Brent motioned to the scrolling printout. "The RC-135 is now ninety miles from Kavaznya. It is still being tracked by surveillance radar, as shown by this line on the printoutstandard India-band surveillance radar. I assume air defense forces have been alerted, but only the missing controller's transcript can tell us this. Here Brent pointed to the transmitted energy bar graph, "is where a new radar comes on.
The plane is still over ten minutes from reaching land.
"See how much the energy level has increased?The printout confirms it ... here. Frequency, carrier power, modulation-all significantly different, thousands of times more powerful than the ordinary surveillance radars. "A new circle appeared on the map, this one several times larger than the first.
"Mr. Secretary-General, I must protest this," Kannarov said.
Brent stopped the scrolling display. "Mr, Karen, arov, this presentation has been approved by the Steering Committee for presentation," McCaan asked. "What are the grounds for your objections" "This appears to be what Mr. Brent says it is," Karmarov said, "but it can also be a clever forgery. Why, I can create such a grand display on my own computer."
"If you are challenging the Steering Committee's judgment," McCaan said, "you must enter a protest with the Steering Committee-" "But I have not yet had an opportunity to examine any of the evidence being presented.
The Steering Committee-" "I know about the Steering Committee. But such a...
jumble of information cannot be brought before the Security Council without-" "It seems your objection is a procedural one, Mr. Karmarov," McCaan said, "and as such I must overrule it. The admissibility of this data and the manner of its presentation have already been approved by the Steering Committee as per this body's regulations. Mr. Brent, proceed.
The screen went into motion once again. "The RC-135 is now forty-two miles from shore. "Brent pointed at the readout on the left. The map magnified into a much larger scale of the Kavaznya area itself. The red line plotting the course of the RC-135 began to change. "It is here that the plane begins a right turn away from the coastline. As you can see, the transmitted energy scale has greatly increased. At the same time, all other radars in the area have been turned off-all but One. No India-band radars, only the much more powerful Lima-band radar at Kavaznya."
Brent turned to Kan-narov. "Why, Mr. Ambassador, would your air defense operators turn off their radars with an intruder in the area?
With three fighters airborne that rely on that radar deactivated?
Where are for vectors to the intruder, why was it the fighters?"
Karmarov decided his only response was silence.
The screen froze. The bar graphs had all suddenly pegged at the top of their scales.
"Suddenly, here," Brent said, "there is a massive explosion visible light, radiation, and polarized of transmitted energy, light."
The display began to move slowly. "The blast lasts for almost a full second. Gentlemen, the readout for polarized light is a readout of levels of visible light that meets very strict the wavelength, one parameters. The light must be pure--o frequency, one direction.
Polarized light. "He turned and Laser light. A laser on the order of two looked at Karmarov.
hundred megawatts has Just been fired from Kavaznya."
The scrolling continued, but the printout display on the left and the movement of the bar graphs halted for several minutes.
"The data transmission was interrupted after the laser blast," Brent asked. "The tremendous amount of energy disrupts electronic circuits for hundreds of miles. Is that why there are Mr. Karmarov?A fighter near that laser no fighters in the area, blast would fall into the ocean."
No reply from Karmarov.
A few moments later the stream of data returned. "As you can see," Brent went on, "the levels of radiation and transmitted energy are still high. The bar graphs for polarized light and thermal energy have been removed. That is because that data was obtained from an Alpha Omega Nine reconnaissance satellite over Kavaznya. That satellite was destroyed by the laser blast."
"Impossible," came a voice from the Council table. The rumble of voices increased in volume.
"The crew aboard the RC-135, which is now almost ninety miles from shore, are probably already exposed to lethal doses of radiation, but they are still alive."
One bar graph jumped. "Transmitted energy is increasing again," Brent asked. "The radar at Kavaznya is active againsearching for another victim."
"Unfounded accusations," Karmarov protested. "Mr. Secretary-General-" "The Lima-band radar is at full power again. "Brent was no longer looking at the screen but directly at Karmarov, who stared at the data flowing on the screen. "There is a pulseshift-the radar has locked onto the aircraft, an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft almost ninety miles from shore with ten men and two women aboard."
