[1]Taiwanese politicians vote to declare independence from China in early June 1997 and the US immediately recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state.

Lt. General Bradley Elliott successfully reorganizes the survivors of the original Old Dog crew for the operation as part of a plan to pitch the Megafortress as new aircraft for the US Air Force.

Sun uses the success of his deception operation to launch a massive air campaign against Taiwan, starting off with nuclear-tipped SAMs fired on Taiwanese F-16s attacking a naval base in Fujian province.

The fallout from the events also affect the US leadership's confidence in Elliott's team while many countries in the Pacific Rim ban US warships from their waters.

As Sun gloats over the success of his plan and expects the Taiwanese government's surrender, the joint US-Taiwan force starts attacking Chinese strategic assets deep in the mainland, which helps Chinese Army commander Chin Po Zihong convince Central Military Commission chairman Jiang Zemin to launch a ballistic missile at Andersen Air Force Base in the belief that it was the staging area for the attacks.

Chin, who has been disgusted with Sun's tactics that do not require an actual invasion of Taiwan, orders an attack on the secret airbase after a patrol plane follows a flight of F-16s returning from another strike before being shot down.

The group – who expected jail time for going renegade – arrives at Dreamland, where President Martindale declares that it was reactivated and renamed in Elliott's honor.

Reviewer Jeff Popple of the Canberra Times called it an "enjoyable techno-thriller, full of state-of-the-art military hardware and simplistic right-wing politics."