Global Shadow- Act 1, A new player
On the 21st of April in the year 2017 a series of terrorist attacks convulsed the cities Pakse, Saravan and Champasak inside the People´s Democratic Republic of Lao, a group that called itself Sons of Phnom Penh confided to those attacks. The Sons of Phnom Penh were descendants of the Red Khmer, a communist party that reigned Cambodia from 1975 to 1978 and killed 2.2 million people.
After they failed their coup against the royal family during the Indochina wars in 70s, the Red Kmher shattered and scattered into the sorounding countries. Some started leading rebel groups in Myanmar, others went to Vietnam in order to support the communist NVA there and at last some of the Khmer fled to Laos. At that time Lao was suffering from the aftermaths a Civil War, just like in Vietnam communism had spread there and sparked a war between the Pathet Lao who were backed by North Vietnam and China and the Kingdom of Laos backed by Thailand and the US.
To sum it up the Indochina wars served as a mean to get rid of the monarchy and establish a peoples government, perfect fertile grounds for communistic ideas at that time.
After the Laotian Civil War, the end of the Khmer Reign, the Vietnam conflict and other forgotten events Indochina or nowadays South East Asia was left in an unstable state. Some nations like Thailand were supported by the US, some like Cambodia decided to stick to their monarchy, others like Vietnam and Laos had now communist parties in reign and were prone to influence from red China and at last a nation like Myanmar who never got out of war since 1948 and still has over 15 rebel groups fighting for independence.
To sum it up the Indochina wars served as a mean to get rid of the monarchy and establish a peoples government, perfect fertile grounds for communistic ideas at that time.
After the Laotian Civil War, the end of the Khmer Reign, the Vietnam conflict and other forgotten events Indochina or nowadays South East Asia was left in an unstable state. Some nations like Thailand were supported by the US, some like Cambodia decided to stick to their monarchy, others like Vietnam and Laos had now communist parties in reign and were prone to influence from red China and at last a nation like Myanmar who never got out of war since 1948 and still has over 15 rebel groups fighting for independence.
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
The attacks, allegedly performed by Cambodian terrorists, were enough for Laos to it as a transgression. Accusations of inaction and even endorsement of the events were spoken out towards the Cambodian monarchy and government. It was a political disaster, every explanation or assurance that measures would be taken hit closed doors on the Laotian side. Meanwhile the Sons of Phnom Penh continued their attacks, now on both sides the Laotian and Cambodian which stoked distrust between the two nations. Their motives were unknown, analists were saying that they wanted to provoke a Laotian invasion to establish a communist regime after the Cambodian monarchy would fall under it. With the situation at hand Lao started to violate the borders to Cambodia during their military operations against the Sons of Phnom Penh. Neither of the sides wanted to declare an active war but the acts of aggression were clear and throwing Cambodia into a civil-warlike condition. As there were not NATO members threatened and no interests at stake the UN interventions boiled down to relief aid convois, medical aid camps and operational supervisors/overseers who were there to prevent war crime during military operations from either side. Typical blue helmet jobs.
“War is what happens when language fails.”
In addition to that a consortium of intelligence agencies and military advisors decided to oversee this conflict too, the involvement of a global player or a coup attempt aiming at the whole region was not debarred. Orders were issued to re-activate an old Pony Express staging FOB, one at the that was used to support Hmong guerilla in 1975 during the Laotian Civil War and was abandoned after the communists came to power. The location of the base laid in Thailand so it wouldn´t cause political tensions but it was at the 3 nations border so perfect to for trespassing into Lao or Cambodia. Its official cover story was that the FOB was being used as a medical aid camp and Medevac runway for refugees and victims of the Lao-Cambodian border operations. Resources had to be limited to ensure the secrecy oft he operations launched from there and to keep a low profile on the troops stationed there, after all not everyone would be nurse,doctor or UN observer.
Yuri and Boris who knew each other even from way back before Sangin were happy to see each other there, Boris had been dispatched because Russia feared a Chinese involvement. After all China had already been planing to expand either into Siberia or somewhere else. Yuri on the other side was sent by the DGSE, they contracted Academi with dispatching him as an asset for security counseling, or so the contract said. The real reason was because France was on good terms with Cambodia after the Indochina wars and the DGSE needed one of their own in case they´d develop some interests in that area. Both would run under Matchbox´s,a intelligence SOF task force, supervision without its actual involvement. The limited resources were in fact really limited, as transportation they only had two Kiowa Helicopters, a Blackhawk which would also be used by the medical staff meaning it wouldn´t be available all the time, 5 Isuzu 4x4s of which two were pickups and all oft hem not armored. Of course they had good communications systems, a satellite link, radios and high speed internet and satellite observation though that was only available when the satellite passed the area and a feed could be established. 800 pounds of munitions was everything they could bring in for the moment, the rest would be personal gear. It wasn´t perfect but it was something, further re-supply could be organized but that would have to come from a carrier just like most of their gear.
“Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the Gun down.”