Admiral Cooper poured Admiral Barksdale a cup of steaming hot coffee and then one for himself. “It’s been a good day, Nathan, but the day is not done yet. We now must escort Fireship Savannah to her grave in the North Atlantic Sea…”
Admiral Cooper heard a knock on the door. The door opened and it was Captain Anderson and Captain Russell.
“I thought I gave you boys direct orders several hours ago for…”
Captain Anderson interrupted, “Sorry to disturb you, sir. The deployment is underway.”
The admiral frowned and yelled at both captains, “I know the deployment is underway. I got a billion-dollar deployment system that tells me this. What it does not tell me is why you are still here.”
Both captains greeted Admiral Barksdale, “Admiral, sir.”
“Commanders, I was about to ask the same question.”
“We were ready to leave, but J.R. has something urgent to discuss.”
Admiral Cooper motioned for both of them to be seated. Admiral Brice remained standing, sipping his coffee, watching the deployment from the flag-bridge windows. Admiral Cooper took his seat. “What’s troubling you, soldier?”
“Well, two things sir.” J.R. looked at Captain Anderson and then at Admiral Cooper, “I am afraid that we are not asking the right questions, sir.”
“What questions are those? Speak freely. We 'e on a tight schedule here.”
“The questions that we should be asking, sir, are: why have we not heard from Genesis? Are we to assume that Genesis spent years putting together an attack strategy that will leave their men cut off from the hive?” J.R. got up. He walked over to the Admiral’s Touchscreen Streaming Media Wall. “May I, sir?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
J.R. swiped the global marine traffic icon and the global marine traffic map of the world seas appeared. He tapped the icon that included port conditions, area geographic temperatures, and vessel current positions. J.R. pointed to the Arctic Ocean.
“We deadheaded two of Genesis' ships in the deep Arctic Ocean almost a month ago and now we have three of their vessels sitting idle off the coast of Port Paramaribo and will soon drag their fat butts into the Southern Ocean. Do you think that Genesis does not know this?”
Admiral Barksdale commented, “The Genesis intelligence officer we are holding somewhere in Morocco and the Genesis operative in Fort Stewart have been interrogated and information obtained from both have been filtered through all intelligence sources. The intelligence seems credible. Genesis is dark. It was the only way to pull it off. In fact, I believe that a total dark operation is the only way such a sinister global covert operation could work. If Genesis went on with combat strategic communications or even normal communications, our spysats or the NSA’s National Data Center would have picked up conversations, chatter, or code. Also, they never thought all the ships would get through, only one or two. The only reason we are sitting here is the stunt you pulled with that Kyle fellow.”
Admiral Cooper smiled at JR. “As an admiral in the United States Navy, I cannot say 'bravo,' as you violated every rule in the U.S. Army intelligence and interrogation handbook. I will say that I am grateful that someone had guts enough to cut through the bull manure to execute an implied military solution and not a political one.”
Admiral Barksdale reminded everyone, “Genesis is being fed controlled information just like the American public. America thinks we are conducting war games all over as we have every harbor, lake, river, and ocean being patrolled by surface and air. I don't know how long the press and media will buy this story, but we will take what we can. If Genesis is preparing for an attack, I speak for the Navy and all the Armed Forces of the United States, let them bring it.”
J.R.’s face relaxed. “I feel better about that, sir, I really do. I just needed to know that we had asked the right question and we did.”
Admiral Cooper started to get up when J.R. asked, “One more thing sir. I kept going over the surveillance photos from my flyovers today of Fireship Savannah. As you know our F-18 Hornets carry the same smart sensing radar and information technologies as our satellites.”
J.R. tapped an icon titled Fireship Savannah. Several large photos appeared. J, R. pointed to the photos. “My radar picked up these images of the lower decks of the container ship on the stern, bow, starboard, and port sides of the ship. Admiral, this is C4 attached on all sides of the hull on the lower decks. Once this preliminary blast happens, it will lower the ship down about ten decks. This means ten of its 22 decks will be underwater before the Hellburner detonates. I ran this through Captain Parrish at Naval Intelligence and our geologists tell us the force of the red mercury and this underwater effect will have the impact of a 9.5 deep ocean earthquake. The resulting tsunami would have waves traveling at approximately 785 miles an hour. It would take about 18 hours to reach the coastal areas of Savannah and Charleston.”
