“It pleases me to hear so. Sir, your giant naval exercise, combined with the boarding of T-66 multi-turreted Army tanks into several cargo ships, troubles my senior officers. Of course, I told them not to worry. They then told me that your—” Clark glanced at a paper before continuing “—your ice-mobile formations in East Siberia, in Ambarchik Base, have received massive shipments of winterized aircraft and new air-mobile formations. My military men tell me these units are capable of crossing the polar ice.”
The Chairman nodded as he tugged at his lower lip. “I suspect this is faulty information you’re receiving.”
“You deny—you’re telling me this build-up at Ambarchik Base is not happening?” asked Clark.
“I will have to ask my Minister of the Army to find out the full details of what is going on,” the Chairman said. “If he is practicing a deceitful maneuver without my knowledge, he will face serious consequences. I assure you of this, Mr. President. It is far more likely that your satellites or human intelligence sources saw something quite inconsequential in nature.”
“Mr. Chairman,” said Clark, “if I could cut to the chase, I feel I must ask you this: What could possibly cause China to attack the United States?”
“I am unaware of anything,” said the Chairman, “other than protecting our national sovereignty.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I know that recently our talks in Sydney were stalled due to the unfortunate timing of the assault against our Californian oil rig. Perhaps we could reopen negotiations between our two countries concerning a trade of oil for grain.”
Jian quit breathing. The sniveling President could ruin everything.
“Mr. Chairman?” asked Clark.
“Your words intrigue me,” the Chairman said. “The trade would benefit both our nations. I wonder…. In the interest of trade and to show your good faith, could you immediately ship grain from San Diego?”
“I would need a clarification on what you mean by ‘immediately,’” said Clark.
“Today,” the Chairman said, as he stared at the President.
Clark glanced left to somewhere off-screen. The American President obviously listened to an advisor. Soon, a visibly shaken Clark turned back to the Chairman. “Yes, to show that we mean business, two ships will leave immediately for Hong Kong.”
“This is excellent news, Mr. President. I suspect you’ve heard something about a few rice ‘incidents’ in China’s interior.”
“Indeed I have,” said Clark. “It’s why I’m agreeing to this…ah,
“News of the trade agreement will help us.”
Clark nodded.
“I will speak to my ministers about the renewing of trade talks,” the Chairman said. “I hope to finish this conversation with you tomorrow.”
“It would be my honor, sir. Ah, before we leave—” Clark hesitated, and he nodded, to himself, it seemed. “I would like to ask you for one small favor.”
“If it is in my power,” the Chairman said, “I will gladly give such a man of honor as you a favor.”
Clark looked earnestly out of the computer-scroll. He’d picked up the pen again and clutched it fiercely. “I would like to ask that you call off your naval exercise, immediately bringing the warships back to their Chinese homeports.”
“I see,” the Chairman said. “Hmm. I’ve watched the news about the dastardly attack against your carriers. Fully one third of your naval power destroyed in an instant. That would set any nation on edge.”
“Our Navy is still very powerful,” Clark said. “And it was only a sixth of our carrier force that was, ah, incapacitated.”
“Are you including in your count the small helicopter carriers and your hovercraft tenders?”
Clark breathed deeply through his nose. “About your naval exercise….”
“Mr. President,” the Chairman said, staring straight into Clark’s eyes. “I’m afraid that as much as I’d like to give you the small favor you requested, I cannot simply order the exercise’s cessation. My naval ministers informed me earlier that it would complicate matters for our personnel to receive such an order now. We are in the final phases of a highly sensitive maneuver and dearly wish to make sure there are no unwarranted accidents.”
“But Mr. Chairman—”
“Please, ask your own military people and I’m sure they will tell you I’m right about this.”
Clark licked his lips as his eyes tightened. He looked like a harried man. “Sir, two of our carriers were destroyed by Chinese nationals using Chinese weaponry. I need
The Chairman became grave. “Mr. President, I am reluctant to speak these words to you. You are an honorable man of peace. This I know, and for this, I highly respect you. But I must—warn is too strong a word. It approaches the meaning of what I intend, however. Hmm, let me say it this way. I must
Clark had become pale. “You spoke of the need of grain to help abate your food riots—”
The Chairman laughed, interrupting Clark’s speech. “
Clark seemed confused. “But on the Internet I’ve seen Chinese people storming a police station. That seems like a highly-charged situation, if I may be so bold to say so.”
The Chairman shook his head. “That is what I tried to explain earlier. I am old, so perhaps I failed to impart the correct…hmm, idea. The staged Internet riots are more Taiwanese extremist work. This time, instead of using weaponry, they use a clever fabrication to make it seem as if there is disorder in China. But the situation is quite otherwise, I assure you.”
Clark closed his eyes as he massaged his forehead. When he opened his eyes, he said, “Since you have seen fit to warn me about approaching your warships too closely, I would like to return the favor and inform you of recent developments. I have sent three heavy tank battalions to Alaska and four light infantry battalions. I have also sent new squadrons of fighters, bombers and laser-defenders to the North Slope oilfields. What is more—” Clark grew pale as his eyes reddened. “Mr. Chairman, in the interests of my nation’s security, I must inform you that if any of your naval vessels head toward the American coast, particularly toward Alaska, we will regard that as a prelude to an impending amphibious attack.”
“These are hard words, Mr. President.”
“They give me no joy,” Clark said.
“I will—”
“I’m not finished,” Clark said. “I’m sorry to sound so abrupt, but I feel I must tell you that not all of our ICBMs are nuclear-tipped. My military chiefs tell me that some of our ballistic missiles are ship-killers. You might be interested to know that the use of Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles, ASBMs, against naval vessels was first a Chinese tactical solution to an enemy fleet with too many carriers near its coast. It was a good idea, one we will use if we must.”
“I’m not sure I heard you correctly. Are you threatening me with war?”
“Don’t you understand? I’m trying to stop a war that in the end no one will win.”
The Chairman nodded slowly. “Mr. President, you seem highly agitated. It pains me to say this, but your state of mind troubles me.”
“War is a terrible thing, Mr. Chairman. Yet I will not shrink from my responsibilities as the nation’s Commander-in-Chief.”
“Hmm, I can see that you dearly love your country. And your resolve… it might help my military people to know it so they can understand what they are risking with the continued exercise. Therefore, in the interest of peace between our two nations, I will attempt to order a cessation of our naval exercise. I must ask, however, that you keep your military people from hair-trigger responses. Let us send watch-teams to each other’s installations and sea platforms. That might help dampen the danger.”
