ILYUSHIN-76—NATO reporting name MAINSTAY. Soviet version of the American E-3 Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) radar plane.
Immelmann—Air combat maneuver where an aircraft can change or reverse direction rapidly without a wide, sweeping turn. Usually made by executing a steep climb, rolling inverted into the desired direction, then rolling upright.
INS—Inertial Navigation System. Precise navigation unit that uses accelerometers (precise electronic pendulums) to detect and quantify all aircraft motion and compute exact position and speed.
IR—Infrared (heat) energy.
IRSTS—Infrared Search and Track System. Used by the Soviet Union on fighter aircraft in conjunction with GCI search radar to collect attack information to launch air-to-air missiles from long range without transmitting radar information that can be detected.
JP-4—Standard U.S. military jet fuel.
Judy—Code word to ground or airborne controllers from fighter pilots that a designated target has been detected (either by radar or visually) and that the fighter pilot is continuing the attack alone.
KC-io Extender—McDonnell-Douglas DC-io airliners modified for inflight refueling and heavy cargo transport. Able to carry all the men and equipment of an entire deployed fighter squadron for five thousand miles, including non-stop inflight refueling for the unit’s fighters.
KC-135—Boeing 707 airliner modified for inflight refueling and fight to medium cargo duties.
KGB—Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee for Internal Security). The intelligence-gathering unit and secret police of the Soviet Union.
KOLLEGIYA—The main military council of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, responsible for military implementation of the policies of the Politburo and the Communist Party.
Lluyka TANKS—Specialized fuel tanks carried by non-air-refuelable aircraft that are fitted with retractable refueling probes to give these aircraft the ability to refuel inflight.
M-16/M203—Standard U.S. infantry automatic rifle. The M-203 is a lightweight forty-millimeter grenade launcher fitted under the barrel of the M-16 rifle that can fire high-explosive rounds out to twelve hundred feet without impeding use of the rifle itself.
MAW—Mission-Adaptive Wings. Wings that can change the shape of their upper, leading and trailing edge surfaces to improve performance without the use of “hanging” devices such as flaps and slats.
MFD—Multi-Function Display. A series of computer monitors in an aircraft that replace or augment conventional aircraft instruments. Most MFDs can be programmed to display a wide variety of information in text or graphic form.
MlKOYAN-GUREYVlCH—MiG. One of the many government aircraft design bureaus of the Soviet Union. Others are Sukhoi (Su), Ilyushin (II), Yakovlev (Yak), Tupolev (Tu), Beriev (Be), Antonov (An), and Mil (Mi).
MIL—Military power throttle setting. Usually one hundred percent or more of an engine’s rated thrust.
MODES AND CODES—An aircraft properly displaying coded IFF data that are being received by a ground or airborne surveillance controller able to scan for these signals.
NRTS—Near-Room-Temperature Superconductors. A specially designed composite material able to demonstrate unusually high rates of electrical conductivity at normal “room” or operational temperatures. Most materials exhibit superconducting capabilities only at super-cold temperature levels. NRTS devices can transmit high amounts of energy without relying on large or bulky power generators or large environmental units.
NSC—National Security Council. A group that advises the President of the United States on a wide range of national security matters.
POLITBURO—Politicheskoye Burn (Political Bureau). The key policymaking body of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, directing the work of the Party between plenums (biannual meetings) of the Central Committee. Composed of not more than fifteen persons, they are chosen by the 307 voting and 107 candidate (non-voting) members of the Central Committee.
Pulse-Doppler—Long-range radar tracking system that detects changes in relative motion of a target.
RAMENSKOYE—Chief aircraft design and test center of the Soviet Union, located in west-central Asia near Moscow.
Rapier—British-built surface-to-air missile air-defense system, developed by British Aerospace Dynamics. Self-contained, mobile, low- and medium-altitude capable to a range of five miles.
ROE—Rules of Engagement. Set of rules established before an air-to- air engagement that spells out exactly when and how a fighter pilot can begin and carry out an attack.
