The Rise of the Federated States of Haven

[Koegh]

The Rise of the Federated States of Haven

A/N: So, I was bored and basically gave Tibet a bit of an edge to it.

This includes:

New Commanders
New Cabinet
New Leaders
New Tech Team
Land and Air doctrines
Blueprints for two indutrial techs, and for interwar aircraft
Basic Mountain Division
Territorial claims on China, India, and the Soviet Union. Basically in my mind, everyone who might appreciate not living under a despot anymore.

I did add a backstory to make it somewhat make sense. Also, I did steal the name Haven from the Republic in the Honor Harrington series. Sort of what I imagine that place was like before it got all gigantic and expansionist. Not that the Haven I write about is that different, really. Has anyone here read those books at all?

Let me know what you think please!



Axum, Ethiopia. October 20th, 1935.



“There’s no way, absolutely no way that we’re going to be able to stop them.”

Magnus Ericcson regarded the six other men and three women sitting cross-legged about the campfire quietly. Their faces were more in shadow than they were in light, and gave the man an oddly surreal feeling. They were an odd combination – two English Canadians, four Quebecers, a Russian, an Indian, an Irish noblewoman, and himself, a Swede. But they had all come here for the same reason – to make a difference. Not that it had mattered in the end.

The mercenary waited quietly to see if anyone would dispute his words.

Derek Champaigne, the Quebecer heading the relief forces in Axum, looked more than a little uncomfortable, as if he didn’t truly believe the words coming out of his mouth. But the man was an idealist, and that tended to color his interpretation of the world around him.

“We can’t just say that, Mags. The war’s only a month old – Selassie’s Imperial Guard haven’t been committed yet. If they play their cards right – “

“It will make no difference whatsoever.”

The group turned to face the speaker. She was dressed in an immaculate grey riding dress rather than the tan khakis the rest of the group had adopted, and had somehow managed to avoid the frayed, knotted hair that had plagued the rest of the group. Cassandra O’Brien, Baroness Mooncreek, held the group’s gaze without flinching.

“Even if the Imperial Guard manages to halt the Italian offensive – something Commander Cyr has assured me is all but impossible – I’ve received word from some of my friends abroad. Mussolini has authorized the use of chemical weapons in his campaign here.”

Ericcson already knew that. It was why he had called the meeting. But hearing her say it out loud still sent shivers down his spine. The Baroness had happened upon their group by chance – she had attended university in Scotland with Shanka, the man sitting next to her.

Ash Shanka was an engineer like Ericcson was, and had decided to help with development work in Abyssinia when he graduated. Baroness Mooncreek had heard rumors of a war brewing, and flown out to Abyssinia in an effort to get her friend to leave before he found himself entangled in any unpleasantness. In the process, she had found herself inextricably involved in their mess. Still, for all of Ericcson’s doubts about the aristocracy, the Baroness had taken to life with the relief team and mercenaries without flinching.

Shanka was talking, “Cass – you can’t be serious. People would know; he’d be breaking the Geneva accords! He couldn’t possible get away with it!”

“I’m not making this up, Ash. He can and he will. I’ve met the man, and he’s dangerous.”

A heavily accented Russian voice sounded next. “Suppose he does use these weapons. Surely even the League will have to act, no?”

Mooncreek regarded the speaker calmly. “Surely, Comrade, you of all people know how manipulative we capitalists can be?”

Vera Brezhnev sniffed. She was the head of a Soviet relief team that had joined with the international contingent here, and had initially taken to the Baroness’ presence with abhorrence. Still, she had toned down her Marxist fervor after spending much of the past two months in contact with her. Enemy of the people or not, Vera Brezhnev was too reasonable to let her political education stand between her and someone she knew to be a decent person.

“I was not attempting to be rude – I merely was inquiring – “

“I would not place any bets on it, Comrade Brezhnev. Abyssinia does not have sufficient social, military, or economic clout for any members of the league to take action. France and England have refused to even halt their shipments of oil to them.”

Kris Cyr, the mercenary in charge of security, and another French Canadian, objected. “They placed an arms embargo on Italy, didn’t they? Maybe this will be enough for them to start cutting raw materials?”

