The Dead and the Dying...

[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