The Oracle Code

32



Donetsk City Municipality

Donetsk Province

Ukraine

February 16, 2013

Freshly shaven and dressed in a clean uniform, General Anton Cherkshan sat in the command chair of the fighting compartment in the T-90 Main Battle Tank as it roared down the highway to the Donetsk city limits. He watched the display screens and focused on the street.

The Donetsk police and militia had set up a roadblock across the city, but it would do no good. The T-90 weighed almost forty-seven tons, could accelerate to sixty miles per hour, and stood two point twenty-two meters tall. It had been built to go through anything, and whatever it couldn’t go through, the 125mm smoothbore gun would blow holes in.

Civilian vehicles weren’t even going to slow the tank down.

The chatter from the other tank commanders echoed in Cherkshan’s earphones. He didn’t speak, and he didn’t tell them to be quiet. All of them were professional soldiers, and most of them were men he’d served with in Chechnya. They knew what they were doing, and the rules of engagement had already been defined.

The comm crackled in Cherkshan’s ear. “General, a government representative is demanding to speak to whomever is in charge. Her name is Olga Yanukovych. She is governor of the oblast.”

The Ukraine was divided up into twenty-four oblasts, regions, and that was just one of the weaknesses of the political arena the country faced. It took too long to make a decision—even one to defend the country.

“Put her through.”

“It’s done, sir.”

Cherkshan cleared his throat. “Governor Yanukovych.”

“Who is this?”

“My name is General Anton Cherkshan, and I am with the Russian Federation Military. It is my duty to inform you that as of this moment, Russia is annexing you back into the Russian state.”

“You cannot do that!” The woman sounded imperious and incredulous at the same time.

“Governor, I believe that ship has already sailed. We did not come here just to turn around. I have my orders.”

“We are going to stop you.”

“If you try, you will get hurt. As governor of this place, the best thing you can do is talk to your people and have them stand aside so we can do the job we have been assigned to do.”

The woman’s voice became more shrill. “I’m afraid that is not possible. We are not here to back down before the iron boot of a communist regime. We will stand against you. We will seek assistance from nations that harbor goodwill toward us.”

“That will be a waste of time and a waste of lives. Your country is in disarray. Your politicians steal your people blind. And still, you manage to squander or give away natural resources that can be used for the good of us all.”

“Your good, you mean.”

“You have politicians who feather their nests with what they have robbed from their own constituency.” Cherkshan covered the microphone with a hand. “Lieutenant, are you there?”

Emil Basayev answered immediately. “I am here, General.”

“You are tapped into this conversation, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Give me something on this woman that I can use.”

“She has a Swiss banking account that she has been putting money into since she’s been in office. We have tracked this money back to shell companies within the Ukraine that she is part of.”

The intelligence division had been doing research on the political figures in the Ukraine for months. Many of those people had files already open on them. One of the most publicized political cases involved Yulia Tymoshenko, who had twice served as Prime Minister of Ukraine, and who was later charged with criminal abuse of power regarding natural gas contracts that favored Russia.

Cherkshan didn’t know if those charges were valid, but he knew that Russia worked on several levels to keep the satellites as a buffer between itself and the West. The Ukraine hadn’t been able to shift over to nuclear energy as well or as quickly as they’d needed to and remained dependent on oil and gas.

“Governor Yanukovych, I have access to a certain Swiss bank account.” Cherkshan read the number he had written down on his kneeboard after Emil had given it to him. “Do you recognize that number, Madame Governor?”

The woman was quiet for a moment, then drew in a breath. “Yes.”

“Then I suggest we come to an accord in this matter. I am trying to save lives here. We are going to come through your city whether you like it or not, and you will not stand in our way. In that regard, people will later remember that you acted to save lives as well.”

“I am but one voice in this matter.”

“Then I suggest you use it. Quickly.”

“I will get back to you.”

Tense, Cherkshan leaned forward in the seat and watched the screens. In addition to the view ahead, he was also receiving satellite images of the area as well as video feed from the Su-25 Frogfoot close air support combat jets and Kamov Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters.

Faced with all the military might of the Russian army, Cherkshan didn’t see any way the soldiers and policemen in Donetsk would choose to fight. The city would be merely a speed bump in the road on the way to Kiev.

But overconfidence could get a man killed. Cherkshan had seen many good soldiers die from simple mistakes.

Without warning, a missile fired from what appeared to be a shoulder-mounted launcher streaked across two hundred meters to smash against the turret of the lead tank. The explosion only ripped through the first tier of its three protective armor layers.

However, the attack was enough to trigger an immediate response from two of the tanks. The main guns belched smoke and delivered deadly payloads to the line of cars, sanitation vehicles, and trucks blocking the highway.

The shells ripped through the line of vehicles, sending the two that had taken direct hits spinning across the road back into the city like a child’s toys.

“Cease fire!” Cherkshan wanted to stop the chain reaction before the situation became a bloodbath.

On the screen, the citizens manning the blockade hurried back to help the wounded. Cherkshan feared several of those men would now be dead, and it bothered him because that did not have to be so.

Almost immediately, more violence broke loose inside the blockade line. Some of the citizens attacked other citizens, and everything became a jumbled mess on the street. Flames wrapped the destroyed vehicles, and black smoke drifted over the air.

“Halt the tanks.” Cherkshan knew that if the assault force kept rolling forward, they would only add to the confusion.

President Nevsky had believed that the Russian invasion would trigger such a reaction among the rebels and people who wanted to return to the Russian Federation. The Ukraine’s economy was in freefall, and there was no firm hand on the rudder. The people were scared, and they wanted someone to take care of them.

This was the new freedom of the capitalist way. No longer did Russians know how to take care of themselves.

Cherkshan hardened his heart as he watched the violence. Soon, one side or the other would be victorious. Then the armor’s approach would begin again.

Everything was going according to plan.