by Ted Halstead
Cao hesitated and then said, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted," Ding replied at once. Finally, he might get to the bottom of this.
"I did find plastic debris on both sides of the runway I wasn't expecting. When I looked through the construction records I discovered it was left by the destruction of fuel lines," Cao said.
"Plastic fuel lines?" Ding repeated, shaking his head. "That can't be right. We use those for temporary airstrips, like when we're airlifting supplies after floods have taken out regular airports. We wouldn't use them for a military base."
Now Cao looked uncomfortable. "Sir, I talked to an officer on one of the ships waiting to offload supplies to Ziyou Island. He told me that the day after the attack they were due to deliver metal fuel lines, pumps and other equipment to a Colonel Xia. Said Colonel Xia had been very anxious about getting the shipment. They also asked me how long they'd have to wait before they could deliver it."
Into the sudden silence, Cao nearly whispered, "I told him I didn't know."
Ding nodded thoughtfully. "So, if the fuel lines ignited, could the rest of the damage you saw be explained by secondary explosions?"
"Yes, sir," Cao replied. "The fuel tanks would have gone up first. Once those exploded, nearly every structure on that side of the island would have ignited. The fire would have spread quickly to the temporary structure they were using to store ordnance."
"Bombs and missiles, yes. I read the inventory. And once those exploded, any remaining survivors would have had no chance," Ding said, shaking his head.
"That's right, sir," Cao said soberly.
"Very well, Chief Sergeant. Any other detail you can think of that wasn't in the report?" Ding asked.
Cao hesitated again and finally said, "Well, sir, I can't be sure of this. But when I first came to the island, there was a smell that just wasn't right. At first, I thought it was burned aviation fuel, but it was different somehow. Like nothing I've ever smelled before. As the day went on, the smell faded, and by the time I left, it was hardly there anymore. So, there's no proof I could grab onto."
Ding nodded and sat still for a moment. Then he looked at Cao.
"What if a missile sprayed a volatile chemical over the airstrip and kept flying past the island. And then ignited it somehow from a distance, say with a laser? Would that fit what you saw and smelled?" Ding asked.
Cao's eyes widened with astonishment. Probably, Ding thought, at the fact an officer had managed an intelligent thought. He knew what senior NCOs like Cao thought of officers.
And given the many officers like Captain Qin, maybe that was no surprise.
"Yes, sir," Cao replied. "It would explain why there were no weapon fragments. And the odd smell. But there's still one thing I don't understand."
"Yes, Chief Sergeant?" Ding prompted.
"Well, sir, how could the attackers have known we were using temporary fuel lines? The attack you're describing would have only knocked out the airstrip for a few hours if the fuel lines had been properly buried metal pipe," Cao said.
Ding nodded, but at first, said nothing. Then he pressed the intercom button.
"Lieutenant, call Admiral Bai's office. Tell them I need to speak to the Admiral as soon as possible," Ding said.
"Yes, sir," the Lieutenant replied.
A few minutes later, his voice came again over the intercom.
"The Admiral will see you now, sir," the Lieutenant said.
Ding nodded towards Cao, who had been sitting silently and obviously expected to be dismissed.
"You're coming with me," Ding said evenly.
"Sir?" was all Cao could manage through his astonishment.
Ding smiled. "The Admiral may have questions for you. You were on Ziyou Island. I wasn't."
Moments later, Ding and Cao were both standing in front of Admiral Bai.
Ding said, "Sir, this is Chief Sergeant Cao. He wrote the damage report on Ziyou Island. He has also provided me with additional details that were not included in that report. I know you have already read the report. I thought you would like to hear the extra details directly from the Chief Sergeant."
"Indeed I would. Have a seat, both of you. Chief Sergeant, please proceed," Bai said.
Once Cao was finished, Bai nodded and said, "Very helpful, Chief Sergeant. I have only one question. Why did you omit those details from your written report?"
