The Radar equipment they had mounted about three hundred meters up the tower, along the braces used for maintenance, was based off the second generation Chinese equivalent to the American Navy’s Aegis system. While it wasn’t quite up to par with even the last generation American equipment, it would suffice to do the job Amir had for it, and he nodded in approval as he observed the system checks that read out clear.
“Where are they” He asked, stopping at a desk setup in the center of the room, eyes on the screens though they were all still showing no contacts.
“Seventy miles out, Amir. Less than half an hour at their maximum speed.” The technician in charge said, coming to stand beside him, “We are following them through spotters on the observation lookout.”
He nodded, “The Radar”
“Still powered down, but prepared for use.”
“Excellent.”
With the radar powered down and all motion being observed and measure with passive rangefinders from the top of the tower, there was no way the approaching aircraft could possibly know what they were flying into. The element of surprise would only be his once, of course, but he would make it count.
“Are the anti-aircraft guns in position” He asked softly, as though someone might hear him.
“Oh, yes Amir.” The technician smiled, “They are on the map as red points in the city.”
Abdallah Amir looked over at the map, noting the red dots listed at the various strategic points through the city and his smile quirked slightly as he remembered something from his childhood. “Why are the points red”
The technician shrugged, “It is a Chinese System, Amir. Red is their national color.”
“Ah.” He smiled slightly, understanding the cultural difference. He wondered if the average Chinese designer knew, or would even care, if they knew that the red color was reserved for the `bad guys’ in the American lexicon For himself, it rather suited his mood, so he didn’t really care much what the American’s thought. If he was the bad guy, he’d strive to be the best `bad guy’ he could be.
“With your permission, Amir,” The technician said softly, rousing him from his thoughts, “I will hold out fire until they are within two kilometers.”
He nodded, “Agreed.”
Amir shifted slightly, his lips twitching as he watched the screens for a few more minutes. “How long”
“Almost half an hour, Amir.” The technician said again, his voice very calm.
Amir nodded, shaking his arms slightly. He wasn’t used to this, the waiting. A half hour, it seemed like each second passing was twice that. Was this what the Americans felt, waiting for his attacks in Afganistan He didn’t like it, Amir decided. He preferred to be the one on the offensive, striking at will on his schedule. Being bound to someone else’s felt.wrong.
A few more moments passed, and he found himself looking at the clock.
“How far are they now”
Damn it!
“About sixty five kilometers, Amir.”
Abdallah nodded, despising himself for asking the stupid question. Where was his vaunted patience now He’d laid plans for over a decade, telling his men to be patient, enjoy the wait, the savor of anticipation, and now here he was fidgeting like an amateurish fool.
He closed his hands over the edge of the desk and made himself hold still as he waited for the reports from the spotters above him.
“Satellite imagery coming up, Ma’am.”
Natalie Cyr nodded, just watching as the NRO bird twisted into position over the city, picking up the spire of the tower first as it was tasked into position, expending some of the most expensive fuel in history to move the tactical bird over a position that no one had ever really considered it would have to look.
The desert surrounding the city and tower were calm, almost glowing with a reddish tint to the dust of the outback as the sun began it’s descent from the noon hour apex. The local weather looked to be calm and peaceful, as though nature was hoping to dissuade the events unfolding by example.
There was little chance of that, Natalie knew, and even as she though that she could see the blue triangular icons that denoted the Australian Army Black Hawk Helos as they made their approach. They were within ten kilometers now, and closing fast on a speedy approach to off load their troops and cargo in a hurry, before popping back up to provide close air support and medical services, if needed.
Behind them were the slower CH-47F Chinook heavy lifters, carrying more troops as well as light armor for the operation.
The city seemed incredibly quiet on the screen, the look down camera on the satellite showing no one in the streets, and that suddenly struck her as odd.
Could the terrorist have moved that many people into the power facility already
It didn’t seem possible.
“Do we have thermal yet” She asked softly, frowning.
“Yes Ma’am. Overlay on your screen.”
She turned to her smaller screen and watched as the thermal overlay came up, showing heat sources throughout the city. Obviously they weren’t all in the power facility yet, but they did seem to be staying off the streets. Most probably, the word had started to go out. It was a small place, as cities went, and probably fairly close knit as well.
They knew something was wrong.
Maybe.
Natalie was still pondering that when everything went to hell.
“Now.”
The order was simple, yet its effect was utterly incredible.
With that one command, the huge phased array and IBIS type Radar arrays began sucking juice from the power facility, actually blacking out the cities that depending on the facility for their power use. They took that power, and they sent it out into the sky.
Signals bounced back almost instantly, being sent right down to the computers in the very room that Abdallah now stood, and targets were identified and prioritized automatically by the Chinese threat identification software that had come with the system. There was nothing for his people to do as the Type 105 guns swung into action automatically, requesting the clearance to fire from the central computer.
Clearance was granted.
“Here they come.”
Major Ian Malcolm nodded as he put the imagers to his eyes and watched the Army Black Hawks bank into a tight circle as they came around the tower facility, wide enough to avoid the green house skirt and the unpredictable thermals that came off the glass.
The Sikorsky AH-60 Black Hawk was one of the longest lived airframes in the Australian military, having been in service for just over forty years. The platform had been ordered by the United States military in the mid-seventies to replace the then legendary Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the `Huey’, and had gone on to rack up a service legend at least as distinguished as its lofty predecessor.
The helicopters were rugged and tough, and were still among the very best utility helicopters in service, being used across the board by Search and Rescue, Military, and private organizations for the past forty decades. Even the US military, known to be finicky about staying on the cutting edge of anything that flies, wasn’t expected to complete their phase out of the Black Hawk for another three years.
To a soldier like Ian Malcolm, one of them cutting through the sky was the sound of the home bells ringing.
“Alright, get downstairs and tell the others to pack up,” He told Sergeant Franks, “We’ll hump it over to the LZ as soon as they touch down and.”
He was cut off by a roar of flame and sound as the lead Black Hawk went down.
“What the hell was that!”
Colonel Pierson didn’t answer the shocked scream from beside him, he was too busy hanging on. When the lead helicopter went up, then down, his pilot threw the big chopper they were in into tight evasive maneuvers as he started cursing.