B018R79OOK EBOK Read online

  Chief Cooper could hear the sounds of bubbles and the tearing of metal. There was a moaning sound and after a minute another explosion. The same sounds came from three other bearings. “Those are the sounds of a ship dying, son,” the Chief said. “You hear what sounded like sharp bangs? That was the crew trying to stop the water. The final explosion and all the bubbles was the ship reaching crush depth. At least it didn’t last long,” he said. There was a sadness in the Chief’s voice. Then he snapped back to the task at hand. “Now make your scans and make sure there aren’t any more around here. I don’t want to have to go through what they just did,” he growled.

  Washington, DC

  The change around Washington was electric. Military vehicles were now everywhere. There was double security around the military facilities, including the Washington Navy Yard, where Jeffers had his BOQ room. After driving for ten hours with only a stop for food, Jeffers was dog tired. Several times he was slowed down on the interstate for accidents and once where the Highway Patrol was checking IDs. As a result, it was well after six in the evening when he got back to his room. He threw his luggage on the bed and went straight back out to go into the office.

  Driving down I-695, he crossed the Potomac and quickly changed his mind. The entrances and exits to the Pentagon were snarled with traffic. Opening his cell phone, he called in, only to be told to come in first thing in the morning. Resigning his fate, Jeffers turned the Rolls off the main road and circled back. Exiting on South Capitol Street, he pulled into a fast food place and settled for a quick meal. The drive through was relatively quick and soon he was back in his BOQ room. Jeffers sat down at the small table in his kitchenette and turned on the television.

  The situation had gotten worse. The Russians were now deep into Poland and both the Poles and the Germans were having a very difficult time. Much of the coverage centered around the usual military analysts and pundits who had an opinion on everything, and were usually wrong. Much time was spent going into detail of the Navy losses. It soon became obvious that the Navy had lost much of its carrier force. The dead numbered in the thousands. The only good piece of news was a story about a German commander who had a running sea battle with two Russian ships that had damaged one of the carriers. Jeffers chuckled at the thought of what he had done, and wished he could have been there to see it.

  The news didn’t make his meal taste any better. Finishing it off, Jeffers suddenly felt extremely tired. But before he called it a night, he dialed Hammond’s number to see what he needed to be ready for in the morning. He was surprised when the phone went to voicemail. Then he thought about the card he had with a telephone number few had. No, he would not bother the man now. He knew the President would be extremely busy. Instead, he removed his clothing and lay back on his bed. Within a minute he was deep asleep.

  The next morning Jeffers woke early. Returning to his regular schedule, he was out and in his office by 5 am. He was busy preparing things for the morning when he found out that Admiral Hammond was no longer there. Captain Clarity explained what had happened and told him just to sit tight at his desk until they figured out how to get him to Europe.

  Two hours later, Rear Admiral Chris Hustvedt went in to see the CNO. Jeffers was startled, when he was then summoned to join them. Straightening his uniform, Jeffers entered the CNO’s inner office.

  “Come in, Lieutenant Jeffers,” said the Admiral Johnson. “I believe you already know Admiral Hustvedt.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Jeffers shaking his hand.

  “Have a seat.” The three men sat down and the CNO led off. “Rod, I am going to reassign you to be on Admiral Hustvedt’s staff. I’m sure you are aware that Admiral Hammond is now in Europe. We talked it over and decided this would be the best thing for you,” the CNO said.

  Jeffers got a disappointed look on his face. He had obviously wanted to remain with Hammond. “I understand, sir. May I ask why the change?”

  The CNO smiled and reached behind his desk. He produced a thick three ring binder, filled with paper, with additional sheets stuck in various places throughout the document. Jeffers instantly recognized it as his plan. The CNO placed it on his desk.

  “There’s actually a very good reason,” said Hustvedt. “The man who authored the invasion of Russia should be there to see his work implemented,” he said.

  Jeffers’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. His eyes darted between the two men in the room. “Yes, Rod, Admiral Hammond showed us your work. Quite frankly, I have never seen such a plan in all my years in service. We have shared it around Washington and with the military leaders in Europe. These additional pages you see are their notes and suggestions. I hope you noticed that there aren’t that many. Of all the plans available from years of thoughts and ideas for such an event, yours was the one which stood out. And that’s why Roger wanted you to go with Admiral Hustvedt. He will be in command of the Black Sea invasion. You are going to be with him, kind of like a ringside seat,” the CNO said warmly.

  “Our job is to take this plan and flesh it out a bit. Go over it in fine detail and gather the resources you said we might need to get the job done,” said Hustvedt from the seat beside him. “We have just one month to smooth this thing out, promulgate it and gather the people and materials we need to make it happen. You ready to take this on with me?” he asked.

  Jeffers still looked stunned, but he nodded and said, “Yes sir, I’d be glad to.”

  Hustvedt slapped him on the arm. “Good. Now gather your things from your desk and move them down the hall. I have a team standing by to get started. The first meeting is at ten,” he said as he stood. Looking at the CNO, he said, “Thanks Perry.” Then left the room.

