Response ; Ch. 13

The president was in the oval office secretly enjoying a beer. Secretly, because the President had to be perfect. Beer, because the world events. He looked out the window as defenses were being built and protesters were marching saying that the US should be friends with Russia and not be 'provocative'. He laughed to himself knowing that this war would get bad enough to reinstate the draft and they would be on the battlefield. It was afternoon and the sun was starting to go down, so he looked at the orange sky, sat back in his chair, and took an ice cold sip of the finest American beer the secret service could find.

A man in a suit slammed the door open and ran to the desk of the president.
"Sir! We have satellite footage that suggests the UK has been nuked! You hear me? Nuked! Sir!"
"Alright calm down what?"
"The Russians launched a missile at England!"
"...so what do we do?"
"Well sir we have three options..."
"What are they?"
"Nuke 'em, wait for them to come to us, or we go to Europe."
"It was only one nuke so we can't justify nuclear holocaust, waiting is stupid, so...reinstate the draft and gear up for Europe."
"Do we complain about Russia?"
"To who? We're the only two powers left...France is about to be crushed and the rest of the world is a big Red spot on the map!"
"I see..well see ya in Europe...always wanted to go there..."

"Hey colonel! You ever been to France?"
"No why?"
"We're shippin' out tomorrow."
"Wait...ship? We're air force not navy...."
"We're doing 'Normandy 2'...we're retaliating against the Russians."
"After that nuke I'm not surprised...I wonder..."
"Wonder what?"
"...oh nothing..."
"So, you a good shot Dan?"
"Yeah actually, but artillery, napalm, and gas changes that...remember the Russian tactics?"
"...They fight 'til the end and kill everything!"

~~~

"Charlie India this is tower you are go for take off."
"Spacibo tower! Do svidaniya!"
"Good luck Captain."
"Thanks I'll need it."

The Russian Federation began to reposition it's units from the Chinese and Mid-East fronts into Europe. The US wasn't stupid, it knew the Russians were doing it to prepare for a US invasion. The US response was to mobilize it's entire fleet into the Atlantic. The is mobilization included all nuclear warfare capable submarines, every carrier, and battleship to defend the US. Forces were still being gathered for an anphibious assault on Europe. The Fleet was basically just to stall the Russians from invading the US. The first part of the response came at a moment when the French were defending Paris...

Air Meets Sea; Ch. 14

The subs launching the missiles were seen from space and Tu-22 Backfires were already on their way to deal with them. They traveled a good distance. Once the subs were in sight the backfires hit the deck and put their afterburners into high gear. The ocean parted, as if Moses were in the cockpit, from the wake of the low flying supersonic Russian marvel. Eighty took off, but only ten were separating the water to the promise land. The rest had another mission. The ten planes made their way and got in range to fire their missiles. Once that high pitched tone filled the cockpit the bombardier flipped the switch to release hell on the US subs. The two large anti-submarine missiles loosened their grip from the bottom of the jet. They dropped five feet and ignited. At that exact moment the Tu-22 snapped its wings forward and jutted the slats out while the pilot pulled hard on the control coluom. The action made the backfire rear back like a snake as the afterburner was blasting the water and creating a large disturbance in the water. The disturbance alone made the sub's SONAR operator deaf. The plane snapped back and the wings were put back into their originial swept position and the afterburner took over. The bomber, like a rocket bound for the moon, thrusted into sky and leveld out at 40,000 ft. The submarines were caught completely off guard and met the missiles with panicing crews. Billions of dollars shattered and exploded apart within seconds.

The other seventy bombers slowly made their way for the American fleet. Their targets were the carriers and cruisers causing trouble for the Russian ground forces.

"Sir I think there's something wrong with the radar..."

"What now?"

"There's a huge blip approaching from the east, but not identifiable contacts..."

"Hows the weather?"

"If we weren't in the middle of the ocean I'd be golfing today sir..."

"Well better safe than sorry, we'll send a few fighters out there."

"...if this is an attack were going to need more than a few..."

"Yeah, but I'm not wasting the fuel when we could use it to attack them."

"I understand, but..."

"But nothing...just sit down and tell me if anything comes up."

"aye sir..."

Four JSF fighters left the deck of the USS George Bush and headed for the mysterious, "big green thing in the sky", that's what the pilots called it. Each was equipped with four missiles, but the pilots were bored and there had been numerous drills and false alerts. They were told the blip was at 30,000 ft and traveling slowly. The pilots went up to 20,000 so the if there was something they could come from under it. They got in formation and started to navigate towards the interception point.

"Hey 'Romeo' how's 'Juliet'?", one of the pilots said over the secure frequency. Romeo was Jack's nickname, because he had just gotten his first girlfriend before shipping out. Juliet, of course, was the nickname for his girlfriend. The flight leader loved to make fun of him.

"Not good she hasn't talked to me in few weeks and if she does it's quick and not like our old conversations..."

"Uh oh! Looks like someone lost their girlfriend!", all the pilots started laughing.

"Yeah yeah, but now I can have fun when we hit port!"

"True that! Port call should be called booty call!", the pilots laughed at that too.

"Who'd of thought there'd be this much humor in war, this is fun, not hell..."

"Oh my god! Captain!"

"What? You're going to tell me you lost your girlfriend too are ya?", the captain smiled.

"No sir look at your nine o'clock! There must be hundreds of 'em!"

"Look at that! Holy shit!", the captain's smirk immediately dropped with his jaw.

"George this is Willy", those were the names for the ship and the captain, "you guys are in for some trouble...there's tons of Tu-22's heading your way!"

"Thank you. Take a few out if you can and we'll do our best...may God be with us..."

"Alright boys have at!"

The fighters opened their bays, dropped the auto-seeking missiles, and made a hard turn to head back to the ship; hoping it would still be there.

The missiles streaked into the bomber formation and rocked fifteen backfires, one managed to get away. What seemed a fraction, fell behind the horde and the pilots jumped out waiting for a rescue. The other fifty-five, however, stayed true to their course. The catapult on the carrier was acting up and none of the fighters could take off. All the ships started to manuever and scan the sky. They all waited for what seemed a lifetime. Finally, the bombers were overhead, but directly overhead wasn't where they were looking.

"Comrades you know what to do..."

"Yes comrade may the glory of Russia remeber this day!"

The bombers pitched up and deflected their rudders. they were all facing the sea now heading down at an incredible speed. The 110 missiles locked on their targets, dropped, and hunted for both men and steel. The fleet noticed the meteors from hell the bombers pulled up only a few hundred feet above the fleet. Flak, bullets, missiles, screams, and flames filled the air. The missiles were obviously fired in desperation and didn't lock, but made a few lucky hits and the guns made a wall of lead. Only a few bombers didn't make it through that wall. The Russian missiles struck hard snapping some ships in half. Only one destroyer made, but lost it's ability to move. Twenty-three bombers made it through the hell and rejoined the other ten. They returned to their base and the flight was a silent one.

