The Dead and the Dying...

[cbraund]

Sorry civman(I think it was you who didn't like US stories) and others, I'm returning to America!

Also, for the big military operations, maps will be included, not like my old ones, or the new NES world maps, but just region specific details of how a war is going etc.

Oh, and let me say that this President is in no way related to Justin Daniels in the DG trilogy, just I couldn't think of a name!

************************************************

President Joshua Daniels, or Josh as he was usually called, of the United States of America saluted the Marine as he stepped from the Black Hawk helicopter onto the roof of Beijing's Forbidden Palace, the meeting place of the Politburo which ran the country.

He had a difficult meeting ahead. Taiwan had declared its independence from the People's Republic of China, confusingly calling itself the Republic of China. It had been just after the Chinese civil war that installed the Communist regime, and the PRC didn't have the strength to invade Taiwan.

Now the two sides had built up their forces, the PRC stood ready to easily invade Taiwan. But America bought most of the computer hardware that was used in offices and military installations up and down the US from there, and so didn't want the Chinese holding it.

Josh was here to tell the Chinese Premier that America would recognise Taiwan as the second China if the PRC invaded it, finally giving it the official status it needed to enter the UN and other important alliances and trade organisations. That also meant it would be able to request American help, and Josh had to hint that America would support Taiwan.

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to rid them of the weight he felt on them. But the weight didn't lift. It was one part of being POTUS(President Of The United States).

************************************************

"You cannot be serious!" Chairman Mao cried.

"I am deadly serious, Premier. If you invade Taiwan, America will recognise them as an independent nation and offer them aid."

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to agree that China will not invade Taiwan. But in return, I want America to buy more Chinese products to increase our trade, and the money that we have available."

"I will do no such thing. I was coming as well to ask about China actually buying more of America's products, actually. We buy many things from you and give you money to help your economy. Yet you buy little from us." Josh sat back in his seat, determined to look calm. But he knew inside that this action alone could drive China to war.

"We buy many things from you! Just last month Chinese Airways ordered 5 of your Boeing 747 jet aircraft!"

"Yes, but not the amount that we spend on your products, which are to be frank are useless to us, cheap little stuffed toys are not something which America needs an outside supply of. And you spend most of the money we give you on military hardware, we know for a fact. For example, you bought 100 new fighters from the French two months ago."

"What are you trying to say?" Mao looked mad, and spoke angrily.
His hopes of getting most preferred nation status and increased trade from America were now looking increasingly doubtful.

"That America will from now on implement the same trade rules on other nations as they implement on her. So now you will no longer receive the economy payout we usually give you, and we will only buy from you the amount you buy from us. I think that is fair." Josh knew this would make Mao angry. But he also knew that Mao would try to bargan, and eventually Josh would concede a bit, leaving China still with the advantage in trade, but by a diminished amount, the goal he had set himself.

"That is not fair!"

"We should talk more tomorrow after we have both rested." POTUS checked his watch.

"Agreed." a bewildered Mao rose from his chair.

**************************************************

Mao and Daniels emerged on the steps of the Palace. Josh was to stay at the American Embassy while he was in China, and he was going to take a limo this first night so that he could see Beijing. After that, it would be the Black Hawk as usual.

Josh noticed a crowd of students waiting for him, along with the normal crowd which Mao had obviously had chosen for loyalty to the state.

The students were waving banners about human rights and daubed with anti-Communist slogans. Police were restraining them.

"Must have realised that they could protest without getting beat up and arrested infront of you." Agent Black, the Director of POTUS's Detail whispered in Josh's ear.

"Damned Capitalists." Josh heard Mao mutter about the students.

"As you can see, we have a bit of crowd trouble, but less that you usually do in America." Mao spoke to the President.

"Of course." Josh smiled falsely. He couldn't let his host know his true feelings about Mao and the PRC.

***********************************************

Xu Shang hated his job. He was a police officer, charged with holding back the students alongside the rest of the police force.

He was fearful of the students, knowing that often these demonstrations turned violent, and sometimes a policemen ended up dead, although usually more students.

But he didn't want to die. His wife was pregnant with their first baby, and it was going to be a son. He was so proud, and knew he couldn't leave his wife alone to bring up his child.

He gripped the machine gun tighter, determined not to show any weakness to the students that they may exploit. They were portrayed as harmless souls by Western press, but he knew how dangerous they could be.

Then he saw the flash of a knife.

In an instant he fired, killing the male student and injuring many other teenagers with his wild shots.

All the students began to fight, run or sob. The police began to open fire, or some wiser ones just beat the students. They were now back into their usual routine.

Xu glanced down at the man who had started it all, and realised he didn't hold a knife. It was just the glint from his watch which had spooked the policeman.

Oh no, Xu thought. What have I done?

************************************************

Josh looked on in horror as the police began to massacre the students.

