[DRG2015] Defense Research Armament and Gauss Ordinance Network

“So that should be just about everything?” President Alexander sighed, loosening his tie a bit. The meeting had been long, and the inauguration had been exhausting. He had learned a lot today, some he’d probably rather not know, but he supposed that it came with the title.

“Actually, Mr. President, there is one more thing we need to brief you on, but your security personnel and any non-ATS persons should leave the room.” Admiral Levinson spoke up, much to the President’s dismay. Despite his crestfallen face, one could tell he was curious.

“ATS?”

“Above Top Secret, sir.”

“Well… alright. But can you make it fast? I wasn’t expecting this meeting to run so long. Gentlemen, you heard the Admiral, please leave us for now. I’ll let you know when we’re finished.” He sank back down into his chair in oval office. “His” chair. Such a strange thing to think, that one is now owner of the chair behind the most powerful desk in the world.

“Understood, sir.” The Admiral sat across from him, and pulled a series of maps and documents from a briefcase by his side.

“Let’s get started, then.”

“Well Mr. President, after inauguration, it is customary to bring you up to speed on certain confidential matters regarding national defense. In particular, one system can only be activated with DOD, and your approval.”

“So this is like the football?”

“Not exactly.” The Admiral had done this before, it seems. He laid out a series of complicated maps on the desk, then he continued.

“It’s a confidential part of our Missile Defense Shield. Highly classified. The primary installations are at undisclosed locations Near Groom Lake Nevada, Dulce New Mexico, Denver Colorado, Riverton Wyoming, Tulsa Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. There are satellite installations along northern border connected to the Riverton complex. Our west coast defense is webbed by the Groom Lake Facility. Southern complexes are supported by Dulce. Eastern operations are connected to the Pittsburgh installation, and finally central and Midwest support is handled by our Tulsa and Denver sites. Operation of the installations falls under NORAD, the Air Force, as well as the Navy. They serve as a final measure of defense should conventional means of nuclear missile deterrent fail. Because of the sensitive nature of the installations, only military with ATS clearance and need to know are even aware of the existence of this network. Even beyond that, the operation of the installations is highly compartmentalized to ensure no relevant information is leaked. Any information that came to light would allow our enemies to develop counter-methods to our technology”

“What are we talking about here? Is this some Star Wars stuff? Did you guys and Reagan really build that thing?” President Alexander leaned forward, peering at the maps quizzically.

“No, sir. Though, we do have some limited low-orbit ordinance for second strike capability, this is not related.”

“We have nukes in space? Why wasn't I told this in the football briefing?” The President seemed offended, but quickly his countenance relaxed.

“We’re getting off topic, Mr. President.”

“Right, right. So, what is this thing?”

“DRAGON.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s called DRAGON, sir. Defense Research Armament and Gauss Ordinance Network. It was developed by DARPA and installed over a period of 20 years. It was commissioned by Eisenhower, and work was completed during Reagan’s second term. Mr. President, how familiar are you with military hardware?”

“Well, if my career in the Marines is any indication, I’d say pretty versed. But this is new ground for me.” The President laughed a little, which pulled a small chuckle from the Admiral in response.

“Then please stop me if I go above your head. DRAGON is a network of Gauss ordinance-“

“Okay stop now. Gauss?”

“Have you seen our experimental Railguns in action, Mr. President?”

“Yes. While I was stationed in Charleston.”

“They’re not exactly experimental. Gauss weapons, like the Railgun you witnessed, have been in development since we had the power capacity to fully research them. DRAGON is a network of highly advanced Gauss ordinance delivery systems with missile tracking and intercept capability. Each installation has built-in redundancy and off-grid power systems, essentially making each site capable of operating without it’s neighbors. Each site has it’s own Nuclear Power Station. I’m sure you heard of the incident at the test reactor in Idaho early in our nuclear research program?” The Admiral was stoic, this was something the President was sure Levinson had explained to those elected before him.

“Yes, poor guy got pinned to the ceiling with a control rod. Not a way I’d want to go.” Alexander winced at the thought.

“Later versions of these reactors are in place at these installations.”

“Why do you need all of this power?”

