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CHAPTER 9 – COUP D’ÉTAT
10:49 (Shanghai Time)
Tuesday, January 4, 2316
Office of Grand Administrator Li
Federal government complex, Shanghai
China, Earth
Grand Administrator John Li was silent for a long moment as he stared at Grand Admiral Wa, who was standing at attention in front of his desk and had just delivered his mission report as well as Tina Forster’s message. The details of the Terran debacle around Mars had shaken him badly and he tended to agree with Wa, and with Tina Forster, that winning this war was becoming more and more problematic. Already, petrochemical industries around Earth had to cut drastically their production, their reserves of hydrocarbons, all from Spacer worlds, drying out quickly. Soon, other chemical industries would have to cut their production as well, with predictably nasty consequences for the general economy of Earth. Li’s pride however made it hard for him to concede defeat yet. Besides, he may be Grand Administrator but he could not take such a decision alone.
‘’Admiral Wa, the news of the death of so many of our men and women pains me, but we must consider the problem in the perspective of Earth as a whole. I will thus call an emergency meeting of the Grand Council for tomorrow morning at nine, Shanghai Time. Have a detailed presentation ready to show then about the battles around Mars, along with your operational recommendations.’’
‘’Understood, Grand Administrator. I will be ready.’’
‘’Good! One last thing: are you confident that the Spacers will treat our wounded correctly, Admiral?’’
‘’Absolutely, Grand Administrator. Captain Forster struck me as a woman of honor and a humanist, sir.’’
‘’Very well, Admiral. You are dismissed.’’
Wa saluted him before turning around and walking out of Li’s office. Li then sat back in his swivel chair, his mind in turmoil. The public didn’t know yet about the disaster 203
around Mars, thanks to official censorship, but it eventually would through leaks from officials or from returning survivors of the battle fleet. The political reactions then could be very fierce indeed.
08:51 (Shanghai Time)
Wednesday, January 5, 2316
Federation Council’s chambers
Federal government complex, Shanghai
China
Wa didn’t like the atmosphere he found when he entered the conference room to be used by the Federation Council meeting this morning. Many of the ministers and governors looked either unsettled, angry or worried, not good states of mind to take rational decisions. Wearing his parade dress with medals, Wa went to the seat assigned to him around the big table. Thankfully, he was not going to have to sit besides Marshal Reyat Khan, who he was getting to dislike more and more. The man could have been easily called a psychopath, with little or no feelings for others and with an endless thirst for power. He was, in Wa’s mind, too much like the thugs that formed the majority of his ISF troops. This time, he got to sit besides the minister responsible for the customs services, Yoko Hajime, a dignified lady in her late fifties. The room filled quickly in the next minutes, with Grand Administrator Li arriving last with his aides. Li banged his ceremonial gavel on the table as soon as he was sitting.
‘’I declare this meeting of the Federation Council opened. Ladies and gentlemen, we are here this morning to discuss a grave issue: our war with the Spacers League.
Most of you have not heard anything or know much about the results of our last move against the Spacers on Mars, thanks to our censorship. I thus regret to announce to you that our fleet met with disaster, with only five out of 38 ships returning from Mars. Grand Admiral Wa, who was in command of the fleet and had to abandon his crippled flagship, is here to give us the details of the actions around Mars. Admiral Wa…’’
Wa activated the recorded briefing he had prepared as stunned exclamations and remarks ran around the table. Commenting each map or video recording as they passed on the giant plasma display of the conference room, he described the approach of his fleet to Mars, the detection of five incoming enemy battleships, then the running battle with the KOSTROMA. Most participants to the meeting kept quiet all that time, 204
save for a few whispered comments between neighbors. Wa saw Marshal Khan exchange a few such comments with Governor Zembelo, of Africa, and thought that the pair was well assorted indeed. The meeting started to get animated when Wa described how the KOSTROMA had come to help with the wounded and repeated the words from Tina Forster. As Wa expected, Khan was the first to object, by slamming his fist on the table.
‘’To bend in front of these Spacers? NEVER!’’
Wa couldn’t help countering him at once.
‘’They don’t ask us to bend in front of them, Marshal Khan: they ask to be treated on an equal footing with us.’’
