That was sooner than Danny had dared hope. While he would have preferred operating at night — and with more rest — the proximity of the Chinese took away those luxuries.
“The technical people are working on a way to counteract the Sabres and the other UAVs,” said Danny. “But we’re concerned about the proximity of the Chinese carrier task force. The cargo container vessel is about two hundred miles from the carrier group. If the carrier group gets any closer, we’re going to go in right away.”
The Marines had practiced taking down a cargo container vessel before the present deployment, and Danny agreed that it made sense to give them that assignment while his team took the ocean-going tugboat nearby.
With the Ospreys operating so far from land, one of the aircraft would be used to refuel the others. While that would give the teams on the ships more support, it would also limit the size of the boarding teams by a quarter. It was a necessary trade-off.
“I’ll work out the logistics and talk to you in an hour,” Danny told the captain. “If anything changes, I’ll let you know immediately.”
“Good.”
“One more thing — I’m a little concerned about security at the airport now that we have our trailer there. I’m going to need all my men for the mission. There’s no threat at the base, but—”
“How many people do you want?” asked the captain.
“A squad?” asked Danny. “We can augment them with our perimeter gear.”
“Absolutely. They can go back with you on your Osprey.”
“That would be ideal,” said Danny.
Turk listened as Cowboy went over the UAV encounter. The more he talked about the other planes, the more Turk wished he’d been there. Even if it had been a plot to steal the Sabres, he still felt he could have figured out a way to get the better of them.
The combat UAVs were the key. Turk knew from analyzing the Sabre video that they were roughly the equivalent of the latest Flighthawks, with the exception of the laser weapon. That was truly an advance, but even that had its limitations. It had to fire for several seconds to be effective; more importantly, it could only be used at short range. There were a small number of vulnerable places on a target as well.
“Think of it as a cannon that’s effective from three miles out,” suggested Turk. “Don’t let it get on your tail, and don’t give it a clean shot at your fuel areas, even for a second.”
“It needs three, though,” said Cowboy.
“That’s what the techs say. Anything less just gives you a hot foot.”
“Best thing is to take it down as soon as you see it,” said Colonel Greenstreet.
“Can’t argue with that,” said Turk.
Turk diagrammed a few of the basic maneuvers he expected the planes would favor, and the best way to deal with them. None of the tactics were revolutionary, though they did take advantage of the UAVs’ proclivities as well as the flight characteristics.
“Never try and outturn them,” Turk warned. “But they don’t accelerate as quickly as you’d think. And they have a lot of trouble in a two-on-one situation. The first thing they’ll do is dive.”
“Why?” asked Cowboy.
“That’s the way they’re programmed. I think it’s because they were flying with Megafortresses originally, and their role was to keep interceptors away from the mother ship. So if they were overwhelmed and couldn’t come up with a strategy, the default was to move away from the Megafortress. Because the EB-52s were typically flying at a high altitude, that meant going down.”
There were other tactical reasons, but the relevant point was simply knowing what they would do. Turk talked for a while more about tactics ranging from when to hit chaff to the need to use radar missiles at relatively close range so the UAVs had less time to duck them. By the time Danny Freah appeared at the door to summon Turk, he was talked out.
“Looks like I gotta get moving,” he told the Marines. “We’ll hook up when we have the op details. Basic plan, let me deal with the biggest UAV threats, you guys watch the teams on the boats.”
“And anybody that gets past you,” said Cowboy.
“I don’t think anybody’s gonna get past him,” said Greenstreet.
Turk glanced at the Marine officer. It was a vote of confidence — the first one he’d gotten from him.
“Thanks,” said Turk. “But if something does, I know you guys’ll nail it.”
Danny noticed a familiar face among the detail sent to help protect the Whiplash trailer: Corporal Mofitt.
The corporal steadfastly ignored him.
Just as well, thought Danny. Not my business.
The plan for the takedown of the two ships was as simple as it was dangerous — the Ospreys would broadcast warnings to the ships that they were to be inspected for contraband, then deposit teams via fast-rope onto their decks. If there was any resistance at all, the bridges on both ships would be raked with gunfire from the Whiplash Osprey. Continued resistance would net an attack from the Tigershark. They’d stop short of sinking the vessels — but only just.
The next few hours were a whirl of preparations. Danny studied the latest intelligence and conferred via satellite phone with Captain Thomas, who had refined the takedown plan on the cargo ship. Thomas also suggested Danny take a squad of Marines with the Whiplash team to act as reinforcements, in case something went wrong on either ship.
Takeoff was set for 0800, with H hour at 0910. They were good to go.
As Danny signed off with Thomas, there was a knock at the door to the Whiplash trailer. Boston poked his head in.
“Marine wants to see you, Colonel,” said Boston. “Says it’s personal, but important.”
Danny guessed it was Mofitt. He was right: Mofitt, head down, shambled into the trailer as soon as Danny said he could come in. His manner reminded Danny of a puppy who’d peed on a rug.
“Corporal? What can I do for you?” Danny asked as Boston disappeared.
“I need another chance, sir.”
“How’s that?”
“Captain Thomas thinks I’m a coward, and that’s not true. I know I froze, and you saw me, and I’m not going to lie about that. But—”
Mofitt stopped abruptly, as if he’d suddenly lost the ability to talk.
“Listen, I know you went stiff,” said Danny gently. “I also know that you didn’t freeze the day before when you and I went out and we came under fire. It’s just one of those things. It happens. You move through it.”
Mofitt looked up, surprised. “Captain Thomas doesn’t seem to think so. He said I’m an embarrassment.”
“I can’t speak for your captain, son. I can tell you what I would do if I were in your position — I’d deal with it, and move on. I’m sure you’ve dealt with adversity before.”
“Yes, sir, I have.”
“See.”
“Maybe you, uh, could say something to the captain? All I want is another chance.”
“I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”
“Sir, he has a lot of respect for you. A lot.”
Danny nodded. He saw no point in telling the corporal that he already had talked to Thomas. “I’ll give it a shot. But I can’t tell him what to do.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you.” Mofitt’s head bobbed up and down. “All my life, I just wanted to be a Marine. I just wanted to prove myself. But — that day. I don’t know. That day, that moment even. It just got to me for that one time.”
“I’m sure.”
They stood facing each other for a long, awkward moment. Finally Danny told him that he had many things to do.
“Of course,” said Mofitt. “Listen, I’m sorry. I–I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All I need is another chance.”