Fabula
S3E19 · The Black Vera Wang

Bartlet Greenlights Force Protection Delta Against Bahji Base Threat

Transitioning from hallway banter, President Bartlet enters the Situation Room where Fitzwallace delivers a dire briefing on a credible Bahji cell threat—via NSA-monitored Syrian websites, Kazakh advisors, and Russian intel—to U.S. military installations like Bahrain's Fifth Fleet and Incirlik within 48 hours. Referencing the Helsinki reactor crisis, Bartlet decisively approves General's Force Protection Delta (limiting movements) and Admiral's harbor directives for carriers, demanding half-hourly updates regardless of new intel. As he exits, the standing Joint Chiefs affirm his commanding presence, escalating the terror plot while showcasing Bartlet's unflinching leadership amid layered crises.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

5

Fitzwallace briefs President Bartlet on a credible threat of an imminent attack on a US military installation, escalating the situation.

routine to tension ['Situation Room']

Details of the threat are revealed, including monitoring of Bahji cell activities and verification from a Russian prisoner in Chechnya, emphasizing the military nature of the threat.

tension to urgency ['Situation Room']

Leo inquires about the most vulnerable military installations, and a list of high-risk bases is presented, focusing the threat assessment.

urgency to resolve ['Situation Room']

The General and Admiral propose immediate protective measures for bases and naval assets, which President Bartlet swiftly approves, demonstrating decisive leadership.

resolve to action ['Situation Room']

President Bartlet mandates half-hour updates and departs, with the Joint Chiefs standing in respect, concluding the tense briefing.

action to closure ['Situation Room']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

5

Focused intensity underscoring operational dread

Corroborates Fitzwallace's briefing by linking Kazakh morning advisors' intel and Russian Chechnya prisoner's confirmation of military targets, lists vulnerable bases including Bahrain and Incirlik, contributes clipped precision to heighten room's tension.

Goals in this moment
  • Validate threat with converging foreign intel sources
  • Prioritize base vulnerabilities for immediate action
Active beliefs
  • Kazakh and Russian data align with NSA signals for consensus
  • Listed bases form terror cell's prime strike cluster
Character traits
methodical informative alert
Follow Situation Room …'s journey

Gravely serious, urgency tempered by disciplined poise

Greets entering President, launches briefing on credible 48-hour Bahji attack threat, details NSA intercepts of Syrian websites and cellular calls, affirms Helsinki context, stands in deference as Bartlet departs.

Goals in this moment
  • Convey threat intel to secure presidential buy-in
  • Coordinate rapid defensive escalation
Active beliefs
  • Bahji cell's Syrian operations pose immediate multi-site danger
  • Integrated intel demands highest alert status
Character traits
precise urgent loyal professional
Follow Percy Fitzwallace's journey

Commanding confidence overlaying vigilant concern for layered crises

Enters Situation Room after hallway banter, greets Joint Chiefs crisply, references Helsinki reactor crisis to contextualize threat, probes intel sources skeptically, decisively authorizes Force Protection Delta and harbor orders, mandates half-hourly updates for 48 hours, rises commandingly to exit as all stand.

Goals in this moment
  • Verify and neutralize imminent terror threat through informed action
  • Project resolute leadership to unify military response
Active beliefs
  • Multiple intel streams confirm threat's credibility post-Helsinki
  • Proactive restrictions avert disaster despite uncertainty
Character traits
decisive inquisitive authoritative unflappable
Follow Abigail Bartlet's journey

Steadfast vigilance honoring chain of command

Collectively greets President upon entry, absorbs briefing with disciplined nods, via General recommends Force Protection Delta to restrict bases, via Admiral pushes harbor security for carriers, affirms orders with 'Yes sir,' rises in unison to salute Bartlet's exit.

