As their fellow pilots began exploding in front of them, many of the Russian pilots pickled off their missiles in the direction of the American task force and tried to scurry back home. Those on the far side of the formation had a better chance of escaping, and many did.
Hartsell followed the missiles in to pick off any misses. He saw several of the Russian aircraft launch their anti-ship missiles. They were already supersonic. There would be no way to catch them.
***
In the task force, the ships saw the missiles coming via the link. Although it appeared none were actually headed toward the heart of the force, no chances would be taken. The AEGIS cruisers and destroyers were ready. Equipped with the Standard Missile 6 and 7, they no longer needed illumination of an enemy with a shipboard radar. With a range of over 200 miles, the ship simply pointed the missile in the right direction and fired. The onboard seekers, which came from the tried and tested AIM-120 AMRAAM, swept a broad area, then locked in on a target. The missile had already been told what direction and altitude the incoming missiles were coming from. Once acquired, they sped for their targets.
One by one, the Russian anti-ship missiles were knocked out of the sky. Only three of the American missiles failed to hit their targets. Of the nearly 100 missiles launched, twenty two continued on. They flew into a second wave of Standards. Coming close to the first layer of ships, three missiles remained.
Aboard the USS Roosevelt and USS Winston Churchill, the surface weapons coordinators designated the missiles for the latest weapons. On the fantail, a cover was pulled back to reveal a large tube with many cables. Tied in with the link, it swayed toward the targets. In the ship’s combat information center the operator saw one of the missiles on his television screen. The order was given and the operator pressed the firing switch.
On the closest missile, metal began melting off the side. When the metal was gone, the fuel tank was exposed and exploded. The same happened to a second missile. Within five seconds, it began again on the third which exploded in an immense fireball.
Aboard the Churchill, the operator reported the target had been destroyed. It was the first time the laser system had been used in actual combat. It was an outstanding success.
***
Hustvedt sat back in his seat and let out a long whistle. “That’s the end of round one,” he said.
The Chief of Staff chuckled. “Yea, but round two is right over here,” he said as he pointed toward the Russian task force. They were already well into the Black Sea making their way toward the Americans. “Wonder when they’ll launch? Those Shipwrecks can go over 350 miles and if they decided to send a nuke, we might still be in a bad way whether they could see us or not.”
“Looking at the speed they’re going, I would bet they launch right about here,” said Jeffers pointing to a position just 200 miles away. “They would be launching just before daybreak and could run back home without getting close to us. We could still get them with air power, but they are probably counting on us not seeing them. Without the system we have, that might be exactly the case,” he said.
Hustvedt nodded. “Yes, I think Rod is right. It’s the old way of thinking, which is one reason we have been as successful as we have. Remember the briefing? Rod here said it. They don’t like to change. I would have already started to question why we have been so successful. I bet it hasn’t dawned on them that we can see them, but they can’t see us.” He rubbed his eyes and sat back. “No matter what, we need to be ready. How long before our ships have fully unloaded?”
“At least four hours for the transports. Give it two days for the rest of the supplies. The second set of supply ships just cleared the Bosporus. They will arrive tomorrow,” the Chief of Staff said.
“That’s a long time to be sitting here like ducks in a pond,” said Hustvedt. “At least all our ships are dispersed for a layered defense. I’m not too happy about the Iowa and her group out there all by their lonesome. What if we sent the Queen Elizabeth over that way to give her a little air protection?” he asked.
“That would leave a section of the landing unattended. Maybe after we see how things shape up we might send her a little later on,” said the Chief of Staff.
“Play it safe, huh?” said Hustvedt. “Well, it’s a pretty tough little group, I guess we can risk it. It looks like most of the air strike came from almost due north. That should keep them focused on us anyway,” he said. “I want some air strikes on the airfields these guys are coming from. Knock them out and we might not have to worry as much. Do we know where these are?” Hustvedt asked.
“Yes sir,” said Jeffers. “We were able to follow them home and we know where the bases are. We could get off strikes today and tonight.”
Hustvedt turned to his Chief of Staff. “Make it so. With our cloaks, we should be able to get in and out without much of a problem at all.”
“I’ll set it up. We’ll send a satellite burst to the fleet. We will be breaking silence for about half a second, but they know we’re here anyway,” the Chief of Staff said.
“But we sent out over 500 planes!” shouted Pusko. “You can’t tell me only sixty eight got back home!”
“I am afraid it is so,” said General Gasemirov. “Every pilot said that suddenly aircraft began exploding all around them. They didn’t see anything on their radars and nothing visually. At least they had the foresight to launch what weapons they had. We don’t know if they got hits, but they were aimed directly toward the area of the landings.”
“This is unacceptable. Your people cannot just launch their missiles and run home. We must know of the Americans have been hit. Send another strike immediately,” Pusko ordered.
“It will have to be tomorrow morning. I must get more aircraft into the area to replace the others. I’ll also detail half the aircraft to carry bombs. That way they will be forced to get in close,” said Gasemirov.
“Do it,” said Pusko. “We have been losing our shirts ever since this thing started. We need to hit them with sheer numbers. That is what we are about to do in Poland. Make it a 1,000 plane raid and make sure there are plenty of fighters going in with them. They are to find the Americans and show them who owns the Black Sea,” said Pusko.
“Yes, sir,” said Gasemirov. He left the room to get things going. There was a nagging worry. If his previous force couldn’t see them coming, how would this new force. More to the point, how did the Americans know they were coming in the first place?
***
The fliers began showing up all over Moscow and many of the rest of the cities across Russia. “Russians Unite,” was the headline on the crudely printed sheets. “The voice of God is not being heard by those leading our nation. We must unite to make that voice be heard. People of faith, lift up your voices! Resist those who would condemn your children and families to death and agony. Our leaders have even condemned the Holy Church by trying to kidnap our Patriarch. It is time to rise up. Unite for the protection of our children, our homes and our country! Our Patriarch has escaped their clutches. He urges all those of the Church to let your voice be heard. Do what you can to end this aggression and to bring our children home. Rise up!” it said.
The fliers began showing up at train stations and underground systems. They were posted on the streets and placed in mail boxes. No one saw them being distributed. With the bitter cold, everyone was bundled up with thick clothing which could hide anything. One stack of the fliers was even placed at the foot of Lenin’s sarcophagus. Police became frustrated. Every time they stopped someone for possibly distributing the materials, none of the fliers could be found on them, yet they were seemingly everywhere. The police tried to arrest people picking them up and reading them, but there were too many people and too many fliers. The word was getting out.