"Opportunities present themselves in the oddest of circumstances that might otherwise be misconstrued as bad circumstances. What was offered to me by the UN and by that extension Johnson was one such opportunity."

Chi Il Son

Chapter 14: Juche II Electric Boogaloo

Leader of the People's Republic of Korea, Chi Il Son looked at the document that had been provided to her by an aide who was in contact with someone at the UN. Her head was spinning with a sense of both fear and confusion.

Her plans had been foiled, though in an incredibly unexpected way.

The UN was using this as an opportunity to get the Koreas to unify. Neither side was happy about it though, because it looked like a compromise that offended everyone and pleased no one.

Korea would be unified in a coalition government that while having her in charge would be an actual democracy! After Jon Un had died Son relaxed some of the most restrictive elements of the country to avoid a soviet style collapse. Some private industry was allowed with and trade with neighbors like China (which was at this point their primary ally) meant that standards of living had risen somewhat so that people wouldn't overthrow the government if they had even the slightest hint of what the west thought about them. Statements of the remaining officials in the South exclaimed that such an idea was preposterous, with many wanting to fight a bitter war to the end.

However, her mind cleared as she read the fine print. Like every crisis, it also presented an opportunity.

While the proposal was designed to keep the peace it was also meant to do so with minimal effort from the UN, who dispatched minimal troops and other officials to keep them and set up the new government. To put it bluntly, there would be little oversight over her and this new "coalition government"

And as she read further she let out one of the hardest laughs in her life. This plan seems full of holes that she could exploit. It was almost like someone had designed it for her to get her little kingdom.

She would get to choose everyone who was in any significant position of power before democracy was fully implemented. There would be no term limits for her position, and how the elections were set up would be for her to decide.

There were two caveats however, she would need to give up half of her military personnel to be sent to die in another star system. Men and women who in the past decade since she had taken power were trained by Russia and China. While many were still little more than conscripts with old Kalashnikovs and basic training a growing number were at least moderately well-trained with a select few being among the most feared in the world.

Perhaps even worse was that Admiral William Johnson, supreme commander of the UN forces, would be personally meeting with her to overview the terms. That was a problem because he wasn't some spineless UN official who she could just bribe out of her way.

No, he was the most successful military officer in Earth's history, who had planned and led to the success of Earth's offensives against the Empire. He had the tactical and strategic skills of men like Ghengis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte, though he would likely never admit it. Gee, the number of memes made about him was in higher quantity than essentially any other figure in recent history.

It wasn't long before his shuttle arrived, which was right now the most advanced vehicle in all of the Korean territories. From what he could see he had only brought a few guards with him, all of which were protecting the landing zone of his shuttle.

He was walking into the belly of the beast alone. One of the members of her security team asked for the holstered blaster on his hip which he resisted giving up. Something about how that document didn't state that he had to remove it.

She told the men to let him through. She could deal with him armed or unarmed.

He was soon led into her office by the two guards, which she both ushered out as he got in.

They stared at each other for a second, both trying to figure out what each one was thinking.

"Admiral, it's a pleasure to host you in North Korea," Son said. "Do you have any opposition to the UN proposal?"

"No, I just want to ensure that you understand the UN military will be taking over the majority of your troops at our discretion."

"I understand the need to fight the Empire, Admiral, but there is a volatile political situation here, and removing troops would compromise the situation."

"This was a situation where I believe you created Madam General Secretary." He said in a slightly annoyed tone. He needed North Korea to cooperate as many other nations had, and they still had one of the largest and most effective militaries that were left on the entire planet due to how others had been stripped and given to the UN to fight the Empire. Combined with the fact that they had modernized in a relatively short period, and that the industrial and resource base across Earth controlled space along with its direct allied lines it created an issue of being able to produce too many weapons compared to men to man them. This was being supplemented by local manpower from the various peoples who signed up on various worlds that they had taken from the Empire, though many of these had little military experience outside a growing number of Imperial defectors and local resistance fighters. They simply needed more manpower, and North Korea had that, even if their troops weren't of the highest quality, would be capable of adding a lot of manpower to Earth that had at least a sense of martial skills."

