Page 138 of Clive Cussler's Quantum Tempest
“We’ll make all the necessary preparations for your arrival,” Stokes said, enjoying Fierro’s discomfiture. “The helo deck is already cleared for you.”
“Thank you, Captain Stokes. We’ll be lifting off shortly.”
?
Aboard theFuzhou
Peng turned to Captain Zhao, her face still a welter of confusion after theOregon’s incredible performance. She’d never seen anything like it.Lasers on a cargo ship?
Peng read her mind, and shared her concerns.
“America may be a dying empire, but she still has a few dangerous tricks up her sleeve.”
“I wonder what kind of propulsion she has,” Zhao said, almost to herself.
“I’m sure our engineers will figure it out soon enough. Be sure to forward all your combat data to my office, Captain.”
“And to Admiral Qian as well.”
“Of course. Prepare your other helicopter. I want a squad of your best Marines armed and ready for battle to accompany me. I don’t trust these shameless parasites. Once the AGI comes online, I will seize control.”
Zhao turned toward the senior Marine commander standing nearby, and barked her orders as Peng checked his watch.
“There are only minutes to spare, Captain. I want you to close to five hundred yards, and prepare to train your deck guns on the bridge. We don’t want to sink her, but killing half the crew won’t keep us from towing her back to port if it comes to that.”
“I will carry out your orders to the letter. Anything else?”
“I’ll need a pistol and body armor just in case Fierro has a change of heart.”
“They will be waiting for you on the helicopter. Good luck, comrade.”
Peng nodded his thanks, and dashed for theFuzhou’s deck hangar.
76
Aboard theOregon
TheFuzhou’s vertical launch doors remained open, but the Chinese vessel hadn’t fired off any more weapons. Instead, the big destroyer had inched closer to theBaktunand was now just five hundred yards away.
“Helo lifting off,” Linda called out from the weapons station.
“Got it,” Gomez said. Cabrillo had ordered him to loft a specialized observation drone six hundred feet above theOregon, tethered to a graphene power cable copied after theSpook Fish. That gave the 50x digital-optical camera on board the drone enough reach and bandwidth to observe theFuzhouand its helicopter in 8K despite its distance. Gomez threw his image up onto the port-side bulkhead monitor so the entire op center could see it.
“It’s keeping a low altitude,” Max said. “They’re headed for theBaktun.”
Juan’s grip tightened on the Kirk Chair.Not good.
“Looks like the Chicoms want to get in on the party,” Linda said.
“That’s not a party. That’s a shotgun wedding, and theBaktunis the reluctant bride,” Juan said, nodding at the Chinese destroyer.
“What do you want to do, Chairman?” Max asked.
“Our orders are clear. We can’t fire on theBaktunwithout risking the AGI, and we can’t fire on the Chinese for fear of starting World War Three.”
“I don’t think the Chicoms got that note,” Max said. “Those weren’t exactly spitballs they threw at us.”
“Doesn’t matter. We get our paychecks from Uncle Sam, not the Bank of China.” Juan checked the clock again. “Boys and girls, we only have five minutes to stop the apocalypse. I’m open to suggestions.”
