first B-2 bomber elements”-she paused as she referred to her notes, then said”plus some GENESIS elements.”
“GENESIS?” Tyler exclaimed. He had forgotten all about thqfbut it was easy to forget about Lieutenant General Brad Elliott’s research group, lost from view in the middle of Nevada. Tyler had remembered granting approval for Elliott’s weird hybrid planes to participate, but had not bothered to check up on their status during their course. “Jesus, I completely forgot about that. Refresh my memory, Colonelwhat’s he got at Ellsworth now?”
“He’s got four modified B-52 bombers, six stretched F-1 11 G bombers, and a B-2 bomber involved in the Air Battle Force session, ” Dunigan reported. “The -111’s and the B-2 are garrisoned at Ellsworth; the B-52s-I should say, the EB-52Cs-are stationed at HAWC but still participate in Air Battle Force activities.” She paused, then said, “I can get General Elliott and General Jarrel on the line and “We don’t have time, ” Tyler said. What a time to have Elliott’s mutant planes out flying around in the Air Force Battle, Tyler thought. Christ, it was like Elliott knew there was going to be trouble. “It’ll have to wait for the Air Battle Force status report. Move along.” Up in the Support Staff area, General Stone could not hear most of the interphone exchange between Tyler and his staff-but he was familiar enough with the items up on the big board to know that something serious was going on. He saw lists of all the SAC bases in the world on the big board, saw the status indicators change as he received the message sent by Tyler, and saw weather maps, charts, and checklist pages being put up on the board so everyone knew where the staff was in the Zero-Tango response procedures. But the left-center screen had something more interestingsatellite photographs. Stone turned to the technician seated beside him. “Is that real-time imagery?”
“Not real-time, but very recent, sir, ” the tech replied. He checked a computer screen and replied, “It’s about ten to thirty minutes old. DSP Control Center will automatically upload the latest satellite imagery of a subject area. I don’t exactly know what the source of this imagery is, though-it’s not from Colorado Springs. “Any ideas when we can get the real-time pictures of the area?”
“I’m sure the request is being made right now, sir, ” the tech replied. “The request will probably come through whatever command is placed in charge of the current emergency, or direct from JCS or the National Security Council.” Stone’s ears buzzed when he heard the words “current emergency, ” but he didn’t bother to ask what was going onhe was busy scrutinizing the satellite photos being flashed on the board. “Ulugan Bay, ” Stone observed. He turned to a technician seated a few chairs beside him. “I recognize that harbor. Ulugan Bay, Palawan. The Philippines. But that big ship… I don’t recognize it. What’s going on?” The technician seemed to ignore him, but he had depressed his mike switch and had sent a message down to the Battle Staff area. Then, as the satellite imagery of the warship zoomed in closer, maintaining remarkably high resolution even in ultracloseups, Stone realized that what he was watching was not a Filipino ship. ‘Hong Lung, ” Stone declared. “It’s the Chinese destroyer Hong Lung. What’s it doing so close to Ulugan Bay?” Just then Stone’s headset clicked to life. “Rat-Tyler here, ” the Commander in Chief of SAC said. “Sergeant Rowe says you seemed to recognize that harbor and that ship. What is it?” The technician pointed to a button near the base of the microphone on the desk in front of him, and Stone depressed the buttoi’ and replied, “Yes, sir, Ulugan Bay on Palawan in the Philippines. Palawan is a large island about two hundred miles southwest of Manila. That ship looks like the Chinese destroyer Hong Lung. It’s one of the two EF5-class destroyers in China’s fleet. It’s the flagship of the Spratly Island flotilla.” There was a long pause; then: “Well, you’re right about the Philippines, ” Tyler said. “But what’s the Spratly Islands? I never heard of them.”
“It’s a small island chain between Vietnam and Palawan in the South China Sea, ” Stone replied. “China claims them but legally occupies the lower one-third; the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia occupy the northern third, with the middle third a neutral zone. Those five countries have been fighting over the islands for decades.”