SA-7—NATO code name “Grail.” Soviet shoulder-launched heatseeking missile used mainly against helicopters and slow, low-flying jets. Range eighty- to five-thousand-foot altitude, five to six miles, speed of missile Mach one point five.
SA-8—NATO code name “Gecko.” Soviet short-range surface-to-air missile. Highly mobile, all-weather capability from one hundred to twenty thousand feet, out to eight miles range. Missile speed Mach two.
SA-10—NATO code name “Grumble.” Strategic (fixed-base) high- performance Soviet surface-to-air missile. All-altitude, all-weather capability. Can intercept aircraft, cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missiles and some intercontinental strategic missile warheads.
SA-15—Highly mobile improved version of the SA-8 surface-to-air missile.
SAC—Strategic Air Command. U.S. Air Force major command responsible for strategic nuclear, refueling and reconnaissance forces (aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles).
SATCOM—Satellite Communications. A radio data-link network that sends coded information to a time-sharing relay satellite for rebroadcast to Earth stations. High-speed, secure global communications capability.
SCISSORS—An air combat maneuver designed to prevent an unintentional overrun of a pursued aircraft. When an aircraft being pursued begins to slow or make sharp maneuvers to cause a pursuing aircraft to overshoot, the pursuer can begin several wide side-to-side turns to avoid overtaking the pursued aircraft without decreasing power.
SMG—Submachine Gun.
SMTD—STOL/Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator. A program developed to explore new technologies for advanced fighter aircraft to decrease takeoff and landing distances and increase maneuverability by the use of canards, mission-adaptive wings, vec- tored-thrust engines, computers and improved performance engines. The F-15 SMTD was one of the first high-tech fighter aircraft (precursor of the Cheetah). See STOL.
SR-71—Extremely high-altitude (hundred thousand feet), high-speed (Mach three) strategic reconnaissance aircraft, the fastest air-breathing aircraft on Earth. Can photograph one hundred thousand square miles of the Earth’s surface an hour.
STALL—A condition when a wing can no longer produce lift. Usually occures when airflow on top of an airfoil (wing) is disrupted or breaks free from the airfoil by slow speed, low power or high alpha (angle-of- attack) flight conditions.
STOL—Short Takeoff and Landing. A combination of high-lift wings and vectored-thrust engines to produce very short (less than one- thousand-foot) takeoff and landing distances, three hundred to five hundred percent shorter than normal.
SUPERCOCKPIT—A combination of computer graphics, multi-function displays, high-speed computers, voice-recognition and sightpointing switch-activation systems that improve efficiency, integrate numerous battle management information sources and decrease pilot workload in a modern combat aircraft’s cockpit.
TACAN—Tactical Air Navigation. A ground or aircraft based radio used mainly by the military to provide distance and bearing information between two aircrafts or between an aircraft and a ground station.
TOW—Tube-launched Optically tracked Wire-guided. An anti-tank missile launched from ground or airborne vehicles.
TR-i—Improved version of the U-2R high-altitude strategic reconnaissance jet. Subsonic but capable of reaching altitudes of eighty thousand feet. Mainly used for signals intelligence, electronic eavesdropping, an
d monitoring of data transmissions during Soviet space launches and missile tests.
VECTORED-THRUST NOZZLES—Nozzles and louvers on special fighter aircraft that can direct engine exhaust in many different directions, including side to side, downward, and forward. These nozzles improve takeoff and landing performance, enhance maneuverability, and can act as speedbrakes or drag devices.
X-29—An experimental aircraft developed by Grumman Aircraft Corp. in the early 1980s, featuring forward-swept main wings, canards, strake flaps and aeroelastic computer-controlled wing surfaces in place of conventional flaps and ailerons. Used as a technology demonstration aircraft to explore the problems and advantages of forward-swept-wing aircraft. Airflow on a forward-swept-wing aircraft is channeled along the fuselage, increasing maneuverability and performance over conventional aircraft.
