CHAPTER 31

“Line In The Sand”

September 4th, 2040: The White House, Undisclosed Location

Inside one of the many non-disclosed hallways, President Dresden felt sick to his stomach and even that was a vast understatement. The beginning of this whole ordeal had hit him like a freight train, now it felt like reality itself was coming apart at the seams. The weight of leadership grew heavier by the day and he was more exhausted than ever. Dresden leaned against the smooth wall for a short rest, a few feet away from the conference room door but close enough to hear a heated argument between his inner circle. 

“--and you don’t quit when you’re down, you flip the fucking table! These technological backwaters are nothing to the army--let alone the airforce!” Edwards barked.

“Don’t you get it? We literally don’t have the money! The economy is only going down, unemployment is skyrocketing, the stock market is recreating the great depression--need I go on?” Harold fired back, equally loud. “With hindsight, the war with The Plusieurs Kingdom was a grave mistake. We lost far too much financially in that conflict. We’ve been hemorrhaging money for months! If we don’t get control over-inflating prices, the stock market is going to render the dollar worthless!”

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Dresden tried to move his right leg forwards--only for it to refuse to move. Feeling like his body was shutting down, he threw his head back with enough force to cause a slight *thud* on the wall, as an antagonizing voice filled his mind.

“Just give up already. You lost this fight the moment you arrived. America has no place here, and you know it.” Isimov’s voice echoed. 

“I’m not… finished…… yet.” Talking to his invisible rival through gritted teeth, Dresden shook his head before forcing himself to enter the conference room. The room was silent until he slammed a file down on the table.  

“That’s not all the bad news. United Security Armaments just pulled their contract, along with International Security Alliance, Mobile Borders, Emerald Dynamic, and Clearwater Intelligence.” 

“What? Why?” Edwards' jaw dropped as his mind failed to understand why the multi-billion dollar contracts would be turned down.

“Congressman Reed. He and thirteen others threatened United Security with an investigation into their activities in Africa. Seems they were more than spooked by this, and completely pulled out. Anyone even remotely connected to them also shredded their contracts.” Rubbing his forehead, Dresden stared in defeat at the file.

“Don’t tell me, Bangui?” Harold shook his head, taking a deep breath he looked at Dresden with bitterness.

“We--I, didn’t have much of a choice then. I would have lost an entire battalion of soldiers if I didn’t let United Security off its leash.”

“You gave them VX! A nerve agent!” Harold's face started to turn red in rage. “When I was VP for former-president Hopkins, he wanted to rip your head off after what you pulled! You’re lucky we had enough shovels to go around to help bury this!”

Taken aback by Harold's sudden outburst, Dresden blinked a few times before looking back at his file, not having nearly enough energy to give a damn about arguing. 

“This… actually leads us to a topic I wish to discuss. With Operation Citadel still in effect, and us needing a cheap and effective way to… neutralize our potential adversaries. The nerve agents, Agent 1-8 and Agent 1-10 will become available.” Hearing that bombshell, Harold scoffed before standing up. 

“Oh, of course, give the army access to those agents. I’m sure Congress won’t use Article Two to throw us out!” Looking back at Harold, Dresden returned an agitated shrug. 

“What do you want from me, an apology? The Russians were raining thermite munitions on our heads while the Chinese crammed white phosphorus into any opening they could find! If I didn’t allow United Security, and by extension Emerald Dynamic to do what was necessary, we would have lost The Central Africa Republic!” The room went silent for a moment, everyone taken aback by Dresden’s own outburst, but Harold continued to press. 

“And how do you explain what happened in Cairo, Khartoum, Mogadishu and half a dozen other cities?”

“You’re questioning ethics now? We were already losing, I just made it as hard for them as possible.” Dresden fired back, all the while reliving the sound of faint screams from soldiers and civilians as he huddled inside a ruined school with white phosphorus raining down around him. 

“So you went with the saying “If I can’t have it, no one can”. You’re lucky you didn’t serve prison time!” 

“For three months I have been busting my ass day in and day out to keep this nation from tearing itself apart. We have been on the defensive ever since this began. I believe it’s finally time we get proactive about it, don’t you agree?” 

“By waging chemical warfare, sir?” With his mouth slightly agape, Edwards's face paled. “Sir, with all due respect. If we use any chemical weapons, we will be seen as an angel of death, not liberators. Any support we have will immediately be lost, replaced with fear. I can only see this uniting these kingdoms to be against us, not with us.” 

With no one willing to back down, it wasn’t until Marshal entered the conference room that the argument finally paused, though the disagreement was quickly replaced with concern as all three saw the grave look on Marshal’s face.

“I’m afraid that’s not all the bad news, sir.” Setting his own file down on the table, he looked at Dresden. “Roughly two hours ago, we lost contact with Carrier Strike Group Nine. And the reason that I am late is that I just got off the phone with Vice Admiral Singleton… the strike group was attacked by a sea serpent.”

“Wait, they're stationed in the Pacific, how would it already be--oh god, there’s more than one.” Edwards buried his face in his hands.

“What are the casualties?” Dresden questioned, already dreading the answer.

