Another chapter up and ready. I thought this would take a month but this is up a lot faster than I had expected.

Not much going on. Getting use to school again. It's also getting pretty cold up here.

I don't know if any of ya'll have heard of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, often translated as Good-bye Mr. Despair. Manga is just starting to be released in the US and no word if an English dubbed anime is coming yet. But if you're like me go to youtube for the fansubs. The main character is Itoshiki Nozomu who is depressed and suicidal and a high school teacher. He frequently makes attempts to kill himself (half are at least not serious). In sharp contrast the main female protagonist is Fuura Kafuka, a super-positive girl that almost seems in denial. Their first meeting she sees Nozomu hanging from a tree and she pulled him down (literally and almost killing). She says no one would hang themselves on a day like this he must have been trying to make himself taller like her parents. There are other characters like Komori Kiri a Hikikomori, Tsunetsuki Matoi the stalker, and Kitsu Chiri the OCD girl. Each character has a different psychological issue and as a gag their names actually spell it out. For instance the Kanji characters in Itoshiki Nozomu when written horizontally in Japanese order spell Zetsubou (Despair) where the anime get its name. Tsunetsuki Matoi's name spells tsune tsukimatoi which means 'always dangling after.' The show is intended to be a satire mocking modern Japan and its society. Don't watch this show if you know little to nothing about Japan because you won't get the jokes.

Also if you haven't heard the new season for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is being released.

I also watched the movie Taken starring Liam Neeson. It's about a retired CIA agent whose daughter is kidnapped by an Albanian human-trafficking ring in Paris and Neeson's character Bryan Mills hunting down the Albanians. Its plot was good, but maybe not the best. The fighting was very realistic. Unlike in the Bourne movies (which I love) where there are long and slightly elaborate fight scenes, Taken's fighting scenes are very brief. A one-on-one fight lasts only a few seconds. A real agent would want to kill in as few moves as possible to efficiency. I would recommend this movie to get a good feel of what a real field agent would be like. Though keep in mind that most spies sit behind desks and only a few would do this. Also most agents would avoid killing people, especially foreign spies. That is where my own story is inaccurate. Real spies rarely kill each other because of mutual rules between the United States, our allies, the Soviet Union (still honored by the Russian Federation), but terrorists and criminals are not protected by these rules.


Chapter 12: A Call to Arms Again

"The military don't start wars. Politicians start wars."

General William Child Westmoreland

Commander of US Forces in Vietnam from 1964-1968

0800 Hours; March 26th, 2012; The Kantei, Tokyo; Tokyo Prefecture, Federation of Japan

Prime Minister Aokami Shin wished the Diet would just give a vote of no confidence and kick him out of office. Why did he have to make the hardest decisions in Japanese history since the Federation was formed after the Pacific War? But alas, he would probably stay until the next election next year. The Shūgiin (House of Representatives), the lower house of the Japanese Diet, election would be in 2013. Officially both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors (Sangiin), the upper house of the Japanese Diet, had to agree on a Prime Minister. If neither house agreed then the person the House of Representatives selected would be Prime Minister. The House of Representatives also were the ones who had the power to vote him out of office. The war had made him popular like going to war with the Continent (1) or invading a country that his nation had invaded three times before, which apparently shot up his approval ratings despite him personally being against it. Strangely the fourth invasion of Korea, namely the attack across the DMZ, had actually made Japan popular by their friends on the peninsula, South Korea. In fact some people in the Kaesŏng Province, that Japan and South Korea had liberated, were giving their children Japanese names. In roughly 400 years of Japanese-Korean relations first what seemed the first time the two nations were friends.

Or at least Japan wasn't saying things that offended and upset the Republic of Korea and the RoK seemed to have forgiven Japan at last for their brutal occupation in the early 20th Century.

"So now we have to repay NATO for their commitment to our nation," he said to himself. The Kosovar capital was expected to fall in the next few hours and now Albania was getting threatening messages from Yugoslavia. The Hellenic (Greek) Air Force reported that one of their Pegasus II UVA (Unmanned Arial Vehicle) a regiment of Croatian tanks appearing in Socialist Republic of Macedonia, member of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. US Navy recon satellites had reported a Soviet motor-rifle division was training in Romania which shared a border with Greece and Turkey, but they were staying in the north of the country near the Ukraine. The small Soviet Navy Black Sea Squadron was conducting training drills, but they were staying close to their ports in Ukraine. Insofar the Soviets were keeping a distance. Increased readiness in the Red Army was making everyone nervous. Entire air wings of the Soviet Air Force were down for maintenance and much of the Soviet Navy's ships were going in for major unscheduled maintenance.

However, Prime Minister Aokami knew this wasn't the Soviets' fault entirely. His own intelligence community informed him that the Soviet Armed Forces started about 18 hours after the US had recalled several of their ships in the Atlantic to Norfolk for repairs, resupply, and minor to moderate overhauls. In Little Creek, the USMC/USN base next to Norfolk where the amphibious assault ships and other ships for amphibious landings were kept, were going into unscheduled maintenance. This was usually a sign of a nation preparing to go to war. A sign that said the US was planning to move large numbers of troops across the ocean with making sure their transports were at peak condition. Recalling warships, especially carriers, said they wanted to move something important. Americans never put important ships to sea without aircraft carriers for protection.

'What about the boomers?' he wondered. There was few report on where the US or Soviet ballistic missile submarines were, the ones that would fire nuclear missiles. One American boomer was in its homeport in Kings Bay, Georgia, US Navy Atlantic base for their missile boats. A Soviet Delta IV and a very old Yankee Class missile boats were both spotted at the Severomorsk Naval Yard, home to the Northern Red Banner Fleet's HQ.

Aokami pressed a button on his desk. He heard his phone ring and then someone pick up on their end.

"Hai?"

"Director, do we know where all Soviet and American boomers are?" asked the Prime Minister.

"Ie, sir," said the Director of the Naicho. "We know where most of the Soviet missile boats in their Pacific Squadron are, of course. We know the locations of some of the American Pacific Fleet's boats, but only the ones near our coast. Unfortunately we have little information on the locations of the American Atlantic or Mediterranean Fleets or the Soviet Northern Fleet. I also cannot say where the British or French missile boats are except those in port."

"Arigato. Keep an eye on them and also keep me informed on future developments."

He hung up. The 2nd Fleet was recalled from its exercises north of Guam back to Sasebo. The amphibious assault ships in Kure were being ready for sortie. Kure was home to a major ship building yard. These too were being inspected by the Navy like in the US, but most of the Japanese amphibious ships were so new that many didn't need maintenance. The Army would call their soldiers to report to their bases as soon as the Navy had the transports ready. The 3rd Air Group of the 2nd Air Wing was being called to their bases and to have their planes ready for combat. Some soldiers, sailors, and airmen were still on leave or in units that weren't recalled to active service. Aokami couldn't reactive them without approval from the Diet. In the United States the Senate would make the decision to go to war and the President had to sign off on it. In Japan the House of Representatives would make the decision, but the House of Councilors had to ratify it before it went to the Prime Minister. Right now there was no motion from NATO to go to war. Well, NATO couldn't decide to go to war the individual nations had to choose for themselves but they did have an obligation.

The US President wanted full readiness to deploy to the Balkans. The United Kingdom was still trying to negotiate a peaceful outcome with the people in Belgrade, but someone, probably the Soviets, told them that British were preparing their own troops. Germany sent them a simple message, leave Kosovo or else. Being the largest economy in Europe, Germany didn't have to use their military to threaten. An embargo from Germany could cut off a nation from important high quality pharmaceuticals, some of the best made cars in the world, and fine German machinery. Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and other NATO members protested this assault on a fellow member of the European Union. Albania was screaming for war.

Japan on the other hand said little. The Emperor had publicly condemned that attack on what he called an independent and sovereign nation. Following his example the Japanese had protested the invasion in front of the Serbian Embassy and the embassies of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Still it was nothing compared to the ones in North America or Europe. The Diet had not addressed the issue a formal statement and the Minister of Foreign Affairs has only vaguely mentioned it. That would change soon. On his desk was a declaration of war against Yugoslavia. It was signed by the members of both houses of the Diet, the Foreign Minister, and the Defense Minister. Only his signature was missing to make it final. Then he had to take it to the Emperor, technically it was only a formality to take it to Akihito-Tennō, but for the Japanese people tended to trust their Emperor more than their elected government.


0800 Hours (UCT +1); March 26th, 2012; Justus Lipsius Building, Brussels; Brussels-Capital Region, Kingdom of Belgium

Japanese Standard Time (UCT +9): 1600 Hours; March 26th, 2012

"My word. The Yugoslavians don't seem to be reasoning with my countrymen," said a representative from United Kingdom.

