Lion Resurgent (11 page)

Mrs. Sunderstrom nodded, slowly and unhappily, painfully aware that she had been one of those who, in days long past, had spoken out against the United States and its supposed nuclear-based tyranny. Now that the reality of the world had started hammering on her door, she had become painfully aware of the limits of power. The Seer, watching her, saw that reality strike home.

“We have certain vital interests that we must protect and every country in the world knows full well what those are. The prime one is, don’t start wars of aggression. If a country really wants to fight a war, then it must keep it small, keep it restricted, fight decently and end it reasonably. Break those rules and we’ll end the war by ending the aggressor. Another vital interest; don’t abuse American citizens. If one of our citizens goes to a country and breaks their laws, that’s their hard luck. As long as they get a fair trial and a punishment that’s commensurate with the offense, then we’re happy. But disappear one of our people and we’ll get them back or exact a due, dispassionate and totally excessive revenge on their behalf. Now, can you tell me how committing U.S. forces and getting a lot of people killed on behalf of your daughter falls under those categories?”

Mrs. Sunderstrom shook her head, crying slightly. “But she’s my baby. Is there nothing we can do for her?”

“I didn’t quite say that. Can we do something now? No. Not officially any way. We can hang our ears out. We can search the winds for any mention of your daughter. We can try and find any reference to her in various places. Mrs. Sunderstrom, one thing I have learned in this job is that powers like Argentina eventually make mistakes and bring the wrath of the world down on their heads. When that happens, we may be in a position to ask the right questions, to get answers and to find out what will happen. That day may come much sooner than you think. When it does, Karyn Sunderstrom will be on the list of names we will be asking about. More than that, I cannot promise you.”

Cabinet Room, 10 Downing Street, London, UK

“Cruisers are obsolete. Their inclusion in the proposed building program is simply old-fashioned admirals trying to hang on to the past. They’d be building battleships if we let them. The Treasury insists that these ships be cancelled and that the Royal Navy estimates be reduced accordingly.” Derek Featherstone looked around the assembled Cabinet aggressively, defying anybody to disagree with his dictates.

“Admiral Gillespie, do you have an answer to that.” The Prime Minister’s voice was mild. Those who knew him detected an edge that threatened an unpleasant half hour for somebody.

“Yes, Sir. As you might expect, I disagree with the opinion expressed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on many levels. The cruisers we have in our fleet perform a number of vital functions that cannot be duplicated by smaller ships. First and foremost is that of flagships... “

“Barges for admirals.” Featherstone snorted the description with contempt.

“Derek, please do not interrupt the Admiral again.” Prime Minister Newton’s voice was still quiet but the edge was noticeably sharper. “Continue please, Admiral.”

“As I was saying, the four cruisers we have in service fulfill the role of command ships excellently. They have the internal volume to contain the equipment for both long-and short-range communications. They have the accommodation for the staff. Their size makes them stable in bad weather and they have the electrical power generation needed to run the equipment on board. The last is something of a new factor but it’s becoming very important. The role of flagship isn’t just restricted to fleet operations. When we have been conducting joint missions with the Army, the cruisers have been invaluable forward command facilities.”

General Howard raised a linger and the Prime Minister nodded. “I would like to support the comments made by the First Sea Lord concerning the value of the cruisers in joint operations. In that Sierra Leone business last year, they proved invaluable as command ships. Their six-inch guns came in useful as well.”

“Arguably, the same facilities could be built into a destroyer-type ship, but the results would not be as satisfactory. The Australians went that route. They tried to build a version of their Wellington class destroyer with the required flagship facilities. Wellicruisers they called them. The class was unsuccessful and are considered failures on a number of points. An interesting thing is that the cruisers don’t actually cost that much more than the destroyers. The majority of the cost of the ships is the electronics outfits and that’s determined by the ship role, not by her size. We also believe that the new cruisers we are proposing will be significantly cheaper to run than the four existing ships. They were, after all, ordered in 1939 even though they weren’t completed until 1960. They were radically modified while under construction and their layout isn’t optimum. Given modern technology and starting from a clean sheet, we can get a much more efficient ship with a crew only slightly larger than that of a destroyer.

