"Executive Command" Author: Hugo "Animal" Chikamori E-mail: hchikamori@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13 Classification: Webb/Other R; Harm/Mac R; Animal/Meg R Spoilers: None, except whatever comes out of Animal's demented mind... Summary: This takes place in the future. Harm is now JAG. Mac is now head of the Marine Special Investigative Service. A bomb in the Capitol building kills off the entire Line of Succession, and Animal ends up holding the "football". Disclaimers: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended. Characters from Iron Eagle make appearances in this story as do characters from Top Gun. It is not my intention to make some of this appear like Air Force One. The similarities are purely coincidental. All characters belong to the creators of those characters and all rights are reserved by them. Author's Note: Note that I am taking extreme literary and political line of succession LICENCE here. Usually when a joint session of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives meets, at least one of the line of succession to the Office of the President of the United States is asked to be not present. This is so the line of succession will not be broken in the event of a situation such as in this story. Plus as several list-members mentioned, the Office of the President of the United States is limited to those who have were naturally born citizens of the United States. (meaning that they were born somewhere in the Continental US). ******************************************************** (Part 3 of ?????) (In the Middle East) Akhmad Abdul Serani, a small but wiry man with dark skin and curly black hair, looked at the group of men assembled in the little camp in the desert. " Men, today is the day that we train to defeat the Great Satan. For many years, we have been downtrodden by the United States. We shall prevail. We shall succeed. For we are militant, we are strong and we shall be successful." Serani espoused. Serani was leader of the Amal, a group of Shiite militants who ad- vocated the overthrow of the U.S. tyranny and planned to lead a jihad (a holy war) against those who would oppose him. "We have a weapon that will now bring the Great Satan to its knees...the weapon of cleansing fire. We shall use it against the Great Satan, bring the cleansing fire to its cities and they shall beg for forgiveness." " FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO HAVE DIED IN THE GREAT FIGHT AGAINST THE GREAT SATAN!!!" cheered the group who brandished their weapons fiercely and fired shots into the air. " We shall PREVAIL!!!!" shouted Serani and turned to go into his tent and then turned back to the crowd," But for now we lie in wait like the lion in his den." Ersatz-Major Rashid Muktyabar, Serani's adjutant waited patiently. When Serani was finished, he mentioned." The infidel scientist has some ideas regarding the device." " He does?" the look Serani gave him brooked no insolence. " Then we must pay him a visit, shall we?" he motioned with his hand towards the wait- ing jeep. (back at the White House) President Chikamori looked tired as he got out of the limo to a series of flashing lightbulbs from newsies assembled at the White House. He waved to them with an artificial smile on his face. Admiral Burrows followed closely behind watched carefully by the Secret Service agents who surrounded the President and First Lady. "Look like you're enjoying it..." smiled Meg through her teeth as she waved at the camera. " I'm trying..." Animal grunted keeping a false smile as he kept his smile on his face. "I'm faking it..." As the Secret Service agents and the President and family ran the gauntlet of press there were hurled questions, "So...Mr. President, what happens now, with the government in shambles. Are we embroiled in another war. What happens to America now?" The battery of questions kept coming. Finally, Animal had had enough. He motioned for the Secret Service to stop for a moment. The President replied," I will do my best to answer all questions, but right now, the main thing is to get the government functional again. I will address the nation at a later time sometime this week when things get a little less hectic. Thank you..." and then proceeded through the resuming battery of questions without further response and disappeared into the East Wing of the White House. When they had regained the temporary safety of the White House, Animal turned to Special Agent D'Angelis and asked pointedly," Geez, do I have to do this every day?" "Yes, Mr. President." she grinned as she looked at Meg who didn't seem to much relish that idea either. "They all love you, Mr. President. They feel like they know you now. You're the strong shoulder that all America leans on now." Animal