Until the End
Chapter 4
The Human Aspect
Akari stared in disbelief at the letter. She looked up at Ranma.
"They can't really do this can they?" she asked.
Ranma shrugged. "I've got no clue; I'm just hoping that this is some kind of joke."
"If the postman had to get up early and deliver it after a call from the Post Master General, than I think it may be safe to guess that it is a real no-shit letter from the Prime Minister," Akari said.
Ranma took the letter from Akari and read it for the hundredth time that morning.
Tokyo, Japan (GOVT Rate) December 14, 2001
Ranma Saotome 0-493502
Saotome Dojo, Nerima
Tokyo
By direction of the Prime Minister, you are ordered to report to Miyakojima Base, Okinawa, not later than 2400 hours 20 December 2001 to enter upon an indefinite period of active duty in connection with the Siberian peace action.
Jiro Ohata
Major General,
Japan Army
The Adjutant General
"I think I'd better call Phil," Ranma said, mostly to himself. He stepped out of the kitchen and moved down the hallway to the phone. He dialed a number from a small piece of paper beside the phone and waited as the operators connected him to the United States. A voice suddenly came onto the phone.
*A storm has knocked out phone lines and created a temperamental disturbance and we are unable to connect your call, if you have any questions, please contact your phone agency.*
"What the hell?" Ranma said in disbelief as he listened to the recording again. He set the phone back into its cradle.
Akari came down the hall, a worried expression on her face.
"What's wrong?"
Ranma frowned. "It says there was some kind of storm and all the phone lines to the United States are down." He looked up at Akari. "Did you hear anything about a storm?"
"No," Akari said. "It's December, there aren't that many storms here, but maybe they had one in the U.S."
"Maybe," Ranma said. He suddenly went back to the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" "Is pop there mom, I need to talk to him." "Hey, have you heard anything about a storm that knocked down any phone lines?" "No, okay, no nothing's wrong, I was just curious, thanks pop, I'll tell Akane you said hi."
He set the phone back down and turned to Akari.
"Well, if nothing happened in Kyushu, than I'd have to guess that it may have been a storm in the U.S."
"What are you going to do then?"
Ranma looked thoughtful for a minute. He snapped his fingers.
"I know! I'll go down to the office downtown and use the secure line there."
Ranma ran and grabbed a coat and walked back to where Akari was still standing.
"Okay, if Akane wakes up don't tell her about any of this," Ranma said as he put his arms into the coat sleeves. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Be careful," Akari said as she leaned forward and zipped up his jacket.
"You bet," Ranma said and kissed Akari, not quite on the lips, and winked at her before dashing out of the house. The sound of an engine starting and revving reverberated throughout the house and it soon disappeared as Ranma drove off down the street.
===============
The Japanese office building for the investment banking company, Saotome, Hibiki, Unryuu, Inafune, and Portet, was not what one would expect a multi-million dollar company to look like. At least the outside didn't. The dark gray paint that the owner of the building, Ranma Saotome, had decided upon four years ago had begun to chip and flake. It was only a one story building and occupied a small sector of the land that it was entitled to. The rest of the area was the small parking lot, and a large, almost huge, gym built behind the gray building.
When Ranma had become President in 1998, he had ordered the gym to be built, as he noticed a supreme lack of them around the entire downtown sector. Within days of opening, the gym had acquired so many members that it had been necessary to add-on to the already huge gym. When a news agency caught wind of this and went to interview the owner of the gym, Ranma had told them that he had actually had it built so he didn't get bored to tears while working in an ugly office building.
The truth of that matter was that Ranma did not actually run the Japanese district of Saotome, Hibiki, Unryuu, Inafune, and Portet. Akari Unryuu had acceded to the title after graduating from the Wharton School of Economics in early 1998, shortly after graduating from a college course. But Ranma still held five of the nine seats in the company executives, so he was in all actuality, the owner of the company. Fortunately for Ranma, Akari and the other associates handled all the business matters.
Ranma parked his BMW 325 in the parking spot reserved for a VIP. He got out and headed for the front doors and entered the code on the security locks and walked inside. He didn't bother checking at the blinking light that signaled to whoever was there that someone had called during the weekend, and quickly made his way to the office designated as the President of the company.
