[u][b]July 8th, 05:45
NATO Allied Command HQ-NA, Norfolk, Virginia[/b][/u]

The distant drums of war were beating, and all around him he could see the faces of those who knew they were soon to be drawn into a conflict that they truly wished no part of. For him though, those drums beat fiercely in his chest and he felt an invigoration in his step as he wound his way through the hurried office staff of NATO military command. Many of them had been woken up by the reports of gunfire across Arabian lines, some had not yet gone home after pulling a night shift. All had the same look on their face. It was the same look he had seen for millennia. Anticipation. Anxiety. Dread. Never mind that these men and women wouldn't be the ones risking their lives, and that as they worried themselves across an ocean and beyond the reach of this enemy, there was little chance they would ever see the danger. They would be the ones to give the orders though, to send other men to die for them in a war they cared nothing about. Such is the way of war.

Yet it was clear there was something different about this conflict, he had felt it building over the last few days, and then this morning when he had been studying that drug again.

[color=0076a3][i]"Elysium..."[/i][/color]

It had nearly broken New York, plunged it into anarchy and violence. A select few had stopped it before it got out of control, but there was still the troubling issue of [i]why[/i]. He had pondered on it since the end, since Lady Arcana had been shown all over the news as the hero of the city and since everything went quiet again. But it hadn't truly gone quiet had it? Through arcane study he had traced slight similarities between the strange pill and other sources in the middle east. While he didn't have the time to set up more exacting means of tracking, there was enough there to make him think that perhaps the two events are not so dissimilar after all.

The doors to the summit chambers were ahead and already reporters were thick in the hall. Several guards kept them back a respectful distance, but it was still hard going trying to press through them, especially when they saw his face.

[color=0076a3]"Please, save any questions for after the meeting."[/color] He threw them a bone, promising to speak with them after the emergency summit, and it was enough at least to clear a path and allow him to actually reach the doors.

Beyond sat the representatives of NATO, most of them just ambassadors here for their country and linked back home via sat-phone. It was refreshing to see a few faces though, primarily the secretary-general of NATO had been stateside, and the president herself was present. He abstained from his typical greeting, merely giving a nod to all those assembled and seating himself at the end of the table.

[color=0076a3]"My apologies, there's a decent mob of reporters at the doors wanting to know what we decide before we do so. I would properly greet everyone, but I think I've held things up quite long enough and I'm sure our madam president would prefer to deal with this as quickly as possible."[/color]

President Gloria Vanderhall eased forward in her seat, her hands folded in front of her face. An African-American woman in her early forties, she was known for her stern yet oddly charismatic demeanor, almost akin to a military commander. When Raymond entered their conference, she inclined her head ever-so-slightly to acknowledge the businessman's presence.

"I'm sure Mr. Luneburg and everyone here is fully aware of the severity of our current situation," she addressed the room, though her eyes were still centered on Raymond. "Basil Al-Asad has launched a full scale invasion of the Republic of Arabia, and has made not even a token effort to negotiate with either President Basri, the United Nations, or this council."

Her eyes briefly darted to a set of photographs on the table at that point, showing captures of what appear to be bright flashes in the distance. "Furthermore, we detected a nuclear detonation in the Mojave Desert an hour ago, which I'm aware is a concern for many here in this room."

"Could Asad really have the capability to strike so far into the United States?" The German Prime Minister questioned, sweat lining his brow.

The President gently shook her head. "No, we do not believe it is Asad. As of right now, this should be considered an internal matter of the United States, rather than an international concern."

The sound of the other NATO leaders murmuring in a mixture of confusion and unease quickly filled the room at her statement, but Gloria pressed on. "Ladies, gentlemen...stopping Asad's advance is our top priority right now, and we cannot afford to have our attention divided at such a critical juncture."

"Now, it is an incontrovertible reality that the Republic of Arabia will fall without the immediate intervention of NATO's military forces. Truthfully, however, it may be impossible for us to have boots on the ground before the Republic collapses," Gloria exhaled, a weary admission for her. "Which would mean driving Asad back across the desert. That is bound to be a costly campaign, both in terms of resources and lives. Particularly if the rumors regarding his new weaponry are indeed true."

Her eyes settled firmly on Raymond this time, a frown set upon her face. "And I believe few would know better than Mr. Luneburg here."

A detonation in the Mojave, one that was nuclear and obviously not scheduled. That was quite interesting, especially in how quickly Vanderhall brought it up just to dismiss it. Raymond's interest was piqued, but that was a discussion for another evening and behind closed doors with the madam president. His thoughts turned militant immediately, drawing up what he knew of the nation's current military strength and where it was deployed.

[color=0076a3]"Yes, those new weapons are rather troublesome. Lost a few agents over the last months getting what little I could on them. Which is paltry compared to what we see now."[/color] Damn Basil and his meddling. If only he could have played ball those years ago, then this situation would be far different.

[color=0076a3]"Fortunately, I have also been busy with my own efforts. As madam Vanderhall is aware, the US Navy has been slowly retrofitting their Arleigh Burke class of destroyers with my new railgun weapon system. I believe a dozen are already blue water capable and could be en route to the gulf immediately."[/color]

Schematics of the rail weapon were brought up on the projector in the room, displaying the range of attack and estimated damage. Assuming they could acquire targets, it would be devastating, though Raymond had to wonder if Asad may have planned for just such an eventuality.

