Dragon's Fury - Dragon's Breath Part 7

In General Jamison's estimation, though, this was a good thing. He recognized that some foes that the United States would face would have both the technology and the stomach for a fight. Those enemies had the smarts to put up a counter to America's best advantages, and also had the will to slug it out in a war of attrition they hoped would bring America to its knees.

"Major Simmons, do you have any advice or perspective?"

Jess Simmons did not like to be singled out, or held up on a pedestal. He did, however, like to take any opportunity to help train younger and/or less experienced personnel "I can't really add much except to confirm."

Getting warmed up to the opportunity to teach, Jess continued, "You know, folks, we didn't have our "G.o.d's unblinking Eye," Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar (JSTAR), up there giving us the advantage these last few days. We were all briefed on why."

"I can tell you that it is good to train for such contingencies. It is good because it is real. In Desert Storm, the Iraqis may not have been able to do much about such an advantage...and we see what happens when an enemy can't or won't. But, think back to the Serbs in Kosovo. They did not have any extraordinary electronic countermeasures. What they did have was creative minds and a resolve. The result was that we were bombing ox carts with small engines in them, and other decoys that our "G.o.d Almighty" systems couldn't differentiate from the real thing."

"I was involved in both conflicts, gentlemen, and can tell you right now that there are folks who don't like us who are a lot more capable than the Serbs. I hope we never forget it. Study your enemy. Know his strengths and weaknesses. Live them, breathe them. Then be prepared to get right down in the mud and slug it out with him because that is what he is going to be trying to do to you if he can. Thanks, General, for the opportunity to share that."

Jess knew he had said enough, so, to a rousing ovation due to his performance and that of his team, Jess sat down. As he did so, he thought about Cindy and Billy and how the preparations for that next cut of hay were coming. In three days he'd be home and know.

June 18th, 2005, 09:00 Penthouse Suite, Park Avenue New York City The unique tones from his "personal" satellite cell phone immediately got David's attention. His wife, Jennie, who was reading the morning paper, glanced knowingly over the top of the "Lifestyles" page she was reading.

"I'll take it in my study," said David over his shoulder as he got up and walked across the marble floor towards the double French doors that led into his "sanctum."

As he entered the six hundred square foot "study" and stepped onto the plush Italian carpet, David plugged the phone into its desktop receiver and quickly sat down and wondered about this call. It was extremely rare that Jien ever used the cell phone that they had presented to him on one of his many visits to China.

Something important must be up and it would be best to get right to it. David pressed the answer b.u.t.ton and spoke.

"h.e.l.lo, Jien! What a surprise, and on a Sat.u.r.day morning no less. What can I do for you?"

On the other end of the phone, and half a world away, but connected at the speed of light over the secure and encrypted satellite link, President Jien Zenim spoke.

"David, good to hear your voice. Yes, it is Sat.u.r.day morning there, but late here. I have a few critical items to pa.s.s on to you-things I am sure our friends at WNN will love to have an exclusive on."

Amazing, thought David. Another exclusive!

"Outstanding, Jien! Please fill me in and I will get right on it. Oh!...and before I forget. Thank you so much for the exclusive tip on the CAS announcement, and the corresponding Russian announcement that Li pa.s.sed on. I know that I am personally in your debt, as is WNN."

Jien continued.

"David, on the 30thof June, you will want to have camera crews on hand at the following national capitals: Kabul of Afghanistan, Ashgabat of Turkmenistan, Tashkent of Uzbekistan, Dushanbe of Tajikistan, Bishkek of Kyrgyzstan and Tehran, Iran. We have arranged for your crews to be in each place to cover the stunning announcements that will be made that day."

"It would be helpful, if as a run up to those special news breaks, you did a favorable piece on Hasan Sayeed of Iran...perhaps a few days before. He will figure greatly into these announcements, and will be making one of his own. We will handle the "arrangements" for your Swiss account as we normally do, and in fact will be transferring double the normal amount for this coverage."

David was dumbfounded. Twice the normal amount? $100,000?

"Not a problem, Jien. I know I can arrange it. We have done a few stories on Hasan, but they have all been relatively light, as we are getting very little information about him, and how he came to power in Iran.

