THE THIRD WORLD WAR by Andotrota
Disclaimer: I do not own Endwar and it's main characters, I own only my OCs
The BIG revision has started, so I suggest to watch daily if there are updates.
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Eventually it happened.
Six years of tension were discharged into a war that rivalled the intensity of all the conflicts of the twentieth century combined.
It all began in 2014 when, following the nuclear attacks in the Arabian Peninsula and the nuclear war of 2016, the local oil stocks were actually deleted from Earth, forcing Western countries to seek another source of supply. The Europeans turned to the south of Italy, the North Sea, Romania and Norway to secure a regular supply of petroleum. The United States, instead of taking up the national reserves in Texas and Alaska, shook commercial agreements with their enemies in South America , who now called themselves the Federation and based their economy on the export of oil from Argentina and Venezuela.
In the midst of all this chaos the Russian Federation experienced a golden age, which, though short, was good for the national economy. As the country with the largest oil reserves in the world in Siberia, new drill operations and oil refineries were put in place. Their main customers were China, the United States and, to a lesser extent, the EU.
For a couple of years this went on until, in 2017, a revolutionary discovery in the field of locomotion. New technologies made it possible to use hydrogen, methane and electricity with yields equal to or greater than fossil fuels. Their only problem? The cost.
To remedy the problem (and the increasing price of oil, which now touched 800 $ per barrel), the states that were part of a trade union, known as the European Union, united under a single banner, calling themselves henceforth European Federation, with its capital in Paris, and whose beating heart were the four states of Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
The federation of Europe was well received by the international market, but if the stock market happily welcomed it, the remaining superpowers didn't take it very well. Russia lost one of its main buyers of Black Gold, while America lost all its bases in Europe, including fundamental ones in Eastern European countries, which were successfully merged into the giant of the continent. The only states that were left out were Ireland, the UK and Switzerland.
Europe lost no time in create a formidable army, which exceeded 3 million units, incorporating the best technologies from each country: Armored vehicles from Germany, ships from Italy and aircraft from France, even building a space center in Matera, Italy, called Space Centre Europa, operated by the ESA ( the European equivalent of NASA), large enough to rival Balinkour and the JFK Space Center in Florida.
In response, the U.S. and Russia had expanded their armed forces, starting an arms race not seen since the end of the Cold War.
In the end it all came to a head on the morning of April 12, 2020. At 1600 hours, the scheduled launch of the Freedom IV, a shuttle with the aim of bringing material into orbit for the completion of the Freedom Star, a military space station with the purpose to render three USMC companies deployable everywhere around the globe in just 12 hours. Seconds after the booster ignition, the sky caught fire.
JFK SPACE CENTRE, FLORIDA, USA 16.00 12/4/2020
"A ray of blue light has just pierced the air and hit the Freedom IV! Still cannot believe it; Jack, frame the debris, let's go to see! Samuel Lombard Here for CNN, to you study the line. "
CNN HEADQUARTERS, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 16.23 12/4/2020
Patricia Logan still could not believe it, even after 4 years passed as anchorwoman at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and after a further six in field service, during which she had covered the nuclear war in the Middle East and the Guinean crisis, had never seen anything like what happened today. It took a few seconds to compose herself and think about what she had to say. It was time to improvise. The paper on which she had written a series of praise for the technological successes of America and the next service on space travel had gone completely to hell. It was up to her to take a position on the subject. She made a mental ladder: first, show surprise second, comment on the events with her colleague, Bruce Ramirez and third: express her deepest condolences to the families of the astronauts.
She took a breath.
"Certainly disconcerting images the ones from JFK Space Center in Florida, where the Freedom IV, the last launch of supplies for the completion of the Freedom Star, was destroyed by what appears a beam of blue light, what do you think Bruce ? "
Bruce Ramirez, a former marine sergeant with a degree in journalism and a master of engineering was the ideal candidate for make companionship to Mrs. Logan for the reportage of the launch. He did not stay very shaken by the event ( thanks to the marine training and seven years in the front lines), and, unlike his colleague, he immediately regained his composure and began to speak those 10 seconds it takes to make recompose the woman.
