Monroe Doctrine : Volume VII

Book 7: Monroe Doctrine

by James Rosone, Miranda Watson

Genres: Sea Adventures; Visionary & Metaphysical; War & Military; Military Thrillers; High-tech & Sci-fi Thrillers; Science Fiction; military; artificial intelligence; war; A I; war and military; Hi Tech Thrillers; Taiwan; NATO; Marines

Synopsis

The walls were closing in…

…time was running out.

The unthinkable had occurred.

As defeats mounted, desperation took hold. Project Terracotta was complete. Jade Dragon now had a body—and an army. All that stood between certain defeat and potential victory was a final decision: one that would alter the course of humanity.

Could the human mind outfox an AI?

Had Jade Dragon truly become unstoppable?

The battle for Taiwan hung on a razor’s edge. NATO scrambled to stop another Dunkirk in the south of the island while the Marines fought for every inch of ground in the north. Had the allies finally bitten off more than they could chew or were these the final death throes of the PLA Army?

A devil’s deal was revealed.

An alliance was destabilized.

The coalition must hold, no matter the costs. The fate of humanity depended on learning from the past, conquering the present, and ensuring the future. A war at all costs couldn’t mean the end of tomorrow. An alternative had to be found.

You’ll love the seventh book in this intense military technothriller series because science-fiction may become our reality.

Get it now.

Release date: May 27, 2023

Publisher: Front Line Publishing, Inc.

Print pages: 408

Sample

Chapter 1

Aussieland

 

August 2026

2nd Royal Australian Regiment

Jiaxian, Taiwan

 

Lieutenant Geoffrey Sawtell’s unit was exhausted. They were running on adrenaline and caffeine and not much else. Shortly after pushing inland flowing the landings, the 2 RAR had found themselves fighting through multiple enemy fallback positions as units from the PLA’s 3rd Light Combined Arms Brigade would put up stiff resistance for half a day to a day. Then they would fall back to the next defensive position and repeat the process. As Sawtell’s unit probed along the edges of the enemy position, they stumbled upon an unguarded farmer’s trail. After reconning the trail, they discovered it would lead them behind the enemy’s fortified position and allow them to roll up the entire PLA unit.

After a brief but violent battle, what was left of the enemy battalion retreated west along the Nanbu Cross-Island Highway, until they reached the Jiaxian Bridge that spanned the Qishan River. When Sawtell first saw the bridge and PLA vehicles racing across it, he wanted to give chase, to get his guys across the bridge and make sure it couldn’t be put out of action. However, when he briefed his plan, he was told to hang tight until Bravo Coy, 5 RAR was able to link up with his unit. It felt like an eternity waiting for the units M113 armored personnel carriers to catch up to them. When they arrived on the scene, Sawtell outlined his plan of attack and got the other commander to agree to support it.

Sawtell climbed into the back of his Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle and observed what was happening around them from the Wasp UAV they’d just launched to give them eyes over the bridge. Before his platoon, which was packed in the CRVs, would race down Wenhua Road towards the Jiaxian Bridge, they were to wait until B Coy was able to maneuver three of their M113A1 medium reconnaissance vehicles or MRVs into an overwatch position in a nearby park just south of the bridge. On the opposite side, another three MRVs would move into position, giving Sawtell six vehicles able to provide covering fire as his platoon advanced across the bridge to secure the other side.

We shouldn’t have stopped, Sawtell thought. If we had chased them across, then we wouldn’t have given the enemy time to set a trap as we cross the bridge.

It was moments like this that he wished he’d been able to join the military a few years earlier. He likely would have been a captain, or potentially even a major at this point instead of being a senior lieutenant. Some of the tactical decisions made by those a rank or two above him were baffling sometimes.

Holding the tablet tightly as he watched the UAV scan the buildings and vegetation opposite the river, Sawtell couldn’t help but wonder how many missile teams had been left behind by that motorized light infantry battalion as they passed through. He didn’t like to travel through choke points unless absolutely necessary. With no other bridges nearby to cross the Qishan River, however, he was stuck. This was the only way across, which meant the enemy knew that too.

“The overwatch is almost in position,” announced Sawtell’s drone operator as he continued to scan the opposite bank, looking for signs of trouble.

Sawtell sent a message to his vehicle commanders to stand by. Once the B Coy units radioed they were in position, then he’d order his CRVs to pull out of the parking lot they’d staged in and advance rapidly towards the bridge. Given the performance of his combat reconnaissance vehicles since coming ashore, Sawtell felt reasonably confident in saying if they ran into trouble along the way, then the vehicles’ 30 mm auto cannons would be more than a match for whatever the enemy might throw at them. The Boxer CRVs were a huge improvement over the MRVs B Coy was still currently using. The ammo used in the 30 mm autocannons packed a hell of a punch, intermixing air-bursting shells and armor piercing slugs. The double punch from explosive to armored slug had allowed them to break through more than a few enemy positions since coming ashore.

