' The Longest Night ' & ' Crossing the Rubicon ': The Original Map Illustrated and Uncut Final Volume (Armageddon's Song)

by Andy Farman

  He retired to his small cabin at 2am for a few hours’ sleep before returning to the bridge.

  There was, he sensed, a distinct coolness displayed towards him by the PLAN sailors he encountered on the way and he stopped by the compartment that his small liaison team worked out of. They too had picked up on an almost hostile vibe from their hosts.

  “Is there any news from the fighting in Europe that could account for that?” he asked the petty officer.

  “No sir, we have no contact with Moscow as the satellite link is down, apparently.”

  The fleet had three dedicated communications satellites serving it, a triple redundancy to ensure uninterrupted contact.

  “Get the Kuznetsov on the radio, this should not be happening.” They had their own communications setup, It allowed them to contact their own ships as well as their fleet headquarters, without interfering with this ships own essential business.

  Heavy jamming was evident, so heavy in fact that it seemed the Australians had a very powerful dish pointed at the fleet, or the source was very close by indeed.

  Karl left immediately for the bridge, seeking Captain Hong, who he knew was scheduled to have the watch but armed sentries barred his way. Vice Admiral Putchev waited patiently until the Mao’s Exec, a man who Karl Putchev had never really taken to, came on to the bridge wing.

  “The Captain will see you now, Admiral.”

  Karl strode towards the Captain’s chair, stopping short in surprise. A complete stranger sat there.

  Bond Springs Airport, Northern Territories, Australia.

  1323hrs.

  The No. 47 Squadron Hercules started its let-down earlier than planned, landing on a different airstrip to the intended one too. Squadron Leader Stewart Dunn did not have hands on control of the aircraft, he was the captain but Flt Lt Michelle Braithwaite was more than capable of handling the landing, even on three engines. The port inner had lost oil pressure and so they had feathered it and put down at a small airstrip twenty two miles northwest of Alice Springs Airport.

  The three Allison Turboprops kicked up a red dust storm on the dirt runway which increased significantly as the blade angle of the propellers altered to shorten the aircraft’s landing distance.

  The airport manager/ ground controller / fuel truck guy was eyeing them curiously from his seat in the shade as it shut down near the largest of the field’s buildings.

  The flight engineer explained their problem and sat down to wait for a mechanic and a clutch of customs inspectors from Alice Springs.

  Thirteen in all, the five aircrew and the eight troops laid out their Bergans and equipment, which brought a few grins from excise men and bush pilots alike, the latter having wandered over to watch.

  "You’re not from around here, are you?"

  The snow skis and arctic whites were inspected along with their other kit.

  "Is this all of you?" an inspector asked the last man. "Big aeroplane for just a handful of you, it'll take forever to fill in that eco footprint."

  "We set out with more." said a tired voice, by way of explanation.

  "Is this your bag and did you pack it yourself?" he said to the last man."

  "No, it is not mine and I did not pack it" said the man presenting it for inspection. "Sorry."

  "Who is the bags owner and where is he?"

  "Corporal Rory Alladay. He won't be needing it anymore."

  It was a bergan like any other, showing signs of hard use and its padded carrying side stained dark with its owners sweat from many locales, from Dartmoor to Gansu Province, ultimately. Rory's blood also left its mark on the arctic white cover, the specks and splashes now turned dark. The customs man opened a side pouch, which happened to be the one holding ID discs from those who had died during Operation Equaliser, those that they had managed to recover the tags from. The customs officer went rather quiet and zipped the pouch back up.

  "Sorry mate, I thought you'd just come along to get into the war."

  “That’s okay officer.”

  The M&AWC had been 'in' since the beginning, although Major Dewar could not recall any official declaration of war by the New Soviet Union or by the People’s Republic of China.

