Superpowers: Stage Two (Part II)

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At this point in history, China was Pakistan’s best ally. They shared technology and resources with each other, and even had a sort of joint nuclear energy program. They were insulted and infuriated by Federama’s attack and disregard for international law. While China was preparing to deploy a military contingency against Federama, Stage Two of Governor Stockton’s plan went into effect. China’s nuclear weapons programs was the second largest in the world, and an invasion would not be sufficient enough for full disarmament. They also had an extremely formidable military branch that would swiftly and easily knock down any aggressors. Stockton knew this, and had planned to use a different tactic than the one against Pakistan.

Every country in the world contained a certain fraction of its population who identified as Amadesin. But the lowest by far, and mathematically surprisingly, was China. So because of this, there was not a lack of Chinese expatriates who had immigrated to Federama, and were loyal to its cause because of its act of courage against Amadesis years ago. China was originally, in fact, one of Federama’s best allies. But that didn’t mean that Stockton could allow them to keep their nuclear weapons. They had to be shut down, just like everybody else.

Federama had spent the better part of the last decade planting moles in strategic positions within the Chinese government. The day after the last Federama spy in China was in the right place was the day of the Pakistan invasion. Stockton was nothing if not incredibly intelligent. It was even said that genius level intelligence was his second superpower, but this was never formally tested. Stage Two was carried out much slower than Stage One. With each passing day, panic in China increased, along with their confusion. They began to make a lot of mistakes, and many lower-level officials, unsure of what was happening, ended up destroying nuclear documentation, which meant that Stockton’s people didn’t have to do it. Unlike Pakistan, whose nuclear armory contained only bombs that needed to be dropped or put in place, China’s inventory included missiles. Fortunately, these missiles could be released by the Federama spies, and detonated safely out of the range of innocents, sometimes even on the edge of the atmosphere.

Little by little, spies were pulled out of the country by Federama extraction teams; each one more shocking of a reveal than the last. The conspiracy went almost all the way up to the top. Most of the spies considered themselves to be loyal Chinese through and through, and betrayed their nation’s trust because they genuinely believed nuclear disarmament was the only way to prevent another Utah catastrophe. Though technically no one had died from that explosion, the number of deaths from Russia’s bombing on Georgia five years later following the Amadesins’ attempt was astronomical. It was actually probably the deciding factor in Stockton’s plans. Instead of recognizing the kind of devastation such weapons could have on the world, other governments seemed to take it as a success story, and chose to use it as a learning experience for their own programs. Their bombs were bigger and badder than the original, and let to continue, they could soon lead to The Eleventh Extinction.

While not condoning Federama’s extremist approach to nuclear disarmament, the government of India deployed their military in order to protect Federama’s borders from Chinese forces. They held the line for weeks while China continued to threaten total annihilation, even after Stage Two was complete. It was at this point that Stockton was forced to make an announcement that he was firmly against. He was trying to rid the world of its weapons; not create further panic. But this had to be done. In order to defend his own, he had to make the world believe that he really was the bad guy. He had to bluff and convince everyone that the weapons he had stolen from Pakistan and China could now be used against them, or anyone else who tried to make a move. This decision not only protected Federama, but also ensured that Russia would push them into Stage Three without even realizing it.

Governor Stockton stood at the podium and began his speech that was set to be broadcast in every region that agreed to it. He cleared his throat. “People of Earth. Five weeks ago, I released an invasion into Pakistan. Not long after, I engaged a league of spies that I had embedded within the Chinese government. They sent nuclear missiles into the atmosphere and detonated them away from potential casualties. But that’s not all we did. We...procured a number of engineers and scientists and recruited them to work for us. With these new resources, we enhanced our own nuclear program, and we have plenty to go around. Anyone who threatens us threatens the sanctity of human life, and we will use our weapons against such threats, even if the act results in seeming hypocrisy.

“Our now greatest ally, India has been utilizing its own people and resources to support and protect us. I have begun negotiations with them to figure out the best way for them to pull out of our waters and return home to their families. Do not take this a sign of weakness. We are stronger than ever. We will do what we must in order to push this planet into the future, and make it great again. The nuclear attacks in Utah and Georgia were only the beginning. Every year, a new nation begins plans to develop weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, those already with weapons increase their stores dramatically. I spent the first half of my tenure lobbying to form an oversight organization to make sure nuclear technology would be used only for energy and other benevolent endeavors. But I failed in this. And so I’m taking a different approach. I’m taking your weapons. This is not the end. I am not content with only stopping Pakistan and China from making a mistake that leads to World War IV. Many of you will say that I am foolish for revealing my plans and motivations to you, but I assure you that I know exactly what I’m doing.

