“I have already been in contact with the Iranian military’s chief of staff,” Sun replied, rather wistfully. “The crew will be tried as spies, and their vessel held. It is quite a catch for them, and it is perfect payback for what the United States did to the aircraft carrier Khomeini when it was in their hands. In time, the crew and the vessel will probably be released, but not until the Iranians have examined and photographed every square centimeter of that submarine.”
“You seem disappointed, comrade,” Jiang said. “Their violation of international law is obvious to all. Should they not be made to pay for their crime? ”
“I believe they are paying more severely now than anything the Iranians could possibly do to them,” Sun said. “Destroying a helpless, hapless submarine and its crew would be cruel, and the Iranians would lose face in the eyes of the world. Sun-tzu tells us that to attack the enemy’s tao is more hurtful than attacking his armies. I respectfully suggested that the Americans be released, but I do not think the Iranians will listen to my suggestion. Perhaps if you could call the Ayatollah Khamenei directly, he might listen to you.” China and Iran had forged a strong new military alliance in the past few months, and the level of cooperation between the two nations had grown rapidly despite the severe damage the aircraft carrier Khomeini, now the Mao Zedong, had sustained while in Iranian hands.
“Very well — I shall do as you suggest, Comrade Admiral,” Jiang said, with a smile. “I will of course issue a communique demanding an explanation from President Martindale as to why his submarine was so far into Iranian waters.”
“May I suggest you follow up the communique with a live televised address on CNN or the British international news network, demanding an apology?” Sun added. “Nothing galls the American people more than to be forced to offer an apology, especially to an Asian or to one from the Middle East — both are seen as far inferior races. It will help to solidify the opposition to President Martindale’s military and foreign affairs policies.”
“Very good — I shall instruct my staff to do as you suggested,” Jiang said happily. He turned to accept the congratulations of more high-level Party members, then turned back to Sun and asked, “So. What is the next step, Admiral?”
“My task is nearly complete, Comrade President,” Sun said. “My objective was to eliminate the United States as a threat to Zhonggua and to pave the way for us to retake Formosa. My task is done.”
President Jiang looked startled. “Your task… is finished?” he asked incredulously. “But we have not retaken any territory, and the armies of the world are on heightened alert against us.”
“General Chin and the Peoples Liberation Army may retake any of the rebel-held islands at his leisure,” Admiral Sun said casually. “There is none to oppose him now. But I suggest we do nothing but offer overtures of peace, friendship, and reunification to everyone — I predict our loyal brothers on Formosa will choose to be reunited with us very soon. The elimination of the rebel Nationalists’ major weapons of war, and the erosion of the Western alliance structure in Asia, means that the Nationalists are defenseless. They can choose reunification… or death.” “But what about the Americans, Comrade Admiral?” Jiang asked. “Will we not soon face the wrath of the American military? Certainly the threat from them has not yet diminished?”
“The United States dares not attack us now — they are in the wrong, and will be forever chastised throughtout the world if they attack,” Sun said confidently. “The North Korean Peoples Army is massing on the demilitarized zone and will probably attack, and now the Iranians have captured proof of additional American aggression against them, so the conflict in the Persian Gulf may threaten to reignite. These conflicts will occupy all of Americas attention — Taiwan is not as serious a concern to the United States compared to Korea or the Persian Gulf.”
“You are obviously correct,” a Politburo member commented, “because the United States does not directly threaten China as yet. They have their nuclear missiles and bombers on alert, but even their lawmakers are opposed to their deployment and urge negotiations. They may even sponsor legislation to kill President Martindale’s attempt to recognize the rebel Nationalist governments independence, and support reunification.”
“We do not know what will happen in Washington, comrade,” Sun Ji Guoming said. “But all in all, it does not matter. America is confused and splintered, and it has confused and fractured its Asian alliances as well. It can no longer oppose us.”
“But what about the invasion of Quemoy?” Jiang asked. “Our troops are restless as medieval warhorses, biting at the bit and ready to honor themselves in battle. Why not begin the attack now?”
“Is there still a danger of radiation or fallout from the surface-to-air missile attack?” one of the Politburo members asked. “Is this why you do not begin the invasion?”
“It is not because of radiation, comrade,” Sun replied. “We do not invade because we do not need to invade.”
“What…?”
“Sun-tzu teaches us that victory is best achieved by attacking an enemy’s tao instead of its armies or cities,” Sun explained. “We have three hundred thousand troops stationed around Quemoy Bay, ready to begin the assault. We may take the island and capture nearly fifty thousand rebel troops anytime we wish. So we have already won the battle, comrades. With the tip of our sword touching the rebels’ chest, we do not need to thrust it into their heart to prove our domination or power. The rebels have been defeated, but it would be better for them to surrender to us. I expect to receive terms of surrender at any moment.”
The attack began with a single AIM-120 Scorpion missile launch, but it was the deadliest — because it downed the Chinese Ilyushin-76 airborne radar plane stationed over the Formosa Strait near Quanzhou, which was monitoring all air traffic between Fuzhou and Shantou, the vital Chinese military bases opposite Formosa. The EB-52 Megafortress was thirty miles away, flying just a hundred feet above the sea, tracking the 11–76 with its 360-degree radar array on the dorsal fuselage fairing; the Scorpion air-to-air missile hit the fuselage of the 11–76 squarely at the right wing root, shearing off the wing and sending the Russian-built plane and its twenty-two crew members spiraling into the Formosa Strait. Within seconds, almost all of the Chinese military’s long-range surveillance capability had been eliminated.
It was David Luger’s first kill after returning to the Megafortress’s crew; and if he hadn’t been so busy finding and lining up more targets, he would have stood up and whooped for joy. But the mission, and the killing, had just begun.
Because of the completely unknown performance capabilities taking off from the Republic of China’s Kai-Shan underground airfield complex, the Megafortress was lightly loaded for this mission. Each of the two rotary launchers in the bomb bay contained four Wolverine cruise missiles and two Striker attack missiles, the configuration mixed so the attacks could continue even if one launcher was damaged or had malfunctioned. The Megafortress also carried one Striker attack missile on each wing weapon pod, along with four AIM-120 Scorpion air-to-air missiles in each pod — there were no Stinger airmine rockets in the tail cannon. The weapon load was a full 12,000 pounds under normal mission capacity. To save even more weight, no fuel was carried in the fuselage tanks, except the lowest amount necessary to stay within the weight and balance center-of-gravity envelope, which saved an additional 50,000 pounds.