As he saw Cao hesitate, Bai added, "Chief Sergeant, I am giving you a direct order to answer my question completely and truthfully."
Cao swallowed and nodded quickly. "Yes, Admiral. All of that information was included in my original written report. I was ordered to omit details that I was told would reflect poorly on officers who had served at the Ziyou Island base. Because they were no longer alive to defend themselves. And the details being omitted were either irrelevant or based on guesses."
Bai nodded. "And who gave you that order, Chief Sergeant?"
Cao's face was expressionless as he replied, "Captain Qin, sir."
Bai pressed the intercom button on his desk.
"Lieutenant, get Chief Sergeant Cao a decent cup of tea and a comfortable place to sit nearby. Also, arrange for his quarters here at headquarters for the next few days," Bai said.
"Yes, sir," the Lieutenant replied.
Bai turned back to Cao and said, "Chief Sergeant, we may have more questions for you."
"Understood, sir," Cao said as he stood and saluted.
A few moments later, Bai and Ding were alone.
Bai lifted his phone and, at the same time, asked, "Captain Qin is still in your outer office?"
Ding nodded silently.
Bai said into his phone, "Security? Yes, this is Admiral Bai. A Captain Qin is in Senior Captain Ding's office. Arrest him and have him held for court-martial. I will forward charges later today."
Bai put down his phone and looked at Ding curiously. "Now, let's talk about the real reason you had me hear all this directly from the Chief Sergeant. Not to get this Captain Qin charged. You could have done that yourself, and you know I'd have supported you."
Ding nodded. "Yes, sir. I wanted it to be clear in your mind that the Americans did not intend to destroy our base."
Bai cocked his head. "Is it so clear? The Americans have satellites and drones. Perhaps they saw the airstrip fuel lines could be easily ignited."
Ding shook his head. "Sir, I think that's very unlikely. The temporary fuel lines were buried. Not deeply, it's true. But well enough that they wouldn't have been visible. And I don't think either of us would have imagined the Army men building the base could have been so careless. I doubt the Americans would have thought so."
Bai nodded. "Let's say you're right. Now, let's also say a man goes into a shop with a knife and demands money. Then the elderly shopkeeper has a heart attack and dies. Do we call that murder?"
Ding frowned. "I see your point, sir. I'm not saying the Americans aren't responsible for every single death on Ziyou Island. They are. But I believe their intent is crucial to how we should respond."
"Very well. What do you suggest?" Bai asked.
"Sir, we've already sent our best submarine to hunt down the Americans we believe launched this attack. Others are on the way to help in that search. I think we should propose to headquarters in Beijing that should be the extent of our response," Ding said.
"Because you believe the Americans didn't intend to destroy the base, just damage it in a way that would cause few casualties. But have you considered how this disaster could have been possible?" Bai asked.
"I don't understand, sir," Ding replied immediately.
Bai nodded. "The right question is this. Why were temporary fuel lines used at all?"
Ding sat quietly for a moment. Then he said, "You're saying that wasn't done by the Army construction crew commander on his initiative. But then by who, and why?"
Bai tapped on a folder on his desk. "Nothing happens in my command without my knowledge, no matter how much other
officers may wish to hide it. Air Force Commander Yang and Army Commander Shi recently visited Ziyou Island and gave everyone involved strict orders not to report on their trip."
Ding slowly nodded. "They would only have come if high-ranking politicians were pressing them to have the base ready as quickly as possible. And it was declared operational two days before the Americans attacked."
"Correct. And to get both Yang and Shi to come to Ziyou Island, the pressure probably came from the President himself. Now, how do you think the politicians would react to our saying the American attack only killed everyone on our base because of their insistence it be ready as soon as possible?" Bai asked.
Ding sat quietly and then shook his head. "I see the problem."
"Good," Bai said. "As soon as I saw you had ordered the Chief Sergeant to report to you, I had the three other enlisted men who assisted him brought here to headquarters as well. They are in temporary quarters under guard, where the Chief Sergeant will soon be joining them."
