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Praetorium Honoris

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Things Don't Happen in a Vacuum


Senior Captain Zhang Wei stood on the bridge of his ship, the Yimeng Shan a Type 071 amphibious transport dock, and scanned the nearby sea. It was a pleasant day and the weather was spectacular. He once again thanked the fortunes for steering him to a career at sea.

His ship was part of a "show of force" exercise meant to demonstrate to their enslaved brethren on the island of Taiwan that the Motherland was ready, willing, and able to cross the narrow straits, land troops and liberate the island from its capitalist oppressors. Zhang felt that the order to actually proceed with the landings would come soon.

The Americans were engaged in their own internal squabbles, bad enough that UN peacekeepers had been invited in by the ruling regime, to include troops of the People's Liberation Army, to quell unrest in some of the major cities of that land.

He recalled the many times that China's leaders had asserted that America was a paper tiger, it seemed to Zhang that those leaders may have been right all along.


Commander Dick Gregory was just outside the sonar shack aboard USS Massachusetts (SSN-798) watching STS1 Walt Pettigrew as he performed his magic. Gregory understood how the sonar worked and what the displays typically looked like, but he had to really focus to understand what was going on out there in the water.

On the other hand, Pettigrew could tell you exactly what was out there and right now, that was a lot.

"Cap, I've got at least ten different signatures, at least three Yuzhao-class transports, two Yushing-class transports, and four Luyang III-class destroyers. All on course for the Taiwan Straits."

"You said ten signatures Pettigrew."

"Yes Sir, I did, I'm pretty sure there's a Song-class boat out there, shadowing the main convoy. Probably out there to keep an eye out for us." Pettigrew chuckled as he said that.

"You're sure of those classifications Walt?"

"Yes Sir."

"Send 'em up to combat."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n, promoting these to system tracks, sir."


"Torpedo track! Dead astern!!" Came over the internal comms circuit, startling the entire bridge watch.

Zhang turned and headed for the bridge wing, as he did so he barked out, "Get combat to get me more details on that threat! Screaming over the circuit is not a proper reporting..." No sooner did those words leave his mouth than the deck heaved up beneath his feet, shattering both of his ankles. As he fell to the deck he realized that his first command at sea would probably be his last.

The Chinese task force was hit by at least five MK-48 ADCAP torpedoes. Three transports and a destroyer were hit, the Luyang III destroyer breaking in half from the impact. No one saw, or heard, what happened to the submarine. She was listed as "lost at sea" some months later.


The Chairman was furious, he turned to the man commanding the People's Liberation Army Navy and asked, in an icy voice, "So, apparently the United States Navy still has teeth. Would you care to explain what happened Admiral Chang?"

Chang knew that the question was rhetorical, he also knew that he would be lucky to escape from this failure with his life. "I respectfully tender my resignation from the PLAN, Comrade Chairman." He stood and rendered a short bow to the Chairman.

"Do not leave the city Comrade Chang, we will be in touch."

Chang knew then, that his days were numbered.


In Washington DC the midnight oil was burning all across town. When the President had been briefed he screamed over the phone at his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "Aren't you people in control over there? First the goddamned Guard runs amok in upstate New York, now the goddamned Navy is attacking the Chinese. I need answers General and I need them now!"

"Mr. President, we have sent a message out to PACFLEET asking which of our captains has gone rogue and..."

"And have they responded?" The President screamed again at the phone.

"The woman at the other end of the phone, a Captain named Mayberry, suggested that we drop dead, then all communications with Pearl went dead."

"Has Pearl been attacked?" The President's Chief of Staff interrupted from the line he was listening in on.

"No Sir, they cut communications on their end and..."

The line went dead.


"You do understand that you'll probably get the gas chamber for this? Do you realize the full consequences of this, this, mutiny? Answer me Colonel, goddamn it I'm your commanding officer!" The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was shaking with rage, a little fear as well. There was a sergeant in the room who had come in with the colonel and who had his M4 aimed at the General's chest.

The Colonel shook his head, "It's not a mutiny you dumbass, it's a coup. Sergeant Adkins, take the General down and lock him up with the other traitors. General, I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut, anything you say can and will be used against you at your court-martial, provided you actually get one. Go sergeant, get this asshole out of here."


While momentous events were occurring in two of the world's capitals, upstate New York saw its first major snowfall of the winter. Things had been quiet since the fall, the Chinese were staying near their compound and venturing out only to escort supply convoys from one compound to the next. Things in town were not looking good.

