Chimera

“I would like to extend my eternal gratitude to India and her soldiers for what they have done for my kingdom and its people. It is a debt that is not payable in words, so we will try it through our actions. The battle for Bhutan is not yet over and some tracts of land still remain occupied by Chinese forces. But they will be defeated just as their attempt to take this capital city. My family and I were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night ten days ago when this city lost its power and was under threat of falling to the Chinese. That threat still exists to some level. But my place is here with the Bhutanese people in this time of crisis. And here is where I shall stay,” the King concluded.

As the flurry of questions from the media instantly resumed, the King smiled and walked away. He headed to the stairs where Potgam and Misra were standing with the other officers. Potgam saw the look on Misra’s face and understood his thoughts. All of this was new to him, least of all given the uncertain battles being fought north of here.

It is a very strange war… Potgam thought as he walked up to shake the King’s hand.

DAY 13

JUNWEI KONGJUN

BEIJING

DAY 13 + 0030 HRS

“What happened out there?” Chen thundered as he slammed open the door of the conference room. Feng, Li and the junior officers turned away from the discussions they were having. Chen looked at Li and the others.

“Get out!” he ordered.

As the men walked out sheepishly, leaving papers and other documents on the table, Chen stared at Feng silently until he heard the door close behind him.

“Well, Senior-Colonel?” Chen asked pointedly, choosing to stay formal with his protégé.

“We delivered as asked for, sir.” Feng replied calmly and removed his reading glasses. “The 55TH Fighter Regiment did what they were ordered. The Indian AEW over southern Tibet is dead and so are their fighter patrols. The Indians have withdrawn all air patrols south while they consolidate their forces and lick their wounds. Punitive-Dragon did all it was supposed to do! The skies over the battlefield are neutral again!”

“At the cost of thirty-three frontline heavy fighters!” Chen shouted, making Feng flinch under the force of his voice. “Only fifteen of our pilots have been recovered alive! The regiment commander is dead and so is that unit! What are you doing to my air-force?”

Feng frowned at the insinuation. He put his glasses into his shirt pocket after folding them as he considered his words.

“I am doing my duty!” Feng replied forcefully. “The 19TH Division was untested in combat and the Indians had their battle-hardened crews over southern Tibet. I told you and General Wencang that I had concerns about their inexperience! Had the times been different, I would have committed them to battle in smaller groups under controlled conditions so that combat experience could seep in gradually. But we are out of time! The Indians were already aggressively patrolling the skies over southern Tibet and venturing even over central Tibet. We showed them that we are not to be taken lightly! I had to order the regiment in as one force. There was no other way to break through to their AEW aircraft!”

Chen was seething with anger and Feng saw his fist with whitened knuckles. He was using every bit of self-control to restrain himself. He sighed and unclenched his fists…

“What now?” Chen asked as he rubbed his eyes and looked through the glass to see the operations staff busy at work outside. Feng removed his glasses from his pocket again and walked over to pick up some satellite imagery from the table. He realized his heart was pounding.

“Well, I…”

Feng was interrupted midsentence as the doors slammed open once again and this time Generals Liu and Wencang walked in followed behind by Colonel Dianrong. Chen turned around.

“What is this?”

“This,” Liu said menacingly, “is what I am forced to do when I am told that we lost over thirty fighters in a single air battle against the Indians! I thought I needed to talk a stroll into your little paradise over here and figure out if you have decided to turn over this war to the Indians intentionally!”

“That’s quite enough!” Wencang said authoritatively before turning to Chen and Feng. “Where is the commander of the 55TH Fighter Regiment?”

“He’s dead, sir,” Feng replied.

“Is he now?” Liu observed, sounding almost disappointed. Feng clenched his hands into a fist behind his back but checked his words.

“Yes sir. He died fighting. By all accounts he fought courageously and with determination. Our airborne-radar crews confirmed that he was the one who brought down the enemy airborne-command and control aircraft over northern Bhutan. He was shot down while disengaging from battle. The Indians were determined to kill him after what he had done! They pursued and eliminated his aircraft over Shigatse.”