Chapter 22: Insanity

DMZ, Korean Peninsula: 1-17-05, 05:19 A.M.

Sojang (Major-General) Hyun Li raised his binoculars and looked across the DMZ at the American and South Korean forces, as the sun slowly rose over the landscape. Picking up the phone, he gave the order he had been waiting for thirty years, to give.

"Fire."

Up and down the DMZ, eight thousand artillery pieces and twenty-four hundred multiple missile launchers raised their barrels from hidden weapon emplacements while three thousand aircraft lifted off from their airfields and headed south. The first barrage of missiles and artillery rained down on the forward defense battlements of the South Korean troops. Eighty heavily armed Q-5 ground attack aircraft flew ahead of the attack fleet. Coming in at treetop level, they flew towards the forward airbases of the American and South Korean air forces. Hitting the eight main South Korean air bases at Ch'ongju, Kangnong, Kunsan, Kwangju, Osan, Sunch'on, Suwon, and Taegu with napalm and cluster bombs, the bombs ripped the main runways to shreds while other ordnance take out the air defense weapons emplacements and the control towers. Fourteen F-16s went up in flames, as they were moving out of their hardened aircraft shelters.

Ten SU-27 Flankers went to full afterburners and caught the two American E-3 Sentry's flying over South Korea. The first one was hit by three air-to-air missiles and exploded. While the other dropped to the deck, and shut down all radars and headed south as its F-16 escorts tangled with the five Flankers after it.

Seven hundred thousand troops cross the DMZ supported by four thousand tanks. Ripping through the defense stations, they poured into South Korea. Thirteen thousand South Koreans and four thousand Americans are either killed or captured in the first hour of the attack. Two divisions of mechanized armor and infantry surround the capital and shut it down while the remaining five divisions continue down the peninsula overrunning bases and killing anyone who resists.

At eight am, a single Q-5 flew south along the coast of North Korea and then darted into South Korea. The plane flew over Seoul at 8:16 AM, and dropped a single bomb on the city. The one point two kiloton nuclear device detonated in the financial heart of the capital and three million people died in the explosion. After the explosion, the two divisions of troops poured into the battered city and the North Korean flag flew over the South Korean Capital building just ten hours later.

USS Kitty Hawk: 1-17-05, 09:19 A.M.

Admiral Jessup Hays watched as the tug pushed the huge ship away from the dock and he gave his orders, "Thank you for your help, take us out. Set course for Korea."

Around the carrier, the rest of the naval group formed up to defend the ship as she headed for war. On land, the carrier's air wings lifted off from their base and flew south to land on the carrier. As they circled the ship, she turned into the wind and the first of the Hawkers came in to land.

Captain Wu Han of the North Korean Navy watched the American carrier turn into the wind and would cross his bow at three miles, and he said, "Ready to fire torpedoes?"

"Yes, Sir, all tubes loaded."

"Good, sending the final bearing, now. She is recovering aircraft so she must travel straight. I want to put all six torpedoes into her portside," Wu said as he pressed the button on the scope that sent the coordinates to the torpedoes.

"Sir, all torpedoes updated."

"Fire all tubes," Wu said.

"Firing all bow tubes."

The submarine bucked a little, as each torpedo was ejected at forty knots. The Russian made type 533 torpedoes arrowed across the three miles and the carrier started turning trying to get away.

"All torpedoes running hot and true, target acquired."

"Cut the wires, take us to the bottom," Wu ordered.

The wires guided the six torpedoes until they received a target lock on and then they snapped. The six torpedoes homed in on the American carrier and slammed into the portside of the ship, six columns of water shot a hundred feet into the air as explosions detonated from the side and her hull was ripped open all the way to the flight deck and she immediately started listing to port. The first American carrier to die in battle since World War Two rolled over ten minutes after the first torpedo hit and began to sink beneath the waves.