"They're starting to run out of food Jack, there's talk of attacking the compound just to get the food the Chinese have stockpiled." Ida looked worried, Billy had gone to town with her and he agreed with his wife's assessment of the situation.

"She's right Jack, we need to do something, the townsfolk don't really have a chance against those bastards. Can we get word to that Guard unit? Aren't they holed up near the old mine near Centerville?" Billy felt they needed to act, and soon.

"I sent Bob Woodson over there during the storm, we should hear something in a couple of days. There's a lot of snow out there but Bob's a good man, winter doesn't slow him down at all." Jack spoke those words almost as if he believed them. Woodson was a good man and he had a snow machine, but those were noisy sons-a-bitches, if the Reds had any patrols out...

"So we wait." Billy said.

"Not much more we can do right now."




50 comments:

  1. I do hope that this future scenario will not eventually drag the new Big Badger Boat (SSBN 827) into the show.

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    1. On the other hand, the new Big Badger Boat, as Tom Clancy put it, is in a class of Slow Attack Boats... ("Debt of Honor" and "The Dragon and the Bear")

      And the long-range capabilities of the Mk 48 ADCAP are supposedly pretty damned spectacular, almost as if the US torpedo industry learned something from the IJN Long Lances.

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  2. The tenth sonar contact is a passing Merchie? Or perhaps MINNESOTA, dealing with the SONG?

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    1. Was wondering about that tenth contact also. Also a bit odd to read "snow machine", always heard/read "snowmobile" in these parts...huh....

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    2. Maybe the tenth contact is Zhang's ship, a amphibious transport dock.
      Please keep writing, this story already has me captured and I need a steady fix! My wallet is ready for book sale!

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    3. Scott - I undercounted the number of destroyers, there's four, not three. The tenth contact is the Song-class boat.

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    4. Nylon12 - See my comment to Scott. I've heard snow machine and snowmobile, the former being more common. I used "snow machine" to make it more generic, it could be something other than a snowmobile ya know.

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    5. Retired Cop - Zhang's ship is one of the Yuzhao-class transports.

      Glad you're enjoying the story.

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  3. I'm not so optimistic. I think the ChiComs will attack Taiwan within the next twelve months, and our federal office-holders, who are either being paid or blackmailed by the ChiComs, will not lift a finger.

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    1. They are not only being paid by the ChiComs, they are also being paid by Soros and Bloomberg and Zuckerberg and MANY others, who also adore the ChiComs!!! The only hope is that there is an honorable sub crew out there to do as this predicts!!!

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    2. CV - That's a possibility, especially if the rumblings I'm hearing as regards the Chinese economy have any truth to them. If the people are pissed, focus them outwards.

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    3. MM - There are many in the military who might question orders coming from the Chicoms via their DC stooges. Unfortunately there are also those who won't. (I'm thinking of a certain four-star who has been in the news lately.)

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    4. Did you see that the Chinese produced a Korean War epic movie ala Nevsky? Huge box office receipts if they are making up the numbers. Yup, they are focusing outwards.

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    5. STxAR - It's easy to inflate your box office numbers when you require people to attend. As to Korea, utter failure on the part of the CCP and the CCCP. That is, if you don't count the rumors that the CCP's involvement was a way to hide the deaths of some popular generals who threatened Mao's position, including, according to some of the rumors, one of Mao's acknowledged sons.

      I do not trust any news that comes out of Red China. Whole towns and cities uninhabitable because the work and materials are so shoddy even Haitians wouldn't live there. The same workmanship and materials used in the Three Gorges Dam, which may be why sections keep moving and the authorities say "Everything's Okay!" when they are, in fact not. The CCP keeps telling us there is no internal dissent, while rounding up minorities, Christians, muslims, young from Hong Kong and now Macau (along with rounding up leaders in both, still going on in HK from what I hear (and prayers that LJ stays safe there.)))

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  4. To quote what is arguably one of my favorite military, suspense, and Cold War movies ever, "This will get out of control. This will get out of control and we will be lucky to survive it".

    The Taiwan Straits are the current third rail of International Politics. I do not doubt now - given the apparent disarray that we find ourselves in - there is not serious consideration in other parts of the world that if there any time to act, it is now.

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    1. I would, were I a 2nd/3rd World dictator.

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    2. Ah, I love that movie, for it's tenseness and it's inevitableness, if that makes any sense.

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    3. An OAFS top five film, for sure.

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  5. Weakness here is seen as a power vacuum by the rest of the world. I like the multifaceted arcs. Really a good thought provoking post.

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    1. In reality it might be or it might not be, but the perception of weakness could lead to miscalculations which could lead to war.

