Saturday, May 14, 1985. Chicago.You open your eyes to the sound of rushing feet and whispered voices. It’s still dark, your wife turning over and muttering in her sleep. What’s the time? The digital clock reads 3:46 AM. There’s more voices outside in the corridor. People are running. What’s going on? You get out of bed, taking care not to disturb Linda, and look for your dressing gown. You find it and wrap it around yourself while you look through the window. The city is quiet, only a few cars lazily crawling down the streets, empty of pedestrians. You see that there’s been a light rain, droplets of water still clinging to your window and leaving the city streets glistening.There’s a knock at the door, and as you turn, it opens, and your friend, Albert West, pokes his head through and says: “Mr President. We need you to come with us.”SOMEWHERE ABOVE THE ARCTICA beeping rings out through the cockpit. Three pairs of eyes are staring at the dashboard. Cpt. William Blakely, aircraft commander, pushes a button and the beeping stops. He orders the navigator to check in with command. The navigator pushes some buttons and listens to his headset, then shakes his head. Cpt. Blakely pushes some more buttons, and CAP811 flashes on his screen. He resets the system. CAP811 flashes on the screen again. He looks at his pilot, who nods, slowly. They both unzip a pouch on their vests, and pull out two documents, marked TOP SECRET. They break the red ribbon seal, and read what is written on them. They look at each other’s documents. The contents are identical. There is silence in the cockpit.
>>6308901CHICAGO:>Albert, what the hell is going on?You’re dressed now, in a clean, but crumpled suit, walking with Albert, your National Security Advisor, and ten of the Secret Service. They’re all openly carrying their pistols. You’ve never seen them like this. Albert is pale and sweating, and you wonder how long he’s been awake.“It’ll have to wait sir, we need to get you to a safe place.”>Albert, what is it? Is it the Russians? The Iranians?“Can’t speak now, we need to get you to the car. It’s not safe here, sir.”>What the hell do you mean it’s not safe? Safe from what? Who?But he only glances at you from the corner of his eye and shakes his head.Robert Verlane, your head of security comes in, nods at the men around you, and places himself at the front. The group splits in two, Albert with one team, you with another, as Albert’s team goes first down the elevators. When you get into the cramped space Verlane twists a key beside the buttons and presses ground floor. About a minute later the elevator stops. Verlane pokes his head out, grunts.“Clear.” A hand pushes you from behind, your bodyguards crowding round you so close you can barely see the hotel lobby. You get glimpses of confused faces, hotel staff, more Security Service rushing about, and then you’re outside, being bundled into a waiting car, heater on full blast. You’re sandwiched between two men, Albert across from you. The car starts driving.>What about my wife?“She’ll follow with us. Priority is you, Mr President. She’ll be onboard, don’t worry.”>Onboard? Where are we going?“Air Force One, sir. We need to get you to Washington.”Washington? You weren’t due back for another 3 days. This party meeting was important, the senators were threatening to blow up the House over the spending bill, on top of the ongoing civil tensions. What could be so important that you had to leave for the capital? Was there news of an assassination attempt? 81’had thrown everything into disarray. But then why were they rushing you to Washington? You look Albert in the eye.>Bert, I want you to tell me what’s going on.He glances at you, and you realise that he’s shaking. He reaches for the decanter sitting next to him, and pours himself a glass. Once he gulps down a good part, he shakes his head and leans forward.“Mr. President. At this moment a number of our nuclear-armed B-52 bombers are heading into Russia with the intent to drop their bombs on every Soviet city from St Petersburg to Bukhara. They will arrive in 12 hours.”
>>6308902WELCOME TO FAIL SAFE QUEST! A short one-shot, inspired by the Cold War classics Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe. A US nuclear bomber wing has gone rogue, and that is not all that is afoot. Will you be able to prevent WWIII from breaking out, or will you be doomed to the ashes of nuclear hellfire? For those of you wondering where Warhammer: Fallen Brother is, no fear, that’s still being planned, I’m just going on a trip in a few weeks and I didn’t want to cut it off in the middle of the thread. I'll make a thread for that when I get back.Your arrival aboard Air Force One is muted. It’s too early for the media to know anything, so there’s nobody to greet and harass you as you board the plane. O’Hare International Airport is still busy, though Albert says your emergency departure has caused significant delays, Air Force One taking priority over everyone else. Inside the plane it’s quiet, the hum of air conditioners and the crackle of Secret Service radios the only sounds you hear. Your staff is unusually quiet, sitting nervously in their seats with nothing to do; the Secret Service is running this show. After waiting for your wife to board, you kiss her, explain the situation, then make your way to the conference room, where Albert is waiting.Fred Schultz, your Attorney General, is already aboard, and next to him sits your Chief of Staff, Katherine Bell. Soon after you arrive your Secretary of the Treasury, Bill Burrows, steps into the room, and the door is sealed behind him. Soon after that you feel the plane begin to move, and you look around in confusion.>Where’s Ted?Albert’s reply is quiet. “The VP is taking a separate plane to Pennsylvania, sir. Blue Ridge.”You gulp. You understand what that means.Bill is wiping his face with a handkerchief when Verlane enters the room. He nods at Albert, before kneeling next to you.“Sir. We will be landing at Andrews in less than 2 hours. We’ll have a fighter escort from Chanute in a few minutes, so there’s nothing to worry about.”You thank him, then turn to Albert.>What about the rest of cabinet?“Returning immediately, sir. Sec Def is getting briefed by the Pentagon, he’ll meet us there. He’ll be with Director Black. Dr. Morton is on his way from California, and Peabody is still in France. The rest we’re still trying to contact.”You sigh, and lean back in your chair. Schultz shakes his head then puts his hands on the table.
>>6308903“What the hell is this, Albert? Bomber wings don’t just take off without the President’s authorisation.”Albert whispers in a voice that you barely hear. “I don’t know.”Kate then speaks up. “At 12:45 this morning, the airborne nuclear standby element of Strategic Air Command did not return to base as scheduled. Instead, they changed direction to Russia, and we have been unable to make contact with either the bombers or Strategic Air Command itself. NORAD is tracking the bombers, and informed the Pentagon an hour after the bombers did not make their scheduled return. I believe the Pentagon has been desperately trying to get through to the airbases, but the phone lines are down, and they are now trying to contact Army elements to deliver messages personally. We’re still trying to get more information.”You close your eyes and swear. This is a disaster. The end of your presidency, if not the country. How on earth could this happen?>How many?Albert responds in a tired voice, “About 100, Mr. President. The Soviets are going to notice soon as well, if they haven’t already. We need to get you to the hotline.”Of course. The Moscow-Washington hotline established after the Cuban Missile Crisis. It would allow you to speak directly with the Soviet General-Secretary in Moscow. But it was 2 hours away, and so much could happen between now and then.>What are our options?Kate is first to speak. “We call the Soviet Ambassador, from here. It’s not the General-Secretary, but hopefully he can get a message through quicker than we can get to Washington. No telling how long he’ll take though.”Schultz leans over to you. “Mr. President, it may be advisable to raise the DEFCON level.”Kate looks up in alarm. “That would spook the Soviets even more! They’d think-”“That we were preparing to attack. Nevertheless, if the Soviets decide to respond, we must be ready. They may just decide on a first strike before we get to Washington anyway.”Burrows also nods his head. “Project Greek Island too, we have to safeguard Congress. Unless you want to rule by decree.”He smiles weakly, knowing the joke is in bad taste. But the only levity you’ll find in this situation is gallows humour.>Albert?“I agree with Secretary Shultz, but Greek Island may be too hasty. If there is a chance we can get through this, it may be prudent to keep Congress in the dark, for now.”
>>6308905The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do? Pick UP TO two.>Raise the DEFCON level. The Air Force will be ready to mobilise in 15 minutes, awaiting your orders.>Call the Soviet Ambassador, see what he can do.>Activate Project Greek Island, the bunker buried beneath the Greenbriar hotel to shelter Congress from a nuclear attack.>Write in.
>>6308906>Call the Soviet Ambassador, see what he can do.
>>6308906>Raise the DEFCON level. The Air Force will be ready to mobilise in 15 minutes, awaiting your orders.>Call the Soviet Ambassador, see what he can do.
>>6308906>>Raise the DEFCON level. The Air Force will be ready to mobilise in 15 minutes, awaiting your orders.>>Call the Soviet Ambassador, see what he can do.
Going to need a tiebreaker, otherwise I'll roll for it.
Rolled 1 (1d2)1: Call the Soviet Ambassador2. Call the Soviet Ambasador and raise the DEFCON level
HOUR 1>Call the ambassador. I’ll hold off on raising the DEFCON level, we don’t want to spook the Russians any more then they are already.Schultz and Burrows look disappointed, but Albert only nods while Kate gets up to make the call. You close your eyes. The air conditioning in the cabin is set to warm, but you still feel cold. You hear the chatter of your security team outside the corridor, and the whine of plane engines. Thousands of miles away, somewhere over Canada maybe, or the Arctic, your nuclear bombers are heading towards the Soviet Union. You wonder what the men onboard think of their mission. Are they scared? Excited? Resigned? Many, maybe all of them, will not return. But regardless of what they might think, you know they’ll see it through.“Mr. President.”You open your eyes. Daniel Schultz, your attorney-general is looking at you. A tough man, he fought in Korea before studying law, rising to become one of the best defense lawyers in the country. He’s no friend of yours, political differences, but there’s nobody better. You realise that you’ll need him when the media finds out. If they’re around to find out.>Yes?“What… what do you plan to do if those bombers make it through?”You shake your head. You don’t know. The thought terrifies you. How will the Russians respond? Will they believe it’s an accident if half their country is turned into radioactive ash? You say as much to him, but he simply shrugs his shoulders and says,“What would you do if their nuclear bombers were coming for us?”You don’t respond. A few minutes later, after making several threats she isn’t authorised to make to foreign nationals, Kate walks over.“Mr. President? It’s the Soviet ambassador.”You jump up as she hands you the phone.A thickly accented voice is on the other line. Grigori Preminin, the Soviet ambassador to the United States. You’ve met the man a few times at functions, but have yet to get to know him. You’ve only been president for a few months after all. “Good morning, Mr. President. It is not usual I get calls so early, no? To what do I owe the pleasure?”>Grigori, I want you to listen to me. This is urgent. Right now, there are several nuclear armed bombers heading to the Soviet Union. I did not order them to do that. Grigori, I need you to tell your government that I have not ordered an attack. I don’t know what is going on or why they’re moving towards your country, but please, tell your boss, Mr. Romanov, or whoever’s in charge over there, that we have not ordered an attack. We are not trying to attack.There is silence on the other end. You wait, your heart pounding. Eventually, there is a cough.“This is not a funny joke.”
