“We’ve got to get the nukes back, so we can take care of that missile system,” said Calvin. “It’s killing us. I told them not to fly around here until we could get rid of the missiles, but obviously, they didn’t listen to me. Let’s go get those nukes.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Master Chief O’Leary. “Move ‘em out, men! And Suzi!” he added as an afterthought.
Dozer 37, Overhead Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, WA, 0845 PDT
“Damn,” said Lieutenant Colonel Steve ‘Taco’ Byers to his copilot, “they’re getting awfully close to the exclusion zone.” The pilot of the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft looked out the window of the aircraft while they refueled from the KC-135 tanker aircraft. The Rivet Joint aircraft had flown up from Nebraska and had immediately commenced its collection mission. After several hours on station, it needed to refuel.
Taco had joined with the KC-135 tanker, plugged in and was getting fuel. While Taco had been very careful to stay outside of the 200 mile exclusion zone, the KC-135 tanker aircraft that they were refueling from was being slightly less so. Once the fuel started flowing, the tanker began following a straight line to make the refueling process easier.
“No kidding,” responded Captain George ‘Pasta’ Macari, the copilot, who was also looking down at the ground outside. “We haven’t been this far west since we got here. Do you suppose they know about the exclusion zone? Should we call them and say something?”
“I don’t want to transmit while we’re refueling,” replied Taco, “and we’re almost full. As soon as we are, we’ll unplug and go immediately back to where we were orbiting.”
“Hey, umm, do you guys realize that we’re within the exclusion zone?” asked the evaluator, Major Jim ‘Pokey’ Bryant from the back of the aircraft. “I show us at 198 miles.”
“Yeah,” answered Taco, “we were just talking about that. We’re getting a little uncomfortable up here. We’re almost full. As soon as we are, we’re going to detach and head straight east away from the exclusion zone. Really, do you think they can see the difference between 200 and 198 miles? We haven’t done anything aggressive or provocative all morning. I doubt they’ll be worried about us.”
HQ-19 Battery, North Bend, WA, 0845 PDT
“Got them!” cried Captain Chao Ming, the HQ-19 battery commander, from his seat in the missile command vehicle. He had been waiting all morning for the reconnaissance aircraft to stray far enough into the exclusion zone that he would be able to prove it. The Americans had finally done it, and he was cleared to fire. As it was a long shot, he decided to fire four missiles at the aircraft. “Target two missiles at both aircraft and FIRE!” he commanded. One missile failed to launch, but the other three leapt from their canisters and streaked across the sky in the direction of the refueling aircraft.
Dozer 37, Overhead Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, WA, 0847 PDT
“I’ve got missile engagement! Emergency breakaway! Emergency breakaway! Dive! Dive! Dive!” screamed Pokey from the back of the aircraft.
Taco, hearing that the missile system was engaging them, broke contact with the refueling aircraft and started a turn to the right to get clear, and then he dove the 225,000 pound aircraft toward the ground as fast as he could. While he was doing so, the copilot made a warning call to the tanker, who also started a dive, although at a slower rate. At twelve times the speed of sound, the missile only took 90 seconds to cover the 200 miles between the launcher and the aircraft. Ninety seconds was enough time for the two aircraft to get below the horizon of the missile’s radar. Because of the curvature of the Earth, the aircraft had to be above 25,000 feet for the radar to see them. By crash-diving to below 10,000 feet, the missile system could no longer track them, and the crews watched as the missiles flew by above them, blowing up harmlessly 10 miles later.
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, Esquimalt, Canada, 1000 PDT
Canada ranked 82nd in the world in military spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), behind such notable military powers as the country of Lesotho and the island nation of Togo. The average for the world was 2.2%, so the fact that Canada only spent a miniscule 1.5% of its GDP on defense was an indication that it felt secure about its position in the world. There was no need for Canada to spend more, as its closest neighbor and ally, the United States, spent over $700 billion a year on defense, almost 40% of the world’s total. With the United States spending so much, there was no need for Canada to do so; it could focus its budget on other things, secure in the belief that the United States would keep it safe.
