Until the End
Chapter 1
Trouble in China
The Emperor of Japan was not the title of the most powerful man in Japan. The Prime Minister was now the most powerful man, as Japan had, over a long period of time, switched from the Imperial type of government and moved to the democratic side of politics. But that's not to say the Emperor did not have an important job. He still commanded much power, though you did not see it manifested in the political realm. The Emperor was a figure of Japanese history.
The word "emperor" is not an accurate description of the historical and constitutional role of the Japanese monarch. Unlike the Chinese and Mongol emperors, the Russian tsars, and the Byzantine emperors, the Japanese emperors have rarely exercised political power or commanded armies in the field.
Kaizo Rimiru, the presiding emperor of Japan, smiled as he watched the small children run around the garden outside the imperial palace. His wife, wearing a silk kimono, walked alongside him as they crossed over the century old moat, which still contained water.
The emperor silently brooded with his thoughts as he and his wife walked into the palace. Security guards opened the doors and let him and his wife pass, they did not enter the palace.
He was one of the few people in Japan that actually knew of the crisis facing his country. In the post-World War II era, Japan had been steadily moving towards the right in the political spectrum. But half a century of buying natural resources from other countries and turning them into products before selling them back to countries had left the yen being almost as worthless as the Brazilian dollar. The government had tried to support the industries and because of that the government had nearly gone bankrupt.
Japan had no money left, and there was nothing they could do to make more money, which left the country little to no chances to become a prosperous country again.
Another problem happening in Japan was the fact that they had gone through more governments in the past fifty years than any other modernized country in the world. This did not make the citizens of the country very happy, or very trusting of the government that had just been elected to power.
The new Prime Minister, Jiro Shizuko, had been making speeches to the country, and what he said made the emperor very nervous.
Shizuko had made the declaration that he would move Japan into its rightful place in the world. Japan, he said, had been betrayed by Western democracy, and had been betrayed by the West, as they had left Japan all on it's own once it began to become less profitable.
Shizuko's words were not simply political rhetoric; he actually meant what he was saying. He wanted to make Japan a powerful nation as it once was, and he would do whatever it took to do so.
He had met with the new Prime Minister the other day and his mind was still reeling from the ramifications of the Prime Minister's words. His meeting with the man had been in private, the first such meeting he had been able to have with the Prime Minister. Every other time they had met, aides and other political fools were hovering around.
"What is it you seek in your time as Prime Minister?" he had asked.
"Your Excellency, I seek to restore the glory that Japan rightly deserves. Too long have we been slaves to other countries, we must become dependant on no one but ourselves."
"I understand that our country is facing hard times sir, but just because we must depend on other countries does not mean our country is weak," the emperor stated. "Japan is a country that is controlled by our honor, and our people, not by things like power and greed."
Shizuko was surprised to hear the emperor speak in such a manner. Having a private conversation with the emperor was a very grand thing, and he had not expected the emperor to speak in such a manner.
The emperor continued, "Your speeches have made you seem as if you are ready to go to war. You must understand that you alone make the decisions for this country, and that you alone hold the outcome for our people."
Shizuko's anger flared. "You were born to your position, what do you know of responsibility?"
The emperor did not speak for a moment. "I know enough that I would never make such foolish promises and declarations to the Japanese people. For centuries, the greatest resource of Japan has not been its technology, it has been our people. We are an honorable society Jiro, and you are throwing that away when you speak of Japan in such a way."
"You are ruled by your beliefs Your Excellency, and I cannot allow myself to follow you in that respect. We are a small island-nation, placed by the gods beside a growing Chinese giant, and we must do what we have to do."
"And what is it you seek to do?" the emperor asked.
"I will be signing a pact with China in one week's time. Included within will be the agreement to cooperate with the country in any of its military ventures."
The emperor did not speak.
"China is running out of money as well Your Excellency, and they seek the same things we do. Natural resources, and sitting to their north is the largest untapped section of land in this known world."
Finally the emperor found his voice.
"China is thinking of invading Siberia?" he asked in disbelief.
"We have received a humanitarian plea from the people of Siberia, they wish to shake off the shackles of a failing Russian economy and attach themselves to a new nation, one powerful enough to actually keep its promises to its people."
The emperor shook his head. This man sitting in front of him was mad.
"Russia has nuclear weapons, if we were to invade, they would not hesitate to use them. I am old enough to remember what happened to our country before."
"Russia is not the only country with nuclear weapons Your Excellency," Shizuko said simply.
The emperor's face went white. "Japan has nuclear weapons?"
The Prime Minister nodded. "We have been secretly developing them for quite awhile, all under a security blanket that would make Joseph Stalin himself proud."
"Shizuko," the emperor started, using the Prime Minister's name. "You have not thought things through. America will not allow us to join together with China, and I might remind you that they are the most powerful nation in the world."
