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Prologue.
Thebes 1997
The sky was as crimson as blood through the haze of smoke and ash which hung over the shattered heart of the city. In the east the entire horizon appeared to be engulfed in flames, to the west, through the cloying, dense and choking smoke nothing could be seen. And in the middle of all this, lying prone on his back as he struggled for life was the shadow of what had once been the most powerful man on earth, president Therhumani of Egypt.
Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he tried to turn his head to look for his wife. He could not see her nor could he move to try and find her. He feared his back was broken. His legs presence only indicated by a slight tingling below his waste. Above him and to the left he could just make out the mangled wreck of his official state helicopter. It hung precariously from the edge of a shattered building, the body of the pilot hung limply through the smashed window. The president didn’t recall the crash, couldn’t decide whether it had happened minutes or days ago, though common sense told him if it had been days he would surely be dead by now. He remembered the sirens, the frantic scramble to evacuate the palace. Remembered how his bladder had nearly gone when he was informed that Memphis had been obliterated just as he entered the chopper. He also remembered the dizzying flight up and away from the palace and as they had passed over the down town area of the city he remembered seeing the flash…. And nothing more.
The presidents mind began to drift, he began to slip in and out of consciousness. The tingling in his legs spread to his arms and fingers and as he died his last thoughts were of the past and the future and of how things could have been so different.
Part one
Thebes 1964
Thebes, the political and geographical heart of the Egyptian Empire had stood for three thousand years on the banks of the great Nile. Great leaders had come and gone, other Empires rose and fell but Thebes, like Egypt, remained constant. Situated in the very centre of the city lay the sprawling Governmental District that had grown up around the city’s ancient Palace. Stretching for miles the G.D incorporated the huge royal gardens as well as the Prime Ministers residence. On the north side of the river were the massive buildings that made up the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Office. One the South Side, across the impressive Babylonian Memorial Bridge were the Ministries of Culture and Internal Affairs, the imposing 98 storey Royal Egyptian Ministry of Finance Building and the Head Quarters of the E.I.S. (the highly secretive and much envied Egyptian intelligence service).
During his years in government the newly appointed Prime Minister had worked in all but a small number of these departments, but he had enjoyed his time in the Finance Ministry most of all. His attention to detail and mathematical wizardry had led to his advancement to Finance Minister very quickly and from there he moved on to become P.M. Now he sat in his old office as his new F.M explained to him why the economy was about to collapse.
“ This is ridiculous.” Exclaimed the P.M “ why the hell was I not notified sooner?”
The foreign minister shifted uncomfortably in his seat “sir” he began “ we have been attempting to contain the situation ourselves. We were hoping the negotiations with England would produce desirable results but alas the English are as strapped for cash as we are.”
“So the English won’t help us?” the P.M interjected, clearly shocked. He had ordered not only his financiers and industrial suppliers to aid the English but over the last fifty years the Egyptian military had aided the beleaguered English twice in their battles with the French. And now they were to be denied. And old adage about biting the hand that feeds you ran through the P.M’s mind but he pushed it aside. “ Have you contacted the Russians? My last Intel report said they had plenty to spare.”
The minister shook his head “ we have spoken to them but they claim that last month their Gdansk wells ran dry and that their own supplies must be maintained. We have even asked the Romans but their price is higher than that wanted by the Japanese. I don’t see an alternative sir. We must have oil. That much is certain. The nation is highly dependent on it, not to mention the armed forces! If our wells are dry then we must pay for it. And if those bastard japs want us to empty the treasury and cut of all other funding to pay for it, well, were just going to have to do it. The economy may recover in time. We can get the money back by upping the price of gems to extortionate levels when the current deals expire. But the country won’t survive if Roman tanks start rolling into Thebes the second they realise were back to horses and carts.”
The P.M shook his head slowly “ok, ok issue the paper work. Get a deal going. But just remember to let President Tokigawa know that Egypt has a long memory and that we won’t soon forget the price we pay today.”
Within the next month the oil began to flow in to Egypt once again but the cash began to flow out. Schools and universities were forced to close for 3 days a week due to lack of funds. Numerous public buildings were closed or torn down in a bid to save money. In every city across the nation the once nationally owed granaries were sold off to keep the government coffers from emptying completely. The nationally owed theatre companies and entertainment complexes were closed down; the lack of funds available for luxuries such as these causing unhappiness across the empire.