  On their eventual extraction and recovery to India they had all learned that the European aspect of the war had ended with a defeat for the Soviets and that several European governments had largely been ousted by the military, beginning with the UK. SACEUR had arrived in newly liberated Berlin two days later and had been arrested by German Federal Police, only to be released within the hour by German Panzer Grenadiers after a short exchange of gunfire. The German government’s action had been the deciding factor for its military and by midnight the same day it too had been replaced.

  India had seen new orders for Garfield Brooks and his Green Berets, ones that took them to the Philippines. They had shared a beer once the parting of the ways had come, as the SAS Mountain Troops specialists and the remains of the M&AWC were bound for the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

  "You realise that once this is all over the USA is going to move heaven and earth to get back to the old way of doing business with Europe?"

  "As I hear it, this is just a temporary thing, a cleaning of house with a couple of years’ worth of work for the Serious Fraud Office going through MP’s finances, and an end to the nanny state."

  "Big Brotherism." Gareth corrected.

  "Absolutely...a repealing of a big bunch of laws."

  There was a lot of military activity in India, Malaysia and Indonesia as those countries geared up now that the nuclear threat had been removed. China had a big military, but it was already stretched. The Philippines refused to be pacified, and guerrilla warfare had broken out in Japan and Taiwan, tying down forces it could otherwise have used as a threat to the rest of Asia. Its one big remaining field army, 3rd Army, was not as yet committed to holding ground. It had to take Canberra and the Australian cities, and then take the north and south islands of New Zealand in order to be freed-up to put Asian states back in their place.

  Richard thought that Australia was a sub-continent too far for the PLAN and they had not learned from the mistakes of the Philippines. 3rd Army had been reorganised so as to employ fewer MBTs, but it was still too mechanised for New South Wales. He had more ‘mountain leaders’ enroute to Australia to replace the M&AWC’s losses and he fully intended to show the 3rd Army how small units on foot ate big units in vehicles for breakfast when they got into forests and mountains.

  Arbuckle Mountains, Oklahoma.

  Tuesday 23rd October, 0313hrs

  The President had not expected too much change in the way the war was being conducted, now that the fighting in Europe had ended, and the next move of his command post evidenced that.

  General Randolph Carmine began with a briefing on events in Europe, in particular with the units that were being reorganised and readied to send to the Pacific.

  The British had acted swiftly, setting the pace for their neighbours and the newly formed 1st Guards Mechanised Division were just awaiting shipping and escorts to form their convoy. 2CG, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards with Lt Col Pat Reed now commanding it, 1WG, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and 1IG, the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards, were the Warrior equipped infantry, The Scots Guards and Grenadier Guards had older but upgraded FV-432s. The Life Guards were the armoured reconnaissance element from the Household Cavalry, and the Kings Royal Hussars were the heavy armour. 32 Regiment RA’s MLRS and 40 Field Regiment’s AS90 155mm SP were the divisions artillery, along with engineers, signals and all the logistical units that made a fighting unit work. Three of the Foot Guards battalions though were going to be without their IFVs for a month, Australia needed troops immediately and so they would go ahead by air in the light role.

  A Highland Brigade consisting of 1st Battalion London Scottish, 1st Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (having absorbed the 7th/8th Battalion of territorials) and the 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders was also forming. The Royal Sco
ts Dragoon Guards were the Highland Brigades armour. Artillery for the Scots was yet to be included until amalgamations or temporary attachments from various units could take place.

  8 Infantry Brigade, consisting of the 3rd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, the 1st Battalion Light Infantry, which had absorbed two rifle companies from the regiment’s second battalion to bring it up to strength, and finally The Wessex Regiment, a combined battalion made up of the survivors of 1 and 2 Wessex. 8 Infantry Brigade would also arrive in Australia by air to be employed as light infantry.

  “The sending of a leg infantry by the Brits is a good move.” General Carmine explained. “It is boots on the ground in the mountains, not tyres or tracks, which they need right now if the landings do proceed. And we have 10th Mountain Division emplaning also, for that very purpose.”