>>6309481>Grigori, this is not a joke. I don’t know why or how, but our nuclear bombers are heading towards Russia. Please, tell your government that this is not a deliberate attack. Please, you must believe me, Grigori.You hear rapid Russian suddenly from the other end, Grigori shouting to someone. You wait, and a few seconds later Grigori is breathing heavily into the phone.“Alright. I will head to the embassy, but, you must know, this is a bad time.”You silently curse. Of course. Konstantin Chernenko, the previous leader, had died only a month before, and the power struggles had been fierce. The last report you read was that the reformer, Mikhail, had made a failed bid for leadership before being removed from the politburo. >I understand. Just… please, do your best. “I will. May I call you again later?”>You may.“Thank you. I will go.”He hangs up, and you breathe a sigh of relief. At least he believed you.Albert comes along and squeezes your shoulder.“We’ll be arriving in Washington soon, Mr. President. Before we get there, there are some things you might want to do.”>Like what?“Evacuate our embassy in Moscow. It will be short notice, but I believe they will be able to leave before the bombers arrive. American lives are at risk.”Kate Bishop pauses a phone conversation she’s having upon hearing Albert’s words. “You’re asking us to abandon the Soviets completely. At least leave the ambassador behind.”Albert shakes his head. “Forcing him to stay would be cruel. And it may just be his death warrant.”You look to Schultz and Burrows. Schultz points at Albert, while Burrows nods at Kate. You sigh. You knew you’d have to make tough decisions as president, but not something like this. >Is there anything else?“Strategic Defense Initiative. It’s not fully operational, and Lord knows it doesn’t cover the entire country, but if the Soviets retaliate it may be able to limit the damage. But again, we risk angering the Soviets.”Of course. You had a way of countering nukes and they didn’t. But if it means saving a few more lives…“One more thing. I will not condone it, and I strongly advise against it, but this is a golden opportunity for a first strike.”Your blood runs cold. You think you hear Kate make a choking sound, but you’re not paying attention.>Albert, what-“There will be individuals within the Pentagon who will advise you to do just that. They may be very convincing. But I joined you because I hoped we could prevent something like that. God knows the DoD is itching for a fight after ’83. But it’s not my decision to make, it’s yours, and I will respect that.”>Thank you, Albert.He shakes his head. “It’s not something you should be thanking me for.”
>>6309482The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Evacuate the Moscow embassy.>Ask the ambassador to stay.>Order the ambassador to stay.>Activate SDI.>Write in.
>>6309482>>Ask the ambassador to stay.We have to keep the lines open.
>>6309483>>Ask the ambassador to stay.need someone there who can give clear info without it being misunderstood
>>6309483>Ask the ambassador to stay>Activate SDI.We would be fools to not prepare
>>6309483>Ask the ambassador to stay>Activate SDI.
>>6309483>Ask the ambassador to stay.>Activate SDI.
>>6309483>>Ask the ambassador to stay.>>Activate SDI.
>PROVIDE TARGETING INFORMATION ON THE ROGUE STRATEGIC WING TO THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR>Call Canuckia, Tell them to Shoot Down the Rogue Wing
>Get me the ambassador. I’ll call him.Kate nods and begins dialling in a number on her phone, a large, bulky thing that has some upgrades from the NSA in it. While you wait, you wave Albert over.>Activate what we have of SDI. If they retaliate even one less bomb might make a difference.Albert nods. “Right away sir. I’ll pass the word to the Pentagon.”He leaves the room, headed for another part of the plane that has the direct connections to the most important defense and emergency facilities in the country. It’s not as comprehensive as the equipment on board the emergency command and control plane you’re told, but it’ll do until you touch down in Washington.A few minutes later and Kate has routed the call to your Moscow embassy to the console sitting in the middle of the conference table. Outside, you can see the faint hints of sunrise, the lights of the highways and cities still shining at this early hour. After a few beeps, the line is live, and you hear the voice of your Ambassador to the USSR, Douglas Blume, on the other end.“Mr. President? I don’t understand what’s going on. Kate just told me that our bombers are somehow->Blume, listen up. Nuclear armed bombers are currently heading towards Russia and we fear they may intend to drop their payloads. It’s safe to assume that Moscow is one of their targets. We’ll try to prevent anything from happening, but there’s a risk. I would like you to stay in Moscow, as a gesture of goodwill to the Soviets, but I recognise that this situation is an extraordinary one, so it’s not an order. The decision is up to you.Blume is silent for a few seconds, then replies.“I understand, Mr. President. Thank you.”
>>6310450The lines suddenly goes dead. You wonder if you made the right choice, letting Blume decide what to do. You sigh. You can only deal with so many people’s lives in your hands. But before you can reconsider any further, Albert returns.“Sir. The Pentagon’s implementing the procedures immediately.”>Thank you, Albert.“I should warn you, sir, due to the nature of SDI it won’t be active immediately. The Pentagon told me they’d have to create secure uplinks to manoeuvre the satellites into position, and “warm them up”. Our SDI assets will be fully active in 4 hours. The Soviets will almost certainly detect them by then, but even if they launch right now it’ll be online before the first missiles get within range. We can only hope it won’t be necessary.”You nod, not daring to say anything. Your only hope is that this scare will blow over. You’d seen the pictures from ’83. Everyone had. Able Archer, the military exercise gone bad. If only this was a military exercise.>Still no word from SAC?Albert shakes his head. “No sir. I think the Pentagon is getting worried, though they’ll brief you when you get there.”You say nothing. You’ll find out sooner or later anyway.HOUR 2The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???Roll 1d100 for the Ambassador to stay. Bo3, DC 80.[Apologies for the delay, got suddenly busy. Should be back to a regular schedule tomorrow.]
Rolled 74 (1d100)>>6310452AMBASSADOR
Rolled 63 (1d100)>>6310452
Rolled 28 (1d100)>>6310452
HOUR 2You can see the lights of Reagan National as you fly over Washington, on approach to Andrews Air Force Base. There are no planes taking off or landing however, your arrival grounding everyone for a clear approach. You see the dim shape of your escorting F-15s turn away, their silhouette barely visible in the early morning light as they loop around to land after you. Soon enough, the plane is shuddering with touch down, and as you look out the window you can see the base is abuzz with activity, a convoy of vehicles headed your way. You shiver. Even though you haven’t ordered anything, it looks like they are preparing for war.As you get up to leave, Kate swears at her phone, looking like she wants to throw it against the wall. Burrows looks at her in shock.“What’s happened?”Her fists are shaking as she replies.“Ambassador Blume has ordered the evacuation of the Moscow embassy, and he’s going with them. That spineless cretin! I had to put the fear of Director Black into him just to get him to burn all the documents. There goes one of our main access points to the Kremlin.”Albert only shakes his head at her outburst, and says in a quiet voice,“It might not matter in the end.”You say nothing. As you climb down the plane there are several squads of soldiers to greet you, not in the usual official formation, but spread out as if they’re expecting to be shot at. Their commanding officer quickly walks up to you and snaps off a salute.“Lieutenant O’Donnel, sir! I’ve been ordered to escort you to the Pentagon ASAP. Please follow me.”He quickly marches off towards the line of waiting vehicles as you follow, your staff close behind you and Secret Service agents shielding you all in a wide ring around the group. You climb into the lead car, not the usual Cadillac, since that must have been left behind in Chicago, but one that looks as intimidating all the same. Once your wife has gotten in it drives off, heading with all speed towards the base entrance. You spend some time discussing the situation with her, but the topic quickly changes to the furniture of the White House. Linda wants to rearrange some of the cabinets in your bedroom. You wouldn’t mind at all. It’ll be the first thing you do when you get back, together. Outside, Washington would be quiet were it not for the police sirens heralding the convoy as it heads to the Pentagon. There is nobody in the streets. Puddles of water sit on the sidewalk from a recent spring rain. The flashing red and blue are dazzling, and you can’t help but wonder if those lights will be flashing tomorrow. You feel tired. You ask the agent in front to call ahead and ask for some coffee to be prepared, which he does. You have a feeling it’s more than exhaustion though.
>>6311506When you pull into the carpark, you see that there are too many cars here for this hour of the morning. They must have pulled in everyone. You’re escorted into the building, waved through security like it’s not even there. They even wave through your team, something you’ve never seen them do before. After being lead down several corridors and one long elevator, you reach a set of thick metal doors with armed sentries posted outside them. Your Secretary of Defense, Frank F. Dunnegan, and Director of Central Inteligence, James Black, are waiting for you. Frank comes over and shakes your hand as soon as he sees you.“Mr. President. The War Room is ready.”Black merely nods at you from behind a wall of cigarette smoke. You take a deep breath, and step through the doors.There is a gigantic screen on the wall that shows you a map of Russia. Next to it are other readouts, some of your own forces, others of Russia’s. And there are several thin red lines leading from the skies over Canada that are slowly lengthening as they head towards Russia. You sit down at the table, and your cabinet members that are here, Albert, Shultz, Burrows, Kate, Frank, and Black, sit down with you. Lying in front of you is a red telephone. You look expectantly at Frank.“Mr. President, I’ve been fully appraised of the situation. Our bombers are heading, without apparent orders, into Russia. They are not responding to communications, and SAC is unresponsive as well. I have spoken to Vice President Jackson, and he has arrived safely at the Raven Rock complex. We now have 10 hours before those bombers arrive in Russia. Frankly, Mr. President, we do not have a lot of options here.”>I understand. Give me what you’ve got. He begins. “Canada has offered to put their fighter squadrons in the air. Their orders would be to shoot down our rogue planes. At this stage our bombers may be too far for them to reach. The fighters will run out of fuel over the Arctic. If you order them up, those men would not return.”Albert leans over to you. “Mr. President, from now on, there are no easy choices. You must do what is necessary, no matter the cost.”There are some nods of approval, while others are conspicuously silent. Frank continues.“There is also the matter of the DEFCON level. I know you’ve decided not to raise it, but sir, I would recommend you do so immediately, in the strongest possible terms. The longer you delay, the more vulnerable we are to a Soviet attack.”At this, Black lays down his cigarette. “If they attack.”
>>6311507Frank looks disapprovingly at him, while Kate nods. Burrows shrugs his shoulders. “It depends on what they think is happening.”Black does not pick up his cigarette again, and instead looks directly at you.“There is a highly placed source in the Kremlin, one that we have worked very hard to cultivate. We call him Source Cowboy. The level of access he might provide is unprecedented. If you wish, I will activate him, and we may be able to elucidate some of the Soviet’s thinking during this crisis. However, there are inherent risks to communication, and if we activate him he may be caught. I don’t need to tell you what that might do to their paranoia.”>Is there anything else we can do?“None so immediate. But if you think of something, we are here to serve you.”You thank him, and begin to think. The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Raise the DEFCON level>Order the fighters to try an intercept.>Activate Source Cowboy.>Ask some questions (write in)>Write in.
