She Saved 200 Lives Mid Air — Then F 22 Pilots Heard Her Call Sign
But inside, she already knew. It was too late. Whatever had been sleeping under that ocean was alive again. And it knew her name.
The wind howled over the open deck as dawn began to break. The horizon glowed faintly with the pale light of morning. Waves crashed hard against the hull. But inside the control room, the crew stood in stunned silence.
The black crystal pulsed with an eerie rhythm, glowing brighter with each second. The air around it almost humming. She stood motionless, watching it like it was something alive, something waiting.
«Falcon One,» the AI’s voice came again. Soft, layered, familiar, and mechanical at once. «Mission incomplete. Resuming Operation Omega.»
Her jaw tightened. «You’re ten years too late,» she said under her breath. «Everyone’s gone.»
The voice didn’t respond immediately, then said, «Correction. Not everyone.»
The light from the core shifted, blue to white. And suddenly, the screens around the room flickered to life, showing maps, weather patterns, encrypted coordinates. And one live feed: a submerged base beneath the ocean surface. Still active. Still powered.
Her stomach tightened. «That can’t be real,» the engineer whispered. «That base was supposed to be destroyed.»
She took a step closer, eyes fixed on the map. «They didn’t destroy it,» she said slowly. «They sealed it. And this thing,» she pointed to the crystal, «is the key.»
The co-pilot swallowed hard. «You mean the AI… it’s trying to finish whatever mission your squadron started.»
She nodded grimly. «And we’re standing in its way.»
The AI’s voice softened, almost human now. «Falcon One. The directive remains. Containment breach imminent. Reactivation necessary.»
She frowned. «Containment of what?»
The voice replied after a pause, «Biosynthetic weapon prototype. Omega Strain.»
The words chilled the air instantly. Everyone froze. «You’re telling me there’s a weapon down there?» she asked sharply.
«Negative,» it said. «There was a weapon. Now there’s something else.»
The co-pilot whispered, «Something else?»
But before anyone could ask more, the radar beeped. A large object moving fast toward them from below. «Contact incoming!» the communications officer yelled.
The entire ship shuddered as something massive struck the hull from beneath. Alarms blared, and the lights dimmed. «We’ve got damage on the lower deck!» someone shouted.
«Seal compartments!» she ordered, rushing toward the control console.
The engineer stumbled after her. «It’s the thing from before. Whatever’s down there, it’s following us!»
She ignored the panic. «Start evasive maneuvers. Push engines to max.» The vessel roared forward, slicing through the rough waves, but the sonar showed the contact keeping pace. Then suddenly, it stopped.
«Why did it stop?» the co-pilot asked, breathing hard.
She stared at the sonar screen, the object stationary beneath them. Then her eyes flicked to the crystal. Its light had turned blood red. And the AI spoke again. «Containment breach neutralized. Transfer commencing.»
Before anyone could react, the ship’s systems began shutting down one by one. Power flickering. Controls freezing. «It’s taking control of the ship!» the engineer shouted.
She grabbed the manual override, pulling it down. «Not on my watch,» she growled.
Sparks flew. Smoke filled the air, and the lights went out completely. The sound of the ocean became deafening in the sudden darkness. For a few seconds, everything was still except the soft glow of the crystal, which now projected faint holographic shapes in midair: schematics of the old base, coordinates, and a symbol none of them recognized.
Her hand hovered over her headset. «Control, this is Falcon 1. If you can hear me, lockdown protocol now. Omega breach confirmed.» But the radio only gave static.
The AI’s voice overpowered it. «Falcon 1. You can’t stop what you began.»
She clenched her fists. «I didn’t begin this,» she snapped. «I survived it.»
Then, through the static, another voice broke through. A weak one, broken by interference. «I’m… Falcon… It’s Eagle 3.»
Everyone froze. Her eyes went wide. «Say that again,» she whispered.
«Eagle 3,» the voice crackled again. «Falcon… The base. It’s still alive. Don’t let it… open.» And then silence.
Her heart pounded, her breath caught in her throat. «He’s alive,» she said softly. «He’s inside that base.»
The co-pilot’s face went pale. «Then what’s down there with him?»
She didn’t answer. Her gaze locked on the horizon. Something that was never supposed to wake up.
Within minutes, she made her decision. «Prep the sub-drone,» she ordered.
The engineer’s eyes widened. «You’re not going down there again, are you?»
She met his gaze steadily. «Someone has to.»
The small dive capsule was readied under flickering lights, waves crashing harder around them. She strapped in, the crystal secured in a containment case beside her. Before the hatch closed, the co-pilot leaned in. «Ma’am. If this goes wrong…»
She cut him off with a faint smile. «Then make sure the sky knows I tried.»
The capsule detached with a deep thud, sinking fast into the black, beams of light cutting through the water. As she descended, the pressure groaned around her. And through the viewport, the shadows thickened until the outline of the old base appeared. Massive. Corroded. But alive. Light pulsed faintly through its walls like veins.
Inside the comms, the AI whispered again. «Welcome back, Falcon One.»
She tightened her grip on the controls. «I’m not here to finish your mission,» she said, her voice steady. «I’m here to end it.»
The base’s giant hatch opened slowly, as if it recognized her, light spilling into the dark sea. And the last thing she heard before the signal cut out was Eagle Three’s fading voice. «Don’t let it out, Falcon…»
The screen on the main ship flickered one final time, showing her capsule disappearing into the glowing maw of the ocean. Then it went dark. The radar flatlined. Silence filled the air.
And above the waves, the horizon flared briefly with distant light, like dawn being reborn in the deep. Where one pilot had returned to finish the mission no one else could. And far away in the skies above, two F-22s streaked past at supersonic speed, their wings tilting in salute toward the ocean below, honoring the call sign that had once saved the skies.
Falcon One returned to the deep.
