Dragon's Fury - Dragon's Breath Part 13

With that conversation complete, the two families met and introduced themselves. There was a lot of laughter, and back-slapping stories to share on all sides. In this fas.h.i.+on, for the next two and half hours they enjoyed a wonderful and pleasant evening getting acquainted next to the clear running waters of the Boise River.

August 18, 2005, 14:37 local time Jiangnan s.h.i.+pyards, Special Conversion dry docks Shanghai, PRC Lu Pham was glad to have Sung Hsu with him on this trip. Sung had developed so many excellent procedures and manufacturing processes in Tanjin that he was now a supervising director over construction foremen for the overall conversion process. As such, he was reviewing the implementation of those practices and processes in the various s.h.i.+pyards where the conversions were taking place. Lu was reviewing the LRASD weapons systems and their logistical preparations at each s.h.i.+pyard.

As a result of the growing friends.h.i.+p between themselves and their families, it made for a much more pleasant trip.

"Lu, we are over a week ahead of schedule at all the other s.h.i.+pyards. But here in Shanghai, we are several days behind. This morning I think I found out why."

"It's simply a matter of the process for installing the LRASD pivot a.s.sembly. For some reason the crews here have gotten two of the initial installation instructions reversed. While the systems can be a.s.sembled successfully with these two steps reversed, it is causing a work flow issue."

"Materiel that has been logistically staged to be handled last is being retrieved first, before it can be moved into a position to be picked up most efficiently. The extra time in transit, repeated over and over again, is impacting the schedule."

"I spoke with the foreman and had the procedure re-written to the correct sequence. They are going to try to add additional individuals working during the swing and midnight s.h.i.+fts to make up for the time loss."

It never ceased to amaze Lu how Sung fit so seamlessly into the large scale manufacturing role. Of course he had been at it for over fifteen years, but Lu knew others who were outstanding managers, who had been at it even longer than Sung, but who did not have the gift for it that Sung had.

"Outstanding, Sung. You have a way of a.n.a.lyzing, locating, deciphering and resolving issues that would put most doctors of research to shame, my friend. For my part, all of the weapons systems and their logistics are in order. The testing is completed and the systems have but to be installed and integrated into the fire control and PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) processors on board each s.h.i.+p. All is progressing most excellently!"

"Oh, by the way, Sung. The suggestions that you gave several weeks ago regarding the Sea Control s.h.i.+ps have been studied and implemented. A single dock in Tanjin is going to be making conversions in the open, where the prying eyes of the Americans are sure to take note."

"The other facilities will do their conversions under the cover of the housings we have built for those dry docks. In those cases, the landing decks are being cut up to move by rail so they can be delivered to the other sites in such a manner as to avoid detection by the American surveillance satellites and aircraft. The decks will then be rea.s.sembled on site."

Sung was very gratified at hearing this. He was extremely satisfied in his new work on these "special"

conversions. He was proud to be contributing to the success of his nation in such a manifest way.

"Lu, what decision was made on how to transport the decks on those Sea Control s.h.i.+ps being converted at Tanjin?"

"They will be transporting them by large barges, pulled behind two of our large sea-going tugs. In fact, tomorrow evening, the first deck is scheduled to be loaded up and transported. I expect the Americans will quickly discover the transit with their surveillance satellites and hopefully have their full attention riveted to it. I would love to be a fly on the wall in some of their planning sessions when they see that."

August 19, 2005, 23:37 local time Yulin Naval Base, near Haikou Hainan Island, PRC The Yulin Naval Base was one of the People's Republic of China's most extensive facilities. It had originally been built by the j.a.panese, but had been extensively expanded and modernized by the PLAN.

The base was capable of making the most extensive repairs to any s.h.i.+p in the PLAN. In order to accommodate this, it had extensive repair facilities, two large dry docks and ten large crane systems capable of lifting several hundred tons each. Tonight, these cranes were going to be utilized for the largest lift job in the history of the naval base, or in the history of the People's Republic of China.