Ended up busier than I expected, apologies anons. This time I SHOULD be back on schedule.
>>6311509>Order the fighters to try an intercept.>Call the Kremlin to inform the General Secretary
>>6311509>>6311516I'm with this. Since we lost our ambassador (bastard, probably a pinko sympathizer and member of the conspirators), we need to do everything we can to maintain open communication with the Reds. Call the Kremlin and inform them that we're taking measures to arrest the rogue bombers. Appeal to the Soviets reason and ask them to let the Canadian fighters be the ones to shoot down the planes (imagine what a nightmare it would be if the Reds shot down American planes). Advise the Canadians to do their utmost to not violate Soviet airspace on their mission. We will need to work together to avoid a catastrophic end. And also, order the Pentagon find out why SAC is non-responsive. Send in whoever we need to investigate what those skunks are up to. Crack skulls if need be to root out the saboteurs.
>>6311516>SupportA shame that this happens.
>>6311516>>6311521>Support
>>6311516I’ll support this. Any way we can send forces to try to get any pilots that ejected? I understand the Arctic circle is rough terrain but maybe some could land on ice sheets, etc?Or we could just launch a nuke and air burst it, frying the bombers lol
>>6311883the pilots going on this mission would likely be aware of how dangerous it is and that we can't offer much support
HOUR 3>I’ll hold off on those options for now. First, I want those fighters in the air, then I’ll call the General-Secretary.Frank nods. “Right away sir.”He picks up a phone on his side of the table and begins issuing commands, while 10 white dotted lines creep closer and closer to the Russian border. A few moments later, small icons depicting Canadian airbases appear, and you realise just how far away from the bombers they are. Right now, they’re reaching the edge of Canada, and will soon be over the Arctic, but most of Canada’s bases are closer to you, on the border. You’re sending them into the frozen wasteland of the Arctic, and they won’t be able to turn back if they want to catch up. You lean over to Albert.>Is there anything we can do for those pilots? He shakes his head. “They’ll have to bail out when they run out of fuel, or if they reach the targets. We’ll organise some search planes, but sir, even if they’re lucky enough to land on ice, there’s not much hope of finding them. It’s pretty isolated up there, and even our heavy lift planes can only fly so long.”He then lowers his voice.“Frankly sir, this is likely a futile effort. But we must do everything in our power to stop those bombers, no matter how small a chance it might be. Those men will understand.”You have your doubts, but you keep them to yourself. The order has been given. You wait to see the fighters take off, and soon enough they do, white dots that begin moving from the white squares in Canada, all flying as quick as they can to stop the doom that may end the world. But as you watch, you think that though they’re moving quicker, far quicker than the bombers, they’re still too slow. The gap is too big. But now there is little you can do except wait, and you don’t intend to waste time.>Frank.“Yes sir?”>Prepare the hotline. I’m going to call the General-Secretary.“Right away. The translator should be here soon.”Roll 1d100, Bo3. DC 90.
>>6312033You look at the little red telephone in front of you. The hotline to Moscow. It’s only been two years since it was last used, by your predecessor during the ’83 skirmish. Nuclear war was narrowly averted then, you only hope that this time will not be different.You also know that it’s not so simple as a simple telephone conversation. There are Soviet advisors, intelligence officers, and politburo members on the other end, just like it is with you. You have no doubt they’re crowding round a bunker beneath the Kremlin too. When it comes down to it, you’re really not that different; but it’s a sad fact that it only happens in a crisis. While you wait for the arrangements to be made, you ask Frank how the investigation into SACs non-responsiveness is going.“Not well, sir. All the phone lines to Nebraska are down, and their Darpanet nodes are also out. Looking Glass is still airborne, but again, non-responsive. In all honesty sir, it’s almost more worrying than the bombers. The boys upstairs are working on some solutions, and we’ll get them to you as soon as your call is finished.”As you thank him, somebody is buzzed through the security door, and you turn to see a fresh young face of a kid that couldn’t be a year out of college. He’s escorted to you by a soldier, and he takes a moment to nervously look around the room before offering you his hand. You grip it while he introduces himself.“Sir, Mr. President. I’m the, uh, translator, that was requested.”You look quizzically at Frank, but it’s Director Black who answers.“Lawrence Carter. One of my analysts. Only 24, but the best damn speaker of Russian we’ve got. You won’t find any better before those bombers get to Moscow.”>Well, good to have you here, Lawrence. We should be starting shortly. Here, take a seat.He gulps, and sits down next to you. A soldier approaches with a headset for him, while you sit expectantly in front of the red telephone. Frank’s own phone rings, and he listens to it for only a moment before putting it down.“The Russians have accepted our request. The line is now active.”You reach for the phone and pick it up. A voice on the other end says something in Russian, and Carter begins immediately speaking.“Mr. President.”
>>6312035>Grigory.“My officers have informed me several of your bombers are heading towards our country. Is this call to explain why?>Grigory, I do not know why. They are not flying on my orders.“Even if I believe that, some others in this country might not. You are the President of the United States of America. Those bombers are American bombers, and American bombers do not fly unless you tell them.”>Grigory, you must understand. I am as in the dark here as you are. I have already launched fighter jets to shoot them down, though it is a small chance. We are doing everything we can to stop them.“I understand. But you must know that to us it looks like you are attacking, and there are some who are encouraging me to respond in kind.”Before you can respond, Carter holds up a hand.“Uh, there’s another voice in the background, some shouting. Others are trying to stop someone from reaching the phone. I think, yes, he’s been stopped. He’s being told to sit back down. Ahem.”“I have stopped some of my people from making rash decisions, because you do not appear to be preparing for war, but there is only so much I can do. Mr. President, you will have to give me some things if we are to defend ourselves. This is what my generals say. Do you agree?”>What kind of things?“Details of your bombers. Their speed, their defences, missile systems, radar, and so on. If your own fighters cannot shoot them down, then we will have to do it ourselves.”You look up at the table, and the first thing you see is Frank desperately mouthing “No.” Albert is shaking his head, and even Director Black has a frown while he smokes. Kate and the rest of those present are unresponsive. You excuse yourself a moment and mute the call.>Why not?Albert sighs. “Because if we get through this it would effectively render the rest of our bombers useless. That’s one part of the nuclear triad rendered moot. If they decide to launch on us, we’ll be that much weaker. They’ll be getting plenty of practice with these ones anyway.”Burrows speaks up. “But if they can’t, then we’re looking at several radioactive craters in Russia and millions of angry Russians.”Schultz slams the table. “Some of the information they want is Top Secret. No way in hell are we letting them have that.”Black shrugs. “We don’t have to give it to them now. Those bombers aren’t even over the North Pole yet. Wait and see, that’s the best action.”Kate nods her head in agreement. “We can afford to think this one through. But you’ll have to make a call eventually, sir.”
>>6312036The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Give Grigory what he wants. You can’t risk any kind of retaliation.>Refuse. It’s too much of a risk, and you’ll be endangering American lives.>Delay. Grigory can wait. He might not be happy, but you’ll only give it to him if he absolutely needs it.>Write in.
Rolled 46 (1d100)>>6312033REASON SHALL PREVAIL
>>6312038>Delay. Grigory can wait. He might not be happy, but you’ll only give it to him if he absolutely needs it.Say that it’ll take time to gather up the necessary specifications, but we can give them the radar readings on their trajectory, if they don’t have it already Gives us time to try to catch them. Also, don’t we have an airbase in Greenland that would be much closer to the arctic circle? It’s a missile base as well but I know they have fighters for this exact reason, er, rather for Russian bombers
Rolled 31 (1d100)>>6312033
>>6312049this
#dice 1d100>>6312033
Rolled 61 (1d100)>>6312033Ah fuuuuck, fuck, fuck
>>6312049I'll agree with this, it's a reasonable explanation and buys us at least a couple of hours.
HOUR 4You consider the request. Several of your cabinet are vehemently against it, and as Black says, you don’t need to hand anything over immediately. You will not refuse, but you won’t promise to allow his request either. Grigory will be disappointed, but you can hopefully delay until you have a better idea of what’s needed.You press the unmute button. >Grigory. I’ll see what I can do, but it will take some time to gather the required information. I don’t know how long that will take. Your boys will need to communicate with ours on the precise details of what you need. In the meantime I can arrange for you to receive our radar tracking data, if it will be of any help.“Haha! In other words, your military will not be happy about revealing their secrets. No matter, I did not expect you to agree immediately. That would be foolish. And thank you. We are already watching them with our own radar, but I think your systems are more accurate, no? I appreciate the gesture. Very well. Please send it through. There is little more to speak of on our end. Thank you, Mr. President, for the call. I will communicate if there are any other developments.">As will I. Thank you Grigory, goodbye.You put down the phone and let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. You dimly notice that poor Carter is sweating. You don’t know why you’re not. Maybe it just hasn’t sunk in yet. You look over to Frank, who is reading through a report brought in by one of the secretaries. >Frank.“Yes, sir?”>Make sure Grigory gets that radar data. “Right away sir… What about the other information?”>Go by the wishlist that his generals will be sending you, but don’t do anything with it yet. I’ll make a decision later.He grunts and makes the necessary calls, while you help yourself to a cup of coffee brought in by some of the soldiers. The people in the room seem to relax a little, but not by much. You’re all aware that the world hangs on a tightrope, and one wrong move will send you falling off. You hope you haven’t made any missteps so far, but the historians of the future will have to judge that. If there are any to judge.
>>6312515While you sip the coffee an alarm briefly goes off, and Frank puts down his phone and turns around in his seat. “Mr. President. Everyone. If you will direct your eyes to the display. The fighters are reaching the limit of their fuel capacity.”You watch the glowing screen as several smaller displays light up, zoomed in on the white triangles of the bombers and their relative positions to Russia, Canada, and the blue fighter squadrons racing to intercept them, their trajectories traced by dotted lines. You notice that there are even some from your airbase in Greenland, by far the closest, and you think for a brief moment that they might catch them. But then the Canadian fighters begin disappearing from the screen, one by one, while the bombers continue on inexorably to their target, and you curse when you realise that they never even got close. You hold out hope for your Greenland fighters though, and somebody cheers when they let loose a flight of missiles, only to fall silent when the thin icons depicting those missiles disappear a few seconds later. They were too far away. A minute or two passes, and your fighters also disappear from the screen. The room is silent. The dotted lines of your bombers continues to increase, while there are now several more that end at the edge of the Arctic.>Are the rescue teams…?“They’re already on the way, Mr. President. They’ll find some, I’m sure.” Albert assures you. He’s your friend, but sometimes you wish he was a little more honest. >What now?He shrugs. “There is little to do until those bombers enter Russia. If we could get through to them, maybe we can convince some to turn back, but either we’re being jammed, or…”>Or what?He suddenly looks uncomfortable and mutters about some unknown factor. You don’t understand, until Black speaks up.“Or they have already received marching orders.”Kate looks up sharply, and Frank stares daggers at his intelligence counterpart. Burrows and Schultz simply look confused. Kate shakes her head and stares at him.“What do you mean by that, Director Black? The President is the only one who can authorise a strike.”
