tc.thebearandthedragon-第181部分

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effect　that　the　people　in　harm's　way　would　ignore　their　radios　or　just　turn　the　damned　things　off　until　they　had　something　to　say　themselves。
　Ryan　nodded。　He'd　been　a　second　lieutenant　of　Marines　once；　and　though　it　hadn't　been　for　long；　he　remembered　it　as　demanding　work　for　a　kid　just　out　of　college。
　〃Do　the　Chinese　know　we're　doing　this？〃
　〃Not　as　far　as　we　can　tell。　If　they　did；　they'd　sure　as　hell　try　to　take　the　Dark　Star　down；　and　we'd　notice　if　they　tried。　That's　not　easy；　though。　They're　damned　near　invisible　on　radar；　and　tough　to　spot　visually；　so　the　Air　Force　tells　me。〃
　〃Not　too　many　fighters　can　reach　sixty　thousand　feet；　much　less　cruise　up　there；〃　Robby　agreed。　〃It's　a　stretch　even　for　a　TOMCAT。〃　His　eyes；　too；　were　locked　on　the　screen。　No　officer　in　the　history　of　military　operations　had　ever　had　a　capability　akin　to　this；　not　even　two　percent　of　it；　Jackson　was　sure。　Most　of　war…fighting　involved　finding　the　enemy　so　that　you　knew　where　to　kill　him。　These　new　things　made　it　like　watching　a　Hollywood　movie…and　if　the　Chinese　knew　they　were　there；　they'd　freak。　Considerable　efforts　had　been　designed　into　Dark　Star　to　prevent　that　from　happening。　Their　transmitters　were　directional；　and　locked　onto　satellites；　instead　of　radiating　outward　in　the　manner　of　a　normal　radio。　So；　they　might　as　well　have　been　black　holes　up　there；　orbiting　twelve　miles　over　the　battlefield。
　〃What's　the　important　thing　here？〃　Jack　asked　General　Moore。
　〃Logistics；　sir；　always　logistics。　Told　you　this　morning；　sir；　they're　burning　up　a　lot　of　diesel　fuel；　and　replenishing　that　is　a　mother　of　a　task。　The　Russians　have　the　same　problem。　They're　trying　to　race　a　fresh　division　north　of　the　Chinese　spearhead；　to　made　a　stand　around　Aldan；　close　to　where　the　gold　strike　is。　It's　only　even　money　they　can　make　it；　even　over　roads　and　without　opposition。　They　have　to　move　a　lot　of　fuel；　too；　and　the　other　problem　for　them　is　that　it'll　wear　out　the　tracks　on　their　vehicles。　They　don't　have　lowboy　trailers　like　ours；　and　so　their　tanks　have　to　do　it　all　on　their　own。　Tanks　are　a　lot　more　delicate　to　operate　than　they　look。　Figure　they'll　lose　a　quarter　to　a　third　of　their　strength　just　from　the　approach　march。〃
　〃Can　they　fight？〃　Jackson　asked。
　〃They're　using　the　T…80U。　It　would　have　given　the　M60A3　a　good　fight；　but　no；　not　as　good　as　our　first…flight　Ml；　much　less　the　M1A2；　but　against　the　Chinese　M…90；　call　it　an　even　match；　qualitatively。　It's　just　that　the　Chinese　have　a　lot　more　of　them。　It　es　down　to　training。　The　Russian　divisions　that　they're　sending　into　the　fight　are　their　best…trained　and　…equipped。　Question　is；　are　they　good　enough？　We'll　just　have　to　see。〃
　〃And　our　guys？〃
　〃They　start　arriving　at　Chita　tomorrow　morning。　The　Russians　want　them　to　assemble　and　move　east…southeast。　The　operational　concept　is　for　them　to　stop　the　Chinese　cold；　and　then　we　chop　them　off　from　their　supplies　right　near　the　Amur　River。　It　makes　sense　theoretically；〃　Mickey　Moore　said　neutrally；　〃and　the　Russians　say　they　have　all　the　fuel　we'll　need　in　underground　bunkers　that　have　been　there　for　damned　near　fifty　years。　We'll　see。〃
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　55
　Looks　and　Hurts
　