The special carrier deck had been installed near the airfield portion of the naval base. The deck was two hundred and fifty meters long and forty meters wide. It was constructed of steel and had been strengthened against blast damage. It weighed almost five thousand tons.

Each of the ten cranes would lift a little less than five hundred tons. Since they were rated at five hundred and fifty tons each, the system had the capacity. Still, it was a complicated effort. The cranes were positioned along a rail system that had been built so they could move virtually anywhere along the waterfront. They had been aligned on two specially built rails, fifty meters apart. Five cranes were situated on each side of these rails.

The deck had been moved there by a large multi-tracked vehicle, specially built for this purpose, which had been constructed in an underground facility where it had remained until needed. Two days earlier, the transport vehicle had been driven under the deck through a specially constructed access path specifically built with this day in mind. Once under the deck, it had used its own hydraulic lifts...two hundred of them, to lift the deck clear of the anchoring sub-structure and start it on its way to the harbor. It had taken a full twenty-four hours to cover the two miles.

Once the deck was in position between the cranes, the cranes were attached to the deck at special hoist points and they began to slowly and carefully lift the deck. Once the deck came clear of the transport vehicle, the cranes themselves began to move slowly along their rails towards the harbor inlet where the barge awaited.

The barge itself was three hundred meters long and thirty-five meters wide. It had a carrying capacity of seventy-five hundred tons. Earlier in the evening, at seven thirty, the cranes arrived in position with the deck suspended above the barge.

At that time, the deck was slowly lowered onto it. Once this was done, and the deck was resting on its support points, but still held by the cranes, workers spent four hours attaching the deck to the barge at each of the support points. Once this was accomplished, the cranes were moved away from the barge and the deck was finally ready to be towed away.

Around midnight, two Dinghai cla.s.s sea going tugs of the PLAN came alongside the barge. Once they were attached, they began towing it out of its berth and out of the harbor. At eight knots, it would take four days to tow the deck to Tanjin s.h.i.+pyards where it would be permanently installed on one of the container s.h.i.+ps.

Early the next morning, the tugs and their barge were some ninety kilometers up the coast towards Tanjin, steaming about ten kilometers off the coast. At this point, not long after first light, they were observed by a US reconnaissance satellite as they continued to slowly made their way north, up the coast of China.

The images recorded by the satellite were immediately communicated to CINCPAC in Hawaii, to the ONI in the Pentagon and to the NRO in Virginia, according to the procedures already in place for any reconnaissance coming in from the South China Sea that dealt with the PRC.

August 20, 2005, 09:12 National Reconnaissance Office Headquarters IMINT Directorate Chantilly, VA "I'd say that about ices it, Tom. Just ensure we get a track on that barge and the two tugs and find out where they are going. My bet is Tanjin. Those crafty devils are going to create some conversion aircraft carriers from their friggin' container s.h.i.+ps. Who would have thought it?"

Tom was sure his boss was right. Ever since they had overlaid the deck design onto the Container s.h.i.+p plan view, it was clear that those deck configurations were made for these s.h.i.+ps. The only question had been, how were they going to get those decks, or ones like them, fitted onto the s.h.i.+ps?

Well, this morning that had become clear as the semi-weekly photographs of the Hainan Island area had captured what appeared to be a small aircraft carrier moving up the coast. Once Tom had a.n.a.lyzed the information, it became clear that two large tugs were towing a barge which had the deck attached to it.

"The photographs of the Yulin Naval Base show that the deck is gone, and we already know where.

This is interesting, though. I have checked the other airfields where these special naval "decks" had been installed and the only one that is missing is the one from Hainan."

Bill was not concerned about this fact. The other decks would move as the PRC was prepared to add them to container s.h.i.+ps. "Boy, that must be a heck of a conversion," he thought.

