Alien Mine Ch. 22

***

"All squadrons ready to commence attack," Commander Sampson reported to Kiania.

Kiania acknowledged Sampson's report but held off giving the order to attack. The Israeli and Russian fighters were commencing their attack from the northwest, and she wanted to ensure they stayed out of range of the remaining Om Base.

"Bring the Russian and Israeli fighters in low," Rhys said, "have them hit the remaining nuclear sites first, then bring them in over the main industrial sites and military bases. Take out any remaining bases and facilities capable of launching strikes. Have Sampson's fighters destroy any remaining aircraft and their naval facilities and use the shuttle for support." Kiania acknowledged and began sending orders, not just to their own but to all western assets, bypassing the central command structure.

General Eric Thompson had strategic command of all US Airforce assets in the Western Pacific and had witnessed the destruction of most of them. He and his staff were trying to reorganize the squadrons and salvage what remained of his forces. The General was in communication with the Pentagon trying to make sense of what happened when he heard his chief of Staff, Colonel Dickson, shout out loudly, "What the Fuck is going on? General, someone is sending new orders directly to the aircraft, and we are cut out of communications with the aircraft. The satellite comms, everything, even the emergency circuit, is down."

General Thompson and his entire battle staff were still getting over the shock of the nuclear attack and had no idea how total disaster had been averted. They knew of at least three nuclear strikes, but then this was followed by an all-out attack by Chinese forces to achieve air superiority, and his supposedly advanced fighter aircraft had been massacred in the first engagement. Another unknown force was apparently engaging the Chinese planes in combat and winning. But just as frightening, his aircraft were turning around, refueling, and taking up what could only be attack formations headed toward the Chinese mainland without orders.

"Mother Fucker," he swore angrily as he realized even the aging B52s were launching, in fact, every aircraft that could drop a bomb. "Who the Fuck authorized this; they are going to get slaughtered. God Damnit, get me someone at the pentagon." He said, forgetting the phone he held in his hand.

"Put it on speaker," he said, so everyone could hear. "Dave, what's happening? Did you cut us out of the command channels somehow? Almost all my surviving aircraft are either heading for China or lining up to take off, and I can't stop them. So tell me what the fuck is going on!

It's not us, Eric; we are cut out of the command system also, your counterpart in the Navy and probably the Army as well. Hell, we don't know what's going on. We were caught off guard entirely by this, and communications with the Joint Chiefs and the command center with the President had been interrupted. I just heard back from them a few minutes ago, and they told me to stand down; apparently, we are just along for the ride on this. Someone has overridden our communications, and there's nothing we can do about it. They saved our ass from the nuclear war and are now launching a strike in China. I have no fucking idea what's going on or who they are, but it looks like we're winning, at least for now.

The Chinese aircraft and radar could not detect them, and the Miranda fighter aircraft swooped down upon them like birds of prey. Their long-range missiles had destroyed the Chinese aircraft and cruise missiles attacking the task forces, and Sampson's squadrons swept the air from Japan south to Taiwan and all the way to the coast of Vietnam. He thought it was like shooting fish in a barrel, remembering something his father used to say. The Chinese didn't stand a chance, and any that remained had turned and ran back to the mainland.

Kiania had linked the Shuttle's sensor suite to the F 35's, enabling them to see the attacking Chinese aircraft. That has caused some consternation to the pilots as new threats registered on their sensor systems, but Rhys, broadcasting on their technical frequencies, had assured them it was real. Kiania had taken over coordination of the US and Japanese conventional forces, overwriting all command frequencies and cutting off the US and Japanese command structure. The battle space was immense and rapidly evolving and beyond the ability of the Western command structure to coordinate. Their conventional forces were unprepared to face a Chinese threat upgraded by the Om.