“Surrender your weapons to us now, or face the consequences. Whatever you choose, I will find a way to get your bombs. I won’t let you keep them. I can’t. There is a new world order. In the past, you may have seen our tiny nation as negligible. But no more. We have technology beyond the weapons we stole that you know nothing about. We can overcome any obstacle in our way. We are small, but we are strong, and you cannot defeat us. Forget what you know about what your governments can do. They may be powerful, but we are now the leader. We are now...the world’s greatest Superpower.”

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Microstory 170: Cleveland Montana

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Each anomaly grew up in a different scenario. Some parents knew of their children’s abilities, and feared or hated them for it. Others were completely clueless. But there were some anomalies who experienced happy childhoods and the full support of their family. One such family was that of Cleveland Montana. His were loving and devoted parents who made sure their one son had everything he needed.  They once asked him to clean his room. After he was finished, he asked for more things to clean, and so his parents continued to give him tasks. He would run back in a matter of seconds after each assignment, and so they assumed he was playing some kind of game with them. When he didn’t return from his latest project, they went upstairs and found him in the hall, playing with dolls he had found in a box in the attic. Wanting to know what other family heirlooms had been left there, the two of them climbed up and found the attic to be spotless. There was no sign of cleaning; just of being clean. When they asked him how that had happened, he shrugged his shoulders and said that he just used his purple mist. They pressed the subject, and so he demonstrated for them. A purplish-blue mist came out of his fingertips and spread throughout the hallway. The mist disappeared in a flash, leaving the baseboards and table completely dust free. Mr. Montana and Mrs. Thompsett simply smiled and embraced their child. They encouraged him to practice and learn about his ability, but to take care with it, and not reveal his secret to anyone he didn’t trust. They also helped foster a sense of pride in his community, and a desire to make the world a better place. Years later, he contact the man from his region who had run for president in 1980 but failed. Cleveland became one of Senator Carlton’s most precious confidant, along with the senator’s private physician. The three of them formulated plans for him to run again in the 1995 race. When it was the right time, Cleveland finally joined Bellevue, and later acted as the logical liaison between the organization and the Usonian government. Without his cool head, likable personality, and eloquence, Bellevue probably would have fallen quickly after revealing itself to the world.

Microstory 169: Valary Sela

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Many of Valary Sela’s anomaly abilities were easily explained. Yes, she did have superhuman vision, but once it’s accepted that she lives in a world where such a thing is possible, it’s easier to understand how most of her abilities work. It’s unclear what her limits and ranges are, but she is capable of seeing objects at a great distance, objects on the microscopic scale, and she can even see X-rays. She not only has night vision, but also this thing called bright vision, where her eyes adjust to light shining in her eyes so that her vision is not overwhelmed and impaired. Those were all believable, and within the realm of possibility for other humans, assuming a great deal of technological progress. But there were two other visual enhancements that no one could explain except of Adam Nicks, who refused to divulge that explanation. The first aspect was selective vision in that she could see an object even when it was blocked by another object. For instance, she could see what was happening on the other side of a door, as if the door were open. Following Reactivation, and as her power grew, Valary was able to see objects remotely anywhere on the planet, as long as there were other people around. Even though she wasn’t necessarily seeing remotely from the perspective of other people, they needed to be present for this part of her ability to work. This same rule applied to the second inexplicable ability. She could see into people’s pasts. Though she could not hear, she could witness past events, again from a third person perspective. This ability put a strain on her eyes and head, and so she used it sparingly, but it did prove useful on a number of occasions during Bellevue’s growing pains. There was only one event that she was unable to see. When she was young, her parents went missing with no evidence as to where they had gone. The authorities were unable to determine what had happened to them. Due to a clerical error, Valary spent almost a year taking care of herself before Spyridon Colonomos discovered her and adopted her as his own. Later on, they also adopted Hosanna Katz. She and Don helped Hosanna get a handle on his emotions, and he helped Valary break down her own psychological barriers so that she could finally look back in time and find out what had happened to her parents. After that problem was resolved, the three of them joined Bellevue, and Valary became second in command to its leader. However, an argument could be made that she was actually the leader since she was the organization’s true visionary.