"They're probably just biding their time, Tom. Let's go ahead and report on all that we have deduced at our 10 a.m. video conference. I am sure CINCPAC and ONI have seen this and have come to the same conclusions. Anyhow, now that we know how the Chinese are going about it, there'll be no problem keeping track of it."

Or so they thought.

Chapter 5.

"To command a group requires truthfulness."Sun Tsu

August 25, 2005, 03:50 local time Along the Great Zab River Near Irbil, Iraq "The insertion had gone almost perfectly," thought Will as his team gathered around him.

Having flown into the northern area of Iraq from Turkey aboard a specially configured C-17 Globemaster aircraft owned and operated by the CIA, the eight-man team had made a "HALO" (High Alt.i.tude, Low Opening) drop.

They had parachuted into a remote wash two hours ago and made their way to their designated rendezvous point near the Great Zab River. Now, they were concealed and waiting for their contact.

Will Peterson was a senior CIA field officer and a former Delta Force Company Commander. He had six special-forces non-commissioned officers and his XO with him. All of them had spent years in the elite Delta Force and all of them had been recruited by the "Agency" to help conduct America's foreign affairs in places where the bright lights of cameras were never meant to s.h.i.+ne.

Will heard the slight sound of someone moving stealthily along the dirt path below them. The sound stopped and after a moment a single phrase was whispered.

"al-Mustaqbal"

Will's point man, and the most fluent in Arabic among them (though they all looked Arabic and could speak fluently) responded.

"Shaheda."

Within fifteen minutes their guide had led them further up the canyon of the Great Zab River where they branched off on a small footpath into a feeder canyon. After another twenty minutes of rather steep ascent, they moved to one side of the canyon where the team waited while their guide removed brush from the expertly concealed mouth of a cave and exchanged whispered identification and greetings with two well- concealed sentries. Upon entering the cave, and after following it through several turns, they found that it widened into a rather s.p.a.cious, natural room. Several men attired in unremarkable desert dress were in the room gathered around or sitting at a table. One of them looked up as Will and his team entered.

"Will, how good to see you after so many months! Please, bring your friends and join us here at the table."

Will's team looked to him and he nodded his head back to the entry. Two of the team silently walked back and took up positions between the gathering and the entrance to the cavern. Will and the other five team members then walked over to the table.

"Jabal, it is good to see you my friend. I take it Badar bin Sultan arrangements for the delivery have been successfully completed and your people are prepared?"

Jabal Talabari's Patriotic Kurdistan Front had been fighting for an independent Kurdistan for more than seventeen years. He had known Will for almost eight of those years, since just a few months after the 1996 fiasco in Irbil.

Jabal had great reason not to trust the Americans and be wary of them. Many of his friends were dead as a result of American promises that had not been kept. First one American president and then another had sent men like Will to help overthrow the Iraqis...only to have them pulled out when the heat was turned up...which is exactly what had happened in Irbil in 1996.

Perhaps this time, with Weisskopf as President, with so many new weapons and with the Saudi and Turkish backing, they could be successful.

"Yes, we have the weapons; we have the "ballots;' we have the polling locations and we have made our plans. Kurdistan will not vote to join Iraq in their alignment with the Iranians, and the voting in Baghdad and other areas will not go as they envision. I was reviewing our plans just now with each of these division commanders as you arrived."

At Jabal's direction, Will's team members were paired off with Jabal's division commanders. Will worked directly with Jabal. Over the next several days their specific operational plans were reviewed and modified and the timing between events and the various elements of the PKF was worked out. Then the entire OPPLAN was relentlessly rehea.r.s.ed with the division commanders and their subordinates.

August 28, 2005, 11:50 local time The Knesset Tel Aviv, Israel "Summing up then, we must recognize that a tremendous and mortal threat to our very existence is developing in this Greater Islamic Republic. Adding Pakistan's mature nuclear program to Iran's elementary capabilities will add up to as great a threat to our survival as we have faced in our history."