Admiral Cooper looked at Admiral Barksdale in amazement. He pressed a button for access to the command center and the officer of the deck. “Have the communications specialists get all carrier strike group captains on conference screens on the flag bridge. Also, have the quartermaster of the watch report to the flag bridge. Do it now.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
A short time later, Captain Russell shared his thoughts with all the captains. The quartermaster began his navigational briefing. “The updated navigational route says our passage should take us from the extraction point east past Guyana near Paramaribo to a directly easterly direction as we slip through the beautiful islands of Granada on our port side and Trinidad and Tobago on our starboard. The known risk is that if Fireship Savannah detonates as she passes, the nuclear event will incinerate these islands. There will be about a 60-mile distance on either side as we attempt to stay in a passage right smack down the middle of the trajectory.”
The Quartermaster swiped the global marine traffic icon and the global marine traffic map of the world seas appeared. He tapped the icon that included a detailed global map. “We will continue due east across the South Atlantic Ocean towards Freetown, Sierra Leone which is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, in West Africa. It is a major port city on the South Atlantic Ocean. The distance between Trinidad and Freetown is 3,294 miles or 2,862 nautical miles. The carriers and container ships will travel half that distance as we make a left turn and head north into the Atlantic Sea. This puts us about 1,647 miles starboard and port from any coastline with Fireship Savannah, and the deep ocean to her stern and bow. Our journey with Fireship Savannah will continue in a northerly direction across the deep ocean for another 1,853 miles. Fireship Savannah will then be at the mid-point between Puerto Rico and the Cape Verde Islands. It is there that we will command Fireship Savannah to answer all stops.”
Admiral Barksdale interrupted. “Where are we? Are we not short of our designated blast point? I thought we decided that Lajes do Pico in the southern part of the Azores Island string would be where we take this Hellburner. Did not Naval Intelligence tell us that the northern part of the municipality is mountainous while the Atlantic Ocean is on the south? I thought we would move the population of 4,840 and contain the blast on the south side of this island. The mountains to the north would protect populations on other islands. Son, you lost me.”
“They are wrong, sir. I mean based on the new information that Captain Russell just gave us. Sir, I know navigation. I maintain, correct, and prepare nautical charts. I am responsible for navigational instruments and clocks and the training of the ship’s lookouts and I even train helmsmen. Naval Intelligence was right, sir until Captain Russell found that C4 on the lower decks of the container ship. Look at the map, sir.”
The quartermaster tapped the continent map showing Africa on the left and North America on the right. In a loud frustrated voice, he said, “If we continue up the north Atlantic to Lajes do Pico and experience detonation, we may have blast shields. However, the weaponized tsunami will travel to heavy populations on both conti
nents. Is that what you really want?”
Captain Anderson yelled at the quartermaster. “Lower your voice, soldier. The Admirals are listening and believe me, they are not deaf.”
Admiral Barksdale had an amazed look on his face. “I’ll be darned. The quartermaster is right. If we detonate at Lajes do Pico and trigger the weaponized tsunami, we would devastate heavily populated centers in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Boston, and elsewhere. We are talking about 80 million lives or more. In the west North African countries, we are talking about 40 million lives. Yes, most are Sunni Muslims. Keep in mind that most if not all are not involved in this threat. Yet, we are obligated to consider their lives as well as our own. Yes, we might save Savannah and Charleston, but at a massive price. We would have created a larger event than Genesis ever imagined.”
Admiral Barksdale’s walked over and patted J.R. on the shoulder and hugged the young quartermaster. “Son, when this is done, I will buy you and Captain Russell a very cold beer. So hurry now, tell us the plan so we can run it by fleet command. I want all you boys to be in Savannah or Charleston celebrating the fourth of July.”
