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Praetorium Honoris

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Hell Breaks Loose

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It wasn't the typical press crowd one might find in the White House Briefing Room in normal times, but these weren't normal times. Flip-flops, shorts, t-shirts seemed to be the uniform of the day. Only the woman from CNN and the man from the Nippon Television Network were wearing something approaching business attire, the junior reporter from Fox News was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, he seemed to be better at "reading the crowd" than his peers.

President Nakagawa was going over his notes just off stage in the impromptu briefing room his staff had set up in one of the VA Center's outbuildings. Unfortunately, his staff had not chosen wisely as the air conditioning in the small room was struggling to keep pace with the number of people in the room. Most of them were from small news outlets from the surrounding communities. One man, who had introduced himself as a blogger with two thousand followers, had been admitted only after the Speaker of the House had indicated that the guy was a good writer, took no sides, and seemed to dislike all politicians.

The President had quipped, "Well, he hates us all, so he should be unbiased, let him in."

"Mr. President, the reporters out there aren't taking this seriously, shorts and t-shirts, Sir, really?" Bruce Ingalls, one of the President's junior aides, seemed pretty distraught over this.

Nakagawa chuckled, "Have you been in there, Bruce? It's hotter than Mississippi in August. Let 'em be comfortable."

Having said that, the President took off his suit coat and hung it on the back of his chair. Standing up he said, "Let's get this over with.


"What do you mean we can't leave?" Matthew Burleson, ostensible President of the United States, barked at his chief military liaison officer.

"Sir, we contacted HMX-1, their operations staff indicated that they provide transportation for the President and Vice President, not former Cabinet members." The colonel delivering this bad news braced himself for the expected outburst from Burleson, who was touchy at the best of times and now was certainly not that.

Surprisingly, Burleson didn't react at all. He stood up and said, "I'll be in my quarters."

The President's chief of staff, Ted Anderson, came in shortly after Burleson had left, he seemed confused.

"Colonel, where is the President?"

"Apparently he's in West Virginia."

Which drew a sharp look from Anderson, "That isn't funny, Colonel."

"No Sir, it's not funny at all. We could be facing a firing squad in the near future. I'm out, get someone else to do this, it ain't worth the candle."

"Now see here, Colonel ..." Anderson realized he was talking to the door, which had slammed behind the colonel as he left the room.

Anderson began to see that this was not a game at all. He had been coming to brief the President on the killing of the FBI Director. There were also rumors out of the Marine Barracks at 8th and I that the Marines had executed their former Commandant and Vice Admiral Washington after a summary court martial had been held.

Well, he was just a staffer, right? He'd worked for Burleson at the Pentagon and had followed the man here to Raven Rock. He hadn't been the one to make Burleson President, he was just a staffer, he was just following orders, that's all. He should be fine.

Shouldn't he?


President Nakagawa looked relaxed and well-rested, which he was to a certain extent, as he stood at the podium. Checking his notes, he then looked out at the reporters and began to speak.

"First of all, it's like a sauna in here, so I'll try to make this brief. I have a statement and then at the end I'll take any questions you might have. Of course, the more questions you ask, the longer we'll have to tolerate this heat." Nakagawa grinned at the ripple of laughter which went across the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the last few months, weeks really, the country experienced something almost unprecedented in our history. Various agencies within the government decided to take matters into their own hands and force unconstitutional change upon our citizens."

"Federal agents have died, private citizens have died, in both cases actions which caused these deaths can be traced directly to various Federal agencies within Washington DC. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency are both involved, in the FBI the responsibility went all the way to the top. In the CIA there is no evidence of  the involvement of senior staff at that agency, but a few rogue agents operating outside the bounds of their agency's mandate and, more importantly, outside the law governing the responsibilities of the CIA."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are trying to bring order out of chaos, as recently as yesterday we had three separate claimants to the Presidency, myself included. With the death of the FBI Director, that number has been reduced to two, myself and the former Secretary of Defense, Matthew Burleson. We have documentation which proves that Mr. Burleson was fired as Secretary of Defense shortly before my predecessor's untimely death. So, by law, he has no valid claim to the Presidency."

"However, these times are unusual and unprecedented. Some of you may see my ascension to the Presidency as unlawful, or at best of questionable legality. Therefore, I am asking you, the people of the United States, to make the final determination here."