>>6312517Black only smiles and takes a long drag of his cigarette before he responds. “Not if the President is dead, or missing. Pre-delegation authority. Can’t have the Soviets thinking they can take out the President after all. Certain commanders are authorised to make the relevant decisions if they cannot contact Washington. But this is only given to the most trustworthy and irreproachable individuals, so are they all, all honourable men.”But Schultz shakes his head and points at Black. “You’re just stirring the pot, Black. This could very well be an accident. The last thing we need is to divide ourselves when we’re facing a crisis.”“Mr. Attorney-General, I would not go around calling anyone black if I were you.”>Gentlemen. Enough. I need recommendations, not arguments.The rest of the table acknowledges your order. Albert is the first to speak.“We need to investigate the silence from SAC, at least try and restore communications. They more than anyone should know what’s gone wrong. It’ll help reassure the Soviets too when we find out.”Burrows speaks up next. “What about Director Black’s, uh, suggestion? I don’t know if I’m comfortable knowing that this might be the work of some rogue general. We need to figure that out, at least disprove it, before doing anything.”Kate shakes her head. “No. That will take too long. This is an emergency. We can’t get through now, we send people in to talk to them. Frank, what was the Pentagon thinking?”“Their suggestion was to send in some planes to land at SAC HQ at Offut AFB. Just some officers, but, uh, if you want to send an airborne division, we can do that. The 101st are already standing by, and can be there within an hour. Given that they’re non-responsive, there’s no way to tell how they’d react. There’s also Looking Glass, it was suggested sending some fighters to morse code them since they’re also not responding, NORAD is still tracking them. Up to you, sir.”The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Send a plane of officers to SAC. No need to spook them. >Send the 101st Airborne. You need to secure SAC ASAP.>Send fighters to try and make direct contact with Looking Glass, the airborne nuclear command centre. >Quietly confirm Black’s suspicions before doing anything. If there are radicals or traitors in your ranks, you need to know.>Write in
>>6312519>Quietly confirm Black’s suspicions before doing anything. If there are radicals or traitors in your ranks, you need to know.>Send a plane of officers to SAC. No need to spook them.
>>6312519>Send the 101st Airborne. You need to secure SAC ASAP.>Send fighters to try and make direct contact with Looking Glass, the airborne nuclear command centre.We don’t get to let our strategic command run off and not answer. This isn’t a case of “whoops one phone line is down”
>>6312519>Quietly confirm Black’s suspicions before doing anything. If there are radicals or traitors in your ranks, you need to know.We don't know how deep this conspiracy goes. We could miraculously avoid Armageddon with these bombers only to have a nuclear submarine surface in St. Petersburg I'd we're not careful. Our priority should be to get our bearings so we're no longer fighting off the back foot. Sending in the officers to SAC and fighters to "escort" Looking Glass should be ordered right after we communicate with the other two arms of the nuclear triad
Busy today, will be updating tomorrow.
HOUR 5You think for a moment about sending a plane of officers, or even the 101st Airborne to investigate, but decide against it. If there is some wider conspiracy at play you need to be prepared, not reacting blindly. And to be prepared you need information. You point a finger at Black.>I want this investigated and I want it quiet. And don’t give me anything less than rock solid proof, you hear me?Black smokes his cigarette (you think he’s had enough for an entire pack) and nods.“I’ll get my top men on it, Mr. President.”>Good. Now let’s get back to the issue at hand. What are our options? We can’t sit around and wait for those bombers to enter Russia.The table erupts in discussion as your cabinet members put forth ideas or simply rage at the situation. Some suggest raising the DEFCON level, again, but Kate and Burrows disagree. Schultz asks if you could fire a nuclear missile at the bombers, a novel idea, but one that only has a low chance of success, while potentially spooking the Soviets even more. While you wait for all the latest reports to come back there’s not much to do. But soon, Black receives a call from his counterpart at the NRO, who has relayed the latest satellite imagery of the Soviet Union, taken only 2 hours ago. The highlight is their nuclear launch sites, which have signs of increased activity and fuelling, a sign that the Soviets are preparing for a full launch. Furthermore, Frank is given a report that the East Germans have begun to reinforce Berlin with extra regiments, effectively surrounding the small, free enclave of West Berlin. The room erupts with shouting at the news.“They’re planning to attack us!” Burrows slams his fist on the table, while Kate shakes hear head.“No, they’re only taking precautions. We shouldn’t take this as a sign of aggression.”“Preparing to launch nuclear missiles is not aggressive? What about us? We’re totally unprepared if they decide to attack.”Albert takes a breath. “What they’re doing is reasonable. We’d do the same if we were in their shoes.”Frank looks at you with sympathy. “Mr. President, I once again would recommend raising the DEFCON level.”Black, as usual, is sanguine. “The question is, Mr. President, despite the situation, do you trust the Russians?”You look at Carter, who despite his timidity shrugs and says, “They want to avoid nuclear war as much as we do. And Grigory Romanov is a hard man, but he knows he won’t survive a full nuclear exchange.” You thank him for the input, but before you can think of how to respond, Frank receives a phone call and suddenly groans, spooking the rest of the table into silence.“Sir. We may have a situation.”>What now?
>>6313300The screen above you suddenly changes, no longer displaying the Arctic Circle and your errant bomber group, instead showing the Nordic coast, and your assets stationed there. In particular, you notice a flashing submarine symbol, one of your own, and a number of red ones in the same area.>What am I looking at here, Frank?“I’ve been informed that an hour ago, one of our nuclear subs operating in the waters near Norway made an emergency broadcast. Just now we’ve confirmed the presence of Soviet hunter-killer subs in the area, and their sub-hunting surface squadrons are all out at sea. We may be looking at a hostile action.”>Hell.Albert leans over. “Are we sure that they sunk it? It might be an accident, or simply a temporary loss of contact.”“It could be, it very well could be. But it’s some awful timing. If it is still there, we need to get it out before the Soviets get it in their heads to actually sink it. They must know it’s in the area. We should call Secretary Romanov, ask him to call off the search. Or…>Or what? “We have ships of our own there. We can move them in, chase the Soviets out, and find what’s happened to the sub in an hour, if you give the word.”Kate and Schultz look horrified, and violently shake their heads.“Mr. President, you’d be pushing us to the brink of war. Please, talk to the General-Secretary first.” Kate says in a shaky voice.Albert coughs. “Sinking one of our subs would already constitute an act of war. Besides, Comrade Grigory would have little to do with this, the admiral or whoever is in charge over there would be calling the shots. There is still a chance that they’re still alive, and by the time he gets through they might have sunk it.”There’s a murmur around the table. You’ll have to respond to this. But how?The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Call Grigory, ask him to explain. Diplomacy has worked well for you so far.>Send in some navy ships to rescue the submarine, you can’t risk losing it.>Write in.
>>6313301>>Call Grigory, ask him to explain. Diplomacy has worked well for you so far.
>>6313301>>Write in.>Get on the hotline and call Grigory. No fluff — propose a 90-minute joint rescue zone around the sub’s last known position.>Each side sends one ship, Norway sits in as neutral ref since it's their backyard. No tailing, no hunting, everyone keeps weapons cold.>Both on-scene commanders stay in direct contact so nobody panics and starts a shooting match over a sonar ghost.>Meanwhile, we park a US rescue group just outside the area with strict self-defense orders and an early-warning plane keeping eyes on the sky.>If Moscow agrees, we coordinate and pull the crew out alive. >If they refuse, we issue an international Search and Rescue notice through Norway and hold our ground — only move in under the Search and Rescue flag if they get trigger-happy.>Keep DEFCON at 4, keep digging into the rogue order situation, and keep the hotline hot with hourly updates to avoid misreads.
>>6313321this
>>6313301Supporting this >>6313321But adding that our search and rescue team should have orders to keep the Reds safe too, lest some jittery seaman open the hatch and start shooting when he sees a commie greet him.
HOUR 6>Carter, are you ready?The young man nods, once, beads of sweat running down his face but a look in his eyes that tells you he’s up to the task. The rest of the table says nothing, intently watching you as you reach for the red telephone. You pick it up and listen. It buzzes only once before you hear a familiar voice on the other end, and Carter begins speaking.“Mr. President. Are you ready to give us the data we need to defend ourselves?”>Not yet, Grigory, I’m calling you about something more urgent. One of our subs sent a distress call an hour ago, off the coast of Norway, and we believe your navy is now hunting it. We are hoping it has not been sunk. Do you know about this?”“No we- There’s some murmuring on the other end sir, uh, I think some of his generals. They’re telling him about the submarine. He isn’t happy. Some swearing. I think he’s coming back. Ahem. No, Mr. President, I did not know about this. What would you have me do? >We need to find that submarine. I want to set up a 90 minute joint rescue zone in the area around its last known position, both of us working together to find it instead of staring at each other and seeing who’s going to shoot first. We each send a ship, get Norway involved to supervise, no tailing, no hunting, everyone keeps their weapons cold. Cooperation, not competition. Our local commanders will stay in direct contact, just like we’re doing now, so nobody gets confused or starts panicking. You follow me so far?“… I do.”>Good. We’ll have a rescue group nearby and airborne early-warning planes, just to keep an eye on things with strict self-defence orders. I expect you’ll do the same. If you agree, we coordinate to find this sub and pull the crew out alive. If you don’t, we issue an international Search and Rescue notice through Norway and find it ourselves, and the ball will be in your court. What do you say?