Mooncreek watched Cyr carefully while speaking. “It’s true, they placed an arms embargo on Italy – and one on Abyssinia. Which means the government here can’t buy weapons to defend itself. And Italy hardly has a burning need for new equipment to pacify a backwater like this one.”

The two English Canadians in the group, Sara North and Max Szczerbowicz, just shook their heads slowly. They were an odd pair: Sara, a relief worker, Max, a logistics officer. Sara spoke quietly. “I can’t believe it’s come down to this. How can nobody help these people?”

Mooncreek answered calmly. “It’s in no one’s interest to help them. That’s all. That’s the way the world works.”

Regent Arsenault, another French Canadian engineer, shook his head. “Calice, but that’s not true there. We’ll stay, we’ll fight them.”

Ericcson decided to speak. Mooncreek had done enough. “And we’ll be killed. We’ll do no one any good if we’re dead.”

Szczerbowicz gave Ericcson a cool look. “Is that it then? We’re just going to leave these people to the fascists?”

“I know how this makes you feel. But Mooncreek is right. Even if Mussolini wasn’t going to use gas, we can’t stop him. We can’t buy weapons, we can’t build up an industrial base in time to support a modern army, and nobody is going to help us. We’ll all end up dead or in an Italian prison if we stay here.”

Yuan Tzu, the team’s pilot, was another engineer who had grown up in Quebec with the other three French Canadians. He spoke slowly, choosing his words with care. “I’m not sure how I feel about leaving. But if you guys want it, I can have my Fokker ready to go by tomorrow night. The Italiens won’t be able to find us in the night; we can fly out to Khartoum, no problem. Well, the ten of us, at least. I’ll try and see what I can do about getting aircraft to lift our boys out to Sudan.”

“And where will you go?” It was Mooncreek speaking again. Ericcson noted she had casually shifted the conversation to whether or not they were leaving to where they were leaving for.

Arsenault shrugged. “Back to Quebec, I suppose, where else?”

Shanka sighed quietly, looking somewhat lost in thought. “Maybe I’ll go to England. I could work for the company where I did my internship.”

Brezhnev shook herself from the gloom that seemed to have come over the others. “Why are we speaking of this? We have weapons, and people from all over the world that are ready to fight! Our relief team is five-thousand strong! Ericcson, Cyr, your men will surely stay and fight so long as there is money! We can’t give in to these fascists!”

Ericcson spoke again. “I won’t commit my men to a battle where there is no hope of their return. Nor would I take an assignment I did not believe was acceptable. There’s a reason I’m fighting here, with the Emperor, rather than with the Italians. But back to the Baroness’ question, Vera, where will you go?”

The Russian stopped for a moment. “Back home, back to Moscow.”

Mooncreek chimed in softly. “We’ll be divided across the world; a world that will very soon be engulfed in war. Mark my words, Abyssinia is merely the beginning. Things are going to get much, much worse.”

Champaigne leaned forwards. “And what are you suggesting we do about it.”

The Baroness smiled. “Comrade Brezhnev was correct. We do have a powerful force here. The mercenaries we have are extremely well trained. The developmental aid workers we have are also very competent. But in this situation, Brezhnev’s, Cyr’s, and Ericcson’s troops will make no difference at all. The Canadian and British relief workers are an excellent team, yet they will be wasted here when the Italians come. If you care for those around you, you’ll take the forces we have and arrange them somewhere else; somewhere where they can make a difference.”

Everyone in the group was leaning in towards the Baroness now. Cyr was the one who spoke.

“It’s an interesting thought, Baroness, but where would that be?”

Magnus Ericcson smiled slightly in the firelight.

“Do any of you know where Tibet is?”

[Koegh]

Lhasa, Tibet. January 1st, 1936.



Magnus surveyed the massive Potala Palace before him, waiting for Tzu, Shanka, and Mooncreek to get back from their audience with the British Viceroy in Kathmandu. He turned his gaze back to the Tibetan palace. It truly was an impressive piece of architecture, and he was pleased it had been spared any damage during the transfer of power.

The coup had gone off flawlessly.