quipped," I was wondering why my shoulder ached so much this last day." He turned to Admiral Burrows..." Phil, have you got a moment?" " Yes, sir...Mr. President..." Metalman said. " Look, Metalman, between us two, in private, it's Animal alright? I've been afflicted not annointed." Animal muttered. " Look, sir. you'll just have to get used to it." Metalman said. "I told you that you had no private life, sir. " He grinned evilly. " Yeah..." Animal gave him a rather disgusted look." Now, I have to go and make sure that all the positions are filled with the people who I know can do the job. All the Secretaries were killed at the explosion and so were the entire line of succession so we have a hell of a rebuilding job to do." Animal turned to his special assistant,"Webb...can you do me a big favor?" "Name it. Mr. President." Clay, Animal's longtime friend said. He had received a promotion from Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State, to Special Assistant to the President of the United States. Clay was loving the limelight, even though he used to shun it. Get Vice Admiral Harmon Rabb and Major General Sarah Mackenzie to Washington." "Sir, they're in Hawaii on vacation." "Look, Clay, tell them it's an emergency, tell them it's anything...I just need them over here. Harm is the Judge Advocate General, and Mac is the Commander of the Marine Corp's Special Investigative Division. They're the two best people I have. I want to get right down to the bottom of this bombing and I want some answers...Now..." "Yes, Mr. President, you got it..." Clay said as he turned around. Animal could barely hear his mutter. "Mac's not gonna like this." (meeting at the White House) Two generals, one Army and one Marine Corps came into the room, which had at least twenty five chairs. There were four Air Force generals in the room already which was kept immaculate and three other Army generals. Another Marine Corps general sat in the other chair. Two Navy admirals sat talking with one-another as they perused what was going on. Ten civilians were standing around waiting to see what was about to happen. As did the military personnel who seemed a bit nervous. About 1500 hrs the door opened and a rather short Asian man about 5'9 1/2" tall dressed in a navy blue suit and another man 5'10" who was Caucasian in an Admiral's uniform entered the room. The young Asian man was in his mid-to late 30's as was the admiral. "Welcome..." the asian man's voice was rich in timbre. "I'm putting the Joint Chiefs of Staff together again first as this seems to not be an accident but an attack on our defence systems." There were questions coming from the new Joint Chiefs of Staff. Most of whom were newly promoted. Animal looked around to see a female 4 star general. "Glad you could make it, Liza." he mentioned. Seeing a female 4 star admiral in the room, he said to the COMNAVINTEL, "Trouble, great to see you again." Admiral Harmon Johnson stood beside her. Those two were inseparable. The other two Navy admirals grinned," It's great to see you again, Mr. President. uh, Animal, sir..." they grinned. There was a grin on one of the admiral's faces as he smiled. It was Pete Mitchell or Maverick as one was wont to call him. Animal grinned at him too. He had asked for the best tacticians in the military. These men were what they had sent him. There was a knock at the door. A Marine Corps general who was about 6'2" and about 245 pounds went to the door and opened it. A four-star female admiral lithe, with a very attractive smile, and auburn hair, was standing there..." I'm sorry, Mr. President. The taxi was delayed by the traffic jam by the White House..." Metalman's jaw had nearly hit the floor by this time. Animal grinned, "Hi, Kimber...No-worries, we haven't started yet." The meeting finally got started in earnest. By the time the meeting ended they had resolved who they were going to elect. Because the entire Congress and House of Representatives as well as the Senate had all been wiped out cleanly, the Congressional Rights of Succession had been complete- ly thrown into disarray. Another knock on the door and the Marine General just stayed by the door as he opened it. It was Meg Austin-Chikamori, Animal's wife, and she was back in uniform with the three stars on her uniform. " Meg, what are you doing?" Animal asked. " Well, Mr. President, I'm the First Lady, so I figured I may as well get back into uniform. I'm also on the JCS." Animal shrugged his shoulders and motioned his wife to a seat. As the meeting finished up, Animal had a list of who he was going to use to fill up the vacant positions that were listed on the order of presidential succession. " Thank you sir, " reiterated one general. "I believe that we have everything under order again." " Well, General, I