>>6313647There is silence on the other end, and then you hear a cacophony of voices in Russian. It sounds like an argument. You look to Carter but he merely shakes his head. There’s too many for him to translate. You wait patiently for it to die down, and eventually Grigory replies.“Very well. We can agree to these terms. But I want that information on your bombers in the next hour, otherwise I will be forced to respond. An equivalent exchange, no? Cooperation is in everyone’s interest.”You consider his demand. You’re not sure what he might do, but it’s clear that if you don’t give him something he’ll be forced to take action. You speak into the phone.>Please, I need a moment.“Of course.”You mute the phone and look around at the table, the question unspoken. Black is the first to speak from behind a cloud of hazy smoke. “I think we can assume that he’s under pressure from his military. Perhaps it is time to activate Source Cowboy? We can better understand what’s motivating them, how close they are to pulling something stupid.”Albert frowns. “I think we should be focusing less on what the Soviets are thinking and more on whatever the hell our nuclear command is doing. You haven’t got anything new for us, Black?”He purses his lips and stares at Albert. “Not yet. In the next hour.”“Well, until you do, I’d appreciate it if you focus on the immediate situation. Mr. President, as your national security advisor, I would recommend against the sharing of information with the Soviets, we have no idea what they might do with it once this is done. I’ve been looking through the list of demands, and they want the frequencies of our missile radar, data on spoofing our navigation systems, radio codes, and more. This is stuff they’ve been trying to get for years.”Kate also speaks up. “Albert is right, Mr. President. The military would revolt if we tried to send it to the Russians. Not to mention the damage to your reputation if the media gets wind of it.”You look at Frank and he shakes his head. “I’m afraid she’s right. We’ve already got most of it gathered, but someone will have to explain to the high-ranking officers why the Soviets are suddenly on the need to know list. But it’s your call, sir.”Schultz suddenly slams the table. “Are we really debating this? We need to give them everything they need to shoot down those bombers, no matter what! Whatever comes after is just luck, we’re on the brink of war today, not in a few months. Mr. President, you need to give them that data.”What will you do?>Give Grigory the data he wants, it’s the least you can do.>Hold it back, it’s too much of a risk. You’ve already gotten his cooperation for the rescue.Is there anything else you want to do?>Activate Source Cowboy.>Do nothing>Write in.Roll 1d100 for joint rescue operations. DC 60, Bo3.
Rolled 29 (1d100)>>6313648>Give Grigory the data he wants, it’s the least you can do.These bombers are on course to kill tens of millions of his people, if we can't solve it, he'll have to. Nothing to really understand about this
Rolled 66 (1d100)>>6313648>>Give Grigory the data he wants, it’s the least you can do.
Is there any plan to lower our damage rep if the military hears this because they would revolt
>>6313648>>Give Grigory the data he wants, it’s the least you can do.>>Write in (homefront / chain-of-command) to prevent US military revolt>Before any transmission, issue a signed, written order to all Service Chiefs and major commands: this is a lawful, time-limited deconfliction to prevent a nuclear mistake. Objections go up the chain only—no freelancing, no leaks—under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).>Back home, pull the Secretary of Defense (SecDef), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), and the senior military legal counsel / Judge Advocate General (JAG) into the loop immediately. Put the order in writing—narrow, time-boxed, and strictly to avert a nuclear misread, not “help the enemy.” They sign it; chain of command stays intact; the brass reads it as duty, not betrayal.>Brief the “Gang of Eight” in a closed, classified call: Speaker and Minority Leader of the House; Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate; and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Keep them in the tent and on the record that the scope is limited and temporary.
>>6313711this
>>6313711Support
Rolled 42 (1d100)>>6313711>Support.That may take longer than am hour, but we can do it then issue the orders.
>Frank, I’m going to send the Russians the data. There is an intake of breath from the rest of the table while he nods, but before he can pick up the phone you point at him and continue.>But I want this crystal clear. Before you send out any transmissions I want a written order, signed by me, sent out to all service chiefs and major commands; this is a lawful, time-limited deconfliction to prevent a nuclear mistake. Objections go up the chain only—no freelancing, no leaks—under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Offenders will be dealt with accordingly. Fred, do I have your support on this?Schultz bobs his head eagerly. “Of course, sir. With no exception.”You nod in his direction. You’re glad you picked him as your Attorney General, there are few better experts in law.>Thank you. Frank, I’ll also want you, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the senior military legal counsel, or Judge Advocate General, or whoever it is we have here pulled into a room to get them briefed on the situation. I want the order put in writing—narrow, time-boxed, and strictly to avert a nuclear misread, not “help the enemy.” They sign it; chain of command stays intact; the brass reads it as duty, not betrayal.Frank nods, and picks up his phone. You breathe our, but you’re not done yet. You look at your Chief of Staff, Kate. >I’ll also want a call to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House; Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate; and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Keep them in the tent and on the record that the scope is limited and temporary. Everything by the book.“Nothing we’re doing is by the book.” You briefly hear Albert mutter beside you, but you don’t respond. Instead, you repeat your orders to confirm Frank and Kate get everything. Kate shrugs her shoulders and says that it’ll take about an hour to get everyone organised, but that it’ll be done. You thank them both and lean back in your chair. You’ve done what you can, but there’s no guarantee that everything will go smoothly. You just have to hope and pray, like everything else you’re doing tonight.A few minutes later, Frank looks up from the phone. “Sir. The Norweigan taskforce reports that they have a lead on the sub, waiting for confirmation on the radar pings now. Soviets are being cooperative. They believe it’s somewhere near the surface sir, they’re still searching from the air. Should be finding it soon.”>Thank God. Relay my thanks to the commanders in charge, ours and the Soviets.
>>6314112There’s an audible sigh of relief from you and the rest of the table. That could have easily blown over into something deadly. You wipe your face with a cloth, and you’re about to pick up the phone to Grigory to thank him for the help when Black raises a hand. Only a short while before someone had entered the room to give him a thick file, and he’s been intently reading it ever since, not speaking at all. But now he’s smashed out his cigarette, so you know he’s being serious.“Everyone. I have received a report put together by my analysts with members of the DIA and military intelligence. It concerns recent activities of SAC, and Soviet intelligence concerning our military. It is not conclusive, but there is a strong suggestion that there is a threat. That is my conclusion after reading it.”Albert shifts in his seat, and the rest of the table is silent, until Burrows raises his hand.“What exactly does it tell us?”“A lot, but in short: SAC has made an extreme amount of personnel transfers in the past month, mostly to and from their HQ at Offut Airbase. We’ve also found that almost the entire airborne nuclear arsenal is aboard those planes flying right now; it is usually evenly distributed through wings across the continental US and abroad. The Soviets also report that most of their agents in the military were removed, which we initially dismissed because we had nothing to do with it. In light of recent events I think it is more significant.”You open your mouth to speak, but Black raises a finger.“And most damningly, we’ve discovered that General Hoag made an unscheduled tour of Offut just yesterday, from which he has not yet returned.” You groan, and so does everyone else. Hoag. The bloodthirsty cowboy that had ran the air campaign during the 83’ Able Archer skirmish. Skirmish didn’t do it justice, it was more like a border war. He’d ordered his bombers into the air when Bush had relieved him, just like Macarthur in Korea. Bastard had nearly ended the world. It was only dumb luck that the sole bomb that went off was a fizzle. And here he is again, seemingly at the heart of the conspiracy.>Hell. What do we do?
>>6314113Albert locks eyes with you. “Put down SAC, Mr. President. If they have gone rogue, which seems likely, we need to stop them at all costs. We don’t know how deep the rot goes, but we need to end this madness.”Burrows and Schultz voice their agreement, but Frank has a frown on his face. “You’re suggesting we assault Offut?”“It is likely they have committed treason. We need that base, and Looking Glass, in our hands.”Frank shakes his head. “If we attack that airbase who knows the kind of damage that might happen. Most of our nuclear command infrastructure runs through that base. If those bombers get through and the Soviets decide to respond, we’d be crippled.”Schultz shakes his head. “Would they be foolish enough to start a war on American soil? They can’t hope to hold out. They know that we’ll be too scared to risk an attack, it’s what they’re counting on.”Kate voices disagreement. “They’ve already pushed us to the brink of war. These men aren’t rational. But they must have some goal in mind. If we negotiate with them, even just to buy some time, there might be a chance they’ll back down.”>Black?“I would advise you deal with SAC swiftly, and decisively. Force majeure.”The DEFCON level is at 4.Soviet paranoia is at ???Soviet readiness is at ???What will you do?>Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.>Send in a negotiation team. You can’t risk endangering your nuclear command, much less a conflict on home soil.>Write in.Roll 1d100+20 for the data handover. [+20 from written orders] Bo3, DC 50/70.
>>6314114>>Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.
Anyone rolling
Rolled 29 + 20 (1d100 + 20)>>6314114
Rolled 42 + 20 (1d100 + 20)>>6314114>Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.You don't negotiate with terrorists.
Rolled 72 + 20 (1d100 + 20)>>6314114Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.These guys don’t want to negotiate, it’s time to head in.
>>6314114>Order an assaultwell well, we've made our bombers useless already and now we risk losing nuclear command.At least the shield is being raised.
Truthfully, I think the bomber arm of the triad is probably the weakest so losing this aspect isn’t the worst thing in the world
>>6314114>>Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.>>Write-in - Call in the Navy SEALS for the assault operation>First issue an order to freeze the base as a hazmat fuel leak so that people won't see it a take over but more of a safety lockdown.>Then send the Navy SEALS to infiltrate the base to do breach in and take control of the key sites. They are trained for stealth and close quarter combat which can be helpful for seizing/disabling the comms so that the rogue elements won't send any EAMS or concerning launch orders.>Give orders to Air Force Special Tactics Teams to handle the radar/air traffic around the Looking Glass site. They can do this to coordinate Navy SEALS via High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) parachute operations to rapidly seize control towers or critical structures.>Order a new "safe word" so that any launch orders if worryingly send by the unauthorized personnel doesn't have the new "safe word," then have them ignored/disobeyed and reported ASAP under my order as Commander-in-Chief
>>6314256the new Safeword is a really good idea, supporting it with >>6314190Change all our passwords, Make sure cowboy general cannot give new orders.
>>6314256Support
>>6314256Support this too, we can use air borne and I imagine we can get one SOCOM unit in as well
>>6314256this, don't want to be causing panic in the public
>>6314114>Order an assault on Offut Air Force Base, and fighters to intercept the Looking Glass.Support the idea of a new safe word as well. And no negotiations, these traitors are about to murder tens of millions. These are mad dogs, and like any mad dog they get put down.
HOUR 8>I want that base back under our control, and we’ll be taking it by force. The rest of the table nods, accepting your decision, though you know some don’t approve. But you’ll be damned if you let this spiral out of control. Before Frank can make the call however, you raise a finger to get his attention.>I want the SEALS on this one. And make sure it’s the best they have. I want them infiltrating the base, seizing key sites ahead of the main force. Priority should be seizing or disabling comms to the rogue element can’t get any phoney launch orders out when they realise they’re under attack. “Got it, sir.”>I’ll also want Air Force Special Tactics Teams to handle the radar/air traffic while the SEALS make a HALO drop onto the site. And any other spec ops teams we have too, overkill won’t be enough on this mission.“Right away.”As Frank begins making the calls you lean over to Albert. >Can we perhaps frame the attack as a base lockdown? Some kind of hazmat fuel leak, or something like that. We don’t want the public panicking.Kate raises her head. “I can handle that, Mr. President. I’ll make some calls to the media and we’ll have that story running by lunch.”You blink and glance at the 24 hour readout on the screen above you. It reads 12:07pm. You’ve been at this all night. Another four hours and those bombers will be at their targets. You only hope your preparations have been enough.>Thank you, Kate. You get right on that.While Frank and Kate are busy making calls, you look to Albert. >We’re also going to need a safe word to guard against any unauthorised launches. We can’t have them pulling a fast one on us. Our nuclear forces don’t get the word, they don’t launch, and we get informed when they receive orders without it.Albert nods seriously. “A wise idea, Mr. President. But what should it be?”You take a moment to think, then say:>How about, FAIL-SAFE?
