Brown, Dale - Independent 02 (88 page)

 
          
“All
right. Recommendations accepted.” Who could argue? “Ian, you’re in Two-Nine
with Rush.”

 
          
Elliott
motioned to the map. “We fly with approved flight plans along Alpha-39 to URSUS
intersection, then south along Alpha-509. Our due-regard point at which we
cease mandatory radio checkpoint reporting is over
Great
Inagua
Island
. The E-2 and the tanker V-22 will take up
stations southeast of there. The rest of the aircraft will proceed south
through the Windward Passage, turn inbound when we’re halfway down the Gonave
Gulf, go feet-dry south of the town of Saint-Marc and overland to Verrettes.

 
          
“Our
major resistance will come from Verrettes. We’ll cross within thirty miles of
the Haitian naval base at
Gonaives
, but they have no anti-air capability. We may expect possible
interference from Cuban aircraft—their closest air bases are at
Holguin
and
Santiago de Cuba
, about two hundred miles away—but at night,
so far from
Cuba
, and on approved flight plans until just before overflight, I don’t
expect any trouble.

 
          
“Verrettes
is defended by anti-aircraft artillery, fighters, and we can expect
surface-to-air missiles similar to SA-7s or Stingers. Salazar commands at least
two MiG-21s, two Mirage F1C fighters, two Aero Albatros and two FMA Pucara
jets. Our Seagull drones will go in first and they’ll plot the locations of any
hostile air defense emplacements, map out the base in greater detail, and
strike buildings, parked aircraft and other targets of opportunity. Rushell and
I will move in after the drones check out the area for any additional
reconnaissance information that remains ... available.” In other words, he was
thinking, they were the mop-up crew to hit anything the Seagulls missed.

 
          
“We’ll
withdraw and head back to
Aladdin
City
for recovery. The mission is fourteen
hundred miles with a planned duration of four hours enroute and no more than an
hour over Verrettes. That leav es at least an hour for the Seagull drones in
reserve. The E-2 has the legs for this mission but the AV-22 will have to
refuel. There is no alternate recovery base for the Seagull drones except for
Hammerhead Two. If we need to ditch a drone we can mark its position and have
us or the Coast Guard retrieve it later. The E-2 and the tilt-rotors may
recover in
Puerto
Rico
or the
Virgin Islands
in case of emergency or if the AV-22 can’t
take on fuel. Other possibilities might be
Guantanamo
,
Kew
or
Grand Turk
in the
Turks and Caicos Islands
, any dry or shallow spot in the
Bahamas
, or
Kingston
in
Jamaica
.

 
          
“I’ve
given you weather sheets, flight plans, orders of battle and Border Security
Force landing and overflight authorization permits for the
Bahamas
and the
Turks and Caicos Islands
in your sortie kits. Stay well clear of
Cuban airspace, and stay away from the
Dominican Republic
except in extreme emergency.” Elliott
paused, looking at each crewmember carefully for signs of doubt or confusion or
fear. He saw apprehension, nervousness and excitement—and grim determination.
They might indeed be afraid of what they were about to do, but they were going
in. He saw no heroes—but he did see guys ready to go up against the people that
had struck so hard at their own. “Questions?”

 
          
“What
support can we expect from the Navy at
Guantanamo
Bay
, sir?” one of the I-Team members asked.

 
          
“Very
little. We have no authorization to land. If you need it, get on Navy Fleet
Common or GUARD and ask for it, but don’t expect it.
Navassa
Island
, here, west of the Hotte Peninsula of
Haiti, might be a good try in an emergency. The Navy has a radio communications
facility there. As most of you know, we have confused political relations with
Haiti
, on-again, off-again, but the people are
friendly ...”

 
          
“Which
means, take your green and take your plastic,” Rushell Masters said. “These
landing and overflight forms don’t mean squat next to a good old American
Express card.”

 
          
Elliott
was thankful for Masters and his try at humor. “We’re not at war with
Haiti
or
Cuba
or anyone, remember that. We’re going in to
check out this Salazar and his terrorists in Verrettes. Any more questions? All
right. We launch in thirty minutes.”

 
          
Elliott
authorized the launch at
3:00 A.M.
, about five hours after the attack on the
Hammerhead One platform began. The E-2 radar plane launched first from the
Aladdin
City
runway in plain sight of reporters and
onlookers surrounding the base—it would appear to be a normal part of the
recovery operations.

 
          
With
the E-2 heading southbound at slow speed, the Seagull drones began to launch.
To avoid detection from onlookers the decision was made to launch the drones
from an access road paralleling the taxiway opposite the main part of the
Border Security F orce complex. The drones needed only a few hundred feet for
takeoff, and they would be flying away from the onlookers that crowded the main
complex. An arresting net was set up at the end of the access road to catch any
drones that had to abort their takeoff runs—and unfortunately two drones didn’t
make the launch; one hit the net hard enough to sustain damage, the other was
stopped by McLanahan short of the net, serviced and launched minutes later.