XF-15F (FICTIONAL)—Modified two-seat McDonnell-Douglas F-15E fighter, designed as test-bed aircraft for the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Technology Fighter program. First fighter to combine SMTD, mission-adaptive wings and supercockpit technology in one operational aircraft. Capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
XF-34A (FICTIONAL)—The first fighter aircraft to combine forward- swept-wing technology, vectored-thrust engine systems, mission- adaptive wings, and artificial intelligence computer systems that allowed digital neural transfer of information from the aircraft’s systems to the pilot and back.
ZSU-23—A highly mobile Soviet anti-aircraft artillery weapon system on a fast-tracked vehicle, composed of four radar-guided twenty- three-millimeter cannons. Range of one mile, capable of firing eight hundred total rounds per minute against all kinds of low-flying aircraft.
PROLOGUE
The Connecticut Academy, USSR
Saturday, 2 May 1985, 0748 EET
“KEN JAMES” stamped his feet on the half-frozen dirt, rubbed his hands together quickly, then wrapped them around the shaft of a big Spaulding softball bat.
“C’mon, dammit,” he yelled to the tall, lanky kid on the pitcher’s mound.
“Wait,” yelled the pitcher, “Tony Scorcelli.” James made a few test swings, hitching up his jacket around his armpits. Scorcelli pounded the softball in his glove, then carefully, as if trying to toss a ring over a Coke bottle, threw the ball underhanded toward home plate.
The ball sailed clear over Ken’s head.
“What do you call that?” James stepped away from the plate, leaned on the bat, shaking his head at Scorcelli.
The catcher, “Tom Bell,” trotted back to retrieve the ball. When he picked it up from under a clump of quack grass along the backstop he glanced over at the bench, noting the displeasure of the school’s headmaster, “Mr. Roberts,” who was making notes on a clipboard. The catcher knew that meant trouble.
All the Academy’s students were serious about these once-a- week softball games. Here, even before perestroika, they learned competition was necessary, even desirable. Winning was all, losing was failure. Every opportunity to prove one’s superior leadership, physical and intellectual skills was monitored and evaluated.
“All right,” James said as the catcher Bell tossed the ball back to Scorcelli. “This time open your damn eyes when you pitch.”
Scorcelli’s second pitch wasn’t much better than the first, a high Gateway Arch that dropped almost straight down on top of home plate, but James bit on it, swung the bat with all his strength and missed.
“Hey, hot shot, you’re supposed to hit the ball . .
James swung even harder at the next pitch, clipped it foul up and over the chain-link backstop.
“One more foul and you are out,” the first baseman “Kelly Rogers” sang out. “Intramural rules—”
“Shove your intramural rules up your ass, Rogers,” James yelled at him. The first baseman looked confused and said nothing. Roberts made another notation on his clipboard as Scorcelli got ready for the next pitch.
It was low. James wound up, gritted his teeth . . . then stopped his swing, clutched the other end of his bat with one hand. He held the bat horizontally, tracked the ball as it came in and tapped it. It hit the hard ground in front of home plate, bounced once, then rolled out between home plate and the pitcher’s mound and died. James took off for first base. Bell stood up from his crouch, stared at the ball, then at James, back to the ball, then at Scorcelli—who was looking on in confusion. James had reached first base and was headed for second before someone finally yelled to throw the ball.
Bell and Scorcelli ran to the ball, nearly collided as they reached for it at the same time. Scorcelli picked it up, turned and threw toward the second baseman. But it was a lob, not overhand, and instead of an easy out at second, the softball hit the ragged mud-choked grass several feet in front of the second baseman, did not bounce and skipped off into shallow right field as Ken James headed for third. The right fielder charged the rolling ball, scooped it on the run, hesitated a second over whether he could make the throw all the way, then threw to “Johnston” at third base. Johnston corralled it with a careful two-handed catch. A perfect throw. James wasn’t even halfway to third.
Johnston stepped triumphantly on third base, tossed the ball “around the horn” to second base, held up two fingers. James, though, was still running. Johnston tapped James’ shoulder as he ran. “Makin’ it look good for Mr. Roberts, aren’t—?”
“You idiot, ” Bell was yelling to Johnston. “You’re supposed to tag him out ”
The second baseman understood and threw the ball to Bell at home plate.
