“I don't do good with public stuff like this, I have pretty bad anxiety.” Nadeera protested.
“Listen you will be fine, we’ve been working on this, you need to make an appearance for the people and make yourself more known to the people.” Yoshio Kato said.
Yoshio Kato was the former Prime Minister of Japan. Widely regarded as one of the better Prime Ministers Japan has had in awhile, he mysteriously and famously left his retirement to personally train and support Nadeera al-Shareef. al-Shareef was eternally grateful for this as she was completely out of her depth.
An aide came rushing in holding a tablet in her arms “Nadeera your on.” She said in a hurried rush.
Nadeera was starting to shiver from her anxiety, Kato picking up on this looked at her like a father and reassured her that she would be just fine. Nadeera nodded and got up walking out onto the talk show stage. The talk show had a plain background that would place greater emphasis on the people on-stage which Nadeera subtly picked up on. The Host was a pretty normal looking face for this kind of ordeal. He was average looking. The center of the stage had a table and two chairs one chair was empty, Nadeera’s chair.
Nadeera sat down on the chair and waited anxiously. She looked over to the host and the host looked back at her.
“Are you ready to begin the show?” He said.
“Yes sir” Nadeera said.
“Good.” The man clapped his hands twice and the black room around her filled with what looked like a coffee shop. They were sitting in what looked like to be the very back of the coffee shop and the room felt like it had a surprisingly deep depth to it.
“What the-” Nadeera said shocked.
“Its a holographic room, I set it to something mutual and something relatable to the audience.” The host said.
Nadeera has seen holographic rooms and technology a lot like this. In the Union of Arabia she has been to the occasional Holo-theatre or two but this was much more impressive than any holo-theatre she’s ever been to. The room filled with a countdown timer going from 5 to 1 in big numbers. Once it hit one the numbers disappeared and the host started talking.
“Hello once again and I am your host, Obi Tsuyoshi once again interviewing important people from celebrities to politicians. Today I am joined by a local up and coming figure in our tumultuous times Nadeera al-Shareef.” He said.
“A pleasure to be here” Nadeera said with a smile.
“So Nadeera how are you enjoying Japan so far?” The host asked.
“It's different, that's for sure.” Nadeera said.
Her mind cut to images of Kato teaching her how to use chopsticks and how to read, speak and write perfect japanese. Among other things she was just reminded of other stuff within Japan that made life here much more radically different than if she were in Arabia.
“Now you came here after the Union of Arabia Exiled you from their nation is that correct?”
“Yes it is.” Nadeera said, starting to feel some of her anxiety creep in.
“Now, much of the audience doesn't know much about Arabian laws and customs. So if my notes are correct you were exiled after you brought up your now infamous Union of Territories proposal correct?” He asked.
“Yes, but its a little more complex than that. It's just that the Arabians are deeply afraid.” She explained.
“Afraid?” The host asked. Nadeera couldn't tell if the host was asking because he didn't understand what she meant by that or if he was just doing his job and trying to get her to explain herself a bit better. Nadeera thought about it for a moment.
“Well scared. Scared that they will get involved in disastrous wars or conflicts much like what plagued us in the Twenty first century.” She said.
“Yes I see, well when you explain it like that it makes sense especially considering the events going on around us in the world. Given how much of your people feel about the world, how come you, let's face it, rough inexperienced and rookie politician, decided to propose a grand plan to radically change how the world itself functions?” He asked.
That was a pretty good question that Nadeera was starting to struggle to come up with an answer to. “Well it was never my intention to lead the Union when I proposed it back within Arabia. I wanted the Prime Minister of Arabia to maybe form some kind of committee to better break it down and decide on where to go and what to do with it. My proposal however has had deep thought and consideration put into it. I spent years researching and drafting my proposal, looking at the United Nations and the 1920’s League of Nation. I feel that this proposal, this Idea could be the one that works.” She says.
“Nadeera have you ever considered that maybe the reason why these other organizations, that were also tasked with keeping the peace in the world and between nations, failed is because of Human nature? Maybe mankind is not meant to work together and this is the reason why these various organizations have failed.” He said.
Nadeera sat back and thought about that. Then snapped back with a witty response. “There is an American saying, 3rd Times the charm!” She said jokingly. “No but yes I have thought about this, but at the end of the day this is false. If we aren't meant to work together you wouldn't really see the now rising pacifist and peacetime movements across the world. The reason my proposal is starting to seriously gain traction is because everyone seriously sees this as a possibility, and alternative to what seems like unending bloodshed.” She said.
