Delta Green - страница 37

Sergei Pavel was several centimeters shorter than the Chairman of the New World Politburo. The Deputy Chairman had watery, pale eyes and sunken cheeks, and he was almost completely bald. He favored dark fedoras, even in the sweltering heat of Kampuchea. He, too, was dressed in a suit, but one which was fitted loosely to his emaciated frame. Both men wore ties, which Druzhinin thought demonstrated their inability to adapt to the climate.

Druzhinin greeted them warmly, and with only a modicum of deference. As Commander of the New World Defense Force, he also served in the role of defense minister on the Politburo.

“Oleg Vladimirivich,” Shelepin said, “the days have slipped by so quickly.”

They had not met as a group for three weeks. “And still they seem to drag, Anatoly. I had hoped you would arrive earlier so that I could show you the most recent accomplishments we have made here.”

“Perhaps later,” Shelepin said.

Anatoly Shelepin was a man who cared little for the details. He dreamed in global proportions, and he expected others to take care of the minutia. He did not see MiG-25s and Su-24s; he saw air power.

He also did not acknowledge defeat. As a younger officer in command of ground troops in Afghanistan, he had never suffered a defeat. Rather, he had redirected his forces into new offensives. Perhaps that was why he had achieved his stars so early in his career.

While their Dassault was manhandled back into the cover of the jungle, Druzhinin led the two leaders back to the command center. Once inside, he observed the mild relief on their faces as they encountered the air-conditioning.

Deputy Chairman Pavel pointed to the cold air vent and said, “You have indeed made changes since my last visit. Welcome changes.”

“We try to bring a little civilization to our hideaway, Sergei.”

Two technicians manned the radar and the communications consoles in the center, and Druzhinin had arranged three chairs behind them. Additionally, a small table held tea glasses and pastries.

Sergeant Nikita Kasartskin stood in the corridor leading to the back. He said, “Comrade Chairman, it is good to see you again.”

Kasartskin had served on Shelepin’s support staff for twelve years.

Anatoly Shelepin smiled warmly at him, “And you, also, Sergeant.”

The computer specialist grinned happily and turned back to his cubicle.

Druzhinin knew that Shelepin did not recall Kasartskin’s name. The Chairman did not see soldiers; he saw manpower.

The three of them took seats, and Druzhinin poured the iced tea.

He asked the corporal at the communication console, “What is the latest report from Colonel Maslov, Corporal Fedorchuk?”

The corporal turned to face him, “Comrade General, he reports that he is seven hundred kilometers away and closing rapidly.”

When McKenna reached the Command Center, he deflected himself off a bulkhead to miss Val Arguento, who was suspended outside the radio shack. Arguento was an Army Master Sergeant who served as both a communications specialist and the security NCO, deputy to Pearson.

Overton, Pearson, and Sergeant Joe Macklin, the radar expert, were gathered around the main console. No one was paying attention to the serene view of South America scrolling upward in the porthole.

McKenna almost reached for Amy Pearson to stop his flight, decided quickly that that might be a mistake, and bypassed her for a grab bar on the side of the console.

The master screen, the largest in the console, displayed the radar mode. Themis’s powerful main radar antenna was housed in a fiberglass radome on the end of Spoke Fifteen. The ninety-foot-wide antenna radiated up to fifteen million watts of energy, enough to fry humans in its path. The range was four hundred miles, though it was normally set to 215 miles, about five miles above the Earth.

The radar was chiefly used for tracking incoming and outgoing HoneyBee rockets and Mako spacecraft, using I-Band for lateral tracking and G-Band for altitude determination. With its ability to scan and track up to 120 targets simultaneously, the Department of Defense utilized the system during combat war games or missile launches from Vandenberg and Kennedy. Additionally, the radar was incorporated into the Space Defense Initiative program.