“When we finish pounding the pirates’ hideouts into the sand, we will return home.”
“Oh? They will only return, perhaps with revenge on their minds,” Truznyev said. He waited a few heartbeats to hear if Zhou would or would not remain adamant; when he did not, Truznyev went on: “The Americans have a massive base in Djibouti from which they control the entire southern access to the Suez Canal. They once claimed it was a forward operating base for antipiracy operations. Do you think they would depart once you destroy the Somali pirates?”
“What of it? The Americans would not dare restrict access to the Canal or anywhere else.”
“Probably not, but they could do so, and that alone is troubling enough for me,” the Russian president said. “When Russia had access to ports in Yemen and Egypt, we tied up a great many American warships just from our presence. America wanted a ten-to-one ratio of warships in the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean. It was fun just to watch the hapless Americans driving these huge convoys of massive warships around like chickens with their heads cut off just because we sailed a tiny frigate through the area.”
“But they did build the ships, and they fill every ocean with them. What of it, Mr. Truznyev?”
“We will talk more of it at a later time, Premier,” Truznyev said. “But allow me to make a prediction: Once China gets a taste of foreign adventure, it will be hard to stop. Russia once sailed vast fleets and squadrons of bombers all around the world. We stopped after the Soviet Union collapsed and the oligarchs robbed our country blind, and our country lost its pride and hope for the future.
“But when we took control of our government and our resources and resumed showing the flag, even though in vastly smaller numbers, the world sat up and took notice once again, and the Russian people regained hope for the future. We are not yet a superpower again as we once were, but no longer does the United States disregard our rights and wishes.
“ China has always had the reputation for isolation, for staying within its own borders, for closing its ports and its very society when the pressures of the outside world create social and economic stress,” Truznyev said. “You have changed that dynamic tonight, Premier. I suggest you observe the reaction of the world and decide if China might try another direction.”
“What direction, sir?”
“The opposite of isolation: engagement,” Truznyev said. “ China ’s armies outnumber the next three nations’ armies combined. That should be enough to cause any nation, even the United States, to tremble. I am not saying go to war, but make the adversary think you are not contemplating isolation any longer. If you dare take your rightful place, you will find a willing ally in Russia, Premier.”
U.S. AFRICA COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, BOLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ETHIOPIA
A SHORT TIME LATER
“We just moved this headquarters here from Germany, Mr. Carlyle,” complained U.S. Army General Thomas Greene, commander of U.S. Africa Command, one of the newest unified commands in the U.S. military. Greene, a short, rather heavyset, square-headed, and powerfully built black man in his early fifties, was sweating profusely underneath a full set of ACUs, or Army Combat Uniform. “Nothing is working right, half of my staff is still in Stuttgart and hasn’t arrived yet, and you can fry an egg on the roof of my Humvee. So to answer your question, sir: No, I have not been briefed on the incident in Mogadishu yet.”
“Well, what can you tell us about the situation out there, General?” the president’s national security adviser asked from his office in the West Wing of the White House.
“Not much regarding the attack last night, sir,” Greene replied. “I get a briefing on the Combined Task Force antipiracy operation every day, and I meet with the task-force commander and senior officers at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti every two to three weeks depending on how active things get.”
“What about the Chinese, General?” Carlyle asked impatiently.
“The Chinese have five ships as part of the task force-the destroyer Wuhan is definitely one of them, along with another destroyer, a frigate, and two supply ships,” Greene said. “They operate mostly out of Aden, Yemen. Two warships are on patrol at a time, with a replacement coming in every two weeks to relieve one of them; the supply ships rotate with each other every week. Every four months another group of five ships comes in, they do a little drill package together for a couple days, and they’re back at it again. They keep up a pretty good ops tempo. I’ve met the Chinese commander in charge-he seems like a regular guy.”
“You had no indication they were going to attack Mogadishu, General?”
“None at all, sir,” Greene replied. “The Chinese keep a very low profile. As far as I know, they haven’t been in Somalia and have had only one or two other run-ins with Somali pirates over the years. I don’t think they’ve visited Djibouti or been briefed by the Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, and I don’t know about any other East African nations.”
“You said they were based out of Yemen? Why not Djibouti, with the rest of the task force?”
“The Chinese seem to prefer to stay by themselves and not get crowded in with a lot of other foreign vessels,” Greene said. “I’m told they don’t really like the Yemenis, and vice versa, but it’s a convenient port for resupply-the Chinese can’t sustain blue-water ops as well as most Western navies can, so they want a pretty short supply line. Yemen works for them, and of course the Yemenis will be most happy to take China ’s cash for fuel, food, and other goods.”
“So what are the Chinese up to now, General?” Carlyle asked.
“Back to business as usual, sir,” Greene replied. “We’ve just received word that they’ve got a big convoy of three container vessels and one or two Ro-Ros heading for Tanzania next week, so they’re setting up for that.”
“‘Ro-Ros’?”
“Roll-On, Roll-Off ships-you just drive vehicles in one end and drive them off at destination out the other end,” Greene explained. “They’ll take a dozen tractor trailers loaded with goods on one ship. Pretty impressive. The Chinese prefer to escort their own ships through the region; they say it keeps up morale. That’s fine with us. Most skippers prefer to see their own flags surrounding them.”
“Okay, General Greene,” Carlyle said. “We’re hoping things will calm down now that the Chinese have spanked the pirates pretty badly. Thank you for the update, and let us know if you get any more info.”
He hung up before Greene could say “yes, sir,” and the general dropped the phone back on its cradle. “Jeez, where did that come from?” he muttered to his command sergeant major, Frank Nauert, who was in charge of the secure communications facilities along with all of his other duties. “Hasn’t he ever heard of chain of command?”
“That strike must’ve really spooked the White House, sir,” Nauert said.
“I’d definitely say so,” Greene said. “I just wished it was us who kicked Somali ass, not the Chinese.”
“Roger that, sir.”
“Well, if the White House is calling me directly, we need to have more info for them the next time they call,” Greene said.
“Teleconference the staff together and build me a situation-and-force status report. Quick as you can.”
“Roger that, sir,” Nauert said, reaching for the phone. But just before he picked it up, it buzzed with the distinct encryption ring of a secure call. Nauert picked up the receiver, heard the unlock tones, read the unlock routine code on the phone’s display, looked up his reply code, and punched it in. “ Nauert, U.S. AFRICOM, secure, go ahead, over,” he said when the encryption routine was authenticated and locked in.
“Raydon, Air Force Space Defense Force, secure,” Kai Raydon responded. “How are you, Sergeant Major?”
“Who is this, sir?”
“Brigadier General Raydon, aboard Armstrong Space Station. I have a couple questions for your traffic management officer if he has a moment.”
“Absolutely, sir,” Nauert said. “We haven’t stood up this headquarters quite yet, so I’m the TMO today and for the foreseeable future.” Even though Nauert was a dedicated veteran infantry soldier, he had always been fascinated by space technology, especially these days when it seemed to be advancing in vast leaps and bounds-he definitely saw himself as one of those Robert Heinlein “Starship Troopers,” dropping from orbit in delivery capsules to fight on planet Earth. He saw Greene’s quizzical expression and nodded assuredly. “What can I do for you?”
“We have been tracking a large convoy of Chinese cargo vessels heading your way,” Kai said. “I assume you’re familiar with the convoy?”
