Realized I made a mistake in Chapter 3. I meant to say III Corp would
remain in England.
Chapter 4: Engulfment of London
The British government boarded the plane and took off for Canada. There they would be safe for a while. However, for how long was anyone's guess. General Sharp and the other high-ranking Allied officers were also with them. Allied forces were pulling out of England.
Chekov watched as the Grizzly Tanks appeared. They didn't even get close. The Prism Towers shot hot beams of light, vaporizing the tanks. Few even got within range of the Tesla Coils. It was a massacre. Just then, radar showed several Harriers moving in. The Flak Cannons opened fire, and dropped two. The others got through and opened fire on the defenses. Two of the Prism Towers were destroyed, but that was it. The defenses were still strong, and they continued to destroy the Israeli attack force. Perhaps the Israeli general finally smarted up. The few surviving Grizzlies pulled back.
"Well, that was utterly pointless," said Chekov.
"The Israelis were foolish to launch such an attack," said Zophia.
Chekov looked at the nuclear missiles. There were three 500-megaton warheads. Each one could destroy an entire city. He doubted that all three were pointed at Jerusalem. Another twenty minutes and it wouldn't matter.
"Congress has agreed to declare war on the Soviet Union," said Dugan, "Right now, we need to make this decision."
Sharp was observing the meeting through video links.
"Do we launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union."
Several officers were in outright protest of that.
"Mr. President, the Soviets haven't actually tried to attack us, have they? Why should we do anything to aggravate them?"
"We've already aggravated them," said Sharp, "However, we can expect an attack anytime now. It is a matter of whether we are able to respond to this. The Soviets are going to try to disable our nuclear arsenal. If they do so, we have no way to strike back at them. We have confirmed that they also have nuclear weapons. 500-megaton ballistic nuclear missiles. I ask you this. What if they decide to use them against us? What will we have to counter with? Nothing. We have to launch now."
"Mr. President, I agree," said Carville, "If we can't launch later, that means we have an entire arsenal of two thousand ICBMs just sitting there doing nothing. If the Soviets capture those missiles and get them working again, we're deader than a rat caught out in the open desert."
Dugan weighed the decision. To launch now could mean an end to this war. But they would be preempting. Well, what did it matter if they lost?
"Launch."
"Missile Command."
"This is General Carville. Authorization to launch nuclear missiles. Code Zulu Red Four Beta."
"Confirmed," said the officer, "Presidential authorization has been confirmed."
"Silo doors open."
"Missile launch in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One."
Nothing happened.
"What the hell?"
"Double check the systems!"
The officers were running around, trying to figure out what had happened. Suddenly, one of the missiles exploded. Then, another. A massive nuclear blast formed and wiped out the base. Radiation fallout spread across the bases and beyond. This was not good.
"They got our missiles," said Sharp, "NORAD reports that Site 4 was completely destroyed. I would suggest not launching any other nukes until we figure out what they did."
"My God," said Dugan, "They've messed with our nuclear arsenal."
"Mr. President," said Carville, "We need to figure out what we're going to do. With the loss of our nuclear arsenal, we have no way of retaliating against a Soviet invasion."
"Is there any other way we can strike at them?" asked Dugan.
"We have to make sure that Physic Amplifier never comes on line," said Sharp, "If it does, any force we send into Europe will be mind-controlled by the Soviets."
"Agreed," said Dugan, "Do what you have to. I leave this in your hands General Sharp."
"Yes Mr. President."
The link to the president terminated. Now Sharp was alone with Carville. Carville chuckled.
"So how are you going to pull this off."
"A nuclear strike against Paris is off," said Sharp, "Even if we use cruise missiles or bombers. However, if we could send in a special operations team, we might be able to destroy that damn Amplifier."
"Do I have the team for you," said Carville, "Agent Tanya, come in."
Tanya Adams walked into the room. Sharp was first taken by surprise by her beauty, but controlled himself.
"Well, Agent Tanya. Meet General Sharp. He'll be your commanding officer for this mission."
"And what mission will that be."
"We need to take out the Physic Amplifier in Paris," said Sharp. He still needed to gauge her.
"Hmm. Sounds fun. When do we go?"
"Immediately," said Sharp, "An air strike will disable their power plants, and so the Physic Beacon should be disabled. You'll have maybe twenty minutes to blow both the Physic Beacon and Amplifier before they come online. I do not need to stress to you the importance of this mission. We have to take those two structures out. If we don't we lose Europe and very likely the war."
"All right general," said Tanya, "You don't need to be so serious. We can handle this."
"Get going General," said Carville, "Remember, we're counting on both of you."
Sharp and Tanya saluted and left. Once outside, Tanya had a few words for Sharp.
"You're a little young to be a general. I hope you know your way around the field."
"I got promoted because the president liked how I was handling the Europe situation," said Sharp, "I'm going to try to fix the damn mess the Soviets made."
"Hmm. You sound like my kind of commander. Just don't get my men killed."
The missiles were taking off. The Israelis really had something worry about this time. The missile would strike in about fifteen minutes. Two were being launched, and the third was being kept in reserve. Now what was the other target, thought Chekov. He shrugged. It wasn't really something he needed to worry about. If the government decided to tell him, they would.
One hour later, the missile impacted. The entire city was engulfed by the massive nuclear blast. Buildings, trees, cars burned. People were incinerated in the inferno. When the blast receded, London was in ruins, nearly everyone killed.
End of Chapter 4
Seems I miscalculated. In about a week, maybe less, I'll be back on a computer and can write again. That's nice. That's really good.