The quartermaster laid out his plan. “This does not have to be a sum zero game. We are committed to protect and minimize the danger to all the world's coastlines from a Fireship that can open the front doors of hell. It's simply a decision based on the fact that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We take the course that minimizes the danger for populations and secondary risk of danger to our ecosystems and wildlife. This is a delicate balance at best.”
Captain Anderson, growing impatient, barked, “The quartermaster sounds like the politicians on the beltway. Get to it, sailor.”
Admiral Cooper and Admiral Barksdale said at the same time, “Let him talk, captain.”
The quartermaster continued. “I recommend we allow Fireship Savannah to travel to a mid-point between Puerto Rico and the Cape Verde Islands. At that point, a command will be issued to Fireship Savannah to answer all stops there.”
A map illuminated all screens showing Africa on the left and North America on the right. The focus was on the Lesser Antilles and the Cape Verde Islands. “Let’s put it this way. Imagine you are on the Fireship Savannah. Look to port and if you have the eyes of an eagle you can see Puerto Rico 1,456 miles away. If you look to the right, you can see the Cape Verde Islands 1,456 miles away.”
The quartermaster pointed to Africa. “Now let’s look at the west coast of Africa. The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic some 380 miles off the west coast of Africa and about 404 miles from Senegal. The archipelago includes ten islands and five islets, divided into the windward and leeward groups. The islands that are mostly mountainous, with mountains higher than 4,200 feet, are found in the leeward group. They are Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antao, and Sao Nicolau. These mountains are as high as Cannon Mountain in White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. This is where we should consider bringing Savannah to a dead stop. The mountains will provide a buffer against the force of a deep sea tsunami. The total population of all islands is about one-half million.”
One of the submarine captains asked, “how do we evacuate that many people in such a short period of time?”
Dead silence prevailed. Captain Russell responded, “If I am sensing this right…we don’t. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
The quartermaster confirmed J.R.’s answer. “We could not possibly evacuate that population in this short a time. Any attempt would result in global panic and chaos.”
The submariner looked enlightened. “Oh okay, I get it. The world does not know about this. Genesis is dark. We are dark…”
The quartermaster felt very good that the captains and admirals understood the strategy. “We can only attempt to marginalize the damage. If the tsunami happens among the Leeward Islands, some may feel the impact of the blast, but we will contain the nuclear drift as the Leeward Islands are away from the wind. On the starboard side, the entire archipelago of Cape Verde may feel the impact. Again, it may provide a shield for 14 million in Senegal and on the coast. I searched my soul before coming forward with this recommendation.”
The next screen showed the following numbers:
THE MANY: Close to 100 million people including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina on the eastern coastline of North America and over 40 million on the west coast of Africa.
THE FEW: The Lesser Antilles at 3.6 million and Cape Verde Islands at half-a-million.
Captain Anderson took over the briefing at this point. “Thank you, Quartermaster. You are dismissed. The admirals and the strike group captains will strongly consider your observations and recommendation.”
After the quartermaster left, Captain Anderson spoke solemnly. “I want you all to know that one of the reasons the quartermaster hesitated is the fact that he has relatives currently living in the Cape Verde Islands and he cannot under any circumstances warn them about the impending threat. I just wanted you to know that.”
The briefing ended and Admiral Barksdale was in the air headed back to the USS William J. Clinton. Admiral Cooper asked that Captain Anderson and Captain Russell hang behind. When the room was quiet and the screens went dark, he motioned for the two of them to sit down.
“J.R., son I have hundreds of men under my command and many suited for what I am going to ask you to do. Admiral Barksdale and I agree that you are the logical choice for a special mission for one reason. You have heart, son. God knows I have hundreds of men and women with courage and skills. Of course, they follow orders to the letter; this is enough. But in my book, son, being a leader sometimes means more than that. General Colin Powell said that a leader never neglects details. General Powell said that when everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant. You exemplified this when you took the time to take a second look at the radar images and satellite scans. Chairman Powell also said that a great leader keeps looking below surface appearances. Leaders do not shrink from looking below the surface just because they might not like what they find.”
