THE BLACK VERITECH
Chapter 15: The Southern Cross and the REF
Knight said goodbye to Lisa, Rick, and Max and headed straight for Central America, towards the Yucatan peninsula, that place would be a connecting link between that part of the continent and the Caribbean.
Fifty percent of the resources that could be offered by SDF-1 were placed under Knight's control, so that he could be respected in any eventuality, which in the end was very useful as several military leaders who survived the zentraedi attack were very keen to establish their own chains of command and to disown SDF-1's military command.
Knight saw that the only way to speed up the logistics of channelling resources for planetary defence was through the political and administrative centralisation of large territories, so he focused on erasing the political borders that existed before the Zentraedi holocaust and brought all of Central America together into a single quadrant, as did all the countries of the Caribbean.
The Central American quadrant and the Caribbean quadrant should be safe from any zentraedi threats from the south, so Knight headed to South America.
“How is the situation in Central America and the Caribbean?” Global asked him one day about the command communicator.
“Everything was easier than expected, Admiral, except for some military commanders who were somewhat reluctant to recognize the authority of the RDF. As for the civilians, they were delighted with the new political-administrative division, and no wonder, after decades of corruption anything is better, and they will be cooperative as long as their quadrants are not in the front line of the Zentraedi control zone in South America.”
“And South America?” Global asked.
“That's the problem, several military leaders are at best complicated, fortunately having the Zentraedis at the gates of their own bases will be a decisive factor in establishing RDF-compliant quadrants.”
“Quadrants?”
“I'm afraid so, sir, the territory to be covered is too vast and several political and military leaders would not agree to submit to a unified political command. This is slowing down the plans, but fortunately the Zentraedis are spending more time fighting each other. The only attacks we have been reported of refer to simple zentraedi looting to gain resources to fight against other rival zentraedi forces.”
“How long do you think this situation will last, Colonel Knight?”
“A couple of years, then I foresee that the Zentraedi will be under a unified command.”
“Two years... For God's sake, heaven help us.”
“Don't worry Admiral, in two years I will secure the zentraedi control zone so that the enemies can't make any attack, maybe we won't be able to defeat them, but at least we will contain them.”
“Thank you for your efforts, Knight.”
“I give my best, however, to the fact that half of the logistical and other resources are focused on the containment of the Zentraedi Control Zone, how are you doing?”
“It's ironic, but Khyron and Azonia with their few men are giving us more trouble than all the Zentraedi armies in South America.”
“Is the situation that serious, Admiral?”
“Not at the moment, the Zentraedis are eager to adopt the peaceful lifestyle of the Earth, but the ship's psychologists doubt that this fact will remain stable for long.”
“And how long before they are pulled back by their warlike instinct?”
“I estimate about two years.”
“I understand, either we solve all our problems in two years or we risk being defeated by the enemy.”
“I'm afraid so, Colonel, that's why we in North America are giving priority to the development of robotech weapons. Veritechs are difficult and very expensive to manufacture, so we are focusing on mechas production.”
“Won't that delay the reconstruction of the civilian goals you planned, sir? What about Kyle and his protests?”
“The best way to deal with Kyle was to give him all the freedom he wanted, so he had no excuse to call a demonstration, and the civilian population is focused on starting from scratch, and has no time to dedicate to following that individual.”
“I suggest, sir, that the civilian population have more variety of entertainment so that Kyle or Minmei are not the only escape valves available to civilians, and that we save ourselves a lot of trouble.”
"Fame is a passing thing, Admiral, and I'm sure they'd soon get tired of those two, and I doubt in the end that Minmei and Kyle would attract as much attention as before, while other celebrities could be subsidized by the army to be controllable. The same should apply to the media.”
“I'll take that into account, Colonel, I just hope I don't have to resort to such measures.”
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As Knight explained to Global, the situation in South America was far from easy; the first task was to convince military and political warlords to align themselves with the RDF, using fear as a factor of intimidation.
Venezuela was home to the richest oil and gas fields on the planet, at least those that could be used, but several soldiers were reluctant to collaborate with the RDF, so Knight ordered a bomber to take off off the coast of the country and drop a nuclear bomb, a few miles from the small Venezuelan army.
The next day, the military leaders submitted to Knight's mandate, the only time the RDF attacked South America with nuclear weapons.
Global was furious, but acknowledged that the measure was successful in the short term as the same system was applied throughout the continent, although only as a measure of intimidation as it was never again necessary for the RDF to use nuclear bombing.