  The CNO turned to Jeffers. “Rod, I know you wanted to stay with Roger, but he said he had promised to make sure he did nothing to harm your career. This will be considered combat duty. It’s a big job and quite frankly, having seen how you work, I can’t think of anyone better to do it. I’m relying on you and Admiral Hustvedt to get the job done. If this fails, a lot more of us may need to take Russian lessons from you,” he said. He extended his hand. “Good luck.”

  Jeffers left the office and quickly gathered the few things he had in his desk, including notes and several flash drives he had in a safe. Saying goodbye to Clarity, he left the office and walked back to the “C” Ring where Hustvedt’s office was. There, he found that not only did he have a desk, but a small office as well. Placing his items on the desk he looked around and took a deep breath. Might as well get started, he thought.

  Lodz, Poland

  It had been a monumental effort. Moving a thousand men and all their gear several hundred miles and getting it set up within a little over a day had exhausted everyone. But as Master Sergeant Dale Ricks looked around, it appeared to be ready. Because of the fighting, a school had been made available. Now, inside a large gym, was a large electronic command post. Tables were lined up parallel to each other along the gym floor with what looked like gaming consoles side by side along the length of the rows. Wires had been strung along each table to connect the consoles to a master unit and to provide communications via headset for each operator. On several large screens was a digital display of the battle area outlining where units were, both enemy and friendly. Ricks was one of the few who knew that the information was coming from a KH-14 satellite thousands of miles away. It was rude and crude, but he hoped everything would work as planned.

  A set of doors opened and the first of the operators began entering the darkened room. Letters and numbers posted at various positions in the room indicated where each unit would be. The men and women began working their way across the rows and gathering in their area. Most looked a little nervous.

  Ricks glanced at his watch. It was 0330. It wouldn’t be long now and they would see if this would work. Colonel Sanders walked up next to him.

  “I see you didn’t get any beauty sleep,” he joked.

  Ricks chuckled. “Ha
dn’t had any of that for years. Besides, I need to have my scary face on before going into battle,” he said.

  Sanders looked around. “Good job getting this set up. You think they’re ready?”

  “They better be. I didn’t come all this way for nothing. You brief your people?” Ricks asked.

  Sanders nodded. The officers had a separate briefing this first time. From here on, everything would be done together. “Finished up about ten minutes ago. They should get here any minute. I’ll sit everyone down for a final brief when everyone s here. Where are you placing yourself?”

  “Right beside you, Colonel. I’ll personally go between the squads as this thing progresses, but I can help by pointing things out as we go along. We’re lucky the Russians like their sleep. Them stopping their advance at night gives us just the right chance to get in there and get the job done. If they were still moving, this would be a royal pain,” said Ricks.

  “I agree. So let’s count our blessings.” The Colonel looked around the room. Everyone appeared to be there. “Let’s get this started,” he said.

  Moving toward the front of the room, someone called everyone to attention. Sanders had them take their seats, and then addressed the crowd.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to make some history. This is a new technology and a new kind of warfare. More importantly, we are going to do what we can to stop, or at least hinder the advance of our enemy. But what we do today is no different than what an army has done since the beginning. We go in, destroy an enemy, and go home. Only this time, instead of doing it by carrying in a gun, we do it by sending the drones you control. We still destroy and enemy, but in this case, we don’t put you, the people with the weapon, at risk.

  “But like any soldier, you follow the directions of your sergeants and the officers over you. You all know where you are going to go. You have all been assigned a sector. Do everything you can to eliminate every threat in that sector. You must make sure you don’t double hit any target. If you can’t get them all in the first go round, get them in the second. Remember, you have limited time on station. Remember you only have five rounds. Once you are empty, hit the return button and get these things back home. Once they’re back, we go out again with a second batch. The idea is to keep hitting them until they don’t want to advance. It’s a big job.”

  “Your workday begins in ten minutes. It goes on until dawn. Then we will come back together and assess what we’ve done. We will do this every night beginning tonight. So get used to sleeping during the day. One thing to remember though. We are very close to the front. If you don’t stop these guys, you won’t get sleep, because they will be on top of us before you can wake up. So make all this work. Now man your stations.”

  The men and women began sitting down at their consoles. Each group checked in with their sergeant and platoon leaders. On the large screen indicators for all of the drones were clumped together at a point just over a mile from their targets. Lines, delineating the different sectors were already drawn on the screen for people to reference if they needed. Each drone had a number and letter. On signal, the Colonel watched as the large clump of drones began separating and moving towards the enemy.

  It was not enough sleep, but Nicolai Sokovsky was ready for another day of operations. Things so far had gone very well. The few tanks and troops they had encountered had been no match for the firepower of his tank. He had spent part of the night making sure a faulty train switch had been repaired so that he didn’t have to train the heavy turret by hand. His crew was standing beside the tank, talking. Two of the men were still munching on their morning biscuit. He was about to order his men into the tank when a strange buzzing sound seemed to grow around them. It sounded a lot like a swarm of bees. “What is that?” he asked.

