Dawn of the Tiger

by Gus Frazer

  The general was already walking to the door. ‘Fletch, Sarah. Come with me to my office. I want you to hear what he has to say.’

  ‘Sure thing, Marty,’ responded Fletch.

  Sarah did not reply. She just gathered her things and moved over to the door, a picture of emotionless efficiency.

  Once the three had entered his office, Stephens called his secretary, putting it on speaker setting, and asking to be put through to Ambassador Xian.

  Xian picked up immediately. ‘What is the meaning of these attacks on our infrastructure?’ shouted Xian through the speaker.

  ‘Well, hello Mr Ambassador. You seem to have forgotten who you are talking to. I suggest you conduct yourself more professionally or this call is finished,’ replied Stephens, coldly. Both Fletcher and Sarah were in awe of the general’s ability to remain cool and calm.

  Xian paused. ‘I … please excuse me, General, but you must understand. Beijing has learnt of these attacks and my superiors are asking many questions. They are also threatening reprisals. Please, explain these attacks.’

  ‘Well, Xian,’ said the general, his voice emotionless, ‘let me explain something to you. You are on our land. We don’t want you here anymore, so we’re going to get you out. We will not stop this line of aggression until you and your army are swimming back to Guangzhou. Mark my words, this is only the beginning.’

  It was Xian’s turn to drop the temperature. After a few seconds of silence, his voice came through the speaker. ‘Well, General, I can only conclude that you have lost your mind and I pity your fellow-Australians. I am very sorry but your actions will result in serious reprisals against your nation that are outside of my control.’

  ‘So be it, Ambassador. The Australian people are ready for whatever you decide to throw at us,’ replied General Stephens.

  ‘Goodbye, General,’ said Xian, hanging up without waiting for a reply.

  General Stephens looked up at Fletcher and Sarah with a wan smile. ‘That could have gone better, don’t you think?’

  They both stared back speechless, stunned by the threat Xian had made, but also still in awe of General Stephens’ composure when confronted by such aggression.

  ‘Yes, well, I think we’ve hurt their feelings,’ said Fletcher dryly.

  ‘They’re certainly not happy about us crashing their little party, are they?’ said Sarah, desperately trying to refrain from smiling.

  General Stephens picked up on the guilt they felt, having a laugh when it could mean that soon innocent Australians would probably be in danger.

  ‘You know, Winston Churchill once said, “War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.” I think he was absolutely right. If we are to win this game we can’t paralyse ourselves with fear and self-doubt. We are doing the right thing here, guys.’

  Chapter 11

  ‘Drone! Drone! Drone!’ yelled Carver from inside the mine.

  ‘Fuck. Inside now!’ yelled Higgins.

  Finn sprinted towards the mine entrance as the others were running into the opening. Higgins was right behind him, but stopped. ‘Hunt, wait! Help me with this lot.’

  Finn skidded to a halt, turned and ran back to help Higgins with the weaponry and tools that had been left behind by one of the others. It looked like only a day after their first mission, someone was already getting sloppy.

  ‘C’mon, Hunt. Take the rifle. I’ve got the rest. Move! Come on!’

  Finn grabbed the rifle and together they legged it back to the mine.

  Gasping for air, both men collapsed on the ground, dropping their loads.

  ‘Quiet! It’ll be overhead in a second — it may have audio sensors,’ hissed Taylor.

  Higgins had recovered enough to start glaring at the men huddled in the mineshaft. As soon as the drone was out of range, he was going to let someone have it for leaving his weapon outside.

  Half a minute passed, and the sound of the jet-propelled drone went directly overhead. ‘Sounds high,’ said Taylor, once the sound faded. ‘Must be doing a broad aerial surveillance. That’s good. They obviously have no clue where we’re holed up.’

  Higgins didn’t waste a second once they were clear. ‘Okay. Which one of you cocksuckers left your rifle and cleaning kit out there?’

  The men all stared back, no one owning up. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I’m mistaken. Perhaps it was left out there by a fucking roo. Or maybe Father-fucking-Christmas left it there as an early present! Who left the weapon outside? I won’t ask again.’

