The afterburners of the F/A-22 Raptor roared to life as the jet billowed through the skyline. With only minutes to
spare Major Joseph Rodrigues knew he had to be quick and the word from Washington had better come soon
before this got out of hand. If the public knew we were under nuclear attack the country would be sent into
immediate chaos. He closed his eyes and concentrated to remain at peak performance as he checked his fuel gage
and latched his facemask.
"So much for a routine patrol." He mumbled.
The missile was bound for Groton Naval Base, the premier nuclear sub manufacturer in the country. A strike here
could be crippling to the entire naval fleet and destroy the hope of producing quality subs for at least the next
decade. Not to mention the thousands of lives lost from the impact and fallout.
"Where did this thing come from?" He thought as he downloaded the projectiles coordinates to his HUD.
"Ten minutes until impact...Washington had better respond soon...this is going to be bad."
At that precise moment two blips appeared on his radar. The ping of the radio waves sent a shiver down the Majors
spine as he glanced through his eyepiece. Two more TLAM-N class nuclear warheads streaked across the sky at
blinding speed.
Major Rodrigues fingered the control board of his on board computer as he tracked the trajectory of the incoming
missiles.
"Goddamn it Red Dog!!! We have two more incoming!!! Scramble whatever you have right now!”
"Major, please maintain proper radio etiquette-"
"Screw etiquette!!! These streakier are hot full-blown warheads!!! If they make impact…Christ! I've got another one
on radar”
"Roger that." The radio operator responded with panic in his voice. Major Rodrigues could hear the rustling of
papers through his head set and senior officers screaming orders out to the terrified enlisted men.
Four warheads plummeted toward the earth at Mach 1. Each destined for a different target within the United States.
Groton, Langley, Chanute and Fort Worth. All major military targets with only four minutes to intercept, they had
better scramble more fighters now before the impacts began.
"Blue Lagoon...what is the news??? Has Langley and Chanute scrambled fighters? I am 3 minutes from interception
of the initial warhead."
"Um...Uh...Stand bye Major..." The radio whined before the operator snapped off the communication button.
"Blue Lagoon...connect me to Langley...now!!"
"Copy Red Dog."
"This is Langley Air Force base. Staff Sergeant Colon speaking."
"Sergeant!! Are you aware that you have a TLAM-N class projectile inbound on your position? You have 2 minutes
until impact!!! The projectile is hot and has an active core!
"Wha-What!" Major Rodrigues... is this some kind of joke?"
"Scramble your goddamn fighters now and hope for a miracle."
"Oh God...no...no. Copy that...tracking..."
Major glanced through the cockpit just in time to feel the air displacement of the screaming missile bolting past his
Raptor.
"Holy crap!!" he screamed as he banked hard to the left and slowed his cruising speed. Feeling the G forces, he
struggled to catch his breath and lower his heart rate. Major Rodrigues bore down on his target. He pulled hard on
the stick to increase his altitude, watching the missile jaggedly rock back and forth as it homed in on its intended
position. The sidewinders on his FA-22 raptor were armed and ready to fire. He punched in his military issued
combination on the HUD and listened for the sound of the bay doors clicking into place before flipping the Ready
switch on his flight stick.
The missile screeched erratically across the pale blue sky. Piercing clouds like a needle through thread. He tapped
a button on his control panel and began to track his target. One missile is all it would take. The fallout may kill some
but a detonation over the ocean would surely save many lives.
The familiar hum of a locked on target rang through the Majors ears. He squinted and fired. The plume of gray
smoke shot out from under his fuselage in a zigzag pattern as his sidewinder jetted to its target. Miss!! The heat
tracking system in the sidewinder had failed. The Major yanked on his fight stick and slammed the Raptor to full
throttle. The jet hesitated for a moment while the foils adjusted and gunned their way into the atmosphere.
"Impact in 3...2...1...Impact." He stated calmly through the microphone in his helmet.
The explosion lit up the already sun flooded sky as the cloud mushroom cloud was ejected into the troposphere. A
low toned thump bounded off the fuselage of his aircraft. The Major shook his head as he glanced down at the
destruction below.