"Russia warns us against military action," said a French representative.

The Kosovar representative to the European Council watched nervously as far more powerful men and women. He noticed that Scandinavian leaders were absent. So was the Irish representative. Only EU countries that were in NATO were present today.

"Of course the Soviets object. Yugoslavia is their protectorate against Westen troope (Western troops)," stated the German representative in broken English.

"My nation's armed forces are waiting at the border for the Yukes. For now we are accepting Kosovar refugees, but we expect their army to want to retreat into our lands," said the Albanian representative. There was a pause while his statement was translated.

"Belgrade may see that as compliance with their enemy. You nation could be attacked as a result," said the British representative. He wanted to also add that the Albanian Armed Forces lacked an air force and the ground forces had outdated guns.

"Our leaders will not abandon our brothers and sisters to be murdered," stated the Albanian man stubbornly. Most Kosovar were ethnically Albanian. The Balkans was closely divided by ethnicity. Serbians had gone to war for other Serbs living in Bosnia and Croatia. So had the Croatian. Albania would have launched a counter-invasion that first day of the Yugoslavian attack if the US hadn't intervened. The United States managed to get Albania, a former enemy, to listen to them in a way the EU had never could. It was because the Americans had made Kosovo independent and fought Albanians old enemy Serbia that Albanians trusted and loved the US. Also the American President reminded them that they didn't have the firepower to actually take on the JNA.

"The Americans recalled that carrier from the North Sea. The Lincoln, I believe," said the Dutch representative.

"Ja. I believe the British have recalled their carrier Queen Elizabeth from the mid-Atlantic," stated the German representative. The Englishman frowned at the accusation.

"My President is very worried about increased activity on our borders. We see increased numbers of Macedonian troops, but what worries us more is the sudden appearance of Croatian and Serbian troops. Their only conducting drills, but we don't like it so close to our northern border," said the Greek representative.

"I'm sure it is comforting to you and your Albanian neighbors that the Americans had placed a carrier in the Ionian Sea," said the Italian representative. The USS Enterprise and her escorts had pass through the Tyrrhenian Sea where it was to conduct drills with the Italian Navy. To the surprise of the Italian sailors it had sailed past Sicily, southern Italy, and was now apparently conducting drills off the coast of Greece. But within roughly two and a half hours it could be in the north end of the Strait of Otranto where they could over all of Albania and threaten JNA forces. Italy had placed their light carrier, the Giuseppe Garibaldi, around the Enterprise. The original plan had been the Giuseppe Garibaldi would practice anti-submarine drills, which was her primary role, while the Americans conducted air supremacy and anti-ship drills. Both carriers had the mission of protecting a convoy bringing vital war supplies from North American to Europe, or that was the simulation. Now the real mission was to show off a little and show Yugoslavia that NATO disapproved and had force in the area.

"So what do we do about Kosovo?" asked the Dutchman.

"For now, diplomacy sounds best. It's what we do best," said the Englishman. The Greek representative paled a little, the Albanian snorted, and the Kosovar looked on in disappear.

"Though, my tolerance is wearing thin at the moment," said continued the British representative. "We'll prepare are troops for now and give Belgrade time to come to their senses. Failing that, then we take the Yank approach and kick their bloody arses out Kosovo."

"Then, I can tell President Zharku there will be an armed response from our allies?" asked the Kosovar representative.

"Ja. The diplomacy is only formality to by time und keep them out of Albania," said the German representative.

No one had to add that they were also waiting to hear from the UN. If the United Nations recognized Kosovo's right to sovereignty then Yugoslavia would have to withdraw or face a NATO attack. If the UN did not recognize Kosovo then NATO would not be facing Yugoslavia. It would be facing Yugoslavia the protectorate of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic. Facing roughly 700,000 active duty soldiers of the Yugoslav People's Army, plus the possibility of another 400,000 reservists, was bad enough. NATO did not need the threat of millions of Soviet troops stationed across over 20 socialist republics that made up the USSR. No, the European Union wanted this to stay a matter of an EU state having its sovereignty violated and not turn the Cold War into World War III.


1100 Hours; March 26th, 2012 (UTC -4); United Nations Building, New York City; State of New York, United States of America

Central European Standard Time (UTC +1): 1600 Hours; March 26th, 2012

Michelle Smith Crane sat on a bench outside the Security Council's assembly hall twirling her cane between her legs. Standing next to her was her primary agent, Felix Gallo. He was dressed like any Secret Service agent, black pants, black shoes, black socks, white shirt, black tie, black jacket, tinted sunglasses, and an earwig. It left no one in question as to who he was. Some might have thought this was too obvious… and they would be right however there were five more agents in plain clothes.

Gallo looked to his left to see a janitor mopping the floor. Inside the janitor's coveralls was a SIG Sauer P-229, a compact version of the P-226. The iPod he was listening to was actually a receiver and he had a mic in collar. The repairman fixing a light fixture every now and then looked around him casually. He scratched his nose indicating no danger. A man and a woman dressed as members of the press were talking loudly. They used certain phrases that sounded like normal chatter, but told Gallo things they were observing. The last one was not present. He was standing around the corner as backup looking like an intern.

The Security Council exited the room. The Council consisted of members from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. They were from Ireland, Romania, Egypt, Vietnam, and Venezuela respectfully. Oceania was grouped with Asia and North America with West Europe (2). Next went the stoic Soviet member. Then came the Chinese member, one of the few Chinese citizens allowed in the US. France, UK, and then the US members.

"Madam President," said US Ambassador to the UN approaching her President.

"What's the damage?" the President asked.

"The Soviets voted against us naturally. China was in no mood to help us," said the Ambassador. "Ireland voted yes. Romania against."

Neither was a surprise. China did not recognize Kosovo as a nation and did not want to help the United States unless the embargo was lifted on their nation first. Romania was part of the Soviet Union and the Soviets did not recognized Kosovo and supported their Yugoslavian allies.

"Egypt abstained from voting," said the Ambassador. That was a surprise. Egypt didn't recognize Kosovar independence. Though, Egypt preferred to be neutral. Also they depended a lot on foreigners using the Suez Canal and paying a toll for access. Perhaps they wanted to ensure they maintained stable relations with both sides.

"So that's four votes for us," said the President counting the US, UK, France, and Ireland. "And four against us."

President Crane assumed that anti-American leader Hugo Chavez, President of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, would follow his long tradition of voting against anything the US supported. Also that Thang Binh Nguyen, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, would probably order their ambassador to side with their communist allies.

"Actually, the Vietnamese in favor of Kosovo," said the Ambassador. "Five to three, us."

The Vietnamese ambassador passed them at the moment. He was a small Asian man, though darker than his Chinese counterpart. He brushed past the American Ambassador and hit her hand. In that moment he jammed a piece of paper in her hand and continued walking as if nothing happened.

The Ambassador looked down in surprise and examined the folded note paper. She read, "He hope America will be a friend to us. We will contact your President. Burn this note."

Now she understood. Vietnam was an ally of the Soviets and the Chinese out of convenience. The man who led Vietnamese independence from France, Ho Chi Minh, actually had asked for American support. Their declaration of independence from France was nearly a carbon copy of the United States Declaration of Independence. Vietnam's government was deeply suspicious of the Soviets and both the people and government of Vietnam hated China. In 207 BC the Nanyue Dynasty conquered Vietnam. In 111 BC the Han Dynasty conquered Nanyue and Vietnam was brought into the Han. For about the next 1000 years Vietnam was mostly under Chinese control. Comparatively, the US was only involved in Vietnam from the mid-1950s to 1972.

"So Vietnam wants what?" asked the President.

"The veil of protection of being a friend of the United States," said the Ambassador. "And they don't want this being known."

The Soviet Ambassador was furious, but he didn't show it. He had expected the Vietnamese to support the Soviet Union in not recognizing Kosovo as a legitimate nation. Egypt had also surprised him. They will pay. The Soviet Union did not look upon traitors kindly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs would probably cut off weapons exports to those nations that depended on Soviet made weapons for their militaries. Finished goods, machinery, cars, planes, raw materials, and others would also be cut off.

The Chinese Ambassador sighed as he reached his car. His driver opened the door for him. He personally had thought it would have been better to earn good face with the Americans like Vietnam had done. He knew the Vietnamese had a major infrastructure projects being aided by companies in the United States and Japan. They did not need American and their Japanese lap dogs to abandon them in a multi-million dollar project. Also, Vietnam was no friend of China. They had gone to war against each other in 1979. The Politburo was going to be angry.