“As General Howard pointed out, the gun cruiser is by no means obsolete. I grant you that in the early 1960s it appeared that way, but the Battle of the Pescadores put that idea to rest. Guns still have a vital role to play both in naval engagements and in support of shore operations. The Tiger class have four six-inch guns each, their replacements will have eight. By the way, after their Wellicruiser experiment, the Australians are building a new class of cruiser with 7.5 inch guns, to supplement their large helicopter cruisers.

“The cruisers are also invaluable as station ships and for showing the flag. They have a presence that smaller ships lack. They are diplomatic tools as well as military ones; they allow negotiations to be carried out in secrecy while their communications equipment means those on board can refer issues to their home base. Sir, you remember how well that worked in the Tanganyika negotiations?”

The Prime Minister nodded. The delicate negotiations with South Africa over military operations in Tanganyika had been carried out on HMS
Leopard
and he remembered well the virtues of the ship. “Those are strong points, Admiral. The proposed building program contains four such cruisers. One-for-one replacements for the Tigers?”

“That is correct, Sir. To be followed by the three new aircraft carriers.”

“I forbid this.” Featherstone was almost spluttering with rage. “The Treasury demands large cuts in the Ministry of Defence’s overall budget and the cancellation of these ships.”

David Newton glanced around the assembled Cabinet.
Time to strike.
“Derek, it is not within the remit of the Treasury to set the budgets for the individual ministries. That is a decision to be taken by the Cabinet as a whole. We have been down this road before, when the Treasury took upon itself the duty of determining government spending on a ministry-by-ministry level. That led to 1939 and to the rise of That Man. We will not repeat the experience. The Treasury’s responsibility is to determine options for overall government expenditure levels. It is the collective decision of the Cabinet to determine how that available pool of finance will be divided out and the role of the Secretary of State for each ministry to decide how their allocated funding should best be spent. In the end, the voters will decide whether they approve or condemn the decisions we are making. You presume too much upon yourself, Derek. Now, General Howard, your funding requests?”

Howard stood facing the Cabinet table. By a historical quirk, only the professional heads of the Royal Navy and British Army had the dubious privilege of addressing Cabinet directly. As he looked around the Cabinet table, he sensed the effect the Prime Minister’s comments were having. Now was not the time for inter-service rivalry. “Sir, at the moment, our top priority is converting a second brigade to Air-Mechanized configuration. We have our First AirMech brigade, consisting of First and Second Battalions, the Parachute Regiment and First Battalion, Royal Regiment of Marines, operational and exercises have proved it to be of great value. The second proposed brigade will consist of Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and Second and Third Battalions, Royal Regiment of Marines. We also need to replace the Cavalier tank, finalize the order for Boomslang tank destroyers and to purchase batteries of the Australian Kunchi long-range guns for our artillery park. The Ministry of Defence budget projections have provision for all these requirements in addition to those whose case was so ably made by the First Sea Lord.”

“You support the naval construction program, General?” The Home Secretary sounded more than slightly surprised.

“I do, Sir. It will serve all three services and provide much-needed facilities for us all.”
And that will get me some markers I can call in at a future date
he thought.

Prime Minister Newton looked around the table. It was dawning on the Cabinet that they had been given a chance to break the control the Treasury was establishing over their budgets. Even if they temporarily lost some of their budgets to Defence in the process, it was a price worth paying for the increased control over their own finances. “Admiral, I have one question. You stressed the value of the cruisers as station ships, a function whose value I can attest to from first hand. Would it not be more sensible to include six such cruisers in the program rather than four, using the extra pair of ships to replace the Daring class destroyers that can then be scrapped without replacement?”

“It would, Sir. The fleet would be the better for that change.”

“Then I put it to Cabinet that the 1982-1987 medium term costings for the Royal Navy shall be amended to provide three new cruisers rather than two in 1982 and 1983, that the aircraft carriers should be funded at a rate of one each year in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and that the four Jupiter class destroyers planned for 1984 should be stricken from the program. That the other defense acquisition programs as laid out in the Ministry medium term costings shall be approved unchanged. Do I hear a second?”

