Chapter 7: Scarlet Ashes
June 10, Central Calendar Year 1639, (A/N Will only use CCY)
Rodenius Continent.
The signing of treaties and agreements between the Qua-Toyne Principality, the Quila Kingdom and the Republic of India, was considered to be a landmark event for the Rodenius Continent. In accordance with the trade-agreement, India began importing exotic foodstuff at a massive scale from Qua-Toyne and minerals and oil from the Quila Kingdom in exchange for mining rights and military bases on their lands. In return, India provided food and infrastructure development for the two nations.
The port in Maihark was also upgraded to handle large container ships, while the roads in Quila and Qua-Toyne were being upgraded to Concrete roads to handle large consignments. the large iron ships the Indians had, with the roads at the harbour being superior to anything they had seen. As far as the people of Quila and Qua-Toyne were concerned, these roads were smoother and much stronger than even stone roads in the Capital. These roads were much more sturdier and connected towns and cities that allowed better transportation of goods within both countries.
The promise of the introduction of proper asphalt roads, and railways was something they were excited for. The economic growth from this could make future historians call this the great economic miracle of the nation, with calculations showing that it would surpass future goals with ease.
The signs of improvement in the general quality of life beginning to be seen by the general populace of the Qua-Toyne Principality also saw Prime Minister Kanata's popularity rising concurrently. For once, the opposition in the Legislative Assembly had been silenced. Especially since the Prime Minister returned with an agreement that benefited the country despite the way the crisis started, and Prince Runsui Tsugoku firmly denied dismissing Kanata.
Other reasons for this was also because of the technology that India began exporting that started to change the lives of the subjects of Qua-Toyne. This included guaranteed food security, purified water via reverse osmosis and the beginning of artificial lighting powered by generators.
Meanwhile, Qua Toyne's Defence Ministry were positively salivating upon the weapons system that were used by the Indian Army and tried everything they could to get their hands on them. Nonetheless, the Indians were firm on their stance of not giving up their weapons. However, India did begin shipments of the World War Two era Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I Rifles along with advisors to begin training the Qua-Toyne military on the use of this weapon.
All of this was not yet widespread in Qua-Toyne, as India maintained a stranglehold on all technological exports owing to their own domestic issues. Nonetheless, PM Kanata still could not help but smile at the reversal of his fortune as he read a report. "All we have to do is support them, and they will help us shed the status of 'Barbarian Nation'. We could perhaps become even more powerful than the civilised nations!"
"I have to admit, Prime Minister, it almost feels like a dream." Kanta's Personal Secretary added.
"And to think that a tale of myth, such as the teleportation, really was real and it has benefitted us so amazingly." Kanata continued.
Despite his praises, Kanata was very well aware that they were on a slippery slope. As far as he was concerned, India wanted a puppet, or worse, a colony. They certainly have the military and economic power to do so. Yet they were staying their hand. Perhaps, he would have to make peace with the fact that Qua Toyne has already been pulled into India's sphere of influence as the price for such unprecedented development.
"Though I will admit." PM Kanata spoke again. "It's a damn shame they refuse to give us more advanced weaponry. We could use them against those Lourian bastards."
"I believe we have no choice, Prime Minister." PM Kanata's PS replied. "From what I have understood about them, they seem to be a nation that does not take any kind of nonsense from anybody, even if they are an entire alliance whose military might exceed theirs by more than two dozen fold. We could say that right now, they are the ones holding the cards, and there is absolutely nothing we can do right now to change it. So I believe we have no choice but to make do with what we have and what they are giving."
"Hm… That is correct." PM Kanata said in agreement. "For now, I guess we should be happy that they did not join forces with Louria."
"You are quite correct, Prime Minister."