Crowds gathered to protest in streets as the newest batch of tanks rolled of the production lines in Pi-Rammeses. The people found it hard to comprehend how even with the treasury running into the red their government could continue to spend its precious resources on weapons of war. Soon every county and city within Egypt was ordered to cancel all production, stop buying and start selling. Government funding for everything began to whittle away and then stop completely.
The Prime minister was becoming more and more anxious about the situation. Every day more and more reports were dropped on his desk. The ministry of Defence requesting funds to upgrade the badly out dated cannons in the 3rd Artillery Division. Requests from the cultural department to rebuild the cathedral in Kahun after its destruction in recent rioting. The E.I.S demanding more money to replace their agents in Rome after a botched attempt to infiltrate the Roman army had led to their capture. All of these requests were turned down time and again. The final straw came when the five nations buying gems from Egypt cancelled their contracts during renegotiations and left Egypt well and truly bankrupt. After that debacle the P.M was forced to convene an Emergency cabinet meeting.
The cabinet members arrived in good time, each one interested in only one thing for a change, how to stop Egypt from slipping from a world super power to the worlds largest but poorest, and most backward nation. There seemed to be only one option to those gathered around the table. The Defence minister, as expected, was first to voice.
“Gentlemen.” He spoke loudly enough to be heard without his microphone “we have talked for hours.” His gaze passed across each and every face in the room “but we have avoided the very thing we came here to discuss. We have no oil with which to run our country. No oil to keep the factories producing goods. No oil to keep our Armed forces supplied. We all know we cannot afford to pay the price the Japanese ask for their oil, but neither can we afford to go without it. Therefore we must ensure we have oil to keep the nation running and if we cant buy it…” he paused took a sip from his glass “we must take it.”
There were no mummers of disagreement, no gasps of horror just a slow, gentle, resigned nodding of heads.
“Do you have a plan?” asked the P.M knowing full well what the answer would be.
The defence minister nodded “Yes sir. We have a Plan.”
Part Two
Cry Havoc
The Peninsula of Nagasaki was probably the richest place on the planet. Actually a small island linked to the Japanese main land by a tiny land bridge only ½ mile wide the peninsula held not only the worlds two largest oil fields but also the Japanese economic capital, Nagasaki City. It was here that the japs had gambled with their future and won, big. The city was home to the japs version of Wall Street and the great economic centre called Smiths trading company. Not only that it was a vast military port and air base with the entire Japanese south fleet based there. It was a prize too big for Egypt to pass up. It was also the point where Egyptian forces, led by the Queens own Son prince/general Rameses, would make their first move.
The Egyptian armed forces had been quickly prepared and mobilised. The plan called for a triple pronged attack against the japs and their allies the Germans. The initial plan had been to attack Japan alone but three weeks prior to the target date; Japan and Germany had signed an m.p.p. and the third fleet had been redirected towards the German island of Gordium (once a Roman province) to secure the coal and iron mines there and deny the Germans of those two resources. The second fleet would feign an attack into Japan itself, striking right along the northern coast and landing nearly forty units on the beaches, these units were a miss match of obsolete cavalry and musket men backed up by a few units of the new mechanised infantry. These forces were designed to be sacrificial, to draw the japs north and away from the real target.
In the south the first fleet and its contingent of carrier based bombers were to secure Nagasaki and its oilfields. Over 60 of the Egyptian’s new modern armour were to be poured into this area supported by 20 units of mechanised infantry and the 15 guns of the 3rd artillery Division (upgraded at great cost only a month before). The plan called for the forces to secure Nagasaki and the land bridge before smashing north into Japan proper. Hopefully the japs would not risk losing their final oil supply at Kagoshima in the desert north of Nagasaki and would sue for peace. That was the Plan.
The morning of the attack the seas were as calm as a mill pond, the skies were bright and blue and it seemed to General Rameses that the day was too perfect to start a war. But start one he would. He looked down at his watch. 7.32am. Only three minutes until the japs were to be shown what it was to rob Egypt. His mind flicked back across the ocean, imagining the surprised look on Ambassador Himasheki’s face as the P.M handed him the note. The declaration was to be timed perfectly, giving the ambassador just enough time to call his government before the bombs started falling.
