Battlecraft (2006)

comrades.'

'It was our righteous cause that gave me the courage and skills I needed,' Mike replied.

'And you, old comrade,' Mahamat said, looking at Sabah, 'are as appreciated as ever. Your efforts in organizing weapons and supply deliveries have also been noted by our esteemed leader.'

'I am humbled by the honor,' Sabah said.

'I never thought about a leader,' Mike said. 'I assumed we were commanded by a group of dedicated Islamic brothers.'

'We have but one leader,' Mahamat said. 'And you will meet him soon. But first we have to prepare you for future operations that will be both dangerous and complicated.'

'We are eager to participate in such a phase of our jihad,' Sabah assured their host. 'It sounds like decisive actions are going to be taken.'

'Most assuredly,' Mahamat said. 'And the first thing we must do is have you outfitted as officers with complete uniforms. We will also see to it that your bodyguards are disguised as sailors. You will be going out very soon aboard my flagship to observe the first part of al-Mimkhalif's struggle to establish a destiny of victory dedicated to the glory of Islam. Because of the clandestine nature of these activities, you must not look like outsiders.'

Mike was now eager for more information. 'What will we be doing?'

'There is a troublesome small craft,' Mahamat said. 'An air-cushion vehicle, to be exact, that must be destroyed before we can continue. This must be taken care of before our strategy can be advanced toward its final phases. Even now, our decoy is out like a baited hook to draw our victim into a trap.'

'It sounds as if this is all going to happen very quickly,' Sabah said.

'We expect action in the next couple of days or so,' Mahamat said. He pressed the buzzer on his desk and their petty officer escort stepped into the office. 'Raqib, take these men and their servants to the tailor shop for uniforms as previously directed.'

'Aywa, Amid!' the petty officer said with a salute. He gestured to Mike and Sabah to follow him as he walked toward the door.

.

DHOW NIJM ZARK

ARABIAN SEA

VICINITY OF 15deg NORTH AND 70deg EAST

10 OCTOBER

1200 HOURS LOCAL

CAPTAIN Bashar Bashir and his crew were bored into a state of numb lethargy. They had been tracking back and forth from east to west, then west to east since dropping off their passengers in Ras Alhad, Oman. To add to their frayed tempers, they were not being paid for the activity. But when one takes on jobs from al-Mimkhalif, one must expect certain disadvantages, such as unreasonable and unexplained demands. Once a vessel, even an old wooden one like the Nijm Zark, begins its association with a terrorist organization, she and the crew are at their client's mercy.

Bashir's mate, a surly individual named Bakhtiaar Ghanem, was standing wheel watch, working the spokes as he kept the compass as close to west as possible under the pressures of current and wind. Bashir stood beside him, glancing down at the quartet of crewmen dozing in the shade in front of the quarter deck. The fifth was up in the rigging on the mainmast, watching all points of the horizon.

Ghanem snarled. 'Shiyatin min jahannam--the devils of hell! I hate being bait like this.'

'Aywa' Bashir agreed. 'But there is nothing we can do about it.'

'What if those cursed American airplanes come around?' Ghanem said. 'They'll make short work of us.'

'I think if we are bait, there will be other planes nearby to attack the Americans,' Bashir suggested.

'Are you crazy? What makes you think al-Mimkhalif has airplanes?'

'Then maybe a ship,' Bashir said. 'I don't think they would set us out here to be sunk.'

'Maybe we are to keep the Americans away from somewhere else,' Ghanem commented sourly. 'What a cheap sacrifice for al-Mimkhalif, la?'

'You are forgetting the tracking mechanism they put aboard,' Bashir said, pointing to the electronic instrument lashed to the after mast. 'Our instructions are to turn it on if we see that funny boat that stopped us before.'

'Ah!' Ghanem said hopefully. 'Maybe nothing will happen. We have only enough fuel and provisions for another forty hours.'

'Dir balak!' the lookout on the main mast called down. 'The American boat is off the port side.'

Bashir yelled back, 'Are you sure it is the strange one that stopped us and its crew came aboard?'

'It is the same,' the lookout assured him. 'I can easily see the spray all around it, and it moves fast toward us.'

'Binnihay--at last!' Bashir exclaimed. He walked over to the after mast and flipped on the tracking machine to broadcast its homing signal.

'Bait!' Ghanem said fearfully. 'We are just bait!'

.

FLAGSHIP HARBI-MIN-ISLAM

ARABIAN SEA

VICINITY OF 17deg NORTH AND 65deg EAST

'A homing signal from the dhow has been picked up, Amidl' the excited young communication officer reported, looking over at Commodore Muhammad Mahamat.

Mahamat grinned with delight. 'Haida taiyib--excellent! What is the course?'

'One-seven-seven, Amid. Approximately one hundred kilometers.'

Mahamat turned to the helmsman. 'Course one-seven-seven! Flank speed!'

Mike Assad and Hafez Sabah stood on the bridge with the commodore as the flagship began the maneuver, keeling with a quick response of rudder to wheel. Mike had been doing his best to make mental notes of actual locales and courses, but without access to navigational instruments, the more he observed the more confused he became about their location on the watery wilderness. Sabah, on the other hand, was content to merely make casual observations of what was going on.

'What is happening, Commodore?' he asked.

'A signal from our decoy has indicated that the American vessel we seek is approaching her,' Mahamat said. He looked to the officer of deck standing nearby. 'Sound general quarters!'

Mike felt a surge of nervous dread. 'Are you speaking of the air-cushion vehicle, Commodore?'

'The same!' Mahamat replied. 'She comes from an amphibious assault ship assigned to an American carrier battle group, and has been doing vigorous patrolling in this area for close to a month.'

'Is she a threat, Commodore?' Sabah asked.

'Her potential to harm us must be neutralized at all costs,' Mahamat replied. 'Our contacts inform us she is called Battlecraft and is extremely fast and well armed. This day's task is to destroy her.'

Mike turned away. The thought of watching American sailors being killed sickened him. For one wild, desperate moment he thought of getting the Webley revolver in his cabin and taking out key members of the flagship's crew. But he knew that would solve nothing except provide momentary relief before he was shot down himself. There was absolutely nothing he could do but observe the carnage to come. The worst part was that he was going to have to cheer when the American vessel was sunk by the super-fast missile attack vessel.

The Harbi-min-Islam sped across the Arabian Sea toward her objective.

.

ACV BATTLECRAFT

VICINITY OF 15deg NORTH AND 65deg EAST

THE flickering radar blip was a familiar signal to Lieutenant Veronica Rivers. She grinned, announcing, 'The dhow is back, Captain. Three-five-zero at ten miles. She's heading due west.'