The British Ambassador smiled smugly. The American had been very persuasive. The Soviets had challenged her on the legitimacy being rightfully part of Serbia.

"That is true Mr. Ambassador, but that didn't stop my countrymen. Let me remind all of us that the United States broke away from Great Britain. I don't see anyone challenging our sovereignty. We in the United States have always believed that if government does not treat us with reasonable rights that all men and women are entitled to, than the people have a right to destroy that government. Mr. Ambassador, did your countrymen not do that in 1917? Ousting the Czar, remember? Kosovo has only declared independence from a nation that abused and terrorized its people with violence, death, and even rape. Is there a person here who believes that Kosovo seceded on a mere whim? No, like many of our ancestors they chose to risk their lives in the self interest of a better life after very hard thought. Ambassadors, there 2.3 million people whose tomorrow will be decided by eight people without any of them here to speak. Can you tell them that we don't recognize them after what our nations have done to be what we are today? Perhaps you will, but I won't lose sleep at night being a hypocrite."

The American Ambassador was a powerful speaker, maybe too rash though, but she had probably expected the Soviets wouldn't be impressed no matter what she said. Her passion had touched the Vietnamese Ambassador considerably. It had convinced the Egyptian Ambassador to at least not vote against Kosovo. It had impressed the Venezuelan Ambassador, but he was under strict orders to oppose the Americans. Soviet wasn't impressed and only saw American ulterior motives that involved weakening Yugoslavia and an important part of Soviet national defense.

"Sir," nodded the British Ambassador's driver.

"To the consulate, dear boy," said the Ambassador. "I have to make an urgent call to London."

"Very good, sir."

He could have used a cell phone, but those things could easily be tapped. He preferred to use the secure line in the British Consulate.


1623 Hours; March 26th, 2012 (GMT); Number 10 Downing Street, London; England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States Eastern Standard Time (UTC -4): 1223 Hours; March 26th, 2012

Number 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It also housed the First Lord of the Treasury, who was usually the same person as the Prime Minister. It had started with the British deciding that a committee should oversee the treasury in the early 18th Century. It seemed natural at a point that this person was in charge of all the ministers and thus came the title Prime Minister, but it was not used in a pleasant way. In 1905 the title Prime Minister was made the official as the head of the government, while the Crown remained the official head of state.

Prime Minister Donald Hackett would have liked nothing more than to call it a day and have a drink, but he was still waiting for news from New York.

"For god's sake, ring," said the tired man.

It rang. Prime Minister Hackett was so surprised he nearly fell out of his chair.

"Hello?"

"Right Honorable (3), good evening."

"How are things on that side of the pond (4)?"

"It's a go. Looks like the Yanks are getting their Marines and Army ready to set sail. Do our neighbors know yet? Aside from France?"

"I give them a ring. Bloody good work over there."

The Prime Minister hung up. Hackett picked up his phone and dialed.


1732 Hours; March 26th, 2012 (UCT +1); Bundeskanzleramt, Berlin; Berlin Staat, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Western European Standard Time (GMT): 1632 Hours; March 26th, 2012

The Bundskanzleramt, roughly translating as Chancellor's Office, was located in Berlin. Anne Strömvall stared out of her office window. This was a pretty new building replacing the previous one, but she had some of the old relics from the original Reichskanzlei, the Imperial Chancellery. The most prized treasure was an original oil painting of Otto von Bismarck, Germany's greatest national hero… or at least to the people of Brandenburg and the other states that had made up the mighty Kingdom of Prussia. Bavaria remembered him a little less fondly. Next to Bismarck was a painting of other sources of national pride like Sigmund Freud, even though he was Austrian, Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Erwin Rommel, and the founder of the Federal Republic, Bernhard Ernst Schumacher.

Strömvall was staring eastward. Towards Poland. There were many regiments forming a crescent around Berlin. They were roughly 80 km from the Oder River that marked the German-Polish border. She wondered if the six divisions the Red Army had in Poland would try to cross the Oder and Neisse Rivers when the Bunderwehr deployed to the Balkans. According to her Minister of Defense the regiments that protected Berlin could be mobilized in under 10 minutes, which was pretty impressive for a whole brigade.

Her phone rang.

"Hallo (Hello)?"

"Ms. Chancellor, this is Prime Minister Hackett," said the British Prime Minister spoke in English.

"Ah, Herr Prime Minister, news from New York?" she asked waiting for the bomb to drop.

"We're going. Council approved and we can send troops to Kosovo without fear of Soviet intervention."

"Gute (good), but I would not be so sure. The Soviets being so near to my capital we cannot afford to be careless. You nation is welcome to use our air bases, but mein generale (my generals) would like warning before hand so we can accommodate them all."

"Of course."


0130 Hours; March 27th, 2012 (UCT +9); The Kantei, Tokyo; Tokyo Prefecture, Federation of Japan

Central European Standard Time (UCT +1): 1630 Hours; March 26th, 2012

Prime Minister Aokami was about as happy to be woken up at this hour as his wife, who rolled over in bed and buried herself under a pillow to dampen out the noise.

"Nani?" he asked a little more aggressively than he intended.

"Eto," squeaked the young man before him. "Urgent phone call, Sōridaijin."

"Donata (who)?"

"Your general in Brussels," he said sweating.

"… kamatte naa (5)," he cursed. He grabbed his robe and dashed down the hall after the night-duty secretary. "When did he call?"

"Only a couple of minutes ago. He told me to wake you. It's only 4 in the afternoon there."

"Ee, I have been waiting to hear from him."

They reached the phone and the secretary passed it to him.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Prime Minister? Nakasone. NATO has authorization from the United Nations Security Council to removed Yugoslavian troops from Kosovo. The Soviet Union can't intervene. There is a condition though. We have to give Yugoslavia 72 hours to withdraw starting midnight March 27th, GMT," said Brigadier General Nakasone Taro.

"Wakaru (I understand)," said Aokami. "Arigato."

"Shitsuree-shimasu (excuse me). Gomen-kudasai," said Nakasone hanging up.

Aokami dialed for the Ministry of Defense. Someone had to be awake.

"Moshi moshi, Colonel Meishima, Federal Army," said the watch officer on duty. His job was to keep an eye on Ministry of Defense for the Federal Army. There was another colonel for the Federal Air Force and captain for the Federal Navy all there to wake up every chief and senior officer in Japan in the event of an emergency.

"Colonel, this is your Prime Minister," said Aokami in an official voice.

"… honto (really)?" asked the Colonel a little surprised. He'd never thought someone this important would call him. It was suppose to be the other way around.

"Honto da yo (really, I assure you)," he said. "Where is General Kugashi?"

"At home I would assume. Should I wake him?" asked Colonel Meishima. He'd knew the protocol, but never actually had to disturb an officer higher than Major General.

"Hai. Do it now. Tell them to assemble here at the Kantei. I want to Navy and Air Force here too."

"Hai, Prime Minister."

Colonel Meishima hung up a little stunned.

"Problem?" asked Captain Shudo, Federal Navy. She was playing cards with Colonel Nakao, Air Force, to kill time until they were relieved in the morning.

"That was the Prime Minister. He wants the entire brass in his office, now."

"Honto?"

"Hai."

Half an hour later over 20 senior officers of the Federal Armed Forces were on their way to the Kantei. General Kobayashi Jin, Chief of Staff, arrived first. Admiral Mizuryū Chidori, Chief of the Federal Navy, arrived next; her hair was not in its usual knot and hung at odd angles. General Kugashi Toshi, Chief of the Federal Army, arrived. He was missing both his peaked cap and was not wearing a tie. General Takahashi Mondo, Chief of the Federal Air Force, was wearing his entire uniform, but his tunic was not button and his shirt wasn't tucked into his trousers.

The commanders of logistics, artillery, medical service, transportation, communications, training, ground combat, and other army branches arrive. The Navy's commanders of logistics, fleet logistics, anti-submarine warfare, submarine warfare, surface action, communications, marines, naval air, intelligence, and naval medical arrived too. Amongst them were the Air Force logistics, transport, medical, intelligence, air combat, air defense, ground attack combat, electronics, and reconnaissance. It was crowded.

"I apologize for waking you at this hour. Many of you probably have guessed at the reason for being here. It's now 3:05 am. It's 6:05 pm GMT. On midnight 30 March GMT we will be at war with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Belgrade has until then to recall their armed forces back to recognized Yugoslavian borders. Failing that, we go to Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, what are we going to do?" asked Aokami.

"We'll send a squadron from the 2nd Fleet," said Admiral Mizuryū. "It would be pointless to send the entire fleet to Europe where they'll be sharing the waters with multiple navies."

