Staff Sergeant Mike Randall remained silent as he tapped his foot against the metallic leg of the chair he sat in. Unlike the men around him he remained in casual attire as he was still required to recover from the injuries he had sustained during the manhunt of target Raven. He was simply in a pair of slacks, a white button-down shirt, brown sweater, and brown oxfords. His collar was loose, and he had rolled up his sleeves. For the important meeting that was about to happen between members of the Commandant Committee a direct copy of the Presidential Chief of Staff in the United States, he was under-dressed for the occasion, but he remained just as sharp as the admiralty and the generals around him.
Sitting across from him was one Chancellor Xi Ming Son of the Taram Republic. They were an ally of the Zivaland Federation and were one of seven nations across the eastern sea some 400 nautical miles.
The morning light was favorable for the unsettling mood of the topic they were about to discuss. Hosted at Port Libertas, home of the largest trade center in the Federation, today’s meeting would determine many things in the conflict that was about to explode between the Kingdom of Yondel and the Federation. This needed to be a success, and the only reason Mike was here instead of stuck in a rehabilitation center was due to his experience and capacity to act as a third party.
Chancellor Xi was writing his final orders for the hour on the paper in front of him. His secretary beside him waited patiently as each stroke of his pen was made in a slow and calculated maneuver. The man’s caliber was beyond anything the Ranger had yet to deal with—even his time speaking to the Vice President could amount to the pressure he felt sitting in his uncomfortable seat. The man was currently dealing with a crisis in his own home. A revolutionary front had been propped up against his administration and he was making long strides to ease the conflict through strict retaliation and law enforcement. There was a heavy mist surrounding the man, and Mike bit his lip in anticipation.
A pause filled the room as the flag officers went silent and Chancellor Xi rose from his seat.
Xi took the moment of silence to dwell on the fact he was just told by his secretary. Those present did not know that the Chief of Naval Operations was just executed, and the President’s aircraft had disappeared mid-air. There were reports of unknown mages that had taken over the plane, but if that got to the media panic would ensue across the nation. “Generals, admiralty, this is a nation that we have been more than glad to support for the last thirty-two years. In every notion of conflict that we have ever faced the Zivaland Federation has been more than willing to fight on the side of the republic’s people. Once more we find ourselves in world turmoil, and every passing day it seems that we stray further from peace, Admiral Martian?”
“Thank you, Chancellor,” The intelligence admiral said as he nodded for the man to take a seat. “As we all know the Kingdom of Yondel is continuing to push forces beyond the border of the Frontier; a joint session in the Senate and an order from President Harding has confirmed that we will be taking direct action against our adversaries. This will be a joint counterattack by all branches of the military and will focus on critical regions throughout the kingdom that support this line of terrorism.”
“Are you insinuating that we use our forces to wage a counterinsurgency and not war?” A gruff voice responded to Admiral Martian.
In the corner of the dimly lit room, Headmaster John Fakhara of 1st National Academy strutted in with a familiar face by his side. The boy next to him was Yu, the very same sixteen-year-old boy that Mike and Lecca had encountered twice. The boy had obviously gone through a change as he looked well-built for his age and his face had matured significantly showing both scars and wrinkles. Were it not for his shaggy, black hair Mike would’ve had to second guess if the boy was Yu or not.
Chancellor Xi let out a short cough, “Headmaster, how untimely for you to join us during a meeting about the military.”
The headmaster bore his red eyes into the chancellor’s head as he stepped to the side. Before he spoke, he flicked his wrist and checked the time. Making one last glance around the room, the man was able to determine he had enough time to parlay with the four-star officers that practically surrounded him and the student beside him. “What you said, admiral, is that we are going to avoid war and instead waste the lives of hundreds more to fulfill some counterinsurgency against the kingdom.”
“Why are you here, headmaster?” Martian said.
“Don’t play me for a fool, admiral. You know damn well that I spent my time as a captain in the navy,” Fakhara growled. “You can’t all do shit, so I’m going to have to take over of this if you can’t make the right decision.”
Looking back forward, Mike noticed that all the flag officers present were rigid. The proclamation made by the headmaster all made them stiff. It was odd, seeing military officers suddenly go cold at the words of a school headmaster. The staff sergeant could almost hear the cogs turning in all their brains as they thought of a possible response to what Fakhara had said. Even Chancellor Xi seemed to be taken aback by the old man’s boldness, and the fact that the headmaster had a young boy next to him who looked like he had just murdered a man didn’t help at all. Politics was a fickle and dangerous game, and here Fakhara had just laid out one of his trump cards to take control of the Commandant Committee. His connections went beyond basic control of simple governmental facilities. President Harding had entrusted something to him.
