July 1st
The Imperial Palace and Grounds District was a vast expanse of land in the heights in the center of Mumbai, eleven miles long and four miles wide at the widest, this vast expanse housed the Imperial Palace, nature reserves, an array out lesser buildings, and several barracks and other military installations of the Imperial Army. The Palace itself was a massive structure, built in homage to Indian architecture from before the Raj. An army of servants and guards manned the impressive structure, ensuring its smooth running and security.
Within the palace was where the Imperial Council often met to discuss matters, not a far journey for the high command of India's armed forces, its own supreme headquarters also located in Mumbai, just a short helicopter ride or trip by ground to the Palace grounds and then up to the palace itself. Under the palace were sprawling sub-terrain structures as well, though few knew the true extent of them.
This day was to see a very serious meeting of the top echelons of the Indian government and military, the usual traditional breakfast being skipped over for something quick and easy, moving right onto the meeting. Assembled were the commanders of the Indian armed forces, members of the Imperial Council, a few members of the Privy Council, and most importantly Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress.
“Needless to say, your Majesty, honored members of the Council, that the situation in the United States is simply disastrous. I don't think any of us thought the Americans would fracture to this extent, and this swiftly. We have been taking actions to try and mitigate the economic damage, and thankfully we have a sizable reserve of the Russian Ruble, but I fear we must take more decisive action if we are to mitigate the worst of the damage.
With this in mind I wish to present to Her Imperial Majesty the Ministry of Finance's recommended course of action. We will of course need your express approval to go ahead with the plan. The details will be found in the folder we submitted. In short, we believe it to be prudent to immediately cash out of the USD in all fields possible. Bonds, assets, cash reserves, everything we can off-load as fast as possible.” Minister of Finance Jwala Kamal said, clearly exhausted from the no doubt hellish amount of work he and his ministry have had to do over the past few days. There was a mumbling of voices around the table. The young Empress Amara I scanned the short document briefing quickly, before nodding.
“Do so, Minister. Go at once and call your ministry and instruct them to begin.” She said, calmly but resolutely. Minister Kamal bowed and swiftly left the table to make the call.
The Chief of Imperial Naval Staff, Admiral Rahul Divekar, was the next to speak. “Likewise, the war between Japan and China is concerning, and closer to home. Our patrols noted the passing of a British aircraft carrier battlegroup, and we are highly confident it is heading towards Hong Kong, no doubt to defend it from interference by both Japan and China as they fight their war. The navy would like to increase protection of our shipping lanes in the South China Sea, and anywhere else that might be effected.
With the economic hit the world is likely to start facing thanks to the United States, we believe it essential to maintain our local trade, regardless of this war. We should send a strong message to both sides not to interfere with our trade going to either nation. If they will heed the message will be up to them, but we've begun stepping up preparations in the navy and should shortly be prepared fully for any potential action needed..”
“Our office shall send a missive to both the Chinese and Japanese governments, informing them that interference with Indian trade will be seen as a provocative action, but that we will refrain from selling or shipping weapons and munitions to both sides.” Empress Amara said.
With the two major issues settled for now, the meeting moved on to other matters, including weapons and equipment procurement, chiefly for an expansion of the navy. The plan was to increase the number of destroyers in the navy by at least twenty in the next five years, with the bulk of them being produced in India itself. Normally the entire order could be handled by India, but several of their larger dock-yards were undergoing extensive refit with much more modern and also larger facilities, with the ultimate goal of laying down capital-ship sized hulls before the end of the decade, including plans for two indigenous designed and built super-carriers. To make up for the short-fall, the Imperial Government was planning on commissioning the construction of several modified Udaloy-class destroyers from Russia, as well as other heavy equipment.
To: The governments of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Empire of Japan.
The current hostilities between your nations are tragic and concerning for all of Asia. With the collapse of the United States of America and the economic impact that will likely have upon much of the world, India must look to the protection of its shipping and commerce in all areas, but especially now in the South China Sea. While we hope to see a swift and peaceful resolution to your conflict, India must and will protect its commerce. Any action to cease Indian shipping in and around the South China Sea, even if traveling to one of the combatant nations, will be taken as a hostile action against the Imperial Confederation, and the Imperial Indian Navy stands ready to respond in kind.
Understandably your nations would desire that weapons and munitions to lengthen the conflict and cause more death and destruction then needed not be sold, thus we shall cease all sale and transport of weapons and munitions to both nations for the duration of this war.
From the Office of Her Imperial Majesty Amara I
To: The Imperial Russian Embassy
We formally request the attendance of the Russian Ambassador, and any staff deemed necessary, to the Imperial Palace tomorrow at half past ten. We wish to discuss the potential for procurement of heavy military equipment, including naval vessels, and other economic projects India and Russia may embark upon.
From the Office of Her Imperial Majesty Amara I