"It 's definitely a ray of light, perhaps a directed energy weapon that has taken the lives of 40 American astronauts? For now we can only formulate hypotheses, waiting for an official press release of NORAD."
" Looking forward to this" Patricia said "We can only express our deepest condolences to the families of the crew members killed. From Patricia Logan and Bruce Ramirez is all for the moment. We'll return back at 5 PM for future updates from our colleagues on the spot "
The cameras went off and everyone in the study were silent for a few seconds, thinking about what had just happened. None of them still could not believe it : a thing like that could not be seen from September 11, 2001. Who could have done that terrorist attack? And why? Bruce knew that now was no more his job, but he was almost certain of one thing, that ray of blue light came from a HELSS, and the only ones who had at their disposal a similar technology were Europeans.
"Shit," he thought , "Why the hell did they do that? Okay, we were a bit aggressive with them, but this certainly does not justify the killing of 40 U.S. citizens, plus unprovoked. What the hell was going on? " Certainly he at the time did not know, but people at the Pentagon and at NSA were certainly splitting in four to understand the event.
EFECCOM, PARIS, FRANCE, 12/04/2020 17:00
"Sir? Here we are "
" Uh, thanks Felipe, park and wait for the call, it may take a while "
" Yes, sir "
"Thank you Sergeant "
Colonel Andrea Germini, head of the 45th tactical battalion of the EFEC (European Federation Enforcer Corps, the special forces of the federation. ), Came out of the Mercedes - Benz sedan and closed the door. He adjusted his cross, gave a clean to both his medals and rank, then he made sure that his blue uniform was in order and waited for about ten seconds for the arrival of another person. The European military uniforms were inspired by WWII German uniforms, so they didn't needed a tie like their American and Russian counterparts. It was usually replaced by a neck medal for who had one, or nothing for who hadn't one. Luckily the colonel had one of the highest European Federation's decorations: the European Cross; awarded to him for his success in the 2019 campaign in Guinea.
"Colonel" greeted captain Ilaria Cimino, former personal assistant of General De Bankole and now his attendant, she was younger than him by at least 10 years, but Andrea knew that, despite her age, she did her job well. The woman stretched a fold of the skirt of her blue ADU while Germini responded to the salute.
"Captain" He said, greeting her touching his peaked cap, "I hope that your ADU is in order "
The colonel was a man always careful to order and precision, but that question surprised her, however: her commander and General De Bankole were old friends, and the general was a person from the ways of the type " I do not care if he is in a swimsuit , he gets the job done " That there was someone else? something that she, an intelligence officer did not know? She prayed not, perhaps it would have been a severe blow to her self-esteem.
"Yes, sir, it's in order "
"Good. Let's go "
They climbed the steps leading from the sidewalk at the entrance to the HQ of the EFEC, a complex of 6 floors dating from the early nineteenth century in the heart of Paris. The two men guarding the entrance, dressed in ceremonial uniform, snapped to attention as soon as they recognized the frieze of colonel on Germini's peaked hat, who quickly returned the salute without stopping. Ilaria imitated her CO and followed him in the hall. She could not keep up because of the officer heeled shoes of 5 cm that the female ADU required, and would have much preferred the shoes that Germini was wearing.
Andrea walked over to the central desk and said, "Colonel Andrea Germini, serial number 4756-9238-AG, I'm expected at a national security meeting of first importance "
The woman, a major, dry replied "Authorization"
" Authorization code 231.659.02 Black Viking "
" Confirmed colonel" she broke into a smile " Corporal, escort the colonel and his attendant at Bravo 5 "
A corporal in ADU beckoned the couple to follow him. The trio walked for ten minutes inside the building until they reached an elevator with black doors, guarded by two EFEC Kommandos, which froze at attention seeing two superiors. Andrea returned the salute and waited until the doors opened. A man motioned for him to come inside. Once inside the colonel approached his left eye to the iris reader, which, when finished scanning, told "Access confirmed, identity recognized, orders confirmed "
The elevator began to move.
"Sir, is it true? "
"I'm afraid yes captain Cimino, and it will not be easy to get out without a scratch "
"Sir? " said the third man.