A reprieve would be in order soon, that much the only OMFS agent in the room could tell. Chancellor Xi also wanted to capitalize on this scenario that had just been placed before him. If he could gain control of the naval operations within the Federation, he could alleviate threats that were being propped up down south without a care in the world. The republic had a problem with trying to establish an effective military, and this was the one chance to eliminate all problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. He could entrust this task to both Agent Randall and the headmaster; reports he had read painted them both as brilliant people, so he would have to put faith in their hands.
Pinching his nose Martian said, “I told David that he shouldn’t have enacted that presidential order.”
Letting go of the scowl on his face, Fakhara walked over to Mike and patted him on both of his shoulders. The two men exchanged a silent meeting with the former making motion to the black eyepatch over Mike’s left eye.
“To be honest here, I’m having a hard time believing what you are saying, sir,” Chief Warrant Officer Jason Outlaw said. He demanded attention by his mere presence. “I know of the presidential order you speak of, fifteen, but it doesn’t make sense to take over in the case where we are able to avoid a direct war, and limit industrial and civilian casualties.”
“He’s right, headmaster. We could obtain peace so that our nations don’t enter a great depression from all-out total war.”
“What is peace?” Fakhara boomed. “What is peace? I’ve heard so many people say we can obtain peace, but no one is willing to give an answer of how to obtain it, or what kind of peace we are looking for! It is nothing more than a phrase that is repeated over and over, and I am tired of hearing it!”
“Sir, with all due respect, this is what the president wanted. We’re just following the orders we were provided to the letter.” Outlaw responded answering for the flag officers, “We have a plan in place that won’t direct the federal government into a war. The Senate doesn’t agree with our methods, as they want war. And all though we technically would be in a state of war when a declaration is in place, we are still under the direct command of the president. He wants us to strike back, make no mistake, though there are other ways to effectively destroy a target, especially considering the type of modern technology we have on our hands.”
Yu felt his eyes narrow, “So you intend to destroy specific targets?” He asked stepping out of line. “Would you mind sharing what you have planned. It does involve utilizing the students from 1st National Academy, does it?”
That made Mike arch his eyebrows with concern.
“Yes, it is an offensive designed by selective targeting,” Admiral Martian answered eyeing the teenager with a calculating gaze. “Your name is Yu, and you are a student at the 1st. Let me tell you that I don’t like the idea of children fighting wars. The educational institutions have centered themselves around creating weapons of mass destruction and garnering influence over such weapons. Might I remind you that combat schools are effectively illegal. The school you are in, it totes for science of weapons.”
Yu blinked. “I know. But I’ll be damned if I let this nation make the wrong decision.”
“Mike? Please explain the reality we’re in.” Turning the conversation to the staff sergeant, Mike suddenly rose from his seat and walked to the board in the back of the room.
He stared at the map plastered and the two highlighted areas. The room was quiet. And there wasn’t much noise to work with as he came to an explanation to what Martian had forced on him. He let out a thoughtful hum as he turned around and scanned the room and all thirteen individuals present. “So, to put it bluntly you would all be safe here, in the federation. Though the military under Yondel is at a technological disadvantage there is no doubt that they have grown much further in the concept and application of magic. I’ve seen it for myself. Those people will fight to the end if you present an invasion plan, especially one that aims to knock the government down a notch; they will fight to no end until either we back off, or they are all dead. It will be a bloodbath, for both sides. If we can mitigate it, to the point of even preventing conflict, I’ll take it.”
“And you can be sure of this?” Yu challenged.
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Mike said slowly, “Kid, I’m sure of a lot of things. I’d say you know when I’m lying, this is not a time where I lie.”
“That still doesn’t give me all I want to know.”
“Then what the fuck are you asking? Can’t you be clear, damn it!” The CWO cut in.
Slamming the door open and stepping inside, a short, stout officer, an army 2nd lieutenant instantly saluted as everyone in the room faced him. It seemed that compared to the junior officers that had guided everyone into the room, this one was the squared away one. The single ribbon he had was centered and aligned correctly, his nametag was pressed firmly above the right breast pocket, and his rank was displayed widely on the sleeves and collars of his uniform in a subdued gold color.
“Sirs! Vice President is on the line, he has critical information to share, code one-seventeen!” The officer boomed as he awaited a response.
“At ease, soldier. Transfer the line to the phone in here,” Martian took charge.
“Yes, admiral!”
Silence encapsulated the room as the clicking of the phone line played over the central phone speaker. Admiral Martian rose from his seat and leaned across the table. Pressing the answer button on the phone, a small cough reverberated the room. Martian moved his hand slightly to the left and lowered the volume of the speaker with a completely unmoving expression. The person on the other side of the line was the Vice President, and he sounded nervous based upon the heavy breathing he spent into the phone. Mike leaned back in his chair with an amused smile. He wasn’t sure where this was going—and his curiosity was itching for him to find out.
