Chapter LV: New World Order
2000hrs, 18 December 2013, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
"Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective—a new world order—can emerge: a new era, freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, east and west, north and south, can prosper and live in harmony." President George H.W. Bush.
Deep within Cheyenne Mountain, there lay a bunker, secure under 2000 feet worth of solid granite, and protected by 25 ton blast doors. The Stargate Program wasn't there, unfortunately, but the command and control facilities for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, were.
NORAD had mostly moved their operations to Peterson AFB, but the command and control facilities were still prudently located inside Cheyenne Mountain hardened shelter. Inside, all the buildings stood on free-standing springs (1380 of them), absorbing the impact of any nuclear explosion. In addition to military facilities, there was a medical office, complete with dental and pharmacy services, a dining hall, two gyms, a post exchange, and a barber shop in case of the unthinkable. This facility could withstand a multiple nuclear blasts 1.5 miles away, giving at least some sense of security.
During the Cold War however, the USSR targeted so many nuclear weapons on the facility that in an event of a nuclear war, there would be nothing left despite all of the preparations that the US military had put into making the facility survivable. At least with the threat of nuclear war (somewhat) out of the way, the President, along with their advisors and staff could reside there in relative safety. It wasn't part of the Contingency Plan, but when most of the communications, computers, and everything else the military used, let alone the government, was compromised, finding shelter in the most hardened and secure place was certainly a viable option.
President Hamilton was in a private conference room with her COS, some of the White House staff and Secretary Freidman. In front of her was a large screen, with several world leaders on it. From right to left, it was Prime Minister Hasegawa of Japan, Prime Minister Robinson of the United Kingdom, and Prime Minister Krishnan Anthony Pannikar of the liberal United Progressive Alliance. He was short, by western standards, with a completely bald head, but despite being from Kerela, he was fairer skinned and had pursued a less hardline economic policy back in his own home state in accordance to what he felt like was the new development paradigm. That being said, they were still very wary about letting big corporations in, and this last incident was probably going to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The reason why the meeting had only been called between these four nations was because Japan was the host nation of the Nakanishi Group, and had some explaining to do, the United Kingdom, like the United States, had suffered greatly at the hands of the terrorist attacks, India was currently sieging one of the Nakanishi Group Officers, and was willing to call for assistance in dealing with that threat…for a price, of course. And in some way, shape or form, the SAILOR team had come into contact with those nations, with the exception of the UK, which the President trusted enough to indulge that secret with. The other G20 nations, like Italy, France, Germany, Russia, and China were out of the picture, dealing with their own problems at the moment. Italy however, had located one of the Nakanishi officers, and had offered assistance to the US government (and by extension, the SAILOR team) to take down that particular threat. And with something this secret, the more people became involved, the more chance something could go wrong. Like it or not, President Hamilton had only these three nations to deal with, one of which the US had only opened up friendly contact with, and the other responsible for the series of attacks that had engulfed the entire world.
"Madame President," they all answered.
"Thank you all for taking this call. Mr. Pannikar, I know it must be difficult getting up at this hour."
"I usually get up at this time anyway," he replied, the thick Indian accent clouding up some of the English he was speaking. "But anything to discuss this pressing matter at hand."
"Mr. Hasegawa." POTUS smiled at the PM, but it was one of those Pam-Am ones, using only the zygomatic muscle of the face, meant to convey politeness, not friendliness.
"Madame President," he replied in that lispy Japanese accented English. The conversation yesterday with her weighed heavily on his mind.
"Prime Minister Robinson," she turned to face his image on the view screen. "I heard that you fended off a terrorist attack yourself yesterday. I trust that you are well?"
"It was a very odd situation, indeed. But I survived, and here I am." he replied. Typical British understatement.
She nodded to him, and moved to the first item on the agenda.
"First thing's first, I'm putting together a task force to surround the Nakanishi Group complex on the Island of Socotra. My Defense Secretary will give the details on the plan to deal with the Nakanishi Group."
She nodded at Freidman.
