Nuclear Winter Series by Akart, Bobby (recommended ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

DEFCON 1. The cocked pistol.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command—commonly referred to by its acronym, NORAD—was the nerve center of the U.S. military, especially during times of heightened tensions around the world. Two days following the nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India, the entirety of the nation’s defense forces was elevated to DEFCON 2, the next step in preparation for nuclear war. U.S. armed forces were ordered to be ready for immediate deployment, a status that assured they could engage the enemy in any manner within six hours. Once before, the U.S. had reached DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The nation had never reached DEFCON 1, the maximum state of readiness indicating a nuclear missile attack was imminent, until that morning.

Referred to as the cocked pistol, military personnel operated at DEFCON 1 every minute of the day. Around the globe, as well as from space, ground-based sensors and satellites transmitted data to NORAD’s advanced artificial intelligence systems for evaluation.

Like the operation of a human brain, NORAD’s AI collected information from these various sensors and compiled the data in one place for analysis. The military strategists located within Cheyenne Mountain pulled it together, made sense of it, and then passed it along to the commanders who made the decisions that defended America.

Cheyenne Mountain was truly the dragon that never sleeps. Native American folklore claimed Colorado’s Cheyenne Mountain was a sleeping dragon that saved the Ute Indians from a massive flood that invaded the valley surrounding the mountain. The Utes believed they were being punished by the Great Spirit, but after they repented, the dragon was sent to drink the water. The dragon then fell asleep, became petrified, and thereafter became known as Cheyenne Mountain.

Unlike the legend, Cheyenne Mountain, which was located outside Colorado Springs and just south of Denver, hadn’t slept in over half a century. Once made fully operational in the spring of 1966, the country’s most important military installation was home to NORAD.

The stress levels in the operations center were high for the airmen, whose focus was on detecting and tracking incoming nuclear threats to the U.S., but not from what might happen if a nuclear attack was initiated. The nerve center of NORAD was determined to detect a possible attack in order to give the nation’s defense network maximum response time.

Everyone in Cheyenne Mountain knew a nuclear missile fired from North Korea could reach the U.S. mainland in approximately thirty minutes. At DEFCON 1, nerves were frayed, creating an atmosphere of controlled chaos within the operations center.

America’s finest military commanders descended upon the battle cab, a dedicated operations center and meeting room used by the commander and senior members of the staff. If this state-of-the-art command center was the brain stem that gathered information from the sensors around the globe, the battle cab was the brain, which analyzed and made decisions based upon the information.

It was just after midnight local time when the dreaded, robotic words thundered through the command center.

“Launch detection! Launch detection.”

The suddenness of the announcement over the speaker system startled the NORAD team. Most were intently monitoring their computer screens while others chatted about the events of the past week. Even the lieutenant colonel on duty was casually sipping coffee while scrolling through news reports.

“Repeat. Confirmed launch detection. Coordinates are forty-one degrees, fourteen minutes, nine seconds north latitude and one hundred twenty-eight degrees, thirty-four minutes, thirty-nine seconds east longitude.”

The commander’s first reaction was to glance up at the digital clocks mounted throughout the operations center. Half an hour, he thought to himself. He knew the next few minutes would be the fastest of his life.

The team sprang into action. They’d repeatedly practiced for this moment. Only some were given the authority to speak aloud unless otherwise addressed by their commander.

“Source?” The colonel shouted his question.

“North Korea, sir,” replied one of the U.S. Air Force personnel monitoring a spy satellite. He added the precise location. “Mount Komdok.”

“Sneaky bastards,” the colonel muttered to himself. The Central Intelligence Agency had disclosed in the President’s Daily Brief that satellite reconnaissance indicated North Korea had built ballistic missile silos underneath a beachfront resort at Komdok-san. It was the closest point to the U.S. mainland from North Korea. “Do we have confirmation from our nuke sniffers?”

“Yes, sir. Positive confirmation from Constant Phoenix,” replied the same airman. Constant Phoenix was the name given the Boeing WC-135 aircraft specifically designed and deployed to monitor missile launches. Previously used as KC-135R tankers, they were upgraded and transformed into what was known in the military as nuclear sniffers. They were constantly deployed near America’s nuclear-capable enemies to provide the earliest possible information on a ballistic missile launch. Over the years, the old KC-135s had been replaced with new aircraft and the original nuclear sniffers were sent to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

“Deploy defensive measures,” the colonel sternly instructed. He turned around to address his aide. “Get me the secretary of defense. Now!”

“Sir! We have a second launch. Repeat. Second.” The airman paused. “Correction, sir. We have a second and third launch detected.” He emphasized the word third with trepidation in his voice.

“Coordinates?” asked the colonel.

“Confirmed coordinates are thirty-nine degrees, zero-eight minutes, fifty-one seconds north latitude and one hundred twenty-seven degrees, twenty-six minutes, forty-six seconds east latitude.”

The colonel glanced at the digital map of North Korea that now revealed three flashing red beacons. The second and third launches had come from Wonsan Missile base on the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula.

The colonel had studied the North Koreans’ capabilities more than China and Russia. In his mind, they were the loosest of the loose cannons when it came to nuclear powers. He scowled as he analyzed the Kim regime’s plan of attack.

“They’re using their fixed positions first.”

The clock was ticking. He’d war-planned this scenario a thousand times. Defensive maneuvers were a given. Their retaliatory response was another matter. Only the President of the United States could make that call.

“Sir, we have the defense