CRESCENT MOON RISING

RD FORTH
-1Chapter seven
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
"Robinski, get your butt in here!" Admiral Bramble jumped up from his desk chair
and marched double-time into his outer office, searching for the absent aide. "
Robard! God bless sunshine! I'll dip your wick in napalm and use it for a fuse,
son!" Bramble was starting for the outer door just as Robinski came rushing in,
holding a decoded message. Thomas T. looked over his slightly disheveled, red-he
aded aide, brightly reddened and sweating. "Well, what is it, Commander?"
"We have authorization to shoot down the Russian RORSAT bird, sir, " Robinski gu
shed and handed Bramble the Pentagon orders.
The Admiral was reading the full order set when the secure phone in his office w
arbled and red light strobed out the connecting door.
"That's probably General DeBliss, sir. Communications said he would call after w
e received our orders."
"Right, Commander. Tell General Wyburton to put his satellite-killer flight up a
s soon as he can make ready but not to launch the ALASAT missiles except on my s
ayso." Thomas strode into his office and entered his personal ID code before lif
ting the
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receiver on the scrambler phone, "Admiral Bramble, go ahead."
"Admiral, General DeBliss, his gravelly voice more pronounced on the scrambler.
Have you received your orders?" "Moments ago, General."
"Good. Any questions?"
"Probably several General but the only one I’m going to ask is about a time fram
e for the ordered action. Nothing was specified."
"At your discretion, Admiral, as long as it happens yesterday. In addition, exce
pt for Admiral Potter s forces, cancel the redeployment and execute operations W
inter Typhoon and Wind Five. Understood?"
Admiral Potter commanded the forces redeploying to the Indian Ocean and the Red
Sea. For the rest of the message, Thomas flipped rapidly through his codebook. W
inter Typhoon signified ignore cancellation orders and proceed as planned . Win
d Five ordered Thomas to return to Washington by the quickest means available. G
eneral DeBliss s cautious use of the secure communications scrambler link prompt
ed Bramble to think that the ultra secret, satellite-based communications system
could be compromised.
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"Understood, General. Anything else?"
"Yes, Thomas. Read up on Operations Island Breeze and Polar Sky. We are putting
on shows here and in L.A. to coincide with your production. Depending on what th
e critics say, we may be in for a long run."
Thomas T. after another quick scan of the code book understood the General s cry
ptic message to mean, two foreign satellites in US continental airspace would be
destroyed just as Bramble would eliminate the Soviet satellite orbiting over Pe
arl Harbor. The mention of Island Breeze and Polar Sky brought a shiver across t
he Admiral s neck. Thomas knew the operations full well - all out, first strike
nuclear attacks against Japan and Russia respectively.
"Will do General, ah, have the show backers decided long runs are probable?"
"Not yet, Admiral. Depends on opening night. Good luck on your show. Break a leg
I believe is the correct phrase. Out."
"Good God, Almighty, " Thomas T. said as he replaced the receiver. "At least the
President hasn t ordered nuclear war as yet, " he said half out loud.
"What, sir?" Commander Robinski had only heard Admiral Bramble s side of the con
versation with General DeBliss and the Admiral s last words were spoken away fro
m
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Robinski.
"What? Oh, nothing, Commander. Let s join the others and get this show on the ro
ad. Is everyone ready?"
"Aye, sir. Two F-22s readied and armed with an anti-satellite ALASAT missile. Tw
o F-16Cs for chase. A KA-6 tanker up with an E3 Sentry AWACS climbing for altitu
de. Tracking radars are up and operational. Everyone is awaiting your orders, Ad
miral."
"Very well, Commander. While I confer with General Wyburton, you ready the faste
st mover with two seats we ve got for a flight to Washington, D.C. I want to be
on it in thirty minutes or less."
General Wyburton, Air Force commanding officer, moved to intercept Admiral Bramb
le as soon as the Admiral was announced in the war room. Wyburton, a curious fig
ure with his extra large hands, feet and ears on an otherwise normal body, said,
"Thomas T., the last Falcon is taking off now. As soon as they tank with the KA
we will be ready. In about five minutes, max."
"Fine, Mickey, " said Thomas. "Let me know when you re ready." Bramble motioned
for Admiral Mann and Generals Morton and Ogilvy to join he and Wyburton. Once as
sembled, Thomas moved the group to a relatively secluded corner. The threat stat
us board showed DEFCON 4 - full alert for all US forces.
