Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (88 page)

 
          
.
. . and suddenly, the Y-8’s observers on the starboard side spotted the
military base at Hualien. It was as flat as a pancake. Not much detail could be
seen, but the crumbled foundations, the large pieces of debris scattered
everywhere, and the fires still burning in many places told them that the base
was completely unusable.

 
          
So
where in blazes were the Taiwanese targets going?

 
          
The
Y-8 crew continued southbound until the radio DF bearings started to shift
toward the north. According to their charts, the high terrain in this vicinity
was over 12,000 feet, just fifteen miles to the northwest, but the alluvial
plain southwest of Hualien was almost ten miles wide and would allow them to
stay low while turning around. They started a starboard turn over the coast,
looping around back to the northeast. If they kept the town of
Hualien
just off the starboard wingtip, they would
be clear of the transmission lines along the highway to the west and well clear
of the—

 
          
The
Y-8 crew heard a sudden rushing sound, which quickly grew into an
ear-shattering roar. A jet fighter had just missed them! It had flown
underneath
them, about 200 feet
lower
than the big Y-8, heading northwest!
That was insane, impossible! There was nothing to the northwest except 10,000-
and 11,000-foot mountains. . . .

 
          
But
then they saw the glow of light from a wide chasm cut into the rocks, and the
Y-8 pilot instinctively banked to port to head toward it— as long as he could
see light, there were no mountains in the way. The light grew, expanded ... and
then, to the crew’s amazement, they saw
sequenced
flashing landing lights\
There was an
airfield
down there! It was unbelievable! Impossible! The Y-8 banked hard to port and
descended— and then they could clearly see inside the huge cave, and sure
enough, there was an entire airstrip inside that monstrous cave! It was a
secret rebel Nationalist airfield, actually built
inside the mountain
!

 
          
This
was too important a discovery—they had to break radio silence. The Y-8’s
communications officer immediately sent out an emergency position report on the
shortwave—the UHF radio would certainly not get out this deep in the mountains.
He did not listen for a reply—he just continued to transmit the position as
best he could estimate, adding that they had discovered a secret rebel
airfield.

 
          
Suddenly,
a flash of light and a streak of fire erupted from the north part of the cave.
In the blink of an eye, the streak of fire reached out across the sky and
struck the number four engine. The engine exploded in a burst of fire, shearing
off seven feet of the starboard wingtip along with it. The rebels had obviously
detected the Y-8 crew’s HF transmissions and had instantly homed in on them,
and the base was obviously very well defended. They added that bit of
information to their continuous radio reports—and now it was time to get out of
there as fast as they could!

 
          
Full
power on the other three good engines, full pitch, and the Y-8 started a slow
climb. The pilots were flying on a prayer now—thank the stars the Y-8 was a
tough bird. Only the quick work of the copilot to shut down the engine and cut
off fuel from the right wing kept them from crashing in a ball of flame. As
best they could estimate, they were heading for the
Mei
River
valley, which cut westward up through the
Chung
Yang
Mountains
. They were at 3,000 feet and climbing at
1,500 feet per minute. On either side of the valley, the mountains rose very
steeply— within five miles north and south of the river, the peaks were as high
as 11,000 feet! It was completely pitch-black outside. He would have to trust
his compass and his navigator to keep them in the valley long enough to climb
to a safe altitude. The Chung Yang range was not very wide—in twenty miles,
less than six or seven minutes, they would be at the summit. Once on the
western side, they could hug the mountains until they were sure they could not
be tracked, then pick their way west until they could get back over the
Formosa Strait
, then—

 
          
The
two Sidewinder missiles fired from the pursuing Taiwanese F-16 fighter each hit
and destroyed an engine, tearing them off the wings in a huge ball of fire. The
Y-8 burst into flames and veered sharply right, and it hit the granite wall of
the mountains seconds later.

 
          
But
the Y-8’s radio operator had made over a dozen position and contact reports in
that short period of time, and almost every one of his transmissions had been
received by military listening posts in mainland China.

 
          
The
secret Taiwanese underground airfield at Kai-Shan was a secret no longer.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

BEIJING
,
CHINA
A
SHORT TIME LATER

           
“We have them, Comrade Admiral!”
Jiang Zemin said joyously as Admiral Sun Ji Guoming was ushered into the
president’s office. “General Chin has just briefed me. A secret air base! Do
you believe it? A secret underground air base in eastern
Formosa
, just a few miles west of Hualien, cut into
the mountain itself. We have its exact location.” Admiral Sun did not react to
the news. “Now is your chance, Comrade Admiral. You can attack and destroy the
rebel Nationalists’ remaining air forces with ease.”

 
          
Sun
bowed to President Jiang and the chief of staff, General Chin, but remained
silent for several long, uncomfortable moments. Finally: “Comrade President, I
request permission to be relieved of duty.”

 
          
General
Chin rolled his eyes in complete exasperation. Jiang laughed and said,
“Relieved of duty? You are a national treasure, comrade! And victory is within
your grasp, the victory you told me we could achieve before Reunification Day!
One of our maritime patrols tracked a group of rebel F-16s back to their secret
lair, an underground air base near Hualien. We sent in commandos, who verified
their location. We must draw up a strike plan and destroy that facility
immediately!”