Ding frowned. "Sir, how would you like me to proceed?"
"For now, do nothing. We need to see first whether we succeed in destroying the American attackers. Once we know that, we can decide what to do next," Bai said.
"Yes, sir," Ding replied. "Are there any options you would like me to prepare?"
Bai shrugged. "Anything beyond the submarine that attacked our base would amount to the same thing. A declaration of war against the Americans. Any such conflict would quickly escalate to a nuclear exchange, and this headquarters would be one of the first targets. For us, the war would be over quickly."
Ding was taken aback by the Admiral's casual fatalism. "Sir, there must be something we can do!" he exclaimed.
Bai shook his head. "No, Ding. We have already sent all the assets we have in the area in pursuit of the American submarine. But I doubt that any but the Changzheng 20 will be able to reach the enemy before they leave our waters. So, everything now depends on a single submarine. You say you know its captain?"
Ding nodded. "Captain Wen, sir. He's one of our best."
"I've met him, of course, but can't say I know much about Captain Wen beyond his file. If he fails, we'll have to hope that the politicians in Beijing can keep this incident from getting out of hand. And there's nothing the military can do about that," Bai said.
Chapter Fifty-Two
USS Oregon
Japanese Patrolled Waters
Captain Jim Cartwright looked up from his bunk as he heard a soft tap at his door. He'd spent most of the past six hours trying to sleep, with little success.
"Enter," Cartwright said.
Lieutenant Commander Fischer poked his head in. "Sir, this is when you asked us to wake you. But nothing is happening at the moment if you'd like to get a little more sleep."
Considerate, as always, Cartwright thought. Especially since he knew that Fischer had spent no more time in his bunk than his captain since their arrival in Chinese waters.
Well, waters claimed by China. A claim that no other country recognized.
Cartwright shook his head. Pointing to the chair next to his small desk, Cartwright said, "Have a seat."
Privacy was a rare commodity on any submarine. But it was necessary for this conversation.
Still, first things first.
"Any luck tracking down what's amplifying our acoustic signature?" Cartwright asked.
"Well, we knew from the outset that battle damage probably included loss of SHT," Fischer said.
Cartwright did his best to suppress a smile. Special Hull Treatment (SHT) was the official term for the rubber tile anechoic coating that reduced the sound the Oregon produced as it traveled through the ocean.
However, from the outset keeping the tiles attached to Virginia class submarines had become a known problem. There were even publicly available photos of Virginia class submarines with missing tiles that had nothing to do with the nearby explosion of an enemy torpedo.
Inevitably, this had led to jokes about submarines "losing their SHT." Evidently, never within the hearing of one Lieutenant Commander Fischer.
This, though, wasn't the right time to go off on that particular tangent.
"Hull damage?" Cartwright asked quietly.
"The engineers think it's likely, sir," Fischer said, nodding.
"I suppose it will take an external examination to determine how bad the damage is," Cartwright said.
"That's what they say, sir. But, as long as we don't go down too far we should be able to stay submerged. And that's a good thing, sir," Fischer said.
Well, the whole point of a submarine's underwater existence was to avoid detection while it carried out its mission. Fischer knew this wasn't news to Cartwright. So…
"New orders?" Cartwright asked.
"Yes, sir. Just received. The only change is that we're to remain submerged, as long as our battle damage allows us to do so safely until we return to base," Fischer said.
Cartwright grunted thoughtfully. "Headquarters doesn't want the Chinese to be sure we've survived that encounter with one of their submarines. At least, not right away."
"Actually, sir, we've been directed to dock at a covered berth. I think they want the Chinese to keep guessing for quite a while," Fischer said.
Cartwright nodded. Interesting. Covered submarine berths weren't cheap to build and maintain. The fact there were publicly available photos of Virginia class submarines testified to that reality.