War in the City of Love; Ch. 15

Thousands of people surrounded the airport near France trying to evacuate. Unfortunately, there were not enough aircraft, so only those of high status could board the revived Concorde jets to the US. There was chaos as the war hit Paris like a tsunami. Missiles from the battle lost track and hit unexpectedly around the desperate mob. People were screaming to be let in the airport, but the police held firm with plenty of tear gas. The police would rather be fighting the Russians, not their fellow countrymen! They could occasionally hear insults over the explosions and thunder of jets overhead, but they ignored it, this was their job, they didn't volunteer to hold people back from a chance at life.

The last Concorde was pushing the throttle for take off when the Russian MiG-31's were ordered to open fire on all airborne French aircraft.

"Yuri, this is so wrong and we know it!"

"Just fire your missiles, we're so far away we won't even see them go down!"

"It's still wrong!"

"I will report you! Air Command this is Yuri, we have a trader in our midst requesting assistance!"

"I hate this war...I hate you...I hate all of this...It's all so wrong!"

"It's life you do what you need to do to survive...you failed, goodbye!"

By order of the Air Command at the front lines an SA-10 raised its missile rack and searched for the 'traitorous ' friendly MiG. It caught the large signature of the foxhound and launched a long range surface to air missile. The missile popped out of its casing. Upon emerging a second rocket ignited launching the missile high into the sky toward the aircraft of a fellow comrade whom the missile operators didn't know. The missile swerved through the sky keeping its interception course. In the cockpit of the 'rogue' MiG-31 the missile warning tone barely went off before the missile got in range and burst into thousands of lead balls ripping the wings apart and igniting the fuel. One lead ball made its way through the cockpit killing both the pilot and co-pilot. There was nothing left of Mikoyan's beautiful design except steel and heat.

The MiGs saw this and figured it would not be a good idea to argue. They all locked onto their targets and fired every missile they had. In under a minute the missiles streaked over Paris hitting the airliners. Two were aimed at ones on the ground. The missile aimed for a parked A320 hit the Eiffel Tower en route which brought the great landmark to the ground. The people in the city felt a hard depression at the sight of their landmark falling. The other missile made it to a Concorde taking off. The missile zipped pass the cockpit and hit the left engine. Without enough power the Concorde lost airspeed and came down into the crowds of desperate Frenchmen. It came down killing a few people then the fuel ignited. All people at the end of that runway were immediately blasted and burnt to a crisp. The police didn't have much better luck. The people that survived could only cry. They lost everything; their country, national symbol, and soon their lives.

The cruise missiles fired by the, now sunken, US subs were making their way into Paris, but without effect. Three did manage to hit a Russian tank column, giving them trouble, but the rest hit the large buildings blocking their targets.

"Sir, the Tomahawks are here!"

"Good maybe that will hold back the Russians!"

The French commander was trying to hold the Eiffel Tower that used to stand. They were in the streets hoping to bottle neck the Russians. Tomahawks flew over, but the trajectory of one looked ominous. It came out of the clouds and dove for a Russian position, but it was intercepted by an old French building. The building shook hard and its debris fell onto the expecting French soldiers in the street. The Russian tanks, with little resistance, simply rolled over the debris in the road. Without the help of the American navy the French were helpless. French units began throwing down their weapons only to be shot in the merciless tactics of the Russian advance. Most units did this, in fact all, but one.

"We will fight for Paris! We will not let WWII happen again! Fight to the death!"

One platoon held a street for hours with very few men and supplies. They stayed in the piles of brick and concrete that were once grand buildings. The first wave of Russian tanks started to move through. Once they were half way the French soldiers fired rockets from everywhere and took out every tank, save one. That tank popped its defensive smoke and hit the gears into reverse randomly firing at targets it couldn't locate. The rocketeers reloaded and let the tank have it. The tank saw the flash from the launchers and fired a round just as a rocket hit the turret, sending it flying into the air, and ignited the ammunition. The tank's shell hit a wall and the rocketeers survived. When they got out of their hiding spots to move to another location, a surviving tank driver came out with his pistol and emptied the magazine into the platoon leader. At that point the platoon gave up, especially when they saw a fresh wave heading down the street.

"...there's no hope...we can only pray that the rest of the world doesn't have to face this monster..."

"...and pray for those who do meet it..."

At that moment while standing and reflecting the street an old MiG-23 flew over and spread napalm in its wake. The men didn't even yell when the flames hit. Somehow they knew their end was near. Half way through Paris the Russian commanders began noting the threat of the large crowd at the airport, which they wanted. First, Ka-27's were sent with megaphones saying, 'We're here to free you from socialism and terrorism, join the Russian Federation for a better world'. The people, of course, were not impressed and many flipped off the helicopters as they flew over. Knowing the Kamovs weren't successful they were called back. Fifteen minutes later Mi-24's equipped with chemical sprays arrived. They flew over, misting the crowd, just as a farmer would dust his crops. Soon that's all the lively crowd was, vegetable crops.

The initial plan was to raise the flag of the Russian Federation on the Eiffel Tower, but it didn't survive the battle. They simply walked onto the airfield. Some had a feeling of victory. Others stared at the pile of bodies on the ground all around them. The French president, surprisingly alive, surrendered after the fall of Paris and everyone was to follow the orders of the Russian Federation.

Night was falling when the Russian generals of the western front arrived at the coast to look over the horizon know that the war wasn't over, it was just on the other side of the ocean that they heard splashing and foaming peacefully and to a rhythm. They looked out as the moon lit the the path to the next slaughter.

The men in Paris were all silent. They all knew they just destroyed a once peaceful city. They knew they would destroy more. What they didn't know is why they were doing this other than the preservation of the Russian people and the defense against socialism and terrorism. It sounded good, but they practically killed off an entire race. They sometimes wondered if they were the terrorists they fought.

"This? This, is the city of love?"

"It still is...love is war..."

The Beginning of the End; Ch. 16

"Sir..."
"Yes?"
"France...France is now Russian territory..."
"God help us...There's nothing between us and them is there?"
"...no sir...nothing, but ocean, and our Atlantic fleet is, well, gone..."
"...well we should start preparing for war on our own soil..."
"We need to get you and your family to a safe place too, I'm sure the Russians are planning the invasion right now..."
"Yeah...oh and get every nuclear missile ready to fire at a moments notice..."
"Yes sir...what will you tell the nation?"
"Nothing until the bombs fall...or the troops land...or Armageddon launches at us in the form of ICBMs..."
"Want us to prepare a speech?"
"no...what happens, happens..."
"Ok the chopper leaves in an hour...good luck sir..."

The US President sat in his office looking out the window. It was sunset and the end of spring. He sat and watched all the people walk by the White House. No one knew the Russians were breathing down their neck. No one knew how to feel if they were told that another country was going to invade. It simply was something the average American didn't think about. Wars were over in other places; not the land of the free. One group caught his eye. They were the stereotypical American middle class family. There was even the line. First came a golden retriever, then pops, followed by mom, then Susie with little Tommy behind her pulling her hair. It's stupid stuff like this that made America special. The fact that you could at least dream about that perfect family. Where in other nations one couldn't even imagine it, because they've never heard of it or seen it. The President just watched, knowing all of this would be shattered in a matter of days.

