Bernard Stevens gave her a withering look. “That’s why we shoot back now,” the Secretary of Defense said. “Disable those launchers, before they get the rest off!”

“Any indications of a further launch?” Admiral McWilliams yelled.

“Negative, sir!” the imaging officer replied.

“Anything more on the target?” McWilliams said.

Bernard Stevens fumed silently.

“Still too soon to be sure, sir,” the imaging officer replied, uncertainty in his voice.

“Is it headed for the Lincoln?” McWilliams asked. “The James Madison?”

Their two human-crewed carriers in the region. The giant floating cities, capable of wiping out whole nation states, that these missiles had been built to kill.

“Negative, sir!” the imaging officer said, firmly this time. “Target is not a carrier group!”

Pryce frowned in puzzlement.

“We should fire the JAVELINs now!” Secretary Stevens repeated. “Our fleet’s under attack!”

“More data,” Admiral McWilliams replied. “We don’t get to make mistakes here.”

“Target window’s shrinking, sirs,” the imaging officer said. “Looks like… Target is the Page, sirs!”

“The Page?” Pryce asked.

“It’s a frigate,” McWilliams said softly. “Uncrewed.”

“Missile coming in range of defense systems!” Imaging yelled. “Lasers firing. Missile taking evasive.”

Pryce tensed.

“It’s through! Defenses didn’t hit it. Inbound, Mach 15, headed straight down. Guns opening up. Impact in twenty… fifteen… ten…”

Pryce held her breath.

“Impact!” Imaging yelled out.

“Dammit!” the Secretary of Defense yelled.

“Damage report!” Admiral McWilliams cried.

“Sir,” the Fleet Comms officer said. “No damage reported. Admiral Porter reports a clean miss, off to starboard of the Page. By a country mile, he says.”

Pryce exhaled.

Jesus.

“Warning shot,” she said aloud.

“The next one won’t be,” McWilliams replied. He turned to the Fleet Comms officer. “Tell Admiral Porter to have the Lincoln and the Madison commence flight operations. Same orders for the drone carriers. If the Chinese fire on our carriers, we need to have our wings in the air.”

Pryce bit her tongue. Escalation. It wasn’t shooting. But it was still escalation.

“Missile splashed into the sea, Colonel,” his comms officer said. “Airborne observer estimates four hundred meters away from target.”

Cheung Baili let out a long slow breath.

“Which of you has a cigarette for me?”

NEWSFLASH!

American News Network

“…exclusive report of what appears to have been a Chinese missile launch, possibly aimed at a US Navy ship. An American News Network micro-satellite captured this footage, just minutes ago, clearly showing a missile launching from a military installation on the coast of China, just across the strait from Taiwan, and arcing out towards the East China Sea, where US ships have been positioned since…”

The woman who called herself Kate turned off the news and sat in silence.

Pros and cons weighed on her. Risks and benefits. The risk of any contact with someone who claimed to be highly placed in the US Government. The high likelihood that they in fact were not.

The risk of doing nothing. Of hostilities escalating even further.