hope to heck that we do." Animal responded as he looked at the men under his command." Admiral Mitchell? What's the read- iness of our carriers that are not at sea right now?" " They can be at sea in 24 hours preparation time. Mr. President." Animal looked at Maverick," That's enough time. Mr. McCulloch?" " Yes, Mr. President." " I want a full rundown on the Middle East Situation. Do you think your CIA intel guys can tell me what's going on?" " Yes, sir, Mr. President. We'll have that report on your desk by tomorrow morning." Animal sighed and said," OK, that's good enough. Pass it along to my Special Assistant. Mr. McCulloch, just make sure that it's complete. I don't want any unpleasant situations flaming up while we're trying to get this situation under control. Gentlemen, I think I'm just about tired enough for today. Let's wrap this thing up." " Yes, Mr. President." They said as they stood up. Looking at the marker board by the side of the meeting table in the Oval Office, Animal looked at the Presidential Line of Succession written down on the Situation Room's white-board. " First order of business is to appoint a new Vice President, then we'll work on every other position. Meet me at 0600 hours tomorrow morning. Then at 0900 hours we'll have a press conference to indicate the appointment of the new Vice President." Animal said. " Yes, sir, Mr. President." They said as they made their ways to the door and exited The task of rebuilding the government would be great but he had a good idea of how he was going to do it, but first of all he was going to have to keep General Ryan Fairwater III from tearing a strip off of Admiral Philip Burrows who had been making snide comments about the incompetence of the U.S. Army. " Well, let me tell you something, you over-promoted squid...I bet that your incompetent bunch of fly-boys can't hit the broad side of a barn with those weapons of yours. If I had two Abrams tanks with TOW launchers I'd be able to flatten that barn to the ground." The highly decorated Army general blustered. " Well, let me tell you something, with my Carrier Air Wing, I could flatten three square miles around the barn..." the equally highly decorated Admiral Burrows snarled back. Animal shook his head looking back at his wife who was holding her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from laughing. " OK, you two testosterone laden gorillas, what's all this fighting about..." " Nothing, Mr. President." the two flag-officers snapped to attention. " Will you two take that fight and get it out of here. Get back to the Pentagon and find out what the hell is happening in the Middle East. Things are rapidly going FUBAR over there." " Yes, sir..." they said. " Now get out of here so that I can think." Animal growled. " Yes, Mr. President." (later) Animal sat at his desk in the Oval Office and read the latest news. " BRITISH PRIME-MINISTER SCANDAL" Interested, he read on. Evidently Prime Minister Wallace Thornton III had ended up having a dalliance with a younger secretary, the news broke out and the British Parliament was in an uproar. It seemed like a repeat of a dalliance that a U.S. president had with a young White House intern back in the '90s. Needless to say the Pre- sident was defeated in the next election and two presidents later, John Patrick Ryan, the DDCIA got into office, but after losing a narrow election after his term was ended, he lost his seat. first African-American president in the history of the United States was elected. Senator Robert William Jackson from Mississippi, was elected in a landslide after capturing 49 out of 51 primaries and defeated Congressman James Littleford Jr. in a heated election. There were cries of outrage coming from the Midwest and Southern states where many white supremacists were dwelling, but all in all, the election went peaceably and the complaints died down as President Jackson took the oath of office. But now, it was 10 years later, the President had won two other elections and after that terrorist bomb, was now deceased and Animal was now in office due to a technicality. He sighed deeply and mutter- ed," Of all the things that could have happened, this happened to me." Meg walked into the Oval Office after one of the Secret Service agents ushered her through." Hi, honey. It's pretty weird having to go through a cordon of security to try and get to talk to my own husband." she grinned rather weakly. " I'm glad they don't do strip searches." Animal chuckled as he hugged his wife. " Don't you miss the privacy?" Animal murmurred in Meg's ear. " We used to be able to enjoy ourselves in privacy. Our intimate moments were great back then." " It still is, but if we do it in here, guess what the Washington Post's headline is going to be tomorrow. PRESIDENT MAKES