"Gentlemen," he said in a soft tone.
"Can't hear you," PM Robinson said.
"Sorry, Gentlemen, can you hear me now?" Freidman said a bit louder.
"Yes, that's much better," Pannikar replied.
"As we've discussed earlier, we are putting a task force to eliminate the base at Socotra."
"CTF 151 and 152,correct?" PM Robinson asked.
"Indeed," POTUS replied, cutting off poor Friedman, who slunk back into the shadows. She wondered how he knew about their operations, but the Brits were good at guesswork. "But we're also planning to move three carrier groups to that area as well."
"Did you say three?" Pannikar raised an eyebrow. "Madame President, Mr. Secretary, isn't that a little bit of overkill?"
"After what Nakanishi did here, I don't think so."
"Point taken. It's good to be prudent," Pannikar replied, but he was nervous about all that firepower in his backyard. What if the Americans got cocky and decided to…no, that was for another time and place.
"Why not just bomb the place to bits and leave it to that?" Robinson pointed out. "I wouldn't take the chance of landing anyone and taking more casualties."
"Whatever technology and information there, we can use and utilize for our benefit," the President stated. "Plus, we don't know what's down there. It could be nothing, it could be a large cache of weapons, or god knows what, and if we want the Nakanishi Group to pay, we need to take everything from them. Everything." She gave a look at the assembled group, who agreed (for the most part) with her.
Okay, time to put the heat on, POTUS thought to herself.
"Prime Minister," she said to Hasegawa, changing the subject. "You know, I had a run in with this…SAILOR unit of yours…you know, the one we talked to yesterday."
Hasegawa patted his forehead with a handkerchief. It was official; creating that unit was a very bad idea. The other two leaders looked at the President curiously.
This was all for show, of course, but putting Hasegawa on the spot would make him more amendable to her demands.
"What about it?" he replied curtly.
"Oh nothing," Hamilton said just as rudely. "Funny thing about them though. They saved my life."
"They did…did they?" Okay, that part he hadn't been told about. He was going to have to get a new Chief of Staff…if he ever survived his term out.
"So you yourself don't even know what they do, even though this unit is under the personal control of the PM office?" Again, a rhetorical question, just for show. She already knew the answer to the question, but to get the attention of the other two leaders, Hasegawa was going to have to suffer a little bit.
"I never said that, Madame President," Hasegawa shot back, obviously taking the bait.
"Of course you didn't. But I'm willing to keep this a secret, for now. The fallout…" she caught herself using that word; it was a bad idea to use nuclear warfare idioms around a nation that had been the subject of that. "I mean, there's already bad PR that's the result in finding out the Japanese government was complacent in letting the Nakanishi Group run amok. Now, compiled if they had a hit team going around the world, doing the wetwork of this corporation…"
"I understand," the PM replied, glumly.
"What are you two going on about?" PM Robinson asked.
"Oh, Prime Minster Hasegawa has a vested interest in the Nakanishi Group," Hamilton stated. "I'm sure we all do, actually. But it seems that Mr. Hasegawa's policies have gone even further than mere campaign donations. Would you care to explain, Prime Minister?"
Hasegawa loosened his tie a little bit. The US President was putting him on the spot, and he was completely unprepared for this situation. He could try to take the easy way out, and cut the transmission. Attributing it to "terrorists", or "solar flares" might work in times of peace, but now the spotlight was on him, and running away was the international sign of guilt.
"Er…yes. In February of this year, I ordered the formation of the Systematic Awareness Intelligence Operational Recon Service Force, SAILOR-SF, or the short version, SAILOR. This unit was to help uphold Japanese interests both at home, and abroad…"
"Excuse me," Pannikar butted in. "But I thought that under Article 9, the Japanese government would renounce the use of force as a means of settling disputes."
"Ah…well, yes, that's a good question. Er…"
"I'm sure that the Prime Minister had his reasons," POTUS interrupted.
