Executive orders - Tom Clancy [394]
It's a big airplane, the captain said.
Only two engines, sir, the weapons officer pointed out.
That's a hit, a RADARman said.
Get her down, pal, get her down. Oh, fuck, the captain breathed, wanting to turn away. On the display, the 310's blip tripled in size and flashed the emergency code.
He's calling Mayday, sir, a radioman said. Air China flight triple-six is calling Mayday engine and wing damage possible fire aboard.
Only about fifty miles out, a chief said. He's vectoring for a direct approach into Taipei.
Captain, all stations report manned and ready. Condition One is set throughout the ship, the 1C man of the watch told the skipper.
Very well. His eyes were locked on the center of the three RADAR displays. The fighter engagement, he saw, had ended as quickly as it had started, with three fighters splashed, another possibly damaged, and both sides withdrawing to lick their wounds and figure out what the hell had happened. On the Taiwanese side, another flight of fighters was up and forming just off their coast.
Captain! It was the ESM console. Looks like every RADAR on every ship just lit off. Sources all over the place, classifying them now.
But that didn't matter, the captain knew. What mattered now was that Airbus 310 was slowing and descending, according to his display.
CINCPAC Operations, sir. The radio chief pointed.
This is Port Royal, the captain said, lifting the phone-type receiver for the satellite radio link. We just had a little air battle here-and a missile went wild and it appears that it hit an airliner inbound from Hong Kong to Taipei. The aircraft is still in the air, but looks to be in trouble. We have two ChiCom MiGs and one ROC F-16 splashed, maybe one more -16 damaged.
Who started it? the watch officer asked.
We think the ROC pilots fired the first missile. It could have been a screwup. He explained on for a few seconds. I'll upload our RADAR take as quick as I can.
Very well. Thank you, Captain. I'll pass that along to the boss. Please keep us informed.
Will do. The skipper killed the radio link and turned to the 1C man of the watch. Let's get a tape of the battle set up for uplinking to Pearl.
Aye, sir.
Air China 666 was still heading toward the coast, but the RADAR track showed the aircraft snaking and yawing around its straight-line course into Taipei. The ELINT team on Chandler was now listening in on the radio circuits. English is the language of international aviation, and the pilot in command of the wounded airliner was speaking quickly and clearly, calling ahead for emergency procedures, while he and his co-pilot struggled with their wounded airliner. Only they, really, knew the magnitude of the problem. Everyone else was just a spectator, rooting and praying that he'd keep it together for another fifteen minutes.
THIS ONE WENT up the line fast. The communications nexus was Admiral David Seaton's office on the hilltop overlooking Pearl Harbor. The senior communications watch officer changed buttons on his phone to call the theater commander-in-chief, who immediately told him to shoot a CRITIC-level flash message to Washington. Seaton next ordered an alert message to the seven American warships in the area-mainly the submarines-to perk their ears up. After that, a message went off to the Americans who were observing the exercise in various Republic of China military command posts-these would take time to get delivered. There was still no American embassy in Taipei, and therefore no attaches or CIA personnel to hustle down to the airport to see if the airliner made it in safely or not. At that point, there was nothing to do but wait, in anticipation of the questions that would start arriving from Washington, and which as yet he was in no real position to answer.
YES? RYAN SAID, lifting the phone.
Dr. Goodley for you, sir.
Okay, put him on. Pause. Ben, what is it?
Trouble off Taiwan, Mr. President; could be a bad one. The National Security Advisor explained on, telling what he knew. It didn't take long.