The screen went blank, and the room went dark. Slowly, the lights were brought back up in the Council chamber.
"Witho aid ut warning, with malice aforethought," Brent s to Karmarov, "the Soviets disabled a satellite, then, trying to cover their first crime, turned that laser on an unarmed aircraft, killing twelve people."
The chamber was silent. "In America, Mr. Ambassador, we call it murder in the first degree. "Brent turned and faced the Council members seated around him.
"Four days ago a test of a new intercontinental missile design was also attacked by the laser at Kavaznya. I will present the data when it becomes available. This time, the data was collected by a vessel anchored offshore from Kavaznya, e that not only has and not by another satellite. Yet it will prove the Soviet Union used its new laser to attack another American vehicle, but that it used this. "The lights were immediately lowered. Brent clicked a button again, and a magnified, computer-enhanced picture of Salyut Nineteen with the large rectangular mirror attached flashed on the screen.
"Salyut Nineteen, gentlemen," Brent announced, "but with a new and frightening twist-a mirror used to bounce the laser beam to targets over the horizon from Kavaznya!"The murmur in the Council chamber became one of disbelief.
"I know you're not going to respond to any of this, Mr. Ambassador," Brent said, turning back to Karmarov. "You are going to request a video tape of this session, take it back to the Embassy, and talk it over with Moscow. Fine. But the United States requests the reinstatement of charges made back on November fifteenth. We charge the Soviet Union with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, piracy, perjury, and conspiracy to suppress evidence. We also charge violation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the deployment of the laser, the Lima-band radar used to steer the laser, and the Salyut Nineteen spacecraft refitted with a mirror for the reflection of laser beams with the purpose of destroying ballistic weapons. We call for the immediate dismantling of the Salyut Nineteen spacecraft and the closure of the entire Kavaznya complex until an on-site United Nations inspection can be made. We are also demanding reparations in the amount of five hundred million American dollars for the death of the American service personnel aboard the RC- 135 aircraft and the loss of the RC-135 aircraft, the Alpha Omega Nine satellite, and the Javelin missile."
He turned to the Security Council delegates. "I know that, despite our lofty ideals, justice meted by the United Nations is slow and sometimes ineffective. But the government of the United States considers the laser device and the orbiting mirror a major threat to its security, and we cannot, we will not, wait for these devices to be disarmed."
He turned again to Karmarov and raised his voice. "We give the Soviet Union three days to dismantle or render inoperative the Salyut Nineteen spacecraft. If it is not proved to our satisfaction that the Salyut Nineteen's mirror is incapable of steering a laser beam projected from Kavaznya to an atmosheric or ballistic vehicle anywhere on the globe, we will Passume that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the 1986
Iceland Summit Arms Reduction Treaty are null and void and take appropriate steps to insure our national security."
"And wha
t steps are those?"Karmarov asked. "Will you go to war to back up your silly rhetoric, Mr. Secretary?Will you destroy civilization because of a baseless, insignificant, pie-inthe-sky threat?"
Brent turned to the Russian ambassador, planting his hands firmly on Karmarov's desk. In a voice so low few could hear except Karmarov himself, Brent said, "Why, Dmitri?Why?
We suspected almost from the beginning, and I took a tremendous risk and told you of our suspicions. Yet your government continued to use that laser device. Why?It doesn't make sense.
"you were foolish to expose your so-called evidence like this, Brent," Kannarov said softly. "I need not try to explain.
But forcing my government into a corner with outlandish grandstanding will not yield the results you want."
"I asked you why, Dmitri," Brent asked. "Dammit, I-" "The device is an instrument of defense, of territorial security," Karmarov said between clenched teeth. "It is years ahead of its time, a device that even the most optimistic in your country would not have expected to become operational in another ten years, It violates no existing treaty. It affords a J defensive umbrella, its existence cannot merely be shouted away with threats."
