[center][h1][b][color=ff9933]The Greater Republic of India[/color][/b][/h1] [i][h3]In front of the Secretariat Building, New Delhi[/h3][/i][/center] The most recent meeting had long ended in the building, the other department heads and ministry officials long dispersed, but even so President Daksh felt that some fresh air after it all was more than necessary. He'd invited Prime Minister Ishann to come with, and the other man seemed to readily accept the offer. Now the two stood upon the front steps of the Secretariat Building, watching out at the pools of water directly out before them, surrounded on either side by the symmetrically-cut shrubbery and plants and carefully-laid pathways before them. It was a sight both had seen many a time before at this building, but even so the glow of the late afternoon sun reflecting softly off of the water was not as comforting as it had been before. ...In fact, the air between the two seemed some peculiar mixture of a worn-out tiredness and a lingering sense of tension. [color=lightgreen]"To see the day you and the Army Minister announced 'that' as being completed is something I never thought I would see, President Daksh, much less an approval to use it. Even so it all seemed to work out in the end, in no small part due to the Army Minister's own passionate speech to the House. He once told me he studied overseas and took oratory classes at his father's insistence, but to see him in action like this was a first throughout all of my tenure. Still, the truth is what we are about to do is nothing we can take back in the aftermath. Many still left a bit nervous, others more confident, but...even you, it seems, fall into the former."[/color] Daksh's eyes simply turned to look at the other man, looking on with a gaze that seemed to hold stalwart and true despite the notes of exhaustion visible behind them, before shifting back towards the scene before them. [color=ff9933]"I won't say you are wrong, Prime Minister, what we are undertaking is something that has taken it's toll even on me. It was one reason I wished to step out here, even as you seemed to be drained by the occasion. Yet I cannot blame you. Years of patience and funds, negotiations, the payoff from certain fines from Maharashtra and here in the NCT, and careful management of the Military Bugdet's internal allocation were required. Among 'other things'. Yet what some once called a 'useless vanity project' has borne fruit, and yet tomorrow those who ounce doubted will be proven more than wrong. Our nation, once a puppet of the British and put to shame, will stand out on the world stage with prominence and pride."[/color] The President raised his hands, gesturing out and up at the world before them before letting them rest more formally by his sides once more. [color=ff9933]"Still, the arguments were made, the information placed before the House and other Ministries, and we all came to the necessary and unanimous consensus in the end. Do not worry too much, Ishann."[/color] The other man seemed to shuffle silently for a moment, before a restrained yet defeated sigh finally escaped his lips. [color=lightgreen]"I pray you are right, Daksh. More so I have been encouraged before meeting you out here to tell you to be wary of the use of 'that' on behalf of both the other Ministries and House. Beyond what has been approved, you must communicate with the House and Ministry Heads and seek approval. Myself included among those. That is what was decided. I simply do not want to see our people made out as barbarians-"[/color] He didn't even have a chance to finish those words, the President's eyes swiveling over on a dime and his voice raised and cutting through the humid air and Prime Minister's words like a hot knife. [color=ff9933]"Barbarians, you say? By whose metric? By whose tongue?"[/color] Barbarians. Savages. Such was what they had been seen as by others when the Dutch and British arrived. His father, even his grandfather, had been able to tell stories of those days whether from their own lives or that had been told to them by loved ones. Barbarians that agitated their people, savages that had pushed them around, he wanted nothing of those days. He had continued to help push for the fight to modernize India even now, even as his most ambitious predecessors had prior, so none would ever call them much les think on them with such vulgar terms again. No longer would their people a stepping stone for others beyond their shores. Even so, the man did pause for a moment after his words rung into the cooling air...before letting out his own sigh. Mindlessly Daksh adjusted his tie and button-down shirt, before turning his gaze again to meet that of the other man next to him. [color=ff9933]"The crunch work on this was painstakingly done to ensure this could happen, and can moving forward as we need it, and our soldiers and officers have been preparing for this day after the project finally completed. Maintenance has been accounted for, adjustments were made to keep things in-balance, and proper channels have been used. Even so, we both know that India has needed much in the way of projecting its power beyond these borders. Something to make the world take us seriously, but not enough to cause others to lay siege to our shores. It will be the first time in history this sort of thing has happened, and India shall stand at the head of it all in a positive light in the long run."