"There must be so many dead." He thought as the hiss of his radio clicked on signaling there was something to be
said. A long pause emitted from the speakers. He could feel the astonishment before the operator even spoke.
"Groton is gone Major...1 minute until impact on the other three warheads...there is nothing we can do...they are all
dead...all...of...them."
"Roger that." He whispered as he clenched his eyes closed and leveled out his aircraft.
The terrifying sound of his radar sprinted to life once again. The pinging was overbearing as he looked at the
greenish screen on his HUD. There were too many to count. The sky was streaked with smoke as the projectiles
plumed across the sky.
"My god...Sergeant..." He was lost for words. The sky was darkened with the trails of burning fuel that darted across
the atmosphere. The United States had already launched its own attack. The warheads arced across the sky in all
directions.
"The apocalypse is here Sergeant." The radio went dead and echoed with a low hiss off severed communication.
Major Rodrigues stared at the coastline below. There was nothing but fire and destruction. From his current altitude
he could just barely make out large explosions of gas stations and airport fuel bunkers. The cities burned and the
surface seemed to melt under the extreme heat produced. The thunder of detonation after detonation of warheads
trudged through the open space as the Major imagined all the people being vaporized in an instant, not knowing that
their death was even coming.
There was no point in finding an airport to land at now, as far as he could tell the entire United States was no more.
Impacts continued as far as he could see for what seemed like an hour. The fire that rose into the sky looked liked
births of tiny stars across an ocean of space. He could only imagine what the country that launched this attack must
look like. Our nuclear supply is massive and the United States undoubtedly fired everything they had.
Major Rodrigues decreased his speed and lowered his altitude as his mind began to spin.
"It can't be...It just can- *BEEP BEEP BEEP." He looked at his display only to see his fuel gauge blinking 2%.
"God be with us."
By Jason LaRose
"Red Dog to Blue Lagoon."
"Go ahead"
"Incoming spotted...two o'clock high...quick f***er...tracking.... Holy crap. Bearing negative 72.00937271118164
Longitude, 41.31430521197532 Latitude, Groton Naval Base. Wait a sec- Active core confirmed! I repeat ACTIVE
CORE CONFIRMED!”
"Roger that...moving to intercept. How long until impact?"
"17 Minutes until impact. TLAM-N class projectile... Bug out NOW!"
"Affirmative.... approaching Mach 2...arming missiles.... Inform Washington immediately."
"Acknowledged...God be with you Major."
The afterburners of the F/A-22 Raptor roared to life as the jet billowed through the skyline. With only minutes to
spare Major Joseph Rodrigues knew he had to be quick and the word from Washington had better come soon
before this got out of hand. If the public knew we were under nuclear attack the country would be sent into
immediate chaos. He closed his eyes and concentrated to remain at peak performance as he checked his fuel gage
and latched his facemask.
"So much for a routine patrol." He mumbled.
The missile was bound for Groton Naval Base, the premier nuclear sub manufacturer in the country. A strike here
could be crippling to the entire naval fleet and destroy the hope of producing quality subs for at least the next
decade. Not to mention the thousands of lives lost from the impact and fallout.
"Where did this thing come from?" He thought as he downloaded the projectiles coordinates to his HUD.
"Ten minutes until impact...Washington had better respond soon...this is going to be bad."
At that precise moment two blips appeared on his radar. The ping of the radio waves sent a shiver down the Majors
spine as he glanced through his eyepiece. Two more TLAM-N class nuclear warheads streaked across the sky at
blinding speed.
Major Rodrigues fingered the control board of his on board computer as he tracked the trajectory of the incoming
missiles.
"Goddamn it Red Dog!!! We have two more incoming!!! Scramble whatever you have right now!”
"Major, please maintain proper radio etiquette-"
"Screw etiquette!!! These streakier are hot full-blown warheads!!! If they make impact…Christ! I've got another one
on radar”
"Roger that." The radio operator responded with panic in his voice. Major Rodrigues could hear the rustling of
papers through his head set and senior officers screaming orders out to the terrified enlisted men.
Four warheads plummeted toward the earth at Mach 1. Each destined for a different target within the United States.
Groton, Langley, Chanute and Fort Worth. All major military targets with only four minutes to intercept, they had
better scramble more fighters now before the impacts began.