Goals in this moment
  • Secure presidential approval for defensive protocols
  • Execute base lockdowns and naval repositioning
Active beliefs
  • Force Protection Delta essential to mitigate 48-hour window
  • Harbor maneuvers bolster fleet against asymmetric threats
Character traits
disciplined deferential resolute
Follow Joint Chiefs's journey
Supporting 1

recommends ordering all carriers and destroyers into harbor for enhanced water security

Goals in this moment
  • secure approval for naval assets repositioning
Follow Unnamed Male …'s journey

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

10
Helsinki

Invoked by Bartlet as recent site of reactor crisis betrayal, framing the new Bahji threat's urgency and testing intel credibility amid post-summit geopolitical fractures, heightening the room's sense of unrelenting global peril.

Atmosphere Echoed as frigid diplomatic flashpoint fueling present dread
Function Contextual reference anchoring threat timeline
Symbolism Emblem of fragile international accords crumbling into terror
Arctic frost of prior photo ops Mantyniemi summit tensions
Prince Sultan Air Base

Man flags as key target in Saudi desert, shelters pulsing under Delta noose from Syrian-Kazakh whispers, duty officers radar-sweeping amid arid vulnerability.

Atmosphere Baking runways under merciless storm coil
Function Air base lockdown priority
Symbolism Bastion facade cracking under jihad
Access Force Protection Delta gates
Hardened aircraft shelters Radar sweeps
Incirlik Air Base

Cited by Man as frontline Turkish base, runways taut under Delta, sentries sweating pre-strike as NSA pins it in 48-hour frenzy.

Atmosphere Haze-sliced jets amid lockdown dread
Function NATO-edge target for movement halts
Symbolism Exposed wiring in global web
Access Clamped gates and bunkers
Syrian whisper sweeps Pre-strike sweat
Seeb North Air Base

Man lists as exposed Omani runway scar, guillotine-hovering under Delta from intel convergence, ops throbbing with half-hourly alerts to D.C.

Atmosphere Desert scars under gathering storm
Function Remote base in strike roster
Symbolism Vulnerable frontier in jihad guillotine
Access Slammed Delta gates
Radar and clipped alerts Sentry strain
Chechnya

Referenced via Russian-held prisoner's verification of military strikes, locking intel convergence and escalating base alerts, where harsh interrogations yield pivotal confessions fueling Bartlet's lockdown.

Atmosphere Jagged peaks echoing grudged confessions
Function Prison site yielding confirmatory testimony
Symbolism Grim forge of coerced truths amid jihad shadows
Access Russian-controlled interrogation cells
Harsh winds over cells Interrogation static
Kazakhstan

Situation Room Man cites early-morning advisors' dispatches aligning with NSA data, confirming military targets and amplifying threat consensus, pulling steppe horizons into White House's defensive calculus.

Atmosphere Remote steppes humming with urgent intel relays
Function Foreign intel source validating attack vectors
Symbolism Bridge of allied whispers piercing terror veils
Dawn satellite links Advisor outposts
Jabar Air Force Base

Listed among most vulnerable by Man, its Kuwaiti runways and revetments invoked under Delta clampdown, diesel ops cells bracing as NSA echoes amplify Bahji peril.

Atmosphere Desert haze thick with patrol dread
Function Air base target for troop restrictions
Symbolism Exposed hinge of regional airpower
Access Force Protection Delta lockdown
Hardened fighter shelters Diesel fumes
Kuwait

Broadly named alongside Jaber Air Base as vulnerable Kuwaiti expanse, radar horizons shimmering under terror watch, folding into Bartlet's base-wide Delta authorization.

Atmosphere Sun-baked flats crackling with heat-haze tension
Function National frame for forward-deployed risks
Symbolism Geopolitical cauldron of denial vs. dread
Merciless sky over runways Satellite pings
Bahrain

Highlighted by Man as top vulnerable site housing Navy's Fifth Fleet, catalyzing Admiral's harbor recall and Delta protocols, embodying Gulf flashpoint in terror's bullseye.

Atmosphere Salt-whipped harbors under siege shadow
Function Prime naval target prompting immediate maneuvers
Symbolism Forward bastion testing U.S. projection amid threats
Escorted tanker swells Floodlit customs vigilance
Syria

Pinpointed as operational base for Bahji cell by Fitzwallace, with NSA tracking websites and codes there, transforming distant sands into epicenter of intercepted threats driving the 48-hour crisis response.

