A/N: Chinese characters in this chapter are speaking Standard Chinese unless otherwise noted.
Our Day Has Come
Global oppressors! Prepare for your downfall. Our cause is just, and our warriors stand ready!
We are everywhere. No boundaries can restrain us. We shall fall upon our foes like lightning from a cloudless sky!
Look to China for the example. For too long their crimes have gone unpunished, and they have ignored our righteous demands. In their arrogance, they have left their capital vulnerable. We shall sweep over them like a great wind, choking them in their own greed and evil!
No cost is too great. Victory in death!
-GLA statement posted online via GeoCities, signed by 'Kanwar Khan'. Authenticity unconfirmed.
October 23rd, 1995 - Beijing, People's Republic of China - 1100 hours
"All right, I'm here. Give me an update."
There were few people in China who could safely speak that way to an officer of the People's Liberation Army. The woman called 'Black Lotus' was one of them.
She swept into the boxy rear compartment of the Mobile Listening Outpost like she owned the vehicle instead of the State, her long blue leather coat swirling around her. Despite Lotus' civilian guise, the officer inside saluted her with a straight back and respectful gaze. With her neat uniform and immaculate hair, the Lieutenant looked like she had stepped straight out of a PLA recruitment advertisement.
"Welcome, Comrade Lotus. I am Lieutenant Zhong Lin, your command liaison for this operation. Your station is ready for you."
Lieutenant Zhong pointed, and Lotus squeezed past her to set up, adding her laptop to the array of electronic surveillance and information warfare equipment that was the Listening Outpost's main armament as Zhong kept speaking behind her.
"The situation is critical. The GLA has threatened an imminent attack in Beijing. General Liang has ordered that China will not be intimidated. You have full authority to uncover and terminate any threats to the capital."
The General's decision was unsurprising. China's top-ranked military officer and first-ever female General had earned her nickname of 'Tigress' by crushing her enemies no matter what - often with help from Black Lotus, China's most dependable covert agent.
China, like every other country on Earth, had spent the past half-century aware that enemy forces could be teleported into their territory at any moment by the Chronosphere. Beijing's internal security precautions reflected that fact. If the GLA really were in the capital, someone had failed dramatically. Lotus was determined that it would not be her.
"A brigade from General Fei's 'Anvil' Special Operations Force is standing by at the Capital Airport," Zhong continued. "Beijing SWAT has also been alerted. They are at your disposal."
"I don't need a brigade," Lotus said. "Tell 'Anvil' I want their best squad in a helicopter, ready to move on my signal."
Zhong saluted her again and turned away to get on the radio, leaving Lotus free to start her real work.
With cables plugged in and her devices humming in harmony with the Listening Outpost's systems, Black Lotus had access to the entire information environment of the Beijing operating area. Her fingers danced over her keyboard as a river of facts flowed over her screens: surveillance reports, threat profiles, and the GLA's online statement. Information was the ultimate weapon of the modern world, and Black Lotus was its master.
Her hands halted as she paused the flow scrolling past her eyes, enlarging a particular window. A suspicious foreign arrival in China, flagged by the intelligence services.
"Lieutenant," she said. "Why are two UN officers in Beijing?"
She heard Zhong Lin turning away from the radio behind her, giving Lotus her full attention. "Captain James Solomon and Lieutenant Toyama Suki, with the United Nations' new 'Global Defense Initiative.' Supposedly they are on a fact-finding mission regarding global counterterrorism. But they are in disfavour after the Sinai Massacre. It is more likely they are simply being kept busy until their inquiry."
Lotus leaned back in her chair, cracking the knuckles in her gloved hands one by one. "A curious coincidence. Two officers disgraced by a GLA attack, here as the GLA threatens an attack."
Like most spies, Black Lotus accepted coincidences. Coincidences happened every day. But, like most spies, she distinguished between accepting coincidences and trusting them.
"They are currently at the UN office in Chaoyang District," Lieutenant Zhong said. "I thought you might be interested, and took the liberty of tapping your station into our surveillance on them."