“Well, the fighting has just reached a new level, Rat, ” Tyler said dryly, “because someone set off a nuke right near the Philippines just a few minutes ago.” Richard Stone was so surprised that he forgot to press the mike button. “A nuke?” He paused, then managed to find the button. “Someone set off a nuke . . . ? General Tyler, that destroyer, the Hong Lung-it carries nuclear-tipped missiles.” Tyler and half-a-dozen other staff members in the Battle Staff area looked up in the Support Staff area. The near-realtime satellite photo of the Chinese ship had changed several times by the time a shocked Tyler asked, “That Chinese warship carries nuclear missiles? I never heard that before, Rat.” He shook his head, stared hard at the charts of the South China Sea region, then rubbed dried sweat from his eyes in exasperation. “Jesus Christ, what’s a Chinese ship doing cruising around the Philippines with nukes aboard?” He turned to Stone again and asked, “Can you verify that, Rat? What kind of nuclear missiles? How many…?”
“It’s never been verified as far as I know, sir, ” Stone replied, ‘Just like we never verify that American warships carry nukes. But it’s a well-known fact that EF5-class destroyers carry at least two Fei Lung-9 antiship cruise missiles with RK-55 warheads-twenty-kiloton yield. I can’t believe the Chinese would actually cook one off, though.”
“Do the Filipinos have nuclear weapons?” Stanczek asked. “Not to my knowledge, sir, ” Stone replied. “We had some nuclear weapons stockpiled at Clark for a few years, but they were removed years ago. “Could they have built a weapon of their own? Are they advanced enough to do that?”
“I’m surprised there was a Philippine Navy out there for a nuke to destroy, ” Stone said. “Everything they have is at least twenty to fifty years old, and most of it is World War Two vintage. As far as weaponry, they have Sea Lance and Harpoon missiles, but nothing more potent than that. No, they couldn’t have built a nuclear device.” Stone could see Tyler shaking his head in amazement at the news, and it was then that he began to get a real feeling for the pressure that was on Tyler and his staff right now. In a few minutes the President of the United States was going to get on the line with Tyler and ask him how he should respond to the incident. That call came a few moments later, but not from the President. After a ten-second warning tone on the microwave telephone hookup, a voice began, “All stations, all stations, this is RENEGADE on Zero-Tango action teleconference network. Security classification is Top Secret. All stations stand by. Network poll in progress. National Command Authority, White House…” While the lengthy teleconference poll continued, Tyler got on the intercom to Stone. “Rat, tell me more about the Chinese and the Philippines. Are the Chinese a threat to the Philippines or is their involvement limited only to the Spratly Islands? I mean, could they have been victims here, caught in the explosion?”
“Hard to say, sir, ” Stone replied. “The Communist movement in the Philippines has very close ties to the mainland Chinese, but as far as I know, the link is only ideological. Until the current regime got into power, there wasn’t any direct contact between the Philippine Communists and the Chinese. But I’ve never heard of the Chinese ships operating so close to Palawan before, especially not a destroyerand especially not the EF5 class. It’s their newest, most modern and wellequipped model, and they’re risking a lot driving that big boy around in those shallow waters around Palawan.”
“What do you mean, the current regime?”
“Teguina, the First Vice President, ” Stone replied. “He’s the leader of the pro-Communist National Democratic Front. Some say he’s the leader of the main Communist armed opposition, called the New People’s Army, that’s been operating in the outlying provinces for the past several years. Teguina has been active in strengthening economic and cultural ties with China over the past few years; China has become a big trading partner with the Philippines and the United States. But it has been suggested that Teguina is working not only to strengthen economic ties to China, but military and political ties as well.”
“China and the Philippines?” Tyler remarked. “Is that really possible?”
“Very possible, sir, ” Stone confirmed. “The Philippines have a large population of ethnic Chinese, and mainland Chinese own several large businesses and banks there. But more importantly, China sees itself as the protector of world Communism these days. With the Soviet Union becoming more democratic and capitalist every year, China is the last and perhaps the greatest exporter of Communism in the world. I’d say the Philippines are very fertile ground for them.” He went on. “I doubt Teguina’s had anything to do with this Chinese fleet off Palawan or the nuclear explosion, but because of his presence in the Philippine government and his relations with the PRC, this could turn out to be a lot more complex than it is right now. “What do you mean?”
“My guess is we probably won’t see a total condemnation of the Chinese from the Philippine government, ” Stone said. “I don’t know any details, of course, but when it comes time to point the finger, you won’t see all the fingers pointing at China-you’ll see a few pointed at President Mikaso.”
“Mikaso? Why?” “Mikaso is popular, but perceived as weak, ” Stone said. “Teguina is considered a strong leader. Mikaso was also too friendly with the United States. Although Mikaso is much more of a nationalist than Teguina, Teguina’s call for eliminating all U.S. presence in the Philippines was a strong stand that most Filipinos