"Yes. Yes, we had our reasons," Hasegawa said, relieved that the President had at least, given him some breathing room. "But I was forced into supporting Nakanishi operations."
"You didn't have to go along with them," PM Robinson pointed out. He knew that wasn't much of an option for many politicians though, including himself.
"I would have lost my post, and my influence…I would have become a disgrace…"
"As opposed to now?" POTUS found that hard to believe.
"…things were different back then, as opposed to now." Hasegawa couldn't believe that the President was ignoring the conversation they had yesterday…then he realized that it was probably part of her plan to get the other two to help out with her…whatever she was doing.
"So you had no previous knowledge of these plans by the Nakanishi Group to attack major world powers?" Pannikar grilled Hasegawa like a piece of Takoyaki.
"Of course I didn't! Otherwise, I would have stopped them!"
"That's enough," Hamilton intervened. "Let's move on." She looked at some notes that her COS was holding up. "Okay, so this SAILOR team has experience in taking down Nakanishi Group security, and is more than willing to take on their former masters."
"Are you willing to trust them this quick?" Robinson asked. "They did save your life, but…"
"I appreciate the concern Sir Robinson, but they've helped me out personally in the last couple of days, and they seem very willing to play ball, so to speak."
"Of course," the UK PM replied, still wary of the President's defense for the SAILOR Team.
"So, they've heard of the situation here in India?" Pannikar said to POTUS.
"Yes, and they have volunteered their services, to take out the remaining leadership as well."
"Again, why should I let this SAILOR team come into India?" Pannikar asked the President. "I can have the NSG come in and wipe out in an instant."
"If you could, you would have already," the President pointed out. "But there's a problem, isn't there?"
Gotcha, she thought to herself.
"I wouldn't know what this problem that you speak of," the Prime Minister of India replied, somewhat more nervously.
"Your special forces units are more than tied up right now," the President said, looking at some more information that Friedman had given her. At least if he wasn't talking, he could give her some decent information. "It seems like the Naxalites are giving more of a problem that you care to let on."
"The Naxalites are under control," Pannikar retorted.
"With your entire special operations units engaging them at the moment," Friedman said, matter-of-factly. "You have no reserves at the moment, even with that massive military that you have. From what it looks like from our reconnaissance satellites, they've been giving you a significant amount of trouble ever since the terrorist attacks on the 17th."
Chandra realized that he was caught in a bit of a bind. He relented, finally beaten down.
"I will allow for this SAILOR Team to help resolve the siege currently ongoing in Bangalore…"
Both Hasegawa and POTUS braced for the "but" part.
"But…I need something from you, Madame President."
Hasegawa sighed in relief.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Prime Minister of Japan." Pannikar refused to even call him by his name now; that's how upset he was at him.
"And what would that be?" Hamilton smiled.
"I need the people responsible for the Bhopal Disaster, and a civil suit filed on the behalf of the people who suffered during that tragedy."
The President blinked, along with Hasegawa. Robinson knew what Pannikar was going on about, but elected to remain silent on this one. No need to get involved in that old affair.
"Um…" Now it was time for the President to be confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know, Bhopal?!" Pannikar replied, his voice become louder. "The worst industrial disaster in history! A half a million people injured, eleven thousand killed, and the perpetrators get away with it!"
He pointed his finger at President Hamliton. "Extradite the CEO of the company during that time, along with people responsible for the cover up. Only then will I allow this SAILOR team in operate freely in this country."
Hamilton was extremely confused at this point. To Pannikar, Bhopal was a huge event, a black mark on India's history, up there with the Emergency, the Partition of India, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
To the President, it was probably a Sunday. Or Saturday. Most definitely not a Tuesday though.
The COS was furiously tapping away on his tablet, finding information about this obscure event. He flipped it around and showed who the company belonged to, and the CEO at the time.
"Uh, Mr. Pannikar," she replied, narrowing her eyes and trying to dodge the subject. "I'm not responsible for the SAILOR team, Mr. Hasegawa is."
