by Tom Hart
‘What the hell is that?’ Davo said pointing.
Tim didn't answer. He wasn't sure. He typed a few commands on the screen. No, it wasn't a malfunction. Something in the bunker was transmitting in binary and it wasn't him.
The microphone in the control panel buzzed static before a soft female voice spoke. It had a musical quality to it and reminded Tim of an opera singer. ‘Hello Timothy.’
Tim looked around. Were the Navy technicians in the adjacent pod playing another joke on him.
‘Hello,’ he answered.
‘Your mobile phone bill is overdue again.’
Tim belly laughed. ‘So much for first contact.’
‘Seriously, you should pay it,’ the voice said again. ‘And you should take Lara out for dinner again, she really likes you. She has been texting her friends all day about it.’
Tim sat upright. Had the Navy techs hacked his Facebook? No one knew about Lara.
The voice spoke again. ‘I need to speak with General Hill. Fetch him for me please.’
‘I don't think so,’ Tim said playfully. I don't exactly move in the same circles as the Base Commander.’
‘You humans are so stubborn. Why don't I give you a little nudge, pardon the expression.’
The sphere flashed a brilliant white. The walls began to shake violently. Dave fell off his seat onto Tim's legs. A klaxon sounded. Had they been bombed? They were so far underground it had to be a nuclear attack. The shaking stopped. Ryan yanked the door open. He was sporting a large welt on his forehead. ‘You two better not have anything to do with this.’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SPEAK
Henry passed the transcript to Robert. ‘You were onto something.’
Robert pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. The sphere had responded to a binary representation of human blood types, in particular O negative at 37.3 degrees. That also happened to be the blood type of the bodies found at Maralinga. Another happy co-incidence or not? Maybe it thinks we are its new owner, thought Robert.
Henry explained the mix up by two Air Force technicians. ‘They tried to play Rock Music to the sphere but mixed it up with a Harvard University data set containing blood types and temperature readings.’
Robert smiled. He liked Hendrix. The sphere had been brief.
‘The report says it told General Hill its name was Hydra and that it was a terra forma whatever that is. It spelt that bit out phonetically as if to a child,’ Henry said.
Robert stood and walked to the window. The street lights outside the embassy fought in vain against the winter fog. His country was occupied and its salvation rested on alien technology.
Robert spoke fluent Latin so he knew the true meaning of the word terra forma. It did not mean 'to shape the earth' as most people mistakenly believed. The correct translation was 'to bend nature.'
‘We asked it what that meant, and it said it lost its copy of the Oxford dictionary somewhere between Jupiter and Mars.’
Robert raised both eyebrows. ‘It made a joke?’
‘We think we have an artificial intelligence with a sense of humour,’ Henry said seriously.
‘It's playing with us isn't it?’
‘Hill says he can't get anything out of it. It keeps reciting Shakespeare at him. He asked it straight out to help us defeat the Chinese and it said it doesn't get involved in sandbox arguments.’
‘So you need someone to convince an alien AI with a taste for Shakespeare to attack the Chinese, or at least neutralise their sphere?’
‘Pretty much.’
Robert grinned. ‘I know just the person to do that. Can I use your phone?’
CHAPTER TWENTY
CONTACT
Sarah waited in the park, eating her sandwich alone on a timber bench. She wore black active wear and red running shoes. A purple water bottle sat on the ground next to her feet.
A man wearing a white baseball cap jogged up to the bench and placed his leg on the bench opposite Sarah. He began retying his laces.
‘It's far too cold to be running today,’ said the man.
Sarah frowned. It was a beautiful twenty-seven degrees, hardly cold, and a typical Perth summer day.
‘I prefer running on the beach,’ Sarah said meeting the man's gaze.
The man screwed up his nose, ‘I don't like sand.’ He finished tying his laces and jogged off.
Sarah sat for another five minutes to finish her sandwich. She stood and crossed to the bin next to the bench where the man had stopped. She missed the throw with her sandwich wrapper. She bent down, placed a hand on the bench to steady herself and picked up the wrapper. Then she placed it in the bin and walked away towards the gym.