>>6314449While the table is busy with their marching orders, you sign the documents for the release of information to the Soviet Union, and prep for your meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and your call with Congress. The forces drawn up for the assault are being organised, and everything is beginning to lock into place. Once you’re done with this, the only thing left will be those bombers, which are almost at the Russian border. Taking leave of the table and leaving Albert in charge of the meeting, you walk with Frank to a separate area of the bunker, where Admiral Abernathy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the head JAG officers of every branch of the military are waiting. They salute you as you walk in, and sit down once you’ve given them a quick nod. Sitting at the head of the table, you look towards Admiral Abernathy while addressing everyone in the room. >I assume you’re aware of the situation with the Soviet Union?“Yes sir, NORAD’s been keeping me informed.”“Good. I want you to know that in order to prevent our bombers from dropping their payloads, I am ordering the sharing of certain classified information with the Soviets, to help them shoot down our bombers. I am putting this order down in writing, and I want it signed by all of you and disseminated to all the officers who’ll be put on this. This will be duty, not betrayal. Can you do that?The admiral looks profoundly uncomfortable, and so does everyone else, but after a few moments of silence he swallows and looks you in the eye.“If the order comes from the Commander in Chief, we’ll obey it.”The rest of the room also expresses their acceptance of the order. You breathe a sigh of relief. You were afraid that was going to go badly. >Thank you Gentlemen. Secretary Dunnegan here will walk you through it.
>>6314450You let Frank take over as he explains the document and goes through everyone’s signature. Once you’re done with that, they take their leave, and you leave Frank to take care of it when Kate arrives to usher you into a separate room with the call to Congress ready.You spend almost an hour explaining the situation to the shocked members of the Intelligence Committee, and the House and Senate leaders, and though they are immensely shocked, they at least accept your reassurances that things are under control, and that the Soviets are not imminently at risk of retaliation. They give their support to your actions so far, including the sharing of classified data. Having ensured that things are under control on their end, you end the call and return to the War Room.More coffee has been brought out, and you pour yourself a cup as you sit down. It’s been a long day, and you know it’s going to be longer. As you sit and look through some reports laid in front of you, Frank walks up with a smile.“Sir. We’ve just received news from Norway. They’ve located the missing sub, they’re a little banged up but they’re okay. Ran into an underwater mountain that knocked out most of their systems, they’re being escorted back now and the Soviets are going home.”You look up and say a silent prayer of thanks. The first good news you’ve heard in a while. >Amazing. Maybe we’re going to get through this?But before you can relax with him some more, Albert picks up a ringing phone then looks over to you, his expression unreadable.“Sir. The assault has begun.”Roll 1d100+10 for the Assault on Offut Air Force Base, Bo3, DC 70. [+10 SEALS]Roll 1d100 for intercepting Looking Glass, Bo3, DC 70.
Rolled 32 + 10 (1d100 + 10)>>6314451
Rolled 61 + 10 (1d100 + 10)>>6314451GET DOWN MR PRESIDENT
Rolled 98 + 10 (1d100 + 10)>>6314451Should have sent Delta!
>>6314456
Rolled 99 (1d100)>>6314451
>>6314456>>6314460FBI OPEN UP!
Rolled 65 (1d100)>>6314451jusst to speed this along
>>6314456>>6314460
Rolled 9 (1d100)>>6314451Last roll for intercepting Looking Glass
We did it we got things undercontrol
HOUR 9You sit down at the table, along with everyone else in the room. All eyes are glued to the wall-screen, which has switched to show a map of Offut AFB, small icons indicating the arranged forces, your own in blue, the units of SAC under General Hoag in red. A small part of you wonders that American soldiers have become the enemy and the Soviets your friend. It’s a bitter irony. Though you hope to force their surrender, you know that some of these men have been sent to their deaths, against their own countrymen. And the same goes for the men in the airbase too. You’re sure that some of them don’t know what’s happening, are only following their commanding officers, but they are enemy combatants all the same. Not since the civil war have American troops fought against each other. There is little you can do now. It’s in the hands of the generals and officers in charge of this operation. While you wait for the shooting to start, the phone rings. The hotline. You motion for Carter to get his headset, then pick it up. “Mr. President.”>Grigory. What is it? I’m a little busy, but-“No no, it’s nothing serious. Just about the airbase you’re about to attack.”>How do you know about that?He chuckles.“I have my sources. I just wanted to wish you good luck. You have my respect for all you have done.” You know that means a lot from a man who still faces the risk of nuclear annihilation from your bombers. They must be near the Russian border by now. Only a few hours more.>Thank you, Grigory. I truly appreciate it.“It is no problem. See you soon.”He hangs up the call, and you turn your eyes back to the screen. The SEALS have infiltrated the perimeter with the HALO element already on the way, and the F117 Nighthawks are on backup for precision strikes that will wipe out the main defensive positions once the SEALS have seized the key posts. You also notice the 101st airborne with the 75th rangers have completely surrounded the airfield, waiting for the signal to attack. Suddenly some of the red units begin flashing, and the blue ones do too a moment later. You don’t understand what’s happening until Frank speaks.“We have contact.”
>>6314835[POV shift] You are Captain Randy Burroughs, leader of Team 1, one of several Navy SEAL teams scattered throughout the airbase. The gunfire in the distance has intensified rapidly as the main force begins moving in, aiming to seize the entire airbase in under an hour. A tough mission, made tougher by the fact you were fighting fellow American soldiers, but you had carried it out to the best of your ability all the same. And your best was very, very good. Resistance had been light all the way to the command centre, and none of your team had taken any casualties. Once the main assault had started, the sentries had begun to panic, some even deserting their posts. The few that stayed had been swiftly and silently dispatched from the shadows by your team. And now you were at the doorway to the main command centre. Placing C4 on the doors, you moved back and made a signal to a member of the team, who clicked a button.The doors are blown inward, and you rush in, silenced Colt Commando at the ready. You drop a guard on the other side of the room, while your team members do likewise, eliminating 7 armed combatants in as many seconds. There are several unarmed civilians and officers as well, and you herd them together in one corner of the room while you pull out the one you’re looking for. His hair is grey and eyes stormy, and his chest is covered in medals. Too bad about those, because he’s no longer going to need them. You reach for your radio.“Team 1 to command. General Hoag is in custody.”[End POV shift]You breathe out a sigh of relief. Frank had just relayed the word that General Hoag had been captured alive, with Black’s best interrogation teams already on the way to begin their work. You knew better than to ask about what they were about to do to the poor bastard. He deserves every bit of it. Looking Glass had also been forced down, escorted by F16s to the closest airbase, and an eye kept on their transmissions to ensure they didn’t try anything. Offut AFB was now under your control, and just about every conspirator either dead in the fighting or captured by your forces. High treason Schultz was going to pin them with, and you knew he meant it. You weren’t going to face any more trouble on that front.
Rolled 9, 28, 54, 81, 60, 89, 10, 83, 41, 44 = 499 (10d100)>>6314836Just as you are beginning to relax, the wall display switches once again back to Russia, and the bomber indicators begin to flash. 10 squadrons holding the most powerful weapons in your arsenal, more destructive power than Hiroshima and Nagasaki several times over. They can reach a yield 80 times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed the Japanese cities.Albert says aloud what everyone can already see. “They’ve crossed the border.”They’re within range of Soviet Air Defence now. It’s all up to them. The hotline rings, and you pick it up. “Mr. President. We are about to commence.”>Good luck, Grigory. He says nothing, and you look up at the screen to see a wave of Soviet interceptors flying towards those bombers.Roll 10d100+25, Bo3. Beat my rolls. +30 from shared data.
>>6314837Whoops, that bonus should be +30 to the roll, not 25.
Rolled 7 + 30 (1d100 + 30)>>6314837Dun dun dun
>>631484010d100 anon.
Rolled 76, 28, 34, 75, 99, 14, 21, 100, 49, 14 + 35 = 545 (10d100 + 35)>>6314842Whoops
Rolled 64, 90, 70, 79, 69, 3, 40, 95, 65, 79 = 654 (10d100)>>6314837May god grant us.
>>6314837So thus far.>9 vs 76+25, dead>28 vs 90+25, dead>54 vs 70+25. dead>81 vsa 79+25, dead>60 vs 99+25 dead>89 vs 14+25, still flying.>10 vs 40+25, dead>83 vs 100+25, deader than dead>41 vs 65+25, dead>44 vs 79+25, deadNow either one plane is still flying. Or it's 499 vs 654+55, in which this is nuclear avoided.
Rolled 29, 66, 46, 3, 24, 53, 81, 70, 83, 20 = 475 (10d100)>>6314837
>>6314850hopefully 499 vs 654+55
HOUR 9You watch as the Soviet interceptors fly over their country, fighter jets burning for all they’re worth and air defence missiles desperately tracking your bombers. But as you watch the screen, so abstracted from the real thing, you see hundreds, no, thousands of small, flickering white objects appear in front of your bombers, like somebody has thrown dust on the screen. But that can’t be what’s happening, it’s somehow part of the display.>Frank? Albert? What’s this?Albert turns in his chair to look at you.“Countermeasures, Mr. President. Meant to dazzle and confuse the enemy. They won’t be able to see our bombers or where they’re going.">Dammit, can’t we share what we’re seeing here? They’ll miss them completely!Frank shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. President. This is only an approximation from our over the horizon radar. It’s not precise enough to share targeting data from over the Soviet Union, it was never built for that.”You sit back down in your seat. You weren’t even aware you’d gotten up. You turn your eyes back to that damned screen that hangs in front of you, the 10 bomber groups moving inexorably on. The Soviet fighter groups and missiles get closer, and then several fast, quick moving objects shoot out from the bombers heading towards the Soviet defences. You look at Albert again, and he explains.“Air-to-air nuclear missiles. Meant to intercept incoming fighters and missiles. Not meant for bombing cities.”You nod and look again at the screen, and watch as the Soviets try to protect their home.[POV shift]It is quiet inside the cockpit. The men have spoken little, only to relay altitude and heading adjustments, and new targeting data. They know speaking will only make things worse. But they have their duty, and they will carry it out. Now the Soviets are shooting at them, and other bombers in the formation are calling out targets and incoming fire, the radio abuzz with chatter. They are the final words of men they’ve trained and flown with for years.“I have 3 groups coming in, 2 o’clock. Fulcrums.”“I see them too. They’re ignoring the chaff!”“Jingo 12 is hit! Jingo 12 is hit! We-“Our radar is being jammed! We can’t see! We can’t see!”“Nuclear flash spotted. Good missile.”“Our missile went off early! They’re still coming!”“Fulcrum down. Your way should be clear Boxer 5.”“Ground launches incoming. Deploying flares.”“Taking fire! They’re everywhere!”Suddenly the plane shakes, buffeted by something stronger than turbulence. Cpt. William Blakely fights with the controls to keep his plane straight, hands gripped tight to the stick. It takes a few seconds, but he gets his aircraft under control. He turns to his navigator, who’s eyes are glued to the radar screen.
