by Dale Brown
The President hesitated, then rapped his knuckles on his desk. "Then do it.
General Curtis smiled and nodded, which ignited Marshall Brent.
"The very thought of considering a military option against the Soviets is crazy," he said, his face reddening. "I've told you, General-until current treaties and agreements are modified that complex is perfectly legal. We may demand reparation for the hardware they destroyed-and I have no doubt, when confronted with the evidence, that they will pay a reasonable amount-but we have no legal reason to attack that site.
"Reason?How about the lives of twelve innocent men and women aboard that RC-135, Mr. Brent?" General Curtis shot back. "That's reason enough for me."
"Marshall, I've authorized General Curtis to keep one special military option open-period," the President Sala.
"The time for discussion is rapidly running out. I want you to find a way to force the Soviets to deactivate that laser complex.
If the Secretary of State felt any surprise at the enormity and sheer impossibility of that task, he did not show it-he merely nodded resolutely. "It will be difficult," he said, "but it's our best hope."
Maybe our only one, he added to himself.
"We can confront the Soviets with our information," Gregory Adams said.
"Present the evidence to the United Nations, as we did during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Force world opinion to turn against them.
Convince the world that the destabilizing force of that laser system is a threat to everyone.
"You've put it well, Gregory," Brent asked. "Exactly what we must do."
"All right," the President said hopefully. "I like it.
Marshall, Greg, I'm counting on you. This can't go any further. Make sure they know we mean business."
"I have another option that may prod the Russians a bit faster toward a negotiated settlement," Curtis said. The President's smile disappeared. Marshall Brent glared at Curtis.
"Ice Fortress, " Secretary of Defense Preston asked. "ReactiVate Ice Fortress.
"Or at least threaten to reactivate it," Curtis added quickly.
"It's out of the question," Brent asked. "The 1986 ArmsReduction Treaty, which took us two long years to hammer out, strictly forbids Ice Fortress. If we bring it back, we are guilty of lying. Our credibility will go down the drain.
"Ice Fortress is the only thing we have that can even begin to match up to that laser system," Curtis argued. "Without it, we have nothing to bargain with. Why should the Russians agree to anything we want?Why should they shut down that site?Because we say 'pretty please'?"
"The Soviets won't ignore us," Brent asked. "Gregory and I will confront them in the U.N. We'll present the data you've received and challenge them to deny it. I believe that will be the last we'll hear of any laser defense site. "The President looked grim. "You're right, Marshall," he said slowly.
"We hold off with any movement on Ice Fortress.
It's not an option. Not now."
Marshall Brent looked relieved. "There will be a settlement, sir. We will end this. "And at the moment, he had managed to convince himself.
The President nodded, then swiveled around and stared wordlessly out the triple windows of the Oval Office as the others quietly filed out.
THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL NEW YORK
"Last item on the agenda before the New Year's recess," Ian McCaan announced before a regular meeting of the United Nations Security Council, "is a presentation by the American delegation on the progress of the ongoing investigation of the alleged loss of the American Air Force RC-135 off the east coast of the Soviet Union. We are pleased to have in attendance the distinguished Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mr. Marshall Brent. Mr. Brent, please-" "Excuse me, Mr. Secretary-General!" Karmarov interrupted, a shocked expression on his face. He half-rose out of his seat as Marshall Brent walked down the center aisle of the closed Security Council chamber.
"Mr. Secretary-General, this… " he fought for composure, "…
I was not aware that this matter had been placed on the agenda. No one has consulted my office… " By this time Marshall Brent had reached the floor of the chamber. Greg Adams, the U.N. ambassador, had relinquished his seat to the Secretary of State and now sat behind and to his right. Brent held up a hand and smiled at the Soviet chief delegate.
"I'm afraid I am at fault, Mr. Karmarov," Brent began.
Karmarov's protest died in midsentence, and he slowly lowered himself to his seat. "I have taken the liberty of invoking a little-used and rather esoteric regulation in the Security Council's rules of order.
