Chapter Twenty-Four
DISCOVERED
May 9, 08:30 (PDT)
With less than four hours of sleep, General Story was back at work. As he paced near his post in ROAS Central Command, the building was a beehive of activity. The plans provided by SALI hours earlier were moving forward at a rapid pace. At his disposal were real-time updates on supply shipments, engineering, troop positions, and weapons systems. By his reckoning, if all went well, the ROAS Army of Defense needed at least another thirty-seven hours to be ready.
Operation Heavy Metal, SALI’s ROAS defensive plan for Las Vegas, was underway. Thanks to the foresight of President Ortega, a lot of effort had already taken place but much work remained. In his meeting with SALI he learned that President Ortega, two months prior, had listened to the AI and in secret begun executing the plan. Without the head start, Heavy Metal wouldn’t be workable.
Still, the reality of the situation was mind-blowing. General Story stopped pacing and looked at a digital map of his troop deployment. The entire ROAS Army combat capability was comprised of only two divisions. The First ROAS Infantry Division based in California with elements in Nevada, and the Second Infantry Division headquartered in Washington State with units stretching into Oregon. Combined, the two divisions and their support staff contained just over thirty thousand troops.
Meanwhile, over the last twenty years, the US Army had doubled in size. Now totaling fifty-one active combat divisions with another twenty-one independent combat brigades, the US Army was a behemoth containing more than a million combat troops.
To make matters worse, the ROAS had no navy, just a small Coastal Defense Fleet and a small air force containing a few squadrons of tactical fighters, vertical-lift aircraft, and logistical supply craft. Compared to the overwhelming might of the United States Army, along with the US Navy, Marines, and Airforce, the ROAS military was insignificant.
Deployed to protect Nevada, he had a single infantry brigade containing 4,400 soldiers, minus the battalion already wiped out in Mesquite. Other than fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, the Nevada brigade contained no heavy armor.
In comparison, an entire US Armored Division, the Fifty-Fifth, about eighteen thousand men, maneuvered against Nevada. A subset of the Fifty-Fifth Division, two Armored Brigade Combat Teams comprised of eight thousand men, was used against Mesquite and now threatened Las Vegas. The balance of the US Fifty-Fifth Division formed a second attack prong and sat poised on the US–Utah border threating Reno.
The general paused and considered the possibilities again. To help meet the Nevada threat and improve the odds just a bit, the general could commit the remaining elements of the ROAS First Division based in California. But such a course was inadvisable and would leave California open to attack by the hulking US Seventh Marine Division stationed within the US Military District of San Diego (USMDSD or DSD).
The DSD was a key element of the secession agreement, allowing the US to keep naval and marine installations in and around San Diego and Hawaii. Without that agreement and the direct US Naval access to the Pacific it afforded, there would’ve been no secession.
With a full US Marine division in the District of San Diego, moving the California-based ROAS First Division units into Nevada wasn’t an option.
Nor was moving elements of the ROAS Second Division out of Washington and Oregon. After secession, when the US abandoned Fort Lewis near Seattle, to replace it, they opened a new military Installation in Fort Lewiston, Idaho. Near the Washington and Oregon border, Lewiston was now the home of the US Fifty-Sixth Armored Division. To counter the threat, the ROAS Second Division needed to stay in place.
Too many ROAS forces consolidated at any point would weaken another. The math was simple and overwhelming.
But SALI’s plan wasn’t counting on numerical superiority.
Looking at a digital map, General Story examined his forces around Las Vegas. Heavy Metal called for half of the Fourth Brigade, three battalions totaling 1,800 soldiers, to hold the city. The remainder of the brigade would need to remain in Reno to protect against the US threat poised on the Utah border. Outnumbered by more than four to one and out-gunned, the thin line holding Vegas, in conventional terms, wasn’t enough. Regardless, it was the maximum the ROAS could afford and the minimum needed to pull off SALI’s plan.
The general shifted his attention to the reports coming in about the logistics needed to execute the plan. Vital supplies from Central California were still on the way, and the defensive works around Las Vegas remained under construction.
Meanwhile, the enemy kept a watchful eye, and he doubted they were missing any of his moves. Combined with around-the-clock satellite coverage, US Airforce AWACS and satellites monitored the entire Las Vegas area, and once the shooting started could detect and coordinate against his defenses. But Heavy Metal took that into account—he hoped.
Tired, the general sat down at his workstation and rubbed his eyes. Deep in thought, a sudden burst of applause broke out. The general looked up and spotted several people from the S6 Communications Area smiling and clapping.
Seated next to the general, hearing the commotion, Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Simpson stood up and said, “I’ll find out, sir.”
General Story watched Simpson go, then turned back to his monitor and scanned the latest aerial surveillance footage from outside Las Vegas. He clicked on several pictures, zooming in to check on the defensive structures. So far, progress appeared on track. Pleased, he shifted his attention to the main supply delivery concern and looked for potential sources of trouble.
Returning from across the room, Simpson said, “Sir, good news.”
Eyes red with fatigue, the general looked up and asked, “What do you have?”
“Staff Sergeant Lisa McMichael. She’s alive.”
The general recognized the name. He’d briefed the president about her and provided the video now running on every ROAS press broadcast. She was a hero. But the news of her survival seemed like a long shot. The final video of her position showed it pounded by 30 mm cannon fire. Still, anything was possible. “Fill me in.”
“Yes, sir. The S6 just received an unsolicited laser satellite video call from Mesquite. Facial recognition confirmed McMichael along with another missing front-line ROAS soldier—a Master Sergeant Corey Upton. Intelligence is testing the video for final authenticity, but at first blush, it looks genuine.”
“Are they POWs, or injured?” asked the general.
“No sir. Somehow, they’ve evaded capture and are hiding in a suburban home near the southern edge of town. Both are tending small wounds but appear mobile and well armed.”
“Could be a trick. All the publicity she’s been getting, the enemy must know about her. They might be using her.”
“Sir, intelligence is evaluating the circumstances. We should have their recommendation soon,” said Lieutenant Colonel Simpson.
“What else did you learn?”
“Sir, the full video file is available for your viewing, but in essence, they are requesting exfiltration assistance.”
“Out of the question,” said the general. “Assuming their claims are true, the best chance for survival is to stay low until the enemy leaves the area and pushes towards Las Vegas. Then we can consider recovery. For now, they need to hang on for a couple of days. Meanwhile, her escape must stay top secret. If the enemy were to find out, they’d go after her.”