Prime Minister Benjahmin Netinyahu sat down. He had poured out his soul to his compatriots and he was as worried as he had ever been.

"Mr. Prime Minister, while the potential for a threat is real, we have yet to see any clear indication from Sayeed or any of his ministers that they intend us any harm. I believe, if we work with their Foreign Minister and seek to live in harmony with them, we can avoid conflict. They know we are similarly armed and they know we are willing to use those arms."

"If we rattle our sabers in their face, if we provoke them when no reason has been given, then we risk causing the very confrontation you want to avoid."

Netinyahu considered the words of his rival, Isaac bin Ammon, the leader of the opposition Labor party.

The words were not new; the logic was as old as history, and history had proven it incorrect on countless occasions.

"You sound for all the world like one of the doves in the American Senate, Isaac. Have we learned nothing? We must send a message of strength and resolution to Sayeed. We cannot afford to allow him to think for a moment that we are weak, or that we fear him. Iran, which is the focal point for the Greater Islamic Republic, has financed and trained many of our worst enemies. I have seen no reduction in that effort."

"Now Afghanistan has joined their ranks and it appears that Pakistan and Iraq will soon follow. All of these "states" have spent untold billions to train and equip those terrorists and themselves to fight and destroy us. We dare not forget this. The American President issued us a warning a few weeks ago. He felt strongly enough about it to call and talk directly to me. I believe we should take this warning and his recommendation to establish and maintain our readiness seriously."

Isaac bin Ammon rolled his eyes. He certainly believed in their nuclear deterrent. He believed in remaining strong. He was simply tired of these so called "hawks" who were intent on provoking every nation around them with their "in your face" att.i.tude.

"Benjahmin, we have gone around and around on this over the years. I believe that Hasan Sayeed is reasonable...certainly more reasonable "Save us from the naivete and incompetence of fools," Netinyahu thought.

"Isaac, I believe that Sayeed is responsible for the death of the Iraqi leader. Our latest intelligence doc.u.ments a direct tie between Hamas and Sayeed, and between the Hamas operative and the Iraqi leader. What more do we need?"

He turned to his defense minister.

"Jacob, increase our readiness, across the board. Also, request more time from the American satellites and utilize our own a.s.sets to monitor the Army groups that are training near Ahvaz. I want the anti-aircraft missile defenses and our artillery on the Golan Heights strengthened too."

"Let's pray that somehow the "elections" in Pakistan and Iraq do not turn out as our predictions indicate."

August 30, 2005, 17:50 local time Israeli Defense Force (IDF) positions Golan Heights Colonel Abraham Eshkol had been monitoring the placement of new AAM batteries all day. It had been a hot day, too. Even here on the heights the temperature had hovered at forty degrees Celsius most of the afternoon.

The new Arrow missile system, developed and manufactured by Israel, was impressive. "Every bit as capable as the newer Block 3 Patriot systems," the Colonel thought, even if the alt.i.tude capabilities are a little less. When complemented by the new American system firing the ground-based version of the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Anti Aircraft Missile), the Golan Heights would be as well protected against air attack as possible.

Now the Colonel turned his attention towards the perimeter defenses and the new artillery that was being added to his position. As he did so, he summoned his executive officer.

"Major, I want a report of your progress today on my desk by nineteen hundred hours. Just make sure that our perimeter defenses are completed within the next three days. I want that new line of bunkers dug in below and forward of the existing defenses. As we discussed, also ensure that the extra batteries of the 155's and those new MRL's (Multiple Rocket Launchers) are positioned in their revetments. Carry on."

As the Colonel turned and walked toward his command vehicle, he contemplated his latest improvements and orders.

"Threat Condition Three and significantly increased strength. Must be concerned that this Hasan Sayeed's influence will continue to spread."

The prospect of a united Islam spreading closer and closer to his homeland was enough to cause him serious consideration and consternation.