The radio crackled in Sawtell’s helmet, and the voice of Lieutenant MacLaurin announced, “Ringo One, Bara Two. We’re in position, no sight—"

As MacLaurin was in the process of finishing his sentence, Sawtell spotted a missile as it leapt into the air from across the river along the side of a building. The ATGM was airborne for the brief time it took to travel the short distance across the river before impacting against one of the MRVs. The sudden force of the shaped charge exploding into the vehicle compartment caused the turret to blow right off the vehicle and sent it cartwheeling through the sky. Moments later, the remaining ammo in the vehicle’s hull started to cook off, spewing flames into the air.

The two other vehicles next to MacLaurin’s burning wreck popped their defensive smoke canisters to rain down around them as the drivers reversed the APCs to find a new position that wasn’t compromised. The gunners aboard the other tracks returned fire, raking the tree lines with cannon and machinegun fire as they looked to suppress any further missile teams from nailing more of their trucks.

With a full-blown firefight underway and the enemy focusing their attention on the APCs, Sawtell figured it was now or never if they wanted to get across the bridge. He shouted to the vehicle commander, “Go, go, go! Get us across the river now!”

“Yes, sir,” came the quick reply as the vehicle lurched forward onto the road that would lead them to the bridge.

The CRV pulled out of the parking lot and took off down the road, picking up speed to run the gauntlet across the bridge. Sawtell hoped the enemy hadn’t been waiting to blow it up as they drove across. As they raced past the buildings, crossing the intersection and driving onto the bridge, the enemy shifted fire from the APCs to their direction.

Tink, tink, tink.

As they raced across the bridge, Sawtell felt his sphincter pucker as bullets hammered the vehicle relentlessly, pounding on the armored shell like a jackhammer. Then the vehicle gunner opened fire, spewing 30mm airburst rounds into the buildings and tree lines from which the machine gunners were firing.

“Missile five o’clock!” the gunner yelled, and the driver swerved to the right fractions of a second before it impacted where they’d just been.

BAM!

The shock wave from the near miss caused the vehicle to momentarily slide across the pavement until the tracks gained traction again and the vehicle continued to race forward.

The gunner continued to direct 30mm cannon fire into the nearby buildings and tree lines from which the missile crews and machine gunners were still firing. Once they were across the bridge, the attack stopped, and the remaining Chinese soldiers took off running, some fleeing further into the woods and others back into the residential areas near the main road.

Sawtell glanced down at the tablet, where the drone feed was still live. He smiled when he saw a column of M113s following them across the bridge. As much as he’d like his people to dismount and work on clearing this area out, his orders were to advance to the intersection of Highway 20, which led into the mountains until it crossed the island just north of Tainan City. Then, in the other direction, Highway 29 connected to the southern coast, where the First Marines Expeditionary Force was battling it out with elements of the PLA 74th Group Army. For now, clearing the town would have to fall on the shoulders of B Coy, 5 RAR.

“Lieutenant, it looks like we’re past whatever was back there,” said the vehicle commander. “The nav says we’re a couple of klicks out from Objective Troy. Once we reach the intersection, do you want to dismount your troops and set up a roadblock while we hold up for follow-on forces, or how would you like us to proceed?”

“Damn orders. We should be continuing until we hit resistance—not sitting on our duffs while we wait for the enemy to reorganize,” Sawtell cursed under his breath. At a volume that the others could hear, he replied, “Yeah, we’ll dismount once we get to the intersection. We’ll set up this roadblock and stand by until our orders change or the rest of the 5 RAR catches up to us.” Sawtell wasn’t thrilled with having to slow down their momentum. Then again, getting too far ahead of their forces would put them in a bad position should they run into an enemy force greater than what they could handle.

The Boxer CRV slowed down as they approached the intersection. Sawtell was looking at the UAV’s footage of the area when he spotted something moving around a few hundred meters to their front. He zoomed in on the image and his eyes widened as he saw a man lift an object to his shoulder. He warned the driver, who turned hard to the right just as the guy fired the missile.

They didn’t maneuver fast enough. The missile hit the front corner of the track, causing them to halt abruptly. The vehicle commander dropped the rear hatch, allowing them to bail out of the stricken vehicle.