Rhys was aware this would cause complications and recriminations later, but for now, it was necessary. The US and Japanese forces had suffered severe casualties; 70% of their aircraft and been lost, and one task force was utterly destroyed with its carrier and another severely damaged. Moreover, nuclear strikes at Sasebo, Japan, Honolulu, and San Francisco had sent panic rippling through the operational command. In addition, the Om attack killing the President, disrupted the command structure at the highest level. As a consequence, Anita was struggling to get the Joint Chiefs of Staff refocused on fighting the war.

"Just keep them pacified for now," Rhys told Anita. "They aren't mentally equipped to fight this kind of battle. Kiania has control of the battle space; we will bring in local commanders when possible. For now, we are blocking all communications except ours."

Anita acknowledged the command without looking up from the general she had been talking to. They were scared and confused, a group of people used to being in control. It would damage the relationship in the short term, but in the long term, they would learn to fight the Om. For now, she needed to maintain control, and fortunately, the Binary was there if she needed it. Of course, seeing her decapitate a human-like alien and shoot another was a shock to their system, and the blood splashed across her clothes added to what was now a fearsome warrior appearance. There was fear and distrust in the eyes of General Nicholson, he would have to go, and soon, she had already decided. Anita just hoped she didn't have to have the Binary kill him. Admiral Kasten seemed the most in control and was providing some leadership. She let him communicate with the Pacific Commander, but they could do little. Even with her limited experience, Anita knew this battle was beyond the capabilities of anyone in the room.

She turned her attention back to General Nicholson, who was now screaming at her, and reached out to Sandy, who used a little bit of her attention to view the drama. "I don't want to kill him, but he needs to go," Anita said.

"You're the President; relieve him of Command and appoint someone else," she replied, quickly shifting her attention elsewhere. Sandy had her hands full helping Kiania coordinate the numerous and overlapping command structures in the US and Japanese forces. Streamlining the chaotic peace time command structure was high on her list, but it would have to wait until this battle was over.

Anita turned to the head of her security, thinking it was probably better to let them do it. The Binary probably scared everyone; she didn't want violence but couldn't continue letting the General rant and threaten her. "The General is relieved of duty," she said loudly and firmly, "escort him out," she told her head Secret Service agent. The security detail hesitated for a second. "Now!" Anita's voice boomed, and the tone of her voice jerked them into action. General Nicholson stopped his rant in mid-sentence, speechless for a change. "You are relieved," she said firmly. She turned to Admiral Kasten; you are the new Chairman; get this room under control and back to work, or I will find someone else who can," Anita said in an icy voice as she looked around the room to see if there were any more challengers.

"Yes, Madam President," the Admiral replied as the secret service detail escorted the now quiet General from the room.

"Now you need to reassure them this isn't a coup; get them working on fighting a war; that's what they have trained for," the Binary said. "They can mobilize resources here in the US and get them into the Pacific. Rhys will try to pull the teeth from the Om in China, but they are too entrenched there; this is just a temporary solution. Digging them out of a country that size is beyond our current capabilities. We will need the men in this room to muster the resources for a more protracted battle."

Anita took a deep breath, glad for the calmness Rhys was enforcing. She let her emotions reach out to the others, Nelya, Mika, and Sandy. Anita felt their warmth, compassion, and love flow into her. "We will be Great," Nelya said, sensing her doubt that she could do this. Anita had known this was coming, but she was mentally unprepared for the sudden way leadership had been thrust upon her. If it wasn't for Rhys, anxiety and doubts would have frozen her actions even with her symbiont. But she drew strength from the connection with the others; it gave her confidence that she could lead, could become the leader that Rhys demanded of her. Gathering her courage, Anita turned to the room and began issuing orders.

***

"Sir - we have lost all satellite feeds," one of the Chinese sergeants reported.

"Get them back," Major General Li Fenghui said, frowning; the satellites were critical for targeting. It was surprising the Americans had not tried to take them out already. His Missile and Space Command counterpart had probably already destroyed the most important American ones.

"The satellite feed is not coming back; there is no signal at all," the sergeant reported.

The Major General frowned, but before he could say anything, one of his officers reported that they had also lost the GPS signal.