>>6315204“What the hell was that?”The navigator turns, his eyes glassy and unfocused.“Group 7 just went up. They’re gone.”“What the hell? How’d they hit them so soon?”“They didn’t. The explosion was nuclear, direct middle of the formation. A defence missile went off early. The Russkis are spraying the sky with a new frequency.”“Shit. They can set off our missiles. Fucking hell, we never got briefed on anything like that.” Cpt. Blakely puts a hand to his headset, and dials in a code.“This is Captain Blakely to all receiving craft. Do not, I repeat, do not fire your defence missiles! The Soviets can set them off!”The aircraft buckles again as another explosion goes off, the cockpit briefly filled with light. It would blind them, if they weren’t wearing goggles that block almost anything from getting through. Another group has been obliterated.“Come again Blakely! What do you mean to stop firing?”“The commies are setting off our missiles! They’re setting them off as soon as we launch them!”“What the hell are we supposed to do if we can’t fire back? I have flankers heading right for me!”“Keep going! We have to get through!”“Fuck that! We’ll be sitting ducks!”“You’ll be dead if you launch them anyway! Listen to me Jason! Don’t fire your missiles!”The radio is suddenly filled with static, and Blakely tears his headset off. The navigator looks at him mournfully. “Jason just got shot down.”Blakely does not respond. He can hear the frantic calls of his comrades in the background, more pilots and crew meeting their end at Soviet hands. There’s precious few left. Everyone knew they weren’t returning from the mission when they got their orders, but they’re so far from their target. If only they could make it through…[End POV shift] You stare at the screen, a pit in your stomach. The Soviets had done a good job. They’d done an admirable job. With the data you’d provided them they’d thrown everything they had at your bombers. Several hundred Americans were now dead, and your strategic bomber force had been dealt a terrible blow. The Soviets had done an admirable job alright.But it wasn’t enough.One bomber got through.
>>6315205You see it deep in the country. It’s blinking in and out of your radar, so far away now that your systems are having trouble tracking it. The Soviets fighter groups are turning round to try and overtake it, but they’re too far away. By the time they catch it, it will be at its target. Moscow. You almost don’t notice Black at your side. He’s murmuring something. You look at him, eyes unblinking, and he realises you weren’t listening. He coughs.“Sir. Hoag has been interrogated. He is the mastermind. Took over SAC with loyalists, who are either dead or captured. We’ve confirmed that the bomber crews were fooled by a phoney order. They thought Washington and the country had been wiped out.”You close your eyes. All those men. Innocent after all. You feel like throwing up. When you look up again Black is still there. You sigh, and thank him. He pats you on the shoulder and returns to his seat. You look over to Carter. >You ready, kid?He nods, and swallows. There is little to say. You pick up the phone. The answer is immediate.“Greetings, Mr. President.”>Grigory. I’m watching the final group now. We think they’re headed towards Moscow.“I know. Preparations have already been made.”He sounds tired. You are too. You’ve been at this for 10 hours. And it will soon be over.>How are you doing, Grigory? “Oh, I’m alright. The building is quiet. Most people have gotten to the bunker already.”>The bunker? But aren’t you-?He chuckles. “No. I am not one to hide. I want to see whatever happens. I have already named a successor. Feyodor. Good man. You will like him.”>Grigory…“Do not cry for me, my friend. Haha. I have never called an American that before. No time for that. I must tell you, I have convinced my generals that there is to be no retaliation. Some idiots may get it in their heads to take revenge, but we will not end the world over this accident. You have acted very well, Mr. President. I must thank you.”>Is there nothing I can do?“No. Well, one thing. Some of my men have tried to direct a radio transmission that this bomber might receive. I can link your call, see if the voice of their mighty President might stop them, but it is only a small chance. I understand the order they receive is final. We will see. We will see.”>Thank you Grigory. I will do my best.“I know. I must put you through now. Goodbye.”Roll 1d100, Bo3. DC 90.Write ins for the speech may lower the DC…
Rolled 37 (1d100)>>6315207I assume we have the name for the commander, and I'm assuming we can tell which flight got through."Good evening men, Captain Blakely or whichever officer who has succeeded him in this terrible task. I am President [Regan-expy] the 40th of my station. I'm speaking to you now from the bunkers command in washington as your commander in chief, You recieved your marching orders from general Hoag to launch the contingent of nuclear bombers having claimed that washington has been reduced to ashes.It has not. Capitol hill stands, the flag still flaps in the afternoon sun over the whitehouse. All her citizenry go about their work peacefully unaware of what we are doing.Our country, these great united states is untarnished by nuclear devistation and General Hoag has betrayed his oath to his office, to his country and to you in authorising a nuclear campaign and has been arrested and will face every measure of the law we can bring to bear on him.But his betrayal is not your fault, nor can any doubt your commitment to your country, your families, and their safety which so many have already paid their lives in service of.I now Order as your commander in chief, and Plead as one christian man to another, Abort this mission, do not drop your payload on Moscow. Needless tens of thousands will die under an illegal order, and I cannot pressure a government that lacks a sitting minister to bring you home. I repeat with authorisation [code to prove we are who we say we are], abort the mission, divert course and keep flying while I arrange to get you home to a grateful people.You have served your country well, now let me bring you home."
Oh vid someone make the writ in for the DC lower
>>6315232I did, you know. Try.Appeals to patriotism and safety in america and their families and shit.Anyway, go for a d100.
>>6315239you want that in the "options" field mate
Here I go
Rolled 45 (1d100)>>6315207
>>6315246we need some last person.But do not worry, for in their heart of hearts, they are American. And Americun grit, and their rigorious sterling heart will always do what's right, unlike the commie oppressed easterners.
Rolled 71 (1d100)>>6315207This one is for all the marbles...
>>6315265It could work. It could.
>>6315207"Good evening gentlemen. I know my voice is the last thing you expect to hear right now. Because you presume me dead, and because there is no way to for me to reach you. If, and only if, what you know is true. That our contry, your country, is gone, and that you fly now for vengeance, and duty.But you know my voice. You know these codes. And you know damn well I'd have never given them up to the enemy. With me are [any number of relevant officials]. We have been watching you since you took off ten hours ago. I am alive. I am well. America lives. And you, my fellow Americans, have been lied to.""You know me, and you also know the man who was in charge of SAC. You're all veterans. You know who Hoag is, what he did in '83. He is in our custody, and a lot of good men have died on American soil for what he has done.America has not been attacked by the Soviet Union. Right now, I speak to you through the special like between White House and Kremlin, where I have been keeping the Soviet Premier appraised for the past several hours. It is only thus that I am given one last chance to persuade you. The world has not ended. It need not end today.Hoag wanted a war. He will not have it. You are about to bomb Moscow, where the Premier and tens of thousands of people, men and women and children like you and I, look up to the sky and await Judgement Day. The Premier has given me his word that the Soviets will not retaliate if you drop your bombs and kill him and his people. In the darkest of hours, one can find unexpected light. We have stood together in this time of crisis, against a front of traitors, alarmists, and fools. You and many who have died today are not thus. You now hold a very special power, granted only to those cursed few who gaze down at the abyss, the weight of history holding them back and judging them both. You hold a choice. To join a small, and secretive list, that of those servicemen who by luck and circumstances have held in their hands the power to destroy the world. And who all, without exception, chose to stay their hand. To check once again And hope that the worst had not come to pass. Hope for sanity. For a light in the dark."I ask you now to dare to hope, my fellow americans. To believe that, despite all this, we are all one under the same God. To stop is not to sully the memory of the fallen. It is to give meaning to their sacrifice. Do not let the madman who got our brave boys killed have the joy of seeing more innocents die.""I need you to talk to me, Commander. Dare to hope for a world that has not yet ended. In the name of the Bible upon which we both swore our oaths [if they did actually do that], and Almighty God. Dare to stay your hand. Dare to make that last check. Dare to believe in humanity, regardless their name, race or creed.I cannot decide for you gentlemen. Your lives and those of tens of thousands are in your hands."This is the best I can do on short notice.
>>6315366Better than mine.And yeah, they still swear on bibles in the US. So they did in the 80s.
>>6315379Well, there have been many times on both sides of the Cold War where someone had their hand on the button and orders from above to push it, and didn't.Today we figure out what kind of men are in those bombers. It's between them and God now.
>>6315380This feels like a medal moment.But on the other hand, I'm not sure of it is.Certainly one of the Nobel peace prizes moments of the century.
>>6315366>>Support.
>>6315366Support
>>6315366let's hope this lowers the DC enough for our 71 to pass
THE FINAL HOURYour mouth is suddenly dry. Is there anything you can say that will convince these men? Once they have received their orders, that’s it, they can no longer be altered by anyone. The final argument of kings. Can you really turn back this last bomber? You look around at the rest of the table, solemn and pale like statues above old graves. You don’t know what to say. Then Kate Bishop nods her head.“You can do it, Mr. President. We believe in you. You are the President of the United States.”There rest of the table murmur their agreement. Sweat rolls down your cheeks. This is it. You have to do it. You drink a glass of water, and reach for the phone…[POV SHIFT]They know they are alone. All the rest are gone. They are the final arrow launched from the hunter’s bow. Their comrades lie ruined miles and miles behind them. The air is clear, the night just settling in as the stars begin to shine. The old girl is battered and bent, burnt from radioactive flash, but still she flies, still alive. The men within her are tired. They have been flying a mission none of them ever hoped to fly. But soon it will be over. Soon the bird will be spent, and they will be the same as their friends, broken on the ground. Soon they will be no more. They will not go where their friends have gone. No matter the faith of these men, each one knows there is no room in whatever place men go at death for those who will do what they are about to do. And yet they carry on. They are close to their target.The radio begins to beep. They do not notice it at first, until Cpt. Blakely nudges his pilot. His pilot blinks, then turns and says something to the navigator. The navigator says it shouldn’t be working. All the other planes went down. The pilot says something again. The navigator swears he saw each one go. Cpt. Blakely raises his voice and tells his navigator to pick it up. The navigator obeys. And then a voice that every man never thought or hoped to hear again rings throughout the cockpit.>Good evening gentlemen. I know my voice is the last thing you expect to hear right now. Because you presume me dead, and because there is no way to for me to reach you. If, and only if, what you know is true. That our contry, your country, is gone, and that you fly now for vengeance, and duty.“Is that?”“How?”“It can’t be.”>But you know my voice. You know these codes. And you know damn well I'd have never given them up to the enemy. With me are members of my cabinet, Albert West the National Security Advisor, Frank Dunnegan the Secretary of Defense, Dan Schultz the Attorney-General, and others. We have been watching you since you took off ten hours ago. I am alive. I am well. America lives. And you, my fellow Americans, have been lied to.