Lotus permitted a slight smile to pull on her lips. "Well done, Lieutenant."
She divided her work among the screens in front of her. Her main monitor was running a complicated search algorithm among Beijing's numerous surveillance cameras and listening devices, identifying gaps in the State's watchful eye where the GLA might stage an attack. The smaller monitor to the left showed a grainy black-and-white overhead view of Captain James Solomon as he hunched over a bulky, outdated laptop, working at a desk that looked too small for his broad frame. There was no sign of his teammate, Toyama.
The fate of failures, Lotus thought, glancing at the man's file. Solomon had been considered one of the best, until his unit was wiped out in Egypt. Now an elite officer was doing pointless 'fact-finding' while his superiors decided how best to end his career without further embarrassment.
Her algorithm had some time left to run, and she found herself curious about Solomon's purpose. The UN's cyber security barely deserved its name, and a couple keystrokes later she had accessed the backdoor in Solomon's laptop, letting her see what he was working on.
He had a word processor open, and was typing something in it, first in English, then reproduced in Chinese by a translation program. She read the message, read it again, and took a deep breath to control herself.
HELLO BLACK LOTUS. LET'S TALK.
It was inconceivable that he could have outhacked her. No, she was seeing a lucky guess by an officer reputed to be a daring and insightful thinker. He'd known of her existence, known he would be under surveillance in China, and had thrown a fishing line out to her, seeing if she would bite.
He typed something else.
INFORMATION TRADE. GDI KNOWS IDENTITY OF GLA GENERAL THREATENING BEIJING.
Interesting. Lotus drew a sleek steel canteen from one of the many pockets lining the inside of her coat, and took a long drink of water as she pondered her screen.
"Lieutenant Zhong. Is it possible that the UN would have intelligence on this threat that we lack?"
There was a pause before Zhong responded.
"Many things are possible. The UN's peacekeeping forces are weak, but their humanitarian activities bring them some influence. They have many diplomatic contacts who could provide them with information."
"Then let us see what Captain Solomon thinks he knows."
She activated an instant messaging program and sent Solomon a ping, followed by a message in Chinese, just to remind the American whose country he was in. It was mildly amusing watching his frowning reaction on camera before he ran his translation program. Despite his global assignment, his file indicated no knowledge of languages other than English. Typical, she thought.
DarkFlower: intelligence on this attack would protect civilian lives
DarkFlower: GDI values dictate sharing information freely
The surveillance feed was grainy, but Lotus thought she saw Solomon's brow furrow. He replied, not bothering with Chinese this time:
WisdomOf: TRUE. PROTECTING INNOCENT LIFE IS HIGHEST GDI PRIORITY.
WisdomOf: HIGH-RANKING GLA GENERAL INVOLVED IN PLOT. CODENAMED 'DR. THRAX.' EXPERT IN BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WARFARE. SUGGEST YOU PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
Who still typed in all caps like that? Lotus shook her head, and thought for a moment.
Doctor Thrax's involvement fit the available facts. Despite his strange alias, he was a formidable warlord who commanded thousands of fighters, last reported in war-torn Aldastan, on China's western border. Like many GLA members, Thrax hid his true identity behind a fanciful nom de guerre, like 'Prince Kassad' or 'Jarmen Kell:' infamous figures whose reputations only grew greater with their real names in shadow.
"Lieutenant, collect everything we have on 'Doctor Thrax,'" Lotus ordered. "Ensure that General Liang is made aware. And relay that all forces involved in this operation must be issued chemical warfare gear immediately."
"Yes, Comrade." Zhong paused, then added: "You should be aware, the deadline for the GLA's demands is-"
"I'm aware of the timeframe." Lotus focused on her screen. Another message, still in English:
WisdomOf: REPAY GOOD WITH GOOD.
She snorted softly. He thought he could play proverbs with her? She responded in Chinese.
DarkFlower: 'recklessness leads to a commander's destruction'
DarkFlower: why contact black lotus with this offer?