Ranma entered the office and pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked a drawer on the large oak desk that sat in the office and extracted a telephone. It was a STU-6, the most secure phone system that had yet to be produced. He dialed the number he had gotten from Phil when he had called from Fort Bragg. There was a ring, and very quickly a female voice sounded on the other end.
*Hello?*
"Toni?" Ranma asked in English. He didn't wait for an answer. "This is Ranma, is Phil there?"
*He's asleep, but I'll get him up anyways.* A few muffled noises could be heard and finally Phil came on the line, his voice groggy from sleep.
*Hello?*
"It's Ranma, Phil, I'm sorry to wake you up but I've got to ask you something."
*Don't worry Ranma, I succeeded in breaking the record last night for fewest hours spent in bed so I guess it doesn't matter that I should try and break the record again.*
Ranma ignored that remark and extracted the letter he had received early that morning.
"Listen here Phil; I've got something to read to you." Ranma then read the entire letter. When he was finished, Phil's voice came back onto the line and it was now wide-awake.
*Read that again.* Ranma did. *Oh, god did a war happen while I was asleep?*
Despite what was happening, Ranma chuckled.
"Look, Phil, I got this about five am this morning, and the mailman looked like he had at least a few bags full of them."
*Okay, Christ, it sounds like you've just been drafted.*
"Can they do that?" Ranma asked incredulously.
*Yeah, and from what I can tell by that, "Siberian peace action" line, than it means your going somewhere cold, and probably accompanying some Chinese soldiers as well. I'm going to call some people Ranma, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.*
"Alright, thanks Phil, and remember that I'm in the office right now, and not at home, the operator was saying something about a storm knocking out all lines to the U.S."
*Bullshit, the closest thing to a storm over here is the two inches of snow that got dumped on Green Bay last night. I'll talk to you later Ranma, stay in the office.*
The line clicked, and Ranma set the phone down.
He sank down into the soft leather chair and placed his face into his hands and softly began to cry.
===============
The Secretary of State, Brian Murray, impatiently waited as the courier sent over by the CIA opened his briefcase and began to search for the message he had intended to deliver. Finally, having found it, he handed it to Murray, smiled, and left the office.
"It's too goddamned early for this shit to be happening," Murray muttered to himself as he sank down into his chair.
He read through the report surprised to see that it didn't have the usual CIA crap warnings on it. When he was finished, he shook his head slowly. Turning his head he checked the clock that hung on his wall. The President would be getting up in about an hour and there was no use waking him up this early anyway.
Murray grabbed his phone and hit speed dial that connected him to Langley.
*Hello?*
"Phil? It's me, Murray."
*Ah, I take this call is about the document I had sent over?*
"Yes, I was just wondering where you happened to get it from. Or is that a question you can't answer?"
Phil chuckled. *Well, for the first time in the CIA's history I think I can actually answer that question. My, son, who is down at Fort Bragg with the Green Berets, called me about an hour ago and told me about this.*
"Where'd he get the information from?"
*He has some friends in Japan, and one of them got a letter from the Prime Minister's office very early this morning. He's being drafted.*
"Do you know who this friend is?"
There was a slight pause on the other end.
*Do you remember when they sent the 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion to China in the waning days of the Pacific War?*
"Yeah, little Phil was commanding it."
*Okay, when they crossed from Japan to China, the 82nd took three Japanese civilians, Ranma Saotome, the guy getting drafted, Ryoga Hibiki; who was killed after being taken prisoner, and Ishii Inafune, Seiji Inafune's son. Both Ranma and Ryoga were taken prisoner and Phillip ended up rescuing him and a few other POW's that had been captured after the opening days of the war. But Ryoga was murdered along with forty-nine other POW's. I tried to get Ranma the Civilian Medal for his actions but I was told that would create some diplomatic problems.*
"Oh, now I remember. There was a big funeral for that Hibiki guy, and Phillip awarded him the Combat Infantry Badge. Then the, (then) President wrote a letter to the fiancée of Hibiki."
*I never heard about the letter but yeah, Phillip also gave Ryoga the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.*
"Okay, it's making sense now," Murray said. "So this Ranma guy got the draft letter and called Phil?"
*Yeah, but when he tried calling from a normal phone, there was a recording that there had been a big storm and all the lines to the United States had been temporarily shut down.*
"Are you kidding me?"
*No, it sounds like Japan is dead serious about signing this pact with China and invading Siberia.*
"Oh god, and with all of our troops in the Middle East, were going to have a hell of a time trying to stop an assault by both China and Japan."
