The Rise of the Speaker

by Pete Driscoll

  “Can the European army hold them?” I asked hopefully.

  “We don’t know.” Charlotte answered with a sigh, “But we doubt it. Europe has a very large army – at least compared to what it was a decade ago – but it isn’t in the same league as what the Russians can field. It is significantly more technologically advanced than the Russians as well but that means it is also more expensive and more difficult to maintain and replace, training new soldiers to operate the new equipment is not a quick process so replacing casualties will be an issue. Russian equipment is very simple by comparison but extremely effective and they have the manpower and resources to build and deploy huge numbers of reinforcements in the same time it would take us to be able to replace even small loses. We would give them a damned good fight, but eventually, the European army would be overrun… at least that is the general consensus.”

  “I have studied the schematics of the latest European weapon systems,” Alice added, “You are right, they would inflict considerable loses on the comparable Russian units…”

  “Why am I not surprised that you managed to access those classified files?” Charlotte asked, a new small grin pulling at her lips.

  “… but…” Alice continued with a demure smile of her own, “the Russian units are not exactly years behind in terms of technology. I would agree with your people’s assessment; the European army could hold for a while, a few weeks maybe, but the weight of Russian numbers would inevitably overwhelm them and they would be destroyed, using nuclear weapons would be the only option but Russia would retaliate in kind. Loss of life would be…”

  “Enormous.” Charlotte finished.

  “So, how do these weapon systems compare to the Spartans?” I asked Alice, “if we are being asked to provide an effective defence for Europe, it is worth knowing if the Atlantian forces are even up to the job.”

  “No comparison,” Alice answered plainly, “Using the African conflict as a measure of their effectiveness is not a good idea; Nassan and his army didn’t have access to armour, air power or anything more than basic weaponry. A better comparison would be to look at the engagement at the cabin, we dealt with all three of the missing components there and the US military is significantly more advanced than either the Russians or the Europeans – no offence…” Alice nodded to the princess.

  “None taken, please continue.” Charlotte smiled back.

  “the Spartans proved themselves to be very effective in that engagement despite being outnumbered almost 40 to 1,” Alice continued, “and we have upgraded our forces substantially since then; the mechs and the air force are formidable weapons and we have already agreed to accelerate work on our Naval forces as part of our deal with Australia. Even the most advanced Russian and American units can be considered obsolete by comparison.”

  “What about numbers?” Charlotte asked. “The Russians are assuming a total force of 150,000. Is that accurate? Because if it is, we might have a problem.”

  Alice snorted a laugh. “I don’t think it is a good idea for us to divulge our full military compliment to a foreign power with no formal alliance – at least for the time being…” Charlotte smiled and nodded, “…but it is safe to say that the Russian’s are woefully mis-informed, we could easily spare three or four times that number and still have more than enough for Atlantia’s defence.”

  Charlotte’s eyes widened. “wow… yeah, that would work.”

  “But what about the timing element?” I asked the Princess, “Krustov is right; any kind of formal alliance will take weeks, maybe months to come into effect and I’m assuming joining NATO will take even longer... If we were to agree, that is. If they are intent on starting a war in the meantime…”

  “Yes, a formal alliance would take time.” Charlotte agreed with a wry smile “But an informal one could be arranged in this room... today. All we have to do at the next assembly is make the announcement that Europe and Atlantia are entering into a formal alliance and Spartan forces will be joining the European army on exercises in a few days. Hopefully that will be enough to spook the Russians and make them call the whole thing off; if Russia calls off their European campaign, America will have no reason to attack Atlantia and the whole war can be averted before a single shot is fired. As long as you are willing to follow through with that commitment and deploy Spartans with the European army, it wouldn’t matter if the alliance is formalized or not.”

  I thought for a moment, leaning back into my chair and resting my chin on my fist. Charlotte was right; in theory, simply making this announcement should be enough to stave off war, perhaps another world war. But Atlantia would then be committed to the defence of Europe indefinitely even if Russia and the US didn’t attack, that would mean an expensive and prolonged deployment of military assets in a foreign country whose citizens may not even want us there. The media was already full of reports about protests and riots against American bases in other nations, and US foreign policy had devolved over the years to basically using those bases – and the security they provided - to browbeat the respective host nations into doing American bidding. Would we just be replacing one army – and one tyrant - with another?

  “What if the Russian’s don’t attack?” I asked eventually, unable to formulate an answer of my own, “What if the plan works and the invasion is called off? What happens to the Alliance then? Will we be asked to maintain permanent garrisons in some of the Eastern European countries? That is a huge commitment and I hate to be callous, but once war is averted, I don’t see any long-term benefits in that arrangement for Atlantia or her people.”

  Charlotte’s smile was infectious, it was like she was proud of the fact that I had even thought to ask that question. I – on the other hand – was terrified that I had just insulted the representative of the only group of major powers willing to talk friendship so far. “For someone who didn’t want to get into politics, you seem to be an incredibly astute politician. Do you know how the US became a superpower?”

