Vaughn Heppner: Invasion: China

Under Chairman Shun Li’s guidance, the People’s Republic of China surrendered to the United States of America. The Mexico-based PAA army soon began the long trip home, taking seven months until the last soldier departed.

Premier Konev’s Russia offered to run Manchuria as a protectorate. On the advice of General McGraw, President Sims agreed.

“It’s time to rebuild,” McGraw said. “And it’s time to bring the boys home. Let the Russians worry about Chinese guerillas. It will embroil them both in a quagmire for years to come.” Unknown to any but his inner team, the advice came directly from “Professor” Higgins, the Historian.

Stan Higgins became President McGraw’s Secretary of Defense. His first act was to eliminate penal battalions and to prosecute the numerous war criminals among the Detention Center people. Then he merged the best officers and enlisted personnel of the Militia organization into the US Army, soon disbanding the rest of the Militia. After six years of service under McGraw, Stan Higgins taught military history at West Point. He retired at sixty-nine and moved to Alaska, writing his seminal treatise, On Modern War , before dying at age seventy-three to the Aleutian Flu Epidemic.

Jake Higgins worked for the McGraw Administration until transferring to the revived Libertarian Party under Stuart Smith. He married Sheila Baxter, a former exotic dancer, had three children and divorced when she joined the Holy Shakers religious movement. Jake failed in a bid for governor of Colorado and complained about rigged elections. Before the police could arrest him under the latest Anti-Democratic Speech Laws, Jake joined the US Expeditionary Force to Argentina, dying during the intense urban fighting in Santiago, Chile.

Anna Chen married David Sims and ghost-wrote his famous six-volume biography, The Life and Times of David Sims . She gave birth to twins and homeschooled them until they entered junior high. Shortly thereafter, David passed away and Anna ran and won the post of Mayor of Bangor, Maine. She died peacefully in her sleep at eighty-two, remembered as an integral member of the team that won the Sino-American War of 2039-2042.

Romo remained in the US Marines, becoming a Master Sergeant until the stabbing death of Jorge Domingo and Peter Parham in 2052. The trial revealed the two victims burglarized the apartment of Romo’s girlfriend Rita Backwater, raping and killing her before leaving the premises. Romo spent seven years in Leavenworth before the authorities—on the President’s orders—commuted his sentence and quietly released him due to services rendered during the space drop into China. During Romo’s drunken celebration from prison, a car struck and killed him as he crossed the street. Foul play was suspected but never proven.

Shun Li ruled China for seven years until the Rebellion of ’49. During that time, she secretly funded the Manchurian Insurrection against the Russians. Konev ordered Russian forces out of Manchuria in 2046, but threatened to intervene if the Chinese military entered the area. The next three years proved pivotal as Shun Li readied the country for war against Russia. Her draconian laws finally ended in open revolt, led by the military. Various Army Groups set up autonomous regions in the country. As the nation threatened to disintegrate into a civil war among warlords, East Lightning Commissar Fu Tao’s Eagle-team assault captured Chairman Shun Li. During a drumhead hearing, Fu Tao declared her guilty of war crimes and executed “The Butcher” on the spot.

Soon after retiring from the military, Paul Kavanagh began Salvage, Incorporated, a one-man private detective agency. Despite a rough two years in the beginning, he gained a reputation for finding and retrieving missing items or information. He never became rich, but he was good at what he did, refusing to take bribes or let the powerful intimidate him. In his later years, he sold the agency to his son Mikey. Paul and Cheri died in the same week. She was 74 and he was 81, survived by his son, his son’s wife and their three grandchildren, Billy, Tom and Sarah.

To the Reader: Thanks! I hope you’ve enjoyed Invasion: China . If you liked the book, please put up some stars and a review. Let new readers know what’s in store for them and let me know what worked for you.

Invasion: Alaska

Invasion: California

Invasion: Colorado

Invasion: New York

Invasion: China

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Planet Wrecker

Star Fortress

Cyborgs! (Novella published in Planetary Assault )

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Planet Strike

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Strotium-90

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Copyright © 2014 by the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.