Stephen Coonts - Combat

The forty-five-foot wheeled eight-by-eight truck inched out of the transport and down the ramp. Four canisters took up two-thirds the length of the vehicle, overhanging the end of the chassis.

The command and radar vehicles were already on the ground and had moved off to a clear area to one side of the hangars. Technicians swarmed over the two vehicles, checking them quickly before letting them proceed. Rail cars and loading equipment stood ready.

The first battery, consisting of the command and radar vehicle and eight launcher vehicles, was already emplaced around the base. It would protect the airfield while the rest of the equipment arrived.

“At least three batteries of S-400s have arrived so far. One was used to cover the airfield, while one was sent by rail to the Gongga Shan launch site. We believe the other will be used to cover the Xichuan control center.”

None of this was good news, but Admiral Overton had more to tell. He displayed a list of Russian military units, along with their strength and their location.

“Additional Russian forces, including aircraft and more SAM units, are heading for the Chinese border. These are not weapons sold to China, but active Russian units stationed in the Far Eastern Theatre. I believe that these units are going to deploy to Chinese bases.

“Although they’re deployed defensively, they will free up Chinese units to move south. More disturbing are the close military ties these represent. Russian official statements have always supported the Chinese in the Vietnam crisis, but they’ve been quiet about their attacks on our GPS satellites. These movements may indicate that they’ve decided to take sides.”

Overton saw their reaction, and mentally throwing the rest of his presentation over his shoulder, just summarized the rest. “A North Korean MiG-29 squadron has moved across the border, while other North Korean units are mobilizing.”

He put a new list on the display. “Indian and Indonesian forces are mobilizing, for reasons not clear right now. There are even signs of activity in Iraq.”

“We’ve only seen the early signs of mobilization, but if they continue, other powers like Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, will have to follow suit.”

General Kastner looked thinner after almost two months of crisis. He listened to Overton’s brief quietly, then asked, “And the Chinese are still completely ready?”

“All the deployed units are still in place, sir, and they’ve begun mobilizing other units throughout the country. Half their fleet is at sea or ready for immediate steaming. Stockpiles at staging areas near the Vietnamese border have actually increased, and thanks to the Russians, the Chinese will probably be able to protect them better. They could attack the Vietnamese with less than twenty-four hours’ notice.”

“They certainly know about the congressional resolution,” fumed Kastner. Opposition members in the House had started a resolution cutting funding for troops in Japan and Korea. “With Russia and North Korea holding her coat, the Chinese may now feel free to act.”

Kastner looked at the assembled service chiefs. “Are there any other comments?” Only the Marine general spoke. “The Chinese know they have a free hand — against Vietnam, Taiwan, wherever they want.”

The Chairman said, “We all know the status of Defender , and their request for more time. Do we recommend for or against the replacement satellite launch? General Warner?”

The Air Force Chief of Staff controlled the GPS constellation, although it was used by all the services. “I’d hate to waste the last replacement satellite, sir. We’ve contracted for new birds, but it will be a long time before they’re ready. I say hold it until after Defender proves herself.”

“If we go to war, we’ll need any GPS capability we can get.” General Forest, the Army Chief of Staff, wasn’t shy. “Even if we can’t get full coverage, more partial coverage is better than less partial coverage.”

“And when that coverage is lost? We only have the one spare GPS bird,” Kastner reminded him. “Once we lose that satellite, we’re helpless.”

“The Chinese will shoot down one GPS satellite a week whether we launch a new bird or not. This buys us a week. Putting it in my terms, we’re fighting a rearguard action, trading casualties for time.” The soldier looked grim, but determined.

“And we hope for the cavalry,” Kastner concluded. “I’ll make the recommendation.”

Biff Barnes resisted the urge to shout, give orders, or any kind of direction. These people were supposed to do their jobs on their own. He’d be too busy to give orders when the time came.

Jim Scarelli, the designated pilot, was off working on the flight-control systems with the techs. The Lockheed Martin test pilot for VentureStar, there was no question of his ability to fly Defender . That part was easy.

The rest of them struggled to train on half-built systems in a jury-rigged simulator. Six metal chairs mimicked ejection seats, and plywood and plastic boxes pretended to be control consoles. A plywood arch covered them, because many of the controls were positioned on the overhead. Network and power cables were tightly bundled, but still required attention to avoid a misstep.

Steve Skeldon, the navigator and copilot, sat in the right front seat. A Marine captain, his time flying fighters was less useful than his master’s degree in physics. That morning, he had taken over Scarelli’s flight duties as well, which made him a very busy man.

Behind the pilot, Sue Tillman, the sensor officer, pretended to scan the earth and space. An impressive array of infrared, visible light, and radar equipment was being installed in Defender . Hopefully it would act like the mocked-up control panels. She also took care of the voice and data links that would tie Defender in to the ground-based sensors she needed.

The weapons officer on the right was Andre Baker, a captain in the U.S. Army. Although he had no flight experience, he did know lasers, and he was a ballistics expert as well.

Biff sat in the rearmost row. As mission commander, he didn’t need to look out the window. The displays on his console gave him the big picture. From the back, he could also watch his crew.

Ray McConnell’s chair, for the flight engineer, was on Biff’s right, also in the rear. It was empty, as well. Ray was able to train only occasionally, but that was the least of Biff’s worries.

Barnes worked the master console at his station. In addition to simulating his own controls, he could inject targets and create artificial casualties for the team to deal with. Right now, he was just trying to get the simulator’s newest feature to behave.

“Sue, tell me what your board sees.”

“Bingo! I’ve got an IR target, below us bearing two seven zero elevation four five. Shifting radar to classification mode. I’ll use the laser ranger to back up the radar data.” She sounded triumphant, and somewhere behind Biff, a few technicians clapped.

“Velocity data is firming up. It should be showing up on your board.” Biff checked his own console, and said “Yes, it is.” He’d dialed in a T’ien Lung target for Sue to find, and she had. Considering they’d just installed the infrared detection feature at four that morning, it was a significant achievement.

In spite of the frustration and lost time, Biff smiled, pleased with the results. More than procedural skills, simulators taught the crew to work together through shared experience. These experiences weren’t what he’d planned on, but the result was the same.