Flash fiction thread

[forcon]

Brilliant. Existentially horrifying, but brilliant.

[James G]

Apr 4, 2020 10:04:09 GMT forcon said:

Brilliant. Existentially horrifying, but brilliant.

Thanks. Some of my science might be off yet I think it worked overall.

[lordroel]

Apr 3, 2020 23:38:57 GMT James G said:

The planet has new rulers now. They will reign over a waterless world with no animal life, plants nor people. This is how they want it too.

Why would aliens want to rule of a planet with no life, ore at least no human life.

[James G]

Apr 4, 2020 11:23:53 GMT lordroel said:

Apr 3, 2020 23:38:57 GMT James G said:

The planet has new rulers now. They will reign over a waterless world with no animal life, plants nor people. This is how they want it too.

Why would aliens want to rule of a planet with no life, ore at least no human life.

Who knows? Whatever the reason, that is what is done.

[stevep]

Apr 4, 2020 11:23:53 GMT lordroel said:

Apr 3, 2020 23:38:57 GMT James G said:

The planet has new rulers now. They will reign over a waterless world with no animal life, plants nor people. This is how they want it too.

Why would aliens want to rule of a planet with no life, ore at least no human life.

  lordroel,

  My initial thought was that they wanted the water and were talking it elsewhere.  However it could simply be that, unnatural as it seems to everything we know, there are life forms that have developed in totally dry worlds.  In which case their just removing an unpleasant environmental factor, along with others such as life forms they might find unpleasant.  This would be supported by the fact the mass landings occurred after the bulk of the water has gone, colonists waiting until it has been made adequately, in their equivalent, terraformed.

  Steve

[forcon]

"You know, Jimmy, a while ago I heard about a lethal injection gone wrong. He was a rapist and a murderer, but the pain - I mean, Jesus, the pain. It was unimaginable. The sedative wasn't injected properly, see, so he was fully aware of what was happening. But the paralytic worked, so he couldn't move a muscle - literally. He was lying there, shitting himself and crying out in agony as liquid fire tore through his veins. Took the poor bastard nearly an hour to die. Personally, Prescott, for you, I hope it takes a lot longer."

(This short piece is a fanfiction to an excellent story from Reddit's NoSleep forum and adapted by the equally excellent NoSleep Podcast. The story, named Borrasca, can be read here: www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3e2zje/borrasca/)

[lordroel]

Apr 4, 2020 16:55:23 GMT forcon said:

"You know, Jimmy, a while ago I heard about a lethal injection gone wrong. He was a rapist and a murderer, but the pain - I mean, Jesus, the pain. It was unimaginable. The sedative wasn't injected properly, see, so he was fully aware of what was happening. But the paralytic worked, so he couldn't move a muscle - literally. He was lying there, shitting himself and crying out in agony as liquid fire tore through his veins. Took the poor bastard nearly an hour to die. Personally, Prescott, for you, I hope it takes a lot longer."

(This short piece is a fanfiction to an excellent story from Reddit's NoSleep forum and adapted by the equally excellent NoSleep Podcast. The story, named Borrasca, can be read here: www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3e2zje/borrasca/)

He must have done something bad to deserve this.

[forcon]

Apr 4, 2020 17:23:16 GMT lordroel said:

Apr 4, 2020 16:55:23 GMT forcon said:

"You know, Jimmy, a while ago I heard about a lethal injection gone wrong. He was a rapist and a murderer, but the pain - I mean, Jesus, the pain. It was unimaginable. The sedative wasn't injected properly, see, so he was fully aware of what was happening. But the paralytic worked, so he couldn't move a muscle - literally. He was lying there, shitting himself and crying out in agony as liquid fire tore through his veins. Took the poor bastard nearly an hour to die. Personally, Prescott, for you, I hope it takes a lot longer."

(This short piece is a fanfiction to an excellent story from Reddit's NoSleep forum and adapted by the equally excellent NoSleep Podcast. The story, named Borrasca, can be read here: www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3e2zje/borrasca/)

He must have done something bad to deserve this.

