Bald Eagle, Washington, White Palace Situation Room
7:30 p.m.
The clock on the wall ticked away.
The president sat at the head of the oval conference table, with a briefing of only three pages spread out before him.
He had read those three short pages back and forth five times. He recognized every word.
But even now, he had not fully accepted what they meant when put together.
Twelve hours.
From Rabbit Nation's announcement at 7 p.m. last night to North Taiwan Monster-01 raising that flag at 7 a.m. this morning, it had taken exactly twelve hours.
When he received the first battle report at 8 p.m. last night, his chief of staff had still reassured him:
"It will take at least a week to end. We still have time to coordinate our allies, move troops, and apply pressure."
At 3 a.m., the second battle report arrived: the fleeing aircraft carrying the island's leadership had been shot down.
At the time, he had thought that even if the leadership was gone, the resistance on the ground could hold out for at least three to five days.
At 5 a.m., the third battle report arrived: all military facilities across the island had been destroyed or brought under control, and the command system had collapsed.
He began to realize something was wrong.
At 7 a.m., the fourth battle report arrived: North Taiwan Monster-01 had raised the red flag, and Rabbit Nation announced that the operation was complete.
He slammed that report onto the table and remained silent for a full ten minutes.
Twelve hours.
Twelve hours from announcement to completion.
Less time than it took him to fly from the White Palace to Las Vegas.
"Mr. President." His assistant's voice pulled him back to reality.
"Leaders from all countries have confirmed their