The Chinese Maj. Gen. felt this chill run down his spine. The Americans must have struck their satellites more effectively than his superiors anticipated. This would seriously degrade their targeting ability over the short term, but his first strike was already on the way back to refuel and rearm, and a second strike was getting ready to launch. They still had radar, and the investment in the modern fleet of early warning aircraft was now paying off, so he could still control his strike forces. Still, it concerned him because now he was blind to any counter-actions the Americans might pursue. He would have to retain more of his resources in reserve, but he could live with that considering the deadly blow his fighters had already struck. They still had communications, and he could hear the chatter as the pilots spoke to each other into the ground stations. The pilots were concerned about losing GPS, but their backup navigation systems had kicked in.

Sudden cries of alarm from his pilots were the first indication the Chinese Maj. General. had that anything was wrong, then all communications ceased. That included sensor data from the forward-deployed early warning aircraft. The large screens that had been projecting the sensor data went dark.

"What happened!" he demanded, "how do we just lose all communications?"

"We don't know," his comm officer replied; everything has gone silent; we don't have any communications at all."

"Get me Headquarters," the general demanded.

"General, we have no communications; even the telephones are down," his aid said with growing alarm.

The Generals' previous optimism suddenly became a deep concern. The initial attack was so successful, what could possibly have happened now. He could only hope his fighters found their way back, and now he couldn't even recall those that were on their way out. In fact, he couldn't even talk to his own commanders to stop the aircraft from taking off.

Lieutenant MacGyver of Obi1 squadron had taken his aircraft up to 20,000 meters and now pushed the nose down. He was over Kalimantan Island in western Brnuei, moving at Mach six. His squadron was tasked with attacking the southernmost Islands China had illegally claimed and militarized. The first wave of missiles was already on the way as his Tac-O, Lieutenant Weaver, assigned targets to the drones. The four drones and his aircraft were spread out with five kilometers between them. Not a typical close formation, but at these speeds, they needed room to maneuver, and the drones were more than capable of engaging in air-to-air combat without the need for close human control.

Weaver couldn't suppress a yell of delight as the Chinese aircraft began disappearing from his sensors. It was like a level 60 archer in WOW going back to the area around Origimar and shooting up the hapless NPC's, they never even saw them coming. Green had taken them west into the Straits of Malaysia and then turned northeast into the South China Sea. As they swept into their part of the assigned battlespace, he gave the drones more and more autonomy, shoot anything out of the sky that wasn't friendly. He kept an eye on them as they maneuvered, seeking out targets while making random movements but still maintaining a rough formation. His own aircraft was also making small random course adjustments, a dance in the air that only Drans technology could do at these speeds. It was something Colonel Kiania had insisted on; she had been surprised by the Om almost every time they fought them. Expect it, they are monolithic in some ways, but there is always a new surprise. This delicate weaving about was designed to avoid easy targeting, but so far, they had seen nothing unexpected.

Lieutenant MacGyver pushed the nose down even more, anxious to get into laser range of the remaining enemy aircraft. His missile supply was limited; even the drones that carried three times what his own aircraft did had used half their loadout, and besides, this was his first chance to try out the weapons in combat. His Tac-O would worry about coordinating the strike with the drones. The Chinese aircraft seemed to be flying aimlessly and made perfect targets. He knew their comms were being cut off, their early warning aircraft were toast, and they were milling around, unsure what to do. Well, that wouldn't be a problem for them in just a few seconds, he thought as the first one came in range.

MacGyver slowed his aircraft to Mach four, the drones could target and fire at almost any speed, but his own reactions required another few seconds. He could have just assigned the target to the AI, but he wanted to pull the trigger. There was a concentration of enemy aircraft swarming around Spratly Island, and Green intended to sweep them up as they flew by. They would come back for the installation itself later. "And now," he said out loud as twin laser beams shot out from the nose of his aircraft. The faint red beams brushed over the target, and the super-heated metal exploded violently. Green hardly noticed; he was already firing on the next one as his fighter screamed downward like a diving bird of prey. He heard his Tactical Officer shout out, relishing this moment just as much as he did as all four drones were firing. Four more enemy aircraft exploded as they approached the Chinese outpost, now flying at only 2,000 meters. "Time to regain some height," he thought, pulling up the nose of his aircraft. He was still twenty kilometers from Spratly Island when he saw multiple red flashes. Lieutenant MacGyver had just enough time to realize three drones were gone before it was his turn.