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Thomas said, "Gentlemen, we have a few changes. Admiral Mann will assume command
of all naval forces remaining in the Hawaiians and will coordinate naval redepl
oyment currently underway. General Morton, I m asking you to take up overall com
mand of joint forces. I ve been urgently recalled to Washington for a session wi
th the Joint Chiefs. I depart as soon as we strike the Russian bird. First, ther
e s more you should know."
The Generals and Admiral Mann were silent until General Wyburton caught a thumbs
-up from Flight Command. Wyburton said, "We re ready Admiral."
Thomas nodded his head in the affirmative and continued, "National Command Autho
rity has issued orders to knock down two more birds over the US. I assume the ta
rgeted satellites are the Japanese COMSAT units positioned over D.C. and Los Ang
eles. We are also ordered to review Operations Island Breeze and Polar Sky. We a
re not at war but, as you all know, the placement of a geosynchronous satellite
over a foreign nation, without that nation s express consent, is an act of aggre
ssion. The Soviets and the Japanese have, without explanation, illegally transgr
essed US airspace and continue to do so with the aforementioned satellites. Unti
l we receive orders to the contrary, we will prepare for the worst. Hopefully, w
e won t do more than refresh our memories."
General Morton, a quiet, slim devout Morman uttered, "Holy Mother. . .no mistake
CRESCENT MOON RISING
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in what I just heard, Admiral?"
Bramble frowned his disapproval at the superfluous question and answered, "No mi
stake, General. After the launch, assemble your tactical planning teams and get
your people righteous on both operations immediately. I want a complete rundown
on ops and eval when I return. Morton, I want G2 fully updated and with strategi
c profiles in six hours, sooner if possible."
General Morton said, "Alright, Thomas. Admiral Mann and I will start now, if you
concur."
Bramble agreed. Morton and Mann rejoined their staff officers and left the room.
Thomas said, "Let s bag a bird, General." Wyburton ordered the countdown to lau
nch commenced and the room automatically quieted. Instructions were relayed to t
he AWACS controller who vectored the F-22 Ravens, Green flight, into attack prof
ile.
Tracking reported Green flight approaching mach 1.2 and accelerating through ang
els three-zero. "Launch in two minutes, twelve seconds, " announced the flight o
ps officer in a voice devoid of emotion. The missiles would be fired when the at
tacking planes, traveling at nearly twice the speed of sound, reached 68,000 fee
t altitude, angels six-eight. The F-22 and the F-16, unique in American warplane
s, can accelerate in vertical flight.
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Tracking officer Kim Taylor updated, "Green flight speed Mach 1.4 and accelerati
ng through angels three-eight." She continued the litany of tracking information
until T minus thirty seconds, after which only the voice of the flight ops offi
cer would be heard until post-launch.
"T minus thirty seconds. . .twenty seconds. . .ten seconds. . .five, four, three
, two, one. . .first missile away, second missile away."
Officer Taylor resumed, "First missile on track, target acquired, impact in twen
tysix seconds. Second missile on track, target acquired, impact in twenty-nine s
econds. Missile one tracking nominal, impact in fifteen seconds. Missile two tra
cking nominal, impact in eighteen seconds. Green flight vectored out of danger z
one. Missile one tracking nominal . . .,correction, missile one rotating - track
ing off six degrees, eight degrees, twelve degrees. Target acquisition lost. Des
truct sequence initiated."
"What the fuck?" General Wyburton pointed at the tracking board. "Missile two in
errant tracking mode, target acquisition lost. . Destruct sequence initiated. .
. Missile one destruct. . . Missile two destruct."
Wyburton was seething but kept his voice somewhat under control as he demanded,
"Failure analysis . . .NOW!"
"Sir, systems reporting radar-guidance failure on both missiles," Officer Taylor
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replied. "SATNAV guidance operating normally. Chase planes report negative on we
ather or wind anomaly. AWACS sweeps negative on bogey interference. Ground track
ing also reports radar signals still positive for RORSAT."
Thomas put a hand on General Wyburton s shoulder, "Bill, how long before you can
try again?"
Wyburton frowned and several seconds later stated, "Two hours minimum, Thomas, a
nd we will have to bust ass to make that happen."
Admiral Bramble considered for a moment and said, "Alright. Get your people on i
t, and, Bill, run a complete analysis on the two missiles that crapped out. We n
eed some answers and we need them quickly. I ll give the Pentagon a prelim brief
and see how they fared against the other two birds."