The measure was so successful that new quadrants were soon established: the Venezuelan quadrant to the north, the Brazilian quadrant to the east, the Argentinean quadrant to the south, and the Peruvian quadrant to the west. All these quadrants surrounded the entire Amazon jungle in which the hostile zentraedis were located, an area that was called the Zentraedi Zone of Control.
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Knight returned to SDF-1 to report to Global and the other commanders, things were not going as he expected.
“I need more resources, Admiral.”
“Colonel, we're allocating half our military resources to you.”
“I need more, the Zentraedi Control Zone is very large, even with four quadrants surrounding the entire Amazon jungle, I only have 150,000 troops scattered in a protective ring which is ineffective in containing the enemy.”
“How many zentraedi are we talking about, Knight?” Lisa asked him,
“Of at least 150,000 zentraedis, perhaps half a million," he said, and everyone present exchanged nervous looks.
“What about Breetai's fleet?” Knight asked.
“He still fights the enemy in different skirmishes," Rick told him.
“Does the enemy fight under a single command?” Knight asked again.
“No, the hostile zentraedis are divided and focused on attacking Breetai, they believe that whoever does so must be the new supreme zentraedi leader," Claudia told him.
“That is why Breetais fleet fights outside the solar system not to tempt the other zentraedis to attack the planet," Exedore told him.
“What about the other RDF armies in Europe, Africa and Indonesia?”
“I'm sorry, Colonel, we won't be able to make it more effective," Global excused himself, "what an irony that we are victims of our own success, we discovered several population centers and these require the efforts of the RDF to rebuild them.”
“Admiral, the position I'm in is very delicate," said Knight and passed several reports on to those present, which bore the seal of "classified".
“Apparently a zentraedi command is becoming strong in Manaus, and it is only a matter of time before all the hostile zentraedis are unified.”
“How much time do we have?” Maistroff asked.
“Less than two years, if you cannot grant me more men, I have other requests that will make up for the lack of men.”
“What's your proposal, Knight?” Max asked him.
“I need carte blanche with regard to the creation of a global command that is intended to lock the zentraedis into the zentraedi control zone. The whole united government of Eath has to collaborate in that, I plan to call this whole operation the SASTRAC forces.”
"In addition," Knight continued, "I need freedom to create a new army independent of the RDF, which will focus on the use of conventional weapons, although it can then use robotech mechas in the near future and be created for the fighting ground on which they will be deployed.”
“What army would this be?” Global asked.
“The Army of the Southern Cross.”
“Is it necessary to create all this?” asked Exedore.
“It is vital.... You see, I have disturbing reports that the former EBSIS, the Anti-Unification League, is operating in South America," Knight said at Exedore's expression.
All present moved nervously in their seats, especially Global and the other senior commanders.
“The EBSIS, are you sure, Knight?” Global asked him.
“Very sure, they try to monopolize all the robotech technology, and what is worse, they offer their services both in logistics, exploration guidance and repair of mechas to the hostile zentraedis in exchange for being able to acquire zentraedi technology... And of course the zentraedis are delighted with the deal.”
“God...” Claudia murmurs.
“The whole continent is in total chaos, I have already established several RDF headquarters, but even so both political and military leaders negotiate with both sides at the same time, and even three or four sides at the same time.”
“What do you mean, Colonel?” asked one commander.
“Not only do we have the Zentraedis or EBSIS, we also have the problem of the new country El Vencedor, led by General Mendoza, in what used to be Uruguay. He's powerful enough to challenge the RDF and he's building up power.”
“Not that the government of El Vencedor is allied to the RDF?” asked Lisa.
“Only on paper, there is a strong traffic of robotech and zentraedi technology from one side of the border to the other, and not only in El Vencedor, but also throughout each of the four quadrants in South America, it is impossible to stop the entire black market protected by the mercenaries, whether they come from EBSIS or not.”
“I understand Knight," said Global, "I didn't think the situation was so worrying.... You have carte blanche in South America.”
“Thank you, sir, but I need something else.”
“Go ahead, Colonel.”
“If successful, I will secure the Zentraedi Zone of Control, however, I am aware that it will be impossible to defeat the hostile zentraedis if the reports are not accurate and we are underestimating the number of zentraedis. I propose to create in the city of La Paz, the old capital of Bolivia, the new headquarters of the RDF, Cruz del Sur, and the UN Spacy.”