There was a pause while Solomon translated the text. Then he looked up from his computer and stared straight up, at the lens of the supposedly hidden surveillance camera Lotus was watching him through. Despite the distance between them, she felt like he was looking directly at her, boring into her eyes.
WisdomOf: I CAME TO CHINA FOR YOU.
WisdomOf: INFORMATION TRADE?
WisdomOf: THE PLAYER IS LOST, THE WATCHER IS LUCID.
A proverb implying that an observer has a clearer perspective on a situation than those directly involved. Interesting. Lotus typed.
DarkFlower: name trade
WisdomOf: GENERAL KASSAD. PLAYER IN EGYPT. GLA INVOLVEMENT?
Of course, she thought. Revenge. How typically American.
Disappointing. For a moment, she had been starting to like Solomon.
DarkFlower: 'no general should fight a battle simply out of pique'
DarkFlower: i serve the people's republic, not your personal feelings
DarkFlower: i have work to do. perhaps you will hear from me later
Black Lotus cut the connection before Solomon could respond. And then put his computer into emergency shutdown mode for good measure. It was amusing seeing him throw up his hands in frustration before glaring at her through the surveillance camera. Lotus cut that feed as well.
She needed to focus now. Solomon's motives were disappointing, but Thrax's name was still an important clue. Perhaps she would yet grant him some information on Kassad - after the GLA were crushed in Beijing.
Her fingers blurred over her keyboard as she modified her algorithm to incorporate parameters for a chemical attack. She also activated one of her backdoors into the American orbital reconnaissance network, helping herself to the feed from a NSA satellite in geosynchronous orbit above Beijing. China had no spy satellites of their own yet, but they could borrow one from the US essentially whenever Black Lotus felt like it.
"There." She pointed as one of her monitors displayed an orbital view of the capital. It zoomed in on a picture of a particular building near Chang'an Avenue, one of Beijing's major streets.
"A cleaning firm. They have access to chemicals and vehicles, an ideal location, and three of their employees have been flagged as harbouring disruptive thoughts. What's more, there have been gaps in neighbourhood surveillance reported over the last two weeks. Sabotage, covering subversive activities."
She turned to Zhong. "Get Anvil's helicopter moving and a troop perimeter ready to close in. And inform General Liang we have identified the likely location of a GLA cell staging a chemical attack against the city. I will resolve this matter personally."
Lieutenant Zhong saluted as Black Lotus rose from her station and packed up her laptop. Sliding open the door to the Listening Outpost, she emerged into the bright daylight, hazy smog, and overwhelming noise of downtown Beijing.
To an observer, she would just be another civilian with a new laptop bag and nice coat, perhaps a business owner or upscale tech worker, newly prosperous thanks to the Modern Way reforms, stepping out of a nondescript white truck parked in an alley.
The people hustling by her paid her no mind. Beijing's streets were thick with people and vehicles, its air filled with noise and the smell of fried food being hawked by street side vendors. The scene was ideal for a massacre. To the GLA, all these people were just targets.
Lotus mounted the sleek black motorbike parked outside the alley. Its new electric motor buzzed softly as she weaved her way through the crowds towards a thoroughfare. Navigating Beijing's traffic was a skill she mastered long ago, and she used the time to think as her bike carried her towards the objective.
Despite the GLA being the objective, her mind kept turning to Solomon, trying to crack him like a particularly stubborn encryption. What boldness or lunacy led a disgraced Captain to come to Beijing and presume to bargain with her? Was he a fool, or playing a deeper game than she realized? What might he do with information on Kassad? Would his agenda help or hinder China's interests?
Rotors thundered overhead, refocusing her thoughts. The big, bulging silhouette of an Assault Helix helicopter cast a broad shadow over the street as it zoomed low over the rooftops, sporting patriotic red stars on its tail. People looked up and cheered the display of Chinese might, bolstered by the proud slogans echoing from the chopper's speakers: 'China has been generous! We will live in prosperity!'
A routine propaganda display, seemingly. Lotus knew better. Her earpiece crackled with a new voice.
