General Anna Ishtar
New member
[This post follows from Tally sending a message to the C-suite about Fritz stealing Creed's bike.]
October 31, 3:13am. Arlington Ridge, Alexandria, Virgina.
Anna had the M18 from her nightstand in hand before the door began to open. The faintly glowing sights of her sidearm let her line up a shot on whoever was behind the door even in near-total darkness. This was all standard procedure. If it were an intruder, she could drop them before they got inside.
"Rod," came a whispered voice behind the door.
"Ring," she whispered back and relaxed, lowering her sights but keeping her sidearm in hand.
Carefully, Anna used her free hand to feel her way around the warm bodies on the Alaskan King-sized bed next to her. She recognized each of her concubines by the feel of their skin and hair. Charlotte had curly hair, Lucas had the softest skin she'd ever felt on a man, Emma was embracing her more rebellious side and had shaved her hair down to a mohawk. Finally, she felt her husband's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake.
"Huh?" He stirred quietly, still half-asleep.
"Henry, I'm going out, take care of everyone while I'm gone. Don't try to cook again, you remember what happened last time."
"Okay, hon," he rolled over and she soon heard him breathing softly again.
Anna pulled the covers off and sat up on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to wake herself up before standing. In the darkness, she walked past the closet that her husband and concubines shared, to her own. She stepped inside, closed the door and turned the dimmer switch until the room was only slightly illuminated. Across from her, a full-length mirror greeted her with a good view of herself, and she couldn't help but flex for a moment. In the middle of the room there was a bench where Lucas had set out her freshly-pressed uniform and boots, on top of which he'd put a scandalous set of completely inappropriate underwear. Clearly she'd have to have a word with him later, though she always wondered if he was actually incompetent or if he was just being bratty to get a rise out of her. Either way, she put the lingerie back in its drawer and took out a plain pair of panties and a bra instead, which she put on before the rest of her uniform. With the rest of her partners sleeping, she decided to carry out her boots instead of clomping across the bedroom floor and waking everyone up.
Stepping out of the bedroom, she joined a pair of young corporals holding rifles in the hallway who each gave her a crisp salute, surprising for people who hadn't had any sleep while they were on guard duty. One of the corporals was obviously about to speak before she raised a hand to stop him.
"Outside," Anna whispered, then led the way down the hall, past her kids' rooms, downstairs, and out the front door where another couple of guards saluted her. When she saw a waiting convoy of humvees chugging loudly in her secluded driveway, Anna knew that something serious was going on, so she knelt down and started putting on her boots. "Go ahead."
"Ma'am, we have an All Quiet scenario."
"That's impossible," Anna frowned as she finished lacing her boots and stood up. "Report?"
The corporal handed her a data pad and she started reading as they double-timed to the middle of the three trucks waiting to take her away. As she well knew, an All Quiet scenario meant that they had lost contact with their most valuable asset: Agent Talbot, a.k.a. Tally. In the decades since Tally had assumed her non-corporeal form, Anna had never known Tally to go quiet.
The corporal opened the door for her and Anna stepped up into the humvee, the driver of which only waited for her feet to be off the ground before taking off. Anna pulled the door closed and sat down, but didn't strap herself in. Technically, it was against DOD regulations, but she'd gotten tangled in enough seatbelts during her deployments that she saw them as more trouble than they were worth. On the hump that ran down the center of the humvee, there was a ruggedized laptop with a familar face on the screen.
"Hi, James," Anna said, still poring over the datapad.
"General," Major General James Davis replied curtly. "Tally got a message out before she went quiet. Fritz stole a bike. I hope you know what that means."
Anna nodded. "I do. Have you heard from Jax?"
"His transponder went quiet after going into a decommissioned local government building in Nashville about an hour ago."
"Calvin?"
"We think he was with Jax."
"Where are the twins?"
"We know they arrived in Nashville, but you know how hard they are to track."
"Almost as bad as Fritz," Anna shrugged. "Maybe worse, if Fritz could steal a bike. Something's happening. At best, it's a spectacular display of simultaneous ineptitude. At worst, it's a coordinated attack. And if Fritz is vulnerable, we need to act quick. Who knows when he'll be back at full power. Patch me through to Robert Wilson."
"He'll be asleep at this hour."
"Get me his bodyguard, he owes me a favor."
"Hello?" The bodyguard's voice came through the laptop a moment later. He was clearly deeply tired, unlike her own guards who had properly adjusted their sleep schedules to be alert overnight.
"Joe? It's General Anna Ishtar. Remember when I got your other-than-honorable corrected? I'm sure you do. I need you to go inside Robert's room, wake him up, and give him your phone. Don't worry, I won't let him fire you. Hell, I might get him to give you a raise if you're quick enough."
"Hello?" An even more tired voice spoke to her a moment later.
"Hello, Governor. I'm General Anna Ishtar. Chairwoman of the joint chiefs of staff. I understand you called in the national guard to help get Nashville back on the grid. That was an excellent move. I've just received word that the outage was not an accident. It was a terrorist action. As such, I'm going to personally see to it that order is restored. I need you to make a public announcement that I'll be acting on your behalf until the situation is resolved. My assistant will send you over a script to read. A camera crew is already on their way to your house." Anna waved her hand and James started making it happen.
