Secretary Landover stood. “Thank you, General. My objective tomorrow is simple: get the Indian government to agree to a complete and unconditional surrender. If they don’t, the war will continue as planned. You’ve shown me that you have the supplies and the forces needed to keep the war going, and frankly that’s the major reason I wanted to meet with you today. I do have one question — may I inform the Indian prime minister that if he doesn’t agree to our terms, our victorious European armies will now be directed to India?”
General Bennet thought about that for a moment. Under normal circumstances, he would never want to advertise his position like that to an enemy, but at the same time, if that information could lead the enemy to surrendering, then it’d be worth it. “If General Morrison has no objections, then neither do I,” Bennet asserted. “We need this Indian theater wrapped up sooner rather than later. Once ground operations start in mainland China, we’re going to be hard-pressed to keep India fully supplied for heavy offensive actions.”
“I have no objections,” Morrison confirmed.
The meeting went on for a bit longer as the military and political sides were discussed, then everyone broke for an early lunch and a nap. Between all the flying and the time zone changes, the sudden shift was wreaking havoc on people’s mental alertness, and they’d all certainly need that the following day.
Prime Minister Vihaan Khatri was both enraged at the situation he now found himself in and greatly ashamed that he had allowed it to come to this. He knew India should have stayed on the sidelines of the third great war, but he had permitted himself to be convinced that joining the Russian and Chinese grand alliance would position India for future greatness. America had been on the decline — everyone had said so for years. Even the President prior to Gates had publicly acknowledged it. Khatri clenched his fists. “I should’ve known not to count America out,” he mourned.
The scene was filled with juxtaposition. Khatri sat in the leather chair of an Embraer Legacy 600 luxury jet, and yet, the members of his parliament were ready to throw him out of office. After such horrific humiliation and loss of life suffered under his leadership, even his partner in crime, President Aryan Laghari, had begun to side with the growing antiwar movement sweeping across the country. The absolute slaughter of their militia forces at the naval airbase outside of Arakkonam had shaken the population to the point of nearly collapsing the government. The people were furious that these largely underequipped and poorly trained militia forces had been thrown against a battle-hardened enemy because the government had not accepted the Allies’ first peace offer to end the war. Now, the people and parliament had demanded that he settle the matter, or they’d replace him with someone who would.
When Khatri’s jet flew over Chennai, he immediately noticed the sheer size of the military buildup on the outskirts of the city. He didn’t need a military general to tell him the Allies had landed many more divisions of fresh troops in his country. They were obviously gearing up for a major offensive should his talks fail. Moments later, his plane, which was being escorted by a pair of Australian F/A-18s, landed at the Chennai International Airport in full view of rows of helicopter gunships and Allied warplanes. Once his jet had parked and the engines were shut off, the outer door was opened, and he was greeted by an Allied military honor guard.
At the end of the line of military members stood the American Secretary of State, Philip Landover, the American general currently in command of Allied forces in Asia, and an Australian general, the man Khatri recognized as being in charge of the Allied armies currently invading his homeland. Lifting his chin up in pride, he stepped off the plane and walked past the military members arrayed before him.
“Prime Minister Khatri,” Landover said cheerfully, extending his hand, “I’m Secretary of State Landover, and this is Supreme Allied Commander General Bennet. It’s good to meet with you. If you would please come with us, we have a room set up nearby for us to talk.”
Khatri followed his hosts to the small room that had been set up. Some stewards offered everyone cold water and other assorted drinks. After some obligatory small talk, everyone began to take their seats. The mood was somewhat somber. Khatri realized that the decisions reached in this meeting would determine whether calmer heads would prevail or whether thousands more men and women would die in a futile attempt to resist the Allies.
Opening the discussion, Secretary Landover said, “Mr. Prime Minister, it’s sad that world events have led us to this meeting today. I truly hope that today, you and I can put this matter behind us and allow our nations to move forward together in peace.”
Khatri was a bit taken aback by the statement but quickly recovered his composure. He wondered what sort of terms he was going to have to accept to bring about the peace his nation demanded he achieve.
“I agree, Mr. Secretary,” Khatri offered. “It was unfortunate that our two nations, once strong trading partners and friends, found ourselves on the opposite sides of this terrible war. Now it’s time for us to set aside our differences and work toward peace.”
Landover nodded. General Bennet, who appeared unmoved by the Prime Minister’s statement, continued to stay silent. Secretary Landover shuffled a few pieces of paper in front of him. “I agree, Mr. Prime Minister. Let us begin then,” he said. Landover seemed to find what he was looking for and composed himself. “Many months ago, President Foss offered your country the opportunity to end the war and leave the Eastern Alliance. The terms of surrender were generous. The terms I am authorized to present to you now are much less generous, since your continued war against the Allies, and in particular America, has caused us great harm. Your nation’s cyberattack on our financial institutions cost the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people in our country and destroyed the wealth of millions.”
Khatri shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The PM had been hoping his nation would be presented with the same terms of ending the war as they had been offered prior to the cyberattack on JPMorgan and the ground invasion of India.
“The terms being offered are this — complete and unconditional surrender of your armed forces and complete denuclearization of your country. You may retain your nuclear power capabilities, but your weapons labs and current nuclear inventory up to this point will have to be surrendered. Upon the acceptance of these terms, the 91,000 prisoners of war we’re currently holding will be released back to your country.”
Khatri swallowed uncomfortably but said nothing.
Secretary Landover continued, “Just as in the case of Russia, a small occupation force will remain in your capital and here in Chennai to ensure your government is honoring the terms of the surrender. Your nation will also no longer be allowed to continue war production or provide any sort of economic or financial support to the Eastern Alliance.”
Landover sat back in his chair. “Are you ready at this time to agree to these terms, Mr. Prime Minster?” he asked.
Khatri had felt like an hour had passed as the secretary read the terms of surrender. The bile in his stomach slowly made its way up his throat to the back of his mouth. By the time Landover had finished, he wanted to vomit. What had been presented was a long list of humiliations he’d have to accept if he wanted to end the war. Khatri reached for the glass of water in front of him. He needed to calm his stomach before he responded and buy himself a few moments to think. After taking a couple of gulps of water, he shook his head as he looked up at Landover.
“Mr. Secretary, I’m afraid some of these terms are not acceptable,” Khatri finally said. “While I can concede the points on providing financial and economy aid to the Eastern Alliance, I can’t abide by the dismantling of our nuclear deterrent. India has not threatened to use these weapons against the Allies, but these weapons are imperative to our national security and protection against the Pakistanis, who also have nuclear weapons. If we’re forced to hand our weapons over, we will be subject to attack from our unfriendly neighbors to the north. That’s simply unacceptable.” Khatri puffed his chest out defiantly. He felt he’d made a strong case.