By now James was getting winded. The throw was right on target, and Bell caught the ball with James still fifteen feet from home plate. Bell extended his glove, crouched down, anticipating a slide into home. James liked to do that even if it wasn’t necessary—he once did it after hitting a home run.
But James wasn’t sliding. As Bell made the tag, James plowed into him running at full bore, arms held up in front of him, elbows extended. The ball, Bell’s mitt, his hat and most of his consciousness went flying.
Scorcelli threw his glove down on the mound, ran over to James, grabbed him by the neck, and pinned him up against the chain-link backstop. “Are you crazy?” The others, including a dazed Tom Bell, began to cluster around them. Scorcelli spun James around, wrestled him to the dirt. “Vi balshoy svey- nenah ...”
The others who had surrounded Scorcelli and James tensed—even Scorcelli seemed to forget that he had his hands around James’ neck.
“Enough. ” Mr. Roberts walked through the quickly parting crowd and stood over the two on the ground. Scorcelli got to his feet and stood straight, almost at attention, hands at his sides, chin up. James, his chest heaving, also stood up quickly.
Roberts was a short, squat man with dark brows obscuring darker, cavernous eyes. His rumbling voice commanded instant attention.
“James deliberately ran into Bell to make him drop the ball,” Scorcelli began.
“It’s in the rules, pea-brain—”
“He ran right into him,” Scorcelli went on. “He did not even try to slow down or get out of the way! James is a cheater—”
“No one calls me a cheater—”
“Enough. ” Roberts ordered.
But James ignored the order. “I fight my own battles. If you knew the rules, Scorcelli, you’d know I have the right to home plate as much as the catcher. If he stands in front of it, I can run him down. And if he drops the ball, even after making the tag, the runner is safe and the run scores.”
“What about when you tapped the ball like that?” Scorcelli fired back. “Were you trying to get hit by the ball? You are supposed to swing the bat, not—”
“It’s called a bunt, you fool.” That revelation brought a number of blank stares.
Eyes turned toward Mr. Roberts, who stared at Ken James, then announced the period was over and ordered them to report to their next class.
* * *
The students Ken James and Anthony Scorcelli were standing before their headmaste
r’s desk. Jeffrey Baines Roberts was behind his desk. His secretary had put two file folders on his desk. She ignored Scorcelli; favored James with the hint of a smile before leaving.
“Mr. Scorcelli,” said the headmaster, “tell me about your brother Roger.”
Scorcelli stared at a point somewhere above Roberts’ head. “I have four siblings, sir, two brothers and one sister. Their names—”
“I did not ask about your other siblings, Mr. Scorcelli. I asked about your brother Roger.”
“Yes, sir . . . Kevin and Roger . . .” He seemed to be talking to himself, then said aloud, “Roger is two years older than me, a freshman at Cornell University. He—”
“Where was your mother born?”
“My . . . mother . . . yes, sir, she was born in Syracuse, New York. She has two sisters and—”
“I did not ask you about her sisters.” Roberts ran an exasperated hand down his forehead. “Are you not familiar with the rules of baseball, Mr. Scorcelli?”
“I was not aware that Mr. James was allowed to assault his friends and fellow players—”
“The proper term is a battery, Mr. Scorcelli. Assault is the threat of physical harm. Is it a battery if Mr. James’ actions are a legal part of the game?”
“It may not be a battery, sir, but I believe Mr. James took great pleasure in the opportunity to knock over Mr. Bell—”
“Bullshit,” James said.
“I also think, sir, that if Mr. James could legally find a way to hit me over the head with one of those bats from that stupid game, he would do it with the same enthusiasm and—”
“Right, asshole . . .”
“That’s enough,” Roberts said, his voice calm. Actually he had to strain to keep from smiling. Scorcelli would be right at home in a large corporation’s boardroom or in a court of law; James would be at home in an active situation. A dangerous one with courage and physical stamina. And an ability to adjust. James was not a team player. He either led or he would choose to operate on his own. He could also be ruthless . . .
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