"Stop them!" he roared at Mao.

"The students started it. They must be taught a lesson." he growled, determined not to show any weakness to the capitalist scum.

"Then I will stop it!" Josh shouted. His Detail was ten strong in number, and twenty five Marines were inside Humvees that were to escort the limo. "Marines!" he ordered. "Arrest those police officers now on human rights charges!"

The Marines charged forward. Some of the policemen tried to fire upon them, and they were shot dead. The others surrendered, knowing they were no match for the elite Marines.

Mao looked stunned. He couldn't stomach such an affront to his government!

But he played along for now. "You may keep them at the American Embassy with you for now."

Josh nodded, and the Marines led the policemen to their Hummers.

Mao just glared at the back of POTUS. He knew the day had come to act.

**************************************************

Comments appreciated! This is the first bit to my new story, which I hope can be finished in time for story contest 7!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[civman2000]

When did I say that? This is great, incredible, wonderful, and I'm running out of adjectives! You've got my vote in the contest!!

[ChaotikVisions]

Looking great so far, can't wait to hear more of it.

[Jaguar]

We seem to be running parallel stories.

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=51303

[cbraund]

Don't worry lol, this one will be quite different. If it begins to become too similar(I'm reading yours, btw I like it!) then I will change the plot to this one. But the way I have it planned out, they should be nothing like each other.

Nemesis

[cbraund]

"What do we hope to achieve by war with America, Comrade Chairman?" the Foreign Minister said quietly.

"We will get better trade relations, most favoured nation status, and they will ignore our invasion of Taiwan." Mao spoke with confidence.

"But Comrade, what's to stop them breaking the agreement after the President is handed back?"

"The threat of a nuclear war. We don't place such a high value on life as they do, so ICBMs hitting our cities wouldn't worry us as much as an ICBM hitting New York would them. They're a lot more afraid of a nuclear war than we are, and should they break the agreement, that's what would happen."

"Won't they just think it's hostage taking?" the Defence Minister asked, not really caring either way.

"Probably, but their President decided to take innocent Chinese people hostage first. He has broken Chinese law. Therefore he will be placed under arrest." Premier Mao finally sat down after pacing around the room in excitement.

"Comrade, isn't going to war with America awaking a sleeping bear?! Remember what happened to Japan!" the Foreign Minister decided he was against this idea. He was a diplomat after all.

So the man did have some spine, Mao thought. Not enough that he would stand up firm against Mao, but that he would protest. But it wouldn't last long.

"America's army is smaller than ours, and only slightly more advanced. But more importantly, their air force can't reach out this far. And without a Pacific Fleet, the Americans will no longer be able to hit us at home." Mao finally spoke.

"How would we rid ourselves of their Pacific Fleet?" the Transport Minister asked.

"Never you mind, Comrade."

**************************************************

Gillian Fox, CNN reporter, glanced at her notes for the bulletin once more. How could this be happening?!

Then the ON AIR sign lit up, and she nodded at the camera, knowing it would be wrong to smile on such an occasion.

"Good morning America. The time is 11am, and this is Gillian Fox, bringing you a special news bulletin." she calmed down now she was on air.

"An hour ago, the 1st Chinese Shock Army stormed the American Embassy in Beijing, midnight local time. It appears that the President himself, who of course is an ex-Marine, led the defence, but was forced to surrender when his wife was captured, and he was threatened with her being shot. Both he and the First Lady are safe, but he is under arrest by the Chinese. The First Lady as we understand it has been taken to the Forbidden Palace where she is under guard but allowed freedom. The President's location is unknown. The Vice President is due to make a speech shortly."

She paused, knowing that news would shock the nation. During the pause, a note was slipped to her.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "According to military sources, Pearl Harbour has just been attacked by Chinese aircraft in a chilling echo of December 7th 1941!"

She saw CNN's military advisors horrified look, and knew that meant that it was going to be a big blow to America.

"Paul, what forces does America have in the Pacific? How bad could the damage be?"

"Well, as I'm sure you know Gillian, the entire American Pacific Fleet is based in Pearl Harbour. America has seven aircraft carriers at the moment, five nuclear and two conventional ones. Four are based in the Pacific, three in the Atlantic. They hit us at the worst time, the Pacific carriers were switching places with each other so their crews could have leave. What I'm trying to say is all of the Pacific carriers will have been in Pearl Harbour, along with most of the fleet itself."

Every American knew the names of the carriers off by heart, so deeply set into US pride were they. Enterprise, the Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nimitz, the Abraham Lincoln, the Theodore Roosevelt and the conventionally powered Kitty Hawk and the John F. Kennedy. The Abe as it was known, the Eisenhower, the Kennedy, and the Roosevelt were all in the Pacific Fleet.

God help those aboard, Gillian thought.

