Chapter 12.5

“A World On The Brink Of Disaster”

June 15th, 2040: The Kremlin, Moscow

12:30PM: Moscow Time, The Presidential Office

Sitting in his rather luxurious office, President and General Of The Army, Boris Isimov, had been on the phone with US President John Dresden for the past two hours, discussing the topic of a potential ‘alliance’ between their respective nations.

“Like I said before Isimov, we both know a war in Europe is the last thing we want, not to mention China has constantly threatened you over Vladivostok and Mongolia.” Dresden commented, though to Isimov, he had started to sound like a broken record.

“I cannot deny that the Chinese have been a nuisance for a long time. But what assurances do I have that you won’t break this deal and go behind my back?” Isimov leaned back in his black leather chair looking to his right at a portrait hanging on the wall of his younger self in his Officer attire.

“Look, we both know that China is the bigger threat here. The border clashes with India, the attempted invasion of Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar…I could go on but you get the picture.” Dresden replied. It was a well-known fact that the Chinese had become bolder in recent years after their victory in Africa.

“Yes, I also have intelligence about their actions, no need to boast. But this does not convince me that you aren't double-dealing with Europe or maybe even the Chinese. Give me a reason to trust you, President.” Isimov could hear Dresden sighing through the phone in frustration.

“Ugh, look, how about an open trade deal with Europe? I’m confident in thinking tha…..” Dresden's voice was cut off by a layer of heavy static quickly followed by the line going dead.

“...Hello?” Isimov looked at the phone then placed it down on the receiver then picked it back up, only to receive a completely deadline. “How strange…” Then, not giving it further thought, Isimov went back to looking over the papers on his desk.

1:42PM Moscow Time, The Presidential Office

“Mister President!” Isimov’s assistant, Irina, burst into his office, out of breath from running across the Kremlin. “Mister President we have an emergency!”

“Settle down Irina, and take a breath before explaining.” Isimov said, making a calming hand gesture. However, before Irina could say a word, his office door was thrown open again.

“General! We’ve got an emergency! You are requested in the Operations Room!” A man in green military attire, sweat coating his forehead, gave a quick salute.

“Ah Markov! What on earth has gotten you two so worked up? Surely China hasn’t attacked?” Isimov joked. The other two just looked at each other.

“No General…but some would argue this is worse than anything the damn Chinese could throw our way.” Markov's weird response made even Irina shoot a confused look at him.

“Well now you’ve got me really excited over this. Come, both of you.” Standing up, Isimov gestured for the two to leave his office and follow him to the Operations Room. As they walked, Isimov noticed that quite a few of the Kremlin's staff were running around seemingly in a panic. His curiosity piqued, he turned to his secretary. “So what is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“W-well Mister President. At 1:30PM, our communication satellites and radio broadcasting towers suddenly dropped in workload. When we looked into it…umm.” Irina trailed off, apparently at a loss for words.

“Come on, tell me.” Isimov persisted.

“The lost workload appeared to have been from American products. Phones, GPS, anything that requires a connection.” Hearing this, Isimov turned to Markov.

“Is your issue the same?”

“Yes, but much worse General. We can discuss more when we reach the Operations Room, the Cabinet is waiting for you there.” Markov voiced urgently.

“Very well then. Irina, have tea ready for me on my desk when I return.”

After winding around the Kremlin's corridors and secret underground entrances, Isimov and Markov entered above the Operations Room and looked over the railing into a scene of utter chaos. Military personnel of all ranks were running around, some holding files while others were having intense discussions.

“Alright!” Isimov shouted, grabbing the attention of the room. “What has gotten into all of you?” Annoyance filled his voice. This time it was Markov who had to think hard before responding.

“General, there is no easy way to say this but… America has vanished!” There was a deafening silence, eventually broken by an incredulous laugh from Isimov.

“Wa-wa….what have you been taking to become this delusional? An entire country can’t vanish you idiot!” Isimov laughed, his smile slowly fading as he realized no one in the room was laughing with him. “You’re being serious?” Isimov raised an eyebrow. This time, a General on the floor stepped forward.

“Yes General. We have lost contact with every known American satellite and all radio traffic we’ve been monitoring has gone silent. It is as if America has gone completely dark.” Isimov processed this information before responding.

“What are the Chinese doing?”

“From what we can gather, they are only just noticing America’s odd behavior. Radio chatter about the lack of American noise in certain areas and such.” The General reported, leaving Isimov stunned and a little tense. Just what were the Americans up to now?

2:00PM Moscow Time, The Operations Room

“General, our scout fleet is nearing the border with Guam, orders?” Markov turned to Isimov who gave a nod of approval. “Advance.” The other Cabinet Members and heads of the Land, Sea and Air Forces sharing the room looked on as the three destroyers moved into American waters, hoping to provoke a response. One minute turned into five, then ten, now twenty and still no warning about entering sovereign waters, not even a tick of radio chatter.

“Just what are the Americans doing?” Isimov muttered but his attention was broken by the sound of boots on the metal catwalk. Looking up, he saw a man dressed in a simple dark suit.

“Levka! You better have something for me!” Isimov turned to face his Director of the KGB.

“Unfortunately all I have is troubling news from my contacts in Europe. It seems that everyone has lost contact with America, however that isn’t the worst of it.” Levka took a deep breath before continuing. “Canada has confirmed everyone's worst fear. America has truly vanished without a trace. And I mean it when I say vanished. Anything America ever built is gone, replaced by what nature was there before construction. It's as if America never existed!” Levka reported.

