The director commented, “Earlier, we mentioned the container ship and the supertanker that were seized and moved to the northern Arctic Sea. The crews were put in an expanded modified brig on a United States Navy Destroyer. This happened within 24 hours of being captured. Interrogation revealed nothing at all. What we did was to bring all 57 of them. We modified the destroyer because the Navy felt we needed hardened protection. White Space technology was employed to monitor 57 cell-phones, computer tablets, and would you believe, about 30 PCs with VOIP capability. Our communications specialists aboard were tasked with tracking any incoming or outgoing transmissions or signals generated by any of these devices. So far, it's like the whole mission is dark. And as far as we could cipher from Genesis’ operatives Roble, Kyle, and Jameela, they will be dark until the event at 7:04 p.m. on July 4th in America. This concludes our briefing. Good hunting ladies and gentleman. May God be with us all.”
Chapter Twenty-Four — Release the Hounds
Sara’s job was to liaison between the strike group captains, The rear admirals and the small group in the Fort Stewart Counter-Terrorist Command Center, code for the black site.
After a short recess, Sara started her update.
“Emergence Tugboats is owned by Genesis. Naval intelligence confirmed this while doing a background check on all ships and shipping related industries in Savannah and Charleston during our risk assessment. The Emergence Tugboat Company was hidden behind one of Genesis’ Oceaneering companies which was essentially a shell corporation. They purchased the tugboat company that services the Savannah and Charleston harbors. Genesis renamed the tugboat company Emergence Tug and Towing. The name Emergence by any other name is Genesis. We have had eyes and ears on them, but we have not disturbed them in any way.”
Captain Parrish then discussed operational details.
A short time later, Admiral Barksdale concluded the meeting. “Colonel Werner, Captain Parrish, and the two civilians that sit with you. Let me say that all of us here out in the deep ocean are grateful that you are there. The coasts of the targeted cities continue to be a no-fly zone with a guarded perimeter of 500 miles along the coasts. Inside the 500-mile perimeter, the U.S. Navy reconnaissance and patrol boats are on duty. Outside the 500-mile perimeter, Navy destroyers are patrolling Savannah and Charleston. The destroyers are providing coastline surveillance with our TERN long range navy drones. TERN drones have a range of approximately 900 nautical miles. They also sport rocket-based advanced precision-kill weapons systems. They will patrol and scan the ports of Savannah and Charleston at 20-hour intervals. All cargo and container ships are being scanned and boarded at the 500-mile perimeter by naval masters at arms. They are security specialists who perform anti-terrorism duties at sea. The Navy Knighthawk helicopters are used to deploy them to the decks of the vessels. They are armed and have orders to shoot to kill. So far everything is quiet.”
Meanwhile, on the USS George W. Bush, Captain Anderson headed to the command bridge. The officer of the deck saluted him. He had requested that the quartermaster of the watch and the chief petty officer join him. Captain Anderson spoke calmly and confidently into the ship’s communication system to all of the captains in the strike force, as well as all of the crewmembers on his ship.
“This is your captain. As of now, Congress and the president have declared a state of war against our global enemy Genesis. Today, I am reminded of what Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz said. He said that it is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil. In the spirit of Admiral Nimitz, today we take the fight to Genesis. We are commencing the tactical operations of Operation Oglethorpe. You have your orders. We are at WAR!”
On his war room screens, he saw the crew sections of each ship. The men and women were cheering, motivated, and ready. Captain Anderson cleared his throat and in a commanding voice, bellowed his war cry, “For America’s Sake, for Savannah’s sake, and for Charleston’s sake…WAR!”
Both carrier strike groups were busy deploying. On the island towering nine stories above, on the USS George W. Bush flight deck, Captain Anderson was one deck below pri-fly on the navigation bridge. Admiral Cooper was on the flag-bridge with the quartermaster of the watch one deck below him. Both were monitoring deployment. Above both of them, the air boss and the mini-boss had a panoramic view of deck operations from the primary flight control center. They issued pre-flight commands as the flight crews and pilots nine stories below prepared for intense aircraft takeoff activity.
