Sun Juan, the only female Vice Premier, stood up next. The president had tasked her with coordinating the automobile plant deception operations and knew that she had made several trips to the United States to check on operations there. “We have two ocean-going car carriers ready for deploying our vehicles and an additional two freighters for the personnel. Over the last year, we have successfully staged the additional equipment required at the factories in the United States. Additional assault personnel will begin deployment two months prior to Dragon’s Bite so that they are all in place on time.”
Vice Premier Zhu Jie, stood next. Well versed in intelligence and special operations, he had been directed to oversee the outlying operations of the Dragon’s Bite campaign. “We have stepped up our training with our paratroops and will be ready for the drops they need to make. We currently have ten Y-20 Kunpeng aircraft and will only need six for the operation, so we will have plenty of spares.” The Y-20 was a heavy lift aircraft similar to the U.S. Air Force’s C-17 aircraft, although less capable in just about every way.
“What can you tell me about Seattle?” asked the president, looking back to Vice Premier Li Min. “What will our troops experience when they get there?”
“The city of Seattle has over 600,000 inhabitants,” said Vice Premier Li, “and there are over 4 million people in the metropolitan area. It is the Americans’ largest city in their northwest region and is their major gateway for trade with Asia. The city of Seattle is located on an isthmus between the saltwater Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east. The city rests on a number of hills and there are fairly tall mountain chains to the east and west of the city. The climate is generally temperate, especially while we are going to be there, with temperatures between 13-24 degrees Celsius (56-76 degrees Fahrenheit). Generally, it rains less than 3 centimeters (about one inch) per month while we will be there, so our troops will not need any special cold weather or rain gear.
“It sounds like the Dragon’s Bite preparations are well in hand,” noted the president. “Where do we stand with the preparations for the main invasion?”
“The main invasion preparations are continuing and are on schedule,” the Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army briefed. He was also a new member of the executive war council and looked slightly more nervous than the head of the PLAN. Of course, thought the president, he was responsible for all of the combat operations, so he was under a good deal of stress to ensure everything was properly prepared. “We have over 200 Yubei assault craft available, in addition to the naval forces that have been detailed to support them.” The Yubei was a landing craft that carried 6 combat vehicles or 150 troops. Having 200 operational, in addition to all of their amphibious assault ships, would give them a capability to move a tremendous amount of equipment and personnel, even if (as had to be expected with that many machines) some of them experienced mechanical difficulties. “We will be ready when it is time.”
“Everything is proceeding in accordance with our plans,” the president said, looking around the room. “We will continue with our original schedule. Keep me informed if anything changes. That concludes our meeting today.”
As the leaders started to file out of the room, the president motioned to Vice Premier Han Yong to stay behind. Once everyone else had left, the president asked, “And how is your portion of the plan proceeding?”
Han smiled. Of all the council, he was the most nondescript, which had served him well in all of the espionage activities that he had conducted over the years. An excellent spymaster, he was the perfect person to handle the things that the president didn’t want known by the rest of the council. “It is done. Everything needed is prepared and in place.”
“Good,” said the president, “That is very good.”
VFA-34 Ready Room, Virginia Beach, VA
“We’ve got gas money, Torch!” LT “Calvin” Hobbs said to Lieutenant Junior Grade Steve Berkman, walking into the Maintenance Officers’ office. Five of the junior officers from the Maintenance Department shared an office that was only marginally bigger than the five desks that were shoehorned into it. Department Heads received their own individual offices, but that was at least one promotion away for the Lieutenants, and two more for the Lieutenant Junior Grade officers. At the moment, the only desk occupied was Torch’s; with nothing better to do, the rest of the officers were taking an extended lunch.
“Do you always have to call me that?” asked Berkman. An inch over six feet tall, he was an inch taller than Calvin and tried to use it, usually good naturedly, to intimidate Calvin.
“Pretty much,” said Calvin, pushing him away. “Even you should be happy today, though, you big grouch. We finally got the word that we are going to deploy at the end of next year. We’re getting gas money shortly to start flying so we will be ready to go!”
“When?” asked Torch. “Let me guess, we’re going to deploy right before Christmas and miss spending it with our families, right?”
“Boy, you sure are a grouch,” said Calvin. “Maybe we should have named you “Oscar,” after Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch.” He paused and considered, “It’s not too late to change it, I guess.”
“No! I like that even less!” said Torch.
“Some people never learn,” said LT John “Constant” Gardner, shaking his head as he walked up. “Hey, did I hear you say we had money to fly again?” One of the junior officers in the squadron had been talked into seeing the movie The Constant Gardener by his girlfriend. He said it was the worst movie he had ever seen and, since John was the worst pilot they had, it was a perfect nickname for him. The call sign had stuck, even though John wasn’t actually the worst pilot in the squadron, or even in the bottom three. That didn’t make it any less fun to kid him about it, though; if anything, it only made it more so.
