Eagle Station

Kelleher shook his head. “No, sir.” He leaned forward over the railing a little, taking a quick look at the smaller displays that showed satellite views of various parts of the globe. “Naturally, we’re keeping a close eye on all of their launch complexes right now. But apart from the Energia and Long March boosters assigned to their next announced Pilgrim mission and another of those robotic cargo landers, we haven’t seen any new rockets moving out to the pad. Plus, we’re not picking up any new activity in lunar orbit.”

For the moment, Patrick held his own counsel. On the large central screen, he saw the radar satellite’s icon slide forward into the circle marked LOI. It began blinking rapidly, signaling that the spacecraft’s rocket motor had begun its Lunar Orbit Insertion burn on schedule.

He gripped the railing. Maybe Moscow and Beijing had been caught off guard by the Topaz launch. And maybe not. One way or another, they were about to find out.

National Defense Control Center, Moscow

That Same Time

“The American radar satellite is entering lunar orbit, sir,” Major General Panarin, one of Leonov’s staff officers, announced from his station. “Our tracking data shows this was a good burn.”

Leonov nodded impassively. “What is the status of our Black Wasp?”

Panarin checked his screen. “On station.” He looked back at his superior, obviously eager to proceed. “Your orders, sir?”

“Patience, Sergei,” Leonov said calmly. On his own monitor, he pulled up the latest live feed from their Kondor-L orbiting around the Lagrange point. Even from sixty thousand kilometers away, its radar and infrared sensors were powerful enough to pick out the American Topaz spy satellite as it swung above the moon at an altitude of one hundred kilometers. A digital readout at the top of his screen showed the time remaining before the enemy spacecraft crossed behind the moon. When it reached “0,” he nodded to Panarin. “Activate the Black Wasp.”

The younger officer’s fingers rattled across his keyboard. With a quick flourish, he entered the last command and looked up. “Our signal is on its way.”

Far out in space, hovering invisibly just a few meters from the American AEHF communications relay, the tiny Black Wasp hunter-killer satellite received Moscow’s encrypted command. Even traveling at the speed of light, the signal had taken one and a half seconds to reach its destination. It required considerably less time for the little spacecraft’s computer to carry out its orders.

Obeying the directives hardwired into it, the Black Wasp pulsed its ion thrusters for milliseconds — closing the gap with the American satellite. A wire-thin probe extending from its forward section brushed against AEHF-7’s box-shaped core, signaling contact between the two spacecraft.

Instantly, the shaped explosive charge that made up most of the Black Wasp’s mass detonated. A lance of molten metal tore into the American satellite with tremendous force. Knocked out of its stable orbit, the gutted communications relay spun off into space — trailed by a widening cloud of mangled antennas, bits of broken solar panels, and other pieces of debris.

From several thousand kilometers distance, Russia’s Kondor-L surveillance satellite witnessed the American spacecraft’s death and reported the news to Moscow. Leonov allowed himself only a moment’s satisfaction before opening a secure video link, this one to Korolev Base, on the far side of the moon.

Through a slight haze of electromagnetic interference, Colonel Kirill Lavrentyev’s face looked back at him. “Sir?”

“The Americans are deaf again, Colonel. We’ve destroyed their radio and data relay.” Leonov kept his tone level. “Accordingly, you are authorized to conduct immediate direct action against their Topaz radar reconnaissance satellite.” He tapped a key, opening a new window on his computer to check the necessary codes. “My authentication for this order is Omega Seven Nine.”

Two seconds later, he saw the cosmonaut colonel nod sharply and then look down at his own computer. “I confirm that authentication code,” Lavrentyev said. His chin lifted. “As directed, I must check this order with Colonel Tian.”

“Very well,” Leonov said calmly. “I will stand by.” The military agreement between Russia and China required approval from the highest levels of both governments before Korolev Base could undertake any offensive operations against the United States or its allies. Neither Moscow nor Beijing wanted to risk being dragged into a conflict not of their own choosing.

Lavrentyev came back on-screen. “Beijing has just transmitted the same action order,” he reported. Even across a communications gap of several hundred thousand kilometers, his sudden eagerness was obvious. Weeks of hard and dangerous work and months of elaborate planning were about to come to fruition.

“Then good hunting,” Leonov told him. “Hit that spy satellite on its first pass, Kirill. It’s vital that we deny the Americans any useful information for as long as possible. Is that clear?”