"Comrade Lotus, this is Master Sergeant Chen of the Anvil Special Operations Force!" His voice boomed with confidence. "It is an honour to be working with you. My squad is heading to the target building aboard Thunderstorm One! Our chemical gear is prepared and we are ready for action!"
"Acknowledged, Master Sergeant," Lotus said as she guided her motorbike around a honking truck. "Make no move until I get there. When I give the signal, insert from the roof and take the building."
"Understood, Comrade! Should we signal for civilians to evacuate the area?"
Lotus frowned. She slowed her bike to avoid a Santana car, then sped up again. "Negative. The activity could alert our targets. You will proceed as ordered, Master Sergeant."
"Copy that."
The rotors faded as the Helix peeled off. Lotus rounded a corner, and accelerated down the street. Timing was critical for the operation to succeed.
"Comrade, this is Lieutenant Zhong," another voice joined in. "Captain Solomon appears to have told the truth. Intel confirms the probable involvement of Doctor Thrax in this attack. General Liang is readying a MiG air strike to incinerate the target and eliminate any toxins."
Lotus grimaced slightly as she slipped her motorcycle around a bus packed with tourists, catching a glimpse of a child waving at her as she passed. The roar of jet engines high above drew fresh cheers from patriotic pedestrians, oblivious that an incendiary strike was about to fall near the heart of the city.
"Tell the General that will not be necessary," she said firmly, opening her bike's throttle and blitzing through an intersection. "Have the troop perimeter ready to close around the target building on my signal, and ensure they are prepared for chemical hazards. Leave the rest to me."
There was a noticeable pause before Lieutenant Zhong responded. "Yes, Comrade Lotus. I will inform the General of your- initiative."
Questioning the Tigress' plans was a daring act. But the title of Black Lotus was not earned easily nor given lightly, and it came with slightly more leeway than most servants of the People's Republic.
The General would understand. Black Lotus had never failed her.
The target building came into view around the next corner, a modest two-storey commercial rectangle with darkened windows and a large garage jutting from its left side. 'Scouring All Filth From Our Homes!' Proclaimed the billboard above its roof. The sign above the front door read 'CLOSED - WE WILL SEE YOU SOON, BEIJING.'
Lotus rode by it, then parked her bike out of sight down the street. She crouched and opened her laptop, calling up the plans for the building. She saw that it was fully networked, with an unusually expensive security system for a cleaning company. Perfect.
She punched in a string of shortcuts, then closed her laptop and casually walked down the street and across the busy intersection toward the building, blending with other pedestrians until she could slip unseen into a back alley. By the time she arrived at the back door, a soft beep in her earpiece announced that her rootkit had done its work. Black Lotus now had full control of the building's systems: everything from electronic locks to phone lines to air conditioning.
"Lieutenant Zhong, you now have access to building surveillance," she murmured as she softly pulled the door open and slipped inside a dingy green-painted loading dock. "I have also disabled enemy communications. Give me and Anvil the details."
"At once, Comrade." There was a pause. "Your objective is the garage, to your left at the end of the hall. Twelve armed men in civilian clothing. They are working on gas canisters loaded into three trucks. It appears the attack is imminent. All forces - check your fire as you engage. We cannot risk a chemical leak in the city."
"Understood." She crept to the next door, opened her laptop, and tapped a quick command. The men in the garage were locked in now, though they didn't know it. The exception was the door in front of Lotus: her entry point. "I will enter the garage and disable the bombs. Tell the perimeter to close in. Master Sergeant Chen, begin your approach."
"Understood. Thunderstorm One, inbound. For the Republic!"
"Reinforcements are on the way, Comrade Lotus. Good luck."
She listened at the door for a moment, and heard footsteps approaching. Pressing herself to the wall behind the door, she hid as it opened and a GLA man came through.
The terrorist wore green overalls and had a respirator mask over his lower face and a low-brimmed cap on his head, with an old Type 79 submachine gun slung across his shoulder. Lotus had expected foreign infiltrators, but she saw young Chinese features behind his mask, and could hear Mandarin words drifting from the garage, discussing whether China would pay the GLA's demanded ransom. Traitors. The lowest of all scum.