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  6. That's not the Centerville that NY23 (aka Freedom Road) leading East from US 98 goes into; the one that inexplicably turns in to NY3 now called Buffalo Rd 'bout halfway before it hits Centerville?

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    1. No, I just liked the name, sounds very American.

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  7. Heh. Especially after the continued escalation of air space violations. I can see, potentially, some skipper hoisting the figurative black flag and the crew 'Arrrrrr-ing' away merrily. Especially with anything that doesn't need command locks to fire. Though, well, if I had family in Taiwan I'd be looking to get them to a quieter place like right now.

    Between the US boats, the Japanese boats and for all I know, the Singapore and South Koreans and maybe even Indian subs, yikes, would not want to be anything considered a target in the Taiwan straits. There are a lot of little countries that have too much invested in keeping the ChiComs away from Taiwan.

    As to the coup, I can see it breaking out like that. Mid-ranked officers (the ones that actually command directly the shooters and fliers) and senior NCOs (that haven't eaten the tainted 'muh diversity' fruit) staging a coup from the bottom up. The question, of course, is how far do they go? Just the Pentagon and the White House? Or move over to Congress also? All those NatGuard troops still in DC, who exactly controls them? Hmmmm...

    A good book for a speculative future is John Ringo's "The Last Centurion." In which who controls the military plays heavily in the story. And the potential consequences of various actions like a coup or just refusing orders.

    I hope there is more in the series coming.

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    1. It will be interesting to see how far things go here.

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    2. If I had family in Taiwan.. Years ago (1980 actually) I met a guy who was Austrian, his family left in the early-mid 30s as they didn't like the way things were shaping up. They went to someplace that looked safe, the Philippine islands. He had some interesting stories.

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  8. As to snow machines, there are some aftermarket products that make them rather quiet, and are used by people trapping. Especially if they don't have permission to trap. Still makes noise, but the noise is reduced and is harder to sonically track. Let us hope Bob has one of these machines.

    Starvation is a real consideration in a siege situation. Hunger, especially amongst the children, will drive good people to do questionable or bad or desperate (or a combo) things. And I've heard the CCP's MREs are more flavorful than ours.

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    1. You do know what the original MREs were called, right?

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    2. (Don McCollor)...Know from reading accounts, not personal experience. Along that line, an AF friend gifted me some cans of 'Air Force Survival Ration Fruitcake'. He said to open one only after gnawing the bark off the trees as high as you could reach....

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  9. Our submarine force has long been one of the most competent in our or any Navy. I'd wager the Japanese are good as well.I've interacted with some but it's been quite a number of years since. Hopefully neither they nor our sub force have fallen prey to the ROT affecting our other forces.
    Boat Guy

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    1. I don't know anybody personally in the Silent Service but I have connections. Their standards are very high.

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    2. Yes, their standards might be high. But their leaders are selected by the same rot at the top across the services these days!!!

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  10. I am an ex-nuke operator (enlisted) and yes standards are pretty high on the boats. If you can't complete ship's quals for your dolphins you will be bounced to the surface fleet.

    4 torpedo shots, then a reload gotcha for the Song as it revved up to start closing in on the torpedo launch location sounds like a pretty good engagement plan by CDR Gregory. BZ Skipper, and BZ for the Torpedo Room team expediting the reload(s). He has 12 VLS shots too but they are a bit more public when the Tomahawk breaks the water.

    Keep writing, and I have my quarters all lined up and waiting to buy your WWII book.

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  11. Your lips to Gods ears, via the combat arm, Sarge. Funny how hope springs up in the most unexpected ways and places.

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    1. Our best and brightest (the real ones) wear the uniform. I know some of them, good men and women.

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  12. CAPT Mayberry's drop dead reminds me a bit of Brig. Gen. McAuliffe's "Nuts."

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  13. One quibble: Unless things have changed greatly, a STS1 would have been addresses as “Petty Officer Umpticlutch” or just “Umpticlutch”.

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    1. 'Tis a good quibble, I changed it to the latter form you suggest.

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  14. One other quibble: “Aye” is like saying “I hear you”, as in “Sonar, Bridge”… “Sonar, aye.”

    “Aye, aye” means “I understand and will comply”. Pettigrew should have said: “Aye,aye, Captain, promoting these to system tracks, sir.”

    I like the skipper’s name. Should we be looking for Colonel Julius Marx?

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    1. Not a quibble, important little technical details that I need (and like!)

      Thanks!

      (As to the name, you never know. Always liked Mr. Gregory's work. And yes, the captain is black!)

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