The mini-boss pressed the com button on his headset. “Navigation bridge, this is mini-boss; the squadrons are in pre-launch. Move us into the wind. Increase speed to 40 miles an hour for additional airflow.”
“Mini-boss, this is the quartermaster of the watch. Copy that.”
The shooters and handlers moved the F-18 Hornet twin-engine supersonic combat jet squadrons into launch position. Captain Russell was air-wing commander for the mission. The admiral made him directly responsible for the operational readiness and tactical performance of the air-wing. He was responsible for the coordination and supervision of all activities of the embarked squadrons and detachments. The CAG did not fall directly under the carrier’s commanding officer. Rather, he was a co-commanding officer. J.R. was first in line to launch. From the cockpit, he saw the catapult officer signal that he should activate the Hornet’s afterburner for takeoff. The catapult officer then signaled full power.
J.R.’s Super Hornet ignited the full afterburners for the high-power engine run-up. J.R. waited for the go for launch signal and he was up…headed to 275 mph in three seconds.
J.R.’s F-18 Super Hornet banked left away from the carrier and he smiled as he saw his squadron join him. One by one in attack formation, they flew out to meet the incoming vessels.
Once they reached their cruising altitude, J.R. radioed the attack submarines from the USS William J. Clinton carrier strike group. They now had the last known positions of the enemy vessels, the Fireships.
All pilots were receiving high-resolution real-time imagery to their helmets from six infrared cameras mounted around their aircraft, allowing the pilots to see the entire environment around them. They were also receiving real-time imagery from the attack submarine. J.R. voice activated the communications link to his squadron, “Short trip. 123 miles. Commanders, we have our orders. Deploy your doppler beams now to engage your real-time rendered map of what’s going on below you. Each of you knows which of the four ships is your mark. Four passes each. Please acknowledge you have received these orders and good luck. See you back at the island.”
Upon approach, J.R. banked right and flew over the bow of the ship that had been assigned to him. He turned to starboard and noticed how huge the ship was. He opened a secured channel back to Captain Anderson at the USS George W. Bush command center. J.R. remarked, “She is gorgeous.”
J.R.’s sensors sent real-time images back to all communication centers in the battle groups. The six infrared cameras allowed him to send back high-resolution pictures of this massive container ship as she steamed with perfectly positioned containerized freight.
“Captain Anderson, my scans show her to be traveling with approximately 21,000 containers. This ship is about 20 percent longer than our aircraft carrier. It is the GWO Savannah.”
Captain Anderson checked in. “J.R., we are receiving the images and data.”
“Copy that, sir. We have completed our run and our scans show no unusual ordinance other than a half dozen automatic weapons used for ship security purposes. We await your command.”
J.R. heard an order. “This is Captain Steve Anderson of the USS George W. Bush, Code 70456.” J.R. validated the command code. He then issued the order to the squadron, “Commanders, lets head back to the ranch.”
“Copy that.”
The USS George W. Bush strike group was racing towards the enemy vessels and J.R.’s squadron was headed back to the strike group. Meanwhile, Captain Anderson released th
e hounds. The carrier strike force naval destroyers are called the greyhounds of the sea. They were the real reason they say you cannot outrun the U.S. Navy. Three hours later, the destroyers from both strike groups had the three supertankers and container ships in sight. They were on schedule, as Genesis had reached the convergence point where they would travel together steaming towards America. They were about 300 miles east of Puerto Rico and would reach their target in 28 hours.
The sonar specialist aboard the lead Navy destroyer calculated the range and bearing of targets. “Captain we are 25 miles from the bow of the first enemy vessel.”
The captains of the destroyers confirmed that NRO and NSA had control of the modified detonators signal’s highway. There was little danger of nuclear detonation…for now.