"And how could they have struck like this?" Gillian asked, realising that her pause had been too long while she thought.

"I'd say a huge air armada of fighters, bombers, fighter-bombers and refueling aircraft to give them that kind of range, as the Chinese don't have any aircraft carriers." Paul answered, the news still not really having sunk in.

"So what would you say the likely damage is?"

"Well let's just say I don't think America's going to have much of a Pacific Fleet anymore."

**************************************************

Vice President Angela Smith buried her head in her hands, unable to comprehend all of this news.

"Mao on videolink." an aide said.

"Put him on wall screen." she ordered. The Situation Room's main screenm which took up all of the far wall, changed from a map of the Pacific to Mao's sneering face.

Due to a camera mounted in the long table, he could see her too. She tried not to look tired or overwhelmed.

"Good morning, Vice President."

"Good morning, Mao." she decided to play along for now, not wanting to risk the President's life.

"I am sure you have heard the news."

"Yes. And I am not sure what the President being arrested has to do with the bombing of our Pacific Fleet!"

"Well, we knew you would send in your mighty air force to rescue your President, and I am afraid I couldn't take the risk." Mao smiled wolfishly.

"The UN and NATO will back us! You will face the full might of America and her allies!"

"I do not think so, my dear. You see, your President broke Chinese law by locking up our police officers. Therefore, the UN won't support any move to help America get him back, but will encourage you to give up on him. I have already talked to many world leaders about this. And as for NATO, the only one who will back you will be Britain, and she is pitifully small."

Angela made a mental note to send a video of this to the British Prime Minister, Jack Peterson. He would be angered by such a statement, probably to the point that he might send in his SAS...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mao continuing.

"We could forgive your President in return for three things. Better trade relations, most favoured nation status and you ignoring our invasion of Taiwan. If you cancel these once the President is returned, a nuclear war will ensue. Understand? Now do you agree to the terms? Otherwise there will be a war, and you will have 24 hours to change your mind before your President is executed for breaking the law."

"Here's America's reply, you child molesting fat b*stard! Go take your proposal and shove it up your big Chinese ass!" Angela snapped.

Mao looked shocked, partly due to her answer, partly due to him not being used to that kind of outburst from a woman.

"Very well." he said.

************************************************** *

More to come tomorrow! Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[The Bloody Baro]

Great Story!

[civman2000]

ah, so it looks like the americans are trying too hard to avoid another debacle like munich ...

[TheDarkCavalier]

VERY good story, but it's a bit predictable, OF COURSE the Pres won't get killed, and OF COURSE Glorious America will crush Pathetic China!

[Jaguar]

You do realize that now America is gonna be destroyed just to piss you off.

[cbraund]

TheDarkCavalier, have you read any of my other stories? Predictable is not a word used to describe me

Plus I'm not American, so I have no obligations

Anyway, never underestimate the Chinese, remember they have nuclear weapons and a huge army...

Not to mention a leader mad enough to start a nuke war!

But you'll find out if you keep reading

Chris

[civman2000]

yeah, like in hunting season, my favorite twist is when gandhi, the peacemaker, is plotting a world war

[TheDarkCavalier]

I hope I provoked you into continuing the story about Americans being wiped off the face of the planet.

[Metaliturtle]

knowing cbraund, the brits'll come in with a bunch of bad racing terms, have a high speed chase, and then nuke the chinese americans to piss both of them off, then the brits'll invade for something along the lines of cultural correction. They've got nukes too

[cbraund]

The John F. Kennedy lay at the bottom of Pearl Harbour, the Arbraham Lincoln alongside her. The Theodore Roosevelt was badly damaged, its flight deck in ruins, and would take about a year to repair.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and faired the best, as she had only just been coming into Pearl Harbour and still had a CAP(Combat Air Patrol) of F-14s up in the air. No one had seen the Chinese until it was too late, as they flew in beneath radar level. The F-14 pilots had been the first to see them, and engaged immediately.

The resulting battle had cost Eisenhower most of her air group, but had resulted in devastating losses for the PRC Air Force, nearly a third of their total aeroplanes.

The Eisenhower had suffered little damage, but didn't have enough planes to make it count.

Four AEGIS cruisers lay at the bottom of Pearl Harbour, and three more were damaged.

CINCPACIFIC(Commander IN Chief Pacific) shook his head with despair. It would be a long time before the Pacific Fleet would sail again. The surviving F-14s from all the carriers would be transferred to the Eisenhower, but the carrier would still be at half strength.

**************************************************

America was at war. The Vice President had authorised some radical plans by her Secretary of Defence, Andrew Clancy, a distant relative to Tom Clancy, the famous military writer. Not even Tom Clancy could have dreamed this situation up, she thought unhappily.

Andrew was a military genius, and had come up with many strategies. Now was the time to put them into action. They even managed to get around the loss of ground based F-15s from South Korea, as they had been destroyed on the ground by Chinese special forces.