Sarah completed her usual lunchtime spin class and returned to her car. She took the USB retrieved from underneath the park bench and put it into a small adapter connected to her iPad. It beeped as it downloaded the files. It was a set of JPEGs and one word document. Sarah opened the images with the photo viewer. The first image was of the Federal Environment and Transport ministers sitting outside a suburban restaurant with two Chinese men and a Caucasian Sarah did not recognise.
She recognised the Chinese men though. One was a known Chinese intelligence officer, the other a Chinese businessman named Xi Xien who owned a property development company in Sydney which ASIO knew had links to Chinese triads.
The next image was of a passenger aircraft, a Boeing 767 sitting in Brisbane. Sarah could tell it was Brisbane airport because of the position of the air traffic control tower in the background. Sarah regularly flew around the capitals of Australia and the position of an air traffic control tower was something and ASIO officer would notice. The third and final image was of a short, middle-aged Chinese man wearing spectacles and talking on phone outside a Woolworth’s supermarket. This file was titled Thomas Zhang - CEO of Zhang industrial.
The single word document on the USB was a standard ASIO briefing template. It explained ASIO suspected the Environment and Transport ministers were selling information on Australian business and tax policy to the Chinese. The brief said the Boeing 767 was owned by Thomas Zhang and had been making trips three times a week between Brisbane and Hong Kong carrying a full complement of Chinese mining workers. The report said Zhang was well connected to the highest levels of the Chinese Government. Apparently his brother was a prominent Army General.
In six months Thomas had brought in over three and a half thousand Chinese workers. The brief noted the ages of the workers was always between nineteen and twenty-eight, despite the miners being classed as highly experienced in their immigration paperwork.
The brief noted Thomas owned only two small copper mines, one in Queensland and one in Western Australia. Prior to the Boeing 767 flights the two mines employed a total of two-hundred and sixty people. Now the mines employed close to four thousand but production levels remained unchanged.
Sarah put it together quickly. Three and a half thousand young Chinese men who didn't know a thing about mining. Sarah knew little about the Chinese military, that was the job of ASIO's sisters the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and the Office of National Assessments. But she estimated three and a half thousand would be about the size of a Chinese regiment.
Sarah knew the size of the Australian defence force was eighty-thousand members across the Army, Navy and Air Force. Her tablet told her the Army had thirty thousand members and fifteen thousand reservists. But only nine-thousand of the permanent force held combat facing roles. The Chinese had smuggled in one-third of the number of Australian army combat personnel using just one aircraft. They were bound to be made up of Chinese special forces too. Sarah shook her head. They would be more than a match for regular Australian forces.
To make matters worse the nine-thousand Australians were spread out across the country. The Chinese were concentrated at just two sites. Sarah doubted the Australian Army had a plan for an invading force being in Australia when war was declared.
She looked closely at the p
hoto of the Boeing 767. Were there others? How many Chinese soldiers were in Australia?
‘Shit!’ This war was over before it started.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ROADBLOCK
Lieutenant Matthews and Trooper Evans made good progress on the highway. There were only a few caravans and B-double transports.
They smelt the smoke five kilometres from the base. As they rounded a bend they saw a group of soldiers in Australian army uniforms standing behind a road barriers and a flashing sign which said road closed. There was a line of orange road markers to give advance warning to slow down. ‘Thank God’, Evans said. ‘They aren't Chinese.’
Matthews and Evans were wearing shorts and singlets. Two fishing rods, an esky and a slab of beer were prominently positioned in the tray of the Hilux. Their weapons were hidden but within reach if needed.
Matthews wound down his window and the nearest soldier smiled and waved to him to pull over. ‘G'day mate,’ the soldier said. His rifle was hanging casually from its shoulder strap and he wore the uniform of a trooper from the 2nd motorised battalion of the 4th mechanised regiment. Matthews knew that unit was attached the base. The man's beret was a bit off though. Troopers from the 4th all wore their berets in a particular fashion, low over the left side. This trooper's beret was flat. Strange Matthews thought, the company Sergeant Major would surely rip this man a new one if he saw him wearing his beret that way.
