Rumors of War

As war fever swept the country, President Obama tried desperately to find a way to avert conflict. The idea of the United States and Russia engaging was simply ludicrous, not to mention a serious threat to the future of the world. The world's two biggest nuclear arsenals engaging in a military showdown could very well lead to Armageddon, as two previous generations had lived with day in and day out. And even taking nukes OFF the table... What of Eastern Europe and the Caucusus? What of Afghanistan? What of Siberia, just across the fog and ice of the Bering Strait from Alaska (and Sarah Palin's house)? How would North Korea and China and Cuba and al-Qaeda react? The Russian West Indies were a mere echo of a decayed empire, and the tiniest flyspeck in the greater scheme of humanity.

No, war with Russia would be suicide for humanity, and certainly the young President couldn't stomach the idea. Besides, with the US military engaged in two wars in the Middle East, with troops spread out across Europe and Africa and Korea and elsewhere, it was simply a ludicrous prospect.

But wars rarely respond to logic, and with unscrupulous men trying to profit on the fog of war and the turmoil of nations, Obama was largely a dupe, a puppet in the grand scheming of financiers, media moguls, bitter political rivals, military power players, an all-too-eager adversary - and the unavoidable Hands of Fate. It was Oliver Stone's wet dream come to life, and barring nuclear Armageddon, he would make a factually inaccurate but critically-acclaimed account of the build-up to war.

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The Russians, eager to expand on the political capital they had gained in quashing Georgia, happily provided the game's next moves. The Eastern Pacific Squadron, led by Admiral Zaharoff, was dispatched from Vladivostok and turned their engines north, engaging in "exercises" in the Beaufort Sea and Bering Strait - within sight of the Alaskan coast. The Russian Eighth Army, under General Antipov, was dispatched to Siberia, while other army groups massed on the borders of the former Eastern Bloc. The Defense Department immediately instituted a Def Con 4 alert in response, with American forces in Europe bracing for imminent attack. Nuclear subs were on the prowl, in the North and Baltic Seas, the Pacific, and even the Atlantic Ocean, ready for the order to push a button that would initiate oblivion.

The United Nations was no help; the usual round of bickering and arguing amounted to nothing, and the fact that Russia was of course on the UN Security Council made the situation even harder to redress. Even so, France and China sided with Russia, and a condemnation of Russia's aggressive actions failed by a 10-3 vote (with Russia and Peru abstaining).

And all across the United States, and not just in Groggy's skull, volunteers mobilized and citizens panicked. Army Reserve Units and National Guard regiments were activated, ready for immediate use. All available man power was shifted to potential trouble spots - Alaska, the Middle East, Germany, Poland. 80% of the Alaskan National Guard was deployed for action, ready to defend their state from a much larger and well-equipped Russian Army staring just across the fog of the strait. Missile bases, submarines, air and naval units. Civilians prepared for Armageddon; kids watched new duck and cover films with crappy CGI animation and narrated by Snoop Dawg and Tom Hanks.

In this climate, the Russian West Indies virtually ceased to be a concern at all; wouldn't a bombing run be enough to keep the Russians there under control? On the other hand, having a Russian military base so close to the United States mainland might not be a good idea; and contingency plans were drawn up for their invasion.

A Marine landing was first contemplated, if bombing failed to reduce the islands, but there were not enough Marines available - virtually all of the combat-ready units were deployed in Iraq! With the Russian bear breathing down the Bering back-door, the Russian West Indies must be considered a sideshow anyway, in the greater scheme of things. But an expedition was forming, as more and more volunteer units formed. It was clear that these men and women, with little experience or training or cohesion, would be the most likely to see action in any such expedition; and God help them, if anything resembling a cohesive Russian defense force existed on Palacios or the other islands. Lieutenant Colonel Strelnikoff may not have been Marshal Zhukov, but he had enough men to make any such.

But for now, the focus was on avoiding war, not fighting it. But even as President Obama tried to steer the country towards peaceful shores, events beyond his immediate control suddenly exploded - and war was no longer a rumor or a fear, but a state of being.