AN: I'm changing from the first to third person in this chapter. Enjoy.

Viet-Tri, Vietnam. 1111hrs.

The heavy artillery fire was annihilating the battlemasters grouped in Viet-Tri. The more heavily armoured Emperor tanks headed out of the city lest they, too, be destroyed.

Rei Kon awoke in the dark. "Huh?" He reached out with his hand, feeling the rubble that encased him. He could hear the artillery fire smashing into the city around him. Suddenly the stone above him shifted, and light streamed through. Captain Zhui Hing, Rei's immediate superior, grinned and held out his hand. "Need a hand, Lieutenant?" Rei took his arm and was hauled out of the rubble. "Sir, is the C.O ok?" "Yeah, he's over in the slit trench." Rei looked over the square to where the radio van had been. "Sir, where's the…" Hing finished his sentence, "…the radio van? Blown to bits on the main street while trying to get to safety. Come with me. We have to get into cover." Rei picked his AK from the ground and followed the captain across the square to the slit trench where Zequin was sheltering, shellfire ripping the ground to bits behind them. A building blew asunder in a fiery ball of masonry. As the two soldiers dropped into the thin trench, Zequin perked up. "Glad to see you're ok, Lieutenant Kon." Rei smiled. "Thank you, sir."

The first truck full of prisoners was blown apart by a direct hit by a Vietnamese shell. The irony didn't occur to Kai, who was holding on for dear life as the truck he was in smashed into the glass window of a shop. Kai didn't waste time. He clubbed a guard, grabbed his AK74, and pumped him full of bullets. The second guard fared no better, as Kai squeezed the trigger again, knocking the marine out of the truck. Kai followed, dropping out and wincing as more shells slammed around. Kai, with no option open to him, ran inside the shattered shop window.

The Times, the 4th of Feb. 2004. Extract.

Vietnam attacked!

In the early hours of local Vietnamese time, the Chinese army and airforce attacked its' neighbour. Official Chinese reports at this time claim that Vietnam has an illegal claim to the Paracel and Spratly Islands groups.The Times has spoken to UK government officials who say that the Chinese Ambassador conveys his governments' assurance that this dispute will be solved as quickly as possible and with the least bloodshed possible. For more info, check our website at Turn to page 5, col.2 for the implications on the stability in the South China Sea and Chinese war aims

Hanoi, Vietnam. 1115 hrs.

The BBC news crew unrolled their electronics in front of the Hanoi government building like the Day of Reckoning had come. For them, this was a scoop of a lifetime. The reporter signalled the cameraman. "Make sure that the bomb damage is visible." The cameraman rolled his eyes. Like he didn't know that! The reporter stood back. "Here we go…" "Live in 5…4…3…2…1…on air!" The reporter arranged his face to make it look sorrowful and grim instead of being happy at the chance to get a scoop of war instead of crops growing and happy Vietnamese faces…no. There was no news like bad news. "Here in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Chinese bomb damage is evident. Morale here is low. China's army is huge and defeat is inevitable, unless global opinion turns against China, say experts. Vietnam had asked for the Red Cross to assist their food supplies, already low from the famine last year. The House of Commons is even now deciding whether to remain neutral or condemn the Chinese attack, as France and Japan have already done. Further updates every hour. Ted Ferguson, BBC news, Hanoi."

Vietnamese Airspace, 1123 hrs.

The MiG 21 "fishbeds" were flying west, heading towards the border with Cambodia and, hopefully, safety. But that was not to be. A pair of Su 27's on patrol noticed them. "What do we have here?" Smirked the first pilot. "A pair of viets out for a stroll. Let's get 'em!" The Su 27 launched an Archer missile and the MiG was ripped apart in a ball of orange flames. The second MiG accelerated and the second Su 27 prepared to launch his own Archer…and cannon shells ripped into the MiG. "What the!" Exclaimed the surprised Su 27 pilot as the MiG broke up under a concentrated burst of fire. "Hey fellas, hope we're not interrupting anything?" An Su 30 rocketed across the Su 27's flight path, followed by his wingman. "This is Tiger Flight. Returning to base." The Su 27 pilots fumed. "Stupid Tiger show-offs." Sulked the cheated pilot. "Ought to put a rocket in his fancy plane." The elite "Tiger" Squadron flew the Su 30's. They were the envy of every other pilot in the Chinese air force.

Viet-Tri, Vietnam. 1126 hrs.