Phil didn't reply.
"Okay, I'm going to wake the President up and give him this information. Thanks for the heads-up Phil."
*Your welcome Brian."
===============
Russian President Vladimir Andropov was awoken by his chief aide at 0439 hours. This at first elicited an angry response from the President, the aide quickly handed Andropov a slip of paper and excused himself before he could hear anymore of the President's reprimand.
"Goddamnit," the President cursed. "Can't I even get five hours of sleep?"
He got up from his bed and quickly donned a robe. He was about to go into the bathroom before he remembered the paper the aide had given him before fleeing the room. Andropov reached over and switched on his bedside lamp, grabbing his reading glasses as he did so.
"From the desk of the White House?" the Russian President quoted incredulously as he read the first line. A chuckle escaped his lips. So, Winnfield was already making due on his promise to relay any information the United States may acquire about the situation in Asia.
Any more laughter left him after he read the document. President Andropov's already ruddy face flushed red with anger.
The Japanese were drafting their people into the invasion!
Now Russia would have to face not only Chinese soldiers, but Japanese draftees as well. Vladimir shook his head sadly.
There was absolutely zero chance that the Russian perimeter guards could stop the invasion forces put out by Japan and China. The Asians were going to walk right into Siberia without being harassed at all, except maybe by the cold weather.
President Andropov put his feet into a pair of slippers and stepped outside of his room and walked down the hallway. He found his aide sitting at the table in his dining room, waiting for the President with what looked like fear in his eyes.
"What time did this come in?" Andropov asked coldly, indicating the report he still held in his hand.
"Ten minutes ago sir," the aide replied shakily. "I decided that it would be best if you saw it right when it was faxed over."
Andropov looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind and took a cup of coffee from a tray and gently sipped from it as he read over the report again. He raised his eyes to look at his aide.
"Oh, stand at ease Gennedy, I did not mean to yell at you," President Andropov said warmly. He waited until Gennedy had gotten a cup of coffee from the nearby tray before he spoke. "Did you have any conversation with whoever sent this?"
"Yes sir," Gennedy said. "The President's Secretary of State told me that he had just shown it to the President of the United States ten minutes before he had it faxed over to us. Apparently, a friend of a high ranking officer knows someone in Japan and called the White House with this information."
"Okay, send an affirmative back to them and say thank you," Andropov said. "And I really am sorry that I snapped at you, it was uncalled for."
===============
Ranma arrived back at the Saotome Dojo at 1600 hours, almost ten hours since he had left his home to go downtown to call Phil. He had waited four hours before Phil called him back, with the news that Japan was not answering any calls from the President or actually admitting the American ambassador to see the Prime Minister to ask about what was happening. The Americans knew exactly what was going on, and they were very much afraid that they were right about other things.
He was supposed to report to that Miyakojima Base in Okinawa in only three days, which would leave Ranma's chances to sort things out very restricted.
Goddamnit! Ranma angrily thought. He was going to be away for Christmas. Akane would be alone and so would Akari.
Shaking his head, Ranma walked up to the front door and opened it, he immediately came face to face with Akane. Her face was a mixture of anger and concern.
"So, you finally decide to come home," Akane said angrily.
Ranma sighed and removed his jacket. "Akane, I really got to talk to you."
Akane had expected Ranma to reply, but not in the sad manner, and she was now even more worried than she had originally been.
She followed Ranma back out of the house and down the path leading to the Dojo. Along the way he reached for her arm and wrapped it around his and inhaled deeply when she pressed up against him. When they finally got into the Dojo and had closed the doors, Akane was very worried.
"So," Akane said, hoping that Ranma would respond. "What were you doing downtown all day?"
Ranma looked like he wasn't going to reply but finally did.
"Akane, I got a letter today from the government."
Akane looked at him, confused.
"I'm to report to Okinawa by December 20 and prepare to undergo basic training as an infantryman." (Ranma had asked Phil what he would have to do if he went to Okinawa and Phil had explained what usually happens when you go through basic training.
"What?" Akane asked in disbelief.
"I'm being drafted to go fight in Siberia," Ranma said softly.
"What do you mean your going to Siberia? You're not a soldier," Akane stated.
"That's why I'm going through the basic training course; so they can turn me into a real soldier." It was hard for Ranma to keep the bitterness from his voice.