---[+]---
June 10th, Central Calendar Year 1639,
Qua-Toyne Louria Border, Rodenius Continent
Morning
Eastern Subjugation Army Vanguard
Lieutenant General Adem stood on top of the hill overlooking the border town of Gim, and watched the town militia preparing to repel any attack from his army with cold, calculating eyes. Of course, all that effort would be useless in the face of the superior numbers and equipment under his command. With a cocky sneer, he turned back to inspect his vanguard troops.
The nervousness he had in relation with his upcoming task was tempered by the sadistic happiness inside him that allowed him and his men to 'live off the land'. Not only did it give him bestial glee, but even his men's cheered when the order was relayed, and thus morale was sky high.
Once again, Adem ran the numbers in his head. His vanguard force was 20,000 men strong that included 500 heavy infantry, 2000 cavalry, 1500 siege specialists, 1000 irregular raiders, 250 monster tamers along with their beasts, 100 magicians and 150 dragoons. Adem nodded, confident that these men will get the job done. If nothing else, Adem was betting his money on the dragoons. Just ten of them could easily bog down almost any kind of professional infantry formation, and Adem's vanguard had 150 of them, who would go against a town militia. Furthermore, Adem even had a squadron of 150 Wyverns attached to provide Close Air Support. A new tactic being used by Louria.
Adem had heard rumours that the Palpardia Empire had been covertly supporting Louria by providing weapons and other forms of assistance for their subjugation campaign. However, Adem did not fully believe them as he had not seen any evidence supporting such rumours.
His musings were interrupted when the magic communications operator approached him. "Sir. The staff are once again requesting confirmation about your orders on how the prisoners should be dealt with."
Adem levelled an imperious glare to the communications operator. Almost immediately however, he adopted a maniacal grin. "Do it. Pillage Gim. I couldn't care less. The men are free to 'recuperate' in any way they wish and then purge those filthy demi-humans, but leave a hundred or so alive. The only thing the men can't touch are the granaries." With that, the operator was dismissed, and Adem turned back to the distance.
"Finally!" Adem said after taking in a deep breath, unknowingly invoking a Great One. "My king will witness my full capability and these demi-humans will soon know who their betters are!"
—[Linebreak]---
Just before twilight, the Lourian Vanguard got their orders to advance towards Gim. Morale was high for the Lourians as they crossed the border, and their thunderous march and echoing warcry sent chills down the spines of the Gim defenders. All of them save for the Captain of the Western Knight Order and the Commander of the Western Region Army, Captain Moizi, who rallied his army to fight.
"Moizi, eh?" Lt. Gen. Adem asked. "I'll finally have someone who has the balls to stand up and fight, unlike those pussies that were the Eastern Rebel Lords." Lt. Gen. Adem then looked to his signalman, "Release the Wyverns!" The man gave a nod and blew into his horns.
A minute later, numerous wyverns flew overhead, going straight for Gim's defences, where they unleashed volleys of fireballs. This was followed by arrows from the Irregular Raiders and then magical attacks from the magicians. The icing on the cake were the trebuchets', the rocks of which had been doused in oil and then lit on fire, which were then launched into the town, causing heavy damage.
Unexpectedly, however, Lourian Wyverns were counterattacked by Qua-Toynian Dragon Knights. This new addition caught the Lourian forces off-guard, and the air fight turned into an aerial melee. Despite that, Adem loved it. "Ha Ha! Moizi you are making me love you after every minute!" Meanwhile, Gim's archers finally managed to return fire on Lourian infantry, forcing them to duck for cover while still advancing towards the wall.
For a while, the battle remained in flux, but soon, the Lourian Wyverns overcame the Qua-Toynian Dragon Knights because of their superior numbers and the constant bombardment from the magicians and trebuchets saw the Gim's wooden walls have multiple holes that were already burning. The infantry crossed these gaps and got into a brutal melee with the defenders where they were supported by the archers of the Irregular Raiders. Meanwhile, the Cavalry and the Dragoons attacked from the rear gaps and thundered their way across the town, cutting anyone that came in their way, before crashing into the militia defenders of Gim, shattering their morale.