That had always been a good plan, until China invaded the United States and took up residency a mere 100 miles from one of Canada’s largest cities. Having spent so little on military hardware for so long, Canada now had to evaluate its capability to either repel an invasion into its country or assist the United States in removing the invasion that it had.
Canada’s military capabilities were not up to the task.
There wasn’t much that Canada could provide in immediate assistance, as it didn’t have any significant combat air power close by. Its armed forces were tiny, with an active duty military of only 68,000. This ranked Canada 55th in the world, behind countries like Nepal and Eritrea. That was not to say that Canada didn’t have a strong sense of duty as a world leader; in fact, Canada was very active in a number of United Nations and NATO peacekeeping missions and spent more of her life’s blood around the world than many other nations. Canada just didn’t have the ability to bring large amounts of combat firepower to bear on the situation.
One thing that Canada did have to contribute, though, was a submarine.
Launched in November of 1989, the HMCS Victoria (SSK 876) was originally commissioned by the United Kingdom. Christened the HMS Unseen (S41), it was the first ship in the British Upholder class. A long-range hunter-killer submarine, the Unseen had a limited lifespan with the Royal Navy, which decided shortly after her launch to do away with the nation’s fleet of diesel-electric boats and decommissioned her in 1994. The British government offered to sell Unseen and her sister submarines to Canada in 1993, but it wasn’t until 1998 that Canada accepted. Unseen was the first of the submarines to be reactivated and was handed over to the Canadian Navy in 2000. She was in poor condition and suffered a variety of problems, spending most of the next decade in and out of dry dock for repairs. Finally, in 2012, she was declared operational, becoming the first Canadian submarine to be stationed in the Pacific since the 1974 decommissioning of HMCS Rainbow.
The Victoria was stationed at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, Canada’s Pacific Coast naval base. The base occupied about 10,000 acres at the southern tip of Vancouver Island on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, adjacent to the western border of the provincial capital, Victoria. Fully operational, she slipped her moorings at the pier and got underway. Canada may not have been able to bring much to the fight, but it had promised to do everything it could to honor its NATO obligation. Commander Robert Jewell, the Commanding Officer of the Victoria, meant to do exactly that. Esquimalt was less than 75 miles from Seattle, and the Victoria would not take long to get there.
Conibear Shellhouse, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1030 PDT
“Sara was right,” said Calvin to Master Chief O’Leary as he looked around the docks of Conibear Shellhouse. “This was a great place to rendezvous.” As planned, the mixed Special Forces platoon had reassembled at Conibear Shellhouse on the University of Washington’s campus. Located next to the Intramural Activities Building (IAB), the boathouse for the school’s rowing team made a great place to get back together. The docks were on the other side of the building from the IAB, and the platoon couldn’t be seen from it.
“Yes sir, it is,” replied Ryan. “Most of the Rangers are young enough that they don’t look out of place on campus, so their infiltration was fairly easy. If any of them looked nervous, it could surely be attributed to the presence of so many armed soldiers. Had any of the Chinese looked closely at th
e students passing through the campus, they might have noticed that a large number of students seemed to have shorter hair and more tattoos than normal, but that was pretty unlikely.”
“Yeah,” agreed Calvin. “The only identifying feature that would really have given them away would have been if they’d been carrying guns.”
Master Chief knew they had been over this several times. The fact that Calvin felt the need to continue talking about it showed he was nervous going into his first ground combat. That was normal, the Master Chief knew. The important thing was going to be how Calvin handled it. Some people used the extra energy to hyper-focus and became better soldiers once the adrenaline started flowing. Others, however, completely freaked out. He hoped Calvin wouldn’t fall into the latter group, but it was better to find out sooner rather than later, he guessed. He shrugged. Nothing he could do about it now, he thought.
He kept talking to the younger officer to distract him. “Yeah, I feel naked without a weapon,” said Ryan, “but we couldn’t risk getting caught with them.”