“I second your motion, Prime Minister.” The Home Secretary still couldn’t believe the Army and Navy were actually agreeing on something.

“Then, I call for a vote. I vote Aye.”

“Aye!” The Home Secretary wasted no time in getting his vote in and managed it just before the barrage of ‘Ayes’ went up around the table. The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s ‘Nay’ was feeble-sounding by comparison.

“Very well. The vote is carried and the Ministry of Defense medium term estimates are approved as amended by Cabinet. Now, next subject. We have a proposal to construct to new prisons on the Isle of Wight for long-term prisoners convicted of heinous crimes. Home Secretary, any thoughts on this proposal?”

Sir Humphrey Appleday’s Office, The Cabinet Office, Downing Street

“It’s an outrage. Who do they think they are?” Derek Featherstone was purple-faced and almost apoplectic with rage.

“The elected representatives of the people, I think. Some may think they are politicians. A few may even believe they are the government, but they’ll come around in the end.” Sir Humphrey Appleday viewed his visitor with some concern. At seventy years old, Featherstone was by far the oldest member of the Cabinet and his condition caused Sir Humphrey to believe he was on the edge of a heart attack. He hoped not. Having somebody drop dead in one’s office was tiresome and led to inordinate amounts of tedious paperwork. He looked at Featherstone from under his eyebrows, his eyes twinkling slightly. In the eternal game fought between departments and various civil service powerbases, this morning’s debacle was worth its weight in gold.

“It was all decided; all agreed. Just who is responsible for this mess?”

“Well, Derek, if you are seeking a culprit, I suggest that you begin your investigations in the domains where munificence and good works on behalf of the deserving are usually regarded as having their best and most promising start.”

“Eh?”

“Look in a mirror, Derek; look in a mirror.” Sir Humphrey sighed to himself. He wasn’t surprised by the turn events had taken over the last few hours. The confrontation had been building up ever since the new Prime Minister had taken office. It was the same old problem, one that had bedeviled the Civil Service for the last forty years. In the final analysis, it was split into three factions. There were the members who had either been abroad when the Halifax-Butler Coup had taken place and stayed there or who had subsequently left during the 1940-42 false peace. Then there were the ones who had stayed and joined the Resistance or Resistance fighters who had entered politics after the occupation had ended. Finally, there were the ones like Featherstone who had stayed on and tried to keep things running. Those were divisions that crossed party lines but one thing most agreed on was that there was a distinct whiff of collaborationist about the third group. In most cases it was unfair, but that was the way it was.

“You can’t be serious. Blame me for this? If that fool in the Prime Minister’s seat knew his job.”

“Derek, please be aware that our present Prime Minister not only knows how to kill people with his bare hands, he has actually done so.”
Including several collaborators
he thought. “And, what is more, he is actually quite competent. All the more so since he treats governing this country as an extension of his previous battle against ‘occupying forces,’ by whom he now means us. He was looking for an opportunity to win a victory against us and you threw this opportunity into his lap.”
And, like a good resistance fighter, he seized on the hole in the defenses and exploited it for all he was worth.
Sir Humphrey mentally nodded in appreciation of an opponent’s achievement. Prime Minister Newton was the worthiest opponent he’d had for more years than many people would believe possible.

“But it was all decided...”

“But not by them. Look, Derek, you blundered badly. You let your dislike for the Navy get the better of you. You allowed yourself to be trapped into an argument on tactical and operational grounds which you were patently unable to justify and it made your opposition to the cruiser program appear petty and groundless. Even then, you had an opportunity to redeem yourself. You could have pronounced yourself convinced by the arguments and supported the proposal. We could always have obstructed it later, contract problems, funding difficulties, an unexpected economic crisis requiring a - purely temporary of course - delay. But now, all that isn’t plausible; such machinations will be seen for what they are. You traded away our traditional program of judicious obstruction for a full frontal assault and walked into an ambush. Now, we have to live with the result.”