Thomas did not have to call the Pentagon. General DeBliss was already on the Adm
iral s secure line. The four-star did not mince words when Bramble completed the
connection. "Admiral, get on the fastest damn plane you ve got and report here
immediately. We sent two ALASAT missiles against each of the Jap birds and score
d a zero both times. I gather you had similar luck. We ve got shit in our tailpi
pes, Thomas, and God only knows what s next. Cease your attack on the Soviet bir
d. We are at DEFCON four now, we may be at three or worse by the time you get he
re. Out."
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Thomas updated Generals Wyburton, Morgan and Ogilvy as well as Admiral Mann whil
e he donned his flight suit. His F-14 Tomcat departed Hawaiian airspace nineteen
minutes later.
University of Houston, Computer Center
Neal Palmer looked up from the computer printout he had examined for the eighth
time and removed his reading glasses. Miriam Goodman was still bent over a copy
of the listing, working her calculator in a flurry of computations. When the num
bercrunching ceased Miriam said, "You were right, Neal. Japan s gonna get clobbe
red."
Neal grinned, "Well, you know, when you re right, you re right. Hawaii is still
in for a bad time, but if Japan gets it first, and it should, we might get a pos
tponement."
Miriam said, "If Japan gets the monster this data indicates, everything in the W
estern Pacific could change, probably will, but the likelihood of triggering the
Hawaiian Ridge quake is very high, Neal."
"Maybe, " Neal countered, "but I think the pressures will shift north and south
of the Japan trench. My guess is that quakes will follow in the Mariana and Kuri
l Trenches. If that happens, the lateral zones like the Aleutian Trench, The Men
docino Fracture Zone and the Hawaiian Ridge will bleed off pressure like your gr
anny s steam cooker. A lot of noise and maybe some smoke, but nothing that might
scare the grandkids”.
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"You re saying eruptions and not earthquakes then for the laterals?"
"You got it, Schweet-hawrrt, " Neal answered.
Miriam breathed heavily out her nose and said, "Your Boggie is terrible, Dr. Pal
mer. Let s hope your predictions are better. I suppose we should contact Admiral
Bramble and give him an update on our findings?"
"The question is, how? The phone lines are jammed up with callers trying to reac
h relatives and workers in the blacked out areas. I doubt we could get out a tel
egram or anything else over public circuits." Neal bit his thumb in concentratio
n. "What do you say we take a ride over to Ellington Field and see if we can t g
et them to send a message to Pearl Harbor?"
"Good idea, " Miriam said. "I have the name and phone number of the Admiral s ai
de. Grab your notes. I ll summarize on paper while you drive."
"I just hope we can talk our way in, Miriam."
"Oh, pshaw, worrywart! You get us there. I ll get us in or my name isn t Femme
Fatale Goodman ."
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Neal watched Dr. Goodman stride away. He thought her shoulders were a little mor
e square and her hips a little more swinging than usual. "Well, well, " he thoug
ht, "perhaps our retiring Miss Miriam has some spit in her fire after all."
Washington, D.C., CNN offices
Bob Miller, CNN bureau chief, liked most of what he saw and he saw a lot. Leigh
Roper was smart, beautiful and feisty. She would also be difficult to manage, im
possible to control. Pittman, who sent Leigh to Miller, was introduced to Leigh
by Senator Gradisson Henry’s wife. He wanted her on board but to work Washington
D.C. took discipline and patience and juice. Juice was the most difficult to ac
hieve. Juice was stroke; the power to make the hooking bulls of government tel
l you what you want to know. If she could pry open Willem Gorse s can of worms,
she might be a winner.
"Ms. Roper, how do you propose to verify your theory that Gorse is holding back
vital information regarding the power outages?"
Leigh gave Miller a knowing smile while Lee-Roy wanted to bite his eyeballs for
his many scans of her figure, "First, a heart-to-heart with Neuberger, the Mid-A
tlantic VP. He has a lot more to tell and in private conversation, no one will b
e around to shut him up if the interview gets into sticky territory."
"He ll have an attorney in the room. Neuberger may not be brilliant but his boss
,
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the Chairman of Mid-Atlantic is nobody‘s fool. How will you handle that?"