The mission was very clear. The Knighthawk helicopters were in the air as soon as the naval destroyers came within acceptable range. They took off from the decks of the four destroyers. They headed for the Hellburners. As the Knighthawks swept across the decks of the ships, they dropped pamphlets. They would not communicate warnings via airwaves as they wanted to minimize possible communications back to Genesis headquarters or operatives. The warning was dropped in all major languages and declared: This is The United States Navy. We represent the Armed Forces of the United States and our allies. Please prepare to be boarded for search and seizure. You are in an international zone declared a high-intensity drug-trafficking area by the United States and our allies. Your cargo is suspected of harboring or transporting illegal drugs and guns. Prepare to be boarded by United States Navy SEALs deputized as International Sea Marshals. Resistance will not be tolerated. Please have all crew-members ‘man the rails’ as evidence that there is no hostile intent. Please acknowledge with the following three words only: ANSWERING ALL STOPS. Using the frequency written on this warning, send the acknowledgment. This is a special message for the container ship GWO Savannah. You are clear. No suspicion, but you must move to the coordinates given and you must do it now. Please acknowledge that you have received, understand, and will comply with the latitude and longitude coordinates on this pamphlet. You have one mile to acknowledge this and 15 miles for our radar to show that you are moving toward the coordinate’s trajectory.”
Within 15 minutes the GWO Savannah communications center acknowledged the call and corrected course along the given trajectory. Admiral Cooper thought to himself, the game is afoot.
The SEAL teams executed the search and seizure mission flawlessly. SEAL teams searched every deck rounding up every man and woman. Three of the Knighthawks landed last with no teams, as they would load and haul the prisoners. The rest of the Knighthawks would provide cover as they landed. It looked like a space invasion as three Knighthawks hovered at each supertanker. SEAL teams hit the decks of the Genesis' vessels as they were lowered by rappel ropes to the decks.
“Commander, this is Captain Anderson. Use your scanning radar to scan for hostile or hot weaponry on or below deck. The F-18 Hornets did an initial sweep on the earlier phase of the mission but command has ordered us to use the Knighthawks to check again. I want the fleet weapons hot until you report in.”
“Copy that, Captain.”
Two Knighthawks at each supertanker brought the prisoners back to the brig on The USS George W. Bush...with minimum resistance. They were in 'man the rail' formation. This meant that the crew was on deck around the rails of the carrier. It was not a show of force but a show of non-hostility. Navy SEALs checked each level, including the ships’ sickbay and brig. Two SEAL team members in separate locations on the decks were holding the captain of each oil tanker, chief of the crew, and the communications crew. They were the first to be lifted off the vessels onto Knighthawks, bound and blinded with military strength eye-cover blinders and earplugs.
The Navy SEAL commander notified command en route. “Our recon photos reveal that each of these vessels is state-of-the-art. Because of the technology on these ships they can operate with a crew of 13 or so. Satellite images show at least 30 men on each ship. I wonder why they're crew heavy?”
At Fleet Command in Norfolk, the intelligence agencies, the Defense Department, and the White House studied and dissected the live satellite feeds of the three leviathans sitting at a dead-stop in the South Atlantic Sea surrounded by four United States Navy destroyers. Knighthawks hovering menacingly over their decks. They also saw a huge vessel continuing in an easterly direction towards the United States. Things were going as planned. So far.
Chapter Twenty-Five—The Many…The Few
Rear Admiral Barksdale, the USS William J. Clinton, and his carrier strike force steamed to the rendezvous point and combined forces with the USS George W. Bush strike group.
“This is Knighthawk twelve. The hawk is en route to the USS George W. Bush. Request permission to land.”
“Knighthawk twelve, this is the air boss. Helipad six is yours.”
“Ten-four. Copy that.”