"A 1957 addendum to Article Thirty-nine of the Security Council's Affairs of Conduct allows either side of any dispute before the Security Council to provide periodic progress reports of any council-ordered investigation. I have taken the liberty of putting together a report that I'm sure your fellow delegates will be most interested in-" "Pardon me, Mr. Brent," Karmarov interrupted again, even more forcibly this time. He bent over to Andrina Asserni, whispered a few words to her, and watched as she rushed out to an anteroom. "That matter is still under investigation. I know that little progress has been made, sir, but it is still fairly early-" "That's right, Mr. Ambassador," Brent asked. "But a status report is still allowed. I'm sorry Miss Asserni was called away to double-check the article, but its validity here has already been examined and approved by the Central Steering Committee. "Karmarov looked at Ian McCaan, who nodded.
"Apparently, Mr. Karmarov," McCaan said, "the Soviet secretary on the Steering Committee did not notify you. The request is in order. Of course, you will have an opportunity to add any remarks you wish."
Assemi returned just then with her finger in a thick red leather-bound book. She whispered a few words to Karmarov, who narrowed his gaze and fixed it on Marshall Brent.
"The article you mentioned does not deal with the matter you wish to discuss," Kannarov said, "and apparently gives little authority or justification for such a presentation. It is entirely out of order-" "The nature of the presentation," McCaan broke in, "and the subject matter convinced the Steering Committee to adapt the rules. Besides, Ambassador Karmarov, it is the last order of business for the Council and no other matters are scheduled until the spring. I'm sure the Council will be interested in the contents of this presentation."
The Russian offered no resistance-in fact, his voice became a bit more apologetic. "The investigation has only been open less than a month "And yet it has gone nowhere," Brent said immediately, his tone clipped but steady. "American requests for transcripts, ordinary transcripts of your military controllers on duty at the time of the loss of the RC-135 have been ignored. Similar requests by the International Civil Aeronautics Organization have also been ignored. According to ICAO convention, such transcripts are usually submitted to the parties involved in less than twenty-four hours. "Karmarov staged his indignation. "I will personally investigate the incompetence of-" "My office has already investigated the matter," Brent said.
"The Soviet Foreign Ministry advises me that the transcripts were turned over to your United Nations delegation. "Karmarov again was about to reply, but Brent held up a hand.
understand the situation, Mr. Ambassador," Brent said in a forgiving tone. "The Foreign Ministry did advise me that your office has not had time to fully study the transcripts.
Turning the transcript over to us before looking at them yourself wouldn't make sense, I agree."
"I beg the Council's indulgence," Karmarov asked. "Pressing matters in my delegation and the last-minute flurry of activity prior to the New Year's recess have delayed my study of those documents."
"Of course, Mr. Ambassador," Brent asked. "The Foreign Ministry was kind enough to answer a few questions, though. I hope you at least have had an opportunity to glance at the transcripts so as to enlighten the Security Council on a few points.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Secretary, I-" "The Foreign Ministry assures me that, although three launched from Ossora MiG-29 f
ighter-interceptor aircraft were Airfield on the northern Kamchatka peninsula near Kavaznya, they never closed with the so-called intruder aircraft. The RC-135 aircraft was allowed to fly toward the coast without being challenged. Mr. Ambassador, why in the world would the Soviets allow an unidentified aircraft to fly to within thirty-five miles of the coastline, within thirty-five miles of a top secret research installation, without being challenged by three interceptors assigned to pursue it?"
Heads turned toward Karmarov. "Mr. Secretary," Karmarov said through tight lips. "I cannot at this time answer-" "The Foreign Ministry also reports that no efforts were made to reach the RC-135 on normal, internat a y recognized emergency channels. Now, Mr. Ambassador, the Soviet Union launched three advanced interceptors out after an American aircraft it says was intruding into highly sensitive Russian airspace, yet never closed on the intruder. They obviously saw the aircraft-yet never tried to raise the aircraft by radio, never tried to warn it away. Why?Perhaps I can offer a reason," Brent hurried on. At his signal, a rear-projection screen began to descend over the mural of "The Rise of the Phoenix" at the head of the Security Council chamber.
