by Bob Blanton
“This is preposterous!”
“We think your invasion of a sovereign country is preposterous, as well as your illegal annexation of Crimea. I suggest you call your president. Good day,” Ambassador Hannaford said as she turned and stalked out of the room.
Five minutes after Ambassador Hannaford left the Russian Embassy, an Oryx flying at Mach 15 at two hundred fifty kilometers shot a ten-kilogram iron slug. It took less than fifteen seconds for the slug to impact the main runway of Primorsko-Akhtarsk airbase. The Russian government did not issue an evacuation order, but the devastating strike of the first shell, plus the drone that flew overhead broadcasting that the entire base would be obliterated when the countdown it was announcing expired, was enough to cause the necessary evacuation.
Two hours later, the same Oryx fired the one-hundred-kilogram shell. It detonated at ten thousand meters, fragmenting the shell so that it blanketed a thirty-kilometer radius around its ground zero. Every facility on the base was leveled. Most of the aircraft were destroyed since two hours wasn’t enough time to get all the planes into the air.
February 12th – 0900 CKT
“Any change in the Russian position?” Marc asked.
“They’ve denounced the bombing as a war crime to the U.N.,” Samantha said. “They’re claiming thousands of civilian casualties.”
“And our response?”
“Margaret played them the recording she made of her meeting with the Russian Ambassador, then she played a recording showing the first impact and the subsequent broadcasting of the message to evacuate, and then she showed them video of the base being evacuated,” Samantha said.
“What was the Russian response?”
“They claimed that all the video was fake. However, except for the video of the ambassador, it was all verified from alternate sources.”
“What about their ground forces?” Marc asked.
“They are continuing their assault,” Kal said.
“Then you have your next target. Let’s set the time at twelve hundred hours EET,” Marc said.
“Yes, sir,” Kal replied, shaking his head.
Blake grabbed Samantha at the end of the meeting, “How’s he doing?”
“Better now that he’s made his decision,” Samantha said.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Blake said.
“Just be there for him; and try to get him to lay off the scotch.”
“You do realize how big a sacrifice that will be,” Blake joked.
“You can do it. It should only be a few more days,” Samantha said.
February 13th – 1200 EET – Target 2
The first shell hit the parking lot of the headquarters of the 2nd Army Corps HQ in Luhansk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine, the territory of Ukraine that Russian had been occupying for the last few years. The streets were immediately jammed with cars fleeing the target zone. The traffic jam made it impossible for the Russians to move any of the tanks, artillery, or armored vehicles at the base.
Two hours later, the second shell hit, obliterating the tanks and artillery that were being staged there for deployment to the front. It also eliminated much of the weapons stockpile that the Russians had been using to arm their separatist allies.
February 13th – 0900 CKT : 2100 EET
“Any response from the Russians?” Marc asked as he walked into the daily briefing on the situation in Ukraine.
“They’ve contacted the Ukrainians to discuss a possible ceasefire,” Samantha reported.
“Okay, next target. Let’s set the time for eight hundred thirty hours,” Marc said as he stood up and left the room.
“Yes, sir,” Kal replied.
February 14th – 0830 EET – Target 3
The first shell hit the main parade field of the 1141st Artillery Regiment headquarters in Anapa, Krasnodar Krai, Russia at 0830. The city was located on the coast of the Black Sea, just southeast of the Crimean Peninsula. Two hours later, the second shell obliterated the fort and surrounding facilities.
February 14th – 2100 CKT
“What’s the status at the front?” Marc asked.
“The Russians have started removing some of their units, pulling them back into Russia. They’re still suggesting a ceasefire,” Samantha said.
“Let’s step up to two targets each day,” Marc said. “Nine hundred hours and fourteen hundred hours. Maybe that will get their attention.”
February 15th – 0900 EET – Target 4
The first target of the day was the 49th Army Headquarters in Stavropol, Stavropol Krai, Russia. Just five hundred kilometers from Crimea.
February 15th – 1400 EET – Target 5
The second target was 8th Army Headquarters Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, Russia. It was one of Russia’s newest facilities in the region, located on the eastern end of the Azov Sea.
February 15th – 2100 CKT
“Russia has declared a unilateral ceasefire,” Samantha said as the briefing started.
“That’s nice,” Marc said. “Let them know that removing their forces from Ukraine, including Crimea, would be a better signal. Have Margaret ask their ambassador if he has any contact information for the Chechens.”
“Oh, you do like to play hardball.”
February 16th – 1000 EET – Target 6
The first target of the day was the 1st Army Corps Headquarters in Donetsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, also part of the Ukrainian territory Russia had been occupying for the last few years.