Microstory 168: Freeman Sesto

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Gus Arnett’s brother, Freeman Sesto could generate and manipulate the cold. He could slow down the atoms in the immediate area, thereby lowering the temperature. He could excite them to a certain extent—enough to melt any ice, but not enough to make the area significantly warmer. One side effect of Freeman’s ability was that he could survive freezing or scorching temperatures. And so, after leaving home, he decided to move to the continent of Antarctica. No one was living in the area permanently at the time, and the few people that were there were scientists. One such of these scientists was observing the behavior of penguins when she came across Freeman, naked and enjoying the sun. Being the rash and reckless type, he openly explained to her about his ability. After getting to know her a little better, and meeting some of her associates, Freeman unexpectedly found himself in the military. He belonged to a special centurion that was composed of members of the Quad Alliance between Usonia, Canada, Britain, and Aotearoa. Under the guidance of his new Executor, Freeman chose to not reveal his secret to anyone else in the centurion. He used his ability sparingly, notably to keep his squad cool while in the deserts of the Middle East. He both fought in the Caspian War, and protected Kazakhstan’s borders from its many invaders during part of the Soltüstik Intrusions. Upon leaving the military, he tried his hand at private contracting, but ultimately found it unfulfilling. He ended up reuniting with his brother in England where they started their pre-Bellevue group. Later on, when the group merged with Bellevue, he discovered one of his former squadmates to be an original member.

Microstory 167: Mason Palomino

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Though she was the founder of Bellevue, The Keystone was considered to be a failure of a leader, and was responsible for a handful of major snafus. As members began to lose faith in her, she decided to read the writing on the wall and back Mason Palomino for leadership. He had already inadvertently gathered a following, and had garnered a relationship with the man who controlled the money. Mason’s second-in-command, Valary provided the vision for the organization, and Mason expertly executed her ideas and advice. Along with Flora Canto, they pushed Bellevue into the 21st century, and made it the most important organization in the world. But before all of this, Mason worked desperately to act like a normal person. He had an incredibly special form of telekinesis that acted on his behalf without his focus. Upon waking, his television will flip on and turn to the weather channel. The faucet will run on its own, the water will boil, and then the pot will fill a cup where a tea bag was already placed. His body will float in the air a few centimeters and drop itself into his shoes which will tie themselves. The doors will open, the car engine will turn over, and as the car is driving itself down the roads, every single traffic signal will turn green for him. And all of this will happen unless Mason makes a concerted effort to stop it, and that’s exactly what he usually does. Mason was a highly educated person, but he pursued a career in construction to prevent himself from becoming complacent. Working with his hands kept his ability in check. He was afraid that, if he let his telekinesis take over every aspect of his life, he would become a meaningless shell of a man. It was this attitude that caused people to gravitate towards him, and trust him to make the right decisions for them. He even later lost his telekinetic ability, but did not miss a beat. He just went on with his life, and worked hard to better the world in every way that he could. A group of immortals took notice of this, and provided him with the opportunity to continue his work across the universe as a Mastermind.

Microstory 166: Stephen Berg

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When Stephen Berg was eleven years old, his parents were both killed in a plane crash on their way back from Florida. His sister, Amana was only fifteen years old at the time, but she was able to convince the court that she was old enough to act as Stephen’s guardian. This was a tough sell since Stephen had an anger issues, and needed a tough hand to keep him in line. A few months after the loss of their parents, Stephen was rampaging through the house downstairs. He was knocking over lamps and ripping out cabinet doors. The whole place was a mess. Amana woke up while he was in the middle of his tantrum, and went downstairs for a glass of water. She found him there, still tearing the house apart, but she could hear nothing. There was dead silence. Stephen stopped when he noticed she was there, and admitted to her what he could do. He was actually intending to reveal his secret to the parents upon their return from vacation. He was an extremely powerful sound manipulator, and could form invisible barriers that directed sound towards a particular target. The more he practiced, the stronger he became. When he was older, he was even capable of having conversations with people on the other side of the planet without anyone else hearing. A couple of years later, Bellevue approached the Berg children, hoping to give them some closure regarding the plane crash, but had no idea that he was an anomaly. Once the details came to light, Stephen and Amana joined the organization. Amana worked in real estate, helping new residents find homes in the fledgling city. Meanwhile, Stephen finished his education alongside his best friend, Quang Phan. His anger problems continued into adulthood, past the point of his and his friends’ mysterious disappearance, but his relationships with Catriona, Chase, Cassie, Sonya, and even Marinko helped keep him grow and mature.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 20, 2044

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As Mateo was handing Reaver his wingsuit, Leona began to let down a pilot ladder. But Reaver loudly whispered up to her, “no! We can’t leave from this side.”