"Do not worry, Sergeant Major, we will come out "
The man seemed to stir a few more seconds, struck by the words of the two officers who were definitely talking about the accident of an hour ago. It was obvious that were the Europeans, in the eyes of the world, who attacked the Freedom IV, but all under the EUROPE command, knew that was not true: no one had ordered an attack against the U.S., there was no reason, however, someone had carried out the attack, certainly no European military. Perhaps the key to the mystery was all in the subsequent investigations to the attack to Rovaniemi AFB, Finland, where 15 people were killed, including technicians and security personnel, plus an unknown number of hostile, which , from what they knew so far, had only stolen papers .
The elevator stopped and the doors opened into a corridor in which were stored the busts of some European leaders, from Julius Caesar to Napoleon. Andrea motioned to Ilaria to follow him along the deserted corridor. Once in the middle , one of the side doors near the main double doors swung open, revealing the stylized icon of a man carved into its upper part: The men's room, revealing a tall black man.
Germini shouted " Lieutenant General Du Bankole, Sir, Colonel Germini and Captain Cimino reporting, Sir "
Amadou Du Bankole, 44, Franco-African, was the commander of the Enforcer Corps. He and Germini had known each other about 11 years: they had met during a joint operation between the French and Italian special forces in Africa. The two had stayed in touch after the operation, and after the creation of the Federation, Andrea was the first to receive the invitation of Amadou to be one of the first commanders of the newly formed EC .
"Andrea, it is a pleasure to see you, especially today"
"It 's mutual General" Ge said, shaking his outstretched hand "The situation is getting worse minute by minute, we need to understand immediately what happened and resolve the crisis as soon as possible. Guess you remember captain Cimino "
" Sir "she said
He held out his hand, which she shook, and the close of the General was stronger than normal, you could see that he was agitated, though his stoic face left no pierce the slightest emotion.
" Who has already arrived? "
" Kowalski, Breger, Rinaldi, Montel, Me, and the two of you; Forquet is coming, like our guests "
" Guests " Ilaria thought "What guests ? "
"Shall we come in? "
" With pleasure "
General Du Bankole opened the door and Germini found himself in presence of four of the most important and influential of European armed forces members: to the left of the chair at the head table, sat admiral Viktor Kowalski, head of the navy (FEMF, Federal European Maritime Force), at his left sat general Jean Luc Montel, head of the air force (FEAF, Federal European Air Force). In the chair next to the one reserved Andrea, to the right of Amadou's, sat general Hans Breger, head of the army (FELF, Federal European Land Force). Next to him was general Roberto Rinaldi, head of the FEGC (Federal European Grenadier Corps). Andrea was there for the simple fact that he was the Enforcer commander with more experience on the field, as well as expert of foreign strategies, especially American. While he was about to sit down, Andrea saw that the seven chairs on the right were occupied by the military, while the other 6 were definitely going to be occupied by civilians, the last people that the Colonel wanted in a national security briefing. Ilaria had to settle for a chair next to the wall, along with other attendants. She turned her tablet and pressed on the folder named "Documents of the Colonel" ready to provide all the information that her superior needed.
"Seems that the EFEC has brought the best of the best as I see " Kowalski waved his hand towards Germini "Please Roberto, could you stop smoking? The smell of cigarette is making me sick"
"Let me finish this one" Said Rinaldi "But don't you think that we hae bigger issues in front of us, like a war?"
" Right. Colonel Germini, what do you think of the situation? " Asked Breger .
"General " Andrea began, removing his hat " I think this problem perhaps is the worst incident since the one 2019; the only one who can give us concrete answers is general Fouquet. For now, I can only speculate on hypothetical strategies of our opponents."
The room fell silent: the tension was palpable. Suddenly the door opened, revealing the figure of a redhead woman in her early forties (or late thirties, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine) in dress uniform, who hastened to greet those present in the room "Sorry if I am late, but do you have any ideas of what mess is out there?"
"Well well, as I hear from the chief of the EIA even the spies have the same problems that us, high ranking officers have. Lucréce, How long" Said Montel.
"Just two weeks, Jean. Luckily, I have a present for you all. A full analysis of the event" Said her.
"Great. Won't you mind briefing us?" Said Du Bankole, since the politicians would arrive only at 18.00
"Sure" Replied the head of the EIA (European Intelligence Agency), the European counterpart of the CIA and SVR.
