Secure Broadcasting Station, Ministry Of Defense-
President McBeth, dressed in his finest black Armani suit, calmly walked across the formally decorated room to stand behind a oak podium with the national icon proudly displayed across it. He adjusted his speech notes for a moment before looking up and staring directly into the high definition cameras that were trained on his every move. These cameras were not only broadcasting him speech locally inside the POF, but also internationally to anyone who cared enough to tune in.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen of this great nation, and the world." he said in his usual charismatic tones, letting a smile settle across his face. "Tonight, I have the great honor, no pleasure to announce unto you that our most hated foe whom we have fought long and hard against for what now seems an endless eternity has finally been brought to justice."
"Approximately one week ago (IC) this nation and several others launched an overwhelmingly successful full scale first strike against the Greater Evil Imperial Japanese Dystopia codenamed Operation Downfall after several unsuccessful attempts at a diplomatic solution failed. This immense thermonuclear strike was met with what can only be described as intense opposition by GEIJD's massively conscripted and poorly trained military which succeeded to a degree to intercept the strike. In the end however, it was not enough to save them and I have been informed that over one thousand warheads of various yields have successfully detonated on their respective targets within GEIJD held territory."
A topographical map of GEIJD was displayed across the screen and it quickly was populated by little red dots. These dots indicated impact areas and outlined zones affected from blast and fallout. After a moment, the image was shrunk down and displayed on the top right of the screen as more and more data was added to it.
"The map now displayed before you should help bring in the magnitude and scope of this final attack into perspective. Of the three point four two one billion people that made up GEIJD, most of whom had taken up arms against coalition forces, it is estimated that nearly two billion of them perished within the first twenty four hours from wounds inflicted and exposure. It is also estimated, that tens of millions more will succumb to radiation poisoning and exposure within the next year. These numbers are based upon the fact that the nations leadership forcibly clustered it's population into smaller and smaller areas as it's increasingly strained and crumbling economy failed to upkeep with even the most basic of care and services."
"As for our casualties during this strike, I am very pleased to announce that thanks to solid lines of communication between allied leadership and early warning no friendly casualties are currently reported resulting from this massive strike. However, this does not mean that our brave men and women abroad our out of harms way. We still have one of the largest military deployments ever in the history of this great nation underway, with over one million personal now directly and indirectly participating in continued full scale operations. Rest assured however, that this administration is taking every measure available to insure the continued safety of our military personal in these extreme conditions. I ask that you keep these brave men and women in your thoughts and prayers as we bring this ugly chapter to a long overdue close."
McBeth paused with his speech, in a moment of deliberate silence before continuing.
"Lastly, I would like to go on record by saying that even though the war is drawing to a close, our mission is only just beginning. The long and daunting task of reconstruction and reeducation lies before us. We have not only a duty, but an obligation to now clean up the mess that we have created. We might have made a cold hard decision in choosing to end the war this way, but that doesn't mean that we sacrifice our humanity now when it really matters and leave the survivors of this event to crawl from the fires of hell only to be struck down by poverty and disease. As such, if any nation watching or listening to this broadcast wish to offer humanitarian aid, we urge them to contact our Ministry Emergency Management Agency. At this time however due to the nature of the situation, we are only accepting food and medical shipments to JB Cloverleaf and monitory donations made directly to MEMA. "
"Ladies and gentlemen of this fine nation and the world, thank you for your time. God bless you and your own, and have a nice day."
With this, President McBeth turned and calmly walked off stage and exited through the door from where he originated from as the broadcast feed slowly faded to black and returned local stations back to their regularly scheduled programming. Across the nation, celebrations broke out upon hearing this new development as the people rejoiced at the good news. McBeth didn't join in on the celebrations though as he quickly made his way down the hall to one of the many situation rooms where a secure connection had finally been reestablished with General Stern, who was boots on the ground on what was left of the GEIJD mainland. What he saw displayed on the screen, didn't look good.
The feed was artifacted and spotty as the signal attempted to pass through the fallout overhead. However, a man wearing full NBC gear could still be clearly seen as ash and snow fell about him. The glow from various fires could be seen in the background as it silhouetted several military vehicles which sat idling in a defensive position.
"General, I hope you bring me good news my friend." he said in a serious tone lacking in any of the usual warmth seen shared between the two old friends.
"Yes Mr. President I do." came the reply as the audio warped in and out of focus. "In continuation of Operation Swift Wind, we conducted a hard knock and search at location Foxtrot zero zero tree one, which was the site of a D.U.M.B complex that mostly survived the initial strike structurally intact. Upon entry into the complex, Sog Strike Team Death Dealers immediately encountered stiff resistance from GEIJD military personal, which were closed in with and destroyed in room to room fighting over the course of the next ten minutes. Enemy KIA is currently sitting at thirty personal with twice over wounded and captured, while friendly numbers are sitting at three dead and five wounded."
Mcbeth knew that casualties were to be expected in warfare and this news came as no surprise. It however, didn't mean that he had to like it. Sten paused for a second as a Lynx APC rumbled slowly passed as it picked it's way through the rubble before continuing with his report.
"We are currently picking through the complex now gathering further intelligence and high value information, but so far it appears that we have struck a gold mine here as they apparently didn't destroy there sensitive date for whatever reason unlike the other sites."
"That's great news general."
"Yes Mr. President, but there is more..." Stern pulled a military issue touch pad out from a drop pouch attached to his leg and turned it to show the camera.
"My god..." said Mcbeth to nobody in particular when he saw the image displayed on the screen.
"Yes Mr. President, Codename NoNo and the rest of the imperial family is now in our custody. Emperor Yuan Fong Huangdi has been captured."
McBeth couldn't believe what he was heading. For years now, he had wanted nothing more then to see the leadership responsible for being a royal pain in the international communities side brought forth to justice. Now it would appear he would finally have his chance.
"General, I am hereby ordering you to commence an emergency extraction of all HVT's including key personal already in custody back to the mainland."
"That's fine Mr. President, but I'm afraid that we are going to have to ground convoy them from here back to the rear due to intense fallout in the immediate area which is grounding all aircraft operations until further notice. I will personally see to the security of this operation myself, and keep you informed of our progress every few hours."
"Understood General, and thank you." said Mcbeth letting a smile creep across his face.
"Don't thank me yet Mr. President, were still not out of the woods yet. Stern Out."
With that, the camera feed went dead as it was disconnected. Mcbeth stood for a moment in stunned silence before turning and leaving the room. Today was a good day indeed for the Armed Republic.