The Tiger and the Dragon

by Stephen Makk

  “Clear on run eight, commencing run nine.”

  The ROC air force pilot turned his head momentarily towards the Operating Officer. “You think we’ll get one this flight JJ?”

  “Probably, Beijing has a lot of surface stuff heading down this way, they must have some cover down there.” They pressed on for long minutes.

  “Look up JJ, we got company.” He looked beyond the pilot and there was an aircraft flying parallel and moving closer quite fast. The fighter soon matched height and speed around forty yards away off the left wing.

  It looked approximately F16 like but with a canard wing and the throat air intake was separated from the main fuselage to forward.

  “J10, the PLAAF is in on the act too. No surprise.”

  The J10 pilot signalled to them, he gave a thumbs down signal. The ROC pilot waved to him.

  “Cheeky bastard, he’s in our territory.” The J10 pilot gave the thumbs down again. The Operating Officer leaned over and gave him the finger. “Fuck you.” The J10 pulled up and away quickly.

  “Stay away you bastard.” The pilot checked the instruments with a practised eye, all clean.

  A warning light on the lower cockpit display flashed red and gave a loud buzz.

  “What? Missile warning, what’s he?” The pilot pulled the Grumman to the right in a turn back. Before he’d got around a PL-9 short range missile blew off the starboard engine, the wing hung off, debris shredded fuel, hydraulic and electrical lines. The S-2 burst into flames and tumbled down into the nearby sea. Soon there was nothing but smoke drifting downwind. The J10 flew by and roared up into the sky performing a twinkle roll. The air war had begun.

  NATHAN ROLLED IN HIS bunk, he was awake early. He looked at his Omega Seamaster, not too early. He’d go to the galley soon. He knew why he was awake early, it was that damn Chinese Song class they’d sunk. OK, he’d sunk. He knew there’d be holy hell if it became apparent what had happened. But he knew what was afoot up there, it was on, the PLAN was on the offensive. Still, he knew if things didn’t play out right, he could be up for a Court-Martial. That was something he’d never expected. It was just that... it was hard to explain, he knew how the PLAN thought. It was a gut feeling, but he knew it was right. He’d faced them so many times now he could feel what they were up to. Nathan rubbed his eyes, at least he damn well hoped he could. He got out of his bunk, dressed and left for the Galley.

  “Nathan sir.” It was the XO. “Yes?”

  “Word is just in from COMSUBPAC, it’s getting hot up there. There’s been air action and the PLAN task force is heading into Taichung City, Destroyers are standing off, amphibious units are detaching for a run in.”

  “Thanks Larry, I’ll get some breakfast and be right there.”

  NATHAN STOOD AT THE galley hatch.

  “Morning Sir, what will you have?”

  “Scrambled eggs toast and coffee thanks.”

  “Take a seat Sir, I’ll bring it out.”

  He saw free places on a bench and sat opposite a young dark-haired woman a Lieutenant from Engineering. “Hi Lieutenant,” he smiled, “Kate isn’t it?”

  “Yes Sir.” She said shyly.

  “How’s life back aft?”

  “Ok Sir. Better than my first patrol.”

  “Oh, what did we do wrong then?”

  “I transferred from USS Denver sir.”

  “Oh right, glad it’s going well for you here.” Nathan’s eggs and coffee arrived.

  He set to with a hunger. “Where are you from Kate?”

  “Maine sir, near Bangor.” The two chatted for a while.

  “I must go now, hope you’re well back there, any issues let me know.”

  “Thanks sir, and please look after her.” Nathan turned and frowned.

  “Nikki Kaminski sir. She’s a friend of mine. She’s a nice Southern girl. Like you are. I mean not a girl, but I know you’re from down that way.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, Arkansas. I’ll tell her that I spoke with you.” She smiled. Nathan left and returned to the control room.

  “Ok Larry what’s going on?”

  “Benson has two subsurface tracks out there and a probable Hai Lung boat off to starboard. He has multiple surface tracks with the PLAN task force bearing down on us.

  “Benson, which is the forward track?”

  “To port sir, I think it’s another Song. He’s running south, range 15 miles, 14 knots at 400 feet depth.”

  “Ok keep tracking him Benson. Weaps, designate as Tango one and the starboard track as Tango two.”

  “Sir.”