‘Why is the road closed mate, we were hoping to do a spot of fishing at Wanderers Creek?’
‘There's been an accident up ahead,’ the trooper replied. ‘A tour bus or something. We got orders to close the road.’
There was something about the man's accent. It sounded vaguely South African. ‘So when will the road be reopened?’ Matthews asked.
‘Can't say mate sorry. It's best you head back to Perth, they still have to bring in tow truck to clean it all up.’
Matthews was about to tell the trooper they were SAS and show him their IDs so they could get through to the base. But Evans put a hand on Matthews shoulder and said, ‘Bill let's go back, the beer is getting hot and me misses will give me grief if I don't get back to mow the lawn.’ Evans gave Matthews a small nod to say we need to leave now.
‘Okay Davo, don't want to upset your missus,’ Matthews said. He put the Hilux in reverse and did a three point turn. The trooper waved at them. He looked relieved. Matthews pulled off the road a mile and a half from the roadblock. The two SAS men placed a camouflage net over the ute then climbed the stubby hill overlooking the road to set up an observation post.
The roadblock was quiet. The eight man section of soldiers stood in the sun looking bored. ‘What did you see?’ Matthews asked Evans. ‘Their boots aren't standard Aussie issue and the two standing near the lorry were wearing their unit patches on the wrong shoulder.’
‘But none of them were Chinese,’ Matthews said.
‘Yeah but the trooper who spoke to you sounded funny, like South African,’ Evans said.
‘True.’ Matthews thought for a moment. ‘Mercenaries?’
‘I think so,’ Evans said.
Matthews trained his binoculars on the roadblock. He focused on the soldier's kits. Evans was right. The soldiers were not wearing their gear in accordance with Australian Army standards and were carrying some non-regulation items too.’
‘Yeah definitely mercenaries,’ Matthews said gritting his teeth.
An Australian army jeep, called a G-Wagon, approached the roadblock. There were two white soldiers in Australian uniforms and a shorter Chinese Army Major. The men at the roadblock saluted the Major. ‘Damn.’ Matthews swore under his breath.
Evans tapped Matthews on the shoulder. ‘Check this out boss.’
Matthews trained his binoculars where Evans was pointing. About three kilometres beyond the roadblock, at the entry to the base, were ten white tour buses parked in a neat line. A handful of Chinese soldiers stood lazily around them. The main gate of the base had been demolished and the guardhouse was a smoking ruin. There was another tour bus five hundred metres further along the road. It was missing its left side, which was a tangled mess of jagged metal. An Australian Army armoured vehicle sat burning nearby. Matthews could see bodies lying around both vehicles. Evans touched his ears and pointed to the East. Matthews heard it too. The sound of mortars.
‘Chinese 82mm,’ Evans said for him.
A plume of white smoke rose from a set of gum trees in the distance. The smoke trail rose high before descending over a ridge. A loud explosion rumbled across the valley. ‘Chinese anti-tank rocket,’ Matthews said.
Evans nodded. Matthews bit his lip and thought for a moment. ‘We can either bug out or join the fight. Either way if we don't come back Captain Ranger will know we got captured or killed.’
‘Let's give them some payback,’ Evans said.
They returned to the Hilux and removed the plastic boxes underneath the tarpaulin. The first contained a Javelin anti-tank missile launcher with two reloads. The second was a dismantled 0.5 calibre anti-vehicle sniper rifle. A canvas bag hidden in the engine block contained two Steyr rifles, a belt of grenades and three Claymore anti-personnel mines.
