Along the shore of the East China Sea, in a dark room deep inside sloping cliffs, Captain Zhou Pengfei stood tensely behind one of the eight consoles in the control room, his face illuminated by blue icons moving south through the Taiwan Strait. As Zhou studied the display, his thoughts drifted back a few days, to the unexpected visit by his country’s president. That Xiang Chenglei had visited three times meant his missiles would play a crucial role in the battle. But none had been fired so far. However, he had received orders a few minutes ago. All forty batteries were to open fire precisely at noon. He checked the clock on the nearest console, its red numbers contrasting with the blue icons on the monitor below.
Two minutes to go.
Zhou stepped next to his Targeting Officer, reviewing the missile assignments. Their thirty-two missiles had been assigned to the lead American carrier strike group heading south. Five quad-launchers would target the carrier, with the remaining dozen missiles directed against the cruiser, destroyer, and frigate escorts. One missile was enough to cripple an escort, but an aircraft carrier was another matter. It would take several direct hits to seriously harm one, and a few torpedoes to finish it off. However, with the aircraft carrier’s escorts destroyed and fires raging inside the carrier, it would make it easier for their submarines to move in for the kill.
One minute remaining.
Captain Zhou reached up, pressing a button beneath the display. Turning toward a second monitor, Zhou watched the portal at the front of the missile battery casement retract slowly upward, providing a flight path for the missiles. A wide, yellow shaft of light streamed into the dark launch chamber, reflecting off the missiles’ white skin. Zhou glanced at the electronic clock above the display, counting down the seconds. When the clock reached noon, he gave the order to his men.
“Fire!”