The X-Project

Following Christopher Summers e-mail, Ororo calls for some support on the political situation they might be flying into.



The X-Men's ready room usually involved a complex 3D map of the location they were traveling to, but this time, the table was covered in printouts and papers that Kane was shuffling through, providing information for Ororo as she built their mission profile out of the sketchy information provided by Christopher Summers. Because of the storms, the need for flyers, and his bum knee, Ororo had drawn the mission instead of Scott, and was putting together her team with utmost care.

The door opened for Professor Farouk, and Garrison looked up from the screen. "He's here, Ma'am. Professor, we need a little advice."

"Always glad to be of assistance. Mr. Kane," Amahl replied mildly. "And my fees are nothing if not reasonable."

"We are very glad to hear it," Ororo said wryly, looking up from the scant information on the screen in front of her. "If you can give us any additional details about what we are getting ourselves into I'm sure it will be well worth it, too."

Farouk glanced at the mound of paperwork that had accumulated around the Mission Control with its usual speed and did his utmost not not chuckle, even in commiseration. "Perhaps it would be best if you sketched out for the data you already have, so we don't waste time retreading the same ground?"

As, for example the basic lay of the land in Madripoor, Amahl
thought but did not say. Presumably you still have the records from the time I almost took over the world and you sent the X-Force to slit my comatose throat. But let's not dwell.

"There's not a lot. According to Christopher Summers, Indonesia and India are tied up in some kind of illegal mutant child trade, and one of his ships got caught off the western coast of Sumatra after stopping a shipment and is being hounded by Indian Naval vessels." Kane said rapidly, repeating the very scant information they had been provided. "We're supposed to meet one of his contacts for more information, but considering the players involved, both Scott and Miss Munroe thought that getting a bigger picture about the political or military risks would be prudent. Since you've got the most experience in this general region..." Kane let his sentence trail off.

Very general, Farouk thought.

Up until fairly recently Pakistan was at the margins of his traditional area of operations. These days he was increasingly finding himself in a seemingly perpetually futile quest to stretch the very limited assets in Central Asia and Pakistan into India and South East Asia in general.

Amahl was coming very closely to putting Ken Neramani into Unfavorite People Who Cause Me Excitement category. It wasn't a very long list, due primarily to the fact that people who ended up there tended to have short and accident-prone careers.

The Kane family was an exception and after a second's thought Farouk smiled slowly. The prospect of siccing Garrison on Neramani and standing well back held a considerable appeal to his sense of justice.

"I presume you will want a fairly detailed break-down eventually," He said helping himself to a chair. "But let me give you a quick break-down of my read on the situation. My impression is that India is preparing to assert itself, not simply as a regional player, but as a Great Power. Disintegration of Pakistan has been a boon - so far they are reaping all the benefits without any of the costs."

Apart from a minor inconvenience of a nuclear devastation of a major
city, that is. Amahl thought coldly as he squinted at the map spread across the table, focusing his thoughts. "A hostile nuclear power on their border has been removed and the UN has taken up the burden of policing the remains. This freed up previously busy assets. Sri Lanka was the first step - that gave Neramani a forward base in the Indian Ocean. The next move is extending his influence toward the Pacific."

Farouk shrugged and reached for a cigar. "Personally I think he's boxing China in. But that's a disputed opinion. A couple of people whose opinions I respect, disagree. Be that as it may, currently much of New Delhi's attention is occupied in Indonesia. They have concluded several naval-cooperation agreements recently. It's a delicate process and a lot of Neramani's prestige is riding on the ability of his shiny new boats taking care of the pirate problem. If he proves that he's a serious player, his alliance with the Indonesians will deepen - he's going to ask for bases, and eventually get considerable control over the Malacca straits."

Which incidentally will put his hand of the windpipe of the Chinese oil imports and naval commerce in general, but let's not worry your pretty little head about that. Or the fact that if India successfully asserts itself as the Power in the Pacific and a security guarantor of Indonesia not imploding a la Pakistan, there's a pretty good chance that the Australians will jump in bed with them, flipping off the Americans.

Amahl lit the cigar and puffed on it experimentally, enjoying the pungent scent. "From what I understand they have been surprisingly effective so far - most people expected that the cooperation between them and the Indonesians would be well nigh impossible. They seemed to have done well, however." If you have any specific questions....?"

"What sort of resources should we expect to come up again if, or when, we encounter these pirate-hunters?" Ororo asked, much more concerned with the logistics of the mission itself than the overarching political ramifications of the region's shifting politics. "Any information on the vessels themselves or their crew will help us plan our approach."

Sure take all the fun out of it. Farouk thought somewhat petulantly and shook off the cigar's ash deftly into the empty plastic cup. "Well, the strategy determines tactics, as you no doubt realize..."

Well, aren't I a marvelously condescending bastard, He took another satisfying pull on the cigar, covertly enjoying the sudden narrowing of Ororo's eyes. "So you should expect the elite of Indian naval power to be in the region. Almost definitely veterans of the Sri Lankan campaign and blockade. I hesitate to try to give you the probable vessels off-hand but if you give me a couple of hours I'll be able to narrow the probabilities down. By tonight, probably..."

Although if you were interested in tech specs, why didn't you just ran over to the Brownstone? Lover's tiff? That's what happens when you date in the workplace. Tut, tut, you hussy.

"Given the importance that New Delhi places on the success of this mission, however, I would be confident in projecting that either part of the Imperial Guard or the entire unit is involved. Possibly in conjunction with the Indonesian knock-off - that old Sukarno project that has been revived recently." Farouk snapped his fingers impatiently as the name of the program danced on the tip on his tongue stubbornly refusing to surface. "Kree?"

"Imperial Guard. Great, trained mutants in opposition." Kane said sourly, looking over to Ororo. "You might want to consider taking Marie and Lil on this one, if only as human shields for the crew if we end up mixing up with them."

"Thank you, Garrison. That thought crossed my mind as well." Ororo nodded and turned to Farouk, giving him a look that was at once graceful and dismissive. "And thank you as well, Professor. Your information has been invaluable. Hopefully it will give us a slight advantage over going in blind. Though I suppose only time will tell."