without given Emelyanov a chance to invite him inside. “You asked for me,
Comrade Captain?”
“I did,” Emelyanov replied. “Sit down. There is a message in special
code which must be dealt with.” That was standard practice. The political
officer was required to verify all such messages. It was a safeguard against
irresponsible captains who might ignore or exceed Moscow’s instructions.
It took only a few minutes to translate the orders into clear copy. When
he had finished Emelyanov stared down at the paper on his desk, stunned.
Across from him Dobrotin was wearing a smile on his ferret features. “So it
happens at last. The chance to engage the Americans.” There was nothing but
triumph in the zampolit’s tone.
Emelyanov looked at the man. He had been chosen for his political
reliability rather than any technical knowledge, but surely Dobrotin knew how
difficult these orders would be to carry out. Or did he? The Americans were
second to none when it came to ASW operations … but with the true faith of a
fanatic whose religion was the State, the political officer probably did not
or would not believe that anyone could defeat a Soviet vessel in time of war.
War … It had finally come to war then.
Stiff-featured, Emelyanov reached across to switch on the intercom on his
desk. “Bridge. Captain.”
“Bridge here,” the duty officer’s voice responded with commendable
promptness.
The captain scanned the transcript once again, noting the latest
intelligence information on the carrier battle group which was their new
target. It was a daunting prospect, but he would carry out his orders … or
die in the attempt.
“Take us below the thermal layer we charted this morning. And come about
to course one-seven-five, ahead two thirds.”
“Yes, Captain.”
He swallowed and continued, aware of the narrowed eyes regarding him
across the desk. “And send the crew to battle stations. This will not be a
drill, Comrade Lieutenant.”
“Yes, Captain,” the officer repeated.
Emelyanov cut off the intercom and met Dobrotin’s eyes. He hoped the
zampolit’s faith in their invincibility was not misplaced.
0852 hours Zulu (0852 hours Zone)
E-2C Hawkeye Tango 65
Over the Southern Norwegian Sea
“So what’d ya think, Brownie?” Lieutenant Kevin Wheeler glanced up from
his radar station to look at the Hawkeye’s Air Control Officer. “Do you think
we’re gonna fight the Russkies?”
Lieutenant Brown shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me, man,” he said.
“For ten years they keep telling us the Commies are really our buddies now …
then wham! All of a sudden they’re making good old Saddam Hussein look tame.”
The Hawkeye was on station slightly ahead of the Jefferson battle group,
circling slowly at an altitude of thirty thousand feet above the Norwegian
Sea. From that height the AN/APS-139 radar system could detect and identify
airborne threats to a range of up to three hundred miles. From its current
position Tango 65 could track aircraft as far away as the coasts of Norway and
Iceland. The passive electronic-surveillance system could pick up enemy
emissions twice as far away.
At least one Hawkeye had been kept in the air at all times since the
beginning of the crisis in Scandinavia. The range and versatility of the
Airborne Warning and Control System concept had been demonstrated time and
again in recent years, and was absolutely essential to all other aspects of
carrier ops. Wheeler had taken plenty of ribbing from the “real aviators” who
flew the Tomcats, Hornets, and Intruders in combat, but they all knew as well
as he did that without the Hawkeyes they would never carry out their jobs.
“You see that profile on the tube last night?” Wheeler asked, yawning.
They were near the end of their patrol period, and he was ready for a few
hours’ sack time.
Brown laughed. “You mean that ACN thing? There’s a joke for you.”
Jefferson’s five thousand-man community was served by two on-board television
stations that showed a mix of canned programs and movies together with shows
picked up off satellite feeds. The documentary from the American Cable
Network covering the crisis in Norway had been one of the featured programs on
Channel Eight the night before.