by James Rosone
“We are not sure yet,” replied Eric as he was talking to someone on his cell phone. “It appears to also be affecting GPS and the Internet.”
General Branson was on the phone yelling at someone to figure out what was going on when he turned to the President and said, “One of our subs in the Pacific just sent a message saying the Chinese are attacking Taiwan. The Skipper also reports that he has lost communications with our forces in Japan and Hawaii.”
“This is the last thing we needed…the Chinese to join the war,” thought the President.
As the fully armed Razorback assault helicopter took off from the West Lawn, it began to race away from the city. The President emerged from thought and announced, “We need to find out if the loss of our satellites is a result of a direct attack by the Chinese. I also want to know what else the Chinese are up to in Asia.”
The helicopter dropped down to near treetop level as it accelerated to over 200mph, speeding its passengers away from the danger of being in Washington. “Admiral Juliano is in the other Razorback with the rest of the team right behind us. I’m sure when we land, he’ll have more information for us,” Monty said while talking to someone on his smart phone.
LTG Rick Scott, the Director of the DIA, had arrived at the HIVE thirty minutes before the President and the national security staff. His first priority was to find out how bad the cyber-attack was and figure out what still worked. He had been on the phone with the DOD and DIA CIOs, and so far, the most they could tell him was that the Uninet routers and switches had been infected with some sort of malware that caused them to overheat and essentially burn out.
For the last fifteen years, the DOD had been upgrading its IT infrastructure with Uninet hardware, meaning most of the DOD’s IT infrastructure had been effectively destroyed. The CIOs explained that the problem was much worse than just the DOD systems. They had been in touch with their DHS and DOJ counterparts and they were also facing the same problems. Director Scott hit the speed dial on his phone to the Director of Homeland Security.
Within the first couple of minutes of his conversation with Director Perez at DHS, LTG Scott learned that AT&T was down and so was Sprint, along with nearly half of the country’s internet providers. Apparently Verizon was one of the few internet and phone providers who had not used Uninet’s hardware and had not been affected by the malware attack.
“General Scott, the President and the rest of the NSC will be arriving in ten minutes. We assured the President that the Chinese wouldn’t launch an attack against us…what are we going to do now?” asked Colonel Bauser, General Scott’s Chief of Staff.
“We were wrong. I was wrong to doubt General Wright’s warning. I suspect the President will probably fire me once he knows we made the wrong call.”
Brigadier General Joshua Wright was the Director for Intelligence (also known as the J2) at the DIA. Several of his analysts had determined that there was a high likelihood that the Chinese and Russians were going to attack the US and Europe within the week. Their assessment had been dismissed by LTG Scott due to no signals intelligence supporting the assessment and countering information from the economic and geo-political analysts. All of this became a moot point once the satellites started to go down.
The President’s helicopter and his staff arrived at the HIVE entrance and were immediately led to waiting elevators that would take them to the fiftieth floor. The fiftieth floor of the HIVE had been designated as the Presidential level; it had a residency for the first family along with the national security staff. There were also numerous offices and secured conference rooms to conduct the government’s business. The next five floors above them were dedicated for various essential departments of the government and their staff.
Once the President and the NSC arrived, the HIVE went into complete lockdown. Thirteen hundred Marines moved into the facility and took over internal security in coordination with the Secret Service. Five hundred Army Rangers, 50 Special Forces and 3,000 Army infantry soldiers would provide external security outside of the HIVE scattered across every approachable position to the site. The US Government had gone to ground and was hunkering in for the long haul until the situation with the nationwide communications blackout could be sorted out.
As the President got off of the elevator and began to walk to the NSC briefing room, he saw General Scott had already arrived and was clearly getting the room set up and gathering information for a quick briefing. “General Scott, we’ve been in transit for the last hour; I need an update with what we are facing,” said the President with a sense of urgency in his voice.
“Mr. President, I spoke with Director Perez, who is also en-route to our position. He told me his department also lost communications. They believe it had something to do with Uninet routers and switches within the government IT infrastructure. I’ve talked with the CIOs at the DIA, DOD, DOJ, DHS, DOS, NSA and CIA. They all have experienced the same problems. All Uninet routers and switches suddenly overheated and burned out at the exact same time. Our assessment is that they had been compromised prior to installation with some sort of sleeper malware waiting to be activated,” said LTG Scott with a worried look.
“Good God, this is worse than we could possibly have thought…,” said Mike Williams as he trailed off into his own thoughts.
“They have also destroyed our communications and GPS satellites,” Admiral Lewis said.
“So essentially, we are blind and unable to communicate with our forces abroad or here in the US?” asked the President.
“Sir, it’s a bit more than that. AT&T, Sprint, GoogleNet, Comcast, Cox Cable, and TimeWarner are all down. Cell phones, internet, just about everything. We are not entirely in the dark. The government’s cell and phone carrier is Verizon; so far they are the only phone and internet provider that is not down. They did not use the Uninet hardware. Right now we do not even know if this has hit the Europeans or how this is affecting our forces in the Middle East,” LTG Scott said.