“To be frank, Mr. President, the DRAGON system can put metal into a suborbital trajectory in approximately one minute 30 seconds. The power required to do this is enormous, be the cost/benefit analysis showed viability as a defense shield. Should we detect a missile launch by a foreign power, we can pinpoint it’s expected trajectory and, god willing, DRAGON can destroy the missile before any damage is done. The system is reloadable, and can fire again within 5 minutes of a shot. By our estimates, Russia could launch it’s full known arsenal and we could knock out 95% of them before they ever reach our landmass.” The President’s eyes widened, and he sat upright from his relaxed position in the chair.

“Can this weapon be used offensively?”

“Yes sir, this is why it cannot be activated without joint approval by DOD and POTUS. This is also a reason why it’s so highly classified. If word got out we had this system, Cold War not just between us and Russia, but also China, India, Pakistan, and numerous other countries becomes a very real scenario. If we were ever to perform a theoretical “first strike” on a nation, DRAGON would be our first volley, destroying known missile defense locations and radar networks. With the payload’s small profile and extreme speed, it’s unlikely any defending nation would be able to even know what hit them, much less if it was coming at all. Then we would fall back on our nuclear arsenal.”

“God… So you’re saying we've had First Strike capability all this time?”

“Correct, Mr. President.”






Outside, one of the President’s security team patrols the gardens alone. In his hand is a small device. It’s clear the device is some sort of listening device. The President’s office had been bugged. He pulls out a small cellular phone from a jacket pocket and punches a series of numbers.

“Mikhail, this is Jack. You were right. DRAGON is real, and its breath is mighty. I’ll brief Yevgeny on it tonight.”

Good story.. well written .. is there more ?

I do tend to tease at more with my short stories, don't I?

I should fix that.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Is ok always find them good reading

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

This was a cool story, good work and clever acronym!

Once again great work, I'm looking forward to reading more !!!

Sounds really good

Would like to read some more

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Oh, the tangled webs we weave...
Great story, great ending - really loved that one!

originally posted by: beansidhe
a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Oh, the tangled webs we weave...
Great story, great ending - really loved that one!

Thankya! I'm glad you liked it. I should have spent more time refining and editing, though.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Very Cool Tale!! Well told too!!! S+F For You!!! Syx.

originally posted by: SyxPak
a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Very Cool Tale!! Well told too!!! S+F For You!!!

Syx.

Thank you! I know it's not EXACTLY what Night Star/BFFT intended to be created with the "dragon" theme, but I really suck at Fantasy type stories, I'm more a sci-fi/cyberpunk kinda gal.

Ingenious. Extraordinary. Aside from those two words,I'm speechless.

a reply to: AccessDenied

You're too kind, really. But thank you for your words! I am humbled.

originally posted by: ABNARTY
Sounds really good

Would like to read some more

I may add more once the contest is over, assuming I don't sucked into the next contest! Thank you for reading it!

Highly creative take on the "Dragon" concept - a "hell-fire" first-strike weapon!! I loved the ending - what were they thinking, talking about that without being underground in a bunker somewhere??? lol! Spies are everywhere... Your technical speech was extremely good, btw, very realistic...


S&F!
- AB

originally posted by: AboveBoard
Highly creative take on the "Dragon" concept - a "hell-fire" first-strike weapon!! I loved the ending - what were they thinking, talking about that without being underground in a bunker somewhere??? lol! Spies are everywhere... Your technical speech was extremely good, btw, very realistic...


S&F!
- AB

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it I actually chose the primary installations based on known (air quotes here) deep underground military bases. The reactor accident in Idaho really did happen.

The SL-1 Incident

I did my fair share of research to make this as believable as possible.

Good story! I loved the deviation from fantasy. Very well done.

CdT

originally posted by: CirqueDeTruth
Good story! I loved the deviation from fantasy. Very well done.

CdT

Thank you! I'm terrible at Fantasy Fiction. I've tried to write in the genre before and it all comes off as cliche and full of tropes. I'm glad you liked it!

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Dragons appear to come in all shapes and sizes and varying degrees of lethality. Good job!

I enjoyed reading your story.

originally posted by: grayeagle
a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Dragons appear to come in all shapes and sizes and varying degrees of lethality. Good job!

I enjoyed reading your story.

I think the scariest dragon is the one that could actually exist. Thank you for reading it!