Dead Reckoning by Tom Wright Read Free Book Online Page A

now.”
    I wasn’t surprised. 100-mph winds could easily knock satellite dishes out of alignment, if not knock them over completely. I took a quick look at the radar and satellite images. Our data were flowing again. Satisfied that Ele was no longer a threat, I poured myself a cup of burnt coffee and headed to the conference room.
    As I approached the door to the conference room, Commander Blaine rounded the corner with a serious look on his face. He passed me without so much as a nod, entered the room, and yelled “At ease!”
    The commander sat in his chair and collected his thoughts. He looked at LTC Polian and said: “Sam, why don’t you bring us up to speed.”
    I sensed tension in the air; this seemed like more than just some askew satellite dishes.
    “At approximately zero-three-hundred, SATCOM went down. We assumed it had something to do with the typhoon, but tech control has evaluated the systems, and it’s not on our end. Uplink is solid, there’s just nothing coming from the other end.”
    Colonel Blaine broke in: “As many of you probably already know, we have a crisis developing, not only in our own country, but around the world. The Red Plague is erupting across the globe, and I am told the virus is extremely contagious and has a high probability of lethality once contracted. Before SATCOM went down, I was in contact with General Whitehead who has been receiving direction from the Joint Chiefs, and they directed us to prepare to raise our level of readiness to DEFCON 3. DEFCON 3 gives me the authority to act independently of and without direction from the Pentagon to protect my personnel and assets if it becomes necessary to do so.
    “We have no idea what is going on back in CONUS, but we have to assume the worst. Given the nature of this crisis, I have directed that there will be no inbound aircraft or watercraft allowed at this base until further notice. When Continental arrives this morning, only residents will be allowed off. And they will be quarantined. Until we get a handle on this situation, I’m not letting any outsiders onto this base. As of close-of-business tomorrow, that will also include Marshallese personnel from Ebeye.”
    A gasp went out across the room. The Marshallese workers provided all the basic services to the range: food, janitorial, mechanical, and grounds-keeping—you name it, they did it. The Americans performed the technical jobs, and the Marshallese did everything else.
    “I know, this won’t be easy, ” continued the Commander, “but it’s necessary. We’ll all just have to chip in and do our part and hope this doesn’t last very long. We have enough Marshallese personnel here already who will be asked to stay to continue working. As an incentive, I have directed the logistics contractor to offer them pay for twenty-four hours a day as long as they remain. They are, of course, free to go back to Ebeye at any time, but they won’t be allowed to return until the threat condition is decreased to four or better. Are there any questions?”
                  I raised my hand and was acknowledged by the Commander.
                  “Sir, I know you said until further notice, but what is the worst-case scenario?”
                  “I don’t have any idea. I’ve been told that if this evolves into a full-blow pandemic, it could be unsafe to allow anyone in for as long as three months. That doesn’t leave this room, understood?”
                  My heart dropped.
    Finally , the Logistics Manager, Tom Delaney, broke the stunned silence: “We have emergency provisions for six months if needed. We collect our own water, and we have enough fuel for even longer than that. We’ll be just fine out here.”
                  “Yes, but some of us have families back in the States right now,” someone interjected from the back of the room.
                  “I am aware of the fact that it’s summer, and