"The attorney will be alert for anything that might finger Mid-Atlantic as the c
ulprit. I make sure they understand we at CNN see them as the victim. Then I poi
nt out the Feds don t seem to be doing all they could to find the bad guys - per
haps administration officials like Willem Gorse are holding out on Mid-Atlantic,
and the nation."
Miller agreed with Leigh s scenario so far. He asked, "And then?"
"Then I chat with Graddison Henry. Senator Henry doesn t like people who keep se
crets from him on national security issues, and he doesn t like Secretary Gorse.
"
"Yes, I heard that you know Graddison Henry, Chairman of the Armed Services Comm
ittee."
"Very well, " answered Leigh. “A lot more man than you, Miller”, a grumpy LeeRoy
whispered to herself.
Miller said, "I think you ll do kid, You ll do just fine. When can you start? I
need you now."
"I m on two weeks of vacation, starting yesterday. I gave the Chronicle notice b
efore I left Houston."
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Miller lifted an eyebrow. "Pretty sure of yourself, weren t you?"
"Absolutely, " answered Leigh. “Abso-fucking-lutly you pinhead”, hissed Lee-Roy
who blushed when she realized Miller may have heard. She stood Leigh up in a lus
cious manner and extended her hand. "I m ready if you are." Lee-Roy clamped her
mouth, then broke a fabulous smile while planning what would befall Miller shoul
d he later try a pass on Leigh.
"Yes, yes, I can see you are." The bureau chief shook her hand a bit too long an
d said, "OK, you re on. Now get to work. We ll do the paperwork tonight or tomor
row." “What’s that ‘tonight’ crap?” whispered Lee-Roy. I’ll squash your wee-wee
into silly-putty if you pull that shit!
Tripoli, Lebanon, CMR headquarters
Mustafaa Daoudi s secretary interrupted his work with a buzz on the office inter
com. "A Miss Oragi Shomi and associates are asking for a few minutes of your tim
e. They do not have an appointment and I have explained how impossible your sche
dule is, but they are quite insistent."
Mustafaa ran his hands through coal-black hair and straightening his $200
CRESCENT MOON RISING
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American dollar custom tie said, "It is quite alright. Please show them in and p
repare tea for our guests."
Oragi, with a face to make you throw your mama off the train, entered the spacio
us office, followed by a portly Japanese executive and several technicians who c
arried cartons of what appeared to be electronics. Once inside, the group bowed
low to Daoudi. Oragi s bow was extremely low as she said, "Thank you for seeing
us, Daoudisan. It is my great honor to introduce, Hykomo Nagasi, executive Vice
President of Akamatsu Industries and personal friend of Shinsu Iragawa. Nagasi-s
an brings a gift."
Nagasi, as huge as a Japanese Sumo wrestler, stepped around Oragi and approached
Mustafaa with his enormous hand extended, Western style. He spoke English with
a perfect British accent. "How do you do? Mr. Iragawa sends his personal regards
and hopes you are well."
Mustafaa shook hands and said, "I am. My thanks to Mr. Iragawa for his concern.
Please, make yourselves comfortable. Tea will be served momentarily."
"Ahhh, tea would be most welcome but I am afraid time does not permit such comfo
rts. Mr. Iragawa wishes his gift to be readied for use without delay." Nagasi ba
rked a command in Japanese and the technicians began to hurriedly unpack the car
tons. Hykomo Nagasi smiled broadly, his bulk planted firmly in front of Mustafaa
.
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Daoudi returned to his desk chair and asked, "Miss Oragi, perhaps you could expl
ain this wonderful gift?"
"Yes, of course, Daoudi-san. Mr. Iragawa has sent a special phone system. A scra
mbler/descrambler system of the latest Japanese design and one that assures comp
lete privacy in future communications. An exact duplicate will be installed in D
amascus and. . . also in your bank . . . and in your home."
Mustafaa s face hardened. "And when will the other units be installed?"
Oragi stood and bowed very low again. "It is being done as we speak, Daoudisan."
Nagasi spoke into the silence that ensued, "I shall be pleased to demonstrate th
e systems features in approximately twenty minutes. It seems we have time for te
a after all, that is, if your kind offer is still open?" Nagasi’s face was set h
ard with a smile similar to a slight indention in a rock face crookedly creasing
around his mouth.
Mustafaa locked his eyes with Nagasi s and after a long moment, opened his mouth
with a small click and said, "Why not? It would appear we have a great deal to
discuss. One question comes to mind. Is it possible to route calls from other lo
cations in Tripoli through this unit?"