The ‘relief team’ had evacuated Abyssinia by air, thanks to Tzu and Szczerbowicz’s almost occult ability to summon logistical support. Baroness Mooncreek had funded the operation, of course, and the mercenaries and relief workers had been informed of their new objectives once they had been evacuated safely through Sudan into Kenya. Brezhnev, Cyr, Champaigne, and North had all made passionate calls to their people, and a surprising number had agreed to stay on with the operation.

From Kenya, the two divisions of mercenaries and development workers had boarded transports to India, and from there on Mooncreek had supplied the appropriate papers for their movement over British territory. The porous border between Nepal and Tibet had proved to hardly be an obstacle, and the mercenaries had covertly surrounded the capital, Lhasa. The development workers crossed well away from the capital, the only location in there was any possibility of combat occurring.

As it as, there really hadn’t been any combat at all. Tzu had managed to scrounge up a half dozen Fokker F.10 transports, and a handful of Brezhnev’s parachute-trained ‘relief workers’ had dropped in on the Dalai Lama and other chief government and military officials in the middle of the night. When the country had awoken, it discovered that its rulers had mysteriously been replaced overnight. That had been a week ago.



Not that most of the country had any idea anything had even happened. Radios were few and far between in the country, so only the capital had any inkling that something had changed. The rest of the country would find out when emissaries were sent out to the individual villages to inform them that the Dalai Lama would no longer be involved in the ruling of the country, though he was to remain a religious figurehead. As it was, Ericcson intended to put the boy in a good school somewhere. He might even make a decent leader some day. The fact that the country’s head of state was a child had made the transition that much simpler.

There was a buzzing noise as a Fokker overflew the capital. Ericcson checked his watch; Tzu was early.

There was no runway to speak of in the entire country, but the large courtyard ahead of the palace made for a somewhat hazardous substitute. Ericcson watched the Fokker make a steep approach, flare, and touch down. Baroness Mooncreek was the first to emerge from the aircraft, seemingly unphased by the harsh landing. Shanka was next, though the man was obviously a little unstable on his legs. Mooncreek smiled as she saw him.

“Well, Premier Ericcson, the United Kingdom has officially acknowledged your rule over the region formerly known as Tibet.”

Ericcson smiled broadly at her, and then turned to shake Shanka’s hand.

“Excellent. And how is my Head of Government doing?”

Shanka should his head wearily. “I’ll do what I can, Mags. I’m in an engineer though, not a politician. Try and remember that.“

Ericcson laughed quietly.

“You’ll do fine.” Shanka worked hard at whatever he did. Ericcson had no doubt he would adapt to his new role. The Premier turned to Mooncreek. “And how is Vera’s visit with the Soviet Union going?”

The Baroness shrugged.

“I was never worried about that. Comrade Brezhnev is NKVD, despite what she told us in Abyssinia, and the fact that you’re making her your foreign minister has to go over well with them. That and the trade agreement we offered them was quite lucrative. We got word that they acknowledged the transfer of power just before we left Kathmandu. She’s on her way back.”



“And they acknowledged our new name?”

Shanka nodded to him. “We’re now the Federal State of Haven, Premier. Be careful though, just because the Brits don’t have the will to come after us doesn’t mean they like us. Though the price we gave them for the supplies we’ll be turning out did help.”

The Swede shrugged. He knew personally how much most of the Great Powers were willing to overlook so long as it didn’t interfere with their political, or more importantly, economic interests.

“They’ll like us even less in a few months. Sara’s gone over the Tibetan industrial and technological capacity. We don’t even have enough skilled workers to build ourselves a factory. This place is medieval.”

Mooncreek cocked her head slightly.

“Surely our development team can come up with something?”



Ericsson nodded. “The Canadians and Brits are already working on it. They’re drawing up blueprints as we speak. But it’s not going to happen fast enough. We hardly have the industrial base to produce a single new manufacturing site.”

Shanka squinted at him.

“So what are we going to do?”

Ericcson waited for a moment. He’d just established himself in one country, but he needed to grow. Fast. And there was only one way to do that.

“Two countries bordering us: Yunnan and Sinkiang.”

Mooncreek watched him cautiously. “Yunnan is run by a despot. Long Yun treats the entire country like it’s one of his toys. Sinkiang’s not too bad off. Sheng Shicai’s a decent man. And then there’s the territory owned by the Ma family in the North East. If you want medieval, that place is it.”