He had designed three plans, called Operations Red, Yellow and Blue. The first two both relied heavily upon British forces, but Jack Peterson had pledged his support, and British forces hadn't been attacked as the Chinese had no wish to provoke them, and Mao thought them unthreatening.

Red was a plan to rescue the President by helicopter from HMS Ocean, the British helicopter carrier in the Pacific Ocean on training exercises. US Navy SEALs would be sent from America to South Korea via a commercial airline, then be picked up by a British helicopter. There they would be taken to Ocean, which would then take them closer to Beijing, and then they would take off once more towards the Forbidden Palace, supported by all but two of the F-14s aboard Eisenhower and two AWACs aircraft from the same carrier.

Meanwhile, Delta Force, some more SEALs and 101st Airborne would also fly out to South Korea. They would work alongside the British SBS, SAS and Royal Marine Commandos in a huge amphibious assault against Shanghai from Ocean and HMS Fearless, a ship designed to command amphibious landings. Shanghai was the point where intelligence said the Chinese were building up for an attack against Taiwan. Currently the Chinese had little forces there, but huge supply depots. If they could be knocked out, then the Chinese would have to postpone an invasion of Taiwan. An attack there would also draw forces from the Beijing Military District as well, and once enough had crossed the Huang river, the bridges would be destroyed, trapping as many as possible away from Beijing. This assault would be covered by Harriers from HMS Illustrious, the aircraft carrier supporting Ocean.

Operation Yellow was the next plan, where the men who assaulted Shanghai would then melt back into the sea, and the Eisenhower and three AEGIS cruisers, two which were part of the Eisenhower battlegroup and one which had been repaired from Pearl Harbour would join with the British ships, including the forces from Shanghai which would now be back on board Fearless and Ocean.

They would raid along the coastline to stretch out the Chinese forces, and destroy what little navy the Chinese had, including the submarines. But the main part of Yellow was the assault on Chinese ICBM bunkers, which could be reached from the sea. All of the SAS, SEALs, and Delta Force which were on board would be ferried by 'copter to the ICBM bunkers, and disable the nukes before escaping.

Operation Blue was the final stage, one which one she and Andrew knew the entire plan of.

It was all perfectly planned out, she decided. She just hoped that the best-laid plans would survive contact with the enemy.

*************************************************

The SEALs landed on the roof of the Forbidden Palace. They burst their way through the doors to the lower floors, letting off flashbangs as they did. They entered the areas where intelligence said that the President and First Lady were being held, then kicked in the doors and threw in flashbangs, then cleared the doorway so that they wouldn't see the flashbangs explode. The flashbangs went off and blinded the guards, and the SEALs charged in, quickly despatching the helpless guards. The President and the First Lady were in separate cells, and the SEALs quickly released them.

Josh and his wife were rushed up to the roof towards the waiting helicopter. The SEALs split into two groups, one taking the First Lady one way to the roof, and a slightly larger one taking the President up another way. This was to split the Chinese forces still in the building and confuse them. The two helicopters were waiting, one for the President, one for his wife.

POTUS was thrown aboard the helicopter, and he looked back at the group which was with his wife.

Then a group of Chinese guards rushed out onto the roof, and charged at the First Lady. The pilot was about to take off when he gave the order not to.

He grabbed an M16 from the rack, and charged out to save his wife. The others charged out after him.

The Chinese were routed, and the groups began to rush back to the helicopters.

Then the Forbidden Palace exploded beneath their feet.

**************************************************

Mao grinned happily from the safety of the Imperial Palace. He had much preferred this Palace anyway, and the Forbidden Palace had instead become the perfect jail - if the Americans attempted a rescue at it looked like succeeding, one push of a button from him would activate the huge amount of explosives hidden in all of the rooms of the Forbidden Palace, killing the President and his would-be rescuers. He had been determined that China would either get what she wanted, or America would never get her President back.

And she hadn't.

*************************************************

"Bad news, Mrs. President." Andrew walked into the Situation Room.

Angela held her head in her hands, knowing what the title used for her meant.

Josh was dead.

*************************************************

More to come tomorrow! Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[civman2000]

!

[cbraund]

This will be posted on CivFanatics as well once their forum upgrade is complete...

Now on with the show!

**************************************************

"A tribute to the late Josh Daniels will follow this show." Gillian Fox tried desperately to hide her own feelings as she spoke. The President was the heart of the nation at a time like this, at Josh had been one of the best ever. He had been in his second term, loved by the country due to his strong stance against terrorism and dictatorships worldwide. He had masterminded the downfall of the Libyan and Iraqi dictators, not to mention making sure that Cuba became a democracy again on the death of Fidel Castro. He had been intent on bringing freedom in the end to China as well, and it had been his death.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away before continuing.