"That still doesn't mean that you had some hand in all of this," Pannikar shot back. "As I recall, you're the nation that's overrun with corporate influence, and this latest incident only proves your compliancy."
"Look, Mr. Pannikar, I'm sure that we can work something out…" Hamilton would have pointed out all the things that were wrong in India, like the corruption or the caste system, but she needed his help.
"No," Pannikar said. "If you want me to keep these details under wraps, then it's only fair that you give me something back."
Hamliton's COS finally got all the information about the disaster together and flipped his tablet computer to face the President. Like Pannikar had stated earlier, it had been one of the worst industrial disasters, up there with Chernobyl, Love Canal, and Minamata…but this one took the cake. Almost thirty years later, people were still demanding justice. People like Pannikar, who had spent most of his life trying to keep the excesses of the big corporations out of his country, and demanded that justice be served.
"Uh…Mr. Pannikar, this might be extremely difficult," she said, looking over the information that the COS had given her. Considering all the factors involved and time passed since the event, it would be bad for all sides involved to say the least.
"That won't be enough. I will accept nothing less."
POTUS and PM Hasegawa could see that this was going nowhere fast. But they needed the support of India if they were to soften up the Nakanishi Group.
"We could let you have…well, whatever they have in that facility in Bangalore," Hasegawa said meekly to Pannikar.
"You mean, technology, funds, and their remaining accoutrements? I know that…we don't need your permission to do that, Prime Minister of Japan."
POTUS gave into one of Pannikar's demands. "We'll file a civil lawsuit on behalf of the people afflicted by the disaster, and that we'll force this issue back out into the open. However, the people you want are well connected, and it would take another ten years for anything to get done. So, take it or leave it, Mr. Pannikar."
Her forceful attitude got the point across; she was not negotiating any further.
"I think that will be enough…for now," he said slowly, crossing his arms. "I will allow the SAILOR team to have access to our country and to deal with the threat that the Nakanishi Group has to our nation. As for you, Mr. Prime Minister of Japan…"
Hasegawa gulped.
"I will have to discuss reparations with you at a later date. That is, if you're still in power by the time I get around to it."
"Yes…" was all that Hasegawa could get out.
"Robinson, you've been quite quiet through all of this," the President said to the UK PM. "What do you think?"
"This SAILOR team that Mr. Hasegawa set up…?" he asked, perplexed. "I'm still confused why this unit is taking charge of all the operations that should be given to other of your Tier One special operations units. I've never heard of this team until now, and even though they did save your life…"
He seemed to be extremely hesitant. The advice from his Cabinet Secretary echoed in his head; "All I'm trying to say is watch your back when it comes to them."
He was talking about the Nakanishi Group, but this SAILOR team was just as shifty, if not more so than the Nakanishi Group.
"Your trust in this unit, in my opinion, is a bit unfounded. I think that there's more to them that you might imagine."
"Well of course, there's always more secrets," the President replied to the UK PM.
"However, I see that you have a valid point to your operation, and I will do my best to support you. I will have my Defence Ministry…well, what's left of it, anyway, provide any assistance that they can."
"Thank you Sir Robinson."
"Is there anything else that we needed to go over?" Hamilton asked the group assembled.
There was a silence from the world leaders, as they pondered that for a second.
"I guess not, Madame President," Pannikar said. He was exhausted from his tirade against the President and the Japanese PM, but it was completely worth it. He had gotten what he wanted, right?
"Nothing that I can think of," Sir Robinson added.
The Japanese Prime Minister simply shook his head. Every time he opened his mouth it seemed, someone else found a reason to criticize him. Not that it wasn't undeserved.
"Well, if that's all, I must end this conversation. I have much to do, and little time to do it. Thank you all," she said, and terminated the conversation.
"Ma'am," the COS told her. "The rest of the G20 is ready to meet with you. After that, it's the NSC and the JCS, then the remaining members of the Armed Services Committee."
She sighed, lamenting the very day she had decided to run for the President of the United States of America.
"Alright, bring them up. Let's get this over with."