"America," Shizuko said, "Has withdrawn from our country, leaving behind only a few military installations that can easily be destroyed."
"Attacking America will only make things worse for us," the emperor said, now realizing that the man sitting before him was insane. "The Chinese tried to attack them a few years ago and look what happened to them. They are now facing economic ruin, and the man running their country has become intensely paranoid, almost to the point of Joseph Stalin."
"China is a powerful nation, one worthy enough of our friendship," Shizuko said.
The emperor shook his head again, trying to clear his mind. Finally, he looked up at Shizuko.
"I received a letter from the President of the United States two days ago," the emperor said. "In it, he told me of his concerns that Japan might be considering a merge with the Chinese and that we would together invade Russia. I have not responded to his letter, as I was astonished that the President would think that Japan would do such things."
"My grandfather received a letter from the President of the United States as well. That was the day before World War II. I am now very much wrapped up in the thought that there are far too many similarities between the two things."
Struggling to retain his calm, Shizuko bowed his head once, and held the position for five seconds.
The emperor could not take anymore, and returned the bow and left the room, staggering. The Prime Minister of Japan was insane, and he intended to sign a pact with China and invade Russia.
That had been two days ago.
Japan was now heading in a direction that could only end in disaster.
The emperor decided that it was time to respond to the President of the United State's letter.
===============
Mai Zhisheng, the Premier of China, rose early on the morning of December 6.
Unlike the Japanese emperor, Premier Zhisheng carried all the power of his country. He was the communist leader of his country, and had been for almost half a decade.
Premier Zhisheng was a very well educated man; he had attended university in Beijing before entering the political realm. He had first entered State Security, and had done well, carrying out his duties to the exact and always willing to obey the men that sat on the Politburo.
He had long harbored a desire to become one of those men that ruled the country with their iron wills and powerful minds. It was not until after becoming one of the men on the Politburo that Zhisheng learned of the truth behind the Politburo.
The men that sat on the board were old, corrupted men. They were bitter towards the rest of the world and negligent to things that did not concern them. The Politburo was not suited to even run a store, much less a country, and especially not one as powerful as China.
After he received the title of Minister of Defense, Zhisheng had begun attempting to manipulate the men that ran the country. He soon realized that he could quite easily control them and set about moving his long harbored thoughts into action.
The first thing that he had tried to do was to regain Taiwan. This had seemed like an easy thing at the time, but Zhisheng had learned a very good lesson in the way the world works after that.
America had discovered the Politburo's desire to kill the Taiwanese President and had stopped it, killing all the assassins.
Next, America and most of the western world had helped stop China from invading Taiwan, and was successful in creating a complete naval barricade between the two countries. Once the situation had appeared desperate, Zhisheng had gone to the Head of the PLA, Wei Liang, and asked about China's nuclear weapons. This later turned out to be a bad idea, when the Americans and other countries attacked the nuclear missile silos and destroyed China's nuclear capabilities. After that, the final blow had been struck.
American planes attacked and killed all members of the Politburo except Zhisheng and the recently expelled Transportation Minister, Ma Jingshu.
Zhisheng, after learning of the deaths of all other Politburo members, took over the position of Premier, and became the leader of the country. An hour after he had become Premier, he received the news that America had destroyed China's nuclear tipped missiles. Zhisheng took this in stride, as he had other things to think about. He was now faced with the only option of ceasing China's invasion of Taiwan.
That would not stop the Americans from continuing their assault against the Asian country, and Zhisheng knew that. Finally, he had called his deputies and informed them that they were now creating a blockade against America. All diplomatic relations were cut off.
The President of the United States had been far too eager to end a war that the people of America found to be pointless. He ordered the withdrawal of all American troops.
It had been four years since the end of the Pacific War, and Zhisheng knew that his country was once again facing a crisis.
Unlike when the Soviet Union created there own sanctions against America, China did not thrive. Russia had flourished with communism, for quite a long time, until they finally discarded the corrupt system and adopted democracy. The turning point for communism in Russia came when Boris Yeltsin defied the KGB and the junta, by climbing onto a tank in Red Square.
In China, communism had done the same to the country as it had to Russia. The only difference was, the leader of China was not going to give up the communist system, and there was not a single soul in the entire country that would dare to stand up to the man.
Zhisheng brooded with his thoughts as he entered his office. As he took his seat behind his desk, his aide entered the room and delivered the morning briefing. A relatively quite day, as Zhisheng had no meetings scheduled, he would simply be doing paperwork all day.
As the room emptied except for the security personnel that followed him everywhere he went, Premier Zhisheng picked up the first report that needed his attention.