"And now, we bring news of the joint allied assault on Shanghai. How's it going, Paul?"

"Well, I'm afraid to say that while they managed to distract forces from Beijing and strand them there, they bit off more than they could chew. We're talking about a million Chinese were thrown against the beach head, forcing the allies back into the sea. However, they did manage to destroy enough supplies that the invasion of Taiwan will have to be postponed."

"That's good news at least. We'll be right back after this short break." Gillian let her feelings overwhelm her once the ON AIR sign went off.

************************************************

The Chinese planes closed in on the Eisenhower, but were being dealt significant losses by the two AEGIS cruisers defending it and by the few F-14s still in the air.

But they were the distraction, yet another trick by the military genius that Mao liked to think he was.

The only nuclear submarine that China had, the Feng Huang was closing quietly in on the battlegroup.

When the time was right, it rose to the surface and fired.

"Torpedo in the water! Count two!" the sonar operator in the CIC of the Eisenhower yelled to his captain.

"Hard to port!" he ordered.

"Count three!" the frantic operator cried.

"We have a surface-to-surface missile!" the radar operator spoke loudly.

That damned sub was firing everything she had, the captain realised.

The Eisenhower didn't stand a chance.

**************************************************

The destroyers with the Eisenhower had hunted down and destroyed the submarine, and now the entire Chinese navy was resting on the bottom of the Pacific.

But their aircraft were flying patrols over American bases, bombing airfields and intercepting aircraft being sent from the USA to reinforce the troops.

The planes would leave the United States, then have to do inflight refueling to make it all the way there. Once there they'd be too tired to fight, or have to protect the tankers. It was a no-win situation, the US couldn't fight a war over that distance. Soon the tactic was abandoned, and the Chinese had air supremacy over the Pacific, with only the SAMs preventing them completely destroying Pearl Harbour.

But they had struck again, and now the Roosevelt lay on the bottom of Pearl as well.

The only safe area was the Allied fleet, composed of HMS Ocean, HMS Fearless, HMS Illustrious, three AEGIS cruisers, numerous destroyers and a few frigates. They were only safe due to the potent killing power of the AEGIS cruisers, and the few Harrier jump-jets that had survived aboard Illustrious. There was only just enough to protect the convoy and any quick raids into the shore, so the Harriers remained close at all times.

**************************************************

The burly SAS officer led the teams into the ICBM bunkers, having knocked out any form of communication with the outside world that these bunkers had.

They quickly took out the guards, and the engineers set to work.

**************************************************

Mao looked alarmed when the news came in through the top secret and secure landline from the ICBM bunkers.

"They're what?!" he demanded.

"They're trying to disable our nuclear arsenal." his Defence Minister repeated.

"You can send automatic launch orders from here, can't you?"

"Yes Comrade Chairman, along the same line that the report came through on."

"Very good, Comrade. Then give the order to launch all twelve ICBMs. America and her pitiful ally will learn what happens when you play with fire.

"You get burnt."

************************************************** *

That's all for tonight! Comments appreciated and thanks for those already given!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[TheDarkCavalier]

MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

VERY NICE STORY

[civman2000]

hmmm...they either:
1. Cripple the US but create a huge alliance against China.
2. Don't launch
3. Are blocked by the top secret SDI system America has.
4. Some other great idea cbraund has

[cbraund]

I'd go for number 4

Chris

[The Bloody Baro]

Well guys lets admit if cbraund thinks it up it has to be good.

[cbraund]

The SEAL commander, who was in command of the US forces, and the more experienced SAS commander, who was in overall command, glanced at each other as they heard a rumble underneath.

"Oh sh*t." the SEAL groaned.

The SAS man racked his brains, trying desperately to think of a solution.

An air strike would hopefully knock out the ICBMs before they could get into the air, and then they wouldn't do much damage, as they only armed once near their target.

But an air strike would kill many of the men still running around the base.

But a nuclear missile would kill even more, he realised.

He told the SEAL commander to order everyone to run for their lives, then sent an order to the Harriers in the sky to cluster bomb the area, and to try and time it for just as the ICBMs began to leave the bunkers.

************************************************

Jim Owens, Harrier pilot, shook his head, ashamed at what he was about to do, but knowing it was for the best.

He triggered the cluster bombs along with the other Harriers, then began to circle to see the damage.

He saw each of the 12 ICBMs in turn blow up, except one, which had launched later than the rest.

"Oh no." he moaned. He quickly got onto the officer on the ground to ask the engineers a way to stop an ICBM that was in flight heading for space.

He just hoped that ICBM wasn't aimed at London, his home city.

************************************************

The task force was in ruins. Hundreds of men lay dead or dying in the ICBM bunkers.

An engineer set about advising the Harrier pilots, while the remaining soldiers began to get their injured aboard Fearless and Ocean.