Sawtell broke to the right with the others as they dove into the culvert next to the road. A string of machine-gun fire ripped through the air above them as rounds bounced harmlessly off the damaged vehicle they had just abandoned.

“Corporal Roderick, take your team and see if you can’t suppress those machine gunners!” ordered Sawtell. “And try to keep those missile teams off the vehicles.” Then he radioed to the ASLAV and M113 vehicle commanders to dismount their soldiers and be ready to support his troopers as they cleared the ambush.

*******

 

Corporal Jim Roderick heard the lieutenant’s orders, but his body wouldn’t obey. He couldn’t move. The bullets missed him, but his mind went numb—until Lance Corporal Butler shook him, shouting, “Roderick! The LT’s yelling for you!”

Snapping out of it, Roderick turned, yelling, “On me!”

He sprinted forward, his EF88 Austeyr blasting at the enemy as he ran. Chinese machine gunners and missile teams waited on a hilltop, ambushing the CRVs at the intersection. The CRVs fought back, shredding the hilltop with air-bursting rounds, catching several missile teams before they could fire.

“Lay into that tree cluster, four o’clock,” Roderick shouted to Butler. “They’re trying to get those Arrow-73s ready to fire. Missile team getting ready to fire!”

Butler carried out the orders, aiming with the squad’s MAG58, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets toward the enemy missile team before they could fire. As Butler rained hell on the missile team, Roderick ordered the rest of the squad forward. The enemy machine gunners on the hilltop had been taken off guard by the sudden attack and scrambled to return fire. Roderick and his men were closing in fast, taking advantage of the confusion.

Roderick and Butler reached the base of the hill, dodging enemy fire as they advanced up the slope. They split off from the rest of the squad, each taking a different flank while the rest of the team continued to lay down suppressive fire on the enemy, keeping the focused on them and not Roderick and Butler as they moved around the flanks of the enemy positions.

Roderick kept his head low, weaving through the trees as he made his way up the hill. He could hear Butler’s MAG58 pounding away on the other side.

As Roderick neared the top of the hill, he heard the sharp crack of an enemy rifle. He dropped to the ground, rolling behind a tree as a bullet whizzed overhead. He peered around the trunk, trying to locate the shooter. Suddenly, a figure appeared, darting between the trees. Roderick aimed and fired, killing the enemy soldier with a burst of automatic fire.

He continued up the hill, dodging enemy fire as he went. He caught glimpses of Butler doing the same on the other side. They were making good progress, but the enemy was putting up a fierce resistance. Roderick could see the machine gunners and missile teams ahead, huddled behind a rocky outcropping. They were heavily armed and dug in, determined to hold their ground.

Roderick reached a tree line at the top of the hill and took a knee, catching his breath. He could hear Butler’s MAG58 echoing through the trees, providing cover as the rest of the squad closed in using the distraction Roderick and Butler had caused. Roderick looked out at the enemy position, sizing up their defense. He could see that they had dug in deep, using the rocks and trees for cover. It would be a tough fight, but they had to take out those machine gunners and missile teams if they wanted to secure the intersection.

He looked back at the rest of his squad, who had reached the tree line and were waiting for his next move. Roderick nodded to them, holding a grenade in his hand, signaling them to grab one and get ready to throw them when he gave the signal. Then they’d charge on the enemy. He counted down with his fingers, then threw the grenade as close as possible to the enemy positions.

Bam, Bam, BAM!

Roderick sprang to his feet, leading the charge. He and the rest of the squad ran like hell, closing the distance on the enemy until they burst from the tree line, firing nearly on top of them. The enemy machine gunners and missile teams had been caught off guard, and for a moment, they had hesitated. But then they returned fire, raking their position with a barrage of automatic weapons fire.

Roderick and his men took cover behind trees and rocks—whatever they could find—exchanging fire with the enemy. Then one of his men screamed, going down on one knee and clutching his arm. Roderick started to move forward to help, but another soldier took the man’s place, taking up the fight.

Roderick continued forward, sprinting from one cover to the next. He could see Butler doing the same on the other side. They were closing in on the enemy position, with the rest of the squad right behind them. To win this fight, they had to take out those machine gunners and missile teams.

Finally, they reached the enemy position. The fight turned to hand-to-hand combat while enemy reinforcements rushed forward.

Roderick was in the thick of it, ducking and weaving as he fought his way through the enemy soldiers. He took out one enemy after another, his EF88 Austeyr blazing. Butler was right beside him, firing his MAG58 into a group of enemy soldiers trying to reinforce their comrades.