---[Linebreak]---
As his forces rounded up the survivors, Lt. Gen. Adem talked to his assembled officers. "Time to earn our keep, gentlemen!" and put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Just like that, screams could be heard as the Lourian soldiers began plundering their way across the town. They broke inside houses, killed the men, and had their way with the women regardless of age. Sometimes, they tortured the people of Gim, and dragged them into slave pens that would go back to Louria.
It was an all around horrifying scene, but Adem relished the chaos. He walked through the streets like a king, randomly inspecting one of the slaves as if they were vegetables, and ignored the screams of the women. He stopped when he felt a small tug at his feet. It was a young boy, with cat ears, maybe four or five, who looked at him with tears in his eyes.
"Nothing personal, kid." Adem said with a horrifying smile as he raised his leg. "I just hate you lot, and you deserve it anyway." With that, he brought his leg down over the boy's head with a sickening squelch. After cleaning the soles of his shoes on the child's clothes, he continued on his merry way.
"General Adem, sir." A voice called from behind, and he turned to look. He was met by an infantryman who saluted him. "We have captured a Qua-Toynian officer."
"Is he important?" Adem asked.
"Seems so, sir." The soldier replied. "He had ten survivors defending the house he was hidden in."
"Take me to him." Adem ordered.
"At once, sir." The soldier said. "Right this way."
Within five minutes, Lt. Gen. Adem was face to face with a beaten up and restrained Captain Moizi, and for the former, this was equivalent to a Christmas present.
"Well well well…" Adem started, a sadistic smile in place. "Look how the mighty have fallen. The great Captain Moizi! Give the man a round of applause everyone!" Seeing that the soldiers were unsuredly looking at each other, Adem tried again. This time with a bit of force in his voice. "Godammit, I said give the man a round of applause!" A smattering of claps could be heard in the town square. "That's better." Adem said before he ran his hand across Moizi's face, "Aww… Just look at how they have treated you! You're injured! How sad. How pathetic!"
"Shut your mouth, you monster!" Captain Moizi growled, eliciting a face from Adem. "Gim may have fallen but Qua Toyne will ultimately prevail!"
For his disrespect, one of the soldiers kicked Moizi in his guts.
"Ah-ah-ah." Adem started. "The man is my humble guest. We should treat him with some more respect." The Lourian Lt. Gen. chided. "Still… For a guest, you do have a mouth on you, don't ya?"
"I'm the guest?!" Moizi shot back. "You're burning my home, you bastard!"
In retaliation, Adem harshly kicked Moizi on his chin, making the Qua Toyne Captain fall to his back. "That's quite enough from you." Adem said as he rested his foot on Moizi's groin and slowly began to apply pressure. In response, Captain Moizi only grit his teeth and sometimes bit his lip, but did not give out anything else to show that Adem's foot was painful.
"Oh… You're good." Adem praised. "I love the fight you have! Come on! I know you can take more!" Adem yelled as he began stamping Captain Moizi. Yet, the Defender of Gim only grunted, but did not scream.
"Oooh yeah!" Adem yelled in happiness as he gave one more hard stamp at Moizi's chest before he jumped and clicked his heels in the air. "You are excellent! I'm gonna have so much fun breaking you!"
"Wh-Wha…" Moizi murmured.
Adem turned to the soldier who had led him to the square. "Tell me my good man. Did you find what I asked you to find?"
"Yes sir I did." The soldier proudly replied as he tilted his head towards a covered slave cart.
"Then please! Show our guest what he has won for being such an enthusiastic and willing participant for tonight's entertainment!" Adem ordered with an enthusiastic flourish.
The soldier immediately pulled the cover, and Moizi looked in horror to see that the cart's sole occupants were his wife, Kisama and his daughter, Ore.
"Congratulations Captain Moizi." Adem started. "You have won a whore who is into bestiality and her daughter."
"You bastard!" Moizi yelled as he got a burst of energy at seeing his family and tried lunging at Adem, only to be put back in place by the soldiers restraining him.