"It's Europe. Most of NATO is there. Probably by the time we arrive it will be over. I think we should only send a division over," said General Kugashi.

"Hardly any air power will be needed," said General Takahashi. He had images of planes colliding with each other in overcrowded skies. At least he would send his own fighter-bombers and AWACS to Europe and a squadron of fighters. He expected the other NATO nations would provide most of the air support, but he thought the Army would like air support from people who literally spoke the same language as them.

"Will our soldiers have the right equipment?"

"Hai. Will send our soldiers in summer uniforms. Balkans is hot during the summer because of their proximity Mediterranean," said the Army logistics commander.

"Terrain?"

"Lots of woods have been cut down over the centuries. Lots of mountains. Not a lot of farms due to poor soil conditions and mountains, but the valleys are full of them. Not a lot of plains. Rivers that flow fast. But the main concern will be the mountains," said an Air Force reconnaissance commander. Japanese soldiers were no strangers to mountains since Japan was full of them. The question was would they adapt to the ones in the Balkans.

"We are going to be taking our military to the other side of the world. It would take a month to get reinforcements to the Balkans. Are you comfortable to sending only one division with the notion that if they are exhausted that no relief will come for a month? That if our ships take damage that no one can take their place?" Aokami.

Admiral Mizuryū thought that one over. "I'll send the whole 2nd Fleet. But the 1st and 3rd will remain in home waters. I can also send the 1st Marine Division."

"I was only planning to send the 6th Infantry, but I'll send the 10th too. They can sit in reserve and relieve 6th if they tire out," said General Kugashi.

"I'll send the 3rd Air Group. But I can't send much more. I've had time to think about this," said General Takahashi. "Even if we take over civilian airports to land our planes I have to account for much larger air forces than ours like the RAF or the USAF. They're going to rely on their planes to resupply their troops more than us."

"Wakarimasu (I understand)," said Aokami.

"I may be overkill, sir," said General Kobayashi.

"I may be, but better safe than sorry. When can we mobilize?"

"… maybe by April 7th. One of the 2nd Fleet's carriers is in need of repair. The Marines will need to assemble and then we'll have to supply them. I only assemble transports for one division. Then I'll need additional oilers and tenders (6) to move a whole fleet out," said Admiral Mizuryū.

"I don't have the supplies ready for the 6th Infantry," said General Kugashi shaking his head. He'd thought he would have more time than this and had instead concentrated on training new soldiers. Training had taken longer with these soldiers since the Japanese wanted these soldiers better trained than the previous group that had been slapped together by a panicked Japanese government fearing imminent attack from China. "It might take me a week to get all ready if I drop everything else. Can you get the Transportation Minister to hijack some trains for us?"

"Maybe. General Takahashi?"

"Air Force's job is to be ready to go at all times," said Takahashi. At any time half or more squadrons were to operating. The rest were usually down for repairs or rest. Takahashi had taken the entire 1st Air Force off active operations two months ago to make they could sortie. His foresight had put him ahead of his colleagues. "It's just a matter of making sure we have places for them to land. Plus flying to Europe will take a while, sir. I think my pilots will probably fly to America which will take 12 hours. Then rest. Fly to Europe, which could be another 6 or 12 hours depending on where their flying out of. Rest again. Another day or two to get everything organized and then they're ready."

"Wakarimashita (I understand). You're to be ready by the 7th," said Prime Minister Aokami. "Get to work. We don't have much time."


1800 Hours; March 26th, 2012; Executive Assembly Building, Belgrade; City of Belgrade District, Socialist Republic of Serbia; Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

"This is just great!" shouted Ivica Ručan. The Chairman of Croatia was both scared and furious. "We are going to have to withdraw from your fucking state!"

"Comrade Chairman Ručan, please, there is no need to yell or use such language," said Osam Čolaković, Chairman of Serbia, calmly with a slight wave of the hand. "We are not pulling out of our lands."

"Not pull out! NATO will destroy us from the skies. They will blockade us from the seas. Then, when they are good and ready they will plow across our lands," said Obrad Maglajlija, Chairman of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

"You're concerns should be less than my people. Croatia has committed eight times the about of troops Bosnia has," growled Chairman Ručan.

"You concerns are noted, Comrade Chairman," said General-Secretary Ante Mikosvić. "NATO will obviously not back down. Comrade Minister Nikola Marinković, a plan?"

The Minister of Defense was sweating. He'd been counting on Soviet backing. "Uh, comrades, NATO has an overwhelming air and naval advantage over us. Our best bet would be to make sure they have nowhere to land their troops. They have authorization to retake the so called 'Republic of Kosovo'. They don't not have the authorization to land troops on Montenegro or Croatia, right Comrade Minister Uzunović?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Uzunović, nodded. "Da, they have to attack from Albania. If they attack Slovenia from Italy or Austria, or Macedonia from Greece, they would be beyond the scope of their power they got from the 'UN' and would draw the Soviet Union into war."

Uzunović used UN with a tone of sarcasm. The Yugoslavs didn't like the United Nations. They hated they idea of a distant organization that made decisions about their nation without any Yugoslavian representing them. The Security Council was a joke and many Yugoslavians, with the aid of the Propaganda Ministry, believed it corrupt. The Soviets shared a similar view. Unknown to these men would have been surprised that their American counterparts would have agreed with them, though not about corruption, but Americans usually thought incompetency was worse.

"Comrades, our best course of action is to ensure the Americans do not have a place to land their soldiers," said Marinković. He had a plan now. "We must launch an attack on Albania."

There was a loud silence that seemed to cause Marinković's ears to pound, though it was really caused by an increased heart rate from nerves. For a moment he thought his career, and maybe his life, was over. The Chairmen of Yugoslavia and the General-Secretary of Yugoslavia however were thinking that one over.

"The Albanians are now allowing the retreating Kosovars into their territory. Now that Pristina has fallen the rebel army is fleeing into Albania," said Mikosvić thoughtfully.

"Da, that is true, Comrade General-Secretary," agreed Chairman Ručan. Although he didn't like being under a general-secretary from Serbia, but he hated Albanians more. So did the others.

The only exception was the Bosnian Chairman. He had his doubts about listening to his so-called comrades, but he had no choice.

Maglajlija would regret not making an effort to prevent the inferno that had begun. A political heck trying to save his job by bullshitting had lit the flames.


2031 Hours; March 26th, 2012; local mosque, Prizren; District of Prizren, Republic of Kosovo

Prizren was a city in the southern part of Kosovo. Roughly two-thirds of the population was Albanian along with Turks, Roma, and Bosniaks.

Sgt. Ermir Ruli sat on the sill of a window overlooking the river below. On the floor below he could hear the imam of this mosque pleading for his following to leave Prizren. Unfortunately, Prizren had fallen already. Pvt. Jak Meksi was asleep against the wall next to Ruli. Ruli wanted him fully rested for their run for the border where the rest of the Army was headed.

He saw a pickup truck driving along the river. The truck, a Toyoda, made a turn and across one of the many stone bridges to Ruli's side of the river. Two men got out and pulled back a blanket revealing a soldier in the back. Ruli wondered if it was a Yugoslav soldier capture and were planning on a half-assed interrogation. But then Ruli saw the men help the soldier out of the back. Through his scope Ruli saw the coat of arms of the Republic.

He heard footsteps after a while. The door across the room opened revealing the imam.

"Sergeant, two of my following have found a soldier," said the old man. He was a tired looking man in his 70s who wide eyes full of sadness. Ruli suspected that due to his age and his religious beliefs that he had suffered greatly at the hands of Serbians.

"I saw, sir," said Ruli. Meksi was awake now. When he heard someone approaching the door he'd picked up his gun. Now it was just lying in his lap.

A woman entered behind the imam. She wore the same uniform as Meksi, dark-green with brown forming a patchwork of colors. The only difference was she was wearing a headscarf.

"Private 1st Class Umut Pekkan, radio operator. 9th Infantry Regiment," she said tiredly.

"Sergeant 1st Class Ermir Ruli, attached to the 1st Mountain Brigade. This is Private Jak Meksi, 10th Infantry Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment," said Ruli introducing the two of them. The Kosovo was not a big country and did not have a big population and that equated to them having a small army. The Kosovo Army only had two infantry divisions. They only had enough soldiers and vehicles to form one armor brigade. The Yugoslav People's Army was only using three divisions (7). They had nine more following them.