Ahead of him smashing through the waves he could see the transports as they headed for the shore. He could make out the huge guns of the massive Cleopatra II battle tanks sitting high on their decks, primed and ready. A sound like roaring thunder dragged his attention to the skies just in time to see ten of the newly commissioned Havoc bombers scream towards the coastline. He looked at his watch one last time 7.35.am and right on queue the entire Japanese coast before him erupted like a volcano. Massive columns of flame broke the ground and tore into the air. The sound of the explosions reached him a split second later, so powerful as to nearly knock him of his feet. The second wave of bombers released their cargo and the horizon was engulfed once again and as the flames and smoke began to drift northwards on the wind the transports hit the beaches.
Even after seeing the drills and practice runs Rameses couldn’t help but be impressed by the speed and efficiency of his troops. No sooner had the transports arrived than they were heading back to sea, their decks and cargo bays empty. The only reminders they had been were the huge columns of Cleo II tanks heading in land. It was a pretty impressive reminder. His radio crackled as the first reports poured in. The air force reported no losses. The leading elements of his armoured division reported only slight resistance and were pushing up the coast towards Nagasaki. Everything was going to plan. The beachhead was secure and the fleet was moving into position to blockade the city. His aide reported the news from the German and Northern fronts. Gordium had been taken and the German fleet badly mauled in the seas of off the West Coast. The forces in northern Japan had managed to secure the town of Tokyo and were hunkering down to last out the war. Losses had been heavy on both sides but the japs seemed to be sending everything they had north wards. Everything was going to plan.
Part three
...and let slip the dogs of war.
Deep in the heart of his citadel, hundreds of feet below the streets of Rome, Ceasar quickly scanned through the reports on his desk. His eyes were dark with amusment as he looked back to his trusted advisor
"The Japs have been cought totally off guard." said the advisor "As you can see, sire, the Egyptians have pulled off a master stroke. The Japs have been basically defeated already. Our intelligence sources tell me that even though most of their army is still intact they will more than likely seek a political end to the war. This will most definately be on terms favourable to Egypt. I doubt we could have done better ourselves sir."
Ceasar's smile faded. His brow creased as the implications of a quick Egyptian victory hit home. His country had shared the continent with Egypt since time began and though the two nations held a mutual hatred for each other this had managed to never spill over into a major conflict, the two countries mutual hatred held in check by a mutual fear of a long, bloody and ultimatelly victor less conflict. But with Egyptian victory in japan came a sudden advantage that neither Rome nor Egypt had ever held and that left Rome in a much weakened position. Already bogged down in a seemingly endless fight with the Zulus in the north, Rome could ill afford to allow egypt to gain the upper hand on the continent. For the first time in his life Ceasar felt a twinge of fear in his gut.
"This could be a disaster for Rome, Lucius." his voice was low, almost a whisper "We cannot allow the Egyptians to dominate events in this way. Rome must once again take the initiative. We must make a bold statement. Make the egyptians realise that they are not the only ones capable of winning wars."
Lucius thought for a moment "we could launch a final offensive against the Zulu sire. Perhaps throw in a nuclear strike on Ngome. That would show that were not to be pushed too far."
"No Lucius." said Ceasar, a smile playing across his lips " I have a much, much bolder plan than that. Tell me, how many units have the Egyptians committed to their Japanese adventure."
" Most of their southern armies and even some from their eastern and Athribis contingents. Latests estimates i belive were roughly 60 to 70 % are currently overseas."
" So their homeland lies relatively undefended." asked ceasar.
Lucius shook his head, realising what his master was thinking "sir. They may be overseas, but once the Fighting is over...they could be back within days, their fleet is huge and their transport capabilities are..."
Ceasar cut him of with the flick of the wrist " but if the fighting in japan continues? what then Lucius. If we were to attack and the japs were to fight on What then?"
Lucius cleared his throat " If that were the case sire. Well. They would be faced with an impossible choice. Abandon the oil fields and lose their ability to reinforce their forces or Abandon EGYPT."
Ceasar nodded solemnly before breaking into a wide smile.."Call General Tyranus and Admiral Lativa..tell them to make plans" his smile broadened " oh and get me Ambassador Toja..tell him i have an offer he can't refuse.."
