HEDY LAMARR<br/><br/>I gave the German my coldest look. I was getting more than annoyed with this person. He was annoying and boring.<strong>"Stay there, means stay there. I don't like you Mister German and I don't trust you. All I know about you is what has come out of your lips and I have met some big liars in my time. The only way any merc can prove to me what they say is by doing it and today you've done sweet nothing except follow my ship and land on it. There are farm kids aged twelve where I come from who can do that. When this battle is over, you're out of here. I'm not going to say it again."</strong><br/><br/>I still had the telephone in my hands. I heard Steele squawking orders like a mother hen with a fox stalking her coop.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Ascend 15 degrees roll 'ard ta port fallered by straightenin' up an seein' wot those bastards do next!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><strong>"Navigator Steele! Will you stop barnstorming my ship and hold her level and steady while we launch planes. I have three pilots ready. Once they are off the launcher I want you to descend immediately through the clouds and turn to course 180, avoiding the thunderstorm. Those Commies can't shoot us if they can't see us. Level off below the cloud base. That is an order."</strong><br/><br/>I hung up the phone and walked out past the German. Benson followed and stood guard on the door, his Colt .38 revolver drawn. There was a clattering of boots on the steel plating above us and Sergeant Wilson and four ratings carrying rifles came down the steps; Pike, Walker, Jones and Frazer. Or was it Frazer and Jones? It was hardly the time to worry.<br/><br/>I took ten seconds to appraise him of the situation concerning the German mercenary in the crew room. Bob, the hangar Boss was on the launcher. As soon as the ship levelled out I'd give him the thumbs up to launch. Up in the control car there were six lights on the launcher repeater panel that Steele would see. Two of them were yellow denoting empty launcher arms, four would be burning red. As each plane was let free the lamps would go green for twenty seconds, then back to yellow denoting 'launching' and 'empty'.<br/><br/>After they were empty he could play Texas rodeos again for all I cared.<br/><br/>Everyone was now waiting for Buck Rogers up there to stop playing ride 'em cowboy and give us time to launch. Outside I could hear the chatter of machine guns over the roar of our engines.