Chapter Fourteen: Chain of Command
/Oakland, California, USA, October 11th, 2029…
Taking the 580 through Oakland, the convoy was closely packed as it headed up the road. The glare of the vehicles' headlights shone through the darkness, the only other source of light coming from the flames of the city across bay. Mounting the gun of the lead Humvee, Zack grimaced at the bleak sight of San Francisco burning. He looked up the road to see portion of the bridge blocked up by a barricade of abandoned vehicles. "Damn." He muttered. "Take us down through the toll plaza." He told Jackie who was driving. Grabbing his radio, Zack spoke into the mic. "Stay on the right lane, people. The main route is blocked." He said to the other drivers. "Get your change ready and turn off your wipers." Dropping down off the main road, the convoy split off through the toll plaza, the road beyond crossed over to the other side of the bay. Smashing through the barrier at the booth, Jackie accelerated as she shot through back onto the main road, the still-active alarm at the vacant toll booth rang loudly as the rest of the vehicles passed through.
Zack, Jackie and Angel gasped simultaneously as the humvee rounded the turn on the bridge, overlooking San Francisco proper. At least half of the skyline was gone, replaced by pillars of smoke rising into the night sky. "I hope there's still something left." Angel side quietly, observing the devastation. "There probably will be." Jackie replied, eyes fixed on the road as she swerved between abandoned cars. "There's still gotta be some sort of chain of command."
Rachel groaned in pain as she rolled over, trying to adjust the way she was lying. "Easy. We're almost there." Leon said as he bent over to help her. "I'll be fine." The VP replied. "Are you gonna be okay, Mommy?" her daughter asked. "I'll be fine, Sarah. Just a few scratches." She smiled.
Rachel's son, James looked across to Max, whose sibling was fast asleep. "Are you from the Counter-Godzilla Force?" He asked, pointing to the torn, frayed patch on the old flight jacket he was wearing. "Yep. Me and my brother, here..." He said, nudging Maz who snored louder as he was jolted. "We were the Unstoppables. In the Battle of Tokyo, I was up on a rooftop blasting Ghidorah in the face with a shotgun." The man bragged, smirking as there was no one to call him out on any exaggerations. "When we were there, we bumped into the actor, Mark Stone. Y'know, Gavin Grey…" James' expression was blank. "…From Big and Bad?" the boy shook his head. "Ugh, kids these days. Best series on TV. Two-thousand-and-nine to twenty-thirteen." He looked over to Dianna. "Hey, you remember it right?" he asked. "Yeah. Of course I remember. Every Saturday night, curled up on the sofa with a bag of popcorn." She laughed, looking off distantly at the road rolling away behind them at the open back of the large truck.
….
Up ahead was the William Stenz, which had been wedged up against the nearby docks, was undergoing repairs. The massive Aircraft Carrier ahead dropped anchor and a perimeter had been set up in the surrounding area. Dianna climbed out of the truck after it grinded to a halt, looking up at the giant ship as a pair of helicopters flew overhead.
"Carefully…" A voice said as a pair of soldiers lowered the Vice President out of the vehicle on a stretcher. One of them looked down at the injured woman, desperately darting his head up to a fellow group of soldiers nearby. "Get a medic here ASAP!" He roared. "We have to get her to sickbay now!" Within seconds, a third soldier had joined them at the woman's side and they quickly got her moving, hurrying the VP across the docks towards the ship as her family followed.
….
Walking through the tight, claustrophobic corridors of the ship, Dianna felt anxious, worrying for Rachel. Looking around, she began to become frustrated as she was lost in a maze off identical rooms and chambers. Up ahead, an older, bearded man stepped out of a doorway into the hall. "Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the bridge?" she asked the man, walking up to him. "Uh, yeah. Just go through that room there," He pointed to the one he had walked out of. "And take the steps up to the top." The man answered "Ah, thanks." She said, heading through the doorway. Dianna stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the man reply, "No problem." Instantly recognising the voice. Thinking back, she had not even looked at the mans' face. Surely it couldn't be…. "Have I changed that much, Dianna?" he joked, smiling.
"Dad!?" She shouted. "How the hell did you get here?!" Hunter shrugged. "Met up with a pilot, got out of Janjira and across to here. Besides, I told you I'd get to San Francisco." Dianna was dumbstruck. "It's the beard, isn't it?" the man said, changing the subject, scratching his unshaven face. "Head of the GDI, now?" Hunter asked, smiling. "Not bad."
