Empire of the Ring

Zeynep, who had been to Praslin Island for volunteer work, was complaining to Doctor Kim Dong-sung, the head of the hospital ship.

She was shocked to see the smoking of children in their early teens and the prevalent sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) among the natives.

“Princess, the current status of tourist spots everywhere in the world is no different from here. In particular, Seychelles was a British colony until the ’70s, so there was widespread defeatism. Rather than trying to do something for their future, people are focused on stimulating the immediate peripheral nerves. We can’t help it because the low culture of tourists who dream of breaking away from their daily lives at tourist destinations is affecting the residents.”

“Even if it’s the case with STDs, the scene of children smoking cigarettes keeps bothering me.”

“What would people born in tourist attractions learn and grow up to? And even though they’re independent, they still have the colonial mentality. It’s a place with only 90,000 people, so it’s embarrassing to call a country, but it’s rolling because it has tourism revenue.”

Seychelles was relying on tourism revenue for most of its state tax revenues and national income because of its lack of human and physical resources and its own production capacity. Therefore, tourists were their hope.

It was an economic structure that could only be sustained by struggling to meet the needs and tastes of tourists visiting the islands.

“I’ll have to talk to His Highness and ask him to run a resort here. Wouldn’t there be any change if Arirang Hotel were to be built here?”

“That’s a good idea. It would be nice to set up a clinic at the resort and take care of the residents as well.”

“As for providing medical service, the hospital ship can regularly stop by time to time and treat people, but I think when the royal naval base is built here, it would be nice to have a hotel as a resting place here for the medical staff of the hospital ship going in and out of Madagascar.”

“That’s a very appealing idea. You have my full support. In fact, I’ll take the lead in suggesting your idea to the Duke. It would be nice to have Arirang Hotel in this beautiful place.”

Zeynep thought that investing for Seychelles would strengthen Kazakhstan’s position as Seychelles was sparing its room for the Kazakh naval base.

“Doctor, it was indeed a good decision to come with you on the hospital ship.”

“Thank you. So please withdraw the one-year deadline of my service on the hospital ship.”

“Oh, my! That’s beyond my authority. I heard that you have a lot of work to do in the royal territory…”

“I have to stand on the back burner so that the juniors can have a place. You’ll be treated like a greedy old man if you don’t yield your position for nothing. It’s my dream to do volunteer work in remote areas, so please help me.”

“Hooray… Okay, I’ll be on your side, so please support me, too.”

Zeynep and Doctor Kim Dong-sung hit it off quickly.

Fascinated by Seychelles’ natural scenery, Zeynep wanted to make it a base for the hospital ship, which would be working in Africa.

She also hinted about her intention to build the Arirang Hotel in Seychelles to Admiral Jun. However, he gave a negative opinion, saying Seychelles was too small a country.

“It’s beautiful, but the harbor is so small that it’s hard to accommodate all the mobile fleet. Why don’t you look around Madagascar and decide?”

“Oh, my! The Indian base looks so big, but are you saying it’s hard to accommodate all of our fleet?”

“Yes, it is. Even with our own dock, only one mobile fleet can dock. I’m not saying we should give up the base, but the underlying problem still remains. That’s why I’ve asked His Highness to build a base in Madagascar. It would be a stronghold for the Indian Ocean fleet. From a long-term perspective, it also helps Kazakhstan’s national interests. This place will be more complicated when the Indian Navy deploys more vessels in the future. Well, Madagascar is also a place of volunteer work, so please take a look around. There must be a place that you’ll like.”

Zeynep could not argue back as Admiral Jun was right.

When the princess looked disappointed, he continued, “Madagascar is as beautiful as here. It is the setting of the novel ‘The Little Prince’ and home to the lemur monkey which is a character in a Disney movie. They say it’s a very interesting animal. Why don’t you invest in the area with the potential for future development? Soldiers will love it when the resort is built there.”

Zeynep, an animal lover, was intrigued to hear that it was the home of the lemur monkey.

“I’m embarrassed to hear what you just said. I overlooked the importance of Madagascar. Madagascar would be a good place to provide friendship between the two countries and rest for soldiers.”

When the princess let go of her will, Victor Jun was relieved.

He was inwardly worried about her being stubborn.

But the princess was a bright and wise girl who could make reasonable decisions.

***

The burial of three pirates’ mother ships in waters off Somalia seemed to have been forgotten quietly, but with the appearance of a fishing boat that witnessed the shelling near the site brought the world’s attention to the issue.

The frigates did not bear the Kazakh flag, but it was obvious they belonged to the Kazakh Navy through the images of the hundreds of satellites in the sky.

The only warships operating in the southeastern African waters were the Kazakh Navy and the Indian Navy.