A sigh escaped Zhisheng's throat as he scanned the first document. It was a report on the country's economy, which was abysmal at best. China was running out of money, and they would soon have to turn to other countries for help.
Zhisheng snorted, the only country that would come to the aide of China right now was Japan, and that country was in even poorer condition than China. That thought set Zhisheng's mind in a different direction.
He was supposed to call the Prime Minister of Japan today. If the second part of Zhisheng's plan worked, than China would not have to worry about money for quite awhile.
The only thing Zhisheng could be proud of at the moment was China's military, which was, at the moment, on almost equal ground with America's army. But there was no point in having a military if you had nothing to do with it.
Zhisheng had been quite surprised when the Prime Minister of Japan had called him and asked to speak in private. The meeting had been easy to arrange, and he had met the leader of Japan only two days later. Zhisheng had been equally surprised when the Prime Minister had asked if he would be interested in signing a pact, one that would ensure that if any military action was taken by either country, the other would be as committed as the other.
Japan was nowhere near the world power that China was, but Zhisheng was smart enough to know that the more allies you had, the less number of enemies you had. But what had really made Zhisheng agree to the pact proposed by the Japanese Prime Minister was the small little note he had added to the end of his speech.
"And I understand that all of China's nuclear weapons were destroyed by the American's, so I would like to bring to the table the fact that Japan has seven nuclear warhead tipped missiles already developed and well- hidden from any country."
Zhisheng had started a program to rebuild China's nuclear weapons, but a lack of funds had made the development of the nuclear warheads slow to a crawl. With Japan's nuclear weapons, China could now attack Russia without the fear of nuclear reprisal.
Zhisheng had made the decision to enter Russia as soon as he felt that his military could carry out the feat in the shortest amount of time.
Siberia was the largest untapped area on earth, with the exception of maybe Antarctica, and Zhisheng was determined to make that land China's.
Russia would soon be brought to its knees before the world again.
===============
The Russian President, Vladimir Andropov, arrived at his office well before he heard the news that his National Security Advisor was not going to be in for the entire day. The President brushed that aside, he had greater worries for the moment.
A report passed to him by the American President told him of a very troubling predicament to Russia's southeast. Half the Asian landmass was apparently eyeing the eastern parts of Russia, namely Siberia, as if they contained a secret depot of gold bars. This was not the sort of thing that the President of a country that was only a decade into its new government system wanted to hear.
The fact that the report came from foreign sources and not Russia's own intelligence services slightly worried the Russian President. If America was able to collect these documents, and they were across an entire ocean from the country, than that meant the Chinese and Japanese were not taking much concern in disguising there yearns.
Andropov had complete faith in his country, but he had not risen to the title of President by being foolish. Russia's military was only a shadow of what it had previously been. The morale of troops was so low that they routinely tried to go AWOL, and their officers did not even attempt to go and get them. Soldiers were going unpaid, and Russia was selling the greater number of their weapons to any and all buyers.
Before the Russian government had been forced to start selling some of its more closely held secrets, the American government had stepped in. They agreed to give Russia a generous fee for the disarmament of their nuclear weapons, and the promise not to build any more. The United States had met the Russians missile for missile, and had disarmed more than three quarters of their nuclear warheads. The process of disarming nuclear missiles was very time consuming and very, very, costly. But with the American government supplying the funds, which were more than enough to cover the costs, Russia was able to meet the American guidelines.
President Andropov shook his head slightly. The thought that Russia and America were cooperating was still quite a change to the man that had entered politics when the offence of uttering ill words directed at the state could very well earn you a death sentence.
The Cold War was over. Russia and America were very close now, sharing a relationship almost equal to that of America's northern neighbor. But unfortunately for Russia, this did not solve all of its problems. Greed and corruption were still rampant throughout the country, sometimes to the point of absolute corruption. Foreigners still avoided Russia, as it was regarded throughout the modern world as a crime infested cesspool.
President Andropov quickly realized that if China and Japan did invade Siberia, Russia would not be able to do anything, other than make a big stink about it to the UN. China's military was one of the most advanced in the entire world, and if they were to put at least have the effort they made into trying to take Taiwan into their effort to take Siberia, than the war would be very short.
But Andropov knew that if he were to allow China to take Siberia, he would be committing political suicide. Not only that but he would be giving away the one thing that may be able to help break Russia free from its corruption and greed. Siberia was an explorer's dream, with its largely untapped land and the lack of visitors.
Nobody knew exactly what was in Siberia, in the natural resource sense, but President Andropov was certain that he could not allow it to fall into the Chinese or Japanese hands.
===============
The President of the United States was, at the moment, very tired. He had been awake for almost twenty hours straight, and had been surviving on caffeine, supplied by the coffee that would surely make his stomach reject anything and everything he would attempt to eat the next day.