　General　Peng　was　all　the　way　forward　now；　with　the　leading　elements　of　his　lead　armored　division；　the　302nd。　Things　were　going　well　for　him…sufficiently　well；　in　fact；　that　he　was　being　nervous　about　it。　No　opposition　at　all？　he　asked　himself。　Not　so　much　as　a　single　rifle　round；　much　less　a　barrage　of　artillery。　Were　the　Russians　totally　asleep；　totally　devoid　of　troops　in　this　sector？　They　had　a　full　army　group　mand　section　at　Chabarsovil；　manded　by　that　Bondarenko　fellow；　who　was　reported　to　be　a　petent；　even　a　courageous；　officer。　But　where　the　hell　were　his　troops？　Intelligence　said　that　a　plete　Russian　motor…rifle　division　was　here；　the　265th；　and　a　Russian　motor…rifle　division　was　a　superbly　designed　mechanized　formation；　with　enough　tanks　to　punch　a　hole　in　most　things；　and　manned　with　enough　infantry　to　hold　any　position　for　a　long　time。　Theoretically。　But　where　the　hell　was　it？　And　where　were　the　reinforcements　the　Russians　had　to　be　sending？　Peng　had　asked　for　information；　and　the　air　force　had　supposedly　sent　photo…reconnaissance　aircraft　to　look　for　his　enemies；　but　with　no　result。　He　had　expected　to　be　mainly　on　his　own　for　this　campaign；　but　not　entirely　on　his　own。　Fifty　kilometers　in　advance　of　the　302nd　Armored　was　a　reconnaissance　screen　that　had　reported　nothing　but　some　tracks　in　the　ground　that　might　or　might　not　have　been　fresh。　The　few　helicopter　flights　that　had　gone　out　had　reported　nothing。　They　should　have　spotted　something；　but　no；　only　some　civilians；　who　for　the　most　part　got　the　hell　out　of　the　way　and　stayed　there。
　Meanwhile；　his　troops　had　crewed　up　this　ancient　railroad　right…of…way；　but　it　wasn't　much　worse　than　traveling　along　a　wide　gravel　road。　His　only　potential　operational　concern　was　fuel；　but　two　hundred　10；000…liter　fuel　trucks　were　delivering　an　adequate　amount　from　the　pipeline　the　engineers　were　extending　at　a　rate　of　forty　kilometers　per　day　from　the　end　of　the　railhead　on　the　far　bank　of　the　Amur。　In　fact；　that　was　the　most　impressive　feat　of　the　war　so　far。　Well　behind　him；　engineer　regiments　were　laying　the　pipe；　then　covering　it　under　a　meter　of　earth　for　proper　concealment。　The　only　things　they　couldn't　conceal　were　the　pumping　stations；　but　they　had　the　spare　parts　to　build　plenty　more　should　they　be　destroyed。
　No；　Peng's　only　real　concern　was　the　location　of　the　Russian　Army。　The　dilemma　was　that　either　his　intelligence　was　faulty；　and　there　were　no　Russian　formations　in　his　area　of　interest；　or　it　was　accurate　and　the　Russians　were　just　running　away　and　denying　him　the　chance　to　engage　and　destroy　them。　But　since　when　did　Russians　not　fight　for　their　land？　Chinese　soldiers　surely　would。　And　it　just　didn't　fit　with　Bondarenko's　reputation。　None　of　this　situation　made　sense。　Peng　sighed。　But　battlefields　were　often　that　way；　he　told　himself。　For　the　moment；　he　was　on…　actually　slightly　ahead　of…schedule；　and　his　first　strategic　objective；　the　gold　mine；　was　three　days　away　from　his　leading　reconnaissance　element。　He'd　never　seen　a　gold　mine　before。
　
　I'll　be　damned！〃　Pavel　Petrovich　said。　〃This　is　my　land。　No　Chink's　going　to　chase　me　off　of　it！〃
　〃They　are　only　three　or　four　days　away；　Pasha。〃
　〃So？　I　have　lived　here　for　over　fifty　years。　I'm　not　going　to　leave　now。〃　The　old　man　was　well　to　the　left　of　defiant。　The　chief　of　the　mining　pany　had　e　personally　to　drive　him　out；　and　expected　him　to　e　willingly。　But　he'd　misread　the　old　man's　character。
　〃Pasha；　we　can't　leave　you　here　in　their　way。　This　is　their　objective；　the　thing　they　invaded　us　to　steal…〃