  ‘Sarge. Where’s Jessop?’ asked Bull.

  Higgins’ face dropped, when he realised, looking around, that Jessop was not in the mine. ‘Little cunt,’ he muttered through gritted teeth.

  Striding outside, Higgins saw Jessop walking back to the mine, looking sheepish. The other men trickled out of the cave to see what would happen.

  ‘What the fuck are you doing walking around like you’re sniffing the roses, Jessop?’ yelled Higgins. ‘Tell me you weren’t out in the open when that drone came over.’

  ‘I was taking a crap, Sarge, and I heard the call. Figured I wouldn’t make it back to the mine in time so I hid in a crevasse over there.’

  ‘You dopey little cunt. The latrine has been positioned so that even a retard like you could get back in time,’ said Higgins, so close to Jessop’s face that it was showered by Higgins’ spit. ‘If our position has been given away by your white ass hanging out your pants, I will personally tear you a new asshole. Understood?’

  ‘Yes, Sarge. Sorry, Sarge. I thought I was doing the right thing,’ stuttered Jessop.

  ‘Don’t think again. Your brain has not developed enough for you to think. You just do as I say, and when I say “into the mine”, I mean get in the fucking mine!’

  Jessop was clearly shaken by the verbal hammering dispensed by Higgins. The rest of the squad was also shocked by Higgins’ reaction. Finn felt bad for Jessop, mainly because he would have done the same thing if it had been him out there when the alarm came in. Jessop was only 18, and Finn often felt protective of him, even though they’d been in training for around the same amount of time.

  Higgins now turned to the rest of the men. ‘That goes for all of you! We cannot risk being spotted. Our number one offence is our ability to operate covertly, which is also our number one defence.

  ‘Right. Back to work. Hunt, you and Carver get onto those bikes. They need to be cleaned and checked by the end of the day.’

  The rest of the day was uneventful, but everyone was now on edge, just waiting for another drone or chopper to buzz the camp. The game had just stepped up a notch.

  For two days the squad had done little else but clean their gear and rest, the boredom relieved only by the numerous aerial reconnaissance drones and false alarms. This was more agonising than their nine-hour hike across the desert. Their routine was determined largely by the satellite sweeps, which also meant much of their time was spent in the mine. Nine men, on edge, inside a confined space, will generally result in frustration, anxiety and occasional aggression. Still, they were well trained and well led by Higgins, so discipline was generally good.

  Carver and Finn had somehow become the bike maintenance go-to guys and spent hours every day shooting the shit as they went through the routine checks.

  On the evening of day two, sitting outside alone, wondering what the next 24 hours would bring, Finn reflected on how he managed to get himself involved in this war. Though it almost made him dizzy thinking about how quickly his life had changed, he knew he’d never felt stronger or more purposeful and he loved the sense of camaraderie in the squad.

  The light was going now. Soon it would be time to go in, before the satellite came over. Finn gathered his gear, stood slowly, stretched, then picked up his kit and moved gingerly back inside the mine. He was hoping for another mission to come up soon. The tedium of checking and rechecking gear was now getting unbearable, no matter how much of a pisser C
arver was.

  Most of the squad was doing the same, making their way inside, dropping their gear, finding a spot to park-up until it was time for dinner. The only thing that kept the men sane in times like this was humour. It may have been war that brought them together, but it was humour that created their bond. It was typical Australian humour, not for the faint-hearted. Some cultures might’ve called it bullying or cruelty, but for them, it was the greatest form of bonding that could be done. That night, unexpectedly, they were given emails from their family, loved ones and friends. It had been over three weeks with no mail, so it was a welcome surprise.

  Each man’s email was downloaded onto his personal tactical unit, the military equivalent of the civilian’s MiLA. Sitting around the mine in the low light, the men talked about news from home.

  ‘Oh shit, guys. I’m a dad! Bella had a baby boy! I’m a dad!’ yelled Dave.

  Calls of congratulations went around the mine.

  ‘Hey, Dave,’ called out Bull. ‘You better call the Guinness World Record people. This could be the first time ever that a newborn baby weighed more than its dad!’

  The mine erupted in laughter.