“Yes,” said Calvin. “Our boat is going to deploy at the end of next year, so we’re going to start working up for it soon. We’ll continue working in the simulators while the maintenance folks get the jets ready to fly again and will probably start flying next month. It looks like we’ll probably go out on the boat early next summer and then out to the air base at Fallon, Nevada, in late July or August.” Calvin knew that their aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, was considered a “ship” by most people, but to the aviators, it was always known as, ‘the boat.’
“Cool,” said Constant. “I can’t wait. I love Fallon!”
“What’s so good about it?” asked Torch.
“Lots of things,” said Calvin. “First, the flying is great. We get a lot of flight time at Fallon, including the opportunity to drop bombs and practice dog fighting against the other members of the air wing, as well as against the aggressor squadron at Fallon that simulates the enemy aircraft we will be expected to face on deployment. In addition to our squadron, the other eight squadrons in our air wing will be there, and we’ll get to fly together as an air wing and practice the kind of strikes and missions that we will be expected to perform when we’re out on deployment.” Constant was nodding his head. He’d been to Fallon once before and loved the flying there.
“In addition to the flying,” Calvin continued, “the air base at Fallon is only about an hour from Reno, Nevada, and just over two hours from Lake Tahoe. If we’re not flying on the weekends, we can go to the casinos and have a blast! Did you know that drinks are free in the casino?” He paused, thinking. “And, if memory serves, Caesar’s Palace still owes me $200 from the last time I played Black Jack there.”
“You’re just unlucky,” said Constant. “I think I won $100 the last time we were there.”
“I don’t want to gamble,” griped Torch. “I’d probably just lose my money.”
Calvin looked at Constant, shaking his head. “He’s definitely Oscar,” Calvin said. Some people never learn.
Guangzhou Interbay Assembly Plant, Seattle, WA
“I can’t wait to have this over,” said Colonel Zhang Wei of the Guangzhou Military R
egion Special Forces Unit. “I am not sure if they just don’t know that Zhang is my family name, or if they’re just too lazy to care.” Colonel Zhang hated many things about being in America. He hated wearing glasses. He hated being called “Mister,” instead of “Colonel,” which he had spent years earning. More than anything, though, he hated lazy people, regardless of their nationality.
“I think they’re just too lazy,” confirmed Lieutenant Colonel Peng Yong, his executive officer. The colonel had asked Peng and the rest of his regimental officers, all of whom were officers for the three vehicle assembly plants operating in the United States, to meet him for a late night briefing. They had assembled in the meeting room of Guangzhou’s Interbay Assembly Plant.
“Which is exactly as I thought,” replied Colonel Zhang. As a Special Forces colonel, he was in excellent shape, another fact that was lost on Americans. At five foot nine inches, he probably weighed half of what American automobile plant managers did. If any of them had ever noticed it, they had never commented on it in the two years he had been assigned as the manager of the Guangzhou Interbay Assembly Plant. The two long years.
He was also to be the head of ground forces in the coming war and was responsible for all the preliminary Chinese operations in the United States. “Where do we stand with getting the rest of our troops into the country?” he asked his XO.
“As you are aware, sir, people coming into the country can either enter on a business visa or tourism visa,” Lieutenant Colonel Peng replied, displaying the powerpoint briefing on the meeting room’s screen. “We will be getting 2,000 soldiers, or almost half of our regiment, into the country on business visas. The B-1 Business Visa allows entry into the country for a variety of reasons, such as to consult with business associates, to attend a business convention or conference, or to negotiate a contract. As you asked, I tasked our regimental officers to come up with ways of using these visas for getting their troops into the country, and they have been quite creative.”
He brought up the first slide. “One company of troops, about 150 personnel, will be entering the country for ‘consultations’ at each of the three plants.” He switched slides. “In addition, over 600 troops will enter the country for the ‘Import Automotive Manager’s Association’ convention that several of the officers from this plant will be hosting. Captain Liu Fang is leading the effort for this project. Surprisingly, there has been a tremendous amount of interest in this convention among many of the American auto makers, and the officers involved in hosting this convention are actually going to put on the first couple of days of a real convention. I endorsed this project not only as a method of bringing a large number of troops into the country, but also as a project for helping to develop their planning skills.”
“I approve,” said Colonel Zhang, nodding. “That will not only provide a cover for the troops, but also continue to develop them as military officers as well. Very good.”
“Thank you sir,” said Lieutenant Colonel Peng as he continued. “The conference has expanded to the point that they have had to enlist the services of quite a few of the staff here.” He brought up the next slide. “Another couple of companies will be entering the country to ‘negotiate contracts’ for additional facilities for the three plants that are currently in operation and for ‘new facilities’ for three prospective Chinese automobile manufacturing companies that are interested in opening operations in the United States.” He switched slides and topics.
“The other half of the regiment will be entering on various B-2 Tourism and Visit Visas, which can be used for tourism, vacations, visit with friends or relatives, or amateur participation in music, sports, or similar events or contests, as long as they are not being paid for participating. The officers were extremely creative in finding ways to use these visas to get their men into the country, as well.”