"Obi1 Lt. MacGyver and drones are down!" Kiania heard just as the shuttle's sensors registered the energy spike." Execute withdrawal bravo," Kiania said immediately to all aircraft glancing at Rhys. It was a maneuver they had practiced for just such an emergency.

Sampson swung his aircraft around at G forces that would tear a man apart without the Drans tech and dove for the deck in a weaving dive at Mach ten that left no room for error. Sampson hoped the AI didn't suffer a glitch because otherwise, they were going to be in very tiny pieces if they hit the water. He breathed a sigh of relief as the plane leveled off ten meters above the waves, his engines actually straining to maintain speed in a much thicker atmosphere. Watching the water below him was unnerving; the slightest error at these speeds would be deadly. Kiania's order had come just in time. Red and Blue Squadrons had lost drones, Green Squadron had lost two drones and one crewed human fighter, plus the casualty in Obi1. Of course, he knew them all personally, but now was not the time to put faces on them. New orders were coming in; they were going back on the attack. Sampson pulled his nose straight up, letting his engines work even harder. Turning control over to the AI, he began to reorganize his squadrons.

"That sensor spike was high, but the energy beams are not the same strength as the one at the Om nests we have encountered before," Thea told Rhys and Kiania. "However, it fires more rapidly; that was a four-shot burst, each about a tenth of a second apart. We haven't seen that before from them." Thea added thoughtfully.

"The power signature is not Om," Hua added, "they must be using conventional power sources. They are strong enough to take out a fighter but cannot penetrate our shields," Hua said emphatically.

"Take us south," Rhys said to Kiania, making a decision. We will take out the energy weapons and any other surprises the Om have for us. Bring our forces in behind us, and have them take out the major bases, the Zhanjiang and Yulin naval bases in particular. Use the US conventional forces to clean up anything we miss."

"What about the deployed surface and submarine forces? Sandy asked. We have neutralized the Chinese nuclear missile submarine fleet, but there are still 11 submarines deployed, and numerous surface ships have sailed or are in the process of deploying."

"There are enough US Navy and Air Force assets left to deal with those, especially as we block their comms and sensors. They are blind; I will provide targeting information directly to the ships and aircraft," Kiania said.

"No, provide the targeting information real-time to their commands with orders to destroy them. There are going to be enough hard feelings about how we cut them out of the loop, give them back control of the assets you don't need," Rhys ordered.

Kiania did a quick calculation, allotting as many aircraft as she thought they could spare, and passed the information to Hua. "Incoming orders Anita," Hua said, and detailed sensors and target information began filling the hologram in the situation room. Rhys wants the US military to take over fighting the conventional forces. We have destroyed most of their advanced aircraft and will keep the rest focused on us. Get your generals to focus on the remaining naval units first."

"Admiral Kasten, these units are now under your control," Anita said forcefully, highlighting broad areas in the western Pacific. "These are the remaining Chinese assets," she added, and another hologram formed in front of the Admiral. Use your forces to neutralize them."

The Admiral stared in amazement at the detailed information displayed. The hologram seemed to follow his eyes and would expand and change, even growing in size as he looked over the battle space and tried to absorb the information. It was too much to absorb, and he didn't know how to manipulate the data, but then the woman Leslie was at his side, showing him what to do. His counterparts in the Airforce and Army joined him, and the three of them began to grasp the strategic picture. "Just tell me where you want the information and order to go, and we will help you," Leslie said while gesturing to Amancia.

The three senior officers from the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy began to parcel out the most critical threats. Amancia showed them how to use their hands to control the hologram, expand the sections they wanted, and send that information to the relevant commanders.