Tipping Point: The War With China - the First Salvo (Dan Lenson Novels) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mechanic Third Class Cobie Kasson.
    “You will hear the official citation which awarded the Navy Cross to Petty Officer Kasson read later in this ceremony. To put it in perspective, she and I—we—were deployed off the coast of Egypt to intercept a suspicious trawler. Unknown to anyone, its hull was packed with explosives. When it detonated close aboard, the shock wave ruptured essential propulsion and machinery, rendering us dead in the water and with rapid progressive flooding.
    “As part of the damage-control team, Petty Officer Kasson heroically fought to preserve ship and shipmates. Even after sustaining injuries, she continued to attempt to close the firemain suction valve, located under swiftly rising water. At last, she succeeded. At the cost of her own life. But she saved her shipmates. Greater love hath no man—and no woman—than she give up her life for her friends.
    “The ship Cobie and I had the honor to serve on lies across the Elizabeth River, only a few miles from where we sit today. It testifies that even in times we regarded as peace, others intended war. The attack on Horn, as well as those on the Marine barracks in Beirut and on USS Cole, marked the beginning of the Global War on Terror. USS Cobie Kasson will be part of that war and, in her thirty-year life span, many other actions and operations as well. The thousands of officers, men, and women who will serve aboard her in decades to come will continue the tradition of their namesake.
    “In the years I’ve served, the Navy has changed from a blue-water force, designed to prevail against the Soviet surface and undersea fleet, to a force designed to project power inland in support of national and international goals. It is evolving again now to protect us and our allies from ballistic missiles carrying weapons of mass destruction. USS Kasson will stand at the forefront of this new mission.
    “I want to say, finally, again, how honored I am to be here for this ceremony. I share the pride of the Kasson family. The officers and enlisted are fortunate to serve under such an experienced, highly trained commanding officer. I wish him and all the crew good luck and good sailing.”
    That was all; he’d run out of words. But still, they seemed inadequate. He looked across the sunlit, sparkling river, out over the still-expectant faces. Took a deep breath, and tried one last time.
    “A commissioning ceremony accepts a ship into the operating forces of the Navy. When we break the pennant, in a few moments, and the crew boards, she’ll ‘come alive’ as a United States ship. Joining a roster that stretches back to the earliest days of our independence, in a chain that will extend for centuries into the future.
    “Cobie Elizabeth Kasson is immortal now. She will always be a link in that chain as the ship bearing her name goes out into the seas of the world, to keep the peace and secure us against aggression.”
    When he looked down Cobie’s mother, in the front row, had her face buried in her handkerchief. But the daughter stared straight up at him, skepticism, remoteness, in her doubtful frown.
    *   *   *
    THEY were booked into the flag suite at the Navy Lodge on Hampton Boulevard that night. Dinner with the commissioning party, hosted by the Navy League, at the Abbey, downtown. He begged off early, making sure to shake hands and say good night to La Blanc. Their escort dropped them back at the Lodge. After which he and Blair argued again, this time over something so inconsequential—the way he’d parked the car, so a bush had snagged her dress and almost torn it, when she got out—that even he realized that wasn’t what they were really arguing about.
    He didn’t know how to respond. Was it the pressure of campaigning? His own recalcitrance and absence, like she said? In the room, he opened the little fridge, hoping for a Diet Coke, and found himself facing the ranked shining jewels of single servings. Whiskey. Brandy. Vodka. Shining like