The enemy opposition was robust, but Roderick and his men were relentless. They fought their way through the enemy position, eliminating the machine gunners and missile teams overwatching the intersection. With the enemy position cleared, Roderick told his guys to collect the antitank missiles and place them in a pile. They’d drop a thermite grenade on them and destroy ’em so they couldn’t be used.

Standing next to the pile of unspent missiles, Roderick looked at his soldiers. “This was a tough skirmish. You fought well, and we overcame a superior force and defeated it. I’m proud of you guys and what we just accomplished. Now let’s get back to the LT and finish securing this intersection.”

As his squad began gathering their gear to leave, Roderick pulled the pin on the thermite grenade and tossed it on top of the pile of missiles. He walked away without looking back like an action hero and then followed his squad to the intersection.

*******

 

5th MarDiv

Shiding District, Northern Taiwan

 

Major General Bonwit frowned as he looked at the status report from the engineers. They still hadn’t gotten the Hsuehshan Tunnel connecting Toucheng Township along the Yilan Coast to his forward command post in Shiding District. There were two separate tunnels that Highway 5 traveled through. ROC and American Special Forces were supposed to have secured the tunnels during the opening hours of the invasion to keep the PLA from collapsing them at the start of the landing operations. They’d managed to secure the first section, the longest one that connected directly to Toucheng Township. But the tunnel entrance near Dingping Road, in section two of the district, had unfortunately been dropped before it was secured.

Engineers had been working to reopen the tunnel for over a week, with little luck in speeding up the process. For now, it meant taking the long route along Pingding Road, a two-lane county road, as opposed to the highway. Tracing his entire supply line through a patchwork of county roads and poorly maintained back roads over heavy mountainous terrain proved challenging. More than once, Bonwit had to hold his commanders back from advancing because of a lack of fuel and munitions to support another offensive push.

Colonel Kerns walked into the room that had become the division headquarters. “Who would have thought losing America and those two amphibious transport docks would have gummed up our logistics as bad as they have?” Kerns commented.

Still looking at the report, Bonwit nodded in agreement. “Yeah, they got us pretty good. Damn shame Sanchez and the others didn’t make it. I had hoped they might have been among the lucky ones to get off the ship before it blew, but…”

“That was a tough break, sir. Nothing any of us can do about that. But damn, why did they have to nail Green Bay?” Kerns vented. “Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to put half our trucks on three ships? Those transport vehicles should have been spread across the transport docks, not consolidated on a couple of them.”

Bonwit blew some air past his lips in frustration. “Well, when they give you lemons—”

“Yeah, I know. We make lemonade,” Kerns interrupted.

Bonwit laughed before countering, “Oh, my friend, I think we’re past lemonade. It’s time for limoncello.”

Kerns made a sour face at the mention of the lemon liqueur. “I’ll take a pass on that stuff. My wife swears by it. Made me try some on a vacation we took to Sorrento, Italy, a few years back. I drank it like I enjoyed it, but I’ll never willingly touch that stuff again.”

They laughed at his bravery for drinking that terrible concoction and telling his wife how great it was as he secretly wanted to spit it out. The humor broke the moment’s tension before they got down to business. Then Bonwit brought it back to the task at hand. “So, give me a no-BS assessment of the 26th. How are your guys doing?”

“They’ll be all right. Why? What’s going on?”

“There’s some talk about pulling us from the line. The 6th MarDiv finished coming ashore yesterday. General Gilbert wants them to pass our lines and pull us back to the coasts.”

Kerns looked frustrated by the news. “Why? We’re kicking ass right now. The only thing holding us back is fuel and ammo. If the 6th is fully ashore, they’ve got trucks. They could step in and keep us supplied so we can keep the pressure on. Maybe push the bastards off the island.”

“That’s what I brought up to General Gilbert this morning,” Bonwit said with a nod. “My sense is that he wants to pull us back to refit and rest. He mentioned something about the Navy having cleared the Straits. If I know him, he’s got something up his sleeve.”

“Huh, you think he might be crazy enough to have us load up in the ships again and swing around the island to drop us on the other side?” quizzed Kerns, a look of excitement in his eyes.

“I can’t say for sure, Kerns, but if I was a betting man, that’s what I’d wager.”

“Well, then, I suppose we should talk about how we’re extricating ourselves from the line and handing things off to the 6th before someone changes their mind. We wouldn’t want to share in the glory of doing another amphibious landing.”

They laughed, knowing the 6th MarDiv was the only division not to have participated in any of the landings of the war so far. It was a bit of a burn for the division commander and his Marines; it wasn’t very often that you got to invade an island. If Bonwit had a say in the matter, he’d make sure it was 5th Marines who got the next landing.