  ‘Fuck you, Bull. I’m not a sniper for nothing. I’m such a crack shot, even my sperm never miss their mark,’ responded Dave smugly, to more wails of laughter.

  Higgins, who had been laughing, was standing now. ‘All right. Cut it out, guys. The satellite will be overhead soon, and I don’t intend to find out how good their hearing is, so let’s keep it quiet.’

  The men calmed down, and Finn went back to his emails. As well as emails from his mum and dad, there was one from Chris. Finn opened it and started reading with trepidation.

  From: Chris08@me.com

  To: Finn.Hunt@austinf.gov.au

  SUBJECT: You’re a Knob

  AUTHORISATION: CENSORSHIP APPROVED

  Dude, hope you’re still alive and have all your balls attached. I’ve been meaning to write for a while now. To be honest, until recently, I was still pretty pissed off with you, fella. Anyway, let bygones be bygones and all that. I just wanted to say you’re an arsehole for breaking my nose, but I know I had it coming. Anyhow, apparently we gotta keep these short for some secret military reason. Call me when you’re back in Sydney.

  Chris.

  PS You still owe me $50 and I want it back, dickhead.

  Typical Chris, thought Finn: simple and to the point, no faffing about. Even though the overzealous military censorship spiders had automatically gone through and edited it, hearing from Chris still made him smile, and he felt relieved that there would be no drawn-out apologies required.

  Another email caught his eye — it was from Sophie. With a little shock, he realised he’d completely forgotten about her. It felt like a lifetime ago he had last seen her. When he had found out that she had gone back to the UK, he’d tried to put her out of his mind — he had no idea how effectively he’d managed to do that.

  He started reading, curious to see how he’d feel.

  From: Sophie.Marks@gmail.co.uk

  To: Finn.Hunt@austinf.gov.au

  SUBJECT: Apologies

  AUTHORISATION: CENSORSHIP APPROVED

  Dear Finn

  I hope this finds you well. I’m so sorry I didn’t write sooner. I had to leave Australia quicker than I had hoped. My father wasn’t well and the rest of the family was pressuring me to come back. They thought it safer to be back in the UK, but given what’s going on around Europe, I tend to disagree. Anyway, all is generally well here. My father made a miraculous recovery once I returned — think I was tricked into coming home!

  MESSAGE LENGTH EDIT [MILITARY CENSOR]

  I miss you, and I hope that we can meet up again. It was a shame we couldn’t spend longer together.

  Big kisses + hugs, Soph

  Well, at least he knew she was safe and that everything was okay, despite the army deciding her email was too long. He briefly considered writing back to her, but after trying to think of what he could tell her and coming up with nothing, she slipped from his mind again.

  The rest of the emails were from friends, all wishing him well and looking forward to seeing him again. Looking around the dim, orange-lit cave, he could see that everyone’s spirits were lifted, hearing from home. It made why they were fighting so much more real. It also reminded them of their reasons to survive and not die out there in the desert.

  The next day their orders were received. Their next mission was much bigger than the last. This mission was classified as ‘extremely dangerous’, and would involve enemy contact. Higgins called the men into the mine for the briefing. It was immediately clear that this operation would be different, as both Higgins and Taylor were far more on edge. This set the tone of the briefing from the outset. All the men listened intently as Higgins spoke.

  ‘The target is a Chinese outpost south of our position,’ said Higgins, pointing to the mapscreen. ‘This outpost houses around three platoons and support personnel. They conduct regular patrols of the transportation lines, both road and rail. Tomorrow night there will be a coordinated attack by our forces on a fuel depot to the north of us being used by the Chinese iron ore trains. Our role is to link up with Bravo squad, here,’ he pointed to a spot on the mapscreen, ‘and hit the garrison before the attack on the depot. This way, the Chinese response to the fuel depot attack will be minimised. If we fail, the Chinese will be able to react to the attack on the depot and probably wipe out our guys up in the north.’

  The men looked up at Higgins, each of them visibly shifting with the new weight of responsibility.