“But the resources for that task would be too many," Rick said.
“That's why I don't plan to execute them immediately, this is a long-term plan. La Paz is surrounded by the western and eastern Andes mountain ranges, and the Titicaca Lake, the largest freshwater reservoir on the continent, is just a stone's throw away, nestled in a plateau suitable for the development of bases for our future space exploration ships for a force that I am planning to create and which will be called the Robotech Expeditionary Force or REF, which will be supported by Bolivia's gas reserves and the largest lithium reservoir in the world, which is also located in Bolivia and is also surrounded by both mountain ranges.”
“For all of this, you'll have to go against the clock, Colonel," Global told him worried.
“I will have to sacrifice the reconstruction of the civilian villages in south america to give all the resources to strengthen La Paz, the city is not flat, it is located in a ravine that is a labyrinth of chains of land that emulate high hills. Once fortified it would be suicide for any Zentraedi army to penetrate such a place, whether it be this one of 150,000 units or more. Its topography makes dozens of streams pass through the place and to the south of the city there are fields protected by more streams that ensure its food sovereignty, and as I said its topography is so unusual that it ensures its invincibility in the face of an attack from outer space, of course this means fortifying the city.”
All the senior commanders exchanged glances and Global spoke out.
“All right, Knight, you have carte blanche to operate in South America in any way you prefer, but please hurry.”
Knight stood up to Global, continuing the meeting this time by deepening various aspects of the security of the other sectors of the planet and so on.
Knight was surprised that Lang had gone to Japan and that the SDF-1's EVE computer development center had been established there, as well as the development of prototype mechas and veritech.
As for northern Europe, the second restart and implementation of the veritech programme was undertaken by Colonel Emerson, who had previously competed against Colonel Leonard as to whether the bulk of the army should consist only of mechas or veritechs.
As for Anatole Leonard, Knight considered it prudent to put him in charge of the new Army of the Southern Cross, because Leonard was the commander of the Brazilian quadrant and was a strong asset against General Mendoza of El Vencedor.
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“Sir, here are the reports from the commanders you requested," an officer told Knight as soon as he arrived in La Paz.
“Umm, I see that nothing comes out of the blue," Knight assessed as he read the report.
“Excuse me sir, but the reports are very worrying, all these officers are very committed to either EBSIS, or the strength of El Vencedor, or to various mercenary groups. They make and break alliances, in order to follow their personal agenda," the officer told him with concern.”
“That's just what I want, Major," Knight told him.
“But sir, even Colonel Leonard is involved," whispered the concerned officer, looking both ways.
“That's what I love most about all this shit. I can't control, let alone replace, 95% of the military high command here in South America. So I trust you'll continue to do your intelligence work.”
“Sir?”
“Please, Major, dou you believe that the loyalty of these men depends on the nuclear loyalty of the RDF? that will not last forever, they also keep the whole continent in line and if they want to go too fast I have the right measures to extort them thanks to the intelligence work.”
“You won't have any trouble with the Admiral, sir?”
“No, besides, how am I supposed to raise the funding to fortify the city of La Paz, the commanders here in South America are doing big illegal deals and some of that money goes to La Paz. Do you think there's any other way to stop the zentraedis?”
“I didn't see it that way, sir.”
“Of course not Major, you and the SDF-1 high command think you can play as fair as you can, but if you did it that way, we would have to wage war against each of the countries of South America before we face the Zentraedis, or both at the same time. Did you know that El Vencedor's forces have well-equipped zentraedi soldiers?”
“Yes, sir, I received that report.”
“When I arrived in South America, only General Mendoza had such help, now it seems that every damn military warlord has the help of Zentraedi soldiers and EBSIS support as if this were not enough. I will use Leonard or any other commander who gives me the advantage to exterminate Manaus, my goodness, I could even meet with the damned EBSIS, to wipe Manaus off the map!”
“We're approaching Colonel Mollinedo's quarters now, sir.”
“Thank God, Mollinedo is probably the only high-ranking military man who didn't come to his post because he kissed the other men's butts.”
“For his age he should be a general.”
“You are still to young Mayor. Even though he's older, the rank of General is more political than anything else. A soldier reaches the peak of his career as a Colonel, the designation as General is more political than anything else. I respect Mollinedo, a military man of the old guard dedicated to serving others before himself, is the perfect person to be in charge of the strengthening of the city of La Paz and the establishment of the base of the future REF.”
CONTINUARÁ...
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