“It's good that you mentioned unending bloodshed because the big topic of our time is this war. The war has already skyrocketed when it comes to casualties, some are already projecting the war has hit maybe two million or more casualties and this war seems to only be growing in intensity especially after the long raging battle within Charlotte city within the North American New Republic. So my question would have to be how do you get these nations that will no doubt have some revanchism towards each other to put down their hatred for the time and essentially work together long enough to see this vision of yours come true?”
Again another hard hitting answer. He was good at his job, she thought.“Well we all want peace at the end of the day like I said. Eventually this war will run out of steam, either through victory or just war exhaustion. The world will need to work together if we are to recover from this conflict. Again the people will be a tremendous help when it comes to this but more importantly world leaders will need to wake up and smell the roses.” She said.
The man simply nodded at this response.
“Well I guess I only have one question left to ask you Nadeera. Do you think that people will ever stop this violence, this bloodshed, this killing?” The man asked.
Nadeera sat back and seriously gave this some thought. This was undoubtedly not a question for the audience, but for herself. “I would like for it to end...” she said, sitting in silence for a minute. “...However I know that it might never end. The harsh reality is that what i'm doing and what everyone is working for might be pointless. We can't let this hold us back though. At the end of the day we have to work for the world that we want to see, or else it's never going to get better. All this bloodshed, this violence, this brutality can only end if we want it to end. That's all there is to it.” Nadeera said.
“Well thank you for coming to the show. I had a wonderful interview with you Nadeera al-Shareef and I wish you the best of luck in your journey.” He said.
“Thanks it certainly helps” She said smiling at him. The holographic projection around her ended as the show ended.
North American Theater
The NANR had been beaten back to the North-South Carolina border. The situation was getting more and more desperate. The President of the NANR had formally declared a National state of Emergency and had signed executive orders to give the Military more and more power. These orders were not protested as they were seen as necessary to survive. An Executive order nicknamed the “Conscription Order” mandated that all non-essential personnel were to report to the nearest recruitment center. The NANR military dramatically rose in size and strength from this law and soon the Army was able to rapidly fortify the border. The pinnacle of this was the city of Charlotte.
Charlotte was once considered to be a trade capital of the Republic, but was now slowly being turned into a fortified Bastion for the NANR Army. The NANR Army Sergeant Major of the Army Rowan Salazar was famously quoted as saying “Every tooth, every nail, every glass and every pipe will be used to defend the city..” rapidly the NANR brought in offworld resources and used them to erect Nanocomposite fortification strongpoints. Buildings were deliberately demolished to make certain roads impassable and to funnel troops down other roads. The fortification plans of the city were rapidly accomplished within the span of three months, surprising some lower level KNH officers and even leading to them raising some doubts as to a future offensive.
The defence of Charlotte was also greatly helped by an experimental UCA Technology Deflector shielding. The Deflector shields could outright stop all offensive weaponry for a limited amount of time. The deflector shields would require enormous amounts of power to use. While normally not a problem on UCA Maritime vessels that primarily carried with them Nuclear Power, this would prove to be a major gap in the set up of defenses. Rowan Salazar as a result would issue orders stating that these Deflector shields will only be used to augment pre-existing defenses instead of replacing them.
The fortification deadline would end when Recon Companies reported that the KNH was initiating their offensive. The Battle of Charlotte was on. The frontlines would hold for a time, when eventually the KNH broke through and eventually made their way into the city. Charlotte would create a bulge in the frontlines for the KNH offensives and would become a thorn in the side for the invasion. Many divisions would be diverted from the edges and move to take Charlotte. Soon Charlotte would see the entire might of Army Group East bear down on them. The city would become the closest thing to hell ever seen in this war. Street after street would be fought over with an intensity not seen anywhere else. UCA observers and news casters reporting these events would be in awe at the level of carnage and bloodshed fought for just this one city.
NANR Soldier in the Battle of Charlotte 5/16/2102
Army group north that was responsible for attacking and making a breakthrough from the north would slowly pull away more and more until only a defensive force was left. Breakthrough attempts by the KNH were made through the Appalachian Mountains but would ultimately result in disaster due to the terrain and the guerilla warfare they had to contend with. Soon the KNH moved all of their chips towards the battle of Charlotte and this one battle rapidly would grow in size and devastation. The Battle of Charlotte will be a decisive victory for any side as by the end of 2102 the battle still rages for the broken and battered streets.