"Më vjen mirë (pleased to meet you)," said Pekkan. Her name was not Albanian, but Turkish. She looked Slavic for the most part, but some subtle traces of Turkish ancestry remained. Some Muslims who couldn't go to the West went south to Kosovo hoping to find safety amongst the Albanian majority. The Albanian-Kosovars weren't always the friendliest, but it was a great place to be if you wanted to be away from Serbia.

She looked down at Meksi. "The 4th was on the front. What happened? Where is the 4th? You never made contact with our regiment."

Meksi shook his head. "11th and 12th Infantry broke ranks under the main assault. We had the flank and were supposed to cover the retreat while the villages were evacuated. We held against two attacks, both from different lead by different companies of light infantry. The third attack was mech infantry."

"So what happened two the 11th and 12th Battalions?"

"I saw some of the 12th heading for Pristina the other day. No idea where the 11th are," said Meksi looking down at his boots and rotating his carbine absentmindedly. He paused for a few seconds before saying, "I can tell you this much."

"Po (yes)?" asked Pekkan.

"You're looking at the entire 10th Infantry Battalion," said Meksi. He was fighting back tears.

"Does that radio work?" asked Ruli as he gazed out the window.

"Po, but they changed the frequencies. I was afraid to use an open channel," she said. She felt like a coward for not reporting in.

"That was smart of you," said Ruli taking a sip from his canteen. "Probably would have been captured and you know what they do to women of your faith."

Ruli didn't need an answer. He knew the whole reason the Pekkan had joined was because of what Serbians had done to Slavic-Muslims in Bosnia. Pekkan nodded. She was afraid of capture and the scarf she wore around her heard, while being important to her faith, marked her as a Muslim. Capture to her meant being raped, just like her mother had been by the Serbian Army during the Bosnian War. She had never told anyone, but her real father was a captain in Serbian Army. She was one-fourth Turk, one-fourth Bosniak, and half Serb. She was not alone however. She had many friends who were the results of rape by the Serbians, some even Croatian. All who could had joined the Kosovar Armed Forces. All of them hated Serbia and her allies.

"What now?" she asked.

"We wait for midnight and then head to Albania," said Ruli.

"Retreat?" asked Pekkan. She didn't like it very much even though she'd been doing it since Pristina had fallen.

"Umut," said Meksi. "We never had a chance. The whole Army is there and what's left of the Air Force. The Sergeant says it's more important the Army stays intact and lives to fight another day. Right?"

"Right," said Ruli, smiling a little. Meksi noted this had been the first time Sgt. Ruli had done so since they first met.

She frowned. She was outranked and outnumbered. She also wasn't sure if she liked Meksi calling her by her first name.

She sat down across from Meksi and Ruli. "So where are you from?"

"Dren," said Meksi. "Up in the Leposaviq."

Leposavic, or Leposaviq as the Albanian-Kosovars called it, was the northern most municipality in Kosovo. It had the largest number of Serbs, the only province with a Serb majority over Albanians. Meksi had growned up on a farm. Dren was a small north of the city of Leposavic, the provincial capital, that was on the Ibar River and Route-22 that ran north into Serbia and south to the Kosovar capital Pristina.

"Our Regiment made a stand around Donji Kmjin, just north of Dren. The Yukes wanted control of Route-22 and the main rail line since they both go to Pristina. They destroyed everything in their path. Sgt. Ruli was kind enough to let me see my home," said Meksi.

"And?"

"Couldn't go in. The smell of death was too strong. Some of the buildings were still smoldering. I just couldn't bring myself to go in."

"I'm from Zrze," said Pekkan. Zrze was in the Orahovac Municipality in the western part of the country closer to the Albanian border. It was also was a major crossroad city, though the city itself wasn't that big. Four highways converged around Zrze so people taking the highways around the south or west would likely have to pass through the city. The main north-south line in the western parts of Kosovo went straight through Zrze.

"Has your town fallen to the JNA?" asked Ruli when he heard where she was from.

"Uh, not that I know of. I came from Pristina, down E851," said Pekkan. E851 was a major highway that ran northeast until it met the E65 that ran directly into Pristina. The JNA had used it to advance to Prizren. The E851 continued westward along the Drin River to the city of Kukës, Albania. The Drin flowed past Zrez and into the Frerzë Lake, an artificial lake that supplied a hydroelectric dam at Frezë, but the lake stretched all the way to Kukës. What was left of the Kosovar Armed Forces was 12 km west of Prizren at Zur buying time for the wounded and refugees in Vrbnica, 4 km west of Zur and 16 km from Prizren, to escape across the Albanian border. It was only 1.5 km to the border from Vrbnica. 1 km across the border was Morinë, Albania were the Albanian Army.

There were only three highways that entered Albania from Kosovo. The E851 in the southwest of Kosovo was the main highway. A railway line was still being worked on.

The other two highways, both much smaller, crossed the border in the west. One went through a valley and crossed the border near Morina, Kosovo. The other was nearly dead-center of the Kosovar-Albanian border in the mountains, a less appealing route. Both of those highways converged in the city of Gjakovë, which was still in Kosovar hands. If the Yugoslavians took Gjakovë then they would effectively control these few major crossing into Albania.

Ruli pulled out a map. 'They they were coming from the capital then they would probably send a force westward along this highway through Komorane, Malisevo, Orahovac, and eventually through Zrze.'

He'd remembered the JNA had attacked the Kosovar flank from the northwest of Prizren, down the highway to Zrze. It also would put the JNA in position to attack Gjakovë. It was a good plan.

"Mmm, that strange," said Ruli looking out the window. He saw a column of BVP infantry fighting vehicles, the Yugoslav copy of the BMP. It was following some M-84 tanks. What interested him was that logistic vehicles like fuel trucks were with them. A sign they weren't planning on fighting. If Ruli remembered his training he'd received from the Americans then this formation suggested a unit preparing for a sustained assault. In fact it looked like a motor-rifle battalion. There were signs of more battalions. Maybe a division.

"What is, Sergeant?" asked Pekkan who was pulling out a blanket from her pack. She was planning on getting rest.

"Too many units outside just for an attack on Zur. Those guys already on the south side of town. Plus the valley is too narrow for more than a company or two fight side-by-side. They have funnel them in… they have logistic vehicles too," said Ruli thinking out loud.

"Maybe their resupplying," said Meksi.

"That much is obvious," said Ruli. "But these guys should be heading north to Gjakovë. They're just staying here and more keep coming. Just like their setting up for an invasion. This level of consolidating forces wouldn't make sense for much else. There also assembling artillery."

He saw Urals pulled around towed-artillery and M-63 Plamen rocket artillery vehicles lining up along the roads. And… bridge laying vehicles? The land was mostly flat along the valley ahead. Maybe a few were needed, but not as many as Ruli could see crossing a bridge upstream. There wasn't a river until they got near… Kukës.

"They wouldn't," breathed Ruli. "They wouldn't be that greedy."

Would they?

"Meksi, Pekkan, change of plans. We're leaving now," ordered Ruli.

"What?" asked Pekkan.

"Get your stuff," said Meksi. "He does this sometimes."

"Why?"

"Because, they're going to be bringing in a lot more troops. If we wait we'll never escape," said Ruli.

They were downstairs five minutes later. Ruli was asking for a car. The imam nodded. Half an hour later someone drove up in a beat up sedan. According to the imam the owner of the car had died during an air raid and that they could just take it.

"Meksi," said Ruli.

"Po, sir?"

"Change into these," he said tossing him civilian clothes. "And you will call me Ermir. If they stop us you are to say that I am your cousin and that she is your wife."

"Excuse me," said Pekkan annoyed that she had no say in this.

"You change into this," said Ruli throwing her a dress.

They burned their uniforms. Ruli disassembled his sniper rifle and hid it in the car. Meksi tossed his M4A1 into a well and Pekkan had to drop her M16A4 with it. They couldn't risk it being found.

They got into the car, Ruli at the wheel. Meksi and Pekkan sat in the back. They drove past the JNA troops. Meksi noted the corps markings on the soldiers and vehicles. The majority was Croatian troops, but there were also lots of Serbians. He even saw markings from Bosnian divisions. They paid them no mind though. It seemed they were too busy with something else.

Suddenly an officer stood out in the middle of the road with his hand raised in a gesture saying halt. Pekkan was shaking. The officer was Serbian. She slowly reached for the small snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver under her coat. Meksi saw her and grabbed her hand.

"Don't," he whispered.

The Serbian officer meanwhile had turned to his right and waved someone forward. A group of T-55 medium tanks through the intersection ahead of the Kosovars. They relaxed. The officer was a MP (military police) sub-lieutenant just directing traffic. When the last of the tanks passed we waved the car on. Ruli passed and even gave the lieutenant a slight wave which he returned.