  Having dealt with the initial reinforcements, the general moved on to the enemy, and their intentions.

  “Assuming the Chinese 3rd Army’s 1st Corps can get ashore, the key, as both we and the Anzacs see it, is to keep the Chinese on the coastal plain until we can muster the muscle to kick them back into the sea.” General Carmine stated. “Of course there is their 2nd Corps to contend with, although that is a long way off yet, and its 3rd Corps, which is mainly reservists and second rate equipment, but a lot of them. 3rd Corps is awaiting 1st Corps ships to return and collect them, so that is a pressing need for a redeployment of SSN and SSKs.”

  “Still no sign of the Russian element of the fleet detaching?” The President asked, but he also knew what the reply would be. He had had a frank discussion with Premier Torneski and she was insistent that her ships had been ordered home, but were not responding. The President was inclined to believe her, especially as that part of Europe was turbulent right now, and having troops on hand would be a bonus.

  A briefing for the small, select group known as ‘The Choir’ was the next order of the day and for once grizzled military or intelligence men had not given it.

  A brunette who looked somehow familiar was the NSA briefer. Owing to the high security surrounding ‘Church’ the members tended to be senior staffers and middle aged in the main. This NSA representative was short of thirty.

  “I know you, don’t I?” the President said.

  “Yes Mr President, you made me the systems security chief for the NSA. I debugged the RORSATs.” Sally Peters replied.

  The President swung around to look at Paul Stanley, the current chief of the NSA. Jack Graham, his predecessor, had been one of the casualties of the Washington DC bomb.

  Next to Paul Stanley was sat another woman young enough to be a daughter to most of the rest of the room’s occupants. The green eyed redhead found herself the centre of attention as everyone else followed the Presidents gaze.

  “And who may you be, young lady?”

  “Alicia O’Connor, sir. I was contracted to work for Sally.”

  “On?” the President enquired.

  “Digital manipulation.”

  The President grinned and clicked his fingers, pleased with himself. He remembered Ms O’Connor’s name appearing in a report by Scott Tafler, and that was another good man gone, to an assassination squad, in Scott’s case..

  “You’ve worked out how the Chinese did what they did to our satellites and you can now do it to them, too?” he said to Paul Stanley.

  “It is not quite that simple unfortunately.” Paul Stanley said apologetically.

  The plasma screen monitors came to life and the President watched in silence as first Sally Peters, and then Alicia O’Connor took to the floor to explain the complexities of their proposal as well as the very real and obvious risks.

  The President stared at the screens.

  “Son of a bitch.” he breathed, his eyes going from one screen to the other.

  Southern Pacific Ocean. 838 miles west of Guam.

  1054hrs.

  At a depth 600ft, the Sea Wolf class Hunter/Killer USS Twin Towers made ten knots as it made its way west, passing the older scenes of conflict, the tiny islands of Peleliu and Angaur, to the north of them.

  Captains Pitt’s original orders had been to relieve the Australian diesel boat but that was no longer deemed necessary since the invasion fleet had altered course for the sub-continent. His new orders were to disrupt the supply line from Cebu, the logistical base for the PLAN 3rd Army. He was to join up with a British boat, HMS Hood, and together they were to find and sink tankers and merchantmen.

  The NATO navies did not have that many hulls in these waters at the moment, and diesels were at a premium. The shallower waters with their thousands of islands, big and small, were not an ideal area of operation for SSNs, and SSKs were even thinner on the ground.

  There was something about the orders that puzzled him; it was in the wording, or lack of it.

  ‘Find and sink enemy cargo vessels and tankers’. Did the admiral who issued the orders just assume that his captains would take the sinking of troopships and RO-ROs as a given? He was used to all the ‘Tees’ being crossed and the ‘Is’ dotted to prevent any ambiguity. He had nothing solid, just a nagging suspicion that someone knew more than they were telling. The intelligence bulletin regarding the PLAN 3rd Army’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps was also in an almost précis form. 1st Corps would try to bulldoze its way to Canberra but if it failed then it would hold the ground it had taken, and await the other two corps arrival. Okay, that was sensible, but when were the other two corps expected, and by which route, the Indian Ocean or the Pacific?