A million things were running through Akane's mind, but the most prominent thought was that she didn't understand one goddamned thing Ranma was saying.
"Japan has cut all communications with the United States and we are about to sign a pact with China that would ensure that Japan sends troops to help China when they invade Siberia early next year."
"How do you know that?" Akane asked.
"I called Phil from the satellite phone in the office and was able to get him and Toni about four this morning. He called some people in the Pentagon and in Langley and found out that Japan has not been answering President Winnfield's calls and is only in conversations with Ma Zhisheng, the Chinese Premier. He also told me that all Japanese civilians are being urged to return to Japan and leave any American dependants behind."
Akane paused to consider what Ranma said.
"Ranma, Ishii was supposed to fly over hear today and come to see us, does this mean he won't be able to?"
"I'm not sure, but what the hell does that have to do with what I'm saying?" Ranma asked, just a little annoyed.
"I'm sorry Ranma, but this is just a little bit of a shock to me," Akane responded a little testily herself.
Ranma frowned. "I'm not sure what I'll do," he admitted. "Part of me is telling me to get the hell out of Japan and take you and Kagome, but from what Phil told me, it would be impossible to sneak out of the country at that point. America is urging its citizens to leave Japan and not expect to return any time soon. Unless I can prove that I'm an American citizen, than I wouldn't have a chance."
"But, even if we did have American passports Ranma, I wouldn't want to leave Akari and Ryoga here alone. And we also have to think about our family, Kuno, Ukyo and Konatsu. I'm not to sure what to do about Mousse, Shampoo and Cologne."
Ranma snorted. "I hardly think that the Chinese government is going to go all the way into the mountains of Qing Hai just to get draftee notices to a few Amazons. Those three will be fine."
"M-maybe you could change into a girl and when they come to get you, you can just pretend you're someone else," Akane said, desperation clear in her voice.
Ranma noticed that and immediately wrapped Akane up into a bear hug.
"Listen, don't you worry about anything baby, I'll think of something," Ranma whispered lightly into the top of Akane's head. "I'll call Phil later tonight and see if there's anything going on."
"Okay," Akane said quietly as she fought the tears that threatened to escape her eyes.
===============
"You mean there's nothing I can do?" Ranma asked the telephone.
*Sorry Ranma, but I would have to recommend that you simply go along with this for now. You could risk skipping out to the U.S. but that might make it hard for you to come back when all of this blows over,* Phillip said.
"You really think this will all blow over?"
*It should, were trying everything possible to keep war from happening over there. Right now we've got enough on our hands trying to get rid of the Taliban and the terrorists without having to have a full-blown war across the Pacific. I'm sure a few choice words should make the Prime Minister back down. China doesn't offer the best deal when it comes to being its ally.*
"Okay, but what if those rumors are true, and the Prime Minister actually ordered the emperor's assassination? Wouldn't that show just how committed he is to this course of action?" Ranma said.
There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone.
*Ranma, just head off to Okinawa for now, and wait it out until this all blows over. I promise you that you will not have to join a war where you may be fighting people that you know.*
As Phil trailed off, Ranma had a sudden horrifying thought. What if he were to meet Phil on the battlefield? Russia already had America's commitment in the case of China invading, and Ranma was sure that Special Forces types would be sent in to survey the area and scope out the enemy strengths.
"Okay Phil, Merry Christmas, and thanks," Ranma said after a long pause.
*Merry Christmas Ranma, give my regards to the others and your family.*
===============
Author's Notes: Okay, Ranma's getting drafted into a war between China, Japan, and Russia. Not a pretty picture. The name of the base in this chapter is actually a chapter used to train Japanese self defense forces, in both aviation and infantry. The story originally had more of the regular Ranma ½ characters being drafted, but I could tell that things would get much more complicated as the story progressed, especially the climax.
This story is going to involve more of the infantry type of warfare instead of the armor tactical situations in Balance of Power. So you can expect some gritty scenes, especially one's from the opening days of the war, and it just might push the story up to an "R" rating, and I really don't want anyone to lose their interest in the story just because it gets more gory and more like an actual war novel.
On a lighter note, I received a call from my husband, and he wished all of the readers a Merry Christmas. I would really like to get some more reviews, as the last ones were less than positive, except for a select few.
Thanks to everyone who has read the story this far and a special thanks to everyone that has written a review, even if it's not a positive one.
