"Let 'em come," Linebacker 4 replied.  "Any of those bastards closes me and my thirty, it'll be the last mistake he ever makes!"  Four was a little too aggressive for Richardson's liking, but the man did know how to drive his Hog.

"Linebacker flight, this is Sentry-Delta.  The Forgers have turned back.  You're in the clear.  Out."

"Roger that, out.  Okay, flight, let's settle down and head home.  I guess we've earned our pay for the month."  Richardson looked to make sure he was on an open frequency.  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Barry Friendly," he said, using the in-house U.S. Air public relations joke that had become a tradition in the 175th.  "I hope you have enjoyed your flight, and thank you for flying Warthog Air."

The Kirov

On the Kirov, Admiral Stralbo raced from the combat information center to the flag bridge, too late.  They had acquired the low-level raiders only a minute from the outer screen.  The box of flares was already behind the battle cruiser, several still burning in the water.  The bridge crew, he saw, was rattled.

"Sixty to seventy seconds, before they were on us, Comrade Admiral," the flag captain reported, "we were tracking the otbiting attack force and these four—we think, four—racing in under our radar coverage.  We had missile lock on two of them despite their jamming."

Stralbo frowned.  That performance was not nearly good enough.  If the strike had been real, the Kirov would have been badly damaged at least.  The Americans would gladly trade a pair of fighters for a nuclear powered cruiser.  If all American aircraft attacked like this . . .

"The arrogance of the Americans is fantastic!"  The fleet zampolit swore.

"It was foolish to provoke them," Stralbo observed sourly.  "I knew that something like that would happen, but I expected it from Kennedy."

"That was a mistake, a pilot error," the political officer replied.

"Indeed, Vasily.  And this was no mistake!  They just sent us a message, telling us that we are fifteen hundred kilometers from their shore without useful air cover, and that they have over five hundred fighters waiting to pounce on us from the west.  In the meantime Kennedy is stalking us to the east like a rabid wolf.  We are not in an attractive position."

"The Americans would not be so brash."

"Are you sure of that, Comrade Political Officer?  Sure?  What if one of their aircraft commits a 'pilot error'?  And sinks one of our destroyers?  And what if the American president gets a direct link to Moscow to apologize before we can ever report it?  They swear it was an accident and promise to punish the stupid pilot—then what?  You think the imperialists are so predictable this close to their own coastline?  I do not.  I think they are praying for the smallest excuse to pounce on us.  Come to my cabin.  We must consider this."