vessels the Norwegians have are fourteen-hundred-ton guided-missile
frigates–smaller than our Perrys. Lights, please.”
The lights came on, and Aiken snapped his pointer shut. “Our biggest
problem working with the Norwegians remains that of codes, recognition
signals, IFF, and the like. We are now almost certain that the Tomcat downed
over the mountains yesterday was shot down by a Norwegian SAM battery, not by
the Soviets. We’re going to have to work out an exchange of battle codes with
their people before we begin coordinating operations with them. That
concludes my part of the briefing. Admiral?”
Admiral Tarrant stood and walked to the front of the room. “Thank you,
Paul.” He paused a moment, looking over the faces of the men seated in the
room. “Well, first a bit of good news. I have word from Washington that as
of twenty-four hours ago, there was a vote of no confidence in the British
Parliament. The Labor government in Great Britain has fallen, and new
elections are due to be held soon. It seems quite likely that the outcome of
these special elections will be a return of the Tories to power, and the entry
of Great Britain into the war. On our side, of course.”
There were subdued chuckles from the audience, and several officers
applauded. Great Britain’s defection from NATO had paved the way for the
Soviet invasion of Scandinavia in the first place. CBG-14 was terribly
isolated here in the Norwegian Sea, and the arrival of the Royal Navy would go
a long way toward evening out the odds.
“Now, the bad news,” Tarrant continued. “We can’t expect help from the
Brits for some time. The socialist Labor Party all but dismantled the Royal
Navy while they were in power. A lot of their fleet is laid up, or in
mothballs at Scapa Flow. And I’m afraid we can’t look for American
reinforcements to back us either, at least not soon.” He held up his hand as
the murmured conversation renewed, louder this time. “I know, I know. We’ve
all heard the same scuttlebutt, that Washington was sending the Ike or the
Kennedy to back us up. But I’ve been in touch with the Pentagon on and off
all night, and this is the situation.
“The Eisenhower is the closest other carrier to our position. Right now
she’s in the North Atlantic, south of Greenland. The next nearest battle
groups would be either Nimitz or Kennedy. They’re both in the eastern Med
right now. Kennedy was scheduled to rotate home, but when Scandinavia went
hot, she was ordered to sit tight. The Russians have a new supercarrier on
trials in the Black Sea. If that monster should sortie, well, this private
little war of ours could get real public, real fast.
“Therefore, both the Nimitz and the JFK battle groups have been ordered
to remain on station in the Med, while the Ike stays in the Atlantic.
Washington is worried that Russian submarines may run our SOSUS line into the
Atlantic and attempt to interrupt our shipping line, even raid the U.S. coast.
“We do have some help on the way. The Second Marine Expeditionary Force,
that’s II MEF, left Norfolk two days ago and is now en route. They are
scheduled to join us within four days for operations along the Norwegian
coast. Until then we are to do our best to gain air superiority over this
area, and that means, first and foremost, running down that Russian carrier
and putting her out of the fight, once and for all.
“Accordingly, I have written up new orders for CBG-14. Effective
immediately, the Lawrence Kearny will be detached from the battle group in
order to escort the Hopkins to Scapa Flow. The remainder of the battle group
will head north. I want each squadron CO to begin working on strike plans and
options. CAG, you coordinate them. Have the preliminaries on my desk by 1300
hours.”
“Yes, sir,” Tombstone replied. A stir ran throughout CVIC, and Tombstone
heard worry in the murmurs. CBG-14 consisted of seven ships: the Jefferson;
the Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruiser Shiloh; two destroyers, Kearny and
Winslow; two frigates, the crippled Hopkins and the Decatur; and the nuclear