A Small Colonial War (Ark Royal Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

that the Indians have successfully captured some of our territory or going to war.  Which choice do we make?”
     
    Murchison cleared his throat.  “Prime Minister,” he said.  “I understand the primal urge to just hit back at our enemies.  There is no excuse for invading and occupying our territory, territory claimed by us in line with the various interstellar treaties; the Indians have committed acts of aggression and must be made to pay a price.
     
    “ But ... we are not in a good position ourselves.  The Royal Navy was gravely weakened by the war and there are endless demands on our resources.  We could take the offensive against the Indians and beat them, only to discover that we’ve killed ourselves too.  A long war might not only bring in other human powers, Prime Minister; it might weaken us to the point the Tadpoles see a chance to resume the war on their terms.  They have to regard us as a dangerous enemy.
     
    “We have denied the Indians recognition as a Great Power in the past, even though they probably deserved the title.  Conceding that now will do us no harm; it may even serve as a bridge to opening other discussions.  We gain little from Vesy; the system isn't worth fighting to keep.  Let the Indians have it, if they wish.  The only sticking points are Pegasus and Clarke and I believe the Indians can be talked into withdrawing from both systems.  It would be a clear breach of the international order to keep them.”
     
    James had his doubts.  Yes, there was little to gain by keeping Vesy; the natives were primitive, barely crawling out of the Stone Age.  But otherwise ... rewarding the Indians for acts of aggression stuck in his craw.  Maybe they could be talked into withdrawing from Cromwell and Pegasus ...
     
    Uncle Winchester cleared his throat.  “It has always astonished me just how often the diplomats want to talk, talk, talk,” he said.  “In this case, there is nothing to talk about .”
     
    “Jaw-jaw is better than war-war,” Murchison quoted.
     
    “I doubt Churchill would agree with you,” Uncle Winchester said.  “There is literally nothing to talk about.”
     
    He held up a hand before Murchison could say a word.  “There may - may - be some truth in the suggestion we unfairly denied the Indians recognition as a Great Power,” he continued, his voice growing harder.  “It wasn't our call.  The Russians and Chinese were against it; the Americans and French didn't care enough to argue their case.  Perhaps we did treat them badly.  But ... it doesn't serve as an excuse to kill our personnel, occupy our territory and demand - in the cheekiest of tones - that we kindly accept the status quo .
     
    “Did we learn nothing from the Age of Unrest?  Giving in to blackmail only leads to more demands!  How many concessions were made to tin-pot dictators and religious fanatics during the Crazy Years that came back to haunt us when the entire global system hiccupped?  How many of our people died because we tried to make nice with our irredeemable foes, instead of squashing them like bugs while we had the chance?
     
    “So we surrender to the Indians?  Let them get away with it?  Maybe, if we grovel sufficiently, they will kindly allow us to reclaim Pegasus.  And then what?  What happens the next time someone decides they can take a bite out of our territory, in the certain knowledge we’ll just let it go?  We cannot allow the Indians to humiliate us!  It will spell the end of Britain as a Great Power.
     
    “The only acceptable outcome, the only one that maintains our current position, is recovering the territory the Indians occupied by force!  And we must do it alone .  There is literally no other alternative.  The Indians cannot be allowed to get away with this.”
     
    He turned to face the Prime Minister.  “I strongly suggest that we declare war on the Indians and do whatever it takes to recover our territory.”
     
    “India is not a rogue