"Would it help if I forwarded you some information, Dave?" asked Jien.

"Absolutely!" exclaimed David, "What I would really like is to interview him one-on-one and at length.

No one has done that yet."

This was precisely where Jien had hoped to lead the conversation. He knew that David would now be maneuvered into reporting things as Jien and his planners wanted.

"David, I will make an arrangement with you. If you broadcast a decent piece on Hasan, and then follow that up with live coverage of the announcements, I will arrange for you to have that exclusive interview, along with another double funds transfer. How will that be?"

David literally leapt at what he considered to be another tremendous opportunity to get an exclusive on a huge story, and to further enhance his own reputation as America's preeminent news anchor.

"I would move heaven and earth to be there for such an interview. Jien, you just tell me when and where."

David couldn't believe how fortunate he was, or how lucky WNN was to have him and his "contacts."

He wondered how long it would be before he would be in a position to take his place in the upper management of WNN. From David's perspective, it could not be too soon. Perhaps the next time he was in Beijing, he could raise the topic with Jien.

Jien, for his part, knew he had David Krenshaw right where he wanted him, and he was prepared to maximize the advantage. Such power and influence over the information being presented to the American public, and to so much of the rest of the world, was easily worth several Army groups to Jien.

"Very fine, David. I knew I could count on you."

For the next five minutes the two men conversed, with David taking many notes in preparation to plan the news coverage. Their discussion covered everything from recommendations concerning the camera crews in each of the capitals, to details regarding the production efforts at the broadcast studios in WNN headquarters.

When they hung up, Jien smiled...it had gone even better than he had antic.i.p.ated. Turning to his long-time friend and confidant, Jien said.

"Li, tell our friends that operation "Imam Tiger" has my approval, and should proceed according to plan."

Back in the penthouse apartment in New York City, an exuberant and soon-to-be significantly wealthier David Krenshaw exclaimed to his wife as crossed the floor, and s.n.a.t.c.hed the paper from her hands.

"It'sgreat being me!"

Chapter 3.

"A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den."Confucius

June 25, 2005, 22:00 local time South China Sea USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) 40 miles off Shanghai "Hold her at one two zero feet, steady as she goes, creep at 2 knots. What are the latest threat indicators?"

In answer to his Captain's question, the officer on the deck informed him that no military traffic had been detected in the area and only nominal commercial shipping and air activity could be identified, all of which was a minimum of twenty-five miles distant.

"Very well Conn, get Lieutenant Commander Sheffield."

Captain Simon Thompson was impatient at the moment. He was sitting one hundred and twenty feet below the surface, creeping along at two knots, only twenty-eight miles from the internationally recognized waters of Communist Red China in his nation's quietest and most sophisticated attack submarine. The problem was, the Chinese claimed another 160 miles beyond his current location and would treat him as an enemy if they found him here. He was determined to minimize his exposure in such conditions, and to avoid being located at all costs. He would not feel some measure of comfort until there were another 100 miles between him and that coast, and another thousand feet of water beneath his keel.

"Sir, I have Lieutenant Commander Sheffield."

Captain Thompson keyed the handset the officer of the deck gave him, and then spoke.

"Sheffield, are you and your wild Indians ready to get off my boat?"

Thompson smiled at the chuckle that preceded the response.

"d.a.m.n straight we are, Captain. But we'll be happy to hitch a ride out of here with you about twenty four hours from now."

Keying the handset again, Thompson replied.

"OK, we'll rendezvous at twenty two hundred hours tomorrow evening at point Charlie. We'll be there monitoring your frequency from twenty one hundred on. At twenty three hundred, if we have not heard anything, we will clear data and return on the next day for another try. If there are any surprises, we'll contact you with a UHF SATCOM code on the hour per the OPPLAN. You are cleared to exit, Lieutenant Commander. G.o.dspeed, and good hunting. Thompson out."

With that, Captain Thompson monitored the departure of the SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) team under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sheffield. He then took the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), third and last of the Sea Wolf cla.s.s attack submarines, further out to sea and into the deeper waters that were its natural abode.

June 25, 2005, 21:05 local time South China Sea On Board ASDS 3 Terry Sheffield surveyed his team and their surroundings.