Kai crossed the rubble-strewn street, ever wary of patrolling Chinese soldiers. The barrage seemed to have lifted, and Kai was taking his chance to reach his warehouse and the stored hind gunship.

As soon as the barrage lifted, Rei was up and out of the trench. "I'm off to do a sitrep (situation report) of the trucks containing the prisoners." He ran off around the corner, signalling to a PLA humvee. The vehicle skidded up alongside him and he leapt in. As it drove off, Rei flicked off the safety on his AK74. Kai heard the vehicle coming, and dived headlong into a shell crater. The humvee stopped dead, Rei getting out and aiming his AK at the shop window. A Battlemaster tank, wrecked and burning, gave Kai perfect cover as he edged closer to Rei and the humvee. Rei moved slowly forward, his heavy army boots crunching on the broken glass. Around the front of the truck, smashed and smoking, he saw the bodies of the two marines in the cab. Suddenly two Vietnamese soldiers, armed with pistols, leapt out from behind the counter. Rei trained his AK on the first soldier and shot him in the chest. He went down in a spray of his own blood. The second sent a bullet whistling past his ear, and Rei didn't give him a second chance. He blasted the viet into the counter. Backing out of the shop, he changed his magazine. Kai saw his chance. Leaping out from behind the wreck, blasting the driver of the humvee and catching Rei by surprise. "Don't move." Growled Kai. "Drop the weapon." Rei did so. As he did, Kai's eyes flicked downwards to the place the gun fell and Rei made his move. He dived sideways behind the humvee as Kai opened fire. The bullets sparked off the humvee. Rei stayed down as Kai moved around. He then threw himself at his enemy, knocking him backwards. He kicked Kai in the chest, winding him. Kai recovered quickly and smashed Rei in the stomach with the butt of his stolen AK. Rei doubled up, and Kai hit him in the back of the neck with the AK butt. It was a tribute to Rei's endurance that he stayed conscious. "Get in the humvee." Said Kai "We're going for a ride." Rei slid the dead driver out of the seat, slipping in himself. Kai got in the back, pointing the muzzle of the AK at Rei's head. "Drive north."

As the humvee drove through the city, a Hind gunship flew overhead. The pilot, thinking that he had found a target, and opened fire with his 20 mm cannon. As shells thudded around the vehicle, Rei took a deep breath and hit the brakes. The Hind overshot, but turned quickly to face the pair. "Quick!" Yelled Kai. "Do something!" Rei spun the wheel and the humvee drove through a scarred tunnel. The Hind, like a steel shark, spun around and flew off. On the other side of the tunnel, Rei sighed and brought the humvee to a stop. Kai realised that the marine's driving had brought them to their location. "Get out." He motioned. Rei went to the door and opened it. "Do I go in?" He asked "Yeah." As Rei went in, he brushed the button and flipped it open. Kai had forgotten about his QZ-9mm pistol. Kai flicked on the lights. The Hind was dusty and old, but it would get him out of here. "Well Lieutenant, looks like the end if the road…" Kai spun around with AK raised…

Sarajevo, Bosnia. Local time 2159 hrs.

The dark Bosnian street was cold and gloomy. In the large spacious sitting room of a top floor apartment, unscarred from the four-year siege of the city by the Serbs, two men sat over a bottle of the finest Russian Vodka. The first, a heavyset man in his sixties, took a sip. "Ah! There is nothing like a good glass of vodka to warm the spirit, eh Boris?" The man called Boris, a nasal man with greasy hair, responded in kind. "Yes, Voltaire. Nothing at all." Voltaire turned to the roaring fire and shifted comfortably in his leather armchair. "Hard times have fallen upon the motherland since the capitalist warmongers felled the great Soviet Russia. We must react in kind." Boris nodded his assent. "We will bring the USSR back to power with me as their president. How is HangFire going on?" Boris drank a little more of the fiery liquid before answering. "Fine. He reports no unusual activity and is prepared to move into plan A." "You have done well, Boris. Return to base and prepare the SF team." Voltaire chuckled and raised his glass so that the fire sparkled in its' depths and threw it back onto Boris's face. "To the new Communist Russia!" Boris realised the irony and raised his glass too. "To the new Communist Russia." Two soldiers entered the room and stood behind the armchair. "We will have our revenge, comrade." Voltaire whispered. Boris Grishiyenko had seen many things, but the look on his bosses' face scared him. It was a look of hunger, of rage, of passion, of longing. Boris left the room to return to their base in the Middle East and prepare the next phase of their plan.