“What are you talking about?” Mateo whisper-yelled back. “This is the plan.”

“I’ve already done all this once, remember?” he asked. “Both of you die, and I get caught.”

“Well, what would you suggest?” Leona asked from the wall.

“The other side has better wind.”

“You expect me to run all the way over there?”

“It’s our only chance,” Reaver insisted.

Leona growled. “Fine! Hurry up!” She bolted along the wall, and carefully made the turn towards the opposite corner.

“Come on, you son of a bitch,” Mateo ordered. He and his enemy, Horace Reaver sprinted across the lawn, staying as low and inconspicuous as possible.

About halfway there, they ran into Gilbert Boyce, the man who Mateo had tricked into thinking that he was there to break him out last year; their pledge. “You,” he said to them in disgust. “So you were trying to break him out. Do you know what you did to me? I spent eleven months in Dismal Key Penitentiary because of you. It’s in a swamp! If you hadn’t shown up, I would have been released from this place by now.”

“Get the hell out of our way, Gilbert.” Reaver spat.

Gilbert prepared to yell as loud as he could, “they’re breakin’ ou—!”

Mateo covered Gilbert’s mouth with his gloved hand. “I am extremely sorry for what I did to you last year. You were our best shot at making this happen, and I know you didn’t deserve it. I read your file, and if you’ve done your time, then you’ve done your time. Come with us now.”

“Are you serious?” Reaver asked. “He’ll slow us down.”

Mateo sighed angrily. “This is your second day, right?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re stuck with these decisions. I want to find the powers that be as much as the next guy, but I have half a mind to cut my losses and just kill you right now. You have less leverage than you think.”

“We only have three suits,” Reaver argued. “Those things don’t handle two people.”

Mateo pulled an extra suit out of his bag. “You were saying?” He handed it to Gilbert who was still bitter about last year, but becoming humbled and grateful. “Let’s go. She’s waiting for us.”

Leona had already dropped the pilot ladder, and was likely working on disabling the gun turrets. The two prisoners climbed up after Mateo, and then listened as he gave them instructions. “After you jump, pull the string on your left. It will electrically charge your wingsuit so that it expands on its own. If you don’t pull it, you’ll have to hold your arms up the whole time, and we won’t make it far enough, because you’ll get tired. You can resist the charge with enough force, and it will snap back into place once you relieve some pressure, but it will stay open if you’re just resting normally. We have no real obligation to either of you. If you fall behind, you’re left behind. Nobody’s going to be pulling their arms to their chest and losing altitude just so you can catch up. Understood?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

“The string on your right is for a little parachute,” Mateo continued. “You’ll fly behind us, and once we release our chutes, you release yours. If you don’t, you’ll come in too fast, and die. Boyce, I don’t want you to die. Reaver, I do want you dead, so that choice is all on you, buddy.”

“I’ve done this before,” Reaver said, referring to the first time he experienced this day, in an alternate timeline.

“Yeah, and how did that work out for ya?”

“Could have been better.”

“Do your best not to screw it up this time.” He looked down at Leona who had slid down the curved wall to work on the gun turrets. “Honey? How are we lookin’?”

“Nice timing,” she said back. “I’m done.”

“We’re ready,” he replied.

They slid down to the outer ledge to stand next to her before putting on their goggles. “Were I you,” she said to Mateo, now code for I love you.

“Were I you.” He took a beat. “Let’s go.” He jumped off and spread his wings. His body dropped down more than he thought it would, but he spread his legs out a little and settled into a nice glide. The two of them were wearing special goggles with little computer screens in them that displayed a map and other information like distance, altitude, and speed. These also kept them in contact with Harrison so that he could move into position depending on how far they got. This was not scary like the skydiving. This was blissful. It felt more like flying, and less like falling, even though he could still tell that he was constantly growing closer to the ground.