The Kremlin was a different atmosphere.
"Congratulations Comrade President! You've taken Russia into a new age!"
"No, not I...The people of the Russian Federation did! I merely sparked an idea for a new era!"
It was obvious the President had put on a few pounds with all these celebration of victory banquets. Moscow basically became a large party and more than half the city was drunk even the police and military guarding the Kremlin. Fireworks were exploding everywhere. Drunken parades filled the streets. All of Russia celebrated while the rest of Europe wept.

"Captain is it true? Are going to the Pacific?"
"Yep the Pacific Fleet is now the Atlantic Fleet."
"You think we'll fight the Russians there?"
"Think? I know we're going to be fighting the Russians when we get there."
"Think we can win?"
"I know we can win..."
The fleet had about three carriers, twenty destroyers, ten cruisers, twelve subs, and two battleships left over from WWII. The Fleet mad its way through the Panama Canal and started heading north for the fight of their lives. Like wise every ground unit was moved east so that when the landed they would have to go through a wall of lead and steel. The air force was moved west, so that they wouldn't get hit in the first blow and have time to react. The public wasn't notified. Everyone simply went on with life as usual. The only difference was the heavy draft. The number of civilian males dropped steeply.

That day Lt Col Daniel and Sgt Paul arrived in Mobile, Alabama with many other forces from all branches. It was here that they were to wait for the Pacific to arrive. When the fleet got there they were to get on the large ships and head to Europe.

"Hey colonel where are we going?"
"I heard we're going to Normandy."
"Normandy?!"
"My grandfather said that was hell!"
"It probably won't be any different for us."
"Well you're encouraging..."
"Thanks I try."
"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you. I checked your mail and there was a letter from the Ukrainian Republic of the Russian Federation...maybe it's your girl!"
Daniel ripped the envelope out of Paul's hand and back handed him with the hand that had his class ring. He told Paul off and went into a secluded area of the port. He opened it this was written:

Дорогoй Дениел,

Я...Well I'll finish that at the end of the letter, but I thought I should tell you I am at the address I gave you for L'vov, Ukraine. I know you will be here, this war has gotten out of hand and we will attack your country. I am sure with people like you that your country will win and hopefully liberate Europe. So, when the war pushes to L'vov...Well you'll know what to do. I've already arranged to have Ivan fly us to the South Pacific and yeah...so yeah I'll write what I want to write in Ukrainian. I'm learning it slow, but sure...For some reason I'm nervous in writing it, so childish and stupid of me...Я тебe кохаю!

Таня

Daniel sat in his spot for a while staring at the letter.

"What the hell does кохаю mean?!"
There weren't exactly a lot of Ukrainians in the US to answer his question and an English-Ukrainian dictionary was rare. He was wondering what to do and wondering whether he should be excited or sad about what кохаю meant.

Just as Daniel did not understand what кохаю meant, the Russian president did not understand what the opening of US missile silos meant. He called Marshal Gurevich, his minister of defense, for advice. The few officers in military intelligence that new about the missiles were the only ones that knew about the solution as they watched stealthy Su-43's take off and disappear west over the horizon.

The warning finally went out after the third bomb hit. Anti-air vehicles lit up the night sky trying to find what dropped the bombs. The alarms sounded at the docks. The AA guns sounded like a broken popcorn machine and the bombs shook the ground.
"Oh shit there you are! Daniel let's get the hell outta here!"
Daniel got up and threw his pack on. "...and go where?!"
"Away from anything that looks like it would be a target, sir!"
"Alright Paul...ya smart ass!"
They ran out in the open looking over the port. Far out over the water they saw the fleet getting hit and trying to fight back. Every five minutes a large explosion could be seen near the fleet and then a burst of AA fire flew aimlessly into the sky. The attack lasted a half hour. The fighters, it turns out were equipped with 3000 pound bombs that hit numerous strategic targets. Many silos were hit which forced the president to close them so they wouldn't get hit like that again, at least the one's that were left. The fighters returned without a scratch to their bases in western Europe.

"Sir, we have reports of bombings all over the country."
The President was still in marine one, his helicopter, when the secretary of defense called him from a bunker.
"What? I can't hear that well in this damn chopper!"
"We fell under attack and lost well over half of our missile silos. I had them closed, but we believe another attack is imminent!"
"...shit...this job just keeps getting better and better..."

Backyard Bombs; Ch. 17

"We're twenty miles out, everyone check you planes and report by type."
"All bombers running and ready to destroy our long time enemy!"
"Cargo aircraft good to go and ready to drop troops on enemy soil!"
"Fighters are good and keeping a watchful eye!"
"Support aircraft ready to track threats, refuel, and hit targets on demand!"
"Very good, Russia will be proud!"

The aircraft made their way toward New York. The air strike from the night before hit all the eastern radars. The sun was rising behind the formation making it even harder for AA gun operators to try to get a visual if something was coming.

New York was normal that morning with the exception of tanks and AA vehicles patrolling the streets. However, that became normal and everyone went about their business.
"What do you mean five dollars?! For a can of soda?!"
"That's right...you got a problem?!"
"How about two dollars?"
"Forget about it!"
The consumer pulled out a hand gun and shot the clerk. He then went out on the street to annouce what he was made of, but no one heard him. It wasn't the traffic, it was stopped. It wasn't screaming, everyone was silent looking into the sky. The unfamiliar sound of Russian turbo-props filled the streets, a sound feared in Europe. No one knew what to do except stare. The aluminum behemoths slowly crept over city and then broke the peace. All at once the 'bear' bombers dumped their payloads on the helpless city. The bombs dropped in lines along the streets throwing cars around and damaging the New York infrastructure. The streets were littered with rubble, steel, and bodies. All this accomponied by fire and thick smoke. The was thick with ash. Those that were still alive tucked their noses into their shirts to try to breathe fresh air. Shortly after the bombers left the airspace and things quieted down. Though it was now calm and quiet those alive wished to be dead when the city filled with the screams of the bombing victims. Minutes after, the whining sound of turbos and the grumbling of diesels rolled in with US tanks arriving too late to do anything. The column stopped and men hopped out to check the surroundings.
"Private, take up a post in the rubble and call me if you see anything not american!"
"Yes, sir"
"Those bastards will pay!"
"I hope they come back with land units."
"Sir you just got your wish..."
"huh?"
"They're sending airborne ground forces."
"Well shit then...lock and load boys!"
The intel was correct, but what they missed were the fighters coming to clean up the city before the troops landed. Jets flew low into the city, all armed with napalm bombs. One street after an other burned in the jelly like inferno.
"Sir!"
"What is it?!"
"Fighter inbound!"
"Shit, cover!"
The Russian jet lined up with the street and screamed past the coloumn. Not a second later the street went up in flames. Burning civilians and the convoy with them. Only the tanks were able to brush it of, but the defenseless infantry couldn't make it.

