“I agree. I am willing to make the time, although there is a lot to do right now,” said Andropov.
“I know, but in the long run it may be worth it,” said Hammond.
“I agree to everything you say. What else must Russia do?”
Hammond chuckled. “I’m sure there are many who would like you to do a lot of things right now. But let’s end the war first. We can work out a lot after that is done,” said Hammond.
Andropov stood and offered his hand. Hammond stood and accepted it. “Then as of now this war is over,” said Andropov.
“It is over,” said Hammond.
A photographer and videographer were summoned and the handshake was done again for the sake of the cameras. By that time a document of the meeting was drawn up. In front of the cameras, Hammond and Andropov signed it.
This is reporter Chris Murrow in Smolensk. You are watching as the Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral Roger Hammond signs the formal surrender with Russian President Phillipe Andropov. The two men met today and agreed to an unconditional surrender of Russian forces. The Third World War is officially over. We have a copy of the document. In it, Russia surrenders unconditionally. They will withdraw all troops to within their borders and will take their armed forces to a much smaller level. They will immediately turn over anyone who was responsible for these crimes against humanity for a trial. They will renounce their superpower status in the United Nations and are turning over their entire nuclear stockpile to be dismantled. Troops will not be permanently stationed in Russia as had been done in Germany and Japan after the Second World War, but assistance teams will be sent in to help the Russians to rebuild their national infrastructure that had been devastated during the war. Russia will pay an additional one hundred billion dollars a year in war reparations; however those reparations will be set aside for that rebuilding and to help Russia get back on its feet. One additional move will be for President Andropov and Admiral Hammond will visit all the European leadership to discuss what was agreed to today and to garner support from all the Allied nations. He will also address the United Nations at some point in time in the future. Those are some of the most lenient conditions I can imagine, but as one leader told me, it gets the war over. Tom.”
“Yes indeed, I am sure there are many who would like to punish the Russians far more than this,” said Tom Donner in Atlanta.
“True, but I believe Admiral Hammond may have found a more palatable way to end the war. If you recall from history, occupation forces are costly and leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those who lost the war in Germany. Notice there was a stress on sending people to help rebuild. That is more like what MacArthur did after the war. There was also a short paragraph stating that the Russians would form a new constitution. If it is patterned after what happened in Japan, we may find that in the long run, Russia will become one of our greatest allies. Back to you, Tom.”
President Steve O’Bannon sat back in his chair and laughed. “This will really piss off the French and Poles,” he said to his Chief of Staff. Do we have a copy yet?”
“Any time now. Roger is having a private meeting with Andropov. As soon as he gets out, he will be calling us,” said Butler.
“Okay, then let’s get out some sort of statement supporting Roger and the surrender. I’ll go on tonight and give an address to the people. Since we aren’t going to have troops stationed there, let’s make plans to bring most of them home. Let’s send some ships and supplies into the various Russian ports to help these people out. What troops we need to help out can stay, but if they’re not needed, bring them home. Get hold of State. Send a formal invitation to Andropov to come and visit. If we’re going to follow Hammond’s plan, might as well get started on it,” he said with a grin.
“No problem,” said Butler as he handed over a set of papers to the President.
“What’s this?” the President asked.
“Oh, something else to make your day,” Butler said as he left the room.
Glancing down, O’Bannon’s face spread in a wide smile. It was the approval of Congress to award three people the Medal of Honor. One was a friend, the second was a young naval officer, and the third was a Navy chaplain he also knew.
It started with music. Someone on the American side turned up a boom box with a rock band playing. A few minutes later some Russian soldiers emerged from the woods on the other side of the field. They began walking toward the Americans. None carried a weapon. A few Americans stepped from their side and walked toward them. They met in the middle and shook hands.
A few more soldiers on each side appeared. Soon the small field was full of young men and women shaking hands, talking and gesturing. Some sat in the grass and just talked. No one knows who gave the order, but a mobile kitchen unit began bringing food and equipment into the field. It didn’t take long before the air was filled with the smell of food cooking. Further down the road another kitchen set up, then another.
Claire Richardson walked across the field and entered the Russian camp. Finding her counterpart, she shook hands and invited him and his troops for a meal. The two walked together back to the field and sat in some hastily set up camp chairs near the kitchen.
When ready, soldiers from both sides got in line to eat. For the Russians, it was the first hot meal they had for three weeks. By the end of the day, new friendships had begun and the horrors of war were left far behind.
Hammond and Andropov sat down for lunch together. Hammond had been impressed as Andropov related what had been going on prior to deposing Borodin. Andropov had been a part of the intelligence arm initially, but had been selected to lead the armaments procurement and later the nuclear weapons branch. When asked why that effort had not happened, Andropov had given a sly smile. “I sealed all the double locks with epoxy. We all knew those weapons were not the answer. We knew it would take months to get all the doors open. Afterward, there was no time for trying to find out who did it. By that time, Pusko had been assassinated and they needed someone to take his place. I was the one selected because the Army knew the war had to end and that I had no political aspirations.”
Andropov was much like Hammond. Married with one little boy, he had not wished to assume any power of sorts, he just wanted to serve his country. Luckily his accomplishments had caught the eye of his superiors and promotions followed despite the fact that he didn’t play the political game most of the other officers did.
Hammond began liking the man. He was smart. He didn’t jump to conclusions and he was totally dedicated to his country.
“You know, while in the intelligence branch I was stationed at Vladivostok just to watch how you Americans did things in Korea. I was surprised at how versatile you could be. The idea of bringing back older assets was brilliant. But I also saw that you worked closely together and were able to work around problems. That was why I was against going to war. I knew we could not really measure up in that regard. We tend to be rigid,” Andropov said. “We could also tell how effectively you used the signals from your spy satellites.” He stopped a moment and reached into a satchel he had with him. “By the way, you may want to share this with your government,” he said. “It is why we shot down your Eyeball satellite early in the war,” he said.
Hammond almost choked. He knew about Eyeball. But what was this about shooting it down? He chose to downplay it. “Now, now, we are getting to know each other. I’ll pass it along, but no business right now,” he said with a grin.