"I don't like this," said Ruli. "They are so busy they aren't us any attention."

It was true. Meksi and Pekkan hadn't seen any idle soldiers. All were repairing vehicles or tanks, sowing up holes in their uniforms, cleaning their weapons, checking equipment, loading magazines, or running around to complete other tasks. This wasn't their usual protocol after they took a city a mere few hours ago. They would inspect homes and search for Kosovar soldiers, resistance fighters, political enemies, and people they labeled dissidents. They wouldn't bring in multiple divisions to resupply with all the logistics vehicles and senior officers without making sure the place was safe first. This meant some kind of emergency had happened.

They got outside of Prizren and headed south towards the mountains. Ruli figured the JNA would probably head west towards Zur and would avoid the mountains. The far south of Kosovo was not heavily populated and wasn't easy to reach. Only one highway went that way and it went to Macedonia, part of Yugoslavia. The Macedonians had been repelled as they were unable to breach the Kosovar defenses in the mountains. Half an hour later they were south a large mountain. On its north side was Zur. 15 minutes later they were at the crossroads, one taking a small highway across the mountains into Albania and the other to Plava, Kosovo. They head west, but their pace was slowed by civilians from Plava, and even as far south as Brod, heading for the border before Yugoslav soldiers eventually marched into the undefended southern tip of Kosovo.

After an hour of slow moving they reached the border. A red flag with a black double-headed eagle of Albania greeted them.

Ruli pulled the car up to one of the Albanian soldiers manning the small border post. "Mirëmbrëma (good evening)."

"Mirëmbrëma," said the sergeant.

"I'm Sergeant 1st Class Ermir Ruli, Kosovar Army. I just came from Prizren with these two, Pvt. Jak Meksi and PFC Umut Pekkan. We need a radio."

"For?"

"The Yukes are up to something and I think my superiors should know."

The sergeant signaled to a captain for his attention. He whispered something and the captain nodded.

"Okay, Sgt. Ruli. Follow my superior. He will help you."

"Faleminderit (Thank you)."


2147 Hours; March 26th, 2012; Third Military Region Headquarters, Skopje; Greater Skopje Municipality, Socialist Republic of Macedonia; Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Colonel-General Koce Mančev was a little perturbed by his orders. As commander of the Third Military Region he was in charge of operations in his native Macedonia and well as Kosovo, Montenegro, and southern Serbia.

Mančev had attempted to send his friend Colonel-General Ratko Velkov, commander of the Third Army, into southern Kosovo. In Yugoslavia, the military is divided by what country they were recruited from. The First Army was recruited from northern Serbia and Vojvodina, the Second Army was recruited from southern Serbia and Kosovo, the Third Army was recruited from Macedonia, the Fifth Army was recruited from Croatia, the Seventh Army was recruited from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Ninth Army was recruited from Slovenia. Each army varied in size and was usually calculated by number of corpses, Serbia had the most and Montenegro had the least.

Velkov had been repealed by heavily entrenched Kosovars in the mountains. He also suspected the Albanian Army had intervened too. Mančev did have satellite photos that proved that armed Albanian militia, not officially associated with the Albanian government, had gone across the mountains to aid their Kosovar brothers and sisters.

Was this the reason for his new orders?

From the Council, and sent through Ministry of Defense, was orders for him. As commander of pretty much everything south of Belgrade was tasked with this new mission… well he had a different word for it and one a lot more cynical.

Since his orders were sent at 2030 hours Belgrade Time (Central European Time UTC +1) he had every unit in his region scrambling around to prepare for immediate combat operations. It nearly an impossible task just after completing a combat operation, but for once Belgrade was mobilizing everything to make it possible.

"Comrade General Mančev?"

Mančev looked up to see Colonel-General Ivan Zivković, Second Army Commander.

"Ah, Comrade General. How are things in Prizren?"

"They go well. I came here to ask do we have a plan?"

"Ne (no). The Minister of Defense himself says he will create it himself. We now control Gjakovë and are pushing up the highways for the border, right?"

"Da, Comrade General," answered Zivković. "We will be in position soon."

"Good. The Seventh Army will attack from Montenegro and Croatia. They'll have easier going since it will be across the flat lands," said Mančev.

Montenegro's shared border with Albania was the flattest. There was a massive lake in the middle of the flat land, Lake Skadar. On the south side of the Lake Skadar is the Buna River, or Bonjana River as it was called in Montenegro, that ran along the border. On the north side of Lake Skadar was highway E762 which skirted the mountains and got increasingly narrow as they approached the border on the north side. Once they passed the north tip of Lake Skadar the valley opened up. It would be pretty open lands for tanks as they approached the port of Shëngjin and the crossroads city of Lezhë. The Seventh Army would hopefully be able to move fast to threaten the Albanian capital and the major port city Durrës. That was all Mančev knew so far. He suspected Third Army would be sent through Struga, Macedonia. The plan seemed to be to deny NATO ports to land their troops on first and then take Albania.

"Comrade General, just do your best and move fast. You have infantry so use them. Our tanks can't mountains and neither can NATO's. If they block the roads use infantry to scale the mountains and attack from behind. Since I suspect the terrain will dictate you'll be going down this valley after you take Kukës."

"Da, but I would like to send corps west so I can link up with the Seventh in case they or I need help," said Zivković.

"Sounds fair. Remember, speed is the key. We have 40 hours or so. Once you start I would say you have a week to secure all ports or make it too risky for them to be used."

"Will the Third Army cover our flank?" asked Zivković.

Mančev smiled. "Very good Comrade General. Da, I will make sure that Greece doesn't get involved by driving up the E86 or E75."

Most of the Greek-Macedonian border was mountains, but the E86 went up a valley in the middle of the border. The E75 was further east. The E86 was more appealing because it was wide farmland and had no mountains blocking the road to city of Prilep, one of the larger cities in Macedonia and a major crossroads town.

"Most like the Ninth Army will make sure NATO won't attack from Italy or Austria."

The Ninth Army in Slovenia manned the heavily defended border between the communist east and capitalist west.

"The final details are left to the Minister of Defense, but this is the outline he gave me," said Mančev. "You return to your unit. I'll call with final details."

"Hvala (Thank you), Comrade General. Dovidenja (Good-bye)," said Zivković taking his leave.

(AN: I strongly suggest you guys look at a map of the Balkans and get an idea of what these countries look like. You don't have to find of these cities, but get a feel for the mountains, borders, and cities. PS: I spend half the time writing these chapters with Google Maps open on my computer and a resent atlas on my desk and I'm constantly surfing sites to cross check things and my facts.)


0705 Hours; March 28th, 2012 (UCT +9); Tsukamoto Residence, Yagami; Kanagawa Prefecture, Federation of Japan

Central European Standard Time (UCT +1): 1105 Hours; March 27th, 2012

Kenji was leaning against the wall that lined Tsukamoto home. He saw the news yesterday before they drove back to Yagami. NATO would be at war at 0000 Zulu (midnight GMT) March 30th. Japan and Korea were nine hours ahead of GMT so Japan would be at war officially at 0900 Lima (9 am local) of the same day.

Yakumo was finishing setting out breakfast. She returned to the kitchen and put on the ring, her ring, on again. She did not want oils or sauces tarnishing this important gift from an important person.

Kenji had gotten up early to meet the postman. He was surprised there hadn't been a letter from the Federal Government with his orders.

Yakumo walked to the window of the dining room. She could see the gate and just see the edge of Kenji waiting. She was worried. Kenji was quiet and depressed, and for good reason. She turned to the TV in the room that he'd left on to the NHK News.

"It has been confirmed that roughly 48 hours NATO will declare war on the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia unless they removed their troops from the Republic of Kosovo," said the reporter. At the bottom of the screen was a stock report from the Nikkei Index, Sony was up a point and Mitsubishi had recovered the points they lost over the weekend… not that Yakumo really cared. The reporter seemed to be live, or so the little box in the top left corner, from Kukës, Albania, according to the caption.

"Is there any hope Yugoslavia will pull out," asked an anchor woman.

"I don't think so, Yoko. As you can see there are still Kosovo refugees behind me. They have come from Vrbnica, the city nearest the border from my current location. Since the UN resolution had been passed by the Security Council the Yugoslav People's Army, the armed forces of Yugoslavia, have crushed the last of Kosovar resistance. These refugees have told me stories of villages being destroyed, perceived political dissidents being shot, and even allegations of rape," said the reporter. Yakumo cringed a little. The string of exhausted dirty Kosovars hiked by behind the reporter. They all seem to have the same hopeless defeated look, but also relief at being in Albania where they were welcomed.

