faster, quicker drones flittering through the darkness. They were UCAV fighter drones. Other Herons had released them together with the Goshawks. Those Herons would race ahead of the other bombers, putting themselves between the faster advancing drones and the still heavily laden bombers. The forward Herons would act as decoys, since they didn’t carry missiles.
Over five hundred drones bored in toward I-70. The destination teams had various targets: bridges, tunnels or hairpin turns on the freeway in the deepest gorges. Others would hit the rail line.
Now that the drones were on their way, Tzu increased speed again. The remaining Herons had a second task. They carried ARMs to destroy American radar stations and air-to-ground missiles if the inconceivable happened and the drones failed. The briefing officer had told them Marshal Liang himself had planned the operation. Everyone knew that Liang left nothing to chance.
Soon, the navigator informed Tzu that the drones had passed the EW Anchors. Later still, the navigator told him the Anchors had begun jamming the Americans. What one couldn’t see, one couldn’t kill. This electronic cover would allow the Goshawks to penetrate the American air-defense zone too deeply for the Americans to stop such a mass assault.
Tzu heard the navigator rhapsodize about the plan, but he no longer cared about the drones. The captain looked out the window at the bright moon. The idea of Reflex interceptors high in the atmosphere, ready to bounce strategic-strength lasers—that’s what had him worried now.
BEHEMOTH TANK PARK, COLORADO
A panting Colonel Higgins strode into in the command post—CP—of the tank park’s air-defense-net center. He’d come running from bed after hearing klaxons ringing several minutes ago.
The CP captain had just informed him that Chinese air assets were approaching fast. There were nearly one hundred heavy drones headed this way.
Have they discovered my Behemoths? Are they trying to knock them out?
Stan inhaled deeply, trying to get his breath back. He’d run through snow so thick his boots had disappeared each time, then raced down a flight of stairs to get here.
The air-defense CP was underground with reinforced concrete overhead. Stan’s seventeen Behemoth tanks were hidden by the latest anti-radar netting. Several weeks ago, he’d used bulldozers to create big revetments for them. It meant the three hundred ton tanks were half-buried, giving them greater protection and turning them into gigantic pillboxes.
One hundred heavy drones—the Chinese must want my tanks.
Stan didn’t intend to do ground fighting from the holes. The idea the Chinese would send tanks or IFVs into the mountains struck him as ludicrous. He’d simply wanted to do everything he could to protect them from enemy air assaults, and now he was glad he had.
How did they find out about the Behemoths?
“Sir,” the CP captain said. “I have General McGraw on the secure line. He wants to talk to you.”
In the dim green light of the CP, Stan’s shoes clicked on the tiles. He picked up the proffered receiver. “General, this is Colonel Higgins speaking.”
“Stan, old son, the Chinese snookered us.”
“Sir?”
“The air! The Chinese are swarming toward I-70.”
“We see less than one hundred aircraft, sir.”
“They’re jamming hard, but we have a satellite up giving us real-time visuals. There are over eight hundred independent aircraft converging on and around you.”
Stan felt sick. Over eight hundred?
“We don’t have enough Reflex inceptors up yet,” McGraw was saying. “Some are taxiing as we speak, but they won’t be in position in time to stop this attack cold, which is what we have to do.”
“Sir, the Chinese air—”
“Listen up, Colonel. This time we’re using my plan. I have fighters on the way, but I don’t think they’re going to make it in time, either, at least, not for the entire length of the Chinese assault on the freeway. What that means is that I’m rerouting air assets to take on the most western assaults. That leaves me with tac-lasers and SAMs in your area. We have anti-air concentrations along I-70, but not enough for this. You know we can’t afford any hits on the freeway, certainly none on the main tunnels or bridges.”
“I’ve already linked my defense-net with the strategic network,” Stan said.
“You’re not listening to me, Colonel. The bulk of the Chinese assault is heading your way. But I’m moving out all fighters to the west, to concentrate there and destroy everything. Your added tac-lasers and SAMs aren’t enough in your area. So I’m ordering you to engage with your Behemoths. I’ve read what you did in California. Your force cannons are as good at anti-air as