General Yang was dejected. He’d done the best he could to turn things around from the colossal failure that his predecessors had left him, but after realizing that the Allies had been seeing every order, every strategy, every attack plan before it was even implemented — he knew his men had never had a chance.
President Xi examined his general’s forlorn expression, but he suddenly sat up straighter, as if he’d just had an idea. “General, the situation is grave, I know that. However, now we know why — we’ve been losing these past fourteen weeks because the enemy knew our plans. I want the solution for this expedited as much as possible. In the meantime, we need to revert to using human carriers for as much of our highly sensitive information as possible. We can also go back to using our secured ground communications — you know, telephones. I know it’s not digital data, but it will work for voice communications.
“I will not accept defeat. No. China is still too big and too populous a country for the Allies to defeat or occupy us. I want you to accelerate the arming of the PLA’s militia force — we have hundreds of millions of young men and women. Give them weapons and rudimentary training and place them in fortified positions. A soldier doesn’t need months of combat training to stand in a trench or foxhole and fire at the enemy when they charge.”
Xi let out a breath and shook his head. “I never thought we’d be in this situation. We spent years developing the plans for this war. Everything had been thought out, planned, and carefully calculated.” He sighed despairingly. “This war should have been over with by now, Yang. It never should have gone on as long as it has. Everything we wargamed said it would have ended a year ago.”
The President paused again, looking at the ceiling for a minute. General Yang waited silently for what he was going to say next.
Xi eventually fixed his gaze on the general again. “General Yang, I know the situation is bleak,” he admitted. “You have to stay focused though on figuring out how we can turn things around. You’ve been trained by the Americans — you understand how they think.” He shook his head again. “If you’d been in charge from the beginning, we would have won this war already. I’m supremely sorry that my senior generals failed you and the people of our great nation. I can’t undo what they’ve done; the best I can do now is give you every tool and resource you need to try and win or at least stalemate the Allies. Do you believe you can force the Allies to sue for peace, or at least an armistice? Maybe push the war beyond the American election? If the Americans elect a new President, that person may see reason and agree to an equitable end to the war.” Xi’s voice was almost pleading at this point. It was obvious that he was desperate for a way to save the war, or at the very least, save his position of power.
General Yang let out an audible sigh. His mind was racing a million miles a minute, trying to figure out what to do next. He scrambled to think of a way to outfox the Allies — or at least force them to the negotiating table. A nugget of an idea came to mind. He calculated the angles before he dared to speak.
“Mr. President, I believe I might be able to buy us some time — time that we desperately need right now while we fix our communications problem.”
“I’m all ears, General. What do you propose?”
“The Americans are clearly trying to position President Hung Hui-ju to replace you. What if I made a ceasefire request to the Americans to meet with President Hung and the Allies to discuss an equitable end to the war — one that still saw you retaining control of the PRC?” Yang asked, hoping Xi wouldn’t dismiss the idea out of spite. He desperately needed time, and prolonged peace talks could be the answer.
Xi sat there silent for a second, probably trying to decide if Yang was serious or trying to find a way to stab him in the back.
“How much time do you think these talks could buy us?” Xi finally asked.
“At least a week — maybe more, but at least a week. It may not sound like much, but please keep in mind that would be a week of no more strategic bombings by the Americans, a week of us being able to move troops, equipment and other war stocks without being attacked. It would also give us some insight into what the Americans are willing to accept to end the war,” Yang explained.
Xi thought about it for a moment. General Yang became more nervous the longer the silence grew.
“OK, General, you have my permission to pursue this with the Americans,” Xi finally said hesitantly. “If you do this though, make sure you have everything ready on our end to capitalize on the temporary halt to the Allied offensive and bombings. We need to make use of every moment the Allies are not bombing us. Is that understood?”
Yang nodded, smiling now that he had a viable plan for how to end the war without annihilating his country or the rest of the world.
Chapter 25
When Opportunity Knocks
President Wally Foss watched with bated breath as the SpaceX Falcon heavy rocket released its payload module for the final part of its journey. Within seconds of the booster rockets separating from the main body, they began their turn back to Cape Canaveral.
“God, I hope the Air Force is right about the Chinese not being able to shoot down these satellites,” he thought. Otherwise, this was going to be a very expensive waste of limited resources.
“The payload module will now move the DS2000 satellites into their geostationary orbit or GEO over North America and Asia,” announced the Air Force colonel from the newly created US Space Command.
“You all are sure the Chinese aren’t going to be able to shoot these satellites down this time?” inquired the President.
Colonel Ralph Reyes from US Space Command nodded. “Yes, Mr. President,” he replied. “We’ve specifically tasked the B-21 with neutralizing the PLA rocket force’s ability to interdict these satellites. A month ago, we launched a series of decoy satellites that drew out the Chinese weapon platforms and the locations they were using to destroy our satellites. Once we identified the systems, the B-21 was dispatched and six launch facilities and ground laser facilities were destroyed. Based on the communiques we intercepted after those attacks, we are confident we’ve removed the threat to our satellites. We’ve also moved the DS2000s to a much higher GEO to further mitigate the possibility that we missed a launch facility. These satellites should be safe from future PLA actions, Mr. President.”
Several of the other military members nodded. JP from the CIA and Tom McMillan seemed a little less certain, but they held their tongues.
“Explain to me again how these satellites are going to be a big game changer for us,” the President said as he rubbed his temples. He reached for his cup of coffee; it was time to try and dispel his most recent stress-induced migraine with added caffeine.
Colonel Reyes smiled. “Essentially, the Mitsubishi DS2000 satellite will be able to provide real-time, high-speed communication connectivity to our military forces. Each of the satellites has one hundred HTS multibeam communication beams, meaning they’ll be able to provide coverage to many thousands of square miles of the earth’s surface. With three of them in high GEO over Asia and the Pacific, and two of them over North America, we will have effectively restored our military communication to what it was prior to the beginning of the war. In fact, it’s probably going to increase our capabilities, as these satellites are significantly better than the ones there’re replacing.