Chapter 87: Tensions

Two days later...

The door to the conference room swung wide open, with Mornero and his secretary Kalian entering with a brisk stride. “Sit down, sit down.” Mornero motioned with his hand, prompting the entire cabinet of ministers, army generals and business leaders to sit.

The cabinet was made up of mostly Mornero supporters, already having been put in place years ago in preparation for this coup. None of them resented Mornero for taking over the position of Acting President, with the exception of a clearly missing seat that was for Dekar.

Mornero sat at the head of the large round table in the middle, glancing over the people attending the meeting. “So, it has been five days since I have assumed the role of Acting President till the next election.” Mornero began, his hands clasped as he leaned forward.

“I have not shifted most of the cabinet, save for the missing position of Minister Dekar, who is still at large. Despite this, we currently face two glaring issues that should have been solved days ago, yesterday even.” Mornero continued, his eyes locking onto the army generals. “Generals, can you please explain to the rest of us here what has happened so far?”

The trio of army generals looked at each other, all of them slightly afraid to speak out, as the conference remained in silence for a few seconds. “I did not expect the generals to be mere yes-men. Talk now, or I shall have to reconsider your current position.”

One of the generals steeled his heart, grabbing a piece of paper and standing up. “President Mornero, sir. As you are aware, the Yual Dominion has always been employing a policy of brinksmanship. Over the last fifteen years, more than fifty military exercises have been conducted near our borders.”

“I am well aware of that, yes.”

“However, of the fifty military exercises, only two of them have been a joint exercise between Count Leon and Count Rinas, who is in control of the adjacent county that also borders us. In both events, our diplomats were able to meet with the Counts’ representatives to diffuse the tensions.”

Mornero nodded, prompting the general to continue. “Two days ago, our initial estimates placed the upcoming military exercise meant to be conducted in three months to be of that same level.”

“And...?”

“Well, military observations conducted at a range of two kilometres with optical telescopes have spotted numerous signs of increased habitation at our border with Count Leon, which comes in the form of visible smoke plumes and indications of forestry being used to clear-“

“Please, speak in plain and simple terms for the benefit of the rest of us here.” Mornero interrupted. “In fact, I’ll like to talk to the observer who is the reason for this entire meeting. Is his handler here? Or is he here?”

“Yes, sir, that would be Sergeant Alison right here, sir.” The general motioned to another person at the table, who froze up as all the eyes landed on him.

“Good. Sergeant Alison, could you care to elaborate in plain terms as to what you saw?”

The sergeant stood up shakily, quickly defaulting to his instinct to salute the ministers and Mornero. Mornero gave a small smile: “Relax, sergeant. Take a deep breath, and try to speak in a clear voice for us.”

“Yes, sir. A-at dawn today, my team of observers and I have confirmed that a third Count is participating in the military exercises as well, making it the largest ever exercise to date.”

“How many men are we talking about?”

“Enough to rival that of the first revolutionary war. I counted at least two times the number of troops, maybe eight divisions and even more coming.”

“How much more?”

“I...” The sergeant was at a loss, but another army general quickly took over, reporting to Mornero.

“Combining our observations with that collected by our intelligence department, there are more signs of military growth in all three counties, with marked increases in steel and weapon production. Raktor itself has geared nearly fifty percent of all factories towards one of these two industries at the behest of their barons.” The army general spoke with confidence, getting straight to the point.

“Is this true?” Mornero motioned towards the intelligence agency’s director, who nodded.

“Recruitment for their armed forces has been steadily increasing in size. Count Leon has been purchasing and renting multiple light throwers for a publicity campaign advertising the military. We suspect he plans to utilise existing light throwers in the city to drum up support significantly in the future when he launches his war. Already anti-Versian sentiments are being spread in Raktor.”

“Are you serious?”

“Humour me.”

The finance minister sighed, glancing at the sheet of paper in front of him first. “The current government budget can theoretically allow for this expenditure, but we would need to cut wages across the board first within the government itself. Following that, we would have to immediately phase out all social services and start diverting job seekers to the military or related industries. We’re talking about governmental housing, homeless shelters, income subsidies, pensions and so on. Everything has to go.”