  “Because we… I mean they were the only country with nuclear weapons after the second world war.” I answered, confident with my high school education but a bit disconcerted with my conditioned self-identification as an American.

  “No.” Charlotte said plainly. “You see, Americans are taught in school that they won the war almost single handed. Although it is unlikely that Britain and Russia could have won the war without the US, it is a certainty that America couldn’t have won it without the rest of the Allies. American children are told that the dropping of the Atomic bomb is what forced Japan into surrender, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s a lie. Think about it; Tokyo was levelled by firebombs months before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, so were dozens of other cities and the civilian casualties and loss of military infrastructure in the capital was a much bigger blow to the Japanese than losing Hiroshima. What did it matter to the Japanese if a city was destroyed by a thousand planes in one raid or by one plane and one bomb? Losing a city was the same regardless of how it happened, it makes even less sense if you factor in Nagasaki. Do you think they watched the mushroom cloud dissipate over Hiroshima and said to themselves ‘well, let’s see if they do that again, if they do, we’ll surrender’? Japan surrendered because Russia invaded Manchuria, there was no way they could defend against a Russian invasion in the West and American landings in the East and they knew it. They also knew that they would get much better terms of surrender from the US… that’s what ended the war, it had nothing to do with nuclear weapons.”

  “So why did America become a superpower then?”

  “Because they were the only country still capable of launching large scale military operations after the war ended. Europe was a smoking pile of rubble; its infrastructure was gone and almost every nation – Britain included – was bankrupt. European colonial territories quickly gained their independence and European military power was not even close to what it was in 1939. Russia had suffered enormous casualties, something
like 100 million lost in their armed forces and triple that in civilian casualties, their infrastructure west of the Volga was in ruins as well and they had vast swathes of new territory to consolidate. America, who had been virtually untouched by the war, was the only military power who could still mobilize and deploy a substantial force when the guns had fallen silent.

  “Their economy was still strong, meaning that any country needing financial resources to rebuild had to go to the US and any nation needing security had no one else to ask for help. The US happily lent out that kind of assistance, providing the recipient supported American policies. America became a superpower overnight, The Soviet Union only managed to become a superpower themselves when their economy and infrastructure had been repaired to the point they could keep up with the US and had enough of their own client states that wanted soviet help, it just so happened that the first thing they did was develop an atomic bomb of their own, reinforcing the misconception that being a superpower has something to do with nuclear capabilities.”

  “So, where does Atlantia come into this?”

  “If Atlantian forces are deployed in Europe, and their presence alone is what stopped the Russians from invading – a fact that would unlikely ever become public knowledge but would certainly be known by every diplomat and government in the world – and if America backed off for the same reason, they would have both conceded the fact that Atlantia is the superior military force making you the only real superpower on the planet.”

  “I have no real interest in Atlantia becoming a superpower.” I interrupted cautiously. “Power for its own sake is – in my opinion - one of the main things that corrupted the politics of the old-world countries.”

  “Power is its own sake.” Charlotte replied with another grin. “Real power isn’t measured by your ability to use force. It is your ability to influence international politics without needing force. Twenty years ago, America would have demanded an embargo on your country and not a single nation would have hesitated to enforce it, we wouldn’t even have had this meeting. It would have been inconceivable to defy such a powerful and important ally. Look at them now; their demands are flatly ignored if the alternative is better because their value as an ally has been eroded by their actions.

  “Now look at you. You said in your speech that there were countries out there who violate human rights and that you found that unacceptable. From a small island, that means nothing, but from a superpower… most countries would change their national policies in a heartbeat if it meant they could continue trading with you, let alone risk your use of force to ensure compliance. You would be in a position to influence the very national politics that caused you to create Atlantia in the first place. Atlantia is a spectacular, beautiful and noble nation and an even greater ideal, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if there was no need for Atlantia to exist in the first place?... if everywhere was an Atlantia?”

  “I hope you don’t take offence if I say that you sound like a used car salesman.”

  “the sign of a good diplomat” Charlotte laughed, the dance of her voice bringing a smile to my own lips.

  “I’m not convinced about Atlantia becoming a superpower.” I conceded after the Princess’s laughter had died down. “I’m not even sure that is what will happen, part of me thinks that the Spartans will end up becoming some kind of international police force bending other nations to my will. That isn’t what I want, that is what was wrong with the way things were done before…” Charlotte shifted uncomfortably in her seat as it started to sound like I was about to refuse her request, “…but… I will agree to an alliance between Europe and Atlantia and deploy troops as needed for at least as long as the Russian and US threats persist, if that threat ever dies down, we will discuss removal of Spartan forces from any and all sovereign countries who don’t want them there. But I don’t see why this alliance can’t be a long lasting one that leads to a closer friendship between Europe and Atlantia.”