If you read the story in the link, bad doesn't even begin to cover it. The character of Jimmy Prescott in the original story is the literal incarnation of evil.

[James G]

Korean Reunification, 1993

Korea was reunified come January 1st, 1993. Across the DMZ, South Korean military forces moved northwards. They weren’t opposed. Information had been provided on where obstacles and mines were located to halt the passage of ground forces though there was a substantial airlift over the DMZ as well. Throughout their passage, there were North Korean military personnel on-hand to assist with the crossing and who guided them towards the inner confines of their country. The South Koreans entered North Korea as friends, brothers-in-arms of those in North Korean service. There was no fighting at all.

Pyongyang was soon reached. Columns of tanks along with flights of helicopters reached the city which was North Korea’s capital. Once more, there was no fighting. North Korean soldiers were generally confined to barracks under higher orders. The few which were out of their garrisons provided assistance to this movement. Wonsan, a major port on the east coast, likewise saw the arrival of a naval task force. Shipping channels where the North Koreans were able to confirm were free of mines came into use for South Korean forces as they reached there. Airlifts were made into North Korean airfields throughout the day by transport aircraft. All across North Korea, South Korean military forces arrived. There was no opposition to their takeover where they quickly brought the country under control. In the north, along the Yalu River with the Chinese frontier, South Korean soldiers arriving by air noted the presence of the People’s Liberation Army but over on their side of the river. Where North Korea and the new Russian Federation shared a border in the extreme northeast, the South Koreans were fast to reach there too. They secured the frontier crossings over which there had been the recent departure of the Group of Forces Korea. The Soviet Army, representing a country now disestablished, had gone home and with their departure, the collapse of North Korea was assured.


It had been back in 1956 when the ‘modern’ North Korea was forged. The eight year rule of Kim Il-sung had come to an end when he was deposed by the Soviet Faction of North Korean communists. His Guerrilla Faction had seemingly won out before in fights with them and the Chinese & Domestic Factions too but events in Moscow following Khrushchev’s denunciation of the deceased Stalin, saw North Korea take a different turn. Kim was out. Pak Chang-ok took power. Chinese troops inside the nation, there since the ceasefire with the United Nations brought the end to active fighting in the Korean War, assisted in the takeover. Pak might have been Moscow’s man though at the time he was aided by Beijing in a purge which eliminated Kim’s supporters.

The Chinese left North Korea two years later. It would be a decision which Beijing would later regret as the Sino-Soviet split became greater and Pak took North Korea fully into the orbit of Moscow. Pak’s death in 1963 followed a period of instability where the pressures of old factionism threatened to rise once more. China sought to gain influence in North Korea. Moscow found a new strongman though and supported his establishment of rule with the entry into North Korea of Soviet forces. The commitment was small and during their near three decade presence inside the country, the Group of Forces Korea would never ‘man the ramparts’ of the DMZ. Their primary mission was never to deter an American–South Korean threat but to instead keep the Chinese out. Chinese and Soviet border clashes during 1969 saw war fears come to North Korea. It was thought likely at that time that North Korea would be a springboard for an attack made into China. That conflict never came though.

North Korea meanwhile became a fully-fledged Soviet client state in a similar manner to those in Eastern Europe. There was some domestic political independence yet nothing real was ever done without the ultimate approval of Moscow. Pak was followed by three consecutive Korean Communist Party leaders who never stepped out of line. Relations with South Korea became cordial over time. The DMZ was a shared border between them with crossings made for trade and occasional family reunions. It was similar to that of the Iron Curtain through the middle of Divided Germany. Divided Korea was on the frontlines of the Cold War yet North Korean actions were never independent.

