“Mr. Segerson thought as much,” chuckled the COB. “But, shipmate to shipmate, sir, what are your intentions?”
Jerry grew serious, determined. The question was a little unsettling, but proper. And he owed this man a truthful answer. “My sole concern is that we complete this mission successfully, and I’ll do whatever I believe is necessary to make that happen. And it’s not just because the president of the United States personally put me onboard this boat.” He paused as he pointed in the direction of Toledo’s lifeless hulk. “A good friend and his crew lie over there, Master Chief. I will not let their sacrifice be in vain. And if that means I sometimes have to be a little rough on Captain Weiss’s ego, then so be it.”
FLASH
040900Z AUG 21
FROM: USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23)
TO: CNO WASHINGTON DC
INFO: COMSUBFOR, SUBRON TWELVE
TOP SECRET//SCI
SUBJ: MISSION STATUS REPORT
1) SURVEY OF DRAGON LAUNCH BASE DEFENSES BY UUVS COMPLETED. BASED ON PERISCOPE AND PASSIVE SONAR OBSERVATION, WEAPON LOADING HAS LIKELY BEGUN.
2) SURFACE UNITS AT SITE INCLUDES ICEBREAKER, TRANSPORT BARGE, SMALL DIVING SUPPORT CRAFT. SUBMARINES BELGOROD AND LOSHARIK ARE PRESENT, IDENTIFIED THROUGH PASSIVE SONAR ANALYSIS. ASSUMED TO BE SUPPORTING DIVING AND LOADING EVOLUTION.
3) DEFENSES INCLUDE PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED PMK-2 MINE BARRIER, RECENTLY ADDED NETWORK OF SEVER BOTTOM-MOUNTED ACOUSTIC SENSORS, SUPPORTED BY KA-27M HELICOPTERS.
4) PROCEEDING AS PLANNED. INTEND TO PENETRATE MINE AND ACOUSTIC BARRIERS USING UUVS. EXPECT TO COMMENCE OPERATION WITHIN THE NEXT TWELVE HOURS.
BT
Captain Tony Monyihan, USN, had the 2000–0800 watch in the National Command Authority’s monitoring center. His job was to oversee a small group of civilian and military personnel as they kept track of not only the positions and status of all U.S. military forces, but of allied and adversary militaries as well.
A movie screen — sized display showed a map of the world, divided into operating areas and dotted with symbols for not only navy, but army, air force, and marine units. Foreign units were similarly marked, but with the three-letter country designation below the unit’s name.
The captain had a big-picture view of the United States’ armed forces, but that didn’t mean he always knew what was going on. He could see where all the units were, and had a pretty good idea of where they were going. But he didn’t necessarily know exactly why.
Monyihan hadn’t seen a general sortie order in the message traffic, but he knew that subs were leaving port individually, always at night, and when weather or satellite windows hid their movements. The U.S. Navy had fourteen active submarine squadrons, SUBRONS, organized into five Submarine Groups, with a total of seventy-four boats.
Under normal circumstances, Monyihan would see twenty to twenty-five subs, one-third of the force, at sea, on patrol at any given time. Another third would be in port, training and performing routine maintenance on their complex systems. The last third would be in refit, in dry dock, or with vital machinery dismantled for upgrades or repair.
His latest count showed over forty submarines at sea. Not only attack boats and cruise missile submarines, but also ballistic missile submarines were sortieing out of the regular schedule. He couldn’t tell where the “boomers” were going. Their patrol areas were not displayed on the map. That information was too sensitive even for this space.
At this rate, soon the only submarines left in port would be those in dry dock or extended maintenance. Seeing that many attack boats at sea piqued his curiosity, but extra SSBNs going to sea made him consider buying canned goods and bottled water. When he saw that carrier strike groups were beginning to deploy out of sequence, he knew the Russian crisis was getting really serious.
Were those “snap exercises” that Russia had announced really just practice drills? Apparently, the Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t think so. War with Russia, a nuclear war, had been the boogeyman of U.S. national security for sixty-five years. He hoped he wasn’t watching its opening moves.
17
UNWELCOME COMPANY
“The Russian military exercises in Europe have been harshly criticized by the Hardy administration as ‘designed to intimidate Europe’ and as ‘a rehearsal for a full-scale invasion.’ President Fedorin personally responded to the administration’s comments in a speech before a pro-Russian rally in Moscow today, saying that the ‘West can draw whatever conclusion it likes. Russia’s armed forces are ready to carry out the will of its people.’
“Historically, America’s response to an adversary’s military exercises is limited to rhetoric, plus careful observation to learn what they can of a potential opponent’s capabilities. This time, though, there are indications that President Hardy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff may be considering more direct action.
“There have been rumors that the Pentagon is planning its own ‘snap drills,’ mobilizing and moving several rapid-reaction forces to Europe. In addition to increased activity at several military bases, most notably naval installations, the president and many national security officials have suddenly canceled, or rescheduled, long-standing appointments over the last few days.
“The famous ‘Pizza Index,’ using the amount of take-out pizza ordered by Pentagon offices as a sign of long hours, and thus of impending action, has become less reliable in recent years. A survey today of Arlington pizzerias showed only a small increase of ten to twenty percent over usual, compared to the doubling of orders before both Gulf wars and the Sino-Littoral Alliance War. A Pentagon source said that standing orders now forbid ordering take-out from nearby pizza places, and that to accurately measure late-night hours in Washington, one would have to poll every type of take-out cuisine…”
The message came while President Hardy was already receiving a briefing by Director of National Intelligence Peakes about non-military Russian activities. The large-scale military exercises were worrisome enough, but covert actions worldwide were on the rise. Peakes had started with news of another assassination, this time of a German counterterrorism official. Several different extremist organizations were claiming credit, but it didn’t really fit any of their normal operating patterns.
Cyber attacks had increased as well, often demanding ransom for padlocked data, but they included an alarming number of infrastructure organizations: electric and transport utilities especially. A smaller number of sabotage incidents added to the overall pattern.
“Ray, will these really disrupt a country’s infrastructure or economy that much?” asked Hardy.
“No, Mr. President,” Peakes answered, “not at their current level, but look at how they’re spread all over Europe. The cyber warfare people at both NSA and CIA believe that the Russians are demonstrating their capability, or European vulnerability, to these attacks. These incidents could easily be used as a coercive bargaining chip if the Russians make demands.”
“You mean a threat,” Hardy replied, “which is what we believe the Russians will do, once the balloon goes up.”