Some had questioned the wisdom of having an in-person meeting. With technology, people could just as easily meet virtually and not have to risk leaving their secured facilities. However, President Stein had insisted on the meeting, arguing that technology could never replace a face-to-face meeting or the interaction between participants in a room.
As General Temer exited the aircraft that brought him to the island, there was a vehicle ready and waiting to take him to meet with the other military commanders. General Wade, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) had arrived a couple of hours ahead of General Temer and had already met briefly with President Stein, General Branson and the National Security Advisor Mike Williams. President Stein wanted to give General Wade a heads-up on the conversation they were going to have with the rest of the Allied leaders before the rest of the group arrived.
Soon Prime Minister Blair and Chancellor Lowden both arrived; everyone stood and exchanged pleasantries and handshakes and then quickly took their seats at the table. Some attendants brought in some drinks and snacks, and then quickly left the room; security personnel then ensured the room was secured and locked.
President Stein immediately got down to business, “Gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to meet in person. I know we could have done this via the holograph system, but I felt a face-to-face meeting was needed as we discuss what the future of the world will look like once the war is over.”
Everyone in the room nodded and appeared ready to listen to President Stein’s suggestions and then offer their own.
Stein brought up an image from his tablet and linked it to the holographic projector at the center of the table. A series of floating maps appeared: one with the current breakdown of nations, one with the current disposition of enemy and allied forces on the global map, and a third map. The third map had a very different looking picture than the first. This map had several countries broken up and others merged. This map, everyone realized, is what President Stein was going to propose be the new world post-World War III.
President Stein began, “For more than one hundred years, the world has been given geographical borders with no regard as to the ethnicities, religions or people who live there. This, I argue, has given rise to numerous wars and tensions across the world and led to many genocides. This is our opportunity to right that wrong and to redraw the borders, taking into consideration the ethnicities, religions and people that will live within them. I do not propose that we impose our form of government or democracy on our vanquished foes, but we will replace the existing countries and borders with ones that will better represent the people living in them.”
Stein paused for a moment to take a sip of his water and to let his proposal settle in for a minute. Then he continued, “It is incumbent upon us to ensure that once this great war has been won, that we do not also sow the seeds of another conflict. I am not going to be so naïve as to believe that this will be the war to end all wars, but we need to be cognizant in how we handle our victory so as not to breed permanent enmity and hatred within our current adversaries, like what happened with Germany at the end of World War I.”
The leaders seemed intrigued; Chancellor Lowden seemed the most amicable to this philosophy, and Prime Minister Blair would need the most convincing. They talked at length about the implications of what President Stein was suggesting. After several hours of discussing the post-war future, the conversation turned back to the matters at hand. They needed a plan to defeat Russia, China and the other countries that had just joined the war. Without that, discussions of a world after the conflict were meaningless.
Plotting Revenge
The remnants of Admiral Tomohisa Kawano’s fleet had limped into port alongside their PLAN counterparts two weeks ago. By the time their engineers and computer specialists could get their power and engine systems operational again, the Americans had nearly wiped them out. Admiral Kawano was able to escape with just two of his five carriers and about a quarter of his support ships. The battle had been a bloody disaster; not since the battle of Midway had the Japanese lost so many ships and sailors in a single battle.
After the battle, Admiral Xi had been recalled to China and replaced by Admiral Ye Shengli, a young, energetic naval officer who was eager to prove his mettle against the Americans. When Admiral Kawano explained the missile swarm plan, Admiral Shengli had become extremely excited to move forward with the attack. After nearly a week of preparation, both fleets had been refitted with anti-ship cruise missiles, and their drones and fighters had received anti-ship missiles as well. It was now time to launch the next assault against the American fleet and return control of the Pacific back to China and Japan.
While the two fleets had been regrouping and preparing themselves, the American fleet had moved up the West Coast and caused complete havoc. Many of the transports bringing troops and supplies to the ground forces had to be rerouted back to Hawaii until the sea lanes could be secured. The situation on the ground for their troops was becoming increasingly perilous as they ran through supplies and failed to bring in more troops. The American Third Army had now surrounded the three invasion sites and was slowly tightening the noose. The Japanese and Chinese needed to regain control of the sea or their invasion force would be doomed.
With little time to spare, the combined fleet left Hawaii and embarked on what they hoped would be the final battle for the Pacific.
Showdown Looming
Admiral Stonebridge had been elated when their battle group had finally been able to choke off the enemy supply ships from feeding the invasion forces. Their ships were now providing direct support to the ground forces, and with the fleet’s cruise missiles, they had destroyed the enemy airfields and any remaining aircraft they had. The Allies now had complete air superiority. It had been touch-and-go at first; the PLAAF had mounted a concerted attack against his fleet as they approached San Diego. However, although they had sustained damage, they had been able to beat back the attackers while inflicting significant losses.
As Captain Baker approached Admiral Stonebridge to bring him the latest images of the enemy fleet, he saw him signal one of the yeomen for a refill of his coffee. “Admiral, the satellites are showing the enemy fleet has put to sea and is heading towards us. What are your orders?” he asked. Baker was hoping that they would leave the coast and head to meet the enemy head on as soon as possible. He desperately wanted to finish off the enemy fleet and avenge his fallen comrades.
Admiral Stonebridge smiled at Captain Baker, and began to examine the images on his tablet. He zoomed in to see the fleet composition. It appeared the entire Japanese/Chinese fleet had set sail. “So, it looks like they want to have one final battle for supremacy of the Pacific,” the Admiral remarked.
He didn’t respond to the question right away; instead, he gazed out the window of the bridge, contemplating the situation. Off in the distance, he could see the sky filled with smoke from numerous fires; aircraft and Razorbacks darted back and forth, attacking ground targets in the city. LA had been a beautiful city prior to the invasion. They had been in the process of building numerous highspeed rail networks linking San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas together. It was truly disappointing to see the city now being systematically destroyed through the fighting. Thousands of civilians were being killed daily, caught between the two fighting armies with nowhere to go, cut off from food, water and electricity.