“And unfortunately enough, we’ll have to go after Sinkiang first. Their population is only a little more than twice that of Tibet, and we need the support of their industry if anything’s going to happen. After that point, Sara’s assured me we can begin industrializing this country in earnest.”

Shanka squinted slightly. “So… by we’re going after Sinkiang first, that means were hitting another country next?”

Ericcson nodded casually. “Yunnan. Mooncreek’s right when she says the man’s unstable. He’s not going to take kindly to our being here, and we need to move fast and remove him next. Xibei San Ma’s unfortunately allied to the Chinese. I don't want to risk a war with them, or we'll be back to the situation we were in against the Italians."

Tzu had finished seeing to his aircraft, and jogged over to the others. "Hey, les boys, what're we up to?"

"Invasion." Mooncreek answered in a flat voice.

Tzu stopped for a moment. "Ah. Well... good?"

Shanka cocked his head slightly. "Hopefully."

Ericcson turned to Mooncreek. "Baroness, you know it's just a matter of time before Japan invades China. Even if that doesn't happen, China has terriorial claims on us. We have to build ourselves the infrastructure if we're going to survive here more than a few decades."

Mooncreek was silent for a few moments, then tipped her head in assent. "Very well, Premier. Ash and I shall attend to things here. You should go see to your forces."



Ericcson smiled. He valued her approval more than he had let on. He turned to Tzu.

"Yuan, could you raise Cyr on the radio for me?"

[Phoenix Dace]

This is some great stuff. Welcome to the forums, and keep up the good work. Excellent!

[EmprorCoopinius]

Very intriguing concept, looking forward to more.

[likk9922]

Wow, great start. I'm anxious to see where this story goes.

[Koegh]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! This isn't much of an update, but I'll have more time in a bit. I hopefully won't disappoint!



Urumqi, Sinkiang. April 4, 1936.

Vera Brezhnev glanced around the sparsely decorated furnishings of the government offices in Urumqi. Sinkiang was similar to Tibet, but without any signs of the grandiose religious architecture that held sway in that other country. It had a much wilder, more rugged feel to it; both in its people and its terrain. The Foreign Minister found she rather liked the country. It was a shame they were at war, but if Ericcson could be believed, that would be over in a matter of months.



She had been both shocked and relieved to discover Haven had gone to war when her aircraft had touched down in Lhasa. Shocked because Ericcson was moving so quickly, and relieved that her superiors in the Soviet Union hadn’t known of Ericcson’s plans during her visit there. They’d been forced to treat her with some measure of restraint, seeing as she was technically a member of a foreign government now, but the fact that she’d taken her forces from Abyssinia to Tibet and successfully participated in a coup without authorization displayed an alarming display of initiative for an NKVD officer. Of course, she was supposed to help spread the revolution across the world. It just so happened she’d done it in Central Asia rather than on the horn of Africa.



All in all, Vera Brezhnev was glad to be out of the USSR again. She didn’t want anyone to think she might be a threat to their own power and then decide to ‘disappear’ her.

The functionary at the door cleared his throat, breaking the woman’s chain of thought. He spoke to her in Russian, which was not surprising considering Sinkiang’s proximity, geographically and politically, to the Soviet Union.

“President Shicai will see you now.”

“Thank you.”

Brezhnev smiled at him and rose, walking into the office beyond the man. Sheng Shicai was sitting at his desk, and the two men behind him had a distinctly military feel to them. Brezhnev recognized both of them: Piotr Orlov, the chief of Sinkiang’s air force, and the other man was the chief of his navy, Sa Zhenbing. Brezhnev frowned slightly. Neither one of these men were of very high importance – Sinkiang’s ‘navy’ consisted of a few river boats, and the air force was composed of a few ex-Soviet Po-2 scout planes. She spoke to the man in Russian.

“President Shicai, it’s kind of you to see me on such short notice.”

Shicai gave the Foreign Minister a level gaze, and Vera was shocked by the tranquility about him. The man was a warlord, she knew that, but the impression she drew from him was that of a monk more than anything else. His NKVD files had told her he was a brute who often relied on torture to maintain order in his country. Then again, Mooncreek had told her Shicai was a decent person. She was seldom wrong about such things.