"Uh, I don't think..."
"Now's not the time for hesitation, governor. Who knows what the terrorists in question already have access to? Perhaps the photos of you and your son's wife at his birthday party last week?"
"Oh. Ah."
"That's the spirit, governor. I expect to see your announcement in..." James held up 2 fingers. "Twenty minutes. And I'll have this all sorted out in a few days. Oh and give your bodyguard a raise. He just saved your career."
Anna made a chopping motion with her hand and the line to Robert Wilson, Governor of Tennesse, went dead.
"Get Sam on the horn."
"Yes?"
"Sam, I need a ride to Fort Campbell."
"You're in command of the 3rd-largest air force in the world, General, I'm sure you can figure something out."
"You're in command of the largest air force in the world. And your planes are faster. And I know you have an F-16 two-seat trainer scheduled to fly back to San Antonio from tomorrow. Wake up that flyboy and tell him to leave tonight. Drop me off at Campbell on the way. No skin off your back."
"Unless you want to get the president on the line, nobody on this call has any authority over me."
"Hey General, it's James on the line," James said.
"Hi James, I figured you were there," Sam said, sounding remarkably awake.
"Sam, I don't have authority. I can't make you do it. But I'll owe you one. I can get you into the situation room with the president next time something comes up. I could suggest that the Air Force handle something instead of the Army for once. You name it."
There was silence for a moment.
"Can I have a date with Emma?"
"I can't make any promises for her. You know how she is."
"Put in a good word, then. And get me into the situation room."
"Consider it done."
"Fine. Meet the pilot at JB Andrews in..."
"I'm already there," Anna announced as her convoy rolled up to the gates and the guards got the humvees to roll down their windows. "Thanks, Sam."
"Get me Campbell command," Anna said once the convoy was inside the gate and rolling out towards the hangar where they knew the fighter trainer was lying in wait.
"General." Anna could practically hear the salute, and gave an unseen nod of approval.
"Wake up the 160. I need 6 Gray Eagles over Nashville in the next 15 minutes. And warm up a Black Hawk, I should be there in 40 minutes. Maybe an hour. I know flyboys are hard to wake up."
"I can assure you, General, our pilots..."
"Not Army pilots, Campbell Command," Anna felt a little bad that she hadn't gotten the officer's name. "I'm waiting on an Air Force scrub to summon up enough discipline to taxi me to Campbell."
"You're coming here?" The voice on the line cracked.
"Yes. Be ready in 40 minutes."
October 31, 3:13am. Arlington Ridge, Alexandria, Virgina.
Anna had the M18 from her nightstand in hand before the door began to open. The faintly glowing sights of her sidearm let her line up a shot on whoever was behind the door even in near-total darkness. This was all standard procedure. If it were an intruder, she could drop them before they got inside.
"Rod," came a whispered voice behind the door.
"Ring," she whispered back and relaxed, lowering her sights but keeping her sidearm in hand.
Carefully, Anna used her free hand to feel her way around the warm bodies on the Alaskan King-sized bed next to her. She recognized each of her concubines by the feel of their skin and hair. Charlotte had curly hair, Lucas had the softest skin she'd ever felt on a man, Emma was embracing her more rebellious side and had shaved her hair down to a mohawk. Finally, she felt her husband's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake.
"Huh?" He stirred quietly, still half-asleep.
"Henry, I'm going out, take care of everyone while I'm gone. Don't try to cook again, you remember what happened last time."
"Okay, hon," he rolled over and she soon heard him breathing softly again.
Anna pulled the covers off and sat up on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to wake herself up before standing. In the darkness, she walked past the closet that her husband and concubines shared, to her own. She stepped inside, closed the door and turned the dimmer switch until the room was only slightly illuminated. Across from her, a full-length mirror greeted her with a good view of herself, and she couldn't help but flex for a moment. In the middle of the room there was a bench where Lucas had set out her freshly-pressed uniform and boots, on top of which he'd put a scandalous set of completely inappropriate underwear. Clearly she'd have to have a word with him later, though she always wondered if he was actually incompetent or if he was just being bratty to get a rise out of her. Either way, she put the lingerie back in its drawer and took out a plain pair of panties and a bra instead, which she put on before the rest of her uniform. With the rest of her partners sleeping, she decided to carry out her boots instead of clomping across the bedroom floor and waking everyone up.
Stepping out of the bedroom, she joined a pair of young corporals holding rifles in the hallway who each gave her a crisp salute, surprising for people who hadn't had any sleep while they were on guard duty. One of the corporals was obviously about to speak before she raised a hand to stop him.
"Outside," Anna whispered, then led the way down the hall, past her kids' rooms, downstairs, and out the front door where another couple of guards saluted her. When she saw a waiting convoy of humvees chugging loudly in her secluded driveway, Anna knew that something serious was going on, so she knelt down and started putting on her boots. "Go ahead."
"Ma'am, we have an All Quiet scenario."