She waited for the door to close, then crept up behind the enemy and swung her reinforced heavy-duty laptop case into the side of his head. He fell, and she caught him in her arms to minimize the noise as he hit the floor. Then she eased open the door, and slid through.
The garage was big, cluttered, and noisy, with powerful ventilation fans overhead battling the strong smell of chemicals in the air. Light streaming in through two narrow windows illuminated a haze of dust and fumes hanging in the room. The three green trucks parked in the garage were loaded to the brim with canisters and barrels sprouting wires and electronics: home made chemical bombs ready to blast poison across Beijing.
Eleven more GLA men were in the garage, bustling around the trucks, dressed and armed the same as the one she had taken out. Two were keeping watch out the windows, but no one was looking at the back of the room. Lotus darted forward and concealed herself beneath a green tarp covering a yellow forklift. From this range, she could set up her laptop and connect to the vehicle systems.
China had enthusiastically embraced the Digital Revolution, establishing the People's Republic as a world leader in electronics and cyber technologies. This extended to the built-in systems supporting safety and efficiency in all Chinese-made vehicles - which just so happened to provide a vulnerability for agents like Black Lotus to exploit as needed. In this case, by disabling each vehicle's ignition.
She then connected to the modified cell phones being used as wireless detonators for each bomb, and reprogrammed their frequencies. Now, the GLA could neither move nor activate their devices.
The thunder of rotors came again, low and strong enough that Lotus could see dust whirling up outside the garage windows. The sound mixed with engines roaring outside as long, low eight-wheeled Troop Crawlers flying the red flags of the People's Liberation Army rolled toward the building from all sides. Their rear ramps lowered and Chinese soldiers sprang out, with gas masks over their faces and semiautomatic battle rifles in their hands, taking up firing positions around the building.
Loudspeakers called on those inside to surrender. The terrorists started shooting instead. They sprayed bullets from the garage windows with abandon, like they were ready to take on the whole Chinese military.
More gunfire echoed from upstairs, announcing Master Sergeant Chen's team assaulting the roof via helicopter. Chinese return fire raked the building from outside, punching through the thin metal of the garage door. A rebel fell dead, bleeding from his throat.
"All units, check your fire!" Lotus hissed into her radio. "This room is filled with chemical hazards."
The gunfire outside immediately slackened. Rats in a cage, the GLA team yelled and scurried around, all their careful planning falling apart while the gunfire of Anvil's assault team got closer above them and marksmen outside picked off another of their shooters.
One GLA driver leapt into his truck and turned the ignition, ready to sacrifice himself. The engine wouldn't stir, and he beat his hands uselessly against the steering wheel. Another rebel tried to flee from the back of the garage, but collapsed sobbing when he found the door locked against him. A third man struck a pose and yelled "Victory in death!" as he pressed a detonator, only to look confused and a little embarrassed when the bombs Black Lotus had reprogrammed didn't go off.
This was Black Lotus' kind of fight. Hidden from view and shielded from stray bullets, she could use her electronic mastery to sabotage her enemies and to feed real-time information to her comrades. She could destroy the GLA without them ever knowing she was there.
But then, there was no accounting for the ingenuity of the desperate.
One of the rebels was taking charge of the remaining GLA, now down to nine men. He barked out orders from behind his mask, as three terrorists continued to take potshots at the Chinese soldiers outside, while the remaining six started transferring smaller gas canisters out of the useless trucks and into duffel bags, slung across their shoulders.
"Who will make the sacrifice?" Called out the leader. The response was immediate and united:
"I will die for our cause!"
Lotus swore under her breath, and reached for her radio earpiece. "All units, the enemy is using suicide bombers! They are going to-"
The leader stormed to the rear of the room, braced his gun on his hip, and pumped a stream of bullets into the door Lotus had infiltrated through. Ricochets sparked and whined around the room, but the lock was destroyed and the door flung open. The bombers slipped away while their rear guard continued their hopeless gunfight with the troops outside.