The Il-76 transport jet engines now added to the sound in the air over New York. The transports dropped men and vehicles into the rubble that was New York below. The tank commanders that lived through the napalm looked up and saw the sky filled with thousands of parachutes.
"Well, shit, this day gets better and better..."
"Sir, what do we do...retreat?"
"No retreat...get on the gun and shoot at anything that moves!...use the fifty!"
"But sir geneva says we can't use excessive force!"
"One geneva no longer exists...Two who's going to bitch us out...Three we just got napalmed! Now fight or I'll shoot you myself!"
"uh...yes, sir!"
The gunner on the M1 Abrahms fired into the sky. Just as that one started other tanks began to do the same. Very few Russians were shot out of the air. All the chutes quietly landed on the streets and then all hell broke loose.

Liberty or Death; Ch. 18

The Russian force landed and immediately got to work. The Russian fighters, low on fuel made one last pass and dropped cluster munitions all over the American controlled parts of the city. They then began their journey home. It was then that the US Air Force took to the skies chasing after the bombers and fighters. Every fighter available was up after the Russian aerial fleet. The force comprised of old and new from F-16's to F-22's. All on full afterburner, the F-22's engaged first lighting up their targets, killing all but three bombers. The American units on the ground observed as an F-15 bolted overhead firing two missiles at a refueling craft. The light temporarily blinded some and the heat could be felt from the ground. The 'Eagle' as it was nicknamed, perfect to spark patriotism, looped back around for a victory roll over the american units. The units began cheering on the fighters with which none were lost.

"All American units on Manhattan we're sending choppers to pick you up then two other things will happen..."

"Great then what? Defend the bridges and a massive artillery strike?"

"...no we're blowing the bridges to trap them...then..."

"Alright that makes sense....then what? Retake it?"

"No, we're dropping a tactical nuke..."

"What?! Are you crazy?!"

"Well all the radiation will just go east into the ocean so there's no harm..."

"I don't care about the radiation...we're nuking ourselves?!"

"...New York is gone anyway...HQ out..."

The company commander threw down the radio, "fuck".

"What's the scoop sir?"

"Well we're getting out of here, but...", he was interupted.

"By those choppers?"

They looked in the direction the private was pointing and sure enough there were multiple helicopters heading towards them, but something was wrong. They heard something over in the Russian lines.

"Hear that?"

"Explosions?"

"...oh shit...no, they're SAMS, call the choppers!"

"Rescue flight abort! Abort!"

Before they could react or respond the missiles flew in great numbers at them and struck every single one. The extraction was gone, now they just had to wait for the nuke. Headquarters kept it's promise 2 minutes later F-15's flew over and bombed the bridges. What had saved them was now what trapped them. This time they did not cheer when the jets flew overhead. To add to the problem the Russians decided to completely take the island afterall the apcs were amphibious. If the Americans could hold out then the Russians would be stuck on the island to face their unknown fate.

It was now dusk and the Russian APCs started to move through the streets. This particular company was lucky in that it just happened to be with a tank. They all stood there around a fire just camping out until the nuke hit until the some unhappy campers came and ruined it. The APC and about thirty men popped up over a rubble hill. The men were sitting there contimplating life in what they knew was their final moment. Suddenely they heard the pop pop pop of the gun on the APC. They immediately jumped up and lost three men. The tank crew jumped in the M1 to try to fight back. The APC took note and fired an anti-tank rocket which went off course and hit the M1 in the tracks, disabling it. They were stuck in place fighting off thirty men and an APC. They lost another two men to the APC and then the M1 struck back. The APC jumped five feet from the hit and went up in flames. With that it was still thirty well trained Russian airborne troops again five national gaurdsmen and a tank. Two Russian troops popped up to their left and fired two anti-tank rockets and hit the turrent. The hits disabled the turrent's movement. Now it was five men and a disabled tank. The two the fired the rockets were immediately gunned down and then the Russians charged in with bayonets. The Americans readied themselves for the last stand.

"Fix bayonets! Liberty or death!"

"Liberty or death!"

The tank commander got up on the machine gun and took out five Russians. Three Russian soldiers jumped up on the tank and stabbed the gunner. The company shot the Russians on the tank. Suddenly a missile popped up over the horizon. Both the Russians and the Americans stopped fighting to watch the missile hit. It streaked over and exploded. The explosion the lit the city. IT incinerated and flattened everything in ten miles. The Russians along witht he Americans that fought 'til the end parished without a trace.

Uncertainty; Ch. 19

Ten hours after the failed invasion of New York two bombers landed back at their base in Europe. One other would have, but the airframe was badly damaged and crshed by the airfield. The pilots both had blank stares and went directly to their quarters. They knew someone had to be punished for the failure and they were the only ones alive. The next day Moscow could have shook apart from the screems of the president.
"What do you mean they nuked themselves?!"
"They blew the bridges, trapped us, and nuked New York."
"Nuke them back!!!"
"Sir, you know what will happen if we do that! They'll nuke us!"
"Tell me, Sasha, to whom did those men and tanks belong to?"
"Well us, but..."
"They belong to the Russian Federation! They are the property of the Russian Federation! They are made from the Russian Federation's land resources! Therefore the American pukes across the ocean have committed an atomic action against the RUSSIAN FEDERATION!!!"
"...well sir just think about it for a second!"
"...you are right Sasha...I suppose I was a bit hasteful. So, will we be able to attack and take America?"
"We don't know...and to be truthful it probably isn't possible..."
"I see so do we give up?"
"I don't see them signing any treaties anytime soon."
"I suggest we prepare defences...damn good ones too"
"If we hold off long enough we can push back. We've got the resources, just not the time."
"So, really what you are saying, is that it is a lost cause...I'm going to need some time to think clear out the Kremlin, including maidsand some security...we should have stayed friendly with the Americans..."



Back in the US there were mixed feelings. The people were happy to see that their military turned the invasion around, but the act of nuking one's self doesn't exaclty raise morale. There was still a Russian navy snooping about with possible troops for invasion. The question was, "will we nuke ourselves then, too?". It was all the more insentive to attack europe, just so they didn't have to get nuked everytime the Russians invaded. Once was enough.

For the military the attitude grew to, "Kill 'em all let God sort 'em out!". Anger filled in for morale. No one would sleep until "every last Russian son-of-a-bitch was dead". Daniel however almost felt bad for the Russians for he felt an uncertainty they surely had to of felt.
"Well shit Paul!"
"What now, you mad that we nuked ourselves, or what?"
"No, I feel bad for the poor bastards?"
"Why? Just because you got some Russian girl over there?"
"No, I have similar situation...They tried there damndest to attack us and we nuked them, or well ourselves, but yeah they don't know how to respond to that...ya know, as in, is it worth it?"
"Ok, but what's that got to do with you?"
"Well I've made my attack, goin' for the Russian girl, she responded, but I don't know what the hell it means for me?....I so I ask myself, is it worth it?"
"Well I'm going to tell you what I'm sure a general is telling his Russian president...you can only wait and see hold back see what's goin' on and try again...after that second attack you'll know."
