“Yes sir. I’d like to request a war committee.”
“Ok, get some coffee and bring it to the Wardroom.” The three of them Nikki Kaminski, Larry Sayers the XO and Nathan took their places at the table.
“You get some of the local chow ashore Nikki?” grinned Larry.
“Yes, some kind of fish and fried rice. It beats a Groton hotdog.”
Larry shrugged. “Get some onions and mustard on there and the cadet in me would give you a hard time over that.” Nathan swallowed a mouthful of coffee.
“Ok Nikki let’s hear it.”
Nikki placed her Tablet on the table and opened the Ghost Crab file. She switched on and linked into the wall monitor screen, the display showed a map of Taiwan. Very roughly a football shape it tilted backwards, at the top towards the east. The Island had a protuberance at the bottom.
“Taiwan.” she used a laser pointer to highlight what she talked about.
“I’ve been putting plenty of hours in on this file, I’ve called it Ghost Crab, I started thinking about this after we tracked the Shang close in off the coast, I thought why Taichung City? What the hell’s there? So, I started doing some research. As you know the city has very impressive port facilities and it faces the west, the strait.”
The XO held his palms up. “Yeah, I expect Joe Chinaman will keep a close eye on the place. They probably do this sort of thing all the time. Port facilities matter to a navy.” Nathan crossed his arms and looked at the screen. “The PLAN probably has a rolling program to keep up to date on Taiwanese ports, airports and the like.” Nikki leaned forward over the table and placed both palms down. She shook her head.
“That’s what I thought,” she looked at them in the eyes one after the other, “then I found out, I was wrong.” She stood and paced the room then pointed the laser light at the screen.
“Not again Kaminski,” said the XO, “sit the fuck down.” Larry knew that pacing walk, the intense stare she always adopted when she was going to drop a bombshell.
Nathan just sat back and smirked. She zoomed in on the coastal Taichung City to the centre west of the Island about 60 miles south southwest of Taipei.
“You see this river here, it’s just to the north of the docks area, follow it inland and it skirts to the north of the airport. It then turns south where it’s crossed by several bridges, you can then drive over a bridge and onto highway 8, around the centre of the island you join highway 7. This takes you north towards the southern outskirts of Taipei.”
“So, you know your Taiwan geography,” the XO shrugged.
Nikki ignored him. “The PLAN knows that to invade and conquer Taiwan you must cut off its head and that’s Taipei. The Taiwanese know this too and concentrate their defences on and around the city. To make an opposed amphibious landing close to Taipei is asking for it big style.
How do you invade then?” She pointed again at the coastal city.
“You go in here, and up through the soft underbelly of the nation. Taichung City, highways 8 and 7 north then come into the city from the relatively unprotected south.”
Nathan rubbed his temples.
“The ROC army must be aware of this?”
“Yes Nathan they are, I met senior Officers at the National Ministry of Defence building.”
“You what?”
She smiled. “Chen Huo, Director of 2nd Division NSB likes my legs and ass, so I just flashed them and asked if I could make the visit and he said I could.” Nathan smiled and shook his head.
“They’re aware of the issue but they admit it’s lightly defended,” she said, “if they draw troops away from the Taipei area they could be caught out. They are aware of a possible diversion attack from the south, but don’t pay it much attention. So, we have two close inshore passes by the Shang. Larry, if you had diesel electric boats? Would you use them for close in reccon? It’s obviously an important close recon of landing zones.”
“But?”
“No but Larry,” smirked Nikki, “butts are what you sit on and Joe Chinaman’s not sitting on his. I got the DOD to lean on the NSA for satellite intel and Joe is off his butt and mobilising.
1st Amphibious Mechanized Infantry Division based in Hangzhou is charged with the Taiwan repossession. They have columns of trucks choking the highways to the ports. Much of the transport is done at night to minimise disruption, but not all. Wenzhou, Fuzhou and Quanzhou are major ports and are beyond full. Airports are at full capacity.
The 1st and 164th Marine brigades, South Sea Fleet, based in Zhanjihang will form the strike force. They’ll come in from the sea, up and along roads near the river, and along the river too. They’ll capture and cross bridges. PLAN armour will move along highway 8 and then north on highway 7. The 1st Amphibious Division has plenty of units to press on inland after the Marines have kicked the door down. Taichung City’s ports and airport will fall quickly, and reinforcements will pour in. Gentlemen, the NSA’s big birds tell us these forces are mobilising.” She put her knuckles on the table and leaned forward.
“I may be just a broad to you. But we know when a guy’s trying it on and Joe Chinaman is looking to get into Taiwan’s panties, I can smell it from here.” Larry laughed.
“So that innocent, proceed to the Taiwan Strait message COMSUBPAC gave us, puts us into a potential war zone. Sheeit why me?”
“Nathan, I’ll get my report from Taiwan off to the puzzle palace after this meeting.”
Nathan nodded. “We can be sure of one thing, if this Goddamn mess does kick off the PLAN won’t be tied up in port. We’ll have company both down here and up there, both surface and airborne ASW. Landing ships, warship protection, fighters flying top cover. It’s gonna be a party. Uncle Joe’ll open a fried rice and noodles store. And right in the thick of it will be good old USS Stonewall Jackson.”
He remembered May Hsin’s words at breakfast in the hotel in Taipei. “I’m afraid for my country. Afraid of what you’ll do, what you’ll feel you have to do.” He now knew just what she was going on about. This was all going to hell in a handbasket.
TANG LI DESCENDED THE steps from the modern apartment building and crossed the busy road by a grey metal bridge. At the far side she walked off to her office. It was a long walk twenty minutes, but she knew it was good exercise and she’d arrive fresh. The MSS liked its staff athletic and clearheaded. The crowds bustled their way by, all ignoring each other. Tang was in her late twenties and walked with the cool panache of someone sure of herself. Just ahead were raised voices, a man’s and a young woman’s. As she got closer Tang saw a man and woman dressed in clothes that hadn’t been cleaned in months, several holes with insulation jutting out covered his arm. She pushed a stroller with a child in it. Tang couldn’t see it’s face but she felt sorry for the young thing.
“You fucking lazy bitch, were you on your ass again. With that shower of snotty cows. Next time you’ll get what I tell you.” He slapped her about the face time after time, the girl cried and shouted “No, no, you..” A policeman had heard the commotion and had walked over to investigate. The man slapped the girl harder, then he hit her twice with his fists. Blood dripped from her nostril.
“You. Stop that,” the Policeman shouted. He hit her again. “No.” The policeman took the man and pushed him against the wall and roughly put handcuffs on him. “You’re off to the yard. So, we’ll see how you like it there.”
The girl with the stroller sobbed, she looked pitiful. Tang stopped, she knew she shouldn’t, but she’d seen that sort of thing in the town she’d once called hers.
“Come on, let me get you home. I’ll get you some food and a coffee. How’s the child?”
“Ji’s ok, he’s seen it before.” She sobbed again. Tang helped her along a couple of blocks, they passed a stall and Tang bought the girl a plastic pot of noodles and a coffee. She pushed the stroller now that the girl had her hands full. “Thanks Miss.”