Empire of the Ring

Fatima, who stayed like a sunflower in a terrace chair, fell into a deep sleep.

She was five months pregnant, and these days, she liked to take a short sleep during the day, probably because she was not able to have a deep sleep at night because of her growing stomach.

Fatima, soon, opened her eyes surprised by the small movements of the fetus.

It was the first time that her fetus moved.

When Leon entered his 18th week, she immediately felt his movements, but this time, it was still quiet even after 20 weeks. Just when she was feeling something might be wrong, the fetus finally made movements.

She looked around as she felt it was strange that her fetus made a sudden movement since normally the fetus was quiet when the mother was asleep. Then she found Youngho carrying a blanket to cover Fatima to keep her warm.

Despite his quiet approach not to wake her up, Fatima opened her eyes and looked around, so he stopped his steps.

“I think the fetus is reacting to the father’s footsteps. It’s the first time the baby moved.”

“Really? Does it already know the father is here?”

“Leon was also very active when you came near.”

‘Are the rings communicating with each other?’

How else would a fetus know of a father?

So many strange things had happened since Youngho found out the existence of the ring, so he was not surprised.

“Shall we take a walk together since the sun is good and there’s not much wind?”

“Oh, what’s gotten into you? Asking for a walk.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be driving out the light armored vehicle again.”

“Hohoho… My belly is full so I can’t wear my seat belt. How can I drive?”

“I’m glad to hear that. Our baby’s got my back.”

“When I heard you were worried every time I went out, I decided to refrain from it. I thought you were indifferent, but you care a great deal about me.”

“Huhh! Who do you think I am? I’m a man who lives only for you.”

“Well, I guess you have so far. I hope that’ll be the truth in the future as well.”

“I’ll be damned if I don’t cherish a kind and beautiful girl like you.”

“Okay, then I guess I can invite Ms. Katya with peace of mind.”

Not sure why she was mentioning Katya in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia so suddenly, Youngho asked carefully.

“Is everything okay with Katya?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Rena wants to invite her mom. What do you think?”

“All right. Tell her to come. Sometimes I talk to her on the phone, but I haven’t seen her in a while. She must be curious about the environment where Rena lives. When you invite her, tell her to come with Rena’s grandmother, too.”

“That’s what was going to do. She’s been wanting to come here so much, but I guess she hesitated because she was afraid that rumors might start. And don’t mind her because she’s not coming to see you. She’s coming to see me because she appreciates me for taking care of Rena.”

“It doesn’t matter to me… but is it alright if she comes now?”

“Now Kazakhstan has become a strong country, so it’ll be fine.”

“…”

“China is disgraced because of the tongue. That’s the proof that our royal power is great, isn’t it?”

“You don’t seem too worried about the future of our royal family anymore, do you?”

“Well, what are you afraid of when these loyal people are guarding the royal palace? You bought two nuclear submarines, and now who can’t mess with us?”

“Where did you hear the news?”

Youngho rarely talked about outside business with Fatima, so he wondered how she figured it out. Kim In-hwa must have told her about what Min-seok said out of pride.

“Secretary Kim told me. I heard that even China is nothing to us, now.”

“Well, we’ve got the power to make any nation silent if it tried to cross us. Putin gave us a nice present.”

“It was a gift? You didn’t pay for it?”

“It cost us some money, but you know that a nuclear submarine is hard to get even with money. Even the United States, our ally, does not give us nuclear submarines. How can it transfer such a weapon when we might turn into a weapon that will target the U.S. neck in the future?”

Even a long-time ally could sometimes turn into an enemy, and if the public sentiment was added, diplomatic relations could become irrevocable.

“Then why did Russia sell it to us?”

“Many of their submarines are left unattended in the harbor due to Russia’s lack of budget, so it was a great opportunity for us. Also, Putin believed that the rise in our forces would also help Russia’s security. China’s provocation to intervene in Russia’s decision also played a role since it really scratched Putin’s pride.”

If China had not stepped forward, Putin would not have offered Youngho another submarine. The Chinese naval forces would be in more trouble as two nuclear submarines were sold to Kazakhstan because the Chinese government hurt Russia’s pride.

“Hohoho… So thanks to China, we have two nuclear submarines. I should thank China.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. You know it’s not good for the fetus.”

“What are you talking about? It’s about building Kazakhstan’s strength. Don’t you know that it’s good for the fetus if the mother feels good?”

“Then I shall make you happier for the baby.”

“Yes, please make more happy occasions.”

“Soon. Tajikistan will be included in our federation. There’s a referendum next month, and there’s no dissenting voice in the local mood except for politicians and followers who advocate nationalism.”

“Oh my! That’s good news, too. But wouldn’t you have a strong opposition force in the future?”

Several politicians trying to maintain their vested rights were instigating people on the pretext of nationalism, but they were not well received by the Tajiks. It was because those politicians were the main culprits who made Tajikistan as poor as some remote African countries.