"Since when did you become a fuckin' philosopher?"
"Dunno I was talkin' to this Major, that was a shrink, yesterday."
"You should talk to him more often...I'll try what you said...and it better work!"
"Since you're not the Russian president I'm not going to take that seriously."
"Who knows you might disappear!"
"Right, and accidentally fall on a knife ten times?"
"Yeah something like that...oh hey they're loading the ships...ready for war?"
"Sure, but are you ready for love?"



For Sgt Paul Europe meant war and revenge. For Lt Col Daniel Europe meant the possibility of love. They took note that they were going for the same thing and would be fighting just as hard as the other in both. Either way neither was certain of what was going to happen.

Return of the Iron Curtain; Ch. 20

"Comrade President!"
"Yes, Sasha?"
"I bring both good and bad news."
"Oh great fire away..."
"The bad news is...the American fleet, with transports, is mobilizing and heading for Europe."
"Shit!....What's the good news?"
"The good news, sir, is that we have a solution!"
"...I'm listening..."
"With you permission we would like to utilize our anti-satellite missiles and with them destroy all American satellites so that we can maneuver our fleet without being seen and attack the American fleet with surprise as our advantage!"
"Sounds good but won't they just destroy our satellites?"
"Probably, but we will be ready with airborne recon already up!"
"Alright...go for it I guess."
"Yes sir!"
Sasha, the Head of Intelligence of the Russian Federation, walked out and made the call. He had three secured signal cell phones, one for the Kremlin, one for the Marshal of the Russian Federation (MRF), and one to the Head of the Strategic Rocket Forces (HRSF). He opened the phone for the HRSF.
"General Pavlov of the Strategic Rocket Forces."
"General this is Sasha at the Kremlin."
"Oh...what is wrong?"
"...nothing we need you to launch every anti-satellite missile we have."
"....uh yes sir? Are you sure?"
"Yes I've already talked to the president."
"Alright but the Americans won't like it..."
"Thank you for your cooperation, General."

All over Siberia missiles erected out of silos and on trucks. From old to new the missiles fueled up and fixed on their preprogrammed targets. All at once the missiles lit like matches and rose into the night sky. The residence of Irkutsk took note of the bright lights streaking upward and thought that maybe they were ICBMs and that nuclear holocaust was underway. As did General Pavlov, he prayed that the American's would not over react. Minutes later, to high to see, the missiles hit their targets. With the detonation of the last missile came the moment of truth in the effectiveness of the strike.

Meanwhile, at a NORAD satellite tracking station, things got a little hectic.
"Uh, sir, you may want to call the president about this one..."
"What now?"
"Thousands of multiple stage missiles were launched from Russia...and then disappeared...actually we're getting absolutely no response from any of our satellites..."
"Oh shit!...So, did they destroy our satellites just to piss us off, or jam them to make an attack on us!?"
"All I know is that there could be a million ICBMs in the air heading at us! There's just no telling!"
"Alright I'll call the president...meanwhile put the missile crews on alert!"

At the white house the president was finally getting some rest hoping nothing would happen until the fleet reached Europe...he hoped that even at that point maybe the Russians would surrender. It was a hectic term thus far. It wasn't as glorious as he figured it would be. No, in fact it sucked. What he wanted was to just be a figure head while congress handled everything. All he would have to do is wave and smile and keep his approval rating high. Maybe go to a small war, win, come back, have a parade, and then a prosperous peace for the rest of his term. Unfortunately someone had to start WWIII on the other side of the world and then bring it over here. Someone had to bring him to the decision to nuke the largest city in the country he led. And now millions would die in Europe trying to avenge their fellow citizens that died in New York. He had a feeling history books would treat him as a war monger, not the the peaceful and prosperous leader of the world's greatest nation. Oh well it is what it is at least he could rest for the time being. That is until his secretary barged in with "the phone". "The phone", as he called it was what brought pain and suffering into this hell of a job.
"Mr. President, it's NORAD!"
"Why me?", he thought, "Yes what is it? What great news do you have for me today?"
"Well sir we've lost all of our satellites and there was a large scale missile launch in Russia..."
"...and?"
"That's just it...we don't know if they were ICBMs or ASMs..."
"So, we could all be fried in a few minutes?"
"We don't know...what would you like to do?"
"Well shit! I'm not God! Open the silos and fuel the missiles and et some recon planes over Russia and tell me how they react to that? If we're not dead by then..."
"Ok and what if..."
"If you see a big flash and hear a big bang then turn the keys and unleash hell!"
"Yes sir."

A modified U-2 took off from Alaska and headed west. Meanwhile every missile in US possession was up, ready, and waiting. The U-2 made it way into Eastern Russia and managed to get a few pictures of unopened silos. It was making its way west only to be found by two MiG-31's. One flew up next to the old recon plane. The other waited patiently 15 miles behind. The one MiG signaled to the American to land, but the pilot knowing he would be imprisoned and interrogated, continued flying west. The other MiG, now 20 miles back, switched on his missile radar and locked the U-2 into his sights. Th MiG next to the U-2 rolled and turned away. The U-2 pilot knew why he did this and wanted to eject, but doing so at 60,000 ft was suicide, and it was better to die by another man's sword than ones own. He took out a picture of his girlfriend, prayed, and braced for impact. the MiG 20 miles out with his wingman now next to him launched the missile that was well locked onto the U-2. The missile dropped about ten feet, while the MIGs banked away, and lit it's powerful rocket motor. It accelerated to a speed of Mach 4 while staying on a steady course that would have it "ride up the tail pipe" of the U-2. The captain made a cross motion with his hand , looked at the picture of his girlfriend, the one he'd never see again, and saw a large flash of light. The missile clobbered the U-2 right in the fuel tank and there was nothing left , not even the cockpit. There would be no burial, for there would be nothing to bury. The MIGs noted the fireball in the distance and took note of their first kill. They then headed back with a big smile on their faces.

"Mr. President, I'm glad to report that the Russians did not nuke us...However, they destroyed all recon assets..."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we haven't a fucking clue what they're doing..."
"Like the ol' iron curtain?"
"Yeah except we're trying to conduct a war this time and we both have enough megatons to erase North America, Europe, and Northern Asia..."
"More good news...ugh if anything happens, with ballistic munitions, you have my permission to nuke the hell out of them! Don't call me again...I'd like to get some sleep before I die..."
"...yes sir..."

The US was now officially blind to the operations of the Russian Federation while trying to get its fleet across the Atlantic. They were in for one hell of a fight.

Waiting; Ch. 21

After the excitement of the anti-satellite missiles, the two countries simmered down in what would be the calm before the storm. In Russia all was quiet and under control, meaning there was no doubt over the war. Everyone was still confident in their nation’s abilities. Though they were given orders to set up defenses the soldiers, like the citizens of Russia, didn’t think the Americans would make it past their fleet and so there was no hurry or anxiety. Instead they worked and then partied the night away. They had forgotten the nuclear explosions in England and New York. There lack of caring about these events came from either the fact that neither was recorded and televised, or that they simply didn’t care and the vodka helped to ensure that. Those that did pay attention to the news actually joked about it.