The President immediately began to take charge of the situation and began to rapid fire orders to this staff. “First things first, we need to get communications back up ASAP. General Rice, see how many communication drones we have in the US and get them deployed immediately. We need to get military data communications back up immediately. Also, someone get on the horn with the CEO of Verizon; let him know that for the time being the federal government is going to temporarily nationalize their company and infrastructure until the other companies can repair or replace all of the Uninet routers and the switches and are back operational. We need the government functional, and if Verizon is the only content and data provider operational, then they just became our number one priority to secure and use. Work out a generous compensation package for them and ensure that they begin to assist the other providers in order to get services back up and running,” directed the President.
The attack against the American critical infrastructure grid caught most Americans by surprise--though some companies were better prepared than others to deal with a situation like this. Thousands of private companies began to assist the government in restoring the communication grid in the US. Google and Facebook had wireless internet drones and blimps they used in remote locations around the world; they immediately began to deploy that capability in the US, which greatly restored communications within America.
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10 December 2040 –1543 hours
Afternoon of Day Twelve
Pacific Ocean, near Pearl Harbor
Three Shang-Class Type 96 nuclear-powered submarines entered their optimal strike range of the US Naval Facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As part of the first strike of Operation Red Dragon, their mission was to destroy the 7th Fleet Headquarters and any ships within the harbor. Upon receiving a message stating the that American satellites and communications were down, two of the three submarines fired four cruise missiles towards predetermined land targets, while the third submarine fired three cruise missiles at the Honolulu Internat
ional Airport. One nuclear torpedo was launched towards Ford Island, which would effectively destroy the deep water facilities the US Navy relied upon.
The cruise missiles quickly found their marks and met no resistance since the communications and electronic grids within the naval facility were still offline. They quickly decimated the 7th Fleet Headquarters and numerous other strategic facilities at Hickam Air Force Base, Camp Smith and the Honolulu International Airport. The final and most devastating element of the attack was the nuclear torpedo. When it exploded, it destroyed dozens of naval ships in port, along with the equipment needed to service the surface fleet. The damage caused by the mini-nuclear explosion was immense and destroyed the use of Pearl Harbor for years to come, essentially neutralizing the military there for the duration of the war.
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11 December 2040 –0120 hours
Midnight, Day Thirteen
East China Sea: Okinawa, Japan
Kadena Air Force Base
During the communications and satellite blackout, the PLAN had maneuvered two of their carriers and the rest of the battlegroup to within 90 miles of Okinawa. While it was still early in the first hour of confusion among the American forces, forty-six J36 attack aircraft began their bombing of Kadena AFB, destroying the runways and numerous aircraft. The battlegroup had launched 190 cruise missiles at the AFB and Marines stationed throughout the island. The Japanese Defense Force (JDF) was able to destroy several of the J36 aircraft while their naval forces moved to engage the Chinese battlegroup. With the bulk of the American naval forces fighting in Indonesia, Japan was on their own. Since the American bases on Okinawa were neutralized, the PLAN carrier battlegroup changed course towards Guam to finish destroying the bases’ capability and remove them as a threat.
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11 December 2040 –0120 hours
Day Thirteen, Twilight Hours
Straights of Taiwan
With the start of Operation Red Dragon, the PLAN and PLAAF launched a massive barrage on the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Straits and began their amphibious landings to secure the islands. The PLA bombarded the main island with thousands of cruise and several hundred short-range ballistic missiles carrying 20,000 pound warheads; they devastated the Taiwanese airports and major command and control centers, flattening them like bugs under a fly swatter. The missile and air bombardment of the main island lasted for nearly 24 hours before the PLA began to land troops on the main island.
Dozens of PLA and PLAN ships were being destroyed in the straits by Taiwanese missiles and artillery, slowing the PLA advance but not stopping it. The Americans had sold the Taiwanese their advanced mobile anti-aircraft and anti-missile railgun systems over the summer. The Taiwanese leveled these weapons to face the ocean and began to add their own devastating fire into the invasion force. These systems were also having a destructive effect on the PLAAF; within minutes of taking off from their bases on the mainland, they were already within range of the railguns. If it had not been for the swarms of thousands of PLAAF drones involved in the attack, the PLAAF may have suffered even worse losses. The railgun defensive systems were beginning to limit the level and frequency of air support that could be provided to the ground forces.
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11 December 2040 – 0220 hours
Day Thirteen, Twilight Hours
The Border of China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar
At the start of Operation Red Dragon, 1.1 million PLA soldiers advanced across the Chinese southern border into Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Vietnam had been the Rice Bowl of Asia for over a century; the capture of Vietnam by the Chinese was paramount to stabilizing their nation’s food supply. Myanmar would give China deep water ports on the East Indian Ocean, along with vast amounts of arable farmland.
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore were next on the PLA’s list. With control of Malaysia and Singapore, the Chinese would control the straits of Malacca and with it the shipping lane of nearly 60% of the world’s exportable goods.