George Winnfield was not the sort of man that one would expect to hold the title of President of the United States. He had grown up in the town of Baltimore. The son of a policeman, President Winnfield had been greatly exposed to the crime that infested the entire country. Winnfield's past made him relate to the modern man, to the blue collar worker, and Winnfield fought very hard to keep that perception. The President seemed as if he was no different than any of the other people in America, which allowed him an easy career in politics. This did not mean that he simply waltzed through elections (Winnfield had only won the Presidential elections by five percent), but he was able to come off to the average voter as a simple man that would try his best in what he would do.
The true test for President Winnfield had come not even a year after his inauguration. On the early morning of September 11, terrorists had struck his country. The attacks were devastating, killing thousands and wounding more. The response by America had been immediate, before the day was done, American planes, ships, and troops were headed across the Atlantic towards the Middle East.
It had been four months since that day, and American troops were about to extradite the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. While this was great news, especially for the American people, it seemed like an empty victory in the face of everything that had happened.
The terrorists that had initiated these terrible deeds still eluded the American troops and intelligence services. But there were even more problems weighing on the President's mind.
The CIA had dropped the bomb the other day. A courier had dropped the report onto his desk at precisely eight A.M. The Chinese and Japanese were about to sign an agreement, making the two countries dedicated to each other in the event that one of the two countries were attacked or if they attacked another country.
While this was only slightly upsetting to the President, as China and America were still separated from all trade and diplomatic relations, but the real bombshell came on the last page of the document. China and Japan were running low on capital, and they were looking to the north with a hungry look in their eyes.
President Winnfield knew that China and Japan were running very low of money, and he also knew that it was very likely that the situation may erupt into war, but the President had thought that it would be a civil war, not a situation that is likely to escalate to a World War III.
The President of the United States had realized that both countries were too far gone to try and get them to back down. He had toyed with the notion of threatening Japan with sanctions, but he remembered that that was the reason Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and had discarded the notion. The President did not fear an attack by Japan, but he did not want them to think that they had to get desperate.
He had decided to call the Japanese Prime Minister, but every time he called he was told the Prime Minister was in a meeting. Finally, after trying for almost twelve hours, the President had sent a letter to the Emperor of Japan. Winnfield had felt that this was the right thing to do, despite the words of caution from his National Security Advisor, because the Emperor had always struck the President as an honorable man. He had received acknowledgement that the letter was received, but he had not gotten a response from the Emperor.
The President was at the end of his rope when he finally passed the document outlining the Chinese and Japanese pact and the reason to the President of Russia. President Andropov had called President Winnfield the next day.
"Where did you get this?" President Andropov had asked once the pleasantries were out of the way.
"By our intelligence sources, I'm surprised you have not caught wind of this yourself."
The Russian President had snorted. "We have not had any sources inside China in at least five years. We used to have someone inside the Politburo but he had to retire for health reasons."
That admission had caught President Winnfield off guard. It was very rare that the Russians would admit that the Americans had caught them short on anything, especially intelligence sources.
"What we have to concentrate on now is what we are going to do now that we have this information," Winnfield had said as he leaned back in his chair.
"The first thing on my mind was breaking off all diplomatic relations with the bastards and immediately building up our army once again. But just as soon as that thought came into my mind, I realized that if we did that, China and Japan would merely speed up their invasion and take Siberia before I can even have the draft report written up."
"We cannot just outright go to the Chinese and say we have this information," President Winnfield said, "If we did that they would now that someone leaked the information."
"This is not an easy situation," President Andropov agreed, "We should take some time and consult others about this."
"That would probably be for the best," Winnfield said.
"I thank you for giving me this information George," Andropov said.
"I will contact you again when I have some more information Vladimir. Good bye," the President of the United States said and hung up.
Despite receiving advice from his National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, and the Chief of Staff of the United States military, President Winnfield still had no sound ideas on stabilizing the situation in Asia.
He would have to come up with something soon; otherwise World War III could break out.
===============
Author's Notes: Hi, Mrs. Clark here again. Mr. Clark is now serving in the Middle East, though he told me not to disclose his location, so I won't. He couldn't take dependants their, so I'm stuck here in the United States, twiddling my thumbs until he returns, which only god knows when. I'm sure some of you have noticed the lack of any Ranma ½ characters in this first chapter, which I'm, as equally, sure, will make some people mad.
This chapter was used to set up the world situation. America is now attacking Afghanistan after the attacks on America, and they are very close to extraditing the Taliban from power. But over in Asia, the economic situation in both China and Japan has taken its toll on the two countries, and when countries run out of money, they get just a little desperate.
I promise to you that the Ranma ½ characters will be in the next chapter.
I'd really appreciate a review for this chapter, and it would be great to hear from those that read Balance of Power because I want to see how the two compare.