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Nagasi slowly answered, "Unfortunately, that feature is not included in this uni
t."
"And your unit, Oragi, " Mustafaa said, "how many of my conversations have you e
njoyed?"
"Only your last conversation with Iragawa-san was linked through a system like t
his. Your phones are not tapped, Daoudi-san."
"Yes, we have made sure of that, " Nagasi added.
"What? " Mustafaa questioned. Then after a pause wherein the Japanese said nothi
ng, he rose enough to lean on his desk with hands fisted and continued in a low
voice, "Do you think Mr. Iragawa wants to discuss matters in remarkable secrecy
in, ah, fifteen minutes?"
Nagasi, less threatening in voice and demeanor, answered, "I believe I said that
I would demonstrate the systems features. I did not mean to imply a conversatio
n with Mr. Iragawa. Akamatsu Industries feels it is time to convey another warni
ng to the Americans. This time, please inform the US Secretary of Defense and th
e Pentagon that their military will suffer a crushing defeat should America agai
n attack the personal property of CMR Corporation."
"You are speaking of the satellites I presume? And what of this scrambler?”
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"Exactly, Mr. Daoudi, but if I were you, I would also be concerned about my prop
erty in the Middle-East." Nagasi turned as Mustafaa s secretary shouldered the d
oor open, bringing tea. "Here, let me help you, " he said. "We must assist our L
ebanese friends in every possible way." He continued while carrying a heavy silv
er service, “The scrambler will be most useful for further planning and debriefi
ng each party after steps have been taken. We must be prepared for foolish actio
ns by the Americans. They are slow to great anger but beware angry attempts of r
eprisal by a great nation.”
Washington, D.C., Pentagon, Joint Chiefs’ Gold Room
Jimmy McCullum, the taciturn Secretary of the Navy, escorted Admiral Bramble int
o the crowded room. Jimmy had not uttered more than one-word replies during the
ride in from Dulles airport. Thomas looked around for familiar faces and was aga
in surprised. The Samuel Douglass, himself, was presiding. When the Secretary of
the Navy met Bramble’s plane on the tarmac, that was surprise enough for one da
y. McCullum now ushered Bramble to a seat at the conference table, another surpr
ise. Only the Joint Chiefs and Administration bigwigs were normally afforded sea
ts at this table. The President welcomed Thomas and said, "Admiral, I have sever
al reasons to be here today. One is I want your first hand account of what happe
ned when your forces attacked the Soviet satellite."
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Bramble recited the planning and launch particulars and concluded with, "We are
running a complete strike analysis but I believe the initial log of missile rada
r-guidance failures will stand up."
Douglass asked, "Why do you say that, Admiral?"
"Mr. President, six missiles were fired at roughly the same time from three loca
tions and all six failed in the same manner. The testing preformed on this missi
le system prior to deployment, and continued periodically thereafter, gave the g
uidance system a clean bill of health. It s one of the most reliable weapons we
have ever fielded. A six out of six no-go? That says sabotage to me, sir, possib
ly what my techies call an unk-unk ."
Douglass blustered, "What the hell is an unk-unk?"
"It s an unknown element we are not aware of - an unknown, unknown if you will.
I think it possible we have a mystery component in the guidance system. One we d
id not specify and obviously one we did not consider in testing." Thomas caught
the unspoken exchange that flashed between Douglass and Horton Timmons, National
Security Advisor. The President asked, "Would it surprise you to learn we have
discovered two unk-unks in connection with the power failures?"
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Thomas answered, "Not really, sir. I thought it likely when the second group wen
t down."
"Well, we have, " Samuel continued. "The power distribution control systems have
a printed circuit board that left Kirijo Computer Corporation prepared to fail,
or infected, as the whiz kids like to say. The same with the computer systems t
hat control the turbines for power generation. Same basic technique, different a
pplication, all made by Kirijo. The turbines are from Yamahoto. Kirijo and Yamah
oto are asshole buddies with Akamatsu Industries who, by the way, manufactured m
ost of the critical components for the guidance system used in our anti-satellit
e missiles."
Thomas nodded his head, indicating he was following the President s logic. The r
oom was deathly quiet.
Douglass twirled his fountain pen. "The most interesting fact is that Kirijo, Ya
mahoto and Akamatsu are the Japanese money-boys behind CMR Corporation. Think th
at over for a bit, Admiral, while I go on to another subject."