"You've got a choice," Brent said in a normal voice, stepping away from the Russian ambassador so the rest of the delegates could hear. "Start with the Salyut Nineteen aircraft.
Disarm it, go up there and dismantle the mirror, burn it up in the atmosphere-I don't care. But prove to the United States that you will pledge to use the laser as a defensive device only.
Right now it's an offensive weapon, and it's already been used to murder innocent American lives. The other choice is to prepare to accept the consequences of your actions. "Brent returned to his seat and slid into it slowly, studying the faces of those around him.
"And what would those consequences be, Mr. Brent?"
Karmarov said quietly in English. "Global war?Global death?"He was taunting his American colleague, but Brent folded his hands serenely and returned Karmarov's gaze in silence. Then the memory of their private meeting returned to him. Brent saw that Karmarov had remembered, too. Brent gathered his notes together and nodded to Adams, preparing to leave.
"Zal Lyot, " Kartnarov said, almost in a whisper. Delegates scrambled for translation earpieces. Brent's gaze narrowed, as if in pain.
"You cannot," Karmarov asked. "It will mean the end. You cannot-" "We can, we will," Marshall Brent said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt. He stood, nodded to Ian McCaan, and left the Security Council chambers.
The scene in the hushed, dimly-fit blast-proof chamber beneath the White House known as the Situation Room could best be described as funereal-and, at that point, the atmosphere exactly matched Secretary of State Marshall Brent's mood.
Brent waited for the President to signal that he was ready, then picked up the sheet of paper that lay in front of him and began: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have received the reply from the Soviet Premier to our charges concerning the use of the avaznya laser installation and the Salyut Nineteen orbiting mirror on the RC- 135 aircraft, the Alpha Omega Nine satellite, and the Javelin small I.C.B.M. It reads as follows--Quote:
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS CATEGORICALLY DENIES THE CHARGES LEVELED AGAINST IT IN CLOSED SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.THE USSR REJECTS THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN CLOSED SESSION AS FABRICATION AND INADMISSIBLE.THE USSR DENIES ANY CULPABILITY IN THE ALLEGED LOSS OF ANY AIRCRAFT ON OR ABOUT THE THIRTEENTH OF NOVEMBER, NINETEEN EIGHTY-SEVEN, OR THE ALLEGED LOSS OF AN ILLEGAL SPY SATELLITE ON OR ABOUT THE SAME DATE.WE WILL NOT DIGNIFY THE BASELESS AND LUDICROUS CLAIM OF SHOOTING DOWN A MISSILE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN WITH A DENIAL."
"Those sonsofbitches," Curtis muttered.
Brent went on, THE SOVIET UNION MAINTAINS THAT ANY GROUND-BASED LASER DEVICE IN EXISTENCE IS NOT A VIOLATION OF THE 1972 ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY, SINCE SUCH WEAPONS WERE NEVER ADDRESSED BY THAT TREATY, NOR IS THE PRESENCE OF A SPACE VEHICLE WITH A MIRROR ATTACHED TO IT IN ANY WAY IN VIOLATION OF ANY TREATY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT"S PROVOCATIVE ULTIMATUM DELIVERED BY THE AMERICAN SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE SOVIET UNITED NATIONS DELEGATION IS GROUNDLESS AND AGGRESSIVE, AND IT IS HEREBY REJECTED.THE UNITED STATES MUST OFFER PROOF, REAL PROOF, THAT THE ALLEGED LOSS OF THEIR EQUIPMENT WAS NOT CAUSED BY THEIR OWN INCOMPETENCE OR MALFUNCTION BEFORE THEY CAN BEGIN TO REQUEST ANYTHING FROM THIS SOVEREIGN NATION.