The Emperor of Japan was not the title of the most powerful man in Japan. The Prime Minister was now the most powerful man, as Japan had, over a long period of time, switched from the Imperial type of government and moved to the democratic side of politics. But that's not to say the Emperor did not have an important job. He still commanded much power, though you did not see it manifested in the political realm. The Emperor was a figure of Japanese history.
The word "emperor" is not an accurate description of the historical and constitutional role of the Japanese monarch. Unlike the Chinese and Mongol emperors, the Russian tsars, and the Byzantine emperors, the Japanese emperors have rarely exercised political power or commanded armies in the field.
Kaizo Rimiru, the presiding emperor of Japan, smiled as he watched the small children run around the garden outside the imperial palace. His wife, wearing a silk kimono, walked alongside him as they crossed over the century old moat, which still contained water.
The emperor silently brooded with his thoughts as he and his wife walked into the palace. Security guards opened the doors and let him and his wife pass, they did not enter the palace.
He was one of the few people in Japan that actually knew of the crisis facing his country. In the post-World War II era, Japan had been steadily moving towards the right in the political spectrum. But half a century of buying natural resources from other countries and turning them into products before selling them back to countries had left the yen being almost as worthless as the Brazilian dollar. The government had tried to support the industries and because of that the government had nearly gone bankrupt.
Japan had no money left, and there was nothing they could do to make more money, which left the country little to no chances to become a prosperous country again.
Another problem happening in Japan was the fact that they had gone through more governments in the past fifty years than any other modernized country in the world. This did not make the citizens of the country very happy, or very trusting of the government that had just been elected to power.
The new Prime Minister, Jiro Shizuko, had been making speeches to the country, and what he said made the emperor very nervous.
Shizuko had made the declaration that he would move Japan into its rightful place in the world. Japan, he said, had been betrayed by Western democracy, and had been betrayed by the West, as they had left Japan all on it's own once it began to become less profitable.
Shizuko's words were not simply political rhetoric; he actually meant what he was saying. He wanted to make Japan a powerful nation as it once was, and he would do whatever it took to do so.
He had met with the new Prime Minister the other day and his mind was still reeling from the ramifications of the Prime Minister's words. His meeting with the man had been in private, the first such meeting he had been able to have with the Prime Minister. Every other time they had met, aides and other political fools were hovering around.
"What is it you seek in your time as Prime Minister?" he had asked.
"Your Excellency, I seek to restore the glory that Japan rightly deserves. Too long have we been slaves to other countries, we must become dependant on no one but ourselves."
"I understand that our country is facing hard times sir, but just because we must depend on other countries does not mean our country is weak," the emperor stated. "Japan is a country that is controlled by our honor, and our people, not by things like power and greed."
Shizuko was surprised to hear the emperor speak in such a manner. Having a private conversation with the emperor was a very grand thing, and he had not expected the emperor to speak in such a manner.
The emperor continued, "Your speeches have made you seem as if you are ready to go to war. You must understand that you alone make the decisions for this country, and that you alone hold the outcome for our people."
Shizuko's anger flared. "You were born to your position, what do you know of responsibility?"
The emperor did not speak for a moment. "I know enough that I would never make such foolish promises and declarations to the Japanese people. For centuries, the greatest resource of Japan has not been its technology, it has been our people. We are an honorable society Jiro, and you are throwing that away when you speak of Japan in such a way."
"You are ruled by your beliefs Your Excellency, and I cannot allow myself to follow you in that respect. We are a small island-nation, placed by the gods beside a growing Chinese giant, and we must do what we have to do."
"And what is it you seek to do?" the emperor asked.
"I will be signing a pact with China in one week's time. Included within will be the agreement to cooperate with the country in any of its military ventures."
The emperor did not speak.
"China is running out of money as well Your Excellency, and they seek the same things we do. Natural resources, and sitting to their north is the largest untapped section of land in this known world."
Finally the emperor found his voice.
"China is thinking of invading Siberia?" he asked in disbelief.
"We have received a humanitarian plea from the people of Siberia, they wish to shake off the shackles of a failing Russian economy and attach themselves to a new nation, one powerful enough to actually keep its promises to its people."
The emperor shook his head. This man sitting in front of him was mad.
"Russia has nuclear weapons, if we were to invade, they would not hesitate to use them. I am old enough to remember what happened to our country before."
"Russia is not the only country with nuclear weapons Your Excellency," Shizuko said simply.
The emperor's face went white. "Japan has nuclear weapons?"
The Prime Minister nodded. "We have been secretly developing them for quite awhile, all under a security blanket that would make Joseph Stalin himself proud."
"Shizuko," the emperor started, using the Prime Minister's name. "You have not thought things through. America will not allow us to join together with China, and I might remind you that they are the most powerful nation in the world."