The Revolutions of 1989 didn’t at first trouble North Korea. Even events in Beijing had no immediate impact inside North Korea. When the Soviet Union came apart, that was when the trouble really started. In Pyongyang, the party establishment panicked. They feared a people power revolution or a Chinese invasion. The Korean People’s Army likewise shared such concerns but they didn’t trust the politicians to deal with them. Once Gorbachev brought an end to the Soviet Union in late 1991, the military in North Korea deposed the communists. They established military rule. It was never meant to be permanent though. From the outset, they never intended to hold onto power forever. The aim was reunification with South Korea. The Group of Forces Korea went home and the generals worked with Seoul. This is what they wanted: an end to North Korean independence. 1992 was a time of readiness for what came in the fast approaching New Year. The generals who took power gave it up… that doesn’t happen often elsewhere but it was seen in North Korea.


When taking over like they did, the South Koreans – the Americans provided assistance but no boots on the ground – secured North Korea from outside invasion. It was China that they feared. North Korea’s generals had deposed but not killed off the communists. Paranoia in Seoul ran that those former communists would ‘invite’ the Chinese in. That was not going to happen but South Korea took precautions in the manner in which it rapidly took control.

Korea was reunified. The financial, political and social costs of reunification weren’t cheap at all.

[James G]

Repatriation

Two days after the ceasefire in the Iran War, British POWs are flown out of Iran. A Lebanese airliner in the colours of Middle Eastern Airlines picks the majority of them up from Tehran’s war-damaged international airport and sets a course for Beirut. There are one hundred and twenty-two passengers. Lebanese military doctors are aboard and the aircraft has been prepared to deal with casualties from Iranian military custody, but it is no easy task for those helpers aboard. The former captives are not in the best way. Flying over Iraq first, then through Jordan and eventually over Israel, all the while avoiding Syria where the war started, the aircraft touches down in the Lebanese capital. Lebanon, a nation which has played a significant role in mediating an end to the Iran War, is where the transfer is made to British control of their repatriated POWs.

There are two more Airbus’ waiting for the arrivals. From the Lebanese airliner, into RAF Voyager aircraft outfitted for medical cases loaded are those ten dozen plus men. These are personnel from the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Through various means, they all ended up as captives of Iran. Others who also became POWs lost their lives during captivity but these men survived. The RAF is determined to keep them alive. Those in need of urgent care are taken aboard first. There is a checklist run through of names – working off a Red Crescent supplied list – and military intelligence officers are on-hand. Proper debriefings will be done back in Britain but those here are present to take immediate statements from those who feel the need to talk at once. Many of them do. The first Voyager departs from Beirut an hour after the arrival of the Lebanese airliner. It heads directly for RAF Brize Norton in the Oxfordshire countryside. The second Voyager departs some time later. There is less of a hurry with this one. Those in dire straits went out on the first one. When this Voyager leaves Lebanon, it heads towards Cyprus first. At one of the British military bases on that island, a landing is made. There are further POWs who have been separately released today to pick up from there. A Swissair jet dropped off three British female captives who likewise fell into Iranian hands during the war. They left Iran with Swiss assistance alongside American women – many more – who’d been in enemy captivity and who on Cyprus are being transferred to American military aircraft. The ceasefire terms with regard to the repatriation of American and British POWs stipulated that Lebanese and Swiss civilian aircraft would take them out of Iran: not civilian or military aircraft from the nations which Tehran has only very recently stopped fighting. The British female military personnel are taken aboard the second Voyager and it heads towards Brize Norton too.


The repatriation flights land at Brize Norton in the middle of the night. There is no publicity. There are several helicopters and ambulances waiting to take the worst of the wounded away to hospitals. Others, the walking wounded, are treated on-site in a hangar pre-prepared to receive casualties. There are more former POWs without any visible sign of injuries who will need medical care though of the psychological sort. Everyone will need something, even those who say they are fine and look so too. These people have seen war and captivity too.