  “XO, I think it’s too late to get a ROE relaxation from COMSUBPAC. Planesman down bubble twenty, speed fifteen knots, make your depth 1,000 feet. Head for an intercept course, let’s get under him.”

  “Weaps what’s our warload?”

  “Sir, tubes one and two Mk 48, tube five Harpoon, tube six Stimpy. Tubes three and four empty.”

  “Load Mk 48 tube three and Harpoon tube four.”

  “Aye sir.”

  Nikki turned to him. “Current plot update available sir,” USS Stonewall Jackson slid into combat prep mode like a well-oiled watch, Nathan smiled with pride, everybody knew their place. This boat was the tip of the USN’s spear, and a damn sharp tip she was.

  “XO, Nikki the Wardroom now.” The three of them sat at the table.

  “Right, the PLAN’s mounting an invasion and it’s down to us to fight the fight. Suggestions?”

  “They may be on exercise.” Larry placed his hands on the table palms up. “I know it looks pretty bad up there, but it could be?”

  “I know the PLAN Larry,” said Nathan, “I can smell em. Maybe I was one of them in a past life or some shit. But they’re on the march.”

  “We should send a message to COMSUBPAC,” said Nikki stoking her hair.

  “We should,” Nathan nodded, “but he’ll have to throw it back to DC and that takes time.”

  “You didn’t let me finish Nathan.”

  “Go on Nikki.”

  “I was going to say by referring back up the chain, you’ve covered your ass to a fair extent. If the chain doesn’t act fast enough,” she shrugged.

  “It’s going to be like walking on eggshells if we don’t have a green light from the Puzzle Palace,” smiled Larry.

  “There is a way to do it,” Nikki leaned towards him, “they’ve already given you the green light. Sort of. They said if you believe the bad guys going to shoot at you, you can take action.”

  Nikki stood and paced the room, Larry rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Lord deliver us.” “What’s up Larry? You seen her do that before?”

  She stopped and turned to Nathan. “Put temptation in their path. Get them to shoot a sitting duck.”

  “Yeah, could do?” Nathan rubbed his chin in thought.

  “If they do, you’re clean. You can sit there fat dumb and happy and tell the PLAN, here have this, suck it and like it. Just wait for them to make a hostile move, and that’s it.”

  Nathan thought about it. Yeah, she may be right, ok it’s splitting hairs but...

  He looked at Nikki. “Trouble is, having them making a hostile move first is having a fish running for our ass.” Nikki grinned.

  “Nathan,” she waved her finger as if to scold him, “not necessarily. We may have just the thing we need.” Nikki laughed.

  “Go on...”

  Chapter 9

  Taichung City. Taiwan.

  PLA CHINESE SPECIAL forces landed from fast launches and airborne troops dropped in. The docks area was the area of main assault and the resistance was high. ROC army units had had time to take up good defensive positions and casualties on both sides were high. Naval gunfire from warships at sea provided support. Landing ships quickly took up positions in the port and disgorged armoured fighting vehicles. 586 Armour brigade further inshore pounded the enemy positions, a landing ship suffered direct hits and sunk 300 yards offshore. The weight of force the PLA had brought to bear in such a sma
ll area was starting to tell. Back six miles inland a company of the ROC Army’s 586 Armoured brigade had set up a battery of M115 8 inch Howitzers, dug in on a hillside. These caused hell in the landing areas directed by brave forward controllers who radioed back the fall of shot.

  Salvos rippled along the hillside as 8 inch shells arced down towards the shore and explosions ripped open AFV’s down in the docks area.

  Two flights of Nanchang Q-5 strike aircraft flew in two waves from low down the valley. The hillside redoubt was peppered by BL-755 cluster bombs and 550lb bombs. Guns were tossed down the hillside and men and vehicles were shredded, with ammunition trucks blasting trees and men high into the air.

  Minute by bloody minute the PLA was gaining a toehold in the port. The cost was high though, the Nanchang strike aircraft had turned back to the west when several F-CK-1 fighters roared in from the northeast and launched their AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Aircraft fell in tumbling fireballs. Only two Q-5’s escaped.

  The port relentlessly filled with People’s Liberation Army troops and vehicles coming ashore.

  The 1st Amphibious Mech division, and 164th Marines landed. They were forcing their way ashore through sheer weight of numbers, the cost was high but the waves of men and supporting AFV’s and trucks were unstoppable.

