by James Rosone
“Listen up, Ghost Nine. Ten Chinese-made ICBMs were launched from North Korea at ten US cities. These were MIRV-capable missiles. We managed to intercept 44 of the 45 warheads; however, one detonated over the Port of Oakland. It wiped out the city, and caused significant damage to San Francisco. The President has decided to retaliate against the Chinese for providing the North Koreans with these missiles. We lost one city, and we are going to wipe out one Chinese city in retaliation. One of the other B-2s is currently hitting the North Koreans with nukes in retaliation.”
The two pilots looked at each other, mouth’s aghast. They could not believe an American city had just been obliterated by a nuclear missile. This was like something out of a fiction novel, not real life. The voice of the SecDef continued, “The President and I want to wish you luck on this mission, and let you know that the entire country is depending on you.”
Twenty minutes later, their aircraft was airborne and heading towards China. They took a flight path that would take them over North Korea once again. They had already wiped out the enemy’s air defenses; their best chance of penetrating Chinese airspace was going to be across this border. As they approached North Korean airspace, they received a warning that several nuclear detonations were about to happen. They closed the blinders on their windows and watched their radar scope and instruments. A few minutes later, they saw the screen white out from one, and then multiple nuclear detonations. Once they confirmed that the bombs had detonated and the flash danger was over, they opened their window screens again and saw eight mushroom clouds rising into the air.
The US had hit North Korea with eight 340 kt. bombs, obliterating the North Korean capital along with three other cities and four military targets. The government of North Korea had been essentially wiped out and so had the vast majority of their military leadership, command and communication systems. They were a rudderless country and military at this point.
Within seconds of the American nuclear bombs going off, the search radars all across China began to light up. They were watching to see if any US aircraft or cruise missiles were headed towards them. The Spirit of California moved towards their target, methodically and deliberately crossing into Chinese airspace undetected. They had already carried out six deep-strike missions in Russia and one in North Korea; now they were testing the limits of the Chinese air defense.
It took them roughly fifty minutes to reach their target after the nuclear bombs hit Korea. They were trying to time the two strikes to happen relatively close to each other. Approaching the city at what was now 1040 in the morning, the pilots could see below that the metropolis below was full of life and people were early in the work day. A sinking feeling sat in the pit of their stomachs as the weight of what was about to happen started to sit on them.
When their bomber neared the drop point, they armed their nuclear bomb and prepared to release it. Without allowing themselves too much time to think, they opened their bomb bay doors and quickly released their single bomb. They waited to turn the aircraft until the doors registered as closed, ensuring their stealth capability was still intact. Then they began to turn and head back for home, having delivered America’s response to the Chinese for providing the North Koreans with a MIRV-capable ICBM.
*******
It took the B-83 bomb less than two minutes to fall to 3,000 feet, at which point, the arming mechanism registered that it was at the programmed altitude, sending the signal to detonate. The 1.2 Megaton warhead exploded over the city center of Shenyang, China, the largest city in northern China, with a population of 6.3 million people. The blast wave from the explosion reached out to 10.8 miles from the epicenter, instantly killing 4.87 million people and leaving millions more terribly injured. The firestorm the explosion created would wreak havoc on the surrounding boroughs and countryside, destroying one of China’s most important industrial centers.
Pure Shock
Beijing, China
Central Military Commission Bunker
The ruling members of China hurried to the command bunker for yet another emergency meeting. They knew the Americans would most likely launch a pre-emptive attack, but what they could not anticipate was Pak Lee being dumb enough to launch his nuclear missiles at the Americans and South Koreans. They had warned him to keep the war conventional--a conventional war could have ground on for weeks (if not months) and with China and Russia’s assistance, it would have led to a satisfactory outcome.
Once two nuclear missiles detonated over South Korea, the Chinese immediately knew the Americans would respond with an overwhelming nuclear response. The members of the CMC had just started the discussion of how to handle the situation when a report came in that the DPRK had launched the ten DongFeng missiles they had given them the year before and the missiles were on trajectories that would take them to the US mainland. Legitimate panic set in.
President Xi slammed his fist on the table and let out a long stream of obscenities that was so angry and vulgar that several men in the room actually blushed. “That was a terrible idea to give them those missiles!” he finally yelled, when he had calmed down enough to speak in non-curse words. “The fools have just doomed us all! The Americans will know we gave them advanced missiles, and if one of them destroys an American city, they will take their retribution on us!” He aimed most of his shouting at the generals who had advocated to give the Koreans the missiles.
General Xu, the commander of the Chinese Air Force, calmly declared, “We have to get our defense ready for an American attack. If one of those missiles does hit an American city, the U.S. will either go after our nuclear missile capability, or they will look to hit one of our cities in retaliation. We must alert our nuclear forces immediately.”
Everyone in the room looked at the President for direction.