"Oh wait, you bred with her!" Adem exclaimed in fake shock. "And the product of such a… 'happy' union was this half-breed abomination."
"Let them go!" Moizi yelled again, but was ignored by Adem.
"Now what do I do to purge this… filth?" Adem asked rhetorically as he adopted a thinking pose. "Oh yeah! I know! We'll call in the final actors of this play!"
These were the monsters who were part of Adem's vanguard forces. Moizi's family had also been taken out of the slave caravan.
"So apparently, my dear monsters tamers were complaining to me the other day, that their beasts don't like working so hard." Adem began. "So I said, look, how about this? Your beasts work hard in bringing down Gim, and I will allow them to do whatever they want." Adem then turned to the monsters, who were huffing loudly as they stared at the woman and girl, and then to Moizi. "And I think even you can tell what they want."
"No… Don't do it!" Moizi exclaimed, horrified.
"Hm… You're right." Adem said in reply, seemingly agreeing. "I believe, the fun is in the chase. Your choice Captain Moizi. One of them gets a chance to run."
"You fucking scumbag!" Moizi swore.
"I'm giving you a chance to save one of your family, you know." Adem reminded matter-of-factly.
"Honey… Please…" Kisama pleaded in tears as she tried to hold her daughter. Meanwhile, Ore seemingly found her chance and dashed away in a sprint.
"Looks like your daughter has more balls in making decisions than you ever will." Adem bluntly said as he looked at the girl and then to Moizi. "That also means the choice is no longer yours." Adem then turned to the monsters. "You lot. Chase her. The rest, y'all gonna let your dinner and comfort go cold?"
"NO!" Moizi and Kisama screamed at the same time.
"Hey! I'm a fair person! I said I'll let someone run, I did not promise I'll let them live. That, and it was your daughter who chose to do it. Don't blame me." Adem 'justified'. He then turned to his men. "Make sure he sees the entire thing. After that, I couldn't care less." With that, Adem turned around just as Kisama was seemingly surrounded by one group of monsters, Osa's screams could be heard a little distance away. But the loudest of them all was Moizi's screams as he witnessed his family get butchered.
"Now how will I go about taking Ejey?" Adem loudly wondered as he made his way back to his tent, already mapping out the required logistics to take down the fortress city of Ejey.
---[+]---
Office of the Ambassador,
Embassy of the Republic of India,
Diplomatic District, Qua-Toyne,
Principality of Qua-Tonye.
Two hundred and twenty kilometres East from Gim, the Indian flag fluttered proudly on top of its Embassy in the capital city of Qua-Toyne Principality. It was a clear sunny day, and the sky was clear from any clouds. Despite news of the Battle of Gim trickling into the capital, Ambassador Sandhu sat in his chair, bored out of his mind, in his barely electrified office. This was despite being eligible to receive a bonus for being in a 'dangerous' location. 'Heck, Somalia was better than this! Atleast I had air conditioning. Even if it was the window mounted one.' Sandhu thought as he adjusted himself to make sure the air from the pedestal fan came at him only.
While the rest of the diplomatic staff continued working outside his office, relying on typewriters as there were no electric plugs in the Embassy building to power the computers, Ambassador Sandhu began dealing with a powerful foe, a fruit called Balsin, one that looked like a mini-jackfruit. "Goddamn thing had to have a thick skin." Sandhu swore as he tried to peel off the small fruit.
Sandhu had come across this fruit just the other day when he had gone to the market in the Qua-Toyne Capital City to buy any interesting trinkets that would either serve as either a souvenir of his service in Qua-Toyne (he already had many items such as a mini Eiffel Tower, a Big Ben piggy bank, a snowglobe of Saint Basil's Cathedral, a replica Jade Dragon and other such items), or a trinket to take back home to his children, when he crossed a shop selling the fruit.