Atmosphere Shadowed by digital jihadist webs pulsing menace
Function Origin hub for monitored terror signals
Symbolism Nexus of asymmetric warfare encroaching on U.S. assets
Encrypted cellular whispers Syrian web chatter

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

6
National Security Agency

Fitzwallace cites their monitoring of Syrian Bahji websites for picture codes and cellular intercepts, providing core credibility to the 48-hour threat, igniting presidential action in intel-to-orders pipeline.

Representation Via referenced intercepts fueling briefing
Power Dynamics Signals intelligence arm empowering command decisions
Impact Bolsters national security apparatus against non-state actors
Distill digital threats into actionable warnings Track terrorist communications preemptively Electronic surveillance data Pattern recognition of codes
Bahji Cell

Cast as Syrian-operating cell behind credible attack plot on U.S. bases, their websites and calls dissected in briefing, galvanizing Delta response and framing antagonist force in White House siege.

Representation Through monitored online and cellular activities
Power Dynamics External asymmetric threat provoking U.S. defenses
Impact Forces elevation of Force Protection globally
Internal Dynamics Layered foreign handler coordination
Execute strikes on military installations Evade detection via coded signals Terror rhetoric and planning chatter Coordinated cell operations
U.S. Fifth Fleet

Man spotlights Bahrain contingent as top target, prompting Admiral's carrier/destroyer harbor order under water security, Bartlet's approval thrusting it into Delta's naval pivot.

Representation Via Bahrain fleet vulnerability and repositioning directive
Power Dynamics Operational arm under Joint Chiefs and presidential steer
Impact Anchors Persian Gulf deterrence amid terror
Internal Dynamics Shipboard hierarchies aligning to orders
Secure harbors against assault Surge to protected redoubts Fleet deployment authority Gulf power projection
Kazakh Advisors

Man references their dawn dispatches tracking Bahji assaults, aligning with NSA for threat lock, foreign expertise fortifying Situation Room consensus on base vulnerabilities.

Representation Through early-morning advisor intel
Power Dynamics Allied informants augmenting U.S. signals intel
Impact Enhances multinational intel-sharing efficacy
Monitor regional terror cells Relay precise strike warnings On-ground advisory reports Steppe-to-D.C. data fusion
Joint Chiefs of Staff

Embodied by uniformed chiefs in Situation Room, they salute Bartlet, recommend and receive approval for Delta protocols and harbor security via General and Admiral, rising in synced deference to affirm chain-of-command resolve against Bahji strikes.

Representation Through service chiefs' direct recommendations and affirmations
Power Dynamics Subordinate to presidential authority yet pivotal in tactical counsel
Impact Reinforces U.S. military's rapid-response posture amid terror escalation
Internal Dynamics Unified deference masking operational hierarchies
Implement highest base protection to safeguard personnel Reposition naval assets for defensive superiority Expert military recommendations Disciplined collective affirmation
Russia

Situation Room Man notes their Chechnya prisoner verifying military targets, extending Helsinki intel aid to pierce Bahji veil, their grudging contribution sharpening U.S. alert amid rival dynamics.

Representation Via held prisoner's testimony
Power Dynamics Reluctant intel partner in counter-terror axis
Impact Thaws U.S.-Russia ties against common jihad foe
Internal Dynamics Authoritarian control over Chechen ops
Extract confessions to disrupt plots Leverage intel for geopolitical leverage Interrogation yields Shared threat data post-Helsinki

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS

"The initial briefing on the terrorist threat naturally progresses to the Coast Guard's interception of the ammonium nitrate plot."

Bartlet Demands Proof of Shareef's Golden Gate Terror Link
S3E19 · The Black Vera Wang

Part of Larger Arcs

Key Dialogue

"FITZWALLACE: "Mr. President, we have reason to believe there will be an attack on a US military installation sometime in the next 48 hours. We have a credible threat.""
"BARTLET: "We just got done with Helsinki and the reactor.""
"BARTLET: "So order it. I don't care if we know anything new or not, I need updates every half hour for the next 48 hours.""