[color=0076a3]"Obviously, we have two choices here on how to proceed. We move with all speed, mobilize our naval forces in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, try to make a show of force to let Asad know that we will not accept this move. Or, we do what we can with assets in country to evacuate President Basri and Arabian government officials. While they are being secured, we draw up full-scale invasion plans to retake the republic and push Asad back to his palace. Neither option is ideal, with us having to sacrifice either Arabian lives to the invasion while we prepare, or many of our own troops while we stall and make a show of force."[/color]

Raymond paused for a moment, staring down the rest of the NATO council members. [color=0076a3]"What I can be sure of however, is that doing nothing is not an option. Basil Al-asad and the Arab Federation have tested us for far too long, and we can no longer sit idly while they simply conquer all of the middle east."[/color]

Gloria nodded firmly in agreement with Raymond, knowing that her predecessors had long struggled with containing the Asad family. They had always struck when the United States was at its most vulnerable in the past, conquering lands and acquiring more oil whenever they believed that NATO was too preoccupied to intervene. That had been their methodology...until now.

This was something different. Something unprecedented in its boldness, its [i]audacity.[/i]  She couldn't hope to understand what the Dictator was thinking in this moment. Perhaps he believed his new weapons made him invincible, even to them? She wasn't sure whether to be amused or [i]terrified[/i] at that notion.

"I agree that the immediate evacuation of our ally President Basri and his government should be our top priority," the President finally spoke up. "In the meantime, we'll start -"

Gloria paused as her cellphone vibrated, her eyes darting to it. It was a text, from the Secretary of State. High priority, at that. "Please excuse me for a moment."

Taking the phone in her hand, she quickly thumbed open the text, reading over it. Her face visibly darkened only a moment later, as she lowered it back to the table. This did not go unnoticed by the other NATO leaders, who stared expectantly at the most powerful woman in the world.

No. That was no longer true, was it?

"...I have just received a report that Lady Arcana, Emerald Knight, and several more UMH's have been detected approaching the front lines of the ongoing battle," Gloria muttered, falling back into her seat. Her brow was now clearly laden with sweat.

He had expected the involvement of some of the rising heroes in this matter, though planned around them remaining out. This made things quite a bit easier, and for that he once more had a reason to give thanks to the inheritor of the rock.

[color=0076a3]"How fortuitous that they have chosen to intervene."[/color] It was no secret that he had been observing a few people of interest, in particular Lady Arcana and the Superman. Some of which had been at the behest of officials in the US government, though always in the vein of containing them as threats.

[color=0076a3]"Do we by chance have any lines of communication to Lady Arcana? The 'daughter of America' should have our support if she's intervening on the behalf of the republic. She could give us the edge we need in order to secure the safety of president Basri, and delay Asad's advance sufficiently enough to put troops on the ground."[/color] Raymond glanced over at the British representative as the question formed on his lips.

[color=0076a3]"How soon could British ships be in the Red Sea and providing support to the front lines?"[/color]

Gloria shot a stinging glare at Raymond when he began to sing the praises of the single greatest threat facing the free world today. No, you could drop "free" from that equation; the entirety of the Earth was at risk thanks to her. "The United States government does not typically keep contact with the FBI's most wanted criminal," she tersely reminded him.

An awkward silence filled the room in that moment, the NATO leadership exchanging glances with one another. It was only broken when the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom answered the question that had been posed to him. "I imagine within a matter of hours, if need to be."

"The French Navy can likewise provide support," President Legrand spoke up, folding his hands neatly in front of his face.

Raymond managed to hide his satisfaction at getting a rise out of the president enough to acknowledge the comments from both Legrand and the prime minister. [color=0076a3]"Excellent, that gives us striking power within a few hours. Standing NATO Maritime Group two should be in the vicinity of Cairo as well, so they can buy us some time with coordinated strikes on the coasts until group one arrives and we can get some carrier support."[/color]

His thoughts turned to ground forces available, since the combined navies would only delay the inevitable and coerce Asad away from the shores. They needed air and land assets in order to turn the tide of the invasion and retake land already surrendered to his advance. [color=0076a3]"Once the seas are secured, we can impose a blockade on the Arabian Federation and focus on taking the fight to them directly. C-130s are present at the LSOC and I can have troops in the air with just a single call, but I feel that we should all be in agreement on the course ahead before we commit any resources."[/color]

Gloria forced herself to remain calm despite Raymond's seizing of the reins of this meeting away from her, and his blatant efforts to get a rise from her. She had to focus on the bigger picture right now, and that was Asad. "We will feasibly be unable to deploy troops to the Arabian Peninsula until the tenth at the earliest, and even that is a massive stretch involving only the most token of forces. Asad might have seized the capital by then, so I doubt that would dissuade him."

That was the reality of the situation. They had been caught completely with their pants down, and any show of force would do little to impede the Federation's conquest. Still, there was no reason to oppose Raymond's suggestion of a naval strike. "The United States Navy will of course cooperate with its allies to delay Asad in any way possible, but we will simply need more time before we can have enough boots on the ground to make a difference."

[color=0076a3]"I can have LIS special operations present in Riyadh within the day and working alongside Republic of Arabia's internal defense. From there it's just a matter of working with their military and resisting the invasion as much as possible. If we can keep the capital out of Asad's hands, then that will keep morale up with the people of Arabia until American troops can put boots on the ground."[/color]

It was a dangerous committment to make, as he didn't have countermeasures against magitech just yet, and could only have them hold ground as best they could. The tanks were the most problematic, as he was already receiving some video from the front courtesy of diligent reporters. Javelins would have to be sent over in large numbers to counteract their heavy use of armor. Already he could feel the pain of the expenses of this war, but it was necessary.

[color=0076a3]"If we can get carriers in the Red Sea quick enough, then I can have tanks shipped over from Utah. Sorry if that delays the end of year shipment of Challengers by the way."[/color] That comment was directed at the British Prime Minister, who he had previously worked out a deal with on the acquisition of the tank designs in exchange with supplementing their need for more modern armor.

[color=0076a3]"If anything will stand up against the onslaught of Asad's new arsenal, it will be the collective willpower of this alliance and good British tank design."[/color]