“Private Li’s solution was a good one,” observed Calvin as a small boat came into view from around the corner, “and it looks like they’re here.” While they were planning the mission, the private had noticed they were meeting at a boathouse and suggested bringing the weapons in by boat.
“Yep, that’s them,” said Ryan looking at the Model 285 Conquest Boston Whaler. “I can see Top behind the wheel, and it looks like Sergeant Chang is up on the bow. Private Li must be down below with the weapons.” Top had recently purchased the fishing boat, and it was big enough to transport all of their weapons below deck where they couldn’t be seen. Top had taken Shuteye and Jet with him to help with the weapons and to talk to any Chinese soldiers that they might meet en route. Top had figured that the two Chinese-speakers could engage anyone that stopped them in conversation while he went and got a weapon suitable to the occasion.
“Any problems?” Ryan asked Top as they pulled up to the dock.
“None,” replied Top. “We didn’t see any Chinese. They must not have enough manpower to patrol the water as well as the land.”
Ryan posted lookouts on the corners of the building to watch for Chinese soldiers while they tied up the boat. The weapons were quickly unloaded and distributed to the soldiers. “OK,” Ryan said, “this is the most dangerous part of the mission. There is no deniability from here on out. If we’re seen with weapons, they’re going to raise the alarm, and the Chinese will rapidly respond to the threat. Use overwhelming firepower and move as quickly as possible.”
“Did you have any luck finding uniforms?” asked Top.
“No, we didn’t,” answered Ryan. “No one saw any soldiers that they could easily kill or capture. The only soldiers our guys saw were at the front of the IAB. I think we’re going to have to go with the smash and grab option.”
“Shit,” said Calvin, “I was hoping to do it the easy way.” He no longer seemed nervous, Ryan saw. If anything, he was beginning to look confident.
Calvin was just about to give the order to begin the assault when a new sound was heard. Although low at first, it rapidly grew louder. “What the hell’s that?” wondered Jet as he stepped off the boat. The noise sounded like several jet engines operating in concert, but was somehow different. Additionally, it seemed to be coming from out to sea, not from the air.
As the noise continued to build, Calvin finally recognized what it was. “That’s an LCAC!” he cried, recognizing the noise from one of his summer ROTC cruises during college. It was the opportunity they’d been looking for. “Quick! Master Chief, get everyone hidden. Sergeant Chang, get in its way, talk to the crew and get it to shut down!”
Everyone quickly hid behind the nearest cover as the Chinese Yuyi-class LCAC came around the breakwater from the south. The Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCAC) vehicle was a large hovercraft that the PLAN used to move vehicles, material and men from a ship at sea to the shore. As it got closer, Calvin could see that the massive hovercraft used two jet engines for propulsion and another four to power the four giant fans underneath the hovercraft that provided its lift. He estimated that the vessel was about 100 feet long, big enough to carry a fully loaded main battle tank.
The LCAC slowed as it approached the dock area and started to climb up the shallow bank in the direction of the IAB. Its forward progress slowed and then stopped, as Sergeant Chang ran out in front of it waving his arms. His lips moved, but he couldn’t be heard over the roar of six jet engines.
Faced with an obviously agitated Chinese man, the four crewmen of the hovercraft were unsure what to do. Sergeant Chang acted like he had every right to command them, indicating that they should land the craft and turn off its engines. They were, however, unsure, because he wasn’t in uniform. Finally, they decided to stop the LCAC in case Shuteye was a senior officer that had come to meet them, but hadn’t had time to put on a uniform. Just in case something was wrong, the crewmembers manned the three 14.5mm machine guns that the LCAC mounted, while the ship’s coxswain, its driver, shut down the craft. Two of the machine guns pointed in the general direction of Sergeant Chang, while the other maintained a lookout behind the hovercraft.
