State of Emergency Read Online Free PDF Page A

quarters, operations rooms
and technical support, including an amazing complex of
labs. The computer nexus is here,' he said, pointing out the
location for Tom's benefit.
    'We're over 200 miles from the nearest island – a long
way from prying eyes. But, even so, security is tight. On
missions, the aircraft are sealed against unauthorised access,
and the skin of all vehicles and machinery has been coated
with Camoflin.'
    'Which is?' Maiko asked.
    'Another wonder from CARPA. It's a paint that camouflages
our equipment and blurs any photographs or video footage
taken by nosy individuals. We use the same stuff for the
buildings on the island. On the base, all access is controlled
by retinal-scan technology. You each have quarters in the
main accommodation area, here.' He tapped the map to
show them.
    'Now, as you know, nothing has been tested in the field
yet and we won't be fully operational for three months.
Once your training is complete, you'll return to your day
jobs. But you'll be on-call to respond to any appropriate
emergency. We'll be ready to tackle a broad spectrum of
operations anywhere in the world. We can reach any point
on the globe within two or three hours.
    'Potentially, there will be five of us on a mission, but
maybe not all at the same time. Tom will remain at Base
One. As the computer expert, he'll be there to support us
during a mission. Any questions?'
    'How do you know if E-Force is needed?' Tom asked.
    'BigEye, a set of satellites that monitors activity on the
Earth's surface. Look in the file – pages 105 to 123, I think.'
Mark paused for a moment. 'Okay, the training plan itself.
You'll each be put through a core programme, which will
involve an advanced survival course and instruction in how
to use all the equipment at our disposal, including piloting
the fleet of aircraft.'
    Mark flicked a switch on his armrest and the cabin lights
dimmed. A screen lit up in front of them. 'Just a quick survey
of the equipment,' he said, and an image of a futuristic aircraft
appeared on the screen. It was the Hummingbird. 'This is
the plane we're sitting in,' he said. The image changed. 'And
this is the Silverback. You three saw it on your first trip.
We have four of these – John, Paul, George and Ringo. Top
speed of mach 10. Crew of two. These can carry 500 pounds
of equipment. They're designed to get one or two members
of E-Force anywhere on Earth, ultra-fast.'
    'You serious about those speeds?' Tom asked. He was
shaking his head in disbelief.
    'Yep,' Mark replied. 'All these planes are VTOL, for which
they use conventional jet engines. But once they're at
operational altitude, they shift to scramjets.'
    'Scramjets?' Maiko said. 'We use them at NASA.'
    'Of course. NASA's plane, the X-43A, is famous. Broke the
air speed record in 2004. Mach 9.8. Our planes use a very
advanced version of the same technology. Scramjets take in
oxygen from the air at supersonic speeds and use it to burn
fuel. They don't need to carry most of the propellant. They
just suck up the oxygen as they move through the air. A bit
like a whale eating plankton.'
    The image changed again. This time a massive, almost
spherical aircraft appeared. It was silver, with a flight deck
high up on the sphere. It looked for all the world like a
giant burger. 'The Big Mac,' Mark said. 'Our main cargo
workhorse. It carries the heavy stuff; four-seater submarines,
heavy digging equipment, winching machinery. We use the
Big Mac to transport an array of equipment. This includes
the Mole, a 2000-horsepower burrowing machine, the Cage,
a protective framework for working in extremely unstable
conditions, and the Firefly, a two-seater firefighting vehicle
that can tolerate an outer-skin temperature of 1000 degrees
Celsius for an hour. Aside from these, we have an assortment
of heli-jets that can fly at mach 2, ground vehicles, boats
and high-speed subs.'
    The screen flicked off and the lights came up.
    'You said there was a core programme,' Stephanie said.
'What