  CORPORAL BEN C WILLIS stood in the cavernous but noisy hold of the C130J Hercules. He stood facing aft, he was number four in his stick of Airborne troops. He looked at the light that would indicate a drop, it was still red. The rear ramp had been lowered a couple of minutes ago, and the wind billowed inside. The 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment had flown out from Fort Benning Georgia to Guam for the air drop. He learned to grab sleep wherever he could in the Rangers and it had proved itself on this trip. Halfway around the frigging world in no time at all to drop into Taiwan. It wasn’t until Guam that they’d been briefed that this wasn’t an exercise, but the real thing. Their task was to take and hold the westernmost bridge over the Da’an river. Apparently, the Chinks would be trying to take the bridge.

  Willis had laughed when he’d found that their allies were also Chinks, but the good kind. This island was full of em apparently. Ah well, the local food should be pretty good. They’d be wearing a blue sun on their uniforms.

  If they wore a red patch, they were the bad guys. The loadmaster raised his arm and the sticks of men tensed. The light turned green, he dropped his arm and waved them forward. Willis ran out and along the ramp with the rest, he was soon out in the free air falling. Then he felt a tug at his back and the chute was pulled out, he quickly looked up and the chute filled out. Thank God. He then unclipped his large chest mounted bag, it was a pain as it pulled down away from him. It was soon free, and he let it fall below him suspended on its four-yard tether. Most of his equipment was in there and it would soon become his backpack. Willis looked down, they were going to land among some houses, he hoped he’d come down in a garden. Thud. He rolled to break his fall he was on a sloping roof. He scrambled down into a small garden. Pulled his chute into a pile and heaved the backpack on, released his M4 Carbine. He was ready to deploy. A woman and her teenage daughter appeared at a door, she held out a cup to him and smiled. “Tea, you have.” He was about to refuse but looked at the pair of them smiling, he didn’t want to cause offence, and this was a foreign country. He took the tea.

  “Thank you.”

  The daughter spoke. “You come help? Where you from?”

  This was bizarre, here he was drinking tea and talking with the locals, he was on an op.

  “Colorado. Mountains, very high.”

  “Ah,” the girl nodded. He took a long drink of his tea.

  “I must go, thank you.” The Mother said something and pushed the daughter back inside. He walked towards the gate. “Soldier.” He turned, the daughter brought out a cake wrapped in a plastic bag.

  “Here. For you.” He couldn’t carry it, she noticed this. “I put in you bag.” She walked around his back and he assumed she’d placed it in a zipped pocket.

  “Thank you, thank you.” They smiled as he left. Willis grinned as he trotted off the re-join his troop. Taiwan ain’t such a bad place.

  He saw that there were two bridges about 500 yards apart, they’d landed south of them, his was the leftmost bridge. The bridges were actually road bridges with freeways crossing the river, it was around 400 yards to the opposite bank. They took up positions on the south side facing south. It didn’t take long, soon mortars anti-tank missile emplacements were set up, two teams went south to scavenge whatever cover they could bring back. He saw a team of six men unshaven and unkempt, tooled up to hell preparing for a deployment. He knew they were special forces, Green Berets. They moved out and headed south.

  BACK UP THE 7 AND 8th highway the ROC Army 10thArmy Corps 234 Mechanized infantry brigade and the 586 Armor Brigade moved south towards the city. The 8th Army Corps moved north up highways 3 and 21.

  The Republic Of China was mustering its defence, if the PLA wanted to get itself established in Taiwan it would have to fight for it. And fight hard.

  By the Da’an river Willis could hear gunfire and rocket fire from the south. It wasn’t far away, he knew it may be that the Green Beret’s had encountered opposition. The fighting continued as the cover scavengers brought back a couple of trucks laden with wood, doors and metal gates.

  Overhead a whoosh sound flew by, he knew it must have been a shell or missile. Whoosh, another. Shit they’re here. Willis turned his head, he saw on their faces that they understood what was going on. All of them wore CAM cream, faces were set in grim determination. He shouted to his men.

  “Ok Rangers, they’re here. Tell em if they want to cross this bridge you have a body bag they can climb into first.”

  USS STONEWALL JACKSON.

  “BENSON, WHERE ARE TANGO’S one and two?”