"America," Shizuko said, "Has withdrawn from our country, leaving behind only a few military installations that can easily be destroyed."
"Attacking America will only make things worse for us," the emperor said, now realizing that the man sitting before him was insane. "The Chinese tried to attack them a few years ago and look what happened to them. They are now facing economic ruin, and the man running their country has become intensely paranoid, almost to the point of Joseph Stalin."
"China is a powerful nation, one worthy enough of our friendship," Shizuko said.
The emperor shook his head again, trying to clear his mind. Finally, he looked up at Shizuko.
"I received a letter from the President of the United States two days ago," the emperor said. "In it, he told me of his concerns that Japan might be considering a merge with the Chinese and that we would together invade Russia. I have not responded to his letter, as I was astonished that the President would think that Japan would do such things."
"My grandfather received a letter from the President of the United States as well. That was the day before World War II. I am now very much wrapped up in the thought that there are far too many similarities between the two things."
Struggling to retain his calm, Shizuko bowed his head once, and held the position for five seconds.
The emperor could not take anymore, and returned the bow and left the room, staggering. The Prime Minister of Japan was insane, and he intended to sign a pact with China and invade Russia.
That had been two days ago.
Japan was now heading in a direction that could only end in disaster.
The emperor decided that it was time to respond to the President of the United State's letter.
===============
Mai Zhisheng, the Premier of China, rose early on the morning of December 6.
Unlike the Japanese emperor, Premier Zhisheng carried all the power of his country. He was the communist leader of his country, and had been for almost half a decade.
Premier Zhisheng was a very well educated man; he had attended university in Beijing before entering the political realm. He had first entered State Security, and had done well, carrying out his duties to the exact and always willing to obey the men that sat on the Politburo.
He had long harbored a desire to become one of those men that ruled the country with their iron wills and powerful minds. It was not until after becoming one of the men on the Politburo that Zhisheng learned of the truth behind the Politburo.
The men that sat on the board were old, corrupted men. They were bitter towards the rest of the world and negligent to things that did not concern them. The Politburo was not suited to even run a store, much less a country, and especially not one as powerful as China.
After he received the title of Minister of Defense, Zhisheng had begun attempting to manipulate the men that ran the country. He soon realized that he could quite easily control them and set about moving his long harbored thoughts into action.
The first thing that he had tried to do was to regain Taiwan. This had seemed like an easy thing at the time, but Zhisheng had learned a very good lesson in the way the world works after that.
America had discovered the Politburo's desire to kill the Taiwanese President and had stopped it, killing all the assassins.
Next, America and most of the western world had helped stop China from invading Taiwan, and was successful in creating a complete naval barricade between the two countries. Once the situation had appeared desperate, Zhisheng had gone to the Head of the PLA, Wei Liang, and asked about China's nuclear weapons. This later turned out to be a bad idea, when the Americans and other countries attacked the nuclear missile silos and destroyed China's nuclear capabilities. After that, the final blow had been struck.
American planes attacked and killed all members of the Politburo except Zhisheng and the recently expelled Transportation Minister, Ma Jingshu.
Zhisheng, after learning of the deaths of all other Politburo members, took over the position of Premier, and became the leader of the country. An hour after he had become Premier, he received the news that America had destroyed China's nuclear tipped missiles. Zhisheng took this in stride, as he had other things to think about. He was now faced with the only option of ceasing China's invasion of Taiwan.
That would not stop the Americans from continuing their assault against the Asian country, and Zhisheng knew that. Finally, he had called his deputies and informed them that they were now creating a blockade against America. All diplomatic relations were cut off.
The President of the United States had been far too eager to end a war that the people of America found to be pointless. He ordered the withdrawal of all American troops.
It had been four years since the end of the Pacific War, and Zhisheng knew that his country was once again facing a crisis.
Unlike when the Soviet Union created there own sanctions against America, China did not thrive. Russia had flourished with communism, for quite a long time, until they finally discarded the corrupt system and adopted democracy. The turning point for communism in Russia came when Boris Yeltsin defied the KGB and the junta, by climbing onto a tank in Red Square.
In China, communism had done the same to the country as it had to Russia. The only difference was, the leader of China was not going to give up the communist system, and there was not a single soul in the entire country that would dare to stand up to the man.
Zhisheng brooded with his thoughts as he entered his office. As he took his seat behind his desk, his aide entered the room and delivered the morning briefing. A relatively quite day, as Zhisheng had no meetings scheduled, he would simply be doing paperwork all day.
As the room emptied except for the security personnel that followed him everywhere he went, Premier Zhisheng picked up the first report that needed his attention.