  The only solid information was that of the number of units expected to be guarding the supply line from the Philippine Islands, but that figure was a little on the low side and there was no explanation given for this. Where were the rest of the SSK fleet, and the dedicated surface warfare ships? He was probably going to have to wait until peace broke out before discovering those answers.

  The Hood was rearmed and running fast and deep to join with them in as short a time as possible. In the meantime he would take the Twin Towers into the deep Philippines Sea until the Brits arrived. He reckoned that his crew were ready to start hunting for real, instead of the constant drills and problems he had given them since clearing Newport News.

  Rick had a very different crew now to the one he had started out this war with. Only Ensign Hannigan remained from the first crew of the USS Twin Towers. Promoted to Lieutenant j.g as a reward for being the only officer still capable of standing watch, he was now boss of the sonar shop.

  The Seawolf Class submarine had been towed in to Portsmouth, Virginia, too badly damaged to make headway on her own during that 2nd Battle of the Atlantic, as it was now being called. But for a torpedo proximity fuse mistaking her still deployed sonar array for the Twin Tower’s hull; they would not be here now.

  ‘The Tee Tee’ had put to sea again following repairs in dry dock, and her skipper and Lt Hannigan had left hospital in time to be assigned to her.

  The current crew had a small core of professional submariners and the rest were reservists or draftees in the less technical roles.

  Young Mister Hannigan had a natural ear for sonar and even though it was not required of him he could still be found donning a headset and listening for hours at a time.

  USS Twin Towers slipped through the depths with her new array streamed and listening intently as she headed for her captains chosen area on their first hunt.

  CHAPTER Three

  Canberra International Airport, Australia.

  Friday 26th October

  Looking some 100% more presentable than he had during his previous outing on the media, Lt Col Pat Reed led the way into 'Arrivals' at Canberra International Airport. The media were there covering the arrival of 'The soldiers of The Queen, come to Australia's aid from the Mother country' as some of the older Australian's thought, or 'The Mutineers' according to others.

  Back in the UK he and Annabelle had not been left alone with their grief. The media, and certain factions of the community, sought them out wherever the
y went, and so when Brigadier General Salisbury-Jones, who commanded 1st Guards Mechanised Brigade, had asked him to command 2CG he had discussed it with her before agreeing. Their own personal grief could not be addressed fully until this war was finished.

  1st Guards Brigade arrived in Canberra as light infantry, their vehicles making the journey by sea and not expected to arrive for a month. 1WG and 1IG were veterans of 1(UK) Mechanised Brigade on the Saale; 2CG was largely untested in this war, although veterans of Bosnia and Iraq were in the ranks. 1 Company was pure veteran from the current conflict, made up of 1CG men, as were the mortar and recce platoons in 2 (Support) Company. 1CG's Anti-Tank Platoon had been destroyed at The Wesernitz and the 82nd Airborne men had provided the hybrid battalions anti-armour needs in Germany. It was strange not having those men around now and the 'Odd Couple' had been a fearsome fighting team.

  Jim Popham and Pat had spoken briefly by telephone since the civilian government had been ousted in the UK. No doubt the US Intelligence had been eavesdropping the whole time but he had been pretty thoroughly grilled by US Army Intelligence due to his and his men’s association with 1CG. They were now training for some airborne operation or other, but Pat would have been happy to have them with this battalion right now.

  His own personal grief could not be addressed fully until this war was finished There were others missing, the Tim Gilchrists who he would never see again, and the Colin Probert’s of the regiment, those who were still recovering from their wounds. Colin had been particularly badly treated as Simon Manson had painted that courageous soldier as being a craven coward in order to justify his own serious shortcomings on the Wesernitz.