LOVE TO WIFE IN- SIDE THE OVAL OFFICE." Animal cracked up at Meg's comment. " Would be rather embarrassing." Meg thought to add. " Well, I still kind of find the Pink Room kind of embarrassing." Animal muttered." Too bad we can't paint the damn thing a different color." They hugged each other and she sat down at the chair. " So, honey, have you decided on who to select?" The list was long and Animal showed it to his wife who perused the list with a practiced eye. (later on during the day) " Mr. President?" the deputy public relations director queried the young President of the United States. Animal ran his hands through his hair as he buttoned the top button of his shirt and hooked a looped tie around his neck and adjusted the knot, so that the tie looked neat. " Yes, Amy?" Animal replied..." What now?" " You have a press conference today at 5:30PM about the new nominations for the Secretaries and Speaker of the House, also at one-fifteen tomorrow, you have a White House address to the Nation." Deputy PR director Amy O'Callaghan said to the president. " But right now, we have a press conference to tell the people of the United States what our situation is." she handed him a sheet of paper. Animal looked at it. It was full of big words and such. Animal sighed as he looked over it and then looked at his deputy PR director and stated quite firmly," Amy, do you think that half the people will be able to understand such words?" " I'm sure they will, Mr. President." (Press Conference) " Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States." the speaker announced. The entire press conference stood up. Animal strode up to the White House podium. Looking out of the vast sea of faces from all the major newspapers in the world, he suppressed a gulp of fright. Public Speaking had not been his major in high school and he did not relish having to stand in front of an open number of people whose main objective was to skewer him politically. He did not enjoy the political game. The last president had been Republican, and Animal had the Republican lobby behind him. This was not a time for political games. The US had suffered what amounted to be a terrorist attack on US soil. He took a deep breath and started. " My fellow Americans," He paused for a moment. " Over the last few days, we have seen the destruction of one of our most treasured buildings. We have seen the devastation wreaked on the institution of the Presidency. This is not an internal political state- ment by some radical determined to make a point on national TV, but an attack, a grievous assault on our country by a foreign power. We will not stand still and watch as those who would wish to wage a clandestine war against us strike with impunity. We will find those who do these repre- hensible deeds and we will strike back with maximum force. I will state that any foreign power who wishes to strike out at the United States and its citizens, will have all the means and powers that our country has, levelled against it. Any foreign power who attacks the United States will be thwart- ed by every possible means of defence. We have found out who has been responsible for the bombing of the Capitol building. We have also deter- mined that Libya's Colonel Khaddafy has been responsible for the influx of money that has funded the terrorist bombing of the Capitol building...please ...let me continue..." Animal raised up a hand to stop the press from jump- ing on that. " For such an act, we are forced to retaliate with all means available to our armed forces. I have ordered an attack to commence as we speak on Libya's airfields. Col. Khaddafy has been warned numerous times by other presidents that his methods of terrorist activities will not be toler- ated by the United States. We will not stand still while he uses in- struments of terror to victimize peaceful nations. If any country stoops to terrorism, we will retaliate, and we will retaliate with the terror of full- fledged war against their country." Animal paused to take questions. There were numerous questions and Animal barely had enough time to answer them all. (Over Libya) Two flights of F-22's swept in low over Addiz Ababa Airfield with drag- implemented Mk84 iron bombs and Paveways which could hole any concrete run- way surface. Explosions ensued as the ordnance was dropped. Lieutenant Colonel Doug Masters grinned as his F-22 dropped a Mk. 84 smart bomb which went right through a window of a concrete bunker and ex- ploded. The shards of concrete blew out in all directions. There were no combat losses. (later on in the afternoon) Animal looked over the target photos as the Deputy Director of the CIA, Lonyell Parkins held the remainder in a pouch. " So, what's the collateral damage?" asked the President. " Well, Mr. President, at