>>6315545“It sounds exactly like him.”“Can the Soviets mimic voices?”“I saw him speak during the election, it’s the same voice.”“What if it’s a trick?”>You know me, and you also know the man who was in charge of SAC. You're all veterans. You know who Hoag is, what he did in '83. He is in our custody, and a lot of good men have died on American soil for what he has done. America has not been attacked by the Soviet Union. Right now, I speak to you through the special like between White House and Kremlin, where I have been keeping the Soviet Premier appraised for the past several hours. It is only thus that I am given one last chance to persuade you. The world has not ended. It need not end today.“What is he talking about? We got the order.”“We’re nearly at Moscow, sir!”“Hoag’s been arrested!”“Where the hell is this signal coming from?”>Hoag wanted a war. He will not have it. You are about to bomb Moscow, where the Premier and tens of thousands of people, men and women and children like you and I, look up to the sky and await Judgement Day. The Premier has given me his word that the Soviets will not retaliate if you drop your bombs and kill him and his people. In the darkest of hours, one can find unexpected light. We have stood together in this time of crisis, against a front of traitors, alarmists, and fools. You and many who have died today are not thus. You now hold a very special power, granted only to those cursed few who gaze down at the abyss, the weight of history holding them back and judging them both. You hold a choice. To join a small, and secretive list, that of those servicemen who by luck and circumstances have held in their hands the power to destroy the world. And who all, without exception, chose to stay their hand. To check once again, and hope that the worst had not come to pass. Hope for sanity. For a light in the dark.“Sir, we are nearly at the target! They’re going to start shooting!”“Shut up and listen!”“They’re trying to stop us!”“Captain what do we do?”“The President is dead! He has to be!”“Shut up, Jack!”“Watch our altitude!”>I ask you now to dare to hope, my fellow americans. To believe that, despite all this, we are all one under the same God. To stop is not to sully the memory of the fallen. It is to give meaning to their sacrifice. Do not let the madman who got our brave boys killed have the joy of seeing more innocents die.“Hoag faked the order!"“It doesn’t matter! What about the rest of the squadron? We going to let those fuckers kill them all for nothing?”“Shut your trap!”“Captain, we’re over Moscow!”“Drop those bombs!”“We have no-“We don’t know-“-coming from Moscow-“Could be it be possible--within mission parameters-
>>6315547-no longer receive tactical alterations--do not have the authority!“Drop now!”“We’re going to overshoot the target!”-can’t hear what he’s saying!>I cannot decide for you gentlemen. Your lives and those of tens of thousands are in your hands.“Sir!”-not your decision-“Get away from the Captain!”“SIR! FLANKERS ON RADAR!”-all the flares-“No! Stop!”“I am-[END POV SHIFT]You pause, and try to put down the phone. You can’t do it. Your hand is shaking too much. Albert reaches over and gently guides your hand to place it in its socket. You mutter a word of thanks, then bury your face in your hands. Nobody says a word. The clock continues to tick.…
>>6315548NEWS FROM THE DAY THAT SHOOK THE WORLDWHO TO BLAME FOR WORLD ON THE BRINK?US AMBASSADOR FLED MOSCOW, ARRESTED IN PARISOVER 100 NUCLEAR BOMBERS LAUNCHED AT THE USSRSPECIAL SESSION OF CONGRESS CALLEDPRESIDENT DID NOT ORDER ATTACK – WHITE HOUSE EXCLUSIVEOVER 200 AMERICAN SERVICEMEN KILLED AT NEBRASKA AIRBASE – AS IT HAPPENEDGENERAL HOAG CHARGED WITH HIGH TREASON, TO RECEIVE DEATH PENALTYTHIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED UNDER BUSHANIIHILATION AVERTED, RUSSIA REFUSES TO RETALIATEEUROPE PLEDGES AID TO SOVIET UNION“NOTHING MORE COULD BE DONE” – PRESIDENT BUSH COMMENTS, PRAISES PRESIDENTNUCLEAR BOMB DETONATED OVER MOSCOW; SOVIET GENERAL-SECRETARY INJURED BUT ALIVESOVIET FIGHTERS SHOOT DOWN LAST PLANESOLE NUCLEAR BOMBER OVERSHOT MOSCOW; DETONATED OFF TARGETBLACK UFOS SIGHTED BEFORE AIRBASE ATTACK – ARE ALIENS INVOLVED?PRESIDENT RECEIVES MASS MILITARY RESIGNATIONWHERE DO WE GO NOW? WHAT DO WE SAY TO THE DEAD?The End.Thank you one and all for playing, I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to give me feedback, your criticisms, things you liked, reasons why this could never happen in real life because xyz, etc. (Didn't find a good spot to really give an explainer but Reagan got assassinated in '81 and Bush was in charge when Able Archer went hot in '83, which lead to him not contesting the next election.)Warhammer: Fallen Brother will also be coming soon(tm), so keep an eye out! And as always, take care of yourselves, I couldn't have done this without you. Until next time.
>>6315549In spite of it all. Armageddon avoided.Godspeed aurebesh, it was a hell of a show.
I wonder what massive divergence will this world have with world war three being averted
Anyone want to comment
>>6315591Different leaders aside, it seems we're already in an althist with Reagan's death and some kind of scuffle over Able Archer '83 though how divergent it is I don't know. Consequences I'd expect of this close shave would be a reappraisal of nuclear weapons as a strategic weapon and command protocols, with a greater impetus on nuclear arms limitations and reinforcing the chain of command and this turbocharging anti-nuclear weapons sentiment like what Chernobyl did to the anti-nuclear power campaigns.Politically, I'd hope the successful cooperation and goodwill shown during the crisis would lead to a greater renewal of détente and trust-building between the two sides than in OTL to patch up after '83 and make the remainder of the Cold War that little bit less cold. Decades into the post-Soviet future, it could become a huge anti-Western sore point among Russian nationalists regardless of the reality of circumstance.Ultimately though, I don't think there will be a huge divergence here - the USSR and its bloc is probably still doomed by the end of the 20th Century and nukes will not be going away.Side note, we should make sure those brave leaf boys get the highest awards we can give them for their sacrifice to try and save the world. I can't imagine many of then made it home, if any.
>>6315625Correct dude there is a hint that the US is now facing a MASSIVE resignation from its military over this crisis that would change alot and the USSR actually might change over this
>>6315627Coincidentally, many of those who were arrested or forced out in the conspiracy purge would have been among the US military's strongest Soviet hawks. The ramifications of that would certainly lead to a more doveish stance in the military that filters up into the administration, even disregarding major change at the top. For the Soviets' part, I wouldn't expect the same degree of root and branch change but nuclear and conventional military brinkmanship would fall out of favour from both political direction from above and a general decrease in institutional paranoia.While they're never going to see eye to eye on many things, both sides had a good thing going here and the door's open for them to build off it for a better future.
Given what happen here the Soviets Might survive BARELY they might give up land but this event might allow others to reform much of they system from corruption because of how they almost died and also this has cemented their Leader as one of the best leaders in USSR history hell I can see them following in his lead and his successor just to survive
>>6315591they completed their mission, but missed Moscow, so there's still the issue of the massive nuclear crater nearby>>6315625>>6315637>>6315640it could put them in a new direction that allows their USSR to survive at least beyond 1991 and potentially give a better life for them than in our version of post-Soviet Russia if the collapse still happens in their timeline
>>6315702Strategic nuclear weapons have traditionally been airbursts, so it wouldn't have left a crater, just made a big bang and leveled part of the suburbs while lofting most of its fallout high into the air to disperse. America helping out with S&R and rebuilding if the Soviets allow would also bring a lot of goodwill.Gorby's attempts to reform the USSR were like opening a door into a burning room starved of oxygen, causing it to flash over and explode. If you don't, sure, the building's still burning down, but slower and it might not take you with it. We don't know what sort of Premier Grigory is but, if he opts for a more gradual reform process then it could allow the USSR and ComBlock to limp on for a few more years and end in a more controlled demolition than a chaotic Sovietsplosion. Disarmament would also help with this, considering the absolutely staggering and unsustainable sums the USSR was spending on its military.
>>6315703the big question for them is if someone like Putin gets in
>>6315706Poutine's path to power was paved with the disastrous chaos of the 1990s and Yeltsin's bungling and the massive wounds it left on the Russian national psyche that are still raw today. The USSR and ComBlock dying a slower and more controlled death with a smoother transition away from Communism that doesn't seem to Russians like their world crashing down around their ears would knock a lot of that out from under him and I don't think we'd see the same drive to empower a dictator who promises stability and reminds them of the better times if that's what happened - that's not to say it'd be all sunshine and roses or that Russia will become a free democracy and a good neighbour, just one potential bad future for Russia avoided.
This was a great quest to follow along and check in on QM, I'm glad I could help make a difference.Shame about Blakeley an his men, but figures the Soviets were'nt taking chances.Grigory owes us some Cuban cigars for this one. I'm not sure he needs to be concerned about lung cancer sadly. He probably got a bad dose, so I don't know how long he might last.Seeing Europe pledge aid separately, combined with this being unilaterally an american crew-up, makes me think this might affect European views on NATO, their part in it, their defense budgets, or even their place in the two-powers system and more.
I can see this event really changing America as this event might hurt the republicans due to their warhawkness also because I’m pretty sure the general who almost ended the world political views might cause the public to see republicans as not a good alternative
>>6315736definitely major implications for the future of America with close it is to multiple big wars
>>6316091Yeah also I think this would kill off neoliberalism in the USA since Regan was killed and bush lost the election
>>6316095a huge question is if 9/11 still happens in this timeline since it's unlikely things like the Gulf War still happen
>>6316096I wonder that too
>>6316842another big factor i hadn't thought of yet is the Soviet-Afghan war with America helping what eventually became the Taliban