To be continued
Thebes 1997
The sky was as crimson as blood through the haze of smoke and ash which hung over the shattered heart of the city. In the east the entire horizon appeared to be engulfed in flames, to the west, through the cloying, dense and choking smoke nothing could be seen. And in the middle of all this, lying prone on his back as he struggled for life was the shadow of what had once been the most powerful man on earth, president Therhumani of Egypt.
Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he tried to turn his head to look for his wife. He could not see her nor could he move to try and find her. He feared his back was broken. His legs presence only indicated by a slight tingling below his waste. Above him and to the left he could just make out the mangled wreck of his official state helicopter. It hung precariously from the edge of a shattered building, the body of the pilot hung limply through the smashed window. The president didn’t recall the crash, couldn’t decide whether it had happened minutes or days ago, though common sense told him if it had been days he would surely be dead by now. He remembered the sirens, the frantic scramble to evacuate the palace. Remembered how his bladder had nearly gone when he was informed that Memphis had been obliterated just as he entered the chopper. He also remembered the dizzying flight up and away from the palace and as they had passed over the down town area of the city he remembered seeing the flash…. And nothing more.
The presidents mind began to drift, he began to slip in and out of consciousness. The tingling in his legs spread to his arms and fingers and as he died his last thoughts were of the past and the future and of how things could have been so different.
Part one
Thebes 1964
Thebes, the political and geographical heart of the Egyptian Empire had stood for three thousand years on the banks of the great Nile. Great leaders had come and gone, other Empires rose and fell but Thebes, like Egypt, remained constant. Situated in the very centre of the city lay the sprawling Governmental District that had grown up around the city’s ancient Palace. Stretching for miles the G.D incorporated the huge royal gardens as well as the Prime Ministers residence. On the north side of the river were the massive buildings that made up the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Office. One the South Side, across the impressive Babylonian Memorial Bridge were the Ministries of Culture and Internal Affairs, the imposing 98 storey Royal Egyptian Ministry of Finance Building and the Head Quarters of the E.I.S. (the highly secretive and much envied Egyptian intelligence service).
During his years in government the newly appointed Prime Minister had worked in all but a small number of these departments, but he had enjoyed his time in the Finance Ministry most of all. His attention to detail and mathematical wizardry had led to his advancement to Finance Minister very quickly and from there he moved on to become P.M. Now he sat in his old office as his new F.M explained to him why the economy was about to collapse.
“ This is ridiculous.” Exclaimed the P.M “ why the hell was I not notified sooner?”
The foreign minister shifted uncomfortably in his seat “sir” he began “ we have been attempting to contain the situation ourselves. We were hoping the negotiations with England would produce desirable results but alas the English are as strapped for cash as we are.”
“So the English won’t help us?” the P.M interjected, clearly shocked. He had ordered not only his financiers and industrial suppliers to aid the English but over the last fifty years the Egyptian military had aided the beleaguered English twice in their battles with the French. And now they were to be denied. And old adage about biting the hand that feeds you ran through the P.M’s mind but he pushed it aside. “ Have you contacted the Russians? My last Intel report said they had plenty to spare.”
The minister shook his head “ we have spoken to them but they claim that last month their Gdansk wells ran dry and that their own supplies must be maintained. We have even asked the Romans but their price is higher than that wanted by the Japanese. I don’t see an alternative sir. We must have oil. That much is certain. The nation is highly dependent on it, not to mention the armed forces! If our wells are dry then we must pay for it. And if those bastard japs want us to empty the treasury and cut of all other funding to pay for it, well, were just going to have to do it. The economy may recover in time. We can get the money back by upping the price of gems to extortionate levels when the current deals expire. But the country won’t survive if Roman tanks start rolling into Thebes the second they realise were back to horses and carts.”
The P.M shook his head slowly “ok, ok issue the paper work. Get a deal going. But just remember to let President Tokigawa know that Egypt has a long memory and that we won’t soon forget the price we pay today.”
Within the next month the oil began to flow in to Egypt once again but the cash began to flow out. Schools and universities were forced to close for 3 days a week due to lack of funds. Numerous public buildings were closed or torn down in a bid to save money. In every city across the nation the once nationally owed granaries were sold off to keep the government coffers from emptying completely. The nationally owed theatre companies and entertainment complexes were closed down; the lack of funds available for luxuries such as these causing unhappiness across the empire.