They didn't have much time. Three Chinese armies were coming to crush them.

*************************************************

Jim used the adjustable thrusters of his Harrier to aim the craft upwards quicker than any normal fighter could. He then began to push the aircraft towards its top speed, chasing the ICBM into the sky.

Initially, as the ICBM was still accelerating, the Harrier was able to actually gain on it. But it was fast heading towards the atmosphere.

Jim had been told he couldn't fire missiles, as they wouldn't catch the ICBM. But his nose mounted machine gun could tear the weak armour of the ICBM to shreds.

He had five seconds left before it went too high for him to follow.

Here goes nothing, he thought.

Five seconds left. He fired burst after burst, but they missed.

Four seconds left. He jinked the Harrier a bit, trying to spray the bullets over the missile. But they seemed not to hit.

Three seconds left. He tried pulling the Harrier into the beginning of a loop the loop to train the rounds over the missile's rear. The ICBM seemed to almost dodge them.

Two seconds left. America and her allies were hearing the latest news on CNN, and they held their breath. He fired once more, wildly, and missed yet again. The ICBM was going faster now, and becoming even harder to hit.

One second left. He fired as much as he could.

And missed.

He made the fateful decision to follow the ICBM right the way to the atmosphere, and with his mind now fully on the job, let rip one final time.

The ICBM exploded as the pressure caused him to black out.

*************************************************

Andrew grimaced as he watched the pictures on the television.

"Poor guy got crushed by the pressure." he said sadly.

"But he saved New York, and may God bless him for that." Angela was sad also, but happy her nation was safe. "I want an extra day added to the President's week of mourning to mark this man's courage."

"Very well." Andrew nodded. "I have bad news about Operation Blue though. Some of the forces due to support it have been hit due to the need to stop those ICBMs, and the rest have had to retreat to the naval task force. The Chinese are hitting the Brits hard there, and not even our AEGIS cruisers will be enough for much longer. I fear that they may not last to join Operation Blue."

"And without them..."

"Yes. It will be a failure."

**************************************************

The Illustrious's air group was being wittled down slowly but surely, sortie after sortie.

The helicopters aboard HMS Ocean had come under strafing attacks from Chinese fighters, rendering them useless. Luckily some were stored in the hangars below.

The AEGIS cruisers were nearly out of missiles, unable to reload from Pearl Harbour due to the stores there being blown up by Chinese bombers.

Now came a huge air armada to destroy the last of the task force.

The Harrier pilots went once more into the air, determined to go down fighting.

But it was all in vain, the Ocean's captain knew. They couldn't hope to defeat an attack of that magnitude, and the AEGIS cruisers didn't have enough shots left to take them all down.

It was the end, he decided.

The Harriers were eventually shot down after fierce fighting, leaving Illustrious vulnerable.

It was hit first, and after multiple hits, began to capsize.

Next the three AEGIS cruisers were hit, while the normal AA guns on all of the ships tried desperately to claw some Chinese aircraft from the sky.

Finally, it was the Ocean and Fearless's turn, as troop carriers. They were left alone with only a few destroyers and frigates defending them now.

The Chinese fighters and bombers closed in for the kill. The captain shut his eyes and braced himself.

Then the miracle came. Half of the Chinese force was suddenly swatted from the air by some unknown force. The other half broke off its attacks to find the source of this attack.

Then it became known. The unknown force was the Phoenix missiles of the F-14s based on Enterprise, the Kitty Hawk and the Nimitz.

The Atlantic Fleet had come to the rescue. Operation Blue was about to begin.

**************************************************

Don't think the war is won yet, the Chinese have a lot more up their sleeves!

Comments appreciated, more to come tomorrow!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[civman2000]

won? the battle at the end there might not have been won in the end, despite the reinforcements, and even if it was the brits and americans are crippled and dont stand a chance!

[Jaguar]

[cbraund]

"Here is our next target." Andrew pointed on the map to Beijing.

"Are we really that much back in control?"

"No, but enough of their army is still stuck south of the river, and their fighters can be held at bay by our air force, as now the F-14s have managed to help F-15s land in Taiwan. Also, we have pilots from the National Guard flying out to pilot the A-10s we have stored in South Korea. They will be joined by F-16s soon."

"So we're taking the fight out of them."

"Yes. With the fall of Beijing, there will be no leaders as the F-16s will target any vehicles leaving there to stop Mao escaping. With no leadership, the army will fight amongst itself for power. We will have won."

"What could the landing end up costing us?"

"Well, there's only one beach close enough to be useful, but with our new techniques and equipment since D-Day 1945, I think we could land three quarters of the army in ten minutes or so. The other quarter would be the Abrams tanks, which would take an extra ten minutes or so."

"You have my approval." Angela was still unsure of it, but if it ended the war, it was worth it.