“Ivan, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“The yanks across the ocean nuked themselves! If they have to nuke themselves to win a fight this defense, if they get here, should be easy!”
“What?! How many dead?!”
“You act like you care! Ha, well anyway, the Americans are weak; they retreated when we came at them in the Middle East!”
“Were you there Igor?”
“Yeah, hell I’ll tell the story! Hey you, French bastard behind the counter, a round of vodka for my friends!” he allowed them to take a sip first and continued.
“So, anyway, this was the Battle of Jerusalem, their last stand. We basically stalked them from a distance and pestered them with fighters along their retreat, so they weren’t expecting any heavy armored attacks. At about five in the morning we noticed them packing their helicopters and fighters. With that we knew they were giving up…and defenseless. Most of their men were actually in civilian attire and boarding the ships. All that remained was a few tanks in downtown Jerusalem. At six am we decided to move into the city. Another thing you may find interesting is that we loaded only napalm shells into our tanks. As we moved through we burned and destroyed everything on the way…to ensure that we wouldn’t get ambushed from the sides of the streets.”
“Wait how did you destroy their tanks? An American tank can take a lot and a napalm shell wouldn’t even shake it.”
“Ah for that we called the air force. They flew in with Bears and MiG-29’s. The Bears carpet bombed the street the tanks were on and the MiG’s came in and cleaned up with AT missiles.”
“So, is Jerusalem even there anymore?”
“Yeah, just missing a few streets now. Anyway we moved through the city to the harbor like a hot knife through butter. Once we got to the port the ships were finished loading and heading out. So, we lined up on the coast and fired repeatedly at the ships with the napalm shells. We had orders to not destroy the ships, so we just gave them a nice fire to deal with. Like pests we toyed with them. Every two minutes an Su-34 would fly low and strafe them. I was watching one man on a ship through my binoculars. He got on a machinegun, but chickened out when the Su-34 hit the deck and headed for the ship. He ran across the deck and BAM! The Su-34’s 30mm cannon slammed him right in the head!...worthless coward!”
“So, the Americans, are they really that bad in combat?”
“At the site of our tanks they run in fear and apparently now they nuke themselves at the site of our parachutists! There is nothing to worry about comrades!”
“Huh, if what you say is right then this is basically just going to be a massacre when they hit the beach…”
“That’s the idea!”
“But what did the US ever do to us?”
“They attacks us at Tehran remember?”
“I thought…oh well, doesn’t matter either way we must fight…”
“Fight? I’m sure our navy will rip them a new one!...They are cowards!”

Igor was wrong about the Americans being cowards; they were anything but that at this point. Every American was ready to fight to the death. The navy was also ready to fight to the death. Every hour five fighters with Anti-ship missiles flew fifty miles ahead of the fleet to find the Russians. Without satellites it would be difficult but feasible. After all they did it in WWII, right?

After a week at sea they found nothing. The crews began to slack off, thinking they would just float on the Atlantic the rest of their lives looking for a Russian ghost fleet. They only thing that kept them awake was the thought of what would happen if the Russians found them first. Even if they were found and destroyed there was another part of the fleet off somewhere else. The purpose of having two fleets was to have organized waves for the invasion. Also, it was to confuse the Russians about numbers. This was fruitless, because the Russians still had satellites. However, luck was on their side with a constant overcast. And in a few weeks NASA would have satellites back up.

"Wow I'm glad I didn't join the navy this is really boring."
"Yeah almost too boring...makes ya wonder"
"Oh boy you're not comparing this to that Russian chic are ya? Wondering about her, because you haven't heard anything for a while."
"You'll never give that a rest will you?"
"Nope, not 'til something happens...you need a girlfriend and quick 'cause your acting crazy"
"Crazy?! What?!"
"Yeah, so long as you point down range I don't mind. Take it out on the Russians!"
"Oh yeah on that...I don't think we're going to win..."
"Wow you're optimistic! Why wouldn't we?"
"I'm in intelligence and well their technology is past ours..."
"I blame liberals; they always say, 'oh we don't need new a military we need socialism!', they're crazy!"
"Yeah and well those Black Eagle tanks scare the crap out of me. Have you ever seen one?"
"No but I hear they're pretty serious."
"They're huge, black as coal, and have a peculiar sound...they sound like death...anyway they're heavy and wield a 152mm gun and a 12.7mm gun on top...it can take out aircraft with that! It's armor is insane AT rockets are useless. We'd have to call in air strikes every time we see one!"
Sergeant Paul's mouth dropped along with his certainty of winning the war.
"...no joke? They really have something like that?"
"Yeah, now we're the nation with inferior technology. Kinda sucks and yeah I blame liberals too..."
Suddenly an alarm sounded on the ship. It was the order to get to battle stations. The waiting was over.

Wave of Destruction; Ch. 22

"Incoming!"
The Russian 'Sunburn' anti-ship missiles closed fast on the American fleet. They came in low and fast. Once they were close they popped and started dropping toward the ships. The American 'Phalanx' guns sprang to life. The guns quickly tracked the missiles and spun up their guns. What sounded like a quick zip nearly descinigrated the missiles before they could hit the fleet. The Americans responded in kind. Soon anti-ship missiles filled the sky, but this time their heading was toward the Russian fleet. The Russians, surprised to see retaliation, sounded the alarm for everyone to go to battle stations. A couple Russian cruisers managed to launch a few missiles before going on the defense. The Russian and American anti-ship missiles past eachother in the air. The American missiles got close to the Russian fleet when suddenly the 'Kashtan' defense system opened up and threw a wall of missiles and lead. The missiles smacked into the , not one making it through. The Russian missiles had a repeat scenario from the first wave.

With both fleets realizing the missiles were ineffective is was time to resort to the way naval battles were fought in times of old. The fleets raced at each other. Carriers from both fleets launched their fighters and soon the sky looked like a cloud of nats. The two fleets gathered and fired at once, it's debatable who fired first, but it didn't matter at the time. The guns shook their ships and sent ripples in the water. The first shots missed entirely on both sides. The fighters soon joined in diving at the fleets and launching their AS missiles. Again the Kashtan and Phalanx defensives unloaded their ammo into the sky. AS missiles and aircraft alike were swatted out of the sky. Few fighters made it threw the flying lead. Those that survived switched to unguided rockets. With a storm front hitting the area the sea was wild with waves. The waves made aiming impossible. Though they couldn't aim well the ships still opened their guns. Every shot with a flaming twenty foot burst. The storm was not developed enough to produce thunder yet the air filled with hundreds of deep, loud, grumbles. The sea splashed as if kids were playing in a pool.

