by Dale Brown
Elements section of the Command Center, two positive-control technicians
quickly prepared the radio message for the SAC alert force crews. Using
a computer, they devised a forty-character message, triple-checked it
manually for accuracy, using the same code books that the crews in the
field would use, then broadcast the message via telephone, radio, and
satellite communications channels to all SAC units in the United States,
England, Germany, and Japan. The message directed all SAC units to
stand by for further emergency action messages; it placed SAC's two
hundred B-52 and ninety B-1 bombers, and thirty Minuteman ICBM
launch-control centers, into higher readiness states, which would make
their reaction times much shorter should they be directed to execute
their SlOP war plans. It would also direct twenty-two rail-garrisoned
Peacekeeper missile convoys out from their shelters onto the nation's
rail system and put twenty MGM-134A Mustang missile crews on
full-deployment alert. After receipt of the message, each SAC unit would
verify and authenticate the coded message, rebroadcast the message to
their forces, then compose and send a coded acknowledgment message back
to SAC Headquarters. The entire process took approximately two minutes.
Tyler watched one of the big digital screens before him as a list of all
the SAC units was displayed, with red dots indicating connectivity with
each unit; as the acknowledgment messages came in, the red dots
disappeared. "All units acknowledge, sir, " Colonel Dunigan reported.
"Expect status report from the field in about five minutes."
"What's the latest status on the units?" Tyler asked. In reply,
Dunigan put up a computerized listing of the latest status reports of
all the SAC bases in the world, beginning with the SAC bomber units, and
read off how quickly-or not so quicklythe units could move. "What's the
status of the Air Battle Force?"
"The current session reports ninety percent manned, due to some elements
being recalled by their parent units before the session completed, "
Dunigan answered. "The new session that began training last month has
the 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 me
mbers 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 liked to hear." Stone
decided against injecting his own reservations about Teguina into the
discussion, but remembered all too well the look in Teguina's eye that
last day at Clark. "I still don't get it, " Tyler said with rising
exasperation. "Why would Mikaso suffer by having the Chinese explode a
nuke near Palawan?" Just as Stone was about to answer, the poll was
completed and the situation briefing began. Five minutes later, the
briefing concluded with no mention of the Chinese destroyer or its
weaponry. Space Command or the Defense Intelligence Agency refused to
comment on the origin of the explosion. Fine-Tyler would tell them
himself. "General-Tyler at SAC, " Tyler said, interrupting the Space
Command briefer. "My staff expert here has possibly determined the
origin of that nuclear detonation." There was a bit of a pause, then:
"Go ahead, SAC."
"China. Satellite imagery confirmed their presence in the area, and my
expert reports that the Chinese ships seen in the satellite imagery
carry nuclear weapons "Defense Intelligence here, " a voice chimed in.
"We have no information of any Chinese vessels carrying nuclear weapons
in the South China Sea. In fact the idea is ludicrous." Tyler clicked
on the intercom to Stone. "You sure of your data, Rat Killer?"
"Positive, General, " Stone said. "My intelligence may be a few weeks
old, but it's reliable." The intercom clicked off, then on, and this
time Stone could hear the entire conversation on the network. "My
expert maintains that the Chinese vessel in the satellite imagery we've
just received carries nuclear-tipped antiship missiles. The vessel is a
Chinese destroyer, the Ho ng Lung, which is the flagship of a large
patrol fleet that operates in the Spratly
Islands."
"JCS copies, SAC, " came the reply after a few moments: the reply came
from the chairman himself, General Curtis, and he seemed curiously
unsurprised at the revelation. "What is the current status of your
units at this time, General Tyler?"
"Sir, I'm showing one hundred percent of the force fully mission ready,
" Tyler said, checking the connectivity readout of all his SAC units on
the big board. The force is currently under posture four, under my
authority. However, please be aware that the current SlOP OPLAN has no
contingencies for operations against China or in the east Asian region.
We hold no Chinese targets at risk."
"Understood, " Curtis replied. "It may be premature to declare an
A-hour, however. We will defer that decision for the NCA when we call
the Charlie conference."
"Discharge of nuclear weapons automatically invokes at least a DEFCON
Three level, " Tyler said. "I recommend we proceed with that.
Undoubtedly the Russians and the Chinese will respond by increasing
their readiness levels as well; we should take the first step and then
re-evaluate the situation." "We'd have time for a discussion about
contingency planning at a later time, " General Curtis said. "Right now
I want recommendations for the NCA as to the status of our deterrent
forces."
"SAC recommends DEFCON Three, posture four, " Tyler said. "Forces
concurs, " General Jackson, commander of the Army Forces Command, said.
As the largest single military command, the Army needed the most time to
generate its units to go on a wartime footing and therefore had an equal
say in whether a higher readiness state should be declared. "COMSUBFLT
concurs, " Admiral Towland, commander of strategic nuclear submarines,
added. There was a slight pause, followed by a cryptic "Stand by" from
General Curtis. Tyler found his palms moist and clammy. He rubbed them
on his warmup-suit pants to dry them. The Chairman of the JCS came back
on: "All units, this is RENEGADE. Implement DEFCON Three. Posture will
