"Gentlemen, General Francois De La Roque is here from Algiers. He is here to brief us all on the political situation in North Africa and to arrange what cooperation we can."
The lecture hall at the Royal War College in Montreal erupted with cries of "Bienvenue notre frere!" from the Quebecois officers and murmured "good mornings" from the English and Anglo-Canadian officers.
"Si vous voulez, nous pourons utilizer un des ensigns pour ensigner en anglais aussi."
"I thank you admiral but that won't be necessary. We have English instructors in Algiers and I cherish the opportunity to essaing this. The Arabs are not Syndicalists despite all. Really, they are a proud people of a fury magnificent. They have long despised we Frenchmen but also the Ottomans as traitors to Islam. We are an obstacle to the urgings of the racaille in Arabia but the diseased Ottomans are vulnerable.
Si vous avez une projecteur?"
"Vous see these photos. They are the chiefs of the Arab movement. We think they might attempt a form of revolutionary war against France and the Ottomans. We have no reason to suspect the Syndies will involve themselves in this conflict but a war in Africa would be very bad to our chances. MittelAfrika has driven Portugal out of Africa but has little interest in defending us. Germany has also clarified it that Goering is not to recieve more money from Germany. MittelAfrika has economic problems as well and seems unlikely to prevent Arab or Syndicalist threat to the order of Africa. "
"Questions? Yes, ADM Parry."
"What about Germany Naval bases in Yemen or East Africa, surely the Germans would step in at that point."
"Peut-etre mais we do not have assurances of that and Germany has not acted."
"But surely if their empire is threatened.."
"The Bosch may have won an empire but it lost many men. We cannot expect the Germans to be far-sighted about the Arab danger as they have ignored the dangers of the Commune for so long. Even members of the Leftist parties in Germany favor the Commune. No, we cannot expect any help from Europe. Perhaps if Canada would send some of our old brothers..?"
"General Melchitt."
"I don't see what the problem is, you just charge the natives with lancers and the whole revolt should be over."
Silence erupted in a room more notable for the subtle fidgeting of busy men with many pointless lectures to attend.
"May I remind you that the natives now have machine-guns and are Arabs and Berbers. They are not the ignorant savages you faced in your time. We have opened schools for the Arabs and they understand concepts like explosives, trains, and sabotage. Was it not one of your own officers who went to Arabia during the Great War?"
"So Mr. Jones, how do you like being Dr. Jones."
"It is much better than waiting three years for a prototype test. I thought I would have to change my thesis or drop out."
"I have to say, I would never have guessed that Northern Electric would build such a device or that the military would express an interest."
"I suppose that the Army wants new navigation devices. Right now, it can only detect a plane in about 50 miles but that should be enough to get a pilot close enough in foul weather. Also, the General Scientific Directorate has also asked me to work for them. "
"Congratulations, you'll never worry about funding again."
"I suppose not. I'm just worried the new conscription bill will put me in a cushy job far away from the front while I will never know if my work saved lives or not."
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One reason why I decided to start an AAR was to work on my writing. To put it delicately, my attempts at writing dialogue stink. I was hoping to improve that through the character pieces here. Can people please tell me if the dialogue seems forced, unnatural, or just plain dull?
But I love the AAR!
