“We failed to reach our goal,” Deng said. “Sir, do you wish to send more troops to Alaska?”
“No,” the Chairman muttered. “I have already said as much. The rice riots make that impossible. Our ships are needed elsewhere now.”
An icicle of fear stabbed Jian. Some might still try to blame him for the poor harvests, and now he didn’t have a war to distract them. Then inspiration struck. “Sir, I have an idea.”
“Do you wish to start another war?” Deng asked in scathing tone.
“I am Chinese,” Jian said, squaring his shoulders. “I think in longer terms than a simple battle. We have taught the Americans a harsh lesson and must now move on to the next step.”
“What have we taught them?” Deng asked. “That given time they can halt our attacks?”
“You mock Chinese arms,” Jian said. “I do not.”
“I make no mockery,” Deng said.
“Silence,” the Chairman told Deng. “Let Jian speak. Yes. He knew how to motivate General Nung. I should have sent Jian to Admiral Ling. Then we would have taken Anchorage and sealed the Americans behind the Yukon passes.”
Jian dipped his head. “You honor me, sir.”
“Give us your idea,” the Chairman said.
“War is not always fought by weapons,” Jian said. “The great Sun Tzu taught us that. Because of a few unfortunate accidents, our naval infantry will soon face the onslaught of massed American troops. I doubt the lazy Americans could throw us off the Kenai Peninsula, but we must not give them the opportunity to try. We must use our victorious assault into Dead Horse to save the naval infantry and Chinese battle-honor in the south.”
The Chairman nodded for him to continue.
“We have shown the world the deadliness of Chinese arms,” Jian said. “We have taught the arrogant Americans a sharp lesson. They withhold food. Very well. We will withhold oil. We now hold the Arctic oilfields and Prudhoe Bay. At the conference table, let us trade Dead Horse for a timed withdrawal from South Central Alaska.”
“I fail to see how leaving the peninsula like a whipped cur helps us in the long term,” Deng said.
“You lack the eyes to see,” Jian said. “We have shattered the American Fleet and we have broken the image of an untouchable America. Our technology also proved superior to theirs, and we have taken the Arctic oilfields from them. Our troops shall march out of South Central Alaska as heroes, unconquered on the battlefield.”
“All this is beside the point,” Deng said. “We still have our food shortage. How will you fix this?”
Jian forced himself to smile indulgently. “That shall be our long-term strategy: gaining political alliances with the grain-growing countries or threatening them with Chinese proxies. This little lesson in Alaska and our growing fleet will give weight to our threats.”
“Provided we do not suffer a defeat in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula,” Admiral Qiang said. “Sir, I still respectfully suggest we send reinforcements to Alaska. We can win this war. It is too early to admit ourselves beaten.”
The Chairman scowled. “The Army wasn’t beaten, but these naval infantry of yours….” The old man shook his head. “Now is the time to use our experiences to build an improved military. I shall speak to the President. Yes, I shall maneuver him into asking for peace talks. Then you, Jian, shall go to the conference and use Dead Horse and the Prudhoe Bay oilfields as hostage for his good behavior concerning our naval infantry. Afterward, we shall begin teaching these Americans what it means making China your enemy.”
Deng Fong shifted uneasily, looking as if he wanted to speak.
The Police Minister spoke up first. “That is a splendid plan, sir. I heartily agree.”
The marshal of the Army nodded.
“Admiral Qiang?” the Chairman asked.
“With more fuel, sir—”
“No,” the Chairman said, as his eyes bulged. “I’ve had enough of your cries. This entire mess is of your doing. You destroyed the American oil well and you pushed for this attack.” He pressed a button on his wheelchair.
The double doors opened and three armed Lion Guards stepped in.
“Take him,” the Chairman said, indicating Admiral Qiang.”
“Sir,” Qiang said, standing. “I ask your permission to speak.”
“Shoot him,” the Chairman said coldly, “and incinerate his body.”
The admiral’s mouth opened as shock marked his features.
“Your naval infantry stained Chinese honor,” the Chairman said.
“Sir, I beg you,” Qiang pleaded.
A Lion Guard clutched an arm. The second one did likewise to the other arm as the third man aimed his gun at the admiral.
“Take him outside and shoot him,” the Chairman said, “for he has failed me, which means he has failed Greater China.”
The guards hustled a protesting Admiral Qiang from the chamber.
“He wronged all of us,” the Chairman said, his dark eyes shining. “Later, we shall list his deficiencies to the people, letting them understand why our naval personnel failed to achieve their objective.”
The other ministers sat in silence, each wrapped in his own stark thoughts.
Paul Kavanagh was on the phone in a small hut atop a mountain. The long-distance line to California was finally coming through. Red Cloud was outside, waiting near the Marine helicopter.
Someone on the other end of the line picked up the phone. “Hello?” a woman asked.
“Cheri?” Paul said, his heart racing and his face flushed.
“Paul?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s me.”
“Paul, you’re alive. I-I thought….”
“I’m coming home, baby.” By all that was holy, he loved her voice. It was beautiful. It was life.
“What do you mean ‘coming home?’”
“I mean that I’m sorry for all the ways I treated you badly. It means I want to start over. I love you, baby. I want to be with you more than anything in the world. What do you say, Cheri? Do you think there’s a chance?”
A sob came over the crackling line.
“Cheri?” Paul said, worried he’d lost the connection as he had before outside Platform P-53.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Cheri whispered. “When I thought you were dead…. Please, Paul, hurry home. I love you so much. I know that now.”
Paul grinned so hard it hurt his cheeks. “I love you too, baby. I’ll be home in a few weeks.”
“Oh, Paul, it’s so good to hear your voice. I’m so terribly glad you’re alive. This is wonderful.”
“Yeah, I’m done fighting. It’s out of my system. All I want is to love you and raise my boy right. I can hardly wait to hold you in my arms again.”
This
(Reuters) As the last Chinese troops withdrew from the Kenai Peninsula today, the American negotiating team stormed out of the Carlos Diego Building in downtown Buenos Aires.
“The Chinese have bargained in bad faith,” the American Sectary of State declared.
The Americans claim the Chinese have garrisoned “stolen” Arctic Ocean oil rigs and positioned several battalions of hovertanks as a quick reaction force. It is clear, they said, that the Chinese wouldn’t budge on the issue of the oil wells.
When told of this, the Chinese pointed out that any nation willing to ignite nuclear weapons in the pristine Arctic environment cannot be trusted to monitor against oil seepages or spills.
“The truth is that we are better guardians,” Minister Jian Hong said. “The Chinese have long experience guarding civilization against barbaric peoples such as the American oilmen.”
The war begun five months ago has ended. But the Americans are still bitter about the invasion, while the
