The Chinese-Australian Cyberwar ravaged Southeast Asia. China would accept nothing less than total victory, and Australia knew how utter defeat would be. Japan was a powerful example. So they fought to destroy China’s very ability to invade them long before any of their warships or soldiers ever saw each other. By the time the Western Alliance reinforcements arrived, they found two exhausted nations on the edge of mutual digital annihilation. It is ironic that the arrival of warships constituted a de-escalation of the situation.
America spent the first half of the Twenty First Century fighting the “War on Terror” with varying degrees of effectiveness. Some presidents fought the various Islamic Brotherhoods with great vigor, while others pulled soldiers back and gave up ground. Half a dozen Islamic States acquired nuclear weapons, but were unable to fulfill their promise of wiping Israel and America off the maps. The “Iron Dome” and “Patriot” defense systems proved too effective. But not all defenses held.
There are a lot of interesting characters that joined the Cowboys over the years. We were unique after all. The only American fighter unit to serve off Peloran warships. So we had unique people asking to transfer. We only accepted the best, and in return the Peloran gave us their best tech. Even those that didn’t start out Marines became one of the biggest threats the Shang and the Chinese ever ran into. In space, air, land, and sea.
It took the new Western Alliance months to assemble a fleet to support Australia against the Chinese invasion they knew would come. But while they worked the largest cybernetic war the world had ever seen raged between the two nations. Even the Chinese-Japanese Cyberwar that preceded that invasion paled in comparison to the damage unleashed in Southeast Asia by the hunter-killer programs of China and Australia. Australia knew what was coming for them and unleashed every genie they had.
Third Fleet was our first, best hope for victory. It was the largest fleet ever assembled by the Western Alliance, with the newest, most advanced warships ever built by Terran hands. But most of the ships were older. It was Third Fleet after all. First and Second Fleets were tasked with defending Earth and Alpha Centauri. Third Fleet had some of the best, but it was filled with the leftovers. I was there. I flew with them. Our best hope for victory was more bluff than real. It just took me a while to realize it. The Shang? Not so long.
Angel Flight is available on Amazon:
Angel Flight
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Forge of War on Amazon
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Angel Flight on Amazon
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Angel War on Amazon
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