After she began speaking, Ilaria noticed a familiar face: Lt. Federico Menendez, Fouquet's attendant. He sat near her and the two begun to talk about the old times for half an hour, but their discussion was interrupted by an officer of the Federation who entered through a side door from the left side of the table that announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the European Federation and its ministers" At the word " The presidant " all sprang to their feet and military saluted, clicking their heels and shouting " Madame President, Madame ." Inside came a procession of 5 people, the first two were personal assistants , while the others were all politicians : Andrea recognized the Premier Dvorak, Czechoslovak, the defense minister Poulain, and their commander: President Nathalie Pérreau, the first woman plus first President of the European Federation. She was confirmed as president in 2018, after a nearly unanimous vote of the European Council. In the early days Andrea didn't really like her for two reasons: she was of a leftist party and had redirected military funds towards green investments and research. During the crisis of 2019 in Guinea, however, she had sent immediately the military to resolve it, earning appreciation in the eyes of the colonel, and at the bottom was also thanks to her if he had received the European Cross, the highest award of the Federation. He and she, in spite of everything, were old friends: they had met 15 years earlier, when Andrea was a young lieutenant just out from Academy of Modena and was assigned to the Italian Embassy in Paris and she was a recent graduate of Political and foreign Sciences, and was part of the group of her father, Francois Pérreau, at the time assistant to the economy minister of France, but also an important businessman. She had only a year more than him and they had met by chance at a meeting between her father and the ambassador and they quickly became friends. Andrea's thoughts were interrupted by the woman who cleared her throat " Gentlemen, we have a big problem in our hands"
THE PENTAGON , WASHINGTON DC, USA 04/12/2020 18:32
David Becerra was the first Hispanic president in the history of the United States, not that it was such a radical change as the election of Robert Jackson years before , but because he was a Republican. The move to nominate him had been a great blow to the leaders of the party, not only because it had revived their popularity among the not WASP, but also because Becerra was a skilled diplomat, all thanks to a degree in law and economics, followed by a master's degree in political science and in the midst of all those degrees he found time to serve his country for 4 years in the USMC, ending his military career with the rank of gunnery sergeant and a silver star. But despite studies and experiences, nothing could prepare him for that.
When he was young and played with his friends in the barrio of Los Angeles, he would not have ever thought of becoming President of the United States, let alone receive a report of NORAD at 17:04 which confirmed the hypothesis of a European attack.
Within an hour he was at a meeting with key military and political leaders of the country to have a clear view of the event and decide what to do. Currently had word General Kellerman, former USAF general and now head of the CIA: "I have just received a message from the European section of the agency" he began " they confirm that the shot came from a HELSS, part of the SLAMS, that about two hours ago was flying over the JFK space Center "
"Then it's war" Said Lt. Gen. Mitchell.
Scott Mitchell, of Youngstown, Ohio, 42, was one of the most influential and respected military commanders of U.S. armed forces. This is for two reasons: firstly because he was the head of the JSF, the most lethal armed force of the United States, and secondly, because of his past: Mitchell was one of the first commanders of the ghost teams, which were part of what was then called "spectral warfare program", and had climbed the ranks to become its commander in the same year of the election of Becerra. Mitchell, relying on POTUS military past, had convinced him to finance the creation of the Joint Strike Force. The program was expensive, yes, but the President had immediately realized the benefits of the new unit into the crisis in South America and Southeast Asia. Mitchell was generally a calm guy, but he was right to say what he had said. It was an attack on America, and those responsible were going to be punished.
"Calm down, general" said Admiral James Nakamura, USN's chief of naval operations "We must not be hasty: a declaration of war now could only put us in danger"
"With all due respect sir, I think we are just wasting time, we should mobilize immediately and avenge those forty dead"
"Carlos?" asked Nakamura.
