The Crucible. Joaquin De Torres
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good until there were shots fired. After her experience 16 years ago, this frightened her to paralysis. This was the fear she had to face. The two were joined, and there was no escaping it.
She considered the man frozen on her computer screen; a person who had done everything in his power to make choices for her throughout her career. Take the money, a voice inside her whispered. Stay safe; stay on land and live the dream. You earned it. But how could she take that job now? With four months left on her commission, there was no way the Navy would let her become a civilian with the stop-loss program in effect. Don’t worry, he’ll take care of that little obstacle, the voice reassured. He always took care of the obstacles.
She looked at the wall clock: 6:00 P.M. She found the TV remote and selected her channel in time to hear the familiar sweeping thunder of violins, synthesizers and trumpets that heralded in the show.
“From the East Coast to the world, you are watching Channel 4 WBAL, Baltimore’s most informative newscast, with award-winning anchorwoman Anita Chavez.” The exotic Hispanic woman in a red sweater dress and matching red lipstick raised her head to the camera.
“Good evening and welcome to Channel 4 Baltimore Evening News. I’m Anita Chavez.”
“Looking good, Anita!” Kristina mused. “Love the dress.”
“Despite over a year of international pressure and sanctions, including the highly controversial Iron Clad blockade, North Korea continues to hold its position that it will not shut down its nuclear production facilities despite its horrific death toll.
“The Iron Clad blockade is a no-food, no-medicine, no-help barrier which literally starves a nation into capitulation. Navy ships, with the help of South Korean and Japanese vessels, patrol Korean waters with orders to fire on any cargo ship heading to North Korean docks. So far more than 528,000 people have died during the seven-month-long blockade. This strategy has never been used before, and President Kevin O’Malley’s administration has come under harsh opposition from human rights opponents at home and abroad.”
“That bastard,” Kristina spat out of disgust. “It’s human cruelty.”
“North Korea warned that any attempt by the United States or any coalition country to destroy the nuclear facilities via air strike or covert operations would be met by its own nuclear strike. North Korean president Kang Chin-il made it clear in a chilling letter to the U.N. and the White House that his people were ready to die in a conventional, nuclear or thermobaric warfare exchange with any country hoping to disrupt his nation’s nuclear progress. The country has possessed nuclear bombs and missiles for five years, and has built a formidable weapons stockpile which includes a revamped naval shipboard delivery system. However, it is not this system that worries the U.S. and her allies, but North Korea’s new thermobaric weapons capability that was sold to them by the People’s Republic of China.”
Kristina pulled her feet under her legs feeling uneasy at this latest development.
“This situation has put more pressure on South Korea and Japan to increase their defenses. But by far the most pressure lies with the U.S. Pacific Fleet which is not only faced with a shortage of fighting ships and captains due to the ongoing wars in the Middle East, but also faces the possibility of a massive Chinese naval invasion of Taiwan rumoured within the next few months. We will have more on this story later after a short commercial break.”
Kristina turned off the TV and reclined back onto the couch pondering the situation in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor, Yokosuka, Guam, San Diego, Long Beach; and up north to Bangor, Everett and Bremerton, Washington—-all these ports, were already ghost towns. Almost every ship was sent to either patrol the waters around Taiwan, or beef up the Iron Clad blockade.
She returned to the den and the frozen image on the screen. She got up and strolled back into the den.
“Voice mail; full motion, go.” The image of the man began to move. Admiral Ramon Jose Maria Torres, Commander—In—Chief of Naval Forces, Pacific Fleet came to life before her.
“Hello, baby.” The sound of his voice instantly eased her tension. “I don’t have too much time today; my flight will be leaving Honolulu in about two hours. You already have my itinerary. I’ll be in D.C. for only four days. In that time I have a knockdown drag out with the CNO; a luncheon with some congressional bureaucrats, a dinner with the Naval Academy superintendent whose cheating on his wife; some golf with other political suck-ups and perhaps a secret rendezvous with a lovely secretary who’s crazy about me.” She giggled.
“I doubt we’ll be able to see each other this time since you’re spending extra time in the lab, but if you need me just call my cell.” He looked pensively down, then back to her with more seriousness. She leaned in closer to the screen with focused attention.
“Don’t make any moves with those civilian jobs until I’ve talked with the CNO. This is a very delicate situation and could mean the end between me and Antonio.” He looked down again sadly. “I want to do this right so that you can leave the Navy cleanly with no strings attached. They want to keep you in, baby, more than anyone else in the fleet. I’m going to have to break every rule, and risk these stars to prevent that.” He looked away. “Look, I know I've been making a lot of decisions for you, honey, some of them without your consent. But you must always remember that I've only tried to protect you, to take care of you. You're all I've got. Good-bye, honey.”
The image froze. The e-mail was completed. She gazed at the admiral for several moments. He was going forward with this, risking so much, and she appreciated every bit of his effort despite her desire to stop him. But it had gone too far already. She could see in his eyes that he wanted this for her, and need it for himself. What could she say now? Her father had protected her all life. Who was she to fight him on this? She would remain silent and let this happen. She would play it safe and take her chances with the nightmares.
Chapter 2
Mentor and Disciple
Pyongyang University
Pyongyang, North Korea
“Standing amidst a forest of banners and placards of anti-American sentiments, Pyongyang University students are staging one of the most gruesome protests in their nation’s history.” The young female reporter looked around nervously as she spoke into the camera.
“Outside the ransacked and gutted remains of the American Embassy, students are burning American flags and effigies protesting America's disciplinary actions against their country. But something else is burning here--something horrible and morbid.” The camera panned behind the reporter to a large smoldering pyre. “What you are looking at are the bodies of dead students burning in the pyre.” The camera zoomed in as crying students swung corpses onto the large burning stack. All in sight wore bandanas covering their noses and mouths.
“Families of university students who have died of disease or starvation are offering their bodies in front of dozens of international camera crews in a blatant protest of America’s deadly food and medicine blockade, codenamed Operation Iron Clad.
“For almost seven months, this blockade which keeps food, medical supplies and fuel sources out of North Korea by military means, has killed more than 528,000 citizens--over half a million people. It is the harshest form of punishment ever devised in the history of international diplomacy. This was the U.S. response to President Kang’s letter to the U.N. threatening nuclear holocaust if their bomb-making factories and reactors are attacked.
“The world has heard these threats in the past, but despite harsh rhetoric on both sides, not much has been done to punish North Korea for their incessant threats of South Korean attack and invasion. They’ve also threatened Japan with annihilation through biological weapons, and increased their practice missile firings over that country.
“Operation Iron Clad was designed to wrap all the past threats of punishment into one convenient and lethal package. The results have been nothing less than devastating. Hospitals around the capital are 150 percent full with little or no medical supplies or technical advances.