"Eiichi, I have to say, this does not sound like Europe as we know it from Nihon," said the anchor woman.

"Ee (yeah). Most of us think of London, Paris, or Rome. I'm sure most of you at home will be struggling to figure out where I am right now, which is less than 20 km from the border. The Balkans is a place of much violence. It had been once the border between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, a buffer zone for the Ottoman Empire to keep the Austrian Empire out, and is where the First World War was started. Here is also where many horror stories like Dracula have its origins. And for the past 30 years since the collapse of the first SFRY it has been the site of ethnic, religious, and political violence, mass rape, genocide, looting, revolts, terrorism, civil war, and the list goes on," said the reporter. Yakumo felt her heart stop. They were sending her fiancée there?!

"They don't sound like friendly people," said the anchor woman.

"Don't misunderstand. There are perfectly nice people in Serbia, Croatia, and other Yugoslav Republics, I've studied the Slavic people and their history since college. It is a fascinating group still with many groups living nomadic lives and are possibly not aware of the war. This is also not a free society and this war is the work of the Yugoslav Government."

"Why fight for Kosovo? Is there oil?"

"Ie. Kosovo in terms of resources is virtually worthless. There is mining, but nothing that Serbia or Croatia wouldn't have. This war is strictly politics. Kosovo was an autonomous region of Serbia that declared independence with NATO backing during the Kosovo War in the 90s."

Mai entered the room. She was dressed in street clothes: T-shirt, knee-length skirt, and a windbreaker with hood. It was expected to rain today and Mai needed to buy her school uniform and books.

"Onii-chan doko (where is Onii-chan)?" asked Mai.

"By the mailbox," said Yakumo.

Kenji looked up seeing the middle-age man in the blue postal service uniform making his rounds.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," greeted the letter-carrier tipping his blue cap.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," said Kenji. "Tegami kara Tokyo arimasu ka (You have a letter from Tokyo)?"

"Hai. Taxes and a paycheck," said the letter-carrier. He handed Kenji the mix of mail for the Tsukamotos and him. There was a letter from Sagamihara University for Tsukamoto Yakumo, probably her final grades for her first years. There was a letter for Harima Mai from Yagami Junior High School. Tenma's grades were due tomorrow. There were also taxes from the government and two letters for Kenji along with a subscription from a manga newsletter.

He brought the mail inside and dropped it on the heated-table that Mai, Tenma, and Yakumo were sitting around. He opened one letter with a return address was a place Kenji was familiar with. He opened it and found his end of the month paycheck from the paymaster's office for the 6th Infantry Division in Sendai. He was paid less since he was a reservist not on active duty and was independently employed. All three of his female companions were watching him with rapt attention.

Kenji noticed his hands were shaking a little.

PFC Harima Kenji

The return address was from Federal Army Headquarters, Tokyo.

The letter itself was a form letter. Someone in Tokyo probably wrote one letter and then a few blanks were left where a computer would fill in the particulars like Kenji's name, his unit, and where to report.

'Dear Private First Class Harima;

'Due to recent events the Diet has passed a resolution to deploy troops to maintain peace and stability in the Balkans and protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo. By order of Prime Minister of the Federation of Japan Aokami Shin and ratified by His Imperial Excellency Akihito-Tennō the decision was made at 0600 Hours Zulu, 27 March, 2012, to deploy the 6th Infantry Division.

'You have until 0800 Hours Zulu, 6 April, 2012, when your division will officially be activated to place you affairs into order and report in to a designated train station where a designated official will meet. Location is on attached page. We hope that we do not have to remind you to bring your personal equipment; the rest will be given to you at the designated location also on attached page.

'Your country thanks you for your loyal service to the Federation and to Your Emperor.

'Sincerely; Chief of the Federal Army Kugashi Toshi; Chief of Staff General Kobayashi Jin; Prime Minister of the Federal of Japan Aokami Shin; Emperor of the Federation of Japan Akihito-Tennō.'

On the attached page:

'At 0800 Hours Zulu you are to report to Second Lieutenant Yamamoto Daisuke at Yagami JR East Station. You will be given further instructions at that time.'

Kenji let out a long sigh that was neither relief nor stress. A neutral look took over his face and the soldier in him took over. Being an enlisted man and at the bottom of the military hierarchy Kenji wasn't entitled to know where he'd end up. Why he wasn't allowed to know was not entirely clear. Surely a spy would notice all the letters going to everyone in the 6th Infantry and who knows how many other units. Then they would consolidate them somewhere like they did for the landings at Pusan. Surely a recon satellite would notice planes or ships all assembling at one place.

"Nani?" asked Tenma breaking the silence.

"I have a week. I leave next Monday," said Kenji lightly, almost warily. "I have to be at Yagami-Eki (Yagami Station) by 8:00 am."

"So ka," said Tenma quietly.

Kenji picked up his chopsticks and began to eat his breakfast knowing he needed to eat something. Tenma and Yakumo proved less able to force themselves to eat.

The four of them after breakfast went out shopping. They were quiet in the train as they went into downtown Yagami where many shops and malls were located.

They exited the train in the heart of Yagami. They walked into a mall atrium and passed the mall map. They all knew where they were going, a clothing store that specialized in uniforms such as those used for hospitals, school sports teams, and school uniforms. It was here that Tenma, Kenji, and Yakumo had all bought their uniforms.

Kenji took at seat while an old man took Mai's measurements.

"You'll probably want a uniform that's a little big for you," said the man in a raspy voice. "Since you're 12 you'll be growing faster. There's no point in giving you one that fits you now and you'll outgrow in two months."

"Mm, I think you're probably right," said Tenma who was standing next to Mai. Yakumo, who stood behind her older sister, nodded in agreement.

"Okay. I'll let my wife do that actual work if you'd be so kind," he said indicating a woman with grey hair standing by a back room. Mai nodded and followed the woman with Tenma and Yakumo.

Kenji waited patiently in his chair. Next to him were a few other people, mostly likely parents getting their kids uniforms for school. Kenji ignored them and read the officially Army guidebook on Europe. It was apparently was a collection from manuals used by the Bundeswehr, British Army, US Army, and Belgian Army. Most of the records on Yugoslavia and Kosovo came from the US and German militaries. He was reading what the Germans wrote about religion and politics, but it was making his head hurt. Kenji had been given a lecture on it during his previous training session, but he got the feeling it was a lot more complicated than the simple one the Army gave.

"Onii-chan?"

Kenji looked up from a very confusing chapter on ethnic violence during the Bosnian War to see Mai. Kenji smiled widely and said, "Ah, kawaii ne."

"Honto (really)?" asked Mai. She was wearing a summer uniform. It was a pretty standard sailor-style uniform. It was white with a blue sailor and red tie and a blue pleaded skirt. The winter uniform, which was being made in the back by the old woman, had a dark navy-blue shirt with matching collar and skirt and a white tie to secure the collar.

"Ee, totemo kawaii (yes, it's very cute)," he assured her. Mai smiled sweetly and ran back to try on her winter uniform. A few mothers sitting near Kenji were whispering how cute the little girl had been.

Nearly an hour later the four of them were walking to another shop, though Kenji had forgotten where they were going and merely followed the others while carrying the bag containing a summer and winter uniform.

The girls turned to enter a shop and Kenji was about to enter when he remembered why they were there. Mai needed new clothes too and she also needed…

"I think I'll let you ladies take care of this one on your own," Kenji said nervously. Mai giggled.

Mai picked up a couple of new shirts, her preference being T-shirts and collared shirts. She also picked up two tank tops, avoiding the low cut ones. She also took some jeans and a few skirts, the shorting being just above her knees. Mai didn't think of herself as being conservative dresser, or preppy for that matter, she just revealed the amount of her body as she comfortable sharing with the world.

She tried them on in a changing room. She rejected a couple of shirts after deciding she didn't like them. Next she picked up a set of underwear, yellow with little white flowers. Much to her displeasure, Mai couldn't seem to figure out how to put it on.

"Ano, Onee-chan?" she called out tentatively.

"Hai?" said Yakumo who waited outside patiently.

"Tasuke kudasai (help me please)," she said embarrassed. Mai unlocked the door for Yakumo who promptly entered and locked it behind her. Yakumo took one look and knew exactly what Mai wanted.

"You lean forward first after you put the straps over your shoulders. Then take both ends of the hooks, stand up straight, and then hook them together," explained the older woman.

(AN: Don't ask how I know this.)