"That's impossible," Anna frowned as she finished lacing her boots and stood up. "Report?"
The corporal handed her a data pad and she started reading as they double-timed to the middle of the three trucks waiting to take her away. As she well knew, an All Quiet scenario meant that they had lost contact with their most valuable asset: Agent Talbot, a.k.a. Tally. In the decades since Tally had assumed her non-corporeal form, Anna had never known Tally to go quiet.
The corporal opened the door for her and Anna stepped up into the humvee, the driver of which only waited for her feet to be off the ground before taking off. Anna pulled the door closed and sat down, but didn't strap herself in. Technically, it was against DOD regulations, but she'd gotten tangled in enough seatbelts during her deployments that she saw them as more trouble than they were worth. On the hump that ran down the center of the humvee, there was a ruggedized laptop with a familar face on the screen.
"Hi, James," Anna said, still poring over the datapad.
"General," Major General James Davis replied curtly. "Tally got a message out before she went quiet. Fritz stole a bike. I hope you know what that means."
Anna nodded. "I do. Have you heard from Jax?"
"His transponder went quiet after going into a decommissioned local government building in Nashville about an hour ago."
"Calvin?"
"We think he was with Jax."
"Where are the twins?"
"We know they arrived in Nashville, but you know how hard they are to track."
"Almost as bad as Fritz," Anna shrugged. "Maybe worse, if Fritz could steal a bike. Something's happening. At best, it's a spectacular display of simultaneous ineptitude. At worst, it's a coordinated attack. And if Fritz is vulnerable, we need to act quick. Who knows when he'll be back at full power. Patch me through to Robert Wilson."
"He'll be asleep at this hour."
"Get me his bodyguard, he owes me a favor."
"Hello?" The bodyguard's voice came through the laptop a moment later. He was clearly deeply tired, unlike her own guards who had properly adjusted their sleep schedules to be alert overnight.
"Joe? It's General Anna Ishtar. Remember when I got your other-than-honorable corrected? I'm sure you do. I need you to go inside Robert's room, wake him up, and give him your phone. Don't worry, I won't let him fire you. Hell, I might get him to give you a raise if you're quick enough."
"Hello?" An even more tired voice spoke to her a moment later.
"Hello, Governor. I'm General Anna Ishtar. Chairwoman of the joint chiefs of staff. I understand you called in the national guard to help get Nashville back on the grid. That was an excellent move. I've just received word that the outage was not an accident. It was a terrorist action. As such, I'm going to personally see to it that order is restored. I need you to make a public announcement that I'll be acting on your behalf until the situation is resolved. My assistant will send you over a script to read. A camera crew is already on their way to your house." Anna waved her hand and James started making it happen.
"Uh, I don't think..."
"Now's not the time for hesitation, governor. Who knows what the terrorists in question already have access to? Perhaps the photos of you and your son's wife at his birthday party last week?"
"Oh. Ah."
"That's the spirit, governor. I expect to see your announcement in..." James held up 2 fingers. "Twenty minutes. And I'll have this all sorted out in a few days. Oh and give your bodyguard a raise. He just saved your career."
Anna made a chopping motion with her hand and the line to Robert Wilson, Governor of Tennesse, went dead.
"Get Sam on the horn."
"Yes?"
"Sam, I need a ride to Fort Campbell."
"You're in command of the 3rd-largest air force in the world, General, I'm sure you can figure something out."
"You're in command of the largest air force in the world. And your planes are faster. And I know you have an F-16 two-seat trainer scheduled to fly back to San Antonio from tomorrow. Wake up that flyboy and tell him to leave tonight. Drop me off at Campbell on the way. No skin off your back."
"Unless you want to get the president on the line, nobody on this call has any authority over me."
"Hey General, it's James on the line," James said.
"Hi James, I figured you were there," Sam said, sounding remarkably awake.
"Sam, I don't have authority. I can't make you do it. But I'll owe you one. I can get you into the situation room with the president next time something comes up. I could suggest that the Air Force handle something instead of the Army for once. You name it."
There was silence for a moment.
"Can I have a date with Emma?"
"I can't make any promises for her. You know how she is."
"Put in a good word, then. And get me into the situation room."
"Consider it done."
"Fine. Meet the pilot at JB Andrews in..."
"I'm already there," Anna announced as her convoy rolled up to the gates and the guards got the humvees to roll down their windows. "Thanks, Sam."
"Get me Campbell command," Anna said once the convoy was inside the gate and rolling out towards the hangar where they knew the fighter trainer was lying in wait.
"General." Anna could practically hear the salute, and gave an unseen nod of approval.
"Wake up the 160. I need 6 Gray Eagles over Nashville in the next 15 minutes. And warm up a Black Hawk, I should be there in 40 minutes. Maybe an hour. I know flyboys are hard to wake up."
"I can assure you, General, our pilots..."
"Not Army pilots, Campbell Command," Anna felt a little bad that she hadn't gotten the officer's name. "I'm waiting on an Air Force scrub to summon up enough discipline to taxi me to Campbell."
"You're coming here?" The voice on the line cracked.
"Yes. Be ready in 40 minutes."
