not be the ideal general as envisaged by the profession of arms. In fact, most competent generals regarded him as a semi-trained butcher rather than a military officer. That being said, he had enough military knowledge to recognize a disaster as it unfolded around his ears. Almost superstitiously he touched his ears as the thought occurred to him. He didn’t want them decorating the Thai general’s key chain.
Gabriel looked disparagingly at the human. “You were keen enough to launch the attack when it was suggested. No hesitation at all as far as I can remember. And you were pleased enough when it looked like you were winning.” And you were very quick to follow Michael’s suggestion. Now, Kim Jong-Il, he’s being much more cautious.
“Michael told us that all the Thai troops were in Hell and that the border was weakly-guarded.” Than Shwe looked at the map on the wall. In some ways, his lack of conventional military experience was a minor assistance in trying to understand what was happening to his country. A trained, competent staff officer would have expected to see a situation chart that looked like a tide flowing over the border, reaching into the Myanmar heartland, fingers advancing where resistance was weakest, being held back where the defenses were holding out. The problem was, the rules had been changed out of all recognition. Instead of a tide, the map was covered with spots, apparently isolated but in fact connected by links that led back to Hell. Each spot would appear and then spread outwards until it joined up with the others. Conventional defenses were pointless. Set up a defense around one area and the spots would appear all around it, isolating it and leaving it to wither. Looking at the map, Than Shwe guessed that it would not be long before those spots started to appear around Naypyidaw.
“And it was. Your troops advanced far in the first few days.”
“Against border guards. If that was all, we would still be there. But the Thai had regular forces and deployed them quickly.”
Actually, it appears they brought them in from Hell. Which means that the human commander must have realized that Heaven’s fingers were behind this whole affair. With shock, Gabriel realized that Michael-Lan had been out-thought on this one. The whole idea of these human wars was to force human countries to bring back their armies and split up their alliance. Instead, the human had recognized the gambit and used elements of his army to destroy this invasion. In doing so he had convinced all the governments whose troops formed part of the human army in Hell that if they faced trouble, they wouldn’t just have their own army to protect them, they’d have everybodies. So the human alliance was stronger, not weaker. Damn the humans. They were good at this.
“What would you have Michael do?” The question was asked gently.
“Support us. Send us aid, troops, equipment. We are loyal to Michael, it is time for him to be loyal to us.”
“We cannot, will not, fight a human army head-on. Not yet. They must be weakened first. You must do the best you can.” Stupid people. Believing your loyalty to the Angelic Host is enough to win our loyalty to you. Our loyalty is to ourselves, you do not merit it. You are servants for us, nothing more. Gabriel swept his wings forward and strode from the room. He had to make a trip to Korea and find out just why Kim Jong-Il wasn’t moving.”
Suwon Palace, North Korea
“Four months! You’ve been moving troops around for four months! Just when are you going to move south.” Gabriel-Lan hammered his fist on to the table.
Kim Jong-Un didn’t even blink. “And what do you know about mechanized warfare? How many armored units have you commanded in the field?” Gabriel jerked back slightly, not expecting the response. He opened his mouth to reply but the Korean cut him off. “That’s right, none. So how dare you tell us what we need to do and when we should move.”
“But…”
“But me no buts. We have 15 armored divisions and the same number of mechanized units to move to assault positions, almost fifty infantry divisions to do the same with. Three and a half thousand tanks, same number of infantry combat vehicles, seventeen and a half thousand guns to move. Do you think any of that is easy? Each of those units has to have a supply line. Do you know how many tons of supplies a tank division needs per day? Or a mechanized division? Or an artillery division? Those supply lines can’t cross because if they do, the traffic jams will ensure nobody gets any supplies. Amateurs talk tactics Gabriel, professionals talk logistics. Launching an assault of this size takes months of preparation. We’re professionals, keep out of our way and leave us to do our work.”
Gabriel’s jaw was dropping with the sheer impertinence of the human who was lecturing him. “I have seen your movements. They have no objective. This unit here.” He tapped the symbol for an armored division. “Moved east three weeks ago and then moved back last week. To the same place it originally occupied.”
“Of course it did. We had to move it to clear a supply line to the division here.” Kim put his finger on the map. “And to do that, we had to put that division, the 324th Tank, somewhere where it could be supported while the line was established. And then when that was done we moved it back. I’ll say this again, Gabriel, and you can tell your master the same. We’re the experts at handling armies, don’t tell us how to do our job and we won’t tell you how to play harps and sing praises. Or perhaps your Michael would prefer to see those three and a half thousand tanks and seventeen thousand guns joining the Human Expeditionary Army. Now, I have work to do. You are dismissed.”
Gabriel nearly passed out with shock and by the time he had recovered, Kim had stomped out of the room. The archangel had nothing left to do but leave quietly.
In the next room, Kim Jong-il laughed weakly and wiped his eyes. “I did well choosing you my son. To send that angel running away with his tail between his legs, that was a sight to cheer my old age. ‘You are dismissed.’ I’ll bet he has never been told that by a human before. Now, what are we doing.”
“The angel put his finger on it father. We are just shuffling units around, moving them backwards and forwards. Using activity as a substitute for achievement. We could launch the great attack tomorrow, if we were as foolish as those idiots in Myanmar. We won’t of course. Instead, I think we should join the Human Expeditionary Army.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons. One is that if we do otherwise, we will become a meaningless footnote to history. Myanmar has shown that Hell gives the HEA a commanding position on Earth. They can strike anywhere they can open a portal and they can open portals anywhere. They are the dominant force on Earth now, whether they realize that or not. And secondly, father, so sorry but you have not got many weeks left. When you die, you will go to Hell. Your status there as the donor of our Army for the greater good will be much greater than that of the man who kept our Army out.”
“You are wise beyond your years. We will do as you say.”
HQ, Third Corps, Third Army, Fourth Army Group, Human Expeditionary Army
General Asanee put down the speaker and glanced around the headquarters unit. It had direct video-links with both the headquarters of Fourth Army Group and the HEA command itself. The former was barely used, it was almost irrelevant in this sideshow. She used it to keep General Thimayya informed on what a part of his Army Group was doing. To all intents and purposes, she had an independent command here on Earth, answerable only to General Petraeus. That was a command link she used much more often. The link was open now, and ready for her to use.
“General, Sir. It’s my great pleasure to advise you that our troops are securing Yangon. No significant resistance except for the local population taking overdue vengeance on the white-shirts. I anticipate a hold of 36 hours while we regroup and get ready to push north. Oh, one of our recon teams has rescued Aung San Suu Kyi, there was some fear that the junta may have her killed so we pre-empted it. She’s in our hands now, receiving medical treatment.”
“Very good General. Aung San Suu Kyi will make a good candidate for a new leader. Carry on with your preparations for moving north but do not launch the attack. Not yet anyway. We’ve had word from Than Shwe that they wish to discuss a ceasefire and are asking for terms.”
“What do they offer Sir?”
“Their primary demand seems to be that you don’t take Naypyidaw. Than Shwe seems to believe you want his ears. They also want a refuge in a third country, enough money to live in luxury, usual things for deposed dictators. In exchange, they’re offering full information on their relationships with Heaven and their trade with various Heavenly figures. We’re hoping what they tell us will help crack open a way into Heaven.”
“Very good Sir. I’ll instruct our units to regroup and get ready to move but await further orders before doing anything other than defend themselves.”
Interrogation Room, DIMO(N) Field Facility, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
How had they missed her? Agent-In-Charge Sith was both relieved that the leak, or at least one of them, inside
