The Feminist Queendom Charlie’s War 76

© Beverly Taff

List of Characters.

Charlie Sage Maths and electronics genius.
Shirley Sage Charlies elderly mother
Chloe Charlie’s one time early school friend.
Josephine Flint Surgeon and associate of Chloe’s.
Mrs Jane Anston Director of Anston Aerospace.
Ronnie Garage mechanic at top of lane
Pauline Garage owner, Ronnie’s sister.
Briony Pauline’s teenaged daughter.
Billy Pauline’s middle son.
Abigail (Abby) Pauline’s youngest daughter.
‘Poppy’ Charlie’s little micro-runabout.
‘Doris’ The armoured mobile home.
‘Lady’ Chloe’s Sports Car.
Dawn Charlie’s armoured spaceship.
Colonel Wilson Vindictive misanthropist doctor.
Margaret Thomas ‘Failed’ police security guard.
Sally. 1st Oz Special forces trooper
Jacky 2nd Oz Special forces trooper.
Juliet Charlie’s Mal engineering assistant.
Laura The second mate of the Second Dawn
Kate (Katherine Bergson) The Australian defence minister.
Lieutenant Engadine Asi Charlie’s second prisoner.
Charlotte Charlie and Chloe’s older daughter
Michael, Jessica & Lucy Charlie and Chloe’s younger triplets

Chapter 76

“You’re quite serious about this aren’t you?” The Australian Prime Minister (PM) stared intently at Charlie a week later when the date for the UN hearings about the UQ’s assassination attempt had been set.

“Yes. I’ve played Patsy and tippy toed around these feminist bullies for long enough. Crunch time has arrived.”

“Well. I’ve fulfilled Australia’s part of the bargain. Formal recognition of your stateless condition has arrived from Oz but you still have to attend the assassination hearings. Your right to life is a universally recognised human right and of course you are an important material witness. I’m sorry it’s come to this. You’ve still got right of abode though, cos your married to Chloe.”

“The stateless condition is only temporary,” Charlie reassured her, “once this business is settled, I’ll re-apply.”

“Have you got all your ducks in a row, you know lists of incidents, times and dates; all that sort of stuff.”

“Yes, I’ve printed out extracts from Dawn 1’s log and my diaries back when I was working for Anston Aerospace.”

“I didn’t know you kept a diary.”

“I don’t these days. Dawn’s log pretty much records all the events surrounding her but all my life working for Anston Aerospace I kept one. My mummy instilled the habit in me and I’ve still got it.”

“Well, tomorrow morning then, ten o’ clock, see you there.”

With arrangements fixed, Charlie left to return to Western Australia and his family in Hammersley. He needed a brief break from the intense scrutiny at the UN headquarters and that night, he and Chloe shared their marital bed for the first time in weeks.

The following morning found the whole Sage family once more in New York; mother and father in the UN building while the children under a heavy guard visited some more tourist sites.

Charlie and Chloe met with the rest of the Australian delegation outside the Security Council Chamber. Then they were directed to one of the committee rooms where they were invited to sit at one part of a ‘horse-shoe table while UN lawyers and committee members took their seats at the closed end while across the horseshoe, Charlie recognised several old acquaintances amongst the United Queendom delegation.

By prearrangement with his Australian colleagues, Charlie took a seat one space removed from the rest of the delegation so that he appeared as though sitting alone and obviously so. He received some interested and concerned looks from both UN councillors and lawyers plus members United Queendom representatives from across the horseshoe.

Once the endless formalities and introductions were completed, the Australians laid accusations and charges of assault and murder against the UQ feminista for the attack and killing of one Australian guard.

The UQ Feministas counterclaimed that the Australian guard Laura had opened fire first and killed five Queendom police. This was technically true but the Australians were able to demonstrate that the Feminista had attacked the lavatory first with their gas attack; and Charlie had no way of knowing if the gas was lethal or not.

The arguments and questions flowed back and forth until eventually the investigating committee came to Charlie. Finally, he stood up alone and presented his evidence backed up by CCTV and Juliet’s body-camera. He concluded his statement by declaring.

“Members of the council, there can be no doubt that those six UQ feminista attackers were there to either kidnap me or kill me or why else were they armed? It was a premeditated attack against my fellow delegates and my person organised by a recognised government agency and I therefore hold that attack to have been tantamount to an act of war!”

The UQ feministas firstly tried to claim that it was an attempt to arrest Charlie for thefts of secret information committed against Anston Aerospace in his previous employment in his mother country. Then they tried to point out that an act of war against Australia would have to have been a physical attack against the sovereign territory of Australia.
Charlie then confounded the argument by declaring that he had been a stateless person and any act against him by a recognised agency of a UN member country was tantamount to an act of war against him alone. Even as a stateless person however, he still had human rights and the UQ attack had been an attack on those rights; an attempt to destroy them by destroying him.

The UQ feminista tried to rubbish his argument and even mock it until Charlie hit them with his next bombshell.

“Members of the council, as a stateless human being I still claim the right to life and if that right is attacked or endangered by any agency then I have the right to defend my right. I had every reason to believe that the agency who attacked me in the men’s Lavatories were trying to destroy my rights to life and liberty by force, so I reserve the right to defend myself with force.

My attempt to defend myself against a sovereign state becomes effectively, either an act of terrorism or an act of war! I do not believe I am a terrorist and I’m determined to avoid such a charge, consequently, I have to formally declare now that, as of midnight tonight, a state of war exists between stateless Charlie Sage and the Feminist United Queendom of Atlantica!”