**************************************************

The US Marines led the army ashore.

No resistance.

The Marines looked around in confusion, joined soon by the few remaining SBS and SEALs.

The all clear was given, and the army began to move ashore.

About ten minutes after they landed, an infantryman tripped over a piece of metal stuck in the ground. He uncovered it slowly, fearing a mine.

A sprinkler? he asked himself bemused.

He called over his superiors. They quickly looked around the beach, and found more of them.

"What the hell are they?" asked one. The idea came to his mind that they mind be some kind of anthrax sprayer. He gave the order for suits to be put on.

*************************************************

Mao watched as the Americans rushed to begin getting suits on.

"Now." he ordered. Those foolish Americans, he thought. They're so scared of anthrax, they didn't think of an idea their own friends the British had in World War 2.

Petrol began to spray out of the sprinklers, covering the entire beach and everything on it. The Americans were struggling to get their suits on, and then realised what it was.

They chucked their suits off, and began to run for the water.

Too late. A Chinese archer fired an ancient weapon, a flaming arrow, from the top of the only cliff.

The fire spread rapidly, and roasted most of the American army alive.

*************************************************

"Oh my god." Gillian Fox wept as she read the note.

"Viewers, we tried to take Beijing, as you know. It seems we have failed.

"Mao sprayed the troops with petrol, then set it alight. Those who survived are said to be very badly burnt. Paul, what the hell kind of weapon is that?!"

"An ingenious one, Gillian. Mao seems to be a lot smarter than we Americans thought. It's an horrific death, I know, but an ancient one. Boiling oil was poured onto attackers in the medieval castles, and the British tested out using oil to set the beach alight incase the Germans invaded in World War 2. He beat us with primitive technology, something that seems to always beat the United States. Our technology has become so advanced, we think everyone else moves at the same rate, so we begin to ignore the older methods. That's what happened in Vietnam, we fought with modern weapons that couldn't take on the older techniques. I'm afraid that these men became the latest victim to the US's obsession with modern technology."

"And would the people in tanks have survived?"

"No, they would simply have been roasted live. A ghastly death, I'm sure."

**************************************************

"Three quarters of the army are dead and you won't accept my resignation?!" Andrew asked increduously.

"I will not accept it. You will do your damned duty to this country Andrew!" Angela barked.

"But this guy beats me every move I make!"

"We still have a quarter of an army, 3 carriers, their escorts and half an air force there! No, Operation Blue didn't go as you planned, but you can't tell me you can't do something with that!"

"But what's the point?! I'll waste them!"

"You damned well won't or we'll all be eating with chopsticks this time next year! Now haven't you realised how strange it is that Mao always does the right thing to defeat you? Like he knows what you are doing?"

"Yes." Andrew mulled over that for a moment. "By God, a spy!"

"Yes." Angela smiled. "And I think I know exactly who it is."

"Who?"

"Wait and see dear boy, wait and see. I will feed them false information on your next move. If the Chinese react according to the false information rather than the real, then we have our spy."

**************************************************

Mao smiled. "They will attack Hong Kong. The British expect aid from the people there, who are still their citizens really."

"So what will we do?"

"Already in hand. The city has been evacuated! I have ordered the local television to say that everyone is to stay indoors as American boats have been sighted nearby, and of course the Americans will be listening in using their high-tech rubbish! And then when they enter the city and find it a ghost town, they won't think anything of it. But then, I will destroy them in an old fashioned way!"

"What is that, Comrade?"

"Ever heard of a man called Guy Fawkes? He was well known in Britain for something." Mao chuckled.

"Of course. The rhyme in Britain.."

"And by extension, Hong Kong." Mao butted in.

"Yes, and Hong Kong, was 'remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot'..." the Defence Minister stopped as he realised what Mao meant.

"You're going to blow them up?" he asked.

"Of course." Mao laughed. "And the entire army will be there to crush anything that survives!"

*************************************************

The SEALs were watching Hong Kong, waiting to see what the Chinese would do.

"There." one pointed.

"So they're planting explosives? I wondered why they were evacuating the city." the commander spoke. His squad had sneaked ashore on a quiet rubber dinghy, the type used by coastguards.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Beat them at their own game." the SEAL commander grinned wolfishly.

The other SEALs nodded, knowing what was going through his mind.

*************************************************

The Chinese lookouts spotted the American flags on the Hong Kong skyline. The Americans had taken the city!

*************************************************

The Chinese General was woken by an aide.

"Sir, the US have invaded Hong Kong! Our pickets didn't see them, and the explosives haven't exploded! It seems the American soldiers defused them and took the city quietly!"

"Oh no." the General gasped. He knew Mao would have his head on a plate for this screw-up. "Prepare the army. We must drive the Americans back into the sea! Once they have a beach head, they will be able to hurt us!"

