“Maybe the Chairman has forgotten that we are on a communication-challenged ship in the middle of the ocean,” he thought to himself. “Yes, Comrade Chairman,” is what he said.
Once the Chairman left, Mo continued to try all the satellite phone numbers he had on the list Feng gave him before they left. He had answers from the 20 squads who reported that they were all on their way to New York, that the weather was pretty bad, and they had had to shoot many people who were beginning to get in their way begging for food. Mo had over 50 phones hang up on him when he tried to call them, and then he reached the phone numbers on the list that had arrived in the transporter and gave up. They would still be in their packing. He would try those in a few days.
It was time to write his report.
*****
General Allen and the four thirsty C-130s were escorted into Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport by three old, armed, single-engine turboprop Russian fighter aircraft about the size of the Swiss-made Pilatus of Sally’s. His radio operator had only needed ten minutes of searching the radio bands to find the radio frequency the Russians were using. Luckily, all three of the Russian pilots could speak limited English. Pete had explained his rank over the radio, saying he was on a peaceful mission ordered by the U.S. President, and that they wanted to see if Russia needed help, or was in better shape than the rest of the world. The Russians had asked that the three gunship’s gun crews stand back from their weapons and they would escort them into the international airport in downtown Moscow.
It was totally dark as they neared the city, and the general ordered all aircraft lights normally used in civilian flight patterns to be turned on. He explained to the Russian pilots that they had flown in from Beijing, had important news for the Russian government and just enough fuel to reach the airport, and they needed to go in as fast as possible. The airport’s landing lights were the only lights which shone on the horizon he was told. The rest of the city was black and this information allowed the general to relax a little.
Russia was in the same situation they were in. Their old fighter aircraft had already made that obvious, but the lack of lights in Moscow made him feel even better. He was not going to die just yet!
Ten minutes later, they followed one of the fighters down on final approach, several hundred yards between each aircraft, and they felt very relieved when the wheels touched down and they followed the fighter to a secure area of the airport, away from the civilian terminals. Here there were a couple of hundred troops, all with weapons pointed at the aircraft—far different from the welcoming committee in Beijing. The engines stopped and with Ghost Rider ahead of the others, the general once again got his hat and coat and left the aircraft, alone this time. He had ordered the guns manned again just in case.
Three soldiers, colonels by the look of their insignia, saluted him as he exited the aircraft. He saluted them back and was escorted to a line of five black cars, this time, standing 100 yards away from the stationary C-130s, and very similar to the three black limousines in China.
There were a dozen older men in long black coats and fur hats standing and waiting by the vehicles, guarded by at least 100 men. General Allen walked straight up to them, stopped, saluted, and stated “General Pete Allen, United States Air Force, on a mission directed by the President of the United States.”
In perfect English, the man in the middle returned that he was a member of the government and so were five of his associates. The others were members of other organizations.
“I would like to report to you what is happening in my country and what I’ve seen so far around the world,” General Allen continued. “I would also like my four aircraft refueled, because I must head back to the U.S. Air Force base in South Korea via Beijing. I believe that my report will take half an hour and I would like a reasonable report on your country’s devastation so that I can give a report back to my president. I have a crew of 48 and one lady aboard, who could do with a cold or hot meal and some water or liquid other than vodka, if you have some. We have been flying non-stop now for two days.”
The men smiled slightly at the mention of vodka, and he was asked to follow them. They walked into a fully lit terminal. The building had been blacked out from the inside, and all the curtains drawn. It was a small military terminal in a warehouse building, extremely luxurious, with thick leather chairs and a bar and food counter to one side. The member of the Russian government who seemed to be in charge, explained to the general that the visitors could use this facility and they should use it during refueling. All his men and the lady could sit in the warmth and eat what they wanted. The Russian official then barked out orders to one of the men in Russian, who marched off to tell the American crew. The general halted him for a second, asking the soldier, in fluent Russian, to allow his own men to refuel the four aircraft. The man nodded and many eyebrows were lifted by the government officials with the use of his perfect Russian.
General Allen was served a warm and tasty meal and the choice of coke, coffee or bottled water, as they all sat down in a private lounge and waited for his report.
He asked three questions in English before he started his report. Was the whole of Russia without power? Was the country’s communications affected internally as well as externally? And had this catastrophe had anything to do with the Russian government, or any Russian electrical companies inside or outside Russia?
“To answer your first question, General Allen,” responded the man, also in his perfect English, who looked like the most influential person in the crowd. “More of Russia is having electricity problems than we would like. The answer to your second question is that we have very little communications internally and no communications externally—that is, until you arrived out of nowhere on our radar screens five hours ago. Thirdly, we do not believe that any Russian electrical companies are involved with this crisis. Also I personally do not believe that any departments of the Russian government are involved, as many of the department heads are here in this building tonight. Now, please tell us what is going on.”
General Allen did, not relaying any secure information that wasn’t necessary, just as his Russian counterpart was doing. He told the story of Zedong Electronics as told to him by Lee Wang. He explained the power outages around the world and the blackness of the entire planet from space.
The general also explained how they had got an old project satellite back into operation and found the three Chinese satellites which did not belong to the Chinese Government. He explained the cell phones, lied that only a dozen or so were useable and he could offer them three phones on the next flight. This would give the Russian government communications with the United States as well as China.
It took an hour, and the food was good, especially the caviar. A case of good French champagne was opened and glasses passed around to the 20-odd men in attendance. General Allen fielded dozens of questions and answered in a way that would preserve world peace as well as secure his interests in getting U.S. military troops back home. The Boeing aircraft were not mentioned, but the attack on the buildings in Nanjing was.
The champagne went to his head slightly and made him realize how tired and old he was. At 60 years old, he wasn’t meant to be running around the world like a teenager. Three hours after landing, however, the snow began to fall slightly outside and they were ready to go.
His four aircraft would be escorted to Omsk in southern Siberia— Russia’s second-largest city 1,400 miles southeast of Moscow and 2,200 miles from Beijing. Here, the three Russian fighters would be at their furthest range and the American aircraft could land and refuel at a Russian Air Force base there. He had told the group that if his aircraft could use that same base as a stop between China and Russia, he could install a radio beacon there for future trips.