International Tankery

Chapter 5: The Singaporeans Give Their Decision

Filip had taken Maho back to the hotel room that he was sharing with Bogdan and Tito, and sat her down on the sofa. He asked her, "Can I get you anything?" She smiled and said, "A glass of water is fine." Filip smiled and went to get Maho some water, and some basic medical supplies to heal her injuries. He gave her the water and she drank it, while Filip prepared an anti-septic.

When Maho finished drinking her water, he told her, "Head up." Maho lifted her head up and Filip applied the anti-septic to her cut lip. He then took a cotton ball and put some hydrogen peroxide on it.

Before he applied it to her cut lip he told her, "This is going to sting, okay?" Maho nodded and Filip put it on. Maho winced a bit at the stinging sensation, but relaxed when she saw Filip hold her hand.

She smiled and Filip removed the cotton ball and placed another. He kept it on her cut for a few minutes and let the medicinal alcohol do it's job.

After he took care of the lips, he told Maho, "There, it's done." Maho started to cry. Filip asked her, "Maho, are you okay?" Maho said, "I shouldn't be crying. It shows that I'm weak." Filip told her, "Maho, it's completely natural for people to cry. There's nothing to be ashamed about. If you want to talk about what happened..." Maho shook her head and she started to sob.

Filip, "Come here." And embraced her in a comforting hug. He started to rub her back in a comforting way and while crying, Maho said, "I'm scared, Filip. What will my mother think of me now?" Filip said, "Shh. Shh. It's okay Maho. It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. Not as long as I'm around."

By now, Maho was crying into Filip's shoulder. She asked him, "Could I stay with you until I calm down?"

Filip said, "Of course. I'll be here if you need me." Maho smiled and Filip saw that she was getting sleepy. He softly started singing.

"Una mattina mi son’ svegliato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Una mattina mi son’ svegliatoE ho trovato l’invasor partigiano,
portami via
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao

O partigiano, portami viaChé mi sento di morirE se io muoio da partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E se io muoio da partigiano
Tu mi devi seppellir

E seppellire lassù in montagna
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E seppellire lassù in montagna
Sotto l’ombra di un bel fiorTutte le genti che passeranno

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Tutte le genti che passeranno
Mi diranno: Che bel fior
E quest’ è il fiore del partigiano

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E quest’è il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertàE quest’è il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertà."

Maho fell asleep and Filip put a blanket over her and sat down to do some work.

Time-Skip- With the Japanese Sensha-dō Federation

Brenden was walking with Lee Kuan Yew, talking. He told him, "I heard from my Yugoslav friend, what the ultimatum is. We can either ban boys from doing tankery or fight the Japanese in a mock war." Lee Yew said, "Well then it seems that the answer is a simple one. We choose the mock war." Brenden said, "Yes, but shouldn't we try to diplomatically negotiate a compromise? I'm just not sure if the people are ready for another war. Generally speaking of course."

Yew told him, "I understand your position Brenden, and we could attempt to negotiate something. However, let's keep the choice to accept a mock war open and prepared. The American president told me that they wouldn't budge when they tried for a compromise. The Soviets undoubtedly chose war, as did the Americans. Knowing Tito, Yugoslavia is waiting for a majority decision."

Brenden said, "I agree. Filip and Tito wouldn't declare war unless they knew that they could win."

Yew said, "Filip always was cautious." Brenden chuckled and told Yew, "You should see what he's like when he plays Hearts of Iron IV. It's ridiculous how competitive he gets." Yew said, "Let's head on in."

Brenden and Yew entered the conference room and sat down. Shichiro Kodama said, "Prime Minister Yew, welcome. I hope that the here trip was a pleasant one." Yew told Shichiro, "Yes, it was. Although we were unfortunate to be caught in traffic during rush hour."

Shichiro laughed said, "Well we cannot predict the traffic."

"I couldn't agree more. Shall we begin?", Yew asked. Ami Chouno said, "Let us begin." Shiho showed the ultimatum to Yew and said, "The choice is simple. Either ban boys from doing sensha-dō or face us in a mock war."

Yew sighed and told her, "I'm sorry, but while Singapore doesn't approve of or support war, we have no choice but to fight." Shiho smirked and said, "Now, we just have ti annlunce it all publicly."

The Japanese Sensha-dō Federation called the other delegations.

Time-Skip- The International Conference

Every delegation was seated at the table and they were about to begin the meeting when Yugoslav soldier stormed in, saluted and said, "Hitni telegram za drugovi generala Filipa Cvetkovića. Direktno iz Beograda."

Filip took the telegram, sat down beside Bogdan and read it, while taking a drink from a glass of water that was on the table. When he read the telegram he dropped the glass cu pot the floor, hands shaking. He said, "Боже, ово ће постати једно велико стање."

Nedić asked, "U čemu je problem?" Filip said, "Друг Тито...је умро." Every Yugoslav in the room looked at him in shock. Bogdan said, "У пићку лепу материну." Shiho asked, "What's going on?" Nedić told her, "Comrade Tito died." Shichiro Kodama told them, "We're very sorry for your loss. We'll put this whole thing on hold until you straighten out a successor. And do take your time."

Pejković asked, "Tko će sada vladati Jugoslavijom?" Crvenkovski said, 'Не знам. Но, тоа мора да биде некој што може да го обедини народот."

Filip said, "Александар." Bogdan asked, "Александар Карађорђевић? Да ли си полудео?" Filip told him, "За сврху мира и Југославије, Александар је најбоља опција." Pejković said, "Slažem se s Filip.In red da Jugoslavija traje kao zemlja, a za dobrobit naroda Jugoslavija mora ponovno postati monarhija i Aleksandar mora preuzeti prijestolje.Uostalom, bez Jugoslavije preko ne bi ni postojalo."

Filip sighed and told the soldier, "Пошаљи хитан телеграм Александру Караћорћевићу шта се десило и да нам је хитно потребна његова власт." The soldier saluted and left.

Shichiro Kodama said, "Why don't we wait until Yugoslavia gets a new leader. Until further notice, this conference meeting is dismissed." Everyone got up and Chiyo Shimada walked over to Filip and said, "I'm sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose someone that you care about." Filip told her, "I'm more worried about the shit storm that's going to happen at home." Chiyo smiled and said, "You seem to have it under control. I'm sure that your plan will work out." She then left and Filip muttered, "Молим се Богу да проради. Иначе се све враћа на старо."