As Hot Rock entered the dirty-shirt mess, he was greeted with subdued applause and slaps on the back. With pilots dead and missing, the usual after-battle banter was subdued, but Hot Rock was still congratulated for making his first kill — even if it was only a helicopter, at least it was probably the same helicopter that blew up the
Only his RIO, Two Tone, stayed out of the group, Beaman said. “She’s a sorry sight, isn’t she?”
Franklin couldn’t look at him. Tomcat 304 was now a hangar queen. Fist-sized holes punched all over it, the metal blackened and splintered around the edges. The back half of the canopy just
Franklin felt sick and angry. He wasn’t sure who he was angry with, but it was a strong feeling.
“The RIO,” he said. “Is she…”
“In sick bay. Alive. Bad. And you know what? She’s lucky at that. I just had a little talk with Lieutenant Commander Robinson. He says that about the time things got hot, he lost hydraulic pressure in the left wing control surfaces. That was
Franklin felt a frightful chill clatter down his spine. “I tightened that fitting,” he said. “I tightened it right down. I
Beaman nodded gravely at the plane. “We’ll see.”
As always when they were going to the car to drive somewhere together, Tombstone and Tomboy both strode straight for the left front door. “I’m more current than you are,” Tomboy joked.
Tombstone handed her his duffel bag. “Exactly why I need some stick time. Besides, this is my car.”
“Sexist pig.”
They tossed their luggage in the back of the GTO and climbed in. Tombstone fired up the Goat’s engine and hit the street with a bit more velocity than necessary. He said, “Sorry. But I’m going to be spending the next fourteen hours letting somebody else fly us to Singapore, and then I have to switch to a
Tomboy reached across the console and squeezed his thigh. “The way things are over there right now, it’s either that or swim.”
Only an hour ago, as a consequence of the air battle that had taken place following the downing of an Air Force plane, the Pentagon had curtailed all military flights into Hong Kong. Most American airlines had immediately canceled service to Hong Kong as well. Other nations were picking up the slack; Tombstone had been booked on a Thai Airlines flight out of Singapore.
“God, I wish I were going to
“Your talking to Martin Lee could make a big difference,” Tomboy said, her gaze on the road. “If you can help figure out how the Chinese got their UAV program up and running so well, it could make all the difference in the world — to
“According to you and Uncle Thomas, it’s not really an issue. According to you, UAVs are the Volkswagens of the aerospace world. Anybody can make one.”
“No, anybody can
“Like the one that attacked me.”
“Yes. The Air Force supposedly has a CUAV program under way, but like Uncle Thomas said…” She shrugged. “The financial and political support is minimal. Of course, that might change now.”
“Because the Chinese are ahead of us. I can’t believe the politicians have gotten us into the position of playing catchup.”
“It’s strange when you think about it,” she said. “I mean, from the Chinese perspective. UAVs have two big advantages over conventional aircraft: low unit cost, and zero pilot mortality. But let’s face it: The PRC has always been known for throwing human bodies at the enemy; after all, they’ve got more of them than anyone else in the world. So why this sudden interest from them in cost-effective, user-friendly UAVs?”
“Maybe they’re
“That’s possible…” Tomboy said. “I know there are people in the Pentagon who would consider it a blessing if more effort went into CUAV programs. Some people say CUAVs are the wave of the future — a natural extension of the success of cruise missiles and smart bombs.”
Tombstone shook his head. “People have been predicting for years that future wars would be fought by machine. At the beginning of the Vietnam war, American fighter jets didn’t even have guns because it was believed that missiles made dogfighting unnecessary. All it took was a bad kill ratio to bring things around. This is just another instance of that. There will always be the need for human beings on the front lines — including inside aircraft.”
“The Chinese seem to agree with you,” Tomboy said. “At least, judging by the fact they’ve got this other new aircraft out there, the flying wing.”
“That’s the one that scares me,” Tombstone said.
The officer in charge of the radar station on the mountain just outside of Hong Kong picked up the phone and dialed the number given to him the previous night by Major General Wei Ao, First Among Equals.
So now, after identifying himself, the officer in charge said, “General Ming’s transport is two hundred kilometers out, sir. He’s vectoring in to Kai Tak Airport rather than the Air Force base.”
“The quicker to arrive at garrison headquarters,” Wei grunted, as if to himself. “Very well.”
After hanging up, the officer in charge went back and stared at the radar screen, watching the incoming blip. General Ming had left Hong Kong for Beijing only a couple of days ago, and now he was back. This did not bode well for certain military people in Hong Kong. The officer was determined to keep his installation running in top form, lest he be caught unawares in some sort of snap inspection.
He was about to turn to other duties when he noticed something strange on the screen — a tiny, brief return registering perhaps twenty kilometers to the rear of General Ming’s plane. It brought his full attention immediately back. Only after he stared at the screen for several sweeps without seeing anything else did he start to relax. Suddenly a strong, clear return appeared out of nowhere behind Ming’s plane. A moment after that, two more blips appeared, close together, racing toward Ming’s plane.
Even as the station officer reached for the radio, he wondered how quickly he could disappear, as so many others had, into the teeming hive of Hong Kong.
Under the pretext of inspecting the repair work being done on the aft elevator, Bird Dog walked out onto the platform and took in the afternoon air. Odd, when you thought about it: Here they were in the open ocean, yet for those who worked and lived in the carrier, fresh air was an uncommon gift. When you were on deck you were stepping lively, concentrating on things, trying not to get killed by any of the myriad heavy, sharp, fast-moving