Akari stared in disbelief at the letter. She looked up at Ranma.
"They can't really do this can they?" she asked.
Ranma shrugged. "I've got no clue; I'm just hoping that this is some kind of joke."
"If the postman had to get up early and deliver it after a call from the Post Master General, than I think it may be safe to guess that it is a real no-shit letter from the Prime Minister," Akari said.
Ranma took the letter from Akari and read it for the hundredth time that morning.
Tokyo, Japan (GOVT Rate) December 14, 2001
Ranma Saotome 0-493502
Saotome Dojo, Nerima
Tokyo
By direction of the Prime Minister, you are ordered to report to Miyakojima Base, Okinawa, not later than 2400 hours 20 December 2001 to enter upon an indefinite period of active duty in connection with the Siberian peace action.
Jiro Ohata
Major General,
Japan Army
The Adjutant General
"I think I'd better call Phil," Ranma said, mostly to himself. He stepped out of the kitchen and moved down the hallway to the phone. He dialed a number from a small piece of paper beside the phone and waited as the operators connected him to the United States. A voice suddenly came onto the phone.
*A storm has knocked out phone lines and created a temperamental disturbance and we are unable to connect your call, if you have any questions, please contact your phone agency.*
"What the hell?" Ranma said in disbelief as he listened to the recording again. He set the phone back into its cradle.
Akari came down the hall, a worried expression on her face.
"What's wrong?"
Ranma frowned. "It says there was some kind of storm and all the phone lines to the United States are down." He looked up at Akari. "Did you hear anything about a storm?"
"No," Akari said. "It's December, there aren't that many storms here, but maybe they had one in the U.S."
"Maybe," Ranma said. He suddenly went back to the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" "Is pop there mom, I need to talk to him." "Hey, have you heard anything about a storm that knocked down any phone lines?" "No, okay, no nothing's wrong, I was just curious, thanks pop, I'll tell Akane you said hi."
He set the phone back down and turned to Akari.
"Well, if nothing happened in Kyushu, than I'd have to guess that it may have been a storm in the U.S."
"What are you going to do then?"
Ranma looked thoughtful for a minute. He snapped his fingers.
"I know! I'll go down to the office downtown and use the secure line there."
Ranma ran and grabbed a coat and walked back to where Akari was still standing.
"Okay, if Akane wakes up don't tell her about any of this," Ranma said as he put his arms into the coat sleeves. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Be careful," Akari said as she leaned forward and zipped up his jacket.
"You bet," Ranma said and kissed Akari, not quite on the lips, and winked at her before dashing out of the house. The sound of an engine starting and revving reverberated throughout the house and it soon disappeared as Ranma drove off down the street.
===============
The Japanese office building for the investment banking company, Saotome, Hibiki, Unryuu, Inafune, and Portet, was not what one would expect a multi-million dollar company to look like. At least the outside didn't. The dark gray paint that the owner of the building, Ranma Saotome, had decided upon four years ago had begun to chip and flake. It was only a one story building and occupied a small sector of the land that it was entitled to. The rest of the area was the small parking lot, and a large, almost huge, gym built behind the gray building.
When Ranma had become President in 1998, he had ordered the gym to be built, as he noticed a supreme lack of them around the entire downtown sector. Within days of opening, the gym had acquired so many members that it had been necessary to add-on to the already huge gym. When a news agency caught wind of this and went to interview the owner of the gym, Ranma had told them that he had actually had it built so he didn't get bored to tears while working in an ugly office building.
The truth of that matter was that Ranma did not actually run the Japanese district of Saotome, Hibiki, Unryuu, Inafune, and Portet. Akari Unryuu had acceded to the title after graduating from the Wharton School of Economics in early 1998, shortly after graduating from a college course. But Ranma still held five of the nine seats in the company executives, so he was in all actuality, the owner of the company. Fortunately for Ranma, Akari and the other associates handled all the business matters.
Ranma parked his BMW 325 in the parking spot reserved for a VIP. He got out and headed for the front doors and entered the code on the security locks and walked inside. He didn't bother checking at the blinking light that signaled to whoever was there that someone had called during the weekend, and quickly made his way to the office designated as the President of the company.