A deafening Silence suddenly descended on the murmured conversations around the table.

ooo000ooo

The silence did not last long as a babble of arguments started to rise to a crescendo amongst all parties. Lawyers tried to determine whether a single person could legitimately declare war while others argued for an individual’s right to defend himself either with force or litigation.

I previous similar situations, the individual was usually deemed to be an eccentric or mentally unstable usually by dint of their not having the wherewithal to realistically wage a full war against a country; and or – the individual’s claim usually involved a questionable territorial claim that would get quashed in a recognised international court.

Charlie’s declaration was altogether different and all importantly, realistic!

By now the utter destruction of the large CCP Military base at Riau was well known to the world. The world well knew that the occupation of the Island of Riau had been more or less forced upon a reluctant Indonesia by the CCP’s aggressive ‘adventurism.’

When the dust had settled, the Indonesians let it be known they had investigated the attack on ‘their’ territory and declared that they had not discovered the identity of the attackers. This paralleled the CCP’s more intensive investigations and the results had infuriated the CCP whilst delighting the relieved Indonesians.

These developments had become widespread knowledge and although the ‘official’ results were technically ‘inconclusive,’ just about every country bordering the South China sea and the Yellow sea had learned unofficially that Australia and her Antigravity’ technology had almost certainly been involved somehow.

The later prevention and nullification of the massed CCP hypersonic missile attack had added further strength to Australia’s political elbow. For that attack had been legitimately prevented as the hypersonic, sub-space missiles circumnavigated the globe and crossed Australian territory in the CCP’s endeavour to attack Singapore from the south.

Australia’s well documented and public revelation of their part in protecting Singapore was also publicly attributable to their Antigravity technology; and everybody and his dog knew where that technology originated; - Charlie!

As the pandemonic hubbub subsided in the chamber, Charlie took out blank piece of ‘A4’ paper, then wrote out his declaration. Finally he signed it with a flourish then stepped sideways into the aisle and bent down to whisper to the Australian PM, and Katie the Australian Defence Minister.

After a brief exchange of whispers and some significant glances towards the UQ delegation across the horseshoe, Charlie slipped the letter into an envelope then straightened up and made to depart the chamber. The President of the council called out.

“Where are you going Mr Sage?”

“To prepare for war Madam President!”

“This hearing isn’t over yet!”

“It is for me.” He replied as he stepped out of the rows of seats and passed the letter to the UN Secretary General.

“Please pass this to the UQ delegation. The address is quite clear.” He requested before he paused by the wide double doors.

“I’m not sure this is legal. I don’t think there is a precedent for this.” The UN secretary general protested.

“Then make a precedent,” Charlie replied, “there’s always a first time for everything!”

And with those words, Charlie left.

ooo000ooo

“Somebody go after him!” The Australian PM pleaded loudly to her own delegation.

“I think you’re chasing a lost cause Prime Minister,” a voice called across from the United Queendom benches, “he was always a somewhat unstable character.”

“I hope to god you’re wrong!” Katie snapped back, “he’s got the wherewithal to wipe you out.”

“He’s based somewhere in Australia or Antarctica and he’s more your problem than ours,” a voice Chloe instantly recognised, argued back.

“Well, well. Doctor Wilson I presume,” Chloe grinned wolfishly, “Charlie’s worst and most detested enemy. Welcome to where the big boys play hardball.”

“Don’t try and patronise me Mrs Sage! He’ll get a damned sight more than a bloody nose if he tries to tangle with us.”

“Might I suggest you climb down off your arrogant, high horse and have a few quiet words with the oriental gentlemen sitting on the security council right here with us in this chamber. Ask them what sort of attack they launched, how many hypersonic missiles they launched against tiny little Singapore and what the result was.

I see you’re a General now, so you’ll readily realise the scope of Mr Sage’s resources. If you can’t, just have a quiet chat with your oriental colleagues on the council.”

“We’ve got more than enough missiles to swarm him and knock him down.”

“Oh, and how will you do that in space with no atmosphere? Without air, your preciously exotic missiles cannot even turn to alter course.

They only operate with a modest degree of accuracy in sub space and even then with poor agility. He’ll rip your missiles out of the sky and send them back to you. Pointy end first!”

“He can’t stay up there forever.”

“Excuse me general, for all practical purposes, he can. At least long enough to exhaust your resources.”

“It only remains to find his lair and we knock that out.”

“Would that be on the moon or Mars, - or perhaps one of Jupiter’s moons? Anyway, if you attack any base he has on Earth, you’ll be attacking a third country and that would be another undeclared act of war, which makes you the aggressor and the criminal. Good luck General.”

Chloe watched with visceral satisfaction as she watched General Wilson seethe with impotence. Then she felt Juliet’s fingers on her wrist as he whispered.

“Go easy on her and don’t give too much away. We can only help if she tries to attack Australia, or if her missiles overfly our territory.”

“We mustn’t paint the UQ into a corner they cannot back out of.” Katie whispered to Chloe. “They’re a notoriously stubborn race so hopefully, a few painful lessons should bring them around.

You never know, it might even set them to thinking about feministan flaws and I believe that’s yours and Charlie’s main long-term objective isn’t it?”

“Nah;” Chloe lamented. “Military violence usually only serves to frighten it doesn’t much serve to enlighten.”

ooo000ooo