"Shortly, on your television screens, you will be given instructions on how to vote in what I believe is the first nationwide referendum. Whether or not you, the people, accept me as your President. It's a simple yes or no, folks. If no, then I will step down , if yes, then I will continue as your President until our next regularly scheduled elections."

"You will, however, have the chance to vote in a special election to be held as soon as possible where some of you will have to select new Senators and Representatives to replace those who have left their posts during this national crisis. Details on that will be forthcoming."

"Now, any questions from the folks in the room?"

A number of people began shouting at the President, he pointed to the man from Nippon TV.

"Mr. President, there are reports that you ordered the death of the FBI Director, is that true?"

The room went dead silent, the reporters were on the edges of their seats, wondering which way Nakagawa would answer. The silence was broken when one of the local media people, looking at his phone, gasped, "Holy shit!"

Everyone in the room turned to the young man, wearing jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt. One of the President's security detail moved in that direction but stopped when the President asked, "What is it? Something of interest to all of us?"

The man turned beet red, then stood and said, "According to Reuters, there has been an armed clash between units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy and forces belonging to the Philippines and Japan near the Spratly Islands."

The President turned to his military aide who had his laptop computer out and was typing furiously. Lieutenant Commander Josh Higgins went pale then turned to the President.

"Our reconnaissance assets over the area report three ships on fire. The Philippine Navy is reporting that one of their Jacinto-class patrol boats has been hit and is sinking." The naval officer paused for a minute, he looked sick to his stomach.

"Sir, the Japanese Ministry of Defense is reporting that one of their Maya class destroyers has engaged and destroyed a Chinese vessel, class unclear at this point. Their own ship, JS Haguro, has herself been damaged, many casualties, the extent of the damage to Haguro is unknown at this time. PLAN forces in the region are withdrawing at this time."

The President looked to his liaison with the State Department, "I want to talk with the Chinese ambassador, we need to know what is going on."

The man from State, Frederick L. Waltham III, swallowed and said, "Mr. President, the Chinese Ambassador left for home three days ago, it's unclear if he was recalled or left on a vacation. With the unrest and the chaos here at home, I believe the Chinese decided to adopt a wait and see, from a distance, attitude."

"I see."

Turning to the crowd, the President announced, "I'm afraid we'll have to pick this up at a later time, thank you for being here, thank you for your understanding."

As he was leaving one last question was shouted at him, "Mr. President, what about the rumor about the FBI Director?"

Nakagawa stopped and spun on his heel, he was clearly angry, "Mr. Sheppard was ordered to cease and desist pushing his illegal claim to this office. He refused, in fact, he told me to 'stick my orders' where the sun don't shine."

"But, Sir, did you have him killed?"

"I ordered him brought in dead or alive, he chose poorly."

There were more shouted questions, but the President ignored them, he might be staring at the start of World War III, he had to try and stop things before they got worse. He turned to LCDR Higgins, "Where are the carriers, Lieutenant Commander Higgins?"

"Truman and Reagan are in Japan, Reagan is preparing to come home. Ford and Enterprise are almost ready to come out of scheduled maintenance and can probably steam in less than ten days."

"We may not have ten days, get people moving, whatever you need from me, let me know."

Higgins merely said, "Aye Aye Sir, I'll get on the horn to the Yard, it's where the Navy is being run from at the moment."

After the sailor had gone, the President arrived at his office, which was a flurry of activity. Walking in, he turned to Bill Aspinall, "Think our SEALs and a couple of platoons of Marines from 8th and I can retake the Pentagon?"

"Right now, Sir, we could probably take it with a squad of DC cops, but I'll get Senior Chief Howard on it ASAP."

"Do it."

Turning to the room at large, he said, "Alright people, what's happening? I need details, what they've got, what we've got, and options to calm this situation down. It's going to be a long night, so let's get down to it."




56 comments:

  1. "Just following orders, that's all. He should be fine".........how did THAT hold up at Nuremberg and Tokyo? A spark has been lit in the South China Sea and the new President and VP get to deal with it. A fine post sarge.

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    1. Er....ah.... "Sarge".........

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    2. Figured that things were starting to settle down, trust some foreign power to muck that up.

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    3. When you're an "I was just following orders" person on the losing side of a coup like this I'd think it's time to pull out Plan B (runaway & hide).

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    4. Argentina's nice this time of year ...