Crowds gathered to protest in streets as the newest batch of tanks rolled of the production lines in Pi-Rammeses. The people found it hard to comprehend how even with the treasury running into the red their government could continue to spend its precious resources on weapons of war. Soon every county and city within Egypt was ordered to cancel all production, stop buying and start selling. Government funding for everything began to whittle away and then stop completely.
The Prime minister was becoming more and more anxious about the situation. Every day more and more reports were dropped on his desk. The ministry of Defence requesting funds to upgrade the badly out dated cannons in the 3rd Artillery Division. Requests from the cultural department to rebuild the cathedral in Kahun after its destruction in recent rioting. The E.I.S demanding more money to replace their agents in Rome after a botched attempt to infiltrate the Roman army had led to their capture. All of these requests were turned down time and again. The final straw came when the five nations buying gems from Egypt cancelled their contracts during renegotiations and left Egypt well and truly bankrupt. After that debacle the P.M was forced to convene an Emergency cabinet meeting.
The cabinet members arrived in good time, each one interested in only one thing for a change, how to stop Egypt from slipping from a world super power to the worlds largest but poorest, and most backward nation. There seemed to be only one option to those gathered around the table. The Defence minister, as expected, was first to voice.
“Gentlemen.” He spoke loudly enough to be heard without his microphone “we have talked for hours.” His gaze passed across each and every face in the room “but we have avoided the very thing we came here to discuss. We have no oil with which to run our country. No oil to keep the factories producing goods. No oil to keep our Armed forces supplied. We all know we cannot afford to pay the price the Japanese ask for their oil, but neither can we afford to go without it. Therefore we must ensure we have oil to keep the nation running and if we cant buy it…” he paused took a sip from his glass “we must take it.”
There were no mummers of disagreement, no gasps of horror just a slow, gentle, resigned nodding of heads.
“Do you have a plan?” asked the P.M knowing full well what the answer would be.
The defence minister nodded “Yes sir. We have a Plan.”
Part Two
Cry Havoc
The Peninsula of Nagasaki was probably the richest place on the planet. Actually a small island linked to the Japanese main land by a tiny land bridge only ½ mile wide the peninsula held not only the worlds two largest oil fields but also the Japanese economic capital, Nagasaki City. It was here that the japs had gambled with their future and won, big. The city was home to the japs version of Wall Street and the great economic centre called Smiths trading company. Not only that it was a vast military port and air base with the entire Japanese south fleet based there. It was a prize too big for Egypt to pass up. It was also the point where Egyptian forces, led by the Queens own Son prince/general Rameses, would make their first move.
The Egyptian armed forces had been quickly prepared and mobilised. The plan called for a triple pronged attack against the japs and their allies the Germans. The initial plan had been to attack Japan alone but three weeks prior to the target date; Japan and Germany had signed an m.p.p. and the third fleet had been redirected towards the German island of Gordium (once a Roman province) to secure the coal and iron mines there and deny the Germans of those two resources. The second fleet would feign an attack into Japan itself, striking right along the northern coast and landing nearly forty units on the beaches, these units were a miss match of obsolete cavalry and musket men backed up by a few units of the new mechanised infantry. These forces were designed to be sacrificial, to draw the japs north and away from the real target.
In the south the first fleet and its contingent of carrier based bombers were to secure Nagasaki and its oilfields. Over 60 of the Egyptian’s new modern armour were to be poured into this area supported by 20 units of mechanised infantry and the 15 guns of the 3rd artillery Division (upgraded at great cost only a month before). The plan called for the forces to secure Nagasaki and the land bridge before smashing north into Japan proper. Hopefully the japs would not risk losing their final oil supply at Kagoshima in the desert north of Nagasaki and would sue for peace. That was the Plan.
The morning of the attack the seas were as calm as a mill pond, the skies were bright and blue and it seemed to General Rameses that the day was too perfect to start a war. But start one he would. He looked down at his watch. 7.32am. Only three minutes until the japs were to be shown what it was to rob Egypt. His mind flicked back across the ocean, imagining the surprised look on Ambassador Himasheki’s face as the P.M handed him the note. The declaration was to be timed perfectly, giving the ambassador just enough time to call his government before the bombs started falling.