least 98% of the ordnance reached target. The rest fell into a office complex located next to the base." " Damn, but at least we had most of our bombs on target." the president sighed as he rubbed his forehead. " Do we have an official response from the Libyan government?" DDCIA Parkins snorted," They accused us of an unprovoked attack." Animal snickered. " Yeah. That's the pot calling the kettle black." Animal growled. "We have a clear paper trail pointing to their supplying the funds?" " Yes, Mr. President." DDCIA Parkins said. Animal looked at him grimly," Then the attack was definitely provoked by the Libyan Government." he said with absolute finality. "What has the international response been." " Oh, mixed. Britain has absolutely supported the bombing, as does Canada's prime minister. France, Russia and China have denounced us as being too war-hungry and there are peace demonstrations going on all over the world right now." DDCIA Parkins grinned. " There's even a 'Disown President Chikamori' coalition that has cropped up in Edmonton, which I believe was your old hometown." Animal sighed. It was easy for these peace-niks to make rapid hind- sight decisions, but in this case, the situation was clear. Libya had supplied the money to the terrorists who blew up the Capitol which thus provoked the US retaliatory attack. " So, what do you suggest, Lonyell? Keep pounding the bastards until they cry 'Uncle?' or do we just let them stew in their own juices until they decide to get uppity again?" " I'd say so, sir. Attack them if they provoke us again...not until then." the DDCIA stated. (next day) Animal read the morning paper. "PRESIDENT CHIKAMORI ORDERS ATTACKS ON LIBYA." Meg came in to the Oval Office and gave Animal a kiss. " So, what's the verdict?" " Hawks 80%, Doves at 20%." Animal replied as she looked at the paper. "Overwhelming support from our country's populace regarding the attack. Many veterans of the Viet Nam war have been looking for this from us. A decisive retaliatory attack." Meg said," Hmmm, this might get you re-elected, you know..." Animal snorted. "Rebuilding is the key right now. I'm not looking to get re-elected." Meg looked " Oh, here's an article on the Libyan response." and handed the paper to Animal who took it and looked where Meg's finger had pointed. Animal read it. "Libyan leader, Colonel Khaddafy has indicated that the attack by the Americans was unwarranted. Libya had nothing to do with the so-called attack on the Capitol building and he warns that the US Navy fleet conducting exercises in the Gulf of Sidra will come under heavy attack, should the United States continue it's heavy handed policy in the Arab sector of the world. General Assad Haradoul stated that should the US attack Libya again, they will suffer a great many casualties since the Libyan armed forces will be waiting and ready for them. 'They will suffer and die like the American criminal dogs they are'. " Animal snorted with laughter. " Oh, for heaven sakes, is this guy try- ing to be a comedian?" Meg grinned at him," Glad that I could brighten your day..." Animal grinned again. " For this, we should pummel him again, but that would be too much wasted effort and with the high risk of losing someone on this attack, better we wait it out." WHITE HOUSE Major General Sarah Mackenzie-Rabb and Vice Admiral Harmon Rabb Jr. stepped up to the White House door. It wasn't the first time that they had been to the hallowed halls, but it was the first time since their friend had taken office as their Commander in Chief. Animal met them at the door. Harm and Mac saluted. "Mr. President, thank you for..." "Look, Harm," Animal raised two hands, palms out front,"Between, you, Mac and me, it's Animal, ok? Never could get used to this, probably never will. Give me back my old F-14 and my old job back and I'd be a happy camper. You know this place creaks at night?" Mac grinned. Their friend could never be serious for one minute. The Marine Guard was just about having a conniption fit due to the fact that Animal was outlined in the doorway. "Mr. President, Sir..." the Marine guard said,"You might wish to ask the officers in. Safety reasons, sir." "Very well..." Animal sighed."You can't even get a breath of fresh air around here either." he complained. Mac turned to the Marine guard who ushered them in,"So, Sergeant, does he complain all the time?" The Marine guard just about nearly dropped his jaw on the ground, so startled was he at being spoken to. "Uh...ma'am..." Animal grinned,"That's ok...go ahead, Sergeant, tell her the truth." "Well, the President does complain that there isn't enough Pepsi-Cola in the fridge all the time, Ma'am." Animal grinned at that comment. Harm shook his head. The institution of the Presidency would never be the same.