responsibility as significant as any in the Navy. It was given and received
as a sign of respect between men and women who shared similar responsibilities
and burdens of serving their country, regardless of their education,
background, or pay grade. It made them, for that split moment, anyway,
equals.
He dropped his salute and shoved the throttle forward to full military
power. A split second later, the Tomcat slammed him in the back.
Airborne!
CHAPTER 25
Thursday, 4 July
1830 local (Zulu -7)
Flanker 11
As the coastline of Vietnam slipped by below him, Bien made the call to
the rest of the aircraft. “Feet wet,” he said, referring to the fact that he
was over water rather than land. Not that it would matter. There were no SAR
forces standing by.
He then reached down and flipped the protective plastic cover off of the
IFF gear. He looked down long enough to check the position of the dials that
set his modes and codes, the unique set of IFF symbols that would identify his
aircraft to any unit with the appropriate detection gear. He twisted the dial
until the numbers his Vietnamese superiors had given him were displayed.
In the ten miles of airspace around him, every Vietnamese pilot was doing
exactly the same things.
1830 local (Zulu -7)
CDC
USS Jefferson
“About time,” Jefferson’s TAO said, as a massive gaggle of hostile air
contact symbols popped onto the big screen display. “I was starting to think
they changed their minds.” The weak joke brought a spatter of laughter from
the crews manning the consoles, the only indication that tensions were at a
peak.
“Sir! Breaking the IFF codes for the Vietnamese forces!” the OS said.
“Thank God,” the TAO said quietly. “It looks like this crazy plan just
might work.”
1831 local (Zulu -7)
Flanker 11
Exactly one minute after he’d changed the IFF codes, Bien shoved his
throttle forward, accelerating quickly to 580 knots. At that speed, his jet
gulped down fuel at a prohibitive rate. Fortunately, he thought as he
observed the fuel gauge quiver, it wouldn’t be for long. He glanced behind
him, watching the orderly Vietnamese formation straggle out into a ragged line
of aircraft and then coalesce back into a fighting unit that followed him. He
banked hard to the south and watched the others follow. Only twenty seconds
had elapsed since his speed increase. His radio crackled with orders and
demands for information. All the questions were in Chinese.
And that is exactly the wrong language for answers, Bien thought grimly.
1842 local (Zulu -7)
TFCC
“There they go,” Tombstone said. “Those birds breaking off and heading
south are Vietnamese.”
“Roger,” the TAO acknowledged. “We know who the good guys are now, sir.
I’ll make sure Vincennes understands, too.”
“What’s she doing?” Tombstone demanded. The speed leader attached to the
ship’s symbol had suddenly changed directions.
“Headed south at thirty knots. Still out of missile range and screaming
bloody murder!”
“Give me that handset,” Tombstone ordered. The TAO turned over his
tactical circuit to the admiral. “Get your ass back up north, Killington!”
“Are you fucking insane? You’ve got inbound hostile air, with only a
couple of frigates around you! The FFG’s standard missiles have a maximum
range of twenty-five miles, you idiot! You need us there!”
“I also have two squadrons of Tomcats and two of Hornets airborne!”
Tombstone snapped. “These are Flankers, Killington! Fighters! The only
thing they carry is air-to-air missiles, not air-to-surface ship missiles!
And if those Flankers are carrying anything heavier, it’s a laser-guided or
dumb bomb, and they’re so weighed down that they’re dead meat!”
“You’re dead, you know,” Killington said in a cold, calm voice. “May God
forgive you for what you’re doing to your crew.”
“I may be dead, but you’re relieved! TAO, are you listening?” Tombstone
demanded.
A long pause, then a tight, higher-pitched voice broke in on the circuit.
“Sir, this is Lieutenant Commander Carson, TAO.”
“Son, get your Executive Officer up to Combat ASAP. And log it
now–Captain Killington is hereby relieved of command, and ordered to report
to the Jefferson. Your XO has command of the ship, and you are on watch as