 

 

Chapter 2

Northern Anxiety

 

Forward Headquarters, III Corps

Dalian, Liaodong Peninsula

China

 

As General Bob Sink toured the hangar next to the flight line, staring at the latest batch of robotic combat vehicles, he had to marvel at how far the Army’s robotic combat vehicle program had come over the years. When his friend Kurt Stavridis had been placed in charge of the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command after receiving his second general’s star, Sink had feared his friend was being put out to pasture. Looking back on it, though, he realized now that if it hadn’t been for his friend’s force of will and ability to convince Congress to invest in the R&D necessary to create these robotic vehicles, they likely wouldn’t have them now, when they needed them most to defeat the hellish AI the Chinese had unleashed on the world.

“Yesterday, we got another shipment of the CTX recon variants,” Lieutenant General Roy Dowdy explained as they continued their tour. “That’s the one with those state-of-the-art ground radars and optical sensors that makes the gun on them so deadly. You can actually anchor the CTX along the perimeter, placing it in sentry mode, and it’ll engage anything that comes within its programmed fields of fire, or it can be operated by a soldier and they can control it directly. But these are going to be a game changer for us, Bob. We just don’t have the same numbers of soldiers the PLA can bring to bear. This thing, well, it evens the playing field.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. If I’m not mistaken, I Corps just integrated some of them with 2nd Infantry Division. I know General Brooks has been eager to start using them with some of his divisions. But I didn’t come here to talk about this. I came here because I need your opinion, Roy—and don’t hold back. This next phase of OP Middle Kingdom—what concerns do you have, and do you think this is going to work?”

He paused. “It’s just us, Roy,” Sink said, lowering his voice. “So be honest.”

They started walking again, passing the Rheinmetall RCVs and heading towards the larger, squattier-looking Textron Ripsaws neatly lined up along the right side of the hangar.

After a moment of silence, General Dowdy finally spoke. “I don’t know, Bob. There are a lot of variables and moving parts to this next part of the operation. We also need a lot of things to break our way for this to work. I mean, technically, the plan is brilliant. It’s an Inchon-style move—landing a ground force behind the front lines. It worked during the Korean War; theoretically, it should work here.”

“Should being the operative word,” General Sink emphasized, then pressed him further. “What’s your real concern, Roy? What am I not seeing here?”

General Dowdy sighed. “OK, let me put it this way. When you first took command of Eighth Army, you said the way we were going to defeat General Song’s immense army wasn’t by fighting it directly. It was by starving it of resources—fuel for his vehicles, munitions for his artillery, tanks, and infantry, and food to keep his soldiers fed. You said we’ll do this by destroying his ground lines of communications and the transportation nodes used to connect Liaoning Province to the rest of China. Cut off Liaoning, and we cut off the entirety of northern China and his entire army from the industrial base sustaining them. I believe you said if we do that, if we can remove his army from the chessboard, then it’ll just be a matter of time until our tanks roll down Tiananmen Square and we capture the Chinese government.

“General Baxter, on the other hand, proposed something different—Operation Middle Kingdom. He wants to go for the head of the snake and have my force, III Corps, and XVIII Airborne Corps land by sea and air to grab the Port of Tianjin. This will place our forces less than one hundred and fifty kilometers from Beijing. The plan calls for me to expand the perimeter within twenty-four hours so we can ensure we maintain control of the port to keep our supply line open. Then I’m supposed to press on to Beijing and attempt to sack the capital and nab the civilian and military leadership if possible. If not, then we’re supposed to destroy whatever military units we encounter in and around the capital. This whole plan, Bob, depends on the PLA collapsing and the government seeing reason and surrendering—”

“And you don’t think that’ll happen?” General Sink cut in.

“I think we’re fighting an AI, and that this AI does not think like the rest of us,” General Dowdy asserted. “It doesn’t seem to value the lives of the soldiers it directs, and it seems willing to sacrifice a great many lives to achieve little. I think we could find ourselves in a tough situation where we will be greatly outnumbered and very far behind enemy lines. Should anything happen to our ability to support that port and keep our two corps fed with bullets, water, and fuel…we could find ourselves in a Dunkirk situation instead of Inchon.”

“I brought up many of those problems you mentioned during the planning of phase three of this operation,” General Sink countered. “Baxter and the Pentagon planners swear they’ve gone over it all, and apparently, the SecDef and the President have bought off on their assessments and contingency plans.”