A sigh escaped Zhisheng's throat as he scanned the first document. It was a report on the country's economy, which was abysmal at best. China was running out of money, and they would soon have to turn to other countries for help.
Zhisheng snorted, the only country that would come to the aide of China right now was Japan, and that country was in even poorer condition than China. That thought set Zhisheng's mind in a different direction.
He was supposed to call the Prime Minister of Japan today. If the second part of Zhisheng's plan worked, than China would not have to worry about money for quite awhile.
The only thing Zhisheng could be proud of at the moment was China's military, which was, at the moment, on almost equal ground with America's army. But there was no point in having a military if you had nothing to do with it.
Zhisheng had been quite surprised when the Prime Minister of Japan had called him and asked to speak in private. The meeting had been easy to arrange, and he had met the leader of Japan only two days later. Zhisheng had been equally surprised when the Prime Minister had asked if he would be interested in signing a pact, one that would ensure that if any military action was taken by either country, the other would be as committed as the other.
Japan was nowhere near the world power that China was, but Zhisheng was smart enough to know that the more allies you had, the less number of enemies you had. But what had really made Zhisheng agree to the pact proposed by the Japanese Prime Minister was the small little note he had added to the end of his speech.
"And I understand that all of China's nuclear weapons were destroyed by the American's, so I would like to bring to the table the fact that Japan has seven nuclear warhead tipped missiles already developed and well- hidden from any country."
Zhisheng had started a program to rebuild China's nuclear weapons, but a lack of funds had made the development of the nuclear warheads slow to a crawl. With Japan's nuclear weapons, China could now attack Russia without the fear of nuclear reprisal.
Zhisheng had made the decision to enter Russia as soon as he felt that his military could carry out the feat in the shortest amount of time.
Siberia was the largest untapped area on earth, with the exception of maybe Antarctica, and Zhisheng was determined to make that land China's.
Russia would soon be brought to its knees before the world again.
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The Russian President, Vladimir Andropov, arrived at his office well before he heard the news that his National Security Advisor was not going to be in for the entire day. The President brushed that aside, he had greater worries for the moment.
A report passed to him by the American President told him of a very troubling predicament to Russia's southeast. Half the Asian landmass was apparently eyeing the eastern parts of Russia, namely Siberia, as if they contained a secret depot of gold bars. This was not the sort of thing that the President of a country that was only a decade into its new government system wanted to hear.
The fact that the report came from foreign sources and not Russia's own intelligence services slightly worried the Russian President. If America was able to collect these documents, and they were across an entire ocean from the country, than that meant the Chinese and Japanese were not taking much concern in disguising there yearns.
Andropov had complete faith in his country, but he had not risen to the title of President by being foolish. Russia's military was only a shadow of what it had previously been. The morale of troops was so low that they routinely tried to go AWOL, and their officers did not even attempt to go and get them. Soldiers were going unpaid, and Russia was selling the greater number of their weapons to any and all buyers.
Before the Russian government had been forced to start selling some of its more closely held secrets, the American government had stepped in. They agreed to give Russia a generous fee for the disarmament of their nuclear weapons, and the promise not to build any more. The United States had met the Russians missile for missile, and had disarmed more than three quarters of their nuclear warheads. The process of disarming nuclear missiles was very time consuming and very, very, costly. But with the American government supplying the funds, which were more than enough to cover the costs, Russia was able to meet the American guidelines.
President Andropov shook his head slightly. The thought that Russia and America were cooperating was still quite a change to the man that had entered politics when the offence of uttering ill words directed at the state could very well earn you a death sentence.
The Cold War was over. Russia and America were very close now, sharing a relationship almost equal to that of America's northern neighbor. But unfortunately for Russia, this did not solve all of its problems. Greed and corruption were still rampant throughout the country, sometimes to the point of absolute corruption. Foreigners still avoided Russia, as it was regarded throughout the modern world as a crime infested cesspool.
President Andropov quickly realized that if China and Japan did invade Siberia, Russia would not be able to do anything, other than make a big stink about it to the UN. China's military was one of the most advanced in the entire world, and if they were to put at least have the effort they made into trying to take Taiwan into their effort to take Siberia, than the war would be very short.
But Andropov knew that if he were to allow China to take Siberia, he would be committing political suicide. Not only that but he would be giving away the one thing that may be able to help break Russia free from its corruption and greed. Siberia was an explorer's dream, with its largely untapped land and the lack of visitors.
Nobody knew exactly what was in Siberia, in the natural resource sense, but President Andropov was certain that he could not allow it to fall into the Chinese or Japanese hands.
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The President of the United States was, at the moment, very tired. He had been awake for almost twenty hours straight, and had been surviving on caffeine, supplied by the coffee that would surely make his stomach reject anything and everything he would attempt to eat the next day.