They were on board an Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)-a small, custom-built submarine, designed for the purpose of delivering SEAL teams to their targets along enemy or belligerent coasts. The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), from which they had just exited, had been specifically modified during its construction to carry up to two of these vessels for just these sorts of clandestine missions. The first six of the new NSSN Virginia cla.s.s attack submarines had similar capabilities. In fact, the first of that cla.s.s was undergoing sea trials at the current time.

In addition to the crew of two who would pilot the vessel and himself, Terry had seven other SEAL team members for this mission. They and all of their diving and specific mission gear were housed inside the sixty-foot-long vessel. For communications, they were equipped with the SSIXS (Submarine Satellite Information Exchange System) UHF SATCOM communication systems, as well as the ability to receive VLF (Very Low Frequency) and ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) messages. Each ASDS weighed fifty-five tons and could travel through the water on its electric motor at eight knots for distances in excess of 120 miles...and they could do it while keeping their embarked SEAL team dry.

"A far cry from my early days in the SEALS," thought Terry, "and a much needed improvement."

Standing up and getting the entire team's attention, Terry addressed the men.

"Okay, gentlemen. I will review the mission plan again, and then you might as well get a little shut eye if you can."

Pulling down an electronic display board from an overhead slot, Terry directed his men's attention to a diagram of the mission plan depicted on the board.

"Okay, we are en route from point Alpha here, some forty miles off the entrance to Shanghai harbor.

We have approximately thirty-eight miles to go before we arrive on station at point Bravo, here. It'll take us approximately four to five hours to get there if we don't run into any difficulties. At that time, Ensign Murdock and Jack will remain on station here at Bravo in a low power mode monitoring communications, while the rest of us exit the vessel and proceed in."

"Once we are in the water, we have a good six-hour swim ahead of us to map and reconnoiter the harbor and set up the gear per the plan. Each swim team will position and activate their eight MUAS (miniaturized underwater, all aspect surveillance) devices at the indicated positions to cover the required area of the harbor. Any need to deviate from the pre-planned position points must be exactly noted for proper correlation of the data. Once back in our little "hive" here, we will head for point Charlie, maintaining a low profile and the rendezvous with the Jimmy C."

"Gentlemen, we have planned and trained for this over the last four weeks. Neither we, nor the Jimmy Carter, would have been a.s.signed this mission if it were not of extreme importance. We are the "A"

team, gentlemen. And it is time, once again, to demonstrate why."

"Are there any questions? I didn't think so. Well, you know the drill. Catch whatever rest you can. That is all."

June 26, 2005, 6:12 local time Beneath Shanghai Harbor "There, the last MUAS device is anch.o.r.ed to the floor of the harbor and now it's time to turn it on, arm its security package and get out of Dodge," thought Terry. He had just watched his swim "buddy," Chief Ben Kowalski complete the job of attaching the device firmly to the harbor floor. Kowalski then activated the device, armed the no-tamper circuitry, closed the access cover and joined him.

Utilizing hand signals, Terry indicated that it was time to make their way back to point Bravo and rendezvous with the other three swim teams at ASDS 3. Both of them then turned away from the device and began swimming towards point Bravo. As they did, Terry considered the high tech surveillance equipment they were leaving on the floor of Shanghai harbor.

The devices would monitor acoustic signatures, using a special low-power setting and extremely cla.s.sified battery technology. When vessels meeting the criteria programmed into the micro-circuitry were sensed, the device would go into "record" mode. This mode would last only a moment or two as each vessel that met the requirements had an acoustical, photographic, electromagnetic and electronic recording made of it.

Each device was capable of making up to eighty such recordings and storing them digitally. The devices used cla.s.sified material and circuitry that employed the saline ocean water to generate electrical power.

This invaluable characteristic provided a service life of over twelve months.

With thirty-two such devices set on the harbor floor, every conceivable approach to the aircraft carrier shipyards in Shanghai was covered. For the next year, or until the capacity of every device was full, any suspicious or combatant vessel coming into the area would be recorded.