The sub glided silently to the bottom as the American ships went ballistic in an effort to locate the attacking craft. Settling next to a sunken World War Two Japanese destroyer, they quietly waited for the American fleet to leave. Around the ship, helicopters from the support fleet flew across the ocean dropping sonar buoys in an effort to locate the submarine while the fleet rescued the struggling survivors of the five-thousand-man crew. Six hundred and eleven sailors perished in the attack. The sudden loss of the carrier prevented the American Navy from carrying out air strikes on the north.

Han River: 1-17-05, 5:19 P.M.

American armored divisions in conjunction with A-10s flown in from Japan and the Pusan sector shatter one of the North Korean armored divisions when they try to cross the Han River sixty miles south of Seoul. The reworked A-10s were equipped with light pulse lasers in their nose as well as hydrogen engines, which allowed the A-10s to stay airborne for hours over the battlefield. When the dust cleared, nine hundred tanks and mechanized vehicles of all sizes lay in shattered ruin on the battlefield. The Allies pressed the opportunity, and struck back through the hole of lightly armed infantry and rush towards Seoul to relive the siege.

Tel-Aviv, Israel: 1-18-05, 4:29 A.M.

General Abraham Goldstein walked down the hall of the airbase of the command and control bunker and stepped into the situation room. Looking at the map, he walked over and saw that the Jordanian 4th and 5th armored divisions were moving towards the border. Down in Egypt the 9th and 12th Egyptian armor divisions were reported crossing the Suez as well.

Turning to his aid, Captain Adara Novak said, "Did we manage to get the word out to all units?"

"Yes, Sir. We sent out the recall order, three hours ago. The troops are drawing their equipment as we speak. All armored units are manned, and are moving towards their forward positions."

"Air units?" Abe asked.

"All fighters are fueled, armed and ready to go as soon as you give the order. All the A-4 Skyhawks have been armed with Paveway bombs to disable the enemy airfields. All Cobras and Apaches are airborne and heading for the Golan Heights to engage the Syrian 14th armored brigade that has been identified moving towards them."

"Very well. Order the Cobras and Apaches in to engage and destroy them. Orders to all air units, the word is, 'Never Again.' The same orders to all Army units, prepare to attack."

"Yes, Sir, sending now," replied Captain Novak as she picked up her phone.

Golan Heights, Israel: 1-18-05, 5:36 A.M.

Two hundred artillery pieces took aim at the Israeli defensive positions. They were unaware that the Israelis were ready for their attack. Five divisions of the Syrian army were ready to pour into Israel from the Golan Heights and Southern Lebanon. Just as the crews were about to load their guns, fourteen A-4 Skyhawks came in and dropped thousand pound napalm bombs on their positions as Cobras and Apaches ripped into the T-90 main battle tanks.

Across the battlefield, tanks blew up as they were hit with air to ground missiles and 30 mm cannons ripped the lighter skinned vehicles to shreds.

The 36th armored division fired up the engines of their Merkava and the few remaining Centurion tanks, and charged across the border. With their guns firing depleted uranium rounds they ripped the Russian built T-90 tanks to confetti. Tearing through the frontline, they pounced on the staging area and caught a brigade of MLRS being set up and their 120 mm HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank-Multi Purpose) rounds tore the thinly armored missile launchers to pieces.

One battalion of armor turned north, and charged up the border of Lebanon and swung in behind the Syrian 14th armor brigade. Firing more HEAT rounds they tore the older T-80 and T-72 tanks apart. They ripped through the trucks carrying hundreds of troops with the tank's machine gun and crushing the trucks under their treads. They continued on to their goal of linking up with the northern army units, and preventing the escape of any enemy armor or mechanized assets.

Israel submarines Leviathan and Dolphin: 1-18-05, 6:45 A.M.

Down the Suez Canal, special under water demolition units placed nine, five-hundred pound underwater munitions over the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel. Climbing onto the underwater sleds, they shot up the canal. They boarded the submerged Dolphin while she sat on the bottom, just outside the entrance to the canal. With all their UDT experts back aboard, the submarine lifted up off the bottom and headed for deeper waters to rendezvous with their escort submarine Tekumah.