  It was the last thing he uttered as a series of shots rang out, dropping him and one other in his crew. As the others reached out to help their comrades, they too were shot. All across the compound shots rang out. In a panic, some of the guards thought that an enemy force had infiltrated the area and opened fire with their machine gun. They were still firing when two shots rang out nearby, killing the gunners and silencing the machine gun.

  The sound of the bees moved away, further back behind the lines. More shots rang out around the mess tent where men had been eating. Three men were shot while using a latrine.

  General Andre Kamerovic heard the shots and stepped out of his command tent. “What is going on here?” he shouted. All around him men were running back and forth trying to get to where the shots were being fired. He quickly began running toward the sound.

  “Look at that fat one,” said one of the drone operators.

  “Nail his ass,” said the sergeant.

  As the general stopped to try and get a perspective on what was going on, another shot rang out. He fell to the ground with a bullet in his head.

  “I’m out,” said the operator.

  “Then bring it back home,” said the sergeant.

  The operator pressed the return button and watched as the drone lifted itself up to a height of about 500 feet and begin moving back toward friendly lines.

  In the back of the room, Colonel Sanders watched in amazement. “Son of a bitch,” he exclaimed under his breath. “Get them all back and go for a second round. Call in to headquarters. Tell them it worked and I recommend we plow the field,” he said.

  In a headquarters back in Germany, Roger Hammond watched as almost the entire Russian line was attacked by the drones. When the report came in from Sanders, he turned to Dortmund and Pol. “It’s time, gentlemen. Do your worst,” he said.

  In an old abandoned coal mine near the border with Ukraine, the sound of engines starting pierced the pre-dawn morning. Huge steel doors suddenly swung open and German Leopard tanks began sprinting out of the deep shafts and making their way northward. Completely bypassed by the Russians, who had no interest in old mines, the older shafts contained nearly two hundred of the tanks, along with trucks and infantry. All of them sprinted north.

  The same thing happened along the Russian border near the Baltic Sea. These tanks and infantry began sprinting south. This was repeated in three additional areas with the primary objective of closing in behind the Russian assault and cutting it off.

  USS Michigan

  They were late. For some reason, the targeting computer began giving fits just one hour before launch. The entire fire control team dove into it, only to find a cold solder joint in one of the circuits. Captain Gary Frye was already upset that this had caused the ship to miss their launch window, but the missiles would fly no matter what.

  “How long before we get everything loaded,” he asked calmly.

  “Five minutes, Captain,” said the Chief Fire Controlman.

  The captain turned to the other side of the room. “Contacts?”

  “Five contacts, Captain. All of them are way beyond reach. Closest is forty miles away.”

  The Captain looked at his XO. “Still a little too close for me, but looks like we are stuck with it.” He turned back to his men. “Any coming this way?”

  “None, Captain,” said the sonar watch.

  “Looks like it won’t get any better than this,” he said to the men in general. “Ready all launch tubes. Set general quarters.”

  The muted claxon sounded and everyone aboard the giant missile submarine ran to their general quarters stations. The Michigan had been a ballistic missile submarine, but at the end of the cold war, she had been modified to carry only cruise missiles and torpedoes. Only once before had Michigan launched all her missiles. That had been six years earlier during the Korean War. Now she would do so again, except this time it would be against a nation she had been designed to go up against in the first place.

  “All stations manned and ready,” the XO said.

  “Very well. Fire control, what’s your status?”

  “Manned and ready, Captain. The computer is functioning normally and we have solutions entered. We
can commence fire when ready,” said the chief.

  “Open the missile hatches.”

  Outside the ship, the first missile hatch opened. The ship was submerged and only the protective coverings were keeping the seawater out.

  “Missile door open. Request batteries released,” said the operations officer.

  The Captain looked around and nodded. “Very well. Batteries released.”

  On the fire control console, a crewman flipped a protective cover and pressed the button. The first of nearly 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles erupted out of its cell and rushed to the surface. Once hitting air, the rocket motor fired, pressing the missile quickly to its flying speed. The wings and tail extended and the turbojet engine ignited, powering the missile along at over 550 miles per hour. There were no nuclear missiles aboard. Instead, all were land attack variants. This morning, they would leave the ship and head toward a variety of targets, mostly at near their maximum range. The targets included several dams, electric generation facilities, some major switching yards and the main refineries located in the Urals.

  The missiles hugged the surface of the sea, only 100 feet up. Over land, they would increase their altitude to 500 feet. Each could maneuver independently to avoid obstacles. Their built in GPS systems and radar guidance would guarantee hitting within ten feet of their target.

  As the last missile left its tube, Captain Frye ordered his ship as deep as she could go. They would be going back to Holy Locke, where additional missiles were waiting. Only one silo had missiles. Those were to be used as needed against ships.

  Michigan was not alone. There were three additional SSGNs launching, along with launches from the Royal Navy. In all, there were over 800 cruise missiles on their way to targets well inside Russia.