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
