Half a dozen generals and admirals were assembled in the Incident Center of Galbadia's presidential residence when Janis stepped in; the walls displayed force statistics for every Galbadian command, and one map was showing the locations of each unit covering the southern half of the world.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said Janis, "the president." The officers all stood as Naraka entered the room and sat; Janis placed a folder in front of Naraka and left.
"Be seated." Naraka opened the folder. "I'm sure you've familiarized yourselves with the particulars of the matter. We face aggression on multiple fronts, but there is one particular adversary without which any threat would crumble. We are gathered here to approve a measure to eliminate that threat." He glanced around the table. "For the past year, the nation of Esthar has used its veil of secrecy to deflect attention from its systematic buildup of its military machine. It is now prepared to put that machine to use – and we have little time to stop it."
He turned to one of the generals, a short balding man with an expression that suggested he didn't make friends easily. "General Sarden, I trust you've reviewed the deployment scheme?"
"I have," Sarden replied. "The trickiest element will be maintaining silence from Timber long enough to move the heavies. But I can make it happen."
"Good," said Naraka. "Admiral Chass?"
"We have the force equivalent of five battleship groups in international waters within 12 hours of targets. Regional weather looks overcast for most of the coming week, so we should get cloud cover. We are concerned about a tropical storm that has been advancing over Centra, and our forces may need to be redeployed to avoid the worst of it, but it shouldn't pose any unmanageable difficulty."
Naraka nodded. "General Brading?"
The general shook his head. "Even at crash production, we wouldn't have a substantial intercontinental delivery system ready for another two weeks."
"And I wouldn't advise a crash program, sir," said another general. "It's likely to be noticed by foreign intelligence well before it could produce results."
"Very well," said Naraka. "Then it goes to Admiral Gorhallen. Admiral?"
The Admiral, a tall, thin man with a salt-and-pepper beard, frowned. "I have concerns," he said. "The delivery systems haven't been field-tested, and the vessels aren't certified for long-range travel. They couldn't leave the vicinity of the port."
"That's a limitation I'll accept," said Naraka.
"Lord-General," said the third general. "I feel I should note that our original plan for this operation called for both our land-based and sea-based delivery capacity to figure prominently in Phase One of execution. By executing without a land-based capacity, we're already reducing the damage potential by more than fifty percent. This will attach higher risk to each subsequent phase of the operation."
"And that is unfortunate," said Naraka. "But we are without choice in the matter."
"Perhaps not," the general said. "My office believes, with reasonable confidence, that Esthar's provocative behavior is merely a response to our own ongoing search for the renegade SeeDs in North Centra, and it has no immediate aggressive aims."
"I am not so confident, General Viers," Naraka said coldly. "Dollet suffered needlessly during the second Sorceress War due to its sluggish response to Esthar's threat; I will not make the same mistake."
Viers frowned. "Lord-General, the Frostwater contingency is our only plan that calls for the use of strategic long-range strikes. A more measured alternative would offer us higher operational potential for success while allowing us to keep Frostwater in reserve until fully implementable."
"Then it seems we define 'success' quite differently," said Naraka. "We face a gathering threat from an already powerful foe. Once the dragon has been awakened, it will become impossible to kill — and I assure you, no show of restraint will be reciprocated. The only avenue for success, general, is to cut of its head."
"Lord-General, if you please, consider —"
"I do not, General!" Naraka snapped. "Esthar endangers the sovereignty and security of Galbadia, and I am not content to wait until such a threat is ready to strike! I will deal with danger on my own terms, it will be dealt with now, and it is the responsibility of all of you to see that this happens! And I do consider failure at this to be no less than treason in time of war; do make no mistake about that. Now, does anyone wish to lodge an official objection, or may we continue?"
The other command officers sat frozen, with expressions not unlike those of a chocobo caught in the headlights. The atmosphere in the room had become more than a little tense.
"Good." Naraka eyed the officers, who all seemed to be slightly spooked. "I know you are skeptical. That is Esthar's game, and they have played it quite well. They hid behind first their holographic shield, and then their buffoon of a president, seeking to banish all notion that they might still pose a threat. Yet they rebuild their armies, and expand their influence, always advancing just subtly enough to raise doubts about their aims. But I am not fooled. They mean to restore the dominion over this world that they held under Adel, and I will not allow that to occur."
He glanced down at his folder, and the other officers spared brief, furtive glances among each other. "We should adhere to the shortest possible timetable to maximize surprise. Admiral Gorhallen, what is your time frame?"
"...We can execute the strikes within seventy-two hours," said the admiral.
"That's acceptable." Naraka looked around the table. "Then consider Frostwater in active execution as of now. Within a week, the nation of Esthar will no longer exist, and this danger will be gone for good."
END OF PART TWO