Of the coast of the Suez, Captain Isaiah Waterman of the Israeli submarine Leviathan watched the tanker approaching the Mubarak Peace Bridge that spanned the canal.

"Sir, the Dolphin has moved out towards deeper water," replied the Communications Officer.

"Very good, now it's our turn," Isaiah said, taking another reading, he gave the order, "Fire one."

The submarine lurched as the first torpedo was launched and accelerated to forty-five knots. The wire guided it right towards the keel of the Saudi Arabian super tanker.

"Sir, one fired, running hot and true."

"Fire two," Isaiah said.

"Sir, two fired, running hot and true."

"Down scope," Isaiah said as he stepped away from the periscope and finished his orders, "Helm, set course 333 mark 2, speed 12. Take us down to three hundred feet."

"Sir, I am setting course, 333 mark 2, speed 12, descending to three hundred feet when we have depth under the keel."

The propane tanker Eclipse Gold blew up just under the span of the bridge. Her bridge lifted twenty feet up into the air and smashed into the bottom of the bridge. The explosion engulfed the bridge. The equivalent of fifty thousand pounds of TNT shattered the bridge and it collapsed into the canal carrying fourteen tanks and armored personal carriers with it. Further up the canal, the mines exploded, shattering the top of the tunnel and millions of gallons of water flooded the tunnel catching an entire infantry division in transit.

Space: 1-18-05, 8:45 A.M.

The missile drifted through space in the remains of the International Space station. Its onboard system was off line from weapons fire. Tumbling, the missile slammed into a chunk of the outer hull of the station and its electronic system was jarred back into action. The miniature AI did a systems check, and the engine fired and the missile jumped to maximum speed. Dipping into the atmosphere, the missile warhead casing exploded outward and ten one megaton warheads screamed down onto California. Laser defense satellites in orbit, came online and nine of the warheads exploded. The tenth warhead came hurtling in at five thousand miles an hour and detonated over the Google Corporation building in Mountain View California. The one-megaton explosion leveled everything for forty miles and created a steaming crater two hundred feet deep.

The earthquake started two minutes after the cloud dissipated and spread up and down the coast as an 8.3 magnitude quake hit. Fragile buildings collapsed in every city within a three hundred mile radius of the quake and thousands were killed or injured.

Arizona Base: 1-18-05, 8:45 A.M.

Commander Elizabeth Rice coughed and groaned as she opened her eyes and looked up at the glowing shield six feet above her head. Sparks were flashing from the destroyed conduit lines as she tried to sit up but a hand came over her body and held her down.

"Don't move, Ma'am. You were hit on the head with a chunk of rock and have been unconscious for two days. I have been scanning you to see if you have a concussion, or any other internal injuries but there's nothing indicated on the medical pad," said Lieutenant Commander Suzanna Holms.

She monitored the scanner and saw that the large gash on the Commander's forehead was healing just nicely as were the rest of her wounds had.

"Suzanna, what are the damages? How long did you say have I been out?" Elizabeth asked as she slowly sat up.

"Well Ma'am the cruiser San Diego is gone. She blew up when a large chunk of rock hit her midsection. The housing units are safe and the internal force fields and emergency hydrogen generators have kept the power going. Defense stations are down as well as secondary environmental. Sensors are off line and as far as I know, we could have American forces coming in through the front door and I couldn't stop them. Casualty count is bad. Fourteen hundred wounded. Three thousand are safe, but we have twenty-one hundred missing," Suzanna said as she checked her datapad.

"Let's get what spiders we have up and running to initiate repairs. We must find out what's going on," Elizabeth said as she climbed to her feet.

Looking around the damaged CIC she saw where some fallen rocks had been moved to the side. The I-beam that had supported the roof lay over the center holographic projector crushing the machine. The beam was the only thing that had prevented the whole room from caving in and crushing them all to death. Spiderbots were eating at the rock and restoring the room back to its normal size as she watched.