Author's Note- Hey everyone, sorry for failing to post for a while. Fortunately, I think I have a fairly good excuse…I was on a school trip…to Japan…it was amazing. That said I have no more exciting travel plans for the rest of the semester, so unless I get hit by a meteor or something else traumatic there should not be any more hiccups in posting.
Disclaimer- Don't own hetalia, though I did see the manga in Tokyo.
Chapter 7- Difficult decisions
Anchorage was important to her, that city was the heart of her states cultural, it's gateway. While Juneau was her capital, Anchorage was her New York City. But even though Anchorage was the most important city in the state; it was barely a blip on the national radar. This brought up the question...Why was it under attack?
Her mind she ran over the list of large buildings in Anchorage that had been evacuated, doing her best to make sure she didn't forget any. She ran through the neighboring towns and cities. Wassila, Seward, Kenai… Then the thought hit her…Valdez. If the terrorists manage to hit even one of the loading tankers they would send the city up like a roman candle. If that city was crippled so would the entire Alaskan oil industry. If America was going to war, it would need the oil from her Northern fields to fuel it.
"Valdez, we need to evacuate the tankers."
"We are already on it ma'am." The technician fiddled keyboard and pulled a series of reports. "The Coast Guard has expelled all sea worthy oil tankers from the port. They are under instructions to scatter to seaward. The Coast Guard is on standby to assist any boat under distress."
"Do the Coast Guard have the flight clearances they need to do their job?"
"Yes ma'am." The technician answered calmly. "The Coast Guard is technically a branch of the military so they are now exempt from the flight restrictions."
"Good." Let out a sigh on the headset. "Alright all government buildings are evacuated, all landmarks and large hotels have been evacuated. The Valdez tankers are being removed. That makes the only occupied possible targets in greater Anchorage area, the military ones." She didn't need to mention to the technicians assigned to her that NORAD's Alaskan regional headquarters would be a very tempting target. The location wasn't exactly a secret. The address in the phone book was a good as painting a target on the roof.
"Are you sure that we can't convince you to be evacuate to a more protected spot Ma'am?"
"I can't think of many days in history when Alaska needed to be at the Alaskan NORAD post." She had fought at the Battle of Attu and witnessed the Bombing of Dutch Harbor. She had survived the second largest earthquake in record history and suffered through the world's oil spill. She had spent decades staring down Russia's loaded bombers during the Cold War. One airplane was not going to bring her state to its knees.
She took a deep breath and switched to the international communications channel. "Mathew, you know that plane I had concerns about?"
"The one who sent the HKJ message?"
"That's the one. It switched its code to 7500."
"Isn't that the international code for hijacking?" Canada's concern could be clearly heard on the other end of the line.
"Yes it is." Alaska stated trying to keep the edge of fear from her voice. "I have to assume that the hijackers have left the pilot flying the plane and it is the pilot sending me these messages."
"Which airport is it coming into?"
"I am working on that." Alaska admitted softly.
"You can't keep the plane in the air much longer, according to the Koreans it is running out of fuel." Canada pushed over the phone.
"I know that!" Alaska snapped at her neighbor, then immediately regretted it. This was in no way Canada's fault, and he shouldn't me taking any of her anger. Unfortunately the tension of the situation, the length of the day, and the pain throbbing between her eyes was rubbing her self control raw. "Sorry Mathew…I shouldn't have snapped, but we both know I am running out of options."
"But that still means you have some options." Mathew tried to interject a small amount of optimism.
"I don't know. I can't very well send it Anchorage or Fairbanks, but the all alternate landing site is socked in."
"Can't they land on instruments?" The tone in Canada's voice was almost pleading.
"It is not that simple. My airports are some of the most challenging places land in North America at in perfect conditions. It is possible to land there on instruments only, but only the most experienced pilots who fly into this airport every even try. Asking pilot who has never flown into one of these remote airstrips to land here now would be suicidal."
"Can you hear it?" Canada didn't need to specify what she could hear. It was well know that the Nation People could sense important things that happen around them.
"I can't..." Alaska gulp down the lump in her throat and tried to ignore the fear that she knew was creeping up in her voice. "Yet. Mathew, what I am going to do? I have a ticking time bomb in my skies and nowhere let to land it."
"I don't know, but we still have some time. We will come up with a solution."
Alaska wished she could believe him.
It was the hardest decisions that Canada had ever made, but in a way it was one that had been made long ago. He had made the promise to protect Alaska like it was one of his own territories when the Aleutians had been invaded during WWII. Right now Alaska was under threat again, and he had an obligation to shield her as much as possible. And, Canada had to quietly admit, at the moment he was more capable of taking on one tragedy, than America would be able to suffer the destruction of a fifth plane on his soil. That said protecting Alaska would mean diverting a potentially dangerous plane into one of his own cities, to put Whitehorse in danger. It was one of the most difficult decisions that Canada had made outside of war, and time was running out.
"Samantha, we have been in contact with Korean Air and the plane doesn't have enough fuel stay in the air much longer. Please instruct it to land at Whitehorse, Yukon. Repeat, divert the plane to Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport."
"Roger, sending the plane to Whitehorse International…Thank you." Then after a moment, "You are prepared for this?"
No, Canada thought to himself but chose to voice a much more up beat message. "Of course all schools and major buildings in Whitehorse are being evacuated and I have armed Mounted Police at the airport ready to take any action needed to evacuate the passengers. All that we can do now is to wait and pray that whoever is piloting that plane has the common sense to land quietly."
"Matthew?"
"Yes Samantha?"
"We…" The states voice was quiet, almost a whisper as she spoke. "Matthew, we have gotten permission to shoot down the plane if it threatens to attack."
"Shooting things…one of brother's favorite solutions to persistent problems." Mathew didn't mean for the remark to be so acidly sarcastic, but that was how it came out.
"Right now it may be the only solution. My fighter plans have permission to fire on the plan if it attempts to attack a target in Alaska, but their hands are tied once they cross into Canadian space."
"I know."
"Do my planes have the clearance to shoot if the plane attempts to attack Whitehorse?"
"My boss will consider it, but first we need to confirm that the plane is threatening Canadian soil and my people."
At 2:54 ET time Korean Air Flight 85 landed at Whitehorse International Airport. At 6:00 ET and 3:00 PT the last international flight landed safely at Vancouver International. Operation Yellow Ribbon was coming to a close, but in its place Operation SUPORT was gaining steam. There were thousands of stranded passengers to feed and find places to sleep, and there was a wounded nation to the south that might call on Canada for humanitarian aid. But most of all Canada was a nation under threat, he didn't know who brought that threat, but he had to be prepared to face it when it came.
Historical Note- Researching Korean Air Flight 85 was actually the hardest part of the story to find information for. This is because of two reasons. The first is the fact the effects of this flight was only felt in a small, relatively sparsely populated area of the globe. As a result it has been largely forgotten by the US and Canadian population at large. The other reason is because the FAA's label of hijacked was done with almost no information and it is considered a blemish of the agency. If you would like to learn more about Korean Air Flight 85, its touch and go flight into Whitehorse International, as well as more about the Yukon Territory's response to the threat please look up the documentary film 'It Never Happened Here'. It is the best available narrative of the civilian and government response.
In Closing-What did you think about this week's chapter? Did you learn something new? Is there something I can do to improve? Also I have a specific question this week. The reaction of other nations will begin to be incorporated in the coming chapters. Are there some specific countries you would like to appear?
Next Week's Chapter- Operation Eagle Support. As the dawn of September 12th stretches across North America, the continent is still paralyzed with fear and the culprits of the previous day's terror are still unknown.