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  2. Every morning I push the button on the coffee pot (first things first!) and try to figure out if our republic is likely to endure another day. You're doing a great job of validating my paranoia! However, God is still on his throne,
    A Little East of Paris

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  3. "The President had quipped, "Well, he hates us all, so he should be unbiased, let him in.""

    AH! A journalist! Like as not, the only one in the room.

    Good answer to the question about the Director of the FBI, "He chose poorly." Homage to the Grail Knights? A fine Molcajete de Mariscos Veracruanos you served us this fine day. I'll eat it to the dregs. And maybe sop them up with some fresh bolillios.

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    1. "Chose poorly" is common enough these days that where it came from is not often remembered.

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    2. Rob, it seems that, in general, our society has a memory of about 10 minutes. Unless it's about the Kardasians (sp?) or Taylor Swift. Sad.

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    3. Who cares how that's spelled?

      Um, not me.

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  4. The NTN reporter would - of course - be appropriately dressed.

    Honestly Sarge, what you are suggesting is my biggest fear in the world today. Bad actors take advantage of weakness and unstable situations. The U.S., in your story, is in that precise position - good heavens, at least publicly the SecDef (theoretically in charge of the Military) is posting counter claims.

    I am curious to see, in your writing if it goes that far, how a country regains sanity and at least a sense of unity.

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    1. There's a reason why Russia felt comfortable invading Ukraine, same reason Hamas felt comfortable attacking Israel. Weakness in our government.

      I fear that regaining sanity will require bloodshed.

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    2. OAFSarge... I think you're correct. :-(

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    3. (blinking in innocence) What might that reason be, Sarge? (blink, blink)

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    4. Check the pilot house, no one is at the wheel.

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    5. And the wheel isn't lashed down.

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    6. Spinning freely, at the whim of wind and tide.

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  5. I strangely wonder what the poeple and politicians (hmmm, why does that phrase seem "proper"?) out here in the place of mile and miles of miles and miles think of allthat's happening. And are eleven carriers enough?

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    1. There are many in the defense industry who think the time of the carrier has passed. As a key element in a war against a near peer, they might be right. But I'd rather have them than not. It's a great way to place a military airfield off the coast of a troublesome smaller country. Put it off the coast of China and you're probably willing to let those 5,000 men and women onboard the carrier die. They have a use but not like during WWII, things have changed, drastically, since then. Satellites, long ship anti-ship missiles, it will be a nasty time out there once the missiles start flying. (Not even mentioning the nuclear-tipped variety.) So eleven might be enough. For now.

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    2. Don't discount the power of the amphibious assault ships, you know, the baby laptops capable of launching F-35s. Sneaky move on our military's part.

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    3. I'm hoping we're not going to be fighting the next war based upon the (technology of the) 20th Century:
      the current Russo-Ukraine border dispute and the Israel/Gaza affair are proof of that.
      I sincerely hope that the sand tables will be scrubbed and revised to avoid needless loss of manpower

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    4. Technology is really moving these days, I suspect that we'll find out that the aircraft carrier is not the power that it used to be.

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    5. The F-35 does work, short legs though, especially the VTOL/STOL variant. Though the baby flattops can also launch and recover all sorts of drones and helos. Don't discount the startling ability of a Marine Cobra to put the stonk on any ship up to destroyer size, and to put a hurting on even destroyers or carriers.

      The neat thing about the F-35 is it's ability to use the ship-board and other air-borne radars to guide its internally carried weapons, and its ability to scout and paint targets, while being very stealthy, for stand-off weapons launched by other planes, ships and ground systems.

      It's not the wunderwaffen that it's made out to be, but it has done quite a good job of meeting expectations. At a very high price, but it works.

      The air force pilots who are flying it are extremely jazzed about its abilities. Haven't heard much about the Navy and Marine pilots approval or disapproval, so...

      The ability of the VTOL F-35 to land on other nation's carriers and ships reinforced to handle it is a peculiarly wonderful ability. So basically we could use Britain's carriers, or Italy's or Japan's or Korea's or even a reinforced container ship, not to mention all those islands out there.

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    6. Rob - I really think you're right.

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    7. Beans - Short legs against a peer opponent means your ship is dead before it gets close enough to launch aircraft. Every theater where the F-35 has been used is very low threat and the stand-off stuff has been done before by other platforms, nothing new there. Stealth is nice, but the biggest problem with the F-35 is that it's too damned complicated, I doubt it will stand up very long in sustained combat. Being able to land on another ship, whatever, will be necessary when they platform they launched from is on the bottom. Another problem with the F-35 is that there aren't enough of them.