To further demonstrate Yakumo removed the light-blue turtleneck revealing a white cotton bra. She demonstrated for Mai, though Mai noted that Yakumo had to maneuver the bra a little more to make sure her breasts were snuggly in place. Mai looked at herself. Size-wise she was a little ahead of some of the girls her age, but not by much. Mai also wondered when she started to be concerned about such things. Was this part of growing up? She hoped not. Mai just wanted a normal life for now.

Kenji was predictably in a store that sold manga, manga supplies, anime, video games, products related to animes and games, and cosplay costumes.

"Oi, Harima-kun," said a voice.

"Konnichiwa, Captain," said Kenji saluting Captain Nara Kentaro.

"Harima-kun, I'm not in uniform. Relax. We were classmates," said Kentaro. Kenji nodded and grinned. He had a lot of respect for Kentaro because he had decided to be regular military. Kentaro made a fulltime living as a fighter pilot.

"What brings you here, Nara-kun?" asked Kenji picking up and flipping through an old copy of Negima.

"You're new issue," said Kentaro picking up the last installment of Kenji's series on the war.

"I could have had a copy sent to you," said Kenji. "You're accounts on the Air Force helped a lot."

"Ie, I didn't do anything really," said Kentaro politely. "So, you leave on the 7th like everyone else?"

"Hai. I'm supposed to report to the Yagami-Eki at 8 am."

"Ee, they'll probably send you to Shinjuku and then to either Ueno-Eki, Tokyo-Eki, or Shinagawa-Eki," said Kentaro matter of factly.

"… how do you know that?"

"They're going to send Army personnel to Kure and Hiroshima. I saw transports gathering there yesterday from the air, I was taking up some new pilots. Anyways, they'll probably want to send you guys quickly meaning they'll use the mainline that follows the coast. Ueno, Tokyo, and Shinagawa are all stations on that line," explained Kentaro.

"Oh… right," said Kenji.

"I don't know where they're sending us, but I know they'll send our squadron. Maybe the whole damn group."

"Our whole division is activated."

"Fuck. This is gonna' be a pain," groaned Kentaro.

"So ne," agreed Kenji.

"Hanai-kun and Hanai-san back yet?" asked Kentaro flipping through a copy of Azumanga Daioh. He smiled at the old manga that was devoid of a normal story plot. It was a story of life and the small random things in it. A life Kentaro sorta' knew once upon a time, but not anymore.

"Ie, they'll be back by Ginyobi (Friday)," said Kenji looking at volume from the Nodame Cantabile.

"What are you going to do?"

"… spend a little time with my family. Get a deadline done. Make sure a few finical things are in order. I guess that's it really."

"Same."

Kenji felt his phone vibrate. "Hai? … Hai, I'll be right there."

He hung up. "I have to go."

Kenji held out his hand. "Good luck, and good hunting."

Kentaro grinned and gripped Kenji's hand. "They'll never know what hit him. You just kill every SAM you see."

Back on the train Kenji stood holding onto one of the straps attached to the horizontal bar. He knew he Mai was grouping up and he wouldn't be around to watch. A time when she would need her brother the most Kenji would be on the other side of the world. He looked over at Mai who sat between Tenma and Yakumo. Mai really got along well with the two Tsukamoto sisters, especially Yakumo. Kenji smiled. Mai would be in good hands.

Still Kenji lamented. It was projected to take a month to get Europe at the most. Many people in Japan believed that the war would be over before the Federal Army and Navy even reached Europe. They all seemed to believe, or hope, that the Americans and Europeans would get their first and end the war before the Japanese fleet even reached the Atlantic. Kenji hoped for this too, but as far back as he could remember his life never quite seem to go the way he hoped for. The last 12 years told him that.


0530 Hours; March 28th, 2012 (UCT +2); 1 km from the border, Morinë; Kukës County, Republic of Albania

Japanese Standard Time (UCT +9): 1230 Hours; March 28th, 2012

The private lit his cigarette. He was bored. He could hear the distant thunder of MiGs. It made him nervous. The Albanians barely had an air force. Most of their planes were badly outdated Soviet and Chinese fighters that had been retired in 2005. They had a handful of F-5 Tiger IIs and some Phantoms, but no Falcons.

Albania had once been part of the Warsaw Pact and had mostly Soviet weapons. They joined NATO in 2009 and had yet to equip their military with NATO compatible weapons.

The private was still carrying the Chinese-built Type 56, the Chinese clone of the AK-47. Some day he was support to get the American M16, the German HK53, or the Belgian FNC. When, was the real question.

"Luan, is that you?" called out the private.

"Po," said Luan.

"Are those planes getting closer?"

The Yugoslav fighters had not made a direct run at the border but would curve towards it and turn back over the valley.

"Mmm, that last pass did seem closer than the earlier ones. Not much we can do though, Kostandin," said Luan.

They heard tanks. It sounded like a Soviet model, but the Albanians used Chinese Type 59s which sounded nearly the same.

"Luan, that noise is coming from the north. I think we might be under-"

There was a splatter noise and Kostandin felt something wet hit his face. He wiped it off his and by the light of his cigarette he saw it was red. He looked to where Luan had been and then looked down.

"Fuck," he whispered. "We're under atta-!"

Kostandin never finished his sentence. He joined his friend on the ground with blood still sweeping out of his jugular where a Yugoslav sniper had hit him. Things started moving very quickly. Rifle and machine gun fire erupted from line of advancing Serbian troops, but their tanks didn't fire their main guns. Their orders were to take the Albanians by surprise and to keep shooting to a minimal to avoid alerting the Albanians.

"Comrade Lieutenant, your platoon is slowing us down. Pick up the pace and cover the flank," backed a Serbian captain.

"Da, Comrade," acknowledged the lieutenant via radio. The lieutenant sighed inside his BVP. None of the BVPs in his platoon had to have their infantry dismount yet. The coaxial guns on the T-55s and the auto-cannons on the BVPs were cutting down most of the Albanian troops. He smiled. Intelligence had been right this time. The Albanians had great defensive positions, but were too poorly equipped to hold them. In another kilometer Company A of the 119th Motor-Rifle Battalion will hit the real Albanian front lines. They were to expect mortars, RPGs, MGs, and possibly a tank or two.

The shooting ceased and only the clank of vehicle tracks could be heard. He doubted the Albanians would survive the JNA's blitz. There would be a whole division that would funnel down the Drin River valley. Another division was advancing around both sides of Lake Ohrid on the Macedonian-Albanian border. Another was going to launch a sudden attack out of Montenegro. They had to move fast though. They needed to seize the vital crossroads by the end of the day and be in artillery range of all the Albanian ports by the next. They also needed to bring extensive anti-air support to ensure NATO planes flying out of Italy wouldn't impede them.

'Da,' he thought. 'NATO would have nowhere to land their Imperialist armies. We are making history.'

Indeed, March 28, 2012 would go down in history and a day that this generation would not forget.


Well I have things going in motion now. The next chapter will comprise of Kenji in his last few days in Japan before being shipped off, some of the other characters too, maybe we'll check in with Lt. Pryce and Corporal Mauhauser, and some other things. I also have plans to explore Mai a little. Also the idea of families watching their relatives go off to war. I also been slowly worker at the borderline mother-daughter relationship Yakumo has with Mai. Let me know what ya'll think.

Respectfully

J. H. Kamiya

Appendix

1. The Japanese usually refer to mainland Asia as the Continent. In the past the Japanese would use this as a nickname for China and Korea, before the West arrived. I think some Japanese still sometimes refer to their neighbors across the Sea of Japan as the Continent.

2. The real Security Council is two seats for Western Europe and other, one for Asia, and one for Africa. Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have permanent seats.

3. Right Honorable is the style of address to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also used by a few other Commonwealth countries.

4. Pond is sometimes used as a nickname by the British for the Atlantic Ocean.

5. Kamatte naa translates as damn, or something stronger depending on the translator. Remember profanities in the English language don't really have exact translations like they do in Spanish or German where the languages share some origins.

6. Oilers and tenders are types of logistics ships used in navies. Most people only think about destroyers, cruisers, submarines, and aircraft carriers in navies. But no fleet intending to be away from port for a while would go anywhere without resupply ships. War is about logistics. That is why Germany lost both World Wars, why Napoleon lost in Russia, and why many great armies lose. I believe the Erwin Rommel has a quote about whoever brings the most supplies usually wins.

7. It should be noted that Yugoslav People's Army used the Soviet military model to organize their military. The Soviets did not use brigades, except as a separate body not attached to any division. In the US Army model the brigade is part of a division (roughly three regiments to a brigade and three brigades to a division). In other words a brigade would be the same size as a division in the Red Army, People's Liberation Army, or the Yugoslav People's Army.