“Confirmed sunk are both Ticonderoga-class cruisers, four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers… and the USS Theodore Roosevelt--roughly 5,000 enlisted personnel. Satellite imagery at the time of engagement backs this up, sir.” Opening the file, Marshal slid over a photo. At the center, surrounded by a massive oil slick, was the aircraft carrier. Broken in two and sinking, aircraft and debris scattered across the water. “We’ve also lost contact with the USS Alabama, and Florida. In light of the high threat level from these sea serpents, I’ve ordered the recall of all vessels close to United States shores. However, those who aren't, have been told to get as close to land as possible and remain anchored until we find a guaranteed safe route for them to return. In New Europe alone, a sizable number of ships are trapped along the coast of The Plusieurs Kingdom.” Marshal slid over another file. “This situation has also revealed a glaring problem with our logistics. To put it simply, it’s going to be far too expensive to airlift all of our supplies and equipment should a major war break out--especially with The Utspraakriech Empire.” Flipping through the spreadsheets, Dresden threw the file back onto the table.

“Congress won’t support a major conflict unless it is in North America or directly affects American lives anyway. Congress is already fighting against the foreign food aid and the media blackout for foreign activities. I’m going to need to throw them a bone soon.” 

“I believe it’s time to change our view from external, to internal matters. We’ve stabilized our fronts as much as we can, now we need to get the economy back on track.” Harold said as he watched Dresden bite his right thumbnail. 

“Easier said than done when you’ve got a prehistoric water snake that exclusively hunts ships. If Tomahawks and five-inch guns can’t penetrate it, the only alternative I can think of is either chemical or nuclear weapons.”

They silently weighed the cost of using such warfare until the silence was broken by a ring from the phone at the center of the conference table. Leaning over the table, Dresden saw the caller ID showing the Secretary of Air Force Office.

“This better be good Conrad.”

“Well if finding the drone carrier isn’t good news, then I’m not sure what is.” Hearing a nervous chuckle from Conrad, everyone froze for a moment.  

“Wait, you actually found it?” Blinking a few times, Harold uncrossed his arms. 

“Correct vice president. A satellite we had doing a routine scan over the pacific ocean flagged a series of images. Once we manually looked at them there was no mistake, the drone carrier did make it with the transfer. Their current heading sets them to arrive in California… which is where we have a problem. The only other airbase capable of housing it is in Alaska, but the crew don’t know that, as it was only recently built, and kept classified in the unlikely event that the crew were captured or flipped. I’ve already been briefed about the halt of ship traffic, but if we don’t intercept them before landfall we are going to have to answer a lot of tough questions, and I don’t believe they will have enough supplies to make it to Alaska if they reach California first. There is also the real possibility that the reactor is running critically low on uranium fuel rods. Once fuel reaches thirty percent and lower, the drone carrier is going to struggle to keep itself airborne, and not be able to recharge and rearm its drones without risking substantial altitude loss.”

“What are our options for making contact?” Dresden questioned.

“In the event we ever lost contact with the drone carrier, an emergency case plan would be opened. Positioned and ready to launch at your discretion, sir, is a SR-71 Blackbird at Area 51. Outfitted with flares, it will launch and refuel before reaching the coast of California, then intercept the drone carrier. Once in sight, the Blackbird will launch a sequence of flares in a pattern that only the crews of each aircraft know, once the crew onboard the drone carrier responds, the Blackbird will instruct the drone carrier to follow it to Alaska. When close enough to the base, the Blackbird will be replaced with F-15s, and sent back to Area 51. The Blackbird should not have any issues with out-pacing any aerial threat, however, if the drone carrier is indeed critical on fuel, and unable to defend itself, then the crew onboard the Blackbird has been instructed to sacrifice itself in order to protect the drone carrier.”

Taking a few seconds to process the rather ludicrous plan in front of him, Dresden leaned back in his chair.

“Pointless to ask, but aren't there any other aircraft within range to provide cover?”

“Not unless we add aerial tankers into the formation, and that will only add more variables to go wrong. If there wasn’t a sea serpent hunting our vessels, I would have suggested a carrier strike group.”

“Marshal, any input?” Marshal shrugged. 

“The only effective means of hurting this thing was when a Ticonderoga-class cruiser slammed its bow into the creature’s eye socket.” All eyes turned to Dresden as he slammed his right hand down on the table.

“Alright, at this point I think it’s clear that we need to send these sea serpents to the bottom of the ocean. What biological, chemical and tactical nuclear weapons do we have at our disposal that won’t cause massive environmental damage? These fantasy creatures have given me enough headaches.” Immediately, Edwards flipped through a thin file. 

“Well, there is the B61 gravity bomb and LRHWs(Long-Range-Hypersonic-Weapon). Biologically, we have anthrax, smallpox and influenza. However, these are specific to humans, not sea serpents so we cannot be certain that they will have any effect. Lastly, for chemicals, we of course have VX, Agent 1-10 and 1-8. We also have Soman, Sarin, Cyclosarin and TMTFA. Given the water-based environment, I advise we use Cyclosarin. It’s insoluble--meaning that if we make the sea serpent swim through a patch of it, once inhaled or ingested, we can be certain it will have an effect.”

“Conrad, do we have the capacity to put Cyclosarin into a missile or bomb?”

“Both, sir. However in this case, the AGM-181 cruise missile launched from multiple B-2s is our best option. It will take some time to procure the Cyclosarin, and create an operation plan, but I believe this is our best option to neutralize these sea serpents.”

“Alright then. Conrad, I want continuous updates on the status of the drone carrier and start the process for an operation to neutralize the sea serpents. Marshal, continue working on getting our vessels home but prioritize keeping them safe. Edwards, get me a detailed report on logistics in New Europe, and start computer simulations, war games and map exercises for war against the major empires. Include scenarios with the Plusieurs and Ruppriecht Kingdoms both for, and against us. And Harold, keep Congress from…well… being Congress, and tearing itself apart, or coming after this administration. It’s time for us to get our asses in gear before this crisis really starts to run away from us. This is where we draw the line.”