Admiral Barksdale was the hawk. He got a magnificent aerial view of the combined strike group as he helicoptered to the USS George W. Bush for a closed meeting with Admiral Cooper. Steaming in the deep blue ocean toward the massive nuclear threat were two aircraft carriers, several guided missile cruisers, four guided missile destroyers for anti-air warfare, four attack submarines seeking out and destroying hostile surface ships and submarines, and two supply ships.
Admiral Barksdale thought we will quell Genesis’ threat to destroy America’s cities and their strategic military presence. The irony of it all is that they chose two of our original colonies.
The admiral’s helicopter was greeted by Admiral Cooper, Captain Anderson, and a host of sailors. When his foot hit the deck, several sailors shouted, “Admiral on deck!”
He and Admiral Cooper immediately headed to the admiral’s command center. Once on the flag-bridge, they closed the door to the admiral’s office. On the screen, they were greeted by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations.
The Secretary of the Navy spoke first. “Admirals, your orders are to deploy helmsmen to each of the seized vessels, along with an essential crew, to drive the Hellburners to the coldest spot on the planet.”
“Are we headed to the Southern Ocean in Antarctica?” asked Admiral Cooper.
“Yes, your sailors are.” The Chief of Naval Operations knew both admirals well. “Hey, both you guys have crossed the Antarctic Circle and earned your red nose certificate. I am surprised you didn't volunteer for this mission yourselves.”
They all had a hearty laugh. Admiral Cooper zoomed in on the navigational map on the conference screen. “We will deploy helmsmen trained in handling the rigid inflatable boats used to insert and recover SEAL commando teams just in case they have to leave the ships and run for the submarines. A team of Navy SEALs will accompany the helmsmen to search every inch of these vessels for anything that can lead them to Genesis. Two attack submarines will provide escort and protection for these huge leviathans. The helmsmen will head south on a journey that will take them weeks into the deep South Atlantic Ocean, into the Antarctic Ocean.”
Admiral Barksdale swiped the touch-screen display and the global marine traffic map of the world seas appeared. He tapped the icon that included port conditions and area geographic temperatures and vessels' current positions. “A supertanker and a container ship now sit in the North Arctic Sea, way beyond the northern rims of Earth’s continents. Now we are taking these three leviathans to the deep Southern Ocean, way beyond the southern rims of Earth’s populated land masses. This strategy will give the world populations great distance from the impact of the nuclear detonation of any or all of these tankers.”
Admiral Cooper made a thought-arresting statement, “The Southern Ocean. Antarctica contains over 70 percent of the world’s water and 90 percent of the world’s ice. A detonation by any or all of these Fireships could tremendously impact global warming across the entire planet. Studies show that methane-making microbes called methanogens are a
bundant below the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. These microbes living under ice sheets are churning out large quantities of the greenhouse gas methane. A massive explosion caused by the payloads of these leviathans would release large amounts of heat, trapping methane gas and thawing permafrost. This could threaten humanity’s very existence on this planet.”
Admiral Barksdale reassuringly said, “I trust the entire intelligence community’s efforts on that signal highway thing. My god man, that was ingenious.”
“One more thing,” said the Chief of Naval Operations. “We have approved the deployment of icebreakers to help push the tankers through the heavy ice to their temporary Antarctica home. The United States Coast Guard’s heavy icebreakers, the USCGC Polar Sea and her sister ship, the Polar Star, are busy at the North Pole with the seized vessels captured a month ago. We have contracted with the Russians to help out. The Russians actually offered us the use of the world’s largest icebreaker, 50 Years of Victory, the newest of Russia’s seven nuclear-powered icebreakers. The Beijing government has sent the world’s largest non-nuclear icebreaker, the Xuelong, which in English means Snow Dragon. They are en route as we speak.”
The Chief of Naval Operations complimented the admirals. “You all did well today. Outstanding work. Give the men and women of the Navy our best. May God continue to be with them. Good day.”
Accelerant- Sixth Extinction Page 25