  “You’re a natural at diplomacy, Mr Speaker.” Charlotte smiled with a slight bow of her head. I cocked an eyebrow at her use of my title, “Oh right, I forgot… Marcus.”

  “So, what happens now?” I asked with a smile, “I may be a natural at diplomacy, but this is still my first time.”

  Charlotte laughed again before answering my query. “Before the vote, you will go before the assembly again. It gives the delegates one last opportunity to ask you questions – albeit in full public view – and to hear your answers. Then you make another small speech where you would probably make one last appeal for votes, or – more relevant to our discussion – publicly announce any new partnerships and alliances that Atlantia has forged. If, in that speech, you include your commitment to a military pact with Europe you will immediately gain the votes of all 56 nations that I represent.”

  I nodded calmly, my mind – on the other hand – was a whirlwind of activity as it frantically tried to check, and then re-check the maths. 77 nations had already committed to supporting us, the 56 represented by Charlotte brought the total up to 133; five more than the 128 needed to push us over the finish line. Providing nothing went catastrophically wrong, Atlantia would be formally recognized as a legitimate sovereign nation.

  My eyes flashed over to Alice who was making no attempt whatsoever to conceal her smile and then back to Charlotte. “that’s right,” The Princess smiled, obviously aware of what her support would mean for us. “the European nations should give you the numbers to win your vote. Congratulations.”

  “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, don’t say thank you, believe me when I say that it is us who should be thanking you. With your support, we might have a fighting chance of avoiding war and a much better chance of surviving one if the worst does happen. I will quietly let it be known to our trading partners and other friendly states that we are voting in your favour, that might pull a few more votes your way, but I think you can be quite confident of a good result when the votes are counted.”

  “Why do I get the feeling that I owe you a lot more than you are letting on?” I asked as the excitement coursed through my veins

  “Because you are as clever as you are cute,” She smiled. “Maybe you can repay me with an invitation for a formal visit someday. I’d love to get to know our new ally a little better and to see your country; I get the impression that the pictures don’t do it justice.”

  “They certainly don’t.” Alice answered, the first time she had spoken in quite some time.

  “and you would be welcome anytime.” I smiled, not catching on to the flirtatious undertones of her request until a few hours later.

  “Well, in that case, I think we can call this meeting to an end. I will let our friends know the outcome and pass around a few subtle words of encouragement to our other partners…” she stood from her chair and I rose to my feet with her, “… and I will see you soon.” Another smile and wink, we shook hands – her holding onto mine longer than necessary, another fact I completely failed to notice – before she turned to Alice. “It was a great pleasure to meet you, Alice.” She smiled at the beaming red head before nodding towards me “and keep up the good work with this one.”

  “He’ll be ready before you know it.” Alice laughed.

  “What?” I asked in confusion, suddenly aware of the joke I apparently wasn’t part of.

  “…hopefully.” Alice added as both women openly laughed at the expression on my face.

  With another soul devouring smile, Charlotte turned and sauntered out of the office. As soon as the door closed behind her, I let out a huge sigh of relief and flopped back into my chair. Alice was a little more vocal in her excitement, jumping up and down, clapping her hands and almost screeching in glee. “I can’t believe you did it!” she exclaimed. “That gets us all the votes we need, and we still have a day and a half of meetings to go!”

  “we…” I corrected, “we did it.”

  “I liked her,” Alice gestured at the door after a sh
ort pause and as her smiling acceptance of her inclusion faded, “she was nice.”

  “she was.” I agreed absently as I prepared to make my way up to the apartments for the night.

  “She seemed to like you too.” Alice added, watching me out of the corner of her eye, a wry grin that would have made Charlotte proud painted onto her face.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, picking up my jacket and making for the door, my two spartan bodyguards moving into flanking positions beside me.

  “Never mind.” Alice rolled her eyes with a giggle and followed me out of the office.

  At 2:45 in the morning, my eyes shot open. “You don’t think she ‘likes me’ likes me, do you?” I called across the room in sudden realisation to Alice who was still diligently working at her desk in the far corner.

  She glanced up at me with a smirk, looked down at her wrist as if checking the time on her non-existent watch. “just under 4 hours… you’re getting better.” She laughed and returned her focus to her work as I slumped back down into the pillow. “another few years and we might just get you there.”

  Chapter 35

  The Statesman

  Two days. The flurry of activity that had filled that time had reduced the previous 48 hours to a blur. As soon as word had gotten out that Atlantia’s assent to nationhood was all but assured, the smaller neutral countries had been queueing up to ingratiate themselves to the world’s newest political leader. They may have all remained ‘undecided’ when it came to how they should vote – not wanting to offend any of the other established world powers – but once the outcome became a foregone conclusion, none of them were willing to isolate themselves from a country with advanced technology, a developed economy and a desire for international trading partnerships.

  India, Canada, several of the South American countries and a few from the far east, Chinese influenced regions were – literally, at some points – lining up outside my office door.