NationStates Jolt Archive

Reuters:

Fighting has been reported in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, with rebel forces under the leadership of the self-styled Chagatai Khan battling government forces to the south west of the capital, Tashkent. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara have recently fallen to the insurgents.

Foriegn offices were bustling with all sorts of news, but this bit caught the central asian desk's attention. Kilean began to keep track of the situation in Chagatai.

ISD agents in central asia were told to find out who these insurgents are, and what sort of government they are rebelling against.

Bishkek:

International media present in the capital of neighbouring Kyrgyzia have recently obtained a tape of a purported interview of Mahmud Saada Khan, the invisible head of the Free Chagatai insurgency. The following is an extract from this source:

'...for too long the people of Central Asia have suffered in silence, bowed to the will of foreign invaders, with their glorious history and culture trampled into the earth. And now that our region has its independece, what do we find? Are the people prospering? Is Central Asia at peace?

'...instead the poeple of this nation, like those still languishing under the heel of neighbouring corrupt and decadent regimes, have seen no fruits of their supposed freedom. Our great region is mired in strife, economic stagnation and religious fanaticism; our 'glorious' leaders bicker amongst themselves, with no thought for their people, whilst brother-nation squabbles with brother-nation...

'...I swear to you, this day, that such a sad state of affairs will not be allowed to last. Together, we shall take charge of our destinies, and build a new, better future in these lands...'

Nukus:

Reports have just been received of a second uprising in the town of Nukus, capital of the Karakalpak Autonomous Republic. Deatils are still unclear, but various unconfirmed reports suggest that the Karakalpak government may have been toppled by local pro-Chagatai elements.

Termez:

The last twelve hours have seen a flood of refugees streaming across the border into neighbouring Afghanistan. There have already been numerous reports of clashes in the region between retreating Uzbek government forces and local Afghan militias, leading to renewed fears in the international community that the crisis, if not speedily contained, may spread throughout the region.

The creaky, rusting old russian helicopter flew frightfully low over the rocky terrain. Onboard was an ISD agent. His orders were to meet with and assess this Mahmud Saada Khan. The situation was oh so fluid, and anything could happen....the ISD just needed to know if Khan could back up his rhetoric with action.

The tribesman was about to take a swig from his flask when the unmistakable sound of an old Mil-8 drifted over the hills. Hastily he shouldered his AKM as he crouched behind a boulder, keen eyes already alert for the aircraft.

He almost didn't have time to see it, brushing the scrub with its wheels as it hurtled down the valley. Unsure whether or not he himself had been seen, he hunched against the rock, trusting it to shelter him from the inevitable small arms fire.

A few long moments passed, yet none came. He peered gingerly over the rock. The craft was moving in a controlled circle to the east, towards the front line. Shading his eyes, he searched for insignia; there was none. He had served in the government forces years before; this was not one of theirs.

Carefully he reached for the radio, concealed by the boulder.

'Tuman, this is the Archer. There's a single 'copter coming from the south-west; about 40 km from Ulugh Column. No, it's not one of theirs...'

The ISD team leapt from the helicopter, anxious to get out of that crash waiting to happen. Six men-dressed in the baggy pants and vests of locals- gathered themselves together as the helicopter left. They were dressed for the mountains, and carried AK-74's, backpacks, and- one of them- a sleek suitcase.

With studied nonchalance, the men began to pick their way up the nearest, trail, to find this Mahmud Saada Khan.

The column of vehicles was drawn up haphazardly on the road side. Bodies, some still reaching for their rifles, lay sprawled from open doors. A truck at the head of the convoy had been hit square in the side by an RPG; now it lay on its side, pumping acrid smoke into the still air.

A few FCM fighters wandered about the carnage, pausing here and there to search a vehicle or corpse.

'Commander!' One of the fighters raced over, AKM swinging byits shoulder strap.
'Here.'
'It's the Archer; there's an unmarked helo heading this way.'
Commander Ulugh paused, scratching the stubble on his chin. 'Government?'
'The Archer says not.'
'Who the hell else would come out here? Smells like trouble.' He sniffed the air mockingly, before turning to the remaining men along the line.
'Right boys,' he bellowed, 'We're moving out!'

He tapped the radioman on the shoulder. 'let's take a look at our guests...'

"Mahmud Saada Khan, I presume?"

The irony was lost on the rebel leader. The ISD agent quickly dropped any pretense of being buddy-buddy with this fierce man.

"okay, I will be perfectly honest with you. I won't give you some bullshit line about backing you for idealistic reasons. You're fighting to resist foriegn domination. Kilean wants to help you. We want to help you beacuse other powers having their interests disrupted is good for us."

The rest of the ISD team was nervous about this sort of blunt honesty.

"you don't need to worry about then becoming a Kilean puppet. There isn't any way we could project power here even if we wanted to."

The agent reached for his suitcase.

"We will support you. I will not lie and say it is for some great ideal. Well...I take that back. We do this for the greatest ideal of all- power. Power for you and your nation means more power for Kilean elsewhere as other nations that seek to dominate central asia are harmed"

The agent opened the suitcase. It contained neatly bundled 100 thaler bills.

"This is for now, but soon, soon we could ship you weapons. Surface-to-Air missiles, night vision, things that will give you a great advantage"

The agent leaned forwards.

"So, Mahmud Saada Khan, do we have a deal?"