Sink paused. “I’d like to get your opinion about something else. When we kick off phase two of this operation and General Brooks and I Corps launch their offensive against the Dengta Line, then General Van Dorn and V Corps move against the Liaozhong District, threatening to sever the interchange connecting the G1 Beijing–Harbin Expressway and the G91 Liaozhong Ring Expressway, do you think it’ll be enough for General Song to pull elements of the 116th Mechanized Infantry Division away from Panshan County and maybe even Jinzhou and Linghai along the Daling River?”

General Dowdy stopped walking for a moment. “You want to know if it’s possible to sever the G1 Beijing–Harbin Expressway and cut General Song’s Northern Army off?” he asked.

“Let’s just say I’d like to propose a possible plan B—one that doesn’t interfere with phase three of Baxter’s plan but gives us a potential alternative to pursue should anything go sideways in the lead-up to initiating it,” said General Sink.

“I think if you want to bust out of the Panjin pocket and jump the Daling River and grab Jinzhou, then you’re going to need to make sure V Corps has a legitimate shot at breaking through those trench lines and grabbing the Liaozhong District,” Dowdy surmised. “If you can do that—then, yeah, I think you’ll convince that AI and General Song that you aim to cut off their supply lines and starve ’em out.

“But you’ll need them to pull 202nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade too. That may be a mech brigade, but it’s pretty tank-heavy. If Van Dorn is able to seize Liaozhong District, and XVIII Airborne is able to jump the river and snag Jinzhou, then that’d be a coup. A big win. But if you’re going to propose that, then I’d suggest figuring out how you plan on swapping out the 101st and 3rd ID pretty rapidly, so they’ll be available and ready for phase three. Hell, it may even be easier to just detach 3rd ID and swap ’em with another division from General Widmeyer’s command. It’s his corps that’s going to take the place of XVIII Airborne when phase three starts. But that’s just me spitballing.” Dowdy smirked.

Stopping in front of the M5 Textron Ripsaw vehicle, General Sink eyed the squat-looking unmanned ground autonomous vehicle and nodded slowly. “You know, Roy, staring at this…what do they even call this type of thing?”

“Ah, UGAV is what I’m told,” Dowdy responded. “This one’s fitted with a 30mm autocannon, able to switch between AP rounds and some sort of programmable smart munition—a cross between proximity-fuze ammo and exploding contact munitions.”

“Damn, Roy. This is the kind of crap that makes me glad I’m in the twilight of my career and not a grunt having to face off against this. Thanks for arranging this tour and giving us a chance to talk—away from prying ears and eyes. I need to head back to Camp Humphrey, but I’ll be in touch. Oh, one last thing, Roy—as our Marine brothers like to say, ‘Semper Gumby.’”

*******

 

Pentagon

Arlington, Virginia

 

When Blain Wilson and Vice President Mike Madden entered the room, it was clear they had walked into the middle of some sort of heated discussion. It seemed the VP had noticed too as he took a seat at the center of the table—he eyed everyone like a parent walking into the room as the kids were arguing, only to fall silent the moment they saw Dad. Blain was content to let it be and focus on the reason they were here. The VP seemed to think otherwise as he got the meeting underway.

“You know they say a marriage is in trouble when the couple stops arguing. You know why they say that?” the VP asked.

Blain had a thought on the matter, but he dared not stick his nose into whatever had been happening before they’d arrived.

When no one spoke up, the VP continued. “When a couple stops arguing altogether, it may indicate that they’ve stopped trying to resolve whatever issue it is they’re facing—or worse, have become emotionally disengaged from each other. On the other hand, if they’re arguing all the time, then their marriage may be troubled. Especially if the arguments are frequent and unproductive. So, I don’t know what’s going on between the heads of the different services or inside of your services, but I do know this—we have over two million Americans serving abroad in uniform, fighting against an army that’s being led and directed by an artificial intelligence that doesn’t see or value human life the way we do. Those men and women—they’re depending on us back here to hold it together and give them the tools necessary to defeat this enemy and protect their families back home,” the VP said sternly.

He then turned to the SecDef and Admiral Thiel. “Is there a problem I should be made aware of, Blain, or is this something that can be handled internally?” he asked pointedly.

Admiral Thiel looked like he was just about to speak when Defense Secretary Jack Kurtis chimed in. “We’re just discussing some unique challenges the Air Force has been encountering recently and a slight adjustment to phase two of OP Middle Kingdom before it kicks off.”

“It’s nothing we can’t handle ourselves,” Admiral Thiel quickly added.

Blain saw a look of concern from General Hamlin, the Air Force Chief of Staff, that gave him pause. Apparently, the VP caught it too. “Joe, you look a bit out of sorts. Is there anything going on with the Air Force that Blain and I need to know about before we get on with this meeting?”

