Sir Martyn cursed to himself. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji had caused serious trouble in the past and his machinations had been an unwanted complication in the days when India was trying to establish itself as an independent state. The Ambassador had been most helpful then and her presence here now suggested that the problems were genuine. “Allow me to refresh your glass Madam, I would like to call Sir Eric in to share this meeting if you have no objection?”
“None at all. This is indeed very fine Scotch.”
Sir Eric entered almost as soon as Sir Martyn buzzed, he must have been waiting in the ante-room. He eyed the whisky bottle rather plaintively as he sat down.
“As you know, the integration of Japan and China is taking place with remarkable speed. It has happened before of course, China is successfully invaded, the invaders set up a new government and in a few short years are absorbed by the Chinese, It happened with the Mongols and the Manchus and now it happens with the Japanese. The supreme ruler of China may be the Japanese Emperor, but he rules by way of a Chinese communist government.
“Yet, the basic problem that Japan and China both face is the same. Shortage of raw materials. Oh China has them, in limited amounts at least, but recovering them and utilizing them is a task that requires investment and technology. They have neither. To secure easily accessible supplies they have two choices. One is to strike north against Russia. As you know, Russia is still weak after the Second World War and is still recovering the territory held by the German warlords. Their Siberian Provinces are plums for the picking, except for one thing. The Russians are American allies and an attack on them means Strategic Air Command will pay the attackers a call. The other option is to strike south. Against us. In this case us means both my country and against the Triple Alliance as a whole.”
“But, Madam Ambassador, that would also surely bring down the Wrath of SAC upon their heads. The Americans have a simple view on the world. They like it peaceful. If it is not peaceful, they will make it so. I am told Germany is an exceptionally peaceful country these days.”
“Indeed so. But the Chinese-Japanese do have an option.” The Ambassador leaned forward and tapped Sir Martyn's map with a fingernail. “Here.”
Sir Martyn looked at where her finger was pointing and suddenly grew very thoughtful. Sir Eric looked and winced.
“Precisely Sir Eric. Burma. Its status is, shall we say, ambiguous. Burma is a protectorate of India but its internal condition leaves much to be desired. Indeed, it could be described as anarchic. The central government holds authority but outside its remit, warlordism and banditry run rampant.
“I have information that Masanobu Tsuji is in Burma now, attempting to organize an insurgency against the existing government. If that was to succeed and detach Burma from India, then Burma could become — re-aligned shall we say — with the China/Japan block. That would drive a wedge right through the center of the Triple Alliance. It would give my country a very severe defensive problem, we would have hostile borders all around us. And for some reason the Japanese hold a grudge against us.”
“Perhaps that has something to do with a destroyed infantry division and some foiled plans Madam, I do not think Colonel Tsuji enjoyed the experience of being outgeneraled so comprehensively. Especially by one so charming as your good self. The 1949 border incident was just icing on that particular cake.”
The Ambassador nodded to accept the compliment. “Once Burma has fallen into the China/Japan sphere of influence, it will open many future possibilities for them. They could more against yourselves, exploiting the Moslem problem. Or against us, doing the same. Or against Malaysia and Indonesia with the same object in view. On the other hand, if Masanobu Tsuji’s machinations were to fail, our own position would be consolidated and greatly strengthened.”
“Madam Ambassador, your words and news of Colonel Tsuji's activities cause me much concern. I appreciate you bringing them to us. What are your thoughts on future actions?”
“Burma is an Indian protectorate, technically my country and its armed forces have no authority there. However, we are allies and it would be of great mutual benefit if we put some of our people in there to find out more on what is happening. We can do that better than you, there are close similarities between ourselves and out Burmese neighbors. Also, we have worrying information that Masanobu Tsuji may be attempting to infiltrate people into our Northern provinces from Burma. Obviously we would wish to carry out hot pursuit against such infiltrators. We should also speak to the Americans on this. Perhaps you could take this issue up with them?”
Sir Martyn nodded. The concept of Chipan linking up with the growing militancy of the Moslem states was disturbing. India already had problems with Moslem separatists in the North, determined to split away and form their own Pakistan. They'd launched attacks on the Hindus and Sikhs up there and the victims had retaliated in kind. The North splitting away wasn't going to happen, but the idea offered ground for external agitators to build on. At the moment infiltration from Chipan into India was hard, geography saw to that. But if Burma fell into the wrong hands, that defense would go away.
The Ambassador leaned back in her seat. The meeting had gone well. Masanobu Tsuji was a real threat and his apparent activity in Burma was a very real concern. And if dealing with that concern should result in Burma becoming detached from India and joining ASEAN, well, so much the better. There was always the question of Japanese-occupied Indo-China. Now that was a prize worth a little effort.
Carswell AFB. Primary Operating base, 305th Bomb Group
Captain Kozlowski made it to the top of the steps leading up beside Marisol. His two crew members Lieutenants Eddie Korrina and Xavier Dravar had caught him up and were at his heels all the way up. Korrina was the navigator/bombardier, he would occupy the seat behind Kozlowski, Dravar was the Defense Systems Operator and sat in the rear. They'd all assumed that the rest of the crew would be joining them at Carswell, well that was obviously wrong. They were it.
They were edging each other around as they looked into the crew stations. Each compartment had a separate canopy hinged at the rear for entry and exit. The compartmentalization prevented direct vision or physical contact between crewmembers during flight. The pilot had a windshield with six adjacent panels, plus one panel on each side of the canopy. This afforded excellent outside vision, and the pilot could see parts of the exterior of the aircraft as well as the engine nacelle inlets. The navigator/bombardier and the DSO only had small side windows. That solved another mystery, they'd all been measured at flight school and the largest had been washed out, sent to the B-52 and B-60 units. Now, they could see why. The RB-58C was cramped.
“Mind out sirs, the paint is fresh.” Their Crew Chiefs warning was timely. His people had already painted the Kozlowski's name under the pilot's canopy and were getting stencils out for the other two.
“Chief Gibson, who does the nose art around here?”
“That'll be Murray sir. He'll see you right. Twenty bucks be OK sir? Hey, Murray, get up here. Captain Kozlowski wants his nose art. Sir, Marisol is being towed into the hangar for her post-delivery checks first so he'll get straight on with it. There are a lot of classroom sessions before you need to fly her so she'll be ready for you.” The Chief broke off as there was a clatter on the metal stairs. “You took your time Murray. Now listen to the Captain.”
“Her name is Marisol Murray, can you do us a Spanish-looking lady?”
“Sure sir Let me think a little.” Airman Murray got out a pad and soft pencils and started to sketch. After a couple of minutes, he frowned, tore off the leaf and started again. Meanwhile, Dravar was looking into his crew station at the rear of the flight deck. He had the defensive electronic countermeasures system to look after, an ALR-12 radar warner and an ALQ-16 radar repeater jammer that generated and transmitted deceptive angle and range information. As a last-ditch line of defense was the ALE-16 chaff dispensing system installed in each upper main gear fairing, with chaff being ejected through mechanically-actuated slots in the tops of each wing fairing. But, best of all, Dravar had the aircraft's only cannon, an M-61 20 millimeter gatling gun.