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11 December 2040 – 0542
Day Thirteen
Islamic Republic Command Bunker under Riyadh
“Caliph Mohammed, the American satellites and communications systems are down. We have received word from the Chinese that they have commenced their attack on the Americans,” Zaheer Akhatar, Mohammed’s senior advisor said with glee.
“Excellent. How soon until our packages arrive in America, Huseen?” asked the Caliph, eager to knock the Americans out of the war in the Middle East.
“The Liquid Natural Gas tanker is at the Panama Canal now; it should enter the lock shortly. Once it does, our people will detonate it as it reaches the optimal spot. With the destruction of the canal, the Americans’ ability to move between the Atlantic and Pacific will be crippled. Since the Chinese have plans for the American West Coast, we have moved the Swords of Allah to the East Coast. The first ship has arrived in New York Harbor; once the Captain receives the order, he will move his ship towards the Hudson River until he is adjacent to the New Port Center in New Jersey. Inshallah, he will deliver the first of Allah’s Swords,” described Huseen ibn Abdullah Al Gubayel, the IR Intelligence Director.
“Is that the best location to deliver Allah’s Sword?” asked Mohammed.
“That location will ensure the vast majority of the buildings in lower and mid-Manhattan will be destroyed. It is also one of the heaviest populated areas in Manhattan and next to the Greenwich and SOHO districts; this is where the wealthiest people in the city live.”
“How many casualties do we anticipate?”
“At least one hundred thousand dead from the initial blast, then close to five or six times that number over the next several hours and days as people start to die from radiation poisoning and the general chaos this is going to cause,” explained Huseen with an evil sneer.
“The second Sword is still on track to hit Washington, DC?” asked Mohammed.
“The ship docked in Baltimore two days ago. Allah’s Sword has been offloaded to a lead-shielded delivery vehicle. When you give the order, our operative will drive the vehicle to Washington and will deliver Allah’s Sword near the Capital building. It will destroy everything within a half mile radius of the event, with severe damage extending as far as two to three miles away. We anticipate fifty thousand casualties initially, and that toll will rise to nearly three to four hundred thousand over the next several days.”
“Huseen, I thought the casualties were supposed to be significantly higher than that. What changed?” asked Mohammed.
“The American government has gone to ground. They instituted their Continuity of Government plan. The vast majority of administration functions are no longer being conducted in Washington, DC, and have moved to their various underground complexes. Before you ask if we know where these locations are--we do not. The ones we knew of have recently been decommissioned, which means they have newer ones that we have not found yet,” said Huseen.
“Perhaps we should move the last Sword to a better target then?” inquired the Caliph.
“Sir, the goal was to destroy the symbol of American power, Washington, DC. Even if the government is no longer operating out of Washington, we can still destroy the city,” said General Rafik Hamza.
“Destroying the city has been one of our major goals; however, we only have one of Allah’s Swords left to use. I want to make sure it is used where it can cause the most damage to hurt and kill the most Americans possible. We can have several of our direct action units in the area start fires all across Washington and attempt to burn it, but Allah’s Sword is special. What other targets should we consider?”
“If this is your final decision, then I propose we use Allah’s Sword on Baltimore. It is already in place; all that needs to be done is to move it to the downtown area and then deliver it. We would destroy one of their largest seaports on the East Coast, and cripple a key aspect of their rail and road infrastructure. The casualties from this should be s
everal hundred thousand people initially, and eclipse a million within a month,” said General Rafik Hamza.
“There are better targets than Baltimore, General Hamza. Demolishing Philadelphia would destroy a naval yard, along with one of their oldest and most notable cities,” Zaheer Akhatar said, questioning the strategic significance of attacking Baltimore.
“Zaheer, the drive to Philadelphia is further than the drive to Washington, so the chances of the device being detected are much higher. Philadelphia does have the naval yard, but Baltimore has one of the largest deep water ports on the East Coast. With New York Harbor reeling from the destruction of the first device, extinguishing the port of Baltimore will hurt the American military far more than the demolition of one of their naval yards,” General Hamza said with a bit of annoyance at being challenged by Zaheer. Despite Zaheer being the senior advisor to Caliph Mohammed, Rafik did not like or trust him.
“Enough. You both bring up good points; I believe General Hamza is right. Destroying a second East Coast deep water port is going to cause more problems for the Americans. Our Russian brothers have not attacked yet; the destruction of a critical deep water port will not only aid our war in Israel, it will aid the Russians’ attack against the EU. Huseen, issue the order for the LNG ship to destroy the Panama Canal immediately. Twelve hours after the canal has been destroyed, issue the order to deliver Allah’s Sword to Manhattan. Then, I will issue the Americans their warning to surrender and withdraw from Israel or we will deliver a second Sword of Allah.”
“Caliph, once we do this, we have to expect the Americans to respond with their own nuclear weapons. We saw what they did to us when we used tactical nuclear weapons on the 5th Fleet. They hit us pretty hard, with over a dozen nukes. We are only just now beginning to restore power to the country, and we lost nearly 60% of our laser missile defense systems. I fear the use of a nuclear bomb in New York City is going to destroy us,” said Talal bin Abdulaziz, the IR Foreign Minister.