"Do not fear, Comrade," Lieutenant Zhong said. "The perimeter is airtight. They can't escape."
Something was wrong, Lotus thought. The GLA had to know that a wall of bullets awaited them outside the building. They were clearly willing to die, but they were moving like they planned for something more than a defiant gesture.
"Anvil. Is the top floor secure?" She whispered, mindful of the three - two now, another gunman was slumping lifelessly against a wall- enemies still present.
"Yes, Comrade. No casualties," Chen reported.
"Good. Take firing positions overlooking the rear of the building. The enemy is making a break for it."
"Hah! Let them! Easy target practice for my-"
A gunshot cut off Chen's words. Then another, and another, and another, a steady metronome of death. Lotus knew even before Zhong called it in:
"Sniper! Enemy sniper engaging our forces at the rear of the building! Multiple casualties!"
"Impossible," Lotus muttered as she called up her hacked satellite feed on her laptop. The helicopter would have spotted a sniper before the operation began - wouldn't it? She would have spotted a sniper.
"Black Lotus. Get a location on that sniper immediately!" It wasn't Zhong's voice on the radio. The clipped, harsh words were those of General Liang herself.
Lotus felt a chill despite herself. The gunfight faded in her consciousness. She forgot about the lethal fanatics and truckloads of deadly chemicals nearby. Nothing existed except her hands, her eyes, her mind, and her laptop.
The American satellite was snapshotting Beijing's carnage overhead, recording every pixel of violence for Washington. She could see at least five Chinese soldiers sprawled behind the building in the latest image, wet red flowers blooming on the pavement around their heads. A line of GLA suicide bombers was streaming out the back door of the building, running right through the gap that the sniper had cut in the Chinese perimeter.
Smoke puffed from the building's upper-floor windows: Anvil soldiers, still alive and returning fire. She could hear the sniper still shooting, steady and cold, bang, bang, bang without interruption. When the next satellite photo uploaded a moment later, the puffs of smoke had vanished.
From the angle of the shots, she knew that the sniper had to be in an elevated position to the north of the building, likely a rooftop where he could fire down at the rear perimeter troops and Anvil on the upper floor. She saw a dead driver being hauled out of his Troop Crawler by a comrade, and felt another chill creep through her. This soldier had been sniped through the tiny viewport of his vehicle.
She only knew of one sniper in the world with that level of skill. The GLA's deadliest assassin, the legendary mercenary. But there was no sign of him. No muzzle flash, no smoke, no humanoid silhouette. No communications chatter, no phone trace, no GPS signals for her surveillance links to report. Jarmen Kell was invisible to the electronic eyes and ears that Black Lotus relied on to wage war.
"General," she said through clenched teeth. "I- I have no visibility on the sniper. And enemy personnel are escaping to the north."
General Liang spoke as though Lotus did not exist. "Thunderstorm One, engage enemy personnel leaving the building," she ordered. "Destroy anyone wearing green overalls and carrying a duffel bag. Reserve squads, deploy to intercept. Don't let them get away."
"Copy. It's our turn."
The thunder came again as the Helix swooped down. Switching to the view from streetside surveillance cameras, Lotus watched on her laptop as orange flashes of tracer rounds drew a dotted line between the helicopter's chin gun and the rearmost suicide bomber. His torso flew one way, his legs went another.
The other bombers scattered among Beijing's streets and alleyways, Chinese infantry in close pursuit. More tracers flashed from the gun ports on the side of the Helix, as Anvil troops aboard the chopper picked off two more bombers.
Lotus allowed herself a moment of relief. The enemy would not escape. As long as their bombs did not trigger as they died, the GLA's plot could still be foiled.
"Brother! Get the forklift! We can use it for cover!"
The sudden shout, and footsteps running toward her position, gave her five seconds of warning. She slammed her laptop shut and stood up just before one of the GLA gunmen rounded the corner of her hiding place, looking right at her. He had just enough time for a double-take before her free hand chopped knifelike into his carotid artery. He stiffened, eyes rolling up behind his thick goggles, and collapsed.