General Kuang, the Defense Minister, spoke up before anyone else could respond to General Xu. “No,” he asserted. “We need to keep our alert level where it is. We need to assure the Americans that China is not a part of the Korean’s attack. That we have not coordinated with them or encouraged them to use these terrible weapons. We need the Americans to understand that we had no part in this or they will retaliate against us with even greater furor.”
The President sighed loudly and rubbed his temples. “This is not how things were supposed to happen,” he thought. “The Koreans were supposed to bog down American, South Korean, and Japanese Forces so we could carry out our annexation of Formosa.”
President Xi finally looked up at his military leaders. “Here is what’s going to happen. We are going to inform the Americans that we are not coordinating a nuclear strike with the Koreans. We have no intentions of using nuclear weapons against America or anyone else, just as Russia has insisted with their ongoing war with NATO. Second, if, one of those ICBMs does hit the US and an American city is wiped out, we will not respond to an American counterstrike unless it is a disproportionate response. If they lose one city and they choose to hit one of ours, we will let it stand and not retaliate. We can use it as a propaganda tool, but we will not use that as the pretext for a nuclear war, one we would undoubtedly lose.”
“The Americans still have ballistic missile submarines and enough nuclear missiles to wipe our country out. We can only win a war against America if we keep it conventional. If it goes nuclear, then no one wins, and all of this will have been for nothing. This drastically hurts us, but it does not derail our current plans. Does everyone understand?” he said looking at his military leaders with a gaze that seemed to reach through their very souls.
The men in the room just nodded.
Mourn with Those Who Mourn
33,000 feet in the air, undisclosed location over the Continental US
The President’s Chief of Staff had just finished working on Gate’s speech with the Communications Director and Press Secretary as they prepared to present it to the boss. The press was pushing for a comment, and wanted to know when and if the President would be making an address to the nation. It had been
nearly four hours since the city of Oakland and most of San Francisco had been destroyed. Over a million people had been killed or injured in the blast, and nine other cities had almost been nuked as well. The public was in a panic, and the media was not doing anything to help the matter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen nearly 10% in the final forty minutes of trading before it was closed to prevent a possible run on the market. When the government began to evacuate Washington DC, the news media immediately went to the air, informing the country that a nuclear attack against the capital and potentially other cities was underway. People began to flee several of the major cities as fast as they could. No one knew for certain which cities had been targeted or when the nuclear missiles might arrive. Then, new reports came of several explosions occurring in the sky. Military advisors spoke out through various news networks, informing everyone that these were most likely the vaunted missile interceptors, destroying the incoming nuclear missiles.
As soon as the nuclear explosion occurred, dozens of people on social media, and local media began to report on the detonation over the city of Oakland, California. Images began to show a growing mushroom cloud where the city and critical port had once been. Beyond the telltale intimidating cloud, fires were visible all throughout the city of San Francisco, along with numerous torn and damaged buildings. The hills surrounding the area were also ablaze, threatening nearby communities as the destruction from the bomb began to spread well beyond the initial blast area.
Some people began to post videos from closer to the blast site on Facebook Live, Snapchat, and Twitter. The images were horrendous. Torn, twisted, and burnt bodies could be seen everywhere. One student at UC-Berkeley was filming parts of the campus that had been destroyed by the blast. There were bodies everywhere--some alive in agonizing pain from third degree burns, pleading for help, some crying out for death to come, just to end their agony.
*******
As the President read the draft, he nodded in approval. It was a good message, and something needed to be put out to calm the country and let them know their government was functioning and that FEMA and other emergency response services were on the way to California.
“Liam, when I’m done with this speech, I want to meet with the National Security Council. We need to discuss what to do next about China. So far, they have not responded to our nuking of Shenyang, but this was clearly an act of war committed by them” Gates said.
“All right people, we go live in two minutes,” one of the coms people announced.
Everyone who did not need to be in the room scurried their way out while the President took several deep breaths to calm his nerves. This was possibly the most important speech of his life, and he wanted to make sure he got it right.
The camera light turned red, indicating he was now live. He looked up at the camera and began to read from the teleprompter.
“My fellow Americans, today is perhaps the saddest day in our history. Approximately four and a half hours ago, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired 23 short-range ballistic missiles at United States and Republic of Korea Forces on the Korean Peninsula. The THAAD missile defense system, along with several of our naval ships, were able to intercept 21 of the missiles, destroying them before they could hit their targets. However, the US Air Force base at Kunsan was hit with a nuclear missile and subsequently destroyed. A second nuclear missile hit the Republic of Korea’s Northern Air Command at Wonju, obliterating the base and the surrounding city.”
He paused to let that sink in. Gates looked down for a second before continuing, trying to keep his own emotions in check. “Pak Lee then ordered his only ten Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles to be launched at the US Homeland. These missiles were highly advanced, multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicle or MIRV missiles. Our intelligence agencies were unaware that North Korea had these types of systems. Within minutes of these ICBMs being launched, we were able to determine that these were, in fact, Chinese-made missiles that had been provided to North Korea.”