J.R., in a very humble way, said, “My daddy always said that the true nature of a man is who he is in the dark, not who he is in the light. I am an American in the dark as well as the light. I am also an American soldier at your command.”
Admiral Cooper looked J.R. directly in the eyes, and after what seemed to be an eternity of silence, gave him his orders. “J.R., I want you to leave immediately for the USNS Medgar Evers supply ship. As you are aware, they are headed for the Savannah. The mission is to deploy two teams of Navy SEALs on the unsuspecting crew and extract Taseen’s youngest brother Ghaazi. The goal is to find this helmsman on the Savannah and separate him from that hellish Apophis Tablet. The SEAL team’s mission names are SEAL team Savannah and SEAL team Charleston. If Genesis wants Savannah and Charleston, we will bring Savannah and Charleston to them.”
Admiral Cooper tapped an icon on his touch screen and an image of Savannah’s scans taken on the flybys appeared on all screens. “The USNS Medgar Evers military explosive expert’s assessment reveals that going after the C4 will be the safest part of your mission. C4 cannot be detonated by a gunshot or by dropping it onto a hard surface. It does not explode when set on fire or exposed to microwave radiation. Detonation can only be initiated by a combination of extreme heat and a shockwave, such as when a detonator inserted into it is fired. The second point is that the C4 could be triggered by Apophis. This means that you could possibly disable the C4 trigger however the nuclear bombs could still be detonated by Apophis. Also, don’t assume that Apophis lurks only in those damn tablets. Apophis could be integrated into the Fireship. Your mission is to disable the C4 triggers and prevent the nuclear blast from the B53s on their beds of red mercury. Hey, the good news in all of this is that our spysats have found that the other ships do not have this C4 component.”
The Admiral directed his next order to Captain Anderson. “Captain
, give the order to move the USS George W. Bush and the USS William J. Clinton into position. Right now we are 50 miles behind the Savannah so she continues to think we diverted her away from supposedly drug-infected cargo ships.”
Admiral Barksdale appeared on the conference screen. “Gentlemen, fleet command just approved the extraction plan. Here are our orders. We must board the Savannah before we command her to start moving hundreds of miles away from her scheduled ports of call. So here’s how we outsmart her. Thanks to information received from the United States Coast Guard’s National Data Center, which tracks all international voyages, we know that the Savannah and the tanker never made a port call in Hawaii, but our satellite imagery shows the Savannah made stops en route to the Panama Canal. The first stop was Isabela Island, which is the largest island of the Galápagos. The Galapagos is an archipelago of volcanic islands around the equator made famous by Charles Darwin. Fireship Savannah also made a port call in Guayaquil which is Ecuador´s largest city and main port. They must have picked up passengers to give the appearance of being helpful if I can use that term. You see, cargo ships are allowed to depart to and from Guayaquil and the Galapagos Islands. However, cargo ships are only permitted to provide passage to residents of the Galapagos Islands. Cargo ships are not allowed to take tourists on board. There is also one other possibility. They also picked up operatives who were wired for the Genesis mission. Now the journey takes three to four days so if Fireship Savannah left China at full stream, they could have made these stops and still be on time to meet the slower traveling tanker near the Panama Canal Zone. We will use this information to our advantage. Here is the message we are sending to the Savannah.
‘The World Health Organization has reported an outbreak of the Marburg virus that was traced to passengers that traveled from Isabela Island to Guayaquil, Ecuador. One of them was bitten by a species of fruit bat that roosts in caves in certain parts of Africa. The Marburg virus is a part of the family of Ebola viruses. These viruses cause massive hemorrhagic bleeding and fevers which kill in a matter of hours.’ The USNS Medgar Evers supply ship should be within three miles of the Savannah when they get the alarming medical news.’”
Accelerant- Sixth Extinction Page 26