"Brother?" The final gunman stopped shooting. Lotus sighed, drew her QSZ-92 pistol from the inner pocket of her coat, and stepped out of her concealment to shoot him twice in the forehead.
Because of course she didn't go into combat situations armed with only a laptop. Information was her favourite weapon, but hardly her only one.
"Black Lotus to all units, cease fire on the building," she said into her radio. "All enemies inside are neutralized."
"Thunderstorm One here. All targets destroyed. No toxins released. Infantry is securing the bombs now. Returning to the target building."
"Chen here. Did someone kill that sniper? Bastard got my eye!"
"Infantry are sweeping the buildings for the sniper now," Zhong said. "He may have fled."
Lotus realized that the shots from the GLA sniper had stopped at some point in the chaos. She indulged in a slight smile. Jarmen Kell, mercenary that he was, had slipped away upon realizing that his rifle was powerless against a helicopter.
She took a moment to check the bomb trucks, verifying that the chemical devices inside would remain inert unless the canisters were catastrophically breached by a massive amount of force. Then she gathered up her devices, and left the building.
"Black Lotus here," she said into her radio. "Mission accomplished."
"Well done, Comrade," Zhong said. "Thunderstorm One will pick you up for return to base."
The helicopter slid overhead on cue, eclipsing the Sun with its bulk. Chinese soldiers around her cheered their victory even as they collected their dead.
A rifle shot rang out. Sparks flew from the Helix's tail rotor as it disintegrated into jagged shrapnel. The soldiers around her cried out and ducked for cover. Above them, the Helix began to spin. Staring upwards, Lotus felt her heart sink.
"Thunderstorm One here - we've been hit! I'm losing control, I can't - I can't control it!"
With its tail rotor gone, the Helix entered a death spiral. Engines whining, body tilting, rotor slicing through power lines, it was coming down directly on top of the target building - and the three massive chemical bombs still within.
With all her technology, all her training, all her skill, there wasn't a single thing Black Lotus could do. Except run.
She bolted for the nearest Troop Crawler, screaming at the other soldiers nearby.
"Get inside! Get inside right now! It's our only chance!"
She didn't stop to see if anyone was following her. As soon as she was inside the Crawler, she hit the button to seal its rear hatch, then lunged for the controls that would activate its chemical warfare protective systems.
A moment later, Thunderstorm One crashed.
Lotus could see it all from the vehicle's rear viewport. The huge chopper belly-flopped onto the building's roof, pancaking the top floor downward in a cloud of dust and shattered glass. A moment later, a fireball rocked the Crawler as the helicopter exploded, shards of its massive main rotor whirling across the pavement and dismembering two soldiers fleeing nearby. A pattering sound like hail sounded on the Crawler's roof as rubble rained down.
Then the cloud came. Green, thick, sickly, hugging the ground, oozing over Beijing's streets like a liquid spill. Seeping from the high-pressure canisters within the destroyed trucks, the GLA's chemical bombs fulfilled their destiny after all. Any soldiers caught within it without protective gear gagged, spasmed, clutched their throats, and went still. Beyond their perimeter lay Beijing's people.
Mercifully, the cloud was thick enough that it soon blocked Black Lotus' view of the disaster she had failed to stop.
But it could not block out the screams.
A/N: In Generals, Lin Zhong introduces herself in the Western manner (first name, surname). In China the family name comes first, which is why she's referred to as Zhong Lin here. Similarly, research indicates that there are no such names as 'Fai' or 'Leang' in China, which is why the Infantry General and Tigress have been renamed to 'Fei' and 'Liang' in this story. The Anvil Special Operation Force's name comes from the Infantry General's nickname of 'Anvil', indicated in the Zero Hour manual.
Solomon attempts to build a connection with Lotus here by quoting Chinese proverbs. Lotus responds with quotations from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War.'
This chapter is loosely inspired by the first China campaign mission in Generals, where the GLA starts a war by detonating a nuclear truck bomb in Beijing. The next chapter will deal with the consequences of this atrocity, for Solomon, Black Lotus, China and the world…
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter!