Chinese Sleeper Agent Shoots Down Titan IV B Booster: Excerpt from Vol. III of Dragon's Fury

Excerpt From Chapter One of Dragon's Fury - High Tide
Volume Three in the Dragon's Fury Series by JeffHead
Copyright 2002 by Jeff Head, All rights reserved

September 4, 2007, 18:40 PST
2 Miles East of Launch Complex 2E
30th Air Wing Operations, 2nd Space Launch Squadron
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Johnny Chen watched the lines connecting the gantry to the massive Titan IV B booster sitting on the launch pad as they slowly fell away. Perched atop the booster was America's latest and most advanced KH-12 satellite. It was almost time and Johnny knew that this rocket could not be allowed to successfully launch.

He slid the Stinger missile launcher forward from behind and next to him. It was a launcher that had turned up missing from the California National Guard over five years earlier. The American authorities had searched and searched for the launcher and the three missiles, but had been unable to find any trace of them. Like the several hundred other pieces of ordinance that turned up missing each year from America's domestic arsenal, when no trace was found after many months, the Government Accounting Office (GOA) ultimately wrote the off, thinking its disappearance was due to accounting or other book work error. But, like so many of those hundreds of other pieces of missing ordinance, it wasn't.

Vandenberg Air Force Base was large and it was devoted to Space. There were scores and scores of miles of rough terrain all around its perimeter. All of it was well patrolled and kept under constant surveillance, particularly in wartime. But before the war, Johnny had literally spent years developing his access to the base. He had also prepared four observation positions overlooking four of the major launch sites. He had dug three different entry and escape routes under the perimeter fencing and carefully concealed their entrances and exits, which were all well over two hundred yards away from the perimeter itself. Each of these observation positions had been dug meticulously with an escape route extending underground for fifty yards, exiting on the opposite side of the hill that they were dug into.

It had all been arduous, painstaking work. It had also been dangerous work with the constant threat of discovery and capture. But Johnny had been trained very well before being "inserted" into America those many years ago in the late 1980's. That training had taught him patience and the art of slow steady progress towards a goal expected to be achieved many years in the future.

Johnny's route into the United States, like many others before and after him had taken him over the southern border as what the Americans termed an "illegal alien". This was as opposed to the use of COSCO container ships delivering personnel directly to American harbors that so many others had used during the years. If he had been caught while crossing, he would have been lumped into the early statistics of what the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) called OTM's, or "Other Than Mexicans" and returned to Taiwan where his meager paperwork indicated he was from. But Johnny had not been caught, and it turned out that getting into the United States had been ridiculously easy. In northern Mexico he had hired the best "Coyote" money could buy by laying down enough "front" dollars to ensure a guided tour across the border for him and him alone. Johnny thought back to the satisfaction on the Coyote's face as Johnny paid him in full in hard U.S. currency when they were well across the border and ready to part. He remembered how that satisfaction had turned to shock and brief agony as Johnny had quickly used a concealed ice pick and expertly placed a lightning thrust between the appropriate ribs into the man's heart. That Coyote's body was long since molding in the grave where Johnny had buried his bones in the desert there on the north side of the border where Johnny had killed him.

From that border area in eastern Arizona, Johnny had made his way to his target, Lompoc, California, and met up with his "family" there. He had been hired to work in the dry cleaning business that they operated. He had worked there ever since, patiently sorting clothes and saving his pay for his own personal needs. The "real" work he had accomplished on Vandenberg had been completed on weekends and in the after hours during the week. He had never established any type of pattern and been extremely careful. As progress was made, the status was relayed back to his superiors in Beijing through a carefully established system of blind drops and completely compartmentalized personnel whom he had never met or seen. There had never been a problem, even after China and the United States had gone to war. No suspicion, no apprehension. His cover as a Nationalist Chinese who came over from Taiwan and who was very loyal to America had never been questioned, even to this day. He helped ensure it by attending all of the patriotic events, waving flags and even attaching a bumper sticker to his Toyota pick-up that said, "America, Love it or Leave it!"

Now his long preparations and training were about to be put to the test. His "observation" post was about to turn into an attack position.

"Hopefully, there won't be any complications," he thought. "I'll just fire the device, retreat through this tunnel and make it to the holding room in the escape tunnel before they can even respond to the smoke trail that will lead them to this place."

The holding room Johnny thought of was a small earthen room built into each of his escape tunnels that was stocked with enough provisions to maintain Johnny for up to two weeks. He planned to use every bit of it to wait out the intense search he knew would follow the downing of the booster. After that, he would carefully make his way off the base and then return to work at the end of his "vacation". It was a vacation that had long been scheduled and one from which he would return hopefully voicing his own anger and incense at the attack on his beloved and adopted America.

Johnny had practiced his set up, firing and egress countless times. He knew he would fire and forget the Stinger missile and make his way to the back of the tunnel that led to this firing current position in seven seconds, only a couple of seconds after the missile hit the rising booster. Then, it would take him another three minutes to get across the small meadow and into and down the gully that led towards the opening to his escape tunnel. Once in the gully, he would have dense coverage to shield him from the view of any helicopters that might have arrived by that time. From there, another four minutes would put him into his escape tunnel of choice and three minutes to pull down the covering and get to his holding room. Less than seven and one half minutes to get to his escape tunnel, less than ten and one half minutes for him to be where he would wait out the search.

