“Therefore, it has been decided to keep to the accelerated schedule. In that vein, I’m pleased to report that the physics packages of the five remaining weapons have been removed from their parent reentry vehicles and the remnants were disposed of at sea. The modifications to the torpedoes are proceeding a little slower than I’d like, but with one less weapon to work on, the job should be done by about the eighth of April.
“INS Chakra is currently in the graving dock at the Vizag naval dockyard, and work to upgrade the fire control system to support the modified torpedoes and install the improved towed array sonar is well under way. Minor repairs to propulsion and secondary systems will also be done, but on a not-to-interfere basis. While the completion of these repairs is not a necessity for the mission, they do need to be done eventually, and doing them now not only enables us to make good use of limited dry-dock resources, but assists in the cover story. All modifications and repairs are on track to support the revised 10 April departure date.
“Chakra will then proceed at her best tactical speed to the initial target area, with the last weapon deployed on or about April twenty-seventh. Three days later, five of China’s busiest ports will be obliterated. This will reduce her export capability by at least half, along with the destruction of several major oil refineries and China’s two largest financial centers. The resulting economic shock will finish what the Littoral Alliance war started, and quite possibly hasten the fall of the communist government, which is under considerable stress. With China in the throes of civil unrest and chaos, her support to Pakistan will be significantly reduced, if not terminated completely. Then we can finish the job we started last year.” The sudden applause forced Dhankhar to pause. As soon as it died down, he continued.
“Finally, you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve successfully renegotiated the final cost of acquiring and modifying five weapons instead of six, and that a refund to your private accounts will be forthcoming. Are there any questions?”
An air force flag officer raised his hand and rose when acknowledged by Dhankhar. “Badu, has there been any additional discussion on saving one or two of these weapons to strike Pakistan directly? We could severely degrade their nuclear retaliatory strike capability with two well-positioned weapons.”
Dhankhar sighed quietly; he’d heard this argument before, many times. “Yes, Uttam, it was briefly discussed and rejected for the same reasons as before. The use of these nuclear weapons must be anonymous, something we would very likely lose if we launched them at Pakistani nuclear targets. Our attack would not possess the element of stealth, and a severely degraded retaliatory strike capability still represents a significant threat. We cannot afford to have them destroy even one of our cities with a parting shot.”
The air force general persisted. “But Badu, thanks to the Pakistani terrorists blowing themselves up, we have an opportunity here to mask our attack behind their incompetence.”
“To what benefit, Uttam?” said General Joshi from the head table. “We all witnessed the scrutiny the world gave us when we were wrongly accused of the Kashmiri explosion. Even if we did improvise a delivery method for the devices, it would leave too many clues. The United States did some fine detective work to prove the weapon wasn’t of Indian origin. Do you honestly believe we could hide a direct attack against Pakistan from all those prying eyes?
“Yes, the LeT terrorists and their Pakistani handlers have a love/hate relationship. But no one would buy the terrorists blowing up Pakistani nuclear strike assets. It’s just too hard to believe, and those prying eyes would once again turn our way. No, Badu is correct. We must use these Russian weapons secretly and efficiently — and that means Chinese targets. This topic is now closed, gentlemen. Thank you, Badu, for your report.”
Dhankhar bowed and started walking back to his seat. He avoided looking in the air force general’s direction; the man had objected to Operation Vajra’s Chinese focus from the very beginning. Rumor had it that he was envious of the navy’s central role, but only the navy had a stealthy platform in the Akula-class submarine. And stealth was absolutely crucial to their ability to pull this gambit off. Dhankhar heard Joshi announce the next agenda item, a review of the central thrust of the spring offensive, but the admiral wasn’t particularly interested. That job was for the army and the air force. Unconcerned, he let his thoughts meander back to the targets and the effect a 150-kiloton warhead would have on them.
Vice Admiral Loktev paced impatiently on the icebreaker’s helicopter deck; the divers had been down for almost half an hour and he was chomping at the bit to know what they had found. Silently he hoped the Americans’ claim was wrong; the alternative would be humiliating beyond words.
“Comrade Admiral,” shouted a deckhand. “The divers are coming up.”
Loktev acknowledged the report and walked to the rope ladder hanging over Victory’s port side. The broken ice chunks, crushed by the ship’s massive hull, were being pushed aside by men with long poles to keep a small area clear for the divers to surface through. Soon air bubbles could be seen breaking the dark icy film, and a moment later a man emerged, then another. The divers first swam toward and then crawled on to the ice floe. After removing their fins, masks, and air tanks, they walked to the ladder and hurriedly scurried up. Zhikin had barely reached the deck when Loktev swooped in, demanding a report.
“The Americans’ claims are right, Comrade Admiral.” Zhikin spoke through shivering blue lips. “The barge is exactly where they said it would be, and their description matches what I saw below.”
“And the contents?” pressed Loktev.
Zhikin gladly took a towel offered by one of his men and started walking toward the watertight door and warmth; if the admiral wanted to talk, he could follow him. “There were numerous containers within the barge, each about two meters in length and one meter in diameter. Their appearance is consistent with the description of Pioneer missile reentry vehicle storage canisters, but we won’t know for sure until we get one on board and open it.”
The chilled diver grabbed the door’s handle and yanked on it, and a gush of beautifully warm air engulfed him. Once inside, Loktev removed his ushanka and heavy winter mittens, while Zhikin peeled back the dry suit’s hood, disconnected the gloves, and removed the liners. He traded his gear with a waiting lieutenant who stood by with two cups of steaming tea. The hot liquid going down his throat felt amazing. After making sure the lieutenant was out of earshot, Zhikin turned to the admiral and whispered, “The barge is not your normal dry cargo type, sir. It was specifically modified with ballast tanks, fore and aft; there are standard submarine salvage connections on both ends. Comrade Admiral, this barge was designed to be surfaced and retrieved.”
“Any identifying markings? A serial number?”
“None that I could see, but we only looked over the barge’s exterior. There could be markings, or maybe a nameplate, on the inside, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”