Commander Ellsworth made his way down the stairwell into the corridor. "Director Storm, good to see you." He greeted Dianna, shaking her hand. "Right this way, ma'am." He led the two back up towards the bridge, where Rosa, Levi and Linda were stood looking over a console, observing recorded footage of Colossus.
"I don't get it. What was it?" Levi asked. "That thing took out two goddam Destroyers like they were nothing!" Rosa shrugged. "I'm not sure. I could take a wild guess that its' some kind of super-evolved MUTO." Rewinding the footage, she played it again slowed down as the trio observed the giant monster trudging through the water. "Its' called Colossus." Dianna interrupted, walking over, alerting the three. "Back in LA, we managed to bring down a MUTO and I managed to get inside its' head." She explained as she looked round at them. "The creatures work on a hive mind. All of their thoughts and experiences are shared, allowing them to communicate semi-telepathically." She pointed to the creature on the footage. "He is the one in charge. Colossus has been giving the other MUTOs orders where and when to attack."
Linda folded her arms. "I see what you mean. But if Colossus is the one calling the shots; where did he get the information from?" she asked. "On Birth Island," Dianna started to explain, getting up a satellite image of the island on the computer. "The outpost had a mainframe building which connected them to our global system. When the MUTOs broke out, one of them must have extracted information from here and gave Colossus direct access to the GDI Network. That would enable him to organise a coordinated strike that would cripple our forces." Levi nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Right, so we kill Colossus." He said, putting his hands on the desk. "Cut the head from the serpent, right?" Dianna shrugged. "I guess that could work. That way, they won't be receiving orders anymore; which would make them much easier to take on."
"Uh, Director Storm," An officer spoke urgently as he walked onto the bridge. "You're wanted in sickbay." He said with concern. Turning, the entire group headed down the stairs, leaving Commander Ellsworth and his crew on the bridge.
….
"How you doing?" Leon asked as he stepped into the doorway. "Never felt better…" Rachel groaned as she tried to sit up, wincing in pain. "…except for any other time in my life." Leon smiled in response. "Just found out they don't sell 'Get well soon' cards on the ship." He said jokingly as he walked into the room. He was carrying a tray laden with two cups of coffee and a couple of biscuits, the hot liquid gently sloshing in the polystyrene cups as he slowly put the tray down on a nearby table. "Two sugars just as always." Leon said as he picked up one of the cups, offering it to Rachel, who simply shook her head, trying to conceal any emotions.
Leon crossed the room and pulled up a chair, slowly sitting down next to his wife. "Is…is everything going to be okay?" He asked in concern. The VP began to weep softly as she shook her head. Leon choked up as the response hit him like a bullet to the gut. The two reached over and gave each other a final hug. "Everything will turn out okay in the end, Leon." Rachel whispered. "No matter how bad things get, the good always shines through."
….
Leon staggered out into the hallway, his face white as he trembled in despair. Dianna looked up to him hopefully, to which he didn't return a glance, simply walking over to his children, who sat on a nearby bench. "Is Mommy feeling okay now, Daddy?" Sarah asked Leon as he approached her, slumping down next to her. "Y-yeah…." He mumbled. "Mommy's fine, now." He tried to disguise the traumatic news as he hugged his daughter. His son James saw through the attempt, shaking with shock, fear and anger. "NOOO!" He roared, launching to his feet as he pelted his phone against the wall. Silence fell across the hallway, save for the sound of the iPhone 15 shattering against the wall, the shards of its' delicate structure slid down the wall to the floor. The boy began to cry, collapsing back down into the chair next to his family.
Everyone in the hallway was quiet as they mourned the death of Vice President Cage. Levi and Linda threw their arms around each other as Hunter stared blankly off into space, struggling to comprehend what had happened. The Vice-President? How many people have died in the last two days? How many more? He angrily pondered, gripping a nearby handrail as his knuckles went white.
Dianna shed a tear as she looked down at the floor. "Dianna?" A voice called out from down the hall. Turning, she saw Commander Ellsworth and Colonel Jefferson approaching, their faces grim. "Could we have a moment, Ma'am? The situation is urgent." She nodded to the two as Jefferson opened a nearby door, holding it open for her and Ellsworth. It was a small, cramped room, a poor choice for a full discussion, but the choice was mainly to hide it from the ears of the others.
"NORAD took a hit about an hour ago." Jefferson said bluntly. "We have several rescue teams in the area, but… no-one survived." Dianna gasped, "Y-you mean?" She began. Ellsworth nodded as he cut her off, grimacing. "Locke's dead." The Commander slowly stepped forward towards her. "With VP Cage and almost everyone in Washington gone, Dianna Storm; as of now you're acting-President of the United States."