Certain members of those repatriated are debriefed tonight. Food and sleep is offered but there are those who want to talk who do so straight away. They have stories to tell of what happened before and during their captivity. The fighting with Iran is over yet all that has happened isn’t something being forgotten. There are those who went to war alongside them who haven’t returned home with questions sought and some answers given about their fate. More debriefing occurs in the morning. It is conducted by those who are trained to do this from various military branches and also members of the intelligence services. Eagerness is shown by several former captives to return to their home bases and families. That will be done yet everything is currently set up here for what is seen as more important. These people have come out of enemy captivity where interrogations were done and public statements denouncing the war were made. No one here is being held prisoner though they remain under military discipline.

Later during the day following their night-time landing, there is the release from Brize Norton of many of the former POWs. Initial debriefing turned up what was expected and there is no desire to keep everyone for no need. Travelling with personnel from their particular services, many of the men and two of the women return to their home bases across the country. Family reunions will happen. One of those women who went out of Iran with female American captives is in hospital. She will die today along with one of the men. Both of them were with the Royal Navy and captured in the Persian Gulf when their ship sunk. They spent their time in captivity in an Iranian military hospital but lose their lives when back in Britain. It could be argued that the flights taken contributed to their deaths: if they’d stayed in Iran, they might have lived longer. No one wants to say that openly though. Bringing these people home was what the government, the media and the public all wanted.

Their homecoming has been treated as a victory won for the nation.

In the days and weeks following repatriation, some sense of normality returns for the former POWs. It won’t come back for others. Captivity was unpleasant and being home doesn’t immediately solve everything for them. None of those who came home alive from Iran will ever truly be the same again. And… then there were those who didn’t come home too: those who died in combat and also in captivity.

[James G]

Rendition

Thomas Allen is considered one of Britain’s worst traitors.

Allen committed his treason when he left his employment at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and ran off to Russia. He took with him many secrets from GCHQ. This organisation is one of Britain’s primary intelligence services. They work extensively with similar agencies across the world including the United States’ NSA. Allen was able to collect and smuggle out over a significant period of time information he shouldn’t have had access to. He fed that to Russian spooks active in Britain. As the noose tightened around him, as Britain’s MI-5 became aware and put a watch on him, Allen was tipped off by his handlers. His last day at work saw him steal more intelligence and then manage to get out of their facility in Gloucestershire: the well-known ‘doughnut’. That cock-up was followed by him than managing to elude the surveillance on him to get out of Britain and to Russia.

Everything with this debacle was meant to be hushed up. The British Government was aiming to keep it out of the media. Soon, Russian state media broke the story of Allen’s apparent ‘defection’. The story portrayed was one of a principled man working for a devilish organisation such as GCHQ, one in league with the equally evil NSA, who was faced with the choice of continuing to do nothing in the face of injustice or running for his own safety. Russia was where he could be safe: anywhere else he faced supposed assassins send by Britain. This story was lapped up by the usual suspects. What Russia didn’t tell the world was that he did what he did for money. When the British Government reversed its decision on making the matter public – they could hardly ignore it after the revelations and lies from Russia –, there was proof provided of just what Allen had been doing and why. He wasn’t fighting injustice but rather lining his pockets.

Since making a successful run for it, managing to escape only because Russia facilitated that, Britain has wanted him returned. International arrest warrants have been issued and ignored by Russia. Allen has himself been interviewed on state media where he has spoken of the danger to his life and claimed that only in Russia is his safety guaranteed. He’s said that he has a wish to fight to prove his innocence in court, saying that he never took a penny for what he did, but, alas, he cannot return to Britain for fear of being killed in an ‘accident’. In the most recent broadcast, Allen has spoken about his family and how he misses them.

Allen’s mother comes to Russia this summer. She is a pensioner and is making a visit to see her son. The woman is in ill health before she travels. Once in Russia, her condition gets worse. It would be best if she went back home. However, Allen and his mother take a holiday within Russia. They go down to the Black Sea coast where it is thought that the warm sea air might be able to aid her respiratory problems. Russia has provided a security team for Allen and his watchers, there to ensure his safety it is said, travel likewise down to the resort of Sochi.