Twenty meters, two hundred meters, five hundred meters, a kilometer. They kept soaring with no problems. He could see Leona next to him at all times as they battled each other for first place. He occasionally looked behind to make sure his two wards were still close enough to them. His goggle readings indicated that they were falling downwards at a slightly higher rate, and were therefore widening the gap between them. Nevertheless, Leona assured him that they would all four break the two kilometer range, and that they wouldn’t land too far from each other.

Two kilometers. Yes. He looked over to Leona who shook her head. They would still be able to fly farther, so they pressed on. At around twenty-five hundred meters, she spoke through her communications device. “We could get farther before reaching our lower limit, but the others would be too low. It’s time to pull.”

“Got it,” Mateo said. “Count us down.”

“Five, four, three, two, one.” They pulled their strings simultaneously.

Mateo watched as Leona’s parachute opened and drew her upwards and behind him, or rather he continued to fall forwards. “Dammit,” he said out loud. He tried his string several more times, but nothing. It was faulty. He was going to die. But for real this time.

Leona screamed to him, “pull your string! Pull your string!”

“It’s broken!”

“Mateo! No!” she cried. “Harrison, you have to meet us and scoop Mateo up! His parachute won’t open!”

“That would never work,” Harrison explained. “He’s going too fast. He would be safer taking his chances with the ground.”

Mateo spread his wings once more, hoping to find water, or fall at a horizontal enough angle to hold back his death. But then a figure flew up and grabbed him.

Horace Reaver, the man who had tried to kill him on multiple occasions, twisted around so that he was on top. “Hold on tight!” he screamed. Once Mateo had done what he was told, Reaver pulled his own string and released his parachute. They drifted to the ground slower than before, but still at a pretty good clip since they had technically passed the lower limit. They crashed into the earth and rolled over one another several times before finally coming to a stop.

The two enemies crawled away from each other and panted heavily until they could catch their breaths. “I can’t really complain, but...” he started to say.

“I saved your life out of instinct. For a second there, I forgot how much I hated you. And that was enough to keep you alive. I promise that it will not happen again.”

“You promised to stop trying to kill me.”

“Yes, but if your life is ever in danger, never again will I make an effort to save it.”

Mateo stood up and nodded with understanding. “Yes. That makes sense.”

Leona ran up to Mateo and jumped in his arms like a gorgeous little cliché. “I’m pissed at you for scaring me like that.”

“I would hope so,” he said.

Harrison landed his aircraft and opened the hatch. “They know about the escape. We have to go.”

The four of them climbed in and took off. Leona grabbed her tablet and sent the instructions to their dummy airplane. It automatically rose into the air from a few hundred meters away and flew off in a different direction. “It’s easier to spot,” she told them. “Once they detect it, they won’t be looking for another one. By the time they catch it and bust it open—or better yet, shoot it down—we’ll be long gone.”

“That’s genius,” Reaver said. “You’re just how I remember.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Never mind.”

Harrison had programmed the plane to take them to Brazil, but Reaver had a safehouse in Panama, so the four of them jumped out with a new set of parachutes. They left the plane to Gilbert to go wherever he wanted, suggesting he jump out sometime before that. The authorities would likely find it at some point, and they didn’t want to be in the same country when that happened, even though Mateo and Leona would be safe after the jump to the future. Reaver said that he would meet them there in one year’s time, but they knew they couldn’t trust him. He would have plenty of time to turn the house into a prison like before in Mission Hills. Ten minutes before midnight, they burst out of the house and ran into the jungle so that he wouldn’t know exactly where they would land in 2045. It didn’t work.

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Superpowers: The Hegemon (Part I)

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On the eighth day of the eighth month of 1927, the first nuclear weapon was detonated near Black Crook Peak in Utah, Usona. During that period in history, the nation of Amadesis was more outwardly violent. They had secured a relatively large island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, and used their insidious resources to develop an arms program rivaling that of any legitimate country at the time. Though the blast radius was comparatively small at that point, and significantly far from populated areas, there were several casualties. These people happened to be camping, hiking, or just generally enjoying nature within range of detonation.

The Amadesins insisted that they chose that spot, on that day, for the specific reason that no one would die. The Day of No Death was a well-known but mysterious phenomenon that occurred every year. There were a number of ways to subvert death on that day. Bullets will bounce off of bodies, or the guns will jam. An unseen force will slow down falls. Fires will not grow out of control. But for the most part, death is halted by more subtle means, simply by manipulating reality so that no one is ever put in danger. The Amadesins, however, were big on going against the natural order of life, always claiming that they know the right way to do things. Experts ended up concluding that the reason the Amadesins were able to get so close to causing death was because they essentially did not believe in truth.