February 16th – 1500 EET – Target 7
And the second target was the 58th Army Headquarters in Vladikavkaz, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It was located in the Caucasus mountains next to the Nation of Georgia.
February 16th – 2100 CKT
“Russia has agreed to cede Crimea back to Ukraine,” Samantha said. “They are asking for docking rights for their naval fleet. Also, the Kuban Independence League has declared independence.”
“Have Margaret recognize the Kuban republic at the U.N.,” Marc said. “Next two targets.”
February 17th – 1020 EET – Target 8
The first target of the day was 136th Mechanized Brigade headquarters in Buynaksk, Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It was close to Russia’s southern border with Ukraine
February 17th – 1600 EET – Target 9
The second target was the 205th Mechanized Brigade in Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia, located north of the Caucasus mountains.
February 17th – 2100 CKT
“What do you expect to accomplish by continuing to bombard Russian military installations?” General McFarland asked.
“I’m expecting them to recognize the republic of Kuban,” Marc said. “And I’m expecting them to learn their lesson.”
“There are widespread protests in Russia,” Samantha said. “It is expected that the government will fall.”
“Good.”
“There are also widespread protests in Europe and the U.S. against our continued bombardment,” Samantha added.
“What is their objection?” Blake asked.
“General opposition to war,” Samantha said.
“Okay, we’ll pause the bombardment,” Marc said. “Let the Russian ambassador know that we are simply waiting to make sure they leave the region, leaving all the military hardware behind. Tell them that we also expect them to comply with all U.N. demands on them regarding their various other military occupations.”
“That’ll go over well,” Samantha said. “I’m sure Margaret will enjoy delivering that message.”
“Have her add that we seem to have run out of military headquarters in the area, and might need to expand the range of our operations,” Marc said.
“You wouldn’t,” Liz said.
“Oh yes he would,” Samantha said.
February 20th
“Breaking news, all Russian military forces have exited Ukraine, the Crimean Peninsula, and the newly declared state of Kuban, which encompasses the part of Russia b
etween the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. This is an astounding turn of events as protests continue to break out all over Russia.”
Chapter 32
Press Conference
“You have to give a press conference,” Samantha said.
“I’ve released a statement, why isn’t that enough?”
“They need to hear it from you, and they need to be able to ask questions.”
“Grrr!”
“Hey, after this, we can go to Dr. Metra and start getting ready for our vacation in Paris.”
“It’s nice of you to throw a lifeline to the drowning man.”
“You big baby, it won’t be that bad.”
“Okay, set it up for Friday morning,” Marc said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“There, you look nice,” Samantha said as she finished adjusting Marc’s tie. “By the way, in case it comes up, that religious conclave that was being held in Napali Towers finally ended. They all left yesterday.”
“Oh, thanks, I hadn’t heard. I was starting to think that they were going to make it a permanent convention,” Marc said. “Have you heard from the Paraxean Xenoarchaeologist about how it went?”
“No, not a peep. Can’t ADI tell you?”
“No, she was restricted from listening in,” Marc said. “We wanted them to feel free to discuss anything.”
“I’ll ask him to give us a report,” Samantha said. “I think you’re ready.”
“Sure, feed me to the mob.”
“Go on,” Samantha said as she slapped Marc’s arm.
Marc signaled Margaux Lachance, his press agent, that he was ready.
“It gives me great pleasure to introduce His Excellency, President Marcus McCormack,” Margaux announced.
Marc walked to the podium amid a smattering of applause. “Oh, no,” he thought, “They must be out for blood.”
“I’m here to announce that The Nation of Delphi has formed the Delphi Federation, an alliance between Delphi, Ukraine, the Republic of Kuban, Moldova, and Georgia,” Marc said. “The purpose of the alliance is to improve economic conditions in the region while assuring non-interference by outside powers.”
“Does that mean you’re going to bombard Russia if it interferes in those countries?” a reporter asked.
“Russia has agreed to remove her armed forces from all of these countries,” Marc said. “Outside of armed incursion, I think that any Russian interference can be dealt with through other less destructive means.”
“What gave you the right to bombard Russia over the Ukrainian war? Why couldn’t you have worked with the U.N.?”
“The U.N. has been sanctioning Russia over their annexation of Crimea since twenty-fourteen,” Marc said. “It was not yielding any results. The Ukrainians came to us for help. As the war dragged on and the casualties mounted, we decided that we had to take a more forceful approach to ending the Russian incursion.”
“What about the casualties from your bombardment?”
“We’re confident that the casualties from the bombardment were minimal. In each case, we provided a two-hour notice to evacuate the facilities before we bombarded them.”
“Wasn’t your bombardment of them from space a violation of the Outer Space Treaty?”