He looked up and smiled. “Timing is everything, and the officers found several ways to use it to our advantage. For example, Captain Chou Min noticed that the SAIC plant in Tacoma was due to roll out its first car in July. He thought it would be easy for the plant to have a small setback that postponed the rollout until August. If that happened, then it would be very appropriate for the Chinese plants in the area to have a big celebration, especially with the fleet coming to town. This would be an excellent opportunity to bring additional company employees, well wishers, and a variety of other staff members into the country for the festivities. Personally, I think this is a brilliant idea. Not only does it create a number of reasons to bring people into the country, it also provides a way to disguise a number of our activities that week.”
Lieutenant Colonel Peng looked up to find Colonel Zhang nodding. “He is to be commended,” Zhang said. “Has the facility had its unfortunate accident yet?”
“Yes, it has,” confirmed Lieutenant Colonel Peng. “The SAIC facility experienced a mishap two days later in one of its assembly lines. Not only did that push back their first rollout so that it now occurs in August, it also gives us a justification for bringing the destroyer Changsha to Tacoma. We have developed a cover story for the assembly line piece that is needed, where it will have to be transported by ship, due to its sensitivity to pressure changes. As the destroyer is the fastest ship available to bring it, we will request that it be given clearance to dock in Tacoma, so that we can bring it to the facility by helicopter.” Peng grinned. “The piece is proprietary, of course, so we can’t tell them what it is; we’ll be happy to share the information with customs when it arrives.”
They both shared a knowing grin on how they expected customs to work in their favor.
Peng continued, “With the schedule worked out, it was easy to schedule a couple of companies of troops on B-2 visas to come in for various vacations, tours and visits with their ‘relatives’ that work at the three plants in the area. Two additional companies will also be coming in as the “Guangzhou People’s Symphony Orchestra,” which will be performing at both the IAMA Convention and at the rollout ceremony.”
“I wasn’t aware that such a symphony existed,” interjected Zhang, “and I grew up in Guangzhou.”
“It didn’t,” agreed Peng. “This idea required a bit more coordination, as our officers had to find people in the regiment that could play the instruments required. It also required a couple of transfers from two of the other special operations groups to fill out the strings section, but the officers were able to put it together. The orchestra is currently practicing back home, in addition to their regular training, and has scheduled several performances locally to establish their “bona fides” as a legitimate band.” Peng chuckled. “I heard that their first performance sounded somewhere between a train wreck and ten long-tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs, but they are apparently starting to come together now. I hope so, because I will have to be present for at least one of their performances when they arrive in the United States.”
“That was very creative,” commented Zhang. “I knew we were the first People’s Republic Special Forces unit to be capable of sea, air and land operations, like the U.S. Navy’s SEALs, but I did not realize we were musically capable, as well.” He paused. “Is that it? Unless my math is wrong, we are still at least 1,000 troops short.”
“No,” said Peng. “There is one more item, and I think you might like this one the most. The final idea involved a little extra coordination, but provided an avenue to get the remainder of the regiment to the United States. In 2013, the first luxury cruise liner of the People’s Republic, the M.S. Henna, made her maiden voyage. The Henna’s first season of cruising was very successful and was enjoyed by many, including Captain Guo Jing, who took her husband on one of its outings. When she approached me with the idea of using the Henna as a troop transport, I found the idea intriguing, as it opened up a lot of possibilities. You will remember last year when I asked if I could coordinate a special project with the chain of command while I was back in China?” Zhang nodded. “This was it. The General Staff agreed and furt
her forwarded the idea to the premier, who ‘suggested’ to the management of Star Cruise Lines that they implement a new cruise route from Guangzhou to Vancouver and Seattle, and then back to Guangzhou. Not surprisingly, Star Cruise Lines implemented the route this year, and will be using it next year, so the ship will be available for our use. With accommodations for 1,900 ‘tourists,’ the rest of our transportation needs are not only taken care of, but taken care of in style.” Peng grinned. “That gets everyone in the regiment into the country.”
Zhang nodded. “Just so they do not get too soft riding across the ocean on a luxury liner,” he warned.
“There are no worries of that. Sergeant Major Tso will be one of the ones riding the ship. He will ensure that they are gainfully employed and spend their time in the exercise room and on other appropriate endeavors.” There was a general chuckle from all assembled. Sergeant Major Tso was a harsh taskmaster who accepted only perfection. If he was on the Henna, there would be no slacking off.
“Those all sound like excellent ideas; continue with their implementation,” Zhang ordered. “We have been given the “go” for the operation, with a target date of Sunday, August 19, 2018. I thought our biggest challenge would be getting our troops into the country, but it seems that things are proceeding as planned. There are many moving pieces to continue to track, but for now, we are a ‘go.’”
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, WA,
Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle (Occupied Seattle Book 1) Page 3