quickly. What’s all this about, anyway? The Navy want to give us a permanent
helo detachment?” Gringes asked, his curiosity rising to unbearable levels.
“I’ll brief you in with your master, if he says it’s okay. And, no,
we’re not staying. In fact, I’ve got to get back to the carrier as soon as
possible. We’re just coming over to ask a little favor, that’s all.”
“I guess we could try to pretend we’re a decoy carrier,” Gringes said
over his shoulder as the officer followed him into the skin of the ship.
“Don’t know that our owners would like that much, though.”
“Nothing as serious as that. We just want you to send a message out for
us.”
“A message? With all the communications gear you’ve got over there, you
want us to send a message?”
They paused on a landing between flights of stairs, and Gringes thought
he saw a flash of amusement in the other man’s face.
“Let’s just say that the source of this particular message is important,”
the officer said finally.
“What kind of message?”
A smile lit Commander Busby’s face. “A weather report.”
CHAPTER 30
Saturday, 6 July
1400 local (Zulu +5)
United Nations
The ambassador’s stomach churned uneasily. Even with the president’s
words of confidence still ringing in her ears, the thought of the next few
hours filled her with an ineluctable dread. She paused for a moment, and the
flock of staffers and assistants behind her almost ran her over. She heard a
few angry whispers, the almost imperceptible thud of elbows on ribs.
None, save her Chief of Staff, had any inkling of what was about to
happen. There were no position papers, no carefully thought out amendments or
resolutions. Just her own instincts, honed in years of political maneuvering
and international intrigue, to get her–and the nation–through this crisis
without irrevocable harm to America’s interests.
She sighed and started forward again. This, as the president had said,
was why they paid her the big bucks.
“The ambassador from the United States.” The chairman of the Security
Council recognized her. She ignored the puzzled flurry of comments from her
own staff behind her.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The United States appreciates your courtesy in
allowing us to proceed with our message of support for our valued allies in
China.”
T’ing looked up sharply. His features quickly smoothed themselves back
into inscrutability. He started to speak, then thought better of it.
“Support?” the chairman said doubtfully.
“Yes, of course. By now each member has probably received reports from
their own sources,”–read “spies” here, my esteemed colleagues, she thought,
allowing a faint smile to reach her lips–“and are no doubt preparing their
own statements. However, we wished to be the first.”
She glanced around the room. Only years of experience allowed her to
read the turmoil bubbling within the other delegations. Not an ambassador
flinched, nor were there any guarded whispers to their respective staffs.
Instead, each one adopted the same expression as T’ing wore on his face, an
air of calm knowingness.
She wiped the smile off her face. Be damned hard for them to know
anything about it–since it never happened.
“I’m advised by our military staff that at 0600, during joint operations
off the coast of Brunei, the People’s Republic of China suffered a tragic
accident. While all peace-loving nations of the world understand that such
incidents are an unavoidable part of the price of freedom, we nonetheless
extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those injured and killed
during the incident. The ambassador from China, no doubt not wishing to slow
down the work of this important body, will not mention the incident. But I
feel compelled to publicly recognize the bravery of the military forces
involved.”
She glanced at the faces again. Still no reaction.
“This morning in the South China Sea, operational forces from Vietnam and
China were performing joint maneuvers off the coast of Vietnam. According to
the Master of the Kawashi Maru, a commercial vessel in the area,” she
continued, holding up a message, “winds and seas reached typhoon strength in a
matter of hours, completely without warning. Fifty aircraft engaged in
training exercises were lost. The United States carrier group on hand in