The Mushroom Cloud Chronicles - Second Reboot: Chapter 3

The Mushroom Cloud Chronicles (Reboot)
A JAG-Sims3 Story

Author: Haruo Chikamori
Rating: M
Classification: Angst, Romance.
Spoilers: N/A

Summary: Continuity of Government (COG) – a stark term for starting over after a holocaust the likes of which is hoped will never ever happen. This is a what-could-happen if the button was ever pressed.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.

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Chapter 3 - A Blast from the Past
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Admiral Pointer's Officer,
Pentagon
Washington DC
1338 ZULU

"Mr President, When my men and women arrive, you have the floor. I appreciate the fact that you have come down to the Pentagon yourself in order to deliver the news."

"Admiral, I couldn't ask your men and women to do something that goes against the very nature of their protecting the population of our country in favor of protecting themselves unless I made it a direct order. It was the only thing that I could do. Your men are selfless and courageous...and have gone into harm's way many times, but I'm asking them now to put their own lives ahead of the general populace in this case. We can't save everybody in the country, but we will most assuredly try to make certain that as many people are saved as possible."

"It will be a harsh and unrelenting world that we will face after the bombs fall should the Chinese and the Russians decide to instigate nuclear war. The harsh fact of this, Admiral is the main reason why I've chosen military personnel to be a part of the re-building process.

"I don't know what the world will look like after a war but from what I can tell from the scientists and researchers is that we will end up in a nuclear winter from which there is no return within our lifetime so I can only pray that this is a false alarm and that we will go back to the status quo."

There was a knock at the door and the President looked over at Admiral Pointer. "I'll let you do the honors, Admiral."

"Come in!" barked Admiral Pointer. When the door opened, he smiled, "Good morning, Captain Austin. It's good that you could make it on short notice like this."

It looked as though Meg was weary but she gave Admiral Pointer a brief smile as she snapped to attention and then immediately came to parade rest two feet away from the front of his desk.

Her eyes gazed around the room and she was greeted by someone she hadn't been expecting to see; the President of the United States.

While her mind was racing, she was flanked by two flag officers, one of them a vice-admiral who came to crisp attention and then parade rest to her right. "Nice to see you, Captain Austin, it's been a long time..." sounded in her left ear as her former commanding officer, when she was a Lieutenant JG, came to parade rest by her left.

"Long story..." she said out of the corner of her mouth, "...sir."

"I bet..." was RADM AJ Chegwidden's reply.

"Thank you for coming..." the President of the United States said, "I wish that this meeting could have been a much more auspicious occasion than a prelude to a conversation that I did not ever wish to have."

"We stand on the brink of the precipice." the President stated with a grim countenance. "...and unlike the many times before, I have no faith that we will be able to step back from it again." he looked over at the military officers in front of him. You have been chosen as the leadership of a bunker located in Sunset Valley...you will leave within two days. I leave the selection of your bunker occupants to you since you know your men and women under your command a lot better than I do."

"I don't relish the decision making process, Admirals and Captain; I know that you have tough decisions ahead on who survives and who doesn't."

The weight of those words was heavy in the room and the officers looked over at Admiral Pointer; but he had no advice to give. The ramifications of just how horrific the situation had spiralled out of control had become apparent.

"What do we tell those whom we've relegated to die?" the vice-admiral asked, "Mr. President?" There was a sharp tone of censure in his voice, "With all due respect, Mr. President, these are men and women that I've served with for many years and now you're asking us to condemn them to hellfire and incineration." With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, it was a question that needed to be asked; the President wasn't about to tell the admiral to invoke the Uniform Code of Military Justice here. He needed the man to understand.

"I understand...Admiral, I understand all too well the gravity of the decisions you are asked to undertake, but rest assured admiral, you are only having to make those decisions for a certain number of your assigned men and women under your command." The taciturn look on his face could not disguise the genuine sadness in his eyes as he continued, "Take that decision and multiply it by 326,700,000 plus souls, Admiral..."

"I'm sure that you will have security concerns in the bunker at Sunset Valley, so I've assigned you a security specialist. I'm sure he will be familiar to one of you military officers." The door opened and footsteps were heard behind the flag officer. VADM Nakamura started as he saw a flash of Marine Green going past his line of sight and entering into his field of vision.

"Good to see, you, sahr!" a gravelly voice he'd hadn't heard for near long enough permeated his auditory canals as the gorilla of a man looked back over his shoulder. It brought PTSD flashbacks to his time in ROTC where he'd been psychologically beaten to a pulp by this brute of a man; the drill instructors knew how to tear a person down and then build them back up stronger than before...and this was what then-Staff Sergeant Elmo Stacker had done to the officer candidates at ROTC. Looking over at the Marine, he'd saw that he'd accumulated three more rockers and a pineapple (a bursting bomb)...in lieu of the crossed rifles under his Sergeant's stripes.

"Mr. President..." now Master Gunnery Sergeant Elmo Stacker, United States Marine Corps, growled, because that's what his voice sounded like; a morning repast of razor blades, nails and other assorted metal staples, gargled with battery acid and a handful of gravel as an appetizer. Just your typical Marine Corps breakfast fare.

By this time, VADM Toshio Nakamura was so non-plussed he was unsure what to think and since the President had allowed them to relax from parade rest, he just stood there, a shocked expression on his face and scratched his head in confusion.

"Mr. President..." the Master Guns said as he peered out the window at parade rest. "I would need to ascertain the location and scout the area before I can give an authoritative report on how best to outfit the complex for defence." His voice sounded like his larynx had been soothed with a rasp file.

"Nothin' ruins a day more completely than Comrade Zipper-head dropping a three megaton right on top of our heads...but you can't do much about that...so I'll have to start with conventional bombs and work my way down."

Well, Master Guns, I'm sure that you'll find a way to secure the site." the President said, turning to the officers, "All of you will be assigned to Sunset Valley..."

"I hope that we can come to a resolution before the conflict reaches its tipping point. But if the worst should happen, humanity will not go extinct. We will make a comeback...and God willing, our species will survive and rebound."