Finally, an explosion! One of the old American battleships took on a lot of fire do to it's size it was an easy target. Russian fighters dove down and eptied their rocket pods on to the battleship's deck. The ship splintered and popped. Anti-aircraft batteries lit up the fighters in revenge. They exploded in mid-air, making it look like the fourth of July. The American fighters were likewise on the war path. They moved in to make a strike on a Russian cruiser when suddenly more Russian fighters appeared in the sky. The American fighters were comprised of the F-35's and F-18's. The '18's dove for the ships while the '35's climbed toward the Russian Su-33's. The '18's, like others that tried to attack the fleets, were pulled out of the sky and thrown to the sea. The '35's and '33's were coming at each other head on. Once in range they all fired their missiles and manuevered. Both suffered losses. It became a close dog fight with absolutely no organization. From the view of the ships all one could see was dots swirling in the dark gray sky. Occasionly one of the dots would flash orange followed by a thick black streak of smoke. Both group of pilots were seasoned and knew it would last forever, so they called in the long range SAM's from their fleet. The fighters broke off from chasing each other, not knowing they had similar fates. The missile popped out of their launchers and instantly gained altitude. They swirled and closed on their targets. All at once every fighter up was knocked out of the sky. One Su-33 pulled away from a missile with a successful 'Kulbit' manuever. However, during it's perfect flip shrapel from a fellow comrade rained down tearing the Sukhoi thousands of aluminum shreds. With air cover destroyed both fleets moved in even closer. They fired their guns at near point blank range. An hour into the battle they most of the ships were damaged, but still managable. It would be another two hours until every ship was sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic. The American fleet was wiped out except for one carrier and the transports. The Russians managed to save their Carrier. They also had their submarines intact. Both sides, though seemingly at a draw left the crucial strategic targets alone that would bite them back soon.

Normandy Take Two; Ch. 23

"Missile one, away! Missile two, away! Missiles three, four, and five, away!"
"Launch 'em all make sure those ships don't make it!"
"Yes comrade commander! Our eigth missile is launched!"
"All launchers report!"
"Launchers A1-A4, report all anti-ship munitions launched!"
"Launchers B1-B4, report all anti-ship munitions launched!"
"Launchers C1-C4, report all anti-ship munitions launched!"
"Launchers D1-D4, report all anti-ship muntions launched and aircraft spotted on radar!"
"Air defense?"
"We're on it! Aircraft are 100 miles off and locked!"
"Hit 'em!"

The Battle for Normandy was underway. Missiles leaped off the coast and into airspace over the water toward the transports. It would be several minutes before they hit their targets about eighty miles away. At the same instant American B-2 stealth bombers were trying to sneak behind to destroy defenses. The air defense immediately found them. There were multiple batteries of SA-21 Growlers in France. Each truck poised its four launch tubes for defense of the motherland. With the the bombers locked, and the launch tubes in place, the launch sites shook with the eruption of sixteen missiles. Each missile popped out from its tube pointed itself northwest and fired its main engine. In an instant the missiles were closing in on the B-2's at Mach speeds. The B-2's never saw it coming. A minute after launch the sophisticated technology of each stealth bomber became nothing but hot metal fragments. The crews died instantly not even being able to express emotion or pain over the radio. Only those in the rear of the formation were able to witness their fate as white streaks smacked into fellow planes and created large smokey fireballs. Moments later the Anti-ship missiles hit the transports. The hordes of missiles hit the outer shell of transports rendering them helpless. The second, third, and fourth waves flew low, making a wake in the water. They each had a target in the fleet. upon reaching the fleet they rammed into the still sinking vessels. It was a stroke of luck for the American ships and the men aboard them.

"Targets eliminated comrade commander!"
"Congradulations, a new supply of missiles will be here tomorrow!"
"Uh, sir..."
"What is it? Would you like some vodka to celebrate?"
"No, sir. The fleet is still at ninety percent...?"
"What!? Prepare the beach defense force then!"
"Yes, sir!"

After the missile strikes it became a race for the beach. Russian black eagle tanks rushed for the beach front with their 152 mm guns loaded. Machine gun nests and sniper positions were hastefully set up. Air support from every base was on the highest alert. Helicopters started spinning their rotors. Hundreds of BMD-T's loaded with infantry pushed hard for the beach. Everything in Northern France was bottled into Normandy. Men on both side began to praying for victory and survival. With the ships in sight the black eagles acted as field artillery and started sending large lead sabots at the ships. They lined up as though they were an old 18th century army. The sound was deafening as though one were on top of a volcanoe while it erupts. The ground shook and beach sand filled the air from the shock waves. Two ships caught the fire, igniting fuel and killing hundreds of soldiers stuck in the inferno. With the ships even closer ever gunner cocked the action on the machine gun. Each rifleman pull back on their raciever, loading a round in the chamber. The APC could be heard arriving at the beach head. The troops hopped out ducking for cover as they heard another ship explode. Everything was in position. The first ship made it to the beach. They opened the doors which brought the Russian guns to open fire. The 12.7 mm guns on the tanks opend fire on the open doors.

"Don't fail your families! Kill every lasy russkie son-of-a-bitch here!"
They replied in unison as the doors dropped.
"Hu'ah! For our families! For our country! For God! For Freedom! Hu'ah!"
They were mowed down immediately by the Russian gun fire. No one stood a chance. An Abrahms made it half way only to be slammed by a black eagle. By statistics the Abrahms was way outclassed by the black eagle. The black was much heavier, faster, thicker, and packed a much larger punch. The only advantage was that there were to be many more Abrahms landed on the beach. Now multiple ships were landing and dropping their doors. The men and machines dropped were immediately destroyed. The BMD-T's were now opening up with their 12.7 mm guns and grenade launchers. The second group of ships experienced the same problems, but the infantry could now hide behind the corpses of burnt out tanks. The Russian attack helcopters were able to take care of the problem of covered soldiers by circling around. Out of nowhere the helicopters swund around and were face to face with American soldiers. They immediately felt the pounding of rockets and high caliber, fast firing, rounds. They Americans got smart, however, and got shoulder launched SAM's on top of ships to fire on the helicopters. Rockets now streaked up from the water's surface. The helicopter didn't have time to react and were swatted like flies. The thrid group of ships hit the beach meeting the same resistance, but able to take advantage of cover. This time a line on the beach was finally established. It was loose but a loose line was better than no line. The chattering of Russian machine gun fire was still heavy. The battle was only five minutes old. Though to an American on the beach it fealt as though it was a year. There was very little return fire from the Americans. At this the Russians stopped firing the large guns of the black eagles. the machine guns, too, stopped firing. The sound of jets replaced the gun fire. Su-35's flew over the Americans then circled back around. On this second pass they dropped their payload. A split second later the beach lit up in flames and the smell of gasoline. The jets performed a victory roll which preceeded a sharp climb back up into the clouds out of the napalm storm. The black eagles fired blind shots all along the beach and quit after the first salvo. The machine guns let loose a chain of ammunition and quit. The few Americans left heard the roar of diesel engines as the BMD-T's rolled onto the beach with infantry close behind. The BMD-T's started unloading on the Americans. American soldiers looking through the flames tried to fire back only to be leveled. Then the Russian infantry stormed the positions killing everyone witht he support of the BMD-T's. The men jumped into the transports.

"I surrender! I'm just a civilian ship captain!"
"What did he say?"
"I don't know I don't speak neanderthal!"
"Shoot him!"