  ‘There can be no mistakes on this mission. I don’t want to live with the fact that our failure directly caused other men’s deaths. But that’s exactly what will happen if we fuck this up.’ Higgins let this linger for a moment before continuing.

  ‘Tomorrow, at 1600 hours, we will get on our bikes and travel to the target. We will deploy two clicks east of the target, link with Bravo, and together engage the target. The attack will be full-frontal — the element of surprise on this mission is critical to our success.

  ‘So, gentlemen, I think it is safe to assume that we will be getting our hands dirty tomorrow. The stakes are high and, if we are to pull this off, we need to be on our game,’ said Higgins, wrapping up the briefing. ‘Questions, anyone?’

  ‘Sarge, even if we’re successful, this operation could take a while to fully secure the area. We could be riding back to our base when the satellite is doing its evening sweep. Isn’t there a risk that we’ll compromise our position?’ asked Finn.

  ‘Good point, Hunt,’ responded Taylor. ‘I will remain here at base camp and monitor all Chinese surveillance. If it’s looking too hot, you’ll be camping out under a thermal tent until it’s safe to come back in.’ Silence filled the mine. ‘All right. We’ll be doing incursion drills this afternoon and assigning roles and responsibilities,’ said Higgins.

  ‘Dismissed,’ said Taylor.

  The men stood and shuffled their way out of the mine into the sunlight.

  ‘Fuck me! No pressure, huh?’ said Carver.

  Finn, squinting in the bright sun, replied, ‘Mate, I guess this is what it’s all about.’

  ‘S’pose so … ’ said Carver, trailing off as he walked away.

  The next day final preparations were made, gear checked and rechecked, the plan discussed and talked through in the finest detail. Everyone had to know all the details in case a man went down and someone else had to step in and do his job. Lieutenant Taylor had been in communication with Bravo squad to ensure they were all clear on the rendezvous point.

  At 1550, the men assembled with their motorbikes. They were to travel in formation. Finn, Carver and Jessop, as the least experienced, had to sit in the middle at the back. If they encountered a Chinese patrol, having the most experienced men at the sides meant they could react quicker to a situation.

  The ride down the narrow canyon was slow and they again had to carefully negotiate around
all the larger rocks and boulders.

  Once out of the canyon, things became slightly better. They had enough space to get their speed up. After two-and-a-half hours of exhausting travel along the plain, Higgins, who had been monitoring a GPS the whole time, spoke into his comms unit, ordering the men to stop.

  Higgins got off his bike. ‘Stay on your bikes, men,’ he said to the others. Checking his GPS again, Higgins dialled in a frequency on his wrist-mounted communications unit. This was the rendezvous point, but there was no sign of Bravo squad. Higgins spoke while pressing a button on the small microphone attached to his neck that picked up the sound of his voice.

  The sun was low now. They needed to dock with Bravo and get moving to the target. There was still another hour of riding, possibly two depending on the conditions.

  ‘Bravo, this is Alpha, do you read?’ Higgins said again into the comms unit.

  ‘Alpha, this is Bravo, we read you. Coming up to the rendezvous point in 15 minutes,’ came the reply.

  Higgins breathed a sigh of relief — at least they weren’t far off.

  The desert was silent but for the slight sounds of the men shifting their weight on their bikes. Higgins imagined it would have been a nice time to be in the desert, if there wasn’t a war on.

  ‘All right, men. Dismount, stretch the legs, take a piss, but stay close to the vehicles,’ barked Higgins.

  Fifteen minutes later Bravo team rolled up on their motorbikes. They discussed the plan as a group. It was pretty simple, in theory. But of course nothing is that simple in the mayhem of battle. They would travel separately to the target, taking divergent routes. Once at the target zone they would employ a pincer movement that would have Alpha team attack from the west and Bravo from the south. This way they would minimise the possibility of being hit by friendly fire. It would also confuse the Chinese troops and split their defence.

  There were two key elements to the plan. The first and most important element was surprise, and the second one was speed. Once they engaged the target they had to move quickly and with maximum aggression. If one team was pinned down by return fire, there was little chance of the other being able to breach the fence and take control of the compound. Both teams had to make it into the compound for them to have a chance of achieving their objective.