The U.N. Human Rights Council took issue with the Kazakh Navy’s merciless sweep of the pirates saying that pirates also had human rights.

“Your Highness, the U.N. is going crazy against us for breaking international law. The problem is that we entered Somali territorial waters arbitrarily.”

Admiral Jun was at a loss of what to do as an unexpected situation occurred.

-It’s like a plant government. Who do you notify before entering the sea? They should thank us for wiping out the pirates’ home base instead. Don’t be intimidated and drive out the pirates harder. Our Foreign Ministry will continue to be unresponsive. It’ll get quiet over time.

“Yes, sir. We will implement it without any setbacks.”

The behavior of the U.N. Human Rights Council was reprehensible.

It was the Human Rights Council, which issued only a brief statement in the face of the civil war, which resulted in numerous refugees and kidnappings of refugees for long-term trafficking and human trafficking, but it was now blaming Kazakhstan for attacking Somali pirates.

To Youngho, the act of attacking the hospital ship was unacceptable.

That was why when Admiral Jun belatedly reported that he had wiped out the pirates’ mother ships in southern Somalia, he praised his action.

If there was no punishment despite the attack, the pirates’ reckless provocations would have never ended.

Youngho was considering dropping out of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

It was a pity that he was paying an organization that could not show any responsible behavior.

The U.S. recently withdrew from it as well.

This was because it was tired of the council, which only held back the government’s decision far from helping it.

After the call with the Duke, Victor launched the operation for hunting down armed vessels in and out of Somali waters. He had nothing to hold back as the Duke said he would ignore the recommendation of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

As the Kazakh Navy deployed vessels in the Indian Ocean to clean up piracy, the U.S. and Indian navies joined the effort.

The attack on a hospital ship in Kazakhstan had now started a bigger movement.

The navies of the three countries began to deal with the military cliques behind the pirates.

Twelve military cliques took control of some Somali areas, and they not only did piracy but also other vicious acts to highlight their existence.

Somalia had long been a state of anarchy, with individuals and military cliques shooting and killing anyone as long as they were armed with guns.

Even the Doctors Without Borders had been withdrawn from Somalia, making it a nation shunned by the whole world.

This was a legendary area where Al-Qaeda came to set up a branch but withdrew after an unexpected RPG rocket bomb blew up and caused casualties, saying that the security in the area was very poor.

Even terrorist groups were worried about the absence of security, so it was a mess.

***

It was no exaggeration to say that all ships floating in the sea off Somalia were sunk except for fishing boats.

In the course of such sweep operations, the combined fleet was also hit by pirates who fought back with AK rifles and portable missiles.

The two sides were injured together in a gunfight that took place while investigating pirate vessels.

Zeynep’s hospital ship stopped treating residents and was devoted to treating soldiers as the number of total casualties surged.

“I’m so proud of you, Princess. The wounded soldiers will never forget the hospitality of our hospital ship.”

The reason Zeynep wanted to operate a hospital ship was to do volunteer work, but it first came to her when she heard that Kazakhstan’s military’s work abroad was increasing.

Soldiers operating abroad had no way to be treated.

In the event of peace, the ship would offer medical services for the people of remote regions, and in the emergency, it was meant to treat wounded Kazakh soldiers on the battlefield. Although she had never dreamed that it would be needed this quickly, it was time for the hospital ship to shine and do its function.

“Head doctor, if we send the Somali pirates back after treatment, they’ll join the pirates again.”

“What are you talking about? They should be punished for their crimes.”

“Will they ever be different even if we punish them? They’re completely different from us.”

They could treat the injured Somali pirates, but it was unclear what to do with them afterward. It was ambiguous to bring them to Kazakhstan for a trial. There was no reason for Kazakhstan to play such a kind role.

The best way was to hand them over back to the U.S. or Indian troops.

Strangely enough, however, the Kazakh Navy did not bring any pirate casualties.

The navies took them down on the spot to avoid having to worry about such things.

It could be called cruel, but it was a punishment for their crimes.

This was because such drastic retribution was the only way to reduce the compliance of pirates.

“I’ll have to ask Admiral Jun.”

“Princess, he would send all of them back to Somalia.”

“If the person in charge decides to do that, we have to follow. There’s no reason to take on things we can’t handle. I think it’s presumptuous to take a political burden.”

“If you think so, I agree. I think it’s right that we focus on the treatment and not in the rest.”

When asked, Admiral Jun said that he planned to send all prisoners back to Somalia after treating them. He said he was lucky to have treated them.

According to him, the Somali warlords and pirates were human scum, so they could not be changed.

He stressed that the priority now was to create an environment in which pirates could not operate freely by mobilizing powerful force.