Ambassador Adams pushed an electronic pointer into his hands and Brent stepped quickly toward the head of the circular Council table.
Flaring to life as Brent stepped up to a small podium at the head of the table, the screen showed several rows of words and numbers on the left and several bar graphs on the right.
"I will show the Council exactly what took place aboard that unarmed reconnaissance plane," Brent began. "This is the exact, unedited position and status data transmitted from the RC-135 aircraft as it approached Kavaznya. It shows summaries of the aircraft's performance and summaries of what the aircraft's sensors were receiving."
Brent hit a button on the console. A second slide appeared beneath the first, this one a map of eastern Asia centered on Kavaznya.
"To better understand the data presented on the left," Brent said, "we will plot the location of the RC-135 aircraft on the map below. The bar graphs are readouts of electromagnetic energy levels outside the RC-135 aircraft. The graphs show levels of heat, visible light, radiation, transmitted energy, and polarized single-frequency light.
All of the presentations have been time-synced to show exactly what was happening at each moment. "The screens went into motion. "The RC-135 is one hundred and forty miles from Kavaznya when surveillance radars from Ossora Airfield north of Kavaznya begin to track it. "A circle appeared on the chart. "The circle represents the computer's estimate of the range of the surveillance radar scanning the RC-135the plane is well within that range. "The transmitted energy bar moved upward-all of the other graphs were motionless.
Brent motioned to the scrolling printout. "The RC-135 is now ninety miles from Kavaznya. It is still being tracked by surveillance radar, as shown by this line on the printoutstandard India-band surveillance radar. I assume air defense forces have been alerted, but only the missing controller's transcript can tell us this. Here Brent pointed to the transmitted energy bar graph, "is where a new radar comes on.
The plane is still over ten minutes from reaching land.
"See how much the energy level has increased?The printout confirms it… here. Frequency, carrier power, modulation-all significantly different, thousands of times more powerful than the ordinary surveillance radars. "A new circle appeared on the map, this one several times larger than the first.
"Mr. Secretary-General, I must protest this," Kannarov said.
Brent stopped the scrolling display. "Mr, Karen, arov, this presentation has been approved by the Steering Committee for presentation," McCaan asked. "What are the grounds for your objections" "This appears to be what Mr. Brent says it is," Karmarov said, "but it can also be a clever forgery. Why, I can create such a grand display on my own computer."
"If you are challenging the Steering Committee's judgment," McCaan said, "you must enter a protest with the Steering Committee-" "But I have not yet had an opportunity to examine any of the evidence being presented.
The Steering Committee-" "I know about the Steering Committee. But such a…
jumble of information cannot be brought before the Security Council without-" "It seems your objection is a procedural one, Mr. Karmarov," McCaan said, "and as such I must overrule it. The admissibility of this data and the manner of its presentation have already been approved by the Steering Committee as per this body's regulations. Mr. Brent, proceed.
The screen went into motion once again. "The RC-135 is now forty-two miles from shore. "Brent pointed at the readout on the left. The map magnified into a much larger scale of the Kavaznya area itself. The red line plotting the course of the RC-135 began to change. "It is here that the plane begins a right turn away from the coastline. As you can see, the transmitted energy scale has greatly increased. At the same time, all other radars in the area have been turned off-all but One. No India-band radars, only the much more powerful Lima-band radar at Kavaznya."
Brent turned to Kan-narov. "Why, Mr. Ambassador, would your air defense operators turn off their radars with an intruder in the area?
With three fighters airborne that rely on that radar deactivated?
Where are for vectors to the intruder, why was it the fighters?"
Karmarov decided his only response was silence.
The screen froze. The bar graphs had all suddenly pegged at the top of their scales.
"Suddenly, here," Brent said, "there is a massive explosion visible light, radiation, and polarized of transmitted energy, light."
