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General Abin will not be confirmed as the Commander in Chief of our forces in
the Mid East and
European areas of operation. I know this will be a disappointment to some of
you who are advocating that he become the permanent Commander in Chief, but
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Allah s will has been made clear to me in this regard. That position will go
to one of Allah s choosing, and we must set aside personal preferences and
accede to his will.
Turning to his own executive assistant, he said so that all could hear,
Ashmil, send an executive
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communication over my personal signature to General Mahdavi Ardakani summoning
him here to Tehran to meet with me personally and with the executive council.
As a number of the leadership council nodded in satisfaction and others
whispered in surprise, Hasan
Sayeed turned back to the assembled leadership council and concluded the
matter.
General Ardakani is to be promoted to Commander in Chief of our military
operations in both the Mid
Eastern and European Theaters. I expect each of you to hold this information
in the strictest confidence until General Ardakani can be informed, and until
the official announcement is made.
I also expect you each to give him your full, unqualified support in the
difficult task he has at hand of first containing the current American
offensive, and then driving it back.
In the meantime, General Abin will continue fulfilling his interim duties
until General Ardakani determines how Abin can best serve in the new command.
That is all on this matter. Let us move on to the next item on the agenda.
May 2, 2009, 10:25 local time
35 miles Northwest of Ruby, Alaska
On the northeast flank of Wolf Mountain
Thethumping was more distant now, muted and slowly moving further and further
off to the west like some freak storm that had moved across the landscape from
east to west. In these climes a storm moving in that particular manner, from
east to west, was a rare meteorological event. But the military operations
that heralded the almost continuous thunder-like thumping in this locale over
the last four days was a very much longed for and welcomed event, and it had
been progressively coming closer and closer during the last three weeks as the
American offensive against the Chinese had progressed in this general
direction.
Stacey Urkut or the Orka, as she was known and her fifteen compatriots, were
situated in a large cave on the northeast side of Wolf Mountain. As the war
front had moved their way, they had been forced to take up this position in
order to remain out of sight of the large numbers of Chinese troops retreating
to the west, and to keep from being inadvertently targeted by the American
forces that were pushing them in that direction.
Particularly from being targeted by those new missiles our boys are using,
thought Stacey. Anyone targeted by those babies ends up as literal
mincemeat, she thought as her nephew came back to the HQ
section of the cave to provide a reconnaissance report.
Aunt Stacey, Danny made contact with an American patrol an hour ago a couple
of miles to our south, near the old Forest Service road on the shoulder of the
mountain over there. Apparently they have been briefed to be on the lookout
for, and to hook up with, any resistance forces in general, and members of our
group in particular.
When their lieutenant heard that Danny was a part of the Orka group, he got
on the line to a captain, who called up a colonel. That officer, a Colonel
Kensington, is en route here to see you right now. They
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told us to watch for a Black Hawk helicopter escorted by at least two Apaches.
They should be here in less than ten minutes.
Stacey s mind went into high gear as she took this in.
Coming to see me? she thought. The unlikelihood of this, at least in her own
mind, invoked her more cautious side, which, on numerous occasions, had served
them well& indeed, had been an almost pivotal factor& in their fights against
the Chinese.
Ted, now why on earth would a colonel in the U.S. Army who presently involved
in a huge fight to drive the Chinese off of our sovereign soil be interested
in spending time with me? And why, of all times, now?
Are you absolutely sure of this? Are you sure this isn t some type of trick
to draw us out? Did they request any specific information or intelligence?
she asked.
Ted respected his aunt s concerns. He knew her instincts to be uncannily
accurate, and he understood her reluctance to immediately jump on the
information he had just shared with her. It would have been completely out of
character for her to have unquestioningly run out into the open to meet
whomever was coming. But he had also been there himself when the word had come
down from the Colonel.
When Danny contacted me about this, I went over and met the lieutenant
myself, Aunt Stace'. It s no trick. They told me that I was to inform you that
the Colonel would be making an immediate visit here and that you should have
your command staff ready& I guess he thinks we are a little larger than we
actually are.
At that comment all of them smiled, Cheshire cat-like. The Chinese had been
under the same mistaken impression for the last several months.
Well, we do have a better knowledge of the lay of the land than our own
forces, and we can just about point exactly to where the Chinese are most apt
to set up their next line of defense& but I imagine they have recon and
surveillance telling them all of that.
So, still, why me? she asked herself and those standing with her as she made
her way to the entrance of the cave.
As they stepped outside of the entrance to the cave which was sheltered by
steep cliffs and heavy forest on both sides, the oncoming presence of Colonel
Kensington was announced in dramatic fashion. A flight of four F-35 Joint
Strike Fighters passed over at low level, two splitting to either side as they
spiraled up from ground level to a loitering patrol five thousand feet
overhead. At the same time, numerous contrails of higher level fighters could
be seen at much higher altitude.
Colonel Kensington must be an important spoke in this wheel to warrant all
ofthat protection, Stacey commented as they witnessed the awesome display of
American power unfolding before them.
Seeing this demonstration of power almost immediately took Stacey and several
of those standing with her back in time almost eleven months, to when the
Chinese had first attacked and then invaded America across the Bering Straits
in June of last year. They would have all liked to have seen a display of such [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]