Chapter 174

White House

Underneath the West Wing of the White house lay the Situation Room. Measuring five thousand square feet, the Situation Room is a highly networked conference room and intelligence management center. Run by the National Security Council for use by the President and his advisors, the room was designed and equipped to monitor and deal with crises at home or abroad, and to ensure secure communications with elements of the American government globally. It is also fitted with secure and advanced communications equipment that allowed the President to maintain command and control of all U.S. military forces globally, and after a recent upgrade, throughout the universe.

The Situation Room was constructed in 1961 at the behest of President John F. Kennedy, after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion was attributed to a lack of information in real time. Its mission is to provide current intelligence and crisis support to the President, National Security Advisor, and the staff of the National Security Council. Staff is organized into five watch teams that provide seven day, twenty four hour monitoring of international events. The task of the Situation Room is to ensure the President and his team are not only informed of the current situation, but also how that situation is being portrayed by the media. Being electronically shielded from eavesdropping, this room also made a wonderful meeting place for sensitive discussions.

"I've already looked over the report, but please rehash it for me gentlemen." President Hayes directed.

"Shortly after the last unit was transported to their base camp on Goronak, a message was received by the Videum. At first the message made little sense to Colonel Reynolds and his team. As you are aware Mr. President, the subsequent investigation turned up what we believe to be the explanation." General Maynard stated.

"This is the part that blows my mind." Hayes said mostly to himself.

"Mr. President, that is a feeling shared by the Joint Chiefs." General Matko added.

"An infantry squad on patrol was ambushed by a small force of Jaffa. The squad leader is believed to have been taken captive. A representative from Fort Campbell was dispatched to locate the squad leader's emergency contact, which turned out to be his girlfriend. She was very clear that the last movie the two watched was a Harry Potter film." Maynard explained.

"That explains how the Jaffa came to know the plot to my grand daughter's favorite film." Hayes said with a smile.

"The Pentagon concurs with that assessment Mr. President. It also tells us that the soldier is very much alive, and actively feeding the enemy disinformation." Maynard added.

"In order to give NATO forces more time to consolidate their positions, and also to allow us to make sense of the message, orders have gone out to ground forces to not engage Jaffa forces unless they approach. The rules of engagement place our men squarely on a defensive footing." General Keller explained.

"So basically, as long as the Jaffa don't approach we will not attack?" Hayes asked.

"That is correct Mr. President." General Keller replied.

"The Office of Naval Intelligence has taken the step of putting together an ad hoc analysis group. Currently, they are pouring over ever Potter book and film to see how the Jaffa's new found belief can be turned to our benefit. The author, one J.K. Rowling has also been brought in to consult." Admiral Dunleavy stated.

"Do you really think all that is necessary?" Hayes asked.

"Mr. President, at this point we're playing every possible card in the deck." Dunleavy conceded.

"I've played a few cards of my own Admiral. After Colonel Davis briefed me on this situation, I called a friend. At his direction, the boys and girls at Industrial Light and Magic are burning the midnight oil putting together a message to the Jaffa from Voldemort." Hayes stated.

"That must be some friend." General Matko mumbled to himself.

"He is. I met George Lucas during the campaign for my first term, and it helps that he voted for me I suppose. In exchange for letting him have a look at mission reports from the SGC, he was more than happy to have his people help their country." Hayes said with a smile.

"Mr. President, in all due respect, the Jaffa are going to expect an answer faster than the whiz kids at ILM will be able to produce." Dunleavy countered.

"Not to worry Admiral, I've got that one covered too. The Jaffa are expecting a reply from Dumbledore, and that's just what we're going to give them." Hayes answered.

"How exactly are we supposed to make that happen Mr. President?" Maynard asked.

"George was nice enough to lend a hand with this one also. It turns out that the original Dumbledore costume from the film is on permanent display at the Arclight Theater in Los Angles. All it took was a phone call to get the costume released into our care. It should have been delivered to Videum by now." Hayes said with a smug smile.