British agents kidnap Allen from Sochi.

It is an operation approved at the highest level of the British Government. The dangers are many but there a go ahead is given. Allen has exposed himself to risk and a chance like this won’t come up again. He is wanted to face the justice he deserves yet there is also a (hostile) debriefing planned for him. GCHQ wants to know what he has been speaking to the Russians about and so do the Americans too. There is ‘technical assistance’ provided by them to the snatch operation too. The NSA and others aid in the nabbing of Allen though it is still a British operation.

Black-clad men who swam ashore from a ship arrive at the hotel where Allen is staying. They enter the a-joining room where his watchers/bodyguards are staying and secure them first. No killing is done but the two men are roughed up and tied up. Allen’s room is entered next. He has no idea what happens. Four men subdue him after he is awoken. They throw a hood over his head and tie his hands. He’s carried out of the hotel and down to the shore where the previous afternoon he’d been with his ill mother. Allen is in no shape to swim out to sea but there is no need. A motor launch is waiting for him and the snatch team. The latter are all former SAS and SBS commandos now in the service of MI-6. To be caught on Russia soil doing what they are doing would likely mean a bad end for them. They all had to volunteer. So too did the further professional spooks on the ground at the hotel who pinpointed where Allen was and the others who got this little watercraft where it is. Allen is thrown aboard and his captors join him. There is a ship waiting offshore and the motor launch fast approaches that to get everyone away from here.

Allen has been spirited out of Russia. His departure is certainly more dramatic than how he got out of Britain. The embarrassment which Britain suffered a year before has now been returned tenfold on Russia. The watchers will break themselves free and raise the alarm after a while. Allen’s mother will be on Russian state television talking about the disappearance of her son, fearing for his safety. She doesn’t know where he is but will in a couple of day’s time when an announcement is made in London concerning Allen’s apparent re-defection back to Britain. His rendition is something that the world will be told has been done at his own behest. Now the fallout in terms of government-to-government relations comes.

[lordroel]

Apr 14, 2020 16:03:48 GMT James G said:

Rendition

Thomas Allen is considered one of Britain’s worst traitors.

And in OTL a operatic baritone.

[forcon]

Nice. From a purely tactical standpoint, the British government would be better off keeping the capture of the traitor a secret - interrogate him in secret and then what? Stick him on a flight to a prison in Egypt or Pakistan and let him rot there with no name and no trace of him ever having been caught? Strategically, announcing the re-defection is important - the public will know he's back. But what then? A public trial would bring a lot of dirty little secrets to light. I would expect the trial to be held in secret under one anti-terror law or another, and the traitor to be given a whole life tarriff to be served in the charming maximum security wing of HMP Belmarsh.

[James G]

Apr 14, 2020 22:17:47 GMT forcon said:

Nice. From a purely tactical standpoint, the British government would be better off keeping the capture of the traitor a secret - interrogate him in secret and then what? Stick him on a flight to a prison in Egypt or Pakistan and let him rot there with no name and no trace of him ever having been caught? Strategically, announcing the re-defection is important - the public will know he's back. But what then? A public trial would bring a lot of dirty little secrets to light. I would expect the trial to be held in secret under one anti-terror law or another, and the traitor to be given a whole life tarriff to be served in the charming maximum security wing of HMP Belmarsh.

Oh, yep. It would be a disaster.
Russia would - rightfully - claim multiple breaches of international law.
Back home, pro bono lawyers would have a field day. Kidnap and then the Crown being unable to reveal all that it knew. Allen would probably be freed within months.

[stevep]

   Well been thinking of an idea to post here for a while. Excuse the wooden characters, one of my prime weaknesses. Also that I rather clumsily stick in some background details.

++++++

The Death of Paris

12th October 2073

   Major Naylor and Colonel Harper were four hours into their 12 hour shift. Given the nature of their role Michael Naylor was quietly reading a book while Amanda Harper was playing one of her favourite strategy games on the unclassified computer network.

