2. A TOTAL OF EIGHT VESSELS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO THIS TIME/ DATE, AS FOLLOWS: SUBMARINES: IMPROVED 5 HAN CLASS TISING 404, BAOJI 405. DESTROYERS: SOVREMENNY CLASS TIANJIN 168, FUZHOU, 169, 15 LUDA/TYPE II CLASS JINAN 105, XIAN 106. FRIGATES: 252 JIANGHU CLASS NANTONG 511, YIBIN 552.
3. PRESENT COURSES AND SPEEDS INDICATE THESE VESSELS MAY RENDEZVOUS AT GRID REF21A/13Z WITHIN 72 HOURS XX NO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE XX NO UNUSUAL SIG TRAFFIC MONITORED.
4. REMAIN AT OR NEAR STATION DESIGNATED ROUND ROBIN, AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR SITUATION XX REPORT AS NECESSARY XX UNRESTRICTED OPS ARE AUTHORIZED XX RPT XX UNRESTRICTED OPS ARE AUTHORIZED XX HOWEVER TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS TO MAINTAIN STEALTH OPS.
GOOD LUCK
END MESSAGE
BREAKBREAK
“If we’re going to get some help out here, Seventh is going to have to get out of the barn right now,” Harding said.
“This ought to be their wake-up call,” Paradise agreed. “One thing for sure, it’s going to get interesting around here real soon.”
“That it is, Rod.” Harding glanced at the ship control station from where the submarine was actually driven. “Soon as we’re in position I want all the senior officers in the wardroom. It’s not only going to get interesting, it’s going to get dicey, and I want everyone to know what we’re facing.”
The same crisis team as yesterday was already gathered in the situation room a couple of minutes after nine in the morning when Roland Murphy showed up and sat down next to Roswell.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” he said, and he nodded to the other men around the table. It was Sunday, and none of them wanted to be here. It showed on their faces.
“Good morning, Roland. I think by now that everyone here knows about the Chinese naval deployment and the increased readiness of all Japanese forces. Has there been anything new from the NRO overnight?”
“Only that the six surface ships and two submarines have not altered their course or speed. They’re still heading for the Sea of Japan through the slot between the Korean mainland and the island of Cheju.”
“Their submarines have not submerged?”
“No, sir. The surface ships should catch up with them sometime tonight, and the entire flotilla will be in position off the North Korean coast by Friday night or sometime Saturday. They’ve slowed way down, for some reason.”
“Have we shared this information with the Japanese?”
“There’s no need for it. They have their own satellites monitoring the region. They knew the same time we did.”
“I ordered Seventh Fleet to sail this morning right after we received the message from Seawolf about the two Japanese warships he detected.”
“We’ll be in position about the same time the Chinese show up,” Admiral Mann said. “But it’s going to be damned dangerous out there. Especially if the Japanese decide to throw more assets into the mix, which we think they will.”
“Has the CIA gotten anything new from the South Korean team that was supposed to check out Kimch’aek?” the President asked.
“Unfortunately not, Mr. President. As of midnight no one had heard from the team. Could be nothing more than a communications problem, but no one in Seoul is sure. They’re going to sit tight for another twenty-four hours before they send a second team in.”
“What about the special operation to kidnap Kabayashi and Hironaka?”
“We’re still working out scenarios,” Murphy said. “But McGarvey thinks we should hold off for the moment. They might not tell us anything we don’t already know, or at least nothing significant enough to justify the risk if the operation should go bad. At this point he thinks we should concentrate on the political solutions.”
“Under the latest circumstances, I have to agree with him.”
“What circumstances, Mr. President?”
“Seoul and Pyongyang will issue statements this morning. They’ll be breaking on all the networks in another hour, but we were advised of the content overnight. They were looking for a reaction.”
Secretary of State Carter handed copies around the table. “These came to us on the back burner, which I think was damned wise of both countries. Finally shows some restraint. The gist of Kim Jong-Il’s statement is that there was a nuclear accident at Kimch’aek with the loss of at least one hundred and fifty lives, which he says was caused by outside pressures forcing them to cut corners in closing down their old nuclear facilities. The heart of the matter is that he’s issuing a warning that should anyone take this as a sign that he is weak, or that should anyone try to take advantage of the situation, an appropriate response will be forthcoming.”
“It’s probably why the Chinese navy is on the way,” the President’s national security adviser Harold Secor observed. “He’s asked for their help.”
“The Japanese showing up in force won’t do much to stabilize the situation.”
“No, it won’t.”
“Apparently Kim Jong-Il hasn’t seen the latest from Seoul,” Carter said. “They’ve trotted out Hwang Jang Yop again, and this time he’s outdone himself. The short version is that he claims North Korea engineered the accident themselves as an excuse to prepare for an all-out war. Scorched earth. Yop is warning that North Korea is planning to launch its nuclear arsenal at any moment.”
Murphy could scarcely believe what he was hearing. “Is this the government’s official position?”
“All South Korean forces have gone to DEFCON Two,” General Podvin said unhappily. “Came out of the blue at 0600. Ken Addison is scrambling to play catch up. Caught him completely off guard.” General Addison was commander in chief of all forces in South Korea.
Murphy sat back in his chair as he tried to work it out. “This could mean that the South Koreans heard something from their Kimch’aek team that they’re not telling us,” he said. “Wouldn’t be the first time they held out.”
“They’re playing a dangerous game,” Secor said.
“That they are,” Murphy agreed.
“All right, gentlemen,” the President said. “North Korea and South Korea are both rattling their sabers. In the meantime the Chinese are sending warships into a region where Japan already has deployed two ships of its own, not including the submarine of theirs that sank. What do we do about it?”
“We put Seventh Fleet between them,” General Podvin said. “The Chinese backed down before over Taiwan, and they have a much greater interest there than they do in North Korea.”
“What orders do we give Hamilton?” the President asked pointedly. Admiral James Hamilton was CINC of Seventh Fleet.
“To defend himself,” Podvin said. “But nobody’s going to shoot at us.”
“They have before.”
“Not the Chinese, Mr. President,” Podvin said. “And the incident two years ago between us and Japan was an accident they’re not going to repeat.”
The President was troubled, but he nodded. “I tend to agree with you,” he said. “Which is why I ordered the Seventh out of Tokyo Bay. But we have another kettle of fish to deal with. The Japanese embassy hand-delivered a letter from Prime Minister Enchi to me forty-five minutes ago.”
Harold Secor was the only man around the table who didn’t seem surprised.
“He’s asked for our help,” the President said.
“Did he admit they sabotaged Kimch’aek?” Murphy asked.
“No. But he’s taking Kim Jong-Il’s threats seriously enough to tell me that if the North Koreans so much as twitch he’ll order an all-out offensive against them and expect our support.”