"I don't know," Sands told him, "but I wouldn't want to miss whatever it is."
"But who are these guys?They don't sound like they're in trouble to me-" sound like they're in trouble, Sands shook his head. "They but not like they've told us. We had to launch-but we don I have to rendezvous with them."
"Then what-" "I'm up here to investigate, Joe. Gather information.
But I'd be breaking a dozen rules if I allowed this aircraft to join with an unidentified aircraft. If we'd refused to launch they'c have disappeared forever. No, we'll head toward them. But instead of turning we're going to buzz right past this joker."
"And then?""And then we'll let them escort them back to the Shemya.
"The interceptors?Are they up there"" "If I know Falls it's the first thing he did after we took off," Sands said.ey said fifteen minutes."
"But what about their gas?""It's been fifteen minutes right about now," Sands said checking his watch. "Do those guys sound like they're abou to fall into the ocean?Someone's screwing with us, Joe Nobody does that with me. We'll lead these guys back to the base, then find out what the hell's going on."
"Inside sixty miles," McLanahan reported, switching his radar back into search-while-track mode.
"Copy," Elliott asked. "Ready, Wendy?Angelina?"
"Ready," Angelina said.
"All set, General," Wendy told him, "but I don't see the other ones yet."
"Believe me, they're coming," Elliott asked. "Hit 'em wit just a little at first. When he switches over, blot 'em out."
"Will do.
"Sixty miles," McLanahan called out to the tanker. Part of his transmission was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal.
Sands winced and fumbled for his volume control knob "Genesis, you have a loud squeal on your radio," Ashlethe KC-10s co-pilot, called out.
"Copy," McLanahan replied. His transmission was almo completely blotted out by noise. "Switching radios. "McLanahan waited a few moments, then said, "How do you copy no% Icepack?"
The noise was almost unbearable. "Genesis, this is Icepack Your radios seem to be malfunctioning. Do you have FM or VHF capability?"
"Roger," Elliott asked. "Switching to VHF now."interphone he said, "Okay, Wendy. Shut 'em out."
Wendy smiled and flicked a transmitter switch to MAX carefully checking the frequency video display.
"This is Icepack on VHF air refueling freq," Ashley saic "How copy?"
"Too high, General," Wendy said, studying the new VH frequency range on her video display. "Lower. To at least one twenty megahertz." "Icepack, take it over to one-One-two point one-five, Elliott said.
Sands, aboard the KC-10, looked curiously at Ashley who,i along with Reynolds shared his confusion. Ashley switched frequencies.
"How do you copy, Genesis?"
"Loud and clear, Icepack, " Elliott said. Over interphone k.
said, "Okay, I got him, Wendy. Take 'em all down."
"Will do, General."
"Range, Patrick?"
"Fifty-five miles, General," McLanahan told him. "And I've got additional radar contact at twelve o'clock, eighty miles, fast-moving.
You were right."
"He's only following SOP, — Ormack said.
"He's still a snake," Elliott asked. "He was a snake at the Academy, and he's still one. Patrick, I've got it.
"Go get 'em, General."
"Icepack, this is Genesis," Elliott said over the new VHF frequency.
"Go ahead, Genesis."
"The name is Elliott, Eddie," the general began, staring into the twilight. "We're at fifty-five miles at your one o'clock.
You launched without proper authentication, leaving me to believe that you have no intention of rendezvousing with us.
You're going to turn the opposite direction, or fly past us.
Either way, it'd be a mistake."
"Why, General Elliott," Sands said, grinning. "I figured it was you.
What's a big SAC cheese like you doing in a hell-hole like this?"
"You're going to make this rendezvous, Colonel-" Or else, were you going to say') We're getting feisty in our old age, aren't we?Well, I've got news for you, sir-we're heading back to Shemya, and we're going to- "Just watch your one o'clock, Icepack."
Now listen, Elliott-"
As Sands was posturing aboard the KC-10 tanker, Wendy ejected four bundles of chaff from the wings of the Megafortress. Angelina locked her airmine radar onto the cloud of metallic tinsel behind them, and when they moved about a mile behind the bomber fired a single airmine rocket at the cloud.
From the cockpit of the KC-10 Extender tanker it resembled a giant flower-like fireworks display, even at their range. The airmine rocket plowed into the cloud of chaff and exploded mixing thousands of chips of metal into the explosion and fire caused by the exploding rocket.
The detonation ignited the chaff and the shrapnel from the rocket, creating a fiery cloud that spread rapidly across the evening sky.
" Turn range is twenty-two, Eddie," Elliott said over interplane.
"Left turn. Or we'll make another little fireworks display on your tail."
"Switch radio two back to command post," Sands said sharply. "The fighters'll be on three-eleven. Have them get their asses up here." He stared at the slowly dissipating cloud of fire ahead and clenched his fists. "Screw you," he muttered, "I'm running this show, General."
As Ashley switched frequencies from VHF and U.H.F range and keyed the microphone, an ear-splitting squeal drowned out his call.
"He's trying to transmit on three-eleven," Wendy said, studying her emitter video display "We're jamming U.H.F and VHF too," Elliott said to the KC-10."So forget about calling those fighters. We're jamming I.F.F and we'll squeal out HF, too."
"Thirty-five miles, General," McLanahan said.
"One more convincer, Eddie," Elliott told him. "I understand you folks have threat-warning receivers now. Well, check it out. "On the interphone he called down. "Lock onto him Patrick. "McLanahan hit his TRACK switch, pressed the ENABLE lever on his tracking handle, and guided a circle cursor over the radar skin-paint of the KC-10 tanker.
When he released the ENABLE lever the circle remained on the return and a green numeral "one" lighted on McLanahan's TV screen.
"Got him," McLanahan announced. On board the KC-10 the results were a bit more dramatic. On the threat-warning receiver on the instrument panel between the pilots, Elliott's plane had been showing as an "S," for search radar. The "friendly" symbol on the threat radar video display suddenly changed into a hostile "bat-wing" threat symbol.
Moments later a red MISSILE ALERT illuminated as the threat receiver's internal computer interpreted the steady "lock-on" signal from the unknown aircraft as a missile tracking signalindicating a missile ready to launch.
"We gotta get out of here," from Ashley.
"Easy, co-pilot, easy," from Reynolds.
"How do we know who he is?"
The S.O.B. is bluffing," Reynolds asked. "He's a goddamned friendly.
He won't shoot. Set the I.F.F to EMER.Get on GUARD and call those fighters."
Sands waited a few moments while Reynolds directed his crew. The anticipated results came a few seconds later.
"I.F.F's faulted," Ashley asked. "No interrogate indication."
"Heavy jamming on all emergency frequencies," the flight engineer reported.
"Okay, okay," Sands asked. "Tie the autopilot back into the rendezvous computer. Make the turn.
"But we can't-" "Yes, we can. Someone's either playing a very big joke… or is very serious. It doesn't matter-we're committed," he said, and flipped over to the interplane channel.
"Okay, Genesis, you convinced us," Sands asked. "Or should I say, General Elliott?Don't worry, we'll make the turn.
Are we going to have to listen to that missile alert bull all through the refueling?"
Elliott smiled. "Take it down, Patrick. "McLanahan deselected the TRACK switch and punched in "one" on his keyboard, and his circle cursor went to the "home" position in the upper left corner of the radar scope.