“Gentlemen, we have a dire situation at hand.”
Admiral Martian stood tall as he responded in a hearty voice, “Mr. President, whatever the threat is, we are ready.”
The Vice President took a deep breath. The anticipation made the flag officers anxious. “As of two minutes ago, Two-Sixteen Bravo, the plane carrying President Harding was shot down alongside her escort.”
Hell froze over at those words. “Say again, sir, did you just say that the plane carrying President Harding was shot down.”
“Yes. First responders have arrived on scene. Only five bodies were found, none of them being the President or his escorts working under the OMFS.”
Lowering their heads, the Commandant Committee remained in silence. If those that were missing were dead, then their bodies were vaporized upon impact and nothing but the toughest of bones would be left. Martian himself was feeling remorseful that his last meeting with David ended with him not trusting his leadership. Glancing to his left, the admiral saw Staff Sergeant Randall, one of the few foreigners that arrived within the Federation, simply staring ahead. The OMFS agent was processing the revelation. From all accounts he had, Martian could guess that Mike was feeling unsettled, perhaps broken from hearing the possible death of his close partner, Princess Leccamaradel. Still, besides the loss of those close to everyone in the room, the Federation had effectively lost its head. The Vice President was now the acting leader of the nation, and this was by design. Of course, a former senator would be elected as VP to the nation. Harding was simply in the way, and now that he was gone, it was time to act on his lack of control over the government and military. Mourning would have to wait. “Mr. President, have you been sworn in?” Martian asked in a slow, calculating voice. If this was a silent coup, then the military would need to react accordingly. The threat of losing control during the beginning of a war was not something he wanted to go through again.
“Yes, the Senate just confirmed the procedure. I am now acting president in place of Harding.” His voice was wavering. There was a twinge of guilt, though it could mean anything. It wasn’t enough to target the serpent’s throat.
“Mr. President, unfortunately we can’t give any fanfare to your ascension to the head of the nation,” General Pete Lawson of the army said firmly. “War is on our border, and my men will be stretched thin if we are to cover the finalizations of your inauguration. Whatever war the Senate wants will have to wait until domestic security is reestablished, and order is brought back to the Federation.” From that alone, Martian knew he had another flag officer on his side.
“Naturally, general. We can’t risk separating our defense forces.”
Was he growing frustrated? Martian questioned.
“I agree with General Lawson. We need to get our shit together, that includes taking care of the pirates attacking the northwest ports,” General Hauser said.
Good, he had the majority. Martian turned to the next burning question at the back of his mind, “What of the CNO? He was with President Harding.”
“Admiral Hays is dead.” Martian’s fears had been confirmed, both the Federation and the Navy had lost their leaders.
“Mr. President, we’ll focus on the hard work. Priority is gaining control of all exits of the federation, including any outgoing maritime vessels to the southeast,” Martian boldly said as he slammed his hand onto the phone cutting the line and ending the conversation.
Martian stared at the phone. Silence encapsulated everyone in the room.
“We lost the fucking president and CNO! God damnit, why does this shit happen under my watch!” The admiral lost all composure as his face grew bright red and he threw his coffee mug against the floor splattering the contents and glass shards all over the tile floor, “For fifteen fucking years have I looked out for him, and now he just ups and fucking dies!” The flag officers surrounding him slowly backed away giving him the space he needed, in addition they moved so that they weren’t targeted. The intelligence admiral had been keeping his sector of the military, of the navy, running smoothly without issue. To suddenly have his boss, and the boss above him killed without knowing who it did, when it was, or why it was done was a jab at the job he had failed to carry out. He had succeeded in his position for the past five years, and now he would no doubt be disgraced within the inner circles of the admiralty.
“This a failure on all fronts, but we have an option available to us,” Outlaw was the one that dared to break tense environment. If there was one thing that the Chief Warrant Officer, like all his counterparts, was good at, it was the fact that they knew their jobs and the navy inside and out. It even went to the extent that they had outside sources, commonly amongst other branches, but enough information and resources to form a plan of action before those at the top could react.
Martian hoped Outlaw had a plan formulated, “Speak.” He barked as he pressed his hands on the table edge resting his body against the stained wood.