“The missiles were launched from a bomber based in Delphi City. It launched from there and returned there without orbiting the Earth,” Marc said. “The fact that we launched the missiles from an extreme altitude does not break the Outer Space Treaty. By the way, Delphi Nation is not a signatory of that treaty, and we feel that the treaty is seriously flawed since it assumes the Earth holds dominion over the entire universe.”
“Are you going to withdraw from the U.N.?”
“No,” Marc said. “We hope that the U.N. can develop into a more representative, effective governing body for all of Earth. We plan to participate and encourage that development. But when the U.N. cannot stop a member country from invading another country, it loses the right to claim it is the final arbitrator of Earth.”
“Do you intend to become the police for Earth? Are you going to help Tibet secede from China?”
“No, we believe that with time, the country that you live in will have less meaning. That all countries will respect human rights and religious rights. That being the citizen of a particular country will be like being a citizen of a particular city. It will define the culture you live in, but will not diminish you as a human being,” Marc said.
“How can you talk about human rights when you don’t even have an LG person in your cabinet?” a reporter demanded.
Marc was shocked at such a question coming out of left field. He took a moment to compose himself before he answered.
“I cannot say if you are correct in your assumption or not,” Marc said. “Since much of my cabinet is made up of family and close friends, I suspect you are correct. But in Delphi, we have a strict policy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Care.’ We don’t ask, because it would be an inappropriate question; we don’t care, because all we care about is that you follow the law and do your job well.”
“Why is your cabinet made up of family and personal friends?”
“Delphi Nation grew out of work that a small group of us accomplished through MacKenzie Discoveries, a privately held corporation. Most of the assets of the government have come from MacKenzie Discoveries. It is taking time for us to separate the operations of the company from the operation of the newly formed government.”
“That doesn’t sound very fair!”
“I remind you that we are a monarchy,” Marc said. “And I would further challenge you to find citizens of Delphi with legitimate concerns about how the government is being run. If you do, I’ll be happy to answer your questions in a personal interview.”
“Way to shut her up,” Samantha said to Marc over his Comm.
“What do you have to say about the announcement from your religious conclave?” another reporter shouted.
“It was not my religious conclave,” Marc said. “I simply provided the space for a meeting between the Paraxean religious scholar and various religious scholars and leaders from Earth.”
“What about the announcement?”
“I’m not aware of any announcement,” Marc said.
“They announced that when God made man in his image, that was referring to the soul, not the corporeal form,” the reporter provided.
“That makes sense to me,” Marc said. “God is not corporeal, so what image would God have?”
“Isn’t that just a convenient way to explain the Paraxeans’ existence?”
“I cannot comment on that since I had no knowledge of the proceedings,” Marc said.
“What about the statement from the Pope?” another reporter shouted.
“What statement?”
“The Pope announced that birth control that prevents a woman from ovulating does not violate religious doctrine since, without an ovum, there is no life involved.”
“I’m happy to hear that some form of birth control is acceptable to the Catholic Church. Although, I personally believe that they shouldn’t be against any form of birth control, since overpopulation is one of the main causes of human suffering and poverty,” Marc said.
The briefing dragged on for another hour before Marc could excuse himself without risking a riot.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Didn’t you feed those reporters before the briefing?” Marc asked after the conference finished.
“No, we chummed the waters,” Blake said. “We all know how much you like a challenge.”
Marc threw his tie at Blake. “Thanks.”
“You did good, Daddy,” Catie said. She was still on the Sakira but had watched the conference via video link.
“Thanks, Sweetie,” Marc said. “Now, we should be able to take a break.”
“Um,” Samantha interrupted. “We have twelve countries asking to join the new federation.”
“Oh, bother,” Marc said. “Any more good news?”
“Yes!” Catie squealed. “We’ve found two planets!”
Afterword
Thanks for reading Delphi Federation!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the sixth book in the Delphi in Space series. If you would like to join my newsletter group, click here, Delphi in Space News. The newsletter provides interesting science facts for SciFi fans, book recommendations based on books I truly loved reading, and notification of when the next book in my series is available.
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The story continues in Delphi Exploration. Now the McCormacks will leave the solar system as they search for a home for the Paraxeans. What might they find out there as they look for a new planet, or planets.
Acknowledgments
It is impossible to say how much I am indebted to my beta readers and copy editors. Without them, you would not be able to read my books due to all the grammar and spelling errors. I have always subscribed to Andrew Jackson’s opinion that “It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”
So special thanks to:
My copy editor Ann Clark, who also happens to be my wife.
My beta reader and editor, Theresa Holmes.
My beta reader and cheerleader, Roger Blanton, who happens to be my brother.