“Considering the circumstances our two nations now find themselves in, it would be inappropriate for me to refuse, would you not agree, Madame Brezhnev?”

Brezhnev smiled slightly and took a seat across from the man.

“Mr. President, two divisions of our finest troops are currently enroute to Urumqi. My Chief of Staff assures me that your forces will be overrun in less than a day. Premier Ericcson has authorized me to see if we can reach an accord that would make that final attack unnecessary.”

Shicai nodded slightly. “Speak your terms, Madame.”

Brezhnev hesitated slightly. Ericcson hadn’t left her much room to maneuver. “We would require you to stand down your armies and allow for some of our technical personnel to verify your industrial capabilities. Sinkiang and Haven’s economies would be merged, allowing for both of our nations to operate at a higher level of efficiency. You and your cabinet would stay on, as leaders of the State of Sinkiang within the Federation of Haven.”

One of the men behind Shicai, Orlov, shifted slightly.

“Please, Comrade Brezhnev, what you’re stating amounts to the annexation of my country.”

Brezhnev smiled innocently. “It would, Comrade Orlov. But in light of what will happen regardless, you could take this as an opportunity to assure yourself of a place here once the dust settles. You may or may not have been informed, but Haven is acting with the consent of the Soviet Union.”

Shicai fidgeted slightly at that. Brezhnev knew the USSR was his primary backer.

“Madame Brezhnev, I can not cede my sovereignty to you. If you were to make a more reasonable demand…”

The Russian woman shrugged slightly. “I’m afraid my orders don’t give me very much room to maneuver, President Shicai. I will see you again shortly, I imagine. But know my offer still stands, whether or not you instruct your troops to stand down. There are not very many qualified political personnel in Haven at this time. We might have use for individuals such as you, once the dust settles. “

Shicai regarded her carefully for a few long moments. “And what is to become of my people, should this annexation come to pass?”

Brezhnev smiled slightly. “As far as we can tell, your economy operates reasonably efficiently. Though our sources have managed to determine that your Minister of Security might need to be replaced, your cabinet is quite strong. You will be free to administer the State of Sinkiang as you see fit. Bare in mind however, that we will be taking control of your industrial sector and synchronizing it with out own.”

It was Zhabing who spoke this time. “In an effort to enrich the State of Tibet, I have no doubt?”

“Actually, the Premier has plans for industrializing the Kashgar region of Sinkiang. Both Tibet’s and Sinkiang’s economies will be focused on creating an industrial zone in that area. Premier Ericcson thought it might alleviate any suspicions of favoritism.”

Shicai nodded slowly. “I feel you are telling me the truth, Madame Brezhnev. But please understand: if I am to lead my people after this war, I cannot be seen as weak. I cannot lose face and still expect to govern this land.”

Brezhnev turned her head slightly. Perhaps this was the opening she had been looking for. “I understand, Mr. President. In that case, both Haven’s and Sinkiang’s troops would appreciate if your commanders were under orders not to resist to fiercely.”

Orlov looked aghast by what he was hearing. “Comrade Brezhnev, what gives you the gall to speak to my head of state this way? Do you really believe the world will just sit back and let this annexation take place?”

Brezhnev actually laughed at that.



“March 4th, 1936. Italy annexed Abyssinia. Did you care, Comrade Orlov? I did. I had friends there. But there was nothing I could do. The people who cared couldn’t have done anything about it, and the people who could’ve done something didn’t care. I’m afraid it’s the way the world works. Gentlemen, please remember what has been offered to you today.”

Vera Brezhnev stood up calmly, then breezed out of the President’s office without as much as a backwards glance.

[Phoenix Dace]

I like it. Well done.

[rcduggan]

is that Magnus guy your own creation?

[Phoenix Dace]

Since it's a picture of Reinhard Heydrich, I'd assume so. Although he could have had an identical twin...

...the plot thickens, Koegh...

[Chief Ragusa]

Quite superb! Has me hooked. How could Sinkiang refuse such generous terms? I forsee Comrade Orlov making a long walk off a very short plank.

[4th Dimension]

Tibet occupied!!!!

THis is a disgrace. We will see how you fair against our partisan yak troops!!!!

[likk9922]

Again, superb. Very well written.

