1859 January 17th, 2020 CE
Nashville, Tennessee
Jack flops down onto his couch after another day of work at his office. He grabs the remote and flicks on the TV just in time for the 7 o’clock news.
<<< “... live at seven.”
“Just today, President Hayes had announced an American victory against the Mach Imperium and that negotiations were underway. This comes just a few months after the victory against the Bem Kingdom. In both conflicts, American forces have taken supposedly zero casualties. In his address to the nation, President Hayes claims that this war is one of the most successful wars ever fought in American history. However, with the memory of the Iraq War still fresh, many Americans are doubtful that this is the true end to the war.”>>>
Jack quickly gets bored and switches the channel to look for other more interesting shows. Life doesn’t feel much different from before. Except for the decrease in a variety of produce and some minor problems early on like a decrease in manufactured products, not much change was felt. A ridiculous thing is that some are calling the fact that the United States was transported to another world a hoax. Claiming that it is a government conspiracy to cut Americans off from the rest of the world. They believe that the government employed a special technology to do so and that current events are being made up.
0110 January 25th, 2020 CE
0335 (Early Hour) Start 25th, 196 AE
Aginport, Bem Kingdom
A sand-colored vehicle moves down a busy Bem street. Some Bems gaze at the vehicle for a little while before reverting back to what they were doing. They were interested in what a “car” or a “horseless carriage” as it is commonly called by the Bem, looked like. A few months ago, a lot of people would come out just to watch the cars pass by. However, now, most have gotten used to the cars that conduct patrols to keep order.
In a bar on that busy street, two men look out the window to see the American vehicle pass through.
“I can see why we lost. They are on the same level as the Machians.”
“Maybe even better. News has been going around that the Machians have been defeated.”
“Is that so? Well, either way, our kingdom stood no chance.”
“At least they seem more helpful than the Machians. And hey, they don’t seem to be forcing us to fight their wars or anything. I can’t believe I’m saying this but the future may brighter than before.”
“Yep. I heard from one of my friends who works in hospitals that the Americans are giving us some technology that would really improve our lives.”
“The Machians would never do something like that. They only gave us the bare minimum and even demanded tribute.”
It has been many months since the invasion of Bem conducted by the Americans. Not much on the surface has changed. A distant relative of the King has been placed into power by the Americans. To the general populace, the new king seems to be merely another puppet under another powerful nation. However, there are good signs, the Americans seem to be willing to help with the development of Bem, unlike the Machians who gave them just bones. Medical technology and methods have been shared. Improvements in agriculture and infrastructure have also been provided. The Americans also seem to be interested in trades for food products and some of the raw resources that Bem has.
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0826 January 25th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
“Mr.President, the goodwill operations in the Bem are going great. The populace doesn’t seem to be hostile to our forces.”
Chief of Staff John Wills is giving President Haye a brief report about the current situation after winning the war.
“That’s good to hear. What about the Mach?”
“Negotiations have gone quite well. The Machian military officials are willing to surrender to our terms. Which includes us occupying their country for a couple of years, having a government under our supervision, and constructing military bases on their land. They haven’t demanded much. They seem to like the fact that we aren’t enslaving them or demanding any payment or tribute from them. However, they do seem adamant about keeping their government mostly the same.”
President Hayes smiles lightly at that report.
“That’s great! Almost too good to be true!”
“We do have two minor problems.”
The smile instantly drops from his face.
“Oh boy… why did I say that…”
“First of all, it seems that the Machian Emperor has decided to abdicate. In this circumstance, we would have had one of his children take over but they are too young to take the throne.”
“Are there any relatives that can take the throne?”
“Well... the military officials did tell us that the Machian Emperor had an illegitimate adult daughter that is living near the town of Isca. We could probably place her on the throne. Although we do have to find here first.”
“That doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. What’s the other issue then?”
“The Magus is demanding a stretch of territory on the border. About 200 miles deep into the Machian territory from the Magus. The Magus claims that it was land that they had lost in the 4th Mach-Magus War that occurred 35 years ago when the Mach invaded them.”
“Do the Machians say it's true?”
“Yep.”
“Are they willing to let it go?”
“Nope.”
President Haye sighs to that answer.
“Goddammit. It’s never easy.”
“The Magus is threatening to declare war on us over that stretch of land.”
“What are the negatives of giving them that land?”
“Other than losing that piece of land to build military bases on, not much. Although the Machians are somewhat threatening to null the progress we have made in negotiations, it’s obvious that they are just bluffing. They have no more power to actually confront us again.”
“Then just give the Magus that stretch of land. I’m not sending innocent Americans to die fighting for another country’s land. Especially after that country tried to attack us.”
“That should be all then… oh wait, there are two other things.”
“What?”
“First, from the Department of Defense.”
“What do they want?”
“Uhhh…” John flips through the folder he is holding. “Well, first of all, they are recommending that we repaint the desert camouflage that we have on our ground vehicles.”
“Why?”
“Well, studying the satellite images, we have found that this world greatly lacks deserts. There are only a couple of small deserts around this world. Thus, we will have to repaint our vehicles.”
“I see.”
“The DoD is also recommending some adjustments on hardware acquisition.”
“What adjustments?”
“Since we don’t have any peer adversaries to worry about anymore, acquisition of stealth fighters and bombers aren’t that important. They are not recommending us to stop. Just to reduce the pace. We will still continue development just in case we ever get transported back to Earth. On the other hand, the acquisition of non-stealth aircraft is highly recommended since they are more suitable for current operations. For example, F-15EXs.”
“That seems reasonable. What’s the second thing?”
“The second thing is about the private sector.”
“Hm?”
“Some companies are expressing interest in the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium. They see the new world countries as a lucrative market and a possible place for cheap labor. Originally they were wary of expanding out because of the lack of protection. However, with our occupation of the Bem and Mach Imperium, that issue is gone.”
“I see... well, as of right now, let’s take some time to stabilize the Bem and Mach Imperium before opening the floodgates for these companies.”