"Blue Lagoon...what is the news??? Has Langley and Chanute scrambled fighters? I am 3 minutes from interception
of the initial warhead."
"Um...Uh...Stand bye Major..." The radio whined before the operator snapped off the communication button.
"Blue Lagoon...connect me to Langley...now!!"
"Copy Red Dog."
"This is Langley Air Force base. Staff Sergeant Colon speaking."
"Sergeant!! Are you aware that you have a TLAM-N class projectile inbound on your position? You have 2 minutes
until impact!!! The projectile is hot and has an active core!
"Wha-What!" Major Rodrigues... is this some kind of joke?"
"Scramble your goddamn fighters now and hope for a miracle."
"Oh God...no...no. Copy that...tracking..."
Major glanced through the cockpit just in time to feel the air displacement of the screaming missile bolting past his
Raptor.
"Holy crap!!" he screamed as he banked hard to the left and slowed his cruising speed. Feeling the G forces, he
struggled to catch his breath and lower his heart rate. Major Rodrigues bore down on his target. He pulled hard on
the stick to increase his altitude, watching the missile jaggedly rock back and forth as it homed in on its intended
position. The sidewinders on his FA-22 raptor were armed and ready to fire. He punched in his military issued
combination on the HUD and listened for the sound of the bay doors clicking into place before flipping the Ready
switch on his flight stick.
The missile screeched erratically across the pale blue sky. Piercing clouds like a needle through thread. He tapped
a button on his control panel and began to track his target. One missile is all it would take. The fallout may kill some
but a detonation over the ocean would surely save many lives.
The familiar hum of a locked on target rang through the Majors ears. He squinted and fired. The plume of gray
smoke shot out from under his fuselage in a zigzag pattern as his sidewinder jetted to its target. Miss!! The heat
tracking system in the sidewinder had failed. The Major yanked on his fight stick and slammed the Raptor to full
throttle. The jet hesitated for a moment while the foils adjusted and gunned their way into the atmosphere.
"Impact in 3...2...1...Impact." He stated calmly through the microphone in his helmet.
The explosion lit up the already sun flooded sky as the cloud mushroom cloud was ejected into the troposphere. A
low toned thump bounded off the fuselage of his aircraft. The Major shook his head as he glanced down at the
destruction below.
"There must be so many dead." He thought as the hiss of his radio clicked on signaling there was something to be
said. A long pause emitted from the speakers. He could feel the astonishment before the operator even spoke.
"Groton is gone Major...1 minute until impact on the other three warheads...there is nothing we can do...they are all
dead...all...of...them."
"Roger that." He whispered as he clenched his eyes closed and leveled out his aircraft.
The terrifying sound of his radar sprinted to life once again. The pinging was overbearing as he looked at the
greenish screen on his HUD. There were too many to count. The sky was streaked with smoke as the projectiles
plumed across the sky.
"My god...Sergeant..." He was lost for words. The sky was darkened with the trails of burning fuel that darted across
the atmosphere. The United States had already launched its own attack. The warheads arced across the sky in all
directions.
"The apocalypse is here Sergeant." The radio went dead and echoed with a low hiss off severed communication.
Major Rodrigues stared at the coastline below. There was nothing but fire and destruction. From his current altitude
he could just barely make out large explosions of gas stations and airport fuel bunkers. The cities burned and the
surface seemed to melt under the extreme heat produced. The thunder of detonation after detonation of warheads
trudged through the open space as the Major imagined all the people being vaporized in an instant, not knowing that
their death was even coming.
There was no point in finding an airport to land at now, as far as he could tell the entire United States was no more.
Impacts continued as far as he could see for what seemed like an hour. The fire that rose into the sky looked liked
births of tiny stars across an ocean of space. He could only imagine what the country that launched this attack must
look like. Our nuclear supply is massive and the United States undoubtedly fired everything they had.
Major Rodrigues decreased his speed and lowered his altitude as his mind began to spin.
"It can't be...It just can- *BEEP BEEP BEEP." He looked at his display only to see his fuel gauge blinking 2%.
"God be with us."
New Hampshire Writers Flash Fiction
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