[Delex]

taging

[Koegh]

Thanks again everyone for their feedback!

Now I've got exams to study for, so I probably won't come back to this for a week. Machining's killing me... I will come back to this though, I'm honestly having a lot of fun :-)

rcduggan: Everyone in my own cabinet and some of my leaders are fictional. Their personalities loosely based off of my bunch of friends.

Phonix Dace: Yes, actually. And Baroness Mooncreek is Queen Charlotte's identical twin. :-p Oh man... I knew I should have picked portraits from further down in the file...

Chief Ragusa: Nah, I need Orlov. I eventually hope to have a CAS supported infantry army, and I'd like to use as many historical leaders as I can. If they were originally part of Sinkiang, no big deal, right?

4th Dimension: Well we all know how dangerous fundementalist Buddhists can be :-p

Now back to the story...



Urumqi, Federated States of Haven. April 24th, 1936.

Ericcson, Brezhnev, Champaigne, and Mooncreek all sat at the wide conference table in the Urumqi legislature, opposite the three remaining member of Shicai’s cabinet. Shicai, Orlov, and Zhabing sat on the far side, looking somewhat exhausted but not overly alarmed. All of the remaining members of Shicai’s cabinet had fled long ago, which explained in Ericcson’s mind why Brezhnev had been greeted by Shicai and two of his most junior ministers during her last visit.

Mooncreek was speaking. “So he has no idea where the rest of his cabinet went?”

Brezhnev translated for the others, waited for Shicai’s response, and turned to the Baroness. “I am afraid not, Baroness. He say they run away when they learn of Premier’s army in Korla desert.”

Ericcson looked to Mooncreek, whose brow was creased. “You think this is going to be a problem?”

The woman pursed her lips for a moment, and then shook her head. “No, no it shouldn’t be. None of the ministers who escaped are likely to generate much dissent against us. Not if the information I have from their profiles is correct. I am concerned, however, if Shicai is capable of governing Sinkiang on his own.”

Ericcson nodded to Vera, who translated again. There was a brief discussion, and a laugh from Orlov and Zhabing. A faint smile touched Shicai’s eyes, who said nothing. Orlov answered, and Vera turned her attention back to Ericcson.

“Apparently, in Comrade Orlov’s opinion, it was Shicai who ran the country. The other ministers, they were not very important to him.”

Champaigne rolled his eyes, “This from the riverboat captain and the crop duster.”

Mooncreek hushed the man and turned to the Premier.

“Well, there you have it. Shicai can run the country, with Orlov and Zhabing as his deputies, without much of our interference. Granted, Miss North will be able to run their production as she sees fit. And the construction of an industrial hub in Kashgar will go over very well with the population.”

Ericcson considered the situation for a moment. Leaving Shicai in power would be the easiest way to integrate Sinkiang into Haven. Hopefully trusting the man wouldn’t be a mistake. Still, with the warlord’s forces disarmed, he couldn’t cause that much trouble. And Mooncreek seemed confident in his loyalty.

“Very well, Baroness. Comrade Brezhnev, please tell Shicai that if he wishes it, the role of Magistrate of Sinkiang will be made open to him.”

Brezhnev spoke rapidly in Russian, and the warlord bowed his head slightly before answering.

The foreign minister looked to Ericcson again.

“He says he would be honored to accept, and would like to keep the service of his two ministers who did not desert him.”

The Premier of Haven waited a moment before proceeding, and regarded his Minister of Security carefully.

“And he knows Derek will have an oversight on his security operations from here on?”

Vera asked the question and waited for the response.

“He says he understands. But he wants you to remember that Sinkiang is different from Tibet.”

Ericcson nodded to her. He had been disturbed about the rumors that had he’d heard concerning Shicai’s approach to security. But Derek, his Minister of Security, was a humanitarian at heart. Ericcson was confident he would be able to hold the other man in check. The Premier then stood and extended his hand to the warlord.

“Only one thing left to do then. Magistrate Shicai, Mr. Orlov, and Mr. Zhabing: Welcome to Haven.”



The men and women about the table shook hands, and the look of relief on Sinkiang’s three former ministers’ faces was apparent. The men shuffled off to their offices, and Ericcson turned to regard his own cabinet ministers once the door had closed.