George Winnfield was not the sort of man that one would expect to hold the title of President of the United States. He had grown up in the town of Baltimore. The son of a policeman, President Winnfield had been greatly exposed to the crime that infested the entire country. Winnfield's past made him relate to the modern man, to the blue collar worker, and Winnfield fought very hard to keep that perception. The President seemed as if he was no different than any of the other people in America, which allowed him an easy career in politics. This did not mean that he simply waltzed through elections (Winnfield had only won the Presidential elections by five percent), but he was able to come off to the average voter as a simple man that would try his best in what he would do.
The true test for President Winnfield had come not even a year after his inauguration. On the early morning of September 11, terrorists had struck his country. The attacks were devastating, killing thousands and wounding more. The response by America had been immediate, before the day was done, American planes, ships, and troops were headed across the Atlantic towards the Middle East.
It had been four months since that day, and American troops were about to extradite the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. While this was great news, especially for the American people, it seemed like an empty victory in the face of everything that had happened.
The terrorists that had initiated these terrible deeds still eluded the American troops and intelligence services. But there were even more problems weighing on the President's mind.
The CIA had dropped the bomb the other day. A courier had dropped the report onto his desk at precisely eight A.M. The Chinese and Japanese were about to sign an agreement, making the two countries dedicated to each other in the event that one of the two countries were attacked or if they attacked another country.
While this was only slightly upsetting to the President, as China and America were still separated from all trade and diplomatic relations, but the real bombshell came on the last page of the document. China and Japan were running low on capital, and they were looking to the north with a hungry look in their eyes.
President Winnfield knew that China and Japan were running very low of money, and he also knew that it was very likely that the situation may erupt into war, but the President had thought that it would be a civil war, not a situation that is likely to escalate to a World War III.
The President of the United States had realized that both countries were too far gone to try and get them to back down. He had toyed with the notion of threatening Japan with sanctions, but he remembered that that was the reason Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and had discarded the notion. The President did not fear an attack by Japan, but he did not want them to think that they had to get desperate.
He had decided to call the Japanese Prime Minister, but every time he called he was told the Prime Minister was in a meeting. Finally, after trying for almost twelve hours, the President had sent a letter to the Emperor of Japan. Winnfield had felt that this was the right thing to do, despite the words of caution from his National Security Advisor, because the Emperor had always struck the President as an honorable man. He had received acknowledgement that the letter was received, but he had not gotten a response from the Emperor.
The President was at the end of his rope when he finally passed the document outlining the Chinese and Japanese pact and the reason to the President of Russia. President Andropov had called President Winnfield the next day.
"Where did you get this?" President Andropov had asked once the pleasantries were out of the way.
"By our intelligence sources, I'm surprised you have not caught wind of this yourself."
The Russian President had snorted. "We have not had any sources inside China in at least five years. We used to have someone inside the Politburo but he had to retire for health reasons."
That admission had caught President Winnfield off guard. It was very rare that the Russians would admit that the Americans had caught them short on anything, especially intelligence sources.
"What we have to concentrate on now is what we are going to do now that we have this information," Winnfield had said as he leaned back in his chair.
"The first thing on my mind was breaking off all diplomatic relations with the bastards and immediately building up our army once again. But just as soon as that thought came into my mind, I realized that if we did that, China and Japan would merely speed up their invasion and take Siberia before I can even have the draft report written up."
"We cannot just outright go to the Chinese and say we have this information," President Winnfield said, "If we did that they would now that someone leaked the information."
"This is not an easy situation," President Andropov agreed, "We should take some time and consult others about this."
"That would probably be for the best," Winnfield said.
"I thank you for giving me this information George," Andropov said.
"I will contact you again when I have some more information Vladimir. Good bye," the President of the United States said and hung up.
Despite receiving advice from his National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, and the Chief of Staff of the United States military, President Winnfield still had no sound ideas on stabilizing the situation in Asia.
He would have to come up with something soon; otherwise World War III could break out.
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Author's Notes: Hi, Mrs. Clark here again. Mr. Clark is now serving in the Middle East, though he told me not to disclose his location, so I won't. He couldn't take dependants their, so I'm stuck here in the United States, twiddling my thumbs until he returns, which only god knows when. I'm sure some of you have noticed the lack of any Ranma ½ characters in this first chapter, which I'm, as equally, sure, will make some people mad.
This chapter was used to set up the world situation. America is now attacking Afghanistan after the attacks on America, and they are very close to extraditing the Taliban from power. But over in Asia, the economic situation in both China and Japan has taken its toll on the two countries, and when countries run out of money, they get just a little desperate.
I promise to you that the Ranma ½ characters will be in the next chapter.
I'd really appreciate a review for this chapter, and it would be great to hear from those that read Balance of Power because I want to see how the two compare.