Ranma entered the office and pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked a drawer on the large oak desk that sat in the office and extracted a telephone. It was a STU-6, the most secure phone system that had yet to be produced. He dialed the number he had gotten from Phil when he had called from Fort Bragg. There was a ring, and very quickly a female voice sounded on the other end.
*Hello?*
"Toni?" Ranma asked in English. He didn't wait for an answer. "This is Ranma, is Phil there?"
*He's asleep, but I'll get him up anyways.* A few muffled noises could be heard and finally Phil came on the line, his voice groggy from sleep.
*Hello?*
"It's Ranma, Phil, I'm sorry to wake you up but I've got to ask you something."
*Don't worry Ranma, I succeeded in breaking the record last night for fewest hours spent in bed so I guess it doesn't matter that I should try and break the record again.*
Ranma ignored that remark and extracted the letter he had received early that morning.
"Listen here Phil; I've got something to read to you." Ranma then read the entire letter. When he was finished, Phil's voice came back onto the line and it was now wide-awake.
*Read that again.* Ranma did. *Oh, god did a war happen while I was asleep?*
Despite what was happening, Ranma chuckled.
"Look, Phil, I got this about five am this morning, and the mailman looked like he had at least a few bags full of them."
*Okay, Christ, it sounds like you've just been drafted.*
"Can they do that?" Ranma asked incredulously.
*Yeah, and from what I can tell by that, "Siberian peace action" line, than it means your going somewhere cold, and probably accompanying some Chinese soldiers as well. I'm going to call some people Ranma, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.*
"Alright, thanks Phil, and remember that I'm in the office right now, and not at home, the operator was saying something about a storm knocking out all lines to the U.S."
*Bullshit, the closest thing to a storm over here is the two inches of snow that got dumped on Green Bay last night. I'll talk to you later Ranma, stay in the office.*
The line clicked, and Ranma set the phone down.
He sank down into the soft leather chair and placed his face into his hands and softly began to cry.
===============
The Secretary of State, Brian Murray, impatiently waited as the courier sent over by the CIA opened his briefcase and began to search for the message he had intended to deliver. Finally, having found it, he handed it to Murray, smiled, and left the office.
"It's too goddamned early for this shit to be happening," Murray muttered to himself as he sank down into his chair.
He read through the report surprised to see that it didn't have the usual CIA crap warnings on it. When he was finished, he shook his head slowly. Turning his head he checked the clock that hung on his wall. The President would be getting up in about an hour and there was no use waking him up this early anyway.
Murray grabbed his phone and hit speed dial that connected him to Langley.
*Hello?*
"Phil? It's me, Murray."
*Ah, I take this call is about the document I had sent over?*
"Yes, I was just wondering where you happened to get it from. Or is that a question you can't answer?"
Phil chuckled. *Well, for the first time in the CIA's history I think I can actually answer that question. My, son, who is down at Fort Bragg with the Green Berets, called me about an hour ago and told me about this.*
"Where'd he get the information from?"
*He has some friends in Japan, and one of them got a letter from the Prime Minister's office very early this morning. He's being drafted.*
"Do you know who this friend is?"
There was a slight pause on the other end.
*Do you remember when they sent the 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion to China in the waning days of the Pacific War?*
"Yeah, little Phil was commanding it."
*Okay, when they crossed from Japan to China, the 82nd took three Japanese civilians, Ranma Saotome, the guy getting drafted, Ryoga Hibiki; who was killed after being taken prisoner, and Ishii Inafune, Seiji Inafune's son. Both Ranma and Ryoga were taken prisoner and Phillip ended up rescuing him and a few other POW's that had been captured after the opening days of the war. But Ryoga was murdered along with forty-nine other POW's. I tried to get Ranma the Civilian Medal for his actions but I was told that would create some diplomatic problems.*
"Oh, now I remember. There was a big funeral for that Hibiki guy, and Phillip awarded him the Combat Infantry Badge. Then the, (then) President wrote a letter to the fiancée of Hibiki."
*I never heard about the letter but yeah, Phillip also gave Ryoga the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.*
"Okay, it's making sense now," Murray said. "So this Ranma guy got the draft letter and called Phil?"
*Yeah, but when he tried calling from a normal phone, there was a recording that there had been a big storm and all the lines to the United States had been temporarily shut down.*
"Are you kidding me?"
*No, it sounds like Japan is dead serious about signing this pact with China and invading Siberia.*
"Oh god, and with all of our troops in the Middle East, were going to have a hell of a time trying to stop an assault by both China and Japan."