‘’That’s ridiculous!’’ Exclaimed Zembelo. ‘’We have twelve times their population and we were the ones who paid for and built their space homes and ships. They have a debt towards Earth and they haven’t paid it yet.’’
Minister Hajime then cut in, to the relief of Wa, who didn’t want to appear to be alone in advocating restraint.
‘’Governor Zembelo, your statement is misleading, to say the least. According to the statistics compiled by my ministry, the Spacers are well in the black when it comes to the balance they owe to Earth and have been so for decades now. Apart from the Mars Terramorphing Project, a huge enterprise beyond the means of Mars itself, all the habitats and ships used by the Spacers are built by the Spacers and out of their own pockets. What mineral or chemical resources we were getting from the Spacers, we got at the same prices that our own mining companies charge us. This popular notion that the Spacers are fleecing Earth is false. To continue a war on false pretences would not only be wrong, it would also be stupid and very costly to us. Half of the men and women of my customs services are now dead, wounded or prisoners of the Spacers. I will not sacrifice the rest to defend a falsehood. Grand Administrator Li, I am of the opinion that we should start peace talks with the Spacers without delay.’’
‘’That question is in fact the main reason for this meeting, Minister Hajime. We have to decide this morning if we continue the war or if we talk peace with the Spacers League. Any more comments for or against either of these courses of action?’’
‘’I say, go for peace talks.’’ Said Anton Sardakian, the minister of commerce.
‘’Despite the shipments of minerals we still get from Terran companies operating in the Main Asteroid Belt, our industries are already starting to grind to a halt. The petrochemical industry in particular is hurting, since our sole sources of hydrocarbons 205
come from Spacer worlds, mainly from Titan, in the Saturn System. Even if we wanted to continue this war, our industries will be unable to sustain it for much longer.’’
‘’I concur with Minister Sardakian.’’ Said the minister of industries, Sergei Titov.
‘’Our refineries are now down to a mere two months of raw hydrocarbon reserves. If they are not replenished soon, then we will see our economy on Earth grind to a quick halt, with massive unemployment and poverty as a result. Simple pride is not worth that kind of price. Besides, the social repercussions of such a crisis would have grave political consequences.’’
Many ministers and governors nodded slowly at those words, while John Li appeared to take them in stride. That was when Reyat Khan showed his cards.
‘’What about feigning to want to talk peace with the Spacers, then using that respite to hit their space worlds hard and invade them?’’
‘’With what ships, Marshal Khan?’’ Replied at once Wa, his face hard. ‘’My navy has only about thirty frigates and transport ships left, and no cruisers or capital ships.
Furthermore, our industries are incapable of building quickly a new battle fleet. And you want us to defeat an enemy that has battleships? Are you crazy?’’
Khan threw him a dark look but held on to his idea.
‘’Maybe with a more energetic leadership your navy would have performed better, Admiral Wa. What I am proposing won’t take a fleet of ship anyway. I would need only to infiltrate a few dozen resolute men on Spacer worlds and then our problems will be mostly solved.’’
John Li looked at Khan with skepticism, frowning.
‘’And what exactly are you proposing, Marshal Khan?’’
‘’What I am proposing is to use lethal chemical agents that will be prepositioned by my infiltrators in the various space habitats of the Spacers, releasing these agents at a predetermined time. This way, Spacer installations will fall intact in our hands and we would then need only to come and occupy them. Our military scientists have rediscovered the chemical formulae for an extremely toxic nerve-impeding lethal agent that was last used over three centuries ago, during the 20th Century. A simple droplet or one sniff of that gas would be enough to kill a person in seconds.’’
Wa was at once on his feet, overcome with indignation and disgust.
‘’You want to murder over 340 million men, women and children while we would pretend to have peace talks with the Spacers? What kind of monster are you?’’
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Many others around the table, including John Li, also looked genuinely shocked by the proposition from Khan.
‘’Marshal Khan,’’ Said frostily John Li, ‘’I may be known to be a politician with a firm hand, but I am not ready to condone such a butchery. Besides, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons have been banned for nearly two hundred years now and I am not about to lift that ban, in view of all the misery these weapons caused in our history. If any of that lethal chemical agent has been produced yet by your scientists, then I want it destroyed right away. Is that clear, Marshal Khan?’’
Hiding his disdain, Khan nodded his head while sitting upright.
