Battlecraft (2006)

'Sometimes I feel a bit like the Communist Lenin,' the sheikh said. 'He took advantage of the capitalists' greed as much as we take advantage of the infidels' particularly materialistic tendencies.'

Mike spoke up. 'That is what I hated the most about America, Sheikh Omar.'

The sheikh smiled. 'You are a true son of Islam, Mikael.'

'I pray your trust in me remains strong,' Mike said sincerely since his mission success depended on the man's absolute confidence in him. You smoke-blowing son of a bitch!

.

USS DAN DALY

INDIAN OCEAN

1900 HOURS

AN atmosphere of tension, crackling like electricity among the attendees, filled the briefing room. The late hour of the impromptu session added to the edginess of the four members of the ACV Battlecraft's operational crew, Lieutenant Bill Brannigan, Lieutenant (JG) Veronica Rivers, Petty Officer First Class Paul Watkins, and Petty Officer Second Class Bobby Lee Atwill. The two assault sections were conspicuous by their absence from this meeting.

Commander Tom Carey opened the session with the terse announcement that this was a combat briefing plain and simple. 'You are going into harm's way,' he said. 'This is strictly a sea attack, and your mission is to hunt and destroy that unknown warship that destroyed the two F/A-18s and fired at you.'

Everyone instinctively sat up straighter, and glances were directed at Lieutenant Bill Brannigan, who had his notebook out and pen poised.

Carey continued. 'You will not have air cover. The reason for this is that we want only one American blip showing up on radars whether they be friendly or hostile. This is not sound battle procedure; it is, instead, a political necessity because of pressures involving international diplomacy.'

' 'Ours is but to do or die,'' Brannigan said, quoting from the poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' by the Englishman Lord Tennyson.

'I'm afraid so,' Carey said. 'But don't think it means you are expendable. But as members of a volunteer professional military establishment, you must realize that from the first moment you put on that uniform, you volunteered to obey the orders of your superiors. That means first you follow those orders without hesitation, then bring forth your personal observations during debriefings afterward. And I emphasize that this session today is a briefing, not a debriefing. Thus, no expression of opinions is invited.' He looked at Brannigan. 'Poetic or not.'

'In other words,' Brannigan remarked dryly, 'we lock our heels and follow orders.'

'If a gust of wind blows those orders out a porthole, you follow after 'em right into the sea,' Carey said, passing out charts to Brannigan and his crew. 'Here is your operational area. Nothing new there. You've been out there dozens of times. Now, let's talk ordnance. Your missile load will be six AGM-one-nineteen-B Penguin missiles. These fire-and-forget goodies are usually launched from Seahawk helicopters, so now you know why weapons wings were placed on each side of Battlecraft's cabin.'

'I designed them that way, sir,' Veronica emphatically stated.

'A point well taken, Lieutenant,' Carey said with an apologetic smile. 'At any rate, the Penguins' semi-armor- piercing, HE warheads are more than adequate to handle that warship. Of course Lieutenant Rivers will also have her thirty-millimeter chain gun. You will not have an antiaircraft capability for two reasons. The first is that our intelligence assessments conclude there will be no aerial attacks directed at you.' He grinned wryly. 'And the second is that you don't have room for all those Penguins and any sea-to-air weaponry too.'

'Sir,' Brannigan said. 'Do we have any idea of the nationality of that warship?'

'Not the slightest, Lieutenant,' Carey replied. 'And here's the real hang-up for you. While I described this as a hunt-and-destroy mission, you are not to attack until you are fired on. Another disadvantage forced on you by the conditions out here.'

Veronica asked, 'Are you going to issue us an OPORD, sir?'

'I just have, Lieutenant,' Carey said. 'You will go immediately to the Battlecraft after this briefing for a final inspection of the ACV's condition. You will begin your mission tomorrow from the Daly's docking well at 0530.'

'Oh-dark-thirty,' Brannigan remarked. 'The regular ol' SOP.'

'Right,' Carey said. 'Good luck and Godspeed, Battlecraft:'

Everyone stood to attention as the commander left the room.

Chapter 13.

ACV BATTLECRAFT

ARABIAN SEA

VICINITY OF 15deg NORTH AND 65deg EAST

22 OCTOBER

1100 NOONS

PALI L Watkins had programmed the way point data into the automatic pilot, and the ACV ran the proper azimuths at a steady sixty-two miles per hour on two-thirds speed. Lieutenant Bill Brannigan, sitting in his captain's chair, ordered the fuel-consuming velocity for the dual purposes of attracting attention and making the ACV easy to identify by any unfriendlies who might be looking for her.

Over to Watkins's sight, Lieutenant Veronica Rivers maintained an electronic surveillance of their environment while keeping her weapons systems ready for a violent response to any aggressive actions directed toward the Battlecraft Bobby Lee Atwill sat in the doorway to his engine room, sipping hot coffee from a grease-stained cup.

Lieutenant Rivers spoke tersely into the intercom. 'I've got a target at three-two-one, twenty-miles. Estimate it's moving at forty-plus miles per hour. That's got to be our bad boy.'

'I agree,' Bannerman replied. 'Helmsman, steer three-two-one. Maintain speed.'

'Steer three-two-one, maintain speed, aye, sir!' Watkins said.

The autopilot automatically disengaged when Watkins manipulated sticks and rudder for the change in course. This was one of the times when the SOP and common sense called for manual control.

Veronica checked her instruments. 'We're in their radar,' she reported. 'I'm locked onto it.'

'Roger,' Bannerman said.

'I've picked up six more signals, Captain,' Veronica said. 'Jesus! The little bastards are moving fast as hell. Seventy-plus miles per hour.'

'Concentrate on the faster blips,' Brannigan ordered.

'Aye, sir,' Veronica replied. 'They're spreading out now, getting into positions all around us.'

'Roger,' Bannerman acknowledged. He picked up the radio microphone and raised the Combat Direction Center on the USS Dan Daly, where Commander Tom Carey stood by with the two CIA men, Paulsen and Koenig. When Bannerman's initial contact was recognized by a reply from the CDC radioman, the SEAL delivered a short meaningful transmission:

'We are engaged. Out.'

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THE BATTLE

1140 HOURS LOCAL

THE half-dozen speedier enemy craft were the Zauba Squadron's Spica- Class fast-attack boats. Commodore Muhammad Mahamat knew that the ACV had an estimated speed advantage over the vessels of twenty kilometers per hour. He directed his battle plan from his flagship Harbi-min-Islam, and he ordered the smaller craft to spread out and come in at the ACV from various directions to neutralize that plus in the Americans' favor. Proper positioning would be the key to victory that day.

The Number One Attack Boat swung over to the outside, faking an envelopment maneuver, then quickly cut straight in at the ACV. This was the Battlecraft's first target, and a fire-and-forget Penguin antiship missile kicked off the weapons wing. Its Mach-1.2 speed carried it with merciless swiftness to the target, and the warhead hit the attack boat less than a foot above the waterline. The hull split open as the upper structure bent and twisted in the blinding detonation. In less than five seconds there was no sign of the boat on the