Just like back home, this shop also had a few fruits cut up and ready to eat, and Sandhu decided to try it. Soon, he was buying half a dozen of these fruits before returning back to his office-cum-residence. Now Ambassador Sandhu, usually reliant on either a servant or his wife to cut fruits, finally cut open the thing after much trial and error.
As he savoured his hard work, his desk telephone began ringing. Biting off another swear, he picked it up. "Yes?"
"Your wife is calling." Ambassador Sandhu's secretary informed.
"Thank you. Put her on the line." Ambassador Sandhu said in reply.
He waited for a few seconds, before hearing his wife's, "Where are you?!"
"I have no clue." Sandhu said with a sardonic chuckle. "I mean… I could be anywhere. You called me. Where do you think I am?"
"Very funny." Mrs. Sandhu said dryly. "Apparently they're saying in the newspapers that Cartoon country has gone to war."
"Cartoo– I think you meant, Qua-Toyne, honey." Sandhu corrected.
"It doesn't matter what it's called!" Mrs. Sandhu responded indignantly. Her husband could hear the huff accompanying it. "Just tell me, are you safe?"
"Of course I'm safe." Sandhu replied. "Why wouldn't I be? The Embassy itself has a bunch of soldiers guarding it. And my residence is in the same compound."
"Good good." Mrs. Sandhu said, and began talking about the daily antics of their children, when Sandhu's Secretary came in again.
"We have an official from Qua-Toyne's Foreign Ministry." His secretary whispered, being mindful to not speak too loudly to be heard on the other side of the telephone.
"Honey, hang on a second." Sandhu said as he interrupted his wife and covered the speaker. "What do they want now? If it's about that aid request, tell them it's still being considered in New Delhi."
"It's a different fellow." The Secretary said in a whisper again. "He's accompanied by this military officer in a flashy uniform. Seems like a decent enough rank. Says that guy is from their Ministry of Defence. Something about their National Security."
"Send them inside in five minutes." Ambassador Sandhu said after chewing on this new information. With a nod, the Secretary left.
"I'll talk later." Sandhu said into the telephone. "I got to earn that fat salary I get."
"Can't it wait for five minutes?" Mrs. Sandhu asked. "I still have to tell you what Radha from next door said after–"
"Look. I'm pretty sure Radha from next door said something interesting, but I was just informed that I have an unscheduled meeting to get to in five minutes." Sandhu said as he cut his wife's gossip. "I'll talk later alright. Give my love to the kids, and you make sure you're taking your medicine okay?"
"Alright." Mrs. Sandhu relented. "You as well. Take your vitamins."
"Don't worry, I'll say my prayers too." Sandhu replied. "Also, don't believe everything the papers say. Bye." With that, Ambassador Sandhu put the receiver back in its stand, just in time for the door to open, and his Secretary leading two men inside his office.
Ambassador Sandhu knew of their affiliations the second he saw their uniforms. And he even recognised the man from Qua-Toyne's Foreign Ministry, Yagou, as he was on the trip to India. The military man on the other hand, Ambassador Sandhu did not recognise.
"Mr. Yagou from the Qua-Toyne Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Colonel Kalmia from the Qua-Toyne Ministry of Defence." Sandhu's secretary announced, before he left the office.
"Please, gentlemen. Have a seat." Ambassador Sandhu said as he directed the two men to take seats in front of them. "What could be the reason for you visiting my office?" As he talked, Ambassador Sandhu observed the two men. Yagou was sweaty and nervous, and was even pale. Meanwhile, Colonel Kalmia, while not sweaty and nervous (or if he was, he hid it well), was also pale, just not as much as his colleague.
"Gim burns." Colonel Kalmia bluntly said.
"You will have to elaborate more than just that, Colonel." Ambassador Sandhu replied.
"Louria has attacked our nation, Ambassador Sandhu!" Yagou said loudly, just short of shouting, making the Indian diplomat almost jump in his chair.
