Within seconds, Tom heard Major Johns and the president exclaim also.
The major explained, “All seven Russian missiles have been intercepted. Explosions can be seen over western Russian and the Black Sea as the missiles fall back to Earth.”
Tom thought that since the missiles were intercepted Ivanov must know now that the US was ready for whatever move he made. He decided to announce to his passengers the news about the interceptions and the fact that the nuclear attack against them was coming soon.
“May I have your attention, please. Seven missiles were intercepted by the allied forces as the Russians attacked Europe. All of the damages appear to be in Russia. Please be ready for the strike against our ship. We may be changing speeds very rapidly and turning around to do whatever is necessary to avoid the Russian missile aimed at us. Please just strap in and hold on. This should be finished in a matter of minutes. Thank you.”
There was no time for celebration. They were waiting for the next missile to be fired into space and attack the Imagine.
Chapter 68 – Shto?
Russian Federation President Ivanov, the Kremlin
Ivanov was livid with rage. The allies had just shot down his seven missiles. In the Kremlin, Ivanov and his generals were stunned. None of their missiles had made it through the missile defense in Poland. They had expected perhaps one or two missiles would be shot down but not all seven. His generals wanted to call off the nuclear attack on the American spaceship, but Ivanov refused. He felt if he called it off, it would be a sign that he was a weak leader. He could not let failure be an option.
Surely, they were going to retaliate. Ivanov was sure that President Stevens was going to call him any minute to file an official complaint and perhaps shoot a couple of bombs at some Russian troops somewhere in the world. However, no call from President Stevens came.
How dare Stevens get away with this!
Ivanov gave the order to shoot the American spaceship down. If he destroyed the spaceship, it would show his might to the world and Russia would be in control again. His top general called the military base to fire the missile on its way.
They will never know what hit them, Ivanov thought.
He expected the missile to be in the vicinity of the spaceship within thirty minutes.
Chapter 69 – Flinch
Tom Burns, the Imagine
Tom could see the missile from the spaceship as did the other three commanders.
As soon as he saw it, Tom told Major Johns, “Begin Operation Debris now.”
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon simply said, “Fire!”
At that moment, three nuclear submarines in the Black Sea launched multiple missiles at strategic targets all over Russia. Five B-52 bombers took off from an aircraft carrier in the North Sea.
Tom and the Pentagon saw the missile immediately moving towards the Imagine. They estimated it would make impact thirty minutes after being launched.
Tom, who was surrounded on the bridge by his chief officers, said, “I suggest we haul our asses out of this mess. I am sure we are all going to do our jobs in the next thirty minutes, or we will not have to worry about anything any longer. Personally, I would much rather be somewhere else, but I am also sure that we have the most capable crew around to handle the incoming missile. When this is over, I promise to buy a round of drinks for everyone, even though it will not cost me anything.”
That brought a smile to many of those on the bridge. They had been planning for this moment ever since the battle plans had been drawn up. All of them were focusing intensely on their assignment and were prepared to change course or plans at a second’s notice. They knew that if their calculations related to the speed and path of the Imagine were off by even a second, it could mean the difference between having that drink or suffering a horrible death.
Tom was confident that each and every one of them would do their duty and not freak out if a change in plans had to be made. Yet, there was always a lingering doubt that, regardless of what plans had been made, they might fail. After all, this was the first real space battle in history. Within thirty minutes or less, they would all know if they were alive or dead.
Chapter 68 – While Preoccupied
Russian Federation President Ivanov, the Kremlin
The Russians were totally caught by surprise. They informed President Ivanov right away. Ivanov wanted to know where the missiles were headed, knowing he had been entirely wrong in his estimates about this attack on the allies and the spaceship.
The generals told him they were going to hit all over Russia including their missile silos, the navy base on the Black Sea, and, worst of all, the Kremlin. They told Ivanov to leave immediately.
“And go where? My decisions have probably cost millions of Russians their lives. Where will I go? We are not even prepared to shoot any missiles right now. We certainly are not ready to intercept the missiles coming our way. I did not think Stevens had it in him to make this decision.”
Ivanov and his generals quietly sat down.
They waited for the inevitable. Ten minutes later, the Kremlin was hit. The noise of the strike could be heard for miles. It was almost totally destroyed. Nearly all of the Russian missile silos were damaged as well as the navy base on the Black Sea.
“Long live Mother Russia,” said Ivanov.
His body was never found.
Chapter 69 – Somewhere on a TV Screen
Tom Burns, The Imagine
Tom and Major Johns were trying to evade the one remaining Russian aimed directly at them. It would be a miracle if they survived this. Tom gave the order to speed up by 10,000 miles an hour and fly directly at the Russian spaceship. At the same time the Germans and Australians, per the agreed upon plan, moved in the opposite direction from the Americans and away from the Russian ship. Those two spaceships would be able to make their own decision about what to do, depending on the result of the Russian missile.
Tom was at the controls with Bob Jackson.
Major Johns said, “We’re calculating the trajectory and speed on the computer while tracking the missile on the radar.”
First, they sped up to 60,000 miles an hour. Every twenty seconds, they changed speeds by 10,000 miles an hour, sometimes going faster and sometimes slower. This was an attempt to throw off the speed and direction of the Russian missile.
When the missile was within one-half mile, both the American ship and the Russian ship were almost parallel to each other.
Tom knew Yuri was going to fire at his ship at any moment. He just had to time what he was trying to do correctly.
Tom’s ship kept getting closer and closer to the Russians while the Russian missile was moving towards them.
Suddenly, Major Johns screamed, “NOW!”
Tom suddenly moved the ship to a higher orbit. Tom left Yuri’s orbit as he saw torpedoes fired from Yuri’s ship approach too quickly for his own comfort.
The nuclear missile from Russia headed towards Yuri’s spaceship. Instead of hitting the Imagine, the torpedoes hit the nuclear missile head on, blowing it up. A great fireball was seen in outer space as the missile and torpedoes exploded into thousands of pieces.
Right after the explosion, Yuri’s ship was suddenly bombarded by a large amount of missile debris. Tom saw the explosion from his new location. Finally, his ship was safe. He put Yuri on the view screen where Yuri was sitting on his bridge with his officers. They looked downright miserable. Tom did not want to destroy the Russian ship. He knew it was too damaged to continue with the mission and could no longer attack anyone. Operation Debris accomplished.