“Well that wasn’t too disastrous, now was it?”

“How were our casualties?” Mooncreek asked softly.

The smile disappeared from Ericcson’s face, and he answered slowly.

“We got off very lightly. Less than twenty dead, another eighty wounded. Well under one percent of our total strength. It did bring a problem to mind though: we don’t have any sort of hospital system for our troops. A lot of the wounded had to be rushed to local medicine men for treatment.”

Mooncreek closed her eyes for a moment, and then turned her gaze out of one of the room's fogged windows, staring at the snow falling outside.

“It was worth it, I suppose… if we’re to survive in the end.”

Brezhnev put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “Baroness Mooncreek, this is very unlike you. We have won great victory for the people of this country. Be cheerful.”

Ericcson saw Mooncreek role her eyes, though from where she was standing Brezhnev did not.

“The next war won’t be so easy, Comrade. Yunnan dwarfs us in population. Though from what Sara’s told me, we may have an industrial edge on them once she finishes bringing Sinkiang’s industry up to par. But the factories we’ll be building in Kashgar, that’s going to cut into the resources we can invest in actual war material. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of our people will die.”

Champaigne got up from his chair and walked over to the window.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea, Baroness?”

The woman shook her head.

“No, Derek, it’s not a good idea. But it happens to be the best option we’ve got if we’re to have any hope at all of holding our own against the Japanese or Nationalists, whenever it is they come. I don’t think either is going to let us continue on our way the way we just let Shicai go back to running Sinkiang. We’re now almost as large as India, and Sara thinks we might soon rival Norway in industrial capacity. But we’re going to have to do better than that if we’re going to survive.”



Ericcson watched the group for a few seconds. The Baroness had just called Champaigne by his first name. It used to be she only did that with Shanka. Whatever that actually meant, the former mercenary took it as a good sign. He sighed quietly before speaking up.

“We’ll prepare best we can. We’ll sort through Shicai’s people; see if anyone here has experience with infantry weapons or field medicine. I want to have better equipment and care for my soldiers the next time we go to war.”

Brezhnev nodded slowly. “Yes, we set up weapons team, like industrial team we already have, yes? There are people amongst my soldiers, I speak with them.”

Mooncreek gave Brezhnev a startled look, and then turned to Ericcson. “That’s actually a very good idea, Comrade. Premier, do we have anyone else who might be able to contribute?”

The Swede shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll root through the industrial team; Ash, Regent, and Yuan are all engineers. I’ll see if I can find anyone interested in doing research on weapons. Just remember, we don’t have much infrastructure here, it’s going to take some time to get even basic work done. I’ll talk to Sara though, she’ll know better than I do what our situation is.”

Mooncreek nodded, and walked over to the window to stand by Champaigne. Brezhnev and Ericcson followed, almost without having to think about it. The snow floating down had a peaceful, yet strangely funereal sense to it. The Baroness spoke softly, her eyes gazing into the forest in the distance.

“Do whatever you can, all of you. The next step won’t be as easy.”

[Spacehusky]

Originally Posted by Koegh

Has anyone here read those books at all?

I've read all of them (including the sub-series works) except The Honor of the Queen, The Short Victorious War, Field of Dishonor, Flag in Exile. Greatest Sci-Fi series ever!

And an excellent AAR

[Koegh]

I'd definitely recommend The Honor of the Queen. That's probably my favorite book from the entire series.

I have to admit though, I never really liked Harrington all that much - Theisman, Caslet, Yu and Foraker were all way more interesting characters.

[rcduggan]

good update

[Chief Ragusa]

Shame that Orlov is still walking around. Perhaps he can persuade the Soviets to provide some experts as in Comrade Stalin's instant indusrtialization -for distribution to communist cadre members only! -and his instant literacy program (NKVD: program not pogrom), and his best selling Collectivization, the way to ruin agriculture (a work he later tried to ban).

Invading Yunnan provides the population who will work in the industrial area. That Tibet/Haven is soon going to rival Norway for industrial capacity is ascary thought.

Anyone suffering from altitude sickness?

At the rate at which Haven is expanding the Japanese and Chinese will be engaging in wars of self-defence.

Keep it up. Excellent read.