The Faithful, North African and Middle Eastern Islamic nations, are plotting to seize the oil resources of the Middle East. By controlling the earth's oil and its major trade routes, they plan to bring the world to its knees. Then, when the entire world is kneeling, the Faithful of Allah will read to them from the Koran, preaching the message of Islam, the True Faith. The Faithful will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. But how far will they go? And how many lives will it cost?

5. Straits of Sicily

5.2 Tunisia

5.2.1 Gambit

Ahab Dingjatha stared hungrily at the large situation display that covered the entire wall of General Yusuf Kamsanni's headquarters. His plan was working!

He'd spent countless hours talking with his peers in Algeria and Libya hashing out the details. He'd spent more hours cajoling the military into adopting a plan proposed by a civilian. Then he'd fought every ship's captain along a thousand kilometers of coastline to embark. A few had refused. They had been shot, and his own officers of the Interior Department had taken control of their ships. Every ship that sailed was under the control of officers he could trust to carry the ploy to its maximum extents. Nothing could interfere with his plan. Nothing!

Then, the exclusion zone was announced. It almost wrecked his plan entirely. If the Yankees could see all the way into every port then he’d have no chance to surprise them.

His diplomatic protest in the UN had given him back his opportunity by acknowledging the territorial waters of the North African states. That gave him twelve miles to work with, plus every meter his fleets could push further into the sea.

His officers had performed brilliantly. For almost a day, they had sailed ships both large and small into the Straits only to be chased back into territorial waters. The three navies had also performed well. Unlike the civilians, they only had to receive and obey their orders. They did not have to understand why they were doing it, so long as it was done. At the same time, the Interior Department's officers had gone to great lengths to create a truly chaotic situation, misinterpret orders from the patrolling vessels, while mixing and mingling to confuse any watcher. As the situation grew worse, more warships were called into service.

Then, the second stage of his deceit began to unfold. His agents on the rust-bucket, Ar-Cabril, sailed into the exclusion zone northeast of Pantelleria Island. After two hours of fighting the balky engine, they opened the five fifty-five gallon drums of oil and set them afire. The smoke and heat on that small a ship made it appear that it was engulfed in flames. Their emergency calls came in loud and clear.

Dingjatha began to admire the skillful officer who managed to not only sound as though he were panicking, but also overcame years of training in radio techniques. It was a wonderful performance. After a while, Dingjatha wondered if the officer had overplayed his hand. Yet, as though on queue, the radio ceased transmitting and the response to the mayday was heard. It would work!

General Kamsanni, who had been sitting phlegmatically at Dingjatha's side, suddenly sprang into action. The Americans had passed Cape Bon, and they were in the jaws of his trap. Kamsanni's VisiPhones blinked with changing images as faces appeared. His orders were given and acknowledged, and then new faces appeared.

Dots representing aircraft popped onto the screens, moving very rapidly. Then, the warships began their sprint into the Straits, and the overtaking aircraft zoomed past them towards the American fleet.

Now it was Ahab Dingjatha's turn to sit back. The ancient Ar-Cabril was maintaining a steady stream of nonsense, while the Gulf of Hammamet sailed across the American's bow forcing them northward into the waiting grasp of the Libyan subs. His fleets were in position and sailing to the attack, while two hundred planes from three Islamic countries bore down on the small carrier battle fleet. He had done all he could. The battle was in Allah's hands!