Chapter 2: The Storm Before the Hurricane

(Transcript from a speech given to the nation by American president Joseph Biden)

"My fellow Americans."

"This morning, just a few hours ago, on the other side of the world, the nation of Ukraine was attacked. This attack was not made on a military unit, or on a city or facility of any strategic value. This attack was made on a nation. On a society. On a people."

"This attack came without motive, without justification. Our intel has failed to uncover any possible reason why the Ukrainian people were made subject to such inhuman violence. Regardless of what purpose it may have served, no motive can mitigate the raw level of death and destruction they were subjected to this morning."

"We have confirmed that the attack was not of a nuclear nature. It seems likely that some sort of chemical weapon was used, though this has not been confirmed. However, we do know that this weapon has caused destruction on a scale never previously seen in human history."

"In areas where the weapon's effects have reached, consequences have been nothing less than apocalyptic. A massive shockwave swept through the country, with its epicentre believed to be in the city of Kremenchuk, razing buildings and rupturing organs indiscriminately. Closer to the epicentre, the sky has turned brown, and the air has warmed to up to a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, the air has filled with toxic gasses like ozone and nitric oxide. The following cities have been entirely consumed by the gasses."

"Kremenchuk. Cherkasy. Kropyvnytskyi. Kryvyi Rih. Kamianske. Dnipro. Poltava."

"In total, the Ukrainian government has already confirmed that over two million people have died in these attacks, with this figure expected to rise dramatically over the coming days. The English language cannot properly convey the amount of cold-hearted malice someone would have needed to possess to do something like this. This has been, without a doubt, an act of pure terror."

"What could have motivated any organisation or government to destroy so much, we do not know. What could have allowed any person to go so ruthlessly against everything that is good and human, we will never understand. But whoever did this clearly did not understand us so well either."

"Already, reports have been flooding in of firefighters, rescue workers, and ordinary Ukrainian citizens risking their lives to save those of their fellow Ukrainians. In Kyiv, president Zelensky and his advisors have been confirmed safe. Earlier this morning, he delivered a speech to the Ukrainian people. In it, he promised that Ukraine would not buckle under these acts. He promised his people that they would rebuild. And that they would find the people that did this, and deliver justice to them."

"Those that did this have severely underestimated the spirit of the Ukrainian people. They have underestimated the spirit of the Ukrainian government. Having met with Zelensky myself, I can tell you from experience that the fire in his eyes and his passion for protecting his people is not something that an event like this will smother. The people of Ukraine will approach this loss with a relentless drive to make sure it can never happen again. And those that did this clearly underestimated the American people too. And this message goes directly to them."

"We the people of the United States, the land of the free, and the home of the brave, will not stand idly by. We, the defenders of democracy and the land of liberty, will not allow the people of this nation to be so mercilessly attacked. We will not allow you to remain in the shadows. We will find out who you are. And we will make sure that you are put to justice. Because despite what our enemies like to claim we are still that shining city on a hill. Because we are strong. Our allies are strong. And nothing you can do will stop us."

"We have already mobilised the troops stationed in Ukraine to assist with the relief effort. They will be rescuing those that are trapped and providing whatever aid they can to survivors, and maintaining order in the area. They will soon be joined by other patrols stationed in Romania and Poland. We are currently arranging the movement of troops both from other stations nearby and from back home to secure the area and provide large relief on a national scale."

"We are also currently negotiating with the Red Cross and other regional charities to provide shelter for those who are now homeless and to provide vital supplies and electricity to the many who are now without it. We hope that these efforts will minimise the continued cost to human life following the attack."

"Finally, the United States has subverted its entire intelligence arsenal to focus exclusively on uncovering the nature of the attack. Our intelligence network is one of the most sophisticated of its kind in the world, and those it employs have been working non-stop since we learnt of the attack. Do not think we won't uncover who did this."

"Remember America, this is not the end. Do not let them convince you that it is. In Roosevelt's words, 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself'. God bless America. Slava Ukraini."

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