WE FURTHER REJECT THE ATTEMPTS BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO COERCE THE SOVIET UNION BY THREATENING UNILATERALLY TO DISOBEY THE 1972
ANTIBALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY AND THE UNRATIFIED 1986
ARMS REDUCTION TREATY.A RESPONSIBLE NATION WOULD MAINTAIN THE PATH OF FAIR AND OPEN NEGOTIATIONS TO SOLVE A DISPUTE, AND NOT IMMEDIATELY JEOPARDIZE WORLD PEACE BY OPENLY THREATENING TO CANCEL AND VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.
THE SOVIET UNION, AS ALWAYS, STANDS READY TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE LOSS OF AN AMERICAN AIRCRAFT OFF OUR SHORES, AND TO ENTER INTO TALKS ON ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR POSSIBLE TREATY VIOLATIONS THAT MAY BE CONNECTED WITH RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IN EASTERN SIBERIA.WE PLEDGE OUR FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL COOPERATION IN THE SPIRIT OF PEACE.
"So they've denied everything," Brent summarized.
"They're willing to start talks on whether or not the radar violates the ABM treaty, but that's all."v'o We're back to where we started," Curtis said. He turned to the President. "Sir, with all due respect, I recommend immediate deployment of Ice Fortress.
Brent shook his head. "And trigger World War Three?The solution would be worse than the problem."
"Mr. Brent, we've had this argument before," Curtis said.
"It's time to act. "He turned to the President. "Mr. President, if you prefer, we can launch the station itself in two consecutive Shuttle launches, one from Canaveral, one from Vandenburg, in one month. We can delay arming the station until all possible diplomatic avenues are exhausted. If we have no other choice, two follow-on launches can make the Fortress fully armed and ready two weeks later."
There was a murmur of assent that filled the White House Situation Room. Brent looked around at the assembled advisors.
"We'd be stooping to their level," Brent asked. "It would mean an escalation that we might not be able to control."
"Why are they doing this?"the President asked rhetorically, massaging his temples. "Why?They can't be trying to provoke US."
"They've achieved their goal of crippling our strategic warning and surveillance capabilities," Curtis asked. "That's why.
Brent sighed. "Dammit, General, you see Russian invasions at every turn. We could launch another spy satellite-we could launch ten of them-and I believe they'd be safe because the Russians' objective has already been met. They've disorganized, confused, and scared this government. Don't you see, General?They want us to launch Ice Fortress. They want us to try to bomb Kavaznya or start a fight somewhere else in the world. No matter what they have already done, our response will be seen as much more aggressive in the eyes of the world.
"So what you're saying," Curtis shot back, "is that our best move is to do nothing at all. Make big threats and then wait and wait after they've thumbed their noses at us. "He ran fingers through his hair, then slammed down his fist. "No. It's not a matter of being macho.
I'm not convinced that the Russians don't have an attack plan behind this."
Brent said nothing.
"I'm sorry, Marshall," the President asked. "I know you tried. I'm thankful to you for your efforts. But it doesn't seem to have worked.
"No, but-" "We gave them exactly what they needed-more time. They rejected it. Its implication is clear. They'll feel emboldened to do more The President turned to Curtis.
"general, I want a detailed briefing on Ice Fortress this aftermoon.
"Yes, sir.
"It makes no sense to launch Ice Fortress, " Brent continued to argue.
The members of the President's Cabinet shifted uncomfortably.
"We've heard all your arguments, Marshall "The Ice Fortress
would be just as vulnerable as the Alpha Omega satellite, wouldn't it, General Curtis?Why launch a seven hundred million dollar target for the Soviets to beat on?"
"Marshall," Ken Mitchell said, "in the case of Omega and the Javelin, both vehicles were destroyed by us, not by the laser. "The President looked surprised. "What?"
"Remember, sir, I briefed you on this shortly after the attack on the Midgetman. "Mitchell had the look of an impatient schoolmaster. "The Omega was blinded and damaged, but not destroyed-we lost it when we tried to steer it through the atmosphere in an attempt to recover it intact. The Javelin apparently had sustained enough damage to prematurely ignite the third stage booster, but we don't know exactly how much damage was done-it was automatically destroyed when it flew off course.
Dale Brown - Flight Of The Old Dog Page 19