‘’Yes, Grand Administrator, very clear.’’
‘’Good! Now, I think that we have seen all the relevant facts in this case. I thus say that we conduct an open vote on the question of continuing the war or suing for peace. Those for war, raise your hand!’’
Only four members of the council, including Khan and Zembelo, raised their right hand then.
‘’All those agreeing to sue for peace, raise your hand!’’
This time, all the other members, including Li, raised their hands, to the satisfaction of Admiral Wa. Li also seemed relieved by the results of the vote, probably grasping at last the consequences of his past policies.
‘’This council thus votes to start peace negotiations with the Spacers League, on terms that will be decided by me in the coming days. Any counter-proposition by the Spacers will then be presented to this council for approval. Admiral Wa, in the meantime you will send a transport ship to Mars, in order to recuperate our wounded presently being cared for by Spacers there.’’
‘’Understood, Grand Administrator. Our ship will depart tomorrow, at the latest.’’
‘’Excellent! If nobody has more to say now, we will then adjourn this meeting…
Nothing? Then this meeting is adjourned!’’
As Wa got up from his chair, Yoko Hajime shook her head, looking upset.
‘’What is it, Madam Minister?’’
‘’That Khan! That anyone would propose so coldly to exterminate 340 million humans is beyond my comprehension.’’
‘’There is unfortunately little to comprehend there, Madam Minister.’’ Replied Wa. ‘’It is called human nature, capable of the best but also of the worst. I agree with 207
you though that a man such as Khan should not hold the kind of power he is presently holding.’’
Looking troubled, Yoko Hajime stared in Wa’s eyes.
‘’Could your Marines fight off Khan’s ISF troopers if we ever have to stop that man?’’
‘’Only for a few hours at the most, Madam Minister. The ISF, even after the Mars debacle, still counts over three million soldiers, soldiers who are more loyal to Khan than to the council. On our part, we have only 2,400 Marines left. Grand Administrator Li should seriously think about removing Khan from power before we come to regret having put him in charge of the ISF.’’
‘’You are right, Admiral. I will try to go speak with Li later in the day.’’
Khan, who was still fuming at the rebuke he had received from Li, was accosted by Horace Zembelo as he walked out of the conference room. The governor of Africa gave him a sympathetic look while walking alongside him.
‘’I must say that Grand Administrator Li’s response to your proposal greatly disappointed me, Marshal. I expected him to be more ready to do what has to be done.’’
Zembelo then lowered his voice to a whisper.
‘’Have you produced yet any of that lethal chemical agent you spoke about?’’
Khan looked at him for a moment before deciding that Zembelo could be an ally he could count on.
‘’Enough to have tested it on live specimens. My technicians are presently busy building a secret production line for that agent. Why do you ask, Governor Zembelo?’’
‘’Because now could well be the time to have executive power transferred into hands that are ready to take whatever decisions need to be taken for the sake of Earth.
Li has just proven that he is unfit for his office. Unfortunately, the majority of the council is behind him, thus democratic measures won’t do anymore.’’
Khan stopped in the middle of the hallway, then signaled Zembelo to go with him inside a deserted side corridor before speaking to him in a low voice.
‘’What do you have exactly in mind, Governor?’’
‘’An alliance between me and you. You have the military power to chase Li and his minions from his post, and I am ready to take all the measures necessary to defeat those damn Spacers…once in power.’’
A mean smile came to Khan’s face as he presented his right hand to Zembelo.
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‘’Governor, I believe that we are meant to understand each other. Let’s go to my office, to discuss further in private about your, uh, ideas.’’
17:28 (Shanghai Time)
Grand Admiral Wa’s residence
Navy compound, Shanghai Spaceport
Ming Wa smiled with genuine pleasure when he opened his front door to greet his older son Ling and his daughter-in-law Zang.
‘’Please, come in: it is quite cold outside.’’
‘’Thanks, Dad!’’ Said Ling Wa, wearing a civilian suit instead of his uniform of captain of a TCN transport ship. He let his wife go in first, then stepped in and took off his winter coat, which his father suspended inside the vestibule’s closet, alongside Zang’s coat. The trio then walked into the large lounge of the house, comfortably furnished as one would expect of a grand admiral’s residence.
‘’So, Dad, what do I owe your invitation to supper to?’’