"Did they?" Ambassador Sanhu mused. "Did they send a declaration of war?"
"No." Both Qua-Toynian men said in reply.
"I see…" Ambassador Sandhu said as he ran everything in his head. "We could have sent one of our destroyers to Maihark… But that would have been if they had done the decency of sending you that declaration…"
"The last thing we heard was that the Lourian Army was brutalising the residents, and Captain Moizi, the Commander of the Western Region is Missing In Action." Colonel Kalmia informed.
"If I remember correctly, his family had left town to join him there." Ambassador Sandhu added. "I remember everyone praising them. What's their status?"
Both men were quiet for a long moment, before Colonel Kalmia spoke. "Our scouts found them… Whatever was left of them that is…"
"Fuck…" Ambassador Sandhu said. "I… I'm sorry to hear that."
"Our government seeks to invoke Article 3 of the Defensive Pact our nations have signed with each other." Mr. Yagou informed him. "A formal communication will be sent before the end of the day."
"I see… I will have to inform the same to New Delhi." Ambassador Sandhu said. He then picked up the receiver on his telephone. After two rings, his secretary picked up the phone. "Send Major Anwar to my office, would you?" After receiving an affirmation, he put the receiver back in its place.
"Gentlemen, I hope you have some intelligence on the Lourian Army's movements, because the Military Attache is now on his way to my office. His report will also be required to have our government take action and our military make its preparations." Ambassador Sandhu said.
---[+]---
Conference room,
Vigyan Bhawan,
New Delhi.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sat at the head of the table, tired from another grim meeting. Despite spending months in economic autarky, and spending millions in bailouts, the economy was still crashing. The value of the rupee kept falling like a brick.
Back in the old world, India was an integral part of the world economy. It used to be one of the biggest manufacturing centres of the world that rivalled nations like Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and USA. But just like that, India depended on these nations as markets for what they produced. But now, none of their customers were present.
This teleportation incident still baffled the scientific minds of the nation, especially how selective (some called it random) it was. Everything already in India, assets and people, domestic and foreigners, came along for the trip. But also, areas from Nepal and Bangladesh that had Indian assets, and even Indian troops who were all over the world on UN Peacekeeping missions. Furthermore, some Nepalese lands mostly populated by the Gurkha people, saw the Indian government tearing the hairs out at suddenly being in charge of so many foreign nationals, before realising that now they have got more sources for taxation, and the fact that many of them were now signing up for recruitment in the Indian Army, which meant that the Gorkha Regiments were now getting more recruits.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that the Emergency had been lifted for Republic Day, it was clear to the Government that putting it back on would really make the country lose their minds. Nonetheless, army units that would have been usually deployed on India's land borders, were now called in to assist the police, both local and federal, in law enforcement and to serve as a deterrent to any enterprising rioter, or sleeper agents from foreign nations who may have come along.
But the most pressing issue on everyone's minds (including the politicians) had still to be resolved.
"The fuel prices are seeing no signs of stopping their rise, there has to be something we can do." Prime Minister Vajpayee said as he stirred his cup of tea. "Bloody hell, my relatives are calling me about this now!"
"We have lost nearly fifty percent of our ability to satisfy our crude oil demands, and we have yet to replace our lost supplies. We can slash taxes as much as we want, and have already opened 10% of our Strategic Fuel Reserves, the prices will still be up." Ram Naik, the Union Cabinet Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in reply.
"So what's stopping us from flooding more oil in the market?" Prime Minister Vajpayee asked.
"A simple solution to a more complicated problem, Prime Minister." The Cabinet Secretary now replied.
"What he said." Naik said in agreement. "Currently, we can only produce two million barrels of crude oil with our facilities such as oil wells in the North East and Bombay High off the Western Coast working at double the capacity. As of 31 December 1999, daily demand was estimated to be at four million barrels."
"We also have to take the pumps into account." PM Vajpayee's personal private secretary added. "We overwork them too much, their service life gets drastically reduced. They will spend more time on maintenance than pumping."
