6:01 P.M. GST
10:01 A.M. U.S. EST
USS PRINCETON
GULF OF OMAN
Admiral Dave Morris stood on the bridge of the USS Princeton. The guided-missile cruiser was pointed directly at a spread of land at least two hundred miles in the distance, an invisible point of land, but which was there.
“Firing sequences,” said Morris to one of his aides. “Lock and hold.”
Flouting Navy regulations, Morris had longish black hair, interspersed with silvery gray, and a thick beard and mustache, also scattered with gray. At six-foot-seven, Morris towered above everyone else on the bridge of the Princeton.
The bridge was the ship’s radar and war room. Morris had the con. He was widely considered one of America’s greatest naval tacticians. He’d fought unpublicized battles on water for nearly four decades now, unseen skirmishes never reported, and had nearly died in the Straits of Gibraltar, after a vicious but victorious exchange with Vladimir Putin’s navy.
He heard the high digital tone of the systems finally aligning.
“V5 weapon control system targeted and launch ready, sir.”
“Fire on three, two, one,” said Morris, “fire.”
The air was abruptly, and violently, rocked by loud explosions. Four Tomahawk missiles blasted one by one into the air, ripping into the sky above the ship. Each missile weighed almost two tons and cost around $1.5 million. Today, the Tomahawks would pay a surprise visit to the Republic of Iran, a six-million-dollar present from the United States to the country’s leader, Ali Suleiman.
Morris glanced through the window and looked around the bridge.
“Let’s raise security levels across the board,” said Morris. “I want battle stations. Please ask the Nimitz to send out a group protocol immediately.”