“Next, we would have to clamp down on things such as luxury goods and services. Tax everything that is wasteful. All of this hinges on the fact that the people do not try to flee the country to escape the war. It will be a war economy within two weeks if you rush everything, which would slowly ramp up to its full potential in a month.” The finance minister concluded.

“Can you handle that, minister?” Mornero pointed to the minister of communications.

“It’s doable. We can work with the intelligence agencies and the military to lock down the news outlets and restrict information. This would give us a good reason to stamp out the Ghost of Tenar rumour as well as any spread of the fake religion of Nona.”

“But President Mornero,” the finance minister interrupted, “if you implemented the plan immediately today or even within the next two days, you might spark outrage and riots across the city.” He was clearly incensed at the idea of tanking the economy, which went against his job’s very nature.

“That’s for me and the minister of communication to handle.” Mornero shrugged it off.

“I don’t think I’ve made myself clear. What I am suggesting is a gradual increase rather than a sudden shock to the economy. The general’s estimate of a first strike within two weeks at the earliest is still an estimate – the war might not even happen at all if we do this. If you ignore my suggestion, you will immediately erode everything we have worked for in a single week.”

“I understand.”

“Do you really?”

“DO YOU!?” Mornero roared back, shocking the minister into silence.

Mornero slammed the table: “We are at war, gentleman. This is it! This. Is. It. It is a matter of survival, no more, no less. Do you really think the Count is simply going to back down and let us scale up within two months after all the signs and observations the people in this room have told us?! There is no turning back!”

“Everything about trust, morals, beliefs and ideals can be thrown out the window. Save that for the propaganda. Because I can tell you right now, Count Leon’s troops certainly won’t care if we treated the people nicely or not. And in war, you always prepare for the worst estimate. What would you say to the people of Versia when you lose? Hmm?”

The entire cabinet fell into silence, fully comprehending the situation now. Even the finance minister could not find it in him to refute what Mornero said.

“I’ve promised the people of a stronger Versia, and that’s exactly what they are going to get whether they like or not. We shall do everything in our power to survive and win this war. Now here’s what we’re going to do next.”

“Harrison, you will have your funds. Begin hiring anyone and everyone. Every competent arctech designer should be in there. I’ll put you in charge of organising the supplying of the military. Every resource meant for luxury goods that was being sold to the consumer, reallocate it for the military. “

“General, I want those accurate predictions, but for now, expand the boot camps. Work with the construction industry – it does not have to be glorious; only make sure there is enough space to house and train the incoming recruits. If estimates of our manpower fall below what is required, get back to me, and I will consider dropping the age limit. Increase border patrols.”

“Immigration, restrict people from moving out of the country for whatever reason. Stall as long as you can, delay any approvals and increase rejections. Work with transportation to put delays in the system. Use the guise of martial law aimed at the Ghost of Tenar to lock down Tenar. I don’t want a mass exodus.”

“Finance, you will implement all the budget cuts and draft up the proposal by the end of today. All other ministers, prepare to slash services and wages.”

“Minister of Communications, work with the intelligence agency and the military. Increase recruitment across the board, and clamp down on any news of a potential invasion. Shut down any rumour immediately. This means I want a dedicated department aimed at making sure I know exactly where the information is flowing. Frame the budget cuts as cutting off wasteful spending for now.”

“Director, make sure none of this and every subsequent move we make is not leaked to the enemy. And I want that Ghost of Tenar in chains in front of me in two days. Work with the military to organise a raid – flush out the entire catacombs. I want a full sweep operation immediately. Use anything in your arsenal. And I mean everything.”

The weight of the situation was clear, everyone nodded in response to Mornero’s orders and steeling themselves for work.

“Anyone unclear?” Mornero finished, glancing around the room. “Good. We’ll meet back in a day or earlier to check up on progress. Get to work.”