The squad sargeant unloaded an entire clip of his AK-47 on the captain who was now just a mess of meat, blood, and brains. The squad made their way to the top only to see that many ships were still were off in the distance. He wondered why they were so foolish as to not land everything they have. A minute later he got his answer. B-52 bombers were making their way over the beach and dropping every bit of ordinance they had. The beach was leveled, the infantry was minced, and the tanks were busted. With all their glory the B-52's were quickly shot down by Russian PAK-FA's. The bombers dropped like bricks from the sky. Soon the bricks smacked hard into the already war torn ground. With the Russian beach forces annihlated the ships moved in and quickly set up air defenses. When the troops landed they called it 'Hell's Beach'. It was a cratered, blackened, inferno. Humvees with AA missiles carefully watched the sky occassionaly hitting air threats, but bombs still riddled the beach. Though the bombs were spontaneaous they hurt morale with every concussion. The lines were now drawn with each side organizing for an offensive that would soon spread over europe.

"I don't know how the third world war will be fought, but I do know that the fourth one will be fought with sticks and stones." -Einstein; Ch. 24

Daniel looked at his watch with the light from a nearby Humvee. The hands pointed out 2243. The rest of the ships from the US had landed by night fall and defensives were well in place. The beach was black and and surrounded by a smoky haze. Most of the wrecks were placed in piles out of the way to make a headquarters. He looked east and saw tracers and missiles lighting the sky off in the distance. He was staring, wondering what was happening, and was startled.

"Oh shit! You scared the hell out of me Paul!"

"I was just sayin' hi! Gee, oh and I found some good French wine in the town, or well what's left of it."

"Have you looked east?"

"Oh yeah we sent some guys out under darkness to try to push the front. Short story, it's not workin' out. They got ambushed by helicopters."

"Damn, have our helicopters arrived yet?"

"Yeah about that. We sent them in. They were all shot down."

"They're supposed to be stealthy and attack from a distance."

"They did, but as soon as they launch their missiles they were tracked and swatted out of the sky."

"My god...I'm going to go talk to the intelligence guys and see what the total picture is."

"Alright, but remember I got the wine, looks like you may want to hit it pretty hard too to relieve some of that stress!"

"I'm little more worried about dying and Tanya."

"Oh that's right almost forgot about the russkie chic. Well more reason to take a sip!"

"Yeah yeah I'll see ya after the briefing."

As soon as Daniel opened the tent flap he could hear screaming on the radios and some generals swearing at the top of their lungs. A unit was in deep trouble.

"S-r, we ne-- air s---ort." The message was garbled with machine gun fire, explosions, and men screaming for the lives.

"Dammit shut it off, there's nothing we can do!"

"Sir?!"

"Shut it off or I'll send you out there!"

"Yes sir..."

"Lt Col Daniel there you are! I've been looking for you!"

"Yes...sir?"

"You were on that team that was with the russkies when they invaded China right?"

"Well yes, but..."

"So, what do you think they're up to?"

"Well sir, honestly?"

"Yep lay it on thick."

"We need to be checking if they're moving any tactical nukes into the area. Another thing is they may just be gathering together to make one large deadly blow. So, if missile trucks are entering the area we need to leave. If tanks are entering the area then we need to prepare for some hard fighting."

"Well I got good and bad news then. They've moved their missile trucks back, way back. However, they've moved every tank they own this direction. So, grab a rifle son."

"Oh great, so what's the plan?"

"We move everything tomorrow morning."

Daniel didn't reply, he didn't have to, the general understood what he was thinking. He left the tent, it was silent now; the entire squad was wiped out.

Walking into Paul's tent was a completely different experience. Paul had "All Along the Watchtower", by Jimi Hendrix, blasting from his stereo. He walked over to Paul and sat on his bed.
"Daniel you look shit faced!"
"Thanks for putting it lightly..."
"Hey you know me, so what's the scoop?"
"We're moving out tomorrow..."
"Woohoo! Finally we can kick some ass! You don't seem excited."
"I just hope we're the ones doing the ass kicking..."
"Man you need to cheer up! We got numbers, maybe not tech because of the liberals pussies back home, but we got spirit too, except for you!"
"I witnessed all of our scout squads get pulverized..."
"Oh dang...those guys are good too...how bad?"
"No one made it...no one at all!"
"Well cheer up so can avenge them tomorrow. Now that I think about it, get some sleep, sir!"
"You're right I just need some rest..."
Daniel got up and slowly walked out of the tent.
"That Colonel is gonna collapse...", Paul thought to himself.

~~~

Another large crash sounded from incoming artillery, but the young Lieutenant was too ready to kill. His family lived in New York and the Russians took his family. He was ready to slaughter.
"Who are we?!"
"Air Cav!!!"
The first sergeant sounded charge with his bugle.
"Air Cav!!! Forward!!!"
All at once the 1st Cavalry pushed hard and fast. The Lieutenant led the charge, bayonet ready. He and his men along with other divisions, armor, and helicopters came over the hill. To their surprise, there was nothing in the field before them. Everything stopped like a semi jack-knifing. The men tripped on themselves. The gears on the tanks made a high pitched grind. A helicopter stalled trying to stop so suddenly. It was as if they hit a large invisible wall. They stood for ten minutes trying to figure out what was going on. It was dead silent, even the artillery stopped. In the sky crows were flying searching for food. The adrenaline was too much for one soldier, he loaded his M203 launcher and fired into the forest across the field. When it landed the response was heavy. Six rockets fell into the American line. A thick cloud surrounded them and everyone was choking. Everyone was confused of dying. Then suddenly Russian tanks bolted out of the tree line, infantry with chem gear charged, and artillery landed all around. All the tanks in the hill were immediately picked off by the Black Eagles. The other American tanks pushed forward trying to gang up on each Russian tank. The M1A2 tanks made it to close range but not without losing half of their group strength. The American infantry was wiped out by the gas. A tank commander saw that everything was going wrong. Three helicopters were swatted out of the sky by the AA guns on top of the tanks.
"Firestorm, Firestorm!"
Just when the signal made it to the air force his tank burst into flames. The Apaches retreated. Soon, however, the air filled with the sound of fighters a bunch of F-15's and a B-1 bomber headed at the field. The F-15's flew in low and blindly dropped napalm all over the helpless Russian infantry. Then the B-1 made it's pass dropping only one bomb. The fuel air explosive deployed its parachute slowly making its way toward the tanks.

"Oh shit! Fall back! The troops are all barbecued anyway!"
The bomb fell and ignited. The explosion threw the heavy tanks and crush them like soda cans. The trees were leveled the battlefield left scorched. The remaining tanks were swept up by Apaches thirsty for vengeance. All that remained were some trailing Humvees containing reinforcements and the crows now satisfied with plenty of food to eat. The Humvees stopped on the same hill the doomed men did. Daniel and Paul got out and stood still for thirty minutes staring at the carnage that was bestowed on what was a peaceful French farm. The ominous black cloud was still thick over the battlefield. The hardest battles still had yet to come.