"Very good sir."

************************************************

The Chinese army advanced slowly into the city from all sides, looking for signs of the Americans. They suspected an ambush.

But then they heard music from the centre of the city. The damned Americans were celebrating their victory!

The Chinese began to advance quicker into the city, eager for combat.

Soon most of the army was in, and the forward elements were reaching the centre.

There they found radios tuned to US stations, but no soldiers.

************************************************

The SEAL commander pressed the button, sending a signal to the remotely controlled detonator which the SEALs had replaced the control wires with.

Hong Kong exploded, taking a large portion of the Chinese Army with it.

***********************************************

Andrew smiled for the first time in days. The Chinese had made a wrong move, and the part of their army that had survived was going to take a day or so to return north. But F-117s had taken out the bridges overnight, meaning that the army would take days to return to Beijing.

But he wasn't stupid enough to try and land troops in hostile territory again. He was landing them in friendly territory.

At this moment, South Korean, British and American soldiers were crossing the border into North Korea. They would break the North Koreans in a deadly blitzkrieg, then rush around the Korean Sea down towards Beijing.

And there Mao would fall.

He could hear Angela on the telephone to the Queen of Britain.

*************************************************

The Queen put the telephone down carefully, and considered her options. Then she called for the commander of her SAS.

"I want the Prime Minister dead." she said. "It seems he has been supplying the Chinese with information all along, information that has killed many British and Americans."

The commander looked stunned, but regained his composure. This was his Queen, the one they all swore to serve.

"Official, like arrested, or unofficial, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"Unofficial. Oh, and do you remember this meeting ever taking place?"

"Never, Your Majesty." he grinned.

She smiled, the glint in her eye showing her determination that no-one betrays her country.

***********************************************

Mao sat infront of his desk in his Imperial Palace, waiting for the American special forces to come and arrest him.

He had been beaten. The North Koreans had folded under the surprise attack, and most of his army lay dead in Hong Kong. The part that did remain was trapped south of the river, and would end up fighting amongst itself for power. And he was going to die, charged by an American court.

That's what they thought, anyway. He glanced at the pistol next to him, then shook his head at that idea. He had a much better way right next to him.

The door burst open, and SAS and Delta Force soldiers rushed in.

"Give it up, Mao, the game's over." the Delta Force commander barked.

"I know it is." Mao spoke quietly as he reached to press the button underneath his desk. One area where drawers should be was taken up by a special bomb, the only other one China had except the ones which had been in the ICBMs.

"But I intend to go out with a bang." Mao laughed madly as the nuclear bomb destroyed Beijing and all the people inside it.

*************************************************

"Not again." Andrew groaned. "Yet more men dead! All we have left now is our National Guard and a few divisions, along with our air force and navy!"

"It's bad, I agree, but no one could have anticipated how mad Mao was. At least we have rid both China and North Korea of Communism. We have finished Josh's work." Democracy had been restored in China as the A-10s and the F-16s had destroyed the rest of the Chinese Army as it began to fall apart and attack itself. The Taiwanese had then rejoined the mainland in a new democratic state. Their army now took over protection of China and Taiwan, in the new Republic of China, as the name Taiwan had used was now being applied to the entire nation. North Korea had joined the South once more, and new elections for Northern representatives were being held. "And now America can rebuild." Angela spoke in a relieved tone.

"Uh oh. It doesn't seem like it." Andrew read the memo handed to him.

"What?" Angela asked puzzled.

"The European Union except for Britain has taken advantage of our weakness, it would seem. They've pulled out of NATO, and intend to create a European Army."

"So they will create a superstate..." Angela mused.

"Yes, and they will be a superpower. It looks like a new Cold War is upon us, and the US isn't in any fit state to fight one."

"Not again." Angela moaned, then collapsed in her chair. She thought the beginning of her Presidency was hard.

It was about to get harder.

**************************************************

I hope you enjoyed the story! Sorry to give it such a boring ending, but I didn't really know where it was going myself!

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[civman2000]

The end??? But it was the queen who was feeding info, and set up the whole thing! Then she would use the superstate to take both China and America...right?

[cbraund]

Well supposedly it was the Prime Minister. Whether it was or not is up to you

And Britain wasn't in the superstate. Only mainland Europe was.

Nemesis

[cbraund]

Oh, and there may be a sequel, in which case you'll find out

But trust me, it was almost definetly the PM if this is the end.

Nemesis

[civman2000]

OK, then the queen wasn't working for England but for someone in mainland Europe instead

[cbraund]

lol, you're forgetting who I based the Queen on. That Queen was Elizabeth II! I don't think she'd betray us to the damned Frogs lol!(sorry any French people!).

Plus she didn't know about the operations, she just got the word that her PM was playing away from home!

Anyway, all will be revealed in the sequel if I do one.

Chris