‘’Come on, Son! Can’t a father invite his own son without a hidden motive?
Would you and Zang like something to drink?’’
‘’A white wine would do, if you have some.’’
‘’Same for me.’’ Added Zang, a beautiful woman in her late twenties.
‘’White wine it will be. I believe that I still have a bottle of that German sweet wine you like so much. I won’t be long.’’
Ming disappeared in his kitchen for a couple of minutes, to return with two cups full of chilled white wine for his guests. He then served himself a scotch on the rocks and sat in his favorite easy chair.
‘’So, Zang, I hope that you don’t resent me too much for sending your husband on a three week space trip?’’
The young woman shrugged with a resigned expression.
‘’I knew that I was marrying a Navy officer, so I can’t say that I was not forewarned about all those separations, Mister Wa. At least, that mission is going to be a humanitarian one, which makes it most worthwhile.’’
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‘’True!’’ Said her husband, sitting besides her. ‘’When I joined the Navy, I never expected that we would be one day involved in a space war. Uh, you told me yesterday that you were able to visit that Spacer battleship, the KOSTROMA, Dad. How was it?’’
‘’Full of surprises and wonders, I must say. Its owner and captain had it extensively refitted a few months ago and spent quite a few extra million credits to make it an even more livable ship than it was before.’’
Ming then spent a good ten minutes describing what he had seen on the KOSTROMA, where Tina Forster had given him a limited tour of her ship. The description of the forest ecosystems and of the giant aquariums on the KOSTROMA made wonderment appear on Zang’s face.
‘’Oh, my! I would love to see that one day.’’
‘’Well, the KOSTROMA is a mixed cargo-passenger ship. Once peace is back, maybe you will be able to travel aboard it. You certainly will be impressed if you do.’’
‘’But are we going to see peace return soon, Dad?’’
Ming stared somberly at his son, debating what to tell him in front of his wife.
‘’I believe that, following the events around Mars, Grand Administrator Li now has little choice but to sue for peace. I certainly advised him to do so today, at a meeting of the Federation Council.’’
‘’Hopefully, common sense will prevail.’’ Said Ling philosophically. That decided Ming, who then got up from his easy chair and smiled to Zang.
‘’Do you mind if I kidnap Ling for a minute or two? I have some classified instructions to give him for his mission tomorrow.’’
‘’Do I really have a say about that, Mister Wa?’’
‘’Nope, but I won’t be long, I promise.’’ Answered Ming, grinning, before guiding his son towards the staircase leading to the upper floor. To Ling’s surprise, his father didn’t lead him to his private study, instead pushing him inside a walk-in closet and closing the door behind him, then switching on the small light fixture of the closet.
‘’But…why are we here, Dad?’’
‘’Because I am not sure that my study is not bugged, Son. What I have to say has to stay strictly between you, me and the captain of the KOSTROMA.’’
Ling looked at his father with shock.
‘’The captain of the KOSTROMA? You’re not…’’
‘’No, I am not a secret agent of the Spacers, Son. It is just that I heard something truly monstrous this morning at the council meeting. While Grand 210
Administrator Li killed that idea, to his personal credit, I am not sure that the moron who proposed that idea will not pursue it without the authorization of Li. I want you to pass a secret letter from me to Captain Forster of the KOSTROMA, to warn her of that scheme in case some bastard decide to bypass Li’s directives.’’
Ming then repeated to his son the words of Marshal Khan, leaving Ling utterly horrified.
‘’How could anyone sane propose to kill 340 million people? That man should be arrested, or at the least fired from his position.’’
‘’That could happen soon, with some luck. So, Son, will you be ready to pass that letter in secret to Captain Forster?’’
His mind in turmoil, Ling could not however deny the disgust he had felt instantly on hearing of Khan’s proposal. He thus finally nodded his head and spoke weakly.
‘’Yes, I will, Dad.’’
‘’Another thing, Son: while you are in space, heading for Mars, make sure that your lovely wife and kids do not stay in Shanghai, or in any location known by the ISF. I wouldn’t put anything above that Khan and his allies in the council. Khan hates my guts enough already. If he learns somehow about my secret letter, then he could very well do something very stupid.’’
‘’You think that he could come after your family?’’