Captain Carlos Santiago was a former Navy SEAL, who with over 30 years of experience behind him, was the vice of the admiral "Gentlemen, we have investigated this possibility since 2018, and, together with CENTCOM we came to the conclusion that we should wait a few days for mobilize the reserves and prepare to resist to a hypothetical enemy attack, while launching the counterattack. Details are now being transferred on your data pads. "
The room fell silent as everyone read the files of the Navy. The first to speak was General Williams, army's chief of staff: " Well, I must admit that it is an extremely good and well thought out plan, I'm surprised, but the Europeans will really do this? , And the Russians? Nobody has considered them, although I think they wouldn't bother us, since it has nothing to do, in fact, at best, they might even help us. "
Admiral Nakamura seemed satisfied " Aaron, believe me, we know the Europeans, they will behave exactly like that, but for the Russians, as you said, we shouldn't worry. We know our pals and in case of problems, we also have a plan for them. "
THE KREMLIN , MOSCOW , RUSSIA , 04.12.2020 19:43
"Izotov "
"I guess you've seen, General "
" Yes, General "
"And the president ? "
" Kapalkin expressed his deepest condolences to President Becerra and refuses to talk to Pérreau "
"He's smart '
" He does what we say"
"Sounds good to me, however, meet me in an hour at the usual place to agree on the details of the operation 1000"
"Sure, I'll be there "
"Don't bring anyone, not even Noskov "
" It 's so secret ? "
"More secret than the emergency meetings in Paris and Washington DC"
Sergei Izotov was paralyzed for a few seconds "How does he know that there are meetings of high importance in Paris and Washington? GRU only knows, and he is not the GRU "
"General? "
"Yes, I'm still here "
"I wanted to thank you for the forces you have granted us for the operation 999"
" Thank you, but I do not think it is appropriate to talk about iton the phone "
"You're right, ah, do me a favor, put under surveillance colonel Pavel Doletskaya, he's putting his nose into matters that do not interest him "
" But he's is loyal to Russia!" Protested Izotov .
" General, if he finds out that Snegurochka is still alive and he tries to contact her, she's dead, and then I did not say eliminate, distract him with something "
"I understand General"
" Well, now we just have to wait until one of the two make the first move "
" And decide the details "
"I fully expect the President to approve our plan "
" He will "
"Remember, while the two boys bicker, the third one enjoys what they had forgotten. In our case, eastern Europe and much more: glory. Dasvidania Izotov "
"Goodbye General"
Izotov putted down the phone and breathed slowly for a few seconds. He often did it when he was confused, to collect his thoughts. The operation in Rovaniemi had been a success, although a bit noisy. But the goal was reached. A virus created by the best Hacker of the Motherland was able to give them access to a satellite of the European Federation to use against the Freedom IV, to trigger an escalation and in 98% of cases, war. Izotov and his partner, Dimitri Zubov, referred to as "General", together with a large share of Russian military personnel believed that the two western countries would soon ally against them, and then it would be the end. Russia was preparing for war since 2014, and it's preparation will be tested in the next days. Now he just had to trust in the ability of Russian leaders and pray for the victory of the motherland. "No" he said, "we won't lose"
" Noskov" He called out on the intercom "Come here "
The massive mahogany doors slid open, revealing the figure of Major Alexei Noskov, former Spetsnaz and personal assistant to general Izotov. Noskov was a lieutenant in Chechnya, during the crisis of 2012 , all shelved by the valid elements of the GRU, where he had created a special unit to hunt down the rebel leaders. Unfortunately for him, a few days before the end of the operations, during a fight he stuck a metal shrapnel in the left leg, which prevented him from fighting, relegating him to a desk job. Izotov had chosen him because it had a tendency to trust former Spetsnaz , he having been part of the unit, while in the old URSS, and had served in Afghanistan, earning a reputation equal to that of Scott Mitchell, the legendary commander of the first ghost team. But he had chosen him for another reason: he could keep a secret, and, moreover, he was a great planner. He had devised the operation in Finland, thanks to data received from Zubov and had been a success: it was all about him if they were in that position. The general thought that once everything was over, he would suggest him for a promotion.
"You wanted to see me, General? "
"Prepare the car, I have an errand "
"I can do it Sir "
" No, it's personal "
" I provide immediately General"
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So, here we go with the prologue of my Endwar story; it's going to cover all the war from multiple POVs, especially the European one; sorry if my English isn't perfect, but it isn't my first language.
Read and Review please!