When Blain saw Admiral Thiel give a slight shake of the head to Hamlin, he knew something was up. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs wanted to keep something hush-hush for the moment. Blain was about to ask him about it when the VP beat him to the punch.

“Admiral Thiel, tell me I didn’t just see you try to give a nonverbal directive to General Hamlin not to answer my question,” said VP Madden.

Admiral Thiel visibly squirmed in his chair, something Blain hadn’t seen him do since he’d been appointed Chairman.

Now I know something bad is happening, thought Blain.

“Sir, as I said earlier, this is something that we can handle internally—”

“I’m sure it is, Admiral,” interrupted the VP. “But now my interest is piqued. Indulge me.”

Blain noticed a subtle change in tone, a sharpness in the final words Mike said that caused a slight shiver to run down his spine. He hadn’t seen the VP lose his temper, but he’d come close a couple of times. He looked as if he might lose it here if the admiral didn’t quit dancing around whatever the problem was.

“Um, OK, sir. Why not? We’ve been discussing some dirty laundry between the services, and I think it’s something we can handle within. But since you’ve asked to be included, we’ll bring you up to speed. Then if you’re ready, we’ll continue on with the reason for your trip across the river,” the admiral replied, his tone conveying his annoyance.

Admiral Thiel looked over to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Nathan Hyman Graham III. “G3, go ahead and explain the problem—and, Joe, wait until he’s done and then say your piece. I’m not going to have the two of you shouting over each other with the VP and the NSA here to see it. Understood?”

Blain could tell it was a rhetorical question, but what he found more interesting was the interaction between the service chiefs. Normally flag officers at this level tended to be on cordial terms with each other, at least until the Army-Navy game in the fall.

“The problem, Mr. Vice President, is that recently, we’re starting to have some serious issues when it comes to maintaining control over the skies,” the CNO began to explain. “The problem was elevated to me two days ago. The task force commander for OP Argonaut, Vice Admiral Hyères, was returning from a consultation in Okinawa back to the Gerald Ford when his Greyhound was intercepted and shot down near Miyakojima—”

“OK, I get it, we lost a senior military commander. We lost a few during that turkey shoot a few weeks back when they hit us with Kamikazes,” interrupted the VP. “Why does this seem to have the Navy and Air Force at each other’s throats?”

“It’s different, sir, because the Greyhound had a pair of F-15 Super Eagles flying escort,” the CNO explained. “The Air Force also had a pair of F-35s operating in the vicinity, and we also maintain several E-3 Sentries among other surveillance aircraft. There’s nowhere a PLA fighter could have snuck up on us from without anyone seeing—”

“I’m just conveying what the pilots said of the incident. There isn’t any kind of conspiracy going on or people not doing their jobs,” General Hamlin interrupted in defense of his service and the pilots involved.

“All I know, Joe, is four of your pilots lost a plane carrying a damn good friend of mine and the task force commander for Argonaut,” countered the CNO hotly.

Huh, haven’t the PLA been working on some sort of new UCAV? Blain thought. He seemed to recall a report from the NSA’s AI, Cicada, about some kind of new unit being stood up recently. He went down a rabbit hole in his mind, trying to remember any further details.

“Blain, I asked you a question,” repeated the VP agitatedly. Blain felt embarrassed at having lost focus for a moment. “Have you heard about any sort of new aircraft or capability that might help explain what’s happening? Apparently, aside from the downing of this Greyhound, we had a commercial transporter, a FedEx Boeing 767, that was taken down yesterday just outside of Seoul, South Korea. Have any ideas?”

Everyone was staring at Blain. “Eh, before I try to answer that question, is anyone able to tell me what was on that FedEx transporter? Like was it carrying something special or unique in some way?”

The question seemed to catch them all off guard. After a pause, an Air Force colonel who’d been sitting in one of the chairs against the wall looked up from a notepad. “Yes, sir, it was carrying twenty Jackal XD500s, four hundred Phoenix Ghost units, and an assortment of 320 Hero-20, -30, and -70 loitering munitions. They were earmarked for Eighth Army,” the colonel explained.

“General Sink, were loitering munitions going to be used in phase two?” Blain asked as soon as the colonel was finished speaking.

The general had a perplexed look for a moment before his face brightened as if he had begun to connect the dots. “Yeah, they were. I issued an order to have them transferred to V Corps, to support their offensive and help thin out the enemy tanks and other armored vehicles.”

“What are you getting at, Blain?” the VP asked.