To protect him from the very well known American forensic capabilities, Johnny had special, ultra-light sneakers on, with no traction or tread pattern whatsoever. He also wore a single piece, very light synthetic jump suit that was impervious to tearing, snagging or to leaving any fibers. The suit extended to the gloves he wore. Finally, he would be carrying the launcher with him. All they would have to go on was whatever rocket and exhaust residue they could get from the cave. That residue would have to come from soil samples as Johnny had built into each cave and firing position a self-destruct cave-in mechanism, entirely earthen and made of natural materiel, which he would manually activate on his way out.

All of this ran through Johnny's mind as he intently watched the launch pad and the Titan booster sitting on it. His communication had indicated that the launch would come early this evening and he had been here waiting and preparing since just after midnight. As he watched he saw tell tale signs of exhaust begin to rise from underneath the booster. Long before the first deep rumblings of sound reached him, the quantity of exhaust smoke rose dramatically and the booster itself began to rise off the pad. As the rocket rose on a tremendous gout of flame from the Titan IV B’s three massive stage “O” solid-rocket motors, Johnny brought the Stinger launcher viewer up to his eye and targeted the slowly rising rocket. He held the acquisition dot on the rocket waiting for the tone that would indicate the seeker head on the Stinger missile had locked on.

"Come on, come on," Johnny whispered as he waited first one and then two seconds. "There!," he quietly exclaimed as a very clear tone sounded when the missile acquired the very bright, very hot signature of the Titan IV B.

Immediately Johnny squeezed the trigger and a loud WHOOSH sounded in the confines of Johnny's position as the missile shot forward toward the rising rocket and as exhaust gasses shot behind him down the tunnel. Immediately, carrying the Stinger launcher with him, Johnny began scrambling back out of the tunnel, which he exited this time in five seconds, already ahead of schedule by two seconds.

September 4, 2007, that same time
30th Air Wing Operations, 2nd Space Launch Squadron
Space Launch Complex 2E
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

In the command facility for the insertion of the KH-12 satellite into orbit, the launch of the Titan IV B was being monitored and reported on by Air Force ground control personnel. As the rocket slowly rose, the ground control officer was going through his standard procedure.

“All systems are nominal. Down range tracking has engaged. Stage “O” separation and Stage 1 ignition coming up in, wait ... what the! Hold ... where did that came from?"

Into the view of the slowly rising booster, a small missile flew at a very high rate of speed and impacted the lower portion of the booster, just above the exhaust. A small explosion occurred which quickly spread through the solid fuel of the "O" stage and ignited the liquid fuel of Stage 1. Immediately, the Titan IV B lost momentum and the upper portion of the rocket turned over and began falling to earth.

The ground crew and a number of the security personnel watched in mesmerized shock as the remains of the space craft struck the ground less than one and a half miles to the west of the launch facility and burst into a tremendous explosion. The explosion totally destroyed the booster and its precious cargo, the latest KH-12 satellite. It also totally destroyed the prospect of overall Allied satellite coverage of the Southwest Pacific for the next two months. As the burning pieces of wreckage and burning fuel fell to earth for hundreds of yards all around the impact area, a large brush fire ignited that would hamper all initial recovery and investigative efforts at the crash site for some time.

Not all of the personnel were shocked and mesmerized into immobility by the attack. Some reacted exactly as their training proscribed and had prepared them to do. The duty officer in the security station recognized immediately what was happening and followed the smoke trail of the missile back to where it originated. Upon seeing that point, he immediately reported over the command circuit.

"This is Security One, I have the launch point for the attacking missile identified. That location is approximately two miles to the east of Complex 2E on the side of Hill 345. . I am declaring a stage three security alert. We are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack. Dispatching Monitor-1 and Security Team-2 now."

Within ten seconds of the duty officer's report, an Air Force Bell Ranger patrol helicopter rose from behind a hill to the west of the complex and immediately sped towards the destination reported by that same duty officer. A puff of smoke still hung in the air above the end of the smoke trail from the Stinger missile's path. The puff of smoke was clearly visible and made an easy target for the destination of the patrol helicopter. Just over three minutes after the launch of the attack, the Air Force patrol chopper was circling the hill and reporting back.

"Command, this is Monitor-1. I have arrived at the destination and am circling. No joy on any tango's at this local. I will widen my radius and conduct a Able-2 search."

By the time this first helicopter arrived and began reporting, Johnny Chen had already entered the gully behind and to the North of the hill and was protected from sight by dense brush and tree coverage. In the intervening minutes, he had cut another ten seconds off his anticipated escape time. As a result, he was not observed by the Air Force helicopter, having made it across the small meadow behind the hill and into the gully a good twenty seconds before the helicopter's arrival.