The announcement was met by silence. No one knew how to respond nor process the information. Isimov slowly looked around the table of high-ranking officers of The Russian Armed Forces, all of whom had an expression of shock.

“I need to contact London. Markov, get the country in lockdown and secure our borders…and put us at maximum readiness!” As he was sending out the orders, Isimov was running up the stairs and out the Operations Room. This was, by far, the biggest crisis to come after the Army Junta takeover.

3:47PM Moscow Time, The Presidential Office

“Bloody hell. So Prime Minister Quince was right. And here I thought there would be something to find.” Prime Minister Hangton of Great Britain sighed, rubbing his head.

“Well even if I wasn’t right, it wouldn't explain how every foreign national inside the United States suddenly ended up in their home country. Not to mention the disappearance of American nationals abroad.” Quince replied.

“I can also testify for the Canadians. We sent scouting vessels and aircraft into American-controlled areas. Not even a single radio message from them.” Isimov watched as the leaders of NATO and other countries either nodded in agreement or rubbed their heads in frustration. All except China, who hadn’t answered the call.

“The United Nations will be holding an emergency congress in the coming days to discuss the matter but right now we need to understand what the hell happened. Who was the last in contact with President Dresden?” Prime Minister Napoleon (not that Napoleon) questioned. The video call went silent for a short moment.

“We were. Dresden and I were discussing the possibility of a mutual alliance to prevent war in Europe. However, he was cut off in the middle of our conversation. At first, I thought it was a simple electrical problem.” Isimov chuckled.

“No one could have seen this coming. And right now, I believe it is in everyone's best interests for us to work together on this, can we agree on that principle at least?” Prime Minister Quince proposed.

“I have no quarrel with the West. As long as you stay out of my business I won’t interfere in…” Isimov was cut off by yet another Officer barging into his office.

“General, apologies, but this is urgent!” The man saluted.

“Oh, what now?” Isimov groaned as the other leaders listened in closely.

“China has begun heavy troop and naval movement around Taiwan. Markov and Levka believe they are planning an amphibious assault!” Audible gasps came through the video conference with Japanese Prime Minister Michi, expressing the most emotion.

“So they attack when the one nation with the power to defend Taiwan has vanished without a trace. I never expected them to stoop so low.” The old man sighed. However, hearing the news of China taking advantage of the situation, Isimov straightened himself in his chair. Perhaps this was a chance for his country to redeem itself.

“We. We will defend Taiwan. I already have a sizable army and airforce stationed in Vladivostok. Together with the Japanese we can hold them off until--”

“President Isimov, why should we trust you? My apologies for cutting in but, what reasons do we have?” Prime Minister Hangton questioned, many others thinking the same.

“I know that my country has not been…reliable, when it comes to trust. However, we are not our predecessors. All that I wish is for the people of Russia to live a happy life. Far from what my father and mother had to endure during the war.”

“While I support Russia opening up to the West, trust is something we can’t just hand out. Certainly not after Africa.” Italy's President, Valentino, watched as Isimov glanced at the papers on his desk.

“China is a beast that neither Nato nor Russia can tame alone. I agree that there is much work needed to regain trust between us. But, for the sake of our countries, for the sake of our citizens, for the sake of our future generations, we must work together. Work together to bring the world closer, to bring us as civilized countries with freedom built into our nations. We cannot let Beijing run free in Asia.” Isimov's voice went cold, his thoughts going back to his time in Africa as a simple low-rank officer. “China has much to learn from war. Their doctrine is still an infant compared to ours, their military is ill-trained, that much I learned in my time in Africa. Their losses dwarfed everything we and America put into it. With a front opened from India to Mongolia, they will collapse within months, if not weeks.”

“You’re talking about war on a scale we have never seen before. Not to mention China will have the home-field advantage.” Prime Minister Quince countered.

“I have to agree with her, Britain is not ready to fight a war like this. I’m sorry, but I must decline this offer.” Hangton seemed unsure of his own answer but nevertheless said it. As Hangton finished speaking, Prime Minister Michi took off his glasses, gaining everyone's attention.

“Japan will aid Russia in containing the aggression of Beijing. We cannot let them snuff out the flame of democracy, should we be next.” He said in his usual slow voice.

“The Spanish have the most to gain after the war in Africa. Should we be given the land we want, you will have the full support of the Spanish military.” Prime Minister Diaz’s cold stare into the camera made his position very apparent. After all, the Spanish had lost the most during the war in terms of resources and land, so any chance for recompense was always on the table.

“You’re forgetting one key factor in all of this.” Prime Minister Napoleon voiced. “Unless something has changed in the past few hours, China still has nuclear weapons and is definitely not afraid to use them if we invade. While I support the containment of China, we cannot start a war with them and expect the world to survive.” With heads nodding approval everyone turned to Isimov who had mysteriously started to smile.

“Why do you think we’ve been quiet for so many years?” he continued to smile. “While I cannot say how far we have infiltrated their network, I can say that in the coming months we will be able to shut down their entire arsenal. Leaving them open to attack.”

Everyone present was speechless; Just how far did Russian influence go? Though right now that was not the most pressing issue as it had given them a sizable advantage in a potential war.

“I do not expect all of you to immediately trust me, nor ever trust me. But for the benefit of all mankind, we need to work together.”

“--We must work together. To crush evil once and for all.” - Boris Isimov reply to the NATO war council. June 16th, 2040