English Channel.
Two of the most advanced Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers currently in service were anchored near Portsmouth Naval Base.
Although it was nominally for resupply, the two ships showed no intention of entering the harbor. They remained crouched at the mouth of the port, watching the various ships coming and going from Southampton and Portsmouth with predatory attention.
Having two missile destroyers equipped with the Aegis Combat System guarding your doorstep was, of course, an extremely uncomfortable experience. Since more than half a month ago, many people had protested against it.
The most influential among them was Patrick Lincoln, leader of the People's Livelihood Party, currently the third-largest party. In interviews with major media outlets, he harshly condemned the United States' overbearing behavior, saying that the United States was treating its own allies with the same Cold War mentality it had used against the Soviet Union, and was not treating its own people like people.
At the same time, he repeatedly emphasized that Britain could not abandon its own interests for the sake of so-called "allied nations." The British government should defend its legitimate rights and interests more forcefully, and should strike back hard against the United States' "reckless sanctions." Blind weakness and concessions would only harm the interests of its own people.
However, the People's Livelihood Party was still out of power. Although Patrick's voice had sparked a considerable response among the public, it had not been taken seriously by Parliament. Many people even denounced Patrick as a grandstander, and some had begun slapping the label of a red party onto him, attempting to stir up people's fear of the People's Livelihood Party.
"I could watch these Brits argue back and forth every day and never get tired of it." A naval lieutenant aboard the McCain was