The Eden Prophecy

CHAPTER 53

A board the USS Shiloh, Captain Petrie watched as his men ran through the prelaunch sequence for the Tomahawk missiles and reported back in. Guidance was confirmed, warheads were armed, safeties removed.

“Preparation sequence complete,” an officer at the tactical station said. “Vertical launch system ready. TLAM four, seven, eight, and eleven ready to fire. TLAM units twelve, fourteen, fifteen, and nineteen on standby.”

Captain Petrie looked at the ship’s clock, watching as the second hand swung across the bottom of the hour and up the side. The ship was prepared, the board was green.

“Safeties off,” Petrie ordered.

The fire control officer flipped up the plastic guard on the launch trigger, uncovering the Fire switch. The second hand continued to sweep higher, passing the 11 and closing quickly on the vertical position. Precisely as it hit 12, Petrie gave the order.

“Commence firing.”

The weapons officer pressed the switch. A flaring sound was heard and the black night was lit up by blazing white flame as the first Tomahawk launched from its tube and lit its booster.

The missile fired off the ship at an angle, leaving a trail of smoke that the next missile blasted through only seconds later.

Somewhere in the Persian Gulf, two other cruisers were doing the same thing. And sixty miles north of the Shiloh’s position, whatever existed on the small rocky island had approximately four minutes to live.