Z98
Chapter 4: Engulfment of London
The British government boarded the plane and took off for Canada. There they would be safe for a while. However, for how long was anyone's guess. General Sharp and the other high-ranking Allied officers were also with them. Allied forces were pulling out of England.
Chekov watched as the Grizzly Tanks appeared. They didn't even get close. The Prism Towers shot hot beams of light, vaporizing the tanks. Few even got within range of the Tesla Coils. It was a massacre. Just then, radar showed several Harriers moving in. The Flak Cannons opened fire, and dropped two. The others got through and opened fire on the defenses. Two of the Prism Towers were destroyed, but that was it. The defenses were still strong, and they continued to destroy the Israeli attack force. Perhaps the Israeli general finally smarted up. The few surviving Grizzlies pulled back.
"Well, that was utterly pointless," said Chekov.
"The Israelis were foolish to launch such an attack," said Zophia.
Chekov looked at the nuclear missiles. There were three 500-megaton warheads. Each one could destroy an entire city. He doubted that all three were pointed at Jerusalem. Another twenty minutes and it wouldn't matter.
"Congress has agreed to declare war on the Soviet Union," said Dugan, "Right now, we need to make this decision."
Sharp was observing the meeting through video links.
"Do we launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union."
Several officers were in outright protest of that.
"Mr. President, the Soviets haven't actually tried to attack us, have they? Why should we do anything to aggravate them?"
"We've already aggravated them," said Sharp, "However, we can expect an attack anytime now. It is a matter of whether we are able to respond to this. The Soviets are going to try to disable our nuclear arsenal. If they do so, we have no way to strike back at them. We have confirmed that they also have nuclear weapons. 500-megaton ballistic nuclear missiles. I ask you this. What if they decide to use them against us? What will we have to counter with? Nothing. We have to launch now."
"Mr. President, I agree," said Carville, "If we can't launch later, that means we have an entire arsenal of two thousand ICBMs just sitting there doing nothing. If the Soviets capture those missiles and get them working again, we're deader than a rat caught out in the open desert."
Dugan weighed the decision. To launch now could mean an end to this war. But they would be preempting. Well, what did it matter if they lost?
"Launch."
"Missile Command."
"This is General Carville. Authorization to launch nuclear missiles. Code Zulu Red Four Beta."
"Confirmed," said the officer, "Presidential authorization has been confirmed."
"Silo doors open."
"Missile launch in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One."
Nothing happened.
"What the hell?"
"Double check the systems!"
The officers were running around, trying to figure out what had happened. Suddenly, one of the missiles exploded. Then, another. A massive nuclear blast formed and wiped out the base. Radiation fallout spread across the bases and beyond. This was not good.
"They got our missiles," said Sharp, "NORAD reports that Site 4 was completely destroyed. I would suggest not launching any other nukes until we figure out what they did."
"My God," said Dugan, "They've messed with our nuclear arsenal."
"Mr. President," said Carville, "We need to figure out what we're going to do. With the loss of our nuclear arsenal, we have no way of retaliating against a Soviet invasion."
"Is there any other way we can strike at them?" asked Dugan.
"We have to make sure that Physic Amplifier never comes on line," said Sharp, "If it does, any force we send into Europe will be mind-controlled by the Soviets."
"Agreed," said Dugan, "Do what you have to. I leave this in your hands General Sharp."
"Yes Mr. President."
The link to the president terminated. Now Sharp was alone with Carville. Carville chuckled.
"So how are you going to pull this off."
"A nuclear strike against Paris is off," said Sharp, "Even if we use cruise missiles or bombers. However, if we could send in a special operations team, we might be able to destroy that damn Amplifier."
"Do I have the team for you," said Carville, "Agent Tanya, come in."
Tanya Adams walked into the room. Sharp was first taken by surprise by her beauty, but controlled himself.
"Well, Agent Tanya. Meet General Sharp. He'll be your commanding officer for this mission."
"And what mission will that be."
"We need to take out the Physic Amplifier in Paris," said Sharp. He still needed to gauge her.
"Hmm. Sounds fun. When do we go?"
"Immediately," said Sharp, "An air strike will disable their power plants, and so the Physic Beacon should be disabled. You'll have maybe twenty minutes to blow both the Physic Beacon and Amplifier before they come online. I do not need to stress to you the importance of this mission. We have to take those two structures out. If we don't we lose Europe and very likely the war."
"All right general," said Tanya, "You don't need to be so serious. We can handle this."
"Get going General," said Carville, "Remember, we're counting on both of you."
Sharp and Tanya saluted and left. Once outside, Tanya had a few words for Sharp.
"You're a little young to be a general. I hope you know your way around the field."
"I got promoted because the president liked how I was handling the Europe situation," said Sharp, "I'm going to try to fix the damn mess the Soviets made."
"Hmm. You sound like my kind of commander. Just don't get my men killed."
The missiles were taking off. The Israelis really had something worry about this time. The missile would strike in about fifteen minutes. Two were being launched, and the third was being kept in reserve. Now what was the other target, thought Chekov. He shrugged. It wasn't really something he needed to worry about. If the government decided to tell him, they would.
One hour later, the missile impacted. The entire city was engulfed by the massive nuclear blast. Buildings, trees, cars burned. People were incinerated in the inferno. When the blast receded, London was in ruins, nearly everyone killed.
End of Chapter 4
Seems I miscalculated. In about a week, maybe less, I'll be back on a computer and can write again. That's nice. That's really good.
Z98