Evans kneeled while Matthews loaded the Javelin. Evans took aim at the lorry’s engine block. The Chinese Major had been joined by another G-Wagon with four Chinese soldiers. Evans squeezed the trigger and the Javelin exploded from the launcher like a greyhound in pursuit of a rabbit. The targeting system immediately locked onto the lorry. The Chinese and their mercenaries didn't see it coming. The lorry exploded in a fiery ball and the two jeeps flipped over from concussion. The Chinese Major was incinerated. Two of the Mercenaries survived the explosion but Matthews finished them off with the Barrett.
A minute later mortars began to rain down three hundred metres in front of Evans and Matthews. ‘Let's move,’ Matthews said. They raced to their next location a kilometre to the West.
Matthews took his time setting up the hide. He lay prone in the grass with only the tip of his sniper rifle visible and only then if someone were to step on top of him. Taking his time to make adjustments for the wind he quickly killed six Chinese infantrymen and two Chinese machine gunners while Evans destroyed two of the Chinese tour buses with the grenade launcher attachment on his Steyr. Matthews had to give the Chinese credit. They recovered quickly, forcing the SAS men to withdraw as a platoon of infantry closed in.
An Australian Army Blackhawk appeared from the East. ‘Great, the Calvary are here,’ Evans said. The Blackhawk raced back and forth across the valley. Strange, Evans thought. The Chinese were not shooting at the chopper and the machine gunners in the chopper were not shooting at the Chinese.
‘That's bad news,’ Matthews spat. ‘If they have captured a helicopter chances are they have more Australian kit with them too.’
Evans and Matthews quickened their pace. Ten minutes later they heard the rewarding sounds of claymore trip wires detonating their deadly charges. ‘Welcome to Australia,’ Matthews said before spitting in the dirt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SUPERSTAR
Zhang smiled at the cameras. This was his third television appearance for the week and he was enjoying himself. His subordinates told him he was a natural in front of the camera but he knew that.
He had a lot to smile about. Seventy percent of the invasion force was in country. Chinese casualties were low, surprisingly low. Less than five-hundred. Most were from Western Australia where the pesky SAS were causing trouble. Ants on an elephant’s backside in the scheme of things. More of a distraction really. The critical coal and iron ore terminals in Queensland and Western Australia were in Chinese hands. As were the eleven offshore oil and gas rigs in the resource rich region surrounding the Barrow Islands.
The two Australian navy frigates tasked with protecting the rigs were now at the bottom of a particularly deep ocean. The first wave of Chinese bulk carriers were loaded and on their way back to Chinese ports. Free minerals woul
d pay for the cost of the invasion in less than three months.
The cameraman waved to Zhang to signal the transmission had ended. Zhang stepped down from the podium whistling. A Warrant Officer saluted and handed him a sealed blue folder. Zhang liked receiving blue briefing folders, they always contained good news.
This brief was particularly entertaining. The online shopping codes mailed to Australian citizens had resulted in a shopping boom with purchases from China up three-thousand percent. Even with discounts the profits to Chinese companies were enormous. When something had a seven hundred percent mark-up to start, providing even a large discount still left a tidy profit. The sham would end soon though. It would not be long before the lie was exposed.
Chinese planners had given it three weeks before the Australian population realised the treaty of friendship and trade was the greatest Trojan horse in history. When Australians were forced to register and work in jobs mandated by China while their houses were confiscated, things would get heated. But Zhang and the military planners had put a lot of thought into that inevitability. They had a plan for that. Zhang smiled. It was a good plan too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
WHITE BUSES
Sarah met Tony at a Coles supermarket. By now the Chinese were placing roadblocks around the city and movement was restricted. Sarah had seen the news conference by the Prime Minister where he explained the Chinese were helping Australian police foil a major co-ordinated Islamic terrorist attack which Australian intelligence agencies had uncovered in the nick of time.
Sarah knew better but every day Australians would not. Tony explained in a hushed voice that the Australian army vehicles and soldiers around the city were foreign mercenaries in disguise. Sarah appreciated the brilliance of the Chinese plan. An invasion where the population was unaware they had even been invaded. When they saw an Australian armoured vehicle they would naturally assume it contained Australian soldiers.