To the south Mexican forces began to recover from the offensive. Mexican diplomats would be seen talking to the Communes within the Free Territories of the Americas to ask for their aid in the battle against the KNH. Many Communes would send a militia or two, while others would dedicate their entire communes to the fight. The USM Military command began to plan for an offensive to break through the KNH frontlines before the terror campaigns began. KNH forces began to launch airstrikes, artillery barrages and other attacks on civilian targets. The KNH would try and kill as many Mexicans as possible in order to break them down in this war. These orders however would be protested by some officers with smaller levels of desertion being reported.
The USM MILCOM undeterred by these attacks only doubled down and began to focus on making a significant breakthrough to buy their allies the NANR the victory needed in order to survive. The USM forces launched an all out offensive pushing the frontline of the KNH back. This offensive eventually overwhelmed the KNH forces and the USM would manage to push the KNH past the Rio Grande. This offensive would see divisions dedicated to the battle of charlotte having to pull back to halt the offensive. The USM would pull back behind the Rio Grande for the time being, and would prepare for the next offensive into the KNH territory. The Diverted troops instead of going back to Charlotte would stay on the Mexican frontline and hold the line.
The UCA, still stretched thin, was not able to provide much help to the Mexican or the NANR fighters. The UCA approved various Spec Ops missions in an effort to harass the logistics and reinforcements headed towards Charlotte. UCA Fighters and other transports carried out missions involving tactical strikes in Charlotte, minor reinforcement of troops and positions and CASEVAC’s. A UCA Convoy would even be instrumental in leading the NANR Government and other important figures out of Raleigh and moving them in Philadelphia in the event Charlotte was lost to the KNH.
European & Asian Theater
European Commonwealth forces within the Umayyad Commissariat would send a report to the Marshall council that the AFN had begun their invasion of North Africa. Following this the Stalin Commissariat reported the uprisings of various Russian insurgents and the Greater Slavic Union’s forces invasion of the Commissariat. These invasions were followed by a massive CCR invasion leading to the ECW Having to contend with three multiple offensives at once. The High Marshalls were more scared of the Africans pushing and eventually capturing their capital and all of their Marshalls at Malta would flee and relocate to Berlin.
After relocating greater control over the ECW forces was seen and the ECW mobilized their population during this great time of Crisis. Quickly the AFN would retake Africa from the ECW leading to a great celebration within the AFN. The GSU forces would eventually recapture Moscow, causing a massive boost of morale within GSU fighters. The ECW refusing to lose to either began their two pronged offensives, One offensive would land ECW troops in Tunisia and retake the Northern African Territories, and their second offensive would crush the GSU.
AFN Soldiers being hailed as heroes by liberated North Africans 7/6/2102
Army Groups South, and East were formed and began their offensive campaigns during summer. Multiple naval invasions of North Africa however were ultimately halted as the AFN crushed the Tunasian invasion causing the largest disproportional case of casualties seen in the war after one battle. ECW would send diplomats to discuss peace with Africa, but ultimately these peace deals would be denied. The AFN would only accept peace if the GSU could reclaim their russian territories. This was adamantly denied, and the ECW ramped up its efforts to crush the GSU.
The CCR would rapidly push to meet up with GSU and hopefully end the war by the end of the year. With the Chaos caused by the GSU’s assault of the Stalin Commissariat, the CCR would rapidly overwhelm their enemies quickly ending much of the resistance they faced. Soon the CCR troops would link up with the GSU and their forces would team up to halt the ECW offensives into the GSU.
Within the CCR however the anti-war protests were finally kicking into overdrive. The LACS would see an explosive growth in membership following the CCR’s involvement in the war. Multiple protests began to seriously disrupt major cities within China. Martial Law was declared under CCR president Qin Jian. This decision would haunt the CCR as with it, a low intensity series of riots would eventually escalate over time threatening to boil over into civil war. By the end of the year the CCR would hold an emergency Senatorial session. The Session would discuss what to do over this and hopefully revoke the Citizen Service. With 2102 ending and the emergency session still going it's up in the air as to how they will vote.
Japanese Protesters demanding the approval of the UTA
Nadeera al-Shareef
Within Japan the once obscure politician was now beginning to rapidly expand in popularity. She would attend various talk shows and would make a more known presence within the public sphere. Her Union of Territories proposal was rapidly gaining traction within Japan and soon, People's Committees and parties would form pressuring the Japanese government to accept the formation of the Union of Territories Accord. Following the inclusion of the GSU and the AFN within the war, the proposal was taken more and more seriously and soon the Japanese government relented and held a vote on the matter by the end of the year.
The vote would see various arguments for its formation both for and against and ultimately the fate of the Union, Nadeera, and of Humanity would be determined within the Japanese Parliament.