“Sorry about the twenty questions. I think I have an idea what might be happening,” Blain asserted.

“Well, do tell, Mr. Wilson. We’re all ears,” Admiral Graham intoned.

“Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I got a message from our team at the Bumblehive. It mentioned an intercept between the 9th Fighter Brigade stationed out of Wuhu Wanli Air Base—that’s an air base west of Shanghai and one that’s been associated with their UCAV program—and some other base referenced only as Area 43. The communiqué mentioned something called ‘Shadow Dragon’ and stated that it was operational. We don’t have a lot more to go on other than that, but the analysts at the Bumblehive believe it has something to do with those UCAVs that we first saw when they attacked TF Argonaut shortly after the Marines began landing in Yilan County. If this is in any way connected to those semiautonomous fighters—”

“You think Jade Dragon may have just unleashed a new fighter for us to deal with—is that it?” the Air Force Chief of Staff interrupted.

“I can’t say for certain, General, but it’s highly likely Jade Dragon would have had the PLA working on a purpose-built unmanned combat autonomous vehicle, or in this case, a fighter drone—something designed completely from the ground up to be a fighter drone and not a modified manned fighter that’s been turned into a drone,” Blain shared, unsure if they’d believe him.

“Great. One more ghost we have to deal with right now,” General Baxter said over the secured video teleconference.

“OK, OK, people,” the Vice President declared before continuing. “Look, this AI has been throwing one curveball after another at us this entire war. Until we defeat it, until we pull the plug on this machine or the Chinese surrender and pull it for us, we’re going to have to deal with more surprises along the way. If the Chinese have some sort of new fighter drone that might even be stealth, then we’ll deal with it. Let’s also keep in mind this AI doesn’t exactly have the industrial capability right now to produce any kinds of large quantities of whatever wonder weapon they may throw at us next.

“I may be a dinosaur, but that means I’m also old enough to have had a father who served during the Second World War. He shared a story with me about his time flying P-51 Mustangs in Europe toward the end. By the time he was old enough to serve and get in the cockpit of a plane, they had the D-Models that could fly escort for the bombers all the way to the target and back. Well, he told me about these German wonder weapons they had encountered toward the end, like jet fighters, and how the Nazis thought they would clear the skies of Allied bombers.

“One day—March 2, 1945, he said it was—he was escorting a bomber formation on their way to attack a synthetic oil refinery in Leipzig. He said that was the first time they had encountered a jet fighter, or at least it was the first time his outfit had. Those Messerschmitt Me 262s were fast as hell and had caught them completely by surprise the first time they ran into them. But you know what? They figured out that the best way to shoot ’em down was to follow them back to their airfield and take ’em out while they were landing or when they were on the ground. My point is, they figured out how to overcome something they thought was a game changer at the time, and it was—but they just couldn’t produce enough of them to make a difference.

“So, here’s what we’re going to do,” the Vice President said, leaning forward. “As we encounter something new along the way, like we did with those Kamikaze drones, we will figure out a way to deal with it. In the meantime, we are to press forward with our ongoing plans to defeat the PLA and bring about an end to this war. Now, Mr. Wilson and I came across the river to finalize the plans the President is going to sign off on. So how about we get to it and press on?”

“Hear, hear, Mr. Vice President. That’s exactly what we’ve been doing and what we will continue to do. Adapt and overcome,” General Baxter commented.

“Speaking of adapting to evolving situations,” said Secretary Kurtis, “General Baxter, unless you have some serious reservations about this amendment to phase two of OP Middle Kingdom that General Sink has proposed, I recommend we approve it and tell the VP and NSA Wilson about the change and the lanes that General Sink has agreed to stay within. Do you concur?” he asked.

Blain looked at Kurtis, then General Baxter. He wasn’t aware of any changes to the plan. Baxter, who was responding from Hawaii via SVTC, paused but then replied, “I wasn’t originally thrilled with the idea, but having thought about it further, it might actually draw forces further away from our primary objective. I think the risks are minimal, so yes, I agree. No objection from me.”

“OK, then. General Sink, your amendment to the plan is approved. Barring the VP or NSA Wilson having an objection, you can proceed with your preparations,” replied the Secretary of Defense with a smile. “But why don’t you go ahead and bring them up to speed on this idea you pitched about breaking out of the Panjin pocket and getting a division across the Daling River to nab the city of Jinzhou?”

“Excellent, thank you, General Baxter, Mr. Secretary. I’m confident this change to our orders will place us that much closer to victory. Mr. Vice President, Mr. Wilson, let me share this idea some of my Corps commanders and I came up with.”

 

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