Drone

Azerbaijan’s future looked as bright as the dawn until the morning that waves of Russian fighter bombers and radar-controlled naval guns unleashed their fury, destroying Azerbaijan’s air force jets on the ground, army tanks in their storage sheds, and navy ships in their piers within minutes. Cruise missiles blasted communications facilities, including the nation’s only broadcast television station, and decimated several government buildings, including the Ministry of National Security, Parliament, the Government House, and the presidential residence.

Russian paratroopers dropped into the nation’s capital seven minutes after the final air assault and Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers streamed across the border moments after the first jets had taken off.

Russian forces also deployed a half dozen unarmed Searcher II surveillance drones, recently purchased from Israel Aerospace Industries. Their own drone program was in a shambles.

By noon, oil-rich Azerbaijan had once again become a Russian possession.

Washington, D.C.

As chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Diele was entitled to the most up-to-date global security information available. He was duly summoned to the White House just before 11:30 a.m. for an emergency briefing, the subject of which had not been disclosed on his unsecured line.

When he arrived at the Cabinet Room, the secretaries of state, commerce, energy, and defense were already present, along with the DNI and select congressional leaders. Diele found his customary seat just as Myers and Early entered the room.

“It’s a briefing, General, so please, cut to the chase,” Myers said.

“Yes, ma’am.” General Winchell, the air force chief of staff and Diele’s close ally, was presenting the facts.

Lights darkened and the digital projector flashed satellite imagery that had recorded the Russian invasion. Winchell filled in the details. When he finished, he asked, “Questions?”

“Let’s start with the most obvious. Why?” Myers asked.

“They claim they were responding to repeated terrorist incursions on their homeland by Azeri and Shia radicals,” Winchell explained. “And cited the Myers Doctrine as precedent for their actions.” He said it like a slur rather than a fact.

“Why now?”

“They probably believe we’re distracted at the moment,” Diele answered. “Which I’d say we are, wouldn’t you?”

Myers glared at him, then turned her gaze back to the general. “How does this affect our security?”

“Say good-bye to Azeri NATO membership, for one,” Tom Eddleston said.

“And how does that affect us? I mean, directly?” Myers countered.

The secretary of defense laid out Azerbaijan’s previously helpful, though not decisive, contribution to the War on Terror, which was winding down anyway. A future NATO military base, to be built by an American contractor, had been in the works, along with defense purchases of American military equipment for the Azeri armed forces.

Myers turned to the commerce secretary. “What about oil?”

“Another price shock, to be expected. Don’t know how many more of these the markets will tolerate. Might keep the price of oil inordinately high for some time.”

“Good for OPEC, good for the Russians, the Iranians,” the energy secretary threw in.

“And good for us,” Myers countered. “We sell oil, too, remember? But does this hurt our energy supplies in any way?”

“No. The Azeri oil and gas pipelines service the European markets exclusively. If anyone will have a problem, it’s them.”

“That makes it a NATO problem, which makes it a strategic problem, which still makes it our problem,” Diele said.

All eyes turned to Myers.

“It’s a market problem, not a NATO problem. The Russians or the Azerbaijanis or the Inuits for that matter can’t sell oil or gas or anything else for more than the Europeans are willing to pay for it. If the Europeans want a cheaper source of energy, they can shop around, or they can find alternatives.”

“The European economies are already on life support. This might just pull the plug. They’re still our primary trading partners. If Europe goes down, we go down.” Diele’s eyes were daggers.

“The European economies are on life support because they’re highly unionized socialist economies with low birthrates and thirty-hour workweeks. They’ve spent themselves into oblivion on social programs while we bore the primary costs of their defense for the past six decades. I’ll not shed American blood to keep the cost of European vacations down.”

The room went silent. Everyone saw the blood flushing Diele’s face as he stared thoughtfully at his hands clasped in his lap. He was famously ill-tempered. Eyewitnesses swear he cussed out Bush 41 to his face in a PDB one time, and even threw a punch at Alexander Haig when the retired general was President Ford’s chief of staff.

But instead of the expected tirade, Diele surprised everyone.

He simply smiled.

“As you say, Madame President.”

Jeffers knew full well what was behind that withered, grinning mask. Diele had just declared war on Myers.

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