there as camouflage, to give American radar and missiles too many targets to properly engage.
PATRIOT MISSILE BATTERY I-70, SITE 6, COLORADO
A PAC-5 firing battery at Site 6 on I-70 first picked up the DP-15 attack.
The AN/MPQ-65 radar detected ballistic missiles. The radar’s AI reviewed the speed, altitude and behavior of the target. The discrimination parameters were met and it was therefore passed on. The data appeared on Corporal Vincent Jimenez’s screen as a ballistic missile target.
In seconds, in the AN/MSQ-104 Engagement Control Station, the TCO reviewed the speed, altitude and trajectory of the track. He authorized engagement and told his TCA to go from “standby” mode to “operate” mode.
At that point, automated systems took over. The computer determined which battery’s launchers had the highest kill probability. Pairs of Patriot missiles ripple-fired 4.2 seconds apart, two Patriots per DP-15.
The AN/MPQ-65 radar continued to track the incoming missiles. Detection of greater numbers of incoming enemy missiles caused more alarms to sound.
“They’re saturating us,” the TCO said. “They’re making another try for I-70. I hope the tac-lasers are ready.”
As First Rank Wei’s Dong-Fong 15 missile headed for the western opening of the Eisenhower Tunnel, the first PAC-5 missile reached its terminal homing phase. The Ka band active radar seeker in the nose of the PAC-5 acquired the DP-15. Now the altitude control motors fired, precisely aligning the missile on its interception trajectory.
The two missiles closed, and the interceptor flew straight through the DP-15, detonating it and destroying the warhead. The second Patriot attacked the DP-15’s empty rocket body and likewise scored a hit.
The other ballistic missiles kept coming. There were forty-seven of them, for one Dong-Fong 15 had failed to launch. A second ballistic missile blew up during its boost phase due to a malfunction.
American radio chatter increased, helping coordinate the data-linked battery as the PAC-5s launched more interceptors. Tac-lasers at sister sites along I-70 incinerated incoming warheads and empty rocket tubes, creating a Fourth of July spectacle.
“Fifteen enemy missiles still incoming,” a radar operator said tersely.
Tac-lasers swiveled on their mounts. Once more, the generators hummed.
“Eleven missiles incoming,” the radar operator reported.
Behind him, the TCO grit his teeth and put a hand on the operator’s shoulder.
“Nine missiles, sir.”
“Come on,” the TCO said.
The last interceptors stuck. The final beams slashed at the speed of light.
“Hit, sir,” the radar operator said. “One bogey struck us.”
“Just the one hit?”
In the end, five Dong-Fong 15 ballistic warheads struck their targets. Their CEP averaged fifty meters. Three struck nearly perfectly, one at the western end of the Eisenhower Tunnel.
The Eisenhower Tunnel was the longest mountain tunnel in the world. The explosion caused a cave-in and did massive damage.
The second missile struck a bridge in Glenwood Canyon, destroying it. The third destroyed a viaduct in the same canyon. The fourth missile hit outside the normal DP-15 CEP. It did greater damage, though, not less, causing a landslide onto the I-70 and its nearby rail-line.
The attack cut I-70 for the moment. Repairs would take precious time and no more supplies would come through by land until these places were repaired or rebuilt.
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO
Jake and Goose agreed, the Lieutenant of the Eleventh CDM Battalion was insane. They were down to one hundred and fifty-three effectives and one lieutenant, and half of the men were shell-shocked, with the thousand-yard stare. They badly needed rest.
It didn’t matter to the Lieutenant or to High Command. They needed everyone on the line in order to stem the enemy attack, while the Lieutenant wanted to show President Sims the loyalty of a true American. He meant to stop the Chinese, by himself if he had too.
A few times the past few days, Militiamen had gone crazy, screaming or crying, just wanting the terrible, grinding battle to end. The Lieutenant’s answer had been the same every time: beat them. Fists, rifle-butts, the steel toe of a boot, beat the craziness out of each man and bring him back to normality. The Lieutenant said the men needed the shock to wake them up: that the beating was mercy, not cruelty. The worst part to Jake about the treatment was that it worked. It left the former screamer or crier with black eyes and bruises, but he often became sane again, with the madness exorcised from his heart.
The Lieutenant and his last NCOs—former guards of the Detention Center—were all muscle-bound steroid-users. They were strong to a man and the steroids must have warped their judgment toward hyper-aggression.
Yesterday, the Lieutenant had a flash of inspiration. The Battle of Greater Denver