The display began to move slowly. "The blast lasts for almost a full second. Gentlemen, the readout for polarized light is a readout of levels of visible light that meets very strict the wavelength, one parameters. The light must be pure-o frequency, one direction.
Polarized light. "He turned and Laser light. A laser on the order of two looked at Karmarov.
hundred megawatts has Just been fired from Kavaznya."
The scrolling continued, but the printout display on the left and the movement of the bar graphs halted for several minutes.
"The data transmission was interrupted after the laser blast," Brent asked. "The tremendous amount of energy disrupts electronic circuits for hundreds of miles. Is that why there are Mr. Karmarov?A fighter near that laser no fighters in the area, blast would fall into the ocean."
No reply from Karmarov.
A few moments later the stream of data returned. "As you can see," Brent went on, "the levels of radiation and transmitted energy are still high. The bar graphs for polarized light and thermal energy have been removed. That is because that data was obtained from an Alpha Omega Nine reconnaissance satellite over Kavaznya. That satellite was destroyed by the laser blast."
"Impossible," came a voice from the Council table. The rumble of voices increased in volume.
"The crew aboard the RC-135, which is now almost ninety miles from shore, are probably already exposed to lethal doses of radiation, but they are still alive."
One bar graph jumped. "Transmitted energy is increasing again," Brent asked. "The radar at Kavaznya is active againsearching for another victim."
"Unfounded accusations," Karmarov protested. "Mr. Secretary-General-" "The Lima-band radar is at full power again. "Brent was no longer looking at the screen but directly at Karmarov, who stared at the data flowing on the screen. "There is a pulseshift-the radar has locked onto the aircraft, an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft almost ninety miles from shore with ten men and two women aboard."
The screen went blank, and the room went dark. Slowly, the lights were brought back up in the Council chamber.
"Witho aid ut warning, with malice aforethought," Brent s to Karmarov, "the Soviets disabled a satellite, then, trying to cover their first crime, turned that laser on an unarmed aircraft, killing twelve people."
The chamber was silent. "In America, Mr. Ambassador, we call it murder in the first degree. "Brent turned and faced the Council members seated aroun
d him.
"Four days ago a test of a new intercontinental missile design was also attacked by the laser at Kavaznya. I will present the data when it becomes available. This time, the data was collected by a vessel anchored offshore from Kavaznya, e that not only has and not by another satellite. Yet it will prove the Soviet Union used its new laser to attack another American vehicle, but that it used this. "The lights were immediately lowered. Brent clicked a button again, and a magnified, computer-enhanced picture of Salyut Nineteen with the large rectangular mirror attached flashed on the screen.
"Salyut Nineteen, gentlemen," Brent announced, "but with a new and frightening twist-a mirror used to bounce the laser beam to targets over the horizon from Kavaznya!" The murmur in the Council chamber became one of disbelief.
"I know you're not going to respond to any of this, Mr. Ambassador," Brent said, turning back to Karmarov. "You are going to request a video tape of this session, take it back to the Embassy, and talk it over with Moscow. Fine. But the United States requests the reinstatement of charges made back on November fifteenth. We charge the Soviet Union with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, piracy, perjury, and conspiracy to suppress evidence. We also charge violation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the deployment of the laser, the Lima-band radar used to steer the laser, and the Salyut Nineteen spacecraft refitted with a mirror for the reflection of laser beams with the purpose of destroying ballistic weapons. We call for the immediate dismantling of the Salyut Nineteen spacecraft and the closure of the entire Kavaznya complex until an on-site United Nations inspection can be made. We are also demanding reparations in the amount of five hundred million American dollars for the death of the American service personnel aboard the RC- 135 aircraft and the loss of the RC-135 aircraft, the Alpha Omega Nine satellite, and the Javelin missile."
He turned to the Security Council delegates. "I know that, despite our lofty ideals, justice meted by the United Nations is slow and sometimes ineffective. But the government of the United States considers the laser device and the orbiting mirror a major threat to its security, and we cannot, we will not, wait for these devices to be disarmed."
