tc.redstormrising-第148部分

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rents。　We　have　indications　that　the　Soviets　are　sending　a　sizable　force　after　them。　In　any　case；　you're　going　back　to　your　carrier　fleet；　and　you're　to　meet　with　my　intelligence　staff　so　that　you　can　bring　your　chaps　up　to　date　when　you　get　there。　I　wanted　to　see　you　personally　to　thank　you　for　that　telex　you　sent　about　trailing　the　Backfires　to　their　doorstep。　That　idea　was　very　useful　to　us。　You're　a　reservist；　I　understand。　How　on　earth　did　they　ever　let　you　go？〃
〃I　put　my　destroyer　on　a　sandbar　once。〃
〃I　see。　You　have　atoned　for　that　error；　mander。〃　Beattie　offered　his　hand。

WACHERSLEBEN；　GERMAN　DEMOCRATIC　REPUBLIC
〃Stop　that　Goddamned　truck！〃　Alekseyev　screamed。　He　stood　in　the　middle　of　the　road；　daring　the　vehicle　to　run　over　him。　It　stopped　and　he　ran　around　to　the　cab。
〃Who　the　hell　are　you？〃　the　corporal　asked。
〃I　am　General　Colonel　Alekseyev；〃　he　answered　agreeably。　〃Who　might　you　be；　rade？〃
〃I　am　Corporal　Vladimir　Ivan'ch　Maryakhin。〃　He　managed　to　say　this　despite　a　mouth　that　hung　open　on　seeing　the　General's　shoulder　boards。
〃Since　I　appear　to　outrank　you；　Corporal；　you　will　take　me　and　my　aide　to　the　next　traffic…control　point　as　quickly　as　this　truck　will　go。　Move！〃
Alekseyev　and　Sergetov　got　in　the　back。　They　found　a　solid　mass　of　crates；　but　had　enough　room　to　sit　on　top　of　them。
The　General　swore。　〃Three　wasted　hours。〃
〃It　could　have　been　worse。〃

BRUSSELS；　BELGIUM
〃It's　a　major　attack；　sir。　They　just　started　moving　on　what　looks　like　a　eighty…kilometer　front。〃
SACEUR　looked　at　the　map　impassively。　It　wasn't　as　though　they　hadn't　expected　this。　Intelligence　had　predicted　it　twelve　hours　earlier　from　Soviet　traffic　patterns。　He　had　exactly　four　reserve　brigades　that　he　could　use　in　this　sector。　Thank　God；　he　thought；　that　I　managed　to　persuade　the　Germans　to　shorten　the　line　at　Hannover。　Half　his　reserves　had　e　from　that；　and　not　a　day　too　soon。
〃Main　axis　of　the　attack？〃　the　General　asked　his　operations　officer。
〃None　is　apparent　at　the　moment。　It　looks　like　a　general　attack…〃
〃Pushing　hard　to　find　a　weak　point；〃　SACEUR　finished　the　statement。　〃Where's　their　reserve　force？〃
〃Sir；　we've　identified　elements　of　three　divisions　here　south　of　Folziehausen。　They　appear　to　be　A　units。　The　attack　now　under　way　appears　to　be　mainly　B　formations。〃
〃Have　we　hurt　them　that　bad？〃　SACEUR　asked　rhetorically。　His　intelligence　officers　were　working　hard　to　establish　just　what　enemy　casualties　were；　and　he　got　a　report　every　evening。　B…class　reserve　units　had　started　appearing　at　the　front　five　days　before；　which　was　puzzling。　He　knew　the　Soviets　had　at　least　six　Category…A　units　in　reserve　in　the　southern　Ukraine；　but　there　were　no　indications　they　were　moving。　Why　wasn't　this　force　being　mitted　to　the　German　front？　Why　were　they　sending　reservists　instead？　He'd　been　asking　that　question　for　several　days；　only　to　get　shrugs　from　his　intelligence　chief。　Not　that　I'm　plaining；　he　thought。　Those　two　field　armies　might　have　been　enough　to　rupture　his　front　entirely。
〃Where's　a　good　place　to　hit　back？〃
〃Sir；　we　have　these　two　German　tank　brigades　at　Springe。　The　Russian　attack　appears　to　have　two　reserve　motor…rifle　divisions；　with　a　divisional　border　right　here；　ten　kilometers　from　them。　They've　been　off　the　line　for　two　days　now。　I　wouldn't　call　them　well　rested；　but…〃
〃Yeah。〃　SACEUR　was　given　to　cutting　his　officers　off。　〃Get　'em　moving…；〃