As he gazed from his elevated position to the west and north out across Syria, he was reminded of the Masada where long ago his forefathers had been besieged by the Romans. That siege had ended with ma.s.s suicide.

"Well, we will not end up in such a position here. Any enemy trying to a.s.sault these heights will find their own death waiting here, not ours."

September 1, 2005, 14:23 local time Voting precinct Islamabad, Pakistan The lines went on for hundreds of yards outside of the building housing the voting booths. Tens of thousands were lined all across the city, as they had been since before the polls opened at this morning.

The same scene was being played out across Pakistan in all of the major cities, as well as smallest villages.

Here in Islamabad, and at a few other high profile places, the camera crews of WNN and other major media outlets were recording it all and broadcasting it across the world. No exit polling was allowed, but it was clear beyond doubt what the results were going to be.

The population and military power of the Greater Islamic Republic would more than double this day. In truth, preparations for insuring this pre-ordained victory, and capitalizing on it, had been ongoing since the announcement by President Musharraf several weeks ago.

September 1, 2005, same time UN monitoring station outside of a voting precinct Baghdad, Iraq The stooped and crippled old man was in line, waiting his turn to vote like the thousands of others. He was within fifteen meters of the entrance to the building that housed the voting booths, and was just pa.s.sing the UN monitoring station. The UN had a contingent of officials with side arms at the monitoring station, and several others within the voting facility.

The UN-provided monitoring and light security was backed up by Iraqi troops who manned a security station at the entrance to the voting facility itself. The Iraqi contingent was more heavily armed and was using a UN-supplied metal detector to prevent weapons from entering.

As the stooped old man approached the security station, he noted carefully the position of the alert guards: two men with automatic a.s.sault rifles standing to either side of their compatriots at the metal detector, and one UN officer just outside of the station whose hand rested lightly on his side arm.

Underneath the stooped frame and the wrinkles of the old man in line, was the heart of a fighter.

Concealed by the robes, and belied by the stooped posture, was the body of a twenty-four year old Kurdish freedom fighter, along with an AK-47 rifle and three hand grenades.

When he was within five meters of the security station, the Kurdish militant armed his first grenade while holding it under his robes with one hand. His other hand had already charged his a.s.sault rifle. Pretending to stoop even lower, as though looking at something on the ground, he gently tossed his hand grenade back towards the UN monitoring station while lifting his AK-47 towards the security station. Grabbing the rifle with both hands now, he expertly pulled the trigger while he swept the muzzle across the security station, cutting down the two guards and one of the Iraqis manning the metal detector. An instant later, the grenade detonated with a thunderous report, directly in front of the UN monitoring station.

In the pandemonium that was breaking out around the voting facility, the Kurdish freedom fighter calmly walked up to the security station and fired a three-round burst into the heads of each of the downed Iraqis and then tossed another of his hand grenades into the voting facility. Hurrying now, he ran back towards the UN monitoring station where several UN officials were staggering out of the ruined doorway.

As the blast of the second grenade tore through the polling place, the young Kurd again pulled the trigger of his AK-47, knocking down two of the UN officials and driving the others back into the building.

Lobbing his last grenade into the UN monitoring station itself, before it could explode, he discarded his AK-47 and disappeared into the crowd that was fleeing the scene in terror.

As he melted into the stampeding throng, he whispered to himself in Arabic: "For the liberty and sovereignty of Kurdistan!"

September 1, 2005, 19:42 local time Patriotic Kurdistan Front cavern Near Irbil, Iraq "Things have gone as well as can be expected. Here in the Kurdistan area, the referendum has been defeated and our "write-in" ballot efforts will make it plain that we have voted for our own independence."

"In the more southern areas, there has been significant disruption by our personnel, but the vote is overwhelmingly for unification with the Greater Islamic Republic."

As Jabal completed his thoughts and status report, Will felt he had to interject.