The dozens of survivors of the blast were left mutated, and in some cases, horribly disfigured. They demanded the Usonan government charge the Amadesin Nation with crimes against humanity, and force them to pay reparations. Unfortunately, Usona was composed of a few dozen independently governed states, and the national government was still in its infancy. Even with the help of its closest allies, they were no match for the Amadesins, who had already proven themselves to be technologically and militaristically more advanced than anyone else. And so, the survivors garnered assistance from private corporations. They stormed the Amadesis island stronghold, and after days of fighting, managed to take it over.

In response to this, the Amadesin Nation attacked Utah with ground troops, and began an occupation. Following years of concentration camps, diplomatic negotiations, and war, boundaries were redrawn. Usona agreed to hand over most of Utah as long as they released the roughly 500,000 non-Amadesin citizens. The neighboring states each took a chunk out of the borders, and left the wastelands to the invaders. Furthermore, the private citizens who had taken control over the original island were left alone, and allowed to form their own nation there.

All of the survivors had been rendered infertile from the radiation, however, one of them was already pregnant at the time of the disaster. She died months later in childbirth, but her son survived. Frederick Stockton showed no signs of damage from the radiation. He appeared to be perfectly healthy. He was a beloved citizen of the new nation of Federama, and though he was not part of its origins, he rose in power quite quickly. By the time he was 20 years old, he had been elected as the head of state, and given the title of Governor. Because of his parents’ eventual deaths, and because of all the pain that the Amadesins—and many others, for that matter—had caused throughout history, he formulated a plan.

Step one of Governor Stockton’s plan was to convince Federama’s allies that he could disarm Pakistan of its nuclear weapons, something India in particular was very interested in doing. But this had to be done in secret, of course. It would be a foreign relations nightmare for any of the other nations to admit that they were involved in such subterfuge. And so Stockton agreed to keep them out of it, and used all of his own resources to achieve his goals.

But they could not just steal or disable the weapons and call it a day. Such an act would cause international tension, but not prevent Pakistan from simply restarting the program. They would also have to destroy all technical documents regarding the bombs, demolish every facility tailored to design or manufacture the bombs, and also kidnap every Pakistani loyalist who was educated and intelligent enough to engineer further bombs. This took some time, and the allies were not privy to the entirety of their plans for Pakistan, let alone the rest of the world.

The attack was executed on a single day after months of spying and gathering intelligence. An assault team stormed the royal palace and made it look like rebels were trying to overthrow the government. Leadership fell into lockdown, and the military was mobilized to key strategic locations, leaving Stockton’s true targets vulnerable. They raided the manufacturing plants, and stole the weapons. They burned the documents and kidnapped the engineers. Overall it was a successful mission. The teams returned having accomplished everything on their lists, and Stockton was satisfied. But this was the easy part. They had taken more from Pakistan than anyone knew they would. Kidnapping was certainly not part of the arrangement, and so there was terrible backlash from the allies. Though the island was on its own lockdown, they allowed The Confederacy to send in the Usonian Ambassador to open up a discussion. The Minister of Foreign Affairs accompanied him.

Ambassador Rakin shook Stockton’s hand and nodded politely. “Governor. This is my translator, Tai Guo. He comes with me even when I’m not speaking to someone in a different language.”

“Is he okay?” Stockton asked.

“He doesn’t know everything. But he is sympathetic to our cause.”

“What about the minister?”

“She is not, but she’s not going anywhere,” Rakin explained. “We might as well speak freely.”

“Then we will proceed, and keep her here.”

“Yes,” Rakin agreed. “But I want details on the mission. I want to make sure that we’ve cleaned Pakistan out completely, and that we learned from any mistakes so that they do not occur during Stage Two. We have reason to believe that China is already gearing up for retaliation.”

“What is this?” the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked, horrified. “What is happening? You’re in on this?”

“I’m terribly sorry, Minister Wilkers,” Rakin said to her sadly. “But you insisted on coming with, and now no one comes in or leaves this island unless they’re on a nuclear assignment.”

Wilkers instinctively looked for the exits, but she knew she was trapped. “You two planned this all along? Why? What is Stage Two? What are you going to do now?”

“Now?” Stockton began with sincerity. “Now for the hard part.”

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