 
          
As
soon as the drones were launched, checked out for flyability and headed south
along with the E-2, the two V-22 tilt-rotors made conventional heavyweight
takeoffs from the main highway with the engine nacelles in full airplane rather
than in helicopter mode—at their gross weight it would have taken more power,
and so more fuel, to make the takeoff in helicopter mode. And they had to save
every drop of fuel to insure they had enough while they were over such a
heavily defended target as Verrettes. The two departing Sea Lions did cause
some speculation as they made their takeoff runs, but only because all the
others had made their more spectacular helicopter or hybrid airplane-helicopter
takeoffs; in full airplane mode even a Sea Lion was not very unusual.

 
          
For
the first hour the flight was very quiet. To be sure a fuel transfer could be
made and to keep the tanks topped off while far from a major divert base, the
E-2 and the AV-22 each filled up to full tanks from the tanker-modified V-22
when they were fifteen minutes from the orbit point. This meant that the drones
had to be put on autopilot for several minutes during both the AV-22’s and
E-2’s time on the hose-and-drogue refueling line, since any kind of strong
radar emissions created a hazard with fuel vapors anywhere in the area.

 
          
The
V-22 unreeled a long hose with a lighted padding-covered metal basket at the
end. Once the basket or drogue was unreeled about a hundred feet from the back
of the V-22, the E-2 and AV-22 in turn would fly behind the drogue, line up
with it and insert a receptacle into the open side of the basket—magnetic
clamps would then secure the receptacle to the drogue and fuel was pumped from
the tanker V-22 to the receiver aircraft. The E-2 crew, more experienced at
night air-refueling, got their unload quickly and easily. Rushell Masters, who
had practiced night refuelings only a few times in a simulator, took several
minutes to make a contact.

 
          
“This
is crazy,” he muttered after his third contact attempt. “It’s like trying to
thread a needle at night on a roller coaster.”

 
          
“Just
think about how far we have to swim back if you don’t get this refueling,”
Hardcastle told him.

 
          
“Hey,
it’s tough enough, all right?” Masters made contact on the next try and managed
to stay in the basket for a few thousand pounds’ worth of fuel then was forced
to pull away on account of wild swings in the refueling env elope.

 
          
“I
think you leaked more gas than you put in the tanks, Rush,” Hardcastle said,
“but I guess we got enough.” He referred to the computerized checklist on the
center console display to finish the post-refueling checklist: “Refueling
valves closed, tanks to pressurize, fuel feed and quantity check.” He switched
to the command radio: “Two-Nine’s in the green, eleven thousand pounds.” On
interphone he ordered, “Station check, crew. Check your gear, check the cabin,
check your buddies.”

 
          
“Seven-One
in the green, twelve thousand,” the E-2 pilot reported.

 
          
“Connectivity
with all Seagulls reestablished,” McLanahan added. “We might have a weapon
problem with a coupla birds. I'm checking it out now.”

 
          
“Three-Three’s
in the green, fifteen thousand,” the pilot aboard the V-22 tanker replied. He
carried six-thousand pounds extra fuel in fuselage ferry tanks. He would top
off Lion Two-Nine once more after getting to the orbit point.

 
          
After
reaching
Great
Inagua
Island
between
Cuba
and
Haiti
the E-2 took up a standard figure-eight
orbit clear of national airspace boundaries. The two AV-22s and their gaggle of
drones turned south and proceeded along the
Windward Passage
, the narrow strip of water between
Cuba
and
Haiti
. As soon as they were established in the air
corridor over the
Windward
Passage
they set
up for their last refueling before entering Haitian airspace.

 
          
Hardcastle
made the first contact. “You need to watch out for autogyration, Rush,” he
said. “When you fix on a small lighted object against a dark background the
object will start to move on its own even though you’re steady. If you try to
chase it you’ll be all over the sky. Concentrate on staying level with the
tanker, and just guide the probe in toward the drogue. When you’re in close you
can tweak the probe in. Keep your eyes moving and use the tanker’s profile to
keep your horizon perspective.” As he talked Hardcastle gently glided the probe
into the bushel-basket-size drogue. “Two-Nine contact.”

 
          
“Three-Three
contact, taking fuel.”

 
          
"Two-Nine.”
Hardcastle took on a few hundred pounds of fuel, then ordered a disconnect and
backed out. “You got the airplane.”

 
          
“I’ve
got it,” Masters acknowledged. With their target only a hundred miles away,
Masters wasn’t about to let anything go wrong—he plugged the AV-22's long boom
receptacle into the extended drogue on the first try as if he had been doing it
all his life.

 
          
“It’s
amazing how a little pucker-factor improves your air-refueling performance,
Rush,” Hardcastle said.

 
          
“Damn
straight,” Masters muttered, not taking his eyes off the lighted white ring in
front of him. They completed their final air refueling hookup twenty miles
outside the turnpoint and start-descent point, and the tanker-configured Sea
Lion broke away and headed back to rejoin the E-2 Hawkeye over
Great
Inagua
Island
.