"Altitude?Speed?"
"One thousand feet right on the dot, although he flew right over the bow. Speed two hundred knots but no flaps hanging.
Low and slow."
"He radioed a warning," Markham asked. "Said we were too close to Karanginsky Island. "Marceaux shrugged. "It is a warning he could back up.
Definiment.
"Those AS-12s will drop into the sea if he tries to launch them, Markham said, heading back to the Intel section's small alley for more coffee. "He might send some naval buddies 9 out after us, but I doubt it. This is the ugliest weather I've seen A out here.
"Is he still out there, sir?" Marceaux asked.
"No. He headed home in a hurry. Probably getting iced over pretty bad.
Like you said, he had to have king-sized balls to fly p around in freezing rain like that."
"Think he made us?"
"They made us as an intel ship days ago," Markham said, Iling a mug.
"But they're nervous about something. Risking Bear like that something's going on a As Marceaux refilled his mug from the pot, Markham wandered over to one of his signal operator's consoles. He Studied several oscilloscope-like displays on the console.
His attention focused on a pair of ten-inch signal display scopes, manned by a gray-haired Navy signalman. Markham looked over his shoulder, sipping his coffee. The two signals on the man's scopes, although much different from each other, were perfectly synchronized-when one wave on the scope became active, the other did also. When one stopped, the other stopped.
"Any change, Garrity?" Markham asked the sensor operator. Garrity shook his head.
"They're linked, that's for sure, sir," Garrity replied. He handed Markham a computer printout, then pointed to the left of his two main displays. "That's complete computer verification-frequencies, timing, the works-coded and ready to transmit. Kavaznya is getting stronger.
This one"-he pointed to the right oscilloscope-" is still weak but in perfect sync."
"Identification?"
Garrity adjusted some controls on his board, then sat back.
"Wild, wild guess," he asked. "A satellite data link."
"A satellite?" Markham whistled. "That radar at Kavaznya is talking to a satellite?"
"Maybe two satellites," Garrity asked. "Now this is really wild, I know, but I keep on seeing an embedded data signal in the Kavaznya radar transmission. It's slightly out of sync with these two signals "Meaning?"
"Meaning these two, Kavaznya and this second-whatever it is-may be talking. "Garrity rubbed at his eyes and went on.
"Kavaznya is talking to something else, though. Not a radar signal. A data signal."
"What kind of data?" Markham asked, trying to make some sense of what the operator was telling him.
"Hey, I'm just guessing here," Garrity said, shaking his head.
"Guess some more."
Garrity rubbed once again at his eyes. Then: "Steering signals. "As Markham bent forward to study the signals, Garrity pointed at his displays and explained: "Here and here.
Kavaznya and Joe Blow satellite. Simple transponder-type signals-interrogate and reply. That means azimuth and elevation "Position data," Markham said.
"It has to be," Garrity asked. "Kavaznya telling Joe Blow here where he is and vice versa. But then Kavaznya sends this blurb out.
Garrity drew a circle on a sheet of notebook paper. He recreated the Kavaznya oscilloscope signal as best as he could.
"Right here. I see it every now and then. "He drew a squiggle almost parallel to the Kavaznya signal, but much smaller and of a slightly different frequency, or shape.
"The timing is the most critical difference," Garrity explained. "The timing between Kavaznya and the second party is clear, but Kavaznya tells someone else something. And it's not just position data. I think it's a steering signal.
"Steering what?" Markham asked.
"Don't know," Garrity replied. "I've never seen anythin like it-hell, I'm not even sure if I am seeing it. A data signal embedded in a radar emission?" He shook his head. "I've been on duty for eighteen hours.
I might be seeing beeps and buzzes in my dreams."
"Code it," Markham said.
Garrity looked at him in surprise. "Code what?"
"Exactly what you told me," Markham asked. "Everything."
"I told you a fairytale," Garrity asked. "A wet dream. I don't have anything concrete. The computer hasn't verified any of my inquiries about the second signal destination.
"That doesn't matter," Markham asked. "They told us to report any findings of significance in the Kavaznya area. I heard that request came from very high. Code it and send it up for the Old Man's signature, then send it.
"This isn't a finding," Garrity protested. "It's an opinion… a guess. It's not really even an educated guess-" "Listen, Garrity," Markham said, "something screwy is going on. The Russians risk a fifty million ruble bomber in a freezing rainstorm to scare us away. Now Kavaznya is active It's been active for days," Garrity said.
"Then how come you haven't seen these side data signals before?"
Garrity had no answer for that.
"Something's going on, and we're right on top of it," Markham said.
"Code exactly what you told me, then send it. "Garrity shook his head.
"You're the boss. But do I need to put my signature on it?
They'll laugh me right outta the Service.
"They might give you a goddamned medal," Markham said."if you're right.
VANDENBURG AIR FORCE BASE, CAUFOMM
A single green and gray camouflaged locomotive wound around a curve on a deserted railroad siding. It pulled a quarter-mile-long train of long, six-sided rail cars, moving easily at about twenty miles an hour.
Eight miles away in an underground control center, a group of Air Force officers were being briefed by another group of civilian contractors on the test that was about to take place.
"Range reports ready, Mr. Newcombe," a technician said.
Newcombe, the chief civilian contractor, nodded. "Tell them to stand by. General Taylor, gentlemen, the range has just reported ready. All of the Air Force tracking stations from here to Guam are ready for the first operational test launch of America's newest strategic weapon-the GLM- 123 Javelin Small Mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or, as the press has so fondly christened it, "Midgetman."
"What can I tell you about her that you don't already know?" Newcombe searched the faces around him. Taylor shook his head and smiled, lighting a briar pipe. These Air Force generals had been working with him for years. MajorGeneral Taylor, the chief of the Strategic Development Branch, Aerospace Systems Division, Air Force Logistics Command, was an old friend. This test-its success an almost foregone conclusion, after seven previous successful launches-would ensure Taylor's third star and another promotion. Of course, Newcombe's new position as senior vice-president of the Javelin's prime contractor was already in the bag.
"The train orbiting the test track is typical of a normal Javelin mobile rail deployment," Newcombe asked. "Six cars in all-the locomotive, two missile cars, two security cars, and the launch command and control car. Each car is super hardened against EMP-that's electromagnetic pulse effect, for you neophytes-caused by nearby nuclear explosions.
"The new arms-elimination agreement have you worried, Ed?" one of General Taylor's aides asked Newcombe. "Javelun would be the first to lose research and development funding."
"Of course, we all want to see world peace," Newcombe asked. "The arms-elimination treaty would be a great break through. But I feel it's just as important to continue with serious research and development. This will mark the culmination of those tests-the birth of a new kind of strategic weapon for the United States.