   Both looked up when the three pips announced a message and then switched to their primary role, quickly opening and reading it. They swung their chairs across to their TS terminals, which although it brought them closer together still meant they were separated by 3 metres. They read the message displayed in silence which lengthened as both paused with a sense of unbelief at what they were reading.

   It was the 11th day of the war against the self proclaimed Catholic League. In part because of the latter's bombastic statements it had come as no great surprise when the war started despite the incredulity at the League actually starting such a conflict. While it had about 50% greater population then the European population of the Britannic Federation, i.e. England, Wales, N Ireland Gibraltar and Malta its GNP and technological base was somewhat less. In large part because the three continental members of the league had not yet recovered from their terrible suffering in the Great War.

   As such the 1st week or so the war had seen heavy fighting but also huge losses for the League forces as they pounded against the defences. Gibraltar had been forced to withdraw from the New Territories and the French had managed to gain control of Jersey and Sark, albeit at heavy losses but had seen an invasion of Guernsey repulsed while very much of their navy and air force had been sunk. Malta had repelled a powerful landing and suffered repeated air attacks but again at heavy losses for the attackers. During this period there had also been a continuous missile campaign, especially between Britain and France and the latter's defensive system had been markedly weaker than that of the UK's. Of course there had also been the electronic warfare ongoing where again the League's lesser resources had been displayed. Possibly the League had expected to gain allies, maybe even the US, but no other power had opened hostilities while to the east the Egyptian army had started mobilising, a subtle threat to the Italian positions in Libya.

   Neither had been on duty two days before when the French had suddenly and inexplicably decided to go nuclear in a short but bloody exchange. Fortunately only their land based missiles had been used and the defensive network had been very successful. [1]. Three warheads had hit targets in Britain, one in the centre of the old capital, which while it had destroyed many historical buildings had killed few. More damaging had been strikes on Dudley in Greater Birmingham and the East Sheffield Arcology. An estimated 680,000 casualties were suffered in the attack.

   British reaction had been strong but limited. 6 pairs of missiles hit French urban targets while a concerted attack took out Brest and the 3 SSBNs sheltering there. Also the MN Le Triomphan, the only one of the four at sea at the start of the conflict still active had also been sunk by conventional means. A strict message had been sent to Paris and its allies against the further use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction and according to rumours Rome and Madrid had already talked of a cease-fire.

   It was in this situation that both members of the team read their orders with disbelief and then looked at each other. Finally Naylor broke the silence. “This can't be right can it?” his voice dry and uncertain.

   “It makes no sense at all” Harper replied with tension in her voice. She shook her head slowly then continued. “Start plotting the launch sequence.” At Michael's shocked expression “We have to, I'd do likewise but I'll also ask for confirmation.”

   She leaned over her console and started entering commands a few seconds later by Naylor doing likewise. At the same time Amanda also activated a button for communications with their superior.

   A few seconds later a side monitor displayed another image, an older man in a general's uniform who also looked strained.

   “Yes Colonel?”

   “General.Moore.. can I ask for confirmation of those launch orders?”

   “Are you questioning your instructions Colonel Harper?”

   She paused briefly then continued, “under those circumstances I think I have to. “ As the general looked on she spoke again. “It makes no sense to use up an entire missile field for one target, especially in such a way. There's likely to be sizeable fratricide among the missiles, as well as it being massive overkill.. even for such a large target.”

   Moore said nothing even as Harper continued entering her orders and was distantly aware of Naylor doing likewise a small distance from her.


   “Plus it doesn't make sense politically either. As far as all the intel I've seen the French are just about out of nukes, other than their tactical systems and there's talk that Montel's government is going to be replaced by one seeking peace. To do this.. it will be seen as a war crime of massive proportions and I can't see any way we have anything to gain from it. At the moment we have the moral high ground and this will poison relations internationally for years to come.”