 
          
“Comrade
General Chin’s forces are more than capable of destroying that facility, sir,”
Sun said. “You do not need me any longer. I am of no use to you now. ”

 
          
“Why
do you say such things, comrade?” Jiang asked. “Are you ill? Did you suffer
some family misfortune?”

 
          
“I
am unable to continue my duties because I feel we have lost our
tao,
” Sun replied solemnly.

 
          
“What
in blazes are you talking about, Sun?” Chin exploded.

 
          
“We
have lost our way, our reason for going to war in the first place,” Sun said,
keeping his eyes averted. “We may achieve a victory over the rebels, but we
cannot win this conflict now. The
tao
we follow will not lead to a true and honorable victory. ”

 
          
“That
is nonsense, comrade,” Jiang said. “You have done well. It is your right, your
destiny, to deliver the final blow to the Nationalists. This is a great honor
we bestow on you. You deserve it.”

 
          
“But
this cannot be my victory because it is not my
tao
—it is the
tao
of
Comrade General Chin,” Sun said. “The nuclear attack on
Guam
was his way, his road to victory. It is not
mine. I cannot lead the People’s Liberation Army forces along this path.”

 
          
“The
Paramount Leader has conferred a great honor upon you, Sun,” Chin said
impatiently. “Take it. Plan a strike mission using any air, rocket, or naval
assets you desire. We expect this underground airfield complex to be destroyed
or occupied by the People’s Liberation Army within forty-eight hours.”

 
          
“I
humbly request to be relieved of duty,” Sun intoned.

 
          
“Request
denied, Admiral,” Chin responded. “Carry out your orders. Present a strike plan
to the Paramount Leader and myself within eight hours, and prepare to execute
the plan within forty-eight hours.”

 
          
“Sir,
I humbly request you to accept my resignation from your service,” Sun Ji
Guoming said, bowing deeply in total obeisance. “A man cannot follow other than
his own
tao.
Mine is lost. I am of no
usefulness to you any longer.”

 
          
“That
is not true, Comrade Admiral,” Jiang said. “What are you trying to tell us?”

 
          
“I
am saying that to return to the
tao
that will ensure victory, we must now strive to make peace just as ferociously
as we strove to destroy,” Sun said. “We must gather our forces to our center
and protect it, and in doing so show the world that we are no longer a threat.
We should configure all our air and naval forces for defensive operations only.
We should destroy all our remaining offensive ballistic missiles, and openly
pledge never again to employ thermonuclear weapons—”

 
          
“Are
you insane, Sun?” Chin Po Zihong exploded. “Stop now? Obviously the rebels are
far stronger than we anticipated. We need to destroy them quickly and utterly.
And we need our nuclear-deterrent forces now more than ever to ensure that the
United States
will not attempt a massive attack against
us.”

 
          
“Sir,
Sun-tzu teaches us that if faced with superior forces, do not fight. We may
feel we have gained the upper hand, but Sun-tzu’s words are a warning to us.
Our forces are not superior to the
United States
. The American forces are massing over the
horizon. I can sense it. I can feel it. They have not been destroyed. I urge
the Paramount Leader to immediately contact the American president and pray—no,
I urge him to
beg
for peace. ”

 
          
"
What?”
Chin retorted angrily.
“Beg? We
should beg the Americans?”

 
          
“Yes,
sir,” Sun said. “Now. Immediately. Before it is too late.”

 
          
“Admiral
Sun, you are dishonoring yourself by this flagrant display of pompous
indignation and insubordination,” Chin said angrily. “Your request is
denied.
You are
ordered
to prepare a strike plan against the rebel Nationalist
underground airfield complex and present it, in person, to me and the
president’s staff within eight hours. Is that clear?”

 
          
“Yes,
sir,” Sun replied.

 
          
Chin
looked at the president, who was looking at Sun Ji Guoming as if he had grown a
second head on his shoulders. With no additional comments, Chin snapped, “Then
get out of here.” Sun bowed again, turned, and departed. Once Sun had left,
Chin said, “All that Sun-tzu crap has addled his brain, I think.”

 
          
“Unfortunate,”
Jiang Zemin said. “He appeared to be such a promising young officer. Perhaps we
should reconsider this attack plan, Comrade General?”

 
          
“Because
Sun thinks it is not his ‘way’ to do this attack?” Chin retorted. “He is upset
because his plan of waiting for the Nationalists to capitulate did not work. He
is upset because in the end we had to use brute strength to shove the Americans
out of
Asia
. He thought he could do it with unorthodox
methods and trickery, and his lack of vision allowed the Nationalist air force
and the Americans to counterattack. We cannot allow that to happen again. We
are on the threshold of a great victory over the rebels on
Formosa
, comrade, and this attack will break the
backs of the Nationalists once and for all. Every missile, every attack plane,
every bomb we have available should be used against this mountain hideout. We
shall pound the Nationalists’ mountain fortress into sand!”