[/color] The Prime Minister seemed to ever so slightly grimace, his silence speaking volumes as he places his hands behind his back. [color=lightgreen]"...Or we will be standing at the beginning of our world's end. I may not be as religious as some, nor wield it in the duties of my office as I have long upheld, but I pray we do not end up as Ashwatthama did before Lord Krishna. For great would be our curse, and immense our suffering."[/color] Daksh clicked his tongue in return, though he did seem to gaze out in thought for a moment at the very least. [color=ff9933]"...Way up there, Ishann, we can assuredly make our stance as well as our might clear. We will not end as the ancient epics once detailed for the viallins, but be the victors and greater and glorious in the aftermath. We will be the Pandavas of this tale, not the other way around. I say this, I do all of this that I have done thus far, because our people need something. They need something to make them feel as if we are [b]strong[/b], and that they can accomplish anything. They need something to feel as if we deserve to exist upon the grand stage that is this world, and be among its great actors! We shall make our people even greater, but to make things better we must [b]inspire[/b] them. Not simply sit back in the shadows and simply just sit idly by and sell Bollywood movies around the world as we have been."[/color] Daksh's eyes turned towards his companion, who seemed to calmly stare back in an almost challenging manner. Yet in the end the latter would lightly shake his head, before giving a surrendering motion with his hands before placing them behind his back once more. [color=lightgreen]"Then I pray we have such resolve as you do now, Daksh, throughout the coming days. I have already made preparations for what will be released to the press and media outlets, both local and international, and all we will need to do is adjust them as the situation demands. All that is left is...well, for you to pull the trigger. Until we meet again, however, I must be on my way. The cook I have hired for tonight is supposed to prepare my favorite dish, and I'd sooner get home than be trapped for several more hours on the road."[/color] With that Ishann gave a light nod of his head before walking off. Daksh felt his eyes follow the man for a bit, before returning up to the darkening sky. Indeed, the remannts of sunshine were like a fading light on the horizon, though for this moment they shone softly like a beautiful gold. It made him think, even. Perhaps this weekend he could take his family to see the NLC-mutant Zoo in Mumbai, or the world's tallest international hotel bed and breakfast being built only some blocks away from from the Secretariat Building. Such sights were new to India, and yet the magnates and wealthy building these projects had brought in much in regards to fines and jobs once things had settled down. Of course, on the other hand, the struggles of the encroaching shadows about their nation's border still loomed. Indeed the nation continued with their own struggles within, of which there were many. Indeed, at one time or another darkness always fell upon Bharat...and yet inevitably they would rise to a new dawn and overcome. Their history, their people, spoke volumes of this. This he was sure of, and this time would be no different than all the others. Such was his hope for the future. [hr] [center][i][h3]Several Kilometers Off the Southern Coast Of Burma, Western Indian Ocean[/h3][/i][/center] The man laughed from the bridge, one hand on the ship's wheel to steer and his worn AK-47 still cradled in his other hand with a finger on the trigger. His dark eyes looked out the window as the vessel continued to float on the waves many a mile from the mainland, all whilst he stood here and took it all in with a fancy cigar clutched between his lips. The smoke from it trailed up from the lit end, the fancy lighter used for it stuffed in the hole-ridden and patchwork pants he wore. The crew of the vessel had already surrendered, but to catch some cargo ship headed from India to somewhere back in Europe. It was a goldmine. His contact had been useful after calling in that this one coming by at the right time, and it was an easy job once they'd taken the crew by surprise almost a week ago. The crew'd been packing, though, so he'd had his men ferry those bits back for later and bring more to staff the ship by this point. Damn stupid foreigners, they never learned. They tried over and over again to stop them, but in the end it was all just a fool's errand. His men had been looking for a score like this forever, gathering up the supplies and striking at smaller targets and looking for information, but finally they had done it. Now they had one big cargo ship, and whatever the hell supplies it carried inside still there. They'd made the call back to India to ransom it last night, and already the old crew had been taken ashore for ransom or been shot already in taking the ship. Not many chances came around for them to get something these days, but the lack of any Indian response so far hadn't worried them. Anything fancy, anything stupid, and the rest of the crew and ship's cargo were forfeit whilst they themselves got away! And yet this morning, there had been no ships in the area whilst