The Intelligence Department was doing an operation, but if the country was incorporated into the Kazakh federation, the politicians would resist harshly.

Youngho was planning to expel the hard-liners if they would not recognize the referendum’s result.

“I’ll give them a few chances, too. If they want to live as a member of the federation, they have to either pay the price or leave Tajikistan.”

“Don’t you think they’re going to bother us with the struggle for independence? I’ve heard that there are quite a few Tajiks living abroad, and it’s going to be a problem if they rally them.”

“So I’ve informed the Tajik people living abroad to participate in the referendum. Even though they live abroad, being a Tajik remains the same. It’s to get rid of the potential trouble.”

Overseas Tajikis were lavishly sending money to their relatives living in the country despite the difficult conditions, with the money they sent taking on one of the pillars of the Tajik economy.

They were working abroad because they had no way to make ends meet in Tajikistan, but most of them were given hard and undesirable jobs in foreign lands due to a lack of education and language barriers.

When they remitted the money they earned from such rough jobs to the country, they might hope that Tajikistan’s situation would get better. But it would be disastrous if the country gave up its independence and became a federation of Kazakhstan.

So the idea was to give overseas residents a chance to vote.

By the Kazakh Intelligence Department, they were informed about how the recent situation in Tajikistan had improved.

Had it not been for the Kazakh royal family, it could not have handled its snowballing debt to China, and the Pamir Plateau would have been seized by China.

Above all, the Kazakh royal bodyguards played a major role in maintaining stability in Tajikistan, which was tantamount to anarchy at the moment.

And the Kazakh royal family was rumored to be planning a full-fledged investment, and hopes were beginning to rise.

With the intelligence service’s operation in place, overseas Tajik had no choice but to think that becoming a federation of Kazakhstan would be a way to save the country.

***

“Commander Jun. How many crew members for the nuclear-powered submarines have you selected?”

“We’ve selected 350 crew members, and they are in the middle of basic training.”

The new 15,000-ton, 18 meter-long Oscar-class nuclear submarine could board 110 crew members. If 350 people were selected, the navy secured about 130 reservists, on top of the number of people on board the two submarines.

“I paid the Russian Navy for commissioned training, so get them to the Severodvinsk Shipyard right away.”

Severodvinsk was also called 402 Naval Shipyard. It was a port city off the coast of the White Sea in northwestern Russia.

Here, Russian strategic nuclear submarines were mostly built or undergoing repairs, and the Kazakh nuclear submarine crew members were scheduled to undergo training.

There was also an educational site for Russian submarine crew members.

“Your Highness, I’d like to go with them to get training.”

“You’re going to drop the fleet captain’s task and be a submarine captain?”

“I think I need to know the basics about nuclear submarines so I can make commands more effectively.”

“That’s true.”

It was also problematic for the commander, who led the task force, to conduct the operation without properly grasping the special features of the submarines.

“I don’t know if the three-month training will help us operate the nuclear submarine properly.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Even though small, they’ve operated submarines before. Their experience will be of great help.”

There was a difference in the maneuvering of small and large submarines, and the 300-ton diesel-powered submarines and the 15,000-ton nuclear-powered submarines were too different.

“Why don’t you operate them with submarine experts for the time being? It would take at least a year for our soldiers to master the operation.”

“Just like the Aegis destroyer?”

“Yes. If we recruit Russian veterans who had been discharged from the Russian Navy as advisers, they’d be a great help.”

“We have to change our policy if we want civilians aboard our submarines.”

“There will be quite a few people who would like to come if we give them a proper treatment.”

How could Russian soldiers find a decent job after they were discharged from military service with Russia’s current economic situation? Most of them would be idling around.

If they were invited in the form of military advisers, they would gladly come to Kazakhstan.

“The soldiers all speak Russian, so I don’t think there would be a problem.”

“Well then, please process it.”

“All right. Your Highness, and may I recommend the captain and deputy captain to board the nuclear submarines? I want to select them based on capability, not rank, as they will deal with ballistic missiles.”

“I was going to leave it to you anyway, so if you have any people in mind, please make a recommendation.”

“Thank you. Your Highness, I will never let you down.”

“From now on, I will leave any matter of the Navy to you, so leave your personal preferences and recruit all your talent. You should always keep in mind that human resources are everything. If soldiers’ complaints about the change of personnel gets higher, they can’t be patriotic to their country.”

“I will take your word as gold and do my best to ensure that no one is inconvenienced.”

“The Army’s personnel manual seemed to be pretty good. If you do a review of personnel by going through the personnel committee, everyone will accept the result.”

“I will do my best not to cause you any trouble.”

“But you also need to take into account the specific nature of nuclear submarines… I wonder what the selection criteria for nuclear-powered submarine commanders are.”