“Tell the crew to come out,” Calvin told Shuteye as he stood up where the crew of the LCAC could see him. Sergeant Chang translated his order into Chinese. The answer that he received was obviously a negative, and the two machine guns that had been focused on Shuteye reoriented to point at Calvin. Sergeant Chang translated, “They want to know why they should.”
“Tell them that they are vastly outnumbered,” said Calvin, who didn’t appear scared to have the machine guns pointed at him, “and if they don’t, they will all be killed.” Correctly interpreting the response from the Chinese sailors as another negative, Calvin said in a loud voice, “On the count of three, everyone stand up, with your weapons pointed at the crew. One…two…three!” Suddenly, the four crewmen had 30 rifles pointing at them. The machine gunners knew they could probably kill most of the Americans, but they also realized that they would probably also lose their own lives in the attempt. The unarmed coxswain gave up first, putting his hands into the air. One of the machine gunners quickly followed his example, followed by the other two crewmen. They put down the boarding ladder and were swiftly apprehended.
“I believe you were looking for some Chinese uniforms?” Calvin asked Ryan. “Here you go.”
Taking the demoralized crewmen into the boathouse, the Americans quickly stripped the Chinese sailors of their uniforms and secured their hands and ankles with zip-ties. While Shuteye and Jet put on the two uniforms that were closest to their size, Master Chief O’Leary organized the rest of the troops into a loose perimeter, and Top and two of the Rangers searched the LCAC. Top finally grunted and said, “Found ‘em.” He held up two Chinese rifles, which were passed down to Shuteye and Jet.
Suitably dressed and armed, the two Chinese-Americans approached the six people that had been chosen to play the part of ‘prisoners.’ Waiting in two lines of three were Master Chief O’Leary and Top, with two Rangers behind each of them. Each of the soldiers was chosen for his hand-to-hand and small arms combat skills. Calvin had decided to stay behind to watch the ‘big picture’ things, leaving the combat assault duties to the people that were trained for it.
“Does everyone know what they’re doing?” Calvin asked.
“Yes, sir, we’re all set,” Ryan said, looking at the men lined up behind him. “All right, Shuteye, lead us out.”
With Sergeant Chang in the lead and Private Li following the group, the two Chinese ‘sailors’ marched their ‘prisoners’ into the open space between the buildings. No outcry was heard or alarm raised; no Chinese soldiers were even in sight. The marching men signaled and the rest of the platoon began advancing stealthily, clinging to the shadows and other cover. As Calvin rounded the corner, he didn’t see any Chinese along the back of the IAB.
Shuteye continued marching the group past the tennis
courts and around to the front of the building, where they could see two Chinese soldiers guarding the front doors. As Calvin peeked around the corner, he could see that over half of the building’s front was made of glass. He guessed this was so, on a normal day, the students working out in the giant fitness room inside the building could look out. Calvin quickly ducked back around the corner out of sight.
As the group marched up toward the front doors, they could see inside the glass wall and were daunted by the sight of over twenty Chinese soldiers relaxing in the fitness center. The foreigners had pushed the machines into the center of the room to give them a clear field of fire out of the building and now appeared to be using the room as a barracks. The rest of the platoon would not be able to approach any further without being seen; the group would have to go the rest of the way alone.
“Damn, that’s a lot of ‘em,” said Private First Class Christian Woodard in a low voice from the back of Ryan’s line.
“Steady!” growled Ryan under his breath.
“Knock it off and look scared,” said Top simultaneously. That shouldn’t be hard, he thought to himself, because I’m scared shitless.
Shuteye was a little more optimistic. Looking at the guards, he saw that they were wearing army uniforms, while he was dressed in a navy one. The Chinese soldiers wouldn’t know the navy personnel, exponentially raising their chances of success. Buoyed by this thought, he reached the two soldiers at the front door and reported, “We’re from the crew of the assault craft. It just broke down behind the building. While we were working to fix it, we found these people standing around and thought you’d like some more hostages. They’re all yours!”
Occupied Seattle (Occupied Seattle Book 2) Page 4