"Yes." Naik said. "And while we have discovered oil rigs in the Quila Kingdom, it's around… 50 years old or something like that. Of course, it saves time for prospecting and what not, but still, we'll have to get those rigs back to working order by updating them to modern standards. And that's only the extraction part. We'll have to drill more wells, lay down the pipes, and set up refineries. I would say, minimum of twelve months, to even entertain the idea of decreasing our deficit. And to get back to pre-teleportation levels, I would say, maybe another 12 months."
"Two years?!" PM Vajpayee asked incredulously.
"If everything happens properly and we don't have random acts of God happening. Yes. Two years. At the minimum." Naik replied.
"Oh God…" PM Vajpayee groaned as he rubbed his eyes. After recollecting himself, he spoke again. "Do whatever you have to get this back on track. Otherwise we can say goodbye to any seats in the 2004 elections. Obviously, we will have to make peace with the fact that we are going to lose Bihar, Haryana, Manipur, and Odisha this year."
"I suppose you are correct on that, Prime Minister." Naik agreed, disheartened.
"Gentlemen. This is the worst crisis our nation is facing in its entire history." PM Vajpayee started. "Even when we got our independence from the British, we were still in a comparatively better position. This… This… We're in the dark here. We are running this ship blindfolded, and through choppy waters. One wrong step, and we are doomed!"
"If nothing else, Prime Minister, I can happily say that our electricity demands are being fulfilled as we speak." The Minister of Power, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam reported. "So, we don't have to worry about any blackouts even in the rural regions. Also, the report I got from the Coal Ministry is that coal production has been increased to meet the 150 metric ton deficit. Also, the sudden increase of river water has also increased our hydroelectric power plants' output."
"Good good." PM Vajapayee praised as he felt a little of his load being lifted.
"That also means we don't have to increase our output from our nuclear power plants. In fact, we have already asked them to lower production to conserve our stocks of raw uranium." Kumaramangalam continued.
The word 'nuclear' had grabbed the Prime Minister's attention, who turned his head towards the Minister of Defence, George Fernandes. The man already had an inkling of what was going to be asked of him, but he still allowed the Prime Minister to ask his question. Who knew, maybe today he would be proven wrong, and the PM would ask him something totally out of left field.
"Say Fernandes, Operation Shakti is still fresh in our minds, so I thought that because there is now a lack of demand for our uranium, shouldn't we increase our inventory? We may require our nuclear deterrent against anyone out there." PM Vajpayee said.
Fernandes took off his glasses and pretended to wipe them to disguise a sigh. Operation Shakti, more commonly known as Pokhran-II, was series of five nuclear bomb test explosions that had been carried out by India after reports began emerging of Pakistan trying to coax the Soviets into sharing the nuclear technology with them, and if that was not possible, more Soviet nuclear weapons to be stored in Pakistan.
Following the test, the population's support of the government skyrocketed, despite the fact that India's allies in the US, Japan, UK and other countries were incensed by the testing. Nonetheless, Fernandes could understand why Vajpayee thought about the nukes.
"I can assure you, Prime Minister, our inventory is large enough to protect us. As it stands right now, two hundred nuclear weapons are sufficient for this world, if all we have to deal with are people with muskets and flying dragoon things." Fernandes replied, hoping to nip his boss' political idea in the bud. That, and even the Armed Forces Chiefs would fully agree with him. Based on current intelligence, there was no need to increase the number of nuclear weapons until anything was found that ran contrary to that assessment.
Before the Prime Minister opened his mouth to continue, the chief of R&AW, A.S. Dulat interrupted him. "Now, now, Prime Minister, we just dealt with those GRU snipers in the Soviet Embassy, and now you're planning to increase our strategic destruction capability?"
Becoming miffed by the sudden interruption, Vajpayee retorted, "Oh come now Dulat, I am sure you would love to increase that as well, seeing what you and your men have done in 1998."