"I am sure you noticed the absence of Admiral Richleau at this table. You are, i
n fact, sitting in his chair. Our esteemed naval Chief of Operations suffered a
heart attack this morning and he is slated for by-pass surgery as soon as he sta
bilizes. Admiral Richleau s son, Captain Richleau, his daughter-in-law and their
three children were murdered last night in Baltimore. Due to communications pro
blems with the blacked-out
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areas, Admiral Richleau only learned of the deaths this morning." Douglass was f
ighting to control anger, and losing. "They were murdered by thugs, Thomas. . .
thugs! The areas where power is unavailable are overrun with the Goddamned miscr
eants. Anytime a group of people are in trouble, the rotten evil-doers crawl out
of the sewers to prey upon and murder them." Douglass paused, recalling in his
mind the latest crime and violence statistics for the cities without power. For
people trapped there, civilization was crumbling. Angry anguish shined in the Pr
esident s eyes but he resumed with dignity, "That s not your problem, it s mine.
Jimmy, take over."
"Yes, Mr. President." Jimmy was a tough campaigner, aboard a ship or behind a de
sk, but he could not do what the President was asking of himself. He and everyon
e else here knew Douglass took personal responsibility for the suffering inflict
ed by others on millions of Americans. "Admiral Bramble, what the President has
in mind for you is occupancy of that chair while Admiral Richleau recovers, and
probably thereafter. It is doubtful at this time that Richleau will remain on ac
tive duty after his convalescence. This will, however, be a temporary assignment
as far as the media is concerned. Are you willing to accept this responsibility
under these conditions?" Before Thomas could answer, Douglass said, "We are at
a crisis point unequaled in American history, Admiral. We are faced with an enem
y we neither know nor understand. An enemy who possesses mysterious weapons capa
ble of striking the core of this nation s industry. An enemy who cares not for t
he sufferings and deaths of the innocent. If there were a battle theater out the
re where you could defeat this enemy, I would send you there in a heartbeat. We
can strike at the enemy, and we will, but the
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real battlefield is here. Here we can peel away the layers of subterfuge and chi
canery and expose the true face of our enemy. Here is where I need you."
Not many men or women refuse a call to duty from the President, especially in a
time of crisis. Admiral Bramble resented loss of Fleet command, as would any com
mander in time of conflict, but the President s words echoed in his mind, stripp
ing duty of it s glamour and exposing freedom as the fragile creation of a few p
atriots, protected only by sacrifice. Thomas stood and replied in a firm voice,
"Sir, I will do my best."
"I knew I could count on you, " the President pronounced. "Ladies and gentlemen,
we have two more items on the agenda. The first I ll handle in update fashion.
It will, I am sure, have a bearing on the second item. I have asked the Justice
Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and determine how elem
ents of special interest managed to sabotage this nation. I have since been info
rmed that Mr. Alger Brighton will assume this responsibility. He and his staff w
ill need, and they will receive, unqualified cooperation from every agency and d
epartment of this Administration. For the second and final item, I will turn ove
r the meeting to General DeBliss. Those of you not directly involved in active m
ilitary operations or not here as members of the National Security Council are e
xcused. General DeBliss?"
The JCS Chairman waited a few moments for the room to mostly clear. He began, "T
he President has asked for a surgical strike against CMR Corporation
CRESCENT MOON RISING
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headquarters, located in Tripoli, Lebanon. An operation has been mounted to acco
mplish that strike." DeBliss paused as an aide uncovered a show-and-tell series
of white, plastic sheets. The first represented the Middle East, centering on Le
banon. Strikes will commence at 03:40, Lebanon time tomorrow. That’s 20:40 tonig
ht, Washington time. Admiral Pierce has moved his forces east of Malta in the Me
diterranean and will launch a cruise missile attack. We expect maximum success w
ith minimal collateral damage. We assess the risk factor for our ships to be ver
y slight."
The meeting went on for some time, with numerous obfusticating questions from Wi
llem Gorse, Secretary of State, clouding the real issue - showing CMR Corporatio
n and the world, the US was not defeated, only royally pissed and looking to lop
off some heads. Unknown to anyone in the situation room, CMR had just delivered
another ultimatum - this time vowing to meet any aggressive actions by the US w
ith total destruction of American military might… everything currently deployed
and active.
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