Phil didn't reply.
"Okay, I'm going to wake the President up and give him this information. Thanks for the heads-up Phil."
*Your welcome Brian."
===============
Russian President Vladimir Andropov was awoken by his chief aide at 0439 hours. This at first elicited an angry response from the President, the aide quickly handed Andropov a slip of paper and excused himself before he could hear anymore of the President's reprimand.
"Goddamnit," the President cursed. "Can't I even get five hours of sleep?"
He got up from his bed and quickly donned a robe. He was about to go into the bathroom before he remembered the paper the aide had given him before fleeing the room. Andropov reached over and switched on his bedside lamp, grabbing his reading glasses as he did so.
"From the desk of the White House?" the Russian President quoted incredulously as he read the first line. A chuckle escaped his lips. So, Winnfield was already making due on his promise to relay any information the United States may acquire about the situation in Asia.
Any more laughter left him after he read the document. President Andropov's already ruddy face flushed red with anger.
The Japanese were drafting their people into the invasion!
Now Russia would have to face not only Chinese soldiers, but Japanese draftees as well. Vladimir shook his head sadly.
There was absolutely zero chance that the Russian perimeter guards could stop the invasion forces put out by Japan and China. The Asians were going to walk right into Siberia without being harassed at all, except maybe by the cold weather.
President Andropov put his feet into a pair of slippers and stepped outside of his room and walked down the hallway. He found his aide sitting at the table in his dining room, waiting for the President with what looked like fear in his eyes.
"What time did this come in?" Andropov asked coldly, indicating the report he still held in his hand.
"Ten minutes ago sir," the aide replied shakily. "I decided that it would be best if you saw it right when it was faxed over."
Andropov looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind and took a cup of coffee from a tray and gently sipped from it as he read over the report again. He raised his eyes to look at his aide.
"Oh, stand at ease Gennedy, I did not mean to yell at you," President Andropov said warmly. He waited until Gennedy had gotten a cup of coffee from the nearby tray before he spoke. "Did you have any conversation with whoever sent this?"
"Yes sir," Gennedy said. "The President's Secretary of State told me that he had just shown it to the President of the United States ten minutes before he had it faxed over to us. Apparently, a friend of a high ranking officer knows someone in Japan and called the White House with this information."
"Okay, send an affirmative back to them and say thank you," Andropov said. "And I really am sorry that I snapped at you, it was uncalled for."
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Ranma arrived back at the Saotome Dojo at 1600 hours, almost ten hours since he had left his home to go downtown to call Phil. He had waited four hours before Phil called him back, with the news that Japan was not answering any calls from the President or actually admitting the American ambassador to see the Prime Minister to ask about what was happening. The Americans knew exactly what was going on, and they were very much afraid that they were right about other things.
He was supposed to report to that Miyakojima Base in Okinawa in only three days, which would leave Ranma's chances to sort things out very restricted.
Goddamnit! Ranma angrily thought. He was going to be away for Christmas. Akane would be alone and so would Akari.
Shaking his head, Ranma walked up to the front door and opened it, he immediately came face to face with Akane. Her face was a mixture of anger and concern.
"So, you finally decide to come home," Akane said angrily.
Ranma sighed and removed his jacket. "Akane, I really got to talk to you."
Akane had expected Ranma to reply, but not in the sad manner, and she was now even more worried than she had originally been.
She followed Ranma back out of the house and down the path leading to the Dojo. Along the way he reached for her arm and wrapped it around his and inhaled deeply when she pressed up against him. When they finally got into the Dojo and had closed the doors, Akane was very worried.
"So," Akane said, hoping that Ranma would respond. "What were you doing downtown all day?"
Ranma looked like he wasn't going to reply but finally did.
"Akane, I got a letter today from the government."
Akane looked at him, confused.
"I'm to report to Okinawa by December 20 and prepare to undergo basic training as an infantryman." (Ranma had asked Phil what he would have to do if he went to Okinawa and Phil had explained what usually happens when you go through basic training.
"What?" Akane asked in disbelief.
"I'm being drafted to go fight in Siberia," Ranma said softly.
"What do you mean your going to Siberia? You're not a soldier," Akane stated.
"That's why I'm going through the basic training course; so they can turn me into a real soldier." It was hard for Ranma to keep the bitterness from his voice.
