Secretary of State Fred Popel stirred, and Hernandez nodded in his direction. “Do you think you know, Fred?”
Popel shrugged and said, “This is only a guess, sir, but I think they plan to cause enough damage in Riyadh to spark a rebellion. If, for example, they succeed in destroying one or more royal palaces and maybe kill one or more princes it would probably be a mortal blow to the Saudi family’s claim to be the Kingdom’s legitimate rulers.”
Hernandez nodded. “So, there are probably Saudis in on this, who plan to use this invasion to take over?”
Popel nodded. "I think that’s a good guess, sir. But who knows who would end up on top. Probably nobody we want to see there.”
Hernandez winced. “Yes, that’s how it always seems to work out whenever there’s a revolution somewhere. And we certainly don’t want a government in charge of a large chunk of the world’s oil reserves that owes a debt to Iran.
Or even worse, answers to it.”
Hernandez paused. “OK, so what are we going to do about it?”
General Robinson nodded to the same Colonel, who gave another half-hour presentation.
Hernandez nodded at its end. “Well, if these Kinzhal missiles are the threat you say they are, I agree we don’t want our planes anywhere near them. Now, you said the drones we’re planning to use are experimental. How likely do we think they are to work?”
General Robinson frowned. “The honest answer, sir, is that we don’t know.
But our testing so far has had excellent results, or we wouldn’t be recommending deployment. I have to stress, though, that they will only be effective against the Leopards coming from Qatar. They won’t work against the fully camouflaged force, so the Saudis are going to have to stop it on their own. Also, we’re certainly not going to bag all two hundred Leopards, because it looks like some of them are equipped with a camouflage netting supplied by a European company. But we’re sure we’ll thin them out some.”
Hernandez shrugged. “Well, at least we’re not risking any of our pilots.
Mission approved.”
Hernandez paused. “One question about the Reaper that the Saudis used to bring down that nuke before it reached Riyadh. I thought we just sold those to the Saudis. How were they able to deploy them so fast?”
General Robinson coughed. “That’s… a long story, sir. I learned the details on my way here, and I’d like to have some more time to look into it.”
Hernandez settled back and fixed Robinson with a baleful stare. Everyone else in the room was very happy not to be its subject.
“Oh, I think we have time, General. Why don’t you tell us what you know so far?”
When Robinson finished, Hernandez shook his head in disgust. “So, this US Air Force NCO and his Saudi students shot down the helicopter carrying the nuke just before it reached Riyadh, and the American General commanding USMTM ordered them to return their Reapers to base, and relieved the NCO from duty?”
“Sir, the NCO says one of his Saudi students fired the missile that brought down the helicopter. Other than that, yes, sir,” Robinson said, glumly.
“And do you think relieving the NCO and grounding the Reapers was the right response, General?” Hernandez asked quietly.
Robinson shook his head. “No, sir. Regulations may have technically justified those steps, but when millions of lives are at stake we have to use judgment, not just blindly follow what’s on paper. At least, that’s what I expect from any officer, let alone a general.”
“Well put, General Robinson. I will let you deal with that situation, and look forward to your report.” Though he took his responsibilities as commander-in-chief very seriously, Hernandez made it a point never to interfere with the chain of command.
But nobody in that room expected a certain General to keep his rank or his command much longer.
“In the meantime, General, don’t you think it makes sense to let their NCO instructor and his Saudi students have the Reapers back? Personally, I think shooting down a live nuke should be enough to qualify for graduation, though I’ll admit I’m no expert in that area.”
Robinson nodded. “Actually, sir, I’d just been thinking that this really falls under ‘battlefield commission’. I intend to order that all of the students receive immediate certification as Reaper operators, with any further training needed to follow as soon as their instructor decides they are no longer needed for Reaper operations. I also intend to order that their US Air Force instructor provide his students with any support needed as they operate the Reapers we have sold to the Saudis.”
“Excellent, General,” Hernandez said.
Next Hernandez turned back to Secretary of State Fred Popel.
“Fred, one way or another this war is going to be over quickly. Either the invading tanks will run out of gas without getting to Riyadh, be destroyed, or will level enough of Riyadh to start a revolution. I’m betting that with our help the Saudis will be able to stop them in time. Then we need to act fast to make sure the aftermath goes the way we want. I suggest we use the Turks as a cutout, and I want at a minimum to get back our bases in Qatar and Bahrain. Here’s what I think the settlement should look like, and I’ll let you and your team work out the details…”
For this mission, the USS Oregon had been slated to launch an experimental version of the venerable Tomahawk missile, which had first entered service in 1983. By contrast, Oregon was the first Block IV Virginia class attack submarine to be completed and represented the newest and best the US Navy had to offer. All Captain Jim Cartwright knew was that they had suddenly been ordered from their quiet corner of the Indian Ocean, far from shipping lanes and all known satellite coverage, to as close to the Omani coast as they could get in the time they had before launch.
Cartwright ran his hand through his closely cut, prematurely graying hair.
If his wife had been there, she would have known that meant he was about to start asking questions. Though this was Lieutenant Fischer’s second tour with Cartwright, he hadn’t yet learned that. Short and thin with sandy hair, Cartwright thought for maybe the hundredth time that Fischer looked like a much better fit for submarines than an officer like him who stood 6'2" without shoes.
“OK, Fischer, I’m going to admit I wasn’t that excited when we first received this mission. Tomahawks have been around the Navy longer than I have, and I’ve seen many versions come and go. What makes this one so special, and why are we going at our top speed before we deploy it? I’ve seen the targeting coordinates, and we’ve been within Tomahawk range since before we started this race.”
“Yes, sir,” Fischer said, his head bobbing up and down. “But for this Tomahawk version to hit with maximum effect, we want it to have as much fuel on board as possible. What makes this version special is that just before impact the remaining JP-10 fuel will be mixed with air to create a thermobaric explosion, which should have at least as much destructive effect as the combined warhead. So, more fuel left equals a bigger blast.”
“Combined warhead. So these Tomahawks are carrying cluster bomb warheads,” Cartwright said.
“Yes, sir,” Fischer said. “Specifically, the BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb. According to our new mission orders we’re going after tanks, and since they have a combined shaped charge, fragmentation and incendiary effect, I think we’ll get good results.”
Cartwright nodded. “I’m no tanker, but I remember reading that the top armor is where nearly all tanks are most vulnerable.”