‘’Son, remember what happened to the wife of Governor Watts on Mars. Khan is capable of anything, so let’s not take any chances with him. How loyal to you are your ship’s crewmembers?’’
‘’Loyal enough. None of them are actually hot for the present war, I have to say.’’
‘’A good point, actually. If you want some close protection for your family while they are out of Shanghai, I can provide them the services of a few Marines utterly loyal to me.’’
Thoroughly shaken by all this, Ling nodded again.
‘’I think that I will take you on your offer, Dad.’’
02:03 (Shanghai Time)
Sunday, January 9, 2316
Grand Administrator’s residence
Shanghai, China
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John Li was abruptly awakened in bed when a loud pistol detonation resonated inside his house, coming from the ground floor. His wife was also awakened and grabbed his right arm, understandably scared.
‘’What could this be, John?’’
‘’Maybe one of our bodyguards discharged his pistol accidentally.’’ Said Li, not believing that himself and feeling worried. ‘’I am…’’
Two more pistol shots, along with cries of alarms, then cut him off.
‘’THE ISF! THEY…’’
What sounded like a silencer-equipped rifle then let out a burst, which John Li barely heard. Now feeling dread, he threw away his bed sheets and jumped out of bed, grabbing the pistol he always kept in his bedside table. He barely had time to face the door of his bedroom before someone kicked it open, sending wood splinters flying. John Li shot immediately at the dark shape that then jumped inside the bedroom with a pointed rifle, firing four times and hitting squarely the newcomer. The intruder grunted in pain under the impacts and collapsed, only to reveal a second dark shape behind him.
John Li did not have time to fire again before a burst of automatic fire cut him down. His assailant then turned his rifle on Li’s screaming wife, mercilessly killing her with one burst.
At the Navy compound, the ISF troopers sent to kill Grand Admiral Wa didn’t have as easy a job as at Li’s residence. TCN Marines, put discreetly on alert by Wa, were posted in strength around the compound and Wa’s residence and opposed a determined resistance to the ISF troopers trying to infiltrate their perimeter. The fight quickly turned into a full-scale battle of a rare ferocity, with no quarters given on both sides. The infiltrators soon had to call in some heavy support, with a column of armored cars then showing up at the two main gates of the compound. The Marines responded by scrambling off four heavily armed assault shuttles, while the alert was sent by radio to all the TCN garrisons and ships that a coup by the ISF was in progress. With its armored cars quickly decimated by the assault shuttles, the ISF replied by sending its own assault shuttles and more ground troops, turning the battle into an epic confrontation that transformed the Navy compound into a field of ruins within an hour.
Many Navy and Marine personnel were able to escape the compound and disappear into the night before the ISF managed finally to take it at the cost of over 500 troopers killed or wounded.
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At the spaceport itself, one of the two frigates parked on the tarmac managed to take off before assaulting ISF troopers could board it, then quickly climbed to a low Earth orbit while transmitting more alert messages on the radio. It unfortunately then became a target for one of the big armored orbital fortresses manned by the ISF around Earth.
Hit repeatedly by powerful laser beams from the fortress, the unlucky frigate was quickly cut to shreds and reentered the planet’s atmosphere, out of control. The 240 meter-long ship broke up during its fiery descent, to finally crash in the Pacific Ocean, causing a small tsunami that thankfully didn’t cause more than minor damage on the nearby coasts.
Shanghai was far from being the only location to see ISF assault teams assassinate elected officials allied to John Li or to liberal members of the Federal Council. The ISF forces were generally successful in taking control, especially in regions where they had major bases, most of which were around Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Sub-continent and the Pacific area. It however hit stubborn resistance from TCN bases and local police forces where the ISF always had been weak. In particular, the northern regions of North America, Scandinavia and Russia, plus Australia, were able to repulse the ISF attacks on its local officials, albeit at a high human cost because of the habit of the ISF to use its firepower indiscriminately. Thus, Khan’s plan to grab power militarily all over the planet succeeded only partially, allowing him and Horace Zembelo to claim control of Earth after the first day of fighting. In reality, they managed mostly to undo the one major advancement of Humanity in its long history: its political unity, gained a century ago after its last war. By the morning of January 10, 2316, the Earth was separated into opposing factions again…and at war on both its surface and in space.
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CHAPTER 10 – NORTH AGAINST SOUTH
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