"If it leads to increasing my department's funding, then absolutely." Dulat said unashamedly. "But for now, we have more important issues on our plate. Mainly, reports have come from our Embassies in our new neighbours that apparently Louria has attacked and their army has been routed. They are looking to invoke Article 3."
"That is correct, Prime Minister." Jaswant Singh, the Minister of External Affairs said.
"Apparently, they have not even sent an official declaration of war, and have just started marching their armies across the borders."
"Is it Louria and Qua-Tonye?"
"Yes." Dulat replied. "And Quila. They're doing the invasion simultaneously."
"Until we can confirm our embassies' reports, our hands are tied." PM Vajpayee said. "The people will not tolerate another war like this. That is not even a full year after Kargil."
"Oh, I agree." Dulat said.
"Also, there was the fact that Kargil was defensive. The Pakistanis were in our territory. This will be different. People will make comparisons to Somalia." George Fernandes said. "They haven't forgotten what happened to those twenty four Indian soldiers on 5 June 1993 during UNOSOM II by Mohamed Farrah Aidid's people. The only consolation was that our Special Forces had crippled Aidid before we left in '95."
"Correct, correct." PM Vajpayee said with a nod. "Obviously, the initial contingency plans will have to be scrapped. They were too ambitious anyway. And yes, your spooks can move in once we have more boots on the ground."
"Prime Minister, we already have boots on ground. Just let me send the Special Group, and that Lourian King and his friends will be here in chains." Dulat said, hoping to make his boss see his way.
"What you're basically talking about, is a decapitation strike. We need some competent party to bring to the negotiating table once we're through with them." External Affairs Minister Singh said, disagreeing with the spy chief.
"Also, two infantry battalions won't be enough to deal with the fallout of what you're suggesting. They are garrison units, most of whom are involved with protecting our embassies." Fernandes quickly added, using his cabinet colleague's momentum to make sure that Dulat does not persuade the Prime Minister to do something incredibly risky. "If the initial intel from Qua-Toyne and Louria that they had sent to us after signing the Defensive Pact is correct, the numbers are too much for our boys down there to deal with. Heck, they won't even have the ammunition, and will be quickly cut down."
"You are correct on that part, Minister Fernandes. Very well, we move in only after your people can guarantee the evacuation of our men. Unlike the Soviets, we value our special forces and would not let them get slaughtered in a failed air assault." Dulat responded with a smile on his face, not wanting to counter the Defence Minister.
"Unfortunately, the Spetsnaz and their 'brethren' from the other Warsaw Pact, I mean, CSTO countries, including Pakistan's SSG, are very good at relying on the land. That's what your agency had reported." Fernandes countered.
"We did." Dulat said in agreement. "And we still stand by that."
"Good." PM Vajpayee spoke up, deciding this to be a good opportunity to re-enter the conversation. "Fernandes, have your people drawn up the plans for our intervention. They have triggered the defence treaty, and we cannot afford to lose them with our current situation."
"There's an issue however." Fernandes said.
"What's that?" PM Vajpayee asked.
"We don't know where they are." Fernandes said. "If we can't track the Lourian army's movements, we'll be going in blind. Not even that, the service chiefs will not be able to coordinate to decide which units and assets have to be sent."
"What's Air Force Intelligence doing? Sleeping on the job?" PM Vajpayee asked in honest surprise. "Send some planes up there already!"
"That's the point, Prime Minister." Dulat interrupted. "Our imaging planes can barely reach the Lourian border because of its range. That's why we want to build bases in Qua-Toyne and Quila."
"Well there has to be something we can do?" PM Vajpayee asked.
"There is." Dulat said.
"Then what's the problem?" PM Vajpayee asked.
"The problem is that they are U2s. And every single one of them in our Air Force Stations are run by the United States Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency." Dulat replied. And for everyone present in the meeting, regardless of how much they contributed here, it explained everything.
"Oh…"
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