“Mr. Que, the one that approached the President Harding at site Bravo-Hotel Sixteen was found dead the very same night that target Raven was executed by Princess Leccamaradel.” Mike lifted his head listening closely as Outlaw continued, “The Senate was the one that was attempting to get Haring to agree to launch a war against the Kingdom of Yondel. Mr. Que was just in the way of the invasion, he and his Volunteer Corps. No one in the house liked them getting along, so have a convenient way for the President to die and blame it on somebody else. The Senate is pushing for war, and they just removed the only person standing in their way, now they can authorize a ground invasion into the Frontier and allow time for the Navy to establish a strike group to push into the Kingdom.”
“What, is a coup on the table?” A general asked.
“No. The Senate doesn’t have the balls to kill Harding. This was the act of an outsider, perhaps someone related to the Kingdom of Yondel. Intelligence reports gathered by our insiders in the NIA have pointed out that the former monarch of the kingdom was disposed well before the current king, Aldrecht was placed in power. We don’t have much, but if our assumptions are correct, then the current princess is the only daughter of the disposed king.”
“Your point?” Mike of all people said as he stood up.
“Princess Leccamaradel wasn’t the only child of the former king,” Outlaw took a moment to breathe. He noticed the young boy standing next to the 1st National Director watching him intently, “If the two records we found are accurate, Leccamaradel has a brother who disappeared during the revolution no more than twenty years before King Aldrecht took power within Yondel. In addition to a motive for wanting to find his sister, the man may also want to seek retribution upon the Federation. We had thirty cells that were evacuating when the revolution took place. They all unfortunately were compromised by the Royal Guard and were forced into combat within the larger cities.”
“You know, where I come from, foreign agents interacting with revolutionaries is quite common,” Mike joked gaining him a few side-eyes.
“Her brother wants to seek revenge on foreign agents that are possibly dead, is that it?” Martian questioned. “If he is looking for payback, it would make sense if he was killing all of us for the fucking war that happened when we were still an Empire.”
“Just another day in the office then. What’s the problem with dealing with another international terrorist?” General Lawson asked.
Admiral Martian grunted. In any normal situation this would be considered just another person to add to the list of international terrorists, not that the Federation had a long list to begin with. The NIA were masters of the infamous quid pro quo, but even they were handicapped when it came to any intelligence that came from across the southern border. Any sources they could share with didn’t want to get involved with the kingdom or any other nation beyond the frontier, so the world was divided by a small stretch of land causing two different worlds to be separate and non-communicative. Intelligence was fickle, and Martian knew he had lost the early game with this question. “We just need to be sure that a war won’t break out if we go after this target. Believe it or not, if he is Leccamaradel’s brother, then our magicians will be useless.”
“I know,” Lawson said with a smug smile. “We can just send the best air combat troops we have. They are more than capable of taking down a single Class A magician, so this can’t be any different.”
“Nullification goes past—wait, why are you considering him a Class A threat?”
“The princess is a point of reference. Did you not get the memo—”
“General Lawson! When did you take this evaluation!” Admiral Martian snapped. He had the authority; he was now acting CNO of the navy and had orders from Harding to press any flag officer for intelligence regarding the Reclaimers.
“Admiral, sir. The foreigners came under the custody of my men in the Frontier. We had to provide an evaluation, including that of magical capabilities, it’s standard procedure. I had my men from the 5th Infantry Division give them a once over. The Rangers were capable soldiers but had no magical prowess. Leccamaradel herself was a talented magician, but the only thing she was capable of casting was nullification, none of the other arts. Upon further investigation it seemed that her inability to cast other magic was tied to her genetic coding. Come on Martian work with me, she and her brother aren’t invincible to a bullet to the head, so why should we panic over sending magicians to her brother?”
Unfortunately, there was some merit to what the general said. “You talk too much.”
“I know, that’s why I have this job.”
“So, what do we know of her brother?” Mike asked, cutting into the conversation.
“No-shot that we’ll find him immediately, agent. We can run around the country to find him—though my men are spread too thin already. We can focus on locating the President and his security detail, from what the Vice President said, they weren’t found dead at the crash site, so we have some time and leeway to make our hopes that they are alive true. War is getting close if the Senate continues—as much as I would like to knock the kingdom a new one, we have our own problems to deal with.”
“Fine,” Mike smacked his lips as he walked to the exit of the conference room. Chancellor Xi, Admiral Martian, Director Fahrka, and Yu watched him closely as he stood in the doorway. “We’ll get the bastards. Just contact Commander Osho, we’ll need the OMFS on this one.”
In the blink of an eye the Ranger had left the room.
Publicly Available Information: A Man’s Wish:
President David Harding is a man of many talents. From originally serving in the now disbanded Federation Marines, to becoming the standing leader of the largest nation in the northern hemisphere, David has always lived by his faith and wishes.
His current wish is not for retribution, but for understanding and communication with the Federation’s long-time enemy, the Kingdom of Yondel.