they set anchor. Period. As if it had all become a ghost town. For his part, the man didn't mind, it just meant a day for his men to watch and enjoy themselves with the cargo below while they waited for- But the man never got to finish his thought. A split second later the clouds seemed to part suddenly, as if something was descending down upon the world. But none of them would get a chance to perceive much less process this. [center][b][color=red]CRASH!!![/color][/b][/center] It was over in an instant. A [b]spear of light[/b] from the heavens themselves [b]pierced the ship through[/b], crashing through it [b]like paper[/b] and [b]deep into the ocean[/b] below. The impact itself sent ripples outward as a great kinetic energy was imparted into it, generating great waves that roared both east and north to crash hard into the close-enough Burmese coast. Those unfortunate enough to be out on the coast on this day would find themselves...unfortunate, to say the least. Drownings, fishing and pirate ships washed away or capsized, children swimming who were hidden away in the salty waters, and more such stories would arise in the following hours and days. Some wondered if another earthquake had come to life, and yet as the pieces were being put together the Burmese government and others would find that an answer was handed out in an Indian news release, its title eventually clashing across TV screens and over radio waves across the world: [center][i]"Indian Government fires Newly-Unveiled Orbital Kinetic Strike Weapon on Burmese Pirates"[/i][/center] Hours later, however, the scene would again repeat itself. [hr] [center][i][h3]Many Hours Later, Near Southeastern Border Near Pakistan, Kashmir and Jammu Province, India[/h3][/i][/center] The ground just over the border, into the annexed Kashmir and Jammu territories from the Pakistani side, was the location of a fortified Pakistani military base that had for years intruded upon this sovereign Indian territory. Even after its assimilation into India proper, even with the security placed there and forces to protect the peoples there, Pakistan had claimed the area was still 'theirs' despite having lost control over it. This base, this military base, had sat there for years as testament and constant issue for the area. It spat in the face of common reason! Whilst Pakistan was not the only nation to lay claims on this area, they were the only ones to intrude beyond the border with any sort of illegal fortifications and the ilk still at this time. But [b]today[/b], that would change. It would change only a small while after news of the Burmese Pirates' fate reached even this illegal base itself. A 'spear of light' once again would descend, a flash within the span of a moment that only those looking to the southeastern skies in the province would have seen. The strike area had been long cleared of Indian Personnel and only a small few villages had been cleaned out to move the people far away. The Pakistanis had taken this as a suspicious sign, sending men out to scout before the news finally hit later that day. First they had simply laughed it away, and yet now those within the effective area would come to realize the truth all too late. [center][b][color=red]CRASH!!![/color][/b][/center] Panic that an earthquake had occurred ran through the people of the province, even as that flash from the heavens shook the earth itself with a mighty force that made it seem as if the world was to end. Even so, for those living in the Kashmir and Jammu Province, they would ultimately be escorted back to their villages in due time. At least, once observation of the damages and such things had been assessed by the Indian Military in-depth and were accounted for. Even the Pakistanis would scramble too muster and send others in to try to examine, look for survivors but with the Indian Military presence they would be forced to observe at a long distance...or were shot and bombarded into fleeing before they could see much. Even so, reports from both Indian and Pakistani sides as well as the later international news crews trying to observe from afar would tell of the same general story at least. Likewise another news headline would be released by the Indian Government, one which would rapidly spread over the TV and radio networks of the world: [center][i]"Indian Government fires Newly-Unveiled Orbital Kinetic Strike Weapon For Second Time on Illegal Pakistani Military Base"[/i][/center] A later third release the next day beyond would note further justifications for the two strikes, as well as contain official copies of memos and warnings actually sent to the Burmese Government days before to warn it of the impending first strike a week ahead of time. Burmese officials, many of whom 'dismissed' the warning, have been pulled into the public spotlight. Meanwhile the number of civilians deaths in the Pakistani strike were reported as "0" on the Indian side, with additional documentation and proof provided to assert the claim and provide a headcount of the civilian evacuees after UN representatives arrived several hours later. This event was also met with a hasty Pakistani counter-claim, however, that 'countless civilians were slain' and a demand for sanctions on India...however, the evidence in the days and weeks following thus far has not given a seeming validation to this counter-claim.