NationStates Jolt Archive

A small island, Greater Prussian Bay, Allanea

Colonel Morrison shielded his eyes from the sun, eyeing the civilian subcontractors with distaste. On this island – a godforsaken bit of sun-scorched sand in the middle of nowhere – only his hat provided a moderate protection from the blistering heat. “So,” - he grumbled - “What is it you have come to show me?”

“We prefer you come to the bunker to view it, Sir.” - spoke a young man in a white lab coat with the lettering AA stitched on the front pocket. Why the hell is he wearing this crap? Doesn't he notice it's thirty-five centrigrade?

But coming to the bunker was an excellent proposition. They probably had air-conditioning there, and that was good – and so the Colonel had let himself be taken towards the silo, and down the shaft to the bunker, in an elevator he also shared with some SUDI expert.

“This, Colonel, is a Shield class anti-nuclear bunker, ready to take anything up to an including a direct hit from a 1.5 megaton MIRV.” The Colonel raises an eyebrow. “I fail to be impressed. Surely you didn't spend ten billion bucks of taxpayer money on a... bunker, did you?”

The doors open, and the Colonel sees a control room, filled with a variety of huge screen. Some display a sea surface somewhere far, far away. Others, an immense rocket, with the words Elenaran Mephet'ran painted on it. It seems to be lacking it's tip, which is currently being screwed on to it. For a few seconds, the Colonel looks at the screen without any understanding, and then it hits him. It's bloody huge– even compared to a regular ICBM. He can see it from the size of the people next to it.

“Jesus Christ. What the hell is this monster?”

The Allanean Arms employee smiled. “This, Colonel, is the new Elenaran Mephet'ran Heavy Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. What you see being attached to it there is the warhead. It carries 500 tons of MIRVs. In other words, Sir, approximately 1,500 re-entry vehicles, with a combined yield of approximately one point five gigatons TNT equivalent, assuming full load.”

The Colonel gasped. “Mother...”

“Exactly, Sir. The system, as you see, is now ready for launch. Normally, the launch requires two keys, one turned by the launch officer and the other by the immediate commander. But in this case, we decided to give you the honors on the first key.”

Click

“The target, Sir, is somewhere to the south of Roanoke Island.”

The Colonel did not reply. He was still dumbfounded by the sheer power of the missile.

“We believe, Sir, that it is proper to have the SUDI representative turn the other key.”

Jay Nickels stood at the control panel as she peered out the window. It was a warm, summer day in this part of Allanea. She had been sent by Space Union Defense Industries as a represenative to oversee the first launch of Allanea's ICBM. The ICBM in question was actually a converted Black Knight Ultra-heavy rocket booster. It was meant to carry over a thousand MIRV vehicles thanks to its large size.

One of the people in the spacious room motioned for her to come over to the control panel. The man spoke up to her, “We believe, madame, that it is proper to have the SUDI representative turn the other key.”

A light smile appeared on her face as she swallowed hard and looked at the key infront of her. Although it wasn't actually being launched at another nation, the sheer awe and devastation that accompanies the word ICBM still plagued her and made her a bit nervous in the stomache. She slowly reached over to the key, touch its cold, metallic shape. She gently turned the key until a slight Click could be heard. As if in unison, a tremble began to go through the headquarters as everyone looked awe-inspired at the sight before them. There in the distance, roared the mighty Black Knight.

The ICBM roared to life as its main engines turned on and a fiery red plume of exhaust exitted its nozzle at the bottom. Slowly but steadly, the rocket's massive form began moving into the air, vertically. Within moments, it began to speed up until finally it made its awesome might heard with a gigantic roar that filled the entire area. If there were any animals nearby, they would likely be scarred for life from the sheer noise the monster put out. It was a weapon worth being frightened of.

Slowly – painfully slowly – with an unholy roar – the Elenaran Mephet'ran rose through the athmosphere, hefting it's weapons payload along. Colonel Morrison stood in away, watching at the high-resolution screens as the rocket continued to rise, ominous and bright like the pillar of fire from the Scripture, and eventually was not visible at the top of the pillar. Only a white trail was still standing...

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” - whispered Colonel Morrison

Somewhere, the missile was travelling slowly – slowly? Slow was taking an entirely new meaning here the Colonel was not really willing to accept – it burst through the cloud cover, out of the athmosphere. For few seconds it was silent as it plunged downwards, traversing the Haven Straights – Morrison shuddered at the thought of an accident – and began to re-enter the athmosphere, it's payload breaking up into hundreds and hundreds of independent re-entry vehicles.

The Allanean Arms researcher heard him, and he anwered with a strange smile. "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

The re-entry vehicles began to impact the surface of the South Haven sea. The water boiled, rising skywards in clouds of radioactive steam – and through those clouds, more MIRV's hit their designated target points with hellish precision. The target areas were spaced away from each other – the whole event took place in an area possibly 100 kilometers across.

The explosions continued – down there, they would be heard as a continous roar as more and more megaton-scale nuclear arms detonated in the same area.

And then, for a fraction of a second before the last group of MIRV's hit, Morrison saw, through a tear in the smoke, land – for a brif moment, the Allaneans have actually parted the seas with their bombs.

And then, the last group of re-entry vehicles hit the bare seafloor.

“I have to say....” said Colonel Morrison. He paused for a moment, lighting his cigar.

“I'm quite positively impressed.”