Within another two minutes, a Blackhawk helicopter arrived at the site of the Stinger missile launch. Eight Air Force Special Forces personnel attached to the security detachment for the base quickly rappelled down ropes from the helicopter onto the hilltop. Upon landing, they quickly set up a perimeter around the hill and began searching. All they could see of any consequence was the smoldering smoke coming out of the collapsed launch position and on the other side of the hill from the collapsed escape exit. The team leader immediately deduced the meaning and dispatched three of his personnel to the east on a line away from the position marked by the launch position and the smoldering exit. They were accompanied by one of the helicopters, flying low and scanning the terrain for any sign of an intruder. But they didn't find any trace of the individual who had fired the missile.

As that search was going on, the security team leader radioed in the status of the search and wondering if the attacker had perhaps been buried in a cave-in of his firing position. By that time, Johnny was already in his escape tunnel, had already pulled down the concealed covering and was approaching his "holding room". It was a place he would come to know very well over the next two weeks while the most intensive search ever conducted on Vandenberg Air Force Base was underway above him.

For those following the Dragon's Fury Series, here's another excerpt from Volume III, High Tide, which is currently being written. I am well over 100 pages into Volume III and hope to have it finished by the end of they year.

For those of you so interested, who have read either of the other volumes, please consider a review at one of the sites below if you haven't already.

AMAZON SITE FOR VOLUME I, BREATH OF FIRE
AMAZON SITE FOR VOLUME II, TRODDEN UNDER

BARNES & NOBLE SITE FOR VOLUME I, BREATH OF FIRE
BARNES & NOBLE SITE FOR VOLUME II, TRODDEN UNDER

I hope everyone enjoys this excerpt and believe anyone who has read and enjoyed either of the other two novels is in for a real treat with Volume III.

THE DRAGON'S FURY SERIES
A Series on the Coming World War

Best Fregards to all.

Thank you. If you are talking about Vol. III, it will not be available until near the 1st of the year. The others are available now.

Please let me know what you think of the novels.

I truly believe that unless we are very vigilant, and unless we act very forthrightly and actively, we could face events similar to those I write of in these fictional novels. It is why I am writing them.

Thanks for the BTTT.

... and from Breadon's Grampa (one year old of our oldest daughter) to Brad's Gramma, I believe you will really like Volume III of this series once you receive and get through Volumes I and II.

My third daughter has informed us (she was married earlier this summer) that my wife and I will soon have a second grandchild in March ... Kyra.

Thank you for those best wishes. Very much the same to you and yours too.

This excerpt is representative of another potential source for terror and conflict in our nation after the proverbial balloons go up and it hits the fan in the series.

Very well written.

As someone familiar with Vandenberg, working for an Aerospace Contractor, I must say the reality of this happening is extremely unlikely.

Security at Vandenberg, and particularly its Pacific Ocean side, is very high. I will leave it to your imagination to visualize what it is like during the launch window.

Good read though...

Thanks for sharing.

Agreed. I too believe in actual life that it would be very improbable ... but not impossible. In the series the Chinese are getting fed info from inside.

In addition, who (particualarly in the armed services) would have thought it possible that the sell-outs, treason and give aways that occurred during the Clinton years would have been possible or likely?

This is where those types of activities ultimately lead IMHO ... and worse as the series also illustrates.

Thanks for the feedback and Semper Fi!

As someone who considers himself a connoisseur of fine novels i have to say that yours hit the mark. They are very well written and always grasp the reader with a tenacity that is hard to describe (it is hard to stop reading until the whole thing is finished).

The only thing that i find weird is that you are not yet as famous as Tom Clancy because in my opinion you should be! I am pretty certain instead of watching The Sum of All Fears I would rather been watching one of your Dragon's Fury novels made into a film. After all your novels are really really good (and i have read a lot of books and your are excellent).

Very nice, Jeff. Very nice.

When I was working for NASA Goddard on the SMEX Program I had the privilege to go out to Vandenburg AFB to support the launch of the WIRE satellite. It's a very secure and very beautiful--especially along the coastline--base. The only part that didn't ring true to me, and I'll admit it's a nitpick, is that no launch ever goes off on the exact date without a delay so it was a little hard to believe the agent could've planned his vacation months in advance and still "been away" on launch day. I mean, think about it. How many families try to plan their trips to Florida to catch a shuttle launch only to be disappointed? However, I also admit author's are free to take whatever liberties they like with reality. :)

Once again, nice job, Jeff and company. Keep it up. Joe (MCM)

WOW! Thanks for the extremely kind words. They are too kind.

I am trying to send some messages in what I hope is an exciting and compelling story line.

Please consider, if you are so inclined, writing this review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for either or both books. It would be greatly appreciated.

How about this?

The holding room Johnny thought of was a small earthen room built into each of his escape tunnels that was stocked with enough provisions to maintain Johnny for up to two weeks. He planned to use every bit of it to wait out the intense search he knew would follow the downing of the booster. After that, he would carefully make his way off the base and then return to work after he recovered ftom his "illness". It was a flu-like bug that had suddenly taken him after getting the information and orders regarding the launch. It as an illness from which he would return voicing his own anger and incense at the attack on his beloved and adopted America.

Already updated the manuscript and the excerpt onm the site

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