Sands of the Nubian, Intrigue in the Sudan

[Sudan (Apollo)]

Khartoum, Sudan

Hassan al-Turabi was a tired man. He had fought for nearly sixty years, first against the occupiers and then for the people. He had fought against al-Niamey and against many of the subsequent dicators. He was related to one such dictator by marriage, and he had witnessed his downfall. He had fought for many years.

And now here it was. The Presidency. It had been many years since he had led the nation, the last time being in the 60s with the Islamic Charter Front. And once again here he was. The Presidential Palace looked much different than it had all those years ago, much more modern and extravagant. And it was all his - or at least for another five years.

He had long had a dream, of a truly Islamic nation of Sudan. His dream had risen and faded as reality set in. Hassan had campaigned on a pledge to leave Darfur - and thereby end the attempt to Arabize and Islamize the region.

However, unknown to the Darfuri, there were greater forces at hand. Although Hassan had given up his dream to create a single Islamic nation of Sudan, he still wanted to bring the glory of the Prophet to the people of Darfur.

He glanced at the calendar. He still had over a year until the region seceded to form the Darfur Free State. His brother-in-law was Sadiq al-Mahdi, and his great-grandfather had led the Mahdist in their quest for Sudani independence. Perhaps Sadiq would be able to further his plans.

The Darfuris would certainly have no idea what was transpiring behind their very eyes - their dream of a Free State would not come true. Or at least not in the way they intended if Hassan could do something about it.

Hassan al-Tuarbi was indeed a tired man. But definitely not too tired to plan, and plot.

[Sudan (Apollo)]

Sadiq al-Mahdi looked at the plan and map in front of him. It detailed Sudan, with Darfur specially marked out. He could clearly see a significant section of Western Sudan disappear if Darfur ended up independent, as the peace plan currently aimed to do.

He turned towards his brother-in-law, who was deep in thought. "What are we going to do? If Darfur leaves, we'll splinter once again and that won't do wonders for our domestic stability. Ever since the South left us, the heathens across the nation have all been trying for their own nation."

Hassan al-Turabi stood silently for a moment, before responding. "We act. We have less than a year before Darfur leaves us and when that happens we'll have a hundred thousand militiamen with nothing to do. We need to deploy them somewhere, and we need Darfur."

"What do you suggest?"

"Currently Darfur will form the Darfur Free State - which is unlikely to support us and will most likely aid those against us. It is a land made up of infidels and traitors, and it is time they embrace the true message."

"We fought with them for the last several years over this plan to Arabize and Islamize them - it didn't work. They resisted us, and although they died the world's attention was upon us. We need a way to make this legitimate."

"The only way we'll make this legitimate is if we create a state which seems to be independent of Khartoum, and which is recognized by the rest of the world as a sovereign state. If this hypothetical state were to be Islamic in nature, then it must carry out its activities quietly. We already have little to no international observers in Darfur, thanks to al-Bashir, but we need to make sure that any conversion attempts are quiet."

"How do we create this Islamic state? We've already signed that godforsaken plan with the rebels to create their 'Free State' - they certainly won't agree to any Islamic state."

"There was a nice clause buried in that treaty, I believe that it was Article VII. It stated that if the Darfuri rebels attacked the government, minor modifications could be made to the treaty. These could include the form of government."

"Now why are you telling me this? We're obviously related, but there's no reason to tell me any of what you told me."

"I want you to lead the new Islamic State. We need to concentrate power so that our family remains strong, and important - and who better than the descendant of the Mahdists himself?"