The President sat in his seat deep beneath the Pentagon, pondering. He pondered what he was going to do, how he was going to address the nation. This kind of situation was unprecedented. It offered a whole host of possibilities, but none so concerning as the threat to national security now very much real.

All satellite communications were down. No one in any of the intelligence agencies knew what could have happened; they had detected no missile launches, there had not been any sunspot activity lately. They hadn’t been hacked, they could tell that much. None of the ground-based equipment was compromised; just useless without the satellites.

Radio communications still worked perfectly well, further disproving the possibility of interference. He had his generals and admirals check on their armies, fleets, everything to make sure they were good. Thankfully, after the calming down of several hotspots in the world, most of the United State’s forces had been brought home. All sensitive and valuable things in the military, besides the people who were still stationed overseas, were home. Ships, planes, weapon systems, it was all there.

Of course, if they couldn’t be used to maximum efficiency, it was a great time to strike.

A suited man entered the room where the President sat. “Mr. President, we have important information,” he said, sounding grave.

“What is it?” the President asked.

“We just received communications from a border outpost by Canada, and another by Mexico in Texas,” the suited man said. “They want to know where Mexico and Canada are.”

“What?” the President asked.

“They’re gone, Mr. President,” the man said.

The President rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know,” he said. “We need to find out as soon as possible. Get on that.”

“Yes sir,” the suited man said. He turned to leave. “Mr. President, some of the Air Force brass are saying they want to do surveillance flights outside our borders to find out what’s going on.”

“Let me think on this,” the President said. The suited man nodded and walked out.

Canada and Mexico, gone? It made no sense. Where could two countries have just disappeared to? What would the world say, when they saw that the United States, after bringing its full military forces home, that its two neighbors were gone?

Then a thought hit the President.

“Wait… THEY are gone…” he said. His eyes steadily grew larger. “That means…”

The President turned around and looked at a map of the world on a screen in the wall. His focus narrowed in on North America, and he walked over to the map. Tentatively, he took his hand and placed it over the United States to block it, leaving Alaska and Hawaii alone. Twice he blinked, and finally, he understood the gravity of the situation.

“My god…”

He turned around and walked over to one of the phones he had in this room in the Pentagon. It was a red phone leading directly to the Secretary of the Air Force. He impatiently waited for the phone to answer, tapping his feet anxiously and hoping this could be done quickly.

“Mr. President,” a female voice answered.

“Start suiting up some aircraft for Reconnaissance flights outside our borders,” the President ordered.

“Sir?” the secretary replied.

“Just get it done. I need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“Yes sir,” the voice replied. “I’ll get the U2 out there.”

“Can’t we use UAVs?” the President asked.

“Without Satellite Communications, we can’t communicate with or pilot anything in our unmanned aircraft fleets,” the secretary replied.

The President cursed. “Very well. Do what needs to be done.”

The phones were hung up and the President went back to his seat. An important part of America’s intelligence, and in some cases, combat, arsenal, was just rendered completely useless. They still had manned aircraft, but the President didn’t want to risk any pilots on a recon flight that could end in disaster.

But it didn’t matter now; the last U2 was going out to tell the President what exactly was going on. And when it came back, the news it would carry with it would change the United States forever.

Next Chapter: Address the Nation Estimated time remaining: 10 Minutes