World War Three
Psalm 136
Drama/General
Stargate: SG-1
Jack, OCs
Summary: The entire world waited on words from one man, words that might nudge the world over the precipice into nuclear war.
Author's Notes: I was severely inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the movie "Thirteen Days," and President Kennedy and Attorney General Kennedy. I think that, as the world continues to move on, we might be faced with more situations where the question of the nuclear bomb will be brought up, and I hope that there is enough decency in the human race that we will refuse to unleash such destruction onto the world.
…
Jack O'Neill could feel a single bead of sweat trickling down his back between his shoulder blades. He slowly shifted in his seat, uncomfortable in the tense moment. He was a man of action; he couldn't just sit here and talk. He needed to do. But there was nothing he could do except sit here and wait for the next words to come from the mouth of the President of the United States.
He was waiting for the words that would forever change the course of human history on Earth. Whether it would be for good or ill, Jack didn't know.
The President had called an emergency meeting of his most trusted advisors. Seated around the table were various generals and high-ranking military officials, surrounded by civilian advisors, members of the War Department and the State Department, and cabinet members. The Attorney General was currently anxiously nursing a glass of cold water and slouching defeatedly at the side of the President and couldn't seem to meet anyone's eyes. The Attorney General and the President had grown up together, been closer than brothers, and they had made it to the White House together. But this was the one place the Attorney General couldn't follow his best friend; this was the President's decision, and his alone. The evidence had been placed before him. Now, the leader of the free world had but one decision to make.
Whether or not to start World War Three. Whether or not to press the button. Whether or not to use the nuclear bomb.
Thirteen presidents and seventy years had passed since the first and last nuclear bomb had been used for war purposes. It had always been an option, but one avoided at all costs. But war had shattered the fragile peace that had descended over the world after the United States had finally pulled out of Afghanistan and Iraq. It had started with a terrorist attack in Lebanon, and it was escalating. Russia was beginning to wipe the dust from its nuclear stockpile. Iran was dangerously close to developing it's own. North Korea had its sights set on the United States. Rumor had it that the Chinese, North Koreans, and the Russians were in cohorts together. It was just a bonus that Iran wasn't too fond of the United States, either.
Now the United States needed to decide its course of action.
"The North Koreans have fully operational nuclear weapons," President Eliot stated emotionlessly. "So do the Russians and the Chinese. No one is willing to talk, despite our repeated pleas for negotiation."
"Yes, sir," the Attorney General responded, though he swallowed first, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat, Jack surmised.
"The Russians and Chinese have sent missiles to Cuba," the President continued. "And though we tried to dissuade them with a blockade, they continued. We didn't destroy their ships because we wanted to avoid war."
"Yes, sir," the Attorney General mumbled, his cold eyes cast to the table.
"And no one has been able to think of any option other than war." It wasn't a question or an accusation. It was a mournful realization.
"No, sir."
"General O'Neill," the President's voice was tight and almost harsh. "Is the Daedalus in orbit?"
"Yes, sir," Jack replied cautiously.
"How long would it take to send a bomb to Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang?"
Jack suddenly got an image of those three cities absolutely decimated because of the force of a nuclear explosion. Hundreds of years of human history would be leveled. He swallowed and let go of his emotions, almost hearing them hit the ground and roll away. He couldn't let his inner Daniel interfere with this decision.
"Within a minute, with the Asgard beaming technology. The Daedalus would only need coordinates to pick up the bombs," he replied, his tone almost cold. He didn't want this. No one in his right mind would want this. This was slaughter. This was unforgivable.
"Is there a problem, General?" the President asked, sounding as though he didn't dare to hope there might be another way.
"Sir, you know, we all know, what will happen if we are the first to detonate the bomb," Jack spoke, unable to stop himself. This wasn't just war. This wasn't just guns and C4 and bombs exploding. This wasn't anything anyone had ever seen before. This was a nuclear apocalypse. This would be the end of the world. It would only take one thousand nuclear bombs to destroy the world.
Jack continued after he managed to take a breath. "If we send a bomb to Moscow or to Beijing or to Pyongyang or Tehran, then they will retaliate. They will send a bomb to Washington, D.C., to the White House or to any of our thousands of military forts. They will send a bomb somewhere. They will send many. Then we will retaliate. Millions upon millions will die."
"But if we wait for the first blow, we will be crippled," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs pointed out, but he too looked as though he was already dead with the possibility of such a war.
"I am aware of that," Jack managed to articulate his words evenly. "But we managed to survive forty years of a cold war without a single bomb being detonated. We managed to keep the world from destruction. And I would hesitate to let it go so far when we've proven that we can keep from that last step."
Jack thought of Sam, of Daniel, of Teal'c, of Vala, of Mitchell. He thought about all of the people he'd ever worked with at the SGC and all of the people he'd seen fall in service to their world and to their country. He thought about Sara, somewhere in New York state with her new husband, and of the little grave that concealed his dead son. He thought of the world Charlie had never experienced and all of the things his little boy had missed. He considered the home that waited for him in Colorado Springs and thought of all of the things he would miss if worse truly came to worse.
"If we take the first step, no one will be left alive to tell us that we were wrong to take that step," Jack murmured, but he was heard over the silence in the room.
"We have to find another way," the Attorney General affirmed, sitting up in his seat, setting down his glass, newly energized. "We have to find another way."
"There is no other way!" the Army Chief of Staff slammed his fist on the table.
"There is always another way, General," the President said carefully. "Kennedy didn't back down, even when an air strike and an invasion seemed to be the only way to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Johnson and Nixon didn't use the bomb on Vietnam, and Truman didn't use it in Korea, despite MacArthur's insistence that it was the only way to win. And we didn't use it in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"There must be another way. We must find it."
With that, the President of the United States of America stood. "Find it, gentlemen," were his parting words as he left the room, flanked by the Attorney General and his personal assistant.
Jack slumped back into his chair as the impassioned argumentation began. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. So close. So close.
…
Author's Notes: Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? Too melodramatic? Not dramatic enough? And I'm sorry there wasn't much SG-1ness in it, but I think Jack is the perfect person to witness such moments. I hope you enjoyed it!