  “Sir, Tango one is eight miles west northwest and Tango two is nine miles northeast.”

  “Ok that’s good,” Nathan thought for a few seconds. “Planesman ahead two thirds. We’ve got some ships up there. Let’s meet uncle Joe’s target navy.”

  Nathan used submarine service terms, in their eyes the surface Navy were either skimmers or targets. The boat slid on through the deeps towards the Chinese task force.

  “Sir we’ve passed by the two subsurface contacts. I don’t think we’ve been detected. The first ships are twelve miles away.”

  Nathan walked over to the XO’s station. “Let’s pick our gung-ho skipper.”

  “Benson. Get me whatever ship ID’s you can in the leading wave.” Benson took off his headset rubbed his ears and replaced it. He turned two dials on his screen. Nathan looked at the dripping oily paint like display and shook his head.

  After several minutes Benson looked over. “Sir, I have two best candidates. A Jangkai II frigate and a Luyang III Destroyer. The Destroyer is ahead a little and half a mile closer to us.”

  “Ok, he’ll do. Course to get in front of him?”

  “Steer 020 degrees Sir.”

  “Planesman, steer 020, Benson let me know when we’re in his way.” Several minutes later Benson had it. “That’s it sir we’re in his way, his range is 12 miles.”

  “Let me know when he gets to 10 miles to go. Planesman, up bubble 15, trim fore and aft for ascent. Come to periscope depth.”

  “Periscope depth Aye sir.” The boat’s deck tilted up towards the bow.

  Nathan looked at Benson and waited.

  “Range ten miles sir, he’s heading right for us.” Nathan touched controls on his screen.

  “Ok, XO. All masts are raised.”

  “Weaps, set sonar narrow beam setting. Make one ping at the Destroyer.”

  “A ping sir?”

  “One ping, now.”

  The boat’s hull reverberated with the sound. “Ping.”

  ABOARD CHENGDU MAY Hsin was on the port outside deck, returning from conducting a ship’s disciplinary hearing. She’d fined two men and assigned one to head cle
aning duties for a week. It wasn’t her normal day, but she had to fit in while onboard. Suddenly two teams of sailors scurried toward the aft of the boat. A Helicopter crewman followed wearing his bone dome helmet with the oxygen feed hose hanging loose.

  “What’s going on Lieutenant?”

  “Enemy Sub sir.” He ran on. May heard the two Isotov turboshaft jet engines spool up and roar as she watched as a Kamov Ka-28 ASW Helicopter lifted away from the flight deck. Its noisy contra-rotating propellers were driven by the two engines developing 4,460 hp. The Kamov soon gained altitude and headed off to the south.

  THE PERISCOPE PEERED above the waves, on his monitor Nathan saw the Kamov launched from the rear flight deck.

  “That’s him. The Captain’s taken the bait.” He placed the aim reticule on the helicopter and selected, track. “Weaps, power up Vulture’s Stare.”

  “Aye sir.” Nathan transferred his view screen to Weaps.

  Huge banks of Lithium Ion batteries below decks were slaved in.

  “On and ready setting full power, Vulture’s eye on track.”

  “Call out his range.” The beam had taken out targets at 7 miles, Nathan knew the Yu-7 homing torpedo the Kamov carried had a range of 7.6 miles, he figured, no hoped they’d wait before release.

  “Eight point five, miles. Eight point one, seven point eight, seven point four.” Come on, wait please thought Nathan, he felt his neck sweating. Come on. “Seven point three, seven point one, seven, six point eight.”

  “Beam release,” barked Nathan.

  “Beam release, beam tracking, tracking.” The helicopter lit up as if the devil himself held a flaming torch to it. The Kamov rolled and moved to the left. Smoke trails sprouted. Its windshield was unnaturally bright with the reflected energy, 150 Kw of power were focused on that small area, something had to go. The grey camouflage paint at the forward end of the aircraft fried off first, the crew were blinded, their optic nerves cauterised. Plastic fittings in the cabin melted, the windshield softened and buckled inwards. Electrical sparks flew from hot fittings on the rear bulkhead. A fire extinguisher burst and blew CO2 gas, filling the cockpit. The crew screamed in agony their eyes burned deep into their skull and uniforms melted into their chests. The fuel tanks erupted in a great fireball and the helicopter fell burning into the sea.