   Moore was quiet for a few seconds longer then replied. “Colonel, Major.” He paused then said words that shocked both of them. “I fully agree and I'm rather glad your asked those questions. “ The hope Amanda felt was quickly crushed however. “However that would be under normal circumstances. I have orders right from the top. Something has happened and this is both necessary and MUST be done quickly.” Another pause. “The details are above my NTK [2] level but there's a major crisis developing and the attack as plotted must do ahead.”

   Harper and Moore both looked at each other and no doubt they were aware that under the conditions if they refused it would take time for others to break into the highly secure quarters, one of the main precautions against illicit access to the missiles under their control. Just as the 3m separation between their launch consoles meant that a single person couldn't control an attack, albeit that precaution was against an officer going rogue.

   Naylor's terminal gave another bleep, signifying that his side had completed the targetting setup and only the actual launch command was needed. Harper looked down and quietly completed her side of the operation, prompting a parallel bleep from her console.

   Both looked at each other anxiously and Amanda looked across to the general again. “Sir, are you sure this is necessary?”

   He paused briefly then said. “As I told you I don't know the details myself. However the instructions come from someone I trust implicitly. Something big is up and this is urgent... I'm sorry colonel but that's all the confirmation I can give.”

   Harper was silent for another few seconds then looked at Naylor and ordered the launch activated. Both pressed their palms against the relevant pad and felt a sharp prick as while their fingerprints were confirmed a DNA sample was also taken to confirm their identity. Both looked down in desperation as they heard the confirmation of the 1st missiles leaving their silos. Harper thought briefly of whether she could live with herself over what she had just started.

   Over the next ten minutes all 24 missiles in the Cumbrian silo site were launched, on a very high trajectory to allow for the extremely short range. Each contained 6 warheads set to their maximum 120 kilotons of destructive power. The Paris conurbation, housing nearly 4 million people, over 10% of the French population had only minimal warning and no one still alive there had any chance to escape. A series of explosions, air burst which did minimise fall-out sweep from north to south, followed by three more such waves. Even so it was estimated that about 16-20 warheads failed to explode as they were consumed by the fireballs of their predecessors. The others were enough however to reduce a thriving city to a blasted plain, burnt hard and in places still molten from the sheer heat of the bombardment.

   Within 30 minutes the British government was seeking to handle the situation. Images were broadcast of what had gone on in the launch control centre. Of how Major Naylor, distraught at the deaths of his family in the Sheffield strike had managed to bypass controls and smuggle a gun into the centre. He had shot Colonel Harper twice, shattering both kneecaps before she had succumbed to the pain and agreed to launching the attack which had been started only 15 minutes before desperate efforts by the people outside had managed to break into the centre, disarm Naylor, who having gained his 'revenge' put up no opposition and took Harper into urgent medical care.

   Naylor was never to face trial as a terrorist incident, with both French and Irish groups suspected of responsibility blew up the prison truck taking him to trial on its 3rd day, killing him and badly injuring the two guards. Given the potential threat to her and her family Colonel Harper, who was dishonourably discharged from service was however given a new identity. [3] The incident was to stain Britain's reputation until a much bigger scandal was to overtake it.

++++++

Footnotes

[1] – Actually while the ABM system worked well the main factor was the efforts of Alfred, Erica and Harold, three level IV AS's who, given a brief warning from their working in hacking the French security network managed in a frantic effort to penetrate the French top secret network and both countermand orders for the SSBMs to launch and also to send override commands to about 40% of those land based systems which prevented them detonating. This was to be keep secret in large part because the existence of level IV AI's was a UTS [Ultra Top Secret] issue for quite a while to come.

[2] – NTK – Need to Know, i.e. General Moore didn't have a need to know the exact details of why the strike on Paris, resulting in its total destruction was required.

[3] – During the period Harper was being set up with a new identity she was briefly allowed to meet with Naylor, who with his family were also being set up with a new identity, albeit far from the European part of the BF.