Ahead of him smashing through the waves he could see the transports as they headed for the shore. He could make out the huge guns of the massive Cleopatra II battle tanks sitting high on their decks, primed and ready. A sound like roaring thunder dragged his attention to the skies just in time to see ten of the newly commissioned Havoc bombers scream towards the coastline. He looked at his watch one last time 7.35.am and right on queue the entire Japanese coast before him erupted like a volcano. Massive columns of flame broke the ground and tore into the air. The sound of the explosions reached him a split second later, so powerful as to nearly knock him of his feet. The second wave of bombers released their cargo and the horizon was engulfed once again and as the flames and smoke began to drift northwards on the wind the transports hit the beaches.
Even after seeing the drills and practice runs Rameses couldn’t help but be impressed by the speed and efficiency of his troops. No sooner had the transports arrived than they were heading back to sea, their decks and cargo bays empty. The only reminders they had been were the huge columns of Cleo II tanks heading in land. It was a pretty impressive reminder. His radio crackled as the first reports poured in. The air force reported no losses. The leading elements of his armoured division reported only slight resistance and were pushing up the coast towards Nagasaki. Everything was going to plan. The beachhead was secure and the fleet was moving into position to blockade the city. His aide reported the news from the German and Northern fronts. Gordium had been taken and the German fleet badly mauled in the seas of off the West Coast. The forces in northern Japan had managed to secure the town of Tokyo and were hunkering down to last out the war. Losses had been heavy on both sides but the japs seemed to be sending everything they had north wards. Everything was going to plan.
Part three
...and let slip the dogs of war.
Deep in the heart of his citadel, hundreds of feet below the streets of Rome, Ceasar quickly scanned through the reports on his desk. His eyes were dark with amusment as he looked back to his trusted advisor
"The Japs have been cought totally off guard." said the advisor "As you can see, sire, the Egyptians have pulled off a master stroke. The Japs have been basically defeated already. Our intelligence sources tell me that even though most of their army is still intact they will more than likely seek a political end to the war. This will most definately be on terms favourable to Egypt. I doubt we could have done better ourselves sir."
Ceasar's smile faded. His brow creased as the implications of a quick Egyptian victory hit home. His country had shared the continent with Egypt since time began and though the two nations held a mutual hatred for each other this had managed to never spill over into a major conflict, the two countries mutual hatred held in check by a mutual fear of a long, bloody and ultimatelly victor less conflict. But with Egyptian victory in japan came a sudden advantage that neither Rome nor Egypt had ever held and that left Rome in a much weakened position. Already bogged down in a seemingly endless fight with the Zulus in the north, Rome could ill afford to allow egypt to gain the upper hand on the continent. For the first time in his life Ceasar felt a twinge of fear in his gut.
"This could be a disaster for Rome, Lucius." his voice was low, almost a whisper "We cannot allow the Egyptians to dominate events in this way. Rome must once again take the initiative. We must make a bold statement. Make the egyptians realise that they are not the only ones capable of winning wars."
Lucius thought for a moment "we could launch a final offensive against the Zulu sire. Perhaps throw in a nuclear strike on Ngome. That would show that were not to be pushed too far."
"No Lucius." said Ceasar, a smile playing across his lips " I have a much, much bolder plan than that. Tell me, how many units have the Egyptians committed to their Japanese adventure."
" Most of their southern armies and even some from their eastern and Athribis contingents. Latests estimates i belive were roughly 60 to 70 % are currently overseas."
" So their homeland lies relatively undefended." asked ceasar.
Lucius shook his head, realising what his master was thinking "sir. They may be overseas, but once the Fighting is over...they could be back within days, their fleet is huge and their transport capabilities are..."
Ceasar cut him of with the flick of the wrist " but if the fighting in japan continues? what then Lucius. If we were to attack and the japs were to fight on What then?"
Lucius cleared his throat " If that were the case sire. Well. They would be faced with an impossible choice. Abandon the oil fields and lose their ability to reinforce their forces or Abandon EGYPT."
Ceasar nodded solemnly before breaking into a wide smile.."Call General Tyranus and Admiral Lativa..tell them to make plans" his smile broadened " oh and get me Ambassador Toja..tell him i have an offer he can't refuse.."
To be continued
Well-written and interesting. The prologue did a good job of avoiding the 'yeah yeah and you kick butt' feeling.
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