Mission Four - Knives in Phnom PenhMischief Reef/Đá Vành Khăn/Panganiban Reef - 11/09/2022 06:00 UTC+8Here was a summary of what they had been doing in the past few weeks - After the ordeal that had been the Jinghong Dam mission, the members of Task Force Obsidian, our motley group of Arms Masters and key support personnel, had been sent to rest and recuperate in Mischief Reef, a former Chinese Base overran by a group of rebels against China, the Qing Restoration Society, where they were to wait for new orders.
The world changed in another week, setting the stage for those updated objectives.
During the final days of their vacation, two more recruits/volunteers were flown in; the first was Roberto 'Berto' Williams, a strange Arms Master who used to wander around as a freelancer. His Noble Arm was useful for support and repair, perfect for missions that required some form of utility.
The second was Aoi Mikoto, a mysterious Japanese woman who had awakened her Noble Arm fairly recently, and whose capabilities were largely unknown. Noel was suspicious of them both; finding the first recruit weird and the second to be slightly scary, but Myron had vetted them and that was enough, especially as there were bigger fish to fry.
Qingshe would find the source of the leak, the politically influential Danggal Clan/Family in Baguio City, which had briefly rebelled, taken the city, and tried to invite the Chinese in. They had been brought to heel, but only after their head, Dior de Danggal, had changed sides and turned against the Chinese troops he had himself invited, then pretended that it had been his plan all along. This meant, however, that no one was sure as to whether Task Force Obsidian's secrets were indeed safe.
But more important than whether Task Force Obsidian was safe from another ambush were the results of the Midterm Elections in the United States of America - Candidates that were campaigning on a promise of reducing aid to Ukraine and ASEAN failed to gain several key seats in Congress, and people more amenable to sending weapons, cash, and
the US Navy to the South China/West Philippine Sea were in power instead. This 'Midterm Miracle' would not have been possible without the revelation of Ai Chen's 'depravities' in the Jinghong Dam Prison Camps, which shocked the American populace into action as each excess came to light.
Now, the members of Task Force Obsidian, old and new, were in Mischief Reef's Military Airport, where First Lieutenant Noel Alonso had set up an auditorium using abandoned People's Liberation Army equipment to announce the new orders. The young man, barely eighteen years old, was wearing a crisp green military uniform, and conscious of the need to avoid the mistakes of his last time conveying the goals for the current mission. Either way, there was a podium with a microphone, a projector, a screen, and slides showing the City of
Phnom Penh, Cambodia... Their next destination.
"The King of Cambodia, His Majesty Sisowath Samnang, has called for a parley between the various ASEAN Countries and the People's Republic of China, and all parties have accepted his call for a diplomatic meeting at Phnom Penh, its capital. Why? Because the US is about to return to the West Philippine Sea and China does not to provoke the new War Hawks in the US Congress by revealing more Ai Chens and more Jinghong Dam Prison Camps," Noel's tone was raised in a slightly arch tone, reverberating with disbelief.
"This will not end the war, but the leadership thinks they can secure a sixty-day truce and better treatment for our PoWs, at the very least," The youth then looked at the various members of TFO, trying to keep a straight face, then snorted loudly at what he had just said.
”I’m certain a number of you have raised red flags regarding this meeting, and indeed our intelligence services have warned us extensively. For a couple of months of peace and the release of certain POWs, ASEAN has determined the reward is well worth the risk. Our job is to mitigate that risk, and protect them in case anything turns sour.”
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