The data could be gathered either by sending more SEALS to recover it, or through activating a small buoy device by ELF signal. The buoy would then rise to the surface, orient a low-power transmitter towards the military satellite in gyro-synchronous...o...b..t over the Philippine Sea and send an encrypted and condensed communication burst of the device's memory. When informed of an "activation," the military satellite would orient itself to "watch" the specific location of the activated device to pick up its low power burst. After communicating, the buoy would utilize chemicals to destroy itself as it sank back to the ocean floor. Each device carried five such buoys.

Twenty minutes later, Sheffield and Kowalski were joined by the other three swim teams who had all accomplished their missions. All of them were exhausted from their long swim and prolonged time in the water. They couldn't help but think, as they cycled through the lockin-lockout chamber, how nice it would be to get back into the dry and relatively comfortable, if a little cramped, interior of the ASDS for the trip back to the Jimmy Carter.

June 26, 2005, 19:25 local time East China Sea, 88 Miles off Shanghai USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) "Captain, I have a surface contact, bearing two-three-seven degrees, heading one-nine-five degrees.

Mark it as contact "Sierra" "...make that two surface contacts now, bearing two-three-seven degrees.

Now tracking Sierra one and Sierra two."

Captain Thompson swore to himself. That bearing and heading intercepted the course that the Jimmy Carter was taking to point Charlie for the rendezvous with the SEALS. He needed more information and he needed it now.

"Do you have a range on the contacts, speed, type?"

"Can just make out a speed of approximately 23 knots, Sir. Looks like the range is twenty miles...okay, Sierra one just wentactive ! I say again, I have active sonar from Sierra one on its location. Mark both contacts, Sierra one and Sierra two, as Jiangwei-II cla.s.s frigates."

The Jiangwei-II frigate was a serious threat. Each carried one of the newer Ka-28 Helix derivative helicopters, which were license built in China from Russia, and which carried dipping sonar and anti-submarine torpedoes. The frigates also carried a variety of anti-submarine weapons from torpedoes to the newest s.e.xtuple, medium-range ASW rocket launchers. Their sonar, a multi-frequency, bow-mounted S-07H sonar, was effective, though it had not detected the Jimmy Carter which was below a protective thermal layer and was coated with sonar absorbing materiel. Those frigates, or their helicopters, would literally have to be right on top of the Jimmy Carter to get any kind of return.

"Helm, all slow. Make your speed five knots. Take us down another hundred feet to five hundred. Let's make sure we stay below the thermal."

Within sixty seconds, the sonar officer updated the situation.

"Captain, active sonar has stopped, but I now have a dipping sonar. Has to be from a helicopter off one of those frigates, bearing one-niner-six degrees, range of sixteen miles. Contacts Sierra one and Sierra two are also slowing to ten knots and coming to a heading of one-two-five degrees."

"Well, that does it," thought the Captain. "Those suckers are going to hang around our rendezvous area and we just can't risk it at this stage."

"OK, looks like they are in a random search pattern over there in the vicinity of point Charlie. Helm, make your heading oh-seven-two degrees and lay in a course to point Delta. Conn, transmit a UHF SATCOM message to our "friends" at twenty-hundred hours, code "Diane.""

June 26, 2005, 20:00 local time South China Sea, 20 miles from Point Charlie On Board ASDS 3 "Commander, we're receiving a UHF SATCOM signal."

Terry knew that he wouldn't be getting any message unless there was a problem. Just as he wouldn't send one unless he couldn't make the rendezvous or had to use an alternate point. Something must be going down.

"Jack, go ahead and decode as it comes in."

After a few seconds Jack looked up and said.

"From the Jimmy Carter Sir, one word: "Diane.""

When they heard this, everyone knew that they would have to revert to point Delta for their rendezvous with the Jimmy Carter. This would mean more time and miles since point Delta was twenty miles further to the southwest.

"Okay, Jack, respond in the affirmative to the message, and you and Ensign Murdock lay in a course for us to point Delta."

June 27, 2005, 01:10 local time East China Sea, Point Delta USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) As the XO (Executive Officer) of the USS Jimmy Carter reached to hang up the communications handset into which he had been speaking, he nodded to the Captain.

"Captain, ASDS secure and the SEALS are on board. Lieutenant Commander Sheffield reports 'mission accomplished.'"

Thompson considered this, thankful that they had been able to avoid detection by the Jiangwei-II frigates. Now it was time to move on to part two of the mission.