“When the missiles began their downward trajectory towards the US, the MIRVs released a total of forty-five nuclear warheads at American cities. NORAD directed our ship and land-based missile interceptors towards the incoming threats, successfully eliminating 44 of the 45 warheads. Unfortunately, one of the warheads detonated a one Megaton nuclear explosion approximately 10,000 feet above the port of Oakland in California.” He paused for a second, genuinely choked up. He wiped a tear from his left eye before continuing.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those who have been injured or killed by this attack. I can report to you that the imminent threat of nuclear attack is now over.” The President paused for a second, letting that last comment sink in for a second.
“The cities that had been targeted were El Paso, New York City, Washington, DC, Ft. Hood, San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, Pearl Harbor, and Fairbanks, Alaska. As of right now, there are no additional missiles headed towards the United States, and we have made it clear to both Russia and China that if any missile launches are detected from their countries at the US, we will respond with overwhelming force.”
“In response to this devastating attack, I have ordered the Air Force to respond with a nuclear attack of our own. Two hours ago, the Air Force dropped eight 340 kiloton nuclear bombs on North Korea’s largest four cities and four separate military targets. Because the Chinese provided Pak Lee with the advanced ICBMs that resulted in the destruction of Oakland and San Francisco, I have directed the Air Force to bomb one of China’s cities in retaliation. The city of Shenyang was destroyed by a 1.2 Megaton nuclear bomb, the largest nuclear bomb in our inventory. I have personally informed the Chinese president that any further nuclear launches against the US or our allies would result in a crushing nuclear response from America.”
“I want to assure you, the American people, that our great military is doing everything in their power to protect our nation. Our service members have suffered some horrific losses since the start of both the war with Russia, and now North Korea. We must continue to support our men and women in uniform and all of those who serve our country to protect us.”
“I am asking that we all come together as Americans in this tragedy, working together and supporting one another during these trying times. Please keep the people of California and our Armed Forces in your thoughts and prayers. For now, I wish you all good night. May God bless the United States,” he said concluding a short, but informative statement.
“Now we have to figure out what to do next,” he thought.
*******
When the President finished his address to the nation, he began to head towards the conference room to meet with the National Security Council. As he entered the room, he saw they had several video monitors up and running on the walls.
“Good, it looks like everyone is here,” he thought.
He took his seat, and jumped right into it, asking, “What is the situation in Korea right now, and what is going on with China?”
To say McMillan was stressed was an understatement. A half-eaten bottle of TUMS sat in front of him, and he briefly rubbed his chest where the pain of a possible ulcer was forming. “Our forces in the South are ready to move across the DMZ. We are holding off on sending them in while we try to make contact with whomever is still in charge in the North and see if we can convince them to surrender before we start the ground war. If we can force them into conceding, then we can save countless lives.”
“The Chinese, for their part, have not moved to engage our naval battlegroup or air assets yet. I think they are trying to figure out internally how to respond to our nuking one of their cities--”
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Meyers, interjected, “--We have to decide if the Chinese providing the North with MIRV-capable ICBMs constitutes an act of war, which I believe it does. If so, how we are ultimately going to respond to that?” he asked, speaking passionately.
Secretary Johnson s
ignaled that he wanted to speak, and the President nodded for him to proceed. “Mr. President, while I share the CJC’s anger, I would argue that calmer heads should prevail. Let’s see if we can get the North Koreans to surrender first. If that does not work, then we move forward with the ground war…. As to the Chinese, let’s see what they do next. Maybe the loss of one of their largest cities will caution them against any further aggressions towards our forces or the annexation of any further countries. Keep in mind, we still have an active war going on in Europe, and we cannot afford to attack China right now.”
Several of the members at the table nodded in agreement. It was sound advice, even if it was hard to accept with everyone’s emotions running so high.
A moment passed as the Secretary of State’s words soaked in. Then the President turned to his SecDef and asked, “When do we start to win some battles in Europe?”
All eyes turned to Secretary Castle, who smiled a devilish grin and began to explain the new strategy.
Surprise Attack
Mons, Belgium
NATO Headquarters
General Cotton was fuming.
“What were the Chinese thinking, giving that madman that kind of nuclear weapons’ capability?” he thought.
When he heard the US was going to respond with nuclear weapons, he was stunned. Then he saw the images coming from San Francisco, and he no longer cared about how many Chinese or North Koreans were just vaporized by American nukes.
“Just after the incident (as the Russians are calling it), they assured me that Russia had no intentions of turning the war nuclear. They also insisted that they had no foreknowledge of this event. Well, it doesn’t matter if they knew in advance--as long as they don’t use nuclear weapons themselves, we can win this fight in Europe,” thought the SACEUR confidently, pumped up with national pride and a desire to put America back on top.