      And exactly whose expectations is the F-35 meeting?

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    8. boron - Highly unlikely, drones are playing a big role in Ukraine, I'm surprised it took the two sides so long to work those into their repertoire. The generals never really rethink what they're doing until forced to do so.

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  6. I'm more interested in watching where (and how) the muse leads you rather than regarding the story line as a future history of the current period

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    1. The story, to me, is a big "what if," it's somewhat related to current events but is not meant to be predictive of the future. (The little voice inside my head just said, "Dear God, I hope not!")

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  7. Holy Flipping Flapjacks, Batman! And, yes, in a power vacuum the ChiComs would get frisky at a moment's notice (though they've had, what, 3-4 weeks to prepare.) Test the waters with an 'incident' to judge the response by all the players in the area. Japan has said they'd support Korea (grudgingly in some respect), the PHI, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. Good on them to follow through. Now we get to see if Australia, Korea, Singapore and, of course, these United States have the wherewithal and testicular fortitude (or ovarian fortitude depending on who's in charge) to follow through with treaty (and common sense) obligations.

    Same with the dunderheads in the West Bank (as the dunderheads in Gaza are pretty much toast) and Iran and Lebanon reacting to a power vacuum in the US. Though, well, history shows that those groups will start something AFTER the power vacuum is gone, for the most part, and have, historically, not read the international room very well when planning and executing their nefarious schemes.

    Fun times... Oh, very fun times...

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  8. FWIW no confusion with today's serial instalment! Great writing!

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    1. The fog has pretty much cleared, I did that intentionally. I really wanted to keep y'all guessing (and confused) because that's what a real crisis is like, confusing.

      And thanks!

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  9. It is sometimes said that "life imitates art." I hope that is not the case.
    But, some inscrutable Orientals may have been watching TV and pondering "If not now, when...."

    Great fiction, Sarge.
    John Blacshoe

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    1. Yeah, the Chinese not taking advantage of all this drama would be weird.

      Why they haven't done it for real tells me something, maybe they're not as ready as they'd like us to think.

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  10. Reading this chapter I thought of both "By Dawn's Early Light" and "Sum of All Fears." Not for the post-nuke theme, but the line of presidential succession plot line each have. By the way, I think Nakamura could take heat from that dead or alive response. A more seasoned politician might have answered with "he was killed in the course of taking him into custody due to his refusal to go peacefully."

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    1. "Debt of Honor" also covers presidential succession and how to handle a fired pretender. And war in the Pacific. And using 4th and 5th generation stealth fighters as the leading edge of regular fighters, and using the regular fighters to paint targets for said stealth fighters' weapons.

      "The Bear and the Dragon" covers the ChiComs getting frisky with Russia and the US. And the US and Russia getting frisky right back. With the whole Ukrainian thing, Russia has lost a lot of potential support if the ChiComs jump north into Siberia.

      As to Nakamura, we don't need more seasoned politicians with their mealy-mouthed responses and platitudes. We need, in time of civil war and coup attempts, a more straight spoken president. One of the many reasons I liked and still like Trump was/is his ability to cut the bullcrap and speak the truth.

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    2. Tuna - Nakagawa isn't much of a politician, he's a former A-10 pilot and something of a maverick. I may get more into his back story in future installments.

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    3. Beans, more "Executive Orders" to my way of thinking. Strange how those letters end up missing, isn't it?

      "One of the many reasons I liked and still like Trump was/is his ability to cut the bullcrap and speak the truth." While I like his way of cutting through the convolutions of statespeak and platitudes, I rather hate his overall childish phrasing, and find him a vulgar, petulant boor. But, by Vulcan's toenails, he's MY vulgar, petulant boor. Not beholden to a party, per se, and not really concerned with popular opinion as expressed by politicians and the press. Which is what makes him so liked by the generality. Well, outside a double handful of solidly blue metro areas.

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  11. The fog is lifting, but there are clouds on the horizon.

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    1. Clouds filled with thunderbolts and lightning ...

      You know the rest.

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  12. could someone supply a synopsis up to this point and maybe a playbill? I just found this, looks interesting.

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    1. It's a pretty long tale, best bet is to start here and click "Newer Post" when you get to the end to take you to the next installment. Sometimes I skipped a day or two between installments so you might need to click again. All of the posts in this series start with a black and white photo, so that's a quick key.

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