But over the past several years, the Navy had built at least one covered berth at every major submarine base. Someone at the Pentagon had realized that other countries besides Russia had satellites monitoring the world's oceans and naval bases.
Like China.
"Any questions about our battle report?" Cartwright asked.
Fischer shook his head. "No, sir. But I want you to know I'm going to back your decision to fire on that Chinese submarine all the way. It's the same one I would have made."
Cartwright frowned. "That's the last thing I want you to say. You're about to get your own command. Declaring you're ready to disobey orders from headquarters is certain to change their mind."
A stubborn look settled on Fischer's face that Cartwright had seen only a few times before. Great, he thought.
I'm not going to be able to budge him on this.
Still, he had to try.
"Look, I'm asking you this as a personal favor. I have no regrets about my decision. If I'd waited to start firing procedures until we'd confirmed the Chinese submarine's torpedo launch, I don't think we'd be having this conversation. But the Navy needs good captains in charge of its submarines. I'd hate to see it lose one because you insist on backing a lost cause," Cartwright said.
"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about, sir. You are in no way a 'lost cause.' I've gone over the records with the sonar supervisor. The Chinese submarine did fire first, sir. Not by much, but they did," Fischer said triumphantly.
Cartwright shook his head. "But at the time I ordered us to fire, I didn't know that. That's all the admirals at headquarters will care about."
Fischer scowled. "Sir, this doesn't make any sense. These submarines cost over three billion dollars to build. We have a crew on board of one hundred thirty-five sailors. When it's obvious to you, me, and anyone else with a bit of sense that the enemy is attacking, how could you be expected to sit on your hands?"
"Simple. China has nuclear weapons. They could decide our sinking their submarine was an act of war and use those weapons against us. Don't forget that the battleship Maine sinking in Havana Harbor was one of the reasons the Spanish-American War started, even though it turned out Spain didn't do it. To avoid nuclear war, the Navy would be ready to sacrifice any one ship or submarine," Cartwright said.
"Shouldn't that work both ways, sir? Our nuclear forces are still superior to China's. They have to know that they'd lose such a conflict," Fischer said.
Cartwright shrugged. "I think you know as well as I do that in a nuclear war
between China and America, there'd be no winners. Except maybe Russia. And don't forget, we did destroy one of their bases."
"I still don't understand how that happened, sir. A strike by one Tomahawk, even with its unique design, shouldn't have led to such massive damage," Fischer said.
"Maybe, but whatever the explanation, the results are undeniable. The Chinese are going to want payback. Court-martialing me would be one way to provide it," Cartwright said.
Fischer looked stunned. "Do you really think that's what will happen, sir?"
Cartwright shook his head. "I have no idea. But I do know that as captain, the decision to fire was mine alone. That's final."
There's that obstinate look again, Cartwright thought with a sigh.
"With respect, sir, it's not. If I'm called upon to testify, and we both know I will, I'll be under oath to tell the truth. That's exactly what I intend to do," Fischer said.
"Very well. I guess I can't argue with that," Cartwright said, shaking his head.
And it would take days for the Oregon to reach its base, Cartwright thought.
Who knows what might happen by then?
Chapter Fifty-Three
SpaceLink Pacific Mission Command Center
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Eli Wade waved towards the glass wall of the conference room, beyond which was the floor containing the dozens of SpaceLink employees trying to understand what had gone wrong with the latest launch.
"So, has anyone managed to find out more than we knew yesterday?" Wade asked.
SpaceLink project manager Mark Rooter tapped the thick folder sitting in front of him on the conference room table. "The main thing we've been able to confirm is that this isn't a repeat of the attack in Florida. With all the extra security measures we put in place, I was sure no one could compromise our network. All our checks show that didn't happen."
"OK, so what did?" Wade growled.
"We're also sure something struck the payload module just after it separated from the rocket and moments before satellites were going to start deployment. What we don't know is exactly what hit the module or where it came from," Rooter replied.