USS　REUBEN　JAMES
O'Malley　circled　the　frigate　after　a　long　morning's　search　for　what　turned　out　to　be　nothing。　Three　merchant　ships　had　died　in　the　past　three　hours；　two　to　missiles　that　had　leaked　through　the　convoy's　SAM　defenses　and　one　to　a　torpedo。　Both　submarines　had　been　prosecuted；　one　sunk　by　Gallery's　helo　inside　the　convoy　itself　They　were　about　to　e　within　ground…based　air　coverage　from　the　European　mainland；　and　it　seemed　to　the　pilot　that　they'd　won　this　battle。　The　convoy　was　getting　across　with　acceptable　losses。　Thirty…six　more　hours　to　landfall。
The　landing　was　routine；　and　after　a　trip　to　the　head；　O'Malley　went　into　the　wardroom　for　a　drink　and　a　sandwich。　He　found　Calloway　waiting　for　him。　The　pilot　had　met　the　reporter　briefly　but　not　really　spoken　with　him。
〃Is　landing　your　helicopter　on　this　little　toy　ship　as　dangerous　as　it　looks？〃
〃A　carrier　has　a　slightly　larger　deck。　You're　not　doing　a　story　about　me；　are　you？〃
〃Why　not？　You　killed　three　submarines　yesterday。〃
O'Malley　shook　his　head。　〃Two　ships；　two　helos；　plus　some　help　from　the　rest　of　the　screening　force。　I　just　go　where　they　send　me。　There's　a　lot　to　subhunting。　All　the　parts　have　to　work　or　the　other　guy　wins。〃
〃Is　that　what　happened　last　night？〃
〃Sometimes　the　other　guy　does　something　right；　too。　I　just　spent　four　hours　looking　and　came　away　empty。　Maybe　that　was　a　sub；　maybe　not。　Yesterday　was　pretty　lucky　all　the　way　around。〃
〃Does　it　bother　you；　sinking　them？〃　Calloway　asked。
〃I've　been　in　the　Navy　for　seventeen　years　and　I've　never　met　anybody　who　likes　killing　people。　We　don't　even　call　it　that；　except　maybe　when　we're　drunk。　We　sink　ships　and　try　to　pretend　that　they're　just　ships…things　without　people　in　them。　It's　dishonest；　but　we　do　it　anyway。　Hell；　this　is　the　first　time　I've　actually　done　what　my　main　job　is　supposed　to　be。　Until　now　all　my　bat　experience　has　been　search…and…rescue　stuff。　I　never　even　dropped　a　war…shot　on　a　real　sub　until　yesterday。　I　haven't　thought　about　it　enough　to　know　if　I　like　it　or　not。〃　He　paused。　〃It's　an　awful　sound。　You　hear　rushing　air。　If　you　penetrate　the　hull　at　deep　depth；　the　sudden　pressure　change　inside　the　hull　supposedly　causes　the　air　to　ignite　and　everyone　inside　the　boat　incinerates。　I　don't　know　if　it's　true；　but　somebody　told　me　that　once。　Anyway；　you　hear　the　rushing　air；　then　you　hear　the　screech…like　a　car　throwing　its　brakes　on　hard。　That's　the　bulkheads　letting　go。　Then　es　the　noise　of　the　hull　collapsing；　hollow　boom；　sort　of。　And　that's　it：　a　hundred　people　just　died。　No；　I　don't　much　like　it。
〃The　hell　of　it　is；　it's　exciting；〃　O'Malley　went　on。　〃You're　doing　something　extremely　difficult。　It　requires　concentration　and　practice　and　a　lot　of　abstract　thought。　You　have　to　get　inside　the　other　guy's　head；　but　at　the　same　time　you　think　of　your　mission　as　destroying　an　inanimate　object。　Doesn't　make　much　sense；　does　it？　So；　what　you　do　is；　you　don't　think　about　that　aspect　of　the　job。　Otherwise　the　job　wouldn't　get　done。〃
〃Are　we　going　to　win？〃
〃That's　up　to　the　guys　on　land。　All　we　do　is　support　them。　This　convoy's　going　to　make　it。〃

F（tm）LZIEHAUSEN；　FEDERAL　REPUBLIC　OF　GERMANY
〃They　told　me　you　were　dead；〃　Beregovoy　said。
〃Not　even　scratched　this　time。　It　startled　Vanya　here　out　of　a　sound　sleep；　however。　How　does　the　attack　go？〃
〃Initial　signs　are　promising。　We　have　an　advance　of　six　kilometers　here；　and　almost　as　much　here　at　Springe。　We　might　have　Hannover　surrounded　by　tomorrow。〃
Alekseyev　found　himself　wondering　if　his　superior　had　been　right。　Perhaps　NATO　lines　had　been　thinned　so　much　they'd　been　forced　to　give　ground。
〃rade　General。〃　It　was　the　Army　intelligence　officer。　〃I　have　a　report　of　German　tanks　at　Eldagsen。　He…he　just　went　off　the　air。〃
〃Where　the　hell　is　Eldagsen？〃　Beregovoy　peered　down　at　the　map。　〃That's　ten　kilometers　behind　the　line！　Confirm　that　report！〃
The　ground　shook　under　them；　followed　by　the　roar　of　jet　engines　and　launching　missiles。
〃They　just　hit　our　radio　transmitters；〃　the　munications　officer　reported。

〃Switch　to　the　alternate！〃　Alekseyev　shouted。
〃That　was　the　alternate。　They　took　out　the　primary　last　night；〃　Beregovoy　answered。　〃Another　is　being　assembled　now。　So　we　use　what　we　have　here。〃
〃No；〃　Alekseyev　said。　〃If　we　do　that；　we　do　it　on　the　move。〃
〃I　can't　coordinate　well　that　way！〃
〃You　can't　coordinate　at　all　if　you're　dead。〃

USS　CHICAGO
All　hell　was　breaking　loose。　It　was　like　a　nightmare；　except　you　woke　up　from　those；　McCafferty　reminded　himself。　At　least　three　Bear…F　patrol　aircraft　were　overhead；　dropping　sonobuoys　all　over　the　place；　two　Krivak…type　frigates　and　six　Grisha　patrol　boats　had　shown　up　on　the　sonar；　and　a　Victor…III　submarine　had　decided　to　e　to　the　party。
Chicago　had　nibbled　the　odds　down　some。　For　the　past　few　hours；　fancy　foo