　〃Then　I　shall　fight　for　it！〃　he　retorted。　〃I　killed　Germans；　I've　killed　bears；　I've　killed　wolves。　Now；　I　will　kill　Chinese。　I'm　an　old　man；　not　an　old　woman；　rade！〃
　〃Will　you　fight　against　enemy　soldiers？〃
　〃And　why　not？〃　Gogol　asked。　〃This　is　my　land。　I　know　all　its　places。
　I　know　where　to　hide；　and　I　know　how　to　shoot。　I've　killed　soldiers　before。〃　He　pointed　to　his　wall。　The　old　service　rifle　was　there；　and　the　mining　chief　could　easily　see　the　notches　he'd　cut　on　the　stock　with　a　knife；　one　for　every　German。　〃I　can　hunt　wolves　and　bear。　I　can　hunt　men；　too。〃
　〃You're　too　old　to　be　a　soldier。　That's　a　young　man's　job。〃　〃I　need　not　be　an　athlete　to　squeeze　a　trigger；　rade；　and　I　know　these　woods。〃　To　emphasize　his　words；　Gogol　stood　and　took　down　his　old　sniper　rifle　from　the　Great　Patriotic　War；　leaving　the　new　Austrian　rifle。　The　meaning　was　clear。　He'd　fought　with　this　arm　before；　and　he　was　quite　willing　to　do　so　again。　Hanging　on　his　wall　still　were　a　number　of　the　gilded　wolf　skins；　most　of　which　had　single　holes　in　the　head。　He　touched　one；　then　looked　back　at　his　visitors。　〃I　am　a　Russian。　I　will　fight　for　my　land。〃
　The　mining　chief　figured　he'd　buck　this　information　up　to　the　military。　Maybe　they　could　take　him　out。　For　himself；　he　had　no　particular　desire　to　entertain　the　Chinese　army；　and　so　he　took　his　leave。　Behind　him；　Pavel　Petrovich　Gogol　opened　a　bottle　of　vodka　and　enjoyed　a　snort。　Then　he　cleaned　his　rifle　and　thought　of　old　times。
　
　The　train　terminal　was　well…designed　for　their　purposes；　Colonel　Welch　thought。　Russian　engineers　might　have　designed　things　clunky；　but　they'd　also　designed　them　to　work；　and　the　layout　here　was　a　lot　more　efficient　than　it　looked　on　first　inspection。　The　trains　reversed　direction　on　what　American　railroaders　called　a　wye…Europeans　called　it　a　turning　triangle…which　allowed　trains　to　back　up　to　any　one　of　ten　offloading　ramps；　and　the　Russians　were　doing　it　with　skill　and　aplomb。　The　big　VL80T　electric　lootive　eased　backwards；　with　the　conductors　on　the　last　car　holding　the　air…release　valve　to　activate　the　brakes　when　they　reached　the　ramp。　When　the　trains　stopped；　the　soldiers　jumped　from　their　passenger　coaches　and　ran　back　to　their　individual　vehicles　to　start　them　up　and　drive　them　off。　It　didn't　take　longer　than　thirty　minutes　to　empty　a　train。　That　impressed　Colonel　Welch；　who'd　used　the　Auto　Train　to　take　his　family　to　Disney　World；　and　the　offloading　procedure　in　Sanford；　Florida；　usually　took　an　hour　and　a　half　or　so。　Then　there　was　no　further　waiting。　The　big　VL　（Vladimir　Lenin）　engines　immediately　moved　out　for　the　return　trip　west　to　load　up　another　ten　thousand　tons　of　train　cars　and　cargo。　It　certainly　appeared　as　though　the　Russians　could　make　things　happen　when　they　had　to。
　〃Colonel？〃　Welch　turned　to　see　a　Russian　major；　who　saluted　crisply。
　〃Yes？〃
　〃The　first　train　with　your　personnel　is　due　in　four　hours　twenty　minutes。　We'll　take　them　to　the　southern　assembly　area。　There　is　fuel　there　if　they　need　it；　and　then　we　have　guides　to　direct　them　east。〃
　〃Very　good。〃
　〃Until　then；　if　you　wish　to　eat；　there　is　a　canteen　inside　the　station　building。〃
　〃Thank　you。　We're　okay　at　the　moment。〃　Welch　walked　over　to　where　his　satellite　radio　was　set　up；　to　get　that　information　to　General　Diggs。
　
　Colonel　Bronco　Winters　now　had　seven　red　stars　painted　on　the　side　panel　of　his　F…15C；　plus　four　of　the　now…defunct　UIR　flags。　He　could　have　painted　o