“Are you alright, Admiral?” Bishop asked. Marrion nodded and rubbed his face in his hands.

      “Can you send that video to my office?”

      “Yes, sir. I’ll have it downloaded directly into your files as usual.”

      “Thank you, Carol. And Laura, can you send me everything you have on Captain Chen, including the contact number of his commanding officer?”

      “Certainly, Admiral. I’ll get right on that.”

      “Thank you. Lord knows I could use a pilot like him. He should get a medal. Okay, ladies, anything else for me today?”

      “No, Sir,” they answered in unison.

      “Very well. Update me with anything you can. In the meantime, I’ve got a meeting I need to go to.”

      “Thank you, Sir. Good-bye.”

      Marrion buried his bald head in his hands, gripped in the clutches of this reality. This has to work! Yet, no amount of forced or perceived enthusiasm could shake the feeling that he was so far behind the power curve that he might never catch up. The Chinese not only already created the first stealth missile, but were field testing it. The next step was to improve it, tweak it, then mass produce it. And he still had no clue where the factories and laboratories were that were responsible for it.

      He took several deep breaths, then peaked at his desk calendar from between his fingers. The meeting was late tomorrow, but it might as well have been in an hour. More unease washed over him. He sat back and took one of several thick files off his desk and leafed through it. He pulled out a photo and gazed at it with stern intensity.

      “After tomorrow, it’s out of my hands,” he said wearily. “After tomorrow, it’s up to you.”

      He stood up to leave the office, placing the photo of Jason Li back inside the folder.

      41^st Tactical Fighter Group

      Hsinchu, Taiwan

      Air Squadron Commander Colonel Tang Chao-chen sat with his staff facing Captain Chen. Chen had been standing at attention for several minutes while the staff of air officers went through the documents scattered before them. Tang finally raised his head.

      “What you’ve done is inexcusable, Captain.” The colonel’s voice was calm, but ice cold. “You’ve almost put us on the brink of war. Do you realize the ramifications, both national and international, if you had been shot down?”

      Chen remained silent, the requirement when getting grilled for misconduct and insubordination. He would speak only when given permission to do so.

      “What were you thinking?” asked one air marshal. “Seventy-two kilometers into China! Are you an idiot!?”

      “We give you this new plane and you treat it like it’s your personal toy!” said another sternly.

      “Call in Major Gao,” ordered Tang. An officer posted at the door opened it and Gao Chunming came in. He came to attention beside Chen, who looked at him curiously. Tang’s orders were quick.

      “Major Gao, until further notice you are squadron leader.”

      “Colonel, I object on grounds!” Gao protested immediately.

      “On grounds of what?”

      “On grounds that Captain Chen has done nothing wrong.”

      “Crossing into enemy airspace for more than 10 minutes; for causing a coastal panic and having set off over 40 miles of air alarms is not enough grounds for you?” thundered one marshal.

      “On grounds that Captain Chen is free to exercise certain strategic judgments because he is the best pilot in the Taiwan air force, sir. He also knows the F-15, and the Chinese defenses better than anyone else.”

      “Then we suggest you start studying, Major!” spat another air marshal.

      “You’re making a big mistake, Colonel.”

      “Chunming, don’t,” whispered Chen.

      “What mistake is that, Major?”

      “His job and his destiny is to be in the air. Captain Chen inspires the men. Day after day, they pour over the aircraft manuals, watch his training clips, and spend hours in the simulators, trying desperately to emulate him.”

      “That’s admirable Major, but that’s their job!”

      “Colonel—”

      “Chunming, stop,” interrupted Chen. “Don’t fight this.” This prompted Gao to turn his head towards his good friend.

      “I will not stop, Xiwang!”

      “If you have something to say, Major, say it to us,” Tang stated in his soft, professional tone. Gao turned back to the staff members.

      “Sir, we are all ready to fly to our deaths for our country. We know what we’re up against. We know that just across the strait over 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles sit waiting to destroy our island. A 3-to-1 advantage in troops, artillery and tanks stand poised for their invasion on our soil. And in the air, we know that they outnumber us 8-to-1. We know this!”

      “What’s your point, Gao.”

      “In the shadow of such hopeless odds we need a leader whose courage and confidence will keep us fighting no matter what comes over that horizon.” He turned and pointed at Chen. “This is that man! He proves every day that we will not be bullied by those mainland dogs! He proves that when that day comes, the Taiwanese air force will not only fly over the water to engage them, but we’re going to fight them in their own country!”

      “Chunming, please!”

      “No Captain,” waved off Tang. “Let him speak.”

      “My only regret is that I never followed him into Chinese territory. I should have. As his superior officer, I should have never let him complete those flights alone. But I had my doubts about what he was doing, and about my own skills. I will admit that I never had the courage.” He swallowed hard, suppressing the lump in his throat.

      He turned to Chen, whose humbled expression and tearing eyes remained trained on the floor ahead of him. “But after what I saw last night, I have no more doubts, and I have no more fear! I will fly with Chen to the Forbidden City if need be! All of us will!” With that, Gao popped to attention and remained silent as he forced back the tears. The staff members, impressed but still resolute, turned to Tang who was still looking at Gao.

      “Your loyalty to your friend is commendable, Major. But don’t forget your loyalty to your country, the air force and the squadron. Is this not the conduct of an officer?”

      “Yes it is, sir.”

      “You are correct in your summation of our forces versus the Chinese. Man for man, missile for missile, ship for ship—we don’t stand a chance. But in the air, we do have some measure of equality against them, and if we’re going to maintain this small but significant advantage, we have to support our chain of command and trust in its decisions no matter how we feel emotionally. Is this not true, Major?”

      “It is, sir.”

      “Then you can appreciate why we must protect Captain Chen?”

      Gao lowered his head as the bigger picture crystallized in his mind.

      “I do, sir.”

      “Very well, Major. You will assume command of the squadron and continue your missions and training as scheduled.” Tang then looked at Chen.

      “Captain Chen, you are grounded until further notice.” Both Chen and Gao closed their eyes and lowered their heads before the colonel completed the sentence. “However, there is an upside to this.” Instantly the men raised their heads.

      “We received a call from