"I understand the necessity of this arrangement, Admiral, but this could be a major threat to my nation's sovereignty.

"Just like you took that of the South," Johnson said with growing anger. "You put yourself in this position and you should be thankful that Secretary General Pierre and I haven't ended you yet."

Her face burned red with the look that she gave him at that point. Under other circumstances, Johnson would be happy that she was not responding well to his request but as she got up and lunged at him it made him a bit more worried.

But he has expected that such a response might happen, even from a leader who was fairly good at controlling herself. So as any good commander should do he had prepared for multiple contingencies. His blaster was off of his hip in moments but she successfully pushed into him, sending it flying across the room. Johnson then tried to tackle her but was unsuccessful as she seemed to avoid him.

He had the weight and muscle advantage while she seemed to be able to keep him off balance and prevent him from grabbing his blaster or returning, making another move that would be able to end the fight. She attempted to force him down with a variety of improvised objects such as chairs and tables, and additionally scrambled for a hidden handgun kept in a desk. Johnson meanwhile managed to get her away from the desk and while she dodged him Son was starting to feel the impracticality of her clothes that were meant for a diplomatic meeting and not a fight. Johnson was unable to pin her down but did force her back to an open door that led out to a deck. Grabbing a small watch-like device she managed to stop her cold.

"If you kill me I'll destroy this place, and likely the entirety of this country. Don't even think about trying to take me hostage." He growled as his hand reached for the watch, which had a button that would send a signal authorizing orbital bombardment of the country. It might take some time but it would be able to hit near enough to this location to kill both of them in the blast. And there would be nothing to prevent the UN from doing so since North Korea had little anti-space capabilities. She backed away as he grabbed his blaster.

However, he didn't point it at her as he sat back down, putting the blaster back in its holster.

"Now let's do this the civilized way." He said, putting the tables and chairs back like they used to be. Son assisted in the matter though she was nervous.

"I don't care to interfere in your affairs as long as you give me what I want," Johnson said, personifying the entire UN right now.

"There is a reason that I have been reluctant to give my forces up, though it's one that if revealed could be a major issue for me." She said, "China has had conditions for its economic and military aid, and they demanded I invade the south. I fear that they will try to use the weakness at my northern border to invade and conquer my new nation."

"I'll ensure your nation's independence as long as you abide by the UN terms," Johnson said. "Though I'd like to learn as much about what China wants to do as you can provide me with."

She then told him about how China was trying to still vie for power even with the current threat to the empire.

"Like it or not, they are pulling their weight when it comes to war with the empire," Johnson said. "I'll make sure they stay out of your hair. If this war ever ends they will be dealt with, just like many other nations."

"Like who?"

"Not yours. That will be to be decided, however." Johnson replied. After some more discussion, he got ready to leave.

"I must apologize for assaulting you, Johnson, and I am grateful that you haven't retaliated."

"You should be grateful," Johnson said and then laughed. "The more you contribute to this war the more of an opinion the UN will have for you. Short-term losses for long-term gains. And watch over the South, and try to represent them well. I can't help you if you screw that up."

He soon left, taking his shuttle back to New York. He texted Allison that he was safe as he got in.

"How was it?" She asked as he walked into the house.

"Korea should be fine and it looks like all of this is caused by our favorites over in Red China," Johnson said and sighed. "Even in the situation we have now we can't just all get along."

"The troops do," Allison replied. "Their nationalities don't matter as much up there and from what I've heard there isn't a major problem with cooperation. Especially since we've moved towards more mixed units."

"Something that can be exploited if the war ever ends and countries want to go back to the status quo," Johnson said. "Because a disunited earth is not going to be an effective power in the postwar world. We need unity, wether these politicians like it or not."

"What of the people disagree?" Allison asked.

"Then that's their problem, though I don't see that being a massive issue in the long term." He replied. "They will see a unified earth is best for them."

"I sure hope so." She replied.