A million things were running through Akane's mind, but the most prominent thought was that she didn't understand one goddamned thing Ranma was saying.
"Japan has cut all communications with the United States and we are about to sign a pact with China that would ensure that Japan sends troops to help China when they invade Siberia early next year."
"How do you know that?" Akane asked.
"I called Phil from the satellite phone in the office and was able to get him and Toni about four this morning. He called some people in the Pentagon and in Langley and found out that Japan has not been answering President Winnfield's calls and is only in conversations with Ma Zhisheng, the Chinese Premier. He also told me that all Japanese civilians are being urged to return to Japan and leave any American dependants behind."
Akane paused to consider what Ranma said.
"Ranma, Ishii was supposed to fly over hear today and come to see us, does this mean he won't be able to?"
"I'm not sure, but what the hell does that have to do with what I'm saying?" Ranma asked, just a little annoyed.
"I'm sorry Ranma, but this is just a little bit of a shock to me," Akane responded a little testily herself.
Ranma frowned. "I'm not sure what I'll do," he admitted. "Part of me is telling me to get the hell out of Japan and take you and Kagome, but from what Phil told me, it would be impossible to sneak out of the country at that point. America is urging its citizens to leave Japan and not expect to return any time soon. Unless I can prove that I'm an American citizen, than I wouldn't have a chance."
"But, even if we did have American passports Ranma, I wouldn't want to leave Akari and Ryoga here alone. And we also have to think about our family, Kuno, Ukyo and Konatsu. I'm not to sure what to do about Mousse, Shampoo and Cologne."
Ranma snorted. "I hardly think that the Chinese government is going to go all the way into the mountains of Qing Hai just to get draftee notices to a few Amazons. Those three will be fine."
"M-maybe you could change into a girl and when they come to get you, you can just pretend you're someone else," Akane said, desperation clear in her voice.
Ranma noticed that and immediately wrapped Akane up into a bear hug.
"Listen, don't you worry about anything baby, I'll think of something," Ranma whispered lightly into the top of Akane's head. "I'll call Phil later tonight and see if there's anything going on."
"Okay," Akane said quietly as she fought the tears that threatened to escape her eyes.
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"You mean there's nothing I can do?" Ranma asked the telephone.
*Sorry Ranma, but I would have to recommend that you simply go along with this for now. You could risk skipping out to the U.S. but that might make it hard for you to come back when all of this blows over,* Phillip said.
"You really think this will all blow over?"
*It should, were trying everything possible to keep war from happening over there. Right now we've got enough on our hands trying to get rid of the Taliban and the terrorists without having to have a full-blown war across the Pacific. I'm sure a few choice words should make the Prime Minister back down. China doesn't offer the best deal when it comes to being its ally.*
"Okay, but what if those rumors are true, and the Prime Minister actually ordered the emperor's assassination? Wouldn't that show just how committed he is to this course of action?" Ranma said.
There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone.
*Ranma, just head off to Okinawa for now, and wait it out until this all blows over. I promise you that you will not have to join a war where you may be fighting people that you know.*
As Phil trailed off, Ranma had a sudden horrifying thought. What if he were to meet Phil on the battlefield? Russia already had America's commitment in the case of China invading, and Ranma was sure that Special Forces types would be sent in to survey the area and scope out the enemy strengths.
"Okay Phil, Merry Christmas, and thanks," Ranma said after a long pause.
*Merry Christmas Ranma, give my regards to the others and your family.*
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Author's Notes: Okay, Ranma's getting drafted into a war between China, Japan, and Russia. Not a pretty picture. The name of the base in this chapter is actually a chapter used to train Japanese self defense forces, in both aviation and infantry. The story originally had more of the regular Ranma ½ characters being drafted, but I could tell that things would get much more complicated as the story progressed, especially the climax.
This story is going to involve more of the infantry type of warfare instead of the armor tactical situations in Balance of Power. So you can expect some gritty scenes, especially one's from the opening days of the war, and it just might push the story up to an "R" rating, and I really don't want anyone to lose their interest in the story just because it gets more gory and more like an actual war novel.
On a lighter note, I received a call from my husband, and he wished all of the readers a Merry Christmas. I would really like to get some more reviews, as the last ones were less than positive, except for a select few.
Thanks to everyone who has read the story this far and a special thanks to everyone that has written a review, even if it's not a positive one.